The Washington times., 1902-12-28

- CONSIDERABLE space is givcu in
the annual reports Of the Life
~ Saving Service 70 a recital Of
the operations OF the station
crews Of that bureau attended bv fatali-
ties. Many Of these stories Of battle
with wind and wave tell OF heroic deeds
unsurpassed in the worlds annals Of
Hfe-saving. and indicate a devotion TO
duty never excelled.
The men who perform the actual work
Of rescue are humble coast fishermen. in
most cases Of meager education. and
strangers to all the word culture COM
prehends. but they know the changing
moods Of the sea, and their arduous
struggles to wrest a livelihood from its
unfrieudly bosom have given them a
knowledge Of surfmanship which, applied
&c the business Of saving lives. has
piaced the United States Saving
Service at the head of similar institu-
lions The world over.
Startling Results.
To Major Horace L. Piper. assistant
general superintendent Of the service.
falls the duty Of chronicling these ro-
mantle and thrilling tales for insertion
In the service reports. To a representa-
tive OF The Times this official talked
Interestingly relative to the work sc-
rompHshed By these me1-work Of which
the public hears only through occasional
brief news items. The results attained
by the service are recl,oned in figures
by the number Of lives rescued and the
value Of property save5-and 20 anyone
interested only in the statistical side Of
the bureaus achievements il is worthy
Of note that through fits agency during
the last thirty years over 10000 persons
have escaped possible death by drown
ing. and vessels and merchandise valued
az upward Of s15o,00o0oO have been
Iaved. Even excluding the humanitarian
feature Of the enterprise. e has paid
big dividends on the capital invested,
since from a starting appropriation of
S2OO 600 in 1871 the amount expended
last year for the purpose was only
trihe over a million end a half dollars
This showing. however. gives no con-
ceptioa Of the perils encountered or the
courage exhibited by the rank and file
IN line Of duty.
A Great Disaster.
by far the greatest disaster the serv-
See has sustained during many years.
said Major Piper. "befeli the crew Of
the Monomoy station on March II last,
when seven Of our men met death in the
breakers while attempting TO rescue five
men from the barge wsdena, stranded
on shovelful shoaI, Cape Cod. The men
taken of the foundered vessel also lost
their lives at the same time. The
Wadena and another barge. the John c.
Fitzpatrick. were bound from Newport
News. Va, to Boston. with cargoes Of
coal and were in tow Of the tug Sweep
stakes. On the night Of March II the
vessels we're overtaken by a northeast
gale and while seeking an anchorage.
struck on the shoal mentioned. where
they remained for several days. unable
70 get Of but IN comparative safety.
the tug meantime leaving the barges and
proceeding 10 its destination TO engage
wreckers to lighter the cargoes. The
wrecling outfit arrived on the scene in
due season, and continued it's work with
Interruptions until the evening Of March
I6. when the weather became so rough
that the tug Peter Smith, which had re-
placed the Sweepstakes. took all the men
except Eve or the Wadtna and put into
tiIe harbor OF Hyannis.
"The keeper OF the Monomoy station
had kept close watch upon the barges