The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-22
CHARITY GETS S501
FROM CONVICT SHIP
Captain Smith. Gives Entire Re-
ceipts to Community Christ
mas Tree.
BIG CROWD SEES THE SUCCESS
Hundreds Unable to Board An
cicnt Vessel During After
noon Rush Hour.

Prompted by the desire to give gen
erously to the Community Christmas
Tree. Captain -. II. Smith, owner
threw the old British convict ship Sue
cess open to the public yesterday. and
collected for the charity fund $5O175.
which he Will turn over TO ID. w Dur
rett treasurer, this morning. He passed
through the ticket gates 2oO7 men.
women ana children. and every cent of
the receipts viii be given to the Com
munity Christmas Tree, in accordance
with Captain Smiths promise to Chair
man John HirSchberg
Though the ship was opened at 10
o'clock in the morning. most of tho
people waited until the afternoon to go
aboard. At nightfall the attendance
dropped down. or ii larger sum might
have been contributed by the old Sue
cess.
Everybody Went Mt Once.
during the afternoon, however. when
II seemed rs if every one had fallen
upon the Same hour of leisure, a big,
crowd tried to board the ancient vessel
to see and wonder 1T the marvcls OF
cruelty ana torture practiced on fclons
in an older day.
So great was the attendance between
j ana o'clock that long lines of PEG
pie had to be halted ut the ticket gates
to await the departure of those already
aboard, as the decks were so filled that
an increase in the number would have
made ii impossible for the officers eff
fcctually to handle and guide the
SiEhtseers. In those two hours how
ever, Captain Smith collected enough
to lessen by half the 81, 200 more needed
TO fill the baskets and stockings to be
distributed among the poor And it was
through strange irony Of fate that
th's snip. once one of England's fleet
of H.nl
more cruel than the torture; OF the
SPANISH lnquisition were practiced
should i'll Il later day give cause for :;
Christmas carol rather than {, tor
turod thiers lament
Decks Constantly Filled.
Every officer on the ship was forced
into action by the throngs While one
stood on the gang plank to direct the
people. tho others showed them over
the ship and lecturcd to them on the
mcn"trositics Of torture which have
mad the vessel famous. From stem to
stern the decks were filed with n
hardly moving throng. They listened
with something akin 10 incrcdulity to
III" stories of almost inconccivablc tor
ture practiced sometimes on men who
had done nothing more than steal ::
shccp ana then were compelled to be-
Hci as they turned their eyes to the
lead-tippcd cat-o'-ninc tails which had
dashed so many prisoners into insensi-
billtY, to the scourgiDg coffin bath"
amidShips and to the terrible Iron
maid" on the forccastle deck Every
thing around them but the actual
things needed for navigation and the
necessities for life aboardship was an
instrument of torture. Most Of them
were stained with blood of men and
the rust of time; but they had been
made with such patient zeal and care
that they had outlivcd the men and
a. tNN o.,
beneath their torture. survived the ac-
ton OF salt water ana the natural de-
cay of material things
The cells below the main deck were
Still as they We're in the days when
they contained dumb men and women
with the iron rings and chains still in
place and heavy iron balls stin strcwn
about almost as they had been left
when the ship was abandoned and the
last convict taken from its slavish
scenes. Men and women shuddcrcd NJ
they gazcd. and children hung back
once as AN officer appeared suddenly
from small cabin in the stern a girl
Shrleked. cchoing Il terrible cry OF
agony that long years ago had re
sounded through the ship and gone
uilhcedcd
Children Enjoy sights.
Many city officials took the oDpor-
unity to visit the ship again, finding
~ II great object lesson in the adj
vance Of human relations. Children
who had been unable 10 20 before were
there in large numbers, and especial
attention was paid to them by Captain
smith and his officers to see that they
saw everything ana that everything
Was explained to them
shortly after , o'clock when the
crowd had become so largo that IL
could not he handled without great
difficulty, Captain Smith held one walt
Ing line back until another had had
time to see the vessel. and permitted
only certain number to come aboard
at a time In that way everybody was
pleased. though many. unable TO wait
until tho press Of numbers had de-
creased, went away without seeing the
famous vessel
In donating all the receipts Of the dav
TO the Community Christmas Tree Can
tam Smith exhibited q generosity that
has no parallel among Richmonds visi
tors. Every officer was abundant with
ms courtesy, and answered the thou
sand and one questions with infinite
patience. and repeated owe" and over
again the history of the oldest SHIN
that sails ;hc seas. Every nook ANA
Granny III the ancient Darkentinc was
Explored. and many were so Interested
that they remained aboard several
hours. satisfying curiosity with con