5g53W 1-riV.Wfjt WjpfS- y JJrt jSMB nsOTV tfSWfciMP"! w J Wr v J-t.'r W ." ft ' . r -. W , 7jvtzi.,nnKmt&ttv.L w'-rvrtmsfcax EVENING ' PUBLIC LEDGElP-PHILADBLPHIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 17 1922 XO wnw?m FICTION OUTDONE BY EXPLOITS OF COASTGUARDS WHO BRAVE PERILS OF THE STORM AS DAILY DUT Y Thousands Owe Their Lives te Modest Heroes Whose Vigilance and Skill Yearly Save Sum Seven Times Size of Tlieir Appropriation UNHERALDED AND UNSUNG, THEY DO NOT HESITATE TO RISK ALL FOR OTHERS Fleet, in Annual Maneuvers Today at Cape May, Practices Elaborate Ren- tine te Sustain Classic Tradition of 'World's Most Efficient Seamen" EACH year ships go down In hurricanes, get ripped open upon rocks, ram one another in mid-ocean, run onto reefs, are set aflre and otherwise get into situations where their passengers and crews are faced with the prospect of a wet death. Every once in se often an iceberg runs amuck, or a pair of Idiot fltrelict3 are reported te be playing tag in the path of ocean travel. Or, closer te home, a pleasure craft capsizes or a fleet of walnut- ibell Ashing beats Is captured ny a gale, On theso exciting occasions we jetd, and usually toward the end of the story we learn that the United States Coast Guard Cutter Se and 60 or the Surf Beat Such and Such hag set off in the direction of trou ble. We have pictures of gaunt, wind-scarred men in oilskins push ing a beat through mile-high comb cemb er, of gunners lashed beside their pieces, sheeting lines through a tor rent se thick that one man cannot see another en the decks and net a single sound can be heard abeve the thunder of the seas. On such occasions only Is the coast guard likely te get a portion cf its due from our imaginations. Between times we at least theso cf us who live inland are likely te associate it vaguely with the customs house or, somewhat apa thetically, with the "prohibition patrol." The fact is that the work of the coast guard has little or nothing te de with the collection of customs, nd only in the most incidental way with prohibition. It is true that if a ship from the West Indies attempted te land a cargo of boxes marked "Scotch Whisky, Handle with Extraordinary Care" en the beach alongside a coast guard station the crew would very probably be put under arrest. Fer part of the coast guard's job is te enforce the maritime laws of the United States, and rum smug gling is a serious breach of one of them. But the primary phase of its job Is the protection of lives and prop erty at sea. It does net, as is se popularly believed, "comb the coasts for rum-runners," nor chase rum muggling yachts up small creeks. That is the job of a patrol cxton cxten lively and expensively maintained by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The exploits of the coast guard gainst rum smugglers or smug glers of anything have been neg ligible. Property Saved Seven Times Size of Appropriation In time of peace the great problem ' with nature. Te circumvent nature if possible, or if net, te "pair the damage she has done. Last year the property salvaged by the coast guard counted up te mero than 5G7,000,000, a sum nearly 'even times as great as the appro priation for its maintenance. This takes no account of the passive side of its accomplishments, of the human lives delivered from the deep, nor of the great mission missien ry weik, such a3 among the natives of the Alnskan hinterland and the fishermen who cruise off the Newfoundland banks. Of this lust phase it Is well te speak "Me. Every one knows that a cruise of Aw England fishermen may Inst two months or longer; that the life of MMe fishermen is nn extremely rough nnl that one who niuy be hurt or "II ill is likely te have a hard time of Frequently In fhins the lines the "nerinen get the hooks gouged into wlr flesh. As often thcie are acci dents which cause them te be cut by jlr own cleaning knives. Very often ha result Is n serious infection, which 'neglected may necessitate an umputu "n; and then nre probably mere one ene 8Keil or one. armed fishermen who have st thdr limbs In this way than these e hate had them bitten off by bhurkr. Every fishing Reason during recent ' n hospital ship from the coast pwd fleet has cruised among the flsh Si u I1 The doctors and attendants t ' jb nhenid eteiy ship, cauterize and f?5aaK the wounds of the fishermen "" remove te their own ship the mom !rieui)ly injured and these