The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-04-18

bier station? And what of the 800 sea-
men OF the sinking ship, heir captain
and officers? What Of men who stood
back while their wives, daughters, wo-
men folks and children were lowered
over the side? Imagination is too weak
to rathom all that they must have
gone through in those hours and IS
minutes from the moment the steamer
struck to that last second OF all when
the proudest vessel that ever floatell
was swallowed qR BY the sea. HeyssR ds
a story that meyer VIII be tS1do Y, if65S5!F:;;
tai ear and tie truth il. al .its 4GffSE;J
male SeloquencS can only pc eoRjssss:l
tqrsan Have ryop thought sYfaf II Is,
mi tie, dead OF night, In a. fed, Of floatt::
Ing Ice, 500. miles from shore, prasti. !
cally in mid.ocean, 70 stand by, say.
farewell for all time to your loved
ones, witness them vanishing from
your sight in an open boat. possibly
to encounter new perils not to be es-
timated, while for you 1t is but to walt,
without hope of succor or chance to
escape, until the ship goes down?
That Is a picture every man may con.
lure up for himself. And yet we may
be certain that, for the most part,
these men, passengers and crew alike,
were not craven. You may be sure
there we're fortltude, courage and
herolsm; that II we could know all
that happened on that death ship vel
should find a great deal to admire In
American nanhood and much to com.
mend in the sturdy bearing OF our
cousins from across the seas, OF what.
ever blood. The best traditions Of
the sea, we are told were lived UP 10,
to tho death! That Is to say. women,
children and the helpless or sick were
saved first-and the seamen went
down wish ,their. ship! Nor need there
be mlsgivfngs that the group. Of. men
more or less distinguished in litera.
ture, art, finance, business and the pro-
LESSONS who are supposed to have per.
ished failed in the qualities OF self
sacrifice, chivalry and valor when
they found themselves face to face
with4gEtnr Tate's IrreVocable decree.
| WesSaSsbe confident that they went
10 thefr death nobly and with 'becom-
ing dignity-for there is a Providence,
you may believe It or not, which inter-
poses benefcent influence as the
soul is about to leave the body, HUI
man beings are prepared for death
sometimes hastily and in other IN.
stances at leisure; and 1t is well WITH
in tho faith of believers to reason that
IL the few hours during which the IL
tanlcC kept afloat there was saving
grace4thrown. about the doomed hun.
drcds which composed their minds,
quieted their physical fears, and
warmed their hearts, SO that when the
awful plunge came they we're not
wholly "as them that are without
hope" At least the thought that such,
may lave been the case VIII eRrry Us.
comfort 10 the bereayed households, I,
Fie.STolS jaaffsif 5ls q i A. !;
emplI6catlpn Of the Limitations q6'
man. what is MANI" asks the Psalm
list, and then he describes the authori
ity and power conferred upon man by
the Creator, who has given him do:
minlon over whatsoever passeth
through the paths OF the seas" But
that dominion does not extend to the
forces of nature, and only one Man IN
The history of the world has been able
to. walk upon the waters. We have
submarines that can travel under wa
ter, and great vessels that plough
through the sea at express train speed,
but the ocean is still defiant and un.
challenged in its might. The unsink-
ing ship has not yet been built. The
Titanic was the so.called last word
in marine construction, but 1t Is gone.
size, strength, beauty, comfort ana
speed we're all there-and presumably
safety; but. she lies two miles down
ON tho floor OF the ocean, her first voy'
age never finished, complete loss,
the sepulcher of 1900 men. The lin
ltatlons of man were proven In the
fact that she sank, IN the fact that she
was not safe, and in the fact that alt;
err collision, 1t was not possible 10
save all passengers, much less her
crew. Mans limitations were shown
also In Capt. Smiths fatal attempt TO
pass through and defy the ice field In.
stead OF either turning about and with.
drawing from 1t or changing his
course south and running away from
It. He overestimated the strength and
capacity OF his man'made leviathan.
He matched 1t against something not
made with hands. and he loss out. But
the helplessness Of the people on the
Titanic after the lireboats had rowed
out. Of harms way was still more
striking illustration Of mans limita'
lions. There was one man worth
S15O,OOO,O0O and another worth $780,
100000; yet both, like common deck
hands, we're reduced to absolute In.
aptitude, their Limitations exhausted
and no earthly resource or power they