Walt Whitman
In Bronze 1
’TtmTyyATrlttnrfPiiATrr'''
Courtesy offfr-. do PovJcCson
—-^ ^
Isihe "GoodGray PoeF\
doming Into His Own?«
By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN
•I WALT WHITMAN, the
“good gray poet,” com
ing Into Ills own at last?
Now York city, anyway,
seems to be scrambling
hard to overtake his
fame. The Authors’ club
has decided upon a $60,
(K)0 ten-foot bronze stat
ue and Jo Davidson has been com
missioned to make It. Anyone who
feels so inclined can contribute to the
cost.
"Shut not your doors to me, proud
libraries!’’ wrote Whitman in one of
his poems. Libraries have been known
to do that. And now comes forward
I he New Y'ork Public library with an
exhibition of Whitmania in aid of the
statue project—it Is the first time
any library has honored the poet with
a special exhibition. The Whitmania
consists of books, editions of all sorts,
translations into foreign languages,
newspupers and magazines to whl'ch
he contributed, manuscripts, paintings,
busts, carlcntures, books about him
and a great variety of other material
Illustrative of the life and work of
“New Y’ork’s greatest poet." The ex
hibition has been assembled and ar
ranged by Alfred Goldsmith, the Whit
man biographer. The editions on view
are thus summarized:
“Here Is shown ‘Franklin Evans,’
Whitman’s first volume, a puerile tem
perunce melodrama. Seven copies of
the famous First Edition of 'Leaves of
Grass." The Second Edition with the
well-known ’I greet you at the be
ginning of a great career,’ from Emer
son spread upon the backstrlp is fully
displayed, as are the various quaint
blind-tooled bindings of the Third
Edition. Accompanying ’l’ussage to
India,' Is the orlgluul munuscript. This
poem was, as he said, that which ex
pressed his deepest self. The Osgood'
Edition of 18S1-2, which caused such a
furor because of threatened legal
prosecution. Is shown, as well as the
Rees, Welsh Edition, which paid the
author the largest royalty checks of his
career. A rarely seen volume Is
‘Memoranda During the War,' of
which less* than one hundred copies
were printed. The edition which Whit
man himself thought his most hand
some one wns the autographed 'Pocket
book Edition' of 1889. But ten years
after his death in 1892 his collected
works were published de luxe by Put
nam in ten highly illustrated volumes.
The ‘Deathbed Edition' was hastily
bound for Whltmnn Just before his
death in order that he might make a
farewell present, to Ills friends. The
display of editions closes with the
latest, issued u year ago, the Inclusive
Edition."
The committee on sculpture In
cludes Prof. George S. Heilman, chair
man, and Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney,
Aymar Embury, Otto H. Kahn, Charles
De Kay, Guy Egleston and Prof.
Emory Holloway, chnlrmnn of the
Walt Whitman Memorial committee.
Professor Heilman hus this to say
about tlie selection of Mr. Duvidson's
model for the memorial:
"No formal competition was held,
but designs were submitted by six
sculptors, who requested that their
works lie considered. At the recent
meeting of the sculpture committee
Mr. Davidson’s design was declared
the most fitting and arrangements
were begun with him looking to the
completion of the work.
“Mr. Davidson took as his theme
Whitman’s ‘Song of the Open Road’—
‘the long, brown path before me lead
ing wherever I choose.’ His idea Is
to have the statue raised slightly
above Its surroundings on a sort of
hillock, suggesting an open road. On
the ground In front of the statue he
visualizes a big stone slab upon which
would be set In bronze the first stanza
of ‘The Song of the Open Road.’ When
completed the statue will be In bronze
and of heroic size, probably ten feet
or more In height."
Here are lines from “The Song of
the Open Road,” which show that Mr.
Davidson's idea for a statue la a
happy one:
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the
open road.
Healthy, free, the world before me.
The long brown path before me lead
ing wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good fortune. I
myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, post
pone no more, need nothing,
Done with. Indoor complaints, libraries,
querulous" criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open
road.
From this hour I ordain myself loosed
of limits and Imaginary lines.
Going where I list, my own master
total and absolute,
Listening to others, considering well
what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contem- I
plating.
Gently, but with undeniable will, di
vesting myself of the holds that
would hold me.
