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CURRENT 
HISTORY 

^4     Monthly    Magazine    of 

®lj£  £3>w  fork  ®tm^0 


VOLUME  VI. 

April,  1917— September,  1917 

With  Index 


2*  j*-J<9 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE   NEW  YORK  TIMES  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  N.  Y. 

1917 


D 


Copyright,  1915 
By  The  New  York  Times  Company 

Times  Square,  New  York  City 


I  Ij 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  AND  INDEX 


Volume  VI. 

[FIRST     PART] 

April — June,  1917 
Pages  1-570 

[Titles  of  articles  appear  in  italics] 


ABDUL  Hak  Hussein  Bey,  437. 

Aerial  Fighting  on  the  French  Front,  287. 

AERONAUTICS,  Zeppelin  attacks,  42;  Brit- 
ish airplanes  at  Arras,  2(57 ;  Lord  North- 
cliffe  on  fighting  on  French  front,  287 ; 
exploits  of  French  aviators  narrated  by 
V.  Forbin,  328 ;  Zeppelin  raids  on  England 
first  two  years  of  war,  by  C.  Stienon,  333; 
list  of  Zeppelin  raids  on  England,  337 ; 
British  airmen  at  Arras,  407 ;  attack  on 
Freiburg  in  reprisal  by  British  and  French, 
442 ;  men  in  American  Escadrille,  471. 

AFRICA,    Germany's   treatment    of   colonies, 
435. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Africa. 

ALASKA,  price  paid  and  gold  produced,  257. 

AISNE,  Battle  of,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe, 
Western. 

ALBERT,    (Dr.)    Heinrich   F.,   219. 

ALEXANDER  (Crown  Prince  of  Serbia),  141, 
314. 

ALEXIEFF,    (Gen.)   Michael  V.,  294. 

ALGONQUIN  (S.  S.),  account  of  sinking,  54. 

ALICE   (Princess  of  Battenberg),   153. 

ALIEN  Enemies,  see  ENEMY  Aliens. 

Alliance  with  Mexico  and  Japan  Proposed 
by    Germany,    65. 

Allied   Successes   in   France,   246. 

ALLIES'  Commission,  comment  on  members, 
256 ;  list  of  members ;  account  of  visit  to 
United  States ;  important  speeches  of  Bal- 
four, Viviani,  and  Joffre,   389-405. 

Amazing  Effects  of  Shell  Shock  on  Soldiers' 
Nerves,   340. 

America  and  the  League  of  Honor,  464. 

America   Through  English  Eyes,  78. 

"  AMERICAN  Day,"  in  England  and  France, 
454. 

AMERICAN    Escadrille     471. 

AMERICAN  Mission  to  Russia,  personnel  and 
purpose,  487. 

Americans  Who  Have  Fought  for  France, 
470. 

ANCONA  (S.  S.),  mentioned  in  exchange  of 
notes  between  U.  S.  and  Austria-Hungary, 
104. 

ANDREWS  (Secretary  at  Bucharest),  72. 

ANNIE  Larsen  (schooner),  220. 

"  ANZACS,"   503. 

APPAM  (S.  S.),  decision  of  Supreme  Court, 
39. 

ARABIA,    progress    of    new    kingdom ;    com- 
munication to  U.  S.f  306;  protest  of  Ulema 
of  Mecca,  307. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

ARBITRATION,    Industrial,    in    Russia,    295. 

ARCHER,  William,  "  America  Through  Eng- 
lish Eyes,"   78. 

ARCHIBALD,  James  J.  F.,  218. 

ARGENTINA,  supports  U.  S.  against  Ger- 
many,  228;   war  attitude,  434. 

ARLOTTA,   Enrico,   405. 

Vol.    6— Part     One 


ARMED  Merchant  Ships,  discussed  in  Aus- 
trian reply  to  Amer.  note  on  submarine 
blockade,  108 ;  contention  between  Eng- 
land and  Holland  over  Princess  Melita, 
242;  Lieut.  Gill  on  status,  275. 
See  also  SUBMARINE  Warfare  ;  UNITED 
STATES — Armed   Neutrality. 

ARMED  Neutrality,  defined,  56;  in  17S0  and 
1800,  57. 

See  also  UNITED  STATES— Armed  Neu- 
trality. 

ASQUITH,  Herbert  Henry,  discredited  in  re- 
port on  Dardanelles,  167  ;  address  on  Pres. 
Wilson's  war  message,  224 ;  address  in 
Parliament  on  U.  S.  war  action.  226;  reply 
to  Dardanelles  report.  303 ;  on  Home  Rule, 
451  ;  speech  in  Commons  on  entry  of  TJ.  S. 
into   war,   463. 

ASTURIAS    (hospital    ship),    442. 

At  the  Western  Fighting  Fronts,  119. 

ATHOS  (S.  S.).  53. 

ATROCITIES,  plot  to  infect  Rumanian 
horses  and  cattle,  72;  Teutonic  outrages 
in  Poland,  127;  Austrian  troops  in  Serbia, 
143;  protest  of  new  kingdom  of  Arabia  to 
U.  S.,  306;  by  Germans  in  Somme  retreat, 
538. 
See  also  VANDALISM. 

AUSTRALIA,  troops  in  battle  of  Arras,  412: 
at  Gallipoli,  504. 

AUSTRIA-Hungary,  strength  of  navy,  103; 
ultimatum  to  Serbia  and  outbreak  of  war, 
140;  attitude  toward  indemnity  and  an- 
nexation,   427. 

See      also      UNITED      STATES— Austria- 
Hungary,    Relations   with. 

Austria-Hungary's    Submarine   Note,    104. 

AUSTRO-Hungarians  in  America,  number,  42. 

AUSTRO-Prussian  War,  117. 

AZTEC   (S.   S.),  238. 

B 

BABES   (Dr.),  75. 
BABINSKI  sign,   341. 
BACON,    George   Voux,   218. 
Background  of  Home  Rule,  447. 
BADEWITZ   (Lieut.),  account  of  bringing  in 

of  Yarrowdale,  299. 
BAGDAD,    proclamation    on    relations    with 

England,   by  Gen.   Maude,  308. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 
BAKER,   (Sec.)  Newton  Diehl,  statement  on 

alien  enemies,  205. 
BALFOUR,   Arthur   James,   letter  of  thanks 

for  services  of  Amb.   Gerard,   64 ;   career, 

256;  visit  to  U.   S.,   speeches,   statements, 

&c,  389-405;  as  Secretary  for  Ireland,  451. 
BALKAN  Wars  1912-1913,  Greece  in,  155. 
BANG,     (Dr.)     J.     P.,     excerpts    from    book 

"  Hurrah  and  Hallelujah,"  522. 
BARUCH,   Bernard  M.,   saving  for  Govt,   on 

prices  of  metals,  234,  387. 
Battle  of  Arras,  264,   405. 
BATTLES,       see      CAMPAIGNS;      NAVAL 

Operations. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


BAUMER.    (Dr.)    Gertrude,    organization    of 
in  women  for  war  work,  •"•">4 ;  views 
on  war  work  of  women,  886. 
BAVARIA.   Queen  of,  356. 
BEATTY,   (Admiral  Sir)   David.  87,  439. 
BEDFORD.  A.  C,  887. 

BELGIAN  Relief  Commission,  work  of.   132; 
withdrawal   <>f   American  members,  237. 
I    also    RELIEF    work. 
BELGIUM,   withdrawal   of   American   Minis- 
ter;  Amer.    statement    on    German    treat- 
ment   of     Minister    and     relief    workers, 
887 :    German    occupation    of    France    and 
Belgium    compared    by    J.     F.    Whi taker, 
report    by    B.    Whitlock    on    deporta- 
tions, 543 :  E.  Havenith  on  illegal  property 
seizures,  545. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe.  Western  ; 
RELIEF  Work. 
BELLIGERENTS,    table    of    population    and 

area,  by  countries,  201. 
BERESFORD  (Admiral  Lord),  441. 
BERLIN,  life  in  wartime,  24. 
BERLINER  Lokal-Anzeiger.   quoted   on  Ger- 
man retreat  in  France,  :Y22,  4LV;. 
BERNHARD,     Georg,     on    German-Mexican 

alliance,  <;•<. 
BERNSTORFF,    (Count)    Johann    von,    mes- 
senger  with  Zimmermann  note   captured, 

BETHMANN  Hollweg.  (Dr.)  Theobald  von, 
extract  from  speech  in  Reichstag  fore- 
shadowing reform.  37;  address  in  Reichs- 
tag on  break  with  U.  S.,  61;  on  German 
attitude  toward  league  to  enforce  peace, 
116;  speech  on  U.  S.  declaration  of  war, 
assailing  British  blockade.  205;  message 
from  Kaiser  on  reforms,  302;  reply  to  Dr. 
Roesicke  and  P.  Scheidemann  on  war 
aims,  in  Reichstag,  42S. 

BISMARCK.  (Prince)  Otto  von,  and  Social- 
Democrats,   51S. 

"  Blacks  Attack!  "  110. 

Blame  for  the  Dardanelles  Failure,  167. 

BLOCKADE,  rules  in  relation  to  submarine 
warfare,  by  Lieut.  Gill,  275,  276. 

BLOCKADE,  British,  comment  in  Austrian 
note  to  U.  S.,  105;  denunciation  by  Beth- 
mann  Hollweg  in  speech  on  U.  S.  declara- 
tion of  war.  205;  Lord  R.  Cecil's  reply 
to  Bethmann  Hollweg,  206;  defended  by 
Repr.  Harrison  in  Congress,  212;  views 
of  Lieut.    Gill,   275. 

BLOCKADE,  German,  see  SUBMARINE 
Warfare. 

BOELCKE    (Capt.),   320. 

BOLIVIA,  break  with  Germany,  228,  434. 

BOMB    plots,    210. 

BOPP,  Franz,  219. 

BOTHA,  (Gen.)  Louis,  achievements  in 
African  campaign,  315. 

BOY-ED,  (Capt.)  Karl,  House  report  on  plots, 

2  IS. 

BRAEMAR  Castle   (hospital  ship),  443. 

BRAGADINT,   Alvise,  405. 

BRAZIL,    break    with    Germany ;    seizure    of 

interned  ships,  228;  attitude  toward  war, 

434. 

BRENT    (Bishop),    extract   from    sermon    on 

entry  of  U.  S.  into  war,  454. 
BRESHKOVSKAYA.  Catharine,  release  from 

Siberia,  2:.s,   l".m;. 

BRIGGS.    (Lieut.  Gen.)   C.  J.,  185. 
BRINCKEN,    (Baron)    George   Wilhelm  von, 

BRITANNIC    (hospital   ship),    41V 

8  on  Bagdad  ami   Jerusalem, 
43. 

BRITISH  Commission,  see  ALLIES*  Com- 
mission. 

Vol.    G— Pi 


British  Foreign  Policies  and  the  Present  War, 

282. 

British   Operations  at  Saloniki,   163. 

British   Women  in   War  Service,  351. 

BROQUEVILLE,    Charles    de.    cablegram    to 
Pres.   Wilson  on  war  message,  225. 

BRYCE,    (Viscount)    James,    on   U.    S.    entry 
into  war,  227. 

BULGARIA,  population,  157 ;  entry  into  war, 

158. 
BUNSEN,    (Sir)    Maurice    de,    statement    on 

German  safe  conducts  for  relief  ships,  135. 
BURIATS,  438. 
BUROFF  (Gen.).  297. 

BUTLER,    (Dr.)   Nicholas  Murray,  presenta- 
tion of  diploma  to  A.  J.  Balfour,  402. 

BYNG,    (Gen.),  270. 


CAINE,  Hall,   on  celebration  of  U.   S.   entry 

into   war,   454. 
Call  to  Arms,  3S1. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Africa,  progress,  40;  dis- 
cussed by  Major  Dayton,  315;  Egypt  and 
Suez    Canal,    501. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor,  fall  of  Bagdad, 
by  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner,  29 ;  views  of  H.  H. 
von  Mellenthin,  32;  editorial  comment  on 
Bagdad,  38;  "  British  Advance  on  Bagdad 
and  Jerusalem,"  43;  success  of  Russians 
in  Persia  and  junction  with  British,  249; 
proclamation  of  Gen.  Maude  to  people  of 
Bagdad,  308;  British  in  Mesopotamia,  500. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Austro-Italian 
border,  official  summary  of  progress  in 
1016,  309;  new  crossing  of  Isonzo  forced. 
423. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe.  Balkan  States,  stand 
of  Serbia  at  beginning  of  war,  86;  in- 
vasion of  Serbia,  141 ;  operations  of  Sar- 
rail  in  Greece,  158;  Bulgarian  invasion  of 
Greece,  160;  report  of  Gen.  Milne  on  Brit- 
ish operations  at  Saloniki,  163;  first  four 
months  of  Serbian  fighting,  314:  progress 
at  Saloniki,  423. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Eastern,  success  of 
von  Hindenburp  in  Masurian  Lakes 
region,  85 ;  early  campaigns  in  Poland  and 
Galicia,  86;  Russian  front  in  1915,  505. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Western,  German  re- 
treat, by  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner,  27 ;  by  H.  H. 
von  Mellenthin,  33;  "Battles  of  the 
Marne,  the  Aisne,  and  Tannenberg,"  by 
Maj.  Dayton,  81;  first  battle  of  Verdun; 
French  offensive  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  83; 
attack  by  Senegal  negroes  described  by 
R.  Eichacker,  110;  impressions  of  F.  H 
Simonds,  119;  "Allied  Successes  In 
France,"  by  J.  B.W.  Gardiner.  246;  German 
version  of  retreat,  250 ••  "  Battle  of  Arras," 
by  P.  Gibbs,  264;  "Seven  Davs'  Fighting 
at  Arras."  207;  "Canadians'  Achieve- 
ment on  Vimy  Ridge,"  270;  French  of- 
fensive near  Rheims,  272;  "Great  Battle 
of  Ypres,"  by  Major  E.  W.  Dayton,  310- 
Neuve  Chapelle,  313;  German  vandalism 
during  retreat.  317;  German  defense  of 
policy  of  destruction,  322 ;  "  Evewitness  in 
Devastated  France,"  by  W.  Williams,  823: 
military  results  of  German  retreat,  828; 
description  of  scene  of  battle  on  Somme 
^y^rlt,sh  officer,  338;  second  article  by 
P.  Gibbs  on  battle  of  Arras.  405;  "  French 
Offensive  on  the  Aisne,"  414;  capture  of 
Vimy  Ridge  by  Canadians,  417;  evacua- 
tion of  Rheims,  419;  strategic  value  of 
f.erman  retreat  and  review  of  fishtine 
•hiring  month,  by  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner.  420- 
German  Version  of  the  Month's  Fight- 
ing 423;  at  beginning  of  1915,  506- 
vandalism  of  Germans  in  retreat,  534-543 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CANADA,  troops  on  Vimy  Ridge,  270;  in 
battle  of  Arras,  408 ;  report  of  War  Office 
on  capture  of  Vimy  Ridge,  417;  influence 
of  Vatican  claimed  by  Ulster  Unionists  to 
be  against  participation  in  war,  453. 

CAPELLE,  (Admiral)  Eduard  von,  on  suc- 
cess of  submarine  depredations,  441. 

CARRANZA,  (Gen.)  Venustiano,  note  to  neu- 
trals suggesting  embargo  on  foods  and 
munitions   to   belligerents,   69. 

CASUALTIES,  German,  42;  in  invasion  of 
Serbia,  142 ;  German  in  Rheims  offensive, 
272 ;  total  at  Ypres,  310 ;  Austrian  in  Ser- 
bia, 314 ;  J.  P.  Naumann  on  German  losses 
during  war,   437. 

CAUSES  of  the  War,  article  by  J.  Reinach 
on  German  responsibility,  7G;  Serbia  and 
Austria-Hungary  discussed  by  W.  M. 
Petrovitch,  138. 

CECIL,  (Lord)  Robert,  reply  to  Bethmann 
Hollweg  on  British  blockade  and  sub- 
marine warfare,  20;  on  German  treat- 
ment of  African  colonies,  435. 

CECILIE  (Crown  Princess  of  Germany),  war 
work,  355. 

CENTRAL  America,  see  LATIN  America. 

CHAKRABARTY,  (Dr.)  Chandra  Hanador, 
218. 

CHALIER,  Andre,   relief  work,   129. 

CHARLES,  J.  Ernest,  on  Val-de-Grace  Mu- 
seum, 512. 

CHARPUT,    (Lieut.)   Jean,   331. 

CHATKOFF,  Lincoln,  471. 

CHERNOFF  (M.),  on  critical  situation  in 
Russia,  479. 

CHERON,  Henry,  summary  of  German 
vandalism  in  Somme  retreat,   534. 

CHILD,    O.    C.    A.,   poem    "Jerusalem,"   118. 

CHILE,  and  Germany,  228,  434. 

CHINA,,  break  with  Germany,  37. 

CHOATE,  Joseph  H.,  speech  on  visit  of 
British  Mission  to  New  York,  death,  400; 
at  Mayor's  Committee  dinner  to  mission, 
401. 

CHRONOLOGY  of  the  War,  34,  242,  431. 

CHURCHILL,  (Col.)  Winston,  testimony  on 
Dardanelles  failure,  167 ;  defense  of  expe- 
dition, 303. 

CITY  of  Memphis  (S.  S.),  58. 

CIVIL  War  (U.  S.),  Southern  attitude  com- 
pared with  that  of  Ulster  toward  home 
rule,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  445. 

CLARK.  Champ,  207. 

CLOSURE,  adopted  in  Senate,  52. 

COAL,  situation  in  Germany,  113;  shortage 
in  Paris,  126 ;  British  possession  of  fields 
of  Lens,  249. 

COLOMBIA,  treaty  defeated  in  U.  S.  Senate, 
40. 

Colossal  War  Expenses  of  Great  Britain, 
Germany,  and  France,  112. 

COLUMBIA  University,  degree  conferred  on 
Marshal  Joffre  and  R.  Viviani,  399;  di- 
ploma presented  to  A.  J.  Balfour,  402. 

COMITE  National,  544. 

Comparative  Strength  of  Navies  Today^  95. 

CONSCRIPTION,  see  UNITED  STATES— 
Army. 

CONST ANTINE  I.,  King  of  Greece,  attitude 
toward  war,  148 ;  statement  to  Assoc. 
Press  on  position  of  Greece,  153. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  attitude  of  new  Rus- 
sian  Govt.,    295. 

COOPER,  Henry  Allen,  opposition  <o  war 
resolution,  212. 

COPPER,  supplied  to  Govt,  at  average 
market   price,    388. 

CORBESCO,  M.,  72. 

CORNELL,    (Mrs.)    Margaret,   219. 

Vol.    6— Part     One 


COST  of  War,  expenditures  of  England,  Ger- 
many, and  France,  112 ;  Allies'  expenses 
estimated  by  B.  Law,  435. 

COSTA  Rica,  indorsement  of  action  of  U.  S.. 

229. 
COUCY  Castle,  destruction,  319. 
COUDEN,    (Rev.    Dr.)   Henry,   207. 

COUNCIL  of  National  Defense,  activities, 
60;  organization  of  boards  for  war,  234; 
part  in  economic  mobilization,  387. 

COYULA,   Miguel,  230. 

CREWE  (Marquis  of),  address  in  Parlia- 
ment on  entry  of  U.   S.  into  war,  462. 

CRILE,  (Dr.)  George  W.,  with  first  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  Unit,  439. 

Critical  Situation  in  Russia,  47S. 

CROMER,  (Lord)  Evelyn  Baring,  report  on 
Dardanelles  operations,  167 ;  replies  of 
Mr.  Asquith  and  Col.   Churchill,   303. 

CROWLEY,  Charles  C,  219. 

CUBA,  bill  calling  for  war;  message  of 
Pres.  Menocal ;  war  resolution  message  to 
U.  S.  Congress,  230;  first  nation  of  Latin 
Amer.   to  enter  war,  434. 

CUPENBERG,    (Baron)    von,   218. 

Curious   German   War  Medals,  346. 

Current  History  Chronicled,  36,  256,  434. 

CURZON  (Lord),  on  Persian  operations,  in 
Lords,  46;  speech  in  Lords  on  resolution 
on  entry  of  U.   S.   into  war,  460. 

CZERNIN,    (Count)    Ottokar,   237,   427. 


DAECHE,    Paul,    219. 

DANIELS,    (Sec.)    Josephus,    speeding  up    of 

naval     construction,     58 ;     on     three-year 

program,  59. 
DANISH    West    Indies,    transfer    to    U.    S.  ; 

Rear  Admiral  Oliver  appointed  Governor, 

257. 

D ANTON   (French  cruiser),  238. 

DARDANELLES  Operations,  editorial  com- 
ment on  report  of  commission,  40 ;  report 
of  Cromer  Commission  on  failure,  167 ; 
replies  of  Col.  Churchill  and  Mr.  Asquith, 
303 ;  account  by  Maj.  Dayton,  501 ;  final 
reports  of  Admirals  de  Robeck  and 
Wemyss  on  withdrawal,    508. 

Darkened  Church  in  the  War  Zone,  131. 

DAVIS,  George  B.,  definition  of  armed  neu- 
trality, 57. 

DAVIS,  Oscar  King,  on  food  situation  in 
Germany,   21. 

DAYTON,  (Maj.)  Edwin  W.,  "  Military  Oper- 
ations of  the  War,"   81,   310,   499. 

DELBRUECK  (Dr.),  tribute  to  work  of  wo- 
men, in  Reichstag,  353. 

Democratic  Progress  in  Germany ,  301. 

DEPORTATIONS,  from  Roubaix,  520;  report 
of  Brand  Whitlock  on  deportations  from 
Belgium,  543. 

DESCHANEL,  Paul,  address  on  entry  of 
U.   S.  into  war,  466. 

Deserter's  Wife  and  Her  Dilemma,  115. 
DEVONPORT    (Lord),    on    effect    of    U-boat 

campaign,   441. 
DE  WET,   Christian  R.,   failure  of  rebellion, 

315. 
DILLON,   John,   greetings  on  entry  of  U.   S. 

into  war,  227. 
DITHRIDGE,  Ethelwyn,  poem,  "  The  Women 

of  the  War,"   20. 
DONEGAL   (hospital  ship),  442. 
DUBOST,    Antonin,    on   entry    of   U.    S.    into 

war,  467. 
DUGAN,  William,  471. 
ECKHARDT,    von,    (German   Minister),   65. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


ECONOMIC  Mobilization   of  U.    S..   234.   387. 

ilso  COUNCIL  of  National  Defense. 
ECONOMY,  Pres.  Wilson's  proclamation,  200. 
EDISON,  Thomas  Alva,  reply  by  P.  Painleve 

on  part  of  science  in  war,  13. 
Effects  of  Intensified  Submarine  Activity,  57. 
EICHACKER.    Rheinhold,    "  The   Blacks  At- 
tack!  "   110. 
EIGHT-Hour  Day,  in  Russia,  295. 
ELIOT,    (Dr.)   Charles   \\\,  444. 
ELKUS,  Abram  I.,  437. 
Eloquent  Welcome  from  Lords  and  Commons, 

400. 
ENEMY  Aliens,  Govt,  policy,  205;  proclama- 
tion of  Mayor  Mitchel,  restricted  district*  * 
interned  sailors,   235;   conduct,   434. 
See  also  GERMAN  Plots. 
ENGINEERS,  see  UNITED  STATES— Army. 
ENGLAND  :— 

Agriculture,  Sunday  labor  and  night  plow- 
ing, 260. 
Army,  impressions  of  F.  H.  Simonds,  120; 
war  pensions,  200. 

See  also   AUSTRALIA;    CANADA. 
Cabinet,    criticism    of    Asquith    Govt,    by 
Cromer     commission     on     Dardanelles 
failure,  167. 
Finances,    war    expenses,    112;    war    ex- 
penses estimated  by  B.  Law,  435. 
Foreign   Policies,   historical   sketch   by   T. 

G.  Frothingham,  282. 
Imports,  royal  proclamation  listing  goods 

prohibited,  114. 
Munitions,  conservation  of  cargo  space  for 
imports.    114 ;    quantities    required    by 
army,  261. 
Navy,  General  Staff,  439. 
Parliament,    resolutions   and   speeches   on 

U.  S.  entry  into  war,  226,  460. 
Zeppelin  Raids,   see  AERONAUTICS. 
Entente's  Greetings  to  America,  454. 
ENVER  Pasha,   on  Turkish  retreat,   33;  de- 
feat, 500. 
EUPHRAT,  Ernest  T.,  218. 
EVANS,   (Capt.),  Edward  R.  G.  R.,  497. 
Eyewitness  in  Devastated  France,  323. 


Factors  in  the  Russian  Revolution,  473. 

Famous  Fight  for  Vimy  Ridge,  417. 

FARNS WORTH,   Henry  W.,  471. 

FARRE,  Henry,  account  of  aerial  bombard- 
ment,  332. 

FAY,  Robert,  219. 

FINANCE,  see  names  of  countries. 

FINLAND,  rights  •  restored  by  new  Russian 
Govt.,  295. 

FINLEY,  (Dr.)  John  Houston,  orders  Pres. 
Wilson's  war  message  read  in  schools,  393. 

First  American  Gun  Fired,  435. 

FISHER  (Lord),  in  Dardanelles  contro- 
versy, 167 ;  on  use  of  sea  power,  170 ;  Col. 
Churchill  on  Dardanelles  plans,  303. 

FISHER.  Andrew,  note  on  Dardanelles  fail- 
ure, 169. 

FLACHAIRE,  Georges,  331. 

FLAG,  U.  S.,  first  appearance  on  European 
battlefield,  271. 

FLOOD,  Henry  Delaware,  on  submarine 
blockade,  49. 

FLOTOW,  (Baroness)  von,  work  in  war  gar- 
dens, 356. 

FOCH,  (Gen.)  Ferdinand,  made  Chief  of 
Staff,   437. 

FOODSTUFFS,  shortage  and  control  in  Eu- 
rope, 21 ;  Carranza  proposal  to  neutrals 
of   embargo,    69;  price-fixing   in    England 

Vol.    6 — Part     One 


and  limitation  of  imports,  114;  Pres.  Wil- 
son's economy  proclamation,  200;  H.  C. 
Hoover  placed  in  charge  of  food  board, 
234;  distribution  causes  strikes  in  Ger- 
many, 438;  supply  in  France  and  Belgium 
under  German  occupation,  526. 
See  also  WHEAT. 

F.ORBIN,  Victor,  "  French  Heroes  of  the 
Air  "  328. 

FORGACH  (Count),  139. 

FORSTER.  H.  W.f  statements  In  Parliament 
on   supplies   for    army,    261. 

FOSS  (U.  S.  Representative),  on  war  reso- 
lution in  Congress,  212. 

FRANCE,  changes  in  Cabinet,  38;  votes  of 
credit  compared  with  those  of  Germany 
before  war,  76 ;  strength  of  navy,  99 ;  de- 
scription of  attack  by  Senegal  negroes, 
110 ;  war  expenses,  113 ;  decisions  on  army 
desertions,  115 ;  changes  in  army  com- 
mand, 437 ;  comment  on  entry  of  U.  S. 
into  war,  466 ;  P.  L.  Hervier  on  "  Ameri- 
cans Who  Have  Fought  for  France," 
470;  rule  under  German  occupation  com- 
pared with  that  in  Belgium  by  J.  P. 
Whitaker,  525;  Senate  resolution  on  Ger- 
man vandalism,  541. 

See  also  ALLIES*  Commission;  CAM- 
PAIGN in  Europe,  Western;  VAN- 
DALISM. 

FRANCE  Day,  393. 

FRANCIS  Ferdinand.  Archduke,  murder  dis- 
cussed by  W.  M.  Petrovitch,  138. 

FRANCIS,  David  R.,  address  conveying 
recognition  of  new  Russian  Govt,  by  U.  S. ; 
reply  of  Prof.  Milukoff,  293. 

FRANCKE,    (Pastor)  H.,  523. 

FRANCO-Prussian  War,  effect  on  Germany, 
284. 

FRAUENDANK,  355. 

FREIBURG,  British  and  French  air  attack 
in  reprisal,  443. 

FRENCH,   (Sir)  John,  83,  310. 

FRENCH  Commission,  see  ALLIES'  Com- 
mission. 

French  Heroes  of  the  Air,  328. 

French  Offensive  on  the  Aisne,  414. 

French  Praise  for  America's  Action,  466. 

FRITZEN,    (Capt.)  Alfred  A.,  220. 

FROTHINGHAM,  Thomas  G.,  "  Compara- 
tive Strength  of  Navies  Today,"  95; 
"  British  Foreign  Policies  and  the  Present 
War,"   282. 

FUAD  el  Khatib,   306. 


GALLIPOLI,    see    DARDANELLES. 

GALSWORTHY,  John,  poem,  "  The  Wind 
of  Freedom,"  239. 

GARDENING,   of  women  in  Beilin,  356. 

GARDINER,  J.  B.  W.,  "  Germans  and  Turks 
in  Retreat,"  27;  "Allied  Successes  in 
France,"  246;  "Military  Review  of  the 
Month,"  420. 

GARY,  Elbert  H.,  387. 

GAUTIER   (Capt.),  496. 

GAUVAIN  (m.),  on  entry  of  U.  S.  into  war, 
168. 

GEIBEL,   Emanuel,  522. 

GEORGE  V.,  King  of  England,  congratula- 
tions to  Pres.  Wilson  on  entry  of  U.  S. 
into  war;  reply,  225;  message  to  Sir  D 
Haig  on  Vimy  Ridge,  271. 

GERARD,  James  W.,  views  on  German  food 
situation,  21 ;  difficulties  in  leaving  Berlin, 
62;  tribute  by  Balfour  in  Commons,  for 
services,  64 ;  pressure  to  induce  signing  of 
protocol,  253 ;  tribute  by  Balfour,  390. 

GERMAN-Amer.  Relations,  see  UNITED 
STATES— War  with  Germany. 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


GERMAN    Confederation,    account    of    work 

and  failure,   116. 
German  Crimes  in  the  Somme  Retreat,  534. 
GERMAN  East  Africa,   see  AFRICA. 
GERMAN     Labor     Federation,     address     on 

strikes,  438. 
GERMAN-Mexican-Japanese  Alliance,  65,  236. 
German   Opinion  on  America's  Intervention, 

■  468. 
German  Peace  League  That  Failed,  116. 
GERMAN    Plots,    report    of   House    Commit- 
tee on  Foreign   Affairs   enumerating-  con- 
spiracies in  U.  S.,  217;  in  Guatemala,  434. 
See  also  MEXICO. 
German  Raiders  in  the  Atlantic,  298. 
German  Reprisals  on  Prisoners,  547. 
German  Submarine  Blockade,  47. 
German    Vandalism    During    the    Retreat   in 

France,  317. 
German  Version  of  the  Month's  Fighting,  250, 

423. 
GERMAN  West  Africa,   see  AFRICA. 
German  Women  as   War  Workers,  353. 
GERMANS   in   America,   number,   42;   recep- 
tion of  war  message,  223. 
See  also  ENEMY  Aliens. 
GERMANY  :— 

Alliance  with  Japan  and  Mexico,  proposal 

of  Dr.  Zimmermann,   65. 
Army,    see  VANDALISM. 
Bundesrat,  representation,  258,  516. 
Colonies,  Lord  Cecil  on  treatment  accord- 
ed in  Africa,  435. 
Electoral    Reforms,    progress,     301 ;    mes- 
sage of  Kaiser  to  Bethmaun  Hollweg, 
302 ;  necessity  for,  519. 
Finances,   votes   of  credit  compared   with 
those   of   France   previous   to   war,   76; 
war  expenses,  112. 
Government,     republic    suggested     by     G. 
Ledebour,    430;    analysis    of    Constitu- 
tion by  W.   S.   Smoot,   516. 
Militarism,    defended   previous   to   war   by 
Lloyd    George,    212;     menace    of    Prus- 
sianism     discussed    by    Lloyd     George, 
456. 
Newspapers,  comment  on  U.  S.  entry  into 

war,  468. 
Public  Service  League,  354. 
Reichstag,  system  of  election,  259,  516. 
Social  Conditions,  views  of  C.  H.  Grasty, 

22. 
Strikes,    caused   by    methods    of    distribu- 
tion of  food,  438. 
War  Office,   reports   on   British   offensive 

in  France,   423. 
War  Spirit,   excerpts   from   German  poets 
and  clergymen,  by  Dr.  Bang,  522. 
Germany's    Defense    of    Destructive    Policy, 

322. 
Germany's  Form  of  Government ,  516. 
Germany's  Peace  Discussion,  426. 
GIBBONS,  Floyd  P.,  account  of  Laconia  dis- 
aster,  54. 
GIBBONS,     (Cardinal)     James,     Ulster     and 
home   rule   compared   with   South    in   civil 
war,  444. 
GIBBS,  Philip,  "Battle  of  Arras,"  264;  405; 
on   suffering  of  French   civilians   in   Ger- 
man retreat,  540. 
GILCHRIST,  (Major)  Harry  L.,  in  command 

of  first  Amer.   Red  Cross  unit,  439. 
GILL,   (Lieut.)  Charles  C,  "  Naval  Power  in 

the  Present  War,"  87,  273,  490. 
GLADSTONE,   William   Ewart,   and  Ireland, 

449. 
GLENARD,    Roger,    account   of  relief  work, 
129. 


GLOUCESTER   Castle   (hospital  ship),   443. 
GOESCH   (Pastor),   524. 

GOETHALS,  (Maj.  Gen.)  George  W.,  heads 
Shipping  Board,  235. 

GOMPERS,  Samuel,  co-operation  with  cap- 
ital for  war,  388;  appeal  to  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates  at  Petrograd,  484. 

GOUCHKOFF,   see  GUCHKOFF. 
GOUJY   (M.),   115. 
GOVERNORS'   Conference,  388. 
GRASTY,    Charles  H.,   on   German  food   sit- 
uation, 21. 

GREECE,  defense  of  neutral  attitude  and  ac- 
count of  Venizelist  movement  by  A.  T. 
Polyzoides,  148 ;  treaty  with  Serbia,  149 ; 
Entente  troops  in,  150;  statement  of  King 
Constantine  in  defense  of  policy,  153 ;  his- 
torical sketch,  155 ;  repudiation  of  Serbian 
treaty,  156. 

See  also   CAMPAIGN  in   Europe,    Balkan 
States. 

GREEK    Catholic    Church,    9. 

GREGORY,  Thomas  Watt,  decision  on  power 
of  President  to  arm  ships,  56 ;  on  alien 
enemies,  434. 

GREY,  (Sir)  Edward,  Balkan  policy  scored 
by  W.  M.  Petrovitch,  146. 

GRISELLE,  Eugene,  on  atrocities  in  Poland, 
127. 

GRUSENBERG  (M.),  appointed  to  Russian 
Senate  and  Supreme  Court,  296. 

GUATEMALA,  break  with  Germany,  plots, 
434. 

GUCHKOFF,  A.  I.,  reform  of  military  or- 
ganization, 294 ;  appointment  to  Cabinet 
and  resignation,  477 ;  address  on  crisis,  in 
Duma,  482 ;  letter  to  Premier,  483. 

GUGGENHEIM,  Daniel,   388. 

GUGLIEMOTTI    (Gen.),   405. 

GUNS  (ordnance)  and  naval  power  discussed 
by  Lieut.  Gill,  491. 

GUYNEMER,   (Lieut.)  George,  329. 

GYLES,  Donald.  496. 

H 

HAASE,  Hugo,  230. 

HADEN,  Robert  A.,  53. 

HAELEN   (S.   S.),  220. 

HAGUE  Conventions,  rules  for  military  occu- 
pation of  territory,  534. 

HAIG,  (Sir)  Douglas,  on  the  Aisne,  83;  mes- 
sage from  King  George  on  Vimy  Ridge 
operations,  271 ;  at  Ypres,  311 ;  system  of 
trench  raiding,  529. 

HAMBURG-Amer.  S.  S.  Line,  violation  of 
U.   S.  neutrality  by  officers,  218. 

HAMMERSTEIN    (Military   Attache),   73. 

Hand  of  God  in  Prussianism,  522. 

HARDEN,  Maximilian,  defense  of  entry  into 
war  of  U.   S.,  469. 

HARMSWORTH,  Cecil,  on  work  of  women, 
358. 

HARRISON,   Fairfax,   234. 

HARRISON,   Frederic,   on  home  rule,  445. 

HARRISON,  Philip  Pitt,  defense  of  British 
blockade,  in  Congress,  212. 

HAVENITH,  Emmanuel,  on  illegal  property 
seizures,  545. 

HEALDTON   (S.   S.),  238. 

HEDJAZ,  see  ARABIA.. 

HELFFERICH,  (Dr.)  Karl,  on  effect  of  sub- 
marines on  shipping,  44i. 

HELMETS,  value  in  war,  472. 

HENCKEL-Dommersmarck  (Princess),  war 
work,  356. 

HENSEL,  Carl  Paul  Julius,  218. 


Vol.    6— Part     One 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


HERVE,  Gustave,  on  entry  of  U.  S.  into  war, 

HERVIER,  Taul  Louis.  "  Americans  Who 
Have  Fought  for  France,"  47o. 

HEYL,  (Mrs.)  Sophie,  war  work,  851 

HINPENBURG.  (Gen.)  Paul  von.  in  Masu- 
rian Lakes  region.  85:  in  France,  826;  on 
the  Aisne.  414 ;  message  to  Gen.  Groener 
on  strikes. 

HIPPER  (Vice  Admiral),  in  Jutland  battle. 
89. 

Historian's  Answer,  76. 

Historic  Joint  Session  of  Congress,  207. 

HISTORY,  preservation  of  war  documents  in 
France  as  aid  to,  304. 

HITCHCOCK.  Gilbert  Monell,  on  war  resolu- 
tion in  Congress,  209. 

HOFFMANN.  Adolf,  speech  in  Prussian  Diet 
on  militarism,  301. 

HOLLAND,  submarine  controversy  with  Ger- 
many, 240;  contention  with  Great  Britain, 
242. 

Home   Rule  for  Ireland,  443. 

HONNORAT  (M.),  :'."•'». 

HOOD  (Rear  Admiral),  87. 

HOOVER,  Herbert  C.  work  for  Belgian  Re- 
lief Commission.  132;  head  of  U.  S.  Food 
Board,  234;  in  Rotterdam,  237;  tribute  by 
A.  J.  Balfour,  ."'.H). 

HORN,   Werner,  219. 

HORSES,  plot  to  infect  Rumanian  horses  and 
cattle,  72. 

HOSPITAL  Ships,  sunk  by  Germans,  442. 

HOUSATONIC   (S.   S.),  47,  53. 
.HOUSTON,   (Dr.)  W.  R..  "Amazing  Effects 
of  Shell  Shock  on  Soldiers*  Nerves,"  340. 

HOY,  (Mrs.)  Mary  E.,  lost  on  Laconia  with 
daughter,  53;  son's  message  to  Pres.  Wil- 
son, 54. 

HOYT,  Colgate,  888. 

HUERTA,  Victoriana,  connection  with  Ger- 
man plots,  70. 

Hunger  Stalks   Through  Europe,  21. 

HUSEIN   ibn  Ali.   306. 


Jerusalem,  poem,  118. 

JEWS,  new  religious  freedom  in  Russia,  257; 

emancipation    in    Russia ;    two    advocates 

appointed  to  Russian  Senate  and  Supreme 

Court,  296. 
JOFFRE.   (Gen.)  Joseph,  in  battles  of  Maine 

and  Aisne,  81;  career,  256;  visit  to  U.   S. 

with   French   War   Commission,    speeches, 

&c,  389-405. 
JOHNSON.    Robert   Underwood,    poem.    "  To 

the  First  Gun,"  802. 
JUTLAND,  Battle  of,   article  by  Lieut.   Gill, 

87  ;  "  German  Story  of  the  Sinking  of  the 

Lutzow,"  94. 

K 

KAEMPF,  (Dr.)  Johannes,  address  on  U.  S. 
war  with  Germany,  4t;*.t. 

Kaiser  Today,  14. 

KALTSCHMIDT,   Albert,   219. 

KAMIO  (Gen.),  316. 

KERENSKY,  A.  F.,  on  decree  of  amnesty,  7; 
on  new  Govt,  of  Russia,  292  ;  as  leader  of 
Group  of  Toil,  436;  note  to  Workmen's 
Council,  481 ;  warning  to  delegates,  483 ; 
status,   486. 

KERR,  Caroline  V..  "  German  Women  as 
War  Workers,"  353. 

KILMAINHAM  Treaty,  450. 

KITCHENER,  (Earl)  H.  H.,  blamed  for 
Dardanelles  failure,  40;  policy  criticised 
n  Cromer  report  on  Dardanelles,  167  ;  de- 
fended  by    Mr.    Asquith,    303. 

KITCHIN,  Claude,  address  in  opposition  to 
war  resolution,  213. 

KLEIST.   (Capt.)  von,  219. 

KLUCK,    (Gen.)    von,    81. 

KNOX,    Philander  C,   support  of  Colombian 

treaty,  40. 
KOENIG,  Karl,  523. 
KOENIG,  Paul,  219. 

KOKOSHKIN,  F.  F.,  in  favor  of  Russian 
republic,  475. 

KUROPATKIN,    (Gen.)   Alexei,   297. 


IGEL,  Wolf  von,  218. 

IHNE,  (Baroness)  von,  war  work,  356. 

ILLINOIS  (tank  ship),  58. 

INDIA,  German  plot  in  U.  S.  against,  218. 

INTERNATIONAL  Law  and  submarine  war- 
fare discussed  by  Lieut.   Gill,  274. 

INTERNED  Ships  in  U.  S.,  Austrian,  237; 
seizure  of  German  vessels  on  declaration 
of  war,  214 ;  escape  of  officers,  218. 

IRELAND,  attitude  of  Americans  toward 
home  rule ;  declaration  at  Sinn  Fein  con- 
vention, 444 ;  views  of  Harrison ;  proposal 
of  Lloyd  George  for  settlement  of  ques- 
tion, 445;  historical  sketch,  "Background 
of   Home   Rule,"    447-453. 

ISNARDI,  (Prof.)  Ludovico,  on  wounds,  129. 

ITALIAN  Commission,  see  ALLIES'  Com- 
mission. 

ITALY,  strength  of  navy,   103. 

Italy's  Military  Progress  in  1910,  309. 


JADAR,  Battle  of,   142. 

JAGOW,  Gottlieb  von,  on  "  execution  "  of 
Serbia,   140. 

JAPAN,  Dr.  Zimmermann's  proposal  for  al- 
liance with  Germany  and  Mexico,  65; 
strength  of  navy,  100. 

JAVANOVITCH,  Todor,  message  to  Pashitch 
on  attitude  of  Austria  toward  Serbia,  139. 

JELLICOE,  (Admiral  Sir)  John,  in  battle  of 
Jutland,  87;   Chief  of  Naval  Staff,  439. 

VoL  6— Part    One 


LA  FOLLETTE,  Robert  Marion,  opposition  to 
armed  neutrality  bill,  51 ;  opposition  to  war 
resolution,  210;  reply  to  Senator  Williams, 
211. 

LABOR,  growth  of  organization  in  Russia, 
295 ;  meeting  in  Washington  between  labor 
leaders  and  capitalists  for  co-operation 
during  war,  388;  appeal  of  S.  Gompers  to 
Russian  Workmen's  Council,  484. 
See  also  STRIKES. 

LABOR'S   National   Peace    Council,    219. 

LACAZE  (Admiral),  tribute  to  sailors,  455. 

LACONIA  (S.  S.),  account  of  sinking,  53. 

LAFAYETTE  Escadrille,  471. 

LANE,  Franklin  K.,  on  seriousness  of  U-boat 
campaign,  441. 

LANFRANC    (hospital  ship),  442. 

LANSING,  (Sec.)  Robert,  decision  on  Presi- 
dent's power  to  arm  ships,  55;  report  to 
the  Senate  on  plot  for  German-Mexican- 
Japanese  alliance,  66;  text  of  rejection  of 
German  protocol,  254 ;  statement  on  arrival 
of  French  Mission,  392. 

LATIN  America,  action  of  various  countries 
following  U.    S.   entry   into  war,  228,  434. 

LAW,  Andrew  Bonar,  comment  on  Gen. 
Maude  and  fall  of  Bagdad,  44 ;  address  in 
Parliament  on  entry  of  U.  S.  into  war, 
226;  estimate  of  English  and  Allies'  war 
expenses,  435. 

LAZEN,  Robert  de,  on  German  plot  to  infect 
Rumanian  horses  and   cattle,   72. 

LE  TEMPS,  editorial  on  Pres.  Wilson's  war 
message,  467. 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


LEAGUE  to  Enforce  Peace,   116. 
See  also  PEACE. 

LEDEBOUR,  George,  suggestion  of  German 
republic,  in  Reichstag,  301,  430. 

LEDNITSKY,    Alexander,    295. 

LEHMANN  (Dr.),  plots  in  Guatemala,  434. 

LEINERT   (Deputy),  301. 

LENINE,  Nikolai,  agitation  against  Provi- 
sional Govt.,  479. 

"  Liberators  "  of  Poland,  127. 

"  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,"  546. 

"  LIBERTY  Loan,"  bill  passed,  256;  relation 
to  national  income,  262 ;  denominations  of 
bonds,  440. 

LIBRE  Belgique,  136. 

LINCOLN,   Abraham,   quoted,  465. 

LLOYD  George,  David,  announcement  on  re- 
strictions in  imports  to  food  and  muni- 
tions, 114 ;  quoted  in  defense  of  German 
militarism  by  Representative  Cooper,  212 ; 
address  on  Pres.  Wilson's  war  message, 
224 ;  proposal  to  J.  Redmond  for  settle- 
ment of  Irish  question,  445;  address  at 
American  Club  on  America's  entrance  into 
war,  456. 

LODGE,  Henry  Cabot,  on  war  resolution  in 
Congress,  209. 

LONDON  Telegraph,  editorial  on  Pres.  Wil- 
son's war  message,  464. 

LORD'S  Prayer,  paraphrased  by  Vorwerk, 
522. 

LOS  ANGELES  Shipbuilding  and  Dry  Dock 
Co.,  437. 

LOUDON,  (Dr.)  J.,  text  of  protest  to  Ger- 
many against  destruction  of  Dutch  ships, 
240. 

LOUISE  (Grand  Duchess  of  Baden),  356. 

LUETZOW,  details  of  sinking,   94. 

LUZZATTI  (Premier),  address  to  Pres.  Wil- 
son on  entry  of  U.  S.  into  war,  225. 

LVOFF,  (Prince)  Georges  E.,  on  revolution, 
292 ;  on  note  to  Allies,  481. 

LYMAN  W.  Law  (S.  S.),  47,  53. 

LYONS,  France,  hospital  for  treatment  of 
injuries  to  nervous  system,  340. 

M 

MacCONNELL,  (Sergt.)  James  R.,  472. 

MACDONALD,  George,  "  Curious  German 
War  Medals,"  346. 

MACDONALD,  James  B.,  "  The  Story  of 
Saloniki,"  155. 

McGUINNESS,  Joseph,  election  to  Parliament 
while   serving  prison   sentence,   444. 

McKENZIE,  Thomas,  170. 

McMILLAN,    Emerson,   388. 

"  Mad  Dog  of  Europe,"  166. 

MAFTEI,    Andrei,    73. 

MARBURG,   Theodore,   388. 

MARITIME  LAW,  see  INTERNATIONAL 
Law. 

MARKUS,  Michel,  73. 

MARNE,  Battle  of,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Eu- 
rope,  Western. 

MARSHALL,  (Vice  Pres.)  Thomas  Riley,  on 
reception  of  French  Commission  in  Sen- 
ate, 395. 

MARX,  Karl,  359. 

MAUDE  (Gen.),  at  Kut-el-Amara,  43;  proc- 
lamation to  people  of  Bagdad,  308. 

MAYO,  (Admiral),  Henry  T„  message  from 
Vice  Admiral  Beatty  and  reply,   439. 

MEDALS,  see  NUMISMATICS. 

MEHRING,  (Dr.)  Franz,  elected  to  seat  in 
Prussian  Diet,  301. 

MELLENTHIN,  H.  H.  von,  "  Politico-Mili- 
tary Events  of  the  Month,"  30. 

Vol.    6— Part     One 


MENOCAL,  (Pres.)  Mario  Garcia,  war  mes- 
sage, 230. 

MESOPOTAMIA,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia 
Minor. 

MEXICO,  German  influence,  41 ;  Dr.  Zim- 
mermann's  proposal  for  alliance  with  Ger- 
many and  Japan,  65 ;  German  intrigues 
and  Carranza's  note  to  neutrals  on  the 
war,  69 ;  stand  on  war  following  entry  of 
U.  S.,  229;  Dr.  Zimmermann's  defense  of 
proposal  of  alliance,  236. 

MICHAEL  (Grand  Duke  of  Russia),  text  of 
abdication,  9. 

Microbes  as  War  Weapons,  72. 

MILITARISM,   see  Germany — Militarism. 

Military  Operations  of  the  War,  81,  310,  499. 

Military  Results  of  Germany's  Move,  320. 

Military  Review   of  the  Month,  420. 

MILITARY  Training,   failure  of  bill,   60. 

MILLERAND,  Alexandre,  address  on  entry 
of  U.  S.  into  war,  455. 

MILLS,  Philip  O.,  denial  of  French  mistreat- 
ment of  prisoners,  549. 

MILNE,  (Gen.)  G.  F.,  report  on  "  British 
Operations  at  Saloniki,"  163. 

MILUKOFF,  Paul  N.,  part  in  Russian  revo- 
lution, 1 ;  career,  6 ;  text  of  official  notice 
of  revolution,  10 ;  on  America's  entrance 
into  war,  226;  reply  to  Ambassador  Fran- 
cis's statement  in  recognition  of  new  Govt., 
293 ;  address  in  Duma  containing  warning 
of  revolution,  297 ;  made  Foreign  Secre- 
tary, 475;  note  to  Allies  giving  contents  of 
Russian  manifesto,  478;  in  conflict  fol- 
lowing manifesto,  480 ;  resignation,  486. 

MISSOURIAN  (S.    S.),    238. 

MITCHEL,  John  Purroy,  organization  of 
Comm.  on  National  Defense,  233 ;  procla- 
mation regarding  alien  enemies,  235. 

Mobilizing  America's  Resources,  3S7. 

MOEWE   (cruiser),  victims  and  exploits,  298. 

MOHAMMEDANS,  in  revolt  in  Arabia,  306; 
protest  of  Ulema  of  Mecca,  307. 

MONGE  (submarine),  498. 

MONGOLIA  (S.  S.),  fires  first  American  gun, 
on  submarine,   435. 

MONTE  Protegido  (ship),  228. 

MONTGELAS  (Count),  presentation  of 
protocal  to  Amb.   Gerard,   63. 

Month's  Submarine  Depredations,  440. 

MORESTIN  (Prof.),  513. 

MORILLOT  (Lieut.),  498. 

MOTT,  John  R.,  appointed  on  mission  to 
Russia,  487. 

MOUROMTZEFF,   S.   A.,   474. 

MOUSSY    (Gen.),   312. 

MUNITIONS   of  War,    Carranza   proposal   to 
neutrals   of   embargo,    69. 
See  also  ENGLAND. 

MURPHY  (Consul  General  at  Sofia),  Ger~ 
man   indignities   to,   221. 

MUSEUMS,  see  WAR  Museums. 

N 

NAPOLEON  I.,    116. 

NATIONAL  Guard,  see  UNITED  STATES 
— Army. 

NAUMANN,  Joseph  Friedrich,  statement  on 
German  casualties,   437. 

NAVAL  Operations,  editorial  comment  on 
Dardanelles  report,.  40;  fourth  article  by 
Lieut.  Gill,  battle  of  Jutland,  87;  details 
of  sinking  of  Luetzow,  94  ;  report  of  Cromer 
Commission  on  Dardanelles  failure,  167 ; 
fifth  article  by  Lieut.  Gill  on  "  The  Sub- 
marine," 273;  exploits  of  German  raiders 
Moewe  and  Seeadler,  298 ;  replies  to  Mr. 
Asquith  and  Col.  Churchill  to  Dardanelles 
report,   303 ;   American  destroyers  in  sub- 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


marine  zone.  439;  estimate  of  merchant 
tonnage  sunk  by  Germans,  by  Capt.  Per- 
sius.  44L' ;  battle  off  Dover.  490;  reports  of 
Admirals  de  Robeck  and  Wemyss  on  with- 
drawal from  Dardanelles. 
See  also  SUBMARINE  Warfare. 
<</   Power   in   the   Present    War,   87,    27.°.. 

NAVAL  Science,  comparative  strength  of 
navies  by  T.  G.  Frothingham,  95;  article 
by  Lieut.  Gill  on  "  Naval  Lessons  of  the 
War,"  490. 

NEGRO  Troops,  110. 

NERVOUS  System,  effect  of  shell  shock  dis- 
cussed  by   Dr.    Houstpn,   340. 

NESBIT.  Wilbur  D.,  poem,  "  Your  Flag  and 
My  Flag."  255. 

NEUTRALITY,  discussed  by  H.  H.  von 
Mellenthin,   30. 

See    also    ARMED    Neutrality:    UNITED 
STATES— Armed   Neutrality. 

NEW  YORK  (City),  impression  of  Wm. 
Archer,  79;  celebration  of  "  France  Day," 
393;  visit  of  French  War  Mission,  ::n7 ; 
visit  of  British   Mission,   400. 

NEW  YORK  Times,  effect  of  message  to  Ber- 
lin on  status  of  German  ships,  04. 

NEWSPAPERS,  "  Secret  Journalism  in  Bel- 
gium." 186;  "Secret  U-boat  Orders  to 
German  Newspapers."  279;  preservation  in 
France  as  aid  to  history,  305. 

NICARAGUA,  harbors  offered  to  U.  S.,  434. 

NICHOLAS  II.,  Czar  of  Russia,  text  of  abdi- 
cation, 8 ;  prisoner  at  Tsarskoe  Selo,  298 ; 
personal  wealth  in  lands,  437. 

NICHOLAS    Nicholaievitch     (Grand     Duke), 

NIPPOLD.    (Prof.)    O.,   524. 

NIVELLE,    (Gen.)   Robert  Georges,   414,  437. 

NORDBERG.    (Capt.)  A.,  account  of  sinking 

of  Algonquin,   54. 
NORRIS,  George  William,  opposition  to  war 

resolution  in  Congress,  210. 
NORTHCLIFFE    (Lord),    on    aerial    fighting 

on  western  front,  287. 
NOSKE,   Gustav,   302. 
NUMISMATICS,      "Curious     German     War 

Medals."   by  G.  Macdonald,  346. 
NUNGESSER    (Aviator),    330. 


O'CONNELL,    Daniel,    449. 

O'CONNOR,     T.     P.,     "The     Mad     Dog    of 

Europe,"  166. 
OIL,  extraction  from  sunflowers,  35<;. 
O'LEARY,    (Corporal)    Michael,   507. 
OLIVER,  (Rear  Admiral)  James  H.,  Governor 

of  Danish  West  Indies,  257. 
Ordeals  of  the  Wounded,  129. 
ORGAN  Pipes,  used  for  munitions,  23. 
OROZCO,  Pascual,  death,  71. 
OUTERBRIDGE,    E.    H.,    403. 


PACIFISTS,    204. 

PA££k  ^>lter    H       keynote    of    speech    at 

celebration  of  U.   S.   entry  into  war.  406 

Painful   Charges   of   Brutality    to    Prisoners 

•  >-.  i .  • 

PAINLEVE,   Paul,   reply  to  T.   A.   Edison  on 
science  in  war.   13, 

^GoTt^H (Gen)' order  for  new  oath  to 

PANAMA,  proclamation  on  war  following  U 
S.  entry,  229.  * 

I 'A  I 'EN      (Capt.)     Franz    von.     intrigues    in 
Mexico,  71 ;  in  House  report  on  activities, 


PARAGUAY,  attitude  toward  U.  S.  break 
with  Germany, 

PARANA   (S.   S.),  228. 

PARIS,  suffering  in,   126. 

PARKER,  Alton  B.,  444. 

Parliament  Weloomes  America's  Action,  226. 

PARNELL,  Charles  Stewart,  work  for  in- 
dependence of  Ireland,  44i>. 

PASHITCH  (Premier),  efforts  for  action 
against  Bulgaria  in  early  part  of  war,  146. 

PASSPORTS,  counterfeiting  by  German 
agents,  218. 

PEACE,  article  on  attitude  of  countries 
toward  league,  and  account  of  failure  of 
German  Confederation,  by  J.  T.  Wheel- 
wright, 116;  attitude  of  French,  by  F.  H. 
Simonds,  126;  German  efforts  to  involve 
Socialists  in  negotiations,  258,  295;  Social- 
ist aims  in  Germany  denounced  by  Dr. 
Roesicke.  426;  interpellation  of  P.  Scheid- 
emann  in  Reichstag  on  annexation  and 
peace,  427;  speech  of  Bethmann  Hollweg 
in  Reichstag  in  reply  to  Dr.  Roesicke  and 
P.  Scheidemann,  428;  views  of  G.  Lede- 
bour,  430;  Lloyd  George  on  American  in- 
fluence, 459;  crisis  in  Russia  over  mani- 
festo pledging  word  against  separate 
peace,  478. 

PECANHA,  Milo,  434. 

PECURARU,   (Lieut.)  A.,  74. 

PENSIONS,   schedule  of  British  war  grants, 

PERRIS,  G.  H.,  description  of  fighting  on  the 
Aisne,  415. 

PERSIA,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 
PERSIA   (S.    S'.),    104,   109. 
PERSIUS,   (Capt.)  L.,  estimates  of  merchant 
craft  destroyed  by  Germans,  442. 

PERU,  attitude  toward  U.  S.  declaration  of 
war,  229. 

PETAIN,   (Gen.)  Henri  P.,  437. 
PETER,  King  of  Serbia,  valor,  145. 
PETROVITCH,    Worslav    M.,    "Serbia    and 

the  War's  Beginning,"  138. 
PFLEGER   (Dr.),  441. 
PHILIPESCO   (Lieut.  Col.),  74. 
PHILIPPI,  Fritz,  523. 

PIKE  (Consul  at  St.  Gall),  German  indigni- 
ties to,  221. 

Pitiful   Tales  from  Ruined  Homes,   541. 

PITTSBURGH,  Penn..  literary  and  historic 
associations  connected  with,  discussed  by 
Wm.  Archer,  79. 

PLUNKETT  (Count),  reference  to  men  im- 
prisoned for  Irish   cause,   and   declaration 

^CSSM*"   Nat'°n'   at   Slnn   Fein 
POEMS  :- 

Child,  O.  C.  A.,  "  Jerusalem,"  118. 

Dlt20Idge'  E"  "  The  Women  of  the  War," 

Galsworthy    John,    "The   Wind   of  Free- 
dom," 239. 

Johnson,     Robert    Underwood,     "  To     the 
First  Gun,"  352. 

NeFiag7255Ur  D"    "  Y°Ur   Fla|r  and   My 

Vai?«?Se*™Fe?J?;  Jl  Liber*y    Enlighten- 
ing the  World,"  546. 

Woodberry,  George  E.,   "A  Song  of  Sun- 

POS£,A  w5-'!  (PreS)  Raymond-  cablegram  to 
Ton's  rlply°n223.  ^  meSSagre :  Pres'  Wil" 

POLAND  atrocities  In,  127;  Independence 
granted  by  Russia;  surrender  of  seats  of 
deputies  in  Duma,  295;  proclamation  of 
Russian  provisional  Govt,  on  independent 


Vol.    6— Part     One 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Politico-Military  Events  of  the  Month,  30. 

POLYZOIDES,  Adamantios  Th.,  "  The  Suf- 
ferings of  Neutral  Greece,"  149. 

PORTO  Rico,   granted  citizenship,   42. 

PORTUGAL,  soldiers  serving  in  France  and 
Africa,   reasons   for  declaring  war,   436. 

PRAVOSLAVNY  Church,  289. 

PRINCE,  Norman,  470. 

PRINCESS  Melita  (S.  S.),  contention  between 
England  and  Holland  over  arming,  242. 

PRISONERS  of  War,  taken  by  Germans  on 
Aisne,  252 ;  taken  by  British  at  Arras,  266 ; 
on  Vimy  Ridge,  270;  taken  by  British  in 
Rheims  offensive,  272 ;  taken  in  Austro- 
Italian  campaign,  309;  by  British  in 
Aisne  offensive,  414;  by  French  in  Aisne 
drive,  415  ;  at  Vimy  Ridge,  418 ;  captured 
by  Germans  during  May,  426 ;  Germans 
sunk  on  British  hospital  ships,  443 ;  charges 
of  brutality  of  German  women  to  Brit- 
ish, 521 ;  Gen.  Stein  on  reprisals  for  treat- 
ment of  Germans  in  England  and  France, 
547 ;  French  official  reply,  548 ;  statement 
of  German  news  agency ;  denial  of  Gen. 
von  Stein's  charges  by  P.  O.  Mills,  549; 
numbers  and  employment  in  belligerent 
countries,  550. 

Progress  of  the  War,  34,  242,  431. 

PRUSSIANISM,  menace  discussed  by  Lloyd 
George,  456;  excerpts  from  book  by  Dr. 
Bang,   "  Hurrah  and  Hallelujah,"  522. 

R 

RAILROAD  Commission  to  Russia,  487. 
RAILROADS,  U.  S.,  board  to  direct  war  op- 
erations, 234. 
RANKIN,  Jeannette,  vote  on  war  resolution, 

212 ;   greeted   by   R.    Viviani   and   Admiral 

Chocheprat,  396. 
RASPUTIN,  Gregory,  career  and  death,  288. 
RAWLINSON,    (Gen.    Sir)    Henry    Seymour, 

311. 
RED  Cross,  see  RELIEF  work. 
REDMOND,    John,    letter    of    Lloyd    George 

proposing    settlement    of    Irish    question, 

445. 
REED,  James  A.,  210. 
REINACH,  Joseph,  "  A  Historian's  Answer," 

76. 
REINSECH,  Paul,  37. 

RELIEF  Work,  "  Ordeals  of  the  Wounded  " 
described  by  medical  experts,  129 ;  article 
on  work  of  Belgian  Relief  Commission, 
132 ;  exemption  of  relief  ships  from  block- 
ade, 134 ;  safe  conducts  of  ships  canceled 
by  Germany,  135 ;  medical  service  at  Sa- 
loniki  commended  by  Gen.  Milne,  166 ;  re- 
port in  House  on  sinking  of  Belgian  re- 
lief ships,  220;  transfer  of  Belgian  Com- 
mission to  Rotterdam,  237 ;  treatment  of 
soldiers  for  shell  shock,  described  by  Dr. 
Houston,  340;  activities  of  German  wom- 
en, 353 ;  concert  at  Metropolitan  Opera 
for  funds  presented  to  Marshal  Joffre, 
399 ;  first  Red  Cross  unit  after  war  declar- 
ation to  officiallv  carry  Amer.  flag,  439 ; 
hospital  ships  sunk  by  submarines,  442 ; 
wounded  treated  in  France  instead  of 
transported,  443 ;  article  by  J.  E.  Charles 
on  Val-de-Grace  Museum,  512;  cruelty  of 
German  Red  Cross  women  to  British  pris- 
oners, 521 ;  Comite  National  and  Commis- 
sion for  Relief  in  Belgium,  543. 

RELIGION,  devotions  in  war  zone,  131;  new 
freedom  in  Russia,  257. 

RENNENKAMPF  (Gen.),  85. 

REPRISALS,  see  AERONAUTICS;  PRIS- 
ONERS of  War. 

REVOLUTIONARY  War  (U.  S.),  armed  neu- 
trality of  foreign  powers;  Prussian  atti- 
tude in,  31. 

Vol.    6 — Part     One 


REZANOFF,   (Col.)  A.  S.,  127. 

RHEIMS,  evacuation  and  damage  to  Cathe- 
dral, 419. 

RIBOT,  Alexandre,  on  Pres.  Wilson's  war 
message,  223. 

RICE   (Capt),   435. 

RICHEPIN,  Jean,  recites  "  Kiss  of  the 
Flags,"  455. 

RIDPATH,  (Dr.)  John  Clark,  quoted,  521. 

RIES,  Irving  Guy,  218. 

RINTELEN,  (Capt.)  Franz  von,  intrigues  in 
Mexico,  70;  House  report  on  activities, 
219. 

ROBECK,  (Vice  Admiral  Sir)  John  M.  de, 
Dardanelles  report,   508. 

ROBINSON,  (Lieut.)  Leete,  battle  with  Zep- 
pelin, 335. 

ROCH,  Walter  F.,  on  Dardanelles  failure. 
170. 

ROCKEFELLER,   John  D.   Jr.,   3SS. 

ROCKINGHAM  (S.  S.),  loss,  442. 

ROCKWELL,  Paul,  on  Americans  in  For- 
eign Legion,  471. 

ROCKY  Mountain  Club,  money  for  clubhouse 
turned  over  to  relief  work,  134. 

ROCLE,   Marius,  471. 

RODE  (Capt.),  219. 

RODZIANKO,  Michael  V.,  and  Russian  rev- 
olution, 5;  on  America's  entrance  into 
war,  226 ;  address  in  Duma  on  peace,  481. 

ROEDER,   Gustav  C,   218. 

ROEDERN,  (Count)  von,  speech  on  submit- 
ting war  budget,  112. 

ROESICKE  (Dr.),  on  Socialist  aims  for 
peace,  in  Reichstag,  426;  reply  by  Beth- 
mann   Hollweg,   428. 

ROMAN  Catholic  Church,  devotions  of  sol- 
diers at  the  front,  131 ;  claimed  by  Ulstei 
Unionists  to  be  pro-German,  453. 

ROON,    (Count)   von,   301. 

ROOSEVELT,  Franklin  D..  organization  of 
reserve  auxiliary  fleet,  60. 

ROOSEVELT,    Theodore,     on    home    rule    in 

Ireland,   444. 
ROOT,  Elihu,  heads  mission  to  Russia,  487. 
ROSENWALD,   Julius,   387. 

ROUBAIX,  German  rule  in,  described  by  J. 
P.   Whitaker,   525. 

ROUX    (Dr.),   75. 

RUMANIA,  German  plot  to  infect  horses  and 
cattle ;  introduction  of  explosives  by  Ger- 
mans, 72  ;  conditions  under  German  occu- 
pancy,   261. 

RUMP,  (Pastor)  J.,  524. 

RUPEL,  surrender  of  fort,  150. 

RUROEDE,  Carl,  218. 

RUSSIA  :— 

American  Commission,  487. 

Army,  breakdown  of  discipline,  fraternity 
with    German    soldiers,    420;    order    of 
Gen.  Palitzine  for  new  oath,  489. 
See  also  Revolution,   below 

Cabinet    of    Provisional    Govt.,    members. 

6;  258;  reorganization,   oath  of  office; 

financial  program,  294. 
Constitutional  Democratic  Party,  475. 
Crown  Demesne,  436. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Duma,  sessions,  258 ;  surrender  of  seats 
by  Tolish  Deputies,  _".'">:  distinction  be- 
tween Socialist  Paries  in.  488;  his- 
torical sketch  of  attitude  of  sessions 
toward   reform,   47.'!. 

Finances,  new  program  of  Tereshchenko, 

Government,    manifesto    on    war    policies 
and    crisis    following,    478. 
See  also  Revolution,    below 

Nationalities,   438. 

Navy,  strength,  101. 

Revolution  1017,  account  of  overthrow  of 
Romanoffs  and  establishment  of  new 
Govt.,  1 ;  views  of  H.  H.  von  Mellen- 
thin  on  stand  of  army,  33 ;  reference  in 
Pres.  Wilson's  war  message  to  Con- 
gress, 196 :  release  of  political  prison- 
ers; difficulties  of  new  Govt.,  258; 
events  of  first  month  of  freedom,  202; 
address  of  P.  Milukoff  presaging  out- 
break, 207 ;  history  of  development  of 
movement  since  1005,  by  A.  J.  Sack, 
473;  conflict  between  Provisional  Govt, 
and  Workmen's  Council  over  war 
policy  note  to  Allies.  47N. 

United   States.   Relatione  with,   see  under 
UNITED  STATES. 
Russia's  First  Month  of  Freedom,  202. 


RUSTEM  Bey.  437. 


s 


SACK.  A.  J..  "Factors  in  the  Russian  Revo- 
lution,"  473. 

ST.  PAUL'S  Cathedral,  London,  services 
upon  entry  of  U.  S.  into  war,  454. 

SALVADOR,  offer  of  harbors  to  U.  S.,  434. 

SAMARGIEFF    (Military   Attache),   73. 

BAMSONOV  (Gen.),  85. 

SAMUEL,   Herbert  L.,  441. 

SAX  HER,   Albert  O.,  218. 

BARRAIL,    (Gen.)   Maurice  P.   E.,   83,   158. 

SCHAICK   (Vice   Consul   General).   210. 

SCHEELE,    (Dr.)   Walter,   210. 

SCHEIDEMANN,  Philipp,  efforts  to  involve 
in  peace  negotiations,  25S ;  on  Prussian- 
ism,  301;  interpellation  in  Reichstag  on 
annexation  and  peace,  427;  reply  by  Beth- 
mann  Hollweg,  428. 

SCHLESWTG-Holstein  Question,  article  by  J. 
T.  Wheelwright,  117. 

SrilLUESSELBURG.  declaration  of  inde- 
pendent republic  by  garrison,  438. 

SCHOLTZ,  Walter,  210. 

SCHWAB,  Charles  M.,  387. 

SCIENCE,  part  played  in  war,  13. 

Scientific  Discoveries  Due  to  the  War,  13. 

SCOTT,  Frank  A.,  234. 

SCOTT,  (Maj.  Gen.)  Hugh,  member  of  Amer- 
ican mission  to  Russia,  4s7. 

SEA  Power,  Lord  Fisher  on  use,  170. 

Secret  Journalism  in  Belgium,  13<;. 

Secret  U-Boat  Orders  to  German  News- 
papers, 27!  t. 

SEEADLER  (raider),  exploits,  300. 

SEEGER,  Alan,  death,  471. 

SERBIA,  diplomatic  events  leading  up  to 
war,  discussed  by  W.  M.  Petrovitch.  138; 
shortage  of  munitions  at  outbreak  of  war, 
141. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in   Europe,   Balkan 
State*. 

Vol.    0— l'art     One 


Serbia  and   the    War's  Beginning,   138. 

Seven  Days'  Fighting  at  Arras,  267. 

SEWARD  (S.  S.),  230. 

SHARP,  William  Graves,  summary  of  re- 
port on  German  vandalism  in  France, 
321 ;  at  celebration  of  entry  of  U.  S.  into 
War,   455. 

SHAW,  (Dr.)  Anna  Howard,  at  head  of  Wo- 
men's Committee  for  war  work,  388. 

SHELL  Shock,  effect  on  nervous  system  of 
soldiers  discussed  by  Dr.  Houston,  340. 

SHIPPING,  plan  to  build  wooden  fleet  un- 
der direction  of  Gen.  Goethals,  234 ;  con- 
tracts awarded  by  Shipping  Board,  fund 
provided  by  Congress,  437. 
See  also  ARMED  Merchant  Ships;  UNIT- 
ED STATES— Armed  Neutrality  ;  SUB- 
MARINE Warfare. 

Ships  Armed  by  Presidential  Proclamation, 
55. 

SIBERIA,  release  of  prisoners,  0,  258,  20G. 

SIMONDS,  Frank  H.,  "At  the  Western 
Fighting  Fronts,"   110. 

SIMS,  (Rear  Admiral)  William  S.,  in  com- 
mand of  Amer.  destroyers  in  war  zone, 
430. 

Sinking  of  the  Laconia  and  Algonquin,  53. 

SIVERS  (Gen.),  207. 

SKAGERRAK,  see  JUTLAND. 

SMITH-Dorrien,   (Gen.    Sir)  Horace,   311. 

SMOOT,  Walter  S.,  "  Germany's  Form  of 
Government,"  516. 

SMUTS,  (Gen.)  Jan  Christian,  41. 

SOARES  (Senor),  436. 

SOCIALISTS,  efforts  of  Germans  to  involve 
in  Russian  peace  negotiations,  25,S,  205 ; 
agitation  in  Germany  for  reform,  301 ; 
aims  for  peace  denounced  in  Reichstag  by 
Dr.  Roesicke,  426 ;  interpellation  in  Reichs- 
tag of  P.  Scheidemann  on  attitude  to- 
ward annexation,  427 ;  reply  by  Bethmann 
Hollweg  to  Dr.  Roesicke  and  P.  Scheide- 
mann, 428;  allusion  to  German  republic 
by  G.  Ledebour  in  speech  for  peace,  430; 
distinction  between  parties  in  Duma,  43(>; 
in  Russian  revolution,  473;  tribute  by 
Milukoff;  comparison  cf  socialism  in  U. 
S.  and  Russia,  476;  Russian  appeal  to 
German  and  Austrian  Socialists,  485;  rise 
of  Social-Democratic  Party  in  Germany, 
517. 

SOLLIER  (Dr.),  treatment  for  shell  shock, 
342. 

Song  of  Sunrise,  305. 

SOUTH  America,  see  LATIN  America. 

SPAHN,  (Dr.)  Peter,  430. 

SPIES,  German  agents  sent  to  England  from 
the  U.  S.,  218. 

SPIRIDONOVA,  Marie,  released  from  Siberia, 

'2\)l>. 

STAHL,  Gustav,  220. 

STANKEVICH  (M.),  criticism  of  note  of 
Russian  Govt,   on  war  aims,  470. 

STEAMSHIP,  bomb  plots,  210. 

STEIN,  (Gen.)  von,  on  treatment  of  war 
prisoners  in  France  and  England  and  on 
German  reprisals,  547. 

STEVENS,  John  F.,  heads  railway  mission 
to  Russia,  487. 

STIENON,  Charles,  "  Zeppelin  Raids  and 
Their  Effect  on  England,"  333. 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


STOCKHOLM,  Socialist  plans  for  peace  con- 
gress, 295. 

STONE,  Edward  Mandell,  471. 

STONE,  William  Joel,  51. 

STORSTAD  (S.  S.),  220. 

Story  of  Saloniki,  155. 

STRESEMANN,  (Dr.)  Gustav,  on  Amer. 
declaration  of  war,  206. 

STRIKES,  German  propaganda  in  U.  S., 
219,  220;  in  Germany  caused  by  food 
shortage,    438. 

SUBMARINE  Warfare,  German  purpose  dis- 
cussed by  H.  H.  von  Mellenthin,  31 ;  com- 
ment on  failure,  38;  effect  on  U.  S.  trade, 
42 ;  address  of  Pres.  Wilson  asking  for 
power  to  arm  ships,  47 ;  sinking  of  Laconia 
and  Algonquin,  53 ;  effects  of  intensified 
activity,  57 ;  text  of  Amer.  note  to  Austria- 
Hungary  asking  stand  on  German  block- 
ade, 104 ;  text  of  reply,  105 ;  note  of  British 
Admiralty  on  torpedoing  of  S.  S.  West- 
minster, 147;  Bethmann  Hollweg's  justi- 
fication in  light  of  British  blockade,  205 ; 
Lord  R.  Cecil's  reply,  200;  report  of  house 
committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  enumer- 
ating German  acts  which  justified  war 
resolution,  214;  relief  ships  sunk;  ves- 
sels sunk  during  March  and  April,  238 ; 
controversy  of  Holland  and  Germany, 
240;  violations  of  Treaty  of  1799  charged 
by  Sec.  Lansing  in  rejecting  protocol, 
254 ;  article  by  Lieut.  Gill  on  submarine 
as  a  naval  weapon,  273;  "Secret  U-Boat 
Orders  to  German  Newspapers,"  279; 
discussed  by  A.  J.  Balfour  at  Chamber 
of  Commerce  dinner,  404 ;  Bethmann 
Hollweg  on  success  of,  429 ;  first  American 
gun  fired  from  S.  S.  Mongolia,  435;  Amer-, 
ican  destroyers  operating  in  zone,  439 ; 
serious  effect  on  merchant  shipping,  440; 
sinking  of  British  hospital  ships,  442. 
See  also  UNITED  STATES-Armed  Neu- 
trality; UNITED  STATES— War  with 
Germany. 

Submarine  Torpedo,  What  It  Is  and  How 
It  Works,  280. 

SUBMARINES,  value  in  war  discussed  by 
Lieut.    Gill,   495 ;   account  of  sinking,   496. 

Sufferings   of   Neutral   Greece,    148. 

SULEIMAN   I.,   King  of  the   Hedjaz,   30G. 

SUNFLOWER,  cultivation  in  Germany  and 
Russia    for   oil,    356. 

SURGERY,  article  by  J.  E.  Charles  on  Val- 
de-Grace  Museum,  512. 

SWEENEY,   Charles,   471. 

SYKES,  (Sir)  Percy,  Lord  Curzon  on  activi- 
ties in  Persia,   46. 


TALMAN  (M.),  296. 

TARNOWSKT  von  Tarnow  (Count),  status 
on  arrival  in  Washington,  104;  recalled, 
237. 

TAUSCHER,     (Capt.)    Hans,    219. 

TCHEIDSE  (M.)f  on  note  of  Russian  Govt, 
on  war  aims,  479. 

TERAUCHI,  (Count)  Seiki,  statement  on 
proposed  German-Mexioan-Japanese  alli- 
ance,   68. 

TERESCHTENKO  (M.),  financial  program, 
294;  made  Foreign  Secretary,  career,  486. 

Terrible  Realities  of  War,  338. 

THOMAS,   (Rear  Admiral)  Evan,  37. 
To    the   First   Gun,   352. 

Vol.    6— Pari      One 


TOLSTOY,    (Count)   Leo,   effect  of  death  on 
revolutionary   movement,   474. 

TORPEDO,  description  of  type  used  by  sub- 
marines,  280. 

Torpedoing    of   the    Westminster,   117. 

TREATY   of  1799,    63,   253. 

TRENCH     Raiding,     impression     of     Sir     D. 
Haig  system  by  German  soldier,  529. 

TROUBETZKOY,    (Prince)    Eugene,    476. 

TSCHIRSCHKY,    Herr   von,    140. 

TSING-TAO,   surrender,  310. 

TSUOMILLEN   (Gen.),  297. 

TUBANTIA    (S.    S.),    22S. 

TURKEY,  see  ARABIA ;  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia 
Minor,     UNITED     STATES— Turkey. 

TZERETELLI   (Prince),  career,  477. 


u 


Under  German  Rule  in  France  and  Belgium, 
525. 

UNITED   STATES:— 

Arabia,  Relations  with,  protest  of  new 
kingdom  against  atrocities,  306. 

Armed  Neutrality,  text  of  Pres.  Wilson's 
message  on  arming  merchant  ships,  47 ; 
debate  in  Congress,  49;  address  of 
Pres.  Wilson  on  Senate  filibuster,  51 ; 
Presidential  proclamation  on  arming  of 
ships;  legal  basis,  55;  "Crux  of  the 
Situation,"    56. 

Army,  defense  measures,  60;  mobilization 
of  National  Guard  for  war,  233 ;  prog- 
ress of  draft  bill,  25(>;  enlistments, 
257 ;  proclamation  of  Pres.  Wilson  on 
conscription  law,  including  text  of  law, 
381;  operation  of  draft  law  and  for- 
mation of  military  forces,  3X5;  locations 
of  officers'  training  camps,  386 ;  forma- 
tion of  regiments  of  engineers  for 
service  in  France,  440. 

Austria-Hungary,  Relations  with,  text  of 
Amer.  note  on  submarine  blockade  and 
reply,  104 ; .  break  in  diplomatic  rela- 
tions ;  official  note,  237. 

Congress,  armed  ship  debate,  49;  Senate 
filibuster,  50;  Senate  manifesto;  Pres. 
Wilson's  address  on  legislation  un- 
finished through  filibuster,  51 ;  extra 
session  called,  55 ;  organization  of  (>5th 
Congress  and  action  on  war  with  Ger- 
many, 207-222 ;  visit  of  R.  Viviani, 
Marshal  Joffre,  and  Amb.  Jusserand, 
394;  visit  of  British  Mission,  399; 
House  sends  cable  on  Irish  question 
to  British  Govt.,  444. 

Consular  Officers,  German  indignities  to, 
221. 

England,   Relations  with,   plea  for  closer 
ties,  by  Wm.  Archer,  78. 
See  also  ALLIES'  Commission. 

Finances,  Pres.  Wilson's  suggestions  for 
meeting  cost  of  war,  194 ;  war  loan  bill 
passed  by  Congress,  256 ;  relation  of 
"Liberty"  Loan"  to  national  income, 
262;  loans  to  Allies;  "Liberty  Loan" 
issue,  440. 

Foreign  Population,  tables  from  Geo- 
graphic Magazine,  showing  distribu- 
tion by  States  and  races,  262. 

Foreign  Trade,  from  outbreak  of  war,  39; 
effect  of  submarines,  42. 

Germany,  Relations  with,  see  War  with 
Germany,   below. 

Navy,  measures  taken  by  Pres.  Wilson  for 
speeding  up  program ;  appropriation 
passed,  58 ;  contracts  placed  and  pro- 
gram ;   airships   ordered,   59 ;   volunteer 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


reserve  auxiliary  fleet,  60 ;  strength 
compared  with  that  of  other  countries 
bv  T.  G.  Frothingham,  95;  mobiliza- 
tion for  war,  231 ;  flotilla  of  destroyers 
under  Rear  Admiral  Sims  operating  in 
submarine  zone,  439;  organization  and 
strength  discussed  by  Lieut.  Gill,  490. 

Russia.  Relations  with,  probability  of  new 
commercial  treaty ;  recognition  of  new 
Govt.,  293;  purpose  and  members  of 
American  Mission ;  members  of  Rail- 
road Commission  to,  487. 

Shipping  Board,  task  of  Gen.  Goethals, 
234. 

Turkey,  Relations  with,  break  in  diplo- 
matic relations,  437. 

War  with  Germany,  address  by  Bethmann 
Hollweg  in  Reichstag  on  break  in  dip- 
lomatic relations,  61;  difficulties  of 
Amb.  Gerard  leaving  Berlin,  62;  text 
of  Pres.  Wilson's  message  calling  for 
declaration,  191 ;  text  of  declaration  of 
war;  Pres.  Wilson's  formal  announce- 
ment and  proclamations,  198;  narra- 
tive of  events  before  and  after  declara- 
tion of  war;  sentiment  of  the  coun- 
try; pacifists,  &c,  203;  speeches  of 
Bethmann  Hollweg  and  German  party 
leaders,  205;  Lord  R.  Cecil's  reply  to 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  206;  Congressional 
action,  207-222 ;  reception  in  Europe  of 
Pres.  Wilson's  message  for  war,  222 ; 
resolutions  and  speeches  in  British 
Parliament  indorsing  action,  226;  text 
of  German  protocol  on  rights  of  Ger- 
mans in  America,  253;  text  of  Ameri- 
can rejection,  254;  ceremonies  and  ad- 
dresres  in  England  and  France  cel- 
ebrating entry  of  U.  S.,  454;  address 
of  Lloyd  George  at  American  Club, 
456;  speeches  of  Lords  Curzon  and 
Crewe,  and  H.  H.  Asquith  on  resolu- 
tions in  Parliament  on  entry  into  war, 
460;  editorial  in  London  Telegraph, 
464;  praise  by  P.  Deschanel,  466;  by 
A.  Dubost;  editorial  in  Le  Temps,  467; 
sentiments  of  M.  Gauvain  and  G. 
Herve,  468;  comments  of  press  in  Ger- 
many, 468. 

United  States  Declares  War,  203. 


VACUUM  (oil  tanker),  loss,  442. 

VAL-DE-GRACE  Museum,  512. 

VALDEZ.  (Dr.)  Ramon,  proclamation  on 
war,  229. 

VAN  DYKE,  Henry,  poem  •■  Liberty  En- 
lightening the  World,"  546. 

VANCEBORO  Bridge,  219. 

VANDALISM,  of  Germans  in  France,  246, 
251,  317-326,  534-543. 

VARENNE,  Alexandre,  305. 

VENIZELOS,  Eleutherios,  account  of  leader- 
ship of  war  party,  by  A.  T.  Polyzoides, 
148;  statement  of  King  Constantine  on, 
153;  Provisional  Govt.,  157. 

VERNOIS,   (Count)  von  Verdy  du,  230. 

VERYKEN,    (Mme.)  Marcelle,   115. 

VIGILANCIA  (S.  S.),  58. 

VINAVER,  see  WINAWER. 

VIRGIN  Islands,  see  DANISH  West  Indies. 

VIRUBOVA   (Mme.),  290. 

Visit   of  Noted  Diplomats,  389. 

VIVIANI,  Rene,  career,  256;  visit  to  U.  S. 
as  head  of  French  War  Commission, 
statements,  speeches,  &c,  389-405. 

Vol.    6— Part-    One 


VORWERK  (Pastor),   522. 
VOYTINSKY  (M.),  480. 

w 

WALKER.  J.   Bernard,  441. 

War  Message,  191. 

WAR  Museums,  British  plans  for,  262 ;  article 
by  J.  E.  Charles  on  Val-de-Grace,  512. 

War  Problems  of  Mothers,  349. 

War  Seen  from   Two  Angles,  27. 

War's  Effects  on  Woman's  Status,  358. 

WARSHIPS',  types  discussed  by  Lieut.  Gill, 
491. 

WARWICK  (Countess  of),  "  The  War  Prob- 
lems of  Mothers,"   349. 

WASHINGTON,  George,  visit  of  Anglo- 
French  War  Commission  to  tomb ;  ad- 
dresses of  Viviani,  Balfour,  and  Joffre, 
393 ;  view  of  present  situation  discussed 
in  House  by  Vice  Premier  Viviani,  396. 

WEDELL,    Hans    von,    218. 

WELLAND  Canal  Plot,  219. 

WEMYSS,  (Vice  Admiral  Sir)  Rosslyn  E., 
Dardanelles  report,  508. 

WESTARP,    (Count)   von,   206. 

WESTMINSTER  (S.  S.),  147. 

WHEAT,  acreage  in  France,  25;  world  short- 
age, 260. 
See    also   FOODSTUFFS. 

WHEELER,   (Dr.)  David  D.,  470. 

WHEELWRIGHT,  John  T,  "  German  Peace 
League  That  Failed,"   110. 

WHITAKER,  J.  P.,  "  Under  German  Rule 
in  France  and   Belgium,"   525. 

WHITEHEAD,   (Surgeon  Gen.)  H.  R.,  166. 

WHITLOCK,  Brand,  withdrawal  from  Bel- 
gium, 237 ;  report  on  Belgian  deportations, 
543. 

WHITMAN,  (Gov.)  Charles  Seymour,  official 
designation  of  France  Day,  393. 

WILLARD,  Daniel,  234. 

WILLIAM  II.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  charac- 
ter sketch,  14;  supreme  direction  of  mili- 
arty  and  naval  affairs ;  power  over  legis- 
lation, 259 ;  message  to  Bethmann  Hollweg 
on  reforms,  302 ;  message  to  Crown  Prince 
on  British  offensive,  426;  opposition  to 
reform  and  theory  of  Divine  right ;  speech 
at  Potsdam  in  1891,  520. 

WILLIAM  (Crown  Prince  of  Germany),  83, 
426. 

WILLIAMS,  John  Sharp,  on  war  resolution 
in  Congress,  reply  to  La  Follette,  211. 

WILLIAMS,  Wythe,  *'  An  Eyewitness  in 
Devastated  France,"  323. 

WILSON,    (Sir)   Arthur,   168. 

WILSON,  (Pres.)  Woodrow,  extract  from 
inaugural  address,  36;  text  of  message  to 
Congress ,pn  arming  merchant  ships,  47; 
address  to  country  on  failure  of  Senate  to 
obtain  vote  on  armed-ship  measure,  51 ; 
calls  extra  session  of  Congress ;  proclama- 
tion announcing  arming  of  ships,  55;  re- 
port to  the  Senate  on  plot  for  German- 
Mexican-Japanese  alliance,  66;  on  league 
to  enforce  peace,  116 ;  message  to  Congress 
calling  for  declaration  of  state  of  war 
with  Germany,  191 ;  announcement  of 
state    of    war    and    proclamation    to    the 


INDEX  AND   TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


people,  198;  economies  proclamation,  200; 
reception  in  Europe  of  war  message,  con- 
gratulations of  heads  of  Govts. ,  222 ;  reply 
to  Pres.  Poincare,  223 ;  reply  to  King 
George,  225 ;  proclamation  of  conscription 
law,  381 ;  conference  with  A.  J.  Balfour, 
391 ;  war  message  read  in  N.  Y.  schools, 
393 ;  visit  to  gallery  and  floor  of  House, 
399;  Dr.  Roesicke  on  attitude  toward 
Hohenzollerns,  426 ;  tribute  by  A.  Miller- 
and,  455 ;  Lord  Crewe  on  reason  for 
patience  with  Germany,  462 ;  view  of  H. 
H.  Asquith  on  patience,  463;  editorial  in 
London  Telegraph  on  message  calling  for 
war,  464 ;  editorial  in  Le  Temps  on  action, 
467 ;  criticised  by  press  in  Germany ; 
criticism  by  Dr.  Kaempf ,  469 ;  demonstra- 
tion in  Warsaw  over  address  to  Senate, 
489. 

WINAWER  (M.),  appointed  to  Russian  Sen- 
ate and  Supreme  Court,  296. 

Wind  of  Freedom,  239. 

WINNIG,  August,  "  War's  Effects  on  Wom- 
an's Status,  358. 

WIRELESS  Telegraphy,  seizure  of  stations 
by  Govt.,  232. 

WOLFF,  Theodor,  on  German-Mexican  al- 
liance, 67. 

WOLPERT  (Capt.),  219. 

WOMAN  Suffrage,  promised  to  Russian 
women  by  Prince  Lvoff,  206. 

WOMEN,  battle  between  feminism  and 
militarism,  discussed  by  Countess  of  War- 
wick, 349 ;  terms  of  employment  in  British 
war  service,  351;  "German  Women  as 
War  Workers,"  353;  comment  by  editor 
on  numbers  employed  in  belligerent  coun- 
tries;  article  by  A.  Winnig  on  "War's 
Effects  on  Woman's  Status,"  358;  charges 
of  brutality  of  Germans  to  British  prison- 
ers,  521. 


Women   of   the    War.    20. 

WOOD,    Henry,    on    evacuation    of    Rheims, 
419. 

WOODBERRT,   George   E.,   poem,    "  A   Song 
of  Sunrise,"  305. 

WOUNDED,    see  RELIEF  Work. 

WOUNDS,  value  of  helmets  and  need  of  other 
protection  against,    472. 

Writing   War  History  in  France,  304. 

WUNNENBERG,    Charles.   218. 


TARROWDALE  (S.  S.),  detention  of  prison- 
ers, 42 ;  report  of  case  in  Congress,  221 ; 
German  official  statement  on  capture ; 
accounts  by  Lieut.  Badewitz  and  others, 
299. 

YEROFEIFF    (Gen.),   297. 

YOSHIHITO    (Emperor    of   Japan),    greeting 

to   Pres.   Wilson,   69. 
Your  Flag   and  My  Flag,  255. 


ZASSULITCH,   Vera,  258. 

ZEPPELIN,  (Count)  Ferdinand  von,  career 
and  death,  41. 

ZEPPELIN    Raids,    see    AERONAUTICS. 

ZIMMERMANN,  (Dr.)  Alfred,  proposal  for 
German-Mexican-Japanese  alliance,  65 ; 
report  of  plot,  in  Congress,  222 ;  defense 
of  plot,  236 ;  on  sinking  of  Dutch  ships, 
241. 

ZWIEDINEK,   (Baron)  Erich,  237. 


Portraits 


BALFOUR,    Arthur    J.,    204,    394. 
BARRY,   (Maj.   Gen.)  Thomas  H.,  205. 
BELL,    (Maj.    Gen.)    J.    Franklin,    205. 
BRAZ,     (Dr.)    Wenceslau,    2S4. 
BRIDGES,    (Maj.    Gen.)    G.    T.    M.,    204. 
CECILIE,   Crown  Princess  of  Germany,   353. 
COUNCIL  of  National  Defense,   26S. 
EDWARDS,    (Brig.   Gen.)   Clarence  R.,  205. 
FLETCHER,    Henry    P.,    46. 
FOCH,     (Gen.)    Ferdinand,    81. 
FRENCH,    (Marshal    Sir)    John,    311. 
GUYNEMER,   (Lieut.)  George,  328. 
HAMILTON,    (Sir)    Ian,    502. 
HINDENBURG,  (Gen.)  Paul  von,  85. 
HOOVER,    Herbert    C,    78. 
JOFFRE,    (Marshal)    Joseph,    204, 
JUSSERAND,    Jules,    395. 
LA  FOLLETTE,   Robert  M.,    15. 
LANSING,    (Sec.)    Robert,    394. 
LIGGETT,    (Maj.    Gen.)    Hunter,    205. 
LOUISE,   Grand  Duchess  of  Baden,   355. 
LVOFF,   (Prince)  Georges  E.,  332.* 
Vol.    6— Part     One 


McADOO,  William  Gibbs,  474. 
MAUDE,    (Gen.)    F.    S.,    79. 
MENOCAL,  Mario  G.,  284. 
MILUKOFF,    Paul,   333. 
MULLER,    (Dr.)   Lauro,   284. 
PAGE,    Walter    Hines,    395. 
PERSHING,     (Maj.    Gen.)    John    J.,    47. 
PETAIN,    (Gen.)    Henri    P.,    426. 
PETROVITCH,  Woislav  M.,  138. 
RASPUTIN,     Gregory,    506. 
RITTER,    (Dr.)   Paul,   30. 
ROBECK,  (Admiral  Sir)  John  M.  de,  501. 
RODZIANKO,  Michael  V.,  411. 
ROOT,   Elihu,   410. 
SHARP,   William  G.,   395. 
SIMONDS,  Frank  H.,  119. 
SPRING-RICE,  (Sir)  Cecil,  395. 
STONE,    William  J.,    15.. 
TARNOWSKI    von    Tarnow,    Count,    31. 
VALDES,  Ramon  M.,  284. 
VIVIANI,  Rene,  204, 
WARWICK,    Countess    of,    349. 
WILLIAM  II.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  14. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Illustrations 


AIRSHIPS  for  Hunting  U-Boats.  886. 

AMERICAN  Luncheon  Club  Banquet  Cele- 
brating Entrance  Into  War,  47."i. 

AVIATION   Camp  at  Saloniki.    14J. 

BAPAUMB   Ruins.  816. 

BATTLESHIP  Plans,  05-103. 

CANADIAN  Charge  at  Vimy   Ridge,  4.~s. 

COUCY-le-Chateau,  Before  Invasion.  .".l'L'  ; 
After  German  Retreat,  B8S. 

CZAR'S   Portrait  Torn  from   Duma,   667. 

DANISH  West  Indies,  Purchase.  286;  Taking 

Possession.  2.'!7. 
IKKXCH  Naval  Gun,  89. 

FRENCH  *'  Tank  M  Used  in  Attack  on  St. 
Quentin,  889. 

GERMAN    Retreat.    Destruction    of    Tow  is, 

::n;-::i7. 

GERMAN    War   Medals,    347-34*. 
GERMAN   Women   in   Gun    Factory,  357 


ITALIAN  Mine  Layer,  05. 

JERUSALEM,  143. 
'JUTLAND  Battle   (diagram),   88. 

LACONIA    (S.    S.),    Sinking.    14. 

MINES  for  Protection  of  New  York,   126. 

NEW  YORK  Naval  Militia   on  Way  to  Ser- 
vice, 220. 

NOYON  Ruins,  317. 

PERONNE  Ruins,   316. 

RASPUTIN  and  Admirers,  506. 

RHEIMS,  the  Deserted  City,  04. 

ROYE,  Destruction  of  Church,  427. 

ST.   LOUIS,   Leaving  Port  Armed,  221. 

SUBMARINE  TORPEDO   (diagrams),  280. 

UNDERGROUND  Quarters  of  a  German  Of- 
ficer, 127. 

UNITED  STATES  Government  Loan   to  Al- 
lies, 474. 

WEST  POINT  Troops  Reviewed  by  Marshal 
Joffre,  459. 


AISNE    Front,   272. 
ASIA    Minor   Campaign,   4.". 
BALKAN    Campaign,    Macedonia,    15" 
MONA8TIR  Region,   161 


Maps 


SALONIKI,  Inner  Defenses,   159. 
SERBIA,   144. 

WESTERN    Campaign,    28,    247,    423. 
YPRES   Battle,    313. 


Cartoons 

CARTOONS-100,    171-199,    361-380,    533,    551-570. 


Vol.   ft— Part     One 


~l/\  Vi.viS 


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RUSSIA   IN   REVOLUTION 

Abdication  of  Czar   and  Rise  of   a  Republic  in 
the  Stronghold  of  Autocracy 


RUSSIA  experienced  during  the  four 
days  of  March  8-11,  1917,  the 
most  dramatic  and  effective  po- 
litical upheaval  in  recorded  his- 
tory. The  Romanoff  dynasty,  which  had 
ruled  the  nation  for  more  than  300  years, 
was  completely  overthrown,  as  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  The  most  absolute 
autocracy  in  the  civilized  world  crumbled 
and  fell  almost  without  a  struggle,  and 
was  replaced  by  a  modern  democratic 
Government  without  serious  loss  of  life. 
The  new  regime  set  up  by  the  people  is 
pledged  to  extremely  advanced  ideas  of 
liberalism  and  democracy,  including  uni- 
versal suffrage. 

The  news  of  the  revolution  came  upon 
the  world  outside  of  Russia  with  startling 
suddenness  on  Friday,  March  16.  There 
were  intimations  two  days  earlier  that 
some  political  crisis  was  at  hand,  but 
they  were  so  meagre  and  fragmentary 
that  they  gave  no  clue  to  the  stupendous 
nature  of  the  change  in  progress.  It  was 
on  March  16  that  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment issued  its  Appeal  to  the  People, 
and  this  act  may  be  accepted*  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  established  career  of  the 
new  regime. 

For  weeks  all  the  news  from  Russia 
had  indicated  a  state  of  unrest,  dissatis- 
faction and  imminent  crisis.  There  were 
evidences  of  gross  mismanagement  in  the 
distribution  of  supplies,  the  transport 
system  was  faulty,  the  munitions  supply 
irregular,  the  hospital  service  subject  to 
constant  criticism.  Finally  food  in  the 
cities  became  so  short  that  prices  rapidly 
mounted  to  prohibitive  figures,  and  the 
poorer  classes  were  on  the  verge  of  star- 
vation. Previous  to  these  conditions 
there  was  a  general  feeling,  which 
gained  strength  every  day,  that  a  certain 
clique  or  camarilla  of  the  nobility  and 
ruling  classes  was  traitorous  and  pro- 
German,  intriguing  to  have  Russia  de- 
sert the  Allies  and  effect  a  separate 
peace.      In    November,    1916,    Professor 


Paul  N.  Milukoff,  the  present  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ers of  the  revolution,  delivered  a  speech 
in  the  Duma  in  which  he  denounced  the 
Prime  Minister,  Stiirmer,  as  a  pro-Ger- 
man and  a  traitor  to  Russia,  and  inti- 
mating that  the  Premier  had  betrayed 
his  country  for  German  gold.  This 
speech,  though  its  publication  was  for- 
bidden in  Russia,  leaked  out  and  pro- 
duced a  profound  sensation.  The  Tre- 
poff-Protopopoff  Ministry,  which  suc- 
ceeded, was  at  first  supposed  to  be  lib- 
eral, but  it  soon  became  even  more  re- 
actionary than  its  predecessor,  and  hints 
were  freely  circulated  that  it  was  cor- 
rupted by  Germany  and  intended  to  be- 
tray the  country.  In  fact,  charges  were 
openly  made  in  the  Duma  early  in  March 
that  the  failure  of  the  army  adminis- 
tration was  intended  to  impede  the 
progress  of  the  war,  and  that  the  short- 
age of  food  in  the  great  cities  was  a 
deliberate  plot  of  the  Government  to  in- 
flame the  masses  so  that  they  would 
demand  a  separate  peace. 

This  was  the  critical  situation  of  af- 
fairs on  March  8,  when  a  group  of 
working  men  in  Petrograd  decided  on  a 
general  strike  and  began  manifestations 
of  discontent  against  the  shortage  of 
food. 

For  weeks  there  had  been  protests  and 
threats  of  a  general  strike,  but  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  liberal  leaders  in  the  Duma 
that,  despite  the  wretched  state  of  af- 
fairs, an  open  revolution  was  impossible, 
as  the  country  realized  that  a  revolution 
would  seriously  interrupt  the  work  of  the 
war  and  would  be  playing  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  had  this  very  end  in  view. 

Open  letters  were  printed  in  the  Petro- 
grad newspapers  from  popular  Duma 
leaders,  and  proclamations  were  posted 
in  the  streets,  urgently  begging  the  pop- 
ulation not  to  create  demonstrations  or 
cause  disorders  which  might  lead  to  in- 
terruption of  the  manufacture  of  muni- 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


tions  or  paralyze  the  industrial  activity 
of  the  city. 

People  at  Last  Convinced 

Manifestations  already  arranged  for 
March  6,  including  a  general  strike  and 
the  marching  to  the  Duma  of  a  deputa- 
tion of  workingmen,  were  in  this  way 
averted.  But  the  moment  was  only  post- 
poned. The  people,  who  were  convinced 
that  they  were  being  exploited  by  a  hos- 
tile clique,  received  what  they  regarded 
as  the  last  proof  of  the  inefficiency  and 
corruption  of  their  own  Government 
when  they  were  apprised  that  the  already 
insufficient  supply  of  food  had  become 
still  more  meagre  and  that  for  some  days 
it  would  be  necessary  to  go  without  bread 
altogether. 

Patient  and  long  suffering  by  nature, 
this  was  too  much  for  the  population  of 
Petrograd,  who  knew  that  the  interior  of 
Russia  was  stored  with  immense  quan- 
tities of  grain  and  all  kinds  of  provis- 
ions, and,  without  other  motive  at  first 
than  to  voice  a  demand  for  bread,  the 
people  paraded  the  streets,  and  this  dem- 
onstration was  the  spark  that  started  the 
conflagration. 

The  unrest  at  first  expressed  itself  in 
an  unusually  mild  manner,  without  ex- 
citement and  with  no  indication  of  revo- 
lutionary intent,  but  merely  as  an  in- 
sistent demand  for  a  vigorous  solution  of 
the  food  problem. 

The  Duma  meanwhile  was  actively  de- 
bating the  question,  and  the  majority 
received  with  ill-concealed  irritation  the 
statements  and  explanations  of  the  Min- 
ister of  Agriculture. 

On  the  10th  General  Chavaloff,  com- 
mander of  the  Petrograd  district,  issued 
a  proclamation  forbidding  all  assemblies 
in  the  streets  and  warning  citizens  that 
the  troops  had  been  authorized  to  use 
their  arms  or  any  means  to  preserve  or- 
der in  the  capital.  On  the  11th  the  Czar 
put  the  match  to  the  powder  train  by 
issuing  two  ukases  suspending  the  sit- 
tings of  the  Russian  Duma  and  Coun- 
cil of  the  Empire.  This  was  the  final 
stroke,  and  the  revolution  soon  came 
full  grown  into  being. 

Michael  V.  Rodzianko,  President  of  the 
Duma,  a  man  of  strong  force  and  firm 
conviction,  realized  that  a  serious  blun- 


der had  been  committed,  and  telegraphed 
the  Czar  that  the  hour  had  struck.  The 
Duma  unanimously  decided  that  it  would 
not  dissolve.  The  Imperial  Council, 
realizing  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
added  its  appeal  that  the  Emperor  should 
hearken  to  the  demands  of  the  people. 
The  Emperor,  who  was  absent  from 
Petrograd,  hastily  started  back  to  the 
capital,  but  it  was  too  late. 

How  the  Flood  Broke 

The  story  of  the  upheaval  as  related 
by  accredited  correspondents  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  most  phenomenal  feature  of  the 
revolution  was  the  swift  and  orderly 
transition  whereby  the  control  of  the 
city  passed  from  the  regime  of  the  old 
Government  into  the  hands  of  its  op- 
ponents. 

The  visible  signs  of  revolution  began 
on  Thursday,  March  8.  Strikes  were  de- 
clared in  several  big  munitions  factories 
as  a  protest  against  the  shortage  of 
bread.  Men  and  women  gathered  and 
marched  through  the  streets,  most  of 
them  in  an  orderly  fashion.  A  few 
bread  shops  were  broken  into  in  that 
section  of  the  city  beyond  the  Neva,  and 
several  minor  clashes  between  strikers 
and  police  occurred. 

Squads  of  mounted  troops  appeared, 
but  during  Thursday  and  Friday  the  ut- 
most friendliness  seemed  to  exist  between 
the  troops  and  the  people. 

This  early  period  of  the  uprising  bore 
the  character  of  a  mock  revolution, 
staged  for  an  immense  audience.  Cos- 
sacks, charging  down  the  street,  did  so 
in  a  half-hearted  fashion,  plainly  with- 
out malice  or  intent  to  harm  the  crowds, 
which  they  playfully  dispersed.  The 
troops  exchanged  good-natured  raillery 
with  the  working  men  and  women,  and  as 
they  rode  were  cheered  by  the  populace. 

Long  lines  of  soldiers  stationed  in  dra- 
matic attitudes  across  the  Nevsky  Pros- 
pect, with  their  guns  pointed  at  an  imagi- 
nary foe,  appeared  to  be  taking  part  in  a 
realistic  tableau.  Machine  guns,  firing 
rounds  of  blank  cartridges,  seemed  only 
to  add  another  realistic  touch  to  a  tre- 
mendous theatric  production  which  was 
using  the  whole  city  as  a  stage. 


RUSSIA   IN  REVOLUTION 


On  Saturday,  however,  apparently 
without  provocation,  the  troops  were 
ordered  to  fire  on  people  marching  in 
Nevsky  Prospect.  The  troops  refused  to 
fire,  and  the  police,  replacing  them,  fired 
rifles  and  machine  guns. 

Then  came  a  clash  between  troops  and 
police,  which  continued  in  desultory  fash- 
ion throughout  Saturday  night  and  Sun- 
day. The  Nevsky  Prospect  was  cleared 
of  traffic  by  the  police  and  notices  were 
posted  by  the  commander  of  the  Petro- 
grad  military  district  warning  the  people 
that  any  attempt  to  congregate  would  be 
met  by  force. 

Troops  Join  the  Revolt 

Until  Sunday  evening,  however,  there 
was  no  intimation  that  the  affair  would 
grow  to  the  proportions  of  a  revolution. 
The  first  serious  outbreak  came  at  1 
o'clock,  when  the  men  of  the  Volynski 
Regiment  shot  their  officers  and  re- 
volted when  they  received  an  order  to 
fire  upon  striking  workingmen  in  one 
of  the  factory  districts. 

Another  regiment  detailed  against  the 
mutineers  also  joined  the  revolt.  The 
news  spread  rapidly  to  the  other  bar- 
racks and  four  more  regiments  went 
over.  Some  of  the  revolting  troops 
marched  to  the  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 
Fortress  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Neva, 
and  after  a  brief  skirmish  with  the  gar- 
rison took  possession  of  it. 

Dissension  spread  among  the  troops, 
who  did  not  understand  why  they  should 
be  compelled  to  take  violent  measures 
against  fellow-citizens  whose  chief  of- 
fense was  that  they  were  hungry  and 
were  asking  the  Government  to  supply 
bread.  Several  regiments  deserted.  A 
pitched  battle  began  between  the  troops 
who  stood  with  the  Government  and 
those  who,  refusing  to  obey  orders,  had 
mutinied,  and  even  slain  their  officers. 

A  long  night  fight  took  glace  between 
the  mutinous  regiments  and  the  police 
at  the  end  of  St.  Catherine  Canal,  im- 
mediately in  front  of  the  historic  church 
built  over  the  spot  where  Alexander  II. 
was  killed  by  a  bomb.  The  police  finally 
fled  to  the  rooftops  all  over  the  city  and 
were  seen  no  more  in  the  streets  during 
the  entire  term  of  the  fighting. 


Turning  Point  in  Revolution 

Monday  morning,.  March  12,  the  Gov- 
ernment troops  appeared  to  control  all 
the  principal  squares  of  the  city.  Then 
came  a  period  when  it  was  impossible  to 
distinguish  one  side  from  the  other. 
There  was  no  definite  line  between  the 
factions.  The  turning  point  appeared  to 
come  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
For  two  hours  the  opposing  regiments 
passively  confronted  each  other  along 
the  wide  Liteiny  Prospect  in  almost  com- 
plete silence. 

From  time  to  time  emissaries  from  the 
revolutionary  side  rode  to  the  opposing 
ranks  and  exhorted  them  to  join  the  side 
of  the  people.  For  a  while  the  result 
seemed  to  hang  in  the  balance.  The 
troops  appeared  irresolute,  awaiting  the 
commands  of  their  officers,  who  them- 
selves were  in  doubt  as  to  what  they 
should  do. 

Desultory  firing  continued  along  the 
side  streets  between  groups  of  Govern- 
ment troops  and  revolutionists.  But  the 
regiments  upon  whose  decision  the  out- 
come rested  still  confronted  each  other, 
with  machine  guns  and  rifles  in  readi- 
ness. 

Suddenly  a  few  volleys  were  exchanged; 
there  was  another  period  of  silent  sus- 
pense, and  the  Government  regiments 
finally  marched  over  to  join  the  revolu- 
tionists. A  few  hours  after  the  first 
clash  this  section  of  Petrograd,  in  which 
were  located  the  Duma  building,  artillery 
headquarters,  and  the  chief  military  bar- 
racks, passed  into  the  hands  of  the  revo- 
lutionary forces,  and  the  warfare  swept 
like  a  tornado  to  other  parts  of  the  city, 
where  the  scene  was  duplicated. 

At  first  it  seemed  a  miracle  that  the 
revolutionists,  without  prearranged  plan, 
without  leadership  or  organization,  could 
in  such  a  short  time,  with  comparative 
ease,  achieve  a  complete  victory  over  the 
Government.  But  the  explanation  lay  in 
the  reluctance  of  the  troops  to  take  sides 
against  the  people  and  their  prompt  de- 
sertion to  the  ranks  of  those  who  opposed 
the  Government. 

The  scenes  in  the  streets  were  by  this 
time  remarkable.  The  wide  streets, 
where  the  troops  were  stationed,  were 
completely  deserted  by  civilians,  except 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


for  a  few  daring  individuals,  who,  creep- 
ing along  walls  and  ducking  into  court- 
yards, sped  from  one  side  to  the  other. 
But  the  side  streets  were  choked  with 
people. 

Groups  of  students,  easily  distin- 
guished by  their  blue  caps  and  dark  uni- 
forms, fell  into  step  with  rough  units  of 
rebel  soldiers,  and  were  joined  by  other 
heterogeneous  elements,  united  for  the 
time  being  by  a  cause  greater  than  parti- 
san differences. 

Unkempt  workingmen,  with  ragged 
sheepskin  coats  covering  the  conventional 
peasants'  costume  of  dark  blouse  and  top 
boots,  strode  side  by  side  with  well- 
groomed  city  clerks  and  shopkeepers. 

An  Impromptu  Army 

This  strange  army  of  people,  mustered 
on  the  street  corners,  shouldered  their 
newly  acquired  rifles  and  marched  out 
to  join  the  ranks  of  the  deserting  regi- 
ments. 

The  economic  and  industrial  life  of  the 
city  came  to  a  complete  standstill. 
Street  car  service  was  supended  from 
the  beginning  of  the  disorders  and 
stores  were  closed.  The  two  leading 
hotels  which  •  housed  officers  were 
wrecked.  Others  restricted  their  serv- 
ice to  regular  patrons.  In  response  to 
an  appeal  by  the  revolutionist  commit- 
tees, citizens  distributed  food  to  the  sol- 
diers. 

The  scene  at  the  Duma  before  the  rev- 
olution was  in  full  flame  was  extraordi- 
nary. The  members  stood  about  the  broad 
corridors  talking  calmly,  the  serious 
priest  members  in  long  black  gowns,  with 
flowing  hair,  and  members  from  the 
provinces  in  top  boots  and  blouses  min- 
gling with  well-groomed  and  frock-coated 
representatives. 

At  the  front  gates  the  troops  began  to 
assemble.  They  were  without  arms. 
They  were  the  revolting  regiments.  One 
body  in  marching  order  entered  the  side 
gate  and  halted  before  the  entrance.  A 
Duma  member  spoke  from  the  steps,  ex- 
plaining the  attitude  of  that  body  and 
assuring  the  regiments  that  the  Duma 
was  with  them. 

Auto  trucks  packed  with  men,  soldiers, 
and   civilians,   with   and   without   arms, 


rolled  up  to  the  circular  drive  and  stopped 
before  the  door,  while  some  occupant 
delivered  a  lurid  oration,  and  then  went 
on,  cheered  by  the  crowds. 

Then  came  a  small  army  of  citizen  sol- 
diers, factory  workers,  clerks,  students 
armed  with  rifles  taken  from  the  cap- 
tured arsenals,  their  pale  faces  and  black 
Winter  clothing  forming  a  strange  pic- 
ture against  the  snow  piled  high  in  the 
Duma  garden. 

For  an  hour  they  stood  in  more  or  less 
military  formation  before  the  building, 
and  at  dusk  marched  away  toward  the 
centre  of  the  city,  followed  by  the  revolt- 
ing soldiers.  The  crowd  was  extremely 
orderly.  A  group  of  a  dozen  soldiers 
pushed  into  the  corridor  of  the  building 
and  demanded  to  be  allowed  to  address 
the  members.  A  mild-mannered  young 
civilian  of  the  student  type  took  them 
in  hand  with  little  difficulty  and  led 
them  into  the  open.  A  delegation  asked 
for  food.  Immediately  waiters  from  the 
Duma  restaurant  were  sent  out  with 
trays  of  tea  and  food  until  the  place  was 
cleaned  out. 

Last  Stand  of  the  Old  Regime 

At  nightfall-  on  March  12  only  one 
small  district  of  the  city,  containing  the 
War  Office,  the  Admiralty  Building,  St. 
Isaac's  Cathedral,  and  the  Military  Hotel, 
still  resisted  the  onslaught  of  the  revo- 
lutionary forces,  and  the  battle  for  the 
possession  of  Petrograd  came  to  a  dra- 
matic conclusion.  In  the  Admiralty  Build- 
ing the  Council  of  Ministers  secretly 
gathered  for  a  conference,  and  the  last 
regiments  loyal  to  the  old  Government 
were  drawn  up  as  a  guard. 

While  the  Council  sat  in  the  last  meet- 
ing which  they  were  destined  to  hold,  the 
building  was  surrounded  and  the  besieg- 
ers poured  rifle  and  machine  gun  fire 
upon  the  defenders. 

For  a  few  hours  the  fiercest  battle  of 
the  day  continued;  the  streets  were  swept 
by  a  steady  fusillade  and  the  crowds 
scattered  for  the  nearest  shelter,  some 
of  the  people  being  compelled  to  spend 
the  night  in  courtyards  or  corridors  of 
office  buildings  or  wherever  they  first 
found  refuge. 

Toward  morning  there  was  a   sudden 


RUSSIA   IN  REVOLUTION 


lull,  broken  by  exultant  shouts,  which 
deepened  into  a  roar,  and  were  succeeded 
by  the  Russian  revolutionary  "  Marseil- 
laise." The  regiments  defending  the  Ad- 
miralty had  surrendered  and  gone  over  to 
the  side  of  the  revolutionists. 

The  Ministers  in  the  Admiralty  Build- 
ing were  then  arrested  and  the  Russian 
national  colors  were  replaced  by  the  red 
flag  of  the  revolutionists. 

Rodzianko's  Telegrams 

During  the  day  revolutionary  publica- 
tions appeared  in  the  streets,  with  the 
simple  caption  "  News."  These  contained 
a  resume  of  developments,  and  they  were 
eagerly  read  by  all  classes.  Rodzianko's 
telegrams  to  the  Emperor  and  others  to 
the  commanders  of  the  troops  at  the 
front  were  reproduced.  The  first  mes- 
sage to  the  Emperor  read: 

The  situation  is  grave.  Anarchy  reigns  in 
the  capital.  The  Government  is  paralyzed. 
The  transport  of  provisions  and  fuel  is  com- 
pletely disorganized.  General  dissatisfaction 
is  growing.  Irregular  rifle  firing  is  occurring 
in  the  streets.  It  is  necessary  to  charge  im- 
mediately some  person  trusted  by  the  people 
to  form  a  new  Government.  It  is  impossible 
to  linger,  since  delay  means  death.  Praying 
God  that  the  responsibility  in  this  hour  will 
not  fall  upon  a  crowned  head. 

Later  President  Rodzianko  sent  the 
following  to  the  Emperor: 

The  position  is  becoming  more  serious.  It 
is  imperative  that  immediate  measures  be 
taken,  because  tomorrow  will  be  too  late. 
The  last  hour  has  come  when  the  fate  of  the 
fatherland  and  the  dynasty  are  being  de- 
cided. 

Similar  telegrams  were  sent  to  all  the 
commanders  at  the  front  with  an  appeal 
for  their  support  before  the  Emperor  of 
the  Duma's  action.  General  Alexis  Bru- 
siloff,  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  armies 
of  the  southwestern  front,  and  General 
Nicholas  Ruzsky,  Commander  of  the 
northern  armies,  replied  promptly.  Gen- 
eral Brusiloff  sent  this  message: 

"  Have  fulfilled  duty  before  fatherland 
and  Emperor." 

General  Ruzsky's  reply  read: 
"  Commission  accomplished." 
The  revolt  seemed  to  overspread  all 
Russia  simultaneously.  Kronstadt,  the 
great  fortress  and,  seaport  at  the  head  of 
the  Gulf  of  Finland,  joined  the  revolu- 
tionary movement  without  firing  a  gun. 


Moscow  joined  in  with  enthusiasm,  as  did 
Odessa.  Within  twenty-four  hours  news 
came  from  all  parts  of  Russia  that  city 
after  city,  fortress  after  fortress,  prov- 
inces, towns,  and  villages  were  aflame 
with  enthusiasm,  and  that  the  revolution- 
ists were  in  control,  with  the  soldiers  and 
workingmen  in  fullest  accord. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  scenes  of 
the  revolution  at  Petrograd  was  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Preobrajensky  Guards  with 
their  Colonel  and  officers  at  the  Tauris 
Palace.  The  men,  all  of  giant  stature, 
were  drawn  up  in  ranks  four  deep  the 
whole  length  of  the  enormous  Catherine 
Hall.  The  President  of  the  Duma  came 
out  to  greet  them.  On  the  appearance 
of  M.  Rodzianko  the  Colonel's  voice  rang 
out,  "  Preobrajensky,  attention!  "  and  the 
whole  regiment  stood  at  salute.  M. 
Rodzianko  saluted  them  as  follows: 

"  Soldiers  of  the  true  faith,  let  me  as 
an  old  soldier  greet  you  according  to  our 
custom.     I  wish  you  good  health." 

"  We  wish  good  health  to  your  Ex- 
cellency," came  the  thunderous  response. 

The  President  continued: 

"I  want  to  thank  you  for  coming 
here  to  help  the  members  of  the  Im- 
perial Duma  to  establish  order  and  to 
safeguard  the  honor  and  glory  of  our 
country.  Your  comrades  are  fighting 
in  the  trenches  for  the  might  and  maj- 
esty of  Russia,  arid  I  am  proud  that  my 
son  has  been  serving  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war  in  your  ranks.  But  in  order 
that  you  should  be  able  to  advance  the 
cause  and  interests  which  have  been 
undertaken  by  the  Duma  you  must  re- 
main a  disciplined  force.  You  know  as 
well  as  I  do  that  soldiers  are  helpless 
without  their  officers.  I  ask  you  to  re- 
main faithful  to  your  officers  and  to 
have  confidence  in  them,  just  as  we  have 
confidence  in  them.  Return  quietly  to 
your  barracks  and  come  here  at  the  first 
call  when  you  may  be  required." 

"  We  are  ready,"  answered  the  Preo- 
brajensky Guards.    "  Show  us  the  way." 

"  The  old  authority  is  incapable  of 
leading  Russia  the  right  way,"  was  the 
answer.  "  Our  first  task  is  to  establish 
a  new  authority  in  which  we  could  all 
believe  and  trust,  and  which  would  be 


r. 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


able  to  save   and  magnify   our  mother 
Russia." 

The  soldiers  marched  out,  shouting, 
"Hurrah!" 

II  Rodzianko  greeted  in  the  same 
manner  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Grenadier  Guards  and  the  officers  and 
troopers  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry  Regiment. 

After  the  President's  speech  to  the 
troopers  their  Colonel,  addressing  them, 
said: 

"  Men,  I  intend  to  carry  out  all  or- 
ders given  to  me  by  the  President  of 
the  Imperial  Duma.  I  remain  with  you 
on  condition  that  you  obey  my  orders. 
Hurrah  for  the  President  of  the  Im- 
perial Duma!  " 

The  troopers  cheered  loudly. 

The  Provisional  Government 

The  members  of  the  new  National 
Cabinet  are  as  follows: 

Premier,  President  of  the  Council,  and  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior — Prince  Georges  E. 
Lvoff. 

Foreign  Minister — Professor  Paul  N.  Milu- 
koff. 

Minister  of  Public  Instruction — Professor 
Manuilof f  of  Moscow  University. 

Minister  of  War  and  Navy,  ad  Interim — A. 
J.  Guchkoff,  formerly  President  of  the  Duma. 

Minister  of  Agriculture — M.  Ichingareff, 
Deputy  from  Petrograd. 

Minister  of  Finance — M.  Tereschtenko,  Dep- 
uty from  Kiev. 

Minister  of  Justice — Deputy  Kerenski  of 
Saratoff. 

Minister  of  Communications — N.  V.  Nekra- 
soff.  Vice  President  of  the    Duma. 

Controller  of  State — M.  Godneff,  Deputy 
from  Kazan. 

Minister  of  Trade  and  Commerce — A.  I. 
Konovaloff. 

Procurator  General  of  the  Holy  Synod — M. 
Lvoff. 

The  new  Premier  is  the  most  popular 
man  in  Russia,  head  and  chief  of  the 
combined  Urban  and  Rural  Zemstvo  Com- 
mittees, organizer  and  feeder  in  chief  of 
the  Russian  armies  in  the  field,  the  man 
whom  all  students  of  Russian  affairs 
have  expected  to  see  made  head  of  any 
new  Government  established.  He  is  a 
Russian,  a  Slav  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name,  and  has  the  entire  confidence  of 
the  Russian  people. 

The  new  Foreign  Minister,  Professor 
Milukoff,  has  been  for  years  the  courage- 
ous leader  of  the  Russian  liberals.  He 
was  banished  from  Russia  for  political 


views  expressed  while  a  member  of  the 
Faculty  of  the  University  of  Moscow. 
He  came  to  Chicago  and  became  Profes- 
sor of  Russian  History  at  the  University 
of  Chicago,  a  post  which  he  relinquished 
later  to  return  to  Russia. 
•  In  1898  Milukoff,  then  a  Professor  at 
Moscow,  was  snatched  from  his  class- 
room one  day,  subjected  to  a  summary 
Russian  trial,  and  exiled  to  Siberia.  He 
was  guilty  of  liberal  tendencies.  He  was 
in  exile  for  two  years,  the  result  of 
which  was  his  "  History  of  Russian  Cul- 
ture," a  justification  of  revolution  on 
historic  grounds. 

On  his  return  to  Russia  he  was  rear- 
rested and  led  across  the  frontier  into 
Bulgaria.  A  warrant  of  expatriation,  is- 
sued from  Petrograd,  excluded  him  from 
the  Czar's  domain  for  two  years.  Milu- 
koff's  answer  was  an  immediate  return 
to  Petrograd,  where  he  was  again  ar- 
rested and  held  in  jail  for  five  months 
without  trial.  When  he  was  released  he 
again  came  to  Chicago. 

At  the  University  of  Chicago  Professor 
Milukoff  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  members  of  the  Faculty. 
He  is  an  eminent  scholar  in  several  lines, 
though  he  confined  himself  here  to  lec- 
turing on  Russian  social  conditions.  In 
addition  to  his  lectures  here  he  has  lec- 
tured at  various  times  before  the  Lowell 
Institute  in  Boston.  In  all  he  spent  four 
years  in  Chicago. 

Milukoff's  influence  upon  European 
opinion  outside  of  Russia  has  been  great 
On  his  third  visit  to  America,  in  1908,  he 
told  interviewers  that  his  speeches  in  the 
Duma  frequently  were  interrupted  by 
some  one  shouting,  "American,"  or 
"  American  citizen."  In  proof  of  his  im- 
perturbability, he  added:  "  So  now  I  al- 
most invariably  begin  my  speeches  by 
quoting  something  '  American.'  " 

Late  in  January  a  plot  to  assassinate 
Professor  Milukoff  was  exposed.  The 
assassination  was  planned  by  the  organ- 
ization known  as  the  Black  Hundred,  the 
reactionary  body  which  has  for  years 
been  an  instrument  of  political  crimes  in 
Russia.  The  man  chosen,  however,  con- 
fessed the  part  he  was  to  play  before 
the  crime  was  committed. 


RUSSIA    IN  REVOLUTION 


Labor  Leader  as  Minister 
The  Minister  of  Justice,  Deputy  Keren- 
ski,  is  the  leader  of  the  workingmen  and 
a  conspicuous  Russian  journalist.  His 
selection  and  acceptance  of  a  post  in  the 
new  Government  welded  together  the 
labor  leaders  and  Moderate  Democrats 
and  prevented  what  at  first  threatened 
to  prove  a  serious  split  in  the  revolu- 
tionary ranks.  The  first  act  of  the  new 
Government,  M.  Kerenski  stated,  was  the 
immediate  publication  of  a  decree  of  full 
amnesty.  Continuing,  the  Minister  said: 
"  Our  comrades  of  the  Second  and 
Fourth  Dumas,  who  were  banished  illegal- 
ly to  the  tundras  of  Siberia,  will  be  re- 
leased forthwith.  In  my  jurisdiction  are 
all  the  Premiers  and  Ministers  of  the  old 
regime.  They  will  answer  before  the  law 
for  all  crimes  against  the  people." 

"  Show  them  no  mercy,"  many  voices 
in  the  crowd  exclaimed. 

"  Comrades,"  M.  Kerenski  replied, 
"  regenerated  Russia  will  not  have  re- 
course to  the  shameful  methods  utilized 
by  the  old  regime.  Without  trial  none 
will  be  condemned.  All  prisoners  will 
be  tried  in  open  court. 

"  Comrades,  soldiers,  citizens,  all  meas- 
ures taken  by  the  new  Government  will 
be  published.  Soldiers,  I  ask  you  to  co- 
operate. Free  Russia  is  now  born,  and 
none  will  succeed  in  wresting  liberty 
from  the  hands  of  the  people.  Do  not 
listen  to  the  promptings  of  the  agents  of 
the  old  regime.  Listen  to  your  officers. 
Long  live  free  Russia!  " 

The  speech  was  greeted  by  a  storm  of 
cheering. 

The  labor  leader,  Chkueidse,  address- 
ing the  officers  and  soldiers,  paid  a 
glowing  tribute  to  the  soldiers  and  work- 
ingmen who  had  participated  in  accom- 
plishing the  revolution.  He  recounted 
the  recent  provocative  efforts  by  the 
secret  police  in  publishing  proclamations 
regarding  the  murders  of  officers  by 
soldiers.  He  exhorted  the  soldiers  to 
regard  their  officers  as  citizens  who  had 
helped  raise  the  revolutionary  flag  and 
as  brothers  in  the  great  cause  of  Russian 
liberty. 

Subsequently  officers,  soldiers,  and 
workingmen    carried    M.    Chkueidse    on 


their     shoulders     through     a     cheering 
throng  of  soldiers  and  civilians. 

Kerenski  won  a  victory  in  a  speech 
that  will  be  historic.  Appearing  in  a 
stormy  labor  assembly,  mounting  a 
table,  with  flashing  eyes  and  passionate 
utterance,  he  announced  that  he  had  ac- 
cepted the  post  of  Minister  of  Justice. 
The  announcement  turned  the  tide,  and 
amid  cheering  Kerenski  continued: 

"  Comrades,  in  entering  the  Provis- 
ional Government  I  remain  a  republican. 
In  my  work  I  must  lean  for  help  on  the 
will  of  the  people.  I  must  have  in  the 
people  my  powerful  support.  May  I  trust 
you  as  I  trust  myself?  [Tremendous 
cheers  and  cries  of  "We  believe  you, 
comrade!  "]  I  cannot  live  without  the 
people,  and  if  ever  you  begin  to  doubt 
me,  kill  me!  I  declare  to  the  Provisional 
Government  that  I  am  a  representative 
of  democracy,  and  that  the  Government 
must  especially  take  into  account  the 
views  I  shall  uphold  as  a  representative 
of  the  people,  by  whose  efforts  the  old 
Government  was  overthrown.  Comrades, 
time  does  not  wait.  I  call  you  to  organ- 
ization and  discipline.  I  ask  you  to  sup- 
port us,  your  representatives,  who  are 
prepared  to  die  for  the  people  and  have 
given  the  people  their  whole  life.*' 

Appeal  to  the  People 
The  first  act  of  the  new  Government 
was  the  issuance  of  the  following  appeal, 
dated  March  18,  1917: 

Citizens :  The  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Duma,  with  the  aid  and  support  of  the  garri- 
son of  the  capital  and  its  inhabitants,  has 
succeeded  in  triumphing1  over  the  obnoxious 
forces  of  the  old  regime  in  such  a  manner 
that  we  are  able  to  proceed  to  a  more  stable 
organization  of  the  executive  power,  with 
men  whose  past  political  activity  assures 
them  the  country's  confidence. 

[The  names  of  the  members  of  the  new 
Government  are  then  given  and  the  appeal 
continues :] 

The  new  Cabinet  will  base  its  policy  on  the 
following  principles  : 

First— An  immediate  general  amnesty  for 
all  political  and  religious  offenses,  includ- 
ing terrorist  acts  and  military  and  agra- 
rian offenses. 

Second— Liberty  of  speech  and  of  the 
press ;  freedom  for  alliances,  unions,  and 
strikes,  with  the  extension  of  these  liber- 
ties to  military  officials  within  the  limits 
admitted  by  military  requirements. 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Third-Abolition  of  all  social,  religious, 
and  national  restrictions. 

h— To    proceed    forthwith    to    the 

tlon   and   convocation  of  a  consti- 

i  nal  Assembly,  based  on  universal  suf- 

hich  will  establish  a  governmental 

regime. 

tn— The  substitution  of  the  police  by 

■     national    militia,     with    chiefs    to    be 

sible  to  the  Government. 

—Communal  elections  to  be   based 

on  universal  suffrage. 

nth— The   troops   which  participated 
in  the  revolutionary  movement  will  not  be 
but  will  remain  in  Petrograd. 
h— While    maintaining    strict    mili- 
ipline  for  troops  on  active  service, 
b  desirable  to  abrogate  for  soldiers  all 
ms    in    the    enjoyment    of    social 
rights  accorded  other  citizens. 
The  Provisional  Government  desires  to  add 
that  it  has  no  intention  to  profit  by  the  cir- 
tances  of  the  war  to  delay  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  measures  of  reform  above  men- 
tioned. 

Abdication  of  the  Czar 

Czar  Nicholas's  abdication  was  an- 
nounced on  March  16.  The  document  was 
signed  at  the  town  of  Pskoff,  where  the 
train  on  which  he  was  traveling  toward 
Petrograd  was  halted  early  in  the  week. 
From  Pskoff,  according  to  accounts  now 
available,  the  Emperor  communicated 
with  members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Duma,  who  informed  him 
that  they  were  sending  emissaries  to 
meet  him  there.  Accordingly,  a  member 
of  the  Duma  committee  and  one  of  the 
Ministers  of  the  new  Cabinet  proceeded 
to  Pskoff  and  had  an  interview  with  the 
Emperor  in  the  presence  of  General 
Nicholas  V.  Russky,  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  Empire  and  of  the  Su- 
preme Military  Council;  Baron  W.  Fede- 
ricks,  Minister  of  the  Court;  Count  Na- 
rishkin,  and  others. 

After  relating  to  the  Emperor  the  latest 
developments  in  the  revolution,  the  emis- 
saries advised  him  not  to  send  any  troops 
from  the  front  to  Petrograd,  since  all  the 
troops  were  going  over  to  the  revolution- 
ists as  fast  as  they  arrived. 

"  What  is  desired  that  I  should  do?  " 
the  Emperor  inquired. 

"  Abdicate  the  throne,"  was  the  reply. 

After  devoting  some  time  to  delibera- 
tion Emperor  Nicholas  said: 

"  It  would  be  very  hard  to  be  sepa- 
rated   from   my   son.      Therefore   I   will 


abdicate  in  favor  of  my  brother,  in  behalf 
of  myself  and  my  son." 

The  document,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared in  advance,  was  handed  to  the 
Emperor,  and  he  signed  it  at  once. 

The  text  of  the  abdication  is  as  fol- 
lows : " 

We,  Nicholas  II.,  by  the  Grace  of  God  Em- 
peror of  all  the  Russias,  Czar  of  Poland,  and 
Grand  Duke  of  Finland,  &c,  make  known  to 
all  our  faithful  subjects : 

In  the  day  of  the  great  struggle  agafnst  a 
foreign  foe,  who  has  been  striving  for  three 
years  to  enslave  our  country,  God  has  wished 
to  send  to  Russia  a  new  and  painful  trial. 
Interior  troubles  threaten  to  have  a  fatal 
repercussion  on  the  final  outcome  of  the  war. 
The  destinies  of  Russia  and  the  honor  of  our 
heroic  army,  the  happiness  of  the  people,  and 
all  the  future  of  our  dear  fatherland  require 
that  the  war  be  prosecuted  at  all  cost  to  a 
victorious  end.  The  cruel  enemy  is  making 
his  last  effort,  and  the  moment  is  near  when 
our  valiant  army,  in  concert  with  those  of 
our  glorious  allies,  will  definitely  chastise 
the  foe. 

In  these  decisive  days  in  the  life  of  Russia 
we  believe  our  people  should  have  the  closest 
union  and  organization  of  all  their  forces  for 
the  realization  of  speedy  victory.  For  this 
reason,  in  accord  with  the  Duma  of  the  em- 
pire, we  have  considered  it  desirable  to  abdi- 
cate the  throne  of  Russia  and  lay  aside  our 
supreme  power. 

Not  wishing  to  be  separated  from  our  loved 
son,  we  leave  our  heritage  to  our  brother  the 
Grand  Duke  Michael  Alexandrovitch,  blessing 
his  advent  to  the  throne  of  Russia.  We  hand 
over  the  Government  to  our  brother  in  full 
union  with  the  representatives  of  the  nation 
who  are  seated  in  the  legislative  chambers, 
taking  this  step  with  an  inviolable  oath  in  the 
name  of  our  well-beloved  country. 

We  call  on  all  faithful  sons  of  the  father- 
land to  fulfill  their  sacred  patriotic  duty  in 
this  painful  moment  of  national  trial  and  to 
aid  our  brother  and  the  representatives  of  the 
nation  in  bringing  Russia  into  the  path  of 
prosperity  and  glory. 

May  God  aid  Russia. 

Fortunes  of  the  Romanoffs 
On  March  19  it  was  reported  from 
Petrograd  that  the  former  Czar,  to 
be  known  as  Nicholas  Romanoff,  had 
left  with  his  staff  for  his  personal 
estate  at  Livadia,  on  the  south  coast 
of  the  Crimea.  It  was  at  first  be- 
lieved that  his  twelve-year-old  son 
and  heir,  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  who  re- 
nounced the  throne  when  the  father  ab- 
dicated, had  been  killed,  but  later  news 
was  to  the  effect  that  the  Czarina  was 
with    her    children    and    that    all    save 


RUSSIA   IN  REVOLUTION 


Grand  Duchess  Marie  were  very  ill  with 
measles.  In  the  case  of  the  little  Prince 
the  attack  was  complicated  by  the 
breaking  out  of  the  old  wound  in  his 
foot,  dating  from  the  alleged  attempt  on 
his  life  about  four  years  ago.  The  Grand 
Duke  was  attended  by  his  mother  and 
the  old  sailor,  Berevenke,  who  has  been 
his  constant  companion.  Grand  Duchess 
Tatiana  was  in  a  serious  condition,  and 
oxygen  had  been  administered. 

News  of  the  disaffection  of  the  troops 
reached  the  Empress  on  Feb.  27.  The 
palace  guard  was  mobilized  for  defense, 
the  riflemen  remaining  within  the  pal- 
ace with  machine  guns,  while  outside 
were  armored  motors.  When  the  Tsars- 
koe-Selo  garrison  revolted  a  collision 
with  the  palace  guards  appeared  inevit- 
able. The  Empress  went  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  guard  and  said: 

"  My  desire  is  that  you  do  not  fire." 

This  was  taken  as  an  order  to  surren- 
der, which  he  did.  Soon  revolutionary 
troops  entered  the  palace,  and  officers 
went  to  the  apartment  of  the  imperial 
family.    To  these  the  Empress  said: 

"  Let  there  be  no  violence.  I  am  now 
only  a  Sister  of  Charity  at  the  bedside  of 
my  afflicted  children." 

Grand   Duke   Michael   Declines 

The  Czar  in  abdicating  transferred  the 
supreme  power  to  his  younger  brother, 
Grand  Duke  Michael,  but  the  latter  de- 
clined to  accept  the  responsibility  unless 
he  should  be  declared  the  choice  of  the 
people  by  vote.  The  refusal  was  signed 
at  his  private  residence,  whither  he  went 
with  a  large  part  of  the  Duma  commit- 
tee, headed  by  Prince  Lvoff,  Professor 
Milukoff,  and  President  Rodzianko. 

The  Grand  Duke  addressed  the  com- 
mittee and  declared  that  the  responsi- 
bility devolving  upon  him  found  him  un- 
decided because  of  the  existing  differ- 
ences of  opinion.  He  added  that  since 
the  happiness  of  Russia  was  the  only 
consideration,  he  believed  this  would  be 
assured  by  his  abdication,  and  therefore 
surrendered  his  authority.  The  text  of 
his  declaration,  dated  March  16,  is  as 
follows: 

This  heavy  responsibility  has  come  to  me  at 
the  voluntary  request  of  my  brother,  who  has 
transferred  the  imperial  throne  to  me  during 


a  period  of  warfare  which  is  accompanied 
with   unprecedented   popular   disturbances. 

Moved  by  the  thought,  which  is  in  the  minds 
of  the  entire  people,  that  the  good  of  the 
country  is  paramount,  I  have  adopted  the 
firm  resolution  to  accept  the  supreme  power 
only  if  this  be  the  will  of  our  great  people, 
who,  by  a  plebiscite  organized  by  their  repre- 
sentatives in  a  constituent  assembly,  shall  es- 
tablish a  form  of  government  and  new  funda- 
mental laws  for  the  Russian  State. 

Consequently,  invoking  the  benediction  of 
our  Lord,  I  urge  all  citizens  of  Russia  to 
submit  to  the  Provisional  Government,  es- 
tablished upon  the  initiative  of  the  Duma  and 
invested  with  full  plenary  powers,  until  such 
time,  which  will  follow  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  as  the  constituent  assembly,  on  a 
basis  of  universal,  direct,  equal,  and  secret 
suffrage,  shall,  by  its  decision  as  to  the  new 
form  of  government,  express  the  will  of  the 
people. 

Siberian  Exiles  Freed 

The  first  act  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment was  one  of  amnesty  for  all  po- 
litical offenders,  including  Terrorists. 
The  series  of  agreements  opens  up  aston- 
ishing possibilities.  A  main  feature  of 
the  program  is  that  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, whether  republican  or  otherwise, 
is  'to  be  decided  by  a  constituent  assem- 
bly, to  be  elected  after  the  war. 

The  famous  prison  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  at  Petrograd,  which  has  im- 
mured countless  political  prisoners,  was 
thrown  open,  as  ,was  the  Kremlin  at 
Moscow,  and  exiles  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  were  invited  to  return.  The  fleet 
and  the  naval  commanders  accepted  the 
revolution  with  enthusiastic  unanimity. 
Grand  Duke  Cyril,  commanding  the  sail- 
ors of  the  guard,  came  in  person  with 
his  officers  and  announced  that  this  his- 
toric corps  would  place  itself  under  the 
orders  of  Rodzianko.  News  from  the 
army  of  6,000,000  on  the  various  Russian 
fronts  was  entirely  favorable. 

One  of  the  most  important  gains  in  the 
revolution  was  its  acceptance  by  the 
Holy  Synod.  The  final  meeting  of  the 
Synod  since  the  revolution  was  held  at 
Petrograd  March  18  under  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  Metropolitan  of  Kiev.  The 
new  Procurator  General  of  the  Holy 
Synod,  M.  Lvoff,  in  opening  the  sitting, 
said  he  rejoiced  at  the  advent  of  free- 
dom of  the  Orthodox  Church.  He  or- 
dered the  removal  of  the  imperial  chair 
from   the  conference   room,   symbolizing 


10 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


termination  of  interference  by  the  Em- 
peror in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  The 
Metropolitan  and  other  members  of  the 
Synod  said  a  new  era  for  the  Orthodox 
Church  had  come. 

Public  subscriptions  for  released  polit- 
ical prisoners  and  for  the  families  of 
men  killed  in  the  street  fighting  were 
opened.  The  Russo-Asiatic  Bank  has 
rribed  $250,000  for  the  released  po- 
litical prisoners. 

Everywhere  in  Petrograd,  Moscow,  and 
other  large  cities  the  imperial  insignia 
of  the  House  of  Romanoff  were  removed 
from  all  public  buildings. 

Foreign  Minister's  Notice 

Professor  Milukoff  received  the  diplo- 
matic representatives  of  the  Allies  on 
Sunday,  March  18,  and  at  the  same  time 
gave  official  notice  of  the  revolution  to 
the  world  in  the  following  address,  which 
was  transmitted  by  cable  to  all  Russian 
diplomats  abroad: 

"  The  news  transmitted  by  the  Pe- 
trograd Telegraphic  Agency  (the  semi- 
official Russian  news  bureau)  already 
has  acquainted  you  with  the  events  of 
the  last  few  days  and  the  fall  of  the  old 
political  regime  in  Russia,  which  col- 
lapsed lamentably  in  the  face  of  popular 
indignation  provoked  by  its  carelessness, 
its  abuses,  and  its  criminal  lack  of  fore- 
sight. The  unanimity  of  resentment 
which  the  order  of  things  now  at  an  end 
had  aroused  among  all  healthy  elements 
of  the  nation  has  considerably  facilitated 
the  crisis.  All  these  elements  having 
rallied  with  enthusiasm  to  the  noble  flag 
of  revolution,  and  the  army  having  lent 
them  its  speedy  and  effective  support,  the 
national  movement  obtained  decisive  vic- 
tory within  eight  days. 

"  This  rapidity  of  realization  happily 
made  it  possible  to  reduce  the  number 
of  victims  to  a  figure  unprecedentedly 
small  in  the  annals  of  upheavals  of  such 
extent  and  importance. 

"  By  an  act  dated  from  Pskoff  March 
15,  Emperor  Nicholas  renounced  the 
throne  for  himself  and  the  hereditary 
Grand  Duke  Alexis  Nikolaievitch  in  fa- 
vor of  Grand  Duke  Michael  Alexandro- 
vitch.  In  reply  to  a  notification  which 
was    made   to   him    of   this    act,    Grand 


Duke  Michael  Alexandrovitch,  by  an  act 
dated  Petrograd,  March  16,  in  his  turn 
renounced  assumption  of  supreme  power 
until  the  time  when  a  constituent  as- 
sembly, created  on  the  basis  of  universal 
suffrage,  should  have  established  a  form 
of  government  and  new  fundamental 
laws  of  Russia.  By  this  same-  act  Alex- 
androvitch invited  the  citizens  of  Rus- 
sia, pending  a  definite  manifestation  of 
the  national  will,  to  submit  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Provisional  Government 
constituted  on  the  initiative  of  the  State, 
which  holds  full  power.  The  composi- 
tion of  the  Provisional  Government  and 
its  political  program  have  been  pub- 
lished and  transmitted  to  foreign  coun- 
tries. 

Responsibility  Fully  Realized 
"This  Government,  which  assumes 
power  at  the  moment  of  the  greatest  ex- 
ternal and  internal  crisis  which  Russia 
has  known  in  the  course  of  her  history, 
is  fully  conscious  of  the  immense  re- 
sponsibility it  incurs.  It  will  apply  itself 
first  to  repairing  the  overwhelming 
errors  bequeathed  to  it  by  the  past,  to 
insuring  order  and  tranquillity  in  the 
country,  and,  finally,  to  preparing  the 
conditions  necessary  in  order  that,  the 
sovereign  will  of  the  nation  may  be 
freely  pronounced  as  to  its  future  lot. 

"  In  the  domain  of  foreign  policy  the 
Cabinet,  in  which  I  am  charged  with  the 
portfolio  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, will  remain  mindful  of  the  interna- 
tional engagements  entered  into  by  the 
fallen  regime,  and  will  honor  Russia's 
word.  We  shall  carefully  cultivate  re- 
lations which  unite  us  to  other  friendly 
and  allied  nations,  and  we  are  confident 
that  these  relations  will  become  even 
more  intimate,  more  solid,  under  the  new 
regime  established  in  Russia,  which  is 
resolved  to  be  guided  by  the  democratic 
principles  of  respect  due  to  the  small  and 
great  nations,  to  the  liberty  of  their  de- 
velopment, and  to  good  understanding 
among  nations. 

"  But  the  Government  cannot  forget 
for  a  single  instant  the  grave  external 
circumstances  in  which  it  assumes  power. 
Russia  did  not  will  the  war  which  has 


RUSSIA    IN  REVOLUTION 


11 


been  drenching  the  world  with  blood  for 
nearly  three  years.  But,  victim  of  pre- 
meditated aggression  prepared  long  ago, 
she  will  continue,  as  in  the  past,  to  strug- 
gle against  the  spirit  of  conquest  of  a 
predatory  race  which  has  aimed  at 
establishing  an  intolerable  hegemony 
over  its  neighbors  and  subjecting  Europe 
of  the  twentieth  century  to  the  shame  of 
domination  by  Prussian  militarism. 
Faithful  to  the  pact  which  unites  her 
indissolubly  to  her  glorious  allies,  Rus- 
sia is  resolved,  like  them,  to  assure  the 
world  at  all  costs  an  era  of  peace  among 
the  nations,  on  the  basis  of  stable  na- 
tional organization  guaranteeing  respect 
for  right  and  justice.  She  will  fight  by 
their  side  against  the  common  enemy 
until  the  end,  without  cessation  and 
without  faltering. 

"  The  Government  of  which  I  form  a 
part  will  devote  all  its  energy  to  prepara- 
tion of  victory  and  will  apply  itself  to 
the  task  of  repairing  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble the  errors  of  the  past,  which  hitherto 
have  paralyzed  the  aspirations  and  the 
self-sacrifice  of  the  Russian  people.  I 
am  firmly  convinced  that  the  marvelous 
enthusiasm  which  today  animates  the 
whole  nation  will  multiply  its  strength 
in  time  and  hasten  the  hour  of  the  final 
triumph  of  a  regenerated  Russia  and 
her  valiant  allies. 

"  I  beg  you  to  communicate  to  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  [of  the  coun- 
try to  which  the  diplomat  addressed  is 
accredited]  the  contents  of  the  present 
telegram." 

Tons   of   Food   Discovered 

In  vindication  of  the  justice  of  the 
cause  of  the  revolutionists  after  the 
emeute,  thousands  of  tons  of  grain  and 
other  food  were  found  hidden  in  remote 
places  in  Petrograd,  apparently  proving 
that  the  shortage  was  part  of  a  treason- 
able design  of  the  then  existing  Govern- 
ment. 

On  March  18  assurances  had  been  re- 
ceived from  all  the  armies  in  the  field 
that  the  new  Government  was  enthu- 
siastically accepted.  M.  Kerenski  had 
rescinded  the  order  of  banishment 
against  Grand  Duke  Dmitri  and  Prince 


Youssoupoff,  the  slayers  of  Gregory 
Rasputin,  the  monk  who  exercised  great 
influence  over  the  imperial  family,  and 
the  two  men  were  returning  to  Petro- 
grad. Members  of  the  former  Cabinet 
had  been  placed  under  arrest  and  would 
be  cited  for  trial  later.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  there  will  be  no  prosecu- 
tion of  the  nobility,  and  that  amnesty 
and  moderation  will  be  the  watchwords 
of  the  new  Government. 

As  to  the  Czar  and  his  family,  it  is 
believed  they  will  not  be  further  mo- 
lested; there  seems  to  be  no  vindictive- 
ness  felt  against  him,  as  he  was  re- 
garded as  but  a  weak  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  unscrupulous  plotters.  The  ex- 
planation of  the  Camarilla's  desire  to 
have  Russia  meet  disaster  in  the  war,  so 
as  to  force  a  separate  peace,  was  the 
fear  among  the  nobility  that  success 
with  republican  France  and  democratic 
England  over  autocratic  Russia  and 
Austria  would  spell  the  downfall  of  au- 
tocracy and  the  triumph  of  the  Russian 
liberals. 

Anti-German  Sentiment 
The  strongest  anti-German  feeling  ani- 
mates the  population.  They  are  syste- 
matically hunting  down  all  highly  placed 
personages  suspected  of  German  proclivi- 
ties or  bearing  German  names  or  titles. 
The  aged  Minister  of  the  imperial  house- 
hold, Count  Fredericks,  whose  home  was 
wrecked,  was  discovered  in  -hiding  and 
was  taken  as  a  prisoner  to  the  Duma. 
Soldiers  and  a  crowd  of  people  long 
hunted  for  Countess  Kleinmichael  on  sus- 
picion of  her  being  German.  She  was 
discovered  hiding  in  the  Chinese  Lega- 
tion, whence  the  soldiers  removed  her 
under  arrest. 

Baron  Stackelberg  fired  on  the  sol- 
diers from  his  window.  He  was  dragged 
out  of  his  home,  taken  to  the  quay  side, 
and  there  summarily  executed. 

All  the  factories  resumed  operations  on 
March  19,  paying  full  wages  for  time 
lost  during  the  revolution.  Former  mem- 
bers of  the  police  force  at  Petrograd, 
numbering  many  thousands,  were  sent  to 
the  front.  The  Metropolitans  of  Petro- 
grad, Moscow,  Pitrin,  and  Mulary  were 
sent   into   compulsory   retirement.     Pro- 


12 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


vincial  Governors  were  replaced  by  Presi- 
dents of  Zemstvos  or  Mayors  of  cities  in 
management  of  food  supplies. 

All  censorship,  except  on  military  af- 
fairs, was  abolished,  and  the  department 
itself  was  discontinued.  A  committee 
headed  by  Maxim  Gorky  was  appointed 
to  safeguard  palaces  and  artistic  prop- 
erty. Home  rule  will  be  given  to  Fin- 
land. The  former  Governor,  Zein,  who 
was  an  oppressor  and  reactionary,  was 
sent  to  prison,  and  it  is  understood  that 
Baron  Roditscheff,  who  has  been  a  stanch 
advocate  of  free  Finland,  will  be  ap- 
pointed Zein's  successor. 

Manifesto  to  the  Nation 

On  March  20  the  Russian  Provisional 
Government  issued  the  following  mani- 
festo to  the  nation: 

"Citizens:  The  great  work  has  been 
accomplished.  By  a  powerful  stroke  the 
Russian  people  have  overthrown  the  old 
regime.  A  new  Russia  is  born.  This 
coup  d'etat  has  set  the  keystone  upon 
long  years  of  struggle. 

"  Under  pressure  of  awakened  national 
forces,  the  act  of  Oct.  30,  1905,  promised 
Russia  constitutional  liberties,  which 
were  never  put  into  execution.  The  First 
Duma,  the  mouthpiece  of  the  national 
wishes,  was  dissolved.  The  Second  Duma 
met  the  same  fate,  and  the  Government, 
being  powerless  to  crush  the  national 
will,  decided  by  the  act  of  June  16,  1907, 
to  deprive  the  people  of  part  of  the 
legislative  rights  promised  them. 

"  During  the  ensuing  ten  years  the 
Government  successively  withdrew  from 
the  people  all  the  rights  they  had  won. 
The  country  was  again  thrown  into  the 
abyss  of  absolute  ruin  and  administrative 
arbitrariness.  All  attempts  to  make  the 
voice  of  reason  heard  were  vain,  and 
the  great  world  struggle  into  which  the 
country  was  plunged  found  it  face  to 
face  with  moral  decadence  and  power  not 
united  with  the  people — power  indiffer- 
ent to  the  country's  destinies  and  steeped 
in  vices  and  infamy. 

"The  heroic  efforts  of  the  army, 
crushed  under  the  cruel  weight  of  in- 
ternal disorganization,  the  appeals  of 
the   national   representatives,   who   were 


united  in  view  of  the  national  danger, 
were  powerless  to  lead  the  Emperor  and 
his  Government  into  the  path  of  union 
with  the  people.  Thus  when  Russia,  by 
the  illegal  and  disastrous  acts  jDf  her 
Governors,  was  faced  with  the  greatest 
disasters,  the  people  had  to  take  the 
power  into  their  own  hands. 

"  With  unanimous  revolutionary  spirit, 
the  people,  fully  realizing  the  Serious- 
ness of  the  moment  and  the  firm  will  of 
the  Duma,  established  a  Provisional 
Government,  which  considers  that  it  is 
its  sacred  duty  to  realize  the  national 
desires  and  lead  the  country  into  the 
bright  path  of  free  civil  organization. 
The  Government  believes  that  the  lofty 
spirit  of  patriotism  which  the  people 
have  shown  in  the  struggle  against  the 
old  regime  will  also  animate  our  gal- 
lant soldiers  on  the  battlefields. 

"  On  its  side  the  Government  will  do 
its  utmost  to  provide  the  army  with 
everything  necessary  to  bring  the  war 
to  a  victorious  conclusion.  The  Govern- 
ment will  faithfully  observe  all  alliances 
uniting  us  to  other  powers  and  all  agree- 
ments made  in  the  past. 

"  While  taking  measures  indispensable 
for  the  defense  of  the  country  against  a 
foreign  enemy,  the  Government  will 
consider  it  its  first  duty  to  grant  to  the 
people  every  facility  to  express  its  will 
concerning  the  political  administration, 
and  will  convoke  as  soon  as  possible  a 
constituent  assembly  on  the  basis  of 
universal  suffrage,  at  the  same  time  as- 
suring the  gallant  defenders  of  the 
country  their  share  in  the  Parliamentary 
elections. 

"  The  constituent  assembly  will  issue 
fundamental  laws,  guaranteeing  the 
country  the  immutable  rights  of  equality 
and  liberty. 

"  Conscious  of  the  burden  of  the  politi- 
cal oppression  weighing  on  the  country 
and  hindering  the  free  creative  forces  of 
the  people  during  years  of  painful  hard- 
ships, the  Provisional  Government  deems 
it  necessary,  before  the  constituent  as- 
sembly, to  announce  to  the  country  its 
principles,  assuring  political  liberty  and 
equality  to  all  citizens,  making  free  use 
of  the  spiritual  forces  in  creative  work 


RUSSIA   IN  REVOLUTION  13 

for  the  benefit  of  the  country.   The  Gov-  whole  people  will  support  it  in  its  efforts 

ernment  will  also  take  care  to  elaborate  to  insure  the  happiness  of  Russia." 
the  principles  assuring  all  citizens  par-  The  news  from  all  parts  of  the  country 

ticipation  in  communal  elections,  which  on  March  20  indicated  that  the  revolution 

will  be  carried  out  on  a  basis  of  univer-  had  been   successfully  accomplished  ev- 

sal  suffrage.  erywhere  without  serious  bloodshed,  and 

"  At  the  moment  of  national  emanci-  the  people,  the  army,  and  the  navy  were 
pation  the  whole  country  recalls  with  acclaiming  the  new  order  with  enthu- 
pious  gratitude  those  who,  in  the  strug-  siasm.  It  was  decided,  in  order  to  avoid 
gle  for  their  political  and  religious  ideas,  all  complications,  not  to  give  any  corn- 
fell  victims  of  the  vengeance  of  the  old  manding  position  to  a  member  of  the 
power,  and  the  Provisional  Government  Romonoff  house;  hence  the  proposal  was 
will  joyfully  bring  back  from  exile  and  abandoned  to  name  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
prison  all  those  who  thus  suffered  for  as  Generalissimo  and  Grand  Duke 
the  good  of  their  country.  Michael  as  Regent.     The  full  sovereign 

"  In  realizing  these  problems  the  Pro-  powers   rest  with   the   Provisional   Gov- 

visional   Government    belives   it   is   exe-  ernment    until    the    National    Assembly 

cuting   the   national   will   and   that   the  convenes. 


Scientific  Discoveries  Due  to  the  War 

Paul  Painleve,  a  member  of  the  French  Institute  and  recent  Minister  of 
Inventions,  has  cited  the  following  facts  by  way  of  reply  to  Thomas  A.  Edison* s 
remark  that  science  is  playing  a  rather  small  part  in  the  war : 

The  processes  of  wireless  communication  and  for  the  registering  of  sounds 
at  distances,  that  is,  by  the  ordinary  wireless  currents  and  by  ground  induction, 
have  been  marvelously  perfected  through  the  requirements  of  the  war.  All  the 
armies  are  rivaling  each  other  in  skillful  methods  for  tapping  the  enemy's  lines 
of  telephonic  communication  from  a  considerable  distance;  not  tapping  as  it  is 
generally  understood,  but  by  the  use  of  a  marvelous  instrument  that  enables  the 
sentinel  in  his  advanced  listening  post  out  beyond  the  front  line  of  trenches  to 
hear  the  enemy  communications  by  telephone  going  over  wires  that  are  several 
hundred  yards  away. 

I  would  mention  also  a  system  that  we  perfected  and  put  into  use  for  locating 
the  enemy's  batteries  by  sound.  The  principle  was  known  before  the  war,  but 
it  was  regarded  as  impracticable.  It  has,  since  the  war,  been  brought  to  the 
highest  state  of  perfection  and  efficiency  and  for  months  has  been  in  use  over 
the  entire  front.  It  has  proved  so  effective  that  our  adversaries,  who  captured 
a  motor  car  with  one  of  the  outfits,  have  equipped  themselves  with  similar  ap- 
pliances but  lacking  the  delicacy  and  the  precision  of  our  instruments.  It  was 
France  that  had  the  entire  initiative  of  this  brilliant  application. 

Inventions  for  following  the  enemy's  sapping  and  mining  operations  by 
sound  that  were,  in  all  armies,  very  crude  and  insufficient  before  the  war,  have 
made  the  most  remarkable  progress,  and  will  reflect  honor  upon  French  science 
later  on. 

Aviation  in  every  respect  has  been  remarkably  perfected  by  the  efforts  of 
science  and  technicians  since  the  war  began.  Today  a  pilot  goes  up  in  all  kinds 
of  weather  without  fear  of  being  upset  by  sudden  squalls,  so-  well  have  been 
perfected  the  measures  for  the  stability  of  flying  machines.  Great  progress 
also  has  been  made  in  the  improvement  of  motors,  particularly  in  the  reduction 
of  their  weight  in  proportion  to  their  effective  power,  so  that  they  speed  up  to 
150  miles  an  hour.  Finally,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties,  wireless  telegraphy  has 
been  marvelously  adapted  to  aviation. 


The  Kaiser  Today 


This  intimate,  first-hand  study  of  the  Kaiser,  duly  authenticated,  is  written  by  a  promi- 
nent American  correspondent  in  Berlin.  It  is  the  first  exclusive  pen  picture  of  the  Kaiser 
since  the  war  began. 


IN  the  half  lights  of  dawn  there 
emerged  from  the  shadows  down 
the  road  a  column  of  poplar  trees; 
motionless  and  erect,  it  seemed  they 
were  on  sentry  duty,  too.  The  gray- 
green  of  their  uniforms  almost  invisible 
against  the  fields,  soldiers  in  twos 
crossed  and  recrossed  the  road,  ghostly 
they  in  the  quickening  spectrum  of 
day,  helmeted  shadows 
of  the  Kaiser's  Guard. 
Further  down  the  road 
a  light  gleamed.  That 
was  the  chateau;  there 
Wilhelm  II.,  "by  God's 
grace,  King  of  Prus- 
sia and  German  Em- 
peror," slept. 

In  a  nearby  field 
horses  whinnied  and 
neighed;  men  moved, 
talking  in  harsh  early 
morning  voices.  Two 
squadrons  of  the  Dra- 
goon Guards  were  en- 
camped there — should 
the  Kaiser  call.  There, 
too,  one  glimpsed  a 
thin,  lean  glimmer  of 
steel;  and,  as  the  sky 
changed  from  gray  to  pink,  there  came 
out  of  the  vagueness,  taking  sinister 
shape,  guns  of  the  horse  artillery — 
should  the  Kaiser  call. 

Guarding  him  as  he  slept,  files  of  the 
gray-green  men  paced  through  the  cha- 
teau park.  An  outer  circle  who  tramped 
along  the  spiked  iron  fence  of  the 
grounds,  another  circle  stalking  through 
the  trees,  another,  another,  until,  after 
circle  upon  circle  of  sentries,  one  came  to 
a  double  guard  at  the  narrow,  prim  en- 
trance to  the  chateau.  Even  there  the 
guards  over  the  Kaiser  did  not  end.  Up- 
stairs sentries  stole  through  the  high- 
ceilinged  halls.  In  the  rooms  just  above, 
just  below,  and  on  either  side  of  the  Kai- 
ser chamber  Secret  Service  men  spent  a 
sleepless  night,  watching,  listening,   the 


KAISER    WILHELM    II 


eternal  vigil  over  the  imperial  body.  For 
the  German  Emperor  is  never  so  guarded 
as  he  is  at  the  front.  Twenty  miles  from 
the  firing  line,  this  chateau.  Guarded 
against  what? 

All  through  the  night  there  had  come 
down  to  the  soldiers  in  the  park  the  faint 
purring  and  clattering  of  the  guards 
above,  airplanes  circling  high  above  the 
imperial  head,  two  eyes 
of  the  army  peering 
through  the  high 
places,  lest  an  enemy 
flyer  swoop  near.  And 
on  the  gravel  drive 
below,  carefully  posted 
motor  trucks,  plat- 
forms on  wheels, 
mounting  long-ranged 
anti-aircraft  guns, 
others  with  monstrous 
glazy  eyes  that  twin- 
kled now  in  the  dawn 
— the  searchlights, 
that  had  been  ready 
to  sweep  the  night 
with  light,  had  the 
enemy  fliers  come. 
And  in  the  chateau 
room,  under  which 
slept  their  Emperor,  more  of  the  gray- 
green  men  watched  the  yellowing  sky 
and  yawned  and  felt  hungry.  Since 
midnight  they  had  held  the  watch  there, 
their  machine  guns  tilted  skyward;  all 
about  them  the  layers  of  sandbags  to 
swallow  the  explosion  of  an  enemy  bomb. 
Nets,  an  arbor  of  wires  over  their  heads, 
every  precaution  to  nullify  the  effect  of 
a  bomb  that  might  be  cast  down  upon  the 
chateau  where  the  Kaiser  slept. 

The  sun  came  up  again,  ruthlessly 
lighting  the  scarred  face  of  France. 
Weird  seemed  the  land  in  the  faint  light 
of  day.  Houses  to  the  east,  through 
which  the  golden  glow  gleams,  framed 
on  their  gray  stone  walls  by  the  cavern- 
ous holes  of  the  shells.  There  a  church 
with    tumbled    rafters,    its    cross     shot 


Ff^-rt^Rg^^ 


1 


e 


K 


S 
c 


^i^fe&fe^ 


— <^SP^< 


y 


SM^SSfestf*^ 


THE   KAISER    TODAY 


15 


away;  here  what  had  been  a  field  of 
plenty,  ugly  now  with  the  pockmarks  of 
the  shells.  For  over  this  land  whereon 
the  Kaiser  slept  his  legions  had  rushed 
of  a  day  in  August  two  years  before,  and 
their  imprint  lay  still  upon  the  earth. 

Six  o'clock.  A  commotion  at  the  door. 
The  guard  stiffened  into  statues,  trans- 
fixed in  the  imperial  salute.  A  man 
dressed  in  gray-green  like  theirs,  a  gray 
milii.ry  cape,  lined  with  red,  hanging 
from  his  square  shoulders,  the  short 
baton  of  a  Field  Marshal  protruding 
from  his  left  hand,  appeared  in  the  door- 
way. With  a  quick  gesture  his  right 
hand  returned  their  salutes :  "  Good 
morning,  soldiers!  "  Another  day  for 
the  Kaiser  has  begun. 

Under  the  trees  purred  the  imperial 
motor;  behind  it  a  second,  gay  with  the 
gold  and  black  of  the  imperial  standard. 
The  Dragoons  cantered  up  from  the  field 
near  by,  slashing  the  air  into  twinkling 
shreds  as  their  sabres  swished  to  the 
salute.  "  Good  morning,  soldiers !  "  cried 
Ihe  Kaiser,  the  silver-knobbed  baton 
flashing  a  salute  in  return.  "  Good 
morning,  your  Majesty!  "  roared  five 
hundred  horsemen. 

The  Kaiser  stepped  into  the  car.  His 
t'  "U  Pomeranian  grenadier  footman 
vug  around  the  imperial  legs. 
Tfhe  ,  .  .goons  divided,  half  riding  out  in 
front  of  the  car,  half  galloping  behind. 
"  To  General  Billow's  headquarters,"  or- 
dered the  Kaiser,  and,  to  a  trumpeting 
of  motor  honrs,  the  imperial  cavalcade 
slipped  through  the  park,  and,  leaving 
the  chateau  behind,  moved  toward  the 
front. 

So  began  one  day  for  the  Kaiser;  so 
has  begun  many  a  day  for  him  during 
this  war.  For  the  German  Emperor  is 
more  often  at  the  front  than  he  is  at  the 
castle  in  Berlin. 

The  Kaiser  Ta^es  Risfe 

For,  whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the 
Kaiser,  he  is  a  man,  and,  considering  this 
war  a  man's  job,  he  is  ever  on  the  job. 
No  occasional  trips  to  the  front  for  Wil- 
helm  II.  No  remaining  quite  comfort- 
able in  a  palace  and  every  so  often,  at  in- 
tervals of  months,  going  on  a  royal  sort 
of  Cook's  tour  to  visit  his  army.    Rather 


the  Kaiser  ever  holds  his  hand  on  the 
war  pulse.  One  hears  of  him  in  France, 
then  in  Russia,  then  in  Serbia. 

At  one  time  during  the  early  fighting 
against  Russia  he  barely  retreated  with 
a  division  across  the  River  Niemen  in 
time  to  escape  capture  by  a  Cossack  pa- 
trol— an  event,  this,  little  known  in 
Germany.  Again,  riding  in  an  automo- 
bile with  von  Hindenburg  in  front  of  the 
fortress  of  Kovno,  the  Kaiser's  car  was 
picked  up  by  Russian  artillery  observers, 
and  there  was  a  race  for  life  against  the 
shells.  Again  with  his  staff,  and  against 
their  wishes,  the  Kaiser  ventured  upon  a 
hilltop  opposite  Soissons  in  France  and 
brought  the  crash  of  shrapnel  down 
about  his  ears. 

Yes,  the  Kaiser  has  seen  this  war.  He 
has  seen  it  at  the  front.  He  has  seen 
regiments  surge  into  action  for  him  and 
die.  Under  his  eyes — he  deeming  that 
his  presence  would  stir  the  men  to  great- 
er efforts — the  Germans  charged  again 
and  again  to  break  the  British  lines  at 
Ypres.  And  the  Kaiser  saw  the  flower 
of  his  army,  the  Prussian  Guards,  blast- 
ed away.  And  later  he  saw  the  funeral 
pyres  of  their  dead  lighting  one  of  those 
Ypres  nights  made  greenish  with  the 
rocket  flares,  one  of  those  nights  when 
mad  colors  seethe  up  from  No  Man's 
Land  and  the  trenches  slowly  turn  to 
great  long  graves.  The  Kaiser  has  seen 
these  horrors  by  night,  those  unearthly 
nights  by  the  Ypres  Canal  that  always 
seem  to  come  out  of  the  pages  of  a  Ma- 
eterlinck play. 

Yes,  war  has  made  its  imprint  on  the 
Kaiser's  mind.  One  can  see  it  today. 
The  rebellious  lock  of  hair  over  the  tem- 
ple is  more  gray.  A  deep  furrow  be- 
tween the  brows  where  there  was  none 
before,  a  shadowing  in  his  gray-blue 
eyes  that  used  always  to  be  clear.  At 
times  on  the  imperial  face  the  gambler's 
expression  is  discernible,  the  Monte  Carlo 
face  intensified  inimitably.  The  Kaiser 
seems  then  like  a  man  who  has  thrown 
everything  on  the  wheel — people,  coun- 
try, dynasty — and  the  uncertainty,  the 
stress  of  waiting  and  waiting  for  a  re- 
sult is  portrayed  there.  Correspondingly 
the  Kaiser's  reactions  of  expression  are 
violent  today.    After  the  victory  at  War- 


16 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


saw  in  1915  he  looked  extravagantly  joy- 
ous. It  was  as  if  one  had  been  trying  to 
tell  one's  self  that  everything  was  coming 
out  all  right — although  subconsciously 
one  often  feared  not — and  that  then 
something  happened,  a  victory!  And  for 
a  moment  the  tension  of  doubt  was  bro- 
ken. These  changes  of  emotion  show  on 
the  Kaiser  today.  But  generally  his  face 
is  grave.  As  he  whirls  from  one  point  to 
another  on  the  front,  indeed,  as  he  rushes 
from  one  of  his  far-flung  battle  fronts  to 
another,  the  Kaiser's  expression  is  al- 
ways the  same,  gravity. 

The  war  lord  on  parade,  the  Kaiser  of 
the  manoeuvre  fields  of  peace  times,  the 
Kaiser  who  would  order  a  cavalry 
charge  of  huge  proportions,  and  who,  as 
^JrtTTiorsemen  thundered  by,  would  turn 
to  his  military  guests  with  a  look  of  su- 
preme pride  and  confidence — that  Kaiser 
is  no  more.  Instead  one  sees  a  harassed 
expression  that  shows  the  mind  behind 
to  be  thinking:  "  Will  the  terms  of  peace 
satisfy  my  people  for  the  sacrifices  they 
have  made?  Will  my  people  hold  loyal 
and  true  to  the  end?  I  believe  we  are  in 
God's  hands,  and  he  will  not  desert  us." 

His  Religion  Appallingly  Sincere 

For  the  religion  of  the  Kaiser  has  been 
his  cornerstone  or  his  poison  in  this  war. 
Calling  upon  the  Almighty  for  aid  in 
everything  he  undertakes,  the  Kaiser  has 
come  to  approach  the  fanatically  relig- 
ious sovereigns  of  centuries  gone  by.  In 
religion  and  his  belief  that  God  is  on  his 
side  the  Kaiser  is  appallingly  sincere. 
Better  were  it  a  pose;  he  would  have 
made  peace  long  ago. 

What  of  the  Kaiser  today?  Always 
dignified,  the  war  has  grown  about  him 
a  grave,  almost  reverential  mood,  light- 
ened only  by  the  smiles  of  victory.  That 
the  war  weighs  heavily  upon  his  heart 
every  American  who  has  talked  with  him 
affirms.  That  he  feels  deeply  at  the 
sight  of  the  dead  and  wounded  is  also 
true.  Conceptions  of  the  human  charac- 
ter always  differ.  It  has  been  written 
that  Joan  of  Arc  was  a  saint;  that  she 
was  a  madwoman;  Moliere  scoffed  at 
her.  It  has  been  written  that  Catherine 
of  Russia  was  a  great  Empress;  that  she 
was  a  mere  sexual  pervert;  that  Edward 


VII.  of  England  was  a  peacemaker,  that 
he  was  a  Janus-faced  diplomat,  who  bred 
war.  Conceptions  of  the  Kaiser  have 
been  written,  presenting  him  as  an  arch- 
hypocrite,  the  greatest  actor  in  the  world, 
and  as  a  madman.  The  conception  I 
have  is  neither  of  these.  He  is  danger- 
ously sincere.  He  believes  in  himself  and 
in  the  destiny  of  the  German  people.  He 
believes  strongly  in  Nietzschean  "  will 
to  power " — in  his  speeches  to  his  sol- 
diers during  this  war  he  has  called  it  the 
"  will  to  victory." 

Always  religious,  the  war  has  made 
him  more  so,  until  it  approaches  almost 
mysticism.  His  constant  calling  upon 
God  is  sincere.  His  belief  that  God  is  on 
his  side  is  sincere.  Whenever  he  goes 
to  the  front  the  imperial  banner,  orange, 
black  embroidered  with  a  cross,  and  bear- 
ing the  legend  "  God  with  us,"  goes  with 
him.  He  has  caused  that  motto  of  his  to 
be  inscribed  on  the  buckles  of  his  sol- 
diers. He  has  caused  every  soldier  in  the 
army  to  receive  a  little  pocket  Bible.  He 
is  accompanied  by  a  Chaplain  wherever 
he  goes — accompanied  by  a  surgeon,  too. 

The  Kaiser's  Health  Uncertain 
For  during  this  war  the  imperial 
health  has  more  than  once  been  the 
cause  of  great  worry  to  the  German  Na- 
tion. In  December  of  1914  a  throat  af- 
fection, the  curse  of  the  Hohenzollerns, 
which  laid  low  his  father  and  his  grand- 
father, confined  the  Kaiser  to  the  Schloss 
in  Berlin.  No  one  knew  exactly  what 
was  the  matter  with  him;  only  those  at 
the  top  knew.  An  operation  was  per- 
formed, the  Kaiser  lived.  For  a  year  the 
malady  left  him  alone,  and  he  rushed 
from  battlefront  to  battlefront,  then  in 
December  of  1916  it  overtook  him  again. 
The  aged  Franz  Josef,  Emperor  of  Aus- 
tria, died.  The  Kaiser's  physicians  per- 
mitted him  to  attend  a  mass  for  his  ally, 
but  refused  to  let  him  go  to  the  funeral. 
Now,  the  absence  of  the  Kaiser  from 
Franz  Josef's  funeral  was  a  most  con- 
spicuous thing,  and  it  is  certain  that  in 
no  circumstances  would  he  have  tolerated 
it  had  not  the  danger  to  his  health  been 
great. 

Will  the  Kaiser  survive  the  war?  No 
one  can  tell.    Wilhelm  I.  was  a  tall,  pow- 


THE   KAISER    TODAY 


17 


erful  man.  One  day  he  was  taken  down 
to  a  resort  on  the  Riviera.  The  curse  of 
the  Hohenzollerns  had  caught  him,  and 
there  he  died  quickly.  The  Kaiser  has 
had  a  battle  with  himself  from  the  day 
he  was  born.  His  left  arm  crippled,  his 
figure  drooping  and  sickly,  as  a  boy 
Prince  he  worked  against  fate  until  he 
developed  himself  into  a  broad,  muscular 
man.  But  he  was  not  able  to  strengthen 
his  throat,  he  was  not  able  to  ward  off 
that  disease,  be  it  cancer  or  what,  which 
took  off  his  Hohenzollern  ancestors. 

Active  at  the  Front 

Physically  strong  the  Kaiser  is  today. 
At  the  front  he  does  not  pamper  himself. 
He  has  gone  without  meals.  He  has 
scorned  the  course  luncheons  of  chateau 
headquarters  for  plates  of  stew  at  field 
kitchens.  He  has  been  in  the  saddle  for 
hours  at  a  time,  always  leaving  the  im- 
perial motor  when  the  zone  of  military 
fire,  with  its  alert  enemy  observers,  drew 
near.  At  Lille  he  stood  in  the  rain  for 
hours  and  watched  the  Bavarians,  who 
were  to  drive  on  Arras,  go  marching  by. 
Day  after  day,  during  the  height  of  the 
Verdun  offensive,  he  went  to  bed  after 
midnight,  and  was  up  at  daybreak,  con- 
sulting with  his  Generals  throughout  the 
night. 

Visiting  points  on  the  front  by  day, 
ever  haranguing  the  soldiers  with 
speeches,  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing 
for  the  Kaiser  to  make  twelve  speeches  a 
day  at  the  front.  It  has  been  said  of  him 
that  he  believes  his  presence  is  worth 
more  in  a  battle  than  two  army  corps. 
Let  a  column  of  infantry  be  overtaken 
by  the  imperial  motor.  "  Halt !  "  cries 
the  Kaiser — to  the  distant  drumming  of 
the  guns  he  almost  seems  to  beat  time 
with  the  little  Field  Marshal's  baton 
generally  to  be  found  clasped  in  the  im- 
perial hand.  "  Soldiers,  you  have  given 
the  Fatherland  many  glorious  victories, 
you  will  continue  to  win  victories  until, 
with  God's  help,  peace  comes."  Such  is 
the  pith  of  the  typical  Kaiser  speech  at 
the  front — acknowledgment,  instilling  of 
will,  reminder  of  God.  It  is  his  inevi- 
table construction. 

That  the  army  loves  him  there  can  be 
no  doubt.    The  Kaiser's  attitude  is  as  if 


Germany  were  the  father;  as  if  all  the 
soldiers  were  children;  as  if  he  were  the 
representative  of  the  father,  Germany, 
looking  after  them.  He  does  look  after 
his  soldiers,  too,  as  much  as  circum- 
stances will  allow — obviously  impossible 
for  the  Kaiser  to  know  his  millions  of 
soldiers  personally.  A  visit  to  the  groan- 
ing hospital  cot,  a  word  of  kindness,  a 
clasp  of  a  day  laborer's  hand,  a  decora- 
tion bestowed,  an  unexpected  visit  to  a 
company  at  meal  time,  a  dish  of  stew 
with  them  from  out  of  the  field  kitchen; 
an  unheralded  coming  to  the  quarters 
where  his  soldiers  rest  behind  the  firing 
line,  an  imperial  call-down  for  the  officer 
because  the  men  are  not  comfortable 
enough — such  things  the  Kaiser  is  ever 
doing,  and  the  stories  of  them  are  spread 
like  wildfire  throughout  the  army;  and 
the  men  come  to  feel  that  he  is  an  Em- 
peror who  is  fighting  with  them,  not 
lounging  back  in  a  palace,  getting  the  re- 
ports. 

Now,  obviously  it  is  good  business  for 
the  Kaiser  to  create  such  sentiment 
among  the  soldiers ;  but  to  give  that  as  a 
reason  for  the  Kaiser  being  at  the  front 
is  unfair  and  untrue;  for  the  Kaiser  is  a 
man,  and  while  he  approaches  war  in  the 
mood  of  utmost  gravity  and  religiously 
inspired,  still  he  loves  the  thrill  of  it  all. 

In  a  room  of  the  General  Staff  in  Ber- 
lin where  the  officers  whose  duty  is  rail- 
road transportation  keep  track  day  and 
night  of  the  movements  of  all  passenger 
and  military  trains  throughout  the  em- 
pire, there  come  nights  when  every  man 
is  unusually  alert.  Those  are  "  Kaiser 
nights."  In  the  great  headquarters  of 
Charleville,  Brussels,  and  in  Lille,  three 
Staffs  whose  sole  work  is  railroads  sit. 

The  Imperial  Special 

The  Kaiser  decides  to  leave  the  west- 
ern battlefront  for  the  east.  His  head- 
quarters, during  July,  was  a  chateau  be- 
hind Sedan.  From  Sedan  the  word  is 
flashed  to  Lille  that  the  Kaiser  is  com- 
ing. Lille  flashes  it  on  to  Brussels. 
Brussels  to  the  great  railroad  room  in 
Berlin.  From  that  building  of  yellowish 
brick  on  the  Konigsplatz,  railroad  chiefs 
at  every  point,  from  Aachen  on  the  Bel- 
gian frontier  to  Alexandrovo  on  the  Po- 


IS 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


lish  frontier,  are  notified  that  the  Kai- 
ser's train  is  leaving  Lille  bound  for 
Warsaw,  over  Brussels,  Berlin.  There  is 
a  separate  staff  for  the  administration  of 
the  roads  in  Poland,  to  which  headquar- 
ters in  Warsaw  comes  the  same  message 
from  Berlin,  and  it  in  turn  notifies  the^ 
yard  chiefs  in  Poland,  at  Lodz  and  Skier- 
niewice,  of  the  coming  of  the  imperial 
train.  All  is  ready.  The  yards  know 
just  how  many  military  and  passenger 
trains  are  scheduled  to  pass  through 
them  in  the  next  twenty-four  hours.  The 
"  Kaiser's  schedule  "  is  put  in  operation. 
Tracks  are  cleared  for  the  imperial  spe- 
cial. 

Drawn  by  one  of  the  powerful  engines 
of  the  Heckle  works,  it  pulls  into  Sedan, 
a  drawing-room  car  for  the  Kaiser  and 
his  personal  aids,  a  combination  dining 
and  study  car,  the  imperial  sleeper,  and 
three  sleepers  for  the  rest  of  the  staff. 
As  the  big  locomotive  waits,  there  sounds 
above  its  panting  the  clatter  of  airplanes, 
and  overhead,  in  V  formation,  flying  like 
crows,  a  big  Fokker  at  the  apex,  the  Kai- 
ser's aerial  guard,  to  keep  off  any  possi- 
ble enemy  flier  until  the  German  fron- 
tier is  reached,  circles  and  circles  on 
high. 

The  night  after  the  Kaiser  has  stepped 
into  his  special  train  at  Sedan,  he  is  de- 
training at  Warsaw  and  driving  at  mid- 
night down  the  Jeruselamer  Allee  into 
the  Nowy  Swiat  and  down  to  the  palace 
of  the  old  Polish  Kings,  where  he  will 
spend  the  night.  A  few  days  getting  the 
Polish  sentiment,  possibly  sounding  out 
the  temper  of  the  people,  to  see  if  shoul- 
der to  shoulder  they  will  fight  with  the 
Germans  against  Russia,  and  the  Kaiser 
moves  on.  From  Warsaw  he  radiates 
north  to  watch  the  hammering  at 
Riga;  east,  beyond  Brest-Litovsk,  where 
Reincke  holds  the  line  of  Barnovitch 
against  the  Russian  drive;  or  the  impe- 
rial train  goes  hammering  southwest 
over  Ivangorod  toward  Kovel,  where 
Litchowsky  and  his  Cossacks  drill  the 
Austrian  wall. 

Wherever  the  situation  seems  to  be 
critical,  there  goes  the  Kaiser — to  in- 
spire his  troops.  Wherever  a  great  vic- 
tory has  been  won,  there  goes  the  Kaiser 
— to  thank  his  troops.     Whenever  a  new 


country  has  been  captured,  Serbia,  Ru- 
mania, there  goes  the  Kaiser  to  strike 
awe  into  the  hearts  of  the  captive  popu- 
lace, awe  and  respect  for  the  Prussian 
eagle.  Wherever  an  ally  is  becoming  a 
little  uneasy,  there  goes  the  Kaiser — to 
stiffen  weak  backs  and  bolster  causes 
that  seem  lost. 

Methods  of  the  War  Lord 

One  of  the  Kaiser's  prerogatives  is 
that  he  holds  the  supreme  command  of 
the  German  Army  and  the  German 
Navy.  Incidentally,  the  German  mili- 
tary title  for  the  office  is  "  Kriegs 
Herrn,"  a  regular  military  title  which 
caused  the  Kaiser  to  be  known  to  the 
world  as  the  War  Lord,  for  Kriegs 
Herrn  literally  translates  into  that. 
Holding  this  supreme  command,  the  Kai- 
ser uses  it.  Our  President  is  Comman- 
der in  Chief  of  the  American  Army  and 
Navy,  but  as  a  rule  our  Presidents  rarely 
direct  the  campaign  of  our  army  and 
navy  in  time  of  war.  Unlike  our  Presi- 
dents, the  Kaiser  has  studied  military 
and  naval  science  his  whole  life,  and  he 
believes  he  knows  something  concerning 
it — a  point,  by  the  way,  upon  which 
writers  on  military  science  differ. 

Now  the  Kaiser's  method  with  his 
army  is  direct.  He  appoints  the  man 
whom  he  believes  to  be  best  fitted  for  the 
work  to  the  office  of  Chief  of  the  Gen- 
eral Staff.  This  man  is  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  the  most  efficient  and  highly 
specialized  officers  in  the  German  Army. 
This  General  Staff,  quartered  in  the 
field  at  Charleville,  France,  works  out 
department  by  department  every  phase 
of  the  big  military  campaigns.  These 
campaigns,  decided  upon  by  the  Chiefs 
of  Staff,  are  then  put  up  to  the  Kaiser. 

After  the  success  of  the  operations  in 
Serbia  in  the  Autumn  of  1915,  Falken- 
hayn  formed  a  plan  of  campaign  that 
called  for  a  spending  of  Germany's  of- 
fensive resources  at  that  time  against 
France.  Hindenburg,  then  in  supreme 
command  of  the  German  armies  of  the 
East,  (Falkenhayn  not  having  jurisdic- 
tion over  him  in  any  way,)  violently  op- 
posed this  plan  against  France.  Hin- 
denburg and  his  great  strategist,  Lu- 
dendorff,  told  the  Emperor  that  no  of- 


THE   KAISER    TODAY 


19 


fensive  movement  should  be  made 
against  France,  but  that  a  decision 
should  be  first  reached  in  the  East.  The 
Kaiser  had  the  two  propositions  in  front 
of  him.  Falkenhayn  flatly  promised  the 
Kaiser  Verdun.  He  had  it  all  figured 
out  convincingly.  Hindenburg  came  out 
against  Falkenhayn's  plan.  The  Kaiser 
told  Hindenburg  he  was  wrong;  but  half 
a  year  later  Falkenhayn's  head  went  into 
the  basket,  next  to  Moltke's.  He  had 
joined  the  lists  of  the  Kaiser's  Chiefs  of 
Staff  who  failed. 

Now  that  is  the  Kaiser's  position  in  re- 
lation to  the  army.  He  is  the  supreme 
arbiter.  His  Chief  of  Staff  and  his  Gen- 
erals conceive  the  military  moves.  He 
studies  their  plans,  suggests  changes 
here,  and  likes  his  Generals  when  they 
openly  disagree  with  him— that  is,  if  it 
turns  out  that  they  are  right.  If  their 
opposition  is  shown  to  be  wrong,  they  get 
on  the  imperial  black  list.  The  Kaiser 
decides.  That  sums  up  his  position  with 
the  army. 

His  Control  of  Submarines 
Similar  is  his  relation  to  the  navy. 
That,  too,  has  its  General  Staff.  They 
sit  in  a  most  modern  building  in  Berlin, 
a  palace  compared  with  the  headquarters 
of  the  army;  and  conceive  their  problems 
of  naval  strategy.  In  that  white  sione 
building  on  the  shores  of  one  of  Berlin's 
canals  was  born  the  idea  of  submarine 
frightfulness.  For  two  years  they 
worked  on  the  campaign  which  was  an- 
nounced to  the  world  on  Jan.  31,  1917. 
For  two  years  they  increased  the  build- 
ing facilities  of  the  German  shipyards, 
biding  their  time,  as  week  by  week  the 
number  of  "  sea  snakes  "  grew.  Then, 
when  they  had  a  certain  number  ready — 
one  does  not  pretend  to  know  how  many; 
credible  information  says  that  Germany 
can  now  build  six  submarines  a  week — 
when  they  had  raised  the  number  of  sub- 
marines so  it  would  satisfy  their  plans, 
the  German  Admiralty  Staff  laid  them 
again  before  the  Kaiser,  and  he  made 
his  momentous  decision.  Will  it  make 
him  or  break  him? 

Likewise  with  his  Foreign  Office  does 
the  Kaiser  decide.  In  that  musty  old 
building,    Wilhelmstrasse    76,   there   are 


departments  for  every  nation  in  the 
world.  One  official,  with  his  subordi- 
nates, is  in  charge  of  the  United  States 
department,  another  of  the  English,  and 
so  on.  It  is  the  duty  of  these  depart- 
ment chiefs  to  be  ready  at  the  Kaiser's 
call  to  lay  before  him  any  diplomatic  in- 
formation which  he  desires  in  relation  to 
that  particular  country.  As  executive 
head  of  the  Foreign  Office — Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs — von  Jagow,  with  a 
mild,  suave,  tolerant,  cosmopolitan  type 
of  mind,  was  quite  all  right  for  the  rub- 
ber stamp  work  that  a  German  Foreign 
Minister  under  Wilhelm  II.  has  to  do. 
Quite  all  right,  until  the  brew  of  subma- 
rine frightfulness  began  boiling,  and  out 
went  the  mild  Jagow  for  the  vigorous 
Zimmermann.  He  is  responsible  to  the 
Chancellor  for  the  efficiency  of  the  For- 
eign Office,  and  the  Chancellor  is  re- 
sponsible to  the  Kaiser. 

As  the  army  and  navy  chiefs  bring  up 
their  plans  for  a  decision,  so  does  Dr. 
Theobald  von  Bethmann  Hollweg.  If  the 
Kaiser  likes  the  Chancellor's  plan,  he 
adopts  it.  If  he  doesn't,  the  imperial 
frown  is  put  upon  it.  One  colossal  blun- 
der, and,  like  Moltke,  Falkenhayn,  and 
Tirpitz,  off  will  go  Bethmann  Hollweg's 
head  into  the  imperial  basket;  for  the 
Kaiser's  chieftains  publicly  assume  the 
responsibility  for  the  moves  of  Imperial 
Germany.  If  the  moves  fail,  they  and 
they  alone  are  to  blame,  for,  despite  the 
fact  that  none  of  these  moves  can  be 
made  without  the  Kaiser's  indorsement 
of  them,  Wilhelm  II.,  being  the  Kaiser, 
"  can  do  no  wrong." 

We  find  today  the  German  Emperor  at 
the  pinnacle  of  his  power,  lusty  in  health, 
save  for  the  shadow  of  that  disease  which 
has  cursed  his  family,  and  which  at  any 
time  may  insidiously  creep  over  him. 

The  Kaiser  has  the  vitality  to  keep 
continually  active  during  this  war. 
Grave,  bearing  his  responsibilities  heav- 
ily, rarely  brightening  except  at  the  news 
of  a  victory,  he  sternly  and  grimly  goes 
through  the  daily  routine,  knowing  ex- 
actly what  is  going  on  in  every  depart- 
ment of  the  German  war  machine.  In- 
tensely religious,  calling  upon  God  in  his 
hour  of  trial  more  even  than  he  called 
upon  Him  in  peace,  the  Kaiser,  is  relig- 


20 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ious  today  almost  to  the  point  of  fanati- 
cism. One  might  almost  say  that  his 
whole  life  is  held  together  by  his  belief 
that  God  is  on  the' side  of  Germany  in 
this  war.  Without  that  deep  and  sincere 
religious  conviction — it  is  almost  insan- 
what  Bergson  called  a  "  mental  com- 
plex " — it  seems  incredible  that  the  Kai- 
ser could  have  stood  up  against  the 
strain,  so  deeply  has  he  plunged  himself 
into  the  war,  as  long  as  he  has. 

In  considering  the  Kaiser  today  too 
much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  this  re- 
ligious side  of  his  character.  If  he  were 
acting,  if  his  ranting  about  God  were 
mummery,  the  task  of  the  world  would  be 
easier.  For  a  hypocrite  analyzes  and 
compromises  quickly.  Not  a  fanatic. 
And  the  Kaiser's  belief  that  he  is  a  being 
put  on  this  earth  by  God  and  anointed  by 
God  to  rule  the  German  Nation,  and  to 
lead  it  to  its  destiny — which  destiny  the 
writers  of  Germany  have  often  assured 
us  has  no  small  limits — this  belief  of  the 
Kaiser's  that  God  is  the  protector  of 
German  Kultur,  this  makes  him  in  this 
war  the  strongest  ruler  in  the  world. 

For  he  will  not  compromise.  Believing 
as  he  does  that  God  is  with  him,  he  will 
go  on  fighting  on  and  on,  putting  all  the 
life  and  treasure  of  Germany  into  what 
he  believes  to  be  the  arm  of  the  Al- 
mighty. He  will  fight  on,  and  he  will  be 
able  to,  because  his  people  love  him,  de- 
spite  the   appalling    sacrifices    he   has 


called  upon  them  to  make.  Impelled  by 
this  religious  hysteria,  he  will  continue 
the  war  until  he  meets  an  end  like  that  of 
the  old  German  gods,  and  the  whole  fabric 
of  his  empire  is  rent  asunder.  Either  that 
or  the  world  fighting  him  will  be  as 
-Christ  and  try  to  end  humanity's  anguish 
by  overcoming  the  thought  of  "  punish- 
ment "  with  one  of  charity.  But  if  the 
world  should  be  merciful  the  Kaiser 
would  believe  that  "  our  old  German 
God  " — privately  tagging  the  Almighty 
as  he  so  often  does — had  brought  him 
victory.  And  on  the  Linden  the  imperial 
fanfares  would  sound,  and  from  the  gray 
stone  balcony  of  the  schloss  one  of  those 
"  with  God  "  speeches  would  stir  the  Ber- 
lin soul.  *  *  *  Yet — yet  there  would  be 
peace. 

A  Colossus  today  is  the  Kaiser.  A 
conqueror,  lusty  and  hale.  But  tomor- 
row, what  of  that? 

Before  the  war  a  German,  Franz  von 
Beyerlin,  wrote  a  novel  speculating  0*1 
the  fate  of  the  German  Army,  asking  the 
question  as  to  what  the  future  held,  and 
taking  that  question  as  his  novel's  title, 
"Jena  or  Sedan?"  *  *  *  defeat  or 
victory? 

One  can  imagine  a  novel  now,  around 
the  Kaiser— "  Tilsit  or  Versailles?" 
*  *  *  humbled  or  glorified,  what  will 
he  be?   *    *   * 

Perhaps  the  graves  of  Europe's  dead 
know,  but  cannot  tell. 


The  Women  of  the  War 


By  ETHEL WYN  DITHRIDGE 


Afar  amid  war's  darkness,  they  suffer  and  grow  strong, 
For  courage  is  their  garment,  and  hope  their  evensong; 
They  hide  the  pain  of  parting  with  "  till  we  meet  again," 
Or  greet  with  tender  welcome  their  bruised  and  broken  men. 
They  give  their  all  ungrudging,  nor  think  it  much  to  give ; 
They  see  their  lives  in  ruin,  then  face  the  years,  and  live. 

O  heart  of  selfish  sorrows  and  unavailing  fears ! 

One  day  of  their  devotion  were  worth  my  idle  years. 

With  uncomplaining  patience  their  sacrifice  is  made — 

So,  tho'  in  lesser  service,  my  debt  of  love  were  paid. 

Take  thou,  beloved  country,  the  little  all  I  give, 

Who  am  not  born  to  greatness,  and  yet  would  greatly  live. 


Hunger  Stalks  Through  Europe 

Food  Shortage  and  Stern  Measures  to  Meet  It 


ALL  information  during  late  Febru- 
ary and  March  indicated  definite- 
.  ly  that  all  the  nations  of  Europe 
were  suffering  severely  from 
food  shortage.  The  crisis  began  to  be 
acute  in  February,  and  until  the  crops 
of  1917  begin  to  mature,  a  period  of 
about  three  and  a  half  months,  all 
Europe  will  continue  to  confront  the 
most  serious  lack  of  food  that  has  yet 
arisen.  No  portion  of  the  entire  Conti- 
nent is  free  from  privation,  though  the 
shortage  seems  more  acute  in  Germany 
and  Austria  than  elsewhere. 

Oscar  King  Davis,  who  spent  several 
weeks  in  Germany  before  the  severance 
of  relations,  and  who  accompanied  Am- 
bassador Gerard  on  his  journey  home, 
cabled  to  The  New  York  Times  from 
Havana  on  March  11  a  comprehensive 
review  of  the  food  situation  in  Germany. 

Mr.  Davis  wrote  that  Mr.  Gerard  re- 
garded the  condition  of  Germany  as  des- 
perate, especially  where  the  supply  of 
food  and  general  economic  conditions, 
including  finance,  are  concerned,  and 
that  he  knew  the  frame  of  mind  of  re- 
sponsible German  officials  to  be  quite  in 
keeping  with  their  recognition  of  the  des- 
perate situation  of  their  country. 

He  wrote  that  one  who  has  lived  even 
for  a  brief  period  in  the  restaurants  and 
hotels  of  Germany  stands  aghast  in 
France,  as  he  does  in  Switzerland,  at  the 
prodigal  and  extraordinary  waste  of 
food.  If  you  have  had  a  meal  in  a  pub- 
lic eating  place  in  Berlin,  with  the  lively 
and  significant  clink  of  forks  and  spoons 
on  plates  and  dishes,  scraping  up  the  last 
drop  of  sauce  or  gravy,  and  then  come 
into  a  public  eating  place  in  Berne  or 
Paris,  to  find  not  only  sauce  and  gravy 
abandoned  in  unthinkable  quantities,  but 
bread,  meat,  potatoes,  and  every  kind  of 
thing  good  to  eat  sent  away  from  the 
table  untouched  or  hardly  more  than  nib- 
bled at,  you  are  simply  overwhelmed  by 
the  contrast. 

"  It  is  under  such  circumstances,"  con- 
tinues Mr.  Davis,  "  that  you  come  to  a 


keener  realization  of  how  the  organiza- 
tion and  control  of  her  food  supplies  in 
their  production,  collection,  and  distribu- 
tion is  evidence,  not  that  Germany  is 
starving  today,  but  that  she  is  likely  by 
these  very  means  to  win  through  to  the 
bitter  end  without  starvation.  Hard- 
ship, privation,  underfeeding,  and  for 
some  of  her  people  insufficient  nourish- 
ment, Germany  unquestionably  endures 
today,  with  three  or  four  severe  months 
yet  to  sustain  before  she  finds  relief  from 
new  crops.  But  if  those  new  crops  re- 
spond in  fair  measure  to  the  efforts  Ger- 
many is  making  on  them,  her  food  prob- 
lem will  be  postponed,  in  great  measure, 
for  yet  another  year. 

"  The  German  officials  have  not  been 
eager  to  place  exact  scientific  data  in  the 
hands  of  foreign  observers  and  investiga- 
tors, but  there  have  been  a  few  American 
scientific  men  who  have  made  noteworthy 
studies,  especially  on  food  and  sanitary 
conditions.  Mr.  Gerard  has  had  the 
advantage  of  their  work  and  knows  their 
information.  The  results  of  their  obser- 
vations and  their  scientific  conclusions 
will  undoubtedly  be  included  in  what  Mr. 
Gerard  has  to  tell  the  President  in  the 
next  few  days.  It  will  be  a  report 
tinged  with  malnutrition,  undernourish- 
ment, anemia,  low  blood  count,  and  simi- 
lar scientific  terms  meaning  that  those  to 
whom  they  are  applied  have  not  had  food 
in  sufficient  quantities  or  of  proper  qual- 
ity. It  will  be  applied  especially  to  cer- 
tain classes  of  Germans,  such  as  seam- 
stresses, servants,  persons  working  for 
small  wages,  children,  the  aged  and  in- 
firm, and  that  sort." 

A  trusted  observer  of  food  conditions 
in  Germany  reported  to  the  State  Depart- 
ment at  Washington  on  March  14  that 
20,000,000  people  directly  connected  with 
the  German  Army  or  Government,  20,- 
000,000  in  the  rural  population,  and 
about  8,000,000  wealthy  people  were  well 
fed,  but  that  the  rest,  about  20,000,000, 
were  in  a  serious  plight. 

Charles    H.    Grasty,    an    executive    of 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  New  York  Times  Company,  who 
joined  Ambassador  Gerard's  party  in 
Spain  and  sailed  from  Corunna  to  Amer- 
ica with  him,  after  eleven  days  in  inti- 
mate intercourse  with  the  party  of 
diplomats,  Military  Attaches,  doctors, 
merchants,  and  travelers,  who  had  had 
unsurpassed  opportunities  for  knowing 
the  real  state  of  affairs  in  Germany, 
wrote  on  March  11: 

"  After  discussing  the  German  situa- 
tion for  eleven  days,  my  conclusion  is 
that  the  food  shortage  in  the  Fatherland 
is  more  serious  than  has  been  believed 
outside.  The  present  condition  is  not 
one  of  actual  starvation,  but  there  is 
much  suffering  in  spots,  and  Germany 
faces  a  crisis  between  now  and  harvest. 
Unless  the  submarine  war  prospers  Ger- 
many can  hardly  escape  an  upheaval. 

"  One  doctor  aboard  the  ship  tells  me 
that,  even  with  his  unusual  facilities,  he 
was  much  reduced  by  the  lack  of  fats, 
and  when  he  reached  Zurich  he  was  so 
ravenous  that  he  made  himself  ill,  de- 
vouring everything  greasy.  Lack  of  fats 
caused  an  incessant  gnawfng  and  nothing 
would  ■  stick  to  his  ribs.'  His  stomach 
had  no  food  reserve  and  intestinal  diges- 
tion was  suspended. 

"  The  misery  resulting  from  the  food 
conditions  is  observable  in  every  face. 
The  Government  took  all  possible  pre- 
cautions, but  while  60  per  cent,  turnips 
could  make  bulk,  it  couldn't  make  nutri- 
ment. A  thick  soup  of  cabbage  and  tur- 
nips, a  bit  of  meat,  and  a  trace  of  grease 
could  be  bought  at  the  community 
kitchens  in  the  cities  for  6  cents,  (30 
pfennigs,)  and  bread  at  1  cent  a  slice, 
but  thirty  minutes  after  eating,  one  was 
hungry  again. 

"  The  diet  gave  no  power  of  resistance 
to  the  cold.  The  Americans  who  serve 
as  prison  inspectors  say  that  even  with 
huge  furs  they  almost  froze  this  Winter. 
"  Mothers  and  babies  are  without  milk, 
and  the  suffering  is  great.  While  the  ef- 
fect of  the  food  conditions  on  the  public 
morale  is  temporarily  offset  by  hysterical 
loyalty,  physical  causes  must  prevail  over 
•logical  in  the  end. 

Unhealthy    Social    Conditions 
"  Throughout  the  trying  times  the  Ger- 


man women  have  been  showing  a  splen- 
did nerve.  They  are  taking  men's  places 
at  manual  labor.  Many  assure  me  if  the 
women  are  called  they  will  respond  in 
tremendous  numbers,  game  to  perform 
many  trench  tasks,  if  not  actually  do  full 
,   military  duty. 

"  The  moral  and  social  conditions  are 
entirely  unlike  old  Germany.  In  high 
society  spying  and  intrigue  prevail.  No- 
body trusts  anybody,  and  the  conversa- 
tion is  all  insincerity  and  deception. 
While  the  unwritten  law  still  holds 
among  the  nobility,  the  laws  regulating 
divorce  are  a  dead  letter. 

"  Soldiers  at  the  front  and  wives  at 
home  are  freed  from  marital  restraints. 
Illegitimate  births  now  reach  25  per  cent, 
in  Berlin,  and  even  more  in  Bavaria,  and 
the  percentage  is  increasing. 

"  Popular  taste  on  the  stage  calls  for  a 
murder  in  every  act,  and  the  big  theat- 
rical successes  reek  with  morbid  details. 
"  The  tendencies  in  Germany  to  rule 
womankind  with  a  rod  of  iron  have  been 
emphasized  by  the  war.  Men  use  wo- 
men roughly  and  punish  them  physically 
for  trifling  faults.  Women  are  treated 
as  recognized  inferiors,  and  they  don't 
resent  it. 

"  Such  are  some  of  the  effects  of  baf- 
fled militarism  upon  the  Germans.  They 
went  into  this  war  expecting  a  three 
months'  picnic.  The  resistance,  followed 
by  threatened  defeat,  has  produced  a  per- 
versity that  breaks  out  as  described. 

"  This  is  not  to  say  that  Germany  is 
all  bad.  I  have  heard  stories  of  splendid 
self-sacrifice  in  all  circles.  Some  of  the 
aristocracy  voluntarily  adopt  short  com- 
mons, and  potato  rations  are  passed  to 
the  guests  by  liveried  servants." 

Greater  Berlin  is  now  issuing  weekly 
3,600,000  bread  cards,  and  66,500,000  cou- 
pons representing  daily  rations  find  their 
way  back  to  the  Bread  Commission, 
where  they  are  checked  off.  Soldiers  re- 
turning from  the  front  are  met  at  the 
railway  station  and  receive  bread  tickets 
good  for  their  furlough. 

One  recent  achievement  of  the  German 
chemists  has  been  the  utilizing  of  tar  oil, 
extracted  from  burned  coal,  for  making 
soap.  The  new  process  includes  the 
treatment  of  crude  coal  oil  with  potash, 


HUNGER   STALKS   THROUGH   EUROPE 


23 


the    finished    product   yielding    excellent 
soft,  hard,  and  powdered  soaps. 
Life  in  Hamburg 
The  German  newspaper  press  reveals 
in  advertisements  some  facts  regarding 
the    situation.     The   following   is    given 
as  an  example  of  a  war  dinner  which 
may  be  obtained  in  Hamburg  (Hackepeter 
Restaurant,   Reeperbahn    103): 
'    Herring  with  French  beans,  1.40  marks. 

Haddock   (boiled)  with   mustard    sauce   and 
sauerkraut,   1.50   marks. 

Haddock    (fried)    with    green    cabbage,     2 
marks. 

Hare  ragout,  with  cabbage  stewed  in  wine, 
(free  from  meat  card,)  2.20  marks. 

Roast  venison  with  red  cabbage,   (one-half 
meat  card  section,)  2.80  marks. 

Rum  grog,   60  pfennigs;  red  wine  grog,   40 
pfennigs. 

