The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-02-08
CURRENT COMMENT
The ShipwreCk.

Two ships the high sea, one going north
and going south. with twenty miles OF
water to the west and three thousand to the
east. night overhead and the darkness inten-
sified by dank impenetrable fog-who would
think they could have found each other7 But
they did.
The quartermasters in the pilothouse Of the
Nantucket did not mean to jam her PROV Into
the hull Of the Monroe, and likewise the quarter
masters in the pilothouse OF the Monroe did not
mean to lay their ship abearn OF the Nantucket
at the precise moment when destruction was
inevitahie--but they did
After the collision the s. o. 8 signals swept
the air for hundreds OF miles In every direc-
ton The wireless apparatus should not have
failed to work between the ships while there was
yet tine-but II did
Both ships seem to have been well manned
and properly equipped. They were sent out
not to encounter. but to avoid each other. All
the ingenuity of man was at their disposal.
The coasts and shoals guarded by beacons
and iightships. constructed and maintained at
an enormous cost. The navigators were sup
piled with barometers. thermometers. logs and
charts. Before the steering wheels swung COM
pass, and above the main decks the wire
less masts their long, attenuated arms stretched
forth to catch the warnings of the fretted air.
And 1t all came to naught. The Monroe.
modern vessel that she was. found a watery
grave in the midst of sea nights impenetrabie
darkness just did the trireme of Henry II.
500 years ago, and with no less tragic accuracy.
A shock. the grinding and sp1intering of tim
bers. the sharp commands OF officers the wild
commotion of people hurled from their beds to
face eternity. the gloom rent with shreks,
prayers and curses, the downward plunge, the
swrling waters, the melancholy search for
vivors through the velvety fog--the shipwreck
lis the that 1t ever was astounding with
swiftness and grim with fatality.
Each discovery and invention Is hailed a
panaeea for all the ills to which flesh is heir.
Progress has made us grow optimistic. with con-
vented nothing that will work without the
guidance of his personality
Behind everything stands the human thought
and the human mind. The development of civil
Ezation Is but the development Of mediums h.
which men can better express themselves
their ideas Personal intelligence is still the
keynote of accomplishment. and upon its quality
must depend every undertaking.
The telephone Is inanimate and useless with
out the human voice. and the ship at sea ia a
souless thing without intelligent hand upon
her wheel
The inventions and devices upon which we
build strongly, and from which we hope so
much, are but creatures OF the human mind. and
no creature can take the place of its creator
The latest shipwreck, like all shpwrecks since
the dawn of creation. comes the result of
imperfectons in some human mind. the inability
Of some to foresee take proper precau-
ton,-Houston Chronicle.
Value OF Good Shooting
1t is a most gratifying record that was made
by Philadelpha's gunners during the trap-shoot-
ing OF 1913. These are amateur con-
tests, and the record of 1894 hits out Of a pos
sbe 1900. a percentage of 9541, made by
George s. McCarty. OF the Highland Gun club
is extremely significant. Taken with other
records made In contests all over the country
1t gives gratifying assurance of the ability OF
volunteer soldiers to play their full part, so
far as accurate shooting is concerned. in case
of
Accurate shooting Is one OF the prime factors
in modern warfare. 1t not until Tommy
Atkins learned to shoot we'll the Boer and
even better. making good practice at mile
that the tide OF battle in South Africa in 1000
began to turn In favor Of the Briton. And what
makes navy today. ship for ship and gun
for gun the most formidable in the world Is
the marvellous accuracy of the men In our
turrets
What the "embattled farmers and the
minute men, were to us in the Revolution 80
will the man. professional amateur who per-
fects himself with the rifle today be In case
as always may be. called upon again
to fight for rights md homes "A
far-sighted policy will give every encourage
ment to our youths to become perfect in the use
OF firearms under competent supervision, even
in school days. for expert craftsmanship was
never more important In preventing war as
we'll as In promptly ending war than It 10 to-
PresA