who have Jffn taken with disease. The same wiM In dene in the Alaskan fisheries ?4 in the fisheries off l'uget Sound. VOflfif finnrrl Ttnntnva .iXe Missionary Werk JI the Arctic nas&euilanii an the Arctic Dossessiens around the na. Sim them nr thousand! of ClUMUl WhO hftV BTC MM any physician except a ship's doctor fren the coast guard. When Lieuten ant Commander F. S. Van Beskerck took the Hear en its memorable cruise from Point Yarrow te Siberia and back again hundreds of these citizens were vaccinated for the first tlme. The Rovcnue Cutter Service was created In 1700 by nn net of Con gress Inspired by Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury. It was organized then en the military basis It has ever slnce retained. Its officers nre specially educated ; ltswmen enlisted for from two te three years. They are subjected te dlscipllne mere severe than that which exists In either the army or navy. On the ether hand, the nature of the life, with its almost constant isolation nam me tormuiae or land, brings a closer relationship between men and of fleers. Se thinly manned are the coebt guard cutters that the officers and men knew ns much of one another ns the inmates of a bearding-school dermi tery. Training for the enlisted man begins with nn Immediate Introduction te the sen, and this acquaintanceship is pushed until the time of his discharge His school of seamanship is perhaps the most thorough in the world. He Is net, like the man e' warsman, a spe cialist. If he knows hew te box the compass whatever that may be and te haul en a sheet, he must knew also hew te man the guns and whnt is tra jectery and what Is a breech block cover. If he knows hew te man the gasoline stoves In the gallery, he must knew hew te man the helm. He must knew by ix-- HiiBMi . . ' Si '.' . L'.'JrQwiiu BPrlrtfSKELiA;. wwPw HnW-l:1! ijPHK, iW kd'e W;irs HKffimMmaMSmim 111 II II I TTr tmWmtm i SIHHHBHBHHImnBHia Part of the work of the Const Guard Vaccinnting settlers in the HHHBBMHHHHBmH remotest sections of Alaska Hi SiiK "'" i;v-v3f5S8Jsa4 p t!T :?-S?5 nf- - TsiBwi iii " "m .. .;... N'v-y' kj :n: i..Krir ruGt:-i.L4u - - u -Jh- l ' .1 ?. m 1 -v itmv. wt f - n.. l. . .1 iii .k..vt i . M outsiders of them net se much out of medestry, perhaps, as from the fnct that they have been se frequent ns te be commonplace. If they talk about them among themselves, it is becnuse meat for conversation is se scarce in their lonely lives. The newspapers never learn of mere than one in n hundred of them. Off Onk Island, N. T., a region of shifting xandhnrs, occurred one of these Incidents. One of the "surfmen," mak ing his patrol of the beach with his little automatic clock, discerned n small beat en the bar off Fire Island. Dark ness was rapidly closing, but he thought there was a man in the beat. The "surfman" ran back te the sta tion te give the alarm. In less than two minutes the men were dragging the stirfbeat Inte the water. There was one of the worst seas of the year running. Twice the beat drove Inte the waves and twice It was beaten back. A third time, by almost superhuman skill, they managed te get It beyond the surf, and the little crowd of women and children that had gathered en shere saw the beat disappear Inte the blackness be yond. They had been gene a half hour or mere, when seme of the women in the crowd knelt down te pray, for the gnle had grown wilder and the surf pounded terribly against the beach. At last seme one came shouting that the beat had landed a half mile along the beach, and the crowd ran te the plnee. The shipwrecked man was with them and alive. The mlracle was net se touch that fact as the survival of the beat after going a mile through such a gale. Had the commander of the beat or any of his crew made a single error that night, V. W. E. Jacobs, commander of flagship Vicksburg early days of the war, when British and Scandinavian ships were offering bonuses of $1000 and mere te men who could make officer grades anearrt Mock Meck ado runners. Hundreds of the coast guards became mates, boatswains, engineers, quarter masters, etc., of bents resurrected from Junk heaps nnd leaded with TXT and ether tempting cargoes. Without convey they took these cargoes ever seas infested with submarines or tried te. Most of these men He new at the bot tom of the North Sea or In the waters off the Irish coast. A few, however, survived, and some nre new the masters of ships, and ethers have returned te the service and are comfortably but lone lene lone semcly settled in const guard stations. Incorporated in Navu During the World War When the United States went Inte the war the coast guard was merged .