Sea  mussel  meal  prepared  from  living 
fresh  mussels  mixed  with  meat  is  ap- 
parently a  popular  dish  in  the  sense  that 
it  is  freely  advertised,  and  there  are 
many  advertisements  of  salted  fish  and 
even  fresh  fish.  This,  however,  is. very 
dear;  five  tons  of  plaice,  for  instance,  is 
offered  at  260  marks  a  ton,  and  eighteen 
tons  of  whiting  and  haddock  at  280 
marks  a  ton.  The  price  of  geese  is  so 
high  that  it  cannot  be  reckoned  as  a  food 
for  the  nation  at  large.  Thus  goose 
breast  costs  11.50  marks  per  pound,  and 
goose  legs  9  marks  per  pound.  Goose  fat 
must  be  a  great  luxury,  for  it  is  sold  at 
17  marks  a  pound.  Large  crammed 
fowls  can,  however,  be  had  for  4.50  marks 
a  pound,  and  ducks  at  4.95  marks  per 
pound.  Hens  for  roasting  are  advertised 
at  about  $1.25  apiece.  Foods  of  a  kind 
that  are  not  as  a  rule  eaten  are  freely 
advertised,  such  as  salt  seal  meat  and 
whale  meat. 

Soap  is  very  scarce,  and  toilet  soap 
costs  63  cents  a  piece,  and  cannot 
easily  be  got.  Soap  substitutes  made  of 
calcium  carbonate  are  common.  Fatless 
grease  wash  extracts  for  soap  are  freely 
advertised.  Many  firms  find  a  difficulty 
in  feeding  their  workers,  and  advertise 
for  supplies.  Very  common  is  the  ad- 
vertisement, "  We  buy  food  of  all  kinds 
for  workers  in  large  quantities."  One 
firm  announces  that  it  will  buy  any  quan- 
tity of  preserves,  jams,  and  meat  wares. 
The    strangest    materials    are    being 


used  to  produce  covering  for  the  poorer 
classes  of  Germany.  Nettle  wastage 
and  raw  nettles  are  advertised  as  well  as 
woven  paper  for  making  men's  clothes. 
Cheap  costumes  are  made  from  artificial 
silk,  and  moire  material  and  lining  are 
used  for  dresses.  There  are  many  offers 
in  the  clothing  trade  journals  to  buy 
waste  paper,  from  which  paper  yarn  is 
made.  A  textile  firm  advertises  for 
horse  hair  of  all  kinds,  ox-tail  hair,  goat 
hair,  pigs'  bristles  and  hair,  which  are  to 
be  used  in  its  factory.  The  lack  of  raw 
material  has  caused  many  textile  mills  to 
close  down.  Waste  of  every  kind  is 
eagerly  bought,  such  as  metal,  rags, 
bones,  rubber,  iron,  paper,  newspapers 
and  books,  and  empty  sacks,  packing 
cases,  and  bottles.  There  are  numerous 
advertisements  due  to  the  war  which 
point  to  the  use  of  all  available  resources. 

Organ  Pipes  for  Munitions 

Prussian  churches  are  being  stripped 
of  their  organ  pipes.  Thus  we  find  the 
following  proclamation  from  the  Police 
President  in  Berlin: 

The  proclamation  of  the  Ober-Kommando 
in  Brandenburg  respecting  the  sequestration, 
census,  arid  expropriation  of  organ  "  pros- 
pekt  "  pipes  made  of  tin,  and  voluntary  de- 
livery of  other  tin  pipes,  sound-conductors, 
&c,  belonging  to  organs  and  other  musical  in- 
struments, comes  into  force  on  Jan.  10.  *  *  * 
The  Police  President,  Berlin. 

An  advertisement  in  the  Berliner  Tage- 
blatt  gives  instructions  as  to  how  these 
orders  are  to  be  carried  out.  In  it  the 
"  prospekt "  pipes  are  described  as  all 
those  visible  on  the  outside  of  an  organ. 
The  price  fixed  for  these  tin  organ  pipes 
is  6.30  marks  per  kilo,  in  addition  to 
a  payment  of  35  marks  by  way  of  com- 
pensation for   every  organ   damaged, 

There  is  a  great  search  after  gold  and 
jewelry,  a  committee  having  been  formed 
for  this  purpose  with  the  Crown  Princess 
of  Prussia  as  its  patroness,  and  backed 
by  the  signatories  of  Bethmann  Hollweg, 
Wermuth,  Oberburgermeister  of  Berlin, 
and  Dr.  Haverstein,  President  of  the  di- 
rectorate of  the  Reichsbank. 

It  is  stated  that  the  offices  of  the  com- 
mittee are  open  every  weekday  from  10 
A.  M.  to  2  P.  M.  in  various  parts  of 
Berlin.    The  price  of  the  objects  bought 


21 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


is  fixed  by  valuators.  Deliverers  of  gold 
trinkets  receive  a  written  certificate, 
and  those  who  offer  gold  chains  get  an 
iron  chain  at  the  cost  of  2.50  marks,  to 
celebrate  their  patriotism,  or  a  medal. 
All  those  who  offer  gold  objects  worth 
at  least  5  marks  receive  a  similar  medal. 
In  analyzing  any  list  of  advertise- 
ments it  is  necessary  to  remember  that 
most  of  the  necessaries  of  life  cannot  be 
bought  without  the  production  of  official 
vouchers.  Thus  edible  fat,  eggs,  and 
sugar  can  only  be  bought  on  production 
of  a  food  book  which  entitles  the  buyers 
to  certain  quantities  as  per  ration.  This 
applies,  of  course,  to  all  articles  of  food 
on  the  food  ticket.  Poultry,  however, 
and  game  are  freely  sold  without  cards, 
which  means  that  the  well-to-do  can  still 
get  plenty  to  eat.  A  new  order  forbids 
under  heavy  fine  the  bringing  of  dogs 
into  rooms  where  food  is  kept  for  sale. 

Cultivating  Town  Lots 
Many  advertisements  appear  in  the 
agricultural  papers  urging  the  farmers 
to  cultivate  vegetables  in  large  quantities, 
for  a  shortage  of  vegetables,  on  which 
the  poor  in  the  absence  of  meat  so  much 
depend,  is  feared.  Building  grounds  in 
towns  are  being  parceled  out  for  culti- 
vation. Thus  we  get  the  following  an- 
nouncement in  the  Munchener  Neueste 
Nachrichten : 

In  order  to  hold  out  more  easily  we  are 
making  available  for  the  cultivation  of  fruit 
and  vegetables  the  Maxhof  estate  within  the 
town  boundary  of  Munich,  situated  between 
Forstenried,  Neuried,  &c.  Thirty-five  min- 
utes distant  from  Waldfriedhof  and  Solin. 
Since  work  must  soon  be  begun  it  lies  in 
the  interests  of  the  buyer  to  choose  quickly. 
Owing  to  the  bad  weather  during  the  recent 
holidays  we  retain  the  old  price  of  7^  pfen- 
nigs per  square  foot  for  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day, when  the  ground  can  be  viewed,  &c. 
One-quarter  plot  (tagwerk)  equals  850  square 
meters,  cost  750  marks,  &c. 

Forstenried  Garden  City  Co.,  Ltd. 

Shortage  of  labor  is  a  great  difficulty 
in  getting  the  land  cultivated,  and  even 
men  with  artificial  limbs  are  being  used 
in  farm  work.  Belgian  labor  is  offered 
as  if  it  were  slave  labor,  if  one  may 
judge  from  the  following  advertisement 
in  the  Magdeburgishe  Zeitung: 

"Thirty  Belgian  civilian  workers  are 


to    be    disposed    of    during    the    frosty 
weather." 

The  high  prices  in  Germany  naturally 
encourage  smuggling  from  Holland.  The 
Dutch  paper,  Vaderland,  declares  that 
the  smuggling  trade  has  grown  such  a 
lucrative  one  in  the  Coevorden  district 
that  many  workmen  are  leaving  their 
employment  to  take  this  trade  in  hand. 
The  Algemeen  Handelsblad  is  informed 
from  Zevenaar  that  at  Didam,  Bergh, 
Wehl,  and  Zevenaar  more  than  5,000 
kilos  of  fat  and  soap  have  been  seized 
from  smugglers.  A  number  of  the  smug- 
glers have  been  caught  and  warrants 
have  been  issued  against  200,  including 
some  Amsterdam  people.  The  Dutch 
require  these  articles  for  themselves, 
since  prices  are  very  high  in  Holland. 

Picture  of  Berlin  Life 

The  Frankfurter  Zeitung  publishes  an 
account  of  the  extraordinary  change  in 
the  appearance  and  life  of  Berlin.  It  is 
only  lately  that  Berlin  has  really  altered 
its  character — since  the  shops  shut  at  7, 
the  houses  at  9,  the  theatres  at  10,  and 
the  restaurants  and  cafes  at  11:30,  while 
practically  all  the  street  cars  stop  at 
midnight,  and  the  population,  adapting 
itself  to  circumstances,  really  goes  to 
bed  early.  The  Frankfurter  Zeitung 
gives  the  following  picture: 

"  Without  any  exaggeration,  Berlin 
has  become  a  different  city.  For  every 
town  the  new  restrictions  mean  much, 
but  for  Berlin  they  mean  everything.  In 
other  places  people  were  active,  but  in 
Berlin  they  were  creative.  Here  was  the 
new  Germany,  the  new  Europe.  The 
manifold  activities,  the  vitality  have 
gone,  and  all  that  remains  is  war,  victory, 
and  peace.  Although  the  individual 
artist,  merchant,  or  professor  may  still 
have  his  ideas  and  pursue  them  in  secret, 
Berlin  as  a  whole  is  waiting,  breathless, 
silent,  tame,  but  burning  for  the  moment 
when  she  can  again  pursue  her  innumer- 
able purposes  with  the  old  eagerness  and 
a  new  impulse.  That  is  the  characteris- 
tic of  intellectual  and  scientific  Berlin — 
waiting  for  the  new  moment,  the  new 
time.  *  *  *  The  streets  are  now 
quieter  by  day  and  empty  in  the  evening. 
Life   is    a   provisorium.      One    sees   few 


HUNGER   STALKS    THROUGH   EUROPE 


25 


taxicabs,  and  notices  more  and  more 
the  scarcity  of  vehicles  generally  and  in 
many  cases  of  personnel.  The  women 
are  beginning  to  dominate  the  sphere  of 
work,  doing  everything  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility. *  *  *  We  have  our 
own  army  of  occupation,  since  whole 
rows  of  houses  are  taken  up  by  the  new 
War  Bureaus  and  the  countless  subordi- 
nate departments  which  are  carrying  out 
the  national  organization.  What  was 
called  '  shopping '  has  stopped.  Since 
everything  is  rationed,  shopping  due  to 
fancy,  luxury,  or  boredom — in  other 
words,  women's  shopping — has  ceased." 

The  article  goes  on  to  say  that  the 
theatres  are  full,  but  that,  except  in  the 
lowest  class  of  revues,  the  plays  have 
little  to  do  with  the  war.  People  have 
become  quiet  and  introspective,  and  hos- 
tesses are  acquiring  the  habit  of  reciting 
poetry  to  their  guests. 

The  Berliner  Tageblatt  on  March  7  an- 
nounced that  the  suspension  of  all  beer 
brewing  in  Northern  Germany  was  im- 
minent. This  action  was  due  to  the 
desire  to  save  Indian  corn  for  bread  and 
malt  to  take  the  place  of  coffee. 

At  a  conference  in  Vienna  March  3, 
attended  by  Cabinet  Ministers,  Govern- 
ors of  Provinces,  Burgomasters,  and  sev- 
eral Parliamentary  Deputies,  Premier 
Count  Clam-Martinic  announced  that  the 
Minister  of  Finance  was  about  to  put 
into  operation  measures  to  provide  food- 
stuffs for  the  poorer  classes  at  con- 
siderably reduced  prices. 

Bread  Cards  in  France 
Announcement  that  bread  cards  would 
be  instituted  in  France  to  prevent  waste 
was  made  March  1,  1917,  in  an  official 
communication  issued  by  Edouard  Her- 
riot,  Minister  of  Provisions.  The  an- 
nouncement says: 

"To  avoid  wastage,  the  Minister  of 
Provisions  has  decided  to  regulate  the 
consumption  of  bread  by  instituting 
cards.  Instructions  will  be  given  to  the 
Prefects  of  the  different  departments  to 
put  the  new  regulation  into  effect." 

It  developed  in  a  debate  in  Paris  that 
the  wheat  acreage  of  France  was  re- 
duced about  800,000  by  the  invasion,  out 
of  a  total  of  16,250,000,  while  the  de- 
ficiency for  1917  is  estimated  at  5,500,- 


000  acres,  of  which  500,000,  at  least,  is 
expected  to  be  made  up  by  Spring  seed- 
ing of  Manitoba  wheat,  which,  it  is  now 
conceded,  will  grow  successfully  in 
French  soil. 

To  increase  the  wheat  acreage  it  is 
necessary  to  raise  the  maximum  selling 
price  from  an  equivalent  of  $1.85  to 
$2.25  per  bushel,  and  also  to  intensify 
the  use  of  modern  motor  implements 
and  a  greater  number  of  prisoners  of 
war,  of  whom  only  35,000  have  been  em- 
ployed on  farms. 

Russia  also  is  suffering  serious  priva- 
tion, aggravated  by  a  serious  breakdown 
in  its  transportation  and  distributing 
systems.  News  dispatches  before  the 
recent  revolution  told  of  food  riots  in 
Moscow  and  Petrograd,  but  the  censor- 
ship was  so  strict  that  no  details  were 
allowed  to  filter  through.  Food  riots  in 
Petrograd,  indeed,  were  a  direct  cause 
of  the  downfall  of  the  Czar's  Govern- 
ment. Those  who  know  most  concerning 
the  internal  situation  in  Russia  declare 
that  starvation  still  faces  large  numbers 
of  the  poor  throughout  that  country. 

Scarcity  in  Great  Britain 
There  is  a  great  scarcity  of  potatoes 
in  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  stated  that  the 
available  stock  will  be  entirely  exhausted 
by  May  1,  unless  there  is  a  material  re- 
duction in  consumption.  The  measures 
taken  to  increase  the  British  food  supply 
by  restricting  the  importation  of  non- 
essentials are  given  in  detail  elsewhere. 
Among  the  new  regulations  in  London  is 
the  establishing  of  one  meatless  day  at 
all  clubs.  The  prices  of  bacon,  butter, 
cheese,  and  lard  are  regulated.  A  re- 
liable observer  says  under  date  of  March 
8: 

"  All  over  the  United  Kingdom  men 
and  women  are,  in  advance  of  mandatory 
legislation,  limiting  their  food  consump- 
tion, reducing  the  use  of  meat,  of  sugar, 
of  all  the  things  that  are  supplied  by 
seaborne  freights.  Britain  is  getting 
ready  to  stand  siege;  millions  of  British 
subjects  recognize  that  the  cost  of  vic- 
tory in  the  great  struggle  may  be  scar- 
city at  home  such  as  has  not  been  known 
in  modern  times  in  England. 

"  In   the   restaurants  and  hotels   only 


26 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


two  courses  are  served  for  luncheon  and 
three  for  dinner.  And  nothing  is  more 
impressive  than  the  fashion  in  which 
people  are  submitting  to  that  sort  of 
regulation. 

"  The  time  has  not  come  when  there  is 
an  actual  and  visible  shortage  of  food- 
stuffs in  England.  There  is  no  starva- 
tion and  there  is  no  evidence  of  that 
very  general  underfeeding  which  all  wit- 
nesses agree  is  so  unmistakable  in  Ger- 
many. Britain  is  not  yet  hungry,  but 
Britons  are  taking  every  step  to  avoid 
possible  famine  hereafter  by  making 
meagre  now." 

Deprivations  of  Neutrals 
The  war  years  have  doubled  prices  of 
many  necessities  in  all  lands,  and  the 
suffering  in  the  neutral  countries  of 
Europe  is  almost  as  acute  as  that  in  the 
belligerent  nations.  Reports  from  the 
Scandinavian  countries  and  Holland  tell 
of  serious  want  owing  to  the  submarine 
blockade.  Sweden  has  not  enough  grain 
to  last  until  the  next  harvest,  and  Nor- 
way has  still  less  than  Sweden. 

Holland  suffered  a  severe  blow  in  the 
torpedoing  of  six  Government  grain  ships 
by  German  submarines,  followed  by  a 
virtual  paralysis  of  all  overseas  traffic. 
There  has  been  some  modification  of  the 
sea  lanes  open  to  Holland,  but  the  food 


shortage  continues  acute.  The  Dutch 
Government  found  itself  compelled, 
owing  to  this  situation,  to  prohibit  the 
exportation  of  bread  to  Belgium  after 
March  10,  1917. 

Switzerland  has  two  meatless  days  a 
week,  and  must  limit  its  egg  consump- 
tion, according  to  a  measure  promulgated 
by  the  Bundesrat  at  Berne  on  Feb.  23. 
In  order  to  conserve  the  milk  supply  the 
sale  of  whipped  cream  is  forbidden  in  all 
public  places. »  The  same  provision  for- 
bids the  giving  of  more  than  15  grams 
of  sugar  with  a  tea  or  coffee  order  and 
limits  the  quantity  of  sugar  which  may 
be  used  for  frostings.  Butter  may  be 
served  only  at  breakfast  or  at  meals  at 
which  no  meat  or  egg  dishes  are  supplied 
and  may  no  longer  be  used  with  cheese. 
The  use  of  eggs  in  making  pastry  is  pro- 
hibited. 

The  United  States  has  not  escaped  its 
share  of  the  war's  effects.  In  New  York 
City  late  in  February  there  were  riots 
in  the  congested  districts  over  the  high 
prices  of  food  and  considerable  excite- 
ment prevailed  for  some .  days.  Many 
tons  of  food  were  purchased  at  distant 
points  by  municipal  committees  and  sold 
in  New  York  at  cost.  After  a  week  of 
excitement  the  food  supply  increased, 
prices  dropped  and  the  flurry  subsided. 


WAR  SEEN  FROM  TWO  ANGLES 


[American  View] 

Germans  and  Turks  in  Retreat 

Period  from   February  15  to  March  17,  1917 

By   J.    B.  W.  Gardiner 

Formerly  Lieutenant  Eleventh  United  States  Cavalry 


DURING  the  past  month  only  two 
theatres  of  war  have  been  at 
all  active — the  front  in  France 
and  the  Near  East.  The  others 
have  remained  in  the  grip  of  an  un- 
usually long  Winter,  which,  while  it  has 
permitted  sporadic  outbursts  of  short 
duration,  has  effectually  prevented  any 
sustained  movements.  But  in  these  two 
theatres  the  Allies  have  achieved  the 
greatest  successes  of  the  last  two  years. 
On  the  French  front  the  ground  has 
not  hardened  after  the  melting  of  the 
Winter  snows,  but  the  British  have  main- 
tained a  consistent  pressure  which  the 
Germans  have  not  seemed  able  to  hold 
back.  Continuing  their  success  at  Grand- 
court,  which  they  took  last  month, 
the  British  were  pushing  slowly  up  along 
the  railroad  that  runs  from  Albert  to 
Achiet  le  Grand  and  thence  to  Arras. 
The  Germans  gave  ground  stubbornly  for 
a  while,  and  then  an  unexpected  thing 
happened.  The  entire  southern  side  of 
the  German  salient  began  to  retreat, 
slowly  and  in  good  order,  with  apparent- 
ly small  loss.  The  German  official  re- 
ports failed  to  mention  this  retreat  for 
days,  and  the  British  reports  were  none 
too  definite  in  regard  to  it.  For  some- 
time the  whole  affair  remained  clouded 
in  mystery. 

Apparently  the  British  were  taken  by 
surprise,  and  were  afraid  of  some  sort 
of  trap.  Their  advance,  therefore,  was 
slow,  as  if  they  were  feeling  their  way 
forward.  The  Germans  were  equally 
wary  in  their  retreat.  They  left  behind 
them,  as  the  main  forces  retired,  strong 
posts  armed  with  machine  guns  lest  the 
retreat  be  turned  into  a  rout.  A  number 
of  strong  positions  were  given  up.  Even 
the  railroad  junction  at  Achiet  le  Grand 


was  permitted  to  come  directly  under  fire 
of  the  British  artillery  through  the  oc- 
cupation by  the  British  of  Achiet  le 
Petit.  As  many  of  the  roads  over  which 
the  retreat  had  to  be  made  were  covered 
by  the  British  artillery  the  German  loss 
must  have  been  considerable;  but,  not- 
withstanding some  press  reports  of  a 
rout,  there  was  not  the  slightest  indica- 
tion that  the  withdrawal  was  otherwise 
than  orderly  and  in  complete  control. 

The  retreat  carried  the  British  lines  up 
to  the  outskirts  of  Bapaume,  the  first 
of  the  objectives  for  which  the  battle 
of  the  Somme  was  begun.  Here  the  Ger- 
mans made  a  stand.  But  the  British  im- 
mediately shifted  the  point  of  pressure 
and  attacked  along  the  Bapaume-Peronne 
road  against  the  Woods  of  St.  Pierre 
Vaast  near  Sailly-Saillisel.  They  cap- 
tured these  woods,  and,  pushing  their 
lines  well  forward  both  to  the  north  and 
south,  went  well  to  the  east  of  the 
Bapaume  position,  outflanking  it  and  ac- 
centuating the  danger  of  an  attack  from 
the  south.  On  the  morning  of  March  17 
Bapaume  was  captured  by  the  British, 
while  the  French  took  Roye  and  Lassigny. 

Abandoning  the  Whole  Salient 
This  German  retreat  is  evidently  the 
beginning  of  a  retirement  from  the  whole 
of  what  might  be  termed  the  Ancre  sali- 
ent. That  it  has  not  progressed  more 
rapidly  is  evidence  of  the  extreme  care 
which  must  be  exercised  in  a  retrograde 
movement  when  enemy  pressure  is  con- 
stant and  where  contact  is  never  for  a 
moment  lost.  The  Germans,  have,  of 
course,  vast  stores  of  ammunition  in 
their  endless  series  of  dugouts,  and  this 
must  be  moved.  Not  a  little  of  it  has 
fallen  into  British  hands.    This  was  un- 


28 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


eration.  But  a  small  part  was  withdrawn 
at  a  time.  This,  however,  has  reached  a 
stage  where,  for  the  forces  left  behind  in 
the  original  position,  there  is  an  element 
of  extreme  danger. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  present  German 
position  is  untenable.  The  present  Brit- 
ish position  is  a  three-quarter  circle 
about  the  German  lines,  this  circle  being 
about  ten  miles  from  tip  to  tip  and 
about  seven  miles  deep.  Two  railroads 
run  out  of  this  circle  to  the  German 
bases  eastward,  the  more  northern  being 
about  two  miles  from  the  northern  tip, 
while  the  more  southern  is  but  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  British  line. 
This  latter,  then,  is  of  no  use  whatever. 
The  former  can  be  used  only  with  danger. 
There  are  few  good  dirt  roads  in  this 
entire  ten  miles.    To  extricate  the  troops 


THE  HEAVY  BLACK  LINE  SHOWS  THE  OLD  FRONT,   THE  DOTTED  LINE  FROM  ARRAS  TO 
SOISSONS   THE    NEW    POSITION   GAINED    BY    THE    ALLIES   UP   TO    MARCH    20,    1917 


avoidable,  and  will  be  the  case  whenever 
such  a  movement  takes  place,  but,  rela- 
tively, the  amount  is  small.  This  neces- 
sity of  removing  ammunition  is  going  to 
be  a  source  of  much  trouble  to  the  Ger- 
mans as  they  retire,  as  it  must  and 
will  subject  them  to  much  greater  pun- 
ishment than  would  otherwise  be  the 
case.  The  fewer  the  roads,  too,  over 
which  this  can  be  moved,  the  greater  is 
going  to  be  the  danger  of  disaster,  at 
least  as  far  as  ammunition  is  concerned. 
And  this  difficulty  is  present  now  even 
to  a  greater  degree  than  before. 

The  Germans  did  not  and  could  not  re- 
tire from  the  entire  salient  position  at 
one  operation.  The  line  here,  with  its 
sinuosities,  was  about  fifteen  miles  long. 
Had  a  retirement  on  any  such  front  been 
attempted  British  pressure  would  have 
ruined  the  movement  as  a  tactical  op- 


which  still  hold  the  northwestern  corner 
of  the  old  salient  position  can  only  be 
accomplished  at  a  considerable  sacrifice 
of  material  and  great  loss  of  men.  And 
yet  this  must  be  given  up.  There  is 
scarcely  a  foot  of  all  this  territory  which 
is  not  under  fire  of  the  British  guns  from 
practically  all  directions.  As  trenches 
cannot  at  the  same  time  face  more  than 
one  way,  it  is  impossible  that  they  can 
furnish  adequate  protection.  The  Ger- 
mans are  therefore  in  trouble,  no  matter 
what  their  choice  may  be. 

Causes   of  Retirement 

The  movements  of  the  past  month  are 
in  themselves  a  sufficient  answer  to  the 
assertion  that  to  get  the  Germans  out 
of  France-  it  will  be  necessary  to  drive 
them  out  foot  by  foot  for  the  whole  dis- 
tance.    Clever  strategy  can   frequently, 


WAR   SEEN   FROM   TWO   ANGLES 


29 


even  in  trench  warfare,  put  an  enemy  in 
a  position  where  a  retirement  is  his  only 
salvation,  even  though  infantry  may 
never  have  to  go  into  action  to  effect  it. 
This  is  what  the  British  have  done  on  the 
Somme. 

As  to  the  reasons  for  the  German  re- 
tirement, the  Germans  have  been  very 
silent  except  to  state  that  it  was  a  stra- 
tegic retreat.  This  is,  of  course,  mean- 
ingless, as  every  retreat  is  properly  so 
characterized.  The  British  have  in  like 
manner  had  but  little  to  say  of  it.  One 
thing  we  may  be  certain  of:  It  was  dic- 
tated by  necessity,  not  through  choice. 
This  necessity  may  have  been  either  of 
two  things.  As  I  have  said,  the  British 
pressure  was  becoming  more  and  more 
severe,  and  the  trap  was  slowly  being 
drawn  tighter  and  tighter  about  the  Ger- 
man lines.  If  these  forces  did  not  retire 
soon  there  was  a  possibility  that  they 
would  not  be  able  to  retire  at  all,  but 
must  surrender.  Another  question  was 
the  shortage  of  men.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  this  question  is  causing  not 
a  little  embarrassment.  The  Central 
Powers  are  outnumbered  on  all  fronts 
two  to  one,  and  are  outgunned  and  out- 
generaled on  the  western  front.  As  it  is 
possible  to  increase  the  number  of  men 
per  mile  of  line  only  by  shortening  the 
line,  this  must  be  done.  The  eastern  line 
cannot,  from  its  very  nature,  be  shortened 
without  grave  sacrifice  of  territory. 
Therefore  this  operation  must  take  place 
in  the  west.  In  either  case  it  bespeaks 
a  German  emergency. 

Just  how  far  the  German  retirement 
will  extend  no  one,  of  course,  can  say. 
Since  the  rain  broke  up  the  battle  of  the 
Somme  last  Fall  the  Germans  have  had 
plenty  of  time  to  prepare  in  rear  of  their 
present  lines  a  strong  line  of  defense, 
just  as  strong,  in  fact,  as  was  their  orig- 
inal line  when  the  storm  on  the  Somme 
broke.  It  is  equally  certain  that  they 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  opportunity. 
It  is  to  this  line  that  they  are  retiring, 
and  they  will  halt  when  it  is  reached,  not 
before. 

The  remainder  of  the  western  front 
has  shown  an  uneasiness,  reflecting  pos- 
sibly the  action  north  of  the  Somme.  This 
has   shown    itself   on   both   sides   of  the 


Oise  north  of  the  Aisne  and  in  the  Cham- 
pagne district.  Both  of  these  sections 
of  the  line  are  of  importance  in  the 
possibilities  they  present.  The  former 
threatens  the  Noyons  salient  as  well  as 
the  entire  Aisne  line  by  flanking  it,  the 
latter  the  same  line  from  the  other  end 
by  threatening  the  railroad  communica- 
tions. A  successful  operation  against  the 
road  between  Challerange  and  Bazan- 
court  would  place  the  German  line  in  an 
unenviable  position  as  far  as  supplies 
are  concerned. 

The  Turkish  Reverses 
In  the  Near  East  events  have  been  much 
more  determinative,  and  at  this  time  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  Turkey  is  in 
grave  danger  of  being  forced  into  a 
separate  peace.  The  British,  operating 
along  the  Tigris  River  from  the  head  of 
the  Persian  Gulf,  have  conducted  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  individual  moves  of 
the  war.  Here  the  fighting  has  been  wide 
open,  trench  warfare  has  not  appeared, 
and,  because  of  the  mobility  of  the 
forces  engaged,  strategy  has  borne  a 
much  more  prominent  part  than  in  the 
western  fighting.  It  is  not  a  question  in 
this  territory  only  or  even  principally  of 
the  mechanics  of  war.  It  is  a  question 
of  the  brilliancy  of  the  individual  com- 
mander. 

The  British  here  have  made  the  most 
expert  use  of  their  cavalry  through  a 
series  of  well-planned  and  skillfully  exe- 
cuted movements  against  the  Turkish 
line  of  communications  along  the  river. 
As  fast  as  the  Turks  would  halt  and  en- 
deavor to  make  a  stand,  the  British 
cavalry,  operating  on  the  western  bank 
of  the  Tigris,  where  the  ground  is  high 
and  excellently  adapted  to  cavalry  work, 
would  strike  behind  them  and  force  a 
retreat.  As  the  Tigris  is  the  only  line 
of  communications  the  Turks  possessed 
in  this  country  of  few  roads,  a  retreat 
was  in  every  case  inevitable. 

Position  after  position  was  turned  in 
this  way,  until,  after  a  most  rapid  ad- 
vance, Bagdad  fell  into  British  hands. 
At  this  writing  the  British  have  pushed 
fifty  miles  beyond  the  City  of  the  Caliphs, 
and  the  Turks  are  still  in  retreat.  In 
addition    the    British    are    striking    out 


so 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


along  the  road  from  Bagdad  to  Teheran, 
along  which  the  Russians  are  advancing 
rapidly.  The  Turks  are  therefore  in  a 
trap,  which,  if  they  do  not  move  quickly, 
they  will  not  be  able  to  escape.  The 
Turkish  Army  before  the  British  is  in 
a  state  of  almost  complete  demoraliza- 
tion. It  has  lost  the  greater  part  of  its 
artillery  and  ammunition,  has  suffered 
heavily  in  prisoners,  and  many  of  the 
men  have  thrown  their  arms  into  the 
Tigris  as  they  fled.  Indeed,  the  rate  of 
the  British  advance,  which  was  unbelieve- 
ably  rapid,  tells  its  own  story  of  the 
condition  of  the  Turkish  Army. 

Further  east,  in  Persia,  the  Russians 
are  having  a  similar  experience.  The 
Turkish  Army  in  Persia,  alarmed  at  the 
possibility  of  having  its  line  of  retreat 
cut  off  by  the  advancing  British,  has 
offered  but  feeble  resistance  to  the  Rus- 
sians, who  have  definitely  broken  the 
enemy's  line  and  are  hurrying  westward 
toward  the  Turko-Persian  frontier.  Their 
rate  of  advance  is  as  great  as  that  of 
the  British.  The  Turkish  force  is  in 
vital  danger.  The  British  are  squarely 
across  their  main  line  of  retreat,  and  to 
get  away  at  all  they  will  have  to  break 
over  the  mountains  and  pass  through  the 
gap  between  the  Russian  and  the  British 
Army — which  gap  is  steadily  narrowing. 

Less  than  150  miles  now  separates  these 
two  forces,  so  that  the  danger  to  the 
Turks  of  capture  or  destruction  is  ap- 


parent. There  seems  no  possibility  of 
the  Turks  offering  any  organized  re- 
sistance to  either  force  until  Mosul  is 
reached.  At  Bagdad  they  had  in  their 
rear  the  Bagdad  railway,  and  also  natu- 
rally had  stored  up  in  Bagdad  a  large 
quantity  of  materials  of  war  of  all  kinds. 
It  was  indeed  the  main  base  from  which 
they  were  working.  If  with  all  these 
advantages  they  were  unable  to  halt  the 
British  advance  for  more  than  two  days, 
it  is  evident  that  their  power  of  re- 
sistance has  been  broken. 

Aside  from  the  military  situation 
created  by  these  successes,  the  political 
situation  will  be  even  more  prolific  of 
danger  to  the  Turk.  Syria  and  Arabia 
are  waiting  only  for  the  opportunity  to 
break  loose  from  the  Sultan's  dominion 
and  set  up  independent  States.  The 
initial  steps  have  already  been  taken  by 
Arabia,  so  that  it  may  be  truly  said  that 
the  disruption  of  the  empire  has  begun. 

Further  to  the  west  we  have  also  seen 
during  the  month  an  incident  of  no  little 
importance.  That  is  the  British  advance 
along  the  coast  of  the  Holy  Land  to  the 
Dead  Sea.  This  is  the  beginning  of  a 
threat  against  Adana  and  Aleppo.  There 
are  along  this  line  considerable  German 
forces  which  will  probably  make  the  go- 
ing harder  than  it  is  further  east.  But 
the  significance  of  the  general  pressure 
against  the  Turks  on  every  front  is  not 
to  be  lost. 


[German  View] 

Politico-Military  Events  of  the  Month 

By  H.  H.  von  Mellenthin 

Foreign  Editor  New-Yorker  Staats-Zeitung 
[See  Maps  on   Pages  28  and   45] 


THE  development  of  the  war  situation 
during  the  month  ending  about  the 
middle  of  March  has  been  confined 
chiefly  to  politico-military  events.  While 
upon  the  main  theatres  of  war  on  the 
European  Continent  subdued  thunder 
continues  to  herald  the  approach  of  a 
new  storm,  and  while  the  purely  military 
interest  centres  upon  the  new  mobility 


of  warfare  in  Jthe  Near  East,  the  entire 
political  situation  of  the  world  has  be- 
come mobile.  The  subjoined  discussion  is 
to  deal  with  the  two  principal  political 
events  of  the  period  just  past:  the  Amer- 
ican declaration  of  a  state  of  armed  neu- 
trality and  the  Russian  revolution. 

As  regards  the  declaration  of  "  armed 
neutrality "   on   the   part   of  the    United 


■■■■■■■■I 


DR.  PAUL  RITTER 


Swiss  Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  Who  Now  Looks 
After  German  Interests  at  Washington 

(Photo  Central  News  Service) 


COUNT  TARNOWSKI  VON  TARNOW 


New   Austro-Hungarian    Ambassador,   Whose   Recognition 
Has  Been  Delayed  by  the  Submarine  Issue 


WAR   SEEN  FROM   TWO   ANGLES 


SI 


States,  directed  against  Germany,  it  must 
be  made  clear  from  the  outset  that  neu- 
trality, as  far  as  its  correct  definition  is 
concerned,  knows  no  limitation.  Neu- 
trality constitutes  the  relationship  be- 
tween two  States  "  qui  neutrarum  sunt," 
that  is,  which  participate  on  no  side. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  is,  therefore,  para- 
doxical for  any  neutral  to  incline  benevo- 
lently toward  one  party  while  toward 
the  other  party  it  takes  up  an  expectantly 
aggressive  position,  as,  for  instance,  by 
arming.  In  either  case  neutrality,  strictly 
speaking,  has  ceased. 

The  development  of  the  law  of  nations 
has,  however,  modified  the  conception  of 
neutrality.  Thus  we  hear  today  of  "  ab- 
solute "  or  "  strict "  neutrality,  and  of 
"  partial "  neutrality.  The  latter  in- 
cludes, in  the  first  place,  the  inclination 
toward  one  of  two  belligerent  parties  by 
any  sort  of  assistance.  That  is  "  benevo- 
lent "  (bienveillante)  neutrality.  Sec- 
ond, there  is  the  conception  of  "  armed 
neutrality,"  which  takes  effect  as  soon  as 
a  neutral  State  announces  that,  in  order 
to  safeguard  its  position  as  a  neutral,  or 
to  protect  its  interests  from  the  acts  of  a 
belligerent,  it  will  itself  resort  to  the 
force  of  arms. 

A  Historic  Instance 

The  conception  of  "  armed  neutrality  " 
found  its  most  pregnant  and  practical 
demonstration  during  the  American  war 
of  independence.  On  Jan.  1,  1780,  Rus- 
sia, Prussia,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Portugal  concluded  a  treaty,  of  armed 
neutrality  for  the  protection  and  defense 
of  peaceful  commercial  intercourse. 

The  fact  that  this  neutrality  treaty 
was  directed  primarily  against  England's 
arbitrary  acts  at  sea  shows  that  England 
even  then  disregarded  the  rights  of  neu- 
trals and  violated  their  interests.  This 
treaty  led  to  Spain's  declaration  of  war 
against  England  and  to  England's  decla- 
ration of  war  on  Holland. 

Prussia  at  that  time  maintained  a 
policy  of  benevolent  neutrality  toward 
the  Colonies  in  their  war  of  independ- 
ence. Frederick  the  Great  forbade  the 
march  through  Prussian  territory  of 
Hessian  auxiliary  troops  hired  by  the 
English,    thus    delaying   the    arrival    of 


these  troops  in  America  and  resulting  in 
great  benefit  to  the  fighters  for  liberty. 

Neither  benevolent  neutrality  nor 
armed  neutrality  is  regarded  nowadays 
as  a  discontinuance  of  peace.  Both  con- 
stitute an  attitude,  not  an  act  of  partici- 
pation in  the  war. 

The  next  step  after  a  declaration  of 
such  a  neutrality,  if  circumstances  bring 
the  two  nations  toward  actual  hostilities, 
is  the  declaration  of  a  "  state  of  war." 
Even  that  does  not  necessarily  lead  to 
war  itself.  At  any  rate,  however,  armed 
neutrality  is  a  ticklish  proposition,  for 
the  declaration  of  such  a  state  shows  a 
high  degree  of  tension  between  the  neu- 
tral and  the  belligerent  in  question. 

The  crisis  between  the  United  States 
and  Germany  has  been  caused  by  the 
declaration  and  enforcement  of  the  Ger- 
man unrestricted  U-boat  warfare  in  the 
barred  zones. 

The  German  submarine  blockade  has  a 
dual  purpose.  England  is  to  be  forced 
into  a  mood  receptive  for  peace  by  the 
interception  of  her  supplies,  and  the 
great  offensive  movements  of  the  Allies 
predicted  for  Spring  are  to  be  deprived, 
by  the  blockade  of  the  sea  routes,  of  the 
means  for  their  execution,  that  is,  men 
and  munitions. 

Sir  Edward  Carson,  First  Lord  of  the 
British  Admiralty,  on  Feb.  21,  and  Pre- 
mier Lloyd  George  two  days  later,  ad- 
mitted that  the  U-boat  menace  had  as- 
sumed ominous  proportions  and  created 
a  serious  situation.  For  the  first  time 
the  gravity  of  the  U-boat's  economic 
menace  to  England  was  thus  admitted 
by  English  statesmen. 

From  the  military  point  of  view,  the 
second  purpose  of  the  German  submarine 
war,  that  of  cutting  the  Allies  off  from 
further  overseas  supply  of  death-dealing 
weapons  and  war  material,  is  the  more 
important  one.  In  the  second  phase  of 
the  U-boat  war,  which  is  to  be  devoted 
to  the  materialization  of  this  aim,  it  will 
be  seen  whether  the  submarine  is  to  prove 
an  effective  means  of  war. 

Through  the  declaration  of  armed  neu- 
trality on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
which  presupposes  the  eventuality  of  a 
state  of  war,  the  entire  U-boat  question 
has  been  taken  out  of  its  coherence  with 


M 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  European  war  and  placed  under  the 
wider  perspective  of  world  politics.  For 
a  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Germany  would  be  bound  to  develop  into 
a  struggle  between  Anglo-Saxons'  and 
Teutons. 

Events  in  Mesopotamia 

To  the  world-political  considerations 
belong  also  the  events  on  the  Mesopo- 
tamian  theatre  of  war,  where  on  Sunday, 
h  11,  the  Anglo-Indian  army  under 
General  Maude  occupied  the  ancient  city 
of  Bagdad. 

The  name  of  Bagdad  constitutes  a  po- 
litical conception.  This  conception  was 
shattered  a  year  ago  by  the  British  catas- 
trophe at  Kut-el-Amara.  The  political 
conception  of  Bagdad  forms  one  of  the 
principal  aims  of  the  Central  Powers,  for 
the  City  of  the  Caliphs  is  to  be  the  bul- 
wark and  the  centre  of  economic  expan- 
sion in  the  Near  East. 

In  December  of  last  year  the  British 
under  General  Maude  reopened  the  Meso- 
potamian  campaign.  Stubborn  battles  for 
the  possession  of  Kut-el-Amara  followed. 
On  Feb.  .28,  1917,  Kut  was  occupied  by 
the  British.  The  Turks  retreated  to  the 
north.  On  March  5  Lajij  fell,  and  the 
next  day  the  victors  passed  the  town  of 
Ctesiphon,  evacuated  by  the  Turks.  On 
March  7  the  battles  on  the  Diala  River 
began,  eight  miles  from  Bagdad.  On 
March  11  the  Anglo-Indian  troops  en- 
tered Bagdad.  They  have  since  reached 
a  point  eighteen  miles  north  of  the  city. 

After  the  capitulation  of  Kut-el-Amara 
by  General  Townshend,  the  then  British 
Commander,  it  was  said  in  allied  quar- 
ters that  now  the  Russians  would  enter 
Mesopotamia  and  cut  off  the  Turkish  re- 
treat. The  Russians  had  taken  Erzerum 
and  Trebizond  and  had  advanced  in  Per- 
sia. Isfahan,  Persia's  second  capital,  had 
been  conquered  by  them  and  the  Turks 
had  been  driven  from  Kasri-Shirin  to 
Chanykin,  on  the  Mesopotamian  frontier, 
150  kilometers  from  Bagdad. 

But  after  the  victorious  conclusion  of 
the  Turkish  campaign  against  the  British, 
strong  Turkish  forces  were  released. 
These  turned  on  the  Russians  and  drove 
them  as  far  as  Hamadan. 

Now  the  Russians  have  reopened  the 


Persian  campaign.  On  March  13  Ker- 
manshah  was  occupied  by  the  Musco- 
vites, and  on  the  following  day  the  Turks 
were  driven  from  fortified  positions  on 
the  summit  of  Narlehtian,  west  of  Ker- 
manshah. 
*  The  Turkish  War  Minister,  Enver 
Pasha,  returning  from  the  theatre  of 
operations  in  Mesopotamia,  informed  the 
Turkish  Parliament  that  the  retreats  on 
the  Mesopotamian  and  Persian  fronts 
were  dictated  by  "military  considera- 
tions." This  can  only  mean  that  the  re- 
tiring movements  are  made  in  accord- 
ance with  a  previously  arranged  fixed 
plan  and  for  the  realization  of  certain 
strategic  aims. 

Nevertheless,  it  would  be  playing  the 
part  of  the  ostrich  were  one  to  shut  his 
eyes  to  the  actual  significance  of  the  fall 
of  Bagdad.  From  the  military  stand- 
point the  conception  "  prestige  "  is  a  com- 
pletely illusory  thing.  The  fact  that  the 
British  through  the  surrender  of  General 
Townshend's  army  and  Kut-el-Amara  in 
April  of  last  year  lost  prestige  in  Egypt 
and  India  did  not  prevent  their  occupa- 
tion in  March  of  this  year  of  the  city 
of  Harun-al-Rashid.  That  the  Turks  have 
lost  prestige  by  the  fall  of  Bagdad  by 
no  means  precludes  the  possibility  of  a 
recapture  of  the  city. 

At  Bagdad,  so  say  pro-ally  sympa- 
thizers, a  dream  to  which  Germany  has 
devoted  twenty  years,  has  been  shattered. 
The  fact  that  the  "  terminus  of  the  Bag- 
dad Railway "  has  fallen  into  British 
hands,  it  is  added,  bars  the  German  road 
to  the  East.  And  in  the  ears  of  the  Orient 
sounds  the  deathknell  of  German  ambi- 
tions. Because  an  open  and  completely 
undefended  city  has  fallen,  therefore 
this  gigantic  work  of  civilization  is  to 
collapse!  Can  a  handful  of  Indian  di- 
visions stem  the  logical  tide  of  world 
history? 

Whether  the  Turks  recapture  Bagdad 
or  no,  Mesopotamia  remains  an  incidental 
theatre  of  war.  The  final  fate  of  the 
Bagdad  Railway,  and  with  it  that  of  the 
two-river-land,  is  to  be  decided  upon  the 
main  theatres  of  war  on  the  European 
Continent. 

Preparations  for  that  decision  are  still 


WAR   SEEN  FROM   TWO  ANGLES 


S3 


in  full  swing.  The  calm  before  the  storm 
begins  to  become  uncanny.  It  is  as  if 
again  and  again  the  new  armor  is  tested 
before  the  swords  are  once  more  drawn, 
this  time  for  the  final  decision. 

Retirement  in  France 

The  retirement  of  the  German  troops 
in  the  Ancre  and  Somme  regions  on  the 
west  front  had  begun  in  the  beginning  of 
February  with  the  evacuation  of  Grand- 
court,  south  of  the  Ancre.  Through  the 
events  of  March  16,  17,  and  18  not  only 
the  Gommecourt-Transloy  front  but  also 
the  lines  north  and  south  of  the  Somme 
were  pushed  ahead  by  the  British  for  a 
considerable  distance. 

In  a  British  advance  on  a  width  of 
sixty-seven  kilometers  from  north  to 
south,  Bapaume  and  Peronne  were  taken  , 
and  north  and  south  of  the  Ancre  more 
than  sixty  villages  were  occupied.  Dur- 
ing the  twenty-four  hours  preceding  this 
writing  the  British  pushed  their  extreme 
southern  front  forward  an  additional 
fifteen  kilometers  by  occupying  the  tri- 
angle Peronne-Chaulnes-Nesle. 

Simultaneously,  a  German  retirement 
has  set  in  on  the  line  Roye-Noyon,  which 
adjoins  the  Somme  front.  The  French 
advanced  on  a  front  of  thirty  kilometers 
between  the  Avre  and  the  Oise,  and  have 
occupied  both  Roye  and  Noyon  as  well  as 
the  roads  connecting  these  two  points. 
North  of  the  Ancre  front  the  Germans 
are  withdrawing  as  far  north  as  Arras. 

Along  the  whole  front  of  retirement 
only  German  rearguards  were  in  fighting 
contact  with  the  Franco-British  forces. 
Berlin  reports  that  these  troops  inflicted 
heavy  losses  upon  the  advancing  foe. 

Even  the  English  military  experts  de- 
scribe the  German  withdrawal  as  a  long- 
prepared  strategic  chess  move.  It  is  to 
be  expected  that  the  Germans  will  fall 
back  upon  the  line  Soissons-Lille.  The  en- 
tire1 systematically  executed  movement 
points  to  the  strong  probability  that  the 
Germans  will  remain  on  the  defensive  in 
the  west. 

The  Mystery  at  Petrograd 

The  military  outlook  on  the  east  front, 
where  the  great  decision  also  is  expected 


to  be  fought  for,  is  veiled  by  the  historic 
event  of  the  Russian  revolution. 

Who  was  it  that  in  the  night  of  March 
11  to  12  gave  orders  to  the  garrison  of 
Petrograd  to  fraternize  with  the  revolu- 
tionists? What  happened  in  the  great 
Russian  Army  Headquarters  during  the 
absence  of  Czar  Nicholas  immediately 
after  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution? 

These  two  questions  comprise  the  mili- 
tary considerations.  They  cast  signifi- 
cant light  upon  the  question  as  to  what 
influence  the  upheaval  in  Russia  will 
have  upon  the  development  of  the  war 
situation.  Efforts  are  made  today  to 
make  the  world  believe  that  the  soldiery, 
out  of  softness  of  heart,  sympathized 
with  the  starving  populace.  The  streets 
of  Petrograd  have  seen  many  curious 
things,  but  such  sympathy — from  that 
quarter — never. 

Who  led  the  garrison  on  the  side  of 
the  rebels?  In  addition  to  the  political 
revolution  against  Czardom  there  must 
have  been  a  military  conspiracy  against 
the  person  of  the  Czar,  and  this  con- 
spiracy must  have  decisive  influence  upon 
the  outcome  of  the  war. 

The  Czar  was  at  the  front,  about  to 
consult  with  his  Generals  at  army  head- 
quarters. There,  at  headquarters,  and 
not  in  the  streets  of  Petrograd,  was  the 
die  cast,  and  the  only  question  is  whether 
the  military  conspiracy  included  the  army 
in  the  field.  If  this  is  the  case,  then  the 
future  outlook  as  viewed  in  connection 
with  the  garrisons  at  home  offers  the 
following  main  points: 

1.  The  war  party  takes  over  full  con- 
trol of  the  conduct  of  military  operations. 

2.  It  is  forced  to  appeal  once  more  to 
the  fortunes  of  arms. 

3.  In  this  event  a  new  great  offensive 
on  the  east  front  is  to  be  expected  in  the 
near  future. 

The  military  revolution  must  bring  vic- 
tory, and  the  political  revolution  must 
still  the  hunger  of  the  masses.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  situation  at  home  and 
at  the  front  will  depend  upon  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  new  power  will  be  able 
to  sharpen  the  weapons  and  satisfy  the 
stomachs. 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From  February  18,  Up  to  and    Including  March  18,  1917 


GERMAN-AMERICAN  RELATIONS 

Germany  released  the  Yarrowdale  prisoners 
and  five  American  Consuls  that  were  de- 
tained after  Ambassador  Gerard  left  the 
country. 

A  note  from  the  German  Foreign  Secretary, 
Dr.  Zimmermann,  to  the  German  Minister 
in  Mexico,  dated  Jan.  19,  contained  a  pro- 
posal for  an  alliance  between  Germany, 
Mexico,  and  Japan  to  make  war  on  the 
United  States  if  the  United  States  should 
not  remain  neutral.  The.  Governments  of 
Japan  and  Mexico  formally  denied  ever 
having  received  the  note.  Its  authenticity 
admitted  by  Dr.  Zimmermann. 

President  Wilson  addressed  Congress  on  Feb. 
26,  and  asked  for  authority  to  supply 
nament  to  American  merchant  ships 
and  to  employ  any  other  instrumentality 
that  might  be  needed  to  protect  American 
ships  and  people  in  their  legitimate  pur- 
suit on  the  sea.  He  also  asked  for  a 
sufficient  credit  to  enable  him  to  provide 
adequate  means  of  protection.  The  armed 
neutrality  bill  was  introduced  at  once. 
It  was  passed  by  the  House,  but  the  Sen- 
ate, through  the  filibustering  of  eleven 
Senators,  failed  to  reach  a  vote  before 
the  Congress  expired  March  4.  President 
Wilson  on  March  9  announced  his  decision 
to  arm  American  ships,  and  called  Con- 
gress in  extra  session  for  April  10. 

Several  American  lives  were  lost  during  the 
month  as  a  result  of  Germany's  submarine 
campaign.  Robert  Allen  Haden,  a  Presby- 
terian missionary,  was  drowned  when  the 
French  steamer  Athos,  used  as  a  troop- 
ship, was  sunk.  Two  Americans  were  re- 
ported lost  on  the  British  bark  Galgorm 
Castle.  The  Cunard  liner  Laconia  was 
sunk  Feb.  2~>,  and  two  American  women, 
Mrs.  Mary  Hoy  and  her  daughter,  perished 
in  an  open  boat.  On  March  14  the  Amer- 
ican steamship  Algonquin  with  Americans 
in  her  crew  was  attacked  and  sunk  with- 
out warning.  All  on  board  escaped  in 
lifeboats.  The  sinking  of  three  American 
ships,  the  City  of  Memphis,  the  Illinois, 
and  the  Vigilancia,  was  reported  on  March 
18.    Fifteen  men  perished. 

SUBMARINE    BLOCKADE 

The  British  Government  announced  that 
summaries  of  shipping  losses  from  sub- 
marines would  be  published  weekly  in- 
stead of  daily.  The  report  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  issued  March  14  announced  that 
from  Feb.  1  to  March  11  three  American 
ships,  fifty-one  vessels  belonging  to  other 
neutral  nations,  and  156  British  ships  had 
en  sunk.    The  losses  of  other  belligerent 


nations  were  reported  as  "  indefinite." 
This  list  included  the  French  troopship 
Athos,  Belgian  relief  ships  Storstad  and 
Lars  Fostenes,  and  the  Cunard  liner  La- 
conia. The  American  ship  Algonquin  was 
sunk  March  14  and  three  other  American 
ships  were  reported  sunk  March  18. 

Holland's  indignation  at  the  sinking  of  seven 
Dutch  food  ships  that  had  sailed  under 
partial  guarantee  of  safety  led  Germany 
to  offer  to  replace  them  with  German 
freighters  on  condition  that  Holland 
purchase  the  German  vessels  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  Later  Germany  withdrew 
this  offer,  fearing  that  England  would 
seize   the  ships. 

The  Allies  presented  a  memorandum  to  the 
Chinese  Government  expressing  sympathy 
with  the  attitude  that  China  had  taken 
in  regard  to  Germany's  blockade  and 
promising  favorable  consideration  of  the 
question  of  suspension  during  the  war 
of  Boxer  indemnity  payments  and  the 
revision  of  the  tariff  in  the  event  of 
China's  effectively  severing  relations 
with  Germany  and  Austria.  On  March  4 
the  Chinese  Cabinet  voted  to  break  rela- 
tions, but  President  Li  Yuan-Hung  re- 
fused to  approve  the  action,  saying  that 
the  sole  power  rested  with  him,  and 
•  Premier  Chi-Jui  and  several  members  of 
the  Cabinet  resigned.  On  March  7  the 
President  asked  the  Premier  to  return  and 
offered  to  ratify  the  Cabinet's  proposal. 
The  Senate,  on  March  12,  approved  the 
severance  of  relations,  and  on  March  14 
the  break  was  announced,  the  German 
Ambassador  and  Consuls  were  handed 
their  passports,  and  German-owned  ships 
in  the  Harbor  of  Shanghai  were  seized. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE 

Feb.  20 — Russians  check  German  raid  in  the 
region  of  Slaventine,  northwest  of  Pod- 
gaste. 

Feb.  27 — Germans  make  gas  attacks  on  the 
Russians  in  the  Smorgon  region. 

March  3 — Germans  penetrate  Russian  lines 
west  of  Lutsk  on  a  wide  front. 

March  12 — Russians  repel  gas  attacks  south- 
west of  Lakparotch  in  the  Zanarotch- 
Stahootsy  sector  and  in  the  region  of 
Velitzk,  southeast  of  Kovel. 

BALKAN  CAMPAIGN 

Feb.  22 — Allies  establish  contact  between 
French  and  Italian  troops  and  clear  the 
enemy  forces  from  the  road  between 
Goritza  in  Southern  Albania  and  Leskovie  ; 
postal  communication  between  Athens  and 
the   Central   Powers  cut;   Teutons   on   the 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR 


35 


Rumanian  front  repulsed  near  Dorna 
Watra. 

March  2 — Germans  recapture  hill  near  Rekoza 
north  of  the  River  Zaval. 

March  13 — Vienna  War  Office  reports  skir- 
mishes northeast  of  Berat  in  Albania,  re- 
vealing the  presence  there  of  Italian 
troops. 

March  17 — .British  occupy  the  railroad  sta- 
tion at  Poroy  east  of  Doiran  Lake. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE 

Feb.  19— Artillery  active  on  both  banks  of  the 
Meuse ;   patrol   encounters   in  Alsace. 

Feb.  20— British  fail  in  attack  on  German 
lines  near  Messines,  Belgium ;  Germans 
capture  British  point  of  support  near  Le 
Transloy. 

Feb.  21— British  penetrate  German  front  near 
Ypres  and  Armentieres  and  do  great 
damage. 

Feb.  23— British  capture  German  trench  north 
of  Guedecourt  and  advance  near  Petit 
Miraumont. 

Feb.  24— British  enter  Petit  Miraumont  and 
gain  on  a  mile  and  a  half  front  north  of 
the  river. 

Feb.  25— British  occupy  Serre,  Miraumont, 
Petit  Miraumont,   and   Pys. 

Feb.  26— British  continue  advance  along  the 
Ancre  on  a  front  of  eleven  miles ;  Ger- 
mans abandon  Warlencourt-Eaucourt  and 
the   Butte   de   Warlencourt. 

Feb.  27— British  occupy  Ligny  and  capture 
the  village  of  Le   Barque. 

Feb.  2S— British  occupy  Gommecourt  and  cap- 
ture  Thilloy   and   Pulsieux-au-Mont. 

March  1— British  advance  600  yards  north  of 
Miraumont  on  a  front  of  a  mile  and  a 
half. 

March  2— Germans  make  a  stand  on  a  new  line 
from  Essarts  through  Achiet-le-Petit  to 
about  1,000  yards  southeast  of  Bapaume ; 
British  report  further  progress  north  of 
Warlencourt-Eaucourt  and  northwest  of 
Puisieux. 

March  3— British  advance  on  five-mile  front 
northwest  of  Bapaume ;  General  Haig 
takes  over  French  line  as  far  south  as 
the   Avre   River. 

March  4— British  again  advance  west  of  Ba- 
paume and  capture  German  front  and 
support   lines   east   of   Bouchavesnes. 

March  5 — Germans  launch  big  attack  at 
Verdun,    gaining   at   some    points. 

March  6 — French  hold  recaptured  trenches 
north  of  Cauri§res  Wood  and  Douaumont 
in  the  face  of  strong  German  attacks. 

March  7 — French  in  Champagne  capture 
salient  between  Butte  de  Mesnil  and 
Maison  de  Champagne. 

March  10 — British  advance  more  than  three 
miles  in  the  Ancre  region  and  capture 
Irles ;  French  repulse  violent  German  as- 
saults in  the  Champagne. 

March  12 — French  in  Champagne  recapture 
all  trenches  of  Hill  185  west  of  Maison 
de  Champagne  Farm ;  British  gain  slightly 
north  of  Bouchavesnes. 


March  13 — Germans  abandon  their  main 
defensive  system  west  of  Bapaume  on  a 
front  of  three  and  a  half  miles ;  British 
occupy  Grevillers   and  Loupart  Wood. 

March  14 — British  advance  on  the  Ancre  and 
reach  the  defenses  before  Bapaume ; 
French  capture  Romainville  Farm,  close 
to  St.  Mihiel. 

March  15 — British  capture  two  and  a  half 
miles  of  German  trenches  between 
Bapaume  and  Peronne  ?  French  gain  near 
Roye ;  Germans  capture  a  position  south 
of   Cumieres. 

March  16 — British  occupy  almost  all  of  St. 
Pierre  Vaast  Wood;  French  advance  on 
both  sides  of  the  Avre  from  Andechy 
to  south   of  Lassigny. 

March  17— British  take  Bapaume;  French 
capture  Roye  and  Lassigny  and  advance 
five  miles,  occupying  fortified  line  be- 
tween the  Avre  and  the  Oise  Rivers. 

March  18 — Germans  retire  on  85-mile  line  in 
France,  abandoning  Peronne,  Chaulnes, 
Nesle,  and  Noyon ;  line  of  Allies'  ad- 
vance extends  from  Arras  to  Soissons, 
to  a  depth  of  twelve  miles  ;  sixty  villages 
recaptured;  Germans  on  the  Meuse  fail 
in  attack  on   Chambrettes   Farm. 

ITALIAN    CAMPAIGN 

Feb.  27 — Italians  enter  Austrian  trenches  on 
the   northern  slopes  of  San  Marco. 

March  5 — Italians  successfully  storm  Au- 
strian positions  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Spellegrino  Valley   in   the   Avisio   district. 

March  12 — Italians  repulse  Austrian  attacks 
northeast  of  Lenzumo  in  the  Trentino  and 
against  the  southern  slopes  of  Cima  di 
Bocche  in  the   Travignolo  Valley. 

ASIA  MINOR 

Feb.  23— British  in  the  Tigris  region  capture 
two  lines  of  trenches  near  Sannaiyat. 

Feb.  25— British  cross  the  Tigris  at  the  Shum- 
ran  bend  in  the  rear  of  Kut-el-Amara. 

Feb.  26— British  take  Kut-el-Amara. 

Feb.  28— British  engage  Turks  on  three  sides 
at  a  point  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris 
over    thirty    miles   northwest   of  Kut. 

March  3— Russians  recapture  Hamadan  in 
Persia  and  advance  toward  Bagdad  as 
British  approach  the  city  from  the  south. 

.larch  4— Russians  advance  in  the  Bijar  region 
in  Persia  and   occupy  Khanikali. 

March  7— Advance  guards  of  the  British  Army 
approach  Jerusalem ;  Russians  in  Persia 
seize  Asadabad  summit. 

March  8— British  advance  to  within  eight 
miles  of  Bagdad,  find  Ctesiphon  evacu- 
ated ;  Russians  in  Persia  occupy  Kangaver. 

March  9— Two  Bedouin  tribes  join  the  British, 
who  reach  the  outskirts  of  Bagdad ;  Rus- 
sians reach  Sakkiz,  twenty-five  miles 
from  the   Mesopotamian  border. 

March  10— British  troops  engage  the  Turks  on 
the  Diala  River  line,  six  miles  below  Bag- 
dad ;  Russians  capture  the  town  of  Senne 
in    Western    Persia. 

March   11— British  occupy  Bagdad ;   Russians 


st; 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


thnft    in    Northwestern   Persia    and 
IM  Turks  toward  Bisitun. 
b      13— British     occupy     Kazimain,     five 
miles  above   Bagdad. 

b  14— British  advance  thirty  miles 
beyond  Bagdad ;  Russians  capture  Ker- 
manshah. 

i  ic— British  occupy  part  of  the  town  of 
Bakubah;  Russians  dislodge  Turks  from 
fortified  positions  on  the  summit  of  Nar- 
leshkian. 
March  1*—  Russians  capture  Van,  and  sweep 
on  in  Persia  over  a  wide  front,  occupying 
Baneh. 

AERIAL  RECORD 
German  aviators  bombarded   a  Serbian  hos- 
1   at    V*  rtekop,   causing  heavy   loss  of 
life.      Two    English    nurses    were    among 
those   killed. 
Air  duels  have  been  frequent  on  the  western 
front,    as    many    as    eleven    and    thirteen 
machines    being    brought    down    on    some 
days. 
Broad.stairs    was    bombarded    by    a    Germaa 

airplane  and  one  woman  killed. 
Zeppelins  raided  the  southeastern  counties 
of  England  on  the  night  of  March  16.  One 
machine  was  brought  down  by  the  French 
near  Compi^gne  on  its  return  flight,  and 
the  crew  of  thirty  were  killed. 

NAVAL  RECORD 

German    destroyers    bombarded    Broadstairs 

and  Margate  on  the  British  coast  Feb.  26. 
The  Russian  cruiser  Rurik  was  damaged  by 

a    mine   in   the   Gulf   of   Finland. 
On  Feb.  28  the  French  torpedo  boat  destroyer 

Cassini  was  destroyed  by  a  submarine  in 

the   Mediterranean. 

RUSSIA 

As  a  result  of  a  popular  revolution  the 
Romanoff  dynasty  was  overthrown.  On 
March  8  strikes  were  declared  in  several 


munitions  factories  and  riots  occurred  in 
the  streets  of  Petrograd  because  of  a 
shortage  of  food.  These  disturbances 
were  quelled,  but  only  temporarily.  On 
March  12  the  Czar  issued  imperial  ukases 
suspending  the  sittings  of  the  Duma  and 
the  Council  of  the  Empire.  The  Duma 
opposed  the  order  and  continued  its  sit- 
tings. A  three  days*  revolt  followed, 
which  resulted  in  the  abdication  of  the 
Czar  on  March  15  and  the  establishment 
of  a  Liberal  Ministry  headed  by  Prince 
Lvoff.  The  Czar's  younger  brother,  the 
Grand  Duke  Michael  Alexandrovitch, 
was  named  as  regent.  He  also  abdicated, 
and  plans  have  been  made  for  the  con- 
vocation of  a  constituent  assembly  and 
full  political  amnesty.  The  new  Foreign 
Minister,  Paul  Milukoff,  in  a  message  to 
Russian  diplomats  abroad,  announced 
that  Russia  would  fight  with  the  Allies 
until  the  end  of  the  war. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

The  United  States  Government  received  from 
Austria-Hungary  a  reply  to  a  note  inquir- 
ing concerning  Austria's  attitude  toward 
the  renewal  of  ruthless  submarine  war- 
fare. Austria  defended  the  barred  zone 
and  said  that  safety  could  not  be  guar- 
anteed to  neutrals  in  enemy  vessels. 
Austria  also  sent  a  message  to  the  United 
States  denying  that  the  schooner  Lyman 
M.  Law  was  torpedoed  by  an  Austrian 
submarine. 

The  entire  Briand  Ministry  resigned  in 
France,  following  the  resignation  of  Gen- 
eral Lyautey  as  Minister  of  War  after  a 
stormy  debate  in  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties on  the  desirability  of  discussing  the 
aviation  service.  President  Poincar6  ask- 
ed M.  Ribot  to  form  a  new  Cabinet,  after 
M.  Deschanel  had  refused  to  undertake 
the  task. 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


The  President's  Inauguration 
PRESIDENT  WOODROW  WILSON 
■*■  took  the  oath  of  office  for  his  sec- 
ond term  at  the  National  Capitol  at  noon 
March  5,  1917,  in  the  presence  of  50,000 
people.  He  had  previously  gone  through 
the  formality  of  taking  the  oath  at  noon 
on  Sunday,  March  4.  The  parade  was 
not  as  long  as  usual,  consisting  of  about 
20,000  soldiers  and  sailors.  There  was 
no  inauguration  ball,  and  a  general  air 
of  solemnity  marked  the  whole  occasion 
on  account  of  the  critical  international 
situation.     The  President  was  very  care- 


fully guarded,  but  no  untoward  incident 
marred  the  occasion.  The  inaugural  ad- 
dress was  short  and  referred  chiefly  to 
international  affairs.  Striking  portions 
of  the  address  follow: 

We  stand  firm  in  armed  neutrality,  since 
it  seems  that  in  no  other  way  we  can  demon- 
strate what  it  is  we  insist  upon  and  cannot 
forego.  We  may  even  be  drawn  on,  by  cir- 
cumstances, not  by  our  own  purpose  or  de- 
sire, to  a  more  active  assertion  of  our  rights 
as  we  see  them  and  a  more  immediate  asso- 
ciation with  the  great  struggle  itself.    *    *    * 

We  are  provincials  no  longer.  The  tragi- 
cal events  of  the  thirty  months  of  vital  tur- 
moil   through    which    we    have    just    passed 


CURRENT    HISTORY    CHRONICLED 


37 


have  made  us  citizens  of  the  world.  There 
can  be  no  turning  back.  Our  own  fortunes 
as  a  nation  are  involved,  whether  we  would 
have  it  so  or  not. 

And  yet  we  are  not  the  less  Americans 
on  that  account.  We  shall  be  the  more 
American  if  we  but  remain  true  to  the  princi- 
ples in  which  we  have  been  bred.  They  are 
not  the  principles  of  a  province  or  of  a  single 
continent.  We  have  known  and  boasted 
all  along  that  they  were  the  principles  of 
a  liberated  mankind.  These,  therefore,  are 
the  things  we  shall  stand  for,  whether  in 
war  or  in  peace : 

That  all  nations  are  equally  interested 
in  the  peace  of  the  world  and  in  the  po- 
litical stability  of  free  peoples,  and  equal- 
ly   responsible    for    their    maintenance. 

That  the  essential  principle  of  peace  is 
the  actual  equality  of  nations  in  all  mat- 
ters of  right  or  privilege. 

That  peace  cannot  securely  or  justly 
rest  upon  an  armed  balance  of  power. 

That  Governments  derive  all  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed 
and  that  no  other  powers  should  be  sup- 
ported by  the  common  thought,  purpose, 
or  power  of  the  family  of  nations. 

That  the  seas  should  be  equally  free  and 
safe  for  the  use  of  all  peoples,  under  rules 
set  up  by  common  agreement  and  consent, 
and  that,  so  far  as  practicable,  they 
should  be  accessible  to  all  upon  equal 
terms. 

That  national  armaments  should  be  lim- 
ited to  the  necessities  of  national  order 
and  domestic  safety. 

That  the  community  of  interest  and  of 
power  upon  which  peace  must  henceforth 
depend  imposes  upon  each  nation  the  duty 
of  seeing  to  it  that  all  influences  pro- 
ceeding from  its  own  citizens  meant  to 
encourage  or  assist  revolution  in  other 
States  should  be  sternly  and  effectually 
suppressed  and  prevented. 


China  Breaks  With  Germany 
/^N  March  14  Paul  Reinsch,  American 
^J  Minister  at  Peking,  reported  to  the 
State  Department  at  Washington  that 
China  had  severed  diplomatic  relations 
with  Germany  and  that  the  German 
envoy  had  been  handed  his  passports. 
Chinese  feeling  against  Germany'  dates 
from  1897,  when,  because  of  the  murder 
of  two  German  missionaries,  Germany 
seized  the  east  coast  of  the  province  of 
Shan-tung,  an  area  of  about  200  square 
miles;  this  animosity  was  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  conduct  of  German  troops 
during  the  Boxer  expedition  of  1900.  Im- 
mediately on  breaking  off  diplomatic  re- 
lations with  Germany,  China  seized  six 


German  ships  in  Chinese  ports,  following 
the  precedent  of  Portugal. 

The  history  of  the  break  is  as  follows : 
On  March  4  the  Chinese  Cabinet  defi- 
nitely voted  to  sever  relations,  but  Presi- 
dent Li  Yuan-Hung  refused  to  act,  on 
the  ground  that  the  power  to  break  re- 
lations was  his  alone.  The  Cabinet  re- 
signed and  withdrew  to  Tien-tsin,  re- 
turning only  when  the  President  yielded. 
On  March  10  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet  appeared  before  the  House  of 
Parliament  and  asked  approval  of  a 
severance  of  relations,  which  was  granted 
by  a  vote  of  431  to  87.  The  Chinese 
Senate  later  concurred.  Definite  invita- 
tions to  China  to  join  the  Entente  have 
been  made  but  have  not  yet  been  acted 
on. 

The  immediate  effect  of  China's  sever- 
ence  of  relations  will  probably  be  a 
greatly  increased  output  of  munitions  for 
Russia.  China  is  Japan's  source  of  iron 
and  has  provided  most  of  the  raw  ma- 
terial for  Russian  munitions  made  in 
Japan.  China  has  further  sent  over  100,- 
000  workmen  to  Russia  and  France,  to 
work  in  munition  factories,  and  the  tor- 
pedoing of  liners  carrying  these  is  the 
immediate  cause  of  the  break. 
*     *     * 

Bethmann's  Liberal  Speech 
A  N  episode  full  of  profound  signif- 
•£*-  icance  occurred  in  the  Prussian  Diet 
on  March  14,  when  the  German  Chancel- 
lor, von  Bethmann  Hollweg,  announced 
in  the  course  of  debate  his  firm  adher- 
ence to  a  progressive  political  faith  and 
his  firm  faith  in  a  broader  democracy 
after  the  war.  His  words  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

After  the  war  we  shall  be  confronted  with 
the  most  gigantic  tasks  that  ever  confronted 
a  nation.  They  will  be  so  gigantic  that  the 
entire  people  will  have  to  work  to  solve  them. 
A  strong  foreign  policy  will  be  necessary,  for 
we  shall  be  surrounded  by  enemies  whom  we 
shall  not  meet  With  loud  words,  but  with  the 
internal  strength  of  the  nation.  We  can  only 
pursue  such  a  policy  if  the  patriotism  which 
during  the  war  has  developed  to  such  a  mar- 
velous reality  is  maintained  and  strength- 
ened. 

Woe  to  the  statesman  who  does  not  recog- 
nize the  signs  of  the  times  and  who,  after 
this  catastrophe,  the  like  of  which  the  world 
has  never  seen,  believes  that  he  can  take  up 


38 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


his  work  at  the  same  point  at  which  it  was 
interrupted. 

He  used  the  phrase  "  Equal  rights  and 
participation  for  all  in  the  work  of  the 
State."  This  is.  construed  to  foreshadow 
a  complete  reformation  in  the  German 
electoral  system,  and  equal  suffrage. 
It  has  been  hinted  that  the  speech  was 
a  result  of  the  great  events  that  were 
occurring  in  Russia  and  in  anticipation 
of  a  possible  Social  Democratic  uprising 
in  Germany.  The  German  Socialist  organ 
commented  on  the  speech  with  some 
skepticism  and  warned  the  Chancellor 
that  he  must  keep  faith. 

*  *     * 

New  Cabinet  in  France 

THE  Briand  Cabinet  resigned  March 
17  on  account  of  criticisms  in  the 
Chamber,  Minister  of  War  Lyautey  hav- 
ing previously  resigned  because  he  was 
heckled  while  addressing  the  Chamber. 
Alexandre  Ribot,  the  former  Finance 
Minister,  formed  the  new  Cabinet,  of 
which  he  becomes  Premier  and  Foreign 
Minister;  Rene  Viviani,  former  Premier, 
Minister  of  Justice;  Paul  Painleve,  for- 
mer Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  is  the 
new  Minister  of  War;  Albert  Thomas  re- 
mains Minister  of  Munitions;  Admiral 
Lacaze,  Minister  of  Marine;  Joseph 
Thierry  is  Minister  of  Finance;  Etienne 
Clementhal,  former  Minister  of  Agricul- 
ture, is  Minister  of  Commerce.  This  is 
the  fourth  Cabinet  since  the  outbreak  of 
the  war. 

*  *     * 

The  British  in  Bagdad 
"DAGDAD  the  great  is  fallen,"  cap- 
*-*  tured  by  the  advance  guard  of 
General  Maude  on  March  11;  the  British 
power  is  now  dominant  up  the  whole  of 
the  hot  Mesopotamian  Valley  from  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  General  Townshend's 
disastrous  surrender  at  Kut-el-Amara 
on  April  13,  1916,  after  a  siege  lasting 
from  Dec.  5,  1915,  is  wiped  out  by  vic- 
tory. 

Bagdad  dates  back  far  beyond  the  days 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  captivity  of 
the  Jews;  as  the  capital  of  the  Caliphs, 
it  was  the  most  splendid  city  in  the 
world,  giving  to  universal  literature  one 
of   the   greatest   books   that   ever   came 


out  of  the  purple  East—"  The  Arabian 
Nights:  The  Stories  of  a  Thousand 
Nights  and  a  Night."  This  great  period 
of  Bagdad's  history  began  in  the  year 
762,  before  Charlemagne  was  crowned, 
and  about  the  time  of  Afred  the  Great  of 
England,  when  the  Western  world  was 
just  emerging  from  barbarism.  General 
Maude's  campaign  has  been  extraordi- 
narily rapid,  evidencing  admirable  prep- 
aration. On  Feb.  26,  1917,  he  captured 
Kut-el-Amara,  with  many  thousand 
Turkish  prisoners,  and  within  two  weeks 
his  patrols  pushed  forward  a  hundred 
miles,  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Bagdad. 
The  great  city,  which  lies  in  an  open, 
sun-burnt  plain,  was  apparently  almost 
undefended,  and  on  March  11  the  British 
and  Indian  forces  were  within  the  walls. 
This  striking  victory  gives  to  Great 
Britain  a  practically  continuous  terri- 
tory, beginning  on  the  east  at  the 
frontier  of  Siam,  including  Burma  and 
India,  Baluchistan  and  Southern  Persia, 
which  has  been  recognized  as  under 
British  influence  since  the  Anglo-Rus- 
sian pact  of  1907,  and  now  the  whole  of 
the  southern  section  of  Asiatic  Turkey, 
with  a  protectorate  over  the  new  king- 
dom of  Arabia,  behind  Aden,  thus  bring- 
ing the  effective  influence  of  England 
to  Egypt  and  as  far  as  the  border  of 
Italian  Tripoli.  All  Southern  Asia  is 
thus  dominated  by  Britain. 
*     *     * 

Practical  Failure  of  the  Submarine 
DY  the  first  week  in  March  it  was  evi- 
■*-*  dent  that  there  was  a  marked  falling 
off  in  the  amount  of  tonnage  sunk  by 
submarines  operating  in  the  "  forbidden  " 
zones  about  the  British  Isles  and  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  a  probable  explana- 
tion of  this  was  furnished  by  reports 
from  England  that  large  numbers  of  Ger- 
man submarines  had  been  captured  or 
sunk.  It  was  said  that  of  100  U-boats 
which  began  the  campaign  of  ruthless- 
ness  on  Feb.  1  no  less  than  48  had  been 
sunk  or  taken  by  Feb.  25;  and  while  this 
is  probably  in  excess  of  the  real  figures, 
nevertheless  all  evidence  tends  in  the 
same  direction:  that,  as  a  means  of 
bringing  famine  to  England,  and  thus 
"  forcing  England  to  her  knees,"  the  sub- 
marine has  small  chance  of  success. 


CURRENT    HISTORY    CHRONICLED 


39 


It  is  now  said  in  Germany  that  the 
real  object  of  the  submarine  warfare  was 
not  to  reduce  England  to  submission  by 
famine,*  but  to  compel  her  to  withdraw 
tonnage  she  had  lent  to  Russia  and  Italy, 
thus  isolating  these  two  countries,  as  a 
step  toward  compelling  them  to  make  a 
separate  peace.  But  this  explanation  is 
really  an  admission  of  failure,  so  far  as 
England  is  concerned.  It  was  so  widely 
announced  in  Germany  that  unrestricted 
submarining  was  Germany's  last  weapon, 
which  was  to  bring  her  rapid  victory, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  new 
aspect  of  the  situation  can  long  be  with- 
held from  the  German  people. 
*     *     * 

Appam  Case  Decided 

THE  United  States  Supreme  Court  on 
March  6  in  a  unanimous  decision  de- 
creed restoration  to  her  English  owners 
of  the  liner  Appam  and  cargo,  brought 
into  Hampton  Roads  more  than  a  year 
ago  by  a  prize  crew  from  the  German 
raider  Mowe.  The  ship  and  cargo,  valued 
at  between  $3,000,000  and  $4,000,000, 
must  be  delivered  by  April  6,  1917. 

The  decision  upholds  the  original  rul- 
ing by  Secretary  Lansing  that  prizes 
coming  into  American  ports  unaccom- 
panied by  captor  warships  have  the  right 


to  remain  only  long  enough  to  make 
themselves  seaworthy. 

American  neutrality  was  violated  in 
bringing  the  Appam  into  Hampton 
Roads,  the  court  said,  and  neither  the 
ancient  treaties  relied  upon  by  Lieuten- 
ant Berg,  the  German  prize  commander, 
The  Hague  Conventions,  nor  the  Declara- 
tion of  London  entitled  any  belligerents 
to  make  American  ports  a  place  for  de- 
posit of  prizes  as  spoils  of  war  under 
such  circumstances. 

"  The  principles  of  international  law," 
the  opinion  adds,  "  leaving  the  treaty 
aside,  will  not  permit  the  ports  of  the 
United  States  to  be  thus  used  by  the 
belligerents.  If  such  use  were  permitted 
it  would  constitute  the  ports  of  a  neutral 
nation  harbors  of  safety  into  which  prizes 
might  be  safely  brought  and  indefinitely 
kept. 

"  From  the  beginning  of  its  history 
this  country  has  been  careful  to  maintain 
a  neutral  position  between  warring  Gov- 
ernments, and  not  to  allow  use  of  its 
ports  in  violation  of  the  obligations  of 
neutrality,  nor  to  permit  such  use  beyond 
the  necessities  arising  from  perils  of  the 
seas  or  the  necessities  of  such  vessels  as 
to  seaworthiness,  provisions,  and  sup- 
plies." 


Fifteen  Billions  of  Foreign  Trade 
rPHE  foreign  trade  of  the  United  States,  imports  and  exports  combined,  since  the 
J-  outbreak  of  the  war  in  Europe  at  the  end  of  July,  1914,  to  Feb.  11,  1917,  amounted 
to  the  sum  of  $15,622,785,853.  Exports  during  this  period  were  a  little  more  than 
double  the  imports,  and  the  balance  of  trade  in  favor  of  this  country  resulting  from 
these  thirty  months  of  trade  was  $5,501,568,835.  This  table  shows  how  this  trade 
has  accumulated  and  the  huge  movement  of  gold  which  resulted  from  it: 

merchandise 

Credit  Trade 

Balance  (Excess 

of  Exports.) 

$371,766,169 

3,089,769,254 

1,776,074,152 

263,959,260 


Exports. 

January,     1917 $613,441,020 

Year,    1916 5,481,423,589 

Year,    1915 3,554,670,847 

Aug.   1  to   Dec.   31,    1914 912,641,S88 

Total    since    outbreak    of    war $10,562,177,344 

GOLD 

Exports. 

January,    1917 $20,719,898 

Year,    1916 155,792,927 

Year,    1915 -. 31,425,918 

Aug.   1  to   Dec.   31,   1914 - 104,972,197 

Total  since  outbreak  of  war $312,910,940 

*Excess  of  exports. 


Imports. 
$241,674,851 
2,391,654,335 
1,778,596,695 

648,682,628 


Imports. 
$58,926,258 
685,990,234 
451,954,590 
23,252,604 

$1,220,123,686 


$5,060,608,509  $5,501,568,835 


Excess  of 
Imports. 
$38,206,360 
530,197,307 
420,528,672 
*81,719,593 

$907,212,746 


40 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Colombian  Treaty  Defeated 

THE  treaty  with  Colombia  was  debated 
in  the  United  States  Senate  on 
March  13  and  14,  having  been  reported 
for  passage  by  the  Foreign  Relations 
Committee;  but  it  was  withdrawn  on  the 
16th,  it  being  clear  that  it  would  fail  to 
receive  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote. 
The  objections  to  the  treaty  are:  (1) 
That  $25,000,000  is  an  excessive  amount 
to  pay  Colombia  for  the  Panama  strip, 
being  $15,000,000  more  than  Panama  re- 
ceived; (2)  that  there  is  a  clause  in  the 
treaty  giving  Colombia  preference  in  the 
canal,  which  is  deemed  perilous;  (3)  that 
the  urgency  for  its  passage  at  this  time 
savors  of  a  threat  by  Colombia  that  it  is 
her  price  for  refusing  an  alliance  with 
Germany;  (4)  that  the  treaty  implies 
that  President  Roosevelt  committed  §  a 
wrong  with  respect  to  the  Panama  revo- 
lution, which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the 
canal  strip  by  Colombia.  It  is  reported 
that  the  treaty  when  reintroduced  will 
be  reconstructed.  Senator  Knox,  Repub- 
lican from  Pennsylvania,  who  was  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  the  Roosevelt  Adminstra- 
tion,  surprised  his  Republican  colleagues 
by    strongly    advocating    the    treaty    as 

presented. 

*     *     * 

The  Gallipoli  Report 

T71ARLY  in  March  the  Commission  on 
■*-*  the  British  Failure  at  Gallipoli  re- 
ported that  the  question  of  attacking  the 
Dardanelles  was,  on  the  initiative  of 
Winston  Churchill,  brought  under  the 
consideration  of  the  War  Council  on  Nov. 
25,  1914,  as  the  ideal  method  of  defend- 
ing Egypt.  The  Commissioners  hold  that 
the  possibility  of  making  a  surprise  land 
and  water  attack  offered  such  great  mili- 
tary and  political  advantages  that  it  was 
mistaken  and  ill-advised  to  sacrifice  this 
possibility  by  deciding  to  undertake  a 
purely  naval  attack,  which,  from  its  na- 
ture, could  not  obtain  completely  the  ob- 
jects set  out  in  the  terms  of  the  decision. 
A  part  of  the  blame  is  laid  upon  Lord 
Kitchener,  who,  says  the  report,  was  the 
sole  mouthpiece  of  War  Office  opinion  in 
the  War  Council.  He  was  never  over- 
ruled by  the  Cabinet  in  any  matter,  great 
or  small.    Lord   Fisher  is  criticised   be- 


cause he  did  not  voice  his  known  dislike 
of  the  proposed  operation.  When,  because 
of  this  dislike,  he  threatened  to  resign,  a 
minority  report  says,  Lord  Kitchener 
took  Lord  Fisher  aside  and  prevailed 
upon  him  to  return  to  his  seat  in  the 
Council.  The  report  makes  it  clear  that 
the  Dardanelles  attack  was  made  in  part 
in  response  to  an  appeal  from  Russia  on 
Jan.  2,  1915,  Russia  being  then  hard 
pressed  by  the  threatened  Turkish  inva- 
sion of  the  Caucasus.  It  is  evident,  from 
this  report,  that  Britain's  naval  advis- 
ers were  convinced  at  the  outset  that  the 
purely  naval  attack  must  fail,  but  failed 
to  press  their  view.  As  a  defense  of 
Egypt  and  of  the  Russian  Caucasus,  how- 
ever, the  Gallipoli  attack  was  completely 
successful. 

*     *     * 

In  German  East  Africa 

IN  the  last  four  or  five  months  very 
decided  progress  has  been  made  by 
the  British  in  German  East  Africa,  the 
last  of  Germany's  colonial  possessions. 
In  September  last  the  struggle  there 
entered  a  new  phase;  the  Germans, 
driven  from  the  northern  part  of  their 
protectorate,  and  divided  into  three 
isolated  bodies,  were  fighting  only  to 
detain  in  Africa  troops  which  the  Allies 
might  otherwise  employ  in  the  European 
war  theatres  or  in  Mesopotamia. 

On  Sept.  11  the  Belgian  field  force 
drove  out  of  Tabora  the  contingent  of 
the  Prussian  General,  Wahle,  of  at  least 
4,000  seasoned  native  troops  and  over  500 
Europeans.  The  Belgians  found  in 
Tabora  over  a  hundred  British  subjects, 
men  and  women,  who  had  been  subjected 
to  many  indignities,  with  the  deliberate 
intention  of  degrading  them  in  the  eyes 
of  the  natives.  General  Wahle  at  first 
retreated  along  the  railroad  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Kilima-tinde,  with  the  Belgians 
in  pursuit  and  an  English  force  under 
General  Crewe  on  his  flank.  On  Oct.  22 
there  began  a  series  of  encounters  be- 
tween General  Wahle  and  General 
Northey,  which  lasted  until  the  end  of 
November.  On  Nov.  26  one  division  of 
Wahle's  force,  numbering  500,  and  in- 
cluding fifty-four  Europeans,  was  com- 
pelled to  surrender.     By  Jan.  6  Wahle's 


CURRENT    HISTORY    CHRONICLED 


41 


force,  reduced  by  one-half,  had  retreated 
to  Mahange,  on  which,  at  the  end  of  Jan- 
uary, General  Northey  was  converging 
three  columns. 

On  Jan.  1  General  Smuts  began  a  new 
offensive  against  Colonel  von  Lettow- 
Vorbeck's  German  force  in  the  Rufiji 
Valley;  hard  pressed,  these  troops,  en- 
deavored to  reach  Mahange,  to  form  a 
junction  with  the  remnants  of  General 
Wahle's  force.  British  and  Belgian 
forces,  from  all  sides,  are  now  converg- 
ing on  Mahange,  where  the  struggle  is 
likely  to  come  to  an  end. 
*     *     * 

German  Influence  in  Mexico 

IT  was  announced  on  March  14  that 
confidential  diplomatic  reports  from 
Mexico  indicated  that  the  German  Bank 
in  Mexico  City  and  the  German  Legation 
there  are  guiding  virtually  the  entire 
financial  and  diplomatic  activities  of 
Mexico.  According  to  these  reports  the 
recent  Mexican  peace  note  was  inspired 
by  the  German  Legation,  while  the  Ger- 
man Bank  is  said  to  have  come  into  full 
control  of  the  Mexican  financial  situation, 
having  accepted  quantities  of  the  paper 
money  issued  by  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment. A  very  large  influx  of  German 
money  from  the  United  States  is  also  re- 
corded. 

Two  further  facts  point  in  the  same 
direction — the  exodus  of  German  reserv- 
ists, who  have  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  in 
large  numbers  since  the  diplomatic  break 
with  Germany,  bearing  passes  issued  by 
the  Mexican  Consulate  here,  and  who  are 
reported  to  be  drilling  Mexican  soldiers 
and  initiating  them  into  the  methods  of 
modern  warfare;  and  the  announcement 
that  there  are  several  large  German- 
owned  radio  stations  on  Mexican  soil, 
one  being  in  Southern  California,  capa- 
ble of  communicating  directly  with  Ger- 
many. These  stations  can  easily  make 
connections  with  the  internal  telegraph 
systems  of  the  United  States,  and  could 
thus  with  practical  impunity  gather  all 
details  of  military  preparations  and 
movements  throughout  the  United  States 
and  send  them  the  same  day  to  Berlin. 

There  are  similar  reports  of  the  exist- 
ence of  strong  radio  stations  in  Colombia, 


a  few  miles  from  the  Panama  Canal 
Zone,  likewise  owned  and  operated  by 
Germans,  and  in  communication  with 
the  stations  in  Mexico  and,  through 
these,  with  Berlin.  This  wireless  net- 
work over  Central  and  South  America 
rivals  the  great  system  of  radio  stations 
in  Africa,  by  means  of  which  German 
Southwest  Africa  could  communicate 
with  Berlin  through  a  single  link  in  the 
Cameroons.  There  were  equally  power- 
ful radio  stations  in  Germany's  Pacific 
possessions. 

Count  Zeppelin  Is  Dead 

COUNT  ZEPPELIN  shares  with  the 
late  General  Shrapnel  the  distinction 
of  having  given  his  name  to  a  new  in- 
strument of  war;  but,  while  the  English 
officer  died  long  before  the  shells  called 
after  him  had  reached  the  height  of  their 
fame,  Count  Zeppelin  lived  long  enough 
to  see  his  very  vulnerable  airships  tested 
in  a  great  war — and  pretty  well  dis- 
credited as  weapons  of  offense.  Born 
nearly  eighty  years  ago,  he  came  to  the 
United  States  as  a  military  observer  dur- 
ing the  civil  war,  serving  on  the  staff  of 
General  Carl  Schurz  and  narrowly  es- 
caping capture  at  Fredericksburg.  He 
was  decorated  in  the  Franco-Prussian 
war  and  later  represented  the  Kingdom 
of  Wurttemberg  at  Berlin  in  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Empire.     - 

In  1891  he  devoted  all  his  time  and  a 
great  part  of  his  large  fortune  to  the 
construction  of  lighter-than-air  flying 
machines.  Seven  years  later,  after  much 
ridicule  and  many  hairbreadth  escapes, 
he  gained  his  first  great  triumph  by  as- 
cending from  Friedrichshafen  on  Lake 
Constance,  and  remaining  aloft  for  thir- 
ty-seven hours,  in  the  fifth  of  his  air- 
ships, and  sailing  in  a  straight  course  for 
more  than  eight  hundred  miles.  The 
Kaiser  and  all  Germany  hailed  him  as 
the  conqueror  of  the  air.  But  this  ship 
also  was  soon  wrecked,  representing  a 
loss  of  $500,000.  It  is  interesting  to  re- 
member that  it  was  in  the  United  States 
that  Count  Zeppelin  made  his  first 
ascent,  going  up  in  a  captive  balloon  be- 
longing to  the  Union  Army. 

While  his  great  airships  have  proved  a 
failure  as  a  means  of  "  bringing  England 


42  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 

to   her   knees"   by   terrorism   from    the  were    relieved   at   the   German   frontier; 

clouds,    and    while   admittedly   the    Zep-  they  were  practically  in  rags  and  com- 

pelins  proved  to  be   England's  best  re-  plain    that    they    had    insufficient    food, 

cruiting  sergeant,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  They   were   cared   for  by   Americans   in 

that    Count    Zeppelin    did    in    fact   com-  Switzerland  and  will  be  sent  home  via 

pletely  succeed  in  his  main  purpose— to  Spain, 
make  a  dirigible  balloon  with  great  speed 

and  carrying  power  and  with  an  immense  k  CCORDING  to  English  official  lists, 

flying  radius,  a  really  fine  achievement.  J\     German  casualties  in  January  were 

Count  Zeppelin  died  on  March  8.  77,534,  and  for  February  60,471;  of  the 

*  *     *  latter  21,105  were  killed  or  missing,  12,- 
Germans  In  America  451    severely   wounded.    It   is   computed 

THE  number  of  native-born   Germans  from    unofficial    reports   that   the   total 

and  Austro-Hungarians  in  the  United  German  casualties  up  to  March  1,  1917, 

States  at  the  time  of  the  census  of  1910  are  4,148,163,  exclusive  of  those  in  the 

was  4,181,615,  divided  as  follows:  navy  and  colonies. 

NaU  ve  A  ustrians 1,174,973 

Native  Germans 2,501,333  pi  ERMAN  Zeppelins  after  a  long  period 

Native  Hungarians 495,609  \j     of   inactivity,   made   an    attack   on 

Of  native-born  Americans  with  one  or  London,    March    16    and    17,   which   the 

both     parents     born     in     Germany     or  British  authorities  assert  was  fruitless. 

Austro-Hungary  there  were  6,811,699  in  A   Zeppelin,  evidently  bound  for   Paris, 

the    United    States   in    1910,   divided    as  was  brought  down  by  the  French  near 

follows:  Campiegne  when  at  an  altitude  of  10,- 

Native  bom,  with  one  or  000  feet,  and  the  entire  crew  was  killed. 

two  parents  born  in  The  airship  was.  completely  consumed. 

Austria  }">.<io,b£W 

Germany    5,781,437  *      *      * 

Hungary    204,627  T  JNDER  the  new  British  pension  plan 

Total  native-born  Germans  and  Austro-  U    totally  disabled  privates  will  receive 

Hungarians  and  Americans  of  first  gen-  a  minimum  of  $6.87  weekly;  the  allow- 

eration    in    the    United    States    in    1910,  ance   for   children   is    $1.25   and   a    sum 

10,993,314.     •  slightly  less  for  each  subsequent  child. 

*  *     * 

The  Yarrowdale  Prisoners  mHE    United    States    Congress    passed 

FIFTY-NINE    Americans    taken   from  *-    and  the  President  signed  on  March 

vessels  sunk  by  the  German  raider  2  the  bill  granting  full  citizenship  to  the 

in  the  South  Atlantic  and  borne  to  Swine-  inhabitants  of  Porto  Rico.    The  law  pro- 

miinde,  Germany,  on  Jan.  1,  on  board  the  vides   that   any   resident   of   Porto   Rico 

captured    British    steamer    Yarrowdale,  may  renounce  his   American   citizenship 

were  released  from  quarantine  March  9,  within  a  year.    Prohibition  is  imposed  in 

and  left  at  4  P.  M.  for  the  Swiss  frontier,  the  bill,  but  is  accompanied  by  a  refer- 

The  route  over  which  they  departed  was  endum  provision.    The  first  election  un- 

the  one  chosen  for  their  return  by  the  der  the  new  law  wil1  take  Place  in  Julv- 

United  States  Government.  *     *     * 

Much  irritation  was  felt  over  the  delay  T  T  is  estimated  that  the  German  U-boat 

in  the  release  of  the  men,  and  the  ex-  J-     blockade   reduced   the   foreign   trade 

pla nation  of  the  German  authorities  that  of   the   United   States   in   the   month   of 

they  were  held  on  account  of  quarantine  February  $190,000,000.   At  one  time  300,- 

was  questioned,  but  later  it  was  officially  000  tons  of  cargoes  on  ships  of  neutral 

confirmed  by  the  Spanish  Embassy  doc-  registry  were  tied  up  in  New  York  Har- 

tor  that  typhus  fever  had   appeared  at  bor  alone,  fifty-three  steamships  being  of 

the  camp  on  Feb.  20,  and  the  quarantine  American,  Danish,  Swedish,  Norwegian, 

was  not  lifted  until  March  7.     The  men  and  Dutch  registry. 


The  British  Advance  on  Bagdad  and 

Jerusalem 


TURKEY  in  Asia  is  again  fighting 
for  life  against  three  allied  ar- 
mies that  are  converging  upon  it 
from  three  directions. 
Bagdad,  the  immediate  goal  of  the 
new  Mesopotamian  campaign,  has  been 
captured,  while  Jerusalem  lies  in  the 
path  along  which  another  British  army, 
coming  out  of  Egypt,  is  advancing, 
after  driving  off  the  Turks  who  were 
threatening  the  Suez  Canal.  From  a 
third  direction  the  Russians  are  aiming 
another  blow  at  the  Turkish  Empire  in 
Asia,  namely,  from  Persia  and  Armenia, 
where  they  have  again  assumed  the  of- 
fensive. 

The  most  important  fighting  has  been 
in  Mesopotamia.  Here  the  British  have 
completely  regained  the  prestige  which 
they  lost  when  General  Townshend,  with 
9,000  men  of  the  British  and  Anglo-In- 
dian armies,  surrendered  at  Kut-el- 
Amara  on  April  28,  1916.  When  the 
British  began  the  first  Mesopotamian 
campaign  from  the  head  of  the  Persian 
Gulf  in  1915,  it  was  understood  that  the 
object  was  to  destroy  German  aims  in 
Asiatic  Turkey,  and  particularly  the 
scheme  of  expansion  connected  with  the 
Bagdad  Railway.  The  British  marching 
on  Bagdad  were  to  have  effected  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Russians  advancing  from 
Persia  in  the  east  and  from  Turkish  Ar- 
menia in  the  north.  But  when  the  Brit- 
ish, after  being  defeated  at  Ctesiphon, 
had  to  fall  back,  and  were  later  caught  in 
a  trap  at  Kut-el-Amara,  and  forced  to 
surrender  after  a  long  siege,  the  Russo- 
British  plan  collapsed.  The  Turkish 
forces  released  by  Townshend's  failure 
were  sent  to  reinforce  the  army  holding 
back  the  Russians,  and  the  Russians  also 
had  to  retreat.  The  disastrous  end  to  the 
first  British  expedition  was  due  entirely 
to  inadequate  preparation  and  insuffi- 
cient supports  when  they  were  wanted. 

After  a  considerable  interval  plans  for 
the    resumption    of   the   campaign    were 


completed  early  in  December,  1916,  and 
on  the  13th  of  that  month,  with  General 
Maude  in  command,  a  new  advance  on 
Kut-el-Amara  was  begun  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  Tigris.  The  British  force 
consisted  of  three  divisions  of  120,000 
men  and  was  assisted  by  a  large  flotilla 
of  war  craft  specially  adapted  for  river 
work.  The  British  marched  through  the 
evacuated  Es  Sinn  lines  and  established 
themselves  on  the  Shatt-al-Hai,  a  canal 
which  enters  the  Tigris  above  and  below 
Kut  from  the  south.  About  Christmas 
time  operations  were  impeded  by  heavy 
rains,  but  early  in  January,  1917,  the 
advance  was  again  pressed,  and  on  Jan. 
9  and  10  the  enemies'  trenches  northeast 
of  Kut  were  captured  after  a  stubborn 
conflict.  Rain  caused  another  delay  of 
more  than  a  week,  but  by  Jan.  21  the 
whole  of  the  right  bank  of  the  river 
east  of  the  Shatt-al-Hai  was  clear  of 
Turks,  and  on  Jan.  25  further  movements 
to  the  west  began.  The  Turks  made  a 
vigorous  resistance  and  lost  heavily.  On 
Jan.  27  and  28  there  were  hot  encounters, 
and  after  a  further  engagement  on  Feb. 
3  General  Maude  was  able  to  report  that 
the  enemy  had  been  driven  from  the 
whole  of  the  right  bank. 

Recapture  of  Kut-el-Amara 

The  British  had  now  to  clear  the  Turks 
from  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris,  where 
at  Sanna-i-Yat,  fifteen  miles  below  Kut, 
they  were  strongly  intrenched.  Kut  itself 
lies  in  a  sharp  bend  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Tigris.  The  licorice  factory  opposite 
the  town  was  shelled,  and  on  Feb.  13  it 
was  officially  announced  in  London  that 
the  British  had  established  a  line  across 
the  Tigris  bend  west  of  Kut,  and  were 
thus  hemming  in  the  Turks.  On  Feb. 
23  the  British  launched  a  fierce  frontal 
attack  against  Sanna-i-Yat. 

While  the  Turks  were  concentrating 
their  forces  on  the  defensive  at  this 
point  the  British  made  a  successful  at- 


H 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


tempt  to  cross  the  Tigris  at  the  Shumran 
bend,  about  six  miles  above  Kut.  As  soon 
as  the  landing  was  effected  a  bridge  was 
built  as  the  result  of  nine  hours'  strenu- 
ous work  by  the  engineers.  The  way  was 
thus  open  for  an  attack  on  the  Turks  in 
the  rear.  Discovering  their  danger,  the 
Turks  began  on  Feb.  24  to  retreat  in  the 
direction  of  Baghela,  twenty-four  miles 
west  of  Kut,  burning  their  stores  as  they 
went,  but  maintaining  a  strong  rearguard 
defensive.  In  the  meantime  the  British 
pressed  the  advance  on  Sanna-i-Yat, 
carrying  one  line  of  trenches  after  the 
other.  With  the  taking  of  all  the  Turk- 
ish positions  from  Sanna-i-Yat  to  Kut-el 
Amara  the  town  passed  automatically 
into  the  hands  of  the  British,  whose  pres- 
tige was  thereby  re-established. 

The  scene  of  operations  rapidly 
changed  from  Kut  to  points  much  further 
up  the  river.  On  Feb.  25  the  British  gun- 
boats on  the  Tigris  and  the  cavalry  and 
infantry  on  the  land  moved  westward  in 
an  endeavor  -to  cut  off  the  enemy's  re- 
treat. The  Turkish  rearguards  made  a 
stubborn  stand  about  fifteen  miles  north- 
west of  Kut,  but  were  driven  from  their 
trenches.  On  Feb.  26  the  pursuit  was 
maintained,  and  therre  were  engagements 
over  thirty  miles  west-northwest  of  Kut. 
On  Feb.  27  General  Maude's  report  de- 
scribed the  Turkish  force  retreating  to 
Bagdad  as  degenerating  into  a  disorderly 
mob.  After  passing  through  Aziziyah, 
fifty-two  miles  north  of  Kut,  the  Turks 
tried  to  fight  another  rearguard  action 
at  Lajij,  nine  miles  southeast  of  Ctesi- 
phon. 

The  Fall  of  Bagdad 

The  British  were  now  within  a  few 
miles  of  their  furthest  advance  during 
the  first  Mesopotamian  campaign.  It 
was  expected  that  the  Turks  would  make 
a  stand  at  Ctesiphon,  but  when  the  Brit- 
ish arrived  there  they  found  the  place 
evacuated.  On  March  7  British  cavalry 
found  the  Turks  in  position  on  the  Diala 
River,  eight  miles  from  the  outskirts  of 
Bagdad.  The  river  was  unfordable  and 
constituted  a  formidable  obstacle.  Gen- 
eral Maude  therefore  withdrew  his 
cavalry  and  brought  his  infantry  into 
action. 


Meanwhile  the  Turks  had  received  re- 
inforcements from  Bagdad.  They  of- 
fered stubborn  resistance  along  the  Diala 
and  in  a  position  covering  Bagdad  from 
the  southwest.  General  Maude  threw  a 
bridge  across  the  Tigris  at  its  confluence 
with  the  Diala.  Notwithstanding  the 
heat  and  dust,  the  British  made  a  bril- 
liant march  of  eighteen  miles  toward 
Bagdad  and  found  the  Turks  strongly 
posted  six  miles  southwest  of  the  town. 
The  Turks  were  attacked  at  once  and 
driven  back  to  their  second  position,  two 
miles  in  the  rear. 

On  the  night  of  March  8  the  British 
established  a  footing  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Diala.  On  the  9th  and  10th  troops 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris,  in  spite 
of  dust  storms,  pressed  their  advantage 
and  drove  back  the  Turks  to  within 
three  miles  of  Bagdad.  At  the  same 
time  the  troops  on  the  Diala  thrust  the 
Turks  back  on  the  city,  which  was  en- 
tered on  Sunday  morning,  March  11. 

In  announcing  this  success  in  the 
House  of  Commons  the  next  day,  Bonar 
Law  said  there  was  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  two-thirds  of  the  Turks'  ar- 
tillery had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
British  or  had  been  thrown  into  the 
Tigris.    He  added  this  comment: 

General  Maude,  in  these  operations,  has 
completed  his  victory  by  a  pursuit  of  110 
miles  in  fifteen  days,  during  which  the 
Tigris  was  crossed  three  times.  This  pursuit 
was  conducted  in  a  country  destitute  of 
supplies,  despite  the  commencement  of  the 
Summer  heat.  Such  operations  could  be 
carried  out  in  such  a  country  only  after  the 
most  careful  arrangements  made  for  the 
supply  of  the  troops  thoroughly  and  syste- 
matically had  been  effected.  The  fact  that 
General  Maude  not  only  has  been  able  to 
feed  the  army,  provide  it  with  munitions,  and 
assure  proper  attention  for  the  sick  and 
wounded,  but  has  been  able  to  report  that 
he  is  satisfied  he  can  provide  for  the  neces- 
sities of  his  army  in  Bagdad,  reflects  the 
greatest  credit  on  all  concerned. 

By  March  15  the  British  forces  were 
thirty  miles  above  Bagdad  on  their  way 
toward  Mosul. 

In  the  two  months'  fighting  since  De- 
cember, 1916,  it  is  estimated  that  the 
Turks  lost  over  20,000  men  in  killed  and 
wounded.  The  British  reported  having 
taken  over  7,000  prisoners,  and  also  large 
quantities    of    guns,    war   material,    and 


BRITISH   ADVANCE    ON   BAGDAD   AND   JERUSALEM 


45 


%?r- 


SKETCH    MAP    SHOWING    LOCATION    OF    THE    THREE    ALLIED    EXPEDITIONS    THAT    ARE 
CONVERGING    TO    CUT    THE    BAGDAD    RAILWAY    AND    ISOLATE    A    LARGE    PORTION    OF 

ASIATIC    TURKEY 


stores  of  all  kinds  which  the  Turks  were 
unable  to  destroy  in  their  retreat.  The 
British  river  craft  had  the  satisfaction 
of  recapturing  the  gunboat  Firefly,  which 
the  Turks  had  taken  a  year  before,  as 
well  as  securing  a  considerable  number 
of  prizes  in  the  way  of  river  steamers, 
tugboats,  barges,  and  pontoons. 

The  Advance  From  Egypt 

No  less  interesting  was  the  news  on 
March  7  that  the  advance  guards  of  the 
British  forces  marching  through  Pales- 
tine from  Egypt  were  within  fifteen 
miles  of  Jerusalem.  The  dispatch  stated 
that  the  Turks  had  abandoned  a  strong 
position  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sheik 
Nuran,  west  of  Shellal.  Shellal,  which 
is  also  known  as  El  Chalil  or  El  Khulil, 
is  the  ancient  Hebron,  which  lies  half 
way  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Dead  Sea,  twenty  miles  from  each  and 
only  fifteen  miles  from  Jerusalem.  The 
Turks  prepared  for  an  offensive  to  keep 
the  enemy  out  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor, 
to  save  the  Bagdad  Railway,  and-  to  pre- 
vent the  Russians,  now  at  Bitlis,  from 
effecting    a    junction    with    the    British. 


These  preparations  account  for  the  com- 
paratively slight  resistance  with  which 
General  Maude  met  after  he  captured 
Kut-el-Amara.  Between  Feb.  26,  when 
Kut  fell,  and  March  8  the  British  had 
advanced  nearly  a  hundred  miles.  For 
some  time  past  the  Germans  have  been 
extremely  busy  completing  railroad  com- 
munication, transporting  war  material, 
and  establishing  military  camps  and  de- 
pots, with  a  view  to  making  good  their 
occupation  in  the  territories  of  which  the 
Bagdad  Railway  is  the  main  artery. 

The  Advance  Through'  Persia 

Simultaneously  with  the  British  strokes 
in  Mesopotamia  and  Palestine  the  Rus- 
sians reopened  their  drive  in  Western 
Persia  toward  Bagdad.  On  March  2  they 
occupied  Hamadan,  an  important  city  240 
miles  east  of  Bagdad,  and  on  the  6th 
captured  Asadabad  Summit,  ten  miles 
west  of  Hamadan.  On  the  13th  they  had 
,  captured  Kermanshah,  seventy  miles 
further  in  the  direction  of  Bagdad. 

Without  waiting  for  the  completion  of 
the  various  moves  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  the 
British   Government  has  taken   decisive 


46 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


measures  to  bring  Persia  under  control. 
How  this  was  achieved  by  a  British  expe- 
dition was  described  in  the  House  of 
Lords  in  February,  1917,  when  Lord  Cur- 
zon  made  the  first  statement  on  the  situ- 
ation in  Persia  since  the  speech  delivered 
by  Lord  Crewe  in  the  same  house  on 
Dec.  7,  1915,  (see  Current  History,  Feb- 
ruary, 1916,  Pages  877  to  879.)  The  po- 
sition at  that  time  was  one  of  consider- 
able convulsion.  The  British  Consul  at 
Shiraz  had  been  recently  arrested  under 
circumstances  of  some  ignominy.  Coming 
down  to  the  operations  of  the  Turks  and 
Germans  in  Persia  last  year  the  report 
of  Lord  Curzon's  speech  continues: 

The  movement  reached  its  maximum  force 
in  August  last.  The  Turkish  military  advance 
was  exercising  so  disastrous  an  influence  on 
the  situation  in  Teheran  at  that  time  that 
the  Persian  Government  was  on  the  eve  of 
mting  the  capital.  Since  then  there 
had  been  not  merely  a  sensible  alleviation, 
but  a  steady  improvement  in  the  conditions. 
The  Russian  Army  had  recovered  its  position 
and  effectively  barred  the  way  of  the  Turk- 
ish forces  to  Teheran.  In  that  manner  the 
Russian  force  had  rendered  great  service  to 
the  allied  cause,  and  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  somewhat  strange  and  anomalous  posi- 
tion of  having  the  Russian  Army  acting  as 
a  successful  screen  of  defense  to  our  Indian 
Empire.  The  British  Consul  at  Shiraz  and 
the  few  male  members  of  the  community 
there  who  were  imprisoned  with  him  had 
been  released  after  eight  months  of  harsh 
captivity.  Most  of  the  German  agents  in  the 
country  had  been  captured,  and  he  hoped 
that  before  long  the  few  who  were  still  at 
large  would  be  taken. 

British  Forces  in  Persia 
The   march   of  the   force  under   Sir  Percy 
B   from   Bunder   Abbas    to   Ispahan   and 
ly    to   Teheran,    for   1,000  miles,    in   cir- 
cumstances of  the  most  arduous  and,  in  some 
.   of  a  perilous  character,   had  not,   he 
thought,    been    mentioned     hitherto    in    this 
pountry-      It    resulted    in    establishing    order 
over  a  wide  area.     In  Teheran  itself  we  had 


secured  the  existence  of  a  Government  friend- 
ly to  the  allied  powers ;  and  Russia  and 
Great  Britain  had  been  constant,  although 
not  imprudent,  in  giving  steady  financial 
assistance  to  the  Persian  Government  in  the 
dificult  times  through  which  it  had  passed. 

The  object  of  Sir  Percy  Sykes  was  to  organ- 
ize in  Southern  Persia  a  force  of  military 
gendarmerie,  or  police,  under  the  Persian  Gov- 
ernment, but  officered  by  British  officers 
with  Indian  training  and  experience.  That 
force  was  ultimately  to  attain  to  a  strength 
of  11,000  men.  Sir  Percy  Sykes  had  at  pres- 
ent a  force  of  5,000  men  in  addition  to  a 
military  escort  of  about  800  troops  from  India, 
and  his  military  position  was  being  strength- 
ened by  reinforcements  now  being  dispatched 
from  India  under  a  military  officer  experi- 
enced in  tribal  warfare.  A  similar  force  of 
gendarmerie  was  being  raised  from  Bakh- 
tiari  tribesmen,  who  had  always  been  very 
friendly  to  us.  He  hoped  that  before  long 
Sir  Percy  would  be  able  to  march  from 
Shiraz,  where  he  was  now,  and  to  clear  up 
the  brigand  camps  and  robber  nests  with 
which  that  part  of  Persia  was  infested.  On 
the  eastern  side  of  Persia  a  similar  success 
had  been  obtained  by  another  force  under  a 
British  officer,  Major  Keith,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  pacifying  the  whole  of  that  con- 
siderable quarter. 

In  Afghanistan  the  Ameer,  in  spite  of  so- 
licitations and  the  offer  of  bribes,  had,  as 
far  as  was  known,  remained  entirely  loyal  to 
his  obligations  to  Great  Britain,  and  had  de- 
clined to  be  seduced  from  that  loyalty  by  the 
tempting  offer  of  the  spoil  of  the  Punjab. 

The  attempt  to  improve  the  general  situa- 
tion in  Persia  had  been  considerably  assisted 
by  two  independent  movements  of  a  military 
character  outside  the  borders  of  that  coun- 
try. The  first  was  the  success  of  General 
Maude  in  Mesopotamia.  The  second  outside 
group  of  events  tending  to  improve  the  situa- 
tion arose  from  the  movement  of  the  Shereef 
of  Mecca.  He  could  not  say  that  the  situa- 
tion was  altogether  free  from  anxiety.  Turk- 
ish troops  had  still  to  be  turned  out  of  parts 
of  Persia,  and  in  the  hinterland  of  the  Per- 
siari  Gulf  there  was  still  disorder.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  oil  fields  was  practically  secure, 
and  he  had  not  heard  for  many  months  past 
of  any  interruption  of  communications  in 
that  region. 


■■••••■••a 


AMERICAN  AMBASSADOR  TO  MEXICO 


Henry  P.  Fletcher,  Who,  After  Long.  Delay,  Now  Repre- 
sents the  United  States  at  the  Mexican  Capital 

(Photo  Central  News  Service} 


iimumji 


umimmmTHimi 


MAJOR   GENERAL  JOHN   J.  PERSHING 


Head  of  the  Expeditionary  Force  in  Mexico,  Who  Succeeds 
General  Funston  as  Commander  of  the  Southern  Department 

(  Photo  Underwood  d  Underwood) 


■•••>••••••■>•  ■•■•..  ■•■• ........ ........ 


■•••■■•■in 


GERMAN  SUBMARINE  BLOCKADE 

Arming  American  Merchant  Ships  and 
the  Events  Attending    It 


THE  severance  of  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  Germany  was  fol- 
lowed three .  weeks  later  by  the 
second  step  in  the  determination 
of  the  United  States  to  preserve  the 
freedom  of  the  seas  for  its  citizens,  not- 
withstanding the  establishment  of  a  so- 
called  "  barred  zone  "  by  German  subma- 
rines, intended  to  cut  off  ingress  to  Eu- 
ropean ports. 

Count  von  Bernstorff,  the  German 
Ambassador,  was  dismissed  on  Feb.  3, 
1917;  on  Feb.  26  President  Wilson  ap- 
peared in  person  before  the  houses  of 
Congress  in  joint  session  and  read  an 
address,  the  substance  of  which  was  that 
he  should  be  authorized  to  supply  arma- 
ment and  ammunition  to  American  mer- 


chant vessels  and  "  to  employ  any  other 
instrumentalities  or  methods  that  may  be 
necessary  and  adequate  to  protect  our 
ships  and  our  people  in  their  legitimate 
pursuits  on  the  seas."  The  President's 
address  embodied  the  conclusions  reached 
by  himself  and  his  Cabinet  after  it  had 
become  apparent  that  the  German  sub- 
marine blockade  was  operating  practi- 
cally as  an  embargo  on  American  trade 
with  Europe. 

While  the  President  was  proceeding 
to  the  Capitol  to  deliver  his  address 
news  reached  him  of  the  torpedoing  of 
the  Cunard  liner  Laconia  without  warn- 
ing, by  which  American  lives  were  lost. 
This  fact  gave  additional  weight  to  his 
words. 


Text  of  the  President's  ^Armed  Neutrality" 
Address  to  Congress 


PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  address  be- 
fore Congress  on  Feb.  26  asked  for 
a  formal  concession  of  power 
enabling  him  to  arm  merchant  ships  and 
to  take  other  measures  needed  for  the 
protection  of  American  citizens  and  prop- 
erty on  the  high  seas  when  attacked  by 
submarines.  The  full  text  of  the  ad- 
dress follows: 
Centlemen  of  the  Congress: 

I  have  again  asked  the  privilege  of  address- 
ing you  because  we  are  moving  through  criti- 
cal -times  during  which  it  seems  to  me  to  be 
my  duty  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the 
houses  of  Congress,  so  that  neither  counsel 
nor  action  shall  run  at  cross-purposes  be- 
tween us. 

On  the  3d  of  February  I  officially  informed 
you  of  the  sudden  and  unexpected  action  of 
the  Imperial  German  Government  in  declar- 
ing its  intention  to  disregard  the  promises 
it  had  made  to  this  Government  in  April  last 
and  undertake  immediate  submarine  opera- 
tions against  all  commerce,  whether  of  bel- 
ligerents or  of  neutrals,  that  should  seek  to 
approach  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  the  At- 
lantic coasts  of  Europe,  or  the  harbors  of  the 


Eastern  Mediterranean  and  to  conduct  those 
operations  without  regard  to  the  established 
restrictions  of  international  practice,  without 
regard  to  any  considerations  of  humanity 
even  which  might  interfere  with  their  object. 

That  policy  was  forthwith  put  into  prac- 
tice. It  has  now  been  in  active  exhibition  for 
nearly  four  weeks.  Its  practical  results  are 
not  fully  disclosed.  The  commerce  of  other 
neutral  nations  is  suffering  severely,  but  not, 
perhaps,  very  much  more  severely  than  it 
was  already  suffering  before  the  1st  of  Feb- 
ruary, when  the  new  policy  of  the  Imperial 
Government  was  put  into   operation. 

We  have  asked  the  co-operation  of  the  other 
neutral  Governments  to  prevent  these  depre- 
dations, but  I  fear  none  of  them  has  thought 
it  wise  to  join  us  in  any  common  course  of 
action.  Our  own  commerce  has  suffered,  is 
suffering,  rather  in  apprehension  than  in 
fact,  rather  because  so  many  of  our  shipo 
are  timidly  keeping  to  their  home  ports  tha.i 
because  American  ships  have  been  sunk. 

Two  American  vessels  have  been  sunk,  tho 
Housatonic  and  the  Lyman  M.  Law.  The 
case  of  the  Housatonic,  which  was  carrying 
foodstuffs  consigned  to  a  London  firm,  was 
essentially  like  the  case  of  the  Frye,  in 
which,   it  will  be  recalled,   the  German  Gov- 


IS 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ernment  admitted  its  liability  for  damages, 
and  the  lives  of  the  crew,  as  in  the  case  cf 
the  Frye,  were  safeguarded  with  reasonable 
care. 

The  case  of  the  Law,  which  was  carrying 
lemon-box  staves  to  Palermo,  disclosed  a  ruth- 
lessness  of  method  which  deserves  grave  con- 
demnation, but  was  accompanied  by  no  cir- 
cumstances which  might  not  have  been  ex- 
1  at  any  time  in  connection  with  the  use 
of  the  submarine  against  merchantmen  as 
the  German   Government  has  used   it. 

In  sum,  therefore,  the  situation  we  find 
ourselves  in  with  regard  to  the  actual  con- 
duct of  the  German  submarine  warfare 
against  commerce  and  its  effects  upon  our 
own  ships  and  people  is  substantially  the 
same  that  it  was  when  I  addressed  you  on 
the  3d  of  February,  except  for  the  tying  up 
of  our  shipping  in  our  own  ports  because  of 
the  unwillingness  of  our  ship  owners  to  risk 
their  vessels  at  sea  without  insurance  or 
adequate  protection,  and  the  very  serious 
congestion  of  our  commerce  which  has  re- 
sulted—a congestion  which  is  growing  rap- 
idly more  and  more  serious  every  day. 

This,  in  itself,  might  presently  accomplish, 
in  effect,  what  the  new  German  submarine 
orders  were  meant  to  accomplish,  so  far  as 
we  are  concerned.  We  can  only  say,  there- 
fore, that  the  overt  act  which  I  have  ven- 
tured to  hope  the  German  commanders  would 
In  fact  avoid  has  not  occurred. 

But  while  this  is  happily  true,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  there  have  been  certain  addi- 
tional indications  and  expressions  of  purpose 
on  the  part  of  the  German  press  and  the 
German  authorities  which  have  increased 
rather  than  lessened  the  impression  that,  if 
our  ships'  and  our  people  are  spared,  it  will 
be  because  of  fortunate  circumstances  or  be- 
cause the  commanders  of  the  German  sub- 
marines which  they  may  happen  to  encounter 
exercise  an  unexpected  discretion  and  re- 
straint, rather  than  because  of  the  instruc- 
tions under  which  those  commanders  are 
acting. 

It  would  be  foolish  to  deny  that  the  situa- 
tion is  fraught  with  the  gravest  possibilities 
and  dangers.  No  thoughtful  man  can  fail  to 
see  that  the  necessity  for  definite  action  may 
come  at  any  time  if  we  are,  in  fact  and  not 
In  word  merely,  to  defend  our  elementary 
rights  as  a  neutral  nation.  It  would  be  most 
imprudent  to  be  unprepared. 

I  cannot  in  such  circumstances  be  unmind- 
ful of  the  fact  that  the  expiration  of  the 
term  of  the  present  Congress  is  immediately 
at  hand  by  constitutional  limitation  and  that 
it  would  in  all  likelihood  require  an  unusual 
length  of  time  to  assemble  and  organize  tho 
Congress  which  is  to  succeed  it. 

r  foel  that  I  ought,  in  view  of  that  fact,  to 
obtain  from  you  full  and  immediate  assur- 
ance of  the  authority  which  I  may  need  at 
any  moment  to  exercise.  Is*o  doubt  I  already 
possess  that  authority  without  special  war- 
rant of  law,  by  the  plain  implication  of  my 
constitutional  duties  and  powers;  but  I  prefer 


in  the  present  circumstances  not  to  act  upon 
general  implication.  I  wish  to  feel  that  the 
authority  and  the  power  of  the  Congress  are 
behind  me  in  whatever  it  may  become  neces- 
sary for  me  to  do.  "We  are  jointly  the  serv- 
ants of  the  people  and  must  act  together  and 
in  their  spirit,  so  far  as  we  can  divine  and 
interpret  it. 

No  one  doubts  what  it  is  our  duty  to  do. 
We  must  defend  our  commerce  and  the  lives 
of  our  people  in  the  midst  of  the  present  try- 
ing circumstances  with  discretion  but  with 
clear  and  steadfast  purpose.  Only  the 
method  and  the  extent  remain  to  be  chosen, 
upon  the  occasion,  if  occasion  should  indeed 
arise. 

Since  it  has  unhappily  proved  impossible  to 
safeguard  our  neutral  rights  by  diplomatic 
means  against  the  unwarranted  infringements 
they  are  suffering  at  the  hands  of  Germany, 
there  may  be  no  recourse  but  to  armed  neu- 
trality, which  we  shall  know  how  to  main- 
tain and  for  which  there  is  abundant  Ameri- 
can precedent. 

It  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  put  armed  forces  anywhere 
into  action.  The  American  people  do  not  de- 
sire it,  and  our  desire  is  not  different  from 
theirs.  I  am  sure  that  they  will  understand 
the  spirit  in  which  I  am  now  acting,  the  pur- 
pose I  hold  nearest  my  heart  and  would  wish 
to  exhibit  in  everything  I  do. 

I  am  anxious  that  the  people  of  the  na- 
tions at  war  also  should  understand  and  not 
mistrust  us.  I  hope  that  I  need  give  no 
further  proofs  and  assurances  than  I  have 
already  given  throughout  nearly  three  years 
of  anxious  patience  that  I  am  the  friend  of 
peace  and  mean  to  preserve  it  for  America 
so  long  as  I  am  able.  I  am  not  now  pro- 
posing or  contemplating  war  or  any  steps 
that  need  lead  to  it.  I  merely  request  that 
you  will  accord  me  by  your  own  vote  and 
definite  bestowal  the  means  and  the  authority 
to  safeguard  in  practice  the  right  of  a  great 
people,  who  are  at  peace  and  who  are  de- 
sirous of  exercising  none  but  the  rights  of 
peace,  to  follow  the  pursuit  of  peace  in  quiet- 
ness and  good-will— rights  recognized  time  out 
of  mind  by  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
world. 

No  course  of  my  choosing  or  of  theirs  will 
lead  to  war.  War  can  come  only  by  the  will- 
ful acts  and  aggressions  of  others. 

You  will  understand  why  I  can  make  no 
definite  proposals  or  forecasts  of  action  now 
and  must  ask  for  your  supporting  authority 
in  the  most  general  terms.  The  form  in  which 
action  may  become  necessary  cannot  yet  be 
foreseen. 

I  believe  that  the  people  will  be  willing  to 
trust  me  to  act  with  restraint,  with  prudence, 
and  in  the  true  spirit  of  amity  and  good  faith 
that  they  have  themselves  displayed  through- 
out these  trying  months ;  and  it  is  in  that 
belief  that  I  request  that  you  will  authorize 
me  to  supply  our  merchant  ships  with  defen- 
sive arms  should  that  become  necessary,  and 
with  the  means  of  using  them,  and  to  employ 


PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  ARMED  NEUTRALITY  ADDRESS 


49 


any  other  instrumentalities  or  methods  that 
may  be  necessary  and  adequate  to  protect 
our  ships  and  our  people  in  their  legitimate 
and  peaceful  pursuits  on  the  seas.  I  request 
also  that  you  will  grant  me  at  the  same  time, 
along  with  the  powers  I  ask,  a  sufficient 
credit  to  enable  me  to  provide  adequate 
means  of  protection  where  they  are  lacking, 
including  adequate  insurance  against  the 
present  war  risks. 

I  have  spoken  of  our  commerce  and  of  the 
legitimate  errands  of  our  people  on  the  seas, 
but  you  will  not  be  misled  as  to  my  main 
thought— the  thought  that  lies  beneath  these 
phrases  and  gives  them  dignity  and  weight. 
It  is  not  of  material  interest  merely  that  we 
are  thinking.  Is  is,  rather,  of  fundamental 
human  rights,  chief  of  all  the  right  of  life 
itself. 

I  am  thinking  not  only  of  the  right  of 
Americans  to  go  and  come  about  their  proper 
business  by  way  of  the  sea,  but  also  of  some- 


thing much  deeper,  much  more  fundamental 
than  that.  I  am  thinking  of  those  rights  of 
humanity  without  which  there  is  no  civili- 
zation. My  theme  is  of  those  great  princi- 
ples of  compassion  and  of  protection  which 
mankind  has  sought  to  throw  about  human 
lives,  the  lives  of  noncombatants,  the  lives  of 
men  who  are  peacefully  at  work  keeping  the 
industrial  processes  of  the  world  quick  and 
vital,  the  lives  of  women  and  children  and 
of  those  who  supply  the  labor  which  minis- 
ters to  their  sustenance.  We  are  speaking  of 
no  selfish  material  rights,  but  of  rights  which 
our  hearts  support  and  whose  foundation  is 
that  righteous  passion  for  justice  upon  which 
all  law,  all  structures  alike  of  family,  of 
State,  and  of  mankind  must  rest,  as  upon 
the  ultimate  base  of  our  existence  and  our 
liberty. 

I  cannot  imagine  any  man  with  American 
principles  at  his  heart  hesitating  to  defend 
these  things. 


The  Armed  Ship  Debate  in  Congress 


FOLLOWING  President  Wilson's  ap- 
pearance at  the  Capitol,  Congress- 
man Flood,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Foreign  Affairs,  introduced  a 
bill  to  carry  out  the  President's  recom- 
mendations, the  bill  having  been  drafted 
at  the  White  House.  It  was  passed  by 
the  House  on  March  1  by  a  vote  of  403 
to  13;  of  those  voting  "No"  nine  were 
Republicans,  three  Democrats,  and  one  a 
Socialist.  As  passed  by  the  House  the 
bill  empowered  the  President  to  arm  mer- 
chant ships,  but  did  not  extend  to  him 
authority  "  to  use  other  instrumentali- 
ties," and  it  prohibited  insurance  of  muni- 
tion-carrying ships  in  the  Government 
War  Risk  Fund.  The  passage  of  the  bill 
in  the  House  was  marked  by  many  patri- 
otic addresses  and  a  complete  absence  of 
partisanship;  the  leaders  of  the  Repub- 
lican minority  advocated  the  measure  as 
enthusiastically  as  the  Democratic  lead- 
ers. It  was  debated  for  more  than  seven 
hours,  and  more  than  fifty  speeches  were 
made  in  its  favor;  there  was  no  serious 
opposition. 

Flood  Proclaims  Our  Policy 
Chairman  Flood  of  the  Foreign  Af- 
fairs Committee  vigorously  announced 
the  policy  of  the  Administration  to  sub- 
mit no  longer  to  the  virtual  blockading  of 
American  ports  by  the  German  subma- 
rine decree. 


Germany,  he  said,  had  violated  the 
promises  made  in  the  interchange  of 
notes  between  the  United  States  and 
that  nation,  "  and  she  is  now  undertaking 
to  destroy  every  merchant  vessel,  whether 
belligerent  or  neutral,  that  is  under- 
taking to  land  at  any  port  of  Great  Brit- 
ain or  Ireland,  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  or 
the  eastern  ports  of  the  Mediterranean. 
The  American  merchant  marine  is  tied 
up  in  our  harbors  and  American  com- 
merce is  blockaded  in  our  ports  as  effect- 
ually as  if  an  enemy  had  blockaded  those 
ports.  This  condition  is  intolerable  to  a 
free  and  a  brave  people,  and  it  has  con- 
tinued as  long  as  the  American  Govern- 
ment and  the  American  people  are  willing 
to  submit  to  it.  The  pending  bill  gives 
the  President  means  to  remedy  this  in- 
tolerable condition  and  free  our  com- 
merce and  protect  the  lives  of  American 
citizens  in  their  lawful  pursuits  on  the 
high  seas." 

Mr.  Flood  said  the  bill  might  not  avert 
war,  but  it  would  do  little  directly  to 
bring  about  war. 

"  We  may  have  to  go  further,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  but  if  we  do  the  fault  will  not 
be  ours.  Our  warships  have  the  right  to 
sail  the  seas,  our  citizens  have  the  right 
to  go  there,  and  we  propose  to  protect 
them  in  that  right.  I  hope  we  can  do  it 
peacefully.     If  we  cannot  we  will  do  it 


50 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


with  force  and  with  arms.  It  is  clear 
that  Germany  does  not  intend  to  lessen 
the  ruthlessness  of  her  submarine  war- 
fare in  order  to  avoid  a  conflict  with  this 
country.  Our  duty  is  clear — to  protect 
our  citizens  and  our  ships  in  their  lawful 
pursuits." 

Mr.  Flood  said  if  Germany  were  con- 
ducting her  submarine  warfare  in  ac- 
cordance with  international  law  and  the 
instincts  of  humanity,  if  she  were  merely 
exercising  the  right  of  search  and  seiz- 
ure, this  country  would  take  its  chances 
in  the  prize  courts,  and  there  would  be 
no  need  for  the  legislation  of  today. 

"  But  Germany  is  not  doing  that.  She 
proposes  to  sink  merchant  vessels  without 
warning  and  without  the  slightest  oppor- 
tunity for  noncombatants  on  board  to 
save  their  lives.  America  is  not  willing 
to  fail  to  defend  her  citizens,  and  I  can- 
not understand  how  any  man  with  Amer- 
ican blood  in  his  veins  and  American 
sentiment  in  his  heart  can  hesitate  to 
give  to  the  President  the  authority  to 
protect  lives  of  American  citizens." 

Fails  in  the  Senate 

On  Feb.  27  the  Foreign  Relations  Com- 
mittee of  the  United  States  Senate  re- 
ported the  measure  to  that  body,  with  the 
fullest  indorsement  of  the  Administra- 
tion. The  text  of  the  bill,  as  reported, 
was  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  Congress  assembled: 

That  the  commanders  and  crews  of  all 
merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States  and 
bearing  the  registry  of  the  United  States  are 
hereby  authorized  to  arm  and  defend  such 
vessels  against  -unlawful  attacks,  and  the 
President  of  the  United  States  is  hereby 
authorized  and  empowered  to  supply  such 
vessels  with  defensive  arms,  fore  and  aft,  and 
also  with  the  necessary  ammunition  and 
means  of  making  use  of  them ;  and  that  he 
be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  and  empowered 
to  employ  such  other  instrumentalities  and 
methods  as  may  in  his  judgment  and  discre- 
tion seem  necessary  and  adequate  to  protect 
such  vessels  and  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  in  their  lawful  and  peaceful  pursuits 
on  the  high  seas. 

The  sum  of  $100,000,000  is  hereby  appropri- 
ated, to  be  expended  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into 
effect  the  foregoing  provisions,  the  said  sum 
to  be  available  until  the  first  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1918. 


For  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  expendi- 
tures herein  authorized,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  under  the  direction  of  the  Presi- 
dent, is  hereby  authorized  to  borrow  on  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  and  to  issue  there- 
for bonds  of  the  United  States  not  exceeding 
in  the  aggregate  $100,000,000,  said  bonds  to 
be  in  such  form  and  subject  to  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury may  prescribe  and  to  bear  interest  at  a 
rate  not  exceeding  3  per  centum  per  annum : 
Provided  that  such  bonds  shall  be  sold  at  not 
less  than  par,  shall  not  carry  the  circulation 
privilege,  and  that  all  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  given  an  equal  opportunity  to 
subscribe  therefor,  but  no  commission  shall 
be  allowed  or  paid  thereon;  that  both  princi- 
pal and  interest  shall  be  payable  in  United 
States  gold  coin  of  the  present  standard  of 
value,  and  be  exempt  from  all  taxation  and 
duties  of  the  United  States  as  well  as  from 
taxation  in  any  form  of  all  State,  municipal, 
or  local  authorities ;  that  any  bonds  issued 
hereunder  may,  under  such  conditions  as  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  prescribe,  be 
convertible  into  bonds  bearing  a  higher  rate 
of  interest  than  3  per  centum  per  annum,  if 
any  bonds  shall  be  issued  by  the  United 
States  at  a  higher  rate  than  3  per  centum 
per  annum  by  virtue  of  any  act  passed  on  or 
before  Dec.  31,  1918. 

In  order  to  pay  the  necessary  expenses  con- 
nected with  the  said  issue  of  bonds,  or  any 
conversions  thereof,  a  sum  not  exceeding  one- 
fifth  of  1  per  centum  of  the  amount  of  bonds 
herein  authorized  to  be  issued,  or  which  may 
be  converted,  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of 
any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  to  be  expended  as  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  may  direct. 

The  President  is  authorized  to  transfer  so 
much  of  the  amount  herein  appropriated  as 
he  may  deem  necessary,.,  not  exceeding  $25,- 
000,000,  to  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk  Insur- 
ance, created  by  act  of  Congress,  approved 
Sept.  2,  1914,  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  ves- 
sels, their  freight,  passage  moneys,  and  car- 
goes against  loss  or  damage  by  the  present 
risks  of  war. 

The  Senate  Filibuster 
The  discussion  of  this  measure  in  the 
Senate  and  its  failure  of  passage  through 
a  filibuster  by  a  small  group  marked 
one  of  the  most  sensational  episodes  in 
the  history  of  the  upper  house  of  the 
National  Legislature,  and  resulted  in  a 
change  in  the  rules  which  had  been  ad- 
vocated fruitlessly  for  over  100  years. 

The  session  of  Congress  was  to  end 
automatically  on  March  4,  hence  there 
were  but  four  days  remaining  when  the 
measure  was  introduced.  A  certain  group 
of  Senators,  in  view  of  the  critical  for- 
eign   situation,    had    previously    insisted 


ARMING   AMERICAN  SHIPS 


61 


that  the  President  should  call  an  extra 
session  of  the  new  Congress,  to  convene 
immediately  on  the  expiration  of  the  old 
Congress,  and  to  force  this  action  they 
had  been  filibustering  for  several  days 
over  important  revenue  and  appropria- 
tion bills.  Under  the  then  existing  rules 
of  the  Senate,  there  was  no  limit  to  de- 
bate, and  a  very  small  opposition  group 
could  block  all  legislation  and  indefinite- 
ly postpone  final  action  on  any  measure 
by  dilatory  motions  and  long  speeches. 

When  the  armed  neutrality  measure 
came  up  for  debate  a  small  but  deter- 
mined opposition  developed,  which  under- 
took to  prevent  a  vote  until  the  ses- 
sion ended,  at  noon  March  4.  Senator  La 
Follette  of  Wisconsin  was  at  the  head  of 
this  group,  and  he  was  assisted  by  Sen- 
ators Norris  of  Nebraska,  Cummins  of 
Iowa,  Gronna  of  North  Dakota,  Clapp  of 
Minnesota,  and  Works  of  California,  Re- 
publicans, and  Senators  Stone  of  Mis- 
souri, O'Gorman  of  New  York,  Kirby  of 
Arkansas,  Lane  of  Oregon,  and  Varda- 
man  of  Mississippi,  Democrats. 

Senator  Stone  was  Chairman  of  the 
Foreign  Relations  Committee.  In  con- 
sequence of  his  opposition  to  the  bill,  he 
relinquished  parliamentary  control  of  it 
to  Senator  Hitchcock  of  Nebraska,  the 
next  ranking  member  of  the  committee. 
The  debate  over  the  measure  proceeded 
with  more  or  less  bitterness  for  three 
days,  but  it  was  not  until  the  final  day  of 
the  session,  when  it  was  clear  that  this 
small  group  had  determined  to  defeat  the 
measure  by  dilatory  tactics,  that  the  acri- 


mony reached  its  acute  stage.  The  leaders 
of  the  Senate,  both  Democratic  and  Re- 
publican, as  well  as  all  the  influence  of 
the  Administration,  exerted  all  possible 
pressure  on  the  filibusters  to  allow  the 
measure  to  reach  a  vote,  but  in  vain. 
Senators  La  Follette  and  Clapp  were  deaf 
to  all  appeals,  and  throughout  the  long 
session,  lasting  all  night  of  the  3d  of 
March  and  until  the  stroke  of  12  on  the 
4th,  they  blocked  every  effort  to  have  a 
vote.  At  noon  the  bill  died  by  the  auto- 
matic end  of  the  session. 

The  Famous  Manifesto 

During  the  early  hours  of  March  4, 
when  it  was  apparent  that  the  filibuster 
would  succeed,  the  Senate  majority  per- 
formed the  unprecedented  act  of  signing 
a  manifesto  declaring  that  the  will  of 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Sen- 
ate was  being  defeated  by  a  small  group 
of  recalcitrants.  Seventy-five  of  the 
ninety-six  members  of  the  body  signed 
the  document,  and  eight  more  would  have 
signed  it  could  they  have  been  reached. 
This  historic  manifesto  was  as  follows: 

The  undersigned,  United  States  Senators, 
favor  the  passage  of  Senate  Bill  8322,  to 
authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  arm  American  merchant  vessels. 

A  similar  bill  already  has  passed  the  House 
of  Representatives  by  a  vote  of  403  to  13. 

Under  the  rules  of  the  Senate,  allowing 
unlimited  debate,  it.  now  appears  to  be  im- 
possible to  obtain  a  vote  prior  to  noon  March 
4,  1917,  when  the  session  of  Congress  expires. 

We  desire  the  statement  entered  in  the 
record  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  Senate 
favors  the  legislation  and  would  pass  it  if  a 
vote  could  be  obtained. 


President  Wilson's  Appeal  to  the  Country 


PRESIDENT  WILSON  was  deeply  in- 
dignant over  the  success  of  the  Sen- 
ate filibusters  in  defeating  the 
armed  neutrality  measure,  and  issued  the 
following  address  to  the  country  a  few 
hours  after  Congress  adjourned,  follow- 
ing closely  on  the  heels  of  his  second  in- 
auguration : 

The  termination  of  the  last  session  of  the 
Sixty-fourth  Congress  by  constitutional  limi- 
tation disclosed  a  situation  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  the  country,  perhaps  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  any  modern  Government.  In 
the   immediate  presence   of  a  crisis   fraught 


with  more  subtle  and  far-reaching  possibili- 
ties of  national  danger  than  any  the  Govern- 
ment has  known  within  the  whole  history  of 
its  international  relations,  the  Congress  has 
been  unable  to  act  either  to  safeguard  the 
country  or  to  vindicate  the  elementary  rights 
of  its  citizens.  More  than  500  of  the  531 
members  of  the  two  houses  were  ready  and 
anxious  to  act ;  the  House  of  Representatives 
had  acted,  by  an  overwhelming  majority; 
but  the  Senate  was  unable  to  act  because  a 
little  group  of  eleven  Senators  had  determined 
that  it  should  not. 

The  Senate  has  no  rules  by  which  debate 
can  be  limited  or  brought  to  an  end,  no  rules 
by  which  dilatory  tactics  of  any  kind  can  bo 


52 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


prevented.  A  single  member  can  stand  in  the 
way  of  action,  if  he  have  but  the  physical  en- 
durance. The  result  in  this  case  is  a  com- 
plete paralysis  alike  of  the  legislative  and  of 
the  executive  branches  of  the  Government. 

This  inability  of  the  Senate  to  act  has  ren- 
dered some  of  the  most  necessary  legislation 
of  the  session  impossible  at  a  time  when  the 
need  of  it  was  most  pressing  and  most  evi- 
dent. The  bill  which  would  have  permitted 
such  combinations  of  capital  and  of  organiza- 
tion in  the  export  and  import  trade  of  the 
country  as  the  circumstances  of  international 
competition  have  made  imperative — a  bill 
which  the  business  judgment  of  the  whole 
country  approved  and  demanded — has  failed. 
The  opposition  of  one  or  two  Senators  has 
made  it  impossible  to  increase  the  member- 
ship of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
to  give  it  the  altered  organization  necessary 
for  its  efficiency.  The  Conservation  bill, 
which  should  have  released  for  immediate 
use  the  mineral  resources  which  are  still 
locked  up  in  the  public  lands,  now  that  their 
release  is  more  imperatively  necessary  than 
ever,  and  the  bill  which  would  have  made  the 
unused  water  power  of  the  country  immedi- 
ately available  for  industry  have  both  failed, 
though  they  have  been  under  consideration 
throughout  the  sessions  of  two  Congresses 
and  have  been  twice  passed  by  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  appropriations  for  the 
army  have  failed,  along  with  the  appropria- 
tions for  the  civil  establishment  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, the  appropriations  for  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point  and  the  General  De- 
ficiency bill.  It  has  proved  impossible  to  ex- 
tend the  powers  of  the  Shipping  Board  to 
meet  the  special  needs  of  the  new  situations 
into  which  our  commerce  has  been  forced  or 
to  increase  the  gold  reserve  of  our  national 
banking  system  to  meet  the  unusual  circum- 
stances of  the  existing  financial  situation. 

It  would  not  cure  the  difficulty  to  call  the 
Sixty-fifth  Congress  in  extraordinary  ses- 
sion. The  paralysis  of  the  Senate  would  re- 
main. The  purpose  and  the  spirit  of  action 
are  not  lacking  now.  The  Congress  is  more 
definitely  united  in  thought  and  purpose  at 
this  moment,  I  venture  to  say,  than  it  has 
been  within  the  memory  of  any  men  now  in 
its  membership.  There  is  not  only  the  most 
united  patriotic  purpose,  but  the  objects  mem- 
bers have  in  view  are  perfectly  clear  and 
definite.  But  the  Senate  cannot  act  unless  its 
leaders  can  obtain  unanimous  consent.  Its 
majority  is  powerless,  helpless.  In  the  midst 
of  a  crisis  of  extraordinary  peril,  when  only 
definite  and  decided  action  can  make  the 
nation  safe  or  shield  it  from  war  itself  by  the 
aggression  of  others,  action  is  impossible. 

Although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  nation 
and  the  representatives  of  the  nation  stand 
back  of  the  Executive  with  unprecedented 
unanimity  and  spirit,  the  impression  made 
abroad  will,  of  course,  be  that  it  is  not  so 
and  that  other  Governments  may  act  as  they 
please  without  fear  that  this  Government  can 
do  anything  at  all.    We  cannot  explain.    The 


explanation  is  incredible.  The  Senate  of  the 
United  States  is  the  only  legislative  body  in 
the  world  which  cannot  act  when  its  majority 
is  ready  for  action.  A  little  group  of  willful 
men,  representing  no  opinion  but  their  own, 
have  rendered  the  great  Government  of  the 
United  States  helpless  and  contemptible. 

The  remedy?  There  is  but  one  remedy. 
The  only  remedy  is  that  the  rules  of  the  Sen- 
ate shall  be  so  altered  that  it  can  act.  The 
country  can  be  relied  upon  to  draw  the  moral. 
I  believe  that  the  Senate  can  be  relied  on  to 
supply  the  means  of  action  and  save  the 
country  from  disaster. 

Supplementary  Statement 

At  the  same  time  the  President  au- 
thorized the  further  statement  that  what 
rendered  the  situation  even  more  grave 
than  had  been  supposed,  was  the  dis- 
covery that,  while  the  President  under 
his  general  constitutional  powers  could 
do  much  of  what  he  had  asked  Congress 
to  empower  him  to  do,  it  had  been  found 
that  there  were  certain  old  statutes  as 
yet  unrepealed  which  might  raise  in- 
superable practical  obstacles  and  nullify 
his  power. 

Popular  Indignation 

A  wave  of  indignant  protest  swept  the 
country.  Legislatures  of  many  States 
passed  resolutions  denouncing  the  fili- 
bustering Senators  and  pledging  support 
to  the  President;  mass  meetings  were 
held  in  many  cities,  and  at  some  places 
the  opposing  Senators  were  hanged  in 
effigy.  Telegrams  of  protest  poured  in 
from  all  parts  of  America  and  resolu- 
tions of  protest  were  passed  by  impor- 
tant bodies  and  associations  throughout 
the  country. 

The  Senate  had  been  convened  in  extra 
session,  as  is  the  custom  after  the  in- 
auguration of  the  President,  to  act  upon 
nominations.  As  soon  as  the  body  con- 
vened steps  were  taken  to  amend  the 
rules  so  that  there  could  never  be  a  repe- 
tition of  such  a  filibuster.  An  amend- 
ment was  agreed  upon  by  the  Democratic 
and  Republican  caucuses,  and  on  March 
8  it  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  76  to  3,  the 
three  negative  votes  being  cast  by  Sena- 
tors La  Follette,  Gronna,  and  Sherman  of 
Illinois.  This  rule  provides  that  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  the  Senators  present  may 
bring  a  measure  to  a  vote,  and  thereafter 
each   Senator   may  debate   the   measure 


PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  COUNTRY 


53 


only  one  hour,  when  it  is  to  be  put 
upon  its  passage  without  any  dilatory 
motions  or  further  debate  being  in 
order. 

This  rule  is  regarded  as  the  most  far- 
reaching  change  in  the  procedure  of  the 
Senate    since    the    organization    of    our 


Government.  The  adoption  of  the  rule, 
as  was  anticipated,  removed  all  obstacles 
to  the  effectiveness  of  an  extra  session 
of  Congress,  and  President  Wilson  there- 
fore called  such  a  session  by  proclama- 
tion on  March  9,  summoning  the  body  to 
meet  on  April  16,  1917. 


Sinking  of  the  Laconia  and  Algonquin 


PRESIDENT  WILSON  declared  in  his 
address  of  Feb.  3,  in  which  he  sev- 
ered diplomatic  relations  with  Ger- 
many, that  "  only  actual  overt  acts  "  of 
German  submarines  against  American 
citizens  and  ships  on  the  high  seas  could 
change  the  situation  into  one  of  war.  The 
succeeding  weeks  brought  a  growing  list 
of  acts  of  that  nature.  On  Feb.  3  the 
German  submarine  U-53  sank  the  Amer- 
ican freight  steamer  Housatonic,  bound 
from  Galveston  to  Liverpool  with  grain. 
On  Feb.  12  the  American  sailing  schooner 
Lyman  M.  Law,  en  route  with  lumber 
from  Maine  to  Italy,  was  destroyed  by  a 
submarine  off  the  coast  of  Sardinia.  Five 
Norwegian  steamers  with  Americans  on 
board  were  sunk  without  adequate  warn- 
ing in  the  next  ten  days. 

The  first  American  to  perish  by  sub- 
marine attack  after  the  break  with  Ger- 
many was  Robert  A.  Haden,  a  mission- 
ary, traveling  from  China  on  the  French 
steamer  Athos,  which  was  carrying  Sene- 
galese troops  and  colonial  laborers.  The 
Athos  was  torpedoed  210  miles  east  of 
Malta  on  Feb.  17.  Mr.  Haden  perished 
while  trying  to  aid  the  Chinese  on  board. 
Two  American  members  of  the  crew  of 
the  British  bark  Calgorm  Castle  were  re- 
ported lost  after  the  torpedoing  of  that 
vessel  in  British  waters  on  Feb.  27. 

The  Laconia  Disaster 
A  far  graver  case,  however,  occurred 
at  10:30  o'clock  Sunday  night,  Feb.  27, 
when  the  Cunard  liner  Laconia,  18,000 
tons  burden,  carrying  seventy-three  pas- 
sengers— men,  women,  and  children — of 
whom  six  were  American  citizens — 
manned  by  a  mixed  crew  of  216,  bound 
from  New  York  to  Liverpool  and  loaded 
with  foodstuffs,  cotton,  and  war  mate- 
rial, was  torpedoed  without  warning  by  a 
German    submarine    150    miles    off    the 


Irish  coast.  The  vessel  sank  in  about 
forty  minutes.  Twelve  persons  perished 
in  the  bitter  weather  before  the  survivors 
in  open  boats  were  rescued  by  British  pa- 
trol vessels. 

Two  of  the  dead  were  American  citi- 
zens— Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hoy  and  her  daugh- 
ter, Miss  Elizabeth  Hoy,  of  Chicago.  Both 
were  in  a  lifeboat  that  was  swamped,  and, 
though  taken  into  another  open  boat,  they 
died  of  exposure  and  were  buried  at  sea. 
The  Rev.  Dunstan  Sargent  of  Grenada, 
British  West  Indies,  a  passenger  on  the 
Laconia,  who  administered  the  last  rites 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  seven 
persons  who  perished,  gave  the  following 
account  of  tragic  events  in  his  boat : 

"  Mrs.  Hoy  died  in  the  arms  of  her 
daughter.  Her  body  slipped  off  into  the 
sea  out  of  her  daughter's  weakened  arms. 
The  heartbroken  daughter  succumbed  a 
few  minutes  afterward,  and  her  body  fell 
over  the  side  of  the  boat  as  we  were 
tossed  by  the  huge  waves. 

"  In  icy  water  up  to  her  knees  for  two 
hours,  the  daughter  all  the  time  bravely 
supported  her  aged  mother,  uttering 
words  of  encouragement  to  her.  From 
the  start  both  were  violently  seasick, 
which,  coupled  with  the  cold  and  exposure, 
gradually  wore  down  their  courage.  They 
were  brave  women. 

"  The  first  to  die  in  our  boat  was  W. 
Irvine  Robinson  of  Toronto.  After  his 
body  had  been  consigned  to  the  sea  we 
tossed  about  for  an  liour,  getting  more 
and  more  water  until  the  gunwales  were 
almost  level  with  the  sea.  Then  Cedric 
P.  Ivatt  of  London,  who  was  not  physical- 
ly strong,  succumbed  in  the  arms  of  his 
fiancee,  who  was  close  beside  him,  trying 
in  vain  to  keep  him  warm  by  throwing 
her  wealth  of  hair  about  his  neck.  Even 
after  he  died  she  refused  to  give  him  up, 


54 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


and,  although  the  additional  weight  made 
the  situation  more  dangerous  for  us  all, 
we  yielded  to  her  pitiful  pleading  and  al- 
lowed her  to  keep  the  body.  It  was  taken 
aboard  the  rescuing  patrol,  from  which  it 
was  buried. 

M  The  Hoys  were  the  next  to  pass  away 
after  Mr.  Ivatt.  Then  a  fireman  died,  and 
later  two  others  of  the  crew  who  were  too 
thinly  clad  to  resist  exposure.  Alto- 
gether, we  were  in  the  boat  ten  hours. 
We  were  rescued  in  the  middle  of  the 
morning." 

Word  Picture  of  Scene; 
One  of  the  survivors,  Floyd  P.  Gibbons, 
has  placed  on  record  this  picture  of  the 
last  moments  of  the  Laconia : 

The  torpedo  had  struck  at  10:30  P.  M.,  ac- 
cording to  our  ship's  time.  It  was  thirty 
minutes  afterward  that  another  dull  thud, 
which  was  accompanied  by  a  noticeable  drop 
in  the  hulk,  told  its  story  of  the  second  tor- 
pedo that  the  submarine  had  dispatched 
through  the  engine  room  and  the  boat's  vitals 
from  a  distance  of  200  yards. 

We  watched  silently  during  the  next  minute, 
as  the  tiers  of  lights  dimmed  slowly  from 
white  to  yellow,  then  to  red,  and  nothing  was 
left  but  the  murky  mourning  of  the  night, 
which  hung  over  all  like  a  pall. 

A  mean,  cheese-colored  crescent  of  a  moon 
revealed  one  horn  above  a  rag  bundle  of 
clouds  low  in  the  distance.  A  rim  of  black- 
ness settled  around  our  little  world,  relieved 
only  by  general  leering  stars  in  the  zenith, 
and  where  the  Laconia's  lights  had  shown 
there  remained  only  the  dim  outlines  of  a 
blacker  hulk  standing  out  above  the  water 
like  a  jagged  headland,  silhouetted  against 
the  overcast  sky. 

The  ship  sank  rapidly  at  the  stern  until  at 
last  its  nose  stood  straight  in  the  air.  Then 
it  slid  silently  down  and  out  of  sight  like  a 
piece  of  disappearing  scenery  in  a  panorama 
spectacle. 

As  the  vessel  was  sinking,  the  subma- 
rine that  had  done  the  deed  suddenly  rose 
out  of  the  sea  within  a  few  feet  of  a 
boatload  of  passengers,  and  a  German 
voice  demanded  the  name  of  the  ship,  its 
tonnage  and  cargo,  and  the  whereabouts 
of  the  Captain.  When  he  had  received 
civil  answers  the  German  commander  re- 
marked: "Well,  you'll  be  all  right.  A 
British  patrol  will  soon  pick  you  up. 
Good  night!  "  Then  he  and  his  ship  van- 
ished, and  the  lifeboats  full  of  shivering 
victims  were  left  weltering  on  the  empty 
sea  until  picked  up  the  next  morning  by 
patrol  boats. 

The  sinking  of  the  Laconia  furnished 


the  overt  act  which  the  President  had  in- 
dicated would  call  for  a  more  vigorous 
policy,  but  it  rested  with  Congress  to  de- 
termine the  extent  of  the  warlike  step 
to  be  taken.  On  Feb.  28  President  Wil- 
son made  public  the  following  cablegram 
which  he  had  received  from  Austin  Y. 
Hoy,  whose  mother  and  sister  had  per- 
ished through  the  act  of  a  German  sub- 
marine: 

I  am  an  American  citizen,  representing  the 
Sullivan  Machinery  Company  of  Chicago,  liv- 
ing abroad,  not  as  an  expatriate,  but  for  the 
promotion  of  American  trade.  I  love  the 
flag,  believing  in  its  significance.  My  be- 
loved mother  and  sister,  passengers  on  the 
Laconia,  have  been  foully  murdered  on  the 
high  seas. 

As  an  American  citizen  outraged  and  as 
such  fully  within  my  rights  and  as  an  Ameri- 
can son  and  brother  bereaved,  I  call  upon  my 
Government  to  preserve  its  citizens'  self-re- 
spect and  save  others  of  my  countrymen  from 
such  deep  grief  as  I  now  feel.  I  am  of  mili- 
tary age,  able  to  fight.  If  my  country  can 
use  me  against  these  brutal  assassins,  I  am 
at  its  call. 

If  it  stultifies  my  manhood  and  my  nation's 
by  remaining  passive  under  outrage,  I  shall 
seek  a  man's  chance  under  another  flag. 

German  Government  officials  regarded 
the  Laconia  case  as  the  climax  of  the  sit- 
uation, and  expected  the  United  States  to 
act,  but  added  that  there  "  could  be  no 
going  back  "  in  their  submarine  policy. 

Sinking  of  the  Algonquin 
The  next  act  seriously  affecting  the  re- 
lations of  the  two  countries  was  the  sink- 
ing of  the  American  steamship  Algon- 
quin, bound  from  New  York  to  London 
with  foodstuffs.  The  Algonquin  was  at- 
tacked without  warning  at  6  o'clock  on 
Monday  morning,  March  12,  by  a  Ger- 
man submarine,  which  sank  her  with 
shellfire  and  bombs.  After  twenty-seven 
hours  in  open  boats  the  crew  of  twenty- 
six  men  reached  Scilly.  Captain  A.  Nord- 
berg  gave  the  following  account  of  the 
event : 

Just  after  daylight  I  was  on  the  bridge. 
It  was  the  mate's  watch.  I  saw  two  steam- 
ers, apparently  colliers,  steaming  west,  one 
on  the  starboard  and  the  other  on  the  port 
side.  Two  minutes  later  the  mate  called  my 
attention  to  another  object  and  at  once  I 
said,   "  I  think  that  is  a  submarine." 

The  -submarine  was  about  three  miles  dis- 
tant, as  were  also  the  steamers.  Immediately 
I  saw  a  flash  of  a  gun  and  a  shell  fell  short. 
At  once  I  stopped  the  engines  and  then  went 
full    speed    astern,    indicating   this    by    three 


SINKING    OF    THE    LACONIA    AND    ALGONQUIN 


55 


blasts  on  the  whistle.  The  submarine  kept  on 
firing,  the  fourth  shot  throwing-  up  a  column 
of  water  which  drenched  me  and  the  man  at 
the  wheel.     It  was  a  close  thing. 

The  fifth  shot  struck  the  ship's  side  and  the 
next  went  aft.  The  submarine  was  using  two 
guns.  Twenty  shots  were  fired  at  us.  I 
ordered  the  crew  to  the  boats,  and  we  pulled 
away  two  ship's  lengths.  All  this  time  the 
submarine  was  firing  at  us.  Some  of  the 
shots  came  very  close. 

Once  we  were  in  the  boats  the  Germans 
ceased  firing  and  the  submarine  dived. 
Later  we  saw, the  periscope,  which  circled  the 
Algonquin  half  a  dozen  times.  Then,  finding 
her  abandoned,  the  submarine  came  to  the 
surface  and  a  boat's  crew  boarded  the 
steamer. 

The  first  thing  done  was  to  lower  the 
American  flag.  Then  I  concluded  they  were 
going  to  sink  my  ship.  Ten  minutes  after 
I  heard  the  crackle  of  an  explosion  and  saw 


smoke.  They  had  blown  the  ship  up  with 
bombs.  In  fifteen  minutes  the  Algonquin  had 
sunk. 

The  submarine  was  flying  the  German  en- 
sign. Her  commander  asked  me  the  name, 
nationality,  destination,  and  cargo  of  the 
ship,  which  had  the  American  colors  painted 
on  her  side  and  flew  the  American  flag  day 
and  night.  I  asked  him  to  tow  us  toward 
land,  but  he  refused,  saying:  "  I'm  too  busy. 
I  expect  a  couple  of  other  steamers." 

The  Algonquin,  as  it  happened,  changed 
owners  after  its  departure  from  New 
York,  but  the  fact  was  unknown  alike  to 
the  Captain  and  crew  and  to  the  Ger- 
man submarine  commander.  Fourteen 
members  of  the  crew  were  Americans, 
and  Captain  Nordberg  was  a  Norwegian 
who  had  become  a  naturalized  American 
citizen. 


Ships  Armed  by  Presidential  Proclamation 


PRESIDENT  WILSON  issued  on 
March  9  the  proclamation  calling 
Congress  in  extra  session  April  16, 
1917,  without  specifying  any  particular 
purpose,  but  the  following  statement  an- 
nouncing the  President's  determination 
to  arm  merchant  vessels  was  given  out  at 
the  White  House: 

Secretary  Tumulty  stated  in  connection  with 
the  President's  call  for  an  extra  session  of 
Congress  that  the  President  is  convinced  that 
he  has  the  power  to  arm  American  merchant 
ships  and  is  free  to  exercise  it  at  once.  But 
so  much  necessary  legislation  is  pressing  for 
consideration  that  he  is  convinced  that  it  is 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  country  to  have 
an  early  session  of  the  Sixty-fifth  Congress, 
whose  support  he  will  also  need  in  all  mat- 
ters collateral  to  the  defense  of  our  merchant 
marine. 

The  President  decided  to  act  at  once, 
and  on  March  12  formal  notice  was  given 
to  the  world  of  this  decision.  The  fol- 
lowing statement,  prepared  by  Secretary 
of  State  Lansing,  after  a  conference  with 
President  Wilson,  was  sent  out  by  the 
State  Department  on  the  12th  to  all 
members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  in 
Washington : 

In  view  of  the  announcement  of  the  Im- 
perial German  Government  of  Jan.  31,  1917, 
that  all  ships,  those  of  neutrals  included, 
met  within  certain  zones  of  the  high  seas 
would  be  sunk  without  any  precautions  being 
taken  for  the  safety  of  the  persons  on  board, 
and  without  the  exercise  of  visit  and  search, 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  de- 


termined to  place  upon  all  American  mer- 
chant vessels  sailing  through  the  barred 
areas  an  armed  guard  for  the  protection  of 
the  vessels  and  the  lives  of  the  persons  on 
board. 

Legal  Basis  of  Action 

In  arriving  at  the  decision  that  he  had 
legal  authority  to  furnish  armament  to 
merchantmen  President  Wilson  was 
guided  by  the  advice  of  both  Secretary 
Lansing  and  Attorney  General  Gregory. 
Mr.  Lansing  had  had  no  doubt  from  the 
first  of  the  President's  power  to  take 
means  for  the  defense  of  American  ships 
and  American  lives  on  the  seas.  Others 
thought,  however,  that  a  law  enacted  in 
1819  prohibited  the  President  from  per- 
mitting any  merchant  vessel  of  Amer- 
ican register  to  use  force  against  the 
ships  of  a  nation  with  which  the  United 
States  was  not  actually  and  officially  at 
war.  This  law  specified  that  armed 
merchant  vessels  should  not  use  their 
guns  against  national  vessels  of  a  Gov- 
ernment with  which  the  United  States 
was  in  amity. 

Secretary  Lansing  held  that  this 
statute  had  been  enacted  with  particular 
reference  to  protection  against  pirates, 
and  that  it  had  no  application  whatever 
to  the  present  situation.  It  could  not 
properly  be  construed,  he  contended,  to 
apply  to  the  use  of  arms  by  an  American 
merchant  vessel  to  protect  itself  against 


56 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  unlawful  attack  of  a  German  subma- 
rine. 

To  make  assurance  doubly  sure  Presi- 
dent Wilson  referred  the  question  of  the 
interpretation  of  the  law  to  Attorney 
General  Gregory,  who  sustained  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  holding  that  the  law  of 
1819  had  reference  to  conditions  when  the 
seas  were  infested  with  piratical  craft, 
and  was  not  a  bar  to  a  ship  protecting 
herself  from  the  effort  of  a  German  sub- 
marine to  sink  her  without  warning.  The 
President,  therefore,  felt  that  no  occasion 
existed  for  postponing  the  issuance  of  an 
order  to  furnish  Government  armament 
to  merchant  vessels. 

Although  the  Armed  Ship  bill,  which 
failed  of  passage  in  the  Senate,  provided 
for  a  bond  issue  of  $100,000,000  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  armed  neutrality,  the 
Government  has  sufficient  money  avail- 
able for  its  immediate  purposes.  Con- 
gress will  be  asked  to  provide  more  when 
the  extra  session  convenes. 

Crux  of  the  Situation 
Under  a  bill  passed  during  the  last 
days  of  the  last  Congress,  the  funds  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Federal  War  Risk  Bu- 
reau to  insure  American  ships  was  in- 
creased to  $15,000,000.  Armed  neutrality 
is  expected  to  remove  the  practical 
blockade  of  American  ports  and  place  the 
issue  of  eventual  war  squarely  upon  Ger- 
many. An  attack  upon  an  armed  Amer- 
ican vessel  would  precipitate  a  fight  if 
the  ship  got  sight  of  the  submarine,  and 
an  unwarned  attack  would  be  regarded 
by  the  United  States  as  an  act  of  war. 

Germany  and  Austria  both  have  de- 
clared armed  merchantmen  war  vessels. 
These  declarations  were  based  largely, 
however,  upon  the  charge  that  British 
merchant  ships  used  their  armament  of- 
fensively, and  it  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  Germany  will  so  class  and  treat 
American  craft  with  defensive  arms.  The 
whole  German  press  comment  and  unoffi- 
cial utterances  since  the  question  was 
raised  in  this  country  have  indicated  the 
conviction  that  any  armed  vessel  should 
be  considered  hostile  and  sunk  in  the 
same  way  as  a  belligerent  war  vessel. 
There  has  been  no  official  expression  on 
the  subject. 


The  guns  defending  American  mer- 
chantmen will  be  in  charge  of  gunners 
belonging  to  the  United  States  Navy. 
The  official  instructions  to  these  men 
have  not  been  made  public,  but  reliable 
correspondents  have  asserted  with  an  air 
of  authority  that  in  view  of  the  warnings 
by  the  German  Government,  the  discover- 
ing of  a  submarine  in  the  war  zone  by  an 
armed  ship  would  presuppose  that  it  had 
hostile  intent,  and  that  it  would  be  fired 
upon  on  sight.  German  official  opinion 
as  quoted  by  the  German  press  asserts 
that  the  firing  upon  a  German  submarine 
by  an  armed  American  merchantman 
would  be  regarded  by  that  country  as  an 
act  of  war. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  issued  a 
formal  request  to  American  newspapers 
and  news  agencies  to  refrain  from  pub- 
lishing the  departure  of  any  American 
ships  from  American  or  foreign  ports, 
and  to  exclude  any  information  regard- 
ing the  arming  of  ships.  It  is  known 
that  six-inch  guns  were  placed  upon  a 
large  number  of  American  ships  in  the 
week  ended  March  17,  1917,  and  it  was 
understood  that  several  large  freighters 
and  at  least  one  American  passenger 
liner,  fully  equipped  fore  and  aft  with 
six-inch  guns,  left  American  ports  for 
the  barred  zone  during  the  week  named. 
No  official  announcement  of  the  sailings 
was  permitted. 

Armed  neutrality  became  the  status  of 
the  United  States  the  moment  the  first 
merchant  ship  under  the  American  flag 
put  to  sea  with  a  gun  mounted  for  de- 
fense. President  Wilson  clearly  forecast 
this  fact  in  his  address  to  Congress  on 
Feb.  26. 

Writers  on  international  law  have  held 
that  armed  neutrality  consisted  in  plac- 
ing the  country  in  a  position  to  defend 
itself  and  its  neutrality  against  threat- 
ened attacks  or  inroads  by  belligerents. 
This  state  of  preparedness  may  last  an 
indefinite  length  of  time,  through  good 
fortune  in  avoiding  contact  with  bellig- 
erent forces  afloat  or  ashore,  or  through 
the  design  of  the  belligerent  to  confine 
its  declaration  of  purpose  to  infringe  the 
neutrality  of  a  country  to  mere  threats 
unsupported  by  action.  On  the  other 
hand,    the    status    of    armed    neutrality 


SHIPS   ARMED    BY   PRESIDENTIAL    PROCLAMATION 


57 


may  change  into  one  of  actual  hostility- 
through  a  collision,  such  as  a  submarine 
attack  on  an  armed  merchantman. 

Armed  Neutralities  of  1780  and  1800 
Oppenheim  thus  describes  the  origin  of 
the  armed  neutralities  of  1780  and  1800 : 

In  1780,  during-  war  with  Great  Britain,  her 
American  colonies,  France,  and  Spain,  Russia 
sent  a  circular  to  England,  France,  and  Spain 
in  which  she  proclaimed  the  following  five 
principles  : 

(l).That  neutral  vessels  should  be  allowed 
to  navigate  from  port  to  port  of  belligerents 
and  along  the  coast ; 

(2)  That  enemy  goods  on  neutral  vessels, 
contraband  excepted,  should  not  be  seized  by- 
belligerents  ; 

(3)  That,  with  regard  to  contraband,  Arti- 
cles 10  and  11  of  the  treaty  of  17G8  between 
Russia  and  Great  Britain  should  be  applied, 
in  all  cases ; 

(4)  That  a  port  should  only  be  considered 
blockaded  if  the  blockading  belligerent  had 
stationed  vessels  there,  so  as  to  create  an 
obvious  danger  for  neutral  vessels  entering 
the  port ; 


(5)  That  these  principles  should  be  applied 
in  the  proceedings  and  judgments  on  the 
legality  of  the  prizes. 

George  B.  Davis,  former  Judge  Advo- 
cate General  and  one  of  the  best-known 
American  authorities  on  international 
law,  defines  an  armed  neutrality  as  "  an 
alliance  of  several  powers,  usually  of  a 
defensive  character,  though  this  is  by  no 
means  essential." 

"  The  purpose  of  such  an  alliance,"  he 
says,  "  is  to  secure  the  maintenance  of 
certain  views  of  neutral  right,  which  are 
believed  to  be  in  danger  or  whose  justice 
is  likely  to  be  questioned.  If  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  several  nations  are 
threatened  by  unjust  and  unlawful  meas- 
ures on  the  part  of  a  belligerent  which 
they  deem  unjust  or  dangerous,  there  can 
be  no  question  of  their  right  to  secure 
their  menaced  interests  by  such  combina- 
tions as  seem  best  calculated  to  accom- 
plish this  purpose." 


Effects  of  Intensified  Submarine  Activity 


GERMANY  relentlessly  made  good 
her  threat  to  institute  unrestricted 
submarine  warfare  in  the  zone  sur- 
rounding the  United  Kingdom  and 
France.  On  March  19  the  following  of- 
ficial announcement  was  made  at  Berlin: 

*  In  February  368  merchant  ships  of  an 
aggregate  gross  tonnage  of  781,500  were 
lost  by  the  war  measures  of  the  Central 
Powers.  Among  them  were  292  hostile 
ships,  with  an  aggregate  gross  tonnage 
of  644,000,  and  76  neutral  ships  of  an  ag- 
gregate gross  tonnage  of  137,500.  Among 
the  neutral  ships  61  were  sunk  by  sub- 
marines, which  is  16.5  per  cent,  of  the 
total  in  February,  as  compared  with  29 
per  cent.,  the  average  of  neutral  losses  in 
the  last  four  months." 

These  figures  differ  widely  from  those 
given  out  by  the  French  and  English  Ad- 
miralties. London  reported  that  the  total 
shipping  sunk  by  submarines  in  Febru- 
ary was  490,000  tons. 

In  the  first  three  weeks  of  March  Ger- 
many asserted  that  the  February  ^average 
was  maintained,  but  again  there  was  a 
disparity  of  figures;  the  English  Admi- 


ralty reported  on  March  15  that  the  total 
tonnage  sunk  from  Feb.  1  to  March  11 
was  156  British,  51  other  neutrals,  and  3 
Americans;  between  March  4  and  11,  1 
American,  20  British,  and  2  French. 
Forty-six  British  ships  were  sunk  be- 
tween March  1  and  15;  of  these  16  were 
less  than  1,600  tons  each,  and  6  were 
small  fishing  craft.  The  Admiralty  re- 
ported that  at  the  beginning  of  1917 
Great  Britain  possessed  3,731  vessels  of 
1,600  tons  and  over.  Of  this  number  78 
were  sunk  up  to  March  15,  leaving  3,653 
ships  of  1,600  tons  or  more  after  six 
weeks  of  the  submarine  war. 

In  the  prosecution  of  their  intensified 
warfare  the  U-boats  spared  nothing  that 
came  in  sight.  Hospital  ships,  Belgian 
relief  ships,  and  any  vessels  of  neutrals, 
whether  coming  or  going,  were  attacked 
and  sunk  with  the  same  disregard  of  the 
law  of  visit  and  search  as  that  exercised 
toward  the  craft  of  Germany's  enemies. 

The  most  sensational  episodes  of  the 
month  were  the  sinking  of  six  grain- 
laden  Dutch  ships  and  the  news  of  the 
sinking  of  three   American  vessels,  the 


58 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


latter  reported  March  19.  These  ships 
were  the  City  of  Memphis,  the  Illinois, 
and  the  Vigilancia. 

The  City  of  Memphis  had  sailed  on 
March  16  from  Cardiff  for  New  York  in 
ballast.  When  she  left  port  the  steam- 
ship had  the  Stars  and  Stripes  painted 
on  both  sides.  She  encountered  a  sub- 
marine about  5  o'clock  Saturday  evening. 
The  German  commander  ordered  the 
Captain  of  the  steamer  to  leave  his  ship 
within  fifteen  minutes. 

The  entire  crew  entered  five  boats,  and 
the  submarine  then  fired  a  torpedo,  which 
struck  the  vessel  on  the  starboard  side, 
tearing  a  great  hole,  through  which  the 
sea  poured.  The  steamer  settled  down 
quickly  and  foundered  within  a  few  min- 
utes. 

The  Memphis  was  of  5,252  tonnage,  377 
feet  long,  and  was  valued  at  $600,000. 
The  Vigilancia  was  torpedoed  without 
warning;  she  was  of  4,115  tonnage  and 
was  proceeding  to  Havre,  via  the  Azores, 
from  New  York  on  Feb.  28,  with  a  cargo 
of  provisions.  She  was  marked  on  her 
sides  with  the  American  flag  and  her 
name  in  letters  that  could  be  read  three 
miles  away.  The  hailing  port,  "  New 
York,"  was  painted  on  the  port  and  star- 
board bows  in  letters  five  feet  high. 

The  Illinois  was  a  tank  ship,  and  sailed 
from  Port  Arthur,  Texas,  Feb.  17,  1917, 
for  London.    She  was  of  5,220  gross  ton- 
nage.   She  carried  a  cargo  of  oil. 
1 


On  March  19  it  was  ascertained  that 
fifteen  members  of  the  Vigilancia  crew 
were  lost.  Captain  Borum  and  eight 
members  of  the  crew  of  the  City  of 
Memphis  were  not  heard  from  until  three 
days  later  when  it  was  learned  they  had 
reached  Glasgow. 

The  news  aroused  fresh  indignation  in 
this  country  and  convinced  the  public  that 
Germany  had  included  in  her  plan  of 
submarine  ruthlessness  American  ships 
as  well  as  those  of  belligerents.  The  feel- 
ing in  Government  circles  was  that  the 
sinking  of  the  vessels  produced  an  actual 
state  of  war  with  Germany.  President 
Wilson  took  measures  to  speed  up  the 
naval  program;  on  the  20th  260  sub- 
marine chasers  were  ordered  for  im- 
mediate construction,  the  $115,000,000 
emergency  fund  was  employed  for  pur- 
chase of  naval  equipment,  and  the  im- 
mediate graduation  of  the  first  and 
second  classes  in  the  Annapolis  Naval 
Academy  was  ordered,  with  the  rushing 
of  naval  recruits  to  the  full  emergency 
limit  of  87,000.  The  general  conviction 
prevailed  by  March  20  that  a  formal 
declaration  of  war  would  soon  follow.  It 
was  known  that  American  merchantmen, 
armed  fore  and  aft,  had  left  American 
ports  with  naval  gunners  aboard,  who 
were  instructed  to  fire  at  sight  on  any 
submarine  that  made  a  hostile  ap- 
proach. 


United  States  Prepares  for  Defense 


SINCE  the  diplomatic  break  with 
Germany  the  War  and  Navy  De- 
partments of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment have  been  working  night  and 
day  to  organize  for  adequate  defense  in 
case  of  war.  The  navy  has  made  im- 
portant progress  in  that  direction.  Con- 
gress, in  its  closing  hours,  passed  a  naval 
appropriation  bill  aggregating  $535,000,- 
000,  the  largest  in  a  single  year  of  the 
nation's  history.  This  total  included  the 
authorization  of  $150,000,000  in  twenty- 
year  3  per  cent,  bonds,  the  proceeds  of 
which  were  to  be  made  immediately 
available  for  the  President's  use,  $115,- 
000,000  of  the  amount  to  be  applied  to 


speeding  up  the  construction  of  war- 
ships already  authorized,  and  $35,000,000 
to  be  devoted  to  the  building  of  subma- 
rines. For  aviation  in  connection  with 
naval  operations  $5,133,000  was  appro- 
priated. 

On  March  6  Mr.  Daniels,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  called  a  conference  of  the 
leading  shipbuilders  of  the  nation  in 
Washington  and  asked  what  they  could 
do  in  the  emergency.  He  made  it  plain 
to  them  that  the  Government  was  count- 
ing on  them  for  their  fullest  co-operation 
and  would  not  hesitate  to  commandeer 
the  shipyards  if  necessary.  He  told 
them  that  the  Government  was  now  de- 


UNITED  STATES  PREPARES  FOR  DEFENSE 


59 


sirous  of  having  some  of  the  new  subma- 
rines built  in  nine  months.  The  best 
building  time  that  had  been  offered  pre- 
viously was  eighteen  months.  Mr.  Dan- 
iels also  indicated  that  the  Government 
was  desirous  of  having  destroyers  built 
within  a  year  instead  of  two  years,  the 
best  time  previously  offered.  Many  of 
the  shipbuilding  concerns  declared  their 
willingness  and  ability  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  hour. 

Large  Contracts  Placed 

On  March  15  Secretary  Daniels  placed 
contracts  for  what  was  probably  the  larg- 
est single  order  for  fighting  craft  ever 
given  by  any  nation.  Under  these  con- 
tracts private  builders  undertook  to  turn 
out  four  great  battle  cruisers  and  six 
scout  cruisers,  costing  nearly  $112,000,000 
for  hulls  and  machinery  alone,  and 
pledged  themselves  to  keep  70  per  cent, 
of  their  working  forces  on  navy  construc- 
tion. Though  the  major  ship  builders 
were  besieged  with  commercial  orders, 
some  of  which  would  bring  50  per  cent, 
profit,  they  agreed  to  accept  10  per  cent, 
profit  on  the  battle  cruisers,  whose  cost 
will  represent  about  $76,000,000  of  the 
total  sums  involved  in  the  contracts. 
This  action  made  it  unnecessary  for  the 
President  to  use  his  authority  to  com- 
mandeer plants.  A  fifth  battle  cruiser 
will  be  built  at  the  Philadelphia  Navy 
Yard,  so  as  to  avoid  overstraining  the 
facilities  of  the  private  establishments. 

Both  classes  of  cruisers  are  of  new 
types  and  are  designed  for  a  speed  of  25 
knots  an  hour.  The  scouts  range  in  cost 
from  $5,950,000  to  $5,996,000  and  the 
stipulated  time  of  delivery  is  from  thirty 
to  thirty-two  months.  These  figures  can 
be  no  guide  to  the  actual  cost  or  time, 
however,  as  under  the  emergency  clause 
of  the  Naval  Appropriation  bill  construc- 
tion will  be  hastened  to  the  limit,  the 
Government  footing  the  bill  for  addi- 
tional cost. 

The  battle  cruisers,  the  fixed  limit  of 
cost  of  which  is  $19,000,000  per  ship,  ex- 
clusive of  speeding-up  expense,  were 
placed  as  follows:  Newport  News  Ship- 
building and  Dry  Dock  Company,  two 
ships;  Fore  River  Shipbuilding  Corpora- 
tion, one  ship;  New  York  Shipbuilding 
Company,  one  ship. 


With  the  exception  of  the  New  York 
company,  each  private  builder  will  have 
to  install  new  ways  and  machinery  for 
the  huge  craft.  The  Government  will 
bear  its  fair  share  of  this  expense.  Al- 
ready an  appropriation  of  $6,000,000  has 
beeen  ordered  expended  to  equip  the 
Philadelphia  yard  for  capital  ship  build- 
ing. 

Four  of  the  scout  cruisers  will  be  built 
on  the  Pacific  Coast — two  by  the  Seattle 
Construction  Company  and  two  by  the 
Union  Iron  Works  at  San  Francisco. 
The  other  two  will  be  built  by  William 
Cramp  &  Sons,  Philadelphia. 

The    Three-Year  Program 

In  a  statement  to  newspaper  men,  Sec- 
retary Daniels  said: 

The  Navy  bill  provides  the  initial  appro- 
priations for  the  following  vessels  of  the 
three-year  program  adopted  by  the  first  ses- 
sion of  the  Sixty-fourth  Congress,  which  au- 
thorized the  construction  of  156  vessels  of 
different  types :  3  battleships,  1  battle  cruiser, 
3  scout  cruisers,  15  destroyers,  18  submarines, 
1  destroyer  tender,  and  1  submarine  tender. 

Of  the  three-year  program,  therefore,  the 
money  has  been  provided  in  this  bill  and  in 
the  former  bill  to  commence  the  construction 
of  the  following  vessels :  7  battleships,  5 
battle  cruisers,  7  scout  cruisers,  35  destroy- 
ers, 48  submarines,  1  destroyer  tender,  1 
submarine  tender,  1  hospital  ship,  1  fuel 
ship,  1  ammunition  ship,  1  gunboat,  leaving 
to  be  first  appropriated  for  next  year  the 
balance  of  the  three-year  program,  consisting 
of  3  battleships,  1  battle  cruiser,  3  scout 
cruisers,  15  destroyers,  19  submarines,  2  fuel 
ships,  1  repair  ship,  1  transport,  1  destroyer 
tender,  1  ammunition  ship,  and  1  gunboat. 

The  outstanding  features  of  the  bill  are, 
first,  the  $115,000,000  appropriation  for  speed- 
ing up  the  construction  of  ships  already  au- 
thorized and  authorized  in  the  bill  just  ap- 
proved, and  the  purchase  or  construction  of 
aircraft,  additional  destroyers,  submarine 
chasers,  motor  boats,  and  other  small  craft, 
which  will  be  essential  in  an  emergency,  and 
which  can  be  constructed  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.  A  further  emergency  appropria- 
tion of  $18,000,000  is  provided  specifically  for 
the  construction  of  twenty  coast  submarines 
in  addition  to  the  eighteen  submarines  for 
which  money  is  provided  in  the  bill  of  the 
three-year  program,  making  thirty-eight  sub- 
marines specifically  appropriated  for  in  this 
bill. 

Contracts  for  sixteen  non-rigid  dirigi- 
ble airships  to  be  used  for  coast  and 
harbor  patrol  were  let  by  Secretary 
Daniels  on  March  12.  The  contracts  are 
for  $*649,250,  and  the  specifications  call 


60 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


for  the  delivery  of  these  airships  in  the 
remarkably  brief  period  of  120  days, 
which  means  by  the  middle  of  June. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Franklin  D. 
Roosevelt,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  a  volunteer  reserve  auxiliary  fleet 
of  750  ships  and  motor  craft,  with  10,000 
civilians  to  man  them,  is  in  process  of 
organization  for  the  protection  of  waters 
adjoining  New  York  City. 

Military  Defense  Measures 
Military  defense  has  made  less  prog- 
ress. The  Army  Appropriation  bill  for 
$279,000,000  was  among  the-  important 
measures  that  died  in  the  Senate  during 
the  filibuster  at  the  close  of  the  session* 
The  chief  work  of  the  Secretary  of  War 
has  consisted  in  organizing  the  indus- 
tries and  executive  talent  of  the  nation 
for  the  emergency.  The  newly  formed 
Council  of  National  Defense  has  become 
an  active  force  during  the  month.  It 
is  the  central  agency  for  the  industrial 
mobilization  of  the  country,  and  under 
the  direction  of  Daniel  Willard,  a 
prominent  railroad  President,  its  ad- 
visory commission  is  organizing  for  the 
rapid  transportation  of  large  bodies  of 
troops,  for  the  conservation  of  great 
quantities  of  food  and  supplies  of  all 
kinds,  and  for  the  effective  employment 
of  all  the  country's  resources  at  short 
notice. 

All  the  remaining  National  Guard 
units  on  the  Mexican  border,  embracing 
about  75,000  men,  were  ordered  on  Feb. 
17  to  return  to  their  home  States  for 
immediate  muster  out  of  Federal  serv- 
ice. A  few  days  later  Judge  Advocate 
General  Crowder  delivered  an  opinion 
to  the  effect  that  there  was  no  essential 
difference  in  the  status  of  the  militiamen 


who  had  taken  the  Federal  oath  under 
the  terms  of  the  Hay  National  Defense 
act  and  those  who  had  not;  in  other 
words,  both  classes  of  National  Guards- 
men would  be  subject  to  call  by  the 
President  in  case  of  war  with  Germany. 
.  Meanwhile  orders  had  been  issued  on 
March  7  by  the  War  Department  direct- 
ing the  Colonels  of  all  regular  army  regi- 
ments along  the  border  to  designate 
sixty  enlisted  men  from  each  regiment 
who  could  be  commissioned  as  company 
officers  in  the  army  in  case  of  an  emer- 
gency call.  This  would  furnish  a  total  of 
5,000  new  officers,  who  would  be  eligible 
for  offices  up  to  the  rank  of  Captain,  and 
who  could  be  promoted  in  case  of  need. 
In  the  event  of  real  war  the  Government 
would  be  compelled  to  call  to  the  colors 
not  less  than  500,000  men,  and  for  such 
an  army  25,000  officers  would  be  neces- 
sary. These  officers  would  be  obtained 
from  the  regular  commissioned  personnel 
of  the  army,  from  the  rapid  graduation 
of  West  Point  cadets,  and  from  the  new 
officers'  reserve  corps  now  in  process  of 
creation. 

Late  in  February  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Newton  D.  Baker,  sent  to  the  Sen- 
ate Committee  on  Military  Affairs  the 
draft  of  a  bill  framed  by  the  War  College 
Division  of  the  General  Staff  calling  for 
eleven  months  of  compulsory  military 
training  for  every  American  boy  of  18 
years  who  did  not  come  within  certain  ex- 
emption clauses.  Under  this  bill  it  was 
estimated  that  within  three  years  the 
country  would  have  a  first-line  reserve 
of  1,500,000  young  men  ready  to  respond 
instantly  to  a  call  to  the  colors  until 
their  thirtieth  year.  The  bill  failed  of 
passage,  but  will  be  brought  up  in  Con- 
gress again. 


German  Chancellor's  Address  on  the 
Break  With  United  States 


CHANCELLOR  VON  BETHMANN 
HOLLWEG  delivered  an  important 
address  in  the  Reichstag  on  Feb. 
27,  reviewing  Germany's  position  as  af- 
fected by  the  intensified  submarine  war- 
fare and  the  action  of  the  United  States 
in  breaking  off  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  Imperial  Government.  Discussing 
the  attitude  of  neutrals  the  Chancellor 
said: 

One  step  further  than  that  taken  by 
European  neutrals  has  been  tal^en  (as  is 
known)  by  the  United  States  of  America. 
President  Wilson,  after  receiving  our  note 
of  Jan.  31,  brusquely  broke  off  relations  with 
us.  No  authentic  communication  about  the 
reasons  which  were  given  for  his  step  reached 
me.  The  former  United  States  Ambassador 
here  in  Berlin  communicated  only  in  spoken 
words  to  the  State  Secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Office  of  breaking  off  relations,  and  asked 
for  his  passports.  This  form  of  breaking  off 
relations  between  great  nations  living  in 
peace  is  probably  without  precedent  in  his- 
tory. 

All  official  documents  being  lacking,  I  am 
forced  to  rely  upon  doubtful  sources — that  is, 
upon  the  Reuter  office's  version  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  message  sent  by 'President  Wil- 
son on  Feb.  3  to  Congress.  In  this  version 
the  President  is  reported  to  have  said  that 
our  note  of  Jan.  31  suddenly  and  without  pre- 
vious indication  intentionally  withdrew  the 
solemn  promises  made  in  the  note  of  May, 
1916.  To  the  United  States  Government, 
therefore,  no  choice  compatible  with  dignity 
and  honor  was  left  other  than  the  way  which 
had  been  announced  in  its  note  of  April  20, 
1916,  covering  the  case  if  Germany  should  not 
wish  to  give  up  her  submarine  method. 

If  these  arguments  are  correctly  reported 
by  Reuter,  then  I  must  decidedly  protest 
against  them.  For  more  than  a  century 
friendly  relations  between  us  and  America 
have  been  carefully  promoted.  We  honored 
them — as  Bismarck  once  put  it — as  an  heir- 
loom from  Frederick  the  Great.  Both  coun- 
tries benefited  by  it,  both  giving  and  taking. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  things  have 
changed  on  the  other  side  of  the  waters.  Old 
principles  were  overthrown. 

On  Aug.  27,  1913,  during  the  Mexican 
troubles,  President  Wilson  in  a  solemn 
message  to  Congress  declared  that  he  intend- 
ed to  follow  the  best  usage  of  international 
law  by  a  prohibition  of  the  supplying  of 
arms  to  both  Mexican  parties  at  war  against 
each  other.  One  year  later,  in  1914,  these 
usages  apparently  were  no  longer  considered 


good.  Countless  materials  of  war  have  been 
supplied  by  America  to  the  Entente,  and 
while  the  right  of  the  American  citizen  to 
travel  without  hindrance  to  Entente  countries 
and  the  right  to  trade  without  hindrance  with 
France  and  England,  even  through  the  midst 
of  the  battlefield,  even  the  right  of  such  trade 
as  we  had  to  pay  for  with  German  blood — 
while  all  these  rights  were  jealously  guarded, 
the  same  right  of  American  citizens  toward 
the  Central  Powers  did  not  seem  to  be  as 
worthy  of  protection  and  as  valuable. 

They  protested  against  some  measures  of 
England  which  were  contrary  to  interna- 
tional law,  but  they  submitted  to  them.  Un- 
der conditions  of  this  kind  objection  as  to 
lack  of  respect  makes  a  strange  impression. 

With  equal  decisiveness  I  must  protest 
against  the  objection  that  we,  by  the  manner 
in  which  we  withdrew  the  assurances  given 
in  the  note  of  May  4,  offended  the  honor  and 
dignity  of  the  United  States.  From  the  very 
beginning  we  had  openly  and  expressly  de- 
clared that  these  assurances  would  be  invalid 
under  certain  conditions. 

The  Chancellor  then  recalled  the  last 
paragraph  of  the  note  of  May  4,  1916, 
which  he  read  verbatim,  the  last  clause 
being:  "Should  the  steps  taken  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  not 
attain  the  object  it  desires,  namely,  to 
have  the  law  of  humanity  followed  by  all 
the  belligerent  nations,  the  German  Gov- 
ernment would  then  be  facing  a  new  situ- 
ation, in  which  it  must  reserve  to  itself 
complete  liberty  of  decision." 

The  Chancellor  then  continued: 

As  to  the  American  answer  given  to  the 
German  note,  it  was  so  absolutely  contrary 
to  what  we  in  our  note  had  said  clearly  and 
without  any  possibility  of  misunderstanding, 
that  a  reply  on  our  part  would  have  changed 
nothing  as  to  the  standpoints  maintained  by 
both  sides.  But  nobody,  even  in  America, 
could  doubt  that  already  long  ago  the  con- 
ditions were  fulfilled  upon  which,  according 
to  our  declaration,  depended  our  regaining 
full  liberty  of  decision. 

England  did  not  abandon  the  isolation  of 
Germany,  but,  on  the  contrary,  intensified 
it  in  the  most  reckless  fashion.  Our  adversa- 
ries were  not  made  to  respect  the  principles  of 
international  law,  universally  recognized  be- 
fore the  war,  nor  made  to  follow  the  laws  of 
humanity.  The  freedom  of  the  seas,  which 
America  wanted  to  restore,  in  co-operation 
with  us,  during  the  war,  has  been  still  more 
completely  destroyed  by  our  adversary,  and 


62 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


America  has  not  hindered  this.  All  this  is 
common  knowledge. 

Even  at  the  end  of  January  England  issued 
a  new  isolation  declaration  for  the  North 
Sea,  and  in  this  period,  since  May  4,  nine 
months  had  passed.  Could  it  then  be  sur- 
prising that  on  Jan.  31  we  considered  that 
the  freedom  of  the  seas  had  not  been  re- 
established and  that  we  drew  our  conclu- 
sions from  this?  But  the  case  extends  be- 
yond that  of  formal  importance.  We,  who 
were  ready  for  peace,  now  by  mutual  under- 
standing fight  for  life  against  an  enemy  who 
from  the  beginning  put  his  heel  upon  the 
recognized  laws  of  nations.  The  English 
starvation  blockade,  our  peace  offer,  its  re- 
buke by  the  Entente,  the  war  aims  of  our 
enemies  purporting  our  destruction,  and  the 
speeches  of  Lloyd  George  are  known  also  in 
America. 

I  could  fully  understand  it  if  the  United 
States,  as  a  protector  of  international  law, 
should  have  bartered  for  its  re-establishment 
in  equal  fashion  with  all  the  belligerents, 
and,  if  desiring  to  restore  peace  to  the  world, 
had  taken  measures  to  enforce  the  end  of  the 
bloodshed.  But  I  cannot  possibly  consider  it 
a  vital  question  for  the  American  Nation  to 
protect  international  law  in  a  one-sided  fash- 
ion, only  against  us. 

Our  enemies,  and  American  circles  which 
are  unfriendly  toward  us,  thougTit  that  they 
could  point  out  an  important  difference  be- 
tween our  course  of  action  and  that  of  the 
British.  England,  they  have  satisfied  them- 
selves, destroys  only  material  values,  which 
can  be  replaced,  while  Germany  destroys 
human  lives,  which  are  impossible  to  replace. 

Well,  gentlemen,  why  did  the  British  not 
endanger  American  lives?    Only  because  neu- 


tral countries,  and  especially  America,  volun- 
tarily submitted  to  the  British  orders,  and  be- 
cause the  British,  therefore,  could  attain  their 
object  without  employing  force. 

What  Would  have  happened  if  Americans 
had  valued  unhampered  passenger  and  freight 
traffic  with  Bremen  and  Hamburg  as  much 
as  that  with  Liverpool  and  London?  If  they 
had  done  so,  then  we  should  have  been  freed 
from  the  painful  impression  that,  according 
to  America,  a  submission  to  British  power 
and  control  is  compatible  with  the  essential 
character  of  neutrality,  but  that  it  is  incom- 
patible with  this  neutral  policy  to  recognize 
German  measures  of  defense. 

Gentlemen,  let  us  consider  the  whole  ques- 
tion. The  breaking  off  of  relations  with  us 
and  the  attempted  mobilization  of  all  neutrals 
against  us  do  not  serve  for  the  protection 
of  the  freedom  of  the  seas  proclaimed  by  the 
United  States.  These  actions  will  not  pro- 
mote the  peace  desired  by  President  Wilson. 
They  must,  consequently,  have  encouraged 
the  attempt  to  starve  Germany  and  to  multi- 
ply the  bloodshed. 

We  regret  the  rupture  with  a  nation  which 
by  her  history  seemed  to  be  presdestined 
surely  to  work  with  us,  not  against  us.  But 
since  our  honest  will  for  peace  has  encoun- 
tered only  jeering  on  the  part  of  our  enemies, 
there  is  no  more  "  going  backward."  There 
is  only  "  going  ahead  "  possible  for  us. 

Adverting  to  peace  discussions,  the 
Chancellor  pointed  out  that  the  German 
Nation,  in  the  Reichstag's  last  vote 
granting  new  war  credits,  demonstrated 
to  the  whole  world  its  readiness  to  con- 
tinue the  struggle  until  its  enemies  were 
ready  for   peace. 


Ambassador  Gerard's  Difficulties 
in  Leaving  Berlin 


UNITED  STATES  AMBASSADOR 
GERARD  received  official  notice 
of  the  break  with  Germany  at  8 
o'clock  Sunday  evening,  Feb.  4.  On 
Monday  he  made  formal  application  for 
his  passports,  going  in  person  to  For- 
eign Secretary  Zimmermann.  The  Am- 
bassador's orders  from  Washington  in- 
cluded certain  instructions  regarding  the 
action  of  American  Consuls  in  Germany. 
Telegrams  were  prepared  in  the  usual 
code  transmitting  these  instructions  to 
these  Americans.  These  messages  were 
sent  to  the  telegraph  office  in  the 
customary  way  bjr  an  embassy  messen- 


ger. Each  message  bore  across  its  face 
a  stamp  showing  that  it  was  an  official 
message  sent  by  the  duly  accredited  rep- 
resentative of  the  American  Government. 
But  the  telegraph  office  refused  to  re- 
ceive those  messages.  Some  one  in  the 
German  Government  recognized  by  the 
officials  of  the  Government  telegraph 
office  had  notified  that  office  not  to  ac- 
cept for  transmission  any  further  mes- 
sages from  officials  of  the  American 
Embassy. 

Later  the  telephone  connection  of  the 
embassy  was  broken,  his  telegrams 
were    not    delivered,    and    the    embassy 


AMBASSADOR   GERARD'S  DIFFICULTIES 


63 


mail  failed  to  be  delivered.  When  this 
state  of  affairs  dawned  upon  the  Am- 
bassador he  proceeded  to  take  precau- 
tions. He  personally  burned  or  destroyed 
all  code  books  and  ciphers  or  other  means 
of  confidential  communication.  Every 
confidential  letter,  telegram,  or  other 
form  of  communication  in  the  embassy 
files  went  into  the  fire  under  Mr. 
Gerard's  direction. 

The  situation  following  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  a  staff  correspondent  of  The 
New  York  Times: 

"Officials  of  the  Foreign  Office  and 
the  War  Office  made  more  or  less  open 
efforts  to  cajole  or  induce  American 
newspaper  correspondents  to  remain  in 
Berlin  after  Mr.  Gerard  had  gone.  There 
was  an  extraordinarily  interesting  ses- 
sion with  Herr  Zimmermann,  the  Foreign 
Secretary,  at  the  Foreign  Office  on  the 
Sunday  evening  when  news  of  the 
rupture  in  relations  was  first  received. 
Emphasis  was  then  laid  by  him  upon  the 
German  interpretation  of  the  old  treaty 
of  1799  between  Prussia  and  the  United 
States,  and  the  vigor  of  his  expression 
of  hope  that  Germany  would  be  able  to 
negotiate  with  Mr.  Gerard  for  reaffirma- 
tion of  that  treaty  and  its  specific  appli- 
cation to  existing  conditions  gives  a  clear 
line  on  the  motive  for  what  was  to  occur 
so  promptly  to  Mr.  Gerard.  Again  on 
Tuesday  evening,  when  the  correspond- 
ents met  Colonel  Hafeton  of  the  Military 
Staff,  at  military  press  headquarters, 
they  received  a  renewed  and  emphasized 
impression  of  the  importance  with  which 
Germans  regarded  their  efforts  to  pro- 
cure extended  application  of  that  old 
treaty  to  pending  relations  with  the 
United  States. 

Interview  with  Montgelas 

"  It  was  while  the  correspondents  were 
receiving  their  lecture  from  the  military 
staff  that  evening  that  Mr.  Gerard  re- 
ceived a  call  from  Count  Montgelas, 
Chief  of  the  American  Affairs  Division 
of  the  Foreign  Office.  It  was  at  that 
interview  that  Count  Montgelas  submit- 
ted to  Mr.  Gerard  a  draft  of  the  protocol 
proposed  by  Germany  by  way  of  reaffir- 
mation and  emendation  of  the  old  Prus- 
sian treaty. 


"  It  was  at  that  meeting  that  Mr. 
Gerard  denounced  the  way  in  which  he 
had  been  treated  by  the  German  Gov- 
ernment, and  received  in  explanation  a 
statement  of  Count  Montgelas  that  the 
German  Government  was  as  yet  in  igno- 
rance of  what  had  happened  to  Count 
von  Bernstorff  in  America.  But  it  was 
only  the  censorship  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment which  was  preventing  the  re- 
ceipt of  full  authentic  news  from  the 
United  States,  and  it  was  inconceivable 
that  Washington  was  preventing  von 
Bernstorff  from  communicating  with  his 
Government  if  he  desired  to  do  so. 

"  It  was  in  response  to  Count  Mont- 
gelas's  presentation  of  the  proposed  pro- 
tocol that  Mr.  Gerard  "stated  that  he 
could  not  be  *  sandbagged  '  into  signing 
such  a  document.  It  was  in  reply  to  a 
further  suggestion  by  Count  Montgelas 
that  favorable  action  by  Mr.  Gerard 
upon  the  German  proposal  would  fa- 
cilitate the  withdrawal  of  newspaper 
correspondents  and  other  Americans 
from  Germany  that  Mr.  Gerard  vigor- 
ously declared  he  would  sit  right  where 
he  was  until  Christmas  if  his  compa- 
triots were  not  permitted  to  withdraw 
along  with  him. 

"  Moreover,  the  American  Ambassador 
pointed  out  that  it  was  in  practical  fact 
an  act  of  war  for  Germany  to  refuse  to 
permit  Americans  to  withdraw  from  the 
country  under- the  circumstances.  There 
had  been  no  declaration  of  war  by  the 
United  States,  only  a  rupture  of  diplo- 
matic relations.  Under  every  considera- 
tion and  any  interpretation  of  legal  or 
moral  right,  Germany  had  no  ground 
whatever  for  interference  in  such  with- 
drawal. It  was  at  this  interview  also 
that  Mr.  Gerard  referred  to  efforts  of 
the  German  Government  to  get  his  con- 
sent to  the  proposed  protocol  as  an  at- 
tempt to  blackmail  him. 

Garbled  News  from  America 
"  Berlin  was  without  authoritative 
news  from  the  United  States.  Nothing 
was  coming  through  but  criminally  false 
stuff,  carried  by  a  news  association 
which  seemed  bent  on  doing  everything 
in  its  power  to  accentuate  the  trouble 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany. 


64 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


These  dispatches  purported  to  describe 
the  confiscation  of  the  German  ships  in 
American  waters  by  the  American  Gov- 
ernment. 

"  I  had  filed  several  dispatches  for 
Thk  New  York  Times  reporting  these 
events  and  describing  the  mischievous 
character  of  these  dispatches.  Whether 
any  of  them  got  through  or  not  I  do  not 
yet  know,  but  I  do  know  that  on  Thurs- 
day morning,  when  the  tension  in  Berlin 
had  become  acute,  I  received  a  message 
from  the  managing  editor  of  The  Times 
giving  explicitly  the  situation  in  the 
United  States  and  setting  forth  exactly 
the  status  of  the  German  ships  in  Amer- 
ican waters  and  their  crews.  I  showed 
this  message  immediately  to  Ambassa- 
dor Gerard,  who  said  it  was  most  impor- 
tant and  urged  that  the  widest  possible 
publicity  be  given  it.  Thereupon  I  went 
at  once  to  the  Foreign  Office  and  showed 
the  message  to  one  of  the  Under  Secre- 
taries. 

"  The  effect  was  instantaneous.  The 
message  was  taken  at  once  to  Secretary 
Zimmermann  and  sent  by  the  Foreign 
Office  to  a  German  news  agency,  with 
the  result  that  it  was  published  that 
afternoon  in  all  newspapers,  and  again 
the  next  morning. 

"  There  was  noticeable  immediately  a 
decided  rise  in  the  German  official  tem- 
perature. The  attitude  toward  Amer- 
icans and  their  departure  from  Germany 
was  markedly  friendly. 

"  It  was  not  until  Friday  afternoon 
that  the  first  passports  were  delivered, 
and  those  did  not  include  Gerard's.  His 
came  Saturday  morning.  Some  of  the 
party  who  left  Berlin  on  the  train  with 
him  that  evening  did  not  receive  their 
passports  until  5  o'clock  that  afternoon. 
Despite  the  modification  of  the  attitude 
following  the  receipt  of  TnE  New  York 
Times  dispatch,  the  decision  to  permit 
Americans  to  leave  was  not  made  until 
some  time  Friday  afternoon.  On  Thurs- 
day evening,  however,  Gerard  received  a 
call  from  another  member  of  the  Foreign 
Office  staff,  the  apparent  purpose  being 
to  endeavor  to  smooth  out  the  unpleasant 
impressions,  also  to  see  if  something 
could  not  be  done,  even  at  that  late  date, 
on    the    important    matter    of    that    old 


Prussian  treaty,  with  its  astounding  joker, 
about  the  safe  conduct  for  German  ships 
to  be  furnished  by  the  American  Gov- 
ernment in  case  of  war  between  the  two 
countries." 

Ambassador  Gerard  and  his  party, 
numbering  about  100,  first  proceeded  to 
Switzerland.  At  the  Swiss  frontier  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Government  received 
them,  and  they  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained at  Berne.  Again  at  the  French 
frontier  they  were  officially  received,  and 
at  Paris  a  formal  reception  was  tendered 
by  the  Government.  From  Paris  the 
party  proceeded  to  Madrid,  where  the 
King  held  a  long  interview  with  the  Am- 
bassador, and  thence  to  Corunna,  at 
which  port  they  embarked  on  the  steam- 
ship Alfonso  XIII.,  arriving  at  Havana, 
Cuba,  without  incident  on  March  5.  The 
Ambassador  left  on  the  10th  for  Key 
West,  and  reached  Washington  Wednes- 
day, March  14.  He  was  cordially  greeted 
en  route  by  committees  representing  the 
cities  and  States,  and  was  officially  re- 
ceived at  Washington.  The  President 
was  confined  to  his  room  by  illness,  but 
the  Ambassador  was  closeted  on  Wednes- 
day for  several  hours  with  Secretary  of 
State  Lansing. 

Mr.  Gerard  reached  New  York  Friday, 
March  16,  and  was  enthusiastically  wel- 
comed by  Reception  Committees  repre- 
senting the  State  and  the  municipality. 
He  studiously  declined  to  make  any  pub- 
lic statement,  holding  that  any  refer- 
ences to  his  report  should  be  made  by 
the  Government. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  Mr. 
Gerard  reached  Washington  on  the  same 
day  and  practically  at  the  same  hour  that 
Count  von  Bernstorff  arrived  at  Berlin. 

Thanhs  of  British  Government 
Mr.  Balfour,  the  British  Foreign  Sec- 
retary, announced  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons after  the  diplomatic  break  between 
the  United  States  and  Germany  on  Feb. 
3  that  he  had  communicated  to  the 
United  States  Government,  through  Am- 
bassador Walter  H.  Page,  the  following 
letter  of  thanks  for  the  services  of  Am- 
bassador James  W.  Gerard  and  his  staff 
in  caring  for  British  interests  at  Berlin 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war: 


AMBASSADOR   GERARD'S  DIFFICULTIES 


65 


I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  Excellency's  note  of  the  4th 
inst.,  (No.  2,766,)  in  which  your  Excellency 
informed  me  that  diplomatic  relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  of  America  and 
the  German  Empire  had  ceased  as  from  2 
P.  M.  on  the  3d  inst.  I  request  that  your 
Excellency  will  be  good  enough  to  convey  to 
your  Government  an  expression  of  the 
thanks  of  his  Majesty's  Government  for  the 
action  taken  by  them  in  transferring  the 
charge  of  British  interests  in  Germany  to 
the  Netherland  Minister  at  Berlin. 

