davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1919-08-17
American Was First Aerial Stowaway

petrol is worth its weight in gold IL
almost breaks our hearts to have to
lengthen the distance to get clear OF
these storms"
We are informed that the RIA ar
rived here with just enough oil in her
tanks to have kept her aloft about
three hours longeri But to get back
in our story:
William Ballantine was one of the
youths scheduled to remain behind
he had served as a rigger during the
dirtgible's preparatory flights, which
had included a trip to Berlin. He had
had a taste OF aerial voyaging and had
looked forward expectantly TO the
longer journey overseas. Slowing
away on an airship is not too simple
a matters there are not many secure
hiding places. and discovery is there
fore certain to follow soon. However
unlike water-borne craft, once the fly
Ing machine is Off you are pretty GER
tain TO have gained your end.
Young Ballantine decided to take
the one chance open to him. He man.
aged to board the dirig!ble at night,
about two hours before her departure,
and hid himself in the rigging. with
which he was familiar. There he re-
manned for about six hours after the
R-s4 got under way. when hunger and
illress forced him to make his presence
known. While this venturesome Brit
Usher can properly lay claim to being
the first aerial stowawsy to cross the
The sun., 1919-08-17
A. EARLY

poverty under which he labored.. . He
wasn't a laxative or communicative
man, and he hid his troubles under a
lofty manner. Sometimes In those
days we asked each other IL Ralph was
entirely sane
The friendly artist who gave these
"reminiscences said that Blakelock had
taught himself the secrets of paint in
a way that all true artists admired and
there was never a question Of his
genius among art dealers or artists.
1t was an undisputed thing.
When Blakelock first began to paint
1t was with subjects as far removed
from his later choice almost as the
moon Is from the earth. He was born
in New York in 1s45 of parents who
were for that day fairly well to do. and
he received q good common school edu-
cation. Business, to which his father
wished to put him, was out of the ques-
ton. and without instruction but with
ardent spirit he began to paint. Wher,
he was little more than 81 he had
produced some pictures Of New York
street scenes and sketches of the then
Central Park that only now are becom-
ing known. There is 20 smallest sign
of the poetry of his later pictures.
They do recall the solid workmanship
OF the Dusseldorf and old Dutch
schools. AS transcripts Of New York
completely vanished even from the old.
est memory they should be very valu-
able. and they possess besides true
art value.
Most of this group of paintings
The sun., 1919-08-17

with It and reduced his offer to $50
from $3.50. The artist was too dis
turbed to rebel and took the money,
but after the hard heart had gone
away triumphantly huggtng his practi-
cally stolen canvas, the force of what
had happened .swelled like a wave
across Blakelock's oppressed heart and
with a cry he twisted the fifty dollar
bill into screw of paper and tossed it
into the fire. Then his friends re-
moved him to the State Hospital for
thc Insane at Middletown, N. Y.
In Hospital Twenty Years.
There he remained for almost a
score of years. with occasional tighten
ings of his brain sickness. Through
out this time he had the mania of
success and believed that fame had
come to him, bringing vast riches in
her wake. Fame had In truth come,
but 1t was in the nature of pos, humous
acclaim. The artist was dead, II not
the man.
The story Of how he was found by
a generous and compassionate woman
who took him from his asylum and by
the aid of a fellow guardian sur
rounded him with comforts and af-
lection in the vain hope that the
faculty which had been genius would
awake has been too recently told In
The sun., 1919-08-17
i"NOONLtG CIT"
OWNED 6y ENGINEERS CLUE OF NY.
While Pictures Later to Become Price,
less Brought Him but Meagre Re-
turns, Fellow Artists Say His
Genius Was Never Cues
toned Among Them

