Show NEWS THIS WEEK by LEMUEL F PARTON consolidated features service N EW YORK snapping the unit ed states liner america new queen 0 of the american merchant marine through the narrows into quarantine true T son c of old and so on yankee breed to her d dock k of Shell backs capt pa agles chester stedman master of the new leviathan handled his ship as deftly as a lad would handle a toy indeed in his various maneuverings maneuver ings of the ton luxury liner on her maiden pas carrying trip from newport news va captain stedman evinced sheer delight in putting his n new ew charge through her paces the guests united states senators shipping magnates and so forth must have cast their thoughts back to days when amid mountainous waves and winds ranging from gale to hurricane proportions this young skipper he is only 42 years old performed deeds of darini daring do on the deep deeds that have gained for him a gold medal from the italian government ern ment the united states navy cross the silver lifesaving life saving plaque from the british admiralty the treasury department gold medal and other like testimonials of high courage and skilled seamanship there was that tumultuous day in in the mid atlantic october 20 1923 when the president harding of which stedman was then chief officer steamed to the rescue of the italian freighter ignazio igazio florio fiorio beaten down and sinking stedman stepped to one of the lifeboats and called for a volunteer crew every man jack of the distressed crew was saved two years later westbound and about 1575 miles from new york the wireless operator brought stedman a message from the british freighter exeter city the craft had lost her captain third officer and two seamen and was sinking the seas were a veritable witch broth the wind shrieking at hurricane force no possibility existed for the survival of a small boat in such a sea so stedman maneuvered his vessel sufficiently close to admit of a line being shot aboard the distressed freighter with tackle thus rigged a lifeboat was lowered from the american merchant and pulled to the sinking vessel and the crew saved the seamanship involved was said to have represented one of the finest exploits in american annals last september commanding the united states liner washington stedman rescued the entire crew of the british freighter 01 iver grove torpedoed by U boat As a youngster deciding upon a sea career stedman joined the united states coastguard where in the first world war he saw two years hazardous h az a r do us service s e r vi c e in i n convoy c 0 nv 0 y work r k wo i in n t the h e M mediterranean di t e r a n ea n s sea e a a and n d english n g channel when peace came stedman enrolled in the massachusetts institute of technology for courses in in marine engineer engineering ing he joined the united states line in 1922 was made a chief officer in 1925 and at the age of 34 received his first command ONE 0 NE of the most hard boiled citizens this reporter ever knew was a bookish college dean who always spoke softly but swung from the heel colonel peck of somewhat in marines a full this picture is bushel of spunk CO COL 1 de witt peck of the U S marines who gives quiet emphasis er to plain words in shanghai as th the japanese menace the foreign areas and tension increases the japanese seem to think they need an incident and colonel peck isn t at af all likely to provide one but he back down when he is in mufti or informal dress he is rarely without a book in his pocket and never without his pipe he may or may not read bergson but he thinks think 3 like a man of action and acts like a man of thought he won the victory medal for gallantry inthe in the world war battles of the meuse argonne and st mihiel and the medal of the purple heart for doubling in negotiating and fighting in latin america he graduated from Aniu annapolis polia in 1915 and is 46 |