I  desire  to  take  this  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing to  your  Excellency  his  Majesty's 
Government's  deep  appreciation  of  the  care 
and  devotion  with  which  the  United  States 
Government  has  taken  charge  of  British  in- 
terests in  Germany  since  the  outbreak  of 
war.  His  Majesty's  Government  are  fully 
conscious  of  the  immense  amount  of  work 
which  the  care  of  British  interests  has  nec- 
essarily entailed  upon  the  staffs  of  the  United, 
States  Embassies  in  London  and  Berlin,  and 
they  feel  that  they  cannot  value  too  highly 
the  promptitude  and  efficiency  with  which 
that  work  has  invariably  been  performed,  and 
the  unfailing  tact  and  courtesy  shown  by 
the  members  of  your  Excellency's  staff  in 
dealing  with  the  care  of  German  interests 
in  this  country. 
His    Majesty's    Government    are    especially 


gratefu;  for  all  that  has  been  done  by  the 
United  States  diplomatic  and  Consular  offi- 
cers in  Germany  for  the  British  prisoners  of 
war.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  ef- 
forts have  been  the  direct  cause  of  a  con- 
siderable improvement  in  the  treatment  of 
British  prisoners,  while  the  machinery  de- 
vised for  relief  has,  as  far  as  possible, 
ameliorated  the  lot  of  those  British  subjects 
who,  though  not ,  interned,  have  for  various 
reasons  been  unable  to  leave  Germany.  His 
Majesty's  Government  fully  realize  that 
these  results  have  not  been  achieved  without 
much  labor  on  the  part  of  the  American 
officials  concerned,  and,  in  some  cases,  in 
face  of  strenuous  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  German  authorities,  and  I  can  assure 
your  Excellency  that  the  work  done  by  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  on  behalf  of  British  subjects  in  hos- 
tile hands  will  not  readily  be  forgotten  either 
by  his  Majesty's  Government  or  by  the  Brit- 
ish people. 

I  beg  that  your  Excellency  will  accept  per- 
sonally, and  convey  to  the  members  of  your 
staff,  this  expression  of  the  most  cordial 
thanks  of  his  Majesty's  Government,  and  that 
you  will  also  be  so  good  as  to  ask  your  Gov- 
ernment to  express  to  Mr.  Gerard  his  Ma- 
jesty's Government's  profound  gratitude  and 
recognition  of  their  deep  indebtedness  to  him 
and  to  his  Excellency's  staff. 


The  Alliance  With  Mexico  and  Japan  Proposed 

by     Germany 


AN  important  phase  growing  out  of 
our  rupture  with  Germany  and 
the  subsequent  drift  toward  war, 
(the  main  issues  being  treated  fully  in 
preceding  pages,)  was  the  uncovering  of 
an  anti-American  alliance  proposed  by 
Germany  with  Mexico  and  Japan  in  the 
event  the  threatened  war  ensued. 

The  plot  was  revealed  by  the  publica- 
tion on  March  1,  1917,  of  a  letter  dated 
Jan.  19,  1917,  signed  by  the  German 
Foreign  Secretary  and  addressed  to  the 
German  Minister,  von  Eckhardt,  in  Mex- 
ico City.  The  text  of  the  letter  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Berlin,  Jan.  19,  1917. 
On   Feb.    1   we   intend   to   begin   submarine 
warfare  unrestricted.     In  spite  of  this,   it  is 
our  intention  to  endeavor  to  keep  neutral  the 
United  States  of  America. 

If  this  attempt  is  not  successful,  we  piopose 
an  alliance  on  the  following  basis  with  Mex- 
ico :  That  we  shall  make  war  together  and  to- 
gether make   peace.     We   shall   give  'general 


financial  support,  and  it  is  understood  that 
Mexico  is  to  reconquer  the  lost  territory  in 
New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Arizona.  The  de- 
tails are  left  to  you  for  settlement. 

You  are  instructed  to  inform  the  President 
of  Mexico  of  the  above  in  the  greatest  confi- 
dence as  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  there  will 
be  an  outbreak  of  war  with  the  United  States, 
and  suggest  that  the  President  of  Mexico,  on 
his  own  initiative,  should  communicate  with 
Japan  suggesting  adherence  at  once  to  this 
plan.  At  the  same  time,  offer  to  mediate 
between  Germany  and  Japan. 

Please  call  to  the  attention  of  the  President 
of  Mexico  that  the  employment  of  ruthless 
submarine  warfare  now  promises  to  compel 
England  to  make  peace  in  a  few  months. 

ZIMMERMANN. 

The  revelation  created  a  profound  im- 
pression throughout  the  country.  The 
immediate  effect  on  Congress  was  the 
elimination  of  practically  all  opposition 
to  the  proposal  then  pending  to  authorize 
the  President  to  proceed  at  once  to  arm 
American  merchantmen  against  German 
submarines;  it  also  crystallized  the  con- 


<;o 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


viction  throughout  the  country  that  the 
German  submarine  blockade  must  be 
sternly  resisted,  even  though  it  resulted 
in  a  declaration  of  war  by  Germany.  A 
question  having  been  raised  in  the  United 
States  Senate  as  to  the  authenticity  of 
the  letter,  a  resolution  was  passed  re- 
questing the  President  to  inform  the 
Senate  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  Ger- 
man note;  thereupon  the  following  reply 
was  communicated  by  the  Executive  on 
the  same  day: 

Washington,  D.  C.  March  1,  1917. 
To  the  Senate : 

In  response  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Senate  on  March  1,  1917,  requesting  the  Presi- 
dent to  furnish  the  Senate,  if  not  incompati- 
ble with  the  public  interest,  whatever  infor- 
mation he  has  concerning  the  note  published 
in  the  press  of  this  date  purporting  to  have 
been  sent  Jan.  19,  1917,  by  the  German  Secre- 
tary for  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  German  Min- 
ister to  Mexico,  I  transmit  herewith  a  report 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  which  has  my 
approval.  WOODROW  WILSON. 

[Inclosure.] 
To  the  President : 

The  resolution  adopted  by  the  United  States 
Senate  on  March  1,  1917,  requesting  that  that 
body  be  furnished,  if  not  incompatible  with 
the  public  interest,  whatever  information  you 
have  concerning  the  note  published  in  the 
press  of  this  date,  purporting  to  have  been 
sent  Jan.  19,  1917,  by  the  German  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  German  Minister 
to  Mexico,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  the 
Government  is  in  possession  of  evidence  which 
establishes  the  fact  that  the  note  referred  to 
Is  authentic,  and  that  it  is  in  possession  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  the  evidence  was  procured  by  this  Gov- 
ernment during  the  present  week,  but  that  it 
Is,  in  my  opinion,  incompatible  with  the  pub- 
lic interest  to  send  to  the  Senate  at  the  pres- 
ent time  any  further  information  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
relative  to  the  note  mentioned  in  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  Senate.  Respectfully  submitted, 
ROBERT  LANSING. 

How  the  Note  Was  Obtained 

The  authorities  have  given  no  intima- 
tion as  to  how  the  Zimmermann  note  was 
procured,  but  an  unconfirmed  explana- 
tion was  given  that  four  men  of  the  First 
Indiana  Infantry,  a  noncommissioned  of- 
ficer and  three  privates,  doing  patrol 
duty  along  the  Rio  Grande  near  Llano 
Grande,  Texas,  had  overhauled  a  messen- 
ger sent  by  the  German  Ambassador, 
Count  von  Bernstorff,  and  found  the  note 
on  his  person.    The  details  as  related  in  a 


dispatch  from  Houston,  Texas,  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Just  opposite  where  the  messenger 
attempted  to  sneak  across  the  river  was 
stationed  a  squad  of  thirty-five  Carranza 
'  rurales,'  fashioned  after  the  organiza- 
.  tion  of  '  Texas  Rangers.'  However,  the 
messenger  did  not  meet  the  *  rurales/ 
but  four  men  of  Company  G,  First  Indi- 
ana Infantry,  and  they  got  the  Zimmer- 
mann note  and  other  papers  from  his 
person.  They  caught  him  near  the  town 
of  Progreso,  where  he  was  arrested  on 
Feb.  21,  when  he  attempted  to  cross  the 
Rio  Grande,  twelve  miles  below  San  Juan 
Ferry  and  twenty-five  miles  west  of  the 
International  Bridge  at  Brownsville, 
Texas,  the  two  regulation  crossings. 
Since  the  patrol  of  the  border  was  begun 
no  person  is  allowed  to  cross  without  be- 
ing questioned,  searched,  and  minutely 
examined  by  the  patrol  bodies,  made  up 
of  four  men  and  covering  every  foot  of 
territory  from  Sam  Fordyce,  Texas,  to 
Brownsville,  Texas,  along  the  Rio  Grande 
— a  distance  of  106  miles.  The  messen- 
ger doubtless  was  following  explicit  in- 
structions as  to  where  to  cross,  and  in  so 
doing  he  aroused  the  suspicions  of  the 
militiamen." 

It  is  stated,  and  not  officially  denied, 
that  the  document  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  President  when  he  broke  off  relations 
with  Germany  by  dismissing  the  Ambas- 
sador, but  its  absolute  authenticity  was 
not  established  until  a  day  or  two  before 
it  was  made  public. 

Confirmed  by  Germany 

When  the  Zimmermann  proposal  was 
first  made  public  it  evoked  indignant 
protests  from  pro-Germans  throughout 
the  country,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
spurious,  and  that  its  publication  was  a 
political  trick.  The  German  press  in 
America  denounced  it  as  a  palpable  forg- 
ery, a  clumsy  artifice  to  influence  Amer- 
ican sentiment.  However,  on  March  3 
Secretary  Zimmermann  himself  ac- 
knowledged that  the  letter  was  genuine, 
and  the  following  statement  was  tele- 
graphed from  Berlin  that  day  by  the 
German  Official  News  Bureau,  the  Over- 
seas News  Agency: 

Foreign  Secretary  Zimmermann  was  asked 


GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE 


67 


by  a  staff  member  of  the  Overseas  News 
Agency  about  the  English  report  that  "  a 
German  plot  had  been  revealed  to  get  Mexico 
to  declare  war  against  the  United  States  and 
to  secure  Japan's  aid  against  the  United 
States."    Secretary  Zimmermann  answered  : 

"  You  understand  that  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  discuss  the  facts%  of  this  *  revealed 
plot  '  just  at  this  moment  and  under  these 
circumstances.  I  therefore  may  be  allowed  to 
limit  my  answer  to  what  is  said  in  the  Eng- 
lish reports,  which  certainly  are  not  inspired 
by  sympathy  with  Germany.  The  English  re- 
port expressly  states  that  Germany  expected 
and  wished  to  remain  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  the  United  States,  but  that  we  had  pre- 
pared measures  of  defense  in  case  the  United 
States  declared  war  against  Germany.  I  fail 
to  see  how  such  a  '  plot  '  is  inspired  by  un- 
friendliness on  our  part.  It  would  mean 
nothing  but  that  we  would  use  means  uni- 
versally admitted  in  war,  in  case  the  United 
States  declared  war. 

"  The  most  important  part  of  the  alleged 
plot  is  its  condition  and  form.  The  whole 
•  plot  '  falls  flat  to  the  ground  in  case  the 
United  States  does  not  declare  war  against 
us.  And  if  we  really,  as  the  report  alleges, 
considered  the  possibility  of  Jiostile  acts  of 
the  United  States  against  us,  then  we  really 
had  reasons  to  do  so. 

"  An  Argentine  newspaper  a  short  while 
ago  really  '  revealed  a  plot  *  when  it  told 
that  the  United  States  last  year  suggested  to 
other  American  republics  common  action 
against  Germany  and  her  allies.  This  '  plot ' 
apparently  was  not  conditional  in  the  least. 
The  news  as  published  by  La  Prensa  (Buenos 
Aires  )  agrees  well  with  the  interpretation 
given,  for  instance,  by  an  American  newspa- 
per man,  Edward  Price,  in  Berlin  and  Lon- 
don, who  said  that  the  United  States  was 
waiting  only  for  the  proper  moment  in  order 
opportunely  to  assist  the  Entente.  The  same 
American  stated  that  Americans  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  really  participated  in  it 
by  putting  the  immense  resources  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  at  the  Entente's  disposal,  and  that 
Americans  had  not  declared  war  only  because 
they  felt  sure  that  assistance  by  friendly  neu- 
trality would  be  during  that  time  much  more 
efficient  for  the  Entente  than  direct  partici- 
pation in  the  war.  Whether  this  American 
newspaper  man  reported  the  facts  exactly  we 
were  at  a  loss  to  judge  in  satisfactory  fash- 
ion, since  we  were  more  or  less  completely 
cut  off  from  communication  with  the  United 
States. 

"  But  there  were  other  facts  which  seemed 
to  confirm  this  and  similar  assurances.  Ev- 
erybody knows  these  facts,  and  I  need  not 
repeat  them.  The  Entente  propaganda  ser- 
vices have  sufficiently  heralded  all  these  pro- 
Entente  demonstrations  in  the  United  States. 
And  if  you  link  these  demonstrations  with 
the  actual  attitude  of  the  United  States,  then 
it  is  obvious  that  it  was  not  frivolous  on  our 
part  to  consider  what  defensive  measures  we 


should  take  in  case  we  were  attacked  by  the 
United  States." 

German  Comment 

The  German  newspaper  press  was  cau- 
tious in  its  comments  on  the  disclosure, 
though  some  influential  organs  criticised 
the  manoeuvre  as  unwise.  It  was  at  first 
reported  that  the  Reichstag  would  repu- 
diate the  Minister  and  demand  his  dis- 
missal, but  this  story  proved  to  be  wholly 
unfounded.  The  Reichstag  Budget  Com- 
mittee at  an  executive  session  on  March 
5,  lasting  six  hours,  unequivocally  in- 
dorsed the  action  of  the  Foreign  Office 
by  unanimous  vote.  The  Government's 
efforts  to  negotiate  an  alliance  in  the 
eventuality  of  war  with  the  United  States 
was  approved  as  being  within  the  legiti- 
mate scope  of  military  precautions.  The 
committee  expressed  regrets  at  the  mis- 
fortune which  resulted  in  the  interception 
of  Foreign  Secretary  Zimmermann's 
note. 

After  Dr.  Zimmermann  had  given  his 
report  in  regard  to  the  instructions  to  the 
German  Minister  in  Mexico  the  subject 
was  debated  by  members  of  the  Reichs- 
tag. Reporting  the  debate,  the  Overseas 
News  Agency  said  that  a  National  Lib- 
eral member  reminded  the  committee 
that  President  Wilson  had  attempted  to 
instigate  neutrals  against  Germany.  He 
said  he  was  unable  to  object  to  Dr.  Zim- 
mermann's  action. 

Members  of  the  Socialist  minority  criti- 
cised unfavorably  the  Foreign  Secre- 
tary's move.  Their  remarks  evoked  ener- 
getic protests  from  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Party.  A  Conservative  member 
declared  Dr.  Zimmermann's  action  was 
unobjectionable  and  should  be  indorsed. 
The  objections  raised  by  the  members  of 
the  Socialist  minority  were  criticised  by 
other  Socialists. 

The  most  caustic  criticism  of  the  mat- 
ter came  from  Theodor  Wolff,  editor  of 
the  influential  Berliner  Tageblatt,  who 
wrote : 

The  invitation  to  Mexico  would  have  been 
a  mistake  even  if  it  had  not  strayed  from 
the  right  road.  The  fresh  spirit  of  enterprise 
it  shows  too  impatiently  eliminated  sober 
judgment. 

The  Minister .  to  Mexico  was  instructed  to 
hold  out  the  conquest  of  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
and  Arizona  to  Carranza,  and  it  would  cer- 


68 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


tainly  be  interesting  to  see  the  face  of  the 
wily  Mexican  when  this  offer  was  made.  The 
idea,  too,  that  through  Carranza's  mediation 
one  could  win  over  rather  self-conscious 
Japan  is  somewhat  strange.  With  Russia, 
England,  and  America,  all  leading  powers 
in  Eastern  Asia,  standing  on  the  other  side, 
Japan  will  certainly  not  be  very  amenable  to 
Mexico's  influence.  It  is  not  probable  one 
can  help  along  the  world's  history  in  this 
way. 

Naturally  no  man  says  a  word  about  moral- 
ity in  this  connection;  in  the  first  place, 
morality  has  for  a  long  time  been  that  thing 
whose  nonobservance  is  self  ^understood ;  sec- 
ondly, it  hasn't  the  least  to  do  with  the  Mexi- 
can matter.  It  is  not  immoral  to  offer  Mex- 
ico an  alliance  for  the  eventuality  of  war, 
and  it  would  not  be  immoral  even  to  ask 
Japan,  "  My  yellow  beauty,  will  you  go  with 
me?  "  One  who  does  so  is  far  from  being  a 
Machiavelli. 

Likewise,  nothing  justifies  the  charge  that 
the  authors  of  the  plan  have  touched  the  fuse 
to  the  American  powder  barrel.  The  devel- 
opment of  things  would  have  been  approxi- 
mately the  same,  even  without  the  Mexican 
correspondence.  Neither  should  one  condemn 
an  action  because  it  fails.  The  greatest 
diplomatic  geniuses  have  occasionally  gone 
wrong. 

After  we  have  thus  blown  ourselves  up  with 
righteousness,  we  can  quietly  say  that  the 
jewel  of  statesmanship  went  lost  between 
Berlin  and  Mexico. 

Georg  Bernhard  in  the  Vossische  Zei- 
tung  expressed  disapproval  in  these 
terms: 

To  begin  with  we  cannot  see  what  interest 
we  might  have  in  offering  the  Mexicans  bits 
of  American  territory.  Mexico  is  carrying  on 
a  war  of  defense  against  the  Union.  The 
Mexicans  know  full  well  for  what  reasons, 
not  only  financial,  but  political,  the  United 
States  is  forced  to  seek  an  extension  of  its 
territory  beyond  the  Mexican  boundary.  The 
American  need  to  defend  the  Panama  Canal 
Is  a  perpetual  menace  to  every  State  lying 
between  the  Canal  and  the  United  States 
boundary.  Therefore  these  States  are  bound 
to  look  upon  the  German  proffer  to  assist 
them  in  their  defense  as  highly  valuable. 

Wholly  incomprehensible,  however,  is  the 
inspiration  of  our  diplomacy  to  negotiate  with 
Japan  by  way  of  Mexico.  It  betrays  a  wholly 
false  estimate  of  latent  possibilities.  We  are 
fully  acquainted  with  Japan's  attitude  toward 
America.  All  the  beautiful  speeches  of  the 
statesmen  in  Washington  and  Tokio  cannot 
deceive  us,  for  beneath  the  mask  of  friend- 
ship the  two  grimmest  foes  of  the  future  are 
facing  one  another.  Long  before  the  war  we 
were  aware  that  Japanese  diplomacy  was 
not  only  astute,  but  very  purposeful,  and  we 
know  further  that  among  no  people  has  the 
art  of  keeping  one's  face  been  so  keenly  de- 
veloped. Whoever  assumed  that  Japan,  in 
this   war,    would   probably   forsake   her  alle- 


giance to  her  friends  betrays  anything  but  a 
diplomatic  line  of  reasoning. 

Mexico  and  Japan  Speak 

The  State  Department  announced  that 
it  had  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Zim- 
mermann  proposal  had  ever  been  pre- 
sented to  the  Mexican  Government,  and 
the  Mexican  Charge  d'Affaires  of  the 
Mexican  Embassy  at  Washington,  Ra- 
mon de  Negri,  issued  a  formal  state- 
ment denying  that  the  Carranza  Gov- 
ernment had  been  in  any  way  implicated 
in  the  matter.  The  Japanese  Embassy 
at  Washington  also  issued  a  formal  state- 
ment denouncing  the  letter  as  a  "  mon- 
strous plot,"  and  adding: 

"  If  such  a  proposal  were  made,  it  is 
one  that  could  not  be  entertained  by 
the  Japanese  Government,  as  it  is  an 
absolutely  impossible  proposal.  Japan 
is  not  only  in  honor  bound  to  her  allies 
in  the  Entente,  but  could  not  entertain 
the  idea  of  entering  into  any  such  alli- 
ance at  the  expense  of  the  United 
States." 

The  Japanese  Foreign  Minister,  Vis- 
count Motono,  considered  the  suggestion 
ridiculous,  and  added:  "  If  Mexico  re- 
ceived the  proposal,  that  country  showed 
intelligence  in  not  transmitting  it  to 
Japan."  The  Prime  Minister  of  Japan, 
Count  Terauchi,  made  the  following 
statement  regarding  the  matter  on 
March  5: 

The  revelation  of  Germany's  latest  plot, 
looking  to  a  combination  between  Japan 
and  Mexico  against  the  United  States,  Is  in- 
teresting in  many  ways.  We  are  surprised 
not  so  much  by  the  persistent  efforts  of  the 
Germans  to  cause  an  estrangement  between 
Japan  and  the  United  States  as  by  their 
complete  failure  of  appreciating  the  aims  and 
ideals   of   other   nations. 

Nothing  is  more  repugnant  to  our  sense  of 
honor  and  to  the  lasting  welfare  of  this 
country  than  to  betray  our  allies  and  friends 
in  time  of  trial  and  to  become  a  party  to  a 
combination  directed  against  the  United 
States,  to  whom  we  are  bound  not  only  by 
the  sentiments  of  true  friendship,  but  also 
by  the  material  interests  of  vast  and  far- 
reaching   importance. 

The  proposal  which  is  now  reported  to 
have  been  planned  by  the  German  Foreign 
Office  has  not  been  communicated  to  the 
Japanese  Government  up  to  this  moment, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  officially  or  un- 
officially, but  should  it  ever  come  to  hand 
I  can  conceive  no  other  form  of  reply  than 
that  of  indignant  and  categorical  refusal. 


GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE 


69 


The  Mikado  of  Japan  sent  President 
Wilson  the  following  greeting  on  his 
second  inauguration  on  March  5: 

On  the  occasion  of  your  inauguration  as 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica we  desire  to  offer  to  you  our  sincere 
congratulations  and  to  express  our  ardent 
wishes  that  your  Administration  may  be 
attended  by  brilliant  successes  in  the  future, 
as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  and  that  the 
United  States  may  grow  more  and  more  in 
its   prosperity. 

Attitude  of  Carranza 

The  exposure  of  the  proposed  Ger- 
man-Mexican-Japanese alliance  was  fol- 
lowed by  disclosures  of  intrigues  by  al- 
leged German  agents  in  nearly  all  the 
Central  and  South  American  States.  On 
March  9  it  was  reported  that  Washing- 
ton had  discovered  that  a  wireless  sta- 
tion has  been  installed  in  Mexico,  where- 
by direct  communication  could  be  had 
with  Germany.  Numerous  reports  came 
from  points  in  Central  and  South  Amer- 
ica of  plottings  to  involve  various  States 
in  quarrels,  and  one  circumstantial  story 
was  related  to  the  effect  that  efforts 
had  been  made  to  embroil  Mexico  with 
all  the  Central  American  States,  with 
the  promise  that  Mexico  should  be  per- 
mitted to  acquire  nearly  all  of  Guate- 
mala and  British  Honduras. 

Carranza,  the  de  facto  President  of 
Mexico,  made  no  announcement  regard- 
ing the  exposure  of  the  plot,  and  it  was 
remarked  that  no  official  repudiation  of 
the  proposal  had  been  made  by  any  im- 
portant official  of  the  Carranza  Govern- 
ment. It  is  recalled  that  on  Feb.  12, 
1917,  Secretary  Lansing  received  from 
R.  P.  de  Negri,  Charge  d' Affaires  of 
the  Mexican  Embassy  at  Washington, 
the  copy  of  an  identical  note  which  the 
de  facto  Government  of  Mexico  had  also 
dispatched  to  Argentina,  Brazil,  Chile, 
Spain,  Sweden,  Norway,  and  other  na- 
tions, asking  that  they  and  the  United 
States  join  with  Mexico  in  an  interna- 
tional agreement  to  prohibit  the  ex- 
portation of  munitions  and  foodstuffs  to 
the  belligerents  in  Europe. 

This  proposal,  contrary  to  international 
law  and  to  the  principles  of  neutrality 
as  laid  down  by  the  United  States  in  its 
notes  to  the  German  and  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Governments,  caused  critics  of  in- 


ternational affairs  to  say  that,  as  the 
Central  Powers  were  the  only  ones  to  be 
benefited  by  the  proposal,  it  was  proba- 
bly due  to  German  influence  on  General 
Carranza  or  to  Carranza's  own  desire  to 
have  a  hand  in  the  European  quarrel. 

Carranza  s  Intervention  Note 

The  text  of  the  Carranza  note  reads, 
in  part: 

Over  two  years  ago  there  began  on  the  old 
Continent  the  most  gigantic  armed  conflict 
which  history  records,  spreading  death,  deso- 
lation, and  misery  among  the  belligerent  na- 
tions. This  tragic  struggle  has  deeply 
wounded  the  sentiments  of  humanity  of  all 
the  countries  not  taking  any  part  in  the 
struggle,  and  it  would  not  be  just  or  humane 
that  these  nations  should  remain  indifferent 
before  such  great  disaster.  A  deep  senti- 
ment of  human  brotherhood  therefore  obliges 
the  Mexican  Government  to  offer  its  modest 
co-operation  in  order  to  bring  about  the 
cessation   of   the   struggle.    *    *    * 

The  present  European  war  seems  to  the 
whole  world  as  a  great  conflagration,  as  a 
great  plague  that  ought  to  have  been  isolated 
and  limited  long  ago,  in  order  to  shorten  its 
duration  and  avoid  its  extension.  Far  from 
that,  the  commerce  of  the  neutral  countries 
of  the  world,  and  particularly  that  of  Amer- 
ica, has  a  great  responsibility  before  his- 
tory, because  all  the  neutral  nations,  more 
or  less,  have  lent  their  asisstance  in  money, 
in  provisions,  in  munitions,  or  in  fuel,  and 
in  this  way  have  fed  and  prolonged  this 
great  conflagration. 

By  reason  of  high  human  morals  and  for 
their  own  national  preservation,  the  neutral 
nations  are  obligated  to  abandon  this  pro- 
cedure, and  also  to  refuse  to  continue  lending 
this  assistance  that  has  made  possible  the 
continuation  of  the  war  for  over  two  years. 
To  this  end  the  Mexican  Government,  acting 
within  the  most  strict  respect  for  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  countries  at  war,  inspired  by 
the  highest  humanitarian  sentiments,  and 
guided  at  the  same  time  by  the  sentiment 
of  self-conservation  and  defense,  permits 
itself  to  propose  to  the  Government  of 
your  Excellency,  as  it  is  also  doing  to  the 
other  neutral  Governments,  that,  working 
in  mutual  accord  and  proceeding  upon  the 
basis  of  the  most  absolute  equality  for  both 
groups  of  combatant  powers,  to  [we?]  in- 
vite them  to  put  an  end  to  the  present  war, 
either  by  themselves  or  taking  advantage 
of  the  good  offices  or  of  the  friendly  media- 
tion of  all  the  nations  that  jointly  may  ac- 
cept this  invitation. 

If  within  a  reasonable  length  of  time  peace 
cannot  be  established  by  this  means,  the 
neutral  countries  will  then  take  the  neces- 
sary measures  in  order  to  confine  the  con- 
flagration to  its  strict  limits,  refusing  to 
the    belligerents    all    kinds    of    supplies    and 


70 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


stopping  merchant  traffic  with  the  nations 
of  the  world  until  the  end  of  the  war  is 
achieved. 

The  Mexican  Government  recognizes  that 
in  its  proposition  it  steps  aside  a  little  from 
the  principles  of  international  law  which 
until  now  have  been  in  force  in  the  rela- 
tions of  the  neutrals  with  the  belligerents. 
But  we  ought  to  recognize  that  the  present 
European  war  is  a  conflict  without  any 
precedent  in  the  history  of  humanity,  which 
demands  supreme  effort  and  new  remedies 
that  cannot  be  found  within  the  narrow 
and  somewhat  egotistical  limits  of  interna- 
tional law  as  known  up  to  date. 

The  Government  of  Mexico  understands 
that  no  neutral  nation,  powerful  as  it  may 
be,  could  by  itself  take  a  step  of  this  nature, 
and  that  the  result  of  this  measure  only  can 
be  reached  with  the  co-operation  of  the  neu- 
tral Governments  possessing  the  greatest  in- 
ternational influence  before  the  belligerent 
nations. 

It  pertains  especially  to  the  United  States, 
Argentina,  Brazil,  and  Chile  in  America,  and 
to  Spain,  Sweden,  and  Norway  in  Europe, 
which  are  more  influential  and  more  at  lib- 
erty to  take  a  determined  stand  before  the 
belligerents  concerned,  to  foster  this  initia- 
tive, which,  not  because  it  proceeds  from  a 
nation  which  is  supposed  to  be  weak  at  the 
present  time,  and  therefore  incapable  of  an 
effective  international  effort,  is  neverthe- 
less worthy  of  serious  study  and  minute 
consideration. 

The  proposal  at  the  time  brought  sharp 
protests  from  the  newspapers  and  prom- 
inent spokesmen  of  all  the  countries,  and 
was  denounced  as  a  movement  in  the  in- 
terest of  Germany.  General  Carranza 
expressed  surprise  that  his  suggestion 
should  be  so  construed,  and  disclaimed 
that  it  was  made  in  the  interest  of  any 
of  the  belligerents. 

Earlier  Intrigues  in  Mexico 

German  plottings  with  reference  to 
Mexico  were  first  divulged  on  Dec.  8, 
1915,  when  it  was  reported  that  Franz 
Rintelen,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Ger- 
man Crown  Prince,  and  one  of  the  finan- 
cial advisers  of  the  German  Admiralty, 
had  been  sent  to  the  United  States  in 
the  Spring  of  that  year  for  the  double 
purpose  of  stirring  up  strikes  in  Amer- 
ican factories  engaged  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  munitions  for  the  Allies,  and  also 
of  bringing  about  a  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  the  purpose 
of  the  last-named  plot  being  to  create  a 
situation  in  this  country  which  would 
make  impossible  the  sale  of  war  materials 


to  the  Allies  so  long  as  the  Mexican 
trouble  lasted. 

Rintelen  arrived  in  the  United  States 
in  April,  1915,  under  an  assumed  name, 
which  he  changed  to  another  assumed 
name  shortly  after  his  arrival.  He  had 
offices  in  a  New  York  bank  building,  and 
was  known  to  the  other  tenants  as  Han- 
sen. As  Hansen  he  went  to  an  uptown 
hotel  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a 
man  who  was  at  that  time  a  power  in 
Mexican  affairs. 

The  letter  introducing  him  was  written 
by  an  official  of  a  bank  in  which  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian  officials  in  this  country 
have  kept  large  accounts.  Rintelen  also 
had  an  account  in  this  bank,  which  at  one 
time  amounted  to  several  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  money,  according  to 
American  Secret  Service  agents,  was  part 
of  a  large  fund  given  to  Rintelen  by  the 
German  Government  to  carry  out  the 
anti-American  conspiracies  which  caused 
the  Berlin  authorities  to  send  him  to  the 
United  States.  The  total  amount  of  the 
fund  said  to  have  been  at  the  disposal  of 
Rintelen  has  been  placed  by  responsible 
officials  as  high  as  $30,000,000. 

Huerla  and  Rintelen 

A  few  weeks  after  Rintelen  arrived  in 
New  York,  Victoriano  Huerta,  former 
dictator  of  Mexico,  arrived  here  from 
Spain.  He  had  fled  to  the  latter  country 
a  few  weeks  following  the  American  oc- 
cupation of  Vera  Cruz,  in  the  Spring  of 
1914.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  Rintelen  also  came  to  this  country 
from  Spain,  and  that  while  in  that  coun- 
try he  had  conferred  with  Huerta  and 
other  prominent  Mexicans  who  were  then 
in  exile  there. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  New  York 
Huerta  met  Rintelen.  Several  times  later 
he  met  and  conferred  with  Captain  von 
Papen,  then  the  German  Military  Attache 
in  Washington.  Von  Papen  subsequently 
was  recalled  by  the  German  Government 
at  the  request  of  President  Wilson.  The 
reason  of  the  recall  has  never  been  made 
public,  but  those  who  are  in  close  touch 
with  the  situation  have  never  seen  fit  to 
deny  that  the  Mexican  activities  of  Ger- 
man agents  had  something  to  do  with 
the  disgracing  of  the  Attache. 


GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE 


71 


The  German  proposition  to  Huerta  was 
submitted  to  him  at  a  conference  held  in 
a  Fifth  Avenue  hotel,  at  which  there  were 
present,  besides  Huerta  and  Rintelen,  at 
least  one  former  Foreign  Minister  of  the 
Mexican  Government  and  several  other 
Mexicans  whose  names  were  household 
words  south  of  the  Rio  Grande  five  years 
ago. 

Von  Papen  was  not  at  this  conference, 
but  he  conferred  subsequently  with 
Huerta.  Von  Papen  is  said  to  have  gone 
to  the  border  in  the  Summer  of  1915, 
and,  with  trusted  German  agents,  made 
a  close  study  of  the  situation  from  a 
military  point  of  view. 

Huerta  took  kindly  to  the  German 
proposition,  and  a  few  weeks  later  he 
announced  that  he  had  decided  to  make 
New  York  his  home,  and  rented  a  house 
on  Long  Island.  This  statement  regard- 
ing a  change  of  residence  proved  to  be  a 
ruse  to  throw  the  United  States  Secret 
Service  agents  off  Huerta's  track,  for  a 
few  days  after  he  moved  to  his  Long 
Island  home  he  disappeared.  The  Secret 
Service  agents  found  him  in  Missouri, 
speeding  on  a  limited  train  for  El  Paso, 
Texas,  where  it  was  learned  he  was  to  be 
joined  by  confederates  and  was  to  slip 
across  the  line  near  Juarez  and  start  the 
new  revolution,  the  purpose  of  which  was 
to  bring  on  a  war  with  the  United  States. 
The  Germans,  it  is  said,  had  promised 
Huerta  10,000  rifles,  a  huge  amount  of 
ammunition,  and  a  first  credit  of  about 
$10,000,000  to  finance  the  enterprise. 

Huerta  never  arrived  at  El  Paso.  In- 
stead, the  Government  agents  intercepted 
him  in  New  Mexico,  near  the  Texas  line, 


and  made  him  a  prisoner.  Pascual  Orozco, 
a  former  Madero  chieftain,  who  was  also 
in  the  plot,  was  killed  a  few  weeks  later 
in  trying  to  escape  into  Mexico.  Whether 
or  not  Huerta  ever  confessed  to  the 
Federal  authorities  his  part  in  the  Ger- 
man plot  has  never  been  stated,  but  the 
impression  is  that  he  died  in  the  jail  at 
San  Antonio  without  telling  what  he 
knew  of  the  affair. 

The  arrest  of  Huerta  and  the  subse- 
quent investigation  by  the  Secret  Service 
agents  resulted  in  the  flight  from  this 
country  of  Rintelen.  He  sailed  on  a  Hol- 
land-America liner  on  a  fraudulent  Swiss 
passport,  and  was  arrested  by  the  British 
when  his  ship  called  at  Falmouth  for  ex- 
amination by  the  British  military  author- 
ities. He  is  still  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
Great  Britain,  the  place  of  confinement 
being,  it  is  said,  a  prison  near  London. 

A  significant  indication  of  the  attitude 
of  the  Carranza  Government  toward  Ja- 
pan lies  in  the  fact  that  about  the  time 
the  Zimmermann  note  was  due  to  be  de- 
livered at  Mexico  City  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment canceled  orders  for  20,000,000 
rifle  cartridges  that  had  been  let  in  this 
country  and  transferred  them  to  Japa- 
nese munitions  works.  The  ostensible 
reason  given  was  the  irksome  regulation 
imposed  by  our  Government  in  regard 
to  deliveries. 

It  is  stated  that  by  March  10  there 
were  6,000  Germans  in  various  parts  of 
Mexico,  all  trained  soldiers,  and  that 
the  number  is  increasing  rapidly  by  the 
departure  from  American  cities  of  hun- 
dreds  each   week  for  Mexico. 


Microbes  as  War  Weapons 

A  German  Plot  to  Infect  Rumanian  Horses  and  Cattle 

Is  Charged 

Robert  de  Lazeu,  a  writer  for  the  Taris  Figaro,  .has  collected  the  evidence  tending  to  prove 
that  the  Germans,  under  protection  of  diplomatic  immunity  in  time  of  peace,  had  introduced 
Into  Rumania  certain  explosives  and  microbe  cultures  intended  to  be  used  to  blow  up  Ru- 
manian railways  and  infect  Rumanian  cattle  and  horses. 

[This  article  is  published  without  verification  by  the  editor,  and  is  pre- 
sented as  an  ex  parte  contribution.— Editor  Current  History  Magazine] 


IN  the  course  of  the  Dobrudja  cam- 
paign I  had  occasion  to  witness  and 
verify  many  Bulgarian  horrors  and 
German  atrocities;  but  none  of  these 
seems  to  me  to  have  equaled  in  infamy 
the  discovery  that  was  made  on  Oct.  5, 
1916,  at  11  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the 
garden  of  the  German  Legation  at 
Bucharest,  of  a  case  of  powerful  ex- 
plosives and  a  whole  set  of  tubes  and 
little  boxes  of  bacillus  cultures,  intended 
to  spread  in  Rumania  two  dreaded  epi- 
demics— anthrax   and   glanders. 

The  fact  is  so  unheard  of,  so  mon- 
strous, so  unprecedented  in  the  annals 
of  civilization  and  even  of  barbarism, 
that  I  confess  I  did  not  give  it  entire 
credence  at  first.  The  newspapers  pre- 
sented it  in  an  incomplete  and  cursory 
fashion.  The  Austro-German  press  de- 
nied it,  and  denies  it  still,  sometimes 
with  violence,  sometimes  with  an  air  of 
rather  strained  levity.  The  newspapers 
of  neutral  countries,  especially  those  of 
America,  remained  skeptical  and  con- 
cluded that  such  machinations  passed  the 
limits  of  probability.  How  could  one 
blame  them? 

This  is  why  it  seems  to  me  to  be  im- 
portant to  ascertain  all  the  circumstances 
of  an  act  which  the  mind  and  even  the 
imagination  refuse  to  admit,  and  to  de- 
vote all  the  more  care  to  the  proofs  be- 
cause the  facts  involved  seem  incredible. 
I  have  seen  all  the  apparatus,  all  the 
poison  bottles,  discovered  in  the  legation 
garden.  I  have  had  in  my  hands  all  the 
official  reports  and  all  the  records  in 
this  unprecedented  case.  I  am  going  to 
try  to  present  them  in  such  a  way  that 
the  German  press  shall  be  obliged  to 
implore  its  "  good  old  God  "  for  inspira- 
tion to  invent  new  lies,  and  that  no  one 
can  longer  doubt  that  in  1916 — in  a  coun- 


try not  at  war — in  a  European  capital, 
diplomats  and  Military  Attaches  who 
were  in  social  intercourse  every  evening 
with  Ministers  or  high  officials  were 
spending  their  days,  with  sleeves  rolled 
up,  in  preparing  explosives  to  blow  up 
their  hosts,  and  deadly  microbes  to  de- 
stroy the  horses  attached  to  the  vehicles 
in  which  they  rode. 

Bucharest  has  a  Prefect  of  Police 
whom  all  the  capitals  might  envy  if  they 
knew  him — M.  Corbesco.  Several  weeks 
before  Rumania's  entry  into  the  war  M. 
Corbesco  had  ascertained  that  explosives 
were  being  introduced  into  the  country — 
coming  surreptitiously  from  the  Central 
Empires — and  that  the  diplomatic  chan- 
nel was  being  used  for  this  purpose.  One 
day  a  policeman  came  and  reported  to  the 
Prefect  that  he  had  found  where  the  ex- 
plosives were.  They  were  at  the  Ger- 
man Consulate.  M.  Corbesco  was  stupe- 
fied, but  he  kept  his  counsel  and  bided  his 
time. 

After  the  mobilization  M.  Corbesco  was 
anxious  to  search  the  legation.  It  re- 
quired long  parleying.  The  American 
Legation,  which  is  intrusted  with  the 
protection  of  the  German  Legation,  in- 
terposed purely  formal  difficulties.  Final- 
ly, on  Sept.  22,  at  the  request  of  the 
Rumanian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
the  American  Legation  delegated  its 
First  Secretary,  Mr.  Andrews,  to  be 
present  at  the  search. 

Poor  Mr.  Andrews!  Whoever  knows 
Mr.  Andrews,  so  obliging  and  correct, 
thin  as  certain  scruples  and  long  as  an 
English  novel,  can  guess  with  what 
melancholy  that  diplomat  presented  him- 
self at  that  ceremony,  for  which  the 
peaceful  and  distinguished  manners  of 
the  Chancelleries  had  not  exactly  fitted 
him.     He  took  his  overcoat,  his  hat,  his 


MICROBES  AS  WAR  WEAPONS 


73 


gloves,  his  diplomatic  phlegm  plus  his 
American  phlegm,  and,  covered  with  all 
these  phlegms,  betook  himself  to  the 
German  Legation — very  phlegmatically. 
There  he  found  M.  Corbesco,  Chief  of 
Police,  and  M.  Rafael,  Chief  Inspector. 
All  three  entered  the  premises,  then  the 
garden.  They  found  there  one  Michel 
Markus,  guardian,  and  one  Andrei  Maftei, 
domestic,  both  authorized  to  occupy  the 
legation  after  the  departure  of  the  Ger- 
man Minister,  their  employer,  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  guards. 

"  I  know,"  said  M.  Corbesco,  address- 
ing Michel  Markus,  "  that  certain  boxes 
have  been  buried  in  this  garden,  and 
that  you  have  helped  to  place  them 
here." 

Michel  Markus  admitted  that  this  was 
true. 

"  Do  you  know  what  these  cases  con- 
tain? " 
"No,   Sir." 

"  You  are  going,"  said  the  Prefect, 
"  to  show  me  immediately  where  these 
things  are  buried,  and  you  are  going  to 
help  me  dig  them  up." 

Markus  and  Maftei  went  to  seek 
spades  and  picks,  and  set  themselves  to 
dig  in  the  garden  border  along  the  wall 
of  the  house  on  the  side  next  to  Cosma 
Street.  At  a  depth  of  about  twenty 
inches,  between  the  eighth  and  ninth 
tree  from  the  corner  of  the  house,  they 
soon  brought  to  light,  first,  fifty  Bick- 
ford  fuses,  then  fifty  metal  boxes  of  a 
long,    rectangular   shape. 

"  That  is  not  all,"  insisted  M.  Corbesco. 
"  No,  Monsieur  le  Prefet." 
And  the  docile  Markus  led  M.  Corbesco 
to  the  fence  that  separates  the  legation 
garden  from  the  adjoining  premises  on 
Cosma  Street.  He  paused  before  a  heap 
of  fagots  and  firewood.  Markus  removed 
this  and  began  a  new  excavation,  which 
shortly  brought  to  light  a  rectangular 
box  wrapped  in  white  paper  and  bearing 
the  seal  of  the  Imperial  German  Consu- 
late at  Kronstadt  (Brachow)  in  red  wax 
— also  the  following  labels : 

Durch    Feldjager!      Ganz    geheim !      Nicht 
werfcn  !  !  !  Bucarest. 

Fur  Herrn  Kostoff,  S.  Hochwohlgeb.  Dem 
Oberst  u.  Militarattache  an  der  Kaiser- 
lich-Bulgarischen  Gesandtschaft  zu  Buca- 
rest, Herrn  Samargieff. 


{Translation:  "  By  orderly.  Absolutely  se- 
cret.  Not  to  be  throivn!  For  Mr.  Kostoff. 
To  his  Honor,  Mr.  Samargieff,  Colonel  and 
Military  Attache  at  the  Imperial  Bulgarian 
Legation  in  Bucharest."] 

Within  this  first  envelope  was  found 
another  envelope  of  white  paper  bearing 
in  red  pencil  the  words: 

Ganz   geheim!  Durch  Feld. 

An  den  koniglichen  Oberst  und  Militar- 
attache,  Herrn  von  . 

[Translation:      "  Absolutely      secret.        By 

orderly.      To  Mr.  von  ,  royal  Colonel  and 

Military  Attache. "1 

The  half-effaced  name  was  easily  de- 
ciphered. It  was  that  of  Colonel  von 
Hammerstein,  Military  Attache  at  the 
German  Legation,  just  as  Samargieff 
was  that  of  the  Military  Attache  at  the 
Bulgarian  Legation.  In  all  this  business 
Kostoff  was  merely  a  sort  of  tool  and  go- 
between,  ordered  to  carry  the  ignomin- 
ious package  from  one  legation  to  the 
other. 

The  box  was  opened  and  within  it  was 
found,  on  a  bed  of  wadding,  a  typewrit- 
ten note  in  German,  as  follows : 

Anbei  1  Flaschchen  fur  Pferde  und  4  fiir 
Hornvieh.  Verwendung  wie  besprochen. 
Jedes  Rorchen  genii gt  fur  200  Stuck.  Wenn 
moglich  den  Tieren  direct  in  das  Maul,  sonst 
in  Futter.  Bitten  um  kleinen  Bericht  liber 
dortige  Erfolge  und  falls  Resultate  zu  ver- 
zeichnen,  ware  Anwesenheit  von  Hr.  K.  fur 
einen  Tag  hier  Erwunscht. 

[Translation:  "  One  vial  for  horses,  four  for 
cattle.  Use  as  agreed.  Each  tube  is  enough 
for  200  animals.  If  possible,  to  be  placed  di- 
rectly in  the  mouth,  otherwise  in  the  fodder. 
Please  inform  us  of  the  results  in  a  brief  note. 
The  presence  of  Mr.  K.  is  desired  here  for 
one  day.] 

The  text  of  this  outrageous  document 
was  immediately  countersinged  by  the 
Chief  of  Police  and  by  Mr.  Andrews, 
representative  of  the  Central  Empires  in 
the  circumstances. 

In  the  box,  under  the  wadding,  were 
found  six  little  boxes  of  white  wood,  of 
oblong  form.  In  each  little  box  was  a 
glass  tube  containing  a  yellowish  liquid, 
whose  nature  remained  to  be  ascertained. 

How  had  these  objects  been  buried 
here: — by  whom — under  whose  orders? 
This  was  to  be  learned  by  questioning 
Markus  and  Maftei,  and  it  was  done  on 
that  same  day  of  Oct.  5  in  the  presence 
of  Mr.  Andrews,  who  became  more  and 
more    depressed,    in    the    hotel    of    the 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


United  States  Legation.  I  have  been  able 
to  procure  the  exact  text  of  the  declara- 
tions of  these  two  men.  That  of  Michel 
Markus  is  as  follows: 

My  name  is  Michel  Markus.  I  am  a  Ger- 
man subject  living  at  Bucharest  in  the 
premises  of  the  German  Legation,  where  I 
have  been  employed  for  twenty-two  years. 
Regarding  the  facts  on  which  you  interrogate 
me,  namely,  what  I  know  concerning  the 
discovery  of  the  fifty  fuses  and  of  the 
fifty  boxes  containing  explosives,  and  con- 
cerning the  box  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the 
German  Consulate  at  Kronstadt,  all  found 
buried  in  the  garden  of  the  German  Legation 
at  Bucharest,  I  make  the  following  declara- 
tion : 

On  the  day  before,  or  the  very  day  of  the 
departure  of  the  German  Diplomatic  Corps 
from  Bucharest,  Mr.  von  Rheinbaden,  coun- 
selor of  the  legation,  gave  me  the  order  to 
burn  the  flags  and  everything  that  remained 
not  locked  up.  The  cases  containing  the 
objects  above  mentioned  were  in  a  room  of 
the  cellar,  where  they  had  been  brought  from 
the  German  Consulate  before  the  day  on 
which  the  decree  mobilizing  the  Rumanian 
Army  was  published.  When  1  called  the 
attention  of  Mr.  Rheinbaden  to  these  cases 
he  told  me  it  would  be  necessary  to  bury 
them. 

After  the  departure  of  the  diplomats  I 
asked  Mr.  Kriiger,  Chancellor  of  the  lega- 
tion, what  I  should  do  with  the  cases,  and 
he  replied  that  they  must  be  buried.  Then 
Mr.  Kriiger,  Andrei  Maftei,  and  I  took  them 
and  buried  them  in  a  ditch  dug  by  us  at 
the  place  where  you  found  them.  I  did  not 
know  what  these  cases  contained ;  I  only 
know  that  Mr.  Kriiger  advised  me  to  handle 
them  carefully.  Regarding  the  box  wrapped 
in  paper  and  bearing  the  seal  of  the  Im- 
perial Consulate,  I  recall  that  on  the  day 
before  the  mobilization,  or  on  the  day  itself, 
Mr.  Adolf  (I  don't  remember  his  family 
name,  but  I  know  that  he  was  Assistant 
Military  Attache^  serving  with  Colonel  Ham- 
merstein,  the  Military  Attache)  brought  me 
this  box  and  told  me  to  bury  it  in  the  garden. 
I  helped  for  a  moment  to  dig  a  hole,  but,  as 
I  was  very  busy  with  my  own  work,  it  was 
finally  Mr.  Adolf  himself  who  buried  the 
box.  He  did  not  tell  me  what  was  in  the 
box,  which  he  held  in  his  hand.  I  do  not 
know  whence  or  by  whom  this  box  was 
brought  to  the  legation ;  I  saw  it  for  the  first 
time  on  the  day  when  Mr.  Adolf  ordered  me 
to  bury   it   in   the  garden. 

After  having  read  over  this  declaration 
and  pronounced  it  correct,  the  undersigned 
has    hereto    placed    his    signature. 

(Signed)    MICHEL    MARKUS. 
When   Andrei   Maftei   was   questioned 
regarding  the  same  facts  he  made   the 
following  declaration: 

My  name  is  Andrei  Maftei,  and  I  am  a  na- 


tive of  Transylvania;  I  was  employed  at  the 
German  Legation  until  the  day  when  Dr. 
Bernhardt  left  it  to  go  and  live  at  8  Temisana 
Street. 

Concerning  the  explosives,  I  know  that 
after  the  departure  of  the  diplomats— I  don't 
remember  the  day— Mr.  Markus  told  me  to 
take  the  case  and  carry  it  into  the  garden, 
where  it  was  buried  by  Mr.  Markus  and  Mr. 
Kriiger ;  then  I  went  on  to  attend  to  my  work. 
I  know  nothing  more,  either  about  this  case 
or  about  the  white  box  with  a  red  seal  which 
has  been  found  by  you  at  the  back  of  the 
garden  near  the  fence,  under  a  pile  of  wood. 

After  having  read  over  this  declaration  and 
pronounced  it  correct,  the  undersigned  has 
hereto  placed  his  signature. 

(Signed)    ANDREI  MAFTEI. 

What  was  the  nature  of  the  explosives 
and  tubes  of  poison  discovered  in  the 
garden  of  the  German  Legation?  The 
Bureau  of  Pyrotechnics  of  the  Rumanian 
Army  and  the  Institute  of  Pathology  and 
Bacteriology  at  Bucharest  were  asked  to 
ascertain  this.  The  results  of  their 
analyses  proved  beyond  doubt  that  the 
affair  was  no  "  simple  joke,"  as  one  Ger- 
man paper  ventured  to  state — without 
joking. 

Here  is  the  report  on  the  explosives 
written  by  Lieut.  Col.  Philipesco,  Di- 
rector of  Pyrotechnics,  and  Lieutenant 
A.  Pecuraru,  chief  of  the  Laboratory 
Service: 

The  explosives  discovered  at  the  German 
Legation  and  sent  to  us  for  examination 
consist  of: 

Fifty  cartouches  made  of  rectangular  zinc- 
plate  boxes  of  the  dimensions  of  20  by  7  by 
5  centimeters ;  three  of  the  larger  surfaces 
each  present  points  for  priming,  in  order  to 
permit  of  the  discharge  of  the  cartouche  re- 
gardless of  its  position. 

These  cartouche  mines,  each  weighing  one 
kilogram,  (two  and  one-half  pounds,)  bear 
the  label,  "  Donarit  I.  Kavalerie  Spreng- 
patronen.  Sprengstoff  A.  G.  Carbonit  Ham- 
burg '  Schlebusch.'  " 

The  explosive  contained  in  these  boxes  be- 
longs to  the  class  of  shattering  explosives, 
which  have  as  their  base  nitrate  of  ammonia 
and  trinitrotoluene  (trotyl)  with  its  less 
nitrous  derivatives. 

In  destructive  force  this  explosive  is  in  the 
category  of  dynamite  and  "  Kieselguhr,"  one 
kilogram  developing  700  grand  calories. 
Regarding  this  destructive  effect  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  mention  that  200  grams  of  the  said 
explosive,  that  is  to  say,  one-fifth  of  the  con- 
tents of  any  one  of  these  boxes,  is  sufficient 
to  blow  up  one  meter  of  a  railway.  The  fifty 
kilograms  could  destroy  a  bridge  pier  or 
a  large  building,  could  be  used  to  mine  a 
railway,   &c. 


MICROBES  AS  WAR  WEAPONS 


And  here  is  the  report  of  Dr.  Babes, 
Director  of  the  Institute  of  Pathology 
and  Bacteriology,  under  date  of  Oct. 
5  (18): 

Having  completed  the  testing  of  the  vials 
of  cultures  received  with  your  letter  No. 
143,003,  dated  Sept.  24,  I  have  ascertained  as 
follows : 

1.  The  vial  covered  with  red  paper  con- 
tained a  culture  of  the  bacillus  of  anthrax, 
which  has  been  identified  by  derivative  cul- 
tures and  by  inoculations  of  animals. 

2.  The  vial  covered  with  white  paper  con- 
tained a  culture  of  the  bacillus  of  glanders, 
which  has  been  identified  by  derivative  cul- 
tures and  by  injections  applied  to  animals. 

Comment  of  Professor  Roux 

In  an  article  in  the  Bulletin  des 
Armees  the  eminent  director  of  the 
Pasteur  Institute  at  Paris,  Dr.  Roux, 
accepts  the  foregoing  charge  as  proved, 
and  makes  the  following  comment: 

"  These  microbes  have  been  identified 
by  Professor  Babes,  director  of  the 
Bacteriological  Institute  at  Bucharest. 
Besides,  a  label  in  German  indicated  the 
method  of  using  these  cultures;  they 
were  intended  for  cattle  and  horses.  One 
vial  of  glanders  was  sufficient  to  infect 
200  horses. 

"  It  is  very  certain  that  if  the  contents 
of  one  of  these  tubes  had  been  turned 
into  the  trough  from  which  the  horses 
of  a  cavalry  squadron  drink,  most  of  the 
animals  would  have  been  infected,  and, 
with  the  help  of  the  fatigue  of  the  cam- 
paign,  an    epidemic    of   glanders    would 


have  followed.  The  Germans  hoped  that 
it  would  spread  to  other  cavalry  units. 
Cavalrymen  whose  horses  are  glandered 
are    soon    dismounted. 

"  In  like  manner  the  anthrax  cultures, 
if  thrown  into  the  food  of  cattle  or 
horses,  would  have  given  some  of  these 
the  anthrax  fever,  which  kills  more  surely 
and  rapidly  than  glanders.  The  bacilli 
of  glanders  and  anthrax  are  not  only 
fatal  for  horses  and  cattle,  they  are  also 
fatal  for  human  beings,  who  can  contract 
these  diseases  in  caring  for  the  animals 
or  handling  infected  meat.  The  Ger- 
mans, by  infecting  the  animals,  hoped 
also  to  communicate  the  disease  indirect- 
ly to  men. 

"  Our  enemies,  who  pervert  every- 
thing, even  science,  have  thus  attempted 
to  make  of  the  most  beneficent  of 
all  sciences — that  of  bacteriology — a 
clandestine  weapon.  This  incontestable 
and  criminal  ability,  however,  is  not  as 
formidable  as  one  might  imagine.  It  is 
not  as  easy  to  create  an  extensive  epi- 
demic among  men  or  animals  as  the 
wickedness  of  our  adversaries  desired. 
To  sow  the  disease  is  not  enough;  cir- 
cumstances must  lend  themselves  to  the 
propagation  of  the  microbes.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  number  of  human  and 
animal  victims  in  this  case  would  not 
have  been  very  great,  for  we  now  pos- 
sess singularly  effective  means  for 
checking  the  extension  of  these  mala- 
dies." 


A  Historian's  Answer 

By  Joseph  Reinach 

French  Historian  and  Publicist 

Shortly  after  Fresident  Wilson  sent  his  peace  note  of  Dec.  20,  1916,  to  the  belligerent 
powers,  Joseph  Reinach  wrote  for  the  Taris  Figaro  the  reply  here  translated  for  Current 
History  Magazine. 


POINTS  OF  FACT 
I.  Premeditation  of  the  War 

CONSIDERING  that  on  April  13, 
1905,  the  Reichstag  passed  a  new 
military  law  extending  over  six  . 
years,  and  providing  for  an 
initial,  non-renewable  credit  of  87,000,000 
francs  and  a  supplementary  credit  of 
39,000,000  annually  for  expenses  in  case 
of  war; 

That  on  March  7,  1911,  the  Reichstag 
voted  a  five-year  non-renewable  expendi- 
ture for  military  purposes  of  103,000,- 
000,  with  a  supplementary  annual  ex- 
penditure of  55,000,000; 

That  on  June  14,  1912,  the  Reichstag 
voted  another  non-renewable  credit  of 
180,000,000  and  a  new  annual  supple- 
mentary credit  of  55,000,000; 

That  on  July  3,  1913,  the  Reichstag 
voted  a  non-renewable  credit  of  1,105,- 
000,000  francs,  with  a  new  annual  sup- 
plementary credit  of  228,000,000; 

CONSIDERING  that  during  the  same 
period  the  French  Chamber  voted:  On 
March  21,  1905,  a  supplementary  annual 
credit  of  21,000,000,  and,  on  March  26, 
1914,  through  the  necessity  of  parrying 
in  part  the  menace  of  the  enormous  sums 
appropriated  by  the  Reichstag  since  1905, 
and  especially  in  1913,  a  permanent  sup- 
plement of  257,000,000  francs  for  the  war 
budget,  and  a  non-renewable  credit  of 
720,000,000; 

That  these  facts  and  dates  establish 
the  respective  tendencies  of  the  two  coun- 
tries at  the  beginning  of  1914; 

II.  Responsibility  for  the  War 

CONSIDERING  that  on  July  25,  1914, 
in  response  to  the  Austro-Hungarian 
ultimatum  of  the  23d,  the  Serbian  Gov- 
ernment accepted  in  practical  totalitv  the 
conditions  imposed  by  the  Government  at 
Vienna,  and  declared  itself  ready  to  sub- 
mit any  points  of  difference  either  to  The 
Hague  or  the  great  powers; 


That  on  the  same  day,  without  paying 
any  attention  to  this  reply,  which  had 
been  made  at  the  request  of  Russia  and 
France,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Minister 
broke  off  relations  with  Serbia  and  left 
Belgrade; 

That  on  July  27,  1914,  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, in  concert  with  France  and 
Russia  and  with  the  support  of  Italy, 
proposed  to  Germany  a  conference  in 
London  with  a  view  to  preserving  the 
peace  of  Europe; 

That  the  German  Government  refused 
to  consider  this  suggestion; 

That  on  July  29,  1914,  relying  upon 
the  declaration  of  Herr  von  Jagow,  the 
German  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
"  that  Austria  must  have  special  guar- 
antees before  Serbia's  reply  could  offer 
a  basis  for  negotiations,"  the  French 
Government  immediately  suggested  that 
an  international  commission  should  take 
charge  of  the  execution  of  Serbia's  prom- 
ises: 

That  no  response  was  made  to  that 
suggestion; 

That  on  the  same  day  a  personal  tele- 
gram from  the  Czar  of  Russia  to  the 
German  Emperor  offered  to  submit  the 
Austro- Serbian  difference  to  The  Hague 
tribunal ; 

That  again  there  was  no  reply  to  this 
telegram;  and  that,  furthermore,  this 
important  matter  of  record  was  omitted 
intentionally  from  the  German  White 
Book  of  August,  1914; 

That  on  July  31  the  British  Govern- 
ment asked  France  and  Germany 
whether,  in  case  war  could  not  be 
averted,  they  would  respect  the  neutral- 
ity of  Belgium; 

That  France,  one  of  the  parties  to  the 
Treaty  of  1839,  at  once  replied  that  the 
treaty  would  be  scrupulously  respected; 

That  Germany,  also  a  party  to  that 
treaty,   refused   to   give   any  guarantee, 


A    HISTORIAN'S    ANSWER 


77 


and  on  Aug.  2,  upon  a  pretext — since 
proved  absolutely  false — that  France  was 
preparing  to  send  troops  through  Belgium 
along  the  Meuse,  destroyed  the  treaty, 
qualifying  it  in  the  words  of  the  German 
Chancellor  as  a  "  scrap  of  paper,"  ad- 
dressed an  ultimatum  to  Belgium,  in- 
vaded Luxemburg,  whose  neutrality  she 
had  no  less  solemnly  guaranteed,  and 
crossed  the  Belgian  frontier  with  her 
armies; 

That  on  July  31,  1914,  Germany  began 
mobilization  under  the  pretext  that  she 
was  "  in  danger  of  war  " ; 

That  on  the  next  day  France,  while 
finding  herself  compelled  to  take  a  simi- 
lar step,  announced  that  in  order  to  avoid 
any  clash  at  the  frontier  she  was  with- 
drawing her  border  troops  ten  kilome- 
ters back  of  the  line; 

That  on  Aug.  2,  early  in  the  morning, 
the  first  German  patrols  set  foot  on 
French  soil,  while  it  was  only  in  the 
evening  of  the  following  day,  Aug.  3, 
1914,  that  the  German  Government  sent 
its  declaration  of  war  to  the  French 
Government; 

That  this  declaration  of  war  was  ac- 
companied by  a  statement  that  Belgian 
and  German  territory  had  been  violated 
by  French  aviators,  a  statement  since 
recognized  by  the  German  Government 
itself  as  without  foundation  of  fact  or 
truth ; 

POINTS   OF  RIGHT 
III. — Conduct   of   the   War 

CONSIDERING  that  the  whole  world 
knows  how  the  Central  Powers  and  their 
allies  have  conducted  the  war,  notably 
in  violating  the  articles  of  the  Geneva 
Convention  relating  to  the  Red  Cross, 
those  of  The  Hague  Conference  on  the 
use  of  asphyxiating  gas,  the  laws  of 
maritime  warfare,  and  Article  22  of  the 
Convention  of  Nov.  29,  1909,  forbidding 
a  belligerent  to  force  citizens  of  another 
belligerent  to  take  part  in  war  opera- 
tions against  their  own  country; 
IV. — The  Lessons  of  History 

CONSIDERING  that  the  Imperial 
German  Government  has  sought  in  vain 
to  throw  upon  the  Entente  the  responsi- 
bility for  a  catastrophe  without  precedent 


and  for  the  death  of  several  millions  of 
men; 

That  the  statesmen,  educators,  and 
military  officials  of  Germany,  in  their 
writings,  teachings,  and  public  addresses 
have'  long  proclaimed  the  necessity  of 
making  right  bow  before  might; 

That  whole  German  generations  have 
been  mentally  formed  upon  a  doctrine  of 
contempt  for  the  plighted  word  and  the 
triumph  of  brute  force; 

That  in  connection  with  her  increasing 
and  unjustified  military  preparations, 
Germany,  through  an  unscrupulous  and 
immoral  diplomacy,  sought  to  impose 
upon  free  nations  a  habit  of  humiliation 
and  fear; 

That  these  nations,  in  the  illusion  of 
an  imprudent  confidence,  had  come  to 
neglect — for  the  works  of  civilization  and 
peace — the  most  legitimate  precautions 
and  preparations  for  self-defense; 

That  the  men  responsible  for  the  dis- 
regard of  plighted  honor  and  the  brutal 
aggression  which  the  war  has  brought 
forth,  could  not,  a  few  months  before 
hostilities,  longer  keep  their  own  evil 
counsel,  as  evidenced  by  the  Emperor's 
conversation  with  the  King  of  Belgium 
on  Nov.  6,  1913,  and  the  speech  of  the 
German  Chancellor  from  the  tribune  of 
the  Reichstag  on  Aug.  4,  1914; 

That  the  rulers  of  Germany,  therefore, 
by  virtue  of  the  very  power  they  hold, 
have  been  the  sole  responsible  and  guilty 
parties,  having  for  a  long  time  previous 
to  hostilities  premeditated  and  prepared 
war,  loosing  it  at  the  moment  which  they 
judged  favorable  and  giving  it  its  char- 
acter of  increasing  ferocity,  as  mani- 
fested in  the  untold  destruction  of  prop- 
erty and  cruelty  to  humanity; 

That  in  logical  consequence  these  men, 
who  have  shown  contempt  for  their  sa- 
cred engagements,  are  disqualified  to  en- 
gage in  peace  negotiations,  which  they 
themselves,  either  through  cynicism  or 
through  lack  of  conscience,  characterize 
as  "offensive  diplomacy"; 

That  the  Governments  and  peoples  of 
the  Entente  cannot  consider  the  question 
of  peace  as  long  as  they  have  to  treat 
with  men  who  can  no  longer  be  trusted; 

CONSIDERING  that  no  chance  exists 
for  a  just,  honorable,  and  lasting  peace, 


78 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


a  peace  restoring  the  principles  of  right 
and  honor,  in  the  presence  of  men  who 
have  deliberately  violated  engagements 
and  treaties  signed  by  themselves; 

CONSIDERING  that  these  men  thus 
remain  the  sole  yet  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  the  re-establishment  of  that 
peace  of  which  they  pretend  to  be  sincere 
champions,  and  which  is  longed  for  by 
their  own  people,  who  are  suffering 
cruel  deprivations,  and  even  hunger; 

CONSIDERING  that  if  the  German 
Nation  has  been  deceived  by  official 
falsehood  and  systematically  kept  in 
ignorance  of  the  true  facts,  the  German 
rulers  have  followed  out  exactly  a  coldly 
premeditated    plan; 

CONSIDERING  that,  having  failed  to 
crush  France,  as  they  had  hoped,  in  a 


few  weeks,  and  to  turn  then  upon  Russia 
and  terrorize  or  corrupt  Belgium,  Eng- 
land, Japan,  Italy,  Portugal,  and  Ru- 
mania, they  do  not  conceal  the  fact  that 
peace  for  them  now  would  be  only  a 
truce  to  prepare  for  a  new  aggression; 

CONSIDERING  that  there  could  be 
neither  security  nor  justice  in  a  world 
over  which  is  suspended  the  sword  of 
Prussian   militarism: 

THE  ENTENTE  POWERS,  resolved 
not  to  lay  down  their  arms  before  the 
liberation  of  the  oppressed  peoples,  de- 
clare, in  the  name  of  the  nations  that 
are  the  victims  of  German  aggression 
and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  that  they 
will  not  treat  with  William  II.,  the  man 
responsible  before  humanity  and  history 
for  this  war,  its  mourning  and  its  ruins. 


America  Through  English  Eyes 

By  William  Archer 

English  Dramatist,  Essayist,  and  Critic 

[The  severance  of  relations  by  the  United  States  with  Germany  aroused  widespread  dis- 
cussion of  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  toward  the  United  States.  Among  the  many  contri- 
butions on  this  subject,  Mr.  Archer's  essay  in  The  Westminster  Gazette  (London)  is  especially 
noteworthy  for  its  truth,  clarity,  and  keen  analysis. — Ed.  Current  History  Magazine.] 


M 


ANY  people  do  not  realize  that 
hitherto  all  the  active  political 
relations  between  Great  Brit- 
ain and  America  have  been 
hostile  relations.  Twice  the  two  nations 
have  been  at  war,  and  there  are  not  a 
few  Americans  who  are  fond  of  boasting 
that  in  both  of  these  conflicts  they 
"  whipped  "  us.  Our  normal  level  rela- 
tions have  no  doubt  been  amicable 
enough;  but  whenever  the  level  has  been 
broken  it  has  been  by  incidents  which 
left  a  certain  legacy  of  ill-feeling.  The 
general  attitude  of  Britain  during  the 
great  civil  war  was  anything  but  sympa- 
thetic. Once  we  were  on  the  verge  of  a 
rupture  over  the  case  of  Mason  and  Sli- 
dell.  The  affair  of  the  Alabama  was  ex- 
ceedingly disagreeable.  The  Venezuelan 
squabble  led  us,  not  perhaps  to  the  brink 
of  hostilities,  but  some  way  in  that  direc- 
tion. The  incident  of  Manila  Bay  is  per- 
haps the  only  international  episode  of 
any  note  that  has  definitely  tended  to 
draw  the  two  nations  together. 


Of  course  this  does  not  mean  that 
there  has  not  been  real  friendship  be- 
tween them.  There  has  never  been  a  mo- 
ment when  thousands  of  Englishmen 
and  thousands  of  Americans  have  not 
felt  the  warmest  regard  for  each  other. 
Perhaps  it  may  even  be  said  that  the  re- 
ciprocal feeling  of  the  majority  of  both 
peoples  has  been  a  sort  of  vaguely  criti- 
cal and  suspicious  kindliness.  But  there 
have  always  been  certain  classes  in 
America  that  cherished  old  and  new  ran- 
cors against  England,  and  these  were  not 
a  little  encouraged  by  the  general  tone  of 
common  school  education.  No  one  can 
read  the  American  newspapers  of  today 
without  realizing  that,  except  among  a 
cultured  minority  in  the  Eastern  States, 
pro-ally  sympathies  are  centred  rather 
upon  France  and  Belgium  than  upon 
England,  and  that  in  the  Middle  West 
and  West  the  feeling  of  the  masses  to- 
ward the  Allies  in  general,  and  England 
in  particular,  is  at  best  one  of  indiffer- 
ence. 


HERBERT  C.   HOOVER 


Mr.  Hoover's  Work  as  Head  of  the  Belgian  Relief  Commis- 
sion Has  Been  Called  the  Most  Splendid  American 
Achievement  of  the  Last  Two  Years 


(Photo  Underwood  6  Underwood) 

•  •IMHUIIHIIMMIIIMIMU MMMI ••■•■•• 


The  British  Victor  of  Kut-el-Amara,  Who  Has  Defeated 
the  Turks  and  Fought  His  Way  to  Bagdad 

(Photo  Preen  Illuetrating  Service) 


J 


AMERICA    THROUGH  ENGLISH  EYES 


79 


Whatever  may  happen,  this  is  not  go- 
ing to  change  all  at  once.  We  are  not 
going  to  fall  on  each  other's  neck  and 
swear  eternal  friendship.  Nevertheless, 
a  great  new  fact  has  come  into  existence. 
In  the  most  momentous  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  the  whole  English- 
speaking  race  is  at  last  standing  shoul- 
der to  shoulder.  Nothing  but  criminal 
unwisdom  or  malignant  ill-fortune  can 
cancel  or  turn  to  evil  the  beneficent  re- 
sults that  ought  to  flow  from  this  won- 
derful and  almost  unhoped-for  achieve- 
ment of  German  political  genius.  Never 
again  can  it  be  said  that  "  all  active  po- 
litical relations  between  Great  Britain 
and  America  have  been  hostile  relations." 
That  remark  is  expunged  from  the  page 
of  history. 

And  now  it  is  up  to  us — why  should 
we  not  talk  American? — to  make  the 
best  of  this  new  situation.  Hitherto — 
take  us  all  around — we  have  been  culp- 
ably and  stupidly  inappreciative  of 
America.  The  time  has  been,  no  doubt, 
when  there  was  a  great  deal  of  rawness 
in  American  life,  which  lent  itself  to 
caricature,  and  when,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  Americans  displayed  at  once  great 
self-assertiveness  and  morbid  resentful- 
ness  of  criticism.  But  the  civil  war  may 
fairly  be  said  to  have  made  an  end  to  all 
that — or  at  least  the  beginning  of  an 
end.  Since  then  half  a  century  has 
passed,  and  now  we  have  not  the  smallest 
rational  excuse  for  carelessness  or  cap- 
tiousness  in  our  judgments  of  America. 

To  any  one  with  a  spark  of  imagina- 
tion the  United  States  is  the  most  fasci- 
nating country  in  the  world.  Its  past  is 
romantic,  its  present  marvelous,  its  fut- 
ure inconceivable. 

Let  me  give  one  instance  of  the  ro- 
mance of  the  past  that  clings  to  so  many 
places  in  America.  I  will  not  speak  of 
Lexington  or  Concord;  I  will  not  speak 
of  Mount  Vernon  or  Charleston;  I  will 
speak  of  the  place  in  all  America  which 
most  people  in  England,  perhaps,  think 
of  as  the  very  antithesis  of  romance — I 
mean  Pittsburgh.  It  is  called  "  hell  with 
the  lid  off,"  and  I  don't  say  it  does  not 
merit  that  term  of  endearment;  but  to 
stand  on  the  big  bluff  over  against  the 
city,  and  look  down  upon  the  confluence 


of  the  Allegheny  and  the  Monongahela 
(most  beautiful  of  words!)  is  to  experi- 
ence a  strange  and  complex  emotion. 
For  the  two  rivers  (each  as  great  as  the 
Rhine  or  the  Rhone)  unite  to  form  the 
magnificent  Ohio.  And  the  Ohio  rolls  on 
into  the  still  mightier  Mississippi;  and 
down  these  gigantic  waterways  the  first 
French  adventurers  paddled  thousands 
of  leagues  through  the  boundless,  sinister 
wilderness;  and  Martin  Chuzzlewit  and 
Mark  Tapley  sought  the  city  of  Eden; 
and  Huckleberry  Finn  and  Jim  went 
drifting  through  an  Odyssey  which  I,  for 
one,  believe  to  be  as  surely  immortal  as 
any  story  in  this  world.  A  few  miles  up 
the  Monongahela  is  the  spot  where  Gen- 
eral Braddock,  with  George  Washington 
and  George  Warrington  in  his  train,  fell 
into  the  fatal  ambush.  Arid  there,  at  the 
very  tip  of  the  tongue  of  land  between 
the  two  rivers,  nestling  in  the  shadow  of 
the  skyscrapers  like  a  beehive  under  St. 
Peter's,  is  the  Jittle  octagonal  block- 
house, pierced  for  musketry,  which  was 
once  Fort  Duquesne,  and  after  that  Fort 
Pitt,  and  from  which  the  city  takes  its 
name.  Of  the  titanic,  lurid  picturesque- 
ness  of  the  scene  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
speak.  I  have  merely  tried  to  suggest  a 
few  of  the  historic  and  literary  associa- 
tions which  cluster  around  the  spot  it- 
self, and  the  vast  river  system  to  which 
it  is,  as  it  were,  the  northeastern  gate- 
way. How  any  one  can  find  America 
prosaic  or  uninteresting  passes  my  com- 
prehension. 

As  for  its  present,  as  summed  up  and 
typified  in  New  York,  what  is  there  in 
the  world  to  compare  with  it?  The  view 
of  the  mountainous  city,  towering  be- 
tween its  noble  estuaries,  is  by  far  the 
most  impressive  testimony  that  can  any- 
where be  found  to  the  genius  and  daring 
of  man.  Beautiful?  I  don't  know. 
There  is  an  immense  amount  of  beauti- 
ful architecture  to  be  seen  in  New 
York  and  all  through  the  Eastern  States; 
but  the  whole  impression  of  New  York  is 
more  than  beautiful — it  is  exciting, 
thrilling,  inspiring.  To  land  in  New 
York  on  a  cloudless  day  (and  they  are 
many)  of  Spring  or  Autumn  is  to  realize 
why  America  is  bound  to  lead  the  world. 
It  is  because  there  is  some  as  yet  un- 


80 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


identified  element  in  the  pure,  keen  air, 
which,  passing  into  the  blood,  tingles 
through  the  whole  system  in  the  form  of 
energy  and  capacity. 

Yet  there  is  no  greater  error  than  to 
think  that  New  York  is  a  city  of  unrest- 
ing rush,  clatter,  and  whirl.  It  is  a  city 
where  not  only  women  but  men  have 
plenty  of  leisure  and  know  how  to  enjoy 
it.  Above  all,  it  is  a  city  where  they 
have  always  time  to  be  helpful  and  hos- 
pitable to  the  stranger  within  their 
gates.  Nowhere  are  the  amenities  of 
life  carried  to  higher  perfection.  I  never 
return  to  England  without  feeling  that  I 
have  come  back  some  five-and- twenty 
years  in  the  art  of  living,  at  any  rate  on 
the  material  side.  Indeed,  one  might  say 
fifty  years,  were  it  not  that  we  have  of 
late  had  the  sense  to  learn  a  good  deal 
from  America. 

And  think,  now,  of  the  future!  Amer- 
ica has  been,  and  still  is,  largely  occupied 
in  the  development  of  her  material  re- 
sources; yet  think  what  strides  she  has 
also  made  on  the  intellectual  side!  The 
splendid  universities  which  stud  the  land 
may  not  rival  those  of  Europe  in  pure 
scholarship;  but  they  are  humming  hives 
of  all  sorts  of  eager  intellectual  activity. 
It  will  not,  perhaps,  be  to  their  disad- 
vantage if  intimate  relations  with  Ger- 
many are  severed  for  a  time.  Their  lead- 
ing scholars  confess  that  the  German  in- 
fluence has  not  been  wholly  beneficial. 
But  everywhere  they  have  magnificent 
apparatus  for  research,  and  everywhere 
they  make  full  use  of  it.  Who  does  not 
know  that  the  cultivated  American  is  one 
of  the  finest  products  of  civilization? 
And  civilization  of  the  best  sort  is 
spreading  with  enormous  rapidity. 

I  am  aware  that  in  some  ways  my  vis- 
ion of  America  is  unduly  roseate,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  it  has  been  my  good 
fortune,  wherever  I  went,  to  move  almost 
exclusively  in  the  circles  that  were  most 
congenial  to  me.  Of  course  there  are 
many  less  desirable  sides  of  American 
life  with  which  I  have  scarcely  come  in 
contact,  or  not  at  all.  There  are,  for  in- 
stance, the  vulgarities  and  crudities  in- 
separable from  every  great  half-edu- 
cated democracy — that  is  a  matter  in 
which    we    certainly    have    no    right   to 


throw  the  first  stone.  Of  course  Amer- 
ica, like  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  has 
great  social,  struggles,  and  possibly  con- 
vulsions, to  go  through,  before  she  can 
attain  something  like  a  just  and  stable 
social  order.  New  York,  Boston,  Chi- 
cago, St.  Louis — there  is  much  that  is 
terrible  as  well  as  much  that  is  admir- 
able in  the  life  of  these  swarming,  seeth- 
ing cities.  But  nowhere  is  there  a  more 
alert  social  idealism  at  work,  or  a  more 
ardent  spirit  of  social  service. 

My  point,  then,  is  this:  Let  us  realize 
what  an  enormous  advantage  we  possess 
in  our  community  of  language,  of  his- 
torical and  intellectual  traditions,  and  of 
political  and  moral  ideals,  with  this  na- 
tion of  marvelous  achievements  and  still 
more  marvelous  potentialities.  If  these 
ideals  are  to  survive  and  flourish,  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  America  and 
Great  Britain  should  grow  together,  in- 
stead of  growing  apart.  The  community 
of  speech,  while  it  is  a  priceless  bond,  is 
also  a  source  of  danger.  Careless,  carp- 
ing, supercilious  talk,  narrow-minded 
comment,  uncivil  jesting,  whether  with 
pen  or  pencil,  rankles  doubly  when  it  is 
brought  home  to  us  in  our  own  language. 
This  is  an  admonition  to  both  sides,  but 
mainly  to  England.  We  are  the  older 
people,  and  ought  to  show  the  finer  con- 
sideration. In  this  respect  our  sins  are 
many — sins,  mainly,  of  ignorance  and 
thoughtlessness.  But,  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, we  are,  and  have  been  any  time 
this  century,  drawing  together  in  a  re- 
markable way.  Note  how  half  the  most 
successful  pieces  on  the  London  stage 
are  of  American  origin,  and  are  often 
most  acceptable  when  played  by  Amer- 
ican actors.  Note  how  the  bookstalls  are 
piled  with  the  writings  of  ar.  author  so 
redolent  of  the  soil  as  0.  Henry.  Think 
how  the  cinema  is  familiarizing  even  the 
street  arab  and  the  factory  girl  with  the 
surface  aspects  of  American  life.  We 
have  now  a  unique  opportunity  to  draw 
closer  all  the  countless  ties  which  unite 
us  with  our  "  gigantic  daughter  of  the 
West."  Let  us  have  done  with  careless- 
ness, ignorance,  supercilious  patronage, 
flippant  criticism,  and  make  the  best  of 
this  great  boon  which  the  Germans  have 
so  kindly  forced  upon  us. 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By    Major  Edwin  W.  Dayton 

Inspector  General,  National  Guard,  State  of  New  York; 
Secretary,  New  York  Army  and  Navy  Club 

Major  Dayton  has  personally  studied  the  military  methods  of  the  European  armies  in  six 
of  the  countries  now  at  war,  and  has  been  officially  recognized  by  the  United  States  War 
Department  as  an  authority  on  strategy  and  tactics.  He  is  one  of  the  experts  who  have 
chronicled  the  present  war  for  The  Army  and  Navy  Journal.  The  subjoined  article  is  the 
second  in  a  series  which  Major  Dayton  is  writing  for  Current  History  Magazine,  covering  in 
a  rapid  and  authoritative  narrative  all  the  military  events  of  importance  since  the  beginning 
of  the  great  European  conflict. 

II. — Battles  of  the  Marne,  the  Aisne,  and  Tannenberg 

banks  of  the  Seine.    Conscious  of  a  pos- 
sible menace  to  his  right  rear  from  the 
west,  he  left  a  rear  guard  of  considerable 
strength    in    the    valley    of    the    Ourcq 
facing  the  suspected  menace.     The  cru- 
cial battle  of  the  Marne,  recognized  by- 
all  the  commanders  as 
the  supreme  crisis  of 
the     war,     began     at 
dawn    on    Sunday, 
Sept.  6. 

The  new  French 
Army,  the  Sixth,  en- 
gaged in  hand-to-hand 
fighting  among  the 
villages  above  Meaux, 
and  turned  von  Kluck's 
flank.  The  British, 
covered  by  the  Forest 
of  Crecy,  moved  north- 
east toward  a  line  be- 
tween Dagny  and  Cou- 
lommieres. 

The  Fifth  French 
Army  on  the  British 
right  struck  north  on 
a  route  which,  as  they  progressed,  led 
them  on  the  7th  across  the  Grand  Morin, 
on  the  8th  over  the  Petit  Morin,  and  by 
the  9th  close  to  the  south  bank  of  the 
Marne  below  Mezy. 

The  British,  making  a  half  wheel  to 
the  left,  made  an  alignment  with  the 
French  Fifth  Army,  and  on  the  9th  ar- 
rived on  the  Marne  with  their  centre  at 
La  Ferte.  The  French  Sixth  Army,  at- 
tacking at  right  angles,  closed  in  above 
the  Marne  and  on  the  west  of  the  Ourcq, 
gradually  as  the  victory  progressed 
changing  front  toward  the  north,  so  that 
by  Sept.  10  they  were  aligned  on  the  left 


SEDAN  DAY— Sept.  5— in  1914  was 
only  superficially  an  echo  of  Sedan 
Day  in  1870.  The  armies  of 
France  had  suffered  defeat,  but 
nowhere  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  cut 
off.  The  defenses  of  Paris  were  in  poor 
shape  and  would  not 
have  withstood  a  Ger- 
man attack  much  bet- 
ter than  had  those  of 
Antwerp  or  Namur 
The  necessity  of  the 
situation  was  for  a 
counterattack  in  the 
open. 

Von  Kluck,  flushed 
with  continuous  vic- 
tories, thought  the 
French  and  British  in 
his  front  entirely  de- 
moralized, and  he  con- 
tinued his  headlong 
drive.  He  made  a 
tactical  blunder  by 
marching  his  right 
flank  across  the  ene- 
mies' front  in  an  effort  to  separate  the 
British  from  the  supporting  French 
Fifth  Army.  The  British  air  scouts  dis- 
covered von  Kluck's  manoeuvre  and  re- 
ported large  detachments  south  of  the 
Marne  with  one  column  on  the  Grand 
Morin.  The  French  airmen,  too,  report- 
ed all  the  German  dispositions  from  the 
lower  Marne  to  Verdun.  General  Joffre 
decided  that  the  time  had  come  to  strike 
back,  and  formed  a  plan  which  would 
have  been  impossible  if  the  reports  of 
the  air  scouts  had  been  lacking. 

On  the  night  of  Sept.  5  von  Kluck's 
cavalry  patrols  got  as  far  south  as  the 


GENERAL   FOCH 


Hi 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


abreast  of  the  British  and  astride  the 
Ourcq. 

The  battle  was  continuous  and  on  a 
scale  hitherto  unknown.  Military  stu- 
dents will  study  its  details  for  genera- 
tions. Here  I  can  only  attempt  the 
merest  outline  of  the  great  struggle. 

Von  Kluck  was  outfought  by  a  superior 
force,  which  caught  him  in  a  false  posi- 
tion into  which  he  had  been  betrayed  by 
the  belief  that  his  opponents,  soundly 
beaten,  needed  only  one  more  hard  blow 
to  complete  their  collapse.  Instead  of 
that  they  were  in  excellent  morale,  and 
had  received  powerful  fresh  reinforce- 
ments. I  believe  that  eventually  it  will 
be  proved  that  the  speed  of  von  Kluck's 
pursuit  had  caused  his  great  army  to 
outrun  much  of  its  supplies.  His  change 
of  direction  toward  the  east  was  not  only 
an  attempt  to  drive  a  wedge  through  the 
allied  front,  but  also  was  intended  to 
close  up  his  overextended  lines  of  com- 
munication. 

On  Sept.  9,  following  a  whole  series 
of  glorious  battles,  the  British  crossed 
the  Marne  at  Chateau-Thierry,  and  by 
evening  were  some  miles  north  of  the 
river.  The  French,  under  d'Esperey, 
ended  a  day  of  terrific  fighting  by  join- 
ing the  British  right  at  Chateau-Thierry. 
Further  east  one  of  France's  greatest 
Generals,  Foch,  found  von  Billow's  right 
flank  exposed  and  attacked  the  Prussian 
Guard  at  La  Fere  Champenoise.  In  the 
marshes  drained  by  the  Petit  Morin, 
Foch  took  forty  guns  and  many  prison- 
ers, and  about  Sept.  9  he  had  driven  a 
wedge  between  the  armies  of  von  Bulow 
and  von  Hausen.  As  the  battle  progressed 
the  French  General  Staff  used  Langle 
to  help  Foch,  and  the  Germans  were 
driven  back  toward  Epernay  and  Chalons. 

By  Sept.  10  the  Allies  had  virtually 
completed  the  great  victory  called  the 
battle  of  the  Marne.  The  German  right 
(von  Kluck)  had  received  heavy  re- 
inforcements of  perhaps  40,000  men,  but 
von  Billow's  crushing  defeat  to  the  east 
made  it  impossible  for  the  German  line 
to  re-form  for  a  counterattack. 

The  German  retreat  is  admitted  to 
have  been  a  military  masterpiece,  and 
on  Sept.  12  they  had  reached  the  line  of 
positions  on  the  Aisne  and  the  Suippes 


which  they  had  previously  prepared  for 
emergency  use.  On  the  east  the  Crown 
Prince  fell  back  to  preserve  the  align- 
ment, and  this  saved  Fort  Troyon,  which, 
under  bombardment,  was  ready  to  fall. 
The  Crown  Prince  held  the  Argonne  and 
St.  Menehould.  In  the  Vosges,  after  a 
prolonged  struggle,  the  French,  under 
General  de  Castlenau,  withstood  an  at- 
tempt of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria 
to  force  a  passage  through  the  Gap 
of  Nancy.  By  Sept.  12  de  Castelnau  had 
taken  Luneville,  St.  Die,  and  the  line  of 
the   Meurthe. 

Battle  of  the  Aisne 

The  battlefield  of  the  Aisne  is  the 
birthplace  of  modern  trench  warfare. 

When  the  Germans  were  pursuing  the 
French  and  British  toward  Paris  in  the 
first  week  of  September  it  might  have 
seemed  as  though  the  prospect  of  quick 
victory  would  obscure  all  other  vision. 
Nothing  in  the  long  history  of  the  war 
proves  the  value  of  trained  professional 
staff  officers  more  clearly  than  the  fact 
that  just  then,  as  they  crossed  the  Aisne 
flushed  with  victory,  parties  of  sappers 
were  left  behind.  Their  mission  was  to 
prepare  a  defensive  position  on  the 
plateau  north  of  the  river  valley  and  ex- 
tending to  the  east  across  Champagne 
into  the  Argonne.  Beyond  the  Argonne 
the  Crown  Prince  was  already  closing  in 
to  the  investment  of  Verdun  with  a  great 
circle*  from  the  Argonne  to  the  Woevre. 

It  was  nearly  the  middle  of  September 
when  the  victorious  Allies,  fresh  from 
the  victory  of  the  Marne,  began  to  be 
puzzled  by  the  stern  resistance  they  met 
along  this  line.  It  was  no  longer  merely 
the  hard  fighting  of  rear  guards  de- 
termined to  cover  retreating  armies,  but 
seemed  like  the  determined  stand  of  an 
enemy  unwilling  to  retreat  further.  On 
Sept.  12  Maunoury's  Sixth  Army,  which 
had  clung  to  the  heels  of  von  Kluck's 
army  all  the  way  from  Paris,  began  to 
shell  the  hostile  positions  beyond  the 
river  with  a  view  to  covering  a  crossing 
by  pontoon,  as  the  bridges  had  been  sys- 
tematically destroyed.  The  British  Army 
to  the  east,  near  Soissons,  was  similarly 
engaged.  Beyond  them  the  other  French 
armies    were    delayed    under    d'Esperey 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


83 


and  Langle  along  the  Vesle  and  the 
upper  Suippe. 

On  the  13th  Maunoury  got  several 
divisions  across  the  Aisne  under  heavy 
fire,  and  a  good  part  of  the  British  Army 
crossed,  but  with  great  difficulty.  The 
following  day  these  French  and  British 
troops  fought  their  way  forward  until 
they  came  in  touch  with  the  real  German 
lines  of  intrenchment  on  the  high  ground 
of  the  plateau,  where  they  proceeded  to 
dig,  themselves  in  and  try  to  hold  on  to 
the  ground  gained.  Sir  John  French 
was  the  British  commander,  and  in  com- 
mand of  the  First  Corps  was  Sir  Douglas 
Haig,  who  was  destined  to  win  much 
glory  in  the  heavy  fighting  of  the  next 
week.  England  lost  many  officers"  in 
this  hard-fought  battle,  including  three 
Colonels  in  one  brigade,  all  killed  on  the 
first  day. 

On  the  15th  the  Germans  began  a 
series  of  violent  counterattacks  and 
forced  both  French  and  British  to  retire 
short  distances,  which,  however,  were 
largely  regained  on  the  17th  after  the 
arrival  of  strong  reinforcements.  On  the 
18th  the  Allies  failed,  after  furious  ef- 
forts, to  break  the  German  fortified  lines, 
and  so  the  acute  stage  of  the  battle  ended. 

On  the  right,  meanwhile,  the  German 
Crown  Prince  was  delivering  a  fierce 
attack  upon  the  fortress  of  Verdun,  held 
by  the  French  under  General  Sarrail. 

First  Battle  of  Verdun 
Before  the  German  defeat  at  the 
Marne  the  Crown  Prince's  right  flank 
had  held  St.  Menehould,  twenty  miles 
west  of  the  fortress,  but  in  maintaining 
his  alignment  with  the  German  armies 
to  the  west  he  had  fallen  back  two  days' 
march  to  the  north.  General  Sarrail 
realized  from  the  experience  of  the  Bel- 
gian forts  that  no  fortification  could 
withstand  a  close  bombardment  by  the 
heavy  German  howitzers.  Consequently 
he  threw  up  earthworks  and  intrench- 
ments  on  every  hill  and  across  every  val- 
ley for  twenty  miles  or  more  around. 
On  Sept.  20  the  German  heavy  shells 
practically  demolished  Fort  Troyon,  south 
of  Verdun,  and  on  the  23d  the  Crown 
Prince's  forces  crossed  the  Meuse  and 
captured  St.  Mihiel,  with  the  bridgehead, 
thus  establishing  a  marked  salient  in  the 


line  of  invasion  which  was   destined  to 
remain  for  years. 

On  Oct.  3  the  Crown  Prince  attempted 
to  turn  Sarrail's  flank  and  get  through 
again  to  St.  Menehould,  where  he  would 
have  cut  the  railway  communications  be- 
tween Verdun  and  Paris.  In  the  Forest 
of  Argonne  the  French  won  the  battle 
and  established  touch  with  the  right 
flank  of  General  Langle's  Fourth  Army 
in  Champagne,  thus  establishing  a  line 
which,  with  slight  fluctuations,  remains 
to  this  day. 

Joffre  s  Extension  to  the  Sea 
General  Joffre  had  formed  two  new 
armies  meanwhile,  and  about  the  time 
the  lines  along  the  Aisne  began  to  con- 
geal into  what  we  have  since  learned  to 
call  the  stalemate,  he  brought  these  new 
units  up  on  the  left.  General  de  Castel- 
nau  was  brought  from  Lorraine  to  com- 
mand the  Seventh  Army,  and  Joffre 
brought  out  of  a  professorship  in  the 
military  college  General  Maud'huy  to 
command  the  Tenth  Army.  The  Seventh 
Army  took  its  place  on  a  line  through 
Peronne  and  Roye  about  Sept.  20,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  month  Maud'huy  occupied 
Arras  and  Lens  after  a  hard  battle  in 
which  the  French  used  every  available 
reserve,  including  even  marines. 

This  great  extension  was  intended  to 
outflank  the  Germans  in  their  intrench- 
ments  on  the  Aisne,  and  by  cutting  their 
lines  of  supply  compel  another  retire- 
ment. The  plan  failed  because  simul- 
taneously the  Germans  were  extending 
their  right  flank  in  an  effort  to  gain 
the  coast  at  Calais. 

Early  in  October  large  forces  of  Ger- 
man cavalry  were  active  about  Lille,  and 
General  French  asked  for  authority  to 
transfer  the  British  Army  from  almost 
the  centre  to  the  extreme  left.  General 
Joffre  agreed  and  filled  the  gap  with  a 
new  army  of  reserves  under  General 
d'Urbal.  By  Oct.  19  the  British  First 
Corps  reached  St.  Omer  just  in  time  to 
prevent  huge  German  armies  from  driv- 
ing a  wedge  between  the  Allies  and  the 
Channel  ports. 

Alsace  and  Lorraine 

As  soon  as  it  became  evident  that  war 
could  no  longer  be  avoided,  France  de- 


84 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


termined  to  secure  the  advantage  of  the 
initiative  by  striking  through  the  lost 
provinces  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  and  in- 
vading Germany  across  the  Rhine.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  the  Germans  would 
violate  Belgium,  but  it  was  hoped  that 
the  resistance  at  the  fortified  triangle — 
Liege,  Namur,  and  Antwerp — would 
greatly  delay  the  invasion  of  Northern 
France,  and  meanwhile  it  was  hoped  that 
a  strong  diversion  could  be  created  by 
the  invasion  of  Germany  below  Metz.  It 
would  be  worth  much  to  make  German 
soil,  instead  of  French,  the  scene  of 
war's  devastations,  and  then,  too,  French 
patriotism  cried  out  for  the  redemption 
of  the  provinces  torn  from  France  forty- 
four  years  ago. 

France  struck  an  eager  blow,  but  with 
forces  not  really  sufficiently  mobilized 
to  give  the  effort  the  weight  it  required 
for  so  great  a  mission. 

On  Aug.  7  a  brigade  from  the  fortress 
at  Belfort  crossed  the  frontier  and  routed 
small  German  detachments  which  en- 
deavored to  defend  Altkirch,  an  Alsatian 
town  in  the  plain  between  the  southern 
end  of  the  Vosges  Mountains  and  the 
Swiss  frontier.  An  invasion  of  Germany 
made  through  this  gap  between  the 
mountains  would,  after  crossing  Alsace, 
strike  Southern  Wiirttemberg,  with  Ba- 
varia beyond  and  the  Austrian  Tyrol  be- 
low. Certainly  it  would  have  been  a 
brilliant  stroke  of  genius  if  France  could 
have  transferred  to  those  South  German 
kingdoms  the  war  which  has  since 
wrecked  Flanders,  Artois,  Picardy,  and 
Champagne.  But  not  only  would  that 
have  required  a  great  force  for  the  at- 
tack, but  another  army  would  have  been 
needful  to  guard  the  flank  against  the 
German  strongholds  at  Strassburg  and 
Neu  Breisach.  To  be  successful,  the 
effort  launched  here  should  have  had 
something  like  the  weight  in  men  and 
material  with  which  Germany  struck 
down  from  the  north. 

On  Aug.  8  the  French  occupied  without 
opposition  the  important  town  of  Mul- 
house  and  attacked  with  success  a  Ger- 
man force  stationed  in  the  woods  beyond. 
By  the  10th  strong  German  reinforce- 
ments arrived,  and  the  French  fell  back 
to  Altkirch.     Here  faulty  reports  from 


French  air  scouts  produced  the  impres- 
sion that  a  comparatively  weak  German 
force  was  defending  the  Rhine  country 
below  Metz.  Consequently  a  general  of- 
fensive was  undertaken  by  the  French 
Army  in  Alsace,  under  General  Pau,  and 
the  army  of  Lorraine,  commanded  by 
General  de  Castelnau. 

The  plan  was  to  attack  along  the 
whole  line  from  Nancy  to  Belfort,  and 
by  Aug.  15  the  French  had  captured  most 
of  the  passes  through  the  Vosges  and 
were  looking  down  on  the  plains  of  Al- 
sace beyond.  Attempted  diversions  by 
German  columns  from  Metz  were  defeat- 
ed by  de  Castelnau,  and  Pau  pressed 
forward,  capturing  Dannemarie,  Thann, 
Mulhouse,  and  Saarburg. 

By  Aug.  17  not  only  the  entire  range  of 
the  Vosges  had  been  captured,  but  at 
Saarburg  the  French  were  astride  the 
railway  communications  between  Strass- 
burg and  Metz.  This  point  and  date 
marked  the  high  tide  of  the  French  in- 
vasion, for  by  Aug.  20  an  overpowering 
German  Army  fell  upon  their  left  from 
the  direction  of  Metz.  The  French  at- 
tempted to  retreat,  but  a  division  on  the 
left  was  overwhelmed  and  practically  de- 
stroyed in  the  battle  of  Metz.  By  the  22d 
the  French  armies  of  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine had  lost  all  the  ground  gained,  and 
the  pursuing  Germans  were  threatening 
the  whole  French  sector  between  Toul 
and  Nancy.  Their  victorious  advance 
was  halted  by  de  Castelnau's  splendid  de- 
fense of  the  field  works  which  he  erected 
on  the  wooded  hills  about  Nancy. 

From  the  6th  to  the  9th  of  September 
the  Bavarians  were  encouraged  in  des- 
perate attacks  by  the  presence  of  the 
Kaiser,  but  they  were  unable  to  gain 
ground  in  face  of  the  deadly  fire  of  the 
French  75-millimeter  guns,  which  made 
great  practice  at  shore  ranges.  On  Sept. 
9  the  Germans  lost  their  positions  in  the 
Forest  of  Champenoux,  and  the  French 
took  Amance.  Two  days  later  they  had 
St.  Die  and  the  line  of  the  Meurthe  River. 
The  fighting  in  this  sector  ended  on  Sept. 
12,  when  de  Castelnau's  men  reoccupied 
Luneville,  and  since  then  the  fortified 
eastern  frontier  of  France  has  remained 
an  impassable  barrier  to  the  German 
legions. 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF   THE  WAR 


85 


Eastern 


■Rise     of 


Theatre     of      War 
Hindenburg 

One  of  the  earliest  surprises  of  the 
■war  was  the  prompt  mobilization  of  the 
Russian  Army,  which  all  professional 
critics  looked  upon  as  a  brave,  slow  army- 
good  for  defense,  but  lacking  in  initia- 
tive. The  notion  was  proved  wrong  by  a 
very  speedy  mobilization  and  a  quick 
and  effective  attack  upon  East  Prussia 
designed  to  relieve  the 

pressure     upon     Rus-  

sia's  allies  in  the  west.  '""••/ 

Within  the  first 
week  of  August  Gen- 
eral Rennenkampf,  a 
hero  of  the  Manchu- 
rian  war,  crossed  the 
Prussian  frontier,  cut 
the  railway  which 
skirts  the  Masurian 
Lakes,  and  drove  back 
the  whole  line  of  Prus- 
sian outposts.  Gen- 
eral von  Francois,  the 
Prussian  commander, 
made  a  stand  at  Gum- 
binnen,  but  after  three 
or  four  days'  fighting 
against  greatly  su- 
perior artillery  and 
infantry  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retreat  on  Konigsberg. 

Meanwhile  General  Samsonov,  another 
soldier  who  learned  modern  war  by  fight- 
ing Japanese,  marched  up  from  Mlawa 
through  the  region  west  of  the  Masurian 
Lakes.  This  army  drove  a  strong  Ger- 
man force  headlong  out  of  an  intrenched 
position  between  Orlau  and  Frankenau 
and  took  many  prisoners  as  the  panic- 
stricken  Germans  retreated  on  Konigs- 
berg. By  the  last  week  in  August  what 
was  left  of  the  German  armies  in  East 
Prussia  was  shut  up  in  Konigsberg. 

Then  Germany  called  out  of  his  retire- 
ment at  Hanover  a  veteran  of  1870,  Gen- 
eral von  Hindenburg,  who  knew  thor- 
oughly the  terrain  of  East  Prussia.  In 
the  period  of  his  active  service  he  had 
commanded  army  corps  at  Konigsberg 
and  Allenstein,  and  had  frequently  com- 
manded at  manoeuvres  in  the  Masurian 
Lake  region.  He  loved  the  ground,  and 
knew  it  as  no  one  else  in  the  world  did. 


GENERAL   VON  HINDENBURG 


He  had  used  every  ounce  of  his  influence 
at  Berlin  to  block  the  project  of  a  land 
improvement  company,  who  had  pro- 
posed to  drain  the  lakes  and  marshes. 

An  army  of  something  like  150,000 
men  was  given  to  von  Hindenburg,  and 
he  brought  this  force  together  east  of 
Thorn  and  Graudenz.  Rennenkampf, 
after  his  series  of  early  successes,  swept 
on  confidently  to  the  investment  of  Ko- 
nigsberg, a  first-class 
:..;.;  „  ••:„•....:  ~- v.^  fortress,  with  a  gar- 
-•*  rison    of    50,000    and 

*     .  1,200  guns.    Samsonov 

pushed  on  toward  the 
north  of  the  lake  re- 
gion, but  was  quite 
out  of  touch  with  Ren- 
nenkampf. He  turned 
to  pierce  the  lake  re- 
gion to  his  west  via 
Allenstein,  probably 
with  the  intention  of 
striking  in  between 
Thorn  and  Danzig. 
He  had  about  five 
army  corps,  of  prob- 
ably 200,000  men,  and 
certainly  outnumbered 
von  Hindenburg's 
force. 

On  Wednesday, 
Aug.  26,  von  Hindenburg  struck  on  a 
wide  front,  and  Samsonov's  march  was 
abruptly  halted.  He  discovered  that 
a  strong  army  was  posted  behind  the 
lakes  and  marshes,  which  were  com- 
manded by  the  German  batteries.  The 
strength  of  von  Hindenburg's  position 
consisted  not  only  in  a  well-defended 
front,  but  in  exceptionally  good  oppor- 
tunities to  develop  quickly  flank  attacks 
both  right  and  left. 

The  battle,  one  of  the  classics  of  strat- 
egy, lasted  until  the  end  of  August,  and 
gave  the  Germans  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete victories  of  the  entire  war.  Von 
Hindenburg,  feinting  first  toward  one 
flank,  then  toward  the  other,  succeeded 
in  rolling  the  Russian  Army  up  in  a 
confused  and  helpless  mass,  entangled 
in  the  marsh  lands. 

Von  Hindenburg's  complete  mastery 
of  the  strategy  of  this  great  battle  was 
evidenced  as  much  by  what  he  refrained 


86 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


from  doing  as  by  what  he  did.  Midway 
of  the  battle  he  had  a  great  victory  sure- 
ly within  his  grasp,  and  could  have  driven 
a  defeated  enemy  headlong  back  into 
Russia.  He  withstood  the  temptation, 
and  carried  the  battle  on  for  sevaral  days 
while  he  continued  to  entangle  Samsonov 
in  a  position  whence  there  might  be  no 
escape.  By  Aug.  31  von  Hindenburg  had 
scored  the  only  complete  victory  of  the 
war.  Samsonov  and  most  of  his  corps 
and  division  commanders  were  killed. 
Perhaps  20  per  cent,  of  the  Russian  force 
escaped  via  Ortelsberg.  The  Germans 
took  nearly  90,000  prisoners  and  so  much 
artillery  and  booty  that  they  had  hard 
work  to  handle  it. 

This  tactical  victory  made  von  Hinden- 
burg a  national  hero,  for,  with  a  smaller 
force,  he  had  surrounded  and  destroyed 
the  larger  army.  Von  Hindenburg  turned 
north  against  Rennenkampf,  who  instant- 
ly abandoned  the  attack  on  Konigsberg, 
and  retreated  precipitately  into  Russia 
via  Gumbinnen,  where  he  fought  a  rear- 
guard action. 

Poland  and  Galicia 

To  the  south  early  in  August  the  Ger- 
mans crossed  the  frontier  and  occupied 
without  opposition  several  towns  in 
Western  Poland,  and  from  the  mining 
region  began  to  ship  coal  back  to  Ger- 
many via  Posen. 

In  Galicia  Austria  concentrated  for  an 
important  campaign  against  Russian  Po- 
land. One  army,  whose  base  was  at 
Przemysl,  was  for  the  attack  toward  the 
north,  while  the  second  army,  with  a  base 
at  Lemberg,  faced  east.  These  armies 
numbered  over  300,000  men  each. 

The  first  army  pushed  north  with  no 
very  serious  opposition.  A  Russian  army 
under  General  Ruzsky  crossed  the  fron- 
tier, took  Sokal,  and  advanced  upon  Lem- 
berg. General  Brusiloff,  with  another 
army,  joined  in  the  attack  upon  Lem- 
berg. The  fighting  was  general  along  a 
line  between  the  Vistula  and  the  Dnies- 
ter. Austria's  plan  was  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  expected  slowness  of  Russian 


mobilization  and  strike  without  waiting 
to  be  struck.  To  their  astonishment  they 
soon  met  the  armies  of  Ruzsky  and  Bru- 
siloff, each  with  over  a  quarter  of  a  mill- 
ion men.  A  third  and  smaller  Russian 
army  under  General  Ewerts  was  to  en- 
gage the  Austrians  while  the  larger  ar- 
mies should  envelop  them. 

By  Aug.  27  Brusiloff  took  Tarnopol 
after  a  hard  battle,  and  a  few  days  later 
he  captured  Halicz  and  proceeded  to  in- 
vest Lemberg,  which  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  Russians  by  Sept.  3.  In  the 
week's  series  of  battles  the  Russians  took 
100,000  prisoners  and  great  quantities  of 
ordnance  abandoned  by  the  Austrian 
armies,  whose  retreat  was  a  rout.  From 
Lemberg  the  Russians  pursued  the  de- 
moralized Austrians  into  the  Carpathian 
passes,  taking  many  towns  en  route.  To 
the  north,  Ivanov,  who  had  succeeded 
Ewerts,  attacked  a  mixed  Austro-Ger- 
man  army  under  General  Dankl  and  the 
Archduke  Joseph,  and  on  Sept.  10  won  a 
splendid  victory.  At  Rava  Russka,  von 
Auffenberg,  in  command  of  Dankl's 
right,  was  crushed  and  his  army  dis- 
persed. The  utterly  defeated  remnants 
of  the  Austrian  armies  retreated  to 
Cracow,  Przemysl,  and  Jaroslav.  The 
Austrians  were  expelled  from  Poland, 
and  the  Russians  were  going  deep  into 
Austria. 

On  the  Serbian  Front 

When  Austria  declared  war  on  July  28 
a  bombardment  of  the  Serbian  capital  at 
Belgrade  began,  but  the  Dual  Monarchy 
met  unexpectedly  stiff  resistance  when 
attempts  were  made  to  cross  the  Danube. 
A  combined  Serbian  and  Montenegrin 
force  invaded  Bosnia,  and  advanced  to- 
ward Serajevo.  On  Aug.  17  a  larger 
Austrian  army  was  soundly  beaten  at 
Shabatz  by  a  Serb  force,  and  a  few  days 
later  they  suffered  another  reverse  on 
the  banks  of  the  Jadar.  Both  defeats 
were  costly,  and  the  Serbs  took  many 
prisoners  and  much  artillery.  They 
showed  a  surprising  ability  to  withstand 
whatever  forces  Austria  dared  divert 
from  the  Russian  front. 


[Continuation  in  May  Issue'] 


Naval  Power  in  the  Present  War 


By  Lieutenant  Charles  C.  Gill 

United  States  Navy 

This  article,  describing  the  concluding  phases  of  the  Battle  of  Jutland,  is  the  fourth  of 
a  series  contributed  to  Current  History  Magazine  by  Lieutenant  Gill  of  the  superdreadnought 
Oklahoma— with  the  sanction  of  the  United  States  Naval  Department— for  the  purpose  of 
deducing  the  naval  lessons  furnished  by  the  sea  engagements  of  the  European  war. 

IV. — The  Battle  of  Jutland — Continued 


The  Third  Phase 
The  British  Grand  Fleet  Joins   in   the  Battle 

DURING  the  first  and  second 
phases  of  the  battle  the  Grand 
Fleet  was  closing  at  utmost 
fleet  speed  on  a  southeast  by 
south  course.  Three  battle  cruisers,  led  by 
Rea*r  Admiral  Hood  in  the  Invincible,  to- 
gether with  screening  light  cruisers  and 
destroyers,  were  in  advance  operating  as 
a  fast  wing.  At  5:45  an  outpost  light 
cruiser  was  engaged  with  a  division  of 
German  light  cruisers.  At  6:10  Admiral 
Beatty's  engaged  squadron  was  sighted 
by  the  Invincible.  At  6:21  Admiral 
Hood  led  his  squadron  into  action,  taking 
station  in  the  van  just  ahead  of  the  Lion 
and  closing  at  6:25  to  a  range  of  8,000 
yards.  A  few  minutes  later  the  Invinci- 
ble was  sunk  by  gun  fire. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  British  battle 
fleet  was  coming  into  action,  filling  the 
previously  mentioned  gap  opening  up  be- 
tween Admiral  Beatty  and  Rear  Admiral 
Evan  Thomas.  At  5:55  advanced  British 
armored  cruisers,  light  cruisers,  and  de- 
stroyers were  engaged  with  German 
cruisers  and  destroyers.  At  6:16  the 
armored  cruisers  Warrior,  Black  Prince, 
and  Defence  under  Sir  Robert  Arbuthnot 
were  drawn  between  the  lines  and  dis- 
abled by  close-range  fire  from  the  Ger- 
man battleships.  At  6:14  Admiral  Jelli- 
coe  formed  the  Grand  Fleet  in  battle  line, 
and  during  deployment  at  6:17  the  first 
battle  squadron  opened  fire  on  a  Ger- 
man battleship  of  the  Kaiser  class.  At 
6:30  the  other  battle  squadrons  en- 
gaged ships  of  the  Konig  class.  The 
four  battleships  of  the  Elizabeth  class, 
previously  engaged  during  the  second 
phase,  formed  astern  of  the  main  battle 


fleet.  At  this  time  the  Warspite  of  this 
fifth  battle  squadron  had  her  helm  jam 
with  right  rudder,  causing  her  to  turn 
toward  the  German  line,  where  she  was 
subjected  to  severe  fire,  but  the  trouble 
being  soon  corrected  she  was  extricated 
from  this  predicament.  Admiral  Jellicoe 
reports: 

Owing  principally  to  the  mist,  but  partly 
to  the  smoke,  it  was  possible  to  see  only  a 
few  ships  at  a  time  in  the  enemy's  battle  line. 
Toward  the  van  only  some  four  or  five  ships 
were  ever  visible  at  once.  More  could  bo 
seen  from  the  rear  squadron,  but  never  mora 
than  eight  to  twelve.  *  *  *  The  action  be- 
tween the  battle  fleets  lasted  intermittently 
from  6:17  P.  M.  to  8:20  P.  M.,  at  ranges  be- 
tween 9,000  yards  and  12,000  yards.  During 
this  time  the  British  fleet  made  alterations 
of  course  from  southeast  by  east  to  west 
(168%  degrees)  in  the  endeavor  to  close,  but 
the  enemy  constantly  turned  away  and 
opened  the .  range  under  cover  of  destroyer 
attacks  and  smoke  screens.  The  alterations 
of  course  had  the  effect  of  bringing  the 
British  fleet  (which  commenced  the  action  In 
a  position  of  advantage  on  the  bow  of  the 
enemy)  to  a  quarterly  bearing  from  the 
enemy's  battle  line,  but  at  the  same  time 
placed  us  between  the  enemy  and  his  bases. 
During  the  somewhat  brief  periods  that  the 
ships  of  the  High  Seas  Fleet  were  visible 
through  the  mist  the  heavy  and  effective 
fire  kept  up  by  the  battleships  and  battle 
cruisers  of  the  Grand  Fleet  caused  me  much 
satisfaction,  and  the  enemy  vessels  were 
seen  to  be  constantly  hit,  some  being  ob- 
served to  haul  out  of  the  line  and  at  least 
one  to  sink.  The  enemy's  return  fire  at  this 
time  was  not  effective  and  the  damage 
caused  to  our  ships  was  insignificant. 

Series  of  Local  Actions 
From  the  reports  it  appears  that  the 
area  of  the  battle  was  covered  by  mist 
and  smoke  of  varying  density,  inter- 
spersed with  sections  wherein  opposing 
ships  could  see  each  other  at  the  battle 
range.  This  gave  rise  to  a  series  of  local 
actions    during   which    all    ships    of    the 


ss 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


DIAGRAM   OF   LATER  PHASES   OP    BATTLE    OP   JUTLAND 


battle  fleet  became  engaged,  but  at  no 
time  simultaneously.  These  detached 
actions  were  for  the  most  part  between 
few  ships  for  brief  periods.  The  aggre- 
gate fighting,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  considerable,  as  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  synopsis  of  the  princi- 
pal incidents  reported  by  Admiral  Jel- 
licoe  and  Vice  Admiral  Beatty: 

At  (5:17  the  third  hattle  squadron  engaged 
German  battleships,  battle  cruisers,  and  light 
cruisers  at  a  range  of  11,000  yards.  The 
fourth  battle  squadron,  in  which  was  placed 
th"  Commander  in  Chief's  flagship  Iron 
Duke,   engaged  the  battle  squadron,   consist- 


ing of  the  Konig  and  Kaiser  classes,  as  well 
as  some  of  the  German  battle  cruisers  and 
light  cruisers.  The  mist  rendered  range 
taking  difficult,  but  the  fire  of  the  squadron 
was  effective.  The  Iron  Duke  opened  at 
6 :30  on  a  battleship  of  the  Konig  class  at 
12,000  yards  range,  hitting  on  the  second 
salvo,  and  continuing  to  hit  until  the  target 
ship  turned  away.  The  fire  of  other  ships  of 
the  fourth  squadron  was  principally  directed 
at  enemy  battle  cruisers  and  cruisers  as  they 
appeared  out  of  the  mist.  The  ships  of  the 
second  battle  squadron  were  in  action  with 
vessels  of  the  Kaiser  and  Kftnig  classes  be- 
tween 0  :"0  and  7:20,  and  fired  also  at  a 
battle  cruiser  which  had  dropped  back,  ap- 
parently severely  damaged.     The  first  battle 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


89 


squadron  received  more  of  the  return  fire 
than  the  remainder  of  the  main  fleet.  The 
Colossus  was  hit,  but  not  seriously  damaged, 
and  other  ships  were  straddled  with  fair  fre- 
quency by  the  German  salvos. 

Admiral  Jellicoe  makes  special  men- 
tion of  the  Marlborough  of  the  third 
battle  squadron,  stating  that  at  6:17  she 
fired  seven  salvos  at  a  German  battleship 
of  the  Kaiser  class,  then  engaged  a 
cruiser  and  again  a  battleship.  At  6:54 
she  was  hit  by  a  torpedo  and  took  up  a 
considerable  list  to  starboard,  but  at  7:03 
reopened  on  a  cruiser,  and  at  7:12  fired 
fourteen  rapid  salvos  at  a  battleship  of 
the  Konig  class,  hitting  her  frequently 
until  she  turned  out  of  line.  These  details 
in  the  case  of  the  Marlborough  permit 
some  rather  interesting  speculations.  It 
seems  that  this  ship  alone  fired  approxi- 
mately between  200  and  250  13.5-inch 
shells,  each  one  weighing  about  1,240 
pounds,  aggregating  in  the  neighborhood 
of  140  tons  of  high  explosive  steel  shell, 
at  the  effective  battle  range  of  12,000 
yards  in  the  beginning  and  closing  to  9,000 
yards  during  the  course  of  the  action. 
If  this  is  at  all  indicative  of  the  fighting 
done  by  the  other  battleships  of  the  main 
body  it  is  apparent  that  a  considerable 
weight  of  metal  was  let  loose.  In  the 
first  and  second  phases  it  is  estimated 
that  each  of  the  ships  under  Vice  Ad- 
miral Beatty  and  Rear  Admiral  Thomas 
fired  four  or  five  times  this  amount 
(about  600  tons  each)  and  the  Germans 
quite  as  much,  if  not  more. 

After  the  injury  to  the  Marlborough 
Vice  Admiral  Burney  transferred  his 
flag  to  the  Revenge. 

It  appears  that  the  British  battle 
cruisers  after  the  loss  of  the  Invincible 
were  out  of  action  for  about  half  an  hour. 
At  about  6:50  the  two  remaining  ships 
of  Admiral  Hood's  squadron  were  ordered 
to  prolong  Admiral  Beatty's  line  astern, 
and,  having  lost  sight  of  the  enemy,  the 
battle  cruiser  squadrons  reduced  speed 
to  18  knots.  Course  was  gradually 
changed  to  south  and  then  to  southwest 
in  an  effort  to  regain  touch  with  the 
enemy.  At  7:14  two  German  battle  cruis- 
ers and  two  battleships  were  sighted  at 
about  15,000  yards  range,  bearing  north- 
westerly. At  7: 17  Admiral  Beatty's  ships 
re-engaged    and    increased    speed    to    22 


knots.  At  7:32  the  British  battle  cruisers 
had  again  reduced  speed  to  18  knots. 
German  destroyers  advanced,  emitting 
clouds  of  dark  gray  smoke,  under  which 
screen  the  German  capital  ships  turned 
away  and  were  lost  sight  of  at  7:45. 
British  light  cruisers  were  ordered  to 
sweep  westward  to  regain  touch,  and  at 
8:20  Admiral  Beatty  ordered  a  westerly 
course  in  support. 

Climax  of  the  Fighting 
Soon  afterward  German  battle  cruis- 
ers and  battleships  were  heavily  engaged 
at  10,000  yards  range.  Admiral  Beatty 
reports  that  the  leading  ship  was  hit  re- 
peatedly by  the  Lion  and  turned  out  of 
line  eight  points,  emitting  high  flames; 
that  the  Princess  Royal  set  fire  to  a 
three-funnel  battleship,  and  that  the  New 
Zealand  and'  Indomitable  both  engaged 
the  third  ship,  forcing  her  to  haul  out  of 
line  on  fire  and  heeling  over.  The  mist 
at  this  time  shut  them  from  view,  but 
the  Falmouth  reported  the  German  ships 
as  last  seen  at  8:38  steam  to  the  west- 
ward. The  British  battle  cruisers  did  not 
regain  touch,  and  at  9:24  changed  to  the 
southerly  course  set  by  Admiral  Jellicoe 
for  the  battle  fleet. 

During  the  third  phase  the  conditions 
of  mist  and  failing  light  favored  torpedo 
attack,  but  few  details  have  as  yet  been 
reported.  The  fourth  light  cruiser  squad- 
ron occupied  a  position  in  the  van  until 
7:20  P.  M.,  when  they  carried  out  orders 
to  attack  German  destroyers.  Again  at 
8:18  P.  M.  this  squadron  moved  out  to 
support  the  eleventh  destroyer  flotilla  in 
a  torpedo  attack.  They  came  under  a 
heavy  fire  from  the  enemy  battle  fleet  at 
ranges  between  6,500  and  8,000  yards, 
but  succeeded  in  firing  torpedoes  at  Ger- 
man battleships. 

At  6:25  the  third  light  cruiser  squad- 
ron attacked  the  German  battle  cruisers 
with  torpedoes, '  and  the  Indomitable  re- 
ported that  a  few  minutes  later  a  Ger- 
man battle  cruiser  of  the  Derff linger 
class  fell  out  of  line.  This  may  have 
been  the  Liitzow,  as  at  about  this  time 
Vice  Admiral  Hipper,  while  under  a 
heavy  fire,  transshipped  his  flag  in  a 
torpedo  boat  from  the  disabled  Liitzow 
to  the  Derfflinger. 


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NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


91 


Losses  on  Both  Sides 
It  is  thus  seen  that  during  the  third 
phase,  lasting  from  6:15  to  about  8:30 
P.  M.,  practically  the  entire  British 
Grand  Fleet  was  engaged  with  practical- 
ly the  entire  German  High  Seas  Fleet. 
Early  in  the  phase  the  British  armored 
cruiser  Defense  (tonnage  14,600,  carry- 
ing four  9.2-inch  guns  and  755  men)  was 
sunk.  At  the  same  time  the  armored 
cruiser  Warrior  (tonnage  13,500,  carry- 
ing six  9.2-inch  guns  and  704  men)  and 
her  sister  ship,  the  Black  Prince,  were 
disabled.  The  Warrior  was  taken  in  tow 
by  the  Engadine,  but  broke  away  dur- 
ing rough  weather  in  the  night,  and 
sank  after  the  crew  had  been  taken  off. 
The  Black  Prince  came  in  close  contact 
with  a  German  battleship  during  the 
night  and  was  sunk  by  gunfire. 

Between  6  and  6:30  the  Germans  lost 
the  light  cruiser  Wiesbaden.  Rear  Ad- 
miral Hood's  flagship,  the  Invincible, 
(tonnage  17,250,  carrying  eight  12-inch 
guns  and  750  men,)  was  sunk  soon  after 
engaging.  The  German  battle  cruiser 
Liitzow  (tonnage  28,000,  carrying  ten 
12-inch  guns  and  750  men)  was  disabled, 
and  sank  while  returning  to  port.  The 
German  battleship  Pommern  (tonnage 
13,040,  carrying  four  11-inch  guns  and 
750  men)  was  probably  disabled  during 
the  day  battle  and  sunk  in  the  night  by 
a  torpedo.  The  German  light  cruisers 
Frauenlob  and  Rostock  were  destroyed 
in  the  evening  fighting,  while  the  light 
cruiser  Elbing  was  abandoned  because 
of  damage  due  to  collision  with  another 
German  ship.  According  to  official  ad- 
mission, each  side  seems  to  have  lost 
about  four  destroyers,  either  during  this 
phase  or  during  the  night  fighting. 

The  details  of  how  Admiral  Jellicoe 
manoeuvred  his  ships  into  action  have 
not  been  disclosed,  but  the  British  battle 
fleet  probably  approached  with  squad- 
rons or  divisions  in  line  or  line  of  bear- 
ing. That  is,  the  ships  were  in  several 
parallel  columns  on  a  southerly  course, 
with  the  leading  ships  in  a  line  approxi- 
mately east  and  west,  at  such  a  distance 
apart  as  to  permit  all  ships  to  swing  into 
one  column,  heading  either  east  or  west. 
The  deployment  into  a  battle  line  head- 
ing easterly  seems  to  have  been  skill- 


fully effected  under  trying  conditions. 
Just  what  the  relative  positions  of  the 
two  fleets  were  during  this  phase  is  not 
known,  but  the  British  seem  to  have  had 
a  tactical  advantage  in  turning  the  Ger- 
man van.  The  conditions  of  poor  visi- 
bility, however,  did  not  permit  them  to 
get  full  benefit  of  it,  although  they  had 
the  German  ships  backed  by  the  twilight 
sky,  an  important  advantage,  which 
must  have  increased  as  darkness  ap- 
proached. 

Some  criticism  has  been  made  of  Ad- 
miral Jellicoe  for  not  pressing  the  retir- 
ing enemy  ships  more  closely,  but  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  retiring  ships  are 
in  a  favorable  position  for  using  mines 
and  torpedoes.  Moreover,  the  mist  and 
the  direction  of  the  wind  were  helpful  to 
the  destroyers  in  making  a  good  smoke 
screen  for  the  Germans. 

The  Fourth  Phase 

Torpedo  Attacks  and  Fighting  During  the  Night 
of  May  31  to  June  / 
Admiral  Jellicoe  reports  that  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Grand  Fleet  the  tactics  of 
the  Germans  were  generally  to  avoid 
further  action,  in  which  they  were  fa- 
vored   by    conditions    of    visibility. 

At  this  stage  of  the  action,  shortly 
after  8:40,  Admiral  Jellicoe  quotes  Vice 
Admiral  Beatty  as  follows: 

In  view  of  the  gathering  darkness,  and 
the  fact  that  our  strategical  position  was 
such  as  to  make  it  appear  certain  that  we 
should  locate  the  enemy  at  daylight  under 
most  favorable  circumstances,  I  did  not 
consider  it  desirable  or  proper  to  close  the ' 
enemy    battle    fleet    during    the    dark    hours. 

Admiral  Jellicoe  then  reports: 

At  9  P.  M.  the  enemy  was  entirely  out 
of  sight,  and  the  threat  of  torpedo  boat 
destroyer  attacks  during  the  rapidly  ap- 
proaching darkness  made  it  necessary  for 
me  to  dispose  of  the  fleet  for  the  night,  with 
a  view  to  its  safety  from  such  attacks,  while 
providing  for  a  renewal  of  action  at  day- 
light. I  accordingly  manoeuvred  to  remain 
between  the  enemy  and  his  bases,  placing 
our  flotillas  in  a  position  in  which  they 
would  afford  protection  to  the  fleet  from  de- 
stroyer attack  and  at  the  same  time  be 
favorably  situated  for  attacking  the  enemy's 
heavy   ships. 

The  British  fleet,  after  making  dis- 
positions to  guard  against  night  tor- 
pedo    attacks,     steamed    at     moderate 


92 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


speed  on  southerly  courses.  During  the 
night  the  British  heavy  ships  were  not 
engaged,  but  Admiral  Jellicoe  reports 
that  the  British  Fourth,  Eleventh, 
Twelfth,  and  Thirteenth  Flotillas  deliv- 
ered a  series  of  successful  torpedo  at- 
tacks. 

Apart  from  the  proceedings  of  the 
flotillas,  the  second  light-cruiser  squad- 
ron, stationed  in  the  rear  of  the  battle 
fleet,  was  in  close  action  for  about  fif- 
teen minutes  at  10:20  P.  M.  with  a  Ger- 
man squadron,  comprising  one  cruiser 
and  four  light  cruisers.  In  this  action 
the  Southampton  and  the  Dublin  suf- 
fered rather  heavy  casualties,  although 
their  steaming  and  fighting  qualities 
were  not  seriously  impaired. 

This  night  fighting  comprises  an  in- 
teresting and  perhaps  an  important 
phase  of  the  battle,  but  too  little  is 
known  about  it  at  this  time  to  permit 
profitable  discussion.  During  both  the 
day  and  night  conditions  were  favorable 
for  the  use  of  torpedoes.  Destroyer  .at- 
tacks seem  to  have  been  numerous,  per- 
sistent, and  daring.  It  may  be  assumed 
that  a  great  many  torpedoes  were  fired, 
but  the  resulting  damage  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  very  extensive. 

The  German  fleet  after  nightfall  prob- 
ably steered  a  southwesterly  course  at 
somewhat  reduced  speed  because  of  dam- 
aged ships.  It  should  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  fleet  speed  of  the  British  was 
20  knots.  The  fleet  speed  of  the  Ger- 
mans was  17  knots,  as  their  dreadnoughts 
had  been  eked  out  with  predreadnought 
battleships  of  less  speed. 

Of  course,  to  deceive  the  enemy,  Ad- 
miral Scheer  may  have  set  a  different 
course,  such  as  toward  the  nearest  land 
to  the  eastward;  but  it  seems  more  rea- 
sonable that  he  tried  to  ease  around  the 
British  fleet  in  the  general  direction  of 
his  Heligoland  base. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  1  (3  A. 
M.)  Admiral  Jellicoe's  battle  fleet  was  to 
the  westward  of  Horn  Reef,  some  ninety 
miles  from  the  battlefield,  as  shown  on 
the  chart.  The  British  fleet  then  turned 
to  the  northward  and  retraced  its  course. 

Visibility  was  three  to  four  miles.  Ad- 
miral Jellicoe  reports  that  the  British 
fleet   remained   in   the  proximity  of  the 


battlefield  and  near  the  line  of  approach 
to  German  ports  until  11  A.  M.,  June  1; 
that  the  position  of  the  British  fleet  must 
have  been  known  to  the  enemy,  because  at 
4  A.  M.  the  fleet  engaged  for  about  five 
minutes  a  Zeppelin  which  had  ample  op- 
portunity to  note  and  subsequently  to  re- 
port the  position  and  course  of  the  British 
fleet ;  that  the  waters  from  the  latitude  of 
Horn  Reef  to  the  scene  of  the  action  were 
thoroughly  searched,  but  no  enemy  ships 
sighted;  and  that  at  1:15  P.  M.,  it  being 
evident  that  the  German  fleet  had  suc- 
ceeded in  returning  to  port,  course  was 
shaped  for  British  bases,  which  were 
reached  without  further  incident.  By 
9:30  P.  M.  of  the  next  day,  June  2,  the 
fleet  having  fueled  and  replenished  with 
ammunition,  was  reported  ready  for  fur- 
ther action. 

Results  of  the  Battle 

The  conduct  of  the  British  fleet  on  the 
morning  of  June  1,  retracing  its  tracks 
to  the  northward  over  the  battle  area — 
apparently  searching  the  least  likely 
places  to  find  enemy  ships — raises  a  lot 
of  perplexing  questions.  On  the  chart, 
Page  88,  it  is  evident  that,  if  the  Ger- 
man fleet  was  trying  to  ease  around  the 
British  fleet  from  the  westward  toward 
its  bases,  it  must  have  been  in  the  shaded 
area,  whether  using  fleet  speed  of  17 
knots  for  five  hours,  or  more  likely,  say, 
12  knots  for  that  time.  If,  as  suggested 
above,  Admiral  Scheer  had  taken  an  east- 
erly course,  with  perhaps  the  Skagerrack 
in  mind  in  case  of  emergency,  the  Ger- 
man fleet  must  have  been  to  the  eastward 
of  the  course  taken  by  the  British  fleet  in 
the  night — which  would  seem  the  one 
lane  where  the  German  fleet  could  not  be 
located. 

With  the  Grand  Fleet  in  position  to  put 
itself  between  the  German  High  Seas 
Fleet  and  its  bases,  why  was  there  no  de- 
cisive engagement?  The  fleets  could 
not  have  been  very  far  apart.  Consider- 
ing that  the  June  nights  between  evening 
and  morning  twilight  are  only  five  hours 
long  in  these  latitudes,  and  also  consid- 
ering the  numerous  scouts,  both  German 
and  British,  it  looks  as  though  they 
should  have  been  pretty  well  informed  of 
each   other's   whereabouts.      But   before 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


93 


criticising  Admiral  Jellicoe  for  not  seek- 
ing an  engagement  in  the  vicinity  of 
Heligoland  it  might  be  well  to  reflect 
upon  the  conditions  confronting  him  on 
that  morning:  Visibility  only  three  to 
four  miles;  close  to  enemy  bases  and 
comparatively  far  from  home  bases;  a 
fleet  somewhat  knocked  about  after  the 
previous  day's  fighting,  and  no  doubt  a 
number  of  the  ships  short  of  both  fuel 
and  ammunition;  destroyers  and  light 
cruisers  scattered,  many  more  or  less 
damaged,  and  perhaps  the  majority  with 
torpedoes  expended;  an  enemy  skilled  in 
the  use  of  submarines  and  mines. 

Because  of  these  conditions,  and  since 
the  success  of  the  allied  cause  and  the 
safety  of  the  British  Empire  depend 
upon  the  Grand  Fleet,  there  appear  to 
be  few  grounds  for  questioning  Admiral 
Jellicoe's  wisdom  in  safeguarding  his 
ships  against  the  submarine  and  mine 
traps  laid  for  them  in  the  vicinity  of 
Heligoland  Bight.  It  is  significant  that 
the  British  Admiralty  Staff,  which  com- 
prises those  who  know  most  and  care 
most  about  the  conduct  of  the  fleet,  ap- 
pears to  be  well  satisfied  with  the  way 
the  ships  were  handled. 

It  is  hard  for  persons  unused  to  the 
sea  to  visualize  the  conditions  and  cir- 
cumstances attending  this  engagement. 
Even  seagoing  men  of  excellent  balance 
are  liable,  when  transplanted  tempora- 
rily to  the  tranquillity  of  a  war  college, 
to  be  somewhat  influenced  by  en- 
vironment, and,  while  in  enthusiastic 
search  of  illustration  for  pet  theories, 
they  may  overlook  or  fail  to  give  due 
weight  to  modifying  factors  which  can- 
not be  simulated  on  the  game  board. 
Students  of  tactics  on  shore  make  their 
decisions  after  study  and  discussion  in 
the  comfortable  quiet  of  a  well-lighted 
room,  and  then  use  T  square  and  ruler 
to  move  their  miniature  ships  on  a  mo- 
tionless wooden  ocean.  The  fighters  of 
the  Jutland  battle  faced  quite  a  dif- 
ferent proposition.  Decisions  had  to  be 
made  quickly,  accurately  transmitted  by 
signal,  and  promptly  carried  out  on  a 
sea  darkened  by  mist,  smoke,  and  ap- 
proaching night.  All  this  had  to  be 
done,  moreover,  in  the  midst  of  battle, 
under  the  strain  of  apprehension,  in  the 


uncertainties  of  meagre  and  conflicting 
information. 

Which  side  won  and  which  side  suf- 
fered the  more  damage — these  are  and 
for  some  time  probably  will  continue  to 
be  debatable  questions.  Great  Britain 
and  Germany  both  claim  a  victory,  and 
one's  point  of  view  seems  to  determine 
which  of  these  two  opinions  is  accepted. 
Very  likely  history  will  judge  the  battle 
indecisive.  As  to  the  damage  inflicted, 
present  official  British  and  German  ad- 
missions show  that  Great  Britain  lost 
a  greater  tonnage  in  ships  actually  sunk, 
but  this  is  by  no  means  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  the  British  fleet  suffered 
greater  punishment  than  did  the  Ger- 
man fleet.  A  careful  study  of  the  re- 
ports of  the  battle  as  well  as  sidelights, 
such  as  the  official  veil  of  secrecy  en- 
shrouding the  German  fleet  and  the  fact 
that  an  honorary  degree  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  the  Chief  Constructor  of  the 
German  Navy  because  of  the  structural 
merits  of  German  warships,  especially 
with  regard  to  their  non-sinkability  aft- 
er injury,  all  indicate  that  many  British 
shells  and  torpedoes  found  their  mark. 
The  chief  losses,  moreover,  occurred  in 
the  battle  cruiser  squadrons.  The  bat- 
tleship line,  the  backbone  of  British  sea 
power,  was  not  shorn  of  a  single  unit. 

As  regards  general  results,  the  mili- 
tary situation  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  much  changed.  British  sea  power 
is  still  supreme  and  exerting  its  inex- 
orable pressure;  the  German  High  Seas 
Fleet  is  still  a  fleet  in  being  and  a  men- 
ace to  its  enemies. 

The  following  is  the  British  statement 
of  losses: 

BATTLE  CRUISERS 

Ton-  Armor     Main 

nage.  Belt.  Battery.  Sp'd.Men.C'p'd 
Queen  Mary. 27,000  9  in.  8  13.5-in.  28  1,000  '13 
Indef  gable  .18,750  8  in.  8  12-in.  26  899  '11 
Invincible   ...17,250    7  in.     8 12-in.        26        750     '08 

ARMORED  CRUISERS 

Defense     ....14,600     6  in.     4  9.2-in.       23  755  '08 

Bl'k   Prince..  13, 550     6  in.     6  9.2-in.       20.5  704  '06 

Warrior    ....13,550    6  in.     6  9.2-in.       22.9  704  '08 

DESTROYERS 

Tipperary   ...  1,900      31        160    '14 

Turbulent     

Fortune    920 29.50  100     '12 

Sp'w    Hawk..      950     3  4-in.         31.32  100     '12 

Ardent    950      3  4-in.  31.32  100     '12 

Nomad     

Nestor 

Shark    950     3  4-in.         31.32  100     '12 


94 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The    German    losses    reported    by    the 
German  Admiralty  are: 


Pommern 


BATTLESHIP 

Ton-  Arma- 

nage.  ment. 

.13,040  4  11-in. 

14  6.7-in. 


Date 
Bp'd,  Completion. 


19 


BATTLE   CRUISER 
Lutzow    28,000  8  12-in.  J 


1907 


1915 


12  6-in. 

LIGHT   CRUISERS 

Rostock    — 
Frauenlob    . 

..  4,820         12  4.1-in.          27.3 
..  2.656        10  4.1-in.          21.5 

1914 
1903 

NEW    LTGHT    CRUISERS      •* 

Elbing    

Wiesbaden 

DESTROYERS 
Five    

TOTAL   TONNAGE    LOST 

British    117.150 

German   60,720 

TOTAL  PERSONNEL  LOST 

•British   6,105 

German    2,414 

[The  fifth  article  of  this  series  will 
appear  in  May.} 


A  German  Story  of  the  Sinking  of  the  Lutzow 


THE  Telegraaf  of  Amsterdam  has 
published  a  statement  made  by  a 
deserter  from  the  German  Navy, 
a  seaman  of  the  first  class  who  had  been 
six  years  in  the  navy  and  received  the 
Iron  Cross  after  the  Jutland  battle.  He 
stated  that  in  the  Jutland  battle  he  was 
aboard  the  Lutzow,  which  was  sunk. 
Over  1,000  were  saved  of  her  crew,  which 
totaled  1.600.  He  was  taken  aboard  a 
destroyer,  which  was  sunk  five  minutes 
later.  The  following  remarkable  details 
of  the  sinking  of  the  Lutzow  formed  part 
of  his  narrative: 

It  was  8  o'clock  in  the  evening.  We  were 
first  hit  by  a  torpedo  behind  the  foremast  be- 
low the  water  line.  The  torpedo  penetrated 
the  walls  and  exploded  within  the  ship,  kill- 
ing and  wounding  a  great  number  of  men 
and  destroying  the  food  store.  The  water- 
tight compartment  before  the  engine  room 
held  good,  and  everything  was  done  to  sup- 
port the  bulkhead,  with  the  object  of  pre- 
serving the  ship.  Gradually,  however,  her 
condition  became  hopeless.  The  staff  left 
the  vessel  about  10  P.  M.,  the  crew  remaining 
on  duty.  After  the  staff  had  been  transferred 
to  a  torpedo  boat  the  Lutzow  received  an- 
other hit,  which  destroyed  the  wireless  room 
beneath  the  bridge.  Every  one  within  was 
killed.  Afterward  the  ship  received  four 
severe  hits  from  fifteen-inch  shells.  She  was 
now  proceeding  at  only  three  miles  an  hour. 

At  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  vessel  ap- 
peared to  be  lost,  and  we  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  ship.  Four  torpedo  boats  received 
1,003  men  surviving  out  of  1,000.  Three  hun- 
dred wounded  remained  on  board,  whom  it 
was  impossible  to  remove.  Our  torpedo  boat 
was  not  100  yards  from  the  Lutzow  when  it 


was  attacked  by  five  English  destroyers  and 
two  small  cruisers.  Our  vessel  was  tor- 
pedoed and  quickly  sank.  Three  other 
German  torpedo  boats  thereupon  took  us  over. 
Some  time  afterward  the  torpedo  boat  I  was 
on  was  hit  near  the  engine  room.  An  order 
then  arrived  to  retire  from  further  operations 
by  developing  smoke.  A  heavy  screen  of 
smoke  hid  us  and  the  Lutzow  from  the 
English.     That  was  our  salvation. 

To  save  her  from  falling  into  English  hands 
we  were  ordered  to  sink  the  Lutzow  with  300 
of  her  own  wounded  on  board.  This  order 
was  executed.  One  of  our  torpedo  boats  tor- 
pedoed this  great  German  ship,  which  quickly 
sank,  carrying  with  it  our  300  wounded  into 
the  depths.  The  English  then  left  us  in 
peace,  and  proceeded  in  the  direction  where 
the  Lutzow  had  sunk.  Apparently  they  had 
not  seen  through  the  screen  of  smoke  that  the 
Lutzow  had  sunk.  While  they  were  vainly 
seeking  the  ship  we  escaped  and  steamed 
at  full  power  southward  for  thirteen  hours. 
We  were  then  taken  over  by  the  small  cruiser 
Regensburg,  in  which  we  steamed  for  five 
hours  more  before  our  return  at  midnight  to 
Wilhelmshaven. 

It  is  remarkable  that  all  our  ships  hit  in 
the  Jutland  battle  were  hit  in  the  forepart. 
Many  ships  were  severely  damaged  while 
proceeding  homeward.  All  the  badly  dam- 
aged vessels  have  been  repaired,  and  new 
ships  are  serving,  or  are  shortly  to  serve,  in 
the  fleet.  Among  the  new  ships  are  the 
Baden,  Bayern,  and  Hindenburg.  Shortly 
also  there  will  be  a  new  Emden,  while  a  new 
Karlsruhe  is  already  in  active  service.  An 
Ersatz  Bliicher  is  on  the  stocks  in  Danzig 
Dockyard.  The  Derfflinger,  which  was  seri- 
ously damaged  in  the  Jutland  battle,  is  again 
in  service.  The  dockyards  are  now  exclu- 
sively constructing  submarines  and  large 
cruisers,  because  the  greatest  losses  have 
been  suffered  in  these  types. 


r*  RHEIMS,  THE  DESERTED  CITY 


*32BPSP&m 


This  Lonely  Woman,  Still  Faithful  to  the  Martyr  City,  Only 
Emphasizes  the  Emptiness  of  the  Once  Busy  Streets 

(Pfyoto  Central  News  Service) 


sS 


0 


AN  ITALIAN  MINE  LAYER 


I- 


A  Mine  Laying  Vessel  Sowing  Its  Deadly  Freight  Under 

Full  Headway.     The  Mines  Are  Dropped  at 

Carefully  Charted  Points 

(Photo  Cvntral  N9W9  Service) 


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Comparative  Strength  of  Navies  Today 

By    Thomas  G.  Frothingham 

Member    of    Military    Historical    Society    of    Mas- 
sachusetts and  of  the  United  States  Naval  Institute 

II. — The    United    States    Navy    and    Others 


O  <2) 


U.    S.    S.    ROANOKE,   1863 
Seagoing    Turret    Vessel 
Armament:    two    15-inch,    two    11-inch,    two    150-pdr.    rifled    guns.      Armor:    lVi-in. 
wrought-iron  deck  in  two  layers  of  %  in.   each,   and  side  armor,    4^    in.   at   top,   3^    in. 
at  bottom;   wrought-iron  plates  4  ft.  below  and  6  ft.  above  waterline. 


AS  was  explained  in  Part  I.  of  this 
/\  article,  the  United  States  Navy 
JL  JLfell  back  in  tonnage  from  second 
to  third  place  in  the  period  of 
foreign  naval  increase,  from  1906  to 
1911.  Through  all  these  years  our  navy 
was  restricted  to  the  two-battleships-a- 
year  program. 

Fortunately,  as  has  been  shown  when 
making  comparisons  with  the  British  and 
German  navies,  tonnage  does  not  tell  the 
whole  story.  The  United  States  Navy 
has  been  the  leader  in  the  development 
of  the  "  all-big-gun  "  battleship  of  today, 
called  the  "  dreadnought."  From  the  first 
single-turret  ship,  the  Monitor,  to  the 
two-turret  monitors,  then  to  the  U.  S.  S> 
Roanoke — these  were  the  three  great 
strides  in  such  ships  designed  by  the 
United  States  Navy  in  the  epoch-making 
times  of  the  civil  war,  which  led  to  the 
plan  of  big  guns  in  turrets  aligned  over 
the  keel. 

With  the  present  article  are  shown 
plans  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Roanoke  and  U.  S. 


S.  Michigan.  The  design  of  this  last  ship 
has  been  imitated  by  all  the  navies  in 
their  dreadnoughts.  The  design  of  her 
parent  ship,  the  Roanoke,  will  be  of  in- 
terest because  some  of  the  foreign  navies 
have  reverted  to  the  plan  of  the  Roanoke, 
as  will  be  seen  later.      N 

In  the  recognized  first  essentials  of 
sea  power  the  strength  of  the  United 
States  Navy  is  given  as  follows: 

UNITED      STATES      NAVY— BUILT      AND 
BUILDING 

Dreadnoughts    17 

Predreadnought    battleships 21 

The  United  States  Navy  has  no  battle 
cruisers. 

As  the  object  of  this  article  is  to  give 
the  strength  of  the  navies  at  correspond- 
ing stages  of  their  building  programs, 
two  of  the  dreadnoughts  should  be 
omitted  from  this  list,  the  Tennessee  and 
California,  as  their  percentage  completed 
is  small.  The  three  ships  of  the  class  of 
the  Mississippi,  recently  launched,  should 
be  included  on  this  basis,  as  these  three 
ships  might  be  hurried  to  completion,  in 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


U.    S.    S.    MICHIGAN,   1906 

Armament:  eight  12-in.  45  cal.  B.  L.  R.,  twenty-two  3-in.  50  cal.  R.  F.,  four 
3-pdr.  saluting.  Armor  belt:  10'  in.,  11  in.,  12  in.,  at  top;  8  in.,  9  in.,  10  in.,  at 
bottom.  Casemate:  8  in.  at  top;  10  in.  at  bottom.  Side  plating  forward  and  aft, 
1%-in.  nickel  steel.     Protective  deck  forward,  1%-in.,  after,   3-in.  nickel  ■teel.* 

•By   courtesy  of  U.   S.    Naval   Institute  Proceedings. 


U.   S.   S.   PENNSYLVANIA 

Length,   600  feet.      Beam,   97  feet.     Mean  draught,    28  5-6   feet. 

Ahead:    6 — 14   in.  Broadside:    12 — 14  in.  Astern:    6 — 14   in. 


view  of  the  indicated  non-completion  of 
the  building  programs  of  the  British  and 
German  Navies.  A  look  at  the  chart  on 
Page  90  showing  battle  formation  in 
Lieutenant  Gill's  article,  will  confirm 
what  was  said  about  this  in  Part  I.  of 
this  article.  The  dates  of  the  ships  are 
conclusive. 

Consequently,  the  dreadnoughts  in  the 
corresponding  program  of  the  United 
States  Navy  should  be  fifteen. 

The  Battle  Fleet 
Above  is  given  the  plan  of  U.   S.  S. 
Pennsylvania.    As  will  be  seen,  this  ship 


is  the  developed  design  of  the  Michigan, 
with  three  guns  in  each  turret  instead  of 
two.  It  is  probably  safe  to  say  that  this 
ship  and  her  sister  ship,  the  Arizona,  are 
the  most  powerful  battleships  in  the 
world.  The  nearest  approach  would  be 
the  Japanese  battleships  of  the  Fu-So 
class.  The  Japanese  ships,  while  closely 
imitating  ours  in  armament,  followed 
our  earlier  design  of  the  Arkansas,  also 
shown,  in  which  the  twelve  guns  are 
carried  in  six  turrets  instead  of  four. 

This    arrangement    of   turrets    in    the 
Japanese  battleships  has  made  necessary 


COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  NAVIES  TODAY  97 

a    longer   hull    and   armor    spread    over  Battle  Cruisers. 

more  turrets — a  less  powerful  fort  with  No-    Jl 

less  available  guns.  It  •  •  •  •    35-000  35  10  14"in- 

The   recent  building   program   of   our  5^ 

first-line     dreadnought     battleships     is  « *  ' '  *    Characteristic«  not  determined 

given  below:  Scout  Cruisers. 

0  No.     4     Seattle 

Comp'd                  .     Displace-                          Speed  51 

in—        Name.  ment.    Armament.  Knots.  6 } 7,100  35 

1912.. Arkansas    ...  26,000?  ,0  ,0  .             121.05  7J 

1912..  Wyoming    ...   26,000  (  12  12"m }  21.22  81 

1913. .Texas    27,000     10  14-in 21.0  9| 

^::^adTa°rk::::  &&{  ""f-  &%  lt\  -•    Characteristics  not  determined 

1915.. Oklahoma    ...  27,500 J  1U  14_in 120.05  12  1 

1916..  Pennsylvania.  31,400  ?.,,  ...  .              M  _  13 

1916. .Arizona    31,400  [ 12  14"m-  ••  •     21.05  J                               _                         • 

Idaho   32,000^1  From   the   foregoing   table   it   will    be 

N?w  Mexico.'.  1,000/ 12  14"in""    2L°  seen  that  a  Sreat  ^crease  of  the  United 


5  55  S 

U.   S.    S.    ARKANSAS 

Length,    554  feet.      Beam,   93%   feet.     Mean  draught,    28%    feet. 

Ahead:    4 — 12    in.  Broadside:    12 — 12   in.  Astern:    4 — 12   in. 


In  addition  to  the  dreadnought  battle- 
ships of  the  first  line,  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  our  predreadnought  battle- 
ships are  better  than  those  of  other 
navies.  Our  consistent  policy  of  making 
the  gun  the  main  thing  has  given  many 
of  these  second-line  battleships  a  clear 
title  to  be  factors  in  a  battle  of  modern 
fleets. 

UNITED     STATES     VESSELS     BUILDING 
AND  AUTHORIZED 
Name.       Displace-        Main  Where 

Battleships,      ment. Sp'd. battery.       building. 
Tennessee    .    32,300  21   12  14-in.    New  York 
California    .    32,300  21   12  14-in.    Mare  Island 
Colorado. . .  -s  (Camden 

Maryland. . .  I  q2  fsnn  oi      o1fiiJ  N'port  News 
Washington  p"»ww  21     8  16"ln-1  Camden 
W.  Virginia  J  ^N'port  News 

No.  49"" 
50 

g2  J"  •  •  •    Characteristics  not  determined 

53 

54. 


States  Navy  has  been  authorized.  As 
this  is  for  future  years  it  has  nothing 
to  do  with  this  article.  But  the  program 
is  here  given  because  some  of  its  fea- 
tures point  out  the  real  weakness  of  our 
navy — our  weakness  in  auxiliaries  of  the 
battle   fleet. 

Auxiliaries  of  Battle  Fleet 
Our  lack  of  battle  cruisers  does  not 
now  seem  the  fatal  defect  so  often  pro- 
claimed in  the  first  months  of  the  war. 
Battle  cruisers  are  not  now  considered 
equal  to  the  task  of  standing  up  against 
battleships.  The  development  of  the 
submarine  has  lessened  the  raiding  value 
of  the  battle  cruiser,  which  was  thought 
destined  to  be  the  knight  errant  of  the 
seas.  In  consequence,  the  tactical  use  of 
battle  cruisers,  by  such  a  navy  as  the 


08 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


German  or  Japanese,  against  a  navy 
without  battle  cruisers,  seems  restricted 
to  the  use  of  these  ships  as  scout  cruisers 
and  screen. 

Undoubtedly  they  would  give  great 
trouble  to  such  a  fleet  as  ours,  but  their 
limitations  are  now  realized.  As  will 
be  seen  from  the  above  table,  unless 
there  is  some  change,  we  are  to  build 
six  battle  cruisers  in  our  three-year  pro- 
gram. It  is  possible  that  we  may  be  the 
last  to  build  them. 

The  authorization  of  ten  scout  cruis- 
ers draws  attention  to  the  real  weakness 
and  greatest  need  of  our  navy.  We  have 
absolutely  no  scouts  in  the  modern  sense 
of  the  word — and  from  the  great  sums 
given  by  Congress  to  the  navy  a  large 
number  of  these  ships  should  be  built  as 
soon  as  possible.  . 

In  destroyers  also  we  are  below  the 
needs  of  our  fleet.  We  have  sixty-three 
built  and  building.  The  tactics  of  the 
battle  of  Jutland  and  the  development  of 
the  torpedo  and  submarine  indicate  an 
increased  value  for  these  craft.  A  great 
number  should  be  built  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Many  are  authorized  in  the  future 
program — and  these  should  be  rushed  to 
completion. 

Fortunately,  without  any  guiding  wis- 
dom of  our  own,  the  war  has  given  our 
country  great  elements  of  preparedness. 
Where  there  were  practically  no  high 
explosives  available,  we  now  have  a  great 
stock  on  hand.  Many  kinds  of  munitions 
of  war  are  available  for  seizure  in  our 
emergency. 

The  same  conditions  have  developed  an 
efficient  type  of  submarine  that  has  been 
built — and  can  be  built — in  great  num- 
bers in  an  unprecedentedly  short  time. 
This  is  fortunate  for  our  nation,  as  in 
our  problem  of  defense  submarines  will 
be  of  great  value.  Our  coasts  are  long, 
and  the  danger  of  raids  by  battle  cruisers 
was  very  real  before  the  war  developed 
the  submarine.  Now  only  specially  built 
monitors  dare  to  stay  near  a  coast  long 
enough  to  attempt  a  serious  bombard- 
ment. 

Aircraft  are  now  given  a  vogue,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  in  the  war  very 
small  tactical  results  have  resulted  from 


the  great  sums  expended  on  them.  Out- 
side of  the  limitations  imposed  on  their 
use  by  the  weather,  the  development  of 
anti-aircraft  guns  compels  them  to  fly  at 
such  great  heights  that  their  usefulness 
is  diminished.  It  is  obvious  that  we 
should  have  some  of  these  craft  of  a 
reliable  type — but  there  should  not  be  a 
great  deal  of  money  and  energy  diverted 
to  aircraft.  Their  usefulness  at  sea  is 
greatly  diminished,  because  they  are  un- 
able to  navigate.  Out  of  sight  of  land,  or 
out  of  sight  of  the  mother  ship,  they 
are  lost. 

Armament 

The  details  of  the  principal  guns  of 
the  United  States  Navy  were  given  in 
Part  I.  of  this  article.  The  twelve  dread- 
noughts completed  of  the  battle  fleet 
carry  sixty-four  12-inch  guns  and  sixty- 
four  14-inch  guns.  The  three  ships  of 
the  Mississippi  class  will  add  thirty-six 
14-inch  guns  to  this  total. 

In  addition  to  these,  the  two  ships  of 
the  Michigan  class,  which  are  more  pow- 
erful than  many  foreign  dreadnoughts, 
carry  sixteen  12-inch  guns.  Of  the  other 
predreadnought  battleships  six  carry 
twenty-four  45-calibre  12-inch  guns,  and 
eight  carry  thirty-two  40-calibre  12-inch 
guns,  which  would  make  these  ships 
factors  in  any  battle  of  modern  fleets. 
This  cannot  be  said  to  the  same  extent 
of  the  predreadnought  battleships  of  the 
other  navies.  Every  gun  in  this  list  is 
available  for  a  broadside  because  all  our 
big  guns  are  carried  in  turrets  aligned 
over  the  keel. 

The  shortage  of  men  is  too  much  em- 
phasized in  current  comment  on  our  navy. 
It  should  be  realized  that  we  have  a  high- 
ly trained  personnel,  that  even  the  sec- 
ond-line ships  in  reserve  are  in  being 
with  skeleton  crews — and  that  we  have 
unusually  intelligent  classes  to  draw 
upon  for  our  war  strength. 

Great  Britain's  lesson  in  unprepared- 
ness  should  be  studied  by  our  country. 
On  land  and  sea  it  was  not  the  lack  of 
men  that  was  the  trouble.  It  was  the 
lack  of  weapons  for  the  men. 

On  land  our  energies  should  be  con- 
centrated on  providing  munitions  and 
equipment — on  the   sea   to   provide   ma- 


COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  NAVIES  TODAY 


99 


rn — rn 


FRENCH   DREADNOUGHT    NORMANDIE 
Length,    574    feet.      Beam,    92    feet.      Maximum   draught,    28%    fe< 


(roadside:    12 — 13.4 


Astern:    4 — 13.4   in 


terial  is  still  more  urgent.  Great  as  is 
the  need  of  more  trained  men  for  our 
navy,  our  need  of  scouts  is  outstanding; 
and  with  every  resource  of  American  in- 
genuity we  should  hasten  the  building  of 
a  fleet  of  scout  cruisers. 

The  French  Navy 

The  French  Navy  was  for  many  years 
second  only  to  the  British  Navy,  but  in 
the  abnormal  increase  from  1906  to 
1911  there  was  no  effort  made  to  keep 
pace  with  Great  Britain  and  Germany — 
and  this  was  probably  wise  from  the 
peculiar  situation  of  France.  The 
strength  of  the  French  Navy  in  the  main 
accepted  essentials  is  as  follows: 

FRENCH    NAVY— BUILT    AND    BUILDING 

Dreadnoughts     12 

Predreadnought    battleships 17 

The  French  Navy  has  no  battle 
cruisers. 

The  known  recent  building  program  is 

as  follows: 

Comp'd  Displace-  Speed 

in—        Name.  ment.    Armament.  Knots. 

1915.  .Bretagne   23,172] 

1915..Loraine    23,172  }-10  13.4-inch.  .   20.0 

1915.  .Provence   23, 172 J 

1916.  .Normandie    . .  .24,828] 
1916..Languedoc    ... 24,828  | 

1916.  .Flandre    24,828  [-12  13.4-inch.  .  21.5 

191G..Gascogne    24, 828 1 

1917.. Beam    24,828  J 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  plans  of  the 
Normandie  given  above,  the  French  have 


reverted  to  the  plan  of  U.  S.  S.  Roanoke, 
with  three  turrets  aligned  over  the  keel — 
but  with  four  guns  in  each  turret.  No 
other  navy  has  adopted  this  arrangement 
of  guns. 

The  French  have  always  designed  and 


FRENCH   NAVAL    GUN   IN   USE    ON    THE 
WESTERN    FRONT 
(©   Underwood   d    Underwood.) 


100 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


built  good  battleships — and  French  ships 
have  been  of  great  use  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  elsewhere.  But  with  the  fear- 
ful drain  of  all  the  resources  of  France 
necessary  to  maintain  her  battle  front,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  not  only  has  there 
been  no  completion  of  her  naval  building 
program,  but  that  many  of  her  ships  are 
not  now  in  active  commission. 

It  is  now  known  that  equality  in  heavy 
artillery  on  the  western  front  was  only 
established  by  use  of  the  French  naval 
guns — many  of  them  actually  taken  from 
French  warships.  Probably  the  French 
Navy  was  also  drawn  upon  for  men  in 
this  great  emergency.  Consequently  the 
French  Navy  should  be  considered  as  a 
power  in  abeyance — not  in  proportion  to 
its  building  program. 

In  auxiliaries  of  the  battle  fleet  France 
is  well  equipped.  Her  submarines  in  par- 
ticular are  known  to  be  very  good, 
although,  as  has  been  the  case  with  the 
British  Navy,  there  has  not  been  much 
chance  to  use  them. 

The  Japanese  Navy 

The  strength  of  the  Japanese  Navy  in 
the  first  essentials  in  the  known  building 
program  is  as  follows: 

JAPANESE     NAVY-BUILT     AND    BUILD- 
ING 

Dreadnoughts    6 

Predreadnought    battleships 13 

Battle    cruisers ' 4 

The  recent  building  program,  so  far  as 
known,  is  as  follows: 


DREADNOUGHTS 
Comp'd  Displace-  Speed 

in—         Name,  ment.     Armament.  Knots. 

1912. .  KawachJ    ....  20,800)  r>  io_inch  20  R 

1915.  .Pu-So    30,600] 

ll»l»».  .  Yamashiro  ...   HO^Hll.oii  in„h  .>•>,. 

1916.. Ise    :;o.<;oor1J  14'incn"---    " 

11)17..  Hinga   30,000 J 

BATTLE  CRUISERS 

1918.  .Kongo    27,500  I  R  14  inrh  I  28,0 

19l4..HJyei  27,500  )  8  14inch- •   •  I27.0 

1014.  .Kirishima    . . .  27,500 }  s  1 .  .     .  S  28.0 

1915.  .Haruna    27,500  S  8  14"inch-  "'  \  28.0 

The  first  two  dreadnoughts  have  the 
ineffective  arrangement  of  the  turrets  of 
the  German  Helgoland  class,  (Part  I., 
Figure  2.)  The  four  dreadnoughts  of 
the  Fu-So  class  are  formidable  battle- 
ships, but,  as  explained  above,  they  have 
followed  the  design  of  the  Arkansas,  and 
are  probably  not  as  powerful  as  the  bat- 
tleships of  the  Pennsylvania  design. 

The  Japanese  predreadnought  battle- 
ships are  not  as  good  as  those  of  the 
United  States  Navy. 

As  a  matter  of  course  Japan,  like  the 
other  nations  at  war,  has  given  out  no 
naval  information  since  she  entered 
the  war.  Undoubtedly  there  has  been  a 
great  increase  of  the  Japanese  building 
program,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  any 
new  capital  ships  are  ready  for  service. 

The  Battle  Cruisers 

As  in  the  case  of  the  British  Navy,  it 
will  be  noted  that  the  Japanese  naval 
program  did  not  include  battle  cruisers 
for  completion  later  than  1915.   Whether 


:=Q3Q  \j^\o^=^a 


i — i — i — i — ■" 

JAPANESE    DREADNOUGHT    FU-SO 


Ahead:    4 — 14   in. 


Length.    673    f 
Broadside:    12 — 11    in. 


Astern:    4 — 14    in. 


COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  NAVIES  TODAY 


101 


JAPANESE  BATTLE  CRUISER  KONGO 

Length,    704  feet.      Beam,   92   feet.      Maximum  draught,   29%    feet. 

Ahead:    4 — 14    in.  Broadside:    8 — 14    in.  Astern:    4 — 14    in. 


or  not  other  ships  of  this  class  have, been 
recently  laid  down  is  not  known. 

The  four  battle  cruisers  in  the  Japan- 
ese building  program  probably  make  up 
the  most  powerful  squadron  of  their  class 
afloat  today,  but  it  is  also  possible  that 
the  Japanese  regret  building  these  ships 
instead  of  battleships.  Their  fine  arma- 
ment is  carried  on  hulls  that  cannot  be 
trusted  to  resist  a  serious  combat  with 
battleships.  Their  tactical  use  would 
greatly  embarrass  such  a  battle  fleet  as 
our  own,  but  they  cannot  any  longer  be 
considered  a  menace. 

In  all  the  auxiliaries  of  the  battle  fleet 


it  may  be  .assumed  that  the  progressive 
Japanese  are  well  equipped.  In  guns  they 
have  closely  followed  us — and  it  is  prob- 
able that  they  are  going  to  larger  cali- 
bres, as  is  the  United  States  Navy. 

The  Russian  Navy 

In  the  matter  of  sea  power  Russia  has 
been  at  a  disadvantage  through  being 
obliged  to  maintain  two  separate  navies 
— the  Baltic  fleet  and  the  Black  Sea  fleet. 
This  unusual  condition  has  come  from 
closing  the  Dardanelles  to  Russian  war- 
ships. Their  strength  in  first  essentials 
is  as  follows: 


.. 


S^2   !   3  ;  4  ;  s  ;  6  -i  7  j  a  ;   e  j  w  j  \\  j  «(  j  »  j  w  j'  »  ] .  *. ;  n  I  »  J  »  !  20 


^V^  *4%L 


RUSSIAN   DREADNOUGHT   GANGOOT 
Length,    590%    feet.  Beam,    85%    feet.  Mean    draught,    27%    feet. 

Ahead:    3—12  in.  Broadside:    12—12   in.  Astern:    3—12   in. 


102 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


a 


RUSSIAN  BATTLE  CRUISER  BORODINO 


Ahead:    3—14 


Guns: 
in. 


•14    in.,    20—5.1    in. 
Broadside:    9 — 14 


Torpedo    tubes 
in.  Astern: 


J— 14    in. 


RUSSIAN    NAVY— BUILT    AND    BUILDING 

Dreadnoughts     7 

Predreadnought  battleships 7 

Battle    cruisers 4 

The  known  building  program  of  dread- 
noughts is  as  follows: 

Comp'd  Displace-  Speed 

in—        Name.  merit.    Armament.  Knots. 

1914.. Sevastopol     ..   23,0261 
1014.  . Petropavlovsk  23,020 ll9  19  .-.-y,  Oo  n 

1014.  .Poltava    23,026  fl-  "-«»ch. . . .   Jd.u 

1914..Gangoot    23,026 J 

lOU^Imp'sa    Maria  22,4351 

Imp.  Alex.   Ill  2l2,4:',r>  J.  12  12-inch 21.0 

l915..Ekaterina  II..  22,435  J 

Of  these  the  last  three  are  for  the 
Black  Sea  fleet.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  Russian  dreadnoughts  are  turret 
ships  of  the  Roanoke  design,  with  four 
turrets  instead  of  three — and  three  guns 
in  each  turret. 


ment.    Armament.  Knots. 
32,000] 


12  14-inch. 


25.0 


The  program  is  as  follows: 

RUSSIAN   BATTLE    CRUISERS 
Comp'd  Displace-  Speed 

in—        Name. 
L916..Navarin    . 

1016.. Borodino    32,000 

1 01  *',.. Ismail    32,000  f 

1916..Kinburn 32,000 J 

In  these  Russian  battle  cruisers  we 
find  again  the  design  of  the  Roanoke, 
with  three  guns  in  each  turret  instead  of 
two. 

Knowing  the  pressure  that  the  war  has 
brought  upon  Russia,  it  seems  impossible 
that  this  building  program  of  dread- 
noughts and  battle  cruisers  has  been 
completed  in  any  degree  that  would  make 
the  Russian  Navy  a  factor  in  the  balance 
of  sea  power  at  this  time. 


T77T 

ITALIAN    DREADNOUGHT    GIULIO    CESARE 

Length,    575%    feet      Beam,    91%    feet.      Mean   draught,    27%    feet. 

Ahead:   5 — 12  in.  Broadside:    13 — 12  in.  Astern:    5—12   in. 


COMPARATIVE  STRENGTH  OF  NAVIES  TODAY  103 

, , 

Russia,  however,  is  well  provided  with  be  realized  that  the  country  has  probably 

destroyers,  having  an  unusual  number  of  been  too  much  occupied  in  other  fields  to 

these  craft  for  a  navy  of  its  size.  carry  out  this  ambitious  naval  program. 

The  Italian  Navy  The  Hungarian  Navy 

The    corresponding    strength    of    the  Austria-Hungary's  known  strength  in 

Italian  Navy  is  as  follows:  first  essentials  of  sea  power  is  given  as 

ITALIAN    NAVY— BUILT    AND    BUILDING  follows: 

Dreadnoughts   9       Dreadnoughts     8 

Predreadnought    battleships 7       Predreadnought    battleships \. '...'.]    6 

The  Italian  Navy  has  no  battle  The  Austro-Hungarian  Navy  has  no 
cruisers.  The  latest  construction  in  the  battle  cruisers.  The  recent  known  build- 
known  building  program  is  as  follows:  ing  program  is  as  follows: 

Comp'd                       Displace-                          Speed  AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN  NAVY-BUILT  AND 

in—        Name.             ment.    Armament.  Knots.  -dtttt  mxTn                         ■^ms 

1913..Giulio    Cesare  22,022    13  12-inch 22.5  BUILDING 

•  1914.. C'ti  di  Cavour  22,022    13  12-inch....    22.5  Comp'd                       Displace-                         Speed 

l^I-^i1roeaD°ria-2222|§!}^12-inch....    22.5  19^ . ViHbuTunitis  ^A—nt.  Knots. 

1917'.  :?arraciolo-  '.  \ '.   30^0  jgS'  'l^fe  i«  T  12"inCh' ' ' "   21° 

Jg?::^°cflSS?bnoa   iffl[8^-inch 25.0  1914::^ent    Istvan!  W  12  12-inch. .. .    21.0 

1917.  .F'co-Morosini.  30.000J  },{  [  ]  ;g£«    8£?\  -  \  U;Sg\ 

The    Italian    naval    constructors    have      (*)... One   ship 24,500flu  w-^inch---  21.0 

,  i  -n-r   i  1    At.         u  •  (x)...One    ship 24,500 j 

been  very  skillful — and  the  above  is  an  .    . 

advanced  program  calculated  to  make  It  is  improbable  that  this  program  has 
Italy,  if  not  a  great  naval  power,  a  been  carried  through  to  any  degree.  It  is 
valuable  ally  to  any  naval  power.  The  much  more  likely  that  with  German  as" 
turret  plan  shown  above  should  be  stance  Austria-Hungary  has  been  de- 
noted, as  it  provides  an  ingenious  way  votin^  her  energies  to  submarines-and 
of  mounting  thirteen  heavy  guns— and  has  thus  become  a  factor  in  the  war  of 
it  is  unique  among  the  navies  of  the  destruction  now  being  waged  in  the  Medi- 
world.  terranean. 
But,  again  in  the  case  of  Italy,  it  must  (1)  Time  due  t0  be  completed  unknown. 


f-iJXux 


AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN   DREADNOUGHT   VIRIBUS   UNITTS 

Length,    496   feet.      Beam,    89%    feet.      Mean  draught,    27   feet. 

Ahead:    6 — 12  in.  Broadside:   12 — 12  in.  Astern:    6 — 12   In. 


Austria-Hungary's  Submarine  Note 

Reply  to  the  United  States 


A  USTRIA-HUNGARY'S  new  Ambas- 
/\  sador  to  the  United  States,  Count 
jLjl  Tarnowski  von  Tarnow,  successor 
to  Dr.  Dumba,  arrived  in  Wash- 
ington almost  simultaneously  with  the  an- 
nouncement of  Germany's  new  policy  of 
sinking  all  merchant  ships  without  warn- 
ing. Before  accepting  the  credentials  of 
Count  Tarnowski,  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment decided  that  it  must  know  the 
attitude  of  his  Government  oh  this  vital 
subject.  Accordingly  on  Feb.  18  a  note  was 
dispatched  to  Vienna  asking  for  a  defi- 
nite and  full  statement  as  to  the  stand 
which  the  Dual  Monarchy  had  assumed 
regarding  submarine  warfare,  and  in- 
quiring whether  the  assurances  given  to 
the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  sink- 
ing of  the  Ancona  and  Persia  were  to  be 
regarded  as  changed  or  withdrawn. 
Frederic  C.  Penfield,  American  Ambas- 
sador at  Vienna,  handed  this  memoran- 
dum to  Count  Czernin,  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Foreign  Minister,  and  the  status 
of  the  new  Ambassador  remained  one  of 
suspense  pending  a  reply. 

Text  of  American  Note 
'  The  text  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment's inquiry  of  Feb.   18,  as  reported 
through  the  European  press,  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

In  Note  4,107  of  Dec.  9,  1915,  the  American 
Government  laid  down  the  points  of  view 
whereby  it  was  guided  regarding  the  activity 
of  submarines  in  naval  warfare.  These  points 
of  view  were  on  an  earlier  occasion  clearly 
expressed  to  the  German  Government,  and 
the  United  States  Government  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment was  acquainted  therewith.  The  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government  replied  with  Note 
n,7.;.j  of  Dec.  14,  1915,  wherein  it  declared  it 
had  neither  adequate  knowledge  of  the  ex- 
change of  ideas  which  had  taken  place  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Germany  nor 
was  of  the  opinion  that  even  complete  knowl- 
edge would  suffice  for  judgment  in  regard  to 
the  Ancona  incident,  as  the  questions  arising 
from  this  incident  bore  a  different  character. 

Nevertheless,  the  Austro-Hungarian  For- 
eign Ministry  declared,  in  Note  5,949  of  Dec. 
21,  1915 :  "  As  regards  the  principle  set  up 
in  the  United   States  Government's  very  es- 


teemed note,  that  enemy  private  ships,  pro- 
vided they  do  not  flee  or  offer  resistance, 
should  not  be  destroyed  before  the  passengers 
are  placed  in  safety,  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  is  in  a  position  to  assent  in  the 
main  to  this  view  of  the  Washington  Cab- 
inet." 

Further,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government 
on  the  occasion  of  the  sinking  of  the  steamer 
Persia  in  January,  1916,  declared  that,  al- 
though not  informed  regarding  this  incident, 
it  would  "be  guided  by  the  principles  whereto 
it  agreed  in  the  Ancona  affair,  should  events 
prove  that  responsibility  falls  on  Austria- 
Hungary  in  this  matter. 

Simultaneously  with  the  communication 
from  the  German  Government  on  the  10th 
of  January,  1916,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Gov- 
ernment declared  that  every  merchant  ship 
which  for  whatever  purpose  was  armed  with 
a  gun  forfeits  by  this  circumstance  alone  the 
character  of  a  peaceful  vessel,  and  that  in 
consideration  of  these  circumstances  the  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian naval  forces  had  received  or- 
ders to  treat  such  vessels  as  warships.  In 
conformity  with  this  declaration,  ships 
whereon  were  American  citizens  were  sunk 
in  the  Mediterranean,  presumably  by  Austro- 
Hungarian  submarines.  Some  of  these  ships, 
for  example  the  English  steamer  Welsh 
Prince,  were  torpedoed  without  warning  by  a 
submarine  under  the  Austro-Hungarian  flag. 
The  American  Ambassador  at  Vienna  re- 
quested information  regarding  these  cases, 
but  thus  far  has  received  no  reply. 

At  the  same  time  as  the  German  declara- 
tion of  Jan.  31,  1917,  which  described  certain 
portions  of  the  sea  off  the  coasts  of  Entente 
countries  as  exposed  to  danger  from  subma- 
rines, the  Austro-Hungarian  Government 
made  known  that  Austria-Hungary  and  her 
allies,  as  from  Feb.  1,  would  prevent  with  all 
available  means  shipping  within -the  defined 
barred  area. 

From  the  foregoing  it  can  be  concluded 
that  the  assurance,  given  on  the  occasion  of 
the  Ancona  case  and  renewed  on  the  occasion 
of  the  discussion  of  the  Persia  case,  is  in  all 
material  respects  the  same  assurance  con- 
tained in  the  note  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment of  May  4,  which  reads :  "  In  conformity 
with  the  general  principles  of  international 
law  concerning  the  holding  up,  search,  and 
destruction  of  merchant  ships,  such  ships  will 
not  be  sunk  either  inside  or  outside  that  por- 
tion of  the  sea  which  has  been  declared  a 
naval  war  zone  without  previous  warning 
and  without  taking  such  means  as  are  avail- 
able for  saving  human  lives,  unless  such 
ships  flee  or  endeavor  to  offer  resistance," 
and    that    this    assurance    is    more    or    less 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S  SUBMARINE  NOTE 


105 


altered  by  the  declaration  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government  of  Feb.  16  and 
Jan.  31. 

Since  the  United  States  Government  is  in 
doubt  regarding  the  meaning  to  be  attached 
to  these  declarations,  especially  the  last,  it 
desires  to  be  finally  and  clearly  informed  of 
the  standpoint  which  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  adopts  in  these  circumstances 
and  also  whether  the  assurance  given  in  the 
Ancona  and  Persia  cases  is  to  be  regarded  as 
changed  or  withdrawn. 

Text  of  Austrian  Note 
The  reply  of  Emperor  Charles's  Gov- 
ernment to  the  foregoing  memorandum 
was  handed  to  Ambassador  Penfield  on 
March  6.  It  took  the  unsatisfactory  po- 
sition that  neutrals  at  sea  would  enter 
the  barred  zone  at  their  own  risk,  and 
that  only  neutrals  on  neutral  ships  had 
any  right  to  freedom  of  the  seas.  At 
the  same  time  the"  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  asserted  that  it  adhered 
strictly  to  the  assurances  given  at  the 
time  of  the  Ancona  incident,  though  it 
had  declared  in  the  second  Ancona  note: 
"  The  Imperial  and  Royal "  Government 
can  substantially  concur  in  the  principle 
that  private  ships,  in  so  far  as  they  do 
not  flee  or  offer  resistance,  may  not  be  de- 
stroyed before  the  persons  on  board  have 
been  brought  into  safety." 

The  full  text  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
reply  to  the  United  States  is  as  follows: 

From  the  memorandum  ef  Feb.  18  of  the 
American  Ambassador,  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Foreign  Minister  has  concluded  that  the 
Washington  Cabinet,  in  view  of  statements 
made  on  Feb.  10  of  last  year  and  on  Jan.  31, 
1917,  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government, 
is  now  in  doubt  regarding  the  attitude  which 
Austria-Hungary  will  henceforth  observe  re- 
garding the  submarine  war  and  as  to  whether 
the  assurances  given  by  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  to  the  Washington  Cabinet,  in 
the  course  of  negotiations  about  the  Ancona 
and  Persia  papers,  have  not  been  nullified  by 
the  aforementioned  statement.  The  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government  is  ready  to  make  a 
clear  and  definite  statement  so  that  these 
doubts  may  be  solved. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  may  be 
allowed  first  of  all  to  discuss  briefly  the 
methods  employed  by  the  Entente  Powers  in 
waging  submarine  war,  because  they  are  the 
starting  point  for  the  intensified  submarine 
war  begun  by  Austria-Hungary  and  her  allies 
and  also  throw  a  bright  light  upon  the  atti- 
tude which  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment has  taken  hitherto  in  regard  to  the 
questions  which  have  arisen. 

When  Great  Britain  joined  the  war  against 
the   Central   Powers   only   a   few   years   had 


elapsed  since  that  memorable  time  when  she, 
in  union  with  other  States,  began  to  lay 
the  foundation  at  The  Hague  for  modern 
naval  war  law.  Soon  afterward  the  British 
Government  had  assembled  in  Holland  repre- 
sentatives of  the  great  powers  in  order  to 
consolidate  the  further  work  of  The  Hague 
Conference,  especially  in  the  sense  of  a  just 
arrangement  between  interested  belligerents 
and  neutrals.  These  efforts  aimed  at  nothing 
less  than  the  mutual  establishment  of  prin- 
ciples of  right  which  even  in  war  times  should 
embody  the  principles  of  freedom  of  the  seas 
and  the  safeguarding  of  the  interests  of  neu- 
trals. 

Neutrals  were  not  to  enjoy  these  benefits 
for  long.  Hardly  had  the  United  Kingdom 
decided  to  participate  in  the  war  when,  al- 
most at  once,  it  began  to  break  down  tho 
barriers  which  the  principles  of  international 
law  had  erected.  While  the  Central  Powers, 
in  the  very  beginning  of  the  war,  had  de- 
clared that  they  would  observe  the  Declara- 
tion of  London,  which  also  bore  the  signature 
of  the  British  representative,  Great  Britain 
threw  overboard  some  of  its  important  pro- 
visions. In  an  endeavor  to  cut  off  the  Cen- 
tral Powers  from  supplies  from  overseas  she 
enlarged,  step  by  step,  the  list  of  contraband 
until  nothing  was  missing  in  the  list  of  things 
which  today  men  want  for  their  subsistence. 

Then  Great  Britain  proclaimed  what  she 
called  a  blockade  of  the  coasts  of  the  North 
Sea,  which  form  also  an  important  commerce 
route  for  Austro-Hungarians,  in  order  to  pi^e- 
vent  goods  which  were  still  missing  in  the 
list  of  contraband  from  entering  Germany 
and  in  order  to  prevent  all  sea  traffic  by 
neutrals  to  those  coasts  as  well  as  all  ex- 
ports through  neutrals.  That  this  blockade 
was  in  flagrant  contradiction  to  the  custom- 
ary principles  of  the  right  of  blockade,  as 
established  by  international  agreements,  was 
explicitly  declared  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  words  which  will 
continue  to  live  in  the  history  of  interna- 
tional law. 

By  the  illegal  prevention  of  reports  from 
the  Central  Powers  Great  Britain  aimed  at 
paralyzing  the  countless  factories  and  works 
which  the  industrial  and  highly  developed 
peoples  of  Central  Europe  had  created  and, 
by  forcing  workmen  to  be  idle,  to  incite  them 
to  rebellion. 

When  Austria-Hungary's  southern  neighbor 
joined  the  enemies  of  the  Central  Powers  his  . 
first  act  was  to  declare  as  blockaded  all 
coasts  of  the  enemy,  following,  of  course,  the 
example  of  his  allies  in  ignoring  all  the  legal 
rights  in  the  creation  of  which  Italy  had 
taken  an  active  part  a  short  time  before. 
Austria-Hungary  did  not  neglect  to  inform 
neutral  powers  at  once  that  the  blockade  was 
not  legal. 

Long-Suffering   Central  Potters 
For  more  than  two  years  the  Central  Pow- 
ers hesitated.    Only  then,  and  after  long  and 
careful  consideration  of  pros  and  cons,   did 


106 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


they  begin  to  return  like  for  like  and  at- 
tacked the  enemy  on  the  sea.  As  the  only 
ones  of  the  belligerents  who  had  done  every- 
thing to  secure  the  existing  treaties  which 
were  to  guarantee  to  neutrals  the  freedom  of 
the  seas,  they  felt  with  pained  hearts  the  law 
of  the  hour  which  commanded  them  to  vio- 
late this  freedom.  But  they  took  this  step  to 
fulfill  the  paramount  duty  toward  their  peo- 
ples and  from  the  conviction  that  it  would 
help  the  principle  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas 
to  be  victorious.  The  proclamations  which 
they  issued  last  January  are  apparently  di- 
rected only  against  the  rights  of  neutrals.  In 
reality  they  serve  toward  the  restoration  of 
these  rights,  which  their  enemies  have  inces- 
santly violated  and  which,  if  they  were  vic- 
tors, they  would  destroy  forever.  Thus  the 
submarines  which  are  cruising  around  the 
English  coast  announce  to  peoples  who  need 
the  sea— and  what  people  does  not  want 
coasts?— that  the  day  is  not  far  off  when  the 
flags  of  all  States,  in  the  glory  of  their  newly 
won  freedom,  can  freely  fly  over  the  seas. 

We  cherish  the  hope  that  this  announce- 
ment will  find  an  echo  everywhere  where 
neutral  peoples  live,  and  that  it  will  espe- 
cially be  understood  by  the  great  people  of 
the  United  States,  whose  most  illustrious  rep- 
resentative has  during  the  war  defended  with 
flaming  words  the  freedom  of  the  seas  as  the 
highway  of  all  nations. 

Wording  for  "  Freedom  of  the  Seas " 
If  the  people  and  Government  of  the  United 
States  keep  in  mind  that  the  blockade  pro- 
claimed by  Great  Britain  is  not  only  meant 
to  wear  down  the  Central  Powers  by  starva- 
tion, but  aims  at  subjecting  the  seas  to  her 
rule  in  order  to  establish  in  this  manner  her 
tyranny  over  all  nations,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  blockade  of  England  and  her  allies 
only  serves  to  make  these  powers  incline  to- 
ward peace  with  honor  and  a  guarantee  to 
all  nations  of  the  freedom  of  the  sea  traffic 
and  sea  commerce,  and  thereby  a  secured 
existence,  then  the  question  which  of  the  two 
parties  has  the  right  on  its  side  is  already 
decided.  Though  the  Central  Powers  have 
no  desire  in  this  war  to  beg  for  allies,  they 
yet  believe  that  they  will  be  entitled  to  look 
to  neutrals  to  appreciate  their  efforts  to 
revise  in  the  interest  of  all  the  principles  of 
international  law  and  equal  rights  of  nations. 
In  replying  now  to  the  question  put  in  the 
American  note  of  Feb.  18,  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Government  firstly  remarks  that  in 
the  exchange  of  notes  referring  to  the  cases 
of  the  Ancona  and  the  Persia  it  restricted 
itself  to  defining  its  attitude  to  concrete 
questions  which  individually  arose,  without 
laying  down  its  fundamental  legal  conception. 
But  in  its  note  of  Oct.  19,  1915,  referring  to 
the  Ancona  case,  it  reserved  to  itself  the 
right  to  bring  up  for  discussion  at  a  later 
date  difficult  international  questions  which 
arise  in  connection  with  submarine  warfare. 
It   now   refers   to   this   reservation,    and   now 


briefly  discusses  the  question  of  sinking 
enemy  vessels,  to  which  that  note  refers,  it  is 
guided  by  the  desire  to  show  the  American 
Government  that  it  now,  as  heretofore, 
strictly  adheres  to  the  assurance  already 
given,  and  endeavors  by  clearing  up  that  im- 
portant question  arising  from  submarine  war- 
fare, because  it  touches  the  laws  of  humanity, 
to  avoid  misunderstandings  between  the  mon- 
archy and  the  American  Union. 

Above  all,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment desires  to  emphasize  that  it  is  also  its 
opinion  that  the  thesis  set  up  by  the  American 
Government,  which  also  is  represented  in 
various  learned  records,  that  enemy  mer- 
chantmen, apart  from  cases  of  attempted 
flight  and  resistance,  must  not  be  destroyed 
without  precautions  being  taken  for  the  safety 
of  the  persons  aboard,  forms,  so  to  say,  the 
kernel  of  the  whole  subject.  Regarded  from 
a  higher  standpoint,  this  thesis  can,  of  course, 
be  ranked  in  a  further  suggestive  connection, 
and  from  that  view  its  domain  of  application 
can  be  marked  out  more  exactly. 

"  General  Warning  "  Sufficient 
From  the  laws  of  humanity,  which  the* 
Austro-Hungarian  Government  and  the 
"Washington  Cabinet  take  in  the  same  manner 
as  judging  the  lines,  the  more  general  prin- 
ciple can  be  derived  that  when  executing  the 
right  of  destroying  enemy  merchantmen  the 
loss  of  human  life  should  as  far  as  possible 
be  avoided.  To  this  principle  the  belligerent 
can  only  do  justice  by  issuing  warning  before 
exercising  the  right.  Therein  he  can  choose 
the  way  which  the  aforementioned  thesis  of 
the  American  Government  indicates,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  commander  of  the  war  ves- 
sel himself  gives  warning  so  that  the  crew 
and  passengers  may  bring  themselves  into 
safety  in  the  last  moment,  or  the  Government 
of  a  belligerent  State  can, -if  this  is  recognized 
as  an  inevitable  necessity  of  war,  issue  warn- 
ing of  full  effect  also  before  the  departure 
of  the  vessel  which  is  to  be  sunk ;  or,  finally, 
it  can,  if  it  establishes  extensive  measures 
against  enemy  sea  trade,  employ  a  general 
warning  for  all  enemy  vessels  in  question. 

That  the  principle  according  to  which  care 
must  be  taken  for  the  safety  of  the  persons 
aboard  undergoes  exceptions  the  American 
Government  itself  recognized.  But  the  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian Government  believes  that  de- 
struction without  warning  is  admissible  not 
only  when  a  vessel  flees  or  offers  resistance. 
It  appears— to  mention  only  one  example— 
that  the  character  of  the  vessel  itself  also 
must  be  taken  into  consideration.  Merchant- 
men or  other  private  vessels  which  carry  a 
military  garrison  or  arms  aboard  in  order  to 
commit  hostile  acts  of  any  kind  may,  accord- 
ing to  valid  right,  be  destroyed  without  hesi- 
tation. 

Austrian    Ships    Sunk    Without    Notice 
The     Austro-Hungarian     Government     need 
not   call   attention   to   the   fact   that   the  bel- 
ligerent  is   released   of   all   consideration    for 
human  life  if  his  opponent  sinks  enemy  mer- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S  SUBMARINE  NOTE 


107 


chantmen  without  previous  warning-,  as  hap- 
pened with  the  vessels  Electra,  (German;) 
Bubrovnik,  (Austrian;)  Zagreb,  (Austrian,) 
&c,  which  already  has  been  repeatedly  cen- 
sured ;  and  in  this  respect  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Government  never  returned  like  for 
Mke,  notwithstanding  its  uncontested  right. 
In  the  course  of  the  entire  war  Austro -Hun- 
garian war  vessels  have  not  sunk  one  enemy 
merchantman  without  previous,  if  only  gen- 
eral, warning. 

The  repeatedly  mentioned  thesis  of  the 
United  States  Government  also  allows  va- 
rious interpretations,  in  so  far,  namely,  as 
it  is  doubtful  whether,  as  is  asserted  from 
various  sides,  only  on  resistance  justifies 
Uhe  destruction  of  a  vessel  with  persons 
aboard,  or  resistance  of  another  kind ;  as  is 
shown  if  the  crew  intentionally  neglects  to 
take  the  passengers  into  boats— the  Ancona 
case— or  if  the  passengers  themselves  refuse 
to  enter  boats.  According  to  the  opinion  of 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Government,  the  de- 
struction of  a  warned  vessel  without  rescuing 
the  persons  aboard  is  admissible  in  cases  of 
the  latter  kind,  because  otherwise  it  would 
be  left  to  the  individual  passenger  to  nullify 
the  right  of  belligerents  to  sink  vessels. 

Moreover,  it  may  be  pointed  out  also  that 
there  is  no  unanimity  as  regards  in  what 
cases  the  sinking  of  neutral  merchantmen  at 
all  is  admissible.  The  obligation  to  issue  a 
warning  immediately  before  sinking  vessels 
leads,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
harshness  which  could  be  avoided ;  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  under  circumstances  calcu- 
lated to  injure  the  justified  interests  of  bel- 
ligerents. In  the  first  place,  it  must  not  be 
overlooked  that  the  rescue  of  persons  is  al- 
most always  left  to  mere  chance,  as  the  only 
choice  remaining  is  to  take  them  aboard  war 
vessels  which  are  exposed  to  any  enemy  in- 
fluence, or  to  expose  them  in  small  boats  to 
the  dangers  of  the  elements  ;  so  that  it  there- 
fore corresponds  much  better  to  the  principles 
of  humanity  to  prevent  persons,  by  timely 
warning,  from  using  endangered  vessels. 

Neutrals  Must  Not  Use  Enemy  Ships 
Furthermore,  notwithstanding  careful  ex- 
amination of  all  legal  questions  referring 
thereto,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government 
could  not  come  to  the  conviction  that  sub- 
jects of  neutral  States  are  entitled  to  travel 
unmolested   on   enemy  vessels. 

The  principle  that  neutrals  in  war  time 
also  should  enjoy  the  advantages  of  free- 
dom of  the  seas  refers  only  to  neutral  ves- 
sels, not  to  neutral  persons  on  board  enemy 
vessels,  because  belligerents,  as  is  well 
known,  are  entitled  to  prevent  the  enemy's 
sea  traffic  as  far  as  they  are  able.  Being 
in  possession  of  the  necessary  war  means 
and  considering  it  necessary  for  the  attain- 
ment of  their  war  aims,  they  can  prohibit 
sea  traffic  of  enemy  merchantmen  on  pain 
of  their  destruction,  provided  they  have  pre- 


viously announced  this  to  be  their  intention, 
so  that  every  one,  whether  enemy  or  neu- 
tral, may  be  enabled  to  avoid  endangering 
life.  Even  if  doubts  should  arise  regarding 
the  justifiableness  of  such  procedure,  and 
if  the  enemy  should  threaten  reprisals,  then 
this  would  be  an  affair  for  settlement  be- 
tween the  belligerents  only,  who,  as  gen- 
erally recognized,  are  entitled  to  make  the 
high  seas  the  scene  of  military  operations 
and  to  oppose  any  interference  with  their  en- 
terprises and  to  decide  for  themselves  what 
measures  shall  be  taken  against  enemy  sea 
traffic. 

In  such  cases  neutrals  have  no  other  legit- 
imate interest,  and  therefore  no  other  legal 
claim,  than  that  the  belligerent  inform  them 
in  time  of  prohibitions  directed  to  the  enemy, 
that  they  can  avoid  intrusting  their  lives  and 
their   goods   to   enemy  vessels. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  can 
suppose  that  the  Washington  Cabinet  will 
agree  with  these  explanations,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment's firm  conviction,  are  unassailable,  as 
otherwise  disputing  their  correctness  would 
doubtless  be  tantamount  to  saying — which 
certainly  does  not  correspond  to  the  opinion 
of  the  United  States— that  neutrals  must  be 
free  to  interfere  with  military  operations  of 
belligerents  or  even  directly  assume  the  of- 
fice of  judging  as  to  the  war  means  which 
are    to    be    employed    against    enemies. 

Analogy  of  Land  Warfare 

It  appears  that  it  also  would  be  a  flag- 
rant misunderstanding  if  a  neutral  Govern- 
ment, only  to  enable  its  subjects  to  travel 
on  enemy  vessels,  while  they  as  readily, 
and  even  with  far  greater  security,  could 
use  neutral  vessels,  should  fall  to  arms 
with  a  belligerent  power  which,  perhaps, 
was  fighting  for  its  existence,  not  to  speak 
of  the  most  serious  abuses  for  which  the 
road  would  be  left  clear  if  the  belligerent 
were  to  be  forced  to  lower  arms  before 
every  neutral  who  desired  to  use  enemy 
vessels  for  his  business  or  pleasure  trips. 
Never  was  there  the  slightest  doubt  that 
neutral  subjects  themselves  have  to  bear  all 
the  loss  which  they  suffer  by  entering  on 
land  territory  where  warlike  operations  are 
taking  place.  There  obviously  is  no  reason 
to  allow  different  principles  for  war  on  sea, 
the  more  so  as  at  the  Second  Peace  Con- 
ference the  wish  was  expressed  that,  until 
the  time  when  war  on  sea  should  have 
found  a  settlement  by  agreements,  the  law 
in  force  for  war  on  land  should  be  employed, 
as  far  as  this  was  possible,  also  for  war  on 
sea. 

In  the  spirit  of  what  was  previously  said, 
the  regulation  that  warning  must  be  given 
to  a  ship  which  is  to  be  sunk  undergoes  ex- 
ceptions of  various  kinds,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, as,  for  instance,  as  mentioned  by 
the  American  Government,  in  cases  of  flight 
and    resistance,    when    vessels    may    be    de- 


108 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


stroyed  without  warning,  while  in  other  cases 
warning  before  the  departure  of  a  vessel  is 
necessary.  The  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment can  therefore  state,  whatever  attitude 
the  Washington  Cabinet  may  take  in  regard 
to  individual  questions  raised  here,  that  it, 
as  especially  regards  protection  of  neutrals 
against  endangering  their  lives,  is  essentially 
in  accord  with  the  American  Government. 
But  it  was  not  only  satisfied  to  put  into 
effect  in  the  course  of  this  war  the  conception 
represented  by  her,  but  beyond  that  it  also 
accommodated  its  attitude  with  painful  care 
to  the  thesis  set  up  by  the  "Washington  Cab- 
inet, and  would  feel  inclined  to  support  it  in 
its  endeavor  to  secure  American  citizens 
against  dangers  at  sea,  which  endeavor  it 
supports  by  the  warmest  philanthropy,  and 
by  instructing  and  warning  those  intrusted 
with   it. 

As  regards  Circular  Note  10,602  of  last  year, 
regarding  the  treatment  of  armed  enemy 
merchantmen,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment, it  is  true,  has  to  state  that,  as  al- 
ready mentioned  previously,  it  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  arming  of  merchantmen, 
even  solely  for  defense  against  the  exercise 
of  the  right  of  capture,  is  not  established  by 
modern  international  law.  A  war  vessel  is 
obliged  to  come  into  contact  with  enemy  mer- 
chantmen in  a  peaceful  manner.  It  has  to 
waylay  the  vessel  by  certain  signals,  to  enter 
into  communication  with  the  Captain,  to  ex- 
amine the  ship's  papers,  draw  up  a  protocol, 
and,  if  necessary,  take  an  inventory,  &c. 
Fulfillment  of  these  duties  presupposes  nat- 
urally that  the  war  vessel  has  full  certainty 
that  the  merchantman,  on  its  part,  also  will 
act  peacefully.  Without  doubt  such  certainty 
does  not  exist  if  the  merchantman  possesses 
armament  which  is  sufficient  to  fight  the  war 
vessel.  It  can  hardly  be  expected  to  discharge 
its  duties  under  the  muzzles  of  guns,  whatever 
their  purpose  may  be,  without  mentioning  the 
fact  that  merchantmen  of  the  Entente  Pow- 
ers, despite  all  assurances  to  the  contrary, 
are — as  this  has  been  proved — provided  with 
arms  for  an  aggressive  purpose  and  also  use 
them  for  this  purpose. 

It  would  also  be  a  misinterpretation  of  the 
duties  of  humanity  to  demand  the  crews  of 
war  vessels  expose  themselves  without  de- 
fense to  arms  of  the  enemy.  No  State  could 
value  its  duties  of  humanity  toward  the  legal 
defenders  of  the  Fatherland  less  than  its 
duties  toward  subjects  of  foreign  powers. 
The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  therefore 
could  have  stated  from  conviction  that  its 
promise  made  to  the  Washington  Cabinet  did 
not  extend,  from  the  very  beginning,  to  armed 
merchantmen,  because  they,  according  to  the 
valid  principle  and  right  which  restrict  hos- 
tilities to  organized  forces,  are  to  be  regarded 
as  private  vessels,  which  may  be  destroyed. 

As  history  shows,  it  was  never  permitted 
under  general  international  law  that  mer- 
chantmen oppose  the  exercise  of  the  right  of 
capture  by  war  vessels.  Even  if  a  regulation 
of  such  kind  could  be  found,  this  would  not 


prove  that  vessels  should  be  allowed  to  arm 
themselves.  It  must  also  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration that  the  arming  of  merchantmen 
would  completely  transform  warfare  on  the 
sea,  and  that  such  a  transformation  cannot 
correspond  with  the  intentions  of  those  who 
endeavor  to  bring  to  bear  the  principles  of 
humanity  in  warfare  on  sea.  In  fact,  since 
the  abolition  of  privateering  no  Government, 
until  a  few  years  ago,  has  thought  in  the 
least  of  arming  merchantmen.  At  the  Second 
Peace  Conference,  which  was  occupied  with 
all  questions  of  naval  war  law,  the  arming  of 
merchantmen  was  mentioned  only  once.  This 
utterance,  however,  is  significant  because  it 
was  made  by  high  naval  officers,  who  freely 
declared  :  "  When  a  warship  proposes  to  stop 
and  visit  a  merchant  ship,  the  commander, 
before  launching  a  small  boat,  will  cause  a 
cannon  shot  to  be  fired.  A  cannon  shot  is  the 
best  guarantee  that  can  be  given.  Merchant 
ships  have  no  cannon  on  board." 

Notwithstanding  that,  Austria-Hungary  ad- 
hered to  her  promise  also  as  regards  this 
question.  In  the  mentioned  circular  note 
neutrals  were  warned  in  time  against  in- 
trusting their  persons  and  property  to  armed 
vessels.  The  issued  measure  was  not  put  in 
force  at  once,  but  a  period  of  grace  was  given 
in  order  to  enable  neutrals  to  leave  armed 
vessels  which  they  had  already  boarded. 
Finally,  Austro-Hungarian  war  vessels  them- 
selves have  been  instructed,  even  in  the  case 
of  encountering  armed  enemy  merchantmen, 
if,  in  view  of  the  circumstances,  it  is  possible, 
to  issue  a  warning  and  take  care  of  the  res- 
cue of  passengers. 

The  statement  of  the  American  Embassy 
that  the  armed  British  steamers  Secundo, 
Uno,  and  Welsh  Prince  were  torpedoed  by 
Austro-Hungarian  submarines  without  warn- 
ing is  erroneous.  [The  Secundo  and  Uno  are 
listed  in  marine  registers  as  Norwegian  ves- 
sels.] The  Austro-Hungarian  Government 
meanwhile  received  information  that  no  Aus- 
tro-Hungarian war  vessel  took  part  in  the 
sinking  of  these  steamers. 

In  the  same  manner  as  in  the  repeatedly 
mentioned  circular  note,  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian Government — and  therewith  it  comes 
back  to  the  question  of  intensified  submarine 
warfare — as  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of 
this  aide-memoire  and  also  in  its  declaration 
of  Jan.  31  of  the  current  year,  issued  a  warn- 
ing to  all  neutrals  by  fixing  a  certain  period. 
Moreover,  the  whole  declaration  represents  in 
essence  nothing  else  but  a  warning,  namely, 
that  no  merchantmen  will  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  sea  areas  exactly  described  in  the  decla- 
ration. 

Moreover,  Austro-Hungarian  war  vessels 
are  instructed  if  possible  to  warn  merchant- 
men encountered  in  these  areas  and  to  bring 
into  safety  the  crews  and  passengers.  The 
Austro-Hungarian  Government  also  possessed 
numerous  reports  that  crews  and  passengers 
of  vessels  which  have  been  destroyed  in  these 
areas  have  been  brought  into  safety.  For  the 
eventual   losses   of   human    life    which    never- 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S  SUBMARINE  NOTE 


109 


theless  may  occur  in  the  destruction  of  armed 
vessels  or  such  encountered  in  the  barred 
zone  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  can 
take  no  responsibility. 

Little  Risk  From  Austrian  V '-Boats 
Moreover,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that 
Austro-Hungarian  submarines  solely  are  op- 
erating in  the  Adriatic  and  Mediterranean, 
and  that,  therefore,  an  encroachment  of 
American  intrests  is  hardly  to  be  feared  from 
Austro-Hungarian  war  vessels. 

In  view  of  everything  mentioned  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  aide-memoire,  there  need 
hardly  be  an  assurance  that  the  barricad- 
ing of  sea  areas  described  in  the  declaration 
does  not  aim  at  destruction  of  human  life  or 
even  its  endangering.  But  apart  from  the 
higher  aim  of  sparing  further  suffering  to 
mankind  by  shortening  the  war,  and  solely 
to  place  Great  Britain  and  her  allies,  who, 
without  an  effective  blockade  over  the  coasts 
of  the  Central  Powers,  prevent  the  sea  traffic 
of  neutrals  with  these  powers  in  the  same 
isolation,  the  step  is  taken  to  render  them 
by  this  pressure  more  pliable  toward  a  peace 
which  bears  in  itself  a  guarantee  and  is 
durable. 

That  Austria-Hungary  uses  different  means 
is  especially  caused  by  circumstances  over 
which  mankind  has  no  power.  The  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government  is  convinced  that  it 
has  done  everything  in  its  power  to  avoid 
human  losses.  It  would  attain  this  aim, 
which  is  intended  by  the  Central  Powers, 
most  quickly  and  most  certainly  if  in  those 
sea  areas  no  single  human  life  were  lost  and 
no  single  life  were  endangered. 


Says  Ancona  Pledge  Stands 
Summarizing,  the  Austro-Hungarian  Gov- 
ernment can  state  that  the  assurance  given 
to  the  Washington  Cabinet  in  the  Ancona 
case  and  renewed  in  the  Persia  case  has 
neither  been  abolished  nor  restricted  by  its 
declaration  of  Feb.  10,  1916,  and  Jan.  31, 
1917.  Within  this  assurance  it  will  also  in 
the  future,  united  with  its  allies,  do  every- 
thing so  that  the  peoples  on  earth  will  soon 
again  participate  in  the  blessings  of  peace. 
If  in  the  prosecution  of  this  aim,  which,  as 
is  well  known,  finds  full  sympathy  in  the 
Washington  Cabinet,  it  sees  itself  obliged  to 
prevent  neutral  sea  traffic  in  certain  sea 
areas,  in  justification  of  this  measure  it  will 
point  not  so  much  at  the  attitude  of  the 
enemy,  which  it  considers  not  at  all  worthy 
of  imitation,  but  it  will  point  out  that  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, by  reason  of  the  obstinacy 
and  malignity  of  her  enemies,  who  intend 
her  destruction,  has  been  placed  in  a  state 
of  self-defense  than  which  history  knows  no 
more   typical   example. 

As  the  Austro-Hungarian  Government  finds 
inspiration  in  the  consciousness  that  the  fight 
which  Austria-Hungary  is  waging  serves  not 
only  for  maintenance  of  its  vital  interests 
but  also  for  realization  of  the  equal  rights  of 
all  States,  it  lays  the  greatest  stress  in  this 
last  and  most  severe  period  of  the  war, 
which,  as  it  deeply  deplores,  demands  sacri- 
fices also  from  friends,  on  the  confirmation 
by  word  and  deed  that  the  principle  of  hu- 
manity guides  it,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
law  of  respect  of  the  interests  of  neutral 
peoples. 


[Russian  Cartoon] 


An  Unspeakable  Libel 


—From  Novi  Satirikon,  Petrograd. 

Shark:  "  Ah,  neighbor,  I  have  been  grossly  insulted!  " 

"  How?  " 

"  I  was  mistaken  for  a  German  submarine." 


*? 


The  Blacks  Attack!" 


A    Vivid  Battle  Scene  by  Rheinhold   Eichacker,  a   German   Officer 

on  the  Western  Front 


"After  a  lengthy  artillery  preparation, 
•whije  ami  colored  Frenchmen  attacked  our 
positions  in  heavy  force.  They  succeeded  in 
getting  a  foothold  in  some  of  our  most  ad- 
vanced trenches.  A  furious  counterattack 
drove  them  back  again  in  a  hand-to-hand 
encounter.  Nothing  else  of  importance."— 
German  Army  Report. 

AT  7:15  in  the  morning  the  French 

/\  attacked.  The  black  Senegal 
JL  JL  negroes,  France's  cattle  for  the 
'  shambles.  After  a  seven-hour  suf- 
focating drumfire  that,  according  to  all 
human  reckoning,  should  not  have  left  a 
mortal  man  alive.  But  we  still  lived — 
and  waited.  Six  meters  under  the  sod 
lay  our  "waiting  rooms."  Burrowed 
into  the  ground  on  a  slant.  "  Courage 
bracers,"  they  call  them  out  there. 

