AMERICA DAY BY DAY

Evening Star, Issue 16991, 13 March 1919, Page 6

AMERICA DAY BY DAY

ATTACKS “BIGGEST NAVY” PROJECT. TERMED “SHAMELESS ORGY.” Considerable Indignation lias been aroused throughout the confines of the United States owing to the, aggressive action of Mr Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy Department of the United States Government, in endeavoring to force upon the American people the colossal expense of building the world’s “ biggest navy.” The American nation, by a vast majority, cherished President Wilson’s plans for preventing further bloodshed by tho establishment of a League of Nations ; and as international friendship between Great Britain and America, was never more fcocurely cemented than at tho present juncture, tire people of the United States declare that the time for launching such npreposterous scheme of the “biggest navy” was never more inopportune. Messages of protest in drastic terms have not ceased to deluge the office of the Naval Secretary; but he has persisted in his project. It has been pointed out that the Government’s theoretical plane for peace are incompatible with the naval undertaking. Critics of Mr Daniels liave indicated that it would bo a veritable insult to John Bull to go ahead with building a navy to outstrip that of Britain when it was mainly through the British Grand Fleet that America herself was saved from bombardment by Hun warships in the great’ war, ASSAULT IN SENATE. There have been several fiery interchanges of opinion in the Senate in Washington of late on tho subject, and those Senators- who have a broader horizon than the parochial Naval Secretary have not failed to join in admonishing Mr Daniels I for his temerity in suggesting such a I national expenditure for the establishment I of eo large a navy, which can have no i future use in view. One of the most furious assaults made on the subject of I tho naval programme was that in which ' Senator Borah played a prominent part, j He charged that, while- in theory the Go- | vemment had great plans for universal ■ peace and brotherhood, “ in practice they still apparently are following the rules of kings and autocrats.” Senator Borah said the expenditure proposed to build the new navy advocated by Secretary Daniels is a “shameless orgy,” and Is designed to rob the people through taxation. Ho warned that the “ political influenza. *’ now in Rnssui may infect America if more consideration is not given to those who pay the taxes. “ I servo notice now that those who undertake to put through this naval programme will have to fight every step of the way. I cannot understand the demand for warships at this time. ‘They are instruments of war. Are we challenging or throwing doubt upon the friendship of France or Britain? Japan is powerful, but our relations are friendlier than for a decade. After tho war ia over, with our enemies defeated and all the great naval Powers friendlier than ever before, wo propose to expend E00.000.000d0l in the next three years on a, powerful fighting machine. Is this not a, direct challomro to the good faith of our Allies, or does it not throw doubt on the sincerity of our own professions? Above all, is it not a signal act I of injustice to the people of this, country, j who have paid tuxes and bought Liberty ! bonds, and saved, stinted, and denied j themselves in the war- crisis? Is the i American taxpayer to have no more place jin tin-, programme, than a coddled peon? Are we going on with this shameless orgv i of expenditure until the people aro forced to cry out with the voice of revolution against the madness that is grinding them to powder? SOCIAL AVAR PREDICTED. “The next war will not be between Governments or nations, but between the Governments and the people. The French and Russian revolutions are the legitimate cutgrowth of injustice and oppression. There has not been a crime committed in Russia in the last six months that did not have its parent in tho oppression of the bloody Romanoffs. He cannot shoot up or kill that kind of movement.. You have to feed Russia on something besides bullets. That is what the Romanoffs fed the I Russians on. America should adopt a differ--1 ent plan. I know wo are very strong, ■ well poised, liberty-loving people, but we ■are not immune. The shameless waste of the people's earnings and unconscionable extortion from their savings will undermine the noblest institution. Even the structure reared by our fathers will not stand tho drain indefinitely. The people have patiently borne the burdens of the war, but the expenditure from now on must he based on reason and distributed with economy.” Air Borah quoted reports of children starving in New York. Half the story was not told, bo said, adding that he hud reports from another city showing 100 children to be widerclothcd and underfed. 