The Washington times., 1919-12-10
Who Is Van Schaick?
He's Red-Bl0Oded and
Two-Fisted, Says Newman

time
or course. Van Schaick was far too
valuable man to be left running
schools and prisons in Washington
while the world war was going on.
Early in the game he was grabbed
by the Red Cross and sent to Bel
gium as chief assistant to Earnest
P. Bicknell, another fine, hard-work-
Ing Washingtonian. Van Schaick
was shot out into the field among the
Belgians, and when 1t was all over
he came home with the cross Of the
Order of Leopold on his left breast.
He didn't say anything about n
himself. but l was lucky enough to
get look at the Belgian front and
l found. up there, that the cross was
awarded, not as a compliment or in
recognition Of fneritorious service
(Which might have been performed
heroism on the field Of battle.
In those cold, muddy, dreary.
sloppy days on the Belgian front
little dreamed that what saw would
ever be of interest in the case of
map being appointed Commissioner
OF the District Of Columbia (ths
while sit in a nice, steam-h heated
room and write on a typewriter), but
now I'm glad I was there and that I
can tell you, Mr.. and Mrs. Washing
tonian, what / know from first-hand
missioner's service to the Belgians
One Of War Heroes.
Three men today stand out clear
and dazzling as the war heroes Of Bel
gium. They are King Albert, Brand
Whitlock and John Van Schaick. Van
Schaick directed the expenditure Of
millions and administered the relief
work incident thereto. He lived in an
automobile, and spent his days and
nights flying all over the Belgian
front, bringing relief where it .waA
sorely needed.
Nobody over there wondered
whether he could do his job-because
he was minister. They never sus-
pected him of being q minister. They
knew he was hustling dynamo on
wheels. who never got tired. never
took care Of himself, never seemed to
sleep, never was seen without his
cheerful smile and encouraging, SYM
pathetic words.
And he always got the stun
through. No storm, no mud, no rain,
no snow. no cold, no congestion Of
numbering guns and tired men, and
clanking trucks ever stopped him.
Once. with truck load of supplies
sorely needed Ave kilometers further
on he was halted by an empty truck
that had got tammed across the road
and whose engine wouldn't start
With a wave OF his arm and a volley
of perfect Schenectady French. he
raNged q dozen Belgian doughboys
whe were resting by the road.
Hsee, you men, dump this truck
into the ditch; I've got to get
The M5yss Of the truck was an
English geant. and he began to
wave his 81ms and tell Van Schaick
who he was.
II don't give a damn who you are,"
snapped the preacher. I'm going
through"
And he did
He Does Thinxx.
Now. here's a little characteristic
about DR.. Van Schaick which I coL-
slider VITAL I believe every WASH
ingtonian worthy Of the title will ap-
preciate 1t particularly. In order for
you to understand it 1 want to remind
you OF something. Listen:
In practically every Government Of
flee in Washington, il somebody
provement in the way something is
done. or with proposal for the doing
of some new, beneficial thing, the
first response he gets is:
'It can't be DONE"
Don't you know that's true? Haven't
you seen it lots of times? There
seems to be general psychology
against improvement, merely because
it means that something must be
changed! Most of the offices and
most of the officials move in rut:
Do it the same way today, tomorrow
and forever. Before any improve
ment can even be tried, you have to
overcome a great, almost hnsurmount-
able inertia.
DR.. Van Schaick's mental habi. is
just the opposite. Instead Of trying
to find reasons why good thing
should not be done, he tries to break
down obstacles and see that it is
done. Most men would have been de-
layed an hour or more by that stalled
truck. Not Van Schaick. He dumped
it in the ditch and went through.
Here's something else that 1 con-
slider vital index to DR.. Van
Schaick's character. He is referred
to in the third person, and informally
addressed to his face by mis- friends,
as Van"
Whenever Van Schaick is discussed
somebody says he's an "uplifter" and
refers to the fact that he was once
president of the Monday Evening
Club. Van Schaick is an uplifter, but
he's this kind: He believes that to
uplift you have to get underneath.
And as to the Monday Evening Club,
let's see what it stands for:
municipal hospital for treat
ment of people who hnve tuher-