I Inhale great, great draughts of
space.
The east and the west are mine, and
the north and the south are mine.
Camerado. I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than
money,
X give you myself before preaching or
law:
Will you give me yourself? Will you
come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long
as we live?
Foreigners Insist that it was Walt
Whitman who put us on the literary
map—and keeps us there. However
that may be, John Burroughs prob
ably expressed the American view
point of a generation ago pretty
closely when he wrote this:
“Who goes there? hankering, gross,
mystical, nude,”—hankering like the
great elk In the forest at springtime;
gross as unhoused nature Is gross;
mystical as Boehme or Swedenborg;
and so far as the concealments and
disguises of the conventional man, and
the usual adornments of polite verse,
are concerned, as nude as Adam In
Paradise. Indeed, It was the nudity
of Walt Whltman*?i verse, both In re
spect to its subject matter and hia
mode of treatment of It, that so aston
ished, when it did not repel his read
ers. He boldly stripped away every
thing: conventional and artificial from
man—clothes, customs, institutions,
etc.—and treated him as he is, pri
marily, in and of himself and in hia
relation to the universe; and with
equal boldness he stripped away what
were to *him the artificial adjuncts of
poetry—rhyme, measure and all the
Btock language and forms of the
schools—and planted himself upon a
spontaneous rhythm of language and
the inherently poetic in the common
and universal.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was born
on Long Island and was educated In
the public schools of New York and
Brooklyn. On his father’s side he was
English and on his mother’s side Hol
land Dutch. His maternal grandmoth
er was a Quakeress. He learned print
ing and carpentering and also taught
school. He began his writing In 18-41
with conventional stories. Next he
was editor of the Brooklyn Eagle.
After a leisurely tour of Middle West
and Southern states he joined the staff
of the New Orleans Crescent. A little
later he established in Brooklyn the
Freeman, a short-lived organ of the
Free-Soilers. From 1851 to 1854 he
was busied with building and selling
houses. And in 1855 nppeared “Leaves
of Grass,’’ for which he set most of
the type himself. Leading citizens,
preachers, lecturers and the general
public combined in denouncing bint as
a revolutionary, abandoned voluptu
ary, unredeemed pagan, free-thinker,
literary charlatan nnd so on. As
late at 1881 the Massachusetts au
thorities objected to its snle on the
ground that it was immoral.
From 1862 to 1865 Whitman was a
volunteer war nurse in the nrmy hos
pitals of Washington; It is said thnt
he visited and administered to lOOIOOO
sick and wounded, Union and Confed
erate. Out of these experiences came
“Drum Taps” (1865) and other vol
umes. His labors as a nurse brought
on a serious illness from which he
never recovered. In 1865 he was given
a clerkship In the Interior department,
but was discharged by the secretary,
who objected to the “Adamic” pas
sages in “Leaves of Grass.” He was
given a new place under the attorney
general and held it until a stroke of
paralysis in 1873 compelled his re
tirement. He went to Camden, N. J„
where he lived till his death, March
26, 1892.
Walt Whitman, anticipating abusive
criticism, said he was “willing to wait
to be understood by the growth of the
taste" of himself. Is the long wuit
over?
Getting Service
A policeman was crossing a bridge
a lien a cry, arose tlmt a little girl bad j
fallen over the parapet into the river ]
below.
The nursemaid appealed to the offi
cer to jump into tlie seething current
and rescue her charge. In tive min
utes lie had landed the half-drowned
girl on the bank.
The crowd applauded ills heroism,
when the nurse came up und said:
“Do you mind Jumping In again?
Minnie had a doll In her hand when she
fell oyer, and she’s left it at the hot
tom.”
Rule for Burning Coke
A simple rule to follow for burning
coke Is to carry a deep bed of fuel—a
bed about 18 Inches thick gives best
results. Use very little draft after the
fire Is started and keep It always un
der control. Do not stir the fuel.
Clean the fire In the morning. If pos
sible. Use sized coke—one-half to two
inches for furnaces, boilers and stoves;
one-half to four Inches for open grates,
bo not allow ashes to accumulate in
the ash pit.
Influenza Old Plague
Influenza is not the modern inflic
tion it is generally Imagined. This
disease is mentioned in the play “The
Lame Lover,” written in 1770 by
Samuel Foote.
