The Washington herald., 1914-05-25
! The DereEct.
~ ALEXANDER BLuME

The Derelict.
ny ALExANDER BLuME.
Helpless in the mighty grasp of the angry Storm
King ship is dashed upon hidden shoal. The
crew desert their floating home, leaving It to the
mercy of the raging elements. Screaming IN their
rage, the mighty waves dash irresistibly upon the
ship like jungle beast upon its helpless prey. tear
ing crushing rending, destroying all semblance of its
once proud and graceful form. Finally, battered
hulk it is lifted off the rocks by the rising waters
and carried by wind and tide through the vast fields
of the trackless ocean.
Aimlessy floating about the plaything of the waves
and winds, its is swept along. deadly menace;
dread specter to the watchful mariner rises up
suddenly from the darkness below and flashes past
him, while the many human souls. intrusted to his
care sleep on ignorant of the terrible destruction and
disaster they have narrowly escaped.
Launched into the sea amid the cheers of spec
tators, Haunting gaudy, streaming ensigns, the once
queenly vessel is now dread derelict
Even as the ocean greedily sucks down its prey.
SO the swirling sea of life, in tumultuous, angry
battle, brings death and destruction to many 3d.
too the sea of life is Uttered with hun'ai derelics
The bitter wind swept the heavy snowhakes against
the huddled buildings deep drifts and only an oe-
cssonal wayfarer battled against the storm From
corner saloons lights cleaned family through the
maze of whirling snowiakes, and from time to time
the roar of passing elevated train blended with the
bowling of the gale. Now faint mournful wal from
a river craft rose on the air like the cry Of a
soul in anguish.
He was standing in the hallway OF dark lott
building. irving to warm his chilled limbs by stamp
ing on the floor That was how l heard him. l
glanced in and in an instant he had resumed his pro-
fessional cringing demeanor and in whining voice
begged for "a cup of coffee
He was not an old man. yet his hair was nearly
white and matted An old, battered hat stuck to his
head; his coat was fastened with safety-pin and
his chest blue and chilled visible. The toes stuck
out of his shoes and he wore no underclothes one
could discern through the ragged trousers. stubbly
beard protruded from his face and frozen tears stuck
to his lashes and checks What horrible appearance
this human dereiict presented! He was evidently sui
fering for his teeth chartered audiby and his body
contracted in frequent spasms.
Quite involuntarly compared my own condition
with his / was warmly clad, protected in every way
possible from the cold; a warm home, with family
friends to assist me- waited should occasion arise Ant
he without food, shelter, friends freezing starving
What was this man doing here; how came he to b'
alone in a great city? No one cared what hap
/ pened to him; no one even thought of him. Yet hi
was a human being His heart pulsed, his stomach
craved food and his body lodging and rest Yet her'
lhe was at the mercy of raging storm
| He told me his story. He was born in one o.
/ the poor families down South known as white
/ trash" He worked in the mills at eleven and ther
made his way to New York, which seems Mecca t.
all unfortufiates throughout the whole world Ever,
one spoke of ultimately going to 'the city He hat
no trade nor education; he simply another re
cruit to the vast army of unsked and nlearned men
| armed with no other weapons to resist the assault
of hunger and poverty than his fingers, and the
were unframed.
| 1t was bad enough here in the overcrowded cit
| for the skilled men, of whom there were so many
but still worse for the unskled Of whom there ar
slways an enormous oversupply. So he descended
lower and lower in the gamut of life, doing odd job
here and there, feastng off charity lodging in tn
| marks in summer and in institutions in the winter
But this winter was very very hard he told me. Tn
lodging houses were always filled early, there were 81
many seeking shelter
I As | spoke to him the utter sadness and pity o
his fate grew upon me, and above all my absolute
hclplessness to aid him. True, l might afford hin
temporary food and shelter, but always there came
tomorrow and another ceasless battle with the grin
specter of hunger. What a terrible spectacle hi
man wreck on the sands of life presents A divinel
created being human body endowed at birth wit
the potentiay, perhaps, of Lincoln or Shakespeare
capable of rising to supreme heights, finally ended
Ia miserable, beast-ke existence. No ambition, o
hope; no love or joy; simply cowlke yearning TO
food when the frayed nerves and muscles called,
short period of safety when the stomach was full
an existence of begging and whining. Food an
shelter the boundaries of his every thought and az
ton