Show y ELNO SCOTT WATSON 1926 Wei herrn stern newspaper unions union what Is a pirate a A robber on the high bleb airall I 1 a freebooter a buccaneer S 00 0 SAYS mr webster the friend of the crossword cross word puzzle fan but his definition needs considerable tion it Is doubtful if there was ever a pirate who was born bom to his profession sion ile he usually began life at sea as an honest sailor perhaps a captains cruelty caused the crew to mutiny kill the bated officer seize the ship elect a new leader and sail off on the account or he may have been in an honest seaman who was captured by some pirate leader and was compelled to enter service under the freebooter sometimes it must be admitted he willingly enough enrolled among the brethren of the coast and embarked upon the career which led inevitably to one ona end the gallows then again be may have commanded a privateer ship during one of the interminable wars of the nations who two or three hundred years ago were contesting tor for supremacy of the seas Is in such a case be carried on legitimate warfare under a kings commission or a letter of 0 marque against the shipping of his count rys enemy so on these private ering raids he learned life his lessons of bloodshed and forcible seizure ure of property another thing about pirates and piracy the definition of these Is largely a matter of point of view sir francis drake Is one of En glands greatest heroes but the most ardent hero bero worshiper of the days when england was mistress of the seas cannot deny that drakes earlier voyages were little more than buccaneering bucca expeditions ions even though his later exploits had the seal of royal approval as private ering expeditions against the hated spaniard but could you have asked king philip to characterize drake it Is unlikely that he would have spoken of him otherwise than as a wicked and abandoned gyrate sauce for the goose Is sauce for the gander what american boy has not thrilled at the deeds of john paul jones yet a british historian who wrote a history of highwaymen and pirates in 1814 gave jones a prominent place as a pirate and as late its as 1024 another british chronicler of piratical deeds includes la in his list of some F famous amous pirate ships and their captains the names ot of the don bon homme richard and capt paul jones so much depends upon your point of view I 1 |