Articles Inlaid In pearl shell are
found in the ruins of PompelL
Petticoat Insurrection
In 1000 Charles NIvelles and others
founded Illloxi, the first French colony
In Louisiana. It was with the great
est difficulty that NIvelles prevented
the colony front dispersing In 1705
during n yellow fever epidemic. Later
when the women rebelled against the
diet of corn NIvelles was one of the
chief men to put down the rebellion.
It was dubbed “the petticoat Insur
rection.”—Exchange.
Beading Is seeing by proxy.
Game in Dismal Swamps
The Great Dismal swamp is a
morass in southeastern Virginia and
northeastern North Carolina. It ex
tends from near Norfolk 30 to -10 miles
southward. It contains Lake Drum
mond and is traversed by the Dismal
Swamp canal, which connects Chesa
peake bay and Albemarle sound.
Part of the swamp has been reclaimed.
The biological survey says that the
following animals are found In Dls
mal swamp of Virginia: Bears, wild
cats, rabbits, deer, opossums, squirrels
and raccoons.
Dog of Ancienta
From bones and fossil remains
StephunltB has established the fact,
says Nature Mngazlne, that the Ger
man shepherd dog existed In practl
cally his present form in 5700 B. C.—
nearly 8,000 years ago!
The United States supplies four
fifths of China's cigarettes.
LOOT/
& ELMO SCOTT WATSON
C«MEiiiifiiaHS55afiMSBaBaSBCBBi
1926, Weatern Newspaper Union.)
Scourge of Carolina Coast
AMONG the handicaps of the first
settlers In the Carolinus was their
nearness to the- West Indies, the lair
of the pirate captains who plundered
the shipping on the Atlantic seaboard
early in the Eighteenth century, Capt.
Charles Vane shares with the notorious
Blfickbeard the name for being the
most active of these freebooters, and
lie soon won the name of the “Scourge
of the Carolina Coast.”
Vane began his career by stealing
from the Spaniards the silver which
they were salvaging from a galleon
wrecked in the Gulf of Florida. There
was but little profit in this, however,
so lie stfle a ship, enlisted a crew of
“brethren of the main” and began
ranging up and down the coast from
Florida (to New York, capturing and
looting every vessel which he could
overtake. Finally the governor of
South Carolina sent nn armed sloop
under the famous Colonel Ithet to put
an end b» the depredations, but Vane
eluded him. During tills time Vane
met Hlackbeard and the two great
pirate leaders saluted each other with
cannon loaded with shot. After these
civilities were exchanged, the two
crews joined In a glorious debauch.
Soon after this Vane was deposed
by his crew and marooned on an is
land because he refused to fight a big
French ship which he met. However,
he was soon back in the business again
and enjoying great prosperity when
misfortune struck him again. A tor
nado wrecked his ship and he and a
few others were washed up on a desert
island near Honduras. Finally a ship
put in foir water and Vane was delight
ed to find that it was commanded by
a "dear old friend,” Captain Holford.
'Captain Holford, however, knew only
too well what sort of man Vane was
He told 'the pirate leader bluntly, “I
shall not trust you aboard my ship
unless I carry you as a prisoner, for I
shall haw you caballing with my men,
knock me on the head and run away
with my ship a-pirating.” So he re
fused to rescue Vane, and declared
that If upon his return within a month
be found the pirate still there, he
would he taken to Jamaica to be
hanged.
Some lime later another ship put In
and the captain of this vessel. Igno
rant of Vane’s real character, took
him aboard. Vane quickly won his
way Into the good graces of this
commander by showing himself to be
a “brisk hand.” Then misfortune
again overtook the pirate leader. Cap
tain Holford sailed Into' the harbor
again nnd upon going aboard the other
captain’s ship, immediately spied Vane
and told the captain what a dangerous
guest he had on board. So they
clapped the luckless pirate in irons,
took him to Jamaica where Captain
Holford Iliad the pleasure of handing
over his “dear old friend” to the au
thorities to be sufficiently hanged.
The End of “Calico Jack”
AMONG the pirate crew of Capt.
