The evening world. Newspaper, May 30, 1913, Page 11

Let A FELLAA STAY iN ONE SPOT FOR A MINUTE EVEN IN 415 OWN Hor use The Maine, Doomed to Be a Money-Making Exhibit, Re) w Saved to the Nation by Splendid Wor, Se if rt \ Alfred King, Cioll War Veteran, Fought for More Than e thet if dhe afereenid company was heme!” a Decade to Rouse Public Interest in the Sunken tg hit a eens Battleship and to Force Congress Into Action. rreriret the comalaing GON. ‘Tilo was ‘oot tor ERE Copright, 1918, by The Crem @ubtiching Oo, (The Now York Brentag Wott), United me BY SOPHIE IRENE LOEB. See, eens Woe tet Osses’. 98 the + paren wed te ergs enh Cea an4 colinguinned tt to Cuba. Cuda ooid pe eclence of @ nation, how shall he begin? 18 to thie company. ° In the little town of Kearny, N. J., there lives ine Gk Ceuik cect ae ee aloe, ‘watery sepuldire that a man Whose name te Alfred King. He has no the American dead who gave their tives modal, incignia or any other emblem of valor. He ts @ eoldier and fought with credit in the civil war, to the rank of Captain. He ls unassuming, modest. Alfred King te a part of the unReralded undercurrent that has raised the Maine. Ae a proof of this, you have ut te go to thie eubdurd of Newark. There, in front of the Kearny Town Hall, on a pedestal of Maine granite, : bearing @ shell of the Ddattleship Maine, is a copper plate with the following inscription: i A ; tf if i? Ten-Iach shell—#s Pounde—From “U. Maine.” Havana yr, 1908-1912, i i g 3 3 E i Hi Presented to the Town of Kearny, N. J. § an 61d soldier acting as @ stumbling block in ee werthy an enterprise, say- ing: It behooves other veterans, given wey,-end Tahal to cor- Feapond with you and to indicate to you how you your ansoci- ates can be of great help ¢o us in our patriotic undertaking. But Alfred King would not be bluffed. Realiting that no satisfaction could come trem this direction, Alfred King @etermined to interest the gress, And he began with the newopapers in his vicinity. He sent clippings of these to eoldier and satlor organtsations and every source that he knew might be interested. The Voice of the Press. ‘The result of this campaign, which gained momenturo Ike an avalanche, un- tt even Washington took heed, dealt « view te the company by notification to Cuba that the United States Govern: t departments which had relinquished Maine to the Cuban republic bad no right te do so; that the disposal of the wreck of the Ofaine rested Con- Gress; and that no executive depari- meant could give assurance of its sbes- donment by the United Atates. ‘Thte put tle “United States Battieship Maine Gatvege Company" out of busi- ness, and Congress again became the monitor of the Maine. ‘With this encouragement, Alfred King vegan another move in behalf of the Maine. This time he wrote to Congress- man (now Governor) Gulser. This started juizer bill for raising the Maine. jsreneman Sulser assured Alfred King that (despite the opthion of the Navy Departcent officials that it was almost an imposstbiiity to raise the Maine), he would go Into the fight to a finish. And every time the Sulzer bill came up in Congress, although backed by petition after petition, it was halted by technicalities. Once when William Sul- ser arose in the House and stated ona point of order, “Mr, Speaker, | wish some little attention on the matter of raieing the Maine and ‘te yet ughonered heroes," Mr, Cannon ie sata to have re- pied with asperity: i In Recognition of the Eminent Public Services of Alfred King. May 9, m2, 44 > gi, you, Me. King, and *Mhould vou want to learn something of-the great importance of trifies, hew to @ince the ship WAS sSeuse public sentiment, the power of an everyday citisen in the American pubits sy the duty of an individual to the nation, perhaps Alfred King might be able to tell you something about It If you would go to his home at 38 Yorest street, which in a little frame house, a half size larger than @ cotta some evening you would find this m He ts seventy years old and wears three not accounted for. killed outright, others were penned tween decks by the tangle ef wreckare and drowned by the immediate sinking of the hull. ‘There were three natural surmises as to the cause of the disaster. But whether it was accident, #panish de- aign or the cunning act of a Cuban sympathizer, thts fact remiains: At once the popular mind in the United States turned to war. A naval court of inquiry was or, ied. A force ef wreckers and dive was put to work to ascertain the