Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-02-27
THE VOYAGE OF THE OREGON


Of Men Who Do Things.
What a wealth Of memories that
coming trip Of the Oregon through the
Panama Canal will awake! The glory
of her dash around South America and
her swinging into action against Ger
vera's fleet without the necessity for
the slightest repair is considered by
naval men one of the finest pieces Of
work in the history Of modern seacraft
says the New York Commercial II
present plans go through, Rear Ad-
miral Clark will stand at his old
place on the bridge and those Of his
men who are not dead, who have not
become sluggish and bound with fat
ness and affairs, who are not ION the
beach" in the scattered ports of the
world, will be at their stations, shar-
ing the honor with their old ship and
their old commander.
There was much that was hysterical
about that little Spanish war, some
that was ridiculous and a little that
was downright disgraceful. There was
in it all Of the elements which make
these United States the finest, noblest,
most considerate, most efficient, most
irritable, best balanced, most emotion
al people in the world.
Coincident with the events which led
to the final driving Of Spain from the
Caribbean came the birth Of that era
zy excrescence on the body polite, yell
months of yapping which preceded the
war, the forthy noise and, finally, the
solemn hush which for days followed
the sinking Of the Maine-wnen the
great, silent, busy people Of the land
deliberately reused themselves, turned
from their private affairs and prepar-
ed to go forth to war?
We like to think Of the Oregon, her
crew and her trip as typical Of the
people who do things In this country
Of ours When her commander receiv-
ed his orders he set out as simply and
directly for a trip Of 1000 miles as it
he had been ordered to take his deli
cate war instrument down the bay.
She ate up her coal and Clark coaled
her again at places on the trip down
and up the world where other Amer-
cans of his stripe had made provision
for him. and he steamed into action at
the end of his journey as vigorously
and as effectively as his brother COM
manders, whose vessels had been roll
ing in the North Atlantic ever since
they were born.
Since then, men Of the type Of Clark
and his crew have dug the Panama
canal. They have solved brand new
problems in the instant, finding their
reward in the playing Of the game.
Other men, less conspicuously but none
the less effectively, have governed
alien people, have conquired. rel6-ag
plaques have wrenched ore from rock
bound hills and fashioned steel into
strange shapes to meet the needs Of
the moment and have gone on, forget
ting their past deeds in the new work
before them.
They have left to the frothy denla-
aogue. and the opportunist the profit to
be grabbed from notoriety and from
pandering to the crowd. In doing so
it must be said that they have been, in
their modesty, derelict. For there are
80, 900, 900 people in this country who
were born in other lands 1t Is little
wonder that a large proportion of
lese should see in America a land Of
false ideals, Of noise, Of little manners
and Of graft. These silent people, the
great majority who do things, keep in
the background until crisis comes
when they step forth and take charge
Of their government and direct its af-
fairs Alright.
1t is to be hoped that when the his
toric Oregon, manned by her old crew,
passes on her stately way through
that great monument to American ac-
complishment and efficiency, a genius
whose words will burn with lasting
fire can contrive to convey adequately
it's meaning to those people who have
been misled and to whose sons and
daughters a large part Of the honor
and progress Of the republic must be
intrusted