The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-01-03
AN UNREWARpED HERO.

We understand that recent appll
cation was made to the Carnegie Hero
| Fund Commission in behalf Of Mr.. Will
| liam Biggs, 4 stage-driver in the south
ern part of Utah. II will be remem
bercd that Mr.. Thomas Harris, whose
marriage was recently announced il
Ogden, was beneficiary of the Car
negio Hero Fund some years ago, the
commission In charge of that fund send
ing its secretary out here to make per
Biggs matter. however, the commission
refuses to givo favorable consideration
The facts in the Blggs case, as The
Tribune reported sometime ago, showed
that Biggs, tage.driver, had his jaw
broken in two places, his collar bone
broken, and his leg crushed by the
kicks of his horses. nccessitating an
amputation. He was driving a stage
and the horses being frightened ran
away, tipping over the vehicle. But Mr..
Biggs retained his faculties, guiding his
team with the stage dragging on one
of its sides and, circling the horses
about, forced them upon hitching post
where they were stopped. Although he
could have saved himself by letting go
of the lines, he held fast in order to
save the one woman passenger and her
little son, who were in the stage
Mr.. S, M. Wilmot, manager of the
Carnegie fund, in declining to extend
its benefits to Mr.. Bggs, explained the
purpose Of tho fund thus;
The Carnegie Hero Fund applies to
cases OF lifc-saving in which the rcscues
or attempted rescues are attended by con-
siderable risk on the part OF the rescuer.
And such acts must have been performed
by persons the nature OF whose duties
not Following their regular vocations, does
not necessarily require them TO perform
such acts.
Evidently tho point upon which the
application in behalf of Mr. Biggs was
rejected is that it was in the line of
his duty in his regular vocation to per
form the act that he did, sacrificing
himself for the protection Of the pas
sengers i'll his care, 1t is true that Mr.
Biggs ran IA critical risk; it is true that
he was badly hurt and permanently
crippled. But under the terms of the
Carnegie Hero Fund foundation he was
required to do these things in the ma
ture of his duty.
We understand that Mr.. Biggs' s
friends are resentful at the rejection
OF his claim. They show that Mr.. Biggs
took great chances of injury, if not
of death; that his missing leg is the
proof Of his hurts, to say nothing of
his broken jaw and broken collar bone.
All of this is true. But under the
quotation given, the Carnegie Hero
Fund is not for such AS he, who risk
their lives and their bodies, who re-
tain their presence of mind, and sacri-
fee themselves in the line of duty. 1t
is for those who volunteer outside of
the line of their vocation or duty,
who come TO the rescue when their
vocation does not require it, Of those
who are in peril, who may benefit from
The fund. Mr.. Biggs's friends in their
loyalty to him evidently overlook this
main point in the limitations whereby
the Carnegie Hero Fund Commissioners
are bound, They may say, and with
justice, that man who risks his life
for the safety of others is equally
worthy, whether it is in the line Of his
duty or not. But however true this
may be, that is not the basis on which
the Carnegie Hero Fund is founded and
must be administered. The quotation
given settles that point beyond all dis
pute; and under that limitation the
commission is clearly bound to exclude
tho claim Of Mr.. Biggs. 1t is unfor
tunate for Mr. Biggs that this limita.
lion is binding upon the commission
in its administering of the fund. But
there 1t is, and there is no escape from
it,