OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16288, 22 January 1915, Page 8

OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

(Taou OU» 0»I C0»m»«P0!TD«!*T ) NKW YORK, December 17. The question of this hour here is whether we are sufficiently prepared for dofence •in c;ise of war. During I,he past, two or three weeks there has betui a widespread agitation for an inquiry into the condition' of both our sea and land defenees. in Congress the matter is being stirred lip by Representative Gardiner, of Massachusetts, who is a Ji-m-law of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. In clamouring for an official investigation Mr Gardiner lias- come into collision with no less a personage than President Wilson himself, iiie rresiiKiit irowii.s upon the sligntest suggestion of our going to war with any other Power, and declares that th?s is no tune to bring up such a subject. He feels that any J action along such a line might embarrass him at a time sooner or later when he may offer his good offices to bring about peace in Europe. He issued a statement the other day rebuking Mr Gardiner and his fellowagitators, and declaring that whatever alarm there might be in this country over our unproparedness for war was based upon misinformation. At the same time he deplored the sentiment in favour of compulsory military service that has been voiced in several quarters of late. On the other side it is pointed out that if we were suddenly confronted with tho task of repelling an invasion wo could immediately throw not more than 40,000 trained infantrymen of both the regular army and militia into line, and that without sufficient support from other arms of the service they would be foredoomed to defeat. One of our weekly reviews has just publiehed an imaginary account of an attack u|xm New York City. Tho enemy destroys our fleet in the North Atlantic, and lands from convoys 150,000 troops on tho Connecticut shore. Tho Governors of the States refuse to allow their militia to leave their own respective t orders, and New York is left at the mercy of tho enemy. It is found that at least six weeks must elapso before a force of 150,000 men can be concentrated for defence. In conection with this fear-awakening account is printed a statement from Mr Henry L. Stimson, who was Secretary of War under President Taft, and who declares there is nothing in the article which is outside the bounds of military possibilities. At a time when a good many people are somewhat worried over military conditions, it was a rather startling revelation made before the House Naval Committee two days ago, when it wa& disclosed that the United States navy had no battleship afloat that had modern protection from "torpedo attack from submarines below the water-lino armour belt. This disclosure caused a commotion in tho committee, and there were protests against prosecuting the inquiry further. An attemnt to prevent. the disclosure from being given to tho public was not successful, but the questioning of witnesses was cut shot.

Our navy makes a fine showing in peace times, anyway, no matter what ite shortcomings might be in war. The mobilisation of the Atlantic fleet off Guantanajno, Cuba, next month, for several weeks of' target practice and manoeuvre exercises should ba 'well worth seeing. This is the most powerful fleet ever commanded by an American naval officer. It consists of 103 ships, representing a money value of 300 million dollars. The exercises will be ' the first ever held in 'which guns of the new 14-inch calibre will play a part. There are 10 of these guns on the flagship New York, and 10 'more on the Texas. They lire projectiles' weighing 14001b each, and it costs the Government 770 dollars every time one of them is discharged. Of guns of the 12-inch type there are 124 in the fleet, and they are placcd to that they can be fired in a single broadside. Such a broadside would weigh 105,4001b, and the 14-inch guns would bring- this to 133,4001b. The ships are commanded by six rear admirals, 25 captains, more than 1000 officers of lesser rank, and 25,000 enlisted men.

One can scarcely turn to naval topics without be'ng reminded of the death a few days ago of tho most celebrated of Ameri' can naval authorities, Rear Admiral Alfred T. M.ihan, retired. He bad not been on active service for a long time, but had been a very busy man up till almosf his last hour. He was a prolific writer on naval subjects, and his opinions were highly prized in every navy in the world. His death is reported to be the result of his unusual effort in studying naval problems brought out by, the war in Europe.

Colonel Goethals, Governor of tho Panama Car-al Zone, has sent two urgent requests to the War Department for the despatch of two of the fastest torpedo-boat destroyers in the navy to the canal to aid in the maintenance of neutrality. Colonel Goethals declares that the misuse of radio communications within canal waters and the prevention of the misuse of thoso waters a3 a base of supplies require the presence there of these swiftmoving ships.