nature of the expleston. very avail- able meane was employed to gain on accurate kmowteige of the conditions under water. At the same time the Spanish Government was given opper- tunity for simultaneous investigation. After twenty-three days of coatiauous labor and research, on March 31, thi court of inquiry gave its verdict to the Chief Executive, William McKinley. ‘The conclusions of the court were: “That the loss of the Maine wae wot bin and King sought of which was tl if Main other source, Legislature of fray, military beard, of the sort that you A, King ef New Jersey wal lobbyit to arouse patriotic sentiment that would send a “reselve” to Washington. On March 19, 1909, he was successful in his offerte here, and the edict went forth. Petition after petition and resolution after resolution were added te the rec- ords of Congress. Amd the name of Adfred King permeates these pages with marked persistence. Meny a time A. King, veteraa, wee hard pressed for steep money. He interested Gen. Cha: Burrows, senior Vice-Commander in of the G. A. R., together with all other im- portent heads of army ttl he solicited action from write Washington. Latters came pouring into the Govern- ment from superintendents of schools and patriotic bodies of all descriptions, Also continued resehations from the @. A. R, and individual soldiers and satlors throughout the country, representing 100,089 souls, The Final Triumph. Maurice Simmons, Department Com- of United States Spanish War ‘ans, told Mr, Sulser he wan using ‘YY ounce” of energy to @ipport the Defeevering undertaking. Petitiona, he, stated, were being forwarded to Con- Brees from every section ef the country. From his headquarters these had al- ready been sent to every member of the Congressional deiegation of tae State of New York, and parallel Olutions woukl be transmitted by the separate campa to their toca! Con- Sresenen, By February, 101, public sentiment wumed the form of mase meetings In associate with veterans. y at you with steady usual! blue eye whieh one lens His house was the headqua:ters for a movement that created public sentiment, whieh wes answered by the U. Gov- ernment epending money by the thou- sands to right a wrong of tweive years ending. w It All Came About. Alfred King read the story of the Maine, in the spirit of any other citizen, In the newspapers, which in brief was summed up like this: ‘The battleship Maine entered Havana Harbor on the twenty-fifth of January, 1998, as had been arranged between the United 8 and the Spanish Govern- ents. arrival was marked with 1@ special incident beyond the exchange uf the customary ealutes and ceremonial “site, She anchored there for thre ‘veeks. No appreciable excitement at- vended her stay. At 8 o'clock on the evening of Feb. 15 everything was reported secure and all was silent on board. Shortly a(ter tap minutes after 9 aclock—Capt. Charles D. Sigubee, com- matder of the ship, was writing in his cabin. He laid down his pen to listen to the dying notes of the bugle, which were singularly beautiful that night. Newton, the bugler, who was rather given to fanciful effects, was at his it. The echoes of the lingering notes sizty day from the beginning of work they would have @ oofferdam bullt sround it, dry out the inclosure, and visitors would be admitted for a fee. ‘That the show could go en day and night wes assured. For wasn't the cil- mate of Havana perpetual summer? And wasn't the tourist season eight or nine months loi Besides, the Ameri: an realdent and touriat contingent, to- gether with a million er more of Cu- ans and Spanianis in Havane and the surrounding districts of the island, might represent an income of several thousand dollars in edmission fees alone! More than the cost of the cof- feréam itectf! Alveady advertising concerns were of- fering lucrative prices for space on the walle of the cofferdam, inside and out, and an ‘wae pending from one of the forefhost successful show enter- prises in the world to take, charge of the exhfbition of the wreck in this country, ‘This wes not all. It was a prospectus of a combine known as the “U. &, BattiosMp Maine talvage Company. Incorporated in the District of Colum- bia to remove the Maine from Havana Harbor‘ by suthority of Cuba and the United States.” ‘The enterprise was to assume the form of a pay-av-you-enter spectacle ané later would te a moving picture proposition fer awilling the profits of ‘those who wont@ get in on the ground fleor and buy stock in the company. Tt was