davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1928-05-27
evens Silent Reminder of Perilous Days for Capital

pointing toward Fort Stevens. if
you'll Just come along down there
with ME, I'll show you one OF the
prettiest little fights you could wish
to See.'
"No Sooner were the words ont
of my month"; remarked Gen. Wright.
in speaking of the. matter after
ward, than deeply regretted hav-
ing uttered them. ! fully realized
that the Presidents life was far too
valuable to be brought into danger
by any careless words OF mine. But
e it was too late. He not only ac-
cepted nv invitation but insisted
upon accompanying me, notw1th-
standing all I could say to prevent
him. He sent his wife back and
when mounted the parapet, there
he was beside me, looking out upon
the scene with great deal of inter-
est. The enemy's sharpshooters
were firing pretty closely. and ex-
planned to him that the place was
entirely too dangerous for him.
LIT Is not more dangerous for
me than it is for you, he replied
coolly.' So
"'But is it my duty to be here
while 1t is your duty not to expose
yourself. Your position requires
this, and I particularly request you
to remember it,
Just then a sharpshooter's bullet
struck surgeon who was standing
near the President and became
really alarmed for his safety and l
have no doubt, little excited. as
said firmly:
"'Mr. President, you must really
- To-
ton. I cannot allow you to remain
here longer and If you refuse I shall
deem it my duty to have you removed
under guard
"I suppose the absurdity of my
threatening to put the President Of
the United States under arrest
amused him, for he smiled, looked at
me quizzicaIly and got down behind
the parapet, where provided him
with an ammunition box for seat,
but he wouldn't sit still a minute at
a time and was constantly stretching
up his long form to see what was
going on, thereby exposing fully half
of himself to danger in spite of all
I could do; and thus he continued
to bob UP and down until the action
was over, when he cheered Justify
along with the rest and bidding us
good night, got into his carriage and
rode away home"
X X X X
A MOTHER figure Of prominence VIII
was also looking from the othe
side was Gen. Breckenridge, who ono
served as Vice President of the UniteJ
States and who was, in addition, I
presidential candidate against Lincoll
in the election of 1850.
The rampartS of Fort Stevens, a
stated by the late w. v. Cox, ex
tended from point about so feet nortl
Of the Brightwood schoolhouse COL
building), in a northern direction 70
a distance of about $50 feet, then in
general northwest direction for IL
feet, then northwest at more acut
angle for so feet, then nearly west 70
220 feet, then southwest for about 8
feet, and then south about ia fee
with a perimeter of l ,125 feet. The for
had two magazines, one where Emor
Church stands and the other to tn
west where the depression is still visi
bic. 1t was armed with 10 guns an
two mortars.
Evening star., 1928-05-27
By JOHN CLAGErT PRoCToR.

T TOW many persons in Washing
ton have ever visited Fort
Stevens, in Brightwood, and
i 4 viewed what still remains OF
the earthworks thrown up by
the Union forces to defend the Nations
Capital? Comparatively few, venture
to say. The average mind OF the pres
erlt generation dwells little upon m tne
Civil War, the war between the States,
or whatever name one may care to call
the conflict which ragged in this coun-
try between 1861 and 1855. The World
War, being the last of the great strug-
giles in which. our country has taken
part. naturally and rightfuily. has
placed in the background a war that
meant more to America than war
with a foreign country could have
meant, for, without a united country,
such as we had when we fought the
central powers, our chances Tor sue
cess would have been small indeed
Just how near our country came to
be permanently severed and divided is
a question of opinion Few who are
familiar with the subject would attempt
to argue that the Battle of Fort Stevens
meant little in settling the great qlleS-
tions then involving in war the North
and the South, Had Gen. Jubal A:
Early succeeded in capturing and burn
:rg washington in July, 1854, there is
surely no one who believes for minute
that this, in itself, would not either
lave changed entirely the conclusion
ef the war. or at least extended it for
a considerable time. So that the Bat
tis of Fort Stevens meant a. great deal
m ore than many persons at this late
dsy have any idea, for in addition TO
saving the Capital from destruction and
consequently concluding the war in
less time than otherwise would have
been the case, it brought upon the
sctne the great Civil War President,
Abraham Lincoln, whose anxiety upon
THAT occasion imperiled- even his own
life. = .s'
fort Stevens proper, especially that spot
llron which Lincoln stood upon that
momentous occasion, is now owned by
tie Government, and is appropriately
N arked with boulder and tablet
placed by the survivors of the 9Th Army
CTps That part of the fort still re-
manning stands in the rear of Emory
NJ E. Church, South, and it can be
reached through the church grounds or
By way of the narrow road running
north and south, to the rear.
ON Wednesday afternoon, the Grand
" Army Of the Republic and the
people of Brightwood and vicinity will
assemble at the little National Gene
terry opposite Walter Reed General
Hospital, called Battle Ground Ma
tional Cemetery, and there pay homage
to few of the men who gave their
lives in defense Of the Nations Capital
City, and who happen to be inferred
there Some of those who. gave their
lives in this engagement are buried
elsewhere throughout the country, but
the 40 graves here marked viii ever be
a silent reminder Of the. perilouS days
when Gen.. Early gave Washington its
greatest scare since 1914, when the
British actually succeeded in burning
the public buildings here.
Near Silver Spring, short distance
north of Battle Ground National Gene
terry, few Confederate dead are buried,
and rarely are their graves not also
remembered by the people Of Bright
wood.
Unquestionably there are number Of
Evening star., 1928-05-27

