The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-09-04
By JAMES n. MORROW.


short coat-he drew the picture himself.
when he had become one OF the worlds
most famous men-and a bakers roll I'M
der each arm and another in his hand.
which he was eating. after a hard and
hungry journey from Boston. walked
through Market street. in Philadelphia.
early on a Sunday morning.
A girl, Deborah Dean by name. stand
ing in front Of her fathers house. no
ticed the boy. and smiled. Most girls
would have laughed. The boy passed on
without a word. However. Benjamin
Franklin had seen the maiden who was
TO be his wife.
II Is a quaint and familiar story. In
the course Of years Benjamin and De-
borah were married, ''she helping TO fold
and stitch pamphlets, tending shop, pur-
chasing old linen rags for the paper-mal-
ers" &C. &c. My breakfast" Franklin
said in his autobiography. was for
long time bread and milk (no teal. and
ate it out Of a twO-penny earthen por-
ringer. with a pewter spoon"
Left Estate 10 Daughter.
When Franklin died he left an estate
valued at $4,000. A large part Of II
was willed 10 Sarah Bache. his only
daughter. Sallie Franklin had received
$500 worth OF clothes and furniture" as
a wedding portion from her father-the
pewter spoon and two-penny porringer
had vanished. just as they do nowadays
when men are thrifty, and have talent
for making money. She married Rich
ard Bache, who. coming from England.
had settled in Philadelphia. where he en-
gagged in the business OF soliciting and
writing insurance for ocean ships, at
which he made a fortune.
Thus introduced on one side. genealog-
ically. I now bring Richard Wainwright.
who is Sallie Bache's great-grandson. into
the foreground OF this combined inter-
view and article. What" asked him.
do you know about your celebrated
great eat-grandfather?"
Nothing" he answered, except what
I have read in books. I am interested
IN him, Of course, but have neither had
the time nor the inclination to do any
investigating around the roots or under
the branches OF my family tree. Being a
sailor has kept me busy. so far"
A terse and serious man is Wainwright,
but courteous. patient and cheerful. An
admiral now. and one Of the new aids OF
the Secretary OF the Navy he is as I'M
reserved and hearty. and just as intense
and energetic as when a lieutenant or a
lieutenant commander. He was on the
Maine. quietly talking in the captains
Office, when II was sunk In the harbor
Of Havana by n Spanish mine hidden
beneath the filthy waters. He sent the
Pluton and Furor-"sharks OF the sea.
John D. Long called them-to the beach
and TO the bottom. within four miles OF
port. on that memorable Sunday morning
IN July. twelve years ago.
Heroic and Gallant Service.
Il have always thought IT," again
using the language Of Long. then secre-
tary of the Navy, "the most heroic and
gallant individual instance Of fighting
during the war" And Wainwright did
the work with a little yacht OF wood and
q crew OF inexperienced men!
Leaner than Franklin-wiry as an In
dian-and taller, dare say, lacking an
inch OF being a siX-footer Wainwright
has the philosophers immovable Jaw.
as well as his resolute and courageous
character. The eyes. small and brown,
ere fierce or gentle. as the mood within
and the mustache. a tawny brown
matches the color tone OF the skin,
deeply tanned by long service in the sun
and wind. Moreover. a youthful man
for HIS sixty years. three-fourths OF
which he has been a sailor. clrcling the
earth by canvas and steam. first in wood
and then in Steel and ultimately COM
manding battle ship Of the latest
model
Although prize essayist for the maya
zine printed in the interest OF the naval
service, Admiral Wainwright is shock
ingly deficient in the gift Of verbal ex-
preston when he attempts to converse
about himself So the interviewer who
talks with him must be something Of a
diplomat. and also a dentist 1 sought
first-hand information about the Maine
and the sinking OF the Spanish de
mons"-once more going 10 Long for a
descriptive rame-but I approached those
dramatic subjects by a timely inquiry
concerning present duties.
On stan of Aids.
The suggestion was made several wears
ago that the Secretary OF the Navy be
given the skilled counsel of a small staff
Of aids, or fighting men. However, the
suggestion was ignored until George Won
Lengerke Meyer came into the depart
ment under President Taft Practical
sailors have long declared that they
know more about ships than do the bu-
reau chiefs whose lives have been largely
spent at Office desks in Washington.
Meyer, going to the sea for expert knowl-
edge. has detailed Wainwright TO control
the movement OF war vessels-they de-
part and return largely by his recon-
mendation.
Broadly, what is the policy Of the gov
eminent in that respect2" asked.
ITO keep the battle ships together"
was the answer. I'VE now have sixteen
Of them in a single fleet on the Atlantic
Ocean. There ought 10 be a feet Of
equal size on the Pacific Some day, I
hope, we shall havo a navy adequate TO
protect the country, East and West Two
fleets Of sixteen ships each would require
about forty-two ships altogether. be-
cause five ships in feet. as figure it
out. would be undergoing repairs at the
navy yards all the while"
VIII Grow in Size.
VIII battle ships continue to grow in
size2'
THAT IS a mooted question. Congress
at It's last session authorized the building
Of two ships that will be as large as any
in tho world; each is to be armed with
ten fourteen-inch guns. No one can tell
when the limit of size will be reached"
How did you get into the navy?" I in