1 “These are the seeds of Bolshevism.'' paid 1 Senator Borah., with emphasis. “ How quickly this political influenzal- will spread, when once hatched in hives of misery and starvation, no one can tell. Now it is time to take notice, tp consider the people who have, to pay the taxes.” THE RUSSIAN SITUATION. Peace questions, particularly the proposed League of Nations, again were discussed m tli® Senate. Opening tho discussion Be nut or Borah made a special attack upon the programme of the League to enforce peace, of which former Precedent- Taft is a leading member. Senator Thomas, of Colorado, a Democratic member of tho Foreign Relations Commit too, said that future military operations of the, United States and the Allies were ono of tho most! important questions before the Peace Conference. In partialar, he said, the question of the/ American policy should ho settled, and for this reason ho favored considering the resolution of Senator Johnson, of California, demanding an official statement of the Amur- | ican policy in Russia. Russia was entitled j to the special consideration of the Allies! because of the great part she took early in the war. Her destruction, he said, was - Germany’s primary' object. Senator! Thomas criticised tho reported proposals > of the Allies to withdraw their troop : from Russia and “leave the C/.echo-Rlovaka to their fate.” “If wo carry out this; policy wo will leave a stain on the name ; of the Allies that will be ineffaceable,” j said Senator Thomas. “We ova it to j ! decency and gratitude to rescue Hie j Gzecho'-Slovaks out of tho hell of Bokhe-| vism, and I am amazed that, tho task , . being half done, we should leave there | ‘immortals’ to the most tom ole fate that i can befall them.” He protoalod against j the withdrawal of American troops from | cither Archangel or the Murmansk roast i until every doilar of American sup? Res 1 had been salvaged and returned. White granting that grave dangers faced tho ti-oops, with possible annihilation, the Colorado Senator declared chat instead of | withdrawing them reinforcements should ; he sent. Senator Thomas denounced the ; Bolsheviks, who. ho said, declared war; long ago on America, and insisted that the United States should determine some policy to combat Bolshevism. “ If wo are to enthrone Bolshevism in tho place of Ka-ieer-itiu.” he added, “we had bettor let Kaiserism remain.” PRODUCT OF I.W.W. “ Practically all the leaders of Bolshevism, except" Lenin, graduated from the I.W.W. in the industrial centres of the ■United States,” said Senator Thomas. “Direct action, which means kill, burn, destroy, assassinate, is the watchword of the 1.W.W., which is identical with Ruseian Bolshevism The depredations of unscrupulous capitalists are as dangerous as the assaults of Lenin and Trotsky at the other end of the scale.” The proposal t of the Foreign Relations Committee re- i commending that action by the Peace Congress should be deferred regarding a I League of Nations was particularly at-

tacked by Senator Bhafroth, of Colorado (Democrat), who said; “'President Wilton ia now in Europe endeavoring to negotiate a Peace Treaty that not only will settle tho disputes as to the nations of this war, but that will at least have a tendency to prevent wars in the future. He knows the situation- and views of the nations and as to whether we can get a treaty -that will ensure the peace to the world better than we who have no communication with ths representatives of other nations,” NUMISMATIC NIGHTMARE. A New York numismatist, who has been in France and Belgium many months has written home an interesting letter relarivo to what he succinctly terms a numiwnwvsty nightmare which has obtained in that part of tho country overran by the rath-ess Huns, showing their unscrupulous methoas of circulating “ phoney ” money. Writing from Ghent, Belgium, this American observer says : “ Don’t take any Chinese money ” is the cheerful injunction given at priding by one friend to another back home. Over here-, in the cities of redeemed Belgium, Chinese mo-nov would appear precious in comparison with the hi ass, zinc, pasteboard and paper scraps that pass as coin in King Albert’s realm. I believe a Confederate bill of lObdol, dropped out of a window of the Hotel d© Valle here in Ghent might cause a scramble that would require the energies of the gendarmes to subdue. When the German tide flooded over this unhappy land in 1914, before ever the smoke had passed from burning Louvain, the HohonzOl--Icm masters began sucking Belgium "dry of its accumulated wealth. Tire story of the municipal levies of millions upon millions is too well known to require retelling. but one of the immediate results of this .wholesale plundering of the banka and private coffers is not so widely recognised. With gold, silver, and even copper fractional coinage sucked into the Gorman maw, the people of Belgium were faced with the stern necessity of creating a n-erw medium of cxchangc. “Then it was tho various cities began issuing each its own- coinage, for the face value of "which each municipality stood responsible. Tho exiled Government at Havre also authorised Issues of notes on tho Bank of Belgium as well as the minting of currency out of zinc. The Germans wore not slow to flood Die country with, their own marks—some in tiny shinplasters of 10 and 20 pfennig denomination. The grand result was a bewildering mekuigo of fiat money behind the line of German steel laid down across the map of Europe and now so rc-centlv crumbled. What hold true in- Belgium also obtained in the captured territory of Northern France. I have seen money from Lille and Valenciennes that looks like comic valentines. In 1914 and 1915, before the pinch of metal lack became acute with the Germans, zinc and brass coins were turned out by the Belgian cities. I have just taken from my wallet, for example, a square of eomo questionable metal about the size of a cough lozenge, which is cop-per-plated on one side and bratE.j--10-.kmv on the reverse. On tho brass side is stamped a rampant lion with the inscription in Flemish and French respectively, ‘Stad Gent’ and ’’Vi Jl-eGand ’ encircling th beast. The. reverse mer-dy ths f-tamp 50, indicating the, cun.in.c denomination of the piece. A plumber might plug a dishpau with this 50-centime piece, but persona,-j I sh.