Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1933-03-03
FRANK PARKER,
TOCBRlD

dOre Roosevelt, was shot but not
seriously injured, when he was a
candidate for a third term. 1t was
only accidental hat the assassin
who fired at Presisdent-elect Frank
lin Roosevelt missed him and hir
Mayor Cermak of Chicago and
four others instead.
Assassination is a risk which
every head of "a nation constantly
faces. The President of France
was killed less than a year ago.
President Obregon of Mexico was
asssassinated in 1928. King George
of Greece, Prince Ito of Japan,
President Madero of Mexico, King
Humbert of Italy, are only a few
of the national rulers who have
died at the hands of assassins in
recent years.
There is no effective way to pro-
tect rulers from the irresponsible
attacks of lunatics. A president or
a king must show himself to his
people. In this country a guard
of secret service men always travels
with the President and President
elect, but even their precautions
sometimes fail. The President of
the United States literally takes his
life in his hands when he accepts
that high office.
EYEWITNESS of Two
l happened to be present at the
shooting of two Presidents, Gar
field and Mckinley. l doubt if there
is another person living Of
whom that is true. AS a small boy
in Washington l was passing the
old Baltimore and Potomac Rail
road station on July ?, 1881, and
went into the station to get a drink
of water. As | entered the waiting
room men and women were scream
ing and rushing IN every direction.
l wormed my way through the
crowd, boylike, and saw one of the
station guards struggling with a
bearded man, who was still holding
a smoking revolver. On the floor
lay a figure which I recognized as
that of President Garfield and
bending over him was the familiar
figure Of JSInes~ 6. Blaine, Secre-
tary Of State.
General Gerfeld died two mon
tbs later. Medical and surgical
science was still crude fifty years
ago. There is little doubt that if
doctors had knows then what they
know now he would have recover
ed.
LUNATICS, with Guns
There is no doubt that Guiteau,
who shot Garfe6ld, like Wilkes
Booth, who killed Lincoln, and
Leon Czologoscz, the assassin of
Mckinley, was insane.
AS a newspaper reporter "cover-
ing" the Pan-American Exposition
in Buffalo l was in the Temple of
Music when Mckinley was shot on
E, 1901. The murderer
had wrapped a handkerchief around
his right hand to make it look as
if it had been injured, but the ban.
dage concealed a revolver. Only.
those closest to the President heard
the shots or realized for a few min
utes what had happened. I was
present when the Buffalo police
questioned him. If ever there was
a lunatic Czolgoscz was one. And
apparently, Zingara, who shot at
Franklin Roosevelt, is likewise not
FLORIDA 49,. Canal Plan
Among all the projects for pub
lie improvements to be financed by
the Reconstruction Finance Cor
poration I cannot think of any that
would do so much good as the plan
to excavate a sea-level ship canal
across the neck of the Florida Pen
%insula, connecting the Gulf Of
Mexico directly with the Atlantic
Ocean. 1t would give immediate
employment to tens Of thousands.
1t would benefit everybody in the
United States, from Texas east, by
shortening the time and reducing
the cost of transportation of COM
modities between the Gulf states
and the wealthy North Atlantic
seaboard. 1t would pay for itself
through tolls charged for the use
of the canal by ships.
I hear from Florida that the
railroads of Florida are opposing this
project. That seems to me like
pretty small business, but it is
quite characteristic. The wide
spread and growing demand for a
complete reorganization of the rail
road systems of the United States
arises 1~aroe1v from i,,st e,,ch an ar