$, w'f.i, ."a iVi.-5S 7-V & S'...V.'.' 4sTx VJv''ivi. v '; . wa. ''M,,'' r ? til'ii m , ('! icv ii.( . . : ft "? . . j. ivi ; v ' wi ' rx - (u. .1 tm .- . w x ' w. v : i.- f ' v . . w. . .Jf s. ..Mt.v.l'jf 'JS'tf-.'J .'. " i. W M 1' ;r'Ai MBfy .w ' -W ' -.i ? ' . s .; . '"yrr"' .icWr' - -- . ." ,! ,', i 'fe wNvssT Vlw ; ' ' : :- iMI ff'Kyy' jlJapteC. kfZOH'iHVfKi T.a " - 'enwiwv inrBirsw : ''WUBMK.JmKiC'aK.7 4X .--it ,r;1 'A' .K'Zv;rtvv!:vv -V;k..('? a! 4V fr? i V1 ! V.t .V(?v i.N, r- ?yr- "--, i.'v.- . IV', FVFv ,) n(iWj The Vicksburg at anchor In Cape May Harber heart all the idiosyncrasies of every kind of Bmnll beat imaginable, A conl cenl pnsser may find himself coxswain of a tender bound for a sinking ship. Men of Coast Guard Must lie A 11-Around Sailor men He la a "sailor" in a sense net known in the navy nor en liners, nor anywhere clce except perhaps en four feur masted sailing craft. Iloyend this he is a soldier ttlth rifle belt ami leggings, who does Infantry drill according te the navy fei inula and tactics, whenever there Is tlme for It. The grades are the same, approxi mately, as in the nnvy, and nre called by the same names. Itespenslbllity, however, devolves en warrant officers, petty officers and even en seamen, much mero frequently. The coast guard sta tions, for example, are In command of warrant officers with the title of boat swain, and very often coast guard ships have gene te sen with a warrant olil elil cer or petty officer in command. Theso seamen who innde up the coast guards of the pre-war days were ac knowledged ns the'flnest Mngle group of sailors fn the world, 0ftla ermnUa- Uea w W1upws inj with the nnvy and coast guard officers were scattered through the nnvnl forces as technical ndtlsers. Others remained In command of the cutters, which be came the most effective convey ships in the allied sea ferces. Many a British sea captain, after a ticklish voyage from India te the Instinct or Inclination chese te dedl dedl cate their tvhole lives te the sea. The same was true of the men of the life sating service, who were brought into the coast guard In 1015. These men, for the most part, were born within the sound of the surf, and nre seldom without salt wind or salt Azores, breathed easily when he saw spray In their faces. Some of them, thnt the merchant fleet te which he was nttached was te have a "coaster" for n convey. Many a German submarine commander .swore when he heard theru wus an American cutter near his base. The greatest slnglu less of the coast guard during the war was the Tampa, which went down In the Bristel Chan nel with all her crew. She was tor pedoed within sight of shere, but be be bo fero a single beat could set out for her all trace of the Tampa had van ished, Previously the Tampa had saved a convey by sending a couple of sub marines te the bottom, and from that hour she was a doeu.ed shin. The Yamncraw, one of the most fa mous vessels of the coast guard (loot, however, paid off this scere. She sank six submarines off the const of Gib raltar. I Previously recruits for the coast 'iwrvlee were men of some sea service bfbr thelt iiUtinnt-sm wko-fre as mentioned previously, survive in the warrant efficerH aboard the cutters or ns the companders of the stations ashore. Most of them are Americans from various parts of the Atlantic Const, but there is also n geed inter mixture of men from the famous mari time countries of Europe, England. Kcandlnnvln and the Baltic States. Untold Exploits Would Be Geld Mine for Fictionist These men have nearly all repeatedly performed exploits dramatic enough te supply n fletlenlst with n lifetime's ma terial. They have been through in stances of mass and Individual heroism almost inconceivable. Most of these are unrecorded, except, perhaps, In dusty files at the Treasury, Department or In old leg books. Oft ma, tiymUtxH pttk 11 vk'Z?s The y-K -TvjimmftwajrrzwvAWJmtT'r:- v$ n i ' lli8?S 'y ' v i ?ww '''Vy Bear in the ice off Neme rescuer nnd rescued would have gene te the bottom. N. Y. Papers Dismiss Heroic Deed With Paltry Line Next morning ene New Yerk paper mentioned In a line that a naphthn launch belonging te W. K. Vnnderbilt had caught fire off Flre