At  7:15  the  enemy  shifted  his  fire 
backward  upon  our  reserves.  Our  pick- 
ets sounded  the  alarm.  We  sprang  to 
arms,  with  our  gas  masks  in  place.  For 
a  few  seconds  the  trenches  resembled  an 
antheap.  There  was  feverish  hurrying, 
running,  shouting,  and  shoving.  Just 
for  seconds.  Then  everybody  was  at  his 
post.  ^Everybody  who  was  alive.  Every 
one  a  rock  in  the  seething  waves.  Every 
one  determined  to  hold  his  position 
against  hell  itself. 

A  gas  attack!  Several  hundred  pairs 
of  wide-open  warriors'  eyes  fixed  their 
glances  upon  the  ugly,  smoking  cloud 
that,  lazy  and  impenetrable,  rolled  to- 
ward us.  Hundreds  of  fighting  eyes, 
fixed,  threatening,  deadly.  Let  them 
come,  the  blacks!  And  they  came.  First 
singly,  at  wide  intervals.  Feeling  their 
way,  like  the  arms  of  a  horrible  cuttle- 
fish. Eager,  grasping,  like  the  claws 
of  a  mighty  monster.  Thus  they 
rushed  closer,  flickering  and  some- 
times disappearing  in  their  cloud. 
Entire  bodies  and  single  limbs,  now 
showing  in  the  harsh  glare,  now 
sinking  in  the  shadows,  came  nearer  and 
nearer.  Strong,  wild  fellows,  their  log- 
like, fat,  black  skulls  wrapped  in  pieces 
of  dirty   rags.     Showing  their   grinning 


teeth  like  panthers,  with  their  bellies 
drawn  in  and  their  necks  stretched  for- 
ward. Some  with  bayonets  on  their 
rifles.  Many  only  armed  with  knives. 
Monsters  all,  in  their  confused  hatred. 
Frightful  their  distorted,  dark  grimaces. 
Horrible  their  unnaturally  wide-opened, 
burning,  bloodshot  eyes.  Eyes  that 
seem  like  terrible  beings  themselves.  Like 
unearthly,  hell-born  beings.  Eyes  that 
seemed  to  run  ahead  of  their  owners, 
lashed,  unchained,  no  longer  to  be  re- 
strained. On  they  came  like  dogs  gone 
mad  and  cats  spitting  and  yowling,  with 
a  burning  lust  for  human  blood,  with  a 
cruel  dissemblance  of  their  beastly 
malice.  Behind  them  came  the  first 
wave  of  the  attackers,  in  close  order,  a 
solid,  rolling  black  wall,  rising  and  fall- 
ing, swaying  and  heaving,  impenetrable, 
endless. 

"  Close  range !  Individual  firing !  Take 
careful  aim!  "  My  orders  rang  out  sharp 
and  clear  and  were  correctly  understood 
by  all  the  men.  They  stood  as  if  carved 
out  of  stone,  their  lips  tightly  pressed, 
the  muscles  of  their  cheeks  swollen,  and 
took  aim.  Just  like  rifle  range  work.  The 
first  blacks  fell  headlong  in  full  course  in 
our  wire  entanglements,  turning  somer- 
saults like  the,  clowns  in  a  circus.  Some 
of  them  half  rose,  remained  hanging, 
jerked  themselves  further,  crawling, 
gliding  like  snakes — cut  wires — sprang 
over — tumbled — fell. 

Nearer  and  nearer  rolled  the  wall. 
Gaps  opened  and  closed  again.  Lines 
halted  and — rolled  on  again.  Whrrr  rratt 
— tenggg — sssstt — crack!  Our  artillery 
sent  them  its  greeting!  Whole  groups 
melted  away.  Dismembered  bodies,  sticky 
earth,  shattered  rocks,  were  mixed  in 
wild  disorder.  The  black  cloud  halted, 
wavered,  closed  .its  ranks — and  rolled 
nearer  and  nearer,  irresistible,  crushing, 
devastating!  And  the  rifles  were  flash- 
ing all  the  time.  A  dissonant,  voiceless 
rattle.  The  men  still  stood  there  and 
took  aim.     Calmly,  surely,  not  wasting  a. 


THE   BLACKS   ATTACK! 


Ill 


single  shot.  The  stamping  and  snorting 
of  thousands  of  panting  beasts  ate  up  the 
ground  between  us. 

Now  the  wave  was  only  300  paces  from 
our  defenses — from  their  remnants — now 
only  200 — 100 — irresistible,  seething  and 
roaring — 50  paces ! — "  Rapid  fire !  "  I 
roared,  I  shrieked,  through  the  swelling 
cracking  of  the  rifles.  A  hurricane 
swallowed  my  voice !  Hell  seemed  let  loose 
at  a  single  blow,  raging,  storming,  obliter- 
ating all  understanding!  Shoving  and 
stamping,  shrieking  and  shouting,  crack- 
ing and  rattling,  hissing  and  screeching. 
A  heavy  veil  hung  over  the  wall.  In  this 
cloud  pieces  of  earth,  smoke  spirals, 
black,  red,  white,  yellow  flashes,  quivered 
and  flared.  Rattling,  rapping,  pounding, 
hammering,  crackling.  And  the  shots  fell 
unceasingly.  Clear  and  shrill  the  rifles, 
heavy  and  roaring  the  shells. 

And  now  came  the  gruesome,  incon- 
ceivable horror !  A  wall  of  lead  and  iron 
suddenly  hurled  itself  upon  the  attackers 
and  the  entanglements  .just  in  front  of 
our  trenches.  A  deafening  hammering 
and  clattering,  cracking  and  pounding, 
rattling  and  crackling,  beat  everything 
to  earth  in  ear-splitting,  nerve-racking 
clamor.  Our  machine  guns  had  flanked 
the  blacks! 

Like  an  invisible  hand  they  swept  over 
the  men  and  hurled  them  to  earth,  mang- 
ling and  tearing  them  to  pieces!  As  an 
Autumn  storm  roars  over  the  fields  they 
swept  in  full  flood  over  the  ranks  and 
snuffed  out  life!  Like  hail  among  the 
ears  of  grain,  their  missiles  flew  and 
rattled  and  broke  down  the  enemy's  will! 
Singly,  in  files,  in  rows  and  heaps,  the 
blacks  fell.  Next  to  each  other,  behind 
each  other,  on  top  of  each  other.  Hurled 
m  heaps,  in  mounds,  in  hillocks.  Fresh 
masses  charged  and  fell  back,  charged 
and  stumbled,  charged  and  fell.  And 
there  were  always  fresh  forces!  They 
seemed  to  spring  from  the  very  earth! 

We  had  losses;  heavy  losses.  Here  a 
man  suddenly  put  his  hand  to  his  fore- 
head and  swayed.  There  another  sprang 
gurgling  to  one  side  and  fell,  as  flat  and 
heavy  as  a  block  of  stone.  S-s-s-t — it 
went  above  our  heads.  The  French  were 
throwing  shrapnel  against  our  trenches, 
hissing,  cracking,  and  in  volleys. 


Hell  still  rages.  The  blacks  get  rein- 
forcements. Finally  the  whites  them- 
selves charge,  a  jerky,  rolling,  bluish- 
green  mass!  In  a  powerful  drive  they 
get  over  the  first  rise  in  the  ground. 
Now  they  have  disappeared.  Now  they 
bob  up,  as  out  of  a  trap  door.  Here  and 
there  the  ranks  shoot  forward  in  great 
leaps,  the  officers  ahead  of  all,  with  their 
swords  swinging  high  in  the  air,  just  as 
in  the  pictures!  A  splendid  sight.  Now 
they  reach  the  bodies  of  the  blacks.  They 
halt  for  a  few  seconds,  as  if  in  horror, 
then  on  they  roll  over  the  dead,  jumping, 
wallowing,  dozens  falling. 

We  still  stand  firmly  in  the  breach. 
Our  nerves  are  strained  to  the  snapping 
point,  gasping,  bleeding,  feverish!  We 
dare  not  waver.  "  Steady,  men!  Steady!" 
We  must  calmly  let  them  come  as  far  as 
the  wire  entanglements,  as  the  blacks 
did.  The  blacks?  Where  are  they?  Disr 
appeared!  Only  they  left  their  dead  be- 
hind. The  same  thing  will  happen  to 
the  whites.  We  are  waiting  for  them. 
The  death-spewing  machine  guns  are  ly- 
ing over  there.  They  lie  there  and  wait 
until  their  time  comes.  Steady,  steady! 
They  lie  there  and  wait  impatiently — but 
yet  they  are  silent —  Now! — No — I  am 
raving!  "Rapid  fire!" — I  hiss — My 
neighbor  staggers — I  only  listen  and 
wait,  wait  and  listen,  for  only  one  thing. 
Something  that  has  to  come,  must  finally 
come,  has  to  come!  Great  God,  other- 
wise we  are  lost!  Be  calm,  be  calm! 
Now  they  will  begin  reaping!  Now  they 
must  begin  to  rattle,  our  machine  guns, 
our  faithful  rescuers — now — at  once! 
What  can  they  be  waiting  for  ?  Why,  they 
are  there  in  the  wires  already.  Hell  and 
Satan!  No  man  can  endure  that!  They 
are  hesitating  too  long — the  enemy  is  al- 
most in  the  trenches !  Ah !  At  last !  A 
rattling— a  hoarse  crackling  —  Heaven 
help  us,  what  is  that? 

A  devilish  howling  rises  hoarsely  from 
over  there,  lacerating,  bestial,  shrieking! 
The  blacks,  the  devils!  How  did  they 
reach  our  flank  over  there?  That's  where 
our  machine  guns  are.  It  cannot  be. 
There!  Hell!  They  are  carrying  hand 
grenades,  are  in  their  rear!  Heaven  help 
us!  And  the  whites!  They  are  at  our 
breastworks.     Already  they   are  in  *the 


112 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


trenches,  fighting  like  wild  beasts.  Hor- 
ror makes  them  crazy.  Help  is  coming 
to  us  from  the  left.  The  second  company 
has  fallen  upon  their  flank.  The  French 
run  like  hunted  animals.  A  shell  bursts 
in  their  midst,  catches  twenty  or  thirty 
of  them  and  throws  them  in  the  air  like 
toys.  They  run  still  further,  through  the 
air,  bowling  along  on  their  heads,  grue- 
somely — and  fall  in  heaps  to  the  ground. 
Heads,  legs,  twitching  bodies!  The 
French  run  until  back  of  the  bodies.  'The 
rest  of  them  are  cut  to  pieces,  or  made 
prisoners.  But  now  our  men  must  come 
back. 

We  struggle  for  breath.  Wounded  men 
writhe  around  and  moan  and  groan  heav- 
ily. The  trench  is  bathed  in  blood.  Far 
more  than  half  of  the  company  has  been 
slain.  We  are  only  a  handful.  I  assem- 
ble the  valiant  men  and  distribute  them 
among  the  trenches.  They  stand  reso- 
lutely, breathing  hard  and  gasping. 

A  furious  rattling  and  buzzing  and 
hissing  calls  us  again  to  our  posts.  They 
pre  charging  anew.  Now  the  whites 
again,  in  front,  on  the  side.  They  are  on 
our  flank!  Back  of  them  the  blacks  in 
frightful    clusters.      "  Bring    the    sand- 


bags !  "  The  sandbags  fly  from  hand  to 
hand.  A  wall  rises  in  the  midst  of  the 
trench.  The  other  half  was  overrun  long 
ago  and  is  a  knot  of  struggling  men.  A 
piece  of  wood  hits  me  on  the  shoulder — 
crack — I  cry  out!  A  shot  lands  in  the 
m;dst  of  our  ammunition — it  was  our 
last.  This  way  with  the  hand  grenades! 
We  jiave  got  to  smoke  them  out! 

A  roaring  hurrah!  Heaven  help  us, 
aid  is  at  hand!  The  Fourth,  and  the 
Fifth — I  know  the  men — and  some  of  the 
First,  too — all  mixed  up — dispersed 
troops  rallied  again.  Now,  up  and  at 
them!  The  French  defend  themselves 
furiously.  They  hold  the  trench.  The 
dead  are  heaped  up  before  their  ram- 
parts— but  keep  it  up!  A  wild  passion 
takes  possession  of  me.  My  revolver  and 
my  dagger  have  been  lost  in  the  fighting. 
I  seize  a  bottle.  Hell  sends  it  to  me  at 
the  right  moment!  Like  an  animal  mad 
with  hate  I  rush  forward.  My  bottle 
lands,  crashing  and  splintering,  on  a 
woolly  skull,  with  a  distorted  grimace. 
A  hot  shock  rushes  through  my  shoulder 
— a  shock — a  wrench — I  grasp  at  the  air 
— grasp  something  convulsively — throw 
myself  in  the  air — and  fall  in  a  heap.  A 
confused  mist  dances  before  my  eyes. 


Colossal  War  Expenses  of  Great  Britain, 
Germany,   and  France 


THE  request  of  the  British  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  Bonar  Law.  for  a 
supplementary  credit  of  $250,000,- 
000  on  March  14  disclosed  the  fact  that 
the  total  amount  voted  for  the  war  by 
Great  Britain  for  the  year  ending  March 
31,  1917,  reached  $10,000,000,000.  A 
total  of  $3,000,000,000  was  voted  between 
Feb.  12,  1917,  and  the  end  of  March. 

Great  Britain's  "  victory "  popular 
loan  exceeded  all  estimates;  the  total 
subscribed  was  $5,001,564,750;  the  total 
number  of  applicants  was  5,289,000. 

Germany's  Nev>  War  Credit 
The  German  Reichstag  voted  a  new 
credit  of  $3,750,000,000  early  in  March. 
In  submitting  the  new  budget  the  Minis- 
ter of  Finance,  Count  von  Roedern,  ut- 
tered some  significant  phrases.   He  said: 


Germany's  sincere  proposal  of  peace  has 
met  with  a  refusal.  Mediation  from  the  side 
of  the  neutrals  failed  in  consequence  of  the 
decision  of  our  enemies.  The  British  block- 
ade of  the  German  and  neutral  coasts,  which 
neither  as  regards  the  means  by  which  it  is 
put  into  effect  nor  jts  extension  to  different 
classes  of  goods  and  neutral  countries  corre- 
sponds to  the  hitherto  existing  usages  of  in- 
ternational law,  has  been  answered  by  an 
actual  blockade  by  means  of  a  weapon  created 
by  this  war.  For  this  reason  there  could  not 
yet  be  any  written  regulations  in  interna- 
tional law  governing  this  weapon.  This 
weapon  is  the  submarine. 

He  affirmed  that  Germany  was  forced 
into  the  war.  In  discussing  the  new 
budget  he  said: 

New  taxation  proposals  are  submitted  to 
you  which  amount  for  the  next  year  to  1,250,- 
000,000  marks  and  hold  out  the  prospect  of 
additional  taxation  on  war  profits  later  on. 
Moreover,    a    further    war    credit    of   an    un- 


COLOSSAL  WAR  EXPENSES 


113 


precedented  amount— namely,  15,000,000,000 
marks— is  asked  for.  The  payment  of  in- 
terest on  previous  credits  is  fully  provided 
for.  The  safety  law  which  became  necessary 
last  year  provides  for  an  increase  of  the 
legal  reserve  from  50  to  60  per  cent.,  but 
the  budget  brings  in  during  the  financial 
year  no  new  money ;  therefore,  an  additional 
tax  of  20  per  cent,  on  the  existing  war  taxa- 
tion is   necessary. 

Count  von  Roedern  then  pointed  out 
the  great  value  of  the  coal  produced  in 
Germany  and  imported  into  Germany, 
which  he  had  estimated  before  the  war  at 
2,500,000,000  marks.  The  idea  of  taking 
over  the  coal  mines  by  the  State  had  been 
rejected  as  impossible.  Germany  could 
safely  rely  on  her  own  production  of  coal 
and  even  on  having  coal  for  export  dur- 
ing normal  times.  Coal  could  be  taxed 
the  more  readily,  since  the  prices  at  home 
during  the  war,  as  compared  with  those 
in  foreign  countries,  were  comparatively 
low.  The  average  price  in  Germany,  he 
said,  was  15  to  18  marks,  while  Great 
Britain  paid  20s.  to  30s.  per  ton;  Italy 
over  300  lire;  France,  in  November,  125 
francs  to  150  francs  for  house  coal;  and 
North  America  $6  to  $7 ;  so  that  "  an 
average  tax  of  2V2  marks  on  coal  and  80 
pfennigs  on  lignite  was  not  too  high." 
Count  von  Roedern  then  dwelt  on  the 
proposed  taxation  of  railway  tickets  and 
bills  of  lading.  He  pointed  out  that 
similar  measures  had  already  been  taken 
in  other  belligerent  countries.  A  tax  of 
7  per  cent,  would  be  placed  on  all  freights 
and  a  tax  of  from  10  to  16  per  cent,  on 
railway  tickets.     He  proceeded : 

World's  Total  $75,000,000,000 
The  war  credit  voted  last  October  is  nearly 
exhausted.  As  in  all  belligerent  countries, 
our  war  expenditure  during  the  last  few 
months  has  experienced  a  certain  tension. 
Our  average  extraordinary  expenditure  dur- 
ing October  to  January  amounted  in  all  to 
2,775,000,000  marks.  I  have  reason  to  sup- 
pose that,  as  between  both  groups  of  bellig- 
erents, the  proportion  today  is  still  two  to 
one ;  the  war  expenditure  of  the  whole  world 
exceeds  300,000,000,000  marks,  ($75,000,000,- 
000.)  and  therefore  not  more  than  100,000,000,- 
000  marks  ($25,000,000,000)  fall  on  us  and  our 
allies,  while  over  200,000,000,000  marks  ($50,- 
000,000,000)  fall  on  the  Entente.  The  tension 
will  not  relax  in  the  war  expenditure  during 
the  next  few  months.  The  war  credit  of 
15,000,000,000  marks  is  therefore  asked  for. 
Next  month  we  must  issue  another  loan. 
This  exact  picture,  as  shown  by  the  budget, 


is  certainly  serious,  but  our  economic  life 
gives  no  reason  to  look  into  the  future  with 
less  confidence  than  hitherto.  If  the  German 
people  firmly  believe  in  a  happy  issue  of  the 
final  struggle  which,  in  consequence  of  the 
plan  of  our  enemies,  has  become  inevitable, 
the  German  people  may  also  expect  that  for 
this  reason  financial  consequences  are  also  to 
be  deduced.  Against  the  demand  of  our  ene- 
mies for  reparation  we  shall  be  able  to  put 
the  word  "  indemnity."  I  have  confidence 
in  our  economic  future,  in  the  unbroken  fi- 
nancial strength  of  our  people,  and  am  con- 
vinced that,  in  view  of  our  rapid  technical 
development  during  the  war  and  the  firm 
determination  of  all  circles  of  productive 
industry,  everything  which  the  war  has  de- 
stroyed will  be  rebuilt  by  our  common  labor. 
Our  strength  is  not  founded  on  paper,  as 
our  enemies  suppose,  but  on  the  unexhausted 
income  of  the  people  and  on  the  fact  that  we 
did  not  fall  into  the  slavery  of  debt  to  for- 
eign countries,  as  our  European  enemies  had 
to  do  in  so  high  a  degree.  Our  financial 
strength  has  been  proved  by  the  increase  of 
the  deposits  in  the  savings  banks,  which 
in  1916  again  exceeded  3,000,000,000  marks, 
by  the  extraordinary  increase  in  the  deposits 
of  the  banking  institutes,  and  by  reports  of 
400  limited  companies,  which  show  not  only 
increasing  profits  but  also  wise  reserves. 
The  war  has  proved  that  we  are  united  in  the 
will  to  hold  out  to  victory.  I  know  that  after 
the  war  we  shall  not  be  united  on  all  eco- 
nomic questions,  but  there  is  one  thing  we 
shall  carry  over  into  peace  time— the  convic- 
tion that  the  development  and  increase  of  our 
production  are  of  equal  importance  to  all 
classes  of  the  population,  and  that  we  must 
work  together  toward  reconstruction.  The 
Federal  Governments  count  on  co-operation 
on  these  lines,  especially  from  the  Reichstag, 
which  will  prove  its  determination  to  do  its 
share  by  maintaining  a  sound  financial 
policy,  by  the  impartial  examination  of  the 
proposed  taxes,  by  providing  the  means  for 
the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  by  ready 
support  of  the  coming  loan. 

War  Expenditures  of  France 
At  the  end  of  June  France  will  have 
spent  during  the  war  in  round  figures 
83,000,000,000  francs,  or  more  than  $16,- 
000,000,000.  The  amount  of  the  short- 
term  national  bonds  in  circulation  at  the 
end  of  February  was  14,500,000,000 
francs. 

In  addition  to  her  expenditures,  France 
has  advanced  to  her  allies  3,875,000,000, 
making  a  total  outlay  since  Aug.  1,  1914, 
of  87,000,000,000  francs.  Loans  made 
in  the  United  States  amount  to  2,188,- 
860,000  francs.  The  bonds  placed  in 
England  will  yield  5,927,128,000. 


Great  Britain  Restricts  Imports  to  Food 
and  Munitions 


PREMIER  LLOYD  GEORGE  an- 
nounced to  the  House  of  Commons 
Feb.  23,  1917,  that  orders  would  be 
issued  at  once  for  a  drastic  restriction  of 
non-essential  imports,  so  that  the  full 
cargo  space  of  shipping  would  be  em- 
ployed for  food  and  munitions.  He  an- 
nounced that  minimum  prices  for  farm 
products  would  be  guaranteed  over  a 
term  of  years  to  encourage  the  farmer  to 
plant  every  available  foot  of  land,  and 
that  this  would  be  supplemented  later 
by  an  announcement  that  land  owners 
would  be  forced  to  cultivate  their  land. 

The  Premier  announced  that  a  million 
tons  of  food  luxuries  and  several  million 
tons  of  paper,  ore,  and  lumber  would  be 
lopped  off  the  nation's  imports.  He  said 
that  the  stocks  of  food  were  lower  than 
ever  before,  not  because  of  the  enemy's 
submarine  activities  so  much  as  because 
of  the  bad  harvests.  In  the  course  of  his 
address  he  stated  that  shipbuilding  was 
increasing  by  special  efforts,  at  some 
yards  as  much  as  40  per  cent. 

The  following  is  the  royal  proclama- 
tion, dated  Feb.  23,  1917,  relating  to  this 
announcement: 

(1)  As  from  and  after  the  date  hereof,  sub- 
ject as  hereinafter  provided,  the  importation 
into  the  United  Kingdom  of  the  follow- 
ing goods  is  hereby  prohibited,  viz. :  Aerated, 
mineral,  and  table  waters ;  agricultural  ma- 
chinery ;  antimony  ware  ;  apparel,  not  water- 
proofed ;  (except  boots  and  shoes;)  art,  works 
of ;  baskets  and  basketware  of  bamboo ; 
books,  printed,  and  other  printed  matter,  in- 
cluding printed  posters  and  daily,  weekly, 
and  other  periodical  publications,  imported 
otherwise  than  in  single  copies  through  the 
post;  boots  and  shoes  of  leather,  and  material 
used  for  the  manufacture  thereof,  not  already 
prohibited;  brandy;  clocks  and  parts  thereof; 
cloisonne  wares ;  cocoa,  preparations  of ; 
cocoa,  raw ;  coffee ;  cotton  hosiery,  cotton 
lace  and  articles  thereof;  curios;  diatomite 
and  infusorial  earth  ;  embroidery  and  needle- 
work ;  fancy  goods,  known  as  Paris  goods ; 
feathers,  ornamental,  and  down ;  fire  extin- 
guishers ;  flowers,  artificial ;  flowers,  fresh ; 
fruit,  raw,  of  all  descriptions,  (except  lemons 
and  bitter  oranges,)  and  almonds  and  nuts 
used  as  fruit ;  glass  manufactures  not  already 
prohibited;  gloves;  hats  and  bonnets;  hides, 
wet  and  dry;  incandescent  gas  mantles;  jute, 
raw ;  leather,   dressed  and  undressed ;  linen, 


yarns,  and  manufactures  of;  lobsters,  canned  ; 
mats  and  matting ;  mops  ;  painters'  colors  and 
pigments  ;  perfumery  ;  photographic  appara- 
tus ;  pictures,  prints,  engravings,  photo- 
graphs, and  maps ;  plated  and  gilt  wares ; 
quails,  live;  quebracho,  hemlock,  oak,  and 
mangrove  extracts ;  rum  ;  salmon,  canned  ; 
silk,  manufactures  of,  not  including  silk 
yarns;  skins  and  furs,  manufactures  of;  Soya 
beans ;  stereoscopes ;  straw  envelopes  for 
bottles ;  straw  plaiting ;  sugar,  articles  and 
preparations  containing,  used  for  food ;  (ex- 
cept condensed  milk;)  tea;  tomatoes;  type- 
writers ;  wine ;  wood  and  timber  of  all  kinds, 
hewn,  sawn,  or  split,  planed  or  dressed. 

Provided  always,  and  it  is  hereby  declared, 
that  this  prohibition  shall  not  apply  to  any 
such  goods  which  are  imported  under  license 
given  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
and  subject  to  the  provisions  and  conditions 
of  such  license. 

(2)  As  from  and  after  the  date  hereof  the 
prohibition  imposed  by  the  Prohibition  of  Im- 
port (paper,  tobacco,  furniture,  woods,  and 
stones)  Proclamation,  1916,  on  the  importa- 
tion of  the  following  goods  shall  be  removed, 
and  the  said  proclamation  amended  accord- 
ingly, viz.  :  All  periodical  publications  ex- 
ceeding 10  pages  in  length,  imported  other- 
wise than  in  single  copies  through  the  post. 

Of  the  above  articles  now  barred  to 
Great  Britain  the  exports  from  the 
United  States  in  1915  were  $9,220,809, 
and  $67,613,814  in   1916. 

The    Prime    Minister's    announcement 
also  contained  the  following  proposals: 
MINIMUM  PRICES  TO  BE  GUARANTEED 
TO  FARMERS 

Wheat— 60s.  per  qr.  this  year,  55s.  per  qr. 
in  1918-19,  45s.  per  qr.  in  1919-20,  1920-21,  and 
1921-22.       / 

Oats— 38s.  6d.  per  336  lbs.  this  year,  32s.  per 
336  lbs.  in  1918-19,  and  24s.  per  336  lbs.  in  the 
next  three  years. 

Potatoes— £6  per  ton  this  year. 

In  case  the   State  commandeers  cereals   or 
potatoes,  the  maximum  prices  to  be  fixed  in 
consultation  with  the  Board  of  Agriculture. 
FARM  LABORERS'  WAGES 

As  a  corollary  of  the  guarantee  of  prices,  a 
minimum  wage  of  25s.  per  week  to  be  paid  by 
farmers  to  every  able-bodied  man  during  the 
period  of  the  guarantee. 

The  National  Service  machinery  to  be  used 
for  deciding  whether  a  man  is  able-bodied. 

RENTS 
Farmers  to  be  guaranteed  against  the  rais- 
ing of  rents  except  with  the  consent  of  the 
Board  of  Agriculture. 


GREAT  BRITAIN  RESTRICTS  IMPORTS 


115 


IMPORTS    TO    BE   PROHIBITED 

Apples,  tomatoes,  and  certain  raw  foods ; 
aerated,  mineral,  and  table  waters ;  coffee 
and  cocoa. 

Printed  posters,  paperhangings,  and  certain 
kinds  of  foreign  printed  matter  and  period- 
icals. 

Foreign  teas. 

Certain  manufactured  articles  of  luxury. 
IMPORTS  TO  BE  REDUCED 

Imports  of  paper  material  to  be  reduced  to 
640,000  tons,  the  reduction  to  be  distributed 
equally  between  the  printing  and  packing 
trades,  and  the  use  of  paper  for  posters,  cat- 
alogues, and  for  Government  publications  to 
be  restricted. 

Imports  of  oranges,  bananas,  grapes,  al- 
monds, and  nuts  to  be  restricted  to  25  per 
cent,  of  the  supply  of  1915. 


Canned  salmon  imports  to  be  cut  down  by 
50   per    cent. 

Indian  tea,  (amount  of  reduction  not 
stated.) 

(A  total  saving  of  900,000  tons  to  be  effected 
on  food  and  feeding  stuffs.) 
ALCOHOLIC   LIQUORS,    &c. 

Output  of  beer  to  be  reduced  from  the 
18,000,000  barrels  now  allowed  to  10,000,000 
barrels,  (to  effect  a  saving  of  600,000  tons  of 
foodstuffs  per  annum.) 

Imports  of  spirits  and  wines  to  be  further 
reduced  by  75  per  cent,  on  the  1913  basis. 

Rum  to  be  excluded. 

Imports  of  leather  goods,  boots,  raw  hides, 
and  bottles  to  be  restricted. 

Timber  for  British  Army  in  Prance  to  be 
obtained  in  France. 

Timber  for  home  use  to  be  obtained  at 
home. 

Home  production  of  iron  ore  to  be  increased. 


A  Deserter's  Wife  and  Her  Dilemma 


IS  a  woman  to  blame  if  she  receives 
her  husband  when  she  knows  him 
to  be  a  deserter  and  does  not  de- 
nounce him?  This  was  the  question  dis- 
cussed in  the  Paris  Appeal  Court  in  a 
recent  case.  Mme.  Marcelle  Veryken,  a 
corsetmaker,  aged  27  years,  was  sur- 
prised last  July  by  a  visit  from  her  hus- 
band, who  had  deserted  from  the  Sev- 
enty-fifth Regiment  of  infantry.  She 
gave  him  an  asylum,  remained  with  him 
at  the  conjugal  domicile,  and  did  not  de- 
nounce him.  Arrested  in  September,  the 
soldier's  wife  wrote  to  the  examining 
magistrate  requesting  to  be  set  at  lib- 
erty. She  had,  she  said,  always  lived  an 
honorable  life;  her  only  fault  was  that 
she  had  kept  her  husband  at  home,  and 
no  one  expected  a  wife  to  do  less. 

Mme.  Veryken  was  released,  but  was 
brought  up  before  the  Correctional 
Chamber  for  complicity  in  desertion  by 
concealing  her  husband,  and  sentenced  to 
three  months'  imprisonment.  When  her 
appeal  came  on  for  hearing  the  prose- 
cution urged  that  in  such  circumstances 
a  wife  ought  to  abandon  her  home  instead 
of  .remaining  with  a  deserter,  whose 
crime  constituted  a  grave  insult  to  her. 

The  court,  however,  took  another  view. 


There  was  no  proof,  it  maintained,  that 
the  wife  had  provoked  or  approved  of  the 
desertion  of  her  husband,  or  concealed 
him.  The  court  could  not  reproach  her 
with  having  remained  at  home  after  her 
husband's  return,  for  she  was  only  ful- 
filling a  legal  obligation.  It  would  be  ex- 
cessive, continued  the  judgment,  to  blame 
Mme.  Veryken  because  she  did  not  de- 
nounce her  husband.  To  do  so  would  be 
to  demand  of  a  woman  having  affection 
for  her  husband  a  sacrifice  above  her 
power.  The  court,  therefore,  annulled 
the  previous  judgment,  and  acquitted 
Mme.  Veryken. 

A  like  indulgence  was,  however,  denied 
to  Mme.  Desmares  for  a  similar  act.  She, 
unfortunately,  was  unable  to  produce  her 
marriage  lines,  and  the  case  of  the  de- 
serter, named  Goujy,  was  aggravated  by 
the  fact  that  in  1913,  when  he  saw  the 
war  approaching,  he  hid  himself,  changed 
his  name  and  address,  and  remained  in 
concealment  until  discovered  in  1916. 
His  companion  and  accomplice  was  sen- 
tenced to  one  year's  imprisonment  with 
the  benefit  of  the  First  Offenders'  act, 
and  the  deserter  Goujy  was  sent  to  prison 
for  five  years. 


A  German  Peace  League  That  Failed 


By  John  T.  Wheelwright 


"  Territorial  aggression  and  national  abase- 
ment will  pave  the  way  for  fresh  war."— Ad- 
dress of  British  Labor  Independents,  Septem- 
ber, 1914. 

BOURRIENNE*  reports  Napoleon 
as  saying  in  1805 :  "  There  is  not 
sufficient  unanimity  among  the 
nations  of  Europe.  European 
society  must  be  regenerated.  A  superior 
power  must  control  the  other  powers  and 
compel  them  to  live  at  peace  with  each 
other,  and  France  is  well  situated  for  this 
purpose  " — and  thus  of  Germany  would 
the  German  Emperor  speak  today.  The 
great  Corsican  battled  for  ten  years 
after  1805  to  establish  that  supreme 
power  of  France  in  Europe,  which  was  to 
insure  peace  on  earth,  but  the  nations  to 
be  controlled  were  too  human  to  enjoy 
peace. on  such  terms. 

At  Napoleon's  downfall  tired  Europe 
rested  on  its  arms  for  nearly  forty  years. 

It  is  now  proposed  to  substitute  for  the 
one  "  superior  power  "  a  league  of  States 
to  enforce  peace  by  mutual  agreements, 
and  President  Wilson,  in  ah  address  to 
our  Senate,  recently  proclaimed  his  belief 
that  the  United  States  should  be  a  party 
to  this  agreement,  and  that  the  present 
war  should  be  terminated  by  a  peace  that 
shall  stop  short  of  conquest  by  either  side. 

At  a  dinner  given  in  New  York  on 
Nov.  24  last  by  the  League  to  Enforce 
Peace  communications  were  received  ap- 
proving the  principle  of  forming  such  a 
permanent  league  of  nations  from  Aris- 
tide  Briand,  Premier  of  France;  Chancel- 
lor von  Bethmann  Hollweg  of  Germany, 
and  Viscount  Grey,  Great  Britain's  Sec- 
retary of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs. 

The  German  Chancellor  in  his  mes- 
sage said:  "The  first  condition  for 
evolution  of  international  relations  by 
way  of  arbitration  and  peaceful  com- 
promise of  conflicting  interests  should 
be  that  no  more  aggressive  coalitions  are 
formed  in  the  future.  Germany  will  at 
all  times  be  ready  to  enter  a  league  for 

♦Scribner's  edition.     Vol.  II.,  Page  385. 


the  purpose  of  restraining  the  disturbers 
of  peace,  and  will  honestly  co-operate 
in  the'  extension  of  every  endeavor  to 
find  a  practical  solution,  and  will  collab- 
orate to  make  its  realization  possible. 
This  all  the  more,  if  the  war,  as  we  ex- 
pect and  trust,  shall  create  political  con- 
ditions which  do  full  justice  to  the  free 
development  of  all  nations,  the  small  as 
well  as  the  great  nations.  Then  it  will 
be  possible  to  realize  the  principles  of 
justice  and  free  development  on  land, 
and  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas." 

The  Chancellor's  message  is  couched  in 
language  none  too  clear.  Can  it  be  be- 
lieved that  the  German  Empire  will  co- 
operate in  this  league?  As  Prussia,  Aus- 
tria, and  the  other  German  States  were 
once  members  of  a  "league  to  enforce 
peace "  called  the  German  Confedera- 
tion, it  is  conceivable  that  the  Teuton 
allies  might,  after  this  war,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  join  such  a  league 
and  abide  by  the  compact. 

The  "  Bundes  act  "  of  the  German  Con- 
federation provided  that  in  case  of  a 
difference  between  two  States  the  ques- 
tions at  issue  should  be  submitted  to  a 
committee  of  the  Diet  for  solution.  When 
the  Diet  decided  a  question,  and  made  a 
decree,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Diet  to 
appoint  a  corps  to  carry  out  an  execution 
against  a  Federal  State.  The  Federal 
army  was  not  intended  to  be  brought  into 
requisition  except  to  repel  a  foreign  foe. 
By  the  Federal  act  members  of  the  Con- 
federation were  strictly  forbidden  to 
make  war  on  each  other.  In  case  of  a 
State  proving  refractory,  a  summons  was 
to  be  addressed  to  it  to  conform  with  the 
resolution  of  the  Diet.  Then,  in  case 
of  refusal,  an  execution  was  ordered, 
and  a  State  or  States  charged  with  carry- 
ing it  out;  but  before  the  last  forcible 
means  were  taken  another  summons  was 
to  be  made,  so  as  to  give  the  State  at 
fault  another  chance  to  avoid  punish- 
ment. 

War  between  the  States  was  considered 


A   GERMAN  PEACE  LEAGUE   THAT  FAILED 


117 


to  be  impossible,   but  this  was  a  false 

assumption,  as  the  events  of  1864  proved. 

Decree  and  Execution 

The  Schleswig-Holstein  question  be- 
came acute  in  1860,  when  Denmark  en- 
deavored to  get  control  of  Holstein,  a 
member  of  the  German  Confederation. 

In  1864  Federal  execution  was  ordered 
by  the  Confederate  Diet  against  the 
Grand  Duke  Charles  of  Holstein  to  com- 
pel him  to  carry  out  Confederate  decrees 
of  1860  and  1863,  and  an  army  was 
formed  of  the  lesser  States,  composed  of 
6,000  Saxons  and  6,000  Hanoverians;  a 
further  army  of  5,000  Prussians  and  5,000 
Austrians  was  held  in  reserve,  but  the 
latter  two  great  powers  of  the  Con- 
federation undertook  the  task. 

Great  Britain  had  encouraged  Den- 
mark to  resist,  but  in  the  end  she  stood 
aside  and  allowed  the  Danes  to  be  crushed 
in  the  war,  so  that  Denmark,  instead  of 
gaining  control  of  the  Duchy  of  Holstein, 
lost  both  it  and  Schleswig. 

Austria  and  Prussia  came  to  an  agree- 
ment in  regard  to  the  Duchies  to  the  ef- 
fect that  Prussia  was  to  have  the  ad- 
ministration of  Schleswig  and  Austria 
that  of  Holstein,  although  the  countries 
to  be  thus  governed  by  these  two  powers 
wished  to  be  united.  Then  Austria  re- 
fused to  consent  to  the  annexation  of  the 
Duchies  to  Prussia,  and  appealed  to  the 
Diet  and  to  the  Middle  German  States 
to  aid  her  in  case  of  attack  by  Prussia. 
At  the  same  time  Prussia  addressed  a 
circular  note  to  the  German  States,  in 
which  she  begged  them  to  inform  her 
what  course  they  would  pursue  suppos- 
ing she  were  to  be  attacked  by  Austria. 
The  majority  of  these  States  referred 
her  to  the  Diet  of  the  Confederation. 

Prussia  then  made  overtures  to  Aus- 
tria, but  the  latter  power  refused  to  en- 
tertain them.  The  powers  stepped  in  to 
try  to  prevent  war.  Austria  placed  the 
solution  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein  situa- 
tion in  the  hands  of  the  Diet  of  the  Con- 
federation, promising  to  abide  by  its  de- 
cision. In  this  case  the  Diet  voted  a  de- 
cree to  accede  to  the  demands  of  Aus- 
tria, although  her  call  for  execution  by  a 
Federal  army  was  contrary  to  the  spirit 
and  letter  of  the  act.     The  vote  of  the 


States  for  this  decree  stood  9  to  6  on 
June  14,  1866.  Prussia  thereupon  issued 
a  circular  note  calling  for  a  new  confede- 
ration, from  which  Austria  and  Luxem- 
burg were  to  be  excluded,  and  the  "  six 
weeks'  war  "  between  Prussia  and  Aus- 
tria ensued. 

We  see,  then,  that  the  elaborate  ma- 
chinery to  avoid  war  failed  to  work  suc- 
cessfully when  the  two  strong  members 
of  the  confederation  came  to  a  disagree- 
ment. Each  was  struggling  for  the 
leadership  of  the  confederation — Austria 
to  retain  her  old  hegemony,  and  Prussia, 
under  the  subtle  Bismarck,  to  displace 
her.  These  two  powerful  nations  with 
totally  irreconcilable  views  had  to  settle 
their  differences  by  the  sword,  notwith- 
standing their  being  members  of  a 
"  league  to  enforce  peace." 

In  this  war  the  "  needle-gun  "  brought 
swift  victory  to  King  William  and  his 
allies,  and  four  years  later  the  aggran- 
dizement of  Prussia  brought  about  its 
war  with  France.  The  annexation  of 
Alsace-Lorraine,  considered  necessary 
for  the  protection  of  Prussia  and  the  sub- 
jection of  France,  has  led  to  the  alliance 
of  that  country  with  Russia.  Thus  we 
find  that  the  present  catastrophe  in 
Europe  goes  back  lineally  to  the  Pan- 
dora's box  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein 
question. 

This  review  of  events  shows  that  the 
first  league  to  enforce  peace  was  not 
happy  in  its  results,  and  yet  it  may  be 
that,  as  Prussia  once  accepted  a  consti- 
tution which  provided  for  the  submission 
of  rival  claims  of  Confederate  States  to 
the  Confederate  Diet  and  the  promulga- 
tion of  decrees  and  the  enforcement  of 
those  decrees  by  Federal  execution,  it 
might,  in  order  to  bring  about  a  stable 
peace  between  the  States  of  Europe  and 
Great  Britain,  bring  itself  to  an  adhesion 
to  some  such  a  league  as  is  now  planned. 

The  present  upheaval  in  Europe  was 
perhaps  caused  by  the  disturbance  of  the 
equilibrium  of  the  Balkan  States  as  well 
as  by  the  growing  military  power  of  the 
German  Empire  and  its  avowed  ambi- 
tions, which  were  curbed  by  the  constric- 
tion of  Germany  within  its  narrow 
bounds.    The  first  serious  vibrations  felt 


118 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


in  Western  Europe  came  from  the 
Balkan  States.  Now,  after  two  years 
and  a  half  of  war,  the  control  of  the 
bridge  between  the  Teuton  allies  and  the 
Near  East  is  being  bitterly  contested. 
If  the  Entente  Allies  should  not  succeed 
in  barring  this  eastern  extension  of  Ger- 
many over  its  wished-for  vassal  States 
of  Austria-Hungary,  Serbia,  Bulgaria, 
Rumania,  and  Turkey,  the  German  Em- 
pire, like  Prussia  in  the  old  German  Con- 
federation, would  be  too  strong  to  sub- 
mit a  quarrel  to  the  arbitration  of  a 
council  of  a  league  of  nations.  But  if 
the  Teutons  fail  in  the  Balkans,  and  the 
Entente  Allies  hold  the  "bridge,"  Ger- 
many might  well  be  a  tractable  member 
of  such  a  league,  after  the  experience  of 
this  war.  This  contest  on  the  eastern 
front  seems  the  vital  tug  of  war,  and  the 
western  fighting  seems  now  to  be  a 
necessary  corollary  of  it. 

The  practical  question,  then,  before  the 
world  is  this:  If  a  State,  a  member  of 
such  a  league,  is  strong  enough,  or  thinks 
it  is  strong  enough,  to  stand  against  all 
the  others  to  gain  its  end,  will  it  abide  by 
any  decree  made  by  the  proposed  League 
to  Enforce  Peace,  even  after  arbitration 
before  the  league  tribunal,  it  being  under- 
stood beforehand  that  such  a  refusal 
would  lead  to  the  coalition  of  the  whole 
world  against  it? 

It  is  quite  clear  that  before  the  expe- 


riences of  the  "  world  war,"  great  nations 
would  not  have  been  bound  by  any  such 
agreement.  When  the  important  inter- 
ests of  a  nation  are  at  stake,  its  course 
has  almost  always  been  selfish,  but  the 
terrible  war  may  be  teaching  a  lesson 
even  to  that  nation  whose  strict  adher- 
ence to  a  league  would  be  the  only  guar- 
antee of  its  success. 

It  seems  fairly  clear,  then,  that  rather 
than  to  attempt  what  may  be  impossible, 
that  is,  the  humiliation  of  Germany,  an 
effort  should  be  made,  after  a  check  to  the 
Teutons  in  the  east,  to  make  a  peace  which 
should  give  all  the  countries  their  aspira- 
tions— the  return  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to 
France,  a  recognition  of  Germany's  ne- 
cessity for  expansion,  and  an  outlet  for 
Russia  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  provide 
for  the  restoration  and  indemnification 
of  ruined  small  countries;  Great  Britain 
has  all  she  wishes  today,  and  only  desires 
to  be  left  alone. 

The  unstable  equilibrium  of  Europe 
must  be  cured  before  a  stable  foundation 
for  peace — or  for  a  peace  league — can 
be  laid.  Communities  under  alien  rule, 
races  governed  by  other  races,  religions 
ruled  by  other  religions,  countries  shut 
off  from  their  natural  development, 
countries  forced  into  unnatural  expan- 
sion, are  never  content.  It  is  only  by 
minds  convinced  of  these  premises  that  a 
sound  peace  can  be  made. 


Jerusalem 


By  O.   C.  A.   CHILD 


Again  the  Briton  nears  the  ancient  gates! 

The  city  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
Sits  in  its  Eastern  calm  and  dumbly  waits 

The  coming  of  the  legions  from  afar. 

They're  dust  a  thousand  years,  the  knightly  train 
That  followed  Richard's  leopard-blazoned  shield 

Down  the  long  road  that  valor  pointed  plain — 
The  path  of  honor  to  the  stricken  field. 

Now  men  as  bold  as  they,  their  sires'  sons, 
Toil  through  the  sands  where  centuries  ago 

Their  forebears  fought — awake  with  roaring  guns 
The  dead  who  heard  crusading  trumpets  blow. 

Perchance  the  ghost  of  grim  old  Saladin 
A  scimitar  across  their  path  may  fling, 

Yet  shall  one  wave  them  onward  till  they  win — 
The  wraith  of  England's  Lion-hearted  King! 


At  the  Western  Fighting  Fronts 

By  Frank  H.  Simonds 

Frank  H.  Simonds,  associate  editor  of  The  New  York  Tribune,  visited  the  battlefields  in 
France  and  had  personal  interviews  with  the  British  and  French  Premiers  and  military 
chiefs  in  February,  1917.  He  presented  his  conclusions  in  a  series  of  articles,  parts  of  which, 
by  special  agreement,  are  herewith  presented  in  Current  History  Magazine.  Mr.  Simonds's 
judgment  on  the  situation  in  Europe  is  highly  regarded  in  well-informed  circles. 
[Copyrighted— Printed   by   Special   Arrangement] 


BEFORE  I  went  to  the  British  front 
and  talked  with  the  British  com- 
manders I  shared  the  view  of 
most  uninformed  observers  from 
afar  that  the  main  purpose  of  British 
strategy  and  tactics  alike  was  to  pierce 
the  German  lines,  to  force  the  Germans 
out  of  France  by  some 
swift,  complete  stroke 
— I  believed  that  this 
was  a  possible  thing. 

But  I  doubt  if  any 
British  General  of  au- 
thority really  believes 
or  expects  this  sort  of 
outcome  to  the  war  at 
the  present  time. 
Rather  the  prevailing 
notion  is  summed  up 
in  Grant's  memorable 
words — and  the  Brit- 
ish Army  expects  to 
fight  the  present  cam- 
paign out  on  the  exist- 
ing lines  if  it  takes  a'U 
Summer  or  several 
Summers.  Indeed,  I 
was  struck  with  the 
emphasis  Sir  Will- 
iam Robertson  laid  on  the  parallel  of  the 
civil  war  when  I  talked  with  him  in  Lon- 
don later. 

Here  is  about  the  point  of  view  of  the 
British  Army  in  France: 

"  Today  we  have  more  guns  and  more 
amnunition  than  the  Germans.  We  are 
pounding  them  day  and  night  as  they 
once  pounded  us.  The  weakening  in 
their  morale  is  slowly  but  surely  grow- 
ing, as  is  demonstrated  by  the  number 
of  desertions  that  are  taking  place  and 
the  growing  readiness  of  units  to  sur- 
render. 

"  We  are  pounding  without  ceasing, 
and  the  results  of  the  pounding  prove  not 


FRANK   H.  SIMONDS 


that  the  German  troops  in  front  of  us  are 
about  to  collapse,  not  that  the  German 
lines  are  about  to  break  up  like  a  fro- 
zen river  with  the  Spring  thaw,  but  that 
some  day  this  process  of  weakening  will 
have  serious  consequences.  It  may  be 
that  the  Germans  will  avoid  these  conse- 
quences by  gradual 
retirement,  but  such 
gradual  retirement 
shakes  the  morale  of 
the  soldier  and  of  the 
nation.  It  may  be  that 
the  Germans  will  hold 
on  as  Lee  did  before 
Richmond  until  the 
last,  and  thus  court 
disaster,  such  disaster 
as  came  to  Lee.  But 
these  things  are  in  the 
future. 

"  As  to  piercing  the 
German  lines,  given 
the  present  style  of 
war,  given  the  mag- 
nificent organization 
of  the  German  lines, 
given  their  mechani- 
cal resources,  notably, 
this  is  a  long  task, 
thing  is  not  to  pierce 
kill  Germans  and  to 
wear  out  the  German  armies.  It  makes 
relatively  little  difference  whether  this 
is  done  on  the  line  of  the  Somme  or  on 
the  line  of  Cambrai,  or  even  at  the 
French  frontier,  from  Hirson  to  Lille, 
behind  which  is  again  the  line  of  the 
Scheldt  and  the  Meuse — the  best  line  of 
all.  Each  time  the  German  shortens  his 
line  he  reduces  the  number  needed  to  hold 
it  and  the  strain  upon  his  resources. 

"  The  parallel  is,  after  all,  not  the  foot- 
ball field,  but  the  prizering.  We  shall 
only  defeat  Germany  by  exhausting  her; 


machine  guns, 
And  the  main 
lines,     but     to 


120 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


we  shall  only  win  by  a  knockout;  and 
the  knockout  may  come  in  one  corner  of 
the  ring  or  the  other. 

"  Two  years  ago  we  were  holding  our 
lines  by  rifle  fire  against  high  explosives. 
In  the  second  week  in  May,  1915,  Field 
Marshal  French  was  compelled  to  attack 
at  Festubert  to  aid  the  French  and  take 
the  pressure  off  the  Canadians  in  the 
Ypres  salient.  He  had  ammunition  for 
forty  minutes  of  bombardment,  and  that 
was  all.  Then  the  infantry  had  to  at- 
tack, and  it  cost  8,000  casualties.  We  had 
neither  machine  guns,  trench  mortars, 
nor  any  of  the  instruments  Germany  had 
been  accumulating  for  years.  German 
aircraft  were  supreme  in  our  sector. 

"  But  today  we  have  more  guns  and 
better  guns  than  the  Germans.  We  fire 
four  shells  to  the  Germans'  one,  and  in 
the  battle  of  the  Somme  not  a  German 
aircraft  'came  over'  for  days  on  end. 
Their  artillery  shot  in  the  dark;  ours  was 
informed  by  our  aviators.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  battle  of  the  Somme  we  had 
terrific  losses  because  it  was  a  new  ex- 
perience and  a  new  army.  A  brigade 
attacking  at  one  point  lost  1,900  killed, 
1,800  wounded,  and  brought  back  300 
men.  The  other  day,  in  one  of  the  last 
attacks,  another  brigade  lost  1,400  men, 
and,  in  addition  to  burying  900  Germans, 
brought  back  1,800  prisoners. 

"  Night  and  day  we  pound  the  Ger- 
mans. Their  artillery  does  not  reply 
much  of  the  time.  We  raid  their  trenches, 
and  they  seldom  react.  We  take  an  ever- 
increasing  number  of  prisoners.  We  see 
ever-increasing  signs  of  wearing  out. 
Do  not  misunderstand — the  Germans  are 
still  very  strong.  The  new  units  arrive, 
each  soldier  carrying  his  extra  pair  of 
shoes.  They  are  well  fed  and  well  led; 
they  will  be  to  the  last. 

If  there  is  desertion  and  surrender  in 
some  units,  others  fight  as  well  as  ever 
and  there  is  no  '  Kamerad  '  business  with 
them."     *     *     * 

No  Victory  This  Year 
I  do  not  believe  the  British  Army  in 
France  expects  to  win  the  war  this  year. 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  Generals  are 
thinking  in  terms  of  a  day,  a  month,  or  a 
year.     What  seems  to  be  the  feeling  is 


that  after  two  years  and  a  half  of  war 
there  has  been  fashioned  a  British  Army 
which  is  still  gaining  in  knowledge  and 
strength,  but  already  has  a  proved  su- 
periority over  its  foe  ,in  morale,  in  ma- 
terial, and  in  the  things  that  may  be 
measured  by  the  slow  but  sure  retrogres- 
sion of  the  Germans  before  them.  For 
nearly  two  years  the  British  Army  hung 
on,  now  it  is  advancing;  it  escaped  an- 
nihiliation,  it  is  experiencing  success. 

One  of  the  questions  I  asked  all  the 
Generals  with  whom  I  talked  was  as  to 
the  possibility  of  a  German  offensive  at 
some  point  on  the  British  front.  All 
agreed  that  it  was  possible;  some  ex- 
pected it.  A  push  at  the  Ypres  salient, 
the  worst  position  on  the  whole  front, 
was  frequently  suggested.  General  Mal- 
leterre  in  Paris  quite  strongly  argued 
that  the  Germans  would  make  this  at- 
tack. I  think  that  there  is  a  considerable 
expectation  in  London  that  it  will  come, 
and  I  find  this  view  repeated  in  later 
dispatches  commenting  upon  the  Ger- 
man retirement  about  Bapaume. 

But  such  an  offensive  carries  no  real 
peril  to  the  mind  of  the  British  Army  in 
France,  which  is  chiefly  interested  to 
know  if  the  Germans  will  bring  out 
some  new  device,  some  new  weapon  like 
"  poison  gas,"  and  endeavor  by  using  it 
to  open  a  gap  in  the  British  front  such 
as  was  opened  at  Ypres  just  two  years 
ago  next  month  and  offered  the  Germans 
one  of  the  golden  chances  of  the  whole 
war. 

Troops  in  Fine  Condition 

Of  the  physical  condition  of  the  British 
Army  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly. 
I  was  in  France  in  the  zero  weather  of 
January.  Every  morning  I  rode  out 
along  the  roads  and  camps,  and  never 
have  I  seen  so  many  soldiers,  or  soldiers 
looking  so  young  and  strong  and  fit.  It 
semed  as  if  all  the  eastward  leading 
valleys  of  France  were  swarming  with 
British,  Canadian,  and  Australian  troops 
pushing  onward  to  the  front;  it  seemed 
an  endless  and  inexhaustible  flood,  while 
behind,  each  little  village  had  new  reser- 
voirs   of   khaki-clad    Tommies.     *     *     * 

From  the  British  Army  in  France,  with 
which  I  stayed  a  week,  I  brought  away 
the  feeling  of  confidence  and  of  intelli- 


AT   THE   WESTERN  FIGHTING   FRONTS 


121 


gent  optimism.  It  has  the  appearance  of 
an  army  which  has  undertaken  a  con- 
tract, not  with  a  time-limit  clause,  not 
with  a  fixed  hour  or  place  of  completion. 
It  has  undertaken  a  contract  to  dispose 
of  the  German  military  problem,  of  that 
part  of  the  German  Army  assigned  to  it 
to  deal  with.  It  feels  that  it  is  doing  the 
work,  it  recognizes  that  the  way  is  still 
difficult  and  the  time  may  yet  be  long. 
It  expects  new  German  attacks  and  it  en- 
visages the  possibility  of  local  German 
successes,  but  it  has  only  one  possible  ap- 
prehension: it  looks  not  to  the  front  and 
the  Germans  for  its  main  peril,  but  to 
England  and  the  man  behind  the  lines — 
if  he  can  hold,  the  end  is  assured  and  the 
fate  of  the  "  Hun  "  is  sealed.  And  this 
is  the  feeling  of  the  French  Army  quite 
as  well.  The  soldier  sees  victory,  unless 
his  civilian  fellow-citizen  weakens — and 
of  this  the  signs  are  few  in  England,  as 
in  France. 

I  can  perhaps  sum  up  my  impression 
of  the  British  Army  in  France  by  saying 
it  recalls  all  that  I  have  heard  and  read 
of  the  armies  of  the  North  in  1864.     It 


is  a  volunteer  army  in  the  main;  its  of- 
ficers are  men  proved  by  the  test  of  two 
yars  and  a  half  of  war.  Its  men,  volun- 
teers though  they  are,  are  no  longer  raw 
or  green.  Haig,  Home,  Rawlinson,  Gough, 
Allenby,  Plumer — these  Generals  com- 
manding armies  have  survived  the  test 
of  battle  elimination. 

As  an  army  the  British  force  has 
been  battered,  driven,  it  has  been  de- 
feated and  it  has  been  repulsed.  Its  ex- 
periences recall  those  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  from  the  Peninsula  to  Gettys- 
burg— but,  like  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, it  has  found  itself,  it  has  meas- 
ured itself  against  a  foe  ready  and 
trained  and  equipped  as  Lee's  army  was 
not.  And  it  is  advancing.  The  Tommy 
in  the  trench  more  clearly  than  any  Gen- 
eral or  military  writer  sees  and  weighs 
the  evidence  of  German  weakening. 
Hence  his  supreme  confidence.  Hence 
for  him  the  German  peace  proposal  was 
the  plea  of  the  beaten. 

The  nearer  you  get  to  the  German 
line  the  more  serene  the  spirit  of  the 
British  seems. 


The  Battlefield  of  the  Somme 


Over  an  area  perhaps  of  ten  miles  by 
twenty,  of  the  battlefield  on  the  Somme, 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth  has  been 
changed,  the  heart  of  hills  has  been 
blown  out;  you  look  up  the  slope  of  a 
considerable  hill,  you  climb  with  difficul- 
ty up  its  rounding  slope,  and  suddenly 
you  gaze  down  into  a  chasm,  a  volcano's 
crater;  all  the  interior  of  the  hill  has 
been  blown  out  by  a  mine;  the  hillside 
is  an  open  shell;  an  ocean  liner  could  be 
concealed  in  the  crater. 

Coming  out  of  Albert  along  the  road 
so  many  thousands  of  men  have  followed 
to  death  one  approaches  the  field  of 
actual  fighting  with  little  real  warning. 
Albert  itself  is  a  shelled,  half-destroyed 
town.  The  tower  of  its  church,  with  a 
statute  of  the  Virgin  suspended  in  a 
prostrate  position  across  the  tower,  has 
become  a  thing  familiar  to  all  who  have 
read  of  the  battle.  When  it  falls,  so 
the  people  of  the  region  believe,  peace 
will  come.    But  Albert  is  only  a  shelled 


town;  many  of  its  houses  stand,  most  of 
them  retain  their  walls  and  many  their 
roofs. 

But  a  mile  the  other  side  of  Albert, 
traveling  toward  Peronne,  one  comes 
suddenly  out  upon  the  most  terrible  and 
bewildering  scene  of  desolation  it  is  pos- 
sible to  imagine.  From  the  upper  layer 
of  the  earth  there  has  been  swept  away 
not  alone  the  trees,  the  sod,  the  outer 
covering,  but  the  very  depth  of  the 
lower  strata  has  been  churned  up  and 
scattered  about.  Of  a  sudden  in  the 
midst  of  the  landscape  of  Picardy,  with 
smiling  valleys  and  pleasant  woodlands, 
there  is  the  image  of  the  Sahara,  of 
something  more  than  the  Saraha,  of 
the  fields  above  Pompeii  or  Messina, 
down  which  have  flowed  the  streams  of 
lava  which  not  only  engulf  but  endure. 

Only  Skeletons  of  Hills 

Turning  off  the  main  road  one  leaves 
the  car  and  climbs  heavily  up  a  hillside. 


122 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Along  this  hillside  ran  the  first  line  of 
German  trenches,  but  now  there  are 
neither  trenches  nor  semblances  of 
trenches.  This  hill  and  all  the  surround- 
ing hills  are  worked  by  shell  fire  until 
they  resemble  nothing  so  much  as  the 
pictures  of  the  surface  of  the  moon,  fa- 
miliar to  all  who  recall  the  geographies 
of  their  youth.  The  flesh  of  the  hill  has 
been  swept  away;  only  the  skeleton  re- 
mains. 

.Occasionally,  where  the  slope  of  the 
hill  is  undulating,  the  suggestion  of  a 
German  dugout  remains,  perhaps  a  dug- 
out overwhelmed  by  the  first  deluge  of 
fire  and  still  holding  in  its  unexplored 
depths  the  scores  of  Germans  who  in- 
habitated  it  when  the  avalanche  arrived. 
All  over  the  hillside,  too,  is  the  litter 
of  war,#unexploded  shells,  the  fragments 
of  bombs,  the  debris  of  earlier  and  later 
camps.  Always,  too,  wherever  there  is 
a  bit  of  level  ground  are  graves,  endless 
graves,  graves  placed  without  order  and 
without  system — the  graves  dug  by  men 
pressed  with  the  need  to  get  forward, 
compelled  to  lay  aside  all  regard  for  the 
ceremony  of  inhumation. 

From  the  hill  of  Mametz  one  looks 
westward  beyond  the  battlefield.  Across 
a  little  ravine  the  opposite  slope  rises, 
still  but  little  scarred.  The  frontier  of 
desolation  is  exactly  marked;  it  is  as 
plain  to  the  eye  as  if  it  were  indicated 
upon  a  map.  But  looking  westward  over 
miles  and  miles,  there  is  nothing  but  the 
wild  scene  of  desolation.  The  surface  of 
hill  and  valley  has  been  swept  away;  it 
is  as  if  the  outer  and  the  inner  strata  of 
the  earth  had  in  some  fashion  changed 
places.  It  is  destruction  suggesting  that 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah — a  destruction 
deliberately  designed  to  make  impossible 
forever  the  return  of  men  to  their  old 
fields. 

I  do  not  know  any  way  that  one  can 
give  any  slight  hint  of  the  desolation  of 
the  battlefield  of  the  Somme.  There  it 
iies,  ten  miles  deep,  one  shore  touching 
the  furnace  which  is  still  burning  up  and 
destroying  the  surface  of  the  earth  and 
all  animate  and  inanimate  things  there- 
on. At  the  other  shore  there  begins 
sharply  the  countryside  of  France,  and 
between  the   two   shores   is   an   infernal 


region  in  which  at  least  a  million  and  a 
half  of  men,  British,  German,  and 
French,  have  been  killed  or  wounded. 
Perhaps  half  a  million  men  lie  buried  in 
the  shattered  folds  and  turns  of  the 
scarred  hillsides  or  in  the  flats  beside  the 
little  brooks. 

Mametz  Swept  Off  the  Earth 
Sometimes  in  the  Sunday  supplements 
scientists  or  alleged  scientists  used  to 
write  articles  describing  the  time  when 
the  earth  would  begin  to  dry  up,  when 
flames  from  inside  the  narrow  crust 
would  burst  forth.  What  they  sought  to 
describe  the  artillery  of  the  last  great 
war  has  illustrated  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Picardy  hillsides. 

Standing  still  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Mametz  hill,  on  the  slopes  toward  the 
north  and  east,  one  looks  out  upon  the 
sites  of  many  villages.  At  your  feet  was 
Mametz,  but  of  Mametz  there  is  not  a 
stone,  not  a  fragment.  It  has  not  been 
buried;  it  has  been  literally  blown  from 
the  face  of  the  earth;  it  has  dissolved  in 
dust,  and  the  dust  has  been  swept  away. 
Here  was  a  well-built  little  French  town, 
with  its  solid  houses  of  plaster  and  stone, 
old  houses  enduring  from  other  centuries. 
It  had  the  usual  church,  the  familiar 
place,  the  fountain,  all  the  slight  but 
permanent  details  of  a  French  village, 
and  now  there  is  just  nothing. 

And  what  is  true  of  Mametz  is  true 
of  Montauban;  it  is  true  of  Fricourt;  it 
is  true  of  I  do  not  know  how  many  more 
villages.  They  are  gone,  and  sometimes 
the  hills  upon  which  they  stood  are  gone. 
On  the  map  you  will  see  marked  many 
little  bits  of  woodland,  the  usual  com- 
munal grove  or  the  inevitable  clump  of 
trees  surrounding  the  frequent  chateaus. 
But  the  woods  are  gone. 

Woods  Obliterated  Near  Verdun 
I  saw  the  same  thing  at  Verdun,  when 
I  visited  Fort  de  Vaux  before  I  went  to 
the  Somme.  There  half  a  dozen  of  the 
woods  that  have  filled  the  battle  reports 
have  vanished — Bois  de  Laufee,  Chenois, 
Capitre — they  are  gone,  and  there  are 
left  neither  stumps  nor  stump  holes;  the 
ground  out  of  which  they  grew  has  been 
worked  into  a  mass  of  holes,  huge  cavities 


AT   THE    WESTERN  FIGHTING   FRONTS 


123 


in  which  men  and  animals  have  disap- 
peared and  been  drowned. 

This  new  artillery  fire  does  not  wreck ; 
it  does  not  even  pause  with  obliteration; 
it  alters  the  very  surface  and  the  sub- 
surface; it  raises  new  hills  and  it  de- 
stroys old  elevations. 

And  when  the  armies  are  gone  and  the 
war  ends,  (for  even  this  war  must  end 
some  time,)  it  is  interesting,  if  tragic, 
to  think  of  what  will  be  the  emotions  of 
all  the  little  people  who  inhabited  these 
regions,  people  who,  faithful  to  the 
French  love  for  the  land,  will  return  to 
their  old  homes.  And  of  their  old  homes 
they  will  find  not  even  a  fragment;  the 
fields  that  they  cultivated  and  that  their 
fathers  cultivated  will  have  disappeared; 
the  subsurface  will  still  be  honeycombed 
by  the  corridors  of  mines  or  the  molelike 
burrows  of  the  dugouts. 

I  do  not  think  one  can  get  any  concep- 
tion of  the  real  terror  of  this  war  who 
has  not  seen  the  country  of  the  Somme 
or  of  Verdun,  who  has  not  seen  the  fash- 
ion in  which  this  war,  like  a  malignant 
war  spirit,  has  not  alone  destroyed  all 
that  there  was  of  homes  of  human  habi- 
tation and  of  the  fields  of  human  effort, 
but  has  swept  the  earth  with  fire  and 
sown  it  with  salt,  as  if  in  the  determina- 
tion that  there  should  never  again  be 
life,  that  men  should  not  exist  or  fruit 
and  foods  grow  in  the  fields  over  which 
it  had  passed. 

Yet  it  is  not  alone  the  sense  of  destruc- 
tion that  one  feels  at  the  Somme.  Indeed, 
I  think  the  sense  of  human  industry,  of 
enormous  effort  of  innumerable  men  at 
their  tragic  task  of  war,  even  passes  the 
impression  of  desolation.  Take  one  of 
the  large  anthills  that  one  sometimes 
sees  in  a  country  field,  draw  a  rake 
deeply  through  its  curved  summit,  and 
watch  the  myriad  of  ants  come  swarming 
up  and  begin  what  seems  a  mad  and 
frantic  outburst  of  industry,  and  you 
will  have  some  faint  suggestion  of  what 
the  battlefield  of  the  Somme  is  like. 

Industry  Amid  Ruin 

For,  in  spite  of  the  desolation,  there  is 
no  lack  of  population,  there  is  no  lack  of 
human  activity.  Indeed,  looking  down 
upon  any  section  ,of  the  field,  it  suggests 


pictures  that  one  sees  of  some  great  en- 
gineering operation,  the  removal  of  a 
mountain,  the  transformation  of  some 
square  miles  of  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
a  labor  like  that  of  Panama.  For  grid- 
ironed  amid  all  the  waste  are  railroad 
tracks,  the  bottom  of  every  valley  is  car- 
peted with  rails,  and  the  noise  of  the  dis- 
tant artillery  is  deadened  by  the  shrill 
whistles  of  engines  as  they  drag  cars  up 
toward  the  front — toward  the  railhead — 
the  "  dump  "  of  the  military  argot. 

And  beside  the  railroads  are  highways, 
the  white,  even,  and  splendid  highways 
of  France.  They  alone  have  survived  the 
ruin,  as  the  stones  of  the  Appian  Way 
have  outlived  the  centuries  and  the  on- 
rush of  other  barbarians.  And  along 
these  highways  flow  the  most  amazing 
streams  of  mankind  that  are  conceiv- 
able, and  not  alone  men  but  motors  and 
horses;  the  voice  of  the  Missouri  mule 
challenges  the  passage  of  the  "  tank " 
and  the  donkey  of  the  pack  train  alike. 

Up  these  roads,  following  their  artil- 
lery, surrounding  their  rolling  kitchens, 
the  men  of  Australia  and  of  Canada 
move  between  those  of  Scotland  and  of 
England.  And  the  roads  are  crowded  day 
and  night,  like  the  roads  that  lead  to  the 
Polo  Grounds  when  a  ball  game  is  sched- 
uled. And  on  the  shell-swept  hillsides 
every  sort  of  shanty  and  barrack  affords 
temporary  resting  place  for  the  mender 
of  highways  or  police  of  the  rear.  It  is 
as  if  the  flower  and  pick  of  British  im- 
perial manhood  had  suddenly  sought  a 
dwelling  place  in  the  desert. 

And  the  impression  is  bewildering  be- 
yond all  else  I  have  ever  seen.  Here  are 
some  square  miles  of  the  earth's,  surf  ace 
which  have  been  swept  and  torn  and 
wrecked  by  shell,  by  the  fury  of  the 
weapons  invented  by  man,  and  the  men 
who  have  done  these  things  with  the 
maddest  of  all  energy,  with  the  most  ter- 
rible of  all  machines,  have  now  come  for- 
ward to  restore  to  human  use  what  they 
have  just  destroyed.  First  they  have  cre- 
ated a  wilderness,  and  worse  than  a  wil- 
derness, and  then  they  have  fared  for- 
ward into  the  wilderness,  bringing  with 
them  all  the  machinery  they  could  devise, 
not  to  repair  all  the  injuries  they  have 
wrought,  but  such  of  these  injuries  as 


124 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


are  hampering  their  purpose — which 
purpose  is  to  get  forward  swiftly  and 
turn  still  more  miles  of  France  into  the 
same  centre  of  desolation. 

•Scene  of  Lasting  Destruction 

I  do  not  know  how  any  one  can  quite 
describe  this  battlefield  of  the  Somme  so 
that  the  man  who  lives  in  peace  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  can  understand  it 
or  grasp  something  of  the  supreme  in- 
sanity and  the  supreme  intelligence  which 
are  both  unmistakable  there.  I  am  sure 
that  centuries  from  now  men  and  women 
will  go  to  this  place  to  see  the  surviving 
evidences  of  the  storm  that  blighted  it  a 
year  ago.  I  have  never  seen  anything 
that  approached  the  terribleness  of  the 
sight,  save  about  Verdun. 

Yet  an  engineer,  a  man  interested  in 
the  moving  of  mountains  or  the  trans- 
formation of  valleys  to  human  ends, 
would  look  down  also  upon  these  fields 
today  and  see  an  order,  an  organization, 
a  development  of  human  genius  and  hu- 
man system,  which  would  take  him  com- 
pletely and  command  his  admiration. 
The  saddest  and  most  completely  wasted 
corner  of  a  valley  may  conceal  a  terminal 
station  that  would  make  an  operating 
railroad  man  jealous.  A  New  York 
policeman,  a  traffic  man,  used  to  the 
problems  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Forty- 
second  Street,  might  shrink  from  the  task 
of  separating  and  ordering  the  stream 
that  flows  through  what  was  once  the 
main  street  of  Montauban  and  is  now  a 
white  road  in  the  midst  of  powdered 
ashes. 

And  like  the  forest  fires  of  the  North, 
destruction  advances,  steadily,  surely. 
The  road  below  the  hill  at  Mametz  pas- 
ses Montauban,  Guillemont,  Ginchy,  it 
reaches  Combles,  it  arrives  at  Sailly-Sail- 
lisel,  which  is  now  the  extreme  front,  but 
tomorrow  the  flames  will  pass  Sailly-Sail- 
lisel.  And  when  the  storm  has  passed, 
then  the  railroad  and  the  highway  will 
push  forward,  more  men  will  come  with 
tools  and  with  machinery,  and  they  will 
reclaim  to  their  own  purposes  this  land 
that  has  been  deluged  with  steel,  torn  by 
mines,  watered  by  the  blood  of  thousands 
and  thousands  of  men  coming  from  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  and  exhaust- 


ing their  resources,  first  of  destruction 
and  then  of  reconstruction. 

Last  Summer  we  used  to  wonder  why 
the  British  advance  was  so  slow.  I  do 
not  think  one  wonders  when  one  clambers 
with  difficulty  up  the  steep  slopes  of  one 
hHl  and  sees  beyond  this  hill  after  hill, 
valley  after  valley;  not  great  hills,  but 
sharp  and  steep  hills,  all  now  like  to 
nothing  so  much  as  the  deserted  nest  of 
hornets,  along  whose  slopes  there  may 
still  be  traced  in  places  the  cuttings  of 
the  trenches  and  tangles  of  barbed  wire. 

"  Tank  "  a  Symbol  of  Fury 

Beyond  Mametz,  at  Trones  Wood,  my 
guide  showed  me  a  "  tank,"  disabled  and 
lying  beside  the  road.  Oddly  enough,  it 
seemed  to  me  the  only  really  appropriate 
thing  in  the  whole  accursed  region  round- 
about. It  seemed  animal  rather  than 
mechanical,  like  a  prehistoric  animal,  and 
it  was  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  all 
the  scene  of  desolation  that  extended  on 
every  side  was  the  work  of  this  animal, 
of  many  animals  such  as  this;  that  there 
was  still  going  forward  the  war  of  some 
prehistoric  age  between  man  and  this 
scaled  creature,  and  that  in  its  fury,  its 
dying  fury — for  this  "  tank  "  was  dead — 
it  had  torn  up  the  Trones  Wood,  lashed 
about  itself  and  overturned  trees  and 
rooted  them  up. 

One  more  detail.  All  this  field  of  con- 
trasting waste  and  reconstruction  is  well 
within  reach  of  German  shell  fire.  Now 
and  again  the  storm  begins  and  the  cara- 
vans of  men  and  animals  slowly  extend, 
draw  out  into  thin  groups,  and  go  on.  It 
never  stops  by  day  or  by  night,  this 
steady,  even  flow  of  human  life  toward 
the  extreme  front  at  which  annihilation 
becomes  absolute,  at  an  arbitrary  fron- 
tier of  sandbags. 

The  centre  of  the  storm  has  passed, 
but  the  storm  area  includes  all  of  the 
torn  and  wrecked  country,  and  always 
there  is  to  be  heard,  not  distant,  the 
steady  drumming  of  heavy  artillery;  the 
hills  are  shaken  almost  every  moment 
by  the  tremendous  explosions,  and  the 
intermittent  cannonade  rises  to  the  mag- 
nitude of  an  earthquake  again  and  again. 

A  year  ago  I  visited  the  field  of  the 
Marne.     Here  there  was  nothing  of  de- 


AT   THE   WESTERN  FIGHTING   FRONTS 


125 


struction  visible  that  might  not  have 
been  the  work  of  the  men  and  the  ma- 
chines that  fought  Napoleon  on  the  same 
ground  a  century  before.  On  the  battle- 
field of  Champagne,  of  1915,  as  I  have 
said,  the  effect  of  shell  fire  was  patent 
but  temporary;  the  walls  of  houses  stood 
and  the  fields  can  be  plowed  and 
planted  when  the  trenches  are  filled  and 
the   barbed   wire   removed.     But  at  the 


Somme  there  is  nothing  more  terrifying 
in  all  the  terrible  things  that  one  sees 
than  the  mutilation  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth  itself,  the  permanent  destruction 
of  the  hills,  and  the  lasting  scarring  of 
the  hillsides,  sown  as  they  are  with  the 
shattered  fragments  of  half  a  million  of 
human  beings  and  condemned  to  eternal 
sterility.  Surely  the  Somme  must  be 
the  last  word  in  war. 


America  as  Viewed  by  the  Allies 


Mr.  Simonds,  in  discussing  the  effect 
of  the  break  in  diplomatic  relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Germany 
and  the  probable  entrance  of  this  country 
into  the  war,  says: 

I  found  no  belief  in  Britain  that  it 
would  be  possible  for  America  to  organ- 
ize, equip,  and  transport  armies  to  the 
European  front  in  time  to  contribute  to 
the  decision,  although  the  British  Prime 
Minister  expressed  the  conviction  that 
thousands  of  American  volunteers 
would  flock  to  the  allied  cause  and  serve 
either  in  British  or  French  armies  under 
the  American  flag,  but  commanded — as 
to  higher  officers — by  the  British  or  the 
French  Army  chiefs. 

What  the  British  felt  was  possible 
was  that  America  would  be  able,  by 
seizing  German  shipping  in  American 
ports,  to  contribute  to  mitigating  the  se- 
verity of  the  German  submarine  block- 
ade, and,  by  giving  the  Allies  credit,  sim- 
plify and  accelerate  the  financing  of 
the  war.  Some  slight  help  in  the  shape 
of  convoys  for  merchant  ships  sailing 
under  the  American  flag,  but  carrying 
munitions  and  foodstuffs,  was  also  sug- 
gested. 

But  in  the  main  I  think  London  has 
few  illusions  as  to  the  material  benefits 
to  flow  from  American  participation  in 
the  war,  and  there  is  a  profound  sus- 
picion that  in  some  way  or  other  a  meth- 
od will  be  found  by  the  President  to  avoid 
coming  in — that  is,  effectively. 

The  simple  truth  is  that  the  British 
have  put  aside  almost  all  the  illusions 
that  they  had  in  the  earlier  period  of 
the  war.  They  do  not  expect  to  starve 
the  Germans  to  death,  however  much  dis- 


comfort and  privation  their  blockade  may 
cause.  They  no  longer  expect  that  Ger- 
mans will  rise  against  their  own  Gov- 
ernment and  welcome  their  enemies  as 
liberators,  nor  do  they  longer  pin  any 
faith  to  the  old  ideas  of  Anglo-Saxon 
solidarity,  however  pleasant  to  them 
is  the  sympathy  and  support  of  their 
American  friends. 

England — Britain,  the  empire — expects 
to  win  the  war  by  fighting,  by  killing 
Germans  on  the  western  battle  front.  She 
is  making  her  preparations  not  for  one 
but  for  several  years  of  war.  If  Russia 
or  Italy,  or  even  heroic  France,  whose 
contribution  and  devotion  find  only  praise 
and  admiration,  are  able  to  contribute 
much  or  little,  so  much  the  better;  if 
America  joins  and  contributes,  still  bet- 
ter. But  these  things  will  be  as  they  may 
be — the  main  thing  is  for  Britain  to  pre- 
pare to  do  all  that  Britain  can. 

The  French  Viewpoint 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  one  can  go 
to  France,  despite  all  there  is  of  suffer- 
ing and  of  sorrow,  and  not  feel  that  the 
will  of  the  nation  remains  unshaken  and 
that,  though  the  loss  of  blood  has  been 
great,  the  strength  of  will  remains  un- 
broken. Confidence  in  victory  there  is, 
too.  France  expects  to  win,  but  beneath 
all  is  the  grim  realization  that  to  sub- 
mit now,  to  accept  a  German  peace,  is 
but  to  escape  destruction  for  a  little  and 
to  bind  the  nation  to  eternal  slavery  to 
the  ideas  and  the  ideals  which  are  ab- 
horrent to  all  Frenchmen  and  destructive 
of  all  that  France  means  in  the  world  or 
has  meant. 

Always  Frenchmen,  talking  of  America 


126 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


and  American  views,  speaking  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson  and  his  course,  come  back  to 
the  same  point.  To  them  it  is  incompre- 
hensible that  any  democratic  nation,  any 
civilized  nation,  can  fail  to  perceive  the 
fact  of  this  war,  can  fail  to  perceive  the 
impossibility  of  making  peace,  not  with 
Germans  as  Germans,  but  with  the  Ger- 
man race,  so  long  as  it  clings  to  those 
doctrines  which  have  brought  so  much  of 
horror  and  shame  into  France  and  swept 
away  so  much  of  what  was  beautiful  in 
man  and  in  art. 

The  Germans  persist  in  the  notion  that 
the  French  people  desire  peace  and  the 
French  politicians  compel  war.  I  think 
the  opposite  is  the  truth.  I  think  it  is  the 
politicians  who  are  the  sole  pacifists, 
those  who  do  profess  pacifism,  and  I 
think  this  is  due  to  their  failure  to  under- 
stand the  will  and  the  determination  of 
those  whom  they  represent.  A  peace 
Government,  a  peace  Ministry,  could  no": 
live;  no  French  politicians  dare  openly 
to  talk  of  peace,  save  those  who  do  not 
count  and  cannot  gain  or  lose  by  their 
words. 

When  I  was  in  Paris  the  city  was  suf- 
fering from  the  worst  Winter  since  the 
siege.  Coal  was  practically  unobtainable 
and  the  suffering  was  great;  there  was 
a  sense  of  suffering  about  that  one  does 
not  think  of  in  Paris,  and  yet  through 
it  all  there  was  no  outward  evidence  of 
any  weakening  of  will,  there  were  no 
disorders  of  the  sort  that  one  hears  as 


taking  place  in  German  cities;  life  is  not 
easy  in  France,  it  is  not  pleasant,  the 
sufferings  that  the  war  brings  mount 
day  by  day,  and  the  end  of  the  increase 
is  not  in  sight. 

Yet  I  do  not  think  that  any  one  who 
loved  the  French  would  talk  to  them  long 
of  peace.  I  do  not  think  any  but  an  in- 
credibly stupid  man,  or  a  German,  would 
find  evidence  of  the  breaking  of  French 
spirit  or  the  decay  of  French  resolution. 

Returning  to  France  after  a  year,  one 
could  not  help  feeling  the  extension  of 
sadness,  the  intensification  of  the  strain. 
France  is  suffering  and  she  is  bleeding, 
but  there  has  been  no  change  in  French 
spirit  or  the  French  conception  of  the 
ultimate  issues  of  the  war.  It  remains 
a  battle  between  civilization  and  bar- 
barism, and  it  remains  a  battle  which 
must  have  a  decision,  and  a  decision 
which  will  insure  the  safety  of  France. 
All  else  means  permanent  ruin,  the  end 
of  France.  France,  French  men  and 
French  women  are  struggling  with  an 
unclean  but  powerful  beast;  they  are 
struggling  with  a  beast  which  will  de- 
stroy them  and  their  children,  as  it  has 
devoured  some  and  outraged  more,  unless 
they  are  able  to  destroy  it,  and  no  suf- 
fering, no  agony,  can  make  peace  pos- 
sible save  death  itself  until  the  victory 
is  won,  because  any  other  peace  is  death. 
This,  I  think,  is  the  French  view,  and  this 
is  why  for  France  the  war  will  go  on  be- 
yond this  year,  if  necessary. 


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The  ^Liberators "  of  Poland 

Horrors  of  the  Teutonic  Invasion,  as 
Attested  by  Russian  Official  Records 

Eugene  Griselle,  General  Secretary  of  the  French  Catholic  Committee  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, contributes  to  La  Revue  Hebdomedaire  the  subjoined  account  of  events  attending  the 
Prussian  and  Austrian  occupation  of  Poland.  His  materials  are  drawn  from  Colonel  A.  S. 
Rezanoff's  "  German  Atrocities  on  the  Russian  Front,"  summarizing  the  results  of  an  official 
inquiry  by  the  Russian  Government.     In  each  case  the  source  is  given  in  full  in  the  original. 


[This  matter  is  published  without  verification 
by  the  editor,  and  is  presented  as  an  en  parte 
contribution. — Editor  Current  History  Magazine.] 

THE  chateau  of  A.  Budny  was  visit- 
ed by  two  Austrian  officers, 
Count  Zitchy  and  Baron  Sardas. 
They  began  by  ordering  a  copious 
meal,  and,  while  it  was  being  prepared, 
they  made  a  tour  through  the  chateau, 
during  which  they  stole  shamelessly. 
Baron  Sardas,  without  the  smallest  hesi- 
tation picked  up  from  a  table  a  valuable 
gold  watch,  with  chain  and  charms,  and, 
when  M.  Budny  protested,  drew  a  re- 
volver and  threatened  to  shoot  him. 
Count  Zitchy,  carrying  a  small  traveling 
bag  in  his  hand,  gathered  up  rare  bibe- 
lots as  "  keepsakes."  From  the  stable  the 
two  officers  chose  six  thoroughbred 
horses,  of  a  total  value  of  50,000  rubles, 
saying  that  they  "  requisitioned  "  them. 
The  visit  of  these  two  Austrian  "  aristo- 
crats "  cost  M.  Budny  something  over 
80,000  rubles. 

The  Austrians,  when  retreating,  set 
fire  to  the  villages  and  savagely  shot 
down  the  pacific  inhabitants.  Among 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Russians  was  a 
Captain  Schmidt,  who  made  himself  fa- 
mous as  an  incendiary  of  defenseless  vil- 
lages, a  destroyer  of  churches  and 
shrines.    *    *    * 

A  Russian  officer  testified :  "  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes  the  savagery  and  insane 
cruelty  of  the  Austrians,  running  from 
house  to  house,  to  burn  a  village  and  de- 
stroy, in  the  midst  of  so  much  suffering, 
whatever  had  miraculously  escaped  our 
artillery  fire.  The  town  of  Iuzefov,  on 
the  Vistula,  was  burned  to  the  ground. 
*  *  *  At  Iurov  the  Teutonic  fury  mani- 
fested itself  with  peculiar  violence.  After 
setting  fire  to  the  village  at  four  points, 
the  Germans  began  to  fire  on  all  who 
tried  to  save  anything  from  the  flames. 


The  hapless  inhabitants  who  escaped 
from  the  burning  houses  were  equally 
greeted  with  rifle  fire.  A  few  families 
hid  in  the  cellars;  others  in  potato  pits. 
As  soon  as  they  discovered  this,  the  Ger- 
mans threw  straw  into  the  pits  and  set 
fire  to  it.  The  maddened  refugees,  when 
they  tried  to  climb  out,  were  met  with 
bullet  and  bayonet.  In  the  cellars  forty- 
two  bodies,  slain  in  this  horrible  way, 
were  counted.  The  Germans  killed  an 
old  man  named  Bazarnik  by  firing  foar 
salvos  at  him,  the  first  being  aimed  at 
his  feet,  the  second  at  his  loins,  the  third 
at  his  breast,  the  fourth  at  his  head. 
These  salvos  were  fired  at  intervals,  in- 
tentionally lengthened."     *     *     * 

In  the  villages  of  Sonta  and  Veprie- 
Czero  the  Austrians  assaulted  the  wo- 
men. In  the  village  of  Sumin,  according 
to  the  deposition  of  the  parish  priest  of 
Ternovatka,  a  woman  who  resisted  was 
murdered;  her  ears  and  breasts  were  cut 
off.   *   *   * 

The  "  woman  tax "  was  reduced  to 
system  by  the  Austrians.  The  officers 
coldly  ordered  so  many  women  to  be 
brought  to  one  or  another  detachment 
of  their  troops.  Those  who  resisted  were 
shot.    *    *    * 

The  Deputy,  Makonietchni,  who  visited 
the  Lublin  district,  testified  that  the  vio- 
lations of  women  were  innumerable;  the 
most  monstrous  and  incredible  outrages 
were  inflicted  on  them,  many  of  them 
having  their  breasts  cut  off.  *  *  *  The 
Austrians,  literally  drunk  with  fury, 
threw  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  into 
the  burning  houses.  There  were  numer- 
ous cases  where  soldiers  impaled  children 
on  their  bayonets  and  then  threw  them 
into  the  flames.     *     *     * 

The  manager  of  an  estate  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Lovicz  testified:   "The  Teutons 


128 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


came  to  us  toward  evening,  at  least  sev- 
enty in  number.  They  put  their  horses 
in  the  stables,  the  sheds,  and  the  cow 
houses,  driving  out  the  cows.  Then  they 
came  into  the  house,  crying:  '  Give  us 
supper!  '  '  Give  us  wine! '  We  killed 
poultry  and  I  opened  the  cellar.  Mean- 
while, the  officers  wandered  from  room 
to  room,  with  drawn  swords,  slashing  at 
everything,  portraits,  porcelains,  the 
grand  piano. 

"  But  the  worst  came  later.  When  sup- 
per was  over,  the  officers,  three  in  num- 
ber, who  had  drunk  six  bottles  of  wine, 
were  completely  drunk.  '  Bring  us  wo- 
men! '  they  cried.  The  soldiers  rushed 
to  fulfill  their  orders.  I  had  my  wife 
and  a  little  girl  of  12;  the  mechanician 
who  lived  in  the  house  had  a  young  wife; 
he  had  been  married  only  that  Summer. 
The  poor  creatures  were  seized.  Terror- 
ized, broken  down,  I  could  not  move..  The 
mechanician's  wife  struggled  to  escape, 
crying  to  him:  '  Save  me  from  dis- 
honor! '  He  dashed  toward  her,  but  a 
dragoon  cut  him  over  the  head  with  his 
sabre.  She  died  during  the  night.  They 
brought  the  two  women  and  the  little  girl 
into  the  officers'  room.  The  little  girl 
was  found  dead  in  the  morning.     *     *     * 

An  eyewitness  records  a  monstrous 
piece  of  cruelty  which  he  saw  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Kilniki,  in  the  district  of  Versh- 
bolovo,  in  the  Government  of  Suvalki: 
The  inhabitants  led  me  to  the  hut  of  a 
Polish  peasant,  aged  56,  Ossip  Bindero- 
vitch  by  name.  The  miserable  wretch 
was  lying  on  a  mattress,  torn  by  con- 
vulsions of  agony.  His  daughters,  with- 
out a  word,  led  me  close  to  the  body, 
which  was  beginning  to  stiffen,  and  with 
their  fingers  opened  his  mouth.  I  shud- 
dered with  horror;  in  place  of  the  tongue 
there  was  a  gaping  wound.  A  few  min- 
utes later  Binderovitch  died  under  my 
eyes.  His  daughters  told  me  the  Germans 
had  torn  his  tongue  out  because  he  had 
refused  to  show  them  the  direction  in 
which  the  Cossack  scouts  had  retreated 
from  the  village.     *     *     * 

The  prior  of  the  famous  Polish  Mon- 
astery of  Czenstochovo  has  testified  to 
the  thefts  of  the  Germans.   Thousands  of 


pounds  of  silver  and  gold,  the  offerings 
of  pilgrims  to  the  shrine,  a  great  quan- 
tity of  pearls  from  the  halo  of  the  famous 
image  of  the  Virgin,  among  others  a 
costly  pearl  given  by  the  Chancellor, 
Prince  Lubomisrki;  the  giant  ruby  taken 
from  the  haft  of  a  dagger  captured  by 
Jan  Sobieski  under  the  walls  of  Vienna, 
an  emerald  weighing  more  than  forty 
karats,  given  by  an  unknown  pilgrim  in 
1812,  were  carried  away.  *  *  *  When 
the  German  officers,  installed  in  the  mon- 
astery after  the  expulsion  of  the  monks, 
had  emptied  the  wine  cellars,  they 
"  requisitioned  "  the  women  of  the  town. 
The  razzia  was  carried  out  under  atro- 
cious conditions.  [The  details  here  are 
so  abominable  that  it  is  impossible  to 
translate  them. — Ed.]  *  *  *  Soon 
there  was  not  a  house  in  which  were  not 
heard  foul  German  oaths;  in  the  streets 
the  conduct  of  the  Germans  was  re- 
volting. *  *  *  There  was  not  a  house 
in  Czenstochovo  that  had  not  some  in- 
famy to  lament.     *     *     * 

By  evening,  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
had  been  arrested,  men  and  women.  All 
were  declared  prisoners  of  war  and  sent 
to  Germany.  *  *  *  In  the  village  of 
Topaltcha,  the  soldiers  of  the  Apostolic 
Emperor,  Francis  Joseph,  established 
their  hospital  in  the  church,  which  was 
found  littered  with  excrement.  The 
church  vessels  were  gone.  *  *  *  On 
the  altar  the  soldiers  had  drunk,  eaten, 
and  played  cards.  In  the  sacristy,  all 
objects  of  value  were  stolen.  The  fonts 
were  turned  into  urinals.     *     *     * 

Michlachevski,  an  employe  of  the 
Countess  Branitzka,  testified:  With  a 
considerable  group  of  Poles,  I  was  moved 
from  town  to  town  in  Germany,  working 
at  the  supply  of  provisions  for  the  troops, 
in  the  slaughterhouses,  at  the  burial  of 
soldiers,  digging  trenches.  Finally,  we 
were  dressed  in  military  uniforms  and 
sent  to  fight  against  the  French  at 
Luneville.     *     *     * 

S.  F.  Koninski  testified:  The  Germans 
brought  a  large  body  of  civilian  prison- 
ers to  Silesia,  drilled  them,  and  sent 
them  to  Belgium  and  France,  where  they 
were  put  on  the  firing  line.     *     *     * 


Ordeals  of  the  Wounded 

Extraordinary  Phases  and  Episodes  Described  by  Medical 

Experts 


i. 

[Translated  for  Current  History  Magazine 
from  a  report  made  by  Professor  Ludovico 
Isnardi  to  the  Royal  Academy  of  Medicine  of 
Turin,  Italy.  Professor  Isnardi  has  been 
Director  of  the  Military  Reserve  Hospital  at 
Vercelli   since   the   beginning   of   the   war.] 

THERE  is  a  sort  of  suppurating 
wound  produced  by  the  so-called 
wounds  by  explosion,  with  orifice 
of  ample  exit,  funnel-shaped  and 
especially  dangerous  when  found  in  the 
thigh  and  leg.  In  these  wounds  for  the 
most  part  the  skeleton  is  affected. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  in  these 
cases  the  wounds  become  infected,  if  one 
thinks  of  the  difficult  places  in  which  our 
war  is  being  carried  on.  Some  wounded 
have  been  lowered  with  ropes  from  the 
rocks.  Many  with  serious  wounds  are 
compelled  to  go  on  foot  over  long  tracts 
of  most  laborious  road.  One  soldier  fell 
at  fifty  meters  from  the  enemy's  trenches 
with  fracture  of  the  femur  near  the  base 
of  the  thigh  and  with  a  wound  on  the 
internal  side  as  large  as  a  hand;  all  alone 
he  bound  the  sick  leg  tightly  to  the  well 
one  with  his  belt,  then  slid  down  the 
slope  of  a  hill,  and  for  five  hours  crawled 
on  hands  and  feet  until  he  reached  his 
own  camp. 

The  inflammation  of  these  wounds  is 
impressive.  From  the  orifices  issue 
black  blood,  pus,  and  sometimes  gas;  the 
intermuscular  spaces  are  invaded  by  the 
pus,  the  whole  joint  is  discolored  and 
much  swollen;  high  fever,  and  in  the  first 
nights  delirium.  One  condition  only  is 
favorable,  the  extent  of  the  cutaneous 
opening. 

I  ought  to  say  parenthetically  that,  in 
spite  of  everything,  in  general  our 
wounded  soldiers  on  arrival  at  the  hos- 
pital with  the  clinical  history  which  ac- 
companies them,  the  dressings  perfected, 
the  fractured  joints  immobilized,  often 
with  plaster  on  which  is  written  clearly 
the  diagnosis  and  the  facts,  attest  a  calm, 


an  order,  a  solid  scientific  preparation  in 
our  field  physicians  which  are  truly  ad- 
mirable. 

II. 

[Translated  for  Current  History  Magazine 
from  a  recent  article  in  Revue  de  Chirurgie, 
Paris,  by  Andre  Clialier  and  Roger  Glenard. 
These  two  men  made  a  military  hospital  out 
of  a  Summer  hotel  in  the  high  valley  of  the 
Moselle,  near  one  of  the  most  frequented 
passes  of  the  Vosges.] 

The  wounded  were  brought  to  us  from 
the  firing  line,  distant  some  20  to  25 
kilometers,  in  French,  English,  or  Amer- 
ican automobiles.  They  came  to  us  either 
directly  or  after  having  passed  through 
a  division  ambulance  located  in  front  of 
us,  in  relay  fashion.  We  have  received 
many  wounded  barely  a  few  hours  after 
they  were  put  hors  de  combat,  but  the 
majority  have  come  to  us  quite  late,  after 
one  or  several  days  of  waiting,  the  delay 
being  accounted  for  by  the  difficulties 
encountered  in  picking  them  up  and  by 
the  length  of  the  transport  in  the  moun- 
tainous regions  where  our  soldiers  were 
fighting. 

Thus,  for  example,  an  infantryman  re- 
ceives a  ball  in  the  chest  at  3  P.  M.  He 
loses  blood  by  the  mouth,  and,  very  much 
oppressed,  does  300  meters  on  foot  in  or- 
der to  gain  the  relief  station;  in  trav- 
ersing this  distance  he  has  to  rest  him- 
self three  times.  He  remains  at  the  re- 
lief station  until  9  P.  M.,  then  the  stretch- 
er bearers  carry  him  for  two  hours,  until 
he  reaches  a  shelter  for  sappers,  where 
he  rests  for  three  hours,  and  continues  to 
spit  much  blood.  The  next  day,  at  2 
A.  M.,  he  is  placed  on  a  mule,  which  car- 
ries him  for  three  hours  across  the  moun- 
tain, only  to  put  him  down  by  the  edge  of 
the  road  at  5  A.  M.  There  a  cart  picks 
him  up  at  7  A.  M.,  and  puts  him  down 
at  10  A.  M.  at  a  point  where  finally 
horse-drawn  vehicles  arrive,  which  con- 
duct him  to  the  division  ambulance. 

Another  infantryman,  wounded  at  10 


130 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


A.  M.,  also  in  the  chest,  at  first  remains 
there,  where  an  individual  dressing  is 
applied  for  him.  At  7  P.  M.  he  leaves 
on  foot  and  walks  in  the  darkness  until 
midnight;  then  he  stretches  himself  out 
on  the  ground  in  a  bit  of  woods  and 
sleeps,  covered  by  the  beautiful  stars. 
At  the  first  trace  of  dawn  he  begins  to 
walk  again,  and  reaches  the  relay  of 
stretcher  bearers.  These  take  him  at  5 
A.  M.,  and  at  8  A.  M.  they  place  him  in  a 
vehicle  which  bears  him  to  the  ambulance 
of  the  first  line.  He  remains  there  some 
hours,  and  is  finally  brought  to  us  in  an 
automobile;  he  reaches  us  at  10  P.  M.,  or 
thirty-six  hours  after  receiving  his 
wound. 

Quite  recently,  in  an  action  where  a 
surrounded  company  was  delivered  only 
at  the  end  of  four  days,  certain  wounded, 
their  dressings  done  only  in  the  most 
summary  manner,  were  obliged  to  re- 
main all  this  time  on  the  ground. 

In  general,  we  have  kept  our  wounded 
the  least  time  possible,  so  as  to  reserve 
the  largest  number  of  places  in  our  hos- 
pital ready  for  emergency  use.  How- 
ever, as  far  as  major  wounds  are  con- 
cerned, particularly  those  of  the  extremi- 
ties, we  have  made  it  a  point  not  to  dis- 
charge them  before  the  seventh  or  eighth 
day  after  the  time  of  wounding,  for  it  is 
during  this  first  week  that  ordinarily 
the  worst  infectious  accidents  supervene 
if  they  are  to  occur.  Likewise,  we  have 
kept  at  least  two  weeks  the  cases  of 
trephining,  of  amputation,  of  serious 
wounds  of  the  chest,  of  the  abdomen, 
and  of  the  joints. 

III. 

[Translated  from  Espana  Medica,  Madrid, 
for  Current  History  Magazine.] 

The  following  episode  was  overheard 
in  the  corridor  of  a  hospital  and  was  told 
by  a  Spaniard  who  enlisted  in  the  French 
Army  and  was  wounded: 

"  The  good  Lalane,  the  merriest  com- 
rade of  the  region,  has  made  an  ugly 
death.  Toward  evening  we  had  repulsed 
an  attack  of  the  '  boches  ';  we  had  leaped 
out  of  the  trench,  which  was  turned  up- 
side down  by  the  artillery;  then  we  had 
regained  our  posts.  Seventeen  men  were 
missing,  and  among   these   was   Lalane. 


When  the  cannonading  and  the  fusillade 
had  ceased  we  heard  the  usual  torment- 
ing cries  of  our  wounded,  fallen  on  the 
ground  between  our  trench  and  that  of 
the  enemy.  *  Help,  mercy,  mamma!' 
pleaded  the  poor  wretches. 

"  Uselessly  we  tried  to  aid  them.  Our 
self-denial  cost  us  two  men,  because  the 
enemies  made  a  terrible  fire  every  time 
that  we  repeated  the  attempt. 

"  At  the  dawn  of  day  the  cries  had 
stopped;  only  one  of  our  men  continued 
to  shriek  tremendously.  We  recognized 
the  voice  of  Lalane,  who  was  roaring 
with  pain  and  with  anger.  The  unfortu- 
nate man  was  the  prey  of  delirium;  he 
pretended  that  nasty  rats  were  gnawing 
him  and  that  he  could  not  free  himself 
from  them.  Two  days  and  three  nights 
the  torture  of  our  unfortunate  friend 
lasted.  They  were  two  days  and  three 
nights  during  which  we  did  not  sleep  in 
the  trench.  We  were  obsessed.  Little 
Cazan  cried  like  a  baby. 

"  In  the  end  there  was  silence,  which 
said  clearly  that  Lalane  was  dead.  There 
was  a  sigh  of  relief  for  all.  '  Poor  devil!' 
I  proposed  by  all  means  to  go  after  the 
corpse  of  our  friend  as  soon  as  a  favor- 
able chance  presented  itself,  in  order  to 
prevent  it  from  being  torn  up  by  a  flock 
of  ravens  roosting  in  the  grove  near  by. 
The  chance  did  not  keep  us  waiting  long; 
the  thickest  sort  of  a  morning  fog  per- 
mitted Cazan  to  betake  himself  to  the 
spot  and  to  tie  a  small  rope  to  one  of  his 
feet;  pulling  and  pulling,  we  succeeded 
in  dragging  him  along  up  to  the  trench. 
A  cry  6f  horror  leaped  from  our  throats! 
The  eyes,  empty;  the  nose,  the  ears,  the 
lips,  gnawed;  all  the  body  stripped,  torn 
asunder,  devoured — the  bones  could  be 
seen  here  and  there.  Of  his  clothes  there 
remained  intact  only  his  leather  belt  and 
shoes.  The  unhappy  man  had  a  slight 
wound  in  the  spine,  which  had  paralyzed 
and  immobilized  him;  hence  he  could  not 
defend  himself  against  the  trench  rats, 
which  had  devoured  him  alive!" 

At  this  point  the  narrator  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  protests  of  his  comrades, 
who  wished  to  sleep.  That  night  I  slept 
badly;  I  dreamed  of  struggling  with  all 
the  monsters  of  the  Apocalypse. 


A  Darkened  Church  in  the  War  Zone 

An  Irish  Officer's  Word  Picture 


AT  a  certain  point  at  the  front  there 
is  a  village  where  the  troops 
come  from  time  to  time  to  rest, 
and  there  the  church  each  evening  is 
crowded  with  the  soldiers.  Lights  of  a 
brilliant  kind  are  not  allowed  in  this 
village,  as  it  is  so  near  the  line,  and  it 
is  urgent  at  night  to  give  no  sign  which 
might  make  the  place  a  target  for  the 
long-range  guns  of  the  enemy.  There- 
fore the  church  is  never  lighted  in  the 
evening,  and  it  is  by  the  flames  of  a 
few  candles  alone  on  the  altar  of  Our 
Lady  of  Dolores  that  the  rosary  is  re- 
cited. 

It  is  a  strange  scene  in  this  church  at 
night.  Entering  it,  all  is  dark  save  for 
the  few  fluttering  candles  on  the  altar 
before  which  the  priest  kneels  to  say 
the  prayers.  It  is  only  when  the  men 
join  in  that  one  becomes  aware  that  the 
church  is  really  full,  and  it  is  solemn 
and  appealing  beyond  words  to  describe 
when  up  from  the  darkness  rise  the 
great  chords  from  hundreds  of  voices  in 
the  prayers.  The  darkness  seems  to  add 
impressiveness  to  the  prayers,  and  from 
the  outside  are  heard  the  rumble  and 
roar  of  the  guns  which,  not  so  very 
far  away,  are  dealing  out  death  and 
agony  to  the  comrades  of  the  men  who 
pray.  Sometimes  the  church  is  mo- 
mentarily illuminated  by  the  flashes  of 
the  guns  and  the  windows  are  lighted 
up  as  though  by  lightning. 

The  writer  of  these  lines  has  seen 
many  an  impressive  spectacle  of  large 
congregations  at  prayer  in  great  and 
spacious  churches  in  many  lands,  but 
nothing  more  truly  touching,  impressive, 
and  moving  has  ever  been  witnessed  than 
the  darkened  church  behind  the  lines, 
thronged  with  troops  fervently  invoking 
the  intercession  of  the  Mother  of  God 
under  almost  the  very  shadow  of  the 
wings  of  the  Angel  of  Death!  In  France 
and  Belgium  the  Catholic  troops  are 
fortunate  in  having  at  hand  so  many 
churches  of  their  own  faith,  and  this 
makes  it  easier  for  the  devoted  chaplains 


to  get  their  flocks  together.  For  so 
many  days  the  battalions  are  in  the 
trenches,  and  for  so  many  days  in  the 
comparative  safety  of  the  camps  in  the 
little  villages  somewhere  back  from  the 
firing  line.  The  day  and  night  before  a 
battalion  goes  to  the  trenches  the  chap- 
lains are  busy  in  the  churches,  for  the 
men  throng  to  confession,  and  it  is  a  won- 
derful and  most  faith-inspiring  sight  to 
see  them  in  hundreds  approaching  the 
altar  before  marching  off  to  danger,  and 
in  many  cases  to  death  itself. 

When  the  turn  in  the  trenches  is  over 
and  the  men  resume  their  rosary  in  the 
darkened  church  in  the  evenings  there 
are  always  some  absent  ones  who  were 
there  the  week  before.  For  this  very  rea- 
son, perhaps,  because  of  the  comrades 
who  will  never  kneel  by  their  side  again, 
the  men  pray  all  the  more  fervently  and 
with  ever-increasing  earnestness  say, 
"  May  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed 
through  the  mercy  of  God  rest  in  peace!  " 

While  some  of  the  chaplains  attend 
the  men  who  are  resting  in  the  back 
villages,  others  follow  the  men  into  the 
line,  and  there,  in  some  ruined  house 
close  by  or  in  a  shelter  or  dugout  in 
the  trench  itself,  they  are  always  at 
hand  to  minister  to  the  suffering  and 
the  dying.  Who  can  measure  the  con- 
solation they  bring,  or  who  can  describe 
the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  soldier 
whose  eyes,  before  they  close  forever, 
rest  upon  the  face  of  the  priest  of  his 
own  faith?  If  the  priest  in  peace  is  the 
ever-sought  comforter  of  the  afflicted 
and  dying,  how  much  more  so  is  the 
priest  in  time  of  war  and  in  the  battle 
line!  The  writer  has  met  at  the  front 
many  chaplains,  and  the  dominant  feel- 
ing of  one  and  all  is  thankfulness  that 
they  were  able  to  go  out  with  the  men 
and  share  their  lot. 

Of  all  the  actors  in  the  great  tragedy 
of  the  war  none  stand  out  more  heroically 
than  the  chaplains,  none  fill  a  greater 
place  in  what  has  come  to  be  called  the 
theatre  of  war.     No  wonder  so  many  of 


132 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


them  have  received  decorations,  and  no 
wonder  the  men  highly  value  the  pres- 
ence and  the  consolation  and  the  en- 
couragement of  the  "  padre,"  as  the 
officers  call  the  minister  of  religion.  To 
the  Catholic  soldiers,  however,  the  priest 
remains  "  father,"  and  it  is  good  to  see 
them  smile  as  he  approaches  and  to  hear 
the  sound  ring  of  the  old  faith  in  their 
voices  as  they  reply  to  his  salutation  and 
address  him  always  as  "  father." 
Mass  has  been  said  in  the  very  trenches, 
and  the  writer  has  attended  mass  in 
many  a  ruined  church  and  many  a  shell- 
wrecked  shelter.  And  ever  and  always 
the  men  are  the  same,  devoted  and  earn- 
est, and  the  more  wretched  their  sur- 
roundings the  more  eager  they  are. 
Nothing  is   more   noticeable   than  the 


way  the  Catholic  soldier  holds  by  his 
beads.  The  writer  has  seen  men  who 
were  killed  in  the  line.  Their  little  per- 
sonal belongings  are  carefully  collected 
by  comrades  and  safely  kept  to  be  sent 
home,  but  the  rosary  when  found  in  the 
pocket  is  often,  usually  indeed,  reverent- 
ly placed  round  the  dead  man's  neck 
before  he  is  wrapped  in  his  blanket  for 
burial.  "  I  put  his  beads  about  his  neck, 
Sir,"  is  the  report  often  given  by  the 
stretcher  bearer  to  the  chaplain  or  other 
officer,  as  a  man  is  given  to  the  grave. 
How  many  Catholic  soldiers  lie  in  their 
lonely  graves  today  in  the  war  zone 
with  their  beads  about  their  necks! 
How  very,  very  many!  And  so,  indeed, 
one  feels  sure  would  they  wish  to  be 
buried. 


The  Great  Work   of  the    Belgian 
Relief   Commission 


THE  breaking  off  of  diplomatic  re- 
lations between  the  United  States 
and  Germany  threatened  to  in- 
terrupt, if  not  entirely  end,  the 
valuable  work  of  the  American  Commis- 
sion for  Relief  in  Belgium,  which  has  be- 
come equally  well  known  by  its  initials, 
"  C.  R.  B."  When  the  German  invasion 
cut  off  the  80  per  cent,  of  Belgium's  food 
imported  from  over  the  seas,  nearly  ten 
million  people,  including  those  in  the  in- 
vaded part  of  France,  were  in  danger  of 
starving  to  death.  Something  had  to  be 
done  to  help  the  Belgians,  and  somebody 
had  to  do  it. 

The  emergency  produced  the  man,  Her- 
bert C.  Hoover,  an  American  mining  en- 
gineer and  business  organizer  resident  in 
London,  and  the  head  of  industrial  un- 
dertakings employing  125,000  men.  Mr. 
Hoover  marshaled  a  small  legion  of  fel- 
low-Americans— business  men,  sanitary 
experts,  doctors,  social  workers — who  as 
unpaid  volunteers  set  about  the  great 
task  of  feeding  the  people  of  Belgium 
and  Northern  France.  Today  the  C.  R. 
B.,  which  Mr.  Hoover  and  his  colleagues 
have  built  up,  is  a  great  institution,  rec- 


ognized by  all  Governments,  receiving 
contributions  from  all  parts  of  the  earth, 
with  its  own  ships  in  every  great  port, 
and  in  the  eyes  of  the  Belgians  and 
French  who  receive  their  daily  bread 
through  its  agency  a  monument  of  what 
Americans  can  do  in  social  organization 
and  business  efficiency,  for  Americans 
have  furnished  the  entire  personnel  of 
the  commission  from  the  beginning. 

The  initial  negotiations  with  the  vari- 
ous belligerent  Governments  in  1914  were 
conducted  on  behalf  of  the  commission 
by  the  American  Ambassadors  and  Min- 
isters in  London,  Brussels,  and  Berlin. 
Mr.  Hoover,  early  recognizing  the  pos- 
sibility that  the  United  States  might  be- 
come involved  in  the  war,  obtained  the 
patronage  of  the  Spanish  and  Dutch  Am- 
bassadors and  Ministers  in  London,  Ber- 
lin, and  Brussels,  and  at  every  crisis 
which  has  threatened  America  in  the  war 
the  commission  has  had  the  support  of 
the  Spanish  and  Dutch  diplomats,  who 
have  been  ready,  if  necessary,  to  find  a 
new  staff  to  replace  the  American  per- 
sonnel. The  commission  is  a  distinct  or- 
ganization   from    the    Belgian    National 


GREAT   WORK  OF  BELGIAN  RELIEF  COMMISSION 


133 


Committee,  through  and  with  which  it 
works  in  Belgium  itself.  Its  functions 
are  those  of  direction,  supervision,  and 
all  matters  that  have  to  be  dealt  with 
outside  Belgium.  In  the  occupied  terri- 
tories it  has  the  help  of  thousands  of 
Belgian  and  French  workers,  many  of 
them  women. 

The  commission  does  not  depend  upon 
any  one  of  its  American  members  for 
leadership,  since,  as  Mr.  Hoover  says, 
any  one  of  them  could  at  any  time  take 
charge  and  carry  on  the  work.  "  Hon- 
nold,  Poland,  Gregory,  Brown,  Kellogg, 
Lucey,  White,  Hunsiker,  Connet,  Young, 
and  many  others  who  at  various  periods 
have  given  of  their  great  ability  and  ex- 
perience in  administration  could  do  it." 
At  the  same  time  it  is  admitted  that  the 
commission  would  never  have  been  so 
successful  if  Belgium  had  not  already 
had  in  existence  a  well-developed  com- 
munal system.  The  base  of  the  commis- 
sion's organization  is  a  committee  in 
every  commune,  or  municipality.  The 
communal  committees  consist  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  trade  unions,  the  com- 
munal authorities,  the  medical  profes- 
sion, and  the  business  or  professional 
class.  Through  their  knowledge  of 
everybody  in  their  communes  and  of  local 
conditions  the  committees  are  able  to  es- 
timate exactly  the  extent  of  the  relief 
required. 

"  You  can  have  no  idea  what  a  great 
blessing  it  has  been  in  Belgium  and 
Northern  France  to  have  the  small  and 
intimate  divisions  which  exist  under  the 
communal  system,"  says  Mr.  Hoover. 
"  It  is  the  whole  unit  of  life  and  a  po- 
litical entity  much  more  developed  than 
in  America.  It  has  been  not  only  the 
basis  of  our  relief  organization,  but  the 
salvation  of  the  people."  Altogether 
there  are  4,000  communal  committees, 
which  are  linked  up  in  larger  groups  un- 
der district  and  provincial  committees, 
which  in  turn  come  under  the  Belgian 
National  Committee. 

Up  to  date  the  commission  has  spent 
$250,000,000,  most  of  which  has  been  pro- 
vided by  the  British  and  French  Govern- 
ments. The  remainder  has  come  from 
the  Belgians  and  French  themselves,  and 
from  contributions  sent  from  all  parts  of 


the  world,  including  Madagascar,  remote 
places  in  China,  the  Solomon  Islands, 
Greenland,  Liberia,  and  Tasmania.  Tas- 
mania, the  smallest  of  the  States  of  the 
Australian  Commonwealth,  has  the  honor 
of  heading  the  per  capita  contributions, 
with  $6.53  subscribed  for  every  inhab- 
itant. 

When  Mr.  Hoover  and  his  fellow- 
Americans  began  the  work  of  saving  Bel- 
gium from  starvation,  they  made  their 
first  appeal  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  They  considered  that  they  were 
working  on  behalf  of  America  in  the 
name  of  humanity,  and  they  felt  that 
they  were  in  this  way  writing  "  a  page  of 
true  Americanism  in  Europe."  But  the 
American  response  to  the  appeal  for 
contributions  has  thus  far  been  sadly  dis- 
appointing. It  has  amounted  to  only 
$9,000,000,  less  than  9  cents  per  capita, 
while  Canada  has  contributed  28  cents, 
Australia  $1.25,  and  New  Zealand  $1.98. 
The  miners  of  Johannesburg,  South 
Africa,  gave  10  per  cent,  of  their  wages, 
which  was  added  to  by  a  similar  amount 
from  the  owners  of  the  mines. 

During  his  stay  in  America  in  the 
early  part  of  1917,  Mr.  Hoover  more  than 
once  expressed  himself  on  the  subject  of 
his  own  country's  niggardliness,  pointing 
out  at  the  same  time  that  the  chief  prof- 
its made  out  of  providing  food  for  Bel- 
gium had  gone  into  American  pockets. 
Out  of  the  $250,000,000  spent  by  the  C. 
R.  B.,  $150,000,000  had  been  used  in  the 
United  States  to  purchase  supplies,  and 
on  these  orders  America  had  made  a  war 
profit  of  at  least  $30,000,000.  Yet  in 
two  years  the  American  people  had  con- 
tributed only  $9,000,000.  On  these  facts 
Mr.  Hoover  based  this  indictment  of  his 
fellow-countrymen : 

Thousands  of  contributions  have  come  to  us 
from  devoted  people  all  over  the  United 
States,  but  the  truth  is  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  large  gifts,  American  con- 
tributions have  been  little  rills  of  charity  of 
the  poor  toward  the  poor.  Everywhere  abroad 
America  has  been  getting  the  credit  for  keep- 
ing alight  the  lamp  of  humanity,  but  what 
are  the  facts?  America's  contributions  have 
been  pitifully  inadequate,  and,  do  not  forget 
it,  other  peoples  have  begun  to  take  stock  of 
us.  We  have  been  getting  all  the  credit. 
Have  we  deserved  it?  We  lay  claim  to 
idealism,  to  devotion  to  duty,  and  to  great 
benevolence;  but  now  the  acid  test  is  being 


m 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


applied  to  us.  This  has  a  wider  import  than 
mere  figures.  Time  and  time  again  when 
the  door  to  Belgium  threatened  to  close  we 
have  defended  its  portals  by  the  assertion 
that  this  was  an  American  enterprise,  that 
the  sensibilities  of  the  American  people  would 
be  wounded  beyond  measure,  would  be  out- 
raged, if  this  work  were  interfered  with. 
Our  moral  strength  has  been  based  upon  this 
assertion.  I  believe  it  is  true,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult in  the  face  of  the  figures  to  carry  con- 
viction, and  in  the  last  six  or  eight  months 
time  and  again  we  have  felt  our  influence 
slip  from  under  us. 

The  result  of  the  war  will  be  that  America 
will  be  rich,  prosperous,  wealthy,  and  will 
bave  made  untold  millions  out  of  the  woe  and 
swelter  of  Europe.  The  justification  of  any 
rich  man  in  the  community  is  his  trusteeship 
to  the  community  for  his  wealth.  The  justi- 
fication of  America  to  the  world-community 
today  is  her  trusteeship  to  the  world-com- 
munity for  the  property  which  she  holds. 
There  is  growing  up  and  there  has  grown  up 
in  Europe  a  note  of  bitterness  which  will 
seriously  affect  our  whole  relations  with 
Europe  for  years  to  come.  The  only  ameliora- 
tion to  this  bitterness  possible  is  for  this 
country  to  properly  assume  its  burden  toward 
the  helpless  in  Europe. 

Speaking  at  Washington,  D.  C,  on 
Feb.  17,  Mr.  Hoover  said  it  made  him  feel 
.ashamed  when  he  heard  Belgian  children 
expressing  their  gratitude  by  singing 
"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  and  he 
knew  that  the  food  they  were  eating  had 
not  been  paid  for  by  Americans. 

The  commission's  requirements  have 
grown  to  between  $18,000,000  and  $19,- 
000,000  a  month.  Of  this  amount  the 
Allied  Governments  are  contributing 
$14,000,000,  leaving  between  four  and 
five  million  dollars  a  month  to  be  raised 
by  public  charity.  The  Belgians  resent 
bitterly  the  very  suggestion  of  charity, 
and  have  continued  to  borrow  heavily 
with  British  and  French  support.  Nev- 
ertheless, they  have  had  to  leave  3,000,- 
000  of  their  people,  who  are  totally  desti- 
tute, as  well  as  1,250,000  adolescent  chil- 
dren, to  depend  upon  the  commission's 
efforts.  Mr.  Hoover's  mission  during  his 
visit  to  America  included  a  plan  to  get 
the  United  States  to  undertake  the  pro- 
vision of  $1,250,000  a  month  for  the 
wants  of  the  1,250,000  adolescent  chil- 
dren. The  commission  has  had  to  cope 
with  an  alarming  increase  in  tuberculo- 
sis and  other  diseases  among  adolescents, 
caused  by  the  lower  power  of  resistance 
consequent  upon  inadequate  diet.    A  dol- 


lar a  month  for  each  one  of  these  children 
is  needed  to  stop  the  gradual  degenera- 
tion of  the  youth  of  Belgium. 

One  of  the  first  noteworthy  results  of 
Mr.  Hoover's  criticism  was  that  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Club  of  New  York, 
whose  members  are  mostly  men  inter- 
ested in  mining  enterprises,  decided  to 
turn  over  to  the  commission  the  $500,000 
which  they  had  raised  for  a  new  club- 
house costing  $1,000,000,  and  voted  that 
every  one  of  their  1,200  members  should 
go  to  work  to  get  contributions.  In  other 
directions  Mr.  Hoover  made  his  presence 
felt,  and  there  was  an  improvement  in 
American  subscriptions  to  the  funds  of 
the  commission. 

The  statement  that  the  Germans  have 
taken  food  intended  for  the  Belgians  was 
disposed  of  by  Mr.  Hoover  in  a  speech  in 
New  York  City  on  Feb.  13.  "We  are 
satisfied,"  he  said,  "  that  the  German 
Army  has  never  eaten  one-tenth  of  1  per 
cent,  of  the  food  provided.  The  Allied 
Governments  never  would  have  supplied 
us  with  $200,000,000  if  we  were  supply- 
ing the  German  Army.  If  the  Germans 
had  absorbed  any  considerable  quantity 
of  this  food,  the  population  of  Belgium 
would  not  be  alive  today." 

When  the  break  came  between  the 
United  States  and  Germany,  it  was  stat- 
ed that  the  feeding  of  the  people  of  Bel- 
gium and  Northern  France  would  go  on, 
because  the  C.  R.  B.  had  become  a  unique 
international  society,  supported  by  con- 
tributions from  both  belligerents  and 
neutrals,  and  represented  by  American 
citizens  in  the  occupied  territories.  If 
America  became  involved  in  the  war,  the 
citizens  of  some  other  neutral  country, 
such  as  Spain  or  Holland,  would  carry 
on  the  work. 

Immunity  from  blockade  measures  for 
the  commission's  steamers  was  secured 
by  Mr.  Hoover  after  negotiation  with 
Germany  and  Great  Britain.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  war  foodstuffs  were  not 
contraband,  and  the  commission  was  free 
to  transport  its  supplies  in  neutral  ships 
to  Holland.  But  sufficient  neutral  ships 
could  not  be  obtained,  and  belligerent 
vessels  had  also  to  be  chartered.  The 
German  Government  agreed  to  consider 
immune  from  attack  all  ships  flying  the 


GREAT  WORK  OF  BELGIAN  RELIEF  COMMISSION 


135 


flag  of  the  commission  and  carrying 
passes  from  the  German  Ambassadors  at 
the  neutral  capitals.  The  Captains  of 
the  commission's  ships  were  pledged  not 
to  engage  in  belligerent  practices,  and 
the  commission  not  to  send  anything  but 
food  and  clothing  for  the  Belgian  popu- 
lation. 

When  Great  Britain  declared  food- 
stuffs contraband,  the  commission's 
ships  were  exempted  from  the  Order  in 
Council.  It  was  provided  that  they 
should  be  specially  marked  with  the  let- 
ters "  C.  R.  B."  At  the  beginning  of  the 
submarine  warfare  around  the  British 
Isles  in  February,  1915,  the  German  Gov- 
ernment agreed  that  the  commission's 
steamers  should  go  through  the  war  zone 
immune  from  attack. 

On  President  Wilson's  announcement 
of  the  diplomatic  break,  the  commission 
ordered  all  its  ships  in  America,  Argen- 
tina, India,  and  Europe  to  remain  in  port 
till  further  notice.  But  fifteen  ships 
were  either  in  or  approaching  the  war 
zone,  and  could  not  be  reached  by  wire- 
less. Two  of  them  were  sunk.  It  was 
said  that  the  German  Government  would 
no  longer  respect  the  commission's  flag 
unless  the  ships  took  a  course  entirely  to 
the  north  of  the  newly  established  war 
zone  on  their  way  to  Holland.  The  Ger- 
man Government  gave  assurances  that  it 
had  no  intention  of  interfering  with  the 
work  of  feeding  the  civil  populations  of 
Belgium  and  Northern  France. 

Despite  the  diplomatic  break,  the  com- 
mission decided  at  first  not  to  withdraw 
its  representatives  from  Belgium,  but  on 
Feb.  12,  after  a  German  order  had  been 
issued  for  all  Americans  to  withdraw 
from  the  occupied  territories,  leaving  in 
Brussels  only  a  few  of  their  representa- 
tives, headed  by  Brand  Whitlock,  the 
American  Minister  to  Belgium,  the  com- 
mission notified  the  German  authorities 
that  the  Americans  would  cease  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  relief  work  in  Belgium 
and  Northern  France.  However,  after  a 
conference  on  Feb.  15  between  the  Ger- 
man Civil  Governor  of  Brussels,  the 
American  and  Spanish  Ministers,  and 
representatives  of  the  commission  and 
the  Belgian  National  Committee,  permis- 
}  sion  was  given  by  the  German  authori- 


ties for  the  commission  to  continue  its 
work,  and  it  was  decided  not  to  with- 
draw. The  German  action  in  ordering 
Americans  to  leave  the  occupied  territo- 
ries was  so  promptly  reversed  that  the 
continuity  of  the  work  was  not  inter- 
rupted. 

In  regard  to  immunity  from  attack  by 
submarines,  it  was  announced  on  Feb.  24 
that  the  sailing  of  the  commission's  ships 
had  been  resumed  as  the  result  of  ar- 
rangements with  the  British  and  German 
Governments  whereby  a  route  between 
North  American  ports  and  Rotterdam 
had  been  agreed  upon.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, many  of  the  commission's  vessels 
had  accumulated  in  British  ports,  and 
were  held  there.  Concerning  these  Sir 
Maurice  de  Bunsen,  British  Under  Secre- 
tary of  Foreign  Affairs,  made  the  fol* 
lowing  statement  on  March  5: 

In  declaring  the  war  zone,  Germany  ex- 
plicitly canceled  all  her  safe  conducts,  giving 
only  a  few  hours  for  the  relief  ships  then 
in  United  Kingdom  ports  to  clear  for  Rotter- 
dam. It  was  impossible  to  get  them  away 
in  time.  It  was  also  impossible  to  communi- 
cate with  the  ships  on  the  high  seas,  as  they 
were  not  provided  with  wireless. 

Since  then  the  Germans  have  alleged  that 
they  accorded  to  these  and  to  other  neutral 
ships  a  further  period  of  grace.  Nobody  ever 
heard  of  this  until  the  Germans  announced 
that  the  period  had  expired.  All  that  the 
commission  or  the  world  knew  was  that  the 
Germans  had  opened  their  submarine  cam- 
paign by  sinking  two  Belgian  relief  ships. 

There  has  thus  been  a  steady  accumulation 
of  relief  ships  in  the  United  Kingdom  ports. 
Their  cargoes  have  been  deteriorating,  valua- 
ble anchorages  have  been  taken  up,  and  the 
whole  of  this  tonnage,  which  urgently  is  re- 
quired to  take  additional  relief  cargoes  from 
American  ports,  has  been  held  in  suspense 
for  a   month. 

The  commission  immediately  opened  nego- 
tiations with  the  Germans  through  the  Span- 
ish, Dutch,  and  Swiss  Governments,  and  the 
Entente  Governments  strongly  supported  their 
representations.  The  only  reply  which  the 
Germans  vouchsafed  regarding  the  ships  in 
the  ports  of  the  United  Kingdom  is  that  they 
will  reserve  any  question  as  to  the  giving  of 
guarantees  for  such  ships  until  they  have 
received  a  detailed  list  of  their  names  and 
of  the  reports  where  they  now  are.  This  re- 
quest was  received  virtually  simultaneously 
with  the  sinking  of  Dutch  liners  in  the 
English  Channel. 

His  Majesty's  Government  have  replied 
that,  in  view  of  that  occurrence,  to  give  any 
such  information  to  the  Germans  before  the 
latter  have  guaranteed  absolute  immunity  to 
all  these  ships,   would   be  to   lay   them  open 


136 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


to  attack  and  invite  treachery.  In  view  of 
the  evident  intention  of  Germany  to  hold  up 
tli is  tonnage  for  the  longest  possible  period, 
and  in  view  of  the  urgent  need  of  these  ships 
to  take  further  cargoes  to  the  starving  popu- 
lations In  Belgium'  and  Northern  France,  his 
Majesty's  Government  have  agreed  with  the 
commission  to  discharge  these  cargoes  in  the 
United  Kingdom  and  provide  storage  for 
them  until  the  Germans  either  have  given 
the  necessary  guarantees  to  relief  ships  from 
the  United  Kingdom  ports  passing  Rotterdam 
or  have  shown  even  more  clearly  than  at 
present  that  they  do  not  intend  to  give  such 
guarantees. 

.Moan while  a  regular  supply  of  foodstuffs 
for  Belgium  and  Northern  France  will  go  on 
In  ships  passing  under  German  safe  conducts 
from    American    ports    to    Rotterdam.      The 


position  therefore  is  as  follows :  His 
Majesty's  Government  have  respected  and 
will  respect  property  of  the  commission  in 
these  cargoes.  All  that  they  have  done  is 
to  provide  storage  room  for  foodstuffs  which 
the  Germans  are  apparently  anxious  to  hinder 
reaching   Belgium   and    Northern   France. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Germans  already 
twice  have  broken  their  safe  conducts  and 
destroyed  property  of  the  commission.  By 
this  act  of  faithlessness  they  have  struck  one 
blow  at  the  work  of  relief.  They  now  invite 
his  Majesty's  Government  to  assist  them  in 
destroying  more  relief  ships  by  informing 
them  where  the  ships  are  and  consequently 
how  they  can  best  be  attacked  when  the 
ships  set  sail.  To  satisfy  the  German  de- 
mands would  be  to  become  accomplices  in 
their  crimes. 


Secret  Journalism  in  Belgium 

Story  of  La  Libre  Belgique 


I  A  LIBRE  BELGIQUE,  the  secret 
J  newspaper  whose  tenacity  of  life 
exasperates  the  German  authorities 
in  the  occupied  provinces  of  Belgium,  re- 
cently celebrated  the  second  anniversary 
of  its  birth.  At  the  end  of  January,  1915, 
appeared  the  first  number  of  this  unique 
organ,  which  describes  itself  as  "  regu- 
larly irregular,"  and  which  states  under 
its  title  that  its  office  is  in  an  "  automo- 
bile cellar."  Naturally,  this  indomitable 
organ  of  patriotic  propaganda,  which 
circulates  mysteriously  in  every  Belgian 
town  under  the  German  yoke,  celebrated 
the  anniversary  by  coming  out  yet  again 
and  evading  the  frantic  efforts  of  Baron 
von  Bissing's  police  to  suppress  it. 

La  Libre  Belgique  (Free  Belgium)  is 
irrepressible.  The  Germans  have  ar- 
rested numerous  persons  suspected  of 
being  connected  with  it,  but  they  have 
never  succeeded  in  preventing  or  even 
retarding  its  publication.  Neither  the 
promise  of  a  large  reward  for  any  one 
who  will  betray  it,  nor  the  threat  of 
heavier  punishments,  nor  yet  the  implac- 
able attempt  to  hunt  down  all  who  carry 
or  read  the  paper — nothing  has  been  able 
to  ruin  the  audacious  enterprise.  In  its 
first  issue  of  last  December,  when  the 
forced  deportation  of  civilians  was  in 
full  swing,  La  Libre  Belgique  published 
on   its   front   page    an    article   depicting 


this  modern  slavery  in  its  most  odious 
light,  concluding  with  these  words: 

"  Belgians,  do  you  desire  that  when 
our  brave  soldiers  return  from  the  front 
they  shall  say  to  you,  ■  You  dug  the 
trenches  which  we  had  to  fight  for '? 
Take  flight,  or,  if  you  cannot  do  that, 
resist;  if  necessary,  even  die,  but  die 
free!" 

Baron  von  Bissing,  the  Governor  Gen- 
eral, finds  the  little  sheet  in  his  mail 
every  week,  and  he  will  probably  be  the 
only  person  after  the  war,  says  a  writer 
in  the  Paris  Temps,  "  to  possess  a  com- 
plete file  of  this  publication,  which  mocks 
the  German  Emperor  in  the  midst  of 
Prussian  terrorism,  and  which,  in  spite 
of  all  the  censors,  calls  a  cat  a  cat,  Beth- 
mann  Hollweg  a  liar,  and  William  II.  a 
knave." 

The  only  result  obtained  by  the  op- 
pressor is  an  extraordinary  development 
of  clandestine  printing  in  the  occupied 
districts.  The  success  of  La  Libre  Bel- 
gique has  caused  other  journals  to  spring 
up,  edited  by  no  one  knows  who,  printed 
no  one  knows  where,  circulated  no  one 
knows  by  what  means.  There  exists  in 
downtrodden  Belgium  a  Weekly  Review 
of  the  French  Press  which  has  passed  its 
sixtieth  number  and  which  reproduces 
for  Belgian  readers  the  chief  articles  in 
the    Paris    newspapers    and    magazines; 


SECRET    JOURNALISM    IN    BELGIUM 


137 


there  is  Le  Motus,  a  satirical  sheet,  full 
of  a  biting,  something  cruel,  irony;  there 
is  Patrie!  which  competes  with  La  Libre 
Belgique — for  there  is  competition  even 
there — and  indulges  in  the  perilous 
luxury  of  reproducing  the  most  striking 
cartoons  of  Louis  Raemaekers,  notably 
the  famous  "  En  Route  to  Calais,"  which 
shows  the  corpses  of  German  soldiers 
floating  in  the  flood  of  the  inundated 
region  along  the  Yser. 

How  do  these  newspapers  live?  How 
can  they  get  together  their  "copy"? 
How  do  they  get  their  type  set,  or  make 
the  plates  for  their  pictures,  or  procure 
the  necessary  paper,  or  recruit  their 
salesmen,  or  deliver  the  printed  copies  to 
their  subscribers?  There  is  a  series  of 
complex  problems,  when  one  recalls  that 
the  German  authorities  have  thousands 
of  spies  at  their  command,  that  every 
house  is  watched^  and  that  a  man  cannot 
move  from  one  town  to  another  without 
a  special  permit  from  the  "  kom- 
mandatur."  And  yet  all  this  is  accom- 
plished regularly;  hundreds  of  patriotic 
persons  risk  prison  and  deportation  every 
week  to  devote  themselves  to  this  task. 
It  is  their  way  of  fighting  the  Germans 
on  the  ground  where  these  pretend  to 
be  absolute  masters. 

Later,  when  everything  can  be  told, 
the  story  of  the  adventures  of  clandestine 
newspapers  in  the  occupied  regions  will 
constitute  one  of  the  most  curious  chap- 
ters in  the  history  of  the  war.  The  Ger- 
mans will  be  astonished  at  the  simplicity 
of  the  means  used  to  circumvent  them. 
The  Belgian,  a  protester  by  nature,  with 
rare  tenacity  in  anything  he  undertakes, 
at  once  bold  in  conception  and  prudent 
in  execution,  was  admirably  fitted  for 
a  struggle  of  this  sort.  The  writer  above 
quoted  remarks  that  the  Germans  under- 
stand nothing  of  the  Belgian  tempera- 
ment, and  do  not  even  suspect  the  rival- 
ries and  complicities  which  are  always 
to  be  found  alike  in  Flanders  and  in 
Wallonia,  for  the  most  incredible  tasks 


that  involve  circumventing  the  police. 
No  letter  can  enter  Belgium  or  leave 
it  without  passing  under  the  eyes  of  the 
German  censors,  and  yet  at  Brussels,  at 
Antwerp,  at  Liege,  the  people  know 
exactly  what  the  Paris  papers  of  four  or 
five  days  ago  contained.  La  Libre 
Belgique  in  June,  1916,  reproduced  in 
extenso  a  speech  by  M.  Briand  that  had 
appeared  in  Le  Temps  on  May  19.  At 
no  moment  since  the  beginning  of  the 
German  occupation  have  the  leading 
French  papers  ceased  to  circulate  in  Bel- 
gium. There  is  a  well-known  system 
which  consists  in  obtaining  for  two  or 
three  francs  the  regular  reading  of  this 
or  that  journal  for  half  an  hour.  Another 
form  of  "  subscription  "  is  more  curious, 
and  more  expensive:  every  day  one  re- 
ceives two  or  three  mimeographed  sheets 
summing  up  the  news  and  reproducing 
the  essential  passages  from  the  latest 
Paris  and  London  papers.  What  sort 
of  an  organization  handles  this  service? 
Nobody  knows;  the  Belgians  themselves 
do  not  know.  They  read  and  reread  the 
sheets,  fixing  the  details  in  the  memory, 
then  carefully  burn  them.  When  the 
Germans  afterward  wish  to  impose  on 
them  with  a  false  version  of  events,  they 
have  the  laugh  on  their  oppressors,  for 
even  in  the  remotest  and  smallest  towns 
the  people  know  the  truth. 

"  The  rapidity  with  which  the  news 
circulates  in  the  invaded  regions,"  says 
a  French  writer,  "  has  been  one  of  the 
essential  factors  in  maintaining  the  ad- 
mirable morale  of  the  Belgian  people. 
The  clandestine  press,  with  its  discon- 
certing phenomena,  has  kept  the  popula- 
tion in  touch  with  the  outer  world  and 
played  an  important  role  in  the  nation's 
passive  resistance  to  its  oppressors. 
These  little  leaves,  printed  no  matter 
how,  in  the  chance  of  the  hour,  have 
demonstrated  the  fallibility  of  Prussian 
terrorism,  for  they  sum  up  for  a  whole 
people  its  passion  of  patriotism  and  its 
inflexible  will  not  to  die." 


Serbia  and  the  War's  Beginning 

By  Woislav  M.  Petrovitch 

Former   attache"    of    the    Royal    Serbian    Legation    at   the    Court    of    St.    James's;    author    of 
"Serbia:  Her  People,  History,  and  Aspirations." 


THE  defeat  of  the  Sultan's  forces 
by  the  Balkan  allies  in  1912-13 
had  been  a  tremendous  blow  to 
Austria-Hungary  and  especially 
to  Germany,  whose  officers  had  reorgan- 
ized and  trained  the  Ottoman  Army,  and 
who,  for  the  success  of  her  schemes  of 
expansion  in  Asia  Minor  and  Mesopo- 
tamia, depended  on  her  ascendency  in 
Constantinople.  The 
utter  debacle  of  Bul- 
garia, inflicf.ed  upon 
her  by  the  Serbians  in 
the  memorable  battle 
of  the  Bregalnitsa,  in 
July  of  1913,  the  Greek 
occupation  of  Saloniki, 
and  the  rise  in  power 
and  prestige  of  Ser- 
bia, the  friend  of  Rus- 
sia and  the  apostle  of 
the  Jugoslav,  or  South- 
ern Slav,  emancipa- 
tion, constituted  for 
the  powers  north  of 
the  Danube  a  still 
greater  catastrophe. 
The  high  road  to  Sa- 
loniki, by  the  valleys 
of  the  Serbian  rivers, 
Morava  and  the  Var- 
dar,  was  definitely  closed  to  Austria, 
and  Germany  was  cut  off  from  Turkey, 
whose  army  was  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  the  Teutonic  hosts  in  the  event  of  a 
European  war. 

Only  prompt  action  could  retrieve  such 
a  miscarrying  of  the  Austro-German 
plans,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  hear 
that  as  early  as  the  Summer  of  1913  the 
Dual  Monarchy  was  bent  on  declaring 
war  on  Serbia,  and  endeavored  to  secure 
the  support  of  Italy.  As  this  help  was 
not  forthcoming,  action  was  deferred  for 
the  moment,  and  a  huge  army  bill  was 
promulgated  in  Germany  to  redress  the 
balance  of  power  and  make  ready  for 
any  eventuality. 


WOISLAV   M.   PETROVITCH 


Such  was  the  position  when,  on  June 
28,  1914,  the  Archduke  Franz  Ferdinand, 
heir  to  the  Hapsburg  throne,  and  his 
consort  were  murdered  in  the  streets  of 
Serajevo,  the  capital  of  Bosnia.  "  There 
are  many  mysterious  features  about  that 
tragedy.  His  death  certainly  did  not 
serve  any  Southern  Slav  interests,  for, 
however  great  and  dangerous  his  ambi- 
tions, he  is  known  to 
have  been  quite  out  of 
sympathy  with  the 
short-sighted  policy  of 
repression  which  had 
hitherto  found  favor 
in  Vienna  and  in  Pesth, 
where,  for  various  rea- 
sons, he  had  many  ene- 
mies in  extremely  in- 
fluential quarters.  The 
absence  of  all  the  most 
elementary  precau- 
tions for  his  safety 
during  the  visit  to 
Serajevo,  though,  ac- 
cording to  the  Aus- 
trians  themselves,  the 
whole  of  Bosnia  was 
honeycombed  with  se- 
dition, is  an  awkward 
fact  which  has  not 
hitherto  been  explained."* 

On  the  morrow  of  the  crime  the 
Austro-Hungarian  press  started  a  violent 
campaign  against  Serbia,  openly  putting 
upon  the  Serbian  Government  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  outrage.  It  availed 
nothing  to  point  out  that  a  country  still 
bleeding  from  the  wounds  of  two  des- 
perate wars,  and  whose  most  urgent 
need  was  a  period  of  quiet  and  of  in- 
ternal consolidation,  could  not  have 
chosen  so  unfavorable  a  moment  to  in- 
volve itself  in  new  difficulties  with  a 
powerful  neighbor;  still  less  was  consid- 
ered the  fact  that  the  young  miscreants 


♦Sir    Valentine    Chirol, 
Serbs,"   Oxford,   1914. 


"  Serbia    and    th< 


SERBIA  AND  THE  WAR'S  BEGINNING 


139 


were  Austrian  subjects,  and  that 
"  Bosnia,  Dalmatia,  and  Croatia  are  a 
seething  pot  which  needs  no  stirring 
from  the  outside;*  the  Viennese  press 
set  itself  deliberately  to  spread  the  idea 
that  the  misdeed  had  been  organized  in 
and  by  official  Serbia.  Although  the 
Bosnian  Serbs,  who  constitute  the  bulk 
of  the  population  of  that  province,  are 
always  referred  to  in  Austria  by  such 
names  as  "  die  Bosniaken  "  or  "  die  Orth- 
odoxen  aus  Bosnian,"  the  assassins  were 
referred  to  invariably  as  "  Serben,"  and 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  create  the  im- 
pression that  they  were  Serbs  from  the 
Kingdom  of  Serbia. 

On  July  3,  when  the  remains  of  the 
Archduke  and  his  consort  were  brought 
from  Serajevo  to  Vienna,  the  Serbian 
flag  was  very  properly  half-masted  at 
the  Serbian  Legation  in  Vienna;  noisy 
demonstrations  took  place  in  front  of  the 
legation,  and  the  incident  was  referred 
to  the  next  day  under  the  heading: 
"  Provocation  by  the  Serbian  Minister." 

The  "  Case  "  Against  Serbia 

In  the  meantime  a  "  case "  against 
Serbia,  resting  upon  a  secret  investiga- 
tion in  the  prison  of  Serajevo,  was  in 
course  of  preparation;  it  had  been  in- 
trusted to  Austria's  professional  forger, 
Count  Forgach,  notorious  especially  by 
the  Fried jung  trial,  who  now  fittingly 
occupied  the  post  of  permanent  Under 
Secretary  at  the  Foreign  Office,  and 
who,  in  the  early  days  of  July,  provided 
the  Hungarian  correspondence  bureau 
with  a  plentiful  supply  of  falsehoods.  On 
July  3  the  following  communication  was 
issued  to  the  press: 

The  inquiries  made  up  to  the  present  prove 
conclusively  that  the  outrage  is  the  work 
of  a  conspiracy.  Besides  the  two  perpetra- 
tors, a  considerable  number  of  persons  have 
been  arrested,  mostly  young  men,  who  are 
also,  like  the  perpetrators,  proved  to  have 
been  employed  by  the  Belgrade  Narodna 
Odbrana  (National  Defense)  in  order  to  com- 
mit the  outrage,  and  who  were  supplied  in 
Belgrade  with  bombs  and  revolvers. 

The  Foreign  Office  in  Vienna,  how- 
ever, probably  realized  that  zeal  was 
outrunning  discretion,  for  on  the  same 

*R.  W.  Seaton- Watson,  "The  War  and 
Democracy,"  London,  1915. 


date,  late  at  night,  the  newspapers  re- 
ceived the  following  request: 

We  beg  the  editor  not  to  publish  the  re- 
port relating  to  the  Serajevo  outrage,  which 
appeared   in   our   evening's   bulletin. 

From  this  moment  profound  silence 
fell  upon  the  inquiry  at  Serajevo  and 
upon  the  proceedings  at  the  Foreign 
Office.  The  attempt  to  trace  the  crime 
to  any  responsible  quarters  in  Serbia 
was  evidently  beyond  the  power  of  even 
Count  Forgach.  Count  Berchtold  dis- 
continued the  usual  weekly  receptions  at 
the  Ballplatz;  he  refused  to  discuss  the 
Serajevo  outrage  with  the  representa- 
tives of  foreign  countries,  or,  if  discus- 
sion did  arise,  care  was  taken  to  dispel 
all  apprehension  and  suspicion  that 
Austria-Hungary  was  meditating  any 
serious  action  against  Serbia.  Petro- 
grad  was  assured  that  the  step  to  be 
taken  at  Belgrade  would  be  of  a  concilia- 
tory character;  the  French  Ambassador 
was  told  that  only  such  demands  would 
be  put  forward  as  Serbia  would  be  able 
to  accept  without  difficulty.  The  press 
campaign,  nevertheless,  continued  un- 
abated and  took  its  tone  from  the  utter- 
ance of  the  inspired  Neue  Freie  Presse: 
"  We  have  to  settle  matters  with  Serbia 
by  war  *  *  *  and  if  we  must  come 
to  war  later,  then  it  is  better  to  see  the 
matter  through  now." 

On  July  20,  1914,  Mr.  JovanoVitch,  then 
Serbian  Minister  in  Vienna,  ciphered  to 
Mr.   Pashitch,  the   Premier: 

It  is  very  difficult,  almost  impossible,  to 
discover  here  anything  positive  as  to  the  real 
intentions  of  Austro-Hungary.  The  mot 
d'ordre  is  to  maintain  absolute  secrecy  about 
everything  that  is  being  done.  Judging  by 
the  articles  in  our  newspapers,  Belgrade  is 
taking  an  optimistic  view  of  the  question 
pending  with  Austria-Hungary.  There  is, 
however,  no  place  for  optimism.  That  which 
is  chiefly  to  be  feared  and  is  highly  probable 
is  that  Austria  is  preparing  for  war  against 
Serbia.  The  general  conviction  that  prevails 
here  is  that  it  would  be  nothing  less  than 
suicide  if  Austria-Hungary  once  more  failed 
to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  act 
against  Serbia.  It  is  believed  that  the  two 
opportunities  previously  missed— annexation  of 
Bosnia  and  the  Balkan  war— have  been  ex- 
tremely harmful  to  Austria-Hungary.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  there  is  the  still  more  deeply 
rooted  opinion  that  Serbia,  after  her  two 
wars,  is  completely  exhausted,  and  that  a 
war    against    Serbia    would    in    fact    merely 


140 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


mean  a  military  expedition  to  be  concluded  by 
■  ly  occupation.     It  is  also  believed  that 
such  a  war  could  be  brought  to  an  end  before 
Europe  could  intervene. 

The  Austrian  Note 

It  was  at  6  P.  M.  on  July  23  that  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Minister  in  Belgrade 
handed  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs the  note  embodying  the  demands 
of  Austria,  and  insisting  on  a  reply 
within  forty-eight  hours. 

The  Serbian  Government  was  charged 
with  fomenting  a  revolutionary  propa- 
ganda having  for  its  object  the  detach- 
ment of  part  of  the  territories  of  Austria- 
Hungary  from  the  monarchy.  It  was 
asserted,  though  no  proof  was  given,  and 
dossier  communicated,  that  the  Serajevo 
assassinations  were  planned  and  the 
murderers  equipped  in  Belgrade. 

The  following  demands  were  included 
in  the  note: 

The  Royal  Serbian  Government  will  publish 
in  the  Journal  Officiel  of  July  26,  and  as  an 
army  order,  a  condemnation  of  the  anti- 
Austrian  propaganda  and  of  all  officers  and 
officials  who  have  taken  part  in  it. 

The  Royal  Serbian  Government  will  under- 
take besides  : 

1.  To  suppress  all  publications  inciting  to 
hatred  or  contempt  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Monarchy,  and  the  tendency  of  wh)ch  is  di- 
rected against  that  power's  territorial  in- 
tegrity. 

2.  To  dissolve  immediately  the  Narodna 
Odbrana  and  all  other  societies  or  affiliations 
which  foster  an   anti-Austrian  propaganda. 

:>.  To  eliminate  without  delay  from  the 
Serbian  schools  any  members  of  the  staffs 
or  vehicles  of  instruction  with  anti-Austrian 
tendencies. 

4.  To  remove  from  the  army  and  the  civil 
service  a  number  of  officers  and  officials 
guilty  of  anti-Austrian  propaganda,  whose 
names  will  be  communicated  by  the  Austrian 
Government. 

5.  To  accept  the  collaboration  in  Serbia  of 
agents  appointed  by  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government,  for  the  suppression  of  the  sub- 
versive movement. 

0.  To  institute  a  judicial  inquiry  with  re- 
gard to  the  accomplices  to  the  plot  of  June 
28,  residing  in  Serbian  territory ;  Austro- 
Hungarian  delegates  to  take  part  in  this  in- 
vestigation. 

7.  To  arrest  at  once  Major  Tankositch  and 
Milan  Ciganovitch,  both  of  whom  are  impli- 
cated in  the  assassination. 

s.  To  prevent  the  illicit  trade  in  arms  and 
explosives  across  the  frontier,  and  to  punish 
those  who  assisted  the  murderers  to  cross  the 
frontier. 

9.  To    furnish    explanations    regarding    the 


hostile  and  unjustifiable  utterances  of  high 
Serbian  functionaries  at  home  and  abroad 
since  the  outrage  of  June  28. 

10.  To  notify  the  Austro-Hungarian  Govern- 
ment without  delay  that  the  measures*  enu- 
merated above  have  been  duly  carried  out. 

A  reply  is  expected  at  the  latest  on  Satur- 
day, July  25,  at  6  I".   M. 

So  secret  had  the  contents  of  the  note 
been  kept  from  the  representatives  of  the 
powers — except  the  German  Ambassador 
Tschirschky,  who  was  understood  to  have 
co-operated  in  drafting  it — that  when  its 
contents  were  published  on  the  24th  all 
of  them  were  dumfounded.  The  French 
and  British  Ambassadors  and  the  Russian 
Charge  d'Affaires  held  the  view  that  the 
step  taken  by  Austria-Hungary  must  be 
considered  not  as  a  note  but  as  an  ulti- 
matum. They  expressed  indignation  at 
its  form,  its  contents,  and  the  time  limit, 
and  they  also  declared  it  to  be  inaccept- 
able. 

It  was  not  intended  to  be  accepted,  and 
all  Vienna  went  wild  with  jubilation  at 
the  certainty  of  war,  a  short  war  and  a 
merry  one,  or  rather  an  "  execution,"*  to 
be  rushed  to  a  termination  before  the 
powers  of  the  Entente  had  time  to  decide 
on  a  course  of  action;  for  Austria-Hun- 
gary had  been  assured  by  Herr  von 
Tschirschky  that  the  conflict  would  be 
localized,  that  Germany  would  keep  the 
ring  and  that  Russia  must  remain  pas- 
sive. 

It  was  indeed  a  fact  that  neither  Serbia 
nor  Russia  wanted  war,  and  before  the 
expiration  of  the  time  limit  Serbia  handed 
in  a  reply  to  the  note,  in  which  she  ex- 
ceeded all  expectations  in  the  direction 
of  conciliation.  The  Serbian  Government 
unreservedly  accepted  all  the  demands  of 
Austria-Hungary,  except  Nos.  5  and  6, 
and  promised  to  revise  those  articles  of 
the  Constitution  (e.  g.,  Article  22  on  the 
liberty  of  the  press)  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  these  demands. 

With  regard  to  Nos.  5  and  6,  further 
explanations  were  requested;  the  par- 
ticipation in  the  inquiries  and  investiga- 
tions of  Austrian  functionaries  could 
only  be  accepted  in  so  far  as  it  should 

♦On  July  25,  in  a  conversation  with  the 
Russian  Charge  d'Affaires,  Herr  von  Jagow 
said  that  what  Vienna  intended  against  Serbia 
was  not  a  war,  but  an  "  execution." 


SERBIA  AND  THE  WAR'S  BEGINNING 


141 


conform  with  international  equity  and 
with  the  maintenance  of  friendly  rela- 
tions as  between  State  and  State. 

Furthermore,  if  the  manner  of  carry- 
ing out  the  different  clauses  enumer- 
ated above  were  not  entirely  satisfactory 
to  Austria-Hungary,  the  Serbian  Gov- 
ernment was  ready  to  refer  any  point 
either  to  The  Hague  Tribunal  or  the 
powers  who  had  taken  a  part  in  the  set- 
tlement of  March  21,  1909. 

Declaration  of  War 

A  conciliatory  answer  was  neither  ex- 
pected nor  wanted,  however;  that  very 
evening  the  reply  was  rejected  and  the 
Austrian  Minister  instructed  to  leave 
Belgrade;  on  the  28th  Austria  declared 
war  on  Serbia. 

Within  the  next  two  days  Austria 
awoke  to  the  startling  fact  that  Russia 
was  beginning  to  move.  In  spite  of  the 
(German  Ambassador's  assurances  that 
the  Czar  would  not  and  could  not  fight, 
he  had  decided  to  intervene!  A  bully 
likes  a  fight  best  when  his  opponent  is 
much  smaller  than  himself;  at  this  ap- 
pearance of  a  full-grown  adversary 
Vienna  pulled  a  very  long  face,  and  on 
July  21  the  Ballplatz  suddenly  consented 
to  eliminate  from  the  ultimatum  those 
demands  which  involved  a  violation  of 
the  sovereignty  of  Serbia,  to  discuss  cer- 
tain others,  and,  in  short,  to  reopen  the 
question.  It  was  too  late.  Germany, 
having  jockeyed  Austria  into  a  position 
from  which  there  was  no  escape,  declared 
war  on  Russia  the  next  day. 

The  "  Punitive  Expeditions  " 

When  on  the  evening  of  July  25  the 
Crown  Prince  Alexander,  acting  as 
Prince  Regent,  signed  the  order  for 
mobilization,  Serbia  was  as  entirely  un- 
prepared for  war  in  every  respect,  save 
actual  experience  of  warfare,  as  any 
country  that  has  ever  been  summoned  to 
take  the  field  in  self-defense.  Little  or 
none  of  the  recent  wastage  had  as  yet 
been  made  good.  The  orders  placed 
abroad  for  cannon,  rifles,  ammunition, 
clothing,  and  stores  had  not  yet  been 
carried  out;  heavy  guns,  automobiles, 
flying  machines  were  lacking.  During 
the    campaign    which    followed,    it    fre- 


quently happened  that  a  regiment  went 
into  the  firing  line  with  one  rifle  for 
every  two  men,  those  who  were  unarmed 
taking  both  the  place  and  the  weapons 
of  those  who  fell. 

The  declaration  of  war  on  the  28th 
was  followed  by  a  desultory  bombard- 
ment of  the  unfortified  Serbian  capital 
from  batteries  on  the  opposite  shore  and 
monitors  on  the  river.  This,  however, 
was  the  only  action  taken  during  the  first 
few  days,  and  Austria's  failure  to  strike 
while  Belgrade  lay  defenseless  and  open 
to  easy  occupation  is  significant  testi- 
mony to  her  alarm  at  the  European  situa- 
tion and  anxiety  to  compromise. 

It  was  impossible  for  the  Serbian 
armies  to  line  the  Austro-Serbian  fron- 
tier, which  extends  to  340  miles,  espe- 
cially as  in  Summer  the  Save  and  the 
Drina  are  easily  forded  at  numerous 
points.  Voyvoda  (Field  Marshal)  Putnik 
therefore  fell  back  upon  the  traditional 
lines  of  defense,  and,  while  the  Govern- 
ment withdrew  from  Belgrade  to  Nish, 
he  grouped  the  main  armies  in  the 
Shumadija  on  the  line  Palanka-Arand- 
jelovats-Lazarevts,  whence  they  could 
rapidly  move  either  north  or  west. 
Strong  detachments  were  posted  at  Val- 
yevo  and  Uzhitse,  and  outposts  stationed 
at  every  important  point  on  the  frontier, 
after  which  all  the  General  Staff  could 
do  was  to  wait  till  the  enemy's  plan  of 
invasion  materialized. 

The  First  Invasion 
At  the  beginning  of  August,  Belgrade, 
Semendria,  and  Gradishte  were  subjected 
to  vigorous  bombardment,  and  a  number 
of  attempts  to  cross  the  Danube  were 
made  and  repulsed  with  heavy  losses,  one 
Austrian  regiment  having  been  practi- 
cally wiped  out.  The  Serbian  staff  knew, 
however,  that  several  army  corps  were 
stationed  in  Bosnia,  and  refused  to  be 
misled  by  these  feints  on  the  Danube. 
Attempts  followed  to  cross  the  Drina  at 
Lubovia  and  Ratsha,  and  the  Save  at 
Shabats,  and  these  were  looked  upon  as 
more  significant.  Desultory  fighting 
round  places  as  far  apart  as  Obrenovats 
and  Vishegrad  continued  until  Aug.  12, 
when  the  first  penetration  of  Austrian 
troops    into    Serbia    was    signaled    from 


142 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Losnitsa.  At  that  town  and  at  Leshnitsa 
the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps  effected  a 
crossing,  while  on  the  same  day  the 
Fourth  Army  Corps  crossed  the  Save  to 
the  north  of  Shabats,  and  other  troops 
the  Drina  at  Zvornik  and  Lubovia.  By 
the  14th,  over  a  front  of  about  one 
hundred  miles,  six  great  columns  had 
crossed  the  rivers  and  were  converging 
on  Valyevo. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  invaders  had 
entered  by  the  valley  of  the  Jadar;  the 
Third  Serbian  Army  and  part  of  the 
Second  Army  now  advanced  with  all  pos- 
sible speed  to  meet  them ;  meanwhile  the 
remainder  of  the  Second  Army  was  or- 
dered to  block  the  advance  from  Shabats. 
The  Austrian  plan  was  obviously  to  iso- 
late and  overwhelm  the  Second  and  Third 
Serbian  Armies  in  the  wedge  of  land  be- 
tween the  Save,  the  Drina,  and  the 
Jadar;  this  object  once  attained,  the  road 
to  Valyevo  and  Kraguyevats  lay  open, 
and  Serbia  was  at  the  mercy  of  the 
invader. 

On  the  14th  the  Austrians  were 
brought  to  a  temporary  halt  by  the  Ser- 
bian detachments  retreating,  from  Los- 
nitsa, who  dug  themselves  in  across  the 
Jadar  Valley  at  Jarebitsa,  and  gave  the 
main  armies  time  to  hasten  westward  by 
forced  marches;  but  the  first  real  shock 
of  battle  came  on  the  16th  when  the 
Austrian  column  of  almost  80,000  men, 
advancing  from  Leshnitsa  to  the  north 
of  the  Tzer  Mountains,  was  heavily  de- 
feated and  routed  at  Belikamen,  two  regi- 
ments having  been  annihilated.  Pursuing 
their  advantage,  the  Serbians  drove  in  a 
wedge  between  the  Austrian  forces  ad- 
vancing from  Shabats  and  those  operat- 
ing south  of  the  Tzer  Mountains  along 
the  Jadar.  From  this  moment  the 
Shabats  and  the  Jadar  campaign  became 
distinct  operations. 

At  the  same  time,  south  of  the  Tzer,  a 
violent  and  indecisive  action  had  taken 
place,  and  the  Serbians  were  at  length 
compelled  to  evacuate  Jarebitsa  on  find- 
ing their  left  wing  threatened  by  a  force 
advancing,  in  hitherto  unsuspected 
strength,  from  Krupani.  The  retirement 
was  completed  by  the  morning  of  the 
17th. 

On  Aug.  18  the  Crown  Prince  Alexan- 


der, having  thrown  the  Austrians  back 
upon  Shabats  and  brought  up  reinforce- 
ments south  of  the  Tzer,  deployed  his 
army  on  a  front  of  thirty-five  miles,  ex- 
tending from  Leshnitsa  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Lubovia.  Inspired  with  memories 
of  I^umanovo  and  Prilip,  the  Serbians 
gradually  forced  their  way  westward, 
along  the  Tzer  and  Iverak  ranges,  and 
down  each  bank  of  the  Jadar,  throwing 
the  enemy  back  upon  Leshnitsa  and 
Losnitsa. 

Aug.  19  was  the  decisive  day  of  the 
struggle;  the  Austrians  gave  way  at 
every  point;  their  retreat  along  the 
valleys  was  shelled  by  the  Serbian  guns 
advancing  along  the  intervening  heights, 
and  gradually  converted  into  a  rout,  in 
which  rifle  and  bayonet  completed  the 
work  of  the  guns.  By  the  23d  the  Ser- 
bian armies,  after  taking  quantities  of 
prisoners  and  artillery,  had  hurled  what 
was  left  of  the  Austrians  back  across  the 
Drina.  Thus  ended  the  five  days'  en- 
gagement which  will  be  known  as  the 
battle  of  the  Jadar. 

In  the  meantime  strong  Serbian  forces 
had  crossed  the  Dobrava  Valley  and  ad- 
vanced on  Shabats,  round  which  the 
Austrians  had  fortified  a  wide  circle. 
Violent  fighting  took  place  on  the  21st 
and  22d,  on  which  day  the  Serbian  troops 
worked  their  way  round  to  the  western 
approaches  of  the  town.  They  tightened 
their  cordon  on  the  23d,  and  during  the 
night  brought  up  siege  artillery.  When 
the  bombardment  had  begun  on  the 
morning  of  the  24th,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  Austrians  had  decamped,  after 
murdering  in  cold  blood  fifty-eight 
prisoners  from  the  Thirteenth  and  Four- 
teenth Serbian  Regiments,  whose  bodies 
were  found  piled  up  in  three  rows  in  a 
private  house.  By  4  P.  M.  the  Serbians 
had  reached  the  banks  of  the  Save,  and 
the  first  invasion  of  Serbia  was  at  an 
end.  The  Austrians'  explanation  of  their 
retreat,  after  the  "  successful  accom- 
plishment "  of  their  incursion  into  the 
enemy's  territory,  on  account  of  "  more 
important  operations  at  other  points," 
is  still  fresh  in  public  memory. 

As  a  result  of  their  attempt  to  "  exe- 
cute "  Serbia,  the  Austrians  had  lost 
8,000   dead,    4,000   prisoners,   and   about 


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SERBIA  AND  THE  WAR'S  BEGINNING 


143 


30,000  wounded;  forty-six  cannon,  thirty- 
machine  guns,  and  140  ammunition 
wagons,  besides  an  enormous  mass  of 
stores  and  transport.  The  Serbian  troops 
had  lost  3,000  dead  and  15,000  wounded. 

Treatment  of  Civilians 

'*  Toward  such  a  population  there  is  room 
for  no   humanity  or  generosity." 

As  for  the  civilians  of  the  districts 
invaded,  they  were  treated  with  a  disre- 
gard of  every  law  of  civilized  warfare, 
and  a  fiendish  refinement  of  cruelty  and 
malice,  probably  without  parallel  in 
modern  history.  The  instructions  issued 
to  the  Austrian  troops,  in  the  form  of 
leaflets,  began  with  the  words:  "You 
are  going  into  a  hostile  country,  the 
population  of  which  is  animated  by 
fanatical  hatred,  and  %in  which  murder 
is  rife  in  all  classes  of  society.  ■  *  *  * 
Toward  such  a  population  there  is  room 
for  no  feeling  of  humanity  or  generos- 
ity." The  procedure  adopted  was,  on 
entering  any  town  or  village,  to  shoot 
out  of  hand  either  the  Mayor  or  a  number 
of  selected  inhabitants,  (amounting  to 
fifty  at  Leshnitsa,)  in  order  to  "  inspire 
terror  ";  to  secure  hostages  among  those 
that  remained,  and  to  take  prisoners  and 
remove  to  Austria  the  youths  under 
military  age,  "  in  order  that  King  Peter 
might  remain  without  soldiers  for  some 
years." 

At  the  same  time  the  troops  were  given 
to  understand  that  the  campaign  was  an 
execution,  and  that  they  might  not  only 
loot  and  burn  and  ruin,  but  murder, 
violate  and  torture  at  will,  "  because 
these  people  were  Serbians."  The  pent- 
up  hatred  and  natural  instinct  of  the 
Magyar  found  expression  in  deeds  which 
could  not,  without  offense,  be  described 
here;  as  a  mild  example  we  may  cite  the 
case  of  a  man  who  in  the  village  of 
Dvorska  was  tied  to  a  mill-wheel;  knifing 
him  as  he  was  whirled  round  was  then 
engaged  in  by  the  soldiers  as  a  game 
of  skill. 

Extortion  of  money  from  a  woman  by 
the  threat  to  kill  her  babe  was  common, 
and  generally  followed  by  the  murder  of 
both;  wanton  mutilation  was  commoner 
still;  all  this  during  the  invasion.  The 
record  of  the  Austrian  retreat  is  probably 
one  of  the  blackest  chapters  in  the  history 


of  mankind;  whole  families  were  burned 
alive,  or  systematically  bayonetted  and 
laid  out  in  rows  by  the  roadside;  the 
treatment  of  the  female  population  can 
only  be  hinted  at;  in  their  case  the  final 
act  of  murder  must  be  looked  on  as  a 
crowning  mercy. 

In  the  track  of  the  army  that  fell  back 
on  Losnitsa  followed  a  small  group  of 
doctors,  officials,  and  engineers  of  Ser- 
bian, Dutch,  and  Swiss  nationality,  who 
reported  circumstantially,  and  photo- 
graphed, what  they  found.  A  day  will 
come  when  the  indictment  thus  consti- 
tuted must  be  met  by  the  Magyar  race  at 
the  bar  of  public  opinion. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Austria 
would  accept  as  definite  the  blow  inflicted 
on  her  military  prestige  at  the  battle  of 
the  Jadar.  Having  made  good  the  losses 
in  men  and  equipment,  the  enemy  re- 
turned to  the  attack  in  September,  and 
made  a  fresh  attempt  to  invade  the 
Matshva  district  and  to  occupy  the  left 
bank  of  the  Jadar. 

They  were  brought  to  an  early  halt, 
and  again  flung  back  across  the  Drina 
and  the  Save,  retaining  possession  only 
of  some  of  the  heights  of  the  Gutshevo 
and  Boranya  Mountains,  with  the  terri- 
tory to  the  immediate  west,  and  of  a  small 
tract  of  land  in  the  Matshva  plain  which 
was  commanded  by  the  guns  of  the  river 
monitors.  For  six  weeks  they  were  held 
in  these  positions  by  the  Serbian  armies, 
who  defended  a  line  of  close  on  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  trenches  with  a  totally  in- 
adequate force  and  supplies,  and  under 
a  strain  which  no  troops  could  long  en- 
dure. 

The  Second  Invasion 

By  the  beginning  of  November  a  re- 
tirement to  a  shorter  and  stronger  line 
of  defense  became  imperative,  and  the 
staff  decided  to  move  right  back  to  the 
Kolubara  River.  The  Austrians  imme- 
diately advanced  in  overwhelming  num- 
bers, and  five  columns  totaling  250  bat- 
talions of  infantry  with  their  artillery 
and  cavalry  streamed  into  the  north- 
western territory.  After  fierce  fighting 
they  gained  command  of  the  Suvobor 
Mountains,  the  key  to  the  whole  district; 
this   catastrophe   made   it   impossible   to 


144 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


hold  the  Kolubara  line,  Belgrade  was 
evacuated,  and  preparations  were  made 
to  abandon,  if  need  be,  Kraguyevats  and 
the  arsenal.  By  the  end  of  November 
the  Austrians  had  extended  on  a  line 
reaching  from  Tshavtshak  to  Belgrade, 
and  were  preparing  to  swing  round,  with 
the  Suvobor  Mountains  as  a  pivot,  on 
the  Mladenovats  to  the  northeast,  and 
toward  Kraguyevats  to  the  southeast,  an 
enveloping  movement  which   must  have 


ended  in  the  capture  of  the  whole  Ser- 
bian Army. 

The  weak  resistance  hitherto  opposed 
to  the  Austrian  invasion  was  not  due, 
however,  to  lack  of  stamina  or  a 
deterioration  of  morale  among  the  Ser- 
bian troops,  fatigued  and  worn  though 
they  certainly  were.  Retreat  was  made 
imperative  by  an  almost  total  lack  of 
ammunition,  either  for  rifles  or  for  the 
artillery.     The  bulk  of  the  Serbian  field 


SERBIA  AND  THE  WAR'S  BEGINNING 


145 


ordnance  is  of  French  manufacture,  and 
the  French  were  themselves  too  hard 
pressed  to  make  regular  delivery  of 
these.  Whole  batteries  of  guns  were  re- 
duced to  six  rounds  apiece,  which  were 
held  in  reserve  against  an  extreme 
emergency.  At  the  same  time  the  re- 
treat was  in  part  deliberate  and  care- 
fully planned,  for  when  later  Voyvoda 
Putnik  was  asked  how  he  had  effected 
the  crushing  defeat  of  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  troops,  he  answered  laconically: 
"  All  my  strategy  consisted  in  placing 
between  the  enemy's  fighting  line  and 
their  impedimenta  the  Serbian  national 
mud." 

By  the  end  of  November  new  guns  and 
large  supplies  of  ammunition  from  the 
British  ordnance  factories  had  been  land- 
ed and  were  being  conveyed  into  Serbia 
with  all  possible  dispatch.  At  some  points 
of  the  line  of  battle  the  position  was 
almost  desperate,  and  it  may  not  be 
without  interest  to  repeat  here  an  in- 
cident which  occurred  at  this  time  and 
which  was  related  to  the  present  writer 
by  King  Peter's  cousin,  Price  Alexis 
Karageorgevitch,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
latter's  recent  visit  to  London.  The  aged 
ruler  of  Serbia  mounted  his  charger  and 
rode  up  to  the  trenches,  where  his  brave 
peasants  crouched  with  bayonets  fixed 
to  empty  rifles,  and  exclaimed :  "  My 
dear  brothers,  you  have  sworn  allegiance 
to  your  country  and  to  your  King:  from 
this  latter  oath  I  release  you.  You  are 
at  liberty  to  return  to  your  homes;  your 
aged  King  has  come  to  take  your  place, 
for  you  must  be  more  than  worn  out." 
With  these  words  he  dashed  forward,  his 
drawn  sword  in  his  right  hand  and  a 
Browning  pistol  in  his  left.  His  peasants 
followed  with  a  cheer  and  made  a  bayonet 
charge  which  caused  a  panic  in  the 
enemy's  lines. 

The  Austrian  Debacle 

In  the  meantime  the  long-expected  am- 
munition had  arrived,  and  on  Dec.  3,  to 
the  Austrians'  amazement,  the  whole  of 
their  front  was  subjected  to  a  sudden 
and  violent  offensive.  On  the  4th  Suvo- 
bor  was  stormed,  the  Austrian  centre  was 
pierced,  and  the  right  wing  scattered  in 
headlong  flight  along  the  road  to  Val- 


yevo.  By  the  7th  the  Serbians  were  back 
on  a  line  extending  from  Lazarevats  to 
Valyevo,  and  thence  to  Uzhitse,  and  the 
enemy  fleeing  toward  the  Drina,  which 
they  crossed  in  disorder  two  days  later. 

The  Austrians'  right  clung  to  their 
positions  for  a  few  days  to  the  north  and 
west  of  Maldenovats,  and  on  the  7th  and 
8th  made  determined  efforts  to  break 
through.  They  were  repulsed  with  fear- 
ful losses  and  compelled  to  give  ground, 
though  they  fought  with  the  greatest 
obstinacy  at  every  step  of  their  retreat; 
on  the  12th  they  were  compelled  to  fall 
back  upon  Belgrade.  The  heights  to  the 
south  of  the  capital  had  been  fortified 
with  extensive  earthworks  and  gun  em- 
placements and  formed  positions  of 
great  strength,  but  the  Austrian  troops 
were  by  now  too  demoralized  to  hold 
them  and  gave  way  on  the  14th.  They 
were  still  fleeing  across  the  Save  when, 
on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  some  Serbian 
batteries  unlimbered  on  the  surrounding 
heights  and  shelled  the  pontoon  bridge, 
rendering  further  escape  impossible. 

The  Austrians  left  behind  them  over 
40,000  prisoners  and  hundreds  of  guns, 
with  the  transport  and  stores  of  a  vast 
army. 

So  extraordinary  was  the  Serbian 
rally,  and  so  overwhelming  the  catas- 
trophe that  had  befallen  the  Austrian 
arms,  that  for  some  days  Europe  re- 
fused to  credit  the  news  from  Belgrade. 
As  its  full  import  was  grasped,  the 
Allies  also  realized  their  indebtedness  to 
their  Balkan  ally;  nor,  we  may  well  be- 
lieve, will  it,  on  the  day  of  reckoning,  be 
forgotten. 

Crucifixion  of  a  People 

Almost  a  whole  year  passed  in  relative 
quiet;  the  Austro-Hungarians  had  ob- 
viously enough  of  their  chastising  of 
Serbia.  Count  Tisza,  then  Prime  Minis- 
ter of  the  Monarchy,  declared  that  the 
Hapsburg  forces  were  "  not  a  match " 
for  the  Serbian  experienced  warriors. 
Simultaneously  with  his  admission  the 
oldest  and  most  patriotic  German  news- 
paper, Die  Vossische  Zeitung,  in  its  edi- 
torial columns,  suggested  that  a  sepa- 
rate peace  should  be  made  with  Serbia, 
guaranteeing   the    absolute    integrity    of 


110 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


her  kingdom  and  granting  her,  as  com- 
pensation, the  "  nobody's  land  "  of  Alba- 
nia, from  which  its  comical  'mpret  had 
fled  long  since. 

But  Serbia  continued  her  preparations 
for  an  eventual  new  foe,  who,  on  the 
east  and  south  of  the  kingdom,  was 
sharpening  his  sword  and  fortifying  his 
frontiers.  The  credulous  Sir  Edward 
Grey  and  his  "  wait  and  see  "  colleague 
were  too  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the  Serbian 
sage,  Mr.  Pashitch,  who,  in  early  June, 
1915,  informed  the  British  Government 
that  Prince  Bulow  had  brought  to  Sofia 
a  draft  of  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  and  a 
military  convention  between  the  Central 
Powers  and  the  Kingdom  of  Bulgaria. 

What  Mr.  Pashitch  required  was  a 
sanction,  on  the  part  of  the  Allies,  of 
Serbia's  timely  action  against  isolated 
Bulgaria,  in  order  to  prevent  the  latter's 
intervention  at  a  moment  when  the 
troops  of  King  Peter  would  be  too 
busily  engaged  in  resisting  a  fresh  at- 
tempt from  the  north.  But  the  British 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  was  still 
nursing  the  hope  that  a  Balkan  league 
could  be  renewed.  This  futile  course  of 
action — or,  to  be  less  incorrect,  inac- 
tion— gave  ample  opportunity  for  Bul- 
garia to  make  good  the  wastage 
suffered  in  her  disaster  in  the  battle  of 
Bregalnitsa  in  July  of  the  previous  year. 
According  to  her  well-established  tradi- 
tion she  awaited  the  moment  when  the 
fourth  punitive  expedition — this  time 
composed  chiefly  of  the  best  German 
Imperial  Armies  and  of  what  was  still 
left  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  forces — 
under  the  ingenious  leadership  of  Gen- 
eral Mackensen,  penetrated  far  into  the 
desolated  Serbian  land,  to  stab  in  the 
back  the  heroically  resisting  Serbian 
armies. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  at  this 
juncture  the  exact  strength  of  the  Teu- 
tonic forces  advancing  through  Serbia. 
Certain  writers  assert  that  the  Serbian 
armies — or  what  was  still  left  of  them — 
were  outnumbered  as  ten  to  one  by  the 
combined  forces  of  General  Mackensen 
and  those  of  King  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria. 
The  Serbians  fought  desperately  on  both 
fronts,  and,  while  the  army  officers  were 
renewing  their  oath  at  Stalatch  (in  Cen- 


tral Serbia)  either  to  stop  the  invaders 
or  to  perish  to  the  last  man,  suddenly 
came  from  France  and  Great  Britain,  not 
the  long  expected  and  officially  promised 
help,  but  the  wise  advice:  "  Sauve  qui 
peut!  "  The  advice  was  good  indeed,  for, 
had  the  Serbians  not  followed  it,  they 
would  have  lost  not  only  their  land  but 
also  every  one  of  their  men.  And  after 
almost  three  years  of  continuous  triumph 
of  the  Serbian  arms  over  the  Turks,  the 
treacherous  Bulgarians  and  the  Babel- 
like Austro-Hungarian  "  punitive  expedi- 
tions," a  proud  people,  not  a  defeated 
army,  had  to  retreat!  But  where?  Surely 
not  to  Greece,  Serbia's  ally! 

Horrors  of  the  Exodus 

Before  the  general  exodus  of  the  Ser- 
bian people  had  begun,  the  German  Im- 
perial Government,  in  chivalrous  recogni- 
tion of  Serbian  bravery,  offered  to  the 
Nish  Government  a  comparatively  liberal 
peace,  by  which,  so  we  are  informed,  the 
integrity  of  the  Serbian  territory  was 
guaranteed.  Moreover,  if  the  Serbian 
armies  would  only  simulate  a  resistance, 
but  in  truth  leave  a  free  passage  to 
Salonki  for  the  combined  Austro-German 
forces,  not  only  Albania  but  also  so  much 
of  the  Serbian-populated  provinces  in 
Austria-Hungary  would  be  yielded  as  the 
dignity  of  the  Dual  Monarchy  would  per- 
mit. Although  the  Serbian  Government 
had  no  specific  treaties  of  alliance  with 
either  of  the  Entente  Powers — the  only 
one  that  had  been  concluded  being  that 
with  Greece — and  despite  the  imminent 
cataclysm  which  threatened  from  all  the 
cardinal  points,  the  Serbian  Skupshtina, 
after  a  spirited  and  memorable  speech 
delivered  by  Mr.  Pashitch  in  which  he  ac- 
centuated that  "  it  were  better  to  die  in 
beauty  than  to  live  in  shame,"  unani- 
mously decided  to  offer  a  stubborn 
resistance  to  the  invaders,  while  the 
noncombatants  were  ordered  to  retreat 
through  the  rocky  fastnesses  of  Albania 
to  Durazzo,  where  British  ships  waited  to 
transport  them  further. 

More  than  one  volume  could  be  written 
on  the  horrors  of  that  exodus,  which 
stands  unique  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
The  scenes  from  Dante's  "  Inferno  "  are 
but  pallid   shadows   in   comparison   with 


SERBIA  AND  THE  WAR'S  BEGINNING 


147 


those  in  which  a  nation  of  hard-striving 
and  honest  soil-tillers  played  in  reality 
to  the  amusement  of  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness. Tens  of  thousands  were  dying  in 
silence  on  the  roadsides,  afflicted  by 
diseases,  utter  exhaustion,  and  hunger. 
The  improvised  graves  gave  up  their 
dwellers,  and  corpses  of  domestic  animals 
in  a  strange  conjunction  were  inter- 
mingled with  those  of  fathers  and 
mothers  of  families,  peasants  and  Sena- 
tors, beggars  and  the  wealthiest  mem- 
bers of  an  old  society.  The  bitter  frost 
prevented  the  survivors  from  digging  out 
the  roots  of  young  firs  and  pines,  the 
only  vegetation  yet  possible  in  the  deso- 
late Albanian  mountains,  and  many 
were  found  frozen  in  the  act  of  securing 
that  last  remnant  of  food.  The  exhaust- 
ed women,  once  happy  maidens,  brides  or 
mothers,  either  staggered,  with  bound- 
up  eyes,  over  the  narrow  trails,  on  both 
sides  of  which  yawned  bottomless  gulfs, 
or,  in  utter  exhaustion,  crawled  on  their 
knees,  clutching  convulsively  at  the 
rocks  with  their  still  rosy  nails.     Now 


and  then  one  could  see  a  mother  stand- 
ing knee-deep  in  snow,  erect  as  a  statue, 
pressing  to  her  bosom  a  sleeping  babe, 
and  fixing  with  her  glassy  eye  every 
passer-by;  and  if  some  one,  who  had 
still  a  remnant  of  compassion  or  was  not 
as  yet  maddened  with  his  own  fate, 
warned  her  to  move,  he  would  discover 
that  she  had  long  been  dead.  Or  a  volun- 
teer, crouching  on  one  knee  and  clutch- 
ing his  rifle,  ready  to  fire  at  enemy  or 
friend,  would  remain  in  that  position 
until  some  Arnaout,  puzzled  by  the 
irony,  should  come  to  him,  and,  cutting 
the  weapon  out  of  his  frozen  fingers, 
thrust  the  body  back  to  its  icy  grave. 

Such  was  the  soundless  death  of  a 
once  happy  people. 

The  Serbian  State  may  eventually  be 
restored,  but  there  will  be  no  Serbians 
to  people  it  again.  They  have  not  been 
"  punished ";  that  is  what  one  does  to 
naughty  children;  but  one  of  the  oldest 
Slav  races  has  been  exterminated — 
crucified — never  to  be  resurrected. 


The  Torpedoing  of  the  Westminster 


The  British  Admiralty  has  published  the  following  note  : 

The  degree  of  savagery  to  which  the  Germans  have  attained  in  their  sub- 
marine policy  of  sinking  merchant  ships  at  sight  would  appear  to  have  reached 
its  climax  in  the  sinking  of  the  British  steamship  Westminster,  proceeding  in 
ballast  from  Torre  Annunziata  to  Port  Said. 

On  Dec.  14  this  vessel  was  attacked  by  a  German  submarine  without 
warning,  when  180  miles  from  the  nearest  land,  and  was  struck  by  two  torpedoes 
in  quick  succession,  which  killed  four  men.     She  sank  in  four  minutes. 

This  ruthless  disregard  of  the  rules  of  international  law  was  followed  by 
a  deliberate  attempt  to  murder  the  survivors.  The  officers  and  crew,  while 
effecting  their  escape  from  the  sinking  ship  in  boats,  were  shelled  by  the  sub- 
marine at  a  range  of  3,000  yards.  The  master  and  chief  engineer  were  killed 
outright,  and  their  boat  sunk.  The  second  and  third  engineers  and  three  of  the 
crew  were  not  picked  up,  and  are  presumed  to  have  been  drowned. 

Great  Britain,  together  with  all  other  civilized  nations,  regards  the  sinking 
without  warning  of  merchant  ships  with  detestation,  but  seeing  the  avowed 
policy  of  the  German  Government,  and  the  refusal  to  consider  the  protests 
of  neutrals,  it  is  recognized  that  mere  protests  are  unavailing. 

The  Captain  of  the  German  submarine  must,  however,  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  effectiveness  of  his  two  torpedoes,  and  yet  he  proceeded  to  carry  out 
in  cold  blood  an  act  of  murder  which  cannot  possibly  be  justified  by  any  urgency 
of  war,  and  can  only  be  regarded  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  a  further  proof  of 
the  degradation  of  German  honor. 


The  Sufferings  of  Neutral  Greece 

By  Adamantios  Th.  Polyzoides 


Greek- American  Journalist 


GREECE  neutral— why?  Is  not 
Turkey  fighting,  and  Bulgaria, 
too,  and  is  not  the  warfare  of 
these  two  traditional  enemies  a 
sufficient  inducement  for  the  Hellenic 
people  to  join  forces  with  those  who 
battle  to  reduce  German  and  Austrian 
power,  Turkish  barbarism,  and  Bulgarian 
greed,  to  a  state  in  which  they  will  no 
more  be  dangerous  to  mankind?  What 
does  Greece  expect  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  when,  in  case  of  Entente  victory, 
she  will  find  herself  without  friends, 
while,  should  Germany  win,  Turkey  and 
Bulgaria  will  crush  every  hope  of  a 
greater  Hellas? 

These  questions  and  many  others  are 
persistently  asked  by  the  friends  of 
Greece,  who  cannot  explain  an  attitude 
condemned  from  every  side  as  treacher- 
ous, faithless,  cowardly,  ungrateful,  and 
generally  out  of  keeping  with  the  best 
traditions  of  the  Greek  people. 

Greece  has  vainly  tried  to  defend  her 
course  to  the  world.  She  has  been  pre- 
vented from  so  doing  by  a  number  of 
causes,  chief  of  which  is  the  denial  of 
free  speech  and  free  intercourse  with 
the  outside  world.  In  addition  to  that, 
Greece,  besides  giving  explanations  to 
the  world  at  large,  is  forced  to  defend 
her  actions  even  against  a  turbulent 
minority  at  home,  which,  notwithstand- 
ing the  general  Greek  desire  for  peace, 
has  persistently  labored  for  war  while 
the  inducements  offered  therefor  are 
continually   lessening. 

This  minority  is  known  both  in  and 
out  of  Greece  as  the  Venizelist  Party; 
and  this  party  is  first,  last,  and  always 
a  one-man  party,  existing  only  by  the 
activity  and  the  strength  of  its  leader, 
Eleutherios  K.  Venizelos.  This  leader, 
however,  has  been  clever  enough  to  tie 
up  his  followers  to  the  fortunes  of  the 
Entente,  thus  monopolizing  for  himself 
and  his  party  the  sympathies  and  good- 
will with  which  all  Greece  follows  the 
struggle  of  Great  Britain  and  France. 


•Between  the  average  Greek,  however, 
and  the  regular  Venizelist  this  difference 
exists:  the  former  does  not  push  his 
affection  for  the  Entente  to  the  extent 
of  going  to  war  for  it;  and  this  attitude 
is  due  to  fear  that  Greece,  by  entering 
the  European  war,  would  be  destroyed,  as 
Belgium,  Serbia,  Montenegro,  and  Ru- 
mania were  destroyed.  In  other  words, 
we  of  Greece  love  the  Entente,  but  not 
to  the  extent  of  committing  suicide,  espe- 
cially when  it  is  apparent  that  our  sacri- 
fice would  not  in  the  least  affect  the 
fortunes  of  the  European  war. 

The  Venizelist  Greek,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  loud  in  his  sympathies  for  the 
Entente,  and,  besides  that,  he  wants 
rather  to  commit  suicide  at  the  side  of 
Great  Britain  and  France  than  emerge 
living  and  disgraced  from  the  great 
struggle. 

Error  of  the   Venizelhts 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  Veni- 
zelos has  aligned  himself  with  the  En- 
tente Powers  and  assumed  the  leadership 
of  the  so-called  war  party.  He  thought 
at  that  time — and  in  his  opinion  he  had 
a  large  majority  of  people  agreeing  with 
him — that  the  European  war  would  end 
shortly  in  an  overwhelming  victory  of 
the  Entente,  and  insisted  that  Greece 
ought  to  enter  the  struggle  and  secure 
those  advantages  which  would  be  denied 
her  if  she  stood  out  of  the  fray;  con- 
trary to  this  view,  all  the  Greek  military 
factors,  including  King  Constantine  and 
the  Hellenic  General  Staff,  were  con- 
vinced that  the  war  would  last  longer 
than  any  politician  imagined;  that  the 
bloody  game  was  being  played  on  too 
large  a  scale  to  allow  small  participants 
any  chance  of  success.  Events  subse- 
quently justified  this  latter  view  against 
the  Venizelos  idealism.  One  after  the 
other,  all  the  little  nationalities  entering 
the  war  were  knocked  out  in  a  few 
rounds;  Greece  succeeded  in  preserving 
her    life    despite    tremendous    pressure 


THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  NEUTRAL  GREECE 


149 


brought  to  bear  by  Venizelos  and  the 
Entente  Governments,  and  it  is  on  that 
account  that  she  has  had  to  suffer,  in 
addition  to  other  indignities,  an  internal 
revolution  in  Saloniki  and  a  rigorous 
blockade,  which  has  continued  since  Dec. 
1  of  last  year. 

And  yet  the  sufferings  of  Greece  are 
the  result  of  circumstances  rather  than 
of  her  mistakes.  Could  a  little  country 
like  Greece  do  anything  to  affect  the 
final  result  of  the  European  war?  The 
question  is  one  to  be  answered  with  a 
smile  by  those  who  have  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  what  the  European  con- 
flict means.  Yet  the  belligerent  coali- 
tions actually  seem  to  have  assumed  that 
the  side  which  had  the  assistance  of 
Greece  would  be  the  victor  in  the  gigan- 
tic conflict.  Only  under  this  assumption 
can  we  justify  the  intensity  of  the  activ- 
ity of  both  the  Entente  and  the  Teuton 
allies  in  Athens,  which  activity  is  re- 
sponsible for  all  the  troubles  of  Greece 
in  the  last  months. 

To  go  back  over  the  history  of  the 
elapsed  twelvemonth  would  be  to  repeat 
those  things  which  are  known  to  almost 
every  reader  of  the  daily  press.  The 
period  may  be  recapitulated  by  saying 
that  Greece  was  united  in  a  policy  of  neu- 
trality up  to  March,  1915,  when  Venizelos 
came  out  as  the  champion  of  immediate 
participation  in  the  Dardanelles  cam- 
paign. King  Constantine  and  the  Greek 
General  Staff  rejected  his  advice  on 
grounds  of  military  inexpediency,  and 
subsequent  events  justified  them.  Veni- 
zelos resigned,  but  at  the  same  time  de- 
clared that  should  Greece  enter  the  war 
at  that  time  she  was  to  secure  important 
territorial  concessions  in  Asia  Minor; 
provided,  however,  she  offered  Greek 
Eastern  Macedonia  to  Bulgaria. 

The  Gounaris  Ministry,  assuming  pow- 
er after  Venizelos  resigned,  offered  to  co- 
operate with  the  Entente  forces,  but  he 
asked,  as  a  sine  qua  non  condition,  a 
written  guarantee  from  the  Entente  to 
the  effect  that  Greek  territorial  integ- 
rity on  the  Balkan  Peninsula  would  be 
safeguarded  against  any  covetous  attack 
from  Bulgaria  at  the  time  when  the 
Greek  troops  would  be  fighting  overseas 
in  Asia  Minor.     This  guarantee  the  En- 


tente could  not  give,  as  it  was  trying  to 
secure  Bulgarian  intervention  also  at  the 
expense  of  Greece. 

Following  the  dissolution  of  the  Greek 
Chamber,  an  election  was  held  on  May 
31,  (June  13,)  1915,  in  which  Venizelos 
won  180  seats  out  of  a  total  of -316.  The 
Entente  hailed  that  result  as  a  victory 
of  the  Greek  war  party;  but  Venizelos 
had  avoided  the  issue  in  his  campaign, 
and  the  people,  although  expressing  their 
confidence  in  him,  did  not  vote  for  war. 

The   Treaty  with  Serbia 

In  the  first  days  of  October,  1915,  the 
great  Teuton  drive  against  Serbia  began, 
and  almost  simultaneously  Bulgaria  at- 
tacked the  Serbs  from  the  rear;  Veni- 
zelos, working  on  the  assumption  that  the 
treaty  with  Serbia  obliged  Greece  to  at- 
tack Bulgaria,  ordered  a  general  mobili- 
zation of  the  Greek  forces,  a  measure  ap- 
proved by  the  King,  who  wanted  to  fore- 
stall a  possible  attack  from  Bulgaria. 
King  Constantine  and  the  majority  of  the 
Greek  people  knew  that  the  Serbian 
treaty  was  Balkan  in  its  character,  and 
was  contracted  at  a  time  when  the  possi- 
bility of  a  European  conflict  did  not 
enter  the  minds  of  at  least  the  Greek 
delegates  who  signed  it. 

Greece  was  willing  to  stand  by  Serbia 
had  she  been  attacked  by  a  Balkan  State; 
but  Serbia  was  attacked  by  Germany, 
Austria,  and  Turkey,  as  well  as  Bulgaria; 
and  meantime  she  was  assisted  in  her 
struggle  by  such  powerful  allies  as  Rus- 
sia, Great  Britain,  France,  and  Italy. 
Nevertheless,  the  Greek  military  com- 
mand had  good  reason  to  expect  an  irre- 
sistible Teuton  avalanche  in  the  Balkans; 
it  knew  beforehand  that  the  Serbian  cam- 
paign was  doomed,  and  also  knew  that  if 
Greece  attacked  the  Central  Empires  a 
small  addition  to  the  Teuton  and  Bulgar 
forces  would  crush  her  as  surely  and  as 
effectively  as  they  did  Belgium  and 
Serbia. 

That  King  Constantine  and  the  Greek 
military  chiefs  were  right  in  their  calcu- 
lations is  shown  from  this  simple  fact: 
In  October,  1915,  Germany  had  not  suf- 
fered the  losses  of  the  Verdun  campaign, 
which  started  in  February,  1916;  she  had 
not  suffered  the  losses  of  the  Galician 


150 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


campaign  under  General  Brusiloff,  which 
started  later  in  May  of  the  same  year, 
and  she  had  not  suffered  the  losses  inci- 
dental to  the  Anglo-French  offensive  on 
the  Somme,  which  took  place  late  in  the 
Summer  of  last  year.  Now,  the  German 
losses  in  the  Verdun,  Galicia,  and  Somme 
campaigns  must  have  been  above  one 
million  men,  if  we  take  the  lowest  esti- 
mate of  both  sides.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
these  losses,  Germany  was  able  to  crush 
Rumania  in  three  months.  Does  any  one 
imagine  that  had  Greece  entered  the  war 
before  Germany  lost  that  million  men, 
she  could  have  saved  herself  from  de- 
struction ? 

But  when  we  speak  of  Greek  destruc- 
tion we  also  have  to  face  this  naive 
objection:  Greece  is  an  island  kingdom, 
and  Great  Britain  rules  the  seas.  Un- 
doubtedly this  is  true  to  a  certain  extent; 
but  Greece  has  two  million  Greek  popu- 
lation in  Asia  Minor,  and  has  another 
three  million  Greeks  in  the  lands  which 
would  have  been  invaded,  not  by  the  Ger- 
mans and  Austrians,  but  by  the  Bulgars 
and  the  Turks,  who  would  have  made  a 
short  job  of  the  extermination  of  Hellen- 
ism in  the  peninsula  and  in  Asia  Minor. 
The  fate  of  the  Armenians  points  clearly 
enough  to  what  the  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor 
could  expect  at  the  hands  of  the  Turk; 
and  as  for  Bulgarian  sympathy  toward 
the  Greek,  the  less  said  the  better. 

All  this  goes  to  show  that  Greece  was 
right  when  she  followed  the  advice  of  her 
King  to  stay  out  of  the  war,  and  to  adopt 
a  program  of  "  safety  first." 

Venizelos  Evaded  Issue 

Venizelos  resigned  a  second  time  in  the 
same  year,  when  his  advice  for  interven- 
tion was  rejected.  And  as  no  Govern- 
ment in  Greece  is  constitutional  without 
a  Parliamentary  majority  behind  it,  the 
King  ordered  a  new  election  to  be  held  on 
Dec.  6-19,  1916,  in  order  to  have  the  peo- 
ple decide  for  war  or  peace.  Venizelos 
in  this  instance  not  only  dodged  the  issue 
put  squarely  before  him,  but  in  addition 
stayed  away  from  the  polls  with  his 
whole  party,  and  gave  proof  of  an  un- 
timely weakness  when  he  clamored  that 
the  entire  population  was  with  him  in  a 
program  of  immediate  entrance  into  war. 


When  one  takes  into  account  that  in  De- 
cember, 1915,  the  German  and  Bulgar 
armies  had  cleared  Serbia  of  the  Serbian 
troops,  one  can  easily  infer  the  actual 
extent  of  the  alleged  Greek  belligerency 
on  which  the  Venizelist  program  was 
based. 

From  October,  1915,  to  June,  1916, 
Greece,  although  neutral  and  benevolent 
to  the  Entente,  suffered  all  the  trials  of 
a  belligerent  country. 

Venizelos  just  before  his  first  resig- 
nation in  March,  1915,  had  offered  the 
Entente  the  islands  of  Lemnos  and  Tene- 
dos  to  be  used  as  naval  bases  against  the 
Dardanelles;  following  the  landing  of  the 
Anglo-French  troops  in  Saloniki,  which 
was  effected  through  an  invitation  by 
Venizelos,  and  in  violation  of  Article  99 
of  the  Hellenic  Constitution,  General  Sar- 
rail  took  over  the  Greek  forts  of  Kara- 
bournou  in  Saloniki,  and  about  the  same 
time  a  French  fleet  secured  possession  of 
Corfu,  where  the  broken  and  sick  Serbian 
Army  gathered  to  reorganize.  Railway 
communication  between  Saloniki  and 
Eastern  Macedonia  was  severed  following 
the  blowing  up  of  the  great  Demir  Hissar 
Bridge  by  the  Allies,  and  the  Dova  Tepe 
fort  on  the  Bulgarian  border  passed  un- 
der allied  control  shortly  afterward;  then 
naval  bases  were  established  by  the  En- 
tente in  the  islands  of  Milo  and  Castel- 
lorizo,  and  the  Teuton  Consuls  in  Salon- 
iki, instead  of  being  ordered  away,  were 
arrested  by  the  French  forces.  Subse- 
quently the  allied  control  was  extended  to 
the  islands  of  Chios,  Mitylene,  Zante, 
Cefallonia,  Crete,  and  Thassos. 

Under  suspicion  that  Greece  was  send- 
ing food  to  Bulgaria,  the  whole  country 
was  put  under  a  rigid  control  as  far  as 
imports  of  foodstuffs  were  concerned, 
and  the  people  experienced  the  first  taste 
of  a  blockade  when  the  wheat  and  coal 
ships  from  America  to  Piraeus  began  to 
be  detained  for  days  and  weeks  in  the 
allied  ports  of  Gibraltar,  Algiers,  and 
Malta. 

Surrender  of  Fort  Rupel 
In    the    first    days    of    June,    1916,    a 
mixed  German-Bulgarian  force  appeared 
before  the  Greek  fort  of  Rupel  in  East- 
ern Macedonia  and  demanded  immediate 


THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  NEUTRAL  GREECE 


151 


possession.  Had  Greece  decided  to  at- 
tack the  invaders  she  would  have  proved, 
first,  that  her  neutrality  was  one-sided, 
and  in  the  second  place  she  would  have 
had  to  enter  the  war,  not  only  against 
Bulgaria,  but  against  the  entire  com- 
bination of  the  Teuton  Powers.  In  the 
face  of  such  a  contingency  Greece,  wish- 
ing above  all  to  remain  neutral,  turned 
over  the  fort  and  withdrew  her  troops. 

The  Allies,  once  more  disappointed  in 
their  hopes  to  see  Greece  enter  the  war, 
immediately  declared  martial  law  all 
over  Macedonia,  placed  an  embargo  on 
Greek  shipping,  and  presented  the 
ultimatum  of  June  21  with  the  following 
demands: 

1.  Immediate  resignation  of  the  Skouloudis 
Government,,  which,  after  Zaimis,  took 
Venizelos's  place  following-  the  latter's  resig- 
nation in  October,   1915. 

2.  Appointment  of  a  new  Government  of  a 
nonpolitical    and   nonpartisan   character. 

3.  Immediate  demobilization  of  the  army. 

4.  Dissolution  of  the  Chamber,  and  the 
holding  of  a  general  election,  immediately 
following    general    demobilization. 

5.  Substitution  of  certain  police  officials 
suspected    of    anti-Entente    leanings. 

King  Constantine  forthwith  complied 
with  the  demands  of  the  Entente.  Thus 
the  Skouloudis  Ministry  resigned,  Zaimis 
again  came  to  power,  the  army  was  de- 
mobilized in  record  time,  and  the  police 
officials  were  succeeded  by  others  who 
were  acceptable  to  the  Entente. 

Greece  was  getting  ready  to  hold  the 
general  election,  in  accordance  with  the 
last  demand  of  the  ultimatum,  when 
Venizelos,  apprehending  disaster  at  the 
polls,  induced  the  Entente  to  hold  back 
its  ultimate  demand. 

This  happened  because  the  Greek 
Army,  when  demobilized,  became  the 
strongest  anti-Venizelist  factor,  and 
through  the  organization  known  as  the 
Reservist  League  threatened  to  make 
any  Venizelos  victory  in  the  election  im- 
possible. 

In  their  eagerness  to  shift  Greek  at- 
tention to  other  matters,  and  with  the 
assurance  that  Rumania  and  Italy  were 
to  declare  war  on  Germany,  the  Allies 
started  on  their  great  Balkan  offensive  in 
the  last  days  of  August,  1916;  in  order  to 
try  once  more  to  get  Greece  on  their  side 
the  troops  of  General  Sarrail  left  the  en- 


tire East  Macedonian  frontier  unprotect- 
ed, and  when  the  few  Greek  troops  sta- 
tioned there  attacked  the  Bulgarian  in- 
vader, and  a  number  of  sanguinary 
clashes  ensued,  it  was  affirmed  positively 
in  every  Entente  capital  that  Greece  was 
getting  in.  In  order  to  make  Greek  par- 
ticipation sure,  the  Entente  dispatched  a 
fleet  to  Piraeus,  had  the  Teuton  Ministers 
arrested,  and  took  over  the  Greek  fleet 
in  order  "  to  protect  it." 

The   Venizelos  Revolt 

Greece  once  more  refused  to  enter  the 
war  of  destruction.  And  it  was  thus  that 
Venizelos,  despairing  of  coming  into 
power"  as  a  war  leader,  or  as  chief  of  the 
Parliamentary  majority,  left  Athens,  and 
after  a  short  cruise  in  the  Aegean,  touch- 
ing Crete  and  Mitylene,  settled  down  at 
Saloniki  and  established  his  so-called 
"  Provisional  Government."  His  was 
assumed  to  be  a  patriotic  movement 
directed  against  the  Bulgar  invader,  and 
for  that  reason  succeeded  in  having  im- 
mediately the  support  of  a  large  number 
of  patriotic  Greeks,  eager  to  fight  the 
Bulgar;  when,  however,  these  people 
assembled  in  Saloniki,  they  received  the 
impression  that  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment was  nothing  else  than  an  organized 
plot  of  Venizelos  to  drive  King  Constan- 
tine out  of  Greece  and  become  himself 
the  dictator  of  the  country.  This  ac- 
complished, Venizelos  thought,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  having  the  en- 
tire Greek  people  thrown  into  the  war 
on  the  side  of  the  Entente. 

Venizelos  claimed  that  he  had  the 
Greek  people  with  him,  and  that  the  mo- 
ment he  became  master  in  Athens  Greece 
would  take  the  field  against  the  Teutons. 
The  Entente  believed  the  Cretan  poli- 
tician, and  gave  him  every  assistance  in 
order  that  he  might  succeed  in  his  effort. 
The  Ionian  Bank  was  ordered  to  place  at 
the  disposal  of  the  "Provisional  Govern- 
ment "  an  amount  of  funds  approximat- 
ing $5,000,000;  a  number  of  officers  were 
assigned  to  train  the  Venizelist  volun- 
teers, and  numerous  emissaries  to  the 
Entente  capitals  and  other  cities  were 
sent  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Venizelism 
against  Constantine,  the  neutralist  King. 
Venizelos     counted     on     fifty     thousand 


152 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Greeks  leaving  the  United  States  to  place 
themselves  in  his  army,  and  on  substan- 
tial financial  support  from  those  who 
would  not  volunteer  to  serve  with  the 
troops. 

In  order  to  arm  his  troops  Venizelos 
suggested  that  the  Entente  force  the 
Athens  Government  to  turn  over  its  artil- 
lery and  ammunition  to  the  revolu- 
tionists; of  course  the  arms  would  be 
used  apparently  against  the  Bulgar  foe, 
and  as  Greece  was  not  willing  to  fight, 
the  Entente  ought  to  secure  those  guns 
and  hand  them  to  the  Venizelos  men. 

The  Clash  in  Athens 

The  Entente  with  the  usual  eagerness 
acceded  to  the  Venizelos  demand,  and 
through  Admiral  Fournet,  commanding 
the  allied  fleet  in  Greek  waters,  demand- 
ed peremptorily  that  the  Hellenic  Gov- 
ernment hand  over  its  arms  to  the  allied 
forces.  The  Royal  Government,  having 
information  that  the  arms  thus  demanded 
were  to  be  used  against  the  established 
Hellenic  regime,  refused  to  comply  with 
the  Admiral's  ultimatum,  and  when  on 
Dec.  1  an  allied  force  landed  in  Athens 
to  take  possession  of  the  arms  by  force, 
the  Greek  troops  in  the  capital  offered  a 
most  stubborn  resistance,  succeeded  in 
isolating  Admiral  Fournet,  and  almost 
made  him  a  prisoner.  They  finally  drove 
the  invader  out,  after  inflicting  and  suf- 
fering serious  losses  in  the  encounter. 

It  then  became  apparent  that  the  Veni- 
zelist  element  in  Athens  had  everything 
ready  for  a  revolution  to  overthrow  the 
Government  and  the  King,  and  to  estab- 
lish the  rule  of  the  "  Provisional  Govern- 
ment "  in  the  capital  of  Greece.  The 
Venizelists  were  well  armed  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  counted  chiefly  on  the  support 
that  the  allied  troops  would  afford  them 
in  engaging  the  Greek  troops.  When  Ad- 
miral du  Fournet  became  aware  that  the 
entire  population  of  Athens  was  for  the 
King  and  against  Venizelos,  he  immedi- 
ately withdrew,  and  subsequently  was 
punished  by  his  Government. 

It  was  following  this  "  treacherous 
assault "  on  the  Entente  troops  by  the 
Greek  Army  that  a  new  ultimatum  was 
presented  to  Greece,  asking  reparation 
and  the  transfer  of  the  Greek  military 


forces  to  the  Peloponnesus;  in  addition 
the  demand  for  the  handing  over  of  the 
weapons  was  again  repeated.  Greece 
complied  with  all  the  other  desires  of  the 
Entente,  but  refused  to  hand  over  the 
guns.  Thereupon  the  Entente  established 
a  new  blockade,  which  is  continuing  still. 
During  well-nigh  four  months  not  a 
single  ship  was  allowed  to  take  any  food 
to  Greece;  immense  misery,  starvation, 
sickness,  and  a  diversity  of  epidemics 
have  ensued;  in  vain  the  Royal  Govern- 
ment protested  against  this  inhuman 
treatment,  which  is  costing  scores  of  lives 
daily.  Every  Greek  steamer  has  sus- 
pended sailings,  and  Greece  is  completely 
cut  off  from  communication  with  the 
outside  world. 