-uM not care to lake my oath it was real money. Here ‘s another numismatic nightmare : A circle of cardboard the rize of mu- hal f dollar, _ and with paper labels pasted on both sides. On one ride one mav got a blrdcs-eyo view of. tho lowers of fit. Ravon’s, in Ghent, under the legend “ Stad G-ont.” The reverse bears a largo “10 G” and these "Uit Bctaaibaap, Ja-nu-ari, 192>. " If that is, a promise or the part of the City of Ghent to pay me the equivalent or two American pennies in 1920 I might as well publicly inform the stad hold era of this beautiful old town right here and now that I .shall not be ’.here to collect. They mav scratch that debt off their bonks. What with shinplasters from Ostend, Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels, ugly red and black bits of German paper bearing the late-lamented imperi.fi eagle and the inscription ‘ Ein Marke,” and assorted sizes and shapes of brass and zinc, breaking a perfectly good 10-franc note in a Belgian shop these da vs has its compensating excitement. A barber to-day, after leaving me with an odour that would Imre earned my arrest as a public nuisance on Tb-oidway, New Y, i-k, palmed off a yeast ticket of the Belgian Relief Committee amid inv assorted coupons and iron washers coming as change for a bona fide franc note. And lie got away with it ! -MOLASSES EXPLOSION KILLS 11. _ Ono of the moat peculiar explosions in tile anrals of tho IniG-ct StaG-s baa -r----curred in Boston, when 11 persons were killed outright by the explosion of a storage tank of molasses in a freight yard near Cutts wharf. The explosion blew away two of the supporting pillars of the Atlantic Avenue Elevated Railway structure, demolishing several buildings, blew an electric freight car off the track, overturned a. number of heavily-loaded trucks, ■and killed about a dozen horses. The men who were killed were teamsters and employees of Boston City Council, and weie. at work for the city stieet department in the yard adjoining the ircijht yard, where the catastrophe occurred. The molasses spread over the street to a depth ! ot two or three niches. Most of those ! killed and the large number injured were j covered with molasses, and could not be readily identified at tho time. The tank contained 2,030,000 gallons of molasses. There was not the usual detonation accompar.ying such a blast, but rather a low, rumbling sound, more like a, u earthquake. Iragm-ents of toe groat lank were tip-own inlo the an - , buildings m the neighborhood crumbled up a.s though tho iindei'-pt-innings hah lifM n pulled away from them , and scores of people in the various buildings were buried m the ruins, some dead and others badly injured. Tho top of the- tank first, shot into the air, and then the walls collapsed. The force of the explosion knocked over the firehouse of engine company No. 47. One of the liitimn was blown into the harbor. Two others were pinned, in tho ruins. A nearby tenement hunsc fell in. Two women and a man were taken from the house ruins, ail injured. HEARST SENT TO COVENTRY. A. petition containing the names of men and_ women prominent in professional and business life and in the organised activities of New Vork City was presented to Mayor Hylan protesting against the -continuancy of William R. J&arst ns chairman _ of the Sub-committee of Military Affairs set up by the Mayor to welcome the “Sammies” on their return from Europe. _ Ths petition recited that “ Mr Hoarst is not a representative citizen: his loyalty has been seriously questioned . . . and wo consider it an insult to our soldiers that a man who uses the i American flag to cell his newspapers should continue to act as a member of this committee. ’ Among tho signatories appeared the names of Mr Charles E. Hughes (Republican candidate for the Presidency), Dr Henry Van Dyke (cxTJ.S. Minister to Holland), and' Mr W. A. Butler (president of the Lawyers’ Club, tho most exclusive body of its kind in the United States). FROM FAR AND WIDE. A Now York paper which has been investigating what effect the removal of the fond restrictions has had on the American public reports-vbut slight change in the contents of menus or the quantity consumed. A canvass of the hotels and restaurants failed to reveal a single instance where patrons’ checks were running higher than usual. The national palate, having deported itself with austere patriotism under war regulations for long months, is now accustomed to moderate rations. “ Few patrons will return to the liabit of having two meats at a meal,” said the chef at the luxurious Waldorf Hotel, Tho nation has lived very thrivingly under th© moderate diet that has prevailed, and why should the habit be changed is a question frequently asked. A New York woman has been charged with marrying seven soldiers to secure their enlistment allotments. _ Trouble Ls expected when the matrimonial unit is demobilised. A transport that arrived in Canada recently brought over a thousand brides. Soldiers who laughed at bullets, ■ bayonets, ’