his obituary notices to need to be
repeated here. With short excursions
into the world that he enjoyed after a
pathetic fashion his mind would ever
revert to madness and the. spurs to
incline his hand, once so deft, to the
palette and brush were applied in
vain. He died, one is happy to write,
on one of these outings.
in the fall of 1918 little group of
admiring women might have been seen
about a feeble, slight old man in one
of the galleries of the Metropolitan
Museum. He was talking to them of
painting in a low sad voice but in a
perfectly rational manner. When
they took him TO see Blakelock's pic
ture "a moonlight - his eyes bright
ened and for moment he seemed
animated.
II remember" said he softly, when
I painted that picture. 1 Thought II
a good picture then. My second daugh-
ter had just come and l believe I was
really happy, because 1 had almost
touched what 1 thought was good
work. And I knew 1 would sell the
picture for a fair price and the new
baby should not want for anything
But wealth, although 1t came at last
was slow in coming"
What is the true story RI Blakelocs
and his numerous family and theil
awful privations?
These facts we know, Blakelock
happily married, had a family OF nine
children to whom he was devoted
Their home. simple one, as sim
pie as Millet's, was in Brooklyn, bu
the father, by working as hard as any
toilsome laborer. could not provide fol
even primitive wants. When the
father was taken his eldest daughter
Marion, whom he had taught to paint
and who painted exactly IN his latei
genre. became the support Of the fam
lily. She sold her pictures for small
sums, but an unfortunate thing hap
pened. A rascal who knew the family
obtained some of her canvases and
painting out Marion's signature forged
her fathers. Small paintings were
thus imposed on the public. which
willingly gave good prices for them
Following this success at deception q
complete factory was started to sup
ply an unlimited number of Blakelocks
The sun., 1919-08-17

Thus misfortune followed BIakeioolI
even beyond the gates Of the asylum
One of his first acts after being re-
leased and succored was to determine
which OF the pictures exhibited under
his name were. his and which were
forgeries.
Daughter Successful Painter
Blakelock's family is living with few
exceptions, one or two children died
in infancy; his widow survives and
his daughter continues to paint with
ever increasing success. How much
of the misery Of this tragic story is Of
general application perhaps nobody
who did not know Blakelock can esti-
mate.
The unhappy ending Of the lives of
both artists enables one to draw q
parallel between the story Of Andre
Gill, an artist of the Second Empire
and the First Republic in Paris, ana
Ralph Albert Blakelock in New York.
Both died mad. both had the delusion
Of great wealth, both thought the hon.
ors and emoluments of fame had
reached them and crowned their ca
.reer.
BEFORE MS end andre Gill, who was
famous caricaturist and painter
who exhibited at the salon, wrote to
an art aspirant who had applied To-
him for advice: "If chance has given
me an hour of notoriety in a class Of
work that is born OF the moment 7
am none the less wounded In my life
and in my hopes which rose higher,
while have been enabled thus far to
assure myself a life of decent COM.
fort"
Fate at the end was kind to both
artists for each died afflicted indeed
with the delusion of grandeur but
happy in the belief that the prize they
had sought so long was theirs at last.
The parallel stops here. however, for
1t was never Blakelock's good luck to
find the by-path which would furnish
food for himself and his dependents,
and 1t is too late now to wonder
whether or not he ever sought for It.
But where is the Blakelock picture
sold for the New York Press Club
thirty years ago? 1t has never APP
peared since in an art sale. Somebody
owns it, who is. perhaps, ignorant OF
Its commercial worth.
The sun., 1919-08-17

ing to pieces, rose q mound of paint,
drippings from his brushes which he
had in his excitement or carelessness
thrown down day after day and never
ecraped up. His kind host, who had
high opinion OF Blakelocks talent.
must have suffered from his protege's
careless habits.
style Was Original.
Blakelock was an original artist who
never submitted to rule or precedent
as established by art schools. In his
work few traces are to be found show
ing that he had been influenced by
the style of other artists and particu-
larly by any contemporary artist. He
was a little earlier than Wyant and
Inness and Shurtleff. but no trace Of
these noble brushmen Is to be found
in his pictures. The belief that he
painted few pictures is an error. He
was an indefatigable worker and was
forever studying.
In one celebrated collection Of Amer
lean canvases, that OF Senator Fred
erick Gibbs. Blakelock was represented
by no fewer than sixty examples.
sale and brought fair prices. Many
of them were small in size, and as
years and hardships increased with
the artist, the canvases (Which were
often boards) grew smaller and smaller.
To his everlasting renown. however,
as the size of his pictures shrank the
technique grew more and more ad-
nirable.
A host of legends already have gath
cred around Blakelock's name. II
should seem that his story was In itself
too sad to be accreted by imagined
tales and the purpose of this writing
Is not to tell 1t over. but to try to get
back to q basis of truth from the lips
of living men who knew hiu- we'll.
One of these Is the secretary OF the
National Academy. the same Harry
watrous who protected and helped
Blakelock when 1t was difficult TO do 1t.
Others are fellow artists like Charles
Warren Eaton, George Bruestell, Fred
erick Ballard Williams. younger men,
indeed, but stfil contemporaries.
Was q Good Salesman.
Several of the artists who had stu
ulOS III Widt ubcu " Dc
''Chicken Coop" when Blakelock painted
there make the singular assertion that
OF all OF them he was the best sales
man of his pictures.
I'VE used to sit and wait for Gus
toners to come to us-and often we
waited in vain-but Blakeiock would
take canvas out in the morning and
say loudly that he wouldn't come hack
until he had sold 1t, and he never did"
said one Of his artist friends. HE
always made a sale. He would start
with the art dealers on Fifth avenue
and II he didn't succeed there he would
go over to BroadwaJ or drift into the
small shops on the East Side. He may
have asked $50 for a picture early in
the morning. but as evening drew on
he would sell 1t for $40, SIS, anything.
mt all OF US realized the depth of
The sun., 1919-08-17