Charles Vane, the scourge of the
Carolina coast, was a quartermaster
nnined John Rackhain, or Calico Jack,
as he was known among Jiis mates
Calico Jack succeeded Vane as captain
when the pirate leader refused to fight
a big French ship and as a result
was deposed by his crew and marooned
en a little island off the coast of Amer
ica. On the first day of his command
Rackhain captured several small ves
sels and thus established himself solid
ly with* his crew of swashbucklers.
Their next prize was a ship from
Madeira which they captured off the
Island of Jamaica. Tills wns early in
December, 1718, and with their plun
der the pirates retired to a little is
land near Jamaica and prepared to
celebrate Christmas. The orgy of
drinking and carousing that followed
was perhaps the strangest celebration
of this festival ever held.
Then cheered up by their revels, the
pirates jailed away seeking new vic
tims. Their next prize was a most
unexpected ope. When they boarded
the ship they found Its cargo consist
ed of thieves from the famous Newgate
prison in England on their way to a
life of slavery in the plantations!
After capturing two more ships, Rack
ham sailed to the Bahamas where the
governor, Capt. Woodes Rogers, sent a
sloop and deprived the pirate leader of
his prizes, but let him go his way un
molested. Rackham then sailed to a
little island near Cuba where he and
his crew retired from their pirating
until all of their provisions were ex
hausted. After a narrow escape from
capture by a Spanish vessel the pirate
again took to the sea and began prey
ing upon the shipping, large and small,
in the West Indies. He was not above
cattle stealing and robbing fishermen's
nets, and his prosperity waned.
At last he was captured by a gov
ernment vessel nnd taken to Jamaica
for trial. Among his crew were two
women pirates, Anne Benny and Mary
Read (whose exploits are told else
where in this series), the former be
ing his wife. In pirate fashion. Just
before Rackham’s execution he was
allowed to see his Anne, but all the
comfort he received from her was to
be told that she was sorry to see him
there, but “if he had fought tike a
man, he need not have been hanged
like a dog.” So on November 17, 1720,
Gallows Point at Point Royal In Ja
maica.'saw another victim swing aloft
tq pay for piracy on the high seas.
Roman Coliteum
The greatest length of the Coliseum
of Rome Is about 615 feet; the length
of the shorter axis of the ellipse, 510
feet; the height Is about 160 feet. The
seating capacity was 87,000 people.
The dimensions of the arena were 281
feet by 177 feet.
Brazilian Product
Cnrauuba wax, used in the manufac
ture of phonograph records, conies
from Bahia and several other states
in Bra/U.
SPORT WITH A TRAVELING HUNTING LODGE
The ancient bus shown above arrived in Boston the other day after having
traveled more than 4,000 miles in 1 month 21 days. It is a combination
hunting lodge and traveling home owned by (left to right) E. P. Dupre and
Ernest Wintergreen of Glen Cove, L. I. The two buck deer on the fenders
were shot in Jackman, Maine. .
USE OF DIMMER
IS NOT FAVORED
Motor Code to Provide 200
Feet Visibility Is Urged
by Bureau.
Amendments to motor-vehicle laws.
In states which have not already re
vised their codes, to regulate night
driving headlights so that at all times
tlie motorist is able to see clearly 200
feet ahead instearf of forcing the use
of dimmers, characterized as danger
ous, is urged ..by the federal bureau
of standards of the Department of
Commerce. Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and
Michigan fall into the group of states
that compel dimmed lights by passing
motorists on highways, a practice
which tlie bureau scientists condemn
as dangerous, not alone to the drivers
but to pedestrians as well.
Spotlight Is Favored.
The spotlight, excoriated in and
around Chicago, is recommended, with
proper study of its use. Most of the
eastern states, as well ns states west
of Illinois, including Wisconsin, have
ndopted this apparently revolutionary
headlight recommendation. In tlie Dis
trict of Columbia where it has been
In effect since May 3, night motor ac
cidents have been materially reduced.
Prior to May 3 57 per cent of the total
nccidents occurred between dusk and
dawn. Since adoption of the “ample
driving light" standard, with directed
beams instead of dimmed lamps, the
number has been reduced to 23 per
cent.
Opposes Dimming in Country.
The whole story, according to E. C.