Island nnd run aground. On a bad point off the Marylnnd const ene afternoon a British steamer ran aground. A const guard cutter lying nearby nt once started for the plnce. The stenmer was hopelessly driven in, nnd the captain of the cutter urged her commander te abandon her. He refused nnd declined, moreover, any offer of assistance from Hie cutter. The captetn of the cutter shook his head nnd took his beat back te th point from which he had brought lt There wcre already bad omens In the air and the captain forbade any of hla men te leave the shle. Suddenly ene of the worst hurricnne ever known te that part of the coast blew up. The cemmnndcr sent bis ship In the direction of the grounded steamer. He had gene but a short distance when his fears wcre fully verified. The ob eb stlnnte captain was sending up rockets. Fer fear of also running ngreund, tha cutter could net swing alongside the stenmer, which by new wen flooded al most te the rail. The commander knew thnt no small beat could survive in such a sen. An attempt te sheet a line te the steamer failed. A beat was then ordered out and a crew in command of a warrant officer put Inte her. It lasted a bare five sec ends. A petty officer nnd two or three men Immediately volunteered te take nnether. The beet was lowered, and the moment Its moorings were loosened It was capsized by a giant wave. A third beat met the same fate. The cemnvnnder, stnndlng nt the bridge, had seen almost all bis crew perish before his eyes. There were left only a mass boy, nn ensign, the wire less operator, the engineer nnd n ceu pie of stokers. These had also volun teered and were new accepted, with the exception of the ensign. The meM boy's beat struggled valiantly with the water a short time and then went ever like the rest. Rescuer Leaped Inte Raging Sea Attached te Lifeline At this point the ensign tied a rope about his middle and hed himself low ered into sea by a stoker, who be sides the commander was the only man left nbeard. ne managed te grab the heroic mesg boy in his arms nnd draf him te the side of the cutter. In this manner he succeeded In picking up a hnlf-descn from the sea, some his own men and some from the uteamer. Others saved themselves by extraor dinary swimming, or were actually wnshed by the wavea back; en te the deck of the cutter. The hurricane raged mere fiercely. Net a word could be heard nbeve the pounding of the wavea, nnd rain poured ever the deck of the cutter an though from buckets. Net one further attempt at rescue could be made. It was indeed doubtful if the sturdy cutter would net be driven by the storm against the bar. The heartsick cemmnndcr ordered his handful of mirjvlvers te take her baek te harbor. This was one of the great Instance of tragic heroism tn the annals of the coast guard. Had the situation been different by ever se little there might have been a rescue as glorious as that of the crew of the Forward, under Lieutenant Reger Welghtman off Som Som breeo Reck Light, La., In October, 1010. In a hurricane as severe as the en described above, the crew of the For ward saved the crew and 035 passengers of a Seuth American liner, sinking la the Gulf. Hardly a year gees by without three or four such episodes. There are, be sides, facts just as remarkable from a technical standpoint, though with lesa appeal perhaps te the Imagination. Such, for example, was the feat of the Yamacraw under Lieutenant Frank J. German, which In one cruise last December picked up and towed ashore three valuable derelicts, or the feats of the some cutter under Com mander Vnn Beskerck In the Ice fields, or the landing of the crew of the Bear In Siberia when the Red armies and Kelchack's soldiers were contesting for the ground. Service of Coast Guard Extends te Many Fields There is also the time the crew of the Ferwnrd whs lnndcd te quell n riot in JnckenvllIe, following the fire, nnd the ether extraordinary Instance when the Inmates of nn insane asylum broke loose nnd the crew of the YemncraW was delegated te round them up. " Fer there Isn't a job en the top e' the earth, the beggar don't knew hew te de " Which, besides being plagiarism, la mild exaggeration but very mild. Today the fleet nf cutters Is ma neuvering nt Cape Mny te show the country something of the work of these brave men of the sea. 1 -WMiHljmi?A" 1 if"T i ' ii m.Mmm '. . :( ' kaffSrer.-JSi! 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers