Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-03-06
HE WAS A HERO.
How a Policeman Gained Great Praise
and Earned promotion.

and Earned PromotlOn'
There was a telephone call at the
headquarters Of the sanitary police. An
urgent case that demanded immediate
attention. 1t came from an obscure
firm Of undertakers. AS it happened
there was but little going on and the Of
ficer in charge detailed three men, who
may be called Officers Kelly, Schwei-
niger, and Walker, says an exchange,
because these are not their names, to go
and see what was the matter.
The three sanitary policemen found
that the place to which they had been
sent was a German tenement OF the
humber sort. 1t was two-story brick,
with a little grocery downstairs and two
families upstairs, one in the front part
and one IN the back. On the door OF
the stair futtered piece OF white
Grape.
This is no case for u.s." growled Of
ficer Kelly. "What has the health de-
partment to do with stiffs?"
But they went on. A woman at the
head of the stairs silently pointed them
to the front rooms. In the first room
they entered some old women were sit
ting in silence. A man was on his knees,
his head bowed on chair and crying
with convulSive sobS. On the floor lay
extended the body OF woman, her
throat cut from ear to ear and the blood
still flowing in a CHASTITY stream over
the boards and under the stove, for this
room was the kitchen. The light came
in through the uncurtained windows so
that all was horribly distinct. One or
the old women who was sitting nearest
the crying man silently rose and teck-
oned to the officers, who wore startled
by the unexpected sight They had
looked for nothing more than a case OF
bad drainage. The woman led them into
the other room. The windows there had
blinds that were closed and for minute
the officers could not see clearly. When
thew could distinguish what was about
them they saw boy in bed, moaning
family. But there against the wall,
what was that? The old woman, with
out a word pulled back the sheet that
covered ii and the officers saw the
corpse of another boy. Their mother
had nursed them for two weeks, and
when this boy had died she, worn out
with watching and stricken by grief,
had killed herself. So said the old
woman in German to Officer Schwein-
iger. Then as the eyes of the officers
grew more accustomed to the dim light
they saw that the lad in bed was blotch-
ed and purple. With sudden sinking
Of the heart Officer Kelly asked:
"What was the matter with the
boys?"
SMALLPOX"
Officer Kelly and officer Schweni-
ger fled. Their hair stood almost on
end. But officer Walker remained. 1t
was he who sent for the coroner. 1t
was he who found out that the case
had not been reported because the fam
ily had feared that the children would
be sent to the pest-house. 1t was Officer
Walker who gained great newspaper
renown, who was the hero OF the day
Officer Walker is Lieutenant Walker
now, but only TO his wife does he oc-
casionally say:
And all this promotion was because
I was wasn't afraid OF smallpox. Bless
me. I wonder what they'd say II they
knew had smallpox when l was kid,
that l worked as nurse five years in
smallpox hospital, and that l am no
more in danger of taking it than am
at this blessed minute OF being killed
and eaten by the Fiji cannibals.