Crittenden, chief of the electrical di
vision of the big government experi
ment station, lies In Intelligent use of
modern devices. He makes no choice
between various makes of motor head
lights .now on the market, one type
of which uses a plane reflector with
redirecting lenses, the other employ
ing a special reflector with lenses that
spread or bend the light rays down
ward.
“For country driving,” says a part j
of the bureau’s publication on head
lights, “dimming the headlights when
meeting another car should be dis
couraged because of the element of
danger involved. Under normal driv
ing conditions the driver's eyes are ad
justed for good road illumination.
When the lights are dimmed, suddenly
reducing the road light, a frw seconds
must elapse before the ey»s can read
just themselves to the new conditions.
During these ’few seconds tlie driver
Is unable to see clearly and may col
lide with the oncoming car, run Into
pedestrians walking along the road
side or get off tlie road Into the ditch.
In addition, the lights on the approach
ing car seem unduly bright because
no road illumination beyond them is
available to reduce the contrast with
the background.”
How to Warm Up a Motor
During Winter Season
“Serious dnmnge Is done to many
automobiles during the winter season
by drivers who do not know how to
warm up tbe motor,” says a bulletin
issued, by the mechanical first aid
department of the Chicago Motor
dub. When the thermometer starts
to drop the oil congeals, and cannot
circulate properly. If the driver at
tempts to warm his engine by rac
ing the motor, the thin film of oil Is
likely to be burned off, and burned
out bearings may be the result of this
common practice.
“When the engine is being raced,
the fan Is being driven at a high rate
of speed which tends to cool the en
gine, rather than to heat it. The en
gine should be run slowly with the
spark retarded. A retarded spark
ends to heat the engine'quickly. Use
the choke or the primer to keep the
engine from stalling.”.
Several Reasons' Why It
Is Expensive to Speed
The driver who persists in operat
ing liis motor ear at high speed may
elude constables and police, says a
writer in the Farm and Fireside, hut
he cannot escape from the penalties
which natural mechanical laws levy
upon his car. Here are ten reasons
why it is expensive, dangerous und
inconsiderate of others to speed.
Tires last about twice as long on a
car that is driven at 15 miles an hour
as upon cars driven at 30 miles an
hour. Speeding generates heat, which
is an enemy to rubber.
Driving a car around a sharp corner
at 25 miles an hour does more dam
age to the tires than 200 miles of
straight road work. Excessive side
pressure on tires may pinch the tubes,
and it always strains the side walls of
the casings.
High speeds are likely to cause skid
ding and breakage of springs and
steering gear, any of which are dan
gerous when speeding.
In proportion to the mileage ob
tained, high speeds require more gas
oline and oil than a moderate rate of
traveling.
Driving a car at excessive, speed,
especially over rough roads, subjects
the bearings to enormous strains.
High speed may cause crystalliza
tion of rapidly moving metal parts
that are subject to strain, and these
may break at any time without warn
ing.
High speeds interfere with the ac
curacy of steering, as is shown by the
number of reckless drivers who have
gone over banks and into ditches, es
pecially on curves.
It is a strain on the eyes and the
nerves of the driver and also of the
other passengers in the car.
Finally, It' is a menace to the pleas
ure and safety of others who use the
road.
The majority of modern motor cars
develop their maximum efficiency with
lowest expense at speeds ranging from
,15 to 25 miles an hour, depending on
the make of car and conditions of the
road.
Shutters on Radiators
Kept Closed Too Long
The most Important precaution to
take in operating a motor car during
the winter is to avoid loss of fuel and
injury to the engine through the im
proper co-ordination between the ra
diator shutter and the radiator heat
Indicator.
Many drivers keep their shutters
closed too long in winter driving be
cause they neglect to observe the
reading of the heat indicator on the
radiator’cap. This lack of co-ordina
tion onuses overheating of the engine,
as easily possible in the winter as In
the summer months, with its conse
quent wastage of fuel and loss of
fuel and loss of power.
On the other hand. If too little of
the radiator is covered, the engine wil^
be too cool and there will be resultant
poor carburization, gasoline waste,
crankcase dilution and motor carbon
izing.
Steaming, which often Indicates
trouble in summer, cannot be detected
easily In winter, as the steam " con
denses as soon as it comes in contact
with the cold air and therefore the
readings of the heat indicator must be
relied upon.