Seven hundred years ago a boy
of Is was left to rule his fathers
tribe in the Cobb Desert. His fol-
lowers deserted him and he was
hunted like an animal by his
enemies. Made captive, he es-
capped and returned to find his
camp in ashes, his herds gone.
his mother and brothers vanish
ed. BY subtle strategy and reck-
less bravery, he gradually won a
following of Mongol warriors.
When he was a young man, he
was once more recognized as
Khan of his tribe. In his thir-
ties, he was fighting for the mas
terry of the steppes. When he
was A. he had attained a domi-
nant position and he called a
council of all the KhanS, and
they voted him Genghis Kha
: Khan, "the Emperor of All Men"
Now he is organizing the Mon
gol horde, which is. to put half
the world to fire and sword.
This is the third of series Of
articles on the life Of the man
whose conqueSts were more eX-
tensive than those of Alexander,
Caesar or Napoleon.
Evening star., 1928-05-27
BY. HAROLD LAMB.

THE council had been held in
= 1908 and in the same year the
official of Cathay, the warden
i Of the western marches, whose
duty it was to. watch over the,
barbariars beyond the great wall and
collect tribute from them, reported that
absolute quiet prevails in the far king
donns." Following the selection of
Genghis Khan as their master, the
Turko- -Mongol peoples were united for
the first time in several centuries.
In the high tide of their enthusiasm
they believed that Temujin, now Geng-
his Khan, was in reality a bogdo, a
sending from the gods, endowed with
the power of high Heaven. But nc
enthusiasm could have held these law
less hordes in restraint. They had lived
too long governed py tribal custom. And
customs vary as much as the natures
Of men.
To hold them in check, .Genghis
Khan had the military organization
of his Mongols, most of whom were
now veterans. But he announced that
he had made the Yassa to rule them
The Yassa was his code of laws, a
combination of his own will and The
most expedient of tribal customs.
He made it clear, that he disliket
particularly theft and adultery, which
Evening star., 1928-05-27

people still living who have personal
recollection of the battle of Fort
Stevens. The writer. has not But
since his interest in this particular
event has extended over 20 or more
years, he does feel he has some
knowledge on the subject.
In order to appreciate at all the serl-
Gus situation the country was in at
the time of the battle of Fort Stevens,
and to realize what it would have
meant-though even temporarily--lo
have lost this engagement, one must
take into consideration the conditions
existing in the United States at tina:
time. The war had been going on
for more than three years. Gettysburg
had been fought just one year before
without any apparent decisive results.
Lincoln had been but a month before
renominated by the Republicans at
Baltimore, with no certainty of his re-
election Indeed, he himself had de-
SPARED of his own reelection, ard
even went so far as to write letter
to his opponent, Gen. George B. Nc
Clelland, imploring him, if elected, to
carry out his policies Of the war. Fortu-
nately, circumstances did not make it
necessary to deliver this letter.
Formidable criticisms were hurled at
the administration from all quarters.
Even Horace Greeley used his powerful
New York Tribune to help (uninteE-
tionally, Of course) to "clog up the
works. " Added to this, Salmon p
Chase had but recently rendered his
resignation. The country had gone
enormously in debt. owing nearly two
billion dollars. stupendous sum at that
date. Seven and three-tenthS per cert
at par had been eXacted for its las.
loan, and the pacifists were bowling, as
usual, for peace at any price," At no
time during the war was the country
in a greater or a more serious state
of uncertainty than when Gen. Lee
sent Gen. Early up the valley with the
apparent intention of compelling Grant
to.weaken his hold on Richmond.
X \ X X
COON Hagerstown paid his army a
~ tribute of $4,000, and Frederick
10 times as much. Intoxicated with
these successes, Early determined to
make a drive on Washington, which
had been left almost unguarded, as he
had suspected, and probably, in ad-
vance, was aware of, and when Lew
Wallace was defeated at the Monocac7
on July 3, 1864. naturally the fears of
the citizens and public officials here
were greatly intensified.
Wallace had not the remotest idea
of defeating Early. He was sent merely
to retard his progress and hold him
back until Gen. Wright, with other
parts Of the 9Th Army Corps, could
reach Washington. This Wallace ac-
complished most satisfactorily, and al
though he lost 123 killed and 603
wounded, he was able to fall back with
his army and put himself in a position
to protect Baltimore. Wallace is said
10 have had, at the Monocacy. $3.50
men; and the estimates of Early's forces
run as high as $4,000.
With Wallace out of the way, Early
Evening star., 1928-05-27
enghs Khan Organized Nomad Army to Terrorze Mutud

