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f Jt *> THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. €., FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1938 <■>»- » wfe I » » '> - 1 . ' * 41 Extra! Extra! Extra! Japanese Fire on American Battleship!" That, However, Was Three-Quarters of a Century Ago, When Commander David Stoclcton McDougal Steamed Into the Straits of Shimonoseki on the Frigate Wyoming and Won the Title of "American Devil." Here Is the Story of This "Forgotten Hero.' e Western Newspaper Union. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I T WAS the summer of 1863. Among the United States naval officers, who were detailed to patrol the high seas on the lookout for armed Confederate vessels that were preying upon Union commerce, was Com mander David Stockton McDougal of the steam frigate, Wyo ming. Ordered to cruise in Asiatic waters, McDougal arrived in the Orient to find that danger from Southern raiders was not the only threat to the safety of American shipping. The Mikado of Japan had issued an edict expelling all foreigners from the Flowery Kingdom and fanatical Jap anese clansmen had already made several attacks upon American and other foreign vessels in the Straits of Shi monoseki. McDougal pro ceeded immediately to the scene of hostilities and on July 16 steamed into the straits. Ahead of his were bluffs from 50 to 150 feet high on top of which were fortifications whose guns could sweep the waters of the strait. Besides these land batteries there were three native vessels in readiness to repel any in vader. It was a situation which might have daunted the bravest cap tain that ever trod the deck of a man-of-war. “McDougal was the type who didn’t know what fear was, which, combined with a clear insight into the motives for action, made an ideal officer” says Maclay in his “History of the Navy.” “Making directly for these ves sels, he shook out his colors, but reserved his fire, intending to at tack the vessels first and give his attention to the batteries after wards. The sight of the Ameri can flag seemed to act like oil on the fire, for now the Japanese opened from other batteries with savage ferocity. McDougal’s shift from the main channel somewhat disconcerted their plans, as seen by the fact that most of their shots took effect in the Wyoming’s rigging.” The American vessel was now engaged with the three Japanese ships. By a well-directed fire the American gunners succeeded in sinking two of them, despite the fact that the Wyoming had run aground and was in danger of being rammed by the third. But t l e fire of the frigate soon drove t at enemy ship off and silenced her guns. Then McDougal concentrated on the shore batteries and, while deliberately retracing his course through the straits, kept up a most effective fire. The Japa nese clansmen, fearless as they were, were greatly impressed by McDougal’s boldness. They be lieved that he possessed more than human nerve in thus run ning the gantlet of fire which they had prepared for him and long afterward they spoke re spectfully of the “American Dev il” who had defeated them in the Straits of Shimonoseki. His Deed Forgotten. An even higher tribute was paid to him by a fellow-Ameri- can. Theodore Roosevelt, histori an of the navy and later Presi dent of the United States, de clared, “Had this action occurred at any other time than during the Civil war, its fame would have echoed all over the world.” But the memory of two great land victories were fresh in the minds of the people of the North at that time and what hero-wor ship they had to pour out then was reserved for those who had fought at Gettysburg and Vicks burg. So it was easy for them to overlook the valor of an ob scure sea captain winning a mi nor battle on the other side of the world, heroic though his achievement had been. It was the sort of thing, though, that his superiors in the navy department, who were familiar with his career, would have ex pected of him. Once before he had given an exhibition of the dauntless courage that was char acteristic of him. Born in Ohio, September 27, 1809, Stockton had' entered the navy at the age of nineteen. When the government purchased Mare island near San Francisco for a navy yard, Stockton was in command of the storesidp, War ren. Soon afterwards he joined the sloop, Natchez, of the West Indies squadron as a midshipman and served on board that vessel from 1829 to 1831. It was while the Natchez lay at anchor in the harbor of Pensa cola, Fla., that McDougal first demonstrated the quality of his courage. One day there was a cry of “Man overboard!” Every one knew that Pensacola bay was filled with sharks, for they had seen them swarming around the ship, ready to snatch at any ref use thrown overboard. But Mc Dougal didn’t hesitate a moment. He jumped into the water, swam to the struggling sailor and suc ceeded in keeping the man afloat, at the same time fighting off the