The midland journal., 1946-10-04
LOOKING
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BY GEORGE S. BENSON
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Ship Ahoy

Upstream from Niagara Falls a
short distance, the weather-beaten
hulk of a wrecked yacht lay for
years in mid-channel. / saw it once,
clinging precariously to the rough,
stone river-bed while the swift cur
rent lashed violently at its decaying
sides. A Canadian, native of We'll
land County, told me the story of
the derelict, a thriller if l ever
heard one, and worth repeating.
Several miles up the river, this
comfortable little craft rode at an
chor one night in quiet water. The
skipper and some guests were sleep
ing peacefully on boardsswhen, by
some unexplained circumstance, the
boat came loose from her moor
ings. Nobody walked for a long
time. The boat drifted with the
current, which was not fast at first
but gradually gained speed as
it neared the falls.
Start Investigation.
The keel was grinding on the nod
ulated rock bottom before the boats
unsteady motion reused any of the
sleepers. Then they all got active
at once. Most of them had no idea
what to do first. Some actually be-
gan accusing one another and trying
to fix the blame for losing the
anchor-this, with the laundering
cataract in plain hearing, destruc-
ton only few seconds away.
The skipper was man of action
and presence of mind. While his
guests suffered panic, he went be-
low and blasted a hole in the hull
with dynamite. The crippled craft
took on water fast and settled to
bottom in the swift stream. Then it
lodged! Days like months passed
before the handful of frightened peo-
pie could be brought ashore but no
lives were lost. Quick action saved
them.
Paying the Price
Certainly the skipper loved his
boat and hated to sacrifice it. He
wished something might have walked
him a mile up stream where life
and property both could have been
saved, but he paid the price of sur
vival. Americas ship of state is,
this very day, drifting down chan
mel toward a cataract, the same
channel through which Italy, Ger
many, France and England passed
before us.
Numberless weak vessels have
plunged helplessly over Niagara to
a destruction nobody ever has lived
to describe. Just so, many helpless
peoples have been swept through
revolution to dictatorship because
they could not help themselves.
Even recently England blasted the
sturdy keel of a self-governing ma
ton. The people are safe but their
long-cherished liberty is damaged.
Figuratively, England's freedom
hangs precariously in rough cur
rent.
We Can Save All
The United States of America has
drifted far but our engines are still
in condition and the boat is not out
of control. Still there is time for
our leaders to save, not only our
people from revolution, but the per-
sonal freedom our forefathers fled
monarchs and despots to obtain and
fought desperately to keep. The way
to ruin is via central planning, gov
ernment-management, direction,
control ownership.
Government ownership is full con-
centration of authority-a pretty
name for despotism. The trend is
unmistakable, the tragic course is
familiar. 1t is time to turn back
under power toward individual lib
erty: freedom of faith, freedom of
speech, the right to own property
and the right to buy and sell. While
we have the only seaworthy yacht on
the river, it's time for quick action.