The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1895-03-06
ACCIDENTAL OR DEslcNED7
The Tragic Fate OF a Naval Oficer Who
Was Hated by His Men.

They were telling incidents in the life
of prominent and wealthy man who
had recently died-the little tricks he
had played to catch his workmen nap
ping, the ways he had employed to i'm
press discipline upon them and his sue
cessful manner of getting their best ef-
fort out of them. Then, says the n. 7.
Tribune, the naval officer interposed an
objection.
Il have seen great many men, and
some of them very bad ones, success
fully handled" he said, sin the service,
but don't believe I ever knew an Off
Ger who stopped to little tricks to be
successful in commanding men. There
is something in a mans heart that
makes him resent petty persecution,
! when he will bear you no i'll will at all
for crushing him under great provoca-
ton. And speaking of petty persecu-
ton, annoying men in little ways to
keep them alive and doing | remember
k, poor chap! in the service years
ago, and the mournful way in which he
died.
"X- was postmaster in that small
business of harassing seamen. re-
| member one of his tricks, when he
found man sleeping when he should
have been awake. was to dash dipper-
| full of water into his face. He would
not allow men who were awake TO
arouse the sleeper, but, seiZing the
| dipper, he would rush up and slap the
water at full force into the mans face.
And have seen men go wild at the
shock of it, but X could never be
made to see that his way was unfair
and bullying. A man was asleep when
he should be awake. He really deserved
punishment, but X did not punish
him. He merely recalled him to his
sense of duty.
| 81 remember one night on deck when
the weather was terrible. It was as
black as pitch, and man couldn't see
where he was going or 60 where he
wanted to go. A seaman bumped into
X, and quick as flash X hit
out, striking the man in the chest. In
stantly saw in the darkness great
arm and fist go up, and l expected to
see X--(a little fellow he was, with a
shrill. high-pitched voice) smashed into
the deck planking by the weight and
strength of the powerful seaman who
lowered over him. But in that instant
X raised his thin voice in an angry
cry.
Look out theren he screamed shrilly.
Remember you are striking the officer
of the deck!' And then saw the great
fist and arm sink down, slowly and hes
itatingly, as the man yielded to the Of
ficer of the deck. But hatred in his
heart, the passion that had prompted
him to crush his officer, the savagery
that was in him-the man could not
sink them as he could draw down his
powerful arm. l don't believe there
was ever a man more hated by his infe-
riors than X, and all on account of
his nagging and his petty tyranny.
"One day some of the crew were
lowering the topgallant yard. X
stood under them on the deck, directing
the work, looking at them now and
then to nag them with some piping cry.
None of us in the wardroom ever knew
how it happened. There was no sound
in advance, no cry Of warning, no wild
yell as always happens when there is
an accident on shipboard. Suddenly
the topmast came away from those who
were lowering it, caught X, un-
warned and unprepared, carried him
down heavily to the deck, and he was
dead. That was allan accident if
ever evidence counted for anything.
The men could not explain how the top
gallant yard got away from them. and
when thing like that starts to fall
there is no stopping it.
But have often wondered over it.
What could those sailors tell if they
woodland they never do tell any
thing! How strange that there should
have been no warning cry to enable
him to jump aside, and how strange
that it should have been X, who
was so hated to die in that way!"