sharks, until a boat that was hastily put out came to his res cue. Half Century of Service. In 1864 McDougal was com missioned a captain and returned from the Orient to have charge of the Mare Island navy yard, where his career as an officer had begun. During 1868-69 he was commander of the steam sloop, Powhatan, and in 1870 of the south squadron of the Pacific fleet. Made a rear-admiral in 1873, he was then placed on the retired list after nearly a half century of service. His last years were saddened by the death of his only son, Charles J. McDou gal, who was drowned in 1881 off Cape Mendocino, Calif., while serving as a lighthouse inspec tor. McDougal died in San Fran cisco on August 7, 1882. • • • This year not only marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of an American naval officer’s heroic deed in Japanese waters, but it also marks the eighty-fifth anni versary of another American na val officer’s trimph in that coun try. In the case of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, how ever, it was a triumph of peace, a feat of diplomacy which places his name high in our diplomatic as well as naval history. “So long as the sun shall warm the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan; and let all know that the King of Spain himself, or the Christian’s God, or the great God of all, if he violate this command, shall pay for it with his head.” That was the sign which had hung on the gates of Japan for 200 years. It meant that the “Hermit Nation” wanted to re main just that—the people and Below: George Tiffany, great- grandson of Commodore M. C. Perry, standing beside the monu ment to Perry at Uraga, Japan. COMMANDER D. S. McDOUGAL the rulers of the Flowery King dom didn’t want anything to do with the “foreign devils.” There was one man, however, who had a vision of the vast pos sibilities growing out of the open ing of Japan to the outside world and he refused to acknowledge defeat. That was Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, young er brother of Oliver Hazard Per ry, “hero of Lake Erie” in the War of 1812. It was mainly due to Matthew Perry’s persistence that the idea was kept alive through the administrations of three secretaries of the navy. He studied all available books on Japan and personally inter viewed whalers of the New Eng land coast who had worked in Japanese waters. One thing he found out was that $17,000,000 of American capital was invested in the whaling industry off the coasts of Japan andiChina. The fact that many shipwrecked Jap anese sailors were picked up on the American coast and cared for and that shipwrecked Ameri can sailors drifted to the shores of Japan gave Perry on2 of the pretexts for the expedition. It was desirable that a treaty be made providing for the mu tual care of these men. As an other opening wedge, he loaded his ships with seeds and me chanical appliances for farming that would open the eyes of the Orientals to the achievements of the Western world. Daniel Webster, then secretary of state, was too busy at the time of Perry’s departure to write out his instructions. Perry was told to write them himself, and Web ster made practically no change in them. Perry’s Arrival. And so it came about that on a summer day 85 years ago Com modore Perry anchored in the harbor of Yeddo (modem To kyo) a powerful force of men-of- war which greatly impressed the Japanese with their show of {tow er. However, he had no inten tion of using force to accomplish his aims. Diplomacy was to be his weapon and to its aid he brought his wide reading, his fine knowledge of the Japanese peo ple and his insight into human nature. Knowing the Japanese to be lovers of mystery, Perry retired to his cabin and showed his face only on the rarest occasions when meetings had been arranged with the shogun or with the emperor. Having delivered his message from the President, Perry sailed away with the promise to re turn the following spring. He did so, and on March 31, 1854, he signed with the Japanese com missioners a treaty of peace, am ity and commerce. The treaty provided for kind treatment to United States sailors ship wrecked on the shores of Japan, permission to obtain wood, wa ter, coal, provisions, and other stores needed by ships at sea, with leave also to anchor in the ports of Shimada in Idzu and Hakodate on the island of Yezo. That date marked the end of the “Hermit Kingdom.” Hence forth Japan would be the “Land of the Rising Sun” and, in the future, one of the great powers of the world. .v ‘ ' ''' y'' , - ■ v m y n 4 1 ifc ■ ' ' ' ' »' 5% '" ' S? . '® At Shimada on the Idzu penin sula in Japan stands a tall gran ite monument on the face of which is this inscription : “In memory of Townsend Har ris, American consul general, who by the Treaty of Yeddo, July 4, 1858, opened Japan to the world and on this spot, Septem ber 4, 1859, raised the first con sular flag in this empire and here resided until November 23, 