Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-25
An Interview With Capt.
Bob Walters-A List of
the Older Steamers-Ihe
Srnartest Boat for Her
Inches on the River"
The Fastest Tug.

TINE Rambler has not finished his
series Of narratives about Oc-
coQuan. but patient followers OK
these chronicles, sketches or lit
tie histories will recall that the series
on Potomac steamboats, was interrupted
by the OccoQuan excursion. 1t Is ex-
pedient to look away from the beauties
of Occoouan until the old steamboats,
and their masters have been attended
to.
The Rambler says 'expedient." be-
cause he believes that nearly everybody
understands the mighty import OF that
word. "Expediency" has become the
thing which controls the actions OF
great numbers of men. Millions of men
follow the standard of expediency. One
heard a good deal about conscience
in the old fashioned copy books. ana.
perhaps. the word is still to be found IN
ancient dog-eared dictionaries that nave
been cast on the junk pile, but expedi-
ency' is the word that now stares at
you in big type and unfaded ink con.
science" is an exile, while .'expediency'
has become the new court favorite.
Everybody acts from expcdiency. Never
mind whether a thing is right or wrong I;
just so it is 'expedient' it is right
1t is the shining word in the lexicon OF
politics and other forms of business So
ciety would not function il it were not
for "expediency" People find it easier
to say at is expedient" to do this or
that than to say 1T is to my own par
ticular and selfish interest" to do this
or that But. we will pass up the aues-
ton of expediency. The Rambler Is
merely chatting you. dear reader. be-
cause he knows that you never acted in
anything but from the highest and
purest motives and for the good of your
fellow man-and your own gOod-eSpe-
cially the latter.
+ X + \
When the Rambler wrote that 1T is
expedient to look away from the beau
ties of Occoquan" and turn back to the
old boats and their masters he used the
word 'expedient" because it came into
seemed to be the most convenient word
and, therefore, it was in itself expe-
dent He might have said 1t was his
duly" to turn back to the old steam
boats and their masters. but he lodged
that word because it is used by so many
scoundrels. Whenever a man Is going
to do something he knows he ought not
to do. or to do something that is none
of his business he nearly always says,
II feel it my duty" etc.
The honest and truly real reasons
why the Rambler is about to turn
and back to the old boats are these:
"a His desk Is Uttered with notes
about steamboats,, and If he does not
use them before their content fades
from his memory he will not be able
to read them; Co these notes have
cost time to collect. and he must turn
them into story form in order to turn
them into cash. for the notes are his
raw material. which, by the way. he
does not always turn out into a FIN
ished" product; go Mrs. Rambler has
issued warning that if. the litter Of
notes is not cleared OFF the table she
will put things in order. which means
that no note needed by the Rambler
could ever be found again: % some
of the old boats are whistling to the
Rambler and calling out that they
have not been mentioned. and that
they served the public along the
Potomac river just as long and faith
fully as many boats whose praises
have already been sung. or writ.
This finishes the "introduction," dis
poses of several inches Of space. gives
the Rambler a running start, and now
the real story will begin.
In one of the early chapters the
Rambler referred to an interview with
Capt. Bob Walters which The Star
published on Saturday. October 20.
1883. That interview began:
There are living today two perhaps more
Of the Potomac pilots OF ante-bellunf days
One Of them is Capt. Bob Walters, who first
traded the river in 1895, and since ls4l
has been actively engaged in the business
and another is Capt. S. r. Lomax. who il
some three or four years Capt Walters Junior
In service. Both interesting takers
that is. II they have time, for both are still
In active service on the river Capt walters
running tugboat and Capt. Lomax is in the
Navy.
Capt, Walters was sixteen years old