and shells were shining marts for Cupid 1 ! dart» Ths new flag of the German Republic i» to be black, yellow, and red. The ‘New York Sun’ considers the colors generally appropriate—red for the Bolshevik!, black , for piracy, and yellow for the junkers. Littk has been heard of late of that sad old sea deg. Admiral Von Tirpitz, of snb* mhrin* fam?. “When last seen,” sayf the ‘ Lea Angeles limes,* “ he had shaved off hi* terraced whiskers that had decofated hi.- map for years. Looks as if the ■ Admiral wanted to disguise himself and a disappear. The Von Tirpitz facial carpe‘| was about the last stand of Prussian mill I tariam, and now they have been sun flj withoot warning.” While a New York humorist was attend V i mg a Broadway theatrical performance re-1 j cently he heard a United States War Fundi worker introduce a soldier as follows s—-| ‘ I take great pleasure in introducing Pri I vate So-and-so. I don’t know whether 1' has been ‘ over there,’ bat he was willing to go when peace was dared.” Private Rickenbacker, of South Carolina, made practically dumb bH a shell explosion on the battlefield iB France, has just regained his speech a wrestling match at Camp Borden, lI Atlanta, Georgia. His opponent obtainedl a grip around Rickenbacker’s chest, ar J the latter cried out in pain. His say he has been talking naturally since. 1 ' The American army now ranks third in 1 the world for artillery effectiveness, although, with the exception of 24 4.7’«, no American guns ever reached France. American eoldiers complained that the Y.M.C.A.s’ arangements in France were ver, defective, and. Secretary of War Baker commissioned Chaplain P. T. Edrop to make an investigation. The latter reported that in “certain sectors the canteen charges were excessive; that there was a lack of supplies for free distribution near a certain number of the firing lines: that there was an inadequate supply, even for sale, in the immediate vicinity of certain theatres of activity; that there, was a congestion of secretaries in tlie large cities, while there was a notable lack of workers at certain portions of the front; and that there was an assumption on the part of certain of the secretaries that the life of the soldier was necessarily demoralising, and these workers thus alienated the sympathies of the soldiers.” Dr John R, Mott, head of the International Y.M.C.A., rebuts these findings. demands that all specific complaints shall be investigated by the War Department itself, and asks for the fullest publicity to the proceedings. HERO IN AUDIENCE. Captain Carpenter, V.C., of Zeebrugga fame, in the course of a lecture which ha was delivering in the Russell Theatre in ■ Ottawa, referred to an officer whose arm was shot off, and over whom the men had , to walk to get from the Vindictive to thal mole. The officer called to them to keepl on, and waved his stump in bidding theirl God-speed. Captain Carpenter was late I surprised to find that the officer he re 9 ferred to was actually in his audience. ITa V is Lieutenant. H. T". C. Walker, and at the time was a guest in Ottawa of Lady Kingsmill, having arrived from New York the day previously. Another new world’s airplane speed record was set in a flight from Dayton to Cleveland. Ohio, by Pilot Eric Springer and Mechanician Ernest Longchamp in a Martin bombing plane, driven by two Liberty motors. The 215 miles were made in one hour and fifteen minutes, an average of 175 miles an hour. The previous record between the cities was two hours’ flat. The machine carried gasoline, baggage, and tools weighing 2,5001b. Tba flight was not intended as a speed test. ECHO OF BOMB PLOT. Mrs Milo Abercrombie Von Brincken lias filed suit for divorce against Lieutenant Baron George Wilhelm Von Brincken, for- ! mer military attache in San Francisco of | the German consular offices, serving a twoi year sentence in a federal prison on M'XpiTr Island, near Seattle, for violation of American neutrality in connection with the so-called Hindu conspiracy and bomb plot case. Mrs Von Brincken, in her petition, declared it was humiliating to be the wife o( a German officer serving sentence for an offence committed against America. She asked permission to resume her maiden name of Abercrombie. A WIRELESS WONDER. How, underground and through water, wireless was put into practical use during the war has just been disclosed at .Washington by the United States Navy Department officials, giving to the public another of its secrets, carefully guarded so long as it might be of value to the enemy. The Government officials regard this development, originated in private research by James H. Rogers, a scientist of Hyattsville. Maryland, as one of the wars major scientific advances of the kind. In practical use the new system, so far. is employed only for receiving. Radio messages sent out. from powerful stations in Europe are now being read at underground receiving stations in the Unifed States, and. in some cases, better than when caught by the elaborate and expensive air stations. In addition, it was revealed at the department. through an adaptation of the Rogers theory, submarines under water are intercepting radio signals sent from shore, and with crude the scientist has succeeded in transmitting signals two miles from a submerged wire simulating a submersible, Officials declare, that it is possible. although not yet an accomplished fad. that ground or water sending can be developed to a considerable extent. They do not an'icipate, however, that the present method of sending from high towers will be superseded except- for limited special purposes. f-an Francisco, February 4.