dian Encampment," a twilight scene
81 by IL, which is almost priceless.
DR.. Coll acquired 1t at the sale of the
Gibbs collection, where he bought ex-
amples of Inness, Wyant, William NJ.
Hunt and other contemporaries of
Blakelock. He bought the picture of
the Fifty seventh street corner from
kraushaar in 1913. It never had been
submitted to a reproductive process
until recently. when DIR. Coll permitted
THE Suns photographer to copy it.
The story of THE Necklace" a
small canvas of an Indian subject, is
still more romantic. Blakelock turned
this picture over to the agent of the
Chicken Coop" studios as security
for rent due. Shortly after this time
he went on invitation to Mr.. Watrous's
studio and forgot everything about
the picture. Indeed. the mental dark
ness which was to cloud the last score
OF his life already was falling. When
years afterward the sale of his great
canvas ''Moonrise" for $4,000 to the
Toledo Museum of Art had recalled
Elakelock to the general mind a search
was made for the picture and it was
found and sold for $3,700-a reduction
Of over $500 being made for payment
OF his debt with interest.
For the 'Moonrise" the artist re-
ceYed the small sum of $500. price
made possible only by the exertions
and forethought of his lifelong friend,
WatrouS The latter bought 1t in and
sold 1t for $500. turning the extra hun
1VaAA - laly a
was already so beclouded as to make
him hardly appreciative of what had
been done for him.
A tale which is pronounced by the
same authority to be apocryphal runs
this way. B.akelock, with a family
needing bread, had completed hur-
riedly q commission for buyer who,
on coming for his canvas. found fault
The sun., 1919-08-17
When the Cardinals Biretta Disappeared

politics and religion might have been
strangely interesting. Cardinal Glib
hons did indeed say that he was on his
way to a conference with the Arch
bishop in Chicago. but on the sub
held silence.
However. when the little party sep
arated for the second night on board
the layman felt that he had made a
real friend of his Eminence. Next
morning In the short hour or two that
would intervene before the train drew
into the Western terminus he in
tended to make this friendship firmer
If he could
But next morning a great change
had come over the Cardinal. He held
himself aloot and appeared distract.
Presently the young priest, who acted
as his secretary, came over TO the
stranger and said:
Ellis Eminence is very much dis
tressed because he cannot find his
biretta- Have you by any chance seen
it?"
The layman hadn't and suggested
that the porter make a thorough
search.
"Oh, that has been done. The porter
and myself and even his Eminence
have gone over every possible spot
where 1t might have been mislaid ex-
cept the berth you were occupying"
Here the secretary looked search
lngly Mt the stranger and the Cardinal
himself listened eagerly for his RELY.
1t was:
well, haven't got the biretta. And
to prove 1t, why not search my berth
and me7"
The sun., 1919-08-17

which may be called his earliest man
ner, Blakelock sold at once. for small
prices. to be sure. hut stnl he aoId them
and thus proved to his doubling fathe,
that painting had its commercial side.
One of these canvases remained nm
sold until the latest OF his producing
years.
Then he got rid of It in the clustering
peremptory manner that he affected
because he had to sell. and this style of
approach was his desperate magma
ton of salesmanship.
c. w. Kraushaar. an art dealer who
died a souple Of years ago, used TO tell
the story:
II was walking along under the I'M
easy impression that Somebody was
following me. and at length thu feeling
The sun., 1919-08-17
TIE iNOtAtS EhCAN1PhAekv
81 6lAkELOck.
Host of Legends Already Cluster
Around Name of Talented and IN
fortunate Artist Whose Early
Struggles Are Recalled
by Recent Death
BY WILLIS STEEL.