1857. Erected by Viscount E. Shibusa- wa, Edgar A. Bancroft (late American ambassador to Japan; and Henry M. Wolf, of Chicago, September 4, i927.” Thus is honored the man about whom it has been said: “Com modore Perry may have swung ajar the door to Japan with his warships, but Townsend Harris kept it open.” To verify that statement, read now the Japanese inscription on the opposite face of the monument. It was written by Viscount Shibusawa and the English translation of it is this: “Townsend Harris, the first consul general of the United States to reside in Japan, ar rived at Shimoda, Idzu, in Aug ust, 1856. In those days, our people of all classes were poorly informed about the world’s af fairs, and most of them took it for granted that all foreign pow ers were insatiably greedy and aggressive. Nothing daunted by this unfavorable atmosphere, he spared no pains to point out to our authorities the advantage of starting commercial connections with foreign nations, and ex plained to them the established usages and conventions of inter national intercourse.” Native of New York. Harris was born at Sandy Hill, Washington county, N. Y., Octo ber 3, 1803, the scion of a Welsh family that had emigrated to America with Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. When he was fourteen the Harris fami ly moved to New York city where he was employed as a clerk in a drugstore and later, by his in dustry and business acumen, be came a prominent dealer in crockery and hardware. He became one of the founders of the New York Free college (now the College of the City of New York) and of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani mals. He served for several years on the New York board of education, was its president in 1846-47 and although offered sev eral salaried public offices, he steadfastly i. .* ,sed to accept them. In 1848 Harris sailed as super- cargo on one of his own vessels to the South Pacific ocean and visited all of the Asiatic coun tries on the Indian ocean, study ing the psychology of the Orien tal as a part of his business. During this voyage he met Com modore Perry who wrote back to Washington that he had found the right man for the task of pro moting closer relations with Ja pan. Accordingly, President Franklin Pierce appointed Har ris American consul at Ning-Po, China, and later chose him for the new office of consul general to Japan. In August, 1856, Harris arrived at Shimada, accompanied by his own interpreter. He found Ja pan in a turmoil, one faction de manding the exclusion of all for eigners and a second urging their entrance. For 18 months Harris lived in Shimada, hardly dar ing to leave his house. Time and again the government authorities asked him to quit the country and there were even threats of assassination. Not an American ship or a sol dier was there to protect him. He stood alone in an unfriendly land, facing endless delays and trying to fathom the inscrutable mys teries of Oriental guile. But he clung to his purpose and at last found a way to gain an audience with the Tycoon, head of the gov ernment at Yeddo He was kept waiting there four months longer but he used the time to explain to the Japanese political economy, international law and general affairs of West ern civilization. Gradually he overcame the suspicion pf the Japanese, who learned to trust and admire the indomitable American. At last, on July 4, 1858, a treaty was signed open ing five ports to Americans and permitting them the privilege of residence in the country. Harris later resigned his post and left Japan. The whole coun try mourned his going. He re turned to New York city and djgd there February 25, 1878. Colonial Center in Virginia Has Been Reclaimed With All Its Beauty Prepared by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. W ITH the tourist season of 1938 under way, Wil liamsburg, Va., again welcomes thousands who would enjoy the atmosphere of colo nial days in the Old Dominion state. This city, so rich in historic asso ciation and time-encrusted beauty, offered the one feasible opportunity to reclaim and restore a colonial center. Of four cities pre-eminently im portant in America’s early history, and especially potent in shaping pre- Revolutionary thought which led to the establishment of our Republic, Williamsburg alone seemed to lend itself to such a project. Obviously, an area a mile long and approximately a half mile wide could not have been secured for restoration of colonial Boston with Faneuil hall as its center; nor in colonial New York with old Trinity church as its center; nor in colonial Philadelphia around Independence hall. In Williamsburg there still stood about 95 colonial buildings of vari ous kinds within a relatively small area, largely surrounded by an un spoiled countryside. At the outset complete secrecy was essential to the success of the restoration endeavor. The prelim inary plans were made from meas urements of the streets and