Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-05-16


have been picked up after the ship
had gone down. Neither did any man
] believe that Archibald Oracle, who
was a fellow passenger with Major
! Butt on the Titanic, would be found
among those saved except under the
same chance Of rescue that others
would have after the steamship had
gone down.
Archibald W Butt was not a West
Pointer. Archibald Oracle is not
/ graduate Of West Point, but he was
at tie academy for some years and
/ his father was a graduate of the year
/ 1854. Army men knew Butt and
knew Oracle, and when the news came
/ that Oracle was saved some of his
friends were glad IN a way and deeply
sorry in another way. The first re-
port had it that Oracle had place
in one of the lifeboats with the wom-
| en- and children, and some few men
believed this report.
Relieved by the Truth.
| When the story came of the way in
which Gracie's life was saved Wash
| ington residents, army and civilian,
We're relieved. He was saved by one
of those rare accidents of chance"
which one finds in Clark Russell's sea
tales. Oracle stood with the men
while the women were saved and, like
Butt, faced willingly what seemed GER
tain death.
After it was learned that Archibald
! Oracle had been saved some army
men who did not know him shook their
heads, but seemed willing to wait I'M
til news came which might clear the
matter up. There are West Point
classmates of Gracie's in Washington
who in the face of the story that he
was in lifeboat with the women and
| children stuck to their faith in him.
At the Metropolitan club the matter
was under discussion. A brigadier
general who was at West Point with
Oracle said: wait, he was bred game
and he is game; he'll come out of this
squarely."
Archie Butt was we'll known in
Washington in both army and civilian
| service. Oracle was less well known,
| but it was the feeling in the service
| that the spirit of the soldier in both
men would sustain them il manifest
duty. Men wanted both Butt and
| Oracle to die rather than to learn
that either had been saved at the
expense of a fellow being. Gracie's
rescue was of the miracle kind and
has apparently nothing about it to
show that he did not live up the best
army traditions.
Many Capital Fans.
Congress takes a deep interest
in baseball that is not represent
| ed alone by an effort to investi-
gate so-ca1led baseball trusts. There
are fans in the senate and fans in the
house and, to get away from congress,
| there are fans In the White House and
! in all the departments Of government
President Taft is a fan and frequently
| attends the ball games on the grounds
| of the Washing ton American League
| club
The greatest fan In Washington is
| the vice president of the United
States, James S. Sherman. He has
been missing some games this year
because he has had to miss them, not
because he wanted TO. Last year he
attended nearly every game that was
| played on the baseball grounds.
Senators Smith and Townsend of
Michigan and Senator Culberson of
| Texas are fans of high degree. There
! is in baseball a hit which is known as
Texas Lacquer" which is a base hit
rather of the pop fly nature which
! lands just back of one of the basemen
| too far in the rear for him to get it
and too far to the front for an out
fielder to get 1t. It is not much of
hit for length or strength, but it is
| safe. Senator Culberson does not like
the name Texas leguer as applied to
! this hit. He says the state of Texas
| is so big that home runs can be made
| there without danger that the ball will
! fall outside the state boundaries, and
that moreover Texans believe in long,
| hard drives. He wants some one to
account for the name Texas Lacquer
as applied to this safe but compare
lively feeble hit.
VreeIand's Wonderful Scoring.
Representative Vreeland of New
/ York state is a banker and a baseball
fan. He goes to every game which it
| is possible for him to attend without
| interfering with his house duties. Mr..
| Vreeland was a member of the great
monetary commission which framed
the currency reform bill which is now
pending before congress- He knows
figures and finance as he knows his
! baseball It is said that the score
card which he keeps is a marvel, be-
| ing a detailed account of the game
| covering many more points than the
official scorers ever think of putting
down.
Representative Nicholas Longworth
| Of Ohio, who ia a son-in-law Of former
President Theodore Roosevelt, is an
other of the house baseball fans.
When there are no pressing legisla-
| tive duties Mr.. Longworth leaves his
seat IN a sort of nonchalant way
about three o'clock In the afternoon
and saunters out into the corridor. AS
| soon as he gets up it is noticed that
a good many fellow members rise
| lIOII LHeI1 SSdCS anu 0oNhi1SA NO"H 49,
aisles in equally nonchalant manner.
| 1t might be supposed that this goodly
company was simply going out into
/ the corridor to get a drink Of water.
The illusion is lost, though, when the
/ corridor is reached. They streak it
| for a car which goes to the corner OF
/ Florida avenue and Seventh street,
| and the rest Of the afternoon they
spend watching the greatest game the
| sun ever looked on.
It's Characteristics.