w THERE is the charming paint
NV ing by Ralph A. Blakeioclx,
that artist great in talent
and greatly unfortunate, whose death
recently occurred and who gave the
canvas to the New York Press Club
for sale at the clubs fair in the Grand
Central Palace almost thirty years
ago? Among dozen or SO of can
vases that had not found purchasers
It was sent to Silo's in Liberty street
to be auctioned to the highest bidder
1t was beautiful picture. 20 by 16,
representing a group Of alders leaning
gracefully over a swampy stream
whose back waters. by some nee
romancy Of color. seemed alternately
TO All and empty as IL It were tidal
stream. In brush work and color II
recalled Rousseau. a comparison that
made the artist highly indignant
What 1t really was worth, even in
those lean years. the early eos. will
never be known. for it was sacrificed
at the sale for s2.75.
When the chairman of the art COM
mittee appointed by the club visited
artists and asked for their support he
called in turn on Blakelock, who then
was sharing as a guest the studio OF
Harry Watrous in the old Y. NJ. G. A.
building on Fast Twenty-third street.
The artists all had shown themselves
generous In their support Of the Press
Ciub. but with degree Of generosity
graduated, 1t may be. by their success
or popularity. Blakelock was particu-
larry eager to help and turned over
many canvases before he decided on
the one he would donate. He chose
II because 1t was larger than many OF
his more characteristic canvases and
for that reason might bring more
money.
He was a slight, eager appearing
man with intense black eyes that
seemed to stare without seeing what
NaS boAOho way oAuSA AAoAi
and a small mustache. His cheek
were colorless down to the blue black
line where the razor had ended its
work. In this retrospect of so many
years the impression he made then
still remains, that he resembled the
well known portrait Of Edgar Allan
Poe. Speaking of this impression to
a friend of the artist who had seen
him In his fairly prosperous days
that gentleman confirmed it by adding
that when Blakelock was "a or % the
resemblance was commonly remarked.
The studio. or his corner Of IT,
showed disorder. His palette. thrown
down on the entrance Of visitors. was
a medley OF dirty colors. and on the
Goor to the right of the little stool on
which he used to sit before an easel,
tied up with rope to keep it from fall
The sun., 1919-08-17
TRAVELLER to Chicago on a
b. and Q. train not so many

- ID. ana -. train not so many
years ago found that he might
have a choice of lowers" as only one
other had been sold, though to no less
an ecclesiastical dignitary than Car
dinal Gibbons. He came aboard at
Baltimore, accompanied by priest OF
his diocese, who acted as his secre-
tary. The hour was late, and soon
after the four passengers went to bed.
In the morning the Cardinal, wear
ing his biretta, worked over his cor
respondence, and the fourth traveller,
after yawning and stretching a good
deal, got OFF at the first stop. There
newspapers were to be had, and the
porter purchased two for his Emil
hence and a bunch for the traveller
who was going through. 1t was by
way OF these newspapers that kind of
acquaintance became established be-
tween the prince of the church and
the lone representative OF the laity.
The Cardinal. adjusting the tight fit-
ting biretta to his head, sent the priest
over TO beg for look at some adj
ditional papers.
During the afternoon the Cardinal
unbent most genially. He talked freely
and delightfully."- on variety of sub
Jects. beginning with the tedium Of
travel and passing almost nut not
quite to subjects Of church policy.
II was time when Archbishop ireland
was thought to hold great political
power in the West and subjects of
The sun., 1919-08-17
w THEN the great British dirigi-
w BILE RIA reached Mineola on
w July 6. lust past, after her

w THEN the great British dirigi-
M/ BILE RIA reached Mineola on
W July 6, just past, after her
Iecord-making flight from Scotland,
she brought over with her a youthful
stowaway.
At the time that lghter-than-air
craft was about ready to start for this
side OF the Atlantic it was found ex-
pedient, In order to carry as much
petrol as possible, to drop three men,
bers of her crew. At first blush the
saving Of 450-odd pounds may appear
trifiing In the eyes OF the layman, and
yet the consequent gain in oll-carry-
ing capacity may make all the differ
ence In the outcome OF a night. In
the case OF the R-34 this meant an
added quantity of 62.5 gallons of gas
olene. Despite her precautions we
know how near the dirigible came to
failure on account of the alarmingly
low state OF her fuel supply when still
good many miles away from her
destination.
AS a matter OF fact, Just eight hours
before the airship landed Brig. Gen
Edward N. Maitland, the official OBJ.
server aboard the craft for the Brit
ish Air Ministry. made the following
entry in his log:
$3.50 p. NJ Another Thunderstorm
Again we have to change our course
70 avoid It, and as every gallon OF
The sun., 1919-08-17

