AMERICA AND WAR

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 92, 15 October 1914, Page 7

AMERICA AND WAR

APPEALS FROM EUROPE THE KA*SfiR'S MESSAGE* J £20,000,000 LOSS OF REVENtJ\ I CRUISERS m THE PACIFIC, % (FROM OUR OWN CORMOTONOBRT.) % SAN FRANCISCO, Jfith Sept, \ A singular manifestation of th» great! i war now raging in Europe is the almoei I passionate desire of the participatibjf ! nations to merit or, at least, have tbft^ good will of the United States. As b#» | fore a Court of Justice, the nations <»l 1 Europe ai-o accusing one another and j defending themselves before the court of f | American public opinion. OhG day the.i German Kaiser telegraphs to President;! \\ oodrow Wilson accusing the Frenelt \ and English of using Dum-dum bullets, i Next day the President of France telo» 1 graphs a denial and a counter accusa« tion that the German soldiers thomselves - are guilty of this heinous practice. A j special envoy of eminent Belgians arrives/ in New York to acquaint the American r people with the horrors that accompanied f the over-running of Belgium by the Ger» ■ mans, and particularly to describe the s sack of Louvain. But the day before t they reach these shores there is "received \ s from the Kaiser a telegram in whiclWj he pleads that the old town of Louvain t, 'Miad to bo destroyed for the protection. £ of my troops," and adds: "My heart j> bleeds when I see such measures inevit- & able and when I think of the many iit. i nocent people who have lost their houses f and property as a result of the misdeeds ? of the guilty." Britain, however, seems | to be 'willing to let her dteeds speak for k themselves. S DUM-DUM BULLETS. j In regard to the use of dum-dum bul« f lets, President Poincare's denial of tho i Kaiser's accusation was couched in strong fc and recriminatory language. "I am in- } formed," wired tho French President to I the United States President, "that the. t r German Government has sought to bui-- | prise your Excellency's good faith by I alleging that dum-dum balls are manufactured in the French State factories • and used by our soldiers. The calucny fi is but an audacious attempt to reverse. I* roles. Germany has, since the beginning ? of the war. used dum-dum bullets And ' violated daily the law of nations. On - 18th August and several times since we } have had occasion to bring 4hp<ws acts to > the knowledge of your Excellency and < the powers signatory to The Hague Convention.'' * President Wilson probably will send \~ merely a polite acknowledgment of the j receipt of the messages from Europe, li < apparently is the accepted European'-^ view that when peace terms are under i discussion the United States Will be appealed to to settle many disputed points. " Hence the present desire of the com« batants to put their opponents in the worst possible light in American eyes. ■ However, it is more plainly apparent than ever that the groat weight of :' Opinion in this country bears strongly against tho Germans. There is no pre- ~ sent prospect of peace in Europe through, • tlie i>ffott« of American diplomacy.* President Wilson last week set at test the rumour that peace measures w<tfG,itf the making by staling that no intiinatußv' had been conveyed to him officially, frorifcs any quarter of a readiness on the part or v> one or more of the belligerents to talk • peace. Of the stories of atrocities reaching,: this country, none more horrifying has b een told than that sent by William A. Clark, former United States Senator from the State of Montana, with the request that it be given to the American press. The ox'&mator's statement fol« r lows :-~"Tell the American people of this case which I have noted. It is that. of a Belgian family, the father of whom was shot dead by the Germans and the , mother lashed to a chair, while the soldiers attacked her 16-year-old daughter ,' before- her eyes. Tho mother became » \ raving maniac. 1 have, the daughter j under my care." j SHIPPING IN THE PACIFIC. .j Reports are constantly reaching San j Francisco of the supposed movements of J