Venizelos  Movement  a  Failure 

Venizelos  at  the  same  time  is  unable 
to  go  ahead  with  his  movement.  After 
having  spent  the  $5,000,000  given  him  by 
the  Entente  he  has  scarcely  succeeded  in 
assembling  in  Saloniki  more  than  5,000 
volunteers;  he  is  today  despised  by  the 
majority  of  the  Greek  people;  he  is  con- 
sidered as  the  man  who  has  split  his 
country  in  two  at  a  time  when  Hellas 
ought  to  present  a  united  front.  The 
Venizelos  movement  is  a  failure,  and  is 
maintained- simply  because  it  has  behind 
it  the  prestige  and  the  support  of  the 
Entente.  Tomorrow,  should  the  Entente 
abandon  Saloniki,  Venizelos  would  have 
to  flee  for  his  life. 

What  profit,  therefore,  do  the  Allies 
expect  from  a  man  and  a  party  which 
cannot  count  on  the  sympathy  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Greek  people? 

This  blockade,  this  misery,  this  suffer- 
ing, of  the  Greek  nation  were  expected  to 
strengthen  the  Venizelist  movement;  but 
Greece  starving  and  dying  will  not  fol- 
low him.  The  Venizelos  movement  has 
ceased  to  thrill  the  nation.  The  Veni- 
zelist emissaries  in  Europe  and  America 
may  continue  their  efforts,  but  neither 
a  volunteer  nor  a  dollar  will  be  lured  to 
Saloniki. 

Greece  has  ceased  to  be  a  factor  in  the 
European  war.  Venizelos  has  ceased  to 
be  the  powerful  leader  who  could  wrest 
his  country  frpm  the  King  of  the  Hel- 
lenes.    The  Entente  were  deceived,  and 


THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  NEUTRAL  GREECE 


153 


are  today  pushing  the  Hellenic  people 
into  the  arms  of  their  traditional  ene- 
mies. And  the  question  arises:  Is  it 
Venizelos  or  Greece  that  the  Allies  care 
for?  If  it  is  the  former,  then  let  them 
continue  the  tactics  which  alienate  them 
from  the  Greek  people.  But  if  it  is  the 
latter,  then  for  God's  sake  don't  push 
that  country's  sufferings  and  despair  any 


further.  Because  the  Greek  people  have 
done  no  harm  to  any  one,  and  history 
will  place  the  plight  of  Greece  beside 
that  of  martyred  Belgium  when  the  hour 
of  reckoning  comes;  and  it  would  be  a 
pity  to  besmirch  the  noble  struggle  of 
the  Allies  with  such  a  record,  of  bru- 
tality and  inhumanity  as  the  Entente  is 
today  guilty  of  in  Greece. 


King   Constantine's   Statement   of   the   Wrongs 

of  Greece 


KING  CONSTANTINE  of  Greece 
gave  The  Associated  Press  corre- 
spondent at  Athens  a  detailed 
statement  on  Jan.  14,  in  which  he  said 
that  it  had  been  impossible  to  get  the 
truth  about  Greece  into  the  newspapers 
of  the  Entente  countries.  After  citing 
false  reports  in  the  French  press  regard- 
ing the  events  of  the  attempted  Venizelos 
revolution  on  Dec.  1  and  2,  1916,  the 
King  continued: 

After  all,  all  we  ask  is  fair  play.  But  it 
seems  almost  hopeless  to  try  to  get  the  truth 
put  of  Greece  to  the  rest  of  the  world  under 
present  circumstances.  We  have  been  sorely 
tried  these  last  two  years  and  we  don't  pre- 
tend to  have  always  been  angels  under  the 
constant  irritation  of  the  ever-increasing  al- 
lied control  of  every  little  thing  in  our  own 
private  life— letters,  telegrams,  police,  every- 
thing. Why,  do  you  know  that  my  sister-in- 
law,  Princess  Alice  of  Battenberg,  was  only 
permitted  to  receive  a  telegram  of  Christmas 
greetings  from  her  mother  in  England  by 
courtesy   of   the   British   Legation  here? 

Moreover,  by  taking  an  active  hand  in  our 
own  internal  politics,  England  and  France 
especially  have  succeeded  in  alienating  an 
admiration,  a  sympathy,  and  a  devotion  to- 
ward them  on  the  part  of  the  Greek  people 
that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was  virtu- 
ally a  unanimous  tradition.  I  am  a  soldier 
myself  and  I  know  nothing  about  politics, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  when  you  start  with 
almost  the  whole  of  a  country  passionately 
in  your  favor  and  end  with  it  almost  unani- 
mously against  you,  you  haven't  succeeded 
very  well.  And  I  quite  understand  how  those 
responsible  for  such  a  result  seek  to  excuse 
themselves  by  exaggerating  the  difficulties 
they  have  had  to  contend  with  in  Greece— 
by  talking  about  Greek  treachery^  and  the 
immense  sinister  organization  of  German 
propaganda  that  has  foiled  them  at  every 
turn,   and  so  on. 


The  only  trouble  with  that  is  that  they 
make  us  pay  for  the  errors  of  their  policy. 
The  people  of  Greece  are  paying  for  them 
now  in  suffering  and  death  from  exposure 
and  hunger,  while  France  and  England 
starve  us  out  because  they  have  made  the 
mistake  of  assuming  that  their  man  Venizelos 
could  deliver  the  Greek  Army  and  the  Greek 
people  to  the  Entente  Powers  whenever  they 
wanted  to  use  Greece  for  their  advantage, 
regardless  of  the  interests  of  Greece  as  an 
independent  nation. 

There  are  just  two  things  about  our  des- 
perate struggle  to  save  ourselves  from  de- 
struction that  I  am  going  to  ask  The  As- 
sociate Press  to  try  to  make  clear  to  the  people 
of  America.  The  rest  will  have  to  come  out 
some  day— all  the  blockades  and  censorships 
in  the  world  cannot  keep  the  truth  down 
forever.  Understand,  I  am  not  presuming  to 
sit  in  judgment  on  the  Entente  Powers.  I 
appreciate  that  they  have  got  other  things 
to  think  about  besides  Greece.  What  I  say 
is  meant  to  help  them  do  justice  to  them- 
selves and  to  us,  a  small  nation. 

The  first  point  is  this :  We  have  two  prob- 
lems on  our  hands  here  in  Greece— an  internal 
one  and  an  external  one.  The  Entente 
Powers  have  made  the  fundamental  mistake 
of  considering  them  both  as  one.  They  said 
to  themselves:  "Venizelos  is  the  strongest 
man  in  Greece  and  he  is  heart  and  soul  with 
us.  He  can  deliver  the  Greeks  whenever  he 
wants  to.  Let  us  back  Venizelos,  therefore, 
and  when  we  need  the  Greek  Army  he  will 
turn  it  over  to  us." 

Well,  they  were  wrong,  as  I  think  you  have 
seen  for  yourself  since  you  have  been  here. 
Venizelos  was  perhaps  the  strongest  man  in 
Greece,  as  they  thought.  But  the  moment 
he  tried  to  turn  over  th«  Greek  Army  to  the 
Entente,  as  if  we  were  a  lot  of  mercenaries, 
he  became  the  weakest  man  in  Greece  and 
the  most  despised.  For  in  Greece  no  man 
delivers  the  Greeks.  They  decide  their  own 
destinies  as  a  free  people,  and  not  England, 
France,     and     Russia    together    can     change 


154 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


them,  neither  by  force  of  arms  nor  by  starva- 
tion. And  they  have  tried  both.  As  for 
Venizelos  himself— you  had  a  man  once  in 
your  country,  a  very  great  man,  who  had 
even  been  Vice  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  planned  to  split  the  country  in 
t\Vo  and  set  himself  up  as  a  ruler  in  the  part 
he  separated  from  the  rest.  I  refer  to  Aaron 
Burr.  But  he  only  plotted  to  do  a  thing 
which  he  never  accomplished.  Venizelos, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  allied  powers— 
and  he  never  could  have  done  it  without 
them— has  succeeded  for  the  time  being  in 
the  same  kind  of  a  seditious  enterprise.  Tou 
called  Aaron  Burr  a  traitor.  Well,  that's 
what  the  Greek  people  call  Venizelos. 

The  impression  has  been  spread  broadcast 
that  Venizelos  stands  in  Greece  for  liberalism 
and  his  opponents  for  absolutism  and  mili- 
tarism. It  is  just  the  other  way  around. 
Venizelos  stands  for  whatever  suits  his  own 
personal  book.  His  idea  of  government  is  an 
absolute  dictatorship — a  sort  of  Mexican  gov- 
ernment, I  take  it.  When  he  was  Premier 
he  broke  every  man  who  dared  to  disagree 
With  him  in  his  own  party.  He  never  sought 
to  express  the  will  of  the  people ;  he  imposed 
his  will  on  the  people.  The  Greek  people 
will  not  stand  that.  They  demand  a  con- 
stitutional Government  in  which  there  is 
room  for  two  parties— Liberals  and  Conserva- 
tives—each with  a  definite  program,  as  in  the 
United  States  or  England  or  any  other  civil- 
ized country,  not  a  personal  Government, 
where  the  only  party  division  is  into  Veni- 
zelists  and  anti-Venizelists. 

The  other  thing  I  wanted  to  say  is  about 
the  effect  of  the  so-called  German  propagan- 
da in  Greece.  The  Entente  Powers  seem  to 
have  adopted  the  attitude  that  everybody  who 
is  not  willing  to  fight  on  their  side  must  be 
a  pro-German.  Nothing  could  be  falser  in 
respect  of  Greece.  The  present  resentment 
against  the  Allies  in  Greece — and  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  it,  especially  since  the  blockade 
— is  due  to  the  Allies  themselves  and  not  to 
any  German  propaganda.  The  proof  of  it  is 
that  when  the  so-called  German  propaganda 
was  at  its  height  there  was  little  or  no  hos- 
tility in  Greece  toward  the  Allies.  It  has 
only  been  since  the  diplomatic  representatives 
of  all  the  Central  Empires  and  everybody  else 
whom  the  Anglo-French  secret  p  slice  indi- 
cated as  inimical  to  the  Entente  have  been 
expelled  from  Greece,  and  any  German  prop- 
aganda rendered  virtually  impossible,  that 
there  has  grown  up  any  popular  feeling 
against  the  Entente. 

Part  of  this  is  due  to  the  Entente's  identi- 
fication of  its  greater  cause  with  the  personal 
ambitions  of  Venizelos,  but  a  great  deal  has 
also  been  due  to  the  very  unfortunate  hand- 
ling of  the  allied  control  in  Greece.  When 
you  write  a  personal  letter  of  no  possible 
international  significance  to  a  friend  or  rela- 
tive here  in  Athens,  and  post  it  in  Athens, 
and  it  is  held  a  week,  opened,  and  half  its 
contents    blacked    out,    it    makes    you    pretty 


cross — not  because  it  is  unspeakable  tyranny 
in  a  free  country  at  peace  with  all  the  world, 
but  because  it  is  so  silly.  For,  after  all,  if 
you  want  to  plot  with  a  man  living  in  the 
same  town  you  don't  write  him  a  letter.  You 
put  on  your  hat  and  go  to  see  him.  Half 
the  people  in  Greece  have  been  continually 
exasperated  by  just  this  sort  of  unintelligent 
corttrol,  which  has  irritated  the  Greek  people 
beyond  any  telling.  But  to  say  that  they 
are  pro-Germans  because  they  dislike  having 
their  private  letters  opened  or  their  homes 
entered  without  any  legal  authority  what- 
soever is  childish.  It's  a  vicious  circle.  The 
Entente  takes  exceptionally  severe  measures 
because  it  alleges  the  Greeks  are  pro-German. 
The  Greeks  very  naturally  resent  the  meas- 
ures thus  taken,  as  would  the  Americans  or 
anybody  else.  The  Entente  then  turns  around 
and  says :  "  You  see,  that  proves  that  the 
Greeks  are  pro-German,  as  we  suspected." 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  there  is 
even  now  less  pro-German  feeling  in  Greece 
than  in  the  United  States,  Holland,  or  any  of 
the  Scandinavian  countries.  And  there  is 
far  less  anti-Entente  propaganda  in  Greece 
even  now  than  there  is  anti-Hellenic  prop- 
aganda in  England,  France,  and  Russia.  The 
whole  feeling  of  the  Greek  people  toward  the 
Entente  Powers  today  is  one  of  sorrow  and 
disillusionment.  They  had  heard  so  much  of 
this  "  war  for  the  defense  of  little  nations  " 
that  it  had  been  a  very  great  shock  to  them 
to  be  treated,  as  they  feel,  very  badly,  even 
cruelly,  for  no  reason  and  to  nobody's  profit. 
And  more  than  anything  else,  after  all  the 
Greek  Government  and  Greek  people  have 
done  to  help  the  Entente  Powers  since  the 
very  outbreak  of  the  war,  they  deeply  resent 
being  called  pro-German  because  they  have 
not  been  willing  to  see  their  own  country 
destroyed  as  Serbia  and  Rumania  have  been 
destroyed. 

.1  have  done  everything  I  could  to  dissipate 
the  mistrust  of  the  powers,  I  have  given 
every  possible  assurance  and  guarantee. 
Many  of  the  military  measures  that  have 
been  demanded  I  myself  suggested  with  a 
view  to  tranquilizing  the  Allies,  and  myself 
voluntarily  offered  to  execute.  My  army, 
which  any  soldier  knows  could  never  con- 
ceivably have  constituted  a  danger  to  the 
allied  forces  in  Macedonia,  has  been  virtually 
put  in  jail  in  the  Peloponnesus.  My  people 
have  been  disarmed,  and  are  today  powerless, 
even  against  revolution,  and  they  know  from 
bitter  experience  that  revolution  is  a  possi- 
bility so  long  as  the  Entente  Powers  continue 
to  finance  the  openly  declared  revolutionary 
party  of  Venizelos.  There  isn't  enough  food 
letf  in  Greece  to  last  a  fortnight.  Not  the 
Belgians  themselves  under  German  rule  have 
been  rendered  more  helpless  than  are  we  in 
Greece   today. 

Isn't  it,  therefore,  time  calmly  to  look  at 
conditions  in  Greece  as  they  are,  to  give  over 
a  policy  dictated  by  panic,  and  to  display 
a  little  of  that  high  quality  of  faith  which 
alone  is  the  foundation  of  friendship? 


The  Story  of  Saloniki 

By  James  B.  Macdonald 


NINETY  years  ago,  when  the  Hel- 
lenes were  fruitlessly  fighting 
for  their  independence,  George 
Canning,  the  British  Foreign 
Secretary,  induced  France  and  Russia  to 
join  his  country  in  freeing  them.  The 
allied  fleet  destroyed  that  of  Egypt  at 
Navarino,  and  Greece  again  became  a 
political  entity  in  1832  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Britain,  France,  and  Russia. 

The  guaranteeing  powers  agreed  to 
assist  the  new  kingdom  financially,  to 
contribute  toward  the  maintenance  of  a 
sovereign  in  suitable  state,  and  that  what- 
ever ruler  was  chosen  should  not  be  a 
member  of  the  British,  French,  or  Rus- 
sian royal  familes.  They  also  agreed 
that  none  of  the  contracting  powers 
should  send  troops  into  Greece  without 
the  consent  of  the  other  guarantors. 

Otto,  the  first  King — a  son  of  King 
Louis  I.  of  Bavaria — was  deposed  by  a 
national  assembly,  following  a  military 
revolt  in  1862.  A  plebiscite  of  the  people 
elected  Prince  Alfred  of  Great  Britain, 
better  known  as  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh, 
but  the  British  Government  refused  to 
sanction  it  as  being  contrary  to  the  agree- 
ment with  their  co-guarantors.  The 
throne  was  next  offered  to  the  Earl  of 
Derby,  grandfather  of  the  present  War 
Minister,  but  declined  by  him.  The 
British  Government  then  suggested  the 
Danish  Prince,  William  George  of  Schles- 
wig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gliicksburg,  and 
this  nomination  was  approved  by  a 
National  Assembly  and  ratified  by  the 
guaranteeing  powers. 

The  new  sovereign,  George  I.,  was  the 
father  of  the  present  King  Constantine. 
As  a  special  mark  of  good-will,  Britain 
ceded  Corfu  and  the  other  Ionian  Islands 
to  Greece.  In  1864  the  King  accepted  a 
new  democratic  Constitution  drawn  up 
by  the  National  Assembly,  and  this  is 
the  one  still  in  force. 

Meanwhile,  the  relationship  between 
the  guaranteeing  powers  and  their  ward 
had   not   always    been    harmonious,    and 


coercive  measures  have  had  to  be  re- 
sorted to  on  several  occasions.  A  French 
army  occupied  Greece  during  the  Crimean 
war  to  prevent  the  Greeks  from  making 
war  on  Turkey  and  threatening  the  allied 
communications.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877-78  the  Hel- 
lenes invaded  Thessaly,  but  their  claim 
of  territory  was  set  aside  in  the  Treaty 
of  San  Stefano.  At  the  instance  of  Lord 
Salisbury,  two  Greek  delegates  were  per- 
mitted to  address  the  Berlin  Conference, 
and  they  obtained  a  rectification  of  the 
frontier. 

In  1893  Greece  defaulted  in  her  na- 
tional obligations,  and  four  years  later 
entered  upon  an  unprovoked  and  ag- 
gressive war  against  Turkey.  The  Greek 
Army,  under  Crown  Prince  Constantine, 
was  decisively  beaten,  and  the  capital 
lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  victorious  Turks 
when  the  King  telegraphed  to  the  Czar 
to  save  Greece.  The  Czar  made  personal 
representations  to  the  Sultan,  and  peace 
was  arranged.  Greece  agreed  to  pay 
about  $15,000,000  for  her  escapade. 

Smarting  from  disappointment,  the 
military  forces  in  1909  set  aside  all  con- 
stitutional government  and  substituted 
the  Military  League.  They  expelled 
Crown  Prince  Constantine  and  his 
brother  from  the  army  and  threatened 
the  Crown  itself.  Later  the  army  and 
navy  quarreled,  and  Venizelos,  who  at 
this  time  came  into  prominence,  per- 
suaded the  Military  League  to  dissolve 
and  permit  the  re-establishment  of  con- 
stitutional  government. 

In  1912-13  came  the  first  and  second 
Balkan  wars,  the  assassination  of  King 
George  at  Saloniki,  and  the  crowning  of 
King  Constantine. 

A  French  military  mission  had  re- 
organized the  Greek  Army  and  equipped 
it  with  the  latest  pattern  mountain  guns 
and  light  howitzers. 

In  the  first  war  the  Bulgars  broke 
the  main  Turkish  resistance  at  Kirk 
Kilisse   and   Lule   Burgas,   the   Serbians 


156 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


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JOMILES 


REGION    OF    ALLIED    OPERATIONS    IN    MACEDONIA. 


broke  their  western  armies  at  Kumanova 
and  Monastir,  and  King  Constantine, 
after  the  fight  at  Yanitza,  had  a  walk- 
over to  Saloniki,  where  the  demoralized 
Turks  surrendered  without  resistance. 

In  the  second  war  the  Bulgarian  ob- 
jective was  to  seize  Saloniki  and  to 
destroy  the  Greek  and  Serbian  Armies 
in  detail.  King  Constantine,  with  a 
superior  Greek  Army,  fought  his  first 
real  battle  between  Saloniki  and  Seres, 
and,  after  a  struggle  of  five  days,  forced 
the  Bulgars  to  retire.  The  King  pursued 
the  enemy  energetically  to  the  Rhodope 
Mountains,  where  the  Bulgarians  counter- 
attacked and  enveloped  both  his  wings, 
but  the  timely  intervention  of  the  Ru- 
manians compelled  the  Bulgars  to  seek 
an  armistice.  This  alone  saved  Con- 
stantine's  army  from  discomfiture.  The 
war  closed  with  the  Greek  Army  un- 
beaten and  its  morale  good. 


The  Repudiated  Treaty 

Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war 
the  Serbian  Army  repulsed  the  Austrian 
incursion,  and  in  the  following  year  de- 
cisively routed  the  second  army  of  in- 
vasion. During  the  Summer  the  atti- 
tude of  Bulgaria  had  been  uncertain  and 
suspicious,  and  the  Greek  Government 
decided  it  was  time  to  arm.  Greece 
mobilized  on  Sept.  24,  1915,  and  three 
weeks  later  Bulgaria  declared  war  on 
Serbia. 

Both  Greece  and  Serbia  at  the  close 
of  the  second  Balkan  war  expected  that 
Bulgaria  would  sooner  or  later  seek  re- 
venge, and  to  insure  against  this  con- 
tingency they  entered  into  a  secret  treaty 
providing  that  each  would  assist  the 
other.  Serbia,  being  attacked  in  the  rear 
by  Bulgaria  while  confronting  Austria- 
Hungary,  called  on  the  Hellenes  to  assist 


THE  STORY   OF   SALONIKI 


157 


them  in  terms  of  their  mutual  agreement. 
The  Venizelos  Government  acknowledged 
the  obligation  and  proceeded  to  fulfill  it. 

As  in  duty  bound,  the  Greek  Govern- 
ment represented  the  situation  to  the 
three  great  powers  who  were  guarantee- 
ing the  independence  of  Greece.  It  so 
happened  that  these  powers  were  also 
allied  to  Serbia  and  engaged  at  the  mo- 
ment in  war  with  the  Teutonic  States. 

The  Greek  Government  stated  inter 
alia:  that  they  desired  to  assist  Serbia; 
that  their  resources  were  insufficient  to 
make  their  intervention  effective,  as  they 
could  muster  only  200,000  first-line 
troops  with  adequate  reserves,  and  that 
if  Britain  and  France  would  assist  them 
with  an  additional  150,000  men  they 
would  take  the  field  against  Bulgaria. 
The  western  powers  agreed,  and  the 
matter  was  arranged.  Thirteen  thousand 
Anglo-French  troops  landed  at  Saloniki 
on  Oct.  6,  1915,  as  a  first  installment, 
whereupon  the  political  situation  changed 
at  Athens. 

King  Constantine  rightly  diagnosed 
the  political  situation:  that  the "  drive 
eastward  through  the  Balkans  to  Turkey 
was  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  the  war 
so  far  as  his  brother-in-law  the  German 
Emperor  was  concerned;  that  the  Aus- 
trians  were  taking  the  same  road,  bent 
upon  seizing  Albania  and  Saloniki,  and 
that  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  France, 
and  Russia  was  merely  side  play  to  en- 
gage and  hold  off  the  opponents  to  this 
eastern  adventure.  He  also  inferred  that 
the  Asquith  Government  had  mistaken 
the  real  political  direction  of  the  war. 
The  Teutons  were  opportunists — gam- 
blers, if  you  will — in  the  west,  but  their 
heart   was   in   the   east. 

Constantine  erred,  however,  in  sup- 
posing that  thevwestern  powers  did  not 
appreciate  the  political  importance  of 
holding  Saloniki  and  Valona  (or  Av- 
lona)  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and  that 
they  had  no  other  means  of  countering 
the  drive  to  the  east  than  by  a  major 
campaign  in  the  Balkans  or  at  the  Dar- 
danelles. He  concluded  that  there 
might  be  profit  for  himself  in  favoring 
his  brother-in-law's  ambition  and  danger 
to  himself  in  opposing  it.  King  Con- 
stantine thereupon  reconsidered  his  pre- 


vious concurrence  in  the  pourparlers 
of  his  Government  with  the  guaranteeing 
powers,  decided  that  Greece,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  a  general  European  war, 
was  not  bound  by  the  treaty  with  Serbia, 
and  accordingly  dismissed  Venizelos. 
The  latter  obtained  the  suffrage  of  the 
electors  with  an  increased  majority,  but 
was  again  dismissed  by  his  sovereign. 
Since  then  the  King  has  reigned  as  an 
absolute  monarch,  and  his  present  Min- 
istry professes  to  be  nothing  more  than 
the  mouthpiece  of  the  King  and  the 
army.  - 

New  Greece  and  the  Islands  have  risen 
in  revolt  under  Venizelos,  who  has  es- 
tablished a  Provisional  Government  at 
Saloniki,  while  Old  Greece  supports  the 
King  at  Athens.  The  situation  resembles 
that  in  England  before  the  civil  war  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  I.  The  guaranteeing 
powers,  however,  have  asserted  their 
authority,  have  curbed  the  power  of  the 
King,  and  will  no  doubt  restore  the  Con- 
stitution at  a  more  convenient  period. 

All  the  Greeks  believe  that  Constantine 
is  a  great  military  genius,  and,  while 
one  party  would  gladly  accept  him  as 
a  constitutional  monarch,  the  other  hails 
him  as  the  successor  of  Alexander  the 
Great — above  all  laws,  for  "  himself  he 
is  the  State."  Venizelos,  however,  re- 
minds Constantine  that  his  father  was 
elected  of  the  people,  and  that  his  own 
title  as  King  is  no  better  than  that  of 
his  father.  Briefly,  one  party  favors 
the  autocracy  of  Alexander  the  Great 
and  believes  it  has  found  his  successor 
in  Constantine,  while  the  other  perfers 
the  democracy  of  the  ancient  Greek  re- 
publics, but  associated  with  the  heredi- 
tary prestige  of  a  constitutional  sov- 
ereign. 

Bulgaria's  Military  Strength 

The  population  of  Bulgaria,  according 
to  the  census  of  1906,  comprised:  Bul- 
garia proper,  2,853,704;  Eastern  Ru- 
melia,  1,174,535;  total,  4,028,239.  Allow- 
ing for  territory  and  extra  population 
gained  through  the  Balkan  wars,  natural 
increase  of  population,  and  war  losses 
in  1912-13,  the  pre-war  total  may  be  set 
down  as  under  5,000,000. 

Carried  away  by  the  Teutonic  successes 


158 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


in  Poland,  the  British  reverse  at  the 
Dardanelles,  and  their  own  ambition  to 
attain  the  abortive  terms  of  the  Treaty 
of  San  Stefano,  the  Bulgars  embarked 
upon  the  world  war  in  the  belief  that  it 
would  be  a  brief  one  once  they  threw 
their  weight  in  the  scales.  They  imme- 
diately mobilized  every  available  mr.n 
down  to  the  youngest  class  and  enrolled 
about  750,000  men,  leaving  the  women 
and  old  men  to  work  the  farms.  It  was 
essential  to  their  success  that  the  war 
be  brief,  because  only  about  35,000  youths 
mature  every  year,  and  they  had  no 
other  reserves. 

Their  attack  on  the  Serbian  rear  at- 
tained its  object  and  made  possible  the 
Austrian  advance  under  General  von 
Mackensen.  So  far  their  losses  had  not 
been  great,  because  their  strength  had 
not  been  tested  out  in  a  pitched  battle 
with  a  well-equipped  foe.  They  had, 
moreover,  proved  themselves  good  fight- 
ing material,  and  were  well-backed  up 
by  heavy  artillery  lent  by  their  northern 
allies. 

The  Retreat  from  Serbia 

Meanwhile,  at  Saloniki,  the  French  had 
landed  a  division  under  General  Sarrail, 
the  renowned  defender  of  Verdun,  and  the 
British  had  disembarked  the  heroic  rem- 
nants of  the  Tenth  Irish  Division  under 
Sir  Bryan  Mahon,  who  had  led  the  flying 
column  to  the  relief  of  Mafeking  during 
the  Boer  war.  There  was  no  Commander 
in  Chief  to  co-ordinate  the  movements 
of  the  allied  forces,  who  now  moved  up 
country,  where  the  French  took  station 
on  the  left  around  Krivolak  and  the 
British  on  the  right  around  Doiran.  Gen- 
eral Sarrail  endeavored  to  extend  his 
left  flank  to  get  in  touch  with  some 
5,000  Serbians  who  were  retreating  from 
Uskub,  and  were  at  the  moment  holding 
the  Babuna  Pass,  north  of  Prilip.  Owing 
to  the  weakness  of  his  force  he  did  not 
succeed,  although  his  manoeuvre  diverted 
the  attention  of  the  Bulgars  and  enabled 
the  Serbians  to  escape  into  Albania. 

The  allied  commanders  themselves  now 
had  to  think  about  retreating,  but  were 
hampered  by  the  Greeks  in  their  rear 
wrecking  trains  and  endeavoring  to  pre- 
vent stores  and  ammunition  reaching  the 


allied  forces  from  the  base  at  Saloniki. 
The  Government  at  Athens  announced 
that  if  the  Anglo-French  army  came 
back  into  Greek  territory  they  would  in- 
tern it.  The  protecting  powers  responded 
with  an  ultimatum  threatening  to  block- 
ade Greece,  whereupon  Athens  gave  way 
with  a  bad  grace.    . 

In  November,  1915,  large  allied  re- 
inforcements arrived  at  Saloniki,  but 
were  not  sent  up  country,  partly  owing 
to  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Greek 
Army  and  partly  because  a  retreat  from 
the  front  had  already  been  decided  on. 
They  consisted  of  one  French  corps,  and 
two  British  corps — of  which  two  di- 
visions were  veterans  from  the  old 
regular  standing  army. 

General  Sarrail  retreated  to  Ghevgeli 
with  small  loss  and  saved  his  stores,  but 
on  Dec.  7,  1915,  he  was  attacked  in  force 
and  retired  without  advising  his  colleague 
on  the  right  of  his  change  of  position. 
The  British  on  the  right  still  held  their 
ground  in  ignorance  of  the  French  with- 
drawal, and  were  suddenly  overwhelmed 
by  a  Bulgarian  army  several  times  their 
number.  They  were  only  saved  from 
annihilation  through  the  Bulgars  not 
venturing  to  follow  them  into  Greek 
territory.  The  Tenth  Irish  and  a  portion 
of  the  Twenty-second  British  Division  in 
support  were  lost  for  days  in  the  mount- 
ain mists,  and  some  of  the  sentries  were 
frozen  to  death  in  the  hills. 

The  Allies  fell  back  on  Saloniki  with 
the  Greek  Army  all  around  them,  trucu- 
lent and  obstructive,  and  with  the  Greek 
guns  trained  upon  the  allied  camp. 

Fortified  Camp  at  Saloniki 
General  Sarrail  was  appointed  Com- 
mander in  Chief  and  instructed  to  fortify 
Saloniki,  while  the  guaranteeing  powers 
compelled  the  Greek  King  to  withdraw 
his  main  army  from  Macedonia  and  re- 
tire it  to  Old  Greece,  or  the  kingdom  as 
it  existed  prior  to  the  Balkan  war  of 
1912.  General  Mahon  was  given  a  high 
command  in  Egypt,  and  afterward  suc- 
ceeded General  Maxwell  in  command  of 
the  troops  in  Ireland,  he  himself  being 
an  Irishman.  General  Milne  of  the 
Royal  Artillery  was  appointed  to  the 
vacancy. 


THE   STORY    OF   SAL0NIK1 


159 


The  position  at  the  base  was  still 
highly  unsatisfactory,  mainly  due  to  the 
Greek  King  having  appointed  pro-German 
sympathizers  to  all  the  chief  posts 
throughout  Greece.  This  organization 
became  a  network  of  spying  and  report- 
ing in  the  German  interest.  The  inade- 
quate transportation  service  was  further 

depleted  by  Greek  officials'       

sending  railway  cars  across 
the  frontier  to  the  Bulga- 
rians, until,  the  British  blew 
up  the  Demir-Hissar  bridge 
in  February  and  so  stopped 
it. 

In  Saloniki  itself  the 
Greek  division  stationed 
there  claimed  the  best  land- 
ing facilities  for  them- 
selves, and  permitted  Fort 
Kara-Burram  to  be  used  as 
a  base  of  supplies  for  Ger- 
man submarines.  When 
the  position  became  intoler- 
able, General  Sarrail  deported  the  enemy 
Consuls  and  ousted  the  Greek  garrison 
from  the  fort  and  quay. 

The  military  considerations  which  dic- 
tated the  holding  of  Saloniki  were  not 
less  important  than  the  political.  They 
are  comparable  to  those  which  determined 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  establish  the 
succession  of  impregnable  lines  at 
Torres-Vedras  to  cover  the  Port  of 
Lisbon  during  his  operations  in  the  Pe- 
ninsula in  1809.  These  not  only  provided 
him  with  a  safe  retreat,  but  kept  open 
his  entry  into  the  Peninsula  until  such 
time  as  his  army  could  be  suitably 
augmented,  and  had  the  additional  merit 
of  lying  across  the  enemys'  line  of  action. 
So  with  Sarrail  at  Saloniki.  He  found 
that  nature  had  provided  him  with  such 
a  camp,  and  that,  with  little  alteration, 
it  could  be  made  impregnable  against 
assault  by  the  whole  Bulgarian  Army 
of  750,000. 

Sarrail's  garrison  now  consisted  of 
three  French  and  five  British  divisions, 
with  supplementary  detachments — in  all 
about  170,000  troops;  but  the  great  camp 
in  Egypt  was  only  three  days  distant 
and  could  be  drawn  upon  for  assistance 
if  required.  When  General  de  Castelnau 
arrived  at  Christmas,  1915,  from  head- 


quarters   in   France,   he   was    eminently 
satisfied  with' the  position  at  Saloniki. 

Extending  the  Lines 

The  Royal  Engineers  and  the  Genie 
Francais  were  directed  to  prepare  for  an 
extension  of  the  lines  beyond  the  in- 
trenched  camp,   as   at   that   time   there 


75  Ntsh .  Belgrade    » 
GrAustro- German  "Sises 


INNER    DEFENSES    OF    SALONIKI 

were  only  two  roads  available — one  to 
Monastir  and  the  other  to  Seres.  Since 
then  they  have  constructed  over  5,000 
miles  of  new  roadways,  besides  building 
railways  and  improving  the  landing 
facilities   at  the  port. 

The  outposts  were  then  advanced  about 
thirty  miles,  to  just  within  the  Greek 
frontier,  from  Karasuli  to  Kilindir.  The 
British  occupied  the  right  with  three 
divisions,  the  French  the  left  with  two 
divisions,  and  the  remaining  three  di- 
visions held  Saloniki  and  the  line  of  com- 
munications. The  Greeks  still  had  12,000 
troops  in  Saloniki  and  38,000  in  Eastern 
Macedonia,  as  well  as  other  troops  in 
Western  Macedonia. 

The  major  portion  of  the  Serbian 
Army  arrived  in  April  and  May,  1916, 
after  leaving  a  division  behind  at  Corfu. 
It  consisted  of  110,000  young  hardy 
veterans,  the  survival  of  the  fittest  in 
the  retreat  through  Albania;  but  they 
had  still  to  be  armed,  equipped,  and  re- 
organized. 

The  Bulgars  held  the  Midji  Mountains 
on  the  west  and  the  Belashitza  Mount- 
ains on  the  east.  They  had  encroached 
on  the  Monastir  plain  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  Fiorina,  then  held  by  the 
French,   and   at   the   Vardar    Pass   they 


160 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


had  again  come  within  Greek  territory. 
Otherwise  they  adhered  to  their  own 
frontier.  This  line  was  held  by  six  Bul- 
garian divisions  of  30,000  men  each, 
under  General  Teodoroff,  to  whose  com- 
mand some  German  gunners  and  engi- 
neers were  attached. 

In  Western  Macedonia  the  Greeks  were 
undisturbed.  In  Albania  the  Italians  had 
occupied  Valona  (or  Avlona)  as  a  pre- 
cautionary measure  shortly  after  Austria 
entered  the  Balkan  area.  Their  strong 
force  at  Valona,  however,  was  not  in 
touch  with  Sarrail's  army  at  Saloniki 
until  after  the  capture  of  Monastir. 

The  prompt  action  of  the  Italians  in 
seizing  Valona  defeated  one  of  the  politi- 
cal objects  Austria  had  in  initiating  the 
war,  and  the  Anglo-French  occupation 
of  Saloniki  completed  the  discomfiture 
of  the  Dual  Kingdom. 

The  Bulgars  Invade  Greece 

Satisfactory  assurances  having  appar- 
ently been  obtained  by  the  Teutonic 
powers  from  the  Greek  King,  the  Bul- 
garian forces  crossed  the  frontier  on 
May  26,  1916.  A  German  officer  led 
the  vanguard  and  demanded  the  surren- 
der of  Fort  Rupel,  the  Hellenic  key  to 
the  Struma  River  Pass.  When  the  com- 
mander refused  he  was  requested  to 
telephone  Athens,  and,  on  doing  so,  was 
directed  by  the  War  Office  to  yield  up 
the  fort.  The  same  procedure  followed 
with  the  other  forts  guarding  the  passes 
into  Eastern  Macedonia. 

The  Central  Powers  were  now  in  pos- 
session of  all  the  strategic  sites  of  value 
without  Saloniki.  The  Greek  Govern- 
ment had  refused  to  permit  the  powers 
who  were  protectors  of  their  kingdom  to 
occupy  these  vantage  points  and  so  pre- 
vent such  a  denouement. 

General  Sarrail  immediately  pro- 
claimed martial  law  in  Saloniki,  seized 
all  the  means  of  communication,  and 
expelled  the  Greek  civil  authorities.  The 
British,  on  the  right,  left  their  in- 
trenched lines  and  advanced  to  the 
Struma,  while  the  Bulgars  dug  them- 
selves in  on  the  further  bank. 

King  Constantine  adopted  the  well- 
understood  Levantine  attitude  of  simulat- 
ing compliance,  but  was  hampered  by  his 


own  evanescent  Government  creations. 
Early  in  September,  1916,  the  whole 
Greek  army  corps  in  Eastern  Macedonia 
declined  to  accept  passage  to  Old  Greece 
and  voluntarily  surrendered  to  the  Ger- 
mans with  all  their  artillery  and  the 
stores  which  Sarrail  had  sent  to  them  by 
motor  transport  from  Saloniki. 

This  placed  the  seaport  of  Kavalla, 
the  inland  towns  of  Drama  and  Seres, 
and  the  Oriental  railway  from  Greece  to 
Constantinople  in  the  hands  of  the  Bul- 
garians. It  also  enabled  them  to  bring 
in  Turkish  troops  from  Adrianople. 

The  protecting  powers  thereupon 
seized  the  Island  of  Thasos,  which  domi- 
nates Kavalla. 

The  Summer  of  19  J  6 

Coincident  with  the  arrival  of  the 
Serbian  Army  at  Saloniki,  the  enemy 
had  been  reinforced  by  two  Bulgarian 
divisions,  or  60,000  troops.  The  military 
position  now  was  that  the  Anglo-French 
army  had  about  120,000  rifles,  500  field 
guns,  and  some  200  heavy  guns.  The 
Serbians  were  being  rearmed  with  about 
80,000  rifles,  and  their  organization  had 
been  taken  in  hand,  as  their  primitive 
formations  were  unsuited  for  co-ordina- 
tion with  their  allies.  Their  guns  and 
horses  had  not  yet  come  to  hand.  Until 
the  Serbians  were  ready,  Sarrail  was 
unable  to  move,  because  the  Bulgars 
were  possessed  of  150,000  rifles  and  700 
guns,  including  heavy  artillery. 

Throughout  the  Summer  the  British 
troops  holding  the  line  on  the  Struma 
marshes  were  afflicted  with  malarial 
fever,  and  half  their  number  were  on  the 
sick  list.  The  Bulgars  were  not  so  af- 
fected because,  besides  being  acclima- 
tized, their  local  knowledge  of  climatic 
conditions  had  warned  them  to  keep  to 
the  higher  ground  which  they  were  al- 
ready in  possession  of. 

The  equipment  of  the  British  force, 
while  admirable  for  defending  the  in- 
trenched camp  at  Saloniki,  was  unsuited 
for  taking  the  offensive  in  mountain 
warfare  in  a  country  where  there  were 
no  cart  roads.  Pack  mules  must  replace 
their  motor  transport  and  light  railways, 
and  mountain  guns  take  the  place  of 
their  garrison  artillery. 


THE  STORY   OF  SAL0NIK1 


161 


The  Asquith  Government  had  their 
eyes  on  the  great  battle  on  the  Somme, 
and,  after  their  misadventures  at  the 
Dardanelles  and  Mesopotamia,  were  not 
sympathetic  to  a  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  war  in  the  East.  For  this  they 
were  later  turned  out  of  office.  Con- 
trary to  press  reports,  there  was  no 
serious  intention  at  this  time 
of  attempting  to  cut  the 
Balkan  railway. 

The  political  object  of  foil- 
ing Austria  had  been  attained 
by  occupying  Saloniki  and 
Valona   in  force. 

In  August  two  more  divis- 
ions arrived  to  reinforce  the 
Bulgarian  Army,  and  the 
latter  now  attacked  the 
Serbians,  whom  Sarrail  had 
placed  on  the  left  wing.  The 
Serbs  yielded  Fiorina  at  the 
first  onslaught  and  fell  back 
behind  Lake  Ostrova,  where 
they  checked  the  Bulgar  ad- 
vance. Here  they  were 
strengthened  on  their  extreme 
left  by  the  arrival  of  a 
division  of  Russian  infantry, 
together  with  French  troops, 
who  had  been  set  free  from 
the  right  wing  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  Italian  troops. 
The  latter  were  inset  in 
the  British  lines  between 
Lake  Doiran  and  Lake  Butkova,  or,  in 
other  words,  at  the  base  of  the  Belashitza 
Mountains.  The  Italians  were  bett'er 
equipped  for  the  hill  fighting  than  the 
British,  and  this  determined  the  task 
assigned  to  them. 

Until  the  Bulgars  are  driven  out  of 
the  Belashitza  Mountains  the  railway 
to  Seres  cannot  be  used.  With  a  view  to 
the  coming  offensive,  General  Milne  took 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  allied  centre 
in  addition  to  holding  the  right  wing. 
Autumn  Campaign  of  1916 

If  the  Entente  General  Staff  contem- 
plated an  attack  on  the  Sophia-Adrian- 
ople  railway  at  the  moment  when  Ru- 
mania entered  the  war,  then  it  seems 
clear  from  subsequent  events  that  neither 
Sarrail's  force  nor  the  Rumanian  Army 


was  designed  to  play  the  leading  role. 
The  only  other  striking  force  available 
was  the  Russian  strategic  reserve,  but 
we  know  now  that  the  Russians  were 
not  prepared  for  a  move  in  this  direction 
at  that  time.  The  inference,  therefore, 
is  that  the  press  correspondents  mis- 
interpreted the   situation. 


REGION  COVERED  IN  THE  CAPTURE  OF  MONASTIR 


The  Autumn  campaign  opened  with 
Sarrail's  army  aligned  in  the  following 
disposition: 

On  the  right  wing,  three  British  di- 
visions held  the  line  of  the  Struma  and 
the  Italians  held  the  base  of  the  Bela- 
shitza Mountains.  In  the  centre,  the 
Vardar  front  was  held  by  two  British 
divisions  on  the  east  side  of  the  river 
and  by  French  forces  on  the  west  side. 
On  the  left  wing,  the  second  Serbian 
army  held  the  line  of  the  Nidji  Mount- 
ains, and  their  first  army,  supplemented 
by  French  and  Russian  detachments, 
held  the  country  on  either  side  of  Lake 
Ostrova.  The  position  of  the  Entente 
army  was  concentric,  with  its  communi- 
cations arranged  accordingly. 

The   Bulgarian   Army,   augmented   by 


162 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Austrian,  German,  and  Turkish  troops, 
was  strung  out  along  the  hills  in  concave 
formation,  and  suffered  from  the  absence 
of  lateral  communications. 

Both  sides  in  the  early  Autumn  were 
jockeying  for  position,  with  the  Bulgars 
uncertain  whether  the  attack  would  come 
from  the  British  on  the  right  or  from 
the  French  on  the  left.  On  Sept.  11, 
1916,  the  British  forded  the  Struma  on 
a  wide  front,  and  during  the  next  few 
days  carried  several  villages.  Simulta- 
neously, artillery  preparation  commenced 
on  the  Vardar  front.  Sept.  29  and  30 
the  attack  was  renewed  in  force  on  the 
Struma  front.  These,  however,  were 
only  feints  while  the  mass  of  the  French 
artillery  and  troops  engaged  the  enemy's 
right. 

The  Capture  of  Monastir 

The  real  fightimg  took  place  on  Sar- 
r ail's  left  wing,  and  this  was  quite  a 
brilliant  affair,  in  which  the  Serbians 
gained  great  honor. 

The  plain  of  Monastir  is  the  dry  bed 
of  an  ancient  lake  and  one  of  the  few 
level  stretches  in  this  war  theatre.  It 
lies  in  a  north  and  south  direction  and, 
therefore,  appeared  to  General  Sarrail 
an  inviting  entrance  to  outflank  and  turn 
all  the  Bulgar  positions  west  of  the  Var- 
dar. The  Bulgarian  flank  was  secure  on 
that  wing  because  the  terjjain  was  im- 
possible. The  eastern  side  of  the  valley 
is  also  protected  by  hills,  but  of  a  less 
formidable  nature,  and  round  this 
mountain  mass  the  Cerna  River  bends 
back  on  its  own  course. 

The  Bulgars  had  constructed  a  series 
of  intrenchments  across  the  southern  en- 
trance of  the  valley  near  the  town  of 


Kenali  and  stretching  from  the  eastern 
mountains  to  those  on  the  west.  Be- 
tween these  lines  and  the  Serbian  front 
at  Lake  Ostrova  lay  a  ridge  of  hills  cul- 
minating in  the  high  peak  of  Kaymak- 
chalan.  They  were  situated  astride  Sar- 
.rail's  line  of  advance  and  were  held  in 
by  force  by  the  enemy. 

On  Sept.  14  the  Serbian  outposts  were 
heavily  reinforced  and  counterattacked 
the  Bulgars  opposed  to  them.  Mean- 
time, a  Franco-Russian  column  was  out- 
flanking the  western  end  of  the  ridge, 
and  next  day  the  Serbian  advance 
captured  the  main  position  with  thirty- 
two  field  and  heavy  guns.  The  Bulgars 
fought  a  rear-guard  action  at  the  River 
Brod,  but  failed  to  hold  their  pursuers, 
and  on  the  18th  the  French  and  Serbians 
entered  Fiorina. 

On  the  19th  the  Serbs  carried  by  as- 
sault the  high  peak  of  Kaymakchalan 
and  repelled  successive  counterattacks  to 
recover  it  during  the  next  week.  An- 
other fortnight  passed  in  carrying  for- 
ward the  railway,  bringing  up  the  heavy 
guns  and  accumulating  a  sufficiency  of 
shells.  On  Oct.  14  and  15  a  frontal  as- 
sault on  the  Kenali  lines  failed. 

General  Sarrail  now  changed  his 
tactics  and  directed  the  artillery  against 
the  positions  on  the  eastern  hills.  The 
next  month  was  occupied  by  the  French 
artillery  and  Serbian  infantry  in  clear- 
ing ridge  after  ridge  from  which  they 
enfiladed  the  Kenali  lines,  and,  in  co- 
operation with  a  Franco-Russian  frontal 
assault,  compelled  the  Bulgars  to  evacu- 
ate them  on  Nov.  14.  The  latter  were 
unable  to  make  a  further  stand  in  front 
of  Monastir,  and  on  Nov.  19  General  Sar- 
rail's  troops  entered  the  city. 


[For  a  Greek  view  of  the  acts  of  Greece  see  Page  1 18] 


British  Operations  at  Saloniki 

Official  Report  of  General  Milne 


[See  Map  on  Page   156] 


SINCE  the  conference  at  Rome  the 
situation  in  Macedonia  has  been 
radically  changed.  The  weakness 
of  General  Sarrail's  position  lay 
in  the  fact  that  neither  England  nor 
France  felt  free  to  send  from  the  critical 
western  front  the  large  reinforcements  of 
men  which  the  situation  north  of  Saloniki 
called  for.  Italy  had  the  men,  but  was 
unwilling  to  send  them  and  to  incur  the 
heavy  additional  expense  of  maintaining 
them  in  Macedonia.  The  conference  at 
Rome,  in  which  Premier  Lloyd  George 
was  the  dominant  figure,  overcame  that 
reluctance,  probably  promising  Italy 
parts  of  fhe  Turkish  Empire  that  had 
been  earlier  assigned  tentatively  to 
Greece  and  guaranteeing  the  cost  of  che 
new  expedition.  The  result  has  been  im- 
mediate and  of  the  highest  importance. 
Rome  dispatches  indicate  that  Italy  has 
sent,  or  is  sending,  a  force  of  not  less 
than  300,000  men;  that  these  troops,  to 
avoid  the  danger  of  submarines,  are  being 
dispatched,  not  to  Saloniki,  but  to  Avlona, 
which  is  within  forty  miles  of  the  Italian 
coast;  and,  finally,  these  Italian  forces 
have  not  only  built  an  excellent  highway 
through  the  Albanian  mountains  but 
have  already  joined  forces  with  General 
Sarrail's  right  wing  at  Monastir.  All 
these  facts  indicate  early  activity  in  the 
Macedonian  sector. 

This  glimpse  of  present  conditions  will 
serve  to  introduce  the  following  report 
of  General  G.  F.  Milne,  commanding  the 
British  Saloniki  Army  in  Macedonia,  on 
last  Summer's  operations  in  that  sector. 
His  report,  submitted  to  the  British  War 
Office  early  in  December,  1916,  covered 
the  army's  operations  from  May  9  to 
Oct.  8.  The  official  text  of  the  report  is 
here  reproduced,  with  a  few  minor  omis- 
sions : 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following 
report  on  the  operations  carried  out  -by  the 
British  Saloniki  army  since  I  asumed  com- 
mand on  May  9,  in  accordance  with  instruc- 
tions received  from  the  General  Officer  Com- 


manding in  Chief,  Egyptian  Expeditionary 
Force. 

On  that  date  the  greater  part  of  the  army 
was  concentrated  within  the  fortified  lines 
of  Saloniki,  extending  from  Stavros  on  the 
east  to  near  the  Galiko  River  on  the  west; 
a  mixed  force,  consisting  of  a  mounted  bri- 
gade and  a  division,  had  been  pushed  for- 
ward to  the  north  of  Kukush  in  order  to 
support  the  French  Army  which  had  ad- 
vanced and  was  watching  the  right  bank  of 
the  Struma  River  and  the  northern  frontier 
of  Greece.  Further  moves  in  this  direction 
were  contemplated,  but,  in  order  to  keep  the 
army  concentrated,  I  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment with  General  .Sarrail  by  which  the 
British  forces  should  become  responsible  for 
that  portion  of  the  allied  front  which  cov- 
ered Saloniki  from  the  east  and  northeast. 
By  this  arrangement  a  definite  and  independ- 
ent area  was  allotted  to  the  army  under  my 
command.  On  June  8  the  troops  commenced 
to  occupy  advanced  positions  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  River  Struma  and  its  tributary, 
the  River  Butkova,  from  Lake  Tachinos  to 
Lozista  village.  By  the  end  of  July,  on  the 
demobilization  of  the  Greek  Army,  this  occu- 
pation had  extended  to  the  sea  at  Chai 
Aghizi.  Along  the  whole  front  the  construc- 
tion of  a  line  of  resistance  was  begun ;  work 
on  trenches,  entanglements,  bridgeheads,  and 
supporting  points  was  commenced ;  for  ad- 
ministrative purposes  the  reconstruction  of 
the  Saloniki-Seres  road  was  undertaken  and 
the  cutting  of  wagon  tracks  through  the 
mountainous   country  was  pushed  forward. 

On  July  20,  in  accordance  with  the  policy 
laid  down  in  my  instructions,  and  in  order  to 
release  French  troops  for  employment  else- 
where, I  began  to  take  over  the  line  south 
and  west  of  Lake  Doiran,  and  commenced 
preparations  for  a  joint  offensive  on  this 
front.  This  move  was  completed  by  Aug.  2, 
and  on  the  10th  of  that  month  an  offensive 
was  commenced  against  the  Bulgarian  de- 
fenses south  of  the  line  Doiran-Hill  535.  The 
French  captured  Hills  227  and  La  Tortue, 
while  the  British  occupied  in  succession  those 
features  of  the  main  535  ridge  now  known  as 
Kidney  Hill  and  Horseshoe  Hill,  and,  pushing 
forward,  established  a  series  of  advanced 
posts  on  the  line  Doldzeli-Reselli.  The  cap- 
ture of  Horseshoe  Hill  was  successfully  car- 
ried out  on  the  night  of  Aug.  17-18  by  the 
Oxfordshire  and  Buckinghamshire  Light  In- 
fantry at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  in  the  face 
of  stubborn  opposition.  The  enemy's  coun- 
terattacks were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss. 

As  a  result  of  these  operations  it  became 
possible    to    shorten    considerably    the    allied 


104 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


line  between  Doiran  Lake  and  the  River  Var- 
dar,  and  on  Aug.  29,  in  agreement  with  Gen- 
eral Sarrail,  I  extended  my  front  as  far  as 
the  left  bank  of  that  river  so  as  to  set  free 
more  troops  for  his  offensive  operations. 
This  relief  was  completed  by  Aug.  31,  the 
position  then  held  extending  from  Hill  420 
to  the  Vardar  River  just  north  of  Smol.  In 
the  Struma  Valley  a  French  mounted  detach- 
ment was  at  the  same  time  pushed  forward 
to  Seres. 

Bulgarian  Invasion  of  Macedonia 

On  Aug.  17  the  Bulgarians,  who,  at  the  end 
of  May,  had  entered  Greek  territory  by  the 
Struma  Valley  and  moved  down  as  far  as 
Demir  Hissar,  continued  their  advance  into 
Greek  Macedonia.  Columns  of  all  arms  ad- 
vanced from  seven  different  points,  between 
Sarisaban,  on  the  Mesta,  and  Demir  Hissar. 
The  four  eastern  columns  converged  on  the 
country  about  Drama  and  Kavala,  while  the 
remainder  moved  southward  on  to  the  line 
of  the  Struma  from  Demir  Hissar  toward 
Orfano.  On  Aug.  19  a  mounted  brigade  with 
one  battery  carried  out  a  strong  reconnois- 
sance,  and  found  the  enemy  in  some  force 
on  the  line  Prosenik-Barakli  Djuma ;  on  the 
following  day,  after  being  reinforced  by  a 
battalion,  this  brigade  again  advanced  in  con- 
junction with  the  French  detachment.  These 
attacking  troops,  after  encountering  the 
enemy  in  force  on  the  line  Kalendra-Prosenik- 
Haznatar,  withdrew  after  dark  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Struma.  The  French  detach- 
ment was  subsequently  placed  under  the 
orders  of  the  General  Officer  Commanding 
British  troops  on  this  front,  and  received  in- 
structions to  co-operate  in  the  defense  of  the 
river  line. 

On  Aug.  21  the  railway  bridge  near  Angista 
Station  was  demolished  by  a  detachment  from 
the  Neohori  garrison,  and  three  days  later 
two  road  bridges  over  the  Angista  River  were 
destroyed.  Both  these  operations  were  well 
carried  out  by  yeomanry,  engineers,  and 
cyclists  in  the  face  of  hostile  opposition. 

The  Bulgarians  continued  their  advance 
into  Eastern  Macedonia  unopposed  by  the 
Greek  garrison,  and  it  was  estimated  that  by 
the  end  of  August  the  enemy's  forces,  extend- 
ing from  Demir  Hissar  southward  in  the 
Seres  sector  of  the  Struma  front,  comprised 
the  complete  Seventh  Bulgarian  Division, 
with  two  or  three  regiments  of  the  Eleventh 
Macedonian  Division,  which  had  moved  east- 
ward from  their  positions  on  the  Beles 
Mountain  to  act  as  a  reserve  to  the  Seventh 
Division,  and  at  the  same  time  to  occupy  the 
defenses  from  Vetrina-Pujovo  northward. 
Opposite  the  Lower  Struma  was  a  brigade  of 
the  Second  Division,  with  a  brigade  of  the 
Tenth  Division,  in  occupation  of  the  coast  and 
the  zone  of  country  between  Orfano  and  the 
Drama-Kavala  road.  This  brigade  of  the 
Tenth  Division  was  supported  by  another 
brigade  in  the  Drama-Kavala  area.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  advance  and  of  a  similar  move 
in  the  west  General  Sarrail  decided  to  intrust 


to  the  British  Army  the  task  of  maintaining 
the   greater  portion   of   the   right  and   ee 
Of  the  allied  line. 

Struma  Crossed  in  Six  Places 
Oti  Sept.  10  detachments  crossed  the  river 
above  Lake  Tachinos  at  five  places  between 
Bajraktar  Mah  and  Dragos,  while  a  sixth  de- 
tachment crossed  lower  down  at  Neohori. 
The  villages  of  Oraoman  and  Kato  Gudeli 
were  occupied,  and  the  Northumberland  Fu- 
siliers gallantly  captured  Nevolien,  taking 
thirty  prisoners  and  driving  the  enemy  out  of 
the  village.  The  latter  lost  heavily  during 
their  retirement  and  in  their  subsequent  coun- 
terattack. They  also  suffered  severely  from 
our  artillery  fire  in  attempting  to  follow  our 
prearranged  movements  to  regain  the  right 
bank  of  the  river. 

On  the  15th  similar  ..operations  were  under- 
taken, six  small  columns  crossing  the  river 
between  Lake  Tachinos  and  Orljak  bridge. 
The  villages  of  Kato  Gudeli,  Dzami  Mah, 
Agomah,  and  Komarjan  were  burned  and 
twenty-seven  prisoners  were  taken.  The  ene- 
my's counterattacks  completely  broke  down 
under  the  accurate  fire  of  our  guns  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river.  On  the  23d  a  similar 
scheme  was  put  into  action,  but  a  sudden  rise 
of  three  feet  in  the  Struma  interfered  with 
the  bridging  operations.  Nevertheless,  the 
enemy's  trenches  at  Yenimah  were  captured, 
fourteen  prisoners  taken,  and  three  other 
villages  raided.  Considerable  help  was  given 
on  each  occasion  by  the  French  detachment 
under  Colonel  Bescoins,  and  much  informa- 
tion was  obtained  which  proved  to  be  of  conr 
siderable  value  during  subsequent  operations. 
On  the  Doiran-River  Vardar  front  there  re- 
mained as  before  the  whole  of  the  Bulgarian 
Ninth  Division,  less  one  regiment;  a  brigade 
of  the  Second  Division,  and  at  least  two- 
thirds  of  the  German  101st  Division,  which 
had  intrenched  the  salient  north  of  Machu- 
kovo  on  the  usual  German  system.  To  assist 
the  general  offensive  by  the  Allies  I  ordered 
this  salient  to  be  attacked  at  the  same  time 
as  the  allied  operations  in  the  Fiorina  area 
commenced.  With  this  object  in  view  the 
whole  of  the  enemy's  intrenched  position  was 
subjected  to  a  heavy  bombardment  from 
Sept.  11  to  13,  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
salient  known  as  the  Piton  des  Mitrailleuses 
being  specially  selected  for  destruction.  The 
enemy's  position  was  occupied  during  the 
night  13th-14th,  after  a  skillfully  planned  and 
gallant  assault,  in  which  the  King's  Liverpool 
Regiment  and  Lancashire  Fusiliers  specially 
distinguished  themselves.  Over  200  Germans 
were  killed  in  the  work,  chiefly  by  bombing, 
and  seventy-one  prisoners  were  brought  in. 
During  the  14th  the  enemy  concentrated  from 
three  directions  a  very  heavy  artillery  fire, 
and  delivered  several  counterattacks,  which 
were  for  the  most  part  broken  up  under  the 
fire  of  our  guns.  Some  of  the  enemy,  how- 
ever, succeeded  in  forcing  an  entrance  into 
the  work,  and  severe  fighting  followed.  As 
hostile     reinforcements     were     increasing     in 


BRITISH  OPERATIONS  AT  SALONIKI 


165 


numbers,  and  as  the  rocky  nature  of  the 
ground  rendered  rapid  consolidation  difficult, 
the  troops  were  withdrawn  in  the  evening  to 
their  original  line,  the  object  of  the  attack 
having  been  accomplished.  This  withdrawal 
was  conducted  with  little  loss,  thanks  to  the 
very  effective  fire  of  the  artillery.  During 
the  bombardment  and  subsequent  counter- 
attack the  enemy's  losses  must  have  been 
considerable.  On  the  same  front  on  the  night 
of  the  20th-21st,  after  bombarding  the  hostile 
positions  on  the  Crete  des  Tentes,  a  strong 
detachment  raided  and  bombed  the  trenches 
and  dugouts,  retiring  quickly  with  little  loss. 
A  similar  raid  was  carried  out  northeast  of 
Doldzeli. 

In  addition  to  these  operations  and  raids, 
constant  combats  took  place  between  patrols, 
many  prisoners  being  captured,  and  several 
bombing  raids  were  carried  out  by  the  Royal 
Flying  Corps. 

Holding   the   Bulgarians 

In  order  further  to  assist  the  progress  of 
our  allies  toward  Monastir  by  maintaining 
such  a  continuous  offensive  as  would  insure 
no  transference  of  Bulgarian  troops  from  the 
Struma  front  to  the  west,  I  now  issued  in- 
structions for  operations  on  a  more  extensive 
scale  than  those  already  reported.  In  accord- 
ance with  these  the  General  Officer  Com- 
manding on  that  front  commenced  operations 
by  seizing  and  holding  certain  villages  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river  with  a  view  to  enlarg- 
ing the  bridgehead  opposite  Orljak,  whence  he 
would  be  in  a  position  ^to  threaten  a  further 
movement  either  on  Seres  or  on  Demir 
Hissar.  The  high  ground  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river  enabled  full  use  to  be  made  of 
our  superiority  in  artillery,  which  contributed 
greatly  to  the  success  of  these  operations. 
The  river  itself  formed  a  potential  danger, 
owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which  its  waters 
rise  after  heavy  rain  in  the  mountains,  but 
by  the  night  of  Sept.  29  sufficient  bridges 
had  been  constructed  by  the  Royal  Engineers 
for  the  passage  of  all  arms.  During  the 
night  of  Sept.  29-30  the  attacking  infantry 
crossed  below  Orljak  bridge  and  formed  up 
on  the  left  bank. 

At  dawn  on  the  following  morning  the 
Gloucesters  and  the  Cameron  Highlanders 
advanced  under  cover  of  an  artillery  bom- 
bardment, and  by  8  A.  M.  had  seized  the  vil- 
lage of  Karadjakoi  Bala.  Shortly  after  the 
occupation  of  the  village  the  enemy  opened 
a  heavy  and  accurate  artillery  fire,  but  the 
remaining  two  battalions  of  the  brigade,  the 
Royal  Scots  and  Argyll  and  Sutherland  High- 
landers, though  suffering  severely  from  en- 
filade fire,  pushed  on  against  Karadjakoi 
Zir.  By  5:30  P.  M.  that  village  also  was 
occupied,  in  spite  of  the  stubborn  resistance 
of  the  enemy.  Attempts  to  bring  forward 
hostile  reinforcements  were  frustrated  during 
the  day  by  our  artillery,  but  during  the- night 
the  Bulgarians  launched  several  strong  coun- 
terattacks, which  were  repulsed  with  heavy 
loss. 


During  the  following  night  determined 
counterattacks  of  the  enemy  were  again  re- 
pulsed, and  by  the  evening  of  Oct.  2  the 
position  had  been  fully  consolidated.  Prepara- 
tions were  at  once  made  to  extend  the  posi- 
tion by  the  capture  of  Yenikoi,  an  important 
village  on  the  main  Seres  road.  This  opera- 
tion was  successfully  carried  out  by  an  in- 
fantry brigade,  composed  of  the  Royal 
Munster  and  Royal  Dublin  Fusiliers,  on  the 
morning  of  Oct.  3,  after  bombardment  by 
our  artillery.  By  7  A.  M.  the  village  was  in 
our  hands.  During  the  day  the  enemy 
launched  three  heavy  counterattacks.  The 
first  two  were  stopped  by  artillery  fire, 
which  caused  severe  loss.  At  4  P.  M.  the 
village,  the  ground  in  the  rear,  and  the 
bridges  were  subjected  to  an  unexpectedly 
heavy  bombardment  from  several  heavy  bat- 
teries which  had  hitherto  not  disclosed  their 
positions.  Following  on  the  bombardment 
was  the  heaviest  counterattack  of  the  day, 
six  or  seven  battalions  advancing  from  the 
direction  of  Homondos,  Kalendra,  and 
Topalova  with  a  view  to  enveloping  our 
positions.  This  attack  was  carried  forward 
with  great  determination,  and  some  detach- 
ments succeeded  in  entering  the  northern 
portion  of  Yenikoi,  where  hard  fighting  con- 
tinued all  night,  until  fresh  reinforcements 
succeeded  in  clearing  out  such  enemy  as 
survived.  During  the  following  day  the  con- 
solidation of  our  new  line  was  continued 
under  artillery  fire.  On  the  5th,  after  a 
bombardment,  the  village  of  Nevolien  was 
occupied,  the  Bulgarian  garrison  retiring  on 
the  approach  of  our  infantry.  By  the  fol- 
lowing evening  the  front  extended  from 
Komarjan  on  the  right  via  Yenikoi  to  Elisan 
on  the  left.  On  the  7th  a  strong  reconnois- 
sance  by  mounted  troops  located  the  enemy 
on  the  Demir  Hissar-Seres  railway,  with 
advanced  posts  approximately  on  the  line  of 
the  Belica  stream  and  a  strong  garrison  in 
Barakli  Djuma.  On  Oct.  8  our  troops  had 
reached  the  line  Agomah-Homondos-Elisan- 
Ormanli,  with  the  mounted  troops  on  the 
line  Kispeki-Kalendra.  The  enemy's  casual- 
ties during  these  few  days  were  heavy,  over 
1,500  corpses  being  counted  in  the  immediate 
front  of  the  captured  localities.  Three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  prisoners  and  three 
machine    guns   were    taken. 

I  consider  that  the  success  of  these  opera- 
tions was  due  to  the  skill  and  decision  with 
which  they  were  conducted  by  Lieut.  Gen. 
C.  J.  Briggs,  C.  B.,  and  to  the  excellent  co- 
operation of  all  arms,  which  was  greatly  as- 
sisted by  the  exceptional  facilities  for  obser- 
vation of  artillery  fire.  The  Royal  Flying 
Corps,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  which  they 
had  to  overcome  and  the  great  strain  on  their 
resources,  rendered  valuable  assistance. 
Armored  motor  cars  were  used  with  ef- 
fect.   *    *    * 

On  the  enforcement  of  martial  law  the  man- 
agement of  the  three  lines  of  railway  radiat- 
ing from  Saloniki  had  to  be  undertaken  by 
the    Allies ;    one    line,    the    Junction-Saloniki- 


166 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Constantinople,  is  now  entirely  administered 
by  the  British  Army;  this,  together  with 
the  additional  railway  traffic  involved  by  the 
arrival  of  the  Serbian  Army,  as  well  as  the 
Russian  and  Italian  troops,  has  thrown  a 
considerable  strain  on  the  railway  directo- 
rate, which,  however,  has  successfully  risen 
to  the  occasion  and  has  worked  harmonious- 
ly and  smoothly  with  the  French  military 
and  Greek  civil  officials. 

Medical   Services   and  Malaria 

I  desire  specially  to  acknowledge  the  excel- 
lent work  rendered  by  Surgeon  Gen.  H.  R 
Whitehead,  C.  B.,  and  all  ranks  of  the  medi- 
cal services  under  his  command  during  a 
period  in  which  sickness  was  prevalent.  All 
branches  of  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps 
and  the  Canadian  Army  Medical  Corps  de- 
serve the  greatest  commendation  and  have 
fully  maintained  their  high  traditions  of  effi- 
ciency. 

The  medical  services  have  been  called  upon 
to  face  problems  of  great  difficulty.  It  can 
be  easily  realized  that  in  a  climate  varying 
from  severe  cold  to  intense  damp  heat,  and 
in  a  mountainous  country  deficient  in  water, 
poorly  supplied  with  roads,  without  local  re- 
sources, and  where  dysentery  and  malaria 
are  rife,  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
these  services  must  necessarily  be  heavy. 
Experiments  as  to  the  most  efficacious  types 
of  mountain  ambulance  transport  had  been 
conducted  in  the  Winter  and  Spring,  and  as  a 


result  tiavois,  mule  litters,  and  cacolets  now 
form  integral  portions  of  each  field  ambu- 
lance. 

During  the  same  period  exhaustive  meas- 
ures were  taken  for  an  anti-malarial  cam- 
paign. Officers  with  special  knowledge  were 
appointed  to  supervise  anti-malarial  work; 
swampy  areas  were  drained  and  the  defen- 
•  sive  lines  then  held  carefully  surveyed  with 
a  view  to  only  the  most  healthy  portions 
being  held.  Although  malaria  has  still  been 
the  prevailing  disease,  yet  I  feel  certain  that 
these  careful  precautionary  measures  have 
been  greatly  instrumental  in  lessening  its  in- 
tensity. The  move  to  the  valley  of  the 
Struma  in  June  tested  all  the  preparations 
made  and  severely  tried  the  medical  re- 
sources. The  area  occupied  was  found  to  be 
highly  malarious,  the  heat  intense  and  damp, 
and  the  single  road  from  the  base  long,  hilly, 
and  of  uneven  surface.  The  organization  of 
this  line  of  evacuation  and  the  arrangement 
of  halting  places  and  refilling  points  was, 
however,  successfully  undertaken.  *  *  * 
On  the  declaration  of  martial  law  at 
Saloniki  on  June  3,  certain  administrative 
functions  *  had  necessarily  to  be  taken  over 
from  the  Greeks  by  the  Allies ;  among  these 
was  the  control  of  the  customs,  which  is  now 
administered  by  a  Greek  director  working 
under  the  supervision  of  a  commission  com- 
posed of  British  and  French  officers  directed 
by  French  Headquarters.  The  administra- 
tion of  this  important  office  has  been  con- 
ducted with   discretion  and  common  sense. 


"The  Mad  Dog  of  Europe" 

T.  P.  O'Connor,  writing  in  The  London  Chronicle  a  few  days  after  the 
breaking  of  America's  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  offered  this  striking 
parable: 

A  mad  dog  rushes  into  the  streets  early  in  the  morning  when  few  people 
are  about.  Most  of  the  citizens  are  still  in  bed.  For  horrible  moments  it  has 
full  and  unchecked  run;  it  bites  here,  there,  everywhere.  It  catches  the  early 
postman  and  chambermaid  and  jumps  at  the  baby  in  arms  until  the  whole  town 
is  at  last  aroused  and,  pellmell,  everybody  rushes  after  the  mad  dog  until  at 
last  its  brains  are  dashed  out  by  truncheon  or  rifle  and  the  unclean  and  Wicked 
thing  lies  on  the  ground  with  the  poisonous  foam  still  oozing  from  its  dead  and 
impotent  lips. 

This  is  a  parable.  It  sums  up  and  symbolizes  to  my  imagination  the  story 
of  Germany  in  this  war.  For  years,  as  Lloyd  George  puts  it  in  one  of  his  great 
passages,  she  plotted  to  murder  Europe  in  her  sleep.  Meantime  she  prepared 
herself  for  the  devil's  work  by  poisoning  her  mind  and  the  mind  of  all  her  peo- 
ples with  the  devil's  gospel  that  might  alone  constituted  right;  that  war  was  not 
merely  the  means  but  the  end;  that  the  human  conscience,  free  will,  and  the 
existence  of  nations  should  lie  at  the  mercy  of  the  biggest  battalions  and  the  best 
machine  guns,  and  when  the  appropriate  time  was  supposed  to  have  come  she 
burst  on  sleeping  and  unarmed  Europe,  foaming  at  the  mouth  with  the  fury  of 
madness. 

At  first  the  mad  dog  was  able  to  bite  and  to  infect  everybody  and  every- 
where until  at  last  the  whole  world  woke  up  to  the  universal  peril,  and  today  the 
whole  world,  or  almost  the  whole  world,  is  in  full  pursuit  of  the  noxious  beast 
and  its  end  is  near  at  hand.  America  has  come  in  to  give  the  coup  de  grace — 
for  it  is  quite  certain  America's  intervention  is  the  coup  de  grace. 


Blame. for  the  Dardanelles  Failure 

The  Report    of   the    Special  Com- 
mission Headed    by   Lord  Cromer 


THERE  was  issued  in  London, 
March  8,  1917,  a  comprehensive 
report  by  the  special  commission 
appointed  by  Parliament  to  in- 
vestigate the  ill-fated  Dardanelles  cam- 
paign. The  report  is  an  ad  interim  one, 
dealing  exclusively  with  the  origin  and 
inception  of  the  attack  on  the  Darda- 
nelles. It  is  signed  by  the  late  Lord 
Cromer,  who  was  Chairman  of  the  com- 
mission; Andrew  Fisher,  representing 
Australia;  Thomas  McKenzie,  represent- 
ing New  Zealand;  Sir  Frederick  Cawley, 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster; 
James  A.  Clyde,  Lord  Advocate;  Stephen 
L.  Gwynn,  Nationalist  Member  of  the 
House  of  Commons;  Rear  Admiral  Sir 
William  H.  May,  Field  Marshal  Baron 
Nicholson,   and   Justice    Pickford. 

There  were  two  minority  reports — a 
dissent  by  Andrew  Fisher,  Australian 
High  Commissioner,  on  one  of  the  find- 
ings, and  by  Thomas  McKenzie,  New 
Zealand  High  Commissioner,  on  the 
same;  and  a  separate  report  by  Walter 
Roch,  Liberal  Member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Pembrokeshire. 

The  signing  of  the  report  was  the  last 
act  performed  by  Lord  Cromer;  his  death 
followed  a  few  days  later.  There  has 
been  some  discussion  as  to  why  a  docu- 
ment revealing  the  inner  history  of  an 
ill-fated  campaign  should  be  published 
by  the  Government  in  time  of  war,  and 
it  is  charged  that  it  was  done  for  political 
effect  to  discredit  the  Asquith  Adminis- 
tration; in  fact,  in  the  discussion  in  the 
House  of  Parliament  a  few  days  after  it 
was  made  public,  the  findings  of  the 
commission  were  quoted  as  a  direct  re- 
flection on  the  Asquith  Cabinet.  Some 
influential  English  newspapers  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  demand  proceedings 
against  Asquith  and  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet  responsible  for  the  cam- 
paign. 

The  report  is  remarkable  for  its 
candor.     It   blames   in  frank   terms  the 


late  Earl  Kitchener,  Secretary  of  War; 
Winston  Spencer  Churchill,  then  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty;  Lord  Fisher, 
then  First  Sea  Lord;  Prime  Minis- 
ter Asquith,  and  other  members  of  the 
War  Council, 

Kitchener  a  Dominant  Force 
The  report  begins  with  a  general 
synopsis  of  the  organization  of  the  War 
Cabinet  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  management  in  November,  1914,  de- 
volved upon  a  War  Council  of  the 
Cabinet,  consisting  of  Premier  Asquith, 
Earl  Kitchener,  and  Mr.  Churchill,  with 
Sir  Edward  Grey,  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  and 
the  Marquis  of  Crewe,  then  heads  of  the 
Foreign,  Treasury,  and  India  Offices, 
participating,  but  with  comparatively 
inactive  advisory  functions.  Sea  Lords 
Fisher  and  Wilson  were  with  Mr. 
Churchill,  and  Chief  of  Staff  General 
Murray  with  Earl  Kitchener,  theoretic- 
ally as  technical  advisers,  but  in  practice, 
according  to  the  report,  usually  playing 
silent  parts.  The  commission  was 
"  struck  with  the  atmosphere  of  vague- 
ness and  want  of  precision  which  seems 
to  have  characterized  the  proceedings  of 
the  War  Council." 

Mr.  Churchill  testified  that  Mr.  As- 
quith and  Earl  Kitchener  "  settled  mat- 
ters," although  he  had  the  same  author- 
ity. The  commission  thought  his  view 
was  overmodest.  The  Cabinet  as  a  body 
placed  all  responsibility  on  the  council, 
sometimes  requesting  that  it  was  not  to 
be  told  of  occurrences  on  the  ground 
that  the  fewer  who  knew  of  them  the 
better. 

Earl  Kitchener's  dominating  influence 
pervades  the  testimony.  The  commission 
says  he  would  not  impart  full  informa- 
tion of  his  plans,  even  to  the  War  Coun- 
cil. His  action  in  holding  troops  back 
for  three  weeks  without  consulting  the 
Admiralty  greatly  compromised  the 
probability  of  success. .  Mr.  Churchill  de- 


168 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


scribed  him  as  "  all  powerful,  imper- 
turbable, and  reserved,"  adding,  "  he 
dominated  absolutely  our  councils  at  this 
time.  The  belief  that  he  had  plans  deep- 
er and  wider  than  any  we  could  see 
silenced  misgivings." 

The  report  discusses  the  political  as- 
pects of  the  campaign,  saying  it  was 
also  designed  to  influence  Bulgaria  and 
Italy,  then  neutrals,  and  relieve  pressure 
on  Russia.  General  Hamilton  said  Earl 
Kitchener  thought  the  operation  would 
be  successful  in  staving  off  Bulgaria's 
entrance  into  the  war,  in  occupying  300,- 
000  Turks  for  nine  months,  and  in  heart- 
ening Russia. 

Designed  to  Defeat  Egypt 

The  report  summarizes  the  conclusions 
reached  as  follows: 

The  question  of  attacking  the  Dardenelles 
was,  on  the  initiative  of  Mr.  Churchill, 
brought  under  the  consideration  of  the  War 
Council  on  Nov.  25,  1914,  as  the  ideal  method 
of  defending  Egypt.  It  may  reasonably  be 
assumed  that  inasmuch  as  all  the  authorities 
concerned  were  prima  facie  in  favor  of  a 
joint  military  rather  than  a  purely  naval  at- 
tack, such  an  attack,  if  undertaken  at  all, 
would  have  been  of  the  former  rather  than 
of  the  latter  character  had  not  other  cir- 
cumstances led  to  a  modification  of  the  pro- 
gram. A  communication  from  the  Russian 
Government  of  Jan.  2  introduced  a  fresh 
element  into  the  case.  The  British  Govern- 
ment considered  that  something  must  be 
done  in  response  to  it,  and  in  this  connection 
the  question  of  attacking  the  Dardanelles 
was  again  raised. 

The  Secretary  of  State  for  War  declared 
that  there  were  no  troops  immediately  avail- 
able for  operations  in  the  East,  and  his 
statement  was  accepted  by  the  War  Council, 
who  took  no  steps  to  satisfy  themselves  by 
reports  of  estimates  as  to  what  troops  were 
available  then  or  in  the  near  future.  Had 
this  been  done  the  Commissioners  think  it 
would  have  been  ascertained  that  sufficient 
troops  would  be  available  for  a  joint  military 
and  naval  operation  at  an  earlier  date  than 
supposed,  but  this  matter  was  not  adequately 
investigated  by  the  War  Council.  Thus  the 
question  before  the  War  Council  on  Jan.  13 
was  whether  no  action  of  any  kind  should 
for  the  time  being  be  undertaken  or  whether 
action  should  be  taken  by  the  fleet  alone, 
the  navy  being  held  to  be  the  only  force 
available. 

Political  arguments,  which  were  adduced 
to  the  War  Council  in  favor  of  a  prompt  and 
effective  action  if  such  were  practicable, 
were  valid  and  of  the  highest  importance,  but 
the  practicability  of  whatever  action  was 
proposed  was  of  equal  importance.  Mr. 
Churchill  appears  to  have  advocated  an  at- 


tack by  ships  alone  before  the  War  Council, 
on  a  certain  amount  of  half-hearted  and 
hesitating  expert  opinion  which  favored  a 
tentative  or  progressive  scheme,  beginning 
with  an  attack  upon  the  outer  forts.  This  at- 
tack, if  sucessful,  was  to  be  followed  by 
further  operations  against  the  main  defenses 
of  the  Narrows.  There  does  not  appear  to 
have* been  direct  support  or  direct  opposition 
from  the  responsible  naval  and  military  ad- 
visers, Lord  Fisher  and  Sir  James  Wolfe 
Murray,  as  to  the  practicability  of  carrying 
on  the  operations  as  approved  by  the  War 
Council,  viz.,  to  bombard  and  take  the  Gal- 
lipoli  Peninsula,  with  Constantinople  as  the 
objective. 

Fisher  Made  No   Objection 

The  First  Sea  Lord  and  Sir  Arthur  Wilson, 
who  was  the  only  naval  adviser  present  at 
the  War  Council,  expressed  no  dissent.  Lord 
Kitchener,  who  occupied  a  commanding  posi- 
tion at  the  time  the  decision  was  taken,  was 
in  favor  of  the  project.  Both  Lord  Fisher 
and  Sir  Arthur  Wilson  would  have  preferred 
a  joint  naval  and  military  attack,  but  they 
did  not  express  to  the  War  Council  and  were 
not  asked  to  express  any  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  offered  no  objection  to  naval  opera- 
tions, as  they  considered  them  experimental 
and  such  as  could  be  discontinued  if  the  first 
results   obtained    were   not   satisfactory. 

The  Commissioners  think  that  there  was  an 
obligation,  first  on  the  First  Lord,  secondly 
on  the  Prime  Minister,  thirdly  on  one  other 
member  of  the  War  Council,  to  see  that  the 
views  of  the  naval  advisers  were  clearly  put 
before  the  council,  and  that  the  naval  ad- 
visers should  have  expressed  their  views  to 
the  council,  whether  asked  or  not,  if  they 
considered  the  project  which  the  council  was 
about  to  adopt  was  impracticable  from  a 
naval  point  of  view. 

Looking  at  the  position  which  existed  on 
Jan.  13,  1915,  the  Commissioners  do  not  think 
the  War  Council  was  justified  in  coming  to 
the  decision  without  much  fuller  investiga- 
tion of  the  proposition  which  had  been  sug- 
gested to  them.  The  Commissioners  hold 
that  the  possibility  of  making  a  surprise 
amphibious  attack  on  Gallipoli  offered  such 
great  military  and  political  advantage  that 
it  was  mistaken  and  ill-advised  to  sacrifice 
this  possibility  by  deciding  to  undertake  a 
purely  naval  attack,  which  from  its  nature 
could  not  obtain  completely  the  object  set 
out   in   the  terms   of  the   decision. 

The  decision  taken  on  the  16th  to  mass 
troops  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Dardanelles 
marked  a  very  critical  stage  of  the  whole 
operation.  It  ought  to  have  been  clear  that 
when  this  was  once  done,  even  if  troops 
were  not  actually  landed,  it  would  be  ap- 
parent to  the  world  that  a  serious  attack 
was  intended,  and  a  withdrawal  could  no 
longer  be  effected  without  running  serious 
risk  of  loss  of  prestige.  At  that  moment,  as 
time  was  all  important,  no  compromise  was 
possible  between   making  an   immediate   and 


BLAME  FOR  THE  DARDANELLES  FAILURE 


169 


vigorous  effort  to  insure  success  at  the  Dar- 
danelles by  joint  naval  and  military  occupa- 
tion and  falling  back  on  the  original  inten- 
tion of  desisting  from  a  naval  attack  if  the 
experiences  gained  during  the  bombardment 
were  unsatisfactory. 

Troops  Delayed  by  Kitchener 

On  Feb.  20  Lord  Kitchener  decided  that 
the  Twenty-ninth  Division,  part  of  the  troops 
which  by  the  decision  of  Feb.  16  were  to  be 
sent  to  the  East,  should  not  be  sent  at  that 
time,  and  Colonel  Fitzgerald  instructed  the 
Director  of  Naval  Transport  that  transports 
for  that  division  and  the  rest  of  the  expedi- 
tionary force  would  not  be  required.  This  was 
done  without  informing  the  First  Lord,  and 
the  dispatch  of  troops  was  thus  delayed  three 
weeks.  This  delay  greatly  compromised  the 
probability  of  success  of  the  original  attack 
by  land  forces  and  materially  increased  the 
difficulties  encountered  in  the  final  attack 
some  months  later. 

We  consider  that  in  view  of  the  opinions 
expressed  by  the  naval  and  military  authori- 
ties on  the  spot  the  decision  to  abandon  the 
naval  attack  after  the  bombardment  of  March 
18  was  inevitable.  There  was  no  meeting  of 
the  War  Council  between  March  19  and  May 
14.  Meanwhile  important  land  operations 
were  undertaken.  We  think  that  before  such 
operations  were  commenced  the  War  Council 
should  have  carefully  reconsidered  the  whole 
position. 

In  our  opinion  the  Prime  Minister  ought 
to  have  summoned  a  meeting  of  the  War 
Council  for  that  purpose  and,  if  not  sum- 
moned, other  members  of  the  War  Council 
should  have  pressed  for  such  a  meeting.  We 
think  this  was  a  serious  omission.  We  con- 
sider that  the  responsibility  of  those  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet  who  did  not  attend  the 
meetings  of  the  War  Council  was  limited  to 
the  fact  that  they  delegated  their  authority 
to  their  colleagues  who  attended  those  meet- 
ings. 

We  are  of  the  opinion  that  Lord  Kitchener 
did  not  sufficiently  avail  himself  of  the 
services  of  his  General  Staff,  with  the .  result 
that  more  work  was  undertaken  by  him  than 
it  was  possible  for  one  man  to  do,  and  con- 
fusion and  want  of  efficiency  resulted. 

We  are  unable  to  concur  in  the  view  set 
forth  by  Lord  Fisher  that  it  was  his  duty, 
if  he  differed  from  the  chief  of  his  depart- 
ment, to  maintain  silence  at  the  council  or 
to  resign.  We  think  that  the  adoption  of 
any  such  principle  generally  would  impair 
the  efficiency  of  public  service. 

We  think  that  although  the  main  object  was 
not  attained,  certain  important  political  ad- 
vantages, upon  the  nature  of  which  we  have 
already  dwelt,  were  secured  by  the  Darda- 
nelles expedition.  Whether  those  advantages 
were  worth  the  loss  of  life  and  treasure  in- 
volved is  and  must  always  remain  a  matter 
of  opinion. 


The  report  says  that  Lord  Kitchen- 
er's premature  death  and  the  death  of 
his  secretary,  Major  Fitzgerald,  render 
it  impossible  to  state  with  the  same  con- 
fidence as  in  the  case  of  living  witnesses 
the  opinions  and  aims  of  Lord  Kitchener 
at  different  periods  of  the  proceedings. 
The  commission  does  not  believe,  how- 
ever, that  even  deference  to  the  memory 
of  the  illustrious  dead  justified  it  in  ab- 
staining from  complete  revelations  of 
his  course.  The  report  adds :  "  It  is  nec- 
essary to  do  justice  to  the  living  as  well 
as  to  the  dead." 

Colonel  Churchill  testified  that  Lord 
Kitchener's  personal  qualities  and  po- 
sition played  a  very  great  part  in  the  de- 
cision of  events,  the  report  says.  It  con- 
tinues: "  He  was  the  sole  mouthpiece  of 
War  Office  opinion  in  the  War  Council. 
When  he  gave  a  decision  it  was  invari- 
ably accepted  as  final.  He  was  never 
overruled  by  the  War  Council  or  Cabinet 
in  any  matter,  great  or  small.  Scarcely 
any  one  ever  ventured  to  argue  with  him 
in  the  council." 

Major  Gen.  Charles  E.  Callwell,  who 
was  Director  of  Military  Operations  at 
the  War  Office  at  the  time  of  the  Dar- 
danelles expedition,  testified  that  the 
General  Staff  virtually  ceased  to  exist, 
because  it  was  not  consulted. 

The  principle  of  centralization  was 
pushed  to  the  extreme  point  by  Lord 
Kitchener.  It  proved  successful  in  the 
minor  operations  in  the  Sudan,  but  in 
larger  operations  it  threw  on  one  man 
more  work  that  any  individual  could 
cope  with. 

Australian  Commissioner  Dissents 

Andrew  Fisher,  Australian  High  Com- 
missioner in  London,  in  a  note  issued 
with  the  Dardanelles  report  dissented 
from  the  findings  of  the  majority — that 
the  naval  advisers  should  have  expressed 
their  views  at  the  War  Council;  and  from 
the  opinion  of  the  majority — that  Lord 
Fisher  was  not  justified  in  remaining 
silent.   Mr.  Fisher  says: 

I  dissent  in  the  strongest  terms  from  any 
suggestion  that  departmental  advisers  of  a 
Minister,  in  his  company  at  council  meetings, 
should  express  any  views  at  all  other  than 
to  the  Minister  and  through  him,  unless  spe- 
cifically invited  to  do  so.     I  am  of  the  opinion 


170 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


that  it  would  seal  the  fate  of  responsible 
government  if  servants  of  the  State  were  to 
share  the  responsibility  of  Ministers  to  Par- 
liament and  to  the  people  on  matters  of 
public  policy.  The  Minister  has  command  of 
the  opinions  and  views  of  all  the  officers  of 
the  department  he  administers  on  matters  of 
public  policy.  Good  stewardship  demands 
from  Ministers  of  the  Crown  frank,  fair,  and 
full  statements  of  all  opinions  of  trusted 
and  experienced  officials  to  their  colleagues 
when  they  have  direct  reference  to  matters 
of  high  policy. 

Thomas  McKenzie,  High  Commissioner 
of  New  Zealand  in  London,  took  a  sim- 
ilar stand  regarding  Lord  Fisher  and 
the  naval  advisers.  Mr.  McKenzie  also 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  commis- 
sion was  not  yet  justified  in  coming  to 
a  decision  as  to  the  results  of  the  enter- 
prise. To  do  so,  he  said,  it  would  be  nec- 
essary to  investigate  the  conduct  of  the 
offensive  on  the  Gallipoli  Peninsula  and 
of  the  subsidiary  operations. 

A  separate  report  was  presented  also 
by  Walter  F.  Roch,  Liberal  member, of 
the  House  of  Commons  from  Pembroke- 
shire. Mr.  Roch  made  an  exhaustive  ex- 
position of  the  attitude  of  Lord  Fisher, 
who,  he  said,  vigorously  opposed  the 
Dardanelles  enterprise  and  on  Jan.  28 
actually  left  the  council  table  declaring 
he  would  resign  his  office. 

"  Lord  Kitchener,"  he  continued, 
"took  Lord  Fisher  aside  and  urged  him 
that  his  duty  to  the  country  was  to  con- 
tinue in  office.  Lord  Fisher  reluctantly 
yielded  to  Lord  Kitchener's  entreaty  and 
resumed  his  seat." 

Lord  Fisher,  continues  the  Roch  re- 
port, in  his  evidence  before  the  Commis- 
sioners said  he  had  "  taken  every  step  to 
show  his  dislike  of  the  proposed  opera- 
tions," and  replying  to  a  question  as  to 
why  he  had  made  no  formal  protests  at 


the  meetings  of  the  War  Council,  told 
the  Commissioners:  "  Mr.  Churchill  knew 
my  opposition.  I  didn't  think  it  would 
tend  toward  good  relations  between  him 
and  myself,  nor  to  smooth  working  at  the 
Admiralty,  to  raise  an  objection  in  the 
War  Council's  discussions." 

Lord  Fisher's  Point  of  View 

After  the  decision  of  the  War 
Council  had  been  taken  and  the  expedi- 
tion begun,  Lord  Fisher,  the  report  con- 
tinues, did  everything  in  his  power  to 
assist.  His  whole  theory  of  the  use  of 
the  British  sea  power  in  the  war,  Mr. 
Roch  states,  was  embodied  in  a  memo- 
randum submitted  to  Premier  Asquith 
in  January,  as  follows: 

The  Germans  have  already  endeavored, 
without  success,  to  scatter  our  naval  strength 
by  attacks  on  our  trade  and  by  submarines 
and  mines.  The  pressure  of  sea  power  is  a 
slow  process  and  requires  great  patience.  In 
time  it  will  almost  certainly  compel  the 
enemy  to  seek  a  decision  at  sea.  This  is  one 
reason  for  husbanding  our  resources.  Another 
reason  is  that  the  prolongation  of  war  at  sea 
tends  to  raise  up  fresh  enemies  for  the 
dominant  naval  power,  owing  to  the  exaspera- 
tion of  neutrals.  This  tendency  is  only 
checked  by  the  conviction  that  an  overwhelm- 
ing naval  supremacy  is  behind  the  nation 
exercising  the  sea  power. 

The  sole  justification  of  bombardments  and 
attacks  by  the  fleet  on  fortified  places,  such 
as  the  Dardanelles,  is  to  force  a  decision  at 
sea.  As  long  as  the  German  High  Sea  Fleet 
possesses  its  present  strength  and  splendid 
gunnery  efficiency,  so  long  is  it  imperative 
that  no  operation  be  undertaken  by  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  calculated  to  impair  its  superiority, 
which  is  none  too  great  in  view  of  the  heavy 
losses  already  experienced  in  ships  and  men, 
which  latter  cannot  be  filled  in  the  period  of 
^the  war,  in  which  the  navy  differs  material- 
ly from  the  army.  Even  the  older  ships 
should  not  be  risked,  for  they  cannot  be  lost 
without  losing  men,  and  they  form  the  only 
reserve  behind  the  great  fleet. 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY  CARTOONISTS 

Note.— Owing  to  the  seizure  of  all  German  periodicals  by  the  British  blockade  patrols,  Chr- 
rent  History  Magazine  has  been  unable  to  obtain  for  this  issue  a  full  representation  of  recent 
German  cartoons. 

[Swiss  Cartoon] 

Dying  Europe 


Europe:  "Help!" 
America  :  "  Pay !  " 


—From   Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 


171 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

Steady  Pounding 


—From  Iberia,  Barcelona. 

Attila-Wilhelm  :  "  The  more  I  tremble  the  harder  the  Briton  hammers  at 
the  door!" 


172 


[German  Cartoon] 


The  Sacrifice  for  Fame 


— ©    Jugend,  Berlin. 
Since  France  has  no  coal,  she  throws  her  17-year-olds  into  the  fire. 


173 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

•     Deporting  the  Belgians 


*• ' 


—From   L'Asino,   Rome. 
The  Boche:  "By  going  into  Germany  you  will  acquire  our  Kultur  better." 


171 


[English  Cartoon] 

A  Ball  You  Don't  Punch  Twice 


—From    The  London   Telegram. 

Wait  for  the  return  journey  and  see  what  happens. 
[French  Cartoon] 

German  Remorse 


—From   La  Victoire,  Paris. 
What  an  awful  war !    I  would  give  Belgium  for  a  mess  of  sauerkraut !  " 


175 


[Swiss  Cartoons] 

Among  the  Neutrals 


Brother  Jonathan  :  "  Come  on  the  ice  with  me ! 
Spain  :  "  No !    Thank  you !  " 


From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 


The  Latest  Stunt  in  the  White  House 


—From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 


"  While  I  Still  in  Angel  Garb  "—comedy  skit  in  the  popular  show  by  W.  Wilson. 
[Published  at  the  time  of  President  Wilson's  peace  notes.] 


176 


[English  Cartoons] 

The  Two  Eagles 


—From  The  Westminster  Gazette. 


Notice  to   quit. 


The  New  Shark 


—From   The   Westminster  Gazette. 
Neptune  :  "  Now,  then,  clear  out  of  here,  you  murdering  villain !     Aren't 
there  sharks  enough  in  the  sea  without  you?  " 


177 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

Civilizing  Armenia 


In  Armenia  two  trenches  of  murdered  Armenians  were  discovered."— Cable  dispatch. 


—From   I J  }20,  Florence. 

Under  the  protection  of  German  "  Kultur  "  the  Turk  is  making  every  effort  to 
civilize  the  Armenian  people. 


178 


[Australian  Cartoon] 

The  Pacific  President 


—From   The  Sydney  Bulletin. 

Bull:  "Mean  to  say  you  attach  the  same  weight  to  both  cases?    Haven't  the 
German  outrages  made  your  blood  boil?  " 

Wilson:  "  Brother,  if  I  HAD  any  blood,  it  would  NEVER  boil." 


179 


[French  Cartoon] 


Reply  of  the  Entente 


L.  ;,  A<v 


J&tiw 


—From  La  Baionnette,  Paris. 
A  German  peace?    We  will  sit  on  it! 


180 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 

Peace  Threatens 


—From  Be  Nieuwe  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 
Mars  and  Death:  "  If  we  cant  drive  her  away  we  are  lost!  " 


181 


[English  Cartoon] 

The  Fool  and  His  Folly 


"  There  is  no  God  but  me!  "  cries  Bill, 
In  tones  of  blood  and  thunder; 

"  On  all  the  world  I'll  work  my  will, 
Or  split  the  earth  asunder!  " 


— From   John   Bull,   London. 

But  Bill — blaspheming  fool! — will  learn 

He's  made  a  fatal  blunder, 
For  soon  the  world  will  "  take  a  turn," 

And  Bill  will  then  go  under. 


182 


[English  Cartoon] 

The  Awakening 


ft*T7%*»*A~ir 


—From  London  Opinion. 
Uncle  Sam  :  "  And  I  always  thought  until  now  it  was  a  man !  " 


8:; 


[Swiss   Cartoon] 
The    Latest    Victim 


[Spanish   Cartoon] 
German  w  Humanity  " 


—From  NebeJspalter,  Zurich. 
The  Entente  has  taken  a  prisoner. 

[English  Cartoon] 
Ending   in  a  "Draw" 


—From  Iberia,  Barcelona. 
Peace — in  the  name  of  humanity! 

[English  Cartoon] 

Barred  Sea  Zones 


y?m 


\%Z* 


*4lcf*^ 


—From  The  Evening  Neivs,  London. 

President  Wilson  says  the  war  must 
end  in  a  "  draw."  If  meant  in  the  sense 
depicted  above  we  entirely  agree  with 
him. 


-From  The  London  Evening  News. 
The  Limit! 


184 


[American  Cartoons] 


The  Temptation 


—From  The  Dallas  Morning  News. 

German  money  for  a  Mexican  invasion 
of  the  United  States. 


The  Watchdog  Uncle  Sam 
Is  Looking  For 


»=>«•_■>  O  SfeittSv— 


—From  The  Knickerbocker  Press. 


Seeing  Is  Believing 


In  German  Headquarters 


WHO  15  THIS 
FELLOW  -^ 
UNCLE  5AM? 


-From  The  Boston  Journal.  —From  The  Spokesman-Review,  Spokane. 

The  Kaiser's  friendly  hand.  The-  threat  without  an  army  back  of  it. 


185 


[American  Cartoons] 
Too  Proud  to  Bite  An  Untenable  Position 


IfflseOgggsi 


•From  The  Knickerbocker  Press. 


—From  The  Portland  Oregonian. 

Unpreparedness  is  a  rotten  limb  to  de- 
pend on  in  an  emergency. 


The  Submarine  Blockade 


Who    is  Pulling  the  Strings? 


-From  The  San  Francisco  Chronicle 


—From  The  New  York  Times. 

"  Damn  the  torpedoes !     Go  ahead !  " — 
Admiral  Farragut. 


186 


[American  Cartoons] 
Crucified  Awaiting   an  "  Overt  Act 


-From  The  St.  Louis  Republic.  ~From  The  st-  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 

The  rights  of  humanity  on  the  cross  of 

military  necessity.  Patience  that  has  ceased  to  be  a  virtue. 


What's    He    Smoking? 


Lying  in  Wait 


—From  The  Ohio  State  Journal. 
The  Kaiser's  pipe  dreams. 


—From  The  Telegram,  New  York. 


187 


188 


189 


[American  Cartoon] 

The  Rebellious  Pupil 


"From  The  New  York  Times. 
Teacher:    "Maybe  you'll  feel  more  like  playing  when  I'm  through  with  you. 


190 


w 


P.kWFZ^ 


^y^.w 


AMERICA'S  DECLARATION  OF  WAR 
5.  J.  Re..  i.<PuBL«;  RESOLUTION  ...NO.   /  ~  ...teth  CONGRESS.) 


$ixtg-ffitJ!  Congress  of  %  SBnitco  Stabs  of  America; 

Sit  the  ghst  Session, 


beld  «  the  City  ot  Washington  on  Monday,  the  secood  day  of  April, 
one  thomand  nine  bundled  and  seventeen. 


JOINT  RESOLUTION 


Declaring  that  a  state  of  war  exists  between  the  Imperial  German  Government 
and  the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  making 
provision  to  prosecute  the  same. 


Whereas  the  Imperial  German  Government  has  committed  repeated  acts  of 
war  against  the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America:  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  o$  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  state  of  war  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Imperial  German  Government  which  has  thus  been  thrust  upon 
the  United  States  is  hereby  formally  declared ;  and  that  the  President  be,  and 
he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  employ  the  entile  naval  and  military 
forces  of  the  United  States  and  the  resources  of  the  Government  to  carry  on  war 
against  the  Imperial  Gorman  Government;  and  to  bring  the  conflict  to  a 
successful  termination  all  of  the  resources  of  the  country  are  hereby  pledged  by 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 


Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Vice  President  of  the  United  States  and 

President  of  the  Senate. 


Official  Photograph  of  the  Resolution  Which,  When  Signed 
by  the  President,  Began  Our  War  with  Germany. 

(Photo  Harrit  d   Ewing) 

^<^J^ 


PRESIDENT  DELIVERING  HIS  WAR  MESSAGE 


President  Wilson  Reading  the  Historic  Address  of  April  2,  PS 

Which  Led  to  a  Formal  Declaration  of  a  State  of  War 

<l>  nan   by   VMor  Perard.    ©  1017   by  New   York   Timet  Co.) 


^    -v-._     • 


<zte£}£Bm 


THE  WAR  MESSAGE 

Delivered  by  President  Woodrow  Wilson  Before 
the    United    States    Congress    on    April    2,    1917 

Text  of  the  address  read  by  the  President  at  8:30  P.  M.,  April  2,  1917,  at  the  Joint 
Session  of  Congress,  convened  by  special  call  at  noon  of  that  day. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Congress: 

I  HAVE  called  the  Congress  into  extraordinary  session  because  there 
are  serious,  very  serious,  choices  of  policy  to  be  made,  and  made 
immediately,  which  it  was  neither  right  nor  constitutionally 
permissible  that  I  should  assume  the  responsibility  of  making. 

On  the  3d  of  February  last  I  officially  laid  before  you  the  ex- 
traordinary announcement  of  the  Imperial  German  Government  that 
on  and  after  the  first  day  of  February  it  was  its  purpose  to  put  aside 
all  restraints  of  law  or  of  humanity  and  use  its  submarines  to  sink  every 
vessel  that  sought  to  approach  either  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  or  the  western  coasts  of  Europe  or  any  of  the  ports  controlled 
by  the  enemies  of  Germany  within  the  Mediterranean.  That  had  seemed 
to  be  the  object  of  the  German  submarine  warfare  earlier  in  the  war, 
but  since  April  of  last  year  the  Imperial  Government  had  somewhat  re- 
strained the  commanders  of  its  undersea  craft,  in  conformity  with  its 
promise,  then  given  to  us,  that  passenger  boats  should  not  be  sunk  and 
that  due  warning  would  be  given  to  all  other  vessels  which  its  subma- 
rines might  seek  to  destroy,  when  no  resistance  was  offered  or  escape 
attempted,  and  care  taken  that  their  crews  were  given  at  least  a  fair 
chance  to  save  their  lives  in  their  open  boats.  The  precautions  taken 
were  meagre  and  haphazard  enough,  as  was  proved  in  distressing 
instance  after  instance  in  the  progress  of  the  cruel  and  unmanly  busi- 
ness, but  a  certain  degree  of  restraint  was  observed. 

The  new  policy  has  swept  every  restriction  aside.  Vessels  of  every 
kind,  whatever  their  flag,  their  character,  their  cargo,  their  destination, 
their  errand,  have  been  ruthlessly  sent  to  the  bottom  without  warning 
and  without  thought  of  help  or  mercy  for  those  on  board,  the  vessels  of 
friendly  neutrals  along  with  those  of  belligerents.  Even  hospital  ships 
and  ships  carrying  relief  to  the  sorely  bereaved  and  stricken  people  of 
Belgium,  though  the  latter  were  provided  with  safe  conduct  through  the 
proscribed  areas  by  the  German  Government  itself  and  were  distin- 
guished by  unmistakable  marks  of  identity,  have  been  sunk  with  the 
same  reckless  lack  of  compassion  or  of  principle. 

I  was  for  a  little  while  unable  to  believe  that  such  things  would  in 
fact  be  done  by  any  Government  that  had  hitherto  subscribed  to  humane 
practices  of  civilized  nations.'  International  law  had  its  origin  in  the 
attempt  to  set  up  some  law  which  would  be  respected  and  observed  upon 
the  seas,  where  no  nation  had  right  of  dominion  and  where  lay  the  free 


1M  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


highways  of  the  world.  By  painful  stage  after  stage  has  that  law  been 
built  up,  with  meagre  enough  results,  indeed,  after  all  was  accomplished 
that  could  be  accomplished,  but  always  with  a  clear  view,  at  least,  of 
what  the  heart  and  conscience  of  mankind  demanded. 

Ruthless  Destruction  of  Life 

This  minimum  of  right  the  German  Government  has  swept  aside, 
under  the  plea  of  retaliation  and  necessity  and  because  it  had  no  weapons 
which  it  could  use  at  sea  except  these,  which  it  is  impossible  to  employ, 
as  it  is  employing  them,  without  throwing  to  the  wind  all  scruples  of 
humanity  or  of  respect  for  the  understandings  that  were  supposed  to 
underlie  the  intercourse  of  the  world. 

I  am  not  now  thinking  of  the  loss  of  property  involved,  immense 
and  serious  as  that  is,  but  only  of  the  wanton  and  wholesale  destruction 
of  the  lives  of  noncombatants,  men,  women,  and  children,  engaged  in 
pursuits  which  have  always,  even  in  the  darkest  periods  of  modern  his- 
tory, been  deemed  innocent  and  legitimate.  Property  can  be  paid  for; 
the  lives  of  peaceful  and  innocent  people  cannot  be.  The  present  German 
submarine  warfare  against  commerce  is  a  warfare  against  mankind. 

It  is  a  war  against  all  nations.  American  ships  have  been  sunk, 
American  lives  taken,  in  ways  which  it  has  stirred  us  very  deeply  to  learn 
of,  but  the  ships  and  people  of  other  neutral  and  friendly  nations  have 
been  sunk  and  overwhelmed  in  the  waters  in  the  same  way.  There  has 
been  no  discrimination. 

The  challenge  is  to  all  minkind.  Each  nation  must  decide  for  itself 
how  it  will  meet  it.  The  choice  we  make  for  ourselves  must  be  made  with 
a  moderation  of  counsel  and  a  temperateness  of  judgment  befitting  our 
character  and  our  motives  as  a  nation.  We  must  put  excited  feeling 
away.  Our  motive  will  not  be  revenge  or  the  victorious  assertion  of  the 
physical  might  of  the  nation,  but  only  the  vindication  of  right,  of  human 
right,  of  which  we  are  only  a  single  champion. 

When  I  addressed  the  Congress  on  the  26th  of  February  last  I 
thought  that  it  would  suffice  to  assert  our  neutral  rights  with  arms,  our 
right  to  use  the  seas  against  unlawful  interference,  our  right  to  keep  our 
people  safe  against  unlawful  violence.  But  armed  neutrality,  it  now 
appears,  is  impracticable.  Because  submarines  are  in  effect  outlaws, 
when  used  as  the  German  submarines  have  been  used  against  merchant 
shipping,  it  is  impossible  to  defend  ships  against  their  attacks,  as  the 
law  of  nations  has  assumed  that  merchantmen  would  defend  themselves 
against  privateers  or  cruisers,  visible  craft  giving  chase  upon  the  open 
sea.  It  is  common  prudence  in  such  circumstances,  grim  necessity 
indeed,  to  endeavor  to  destroy  them  before  they  have  shown  their  own 
intention.    They  must  be  dealt  with  upon  sight,  if  dealt  with  at  all. 

The  German  Government  denies  the  right  of  neutrals  to  use  arms 
at  all  within  the  areas  of  the  sea  which  it  has  proscribed,  even  in  the 


THE   PRESIDENTS    WAR    MESSAGE  193 

defense  of  rights  which  no  modern  publicist  has  ever  before  questioned 
their  right  to  defend.  The  intimation  is  conveyed  that  the  armed  guards 
which  we  have  placed  on  our  merchant  ships  will  be  treated  as  beyond 
the  pale  of  law  and  subject  to  be  dealt  with  as  pirates  would  be.  Armed 
neutrality  is  ineffectual  enough  at  best;  in  such  circumstances  and  in 
the  face  of  such  pretensions  it  is  worse  than  ineffectual ;  it  is  likely  only 
to  produce  what  it  was  meant  to  prevent ;  it  is  practically  certain  to  draw 
us  into  the  war  without  either  the  rights  or  the  effectiveness  of  bellig- 
erents. There  is  one  choice  we  cannot  make,  we  are  incapable  of  making ; 
we  will  not  choose  the  path  of  submission  and  suffer  the  most  sacred 
rights  of  our  nation  and  our  people  to  be  ignored  or  violated.  The  wrongs 
against  which  we  now  array  ourselves  are  no  common  wrongs;  they 
cut  to  the  very  roots  of  human  life. 

Stale  of  War  Recognized 

With  a  profound  sense  of  the  solemn  and  even  tragical  character  of 
the  step  I  am  taking  and  of  the  grave  responsibilities  which  it  involves, 
but  in  unhesitating  obedience  to  what  I  deem  my  constitutional  duty,  I 
advise  that  the  Congress  declare  the  recent  course  of  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Government  to  be  in  fact  nothing  less  than  war  against  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States;  that  it  formally  accept  the 
status  of  belligerent  which  has  thus  been  thrust  upon  it ;  and  that  it  take 
immediate  steps  not  only  to  put  the  country  in  a  more  thorough  state  of 
defense,  but  also  to  exert  all  its  power  and  employ  all  its  resources  to 
bring  the  Government  of  the  German  Empire  to  terms  and  end  the  war. 

What  this  will  involve  is  clear.  It  will  involve  the  utmost  practicable 
co-operation  in  counsel  and  action  with  the  Governments  now  at  war 
with  Germany,  and,  as  incident  to  that,  the  extension  to  those  Govern- 
ments of  the  most  liberal  financial  credits,  in  order  that  our  resources 
may  so  far  as  possible  be  added  to  theirs. 

It  will  involve  the  organization  and  mobilization  of  all  the  material 
resources  of  the  country  to  supply  the  materials  of  war  and  serve  the 
incidental  needs  of  the  nation  in  the  most  abundant  and  yet  the  most 
economical  and  efficient  way  possible. 

,  It  will  involve  the  immediate  full  equipment  of  the  navy  in  all 
respects,  but  particularly  in  supplying  it  with  the  best  means  of  dealing 
with  the  enemy's  submarines. 

It  will  involve  the  immediate  addition  to  the  armed  forces  of  the 
United  States,  already  provided  for  by  law  in  case  of  war,  of  at  least 
500,000  men,  who  should,  in  my  opinion,  be  chosen  upon  the  principle 
of  universal  liability  to  service,  and  also  the  authorization  of  subsequent 
additional  increments  of  equal  force  so  soon  as  they  may  be  needed  and 
can  be  handled  in  training. 

It  will  involve  also,  of  course,  the  granting  of  adequate  credits  to  the 
Government,  sustained,  I  hope,  so  far  as  they  can  equitably  be  sustained 
by  the  present  generation,  by  well-conceived  taxation. 


194  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


I  say  sustained  so  far  as  may  be  equitable  by  taxation,  because  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  most  unwise  to  base  the  credits,  which  will 
now  be  necessary,  entirely  on  money  borrowed.  It  is  our  duty,  I  most 
respectfully  urge,  to  protect  our  people,  so  far  as  we  may,  against  the 
very  serious  hardships  and  evils  which  would  be  likely  to  arise  out  of  the 
inflation  which  would  be  produced  by  .vast  loans. 

In  carrying  out  the  measures  by  which  these  things  are  to  be  accom- 
plished we  should  keep  constantly  in  mind  the  wisdom  of  interfering  as 
little  as  possible  in  our  own  preparation  and  in  the  equipment  of  our 
own  military  forces  with  the  duty — for  it  will  be  a  very  practical  duty — 
of  supplying  the  nations  already  at  war  with  Germany  with  the  ma- 
terials which  they  can  obtain  only  from  us  or  by  our  assistance.  They 
are  in  the  field,  and  we  should  help  them  in  every  way  to  be  effective 
there. 

I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  suggesting,  through  the  several  executive 
departments  of  the  Government,  for  the  consideration  of  your  com- 
mittees, measures  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  several  objects  I  have 
mentioned.  I  hope  that  it  will  be  your  pleasure  to  deal  with  them  as 
having  been  framed  after  very  careful  thought  by  the  branch  of  the 
Government  upon  whom  the  responsibility  of  conducting  the  war  and 
safeguarding  the  nation  will  most  directly  fall. 

While  we  do  these  things,  these  deeply  momentous  things,  let  us  be 
very  clear,  and  make  very  clear  to  all  the  world,  what  our  motives  and 
our  objects  are.  My  own  thought  has  not  been  driven  from  its  habitual 
and  normal  course  by  the  unhappy  events  of  the  last  two  months,  and 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  thought  of  the  nation  has  been  altered  or  clouded 
by  them.  I  have  exactly  the  same  things  in  mind  now  that  I  had  in  mind 
when  I  addressed  the  Senate  on  the  22d  of  January  last ;  the  same  that 
I  had  in  mind  when  I  addressed  the  Congress  on  the  3d  of  February  and 
on  the  26th  of  February.  Our  object  now,  as  then,  is  to  vindicate  the 
principles  of  peace  and  justice  in  the  life  of  the  world  as  against  selfish 
and  autocratic  power,  and  to  set  up  among  the  really  free  and  self- 
governed  peoples  of  the  world  such  a  concert  of  purpose  and  of  action 
as  will  henceforth  insure  the  observance  of  those  principles. 

The  Menace  of  Autocracy 

Neutrality  is  no  longer  feasible  or  desirable  where  the  peace  of  the 
world  is  involved  and  the  freedom  of  its  peoples,  and  the  menace  to  that 
peace  and  freedom  lies  in  the  existence  of  autocratic  Governments, 
backed  by  organized  force  which  is  controlled  wholly  by  their  will,  not 
by  the  will  of  their  people.  We  have  seen  the  last  of  neutrality  in  such 
circumstances.  We  are  at  the  beginning  of  an  age  in  which  it  will  be 
insisted  that  the  same  standards  of  conduct  and  of  responsibility  for 
wrong  done  shall  be  observed  among  nations  and  their  Governments 
that  are  observed  among  the  individual  citizens  of  civilized  States. 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  German  people.    We  have  no  feeling 


THE   PRESIDENTS    WAR    MESSAGE  195 

toward  them  but  one  of  sympathy  and  friendship.  It  was  not  upon. their 
impulse  that  their  Government  acted  in  entering  this  war.  It  was  not 
with  their  previous  knowledge  or  approval.  It  was  a  war  determined 
upon  as  wars  used  to  be  determined  upon  in  tne  old,  unhappy  days,  when 
peoples  were  nowhere  consulted  by  their  rulers  and  wars  were  provoked 
and  waged  in  the  interest  of  dynasties  or  of  little  groups  of  ambitious 
men  who  were  accustomed  to  use  their  fellow-men  as  pawns  and  tools. 

Self -governed  nations  do  not  fill  their  neighbor  States  with  spies  or 
set  the  course  of  intrigue  to  bring  about  some  critical  posture  of  affairs 
which  will  give  them  an  opportunity  to  strike  and  make  conquest.  Such 
designs  can  be  successfully  worked  out  only  under  cover  and  where  no 
one  has  the  right  to  ask  questions.  Cunningly  contrived  plans  of  decep- 
tion or  aggression,  carried,  it  may  be,  from  generation  to  generation, 
can  be  worked  out  and  kept  from  the  light  only  within  the  privacy  of 
courts  or  behind  the  carefully  guarded  confidences  of  a  narrow  and  priv- 
ileged class.  They  are  happily  impossible  where  public  opinion  commands 
and  insists  upon  full  information  concerning  all  the  nation's  affairs. 

The  Only  Basis  for  Peace 

A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never  be  maintained  except  by  a 
partnership  of  democratic  nations.  No  autocratic  Government  could 
be  trusted  to  keep  faith  within  it  or  observe  its  covenants.  It  must  be  a 
league  of  honor,  a  partnership  of  opinion.  Intrigue  would  eat  its  vitals 
away;  the  plottings  of  inner  circles  who  could  plan  what  they  would 
and  render  account  to  no  one  would  be  a  corruption  seated  at  its  very 
heart.  Only  free  peoples  can  hold  their  purpose  and  their  honor  steady 
to  a  common  end  and  prefer  the  interests  of  mankind  to  any  narrow 
interest  of  their  own. 

Does  not  every  American  feel  that  assurance  has  been  added  to  our 
hope  for  the  future  peace  of  the  world  by  the  wonderful  and  heartening 
things  that  have  been  happening  within  the  last  few  weeks  in  Russia? 
Russia  was  known  by  those  who  knew  her  best  to  have  been  always  in 
fact  democratic  at  heart  in  all  the  vital  habits  of  her  thought,  in  all  the 
intimate  relationships  of  her  people  that  spoke  their  natural  instinct, 
their  habitual  attitude  toward  life.  The  autocracy  that  crowned  the 
summit  of  her  political  structure,  long  as  it  had  stood  and  terrible  as  was 
the  reality  of  its  power,  was  not  in  fact  Russian  in  origin,  character,  or 
purpose ;  and  now  it  has  been  shaken  off  and  the  great,  generous  Russian 
people  have  been  added,  in  all  their  naive  majesty  and  might,  to  the 
forces  that  are  fighting  for  freedom  in  the  world,  for  justice,  and  for 
peace.    Here  is  a  fit  partner  for  a  League  of  Honor. 

One  of  the  things  that  have  served  to  convince  us  that  the  Prussian 
autocracy  was  not  and  could  never  be  our  friend  is  that  from  the  very 
outset  of  the  present  war  it  has  filled  our  unsuspecting  communities,  and 
even  our  offices  of  government,  with  spies  and  set  criminal  intrigues 
everywhere  afoot  against  our  national  unity  of  counsel,  our  peace  within 


IOC  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 

and  without,  our  industries  and  our  commerce.  Indeed,  it  is  now  evident 
that  its  spies  were  here  even  before  the  war  began ;  and  it  is  unhappily 
not  a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  a  fact  proved  in  our  courts  of  justice, 
that  the  intrigues  which  have  more  than  once  come  perilously  near  to 
disturbing  the  peace  and  dislocating  the  industries  of  the  country,  have 
been  carried  on  at  the  instigation,  with  the  support,  and  even  under  the 
personal  direction  of  official  agents  of  the  Imperial  Government  accred- 
ited to  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Even  in  checking  these  things  and  trying  to  extirpate  them  we  have 
sought  to  put  the  most  generous  interpretation  possible  upon  them  be- 
cause we  knew  that  their  source  lay,  not  in  any  hostile  feeling  or  purpose 
of  the  German  people  toward  us,  (who  were,  no  doubt,  as  ignorant  of 
them  as  we  ourselves  were,)  but  only  in  the  selfish  designs  of  a  Gov- 
ernment that  did  what  it  pleased  and  told  its  people  nothing.  But  they 
have  played  their  part  in  serving  to  convince  us  at  last  that  that  Govern- 
ment entertains  no  real  friendship  for  us,  and  means  to  act  against  our 
peace  and  security  at  its  convenience.  That  it  means  to  stir  up  enemies 
against  us  at  our  very  doors  the  intercepted  note  to  the  German  Minister 
at  Mexico  City  is  eloquent  evidence. 

We  are  accepting  this  challenge  of  hostile  purpose  because  we  know 
that  in  such  a  Government,  following  such  methods,  we  can  never  have  a 
friend ;  and  that  in  the  presence  of  its  organized  power,  always  lying  in 
wait  to  accomplish  we  know  not  what  purpose,  there  can  be  no  assured 
security  for  the  democratic  Governments  of  the  world.  We  are  now  about 
to  accept  the  gage  of  battle  with  this  natural  foe  to  liberty  and  shall,  if 
necessary,  spend  the  whole  force  of  the  nation  to  check  and  nullify  its 
pretensions  and  its  power.  We  are  glad,  now  that  we  see  the  facts  with 
no  veil  of  false  pretense  about  them,  to  fight  thus  for  the  ultimate  peace 
of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation  of  its  peoples,  the  German  peoples 
included ;  for  the  rights  of  nations,  great  and  small,  and  the  privilege  of 
men  everywhere  to  choose  their  way  of  life  and  of  obedience. 

A  World  Safe  for  Democracy 

The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy.  Its  peace  must  be 
planted  upon  the  tested  foundations  of  political  liberty.  We  have  no 
selfish  ends  to  serve.  We  desire  no  conquest,  no  dominion.  We  seek  no 
indemnities  for  ourselves,  no  material  compensation  for  the  sacrifices 
we  shall  freely  make.  We  are  but  one  of  the  champions  of  the  rights  of 
mankind.  We  shall  be  satisfied  when  those  rights  have  been  made  as 
secure  as  the  faith  and  the  freedom  of  nations  can  make  them. 

Just  because  we  fight  without  rancor  and  without  selfish  object, 
seeking  nothing  for  ourselves  but  what  we  shall  wish  to  share  with  all 
free  peoples,  we  shall,  I  feel  confident,  conduct  our  operations  as  bellig- 
erents without  passion  and  ourselves  observe  with  proud  punctilio  the 
principles  of  right  and  of  fair  play  we  profess  to  be  fighting  for. 

I  have  said  nothing  of  the  Governments  allied  with  the  Imperial 


THE   PRESIDENT'S    WAR    MESSAGE  197 


Government  of  Germany  because  they  have  not  made  war  upon  us  or 
challenged  us  to  defend  our  right  and  our  honor.  The  Austro-Hungarian 
Government  has,  indeed,  avowed  its  unqualified  indorsement  and  accept- 
ance of  the  reckless  and  lawless  submarine  warfare,  adopted  now  without 
disguise  by  the  Imperial  German  Government,  and  it  has  therefore  not 
been  possible  for  this  Government  to  receive  Count  Tarnowski,  the 
Ambassador  recently  accredited  to  this  Government  by  the  Imperial  and 
Royal  Government  of  Austria-Hungary;  but  that  Government  has  not 
actually  engaged  in  warfare  against  citizens  of  the  United  States  on  the 
seas,  and  I  take  the  liberty,  for  the  present  at  least,  of  postponing  a  dis- 
cussion of  our  relations  with  the  authorities  at  Vienna.  We  enter  this 
war  only  where  we  are  clearly  forced  into  it  because  there  are  no  other 
means  of  defending  our  rights. 

It  will  be  all  the  easier  for  us  to  conduct  ourselves  as  belligerents 
in  a  high  spirit  of  right  and  fairness  because  we  act  without  animus,  not 
with  enmity  toward  a  people  or  with  the  desire  to  bring  any  injury  or 
disadvantage  upon  them,  but  only  in  armed  opposition  to  an  irresponsible 
Government  which  has  thrown  aside  all  considerations  of  humanity  and 
of  right  and  is  running  amuck. 

Friends  of  the  German  People 

We  are,  let  me  say  again,  the  sincere  friends  of  the  German  people, 
and  shall  desire  nothing  so  much  as  the  early  re-establishment  of  inti- 
mate relations  of  mutual  advantage  between  us,  however  hard  it  may  be 
for  them  for  the  time  being  to  believe  that  this  is  spoken  from  our 
hearts.  We  have  borne  with  their  present  Government  through  all  these 
bitter  months  because  of  that  friendship,  exercising  a  patience  and  for- 
bearance which  would  otherwise  have  been  impossible. 

We  shall  happily  still  have  an  opportunity  to  prove  that  friendship 
in  our  daily  attitude  and  actions  toward  the  millions  of  men  and  women 
of  German  birth  and  native  sympathy  who  live  among  us  and  share  our 
life,  and  we  shall  be  proud  to  prove  it  toward  all  who  are  in  fact  loyal  to 
their  neighbors  and  to  the  Government  in  the  hour  of  test.  They  are 
most  of  them  as  true  and  loyal  Americans  as  if  they  had  never  known  any 
other  fealty  or  allegiance.  They  will  be  prompt  to  stand  with  us  in  re- 
buking and  restraining  the  few  who  may  be  of  a  different  mind  and  pur- 
pose. If  there  should  be  disloyalty,  it  will  be  dealt  with  with  a  firm  hand 
of  stern  repression ;  but,  if  it  lifts  its  head  at  all,  it  will  lift  it  only  here 
and  there  and  without  countenance  except  from  a  lawless  and  ma- 
lignant few. 

It  is  a  distressing  and  oppressive  duty,  gentlemen  of  the  Congress, 
which  I  have  performed  in  thus  addressing  you.  There  are,  it  may  be, 
many  months  of  fiery  trial  and  sacrifice  ahead  of  us.  It  is  a  fearful 
thing  to  lead  this  great,  peaceful  people  into  war,  into  the  most  terrible 
and  disastrous  of  all  wars,  civilization  itself  seeming  to  be  in  the  balance. 

But  the  right  is  more  precious  than  peace,  and  we  shall  fight  for  the 


198  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


things  which  we  have  always  carried  nearest  our  hearts — for  democracy, 
for  the  right  of  those  who  submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their 
own  Governments,  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a 
universal  dominion  of  right  by  such  a  concert  of  free  peoples  as  shall 
bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and  make  the  world  itself  at 
last  free. 

To  such  a  task  we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and  our  fortunes,  every- 
thing that  we  are  and  everything  that  we  have,  with  the  pride  of  those 
who  know  that  the  day  has  come  when  America  is  privileged  to  spend 
her  blood  and  her  might  for  the  principles  that  gave  her  birth  and  hap- 
piness and  the  peace  which  she  has  treasured. 

God  helping  her,  she  can  do  no  other. 


Text  of  the  Declaration  of  War 

Joint  Resolution  Passed  by  the  United  States  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives 

[Effective  April  6,  1917,  at  1:18  P.  M.] 

Whereas,  The  Imperial  German  Government  has  committed  repeated  acts  of  war 
against  the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America;  there- 
fore, be  it 

Resolved,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  state  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Imperial  German  Government,  which  has  thus  been  thrust  upon  the  United 
States,  is  hereby  formally  declared;  and 

That  the  President  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  employ  the 
entire  naval  and  military  forces  of  the  United  States  and  the  resources  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  carry  on  war  against  the  Imperial  German  Government;  and  to  bring 
the  conflict  to  a  successful  termination  all  the  resources  of  the  country  are  hereby 
pledged  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 


Proclamation  to  the  American  People 

Text  of  President  Wilson's  Formal  Announcement  of  a  State  of  War 

[Issued  on  April  6,  1917.] 

Whereas,  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  the  exercise  of  the  constitutional 
authority  vested  in  them,  have  resolved  by  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  bearing  date  this  day,  "  that  a  state  of  war  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Imperial  German  Government  which  has  been  thrust  upon  the  United 
States  is  hereby  formally  declared  "; 

Whereas,  It  is  provided  by  Section  4,067  of  the  Revised  Statutes  as  follows : 
"  Whenever  there  is  declared  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  any  foreign 
nation  or  Government  or  any  invasion  or  predatory  incursion  is  perpetrated, 
attempted,  or  threatened  against  the  territory  of  the  United  States  by  any  foreign 
nation  or  Government,  and  the  President  makes  public  proclamation  of  the  event,  all 
native  citizens,  denizens,  or  subjects  of  a  hostile  nation  or  Government  being  male 
of  the  age  of  14  years  and  upward,  who  shall  be  within  the  United  States  and  not 


THE    PRESIDENT'S    WAR    PROCLAMATION  199 


actually  naturalized,  shall  be  liable  to  be  apprehended,  restrained,  secured,  and 
removed  as  alien  enemies.  The  President  is  authorized  in  any  such  event  by  his 
proclamation  thereof,  or  other  public  acts,  to  direct  the  conduct  to  be  observed  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States  toward  the  aliens  who  become  so  liable;  the  manner  and 
degree  of  the  restraint  to  which  they  shall  be  subject  and  in  what  cases  and  upon 
what  security  their  residence  shall  be  permitted,  and  to  provide  for  the  removal  of 
those  who,  not  being  permitted  to  reside  within  the  United  States,  refuse  or  neglect 
to  depart  therefrom;  and  to  establish  any  such  regulations  which  are  found  necessary 
in  the  premises  and  for  the  public  safety." 

Whereas,  By  Sections  4,068,  4,069,  and  4,070  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  further 
provision  is  made  relative  to  alien  enemies; 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Woodrow  Wilson,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
do  hereby  proclaim,  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that  a  state  of  war  exists  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Imperial  German  Government,  and  I  do  specially  direct  all 
officers,  civil  or  military,  of  the  United  States  that  they  exercise  vigilance  and  zeal  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  incident  to  such  a  state  of  war,  and  I  do,  moreover, 
earnestly  appeal  to  all  American  citizens  that  they,  in  loyal  devotion  to  their  coun- 
try, dedicated  from  its  foundation  to  the  principles  of  liberty  and  justice,  uphold  the 
laws  of  the  land,  and  give  undivided  and  willing  support  to  those  measures  which 
may  be  adopted  by  the  constitutional  authorities  in  prosecuting  the  war  to  a  success- 
ful issue  and  in  obtaining  a  secure  and  just  peace; 

And,  acting  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  and  the  said  sections  of  the  Revised  Statutes, 

I  do  hereby  further  proclaim  and  direct  that  the  conduct  to  be  observed  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  toward  all  natives,  citizens,  denizens,  or  subjects  of 
Germany,  being  male  of  the  age  of  14  years  and  upward,  who  shall  be  within  the 
United  States  and  not  actually  naturalized,  who  for  the  purpose  of  this  proclamation 
and  under  such  sections  of  the  Revised  Statutes  are  termed  alien  enemies,  shall  be 
as  follows: 

All  alien  enemies  are  enjoined  to  preserve  the  peace  toward  the  United  States 
and  to  refrain  from  crime  against  the  public  safety  and  from  violating  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  States  and  Territories  thereof,  and  to  refrain  from 
actual  hostility  or  giving  information,  aid,  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the  United 
States  and  to  comply  strictly  with  the  regulations  which  are  hereby,  or  which  may 
be  from  time  to  time  promulgated  by  the  President,  and  so  long  as  they  shall  conduct 
themselves  in  accordance  with  law  they  shall  be  undisturbed  in  the  peaceful  pursuit 
of  their  lives  and  occupations,  and  be  accorded  the  consideration  due  to  all  peaceful 
and  law-abiding  persons,  except  so  far  as  restrictions  may  be  necessary  for  their 
own  protection  and  for  the  safety  of  the  United  States,  and  toward  such  alien 
enemies  as  conduct  themselves  in  accordance  with  law  all  citizens  of  the  United 
States  are  enjoined  to  preserve  the  peace  and  to  treat  them  with  all  such  friendliness 
as  may  be  compatible  with  loyalty  and  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 

And  all  alien  enemies  who  fail  to  conduct  themselves  as  so  enjoined,  in  addition 
to  alL  other  penalties  prescribed  by  law,  shall  be  liable  to  restraint  or  to  give  security 
or  to  remove  and  depart  from  the  United  States,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  Sections 
4,069  and  4,070  of  the  Revised  Statutes  and  as  prescribed  in  the  regulations  duly  pro- 
mulgated by  the  President. 

And  pursuant  to  the  authority  vested  in  me,  I  hereby  declare  and  establish  the 
following  regulations,  which  1  find  necessary  in  the  premises  and  for  the  public 
safety: 

1.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  have  in  his  possession  at  any  time  or  place  any  firearms, 
weapons,  or  implements  of  war,  or  .component  parts  thereof,  ammunition,  Maxim  or  other 
silencer,   arms,  or  explosives  or  material  used  in  the  manufacture   of  explosives ; 

2.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  have  in  his  possession  at  any  time  or  place,  or  use  or 
operate,   any  aircraft   or  wireless  apparatus,    or  any  form  of  signaling   device   or   any  form 


200  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 

of  cipher  code  or  any  paper,   document,   or  book  written  or  printed  in  cipher  or   in   which 
there  may  be  invisible  writing; 

3.  All  property  found  in  the  possession  of  an  alien  enemy  in  violation  of  the  foregoing 
regulations  shall  be  subject  to  seizure  by  the  United  States ; 

4.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  approach  or  be  found  within  one-half  of  a  mile  of  any 
Federal  or  State  fort,  camp,  arsenal,  aircraft  station,  Government  or  naval  vessel,  navy 
yard,  factory,  or  workshop  for  the  manufacture  of  munitions  of  war  or  of  any  products 
for  the  use  of  the  army  or  navy ; 

5.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  write,  print,  or,  publish  any  attack  or  threat  against  the 
Government  or  Congress  of  the  United  States,  or  either  branch  thereof,  or  against  the 
measures  or  policy  of  the  United  States,  or  against  the  persons  or  property  of  any  person 
in  the  military,  naval,  or  civil  service  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  States  or  Territories, 
or  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  of  the  municipal  governments  therein ; 

G.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  commit  or  abet  any  hostile  acts  against  the  United  States 
or  give  information,  aid,   or  comfort  to  its  enemies ; 

7.  An  alien  enemy  shall  not  reside  in  or  continue  to  reside  in,  to  remain  in,  or  enter  any 
locality  which  the  President  may  from  time  to  time  designate  by  an  Executive  order  as  a 
prohibitive  area,  in  which  residence  by  an  alien  enemy  shall  be  found  by  him  to  constitute 
a  danger  to  the  public  peace  and  safety  of  the  United  States,  except  by  permit  from  the 
President  and  except  under  such  limitations  or  restrictions  as  the  President  may  prescribe ; 

8.  An  alien  enemy  whom  the  President  shall  have  reasonable  cause  to  believe  to  be 
aiding  or  about  to  aid  the  enemy  or  to  be  at  large  to  the  danger  of  the  public  peace  or  safety 
of  the  United  States,  or  to  have  violated  or  to  be  about  to  violate  any  of  these  regulations, 
shall  remove  to  any  location  designated  by  the  President  by  Executive  order,  and  shall  not 
remove  therefrom  without  permit,  or  shall  depart  from  the  United  States  if  so  required 
by  the  President; 

9.  No  alien  enemy  shall  depart  from  the  United  States  until  he  shall  have  received  such 
permit  as  the  President  shall  prescribe,  or  except  under  order  of  a  court,  Judge,  or  Justice, 
under  Sections  4,0G9  and  4,070  of  the  Revised  Statutes ; 

10.  No  alien  enemy  shall  land  in  or  enter  the  United  States  except  under  such  restric- 
tions and  at  such  places  as  the  President  may  prescribe; 

11.  If  necessary  to  prevent  violation  of  the  regulations,  all  alien  enemies  will  be  obliged 
to  register; 

12.  An  alien  enemy  whom  there  may  be  reasonable  cause  to  believe  to  be  aiding  or  about 
to  aid  the  enemy,  or  who  may  be  at  large  to  the  danger  of  the  public  peace  or  safety,  or  who 
violates  or  who  attempts  to  violate  or  of  whom  there  is  reasonable  grounds  to  believe 
that  he  is  about  to  violate,  any  regulation  to  be  promulgated  by  the  President  or  any 
criminal  law  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  States  or  Territories  thereof,  will  be  subject 
to  summary  arrest  by  the  United  States  Marshal,  or  his  Deputy,  or  such  other  officers  as 
the  President  shall  designate,  and  to  confinement  in  such  penitentiary,  prison,  jail,  military 
camp,  or  other  place  of  detention  as  may  be  directed  by  the  President. 

This  proclamation  and  the  regulations  herein  contained  shall  extend  and  apply- 
to  all  land  and  water,  continental  or  insular,  in  any  way  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States. 


The  President's  War   Economies   Proclamation 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  April  15,  1917. 
Mp  Fellow-Countrymen: 

THE  entrance  of  our  own  beloved  country  into  the  grim  and  terrible  war  for 
democracy  and  human  rights  which  has  shaken  the  world  creates  so  many 
problems  of  national  life  and  action  which  call  for  immediate  consideration 
and  settlement  that  I  hope  you  will  permit  me  to  address  to  you  a  few  words 
of  earnest  counsel  and  appeal  with  regard  to  them. 

We  are  rapidly  putting  our  navy  upon  an  effective  war  footing,  and  are  about 
to  create  and  equip  a  great  army,  but  these  are  the  simplest  parts  of  the  great  task 
to  which  we  have  addressed  ourselves.  There  is  not  a  single  selfish  element,  so  far 
as  I  can  see,  in  the  cause  we  are  fighting  for.  We  are  fighting  for  what  we  believe 
and  wish  to  be  the  rights  of  mankind  and  for  the  future  peace  and  security  of  the 
world.    To  do  this  great  thing  worthily  and  successfully  we  must  devote  ourselves 


THE  PRESIDENT'S   WAR  PROCLAMATION  201 


to  the  service  without  regard  to  profit  or  material  advantage  and  with  an  energy 
and  intelligence  that  will  rise  to  the  level  of  the  enterprise  itself.  We  must  realize 
to  the  full  how  great  the  task  is  and  how  many  things,  how  many  kinds  and  elements 
of  capacity  and  service  and  self-sacrifice  it  involves. 

These,  then,  are  the  things  we  must  do,  and  do  well,  besides  fighting — the 
things  without  which  mere  fighting  would  be  fruitless: 

We  must  supply  abundant  food  for  ourselves  and  for  our  armies  and  our  sea- 
men, not  only,  but  also  for  a  large  part  of  the  nations  with  whom  we  have  now 
made  common  cause,  in  whose  support  and  by  whose  sides  we  shall  be  fighting. 

We  must  supply  ships  by  the  hundreds  out  of  our  shipyards  to  carry  to  the 
other  side  of  the  sea,  submarines  or  no  submarines,  what  will  every  day  be  needed 
there,  and  abundant  materials  out  of  our  fields  and  our  mines  and  our  factories 
with  which  not  only  to  clothe  and  equip  our  own  forces  on  land  and  sea,  but  also  to 
clothe  and  support  our  people,  for  whom  the  gallant  fellows  under  arms  can  no 
longer  work;  to  help  clothe  and  equip  the  armies  with  which  we  are  co-operating  in 
Europe,  and  to  keep  the  looms  and  manufactories  there  in  raw  material;  coal  to 
keep  the  fires  going  in  ships  at  sea  and  in  the  furnaces  of  hundreds  of  factories 
across  the  sea;  steel  out  of  which  to  make  arms  and  ammunition  both  here  and 
there;  rails  for  wornout  railways  back  of  the  fighting  fronts;  locomotives  and  roll- 
ing stock  to  take  the  place  of  those  every  day  going  to  pieces;  mules,  horses,  cattle 
for  labor  and  for  military  service;  everything  with  which  the  people  of  England  and 
France  and  Italy  and  Russia  have  usually  supplied  themselves,  but  cannot  now 
afford  the  men,  the  materials,  or  the  machinery  to  make. 

It  is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  our  industries,  on  the  farms,  in  the 
shipyards,  in  the  mines,  in  the  factories,  must  be  made  more  prolific  and  more 
efficient  than  ever,  and  that  they  must  be  more  economically  managed  and  better 
adapted  to  the  particular  requirements  of  our  task  than  they  have  been;  and  what 
I  want  to  say  is  that  the  men  and  the  women  who  devote  their  thought  and  their 
energy  to  these  things  will  be  serving  the  country  and  conducting  the  fight  for 
peace  and  freedom  just  as  truly  and  just  as  effectively  as  the  men  on  the  battlefield 
or  in  the  trenches.  The  industrial  forces  of  the  country,  men  <and  women  alike,  will 
be  a  great  national,  a  great  international  service  army— a  notable  and  honored  host 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  nation  and  the  world,  the  efficient  friends  and  saviors 
of  free  men  everywhere.  Thousands,  nay,  hundreds  of  thousands,  of  men  otherwise 
liable  to  military  service  will  of  right  and  of  necessity  be  excused  from  that  service 
and  assigned  to  the  fundamental,  sustaining  work  of  the  fields  and  factories  and 
mines,  and  they  will  be  as  much  part  of  the  great  patriotic  forces  of  the  nation  as 
the  men  under  fire. 

I  take  the  liberty,  therefore,  of  addressing  this  word  to  the  farmers  of  the 
country  and  to  all  who  work  on  the  farms:  The  supreme  need  of  our  own  nation  and 
of  the  nations  with  which  we  are  co-operating  is  an  abundance  of  supplies,  and 
especially  of  foodstuffs.  The  importance  of  an  adequate  food  supply,  especially 
for  the  present  year,  is  superlative.  Without  abundant  food,  alike  for  the  armies 
and  the  peoples  now  at  war,  the  whole  great  enterprise  upon  which  we  have  em- 
barked will  break  down  and  fail.  The  world's  food  reserves  are  low.  Not  only 
during  the  present  emergency,  but  for  some  time  after  peace  shall  have  come,  both 
our  own  people  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  of  Europe  must  rely  upon  the 
harvests  in  America. 

Upon  the  farmers  of  this  country,  therefore,  in  large  measure  rests  the  fate  of 
the  war  and  the  fate  of  the  nations.  May  the  nation  not  count  upon  them  to  omit 
no  step  that  will  increase  the  production  of  their  land  or  that  will  bring  about  the 
most  effectual  co-operation  in  the  sale  and  distribution  of  their  products?  The 
time  is  short.  It  is  of  the  most  imperative  importance  that  everything  possible  be 
done,  and  done  immediately,  to  make  sure  of  large  harvests.  I  call  upon  young  men 
and  old  alike  and  upon  the  able-bodied  boys  of  the  land  to  accept  and  act  upon  this 


202  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 

duty — to  turn  in  hosts  to  the  farms  and  make  certain  that  no  pains  and  no  labor  is 
lacking  in  this  great  matter. 

I  particularly  appeal  to  the  farmers  of  the  South  to  plant  abundant  foodstuffs, 
as  well  as  cotton.  They  can  show  their  patriotism  in  no  better  or  more  convincing 
way  than  by  resisting  the  great  temptation  of  the  present  price  of  cotton  and  help- 
ing, helping  upon  a  great  scale,  to  feed  the  nation  and  the  peoples  everywhere  who 
are  fighting  for  their  liberties  and  for  our  own.  The  variety  of  their  crops  will  be 
the  visible  measure  of  their  comprehension  oi"  their  national  duty. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  and  the  Governments  of  the  several 
States  stand  ready  to  co-operate.  They  will  do  everything  possible  to  assist  farmers 
in  securing  an  adequate  supply  of  seed,  an  adequate  force  of  laborers  when  they  are 
most  needed,  at  harvest  time,  and  the  means  of  expediting  shipments  of  fertilizers 
and  farm  machinery,  as  well  as  of  the  crops  themselves  when  harvested.  The  course 
of  trade  shall  be  as  unhampered  as  it  is  possible  to  make  it,  and  there  shall  be  no 
unwarranted  manipulation  of  the  nation's  food  supply  by  those  who  handle  it  on  its 
way  to  the  consumer.  This  is  our  opportunity  to  demonstrate  the  efficiency  of  a 
great  democracy,  and  we  shall  not  fall  short  of  it! 

This  let  me  say  to  the  middlemen  of  every  sort,  whether  they  are  handling  our 
foodstuffs  or  our  raw  materials  of  manufacture  or  the  products  of  our  mills  and 
factories:  The  eyes  of  the  country  will  be  especially  upon  you.  This  is  your  oppor- 
tunity for  signal  service,  efficient  and  disinterested.  The  country  expects  you,  as 
it  expects  all  others,  to  forego  unusual  profits,  to  organize  and  expedite  shipments 
of  supplies  of  every  kind,  but  especially  of  food,  with  an  eye  to  the  service  you  are 
rendering  and  in  the  spirit  of  those  who  enlist  in  the  ranks,  for  their  people,  not  for 
themselves.  I  shall  confidently  expect  you  to  deserve  and  win  the  confidence  of 
people  of  every  sort  and  station. 

To  the  men  who  run  the  railways  of  the  country,  whether  they  be  managers  or 
operative  employes,  let  me  say  that  the  railways  are  the  arteries  of  the  nation's 
life  and  that  upon  them  rests  the  immense  responsbility  of  seeing  to  it  that  those 
arteries  suffer  no  obstruction  of  any  kind,  no  inefficiency  or  slackened  power.  To 
the  merchant  let  me  s.uggest  the  motto,  "  Small  profits  and  quick  service,"  and  to 
the  shipbuilder  the  thought  that  the  life  of  the  war  depends  upon  him.  The  food 
and  the  war  supplies  must  be  carried  across  the  seas,  no  matter  how  many  ships  are 
sent  to  the  bottom.  The  places  of  those  that  go  down  must  be  supplied,  and  sup- 
plied at  once.  To  the  miner  let  me  say  that  he  stands  where  the  farmer  does:  the 
work  of  the  world  waits  on  him.  If  he  slackens  or  fails,  armies  and  statesmen  are 
helpless.  He  also  is  enlisted  in  the  great  Service  Army.  The  manufacturer  does 
not  need  to  be  told,  I  hope,  that  the  nation  looks  to  him  to  speed  and  perfect  every 
process;  and  I  want  only  to  remind  his  employes  that  their  service  is  absolutely 
indispensable  and  is  counted  on  by  every  man  who  loves  the  country  and  its  liberties. 

Let  me  suggest,  also,  that  every  one  who  creates  or  cultivates  a  garden  helps, 
and  helps  greatly,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  feeding  of  the  nations;  and  that  every 
housewife  who  practices  strict  economy  puts  herself  in  the  ranks  of  those  who 
serve  the  nation.  This  is  the  time  for  America  to  correct  her  unpardonable  fault 
of  wastefulness  and  extravagance.  Let  every  man  and  every  woman  assume  the 
duty  of  careful,  provident  use  and  expenditure  as  a  public  duty,  as  a  dictate  of 
patriotism  which  no  one  can  now  expect  ever  to  be  excused  or  forgiven  for  ignoring. 

In  the  hope  that  this  statement  of  the  needs  of  the  nation  and  of  the  world  in  this  hour  of 
supreme  crisis  may  stimulate  those  to  whom  it  comes  and  remind  all  who  need  reminder  of 
the  solemn  duties  of  a  time  such  as  the  world  has  never  seen  before,  I  beg  that  all  editors  and 
publishers  everywhere  will  give  as  prominent  publication  and  as  wide  circulation  as  possible 
to  this  appeal.  I  venture  to  suggest,  also,  to  all  advertising  agencies  that  they  would  perhaps 
render  a  very  substantial  and  timely  service  to  the  country  if  they  would  give  it  widespread 
repetition.  And  I  hope  that  clergymen  will  not  think  the  theme  of  it  an  unworthy  or  inappro- 
priate subject  of  comment  and  homily  from  their  pulpits. 

The  supreme  test  of  the  nation  has  come.    We  must  all  speak,  act,  and  serve  together ! 

WOODROW  WILSON. 


UNITED  STATES  DECLARES  WAR 

Narrative   of   Events    Before    and   After   the 
Nation's  Entrance  Into  War  Against  Germany 


THE  United  States  and  the  Imperial 
German  Government  were  offi- 
cially proclaimed  to  be  at  war  on 
Friday,  April  6,  1917,  when  the. 
President  of  the  United  States  signed  a 
joint  resolution  passed  in  both  houses  of 
Congress  by  overwhelming  majorities, 
formally  declaring  a  state  of  war  be- 
tween the  two  Governments. 

On  March  9  President  Wilson,  after 
the  Senate  had  modified  its  rules  so  that 
debate  could  be  limited,  called  Congress 
to  meet  in  extra  session  on  April  16,  "  to 
receive  such  communications  as  may  be 
made  by  the  Executive."  This  call  was 
contemporaneous  with  the  President's  de- 
cision that  he  would  authorize  the  arm- 
ing of  merchant  ships  and  the  detail  of 
naval  gun  crews  to  man  them  as  a  pro- 
tection against  unrestricted  German  sub- 
marines. It  was  construed  as  practically 
a  war  measure  in  that  the  President  de- 
sired Congress  to  be  at  hand  to  give  sup- 
port to  the  Government  in  its  defense  of 
merchant   shipping. 

On  March  12  Secretary  Lansing  gave 
the  following  formal  notice  of  the  action 
of  the  United  States: 

In  view  of  the  announcement  of  the  Impe- 
rial German  Government  on  Jan.  31,  1917, 
that  all  ships,  those  of  neutrals  included,  met 
within  certain  zones  of  the  high  seas,  would 
be  sunk  without  any  precaution  taken  for 
the  safety  of  the  persons  on  board,  and  with- 
out the  exercise  of  visit  and  search,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  has  determined 
to  place  upon  all  American  merchant  vessels 
sailing  through  the  barred  areas  an  armed 
guard  for  the  protection  of  the  vessels  and 
the  lives  of  the  persons  on  board. 

On  March  14  the  news  came  that 
the  American  steamship  Algonquin, 
bound  from  New  York  for  London  with  a 
cargo  of  foodstuffs,  had  been  attacked 
without  warning  on  March  2,  and  had 
been  sunk  by  a  German  submarine  with 
shell  fire  and  bombs;  the  crew  had  es- 
caped, and  after  twenty-seven  hours  in 
open  boats  had  been  rescued.  This  news 
created       a       disagreeable       impression 


throughout  the  country.  Public  opinion 
at  length  burst  into  intense  excitement 
on  Monday,  March  19,  when  it  was  an- 
nounced that  within  the  preceding 
twenty-four  hours  three  American  ships, 
the  City  of  Memphis,  the  Illinois,  and  the 
Vigilancia,  had  been  sunk  by  German 
submarines  near  the  English  coast,  and 
that  fifteen  members  of  the  Vigilancia's 
crew  were  lost.  The  City  of  Memphis, 
some  of  whose  men  were  then  miss- 
ing, had  left  Cardiff  in  ballast  for  New 
York  the  day  before;  she  was  overhauled 
Saturday  at  5  P.  M.  by  a  German  sub- 
marine and  the  Captain  was  given  fifteen 
minutes  to  get  his  crew  into  boats.  The 
American  flag  was  flying  from  the  mast, 
but  the  ship  was  shelled,  torpedoed,  and 
sunk  within  twenty  minutes.  The  Vigi- 
lancia was  torpedoed  without  warning; 
she  was  in  ballast.  The  Illinois  was  a 
tank  steamship  and  was  bound  from 
Texas  for  London  with  a  cargo  of.  oil  val- 
ued at  $1,000,000.  The  City  of  Memphis 
was  of  5,252  gross  tonnage;  the  Vigilan- 
cia 4,115,  the  Illinois  5,220  tons;  all  bore 
the  American  flag  and  were  conspicu- 
ously marked  as  American  ships. 

The  news  of  the  sinking  of  these  ves- 
sels created  deep  indignation.  It  was 
apparent  that  Germany  had  determined 
to  defy  the  American  people  to  do  their 
worst,  and  the  issue  of  peace  or  war  was 
no  longer  in  doubt. 

The  day  following  the  receipt  of  the 
news  President  Wilson  had  a  long  con- 
ference with  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Dan- 
iels, and  as  a  result  orders  were  issued 
for  speeding  up  work  on -warships  under 
construction;  also  for  the  issue  of  bonds 
to  obtain  money  for  this  purpose.  The 
eight-hour  day  for  Government  naval 
construction  was  suspended;  two  classes 
of  midshipmen  were  ordered  to  be  gradu- 
ated ahead  of  time,  and  all  other  prepa- 
rations for  war  were  hurried.  The  coun- 
try was  in  tense  expectation  of  some  mo- 
mentous step. 

The    Cabinet   was    summoned    by    the 


£04 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


President  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th, 
and  the  session  lasted  more  than  two 
hours.  No  formal  announcement  of  the 
decision  was  made,  but  it  was  given  out 
that  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the 
President's  advisers  that  a  state  of  war 
was  in  fact  existing  between  the  United 
States  and  Germany,  and  that  the  special 
session  of  Congress  should  be  summoned 
to  meet  at  an  earlier  date  than  April  16, 
the  time  originally  set. 

On  Wednesday,  March  21,  the  Presi- 
dent reached  his  momentous  decision,  and 
forthwith  issued  a  proclamation  summon- 
ing Congress  in  extra  session  on  April  2, 
"  to  receive  a  communication  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive on  grave  questions  of  national  pol- 
icy, which  should  be  immediately  taken 
under  consideration  " 

Nations  War  Sentiment 
This  action  was  recognized  everywhere 
as  the  preliminary  step  to  declaring  a 
state  of  war.  Europe  regarded  it  as  the 
definite  plunge  of  the  United  States  into 
the  world  conflict.  Meanwhile  all  war 
preparations  were  actively  proceeding, 
and  the  war  policy  of  the  country  was 
taking  shape. 

The  news  from  America  was. received 
in  Germany  without  excitement  and  pro- 
duced no  alteration  whatever  in  her  sub- 
marine policy.  During  the  night  of 
March  22  the  American  tank  steamer 
Healdton,  proceeding  with  a  cargo  of  pe- 
troleum from  Philadelphia  to  Rotterdam, 
was  sunk  without  warning  in  the  North 
Sea,  and  seven  of  her  crew  were  lost. 

Mass  meetings  were  held  in  many  parts 
of  the  United  States,  pledging  loyalty  to 
the  country,  approving  the  severance  of 
relations  with  Germany,  and  demanding 
war.  Typical  of  these  were  the  resolu- 
tions passed  at  a  mass  meeting  of  12,000 
people  in  Madison  Square  Garden,  New 
York,  on  March  22.  Addresses  were  de- 
livered by  former  Secretary  of  State 
Root,  a  stanch  Republican;  former  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  Fairchild,  a 
strong  Democrat,  and  Mayor  Mitchel  of 
New  York.  A  letter  from  former  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  was  read,  in  which  he  as- 
serted that  Germany  was  at  war  with 
the  United  States  and  demanded  that  we 
accept  the  gage  of  battle.  The  resolu- 
tions adopted  were  as  follows: 


Whereas,  Germany  has  destroyed  our  ships, 
murdered  our  citizens,  restricted  our  com- 
merce by  illegal  submarine  warfare,  and  at- 
tempted to  array  against  us  the  friendly 
powers  Japan  and  Mexico  in  a  plot  to  dis- 
member our  nation ;  and 

Whereas,  By  these  and  other  hostile  acta 
Germany  is  now  virtually  making  war 
against  the  United  States ; 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  action  of  the 
President  in  severing  diplomatic  relations 
with  Germany,  in  deciding  to  arm  American 
vessels,  and  in  calling  Congress  in  extra  ses- 
sion ; 

Resolved,  That  we  call  upon  our  Govern- 
ment for  prompt,  vigorous,  and  courageous 
leadership  in  the  immediate  mobilizing  of  the 
entire  naval,  military,  and  industrial  strength 
of  the  nation,  including  the  augmenting  of 
our  army  and  navy  for  the  effective  protection 
of  American  rights  and  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  America's  duties  in  the  present 
crisis ; 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  Congress  the 
immediate  enactment  of  a  Universal  Military 
Training  bill  providing  for  a  permanent  na- 
tional defense  based  on  the  duty  of  every 
able-bodied  citizen  to  share  in  the  protection 
of  his  country  and  in  the  maintenance  of  its 
high  ideals ; 

Resolved,  That  we  declare  our  deep  con- 
viction that  the  principles  of  national  conduct 
governing  Germany's  actions  in  the  present 
war  are  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of 
democracy  and  with  the  purposes  and  aspi- 
rations of  this  Republic ;  and  we  hold  that  the 
time  has  now  come  when  it  is  the  duty  of 
this  nation  to  take  part  in  the  common  task 
of  defending  civilization  and  human  liberty 
against  German  military  aggression ;  and 

Whereas,  Our  Government  in  severing  dip- 
lomatic relations  with  Germany  gave  notice 
that  further  overt  acts  of  war  would  be 
forcibly  resisted ;  and  said  overt  acts  have 
been  committed  in  the  sinking  of  the  Laconia, 
the  City  of  Memphis,  the  Illinois,  the  Vigi- 
lancia,  and  other  vessels,  with  the  loss  of 
American  lives ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  call  upon  Congress  as 
soon  as  assembled  to  declare  that  by  the  acts 
of  Germany  a  state  of  war  does  now  exist  be- 
tween that  country  and  the  United  States. 

Activities  of  Pacifists 

On  the  other  hand,  a  group  of  prom- 
inent men  were  strongly  opposed  to  our 
entry  into  the  war.  They  instituted  a 
nation-wide  publicity  propaganda  to 
bring  public  pressure  upon  Congress  and 
the  President  to  keep  us  out  of  war.  A 
mass  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  on 
the  night  of  March  24  at  Madison  Square 
Garden,  and  resolutions  were  passed  op- 
posing war  and  demanding  a  general 
referendum  on  the  subject.     All  over  the 


^g^gFj^TO 


IS  OF  WAR  COUNCIL  AT  WASH 


RENE    VIVIANI 
French  Minister  of  Justice 


MARSHAL  JOFFRE 
Victor  of  the  Marne 


1 

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V 

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MAJ.  GEN.  G.  T.  M.  BRIDGES 
Of  British  War  Office 

(©  International  News) 


ARTHUR  J.  BALFOUR 
British  Foreign  Minister 

^.(Central  News  Service) 


E^strnt^mM 


^p^^Fv^: 


^r^-^i 


COMMANDERS  OF  ARMY  DEPARTMENTS 


MAJ.  GEN.  J.  FRANKLIN 

BELL 

Eastern  Department 

(Photo   Bain) 


BRIG.    GEN.    CLARENCE   R. 

EDWARDS 
Northeastern  Department 

(Harris    d    Ewing) 


MAJ.  GEN.  HUNTER 

LIGGETT 
Western  Department 

(©    Harris   &    EiOinp) 


MAJ.  GEN.  THOS.  H.  BARRY 
Central  Department 

( j'uif'  >  ,r,>nit    d     Underwood) 


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UNITED   STATES  DECLARES   WAR 


205 


country,  however,  there  were  evidences 
that  the  prevailing  sentiment  was  over- 
whelmingly for  war.  Many  States  took 
steps  toward  defense  and  appropriated 
large  sums  to  provide  the  measures. 

Preliminary  Call  for  Men 
On  March  25  President  Wilson  signed 
an  order  authorizing  an  increase  in  the 
enlisted  strength  of  the  navy  to  87,000 
men,  being  an  addition  of  26,000,  and  the 
War  Department  issued  orders  calling 
out  units  of  the  National  Guard  in  nine 
Eastern  States  and  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia for  police  purposes.  The  order 
was  regarded  as  indicating  extensive 
precautions  to  forestall  any  outbreak  by 
enemy  agents  upon  the  expected  declara- 
tion of  a  state  of  war.  Munitions  plants, 
bridges,  railroads,  and  all  other  impor- 
tant public  property  which  might  be  in 
danger  of  attack  upon  the  outbreak  of 
war  were  to  be  carefully  guarded. 

The  first  call  affected  13,000  men;  on 
March  26  units  from  eighteen  Western 
States,  affecting  25,000  additional  men, 
were  called,  and  this  was  followed  by 
other  calls,  so  that  by  April  12  60,000 
National  Guardsmen  had  been  called  out. 

Policy  Toward  Germans 
To  allay  unrest  and  apprehension  of 
Germans  residing  in  the  United  States, 
it  was  announced  at  Washington  on  the 
20th  that  there  would  be  no  general  in- 
ternment of  German  citizens  or  German 
reservists  resident  in  this  country  in  the 
event  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Germany.  Secretary  of  War  Baker 
authorized  the  formal  statement  that 
"  everybody  of  every  nationality  who 
conducts  himself  in  accordance  with 
American  law  will  be  free  from  official 
molestation,  both  now  and  in  the  future." 
He  declared  that  rumors  that  the  depart- 
ment had  plans  for  the  internment  of 
resident  aliens  had  no  foundation  in  fact. 
It  was  during  this  period  of  excite- 
ment that  the  arrival  was  announced  of 
the  first  armed  American  steamship  at  a 
European  port.  The  American  liner  St. 
Louis  left  New  York  March  17,  with  two 
guns  forward  and  one  aft  and  with  a  de- 
tail of  crack  marksmen  of  the  United 
States  Navy;  she  reached  Liverpool  with- 


out encountering  any  hostile  submarines, 
on  Monday,  March  26.  During  the  same 
period  merchantmen  of  various  other 
lines  were  equipped  with  guns  and  de- 
parted daily  from  various  American 
ports. 

The  period  between  the  President's 
call  and  the  assembling  of  Congress  was 
full  of  excitement  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Every  department  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  keyed  up  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  energetic  preparation  for  war.  The 
mustering  out  of  National  Guardsmen 
who  had  been  on  duty  on  the  Mexican 
border  was  stopped,  and  22,000  guards- 
men who  were  about  to  be  relieved  were 
retained  in  the  ranks.  The  navy  intensi- 
fied its  recruiting  work  and  the  Cabinet 
held  daily  sessions  to  discuss  questions 
of  war  policy  and  of  ways  and  means. 

German  Chancellor's  Speech 

The  first  official  word  that  came  from 
Germany  after  it  was  clear  that  Presi- 
dent Wilson  had  decided  to  ask  Congress 
to  declare  war  was  made  public  March 
30  in  the  form  of  a  dispatch  from  Ber- 
lin, transmitted  by  the  semi-official  news 
agency,  giving  the  text  of  a  speech  de- 
livered in  the  German  Reichstag  March 
29  by  Chancellor  von  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg.  He  proceeded  to  review  the  causes 
which  led  up  to  the  unrestricted  use  of 
submarines  by  Germany  as  a  matter, 
he  said,  of  self-defense.    Then  he  added: 

"Within  the  next  few  days  the  directors  of 
the  American  Nation  will  be  convened  by 
President  Wilson  for  an  extraordinary  session 
of  Congress  in  order  to  decide  the  question  of 
war  or  peace  between  the  American  and  Ger- 
man Nations. 

Germany  never  had  the  slightest  intention 
of  attacking  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  does  not  have  such  intention  now.  It 
never  desired  war  against  the  United  States 
of  America  and  does  not  desire  it  today. 

How  did  these  things  develop?  More  than 
once  we  told  the  United  States  that  we  made 
unrestricted  use  of  the  submarine  weapon, 
expecting  that  England  could  be  made  to  ob- 
serve, in  her  policy  of  blockade,  the  laws  of 
humanity  and  of  international  agreements. 
This  blockade  policy  (this  I  expressly  recall) 
has  been  called  illegal  and  indefensible  (the 
Imperial  Chancellor  here  used  the  English 
words)  by  President  Wilson  and  Secretary  of 
State  Lansing. 

Our  expectations,  which  we  maintained  dur- 
ing eight  months,  have  been  disappointed 
completely.     England  not  only  did  not  give  up 


206 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


her  illegal  and  indefensible  policy  of  blockade, 
but  uninterruptedly  intensified  it.  England, 
together  with  her  allies,  arrogantly  rejected 
the  peace  offers  made  by  us  and  our  allies 
and  proclaimed  her  war  aims,  which  aim  at 
our  annihilation  and  that  of  our  allies. 

Then  we  took  unrestricted  submarine  war- 
fare' into  our  hands ;  then  we  had  to  for  our 
defense. 

If  the  American  Nation  considers  this  a 
cause  for  which  to  declare  war  against  the 
German  Nation  with  which  it  has  lived  in 
peace  for  more  than  100  years,  if  this  action 
warrants  an  increase  of  bloodshed,  we  shall 
not  have  to  bear  the  responsibility  for  it. 
The  German  Nation,  which  feels  neither 
hatred  nor  hostility  against  the  United  States 
of  America,  shall  also  bear  and  overcome  this. 

Among  the  speeches  of  party  leaders 
commenting  on  the  Chancellor's  address 
those  of  Dr.  Gustav  Stresemann,  Na- 
tional Liberal,  and  Count  von  Westarp, 
Conservative,  were  the  most  important. 
Herr  Stresemann  remarked: 

"  A  declaration  of  war  by  America  will 
be  possible  only  because  American  public 
opinion  has  been  misled." 

Count  von  Westarp  alluded  briefly  to 
America,  saying: 

"  We  can  await  the  decision  of  Amer- 
ica with  complete  calm,  and  the  execu- 
tion of  our  operations  in  the  barred  zone 
will  not  be  changed  thereby." 

Lord  CeciVs  Bitter  Reply 
This  declaration  of  the  Imperial  Chan- 
cellor was  bitterly  attacked  the  next  day 
by  Lord  Robert  Cecil,  the  British  Block- 
ade Minister,  in  the  following  formal 
statement: 

The  German  Chancellor  claims  that  Ger- 
many in  the  past  renounced  the  unrestricted 
use  of  her  submarine  weapon  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  Great  Britain  could  be  made  to  ob- 
serve in  her  blockade  policy  the  laws  of  hu- 
manity and  international  agreements.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  whether  this  statement  is 
the  more  remarkable  for  its  hypocrisy  or  for 
its  falseness.  It  would  hardly  seem  that 
Germany  is  in  a  position  to  speak  of  hu- 
manity or  international  agreements,  since 
she  began  this  war  by  deliberately  violating 
the  international  agreement  guaranteeing  the 
neutrality  of  Belgium,  and  has  continued  it 
by  violating  all  the  dictates  of  humanity. 

Has  the  Chancellor  forgotten  that  the  Ger- 
man forces  have  been  guilty  of  excesses  'n 
Belgium,  unparalleled  in  history,  culminating 
in  the  attempted  enslavement  of  a  dauntless 
people,  of  poisoning  wells,  of  bombarding 
open  towns,  torpedoing  hospital  ships  and 
sinking  other  vessels  with  total  disregard  for 
the  safety  of  noncombatants  on  board,  with 


the  result  that  many  hundreds  of  innocent 
victims,  including  both  women  and  children, 
have  lost  their  lives? 

The  latest  manifestation  of  this  policy  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  devastation  and  deportations 
carried  out  by  the  Germans  in  their  forced 
retreat  on  the  western  front. 

The  Chancellor  states  that  it  is  because  the 
Allies  have  not  abandoned  their  blockade  and 
have  refused  the  so-called  peace  offer  of  Ger- 
many that  unrestricted  submarine  warfare  is 
now  decided  on.  As  to  this  I  will  do  no  more 
than  quote  what  the  Chancellor  himself  said 
in  the  Reichstag,  when  announcing  the  adop- 
tion of  unrestricted  submarine  war. 

He  said  that  as  soon  as  he  himself,  in  agree- 
ment with  the  supreme  army  command, 
reached  the  conviction  that  ruthless  U-boat 
warfare  would  bring  Germany  nearer  to  a 
victorious  peace,  then  the  U-boat  warfare 
would  be  started.     He  continued : 

"  This  moment  has  now  arrived.  Last 
Autumn  the  time  was  not  ripe,  but  today  the 
moment  has  come  when,  with  the  greatest 
prospect  of  success,  we  can  undertake  this 
enterprise.  We  must  not  wait  any  longer. 
Where  has  there  been  a  change?  In  the  first 
place,  the  most  important  fact  of  all  is  that 
the  number  of  our  submarines  has  been  very 
considerably  increased  as  compared  with  last 
Spring,  and  thereby  a  firm  basis  has  been 
created  for  success." 

Does  not  this  prove  conclusively  that  it 
was  not  any  scruple  or  any  respect  for  in- 
ternational law  or  neutral  rights  that  pre- 
vented unrestricted  warfare  from  being 
adopted  earlier,  but  merely  a  lack  of  means 
to  carry  it  out? 

I  think  it  may  be  useful  once  again  to  point 
out  that  the  illegal  and  inhuman  attack  on 
shipping  by  the  Germans  cannot  be  justified 
as  a  reprisal  for  the  action  of  Great  Britain 
In  attempting  to  cut  off  from  Germany  all 
Imports. 

The  submarine  campaign  was  clearly  con- 
templated as  far  back  as  December,  1914, 
when  Admiral  von  Tirpitz  gave  an  indication 
to  an  American  correspondent  in  Berlin  of 
the  projected  plan. 

As  for  the  plea  that  the  Allies  are  aiming 
at  the  annihilation  of  Germany  and  her  allies 
and  that  ruthless  warfare  is,  therefore,  justi- 
fied, it  is  sufficient  in  order  to  refute  this 
to  quote  the  following  passage  from  the 
Allies'  reply  of  Jan.  10,  1917,  to  President 
Wilson's  note : 

"  There  is  no  need  to  say  that  if  the  Allies 
desire  to  liberate  Europe  from  the  brutal 
covetousness  of  Prussian  militarism,  the  ex- 
termination and  political  disappearance  of 
the  German  people  have  never,  as  has  been 
pretended,  formed  a  part  of  their  design." 

Patriotic  Rallies 

A  notable  patriotic  rally  occurred 
March  31  at  Independence  Square,  Phila- 
delphia, when  resolutions  were  adopted 
pledging  loyal  support  to  the  President  in 


UNITED   STATES  DECLARES   WAR 


207 


any  action  he  might  take  for  the  protec- 
tion of  American  rights  on  land  and  sea; 
it  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  en- 
thusiastic that  ever  assembled  at  Inde- 
pendence Square.  Enthusiastic  mass 
meetings  with  tumultuous  ardor  were  also 
held  in  Chicago,  Pittsburgh,  Boston,  Mil- 
waukee, St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  and  in 
nearly  all  the  important  cities  of  the 
country. 

The  pacifist  propagandists,  however, 
were  busy  and  were  issuing  appeals  and 
urging  united  action  to  bring  influences 
on  Congress  to  avert  a  declaration  of 
war.  General  calls  were  issued  by  both 
pacifists  and  war  patriots  to  meet  at 
Washington  when  Congress  assembled, 
and  there  were  acrimonious  debates  at 
various  meetings  between  the  contend- 
ing parties,  sometimes  attended  with 
violence. 

Washington    was    a    seething   city   on 


April  1,  the  day  before  Congress  con- 
vened; delegations  of  both  pacifists  and 
war  patriots  came  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  though  the  number  of  pacifists 
fell  considerably  short  of  expectations.  It 
was  intended  by  both  to  hold  conventions 
and  -  parades,  but  in  order  to  avoid 
possible  trouble  all  parades  in  Washing- 
ton were  forbidden.  The  day  Congress 
assembled  there  were  few  outward  signs 
to  indicate  that  the  United  States  was 
about  to  enter  into  the  greatest  war-  in 
history.  The  only  difference  in  the  normal 
aspect  of  Washington  was  in  the  some- 
what larger  crowds  in  the  streets  and  the 
fact  that  National  Guardsmen  and 
regular  troops  were  on  guard  at  strategic 
points,  that  the  new  iron  gates  of  the 
White  House  grounds  were  closed  and 
guarded,  and  that  admittance  to  some 
of  the  Government  departments  was  ob- 
tainable only  on  identification. 


Historic  Joint  Session  of  Congress 


THE  new  Congress,  the  Sixty-fifth, 
which  had  been  chosen  in  the  preced- 
ing November,  met  in  response  to  the 
President's  special  call  at  noon  on  April 
2.  The  members  in  assembling  had  to 
crowd  their  way  through  swarms  of  paci- 
fists who  had  assembled  on  the  Capitol 
steps  to  use  what  influence  they  could 
against  war.  •  The  House  of  Representa- 
tives had  resolved  on  acting  in  a  patriotic 
spirit  and  determined  to  show  no  spirit 
of  partisanship   in   organizing. 

The  blind  Chaplain,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry 
M.  Couden,  offered  a  prayer  in  which  he 
said: 

God  of  the  Ages,  our  father's  God  and  our 
God,  whose  holy  influence  has  shaped  and 
guided  the  destiny  of  our  Republic  from  its 
inception,  we  wait  upon  that  influence  to 
guide  us  in  the  present  crisis  which  has  been 
thrust    upon    us. 

Diplomacy  has  failed ;  moral  suasion  has 
failed ;  every  appeal  to  reason  and  justice 
has  been  swept  aside.  We  abhor  war  and 
love  peace.  But  if  war  has  been,  or  shall  be, 
forced  upon  us,  we  pray  that  the  heart  of 
every  American  citizen  shall  throb  with  pa- 
triotic zeal ;  that  a  united  people  may  rally 
around  our  President  to  hold  up  his  hands  in 
every  measure  that  shall  be  deemed  necessary 
to  protect  American  lives  and  safeguard  our 
inherent  rights. 


Let  Thy  blessings,  we  beseech  Thee,  attend 
the  Congress  now  convened  in  extraordinary 
session  under  extraordinary  conditions  which 
call  for  extraordinary  thought,  wise  counsel, 
calm  and  deliberate  legislation ;  that  its  re- 
solves and  all  its  enactments  may  spring 
spontaneously  from  loyal  and  patriotic 
hearts ;  that  our  defenders  on  land  and  sea 
may  be  amply  supplied  with  the  things  which 
make    for    strength    and    efficiency. 

And,  O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  let 
Thy  strong  right  arm  uphold,  sustain,  and 
guide  us  in  a  just  and  righteous  cause;  for 
Thine  is  the  kingdom,  the  power,  and  glory, 
forever,   amen. 

The  roll  was  then  called,  amid  the 
usual  confusion;  but  when  Montana  was 
reached  the  Clerk  rapped  for  order,  and 
in  the  stillness  that  finally  followed  he 
called  the  name  of  Miss  Rankin,  the  first 
woman  ever  elected  to  Congress.  Both 
sides  of  the  House  burst  out  in  applause, 
and  Miss  Rankin  blushed  and  smiled,  but 
they  wanted  her  to  stand  up,  arid  they 
cheered  until  she  did,  bowing  first  to  the 
Republican  side,  then  to  the  Democratic. 

Champ  Clark  as  Speaker 

Champ  Clark  was  placed  in  nomination 

for  his  fourth  term  as  Speaker  by  Mr. 

Schall  of  Minnesota,  a  man  elected  as  a 

Progressive  in  a  district  which,  he  told 


208 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  House,  contains  43,000  voters,  of 
whom  32,000  are  Republicans.  Mr.  Schall 
is  a  blind  man.  He  spoke  from  the  front 
of  the  House,  leaning  on  a  cane.  The 
pith  of  Mr.  Schall's  speech  was  that 
both  parties  should  sink  partisanship  and 
co-operate  with  the  President,  and  that 
the  best  way  to  do  it  was  to  give  him  a 
Congress  controlled  by  his  own  party. 

"  I,  with  my  sightless  eyes,"  he  said, 
"  would  be  of  little  use  to  my  country 
on  the  field  of  battle,  but  I  can  cast  my 
vote  to  help  it.  I  know  of"  no  better  way 
to  stand  by  the  President  than  to  return 
his  party  to  the  control  of  the  House." 

James  R.  Mann  was  nominated  by  the 
Republicans.  The  vote  stood:  Clark, 
217;  Mann,  205;  six  Republicans  declined 
to  vote  for  Mr.  Mann.  The  organization 
of  the  House  was  completed  by  5  o'clock 
and  adjournment  was  then  taken  until 
8:30  to  meet  in  joint  session  with  the 
Senate  to  receive  the  President's  ad- 
dress. 

President  Wilson  came  to  the  Capitol 
escorted  by  a  squadron  of  cavalry. 

The  House  an  hour  before  had  taken 
a  recess.  When  it  met  again  it  was  in  a 
scene  that  the  hall  had  never  presented 
before.  Directly  in  front  of  the  Speaker 
and  facing  him  sat  the  members  of  the 
Supreme  Court  without  their  gowns. 
Over  at  one  side  sat  the  members  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps  in  evening  dress.  It 
was  the  first  time  any  one  could  remem- 
ber when  the  foreign  envoys  had  ever 
sat  together  officially  in  the  Hall  of  Rep- 
resentatives. 

Then  the  doors  opened,  and  in  came  the 
Senators,  headed  by  Vice  President  Mar- 
shall, each  man  wearing  or  carrying  a 
small  American  flag.  There  were  three 
or  four  exceptions,  including  Senators  La 
Follette  and  Vardaman,  but  one  had  to 
look  hard  to  find  them,  and  Senator  Stone 
was  no  exception.  It  was  at  8:32  that 
they  came  in,  and  five  minutes  later  the 
Speaker  announced: 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States." 

President  Delivers  Address 

As  he  walked  in  and  ascended  the 
speakers'  platform  he  got  such  a  recep- 
tion as  Congress  had  never  given  him 
before  in  any  of  his  visits  to  it.     The 


Supreme  Court  Justices  rose  from  their 
chairs,  facing  the  place  where  he  stood, 
and  led  the  applause,  while  Representa- 
tives and  Senators  not  only  cheered,  but 
yelled.  It  was  two  minutes  before  he 
could  begin  his  address. 

When  he  did  begin  it,  he  stood  with 
his  manuscript  before  him  typewritten 
on  sheets  of  note  paper.  He  held  it  in 
both  hands,  resting  his  arm  on  the  green 
baize  covered  desk,  and  at  first  he  read 
without  looking  up,  but  after  a  while 
he  would  glance  occasionally  to  the  right 
or  the  left  as  he  made  a  point,  not  as  if 
he  were  trying  to  see  the  effect  but 
more  as  a  sort  of  gesture — the  only  one 
he  employed. 

Congress  listened  intently  and  without 
any  sort  of  interruption  while  he  recited 
the  German  crimes  against  humanity, 
his  own  and  his  country's  effort  to  be- 
lieve that  the  German  rulers  had  not 
wholly  cut  themselves  off  from  the  path 
which  civilized  nations  follow,  and  how 
the  truth  has  been  forced  upon  unwill- 
ing minds.  Congress  was  waiting  for 
his  conclusions,  and  there  was  no  ap- 
plause or  demonstration  of  any  kind  for 
the  recital. 

But  when  he  finished  his  story  of  our 
efforts  to  avoid  war  and  came  to  the 
sentence  "  armed  neutrality,  it  now  ap- 
pears, is  impracticable  because  sub- 
marines are  in  fact  outlaws  when  used 
as  the  German  submarines  are  used," 
the  close  attention  deepened  into  a 
breathless  silence,  so  painfully  intense 
that  it  seemed  almost  audible. 

The  President  ended  at  9:11,  having 
spoken  thirty-six  minutes.  Then  the 
great  scene  which  had  been  enacted  at 
his  entrance  was  repeated.  The  diplo- 
mats, Supreme  Court,  the  galleries,  the 
House  and  Senate,  Republicans  and 
Democrats  alike,  stood  in  their  places 
and  the  Senators  waved  flags  they  had 
brought  in  with  them.  Those  who  were 
wearing,  not  carrying,  flags  tore  them 
from  their  lapels  or  their  sleeves  and 
waved  with  the  rest,  and  they  all  cheered 
wildly. 

Senator  Robert  Marion  La  Follette, 
however,  stood  motionless  with  his  arms 
folded  tight  and  high  on  his   chest,   so 


HISTORIC  JOINT  SESSION  OF  CONGRESS 


209 


that  nobody  could  have  any  excuse  for 
mistaking  His  attitude,  and  there  he 
stood,  chewing  gum  with  a  sardonic 
smile. 

The  President  walked  rapidly  out  of 
the  hall,  and  when  he  had  gone  the 
Senators  and  the  Supreme  Court  and  the 
diplomats  went  their  ways. 

[The  address  of  the  President  appears 
in  preceding  pages.] 

After  the  departure  of  the  President 
both  houses  of  Congress  were  assembled 
and  resolutions  were  introduced  in  each 
house  embodying  the  President's  recom- 
mendations that  the  state  of  war  with 
Germany  be  declared.  The  resolutions 
were  introduced  in  the  House  by  Chair- 
man Flood  of  the  Foreign  Relations 
Committee,  and  in  the  Senate  by  Senator 
Martin,  both  of  Virginia,  and  at  once 
referred  to  the  respective  committees, 
and  the  two  houses  thereupon  adjourned. 

[The  text  of  the  joint  resolution  is 
printed  on  page  198.] 

Debate  in  the  Senate 

The  war  resolution  was  passed  by  the 
Senate  at  11:11  P.  M.  Wednesday,  April 
4,  after  thirteen  .hours'  debate,  by  a  vote 
of  82  to  6,  eight  Senators  being  unavoid- 
ably absent — all  the  absentees  favored 
the  resolution,  hence  the  true  sentiment 
of  the  Senate  was  90  to  6.  The  six  Sen- 
ators who  voted  nay  were  La  Follette  of 
Wisconsin,  Gronna  of  North  Dakota, 
Norris  of  Nebraska,  Stone  of  Missouri, 
Lane  of  Oregon,  and  Vardaman  of  Mis- 
sissippi, the  first  three  being  Re- 
publicans, the  last  three  Democrats. 

The  opening  speech  was  delivered  by 
Senator  Hitchcock  of  Nebraska,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  resolution  in  substitution 
for  Chairman  Stone  of  the  Foreign  Re- 
lations Committee,  who  was  in  opposition. 
In  his  address  the  Senator  said  that 
Germany's  resumption  of  submarine 
activity  was  not  a  violation  of  her  word, 
but  a  revocation  of  it,  a  step  taken  in 
desperation. 

It  was  not  intended  to  provoke  war  with 
us,  but  it  was  followed  by  acts  of  war  upon 
us.  They  were  not  made  for  the  deliberate 
purpose  of  injuring  us  but  rather  to  starve 
the  English  people.  The  effect,  however,  was 
the  same.  We  were  ordered  off  the  high  seas. 
We  could  not  submit ;  no  great  nation  could 
remain   great  and   independent,   if  it  did   so. 


No  great  nation  could  maintain  its  place  in 
history  if  it  permitted  another  to  order  it  off 
the  sea,  if  it  permitted  another  to  bottle  up 
its  commerce,  if  it  permitted  another  to  dic- 
tate to  it  in  the  exercise  of  its  unquestioned 
right  and  to  impose  the  penalty  of  murder  of 
its  citizens  in  case  of  refusal. 

Words   of   Senator   Lodge 

Senator  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  who 
had  been  precipitated  into  a  personal  af- 
fray in  the  Senate  corridor  the  day  be- 
fore by  a  committee  of  pacifists  and  had 
knocked  down  one  who  attacked  him,  in 
the  course  of  his  remarks,  said: 

We  have  never  been  a  military  nation.  We 
are  not  prepared  for  war  in  the  modern 
sense ;  but  we  have  vast  resources  and  un- 
bounded energies  and  the  day  when  war  is 
declared  we  should  devote  ourselves  to  call- 
ing out  those  resources  and  organizing  those 
energies  so  that  they  can  be  used  with  the 
utmost  effect  in  hastening  the  complete  vic- 
tory. The  worst  of  all  wars  is  a  feeble  war. 
War  is  too  awful  to  be  entered  upon  half- 
heartedly. If  we  fight  at  all,  we  must  fight 
for  all  we  are  worth.  It  must  be  no  weak, 
hesitating  war.  The  most  merciful  war  is 
that  which  is  most  vigorously  waged  and 
which  comes  most  quickly  to  an  end. 

But  there  are,  in  my  opinion,  some  things 
worse  for  a  nation  than  war.  National  de- 
generacy is  worse ;  national  cowardice  is 
worse.  The  division  of  our  people  into  race 
groups,  striving  to  direct  the  course  of  the 
United  States  in  the  interest  of  some  other 
country  when  we  should  have  but  one  al- 
legiance, one  hope,  and  one  tradition— all 
these  dangers  have  been  gathering  about  us 
and  darkening  the  horizon  during  the  last 
three  years.  Whatever  suffering  and  misery 
war  may  bring,  it  will  at  least  sweep  these 
foul  things  away.  It  will  unify  us  into  one 
nation. 

This  war  is  a  war  against  barbarism, 
panoplied  in  all  the  devices  for  destruction  of 
human  life  which  science,  beneficent  science, 
can  bring  forth.  We  are  resisting  an  effort 
to  thrust  mankind  back  to  forms  of  govern- 
ment, to  political  creeds,  and  methods  of  con- 
quest which  we  had  hoped  had  disappeared 
forever  from  the  world.  We  are  fighting 
against  a  nation  which,  in  the  fashion  of  cen- 
turies ago,  drags  the  inhabitants  of  conquered 
lands  into  slavery ;  which  carries  off  women 
and  girls  for  even  worse  purposes ;  which  in 
its  mad  desire  to  conquer  mankind  and 
trample  them  under  foot  has  stopped  at  no 
wrong,  has  regarded  no  treaty. 

The  work  that  we  are  called  upon  to  do 
when  we  enter  this  war  is  to  preserve  the 
principles  of  human  liberty,  the  principles  of 
democracy,  and  the  light  of  modern  civil- 
ization ;  all  that  we  most  love,  all  that  we 
hold  dearer  than  life  itself.  We  wish  only 
to  preserve  our  own  peace  and  our  own  secur- 
ity,    to     uphold     the     great     doctrine     which 


210 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


guards  the  American  Hemisphere,  and  to  see 
the  disappearance  of  all  wars  or  rumors  of 
wars  from  the  East,  if  any  dangers  there 
exist. 

What  we  want  most  of  all  by  this  victory, 
which  we  shall  help  to  win,  is  to  secure  the 
world's  peace,  based  on  freedom  and  democ- 
racy, a  world  not  controlled  by  a  Prus- 
sian military  autocracy,  but  by  the  will  of  • 
the  free  people  of  the  earth.  We  shall  achieve 
this  result,  and  when  we  achieve  it  we  shall 
be  able  to  say  that  we  have  helped  to  confer 
a  great  blessing  upon  mankind,  and  that  we 
have  not  fought  in  vain. 

Senator  Norris,  in  his  opposition,  said: 

We  are  going  into  war  upon  command  of 
gold.  We  are  about  to  do  the  bidding  of 
wealth's  terrible  mandate  and  make  millions 
of  our  countrymen  suffer  and  untold  gen- 
erations bear  burdens  and  shed  their  life 
blood,  all  because  we  want  to  preserve  our 
commercial  right  to  deliver  munitions  to  the 
belligerents.  I  feel  that  we  are  about  to  put 
the  dollar  sign  on  the  American  flag. 

Senator  Reed,  Democrat,  of  Missouri, 
replied  to  Senator  Norris  by  declaring 
that  his  charge  that  the  war  resolution 
was  placing  the  dollar  sign  on  the  Ameri- 
can flag  was  "  almost  treason."  The  as- 
sertion that  the  nation  was  going  to  war 
on  the  demand  of  gold  was  "  an  indict- 
ment of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  an  indictment  of  Congress,  of  the 
American  people,  and  of  the  truth." 

"It  is  not  the  truth!"  shouted  the 
Missouri  Senator. 

Opposition  by  La  Follette 

Senator  La  Follette  of  Wisconsin  de- 
livered the  principal  speech  against  the 
resolution.  He  read  a  number  of  tele- 
grams reporting  straw  votes,  postcard, 
and  other  polls  in  various  communities  in 
the  Central  West,  where  the  sentiment 
was  overwhelmingly  against  war.  He 
asserted  that,  of  15,000  or  20,000  letters 
and  telegrams  he  had  received  regarding 
his  vote  on  the  armed  ship  bill,  80  to  90 
per  cent,  had  approved  his  stand.  He 
referred  to  the  President's  statement  that 
Germany  had  violated  her  submarine 
pledges,  and  continued: 

Her  promise,  so  called,  was  conditional 
upon  England  being  brought  to  obedience  of 
international  law.  Was  it  quite  fair  to  lay 
before  the  country  the  statement  that  Ger- 
many made  an  unconditional  promise  and 
had  deliberately  violated  it? 

It  was  England,  not  Germany,  who  re- 
fused to  obey  the  Declaration  of  London, 
containing   the  most  humane  ideas   of  naval 


warfare  which  could  be  framed  by  the  civil- 
ized world  up  to  that  time.  \Keep  that  in 
mind. 

If  this  is  war  upon  all  mankind,  Is  it  not 
peculiar  that  the  United  States  is  the  only 
nation  of  all  neutrals  which  regards  it  as 
necessary  to  declare  war  upon  Germany? 
All  have  refused  to  join  in  a  combination 
against  Germany.  Some  may  have  a  clearer* 
view  than  we.  This  suspicion  of  a  desire  for 
war  profits  does  not  attach  to  them. 

Senator  La  Follette  said  that  the 
United  States  had  not  the  confidence  of 
the  other  American  republics  because  of 
its  war  policies.  He  predicted  that  en- 
trance of  the  United  States  would  not 
shorten  the  conflict,  "  but  will  vastly  ex- 
tend it  by  drawing  other  nations  in."  It 
is  idle,  the  Senator  went  on,  to  talk  of  a 
war  on  the  German  Government  and  not 
on  the  German  people. 

We  are  leagued,  (he  continued,)  or  are 
about  to  be,  according  to  the  President's 
speech,  with  the  hereditary  enemies  of  the 
German  people.  Words  are  not  strong  enough 
to  protest  against  a  combination  with  the  En- 
tente Allies  which  would  have  us  indorse  the 
violations  of  international  law  by  Great  Brit- 
ain and  her  purpose  to  wreak  vengeance  on 
the  German  people.  We  do  not  know  what  is 
in  the  minds  of  those  who  made  the  compacts 
in  which  we  are  to  share. 

Reverting  to  the  President's  assertion 
that  the  German  people  were  thrown 
into  war  without  an  opportunity  to  say 
anything  about  it,  the  Senator  asked: 
"  Will  the  supporters  of  this  war  bill 
have  a  vote  on  it  before  it  goes  into  ef- 
fect? Unless  they  do  that,  it  ill  becomes 
us  to  speak  of  Germany.^  Submit  this 
question  to  the  people.  By  a  vote  of  ten 
to  one  they  would  register  their  decla- 
ration against  war." 

The  German  people,  he  asserted,  were 
more  solidly  behind  their  Government 
than  the  people  of  the  United  States 
would  be  behind  the  President  in  waging 
war  on  Germany. 

"  The  Espionage  bill  and  the  Military 
bill  that  have  been  drawn  by  the  war 
machine  in  this  country,"  he  said,  "  are 
complete  proof  that  those  responsible 
know  that  it  has  not  popular  support. 
The  armies,  necessary  to  be  raised  to  aid 
the  Entente  Allies,  cannot  be  raised  by 
voluntary  enlistment." 

Praising  the  character  and  services  of 
German-Americans  in  this  country,  Sen- 
ator   La    Follette    said    that    they    were 


HISTORIC  JOINT  SESSION  OF  CONGRESS 


2:1 


being  "  dogged  "  by  Secret  Service  men. 
He  denied  that  any  one  Government  was 
responsible  for  the  war,  saying  that  it 
was  caused  by  European  secret  diplo- 
macy. He  cited  the  Anglo-French 
Moroccan  secret  treaty  as  "  the  most 
reprehensible,  dishonest,  and  perjured  on 
record." 

"  England  first  began  the  ruthless 
naval  warfare,"  he  asserted,  "  by  re- 
pudiating the  declaration  of  London." 

Senator  Knox,  Republican,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, interrupted  to  suggest  that  Eng- 
land did  not  ratify  the  declaration.  Sena- 
tor La  Follette  replied  that  British  repre- 
sentatives signed  it,  and  Senator  Stone 
said  England  had  not  actually  rejected  it. 

"  It  has  pleased  those  who  have  been 
conducting  this  campaign  (for  war) 
through  the  press  to  make  a  jumble  of 
issues,"  Senator  La  Follette  continued, 
"  until  now  it  is  impossible  to  get  an 
intelligent  answer  regarding  the  real 
issues.  They  say  that  Americans  are 
being  killed  by  German  submarines.  We 
haven't  a  leg  to  stand  on  in  support  of 
this  war  declaration." 

That  the  United  States  did  not  protest 
more  vigorously  against  the  British  mine 
field  blockade  was  the  Administration's 
great  mistake,  the  Senator  said,  and  the 
real  and  primary  cause  of  an  American 
war  declaration.     He  added: 

We  have  wallowed  in  the  mire  at  the  feet 
of  Great  Britain  and  submitted  in  silence  to 
her  dictation.  Because  we  acquiesce  we 
have  a  legal  and  moral  responsibility  to  Ger- 
many. Thus  we  have  been  actively  aiding 
her  enemy  in  starving  German  women,  chil- 
dren, and  old  men.  Germany  waited  three 
long  months  for  this  Government  to  protest. 
In  principle,  therefore,  Germany  had  the 
right  to  destroy,  blindly,  ships  by  submarines 
and  mines,  in  her  own  blockade  zone.  Ger- 
many is  only  doing  what  England  is  doing. 
Germany  has  been  patient  with  us,  standing 
strictly  on  her  right  to  be  accorded  the  same 
treatment   as   England   by   us. 

Reply  of  Senator  Williams 

Senator  Williams  of  Mississippi,  in 
replying  to  Senator  La  Follette,  said: 

The  Senator  from  Wisconsin  labored  to 
establish  an  identity  of  purpose  and  action 
in  the  violations  of  our  neutral  rights  by 
Great  Britain  and  Germany.  He  proved 
that  he  did  not  know  the  difference  between 
a  prize  court  and  a  torpedo.  Great  Britain 
has  drowned  none  of  our  citizens. 


I  am  a  little  tired  of  utterances  like  that 
of  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin,  denouncing 
the  Entente  Allies.  He  endeavors  to  twist 
the  British  lion's  tail.  Demagogues  have 
been  doing  that  ever  since  the  Revolution, 
but  it  is  a  matter  of  history  that  most  of 
the  people  of  England  were  against  the  war 
on    the    colonies. 

Which  would  you  rather  do,  fight  Ger- 
many now  with  France  and  Great  Britain 
and  Russia,  or  fight  her  alone  later?  You've 
got  to  do  one  or  the  other.  I  tell  you  that 
if  Germany  does  win  that  fight  on  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  she  will  begin  building  and 
getting  ready  to  whip  us,  unless  the  English 
fleet   prevents   it. 

Referring  to  the  Wisconsin  Senator's 
statement  that  the  United  States  had 
nothing  to  lose,  no  matter  which  side 
won  the  war,  Senator  Williams  said: 

Let's  see.  Have  we  no  honor?  No  regard 
for  the  future  sovereignty  of  our  country? 
No  regard  for  our  flag?  Is  sentiment  rot? 
Ts  patriotism  rot?  Is  there  nothing  precious 
except  money? 

I'm  getting  tired  of  this  talk  that  this  is 
a  Wall  Street  war.  That's  a  lie.  Wall 
Street  did  not  sink  the  Lusitania,  the 
Arabic,  the  Sussex,  and  these  other  ships. 
I'm  tired  of  lies  like  that,  and  I  think  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  American  Congress  and  peo- 
ple  to   brand   them  as   lies. 

Senator  Williams  said  that  the  resolu- 
tion did  not  propose  that  the  United 
States  enter  the  European  war,  but  that 
it  go  into  an  American  war  to  protect 
American  rights  and  for  the  sake  of 
honor,  justice,  safety,  liberty,  and  equal- 
ity. Once  at  war,  he  added,  the  United 
States  should  stay  until  it  became 
assured  the  houses  of  Hohenzollern  and 
Hapsburg  would  no  longer  reign  in  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  and  that  the  Turk 
would  be  forced  back  into  Asia. 

Debate  in  the  House 

The  resolution  declaring  war  was  re- 
ported to  the  House  of  Representatives 
after  its  passage  by  the  Senate  on  Thurs- 
day>  April  5.  In  presenting  the  resolution 
for  passage  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs  submitted  an  exhaustive  report, 
in  which  the  American  indictment  against 
the  German  Government  was  reviewed. 
The  full  text  of  this  report  is  printed  on 
pages  214-222. 

The  resolution  was  discussed  in  the 
House  from  10  A.  M.  Thursday  until  3:12 
A.  M.  Friday,  when  it  was  passed  by  a 
vote  of  373  yeas  and  50  nays,  9  not  vot- 


212 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ing.  Miss  Rankin-,  the  woman  member  of 
the  House,  voted  "  no  "  after  being  called 
three  times;  she* prefaced  her  vote  in  a, 
voice  choked  by  emotion,  with  the  words: 
"  I  want  to  stand  by  my  country — but  I 
cannot  vote  for  war." 

The  first  important  speech  against  the^ 
resolution  was  made  by  Representative" 
Cooper  of  Wisconsin  of  the  Foreign  Af- 
fairs Committee.  He  maintained  that 
Germany  had  not  violated  her  promise 
regarding  submarines;  that  she  spe- 
cifically reserved  the  right  to  withdraw 
it  unless  the  United  States  Government 
would  induce  Great  Britain  to  modify  the 
blockade  regulations.  He  argued  that 
Great  Britain  had  violated  American 
rights  upon  the  seas,  that  America  had 
not  been  neutral.  He  'defended  German 
militarism  with  the  query: 

What  has  overthrown  Russia?  The  tremen- 
dous struggle  of  the  Central  Powers.  Now, 
then,  I  ask  you  this  question :  If  we  were  in 
the  situation  of  the  German  people  and  had 
just  across  an  imaginary  boundary,  say  like 
the  Rio  Grande  River,  a  country  of  120,000,000 
or  130,000,000  or  140,000,000  people,  hav- 
ing the  most  absolute,  tyrannical,  corrupt 
despotism  of  modern  times,  with  an  army  of 
1,300,000,  what  Would  we  have  done  to  secure 
our  own  safety  and  how  long  before  this 
would  we  have  had  universal  military  service? 

He  quoted  from  a  speech  of  Lloyd 
George  delivered  in  Queen's  Hall,  London, 
July  28,  1908,  in  which  he  justified  Ger- 
many's military  preparedness,  and  quoted 
Lloyd  George  as  follows : 

Here  is  Germany,  in  the  middle  of  Europe, 
with  France  and  Russia  on  either  side,  and 
with  a  combination  of  their  armies  greater 
than  hers.  Suppose  we  had  nere  a  possible 
combination  which  would  lay  us  open  to  in- 
vasion—suppose Germany  and  France,  or  Ger- 
many and  Russia,  or  Germany  and  Austria 
had  fleets  which  in  combination  would  be 
stronger  than  ours. 

Would  not  we  be  frightened ;  would  not  we 
build;  would  not  we  arm?  Of  course  we 
should.  I  want  our  friends,  who  think  that 
because  Germany  is  a  little  frightened  she 
really  means  mischief  to  us,  to  remember  that 
she  is  frightened  for  a  reason  which  would 
frighten  us  under  the  same  circumstances. 

British  Blockade  Defended 
Representative  Harrison  of  Mississippi, 
in    replying,    said    regarding    England's 
blockade: 

When  she  executed  that  order  she  said  to 
the  United  States,  "  We  have  mined  certain 
places  in  the  North  Sea,  but  if  any  of  your 


vessels  wish  to"  go  through  we  will  furnish 
you  a  diagram,  so  to  speak ;  we  will  furnish 
you  pilot  boats,  so  that  you  may  not  run 
against  the  mines."  Did  Germany  do  that? 
No.  Germany  said,  "  Here  is  a  zone  1,500 
miles  long  and  1,100  miles  wide  your  vessels 
cannot  enter  except  once  a  week,  and  then 
only  at  a  certain  port  and  along  a  certain 
path,  and  your  vessel  shall  be  painted  a 
certain  color — like  a  barber's  sign,  so  to 
speak. "»  And  then  they  said,  so  far  as  the 
Mediterranean  is  concerned,  "  You  cannot 
enter  it  except  in  a  strip  of  twenty  miles 
wide."  Can  you  not  see  the  difference  be- 
tween the  actions  of  Germany  and  the  actions 
of  England?  A  man  who  cannot  is  unable 
to  see  the  difference  between,  as  some  one 
has  said,   a  torpedo  and  a  prize  court. 

England's  prize  courts  have  awarded  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  for  affecting 
the  property  rights  of  the  citizens  of  this 
country.  Their  courts  are  open,  and  they 
have  said,  "  We  will  try  the  cases  coming 
before  us,  and  award  damages  not  upon  the 
orders  in  council  but  upon  international 
law."  And  on  that  principle  hundreds  of 
our  citizens  have  collected  the  full  market 
value  of  their  cargoes  taken.  And  yet  men 
say  that  we  ought  to  go  to  war  against 
England  for  violating  property  rights  and 
excuse  Germany  for  destroying  the  lives  of 
American  citizens.  By  that  argument  you 
say  to  me  I  shall  not  be  permitted  to  choose 
*.my  assailant.  If  one  comes  into  my  home 
and  steals  my  pocketknife,  he  can  be  prose- 
cuted for  petit  larceny.  The  penalty  will 
be  light.  But  if  he  comes  into  my  home 
and  kills  some  one  who  is  dear  to  me,  the 
punishment  will  be  death.    *    *    * 

For  nearly  three  years  we  have  tried  every 
avenue .  of  diplomacy  commensurate  with  a 
nation's  honor  to  avoid  war.  So  intense  has 
been  our  desire  for  peace  that  at  home  our 
Government  has  been  criticised  and  abroad 
our  patience  and  forbearance  have  been 
marveled  at. 

Indictment  by  Mr.  Foss 

Representative  Foss  of  Illinois  de- 
nounced Germany's  attitude  in  these 
terms : 

German  belief  in  German  power  has  fat- 
tened on  the  blood  of  innocents.  She  no 
longer  seeks  to  hide  behind  her  broken 
promise,  but  tells  us  she  will  sink  on  sight 
any  ship  within  a  certain  zone,  save  one  poor 
ship  per  week,  and  then  only  under  condi- 
tions which,  to  accept,  was  to  surrender  each 
and  all  our  dearly  bought  liberties. 

At  the  same  moment  we  caught  her  red- 
handed  in  the  basest  act  of  international 
treachery  ever  committed  by  a  civilized  na- 
tion. She  offers  as  barter  a  part  of  our  sov- 
ereign territory  in  exchange  for  an  attack  on 
us  by  two  friendly  nations— Mexico  and 
Japan. 

Now  Germany  has  dropped  her  diplomatic 
mask  and   stands   revealed   in   all  her   naked 


HISTORIC  JOINT  SESSION  OF  CONGRESS 


213 


savagery.  She  will  now  kill  on  sight ;  she  has 
run  amuck  on  the  seas ;  she  has  how  treach- 
erously sought  an  alliance  against  our  peace. 
Throughout  all  this  we  have  remained  neu- 
tral, and,  as  a  reward  for  our  neutrality, 
what  have  we  received  at  the  hands  of  Will- 
iam II.? 

He  has  set  the  torch  of  the  incendiary  to 
our  factories,  our  workshops,  our  ships,  and 
our  wharves. 

He  has  laid  the  bomb  of  the  assassin  in  our 
munition  plants  and  in  the  holds  of  our  ships. 

He  has  sought  to  corrupt  our  manhood  with 
a  selfish  dream  of  peace  when  there  is  no 
peace. 

He  has  willfully  butchered  our  citizens  on 
the  high  seas. 

He  has  destroyed  our  commerce. 

He  seeks  to  terrorize  us  with  his  devilish 
policy  of  frightfulness. 

He  has  violated  every  canon  of  international 
decency  and  set  at  naught  every  solemn 
treaty  and  every  precept  of  international  law. 

He  has  plunged  the  world  into  the  maddest 
orgy  of  blood,  rapine,  and  murder  which  his- 
tory records. 

He  has  intrigued  against  our  peace  at  home 
and  abroad. 

He  seeks  to  destroy  our  civilization.  Pa- 
tience is  no  longer  a  virtue,  further  endur- 
ance is  cowardice,  submission  to  Prussian 
demands  is  slavery. 

Kitchin  s  Opposition  Speech 
Representative  Kitchin  of  North  Garo- 
lina,  who  is  the  Democratic  floor  leader, 
opposed  the  resolution.     In  his  address 
he  said: 

Great  Britain  every  day,  every  hour,  for 
two  years  has  violated  American  rights  on 
the  seas.  We  have  persistently  protested. 
She  has  denied  us  not  only  entrance  into  the 
ports  of  the  Central  Powers  but  has  closed 
to  us  by  force  the  ports  of  neutrals.  She 
has  unlawfully  seized  our  ships  and  our 
cargoes.  She  has  rifled  our  mails.  She  has 
declared  a  war  zone  sufficiently  large  to 
cover  all  the  ports  of  her  enemy.  She  made 
the  entire  North  Sea  a  military  area — 
strewed  it  with  hidden  mines  and  told  the 
neutral  nations  of  the  world  to  stay  out  or 
be  blown  up.  We  protested.  No  American 
ships  were  sunk,  no  American  life  was  de- 
stroyed, because  we  submitted  and  did  not 
go  in.  We  kept  out  of  war.  We  sacrificed 
no  honor.  We  surrendered  permanently  no 
essential  rights.  We  knew  that  these  acts 
of  Great  Britain,  though  in  plain  violation 
of  international  law  and  of  our  rights  on 
the  seas,  were  not  aimed  at  us.  They  were 
directed  at  her  enemy.  They  were  inspired 
by  military  necessity.  Rather  than  plunge 
this  country  into  war,  we  were  willing  to 
forego  for  the  time  our  rights.  I  approved 
that  course  then ;  I  approve  it  now-.  Ger- 
many declared  a  war  zone  sufficiently  large 
to  cover  the  ports  of  her  enemy.  She  in- 
fests it  with  submarines  and  warns  the  neu- 


tral world  to  stay  out,  though  in  plain  vio- 
lation of  our  rights  and  of  international 
law.  We-know  that  these  acts  are  aimed  not 
directly  at  us  but  intended  to  injure  and 
cripple  her  enemy,  with  which  she  is  in  a 
death   struggle. 

We  refuse  to  yield ;  we  refuse  to  forego  our 
rights  for  the  time.     We  insist  upon  going  in. 

In  my  judgment,  we  could  keep  out  of  the 
war  with  Germany,  as  we  kept  out  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  by  keeping  our 
ships  and  our  citizens  out  of  the  war  zone 
of  Germany  as  we  did  out  of  the  war  zone 
of  Great  Britain.  And  we  would  sacrifice 
no  more  honor,  surrender  no  more  rights  in 
the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  But  we  are 
told  that  Germany  has  destroyed  American 
lives  while  Great  Britain  destroyed  only 
property.  Great  Britain  destroyed  no 
American  lives,  because  this  nation  kept  her 
ships  and  her  citizens  out  of  her  war  zone 
which  she  infested  with  hidden  mines.  But 
are  we  quite  sure  that  the  real  reason  for 
war  with  Germany  is  the  destruction  of  lives 
as  distinguished  from  property,  that  to 
avenge  the  killing  of  innocent  Americans  and 
to  protect  American  lives  war  becomes  a 
duty? 