capitalized at $600,000. Their pur- pose was to raise the Maine and ex- hibit her Peep-all for the morbid. Btock ou ptions were solicited and soon the company hed a paid-in capita) of 9800,000, How did they get the right to the Maine? By quietly going over to Cuba ‘and asreving te pay that republic $5,000 that no evidence ing the ceaponethiNty for che Gestrudtion of the @letse upon any gereon or pér- upon the United States went to war with @pain, with what éar-reaching reaults the world knows. Our t#storical claim abways will be that we fought for a splendid humanitarian erinciple, but tradition wit say that the iNdated safiormen of the Maine died ¢o free Cuba. “Remember the Maine.” Alfred King, tke other cititena, thought about these tacts of the Maine, After it had ex: 2 to do 60, since, in reality, our country Giat! end the @uried with the ship, Nad practically relinquished all interest hausted its usefuiness In Havana Har- — “1 am too buay taking care of live Carnegie Hail, New York, which were flaated back with unugual distinctness ‘uy everybody cise was thinking 1 the Maine, an the following letter un- HCP as an attraction the silp would be men to think of the dead!” presided aver by Joseph H. Choate, and from orse : sla about {t. But efter the war he ld not der date of Jan. 14, 100%, in anewer to an floated upon her own or a false bottom Representative Deugins of Ohio, in 4: King on the platform, The com- mittee had agreed that honor was due to King. And finally, in May, 1910, when the was playing his ewan song, for, thirty iniites tater, Newton, the bugier, was 4. and exhibited in the principal ports of thin latter the United States. The income from this source alone, they conceded, would inquiry ey the Cuban Gevernment with reference to the wreck of the Maine, teatifies: stop thinking abowt it Im @eet, iis slogan was ‘Remember the Maine!” Now (t happened that the drat Presi- the course of one of these ever-recur- rent aquelches, remarked: “If there ny commercial matter Buddeniy there were twe dietinet ex- dent of the Cuban Republic, T. Eetrada “The question presented has been = enormous! involved let Cuba raise the Mai If dtl was passed, Preskient Taft sent plosions. And after a burating and Palma, was once @ echoolteacher in considered by the proper executive The Maine Forgotten. & question of justice let Spat the pen which algned th hing sound, followed by intense Pleasant Valley, N. J. King had met epertment, and the conclusion her. Those that went down in the whip Sulser, who immediately \ ve . him when bie @. A, R. post dedicated Tenched that whatever authority or And, mark you, the starting point of have long aince become fopd for the A- King that the battle over, and Wackness and smoke, Capt. Sigsbes . iag-pole one Fourth of July. When JisDiB the Government may form: the whole schenle was the hearty © tees, And to bring home their ghast- ‘2 Withdraw hi» fo found his wey up the Inclined deck, into Paimg became Prestéent he sttl ex- ‘ferred to, pty ie Saeen ates, operation antenna to this prenny Ny ly remnants would be to open afresh 1m hin little home Kearny \s the the starboani capin. He greped changed letters with Alfred King, who ered as having lapeed in favor of meig' be qccsentine i pnd’ after ifthe hearts of thelr friends @ sore Sate tenet te ree yearn” Yeu Gov * would be sccessories before and after i141 45 now, thank God, almont healed! *cure citinen, the work of years. You was Secretary of the Artington Flag Association. Bo thet as early as May 2, 19%, Palma wrote to King es foP lowe: the rament of Cuba. The company’s deed properly re- corded in the District of Columbia, they Broceeded to bovat the project by solic- iting eubseriptions for the beginning of work. Alfred King investigated and through the cabin, and along the pas- sage to the outer door. At the turning Private Witiam Anthony, the orderly At. the cabin door, met him with the customary salute and, as though he the facts, They would help the com- can find there every ecrap, which em- bodies thousands of clippings and letters galore. And has this obscure citizen stopped action in his purpose of patriotism? + “But, most OF ALL, I am opposed to raising the Maine becaues it might re new the contro’ y over the cause of explosion which wrecked thing it high time to quit ‘semembering y! Certainly they were getting but a mere %5,000—one-haif of which was paid At once. But the influx of foreign vie- in ceply to your communica- tion of May 22 ! take