proper ties of Williamsburg taken in the quiet darkness between midnight and dawn. No one became aware of their strange procedure save one Negro who, wandering through the black ness of the night, came unawares upon a steel tapeline being dragged across an intersecting street along which, in a somewhat befuddled con dition, he was seeking to find his Way home. With a terrified yell he leaped over the line and vanished into the night. Photographs were taken from the air and pieced together, and early maps, including the Frenchman’s map of 1782, were consulted. Pre liminary historical investigations were made to evaluate the proper ties. Authenticity Was Requisite. At length preliminary plans of much wider scope than the sketches shown in the Wythe House in 1927 were viewed by John D. Rockefeller Jr., and a few of his confidential as sociates in a private room of a New York hotel on November 21, 1927. Soon thereafter authority was given to proceed with the purchase of property essential to the beginnings of the restoration endeavor. From the outset it was recog nized that the value of the restora tion would be its authenticity. So that the plans and material struc ture, the outward architectural form and the artistry of interior decora tion, as well as the furnishings in the restored buildings, might be truthful portrayals, a research or ganization was constituted. Every possible source of docu mentary evidence in America, in England, in France and elsewhere, that offered any hope, was searched by trained investigators. American national and state historical soci eties, museums, and libraries were visited. Research students were sent to England to examine the rec ords in the British museum, the public record office, the university libraries and other public and pri vate collections of old manuscript material. Warrington Dawson, of the Amer ican embassy in Paris, combed the archives of France for evidence that might have found its way there from the officers and soldiers quar tered in Williamsburg for several months after the battle of Yorktown. Valuable source material was dis covered. Find Old Map In the library of the college hung the famous map of the unknown Frenchman. It has become known as the “Bible of the Restoration.” This map designates to scale every public and private building in colo nial Williamsburg as of 1782, when the legend on the map, written in French, shows it to have been drawn. A child’s scrapbook of the colonial period, found in Williamsburg, con tained a pen sketch of the rear of the Wren building, with notes designating the professors who taught in the various classrooms and the students who then occupied the dormer-windowed rooms of this building. In the Huntington library in Cali fornia was found a floor plan of this main college building drawn by Thomas Jefferson. A floor plan of the palace made by Jefferson was located in the Massachusetts His torical society. The most spectacular find was made by a research worker in the Bodleian library, at Oxford—a cop perplate engraved about 1740, show ing the elevations of all the colonial college buildings, the capitol of 1704, and also the palace with its con temporaneous flanking building. The plate was immediately photo graphed and transmitted by radio to America. Numerous other confirming and revealing evidences came to light, establishing the authenticity of architectural designs. In the college library hung a trac ing of a drawing of the college made by a Swiss traveler, Francis Louis Michel, who had visited Wil liamsburg in 1702. Among the col lege archives were reproductions of other sketches made _y him show ing the semi-circular walls of the south end of the capitol, then in con struction. Most of the bricks used in colo nial buildings were made in the colony, usually in the immediate vicinity of the buildings. The art of making the glazed-end bricks which were then often employed for decorative effect had been lost. Ef forts were made without result to discover in England, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere the tech nique of this lost art. Finally experiments, by primitive methods, were made in Williams burg, utilizing Williamsburg clay. With a Negro and a mule to work the mixing apparatus and by ex periments with different kinds of wood burned in the improvised kiln, under tested temperatures, the proc ess of making the glazed-end bricks was rediscovered. The wavy glass characteristic of colonial windows was obtained after various glass-makers in America and abroad had studied this prob lem. Original Paint Colors Fonnd. The paint upon and within the colonial houses in Williamsburg and throughout Tidewater Virginia was scraped through successive coats and the vivid original paint colors, most generally used in the early and succeeding years of the colonial period, were found and re corded. Similar methods were pur sued in the study of woods, iron work, stone, and tile of the early