be done in that time. They had multi
piled enormously, and when men m
crease and crowd one another they build
walls. And they divide themselves into
different classes of human beings
Unlike the Cobb, the men behind the
wall were slaves and peasants-ScholarS
soldiers, and beggars--mandarinS, dukes,
and princes. Always they had had an
emperor, the son of Heaven, Tlen tsl,
In the year 1910, the Year of the
Sheep in the Calendar of the Twelve
Beasts, the throne was occupied by the
Chm or Golden dynasty. The court was
at Yen-king, near the site OF modern
Peking.
CATHAY was like an aged woman,
sunk in meditation, clad perhaps
in too elaborate garments, surrounded
by many children, little needed The
hours Of its rising and sleeping were all
ordained; it went forth in chariots, at
tended by servants, and prayed to the
tablets of the dead. 4
Its garments were Of floss silk, many
colored-though the slaves might run
heads of its high officials umbrellas
were carried. Inside the entrances of its
dwellings. screens served to keep out
wandering devils 1t bowed the head to
ritual, and studied how to make its con-
duct perfect
Barbarians had come down from the
north-the Cathayans themselves. and
the ChinS, century ago They had
been absorbed into the great mass OF
human beings behind the wall. In time
they had fallen into the manners OF
Cathay, clad themselves in its garments
and followed its ritual.
Within the cities of Cathay were
pleasure lakes. and barges where men
could sit with rice wine, listening to the
melody of silver bells in a woman's
hand. They might, perhaps, drift
under a tiled pagoda roof. or hear the
summons Of temple gong.
They studied the Bamboo Books writ
ten in forgotten ages and discussed to-
gether at long-drawn- feasts the golden
days of Tang. They were the men of
Chin. followers Of a dynasty, servants Of
the sitter on the throne Tradition
ruled them, as 1t taught them the high
est duty was to the dynasty. Even
though they might. as in the days Of
Confucius. cry out at the imperial cor
tege wherein the emperor rode with a
courtesan in a carriage before the
savant. ''Lo, here is lust in front and
or even a gabond poet. wrapped in
Evening star., 1928-05-27

drunken contemplation of the beauty of
moonlight upon river, might fall in
the water and be drowned and be no
less a poet for all that. The pursuit of
perfection is laborious business, but
TINA did not matter much in Cathay.
A painter contented himself with
touching silk with bit of color-a bird
on a branch, or a snow-capped noun
tain. A detail, but a perfect detail
brass globes and quadrantS, noted down
each movement Of star; the minstrel
of war was contemplative.
mo sound of bird now breaks from
the hushed walls. Only the wind whis--
ties through the long night, where
ghosts of the dead wander in the gloom
The fading moon twinkles on the fall
ing snow. The foSseS of the walls are
frozen with blood and bodies with
boards stiff with ice. Each arrow is
spent; every, bowString broken. The
strength of the war horse is lost. Thus
is the city of Han-h under the hand OF
the enemy"
So the minstrel, seeing a picture in
death itself. voiced the resignation that
is the heritage of Cathay.
War engines they had-20-horse
chariotS, ancient and useless, but also
stone casters, croSS-bows that the
strength of 10 men did not serve to
wind-catapults that took 200 artiller-
lists to draw taut the massive ropes;
they had the fire that flies" and the
fire that could be exploded in bamboo
tubes.
y + i X
THE waging of war. had been an art
= in Cathay. since the days when the
armored regiments and chariots maneu-
vered over the wastes of Asia, and
temple was erected in the camp for the
general commanding to mediate upon
his plans undisturbed. Kwan-ti. the
war god, never lacked devotees The
strength of Cathay was in the discipline
of its trained masses, and its enormous
reservoirs of human life. AS to its
weakness q Cathayan general II CEN
turies had written ominously:
"A can bring misfortune upon
his = attempting to govern IL ike
a kin when he is ignorant Of the
condii laced by the army and with
in 1t. IS is called hobbling an army
This ca sss Testlessness among the sol
dierS.
And when an army is restless and
distrustful, anarchy results and victory
is thrown away"
The weakness of Catllay was in Its
Emperor, who must remain IN Yer-kine
(Contin,ied on Seventh Page.J
Evening star., 1928-05-27
of TseWHo dThreinD DdnB
Memorial lDayExH Hsnes-Gc Earys sExpnince

