The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-10
DEATH AND ACCIDENTS
 OF OUR PRESIDENTS
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From the Washington Herald.
 Every school boy knows the story or the martyred Presidents, but few persons know the precautions taken to prevent a recurrence of such assassinations. More over, few are aware how near to death many of our chief executives have been from the attacks of cranks or from ac- cidental causes. Only good fortune and the vigilance of secret service men have prevented more White House tragedies.
 The list of accidents in which Presi- dents figured is a long one. Twice since President Roosevelt has been in office has he escaped death by only a matter of inches. At Dalton, Mass, September 3, 1902, a trolley car hit the carriage in which he was riding and demolished 1t. Secret Service Operator William Craig, who was riding on the box with the driver, was instantly killed. MT. Roose- welt suffered several injuries which neces- sitated his going to the hospital for an operation a few weeks later Again he had a narrow escape when, on october 26, 1905. the warship on which he was returning from New Orleans to Washing ton was hit by a fruit steamer near the mouth of the Mississippi river. There was a panic aboard the vessels, but for tunately no lives were lost. The accident happened at night, and was due to misunderstanding of signals.
 General Washington, while returning to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia. was in runaway, but one of the outriders, at the risk of his life. caught the lead horse and checked the four-horse team.
 President Jackson had his face burned with powder and the skin lacerated by the blast when he stood too close to cannon that was firing salute in his honor on the occasion of Presidential visit to Boston.
 President Tyler, on O trip down the Potomac on the sloop or war Trenton lost two of his cabinet officers. who were accidentally killed aboard ship.
 President Adams and Congress were forced to flee from Philadelphia during a yellow fever epidemic, Adams spending the time at the bedside of sick wife, while Congress took up a temporary abode in Trenton, N. J.
 President Jackson. history sorrowfully relates, beat a nasty retreat from Wash lngton when the British burned the capitol in the war of 1872. He thus es- capped being taken a war prisoner.
 That the lives of the Presidents have not been uneventful can be judged from these incidents. All have been exposed to the attacks of men of diseased men, tality, of the class of Booth, Guiteau and Czolgosz The precautions of the secret service are never relaxed. Here is a body or men, lrdlHe0 Tar more eIIlcleHlly tilill the Scotland Yard detectives. whose sole duty it is to see that no harm befalls the nations chief and that no suspicious characters are permitted to approach the White House or the temporary abode of the President, should he be away from the capital. These men, under the eff ficient direction of Chief John E. Wilkie work as secretly as the spies of the Eu- ropean monarchs and much more eff ciently
 Many suspicious character is notified on his arrival in Washington that his presence is not desired and he is sum- marily ushered from the city, and he leaves. Just at present greater precau- tion is taken to guard President Roose- welt because of the unrest in financial conditions and because of the antagonism to him on account of his attitude on the trust question. The man who has gone insane because of losses in the stock market is more dangerous than any an-