Il was about TO propose 1t, as, as
'celicately as possible on behalf of his
Eminence. The biretta may possibly
have fallen between two berths, but
now II was taken out of the section
where his Eminence was sleeping we
cannot understand"
The porter who saw a big tip (as he
eXpected) disappearing went to work
tearing up the layman's bed, but did
not find tricorne shaped cap, stiff IN
construction and red in color in any
crack or corner. He looked despair
ingly at the Cardinal.
Fob Gawd, -Mistah, YOU must a
throwed dat hat o. yourn outa windah.
Use looked mos everywhere it anti"
The Cardinal shook his head SOL
EMMY The hypothesis was unthink-
able He conferred with his secretary,
who returned to say that his Emit
nence must recover his biretta, other.
wise he would not be comfortable in
MS mind when he left the car; was "a
not possible that the scarlet cap had
been carried by mistake into anotheR
car?
1t wasn't, the porter affirmed, and
every part OF this car had been gone
over thoroughly-except the smoking
compartment. and as his Eminencs
did not smoke what was the use of
searching there?
Search the smoking compartment"
commanded the Cardinal.
And there the scarlet biretta was
FOUND openly reposing on a leather
cushion. 1t looked even defiant. Per-
haps during the night 1t had been en-,
joying quiet smoke by itself.
The sun., 1919-08-17
. HE Growth and Decay OF
TechAical High Schools' 10
the title of a memorandum

Techhical High Schools" 10
the title OF memorandum
just published in Germany and drawn
up by Prof. A. Reidler under orders
OF the Prussian Government. In it
are revealed more OF the mistakes of
German Kultur and efficiency in
which extreme theorizing fails to
dovetail with matter Of fact practice.
Prof. Reidler does not hold the war
responsive for the decay. which he
believes began early in the century
The writer was formerly professor Of
engineering at Charlottenburg, Berlin,
and he took an active part In the de-
velopment OF the technical high
schools. but he insists that the work
did not proceed on the desired lines.
Most OF the faults that he points
out are. he says, the result OF split
ting up and specialization, besides the
lack of internal organization. In his
criticisms Prof. Reidler cites:
Science is COMPOUNDED with theo-
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-09-12

crab grass and Bermuda grass, are
extremely troublesome as weeds This
is particularly true OF crab grass
which during the summer invades
most lawns and kills out other grasses
in large patches Although crab
grass is fair lawn grass during the
summer, it succumbs to the first heavy
frost with the consequence that the
greensward during the following win
ter and spring is decidedly unsatisfac-
tory. Bermuda grass behaves similar
~ but Is perennial and difficult to
eradicate There is only one way to
control Bermuda and that Is to Kill
ii out by careful digging.
Crab grass once esta blished can be
eliminated only by hand wedding a
method not advised except where one
is willing to devote considerable cash
and labor To battling the weeds. De-
spite widespread abundance of
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-09-12

crab grass In the middle states OF
the country, lawns have to be made
and management has to be followed
which. as far as possible will elimi-
nate the pestiferous crab grass BY
seeding in the early fan between Sep
TENDER and Is desirable turf may
be established relatively free of crab
grass. The soil should be we'll mulch
ed with the under surface firm ana
compact, and some such seeding mix
ture as sixteen pounds OF Kentucky
blue grass, four pounds Of red top, one
pound or white clover and twenty
pounds of Italian rye grass. should be
sown. Top dressing the lawn with n
coating of one-half' inch of fertile
garden loan Is valuable after the seed
Is sown. The Italian rye grass is
used as sort of carry-over cover, be-
cause OF its vigorous growth during
the late fall. winter. and early spring
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-09-12

lawn makers In Pennsylvania, Vir-
ginia, Maryland Ohio and Tennessee.
and other states IN the same latitude
where the common but satisfactory
method Of spring seeding dominates.
Mr. Lawn Maker. If anyone urged
ydu 10 SOW oxeye daisies, sheep sorrel,
broom sedge or other Objectionable
weed in your lawn you doubtless would
characterize him as crazy. Yet, il
YOU SOW your grass seed in the spring
this Is exactly what you are doing, as
spring seeding really means stirring
up 3 good seed bed for crab grass.
Invariably this weedy grass In the
middle and South Atlantic section gets
the jump and gains supremacy over
other grasses which are adapted to
these states
Good lawns are difficult to establish
and maintain in the territory mem
toned Two OF the subtropicai grasses.