were. brought down the Piney Branch
road in S~znEulanceS to th6 hospitals.
This morning the rebels showed
themselves in front of Fort Stevens
in considerable force, but were no
nearer than they were at sunset
yesterday A brisk skirmiSh ensued,
and in it were several wounded on
our side. A portion of the 9Th Illi-
nois Cavalry were on the extreme
right and this part of the line
pressed back the rebel line about
half mile.
when the 9Th Illinois pushed
back the rebel line this morning. two
prisoners were observation-disclosures
who, on being brought in, stated
that their force in the immediate
vicinity of Forts Stevens and De
Russey numbered 10000, Of which
considerable portion were infan-
try, with little artillery, but they
expected heavy reinforcements Of
artillery.
Rebel prisoners brought in last
night and this morning concur in
the statement that Early'S division
passed through Rockville at day
break yesterday morning, and that
Breckinridge'S followed at 9 am,
other troops moving at the same
time from Rockville to the Baltimore
turnpike.
"They state that the cavalry
which first made its appearance be-
fore Washington was the main bodies
of Bradley T. Johnson's and Gil
more'S commands. Well informed
officers, they say, placed the invad-
ing force at between 35 and 40
thousand men, of all branches of
arms"
Under the cover of darkness, Gen
Early, on the night of July IL, with
drew his forces, and crossed over into
Virginia at Whites Ford in Loudour
County. The retreat was done with
skill and perfection, and the Unior
forces were not aware of his retreat
until he was too far away to be over
taken.
THE authorities differ greatly as t.
i the casualties and the number o.
troops engaged, A conservative esti
mate puts the Union killed at not ovel
100 with 400 wounded, and of the Con
federates, 600, which most naturall!
included killed, wounded and missing
The lowest apparently conservative
estimate of the number OF troops witt
Gen. Early is given as $4,000, while th'
general said he had in all only abou
5000 men.
One of the most interesting thing
about Fort Stevens Is the fact that j
was here, during the engagement re-
ferred to, that President Lincoln wa!
under fire. Various accounts of thii
episode are given, but the most inter
eSting of all, taken from an accoun
printed many years ago, is as follows
President Lincoln, accompanied
by his wife, came on the grounds m
a carriage. Seeing Gen. Wright, he
at once extended his hand, saying:
General, arm very glad to see you.
This looks as though we were going
to do something
"'Mr. President said the general,
Evening star., 1928-05-27

were to be punished by death. If a
horse were stolen, the punishment
should be death. He said that il
angered him TO hear Of child dis
obedient to its parents, of the younger
brother to the older: husbands want
Of confidence in his wife, a wifes lack
of submission to her husband; the fail
ure of the rich to aid the poor and
of interiors to show respect for leaders.
Regarding strong drink, Mongol
failing, he said: IA man who Is drunk
is like one struck on the head; his wis
dom and skill avail him not at all. Get
drunk only three times month 1t
would be better not to get drunk at all.
But who can abstain altogether"
Another weakness of the Mongols was
fear of thunder During the severe
storms of the Cobb this fear had so over =
mastered them at times that they threw
themselves into lakes and rivers to es-
cape the wrath of the skies-at least
so the worthy voyager, Fra Rubruquis,
tells us. The YasSa forbade bathing, or
touching water at all during thunder
storm.
The Yassa dealt in simple fashion
with spies, SodomiteS, false witnesses
and black sorcererS. They were put TO
death.
j I1E llTbL Jaw VI bEl6 aSSd Is TdJIl6T
remarkable. 1T is ordered that all men
should believe in one God, creator of
Heaven and earth, the sole giver OF
goods and poverty, Of life and death as
pleases Him, whose power over all
things Is absolute" An echo here of
the teachings of the early HISTORIANS
But this law was never pronounced
publicity Genghis Khan had no wish to
make dividing line among his subjects
or to stir up the always latent embers
of doctripc- iantagonism.
4 \ X X
A PSYCHOLOGIST might say thai
the Yossa aimed at three things
J obedience to Genghia Khan a binding
| together of the nomad clans and the
merciless punishment Of wrong -doiug
It concerned itself with men, not prop
/ erty. And man, by the way. was moi
/ TO be ajudged guilty-unless caught in
I - act of crime-if he did not confess
| II must be remembered that among
the Mongols, an illiterate people, a
mans spoken word was solemn mat
! ter.
! More often than not nomad, faced
with an accusation of ng-doing
would admit it If he were guilty There
we're instances of some who came in
to the Khan and asked to be punished
In the later years Of his life. obedience
Evening star., 1928-05-27