Mr.  Kitchin  argued  that  Mexicans  had 
murdered  American  citizens,  had  in- 
vaded American  territory,  and  committed 
acts  of  war  against  the  United  States; 
arid  that  we  had  refrained  from  war  on 
that  occasion  without  sacrificing  our 
honor.     He  continued: 

Are  we  quite  sure  that  in  a  war  with 
Germany  or  Japan,  if  our  fleet  was  bottled 
up,  helpless,  and  our  ships  of  commerce  had 
been  swept  from  the  seas,  all  our  ports 
closed  by  the  enemy's  fleet,  imports  of  fuel 
and  food  and  clothing  for  our  people  and 
ammunition  for  our  soldiers  were  denied, 
with  our  very  life  trembling  in  the  balance, 
we  would  not,  in  the  last  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, strike  our  enemy  with  the  only  weapon 
of  the  sea  remaining  and  in  a  manner  vio- 
lative of  the  international  law?  Would  one 
contend  that  under  the  circumstances  our 
submarine  commanders  should  permit  the 
landing  at  the  ports  of  the  enemy  arms  and 
ammunition  with  which  to  shoot  down  our 
brave  American  boys  when  they  had  it  in 
their  power  to  prevent  it?  Would  we  de- 
mand of  our  submarine  commanders  that 
they  give  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  to  ques- 
tions of  international  law  rather  than  to  the 
safety  of  our  country  and  the  lives  of  our 
own  soldiers? 

There  were  more  than  fifty  speeches 
delivered  during  the  session. 

The  War  Proclamation 
The  war  resolution  as  passed  by  the 
two  houses  of  Congress  was  signed  by 
President  Wilson  at  1:18  P.  M.  Friday, 


214 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


April  6,  and  by  that  act  the  United  States 
and  Germany  became  officially  at  war. 
At  the  same  time  the  President  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  American  people  an- 
nouncing the  existence  of  a  state  of  war, 
the  text  of  which  appears  on  Pages  198- 
200.  Formal  notice  was  at  the  same  time 
flashed  to  every  American  war  vessel, 
naval  station,  fort,  and  army  post;  also 
to  American  diplomatic  and  Consular  rep- 
resentatives abroad.  Orders  were  like- 
wise at  once  issued  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment to  mobilize  the  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States  and  all  branches  of  the 
navy  were  placed  upon  a  war  footing. 

Seizure  of  German  Ships 
The  first  act  in  recognition  of  a  state 
of  war  was  the  seizure  by  the  United 
States  authorities  of  all  German  ships 
that  had  taken  re'fuge  in  American  ports 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  Prepa- 
rations to  this  end  were  made  by  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  at  all  ports,  and  when 
the  news  was  flashed  from  Washington 
at  dawn  on  Friday  that  the  war  resolu- 
tion had  been  adopted  by  Congress  a  de- 
tachment of  port  officials  accompanied  by 
a  detail  of  Federal 'troops  instantly  took 
possession  of  the  vessels. 

There  were  in  all  91  German-owned 
vessels  in  American  waters  with  a  gross 
tonnage  of  594,696 ;  twenty-seven  of  them 
in  the  Harbor  of  New  York,  six  at  Bos- 
ton, three  at  Baltimore,  two  at  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C;  two  at  Philadelphia,  three  at 


San  Francisco,  two  at  Pensacola,  two  at 
New  Orleans,  two  at  Astoria,  Ore.;  eight 
at  Honolulu,  seventeen  at  Manila,  three 
at  Zamboango,  and  three  at  Cebu,  Philip- 
pine Islands;  one  each  at  New  London, 
Newport  News,  Savannah,  Charleston, 
Jacksonville,  Portland,  Ore.;  Seattle, 
Winslow,  Wash.;  Hilo,  Hawaii;  San 
Juan,  P.  R.;  Pago  Pago,  Samoa.  The 
seizures  were  made  without  incident  ex- 
cept in  one  case,  and  the  crews  were  in- 
terned at  the  various  immigrant  stations, 
where  they  were  treated  as  newly  arrived 
immigrants.  A  German  gunboat  at  Ma- 
nila, the  Cormoran,  was  blown  up  by  its 
officers  before  the  Federal  officials  took 
possession,  and  five  members  of  the  crew 
perished;  the  remaining  353  men  and 
officers  then  peacefully  accepted  intern- 
ment. The  vessels  seized  were  valued  at 
about  $100,000,000.  It  was  found  that 
the  machinery  had  been  disabled  on  each 
of  the  ships,  except  the  Vaterland,  the 
54,000-ton  German  liner  at  New  York. 
It  was  estimated  that  several  weeks  would 
be  required  to  make  repairs. 

The  Government  announced  that  the 
ships  were  seized  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting them  from  further  injury,  and 
that  until  a  decision  could  be  reached  as 
to  their  proper  disposition  Customs 
guards  had  been  placed  on  board.  A  few 
days  later  a  large  numbers  of  machinists 
were  placed  on  the  ships  by  Government 
authorities,  and  the  work  of  repairs  was 
vigorously  begun. 


Report  of  House  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs 
Reciting  German  Misdeeds 


When  the  resolution  declaring  war  was 
reported  for  passage  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives on  April  5,  the  Committee  of 
Foreign  Affairs  submitted  the  following 
exhaustive  report,  reciting  the  long  cata- 
logue of  unfriendly  acts  that  would  jus- 
tify war  on  the  part  of  the  United  States: 
IT  is  with  the  deepest  sense  of  respon- 
sibility of  the  momentous  results 
which  will  follow  the  passage  of  this 
resolution  that  your  committee  reports  it 
to  the  House,  with  the  recommendation 
that  it  be  passed. 


The  conduct  of  the  Imperial  German 
Government  toward  this  Government,  its 
citizens,  and  its  interests  has  been  so  dis- 
courteous, unjust,  cruel,  barbarous,  and 
so  lacking  in  honesty  and  fair  dealing 
that  it  has  constituted  a  violation  of  the 
course  of  conduct  which  should  obtain 
between  friendly  nations. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  German  Govern- 
ment is  actually  making  war  upon  the 
people  and  the  commerce  of  this  country, 
and  leaves  no  course  open  to  this  Govern- 
ment but  to  accept  its  gage  of  battle,  de- 


BOUSE  REPORT  ON  GERMAN  MISDEEDS 


215 


clare  that  a  state  of  war  exists,  and  wage 
that  war  vigorously. 

On  the  31st  day  of  January,  1917,  no- 
tice was  given  by  the  Imperial  German 
Government  to  this  Government  that 
after  the  following  day— 
*  Germany  will  meet  the  illegal  measures  of 
her  enemies  by  forcibly  preventing,  in  a  zone 
around  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  and  in 
the  Eastern  Mediterranean,  all  navigation, 
that  of  neutrals  included,  from  and  to  Eng- 
land and  from  and  to  France,  &c.  All  ships 
met  within  that  zone  will  be  sunk. 

Since  that  day  seven  American  ships 
flying  the  American  flag  have  been  sunk 
and  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
American  lives  have  been  lost  as  a  result 
of  the  prosecution  of  the  submarine  war- 
fare in  accordance  with  the  above  decla- 
ration. This  is  war.  War  waged  by  the 
Imperial  German  Government  upon  this 
country  and  its  people. 

A  brief  review  of  some  of  the  hostile 
and  illegal  acts  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment toward  this  Government  and  its  of- 
ficers and  its  people  is  herewith  given. 

Germany's  Conduct  at  Sea 

In  the  memorial  of  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Government  accompanying  its  proc- 
lamation of  Feb.  4,  1915,  in  regard  to 
submarine  warfare,  that  Government  de- 
clared :  "  The  German  Navy  has  received 
instructions  to  abstain  from  all  violence 
against  neutral  vessels  recognizable  as 
such."  In  the  note  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment dated  Feb.  16,  1915,  in  reply  to 
the  American  note  of  Feb.  10,  it  was  de- 
clared that  "  It  is  very  far  indeed  from 
the  intention  of  the  German  Government 
*  *  *  ever  to  destroy  neutral  lives  and 
neutral  property.  *  *  *  The  com- 
manders of  German  submarines  have  been 
instructed,  as  was  already  stated  in  the 
note  of  the  4th  instant,  to  abstain  from 
violence  to  American  merchant  ships 
when  they  are  recognizable  as  such." 

Nevertheless,  the  German  Government 
proceeded  to  carry  out  its  plans  of  sub- 
marine warfare  and  torpedoed  the  Brit- 
ish passenger  steamer  Falaba  on  March 
27,  1915,  when  one  American  life  was 
lost,  attacked  the  American  steamer 
Cushing  April  28  by  airship,  and,  made 
submarine  attacks  upon  the  American 
tank  steamer  Gulflight  May  1,  the  British 
passenger  steamer  Lusitania  May  7,  when 


114  American  lives  were  lost,  and  the 
American  steamer  Nebraskan  on  May  25, 
in  all  of  which  over  125  citizens  of  the 
United  States  lost  their  lives,  not  to  men- 
tion hundreds  of  noncombatants  who 
were  lost  and  hundreds  of  Americans  and 
noncombatants  whose  lives  were  put  in 
jeopardy. 

The  British  mule  boat  Armenian  was 
torpedoed  on  June  28,  as  a  result  of 
which  twenty  Americans  are  reported 
missing. 

On  July  8,  1915,  in  a  note  to  Ambas- 
sador Gerard,  arguing  in  defense  of  its 
method  of  warfare  and  particularly  of 
its  submarine  commander  in  the  Lusi- 
tania case,  it  is  stated : 

The  Imperial  Government  therefore  repeats 
the  assurances  that  American  ships  will  not 
be  hindered  in  the  prosecution  of  legitimate 
shipping  and  the  lives  of  American  citizens  on 
neutral  vessels  shall  not  be  placed  in  jeop- 
ardy. 

In  order  to  exclude  any  unforeseen  dangers 
to  American  passenger  steamers  *  *  *  the 
German  submarines  will  be  instructed  to  per- 
mit the  free  and  safe  passage  of  such  passen- 
ger steamers  when  made  recognizable  by  spe- 
cial markings  and  notified  a  reasonable  time 
in  advance. 

Subsequently  the  following  vessels 
carrying  American  citizens  were  attacked 
by  submarines:  British  liner  Orduna, 
July  9;  Russian  steamer  Leo,  July  9; 
American  steamer  Leelanaw,  July  25; 
British  passenger  liner  Arabic,  Aug.  19; 
British  mule  ship  Nicosian,  Aug.  19* 
British  steamer  Hesperian,  Sept.  4.  In 
these  attacks  twenty-three  Americans 
lost  their  lives,  not  to  mention  the  large 
number  whose  lives  were  placed  in  jeop- 
ardy. 

Following  these  events,  conspicuous  by 
their  wantonness  and  violation  of  every 
rule  of  humanity  and  maritime  warfare, 
the  German  Ambassador,  by  instructions 
from  his  Government,  on  Sept.  1  gave  the 
following  assurances  to  the  Government 
of  the  United  States : 

Liners  will  not  be  sunk  by  our  submarines 
without  warning  and  without  safety  of  the 
lives  of  noncombatants,  provided  that  the 
liners  do  not  try  to  escape  or  offer  resistance. 

On  Sept.  9,  in  a  reply  as  to  the  subma- 
rine attack  on  .the  Orduna,  the  German 
Government  renewed  these  assurances  in 
the  following  language : 
The  first  attack  on  the  Orduna  by  a  torpedo 


216 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


was  not  in  accordance  with  the  existing  in- 
structions, which  provide  that  large  passen- 
ger steamers  are  to  be  torpedoed  only  after 
previous  warning  and  after  the  rescuing  of 
passengers  and  crew.  The  failure  to  observe 
the  instructions  was  based  on  an  error  which 
is  at  any  rate  comprehensible  and  the  repeti- 
tion of  which  appears  to  be  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, in  view  of  the  more  explicit  instructions 
issued  in  the  meantime.  Moreover,  the  com- 
manders of  the  submarines  have  been  re- 
minded that  it  is  their  duty  to  exercise  greater 
care  and  to  observe  carefully  the  orders 
issued. 

The  German  Government  could  not 
more  clearly  have  stated  that  liners  or 
large  passenger  steamers  would  not  be 
torpedoed  except  upon  previous  warning 
and  after  the  passengers  and  crew  had 
been  put  in  places  of  safety. 

On  Nov.  29  the  German  Government 
states,  in  connection  with  the  case  of  the 
American  vessel  William  P.  Frye : 

The  German  naval  forces  will  sink  only 
such  American  vessels  as  are  loaded  with  ab- 
solute contraband,  when  the  preconditions 
provided  by  the  Declaration  of  London  are 
present.  In  this  the  German  Government 
quite  shares  the  view  of  the  American  Gov- 
ernment that  all  possible  care  must  be  taken 
for  the  security  of  the  crew  and  passengers 
of  a  vessel  to  be  sunk.  Consequently  the  per- 
sons found  on  board  of  a  vessel  may  not  be 
ordered  into  her  lifeboats  except  when  the 
general  conditions— that  is  to  say,  the  weather, 
the  condition  of  the  sea,  and  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  coasts— afford  absolute  certainty 
that  the  boats  will  reach  the  nearest  port. 

Following  this  accumulative  series  of 
assurances,  however,  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  abatement  in  the  rigor  of  sub- 
marine warfare,  for  attacks  were  made 
in  the  Mediterranean  upon  the  American 
steamer  Communipaw  on  Dec.  3,  the 
American  steamer  Petrolite  Dec.  5,  the 
Japanese  liner  Yasaka  Maru  Dec.  21,  and 
the  passenger  liner  Persia  Dec.  30.  In 
the  sinking  of  the  Persia  out  of  a  total  of 
some  500  passengers  and  crew  only  165 
were  saved.  Among  those  lost  was  an 
American  Consul  traveling  to  his  post. 

On  Jan.  7,  eight  days  after  the  sinking 
of  the  Persia,  the  German  Government 
notified  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  through  its  Ambassador  in  Wash- 
ington as  follows: 

1.  German  submarines  in  the  Mediterranean 
had,  from  the  beginning,  orders  to  conduct 
cruiser  warfare  against  enemy  merchant  ves- 
sels only  in  accordance  with  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  international  law,  and  in  particular 
measures  of  reprisal,  as  applied   in  the  war 


zone  around  the  British  Isles,  were  to  be  ex- 
cluded. 

2.  German  submarines  are  therefore  per- 
mitted to  destroy  enemy  merchant  vessels  in 
the  Mediterranean,  i.  e.,  passenger  as  well  as 
freight  ships  as  far  as  they  do  not  try  to  es- 
cape or  offer  resistance— only  after  passengers 
and  crews  have  been  accorded  safety.  % 

-    German  Promises   Violated 

Clearly  the  assurances  of  the  German 
Government  that  neutral  and  enemy  mer- 
chant vessels,  passenger  as  well  as  freight 
ships,  should  not  be  destroyed  except 
upon  the  passengers  and  crew  being  ac- 
corded safety  stood  as  the  official  posi- 
tion of  the  Imperial  German  Govern- 
ment. 

On  Feb.  16,  1916,  the  German  Ambas- 
sador communicated  to  the  Department 
of  State  an  expression  of  regret  for  the 
loss  of  American  lives  on  the  Lusitania, 
and  proposed  to  pay  a  suitable  indemnity. 
In  the  course  of  this  note  he  said : 

Germany  has  *  *  *  limited  her  subma- 
rine warfare  because  of  her  long-standing 
friendship  with  the  United  States  and  be- 
cause by  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  which 
caused  the  death  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  the  German  retaliation  affected  neu- 
trals, which  was  not  the  intention,  as  retalia- 
tion should  be  confined  to  enemy  subjects. 

On  March  1,  1916,  the  unarmed  French 
passenger  steamer  Patria,  carrying  a 
number  of  American  citizens,  was  at- 
tacked without  warning.  On  March  9 
the  Norwegian  bark  Silius,  riding  at 
anchor  in  Havre  Roads,  was  torpedoed 
by  an  unseen  submarine  and  one  of  the 
seven  Americans  on  board  was  injured. 
On  March  16  the  Dutch  passenger 
steamer  Tubantia  was  sunk  in  the  North 
Sea  by  a  torpedo.  On  March  16  the  Brit- 
ish steamer  Berwindale  was  torpedoed 
without  warning  off  Bantry  Island  with 
four  Americans  on  board.  On  March  24 
the  British  unarmed  steamer  English- 
man was,  after  a  chase,  torpedoed  and 
sunk  by  the  submarine  U-19,  as  a  result 
of  which  one  American  on  board  perished. 
On  March  24  the  unarmed  French  cross- 
Channel  steamer  Sussex  was  torpedoed 
without  warning,  several  of  the  twenty- 
four  American  passengers  being  injured. 
On  March  27  the  unarmed  British  liner 
Manchester  Engineer  was  sunk  by  an  ex- 
plosion without  prior  warning,  with 
Americans  on  board,  and  on  March  28  the 
British  steamer  Eagle  Point,  carrying  a 


HOUSE  REPORT  ON  GERMAN  MISDEEDS 


217 


Hotchkiss  gun,  which  she  did  not  use, 
was  chased,  overtaken,  and  sunk  by  a  tor- 
pedo after  the  persons  on  board  had 
taken  to  the  boats. 

The  American  note  of  Feb.  10,  1915, 
stated  that  should  German  vessels  of  war 
"  destroy  on  the  high  seas  an  American 
vessel  or  the  lives  of  American  citizens  it 
would  be  difficult  for  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  view  the  act  in  any 
other  light  than  an  indefensible  violation 
of  neutral  rights  which  it  would  be  very 
hard,  indeed,  to  reconcile  with  the  friend- 
ly relations  so  happily  subsisting  between 
the  two  Governments,"  and  that  if  such  a 
deplorable  situation  should  arise,  "  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  would 
be  constrained  to  hold  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment to  a  strict  accountability  for 
such  acts  of  their  naval  authorities." 

In  the  American  note  of  May  13,  1915, 
the  Government  stated: 

The  Imperial  Government  will  not  expect 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  omit 
any  word  or  act  necessary  to  the  performance 
of  its  sacred  duty  of  maintaining-  the  rights 
of  the  United  States  and  its  citizens  and  in 
safeguarding  their  free  exercise  and  enjoy- 
ment. 

In  the  note  of  July  21,  1915,  the  United 
States  Government  said  that 

Repetition  by  the  commanders  of  German 
naval  vessels  of  acts  in  contravention  of 
those  rights  must  he  regarded  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  when  they  affect 
American  citizens,  as  deliberately  unfriendly. 

In  a  communication  of  April  18,  1916, 
the  American  Government  said: 

If  it  is  still  the  purpose  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment to  prosecute  relentless  and  indis- 
criminate warfare  against  vessels  of  com- 
merce by  the  use  of  submarines  without  re- 
gard to  what  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  must  consider  the  sacred  and  indis- 
putable rules  of  international  law  and  the 
universally  recognized  dictates  of  humanity, 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  at 
last  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  but 
one  course  it  can  pursue.  Unless  the  Impe- 
rial Government  should  not  immediately  de- 
clare and  effect  an  abandonment  of  its  pres- 
ent methods  of  submarine  warfare  against 
passenger  and  freight  carrying  vessels  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  can  have  no 
choice  but  to  sever  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  German  Empire  altogether. 

The  German  Government  replied  to 
this  communication  on  May  4,  1916,  giv- 
ing definite  assurances  that  new  orders 
had   been   issued   to   the   German   naval 


forces  "  in  accordance  with  the  general 
principles  of  visit  and  search  and  the  de- 
struction of  merchant  vessels  recogni&ed 
by  international  law."  And  this  agree- 
ment was  substantially  complied  with  for 
many  months,  but  finally,  on  Jan.  31, 
1917,  notice  was  given  that  after  the  fol- 
lowing day 

Germany  will  meet  the  illegal  measures  of 
her  enemies  by  forcibly  preventing  in  a  zone 
around  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  and  in 
the  Eastern  Mediterranean  all  navigation, 
that  of  neutrals  included,  from  and  to  Eng- 
land and  .from  and  to  France,  &c.  All  ships 
met  within  that  zone  will  'be  sunk. 

In  view  of  this  Government's  warning 
of  April  18,  1916,  and  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Government's  pledge  of  May  4  of 
the  same  year,  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  on  Feb.  3,  1917,  stated  to 
the  Imperial  German  Government  that 
in  view  of  this  declaration,  which  with- 
draws suddenly  and  without  prior  intimation 
the  solemn  assurance  given  in  the  Imperial 
Government's  note  of  May  4,  191G,  this  Gov- 
ernment has  no  alternative  consistent  with 
the  dignity  and  honor  of  the  United  States 
but  to  take  the  course  which  it  explicitly  an- 
nounced in  its  note  of  April  18,  1Q10,  it  would 
take  in  the  event  that  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment did  not  declare  and  effect  an  abandon- 
ment of  the  methods  of  submarine  warfare 
then  employed  and  to  which  the  Imperial 
Government   now  purposes   again   to   resort. 

The  President  has,  therefore,  directed  me  to 
announce  to  your  Excellency  that  all  diplo- 
matic relations  between  the  United  States  and 
the  German  Empire  are  severed,  and  that  the 
American  Ambassador  at  Berlin  will  be  im- 
mediately withdrawn,  and,  in  accordance 
with  such  announcement,  to  deliver  to  your 
Excellency  your  passports. 

On  Feb.  3  one  American  ship  was  sunk, 
and  since  that  date  six  American  ships 
flying  the  American  flag  have  been  tor- 
pedoed, with  a  loss  of  about  thirteen 
American  citizens.  In  addition,  fifty  or 
more  foreign  vessels  of  both  belligerent 
and  neutral  nationality  with  Americans 
on  board  have  been  torpedoed,  in  most 
cases  without  warning,  with  a  consequent 
loss  of  several  American  citizens. 

Intrigues  in   the   United  States 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  German 
officials  in  the  United  States  have  en- 
gaged in  many  improper  activities  in  vio- 
lation of  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
and  of  their  obligations  as  officials  in  a 
neutral  country.  Count  von  Bernstorff, 
the    German    Ambassador,    Captain   von 


218 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Papen,  Military  Attache  of  the  embassy, 
Captain  Boy-Ed,  Naval  Attache,  as  well 
as  various  Consular  officers  and  other  of- 
ficials, were  involved  in  these  activities, 
which  were  very  widespread. 

The  following  instances  are  chosen  at 
random  from  the  cases  which  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  Government : 

I.  By  direct  instructions  received  from 
the  Foreign  Office  in  Berlin  the  German 
Embassy  in  this  country  furnished  funds 
and  issued  orders  to  the  Indian  Indepen- 
dence Committee  of  the  Indian  National- 
ist Party  in  the  United  States.  These 
instructions  were  usually  conveyed  to  the 
committee  by  the  military  information 
bureau  in  New  York,  (von  Igel,)  or  by 
the  German  Consulates  in  New  York  and 
San  Francisco. 

Dr.  Chakrabarty,  recently  arrested  in 
New  York  City,  received,  all  in  all,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  admission,  some  $80,- 
000  from  von  Igel.  He  claims  that  the 
greater  portion  of  this  money  was  used 
for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  Indian 
revolutionary  propaganda  in  this  country 
and,  as  he  says,  for  educational  purposes. 
While  this  is  in  itself  true,  it  is  not  all 
that  was  done  by  the  revolutionists.  They 
have  sent  representatives  to  the  Far  East 
to  stir  up  trouble  in  India,  and  they  have 
attempted  to  ship  arms  and  ammunition 
to  India.  These  expeditions  have  failed. 
The  German  Embassy  also  employed 
Ernest  T.  Euphrat  to  carry  instructions 
and  information  between  Berlin  and 
Washington  under  an  American  pass- 
port. 

II.  Officers  of  interned  German  war- 
ships have  violated  their  word  of  honor 
and  escaped.  In  one  instance  the  Ger- 
man Consul  at  Richmond  furnished  the 
money  to  purchase  a  boat  to  enable  six 
warrant  officers  of  the  steamer  Kron- 
prinz  Wilhelm  to  escape  after  breaking 
their  parole. 

III.  Under  the  supervision  of  Captain 
von  Papen  and  Wolf  von  Igel,  Hans  von 
Wedell  and,  subsequently,  Carl  Ruroede 
maintained  a  regular  office  for  the  pro- 
curement of  fraudulent  passports  for 
German  reservists.  These  operations 
were  directed  and*  financed  in  part  by 
Captain  von  Papen  and  Wolf  von  Igel. 
Indictments  were  returned,  Carl  Ruroede 
sentenced  to  the  penitentiary,  and  a  num- 


ber of  German  officers  fined.  Von  Wedell 
escaped  and  has  apparently  been  drowned 
at  sea.  Von  Wedell's  operations  were 
also  known  to  high  officials  in  Germany. 
When  von  Wedell  became  suspicious  that 
forgeries  committed  by  him  on  a  passport 
amplication  had  become  known,  he  con- 
ferred with  Captain  von  Papen  and  ob- 
tained money  from  him  wherewith  to 
make  his  escape. 

IV.  James  J.  F.  Archibald,  under  cover 
of  an  American  passport  and  in  the  pay 
of  the  German  Government  through  Am- 
bassador Bernstorff,  carried  dispatches 
for  Ambassador  Dumba  and  otherwise 
engaged  in  unneutral  activities. 

V.  Albert  0.  Sander,  Charles  Wunnen- 
berg,  and  others,  German  agents  in  this 
country,  were  engaged,  among  other  ac- 
tivities, in  sending  spies  to  England, 
equipped  with  American  passports,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  military  in- 
formation. Several  such  men  have  been 
sent.  Sander  and  Wunnenberg  have 
pleaded  guilty  to  indictments  brought 
against  them  in  New  York  City,  as  has 
George  Voux  Bacon,  one  of  the  men  sent 
abroad  by  them. 

VI.  American  passports  have  been 
counterfeited  and  counterfeits  found  on 
German  agents.  Baron  von  Cupenberg, 
a  German  agent,  when  arrested  abroad, 
bore  a  counterfeit  of  an  American  pass- 
port issued  to  Gustav  C.  Roeder;  Irving 
Guy  Ries  received  an  American  passport, 
went  to  Germany,  where  the  police  re- 
tained his  passports  for  twenty-four 
hours.  Later  a  German  spy  named  Carl 
Paul  Julius  Hensel  was  arrested  in 
London  with  a  counterfeit  of  the  Ries 
passport  in  his  possession. 

VII.  Prominent  officials  of  the  Ham- 
burg-American Line,  who,  under  the  di- 
rection of  Captain  Boy-Ed,  endeavored 
to  provide  German  warships  at  sea  with 
coal  and  other  supplies  in  violation  of  the 
statutes  of  the  United  States,  have  been 
tried  and  convicted  and  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary.  Some  twelve  or  more 
vessels  were  involved  in  this  plan. 

VIII.  Under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Boy-Ed  and  the  German  Consulate  at 
San  Francisco,  and  in  violation  of  our 
law,  the  steamships  Sacramento  and 
Mazatlan     carried     supplies     from     San 


HOUSE  REPORT  ON  GERMAN  MISDEEDS 


219 


Francisco  to  German  war  vessels.  The 
Olsen  and  Mahoney,  which  was  engaged 
in  a  similar  enterprise,  was  detained. 
The  money  for  these  ventures  was  fur- 
nished by  Captain  Boy^d.  Indictments 
have  been  returned  in  connection  with 
these  matters  against  a  large  number  of 
persons. 

IX.  Werner  Horn,  a  Lieutenant  in  the 
German  reserve,  was  furnished  funds  by 
Captain'  Franz  von  Papen  and  sent,  with 
dynamite,  under  orders  to  blow  up  the 
International  Bridge  at  Vanceboro,  Me. 
He  was  partially  successful.  He  is  now 
under  indictment  for  the  unlawful  trans- 
portation of  dynamite  on  passenger 
trains  and  is  in  jail  awaiting  trial  follow- 
ing the  dismissal  of  his  appeal  by  the 
Supreme  Court. 

X.  Captain  von  Papen  furnished  funds 
to  Albert  Kaltschmidt  of  Detroit,  who  is 
involved  in  a  plot  to  blow  up  a  factory  at 
Walkerville,  Canada,  and  the  armory  at 
Windsor,  Canada. 

Bomb  Plots  Against  Ships 

XI.  Robert  Fay,  Walter  Scholtz,  and 
Paul  Daeche  have  been  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  and  three 
others  are  under  indictment  for  con- 
spiracy to  prepare  bombs  and  attach 
them  to  allied  ships  leaving  New  York 
Harbor.  Fay,  who  was  the  principal  in 
this  scheme,  was  a  German  soldier.  He 
testified  that  he  received  finances  from 
a  German  secret  agent  in  Brussels,  and 
told  Von  Papen  of  his  plans,  who  ad- 
vised him  that  his  device  was  not  prac- 
ticable, but  that  he  should  go  ahead  with 
it,  and  if  he  could  make  it  work  he  would 
consider  it. 

XII.  Under  the  direction  of  Captain 
von  Papen  and  Wolf  von  Igel,  Dr.  Walter 
T.  Scheele,  Captain  von  Kleist,  Captain 
Wolpert  of  the  Atlas  Steamship  Com- 
pany, and  Captain  Rode  of  the  Ham- 
burg-American Line  manufactured  in- 
cendiary bombs  and  placed  them  on 
board  allied  vessels.  The  shells  in  which 
the  chemicals  were  placed  were  made  on 
board  the  steamship  Friedrich  der  Grosse. 
Scheele  was  furnished  $1,000  by  von  Igel 
wherewith  to  become  a  fugitive  from  jus- 
tice. 

XIII.  Captain    Franz    Rintelen,    a    re- 


serve officer  in. the  German  Navy,  came 
to  this  country  secretly  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  the  exportation  of  muni- 
tions of  war  to  the  Allies  and  of  getting 
to  Germany  needed  supplies.  He  or- 
ganized and  financed  Labor's  National 
Peace  Council  in  an  effort  to  bring 
about  an.  embargo  on  the  shipment  of 
munitions  of  war,  tried  to  bring  about 
strikes,  &c. 

XIV.  Consul  General  Bopp,  at  '  San 
Francisco,  Vice  Consul  General  von 
Schaick,  Baron  George  Wilhelm  von 
Brincken,  (an  employe  of  the  consulate,) 
Charles  C.  Crowley,  and  Mrs.  Margaret 
W.  Cornell  (secret  agents  of  the  Ger- 
man Consulate  at  San  Francisco)  have 
been  convicted  of  conspiracy  to  send 
agents  into  Canada  to  blow  up  railroad 
tunnels  and  bridges,  and  to  wreck  vessels 
sailing  from  Pacific  Coast  ports  with 
war  material  for  Russia  and  Japan. 

XV.  Paul  Koenig,  head  of  the  secret- 
service  work  of  the  Hamburg-American 
Line,  by  direction  of  his  superior  of- 
ficers, largely  augmented  his  organ- 
ization and  under  the  direction  of  Von 
Papen,  Boy-Ed,  and  Albert  carried  on 
secret  work  for  the  German  Govern- 
ment. He  secured  and  sent  spies  to 
Canada  to  gather  information  concern- 
ing the  Weiland  Canal,  the  movements 
of  Canadian  troops  to  England,  bribed 
an  employe  of  a  bank  for  information 
concerning  shipments  to  the  Allies,  sent 
spies  to  Europe  on  American  passports 
to  secure  military  information,  and  was 
involved  with  Captain  von  Papen  in  plans 
to  place  bombs  on  ships  of  the  Allies 
leaving  New  York  Harbor,  &c.  Von 
Papen,  Boy-Ed,  and  Albert  had  frequent 
conferences  with  Koenig  in  his  office,  at 
theirs,  and  at  outside  places.  Koenig 
and  certain  of  his  associates  are  under 
indictment. 

Weiland  Canal  Plot 

XVI.  Captain  von  Papen,  Captain 
Hans  Tauscher,  Wolf  von  Igel,  and  a 
number  of  German  reservists  organized 
an  expedition  to  go  into  Canada,  de- 
stroy the  Weiland  Canal,  and  endeavor 
to  terrorize  Canadians  in  order  to  delay 
the  sending  of  troops  from  Canada  to 
Europe.     Indictments  have  been  returned 


220 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


against  these  persons.  .Wolf  von  Igel 
furnished  Fritzen,  one  of  the  conspir- 
ators in  this  case,  money  on  which  to 
flee  from  New  York  City.  Fritzen  is 
now  in  jail  in  New  York  City. 

XVII.  With  money  furnished  by  of- 
ficial German  representatives  in  this 
country,  a  cargo  of  arms  and  ammunition 
was  purchased  and  shipped  on  board  the 
schooner  Annie  Larsen.  Through  the 
activities  of  German  official  representa- 
tives in  this  country  and  other  Germans 
a  number  of  Indians  were  procured  to 
form  an  expedition  to  go  on  the  steam- 
ship Maverick,  meet  the  Annie  Larsen, 
take  over  her  cargo,  and  endeavor  to 
bring  about  a  revolution  in  India.  This 
plan  involved  the  sending  of  a  German 
officer  to  drill  Indian  recruits  and  the 
entire  plan  was  managed  and  directed 
by  Captain  von  Papen,  Captain  Hans 
Tauscher,  and  other  official  German 
representatives  in  this  country. 

XVIII.  Gustav  Stahl,  a  German  re- 
servist, made  an  affidavit  which  he  ad- 
mitted was  false,  regarding  the  arma- 
ment of  the  Lusitania,  which  affidavit 
was  forwarded  to  the  State  Department 
by  Ambassador  von  Bernstorff.  He  plead 
guilty  to  an  indictment  charging  perjury, 
and  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary. 
Koenig,  herein  mentioned,  was  active  in 
securing  this  affidavit. 

XIX.  The  German  Embassy  organized, 
directed,  and  financed  the  Hans  Libau 
Employment  Agency,  through  which  ex- 
tended efforts  were  made  to  induce  em- 
ployes of  manufacturers  engaged  in  sup- 
plying various  kinds  of  material  to  the 
Allies  to  give  up  their  positions  in  an 
effort  to  interfere  with  the  output  of 
such  manufacturers.  Von  Papen  in- 
dorsed this  organization  as  a  military 
measure,  and  it  was  hoped  through  its 
propaganda  to  cripple  munition  fac- 
tories. 

XX.  The  German  Government  has  as- 
sisted financially  a  number  of  news- 
papers in  this  country  in  return  for  pro- 
German  propaganda. 

XXI.  Many  facts  have  been  secured 
indicating  that  Germans  have  aided  and 
encouraged  financially  and  otherwise  the 
activities  of  one  or  the  other  faction  in 
Mexico,  the  purpose  being  to  keep  the 


United  States  occupied  along  its  borders 
and  to  prevent  the  exportation  of  muni- 
tions of  war  to  the  Allies;  see,  in  this 
connection,  the  activities  of  Rintelen, 
Stallforth,  Kopf,  l;he  German  Consul  at 
Chihuahua;  Krum-Hellen,  Felix  Somer- 
:feld,  (Villa's  representative  at  New 
York,)  Carl  Heynen,  Gustav  Steinberg, 
and  many  others. 

Belgian  Relief  Ships,  Sunk 

When  the  Commission  for  Relief  in 
Belgium  began  its  work  in  October,  1914, 
it  received  from  the  German  authorities, 
through  the  various  Governments  con- 
cerned, definite  written  assurances  that 
ships  engaged  in  carrying  cargoes  for 
the  relief  of  the  civil  population  of  Bel- 
gium and  Northern  France  should  be 
immune  from  attack.  In  order  that  there 
may  be  no  room  for  attacks  upon  these 
ships  through  misunderstanding,  each 
ship  is  given  a  safe  conduct  by  the  Ger- 
man diplomatic  representative  in  the 
country  from  which  it  sails,  and,  in  ad- 
dition, bears  conspicuously  upon  its 
sides  markings  which  have  been  agreed 
upon  with  the  German  authorities;  fur- 
thermore, similar  markings  are  painted 
upon  the  decks  of  the^  ships  in  order 
that  they  may  be  readily  recognized  by 
airplanes. 

Upon  the  rupture  of  relations  with 
Germany  the  commission  was  definitely 
assured  by  the  German  Government  that 
its  ships  would  be  immune  from  attack 
by  following  certain  prescribed  courses 
and  conforming  to  the  arrangements 
previously  made. 

Despite  these  solemn  assurances  there 
have  been  several  unwarranted  attacks 
upon  ships  under  charter  to  the  commis- 
sion. 

On  March  7  or  8  the  Norwegian  ship 
Storstad,  carrying  10,000  tons  of  corn 
from  Buenos  Aires  to  Rotterdam  for  the 
commission  was  sunk  in  broad  daylight 
by  a  German  submarine  despite  the  con- 
spicuous markings  of  the  commission 
which  the  submarine  could  not  help  ob- 
serving. The  Storstad  was  repeatedly 
shelled  without  warning  and  finally  tor- 
pedoed. 

On  March  19  the  steamships  Tunisie 
and  Haelen,  under  charter  to  the  com- 


f^m^^m 


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IfeafiEs 


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pi 


HOUSE  REPORT  ON  GERMAN  MISDEEDS 


221 


mission,  proceeding  to'  the  United  States 
under  safe  conducts  and  guarantees  from 
the  German  Minister  at  The  Hague  and 
bearing  conspicuous  •  marking  of  the 
commission,  were  attacked  without 
warning  by  a  German  submarine  out- 
side the  danger  zone,  (56  degrees  15 
minutes  north,  5  degrees  32  minutes 
east.)  The  ships  were  not  sunk,  but  on 
the  Haelen  seven  men  were  killed,  in- 
cluding the  first  and  third  officers;  a 
port  boat  was  sunk;  a  hole  was  made  in 
the  port  bunker  above  the  water  line; 
and  the  ships  sustained  sundry  damages 
to  decks  and  engines. 

Indignities  to  Americans 

Various  Consular  officers  have  suf- 
fered indignities  and  humiliation  at  the 
hands  of  German  frontier  authorities. 
The   following   are   illustrations: 

Mr.  Pike,  Consul  at  St.  Gall,  Switzer- 
land, on  proceeding  to  his  post  with  a 
passport  duly  indorsed  by  German  of- 
ficials in  New  York  and  Copenhagen, 
was  on  Nov.  26,  1916,  subjected  to  great 
indignities  at  Warnemunde  on  the  Ger- 
man frontier.  Mr.  Pike  refused  to  sub- 
mit to  search  of  his  person,  the  removal 
of  his  clothing,  or  the  seizure  of  his  of  =■ 
ficial  reports  and  papers  of  a  private 
and  confidential  nature.  He  was  there- 
fore obliged  to  return  to   Copenhagen. 

Mr.  Murphy,  the  Consul  General  at 
Sofia,  and  his  wife,  provided  with  pass- 
ports from  the  German  legations  at  The 
Hague  and  Copenhagen,  were  on  two 
occasions  stripped  and  searched  and 
subjected  to  great  humiliation  at  the 
same  frontier  station.  No  consideration 
was  given  them  because  or  their  official 
position. 

Such  has  been  the  behavior  on  the  part 
of  German  officials  notwithstanding  that 
Consular  officials  hold  positions  of  dig- 
nity and  responsibility  under  their  Gov- 
ernment and  that  during  the  present  war 
Germany  has  been  placed  under  deep 
obligation  to  American  Consular  officers 
by  their  efforts  in  the  protection  of 
German  interests. 

The    Yarrowdale  Prisoners 
On   Jan.    19    Mr.    Gerard   telegraphed 
that  the  evening  papers  contained  a  re- 
port that  the  English  steamer  Yarrow- 


dale  had  been  brought  to  Swinemunde 
as  prize  with  469  prisoners  on  board 
taken  from  ships  captured  by  German 
auxiliary  cruisers;  that  among  these 
prisoners  were  103  neutrals;  and  that 
such  of  these  as  had  been  taken  on 
board  enemy  ships  and  had  accepted  pay 
on  such  ships  would  be  held  as  prisoners 
of  war. 

After  repeated  inquiries  Mr.  Gerard 
learned  that  there  were  among  the  Yar- 
rowdale prisoners  seventy-two  men 
claiming  American  citizenship. 

On  Feb.  4  Mr.  Gerard  was  informed 
by  Count  Montgelas  of  the  Foreign  Of- 
fice that  the  Americans  taken  on  the 
Yarrowdale  would  be  released  immedi- 
ately on  the  ground  that  they  could  not 
have  known  at  the  time  of  sailing  that  it 
was  Germany's  intention  to  treat  armed 
merchantmen  as  ships  of  war. 

Despite  this  assurance,  the  prisoners 
were  not  released,  but  some  time  prior  to 
Feb.  17  the  German  Minister  for  For- 
eign Affairs  told  the  Spanish  Am- 
bassador that  the  American  prisoners 
from  the  Yarrowdale  would  be  liberated 
"  in  a  very  short  time." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  information  a 
formal  demand  was  made  through  the 
Spanish  Ambassador  at  Berlin  for  the 
immediate  release  of  these  men.  The 
message  sent  the  Spanish  Ambassador 
was  as  follows: 

If  Yarrowdale  prisoners  have  not  been  re- 
leased, please  make  formal  demand  in  the 
name  of  the  United  States  for  their  im- 
mediate release.  If  they  are  not  promptly- 
released  and  allowed  to  cross  the  frontier 
without  further  delay,  please  state  to  the 
Foreign  Minister  that  this  policy  of  the  Im- 
perial Government,  if  continued,  apparently 
without  the  slightest  justification,  will  oblige 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  to 
consider  what  measures  it  may  be  necessary 
to  take  in  order  to  obtain  satisfaction  for 
the  continued  detention  of  these  innocent 
American    citizens. 

On  Feb.  25  the  American  Ambassador 
at  Madrid  was  informed  by  the  Spanish 
Foreign  Office  that  the  Yarrowdale 
prisoners  had  been  released  on  the  16th 
inst.  The  foregoing  statement  ap- 
pears to  have  been  based  on  erroneous 
information.  The  men  finally  reached 
Zurich,  Switzerland,  on  the  afternoon  of 
March  11. 


222 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Official  reports  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  Department  of  State  indicate  that 
these  American  sailors  were  from  the 
moment  of  their  arrival  in  Germany,  on 
Jan.  3,  subjected  to  the  most  cruel  and 
heartless  treatment.  Although  the 
weather  was  very  cold,  they  were  given 
no  suitable  clothes,  and  many  of  them 
stood  about  for  hours  barefoot  in  the 
snow.  The  food  supplied  them  was  ut- 
terly inadequate.  After  one  cup  of  cof- 
fee in  the  morning  almost  the  only 
article  of  food  given  them  was  boiled 
frosted  cabbage,  with  mush  once  a  week 
and  beans  once  a  week.  One  member  of 
the  crew  states  that,  without  provocation, 
ke  was  severely  kicked  in  the  abdomen 
by  a  German  officer.  He  appears  still 
to  be  suffering  severely  from  this 
assault.  Another  sailor  is  still  suffering 
from  a  wound  caused  by  shrapnel  fired 
by  the  Germans  at  an  open  boat  in  which 
he  and  his  companions  had  taken  refuge 
after  the   sinking   of  the   Georgic. 

All  of  the  men  stated  that  their 
treatment  had  been  so  inhuman  that 
should  a  submarine  be  sighted  in  the 
course  of  their  voyage  home  they  would 
prefer  to  be  drowned  rather  than  have 
any  further  experience  in  German  prison 
camps. 

It  is  significant  that  the  inhuman 
treatment  accorded  these  American 
sailors  occurred  a  month  before  the 
break  in  relations  and  while  Germany 
was  on  every  occasion  professing  the 
most  cordial  friendship  for  the  United 
States. 

Other  Unfriendly)  Acts 
After  the  suspension  of  diplomatic  re- 
lations  the   German   authorities   cut   off 
the  telephone  at  the  embassy  at  Berlin 


and  suppressed  Mr.  Gerard's  communi- 
cation by  telegraph  and  post.  Mr. 
Gerard  was  not  even  permitted  to  send 
to  American  Consular  officers  in  Ger- 
many the  instructions  he  had  received 
for  them  from  the  Department  of  State. 
•Neither  was  he  allowed  to  receive  his 
mail.  Just  before  he  left  Berlin  the  tele- 
phonic communication  at  the  embassy 
was  restored  and  some  telegrams  and 
letters  were  delivered.  No  apologies 
were  offered,  however. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States 
is  in  possession  of  instructions  addressed 
by  the  German  Minister  for  Foreign  Af- 
fairs to  the  German  Minister  to  Mexico 
concerning  a  proposed  alliance  of  Ger- 
many, Japan,  and  Mexico  to  make  war 
on  the  United  States.  The  text  of  this 
document  is  as  follows: 

Berlin,  Jan.  19,  1917. 

On  the  1st  of  February  we  intend  to  be- 
gin submarine  warfare  unrestricted.  In  spite 
of  this  it  is  our  intention  to  endeavor  to  keep 
neutral  the  United   States  of  America. 

If  this  attempt  is  not  successful,  we  pro- 
pose an  alliance  on  the  following-  basis  with 
Mexico :  That  we  shall  make  war  together 
and  together  make  peace.  We  shall  give 
general  financial  support,  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  Mexico  is  to  reconquer  the  lost 
territory  in  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Ari- 
zona. The  details  are  left  to  you  for  set- 
tlement. 

You  are  instructed  to  inform  the  President 
of  Mexico  of  the  abov«..  in  the  greatest  con- 
fidence as  soon  as  it  is  certain  there  will 
be  an  outbreak  of  war  with  the  United 
States,  and  suggest  that  the  President  of 
Mexico  on  his  own  initiative  should  com- 
municate with  Japan  suggesting  adherence 
at  once  to  this  plan ;  at  the  same  time  offer 
to  mediate  between  Germany  and  Japan. 

Please  call  to  the  attention  of  the  President 
of   Mexico   that  the   employment   of   ruthless 
submarine  warfare   now  promises   to   compel 
England  to  make  peace  in  a  few  months. 
(Signed)       ZIMMERMANN. 


Reception  Accorded  the  President's  War  Message 


PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  address  to 
Congress  in  behalf  of  "  a  world 
safe  for  democracy,"  followed 
quickly  by  the  action  of  Congress  in  de- 
claring a  state  of  war  between  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  Germany,  created  a  pro- 
found sensation  throughout  the  world.  It 
was  received  by  the  nations  composing 


the  Entente  Alliance  with  thrilling  en- 
thusiasm, being  conceded  by  all  to  be  the 
pivotal  point  in  the  great  war.  In  this 
country  there  was  no  tumult  or  hysteria, 
such  as  ordinarily  accompanies  a  nation's 
entrance  into  war,  but  there  was  wide- 
spread, definite,  and  very  earnest  ap- 
proval, coupled  with  ardent  expressions  of 


RECEPTION   OF  PRESIDENTS   WAR   MESSAGE 


223 


loyalty  from  all  sections  and  all  classes. 
The  apprehension  felt  in  some  quarters 
— so  seriously  regarded  as  to  be  scarcely 
articulated  in  the  most  intimate  circles — 
that  there  might  be  disturbances  and 
riots,  perhaps  civil  revolt,  among  the  mil- 
lions of  citizens  and  alien  residents  of 
Teutonic  blood,  was  wholly  dispelled  with- 
in a  few  hours.  There  was  not  a  ripple 
in  any  of  the  large  German-American 
centres,  not  even  a  protest.  The  decision 
of  Congress  was  accepted  by  the  German 
language  press  of  the  United  States  as 
regrettable,  but  this  expression  in  every 
case  was  accompanied  by  a  fervent 
declaration  of  loyalty  to  this  country. 
There  were  arrests  in  New  York,  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  and  some  Western  cities — less 
than  one  hundred  of  such  cases  among 
the  10,000,000  persons  of  Teutonic  paren- 
tage— the  arrests  in  every  instance  be- 
ing based  on  specific  charges  of  un- 
neutral acts  and  plottings  committed 
prior  to  the  declaration  of  war. 

European  Congratulations 
Telegrams  of  congratulation  came  to 
President  Wilson  from  the  heads  of  the 
Governments  of  the  Entente  nations, 
from  their  leading  Ministers,  from 
learned  societies  and  universities;  the 
Mayors  of  Paris,  London,  and  other  large 
cities  in  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Italy 
sent  telegrams  of  felicitation  to  Ameri- 
can cities.  Neutral  nations  in  some  in- 
stances sent  expressions  of  approval. 
Definite  action  was  taken  by  Cuba,  Pan- 
ama, and  China;  the  latter  nation  broke 
off  relations  with  Germany  following 
this  action  by  the  United  States.  The 
declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States 
was  followed  by  similar  action  by  the 
Republics  of  Cuba  and  Panama.  Brazil 
broke  off  relations  with  Germany  a  few 
days  later  and  on  April  14  seized  all 
German  ships  in  Brazilian  ports.  The 
action  of  the  various  nations  is  given  in 
fuller  detail  elsewhere. 

President  of  France 
President  Poincare  of  France  sent  the 
following  cablegram  to  President  Wilson 
on  April  4: 

At  the  moment   when,    under  the   generous 
inspiration   of   yourself,    the   great   American 


Republic,  faithful  to  its  ideals  and  its  tra- 
ditions, is  coming  forward  to  defend  with 
the  force  of  arms  the  cause  of  justice  and  of 
liberty,  the  people  of  France  are  filled  with 
the  deepest  feelings  of  brotherly  apprecia- 
tion. 

Permit  me  again  to  convey  to  you,  Mr. 
President,  in  this  solemn  and  grave  hour, 
an  assurance  of  the  same  sentiments  of 
which  I  recently  gave  you  evidence,  senti- 
ments which,  under  the  present  circum- 
stances,  have   grown   in   depth   and   warmth. 

I  am  confident  that  I  voice  the  thought 
of  all  France  in  expressing  to  you  and  to 
the  American  Nation  the  joy  and  the  pride 
which  we  feel  today  as  our  hearts  once  again 
beat   in  unison  with  yours. 

This  war  would  not  have  reached  its  final 
import  had  not  the  United  States  been  led 
by  the  enemy  himself  to  take  part  in  it.  To 
every  impartial  spirit  it  will  be  apparent, 
in  the  future  more  than  ever  in  the  past, 
that  German  imperialism,  which  desired, 
prepared,  and  declared  this  war,  had  con- 
ceived the  mad  dream  of  establishing  its 
hegemony  throughout  the  world.  It  has  suc- 
ceeded only  in  bringing  about  a  revolt  of 
the  conscience  of  humanity. 

In  never-to-be-forgotten  language  you 
have  made  yourself,  before  the  universe,  the 
eloquent  interpreter  of  outraged  laws  and  a 
menaced  civilization. 

Honor  to  you,  Mr.  President,  and  to  your 
noble  country.  I  beg  you  to  believe  in  my 
devoted  friendship. 

RAYMOND    POINCARE. 

To  this  President  Wilson  replied  as 
follows : 

In  this  trying  hour,  when  the  destinies  of 
civilized  mankind  are  in  the  balance,  it  has 
been  a  source  of  gratification  and  joy  to  me 
to  receive  your  congratulations  upon  the  step 
which  my  country  has  been  constrained  to 
take  in  opposition  to  the  relentless  policy  and 
course  of  imperialistic  Germany. 

It  is  very  delightful  to  us  that  France,  who 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  of  the 
Western  world  in  our  struggle  for  indepen- 
dence, should  now  give  us  such  a  welcome 
into  the  lists  of  battle  as  upholders  of  the 
freedom  and  rights  of  humanity. 

We  stand  as  partners  of  the  noble  democ- 
racies whose  aims  and  acts  make  for  the 
perpetuation  of  the  rights  and  freedom  cf 
man  and  for  the  safeguarding  of  the  true 
principles  of  human  liberties.  In  the  name 
of  the  American  people,  I  salute  you  and 
your  illustrious  countrymen. 

Address  h\)  Premier  Ribot 

Premier  Ribot,  in  an  address  to  the 
Senators  of  France,  referring  to  the 
President's  speech,  said: 

What  particularly  touches  us  is  that  the 
United  States  has  always  kept  alive  that 
friendship  toward  us  which  was  sealed  with 
our  blood.     We  recognize  with  joy  that   the 


224 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


bond  of  sympathy  between  the  peoples  is  in- 
spired by  ideals  which  can  be  cultivated  In 
the  heart  of  democracy.  The  starry  flag  is 
going  to  float  beside  the  tricolor.  Our  hands 
shall  join  and  our  hearts  shall  beat  in  unison. 

President  "Wilson  makes  it  plain  to  all  that 
the  conflict  is  truly  one  between  the  liberty 
of  modern  society  and  the  spirit  of  the  dom- 
ination of  military  despotism.  It  is  this 
which  causes  the  President's  message  to  stir 
our  hearts  to  their  depths  as  a  message  of 
deliverance  to  the  whole  world.  The  people 
who  in  the  eighteenth  century  made  a  dec- 
laration of  rights  under  the  inspiration  of 
the  writings  of  our  philosophers,  the  people 
who  placed  Washington  and  Lincoln  among 
the  foremost  of  its  heroes,  the  people  who  in 
the  last  century  liberated  the  slaves,  is  well 
worthy  to  give  the  world  such  an  exalted 
example. 

For  us,  after  such  death  and  ruin,  such 
heroic  suffering,  the  words  of  the  President 
mean  renewal  of  the  sentiments  which  have 
animated  and  sustained  us  throughout  this 
long  trial.  The  powerful  and  decisive  assist- 
ance which  the  United  States  brings  us  will 
be  not  material  aid  alone;  it  will  be  moral 
aid,  above  all,  a  veritable  consolation.  As 
we  see  the  conscience  of  the  whole  world 
stirred  in  mighty  pi-otest  against  the  atroc- 
ities of  which  we  are  victims,  we  feel  that 
we  are  fighting  not  alone  for  ourselves  and 
our  allies,  but  for  something  immortal ;  that 
we  are  striving  to  establish  a  new  order  of 
things.  And  so  our  sacrifices  have  not  been 
in  vain.  The  blood  poured  out  so  generous- 
ly by  the  sons  of  France  has  been  shed  in 
order  to  spread  the  ideals  of  liberty  and 
justice  which  are  necessary  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  concord  among  nations. 

In  the  name  of  all  the  country,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  French  Republic  addresses 
to  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  an  expression  of  its  gratitude,  and 
its  most  ardent  greetings. 

President  Wilson's  address  was  pla- 
carded on  all  official  billboards  through- 
out France  by  order  of  the  War  Cabinet. 
Celebrations  were  held  in  all  parts  of  the 
French  Republic,  and  at  Paris  many  no- 
table public  functions,  at  which  the 
American  Ambassador  was  the  guest  of 
honor,  were  attended  by  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  in  literature  and  public 
life. 

The  American  flag  was  displayed 
everywhere  in  Paris  along  with  the  tri- 
color, and  on  the  fighting  line  in  France 
the  American  aviators  were  allowed  to 
display  their  colors  for  the  first  time. 
When  the  1918  classes  were  called  out 
the  boys  buoyantly  responded,  wearing  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  along  with  the  French 
colors. 


In  the  famous  attack  and  capture  of 
Vimy  Ridge  near  Lens,  by  the  Canadians 
early  in  April,  an  American  was  in  the 
front  ranks  bearing  an  American  flag, 
and  fell  wounded. 

Message  from  British  Premier 
Premier  Lloyd  George  on  April  6  sent 
the  following  message  to  the  American 
people : 

America  has  at  one  bound  become  a  world 
power  in  a  sense  she  never  was  before.  She 
waited  until  she  found  a  cause  worthy  of  her 
traditions.  The  American  people  held  back 
until  they  were  fully  convinced  that  the  fight 
was  not  a  sordid  scrimmage  for  power  and 
possessions,  but  an  unselfish  struggle  to 
overthrow  a  sinister  conspiracy  against  hu- 
man liberty  and  human  rights. 

Once  that  conviction  was  reached,  the 
great  Republic  of  the  West  has  leaped  into 
the  arena,  and  she  stands  now  side  by  side 
with  the  European  democracies  who,  bruised 
and  bleeding  after  three  years  of  grim  con- 
flict, are  still  fighting  the  most  savage  foe 
that  ever  menaced  the  freedom  of  the  world. 

The  glowing  phrases  of  the  President's 
noble  deliverance  illumine  the  horizon  and 
make  clearer  than  ever  the  goal  we  are 
striving  to  reach. 

There  are  three  phrases  which  will  stand 
out  forever  in  the  story  of  this  crusade. 
The  first  is  that  "  The  world  must  be  safe 
for  democracy."  The  next,  "  The  menace 
to  peace  and  freedom  lies  in  the  existence 
of  autocratic  Governments  backed  by  organ- 
ized force  which  is  controlled  wholly  by 
their  will  and  not  by  the  will  of  their  peo- 
ple," and  the  crowning  phrase  is  that  in 
which  he  declares  that  "  A  steadfast  concert 
for  peace  can  never  be  maintained  except  by 
the   partnership   of   democratic   nations." 

These  words  represent  the  faith  which  in- 
spires and  sustains  our  people  in  the  tre- 
mendous sacrifices  they  have  made  and  are 
still  making.  They  ale©  believe  that  the 
unity  and  peace  of  mankind  can  only  rest 
upon  democracy,  upon  the  right  of  those  who 
submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their 
own  government;  upon  respect  for  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  nations  both  great  and  small, 
and  upon  the  universal  dominion  of  public 
right. 

To  all  of  these  the  Prussian,  military  autoc- 
racy is  an   implacable   foe. 

The  Imperial  War  Cabinet,  representative 
of  all  the  peoples  of  the  British  Empire,  wish 
me  on  their  behalf  to  recognize  the  chivalry 
and  courage  which  call  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  dedicate  the  whole  of  their 
resources  to  the  greatest  cause  that  ever 
engaged  human  endeavor. 

Words  of  Mr.  Asquith 
Former  Premier  Asquith,  in  an  address 
to  the  American  people,  said: 
The  people  of  the  United  States  have  been 


RECEPTION   OF   PRESIDENT'S    WAR   MESSAGE 


225 


forced,  as  the  United  Kingdom  was  forced, 
into  a  struggle  which,  in  neither  case,  was 
of  our  own  seeking.  They  have  realized  as 
we  have  realized  that  the  choice  lay  between 
peace  with  humiliation  and  war  with  honor. 
There  was  no  middle  course,  for  armed  neu- 
trality, as  the  President  points  out  with 
irresistible  cogency,  affords  no  secure  or 
powerful  foothold. 

The  provocation  offered  in  the  two  cases 
was  different,  but  in  both  the  challenge  was 
one  which  neither  nation  could  refuse  to 
take  up  without  the  sacrifice  of  its  self-re- 
spect and  without  a  betrayal  of  the  sacred 
trust  which  is  imposed  upon  all  free  peoples, 
to  uphold  the  defense  of  liberty  and  hu- 
manity. Never  had  the  fundamental  issues 
which  are  at  stake  been  stated  with  more 
precision  or  with  a  greater  elevation  of 
thought  and  language  than  in  the  President's 
address. 

The  present  German  warfare,  he  points 
out,  is  a  war  against  all  nations,  and  the 
animating  motives  of  the  Allies,  by  whose 
side  he  invites  his  fellow-countrymen  to 
range  themselves,  are  not  vindictiveness, 
but  vindication — the  vindication  of  those 
human  rights  which  are  the  common  interest 
and  the  natural  bond  of  the  whole  family  of 
civilized  societies. 

To  this  great  purpose  the  American  people 
now  dedicate  their  lives  and  fortunes — as 
we  have  already  dedicated  ours — conscious 
that  they  are  listening  to  and  obeying  one 
of  those  supreme  calls  which  come  but  rarely 
in  history,  but  which,  when  they  come,  sound 
in  the  ears  of  a  community  of  free  men  with 
a  note  of  imperious  demand. 

King  George  s  Congratulations 
King  George  V.  on  April  6  cabled  Presi- 
dent Wilson  as  follows: 

I  desire  on  behalf  of  the  empire  to  offer  my 
heartfelt  congratulations  to  you  on  the  entry 
of  the  United  States  of  America  into  the  war 
for  the  great  ideals  so  nobly  set  forth  in 
your  speech  to  Congress.  The  moral  not  less 
than  the  material  results  of  this  notable 
declaration  are  incalculable,  and  civilization 
itself  will  owe  much  to  the  decision  at  which, 
in  the  greatest  crisis  of  the  world's  history, 
the  people  of  the  great  Republic  have  arrived. 
GEORGE,  R.  I. 
April  6,  1917. 

In  reply  to  the  message  President  Wil- 
son cabled: 

To  His  Majesty  George  V.,   King  and  Em- 
peror : 

Your  eloquent  message  comes  to  me  at  this 
critical  moment  of  our  national  life  as  proof 
of  the  community  of  sentiment  among  the 
free  peoples  of  the  world,  now  striving  to 
defend  their  ideals,  to  maintain  the  blessings 
of  national  independence,  and  to  uphold  the 
rights  of  humanity. 
In  the  name  of  the  American  people  and 


the  Government  to  which  they  look  for  guid- 
ance I  thank  you  for  your  inspiring  words. 
WOODROW  WILSON. 
Washington,  April  8. 

Enthusiasm  In  Italy 

At  Rome  there  was  great  excitement 
and  enormous  multitudes  went  to  the 
American  Ambassador's  home  displaying 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  singing  "  The 
Star-Spangled  Banner."  President  Wil- 
son received  the  following  address  from 
former  Premier  Luzzatti  and  sixty-seven 
other  Italian  Deputies  at  Rome: 

Tour  message,  with  its  ideal  beauty  and 
its  political  contents,  brings  us  back  to  that 
dawn  of  civilization  when  the  United  States, 
inspired  by  Washington,  gave  to  the  op- 
pressed peoples  of  Europe  and  of  the  two 
Americas  the  fruitful  example  of  their  re- 
demption. Your  message  is  not  addressed 
to  the  United  States  alone  but  to  all  hu- 
manity, and  awakens  the  noblest  instincts 
among  free  nations.  Your  message  is  the 
hymn  of  freedom. 

Italy,  who,  by  toilsome  slavery,  learned 
to  love  a  free  and  a  national  Government, 
and  who,  having  experienced  the  bitterness 
of  evil  Governments,  longs  for  the  liberation 
of  all  peoples  groaning  under  despotic  rulers, 
thanks  you  and  acclaims  you  and  in  you 
acclaims  the  great  Republic  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Belgian  Premier  and  Minister  of 
War,  Charles  De  Broqueville,  sent  the 
following  message  by  cable  to  President 
Wilson : 

The  Belgian  Government  decided  in  August, 
1914,  to  make  an  unprecedented  application 
to  your  Excellency.  It  was  an  act  of  faith 
and  hope  in  the  moral  grandeur  of  a  repub- 
lic friendly  to  Belgium.  Our  people,  small 
in  number  but  strong  in  indomitable  pur- 
pose, had  foreseen  that  in  the  American 
people  and  in  you,  who  are  its  noblest  ex- 
pression, it  would  find  support  for  its  honor 
and  an  avenging  arm  for  its  martyrdom.  It 
has  clearly  distinguished  between  those 
groups  that  have  directed  the  assault  against 
the  rights  of  peoples  and  those  that  have 
deemed  it  necessary  to  follow  them,  moved 
perhaps  by  a  false  understanding  of  soli- 
darity that  had  been  accepted  for  other  ob- 
jects than  the  gratuitous  aggression  of  which 
civilization  was  the  victim  in  1914. 

The  Royal  Government  has  contracted  an 
unforgettable  debt  to  the  generosity  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  As  in  1914,  it 
counts  upon  her  aid  to  those  whose  only 
fault  was  to  have  thought  like  free  and 
honest  men  and  acted  rather  as  the  servants 
of  honor  than  as  traders  in  it.  The  Belgian 
Government  salutes  with  joy,  emotion,  and 
respectful  admiration  the  decisive  act  that, 
through  the  intermediary  of  your  Excellency, 
honors  the  man,  the  nation,  and  humanity. 


22G 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Praise  From  Petrograd 

At  Petrograd  the  news  evoked  great 
enthusiasm  and  street  manifestations  oc- 
curred throughout  the  city.  Professor 
Milukoff,  the  Foreign  Minister,  said: 
11  The  ideal  side  of  the  war  is  once  more 
emphasized  by  the  intervention  of  Amer- 


ica. For  me  it  becomes  still  clearer 
under  these  circumstances  that  without 
victory  there  can  be  no  peace." 

"Michael  Rodzianko,  President  of  the 
Duma,  said:  "America's  intervention 
on  the  side  of  the  powers  at  war  with 
Germany  is  the  best  guarantee  of  an 
early  victory  over  the  Germans." 


Parliament  Welcomes  America's  Action 


RESOLUTIONS  were  adopted  April' 
18  in  the  House  of  Lords  and  House 
of  Commons,  with  only  one  dissent- 
ing vote  in  the  Commons,  (an  Indepen- 
dent Irish  Nationalist  member  who  was 
angered  at  the  Speaker's  ruling,)  as  fol- 
lows: 

This  House  desires  to  express  to  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America  their  profound  appreciation  of  the 
action  of  their  Government  in  joining  the 
allied  powers,  and  thus  defending  the  high 
cause  of  freedom  and  rights  of  humanity 
against  the  gravest  menace  by  which  they 
ever  have  been  faced. 

Bonar  Law,  in  his  address,  said: 

"  This  is  not  only  the  greatest  event, 
but,  as  I  believe,  the  turning  point  of 
the  war.  The  New  World  has  been 
brought  in,  or  has  stepped  in,  to  restore 
the  balance  in  the  Old. 

"  Being  in,  the  United  States  has  al- 
ready shown  that  her  enemies  must  be- 
ware of  her,  and  despite  the  fact  that 
the  path  immediately  before  us  is  more 
difficult  than  ever  before,  I  venture  to 
express  the  hope  and  belief  that  a 
change  is  coming — that  the  long  night 
of  sorrow  and  anguish  which  has  deso- 
lated the  world  is  drawing  to  a  close. 

"  The  United  States,"  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
continued,  "  possesses  resources  of  all 
kinds,  resources  which  in  the  long  run 
are  decisive  in  war,  to  a  greater  extent, 
probably,  than  any  other  nation.  The 
quality  of  her  people  was  shown  nearly 
sixty  years  ago  in  a  struggle  which,  in 
its  essentials,  was  not  dissimilar  to  that 
which  they  have  now  entered.  Since  then 
the  American  people  have  shown  qualities 
of  resource,  energy,  and  readiness  to 
adapt  themselves  to  new  situations  in  the 
art  of  peace,  and  the  same  qualities  will 
now  be  directed  in  no  half-hearted  way 


and  with  equal  success  to  the  art  of  war. 
The  entrance  of  the  great  Republic 
is  a  fitting  pendant  to  the  revolution 
which  has  brought  the  Russian  people, 
whose  courage  and  endurance  we  have 
so  much  admired  and  whose  sufferings 
have  been  so  terrible,  into  the  circle  of 
the  freed  nations  of  mankind. 

"  I  read  the  other  day  a  characteristic 
extract  from  a  German  newspaper,  in 
which  it  was  said  America  was  going 
into  the  war  for  nothing.  From  their 
point  of  view  the  statement  is  true. 
America,  like  the  British  Empire — I  wish 
to  make  that  plain — is  animated  by  no 
love  of  conquest,  no  greed  for  territory, 
no  selfish  ends.  The  aims  and  ideals  to 
which  President  Wilson  has  given  noble 
expression  in  his  recent  speech  are  our 
aims,  our  ideals  also." 

Mr.  AsquitKs  Praise 

Seconding  Bonar  Law's  resolution,  ex- 
Premier  Asquith  said: 

"  It  is  only  right  and  fitting  that  this 
House,  the  chief  representative  body  of 
the  British  Empire,  should  at  the  earliest 
possible  opportunity  give  definite  and 
emphatic  expression  to  the  feelings 
which  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  empire  have  grown  day  by  day  in 
volume  and  fervor  since  the  memorable 
decision  of  the  President  and  Congress 
of  the  United  States. 

"  I  doubt  whether  even  now  the  world 
realizes  the  full  significance  of  the  step 
America  has  taken.  I  do  not  use  lan- 
guage of  flattery  or  exaggeration  when 
I  say  it  is  one  of  the  most  disinterested 
acts  in  history. 

"  Nor  were  American  interests  at  home 
or  abroad  directly  imperiled,  least  of  all 
that   greatest   interest   of   a   democratic 


PARLIAMENT   WELCOMES  AMERICA'S  ACTION 


227 


community,  the  maintenance  of  domestic 
independence  and  liberty,"  Mr.  Asquith 
continued.  "  What  then  has  enabled 
the  President — after  waiting  with  the 
patience  which  Pitt  described  as  the  first 
virtue  of  statesmanship — to  carry  with 
him  a  united  nation  into  the  hazards  and 
horrors  of  the  greatest  war  in  history? 
It  was  the  constraining  force  of  con- 
science and  humanity. 

"What  was  it  that  our  kinsmen  in 
America  realized  as  the  issue  in  this 
unexampled  conflict?  The  very  things 
which,  if  we  are  worthy  of  our  best  tra- 
ditions, we  are  bound  to  indicate — essen- 
tial conditions  of  free  and  honorable  de- 
velopment of  the  nations  of  the  world, 
humanity,  respect  for  law,  consideration 
for  the  weak  and  unprotected,  chivalry 
toward  mankind,  observance  of  good 
faith — these  things,  which  we  used  to 
regard  as  commonplaces  of  international 
decency,  one  after  another  have  been 
flouted,  menaced,  trodden  under  foot  as 
though  they  were  effete  superstitions  of 
a  bygone  creed. 

"  There  was  never  in  the  minds  of  any 
of  us  a  fear  that  the  moment  the  issue 
became  apparent  and  unmistakable  the 
voice  of  America  would  not  be  heard. 
She  has  now  dedicated  herself  without 
hesitation  or  reserve,  heart  and  soul  and 
strength,  to  the  greatest  of  causes,  to 
which,  stimulated  and  fortified  by  her 
comradeship,  we  here  renew  our  fealty 
and  devotion." 

John  Dillon  extended  greetings  to  the 
United  States  in  the  name  of  the  Irish 
Nationalists. 

"  The  Nationalists  join  most  heartily 
in  the  welcome  to  the  United  States," 
Mr.  Dillon  said.  "  The  full  meaning  of 
the  entry  of  America  into  the  struggle 
is  difficult  to  describe.  It  is  not  like 
the  entrance  of  the  other  allies,  but  has 
a  more  mighty  significance  to  the  whole 
civilized  world. 

"  When  the  banner  of  the  United  States 
was  unfurled  every  man  of  Irish  blood  in 
the  United  States  was  a  loyal  supporter 
of  the  President.  I  venture  to  prophesy 
that  when  the  roll  is  called  for  battle 
the  Irish  will  be  there.  They  will  out- 
number, in  proportion   to   their   popula- 


tion, all  other  races  among  the  soldiers 
of  the  Republic. 

"  The  presence  of  the  United  States  at 
the  peace  conference  is  a  sign  of  hope  and 
an  assurance  of  liberty.  Her  voice  will  be 
heard  when  the  settlement  comes,  and 
Ireland  knows  that  on  that  day  she  will 
have  a  firm  and  sure  friend  who  will  not 
desert  Ireland.  To  America  will  fall  the 
blessed  task  of  basing  peace  upon  liberty." 

Earl  Curzoris  Tribute 

In  opening  his  speech  on  the  resolution 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  Earl  Curson  said: 

"  The  case  of  America  entering  the 
war  is  widely  differentiated  from  that 
of  any  of  the  other  allied  countries.  All 
of  the  latter  had  a  direct  personal  inter- 
est in  the  war,  but  America's  interest  is 
secondary  and  remote.  She  had  no  am- 
bition to  gratify.  Her  people  had  a  con- 
stitutional aversion  to  war  and  a  rooted 
dislike  to  be  involved  in  the  secular  am- 
bitions or  the  quarrels  of  the  Continent  of 
Europe.  If  a  nation  with  these  hereditary 
instincts  and  traditions,  after  so  long 
a  period  of  hesitation,  is  yet  compelled 
to  draw  the  sword,  there  must  be  some 
great,  overwhelming  reason.  Yes,  there 
was  a  reason. 

"  The  entry  of  America  is  a  great 
event  in  moral  history  for  the  human 
race,  and  it  stamps  the  character  of  the 
struggle  in  which  we  are  engaged.  Amer- 
ica will  not  pause  or  stay  until  the  peace 
of  the  world  is  built  upon  a  sure  founda- 
tion." 

Viscount  Bryce  said: 

"  We  recognize  in  the  action  of  the 
American  people  their  common  devotion 
with  ourselves  to  the  same  lofty  ideals 
and  their  common  loyalty  to  the  time- 
honored  traditions  dating  from  our  and 
their  remote  past.  And  we  find  their 
loyal  attachment  to  these  ideals  the 
surest  bond  of  unity  between  ourselves 
and  our  kinsfolk  beyond  the  ocean." 

April  19  was  made  American  day  in 
London.  The  Stars  and  Stripes  were  un- 
furled from  the  Victoria  tower  of  the 
Houses  of  Parliament,  being  the  first 
time  in  history  that  any  but  the  British 
flag  had  flown  there.  The  American 
colors  were  shown  and  worn  everywhere. 


Action  by  Latin- American  Nations 

Brazil  Breaks  With  Germany 


THE  entrance  of  the  United  States 
into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies 
changed  the  entire  status  of  affairs 
on  this  continent.  The  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, which  up  to  that  time,  with  the 
exception  of  Canada,  had  held  aloof  from 
the  conflict,  was  suddenly  plunged  into 
the  maelstrom,  and  the  various  South  and 
Central  American  States  in  turn  declared 
themselves. 

Brazil  severed  relations  with  Germany 
April  10.  The  rupture  was  precipitated 
by  the  sinking  of  the  Brazilian  steamship 
Parana,  torpedoed  off  the  port  of  Cher- 
bourg, France,  by  a  German  submarine 
without  warning.  After  the  severance  of 
relations  great  excitement  prevailed 
throughout  the  country,  and  mass  meet- 
ings in  many  cities  demanded  a  decla- 
ration of  war.  All  German  ships  in 
Brazilian  waters,  46  in  number,  were 
seized  by  the  Government.  The  vessels 
aggregate  240,770  tons,  ranging  from  the 
Hamburg- American  liner  Bliicher,  12,350 
tons,  formerly  in  the  American  trans- 
atlantic service,  to  a  vessel  of  1,103  tons. 

At  Rio  de  Janeiro  there  were  15  ves- 
sels; at  Pernambuco,  12;  Santos,  5; 
Bahia,  4;  Paraiba,  3;  Para,  2;  Rio 
Grande,  2,  and  at  Santa  Catharina,  Pa- 
ranagua,  and  Maranham,  1  each. 

Thirty-three  of  the  vessels  are  more 
than  4,000  tons  each. 

Action  of  Argentina 

On  April  10  the  Argentine  Government 
issued  a  declaration  announcing  that  it 
supported  the  position  of  the  United 
States  in  reference  to  Germany.  The 
declaration  was  made  known  to  the  public 
through  bulletins  posted  throughout 
Buenos  Aires,  and  caused  a  great  sen- 
sation. Enthusiastic  crowds  marched 
through  the  streets,  and  the  university 
students  organized  pro-ally  demonstra- 
tions. 

The  declaration  was  followed  by  a 
period  of  the  most  intense  excitement 
throughout  the  country.  An  influential 
part    of   the    population    were    strongly 


pacifist  and  pro-German,  but  the  great 
majority  were  pro-American  and  pro- 
ally.  A  serious  riot  occurred  at  Buenos 
Aires  on  April  14,  and  the  German  Con- 
sulate and  several  pro-German  news- 
paper offices  were  attacked;  there  were 
several  deaths  before  the  mob  was 
quelled.  The  situation  became  more 
acute  when  it  was  learned  on  the  13th 
that  an  Argentine  sailing  ship,  Monte 
Protegido,  had  been  sunk  off  the  Euro- 
pean coast  by  a  German  submarine,  and 
fresh  outbreaks  occurred  at  Buenos 
Aires. 

Chile  and  Bolivia 

Chile  issued  an  official  statement  on 
April  10  that  she  would  remain  neutral. 

Bolivia  severed  relations  with  Germany 
on  April  13,  and  the  German  Minister 
and  his  staff  were  handed  their  passports 
that  day  at  La  Paz.  The  note  denounced 
the  attacks  of  German  submarines  on 
neutral  vessels  as  violations  of  interna- 
tional law  and  of  The  Hague  conventions. 
It  recalled  that  the  Bolivian  Minister  to 
Berlin  was  on  board  the  Holland-Lloyd 
liner  Tubantia  when  that  vessel  was  sunk 
in  neutral  waters  a  year  ago.  The  note 
concluded : 

"  Your  Excellency  will  understand 
that,  although  we  regret  the  breach  of 
diplomatic  relations  between  Bolivia  and 
the  German  Empire,  such  relations  have 
become  insupportable  in  existing  circum- 
stances. In  consequence,  your  Excellency 
will  find  herewith  passports  for  yourself 
and  the  members  of  your  legation." 

The  note  declared  that  German  sub- 
jects and  property  would  enjoy  all  lib- 
erties guaranteed  by  law,  provided  that 
they  did  not  commit  any  act  of  delin- 
quency, either  collectively  or  as  indi- 
viduals. 

The  Paraguayan  Government,  in  reply 
to  the  note  of  the  United  States,  said  that 
it  recognized  profoundly  that  Germany's 
military  actions,  which  are  opposed  to 
the  principles  of  the  right  of  neutrals, 
forced   the   United   States   to   resort  to 


ACTION  BY  LATIN  AMERICAN  NATIONS 


229 


arms  to  re-establish  order  and  rehabili- 
tate those  rights. 

•  The  Paraguayan  Government  ex- 
pressed "  its  most  sincere  sympathy  with 
the  Government  and  people  of  the  United 
States." 

In  its  reply  to  the  United  States  the 
Uruguayan  Government  said  that  Uru- 
guay did  not  recognize  the  right  to  wage 
unrestricted  submarine  warfare,  "  be- 
cause it  is  an  attempt  against  justice, 
violates  neutral  rights,  and  is  an  insult 
to  humanity.  Uruguay  recognizes  that 
the  decision  taken  at  Washington  an- 
swers the  situation  arising  from  the  ac- 
tion of  Germany." 

The  note  recalled  that  Uruguay  in  due 
course  protested  to  Germany  against  her 
submarine  methods,  adding  that  the  Gov- 
ernment had  decided  to  maintain  neutral- 
ity, but  recognized  that  the  attitude  of 
the  United  States  was  just,  and  ex- 
pressed to  it  its  sympathy  and  its  senti- 
ments of  moral  solidarity. 

The  Peruvian  Government  in  its  re- 
ply said  that  Peru  deplored  the  fact  that 
the  United  States  had  been  compelled  to 
take  such  action  and  expressed  the  hope 
of  a  speedy  ending  of  the  great  war.  No 
reference  was  made  to  the  neutrality  of 
Peru. 

Attitude  of  Mexico 

Mexico's  attitude  was  announced  by 
President  Carranza  in  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress at  Mexico  City  April  16.  He  de- 
clared that  Mexico  would  maintain  "strict 
and  rigorous  neutrality,"  but  his  message 
contained  no  friendly  references  to  the 
United  States;  in  fact,  his  attitude  was 
critical  and  plaintive  with  reference  to 
this  country,  and  wholly  lacking  in 
warmth  or  any  evidence  of  friendship. 
The  impression  it  left  at  Washington 
was  irritating  and  displeasing. 

Costa  Rica  and  Panama  were  the  two 
Central  American  States  that  approved 
the  action  of  the  United  States.  Costa 
Rica  announced  that  "  it  indorsed  the 
course  of  President  Wilson  "  and  "  was 
ready  to  prove  it,  if  necessary." 

Panamas    War   Declaration 

The  President  of  the  Republic  of  Pan- 
ama, Dr.  Ramon  Valdez,  signed  a  procla- 
mation April  7  committing  Panama  un- 


reservedly to  the  assistance  of  the  United 
States  in  the  defense  of  the  Canal.  The 
President  also  canceled  the  exequaturs  of 
all  the  German  Consuls  in  Panama.  The 
proclamation  declares: 

Our  indisputable  duty  in  this  tremendous 
hour  of  history  is  of  a  common  ally,  whoso 
interests  and  existence  as  well  are  linked  in- 
dissolubly  with  the  United  States.  As  the 
situation  creates  dangers  for  our  country,  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  Panaman  people  to  co- 
operate with  all  the  energies  and  resources 
they  can  command  for  the  protection  of  the 
canal  and  to  safeguard  national  territory. 

The  attitude  of  the  people  was  foreseen  and 
interpreted  faithfully  in  a  resolution  unani- 
mously approved  by  the  National  Assembly 
on  Feb.  24,  and  confirmed  by  later  laws,  and 
the  moment  has  arrived  for  the  Executive  to 
act  in  accordance  with  the  declarations  of  the 
supreme  body.  I  therefore  declare  that  the 
Panaman  Nation  will  lend  emphatic  co-opera- 
tion to  the  United  States  against  enemies 
who  execute  or  attempt  to  execute  hostile 
acts  against  the  territory  of  the  canal,  or  in 
any  manner  affect  or  tend  to  affect  the  com- 
mon interests. 

The  Government  will  adopt  adequate  meas- 
ures in  accordance  with  the  circumstances. 
I  consider  it  the  patriotic  duty  of  all  Panaman 
citizens  to  facilitate  the  military  operations 
which  the  forces  of  the  United  States  under- 
take within  the  limits  of  our  country.  For- 
eigners, resident  or  transient,  will  be  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  conditions  of  this  declaration. 

It  was  announced  that  Germans  resi- 
dent in  Panama  would  be  interned  if 
they  give  any  evidence  of  being  involved 
in  plots. 

The  proclamation  was  issued  after 
President  Valdez  had  sent  a  message  to 
President  Wilson  indorsing  the  Ameri- 
can action  in  declaring  a  state  of  war 
with  Germany  "  after  the  United  States 
had  given  unequivocal  proofs  of  its  love 
of  peace  and  had  made  efforts  to  save 
Western  civilization  from  the  horrors  of 
war,  and  had  borne  with  patience  a  long 
series  of  provocations  as  irritating  as 
they  have  been  unjustifiable." 

Cuba's  Prompt  Action 

President  Menocal,  on  the  day  that  the 
United  States  took  action,  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Congress  asking  permission  to 
declare  war,  declaring  that  the  debt  Cuba 
owes  to  the  United  States  as  well  as  the 
principles  of  justice  and  humanity  de- 
manded that  such  action  be  taken. 

An- extraordinary  session  of  Congress 


230 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES  CURRENT   HISTORY 


was  held  the  next  afternoon  when  the 
following  bill  was  presented : 

Reasons  of  gratitude  to  the  powerful  Amer- 
ican Nation  impose  upon  us  the  duty  to  ally 
ourselves  to  it  in  its  patriotic  purpose  to  crush 
the  militarism  that  has  carried  such  disaster 
to  the  whole  universe,  and  we  ought  not  to 
waste  a  single  moment  in  taking  such  action 
which  will  exalt  us,  offering  everything  that 
may  be  necessary  to  the  Star  and  Stripes, 
seconded  by  our  own  lone  star  banner,  to 
maintain  not  only  in  this  continent,  but  also 
in  the  Old  World,  the  practices  of  liberty, 
right,  and  justice. 

Whatever  effort  Cuba  shall  make  to  assist 
the  United  States  of  America  will  be  looked 
upon  as  the  generous  action  of  a  grateful 
people  and  of  a  friend  who  can  never  forget 
the  sacrifice  and  effort  made  by  the  United 
States  to  co-operate  in  our  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. Therefore  the  undersigned  repre- 
sentatives present  for  the  consideration  of 
this  legislative  body  this  bill : 

Article  I.— The  Executive  is  authorized  to  or- 
ganize and  place  at  the  disposition  of  the 
United  States  of  America  a  contingent  of 
10,<mw)  men,  to  the  end  of  aiding  in  its  military 
purposes  the  said  nation  in  the  present  Euro- 
pean conflict. 

Article  II.— The  Congress  of  the  republic 
grants  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
Paragraph  5  of  Article  XLVII.  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  Colonel  Jos6  Estrames  y  Vega  of 
the  liberating  army  and  Congressman  Ofer 
of  Havana  and  to  other  citizens  of  the  re- 
public who  may  enlist  permission  to  absent 
themselves  from  the  territory  of  the  republic 
and  serve  in  the  army  of  Cuba,  to  be  placed 
at  the  disposition  of  the  War  Department  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

President  Menocal  in  his  message 
said : 

Cuba  cannot  remain  neutral  in  this  supreme 
conflict  because  the  declaration  of  neutrality 
would  oblige  her  to  treat  all  the  belligerents 
equally,  refusing  them  with  equal  rigor  any 
access  to  her  ports  and  imposing  on  them 
the  same  restrictions  and  prohibitions,  which 
would  be  in  the  present  case  contrary  to 
public  sentiment,  to  the  essence  of  the  pacts 
and  moral  obligations,  moral  rather  than 
legal,  which  bind  us  to  the  United  States ; 
and  would  result,  lastly,  because  of  our  geo- 
graphical location,  in  being  the  cause  of  in- 
numerable conflicts,  the  consequences  of 
which  it  is  easy  to  predict  for  a  friendly  and 
allied  nation,  and  which  would  prove  an  in- 
excusable weakness  and  condescension  for 
the  attitude  of  implacable  aggression  uncon- 
ditionally proclaimed  by  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Government  against  the  rights  of  all 
neutral  peoples  and  against  the  principles  of 
humanity  and  justice,  which  constitute  the 
highest  note  of  modern  civilization. 


The  Congress  met  on  April  7  and  the 
declaration  of  war  was  passed  by  both 
houses  without  a  dissenting  vote,  amid 
scenes  of  gravity  and  intense  feeling. 
The  war  resolution  as  passed  follows : 

Article  I.  Resolved,  That  from  today  a  state 
of  war  is  formally  declared  between  the  Re- 
public ftf  Cuba  and  the  Imperial  Government 
of  Germany,  and  the  President  of  the  Re- 
public is  authorized  and  directed  by  this 
resolution  to  employ  all  the  forces  of  the 
nation  and  the  resources  of  our  Government 
to  make  war  against  the  Imperial  German 
Government  with  the  object  of  maintaining 
our  rights,  guarding  our  territory  and  pro- 
viding for  our  security,  prevent  any  acts 
which  may  be  attempted  against  us,  and  de- 
fend the  navigation  of  the  seas,  the  liberty 
of  commerce,  and  the  rights  of  neutrals  and 
international  justice. 

Article  II.  The  President  of  the  Republic  is 
hereby  authorized  to  use  all  the  land  and 
naval  forces  in  the  form  he  may  deem  neces- 
sary, using  existing  foroes,  reorganizing 
them,  or  creating  new  ones,  and  to  dispose 
of  the  economic  forces  of  the  nation  in  any 
way  he  may  deem  necessary. 

Article  III.  The  President  will  give  account 
to  Congress  of  the  measures  adopted  in  ful- 
fillment of  this  law,  which  will  be  in  opera- 
tion from  the  moment  of  its  publication  in 
the  Official  Gazette. 

The  President  immediately  signed  the 
measure.  On  April  8  Count  von  Verdy  du 
Vernois,  the  German  Minister,  received 
his  passports.  The  German  ships  in  Cuban 
waters  were  seized  on  the  night  of  the 
7th ;  all  had  been  damaged. 

On  April  11  Speaker  Clark  laid  before 
the  United  States  Congress,  amid  ap- 
plause, a  message  from  Miguel  Coyula, 
Speaker  of  the  Cuban  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, regarding  the  Cuban  declara- 
tion of  v/ar  against  Germany.    It  read: 

The  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Re- 
public of  Cuba,  in  declaring  that  a  state  of 
war  exists  between  this  nation  and  the  Ger- 
man Empire,  resolved,  all  members  rising 
to  their  feet  and  amid  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm, to  address  a  message  of  confraternity 
to  that  body  announcing  the  pride  felt  by  the 
people  of  Cuba  in  uniting  their  modest  efforts 
to  those  of  the  great  nation  contending  for 
the  triumph  of  right  and  respect  for  the 
liberity   of  small  nationalities. 

The  House  also  resolved  to  express  the 
special  gratification  of  the  Cuban  people  in 
uniting  their  flag  side  by  side  to  that  of  the 
glorious  nation  which  in  days  of  undying 
memory  sacrificed  the  blood  of  her  sons  to 
help  the  people  of  Cuba  to  conquer  their 
liberty  and  independence. 


Mobilizing  the  Army  and  Navy 


MANY  weeks  before  the  present 
crisis  had  reached  the  stage  of 
war  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment was  actively  pushing  all  possible 
preliminaries  for  the  event.  On  March 
25  President  Wilson  issued  an  executive 
order  increasing  the  enlisted  strength  of 
the  United  States  Navy  to  87,000  men,  in 
accordance  with  the  emergency  author- 
ity conferred  upon  him  by  the  naval 
service  act  of  Aug.  29,  1916.  The  next 
day  Secretary  Daniels  sent  a  telegram 
to  2,600  editors  throughout  the  country, 
stating  that  new  ships  and  ships  in  re- 
serve were  being  fully  commissioned  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  asking  that  the 
public  be  urged  to  furnish  the  naval  re- 
cruits imperatively  needed  to  man  these 
vessels. 

On  March  26  President  Wilson  signed 
an  executive  order  increasing  the  author- 
ized enlisted  strength  of  the  United 
States  Marine  Corps  to  17,400  men,  an 
increase  of  2,419,  the  limit  allowed  under 
the  emergency  act. 

At  the  Naval  Academy  183  new  En- 
signs were  rushed  into  the  navy  three 
months  in  advance  of  their  time,  and  were 
graduated  on  March  29,  at  once  receiving 
their  assignments  on  various  vessels. 

Calling  Navy  Into  Service 

When  the  declaration  of  a  state  of 
war  became  operative  on  April  6  Secre- 
tary Daniels  signed  an  order  at  4:05 
o'clock  the  same  afternoon  for  the 
mobilization  of  the  navy.  One  hundred 
code  messages  were  sent  by  wireless  and 
telegraph  from  the  office  of  Admiral  W. 
S.  Benson,  Chief  of  Naval  Operations, 
within  a  few  minutes  after  the  signing 
of  the  order.  The  messages  set  in  motion 
the  machinery  by  which  the  navy  went 
on  a  war  basis  with  every  ship  and 
shore  station,  and  by  which  the  Naval 
Militia  of  all  the  States,  as  well  as  the 
Naval  Reserves  and  the  Coast  Guard 
Service,  passed  into  the  control  of  the 
Navy  Department. 

There  were  about  584  officers  and  7,933 
enlisted  men  in  the  Naval  Militia,  a  total 
force  of  8,517.   These  assembled  at  desig- 


nated points  and  were  assigned  to  ships 
to  be  used  in  the  Coast  Patrol  Service 
or  on  other  naval  duty.  All  ships  in 
active  commission  in  the  regular  navy 
were  ready  for  duty  when  the  order 
came.  But  there  were  battleships  in  the 
reserve  fleets,  reserve  destroyers,  and 
other  reserve  units  that  had  only 
nucleus  crews,  which  were  now  to  be 
fully  manned  and  put  into  service.  Other 
vessels  which  had  been  out  of  commis- 
sion were  assigned  to  active  duty  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

There  were  approximately  361  vessels 
of  the  navy  completed  and  fit  for  service, 
including  12  first-line  battleships,  25  sec- 
ond-line battleships,  9  armored  cruisers, 
24  other  cruisers,  7  monitors,  50  destroy- 
ers, 16  coast  torpedo  vessels,  17  torpedo 
boats,  44  submarines,  8  tenders  to  tor- 
pedo boats,  28  gunboats,  4  transports,  4 
supply  ships,  a  hospital  ship,  21  fuel 
ships,  14  converted  yachts,  49  tugs,  and 
28  minor  units.  The  mobilization  order 
also  called  into  active  service  about  70,000 
enlisted  men,  as  well  as  over  8,500  mem- 
bers of  the  Naval  Militia,  a  considerable 
number  of  Naval  Reserves,  and  the  men 
in  the  Coast  Guard  Service.  It  put  into 
the  regular  naval  service  all  new  units 
in  process  of  being  purchased  as  well  as 
those  which  had  been  offered  for  the 
power  boat  patrol  by  yachtsmen  and 
other  patriotic  citizens  along  with  their 
volunteer  crews. 

The  total  number  of  men  required  for 
the  proper  mobilization  of  the  navy  as 
it  stands  is  99,809  regulars  and  45,870 
reserves.  It  was  estimated  that  73,817 
regulars  and  25,219  reserves  were  needed 
for  the  battleships,  scouts,  destroyers, 
submarines,  mine  force,  and  training 
ships.  For  the  Coast  Defense  forces  it 
was  estimated  that  10,633  regulars  and 
17,195  reserves  were  needed,  and  for  the 
various  shore  stations  10*318  regulars  and 
2,080  reserves. 

The  order  called  out  those  retired  offi- 
cers who  had  been  registered  in  the  de- 
partment as  fit  for  duty  in  the  event  of 
war  to  the  Naval  Reserve  force,  Naval 
Militia,   examining   boards,   and   bureau 


232 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


duties,  where  they  in  turn  released  of- 
ficers on  the  active  list,  and  enabled  the 
latter  to  go  to  sea  for  fighting  duty. 

Naval  Recruiting  Campaign 

When  the  mobilization  order  came  to 
the  navy  it  still  lacked  35,000  men  to 
bring  it  up  to  the  full  authorized  strength 
of  87,000.  Recruiting  had  been  carried 
on  in  the  last  few  weeks  with  exceptional 
energy,  but  the  average  daily  gain  was 
only  about  twenty-five  men.  After  the 
declaration  of  a  state  of  war  the  call  be- 
came more  urgent,  and  large  posters  on 
the  highways  and  handbills  stuck  across 
the  front  of  taxicabs  and  other  vehicles 
re-echoed  the  appeal  for  men.  An  in- 
crease of  enlistments  followed  at  once. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  April 
the  Naval  Reserve  recruiting  office  in 
New  York  City  ,was  crowded  daily,  and 
the  daily  total  of  recruits  in  the  country 
was  more  than  700.  Enlistments  for  the 
navy  and  for  the  Marine  Corps  all  con- 
tinued to  show  marked  gains.  On  April 
17  the  navy  was  enrolling  nearly  1,000 
men  a  day,  and  Secretary  Daniels  an- 
nounced that  he  already  had  71,696  of  the 
87,000  men  thus  far  authorized. 

Meanwhile  the  mobilization  of  a  large 
fleet  of  "mosquito  craft"  to  patrol  the 
Atlantic  Coast  and  fight  U-boats  if  they 
invaded  American  waters  was  in  progress 
under  Secretary  Daniels  and  Admiral 
Benson,  Chief  of  Naval  Operations.  Many 
owners  of  private  yachts  donated  the  use 
of  their  craft  and  crews  for  this  purpose, 
and  other  men  of  wealth  began  building 
submarine  chasers  of  a  kind  that  had 
proved  successful  in  British  waters. 

More  than  fifty  small  boat  builders 
submitted  proposals  on  March  31  for 
the  construction  of  chasers  and  patrol 
boats  of  the  110-foot  and  50-foot  types, 
indicating  that  the  Navy  Department 
would  be  able  to  get  all  the  small  boats 
it  needed  in  a  comparatively  brief  time. 
On  that  date  the  coast  patrol  fleet  was 
organized  on  an  official  basis  under  the 
Government,  and  Captain  Henry  B.  Wil- 
son was  detached  from  his  post  as  com- 
mander of  the  superdreadnought  Penn- 
sylvania to  take  charge  of  the  coast 
"  mosquito  fleet." 


Radio  Stations  Seized 

Seizure  of  all  wireless  stations  in  the 
United  States  and  its  possessions  was 
ordered  by  President  Wilson  on  April  6, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  order  was 
delegated  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Accordingly  the  navy  at  once  took  pos- 
session of  the  radio  system  throughout 
the  country,  assuming  control  of  all  com- 
mercial stations  that  might  be  useful  to 
the  Government  in  war  time,  and  sup- 
pressing and  dismantling  the  rest,  in- 
cluding thousands  of  amateur  wireless 
plants. 

Defensive  war  zones,  guarded  by 
patrol  boats,  were  established  around  the 
whole  coast  line  of  the  United  States 
through  an  executive  order  issued  by 
President  Wilson  on  April  5.  To  prevent 
surprise  attacks  against  New  York  and 
other  coast  points  by  German  submarines 
or  raiders,  this  order  created  a  series  of 
local  barred  zones  extending  from  two 
to  ten  miles  from  the  larger  harbors  in 
American  waters  all  the  way  from  Maine 
to  California  and  the  Philippine  Islands. 
All  vessels  are  barred  from  entering 
these  harbors  at  night,  and  entrance  or 
exit  in  daytime  must  be  in  accordance 
with  certain  rules  of  pilotage  and  other 
matters  which  the  patrol  boats  are  under 
orders  to  enforce.  The  ports  at  both 
ends  of  the  Panama  Canal  are  closed 
each  night  under  the  same  order. 

Contracts  for  the  construction  of  twen- 
ty-four destroyers  of  thirty-five-knot 
speed  were  awarded  by  the  Navy  De- 
partment on  March  24.  Ten  will  be  built 
at  the  Union  Iron  Works,  San  Francisco; 
six  by  William  Cramp  &  Sons,  Philadel- 
phia, and  eight- by  the  Fore  River  Ship- 
building Company,  Quincy,  Mass.  The 
contracts  will  be  paid  on  the  basis  of 
cost  plus  10  per  cent,  profit.  The  aver- 
age cost  will  be.  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$1,400,000  for  each  vessel.  The  Navy 
Department  awarded  the  contracts  on 
the  day  the  bids  were  opened,  and  Secre- 
tary Daniels  stated  that  he  was  ready  to 
award  similar  ones  for  fifty  destroyers, 
all  urgently  needed,  and  to  pay  for  them 
out  of  the  $115,000,000  emergency  fund; 
but  the  shipbuilding  plants  of  the  coun- 
try were  so  overcrowded  with  other  naval 
work  that  only  three  were  able  to  do  any- 


MOBILIZING   THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY 


233 


thing  in  that  direction  at  the  present 
time.  Of  the  twenty-four  destroyers  in 
question  fifteen  belong  to  the  regular 
1917  program  and  nine  to  the  emergency 
program.  Including  these  new  orders 
the  navy  now  has  under  construction  a 
total  of  fifty-two  destroyers,  eight  of 
which  were  authorized  in  1914-15  and 
twenty  in  1916. 

Secretary  Daniels  announced  on  April 
11  that  Charleston,  ~W.  Va.,  had  been 
selected  as  the  site  for  the  Govern- 
ment armor  plate  plant,  for  the  con- 
struction of  which  Congress  appropriated 
$11,000,000. 

National  Cuard  Mobilized 
The  preliminary  steps  toward  mobiliz- 
ing the  National  Guard  also  were  well 
under  way  before  the  assembling  of  Con- 
gress in  special  session.  The  War  De- 
partment issued  orders  on  March  25  call- 
ing out  fourteen  National  Guard  units 
"  for  police  purposes "  in  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Connecticut, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  besides  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  They  were  assigned 
to  protect  railways,  bridges,  water 
systems,  and  other  strategic  points.  As 
an  example  of  the  promptness  with  which 
these  State  units  got  into  active  service 
it  may  be  noted  that  every  man  of  the 
Seventy-first  New  York  Infantry  Regi- 
ment left  New  York  City  under  secret 
orders  on  April  1. 

On  March  26  President  Wilson  called 
out  twenty  additional  regiments  and  five 
separate  battalions  of  National  Guard 
units  in  eighteen  different  States,  from 
Ohio  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  follow- 
ing day  he  suspended  the  muster  out  of 
the  22,000  National  Guardsmen  that  still 
remained  in  the  Federal  service  from  the 
Mexican  border  mobilization.  Seven  more 
regiments  were  called  into  service  in  the 
next  two  days,  and  by  the  beginning  of 
April  the  total  under  arms  was  more 
than  60,000,  or  over  one-third  of  the 
150,000  men  in  all  the  National  Guard 
organizations  in  the  country.  Then  a 
temporary  halt  was  called,  owing  to  in- 
ability to  furnish  supplies  as  fast  as  the 
men  were  mustered  in. 

It  was  announced  that  twenty-six 
training  camps  for  the  military  training 


of  civilians  would  be  maintained  by  the 
War  Department  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  during  the  Summer  months,  with 
facilities  for  drilling  25,000  men. 

State  Governments  responded  generally 
to  the  needs  of  the  hour.  New  York 
promptly  appropriated  $1,000,000  for  de- 
fense, Massachusetts  the  same,  New 
Hampshire  $500,000,  and  many  other 
States  similar  amounts.  Mobilization  of 
National  Guard  units  throughout  New 
England  was  especially  prompt  and 
rapid.  College  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  organized  student  regiments,  and 
in  many  cases  a  majority  of  the  whole 
undergraduate  community  began  drilling. 
Home  defense  leagues  in  cities  and  towns 
sprang  up  from  Maine  to  California,  and 
obtained  professional  military  drill;  in 
New  York  City  the  body  of  this  nature 
created  by  Police  Commissioner  Woods 
numbered  nearly  10,000  men,  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  United  States  Army  division, 
with  a  full  military  organization  and  a 
large  degree  of  effectiveness.  Mayor 
Mitchel  of  New  York  City  organized  a 
Committee  on  National  Defense,  under 
whose  leadership  nearly  all  the  States  of 
the  Union  joined  in  making  April  19 — 
the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton—a "  Wake  Up,  America !  "  day. 

Patriotic  enthusiasm  was  everywhere 
in  evidence,  yet  enlistments  in  the  regular 
army  continued  to  come  very  slowly.  Men 
of   military   age   awaited   the   action  of 
Congress,  which  was  in  process  of  de- 
termining whether  to  depend  once  more 
upon   the  volunteer  system  or  to  enact 
a  compulsory  service  law.    President  Wil- 
son and  the  Army  General  Staff  strongly 
favored  universal  compulsory  service  for 
young  men,  and  two  bills  embodying  such 
a  system  were  introduced   in   Congress, 
but  they  met  considerable  opposition  from 
the  outset.    On  April  18  the  House  Mili- 
tary Committee,  by  a  vote  of  13  to  8, 
finally  agreed  to  report  the  Army  Gen- 
eral Staff  bill  with  an  amendment  au- 
thorizing the  President  first  to  try  the 
volunteer    system    for    raising    500,000 
men,  and  then  to  use  the  selective  draft 
if  the  volunteer  method  proved  unsuc- 
cessful.    The  matter  rests  there  at  the 
present   writing.     Meanwhile    Secretary 
Baker  has  announced  that  men  are  en- 


234 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


listing  in  the  regular  army  at  the  aver- 
age rate  of  1,434  a  day. 

Many    large    banks    and    commercial 
houses  have  undertaken  to  keep  up  the 


from  among  their  employes,  as  was  done 
at  the  time  of  the  call  to  the  Mexican 
border,  when  one  large  telephone  com- 
pany alone  paid  $284,000  to  absent  em- 


salaries  of  National  Guardsmen  recruited      ployes. 


Organizing  for  Economic  Defense 


A  NATION-WIDE  system  of  economic 
war  activities  developed  during  the 
month,  nearly  all  centring  about 
the  Council  of  National  Defense,  a  body 
consisting  officially  of  the  members  of 
the  President's  Cabinet  and  its  civilian 
Advisory  Commission,  a  group  of  picked 
business  men  and  leaders  of  industries. 
The  members  of  the  Advisory  Commis- 
sion are:  Grosvenor  B.  Clarkson,  Secre- 
tary; Julius  Rosenwald,  Chairman  of 
Committee  on  Supplies;  Bernard  M.  Ba- 
ruch,  in  charge  of  raw  materials;  Daniel 
Willard,  transportation;  Dr.  F.  H.  Mar- 
tin, medicine  and  sanitation;  Dr.  Hollis 
Godfrey,  science  and  research;  Howard 
Coffin,  munitions,  and  W.  S.  Gifford,  Di- 
rector of  the  Council.  Each  is  working 
through  a  board  of  experts  to  organize 
the  war  activities  in  his  department. 
Many  of  these  boards  were  created  in 
April. 

The  important  work  of  the  Food  Board 
was  placed  under  the  management  of 
Herbert  C.  Hoover,  the  executive  head  of 
the  Belgian  Relief  Commission.  The 
task  assigned  to  the  Food  Board  is  that 
of  coping  with  the  problems  of  food 
shortage,  distribution,  and  waste;  price 
control,  the  mobilization  of  the  agricul- 
tural resources  of  the  country,  and  the 
formulating  of  all  necessary  measures  to 
keep  up  the  stream  of  American  food  sup- 
plies to  the  Allies. 

Presidents  of  the  leading  railroads  of 
the  country  met  at  Washington  on  April 
11  at  the  call  of  the  Council  of  Defense 
and  named  a  board  of  five  men  to  direct 
the  operations  of  American  railways 
throughout  the  war,  with  Fairfax  Har- 
rison of  the  Southern  Railway  as  Chair- 
man and  Daniel  Willard,  President  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  Chairman  of 
the  Defense  Council's  Advisory  Commis- 
sion, as  an  ex-officio  member. 

The  creation  of  a  General   Munitions 


Board  was  announced  on  April  9,  headed 
by  Frank  A.  Scott,  a  Cleveland  manu- 
facturer. This  board  is  charged  with 
supplying  the  army  and  navy  with  muni- 
tions and  equipment.  One  of  its  chief 
functions  will  be  to  decide  between  the 
country's  military  and  industrial  needs 
when  recruiting  invades  the  factories. 
Twenty  men,  fifteen  of  them  army  or 
navy  officers,  make  up  the  board. 

In  like  manner  an  Economy  Board  was 
organized  to  mobilize  the  commercial 
interests  of  the  country  and  attend  to 
the  equitable  distribution  of  commodities 
in  war  time  and  to  keep  prices  down.  Im- 
portant pioneer  work  in  the  direction  of 
economy  for  the  Government  was 
achieved  by  one  of  the  members  of 
the  Advisory  Commission,  Bernard  M. 
Baruch,  who,  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Raw  Materials,  arranged  to  get 
copper,  steel,  and  other  metals  for  the 
Government  at  about  half  the  market 
price,  thus  saving  the  nation  many 
millions.  The  insurance  interests  of  the 
country  placed  their  valuable  records  at 
the  service  of  the  Government  and  laid 
plans  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  grain 
and  cotton  by  incendiary  fires.  A  Gen- 
eral Medical  Board  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  was  organized  on  April 
17  by  leading  physicians  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  with  Dr.  Franklin  Mar- 
tin of  Chicago  as  Chairman,  and  a  score 
of  eminent  physicians  as  members  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  to  mobilize  the 
nation's  medical  resources  during  the 
war. 

General  Goethalss  NeV>  Task 
The  Federal  Shipping  Board,  which 
embodies  the  Administration's  program 
for  building  a  vast  fleet  of  wooden  cargo 
ships  to  transport  supplies  to  the  Allies 
and  thus  defeat  the  German  submarine 


ORGANIZING    FOR   ECONOMIC    DEFENSE 


235 


campaign,  was  organized  as  a  $50,000,000 
corporation  on  April  16.  Its  avowed  pur- 
pose is  to  construct  1,000  ships  of  3,000 
to  5,000  tons  burden  within  the  shortest 
possible  time.  Major  Gen.  George  W. 
Goethals,  the  engineer  who  built  the 
Panama  Canal,  was  made  General  Man- 
ager of  the  enterprise.  Congress  has 
authorized  the  use  of  $50,000,000  for  the 
work  of  this  board.  Chairman  Denman 
announced  that  contracts  had  already 
been  let,  and  that,  barring  unforeseen  ob- 
stacles, by  October  the  shipyards  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  would  be  turning 
out  the  new  vessels  at  the  rate  of  two 
or  three  a  day,  to  be  leased  to  private 
shipping   concerns. 

Treatment  of  Germans 

The  history  of  America's  entrance 
into  the  world  war  would  be  incomplete 
without  reference  to  the  attitude  of  the 
United  States  Government  toward  the 
unnaturalized  and  naturalized  German 
citizens  in  this  country,  the  former  hav- 
ing become  alien  enemies  by  the  declara- 
tion of  war.  The  war  proclamation  of 
President  Wilson  was  followed  by  procla- 
mations to  the  same  effect  by  the  Mayors 
of  all  American  cities.  Typical  of  the 
spirit  of  these  was  the  following  by  the 
Mayor  of  New  York: 

TO  THE  CITIZENS  OF  NEW  YORK 
Upon  just  grounds  and  after  long  and  pa- 
tient forbearance,  the  President  and  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  have  declared 
that  by  the  act  of  the  autocratic  Government 
which  rules  in  the  German  Empire  war  exists 
between  the  two  countries,  and  the  free  peo- 
ple of  America  are  about  entering  into  the 
great  world  conflict.  Millions  of  the  people 
of  this  city  were  born  in  the  countries  en- 
gaged in  this  great  war.  No  part  of  the 
earth  is  without  its  representatives  here. 

I  enjoin  upon  you  all  that  you  honor  the 
liberty  which  so  many  of  you  have  sought 
in  this  land  and  the  free  self-government 
of  the  American  democracy,  in  which  we 
all  find  our  opportunity  and  individual  free- 
dom, by  exercising  kindly  consideration,  self- 
control,  and  respect  to  each  other  and  to  all 
others  who  dwell  within  our  limits ;  that  you, 
one  and  all,  aid  in  the  preservation  of  order 
and  in  the  exercise  of  calm  and  deliberate 
judgment  in  this  time  of  stress  and  tension. 

There  will  be  some  exceptional  cases  of 
malign  influence  and  malicious  purpose 
among  you,  and  as  to  them  I  advise  you  all 
that  full  and  timely  preparation  has  been 
made  adequate  to  the  exigency  which  exists 


for  the  maintenance  of  order  throughout  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  for  the  warning  of  the 
ill-disposed  I  quote  the  statute  of  the  United 
States,  which  is  applicable  to  all  residents  en- 
joying the  protection  of  our  laws  whether 
they  be  citizens  or  not: 

"Whoever  owing  allegiance  to  the  United 
States  levies  war  against  them  or  adheres 
to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort  within  the  United  States  or  else- 
where, is  guilty  of  treason. 

The  punishment  prescribed  by  law  for  the 
crime  of  treason  is  death  or,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  court,  imprisonment  for  not  less  than 
five  years  and  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $10,000. 
All  officers  of  the  police  have  been  especially 
instructed  to  give  their  prompt  and  effi- 
cacious attention  to  the  enforcement  of  this 
law.  JOHN  PURROY  MITCHEL, 

Mayor. 

Official  proclamations  were  issued  for- 
bidding any  "  alien  enemy "  from  re- 
maining or  residing  "  within  half  a  mile 
of  any  Governmental  fort,  factory,  reser- 
vation, base  of  supplies,  or  any  land  used 
for  war  purposes."  The  enforcement  of 
this  order,  however,  was  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  United  States  Marshals, 
and  forbearance  was  shown.  The  enemy 
aliens  living  or  employed  about  the  mili- 
tary points  around  New  York  were  given 
six  weeks  to  find  new  locations,  and  ex- 
ceptions to  the  rule  were  made  where 
bond  could  be  furnished.  Hoboken,  N.  J., 
which  is  almost  entirely  populated  by 
Germans,  being  the  site  of  the  chief  piers 
of  the  two  great  German  steamship  lines, 
the  Hamburg-American  and  North  Ger- 
man Lloyd,  was  placed  under  military 
guard  in  the  pier  districts  on  April  19; 
the  Mayor  at  the  same  time  issued  a 
proclamation  announcing  that  aliens  re- 
siding within  half  a  mile  of  the  piers 
would  not  be  disturbed  if  they  obeyed  the 
laws. 

Nowhere  in  the  country  were  there  re- 
ports of  any  disturbances  among  the 
Germans  during  the  first  two  weeks  fol- 
lowing the  declaration  of  war,  and  their 
general  attitude  was  one  of  unswerving 
loyalty  to  the  United  States.  The  750 
officers  and  men  of  the  German  Navy 
who  sought  refuge  in  American  waters 
on  the  cruisers  Kronprinz  Wilhelm  and 
Prinz  Eitel  Friedrich  were  taken  to 
Georgia  on  special  trains  March  27  and 
placed  for  safe  keeping  in  stockades  at 
Fort  McPherson  and  Fort  Oglethorpe, 
under  guard  of  the  Seventeenth  Infantry. 


2.'56 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  men  from  the  Wilhelm,  numbering 
more  than  400,  were  assigned  to  Fort 
McPherson  and  those  from  the  Eitel 
Friedrich  to  Fort  Oglethorpe. 

The  men  were  housed  in  barracks  sur- 
rounded by  a  barbed-wire  stockade.  They 


were  removed  from  the  League  Island 
Navy  Yard  at  Philadelphia,  as  their 
presence  at  the  country's  chief  navy 
yard  during  the  tense  days  preceding 
our  declaration  of  war  was  regarded  as 
perilous. 


Dr.  Zimmermann's  Defense  of  His  Mexican  Plan 


THE  German  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  Dr.  Alfred  Zimmermann, 
made  a  second  statement  on  March 
29  in  attempted  defense  of  his  unsuccess- 
ful plan  to  create  a  German-Mexican- 
Japanese  alliance  against  the  United 
States.  His  act  was  subjected  to  criticism 
by  Hugo  Haase,  leader  of  the  Socialist 
minority,  who  remarked  in  the  Reichstag 
that  the  affair  had  aggravated  the  situa- 
tion in  America.  According  to  an  Am- 
sterdam Reuter  dispatch,  Dr.  Zimmer- 
mann replied: 

I  wrote  no  letter  to  General  Carranza. 
I  was  not  so  naive.  I  merely  addressed,  by 
a  route  that  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  safe 
one,  instructions  to  our  representative  in 
Mexico.  It  is  being  investigated  how  these 
instructions  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Amer- 
ican authorities.  I  instructed  the  Minister 
to  Mexico,  in  the  event  of  war  with  the 
United  States,  to  propose  a  German  alli- 
ance to  Mexico,  and  simultaneously  to  sug- 
gest that  Japan  join  the  alliance.  I  declared 
expressly  that,  despite  the  submarine  war, 
we  hoped  that  America  would  maintain 
neutrality. 

My  instructions  were  to  be  carried  out 
only  after  the  United  States  declared  war 
and  a  state  of  war  supervened.  I  believe 
the  instructions  were  absolutely  loyal  as 
regards  the  United  States. 

General  Carranza  would  have  heard  noth- 
ing of  it  up  to  the  present  if  the  United 
States  had  not  published  the  instructions 
which  came  into  its  hands  in  a  way  which 
was  not  unobjectionable.  Our  behavior  con- 
trasts considerably  with  the  behavior  of  the 
Washington  Government. 

President  Wilson  after  our  note  of  Jan. 
31,  1917,  which  avoided  all  aggressiveness 
in  tone,  deemed  it  proper  immediately  to 
break  off  relations  with  extraordinary 
roughness.  Our  Ambassador  no  longer  had 
the  opportunity  to  explain  or  elucidate  our 
attitude  orally.  The  United  States  Govern- 
ment thus  declined  to  negotiate  with  us. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  addressed  itself  im- 
mediately to  all  the  neutral  powers  to  in- 
duce them  to  join  the  United  States  and 
break  with   us. 

Every    unprejudiced    person    must    see    in 


this  the  hostile  atttitude  of  the  American 
Government,  which  seemed  to  consider  it 
right,  before  being  at  war  with  us,  to  set 
the  entire  world  against  us.  It  cannot 
deny  us  the  right  to  seek  allies  when  it 
has   itself  practically  declared  war  on  us. 

Herr  Haase  says  that  it  caused  great  in- 
dignation in  America.  Of  course,  in  the 
first  instance,  the  affair  was  employed  as 
an  incitement  against  us.  But  the  storm 
abated  slowly  and  the  calm  and  sensible 
politicians,  and  also  the  great  mass  of  the 
American  people,  saw  that  there  was  noth- 
ing to  object  to  in  these  instructions  in 
themselves.  I  refer  especially  to  the  state- 
ments of  Senator  Underwood.  Even  at 
times  newspapers  felt  obliged  to  admit  re- 
gretfully that  not  so  very  much  had  been 
made  out  of  this  affair. 

The  Government  was  reproached  for 
thinking  just  of  Mexico  and  Japan.  First 
of  all,  Mexico  was  a  neighboring  State  to 
America.  If  we  wanted  allies  against 
America,  Mexico  would  be  the  first  to  come 
into  consideration.  The  relations  between 
Mexico  and  ourselves  since  the  time  of 
Porfirio  Diaz  have  been  extremely  friendly 
and  trustful.  The  Mexicans,  moreover,  are 
known  as   good  and  efficient  soldiers. 

It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  had 
been  friendly  and  trustful. 

But  the  world  knows  that  antagonism 
exists  between  America  and  Japan.  I  main- 
tain that  these  antagonisms  are  stronger 
than  those  which,  despite  the  war,  exist  be- 
tween Germany  and  Japan. 

When  I  also  wished  to  persuade  Carranza 
that  Japan  should  join  the  alliance  there 
was  nothing  extraordinary  in  this.  The 
relations  between  Japan  and  Mexico  are 
long  existent.  The  Mexicans  and  Japanese 
are  of  a  like  race  and  good  relations  exist, 
between   both  countries. 

When,  further,  the  Entente  press  affirms 
that  it  is  shameless  to  take  away  allies, 
such  reproach  must  have  a  peculiar  effect 
coming  from  powers  who,  like  our  enemies, 
made  no  scruple  in  taking  away  from  us 
two  powers  and  peoples  with  whom  we 
were  bound  by  treaties  for  more  than  thirty 
years.  The  powers  who  desire  to  make 
pliant  an  old  European  country  of  culture 
like  Greece  by  unparalleled  and  violent 
means  cannot  raise  such  a  reproach  against. 
us. 


raft^^gggp-^ 


^^^^^^i 


TO  -»-»     *H 

F«5 


E.&am^g£ 


^^^y'fetfe 


-ss^^s^da 


DR.  ZIMMERMANN'S  DEFENSE  OF  HIS  MEXICAN  PLAN 


237 


When  I  thought  of  this  alliance  with  Mex- 
ico and  Japan  I  allowed  myself  to  be  guided 
by  the  consideration  that  our  brave  troops 
already  have  to  fight  against  a  superior 
force   of  enemies,    and  my   duty  is,    as   far 


from  them.  That  Mexico  and  Japan  suited 
that  purpose  even  Herr  Haase  will  not 
deny. 

Thus,   I   considered  it  a  patriotic  duty  to 
release  those  instructions,  and  I  hold  to  the 


as  possible,   to  keep   further   enemies   away      standpoint  that  I  acted  rightly. 


Austria-Hungary  Breaks  With  United  States 


N  April  8  the   Government  of  Au- 

0  stria-Hungary  severed  diplomatic 
relations  with  the  Government  of 
the  United  States.  Baron  Erich  Zwie- 
dinek,  who  had  been  Charge  d'Affaires 
of  the  Austrian  Embassy  ever  since  the 
recall  of  Dr.  Dumba,  former  Ambassador, 
called  at  the  State  Department  and  de- 
manded passports  for  himself,  all  his 
embassy  staff,  including  Ambassador- 
designate  Tarnowski,  and  all  Austrian 
Consular  officers  in  the  United  States 
and  its  possessions. 

As  soon  as  the  announcement  of  the 
break  was  received  by  the  Administration 
orders  were  given  for  taking  possession 
of  the  Austrian  merchant  vessels  that 
had  been  self-interned  in  this  country. 
Secretary  Lansing  said  that  this  was 
done  as  a  precautionary  measure.  There 
were  fourteen  ships  with  a  gross  tonnage 
of  67,807.  The  largest  was  the  Martha 
Washington,  8,312  gross  tons,  at  New 
York,  three  others  were  self-interned  at 
New  York,  one  at  Boston,  three  at  New 
Orleans,  one  at  Pensacola,  two  at  Gal- 
veston, one  at  Newport  News,  one  at  Phil- 


adelphia, and  one  at  Tampa.     The  ma- 
chinery in  most  of  them  had  been  dam- 


The  following  was  the  official  note 
handed  to  the  American  Charge  d'Af- 
faires at  Vienna  in  the  absence  of  Am- 
bassador Penfield,  who  had  left  for 
America  a  few  days  previously: 

Since  the  United  States  of  America  has  de- 
clared that  a  state  of  war  exists  between  it 
and  the  Imperial  German  Government,  Au- 
stria-Hungary, '  as  an  ally  of  the  German 
Empire,  has  decided  to  break  off  diplomatic 
relations  with  the  United  States,  and  the 
Imperial  and  Royal  Embassy  at  Washington, 
has  been  instructed  to  inform  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  to  that  effect. 

While  regretting  under  these  circumstances 
to  see  a  termination  of  the  personal  relations 
which  he  has  had  the  honor  to  hold  with  the 
Charge  d'Affaires  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  undersigned  does  not  fail  to 
place  at  the  former's  disposal  herewith  the 
passport  for  the  departure  from  Austria- 
Hungary  of  himself  and  the  other  members 
of  the  embassy. 

At  the  same  time  the  undersigned  avails 
himself  of  the  opportunity  to  renew  to  the 
Charge  d'Affaires  the  expression  of  his  most 
perfect  consideration. 

(Signed)     CZERNIN. 


Belgian  Relief  Work  Transferred 


BRAND  WHITLOCK,  the  American 
Minister  to  Belgium,  was  ordered  to 
withdraw  from  Belgian  soil  by  .Presi- 
dent Wilson  on  March  24;  the  President 
also  ordered  the  departure  of  all  American 
Consular  officers.  The  withdrawal  of  the 
American  members  of  the  Belgian  Relief 
Commission,  who  had  been  directing  the 
feeding  of  several  millions  of  destitute 
Belgian  and  French  civilians,  also  was 
necessitated  by  the  war  situation.  The 
work  of  these  Americans  was  taken  up 
by  Dutch  citizens  under  direction  of  the 
Netherlands    Government.      Herbert    C. 


Hoover,  the  head  of  the  relief  commis- 
sion, continued  to  direct  the  work  from 
Rotterdam,  but  after  the  American  decla- 
ration of  war  it  was  understood  that  he 
would  return  to  America  to  assume  the 
position  of  Food  Director.  In  the  offi- 
cial announcement  of  the  withdrawal  the 
State  Department  at  Washington  very 
bluntly  and  sharply  put  the  blame  on  the 
Germans,  as  the  following  extract  from 
the  official  statement  of  March  24  shows: 
"  Immediately  after  the  break  in  rela- 
tions the  German  authorities  in  Brussels 
withdrew  from  Mr.  Whitlock  the  diplo- 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


matic  privileges  and  immunities  which 
he  had  up  to  that  time  enjoyed.  His 
courier  service  to  The  Hague  was 
stopped.  He  was  denied  the  privilege  of 
communicating  with  the  Department  of 
State  in  cipher,  and  later  even  in  plain 
language.  The  members  of  the  relief 
commission  were  placed  under  great  re- 
strictions of  movements  and  communica- 
tions, which  hampered  the  efficient  per- 
formance of  their  task. 

"  In  spite  of  all  these  difficulties,  the 
Government  and  the  commission  were 
determined  to  keep  the  work  going  till 
the  last  possible  moment.  Now,  however, 
a  more  serious  difficulty  has  arisen.  In 
the  course  of  the  last  ten  days  several  of 
the  commission's  ships  have  been  at- 
tacked without  warning  by  German  sub- 
marines, in  flagrant  violation  of  the 
solemn  engagements  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment. Protests  addressed  by  this 
Government  to  Berlin  through  the  inter- 
mediary of  the  Spanish  Government 
have  not  been  answered. 

"  The  German  Government's  disregard 


of  its  written  undertakings  causes  grave 
concern  as  to  the  future  of  the  relief 
work.  In  any  event,  it  is  felt  that  the 
American  staff  of  the  commission  can  no 
longer  serve  with  advantage  in  Belgium. 
Although  a  verbal  promise  has  been  made 
•that  the  members  of  the  commission 
would  be  permitted  to  leave  if  they  de- 
sire, the  German  Government's  observ- 
ance of  its  other  undertakings  has  not 
been  such  that  the  department  would  feel 
warranted  in  accepting  responsibility  for 
leaving  these  American  citizens  in  Ger- 
man occupied  territory." 

Four  Belgian  relief  ships  loaded  with 
food  bound  from  America  for  Rotterdam 
were  sunk  by  German  submarines  be- 
tween March  25  and  April  10,  and  it  was 
feared  that  all  relief  measures  must  be 
abandoned.  On  April  17,  however,  it 
was  announced  that  eight  loaded  relief 
ships  had  reached  Rotterdam  between 
April  6  and  15,  indicating  that  the  Ger- 
mans had  concluded  to  allow  the  relief 
service  to  continue. 


Vessels  Sunk  by  Submarines 


THE  allied  nations  having  ceased  to 
report  the  detailed  results  of  the 
German  submarine  warfare,  only 
general  data  can  be  obtained  for  the  most 
part  for  the  months  of  March  and  April. 
The  Aztec  was  the  chief  American  ship 
reported  sunk  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Memphis,  Vigilancia,  and  Illinois,  the 
three  American  vessels  whose  loss 
brought  on  the  extra  session  of  Con- 
gress and  the  war  declaration.  The  Aztec 
was  an  armed  merchantman;  the  sinking 
was  reported  on  April  2,  the  day  the 
President  delivered  his  war  message.  She 
was  attacked  by  a  submarine  at  night 
near  an  island  off  Brest,  without  warn- 
ing, and  in  a  heavy  sea.  She  was  a  slow- 
moving  freighter  of  3,727  tons,  loaded 
with  a  cargo  of  foodstuffs,  valued  at 
$500,000,  belonging  to  the  Oriental  Navi- 
gation Company.  The  vessel's  guns  were 
in  charge  of  a  naval  detachment  consist- 
ing of  a  Lieutenant  and  a  crew  of  11 
gunners;  28  of  the  men  on  board,  includ- 


ing Boatswain's  Mate  Eopolucci  of  the 
United  States  Naval  Guard,  perished. 

The  American  Oil  steamship  Healdton 
was  sunk  March  22  in  the  North  Sea  by 
a  German  submarine,  and  21  of  her  crew, 
of  whom  7  were  Americans,  perished. 
The  cargo  was  valued  at  $2,150,000;  the 
United  States  Government  War  Risk 
Bureau  lost  $499,000  by  the  sinking  of 
the  Healdton,  bringing  the  total  losses 
of  the  bureau— including  $250,000  on  the 
Illinois— to  $1,583,924;  but  the  premiums 
in  that  period  amounted  to  $3,167,997. 

On  March  23  the  French  cruiser  Dan- 
ton  was  reported  as  having  been  tor- 
pedoed in  the  Mediteranean  Sea;  296 
men  were  lost,  806  saved.  The  vessel 
displaced  18,028  tons. 

The  unarmed  American  steamer  Mis- 
sourian,  which  left  Genoa  April  4  with 
32  Americans  in  her  crew  of  53 — net  ton- 
nage 4,981 — was  sunk  without  warning 
in    the    Mediterranean.      The    American 


VESSELS   SUNK   BY   SUBMARINES 


239 


steamer  Seward,  3,390  tons,  was  sunk 
in  the  Mediterranean  April  7. 

On  April  5  there  came  news  of  the 
sinking  of  two  Belgian  relief  ships,  the 
Trevier  from  New  York  and  the  Feis- 
tein;  the  latter  was  2,991  tons,  the 
Trevier  3,001.  On  April  9  the  loss  of 
the  Belgian  relief  ship  Camilla  was  sunk 
with  a  cargo  of  foodstuffs,  making  four 
relief  ships  destroyed  in  five  weeks,  with 
17,000  tons  of  food. 

On  April  10  it  was  reported  by  the 
State  Department  that  up  to  April  3, 
1917,  German  submarines  had  sunk  dur- 
ing the  war  686  neutral  vessels,  includ- 
ing 19  American,  and  attacked  unsuc- 
cessfully 79  others,  including  8  Amer- 
ican. Since  the  German  war  zone  decree 
went  into  effect  on  Feb.  1  more  than 
one-third  of  the  vessels  sunk  were  neu- 
tral, and  a  large  number  of  other  neutral 
vessels  were  terrorized  into   staying  in 


port.  The  neutral  vessels  sunk  were  as 
follows : 

Norwegian,  410;  Swedish,  111;  Dutch, 
61;  Greek,  50;  Spanish,  33;  American, 
19;  Peruvian,  1;  Argentine,  1;  Total,  686. 

Neutral  vessels  attacked  and  escaped: 
Norwegian,  32;  Swedish,  9;  Danish,  5; 
Greek,  8;  Spanish,  2;  Argentine,  1;  Bra- 
zilian, 1;  American,  8.     Total,  79. 

The  British  Admiralty  reported  sink- 
ings in  the  five  weeks  ended  April  1, 
1917,  to  have  been  80  vessels  of  over 
1,600  tons  each,  41  under  1,600  tons, 
and  43  smaller  vessels.  During  the  week 
ended  April  8,  1917,  the  sinkings  reported 
by  the  British  Admiralty  were:  Vessels 
over  1,600  tons,  16;  under  1,600  tons,  2; 
vessels  arriving  and  sailing  from  United 
Kingdom  in  same  period,  4,773.  During 
the  week  ended  April  15  the  Admiralty 
reported  the  loss  of  19  vessels  of  more 
than  1,600  tons,  9  less  than  1,600,  also 
12  fishing  vessels. 


The  Wind  of  Freedom 


By  JOHN  GALSWORTHY 

A  wind  in  the  world!    The  dark  departs, 

The  chains  now  rust  that  crushed  men's  flesh  and  bones; 

Feet  tread  no  more  the  mildewed  prison  stones, 
And  slavery  is  lifted  from  your  hearts. 

A  wind  in  the  world!     O  company 

Of  darkened  Russia,  watching  long  in  vain, 
Now  shall  you  see  the  cloud  of  Russia's  pain 

Go  shrinking  out  across  a  Summer  sky. 

A  wind  in  the  world — but  God  shall  be 

In  all  the  future  left  no  kingly  doll, 

Decked  out  with  dreadful  sceptre,  steel,  and  stole, 
But  walk  the  earth,  a  man  in  charity. 

A  wind  in  the  world — and  doubts  are  blown 
To  dust  along,  and  the  old  stars  come  forth, 
Stars  of  a  creed  to  Pilgrim  Father's  worth — 

A  field  of  broken  spears  and  flowers  strown. 

A  wind  in  the  world !    Now  truancy 

From  the  true  self  is  ended;  to  her  part 
Supreme  again  she  moves  and  from  her  heart 

A  great  America  causes  death  to  tyranny. 

A  wind  in  the  world — and  we  have  come 

Together  sea  by  sea  in  all  the  lands. 

Vision  doth  move  at  last  and  freedom  stands 
With  brightened  wings  and  smiles  and  beckons  home. 


Holland  in    the    Cross-Fire  of 
Submarine  Controversy 


HOLLAND,  more  than  any  other 
neutral,  has  felt  the  effects  of  the 
war's  cross-fire  of  trade  restric- 
tion and  destruction  of  shipping. 
The  little  nation's  geographical  position 
exposes  it  to  interference  by  both  war- 
ring groups.  The  drastic  means  adopted 
by  Great  Britain  to  prevent  the  Ger- 
mans from  importing  foodstuffs  and  raw 
material  would  alone  have  been  sufficient 
to  cause  privation,  but  when  to  this  is 
added  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  German 
submarines  at  the  expense  of  the  Nether- 
lands merchant  marine  the  state  of 
affairs  becomes  still  more  distressful. 
Even  there  the  menace  does  not  end. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  Holland 
has  had  to  be  prepared  to  defend  her 
neutrality  by  guarding  her  land  frontier 
and  by  keeping  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt 
closed  against  any  attempt  to  make  Ant- 
werp a  base  of  submarine  and  other 
naval  operations.  In  addition  to  the 
large  force  concentrated  at  Antwerp  the 
Germans  have  recently  had  five  army 
corps  massed  on  their  Dutch  frontier. 
Nor  has  the  problem  of  dealing  with  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Belgians  who 
fled  into  Holland  from  the  invaders  been 
a  light  one. 

In  the  circumstances  it  was  not  prac- 
ticable or  expedient  for  Holland  to  follow 
the  example  set  by  the  United  States 
when  the  new  submarine  campaign  be- 
gan. Nevertheless,  while  unable  to  break 
off  relations  with  Germany,  the  Nether- 
lands Government  lost  no  time  in  pro- 
testing in  the  most  vigorous  manner,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  following  note, 
dated  Feb.  7,  1917,  which  was  addressed 
by  J.  Loudon,  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  to  the  German  Minister  at  The 
Hague : 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of 
the  note  of  Jan.  31  last,  A  390,  in  which  your 
Excellency  informed  me  that  the  Imperial 
Government  sees  itself  forced  to  abolish  the 
restrictions  which  it  has  applied  until  now  to 
its  methods  of  warfare  at  sea. 

This  note  was  accompanied  by  a  memoran- 
dum containing  details  of  the  naval  measures 


to  be  adopted  not  only  in  the  North  Sea,  the 
Channel,  and  a  part  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
but  also  in  the  Mediterranean.  These  meas- 
ures are  summed  up  in  the  establishment  of 
two  vast  maritime  zones,  in  which  trade 
under  any  flag,  neutral  or  enemy,  will  be 
stopped  by  force  of  arms,  and  in  which  ships 
will  be  exposed  to  destruction. 

As  far  as  the  North  Sea  is  concerned  the 
zone  is  outlined  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  a 
free  passage  for  Dutch  navigation,  but  on 
the  other  hand  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
Mediterranean  the  way  is  entirely  barred 
between  Port  Said  and  the  track  drawn 
from  Gibraltar  to  Greece,  so  that  the  route 
to  the  East  Indies,  which  is  essential  to  Hol- 
land as  a  colonial  power,  is  cut. 

The  Queen's  Government  has  in  the  course 
of  the  war  more  than  once  explained  how  it 
regards  the  arbitrary  delimitation  by  the  bel- 
ligerent powers  of  a  part  of  the  sea  as  a 
zone  reserved  for  military  operations,  in 
which  commercial  traffic  is  exposed  to  dan- 
ger. Thus  the  Government  protested,  in  a 
note,  dated  Nov.  16,  1914,  to  the  British  Min- 
ister, against  the  designation  of  the  North 
Sea  as  a  military  zone  in  which  merchant 
ships  and  fishing  boats  would  be  at  least  in 
danger  by  observing  strictly  the  indications 
furnished  by  the  British  Admiralty. 

Similarly,  the  Dutch  Government  protested 
in  a  memorandum,  dated  Feb.  12,  1915, 
against  the  proclamation  by  the  German 
Government  of  a  large  portion  of  the  North 
Sea  and  the  Channel  as  a  zone  of  war. 

In  these  two  cases  the  Queen's  Government 
pointed  out  that,  according  to  the  law  of  na- 
tions, only  the  immediate  sphere  of  action  of 
the  belligerents'  military  operations  consti- 
tutes a  military  zone  in  which  a  belligerent's 
police  power  can  be  exercised.  A  zone  with 
an  area  of  the  whole  of  the  North  Sea  or  of 
a  large  part  of  this  sea  and  the  Channel 
could  not,  in  its  opinion,  be  considered  as  an 
immediate  sphere  of  action  for  operations  of 
war;  and  in  calling  such  areas  military  zones 
a  serious  blow  was  struck  at  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas. 

That  the  Netherlands  Government  protest- 
ed against  both  the  above-mentioned  cases  is 
only  a  reason  more  why  it  is  obliged  to  pro- 
test most  energetically  against  the  system 
now  instituted  by  your  Excellency's  Govern- 
ment, a  system  which  not  only  extends  over 
much  vaster  areas  but  which  also  suggests 
premeditated  attack  on  neutral  vessels,  what- 
ever their  cargo  or  destination,  and  without 
distinction  as  to  whether  their  presence  in 
the  aforesaid  areas  is  voluntary  or  due  to 
circumstances  independent  of  their  will. 

Even  if  the  Imperial  Government  had  de- 


HOLLAND  IN  THE  SUBMARINE  CONTROVERSY 


241 


scribed  as  a  blockade  the  measures  which  it 
had  just  adopted,  the  merciless  destruction 
of  every  neutral  ship  proceeding  to  or  leav- 
ing an  enemy  port  would  be  contrary  to  the 
law  of  nations,  which  recognizes  only  the 
confiscation  and  not  the  destruction  of  ships 
trying  to  break  a  blockade.  Moreover,  the 
term  "  blockade,"  ["  blocus  '"  in  the  French 
original  of  this  document,]  which  the  Imperial 
Government  has  rightly  avoided  using,  could 
evidently  not  be  applied  to  the  immense 
stretch  of  sea  covered  by  each  of  the  two 
zones  of  military  operations  indicated  in  the 
memorandum  which  your  Excellency  has 
transmitted  to  me ;  much  less  so,  since,  from 
the  standpoint  of  international  law,  a  block- 
ade is  directed  solely  against  traffic  to  and 
from  an  adversary's  ports  and  in  no  case 
against  navigation  directly  between  two 
neutral  countries.  Now,  in  the  aforesaid 
zones  the  Imperial  Navy  has  received  orders 
to  destroy  all  ships  it  meets  without  making 
the  least  distinction  between  those  proceed- 
ing to  or  leaving  an  enemy  port  and  those 
which  are  on  the  way  between  two  neutral 
ports  without  touching  at  an  enemy  port. 

Faithful  to  the  principle  which  it  has  con- 
stantly upheld  during  this  war,  the  Queen's 
Government  can  see  in  the  destruction  of 
neutral  vessels  by  belligerents  only  a  viola- 
tion of  the  established  law  of  nations,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  wrong  against  the  laws  of  hu- 
manity if  such  destruction  is  to  take  place 
without  any  regard  for  the  safety  of  the  peo- 
ple on  board. 

The  responsibility  for  the  destruction  of 
Dutch  ships  which  may  eventuate  in  the 
zones  under  discussion  and  for  the  loss  of 
human  lives  which  would  be  involved  will 
fall  on  the  German  Government.  Its  respon- 
sibility will  be  particularly  heavy  in  the 
cases  which  are  to  be  foreseen  where  vessels 
are  forced  to  enter  the  danger  zone  by  war- 
ships of  an  adversary  exercising  the  right  of 
visit  and  search. 

To  this  protest  Germany  paid  no  atten- 
tion. On  Feb.  22  seven  Dutch  steam- 
ships sailing  from  Falmouth,  England, 
were  attacked  by  a  German  submarine  a 
few  hours  after  they  left  port.  Six  of 
the  vessels,  the  Noorderdijk,  Zaandijk, 
Jacatra,  Bandoeng,  Gaasterland,  and 
,Eemland,  representing  a  total  of  over 
30,000  tons,  were  sunk — without  loss  of 
life.  The  seventh,  the  Menado,  was 
damaged,  but  towed  back  to  port.  Three, 
in  ballast,  wore  outward  bound  to  Amer- 
ica, and  the  others  homeward  bound  with 
cargoes  consisting  mainly  of  foodstuffs. 
They  had  arrived  at  Falmouth  on  various 
dates  and  had  been  released  by  the  Brit- 
ish authorities  at  the  special  request  of 
the  Netherlands  Government  in  the  be- 
lief that  the  German  submarines  would 


leave  the  ships  unmolested.  A  storm  of 
indignation  swept  through  Holland,  but 
the  German  Government  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  blame.  Foreign  Secretary  Zim- 
mermann,  replying  to  a  question  in  the 
Reichstag  on  Feb.  28,  said: 

In  the  name  of  the  Government  I  express 
regret  at  the  accident  which  occurred  a  few 
days  ago  to  Dutch  boats.  On  our  part,  how- 
ever, nothing  was  left  undone  to  prevent  it. 
In  no  way  is  the  Imperial  Government  blam- 
able.  The  Dutch  shipowners  naturally  desired 
to  get  their  ships  out  of  English  ports. 
Doubtless  they  were  not  ready  to  sail  on 
Feb.  10,  up  to  which  date  they  could  have 
gone  with  full  security. 

Then  we  put  before  them  the  dates  Feb.  22 
and  March  17,  stating  expressly  and  formal- 
ly that  on  the  previous  date  the  ships  would 
have  only  relative  security,  while  positive  se- 
curity could  be  guaranteed  for  March  17. 
The  reason  for  this  was  that  the  possibility 
existed  that  on  the  earlier  date  submarines, 
being  already  en  route,  they  might  not  all 
receive  our  message  granting  safe  conduct 
to  the  Dutch  vessels, 

When  the  Dutch  owners,  notwithstanding 
our  reiterated  warnings,  decided  in  favor  of 
the  earlier  date,  the  Minister  of  Marine  did 
everything  in  his  power  to  communicate  the 
order  to  all  submarines.  But  it  appears  he 
was  not  successful,  for,  although  a  complete 
report  on  the  incident  has  not  yet  been  re- 
ceived, it  appears  established  that  the  sink- 
ings are  attributable  to  a  German  submarine. 

I  can  only  repeat  regrets  of  the  Admiralty 
that  the  Dutch  merchant  marine  has  lost 
precious  ships.  The  incident  proves  how 
dangerous  it  is  to  navigate  the  prohibited 
zones,  and  gives  expression  to  our  wish  that 
neutral  navigators  cease  to  cross  the  zone, 
and  remain  in  their  ports.  Thus  they  really 
serve  their  own  interests  and  contribute  ef- 
fectively to  the  desired  end  that  freedom  of 
the  seas  be  rapidly  established. 

The  German  Government  also  tried  to 
appease  Dutch  anger  by  offering  to  re- 
place the  seven  ships  with  German 
freighters.  A  Dutch  Foreign  Office 
statement  issued  on  March  23  explained 
that  the  German  Government  on  March 
6  offered  to  pay  an  indemnity  for  the  loss 
of  members  of  the  crews  and  to  help  the 
owners  by  facilitating  the  purchase  of 
German  ships  after  the  war.  This  offer 
was  made  "  on  considerations  of  human- 
ity and  good  neighborship."  Further 
steps  led  to  a  reconsideration  of  the  offer 
by  Germany,  who  then  suggested  that 
Holland  rent  German  ships  "  on  reason- 
able conditions."  The  Dutch  Govern- 
ment rejected  the  offer,  and  the  owners 
of  the  ships  that  had  been  sunk  in  the 


242 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


circumstances  also  refused  to  accept  the 
proposal  of  indemnification  for  the  crews. 

In  Great  Britain  the  view  was  held 
that,  despite  the  protests  made  by  Hol- 
land, that  country  was  accepting  "  what- 
ever Germany  dictates  "  and  was  indors- 
ing "  Germany's  ruthless  action  by  ac-  * 
quiescing  in  illegal  submarine  warfare 
on  neutrals,"  and  that,  therefore,  it  was 
out  of  the  question  for  Holland  to  expect 
facilities  or  consideration  from  Great 
Britain.  These  words  were  used  in  a 
statement  issued  in  London  on  March  7 
and  were  inspired  by  the  fact  that  since 
the  new  German  submarine  campaign 
had  begun  Holland  had  held  up  practi- 
cally all  its  shipping,  thereby  depriving 
England  of  the  food  supplies  normally 
received  from  Holland. 

The  refusal  of  the  authorities  at  Rot- 
terdam to  permit  the  British  merchant 
steamer  Princess  Melita  to  enter  the  har- 
bor because  it  was  armed  provided  an- 
other bone  of  contention  between  the 
British  and  Dutch  Governments.  On 
March  9,  however,  when  the  Princess 
Melita  put  in  an  appearance  for  the  third 
time  after  having  thrown  its  armament 
overboard,  it  was  permitted  to  berth.  It 
was  supposed  that  the  Princess  Melita 
had  been  sent  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  British  Government  the  excuse  to  re- 
open the  whole  question  of  armed  mer- 
chantmen. The  Dutch  Government,  in 
its  Orange  Book  of  October,  1915,  had 


defined  its  attitude  as  one  prohibiting  all 
armed  merchantmen  from  entering  its 
ports.  The  German  military  menace 
on  the  eastern  frontier  and  Great  Brit- 
ain's control  of  the  sea  easily  accounted 
for  Holland's  indecision.  Germany 
wanted  armed  merchantmen  barred  al- 
together, while  Great  Britain  demanded 
that  they  should  be  admitted  to  Dutch 
ports  in  return  for  the  facilities  extend- 
ed to  Dutch  vessels  in  avoiding  German 
submarine  dangers. 

At  the  end  of  March  the  British  Gov- 
ernment insisted  that  a  certain  percent- 
age of  Dutch  merchant  tonnage  should 
carry  cargoes  to  British  destinations, 
and  on  the  Dutch  Government  refusing 
it  was  reported  that  forty  Dutch  steam- 
ers in  British  ports  were  to  be  confis- 
cated, if  they  could  not  be  acquired  other- 
wise. Many  of  these  vessels  had  been 
detained  from  six  to  eight  weeks.  The 
holding  back  of  the  grain  in  their  holds 
intensified  the  food  shortage  in  Holland, 
where  a  rule  reducing  the  bread  ration 
went  into  operation  on  April  2. 

The  situation  created  by  Germany's 
new  submarine  campaign  had  thus  in  the 
course  of  a  couple  of  months  developed 
several  new  issues,  with  the  result  that 
there  was  also  a  growth  of  hostile  feeling 
against  Great  Britain.  America's  entry 
into  the  war  brought  a  change  over  the 
whole  aspect  of  things,  but  at  this  writ- 
ing Holland's  attitude  is  undefined. 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From   March    19    Up   to   and    Including  April    18,    1917 


GERMAN-AMERICAN  RELATIONS 

On  March  21,  a  few  days  after  the  sinking-  of 
the  American  ships  Vigilancia,  City  of 
Memphis,  and  Illinois  by  German  sub- 
marines, President  Wilson  issued  a  proc- 
lamation calling  Congress  in  extra  session 
on  April  2.  On  March  24  he  ordered  the 
withdrawal  from  Belgium  of  Minister 
Whitlock,  all  American  Consular  officials, 
and  American  members  of  the  Commission 
for  Relief  in  Belgium.  Mr.  Whitlock  and 
most  of  the  relief  workers  left  Brussels 
for  Switzerland  on  April  2,  but  a  few 
Americans  who  were  working  where  the 


German  Army  was  in  operation,  by  agree- 
ment, remained  two  weeks  to  prevent  mili- 
tary disclosures. 

The  State  Department  formally  refused  Ger- 
many's request  to  extend  the  Prussian- 
American  treaties  of  1799  and  1828. 

President  Wilson  addressed  the  Congress  on 
April  2,  asking  that  body  to  declare  that 
Germany  had  been  making  war  upon  the 
United  States.  A  resolution  recognizing 
and  declaring  a  state  of  war  was  passed 
by  both  houses.  President  Wilson  signed 
it  April  6  and  at  the  same  time  issued  a 
proclamation  notifying  the  world  that  war 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


243 


had  been  begun  and  warning-  alien  enemies 
to  keep  the  peace. 

Defensive  war  zones  around  the  coasts  of 
the  United  States  were  announced  in  an 
executive  order. 

A  $7,000,000,000  war  loan  bill  providing  for  a 
loan  of  $3,000,000,000  to  the  Allies  was 
passed  by  Congress. 

On  April  15  President  Wilson  issued  a  proc- 
lamation to  the  people  setting  forth  the 
necessity  for  the  mobilization  of  all  the 
industrial  forces  of  the  nation  to  help  win 
the  war.  Another  proclamation,  issued 
April  16,  warned  alien  enemies  against 
committing  treasonable   acts. 

The  United  States  destroyer  Smith  reported 
that  she  was  attacked  by  a  German  sub- 
marine on  April  17  off  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

Several  American  ships  were  sunk  by  Ger- 
man  submarines. 

SUBMARINE   BLOCKADE 

On  March  23  Germany  declared  a  submarine 
blockade  of  the  Arctic  coast  of  Russia. 

The  British  Admiralty  announced  that 
twenty-four  British  steamers  were  sunk 
in  the  war  zone  in  the  week  ended  March 
18,  nineteen  in  the .  week  ended  April  8, 
and  nineteen  in  the  week  ended  April 
.  15.  A  dispatch  from  Berlin  dated  March 
26  reported  that  twenty-five  steamships, 
fourteen  sailing  vessels,  and  thirty-seven 
trawlers  had  been  sunk  within  a  few 
days.  An  additional  list  of  thirty-four 
vessels  sunk  in  March  was  given  out 
April  1.  Seven  Italian  ships  were  sunk 
without  warning  in  the  week  ended  April 
15.  The  Norwegian  Legation  in  London 
announced  that  in  February  and  March 
105  Norwegian  vessels  of  over  228,000 
tons  were  sunk  and  106  persons  killed  and 
222  missing.  An  official  tabulation  given 
out  by  the  United  States  Government 
showed  686  neutral  vessels,  including 
18  American,  sunk  by  German  sub- 
marines from  the  beginning  of  the  war 
up  to  April  3. 

Two  Danish  steamers  were  sunk  outside  the 
barred  zone. 

American  losses  for  the  month  included  the 
armed  steamer  Aztec  and  the  unarmed 
ships  Missourian  and  Seward.  The 
schooner  Marguerite  was  captured  and 
presumably  sunk. 

Two  British  hospital  ships,  the  Asturias  and 
the  Gloucester  Castle,  were  sunk.  The 
British  steamer  Alnwick  Castle  was  tor- 
pedoed 320  miles  from  land.  Four  boats 
containing  passengers  reached  Spain  with 
ten  dead.  Other  British  losses  included 
the  horse  transport  Canadian  and  the 
steamships  Crispin,  Eptafolos,  and  Snow- 
don  Range. 

Three  Belgian  relief  ships,  the  Camilla,  the 
Trevier,  and  the  Feistein  were  sunk  and 
two  others,  the  Tunisie  and  the  Haelen, 
were  attacked. 


Spain  protested  against  the  sinking  of  the 
Spanish  steamer  San  Fulgencio  without 
warning  and  demanded  an  indemnity. 
Later  the  Spanish  steamer  Tom  was  sunk, 
also  without  warning. 

Brazil  severed  relations  with  Germany  after 
the  sinking  of  the  steamer  Parana  in 
which  three  lives  were  lost,  and  seized  all 
German  ships  in  Brazilian  ports. 

Argentina,  on  April  10,  issued  a  declaration 
announcing  that  the  Government  supported 
the  position  of  the  United  States  with 
reference  to  Germany.  A  few  days  later 
two  Argentine  ships,  the  transport  Pamra 
and  the  sailing  vessel  Oriana,  were  sunk. 
Germans  were  ordered  from  a  suburb  of 
Buenos  Aires,  and  German  ships  in  Ar- 
gentine waters,  which  were  found  to  be 
damaged,  were  placed  under  guard.  Mobs 
in  Argentina  destroyed  much  German 
property. 

Guatemala  protested  to  Germany  against  the 
blockade  note  of  Feb.  1. 

Cuba  announced  on  April  7  that  a  state  of 
war  existed  with  Germany,  and  German 
ships  in  Havana  Harbor  were  seized. 

Panama  announced  her  support  of  the  United 
States. 

Costa  Rica  declared  her  approval  of  United 
States  course. 

Mexico  declared  neutrality;  also  Chile; 
Bolivia  severed  relations  with  Germany; 
Paraguay  and  Uruguay  declared  neu- 
trality. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE 

March  23— Russians  regain  positions  near  the 

Beresina  River  east  of  Lida. 
March    24— Russians    prepare    to    meet    huge 

concentration  of  Germans  on  the  northern 

front. 
March  27— Germans  force  Russians  back   by 

gas  attacks  in  the  Baranovichi  region. 
April  1— Russians  repel  repeated  Austrian  at- 
tacks near  Kirlibaba. 
April    4— Germans    defeat    the    Russians    and 

cross    the    Stokhod    River    near    Helenin ; 

capture  Toboly  bridgehead. 
April    6— Germans    occupy    part    of    Russian 

trenches  east  of  Plakanen,  but  are  driven 

out  by  counterattack. 
April  14— Germans  bombard  Brody. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE 

March  19— Germans  retreat  over  eighty-five- 
mile  front  extending  from  south  of  Arras 
to  Soissons ;  French  take  Ham,  Guiscard, 
and  Chauny ;  British  advance  slowly ;  Ger- 
mans make  slight  gains  at  Verdun  be- 
tween Avocourt  and  Dead  Man  Hill. 

March  20— French  occupy  Tergnier  and  reach 
the  outskirts  of  Roupy;  ruins  of  Coucy- 
le-Chateau  destroyed  by  Germans  ;  French 
beat  off  German  attacks  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Meuse. 

March  21— Germans  make  a  stand  on  the 
Arras-Cambrai-St.  Quentin-La  F6re  line; 
French    cross    the    Somme    Canal    at    two 


244 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


places,  driving  the  Germans  back  to 
Clastres  and  Montescourt ;  British  occupy 
forty  more  villages  south  and  southeast  of 
PSronne. 

March  22— French  cross  the  Ailette  River  at 
several  points. 

March   23— French   force    Germans   back   two 
miles  between  St.  Quentin  and  La  Fere;. 
Germans  inundate  the  district  around  La 
Fere. 

March  24— French  take  two  forts  protecting 
La  Fere  on  the  west  and  drive  Germans 
toward  St.  Quentin ;  British  occupy  Roisel. 

March  25— French  drive  Germans  back  to  the 
outskirts  of  Folembray  and  Coucy. 

March  26— British  capture  Lagnicourt,  west  of 
Cambrai ;  French  push  on  in  Coucy  forest 
and  capture  Folembray  and  La  Feuillee. 

March  27— French  capture  the  forest  of  Coucy ; 
British  take  Longavesnes,  Lieramont,  and 
Equancourt. 

March  28— British  press  on  north  of  Roisel  and 
capture  Villers-Faucon  and  the  heights 
crowned  by  Saulcourt ;  Germans  penetrate 
French  first-line  trenches  west  of  Maisons- 
de-Champagne. 

March  29— British  capture  Neuville  Bour- 
jonval. 

March  30— British  occupy  Ruyalcourt,  Fins, 
and  Sorel-le-Grand ;  French  recapture 
first-line  positions  west  of  Maisons-de- 
Champagne. 

March  31— St.  Quentin  menaced  on  three  sides 
as  British  take  Vermand  and  Marteville ; 
British  advance  up  the  Cologne  River  to 
within  striking  distance  of  the  Scheldt, 
capturing  eight  villages ;  French  push  the 
Germans  back  on  the  Vregny  plateau. 

April  1— British  capture  Savy  and  Epehy. 

April  2— British  drive  a  wedge  into  the  Ger- 
man positions  on  the  ridge  protecting  St. 
Quentin  from  the  west,  capturing  Holnon, 
Francilly,  and  Selency. 

April  3— French  storm  the  heights  south  and 
southwest  of  St.  Quentin  and  capture 
Dallon,  Giffecourt,  and  Cerizy,  and 
heights  south  of  Urvillers ;  British  occupy 
Maissemy  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Omignon  River,  Ronssoy  Wood,  and  Henin 
on  the  Cojeol  River. 

April  4— French  occupy  Grugies,  Urvillers, 
and  Moy,  south  of  St.  Quentin;  British 
take  Metz-en-Couture. 

April  5— Germans  attack  the  French  west  of 
Rheims  and  force  them  over  the  Aisne 
Canal  at  some  places ;  British  capture 
Ronssoy  and  Basse-Boulogne  east  of 
P6ronne. 

April  6— British  capture  Lempire  and  advance 
toward  Le  Catelet ;  French  retake  part  of 
positions  lost  north  of  Rheims. 

April  8— British  advance  on  a  front  of  3,000 
yards  north  of  the  Bapaume-Cambrai 
road ;  Germans  shell  Rheims  and  French 
Government  orders  the  civil  population  to 
evacuate  the  city. 

April  9— British  launch  offensive  on  twelve- 
mile  front  north  and  south  of  Arras,  pene- 


trating German  positions  to  a  depth  of 
from  two  to  three  miles,  and  capturing 
many  fortified  points,  including  Vimy 
Ridge. 

April  10— British  push  forward  as  far  as  the 
outskirts  of  Monchy-le-Preux  and  capture 
Fampoux  and  its  defenses  on  both  sides 
of  the  Scarpe  River. 

April  11— British  capture  Monchy-le-Preux 
and  heights  dominating  the  country  to- 
ward Cambrai. 

April  12— British  take  Wancourt  and  Haninel, 
some  positions  north  of  the  Scarpe  River 
and  drive  the  Germans  from  their  last 
footing  in  the  "Vimy  Ridge;  French  ad- 
vance between  Coucy  and  Quincy-Basse. 

April  13— British  capture  Ancres  and  the  town 
of  Vimy,  extending  their  line  of  advance 
from  the  Scarpe  River  to  Loos,  and  push 
on  west  of  Le  Catelet ;  French  attack  the 
Germans  south  of  St.  Quentin. 

April  14— British  take  Fayet,  Gricourt,  and 
Lievin,  the  western  suburb  of  Lens. 

April  15— French  guns  shell  St.  Quentin;  Bel- 
gians penetrate  Dixmude  as  far  as  the 
second  enemy  line. 

April  16— French  launch  an  offensive  on  a 
twenty-five-mile  front  between  Soissons 
and  Rheims,  capturing  the  German  first- 
line  positions  and  taking  over  10,000 
prisoners  and  reach  the  second  German 
line  at  six  points  in  Alsace ;  Germans  de- 
stroy St.  Quentin  Canal. 

April  17— French  pierce  new  German  line  on 
eleven-mile  front  from  Prunay  to  Aub- 
erive,  capturing  important  heights  and 
support  positions  from  Mount  Carnillet  to 
Vaudesincourt. 

April  18— French  Again  smash  the  Aisne  line 
and  capture  Chavonne,  Chivy,  Ostel,  and 
Braye-en-Laonnois,  press  forward  north 
of  Ostel,  reach  the  outskirts  of  Courtecon, 
and  take  Vailly  and  Conde-sur- Aisne ; 
British  take  Villers-Guislain,  reporting 
17,000  prisoners  and  much  booty  in  three 
days'  fighting,  threatening  German  lines 
so  as  to  make  further  withdrawals  in 
Rheims   region   inevitable. 

BALKAN   CAMPAIGN 

March  20— French  in  Macedonia  report  the 
capture  of  Rashtani,  Hill  1248,  and  the 
Snegoo  monastery  north  of  Monastir; 
British  take  prisoners  at  Brest  and  Poroy, 
east  of  Lake  Doiran. 

March  21 — French  driven  from  heights  north- 
east of  Tarnova  and  Anegovo. 

March  24 — Germans  take  Rumanian  frontier 
ridge  between  the  Solyomtar  and  Czo- 
banos  Valleys  from  the  Russians. 

April  2— Russians  in  Rumania  repulsed  on 
four-mile  front  on  both  sides  of  the  Oituz 
Valley. 

April  18 — Germans  burn  Braila  and  Foks- 
hani. 

ITALIAN  CAMPAIGN 

March    19 — Renewal    of    activity    reported; 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


245 


Austrian   raids   repulsed    in   the   Giumella 

"Valley   and    Lucati    sector. 
March  21 — Austrians   repulsed  on  Costabella 

Massif. 
April   17 — Intense   artillery   fire   reported    on 

the  Julian  front ;  Italians  bombard  Callano 

in  the  Lagarina  Valley. 
April  18— Italians  shell  Rovereto  Station  and 

trains  on  the  Sugana  Valley  Railway. 

ASIA  MINOR 

March  19— Russians  in  Persia  occupy  Harun- 
abad ;  British  cross  the  Diala  River  and 
occupy  Bahriz  and  part  of  Bakubah. 

March  21— Turkish  force  near  Aden  isolated 
from  headquarters ;  another  Arabian 
chieftain  rises  against  the  Turks ;  Rus- 
sians cross  the  Mesopotamian  frontier 
into  Turkish  territory  to  join  the  British. 

March  23— Russians  attack  the  Turks  along 
the  Shirwan  River. 

March  26— Russians  pursue  the  Turks  into 
Mosul  Vilayet. 

March  29— British  rout  a  Turkish  army  of 
20,000  in  battle  near  Gaza. 

March  31— British  advance  north  of  Bagdad 
and  occupy  Kalaat  Felujah,  Sheraban, 
Dely  Abbas,  and  the  areas  of  Deltawah 
and   Sindirjah. 

April  2— Russians  occupy  Miatague  Peitaht 
and  Serpoule  and  force  the  Turks  toward 
the  Mesopotamian  border. 

April  5— Russians  occupy  Khaninkin  and  Kas- 
richirln  and  get  into  touch  with  British 
patrols. 

April  7— Russians  land  on  Turkish  territory 
on  the  Black  Sea  coast  east  of  Samsoon. 

April  12— British  capture  Turkish  territory  to 
a  depth  of  fifteen  miles  in  the  region  of 
Gaza. 

April  14— Turks  routed  in  battle  north  of 
Bagdad. 

April  16— British  drive  Turks  back  to  their 
positions  on  the  Jebel  Hamrin  hills. 

AERIAL  RECORD 

Italians  bombarded  the  railway  station  at 
Galliano  and  brought  down  two  Austrian 
airplanes. 

Russian  airplanes  set  Braila  on  fire  April  1. 

On  April  7  large  squadrons  of  British  air- 
planes were  sent  up  over  the  new  German 
lines  on  the  western  front  to  photograph 
enemy  positions.  The  greatest  air  battle 
of  the  war  followed.  Forty-eight  German 
airplanes  and  ten  captive  balloons  were 
brought  down  by  the  British,  who  lost 
twenty-eight  of  their  own  machines,  but 
succeeded  in  taking  1,700  photographs. 

Allied  airplanes  raided  Freiburg  April  14. 
Eleven  persons  were  killed  and  twenty- 
seven  wounded. 

American  Aviator  Genet  killed  in  France. 

-  NAVAL  RECORD 
The  French  warship  Danton  torpedoed  in  the 

Mediterranean    Sea    March    19,    and    296 

sailors  were  drowned. 
On  March  22  Berlin  announced  that  the  Ger- 


man raider  Mowe  had  returned  to  her 
home  port  from  a  second  cruise  in  the 
Atlantic  in  which  she  captured  twenty- 
seven  vessels. 

England  announced  an  extension  of  the  boun- 
daries of  the  North  Sea  danger  area,  cut- 
ting safety  lanes  off  Holland  and  Den- 
mark. 

The  French  bark  Cambronne  arrived  at  Rio 
Janeiro  March  30  carrying  the  crews  of 
eleven  steamers  and  sailing  vessels  sunk 
by  the  German  raider  Seeadler  in  the 
South  Atlantic. 

During  the  night  of  March  28-29  German 
warships  cruised  in  the  barred  zone  off 
the  south  coast  of  England  and  sank  the 
British  patrol  trawler  Mascot. 

One  German  destroyer  was  sunk  and  another 
damaged  off  the  Belgian  coast  April  8. 

The  American  Line  steamship  New  York 
struck  a  mine  near  the  coast  of  England 
on  April  10,  but  was  only  slightly  damaged 
and  reached  her  dock  unaided. 

The  British  hospital  ship  Salta  was  sunk  by 
a  mine  in  the  English  Channel. 

A  German  submarine  made  an  unsuccessful 
attack  on  the  U.  S.  destroyer  Smith  on 
April  17,  about  100  miles  south  of  New 
York. 

RUSSIA 

The  former  Czar  and  Czarina  were  taken  to 
Tsarskoe  Selo.  Other  high  dignitaries  of 
the  old  regime  were  imprisoned.  The 
United  States  extended  partial  recognition 
to  the  new  Government  on  March  21. 

The  Central  Committee  and  Parliamentary 
representatives  of  the  Constitutional 
Democratic  Party  at  Petrograd  voted  in 
favor  of  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. A  committee  was  appointed  to 
settle  the  affairs  of  Poland  and  the  Pro- 
visional Government  announced  its  wish 
that  Poland  decide  for  itself  the  form  of 
government  it  desired.  Religious  free- 
dom was  proclaimed  April  4  and  many 
other  reforms  are  under  consideration, 
including    woman    suffrage. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Austria-Hungary  severed  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  the  United  States  on  April  7. 
Austrian  ships  in  American  ports  were 
seized. 

The  German  Emperor  ordered  Chancellor  von 
Bethmann  Hollweg  to  submit  to  him  pro- 
posals for  the  reform  of  the  Prussian 
electoral  law.  Strikes  in  Berlin  followed 
a  reduction  in  bread  rations.  Thousands 
of  workers  left  the  munitions  plants. 

Greece  presented  a  note  to  Italy  insisting 
upon  the  withdrawal  of  Italian  troops 
from  Epirus  to  Avlona. 

Anew  Cabinet  was  formed  in  France,  headed 
by  Alexandre  Ribot. 

Chinese  troops  occupied  without  opposition 
the  German  concessions  at  Tien-tsin  and 
Hankow. 


Allied  Successes  in  France 


Period  from   March    18  to  April  17,  1917 

By    J.    B.  W.  Gardiner 

Formerly  Lieutenant  Eleventh  United  States  Cavalry 


THE  past  month  has  seen  the  most 
important  developments  in  the 
European  war  since  the  first 
months  of  its  progress.  These 
have  been  principally  three,  all  distinct- 
ly hurtful  to  Germany:  The  retreat  on 
the  western  front,  which  includes  the 
battle  of  Arras;  the  operations  in  the 
Near  East,  and,  finally,  the  entrance  of 
the  United  States  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies.  All  theatres  other  than  those 
mentioned  have  been  extremely,  ominous- 
ly quiet.  • 

The  great  German  retreat  was  well 
under  way  as  the  review  for  April  was 
being  written,  but  it  had  not  progressed 
to  the  point  where  any  conclusions  were 
admitted.  The  German  press  at  the  out- 
set confused  the  entire  issue.  Its  state- 
ments may  then  be  ignored. 

In  the  first  place  the  German  retreat 
was  not  voluntary,  but  was  forced.  The 
battle  of  the  Somme,  biting  as  it  did  deep 
into  the  German  lines,  produced  a  wedge 
which  seriously  threatened  the  Noyon 
salient.  Only  a  little  more,  and  the 
troops  in  this  salient  would  have  been 
unable  to  retire.  The  Germans  saw  the 
threat  to  this  large  body  of  men,  so  drew 
back  from  the  danger  before  it  had  an 
opportunity  actually  to  strike  them.  To 
this  extent  the  retreat  was  a  strategical 
move.  That  the  movement  was  made 
with  a  view  to  shortening  the  lines  and 
thereby  strengthening  them  may  be  en- 
tirely possible  as  a  subsidiary  thought, 
but  it  was  not  the  moving  factor.  The 
theory  that  von  Hindenburg  simply 
wished  to  draw  the  Allies  out  of  the 
trenches  into  the  open  and  then  defeat 
them  has  also  been  exploded. 

The  matter  of  the  withdrawal  itself  is 
most  interesting.  It  was  assumed  in 
many  quarters  that  the  line  on  which  the 
Germans  would  stand  was  through  Laon, 
La  Fere,  St.  Quentin,  and  Cambrai.  This 


was  a  perfectly  logical  conclusion,  as  it 
had  its  basis  in  the  existing  railroads 
connecting  these  places.  In  fact,  but 
little  has  happened  since  to  give  rise  to 
any  doubt  that  the  German  intention  was 
different  from  that  outlined.  The  dis- 
tance from  Noyon  to  the  new  line  was 
very  much  greater  than  that  from  the 
Bapaume  position  to  Cambrai.  Never- 
theless, it  was  the  Bapaume  line  which 
first  gave  way. 

This  would  indicate  that  the  German 
retirement  took  place  ahead  of  schedule 
time  because  of  the  British  pressure 
along  the  Ancre,  and  the  way  in  which 
the  Germans  have  since  been  handled  by 
both  the  British  and  the  French  would 
seem  to  increase  the  probability  that  this 
was  the  case.  Nevertheless,  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  retreat  were  thoroughly 
made  and  the  requisite  transport  was  at 
hand. 

Rapid  French  Pursuit 

The  Germans,  as  they  fell  back,  de- 
stroyed all  the  railroad  lines,  blew  up  the 
roads  and  roadbeds,  and  did  all  else  that 
could  in  any  way  hinder  the  pursuit  of 
the  allied  armies.  That  they  went  be- 
yond this  and,  in  a  blind,  ruthless  orgy  of 
destruction,  razed  to  the  ground  every 
building  however  unadapted  it  might  be 
to  military  purposes  is  beside  the  point. 
This  is  merely  another  interesting  phase 
of  German  psychology.  But  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  Germans  were  able  to 
get  away  with  small  loss,  the  French  and 
the  British  were  apparently  as  prepared 
to  follow  as  the  Germans  were  to  fall 
back.  The  French  in  particular  did 
brilliant  work  in  this  respect.  The  pur- 
suit on  the  southern  part  of  the  line, 
which  was  held  by  the  French,  was  ex- 
tremely rapid — much  more  rapid  than 
any  one  had  anticipated. 

Not  for  a  moment,  it  seemed,  was  con- 


ALLIED  SUCCESSES  IN  FRANCE 


247 


BATTLE  LINE  IN  FRANCE,  APRIL  18,  1917.     THE  WHOLE  REGION  FROM  BAPAUME,  PERONNE 
AND    NESLE,    AS   FAR    EAST    AS   THE    BLACK   LINE,    WAS    DEVASTATED    BY   THE   GERMANS 

IN    THEIR    RECENT    RETREAT 


tact  lost.  The  French  engineers  fol- 
lowed the  Germans  closely,  reconstruct- 
ing and  rebuilding,  and  the  French  in- 
fantry and  artillery  pressed  the  situation 
closely.  The  pursuit  evidently  surprised 
the  Germans,  who,  before  they  had  an 
opportunity  to  stop  and  fight,  found  their 
line  interfered  with,  if  not  actually  cut. 
La  Fere  seemed  to  be  the  point  at  which 
the  French  advance  was  directed.  With- 
out fighting  any  heavy  engagements  the 
French  reached  and  occupied  the  town 


of  Tergnier,  within  two  miles  of  La  Fere. 
This  completely  eliminated  the  latter 
town  as  a  point  of  German  vantage. 

Further  south,  along  the  Aillette  River, 
the  French  came  to  their  first  stumbling 
block.  This  river  stands  as  a  guard  to 
the  great  patches  of  wood  south  of  the 
La  Fere  position,  and  is  known  as  the 
lower  and  upper  forests  of  Coucy  and 
the  Woods  of  St.  Gobain.  This  river 
was  crossed,  however,  after  heavy  fight- 
ing, and,  finally,  pushing  ahead  on  the 


248 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


southern  end  of  the  line,  the  French  took 
the  village  of  Coucy.  The  lower  forests 
of  Coucy  were  occupied,  bringing  the 
French  to  the  edge  of  the  forest  of  St. 
Gobain.  Here  the  French  came  to  a 
halt,  as  it  was  evident  that  they  had 
reached  the  main  defenses  of  the  Ger- 
man line  to  which  von  Hindenburg  had 
intended  to  retreat. 

Further  north  the  Germans  were  not 
so  fortunate  in  checking  the  French. 
From  just  east  of  Tergnier,  the  French 
fought  their  way  eastward,  pivoting 
their  line  on  the  Tergnier  position,  and 
pressed  the  Germans  back  against  the 
Oise  River  as  far  north  as  the  town  of 
Moy.  This  threw  the  French  well  to  the 
east  of  St.  Quentin  and  in  a  position  to 
work  their  way,  without  meeting  any 
natural  obstacles,  in  rear  of  the  town. 
This  they  did,  driving  due  north  from 
Moy  until  they  had  reached  a  point  just 
south  of  Neuville.  Their  line  then 
swung  westward  near  the  suburbs  of  St. 
Quentin,  along  all  the  high  ground  south 
of  the  city.  This  was  certainly  not  in 
accordance  with  the  German  plan,  as  it 
brought  every  means  of  exit  from  the 
city  directly  under  the  fire  even  of  the 
smaller  French  artillery. 

The  British  Advance 

The  British,  on  the  other  hand,  had  a 
much  more  difficult  road  to  travel.  Be- 
cause of  the  shorter  distance  which  the 
Germans  had  to  pass  over,  their  retreat, 
after  the  line  first  began  to  give  way, 
was  much  slower,  and  the  pursuit  was 
conducted  with  constant  fighting,  mostly 
of  heavy  rear-guard  character.  The 
British  object  was  to  prevent  the  use  of 
Cambrai  in  the  same  way  as  the  French 
had  impaired  if  not  destroyed  the  useful- 
ness of  St.  Quentin. 

The  pivot  of  the  German  retreat  in  the 
north  was  a  point  on  the  southern  tip  of 
Vimy  Ridge,  a  position  before  which  so 
many  French  had  lost  their  lives,  and 
which  was  believed  to  be  practically  im- 
pregnable. No  effort  was  made  against 
it,  the  British  expending  all  of  their  ef- 
forts toward  reaching  the  line  of  the 
Scheldt  River.  Here  the  British  gave 
the  best  indication  of  their  fighting 
strength.  Each  day  recorded  a  new  ad- 
vance of  greater  or  less  extent  on  the 


entire  front  from  the  Vimy  Ridge  to  St. 
Quentin,  where  the  British  and  French 
joined.  The  result  was  more  than  satis- 
factory to  the  British  commander. 

As  this  review  is  being  written  the 
British  have  thrown  a  loop  around  St. 
Quentin  on  the  north  and  west  which 
brings  their  lines  so  near  to  those  of  the 
French  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  Ger- 
mans to  keep  control  or  possession  of  the 
city  much  longer.  More  important  still, 
the  British  are  but  a  little  over  a  mile 
from  the  Scheldt  River,  with  the  Ger- 
mans in  between.  It  seems  certain  that 
before  these  lines  appear  the  Germans 
will  have  fallen  behind  the  river,  from 
which  the  British  cannot  force  them  ex- 
cept by  a  flanking  movement,  to  be  made 
at  some  time  in  the  future. 

While  the  fighting  west  of  the 
Scheldt  was  at  its  height  the  British, 
after  a  terrific  artillery  preparation, 
suddenly  launched  an  attack  against  the 
Vimy  Ridge,  the  pivot  of  the  German  re- 
tirement. Here  was  the  first  positive 
indication  that  the  Germans,  in  addition 
to  being  outgunnued  and  outmunitioned, 
outfed  and  outmanned,  were  also  out- 
generaled. The  Germans  gave  out  offi- 
cially that  by  their  retirement  they  had 
completely  upset  the  British  plan  for  an 
attack  on  the  Somme  and  delayed  any 
other  attack  indefinitely  because  of  the 
necessity  of  reconstructing  the  transport 
system.  The  probabilities  were,  how- 
ever, that  the  British  never  intended  to 
attack  on  that  section  of  the  front  af- 
fected by  the  German  retreat.  On  the 
contrary,  it  now  seems  that  the  British 
commander,  undoubtedly  acquainted  with 
the  fact  that  a  retreat  was  coming,  had 
laid  his  plans  for  an  attack  which  would 
produce  the  same  result  on  the  line  north 
of  Arras  as  the  Somme  had  produced  in 
the  south. 

In  one  day's  fighting  the  Canadian 
troops,  who  held  the  centre  of  the  at- 
tacking line,  swept  to  the  crest  of  Vimy 
Ridge  and  well  over  it,  forcing  the  Ger- 
mans down  the  eastern  slope.  It  was 
here,  too,  that  for  the  first  time  the 
Germans  gave  indications  of  going  to 
pieces.  There  was  a  temporary  de- 
moralization in  their  ranks  which  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  fighting,  for,  almost 


ALLIED  SUCCESSES  IN  FRANCE 


249 


immediately  following  the  first  attack, 
the  British  pushed  this  new  wedge  fully 
five  miles  into  the  German  lines. 

Since  these  early  days  the  advance  has 
been  further  extended,  but  the  first  blow 
netted  five  miles.  The  Germans  were 
entirely  unprepared  for  any  such  action 
as  this.  The  amount  and  character  of 
booty  captured  show  how  completely 
swept  off  their  feet  they  were.  Nearly 
200  guns,  some  of  them  of  large  calibre, 
an  enormous  quantity  of  shell,  15,000 
prisoners,  loaded  wagon  trains  and 
transports,  all  of  which  there  was  suf- 
ficient time  to  remove  or  destroy — these 
are  the  things  which  tell  the  story  much 
more  vividly  than  the  official  reports. 

As  this  review  is  being  written,  (April 
20,)  the  British  are  in  the  streets  of  the 
great  coal  mining  centre  of  Lens,  in  pos- 
session of  half  of  the  town  and  fighting 
desperately  for  the  other  half.  The  ad- 
vantage now  on  this  section  of  the  front 
all  lies  with  the  British.  All  of  the  high 
ground  overlooking  the  coal  fields  and 
the  great  plain  of  Northern  France  now 
stretches  out  before  them.  Douai,  which 
must  now  become  a  point  on  the  new 
line,  is  in  plain  sight,  with  the  Germans 
everywhere  recoiling  toward  it.  It  may 
well  be,  from  the  desperate  character  of 
the  fighting,  that  the  battle  of  Europe 
is  now  being  fought. 

Turkish  Armies  in  Retreat 

In  the  Near  Eastern  theatre  matters 
have  gone  very  ill  with  the  Turks.  Beaten 
in  every  engagement  by  the  British,  the 
resistance  offered  to  the  Russians  in 
Persia  suddenly  gave  way,  and,  without 
any  opposition,  the  Russians  drove  for- 


ward past  the  Persian  frontiers  into 
Mesopotamia  and  effected  a  junction 
with  the  British,  cutting  off  in  the  proc- 
ess a  considerable  portion  of  the  Turkish 
Army.  This  junction  means  the  down- 
fall of  the  Turkish  opposition.  Nothing 
approaching  this  in  importance  has  hap- 
pened in  this  theatre  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war.  It  has  been  a  long  time 
coming,  and  has  been  most  bitterly 
fought  for,  but  its  importance  cannot  be 
overestimated.  Turkey  is  more  than 
weakened.  She  is  in  danger  of  dismem- 
berment even  before  the  war  closes.  A 
successful  revolution  in  Arabia,  an  up- 
rising in  Syria,  defeats  in  the  Holy  Land, 
the  loss  of  almost  all  of  Armenia,  the 
occupation  of  a  great  part  of  Meso- 
potamia— all  these  disasters  have  shaken 
Turkish  rule  in  Asia  to  the  very  founda- 
tions. It  is  questionable  how  much 
longer  the  Sultan  can  hold  out  and  keep 
his  followers  and  his  army  loyal. 

Finally,  to  complete  the  list  of  German 
disasters  for  the  month,  German  bar- 
baric cruelty  and  ruthlessness  forced  the 
United  States  to  the  admission  that  a 
state  of  war  existed  with  the  German 
Empire.  America  has  a  potential  force 
of  15,000,000  men,  can  put  up  if  need  be 
seventy-five  billion  of  dollars,  and  has 
the  greatest  resources  for  food  -and 
manufacturing  of  any  nation  in  the 
world.  The  navy  is  nearly  as  large  in 
itself  as  that  of  Germany,  and  if  any 
one  factor  were  needed  to  give  to  the 
world  assurance  of  the  solidity  and  per- 
manence of  democratic  rule  as  opposed 
to  autocracy,  the  action  of  this,  the  most 
pacific  of  great  democracies,  has  fur- 
nished it. 


German  Version  of  the  Month's 

Fighting 

March   17  to  April   17,  1917 


FROM  the  official  German  stand- 
point the  events  in  the  western 
theatre  of  the  war  during  April 
differ  from  the  allied  reports.  The 
following  summary  of  the  month's  fight- 
ing was  compiled  exclusively  from  the 
official  reports  issued  by  the  War  Office 
in  Berlin  and  other  German  sources. 

The  Germans  assert  that  the  retire- 
ment at  three  different  points  on  an 
eighty-five-mile  front  from  south  of  Arras 
to  Soissons  on  the  Aisne,  which  was  tak- 
ing place  in  the  middle  of  March  and 
leaving  a  large  number  of  towns  and  vil- 
lages in  the  hands  of  the  British  and 
French,  "was  part  of  a  definite  plan." 
These  strategic  movements  had  been 
"  prepared  long  ago  and  were  carried  out 
without  being  disturbed  by  the  enemy, 
who  followed  in  a  hesitating  manner." 
The  "  protecting  troops,  by  perspicacious 
and  energetic  conduct,  cast  a  veil  over 
the  abandonment  of  the  positions  and  the 
departure  of  our  troops."  In  the  aban- 
doned districts  the  means  of  communica- 
tion useful  to  the  enemy  were  destroyed. 

The  Berlin  official  report  of  March  22 
said  that  spirited  fighting  in  the  district 
on  both  sides  of  the  Somme  and  the  Oise 
had  "  an  issue  favorable  to  us,"  and  the 
next  day's  report  contained  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  French  troops,  which  on  both  sides  of 
St.  Simon  had  crossed  the  Somme-Crozat 
Canal,  were  repulsed  by  an  attack  against 
and  beyond  those  sectors.  The  enemy 
suffered  sanguinary  losses  and  lost  230 
prisoners,  as  well  as  several  machine 
guns  and  carts. 

"  Between  the  Oise  and  the  Aisne  dur- 
ing the  evening  hours  engagements  de- 
veloped west  and  south  of  Margival.  At- 
tacks by  strong  French  forces  were  re- 
pulsed with  heavy  losses  under  our  fire 
and  by  a  counterattack." 

German  View  of  Retreat 

An  account  of  the  German  retirement 


given  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Berliner 
Tageblatt  was  as  follows : 

"  Till  the  last  moment  the  exploding 
platoons  remained  in  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages to  finish  the  work  of  destruction, 
and  then  fight  their  way  back  the  best 
they  could.  The  general  system  of  re- 
treat was  something  marvelous.  Every 
detachment  knew  exactly  which  way  to 
turn.  Every  column  had  its  way  pre- 
scribed, and,  despite  this  gigantic  move- 
ment of  man,  beast,  and  truck,  there  were 
no  blockades,  no  congestion  anywhere,  all 
arriving  exactly  at  the  prescribed  hour. 
Messengers  rode  about  to  notify  the  dif- 
ferent commands  of  the  time  to  start, 
while  at  the  same  time  gigantic  motor 
cars  distributed  enormous  quantities  of 
explosives  to  the  pioneer  platoons. 

"  Wherever  possible,  without  attract- 
ing the  special  attention  of  the  natives  or 
the  Allies,  houses  were  burned  down  days 
before  the  evacuation.  Walls  that  would 
not  fall  were  exploded  wheh  the  Allies 
were  in  the  heat  of  an  artillery  fight, 
suggesting  the  tremendous  effect  of  their 
fire.  These  preparations  took  many  days, 
but  toward  the  end  heavy  fogs  in  the 
mornings  and  cloudy  atmosphere  in  the 
afternoons  permitted  the  burning  of  vil- 
lages without  concealment.  And  to  think, 
the  Allies  never  had  the  slightest  idea  of 
what  was  going  on!  They  never  inter- 
fered with  the  German  plans  of  destruc- 
tion, and  never  thought  of  shelling  the 
German  lines  of  communication,  while 
endless  columns  marched  over  them.  The 
last  I  saw  was  German  machine-gun  pla- 
toons disappearing  among  the  ruins  and 
German  patrols  taking  what  little  part 
was  left  to  await  the  Allies.  Slowly,  with 
enormous  losses,  the  hostile  hordes  are 
now  feeling  their  way  through  the  dan-, 
gers  lurking  all  about  them." 

Another  correspondent's  story  contains 
the  following: 

"  The  country  behind  the  allied  trenches 
had  been  covered  with  a  great  network  of 


GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MONTH'S  FIGHTING 


251 


railways  and  roads  for  heavy  mortars 
which  would  enable  them  to  move  divi- 
sions and  army  corps  with  lightning 
speed  and  so  concentrate  unexpectedly  on 
any  weak  spot  of  the  German  line  they 
might  discover  while  shamming  a  gen- 
eral attack  along  the  whole  front.  Day 
after  day  German  fliers  watched  the 
mountains  of  ammunition  and  provisions 
pile  up  at  the  British  base,  to  which  well- 
metaled  white  roads  reached  out  from  the 
trenches .  like  tentacles  of  some  ghastly 
monster  to  suck  in  the  whole  world  for 
slaughter  and  destruction.  Billions  of 
dollars'  worth  of  material,  iron,  wood, 
and  cement,  and  the  labor  of  a  vast  army 
was  sunk  in  this  ground  between  the 
British  trenches  and  the  base.  All  these 
gigantic  preparations  were  conducted 
with  truly  English  naivete,  for  any  other 
nation  would  have  told  itself  that  fliers 
watching  them  day  by  day  would  have 
long  ago  supplied  the  German  General 
Staff  with  very  exact  data  of  what  was 
going  on. 

"  Then  all  of  a  sudden  mysterious 
movements  began  on  the  German  side. 
Soldiers,  taking  with  them  their  kits  and 
all  other  belongings,  left  the  trenches  and 
dugouts.  The  mountains  of  munitions 
grew  rapidly  less  by  the  efforts  of  many 
hundreds  of  huge  mortar  carriers,  of 
wagons  drawn  by  eight  horses,  streaming 
incessantly,  day  and  night,  over  the 
groundless  roads  which  nobody  now 
thought  of  repairing  any  more. 

"  Whole  villages  disappeared  over 
night,  their  inhabitants  being  concen- 
trated in  a  few  singled-out  towns  and 
places  where  they  were  comparatively 
safe  and  from  where  they  might  easily 
reach  their  own  people  when  the  time 
would  come.  Of  bush  and  trees,  nothing 
was  left  standing  that  might  serve  the 
Allies  as  cover.  Even  the  belongings 
were  removed  from  the  houses  before  the 
latter  were  leveled  to  the  ground.  Night 
after  night  the  artillery  rolled  back  in 
an  endless  chain,  followed  by  regiment 
after  regiment  of  silent  gray  war  lords. 

"  Small  troops  armed  with  machine 
guns  remained  behind,  however,  and  kept 
up  a  sham  of  trench  war.  So  well  did 
they  succeed  in  deceiving  the  British 
that  they  often  drew  the  British  heavy 
guns  to  furious  bombardments  of  what 


was  already  a  deserted  strip  of  land. 
Behind  their  new  positions,  ten  to  fifteen 
kilometers  back,  the  Germans  chuckled 
when  they  read  in  the  British  reports  of 
the  explosions  of  German  munition  maga- 
zines caused  by  the  never-failing  British 
gunfire.  They  knew  only  too  well  that 
another  village  had  been  leveled,  another 
bridge  blown  up  by  the  astute  German 
pioneers. 

"  When  finally  the  British  hesitatingly 
felt  their  way  into  what  were  once  the 
German  lines,  they  discovered  between 
the  Oise  and  Arras  a  lifeless  chaos  which 
baffled  all  their  zealous  preparation  of 
many  months  for  the  deadly  blow  that 
would  now  fall  on  the  air." 

A  Successful  Retirement 
An  official  report  on  March  25  stated 
that  "  the  German  rear  guards  engaged 
with  hostile  forces  near  Beaumetz  and 
Roisel  and  east  of  the  Crozat  Canal  fell 
back  after  inflicting  heavy  losses,  and 
that  a  French  attack  northeast  of  Sois- 
sons  was  repulsed."  Again,  on  March 
27,  a  French  attack  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Oise,  near  La  Fere,  "failed  with 
heavy  losses."  "  The  German  retirement 
continued  to  be  conducted  with  the  great- 
est success."  On  March  31,  however, 
"  between  the  road  from  Peronne  to  Gou- 
zeaucourt  and  the  lowland  of  Omignon 
Brook  the  English,  in  engagements  in 
which  they  suffered  heavy  losses,  ad- 
vanced their  line  for  a  distance  of  from 
two  to  three  kilometers." 

Heavy  fighting  took  place  between 
Arras  and  the  Aisne  on  April  1  and  2, 
"  notably  between  the  roads  leading  from 
Bapaume  to  Croiselles  and  Bapaume  to 
Cambrai,  as  well  as  on  both  banks  of 
the  Somme,  west  of  St.  Quentin.  The 
British  and  the  French  launched  strong 
forces,  which,  because  of  the  effect  of 
our  artillery  fire,  flowed  back  several 
times,  and^  which  only  after  considerable 
losses,  which  included  fifty  prisoners  and 
some  machine  guns,  gained  ground  be- 
cause of  our  troops  giving  way,  as  had 
been  ordered." 

In  the  official  report  of  April  9,  de- 
scribing the  first  day  of  the  battle  of 
Arras,  it  was  stated  that  the  enemy  had 
forced  his  way  into  parts  of  the  German 
positions.    On  April  10  the  report  said: 


252 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


"  In  stubbornly  resisting  the  superiority 
of  the  enemy  two  of  our  divisions  suf- 
fered considerable  losses.  The  British 
succeeded  in  penetrating  our  positions  on 
the  roads  radiating  from  Arras,  but  did 
not  break  through." 

The  Frankfort  Gazette  stated  positive- 
ly that  the  German  line  had  not  been 
broken  east  of  Arras  and  that  the  attack 
did  not  take  the  General  Staff  by  sur- 
prise, but  had  been  provided  for  in  its 
plans.  Heavy  losses  were  admitted,  but, 
said  that  journal,  "  the  defense  of  the 
western  front  will  cost  us  heavy  sacri- 
fices this  year,  but  they  will  not  be  in 
vain." 

The  impression  sought  to  be  created  by 
the  German  press  was  that  the  battle  of 
Arras  was  an  event  of  "  only  local  im- 
portance, though  lamentable  in  its  results." 
"  It  had,  however,  been  soon  brought 
to  a  standstill  and  did  not  in  any  way 
affect  the  strategic  situation.  It  was 
part  of  the  plan  of  the  Anglo-French 
command,  foiled  in  its  intentions  of  de- 
livering a  shattering  blow  on  the  Somme 
front,  to  roll  up  the  new  Hindenburg 
line  by  assaults  on  both  flanks,  at  Sois- 
sons  and  Arras.     Both  attempts  failed." 

Field  Marshal  von  Hindenburg,  in  an 
interview,  avowed  his  confidence  in  the 
strength  of  the  German  fronts  on  the 
west  and  east,  and  expressed  a  convic- 
tion that  the  submarine  campaign  would 
not  fail. 

"  Unfounded  "  Excitement 

The  official  reports  continued  to  speak 
of  attacks  repulsed  with  heavy  losses 
during  the  succeeding  days  of  the  battle 
of  Arras,  but  on  April  13  the  military 
critic  of  the  Berlin  Vossische  Zeitung 
wrote  that  he  had  received  many  letters 
which  proved  that  "  the  nerves  of  many 
readers  are  beginning  to  give  way."  He 
dwelt  on  the  "  unfounded "  excitement 
which,  he  said,  was  spreading  among 
those  at  home,  and  he  warned  the  public 
not  to  judge  the  situation  from  single 
events,  but  to  take  events  as  a  whole  into 
consideration. 

The  German  War  Office  report  of  April 
15  stated: 

"  On  the  Arras  battlefield,  as  the  result 
of  the  removal  of  our  line  north  of  the 
Scarpe,  only  minor  engagements  occurred, 


in  which  the  enemy  suffered  heavy  losses. 
From  the  Scarpe  lowlands  to  the  Arras- 
Cambrai  railway  violent  fighting  occurred 
yesterday  morning.  British  divisions 
in  heavy  masses  attacked  repeatedly, 
but  were  always  repulsed  with  san- 
guinary losses.  In  addition  to  these  Brit- 
ish sacrifices,  a  counterthrust  by  our 
troops  resulted  in  the  capture  of  300 
prisoners  and  twenty  machine  guns." 

That  the  fighting  was  no  longer  merely 
of  local  importance  was  indicated  in  the 
report  issued  at  the  end  of  the  first  day 
of  the  new  French  offensive,  April  16: 
"  On  the  Aisne  a  great  French  attempt 
to  break  through,  with  a  far-distant  ob- 
ject, has  commenced  after  a  ten  days' 
mass  fire.  A  bitter  fight  is  proceeding 
on  a  forty-kilometer  front  around  our 
foremost  positions." 

Finally,  the  report  of  April  17  says 
that  "  one  of  the  greatest  battles  of  the 
mighty  war,  and,  therefore,  also  in  the 
world's  history,  is  in  progress  on  the 
River  Aisne."    The  report  continues : 

"  In  the  Champagne  this  morning 
fighting  between  Prunay  and  Auberive 
developed,  the  battle  line  thereby  extend- 
ing from  the  River  Oise  into  the  Cham- 
pagne. Our  troops  anticipate  with  entire 
confidence  the  coming  heavy  fighting. 

"  A  great  French  attempt  to  break 
through  yesterday,  the  object  of  which 
was.  far-reaching,  failed.  The  losses  of 
the  enemy  were  very  heavy.  More  than 
2,100  prisoners  remained  in  our  hands. 
Where  the  enemy  at  a  few  places  pene- 
trated into  our  line  fighting  still  continues 
and  fresh  enemy  attacks  are  expected. 

"  On  Monday  afternoon  the  French 
threw  fresh  masses  into  the  fray  and 
carried  out  lateral  attacks  between  the 
Oise  and  Conde,  on  the  Aisne.  The 
artillery  fight  which  was  continued  to- 
day leveled  the  positions  and  produced 
wide,  deep  craters,  rendering  an  obstinate 
defense  no  longer  possible. 

"  The  fighting  no  longer  is  against  a 
line  but  over  quite  a  deep  and  irregular 
fortified  zone.  The  battle  sways  back- 
ward and  forward  around  our  foremost 
positions,  our  object  being,  if  the  war 
material  is  lost,  to  spare  the  lives  of  our 
forces  and  to  inflict  heavy  sanguinary 
losses  and  thus  decisively  weaken  the 
enemy.    This  was  achieved." 


United  States  Rejects  German  Protocol 


WHEN  Ambassador  Gerard  was 
about  to  depart  from  Berlin  he 
was  placed  under  pressure  by  the 
German  Government  to  get  him  to  sign 
a  document  confirming  and  enlarging  the 
privileges  of  German  citizens  in  the 
United  States  in  case  of  war  between  the 
two  countries,  as  defined  in  the  half- 
forgotten  treaty  made  with  Prussia  in 
1799.  The  protocol  which  Mr.  Gerard 
was  asked  to  sign  was  an  elaboration  of 
Article  23  of  the  old  convention,  amount- 
ing practically  to  a  new  treaty,  and  re- 
quiring not  only  the  approval  of  the 
State  Department  at  Washington  but 
also  the  confirmation  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  Mr.  Gerard  protested  against 
the  methods  used  to  get  his  support  for 
this  document,  and  emphatically  declined 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  After 
Borne  delay  he  was  allowed  to  depart. 

Text  of  German  Protocol 

The  document  was  then  forwarded  by 
the  Berlin  authorities — through  the  Swiss 
Foreign  Office  at  Berne— to  the  Swiss 
Minister  at  Washington,  Dr.  Paul  Ritter, 
who  handed  it  to  Secretary  of  State 
Lansing  on  Feb.  10,  1917.  The  text  of 
this  communication,  and  of  the  agree- 
ment which  Germany  was  so  anxious  to 
have  the  United  States  accept  on  the  eve 
of  war,  is  as  follows: 

The  American  treaty  of  friendship  and  com- 
merce of  the  11th  of  July,  1799,  provides 
by  Article  23  for  the  treatment  of  the  subjects 
or  citizens  of  the  two  States  and  their 
property  in  the  event  of  war  between  the 
two  States.  This  article,  which  is  without 
question  in  full  force  as  regards  the  relations 
between  the  German  Empire  and  the  United 
States,  requires  certain  explanations  and 
additions  on  account  of  the  development  of 
international  law.  The  German  Government, 
therefore,  proposes  that  a  special  arrange- 
ment be  now  signed,  of  which  the  English 
text  is   as   follows : 

Agreement  between  Germany  and  the  United 
States  of  America  concerning  the  treatment 
of  each  other's  citizens  and  their  private 
property  after  the  severance  of  diplomatic 
relations. 

Article  One— After  the  severance-  of  diplo- 
matic relations  between  Germany-  and  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  in  the  event 
of  the  outbreak  of  war  between  the  two 
powers,  the  citizens  of  either  party  and  their 
private  property  in  the  territory  of  the  other 


party  shall  be  treated  according  to  Article 
23  of  the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
between  Prussia  and  the  United  States  of 
the  11th  of  July,  1799,  with  the  following 
explanatory    and    supplementary    clauses : 

Article  Two— German  merchants  in  the 
United  States  and  American  merchants  in 
Germany  shall,  so  far  as  the  treatment  of 
their  persons  and  property  is  concerned,  be 
held  in  every  respect  on  a  par  with  the  other 
persons  mentioned  in  Article  23.  They  shall, 
accordingly,  even  after  the  period  provided 
for  in  Article  23  has  elapsed,  be  entitled  to 
remain  and  continue  their  profession  in  the 
country  of  their  residence.  Merchants  as 
well  as  the  other  persons  mentioned  in  Ar- 
ticle 23  may  be  excluded  from  fortified  places 
or  other  places  of  military  importance. 

Article  Three — Germans  in  the  United  States 
and  Americans  in  Germany  shall  be  free  to 
leave  the  country  of  their  residence  within 
the  time  and  by  the  routes  that  shall  be 
assured  to  them  by  the  proper  authorities. 
The  persons  departing  shall  be  entitled  to 
take  along  their  personal  property,  includ- 
ing money,  valuables,  and  bank  accounts, 
excepting  such  property  the  exportation  of 
which  is  prohibited  according  to  general  pro- 
visions. 

Article  Four— The  protection  of  Germans  in 
the  United  States  and  of  Americans  in  Ger- 
many and  of  their  property  shall  be  guar- 
anteed in  accordance  with  the  laws  existing 
in  the  countries  of  either  party.  They  shall 
be  under  no  other  restrictions  concerning 
the  enjoyment  of  their  private  rights  and  j 
the  judicial  enforcement  of  their  rights  than 
neutral  residents.  They  may  accordingly  not 
be  transferred  to  concentration  camps,  nor 
shall  their  private  property  be  subject  to 
sequestration  or  liquidation  or  other  com- 
pulsory alienation  except  in  cases  that  under 
the  existing  laws  apply  also  to  neutrals.  As 
a  general  rule,  German  property  in  the  United 
States  and  American  property  in  Germany 
shall  not  be  subject  to  sequestration  or 
liquidation  or  other  compulsory  alienation 
under  other  conditions  than  neutral  property. 

Article  Five— Patent  rights  or  other  pro- 
tected rights  held  by  Germans  in  the  United 
States  or  Americans  in  Germany  shall  not 
be  declared  void,  nor  shall  the  exercise  of 
such  rights  be  impeded,  nor  shall  such  rights 
be  transferred  to  others  without  the  consent 
of  the  person  entitled  thereto,  provided  that 
regulations  made  exclusively  in  the  interests 
of  the   States   shall   apply. 

Article  Six— Contracts  made  between  Ger- 
mans and  Americans,  either  before  or  after 
the  severance  of  diplomatic  relations,  also 
obligations  of  all  kinds  between  Germans  and 
Americans,  shall  not  be  declared  canceled, 
void,  or  in  suspension  except  under  provisions 
applicable  to  neutrals.  Likewise  the  citi- 
zens ©f  either  party  shall  not  be  impeded 
in  fulfilling  their  liabilities  arising  from  such 


254 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


obligations,  either  by  injunctions  or  by  other 
provisions,  unless  these  apply  to  neutrals. 

Article  Seven— The  provisions  of  the  Sixth 
Hague  Convention  relative  to  the  treatment 
of  enemy  merchant  ships  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  shall  apply  to  the  merchant  vessels 
of  either  party  and  their  cargo.  The  afore- 
said ships  may  not  be  forced  to  leave  port 
unless  at  the  time  they  be  given  a  pass 
recognized  as  binding  by  all  the  enemy  sea 
powers  to  a  home  port  or  a  port  of  an  allied 
country  or  to  another  port  of  the  country  in 
which  the  ship  happens  to  be. 

Article  Eight— The  regulations  of  Chapter 
3  of  the  Eleventh  Hague  Convention  relative 
to  certain  restrictions  in  the  exercise  of  the 
right  of  capture  in  maritime  war  shall  apply 
to  the  Captains,  officers,  and  members  of 
the  crews  of  merchant  ships  specified  in 
Article  7  and  of  such  merchant  ships  as  may 
be  captured  in  the  course  of  a  possible  war. 

Article  Nine — This  agreement  shall  apply 
also  to  the  colonies  and  other  foreign  pos- 
sessions of  either  party. 

Text  of  American  Reply 

The  note  in  which  the  United  States 
rejected  the  foregoing  proposition  was 
handed  to  the  Swiss  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington on  March  20,  and  is  printed  below 
in  full.  It  places  the  refusal  on  the 
ground  of  Germany's  own  "  flagrant 
violations"  of  the  original  treaty,  and 
raises  the  question  whether  all  the  im- 
munities granted  by  that  treaty  have  not 
in  effect  been  abrogated  by  the  German 
sinkings   of   American   merchant    ships: 

The  Secretary  of  State  to  the  Minister  of 
Switzerland  in  charge  of  German  interests 
in   America. 

Department  of  State, 
Washington,    March    20,    1917. 

Sir :  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  note  of  Feb.  10  presenting  the  proposals 
of  the  German  Government  for  an  inter- 
pretative and  supplementary  agreement  as 
to  Article  23  of   the   Treaty   of  1799. 

After  due  consideration,  I  have  to  inform 
you  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
is  not  disposed  to  look  with  favor  upon  the 
proposed  agreement  to  alter  or  supplement 
the   meaning   of   Article   23   of   this   treaty. 

The  position  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  which  might  under  other  con- 
ditions be  different,  is  due  to  the  repeated 
violations  by  Germany  of  the  Treaty  of 
1828,  and  the  articles  of  the  Treaties  of  1785 
and  1799  revised  by  the  Treaty  of  1828.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  narrate  in  detail  these 
violations,  for  the  attention  of  the  German 
Government  has  been  called  to  the  circum- 
stances of  each  instance  of  violation,  but 
I  may  here  refer  to  certain  of  them  briefly 
and   in   general   terms. 

Since  the  sinking  of  the  American  ship 
William  P.  Frye  for  the  carriage  of  contra- 
band,   there    have    been    perpetrated    by    the 


German  naval  forces  similar  unwarranted 
attacks  upon  and  destruction  of  numerous 
American  vessels  for  the  reason,  as  alleged, 
that  they  were  engaged  in  transportation  of 
articles  of  contraband,  notwithstanding  and 
in  disregard  of  Article  13  of  the  Treaty  of 
1799  that  "  no  such  articles  (of  contraband) 
carried  in  the  vessels  or  by  the  subjects  or 
citizens  of  either  party  to  the  enemies  of  the 
other  shall  be  deemed  contraband  so  as  to 
induce  confiscation  or  condemnation  and  a 
loss  of  property  to  individuals."  And  that 
in  the  case  of  a  vessel  stopped  for  articles 
of  contraband,  if  the  master  of  the  vessel 
stopped  will  deliver  out  the  goods  supposed 
to  be  of  contraband  nature,  he  shall  be 
admitted  to  do  it,  and  the  vessel  shall  not 
in  that  case  be  carried  into  any  port  or 
further  detained,  but  shall  be  allowed  to 
proceed  on  her  voyage. 

In  addition  to  the  sinking  of  American 
vessels,  foreign  merchant  vessels  carrying 
American  citizens  and  American  property 
have  been  sunk  by  German  submarines  with- 
out warning  and  without  any  adequate 
security  for  the  safety  of  the  persons  on 
board  or  compensation  for  the  destruction 
of  the  property  by  such  action,  notwith- 
standing the  solemn  engagements  of  Article 
15  of  the  Treaty  of  1799,  that  "  all  persons 
belonging  to  any  vessels  of  war,  public  or 
private,  who  shall  molest  or  insult  in  any 
manner  whatever  the  people,  vessel,  or  effects 
of  the  other  party,  shall  be  responsible  in 
their  persons  and  property  for  damages  and 
interests,  sufficient  security  for  which  shall 
be  given  by  all  commanders  of  private  armed 
vessels  before  they  are  commissioned,"  and 
notwithstanding  the  further  stipulation  of 
Article  12  of  the  Treaty  of  1785  that  "  the 
free  intercourse  and  commerce  of  the  sub- 
jects or  citizens  of  the  party  remaining  neu- 
tral with  the  belligerent  powers  shall  not  be 
interrupted." 

Disregarding  these  obligations,  the  German 
Government  has  proclaimed  certain  zones  of 
the  high  seas  in  which  it  declared  without 
reservation  that  all  ships,  including  those 
of  neutrals,  will  be  sunk,  and  in  those  zones 
German  submarines  have  in  fact,  in  accord- 
ance with  this  declaration,  ruthlessly  sunk 
merchant  vessels  and  jeopardized  or  de- 
stroyed the  lives  of  American  citizens  on 
board. 

Moreover,  since  the  severance  of  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany  cer- 
tain American  citizens  in  Germany  have 
been  prevented  from  removing  from  the 
country.  While  this  is  not  a  violation  of 
the  terms  of  the  treaties  mentioned,  it  is  a 
disregard  of  the  reciprocal  liberty  of  inter- 
course between  the  two  countries  in  times 
of  peace  and  cannot  be  taken  otherwise  than 
as  an  indication  of  the  purpose  on  the  part 
of  the  German  Government  to  disregard,  in 
the  event  of  war,  the  similar  liberty  of 
action  provided  for  in  Article  23  of  the 
Treaty  of  179'9— the  very  article  which  it  is 
now  proposed  to  interpret  and  supplement 
almost   wholly   in   the   interests   of   the   large 


UNITED  STATES  REJECTS  GERMAN  PROTOCOL  255 

number   of   German   subjects   residing  in   the  nations   in   the   treatment  of  innocent  Amer- 

United  States  and  enjoying  in  their  persons  ican    citizens    in    Germany,    the    Government 

or    property    the    protection    of    the    United  of    the    United    States    cannot    perceive    any 

States   Government.  advantage    which    would    flow    from    further 

This    article    provides    in    effect    that    mer-  engagements,  even  though  they  were  merely 

chants  of  either  country  residing  in  the  other  declaratory  of  international  law,  entered  into 

shall  be   allowed   a   stated   time   in   which   to  with    the    Imperial    German    Government    in 

remain  to  settle  all  their  affairs  and  to  "  de-  regard    to    the    meaning    of    any    articles    of 

part    freely,    carrying    off    all    their    effects  these  treaties   or  as   supplementary  to  them, 
without     molestation      or     hindrance,"      and  In  these  circumstances,  therefore,  the  Gov- 

women    and    children,    artisans    and    certain  ernment    of    the    United    States    declines    to 

others    may    continue    their    respective    em-  enter   into    the   special   protocol   proposed   by 

ployments  and  shall  not  be  molested  in  their  the   Imperial   Government. 

persons  or  property.     It  is  now  proposed  by  This    Government    is    seriously    considering 

the  Imperial  Government  to  enlarge  the  scope  whether   or   not  the   Treaty   of   1828   and   the 

of  this  article  so  as  to  grant  to  German  sub-  revised   articles   of  the   Treaties   of  1785  and 

jects  and  German  property  remaining  in  the  1799   have    not   been    in    effect    abrogated    by 

United  States  in  time  of  war  the  same  treat-  the  German  Government's  flagrant  violations 

ment   in   many   respects   as   that   enjoyed   by  of  their  provisions,  for  it  would  be  manifestly 

neutral  subjects  and  neutral  property  in  the  unjust  and   inequitable   to  require  one  party 

United   States.  to   an   agreement   to   observe   its   stipulations 

In  view  of  the  clear  violations  by  the  Ger-  and   to  permit  the   other   party  to  disregard 

man    authorities    of    the    plain    terms    of    the  them. 

treaties   in    question,    solemnly   concluded    on  It  would  appear  that  the  mutuality  of  the 

the    mutual    understanding    that    the    obliga-  undertaking  has  been  destroyed  by  the  con- 

tions    thereunder    would    be    faithfully    kept ;  duct  of  the  German  authorities. 
in  view  further  of  the  disregard  of  the  canons  Accept,  &c, 

of  international  courtesy  and   the   comity  of  ROBERT    LANSING. 


