The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-11
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
MEN EXPELLED FROM COLLEGE
WHO WON FAME.

| "AAO WV
Comments on the London Fire Sys-
tem-Rcmarks Relative to a GeOr-
gia Hall of Fame"-sOme Matters
Bearing Upon the Fact That Gen.
Washington Was n MasOn-The
Medical Profession Has Furnished
Some of the Country's Most Heroic
Defenders-An Interesting souve-
nir-Other Matters of General In
I tereSt.
Pine Crest villa, Maitland. Fla, Jan.
1O.-The appointment of Col. J. H. Es-
/ till as a member of the Board of Trus-
tees of the Georgia Confederate Sol
diers Home in Atlanta, gives to that
institution, a much needed official who
has had a long and successful expert
/ ence as president of Bethesda Orphans
/ Home, and in connection with many
other associa tions. He carries to the
| board a ripe experience as thorough
/ ~ practical and successful business
man, and his advice and services will
! prove of great value to his associates
| on the board. He was himself a gall
! liant Confederate soldier as l can bear
| witness from personal observation at
| Bull Run, and while he opposes indis-
criminate pensions, he heartily ap-
proves of liberal pensions to all old
| Confederate soldiers, or their widows,
who are in INDECENT circumstances. The
Office in this case. sought the man,
| and he is the right man in the right
place.
! The statement in my last letter,
taken from the Atlanta Journal that
Admiral William Nephew King, of the
! Venezuelan navy, was fired" from
| West Point (Which should have been
! Annapolis) If it were indeed true-but
it is not-would not cast much of
cloud upon his past career. 1t must
| be borne in mind that Gen. Robert
| Toombs, the great Georgian" was
| fired" from the old Franklin college,
now the University of Georgia, and j.
| Fennimore Cooper, the famous novel
| list and historical writer, was fired"
| from Yale University. His name then
was plain James Cooper, under which
| he was a midshipman in the United
! States navy from 1903 to 1911. when he
| resigned and married my cousin, sis
| ter of Bishop De Lancey of New York.
l might add to the force of this para
| graph by stating that l can name sew
eral doctors of divinity. distinguished
| clergymen, who were fired" from West
| Point while cadets there years ago.
| and yet they "sowed their wild oats"
and became devout Christian men. One
! of these cadets was twice fired" for
| INSTRUMENTATION and bad conduct, but
| he died an honored Southern divine of
| the Episcopal Church.
The Boston Herald Of Sunday, Dec
| 49, 1902, contains a fine illustrated ar
ticle on the London Fire System"
| which l commend to Chief Mcguire of
the Savannah Fire Department. One
| of the pictures is a "Chute Fire Es-
cape Drill at an English School,"
| have several times spoken of our
American fire drill" for schools, but
this is one that, I think, ought to be
in use for all factories where a large
| number of children is employed, as
well as for public schools. The illus
! tration shows a very high three-story
school building. and from a window on
the top floor a big canvass chute
| reaches down slantingwise to the
street. 1t Is evidently a boys school,
| as only boys are to be seen coming
down the chute. The boy coming out
at the bottom is lying on his back.
anu DIS ne eLn6IStS lTOIu the ItlOull VI
| the chute he is caught by his COM
rades. OF course this Chute Fire
| Drill" is only to be used when all ordi-
| nary means of escape are cut off.
don't see why it might not be used, un-
! der such conditions, at a fire in a big
hotel. And these fires are now of
common occurrence and seldom with
out loss of life for want of just such
a fire chute escape"
The organization of a Yale Univer-
sity club in Savannah is a step in the
! right direction. Now let "the boys"
from the Virginia Military Institute
move in the same manner and form d
club or association. General Superin-
tendent w. B. Denham of the Allan
tic Coast Line Railway, not only a
graduate QS69), but former assistant
professor in that institution. would
make a most admirable president, and
Rev. w. NJ. Walton QS7D, arch deacon
of Atlanta, would make very excel
/ lent chaplain. Then there are duBig-
non, Grantland, Wyatt, Charlton,
Gibbs, Screven, Orme, Snowden, Gig
nilliat. Orme CA. JO, MacIntyre. Orme
and dozen or so Georgians whose
names l cannot now recall, but
enough to form a strong state organ
| ization of graduates. And these Snen
are mostly leaders in the professional
and business circles of the large cities
of Georgia, where they honor the
training of the NJ. V. 1.
A reference to the institute in pre-
vious letter called forth very inter-
esting response from Mr.. Francis d.
Wyatt of Savannah, a graduate in The
class of 1878. He says: Your allusion
to the V. M. l. brings a flood of memo
ries which are irresistible, but not the
less pleasant for all that. l
am a graduate of that grand institu-
ton, deservedly and appropriately
called The West Point of the South
The names you mention-her children
yes, her jewels, and an honor to their
alma mater, as we'll as their country,
were few among a number of others
equally distinguished. ! was of the
| class of '73, and Savannah was well
represented there, some of her most
! prominent citizens and business men
were in attendance during my course,
! including Gen. Supt. w. B. Denham
| of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway,
then a 'sub-professor' as the boys call
| ed them, who matriculated from Flori-
da." Mr.. w. speaks most tenderly of
the dear, quaint old town" of Lexing-
| ton, and the majestic splendor of the