Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-22
Tom Days Column
THE OLD REPORTER

L
| II FEEL It in my blood this morning that
Il this is the day and this the place for me
TO tell the story Of how the schuyikill river
got on fire and-quite incidentally-how l
| got an Increase in my wages
II was my late night at the Record
| office, when along about 10 o'cl,ck the City
| Hall man telephoned in that earlier In the
| evening there had been a serious fire at
| Point Breeze which was still supposed to
be burning, and as result Of which sew
eral men had died.
In those days Frank Kerr operated a
cab stand outside the old Girard House.
| on 9Th street, Just above Chestnut l was
| crossing the Postoffce pavement on my way
to take cab to Point Breeze Qor In those
| days the trolleys did not run down Pass
yunk avenue as they do now when came
| upon old Cap. Ash, of the North Ameri'
can who was scuttllng along as fast as
| he could Cap was hunchback and per
haps was the oldest reporter in the business
at that time. asked him where he was
| going and learned he was out on the same
| story 1 said: why not take cab?"
MY people won't stand for cab" said he.
The North American In those days was
sick newspaper The McMichaels were
allowing It to die on their hands; this was
some years before II passed to the present
owner Besides" Cap added quickly, for
he had his own pride, 81 figure that cab
wouldn't do us any good. for the roads are
muddy after the spring rains and by the
time we got TO Point Breeze and back my
papNr at least would have gone to press"
While we were talking the Press cab,
quickly followed by the Ledger cab, went
galloping west on Chestnut street What
do you propose to do?' asked the old
man. "our best plan" said he. "ls to take
car to the 18th district police station at
goth and Federal streets, and we may be
able to get enough there to cover the story"
Now, I'VE never been able to make clear
In my own mind whether IL was superior
intuition or sheer laziness that made me
fall In line with Cap. Ash's suggestion, but,
at any rate. went with him. We got off
the car at Federal street and just al we
were climbing the steps Of the station house
the patrol wagon drew UP to the door and
dlsgorged Lieutenant Thompson and
squad Of policemen returning from the
scene OF the FIRE. This was one of the
lucliest breaks that ever happened to me
in the newspaper business. / pictured the
Ledger, Press Times and Inquirer men beat
ing it through the dark down muddy Pass
yunk road 20 Point Breeze. l learned after.
ward that several of them got back between
and o'clock in the morning with nothing
for their pains.
Cap Ash and followed the lieutenant
into his room and, sitting there In COM
fort, got this story:
Shortly before o'clock that evening
half dozen men employed at the Atlantic
Refining Company's plant on the east side
of the Schuylkill River at Point Breeze had
started for their homes on the west bank
of tho river. There were two rowboats
with three men in each boat, two at the
oars and one in the stern sheets. Both |
boats pushed off at the same moment and |
the idle man in the stern of one of them |
called banterngly 10 the others that there |
was kettle of beer on the other side for |
the crew that reached It first. The others |
took UP the challenge and the race was |
on. The man who had issued the challenge |
struck match and. lighting his pipe, tossed |
the match stick overheard. Now there had |
been a serious fire at Point Breeze the Sun |
day before and considerable damage had |
been done to the wharves and the italian
bark Felix had been burned at her berth |
alongside one of them. The FIRE on that |
occasion had been caused by stream of |
oil leaking from a neighboring tank trick
ling under a fireboX in the engine room of
the refining company. The OIL still leaking
from the tank, had gradually covered the
surface of the river, and when the match
was thrown over from the boat 1t ignited
patch of oil and in an instant the entire
surface Of the river was ablaze,
The men in the two boats rowed on for
dear life, with the oars blazing in their
who suggested the race, losing his had,
eaped overheard. OF course when he came
to the surface again he was between fire
and water. One of his companions in at
tempting to save him was badly burned
The two men were eventually recovered
from the river and sent to st. Agnes Hos
Dital, where one, or possibly both, died in
1 few hours. The FIRE reached the bark
Felix, lying half submerged in midstream.
md completely destroyed her upper works:
on both sides OF the river were
damaged
Briefly this was the story we got We
we're both back at our desks by II o'clock
md wrote the best story OF my career a
column and quarter Of solid nonpareil, by
-2 o'clock each page being taken by the
,opy editor and fed 10 the compositors as
quickly as 1t was turned out. The next
,ayday there was a little bit more money in
ny pay envelope, and 1 often felt that it
should have gone TO Cap Ash.