plaanure in orders dinary remark, sald: informing you that ‘were {tors was no small point to be over- ; ‘ No. He has forgotten the Maine atrug- , but I have to interes wy SAYER and suecules fe th sf art ten coats that was well nigh leekes An. 2 feteusanie wae ime bad ay je’ and to begin 19 ‘forget the Ge dees has cane as rug : ; oof 5 oe esa at Maine oh Memorial Day, P "Tt wae to Be AW fine show business, portation of supplies, machinery, tools, Alfred King sat down at the dini eee aariasiny Ie Sie SveAeUas, Of ®. nett, ratdent: whieh tourists and visitors would flock duty free, Workmen squid be brought "OOM table and wrote an¢ wrote and Co™MAGes Jot replat ihe peal . ROFRADA PALMA.” to as the greatest spectacie of all in in under a contract to Hav! No Wrote to Grand Army inen, who WF schools throughout the country by pr , From that moment the orderly, as reported by the Captain, remained by him with untiring zeal and watchtul- ness until the ship was absndoned, And at another time this President wereve te King how visitors ¢e Mavane Harbor would ecornfully upbraid the Amoérican Government for allowing the promptly aroused. Some communioa- thons were signed ‘‘Veteraa” and some “A. King.” These Grand Army men went into Mr. Douglas's howe distriet the region of Havana. In « word, the tomb of the heroic dead was to be open to the gaze of the motley curious. 4 “Show” Proposition. taxes were to be lev property. And further, execute a deed, upon senting tadlets of the Getty: drove of that martyred Prest One already presented to Maino bears the tnacription: the Republe agreed to ving good and sum, Net this Mon-hearted private was Maine to remain in the harbor—the clent title to the hulk, equipment enough Iterature on the surtect to doomed leer fo mut question of its destruction unsettie@, Ah, the pamphiet offered many in- chinery, arms, ein laaa at erty keep bis constituents in pi read Alfred King a i Presumably from the sailors uaburied and the wreck an Gucements, Money would be made in ant other supplies and objects that’ ing for some time Comwany Kk. 17th Maine Regiment | comrades Ri in the wreck. Two petal to navigation. various ways. They would remove t might be found im and about the ship. A progreseive postoard cnncern, i. | bhi oetcant eee iso were ‘nese pictures of the abandoned bat- wreck, in whole or in part, from Ha: Thus it was evident that the Cuban aroused by the press reports, got oUt &® Hie does not care to shine In the lime-| ored"Immediately. Later one-hundred sion, @id not arouse Government viewed itself in the light picture wt @ ghest aallor rising out of ight. But this maa proved the fag tna foriyrtour vedien of solo master ef the United States the distorted wreek of the batticeh!p, that the spirit of one of th le wh ’ ‘Were added to tien. But something hasilonhip Maine, and as ouch it was crying the words: Temenos ed the lss of résevensd, leaving sixty. the postman hanged oven, mpgnenineus i ie cibtnde cay “Bememier the Maine! The Mertyred ~~ une | 90 them ,to| f The Silent Bullet ap HERE iB - i fi = i Fi iH Pa i : 8 : § i ES 3 fi i ti # CIRO DI CESARE 4 CO, BANKERS. a their hese or hi capacious capes, Here was just ene lit- tle colony of the hundreds of thousends of I ‘tien larger than the Italien ton of J Reome—ef whose life the rest of New York knew and eared nothing. At lest we came te Albano's litte , wine shop, a dark, evil, mal Place on the street level of a five-story, alleged “new law” tenement. Without nesitation Kennedy entered and we fo}- lowed, acting the part of a slumming tomers at though ef course th Albano proved him: cunning look. I cou! auch a fellow spreading hearte of simple folk by ing both jeunes with hie thunibe and bs open court. We pushed through to the low-cell- Inged back room, a eat down at a table, Albano's famous Californ! we sat silently. Kennedy was making ® mental note of the piace, In the middle of the calling was a single gas- burner with @ big reflector over !t. In the back wail of the room wae a hori- ‘red, and with The 3 tables were dirty and ¢! kety. ‘The walle were bare unfinished, with beams innocent of decoration. Al- together it was ae unprepossessing a Dlace as I had ever seen. Apparently satiafied with his scrutiny, Kennedy get up to go. complimenting the proprieter en hie wine. 1 could ace that Kennedy had made up his mind as to his course of action. “How sordid erime really 9," he re- A Widow and a Billion Dol VBR hear of the Violet Widow?) Johu A, mixed up In the famous