The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-12-02
Like OLDEN DAYS
Shanghaied Sailor Has Vivid Tale
Of KIDNAPPING.
story Brings to Memory the Yellow
Backed Books We Used to Read
Behind the Barn.

A court martial at Governors island,
New York harbor, has unanimously
accepted as true a story just like the
old fiction stories of sailing ships and
their methods of "shanghaiing" men
G0r their crews, and cleared Of deser-
ion charges a soldier who said he had
been kidnapped at the Canal zone and
carried across the Atlantic against his
will. He was absolved Of all blame
and ordered restored to duty.
The soldier was Earl Clark, who en-
listed In the army in the West Virginia
mountain section and was sent to the
contingent at the Panama Canal zone,
where he was assigned to Company A
of the military police. One night while
off duty he ran across sailors from the
Kronprinsessan Margareta, a Swedish
steamship, who asked him If he
! couldn't show them the bright lights"
Of Colon. This was in November.
1920.
1t was a great night for Private
Clark and for the Swedish sailors, but
the endurance of the Stockholm lads
was greater than that Of Clark, who
finally passed into complete oblivion
Far be it from strong Swedish sailors
to desert a comrade whose engines had
stopped, so they loaded him on their
shoulders and carried him to their ship,
which was to sail from Colon for Stock
holm at dawn.
y When Clark awoke he was in one OF
the hunks Of the Swedish ship, which
was already out Of sight Of land and
rolling in heavy seas without, regard
for the state Of health Of any dough
boy" who had been out the night be-
fore. One Of the party told Clark that
he was on his way to Stockholm
where the lights were just as bright as
any In the Canal zone.
Indignant, Clark demanded that he
he taken before the captain, who as
sured him that it was impossible to
turn the steamer back and that he
would receive pay for any work done
on the voyage. He demanded that
he be permitted to communicate with
the army authorities If the boat
touched England. after he had learned
that the ship might go through the
inland canal to Manchester.
Before the ship started inland to
Manchester, however, the Swedish sail
ors put Clark under guard to prevent
his escape, but he managed to elude
this watch and get ashore. He told
his story to q policeman and was
taken to a police station. where he
asked for assistance in notifying his
officers at the Canal zone that he had
been "shanghaied."
Clark told the officers of the court
martial that he was held for several
weeks In prison at Manchester incom-
municado, pending receipt OF word
from the American government. He
said that the food was insufficient and
tie jailers were abusive.
After he had failed to get word to
the American consul and his detention
was heightened into weeks. he said a
Presbyterian clergyman in Manches-
ter communicated with the American
embassy in London and few days
later a guard put the soldier aboard
the Celtic on alien deportation orders.
He was arrested when the ship
reached port at New York and taken
to the military prison at Fort Jay on
charges Of deseftiOn.
Telling OF this unusual case. off,
GERS at Governors island recalled a
similar one during the war. 4 SOL
dier was kidnapped at St. Nazaire by
Spanish soldiers and landed in Spain,
where he was kept In prison for about
two years before his status was finally
established He also was tried for
desertion and acquitted.