The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-09
EDITORIAL NOTES

Sir Percy Shelto Douglas, Vtscouni
Drumlanrig, Baron Douglas Baronet
of Nova Scotia, Earl of Queensberry
and ninth Marquis of Queensberryr
scion of one OF the Oldest and most
dtstfn gutshed of Scottish families and
son of the famous patron of boxing.
win celebrate his forty-hfth birthday
today. The present Marquis, although
he bears on his coat of arms the COW
eted double tressure symbolic OF
what his ancestors did for the Scot
fish Crown, Is far from being social
lion and is comparatively poor. In his
EFFORTS to recoup the family fortunes
he has been jack Of all trades, and
master of none. He has been mid
shtpman in the Royal navy, Heuten-
ant in the army, q sheep raiser IN the
Australian bush, a gold miner, a stocf
broker and promoter, and sporting
editor and writer. He Is as well known
In the United States and Canada as In
England and Scotland, and his brother,
Lord Shelto Douglas who married a
California vaudeville actress, has also
spent many years on this side OF the
Atlantic. Lord She1to was for q time
a saloon keeper in Spokane. and when
his fortunes were at low ebb worked
with a survey party on the Canadian
Pacific railway at a wage of 81 per
day. ga k4t
The Marquis. Sacceeo6d TO the ElLIe
ana estates upon the death of the
eighth Marquis in 1900. The eminent
SPORTSMAN left a fortune of 81, SOC, 900,
but that sum was barely more than
sunhcient to pay debts already incurred
by his son and successor. From test1-
naony given in the BANKRUPTCY hearings,
il DEVELOPED that the present Marquis,
before the death of his father, bor-
rorred sums aggregating 100000 from
the money-1enders, who claimed over
a million dollars four-dfths of it rep
resenting interest and charges. At the
present time the Marquis has only a
small annuity settled upon his wife,
the daughter of a Church of England
clergyman, and what he can earn with
his pen as a contributor to the sport
ing press
LIKE his father, the ninth Marquis
is an enthusiast on boxing, but he also
follows the example of the late Mar
uufs in opposing brutality in the ring.
As q matter of fact, however, the
eighth Marquis was not the author of
the rules bearing his name which now
govern the boxing game although he
favored the code as tending to elm
mate the practices which had brought
boxing into disrepute-
The eighth Marquis was q man of
great ability, democratic and radical
in his views and fearless in express
ing them, but his religious heresies
ana MS SuL41S4<1SA4 1OI 0OAAAS dKS d
sport as wen his dislike for the
pomp and ceremonies of fashionable
society, brought his into disfavor. All
his life he was an agnOSdc, and a
great admirer of Bradlaugh, Huxley,
Haeckel, and other apostles Of unbe-
lief In his will he asked that mo
Christian nummeries or tomfooIeriez
be performed at the grave and that
his body be cremated and buried as
an agnostic," in some spot where the
stars shall ever shed their light, and
the SUN shall gid each rising MORN
The present Marquis does not share
the religious views of his father, but
is a Roman Catholic. In fact, the
Queensberrys have ever differed in
their religious views. Lord Shelto
Douglas, brother of the Marquis, is a
Baptist Lord KeIhead, the deceased
brother of the Marquis. was a, Presby-
terrain His sister, Lady Pitt, en-
braced the Buddhist faith Lord Ar
chibald Douglas, uncle of the Mar
quis. was q priest OF the Redemption
list Order. One of his aunts was first
a Presbyterian, then a Lutheran. and
finally Catholic. The grandfather
OF the Marquis was Presbyterian,
and his wife. whom he married at
Gretna Green, died a Sister of Mercy.
That the United States is wholly un-
prepared for war, and not in a posi-
ton to defend itself against an attack
OF any hrst-class power. is the opin-
ion OF Leonard Wood, NJ d DR.. Wood
is able to speak with authority, since
he is a MaJor-Genera1 and the Chief
of Staff of the United States Army
LIN the event Of war, Gen Wood would
be called upon to plan the campaign,
9th the assistance of the general
board OF the army and navy
Leonard Wood was born in Man
chester, N Be- fifty-three years ago
today. he got his NJ. D. from Har-
ward In 1884. and entered the United
States Army surgeon in 1885. He
was among those present in several
campaigns against Poor Lo, but he
was still unknown and obscure when
the United States and Spain went to
war As colonel of the Rough Rid
ers,'' he became an International fig
ure, and showed that he was quite as
able to infict wounds as to mend
them He was military governor of
Cuba from 1899 to 1902, and in 1903 he
was made a maJor-genera1 and dis
patched to the Philippines, where he
became commander of the Department
Of the East. He was appointed chief
Of star in 1909.
Although a doctor by profession,
Cen Wood has been a fighter since
he entered the army. His old COM
rades say that the young doc was
always hankering for a, scrap. In the
campaign against the 'shostiles'' in Ar
iona and New Mexico, he often took
part In the fighting, and on one occa-
sion he was, at his own request, given
command of a detachment of infantry
which was temporarily without a COM
handing officer. He led his men so
we'll that he was mentioned for hero
ism in the dispa tches During the
Apache compaign in 1886 he rode sew
enty miles in one night through dis
tr1ct Au9egted. by feroctous red men and