English, Australian, German, and Japanese warships in the Pacific Ocean waters, and a naval battle in this ocean would be no surprise. So far, however, the adversaries have not come in contact, and shipping is proceeding along usual channels. The British cable from Honolulu to British Columbia has been cut, and it is believed this was accomplished by the Herman cruisev Nurnberg. The Australian warship Australia has been reported in close proximity to Honolulu, and when the Nurnberg left that port on the night of Ist September, stripped for action, it was stated that the Commonwealth war vessel was in full chase of the German. The latter is a small ci'ttiser of only 3450 tons, and if overhauled would be no match for the powerful Australian. The Nurnberg was supposed a few days ago to be hovering off the California coast, in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay, seeking to 'waylay the mailboat Maitai, from Wellington, Kew Zealand. The Maitai, however, by running far off the usual lanes of ocean travel, succeeded in dodging the German warships. To-day she arrived in San Francisco, having first called m at San Diego, 600 miles down the coast, and from there sailed north, keeping within three miles of land. In crossing the Pacific, the Maitai had all her lights blanketed. t _...., The German cruiser Leipzig is pelieved to be hereabouts. A protection to British shipping, in addition to the Australian and the cruisers having their headquarters at Vancouver, is the Japanese cruiser Idzuma. She is now off this coast, her immediate duty being the convoying of a Japanese mail and pjvssenger ship on the first part of its, vpj£,ge, that to Honolulu, The British ""steamer Strathandle, with coal from Newcastle, N.S.W., made port at Honolulu a few days ago after being chased by a war vessel, which must have been the Nurnberg. The blockading of Kiaochau by the Japanese and the seizure of Germany's naval base at Samoa by the British make it increasingly difficult for the Kaiser's men-o'-war to get coal supplies in the Pacific. However, little attention is paid to international neutrality usage by Mexico in her present disorganised state, and no great difficulty is placed in the way of ships (of the belligerents coaling at the Pacific ports of that Republic. EMERGENCY TAXATION. 'A loss of about £2,000,000 a month in Ous^oms duties, or approximately £20,000,000 for the current fiscal year, is one of the most important ways in ■which the European war has affected the United States. This is due, as President Wilson stated in a message to Congress. "to the great decrease in importations, and that is due to the extraordinary extent of the industrial area affected by the present war in Europe." Without suggesting specific forms of taxation, the President recommended to Congress the immediate imposition of internal taxes to make up the deficiency. " -We ought not to borrow," _ he said. " We ought to resort to taxation, how- " e*er we may regret the necessity of putting temporary' additional burdens on our jeople. . . . The occasion is not^ of our making. We had no part in making it. But it is here. We shall pay the bill, although we did not deliberately incur it." "The Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives has drawn xxp a Scheme of taxation, which^ includes 1 additional taxes on beer, wine, and fepirits, a 3 per cent, tax on freight transportation, includrng railway, steamship, and freight, which will be collected by the transportation companies. There are also proposals for taxing theatre tickets, proprietary medicines, tobacco and tobacco products, chewing gum, soft drinks, and. playing cards. I AUSTRALIAN & CANADIAN OFFERS • ' Following is a copy of a telegram received by His Excellency the Governor from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 13th October :— " The Commonwealth of Australia has offered another brigade of light horse and a brigade train and field ambulances comI plete. This offer has been most grateS fully accepted by the Army Council. , .Her Royal Highness the Duchess of' s Connaught has sent £57,000, subscribed By the women of Canada for hospital ' purposes. Of this sum, £20,000 will be utilised in the purchase of motor 1 ambulance cars. Each car will be in- . scribed " Canadian Women's Motor Ambulance." The balance will be used to i build, equip, and maintain a naval hos- j f\ pital with 100 beds, to be named "The p Canadian Women's Hospital." Her 1| Majesty the Queen has graciously con|£kented t* be patroness. — (Signed) Har- * "court." OPERATIONS BY THE ALLIES. '' ' Official.— The Allies' left wing has i;ei sumed the offensive in the Bethune dist trict, which is opposed by cavalry. Pro* J gress is recorded between Albert and Arras, and also in the Berryaubac district. There has been slight advances I iit' the West Argonn'e and on the Meuse. j The Allies are holding the heights of ' the Meuse east of Verdun, and/ have ' gained a little ground in the Apremont -, Region. Lille, , which was previously , held by Territorials, has been occupied ,' by a German army corps. 3 . A summary of the operations indicates v. appreciable progress by the Allies at sev1 eral points. • " 'The Austrians are trying to re-form % their forces west of Przemy&l. ; THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT. '* t LONDON, 14th October. \ Reliable. — The Belgian Government i has removed from Ostend to France. ; It is now stated that the siege of l ; Pr2exnysl is' proceeding. The Germans are moving heavy guns \ from Antwerp to their extreme left wing i It is reported that the Kiel Canal has v been closed to permit the Germans to ;', experiment with new heavy guns fixed '■ on Dreadnoughts. •', There is no official statement concern- / ing the German occupation of Ostend.