American powder and arms factories are running day and night, and Germans in Washington charge that they are making immense quantities of war supplies for the Allies. In reply to this charge an official of tho largest American powder company says the reason why his factories are so unusually busy is that they have fallen heir to tho trade with South American and neutral European countries formerly held by England. "While not directly denying the charge made by the Germans, he says that, as it is estimated that France and "Germany together had approximately one thousand million pounds of smokeless powder in their piagazines at the outbreak of war, if the total output of his factories were to be turned in their direction the supply they would send the Allies would hardly supply the basis of a sensation. Wars, ho says, are not won by powder manufactured during the contest, as was tho case when black powder was used, but by the supply on hand before the contest begins. He explains that it takes months to dry smokeless powder after it is manufactured, and a still longer time to enlarge a plant to meet any very large increase in orders.

Wh;le there is no written law to prevent these powder and arm? manufacturers from supplying the warring nations, there is a good deal of public sentiment in this country against having them do so. How much effect this sentiment is having in checking the manufacturers remains to be discovered. Recentlv Mr Charles M. Schwab, president of the Bethlehem Steel Company, returned to this country from England with orders in his pocket for a large number* of submarines, which were to be shipped to England in sections. When President Wilson heard of this he sent for Mr Schwab and persuaded him to abandon the project for making the submarines.

The of other kinds of war supplies have no such worries, and they are all as busy as beaveTS. A firm in Rhode Island has an order for a million blankets for one of the European armies. A Brooklyn concern is turning out an immense quantity of khaki uniforms. The shoe manufacturers in Massachusetts are running their factories day and night. Several of our automobile factories are supplying the armies of the Allies with millions of dollars worth of cars. Chicago is-shipping to them great quantities of foodstuffs. All over the United l States women and girls are knitting socks and scarfs for the soldiers. In New York women take this knitting with them to concerts and other entertainments, and the click of their busy needles is sometimes heard mingling with the music. It reminds one of a generation ago, when knitting was popular in social circles. Not only are the women knitting, but they, and the men, too, are rais'ng large funds of money for the relief of the starving Belgians and the impoverished women and children of France.

In spite of the large orders for war supplies, we are still waiting for the return of prosperity in this country. There is still much business depression, and monev is very tight. In the large cities there is a greater -number of unemployed than since tho panic of 1893. The south' to suffer from its' failure to market its immense cotton crop, for the cotton 'problem is still far from being solved. The proposed cotton pool has not yet been formed. It is only in the western grain producing States that general prosperity prevails. Our theatres are an excellent barometer of business conditions, and the audiences are rather slim in most of them. Only the most popular of tho plays manage to live, and many players are out of employment. A month ago a very pretentious production of Edward Sheldon's latest play, " The Garden of Paradise," was presented at a New York theatre. Under ordinary oondi-. tions such a well-written, well-acted, and beautifully staged plav would have been sure of a long run. but tho theatrical firm producing it went into bankruptcy after two weeks and the play was withdrawn, after 50,000 dollars had been spent to stage it.

However, the New York Stock Exchange is ag-ain doing- business, though not yet offering a wholly free market, a minimum price havinp been placed upon all shares to do away whh danger of disaster. In spito of many predictions of an extremely pessimistic character, stock. prices have been rising quite rapidly the last few days, and as yet there is no indication of unloading of American secirities by European holders. But the rise in prices to figures 10 and 20 Daints abcwe those oi July 30 is not taken

with too much optimism. It is an extremely technical market, and the buoyancy of its offerings is probably due to the fact that it whs very much oversold when the war suddenly forced it to close.