Headlight Glasses Must
Be Kept in Right Place
Some of the light diffusers or devices
designed to redirect the rays of light,
are designed to be effective only when
in a certain fixed position. Vibration
may so loosen the. glass in the rlra
that the glass will be permitted to
creep around, in which case the whoie
scheme fails. Not all headlights have
means for anchoring the glass perma
nently, so it is a matter for the own
er’s attention to see that the glasses
are properly fastened in place. ' If
screws nre used it might do to Insert a
lock washer under each one.
Auto Squibs
Maybe the fellows who start too
soon when the corner electric signals
say “Change” think tliut they say
“Charge 1”
• • •
It certainly wasn’t a gallant speech
for the young man caught driving. 35
miles an hour, with one arm around
ills girl companion, to tell the judge
that he whs In a hurry.
Enter nnd leave the garnge slowly.
Street car motonnen, pedestrians, chil
dren, other drivers, and garage work
ers may not be looking.
• • *
Keep an eye on the car In front hav
ing four-wheel brakes. Cars of this
type are likely to stop suddenly, there
by causing a collision.
• • •
Of the 80.000 applications for pat
ents made annually in the United
States fully one-third relate to some
phase of the automobile industry.
WR1GLEYS
NEW HANDY PACK
Fits hand
pocket and purse
More for your money
end the best Peppermint
Chewing Sweet for any money
Look (or Wrigley’s P. K. Handy Pack
PI on your Dealers Connter g7 jfc
Cuticura
Toilet Trio
Send for Samples
To Ootlcnra Laboratories, Dept. M. Malden, Mam.
HONEY of
HOREHOUND
and TAR
There's nothing like this for
breaking up colds — amazing
relief to sore throats, head and
chest — Safe — Money back.
30 cents at all druggists.
MOTHER GRAY’S POWDERS
BENEFIT MANY CHILDREN
Thousands of mothers have found
Mother Gray’s Sweet Powders, an ex
cellent remedy for children complain
ing of Headaches, Colds, Feverishness,
Worms, Stomach Troubles and other
Irregularities from which children suf
fer these days and excellent results are
accomplished by its use. They break
up colds and regulate the bowels.
Used and recommended by Mothers
for over 30 years. Sold by Druggists .
everywhere. Trial package FItEE. Ad
dress, Mother Gray Co., Le Roy, N. Y.
Loosen Up That Cold
With Musterole
Have Musterole handy when a cold
starts. It has all of the advantages of
grandmother’s mustard plaster WITH
OUT the blister. Apply it with the
fingers. You feel a warm tingle as the
healing ointment penetrates the pores,
then a soothing, cooling sensation and
quick relief.
Made of pure oil of mustard and g
other simple ingredients. Musterole is_ J
recommended by many nursesand
doctors. Try Musterole for bronchitis,
sore throat, stiff neck, pleurisy, rheu
matism, lumbago, croup, asthma, neu- ■
. ralgia, congestion, pains ana aches of
the back or joints, sore muscles, sprains,
bruises, chilblains, frosted feet, cold? of
the chest. It may prevent pneumonia
and “flu.”
Better than a mustard plaster
A woman seldom throws at anything
until site is so mud that site can't see
straight.
The oeenpionnl nce nf Roman F!yp Ba1«nm
at nitfht will prevent and relieve tired a
and eye atrain. 372 Pearl St.. N\ Y. Adv.
If you get mad at mean talk, you
don’t belong on a soliciting commit
fee.
This Mother Knows the
“Just as soon as any of my family
get. a cold, I always give them Father
John’s Medicine. One of my bahies
as well as my husband had pneumonia
two years ago, and 1 believe that
Father John’s Medicine helped them to
regain their health. I always use
Father John’s Medicine Just as soon as
any of us get cold.” (Signed) Mrs.
John’ E. Nicholes, 2936 Hazel St,
Erie, Pa.
i, ■ sn -
Green’s
August Flower
for Constipation,
Indigestion and
Torpid Liver
—— Relieves that feeling
of having eaten unwisely. 30c and
90c bottles. AT ALL DRUGGISTS.
N. N. U., NEW YORK, NO. 5 -19?6.