Williamsburg buildings. Existing fire ordinances prohibited wood shingles; so a fireproof shingle was developed, after extensive ex periment, which simulates a cy press shingle. To the restoration’s department of research, truth is so dear that it often has to be purchased at the price of romance. Should anyone venture to write of the tramontane expedition of Governor Spotswood and his Knight of the Golden Horseshoe, the re search department would be imme diately on the alert to see that the golden horseshoes were worn by the knights as mementos and not by the horses. Digging Up Evidence.' The archeological research work of the restoration contributed to the solution of many architectural prob lems. Where colonial houses shown on the Frenchman’s map had van ished, excavations were made and foundations unearthed were meas ured and photographed. Thus the exact size and outline of buildings and the location of chimneys, par tition walls, and other items of in terest were revealed. The size and shape of the bricks used were de termined, as well as the moldings upon stone steps. Excavations made to unearth the palace foundations revealed the an cient flagstone floors in the base ment in perfect condition, also sup porting arches, parts of the old walls, spacious wine cellars, sec tions of the marble mantels and pictured tiles. Star Dust ★ ‘Scarlett’ at Last ★ Daddy of Sound ★ Delayed Honeymoon By Virginia Vale T HE announcement that Norma Shearer will play "Scarlett O’Hara” in "Gohe With the Wind” stirred up a tempest in a teapot that is still raging. Certainly, on the face of things, it does not seem to be the type of role that she does beM. “She has no southern accent naturally, so whatever she says will sound pho ney,” declare the Miriam Hopkins supporters; “She’s too sweet and mild,” wail the people who wanted Bette Davis to have the part. But nobody’s complaining because Clark Gable is to play “Rhett But ler”; that role was made for him from the beginning. * Robert Taylor’s New York fans were numerous but not unruly when he spent a short vacation in the city recently. This time he managed to arrive and leave places without hav- ROBERT TAYLOR ing his shirt or his shoes torn off. No strange girls were discovered hidden in his suite at the hotel, waiting for autographs. Fans just gathered in crowds outside his ho tel and waited for him to appear. And he endeared himself to them by refusing to duck in and out by the freight entrance, and so disap* point them. Furthermore, he did what few movie stars do: came out and said quite frankly that, if the fans didn’t gather to see him, he’d know that he vas slipping. When August Baron died a little while ago the public, in general, paid little attention to the fact. Few people had ever heard of him. yet he was the first man to take out patents on talking pictures. He did it in 1896 and 1900, but the patents expired before he could get back ing. He died, penniless and blind, at the age of eighty-three, without ever having seen a talking picture. * Richard Cromwell has learned to expect practical jokes in the movie studios where he’s worked, but he wasn’t prepared—until recently—to encounter them in the radio world as well. He plays “Kit Marshall” in “Those We Love,” and takes it pretty seriously, so when he re ceived a phone call one day recent ly, telling him that the rehearsal would be held an hour earlier than usual, he saw to it that he got there in plenty of time. And then he sat there for one solid hour, waiting for the rest of the cast to show up. Donald Woods, who’s also in the serial, was re sponsible. * The Don Ameches were married six years-ago, and at the time Don promised his wife a honeymoon in Europe. They started on it just after Don fin ished his last broadcast of the current season, July 3—flew from Hollywood t o New York and set sail on the Queen Mary. And they’ve planned a honeymoon worth waiting six years for. Radio, like every other industry, has its slang—here’s a bit of it, as submitted by Mark Wamow, musi cal director at Columbia Broadcast ing studios. Cliff-hanger—an adven ture serial. Clientitis—sponsor trou ble. Fairy godfather—easy-going sponsor. Dawn patrol—early morn ing broadcasting. Putty blower- trombone. Wood pile—xylophone. Lockjaw—singer with a tired voice. Spieler—announcer. * ODDS AND ENDS—Walter Wanger has announced that he’s through with “difficult” actresses; he’s let Sylvia Sidney and Madeleine Carroll go, and is groom ing Louise Plan for stardom ... In “The Lady and the Cowboy” David Niven will play opposite Merle Oberon, to whom his engagement was reported a year or so ago —maybe just for publicity purposes . . . Miss Oberon, incidentally, has a grand scheme for dressing simply and well; sweaters and skirts for daytime, white eve ning gowns at night; she buys them by the dozens . . . Dickie Moore’s baby sister is acting with Bette Davis in “The Sisters.” • Western Newspaper Union. Don Ameche