The Washington herald., 1911-02-05
By JAMES b. MORROW.

By JAMES b. MORROW.
Sculptor or molder-the one working
with statues and the other with plow-
shares or stove-handles-may have more
metal than he needs. It is as good as
the metal that has been poured. but the
flask is full and running over.
So with the newspaper interviewer. he
can have bronze, iron, or pewter be-
yond the limit Of his room-not the dross
Of his crucible, but honest material.
which it would be a sin against econom-
ics and the craft to throw away.
once asked Admiral Robley D. Evans,
for instance. il he had any personal rec
objections Of David D. Porter, who helped
to hammer Vicksburg into submission.
and who. in the judgment of some men.
was the foremost sea fighter of the civil
war.
Yes: i blackened his eye in front Of
Fort Fisher" Admiral Evans answered.
Il was on the Powhattan, a youngster.
and was firing at the Confederate bat
teries. sighting the gun myself. Ad-
miral Porter came alongside. Noticing
that I was doing some pretty accurate
shooting. he asked Preston a friend of
mine. IL he knew my name. Preston
said had been one of the crack shots of
my class. A large gun on a high eleva-
ton had been giving US considerable
trouble. Admiral Porter, through Pres
ton. ordered me to stop 1t. II could.
Il put an eleven-inch shell filed with
shrapnel at exactly the right spot 1t
burst and killed or wounded all of the
twenty-three men who were serving the
gun. A cousin of mine was hit among
the rest. He told all about it afterward.
A large grain of powder from my own
gun didn't burn, but was carried by the
wind to where Admiral Porter stood
watching me shoot. Striking him near
the tip Of his cheekbone, it caused him
intense pain. The following morning I
went to his flagship on business. There
was a bandage across the upper part Of
his face.
Young man. he said to me. you are
the only person in or out of the navy
who mas ever blackened my eye"
Riley and the Hunchback.
Formerly, James Whitcomb Riley
tested his verses-and tested" is, the
word he used in talking to me-by recit-
ing them in public. Those that obtained
sembled in course of time, and made
fesS that he would rather trust the people
than the critics.
IF. Hopkinson Smith," I remarked to
him, would say the question is idiotic
but let me ask which of your poems do
you like the best?''
"A writer he replied. cant estimate
his own work. He tolls over a poem
that he thinks is very fine. When he
reads it to a hall full of intelligent men
and women there is no response. He is
surprised and maybe chagrined. Then he
reads something that is very ordinary.
in his own opinion, and is overwhelmed
with compliments. / haven't given pub
iic readings for six or eight years. When
1 was roaming around the country with
Bill Nye and others I watched my audi
ences closely. II any person got up and
left he was followed if possible and Ques-
toned.
Il remember I had some verses about
a happy hmchback. He was a child
Of poverty, and was about to die and
go where weak backs are made strong
and crooked backs are made straight.
During the recitation, l would often
stiffen my neck and stoop slightly to
suggest the poor little fellows deformity.
One night q man and woman arose and
walked out. When 1 learned that they
had a son who was a hunchback. I put
the verses away and never read them
again
Secretary Nngel in q Riot.
: During the year 1898 there was a strike |
Of street railroad men in St. Louis |
Charles Nagel, now Secretary of Com |
merce and Labor, was then a practicing |
lawyer. At the outset he sympathized |
with the men. He was opposed to a call |
being made on the national government |
for help, saying that even if the mails |
were delayed now and then, st. Louis !
was not justified in pulling Washington |
nto a purely local disturbance by the |
hair of the head After cars had been |
blown up with dynamite, and women pas
'epgers assaulted, Nagel offered his serv-
ceS to the sheriff. Inside ot six hours
he was in command of a company of
twenty-five men, thirty of whom were
college graduates. Armed with riot guns,
which discharged seven bullets at a time
md made a noise that could be heard
or a mile, and clothed in Rough Rider
the company remained on duty
or twenty-one days.
whenever I got tho men in battle for
nation" Secretary Nsgel told me- Il Or
ered them to unload their weapons. Nov
nd then a gun went OF through igno-
anae or cIunlsiness. and SO appointed an
n d(.icial unloader. We made the first
rrests. I kept ten samples and let the
theirs 60. The samples were sent to the
l