The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-23

Chief Maguire's appeal for a fire drill
In the public schools of Savannah
and refuting the claim that school
houses seldom IL ever burned up. or
down, In the day time, l noted one or
TWO cases. Since then four school
buildings, two In Florida, one in Geor-
gla and one near Chicago, have been
burned during the school sessions, and
two were safely emptied of pupils by
the fire drill. One case was very ex-
citing, that at Evanston, ILL., As soon
as the fire was discovered the musi-
clan seated herself at the piano and
began to play for the fire drill march,
then the alarm was turned on and the
pupils marched out in good order and
perfect safety, but the musician and
the head teacher escaped only by
crawling out through the dense smoke
on their hands and knees. The fire
drill has been too we'll tested in many
such cases to be considered an expert
ment, and Chief Mcguire has ample
proof that his appeal is well-founded.
L have seen the fire drill practiced re-
peatedly and have never known it
to fail in accomplishing its object.
Mr.. William Riley Boyd, in a pri-
vate letter, seems to think 1 am too
hard on Gen. Miles in the Jeff Davis
matter. Not at all! l have no unkind
feeling. no unforgiving spirit. 1 sim
ply said, and re-aftirm, that he can
never live long enough, nor rise high
enough in rank, to see that dark stain
removed from his military record.
The cold, cruel facts of this act of in
humanity cannot be melted into obliv-
ion by any amount Of forgiveness.
am as old and as full of forgiveness
and peaceful aspirations as Friend
Boyd, and have done ten times as
much humane and Christian work OF
all kinds as has fallen to his later
years; but 1 am not carried off my
feet" by isms or notions or schemes
that are in direct conflict with the
worlds historic record. Andrew Car
negie becomes a "bloated' millionaire
from iron and steel that have gone in
to the battle ships of the nations; but
when his pocket is full to overlooking
with filthy lucre, he cries out against
war and warriors with a mighty
voice. And yet neither he or amy
other man offers substitute for war
that can be made effective for univer-
sal peace.
The Compulsory arbitration" dis
cussion in the Pan-American Congress
in Mexico City, reminds me of my first
experience with the Georgia Press AS
SOCldIlOlg III 1910 lUl1h, NI0u IL
met in the old city hall in Atlanta.
Several editors had been trying to
fight duels but could never find each
other at the appointed time and place,
and the thing had become somewhat of
disgrace to the profession. This re-
suited in the appointment of COM
mttee of staid veteran journalists to
arbitrate all future cases where editors
wished to resort to the Code" 1 re-
member we'll how one of the fighting
editors referred to above, who was in
the meeting, took the matter to
heart" and in a trembling voice asked
if an editor would be compelled to fight
a duel if the committee so decided.
Grady spoke up and said he would
most assuredly have to fight. And the
inquiring editor again buried his face
in his handkerchief and another muf-
fled grown escaped him. Compulsory
Arbitration has not and will not en-
tirely suppress fighting on the part of
individuals and nations. Gen. Dan
Sickles, however, thinks the Civil War
could have been averted by arbitration
and takes issue with Gen. Stewart L.
Woodford on that point. We all know
that every effort on the part of the
aplest statesmen of the North and the
South failed to secure a peaceful set
Element OF the vexed questions that
war alone seemed destined to arbitrate
and settle. Dan Sickles himself was a
congressman in those early days, but
he failed to arbitrate and so went into
the war and lost leg in battle
Sidney Herbert