Mr Edward Garnett, the English reviewer, hits been giving his opinion very frankly of the work of American novelists. Taking their work as a whole, he does not regard it very highly. He says: "The fact that the influence wielded by .vour two ablest novelists, Edith Wharton and Anne Douglas Sedgwick, is so restricted in scope in proportion to their gift suggests that the American mind is hostile to the artist in literature, whereas our English audience, at worst, is apathetic or indifferent. With us, though the light against commercial Philistinism is perennial, the writers of rare imaginative gift do not seem to me so isolated, so hemmed in and cut off from assistance of cultivated minds as in America. The weakness of the ordinary well-written American novel lies in its sentimental and ethical conventionality. Even the novelists who set out to create ' fresh valuations ' in social propaganda ?eem to me to deal in 1 stoek ' sizes of manly emotions,"

People who are worrying over the high cost of livinr/ should find some comfort perhaps in the announcement that the price of radium is likely to drop from one hundred and twenty thousand dollars a gram to forty thousand dollars. Chemists and engineers of the United States Bureau of Mines have found a new and cheaper method of extracting radium from its ore. Even at the new price persons of economical tendencies will hesitate to purchase radium to any great extent, yet the cheapening of this magic stuff will lead to a proportionate widening of a most promising and attractive field of investigation and experiment. If tlie price keeps on dropping, our descendants can perhaps have radium clocks that will run for two thousand years without winding.

Our situation with regard to Mexico is growing more and more serious from day to day. It would ■ not be at all surprising if any hour should find us at war with our next-door neighbour. The matter has now become so critical that 3CCO additional troops have been ordered to proceed to the border to prevent the warring Mexicans from firing into United States territory. Washington seems to be in a quaudary about the situation. Shots fired by the attacking force at the defenders of Naco, Sbnora, have often sped across the international line and struck soldiers ancl civilians in Naco, Arizona. Provisional President Carranza refuses to make any promise regarding this trouble, and has even gone so far as to warn the United States Government that the ef.ip'Syment of force to stop the firing would be considered by him as an unfriendly act. He intimates that the United Statees ought to remove its Naco garrison further northward, and keep its non-combatant citizens out of range of Mexican bullets. The recent protest of our peace-loving Secretary of State (Mr Bryan) to the two Mexican Governments was exceedingly mild. Our troops on the border have been until now, at any rate, under orders not to fire on the Mexicans for any cause. General Bliss, who is in command of the Ajperican force on the border, has stopped recruiting by the Mexicans in Arizona, and 'prohibited the passage of agents to obtain supplies, but it is being urged that he ought to have full power at this time to prevent the transportation of arms and ammunition across the border. Mr John Lind, who served recently in Mexico a a special diplomatic representative of President Wilson, declares he believes in the fitness of the Mexicans for self government, and he insists that there are thousands of men in that country admirably equipped by study, intellect and culture to lead in public life, and to administer the affairs of the nation. But with the successful revolutionists split into factions and fighting each other, the United States is a long way from feeling easy in the matter. *

Evidently if Mr Roosevelt were now President this country would 'be engaged in war with Mexico in short order. Mr Roosevelt has come out with a statement in which he recites a long list of charges of atrocities against the soldiers of Carranza and Villa, which are becked by affidavits, and the former President flatly declares that the United States is partially and guiltily responsible < for some of the worst acts ever committed even in the civil wars of Mexico. After reciting a list of barbarous acts in Mexico, Mr Roosevelt gives his opinion of President Wilson's attitude as follows:-—"At the very timo that the President was stating that no#here on this hemisphere can any Government endure which is. stained by blood, he was actively engaged in helping install in power a Government which was not only ,stained by blood, but stained by worse than blood. At the very time that he was announcing that he would never condone iniquity because it was convenient to do so, he was not merely condoning but openly assisting iniquity and installing into power a set of men whose actions were those of ferocious barbarians."

Woman Suffrage leaders are taking an active part in a struggle that is being waged between certain wormian public school teachers in Now York Citv and the Board of Education. The Board of Education contends that it is neglect of duty for a married woman teacher to regain away from school for the purpose of bearing a child. The board declares that married teachers must do the same work as others; that they are paid for teaching, and that if marriage duties interfere with her teaching she should * resign and devote herself to the greater duties of a mother The woman teachers involved maintain on the other hand that to discharge a teacher for giving birth to a child is contrary to good morals and sound public sentiment. The question will be fought out in the courts.