Fighting on the Seventh Street
Road.
Messengers just in report lively
skirmishing going on this morning
in the vicinity of Fort Massachu-
sets (near Clagett's place., some
four miles out.
THE rebels did not show them
selves in large force then, however" !"
1.-The Rebel Force in Front of U.s.
It's Strength and Purpose.
Reports concerning the numbers
and purpose of the rebel invading
force are confusingly conflicting.
I'VE give elsewhere the opinion
entertained by many around us that
the rebel force is not of weight suf-
ficient to undertake serious attack
upon the Notifications of Washing
ton, and it is not their purpose to
do so.
per contra: We have just re-
ceived the following from a source
of great intelligence and reliability,
one that has on repeated occasions
had the earliest and most accurate
information Of rebel movements in
VA A4C AA11O1 lCGCkNEA
from this quarter is as follows:
THE rebel army of invasion
marched down the valley 45,000
strong. including 5000 Cavalry,
under command of Maj. Gen. Jubal
Early and Brig. Gems. Breckenridge,
Ransom, Imboden and McCausland.
Longstreet was at Gordonsville on
Tuesday last, with additional forcso
to join the rebel army of invasion,
and the purpose of that army was
an attempt at the capture of Wash
ington by a surprise ="
"The President in the Field.
1.-THE President rode to the front
in the direction of Tennallytown at
about am. today, accompanied by
Assistant Adjt. Gen. Hardie, and a
mounted escort Yesterday he paid
a similar visit of observation and in
spection. His presence among our
gallant troops will doubtless do
much to animate and encourage
them in the discharge of their
duties .
"Arming the Employees.
This morning arms were given
out to the employees of several of
the departments, who have organ
1zed for the defense of the city. This
afternoon the clerks of the adiutant
generals Office were drilling in front
of Lafayette Square, fully armed
and equipped
"A number of the patients in the
hospitals, able to bear arms for
chnrf ftT0nn hn -
about $50 going from Campbell Hos
pital this morning."
X 4 4 X
SARLY'S first sight of Fort Steven
convinced him that the works Wer
put feebly manned" In fact, this opin
on was justified, since the only troop
hat were ready to defend Washingto
Vt this time included mainly GONZALES
:ents from nearly every regiment in tn
Army OF the Potomac, few Regular
md militia made up of citizens and de
)artmental employees. However, ther
seemed to have been no lack of officers
Tor it was facetiouSly said that ther
we're -four times as many generals 1
Washington as privates."
Here was Early's opportunity. Ths
ne faltered and failed was fortunate fe
he country, but 1t is probable he woul
rave succeeded had he taken the chanc
then and there. Early's men needle
rest. He was willing to kill the enem.
but not his own soldiers. While hi
army was resting, the gallant st
Corps was hitting only the high spot
IN the Seventh street pike, and wheI
On the morning of the 12th, he sa'
through his glasses Gen. Wright's mag
nificent army manning the fort In frol1
Evening star., 1928-05-27

THE IMPERIAL EDICT SHOULD
HAVE BEEN RECEIVED ON
BENDED KNEES--C EN- G. HIS
KHAN STRETCHED OUT HIS
HAND FOR 1T.
The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-08-15
SMITH COMES BACK

ALBANY, N. Y., Aug. 15.- Gov. Alfred F. Smith, in a terse letter to the Rev. John Roach Straton, has renewed his demand that they meet in the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City where the minister recently de- clared the Governor was the deadliest foe of the forces for moral progress in America.
 Gov. Smith insisted on mo" or "yes" answer and clearly indi- cated he would not consider the suggestion that they meet else- where.
 "Your reply shows you mis- understand the situation. I have no intention of conducting a political debate with you. I wrote you, not in the capacity of a candidate or personally, but as Governor of New York, whom you traduced.