Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-03-09
SERVICE CREDITS FOR
PEACE VICTORIES FOR
THE u. S. MARINES
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(Contirued from Page One.)
multitude OF manners and in
stances and has built for the corps
a reputation for peace-time use
fulness which has rendered it in
public opinion more than ever an
indispensable adjunct of the gov
eminent During this period, also,
efftciencies have been introduced
and economies put into effect
which have cut the cost to the gov
eminent OF maintaining the ma
rine corps, per man, to less than
half the sum formerly necessary.
An apt illustration OF the man.
ner in which the corps new policy
has put all marines ION their toes
to serve the nation whenever need
cd, is furnished in the happen
ings OF the collapse of the knick-
erbocker theater. The roof Of the
Inflated building fell shortly after
s o'clock in the evening of Janu-
airy 28. A few minutes after the
disaster a private of marines
whose name has never been ascer-
tanned, telephoned the news to
Lieut.. Cox Robert Y. Rhea, COM
handing officer of the marines at
the Washington navy yard. With
out awaiting authority or orders
from anyone, Colonel Rhea sent
orderlies dashiug through barracks
and squadrooms with orders to
turn all men out, and telephoned
the news to tho nearby Marine
barracks, where the commanding
officer, Mai clayton B. Vogel, took
similar action with the result thai
within a quarter of an hour, more
than 200 marines with trucks con-
tanning jacks, acetylene torches and
other devices were vucking they
way through the heavy snow to the
scene of the accident two miles
away.
"Thank God for the Marines"
Their work on arrival is too well
known all over the country to
need retelling. The ejaculation Of
one Of the survivors,; THANK God
for the marinesw sums up public
sentiment in a sentence. After
working for five hours, cutting
steel bars lifting concrete blocks
and carrying out crushed and man
gled victims, the marines were re-
lieved at 2 o'clock Sunday morn
ing by an army detachment from
Fort Meyer, Va, which had been
through the usual Mill
tary channels.
Work of a less sensational char
acter in the public behalf was done
~ t1l,
during the last week IL
January. owing to snow and cold,
railroad traffic was at standstill,
tracks were blocked. switches in
the Washington railroad yards
were frozen and no trains had
for three days. Washing
ington's food supply was running
low and the city was threatened
with q shortage as railroad off
cials feared it would be many
days before rattle could be re-
sumed. Calls for labor were sent
from Boston to Richmond. but it
was impossible to secure enough
men to make Roadway.
In the emergency the railroad
officials applied to the federal |
1oFtl lllIiNIltt WHICH luI tleu W lI1s
marine corps. AS q result. the en-
force at Quantico, thirty |
miles south of Washington, was
sent to the Washington railroad
yards together with nearly a thou
sand marines. Blow torches, port
able furnaces, and healing devices
were set up and the marines turn
ed with a will thawing switches
and clearing the right-of-way un-
der expert supervision, with the
result that within twenty-four
hours the task which had baffIel
the railroad authorities was ac-
and traffic was re-
Marines Halted Mail Thcfts
Another sensational incident OF
the peace-time service of the MA
rine corps is the work done by ma
rines guarding mails. During the
week before the marines took over
the task more than million dol
lars had been lost by the govern
ment in two mail robberies, occur
ing within few days of each 9TH
er, in New York and Chicago. Dur
ing a little more than a year prior
nine million dollars worth of cash
and securities had been stolen by
mail robbers and large quantities
of valuable documents lost and de-
stroyed. The postoffice authori-
ties were contemplating organiz-
ing force of guards, but were
by the difficulties of or
ganization and the prodigous cost.
In the emergency, the late assist
ant postmaster general, Colonel
suggested that the
marines be called on. which plan
appealed to all as the solution OF
the difficulty.
So quickly and efficiently did
the corps respond to orders from
the president to supply postal
guards that in less than
twelve hours after orders were re-
ceived, mail trains leaving New
York, New Orleans, San Francisco
and other cities, carried marine
guards armed with sawed-off shot
guns and pistols. It is an aston
ishing fact that when marines took
over the task attempts at robberies
stopped as IL by magic. Over the
whole time since the marines have
been guarding mails not one cent
has been lost by the postoffice de-
partment through q hold-up.
Not the least interesting policy of
the peace time service is the man
ner in which it has worked out in
side the corps. Marines now build
I