The National tribune., 1906-03-15

/
| VA~S Industrial Savings aGi Los Co.,
| NCevhNC| "a Times building, Broadway,
| New York City.
| Brighten. Edward Wellman Ser
rell, civil engineer, who attained to
one of the first places in his profession
as the constructor of the Hoosac Tun-
\ mel and who also obtained high rank
| as a military engineer by the cOnstruc-
ton of the swamp Angel Battery in
front OF Charleston, is now lying in
an infirmary on Staten Island, to- which
| he was admitted as a free patient. He
came there last October. All the money
/ that he made by his great railway and
bridge jobs is gone. lost in unwise ven
! lures, and he has nothing to support
| him but a petty pension. Gen. Serre!I
| was born in New York City in 1925
and bred civil engineer, for which
profession he showed great ability, and
when he was but u was sent by the
| Government as member of a party
| of engineers to survey the Isthmus of
! Panama. He went all over. the promi-
nent routes, and also laid out a route
| of his own between San Bias and Pearl
|. Island Harbor, which he firmly held
| to be the cheapest and best of all. He
surveyed the route for the Panama
Railroad, and then came back to this
country to superintend the cOnStruc
| ton of the Niagara Suspension Bridge.
| During the next few years he made
rapid progress to the front of his pro-
fession, but gave 1t all up at the out
break of the war to enter the army.
In September, 1851, he began the Or
ganiZation of the 1st \. Y. Engineers.
also called SerreIPs Engineers, and be-
came Colonel of the regiment. He re-
manned in service until the close of the
war, and took part in 126 engagements.
He was Chief Engineer of the Tenth
Corps, and then became Chief Engineer
of the Department of the South. He
did a great work in devising the sys-
tem of parallels by which Fort Wag
ner was finally taken, after the first
assault had demonstrated that that
method of attack was hopeless. He
also built the battery by which F ort
Sumter was battered to ruins over the
head of Fort Wagner. Then he built
the famous Swamp Angel to lombard
Charleston, managing to get g founda
ton for his 300-pound gun II. 20 feet
Of mud. The remains of the Swamp
Angel are now set up in Trenton. n.
j., as a monument Three times Goa
gress passed him vote of thanks. and
gave him the privilege of the floor in
both Houses. In 1848 he married Miss
Jane Pound, and they had four chill
dren, two of whom are living. The
daughter is married to a Captain In
the Army and the son lives in Paris.
CDOl VI IL iuiii-
Der of the GeQerars friends went ac-
lively to work to induce Congress to
do something to make q proper provi-
sion for the last days of the old hero.
bill will probably be put through
giving him some form of relief.
Francis Burton Harrison has return
ed to New York from a trip to Pan
ANA, where he spent a week carefully
inspecting everything. He says that
when he went there he was antagon-
istic to the administration as a citizen
and a Democrat, and believed in the
charges against the management.
While in Panama he talked with al
most everybody of Importance on the
Isthmus, both American and foreign,
and inside and outside of the Govern
ment service. He has come to the
conclusion that the work is being eff
ciently and honestly done. There is,
of course, ground for minor criticisms,
but these are so trivial as to not affect
the execution of the great purpose in
the best way possible. There has not
been much actual progress in digging,
but the work of thorough preparation
has been well done. The jungle has
been cleared away, good houses and
hospitals have been fitted up and the
yellowfeVer mosquito has been COM
pletely banished, which is great tri-
umph for the American management.
lie IeelS tnat the main inlSldhe lHdt
we have made was in assuring the
Panamans that we had no intention
of interfering with their sovereignty
upon the Zone. We should have SOW
ereign rights there, and should also
take over the cities of Panama and
Aspinwall.
1t is regarded as significant that the
Republicans of the Eighth Congress
sional District of Ohio in convention
at Bellefontaine to renominate Repre-
sentative Ralph Cole. passed resolu
Roosevelt and Mr.. Cole, but ignoring
Senators Dick and Foraker.
Peter Duryea, the well-known race
horse breeder, has been defending a
suit brought against him by Sarah |
Madden. who claimed $4,000 damages
for breach of promise. Mr.. Duryea
was secretly married last August to
Viola Allen. The trial created a great
deal of sensation, but it's abrupt ter
mination was even more sensational. |
1t was suddenly stopped by the dec |
laration of the plaintiffs attorneys that
they would not go on with the trial. |
but there was more than a hint that
If there were further proceedings there |
would be a development of some eX- |
ceedingly crooked performance in |
Memphis for the beating of Lou Dill |
Ion. Apparently Mr.. Duryea feared
this, and in some way managed to Sc
cure stoppage of. the suit While |
racing men are all more or less un- |
scrupulous and will do substantially
anything to win, yet each of them has
a certain well-defined limit as to what
he will permit himself to do He is
fearful of passing this and losing his
standing among his fellow-grafters.
This seems to have been the case with
Mr.. Duryea.
All of the papers in Buffalo. without
regard to party, express their great
qualification over the reappointment of
Col. Charles A. Orr as Pension Agent
at that city.