Your  Flag  and  My  Flag 


By   WILBUR   D.    NESBIT 
[A  new  national  anthem  that  sprang  into  favor  all  over  the  country  in  the  weeks  preceding 

the  declaration  of  war.] 

Your  flag  and  my  flag! 

And  how  it  flies  today 
In  your  land  and  my  land 

And  half  a  world  away! 
Rose-red  and  blood-red 

The  stripes  forever  gleam; 
Snow-white  and  soul-white — 

The  good  forefathers'  dream; 
Sky-blue  and  true  blue,  with  stars  to  gleam  aright — 
The  gloried  guidon  of  the  day;  a  shelter  through  the  night. 

Your  flag  and  my  flag! 

To  every  and  star  and  stripe 
The  drums  beat  as  hearts  beat 

And  fifers  shrilly  pipe! 
Your  flag  and  my  flag — 

A  blessing  in  the  sky; 
Your  hope  and  mv*  hope — 

It  never  hid  a  lie! 
Home  land  and  far  land   and  half  the  world  around, 
Old  Glory  hears  our  glad  salute  and  ripples  to  the  sound! 

Your  flag  and  my  flag! 

And  oh,  how  much  it  holds — 
Your  land  and  my  land — 

Secure  within  its  folds! 
Your  heart  and  my  heart 

Beat  -quicker  at  the  sight; 
Sun-kissed  and  wind-tossed — 

Red  and  blue  and  white. 
The  one  flag— the  great  flag— the  flag  for  me  and  you— 
Glorified  all  else  beside — the  red  and  white  and  blue! 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


[Period   Ended   April   20,   1917] 


War  Council  at  Washington 

THE  heads  of  the  French  and  British 
missions  to  the  United  States,  Arthur 
James  Balfour  and  Rene  Viviani,  are 
distinguished  among  the  statesmen  of 
their  countries  by  the  fact  that  both  have 
been  Prime  Ministers.  M.  Viviani  was 
Premier  of  France  when  the  war  broke 
out,  and  was  later  Minister  of  Justice 
under  M.  Briand.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  joint  Anglo-French  mission  to 
Russia  in  the  weeks  before  the  Russian 
revolution.  Mr.  Balfour  was  Prime  Min- 
ister after  the  death  of  his  distinguished 
uncle,  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  in  1902. 
He  has  held  office  in  the  coalition  War 
Ministries  of  Mr.  Asquith  and  Mr.  Lloyd 
George,  as  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty, 
and  later  as  Secretary  for  Foreign  Af- 
fairs. Mr.  Balfour  is  completely  fa- 
miliar with  the  two  most  vital  Entente 
problems,  the  international  question  and 
the  submarine  question. 

The  hero  of  the  joint  mission  is  Mar- 
shal Joffre,  the  victor  of  the  Marne,  but 
for  whose  splendid  work  at  the  War  Min- 
istry France  would  have  had  no  ade- 
quate army  to  oppose  the  German  inva- 
sion; but  for  whose  consummate  strategy 
General  von  Kluck  would  in  all  likelihood 
have  captured  Paris  and  changed  the  his- 
tory of  the  war.  Marshal  Joffre  has  been 
a  great  traveler,  serving  in  Tonking, 
hard  by  the  Philippines;  in  Western 
Africa,  where  he  built  a  section  of  the 
railroad  which  joins  the  Senegal  River 
to  the  Upper  Niger;  in  the  Sahara,  where 
he  first  made  a  name  by  capturing  Tim- 
buktu; in  Madagascar,  where,  under  the 
late  General  Gallieni,  he  fortified  a  great 
harbor;  but  this  is  his  first  visit  to  the 

New  World. 

*     *     * 

The  Seven  Billion  Dollar  Loan 

BOTH  houses  of  Congress  passed  with- 
out a  single  negative  vote — the 
House  on  April  14  by  389  to  0,  the  Senate 
on  April  17  by  84  to  0 — a  bill  to  finance 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  Ger- 
many.   The  bill  authorizes  the  issuance 


of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $5,000,000,000, 
of  which  $3,000,000,000  will  be  loaned  to 
the  nations  comprising  the  Entente  Al- 
liance; also  the  issuance  of  Treasury  cer- 
tificates for  $2,000,000,000  ultimately  to 
be  met  by  increased  taxation. 

The  proposed  bond  issue  is  the  largest 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  Both  the 
bonds  and  the  certificates  are  to  bear 
SVz  per  cent,  interest.  Bonds  heretofore 
authorized,  but  not  sold,  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  Danish  West  Indies,  the  con- 
struction of  an  armor  plate  and  nitrate 
plant,  the  Panama  Canal,  the  speeding  up 
of  the  naval  program,  the  Alaskan  Rail- 
road, and  the  Mexican  mobilization,  au- 
thorized at  an  interest  rate  of  3  per  cent., 
are  convertible  into  SV2  per  cent,  bonds. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  bill  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
are  unhampered  in  making  a  loan  of  $3,- 
000,000,000  to  the  Allies.  The  securities 
which  the  President  shall  purchase  are 
not  stipulated.  The  President  is  only  to 
acquire  "  the  obligations  of  foreign  Gov- 
ernments "  in  an  amount  not  to  exceed 
$3,000,000,000.  The  obligations  of  the 
foreign  countries  are  to  be  taken  at  par. 
Payment  of  the  Treasury  certificates 
will  be  provided  for  by  new  stamp  and 
increased  income  taxes ;  also  by  increased 
taxes  on  profits  and  new  customs  duties 
on  imports  now  on  the  free  list. 
*     *     * 

The  Military  Service  Bill 

THERE  was  some  hesitancy  manifested 
in  Congress  over  accepting  the  rec- 
ommendation of  the  President  for  an 
obligatory  army  service  bill.  The  Mili- 
tary Committee  of  the  House  at  the  first 
test  vote  subordinated  the  selective  draft 
provision  to  a  call  for  volunteers.  Later, 
however,  the  President  and  Secretary  of 
War  renewed  their  arguments  and  with 
such  force  that  it  was  generally  agreed 
that  the  opposition  had  capitulated  and 
that  Congress  would  pass  a  selective 
draft  bill,  operative  when  the  President 
finds  volunteering  insufficient,  as  follows : 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


257 


First  call,  eligible  men  between  the  ages 
of  21  and  25;  second  call,  26  to  32; 
third  call,  33  to  40. 

On  April  17  it  was  announced  that 
army  enlistments  were  averaging  1,434 
men  a  day,  and  that  the  naval  enlisted 
strength  had  reached  71,696  of  the  au- 
thorized strength  of  87,500. 
*     *     * 

The  Virgin  Islands 

ON  March  31  the  transfer  of  the 
Danish  West  Indies  to  the  United 
States  was  finally  completed  after  half 
a  century  of  effort.  The  Danish  Min- 
ister, Mr.  Brun,  received  a  Treasury  war- 
rant on  that  day  for  $25,000,000  and 
wireless  messages  were  sent  to  the 
Danish  and  American  authorities  in  the 
islands  to  lower  the  Danish  flag  and 
raise  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  "  By  giving 
you  this  warrant,"  Secretary  Lansing  is 
reported  to  have  said,  "  I  will  save  you 
the  trouble  of  transporting  forty-eight 
tons  of  gold." 

The  area  of  the  islands  is  138  square 
miles;  the  population  in  1911  was  27,086, 
of  whom  large  numbers  are  free  negroes 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane. 
The  name,  the  Virgin  Islands,  of  which 
St.  Croix,  St.  Thomas,  and  St.  John  are 
the  chief,  is  neither  new  nor  altogether 
distinctive,  since  a  group  of  contiguous 
islets,  of  which  Tortola,  Virgin  Gorda, 
Anagada,  and  Jest-Van-Dykes  are  the 
chief,  have  long  borne,  and  still  bear,  the 
title  of  the  British  Virgin  Islands,  while 
Crab  Island,  one  of  the  same  group,  al- 
ready belongs  to  the  United  States. 
Rear  Admiral  James  H.  Oliver,  Chief  of 
Naval  Intelligence  at  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, assumed  the  duties  of  Governor  at 
St.  Thomas,  having  been  appointed  by 
Secretary  Daniels.  He  will  serve  until 
a  permanent  Government  has  been  de- 
termined upon  by  Congress,  and  in  the 
meantime  local  laws  will  be  administered. 

It  is  noted  as  an  interesting  coincidence 
that  Alaska  was  purchased  by  the  United 
States  from  Russia  just  fifty  years  and 
one  day  before  the  final  transfer  of  the 
Danish  West  Indies,  the  purchase  price 
having  been  $7,200,000,  or  less  than  a 
third  of  what  has  now  been  paid  for  the 


tiny  Virgin  Islands.  Alaska  has  pro- 
duced gold  valued  at  more  than  $250,- 
000,000,  and  has  paid  for  itself  a  hun- 
dredfold. 

*     *     * 

Religious  Liberty  in  Russia 

UNDER  the  imperial  rule,  with  the 
exception  of  restraints  laid  on  the 
Jews,  all  religions  might  be  freely  pro- 
fessed within  the  Russian  Empire,  which 
includes*  14,000,000  Mohammedans,  about 
450,000  Buddhists,  and  about  300,000 
Pagans,  largely  in  Northern  Siberia. 
There  are  also  11,500,000  Roman  Catho- 
lics, largely  in  Poland,  and  3,500,000 
Lutherans,  in  the  Baltic  Provinces.  All 
these  confessions  have  hitherto  enjoyed 
freedom  of  profession  and  worship.  On 
two  sections  of  the  population  restric- 
tions have  borne  heavily:  on  the  Jews, 
numbering  5,200,000,  and  on  Dissenters 
from  the  Orthodox  Church,  who,  it  is 
estimated,  number  more  than  12,000,000. 
The  restrictions  on  the  Jews  were  largely 
a  survival  of  the  time  when  they  were 
subject  to  Poland;  laws  were  passed -con- 
fining them  to  the  regions  they  then 
occupied,  and  restricting  the  numbers 
who  might  inhabit  Russian  towns,  study 
at  Russian  universities,  practice  profes- 
sions, and  so  forth.  All  these  restric- 
tions have  been  removed. 

A  further  measure  of  liberation  ap- 
plies to  the  Orthodox  Church,  which  was 
formerly  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
Emperor.  The  Emperor,  through  the 
Procurator  of  the  Synod,  appointed  all 
Archbishops  and  Bishops,  though  the 
Bishops  had  the  privilege  of  proposing 
candidates.  The  new  Government  will 
leave  the  appointment  of  all  Church  of- 
ficials in  the  hands  of  the  Church,  which, 
as  a  body,  gave  its  formal  adherence  to 
the  new  order  in  the  opening  days  of  the 
revolution. 

Those  who  will  now  enjoy  greatly  in- 
creased religious  liberty  in  Russia  are, 
therefore,  in  order  of  numbers,  first 
the  Orthodox  Church,  which  wins  self- 
government;  next,  the  Dissenters  from 
the  Orthodox  Church;  and,  thirdly,  the 
Jews,  to  whom  all  positions  and  profes- 
sions in  the  State  are  now  open  on  equal 
terms  with  all  other  Russians. 


258 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


New  Figures  in  Russian  Life 

THE  first  step  in  the  Russian  revolu- 
tion was  taken  in  1905,  when,  on 
Aug.  6,  an  elective  body  of  represen- 
tatives of  the  people  was  created,  with 
the  name  of  the  State's  Duma.  On  Oct. 
17  the  Duma  was  given  wider  legis- 
lative powers;  inviolability  of  the  person, 
freedom  of  conscience,  speech,  assembly 
and  association  were  guaranteed,  and  the 
Council  of  the  Empire,  transformed  into 
a  Legislative  Council,  was  associated  with 
the  Duma  as  an  upper  house  of  the  Legis- 
lature. The  First  and  Second  Dumas 
sat  for  only  a  few  weeks  each ;  the  Third 
Duma  completed  its  term  of  five  years; 
the  Fourth  Duma  was  elected  in  Novem- 
ber, 1912.  In  the  Third  and  Fourth 
Dumas  the  men  who  accomplished  the 
Russian  revolution  gained  their  adminis- 
trative training  and  at  the  same  time 
won  the  confidence  of  the  Russian 
people. 

M.  V.  Rodzianko,  now  President  of  the 
Duma,  has  attained  high  distinction  as 
a  leader  in  the  liberal  movement.  Paul 
Milukoff,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
is  the  parliamentary  leader  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Democratic  Party,  which  has 
fifty-five  representatives  in  the  Fourth 
Duma.  He  is  widely  knoWn  in  the  United 
States.  Gutchkoff,  the  new  Minister  of 
War,  and  Kerensky,  the  Minister  of  Jus- 
tice, are  also  tested  parliamentarians. 
Prince  Lvoff,  the  new  Premier,  was  al- 
ready widely  known  before  the  revolution 
as  the  head  of  the  National  Union  of 
Zemstvos,  which  bear  some  resemblance 
to  American  State  Legislatures,  and 
which  had  formed  a  close  organization 
among  themselves  to  provide  food,  cloth- 
ing and,  to  a  large  degree,  munitions, 
for  the  active  army.  -In  this  way  the 
whole  machinery  of  the  new  Russia  was 
already  in  existence,  first  in  the  Duma 
and  then  in  the  Union  of  Zemstvos. 
*     *     * 

Release  of  the  Siberian  Exiles 
H^HE  return   of  thousands  of  political 


exiles  from  Siberia  was  one  of  the 


most  dramatic  aspects  of  the  Russian 
revolution.  This  great  act  of  liberation 
restored  to  Russia  many  of  her  ablest 
and  most  devoted  men  and  women,  who 
had  worked,  in  their  own  way,  for  the 


ends  which  the  revolution  accomplished. 
Among  these  exiles,  Catharine  Bresh- 
kovskaya,  who  has  spent  the  greater 
part  of  a  long  life  in  exile,  and  who  has 
recently  been  enthusiastically  feted  at 
the  capital,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  pictur- 
esque figure.  Vera  Zassulitch,  whose  ac- 
tivities date  back  to  the  days  of  the  Ter- 
rorists who  assassinated  Alexander  II. 
on  the  eve  of  his  granting  Russia  a  Con- 
stitution in  1881,  is  also  universally 
known,  in  part  from  the  writings  of 
"  Stepniak,"  the  historian  of  the  earlier 
revolutionists,  a  close  friend  of  William 
Morris  and  of  Prince  Peter  Kropotkin. 
Kropotkin  also  has  returned  to  Russia 
after  a  long  exile,  passed  for  the  most 
part  in  England,  but  including  visits  to 
the  United  States  and  France;  as  a  philo- 
sophical biologist  he  gained  universal 
recognition,  laying  particular  stress  on 
the  principle  of  co-operation  throughout 

nature. 

*     *     * 

Difficulties  in  Russia's  Path 

THAT  serious  obstacles  lie  in  the  path 
of  the  new  Government  in  Russia  was 
indicated  by  the  imprisonment  of  the 
editor  of  the  Socialist  newspaper  Pravda, 
"  Truth,"  for  lending  himself  to  pro- 
German  intrigue,  counseling  the  soldiers 
to  throw  down  their  arms,  to  make  peace 
without  delay,  and  to  enter  on  the  "  social 
revolution,"  which  would  bring  them  un- 
imagined  prosperity.  The  new  intrigue 
set  on  foot  in  April  by  Germany,  of 
which  the  German  Socialist  Deputy 
Scheidemann  is  the  instrument,  to  in- 
volve Russian  Socialists  in  peace  nego- 
tiations at  Copenhagen,  further  shows 
that  the  agents  of  the  Kaiser,  the  instant 
that  they  saw  that  intrigue  through  the 
Russian  Court  was  blocked  by  the  revolu- 
tion, turned  their  attention  to  the  Rus- 
sian Socialists.  It  is  a  second  revelation 
of  the  same  danger  of  which  the  Pro- 
visional Government  is  acutely  conscious. 
Peasant  risings  in  Samara,  demanding 
immediate  division  of  all  land,  are  symp- 
toms of  a  similar  menace.  A  partial 
satisfaction  of  this  demand  will  be 
reached  by  the  distribution  of  the  impe- 
rial domain,  consisting  of  more  than  a 
million  square  miles,  an  area  equal  to  the 
United  Kingdom,  France,  Spain,  Holland, 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


259 


Belgium,  Denmark,  Austria  and  Hun- 
gary; but  there  will  still  remain  the 
menace  of  the  Extremists,  possibly  re- 
inforced by  returned  Siberian  exiles, 
many  of  whom  are  philosophical  anarch- 
ists. 

*     *     * 

The  Kaiser  and  the  German  Empire 

ACCORDING  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  German  Empire,  dated  April  16, 
1871,  the  supreme  direction  of  the  mili- 
tary and  political  affairs  of  the  empire 
is  vested  in  the  King  of  Prussia,  who, 
as  German  Emperor,  "  represents  the 
empire  internationally,"  and  can  declare 
war  if  defensive,  and  make  peace,  as^well 
as  enter  into  treaties  with  other  nations, 
and  appoint  and  receive  Ambassadors. 
But  when  war  is  not  merely  defensive  the 
Kaiser  must  have  the  consent  of  the 
Bundesrat,  or  Federal  Council.  In  this 
Federal  Council  of  sixty-one  members 
the  Kingdom  of  Prussia  has  seventeen 
members;  the  Kingdoms  of  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  and  Wurttemberg  have  together 
fourteen,  six  Grand  Duchies  have  eleven, 
five  Duchies  have  six,  seven  Principalities 
have  seven,  three  free  towns — Lubeck, 
Bremen,  Hamburg — have  one  each, 
Alsace-Lorraine  has  three. 

In  the  Reichstag,  of  397  Deputies, 
Prussia  has  236.  In  sharp  contrast  with 
the  Prussian  system,  the  Deputies  are 
elected  by  universal  manhood  suffrage, 
with  the  result  that,  in  the  present  Reichs- 
tag, there  are  107  Socialists,  ninety- 
one  Centrists,  ninety  Liberals  and  Radi- 
cals, forty-four  Conservatives,  twenty- 
seven  members  of  the  German  Party, 
eighteen  Poles,  and  twenty  Independents. 

In  the  army  Prussia  greatly  outweighs 
all  the  rest  of  the  empire,  providing  six- 
teen of  the  twenty-five  army  corps,  as 
against  three  for  Bavaria,  two  for 
Saxony,  one  for  Wurttemberg,  two  for 
Alsace-Lorraine,  while  there  is  also  one 
corps  of  Prussian  Guards.  Under  the 
Constitution  of  1871,  the  whole  of  the 
land  forces  of  the  empire  form  a  united 
army,  under  the  orders  of  the  Emperor, 
whom  all  troops  are  bound  by  the  Con- 
stitution to  obey  conditionally.  The 
Emperor  is,  therefore,  responsible  for 
every  order  given  to  any  part  of  the 
German   Army. 


The  Constitution  and  Government  op 

Prussia 
TZAISER  WILHELM,  as  King  of  Prus- 
"■  si  a,  has  given  an  undertaking  to  re- 
form the  Prussian  Constitution  at  the 
end  of  the  war.  Under  the  present  fun- 
damental laws,  the  whole  of  the  execu- 
tive and  much  of  the  legislative  authority 
is  vested  in  the  King,  who  appoints  all 
Ministers  by  royal  decree.  The  King's 
power  in  the  executive  department  is, 
therefore,  absolute.  He  also  possesses 
the  power  of  veto  over  all  legislation. 

The  Herrenhaus,  the  upper  house  of 
the  Legislature,  is  closely  identified  with 
the  King,  since  Princes  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily and  of  two  other  branches  of  the 
Hohenzollerns  are  members,  as  are  the 
heads  of  sixteen  princely  families  and 
of  the  nobility  formed  by  the  King,  with 
a  number  of  life  peers  chosen  by  the 
King,  who  may  further  nominate  an  un- 
limited number  of  members  for  life,  or 
for  shorter  periods.  The  King  thus  has 
it  in  his  power  to  insure  a  majority  for 
any  measure  he  may  wish  passed  in  the 
Herrenhaus.  The  lower  house  has  443 
members,  elected  indirectly,  as  follows: 
The  indirect  electors  are  divided  into 
three  classes:  The  first  consists  of  all 
electors  who  pay  the  highest  taxes,  to 
the  amount  of  one-third  of  the  whole; 
the  second,  of  those  who  pay  the  next 
highest  amount,  down  to  the  limits  of  the 
second  one-third;  the  third,  of  all  who 
pay  the  lowest  taxes.  The  indirect  elec- 
tors choose  electors,  who  choose  the  rep- 
resentatives. 

Under  this  system,  which  secures  con- 
trol to  a  wealthy  minority,  there  were 
elected,  in  1913,  202  Conservatives,  216 
Centrists,  Liberals  and  Progressives,  10 

Socialists,  and  15  others. 
*     *     * 

A  World  Shortage  of  Wheat 

PRESIDENT  WILSON,  in  his  procla- 
mation of  April  16,  drew  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  United  States  will  in 
the  coming  year  be  called  upon  not  only 
to  feed  its  own  people  and  army,  but 
also  to  make  very  large  contributions  to 
the  feeding  of  England,  France,  and 
Italy;  Russia,  as  a  great  wheat  growing 
country,  being  probably  able  to  feed  it- 
self.   It  is  estimated  that,  in  part  owing 


260 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


to  the' destruction  by  frost  of  large  areas 
of  Winter  wheat,  the  United  States  will 
this  year  produce  less  wheat  than  in 
average  years  by  at  least  26,000,000 
bushels,  though  a  part  of  this  may  be 
made  up  by  Spring  sowing  over  the 
frost-killed  areas.  The  whole  of  Canada's 
coming  supply  of  wheat  has  already  been 
bought  by  the  British  Government,  Can- 
ada having  produced  in  1915  336,258,000 
bushels  of  wheat,  one-fifth  of  which  came 
into  the  United  States. 

Certain  causes  have  contributed  to 
bring  about  this  world-wide  wheat  short- 
age, such  as  the  large  amount  of  wheat 
and  other  foods  destroyed  by  German 
submarines,  the  lack  of  tonnage  to  bring 
wheat  to  England  from  Australia,  the 
unwillingness  of  the  Argentine  Republic 
to  sell  wheat  to  England,  the  closing  of 
the  Black  Sea  route,  by  which  Russia's 
vast  surplus  normally  reaches  the  rest  of 
the  world,  the  destruction  of  immense 
quantities  of  wheat  during  the  devasta- 
tion of  Rumania.  France  faces  a  deficit 
of  127,000,000  bushels'  of  wheat  in  the 
coming  year,  in  part  due  to  the  lack  of 
field  labor,  while  the  aggregate  deficit 
of  the  Entente  Allies  for  the  coming  year 
has  been  placed  at  from  190,000,000  to 
216,000,000  bushels. 

Two  ways  of  meeting  this  deficit  have 
been  suggested,  besides  wider  cultiva- 
tion— the  saving  of  the  large  percentage 
of  wheat  lost  in  turning  it  into  white 
flour,  and  the  cessation  of  brewing  and 
distilling,  thus  turning  millions  of  bushels 
into  bread  instead  of  liquor. 
*     *     * 

Night  Plowing  in  England 

EXTRAORDINARY  measures  have 
been  adopted  in  England  to  meet  the 
threatened  shortage  of  food  resulting 
from  the  submarine  warfare  on  com- 
merce. Two  of  the  most  picturesque  of 
these  new  methods  are  the  universal  ap- 
plication of  Sunday  labor  and  the  hasten- 
ing of  work  on  the  farms  by  supplement- 
ing day  labor  by  night  shifts.  Powerful 
motor  tractors  have  taken  the  place  of 
the  older  steam  plows,  already  largely 
used  in  England;  and  these  new  motor- 
tractor  plows  are  provided  with  acetylene 
headlights  such  as  are  used  on  automo- 


biles at  night.  On  one  farm  a  motor 
tractor  working  continuously  for  five 
days  and  four  nights  plowed  a  tract  of 
forty-two  acres,  about  equal  to  one-six- 
teenth of  a  square  mile.  To  cover  the 
same  tract  with  a  horse  plow  would,  it 
is* estimated,  have  taken  fifty-six  days, 
more  than  ten  times  as  long;  while  the 
motor  tractor  plow,  working  only  eight 
hours  a  day,  would  have  taken  twelve 
days  to  complete  the  work.  On  the  dark- 
est nights  two  acetylene  lamps  are  used; 
on  moonlight  nights  no  artificial  light  is 
needed.  The  plow  cuts  four  furrows  at 
once,  like  the  American  "  gang  plow," 
and  the  men  work  in  five-hour  shifts, 
with  an  interval  of  an  hour  between  two 
shifts  for  oiling  and  adjusting  the 
tractor. 

*     *     * 

British   War   Pensions 
rpHE  schedule  of  the  new  War  Pension 
J-    Grants  of  the  British  Government  are 
as  follows,  the  rate  being  the  maximum 
weekly  allowance: 
Disabled   soldier,    including   children's 

allowance $18.75 

Widow   with    children 9.37V6 

Parent  or  guardian 3.75 

Other  dependents    1.25 

It  is  estimated  that  the  annual  charge 
on  the  pension  account  in  1918-19  will 
be  $125,000,000.  The  following  are  the 
allowances  for  the  children  of  a  totally 
disabled  man: 

First  child $1.25 

Second   child    1.12y2 

Third  child   80 

For  each  child  after  the  third G2^ 

These  payments  are  to  be  continued  be- 
yond the  age  of  16  in  the  case  of  ap- 
prentices receiving  not  more  than 
nominal  wages,  or  of  children  being  edu- 
cated at  secondary  schools,  and  may  be 
granted  or  continued  between  the  ages 
of  16  and  21  in  the  case  of  a  child  in- 
capable through  mental  or  physical  in- 
firmity of  earning  a  living,  provided  the 
infirmity  existed  before  the  child  at- 
tained the  age  of  16.  Provision  is  also 
made  for  an  alternative  compensation  to 
make  up  the  deficit  subject  to  a  maxi- 
mum of  $12.50  a  week,  plus  half  of  any 
earnings  prior  to  the  war  between  $12.50 
and  $25  a  week. 

In  the  case  of  slight  injuries  a  gratuity 
averaging  from  $500  to  $1,000  is  granted 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


261 


in  place  of  a  pension.  Widows  are  to  be 
given  half  what  would  have  been  award- 
ed to  their  deceased  husbands  had  they 
been  disabled  in  the  highest  degree.  In 
the  case  of  a  private  soldier  this  means 
$3.87  a  week.    Allowances  to  widows  are : 

For    the    first    child $1.25 

For   the   second    child 1.12^ 

For    the    third     child 90 

For  each  child  after  the  third 62Mj 

The  widow  of  a  private  with  8  children 
will  get  $9.80  a  week.  "Unmarried  wives" 
with  dependent  children  are  to  get  $2.50 
a  week  and  children's  allowances.  If  the 
unmarried  wife  has  no  dependent  chil- 
dren she  is  to  get  $2.50  a  week  for  the 
period  of  the  war  and  twelve  months 
afterward.  It  is  provided  that  a  parent 
shall  receive  up  to  the  amount  of  pre-war 
dependents  of  one  or  more  sons  within  a 

total  of  $3.75  a  week. 

*     *     * 

German  Rule  in  Rumania 

A  DISPATCH  from  Jassy,  the  tempo- 
rary capital  of  Rumania,  reveals  the 
first  news  of  Rumanian  affairs  that  has 
been  permitted  to  leak  out  since  the  oc- 
cupation of  that  country  by  the  Germans. 
The  dispatch  is  dated  March  28,  1917, 
and  says  that  in  all  parts  of  Rumania 
women,  old  and  young,  have  been  ar- 
rested on  the  pretext  of  being  related  to 
members  of  the  Government.  Elderly 
magistrates  and  doctors  are  also  among 
those  who  have  been  seized  and  im- 
prisoned. The  majority  are  being  sent 
to  Bulgaria  and  Turkey.  Among  those 
arrested  is  the  mother  of  the  Prime  Min- 
ister. The  situation  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts, where  the  population  is  kept  in  a 
state  of  terror  by  robberies,  fires,  and  in- 
cessant requisitions,  systematically  car- 
ried out,  is  worse  than  that  in  the  towns. 

A  dispatch  from  Zurich  dated  March 
26  says  that  approximately  1,100  Ru- 
manians of  Transylvania  have  been 
sentenced  by  Austro-Hungarian  courts- 
martial  to  terms  of  penal  servitude  vary- 
ing from  thirty  years  to  three  years.  The 
entire  property  of  more  than  600  Ru- 
manians of  Transylvania  has  been  con- 
fiscated by  the  Hungarian  Government. 
Practically  all  these  victims  of  Hun- 
garian persecution  were  Rumanians  of 
position  and  education. 

Among  those  condemned  to  death  and 


executed  was  a  priest,  Father  David 
Pope;  the  former  sub-prefect  of  Kron- 
stadt,  M.  Constantine  Bojta;  M.  Yovan 
Koman,  a  professor;  M.  Romulus  Kristel- 
gan,  headmaster  of  the  school  at  Kron- 
stadt;  M.  Pompilius  Dan,  a  private  tutor; 
Dr.  Zacharius  Mountean,  advocate;  M. 
Victor  Pope,  chemist;  Father  Koman 
Baka,  a  priest,  and  Dr.  Nicholas  Hamzea, 
physician — all  of  Kronstadt.  Among 
other  victims  condemned  to  death  and 
executed  were  practically  all  the  prin- 
cipal Rumanian  Intellectuals  of  Klausen- 
burg. 

*     *     * 

Vast  Quantities  of  Supplies 
TT  W.  FORSTER,  official  Secretary 
•*-■*-•  of  the  British  War  Office,  in  mov- 
ing the  war  estimates  made  some  inter- 
esting statements  to  Parliament  regard- 
ing the  prodigious  operations  in  equip- 
ping an  army.  As  an  illustration,  he 
said,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  it  was 
difficult  to  obtain  horseshoes,  which  were 
procured  from  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  hence  village  blacksmiths  were 
organized  to  make  hand-made  shoes.  This 
output,  at  first,  was  50,000  pairs  a 
month;  it  is  now  1,500,000.  To  illustrate 
the  scale  upon  which  supplies  were  re- 
quired, he  states  that  the  War  Office  had 
to  provide: 

Gas   helmets 25,000,000 

Sand  bags  for  the  Allies ...250,000,000 

Khaki    cloth,    yards 105,000,000 

Flannel,    yards 115,000,000 

The  khaki  cloth  and  flannel  together 
measured  111,000  miles,  enough  to  go 
four  and  a  half  times  around  the  earth 
at  the  Equator.  Another  interesting 
statement  was  that  the  typhoid,  fever 
cases  were  fifteen  times  higher  among 
those  who  had  not  been  inoculated-  than 
among  the  inoculated,  and  the  death  ratio 
seventy  times  higher  among  those  not 
inoculated. 

Fighting  a   Billion   Enemies 

OMITTING  China,  which  is  giving 
every  indication  of  an  intention  to 
enter  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies, 
the  Central  Powers,  with  a  population  of 
157,878,000,  are  at  war  with  fourteen 
nations  totaling  a  population  of  1,003,- 
681,000.  This  vast  number  is  divided  as 
follows : 


262 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ENTENTE-AMERICAN     ALLIES 
Area 

Country.                         (Sq.  Miles.)  Population. 

United    States    3,027,557  101,740,000 

Philippines     115,020  8,043,000 

Great    Britain    121,310  46,407,000 

British    possessions.  .12,000,400  388,030,000 

France     207,129  39,700,000 

French    colonies     . . .  3,998,713  49,725,000 

Russia     8,301,708  174,100,000 

Finland    144,249  3,197,000 

Italy     110,088  35,598,000 

Italian  colonies    458,102  1,450,000 

Japan,    including    For- 
mosa   and    Chosen...      245,041  72,818,000 
Belgium    11,373  7,658,000 

Belgian  Congo    913,127  20,000,000 

Portugal 35,499  5,958,000 

Portuguese    colonies.      808,107  9,280,000 

Rumania    53,934  7,508,000 

Serbia    33,107  4,022,000 

Montenegro   5,475  435,000 

Cuba     45,881  2,469,000 

Panama    32,330  337,000 

Brazil    3,292,000  24,000,000 

Total     34,282,082    1,003,081,000 

CENTRAL    POWERS 

Germany     209,793  68,059,000 

German  colonies    1,020,022  12,287,000 

Austria-Hungary    201,023  51,505,000 

Turkey    6S2.239  21,274,000 

Bulgaria     44,056  4,753,000 

Total     2,223,133       157,878,000 

*  *      * 

THE  $5,000,000,000  bond  issue  author- 
ized by  Congress  in  April  amounts  to 
about  one-tenth  of  the  national  income  of 
the  United  States  last  year,  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  statistics  of  the  fi- 
nancial strength  of  the  country: 

Annual    national    income $50,000,000,000 

Total    bank    resources 35,000,000,000 

Individual    deposits    24,000,000,000 

Cash   held  by   the   banks 2,500,000,000 

Total  gold  stock  in  the  country.     3,000,000,000 
Available     additional     commer- 
cial credits  on  basis  of  present 
cash  holdings   0,000,000,000 

*  *      * 

A  British  War  Museum 

A  COMMITTEE  has  been  formed  by 
"■  authority  of  Parliament  to  establish 
a  national  war  museum.  The  idea  is  to 
reconstruct  for  future  generations  the 
story  of  the  British  share  in  the  war. 
The  chief  categories  of  exhibits  will  be 
relics  and  records.  There  will  be  sepa- 
rate departments  to  illustrate  the  work  of 
the  sailors,  soldiers,  and  munition  work- 
ers. The  nucleus  of  these  collections  is 
already  in  the  hands  of  the  Admiralty, 


the  War  Office,  and  the  Ministry  of 
Munitions.  The  aim  will  be  to  include 
examples  of  the  following : 

1.  Material  used  by  the  British  forces 

— guns,    rifles,    bayonets,    trench 
weapons,  tanks,  submarines,  &c. 

2.  Trophies  captured  from  the  enemy. 

3.  Souvenirs  found  on  the  battlefield. 

4.  New  inventions  employed  in  munition 

works  at  home. 

5.  Literature  of  the  war — books,  trench 

magazines,  &c. 

6.  Maps  of  the  war. 

7.  Music    of    the    war — trench    tunes, 

marching  songs,  &c. 

8.  Art    of    the    war,    including    trench 

drawings. 

9.  Placards  issued  by  the  Government 

for  recruiting,  economy,  &c. 

10.  Medals  and  decorations. 

11.  Autograph    letters    by    distinguished 

actors  in  the  war. 

12.  Civilian  souvenirs,  such  as  "flag-day" 

relics. 

♦  *     * 

THE  effect  of  the  entry  of  the  United 
States  on  the  side  of  the  Allies  is 
shown  by  the  following  changes  in  for- 
eign exchanges  as  quoted  on  April  12: 
Sterling,  4.76%,  against  4.73  9-16  low  in 
1916,  and  4.50  low  in  1915;  Francs^ 
5.70%,  against  6.08 V2  low  in  1916,  6.02 
low  in  1915.  Italian  lire  rose  24  points 
in  the  week  ending  April  12,  1917.  Rubles 
rose  20  points. 

*  *     * 

The  Foreign-Born  Population  of  the 
United  States 

THE  number  of  citizens  of  foreign 
birth  in  the  United  States  in  1917 
is  14,500,000,  while  20,500,000  native 
Americans  have  either  a  foreign-born 
father  or  a  foreign-born  mother,  and 
14,000,000  had  both  parents  born  abroad. 
Of  the  total  100,000,000  population  of  the 
United  States  54,000,000  are  of  native 
white  ancestry.  Since  the  foundation  of 
the  Government  the  total  immigration 
to  the  United  States  from  Great  Britain 
has  been  4,000,000;  from  Germany, 
6,000,000;  from  Ireland,  4,000,000;  from 
Scandinavia,  2,000,000.  Up  to  1890,  be- 
fore the  heavy  influx  began  from  Rus- 
sia and  Italy,  the  total  immigration  to 
the    United    States    was    15,689,000,    of 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


263 


which  one-third  was  German.  After 
1890,  of  the  17,000,000  immigrants  only 
1,023,000  were  Germans. 

The  following  tables  compiled  by  the 
Geographic  Magazine  convey  an  idea  of 
the  distribution  of  the  larger  groups  of 
foreign-born  citizens: 

CANADIANS 

Massachusetts   300,000 

Michigan 190,000 

New    York    125,000 

Maine    75,000 

New  Hampshire  55,000 

Illinois    50,000 

California    50,000 

Total  in  United  States 1,164,000 

ITALIANS 

New    York    470,000 

Pennsylvania   190,000 

New  Jersey r.     115,000 

Massachusetts     90,000 

Illinois     75,000 

California 60,000 

Connecticut     55,000 

Ohio 40,000 

Total    in    United    States 1,335,000 

AUSTROHUNGARIANS 

Pennsylvania     375,000 

New    York    360,000 

Illinois    200,000 

Ohio     160,000 

New  Jersey 100,000 

Wisconsin 40,000 

Minnesota    38,000 

Michigan    38,000 

Connecticut     37,000 

Total   in    United    States 1,080,000 

ENGLISH,     SCOTCH,     WELSH 

New    York    195,000 

Pennsylvania     170,000 

Massachusetts     125,000 

Illinois    90,000 

New  Jersey    65,000 

California    60,000 

Ohio   60,000 

Michigan    55,000 

Total  in  United  States 1,145,000 

GERMANS 

New    York    430,000 

Illinois    325,000 

Wisconsin    235,000 

Pennsylvania     210,000 

Ohio     190,000 

Michigan 125,000 

New   Jersey    115,000 

Minnesota    95,000 

Iowa    85,000 

Missouri     80,000 

California    75,000 

Indiana     70,000 

Nebraska     "    70,000 

Texas    "    60,000 

Maryland     50,000 

Kansas     45,000 

Total  in  United  States.. 2,640,000 


RUSSIANS    AND    FINNS 

New    York    560,000 

Pennsylvania     .". 260,000 

Illinois    150,000 

Massachusetts     , 130,000 

New   Jersey    95,000 

Michigan    70,000 

Connecticut 55,000 

Ohio  55,000 

Minnesota    40,000 

Wisconsin    35,000 

North    Dakota    35,000 

Total  in  United  States 1,669,000 

IRISH 

New    York    370,000 

Massachusetts    225,000 

Pennsylvania     160,000 

Illinois    90,000 

New    Jersey     85,000~ 

Connecticut  55,000 

California 50,000 

Ohio    40,000 

Rhode    Island    35,000' 

Missouri -    30,000 

Total  in  United   States 1,330,000 

SCANDINAVIANS 

Minnesota    240,000 

Illinois    165,000 

Wisconsin    95,000 

New    York    90,000 

Washington    70,000 

Iowa    70,000 

North    Dakota    70,000 

California    50,000 

Massachusetts   50,000 

Michigan    37,000 

Nebraska     ■ 37,000- 

South  Dakota    35,000 

Total   in   United    States 1,209,000 

In  the  omitted  States  the  number  of 
foreign-born  citizens  in  the  foregoing 
classifications  is  fairly  proportional, 
ranging  from  30,000  in  the  more 
populous  States  to  4,000  or  5,000  in  the 
Southern  and  smaller  States.  The 
foreign-born  seem  to  prefer  urban  life, 
as  23,000,000  out  of  35,000,000  live  in 
cities.  Only  one-fifth  of  the  population 
of  New  York  and  Chicago  is  of  native 
white  ancestry.  Less  than  a  third  of  the 
populations  of  Boston,  Cleveland,  Pitts- 
burgh, Detroit,  Buffalo,  San  Francisco, 
Milwaukee,  Newark,  Minneapolis,  Jersey 
City,  Providence,  St.  Paul,  Worcester, 
Scranton,  Paterson,  Fall  River,  Lowell, 
Cambridge,  and  Bridgeport  are  of  native 
ancestry. 

Though  the  foreign-born  constitute 
one-seventh  of  the  nation,  nearly  one- 
fourth  of  the  arm-bearing  strength  of 
the  country  is  represented  in  this  class. 


'  The  Battle  of  Arras 

Scenes  of  Infernal  Splendor  on  the  First  Day  of  the 

New  British  Offensive 

By  Philip  Gibbs 

[Published  by  arrangement  with  The  London  Chronicle] 


At  dawn  on  Easter  Monday,  April  9, 
1917,  the  British  armies  began  a  tremen- 
dous offensive  on  a  wide  front  between 
Lens  and  St.  Quentin,  including  Vimy 
Ridge,  that  great,  grim  hill  which  dom- 
inates the  plain  of  Douai  and  the  coal 
fields  of  Lens  and  the  German  positions 
around  Arras.  Philip  Gibbs  has  depicted 
the  terrors  of  that  first  day's  fighting  in 
the  following  memorable  description: 

TODAY  began  another  titanic  con- 
flict which  the  world  will  hold  its 
breath  to  watch  because  of  all  that 
hangs  upon  it.  I  have  seen  the  fury 
of  this  beginning  and  all  the  sky  on  fire 
with  it,  the  most  tragic  and  frightful 
sight  that  men  have  ever  seen,  with  in- 
fernal splendor  beyond  words.  The  bom- 
bardment which  went  before  the  infantry 
assault  lasted  several  days,  and  reached 
a  great  height  yesterday.  When  coming 
from  the  south  I  saw  it  for  the  first 
time.  Those  of  us  who  knew  what  would 
happen  today — the  beginning  of  another 
series  of  battles,  greater  perhaps  than  the 
struggle  of  the  Somme — found  ourselves 
yesterday  filled  with  tense,  restless  emo- 
tion. Some  of  us  smiled  with  a  kind  of 
tragic  irony  because  it  was  Easter  Sun- 
day. In  the  little  village  behind  the  bat- 
tle lines  the  bells  of  the  French  churches 
were  ringing  gladly  because  the  Lord 
had  risen,  and  on  the  altar  steps  priests 
were  reciting  splendid  words  of  faith — 
"  Resurrexi  et  adhuc  et  cum  sum, 
Alleluia." 

The  earth  was  glad  yesterday.  For  the 
first  time  this  year  the  sun  had  a  touch 
of  warmth  in  it — although  patches  of 
snow  still  stayed  white  under  the  shelter 
of  banks — and  the  sky  was  blue  and  the 
light  glinted  on  wet  tree  trunks  and  in 
furrows  of  new  plowed  earth. 

As  I  went  up  the  road  to  the  battle 
lines,    I    passed    a    battalion    of    British 


troops,  who  are  fighting  today,  standing 
in  a  hollow  square  with  bowed  heads 
while  the  chaplain  conducted  the  Easter 
service.  It  was  Easter  Sunday,  but  no 
truce  of  God.  I  went  to  a  field  outside 
Arras  and  looked  into  the  ruins  of  the 
cathedral  city.  The  cathedral  itself  stood 
clear  in  the  sunlight,  with  a  deep  black 
shadow  where  its  roof  and  aisles  had 
been.  Beyond  was  a  ragged  pinnacle  of 
stone,  once  the  glorious  Town  Hall,  and 
the  French  barracks  and  all  the  broken 
streets  going  out  to  the  Cambrai  road. 
It  was  hell  in  Arras,  though  Easter  Sun- 
day. The  enemy  was  flinging  high  ex- 
plosives into  the  city,  and  clouds  of 
shrapnel  burst  above  black  and  green. 
All  around  the  country,  too,  his  shells 
were  exploding  in  a  scattered,  aimless 
way.  From  the  British  side  there  was  a 
great  bombardment  all  along  Vimy 
Ridge,  above  Neuville  St.  Vaast  and 
sweeping  around  St.  Nicholas  and  Blan- 
gy,  two  suburbs  of  Arras,  and  then 
southwest  of  the  city  on  the  ridge  above 
the  road  to  Cambrai.  It  was  one  con- 
tinuous roar  of  death,  and  all  the  bat- 
teries were  firing  steadily.  I  watched 
the  shells  burst,  and  some  of  them  were 
monsters,  rising  in  great,  lingering  clouds 
above  the  German  lines. 

There  was  one  figure  in  this  landscape 
of  war  who  made  some  officers  about  me 
laugh.  He  was  a  French  plowman  who 
upholds  the  traditions  of  war.  Zola  saw 
him  in  1870.  I  have  seen  him  on  the  edge 
of  another  battlefield,  and  here  he  was 
again,  driving  a  pair  of  sturdy  horses 
and  his  plow  across  the  sloping  field,  not 
a  furlong  away  from  a  village  where 
German  shells  were  raising  a  rosy  cloud 
of  brick  dust.  So  he  gave  praise  to  the 
Lord  on  Easter  morning  and  prepared 
for  the  harvests  which  shall  be  gathered 
after  the  war. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS 


2G.1 


Scenes  Behind  the  Front 

All  behind  the  front  of  battle  there 
was  great  traffic.  All  that  modern  war- 
fare means  in  organization  and  in  prep- 
aration for  the  enormous  operation  was 
here  in  movement.  I  had  just  come  from 
the  British  outpost  lines  down  south, 
from  the  silence  of  that  great  desert 
which  the  enemy  has  left  in  the  wake  of 
his  retreat  east  of  Bapaume  and  Peronne, 
and  from  that  open  warfare  with  village 
fighting,  where  small  bodies  of  British 
infantry  and  cavalry  have  been  clearing 
the  countryside  of  rearguard  posts.  Here 
round  about  Arras  was  concentration  for 
the  old  form  of  battle,  the  attack  upon 
intrenched  positions,  fortified  hills,  and 
great  natural  fortresses  defended  by 
masses  as  before  the  battles  of  the 
Somme. 

For  miles  on  the  way  in  front  were 
great  camps,  great  stores,  and  restless 
activity.  Everywhere  supply  columns  of 
food  for  men  and  guns  moved  forward  in 
an  endless  tide.  Transport  mules  passed 
in  long  trails,  field  batteries  went  up  to 
add  to  the  mass  of  metal  ready  to  pour 
fire  upon  the  German  lines.  It  was  a 
vast  circus  of  the  world's  great  war,  and 
everything  that  belongs  to  the  machinery 
of  killing  streamed  on  and  on;  columns 
of  ambulances  for  the  rescue,  for  that 
other  side  of  the  business,  came  in  pro- 
cession, followed  by  an  army  of  stretcher 
bearers — more  than  I  have  ever  seen  be- 
fore— marching  cheerily  as  though  in  a 
pageant.  In  some  of  the  ambulances  were 
army  nurses,  and  the  men  marching  on 
the  roads  waved  their  hands  to  them,  and 
they  laughed  and  waved  back.  There 
were  greetings  which  made  one's  heart 
go  soft  awhile.  In  the  fields  by  the  road- 
side men  were  resting,  lying  on  the  wet 
earth  between  two  spells  of  long  march- 
ing, or  encamped  in  rest — the  same  kind 
of  men  whom  I  saw  on  July  1  of  last 
year,  some  of  them  the  same  men,  clean 
shaven,  gray  eyed,  so  young  and  so  splen- 
did to  see.  Some  of  them  sat  between 
their  stacked  rifles  writing  letters  home, 
and  the  tide  of  traffic  passed  them  and 
flowed  on  to  the  edge  of  the  battlefields 
where  today  they  are  fighting. 

I  went  up  in  the  darkness,  long  before 


light  broke  today,  to  see  the  opening  of 
the  battle.  The  roads  were  quiet  until  I 
drew  near  to  Arras,  and  then  onward 
there  was  the  traffic  of  marching  men 
going  up  to  the  fighting  lines. 

In  the  darkness  there  were  hundreds  of 
little  red  lights,  the  glow  of  cigarette 
ends.  Outside  one  camp  a  battalion  was 
marching  away,  and  on  the  bank  above 
them  the  band  was  playing  them  out  with 
fifes  and  drums.  On  each  side  of  me  as 
I  passed  by  the  men  were  densely  massed, 
and  they  were  whistling  and  singing  and 
calling  out  jests  and  gibes — wonderful 
lads  that  they  are.  Away  before  them 
were  the  fires  of  death,  to  which  they 
were  going  very  steadily,  with  a  tune  on 
their  lips,  carrying  rifles  and  shovels  and 
iron  rations,  while  the  rain  played  a 
tatoo  on  their  steel  hats. 

I  went  to  a  place  a  little  outside  of 
Arras  on  the  west  side.  It  was  not  quite 
dark  because  there  was  a  kind  of  suf- 
fused light  from  the  hidden  moon  so 
I  could  see  the  black  mass  of  the  cathe- 
dral city,  the  storm  centre  of  this  battle, 
and  away  behind  me,  to  the  left,  the  tall 
broken  towers  of  Mount  St.  Eloi,  white 
and  ghostly,  looking  across  to  Vimy 
Ridge.  The  bombardment  was  now  in 
full  blast.  All  the  British  batteries,  too 
many  to  count,  were  firing,  a  thousand 
gun  flashes  winking  and  blinking  from 
hollows  and  hiding  places. 

All  their  shells  were  rushing  through 
the  sky  as  though  flocks  of  great  birds 
were  in  flight,  and  all  were  bursting  over 
the  German  positions  with  long  flames 
which  rent  the  darkness  and  waved  sword 
blades  of  quivering  light  along  the 
ridges.  The  earth  opened  and  great 
pools  of  red  fire  gushed  out.  Star  shells 
burst  magnificently,  pouring  down  a 
golden  rain. 

Mines  were  exploded  east  and  west  of 
Arras  and  in  the  wide  sweep  from  Vimy 
Ridge  to  Blangy  southward,  and  volumi- 
nous clouds,  all  bright  with  the  glory  of 
infernal  fire,  rolled  up  to  the  sky.  The 
wind  blew  strongly  across,  beating  back 
the  noise  of  the  guns,  but  the  air  was 
all  filled  with  the  deep  roar  and  slam- 
ming knocks  of  single  heavies  and  the 
drumfire  of  the  field  guns. 

The  first  attack  was  at  5:30.     A  few 


2G6 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


minutes  before  5:30  the  guns  almost 
ceased  fire,  so  that  there  was  a  strange, 
solemn  hush.  We  waited  and  our  pulses 
beat  faster  than  the  second  hands. 

"  They're  away!"  said  a  voice  by  my 
side.  The  bombardment  broke  out  again 
with  new  and  enormous  effects  of  fire 
and  sound.  The  enemy  was  shelling  Ar- 
ras heavily,  and  black  shrapnel  and 
high  explosives  came  over  from  his  lines, 
but  the  British  gunfire  was  twenty  times 
as  great. 

Around  the  whole  sweep  of  his  lines 
green  lights  rose.  They  were  signals  of 
distress  and  his  men  were  calling  for 
help.  It  was  dawn  now,  but  clouded  and 
stormswept.  A  few  airmen  came  out 
with  the  wind  tearing  at  their  wings, 
but  they  could  see  nothing  in  the  mist 
and  driven  rain. 

I  went  down  to  the  outer  ramparts  of 
Arras.  The  eastern  suburb  of  Blangy 
seemed  already  in  British  hands.  On  the 
higher  ground  beyond  the  British  were 
fighting  forward.  I  saw.  two  waves  of 
infantry  advancing  against  the  enemy's 
trenches.  Protected  by  the  barrage  of 
field  guns,  they  went  in  a  slow,  leisurely 
way,  not  hurried,  although  the  enemy's 
shrapnel  was  searching  for  them. 

"  Grand  fellows,"  said  an  officer  lying 
next  to  me  on  the  wet  slope.  "  Oh,  top- 
ping!" 

Fifteen  minutes  afterward  some  men 
came  back.  They  were  British  wounded 
and  German  prisoners.  I  met  the  first 
of  these  walking  wounded.  Afterward 
they  were  met  on  the  roadside  by  medi- 
cal officers  who  patched  them  up  there 
and  then  before  they  were  taken  to  the 
field  hospitals  in  the  ambulances. 

From  these  men  wounded  by  shrapnel 
and  machine  gun  bullets  I  heard  the 
first  news  of  the  progress.  They  were 
bloody  and  exhausted,  but  they  claimed 
success.     *     *     * 

Advance  of  Four  Miles 

The  British  swept  the  Germans  out  of 

Arras  and  went  on  stolidly  through  the 

enemy's  trench  system  to  Feuchy,  in  the 

marshes   below   the   River   Scarpe,   four 


miles  east  of  Arras.  The  enemy  was 
afraid  of  an  attack,  and  in  the  night  had 
withdrawn  all  but  rearguard  posts  to 
trenches  further  back,  where  he  resisted 
fiercely. 

The  enemy's  trench  system  south  of 
Arras  was  enormously  strong,  but  the 
British  bombardment  had  pounded  it,  and 
the  infantry  went  through  without  much 
loss  to  the  reserve  support  trench,  and 
then  on  to  a  chain  of  posts  in  front  of 
Harvest  trench,  which  was  strongly  held, 
and,  after  heavy  fighting  with  bombs 
and  bayonets,  to  Observatory  Ridge, 
from  which  for  two  years  and  a  half 
the  enemy  looked  down,  directing  the 
fire  of  his  batteries  against  the  French 
and  British  positions. 

South  of  Tilloy  there  were  two  formid- 
able positions,  called  the  Harp  and  Tele- 
graph Hill,  the  former  being  a  fortress 
of  trenches  shaped  like  an  Irish  harp, 
the  latter  rising  to  a  high  mound.  These 
were  taken  with  the  help-  of  tanks,  which 
advanced  upon  them  in  their  leisurely 
way,  climbed  up  the  banks  and  over  the 
parapets,  sitting  for  a  while  to  rest,  and 
then  waddling  forward  again,  shaking 
machine  gun  bullets  from  their  steel 
flanks  and  pouring  a  deadly  fire  into  the 
enemy's  position,  and  so  mastering  the 
ground. 

North  of  the  Scarpe — that  is,  north- 
east of  Arras — the  whole  system  of 
trenches  was  taken  as  far  as  the  Maison 
Blanche  Wood,  and  north  again  along 
Vimy  Ridge  the  Canadians  achieved  a 
heroic  success  by  gaining  this  high,  dom- 
inating ground,  which  was  the  scene  of 
some  of  the  fiercest  French  battles  in  the 
first  part  of  the  war  and  which  is  a 
great  wall  defending  Douai. 

It  was  reckoned  up  to  noon  today  that 
over  3,000  prisoners  had  been  taken. 
They  were  streaming  down  to  the  prison- 
ers' camps  and  to  the  British  who  pass 
them  on  the  roads  they  are  the  best  proof 
of  a  victorious  day.  After  the  retreat 
from  Bapaume  and  Peronne,  this  news 
should  be  a  thunderbolt  in  Germany, 
tearing  the  scales  from  the  blind  and 
raising  anew  a  cry  for  peace. 


Seven    Days*   Fighting   at   Arras 


THE  well-kept  secret  of  where  the 
British  proposed  to  make  a  new 
thrust  in  the  Spring  was  suddenly 
disclosed  on  the  morning  of  Easter  Mon- 
day, April  9.  It  was  an  offensive  along  a 
front  of  forty-five  miles,  having  for  its 
immediate  objective  Lens  at  one  end  and 
St.  Quentin  at  the  other.  This  is  the 
struggle  which  has  become  known  as  the 
battle  of  Arras,  although  at  the  end  of 
seven  days'  fighting  the  scene  has  shifted 
considerably  to  the  east  of  the  city 
which  has  given  its  name  to  the  battle. 
The  Hindenburg  line,  on  which  the  Ger- 
mans were  relying  when  they  fell  back 
from  the  Somme,  was  pierced  within  a 
week,  leaving  them  in  the  awkward  posi- 
tion of  having  to  form  a  new  defensive 
line  without  adequate  preparation. 

The  bombardment  of  the  German  posi- 
tions during  the  four  days  preceding  the 
opening  of  the  offensive  on  April  9  was 
as  intense  and  as  sustained  as  the  artil- 
lery fire  before  and  during  the  other 
great,  battles  on  the  western  front.  Eye- 
witnesses even  declare  that  it  has  been 
more  concentrated  and  destructive  than 
at  the  Somme  and  Verdun.  The  British 
guns  were  very  numerous,  of  great  cali- 
bre, and  supplied  with  such  vast  quanti- 
ties of  ammunition  that  their  "  curtains 
of  fire  "  were  terrible  realties. 

Fierce  Aerial  Fighting 

The  battle  of  Arras  has  eclipsed  all 
previous  battles  in  aerial  operations. 
During  the  four  days  before  the  battle 
began  British  airplanes  literally  swarmed 
in  the  sky,  and  the  fighting  in  the  air  was 
on  far  the  largest  scale  up  to  date.  The 
German  aviators  were  outnumbered 
many  times  over.  Throughout  the  battle 
the  British  airplanes  were  constantly  ac- 
tive despite  the  most  unfavorable 
weather  conditions,  with  snow,  sleet,  bit- 
terly cold  wind,  and  rain.  The  whole 
week's  fighting  was  carried  out,  not  in 
pleasant  April  sunshine,  but  in  wintry 
weather  which  added  its  own  gloom  to 
the  horrors  of  war. 

The  principal  object  of  the  aviators 
was  to  photograph  the  enemy's  new  posi- 
tions, and,  incidentally,  to  bombard  stra- 
tegic  points   behind   the    German    front. 


Other  squadrons,  protecting  those  whose 
business  was  reconnoitring  and  observa- 
tion, also  went  up  for  fighting  purposes 
only.  Duels,  skirmishes,  and  engage- 
ments of  all  kinds  took  place  between  the 
British  and  German  airplanes  for  the 
mastery  of  the  air.  In  the  numerous 
fights  that  ensued,  the  British,  according 
to  their  own  reports,  had  twenty-eight 
machines  missing,  most  of  them  shot 
down  behind  the  enemy's  lines.  Accord- 
ing to  the  German  reports,  the  number 
of  British  airplanes  destroyed  was  forty- 
four.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Germans 
lost  fifteen  airplanes  and  ten  balloons, 
while  the  British  drove  to  the  ground 
thirty-one  additional  machines,  which, 
according  to  Sir  Douglas  Haig's  report 
on  April  7,  "  must  have  been  totally  de- 
stroyed." That  the  British  Flying  Corps 
achieved  its  purpose  was  indicated  by  the 
statement  that  large  tracts  of  the  enemy's 
country  for  many  miles  in  the  rear  had 
been  photographed,  over  1,700  photo- 
graphs having  been  taken  behind  the 
lines. 

The  bombarding  squadrons  also  were 
successful.  Seventeen  raids  were  car- 
ried out,  and  over  eight  tons  of  bombs 
were  dropped  on  enemy  aerodromes,  am- 
munition depots,  and  railroads.  The  air 
fighting  was  wholly  over  enemy  territory, 
and  in  one  instance  the  British  airmen 
penetrated  fifty  miles  behind  the  Ger- 
man lines.  The  British  established  be- 
yond question  their  supremacy  in  the 
air  by  reason  of  the  much  larger  number 
of  machines  at  their  disposal  and  the 
greater  dash  and-  resourcefulness  of  their 
aviators. 

Beginning  of  British  Offensive 

The  British  opened  the  battle  on  April 
9  with  a  terrific  offensive  on  a  twelve- 
mile  front  north  and  south  of  Arras, 
penetrating  the  German  positions  to  a 
depth  of  from  two  to  three  miles  and 
capturing  many  important  fortified 
points,  including  the  famous  Vimy  Ridge, 
where  the  Canadians  led  the  attack.  In 
this  first  onset  nearly  6,000  prisoners, 
mostly  Bavarians,  Wurttembergers,  and 
Hamburgers,  were  taken,  as  well  as  large 
quantities  of  artillery  and  war  material. 


268 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  line  of  advance  extended  from  Gi- 
venchy-en-Gohelle,  southwest  of  Lens,  to 
Henin-sur-Cojeul,  (the  village  of  Henin 
on  the  Cojeul  River,)  southeast  of  Arras. 
All  the  fighting  was  against  dominating 
positions  on  high  ground,  some  of  which 
had  been  held  by  the  Germans  for  two 
years  and  were  protected  by  wide  belts  of 
barbed  wire. 

The  capture  of  Vimy  Ridge  was  par- 
ticularly important,  because  it  protects 
the  French  coal  fields  lying  to  the  east- 
ward. Along  the  greater  part  of  the 
front  the  advance  of  the  British  infantry 
was  strenuously  opposed.  Near  Arras 
the  Germans  made  a  determined  stand. 
The  famous  redoubt  known  as  the  Harp 
was  captured  with  virtually  the  whole 
German  battalion  defending  it.  Several 
"  tanks "  figured  in  this  operation. 
Along  the  railroad  running  through  the 
valley  o^  the  Scarpe  the  British  made 
good  progress,  while  on  the  Lens  branch 
of  the  line  they  captured  Maison  Blanche 
Wood. 

The  first  day  of  the  battle  ended  with 
the  British  having  accomplished  their 
most  successful  day's  work  on  the  west- 
ern front  since  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
The  attack  had  hit  the  hinge  of  the  re- 
cent German  retreat  from  Arras  to  the 
Aisne  and  upset  the  plans  of  the  German 
General  Stan*,  who  had  expected  the  of- 
fensive to  be  renewed  in  the  valley  of  the 
Somme.  The  capture  of  Vimy  shifted 
the  pivot  of  the  whole  German  retreat 
and  placed  the  enemy  in  a  position  of 
danger. 

The  second  day  of  the  battle,  April  10, 
saw  the  British,  despite  heavy  snow- 
storms and  bitterly  cold  weather,  con- 
tinuing their  advance  along  the  greater 
part  of  the  twelve-mile  front  from  Given- 
chy  to  Henin,  capturing  many  more 
prisoners  and  guns,  with  quantities  of 
all  kinds  of  war  material.  The  infantry 
pushed  forward  as  far  as  the  outskirts 
of  Monchy-le-Preux,  five  miles  east  of 
Arras,  capturing  a  height  protecting 
Monchy  and  threatening  the  entire  Ger- 
man line  south  of  the  Arras-Cambrai 
road.  Monchy  was  for  a  while  the  cen- 
tral poin,t  of  interest  in  the  whole  world 
war. 

Further  north  the  British  captured  de- 
fenses on  both  sides  of  the  Scarpe  River. 


They  also  took  the  remaining  positions 
on  the  northern  end  of  Vimy  Ridge,  thus 
clearing  it  entirely  of  the  enemy,  and 
progressed  in  the  direction  of  Cambrai 
and  St.  Quentin.  The  northern  pivot  of 
the  Hindenburg  line  was  now  turned. 
•The  artillery  support  for  the  British  in- 
fantry attacks  was  so  thorough  that 
casualties  were  proportionately  light. 
The  British  artillery  also  made  a  record 
for  long-range  firing.  Aided  by  infor- 
mation from  the  aviators,  the  gunners 
were  able  to  concentrate  their  fire  on 
German  reinforcements  ten  miles  away 
and  so  prevent  them  from  helping  to 
counterattack. 

The  prisoners,  who  numbered  11,000  at 
the  end  of  the  second  day,  were  penned 
up  behind  barbed  wire  fences  till  they 
could  be  sent  rearward.  British  troops 
waiting  their  turn  to  go  up  to  the  front 
congregated  outside  the  fences  and 
chatted  amicably  with  those  Germans 
who  could  speak  English,  and  gave  them 
chocolate  and  cigarettes.  One  observer 
says  that  all  animosity  between  the  sol- 
diers disappeared  the  moment  they  were 
no  longer  trying  to  kill  one  another. 

Unusually  cold  weather  for  the  time  of 
year,  with  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  greatly 
impeded  operations  on  the  third  day, 
April  11.  Nevertheless,  the  British  kept 
on  pushing  forward  and  captured  the 
village  and  heights  of  Monchy-le-Preux 
and  the  neighboring  hamlet  of  La  Ber- 
gere.  Cavalry  and  a  "  tank  "  contributed 
to  the  capture  of  Monchy,  one  of  the  key 
positions  between  the  Scarpe  and  Sensee 
Rivers,  which  the  Germans  had  strongly 
organized.  Fierce  fighting  took  place  in 
the  village  streets.  The  Germans  fired 
from  the  windows  and  rooftops  of  houses, 
and  made  every  effort  to  hold  this  vital 
position.  The  British  made  satisfactory 
progress  at  other  points.  They  repelled 
two  vigorous  counterattacks  and  pressed 
forward  down  the  eastern  slopes  of  Vimy 
Ridge.  The  chief  result  at  the  end  of 
the  third  day  was  that  the  British  had 
been  able  to  consolidate  their  gains  and 
move  forward  their  artillery. 

Germans  Beaten  Off 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  battle,  April 
12,  the  British  made  substantial  progress 
east  of  Arras,  capturing  the  villages  of 


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THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS 


289 


Wancourt  and  Heninel  to  the  southeast, 
some  positions  north  of  the  Scarpe  River, 
and  driving  the  Germans  from  their  last 
foothold  on  Vimy  Ridge  to  the  northeast. 
The  work  of  straightening  the  new  line 
was  continued  by  clearing  the  enemy  out 
of  a  number  of  "  pockets."  Monchy  re- 
mained the  central  point  of  the  battle. 
There  the  British  attack  and  the  German 
defense  converged.  The  German  troops 
were  ordered  to  stop  the  British  advance 
at  all  costs,  and  it  was  not  until  large 
numbers  of  British  field  batteries  were 
brought  into  play  that  the  Germans  were 
definitely  beaten  off. 

On  the  fifth  day,  April  13,  a  new  turn 
was  given  to  the  battle  of  Arras.  By  a 
sudden  sweep  northward  from  their  new 
positions  east  of  the  city  the  British 
drove  the  Germans  back  on  a  twelve-mile 
front,  capturing  six  villages  and  serious- 
ly threatening  the  important  coal-mining 
centre  of  Lens.  This  new  line  of  advance 
extended  from  the  Scarpe  River  to  Loos, 
north  of  Lens.  The  town  of  Vimy  was 
captured,  as  well  as  Ancre,  which,  with 
Lieven,  protects  Lens  from  the  southwest. 
The  depth  of  the  advance  was  about  a 
mile.  Sir  Douglas  Haig's  bulletin  at  the 
end  of  the  day's  fighting  reported  that 
the  number  of  guns  captured  during  the 
five  days'  operations  had  reached  166, 
and  the  aggregate  prisoners  13,000.  But 
the  most  significant  statement  by  the 
British  Commander  in  Chief  was  that  the 
British  were  "  astride  "  the  Hindenburg 
line,  which  the  Germans  had  believed 
impregnable. 

The  Germans  were  now  forced  to  fall 
back  in  the  direction  of  an  emergency 
auxiliary  line  from  Drocourt  to  Queant, 
endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to  complete 
the  new  defensive  positions  on  which  they 
were  compelled  to  rely  once  the  Hinden- 
burg line  failed  them.  On  April  13  the 
British  also  attacked  on  a  wide  front 
west  of  Le  Catelet,  from  Metz-en-Cou- 
ture,  south  of  the  Bapaume-Cambrai 
railroad,  to  north  of  Hargicourt,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  nine  miles. 

On  the  French  section  of  the  front 
during  the  first  five  days  of  the  battle 
there  was  no  attempt  at  an  offensive,  the 
chief  business  of  the  French  being  to 
keep  the  Germans  occupied  while  the 
British  were  making  their  great  thrust 


at  the  Hindenburg  line  between  Lens  and 
St.  Quentin.  The  French  maintained  a 
constant  artillery  fire  between  the  Somme 
and  the  Aisne  until  the  sixth  day  of  the 
British  drive.  Then  they  launched  a 
fierce  offensive  south  of  St.  Quentin  and, 
despite  the  desperate  resistance  by  the 
Germans,  succeeded  in  carrying  several 
lines  of  trenches  between  the  Somme  and 
the  railroad  running  from  St.  Quentin 
to  the  Oise.  This  was  followed  by  a 
vigorous  attack  in  co-operation  with  the 
British,  who  were  advancing  on  the  city 
from  the  northwest. 

The  battle  of  Arras  had  by  the  sixth 
day,  April  14,  really  become  the  battle  of 
Lens  and  St.  Quentin.  The  Germans  had 
now  brought  up  large  reinforcements  to 
prevent  the  rolling  up  of  the  Hindenburg 
line,  but  the  British  pushed  forward  un- 
checked toward  both  Lens  and  St.  Quen- 
tin. In  the  morning  the  town  of  Lievin, 
southwest  of  and  adjoining  Lens,  was 
captured,  with  considerable  quantities  of 
war  material.  In  the  afternoon  the  Brit- 
ish seized  Cite  St.  Pierre,  northwest  of 
Lens,  and  advanced  along  the  whole  front 
from  the  Scarpe  River  to  the  south  of 
Loos,  and  reached  points  two  to  three 
miles  east  of  Vimy  Ridge.  South  of  the 
Scarpe  attacks  and  counterattacks  alter- 
nated all  day.  The  British  made  further 
progress  on  a  wide  front  north  and  south 
of  the  Bapaume-Cambrai  road.  At  the 
southern  end  of  the  front  the  British 
fought  their  way  forward  south  and  east 
to  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  St. 
Quentin  and  carried  the  village  of  Fayet 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  French 
to  the  south  of  St.  Quentin  bombarded 
the  German  positions  in  front  of  the  city 
and  between  the  city  and  the  Oise.  At 
the  end  of  the  day's  fighting  the  fall  of 
both  Lens  and  St.  Quentin  was  imminent. 

The  battle  raged  with  undiminished 
fury  throughout  the  night  and  all  next 
day,  April  15,  when  between  4  and  5 
in  the  morning  the  first  British  troops 
entered  Lens.  The  occupation  of  the  dis- 
trict around  Lens  marked  the  recovery 
for  France  of  the  country's  most  valu- 
able coal  fields.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
forty-five-mile  line  the  British  had  prac- 
tically won  their  way  into  the  suburbs  of 
St.  Quentin,  with  the  Germans  making  a 
stubborn  last  stand  in  the  city  itself. 


The    Canadians9  Achievement   On  Vimy  Ridge 


TO  the  Canadians  was  given  the 
honor  of  leading  the  attack  on  Vimy 
Ridge,  where  last  year  the  French 
lost  thousands  of  men  in  an  attempt  to 
hold  that  dominating  height.  Once  be- 
fore the  British  gained  the  crest  of  the 
ridge  only  to  have  to  abandon  it  under 
a  tremendous  concentration  of  German 
guns.  Throughout  the  Winter  the 
Canadians  held  a  footing  on  the  ridge 
below  the  German  lines,  but  early  in  the 
first  day  of  the  battle  of  Arras  the 
Canadians  were  on  top  looking  down  on 
the  plain  of  Douai.  They  carried  the 
position  with  comparatively  little  fight- 
ing and  few  casualties,  pushing  from 
one  line  to  the  other  in  a  rapid,  method- 
ical manner. 

An  observer  who  saw  the  Canadians 
set  off  at  dawn  to  attack  the  German 
positions  describes  them  as  having  gone 
away  cheering  and  laughing  through  the 
mud,  which  made  them  look  like  scare- 
crows. They  followed  closely  and  warily 
the  barrage  of  the  British  guns,  the 
most  concentrated  artillery  fire  ever 
seen,  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  had  taken 
the  first  German  trenches,  including  the 
whole  front  line  system  of  defense  above 
Neuville  St.  Vaast,  by  La  Folie  Farm 
and  La  Folie  Wood,  and  up  by  Thelus, 
where  they  began  to  encounter  serious 
resistance. 

The  Germans  were  intrenched  in  long, 
deep  tunnels,  but  when  the  Canadians 
once  reached  the  position  With  fixed 
bayonets  the  Germans  were  glad  to  sur- 
render and  escape  from  the  British  ar- 
tillery fire  that  had  been  directed  on 
them.  Most  of  the  Germans  in  the  dug- 
outs were  made  prisoner  without  even 
a  show  of  fight.  On  Vimy  Ridge  alone 
the  Canadians  took  more  than  2,000 
prisoners.  By  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  Canadians  had  occupied  the  whole 
of  Vimy  Ridge  with  the  exception  of  a 
strongly  fortified  elevation  on  the  left 
of  Hill  145.  Artillery  fire  which  blew  the 
barbed  wire  entanglements  to  pieces 
made  the  Canadian  advance  easier.  One 
report  described  the  top  of  the  ridge  as 
having  been  literally  blown  off  by  the 


British  big  guns.  Another  dispatch,  that 
of  The  Associated  Press  staff  corre- 
spondent, dated  April  10,  says: 

The  Canadians  did  not  for  a  moment  un- 
derestimate the  seriousness  of  the  task  be- 
fore them  in  taking  Vimy.  They  knew  that 
the  artillery  had  paved  the  way  to  success, 
but  were  frankly  surprised  when  they  saw 
what  the  guns  had  actually  done.  They 
found  hundreds  of  Germans  holding  up  their 
hands  over  the  bodies  of  their  fallen  com- 
rades and  begging  for  something  to  eat. 
These  men  said  they  had  been  cut  off  for 
days  from  all  supplies  by  the  steadiness  of 
the  artillery  fire.  They  could  not  retire,  and 
no  relief  supply  columns  from  the  rear  ever 
reached  the  neighborhood  of  where  the  shells 
had  been  falling  in   continuous  showers. 

Some  of  the  stronger  redoubts,  manned 
by  machine-gun  detachments,  in  which  were 
found  men  of  the  highest  morale  in  the 
German  Army,  resisted  for  several  hours. 
But,  closing  around  them  during  the  night, 
the    Canadians    silenced    all   resistance. 

According  to  The  Toronto  Mail  and 
Empire  correspondent,  Canadian  ar- 
tillery, as  well  as  infantry,  helped  to  take 
Vimy  Ridge.    On  April  10  he  wrote: 

The  Canadian  artillery  has  played  the 
strongest  part  which  it  has  yet  been  called 
upon  to  do.  The  full  story  will  probably 
show  that  the  Canadian  gunners,  who  have 
frequently  earned  special  commendation  in 
the  final  tests  before  proceeding  to  France, 
paved  and  maintained  the  way  for  the 
storming  of  the  position,  which,  though 
much  coveted,  has  hitherto  been  regarded 
as  almost  impregnable. 

The  military  importance  of  this  ridge  has 
made  it  the  centre  of  fierce  struggles  dur- 
ing the  past  two  years,  the  Germans,  the 
French,  and  the  British'  all  having  heavy 
casualties  at  various  times.  This  time,  how- 
ever, there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Canadian    losses   will   be   moderate. 

The  capture  of  2,000  prisoners  by  the 
Canadians  is  not  surprising,  as  the  whole 
ridge  was  honeycombed  with  dugouts,  in 
which  the  Germans  sheltered  themselves. 

Up  to  the  present  moment-  the  great  of- 
fensive had  been  held  up  just  at  the  point 
below  the  Canadian  lines,  which  fact 
caused  Vimy  Ridge  to  be  styled  the  "  hinge  " 
of  the  enemy's  retreat  from  the  Somme,  and 
the  Canadians  have  been  very  impatient  for 
the  "  hinge  "  to  move.  I  also  understand 
that  Canadian  cavalry  enjoyed  more  scope 
in  this  action. 

Anglo-Canadians  are  rejoicing  at  the  good 
news,  and  Sir  Robert  Borden  has  sent  a 
congratulatory  message  to  General  Byng, 
who    commands    the    Canadian    forces.      The 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS 


271 


entire  press  rings  with  the  exploits  of  the 
Canadians,  as  it  did  at  the  battle  of  Ypres, 
but  with  more  jubilation. 

Further  light  is  thrown  on  the  work 
of  the  Canadians  by  the  London  corre- 
spondent of  The  Canadian  Associated 
Press: 

•••  Before  midday  one  Canadian  cage  had 
500  prisoners,"  said  an  informant  reaching 
London  today.  "  One  of  the  first  things 
which  happened  before  daylight  was  the 
blowing  up  of  an  enemy  ammunition  dump 
on  Vimy  Ridge.  The  shock  was  momentarily 
paralyzing  locally,  but  was  a  mere  incident 
to  what  followed,  The  Canadians  waited  in 
the  dark,  with  a  cold  rain  pelting  'and  a 
bitter  'wind  driving  over  the  desolate  ground. 
The  artillery  had  been  pounding  away  for 
days,  and  every  shell  we  sent  over  had  its 
own  particular  spot  to  fall  on,  for  the 
British  airplanes  had  done  wonderful  scout- 
ing work  in  preparation  for  this. 

1  The  scouting  work  and  the  artillery  fire 
which  followed  made  possible  the  results  al- 
ready achieved  by  our  infantry.  Our  heavy 
guns  were  first  brought  there  three  days 
after  Christmas.  They  were  put  in  position 
in  the  morning  and  began  firing  the  same 
afternoon.  They  have  gone  on  ever  since, 
so  there  is  some  idea  of  what  is  meant  by 
artillery    preparation. 

"  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  the  results 
have  given  every  satisfaction,  not  merely  in 
a  spectacular  sense,  which  the  mere  civilian 
is  able  to  appreciate,  but  in  the  more 
technical  military  sense.  Competent  sober 
estimates  had  reckoned  that  the  Canadian 
divisions  could  not  advance  without  losing 
a  third  of  their  strength,  but  this  estimate 
has  been  entirely  falsified.  The  casualty 
lists  are  heavy,  but  less  heavy  than  any 
competent  estimate  imagined.  The  air  serv- 
ice  and   artillery   made   this   possible." 

The  Canadian  press  is  able  to  vouch  for 
the  interesting  fact  that  General  Byng  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  the  war,  and  before  he 
assumed  the  Canadian  command,  was  in 
command  of  the,  English  troops  who  were 
then  holding  the   Vimy   Ridge   line. 

At  Vimy  Ridge  for  the  first  time  in 
history  the  Stars  and  Stripes  appeared  on 
a  European  battlefield.  The  story  is  told 
in  an  unofficial  dispatch  received  at  Ot- 
tawa from  the  Canadian  Army  Head- 
quarters in  Europe: 

To  a  young  Texan  who  came  to  Ontario  to 
enlist  and  who  is  now  lying  wounded  in  the 
hospital  belongs   the  honor  of  first  carrying 


the  American  flag  into  battle  in  the  Euro- 
pean war,  into  which  the  United  States,  as 
a  belligerent,  has  just  entered.  He  went  up 
to  the  assault  at  Thelus  carrying  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  on  his  bayonet  and  fell  thus. 

As  soon  as  King  George  learned  of 
the  first  day's,  fighting  he  sent  the  fol- 
lowing message  to  Sir  Douglas  Haig: 

The  whole  empire  will  rejoice  at  the  news 
of  yesterday's  successful  operations.  Canada 
will  be  proud  that  the  taking-  of  the  coveted 
Vimy  Ridge  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  her 
troops.  I  heartily  congratulate  you  and  all 
who  have  taken  part  in  this  splendid  achieve- 
ment. 

Hill  145  was  the  only  position  that 
gave  the  Canadians  serious  trouble.  It 
was  an  earthern  fortress  of  the  first  im- 
portance, with  many  underground  gal- 
leries and  concrete  emplacements  for 
machine  guns.  Although  isolated  on 
three  sides  from  the  German  lines,  the 
enemy  was  difficult  to  dislodge,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  night  that  the 
Canadians  after  heavy  and  costly  fight- 
ing succeeded  in  occupying  it.  The  Ger- 
mans hurried  up  reinforcements  in  an  at- 
tempt to  recapture  a  hill  known  to  the 
British  as  the  Pimple  so  as  to  have  a 
vantage  point  to  retake  Hill  145.  But 
the  Canadians,  on  Thursday  morning, 
(April  12,)  suddenly  launched  an  attack, 
and,  in  spite  of  fierce  machine-gun  fire 
from  the  German  positions,  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the  hill  and  occupied 
the  woods  through  which  the  Germans 
delivered  their  counterattacks. 

Thus  already  in  the  first  week  of  the 
great  British  offensive  the  Canadians 
have  established  their  place  as  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  battle  of  Arras, 
which  is  still  in  progress.  They  took 
nearly  4,000  prisoners  and  large  quan- 
tities of  guns  and  material  during  their 
exploits  on  Vimy  Ridge,  and  have  justi- 
fied their  choice  for  the  vital  task  as- 
signed to  them.  As  the  casualty  lists 
indicate,  not  a  few  of  the  men  in  the 
Canadian  regiments  are  citizens  of  the 
United  States  who  went  to  Canada  to 
enlist. 


Great  French  Offensive  Near  Rheims 


THE  French  on  April  17  launched  a  new  m 
offensive  which  was  regarded  as  the 
beginning  of  the  most  important  ad- 
vance they  had  made  since  the  war 
began.  For  more  than  thirty  months  the 
historic  City  of  Rheims  had  been  a  target 
for  German  guns,  and  the  beautiful  City 
of  Soissons  had  been  likewise  in  serious 
peril.  The  French  line  ran  south  from 
Arras,  where  it  joined  the  British,  to  a 


along  a  front  of  nearly  forty  miles.  The 
advance  on  both  sides  of  Rheims  made 
that  city  a  salient  full  of  danger  for  the 
Germans,  with  a  probability  that  they 
would  be  forced  to  withdraw  much 
further  from  its  neighborhood. 

In  the  fighting,  which  was  very  bitter 
along  the  whole  front  from  Flanders  to 
Alsace,  it  was  estimated  that  4,000,000 
men  were  engaged,  2,500,000  Allies  and 


MAP    OF    THE    FRENCH     LINE    ON    THE    AISNE    FRONT,     APRIL     19,     1917 


point  on  the  River  Oise  near  Compiegne, 
and  then  ran  eastward,  passing  Soissons, 
Rheims,  and  Verdun,  to  a  point  almost 
opposite  Metz,  and  about  forty  miles 
west  of  that  famous  German  fortified 
city;  at  that  point  it  ran  due  south  again 
to  St.  Mihiel,  and  then  due  west,  cross- 
ing the  Moselle  near  the  German  border. 
The  blow  struck  on  April  17  was  on  an 
eleven-mile  stretch  east  of  Rheims,  and 
on  the  front  between  Rheims  and  Sois- 
sons. The  French  troops  proved  irre- 
sistible, advancing  from  one  to  two  miles 


1,500,000  Germans.  It  was  reported  that 
in  the  battles  of  April  14,  15,  16„  and  17 
over  35,000  German  prisoners  had  been 
taken  by  British  and  French  together, 
and  that  the  German  casualties  exceeded 
150,000;  more  than  200  guns  were  cap- 
tured and  an  immense  amount  of  booty; 
fully  800  square  miles  of  French  terri- 
tory were  released. 

These  events  seemed  on  the  20th  to 
be  only  preliminary  to  even  greater  con- 
flicts, perhaps  the  most  critical  of  the 
war. 


Naval  Power  in  the  Present  War 


By  Lieutenant  Charles  C.  Gill 

United  States  Navy 


V — The  Submarine 


This  article  is  the  fifth  in  a  series  contributed  to  Current  History  Magazine  by  Lieutenant 
Gill  of  the  superdreadnought  Oklahoma— with  the  sanction  of  the  United  States  Naval  De- 
partment—for the  purpose  of  deducing  the  lessons  furnished  by  the  naval  events  of  the 
European  war. 


SINCE  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  the 
submarine  has  been  a  conspicuous 
naval  weapon,  and  German  science 
has  developed  it  with  character- 
istic energy,  system,  and  thoroughness. 
Early  in  the  war  the  more  powerful  allied 
navies  practically  swept  the  seas  of  all 
enemy  merchant  ships  and  contained  the 
battle  fleets  of  the  Central  Powers  within 
comparatively  narrow  limits.  Beyond 
these  limits,  except  for  a  few  raids  on 
commerce  by  surface  cruisers,  the  naval 
activities  of  both  Germany  and  Austria 
have  been  restricted  to  the  use  of  sub- 
marines. 

Considering  the  disadvantages  inherent 
in  underwater  navigation,  the  results  at- 
tained have  been  truly  astonishing.  In 
the  first  days  of  the  war  one  small  Ger- 
man submarine  sank  three  British 
armored  cruisers  in  less  than  one  hour; 
since  then  German  and  Austrian  subma- 
rines are  estimated  to  have  sunk  230,000 
tons*  of  naval  vessels  and  3,600,000  tons* 
of  merchant  shipping.  On  Oct.  7,  1916, 
the  U-53  appeared  in  Newport  Harbor, 
exchanged  official  calls,  read  the  daily 
papers,  sent  dispatches,  and  departed  a 
few  hours  after  her  arrival.  The  next 
day  a  submarine  destroyed  off  Nantucket 
four  British  traders  and  one  Dutch 
trader.  A  few  months  ago  peaceful 
Funchal  was  suddenly  bombarded  by  a 
German   submarine. 

The  underwater  mine  layer  has  be- 
come an  accomplished  fact — it  is  dis- 
turbing to  think  of  this  huge  mechanical 
fish  secretly  threading  the  ocean  high- 

*Even  the  approximate  accuracy  of  these 
figures  is  questionable,  because  of  conflict- 
ing reports  and  the  difficulty  in  determining 
whether  a  ship  was  sunk  by  a  ntine  or  by  a 
torpedo  in  the  instances  where  neither  was 
seen. 


ways,  laying  its  engines  of  destruction. 
In  addition  to  all  these,  Captain  Konig 
has  smilingly  introduced  to  us  the 
Deutschland,  a  successful  underwater 
blockade  runner. 

With  this  evidence  of  accomplishments 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  submarine 
has  seized  upon  the  imagination.  Nor 
has  Germany,  in  furthering  her  ends, 
failed  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  mys- 
tery surrounding  underwater  attack.  It 
has  been  part  of  the  German  war  plan  to 
prepare  and  circulate  submarine  propa- 
ganda designed  to  strengthen  hopes  at 
home,  and  at  the  same  time  break  down 
morale  in  enemy  countries.  This  has 
resulted  in  a  somewhat  confused  perspec- 
tive; but  it  is  important  that  the  United 
States  should  search  out  the  facts,  reason 
to  logical  conclusions,  and  take  the  true 
measure  of  the  U-boat. 

Arm  of  the   Weaker  Combatant 

The  outstanding  characteristic  of  the 
submarine,  as  the  name  indicates,  is  its 
ability  to  navigate  below  the  surface  of 
the  water.  This  enables  it  to  evade  the 
enemy,  to  make  a  surprise  attack,  and  to 
escape  by  hiding.  These  faculties  are 
manifestly  suitable  for  the  weaker  bel- 
ligerent to  use  against  the  stronger  ene- 
my. Navies  that  dominate,  that  have 
power  to  seek  and  destroy  in  the  open, 
are  not  dependent  upon  abilities  to  evade 
and  to  hide.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
allied  submarines  have  found  their  chief 
opportunity  to  strike  in  sea  areas  con- 
trolled by  the  fleets  of  the  Central  Pow- 
ers, the  Baltic,  Dardanelles,  and  other 
waters  close  to  Teutonic  bases,  while 
German  submarines  have  been  active  in 
all  other  ocean  areas  within  the  cruising 
radius  of  their  U-boats.  Since  the  Allies 
control  practically  all  the  high  seas,  the 


274. 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


field  of  the  U-boat  has  been  large,  while 
the  activities  of  allied  submarines  have 
been  confined  to  the  relatively  narrow 
coastal  waters  controlled  by  Germany, 
Austria,  and  Turkey. 

Without  depreciating  the  utility  of  the 
submarine,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  if  the 
Allies  had  not  possessed  a  single  one  they 
would  still,  in  all  probability,  have  been 
able  to  enjoy  the  incalculable  advantages 
that  surface  control  of  the  seas  has  given 
them.  The  German  submarines,  more- 
over, have  not  proved  effective  against 
enemy  battle  fleets;  and  in  order  to 
facilitate  their  commerce-destroying  ope- 
rations they  have  found  it  necessary, 
because  of  inherent  weaknesses,  to  adopt 
methods  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  civ- 
ilized warfare.  Before  going  deeper  into 
the  uses  and  limitations  of  the  subma- 
rine it  might  be  well  to  touch  briefly 
upon  some  of  the  rules  governing  its 
legitimate  employment. 

Rules  of  International  Law 
The  purpose  of  rules  regulating  ocean- 
borne  intercourse  in  times  of  peace  and 
governing  both  belligerent  and  neutral 
conduct  in  time  of  war  is  to  carry  out 
practically  the  principles  of  the  freedom 
of  the  seas,  and  it  need  hardly  be  added 
that  these  principles  are  identical  with 
those  grounding  all  rules  of  right  con- 
duct at  sea  and  on  shore;  namely,  prin- 
ciples of  liberty,  justice,  and  humanity. 

As  weapons  and  other  conditions 
change,  new  situations  arise  which  may 
require  modifications  in  these  rules;  but 
both  in  time  of  peace  and  in  time  of  war 
reason  calls  for  a  general  concurrence 
of  Governments  before  a  modified  or  new 
rule  can  become  operative;  and  any  bel- 
ligerent instituting  methods  in  violation 
cf  previously  established  regulations 
assumes  the  burden  of  proof  to  show  that 
new  conditions  compel  new  rules  in  order 
to  carry  out  the  never-changing  princi- 
ples of  the  freedom  of  the  seas. 

There  is  little  room  for  confusion  of 
thought  on  this  point.  Unfortunately, 
however,  it  is  the  experience  of  war- 
time practice  that  military  necessity  and 
the  doctrine  of  "  might  makes  right " 
twist  these  rules  into  a  bewildering  tan- 
gle.    One  belligerent  breaks  a  rule  and 


attempts  to  justify  his  conduct.  The 
enemy,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  turns  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  arguments  in  justifica- 
tion, and,  seeing  only  the  broken  rule, 
proceeds  to  retaliate  by  breaking  another 
rule  on  the  ground  that  military  neces- 
sity forces  him  to  resort  to  this  act  of 
reprisal.  And  so  one  act  of  reprisal 
leads  to  another  until  unconscionable  de- 
grees of  lawlessness  are  reached. 

It  has  been  suggested  as  a  possible 
solution  obviating  the  difficulties  of 
drawing  up  a  set  of  good  working  rules 
to  govern  naval  operations  against  com- 
merce that  one  sweeping  sanction  of  im- 
munity might  suffice  by  which  all  trade 
ships  would  be  allowed  to  carry  on  their 
peaceful  pursuits  unmolested  in  time  of 
war  as  in  time  of  peace.  The  objection, 
however,  to  such  a  rule  is,  that  when  the 
world  is  divided  between  nations  at  peace 
and  nations  at  war,  this  rule  would  satis- 
fy peoples  at  peace  and  one  side  of  the 
belligerents,  but  the  other  belligerents 
would  find  it  discriminatory  and  would 
oppose  it  as  an  infringement  upon  their 
rights  to  use  the  seas  in  accordance  with 
principles  of  equity  and  freedom. 

To  deny  belligerents,  moreover,  their 
right  to  use  the  seas  for  suppressing  ene- 
my commerce  and  imposing  economic 
pressure  in  order  to  hasten  the  settle- 
ment of  their  differences,  would  deprive 
the  world  of  what  is  generally  looked 
upon,  when  conducted  according  to  the 
rules  of  civilized  warfare,  as  a  humane 
method  of  re-establishing  conditions  of 
peace.  It  may  be  added  that  those  who 
aim  at  a  world  peace  secured  by  a  con- 
cert of  power  may  reasonably  assert 
that,  while  the  freedom  of  the  seas  is  a 
foundation  principle  on  which  to  make  a 
world  peace  secure,  naval  power,  by  in- 
stituting blockades,  may  at  times  prove 
a  humane  and  effective  means  of  com- 
pelling recalcitrant  Governments  to  ob- 
serve the  provisions  of  this  peace. 

Certain  Established  Rules 
During  a  war,  the  maritime  interests 
cf  belligerents  and  neutrals  are  bound 
to  conflict;  and  it  is  impossible  to  give 
either  of  them  unlicensed  use  of  the  seas 
without  restricting  the  freedom  of  the 
other.    Hence  a  compromise  is  necessary, 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR:  THE  SUBMARINE       275 


and  so  long  as  nations  recognize  a  state 
of  war  as  involving  conditions  subject 
to  law  in  which  both  belligerents  and 
neutrals  have  rights,  it  is  manifest  that 
rules  are  required  to  define  and  guaran- 
tee these  rights.  It  will  not  be  attempted 
here  to  examine  closely  the  many  rules 
drawn  to  govern  naval  warfare,  some  of 
which  were  still  subjects  of  controversy 
when  the  present  war  began;  but,  as  an 
aid  to  the  memory,  a  few  of  the  recog- 
nized and  established  regulations  affect- 
ing the  use  of  the  submarine  will  be 
briefly  outlined: 

1.  A  blockade  to  be  binding1  must  be  ef- 
fective ;  that  is,  it  must  be  maintained  by  a 
force  sufficient  to  render  ingress  to  or  egress 
from  the  enemy  coast  line  dangerous. 

2.  A  blockade  must  not  bar  access  to  neu- 
tral ports  or  coasts. 

3.  During  the  continuance  of  a  state  of 
blockade  no  vessels  are  allowed  to  enter  or 
leave  the  blockaded  place  without  consent  of 
the  blockading  authority. 

4.  The  prohibition  of  contraband  trade  with 
the  attendant  adjudging  of  penalties  is  a 
belligerent  right.  This  right  can  only  be  ex- 
ercised upon  the  high  seas  and  the  terri- 
torial waters  of  the  belligerents  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rules  and  usages  of  inter- 
national law.  (Contraband  of  war  may  be 
defined  as  articles  destined  for  the  enemy 
and  capable  of  use  as  an  assistance  to  the 
enemy  in  carrying  on  war  either  ashore  or 
afloat.) 

5.  Lawfully  commissioned  public  vessels  of 
a  belligerent  nation  may  exercise  the  right  of 
visiting  and  searching  merchant  ships  upon 
the  high  seas,  whatever  be  the  ship,  the 
cargo,  or  the  destination.  If  the  examination 
of  ship's  papers  and  search  show  fraud,, 
contraband,  an  offense  in  respect  of  block- 
ade, or  enemy  service,  the  vessel  may  be 
seized.  Force  may  be  used  to  overcome 
either  resistance  or  flight,  but  condemnation 
follows  forcible  resistance  alone.  In  exer- 
cising these  rights  belligerents  must  con- 
form to  the  rules  and  usages  of  interna- 
tional law. 

6.  When  a  vessel  in  action  surrenders, 
(usually  indicated  by  hauling  down  the  na- 
tional flag  or  showing  the  white  flag  of 
truce,)  firing  must  cease  on  the  part  of  the 
victor.  To  continue  an  attack  after  knowl- 
edge of  surrender,  or  to  sink  a  vessel  after 
submission,  te  a  violation  of  the  rules  of  civ- 
ilized warfare  only  permissible  in  cases  of 
treachery  or  renewal  of  the  action. 

7.  Absolute  contraband,  including  guns, 
ammunition,  and  the  like,  is  liable  to  capture 
on  the  high  seas  or  in  the  territorial  waters 
of  the  belligerents  if  it  is  shown  to  be  des- 
tined to  territory  belonging  to  or  occupied  by 
the   enemy,    or   to    the   armed    forces   of   the 


enemy.  It  is  immaterial  whether  the  car- 
riage of  the  goods  is  direct  or  entails  trans- 
shipment or  a  subsequent  transport  by  land. 
Also  there  must  be  a  trial  and  judgment  of  a 
prize  court  of  the  captor  having  proper  juris- 
diction in  regard  to  the  goods  involved, 
whether  destroyed  or  not. 

Policy  of  "  War  Areas  " 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Great 
Britain  might  have  taken  advantage  of 
the  well-established  case  of  our  legal 
blockade  of  the  Confederate  States.  A 
summary  of  the  steps  by  which  this  civil 
war  blockade  was  made  legally  effective 
will  be  found  in  the  article,  "  American 
Tactics  in  the  Present  War,"  in  Current 
History  Magazine  for  November,  1916. 
Instead  of  proclaiming  a  legal  block- 
ade of  Germany,  Great  Britain  in  an 
Admiralty  order,  Nov.  2,  1914,  announced 
military  areas  in  the  North  Sea,  trusting 
to  British  command  of  the  sea,  which  at 
that  time  seemed  undisputed.  This  was 
an  unfortunate  move,  for  the  possibilities 
of  the  submarine  were  not  considered; 
and  Germany  was  able  to  retaliate  by 
declaring  all  waters  about  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  a  "  war  zone,"  beginning 
Feb.  18,  1915. 

Great  Britain  at  once  realized  her  mis- 
take, and  by  an  Order  in  Council  pro- 
claimed a  blockade  of  Germany,  March 
1,  1915.  But  the  harm  had  been  done, 
and  the  pernicious  war  area  had  been 
evolved.  On  Jan.  27,  1917,  the  British 
Admiralty  announced  that  the  area  in  the 
North  Sea  had  been  enlarged.  This  was 
modified  Feb.  13,  1917.  On  Jan.  31,  1917, 
Germany  sent  to  the  neutral  nations  the 
"  barred  zone "  note  announcing  unre- 
stricted submarine  warfare  beginning  on 
Feb.  1,  1917. 

Armed  Merchantmen 

Merchantmen  have  the  right  to  arm  for 
defense.  A  merchantman  may  repel  an 
attack  by  any  enemy  ship,  but  only  a 
man-of-war  can  attack  men-of-war. 

According  to  international  law  the 
character  of  a  ship  is  determined  by  her 
employment;  and  it  is  an  established 
right  of  merchant  vessels  that  they  may 
carry  arms — for  defense  only — without 
necessarily  altering  their  status  before 
the  law  as  traders  engaged  in  legitimate 


276 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


peaceful  pursuits.  This  right  is  well 
established  by  precedent,  and  although 
prolific  of  complications,  it  has  on  the 
whole  operated  to  sustain  the  principles 
of  freedom  of  the  seas.  Its  usefulness 
was  conspicuous  in  the  days  of  piracy; 
and  the  "  long  toms  "  on  board  our  clip- 
per ships  proved  strong  arguments  in 
suppressing  lawlessness. 

In  the  heat  of  war,  moreover,  bellig- 
erents are  inclined  to  infringe  the  privi- 
leges of  noncombatants,  and  experience 
has  shown  thatfthe  right  of  merchant 
vessels  to  arm  for  defense  has  tended  to 
prevent  belligerents  from  unlawful  inter- 
ference with  peaceful  traffic.  The  bel- 
ligerent right  to  stop,  visit,  search,  and 
capture  merchantmen  is  a  high  sovereign 
power,  and  it  seems  reasonable  to  require 
that  the  vessels  authorized  to  exercise  it 
should  possess  potential  strength.  It 
would  be  a  somewhat  absurd  condition, 
inviting  abuse  and  irregularity,  if  rules 
were  so  framed  as  to  permit  a  fast  enemy 
motor  boat,  manned  by  three  or  four 
men  armed  with  rifles,  to  stop,  search, 
and  capture  an  ocean  liner,  without 
allowing  the  liner  to  attempt  lawfully 
either  flight  or  resistance.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  motor  boat,  submarine,  or  any 
other  duly  commissioned  and  authorized 
man-of-war  has  the  right  to  employ  force 
to  overcome  resistance  or  to  prevent 
flight;  and  the  merchantman  has  no  re- 
dress for  damage  sustained  during  at- 
tempted flight  or  resistance.  In  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  it  is  obvious  that  pru- 
dence will  influence  merchantmen  to  sur- 
render promptly  in  the  face  of  a  respect- 
ably powerful  man-of-war  rather  than 
forfeit  immunity  by  attempting  flight  or 
resistance. 

If  an  armed  merchantman  of  a  neu- 
tral country  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
warring  nations  should  resist  by  force  a 
belligerent  man-of-war,  the  neutral  Gov- 
ernment would  properly  discountenance 
the  act  as  incompatible  with  the  relations 
of  amity  existing  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. If,  however,  neutral  rights  are 
violated  to  an  intolerable  degree  a  state 
of  armed  neutrality  may  supplant  the 
relations  of  amity,  and  under  these  unus- 
ual conditions  a  Government  has  the 
right  and  may  be  in  duty  bound  to  pre- 


serve its  neutrality  by  using  such  force 
as  the  circumstances  may  require;  but 
in  this  delicate  situation  care  must  be 
exercised  that  force  is  used  only  in  de- 
fense of  neutral  rights. 

Blockades  and  Submarines 
From  the  beginning  of  the  war  sub- 
marines have  helped  to  prevent  a  close 
blockade  of  the  coasts  of  the  Central 
Powers,  and  the  inability  on  the  part  of 
the  allied  navies  to  institute  a  coast  line 
blockade  strictly  in  accordance  with  the 
established  rules  of  international  law  has 
led  to  what  is  generally  known  as  a  dis- 
tant blockade.  The  so-called  Orders  in 
Council  regulating  this  distant  blockade 
have  lengthened  the  contraband  lists  and 
extended  the  doctrine  of  ultimate  destina- 
tion until  Germany's  commerce  with  non- 
contiguous countries  has  been  practically 
cut  off. 

As  the  effectiveness  of  the  blockade 
increased,   military   necessity    demanded 
that  Germany  do  something  to  counter- 
act it.    The  only  weapon  her  navy  could 
use  was  the  submarine.    Underwater  at- 
tack against  the  blockading  battle  fleets 
met  with  little  success;  but  the  unscrupu- 
lous use  of  the  submarine  as  a  commerce 
destroyer   brought   better  results.     The 
vigorous  protest  of  neutrals  against  the 
violation  of  their  rights  caused  Germany, 
for  a  time,  to  make  an  effort  to  comply 
with  the  rules  and  usages  of  international 
law;  but  this  effort  proved  ineffectual. 
The  vulnerability  of  the  submarine,  with 
the  increasing  efficacy  of  the  ways  and 
means  developed  to  safeguard  merchant- 
men from   its   attack,  presented   to  the 
German     Government     the     alternative 
either  of  suffering  a  curtailment  of  sub- 
marine  effectiveness   or   of   abandoning 
lawful  methods.     Germany's  decision  to 
take  the  latter  course  was  announced  to 
the   world   by   official   notification   that 
within  a  war  zone  embracing  large  areas 
of  the  high  seas  her  submarines  would 
sink    all    ships,    neutral    or    belligerent, 
without   warning.      It   was   further   an- 
nounced that  a  weekly  neutral  steamer 
here  and  there  would  be  spared,  provided 
Germany's  orders  respecting  cargo  and 
behavior  were  carefully  observed. 
In  tracing  the  developments  leading  to 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR:  THE  SUBMARINE       277. 


this  decision  it  is  interesting  to  follow 
the  various  measures  of  retaliation 
adopted  by  both  sides  and  to  note  the 
part  taken,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
by  the  submarine;  the  creation  of  danger 
zones,  the  indiscriminate  use  of  mines 
and  torpedoes,  the  lengthened  contraband 
lists — all  the  various  successive  moves  by 
which  the  belligerents,  actuated  by  the 
policy  of  military  necessity,  have  tres- 
passed more  and  more  upon  the  rights 
of  neutrals  and  noncombatants.  But  in 
spite  of  the  scientific  triumph  of  the 
modern  U-boat,  and  notwithstanding  the 
toll  of  shipping  sacrificed,  a  careful  study 
of  all  sides  of  the  question  seems  to  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  end  the  sub- 
marine will  not  vindicate  the  expectations 
of  those  who  hail  it  as  a  decisive  factor 
of  modern  war.  The  submarine  may  be 
able  to  prevent  a  close  blockade  by  the 
enemy;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  able 
either  to  break  the  grip  of  a  distant 
blockade  or  to  establish  an  effective  sub- 
marine blockade  as  a  countermeasure. 

The  Submarine  s  Limitations 

Submarines  are  of  many  different 
types  and  sizes,  which  may  be  divided 
into  two  general  classes:  the  smaller 
coast-defense  submarine  of  moderate 
cruising  capacities,  and  the  larger  sea- 
going submarine  with  greater  fighting 
and  cruising  abilities.  The  first-men- 
tioned class  comprises  the  five-hundred- 
ton  to  eight-hundred-ton  submarines,  and 
includes  the  familiar  E,  F,  G,  H,  K,  and 
L  boats  of  our  navy.  Germany  uses  these 
types  chiefly  in  the  North  Sea,  Baltic 
Sea,  and  other  home  waters.  The  other 
and  more  modern  class  includes  the  larg- 
er U-boats  operating  on  the  high  seas. 

The  most  recent  of  Germany's  large 
submarines  may  be  described  as  the 
fighting  consorts  of  the  Deutschland. 
Although  little  is  known  positively  about 
them,  the  following  approximate  char- 
acteristics may  be  attributed:  tonnage, 
2,000;  Diesel  engines  of  6,000  to  8,000 
horse  power,  giving  a  surface  speed  of 
18  to  20  knots  and  a  submerged  speed 
of  12  to  14  knots;  a  cruising  radius  at 
most  economical  speed  of  about  7,000 
miles;  and  an  armament  of  one  or  two 
small  calibre   (three  inch  or  four  inch) 


guns  in  addition  to  about  sixteen  torpe- 
does. 

These  are  formidable  craft,  capable  of 
doing  much  damage,  especially  if  operat- 
ing from  a  secret  base  supplied  and  pro- 
visioned by  ships  like  the  Deutschland. 
But  they  have  difficulties  to  overcome. 
The  problems  of  submarine  navigation 
have  not  all  been  satisfactorily  solved. 
When  submerged  the  speed  is  slow,  mak- 
ing it  necessary  to  rise  to  the  surface 
in  order  to  overtake  even  moderately  fast 
freighters.  It  is  then  that  the  trader's 
guns  for  defense  become  dangerous. 

Moreover,  the  distance  the  submarine 
can  go  below  the  surface  on  a  stretch 
is  still  comparatively  short,  probably  150 
miles  for  the  newest  U-boats  is  an  over- 
estimate. When  the  limit  is  reached  the 
submarine  either  has  to  remain  stopped 
or  come  to  the  surface  to  recharge  her 
batteries.  If  the  submarine  is  forced  to 
keep  below  the  surface,  besides  having 
a  reduced  speed,  she  cannot  use  her 
guns  and  therefore  has  to  draw  upon  her 
limited  supply  of  expensive  torpedoes. 
Nor  is  it  an  altogether  easy  matter  to 
manoeuvre  a  submarine  by  periscope  so 
as  to  score  a  hit  on  an  alert  merchant- 
man. 

Advantages  of  Armed  Ships 

Suppose  a  submarine  on  the  edge  of 
the  war  zone,  either  stopped  or  cruising 
slowly  on  the  surface  looking  for  mer- 
chantmen. Smoke  is  sighted,  say,  at 
twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  yards. 
The  submarine  would  probably  manoeu- 
vre to  get  in  the  path  of  the  quarry  and 
then  submerge  at  a  range  of  about  fifteen 
to  twenty  thousand  yards  before  there 
were  likelihood  of  her  being  sighted  by 
the  supposedly  armed  trader.  If  the 
merchantman  should  come  straight  on,  to 
destroy  her  is  comparatively  easy;  but  if, 
instead  of  this,  a  zigzag,  irregular  course 
should  be  steered,  the  submarine  would 
have  to  estimate  the  changes  through  her 
periscope  and  manoeuvre  to  keep  ahead 
of  the  merchantman,  with  consequently 
more  likelihood  of  being  discovered  and 
less  likelihood  of  getting  near  enough  for 
a  sure  shot.  If  the  periscope  should  be 
seen  by  the  trading  vessel,  she  would 
probably  open  fire  and  turn  away.   Shots 


278 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


splashing  in  front  of  a  submarine's  peri- 
scope would  hamper  her  manoeuvring 
abilities  and  the  chances  of  getting  a  hit 
in  a  stern-on  target  steering  a  zigzag 
course  would,  unless  close  aboard,  hardly 
be  worth  expending  a  torpedo.  To  catch 
the  trader,  unless  a  slow  one,  the  sub- 
marine would  have  to  come  to  the  sur- 
face and  risk  destruction  by  gun  fire. 

All  these  limitations  contribute  to 
make  the  submarine  vulnerable  and  less 
effective.  Although  nets,  aircraft,  and 
the  lighter  submarine  chasers  will  not  be 
as  competent  against  seagoing  subma- 
rines as  against  the  smaller  coast  sub- 
marines, both  because  of  the  greater  size 
of  the  former  and  because  of  the  rough- 
er weather  and  sea  conditions  to  be  con- 
tended with,  still  they  may  do  some  good 
while  more  effectual  methods  are  being 
developed.  Undoubtedly  the  United 
States  Navy  will  be  of  great  help  in 
solving  this  problem — but  it  would  be 
improper  at  this  time  to  discuss  our 
navy's  share  in  the  game. 

Until  means  of  neutralizing  the  sub- 
marines are  found  they  will  take  great 
toll  from  merchantmen.  It  is  folly  not 
to  realize  that  they  are  destroying  many 
vessels,  and  not  to  acknowledge  that 
merchantmen  run  risks,  especially  under 
conditions  of  poor  visibility  at  night,  in 
fog,  and  in  mist.  Early  dawn  is  also  a 
critical  time  for  the  trader.  But  it  is 
probable,  as  schemes  of  co-operation  are 
developed  between  the  submarine-hunting 
navies  and  the  shipping  they  are  trying 
to  safeguard,  that  these  dangers  will  be 
lessened. 

Future  of  the  Submarine 

The  question  of  the  future  of  under- 
water craft  is  conjectural,  but  it  is  possi- 
ble to  make  some  tentative  deductions 
from  the  trend  along  which  development 
has  so  far  proceeded. 

The  submarine  is  always  asking  for  a 
greater  cruising  radius,  more  speed,  bet- 
ter habitability,  and  more  power.  It  is 
also  reported  that  new  designs  call  for 
an  increased  number  of  torpedoes,  to- 
gether with  guns  and  armor  protection 
for  surface  fighting.  There  is  perhaps  a 
new  type  of  submarine  under  construction 
or  possibly  already  afloat,  some  idea  of 


which  might  be  had  by  conceiving  a  sort 
of  submersible  monitor  of  about  4,000  to 
6,000  tons  displacement,  carrying  a  tur- 
ret mounting  two  six-inch  guns  so  at- 
tached to  the  hull  as  to  present  when 
firing  only  armor-protected  parts  above 
the  water.  A  division  of  these  sub- 
mersible monitors,  accompanied  by  a  few 
Deutschlands  fitted  as  troop-carrying 
and  supply  ships,  might  set  out  from  a 
blockaded  coast,  steam  to  distant  parts, 
and  there  seize,  fortify,  and  hold  with 
considerable  tenacity  an  advance  base 
from  which  to  operate  against  commerce. 
Such  an  expedition  might  do  a  lot  of 
damage  unless  met  and  defeated  by  the 
determined  measures  of  an  equally  enter- 
prising adversary. 

The  evolution  of  the  submarine  ap- 
pears to  be  toward  the  submersible  bat- 
tleship; but  the  consensus  of  naval  opin- 
ion at  present  seems  to  be  that  a  super- 
submersible  capable  of  navigating  under 
the  water  and  also  strong  enough  to  fight 
battleships  on  the  surface  involves  an 
almost  prohibitive  cost,  which  would  be 
out  of  proportion  to  the  advantages 
gained.  By  increasing  the  tonnage  of  the 
submarine  its  mechanical  difficulties  are 
aggravated.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
large  tonnage  of  the  surface  battleship 
is  like  a  reserve  of  wealth,  which  may  be 
expended  in  any  desirable  way;  if  under- 
water attack  is  a  serious  menace  to  the 
battleship  some  of~this  tonnage  can  be 
drawn  upon  to  supply  suitable  protection, 
such  as  a  series"  of  outer  and  inner  bot- 
toms so  constructed  and  subdivided  as 
to  make  the  ship  practically  nonsinkable; 
or,  if  attack  from  the  air  is  dangerous, 
reserve  tonnage  may  be  drawn  upon  for 
aero  defense — and  so  on.  In  estimating 
the  value  of  the  submarine  in  wars  to 
come  it  would  appear  safe,  therefore,  to 
assume  that  in  future  struggles  for  con- 
trol of  the  seas  the  role  of  the  submarine 
will  always  be  secondary  to  that  of  sur- 
face ships. 

Summary  of  Results 

In  making  a  brief  survey  of  the  naval 
activities  of  the  war  it  is  seen  that  the 
submarine  has  been  of  no  great  value  to 
the  superior  navies  controlling  the  seas, 
but  has  been  practically  the  only  effective 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR:  THE  SUBMARINE       279 


naval  weapon  of  the  inferior  fleets. 
When  used  against  the  enemy  battle 
squadrons  it  has  influenced  strategy  and 
tactics  and  scored  a  few  minor  successes 
in  sinking  some  of  the  older  men-of-war, 
but  generally  speaking  has  produced  no 
very  important  results.  When  used 
against  merchant  ships  the  submarine 
has  been  unable  to  attain  effectiveness 
while  complying  with  the  rules  and 
usages  of  international  law,  but  by  re- 
sorting to  unscrupulous  methods  it  has 
become  a  dangerous  commerce  destroyer ; 
and  the  suppression  of  this  evil  must  be 
one  of  the  tasks  of  the  navies  at  war 
with  Germany. 

The  war  has  shown  that  the  chief  tacti- 
cal value  of  the  submarine  is  for  defense, 
to  hold  the  enemy  at  a  distance.  The  fleet 
submarine  has  also  demonstrated  an  of- 
fensive value  which  may  be  useful  in  at- 
taining a  tactical  advantage.  In  addition, 


it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  submarine 
has  raised  havoc  with  both  neutral  and 
belligerent  commerce.  But  the  subma- 
rine blockade  has  not  proved  effective, 
and  the  lawless  methods  of  the  U-boat 
have  aroused  a  worldwide  condemnation. 
The  reactive  effect  of  Germany's  subma- 
rine war  on  commerce  may  easily  prove 
so  damaging  as  to  more  than  counter- 
balance any  temporary  advantage  gained. 
It  may  be  inferred,  therefore,  that  the 
United  States  needs  submarines  both  to 
help  defend  her  coasts  and  to  operate  as 
a  tactical  subdivision  of  the  fleet.  A 
lesson  also  learned  is  that,  although  the 
submarine  is  not  now,  and  probably 
never  will  be,  a  dominating  factor  in 
naval  warfare,  it  should  be  squarely 
faced  as  a  serious  menace  which  to  com- 
bat successfully  under  certain  circum- 
stances might  demand  our  utmost  inge- 
nuity and  energy. 


Secret  U-Boat    Orders  to    German    Newspapers 


THE  following  document,  which  is  be- 
lieved to  be  authentic,  indicates  the 
method  used  by  the  German  Govern- 
ment to  obtain  unanimous  press  support 
for  the  present  submarine  campaign: 

General  Command,  Seventh  Army  Corps, 
Dept.   lid.,   No.   1149. 

Miinster,    February,    1917. 
No.   545:    NOTICE 
To  Newspaper  and  Editorial  Offices,  &c. 
CONFIDENTIAL.      NOT    TO    BE    COPIED. 
SECRET - 
Newspapers    are    requested    to    act    on    the 
following-   advice    when    discussing    unlimited 
"  U  "   boat  war  : 

1.  Opinions  regarding  the  usefulness  of  the 
measures  and  of  the  time  chosen,  after  the 
decision  has  been  made,  would  have  the  ef- 
fect of  weakness  and  lack  of  harmony,  would 
encourage  the  enemy,  and  perhaps  induce 
wavering    neutrals    to    come    in. 

2.  For  the  beginning  of  the  concluding 
struggle  absolute  internal  unison  is  essen- 
tial. The  determined  approval  of  the  entire 
people  must  ring  out  from  the  press. 

3.  It  is  a  question,  not  of  a  movement  of 
desperation — all  the  factors  have  been  care- 
fully weighed  after  conscientious  technical 
naval  preparation — but  of  the  best  and  only 
means  to  a  speedy,  victorious  ending  of  the 


4.  Toward  America  it  is  advisable  to  use  the 
outward  forms  of  friendliness.  Unfriendli- 
ness would  increase  the  danger  of  America 
coming  in — the  breaking  off  of  diplomatic 
relations,  even  active  participation,  hangs  in 
the  balance.  The  attitude  of  the  press  must 
not  increase   this   danger. 

5.  The  navy,  fully  conscious  of  its  power, 
enters  into  this  new  section  ^of  the  war  with 
firm  confidence  in  the  result.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  the  phase  be  called  unlimited, 
not   ruthless,    "  U  "    boat   war. 

C.  Material,  personnel,  and  appliances  are 
being  increased  and  approved  continually ; 
trained   reserves   are  ready. 

7.  England's  references  to  the  perfection  of 
her  means  of  defense,  which  are  intended  to 
reassure  the  English  people,  are  refuted  by 
the  good  results   of   the   last  months. 

8.  Each  result  is  now  much  more  important* 
because  the  enemy's  Mercantile  Marine  is 
already  weakened,  the  material  used  up. 
Much    colored    personnel. 

9.  The  psychological  influence  should  not 
be  underestimated.  Fear  amongst  the  enemy 
and  neutrals  leads  to  difficulties  with  the 
crews,  and  may  induce  neutrals  to  keep 
ships   in  harbor. 

10.  "  U  "  boat  war  is  now  exclusively  a 
part  of  the  combined  method  of  waging  war, 
therefore  a  purely  military  matter. 


A  Submarine  Torpedo:  What  It  Is  and 
How  It  Works 


PLUNGER 


RE&ULATORS. 


WCHINERY.II'  J 

I^CHAMBER'UlLllI  I; 

fe«i|i;i|i 


JUDDER.-  -J 


GYROSCOPE.. 


HEARINGS. 


—RUDDER 


SCREWS. 


NEARLY  all  the  belligerent  powers 
are  now  manufacturing  their  own 
torpedoes,  and  the  type  of  all  is 
the  same,  differing  only  in  details.  A 
glance  at  the  Whitehead  torpedo,  which 
is  manufactured  at  Fiume,  Austria,  and 
which  has  long  been  the  only  one  in  use, 
will  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  working  of 
these  engines  of  destruction.  After  be- 
ing fired  from  a  tube  in  the  side  of  a 
torpedo  boat  or  submarine,  the  torpedo 
travels  under  its  own  power  until  this  is 
spent,  or  until  it  strikes  an  object  and  ex- 
plodes. The  vessel  launching  it  must 
stop  its  engines  in  order  to  get  any  ac- 
curacy of  aim. 

In  its  external  appearance  the  torpedo 
is  a  spindle-shaped  tube  of  sheet  steel 
furnished  with  a  "  tail  "  that  gives  no 
clue  to  the  wonderful  mechanism  inside 
it.  The  most  powerful  type  in  use  meas- 
ures 21  inches  in  diameter  and  about  20 
feet  long.  It  weighs  3,000  pounds.  The 
cost  of  a  torpedo  is  upward  of  $1  a 
pound;  even  for  one  of  medium  size 
$2,000  is  a  moderate  price. 

The  torpedo  contains  its  own  motive 
power,  which  is  compressed  air.  It  is 
divided  into  compartments  which  screw 
into  each  other,  and  which  may  here  be 
examined  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
placed. 

The  "  charge  cone "  at  the  apex  is 
filled  with  an  explosive — usually  moist 
guncotton — in  which  is  placed  a  tube  of 
dry  guncotton  furnished  with  a  fulminat- 
ing cap  preceded  by  a  plunger.  When  the 
plunger  strikes  a  solid  object  it  explodes 
the  charge.  The  earlier  model  of  torpedo 
contained  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds  of 
guncotton,  but  the  largest  today  contain 
more  than  225  pounds  of  this  or  some 
other  powerful  explosive. 

Behind  the  charge  cone  is  the  com- 
pressed-air chamber,  with  a  capacity 
varying  from  12,000  to  20,000  cubic 
inches  and  in  direct  communication  with 
the  motor.  The  air  in  it  is  usually  com- 
pressed to  150  atmospheres.  The  machine 


A   SUBMARINE   TORPEDO 


281 


chamber  contains  the  motor  which  oper- 
ates the  screws  and  the  auxiliary  motor 
that  controls  the  depth  rudder.  While 
the  other  compartments  of  the  torpedo 
are  water  tight,  the  machine  chamber  is 

POWDER  CHAMBER 

1 


LOADED  TORPEDO  TUBE 

pierced  with  holes  through  which  it  is 
filled  with  sea  water,  thus  keeping  the 
motor  cool.  The  rear  cone,  also  called 
the  rear  float,  contains  a  considerable 
quantity  of  ordinary  air.  Here  is  found 
the  gyroscope — whose  function  is  to  keep 
the  torpedo  going  straight  in  its  original 
direction — with  its  auxiliary  motor, 
the  screw  shafts,  and  a  compartment 
for  gearing. 

The    screws    turn    in    opposite    di- 
rections, the  force  being  transmitted 
through  two  concentric  shafts.    These 
shafts  are  hollow;  it  is  through  their 
tubes   that   the   compressed   air  escapes 
on  emerging  from  the  motor,  producing 
the    bubbles    that    betray   the   track    of 
the  torpedo  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
This  track,  visible  to  the  naked  eye  at 
800    or    1,000    yards,    can    scarcely    be 
seen  100  yards  away  if  the  sea  is  rough. 
The    "  tail "    is    formed    by    a    frame, 
inside  of  which  the  screws  and  rudders 
move. 

As  the  torpedo  propels  itself  and  guides 
itself  by  its  own  power,  the  firing  of  it 
has  no  other  object  than  to  launch  it  in 
the  water  in  the  right  direction.  The 
process  differs  according  as  the  torpedo 
is  fired  from  the  surface  or  under  water. 
Both     methods     are     used     in     torpedo 


boats  and  battleships.  To  fire  the  tor- 
pedo from  the  surface  a  cannon  tube  is 
used,  charged  with  one-half  to  two-thirds 
of  a  pound  of  powder.  This  tube  is 
usually  installed  on  the  deck,  mounted  on 
a  truck  that  permits  it  to  be  aimed 
like  an  ordinary  gun. 

Firing  under  water  is  the  only 
method  that  can  be  used  by  sub- 
marines. Every  navy  maintains  se- 
crecy regarding  its  apparatus  for  this 
purpose,  but  the  machinery  all  belongs 
to  one  of  two  types— (1)  a  shuttle 
tube  manipulated  inside  the  ship, 
with  the  muzzle  fitted  into  the  hull; 
(2)  a  cradle  fixed  in  the  water  at 
the  side  of  the  ship  and  containing  the 
torpedo,  which  goes  forth  under  the  pro- 
pulsion of  its  own  screw  after  this  has 
been  started  from  the  interior  of  the 
vessel.     The   Armstrong  tube,  which  is 


cftjJJJtt 


FIRING    THE    TORPEDO 


dia- 


represented    in    the    accompanying 
grams,  belongs  to  the  former  class. 

The  effects  of  a  charge  of  200  pounds 
of  guncotton  exploding  against  the  side 
of  a  vessel  are  likely  to  vary  according 
to  the  point  struck,  the  depth  below  the 
surface,  and  the  strength  of  the  hull.  The 
best  torpedoes  travel  to  a  distance  of  six 
miles,  with  a  speed  of  about  twenty-five 
knots;  by  limiting  the  range  to  two  or 
three  miles  a  speed  of  thirty-five  knots 
can  be  obtained,  or  about  twenty  yards 
a  second.  Within  500  or  1,000  yards 
there  is  a  chance  of  hitting  the  target; 
at  2,000  yards  the  chances  are  meagre, 
and  beyond  3,000  yards  the  probable 
lateral  deviation  is  more  than  150  meters. 


British  Foreign  Policies  and  the 
Present  War 


By  Thomas  G.  Frothingham 


1878 
"  A    free    outlet    for    the    undeveloped"   re- 
sources of  Russia  would  have  given  England 
the    trade    of    the    world.      England    should 
have  given  Constantinople  to  Russia." 

THE  above  was  the  comment  of  the 
writer's  father  on  the  terms  of 
the  Congress  of  Berlin,  (1878.) 
My  father  was  of  an  old  firm  of 
Mediterranean  merchants.  This  great 
sea  from  ancient  days  has  been  the 
pulsating  heart  of  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  and  in  the  seventies  its  merchants 
were  wise  beyond  their  generation. 

These  words  have  proved  prophetic — 
and  the  results  of  England's  mistake  are 
far-reaching.  Her  conduct,  which  led  to 
the  Congress  of  Berlin,  made  Germany 
a  dominating  power  in  Europe  and  main- 
tained the  Turkish  Empire.  Both  were 
intended  to  be  buffers  against  imaginary 
Russian  encroachments — and  both  are 
now  vindictively  fighting  against  Eng- 
land. 

The  Past  in  a  New  Light 

England  had  emerged  from  her  period 
of  stress  through  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  with  the  strongest 
national  life  of  all  the  nations.  From 
the  adventurers  of  the  Elizabethan  times, 
through  the  stern  assertion  of  the  na- 
tion by  Cromwell,  and  from  the  seafaring 
colonists  of  England,  there  had  sprung 
a  national  growth  unique  in  history. 
There  were  lapses  under  the  indolent 
Stuarts,  but  the  trend  had  been  toward 
maritime  and  colonial  supremacy.  The 
last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  saw 
England  with  the  dominion  of  the  seas 
and  enlarged  colonial  possessions. 

England  strained  her  resources  in  the 
Napoleonic  wars,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  her 
course  was  altogether  wise.  She  came 
out  of  these  wars  with  an  apparent  in- 
crease of  prestige  and  power  on  the  sea. 
But  all  her  influence  had  been  thrown  to 


revive  the  empires  of  Europe.  Of  these 
Prussia,  Austria,  and  Russia  were  des- 
tined to  have  an  evil  effect  on  England's 
future,  Prussia  and  Austria  as  enemies 
and  Russia  as  an  imaginary  foe,  against 
whom  England  has  wasted  her  energies 
for  a  hundred  years. 

After  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  there 
was  for  England  a  long  time  of  great 
prosperity  and  increased  power.  Eng- 
land seemed  to  have  gained  all  her  ends, 
and,  with  her  established  command  of 
the  seas  and  consequent  control  of  com- 
merce, she  seemed  assured  of  the  com- 
mercial supremacy  of  the  world. 

Unfounded  Suspicion  of  Russia 

But  after  the  war  of  1828-29  between 
Turkey  and  Russia,  which  resulted  in 
the  independence  of  Greece,  (announced 
by  Turkey  in  1830,)  there  grew  up  in  the 
British  mind  a  great  suspicion  of  Russia 
and  hostility  against  Russian  occupation 
of  Constantinople.  A  more  false  posi- 
tion would  have  been  hard  for  England 
to  find.  As  the  commercial  clearing 
house  of  the  world  and  the  great  com- 
mon carrier,  she  would  have  been  assured 
of  Russia's  trade,  and  the  development  of 
Russia  would  have  opened  great  markets 
for  English  goods — but  all  England  could 
see  was  the  bogey  of  military  Russia. 

This  unreasoning  opposition  to  Russia 
became  a  mania  with  the  English,  and 
the  resultant  harm  to  England  can  only 
be  measured  by  the  present  war. 

It  is  hard  to  justify  the  attitude  of  the 
men  who  controlled  the  destinies  of  Eng- 
land. Instead  of  realizing  that  the  open- 
ing of  the  Dardanelles  to  Russia  meant 
a  flood  of  wealth  to  England,  Russia 
was  pictured  as  an  avalanche  ready  to 
overwhelm  British  interests  in  the  Near 
and  Far  East. 

All  this  was  entirely  at  variance  with 
the  characteristics  of  the  Slav.    Yet  the 


BRITISH  FOREIGN  POLICIES  AND  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


283 


"  Eastern  question  "  in  British  eyes  be- 
came a  question  of  anything  to  serve  as 
a  barrier  against  Russia.  The  relations 
between  England  and  the  French  Em- 
pire became  very  cordial,  and  these  two 
powers  in  the  Crimean  war  (1854)  saved 
the  Turkish  Empire  from  the  onslaught 
of  Nicholas  I.  of  Russia  and  maintained 
Turkish  rule  over  the  outlet  from  the 
Black  Sea. 

In  view  of  the  lesson  that  England 
has  received  and  her  recent  views,  as 
given  out  by  Balfour,  it  is  really  pa- 
thetic to  realize  that  England  went  to 
war  in  1854  to  prevent  the  independence 
of  Serbia,  Bosnia,  and  Bulgaria,  the  pro- 
visional occupation  of  Constantinople, 
and  a  Russian  protectorate  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  Greek  Church  in  the  Turkish 
Empire!  Yet  such  is  the  fact — and  shut- 
ting up  Russia  in  the  Black  Sea  was 
actually  regarded  as  a  British  triumph! 
The  result  of  the  war  was  to  leave  Rus- 
sia crippled  and  constricted  behind  the 
barriers  of  the  Dardanelles.  All  her  vast 
commercial  possibilities  were  lost  to 
England.  From  this  time  on  it  was  a 
repetition  of  the  same  story.  All  Eng- 
land's efforts  were  concentrated  on  try- 
ing to  hem  in  Russia. 

British  Politics  to  Blame 

No  great  democratic  nation  with  the 
vitality  of  England  would  have  been  so 
blind  to  its  real  interests  if  there  had 
not  been  some  factor  that  befogged  the 
public  mind.  This  is  found  in  the  ma- 
chinery of  English  politics.  Members  of 
Parliament  are  not  elected  for  any  defi- 
nite term  of  office.  The  only  limitation 
to  the  life  of  a  Parliament  is  the  seven- 
year  provision  of  the  Septennial  act  of 
1716.  Consequently,  a  Government  is 
not  placed  in  power  for  any  term 
of  office,  nor  is  it  dependent  on 
representatives  elected  at  stated  times. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Ministry  has  tenure 
of  office  as  long  as  it  can  command  a 
majority  of  Parliament.  This  makes  any 
Government  a  target  for  the  Opposition, 
and  the  result  has  been  a  constant  effort 
to  raise  a  "  question  "  on  which  the  Min- 
istry in  office  might  be  defeated.  This 
system  has  led  to  the  manufacture 
of  issues,  to  the  rise  and  fall  of 
Ministers    from    artificially    pumped    up 


"  questions,"  and  this  accounts  for  the 
long  tenure  in  office  of  such  "  states- 
men "  as  Palmerston,  Russell,  Disraeli, 
and  Salisbury.  Almost  all  of  England's 
mistakes  in  the  Victorian  period  are 
branded  with  the  names  of  these  men — 
and  all  were  acclaimed  as  victories  at  the 
time. 

A  constant  stream  of  useless  issues 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  British 
public,  and  kept  England  from  seeing 
the  real  stakes  in  the  great  game  she  was 
playing — her  supremacy  of  the  world 
through  control  of  the  sea  and  unrestrict- 
ed commerce.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
constant  bickering  over  what  were  then 
considered  the  important  politics  of  Par- 
liament, the  public  mind  of  England 
would  surely  have  grasped  Great  Brit- 
ain's real  interests  abroad,  of  which  the 
most  important  was  freeing  commerce 
for  England's  profit. 

.The  "  Eastern  question "  became  a 
distorted  fetich,  to  which  were  sac- 
rificed England's  treasures  gained 
through  her  greatest  era.  Palmerston, 
Russell,  Disraeli,  and  Salisbury  were  the 
high  priests  of  this  cult,  and  by  catch- 
words and  incantations  deluded  their  fol- 
lowers to  disaster. 

German  Growth  Stimulated 

With  Russia  shut  in  as  a  result  of  the 
Crimean  war,  there  followed  the  most 
mistaken  period  of  English  history.  The 
projects  of  Louis  Napoleon  were  given 
full  headway — and  the  aggrandizement 
of  Prussia  was  unrestrained. 

England  encouraged  Denmark  to  the 
breaking  point  in  the  Schleswig-Holstein 
question  in  1864 — and  then  left  Denmark 
to  lose  both  provinces,  which  were  ac- 
quired by  Prussia  after  the  war  of  1866. 

All  this  greatly  strengthened  Prussia. 
A  look  at  the  map  will  show  that  these 
provinces  made  possible  the  great  double 
naval  base  connected  by  the  Kiel  Canal, 
which  has  proved  of  such  great  value  to 
Germany  in  the  present  war.  Lord  John 
Russell  presided  over  this  inexcusable 
foreign   policy,*   which  made   Prussia  a 

*Black  is  the  ingratitude  of  mankind ! 
There  is  no  statue  of  Lord  Russell,  the  great 
benefactor,  the  true  founder  of  the  German 
Navy,  standing  Unter  den  Linden  in  Berlin. — 
Lord  Redesdale. 


284 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


dangerous  power  in  Europe,  with  a  mili- 
tary equipment  perfected  in  the  war  of 
1866.  Louis  Napoleon  dragged  unpre- 
pared France  into  fighting  this  well- 
armed  antagonist — and  the  victorious 
war  of  1870  created  a  united  Germany. 

The  impetus  of  the  united  strength  of 
Germany  evolved  from  the  war  of  1870 
has  never  been  understood  by  outside  na- 
tions. For  Germans  the  war  of  1870  has 
been  their  text  and  their  inspiration. 
The  next  generation  of  Germans  modeled 
the  life  of  Germany,  military,  civic,  com- 
mercial, scientific,  and  social,  on  the  ef- 
ficiency of  the  war  of  1870.  This  is  the 
key  to  united  Germany,  and  the  fact  that 
its  States  are  united  should  not  be  any 
longer  doubted. 

Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  think  of  Ger- 
many as  merely  ruled  by  a  military  caste. 
On  the  contrary,  Germany  has  made  it- 
self a  remorseless  machine  with  a  full 
belief  in  the  efficiency  of  such  a  system. 
But  the  whole  mechanism  is  interlocked 
with  militarism,  and  if  her  armies  fail  to 
win  victory,  faith  in  the  structure  will 
disappear.  Then  there  will  be  a  new 
order  in  Germany. 

With  all  this  great  potential  national 
life,  Germany  emerged  from  the  war  of 
1870  poor  in  financial  resources.  Ger- 
many had  practically  spent  in  advance 
the  indemnity  exacted  from  France.  The 
French  Nation  made  a  wonderful  revival 
from  this  tax  and  became  prosperous  at 
once,  but  Germany  was  hard  pressed  for 
funds  for  her  development. 

In  the  meantime  Russia  had  recovered 
her  strength,  and  the  new  revolt  of  the 
Balkan  Slavs  (1875-76)  had  again  aroused 
her  to  action.  The  fearful  toll  of  mas- 
sacre taken  by  Turkey  from  Bulgaria 
caused  a  great  sensation  in  England,  but 
the  Disraeli  Government,  in  power  at  the 
time,  set  against  this  the  "  ambitions " 
of  Russia,  and  England  resumed  her  task 
as  watchdog  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in 
Constantinople. 

Britain  s    Greatest  Mistake 

It  is  comment  enough  on  the  intelli- 
gence of  British  politics  at  the  time  to 
note  that  the  overturn  in  Parliament,  re- 
sulting in  placing  the  Disraeli  Ministry 
in  power,  came  from  "  the  q-uestion  of 
university   education  in  Ireland."    From 


this  petty  issue  Disraeli  and  Salisbury 
were  evolved  as  England's  representa- 
tives in  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  (1878,) 
the  greatest  of  all  England's  mistakes  in 
her  history. 

In  the  Russo-Turkish  war,  Russia  had 
broken  down  the  obstinate  resistance  of 
the  Turks.  Her  victorious  army  was  ad- 
vancing on  Constantinople,  and  it  was 
evident  at  the  end  of  1877  that  the  Turks 
would  not  be  able  to  save  the  city.  With 
this  victorious  advance  of  the  Russians 
came  great  alarm  in  misguided  England, 
and  there  was  a  cry  to  save  Constanti- 
nople. This  was  the  outbreak  of  the 
"  jingo  "  policy.  The  atrocities  in  Bul- 
garia were  forgotten,  and  all  who  said 
that  Turkey  was  not  England's  ward 
were  ignored. 

Disraeli  fanned  these  fires  to  the  ut- 
most. Early  in  1878  the  neutral  British 
Ambassador  was  recalled  from  Constan- 
tinople and  a  strong  pro-Turk  was  sub- 
stituted. The  British  fleet  was  ordered 
to  the  Dardanelles  and  a  war  credit  of 
£6,000,000  was  asked  of  Parliament. 

In  the  meantime  Turkey  had  sued  for 
peace,  (Agreement  of  Adrianople,  Jan. 
31,  1878,)  but  England  maintained  her 
hostile  attitude,  and  in  the  Peace  of  San 
Stefano  (March  3,  1878)  Russia  did  not 
make  the  occupation  of  Constantinople  a 
condition.  Serbia,  Montenegro,  and  Ru- 
mania were  freed  from  Turkey.  Bul- 
garia remained  tributary  to  the  Porte, 
but  received  a  Christian  Prince. 

These  terms  were  unsatisfactory  to 
England,  and  she  still  threatened  war, 
having  made  a  secret  treaty  (June  4)  to 
protect  Turkey  against  Russian  conquest. 
For  this  England  was  to  receive  Cyprus, 
(occupied  July  11,  1878.)  Germany  was 
secured  as  a  mediator,  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  powers  met  at  the  Con- 
gress of  Berlin,  (June  13-July  13,)  under 
the  Presidency  of  Prince  Bismarck — an 
ominous  choice  to  preside  over  the  set- 
tlement of  Great  Britain's  destinies! 

Errors  of  Berlin  Congress 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaties  drawn 
up  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin  the  Balkan 
States  received  less  territory  than  in  the 
Peace  of  San  Stefano.  Russia  was  left 
still  cut  off  from  the  Dardanelles.     Ger- 


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BRITISH  FOREIGN  POLICIES  AND  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


285 


many,  under  the  leadership  of  the  great 
Bismarck,  had  become  a  dominant  power. 
England  had  assumed  guardianship  of 
Turkey,  and  received  Cyprus — a  mess  of 
pottage  for  the  fairest  inheritance  in 
the  world! 

Yet  all  this  was  proclaimed  as  a  Brit- 
ish triumph.*  Disraeli  and  Salisbury 
were  pictured  as  conquerors.  The  fact 
that  Germany  and  Austria  made  their 
alliance  the  next  year  (1879)  was  not 
noticed. 

From  this  time  on  England  and  Ger- 
many drew  closer  together.  English 
money  was  loaned  to  Germany  for  her 
pressing  financial  needs,  and  while  Eng- 
land imagined  she  was  building  up  a  bar- 
rier against  Russia,  Bismarck  was  using 
these  resources  to  build  up  an  organized 
foreign  trade.  Before  England  realized 
her  error  much  of  her  trade,  even  in  her 
own  colonies,  had  been  taken  away  by 
Germany.  Even  in  the  late  eighties  Brit- 
ish "  statesmen  "  had  not  waked  to  the 
true  situation — and  at  this  time  Salis- 
bury ceded  Heligoland  to  Germany! 

This  last  disastrous  gift  to  Germany 
was  a  fitting  culmination  of  Salisbury's 
career.  The  fortified  island  and  the 
Bight  of  Heligoland  have  given  Germany 
a  naval  base  that  has  done  incalculable 
harm  to  England. 

Beginning  of  Antagonism 

In  the  nineties  the  commercial  expan- 
sion of  Germany,  at  the  expense  of  Eng- 
land's foreign  trade,  began  to  alienate 
the  English  from  Germany.  The  British 
merchants  began  to  realize  that  English 
trade  was  the  greatest  sufferer  from 
German  competition,  but  this  feeling  was 
slow  to  spread  through  the  nation.  The 
Kaiser's  indescreet  letter  to  Kruger  at 
the  time  of  the  Jameson  raid  in  South 
Africa  was  the  thing  that  aroused  British 
hostility  to  Germany.  Great  Britain 
at  last  awoke  to  the  fact  that  Germany 
was  not  a  "  friendly  nation. "f 

There  was  an  immediate  change  in 
feeling  toward  the  United  States.     The 

*A  volcanic  triumph  such  as  has  rarely,  if 
ever,  been  equaled  in  diplomacy.— Lord 
Redesdale. 

fSo  called  by  Salisbury  at  the  time  of  the 
cession   of   Heligoland. 


bitterness  over  the  Venezuela  matter 
disappeared,  and  Great  Britain  chose  the 
United  States  for  a  friend — a  choice  she 
should  have  made  long  before. 

This  change  of  heart  on  the  part  of 
Britain  was  strikingly  shown  in  the 
Spanish-American  war  at  Manila  Bay, 
where  the  German  fleet  was  threatening 
our  fleet  under  Admiral  Dewey,  (1898.) 
The  British  Admiral  intimated  to  the 
German  Admiral  that,  in  case  of  hostili- 
ties, the  British  would  take  the  part  of 
the  Americans.  From  that  time  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  drew  further  apart 
and  open  enmity  replaced  friendship. 

Yet  even  then  England  did  not  see  the 
light  in  regard  to  Russia.  The  next 
phase  was  the  Russian  "  threat "  in  the 
Far  East.  This  was  the  period  that  fol- 
lowed "  Russia  at  the  Gates  of  Herat." 
Again  Russia  was  painted  as  an  ava- 
lanche ready  to  overwhelm  the  British 
possessions.  Tibet,  Afghanistan,  and 
Persia  were  made  so  important  that  all 
other  interests  were  forgotten,  and  Eng- 
land was  ready  to  make  use  of  any 
possible  means  to  do  harm  to  Russia. 

The  occasion  for  another  British  mis- 
take grew  out  of  the  Russian  lease  in 
Manchuria.  Port  Arthur  was  thought  a 
great  military  base,  with  a  huge  Russian 
army  collecting  for  sinister  designs. 
Consequently  England  largely  financed 
the  Japanese  in  their  war  against  Russia 
— with  the  same  obsession  of  trying  to 
gain  another  buffer  against  Russia's 
imaginary  military  plans. 

Then  the  curtain  was  drawn  aside  and 
revealed  actual  conditions — instead  of 
the  imaginary  ones — and  the  war  showed 
that  Russia's  "  military  preparations " 
had  consisted  in  having  no  "  great  army  " 
in  the  East,  but  in  building  the  great  open 
warm-water  port  of  Dalny  to  let  out  her 
trade.  This  port  was  destroyed  by  Japan's 
victory — to  England's  immediate  loss  of 
trade.  England  has  now  realized  that,  in 
again  cramping  Russia,  she  has  created 
another  rival  in  the  East,  which  has  al- 
ready hurt  her  trade  and  influence. 

Created  the  War  Situation 

So  it  has  continued  to  the  present  war. 
England  is  now  confronted  with  a  situa- 
tion of  her  own  making.    She  is  clean  of 


286 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


blame  in  bringing  on  the  war  by  any 
wrong  acts  or  by  any  breach  of  faith. 
The  events  have  shown  plainly  enough 
that  the  war  is  the  act  of  Germany,  and 
that  her  brutal  invasion  of  France 
through  Belgium  had  been  planned  for 
years  in  advance.  Nothing  can  remove 
this  stain  from  Germany,  but  the  un- 
natural conditions  that  inexorably 
brought  on  the  war  were  made  by  Eng- 
land. 

England  has  shut  in  Russia — to  Eng- 
land's own  great  loss.  Her  policies  have 
made  Germany  a  dominating  power,  and 
she  has  maintained  the  Turkish  Empire. 
Both  Germany  and  the  Turkish  Empire 
are  now  her  deadly  foes.  She  has  built 
up  Japan  into  a  military  power,  and 
Japan  is,  at  the  best  for  England,  only 
a  half-hearted  ally  and  a  disturbing  in- 
fluence in  Britain's  Eastern  colonies. 

These  disastrous  results  of  British  poli- 
cies in  the  Victorian  days  of  power  and 
opportunity  must  be  faced  and  no  longer 
ignored.  Great  Britain  is  paying  a  fear- 
ful price  for  the  mistakes  of  the  era 
that  should  have  sealed  her  dominion, 
and  the  nation  is  now  fighting  desper- 
ately to  correct  those  mistakes. 

Our  sympathies  and  our  friendship 
should  be  with  Great  Britain  in  this 
struggle.  There  are  ties  of  kinship,  and 
England  has  lately  shown  a  most 
friendly  feeling  toward  the  United 
States.  We  should  also  remember  that 
England  stands  for  democracy  against 
the  autocracy  of  Germany.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  unthinking  comment  that 
"  England  is  fighting  our  war "  only 
blurs  the  issue  and  arouses  prejudice 
against  Great  Britain  in  many  parts  of 
our  country.  The  truth  is  that  England 
is  fighting  her  own  war — not  ours. 
American  friendship  should  be  given  to 
England,  not  demanded  as  a  payment. 

There  is  another  very  grave  aspect  of 
the  question.  Russia  is  now  one  of  the 
Entente  Allies,  but  it  is  evident  that 
Great  Britain,  from  her  conduct  toward 
Russia,  has  no  hold  on  Russia  from  any 
point  of  view.  How  can  there  be  any 
real  feeling  of  friendliness  for  England 
in  Russia? 

France,  with  the  exception  of  the  mis- 
guided episode   of  Louis   Napoleon,  has 


held  a  different  course.  France  has 
shown  a  friendly  feeling  for  Russia, 
and  formed  an  early  alliance  with 
her.  Consequently  the  feeling  of  Rus- 
sia for  France  is  a  very  different 
thing.  France  has  played  a  chivalrous 
,  part  in  the  great  drama,  and  the  strange 
religious  spirit  of  Russia  recognizes  this. 
The  only  safety  for  the  structure  of  the 
Entente  Allies  is  through  France.  Eng- 
land must  do  the  best  she  can  to  remedy 
her  past  mistakes,  but  France  is  the 
keystone  of  the  allied  arch. 

The  writer  was  brought  up  in  a  belief 
in  France  as  the  most  serious  nation  on 
earth,  and  taught  that  in  any  crisis  the 
spirit  of  France  would  rise  to  the  oc- 
casion. This  has  proved  more  than  true 
in  the  present  war.  The  whole  nation 
gave  itself  to  the  task  of  repelling  the 
invader  with  a  devotion  so  intense  that 
it  was  silent.  And  it  is  only  by  degrees 
that  this  silent,  unselfish  strength  has 
been  appreciated  in  America.  The 
wrongs  of  Belgium  won  a  ready  response 
from  our  country,  but  it  has  taken  a 
longer  time  to  realize  the  magnificent 
response  of  France  in  her  ordeal.  There 
was  no  propaganda  or  group  of  writers 
to  urge  the  cause  of  France.  Her  glory 
has  been  told  by  her  deeds,  not  by  her 
words — and  there  is  no  measure  to  the 
admiration  that  Americans  should  give 
to  France. 

America  in  the  War 

Since  writing  the  above  the  United 
States  has  been  forced  into  this  war  by 
the  hostility  of  Germany.  Our  position 
is  very  different  from  that  of  any  other 
nation  involved.  The  conditions  that  have 
brought  on  the  war  were  not  in  any  way 
made  by  us.  We  have  not  committed 
any  hostile  act.  We  have  preserved  a 
strict  neutrality — and  we  have  attempted 
to  bring  about  peace  between  the  warring 
groups.  Our  President  has  stated  our 
aims  and  objects  so  plainly  that  there  is 
no  trace  of  selfishness  in  our  entering 
the  war. 

After  long  patience  we  have  been 
driven  into  a  declaration  of  war  by  re- 
peated hostile  acts  of  Germany.  These 
acts  have  been  not  only  Germany's  brutal 
defiance  of  humanity  on  the  seas,  but  Ger- 


BRITISH  FOREIGN  POLICIES  AND  THE  PRESENT  WAR  287 

many's  proved  attempts  to  incite  Japan  sudden  promises  of  future  reforms,  even 

and    Mexico    to    war    with    us,    to    dis-  by  the  Kaiser  himself,  seem  to  indicate 

rupt  our  country  and  take  away  its  ter-  this,  and  to  give  grounds  for  hope  that 

ritory.     The    Zimmermann    note    would  the  German  people  may  throw  down  the 

be  held  a  cause  of  war  by  any  nation  on  evil  structure  they  have  built,  and  that 

earth.    If  ever  a  country  was  justified  in  a   new   Germany   may   offer   peace   and 

entering  a  war,  the  United  States  is  justi-  good-will  to  the  world. 
fied    and    in    the   right — and   we    should  If  this  comes,  the  lesson  of  the  results 

have  faith  that  this  right  will  prevail.  of  artificial   conditions   in   Europe   must 

So  clear  is  this,  that  it  seems  it  must  be  remembered — that  harsh  and  oppres- 

influence  the   German  Nation.     Already  sive  terms  are  not  lasting,  and  that  per- 

it  is  apparent  that  the  President's  wise  manent   conditions   will   never  be   found 

distinction   between   the    German   people  with  religions  ruled  by  hostile  religions, 

and  the  German  autocracy  is  having  an  nations  dominated  by  other  nations,  races 

effect  on  the  German  public  mind.     The  ruled  by  alien  races. 

•   Aerial  Fighting  on  the  French  Front 

Lord  Northcliffe  visited  the  western  front  in  February  and  wrote  of  the 
splendid  achievements  of  the  allied  flying  corps,  which  counts  many  Americans 
among  its  membership : 

Very  rarely  do  the  Germans  venture  over  our  lines,  and  one  has  to  be 
very  far  forward  nowadays  to  get  a  good  view  of  a  fight  between  the  Allies 
and  the  enemy  in  the  air.  I  have  had  that  good  fortune  several  times.  Air 
fighting  in  1914  bears  as  much  resemblance  to  air  fighting  in  1917  as  an  old 
steam  automobile  to  a  six-cylinder  of  today.  There  is  a  perpetual  match  in 
speeding  up  between  the  enemy  and  the  Allies.  Four  or  five  miles  an  hour 
extra  pace  means  everything.  It  is  not  the  increase  of  engine  power  to  over 
200  horse  power  that  has  brought  about  the  change  so  much  as  the  wonderful 
progress  of  the  art  of  flying  itself,  and  it  is  just  here  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  the  Frenchman  beat  the  slower-minded  German.  It  is  just  this  reason  why 
the  German  soldiers'  letters  are  so  full  of  complaint  about  the  overcautious 
German  airman. 

When  Pegoud  invented  looping  the  loop  people  asked,  "Why?  What  is 
the  use  of  it?  "  Pegoud  was  a  very  considerable  inventor  as  well  as  a  flier,  is 
the  answer.  Looping  the  loop  is  a  useful  manoeuvre,  and  it  has  been  succeeded 
by  that  extraordinary  development,  the  nose  dive,  in  which  the  airman  seems 
to  fall  like  a  stone  for  thousands  of  feet,  till  the  spectator's  hair  rises  from 
his  head  in  horror.  Suddenly  the  machine  flattens  out,  scoots  away,  and  you 
find  that  it  is  only  a  trick  after  all.  I  talked  with  one  of  our  wounded  boys — he 
was  just  19 — who  had  fallen  8,000  feet  owing  to  his  rudder  wire  connection 
being  shot  through.  By  a  miracle  his  machine  straightened  itself  out  automatic- 
ally within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  ground,  and  the  boy  is  alive  and  will  fly 
again.  I  asked  him  his  sensations;  he  is  probably  the  only  man  in  the  world 
alive  who  has  fallen  8,000  feet — more  than  ten  times  the  height  of  the  Wool- 
worth  Building,  New  York  City,  750  feet.  He  said  that  for  a  long  time — what 
seemed  like  hours — he  knew  that  he  was  falling,  and  falling  at  a  tremendous 
speed,  and  then  he  lost  consciousness,  as  in  a  dream,  and  found  himself  being 
picked  out  of  the  wreck  of  his  machine  by  people  who  thought  that  he  was  dead. 

At  the  beginning  of  an  air  fight  there  is  manoeuvring  for  position  and 
feinting  as  in  boxing.  There  are,  as  a  rule,  two  men  in  each  machine — a  pilot 
and  an  observer — except  in  the  smaller  types,  in  which  the  wings  are  clipped 
down  to  nothing  to  get  extra  speed  and  climbing  power.  Knowledge  of  engine 
and  plane  power,  quickness  of  decision,  and  accuracy  of  shooting  with  the  Lewis 
gun  are  essential  to  the  pilot.  His  observer  is  provided  with  some  form  of  pistol, 
and  often  with  bombs. 

The  rival  planes,  like  giant  hawks,  hover  around,  above,  or  below  each 
other,  till  one  more  expert  or  more  daring  than  the  other  manoeuvres  his 
opponent  into  a  position  from  which  he  has  either  got  to  fight  or  flee.  The 
knockout  blow  is  usually  a  sudden  descent  on  the  enemy,  accompanied  by 
accurate  machine-gun  fire.  Sometimes  it  becomes  a  duel  with  Browning  pistols, 
in  which  the  men  are  so  close  that  they  can  see  each  other's  eyes.  The  thing 
is  over  before  you  realize  it.  One  machine  is  off  and  away,  and  the  other 
whirls  and  crashes  down,  down,  down  to  earth. 


Rasputin,  Nemesis  of  the  Czar 

An  Amazing   Career  Which  Bore 
Directly  on  the  Russian  Revolution 


THE  extraordinary  career  of  the 
charlatan  priest,  Rasputin,  with 
his  baneful  influence  at  the  Court 
of  the  Czar,  was  one  of  the  con- 
tributing factors  which  made  the  Rus- 
sian revolution  such  an  instant  success. 
The  story  of  this  impostor  would  be  un- 
believable if  it  were  not  vouched  for  by 
trustworthy  witnesses.  The  full  record 
of  his  criminal  career,  however,  will  not 
be  unveiled  until  the  war  has  ended  and 
the  new  Government  consents  that  the 
documents  be  published. 

A  trustworthy  Russian,  whose  reliabil- 
ity is  vouched  for  by  the  conservative 
London  Post,  related  a  brief  history  of 
Rasputin's  abominable  career  to  the  edi- 
tor, which  was  printed  as  follows  in 
March,  1917: 

Gregory  (Grishka,  pronounced  Greesh- 
ka)  Rasputin,  aged  44  this  year,  was  a 
native  of  Siberia,  a  common  mujik  of  the 
village  of  Pokrovsky,  in  the  district  of 
Tjumen,  in  the  Province  of  Tobolsk.  Like 
his  father,  (who  is  still  alive,)  he  was 
employed  as  a  fisherman.  Uneducated 
in  every  sense,  he  was,  in  the  English 
sense,  illiterate,  though  before  his  death 
he  could  write  a  labored  and  woefully  un- 
grammatical  scrawl.  His  speech  to  the 
end  remained  that  of  his  class.  His  man- 
ners were  disgusting  even  for  a  mujik; 
probably  he  exaggerated  his  shocking 
habits  in  order  to  emphasize  his  impor- 
tance in  society.  As  a  young  man  he  was 
reputed  a  drunkard,  a  thief,  and  a  gen- 
eral rascal  in  his  native  village;  a 
"  shameless  one  "  he  was  called,  even  by 
his  fellow-mujiks.  Indeed,  the  local  tri- 
bunals still  hold  in  solution,  so  to  speak, 
two  criminal  charges  against  him  of 
theft  and  of  perjury,  which  were  stopped 
by  administrative  order.  For  boon  com- 
panion in  his  early  days  he  had  another 
drunkard  and  disorderly  person,  a  small 
working  market  gardener,  who  is  now  a 
Bishop  of  the  Pravoslavny  Church. 


11  Rasputin "  appears  to  be  really  a 
nickname;  the  man's  real  name  was 
Novikh,  and  "  Rasputin  "  (which  may  be 
Englished  as  "  Ne'er-do-weel  son  ")  was 
tacked  on  to  it  by  his  fellow-villagers  for 
good  and  sufficient  reasons.  The  whole 
name  sounds  to  Russian  ears  very  much 
as  to  English  ears  would  sound  "  Jacky 
Ne'erdoweelson  Jones,"  or  something  else 
equally  common  sounding,  plus  the  spe- 
cial nickname  so  thoroughly  earned  of 
"  Rasputin."  "  Grishka  "  (the  contempt- 
uous diminutive  of  Gregory)  is  the  name 
for  him  that  has  been  on  every  Russian's 
lips  for  many  years  past,  and  figures  in 
lampoons  which  were  secretly  circu- 
lated— for  "  Rasputin  "  could  be  neither 
printed  without  incurring  very  heavy 
penalties  nor  safely  spoken  aloud  in 
society  without  risking  some  form  of 
reprisals. 

Russian  "  Holy  Men" 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Russia, 
like  India,  is  full  of  "  holy  men,"  and  in 
Russia  a  proportion  of  these  are  arrant 
rascals,  wandering  up  and  down  the  land, 
leading  a  "  gospel  life  "  on  endless  pil- 
grimages to  holy  places,  collecting  money 
for  nonexistent  charities;  a  lazy,  sensual 
life  of  secret  self-indulgence  in  the  most 
appalling  vices,  veiled  by  some  striking 
outward  acts  of  severe  asceticism,  such 
as  going  barefoot  or  half  naked  in  snow 
and  frost,  or  carrying  massive  fetters 
visibly  about  their  persons. 

Grishka,  then,  went  on  pilgrimage  from 
holy  place  to  holy  place,  and  collected 
considerable  sums  of  money  for  his  own 
use.  He  built  himself  a  good  house  in 
his  village,  bought  a  fish  pond,  and  stood 
drink  to  his  fellow-villagers,  and  endeav- 
ored to  ingratiate  himself  with  all  men, 
but  very  particularly  with  all  women, 
especially  innocent  girls  who  were  also 
young  and  pretty.  He  had  a  wife  several 
years  older  than  himself,  and  at  the  time 


RASPUTIN,  NEMESIS  OF  THE  CZAR 


289 


of  his  death  a  boy  and  two  girls,  all 
three  grown  up,  declared  themselves  from 
their  likeness  to  him  to  be  obviously  his 
own  children.  In  the  big,  new  eleven- 
roomed  house,  built  out  of  fraudulent 
"  collectings  "  from  pious  millions  on  his 
pilgrimages,  Grishka  gave  his  wife  three 
rooms,  reserving  the  others  for  as  many 
selected  young  women,  his  "  disciples " 
and  "  devotees,"  or,  in  plain  English,  his 
mistresses.  Here  were  practiced  abomi- 
nations, over  which — as  not  infrequently 
is  the  case  in  Russia — was  thrown  a  pseu- 
do-religious cloak,  in  accordance  with  the 
sect-teaching  of  such  immoral  "  holy 
men." 

Abnormal  Power  Over  Women 

It  was  in  this  period  of  his  life  that 
Rasputin  discovered  his  almost  miracu- 
lous power  over  women.  Doubtless,  like 
the  ordinary  libertine,  he  had  the  gift  of 
knowing  instinctively  the  likely  victim. 
Yet  even  allowing  for  this,  one  can  only 
stand  aghast  at  a  power  which  seemed 
to  have  a  compelling  influence  over  the 
whole  sex,  from  Princesses  to  peasants. 
Fathers  and  brothers  in  his  village  com- 
plained to  the  authorities  about  his  many 
seductions  of  girls,  and  on  many  occa- 
sions he  was  severely  beaten.  He  nearly 
got  into  serious  trouble  in  the  course  of 
his  pilgrimages  for  seducing  nuns,  and 
frequently  was  ignominously  kicked  out 
of  monasteries  of  the  better  class  for  his 
misbehavior.  Nevertheless  his  reputation 
as  a  "  Saint  "  was  growing,  and  increased 
especially  after  visits  to  the  capital, 
where  he  had  found  powerful  protectors. 

From  this  point  onward  his  career,  so 
far  as  it  was  associated  with  this  power 
over  women,  became  almost  incredible.  It 
is  a  fact  that  ladies  bearing  ancient  his- 
toric names,  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
great,  began  to  seek  Grishka  out  in  his 
far-away  Siberian  village.  He  removed 
his  court  to  Tjumen,  some  sixty  miles 
away,  and  practiced  his  religious  exer- 
cises, and  taught  that  there  was  in  him  a 
portion  of  the  Divine,  with  whom  all 
that  would  be  saved  must  be  one  in  the 
flesh  and  in  the  spirit.  Such  methods 
of  corruption  are  common  enough  in  Rus- 
sia; it  was  not  in  kind  but  in  degree  that 
Rasputin's  practice  of  them  was  so  aston- 
ishing.   The  creature  was  invited  to  dine 


with  the  great — possessors  of  historic 
titles  and  high  places  in  the  world — who 
watched  him  eat  with  the  fingers  of  both 
hands,  like  a  primeval  beast.  Those  fin- 
gers were  often  licked  clean  by  hysteri- 
cal devotees  sitting  beside  him,  guests 
of  great  historic  houses  and  themselves  of 
high  rank  or  title,  to  whom  the  animal 
would  hold  out  his  hands  with  a  curt 
command  like  that  of  an  ancient  Roman 
to  his  lowest  slaves. 

This  part  of  the  man's  story  sounds  in- 
credible, but  it  is  true.  There  were  even 
genuinely  honest  women  who  feared  the 
creature,  and  in  that  fear  suppressed  a 
natural  curiosity.  They  resolutely  avoid- 
ed all  chances  of  meeting  the  man,  who 
was  making  and  unmaking  Ministers  of 
State  and  high  dignitaries  of  the  Pravos- 
lavny  Church;  making  and  marring  the 
fortunes  of  hundreds  directly  and  of  mill- 
ions indirectly.  As  for  men,  his  follow- 
ers were  of  two  classes.  They  were 
either  those  who  gladly  mortified  the 
flesh  in  his  "  religious "  exercises,  or 
they  belonged  to  the  large  class  of  place 
hunters  and  favor  seekers. 

The  fascination  of  the  man  lay  alto- 
gether in  his  eyes.  Otherwise  he  looked 
simply  a  common  mujik,  with  no  beauty 
to  distinguish  him ;  a  sturdy  rogue,  over- 
grown with  a  forest  of  dirty,  unkempt 
hair,  dirty  in  person  (dirt  is  holiness  in 
some  countries)  and  disgusting  in  habits. 
His  language  oscillated  between  the 
stock-in-trade  odds  and  ends  of  Scripture 
and  mystic  writ  and  the  foulest  vocabu- 
lary of  Russian,  which  of  all  white  men's 
tongues  is  the  most  powerful  in  the  ex- 
pression of  love  and  affection  and  of 
abominable  abuse.  But  the  eyes  of  this 
satyr  were  remarkable — cold,  steely  gray, 
with  that  very  rare  power  of  expanding 
and  contracting  the  pupils  at  will,  re- 
gardless of  the  amount  of  light  present. 
He  possessed  without  doubt  the  very 
strong,  natural  hypnotic  powers  which- 
seem  always  to  go  with  that  peculiarity. 
It  was  this  that  in  the  first  place  dif- 
ferentiated Grishka  Rasputin  from  the 
hundreds  of  other  "  holy "  rascals  of 
erotic  type  known  to  history  and  in  daily 
life  in  that  unfathomable  land  of  Russia. 

In  the  rest  of  his  wonderful  career 
Rasputin  was  indebted  to  several  aiding 


290 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


circumstances,  among  them,  as  is  now 
universally  believed,  the  guiding  hand 
of  Germany.  Grishka  was  the  "  obscure 
influence  hostile  to  Russia  "  referred  to 
in  identical  language  by  the  United  No- 
bility of  Russia,  the  State  Council,  the 
State  Duma,  the  United  Zemstvos'  organ- 
ization; language,  in  fact,  composing  the 
single  cry  of  the  whole  nation,  which,  save 
for  three  brief  days  soon  after  his  death, 
dared  not  mention  the  dread  name  aloud. 
The  high  authorities  sternly  forbade,  and 
the  nation  obeyed. 

Into  this  story  of  the  public  status  of 
Rasputin,  as  distinct  from  his  personal 
character,  there  would  enter,  were  it 
fully  displayed,  the  question  of  his  sup- 
port by  the  Pravoslavny  Church  in  Rus- 
sia, the  most  powerful  instrument  of 
State  governance.  And  with  that  would 
also  have  to  be  related  the  incidents  lead- 
ing up  to  the  authority  which  Rasputin 
came  to  acquire  with  the  Empress, 
through  his  pretensions — possibly  backed 
by  his  hypnotic  powers — to  wield  a  mirac- 
ulous influence  over  the  life  and  well- 
being  of  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  the  heir 
to  the  Russian  throne.  It  will  be  enough 
to  say  that — however  it  came  about — on 
several  occasions  when  Rasputin  was  sent 
away  or  absented  himself  in  ostentatious 
pique  at  some  disfavor  some  ill  did  occur 
to  the  boy.  And  thus  it  was  that  Ras- 
putin was  given  rooms  at  the  palace  at 
Tsarskoe  Selo  in  the  apartments  occupied 
by  Mme.  Virubova,  favorite  Lady  in 
Waiting  to  the  Empress,  and  his  personal 
safety  was  in  charge  of  the  special  corps 
known  as  the  "  Palace  Police,"  who  are 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  sover- 
eign. 

Protected  at  Tsarskoe  Selo 

To  the  Empress,  Rasputin  was  a  saint, 
a  divine  agent,  a  miraculous  guide.  No 
stories  about  him  were  ever  listened  to; 
they  were  slanders  due  to  jealousy  of  his 
exalted  position,  inventions  of  enemies, 
not  of  the  saint  himself  but  of  the  dynas- 
ty, and  the  like.  Hence  that  influence 
which  made  and  unmade  Ministers  of 
State  and  Bishops  of  the  Pravoslavny 
Church,  and  dispensed  patronage  to  thou- 
sands from  highest  to  quite  little  people. 
A  lady  of  birth  is  credited  with  having 


been  the  mainspring  of  this  venal  con- 
spiracy; but  Rasputin  himself,  with  all 
the  shrewdness  of  the  mujik,  was  unspar- 
ing of  his  enemies.  Kokovtsov,  Pre- 
mier Minister  of  Russia,  once  succeeded 
in  getting  him  banished  from  the  Court; 
he  returned,  and  Kokovtsov  was  dis- 
missed with  remarkable  suddenness.  The 
Adjunct  Minister  of  the  Interior,  who 
controls  the  police  of  the  empire,  Dzhun- 
kovsky,  incurred  his  enmity,  (knocked 
him  down,  it  is  said,  for  unparalleled  im- 
pudence by  word  and  gesture,)  and 
Dzhunkovsky  had  to  go.  Samarin,  barely 
appointed  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod, 
showed  plain  intentions  of  cleansing  the 
Pravoslavny  Church  from  these  malign 
influences  and  filthy  practices,  but  was 
dismissed  before  he  had  time  to  act. 
Sturmer's  was  perhaps  the  worst  of  Ras- 
putin's appointments,  and  it  immediately 
led  to  rebellion  throughout  Turkestan. 

The  Murder  on  the  Moyka 
From  this  appointment  of  Sturmer 
dates  the  belief  that  Rasputin  was  manip-. 
ulated  from  and  in  the  interest  of  Ber- 
lin. But,  like  other  "  holy "  rascals  in 
Russia,  he  took  from  all  and  sundry  and 
for  every  kind  of  service.  Getting  mili- 
tary appointments  and  exemptions  from 
war  service  was  a  fruitful  source  of  in- 
come to  Rasputin.  Frequently  he  would 
play  the  kindly  benefactor,  doing  deeds 
of  charity  by  assisting  poor  supplicants, 
and  dipping  heavily  only  into  the  pockets 
of  the  rich.  In  fact,  there  was  neither 
limit  nor  bottom  to  the  wickedness  which 
he  contrived  to  execute  in  every  walk  of 
life.  Every  man  in  Russia  would  gladly 
have  seen  Rasputin  butchered  any  time 
these  five  years  past,  and  many  would 
have  done  the  deed  with  their  own  hands 
if  they  could  have  come  at  him  through 
the  protective  cordon  (the  same  as  for  the 
sovereign)  of  the  "  Palace  Police."  In 
the  end  he  was  assassinated  with  their 
own  hands  by  men  of  such  rank  as  has 
'  not  for  over  a  hundred  years  in  Russia 
taken  an  active  part  in  like  bloody  deeds. 
Not  since  the  murder  of  the  Emperor 
Paul  have  persons  of  their  rank  who  as- 
sassinated Rasputin  thus  imbrued  their 
hands  in  blood. 

Color  was  given  to  the  story  of  Ras- 


RASPUTIN,  NEMESIS  OF  THE  CZAR 


291 


putin's  assassination  being  a  political 
murder  by  the  presence  at  it  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Right  Party  in  the  Duma,  who 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  disposal  of  the 
corpse.  He  has  been  credited  with  en- 
gineering the  affair,  and  in  consequence 
has  won  an  unprecedented  popularity 
throughout  Russia.  Rasputin  was  invited 
on  the  night  of  Dec.  17  (30)  by  a  gen- 
tleman in  an  automobile — a  private  car — 
who  brought  a  note,  said  to  be  in  the 
hand  of  a  lady  devotee  of  Grishka,  and 
took  him  to  the  house  on  the  Moyka  of 
the  young  Prince  Y.,  Count  S.  E.  There 
a  distinguished  party  was  assembled.  Y., 
it  ought  to  be  remarked,  is  heir  to  the 
richest  patrimony  in  Russia.  It  is  said 
that  he  can  ride  behind  horses  from  end 
to  end  of  European  Russia  and  sleep  on 
his  own  land  every  night.  There  were 
present,  among  others,  the  Grand  Duke 
D.  P.  and  two  sons  of  the  Grand  Duke, 
who  married  the  Emperor's  sister.  In 
the  company,  as  has  been  said,  was  the 
Duma  member  whose  activity  at  the 
front  with  his  feeding  points  and  other 
organizations  has  made  his  name  a 
household  word  throughout  the  empire. 

About  6  in  the  morning,  when  most 
of  the  party  had  dispersed  and  Rasputin 
was  almost  certainly  beastly  drunk,  ac- 
cording to  his  later  habit,  a  number  of 
shots  were  fired  in  the  house,  and  Ras- 
putin was  brought  out  bleeding,  in  vol- 
umes indicative  of  his  alcoholized  state, 
and  put  into  a  motor.  Whether  or  not 
he  was  then  dead  seems  uncertain;  he 
certainly  had  mortal  wounds  in  the  side 
of  his  head  and  trunk.  He  was  driven 
off  some  way  and  flung  over  a  bridge. 
The  Grand  Dukes  appear  to  have  gone 
home,  and  Prince  Y.,  having  reported 
the  whole  affair  to  the  Minister  of  Jus- 
tice, attempted  later  to  leave  by  train 
for  the  Caucasus  or  some  other  of  his 
estates,  but  was  stopped  at  the  station. 
An  abandoned  motor  soaking  in  blood 
was  found  miles  out  of  town ;  it  belonged 
to  a  Grand  Duke. 

Rasputin  s  Body  Discovered 

The  entire  police  and  detective  force 

of  the  capital  was     afoot     and     raked 

through  all  the  houses  of  ill-fame,  gypsy 

singers'  haunts,  and,  in  fact,  every  con- 


ceivable place  else,  until  the  finding  of 
a  bloodstained  golosh  brought  them  to 
a  deserted  part  of  one  of  Petrograd's 
smaller  rivers.  The  ice,  of  course,  was 
several  feet  thick,  but  it  is  the  custom 
in  Russia  to  cut  openings  where  water 
is  obtained  and  linen  is  rinsed  by  laun- 
dresses. Divers  went  down  and  found 
nothing;  eventually  the  body  was  picked 
out  near  the  bank.  Orders  had  been 
given  to  break  up  the  ice  if  necessary 
all  the  way  to  Kronstadt,  but  the  body 
must  be  found.  When  it  was  discovered 
it  was  secretly  interred  at  Tsarskoe  Selo. 
The  Emperor  meanwhile  had  arrived  in 
haste  from  the  front.  For  three  days 
extremely  guarded  references  to  an  "  in- 
teresting murder  "  appeared  in  the  press : 
alongside  were  printed  seemingly  incon- 
sequent biographical  notes  about  the 
chief  actors  in  the  tragedy.  Officially, 
however,  nothing  whatever  was  allowed 
to  appear  beyond  the  statement  of  death 
(  "  ended  his  life,"  not  said  how!  )  and 
the  fact  that  the  body  had  been  found. 
After  these  three  days  not  even  the  most 
distant  references  were  any  longer  pos- 
sible. The  Grand  Duke  D.  P.  took  upon 
himself  the  whole  responsibility,  and 
Grand  Dukes  are  above  the  law.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  officials  found 
that  murder  was  committed,  but  that 
"  the  evidence  was  insufficient,"  and 
so  on. 

The  Crave  of  Rasputin 

A  correspondent  of  The  Associated 
Press  visited  Tsarskoe  Selo  on  March 
27  and  had  an  opportunity  to  see  Ras- 
putin's grave,  from  which  the  body  had 
been  removed  and  burned  by  the  revolu- 
tionists. He  found  the  spot  on  the  edge  of 
a  ravine  beyond  a  desolate  and  roadless 
plain  covered  with  deep  snow.  His  nar- 
rative continues: 

"  The  grave  is  surrounded  by  an  un- 
finished log  chapel,  which  adherents  of 
the  monk,  with  the  monetary  assistance 
of  the  former  Empress,  planned  to  raise 
over  Rasputin's  remains.  Beside  the 
chapel  nave  are  half  a  dozen  tiny  cells 
for  pilgrims,  and  near  the  end  is  the  ten- 
foot  hole  from  which  the  revolutionaries 
disinterred  the  body. 

"  The  chapel  was  filled  with  soldiers, 


292 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


some  of  whom  were  inscribing  ribald 
remarks  on  the  log  walls.  One  of  the 
inscriptions  reads:  "Here  lay  Rasputin; 
foulest  of  men,  the  shame  of  the  Roman- 
off dynasty,  the  shame  of  the  Russian 
Church.' 

"  As  the  correspondent  was  reading  the 
inscriptions  he  heard  loud  shouts.  Look- 
ing down  into  the  grave,  he  saw  a  little 
brown  Siberian  soldier  on  his  haunches, 
doing  the  Russian  squat  dance.  The  sol- 
diers told  the  correspondent  that  Coun- 
'tess  Hendrikoff,  at  the  request  of  the 
former  Empress,  had  offered  a  large  sum 
to  the  guards  if  they  would  have  the 
grave  covered  so  as  to  prevent  its  fur- 
ther desecration. 

"  The  superstitious  belief  that  the 
health,  and  even  the  life,  of  Grand  Duke 
Alexis,  the  young  heir  apparent,  depend- 
ed on  the  presence  of  Rasputin  is  ex- 
plained in  the  following  extraordinary 
manner  by  the  Russky  Slovo: 

"  Rasputin,  according  to  the  newspa- 
per, stated  in  confidences  to  friends  at 
convivial  moments  that  he  was  able  to 
fortify  this  superstition  with  the  help  of 
Mme.  Virubova,  lady  in  waiting  to  the 
Empress,  and  M.  Badmaef,  Court  physi- 


cian, until  the  Empress  was  absolutely 
convinced  that  the  life  of  her  son  depend- 
ed on  the  monk.  Whenever  Rasputin 
was  absent  for  any  length  of  time  from 
the  Court  Mme.  Virubova,  according  to 
the  monk's  story  as  given  by  the  news- 
paper, obtained  poisonous  powders  from 
the  physician  and  contrived  to  place  them 
in  food  brought  to  Alexis.  The  result 
was  that  during  Rasputin's  absences  the 
delicate  health  of  the  young  heir  appar- 
ent grew  steadily  worse,  until  Rasputin 
was  summoned  back  to  the  Court,  when 
the  powders  were  stopped  and  Alexis  be- 
came immediately  better. 

"  Rasputin  always  announced  that  for- 
ty days  after  his  death  Alexis  would  fall 
ill.  This  prophecy  came  true  with  start- 
ling accuracy,  being  caused,  the  newspa- 
per declares,  by  Mme.  Virubova  admin- 
istering another  powder  to  the  little 
Grand  Duke  in  the  hope  of  continuing 
the  tradition  of  Rasputin's  influence  over 
the  imperial  family  and  preparing  the 
way  for  a  successor  to  him." 

Mme.  Virubova  was  placed  under  ar- 
rest by  the  Revolutionary  Government 
early  in  April  and  confined  at  the  Fort- 
ress of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 


Russia's  First  Month  of  Freedom 


THE  record  of  the  Russian  Provis- 
ional Government  in  the  first 
month  showed  steady  and  con- 
sistent progress  along  the  path  it 
had  struck  out  on  its  sudden  accession  to 
power  after  the  overthrow  of  the  old 
regime.  On  the  one  hand,  it  went  ahead 
rapidly  with  the  work  of  introducing  in- 
ternal reforms  and  cleaning  out  the 
abuses  of  the  old  system;  on  the  other,  it 
set  itself  sternly  to  the  task  of  bringing 
the  organization  of  its  military  strength 
to  the  highest  possible  point  of  efficiency 
for  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war 
against  the  Central  Powers. 

The  ability  of  the  men  in  control  of  the 
Government  was  partly  explained  in  a 
statement  made  by  the  Minister  of  Jus- 
tice, Kerensky,  to  an  American  correspon- 
dent. "  Our  aim  is,"  he  said,  "  to  use 
talent  wherever  we   can   find   it."    The 


Russians  themselves  never  doubted  their 
capacity  for  self-government  once  they 
were  given  the  chance.  "  We  knew  what 
we  could  do,"  Premier  Lvoff  declared  on 
March  21.  "  We  have  gone  ahead  and 
done  it,  and  now,  a  week  after  the  revolu- 
tion began,  the  whole  country  is  in 
smooth  running  order.  The  bureaucratic 
obstacle  is  gone,  the  new  Russia  is  before 
us.  The  future  is  so  brilliant  I  hardly 
dare  to  look  into  it." 

As  the  days  succeeded  it  became  more 
and  more  apparent  that  public  opinion  in 
Russia  was  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  a 
republican  form  of  government  similar 
to  that  of  the  United  States,  with  per- 
haps a  greater  measure  of  local  auton- 
omy. The  sentiment  in  the  large  cities 
was  republican  from  the  very  start.  Not 
only  were  the  extreme  radicals  in  favor 
of  a  republic,  but  even  the  Constitutional 


RUSSIA'S  FIRST  MONTH  OF  FREEDOM 


293 


Democratic  Party,  of  which  Milukoff  is 
the  leader.  The  Central  Committee  and 
the  Parliamentary  representatives  of 
this  party,  at  Petrograd,  voted  in  favor 
of  a  republican  form  of  government ;  and 
meetings  of  peasant  communities  also  de- 
clared themselves  unanimously  for  a  re- 
public. 

On  March  21  the  Government  ordered 
that  the  ex-Czar  and  Czarina  be  im- 
prisoned in  Tsarskoe  Selo.  The  same 
day  Dr.  Milukoff,  the  Foreign  Minister; 
stated  that  nothing  stood  in  the  way  of 
a  new  commercial  treaty  between  Rus- 
sia and  the  United  States,  now  that  Rus- 
sia was  on  the  point  of  granting  full  and 
equal  rights  to  the  Jews. 

Recognized  by  the  United  States 

The  next  day,  the  American  Ambassa- 
dor, David  R.  Francis,  accompanied  by 
his  entire  staff,  went  to  the  Marinsky 
Palace  to  convey  the  formal  recognition 
by  the  United  States  of  the  new  Russian 
Government.  America  was  thus  the  first 
country  to  welcome  Russia  into  the  fam- 
ily of  free  nations.  Addressing  the  Coun- 
cil of  Ministers,  Ambassador  Francis 
said: 

I  have  the  honor,  as  the  Ambassador  and 
representative  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  accredited  to  Russia,  to  state, 
in  accordance  with  instructions,  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  has  recog- 
nized the  new  Government  of  Russia,  and  I, 
as  Ambassador  of  the  United  States,  will  be 
pleased  to  continue  intercourse  with  Russia 
through  the  medium  of  the  new  Government. 

May  the  cordial  relations  existing  between 
the  two  countries  continue  to  obtain.  May 
they  prove  mutually  satisfactory  and  bene- 
ficial. 

Professor  Milukoff,  Foreign  Minister, 
replied  for  the  Council  of  Ministers,  say- 
ing: 

Permit  me,  in  the  name  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  to  answer  the  act  of  recognition 
by  the  United  States.  You  have  been  able 
to  follow  for  yourself  the  events  which  have 
established  the  new  order  of  affairs  for  free 
Russia.  I  have  been  more  than  once  in  your 
country  and  may  bear  witness  that  the  ideals 
which  are  represented  by  the  Provisional 
Government  are  the  same  as  underlie  the 
existence  of  your  own  country.  I  hope  that 
this  great  change  which  has  come  to  Russia 
will  do  much  to  bring  us  closer  together  than 
we  have  ever  been  before. 
'  I  must  tell  your  Excellency  that  during  the 
last  few  days  I  have  received  many  congratu- 
lations from  prominent  men  in  your  country, 


assuring  me  that  the  public  opinion  of  the 
United  States  is  in  sympathy  with  us.  Per- 
mit me  to  thank  you.  We  are  proud  to  be 
recognized  first  by  a  country  whose  ideals 
we  cherish. 

On  March  23  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Italy  also  extended  formal  recogni- 
tion of  the  Russian  Provisional  Govern- 
ment through  their  Ambassadors  at 
Petrograd. 

Former  Czar  a  Prisoner 

The  former  Czar  Nicholas's  arrival  at 
Tsarskoe  Selo  the  day  after  his  arrest, 
in  the  custody  of  four  members  of  the 
Duma,  caused  no  stir.  The  crowd  that 
had  gathered  at  the  station  looked  on 
silently,  and  even  the  residents  of  the 
Court  village,  whose  livelihood  depended 
upon  the  imperial  patronage,  remained 
cold  and  unmoved.  Nicholas  was  turned 
over  to  the  Tsarskoe  Selo  commander 
and  taken  to  the  Alexandrovsky  Palace, 
where  a  strict  guard  was  established. 
He  and  his  wife  are  being  kept  under 
close  surveillance.  He  is  allowed  to 
walk  in  the  garden  only  twice  daily  and 
only  in  the  presence  of  the  palace  com- 
mander, Kotzebue.  For  many  days  he 
was  in  close  attendance  on  his  son,  who 
was  very  ill  with  measles.  He  took 
some  recreation  by  shoveling  snow.  He 
wept  occasionally,  but  was  quite  sub- 
missive. At  church  he  was  the  first  to 
kneel  when  a  prayer  was  offered  up  for 
the  new  Government. 

Along  with  Nicholas  and  Alexandra 
there  were  200  other  inmates,  courtiers, 
and  adherents  of  the  old  regime,  who 
were  held  prisoner  in  the  palace.  These 
were  subsequently  transferred  to  the 
Fortress  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  in 
consequence  of  alleged  plotting  against 
the  new  Government,  and  the  former 
Czar  and  Czarina  were  thus  isolated. 

Meanwhile  the  cleansing  process  was 
prosecuted  with  energy.  Every  day 
members  of  the  Secret  Police,  the  Black 
Hundreds,  and  spies  were  put  out  of 
harm's  way.  Up  to  March  25,  4,000  had 
been  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Petro- 
grad alone.  It  was  these  elements  that 
had  created  the  counter-revolution  in 
1905,  and  their  elimination  freed  the  Gov- 
ernment from  a  source  of  danger  to  the 


294 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


stability  of  the  new-won  liberty  and  the 
effective  prosecution  of  the  war. 

Reform  Measures 

Simultaneously  with  the  internal  re- 
forms the  War  Office  began  vigorously 
pushing  the  work  of  military  reorganiza- 
tion under  the  leadership  of  War  Min- 
ister Gutzkov,  and  introduced  measures 
of  radical  reform.  Among  those  contem- 
plated was  the  concentration  of  the  su- 
preme direction  of  the  army  in  a  war 
council  consisting  of  the  Ministers  of 
War,  Marine,  and  Foreign  Affairs,  who 
would  be  in  constant  touch  with  the  Min- 
isters of  Railways  and  Agriculture,  the 
last  to  give  special  advice  and  informa- 
tion in  the  matter  of  food  supplies. 

The  Russian  War  Office  renewed  its 
youth.  Under  the  old  regime  new  ideas, 
dictated  by  the  obvious  necessities  of  the 
war  and  the  bitter  experience  of  all  the 
Allies,  had  fallen  for  the  most  part  on 
stony  soil.  Intrigue,  inertia,  and  a  score 
of  other  deadening  influences  presented 
insuperable  barriers  to  effective  reform. 
Now  all  the  reserves  of  youth  and  intel- 
ligence have  been  enlisted,  and  reforms 
long  overdue  have  been  put  into  effect. 

The  removal  of  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
from  the  post  of  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Russian  armies  was  officially  con- 
firmed on  March  28,  and  General  M.  V. 
Alexieff,  Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  was 
appointed  his  successor.  All  members 
of  the  imperial  family  and  all  officers 
friendly  to  the  autocracy  were  likewise 
removed  from  army  posts,  and  all  the 
Grand  Dukes  were  forbidden  to  leave 
the  military  district  of  Petrograd. 

Ner»  Oath  of  Office 

On  March  28  all  the  Ministers  of  the 
Provisional  Government  took  the  follow- 
ing oath  of  office  in  the  Senate: 

In  the  capacity  of  a  member  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  created  by  the  will  of 
the  people  and  at  the  instance  of  the  Duma, 
I  promise  and  swear  before  Almighty  God 
and  my  conscience  to  serve  faithfully  and 
justly  the  people  of  the  Russian  State,  sacred- 
ly guarding  its  liberty,  rights,  honor,  and 
dignity,  inviolably  observing  in  all  my  acts 
and  orders  civil  liberty  and  civic  equality, 
and  in  all  measures  intrusted  to  me,  sup- 
pressing any  attempts,  direct  or  indirect, 
toward  the  restoration  of  the  old  regime. 

I   swear  to   apply  all   my   intelligence   and 


strength  completely  to  fulfill  all  the  obliga- 
tions assumed  by  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment before  the  eyes  of  the  people.  I  swear 
to  take  all  measures  for  the  convocation  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  in  the  shortest 
possible  time  on  the  basis  of  universal,  direct, 
equal,  and  secret  suffrage,  to  transfer  to  the 
hands  of  the  Assembly  all  the  authority  pro- 
visipnally  exercised  by  me  in  conjunction  with 
other  members  of  the  Government,  and  to 
bow  before  the  people's  will  as  expressed  by 
that  Assembly  concerning  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment and  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
Russian   State. 

May  God  help  me  in  the  fulfillment  of  this 
oath. 

One  of  the  most-hated  features  of  the 
old  bureaucratic  Government  was  its 
system  of  raising  revenue.  The  burden 
fell  most  heavily  upon  the  peasants,  who 
were  taxed  to  the  starvation  point.  As 
the  Russian  population  is  largely  agri- 
cultural, the  prosperity  of  the  country 
depended  chiefly  upon  the  welfare  of  the 
peasants.  Consequently,  their  oppres- 
sion greatly  retarded  Russia's  normal 
development.  The  new  Government 
began  to  grapple  with  this  problem  at 
once. 

Important  Financial  Program 

Tereshchenko,  the  Minister  of  Finance, 
outlined  his  financial  program  on  March 
29  as  follows: 

The  country  is  full  of  capital,  which  has 
grown  out  of  the  increased  industrial  activity 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  my  plan 
is  to  institute  immediately  a  new  system  of 
taxes  based  on  war  profits.  Since  1915  all 
industrial  enterprises  of  the  country  have 
shown  most  remarkable  increases  in  earnings 
and  have  issued  millions  of  new  shares.  It 
is  only  proper  that  the  Government  should 
have  a  more  adequate  share  in  these  profits. 

In  the  past,  revenues  have  been  obtained 
only  in  a  casual,  manner  by  the  Ministry  of 
Finance,  and,  although  they  far  exceeded  the 
financial  loss  to  the  Government  occasioned 
by  the  suspension  of  the  liquor  traffic,  they 
have  not  been  properly  or  thoroughly  applied 
to  the  resources  of  the  country,  which  ought 
to  contribute  largely  to  the  expenses  of  carry- 
ing on  the  war. 

This  new  revenue  will  enable  the  country 
to  meet  at  least  the  accumulating  interest  on 
outstanding  loans.  Russia  will  have  to  de- 
pend, of  course,  upon  foreign  loans,  and,  judg- 
ing by  the  .sympathy  and  support  with  which 
the  new  Government  has  been  greeted  by  its 
allies  and  in  the  United  States,  there  should 
be  no  difficulty  in  arranging  a  basis  for  a 
continuance  of  financial  assistance  abroad. 

A  not  inconsiderable  item  of  expense 
was    saved    by    the    elimination    of    the 


RUSSIA'S  FIRST  MONTH  OF  FREEDOM 


295 


"  pocket  money,"  so  to  speak,  that  the 
imperial  family  formerly  drew  from  the 
State  revenues.  This  amounted  to  no 
less  than  $20,000,000  annually.  On  March 
30  the  Provisional  Government,  in  com- 
pliance with  a  demand  made  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers*  Deputies, 
through  the  Socialist  Cabinet  member, 
Chkheidze,  confiscated  all  the  imperial 
lands  and  monasteries,  which  yield  an 
annual  revenue  of  25,000,000  rubles. 
Three  days  before  the  Grand  Dukes  and 
Royal  Princes  had,  of  their  own  accord, 
given  up  their  crown  lands  and  other 
official  property  to  the  Government. 

Despite  the  wary  the  economic  organiza- 
tion of  the  country  proceeded  apace.  The 
growth  of  the  trade-union  movement  took 
on  tremendous  proportions.  An  eight- 
hour  day  was  introduced  in  Petrograd, 
and  a  central  board  of  arbitration  ap- 
pointed to  settle  trade  disputes.  The 
eight-hour  day  was  also  introduced  in 
other  cities  and  throughout  the  country. 
The  fever  of  organization  spread  even 
to  the  peasants.  They  formed  a  council 
of  peasants'  Deputies  modeled  after  the 
Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers. 

Not  to  Claim  Constantinople 

That  free  Russia  has  no  desire  to  annex 
Constantinople  was  the  inference  drawn 
from  a  statement  made  by  the  very  in- 
fluential Minister  of  Justice,  Kerensky, 
that  the  Dardanelles  should  be  "  interna- 
tionalized." This  view  was  further 
strengthened  in  the  declaration  of 
Premier  Lvoff  on  April  10: 

"  The  new  Government  considers  it  its 
duty  to  make  known  to  the  world  that  the 
object  of  free  Russia  is  not  to  dominate 
other  nations  and  forcibly  take  away 
their  territory.  The  object  of  indepen- 
dent Russia  is  a  permanent  peace  and 
the  rights  of  all  nations  to  determine 
their  own  destiny." 

On  April  7  Kerensky  declared  that  if 
the  German  people  would  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Russia  and  overthrow  their 
monarch,  "  we  offer  the  possibility  of 
preliminary  negotiations."  He  added, 
however :  "  We  are  not  going  to  assist 
in  making  a  separate  peace."  Kerensky's 
statement  was  in  accord  with  an  appeal 
adopted  on  March  28,  at  a  meeting  of 


workmen's  and  soldiers'  Deputies,  ad- 
dressed to  the  laborers  of  all  countries, 
but  mentioning  especially  the  Central 
Powers,  "  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  auto- 
cratic rule  as  the  Russian  people  have 
overthrown  the  imperial  autocrat  and  re- 
fuse to  serve  longer  as  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  Kings,  capitalists,  and 
bankers." 

A  party  of  Russian  radicals  who  ar- 
rived at  Stockholm  from  Switzerland  on 
April  13  were  said  to  be  planning  a  peace 
congress  in  Stockholm,  and  to  have  won 
the  support  of  German  radicals  and  some 
French  Socialists.  Lenin,  a  prominent 
Russian  Socialist,  who  had  lived  in  Swit- 
zerland, was  their  leader.  The  fact  that 
tneir  mission  was  synchronous  with  the 
German  Socialist  majority  leader  Scheide- 
mann's  alleged  departure  for  Stockholm 
to  meet  envoys  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment, and  that  the  Russian  radicals  were 
permitted  to  pass  through  Germany  from 
Switzerland,  was  taken  to  mean  that  the 
plan  had  the  backing  of  the  German 
Government. 

Poland  and  Finland  Free 

In  its  policy  toward  dependent  nation- 
alities the  new  Government  announced 
that  Poland  was  to  receive  complete  inde- 
pendence with  the  right  to  determine  its 
own  form  of  government  and  its  relation, 
if  any,  to  Russia.  The  Polish  Deputies 
thereupon  surrendered  their  seats  in  the 
Duma.  On  March  29  the  Provisional 
Government  appointed  a  committee  with 
Alexander  Lednitsky,  a  Pole,  as  Chair- 
man, to  make  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  the  separation  of  Poland  from  Rus- 
sia and  to  determine  the  relation  of  the 
State  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

In  Finland  the  Governor,  Sein,  was 
removed.  On  March  21  a  manifesto  was 
issued  by  the  new  Government  completely 
restoring  the  Finnish  Constitution  and 
annulling  all  edicts  and  administrative 
rules  and  regulations.  A  liberal  was 
appointed  Governor,  and  the  Finnish  Diet 
was  convened.  On  April  13  M.  Kerensky, 
the  Russian  Minister  of  Justice,  was 
present  at  the  meeting  of  the  Diet,  and  in 
a  speech  greeting  the  "  free  Finnish  peo- 
ple "  in  the  name  of  the  Provisional 
Russian  Government  declared  that  Russia 


296 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


would  do  everything  in  its  power  to  make 
it  certain  that  Finland  should  remain 
free  forever. 

The  Speaker  of  the  Diet,  M.  Talman, 
requested  M.  Kererisky  to  inform  the 
Russian  people  of  the  Diet's  gratitude 
for  the  fraternal  greeting.  He  said  that 
henceforth  a  complete  agreement,  on  the 
basis  of  reciprocal  confidence,  would  pre- 
vail between  the  two  peoples. 

To  the  Armenians,  Kerensky  expressed 
himself  in  favor  of  an  autonomous  Gov- 
ernment for  them  under  Russia's  pro- 
tection. The  promised  emancipation  of  the 
Jews  became  an  accomplished  fact  on 
March  25,  when,  according  to  advices  re- 
ceived at  the  Russian  Embassy  at  Wash- 
ington, absolute  equality  of  the  Jews 
was  proclaimed  by  the  new  Government. 
Jews  are  permitted  to  reside  wherever 
they  please,  they  have  access  to  all  posts 
in  the  navy  and  army,  and  are  unre- 
stricted as  to  educational  advantages 
and  the  owning  of  property.  A  number 
of  Jews  were  made  officers  in  the  army, 
says  a  cable  dispatch  of  April  12,  the 
first  city  claiming  that  distinction  being 
Odessa,  and  250  Jewish  students  entered 
the  military  officers'  school.  On  March 
27  it  was  announced,  according  to  tele- 
grams to  Russian  correspondents  at 
Copenhagen,  that  the  Jewish  advocates, 
Grusenberg  and  Winawer,  were  appointed 
members  of  the  Russian  Senate  and  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  They  were  the  first 
Jews  who  ever  obtained  a  seat  in  a  Rus- 
sian tribunal. 

On  April  4  full  religious  liberty  was 
proclaimed  and  all  laws  discriminating 
against  any  creed  or  religion  repealed. 
Premier  Lvoff  promised  a  delegation  of 
women  on  April  4  that  women  would  be 
given  the  right  to  vote. 

Return  of  Siberian  Exiles 
One  of  the  most  dramatic  and  pictur- 
esque events  of  the  revolution  was  the  re- 
turn of  the  political  exiles  and  prisoners 
from  Siberia.  A  full  hundred  thousand 
of  them  were  released,  and  their  progress 
from  the  prisons,  mines,  and  convict  set- 
tlements across  Siberia  to  Russia  was  one 
grand  triumphal  march.  Everywhere 
they  were  met  by  wildly  cheering  crowds, 
feted  by  reception  committees,  and  called 


upon  to  deliver  speeches.  So  great  was 
their  haste  to  leave  that  many  of  them 
dil  not  even  wait  to  change  their  prison 
garb  or  have  their  chains  struck  off. 

The  most  celebrated  of  the  ex-exiles 
were  two  women,  Catharine  Breshkovs- 
l^aya  and  Marie  Spiridonova.  Catharine 
Ereshkovskaya  is  known  as  the  grand- 
mother of  the  revolution.  She  has  grown 
old  in  Siberian  prisons  and  exile.  Forty- 
four  years  of  her  life  were  spent  there. 
Escaping  once,  she  braved  the  Russian 
authorities  again,  and,  though  by  that 
time  an  old  woman,  she  fought  dauntless- 
ly  side  by  side  with  the  younger  genera- 
tion in  the  new  movement  that  led  to  the 
unsuccessful  uprising  in  1905.  Again  she 
was  thrust  into  exile.  When  she  reached 
Petrograd  from  Siberia  the  1st  of  April, 
she  was  met  at  the  railroad  depot  by  a 
military  band  and  representatives  of  the 
Government  and  carried  through  the 
streets.  A  similar  reception  was  given 
her  in  Moscow  on  April  5.  Here  the  sol- 
diers and  the  reception  committee  carried 
her  out  into  the  street  on  their  shoulders. 

Equally  popular  was  Marie  Spirido- 
nova, who,  though  still  young,  suffered  a 
martydom  perhaps  even  greater  than 
Breshkovskaya's.  She  was  tortured  with 
a  refinement  of  cruelty  that  is  unprint- 
able. One  of  the  lesser  harms  done  her 
was  the  disfiguring  of  her  face  for  life. 
The  two  bureaucratic  agents  who  in- 
flicted the  torture  were  later  assassinated 
by  revolutionists. 

Signs  of  Unrest 

The  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates,  after  a  prolonged  session  at 
Petrograd,  adopted  a  resolution  on  April 
16  affirming  the  necessity  of  its  continu- 
ing to  exercise  influence  and  control  over 
the  Russian  Provisional  Government,  and 
appealing  to  the  whole  democracy  of 
Russia  to  rally  around  the  council  as  the 
only  organization  capable  of  counteract- 
ing any  reactionary  move. 

The  resolution  at  the  same  time  ap- 
pealed to  democracy  to  support  the  Pro- 
visional Government  so  long  as  it  con- 
tinued to  develop  the  conquests  of  the 
revolution  and  abstained  from  any  as- 
pirations for  territorial  expansion. 

On  the  same  day  a  dispatch  from  Tash- 


RUSSIA'S  FIRST  MONTH  OF  FREEDOM 


297 


kent,  Asiatic  Russia,  announced  that 
General  Alexei  Kuropatkin,  Governor 
General  of  Turkestan,  his  assistant,  Gen- 
eral Yerofeiff,  and  General  Sivers,  Chief 
of  Staff,  had  been  arrested  by  the  Council 
of  Soldiers'  Delegates.  General  Buroff, 
commanding  the  First  Siberian  Brigade, 
and  General  Tsuomillen,  commanding  the 
local  brigade,  also  were  placed  under 
arrest  and  confined  to  a  guardroom. 
The  officers  are  charged  with  distributing 
arms  to  Russians  in  various  districts  for 
defense  against  natives  in  the  event  of 
an  attack.  This  action  was  held  to  be  of 
a  provocatory  character.  The  Cossack 
guards  of  General  Kuropatkin  appeared 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Soldiers'  Delegates 
and  announced  that  they  would  not  de- 
fend him. 


General  Kuropatkin  was  in  chief  com- 
mand of  the  Russian  forces  in  Manchuria 
in  the  Russo-Japanese  war  and  was 
for  a  while  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Russian  northern  armies  in  the  pres- 
ent war. 

The  news  from  Petrograd  up  to  April 
20,  at  which  date  this  record  closes,  indi- 
cated a  gradual  subsidence  of  unrest  and 
a  tendency  among  the  workingmen  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  Provisional 
Government.  Industries  which  had  been 
closed  since  the  outbreak  were  being  re- 
opened, the  soldiers  were  becoming  more 
amenable  to  discipline,  and  there  were 
indications  that  the  moderates  would  be 
able  to  keep  the  radical  revolutionists  in 
check;  but  the  feeling  of  general  unrest 
had  by  no  means  yet  disappeared. 


Warning  of  Russia's  Revolution 

Paul  MilukofFs  Address 


THE  following  document,  read  in  the 
Duma  by  Professor  Milukoff  on  Feb. 
28,  a  week  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  revolution,  contained  a  warning  that 
has  become  historic  in  the  light  of  what 
followed : 

We  are  nearing  a  point  in  our  conduct  of 
the  war  when  the  supreme  effort  of  the  nation 
will  be  required  in  order  to  secure  victory. 
We  are  at  a  moment  of  crisis  in  the  great 
war.  The  military  resources  of  the  enemy 
are  nearing-  exhaustion ;  his  morale  is  getting 
lower ;  and  just  at  the  moment  when  we 
ought  to  develop  the  highest  power  of  re- 
sistance and  endurance,  we  are  beginning  to 
see  the  consequences  of  the  inactivity  of  our 
Government  in  organizing  the  nation  for  the 
supreme  effort. 

We  might  be  told  that  the  Government 
alone  is  not  responsible  for  the  faults  of  our 
machinery  of  war;  that  our  past,  our  whole 
history,  are  the  causes  of  our  backwardness. 
To  this  I  say  most  emphatically,  No.  The 
Government  and  the  Government  alone  is  re- 
sponsible for  it.  The  Government  concen- 
trated all  its  efforts  on  the  internal  war.  At 
a  moment  when  the  whole  nation  is  straining 
to  get  ahead  and  demands  of  the  Govern- 
ment a  clear  road  to  victory,  the  Government 
is  drawing  it  back.  The  nation  is  united  in 
its  supreme  effort  against  the  external  foe; 
but  the  Government  returns  to  the  old  in- 
ternal war  in  order  to  insure  its  own  safety. 


Every  day  voices  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  are  reaching  us,  addressed  to  the 
Duma.  The  people  in  the  provinces  tell  us : 
"Act  boldly  and  act-  instantly;  the  country 
is  with  you."  These  voices  enable  me,  even 
in  the  present  dark  state  of  affairs,  to  retain 
my  hope,  to  refrain  from  any  pessimism,  and 
I  warn  you  not  to  be  led  into  pessimism.  In 
England  and  France  the  people  have  found 
themselves ;  the  same  may  already  be  said 
about  Russia. 

When  the  nation  finds  that,  in  spite  of  all 
its  sacrifices,  its  destinies  are  being  endan- 
gered by  a  clique  of  incompetent  and  corrupt 
rulers,  then  the  people  become  a  nation  of 
citizens ;  they  become  determined  to  take  their 
case  into  their  own  hands.  Gentlemen,  we  are 
approaching  that  point.  In  everything  we  see 
around  us,  we  hear  the  echo  of  the  patriotic 
anxiety  which  fills  our  own  hearts.  It  is 
in  this  alarm  and  not  in  silence  and  recon- 
ciliation that  I  see  a  promise  of  salvation  for 
the  country.  You  know  well  that  I  can  say 
no  more  from  this  tribune.  You  know  that, 
this  alarm  is  well-founded,  and  you  know 
that  the  Duma  alone  is  not  in  a  position  to 
remove  the  causes  of  this  alarm ;  but  I  firmly 
believe  in  the  active  patriotism  of  the  nation. 

I  believe  that  the  people  will  not  allow  its 
forces  to  be  flouted  in  the  present  critical 
struggle,  and  I  believe  that  when  once  the 
popular  idea  that  Russia  cannot  conquer 
with  the  present  Government  ripens  in  the 
mind  of  the  nation,  the  nation  will  triumph  in 
spite  of  the  Government. 


German  Raiders  in  the  Atlantic 

Twenty-six  Merchant  Ships  Captured  by  the 
Mowe  in    a  Second  Expedition 


THE  German  auxiliary  cruiser 
Mowe,  (Seagull,)  commanded  by- 
Count  zu  Dohna-Schlodien  —  the 
same  sea  raider  that  had  captured 
the  Appam  and  fourteen  other  merchant 
ships  a  year  before — stole  out  through 
the  Kiel  Canal  and  the  North  Sea  late  in 
November,  1916,  and  added  a  still  more 
destructive  chapter  to  its  record.  The 
British  Admiralty  got  the  first  inkling 
of  the  depredator  on  Dec.  2  and  sent  out 
a  general  warning  on  Dec.  8,  but,  though 
several  vessels  were  known  to  be  miss- 
ing, the  operations  of  the  raider  con- 
tinued to  be  shrouded  in  mystery. 

The  true  state  of  affairs  came  to  the 
public  on  Jan.  16,  1917,  when  the  cap- 
tured Japanese  steamer  Hudson  Maru 
landed  at  Pernambuco,  Brazil,  with  287 
men  taken  from  six  ships  that  had  been 
sunk  at  various  points  between  the 
Azores  and  the  Brazilian  coast.  On  Dec. 
31  the  captured  British  steamer  Yarrow- 
dale  had  arrived  at  Swinemunde,  Ger- 
many, with  469  prisoners  taken  from  one 
Norwegian  and  seven  British  ships  in  the 
South  Atlantic,  but  the  German  Govern- 
ment did  not  announce  the  fact  until 
Jan.  19.  Even  then  the  name  of  the  sea 
raider  remained  in  doubt.  Finally,  on 
March  22  a  Berlin  dispatch  announced 
the  recent  return  of  the  Mowe  from  a 
second  successful  raid  among  enemy 
shipping.  The  Mowe  herself  had  brought 
in  593  prisoners,  including  fifty-seven 
Americans  from  the  crew  of  the  British 
horse  transport  Esmeraldas. 

The  total  number  of  ships  sunk  or 
taken  as  prizes  by  the  Mowe  on  this  raid 
was  at  least  twenty-six,  aggregating 
125,000  tonnage,  and  carrying  to  the  bot- 
tom many  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
foodstuffs,  munitions,  and  general  cargo. 
The  property  loss  was  estimated  at  be- 
tween $15,000,000  and  $20,000,000.  The 
total  number  of  prisoners  landed  by  the 
Mowe  and  the  two  prize  ships  not  sunk 
was  1,389.     A  few  lives  were  reported 


lost.  Fifty-nine  of  the  men  on  the  Yar- 
rowdale  were  American  sailors,  some  of 
whom  had  been  employed  on  armed  Brit- 
ish merchantmen.  These  the  German 
Government  was  inclined  to  hold  as 
war  prisoners,  on  the  ground  that  all 
armed  ships  are  warships;  but  this 
threatened  cause  of  international  contro- 
versy disappeared  when  the  Americans 
were  released  on  March  9  and  returned 
by  way  of  Switzerland.  They  filed 
charges  to  the  effect  that  they  had  been 
roughly  treated  and  half  starved  in  Ger- 
many. 

