New-York tribune., 1908-11-15
UNVEIL SHAFT TO
PRISON SHIP DEAD
NR. T4FT"S TRIBUTE TO
M4RTYRS.
Governor Hughes a Speaker at Cere-
mony Witnessed By Large is
sembly IN Brooklyn.

guns, the playing of the Dead March i'm
Saul" and with President-eIect Taft. Governor
Hughes and others standing bare headed. the
prison ship martyrs monument dedicated
yesterday afternoon The enshrouding flag. top
ping the 145 feet of shaft. was slowly lowered
and the memorial. alluded to by all the speakers
at the dedication ceremony as q tardy recogni-
tion of the heroism of the thousands who died in
the prison hulks in Wallabout Bay was unveiled.
multitude Indifferent to the alternate SHOW.
rain and sleet gathered the plaza Fort
Greene Park The unveiling followed the ad-
dress of General Luke E, Wright the Secretary
Of War, who handed the keys TO Governor
Hughes. and the cheering that followed the Sec
retary's These, sir are the keys" were quickly
stiled as the big flag bIlOwed. the guns doomed
the smoke from the artillery settled the
crowd and the band played the solemn march.
The parade. with nearly five thousand men in
line, started soon after I O'Clock. Long before
that time. from where the head of the column
first defed, Bedford and Division avenues with
the grand marshal. Major General Charles r
Roe at the head. the crowds had gathered all
along the line of march and about the plaza at
Fort Greene Park The buildings Haunted the
red. white and blue in flags and bunting It was
day Of dedication for all the citizens or Brook
lyn. but their number was augmented by thou
sands from Queens and Manhattan and from
New Jersey The paraders service uni
forms but umbrellas were rarity among the
spectators. despite the lowering character of the
day At the exercises around the shaft one
umbrella was put up when the sIeet began to he
troublesome.
The regiments Of the city we're in the line of
march, but there were few veterans of the civil
War. The Old Guard. three companies strong
under Major = H. Stadler. dropped in back oc
the Naval Reserve and stuck it out until the
last of the six miles had been covered The
Civil War veterans did not drop out. either nor
the members of the Tammany Society. and the
shutting Of the great marching throng and the
far away notes of the many bands of music
were a significant undertone throughout the
ceremonies
MR. TAFT IN GOOD FORM
The exercises began with the playing Of This
Star SpangIed Banner by the I'D Regiment
Band. The Rev. DR.. : Parkes Cadnan deIiv-
cred the prayer. and then poem by Thomas
Walsh was read by the author President-eiect
Taft delivered the Grafton. IL was the fist tim
he had appeared in pUblie ceremony since his
election and he looked refreshed by his rest His
voice was excellent and he read his address
with impressiveness He drew a parallel be-
tween the treatment OF the prison ship martyrs
and that given to the prisoners m the Russian
japanese conflict. under the requirements Of the
Hague convention This ne said was most
ization and Of what might be expected here
after.
Mr. Taft did not omit any of the harrow
ing details Of the suferings on the prison ships.
and justified General Washington for refusing,
To exchange British soldiers for the sailors IN
confinement He was emphatic in his decIara-
ton that the inhumanity was due to neglect and
not to design
General Wright presented the monument to
the in, F,ft
When he alluded the martyrs as Yankee
rebels Judge Taft smiled
Men make nation great. the Secretary said.
and not material resources. and monuments wers
erected to the memory Of national heroes. nor
lest We forget. but because We cannot forget
Their deeds, he said, renewed among the citizens
of the nation the inspiration to loyalty. to good
citizenship. When he started To say that hs
transferred the memorial to the state Governor
Hughes got up and there were instant cheers
Mr. Taft had removed his hat when he started
his oration but put it again when the great
crowd in unison demanded that he should cover-
Governor Hughes received the same call
SPEECH OF PREsI ELECT.
The President-eIect was introduced by :. v.
White. the president of the Prison Ship Mar
tvrs' Association who presided at the cers-
monies. Mr.. Taft said
We are met to-day to pay d nations debt
long since recognized, but most tardily provided
for. The monument which We dedicate COM
memOrates the sacrifice for their country Of the
lives of upward Of ten thousand Americans. who
were hurried more than t25 years ago. into
what seemed for years to pe IHslOri0Us oh
livon- They died because of the cruelty Of their
immediate CustOdianS and the neglect Of those
who higher in authority Were responsible for
their detention They were the prisoners u
King George the Third. captured in the War IF
the Revolution Circumstance combined 10
make their fate harsh. cruel and sOrdid- Their
~ aud
served. and We who assemble in grateful reCOl-
lection of their patriotic self-saCrifCe COM
PEELED TO refer to them "a the unknown dead
The significance of this Circumstance in itself
is great for il showed the lack Of system and
carelessness that attended the custody OF the
prisoners and an Indifference to their names
and fate harnOniZing completely with their
physical treatment We only know of the in
Vulnerable burials under insufficient soil. on the
shores OF Long Island, near what is now the -
Brooklyn Navy Yard. and our estimate Of ten
thousand dead is mere estimate
The chief prison ship the Jersey. There
were other old huks used prison ships before
There were ships called hospital ships which
were supposed to offer a refuge for the sick Of
the regular prison ships In all Of them. how
ever. there were the neglect and cruelty that
led to a large percentage OF deaths among the
prisoners; but the details in respect 10 them
can be gathered only from fugitive letters of the
victims and not from official sources
The British commanders generally denied the
allegations made On behalf of the American pris-
oners from time TO time. and with the close OF
the war. and the absence of any cOmprehenSiv
and report in respect to them we
are left to piece out the evidence as best we
may and to explain the shocking percentage OF
the dead that were gathered each day and given
a hasty and insufficient burial We have more
information in respect to the Jersey hulk than
in regard to any other. and enough to confirm
in the strongest way the outrageous and inde-
fensible cruelty with which the American oris-
oners were treated resulting in the death Of
large proportion of them. death which Is the
more horrible as u proceeded from lingering dis