List  of  the   Victims 

The  vessels  reported  captured  by  the 
Mowe  were  the  following: 

Voltaire,  British  steamer,  with  crew  of  93 
men,  sunk  on  Nov.  21. 

Pallbjbrb,  Norwegian  steamer,  bound  from 
America  to  France  with  a  cargo  of  food. 

Mount  Temple,  British  steamer  with  7.5- 
centimeter  gun,  9,792  tons  gross,  with  provi- 
sions, parcels,  and  horses. 

Duchess  of  Cornwall,  British  sailing  ship  of 
152  tons,  with  fish. 

King  George,  British  steamer  of  3,852  tons 
gross,  with  explosives,  provisions,  and  par- 
cels. 

Cambrian  Range,  British  steamer  of  4,200 
tons  gross,  with  wheat  and  parcels. 

Georgic,  British  steamer  with  12-centimeter 
gun,  10,000  tons  gross,  with  wheat,  meat,  and 
horses. 

Yarrowdale,  British  steamer  of  4,600  tons 
gross,  with  ammunition,  provisions,  and  war 
materials. 

St.  Theodore,  British  steamer  of  5,000  tons 
gross,  with  coal. 

Dramatist,  British  steamer  of  5,400  tons 
gross,  with  ammunition  and  fruit. 

Nantes,  French  sailing  ship  of  2,600  tons 
gross,  with  saltpeter. 

Ansieres,  French  sailing  ship  of  3,100  tons 
gross,  with  wheat. 

Hudson  Maru,  Japanese  steamer  of  3,800 
tons  gross,  with  parcels. 

Radnorshire,  British  steamer,  with  12-cen- 
timeter gun,  4,300  tons  gross,  with  coffee  and 
cocoa. 

Minieh,  British  steamer  of  3,800  tons  gross, 
(listed  at  2,890  tons  gross,)  with  coal. 

Netherby  Hall,  British  steamer  of  4,400  tons 
gross,  with  rice  and  parcels. 


GERMAN  RAIDERS  IN  THE  ATLANTIC 


299 


Jean,  Canadian  sailing  ship  of  2,115  tons 
gross,  with  sugar. 

Staut,  Norwegian  sailing  ship  of  1,200  tons 
gross,  with  whale  oil. 

Brecknockshire,  British  steamer,  with  12- 
centimeter  gun,  of  8,400  tons  gross,  with  coal. 

French  Prince,  British  steamer  of  4,800  tons 
gross,  with  coal. 

Katherine,  British  steamer  of  2,900  tons 
gross,  with  wheat. 

Rhodanthe,  British  steamer  of  3,000  tons 
gross,  in  ballast. 

Esmeraldas,  British  steamer  of  4,680  tons 
gross,  in  ballast. 

Otaki,  British  steamer  of  7,400  tons  gross, 
(listed  at  9,575  tons  gross,)  with  12-centi- 
meter guns,  in  ballast. 

Demeterton,  British  steamer  with  7.5-centi- 
meter guns,  6,048  tons  gross,  with  food. 

Governor,  British  steamer,  with  12-centi- 
meter guns,  of  5,500  tons  gross,  in  ballast. 

"  The  Mowe  is  a  finely  masked  cruiser 
of  12,000  tons,"  said  one  of  the  released 
neutral  sailors.  "  It  is  impossible  to  dis- 
cover anything  unusual  about  her  before 
the  rail  drops  down  and  the  guns  are  un- 
covered. The  Mowe  is  also  carrying 
sails,  which  prevent  any  view  of  the  deck. 
The  cruiser  is  quite  new  and  armed  with 
four  big  guns  and  two  smaller  ones.  She 
has  four  torpedo  tubes." 

German  Official  Statement 
The   following   official    statement   was 
issued  at  Berlin  under  date  of  Jan.  19, 

1917: 

The  English  steamer  Yarrowdale,  of  4,600 
tons,  was  brought  into  harbor  on  Dec.  31  as 
a  prize  by  a  prize  crew  of  sixteen  men.  She 
had  aboard  469  prisoners,  namely,  the  crews 
of  one  Norwegian  and  seven  English  ships 
which  were  captured  by  one  of  our  auxiliary 
cruisers  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  cargoes  of  the  captured  vessels  con- 
sisted principally  of  war  material  for  our 
enemies  from  America  and  foodstuffs,  in- 
cluding 6,000  tons  of  wheat,  2,000  tons  of 
flour,  and  1,900  horses.  The  Yarrowdale  had 
on  board  117  motor  lorries,  one  motor  car, 
6,300  cases  of  rifle  cartridges,  30,000  rolls  of 
barbed  wire,  and  3,300  tons  of  steel  bars,  be- 
sides a  large  quantity  of  meat,  bacon,  and 
sausages. 

Of  the  vessels  sunk  three  of  the  British 
were  armed.  Among  the  crews  of  the  cap- 
tured vessels  are  103  subjects  of  neutral 
States,  who,  as  well  as  enemy  subjects,  have 
been  removed  as  prisoners  of  war  in  so  far 
as  they  had  taken  pay  on  armed  enemy  ves- 
sels. The  commander  of  the  prize  crew  is 
Deputy  Officer  Badewitz. 

The  bringing  in  of  the  Yarrowdale  has  been 
kept  secret  up  to  this  time  for  military  rea- 
sons, which,  in  view  of  the  British  Ad- 
miralty statement  of  Jan.  17,  were  no  longer 
operative. 


When  Lieutenant  Badewitz  was  asked 
how  he  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Yar- 
rowdale through  the  North  Atlantic  and 
the  North  Sea  with  a  crew  of  only  six- 
teen men  and  with  more  than  400  prison- 
ers on  board,  he  replied: 

"  For  such  an  action  you  need  only  to 
exercise  coolness  and  determined,  blunt 
carelessness,  especially  if  you  have  to 
deal  with  Englishmen.  In  addition  you 
need  to  have  a  handful  of  smart  boys 
like  mine  who  have  their  hearts  in  the 
right  place  and  revolvers  in  their  pockets. 
Then  you  can  fetch  the  devil  from  his 
own  house.  The  discipline  was  first- 
rate.  Whenever  the  order  to  go  below 
was  issued,  the  whole  crowd  of  prisoners 
hurried  to  the  lower  decks,  running  like 
hares." 

Lieutenant  Badewitz  said  he  and  his 
officers  never  left  the  bridge  of  the  Yar- 
rowdale, and  all  preparations  had  been 
made  to  sink  the  ship  at  a  moment's  no- 
tice from  the  bridge.  All  on  board,  he 
said,  knew  that  the  vessel  would  be  sunk 
in  case  of  a  mutiny.  Explosive  charges 
had  been  placed  in  the  hold,  with  electric 
connections  that  would  enable  the  vessel 
to  be  sent  to  the  bottom  by  touching  a 
button,  and  this  would  have  been  done 
rathe  rthan  allow  the  vessel  to  be  cap- 
tured by  British  patrols. 

Life  on  the  Moewe 

The  crew  of  the  Norwegian  steamer 
Pallbjorb  gave  this  interesting  account 
of  their  experiences : 

"  One  day  at  the  end  of  November  the 
Pallbjorb  saw  a  large  steamer  approach- 
ing. The  stranger  changed  her  course 
and  began  manoeuvring  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  Norwegian  thought  the  crew 
must  have  gone  mad.  Suddenly  the  ves- 
sel came  toward  the  Norwegian  steamer 
and  when  a  few  yards  away  let  down  her 
bulwarks,  disclosing  four  large  guns.  At 
the  same  time  a  German  flag  was  hoisted 
and  an  order  given  to  the  Pallbjorb  to 
stop.  Thirty  naval  officers  and  sailors 
then  boarded  the  Pallbjorb,  seized  500 
boxes  of  food,  and  then  sank  her.  The 
Captain  protested,  saying  his  ship  did  not 
carry  contraband;  but  the  German  offi- 
cers declared  that  they  disregarded  the 
contraband  regulations. 

"  On  board  the  Mowe  was  the  crew  of 


300 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ninety-three  from  the  British  steamer 
Voltaire,  which  was  sunk  on  Nov.  21. 
On  Dec.  6  a  Newfoundland  trawler  was 
stopped  and  sunk  while  on  a  journey  to 
Gibraltar  with  fish.  The  same  evening 
the  C.  P.  R.  liner  Mount  Temple,  with 
a  cargo  of  750  horses  and  5,000  tons  of 
merchandise,  was  stopped  by  seven  shots. 
The  steward  and  one  sailor  were  killed, 
and  another  .sailor  had  both  his  legs 
smashed.  The  crew,  numbering  107, 
were  taken  on  board.  The  Mount  Tem- 
ple was  finally  sunk  by  bombs,  the  horses 
struggling  for  life  in  the  icy  water. 

"  In  the  evening  of  Dec.  10  the  large 
White  Star  liner  Georgic,  having  on  board 
1,200  horses,  was  brought  to  a  halt  by 
shots.  Great  panic  prevailed  on  board 
and  fifty  of  the  men  jumped  into  the  wa- 
ter without  their  clothes  on,  but  only  one 
of  them  was  drowned.  The  vessel  was 
then  blown  up  by  bombs.  Hundreds  of 
horses,  swimming  toward  the  Mowe,  made 
desperate  efforts  to  clamber  on  board,  but 
the  German  sailors,  standing  with  loaded 
revolvers,  killed  them  as  they  reached 
the  ship. 

"  On  Dec.  11  the  British  steamer  Yar- 
rowdale  was  encountered.  As  there  were 
already  500  men  on  board  the  Mowe,  the 
Captain  decided  that  his  latest  capture 
must  go  to  Germany  with  his  prisoners. 
For  a  whole  day  after  leaving  the  Mowe 
the  Yarrowdale  was  in  communication 
with  her  by  wireless.  The  Yarrowdale  at 
last  got  the  order  to  go  northward,  and 
the  ship  then  made  for  the  south  coast  of 
Iceland,  Norway,  the  Cattegat,  &c,  and 
was  compelled  by  storm  to  anchor  near 
Hveen  Island,  in  the  sound,  where  a  Ger- 
man patrol  ship  appeared.  It  was  at  this 
spot  that  two  British  sailors  attempted 
to  escape,  but  they  were  discovered.  They 
offered  violent  resistance,  and  bit  and 
scratched  the  enemy.  The  next  day  the 
Yarrowdale  anchored  in  Swedish  waters 
and  a  Swedish  destroyer  appeared.  The 
500  prisoners  were  commanded  to  go  be- 
low. The  Swedish  officer  came  on  board, 
but  failed  to  find  anything  suspicious. 
Meanwhile  the  Germans  stood  with  their 
revolvers  leveled  against  the  prisoners 
in  the  hold. 

While  the  Mowe  was  still  busy  it  was 
known  that  one  or  more  auxiliary  raiders 


were  at  work  in  the  same  region.  The 
captured  British  steamer  St.  Theodore 
was  said  to  have  been  fitted  out  with 
guns  from  the  Mowe,  and  there  were 
rumors  of  a  German  raider  named  the 
Venetia  assisting  in  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. A  circumstantial  account  of  the 
sinking  of  the  Venetia  by  the  British 
cruiser  Glasgow  on  Jan.  25  was  told  by 
an  officer  of  that  warship. 

Exploits  of  the  Seeadler 
More  tangible,  however,  was  the  news 
brought  to  Rio  Janeiro  on  March  20  by 
the  French  bark  Cambronne.  A  new 
raider,  the  Seeadler,  (Sea  Eagle,)  was 
at  work  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  had 
already  sunk  eleven  vessels.  The  Cam- 
bronne, one  of  the  Seeadler's  victims, 
brought  277  men  from  the  crews  of  other 
captured  vessels  in  addition  to  her  own 
crew  of  twenty-two.  She  had  encoun- 
tered the  raider  on  March  7  at  a  point 
two-thirds  of  the  way  across  to  the 
African  coast,  and  had  been  commanded, 
after  receiving  the  refugees  on  board,  to 
proceed  to  Brazil,  a  voyage  of  twenty-two 
days. 

The  Seeadler  had  left  Germany  on  Dec. 
22,  escorted  by  a  submarine.  The  com- 
mander declared  to  his  prisoners  that  the 
German  Emperor  and  the  Crown  Prince 
alone  knew  of  the  expedition.  The  ves- 
sel's guns  and  two  gasoline  launches  had 
been  concealed  in  the  hold  while  she  was 
running  the  British  blockade.  On  sight- 
ing a  merchantman  the  raider  would  first 
hoist  the  Norwegian  flag,  which  would  be 
replaced  by  a  German  flag  when  her 
prey  was  within  reach  of  her  guns.  The 
commander  presented  to  the  Captain  of 
each  ship  he  sank  an  engraved  certificate 
setting  forth  the  circumstances  in  which 
it  had  been  destroyed.  The  prisoners  all 
said  they  were  well  treated  aboard  and 
no  loss  of  life  had  occurred.  Five  were 
Americans.  The  ships  sunk,  as  reported 
by  the  American  Consul  General  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  were  the  British  steamers 
Lady  Island,  Gladys,  Royal  Hongar,  and 
sailing  vessels  Pintors,  British  Yeoman, 
Terse;  Italian  vessel  Buenos  Aires,  and 
French  vessels  Charles  Gounod,  Antoine, 
Rochefaucauld,  and  Dupliex,  all  between 
January  and  March  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Madeira  and  Cape  Verde  Islands. 


Democratic  Progress  in  Germany 


THE  news  of  the  Russian  revolution 
was  hardly  known  in  Berlin  be- 
fore the  Imperial  Chancellor,  von 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  appeared  be- 
fore the  Prussian  Diet,  on  March  14,  and 
delivered  a  speech  which  startled  the  em- 
pire from  end  to  end,  (see  Current  His- 
tory Magazine,  April,  1917,  Page  37.) 
"  Woe  to  the  statesman  who  cannot  read 
the  signs  of  the  times!"  were  his  words  of 
warning.  After  the  Chancellor's  speech 
declaring  that  there  must  be  reforms,  the 
debate  became  tempestuous,  the  Socialists 
seizing  the  opportunity  to  attack  Junker- 
ism  and  demand  the  abolition  of  the  Her- 
renhaus,  the  Prussian  House  of  Lords. 
"  We  are  no  longer  serfs,"  said  Deputy 
Leinert,  a  Socialist,  "  whom  the  King  can 
buy  and  sell  or  order  to  bleed  and  die  at 
the  word  of  command."  Amid  cheers  Lei- 
nert spoke  of  the  coming  time  when  Jun- 
kerism  would  be  swept  off  the  earth.  The 
speech  of  another  Socialist,  Adolf  Hoff- 
mann, provoked  so  much  commotion  that 
it  was  cut  short,  but  before  he  was  si- 
lenced he  made  the  following  remarks: 

We  shall  refuse  to  vote  for  the  budget. 
Chancellor  von  Bethmann  Hollweg  is  merely 
the  fig  leaf  of  military  absolutism.  Militarism 
bears  the  responsibility  for  the  bloodshed  in 
Europe,  and  only  when  militarism  and  des- 
potism are  removed  will  the  people  breathe 
freely.  Force  of  arms  will  not  lead  to  a  de- 
cision and  peace.  Distress,  desperation,  and 
general  collapse  will  do  it. 

When  both  enemies  are  equally  strong  the 
threat  of  crushing  is  sheer  nonsense.  Ger- 
many, despite  many  successes,  has  not  con- 
quered. The  German  peace  proposal  with  its 
tone  of  victory  Was  bound  to  cause  vexation 
and  distrust.  She  should  have  communicated 
her  peace  terms  and  thereby  dissipated  her 
enemies'    distrust. 

The  revolution  in  Russia  should  be  a  warn- 
ing to  our  rulers.  The  German  submarine 
warfare  is  opposed  to  the  laws  of  humanity 
and  international  law. 

The  floodgates  of  democratic  agitation 
were  now  open.  Philipp  Scheidemann, 
leader  of  the  majority  of  the  Socialist 
Party  in  the  Reichstag,  which  had  stood 
behind  the  Government  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  came  out  in  an  article  in 
Vorwarts  on  March  19  with  the  bold 
statement,  "  The  whole  world  sees  among 


our  enemies  more  or  less  developed  forms 
of  democracy,  and  in  us  it  sees  only  Prus- 
sians." There  was  a  stormy  scene  in 
the  Reichstag  on  March  22,  when  the 
Socialist  Deputy  Kunert  charged  the 
Kaiser  and  the  Imperial  Chancellor  with 
having  been  the  originators  of  the  war. 
Another  sign  of  which  way  the  wind 
was  blowing  was  the  election  to  fill  the 
seat  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Prussian 
Diet  which  had  been  vacated  by  Lieb- 
knecht.  Dr.  Franz  Mehring,  a  member 
of  the  anti-war  Socialist  minority,  who 
at  one  time  had  been  placed  under  "  pre- 
ventive arrest,"  was  easily  elected, 
though  opposed  by  a  representative  of 
the  Socialist  majority.  The  ever-grow- 
ing scarcity  of  food  was  a  constant  con- 
tributor to  the  popular  discontent,  and 
when  it  was  announced  that  after  April 
15  the  bread  ration  was  to  be  reduced 
by  one-fourth,  it  seemed  that  the  break- 
ing point  would  soon  be  reached. 

But  the  Junkers,  the  Prussian  Herren- 
haus,  were  not  to  be  easily  moved  even 
by  the  most  solemn  warnings.  They  de- 
clared against  reform  of  the  three-class 
system  of  voting  for  the  Diet  and  all 
proposals  whatever  for  increasing  popu- 
lar rights.  The  language  of  the  noble- 
men who  spoke  on  March  28  was  remi- 
niscent of  the  old  days  of  the  divine  right 
of  Kings.  "  My  highest  war  aim,"  said 
Count  von  Roon,  "  is  to  maintain  the 
Crown  and  the  monarchy  as  high  as  the 
heavens."  Others  asserted  they  would 
stand  by  the  "  good  old  Prussia."  That 
the  power  of  the  Junkers  was  still  very 
great  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  their 
opposition  induced  von  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg to  decide  that  political  reform  must 
be  postponed  till  after  the  war.  This 
decision  he  announced  in  the  Reichstag 
on  March  29,  and  instantly  there  were 
outbursts  of  indignation,  not  only  by  the 
Socialists,  who  are  leading  the  fight  for 
German  democracy,  but  also  by  such 
moderates  as  the  National  Liberals.  The 
Socialist  leader  Georg  Ledebour  made  a 
historic  speech,  in  which  he  said: 
Kerensky    [the    new    Russian    Minister    of 


302 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Justice  and  a  Socialist]  is  now  the  most  pow- 
erful man  in  Russia,  yet  he  was  lately  only 
the  leader  of  a  small  faction.  We  are  few 
In  the  Reichstag,  but  behind  us  stands  the 
Industrial  revolutionary  population,  true  to 
democratic  principles. 

"We  regard  a  republic  as  a  coming  inevita- 
ble development  in  Germany.  History  is  now 
marching  with  seven-league  boots.  The  Ger- 
man people,  indeed,  shows  incredible  patience- 
The  Reichstag  must  have  the  right  to  a  voice 
in  the  conclusion  of  alliances,  peace  treaties, 
and  declarations  of  war.  The  Imperial  Chan- 
cellor must  be  dismissed  when  the  Reichstag 
demands  it. 

The  speech  was  interrupted  by  shouts 
of  "  High  Treason !  "  Gustav  Noske,  an- 
other Socialist,  referred  to  the  "  deplor- 
able events "  at  Hamburg,  Magdeburg, 
and  elsewhere,  indicating  that  there  had 
been  food  riots,  the  reports  of  which  had 
been  suppressed  by  the  censorship.  Ref- 
erences to  the  Russian  revolution  were 
frequent,  and  more  than  one  speaker  re- 
minded von  Bethmann  Hollweg  of  his 
words,  "  Woe  to  the  statesman  who  can- 
not read  the  signs  of  the  times."  Final- 
ly, despite  the  Government's  intention  to 
postpone  reform  questions  till  after  the 
war,  the  Reichstag  adopted  by  227  votes 
against  33  a  resolution  appointing  a  com- 
mittee of  twenty-eight  members  to  con- 
sider the  whole  subject  of  constitutional 
reform. 

The  Kaiser,  who  had  kept  silent  dur- 
ing all  this  agitation,  was  roused  by 
President  Wilson's  message  and  the  dec- 
laration of  war  which  followed  it,  to  come 
out  openly  in  favor  of  reform.  On  April 
7  it  was  announced  that  he  had  ordered 
the  Imperial  Chancellor  to  submit  to  him 
certain  proposals  for  the  reform  of  the 
Prussian  electoral  law,  to  be  discussed 
and  put  into  effect  after  the  conclusion 
of  peace.  The  text  of  the  Kaiser's  order 
follows : 

Never  before  have  the  German  people 
proved  to  be  so  firm  as  in  this  war.  The 
knowledge  that  the  Fatherland  is  fighting  in 
bitter  self-defense  has  exercised  a  wonderful 
reconciling  power,  and,  despite  all  sacrifices 
on  the  battlefield  and  severe  privations  at 
home,  their  determination  has  remained  im- 
perturbable to  stake  their  last  for  the  vic- 
torious issue. 

The  national  and  social  spirit  have  under- 
stood each  other  and  become  united,  and  have 
given  us  steadfast  strength.  Both  of  them 
realized  what  was  built  up  in  long  years  of 
peace  and  amid  many  internal  struggles.  This 


was  certainly  worth  fighting  for.  Brightly 
before  my  eyes  stand  the  achievements  of 
the  entire  nation  in  battle  and  distress.  The 
events  of  this  struggle  for  the  existence  of 
the  empire  introduce,  with  high  solemnity, 
a  new  time. 

It  falls  to  you  as  the  responsible  Chancellor 
of  the  German  Empire  and  First  Minister  of 
my  Government  in  Prussia  to  assist  in  ob- 
taining the  fulfillment  of  the  demands  of  this 
hour  by  right  means  and  at  the  right  time, 
and  in  this  spirit  shape  our  political  life  in 
order  to  make  room  for  the  free  and  joyful 
co-operation  of  all  the  members  of  our  people. 

The  principles  which  you  have  developed  in 
this  respect  have,  as  you  know,  my  approval. 

I  feel  conscious  of  remaining  thereby  on  the 
road  which  my  grandfather,  the  founder  of 
the  empire,  as  King  of  Prussia  with  military 
organization  and  as  German  Emperor  with 
social  reform,  typically  fulfilled  as  his 
monarchial  obligations,  thereby  creating  con- 
ditions by  which  the  German  people,  in  united 
and  wrathful  perseverance,  will  overcome  this 
sanguinary  time.  The  maintenance  of  the 
fighting  force  as  a  real  people's  army  and  the 
promotion  of  the  social  uplift  of  the  people  in 
all  its  classes  was,  from  the  beginning  of  my 
reign,  my  aim. 

In  this  endeavor,  while  holding  a  just  bal- 
ance between  the  people  and  the  monarchy 
to  serve  the  welfare  of  the  "whole,  I  am  re- 
solved to  begin  building  up  our  internal 
political,  economic,  and  social  life  as  soon  as 
the  war  situation  permits. 

While  millions  of  our  fellow-countrymen  are 
in  the  field,  the  conflict  of  opinions  behind 
the  front,  which  is  unavoidable  in  such  a  far- 
reaching  change  of  constitution,  must  be  post- 
poned in  the  highest  interests  of  the  Father- 
land until  the  time  of  the  homecoming  of  our 
warriors  and  when  they  themselves  are  able 
to  join  in  the  counsel  and  the  voting  on  the 
progress  of  the  new  order. 

Specifying  the  reforms  that  were  nec- 
essary the  Kaiser  said: 

Reform  of  the  Prussian  Diet  and  libera- 
tion of  our  entire  inner  political  life  are  espe- 
cially dear  to  my  heart.  For  the  reform  of 
the  electoral  law  of  the  lower  house  pre- 
paratory work  already  had  been  begun  at  my 
request  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 

I  charge  you  now  to  submit  to  me  definite 
proposals  of  the  Ministry  of  State,  so  that 
upon  the  return  of  our  warriors  this  work, 
which  is  fundamental  for  the  internal  forma- 
tion of  Prussia,  be  carried  out  by  legislation. 
In  view  of  the  gigantic  deeds  of  the  entire 
people  there  is,  in  my  opinion,  no  more 
room  in  Prussia  for  election  by  the  classes. 

The  bill  will  have  to  provide  further  for 
direct  and  secret  election  of  Deputies.  The 
merits  of  the  upper  house  and  its  lasting 
significance  for  the  State  no  King  of  Prussia 
will  misjudge.  The  upper  house  will  be 
better  able  to  do  justice  to  the  gigantic  de- 
mands of  the  coming  time  if  it  unites  in  its 
midst  in  more  extended  and  more  proportional 


DEMOCRATIC  PROGRESS  IN  GERMANY 


303 


manner  than  hitherto  from  various  classes 
and  vocations  of  people  men  who  are  re- 
spected by  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  election  of  the  twenty-eight  mem- 


bers to  the  Committee  on  Reforms  was 
fixed  for  April  24,  the  date  on  which  the 
Reichstag  was  to  resume  its  sittings  after 
the  Easter  recess. 


Reply  to  the  Dardanelles  Report 


THE  report  of  the  Special  Parlia- 
,  mentary  Commission  on  the  Dar- 
danelles Expedition,  which  had 
criticised  Lord  Kitchener,  former 
Premier  Asquith,  and  Mr.  Churchill,  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  was  the  subject 
of  a  vigorous  attack  in  Parliament  on 
March  28,  1917.  Speeches  were  made  by 
Mr.  Asquith  and  Mr.  Churchill,  in  which 
the  fairness  of  the  report  was  challenged 
and  its  political  use  severely  rebuked.  Mr. 
Asquith  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  Lord 
Kitchener,  who  had  been  represented  as 
"  a  solitary,  taciturn  autocrat,"  who  took 
no  counsel  with  any  one  and  insisted  on 
having  everything  his  own  way.  This 
Mr.  Asquith  denied.  Lord  Kitchener 
was,  indeed,  a  masterful  man  and  a  for- 
midable personality,  but  the  fact  was 
that  at  the  outbreak  of  war  all  the  Gen- 
eral Staff  went  to  France  and  no  sol- 
diers of  experience  were  left  in  the  coun- 
try. The  Government,  therefore,  in  all 
military  matters  was  bound  to  defer 
to  Lord  Kitchener's  unrivaled  authority, 
and  no  man  ever  had  a  heavier  burden 
to  carry.  Mr.  Asquith  also  revealed  the 
fact  that,  at  the  outbreak  of  war,  Lord 
Kitchener  was  the  only  man  he  ever 
thought  of  asking  to  become  Secretary 
of  State  for  War. 

Mr.  Asquith,  in  replying  to  the  criti- 
cism that  there  had  been  a  delay  of  three 
weeks  in  sending  reinforcements,  said 
that  the  delay  had  been  due,  not  to  any 
vacillation  or  hesitation,  but  to  two  main 
considerations — first,  that  the  Russian 
position  was  so  bad  at  the  time  that  Lord 
Kitchener  feared  the  Germans  might 
withdraw  divisons  from  the  eastern  and 
send  them  to  the  western  front,  and,  sec- 
ond, that  both  the  British  and  French 
headquarters  were  putting  the  strongest 
pressure  on  him  to  dispatch  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Division  to  France.  Those  were 
"  grave  and  weighty  reasons,"  said  Mr. 


Asquith,  and,  he  added,  "  it  is  so  easy  to 
be  wise  after  the  event."  He  held  that 
the  Commissioners  had  not  given  suffi- 
cient weight  to  these  considerations  when 
they  passed  their  censure. 

He  dealt  at  some  length  with  the  crit- 
icisms of  the  report  on  his  own  neglect 
to  summon  a  War  Council  between  March 
19  and  May  14.  His  answer  to  this  was 
that  he  had  been  in  daily  and  hourly  con- 
sultation with  Lord  Kitchener  and  Mr. 
Churchill,  and  that  the  operations  were 
in  the  hands  of  the  naval  men  on  the 
spot.  But  there  had  been  no  fewer  than 
thirteen  meetings  of  the  Cabinet  in  that 
period,  and  at  several  the  Dardanelles  op- 
erations had  been  discussed  at  length. 
As  for  the  role  of  the  experts  at  the  War 
Council,  Mr.  Asquith  declared  that  he 
had  never  known  them  to  show  the  least 
reluctance  to  give  their  opinion,  whether 
invited  or  uninvited,  and  though  Lord 
Fisher  was  known  to  be  averse  to  the 
Dardanelles  operations,  it  was  not  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  impracticable,  but 
that  his  preference  was  for  a  different 
operation  in  a  totally  different  sphere. 
Lord  Fisher,  said  Mr.  Asquith,  was  in 
a  minority  of  one,  but  he  explicitly 
agreed  to  undertake  the  naval  operations. 

According  to  Mr.  Churchill,  everybody 
on  the  War  Council  knew  of  Lord  Fish- 
er's objections,  but  knew  also  that  they 
were  not  objections  based  on  the  imprac- 
ticability of  "  forcing  "  the  Dardanelles — 
a  very  different  thing  from  "  rushing  " 
the  Dardanelles,  which  no  one  ever  con- 
templated. Lord  Fisher,  insisted  Mr. 
Churchill,  never  objected  to  carrying  out 
the  operations  until  the  Admiral  on  the 
spot  changed  his  mind  and  advised  that 
the  naval  attack  should  not  be  proceeded 
with.  Mr.  Churchill  did  not  conceal  his 
own  desire  to  press  the  attack  with  the 
navy  alone,  but  he  was  overruled,  and 
then  the  fatal  delays  took  place. 


304 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Toward  the  close  of  his  speech  Mr. 
Churchill  intimated  that  if  naval  rein- 
forcements had  been  furnished  the  re- 
sult might  have  been  different,  as  the 
Turkish  ammunition  was  about  exhaust- 
ed at  the  time  of  the  retirement.  He 
likewise  affirmed,  in  a  detailed  review 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  War  Council, 
that  the  plans  for  a  purely  naval  attack 
had  received  the  considered  approval  of 
all  the  naval  authorities,  including  the 
Admirals  on  the  spot,  Sir  Henry  Jack- 
son, Admiral  Oliver,  and  the  French 
Naval  Staff,  and  that  Lord  Fisher  him- 
self had  agreed  to  carry  it  out.  He  con- 
tended that  this  naval  attempt  to  force 
the  Dardanelles  was  not  a  rash  enterprise 
foisted  upon  an  unwilling  Admiralty, 
but  was  the  plan  of  the  naval  experts 
themselves. 

Mr.  Asquith  by  no  means  conceded  that 
the  expedition  was  a  failure.  On  the 
contrary,  he  asserted  that  "  it  absolutely 
saved  the  position  of  Russia  in  the  Cau- 
casus; it  prevented  for  months  the  de- 
fection of  Bulgaria  to  the  Central  Pow- 
ers; it  kept  at  least  300,000  Turks  immo- 
bile; and,  what  is  more  important,  it 
cut  off  and  annihilated  a  corps  d'elite,  the 
whole  flower  of  the  Turkish  Army.  The 
Turks  have  never  recovered  to  this  mo- 
ment from  the  blow,  inflicted  upon  them, 


and  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  contribu- 
tory causes  of  the  favorable  develop- 
ments which  we  have  happily  witnessed 
in  the  events  in  Egypt,  Mesopotamia, 
and  Persia." 

Mr.  Churchill,  in  his  defense  of  the  ex- 
pedition, asked:  "What  was  gained,  not 
what  might  have  been  gained,  by  the 
naval  attack?  Was  ever  any  demon- 
stration in  the  history  of  the  world  more 
potent?  The  relief  to  the  Grand  Duke 
in  the  Caucasus  was  instantaneous.  The 
whole  attitude  of  Bulgaria  was  changed 
for  the  time  in  our  favor.  Greece  had 
almost  joined  us.  Lastly,  there  was  Italy. 
During  the  progress  of  the  naval  attack 
those  negotiations  were  begun  which 
finally,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Asquith,  who 
dealt  for  all  the  Allies,  culminated  in 
Italy's  entrance  into  the  war  at  the  mo- 
ment when  her  entrance  was  most  need- 
ed and  before  she  could  be  discouraged 
by  the  defeats  of  the  Russians  in  Galicia, 
which  began  a  few  weeks  later.  These 
are  the  results  of  failure.  Think  what 
might  have  been  the  consequences  of 
success.  It  is  a  torment  to  dwell  upon 
them  and  to  think  how  near  was  the 
naval  attack  to  success.  Was  there  even 
really  a  reasonably  fair  chance  of  its  suc- 
ceeding if  it  had  been  persevered  in  and 
pushed  on  ?  " 


Writing  War  History  in  France 

A  contributor  to  Le  Temps  of  Paris  has  placed  on  record  the  measures  which  self-con- 
scious France  is  taking  to  aid  the  future  historian.  The  article  is  here  translated  for  Cur- 
i;i:nt  Histokt  Magazine. 


INSTINCTIVELY  we  are  watching  our- 
selves live  in  these  heroic  days.  We 
feel,  indeed,  that  the  passionate  curi- 
osity of  future  centuries  will  be  con- 
centrated upon  our  acts  and  movements; 
we  have  become  conscious  of  the  con- 
sideration and  respect  which  coming  gen- 
erations will  lavish  upon  the  men  and 
things  of  today.  We  are  secretly  flat- 
tered by  the  thought,  and,  without  going 
so  far  as  to  strike  a  pose  before  the 
painters  of  history,  we  are  beginning 
discreetly  to  prepare  their  palettes  and 
brushes. 

We  throw  furtive  glances  in  the  direc- 


tion of  the  mirror  that  reflects  our 
silhouettes,  and  try  negligently  to 
straighten  our  cravats.  "  We  men  of  the 
middle  ages,"  cries  a  foreseeing  hero  of 
a  mediaeval  operetta.  "  We  witnesses 
of  the  great  world  cataclysm,"  already 
some  of  our  contemporaries  are  thinking. 
And,  flying  the  altruistic  flag,  they  are 
working  conscientiously  for  posterity. 
The  explorers  of  the  past,  who  later  shall 
undertake  a  voyage  around  the  great 
war,  will  bless  the  enlightened  zeal  of 
these  men.  They  will  find  themselves  in 
the  presence  of  a  fabulously  rich  mine  of 
documents.    We  have  recently  mentioned 


WRITING  WAR  HISTORY  IN  FRANCE 


305 


the  interesting  project  of  Messrs.  Hon- 
norat  and  Alexandre  Varenne,  intended 
to  bring  together  in  one  place  complete 
collections  of  the  newspapers  and  re- 
views that  have  appeared  during  the 
war.  This  plan,  formulated  after  thirty 
months  of  war,  might  seem  purely 
platonic:  is  it  not  too  late  to  collect 
and  classify  all  the  fugitive  papers 
scattered  in  the  blast  of  the  tempest? 
Not  at  all. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  great  conflict 
a  wide-awake  Minister  of  Public  In- 
struction asked  all  the  Mayors  in  France 
to  gather  carefully  all  printed  documents 
relating  to  the  war.  He  begged  them 
particularly  to  "  collect  the  newspapers," 
and  explained  the  exceptional  interest 
attaching  to  these  "  mirrors  in  which  are 
reflected  the  successive  moods  of  the  na- 
tion "  and  the  necessity  of  preserving 
"  the  least  manifestations  of  public  spirit 
and  the  slightest  traces  of  emotion  or 
serenity,  as  the  case  may  be,  with  which 
the  people  receive  administrative  meas- 
ures, or  other  war  news,  whether  from 
France  or  from  abroad.  *  *  *  At  so 
important  a  time  in  our  national  history 
this  country  has  assumed  an  attitude  too 
profoundly  honorable  for  one  to  neglect 
preserving  proofs  of  it  taken  from  life, 
day  by  day,  which  posterity  must  needs 
accept.  On  this  score  it  is  really  de- 
sirable to  save  the  whole  contemporary 
product  from  oblivion." 

A  series  of  circulars  developed  and  or- 


ganized this  noble  undertaking.  Not  only 
are  all  our  Mayors  collecting  the  local 
newspapers,  the  public  and  private  post- 
ers, the  social  and  religious  documents, 
the  industrial  pamphlets,  the  cartoons, 
postcards,  and  photographs  of  the  war 
period,  but  in  the  smallest  village  of 
France  the  representative  of  the  Insti- 
tute has  been  invited  to  take  notes 
methodically  of  all  the  events  he  wit- 
nesses. He  is  to  gather  up  and  preserve 
the  "  oral  tradition  "  which,  in  our  coun- 
try districts,  is  usually  the  sole  deposi- 
tory of  the  past.  He  will  thus  perpetu- 
ate remarks,  anecdotes,  and  significant 
examples  and  traits,  which  will  consti- 
tute an  incomparable  documentary  treas- 
ury for  those  who  shall  wish  to  study  the 
soul  of  France  as  it  is  today. 

At  this  moment  thousands  of  attentive 
pens,  under  these  official  orders,  are 
blackening  little  pieces  of  paper  meas- 
uring— our  organizers  think  of  every- 
thing— "  fifteen  centimeters  by  ten." 
France  is  an  immense  classification  cabi- 
net, in  which  these  slips  of  paper  are 
being  tirelessly  placed  on  file.  They  will 
form  an  admirable  Golden  Book  of  the 
mind  and  conscience  of  our  nation. 

There  is  a  certain  grandeur  in  this  or- 
der for  the  mobilization  of  a  nation's 
memory.  Who  will  dare  henceforth  to 
speak  of  our  lack  of  foresight?  We  are 
leaving  nothing  to  chance.  Our  papers 
are  in  order.  History  may  enter:  she 
will  find  us  waiting  for  her. 


A   Song  of   Sunrise 

[On  the  Morning  of  the  Russian  Revolution] 
By  GEORGE  E.   WOODBERRY 

To  those  who  drink  the  golden  mist 

Whereon  the  world's  horizons  rest, 
Who  teach  the  peoples  to  resist 

The  terrors  of  the  human  breast — 
By  burning  stake  and  prison  camp 

They  lead  the  march  of  man  divine, 
Above  whose  head  the  sacred  lamp 

Of  liberty  doth  blaze  and  shine; 
O'er  blood  and  tears  and  nameless  woe 

They  hail  far  off  the  dawning  light ; 
Through  faith  in  them  the  nations  go, 

Sun-smitten  in  the  deepest  night — 
Honor  to  them  from  East  to  West 

Be  on  the  shouting  earth  today! 
Holy  their  memory!     Sweet  their  rest! 

Who  fill  the  skies  with  freedom's  ray! 


Arab  Revolt  Against  Turkish  Rule 

Proclamation  of  the   Ulema  of  Mecca   Denouncing  the 
w  Janissaries  "  at  Constantinople 


THE  Ulema  of  Mecca,  the  orthodox 
religious  authorities  in  the  holy 
city  of  the  Moslems,  has  sent  out 
a  proclamation  to  the  faithful 
which  is  reproduced  herewith  as  one  of 
the  documents  of  the  war.  It  marks  yet 
another  step  in  the  growing  revolt  in 
Arabia,  which  threatens  to  deprive  the 
Turkish  Empire  permanently  of  that  his- 
toric realm  and  of  the  holy  cities  of 
Islam.  The  revolt  began  in  June,  1916, 
with  the  rising  of  El  Husein  ibn  Ali, 
the  Grand  Sherif  of  Mecca,  against  the 
rule  of  the  Young  Turks  on  account  of 
their  German  alliance.  He  proclaimed 
Arabia's  independence  on  June  27.  In 
the  next  two  months  he  and  his  followers 
captured  all  the  principal  cities  on  the 
Red  Sea  littoral  and  began  to  administer 
a  region — desert,  oases,  and  towns — of 
24,000  square  miles  with  a  population  of 
3,000,000.  Since  then  he  has  ruled  an 
increasing  section  of  Arabia  under  the 
title  of  King  of  the  Hedjaz. 

Early  in  September  the  French  and 
British  Governments  dispatched  a  dele- 
gation of  French  Moslems  to  the  Grand 
Sherif  of  Mecca  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
gratulating him  on  his  deliverance  from 
Turkey,  and  of  conveying  to  him  a  sub- 
stantial sum  of  money  to  aid  his  revolt. 
To  cover  the  expense  of  the  expedition 
the  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
asked  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  Sept. 
29,  1916,  for  3,500,000  francs,  at  the 
same  time  disclosing  the  fact  that  the 
French  Government  had  furnished  a  ves- 
sel to  enable  the  British  and  French  Mos- 
lems to  resume  their  pilgrimages  to 
Mecca  by  way  of  Jedda.  Thousands  of 
pilgrims  took  advantage  of  this  free  serv- 
ice, those  in  October  alone  numbering 
30,000.  Among  these  was  Si  Kaddor  ben 
Ghabbit,  the  Moroccan  adviser  of  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey.  He  found  a  new, 
hygienic  Mecca,  free  of  the  assassins  and 
robbers  of  former  years,  and  declared  on 
his  return  that  the  new  Kingdom  of 
Arabia  was  destined  to  revive  the  Mos- 


lem world  in  all  its  former  glory  and 
power. 

Since  then  the  movement  has  spread  to 
the  interior  of  Arabia,  and  has  been 
marked  by  extensive  defections  of  native 
tribes  from  Turkish  rule.  Peace  has 
been  made  between  two  powerful  leaders 
of  rival  tribes,  Emir  Arab  ar  Rawleh, 
from  near  Damascus,  and  Hakim  ibn 
Mahid-Hakim,  Emir  of  the  great  Anzeh 
tribe  in  the  vicinity  of  Aleppo.  These 
two  chiefs,  formerly  enemies,  have 
united  and  agreed  to  raise  a  large  troop 
of  horsemen  to  fight  the  Turks.  The 
importance  of  this  step  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  Anzeh  and  Shamr  tribes 
together  are  said  to  number  4,000,000 
souls. 

It  is  also  asserted  that  the  Sheik 
Khazai  Khan  has  sent  a  deputation  to 
the  Sherif — otherwise  Suleiman  I.,  King 
of  the  Hedjaz — announcing  his  co-opera- 
tion in  the  revolt  and  his  readiness  to 
respond  to  a  call  for  men  and  money. 
Thus  a  large  portion  of  the  Mohamme- 
dan world,  which  refused  to  respond  to 
the  Sultan's  call  for  a  holy  war  against 
the  Entente,  is  now  actively  lining  up 
against  Turkey  and  the  Central  Powers. 

On  Dec.  2,  1916,  the  United  States 
Government  received  the  following  com- 
munication from  the  new  kingdom,  whose 
capital  is  Mecca.  It  was  signed  by  Fuad 
el  Khatib,  Acting  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs : 

In  the  name  of  justice  and  international 
law  we  enter  a  solemn  protest  to  the  civilized 
world  against  the  band  of  Unionists  and 
affiiliates  which  inflicted  all  manner  of  cruelty 
on  the  women  and  children  of  the  innocent 
population  of  Alawali  and  is  now  repeating 
its  elaborate  acts  of  cruelty  even  at  Medina 
by  sentencing  the  harmless  people  and  those 
of  Alawali  that  are  still  alive  to  death  by 
hanging  and  to  forced  labor. 

The  echo  of  these  atrocities  has  been 
brought  to  the  men  in  charge  of  our  Army 
of  the  West,  whose  vanguard  is  in  touch 
with  the  enemy,  by  a  delegation,  comprising 
every  class  of  the  people,  that  came  to  them 
to   appeal    to    the   Arabian    Government   for 


ARAB  REVOLT  AGAINST  TURKISH  RULE 


307 


protection    against    such    inhuman,    heinous 
crimes. 

The  Arabian  Government,  which  has  shown 
every  regard  for  the  Turkish  prisoners  of  El 
Taif,  including  the  Vali,  commanders,  officers, 
and  soldiers,  in  spite  of  the  misdeeds  com- 
mitted by  them  and  of  their  setting  fire  to  the 
houses  of  Princes,  notables,  and  inhabitants 
after  plundering  them,  draws  your  attention 
to  the  matter  so  as  to  protect  itself  from 
blame  for  any  retaliation  it  may  be  compelled 
to  apply. 

Orthodox  Protest  from  Mecca 

A  long  and  important  "  Proclamation 
to  the  Faithful,"  issued  by  the  Ulema  or 
high  priesthood  of  Mecca,  reached  the 
outside  world  in  March,  1917.  It  adds 
religious  sanction  to  the  rebellion  of  the 
holy  places  against  the  rule  of  the  Turk- 
ish Sultan  at  Constantinople.  The  text 
in  English  is  as  follows: 

We,  the  elders  and  lawyers  of  the  House  of 
God,  are  among  those  whom  God  has  per- 
mitted to  serve  the  faith  and  defend  its 
truths.  The  world  and  its  treasures,  in  com- 
parison with  truth,  are  not  worth  the  wing 
of  an  insect,  for  there  is  no  other  purpose  for 
man  in  this  life  except  to  prepare  for  eternity. 

The  Moslem  soul  rejoices  in  beholding  the 
Grand  "  Kaaba  "  in  the  first  streak  of  dawn 
and  in  the  shadow  of  evening,  and  he  is 
sanctified  by  dwelling  in  the  land  blessed  by 
the  Prophet  of  God,  (the  peace  of  God  be 
upon  him.)  Can  such  a  man  allow  his  faith 
to  be  scorned  or  see  evil  befall  the  things 
that  are  holy?  Even  so  it  is  with  us  who 
dwell  in  this  holy  place. 

"We  have  discerned  the  hearts  of  the  usurp- 
ers of  Osman's  empire.  We  have  learned 
their  evil  purpose  with  regard  to  our  faith, 
we  have  beheld  their  crimes  and  wickedness 
In  this  our  holy  land,  and  our  faith  has 
shown  us  the  path  of  salvation,  and  in  its 
name  we  have  acted  according  to  our  duty  to 
ourselves  and  the  Moslems  of  the  world. 

Every  Moslem  who  would  consider  this  mat- 
ter should  seek  its  cause  and  ascertain  the 
nature  of  evil  against  which  we  rose  in  arms, 
when  we  found  words  were  of  no  avail. 

As  for  us,  we  are  absolutely  certain  that 
the  secret  committee  of  the  Young  Turk  Party 
has  notoriously  disobeyed  God.  No  words 
stayed  their  hand  from  crime,  and  no  oppo- 
sition prevented  the  evil  consequences  of  their 
actions.  Let  no  one  think  that  we  speak  vain 
things.  There  stand  the  facts  and  events 
which  every  man  by  inquiry  can  ascertain 
for  himself.  We  shall  bring  forth  these  facts 
and  lay  them  before  the  Mohammedan  world 
when  necessity  demands.  Now  we  content 
ourselves  with  begging  those  of  our  brethren 
who  oppose  us  to  send  some  reliable  person 
or  persons  to  Constantinople,  the  capital  of 
the  Unionists,  and  there  witness  personally, 
as  we  have  ourselves  witnessed,  Moslem  wo- 
men  employed   by   the    Government   and   ex- 


posed in  public  places  unveiled  before  men 
of  strange  nations.  What  do  our  true  Moslem 
brethren  who  oppose  us  in  haste  think  of  this 
matter,  an  example  of  an  evil  that  will  great- 
ly injure  us  if  it  increases  and  of  which  we 
publicly  complain? 

Would  the  obedience  of  people  who  do  such 
a  thing,  (and  it  is  the  least  of  their  crimes 
against  Islam  and  Moslems,)  be  a  true 
obedience  or  would  it  be  disobedience  to  God? 
Never,  by  the  God  of  the  "  Kaaba,"  never. 
To  obey  them  is  to  disobey  God.  Far  from 
it  that  any  of  the  faithful  should  consent  to 
this. 

We  endeavored  to  please  God  and  avoid  a 
rebellion  so  long  as  it  was  possible.  We  re- 
belled in  order  to  please  God,  and  He  gave 
us  victory  and  stood  by  us  in  support  of  His 
law  and  religion,  and  in  accordance  with  a 
wisdom  known  to  Him  which  would  lead  to 
the  uplifting  of  this  people.  Every  Moslem 
heart  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  even  among 
the  Turks  in  Anatolia  and  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Turkish  royal  family  in  the 
palaces,  prays  God  for  our  success,  and  God 
always  answers  the  prayers  of  the  oppressed 
and  the  righteous.  There  is  no  doubt  about 
it,  that  if  the  inhabitants  of  those  countries 
which  the  Unionists  have  lost  through  their 
alliance  with  Germany  in  this  war  had  re- 
volted against  those  oppressors,  just  as  we 
did,  they  would  have  no  more  been  regarded 
as  belligerents  and  would  thus  have  saved 
their  countries  for  themselves.  But  if  things 
should  continue  as  they  are,  no  territory  will 
remain  for  this  empire. 

If  you  keep  this  in  mind  and  remember 
what  the  Indian  paper  Mashrek  wrote  on 
Sept.  12  and  19  on  the  subject  of  the  dis- 
qualification of  Beni  Osman  to  be  the  Khalifas 
of  Islam,  you  will  understand  that  we  have 
risen  in  order  to  avert  these  dangers  and  to 
put  the  Islamic  rule  on  a  firm  foundation  of 
true  civilization  according  to  the  noble  dic- 
tates of  our  religion.  If  our  revolution  were 
only  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  our  country 
and  to  save  it  from  what  has  befallen  other 
Islamic  countries,  it  is  enough,  and  we  are 
amply  justified. 

We  call  the  attention  of  those  who  oppose 
us  to  the  necessity  of  saving  the  other  coun- 
tries from  the  calamities  into  which  their  in- 
habitants have  fallen  and  to  deliver  them 
from  the  destruction  and  ruin  into  which 
those  criminal  hands  are  dragging  them,  if 
any  true  religious  enthusiasm  is  left  at  all. 
We  have  done  what  we  ought  to  do.  We  have 
cleansed  our  country  from  the  germs  of 
atheism  and  evil.  The  best  course  for  those 
Moslems  who  still  side  with  and  defend  this 
notorious  gang  of  Unionists,  is  to  submit  to 
the  will  of  God  before  their  tongues,  hands, 
and  feet  give  witness  against  them. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  in 
rising  against  this  party  we  are  rising  against 
a  legitimate  Khalifa  possessing  all  the  legal 
or,  at  least,  some  of  the  conditions  qualifying 
him  to  be  such. 

What  does  the  Mohammedan  world  say  of 


308 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  Beni  Osman  who  pretend  to  be  Khalifas  of 
Islam,  while  for  many  years  they  were  like 
puppets  in  the  hands  of  the  Janissaries ; 
tossed  about,  dethroned,  and  killed  by  them, 
in  a  manner  contrary  to  the  laws  and  doc- 
trines established  in  the  books  of  religion  on 
the  accession  and  dethronement  of  Khalifas— 
which  facts  are  recorded  in  their  history? 
History  is  now  repeating  itself.  To  those 
Janissaries,  grandsons  have  appeared  in  these 
days  who  are  repeating  the  acts  enacted  in 
the  days  of  Abdul  Aziz,  Murad,  and  Abdul 
Hamid.  The  murder  of  Yussuf  Izzedin,  the 
Turkish  heir  apparent,  is  too  recent  to  be 
forgotten. 

Those  who  oppose  us  and  side  with  the  Beni 
Osman  should  do  one  of  two  things :  (1)  Con- 
sider the  Janissaries  and  their  grandsons  as 
the  final  authority  on  the  question  of  the 
Khalifat,  which  we  do  not  think  any  reason- 
able man  would  do,  because  it  is  against  the 
laws  of  religion ;  or  (2)  consider  those  Janis- 
saries and  their  grandsons  as  void  of  author- 
ity on  the  Khalifat  question,  in  which  case 
we  should  ask  them,  "  What  is  the  Khalifat 
and  what  are  its  conditions?  " 

Therefore,  it  remains  for  those  who  oppose 
us   to   repent,    to   come   to   their   senses   and 


unite  with  us  in  appealing  to  the  Moslem 
world  to  use  all  effective  measures  for  the 
strengthening  of  Islam  and  the  restoring  of 
its  glory. 

We  want  those  who  are  present  here  to  tell 
you  who  are  far  away  that  we  shall  confess 
before  Almighty  God,  on  the  last  day,  that 
today  we  do  not  know  of  any  Moslem  ruler 
more  righteous  and  fearing  God  than  the  son 
of  His  Prophet  who  is  now  on  the  throne  of 
the  Arab  country.  We  do  not  know  any  one 
more  zealous  than  he  in  religion,  more  ob- 
servant of  the  law  of  God  in  words  and  deeds, 
and  more  capable  of  managing  our  affairs 
in  such  a  way  as  would  please  God.  The 
people  of  the  Holy  Land  have  proclaimed  him 
their  King  simply  because,  in  so  doing,  they 
would  be  serving  their  religion  and  country. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  Khalifat,  in  spite 
of  all  that  is  known  of  the  deplorable  condi- 
tion in  which  it  is  situated  at  the  present 
moment,  we  have  not  interfered  with  it  at 
all  and  it  will  remain  as  it  is  pending  the 
final  decision  of  the  whole  Mohammedan 
world. 

Salams  to  all  who  hear  what  is  said  and 
believe  the  good  in  it.  May  God  lead  us  all 
into  the  path  of  right. 


Proclamation  to  the  People  of  Bagdad 


FOLLOWING  is  the  official   English 
text  of  the  proclamation  issued  by 
General  Sir  Stanley  Maude  to  the 
people  of  Bagdad  Vilayet,  when  he  cap- 
tured   the    historic    city    on    March    11, 
1917: 

1.  In  the  name  of  my  King,  and  in  the 
name  of  the  peoples  over  whom  he  rules,  I 
address   you   as   follows : 

2.  Our  military  operations  have  as  their 
object  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  and  the 
driving  of  him  from  these  territories.  In 
order  to  complete  this  task  I  am  charged 
with  absolute  and  supreme  control  of  all 
regions  in  which  British  troops  operate ;  but 
our  armies  do  not  come  into  your  cities  and 
lands  as  conquerors  or  enemies,  but  as  lib- 
erators. 

3.  Since  the  days  of  Halaka  your  city  and 
your  lands  have  been  subject  to  the  tyranny 
of  strangers,  your  palaces  have  fallen  into 
ruins,  your  gardens  have  sunk  in  desolation, 
and  your  forefathers  and  yourselves  have 
groaned  in  bondage.  Your  sons  have  been 
carried  off  to  wars  not  of  your  seeking,  your 
wealth  has  been  stripped  from  you  by  unjust 
men,    and    squandered    in    distant   places. 

4.  Since  the  days  of  Midhat,  the  Turks 
have  talked  of  reforms,  yet  do  not  the  ruins 
and  wastes  of  today  testify  the  vanity  of 
those    promises? 

5.  It  is  the  wish  not  only  of  my  King  and 
his   peoples,   but  it   is  also   the  wish   of  the 


great  nations  with  whom  he  is  in  alliance, 
that  you  should  prosper  even  as  in  the  past, 
when  your  lands  were  fertile,  when  your  an- 
cestors gave  to  the  world  literature,  science, 
and  art,  and  when  Bagdad  City  was  one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  world. 

6.  Between  your  people  and  the  dominions 
of  my  King  there  has  been  a  close  bond  of 
interest.  For  200  years  have  the  merchants 
of  Bagdad  and  Great  Britain  traded  together 
in  mutual  profit  and  friendship.  On  the- 
other  hand,  the  Germans  and  Turks,  who 
have  despoiled  you  and  yours,  have  for 
twenty  years  made  Bagdad  a  centre  of  power 
from  which  to  assail  the  power  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  the  allies  of  the  British  in  Persia 
and  Arabia.  Therefore,  the  British  Govern- 
ment cannot  remain  indifferent  as  to  what 
takes  place  in  your  country  now  or  in  the 
future,  for  in  duty  to  the  interests  of  the 
British  people  and  their  allies,  the  British 
Government  cannot  risk  that  being  done  in 
Bagdad  again  which  has  been  done  by  the 
Turks   and   Germans  during  the  war. 

7.  But  you  people  of  Bagdad,  whose  com- 
mercial prosperity  and  whose  safety  from 
oppression  and  invasion  must  ever  be  a  mat- 
ter of  the  closest  concern  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, are  not  to  understand  that  it  is 
the  wish  of  the  British  Government  to' im- 
pose upon  you  alien  institutions.  It  is  the 
hope  of  the  British  Government  that  the 
aspirations  of  your  philosophers  and  writers 
shall  be  realized,  and  that  once  again  the 
people    of    Bagdad    shall    flourish,    enjoying 


PROCLAMATION   TO    THE  PEOPLE   OF   BAGDAD 


309 


their  wealth  and  substance  under  institu- 
tions which  are  in  consonance  with  their 
sacred  laws  and  their  racial  ideals.  In 
Hejaz  the  Arabs  have  expelled  the  Turks 
and  Germans  who  oppressed  them  and  pro- 
claimed the  Sherif  Hussein  as  their  King-, 
and  his  Lordship  rules  in  independence  and 
freedom,  and  is  the  ally  of  the  nations  who 
are  fighting  against  the  power  of  Turkey 
and  Germany ;  so,  indeed,  are  the  noble 
Arabs,  the  Lords  of  Koweit,  Nejd,  and  Asir. 
8.  Many  noble  Arabs  have  perished  in  the 
cause  of  Arab  freedom,  at  the  hands  of  those 
alien  rulers,  the  Turks,  who  oppressed  them. 
It  is  the  determination  of  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  great  powers  allied 
to  Great  Britain,  that  these  noble  Arabs 
shall  not  have  suffered  in  vain.  It  is  the 
hope  and  desire  of  the  British  people  and 
the  nations  in  alliance  with  them  that  the 
Arab  race  may  rise  once  more  to   greatness 


and  renown  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth, 
and  that  it  shall  bind  itself  together  to  this 
end  in  unity  and  concord. 

9.  O  people  of  Bagdad,  remember  that  for 
twenty-six  generations  you  have  suffered 
under  strange  tyrants  who  have  ever  en- 
deavored to  set  one  Arab  house  against  an- 
other in  order  that  they  might  profit  by 
your  dissensions.  This  policy  is  abhorrent 
to  Great  Britain  and  her  allies,  for  there  can 
be  neither  peace  nor  prosperity  where  there 
is  enmity  and  misgovernment.  Therefore,  I 
am  commanded  to  invite  you,  through  your 
nobles  and  elders  and  representatives,  to 
participate  in*  the  management  of  your  civil 
affairs  in  collaboration  with  the  political 
representatives  of  Great  Britain  who  accom- 
pany the  British  Army,  so  that  you  may  be 
united  with  your  kinsmen  in  north,  east, 
south,  and  west  in  realizing  the  aspirations 
of    your   race. 


Italy's  Military  Progress  in  1916 

An   Official    Summary 


THE  report  of  the  Italian  Supreme 
Command  for  the  period  of  Septem- 
ber to  December,  1916,  contains  this 
birdseye  view  of  the  actual  results  of  the 
whole  year's  operations,  under  date  of 
Dec.  26: 

Looking  back  on  the  year  which  is  drawing 
to  its  close,  the  Italian  Army  has  reason  for 
legitimate  satisfaction  and  pride  in  all  the 
efforts  made,  the  difficulties  overcome,  and 
the  victories  achieved. 

The  development  of,  its  military  power  was 
effected  in  the  Winter  of  1915-16,  thanks  to 
the  wonderful  work  of  reorganization  and 
production,  in  which  the  whole  nation  par- 
ticipated. In  the  Spring  we  sustained  in  the 
Trentino  the  powerful,  long-prepared  Aus- 
trian offensive,  which  the  enemy  with  insolent 
effrontery  styled  a  punitive  expedition  against 
our  country.  But  after  the  first  successes,, 
which  were  due  to  the  preponderance  of 
material  means  collected,  above  all  in  artil- 
lery, the  proposed  invasion  was  quickly 
stopped  and  the  enemy  was  counterattacked 
and  forced  to  retire  in  haste  into  the  mount- 
ains, leaving  on  the  Alpine  slopes  the  flower 
of  his  army  and  paying  bitterly  the  price  for 
his  fallacious  enterprise  not  only  here  but 
also  on  the  plains  of  Galicia. 

Our  army  did  not  rest  after  its  wonderful 
effort.  While  maintaining  a  vigorous  pres- 
sure on  the  Trentino  front,  in  order  to  gain 
better  positions  and  to  deceive  the  enemy  as 
to  our  intentions,  a  rapid  retransfer  of  strong 
forces  to  the  Julian  front  was  made.  In  the 
first  days  of  August  began  that  irresistible 
offensive  which,  in  two  days  only,  caused  the 
fall  of  the  very  strong  fortress  of  Gorizia  and 


of  the  formidable  system  of  defenses  on  the 
Carso  to  the  west  of  the  Vallone.  Doberdd, 
San  Michele,  Sabotino— names  recalling  san- 
guinary struggles  and  slaughter— ceased  to  be 
for  the  Austro-Hungarian  Army  the  symbols 
of  a  resistance  vaunted  insuperable,  and  be- 
came the  emblems  of  brilliant  Italian  vic- 
tories. The  enemy's  boastful  assertions  of 
having  inexorably  arrested  our  invasion  on 
the  front  selected  and  desired  by  himself 
were  refuted  at  one  stroke. 

From  that  day  our  advance  on  the  Carso 
was  developed  constantly  and  irresistibly.  It 
was  interrupted  by  pauses  indispensable  for 
the  preparation  of  the  mechanical  means  of 
destruction  without  which  the  bravest  at- 
tacks would  lead  only  to  the  vain  sacrifice 
of  precious  human  lives.  * 

Our  constant  and  full  success  on  the  Julian 
front  is  witnessed  by  42,000  prisoners,  60 
guns,  200  machine  guns,  and  the  rich  booty 
taken  between  the  beginning  of  August  and 
December. 

Also  on  the  rest  of  the  front  our  inde- 
fatigable troops  roused  the  admiration  of  all 
who  saw  them  for  their  extraordinary  efforts 
to  overcome  not  only  the  forces  of  the  enemy 
but  also  the  difficulties  of  nature. 

The  coming  year  is  looked  forward  to  by 
our  army  with  serenity  and  confidence.  Our 
soldiers  are  supported  by  the  unanimous  ap- 
proval of  the  nation,  by  faith  in  themselves 
and  in  the  justice  of  their  cause.  They  face 
willingly  their  hard  an,d  perilous  life,  under 
the  guidance  of  their  beloved  sovereign,  who 
from  the  first  day  of  the  war  with  a  rare 
constancy  has  shared  their  fortunes.  Our 
army  is  waiting  in  perfect  readiness  to  renew 
the  effort  which  will  carry  it  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  unfailing  destiny  of  our  people. 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By  Major  Edwin  W.  Dayton 

Inspector    General,  National    Guard,   State    of   New    York;    Secretary,  New    York 

Army  and  Navy  Club. 

Major  Dayton  has  long  had  the  official  recognition  of  the  United  States  War  Depart- 
ment as  an  authority  on  strategy  and  tactics.  He  is  one  of  the  experts  who  have  chronicled 
the  present  war  for  The  Army  and  Navy  Journal.  The  article  here  presented  is  the  third 
in  a  series  which  Major  Dayton  is  writing  for  Current  History  Magazine,  covering  in  a 
rapid  and  authoritative  narrative  all  the  military  events  of  importance  since  the  beginning 
of  the  great  European  conflict. 

III.— The  Great  Battle  of  Ypres 


IN  the  previous  articles  we  have  re- 
viewed events  of  the  Summer  and 
early  Autumn  of  1914  in  Belgium 
and  France.  Having  followed  the 
progress  of  the  invading  German  armies 
across  Belgium  and  down  into  the  heart 
of  France,  we  saw  their  scouts  almost 
in  the  environs  of  Paris  before  the  tide 
of  war  turned.  Defeated  on  the  Marne, 
the  Germans  retreated  to  the  fortified 
lines  above  the  Aisne,  where  they  suc- 
ceeded in  halting  the  pursuit  of  French 
and  British  armies  eager  to  keep  up  the 
drive.  By  the  middle  of  October  the 
manoeuvres  by  which  each  sought  to  win 
the  control  of  the  Channel  coasts  had 
resulted  in  a  mutual  extension  of  the 
battle  lines  until  they  confronted  each 
other  all  the  way  from  Westende,  south 
of  Ostend,  through  Belgium  and  France 
to  the  Swiss  frontier.  That  situation 
was  destined  to  continue  for  long  and 
bloody  years  despite  frequent  efforts  on 
both  sides  to  break  through. 

In  October  and  November  the  Ger- 
mans made  an  enormous  effort  to  smash 
a  way  through  to  Calais,  and  some  of 
the  hardest  fighting  of  the  whole  war 
developed.  The  Allies,  believing  that 
Antwerp  could  hold  out,  had  hoped  to 
keep  the  Germans  back  of  the  Scheldt 
until  the  concentration  of  a  strong 
Franco-British  force  between  Ghent  and 
Antwerp  would  provide  the  means  for 
turning  the  German  right  flank  and 
cutting  the  northern  communications  of 
the  armies  further  south.  The  plan 
failed  when  Antwerp  fell,  and  the  French 
then   endeavored  to   execute   a  flanking 


manoeuvre  by  crossing  the  Lys  and  the 
Scheldt  between  Lille  and  Ghent. 

La  Bassee  and  Arras  were  important 
points  south  of  Lille  which  were  essen- 
tial to  the  success  of  General  Joffre's 
strategy.  Both  sides  hurried  every  man 
who  could  be  spared  from  the  Aisne  up 
to  the  northern  battlefield,  and  new 
armies  from  home  gave  greatly  needed 
reinforcement.  As  the  campaign  pro- 
gressed, the  turning  movement  was  re- 
pulsed and  the  Allies  found  themselves 
involved  in  a  desperate  struggle  to  pre- 
vent the  Germans  from  turning  their 
flank  and  winning  a  way  to  the  Channel 
ports. 

First  Battle  of  Ypres 
A  great  battle  opened  on  Oct.  12, 
1914,  and  lasted  until  Nov.  20,  on  a 
front  of  about  forty  miles  between  Lille 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Yser.  The  struggle 
reached  its  climax  before  Ypres,  and  the 
battle  bears,  the  name  of  that  town.  The 
casualties,  Belgian,  British,  French,  and 
German,  probably  exceeded  350,000. 

General  Foch's  Tenth  French  Army 
had  failed  to  turn  the  German  right 
flank,  and  General  French  had  success- 
fully moved  the  whole  British  force  from 
the  Aisne  to  its  new  northern  position. 
On  Oct.  12  British  divisions  had  crossed 
the  Aire-Bethune  canal  and  were  syste- 
matically driving  back  the  dismounted 
German  cavalrymen,  who  contested  stub- 
bornly every  foot  of  the  way.  By  the 
17th  General  French's  men  reached  the 
village  of  Herlies,  in  the  hills  between 
La  Bassee  and  Armentieres,  and  Aubers, 
another  village  in  the  same  sector,  was 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


311 


taken — French  cavalrymen  captured 
Fromelles.  On  the  18th,  British  attacks 
upon  La  Bassee  failed.  The  Second  Royal 
Irish  captured  Le  Pilly,  where  they  were 
surrounded  and  killed  or  captured  almost 
to  a  man. 

About  this  time  strong  German  rein- 
forcements reached  the  scene,  and  the 
British,  under  General  Smith-Dorrien, 
relinquished  the  offensive,  although  they, 
too,  were  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  the 


MARSHAL   SIR  JOHN  FRENCH 

first  native  Indian  contingent,  the  Lahore 
Division,  under  General  Watkis.  Smith- 
Dorrien's  corps  of  about  37,500  men  had 
lost  10,000  men  in  August,  10,000  in  Sep- 
tember, and  5,000  up  to  the  middle  of 
October.  Although  the  losses  were  in 
part  replaced  by  drafts  of  fresh  men, 
the  corps  was  well-nigh  exhausted  by 
continual  fighting,  and  suffered  severely 
in  the  next  few  days,  when  the  Germans 
attacked  fiercely  near  Neuve  Chapelle 
and  Givenchy. 

Between  Oct.  12  and  29  Smith-Dor- 
rien's  (second)  corps  suffered  additional 
casualties  of  360  officers  and  8,200  men. 
On  the  29th  they  were  temporarily  re- 
lieved   by    Indian    troops    stiffened    by 


British  brigades  and  batteries.  Mean- 
while Pulteney's  (third)  corps  on  the  left 
was  likewise  heavily  engaged  in  a  series 
of  battles  along  the  River  Lys,  nearer  to 
Armentieres. 

Late  in  October  several  new  German 
corps  came  up'  in  front  of  Ypres,  and 
General  Rawlinson  led  the  British 
Seventh  Division  of  veteran  regular 
troops  in  an  advance  upon  Menin,  an  im- 
portant point  southeast  of  Ypres.  He 
met  heavy  resistance  on  the  front  and 
was  strongly  attacked  on  the  left  flank, 
but  succeeded  in  regaining  his  original 
positions,  although  with  severe  losses. 
The  arrival  of  General  Haig's  (first) 
corps  rescued  the  famous  Seventh  Divis- 
ion from  threatened  destruction. 

British  in  Crave  Peril 
General  Haig's  corps,  just  from  the 
Aisne,  was  assigned  by  General  French 
to  a  position  north  of  the  left  flank  of 
the  Seventh  Division.  On  Oct.  21,  in  a 
series  of  terrific  attacks,  some  of  the 
Germans  penetrated  the  lines  of  the 
Twenty-first  Brigade  and  found  cover 
in  woods  behind  the  position.  For  sev- 
eral days  after  this  the  officers  of  the 
Second  Yorkshire  Regiment  kept  each 
alternate  man  facing  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  reply  to  rifle  fire  coming  from 
both  front  and  rear.  On  Oct.  22  and 
again  on  the  24th  and  25th  German 
storming  columns  smashed  their  way 
through  the  thin  British  lines,  but  were 
eventually  held  by  reserves  skillfully  em- 
ployed at  critical  moments. 

As  the  British  struggled  to  hold  the 
sectors  about  Ypres  the  gallant  Belgians 
held  on  successfully  to  their  intrenched 
positions  along  Ypres  Canal  and  the  Yser 
River.  On  Oct.  29  the  Germans  made  a 
tremendous  attack  upon  the  re-entering 
angles  of  the  British  salient  in  front  of 
Ypres,  on  the  north  at  Bixschoote,  and  on 
the  south  between  Zandevoorde  and 
Hollebeke.  The  head  of  the  salient  was 
at  the  crossroads  at  Gheluvelt,  five 
miles  east  of  Ypres,  on  the  Ypres-Menin 
road,  and  early  in  the  day  the  Germans 
forced  one  of  the  British  divisions  out  of 
its  trenches  in  this  sector. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  the  Ger- 
man artillery  fire  became  unbearable  and 


312 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


many  of  the  British  trenches  had  to  be 
abandoned.  Sometimes  a  whole  troop 
would  be  buried  alive  by  the  storm  of 
high  explosive  shells,  which  fairly 
churned  the  earth  along  the  British  lines. 
Sir  Douglas  Haig  was  determined  to  hold 
the  critical  salient  head  at  Gheluvelt,  al- 
though the  angle  had  grown  even  sharper 
when  regiments  north  of  the  village  were 
forced  to  fall  back  a  mile  to  the  ridge 
of  Klein  Zillebeke. 

One  after  the  other,  regiments  whose 
names  have  been  part  of  British  his- 
tory for  centuries  were  sent  in  to  stop 
the  Teuton  rush  along  the  Ypres-Menin 
road.  The  German  Emperor  urged  the 
attack  and  had  assured  his  officers  that 
a  victory  at  Ypres  would  end  the  war. 
There  can  be  little  question  that  it  would 
have  meant  at  least  the  destruction  of 
the  British  expeditionary  army  then  in 
France.  In  addition  to  the  reverses 
north  of  Gheluvelt,  General  Haig's  men 
on  the  south  were  driven  out  of  Hollebeke 
and  down  on  St.  Eloi.  Supports  coming 
up  were  soon  heavily  engaged  about 
Messines. 

On  Oct.  31,  in  early  morning  attacks 
along  the  centre  of  the  battle  line,  two 
British  brigades  were  driven  back  and 
the  Coldstream  Guards  practically  de- 
stroyed. The  entire  division  in  this 
sector  was  driven  back  to  the  woods 
beyond  Hooge,  and  this  retreat  uncov- 
ered the  flank  of  the  Seventh  Division. 
The  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  attempting 
to  hold  their  trenches  in  the  face  of 
overwhelming  forces,  were  completely 
cut  off  and  annihilated.  This  battalion 
had  brought  over  a  thousand  men  to 
Flanders  and  mustered  seventy  when 
this  day's  work  was  done. 

General  Moussy's  battalions  from  the 
Ninth  French  Corps  rendered  great  aid 
at  a  critical  moment  near  Klein  Zille- 
beke, and  later  the  French  Sixteenth 
Corps  gave  greatly  needed  reinforce- 
ment. % 

Crisis  of  the  Battle 

Sir  John  French  has  since  said  that 

the   crisis   of  the   whole   campaign  was 

in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  on  this 

last  day  of  October.     The  whole  British 


line  had  suffered  terribly  and  was  un- 
doubtedly very  near  the  breaking  point.* 
Threatened  disaster  was  averted  by  a 
magnificent  charge  by  the  Second 
Worcesters  supported  by  the  Second  Ox- 
ford Light  Infantry  and  the  field  ar- 
tillery. This  counterattack  destroyed 
the  German  initiative  along  the  line  of 
direct  attack  on  the  highway,  and  by 
nightfall  the  British  had  regained  sev- 
eral of  the  lost  positions. 

On  Sunday,  Nov.  1,  considerable  Brit- 
ish and  French  reinforcements  arrived, 
but  a  strong  German  assault  won  Holle- 
beke and  Messines,  which  enabled  the 
German  gunners  to  shell  Ypres.  Wyt- 
schaete,  too,  was  taken,  but  recaptured 
later.  The  Germans  held  Messines 
against  continuous  counterattacks.  In 
the  fighting  up  to  this  time  the  Seventh 
Division  had  been  reduced  from  400  offi- 
cers and  12,000  men  to  about  3,000. 

On  Nov.  6,  after  a  period  of  heavy  ar- 
tillery attacks,  the  German  infantry  at- 
tacked the  Klein  Zillebeke  positions,  and 
it  required  the  utmost  courage  of  both 
British  and  French  to  stem  the  rush. 
Generals  Bulfin  and  Moussy  were  the 
commanders  on  this  hard-fought  field, 
where  the  honors  fell  to  the  British 
Household  Cavalry.  The  day  was  won 
by  the  First  and  Second  Life  Guards 
and  the  Blues. 

On  Nov.  11  the  First  and  Fourth 
Brigades  of  the  Prussian  Guards  at- 
tacked under  the  eye  of  the  Emperor 
and  pierced  the  British  lines  on  the 
Menin  road  at  several  places,  but  failed 
to  drive  the  attack  home. 

While  the  British  had  been  struggling 
through  these  long  weeks  to  hold  Ypres, 
General  Dubois  with  the  French  Ninth 
Corps  had  performed  prodigies  of  valor 
between  Zonnebeke  and  Bixschoote. 
Helped  by  territorial  divisions  and  de 
Mitry's  Second  Cavalry  Corps,  Dubois 
held  Bixschoote  against  the  most  violent 
attacks  of  great  German  forces.     Regi- 

*  It  is  related  that  the  loss  of  Ypres  seemed 
so  imminent  that  the  breech-blocks  had 
actually  been  taken  from  the  heavy  guns 
to  disable  them  before  falling  into  German 
hands.  Some  of  the  field  guns  were  being 
moved  back  from  the  town. 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


313 


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SCENE   OP  CLIMAX   OF  THE   BATTLE   OF  YPRES.      THE   BLACK   LINE   INDICATES   THE 
BATTLE    FRONT    AS    IT    REMAINED    FOR    TWO    AND    A    HALF    YEARS    AFTERWARD 


ment  after  regiment  was  hurled  to  de- 
struction in  the  effort  to  win  this  place, 
which  covered  the  British  forces  to  the 
south.  The  Germans  renewed  their  ef- 
forts against  the  British  positions  on 
Nov.  12  and  again  on  the  17th,  but  by 
the  20th  large  French  reinforcements 
came  up,  and  as  the  Winter  storms  began 
the  German  assaults  died  down. 

This  great  battle  was  distinguished  by 
the  heroic  courage  and  magnificent  pro- 
fessional skill  of  the  finest  troops  the 
combatants  possessed.  New  organiza- 
tions, such  as  the  London  Scottish,  won 
undying  fame  beside  the  most  highly 
trained  professional  soldiers  of  the  reg- 
ular regiments.  The  Germans  employed 
in  the  neighborhood  of  a  million  men  to 
win  the  war  in  this  their  last  great  of- 
fensive on  the  western  front,  and  among 


that  great  host  were  included  at  least 
six  corps  of  their  first-line  troops.  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson's  famous  Seventh  Di- 
vision of  British  regulars  held  the 
salient  in  the  line  against  odds  estimated 
at  8  to  1.  When  finally  withdrawn  at 
the  end  of  the  battle  this  division  had 
44  officers  left  out  of  400. 

Battle  of  Neuve  Chopclle 

On  Dec.  14,  1914,  a  combined  attack 
by  Scotch  and  French  regiments  was 
made  upon  positions  southwest  of  Wyt- 
schaete  and  some  small  gains  made. 
Earlier  in  this  month  the  French  under 
Maud'huy  carried  a  fortified  chateau 
at  Vermelles,  south  of  the  Bethune-La 
Bassee  Canal,  and  about  the  middle  of 
December  the  Lahore  Division  of  the  In- 
dian Army  and  the  Meerut  Division  of 


314 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  same  service  won  temporary  suc- 
cesses, but  later  suffered  dangerous  re- 
verses in  the  region  of  Neuve  Chapelle, 
three  miles  northwest  of  La  Bassee,  and 
near  Festubert,  about  the  same  distance 
west  of  that  point. 

A  severe  battle  raged  on  Dec.  20  about 
Givenchy,  a  village  in  front  of  Festu- 
bert, where  both  Indian  brigades  and 
British  regiments  were  soundly  beaten. 
Sir  John  French  sent  strong  reinforce- 
ments into  the  firing  line,  and  on  the 
21st  some  of  the  lost  ground  was  re- 
taken. At  noon  on  the  22d  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  took  command  in  the  danger  zone, 
and  on  that  night  and  the  following  day 
the  British  position  was  re-established 
in  the  various  places  where  the  Indian 
troops  had  proved  unable  to  withstand 
the  evening's  assaults.  In  the  earlier 
stages  of  this  battle  the  British  forces 
showed  less  efficiency  and  stamina  than 
on  any  other  field  in  the  war.  The  staff 
arrangements  seem  to  have  been  imper- 
fectly planned,  and  severe  losses  were 
due  to  poor  leadership.  Disaster  threat- 
ened at  Givenchy  until  Haig  took  com- 
mand and,  with  British  and  French 
troops,  saved  the  day. 

The    Winter   of    1914-15 

When  the  battles  near  La  Bassee 
ended,  the  campaign  in  the  north  quieted 
down.  To  the  south  in  the  Argonne  the 
Crown  Prince  was  very  active,  and  a 
number  of  minor  battles  were  fought. 
The  French  held  their  own  splendidly  in 
this  domain  of  minor  tactics,  where 
there  was — and,  indeed,  has  continued 
ever  since — incessant  skirmishing  which 
frequently  developed  into  combats  of  con- 
siderable importance.  General  Sarrail  at 
Verdun  held  his  own,  and  did  more,  for 
gradually  his  intrenched  positions  were 
enlarged  on  the  east  front  of  the  fortress 
in  the  direction  of  Metz. 

The  War  in  Serbia 
Recalling  the  complete  defeat  of  Aus- 
tria's first  invasion  of  Serbia  in  August, 
we  will  proceed  to  a  further  consideration 
of  this  theatre  of  the  war.  Austria  lost 
40,000  men  killed  and  wounded,  and  50 
guns,  in  the  first  attempt  at  a  punitive 
expedition  into  the  region  which  had 
been  the  cause  of  the  outbreak  of  the 


war.  The  Russian  campaign  on  the  east 
had  necessitated  pulling  every  available 
soldier  out  of  the  Balkans  for  use  on  the 
frontiers  of  Poland  and  Galicia,  and  the 
Serbs  undertook  an  attack  aimed  at  Sera- 
jevo,  the  capital  of  Bosnia.  On  Sept.  14 
the  frontier  position  at  Vishegrad  was 
captured,  and  a  force  which  had  crossed 
the  Save  at  night  took  the  town  of  Sem- 
lin  on  Sept.  6  and  silenced  batteries  which 
had  been  bombarding  Belgrade. 

The  Austrians  gathered  a  new  army 
along  the  Drina,  and  early  in  September 
crossed  that  river,  but  on  the  arrival  of 
Serbian  reinforcements  were  defeated  and 
driven  back.  The  battle  continued  for 
ten  days,  but  by  the  17th  the  Austrian 
attack  was  definitely  repulsed. 

Meanwhile  the  Serbs  were  unable  to 
make  much  progress  in  their  attempt  on 
Serajevo,  and  by  the  end  of  October  the 
Austrians  resumed  the  attack,  with  Nish, 
to  which  the  Serbian  Court  had  retired, 
as  the  main  objective.  An  Austrian 
army  of  about  300,000  men  invaded  Ser- 
bia in  November  and  a  hard-fought  cam- 
paign followed  among  the  mountain 
ridges  of  the  interior,  to  which  Crown 
Prince  Alexander  and  General  Putnik  re- 
tired. 

Early  in  December  the  Austrian  com- 
mander, confident  that  his  invasion  was 
to  be  an  easy  victory,  sent  several  corps 
back  to  assist  in  the  effort  against  Rus- 
sia in  the  Carpathians.  The  aged  King 
Peter  joined  his  army.  On  Dec.  3  and  4 
a  heavy  battle  was  fought  among  the 
ridges  of  Rudnik  and  Mai j en,  and  at 
Ushitza.  By  the  morning  of  the  6th  the 
Serbs  had  won  a  complete  and  astonish- 
ing victory.  The  Austrians  were  a 
routed  and  broken  remnant  of  an  army, 
hotly  pursued  all  the  way  to  the  border 
by  the  hardy  Serbian  veterans.  Forty 
thousand  Austrian  prisoners  were  taken, 
and  their  casualties  were  very  heavy. 

The  Serbs  recaptured  the  capital  at  Bel- 
gade  on  Dec.  14-15,  and  the  second  Aus- 
trian attempt  to  invade  the  land  had 
ended  in  complete  and  disastrous  defeat. 

The  War  in  Africa 

Within  the  period  of  Germany's  com- 
mercial expansion  which  followed  the 
victories  of  1870  a  wonderful  scheme  of 
foreign  colonization  had  been  developed 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


315 


on  the  coasts  of  China,  in  Polynesia,  and 
especially  in  Africa.  In  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent vast  regions  became  German  col- 
onies or  protectorates,  and  of  course  this 
expansion  was  regarded  most  jealously 
by  the  other  European  nations,  whose 
arms  were  already  elbow  deep  in  the 
African  grab  bag.  Germany  built  roads 
and  railroads,  and  had  apparently  started 
a  movement  which  would  in  time  have 
made  great  returns  for  the  large  sums 
spent  in  development. 

On  the  Atlantic  side,  Togoland  was 
located  above  the  north  shores  of  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  while  the  much  larger 
Cameroon  lay  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
same  gulf.  Southwest  Africa  was  an 
enormous  territory  west  of  the  old  Boer 
republic,  now  absorbed  into  British 
South  Africa.  On  the  Indian  Ocean  Ger- 
man East  Africa  was  another  huge  pro- 
tectorate whose  northern  frontier  nearly 
touched  the  equator,  while  the  southern 
border  touched  Mozambique  well  below 
the  tenth  parallel.  This  colony  contained 
Mount  Kilimanjaro,  which  was  first  sur- 
veyed by  the  German  explorer  von  der 
Decken,  and  the  greater  part  of  Lake 
Victoria  Nyanza.  There  are  several  good 
ports  on  the  seacoast,  and  this  colony 
was  one  with  great  possibilities  both  in 
mining  and  agriculture. 

Early  in  August,  1914,  a  British 
cruiser  captured  Lome,  the  port  of  Togo- 
land,  and  the  small  German  garrison  re- 
treated into  the  interior.  French  and 
British  expeditions  invaded  the  colony 
from  the  Gold  Coast  and  Dahomey,  and 
by  Aug.  27,  after  very  little  fighting,  all 
Togoland  had  passed  into  possession  of 
the  Allies. 

Late  in  August,  Cameroon  was  in- 
vaded by  a.  British  column,  which  met 
a  reverse  on  the  30th  in  an  attack  upon 
the  forts  on  the  Benue  River.  The  Brit- 
ish commander  and  a  number  of  other 
officers  were  killed,  and  nearly  half  of 
the  native  force  under  their  command 
was  lost.  Another  column,  which  en- 
tered Cameroon  from  Calabar,  after 
some  initial  successes  was  completely 
routed  at  Nsanapong  in  a  night  attack. 
The  losses  here  were  heavy.  On  Sept. 
27  a  mixed  Anglo-French  force  captured 
the  German  port  at  Duala  and  another 


coast  town  called  Bonaberi.  British  war- 
ships from  the  mouth  of  the  Cameroon 
River  rendered  great  assistance.  By 
October  the  Germans  had  been  driven 
back  into  the  wild  interior  and  the  Allies 
were  in  complete  control  of  the  coast 
and  the  rivers. 

General  Botha  s  Achievement 

In  the  important  colony  of  German 
Southwest  Africa  the  Governor  aban- 
doned the  coast  stations  early  in  August, 
1914,  and  concentrated  his  defense  in  the 
interior  at  Windhoek.  When  the  Parlia- 
ment of  British  South  Africa  met  on 
Sept.  8  skirmishing  was  in  progress 
along  the  frontier,  and  General  Botha 
announced  a  policy  of  active  aggression 
against  the  Germans  in  the  west.  Fight- 
ing occurred  at  several  places  along  the 
Orange  River,  and  on  Sept.  18  a  British 
naval  expedition  captured  the  seaport  at 
Suderitz  Bay.  In  this  colony  the  Ger- 
mans had  between  5,000  and  10,000  men, 
with  considerable  artillery.  General 
Botha  raised  in  the  British  colonies  about 
7,000  men,  and  by  the  end  of  September 
skirmishing  was  in  progress  at  a  number 
of  frontier  points.  At  Sandfontein  a 
small  British  column  was  trapped,  and 
after  a  hard  fight  the  survivors  sur- 
rendered. 

Early  in  October  a  rebellion  occured  in 
the  northwest  section  of  Cape  Province, 
led  by  Colonel  Maritz,  who  commanded 
the  British  forces  in  the  region,  but  who 
had  fought  on  the  Boer  side  in  the  South 
African  war.  Martial  law  was  declared 
in  the  British  colonies,  and  in  several  en- 
gagements Maritz,  who  had  a  force  of 
about  2,000  men,  was  completely  defeated 
and  driven  out  of  the  colony. 

A  much  more  serious  rebellion  de- 
veloped in  the  old  Orange  Free  State  and 
the  Western  Transvaal  under  such  re- 
nowned veterans  of  the  Boer  war  as  Gen- 
erals de  Wet  and  Beyers,  assisted  by  a 
number  of  other  veteran  leaders  in  South 
African  wars.  At  Pretoria  the  burghers 
rallied  to  th£  loyal  Botha,  who  soon 
raised  an  army  of  more  than  30,000  fight- 
ing men.  On  Oct.  27  Botha  defeated 
and  dispersed  the  rebels  under  Beyers 
and  Kemp  south  of  the  town  of  Rusten- 
berg.  The  defeated  forces  rallied,  and 
at  Lichtenburg  defeated  a  force  under  i 


316 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Colonel  Alberts,  which  attempted  to  cut 
off  the  retreat,  but  after  several  reverses 
this  section  of  the  rebel  army  was  finally 
defeated  and  dispersed  by  Colonel  van 
der  Venter  on  Nov.  8  at  Sandfontein, 
sixty  miles  from  Pretoria.  Another  part 
of  the  force  defeated  at  Rustenberg  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  Orange  Free  State, 
led  by  Beyers  and  Kemp,  who  were  final- 
ly defeated  near  the  junction  of  the  Vaal 
and  the  Vet  and  dispersed  toward  the 
wild  interior. 

The  old-time  genius  of  South  African 
fighting  had  deserted  de  Wet,  and  his 
campaign  was  short.  On  Nov.  7,  at 
Doornberg,  his  force  of  about  2,000  de- 
feated a  Union  column  under  Col.  Cronje, 
and  de  Wet's  son  was  killed.  By  Nov.  11 
General  Botha,  having  cleared  up  the 
Transvaal,  began  to  close  in  on  de  Wet's 
forces  and  administered  a  severe  defeat 
to  them.  After  further  reverses  de  Wet 
and  a  few  faithful  adherents  were  cap- 
tured on  Dec.  1  at  Waterberg,  a  hundred 
miles  west  of  Mafeking.  By  the  end  of 
December,  after  a  number  of  engage- 
ments with  scattered  commandoes,  the 
rebellion  was  practically  stamped  out. 
Beyers  was  drowned  while  attempting 
to  swim  the  Vaal.  De  Wet  and  Muller 
were  prisoners,  and  Kemp  had  escaped 
into   German   territory. 

German  East  Africa 
In  East  Africa  the  Germans  had  an 
army  which  numbered  close  to  ten  thou- 
sand, of  whom  perhaps  30  per  cent, 
were  white.  In  British  East  Africa  and 
Uganda  the  British  forces  all  told  seem 
not  to  have  exceeded  1,500.  On  Aug.  13, 
1914,  a  British  cruiser  bombarded  Dar- 
es-Salam  and  destroyed  the  harbor 
works,  and  on  Lake  Nyassa  a  British 
steamer  attacked  German  vessels.  In 
September  several  small  battles  were 
fought  along  the  frontier  between  the 
German  colony  and  Rhodesia  to  the 
south  as  well  as  on  the  frontier  to  the 
north  bordering  British  East  Africa.  Im- 
portant British  reinforcements  arrived 
from  India  with  artillery  in  time  to  pre- 
vent a  German  attack  upon  the  British 
railway  from  the  sea  at  Mombasa  across 
the  colony  to  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza.  In 
seven  or  eight  engagements  on  the  coast 
and  along  the  northern  frontier  the  Ger- 


mans were  uniformly  beaten,  and  by 
October  their  campaign  had  run  its 
course  with  only  a  few  minor  points  oc- 
cupied on  the  British  side  of  the  line. 

The  British  were  content  to  maintain 
a  successful  defense  while  awaiting  fur- 
ther reinforcements  promised  from  India 
for  November.  This  new  expeditionary 
force  arrived  on  the  East  African  coast 
on  Nov.  1  and  proceeded  to  attack  the 
German  port  of  Tanga,  the  terminus  of 
the  Maschi  Railway.  An  attempt  to 
storm  the  defenses  on  Nov.  4  met  with 
a  disastrous  repulse,  in  which  the  British 
lost  800  men,  and  the  expeditionary  army 
withdrew  to  the  north,  where  it  became 
an  army  of  observation  along  the  fron- 
tier for  the  next  few  months. 

The  Japanese  in  China 
Japan,  having  declared  war  upon  Ger- 
many late  in  August,  1914,  proceeded  to 
capture  Germany's  well-fortified  position 
at  Tsing-tao  on  the  China  coast.  The 
Japanese  Army,  with  a  peace  strength 
of  250,000  and  a  war  strength  of  1,000,- 
000,  was,  so  to  speak,  at  the  door  of  this 
German  post  hopelessly  remote  from  Eu- 
ropean assistance.  The  powerful  Jap- 
anese Navy  controlled  the  eastern  sea 
and  had  doubled  in  strength  since  the 
Russian  war.  Several  British  warships 
co-operated  in  the  attack  upon  Tsing- 
tao.  The  German  garrison  numbered 
5,000  men,  occupying  an  intrenched 
camp  and  modernized  Brialmont  forts 
with  •concrete  and  steel  construction. 
Under  naval  convoy  a  strong  Japanese 
force  landed,  and  by  the  end  of  Septem- 
ber had  advanced  along  the  peninsula  to 
a  point  where  their  artillery  dominated 
the  German  forts.  A  small  British  force 
from  Wei-hai-Wei  landed  and  co-operated 
with  the  Japanese  in  the  reduction  of  the 
German  fortifications.  General  Kamio, 
the  Japanese  commander,  had  a  heavy 
siege  train  of  140  guns,  including  some 
11-inch  howitzers,  which  quite  outclassed 
in  range  and  weight  anything  possessed 
by  the  Germans.  The  Japanese  warships 
joined  in  the  bombardment,  and  fort 
after  fort  was  crushed  by  heavy  shell 
fire  from  both  land  and  sea.  The  Ger- 
mans finally  surrendered  on  Nov.  10, 
1914. 


If 


IN  THE  PATH  OF  THE  GERMAN  RE 


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German  Vandalism  During  the 
Retreat  in  France 


SINCE  November  the  German  mili- 
tary authorities  had  been  prepar- 
ing to  withdraw  from  the  most 
seriously  threatened  portions  of 
their  lines  in  France,  and  on  Friday, 
March  16,  1917,  the  preparations  were 
complete.  The  last  batteries  on  the  long 
front  between  Arras  and  Soissons  were 
withdrawn  that  night,  though  rear 
guards  remained  in  the  trenches,  making 
a  show  of  activity  until  the  following 
night,  when  they  too  withdrew,  marching 
swiftly  and  silently  into  the  darkness 
toward  the  north. 

At  8:30  in  the  evening  the  last  troops 
left  Noyon.  The  inhabitants  were  fiercely 
ordered  to  remain  in  their  cellars  on 
pain  of  bombardment.  On  the  morning 
of  Sunday,  the  18th,  when  they  timidly 
emerged  there  was  not  a  German  to  be 
seen.  A  few  moments  later  a  French 
cavalry  patrol  trotted  cautiously  to  the 
edge  of  the  town  and  was  greeted  with 
weeping  and  cheers  by  the  inhabitants. 
After  two  and  a  half  years  of  exile  and 
slavery  they  were  again  in  France! 

The  conduct  of  the  German  Army  in 
retreat  revealed  the  fact  that  it  was 
under  orders  to  devastate  the  abandoned 
territory,  and  the  thoroughness  with 
which  it  acted  on  these  orders  has  left 
one  of  the  most  sensational  records  of 
"  frightfulness"  in  the  annals  of  the 
great  war. 

French  Note  of  Protest 

The  French  Government  at  once 
charged  its  representatives  in  all  neutral 
countries  to  enter  a  protest  against  these 
"  acts  of  barbarism  and  devastation." 
The  text  of  this  note,  signed  by  Premier 
Ribot,  is  as  follows : 

The  Government  of  the  republic  is  now 
gathering  the  elements  of  protest  which  it 
intends  sending  to  neutral  Governments 
against  acts  of  barbarism  and  devastation 
committed  by  the  Germans  in  French  ter- 
ritory which  they  are  evacuating  while  re- 
treating. At  this  time  I  ask  you  to  make 
known  to  the  Government  to  which  you  are 
accredited  that  we  intend  to  denounce  before 


universal  judgment  the  unqualifiable  acts  in- 
dulged in  by  the  German  authorities.  No 
motive  demanded  by  military  necessities  can 
justify  the  systematic  devastation  of  public 
monuments,  artistic  and  historical,  as  well 
as  public  property,  accompanied  by  violence 
against  persons.  Cities  and  villages  in  their 
entirety  have  been  pillaged,  burned,  and 
destroyed ;  private  homes  stripped  of  all 
furniture,  which  the  enemy  has  carried  off; 
fruit  trees  have  been  torn  up  or  rendered 
useless  for  future  production ;  streams  and 
wells  have  been  poisoned.  The  inhabitants, 
relatively  few  in  number,  who  have  not 
been  removed  have  been  left  with  a  minimum 
of  rations,  while  the  enemy  seized  stocks 
supplied  by  the  neutral  revictualing  commis- 
sion which  were  destined  for  the  civil  popu- 
lation. 

You  will  point  out  that  this  concerns  not 
acts  destined  to  hinder  the  operations  of  our 
armies,  but  of  devastation  having  no  con- 
nection with  this  object  and  having  for  its 
purpose  the  ruin  for  years  to  come  of  one 
of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  France. 

The  civilized  world  can  only  revolt  against 
this  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  nation  which 
wanted  to  impose  its  culture  on  it,  but  which 
reveals  itself  once  again  as  quite  close  to 
barbarism  still,  and,  in  a  rage  of  disappoint- 
ed ambition,  tramples  on  the  most  sacred 
rights  of  humanity. 

Pillage  and  Destruction 
At  the  same  time  the  French  Govern- 
ment charged  that  safes  had  been 
robbed,  notably  at  Peronne,  where  a 
branch  of  the  Bank  of  France  was  pil- 
laged and  large  amounts  of  stocks  and 
bonds  were  taken  by  the  departing 
troops.  Press  dispatches  also  stated  that 
securities  to  the  amount  of  $3,600,000 
were  taken  from  the  banks  in  Noyon. 
Premier  Ribot,  who  is  also  Foreign 
Minister,  instructed  the  representatives 
of  France  in  neutral  countries  to  warn 
bankers  against  having  anything  to  do 
with  these  stolen  securities,  declaring 
that  France  and  the  Allies  would  not 
recognize  as  valid  any  transaction  based 
upon  negotiable  paper  which  the  Ger- 
mans had  seized  in  violation  of  The 
Hague  Convention. 

The  region  evacuated  by  the  Germans 
was  approximately  forty  miles  long  and 
twenty-five    deep,    or   a    total    of    1,000 


318 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


square  miles,  containing  between  350  and 
400  towns  and  villages,  and  a  population 
of  nearly  200,000  before  the  war.  This 
whole  section  of  the  fairest  lands  in 
France  is  described  by  all  eyewitnesses 
as  a  vast  wreck,  a  heartrending  chaos  of 
burned  villages  and  farms,  blasted  roads 
and  bridges,  felled  fruit  trees,  polluted 
wells,  and  looted  homes.  Philip  Gibbs, 
the  war  correspondent,  wrote  on  March 
21: 

"  The  Germans  have  spared  nothing  on 
the  way  of  their  retreat.  They  have  de- 
stroyed every  village  in  their  abandon- 
ment with  systematic  and  detailed  de- 
struction. Not  only  in  Bapaume  and 
Peronne  have  they  blown  up  or  burned 
all  the  houses  which  were  untouched  by 
shellfire,  but  in  scores  of  villages  they 
laid  waste  the  cottages  of  poor  peasants 
and  all  their  little  farms  and  all  their 
orchards.  At  Bethonvillers  this  morn- 
ing, to  name  only  one  village  out  of 
many,  I  saw  how  each  house  was  marked 
with  a  white  cross  before  it  was  gutted 
with  fire.  The  cross  of  Christ  was  used 
to  mark  the  work  of  the  devil,,  for  truly 
it  has  been  the  devil's  work. 

"  Even  if  we  grant  that  the  destruction 
of  houses  in  the  wake  oi  retreat  is  the 
recognized  cruelty  of  war  there  are 
other  things  I  have  seen  which  are  not 
pardonable,  even  under  that  damnable 
code  of  morality.  In  Bapaume  and  Pe- 
ronne, in  Roye  and  Nesle  and  Lianecourt, 
and  all  these  places  over  a  wide  area  the 
German  soldiers  not  only  blew  out  the 
fronts  of  houses,  but  with  picks  and 
axes  smashed  mirrors  and  furniture  and 
picture  frames.  As  a  friend  of  mine 
said,  a  cheap  jack  would  not  give  four- 
pence  for  anything  left  in  Peronne,  and 
that  is  strictly  true  also  of  Bapaume. 
There  is  nothing  but  filth  in  those  two 
towns.  Family  portraits  have  been 
kicked  into  the  gutters.  Black  bonnets 
of  old  women  who  once  lived  in  those 
houses  lie  about  the  rubbish  heaps  and 
by  some  strange  pitiful  freak  these  are 
almost  the  only  signs  left  of  the  in- 
habitants who  lived  here  before  the  Ger- 
mans wrecked  their  houses. 

"  The  ruins  of  houses  are  bad  to  see 
when  done  deliberately,  even  when  shell- 


fire  spared  them  in  the  war  zone,  but 
worse  than  that  is  the  ruin  of  women 
and  children  and  living  flesh.  I  saw 
that  ruin  today  in  Roye  and  Nesle.  I 
was  at  first  rejoiced  to  see  how  the 
•  first  inhabitants  were  liberated  after 
being  so  long  in  hostile  lines.  I  ap- 
proached them  with  a  queer  sense  of 
excitement,  eager  to  stop  with  them, 
but  instantly  when  I  saw  those  women 
and  children  in  the  streets  and  staring 
at  me  out  of  windows  I  was  struck  with 
the  chill  of  horror.  The  women's  faces 
were  dead  faces,  shallow  and  masklike 
and  branded  with  the  memory  of  great 
agonies.  The  children  were  white  and 
thin,  so  thin  that  the  cheekbones  pro- 
truded and  many  of  them  seemed  to  me 
idiot  children.  Hunger  and  fear  had 
been  with  them  too  long." 

Wells  Polluted  by  Order 

Outside  of  the  ruined  cities,  not  only 
were  all  the  bridges  and  cross  roads 
blown  up  with  mines — a  legitimate  mili- 
tary measure  to  hinder  pursuit — but 
cottages  and  farmhouses  that  were 
once  the  homes  of  nearly  100,000' 
peasant  farmers  were  rendered  unin- 
habitable by  means  of  specially  pre- 
pared bombs.  Written  orders  were  cap- 
tured which  directed  the  blowing  up  of 
all  houses,  wells,  and  cellars,  except 
those  occupied  by  rearguards,  and  these 
were  to  be  made  uninhabitable  upon 
leaving.  Farming  implements  were 
gathered  in  heaps  and  burned,  peasants' 
carts  were  hacked  to  pieces,  all  the 
spokes  of  the  wheels  being  cut  out,  in 
some  cases  with  infinite  labor.  Fruit 
trees  everywhere  were  sawed  off  near 
the  ground,  or,  if  time  pressed,  were 
girdled  so  as  to  insure  their  death. 
Wherever  a  house  was  spared  it  was 
rendered  filthy. 

Every  well  also  was  rendered  useless 
by  pollution,  so  that  the  homeless 
people  were  compelled  to  get  all  their 
drinking  water  in  barrels  from  outside 
the  looted  region.  This  pollution  of  the 
wells  was  also  done  under  German  offi- 
cial orders,  as  demonstrated  by  a  writ- 
ten order  found  on  the  battlefied,  dated 
March  14.  It  was  addressed  to  the  Sec- 
ond Squadron,  Sixth  German  Cuirassiers, 


GERMAN  VANDALISM  DURING  THE  RETREAT  IN  FRANCE      319 


Thirty-eighth  Division,  and  gave  instruc- 
tions to  this  end. 

The  wife  of  the  village  doctor  at 
Nesle,  who  had  housed  the  German  regi- 
mental staff,  protested  to  a  German 
Lieutenant  against  the  willful  destruc- 
tion of  her  furniture.  He  appeared  to 
regret  what  his  men  were  doing,  but  said: 

"I  cannot  do  otherwise.  It  is  by 
command." 

A  number  of  German  doctors  who 
lodged  for  months  in  one  of  the  finest 
mansions  of  Roye  summoned  the  aged 
mistress  of  the  house  on  the  morning  of 
March  16  and  said:  "We  are  going  to 
give  Roye  back  to  the  French.  We  hope 
they  will  like  it."  They  then  went 
through  the  house,  firing  revolvers  at 
the  mirrors  and  smashing  furniture  in 
the  drawing-room  and  bedrooms.  In 
many  other  houses  the  same  scene  was 
repeated,  and  pictures,  clocks,  and  family 
papers  were  carried  away. 

In  Peronne  a  famous  avenue  of  shade 
trees  was  left  prostrate,  and  scarcely  a 
house  was  undamaged.  Not  a  living 
human  being  remained.  Peronne  was  a 
dead  town,  like  Bapaume,  like  Ypres. 
like  all  the  villages  in  the  wake  of  the 
German  retreat.  The  first  correspon- 
dents who  penetrated  through  the  chaos 
to  the  Grande  Place  found  a  large  board 
hung  upon  a  shattered  wall  and  bearing 
the  ironic  words :  "  Nicht  argern,  nur 
wundern."  (Do  not  be  annoyed,  only 
be  astonished.)  It  was  the  greeting  of 
the  departing  Germans  to  the  incoming 
Britons. 

Coucy  Castle,  one  of  the  most  splen- 
did remaining  relics  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  was  utterly  blasted  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Nothing  is  left  but 
a  great  pile  of  massive  crumpled  ma- 
sonry and  pulverized  rock  of  what  was 
one  of  the  strongest  and  most  historic 
castles  of  Europe. 

So  enraged  were  the  French  at  this 
act  of  destruction  that  they  refused  to 
bombard  the  ruins,  where  the  Germans 
had  intrenched  machine  gunners.  In- 
stead infantry,  unsupported  by  artillery, 
charged  over  a  plain  swept  by  German 
machine  gun  fire  and  wrenched  the 
sacred  spot  from  the  enemy. 


Before  they  left,  the  Germans  boasted 
to  the  French  inhabitants  that  thirty 
tons  of  explosives  were  used  to  destroy 
the  castle.  Pieces  of  its  ancient  ma- 
sonry were  spread  over  10,000  square 
yards.  Not  a  vestige  remains  of  the 
great  tower  which  Cardinal  Mazarin's 
engineers  vainly  tried  to  blow  up  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Coucy  Castle  had 
been  set  aside  as  a  historical  museum. 

Pitiful  Streams  of  Fugitives 

A  correspondent  who  accompanied 
the  French  Army  in  its  advance  from 
Noyon,  Chauny,  and  Tergnier,  on  March 
21,  wrote  that  the  path  of  the  retreating 
Germans  was  marked  with  the  smoke  of 
burning  farms  for  fifteen  miles.  Along 
the  road  back  from  Tergnier  and  Noyon 
poured  an  unending  stream  of  refugees 
from  these  blazing  farms  and  villages. 
Nearly  all  were  women — pitiful  in  their 
destitution,  a  few  scant  pieces  of  cloth- 
ing saved  and  strapped  on  their  backs, 
or  pushing  baby  carriages,  or  wheel- 
barrows with  tiny  tots  tucked  therein. 
Younger  children  clung  to  their  skirts 
or  themselves  toddled  along  under  the 
weight  of  bundles. 

"  Their  stories  were  all  alike.  For 
weeks  before  the  retreat  started  the 
Germans  herded  all  inhabitants  before 
them  from  village  to  village.  When  the 
final  movement  came  for  the  Germans 
to  leave  they  sacked  the  houses.  The 
soldiers  carried  off  everything  eatable 
and  burned  the  villages  before  the  eyes 
of  the  refugees.  Then  they  departed, 
leaving  the  villagers  homeless  and  food- 
less. 

"  A  few  hours  later,  when  the  Germans 
believed  the  French  troops  had  arrived, 
they  began  shelling  the  villages  they  had 
pillaged  and  left,  despite  their  knowledge 
of  thousands  of  innocent  civil  inhabitants 
still  there.  Seven  thousand  women  and 
children  suffered  this  experience  at 
Chauny  alone.  The  village  was  under 
bombardment  at  the  moment  I  arrived. 
The  French  Red  Cross  crews,  with  their 
litters,  who  had  pushed  forward  afoot, 
were  carrying  off  women  and  children 
wounded  during  the  shell  fire. 

"  The  German  retreat  has  been  marked 
by   insensate    destruction.      Aside    from 


320 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  burning  of  farms  and  villages,  the 
blowing  up  of  church  doors  and  altars 
and  the  like,  the  wanton  destruction 
was  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  I 
walked  through  twenty  miles  of  farms 
and  fields  where  every  orchard  tree  had 
either  been  hewn  down  or — if  the  French 
arrived  before  this  job  of  destruction 
could  be  completed — the  trees  were  suf- 
ficiently hacked  to  insure  their  death. 

"  The  Germans  stripped  every  village 
of  all  metal.  They  tore  tin  gutters  and 
plumbing  from  all  houses,  took  off  the 
metal  roofs;  pilfered  the  churches  of 
clocks  and  bells.  Not  one  escaped — 
from  the  cathedral  at  Noyon  to  the 
humblest  of  wayside  churches. 

"  At  Noyon,  owing  to  the  concentra- 
tion of  10,000  women  and  children,  the 
Germans  promised  to  leave  the  Ameri- 
can commission  sufficient  supplies  to 
feed  the  refugees.  Nevertheless,  depart- 
ing patrols  sacked  the  American  com- 
mission storehouses,  carrying  off  all 
eatables.  Then  they  dynamited  the 
building  and  finally  diverted  water  from 
the  canal  into  the  village.  Part  of  the 
city  was  flooded  and  ruined  in  this 
fashion.  The  population  of  Noyon  said 
they  had  not  eaten  a  scrap*  of  meat  in 
eighteen    months." 

Took  Away  Many  Captives 

In  leaving  the  evacuated  territory  the 
Germans  carried  with  them  all  the  able- 
bodied  men  and  boys  above  16  years, 
and  all  women  and  girls  older  than  15 
years  who  were  able  to  work.  A  French 
official  communication  mentions  the 
taking  of  fifty  women  and  girls  from 
Noyon.  On  Feb.  17  they  had  removed 
423  from  Nesle.  While  taking  away  the 
fit  population  throughout  the  evacuated 
region,  the  invaders  sent  back  hundreds 
of  the  aged  and  infirm  from  St.  Quentin 
and  other  towns  behind  their  new  lines. 

"  Many  of  these  French  boys  and  old 
men,"  says  an  Associated  Press  corre- 
spondent, "  had  been  compelled  to  work 
in  the  German  trenches,  where  they  said 
they  also  met  many  Belgians  and  Rus- 
sians, the  latter,  of  course,  being  pris- 
oners of  war.  It  was  asserted  that  one 
of  the  reasons  for  the  wholesale  deporta- 
tion  of  Belgians  was  the  necessity  for 


this  labor  in  constructing  the  new  posi- 
tions to  which  the  Germans  have  fallen 
back.  The  Germans  wished  to  spare  the 
soldiers  from  this  work  and  so  employed 
these  unwilling  civilians  and  prisoners." 

Village  Priest* s  Narrative 

In  the  ruined  village  of  Voyennes,  not 
far  from  the  now  demolished  Fortress  of 
Ham,  a  priest  told  of  the  spiritual 
agonies  through  which  his  people  had 
passed,  culminating  in  the  sacking  of 
their  homes  by  the  departing  enemy. 

"  We  could  get  no  news  for  months 
except  lies,"  he  said.  "  We  knew  nothing 
of  what  was  happening.  Starvation  crept 
closer  upon  us.  We  were  surrounded  by 
the  fires  of  hell  for  fifty  hours  at  a  time. 
The  roar  of  guns  swept  around  us  week 
after  week,  and  month  after  month,  and 
the  sky  blazed  around  us.  We  were 
afraid  of  the  temper  of  the  German  of- 
ficers. 

"  After  the  defeat  on  the  Marne  and 
after  the  battles  of  the  Somme  Germany 
was  like  a  wounded  tiger,  fierce,  des- 
perate, cruel.  Secretly,  although  our 
people  kept  brave  faces,  they  feared  what 
would  happen  if  the  Germans  were  forced 
to  retreat.  At  last  that  happened,  and 
after  all  we  had  endured  the  day  of 
terror  was  hard  to  bear. 

"  From  all  the  villages  around,  one  by 
one,  the  people  were  driven  out,  the 
young  women  and  men  as  old  as  60  were 
taken  away  to  work  for  Germany,  and 
the  orderly  destruction  began  which 
ended  with  the  cutting  down  of  our  little 
orchards  and  ruin  everywhere. 

"  The  commandant  before  that  was  a 
good  man  and  a  gentleman,  afraid  of 
God  and  his  conscience.  He  said:  'I  do 
not  approve  of  these  things;  the  world 
will  have  a  right  to  call  us  barbarians.' 
He  asked  for  forgiveness  because  he  had 
to  obey  orders,  and  I  gave  it  to  him. 

"  An  order  came  to  take  away  all  the 
bells  of  churches  and  all  metal  work.  I 
had  already  put  my  church  bells  in  the 
loft,  and  I  showed  them  to  him  and  said, 
*  There  they  are.'  He  was  very  sorry. 
This  man  was  the  only  good  German  offi- 
cer I  have  met,  and  it  was  because  he 
had  been  fifteen  years  in  America,  and 
had  married  an  American  wife  and  es- 


GERMAN  VANDALISM  DURING  THE  RETREAT  IN  FRANCE      321 


caped   from   the    spell   of   his   country's 
philosophy.     Then  he  went  away. 

"  Last  Sunday  a  week  ago,  at  this  very 
house,  when  our  people  all  were  in  their 
houses  under  strict  orders  and  already 
the  country  was  on  fire  with  burning  vil- 
lages, a  group  of  soldiers  came  outside 
there  with  cans  of  petroleum,  which  they 
put  into  the  church.  Then  they  set  fire 
to  it  and  watched  my  church  burn  in  a 
great  bonfire.  That  night  the  Germans 
went  away  through  Voyennes,  and  early 
in  the  morning,  up  in  my  attic,  looking 
through  a  pair  of  glasses,  I  saw  four 
horsemen  ride  in.  They  were  English 
soldiers,  and  our  people  rushed  out  to 
them.     Our  agony  had  ended." 

Ambassador  Sharp's  Report 
The  full  extent  of  this  German  ruth- 
lessness  was  confirmed  by  Ambassador 
Sharp  in  a  report  made  to  the  Washing- 
ton Government  after  a  journey  of  100 
miles  through  the  devastated  territory. 
The  State  Department  made  public  the 
following  summary  of  the  document: 

"  A  telegram  from  the  American  Am- 
bassador at  Paris,  dated  April  1,  states 
that  upon  the  invitation  of  the  French 
Government  he  visited  on  March  31  many 
of  the  French  towns  recently  retaken  in 
the  invaded  territory.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  one  of  the  Military  Attaches 
to  the  embassy.  He  found  that  the  vari- 
ous reports  circulated  in  France,  which 
have  appeared  in  American  newspapers, 
in  regard  to  the  deplorable  condition 
were  in  no  way  exaggerated. 

"In  the  larger  towns  of  Roye,  Ham, 
and  particularly  in  the  attractive  and 
thriving  town  of  Chauny,  destruction 
Was  complete.  In  many  of  the  other 
smaller  villages  scarcely  a  house  remains 
with  roof  intact.  Throughout  the  re- 
conquered territory  there  reigns  a  scene 
of  desolation,  and  this  Is  not  only  true 
where  German  military  operations  might 
possibly  excuse  destruction  in  the  blow- 

[Continued  on 


ing  up  of  bridges,  telegraphic  and  tele- 
phonic connections,  railway  lines,  and  the 
blocking  of  highways  by  felling  trees 
which  protected  the  German  retreat,  but 
towns  were  totally  destroyed  for  no  ap- 
parent military  reasons. 

"  Fruit  trees  had  either  been  cut  down 
or  exploded  so  as  to  ruin  them  com- 
pletely; private  houses  along  the  coun- 
try highway,  including  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  chateaux  of  great  value,  were 
completely  gutted  by  explosives  sys- 
tematically planted  or  by  fire.  Black- 
ened walls  of  what  must  have  been  man- 
ufacturing plants  were  to  be  seen  in 
many  towns,  the  salvage  of  which  would 
scarcely  pay  for  their  removal.  Agricul- 
tural implements  in  farms  were  de- 
stroyed, churches  and  cathedrals  were 
reduced  to  a  mass  of  ruins  by  fire  or 
by  explosives. 

"At  the  town  of  Ham  the  mother  of 
six  children  told  him  that  her  husband 
and  two  daughters,  one  18  and  the  other 
15  years  of  age,  had  been  carried  away 
by  the  Germans  at  the  time  of  the  evac- 
uation. Upon  remonstrating  she  had 
been  told  that  as  an  alternative  she 
might  find  their  bodies  in  the  canal  in 
the  rear  of  her  house.  She  stated  that 
out  of  the  town's  total  population  sev- 
eral hundred  people  had  been  compelled 
to  accompany  the  Germans,  nearly  half 
of  whom  were  girls  and  women  over  15 
years  of  age.  A  large  number  of  French 
people,  it  is  believed,  in  the  evacuated 
towns  and  surrounding  country  were 
compelled  to  go  with  the  Germans  from 
the  fact  that  few  are  now  to  be  found 
there. 

"  He  inspected  on  the  trip  more  than 
100  miles  in  the  invaded  territory  and 
left  with  the  conviction  that  never  be- 
fore in  the  history  of  the  world  had 
there  been  such  a  thorough  destruction 
wrought  by  either  a  vanquished  or  vic- 
torious army." 
next  page] 


su 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


with  the  French  lines  was  most  interest- 
ing. There  was  a  definite  space  of  shell- 
marked  cleavage  between  the  former 
French  lines  and  the  first  German  out- 
posts. After  that  came  the  German  first- 
line  trench  and  a  marvelous  system  of 
communicating  trenches  back  to  their 
second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  to  the 
twentieth  line  of  formidable  defense, 
known  as  the  Hindenburg  line. 

Their  main  lines  were  of  solid  concrete. 
I  would  have  sworn  they  were  impregna- 
ble had  I  not  such  vivid  proof  of  what 
happened  to  similar  German  trenches  on 
the  Somme  after  the  battering  of  French 
artillery.  Their  communication  trenches 
were  a  marvel  of  ingenuity — line  after 
line  of  them  running  across  the  main 
lines  and  so  connected  that  reinforce- 
ments or  supplies  could  be  rushed  from 
half  a  dozen  places  to  almost  every  main 
position.  Between  this  and  between 
every  defensive  trench  line  there  is  noth- 
ing but  one  unbroken  mass  of  barbed 
wire.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  for  a 
distance  of  miles  after  I  entered  what 
was  German  territory  until  a  week  ago 
there  was  one  unending  vista  of  rusted 
wire  entanglements.  There  was  some- 
thing psychological  about  it.  On  the 
French  side  there  are  also  complete  sys- 
tems of  defensive  lines  that  stretch  all 
the  way  back  to  Paris,  but  they  are  not 
so  visible — there  are  great  open  stretches 
of  country  between.  On  the  German  side 
it  seemed  that  everything  they  did  was 
to  perfect  a  defense;  that  they  realized  a 
long  time  ago  that  an  offensive  on  that 
front  was  impossible,  and  that  against  a 
French  offensive  they  could  only  prepare 
to  go  back  yard  by  yard  as  best  they 
could. 

Barbed  Wire  Ten  Miles  Deep 
For  a  distance  of  probably  ten  miles 
this  barrier  of  barbed  wire  extends  in 
solid  formation.  Then  come  stretches  of 
free  country  to  where  probably  the  tenth 
or  eleventh  defense  line  appears,  and  so 
on.  It  is  behind  this  main  area  of  entan- 
glements that  the  systematic  devastation 
begins.  Leading  directly  back  from  what 
was  the  French  front,  the  Germans  only 
committed  such  destruction  as  any  retir- 
ing army  .might  do  to  keep  off  rearguard 


attacks.  Every  road  was  blown  to  pieces 
— now,  however,  all  filled  and  planked — 
every  telegraph  pole  prone  on  the 
ground,  and  every  rod  of  railway  de- 
stroyed. 

Beyond  all  this,  however,  lies  Ger- 
many's everlasting  shame  and  disgrace. 
Acts  that  had  not  the  slightest  military 
value  were  committed  on  every  hand. 
The  whole  country  lies  waste  and  deso- 
late beyond  description,  and  not  a  Ger- 
man living  today  or  in  years  to  come  can 
ever  be  clever  or  brilliant  or  logical  or 
false  enough  to  tell  the  reason  why  and 
have  the  world  believe  him.  Ten  thou- 
sand inhabitants  of  the  country  who  were 
left  behind  are  living  witnesses  that  they 
existed  these  past  years  in  a  bondage 
worse  than  galley  slaves.  And  if  the  tes- 
timony is  not  enough,  let  the  German 
placards  upon  the  remaining  dead  walls 
of  these  corpses  of  cities  bear  them  out: 

That  every  person  above  the  age  of  twelve 
should  always  salute  officers  by  politely  re- 
moving their  hats  and  bowing  as  they  passed 
or  suffer  the  penalty  of  imprisonment. 

That  they  should  live  how  and  where  their 
masters  pleased,  that  their  women  should 
cook  for  them  and  wait  upon  them  and  serve 
them  in  any  way  desired. 

That  they  might  only  walk  certain  streets 
at  certain  hours. 

That  they  were  forbidden  to  possess  either 
money  or  food  except  at  the  German  will. 

The  penalty  in  all  these  cases  was 
death. 

Lived  Only  by  Outside  Aid 

I  asked  the  same  question  a  dozen 
times  throughout  the  trip,  how  the  civil 
population  managed  to  live  at  all.  Every 
time  I  received  the  same  answer,  which 
was: 

"  We  would  have  starved  except  for 
the  food  sent  by  the  American  Relief 
Committee." 

In  reply  to  a  question  concerning  the 
kinds  of  food  received,  I  was  shown 
empty  tins  that  had  contained  American 
crackers  and  canned  goods.  When  I 
asked  what  sort  of  meat,  I  received  the 
invariable  response: 

"  The  Americans  sent  lots  of  things, 
but  everything  like  that  the  Germans 
took  for  themselves." 

This  naturally  led  to  questions  con- 
cerning how  the  German  soldiery  fared, 


GERMAN  VANDALISM  DURING  THE  RETREAT  IN  FRANCE      325 


and  the  unanimous  response  was  that 
neither  officers  nor  men  fed  any  too  well;- 
that  the  pinch  of  hunger  now  afflicting 
the  entire  empire  has  fastened  itself  as 
well  on  the  army. 

As  we  approached  the  ruined  villages 
*  *  *  we  saw  what  ghastly  hand  had 
been  at  work.  The  solid  brick  and  stone 
walls  of  the  houses  were  only  shells 
concealing  charred  ruins.  Not  only  one 
village  is  like  that,  nor  a  dozen,  but 
every  single  one  of  the  hundreds  that 
have  been  liberated  has  been  put  to  fire 
and  sword,  old  men,  old  women,  cripples, 
and  children  left  to  await  the  arrival  of 
their  own  soldiery  to  care  for  them;  their 
able-bodied  men  taken  into  bondage 
months  ago,  their  young  women  and  girls 
herded  along  with  the  retreating  army  to 
a  slavery  no  one  dares  to  think  about 
without  seeing  red.  And  at  every  village 
the  same  message  was  left  behind  for 
the  French  soldiers  when  they  arrived. 
Translated,  it  reads  like  this: 

"  You  see  what  we  have  done  here. 
Well,  this  is  what  is  going  to  happen  all 
the  way  back  to  the  French  frontier." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  French  sol- 
dier telling  me  this  said  between  clenched 
teeth: 

"  There  is  only  one  answer  to  that,  my 
friend.  Let  them  get  down  on  their 
knees  and  pray  when  the  French  Army 
crosses  the  Rhine.  We  will  be  taking  no 
prisoners  on  that  day." 

The  Countryside  Devastated 

The  aspect  of  the  villages  is  sad 
enough,  but  the  countryside  is  worse.  I 
have  seen  so  much  of  artillery  destruc- 
tion during  this  war  that  I  confess  I  have 
been  rather  sated  with  ruins.  A  de- 
stroyed church,  a  house  ripped  clean  to 
its  foundations,  is  only  another  example 
of  what  I  have  seen  dozens  of  times  be- 
fore. But  a  countryside  that  has  so  little 
left  of  it  as  that  one  I  passed  through  is 
a  sight  that  made  me  want  to  cry  and 
fight  at  the  same  time.  It  has  already 
been  reported  how  orchards  have  been 
destroyed.  I  rather  expected  that  this 
had  happened  just  along  the  roads  by 
which  the  army  retreated.  But  with  field 
glasses  I  could  see  far  in  on  either  side 
of  every  road  for  miles  and  miles;  every 


farm  is  burned,  fields  destroyed,  every 
garden  and  every  bush  uprooted,  every 
tree  sawed  off  close  to  the  bottom.  It 
was  a  terrible  sight,  and  seemed  almost 
worse  than  the  destruction  of  men.  Those, 
thousands  of  trees  prone  upon  the  earth, 
their  branches  waving  in  the  wind, 
seemed  undergoing  death  agonies  before 
our  eyes. 

Everything  gave  its  share  to  the  blood 
lust  of  hate.  Churches  gave  their  organs 
for  their  copper,  also  the  brass  rails  of 
their  altars,  even  crucifixes  upon  ruined 
walls  were  stripped  down  and  torn  asun- 
der. 

We  passed  through  the  remnant  of  a 
place  called  Porquericourt.  An  old  wo- 
man came  to  a  broken  doorway.  We 
stopped  to  talk  with  her.  She  smiled  at 
sight  of  the  French  uniforms  of  our  offi- 
cers. She  lived  on  a  farm  a  mile  away. 
The  Germans  had  passed  in  the  night 
and  burned  it  so  that  she  had  come  to 
Porquericourt  to  hide  in  the  cellar  of  a 
friend.  .Her  husband  and  brother,  both 
old  men,  had  been  killed  by  the  Germans 
during  the  retreat,  her  two  sons  led  off 
to  slavery  the  year  before.  One  of  them 
had  come  back,  but  had  been  seized  again 
only  a  few  weeks  before. 

Her  three  daughters  had  been  with  her 
at  the  farm  the  night  that  the  Germans 
retreated.  They  had  fled  with  her  to  the 
house  of  her  friend,  from  where  they  saw 
their  own  home  of  a  lifetime  in  flames. 
The  girls  were  19,  21,  and  24  years  old. 
The  Germans  had  found  them  in  Por- 
quericourt and  had  taken  them  away. 
That  was  eight  days  before.  She  had 
heard  nothing  of  them  since.  All  other 
young  women  had  likewise  vanished  that 
night  when  the  Germans  went  away. 

She  told  her  story  simply  in  a  low, 
unfaltering  voice.  But  she  suddered  as 
she  spoke  of  her  daughters. 

Cemetery  Left  Intact 

We  left  just  at  nightfall.  On  the  out- 
skirts we  came  upon  the  only  thing  I  can 
now  remember  in  all  that  scene  on  all 
that  day  which  the  Germans  did  not  de- 
stroy as  they  fled.  It  was  a  cemetery 
built  by  themselves  for  their  soldier  dead. 
It  was  magnificently  made,  upon  a  mag- 
nificent site,  overlooking  a  great  valley. 
The  graveyards  I  have  seen  behind  the 


324 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


with  the  French  lines  was  most  interest- 
ing. There  was  a  definite  space  of  shell- 
marked  cleavage  between  the  former 
French  lines  and  the  first  German  out- 
posts. After  that  came  the  German  first- 
line  trench  and  a  marvelous  system  of 
communicating  trenches  back  to  their 
second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  to  the 
twentieth  line  of  formidable  defense, 
known  as  the  Hindenburg  line. 

Their  main  lines  were  of  solid  concrete. 
I  would  have  sworn  they  were  impregna- 
ble had  I  not  such  vivid  proof  of  what 
happened  to  similar  German  trenches  on 
the  Somme  after  the  battering  of  French 
artillery.  Their  communication  trenches 
were  a  marvel  of  ingenuity — line  after 
line  of  them  running  across  the  main 
lines  and  so  connected  that  reinforce- 
ments or  supplies  could  be  rushed  from 
half  a  dozen  places  to  almost  every  main 
position.  Between  this  and  between 
every  defensive  trench  line  there  is  noth- 
ing but  one  unbroken  mass  of  barbed 
wire.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  for  a 
distance  of  miles  after  I  entered  what 
was  German  territory  until  a  week  ago 
there  was  one  unending  vista  of  rusted 
wire  entanglements.  There  was  some- 
thing psychological  about  it.  On  the 
French  side  there  are  also  complete  sys- 
tems of  defensive  lines  that  stretch  all 
the  way  back  to  Paris,  but  they  are  not 
so  visible — there  are  great  open  stretches 
of  country  between.  On  the  German  side 
it  seemed  that  everything  they  did  was 
to  perfect  a  defence;  that  they  realized  a 
long  time  ago  that  an  offensive  on  that 
front  was  impossible,  and  that  against  a 
French  offensive  they  could  only  prepare 
to  go  back  yard  by  yard  as  best  they 
could. 

Barbed  Wire  Ten  Miles  Deep 
For  a  distance  of  probably  ten  miles 
this  barrier  of  barbed  wire  extends  in 
solid  formation.  Then  come  stretches  of 
free  country  to  where  probably  the  tenth 
or  eleventh  defense  line  appears,  and  so 
on.  It  is  behind  this  main  area  of  entan- 
glements that  the  systematic  devastation 
begins.  Leading  directly  back  from  what 
was  the  French  front,  the  Germans  only 
committed  such  destruction  as  any  retir- 
ing army  might  do  to  keep  off  rearguard 


attacks.  Every  road  was  blown  to  pieces 
— now,  however,  all  filled  and  planked — 
every  telegraph  pole  prone  on  the 
ground,  and  every  rod  of  railway  de- 
stroyed. 

Beyond  all  this,  however,  lies  Ger- 
many's everlasting  shame  and  disgrace. 
Acts  that  had  not  the  slightest  military 
value  were  committed  on  every  hand. 
The  whole  country  lies  waste  and  deso- 
late beyond  description,  and  not  a  Ger- 
man living  today  or  in  years  to  come  can 
ever  be  clever  or  brilliant  or  logical  or 
false  enough  to  tell  the  reason  why  and 
have  the  world  believe  him.  Ten  thou- 
sand inhabitants  of  the  country  who  were 
left  behind  are  living  witnesses  that  they 
existed  these  past  years  in  a  bondage 
worse  than  galley  slaves.  And  if  the  tes- 
timony is  not  enough,  let  the  German 
placards  upon  the  remaining  dead  walls 
of  these  corpses  of  cities  bear  them  out: 

That  every  person  above  the  age  of  twelve 
should  always  salute  officers  by  politely  re- 
moving their  hats  and  bowing  as  they  passed 
or  suffer  the  penalty  of  imprisonment. 

That  they  should  live  how  and  where  their 
masters  pleased,  that  their  women  should 
cook  for  them  and  wait  upon  them  and  serve 
them  in  any  way  desired. 

That  they  might  only  walk  certain  streets 
at  certain  hours. 

That  they  were  forbidden  to  possess  either 
money  or  food  except  at  the  German  will. 

The  penalty  in  all  these  cases  was 
death. 

Lived  Only  by  Outside  Aid 

I  asked  the  same  question  a  dozen 
times  throughout  the  trip,  how  the  civil 
population  managed  to  live  at  all.  Every 
time  I  received  the  same  answer,  which 
was: 

"  We  would  have  starved  except  for 
the  food  sent  by  the  American  Relief 
Committee." 

In  reply  to  a  question  concerning  the 
kinds  of  food  received,  I  was  shown 
empty  tins  that  had  contained  American 
crackers  and  canned  goods.  When  I 
asked  what  sort  of  meat,  I  received  the 
invariable  response: 

"  The  Americans  sent  lots  of  things, 
but  everything  like  that  the  Germans 
took  for  themselves." 

This  naturally  led  to  questions  con- 
cerning how  the  German  soldiery  fared, 


GERMAN  VANDALISM  DURING  THE  RETREAT  IN  FRANCE      325 


and  the  unanimous  response  was  that 
neither  officers  nor  men  fed  any  too  well;- 
that  the  pinch  of  hunger  now  afflicting 
the  entire  empire  has  fastened  itself  as 
well  on  the  army. 

As  we  approached  the  ruined  villages 
*  *  *  we  saw  what  ghastly  hand  had 
been  at  work.  The  solid  brick  and  stone 
walls  of  the  houses  were  only  shells 
concealing  charred  ruins.  Not  only  one 
village  is  like  that,  nor  a  dozen,  but 
every  single  one  of  the  hundreds  that 
have  been  liberated  has  been  put  to  fire 
and  sword,  old  men,  old  women,  cripples, 
and  children  left  to  await  the  arrival  of 
their  own  soldiery  to  care  for  them;  their 
able-bodied  men  taken  into  bondage 
months  ago,  their  young  women  and  girls 
herded  along  with  the  retreating  army  to 
a  slavery  no  one  dares  to  think  about 
without  seeing  red.  And  at  every  village 
the  same  message  was  left  behind  for 
the  French  soldiers  when  they  arrived. 
Translated,  it  reads  like  this: 

"  You  see  what  we  have  done  here. 
Well,  this  is  what  is  going  to  happen  all 
the  way  back  to  the  French  frontier." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  French  sol- 
dier telling  me  this  said  between  clenched 
teeth: 

"  There  is  only  one  answer  to  that,  my 
friend.  Let  them  get  down  on  their 
knees  and  pray  when  the  French  Army 
crosses  the  Rhine.  We  will  be  taking  no 
prisoners  on  that  day." 

The  Countryside  Devastated 

The  aspect  of  the  villages  is  sad 
enough,  but  the  countryside  is  worse.  I 
have  seen  so  much  of  artillery  destruc- 
tion during  this  war  that  I  confess  I  have 
been  rather  sated  with  ruins.  A  de- 
stroyed church,  a  house  ripped  clean  to 
its  foundations,  is  only  another  example 
of  what  I  have  seen  dozens  of  times  be- 
fore. But  a  countryside  that  has  so  little 
left  of  it  as  that  one  I  passed  through  is 
a  sight  that  made  me  want  to  cry  and 
fight  at  the  same  time.  It  has  already 
been  reported  how  orchards  have  been 
destroyed.  I  rather  expected  that  this 
had  happened  just  along  the  roads  by 
which  the  army  retreated.  But  with  field 
glasses  I  could  see  far  in  on  either  side 
of  every  road  for  miles  and  miles;  every 


farm  is  burned,  fields  destroyed,  every 
garden  and  every  bush  uprooted,  every 
tree  sawed  off  close  to  the  bottom.  It 
was  a  terrible  sight,  and  seemed  almost 
worse  than  the  destruction  of  men.  Those, 
thousands  of  trees  prone  upon  the  earth, 
their  branches  waving  in  the  wind, 
seemed  undergoing  death  agonies  before 
our  eyes. 

Everything  gave  its  share  to  the  blood 
lust  of  hate.  Churches  gave  their  organs 
for  their  copper,  also  the  brass  rails  of 
their  altars,  even  crucifixes  upon  ruined 
walls  were  stripped  down  and  torn  asun- 
der. 

We  passed  through  the  remnant  of  a 
place  called  Porquericourt.  An  old  wo- 
man came  to  a  broken  doorway.  We 
stopped  to  talk  with  her.  She  smiled  at 
sight  of  the  French  uniforms  of  our  offi- 
cers. She  lived  on  a  farm  a  mile  away. 
The  Germans  had  passed  in  the  night 
and  burned  it  so  that  she  had  come  to 
Porquericourt  to  hide  in  the  cellar  of  a 
friend.  .Her  husband  and  brother,  both 
old  men,  had  been  killed  by  the  Germans 
during  the  retreat,  her  two  sons  led  off 
to  slavery  the  year  before.  One  of  them 
had  come  back,  but  had  been  seized  again 
only  a  few  weeks  before. 

Her  three  daughters  had  been  with  her 
at  the  farm  the  night  that  the  Germans 
retreated.  They  had  fled  with  her  to  the 
house  of  her  friend,  from  where  they  saw 
their  own  home  of  a  lifetime  in  flames. 
The  girls  were  19,  21,  and  24  years  old. 
The  Germans  had  found  them  in  Por- 
quericourt and  had  taken  them  away. 
That  was  eight  days  before.  She  had 
heard  nothing  of  them  since.  All  other 
young  women  had  likewise  vanished  that 
night  when  the  Germans  went  away. 

She  told  her  story  simply  in  a  low, 
unfaltering  voice.  But  she  suddered  as 
she  spoke  of  her  daughters. 

Cemetery  Left  Intact 

We  left  just  at  nightfall.  On  the  out- 
skirts we  came  upon  the  only  thing  I  can 
now  remember  in  all  that  scene  on  all 
that  day  which  the  Germans  did  not  de- 
stroy as  they  fled.  It  was  a  cemetery 
built  by  themselves  for  their  soldier  dead. 
It  was  magnificently  made,  upon  a  mag- 
nificent site,  overlooking  a  great  valley. 
The  graveyards  I  have  seen  behind  the 


326 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


allied  lines  cannot  compare  with  it.  In- 
stead of  wooden  crosses  and  ^painted 
names  and  dates  it  contained  monuments 
and  crosses  of  engraved  marble,  done  in 
all  the  heavy  but  splendid  style  of  mod- 
ern Teuton  art.  The  place  was  organized 
and  carried  out  with  all  the  perfection 
of  detail  and  display  in  which  Germany 
has  proved  herself.  The  monuments  bore 
sonorous  and  lofty  mottoes.  On  one,  be- 
neath a  helmeted  statue  in  white,  was 
the  inscription  that  there  lay  a  Prince  of 
the  house  of  Mecklenburg,  who  had  died 
for  his  country,  and  on  either  side,  like- 
wise marble,  rested  all  that  was  mortal 
of  simple  German  soldiers. 

I  walked  down  another  path,  and  be- 
fore a  gigantic  marble  block  I  halted  in 
surprise.  The  inscription  read :  "  Here 
lie  French  warriors,"  and  over  the  next 
grave  was  the  inscription:  "Here  rests 
the  body  of  a  brave  Frenchman."  I  asked 
myself  what  was  I  to  think  of  these 
people  who  should  show  such  respect  to 
French  dead  and  place  them  in  the  same 
place  as  their  own.  I  knew  the  French 
did  that  in  their  graveyards,  but  here  I 
was  in  a  German  graveyard,  and  I  had 
been  hating  Germans  all  day.  I  had 
failed  to  find  anything  about  them  that 
was  good  or  could  be  admired,  but  here 
in  this  graveyard,  perhaps,  after  all  I 
had  found  some  of  that  spirit  of  Heine, 
Goethe,  and  Schiller. 

I  voiced  my  thought  to  a  French  Lieu- 
tenant who  accompanied  me.     We  were 


standing  by  a  large  monument  in  the 
centre  of  the  graveyard.  It  was  a  noble 
figure  of  a  woman  in  a  long  robe.  In 
one  hand  she  carried  a  tablet,  and  from 
the  other  stretched  out  a  wreath.  I  read 
the  inscription  on  the  tablet:  "  Friend 
and  enemy  in  death  united." 

Silently  we  walked  out  of  the  place  and 
stood  in  the  road.  A  long  line  of  motor 
camions  was  passing.  I  looked  into  the 
rear  ends  as  they  lumbered  along.  From 
them  the  faces  of  old  women,  crippled 
old  men,  and  children  peered  out  at  us, 
all  looking  white  and  frightened  in  the 
dark.  A  miserable  pile  of  bedding  and  a 
hamper  of  broken  crockery  and  kitchen- 
ware  was  strapped  outside  one  of  them. 
From  another  dangled  an  old  and  broken 
baby  buggy.  Inside  I  could  see  a  mother 
with  her  child  at  her  breast.  My  com- 
panion said: 

"  They  are  inhabitants  who  can  no 
longer  remain;  their  homes  are  gone.  We 
cannot  feed  them  there;  we  are  sending 
them  to  Paris." 

He  laughed  bitterly  and  pointed  back 
to  the  statue  that  loomed  white  through 
the  darkness.  He  repeated  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  tablet: 

"  Friend  and  enemy  in  death  united." 
He  said:  "  They  had  the  nerve  to  put 
that  up  in  France — but  it's  quite  true." 

I  understood  and  I  believed  him.  In 
death  the  Frenchman  and  the  German 
may  be  united,  but  that  is  the  only  way 
it  is  ever  likely  to  happen. 


Military  Results  of  Germany's  Move 


GENERAL  VON  HINDENBURG  was 
present  in  person  behind  the  old 
front  in  France  as  late  as  March 
10  and  arranged  the  details  for  the  with- 
drawal to  the  new  line  of  fortified  de- 
fenses, which  had  been  in  preparation  for 
months.  The  orders  for  devastation  of 
the  abandoned  territory  came  through 
him.  Judged  purely  from  the  viewpoint 
of  military  strategy,  what  are  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  new  situation  for  Ger- 
many? 

The  plans  and  preliminary  stages  of 
the    retirement    were    successfully    con- 


cealed from  the  Allies  for  days  and 
weeks,  so  that  all  the  heavy  guns  were 
removed  safely  to  their  new  posi- 
tions and  all  the  main  bodies  of 
troops  and  their  supplies  were  out  of 
danger  when  the  move  became  known. 
The  Germans,  however,  miscalculated  as 
to  the  speed  with  which  the  enemy  would 
be  able  to  pursue  the  rearguards.  The 
fact  that  they  left  five  days'  food  with 
some  of  the  inhabitants  seems  to  give  a 
measure  of  the  time  they  had  allowed 
for  the  arrival  of  French  or  British 
troops  through  the  chaos  they  had  ere- 


GERMAN  VANDALISM  DURING  THE  RETREAT  IN  FRANCE      327 


ated.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  French, 
especially,  performed  marvels  of  swift 
engineering  work,  throwing  temporary- 
bridges  over  streams,  building  pathways 
around  deep  craters  at  crossroads,  and 
deflecting  their  march  through  fields 
where  necessary,  almost  with  the  speed 
of  an  ordinary  march.  Time  after  time 
they  came  upon  the  heels  of  the  German 
rearguards  before  they  were  expected. 
Thus  the  military  purpose  of  the  desola- 
tion was  a  failure. 

What  the  Germans  Abandoned 
All  those  who  have  looked  upon  the 
impregnable  positions  abandoned  by  the 
Germans,  especially  at  Peronne,  with 
Mont  St.  Quentin  on  its  flank,  agree  that 
no  new  line  can  equal  it  in  strength. 
Only  dire  necessity  could  have  caused  the 
evacuation  of  the  vast  barbed  wire  forti- 
fications and  marsh  protection  at  that 
point.  A  British  correspondent  thus  de- 
scribes the  abandoned  defenses: 

"Everywhere  outside  Bapaume  and 
Peronne  and  Chaulnes  and  all  those  de- 
serted places  near  the  front  lines  one 
ugly  thing  stares  one  in  the  face — Ger- 
man barbed  wire.  It  is  heavier  and 
stronger  stuff  than  the  British  or  French 
wire,  with  great  crosspieces  of  iron. 
They  used  amazing  quantities  of  it  in 
great  wide  belts  in  the  three  lines  of  de- 
fense before  these  trench  systems  and  in 
all  sorts  of  odd  places,  by  bridges  and 
roads  and  villages,  even  far  behind  the 
trenches,  to  prevent  any  sudden  rush  of 
hostile  infantry  or  to  tear  British  cavalry 
to  pieces  should  they  break  their  lines 
and  get  through. 

"  The  German  trenches  are  deeply  dug, 
and  along  the  whole  line  from  which  they 
have  now  retreated  they  are  provided 
with  great  concreted  and  timbered  dug- 
outs leading  into  an  elaborate  system  of 
tunneled  galleries,  perfectly  proof  from 
shell  fire,  and  similar  to  those  which  I 


described  often  enough  in  the  Somme  bat- 
tlefields. But  in  addition  to  these  trench 
systems,  they  made  behind  their  lines  a 
series  of  strong  posts,  cunningly  con- 
cealed and  commanding  a  wide  field  of 
fire,  with  dominating  observation  over 
the  British  side  of  the  country." 

The  Hindenburg  Line 

A  high  military  official  at  Berlin  ex- 
plained on  March  20  that  the  new  posi- 
tions which  the  German  Army  was  tak- 
ing up  were  buift  with  the  aid  of  every 
possible  device  developed  in  two  and  a 
half  years  of  trench  Warfare. 

"  The  old  positions,"  he  said,  "  were  the 
result  of  the  breaking  off  of  the  unfin- 
ished offensive  toward  Paris.  Many  por- 
tions of  our  positions  were  held  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty.  The  trenches 
were  difficult  to  maintain  and  the  artil- 
lery observation  points,  so  important 
in  this  kind  of  warfare,  were  few.  The 
new  positions  are  laid  out  in  the  best 
possible  locations,  with  the  finest  obser- 
vation points  and  deep  concrete  shelters 
for  the  battery  positions.  While  the  ene- 
my is  coming  up  to  them  he  will  be  in 
the  greatest  possible  difficulties  himself 
in  the  devastated  battlefield." 

To  this  a  British  correspondent,  who 
has  talked  with  German  prisoners,  replies 
that  the  people  may  be  deceived  by  such 
statements,  but  not  the  German  soldiers 
at  the  front.  "  They  know  they  have  left 
the  strongest  positions  ever  made  in  war- 
fare by  years  of  labor,  and  already  the 
fictitious  strength  of  the  famous  '  Hin- 
denburg line/  called  by  the  Germans 
themselves  the  *  Siegfried  line/  has  been 
exposed  in  its  reality  to  the  men  who 
have  to  hold  it." 

The  new  German  line  has  already  been 
pierced  at  several  points  by  both  the  Brit- 
ish and  French  Armies  in  the  first  month 
of  its  fiery  ordeal. 


fflt!!K 

111111111111111111 

French  Heroes  of  the  Air 

Daring  Deeds  at  the  Front 

Victor   Forbin    recently    contributed    to    Les   Annales    of   Paris   this    romantic    yet   authentic 

sketch  of  the  deeds  of  French  military  aviators 

[Translated  for  Current  History  Magazine] 

Mastery  of  the  air  over  the  trench  lines  in  France  is>  as  necessary  for  victory  as  the 
capture  of  territory.  During  the  months  of  the  Somme  battle  the  Allies  succeeded  in  gaining 
almost  complete  control  of  the  air,  and  their  artillery  fire  was  correspondingly  successful, 
while  that  of  the  Germans  was  blinded.  The  Germans,  however,  reported  the  destruction  of 
1,002  enemy  aircraft  between  the  beginning  of  the  war  and  Jan.  1,  1917.  French  military 
records  show  that  417  German  machines  were  shot  down  in  the  year  1916,  besides  twenty-nine 
captive  balloons.  All  figures  aside,  the  fact  remains  that  the  Allies  have  long  held  a  large 
degree  of  aerial  supremacy,  and  in  the  opening  days  of  the  new  Spring  offensive,  when  their 
whole  air  fleet  was  mobilized  to  photograph  the  German  positions,  they  came  off  with  1,700 
photographs.  It  was.  a  victory,  even  though  it  cost  from  a  dozen  to  a  score  of  airplanes 
and  their  brave  crews^every  day  until  the  task  was  accomplished.  The  article  here  presented 
gives  an  idea  of  the  perilous  nature  of  the  task  of  these  men. 


THIS    hasty    sketch   will    deal    only 
with  the  aviators  who  have  won 
the    honor    of    personal    mention 
in  the  War  Office  bulletins.      It 
would  be  impossible  to  speak  of  all  our 


LIEUTENANT    GUYNEMER 

WHO  HAS   SHOT  DOWN   MORE   THAN  THIRTY 

GERMAN    AIRCRAFT 

(©  International  Film  Service) 

heroes  of  the  air,  both  because  they  are 
too .  numerous  and  because  the  censor 
would  forbid  our  printing  most  of  their 
names.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
press  is  allowed  to  print  only  the  names 


of  those  aviators  who  have  shot  down 
a  minimun  of  five  enemy  machines — 
airplanes,  dirigibles,  or  captive  ballons, 
[which  the  Germans  call  Drachen  and 
the  French  sausages.]  In  the  ranks  of 
our  "  fifth  arm  "  these  laureates  form  a 
clearly  defined  group — they  are  called 
the  "Aces  of  the  War  Office. bulletins." 

Philologists  will  be  grateful  to  us  for 
noting  that  this  expressive  word  had 
been  adopted  by  the  sporting  argot  even 
before  the  war.  In  the  boat-racing 
world  the  word  "  ace "  was  applied  to 
oarsmen  who  pulled  single  shells.  Ac- 
cording to  our  esteemed  contemporary, 
Sporting,  it  was  during  the  Olympic 
games  of  1908,  held  in  London,  that  the 
term  was  applied  for  the  first  time  in 
its  present  sense.  M.  Spitzer,  who  took 
part  in*these  tournaments  as  trainer  of 
a  team,  heard  French  runners  cry,  as 
they  left  the  field  where  the  American 
champions  had  just  stupefied  them  with  , 
their  swiftness,  "  Why,  they're  all  aces !  " 

The   team   that  counted   such   trumps 
among  its  cards  was  bound  to  win.    And 
the  word  found  favor.    In  all  sports  the     k 
champions  became  "  aces." 

It  is  indispensable  to  note  that  the 
official  communique  takes  account  only 
of  enemy  machines  whose  destruction  is 
beyond  question,  whether  they  fall  within 
our  lines  or  have  been  seen  to  fall  in 
flames  within  the  enemy's  lines.  Our 
score  sheets,  therefore,  are  sincere,  while 


FRENCH  HEROES  OF  THE  AIR 


329 


those  of  Germany  are  erroneous.  To 
illustrate  this  difference  we  will  compare 
the  record  of  our  "  Prince  of  aces,"  Lieu- 
tenant George  Guynemer,  with  that  of 
the  most  brilliant  of  the  German  avia- 
tors, Captain  Boelcke,  who  was  killed  on 
Oct.  28,  1916,  probably  by  a  French  or 
British  aviator,  although  his  compatriots, 
who  had  dubbed  him  "  The  Invincible," 
assert  that  he  was  the  victim  of  an 
accident. 

The  communique  credits  Guynemer  (in 
February,  1917)  with  the  destruction  of 
only  thirty  machines,  though  he  has  cer- 
tainly shot  down  thirty-four,  of  which 
four  fell  so  far  from  our  lines  that  it 
was  impossible  to  get  material  proof  of 
their  destruction.  If  it  were  permissible 
to  add  to  these  figures  those  of  enemy 
machines  which  he  put  to  flight  after 
having  visibly  damaged  them,  the  record 
of  Guynemer  would  exceed  forty. 

Rival  Records  Compared 

Boelcke  is  officially  credited  with  forty 
machines,  but  the  editor  of  La  Guerre 
Aerienne,  Jacques  Mortane,  has  revealed 
several  gross  errors  in  the  record  of  the 
celebrated  aviator.  For  example,  the 
German  official  communication  of  April 
30,  1916,  gives  him  his  fortieth  machine, 
whereas  the  pilot  who  steered  it — the 
marshal  of  the  camp,  Viallet — returned 
safe  and  sound  to  his  aerodrome.  On 
March  19  and  20  of  that  year  the  German 
War  Office  bulletins  credited  Boelcke  with 
three  machines,  designating  the  points  in 
the  French  lines  where  they  fell.  Now, 
a  French  communique  states  clearly  that 
in  the  course  of  that  same  month  of 
March  only  one  French  airplane  was 
shot  down  within  our  lines.  Another  fact 
must  not  be  forgotten:  Among  the  forty 
victories  attributed  officially  to  Boelcke 
eleven  have  not  been  mentioned  in  any 
bulletin.  They  are  therefore  open  to  sus- 
picion. 

At  the  moment  of  writing  this  article 
the  "  Aces  of  the  War  Office  bulletins  P 
number  twenty-five,  a  figure  which  the 
coming  days  will  modify,  for  there  are 
numerous  aviators  with  four  victories  to 
their  credit  who  are  watching  impatient- 
ly for  their  fifth  machine,  a  certificate 


of  public  fame.     Here  is  the  list  of  the 
laureates  up  to  Feb.  5,  1917: 

Second  Lieutenant  Guynemer,  30 
machines;  Second  Lieutenant  Nunges- 
ser,  21;  Lieutenant  Heurteaux,  19; 
Adjutant  Dorme,  17;  Second  Lieutenant 
Navarre,  12;  Lieutenant  Deullin,  10; 
Sergeant  Chainat,  9;  Second  Lieutenants 
Chaput,  Tarascon,  Under  Officer  Sau- 
vage,  8;  Under  Officer  Viallet,  7;  de  la 
Tour,  Lufbery,  Sayaret,  Flachaire, 
Jailler,  Loste,  de  Bonnefoy,  Bloch,  Vi- 
talis,  Martin,  Delorme,  Gastin,  Hauss, 
Madon,   5. 

This  list  includes  only  the  "  aces " 
who  are  living  and  in  active  service.  We 
will  complete  it  with  the  names  of  Ad- 
jutant Maxime  Lenoir,  who  was  made 
prisoner  when  he  shot  down  his  eleventh 
machine;  Second  Lieutenant  de  Roche- 
.fort,  who  died  of  wounds  after  bringing 
down  his  sixth  enemy;  the  deeply 
mourned  Pegoud,  who  died  on  the  field 
of  honor  after  his  sixth  airplane;  and 
Second  Lieutenant  Gilbert,  who  had 
scored  five  aerial  victories  when  he  was 
interned  in  Switzerland. 

A  comparison  of  this  list  with  that  of 
the  German  "  aces "  leads  to  some  in- 
teresting observations.  For  example, 
one  of  the  Germans,  Kandulski,  received 
the  honor  of  mention  by  the  War  Office 
for  one  isolated  victory.  True,  it  was 
one  of  importance;  the  victim  was 
Pegoud,  whom  Sergeant  Ronserail 
avenged  a  few  days  later  by  bringing 
down  Kandulski.  Of  the  sixteen  Ger- 
man aviators  cited  in  the  Berlin  bulle- 
tins nine  were  killed  in  the  year  1916, 
while  the  French  phalanx  lost  only  three 
units  in  that  year. 

Laureates  of  the  Air 

Space  is  lacking  here  to  sketch  the 
biographies  of  our  francs-tireurs  of  the 
air,  but  a  few  lines  may  be  given  to 
note  their  status  before  the  war.  Of 
the  twenty-five  names  on  the  list  just 
given,  the  great  majority  were  unknown, 
even  in  the  sporting  world,  during  the 
first  ten  months  of  the  war.  A  few 
exceptions  may  be  cited  from  memory: 
Second  Lieutenant  Jean  Chaput  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  races  of  the 
Racing  Club  of  France;   Camp  Marshal 


330 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Vitalis  was  a  champion  in  pigeon-shoot- 
ing contests;  Second  Lieutenant  Nunges- 
ser  had  participated  in  boxing  matches 
in  America,  after  having  taken  lessons 
of  Descamps,  the  instructor  of  Carpen- 
tier. 

Sporting  men  are  numerous  in  the 
phalanx  of  "  aces."  To  the  three  names 
just  mentioned  we  may  add  those  of 
Adjutant  Bloch,  amateur  football  player; 
Sergeant  Chainat,  noted  as  a  pugilist, 
and  Adjutant  Lufbery,  an  American  ex- 
pert in  baseball,  the  national  sport  of 
his    country. 

All  the  arms  —  infantry,  cavalry, 
artillery — Have  representatives  on  our 
list,  and  men  of  the  most  diverse  social 
classes  fraternize  there — professional 
army  officers,  civil  engineers,  mechani- 
cians. The  standing  of  those  laureates 
of  the  air  is  dazzling;  they  have  heroism 
and  glory  by  the  armful.  Let  us  glance, 
to  begin  with,  at  the  laurels  of  the  "  ace 
of  aces,"  Guynemer,  whom  the  councils 
of  revision  had  removed  from  the  army, 
and  who  had  to  ask  five  separate  times 
for  admission  into  the  aviation  corps — 
and  was  admitted  then  only  through 
official  protection.  To  baptize  his 
stripes  as  a  Corporal  he  shot  down  his 
first  German  airplane  on  July  19,  1915, 
destroyed  two  others  in  the  next  six 
days,  and  then  in  a  single  battle  sent 
three  enemy  machines  crashing  to  earth! 

Guynemer  has  to  his  credit  whole 
series  of  deeds  that  are  epoch-making. 
In  three  weeks — from  the  4th  to  the  23d 
of  September,  1916 — he  added  to  his 
score  seven  machines,  four  of  which 
figured  in  the  official  announcements. 
Indeed,  Sept.  23  was  a  red-letter  day  in 
his  eventful  life,  for  on  that  day  he 
attacked  a  squadron  of  enemy  aircraft, 
drove  one  machine  to  earth,  and  set  two 
others  on  fire  in  less  than  three  min- 
utes. Then  a  bursting  shell  damaged 
his  machine,  and  he  took  a  slide  of 
10,000  feet  without  receiving  a  scratch! 

Two  months  later  he  added  two  fine 
double  feats  to  his  score.  On  Nov.  10 
he  shot  down  two  aircraft;  on  the  23d, 
in  an  hour  and  a  half,  he  found  time  to 
destroy  two  others  at  different  points 
on  the  front,  and  to  inflict  serious 
damage  upon  a  third. 


Nungesser's  Dramatic  Record 

The  career  of  Nungesser  is  no  less 
remarkable.  Serving  in  a  regiment  of 
hussars,  he  conducted  himself  so  val- 
iantly that  he  won  the  Military  Medal 
two  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the 
campaign.  Then  he  entered  the  avia- 
tion corps  and  took  part  in  numerous 
bombing  expeditions.  Finally  he  spe- 
cialized in  the  pursuit  of  enemy  ma- 
chines, and  on  Nov.  28,  1915,  made  a 
brilliant  debut  by  bringing  down  a  Ger- 
man airplane.  The  next  month,  while 
trying  a  new  machine,  he  came  crashing 
to  the  ground;  with  a  fractured  leg,  a 
broken  jaw,  and  a  hole  in  his  palate,  he 
could  say  good-bye  to  aviation,  if  he  sur- 
vived at  all.  But  he  did  survive,  refused 
to  be  laid  on  the  shelf,  and  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  take  part  in  the  defense 
of  Verdun.  He  could  no  longer  walk, 
except  painfully,  with  the  aid  of  canes. 
Now  mark  the  intrepid  work  of  the 
cripple!  Think  of  his  achievements  in 
April,  1916.  What  a  fine  lesson  in 
energy   and    endurance! 

On  April  1  Nungesser  rejoined  his 
squadron;  on  the  2d  he  burned  a  German 
"  sausage  ";  on  the  3d  he  attacked  and 
brought  down  an  airplane;  on  the  4th 
he  attacked  and  shot  down  a  double- 
motor  machine  with  four  passengers;  on 
the  25th  he  brought  down  a  machine 
that  fell  on  the  trenches  near  Verdun; 
on  the  27th  he  accepted  battle  with  six 
airplanes,  shot  down  one  of  them,  and 
put  the  others  to  flight. 

In  nine  months — from  April  to  De- 
cember, 1916 — he  destroyed  twenty 
enemy  aircraft,  which  brought  his  total 
score  of  victories  to  twenty-one. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  careers  in 
the  world  of  military  aviation  is  that 
of  Adjutant  Dorme,  whose  comrades  call 
him  the  Unbreakable,  so  impervious 
does  he  seem  to  the  enemy's  bullets. 
He  began,  however,  with  a  fall  that 
almost  cost  him  his  life.  But  he  re- 
covered and  arrived  at  the  front  on  July 
6,  1916.  On  the  9th  he  shot  down  his 
first  airplane,  and  his  second  on  the 
28th.  In  the  following  month  he  de- 
stroyed six  and  received  the  honors  of 
public  mention.     By  the  end  of  Septem- 


FRENCH  HEROES  OF  THE  AIR 


331 


ber  his  official  score  had  reached  ten, 
and  in  October  thirteen.  But  in  reality- 
he  had,  in  those  four  months,  put 
twenty-six  enemy  aircraft  out  of  action. 
Sub-Lieutenant  Navarre,  with  his  four 
aircraft  brought  down  in  eight  hours, 
(April  4,  1916,)  established  a  record 
which  no  one  has  thus  far  taken  away 
from  him.  During  that  same  month  of 
April  his  record  was  increased  by  eight 
more   official   victories. 

Chaput1  s  Amazing  Escape 

Another  record,  less  brilliant,  perhaps, 
but  certainly  more  sensational,  and  at 
the  same  time  more  scientific,  belongs 
to  Second  Lieutenant  Jean  Chaput.  As 
an  engineer  in  the  Ecole  Superieure 
d'Electricite,  Chaput  had  just  won  his 
brevet  as  pilot  at  Nieuport  when  the 
war  broke  out.  Thrown  into  aviation 
as  a  soldier-pilot,  he  was  twice  wounded 
in  combats  with  the  dreaded  Fokkers,  but 
soon  got  his  revenge  by  shooting  down 
his  first  Boche  in  June,  1915.  Other 
vitcories  succeeded  this  beginning.  On 
March  18,  1916,  above  Montzeville,  he 
joined  battle  with  a  machine  much 
better  armed  and  more  powerful  than 
his  own.  Suddenly,  after  an  exchange 
of  shots,  the  German  dashed  down  upon 
him  in  order  to  crush  him. 

We  learn  from  a  friend  of  the  aviator 
that  a  few  days  earlier,  in  talking  with 
comrades,  he  had  foreseen  the  case  in 
which  he  might  be  forced  to  approach 
an  enemy  in  order  to  "  get  inside  of 
him,"  as  the  familiar  phrase  has  it. 
He  had  declared  that  he  would  escape 
alive  from  such  a  dangerous  approach. 
He  had  his  plan.  This  plan,  elaborated 
by  the  engineer,  was  put  into  practice 
by  the  aviator. 

Putting  his  motor  at  full  speed,  Chaput 
threw  himself  into  the  meeting  with  the 
German,  and  then,  at  the  moment  of 
approach,  moved  his  levers  and  manoeu- 
vred his  machine  in  such  a  manner  that 
his  screw  tore  into  the  enemy's  fuselage, 
cutting  off  the  rear  end.  The  German 
pilot  fell  whirling  with  his  machine, 
which  burst  into  flame,  while  his  pas- 
senger went  crashing  into  the  ground 
nearly  two  miles  below.  The  conqueror 
got  back  to  earth  by  Volplaning  on  his 


seriously  damaged  machine,  and  landed 
without  injury,  amid  the  cheers  of  hun- 
dreds of  poilus  who  had  witnessed  his 
dazzling   achievement. 

The  next  month  Chaput  was  attacked 
by  a  Fokker  and  brought  it  down  with 
the  fourth  ball  from  his  machine  gun, 
whose  bands  jammed  at  that  point.  He 
burned  a  "  sausage "  at  Douaumont, 
and  then,  in  the  space  of  five  days,  added 
four  airplanes  (two  in  the  same  day) 
to  his  score.  He  had  just  finished  off 
his  ninth  official  machine  when  a  fight 
near  Verdun  almost  put  an  end  to  his 
career.  With  his  thigh  fractured  and  a 
bullet  through  his  shoulder,  he  yet  had 
the  superhuman  courage  to  fly  more 
than  twenty-five  miles  in  order  to 
alight  near  an  ambulance,  where  he 
knew  he  would  find  a  skilled  surgeon. 

This  sang  froid,  remarkable  in  a  young 
man  of  22  years  grievously  wounded,  had 
its  reward;  a  very  rapid  recovery  soon 
enabled  him  to  see  the  day  when  he  could 
again  fall  upon  the  Boches. 

Another   Stirring   Episode 

We  are  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  give  a 
few  lines  to  each  of  our  "  aces " — to 
Adjutant  Tarascon  who,  in  spite  of  his 
artificial  foot,  has  become  one  of  the 
most  dreaded  chasers  of  the  Boches;  to 
Sergeant  Sauvage,  whose  nineteen  years 
have  won  him  the  sobriquet  of  the  "  Ben- 
jamin of  the  Aces  ";  to  Adjutant  Lufbery, 
the  former  chauffeur  and  American  cit- 
izen who  has  carved  a  place  for  himself 
among  the  "  aces  "  of  France.  But  we 
may  be  allowed  to  close  this  too  long 
article  with  a  final  anecdote. 

A  marshal  of  the  aviation  camp, 
Georges  Flachaire,  an  electric  engineer 
like  Jean  Chaput,  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
cent recruits  to  the  glorious  phalanx — 
his  sixth  enemy  machine  dates  from  Nov. 
23  last.  His  comrades  consider  him  a 
fine  pilot.  With  Chaput  he  represents 
the  scientific  type  of  aviator. 

Defying  bad  weather,  one  day  he  de- 
parted on  the  chase,  hiding  himself  in  a 
sea  of  clouds  to  foil  the  vigilant  scouts 
of  the  enemy,  and  emerged  after  an  hour 
of  flight  to  inspect  the  horizon.  *  *  * 
(Censored)     *     *     *     When  he  came  out 


332 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


of  it  he  perceived  a  peaceful  village, 
and,  convinced  that  he  was  over  our  lines, 
chose  a  meadow  for  his  landing  place. 
Maledictions!  He  discovers  suddenly  that 
he  is  in  a  cantonment  of  German  artil- 
lery. Amid  a  volley  of  musketry  he 
resumes  his  flight,  foils  the  German  gun- 
ners by  executing  those  unforeseen  pirou- 
ettes that  are, familiar  to  the  scientific 
acrobat,  takes  refuge  in  the  clouds  amid 
a  storm  of  shrapnel  shells,  and,  after  a 
flight  by  compass,  rejoins  his  squadron. 

Told   by   a   French   Artist 

Henry  Farre,  the  French  "  painter  of 
aviators,"  in  addition  to  making  wonder- 
ful pictures  of  battles  in  the  clouds,  can 
tell  good  stories  in  connection  with  them. 
Les  Annales  prints  the  following  account 
of  a  night  bombardment,  which  M.  Farre 
gathered  from  the  heroes  themselves, 
"  Sergeant  G.  and  Lieutenant  de  L.,"  who 
accomplished  this  perilous  circuit.  He 
puts  the  narrative  into  the  mouth  of  the 
Lieutenant: 

"  Once  outside  the  environs  of  Verdun, 
the  departure  was  made  in  a  normal  way. 
The  objective  of  our  bombardment  was 
at  a  considerable  distance  behind  the 
lines.  Ceaseless  attacks  were  trans- 
forming the  ground  into  one  vast  brazier. 
Verdun  was  burning.  The  smoke  ob- 
scured the  sky  with  great  clouds,  amid 
which  the  moon  seemed  to  be  playing 
hide-and-seek,  too  often  hiding  from  our 
view  the  meanderings  of  the  Meuse, 
which  served  as  our  guide.  Nothing 
was  lacking  for  our  reception;  every- 
thing was  offered  us  in  profusion — 
searchlights,  shells,  and  incendiary 
bombs. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this  cannonade  our 
motor  stops,  then  goes  on,  then  stops 
again,  and  goes  on  more  freely.  I  peer, 
I  grope,  for  we  dare  not  think  of  light- 
ing our  lamps,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
learn  what  is  the  matter  with  the  motor. 
The  pilot  turns  and  questions  me.  '  Ah, 
worse  luck!'  I  shout;  'we  must  throw 
our  bombs  first,  and  then  we'll  turn 
back/  The  machine  was  sinking  with 
the  diminishing  speed  of  the  motor. 
*  Certainly,'  I  was  saying  to  myself, 
without    thinking    of    the    danger,    '  the 


bombardment  will  be  all  the  more  effec- 
tive at  close  range.' 

"  We  were  at  an  elevation  of  800 
meters;  the  shells  were  bursting  far 
above  us,  and  the  searchlights  were 
seeking  us  still  higher  up.  At  last  our 
bombs  fall  and  we  veer  for  the  home- 
ward course.  Oh,  anguish!  Is  the 
motor  going  to  fail  us  completely?  No; 
it  is  going  again.  We  are  thirty  miles 
from  Verdun;  at  this  altitude  we  could 
never  get  there  by  planing.  The  pilot 
makes  desperate  efforts  to  keep  the 
machine  horizontal  and  thus  prolong  the 
descent. 

"A  ray  of  hope!  The  motor  seems 
to  have  more  force.  I  consult  the  alti- 
meter; we  are  at  1,000  meters.  Around 
us  the  shells  accompany  us,  but  we  pay 
no  attention  to  them,  for  we  prefer  any- 
thing rather  than  K.  K.  bread  in  a 
German  prison.  We  are  ascending  a 
little.  God  be  praised!  We  shall  ar- 
rive, we  are  up  1,200  meters;  but  it  is 
the  maximum.  I  am  beginning  to  wear 
out;  my  efforts  are  less  and  less  effec- 
tive; we  are  descending  again. 

"  Verdun,  which  we  see  always  in 
flames,  is  still  far  distant.  We  fall 
swiftly  to  800  meters,  then  600.  We  are 
doomed — it  is  K.  K.  bread  this  time  with- 
out a  doubt — we  are  right  over  the  Boche 
lines — we  distinctly  hear  the  tac-tac  of 
the  machine  guns  and  the  irregular  re- 
ports of  the  rifles.  Shall  we  reach  our 
lines?  The  altimeter  shows  400.  Verdun 
is  now  about  three  miles  away. 

"  '  Courage !'  I  cry  to  the  pilot.  ■  We 
can  get  back;  in  any  event,  if  we  die,  it 
will  be  among  our  own  people.  See — the 
flames  of  Verdun!  If  only  we  can  glide 
as  far  as  that!  ' 

"  We  land  at  last,  the  motor,  mean- 
while, having  stopped  entirely.  We  have 
come  down  on  the  auxiliary  ground,  with 
the  two  front  wheels  dished,  a  few  guy 
wires  wrenched,  and  a  few  cracks  in  the 
machine.  That  is  all  the  harm  done, 
while  we,  in  each  other's  arms,  let  the 
German  sheels  fall  unheeded  around  us. 

"  •  We've  had  a  mighty  close  view  of 
K.  K.  bread,'  I  remark;  'come,  let  us 
telephone  our  friends;  they  must  be  wor- 
ried.' " 


■  •*••••*•>•  ■>••■>■• 


PRINCE   GEORGE    E.   LVOFF 


Premier  of  the  Russian  Provisional  Government,  and  a 
Leader  in  the  Revolution  That  Overthrew  the  Romanoffs 

(Central  New*  Service) 


Russian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Whose  Speeches  in 
the  Duma  Precipitated  the  Revolution 

(©    Underwood    d    Underwood) 


■  ■■■■■■■■•■a  ■»■ 


_J 


The  Zeppelin  Raids  and  Their 
Effect  On  England 

By   Charles  Stienon 

French  Author  and  Publicist 
[By  arrangement  with  the  Revue  Bleue,  Paris;  translated  for  Current  History  Magazine.] 


ON  the  fast  express  to  Spain  I  re- 
cently met  an  Englishman  of 
rank.  In  the  course  of  conver- 
sation we  came  to  discuss  the 
frequent  Zeppelin  raids  on  England.  I 
asked  him  what  effect  they  would  have 
on  the  people  of .  Great  Britain.  "  Oh, 
excellent!  They  arouse  such  anger  that 
the  enlistments  increase  by  leaps  and 
bounds  on  the  days  following."  Our 
adversaries  have  committed  few  psycho- 
logical errors  comparable  to  this  one, 
which  promises  to  furnish  a  curious 
problem  for  the  historians  of  the  great 
war. 

It  is  important  to  note  at  the  outset 
that  the  Zeppelins  were  created  to  wage 
war — and  that  they  have  not  done  it. 
The  military  use  of  the  enemy  dirigibles 
has  been  almost  nil.  In  August,  1914, 
these  airships  were  far  from  the  per- 
fection which  they  have  since  attained. 
One  can  scarcely  place  to  their  credit 
any  real  military  service  except  the 
bombardment  of  Antwerp.  Since  that 
moment  they  have  never  accomplished  a 
more  difficult  exploit  nor  rendered  a 
more  valuable  service  to  the  German 
cause.  Is  this  owing  to  their  vulner- 
able nature,  and  to  the  effective  guard 
of  swift  airplanes  and  anti-aircraft 
guns  on  our  front?  Probably.  The 
German  General  Staff  has  always  seen 
the  deception  which  the  non-utilization 
of  these  national  monsters  would  pro- 
duce in  Germany.  For  the  people  of 
the  belligerent  nations  see  the  war  only 
on  its  external  side.  "  Tanks,"  420's, 
trains  with  blind  windows,  will  stimu- 
late their  imagination  on  the  romantic 
side  more  than  many  another  element 
with  a  less  extraordinary  outer  aspect 
but  greater  real  importance. 

From  that  moment  our  enemies  con- 


ceived the  idea  of  using  their  Zeppelins 
for  a  "  moral  "  purpose — and  one  less 
dangerous.  It  was,  however,  to  an  air- 
plane that  the  honor  was  given  of  at- 
tacking Dover  on  Christmas  Day,  1914, 
a  raid  without  success.  On  that  occasion 
our  allies  were  able  to  realize  the  mani- 
fest insufficiency  of  their  anti-aircraft 
defenses.  Almost  everywhere  they  had 
installed  special  guns  whose  mediocrity 
became  evident. 

First  Zeppelin  Raid 

Three  weeks  afterward,  on  Jan.  19, 
1915,  Zeppelins  for  the  first  time  flew 
over  the  soil  of  the  British  Isles.  At 
Yarmouth  they  threw  nine  bombs,  killing 
only  nine  persons.  This  raid,  which  could 
have  no  military  aim,  provoked  a  just 
indignation.  In  the  United  States  a 
prominent  newspaper  asked  whether  it 
was  "  insanity  or  despair."  At  that  time 
Germany  had  not  yet  generalized  its 
system  of  terrorism.  The  effect  in  Eng- 
land was  great.  This  first  raid  produced 
an  immediate  increase  in  voluntary  re- 
cruiting. On  Feb.  21  an  airplane  flew 
over  Colchester,  destroying  a  few  houses, 
but  without  injuring  anybody.  At  Brain- 
tree  two  soldiers  found  an  unexploded 
bomb  on  the  ground  and,  though  the  fuse 
was  burning,  they  picked  it  up  and  threw 
it  into  a  pond. 

On  April  14  a  raid  on  the  northeast 
coast,  with  no  victims.  Two  days  later 
an  airplane  threw  bombs  on  the  fields 
of  Kent.  It  killed  a  crow  and  uprooted 
an  apple  tree.  On  April  30  and  May 
3  and  10  new  incursions,  absolutely  in- 
effective. A  curious  fact,  however,  was 
observed.  The  siren  sounded  to  warn  the 
inhabitants  actually  attracted  the  enemy 
aircraft. 

Meanwhile  our  adversaries  did  not  con- 


334 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ceal  the  fact  that  London  was  their  real 
objective,  and  that  their  operations  thus 
far  had  been  mere  scouting  expeditions. 
Yet  the  English  technical  services  ap- 
peared not  to  be  giving  adequate  atten- 
tion to  the  city's  defenses. 

On  May  17  a  Zeppelin,  after  wander- 
ing leisurely  over  Ramsgate  and  Dover, 
was  attacked  by  an  English  air  squadron 
from  Dunkerque,  which  succeeded  in 
damaging  it. 

On  May  31,  1915,  at  10:23  P.  M.,  the 
capital  of  the  British  Empire  received  its 
first  bombs;  the  authorities  had  not  even 
been  warned.  Six  persons  were  killed  in 
the  East  End.  Public  anger  rose  swiftly. 
Suspected  German  shops  were  demolished 
by  the  mob  that  gathered  in  the  streets 
and   committed   mild    depredations. 

After  that  the  Government  forbade  de- 
tailed accounts  of  the  German  raids. 
This  policy  of  absolute  secrecy,  however, 
was  an  error,  for  the  public  immediately 
lost  all  confidence  in  the  official  bulle- 
tins, and  believed,  on  the  contrary,  the 
most  improbable  tales.  The  happy  and 
usual  result  of  all  censorships!  Thus  five 
deaths  were  announced  one  day  when 
there  were  really  twenty-four,  a  fact 
which  was  soon  known  and  gave  rise  to 
exaggerations.  In  February,  1916,  the 
press  was  again  allowed  to  speak;  the 
British  censors  thus  gave  proof  of  sound 
sense. 

Fighting  the  Air  Monsters 

Meanwhile  an  extraordinary  exploit 
had  occurred  to  prove  that  it  was  possi- 
ble to  fight  the  Zeppelin.  An  aviator 
of  22  years,  Second  Lieut.  Warneford, 
destroyed  one  of  the  great  aircraft  with 
six  bombs  on  June  7,  1915.  The  hero  re- 
ceived the  Victoria  Cross  and  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  but  was  killed  a  few  days 
later — on  the  17th — in  a  stupid  accident. 

An  attack  of  two  airships  on  June  15 
caused  the  death  of  fourteen  persons  and 
the  wounding  of  thirteen.  On  Aug.  9, 
fourteen  more  deaths  and  fourteen 
wounded.  One  of  these  Zeppelins,  which 
had  already  been  damaged  by  shells,  was 
destroyed  near  Dunkerque  by  an  air- 
plane attack.  On  Aug.  12,  six  dead  and 
twenty-three  wounded.  The  people,  by 
coming  out  into  the  streets  and  gathering 


in  groups  in  public  places,  helped  to 
cause  these  murderous  results. 

All  accounts  of  these  events  agree  in 
describing  the  English  communities  as 
very  calm  in  the  face  of  danger,  and  in- 
tensely interested.  They  regularly  im- 
agined that  the  enemy  was  hit  by  the 
anti-aircraft  shrapnel,  whose  explosions 
in  the  sky  produce  curious  optical  illu- 
sions. "  We  must  terrorize  the  English," 
say  the  German  commentators.  Yet  fear 
is  the  last  sentiment  that  our  allies  seem 
to  have  experienced.  Recruiting  was  in- 
creased and  more  people  rallied  to  the 
munition  factories.  Fear  ?  "  The  eyes 
of  the  children  whose  laughter  I  hear  in 
the  playground  as  I  write  are  the  best 
answer  to  this  threat."  Thus  wrote  one 
witness. 

The  next  raid,  Aug.  17,  killed  ten  per- 
sons and  wounded  thirty-six.  From  that 
time  there  began  to  be  manifested,  espe- 
cially in  The  Times,  a  feeling  that  the 
Government  was  doing  nothing  against 
these  enemy  raids,  and  was,  moreover, 
concealing  the  truth.  When  German  air- 
ships reappeared  over  London  on  Sept. 
7  and  8,  the  unrest  became  more  marked. 
Several  houses  were  destroyed  and  the 
guns  obtained  no  result.  The  destruction 
and  losses  were  important. 

London  Organizes  Defenses 

A  veritable  campaign  was  started  on 
the  spot  to  demand  the  measures  indis- 
pensable to  the  safety  of  the  capital. 
Admiral  Sir  Percy  Scott,  a  retired  artil- 
lerist, was  intrusted  with  the  defense; 
but  before  he  could  obtain  results,  on 
Oct.  13  a  new  raid  on  London  killed 
56  persons  and  wounded  113.  The  guns 
and  airplanes  went  into  action,  but  ac- 
complished nothing.  Of  course  the 
enemy  represented  these  expeditions  as 
having  a  purely  military  object  and  as 
producing  great  results. 

British  opinion  then  began  to  demand 
reprisals,  and  the  attitude  of  the  people 
became  more  clearly  characteristic. 
The  Englishman's  house  has  always 
been  his  castle.  He  regarded  these 
raids  as  a  new  sort  of  violation  of  the 
rights  of  private  domicile.  The  people 
were  not  afraid — far  from  that! — for 
their   curiosity   was   often   the   cause   of 


THE  ZEPPELIN  RAIDS  AND  THEIR  EFFECT 


335 


deaths;  but  where  the  French  people 
adopted  an  attitude  of  irony  and  skep- 
ticism in  a  like  situation,  the  English 
took  the  matter  more  seriously. 

The  enemy  airships  continued  their 
attacks,  the  details  of  which  need  not 
be  continued  here.  In  the  night  of  Jan. 
31,  1916,  the  invaders  killed  59  more 
people  and  wounded  101.  It  would 
be  wearisome  to  prolong  this  harrowing 
enumeration;  but  there  is  proof  that  on 
the  day  when  our  allies  went  seriously 
to  work  on  the  problem  they  obtained 
incontestable  advantages  over  the 
pirates  of  the  air. 

In  the  first  months  of  the  war  several 
Zeppelins  had  been  shot  down  with  ease. 
But  times  had  changed.  The  first, 
rather  slow  machines,  flying  at  a  low 
altitude,  had  soon  been  succeeded  by 
super-Zeppelins,  veritable  Titans  of  the 
air,  which  flew  at  great  heights. 
Against  them  the  guns  of  small  calibre 
were  powerless,  while  the  heavy  pieces 
could  not  be  used  effectively  save  dur- 
ing the  few  moments  when  the  dirigible 
descended  to  hurl  its  bombs.  A  special 
means  of  pursuit  was  needed,  which  could 
follow  the  Zeppelins,  Parsevals,  and 
Schutte-Lanz  dirigibles  at  great  heights, 
and  it  existed  in  the  airplane.  This 
invention  has  been  developed  by  the  war 
to  an  unhoped-for  degree  of  perfection. 

After  long  and  sometimes  mortal  ex- 
periences the  English  aviators  were 
ready  to  chase  the  monster — in  the  early 
Summer  of  1916.  Add  to  this  the  fact 
that  a  special  make  of  incendiary  fuse- 
bombs — we  cannot  say  more — facilitated 
the  work  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 
The  anti-aircraft  guns  also  were  in- 
creased in  number,  and  the  most  pains- 
taking precautions  were  adopted  to 
defeat  the  adversary.  And  they  were 
needed  to  overcome  these  air  monsters, 

»227  meters  long,  bristling  with  cannons 
and  machine  guns,  and  carrying  more 
than  fifty  bombs. 
From  May  to  July  the  enemy  re- 
frained from  further  attacks,  but  in 
July  and  August  the  raids  multiplied, 
causing  serious  losses.  On  several  oc- 
casions the  hostile  aircraft  were  pursued 
in  vain  by  airplanes. 


Great  Raid  of  Sept.  2 

One  might  be  tempted  to  see  in  the 
raid  of  Aug.  24,  1916,  a  scouting  opera- 
tion preliminary  to  the  great  attack  of 
Sept.  2.  On  the  latter  night  thirteen 
dirigibles  flew  over  English  soil,  and 
three  reached  London.  The  city  had 
been  warned,  and  the  whole  population 
was  on  foot  awaiting  the  new  spec- 
tacle. The  necessary  precautions  had 
been  taken  to  minimize  the  probable 
losses.  The  sky  was  divided  into  a  cer- 
tain number  of  sectors,  swept  by  dozens 
of  searchlights.  There  was  a  sound  of 
distant  cannonading,  bombs  burst  in  the 
sky,  a  Zeppelin  emerged  from  the  dark- 
ness— and  suddenly  all  the  searchlights 
were  extinguished  and  the  guns  ceased 
fire! 

A  few  seconds  passed,  and  then  sud- 
denly a  formidable  mass  of  flame  illu- 
mined the  heavens  and  was  seen  falling 
swiftly,  until  the  colossal  conflagration 
came  crashing  to  earth.  What  had 
happened?  At  the  arrival  of  the  Zep- 
pelin the  aviators  had  dashed  to  the 
pursuit.  One  of  these,  Lieutenant 
Robinson,  after  rising  about  2,700 
meters,  saw  the  airship.  At  that  mo- 
ment, to  avoid  hindering  or  wounding 
him,  the  guns  and  searchlights  paused. 
The  dirigible  was  emitting  torrents  of 
smoke.  It  rose  and  then  descended  at 
great  speed.  Lieutenant  Robinson  rose 
680  meters  higher  and  charged  at  full 
speed  against  the  enemy.  At  the  right 
distance  he  fired  his  fuse-bombs  and 
destroyed  the  Zeppelin,  which,  as  seen 
later,  was  of  the  Schutte-Lanz  type.  The 
brave  aviator,  21  years  old,  received  the 
Victoria  Cross,  the  supreme  honor.  Only 
the  charred  bodies  of  Captain  Wilhelm 
Schramm  and  his  Zeppelin  crew  of  fifteen 
men  were  found.  A  military  burial  was 
accorded  them. 

Thus,  after  two  years  of  war,  our 
allies  succeeded  in  defending  their  soil. 
One  can  understand  what  fury  seized 
Germany  when  she  saw  her  beautiful  air 
cruisers  destroyed  by  British  guns  and 
airplanes.  This  failure  called  for  ven- 
geance, and,  on  Dec.  24,  twelve  Zeppelins 
came  across  the  North  Sea  to  hover  over 
England.      Their     reception     was     still 


336 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


hotter  than  before.  The  first  machine 
was  brought  crashing  to  earth  with  its 
crew  in  Essex.  Lieutenants  Sowrey  and 
Brandon,  following  the  tactics  of  their 
friend  Robinson,  had  shot  it  down.  This 
brought  them  the  D.  S.  0.,  (Distinguished 
Service  Order.)  The,  second  machine 
was  hit  by  the  artillery  and  came  gently 
to  earth  on  the  Essex  coast.  The  crew 
of  twenty  men  destroyed  it  and  sur- 
rendered to  a  British  constable.  The 
ten  other  airships  had  achieved  the  con- 
siderable result  of  killing  30  persons 
and  wounding  110,  most  of  them  in 
London. 

Invaders    Suffer    Heavily 

On  Oct.  1  came  a  new  attack  by  ten 
airships,  one  of  them  reaching  London, 
and  the  scene  of  Sept.  2  was  repeated. 
Lieutenant  Tempest,  now  also  a  D.  S.  O., 
shot  down  his  Zeppelin  while  the  crowds 
sang  "  God  Save  the  King."  The  enemy 
craft  fell  to  destruction  in  two  pieces, 
with  its  chief,  Captain  Mathy,  one  of 
the  most  noted  of  the  German  aviation 
officers.  In  an  interview  a  short  time 
before  he  had  ridiculed  the  English 
aviators.  These  experiences  cooled  the 
German  ardor  somewhat  in  regard  to 
air  raids. 

It  is  extremely  probable  that  the 
General  Staff  at  Berlin  had  no  desire 
to  continue  such  costly  experiences.  But 
public  opinion  would  not  have  tolerated 
this  confession  of  defeat.  So  on  Nov. 
27  a  new  raid  carefully  avoided  London, 
which  was  too  well  defended,  and  turned 
its  bombs  and  shells  against  the  north- 
east coast  of  Great  Britain.  One  Zep- 
pelin was  demolished  in  a  few  seconds, 
and  another  was  seriously  damaged 
while  flying  over  the  Midlands;  it  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  repairing  these  in- 
juries and  reaching  the  sea.  Nine  miles 
from  the  shore,  overtaken  by  four  air- 
planes and  a  gunboat  that  shelled  it,  it 
plunged  into  the  waves.  Lieutenants 
Palling,  Cadbury,  and  Fane  were  re- 
warded for  this  exploit.  In  the  course 
of  the  same  day  an  enemy  airplane  suc- 
ceeded in  attacking  London.  A  few 
hours  later  French  aviators  shot  down 
a  machine  carrying  two  officers  with 
large-scale  maps  of  the  British  metrop- 


olis. Thus  was  the  aggressor  punished. 
Since  then  the  German  General  Staff  has 
renounced  these  "  reconnoissances,"  which 
it  found  decidedly  too  far  from  being 
satisfactory. 

German  Errors  of  Psychology 

The  psychological  errors  of  Germany 
can  no  longer  be  counted.  Before  the 
war  she  had  expected  internal  revolts 
in  the  Entente  countries,  defections  that 
have  Tiever  materialized.  She  did  not 
foresee  entirely  the  support  that  the 
colonies  have  given  to  France,  nor  the 
organization  of  Britain's  military  power, 
nor  the  efforts  of  the  British  dominions. 
She  has  sought  to  establish  her  superior- 
ity over  other  nations  by  means  of  cer- 
tain processes,  of  which  the  least  one 
can  say  is  that  they  have  totally  failed. 
The  Germans  have  never  deceived  them- 
selves more  completely  than  on  the  sub- 
ject of  their  magnificent  air  fleet.  They 
believed  that  in  war  they  would  enjoy 
entire  superiority  in  bombarding  and  air 
scouting.  Since  then  they  have  had  to 
acknowledge  that  these  were  illusions. 
Still,  the  German  people,  not  being  able 
to  admit  that  their  idol,  Count  Zeppelin, 
was  self-deluded,  thought  to  utilize  the 
"  genial  creations  of  the  inventor "  as 
instruments  of  moral  strategy.  Colonel 
Feyler,  in  an  imposing  study,  has  shown 
all  the  labors  which  the  General  Staff 
lavished  in  magnifying  his  successes 
and  in  presenting  them  in  such  fashion 
as  to  influence  the  spirit  of  the  German 
people. 

The  Central  Empires  knew  how  firmly 
the  English  held  to  their  independence, 
and  how  much  the  inviolability  of  their 
soil  was  a  question  of  honor  with  them. 
Hence  followed  this  reasoning,  from 
which,  be  it  noted,  all  humanity  is  absent : 
"We  wish  to  strike  England;  we  cannot 
do  it  better  than  by  striking  her  homes." 
This  logic  is  correct,  and  the  exasperation 
of  the  English  has  answered  "  Touched!" 
to  the  German  boot.  But  the  Berlin  Gen- 
eral Staff  had  formulated  a  second 
axiom,  much  more  debatable  than  the 
other :  "  When  the  English,  who  have 
never  been  invaded,  shall  see  the  enemy 
in  their  country,  they  will  be  so  agitated 
that  the  moral  effect  will  be  the  depres- 


THE  ZEPPELIN  RAIDS  AND  THEIR  EFFECT 


337 


sion  of  the  nation ;  the  more  so,  since  we 
risk  nothing." 

Here  the  psychological  sense  of  Ger- 
many was  faulty.  The  raids  not  only 
failed  to  produce  the  expected  moral  ef- 
fect, but  proved  to  be  the  lash  that  woke 
the  sleeping  horse. 

When  Englishmen  saw  their  women, 
children,  and  old  men  disemboweled  by 
German  bombs,  they  enlisted  to  fight  the 
Germans  all  the  more  angrily  as  they 
saw  more  clearly  what  their  enemies 
were  capable  of  doing.  Besides,  the  final 
clause  in  the  German  theory  also  proved 
itself  inexact,  since  from   September  to 


December,  1916,  five  Zeppelins  were  shot 
down. 

The  influence  of  this  German  mistake 
upon  British  recruiting  can  scarcely  be 
exaggerated.  We  owe  the  British  armies 
in  France  partly  to  our  adversaries. 
Thus  at  Charleroi  Marshal  French  had 
about  five  divisions  in  August,  1914.  One 
year  later  he  had  forty-one  divisions, 
divided  into  three  armies;  and  on  Jan.  1, 
1916,  Marshal  Sir  Douglas  Haig  had  two 
million  men!  Does  Germany  know  how 
many  of  these  soldiers  took  up  arms  be- 
cause of  the  indignation  aroused  in  their 
hearts  by  the  Zeppelin  murders? 


Tist  of  Zeppelin  Raids  Against  England 


THE  total  number  of  Zeppelin  raids 
over  the  British  Isles  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  according  to  the 
best  available  data,  is  forty-one,  including 
the  belated  attempt  of  March  16,  1917, 
which  was  apparently  organized  after 
the  death  of  Count  Zeppelin  to  prove 
that  the  German  hopes  once  based  upon 
his  invention  still  lived.  For  several 
months  the  raids  had  been  discontinued, 
owing  to  the  increasing  frequency  with 
which  the  ballons  had  been  destroyed  in 
October  and  November. 

On  Aug.  22,  1916,  Major  Baird,  repre- 
sentative of  the  Aerial  Board  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  announced  that  there 
had  been  thirty-four  raids  on  England, 
in  ten  of  which  no  casualties  were 
suffered,  while  in  the  remainder  the 
number  of  killed  was  334  civilians  and 
50  military  men.  In  the  next  three 
months  five  of  the  great  aircraft  were 
destroyed  in  England  alone,  two  of  them 
on  Nov.  28  during  the  raid  on  the  mid- 
land counties.  At  the  end  of  November 
an  authoritative  list  showed  that  a  total 
of  thirty-eight  German  Zeppelins  had 
been  lost  on  all  fronts  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  seven  of  which  fell  in 
England  and  four  in  the  North  Sea. 
Then  one  of  the  raiders  of  March  16-17 
was  shot  down  in  France  Many  of  the 
earlier  ones  were  destroyed  by  allied 
aviators  in  France  and  by  bombs  dropped 
on  Zeppelin  sheds  in  Belgium. 


The  list  of  recorded  raids  on  England 
is  as  follows: 

1915 

Jan.  19,  20— Yarmouth,  Cromer,  Sheringham, 
King's  Lynn. 

April  14,  15— Blyth,  Bedlington,  Morpeath, 
Cramlington,   Wallsend,   Hebburn. 

April  15,  16— Maldon,  Heybridge,  Southwold, 
Lowestoft,   Burnham,   Yarmouth. 

April  29,  30— Ipswich,  Bury  St.  Edmunds, 
Whitton. 

May  9,  10— Southend,  Westcliffe,  Mouth  of 
the  Thames. 

May  10,  17— Ramsgate,  Folkestone. 

May  31,   June   1— London. 

June  4,  5— Mouth  of  the  Humber,   Harwich. 

June  6,  7— Hull,  Grimsby. 

June  15,   10 — Shields,   Elswick-on-Tyne. 

Aug.  9,  10— London,  Mouth  of  the  Thames, 
Harwich,   Humber. 

Aug.  12,  13— Harwich. 

Aug.  17,  18 — London,    Woodbridge,    Ipswich. 

Sept.  7,  8— London. 

Sept.  8,  9— London,  Norwich,  Middlesborough. 

Sept.   11,  12— London. 

Sept.  13,  14— Southend. 

Oct.  13,  14 — London  and  suburbs,  Ipswich. 
1916 

Jan.  31,  Feb.  1— Liverpool,  Birkenhead,  Man- 
chester, Sheffield,  Nottingham,  Birming7 
ham,   Humber,   Yarmouth. 

March  5,  6— Hull. 

March  31,  April  1— London,  Enfield,  Walth- 
am  Abbey,  Stowmarket,  Lowestoft,  Cam- 
bridge, Humber. 

April  1,  2— Mouth  of  Tees,-  Middlesborough, 
Sunderland. 

April  2,   3— London,    Edinburgh,    Newcastle. 

April  3,  4— Great  Yarmouth. 

April  5,  8— Whitby,   Hull,  Leeds. 

April  24,  25— Cambridge,  Norwich,  Lincoln, 
Winterton,    Ipswich,    Norwich,    Harwich. 


&S8 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


April  25,  2G— London,  Colchester,  Ramsgate. 

May  2,  3— Middlesboro,  Stockton,  Sunderland, 
Hartlepool,  Mouth  of  Tees,  Firth  of  Forth. 

July  28,  29— Lincoln,  Grimsby,  Immingham, 
Hull,  Norwich. 

July  31,  Aug.  1— London,  Mouth  of  Thames, 
eastern  counties. 

Aug.  2,  3— London,  Harwich,  Norwich,  Lowe- 
stoft, Winterton. 

Aug.  8,  9— Mouth  of  Tyne,  Sunderland,  Har- 
tlepool, Middlesborough,  Whitby,  Hull, 
Grimsby,  Mouth  of  Humber,  King's 
Lynn,  eastern  counties. 

Aug.  24— London. 

Aug.  24,  25— London,  Harwich,  Folkestone, 
Dover. 

Sept.  2,  3— London,  Yarmouth,  Harwich, 
southeastern  counties,  Humber. 

Sept.  23,  24— London,  Humber,  central  coun- 
ties,  (Nottingham,  Sheffield.) 

Sept.  25,  26— Portsmouth,  fortified  places  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  York,  Leeds, 
Lincoln,  Derby. 

Oct.  1,  2— London,  Humber. 

Oct.  9,  10— Near  London. 

Nov.  27,  28— Midland  counties. 
1917. 

March  16,  17— Coast  of  Kent. 

As  a  pendant  to  the  foregoing  article 
comes  the  following  from  the  Bulletin 
des  Armies: 

The  death  of  Count  Zeppelin  on  March 
8  has  not  diminished  the  blind  faith  of 
the  German  people  in  his  apparatus.  On 
March  11  the  Cologne  Gazette  said: 
"  We  will  soon  prove  to  the  English  that 
the  work  of  our  immortal  Zeppelin  still 


lives."  This  threat  was  carried  into  ef- 
fect: In  the  night  of  March  16-17  an  air 
raid  was  attempted  on  the  English  coast. 
According  to  the  British  war  bulletins 
the  enemy  threw  bombs  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  County  of  Kent.  The  ex- 
plosives did  no  material  damage. 

A  few  hours  later  three  Zeppelins  were 
sighted  in  France,  undoubtedly  the  same 
ones  that  had  bombarded  the  English 
coast.  About  4  o'clock  in  the  morning 
they  passed  over  Rouen;  two  of  them  re- 
gained the  German  lines.  The  third  flew 
over  the  neighborhood  of  Paris  and  then 
turned  north.  About  5:30  it  was  passing 
over  Compiegne  at  a  height  of  3,500 
yards,  when  it  was  hit  by  a  shell  from 
our  anti-aircraft  batteries.  It  instantly 
burst  into  flame,  remained  a  few  minutes 
in  the  air,  and  then  crashed  to  earth  at 
the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  Paris  and  the 
Boulevard  Gambetta.  It  struck  a  garden 
wall  and  broke  in  two. 

Before  falling  the  men  had  thrown  out 
their  bombs,  which  fell  in  the  fields;  most 
of  them  did  not  burst.  There  was  no 
victim  among  the  people,  no  damage  to 
property  where  the  airship  fell.  The 
crew  of  fifteen  men  had  been  burned  to 
death — except  a  few  who  had  thrown 
themselves  overboard  and  had  been  killed 
in  the  fall.  Once  more  a  Zeppelin  raid 
had  ended  in  a  bloody  reverse. 


Terrible  Realities  of  War 

A  Gunner's  Story 

A  British  artillery  officer  on  the  Somme  wrote  this  impressive  description  after  travers- 
ing  the   scene   of  a   successful   advance : 


FOUR  villages  on  our  immediate  front 
fell — two  of  them  after  desperate 
and  bloody  fighting,  the  other  two 
with  comparative  ease.  When  we  first 
arrived  there  we  looked  on  the  remains  of 
ruined  villages  and  a  field  of  desolation 
and  ugliness  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see. 
On  arriving  at  our  old  observation 
point  we  made  our  way  over  to  the  old 
Hun  stronghold.  We  started  our  journey 
down  our  old  trenches,  but  these,  though 
now  empty,  were  in  a  filthy  condition — 
we  had  recently  had  a  lot  of  rain — and  as 


the  enemy  had  now  no  direct  observation 
on  us  we  left  these  and  proceeded  across 
the  open.  The  ground  here  was  com- 
pletely pitted  with  shell  holes  of  all  sizes. 
Hardly  a  square  inch  of  ground  that  had 
not  been  disturbed.  One  literally  stepped 
out  of  one  into  another,  (many  of  them 
filled  with  water  from  the  previous 
night's  rain.)  It  was  here  that  one  saw 
the  grim  realities  of  war — the  human 
remains  lying  among  the  wreckage  of  the 
battlefield;  khaki  or  gray  clad  forms 
wherever  one  turned  one's  head,  some  un- 


TERRIBLE  REALITIES  OF  WAR 


339 


mercifully  torn  and  shattered  beyond  rec- 
ognition, others  like  waxwork  figures  in 
attitudes  which  showed  their  last  set  pur- 
pose before  they  were  struck  down.  Oth- 
ers might  well  have  been  only  sleeping, 
though  their  mud-begrimed  faces  told  the 
truth,  and  all  that  ghastly  color  of  the 
rain-sodden  yellow  clay  on  which  they 
lay. 

The  whole  place  was  nauseating.  The 
smell  of  powder  and  stench  of  putrefac- 
tion pervaded  everything.  The  atmos- 
phere was  too  still  and  heavy  for  those 
foul  smells  to  disperse.  Our  troops  were 
then  well  beyond  the  village,  but  the  Hun 
gave  it  no  rest,  and  shells  were  still  drop- 
ping all  about  the  place. 

From  here  we  made  our  way  to  the  spot 
where  some  two  weeks  before  I  had  seen 
through  my  glasses  our  men  held  up  by 
machine-gun  fire.  Some  infantry  had 
now  established  themselves  there,  and  a 
few  men  were  standing  by  the  entrance 
drinking  tea  from  a  dixie.  The  roof, 
which  was  some  four  or  five  feet  thick 
and  made  of  reinforced  concrete,  showed 
signs  of  our  fire,  but  had  been  but  little 
damaged,  though  all  around  had  been 
broken  and  smashed.  Four  dead  Ger- 
mans lay  just  outside  among  the  wreck- 
age, a  fifth  on  a  stretcher  was  uttering 
most  awful  groans,  and,  though  attended 
by  our  men,  was  beyond  all  human  aid, 
and  was  soon  to  be  numbered  with  his 
lifeless  comrades,  while  a  sixth  sat  by 
nursing  an  arm  he  had  recently  had 
dressed,  looking  a  picture  of  abject  mis- 
ery, as  he  gazed  vacantly  on  that  fearful 
field  in  front  of  him. 

Inside  the  dugout  showed  signs  of  its 
previous  occupation.  The  German  litter 
had  not  as  yet  been  cleared  away — an  old 
waterproof  sheet,  a  blanket  or  two,  and 
one  or  two  old  Hun  coats  lay  among  the 
rubbish.    Two  or  three  officers  lay  curled 


up  in  odd  corners  trying  to  get  a  little 
rest,  while  a  few  orderlies  and  telephon- 
ists squatted  about  the  place  among  their 
instruments  and  the  tangle  of  wires  with 
which  they  are  always  surrounded.  The 
men  spoke  in  subdued  tones,  and  a  still- 
ness pervaded  the  chamber,  which  was  in- 
terrupted only  by  a  small  kitten,  which 
wandered  about  playfully  toying  with 
everything  that  came  within  its  reach — 
wires,  bits  of  surgical  dressing^  and  old 
beef  tins.  Having  obtained  what  infor- 
mation we  required  here,  we  set  out  to- 
ward our  new  front  line  away  in  front  of 
the  village. 

I  have  seen  villages  that  have  been 
smashed  beyond  recognition,  but  this  one 
surpassed  all.  It  was  literally  razed  to 
the  ground.  Not  a  wall  was  left  stand- 
ing. It  was  impossible  to  try  to  locate 
one's  position  by  roads  and  buildings. 
They  simply  didn't  exist.  It  was  one 
huge  rubbish  heap,  one  mass  of  wreckage 
— broken  masonry  and  brickwork  and 
shattered  and  charred  timber.  We  made 
our  way  along  a  newly  trodden  track 
through  the  debris — it  evidently  followed 
what  was  once  a  sunken  road,  for  the 
wreckage  was  piled  up  high  on  either  side 
of  us,  affording  us  a  little  shelter  from 
occasional  shells  which  were  being  indis- 
criminately dropped  about  the  place. 
Turning  a  sudden  corner,  we  came  upon 
a  sight  I  shall  never  forget.  The  stench 
became  overpowering.  Along  the  track 
in  front  of  us  lay,  not  one,  but  scores  of 
gray-clad  figures.  I  think  they  must 
have  been  caught  unexpectedly  in  our  ar- 
tillery barrage,  but  I  did  not  stop  to  ex- 
amine the  nature  of  their  wounds.  The 
spectacle  was  too  horrible.  We  left  the 
sunken  track  at  this  point,  and  went  for- 
ward across  the  open.  Such  was  ,the 
state  of  this  Hun  stronghold  on  the  day 
following  its  fall. 


Amazing  Effects  of  Shell  Shock 
On  Soldiers'  Nerves 

By   W.  R.  Houston,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

Professor  of  Clinical  Medicine  in  the  University  of  Georgia 

Dr.  Houston,  an  eminent  neurologist,  spent  several  months  in  French  war  hospitals 
studying  the  effects  of  shell  shock  upon  the  nervous  systems  of  wounded  soldiers.  The  re- 
sults of  his  observations  have  been  condensed  by  him  into  this  noteworthy  article. 


THE  beautiful  City  of  Lyons,  lying 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Rhone  and 
Saone,  has  been  made  the  "  Hos- 
pital City  of  France."  More  than 
thirty-five  thousand  sick  and  wounded 
are  cared  for  there.  A  thousand  of 
these  are  assigned  to  the  Neuro- 
logical Centre  and  housed  in  the  hand- 
some buildings  of  the  Nouvelle  Lycee, 
the  new  boys'  college  at  the  entrance  to 
the  park.  In  each  of  the  twenty  medical 
districts  into  which  France  is  divided 
there  is  a  similar  hospital  for  men  who 
have  suffered  damage  to  the  nervous 
system.  The  Centre  Neurologique  at 
Lyons  is,  however,  the  largest  of  these 
centres,  and  for  certain  reasons  the  most 
interesting. 

To  the  neurologist,  the  care  and  study 
of  this  unprecedented  wealth  of  material 
is  of  high  value  in  broadening  and  re- 
fining his  knowledge  of  the  function  and 
structure  of  the  nervous  system;  yet  of 
still  greater  interest  and  offering  still 
greater  possibilities  for  the  enlargement 
of  our  comprehension  of  the  nature  of 
nervous  diseases  are  those  cases,  compris- 
ing more  than  two-thirds  of  the  patients 
in  the  institution,  who  are  grouped  under 
the  name  of  the  hysterical. 

When  the  entire  manhood  of  a  nation 
is  mustered  into  battle,  it  follows  that  the 
nervously  frail,  the  men  of  unstable 
equilibrium,  must  go,  too.  The  shocks 
and  sudden  emotional  strains  of  civil  life 
have  made  a  certain  number  hysterical. 
It  might  be  expected  that  under  the  stress 
of  warfare  many  would  break.  The 
number  of  such  cases  arising  in  the 
course  of  war  is  far  greater  than  in  time 
of  peace,  but,  after  all,  they  form  but  a 
small  fraction  of  the  total  number  of 
nervous  crises  in  the  neurological  centres. 


We  have  considered  them,  however,  less 
because  of  their  intrinsic  interest  than 
for  comparison  with  another  class  of 
cases — the  commotionnes,  that  very  large 
and  novel  group  of  cases,  comprising  sev- 
eral thousand  admissions  to  the  neuro- 
logical hospitals  of  France,  which  the 
French  physicians  named  cerebral  com- 
motion, the  English  shell  shock. 

In  the  accounts  of  the  great  bombard- 
ments we  have  all  read  of  men  who  were 
found  dead  in  the  trenches,  unwounded. 
Death  had  resulted  from  air  concussion 
in  the  zone  contiguous  to  the  exploding 
shell.  The  concussion  is  more  intense 
and  the  danger  greater  if  the  shell  ex- 
plodes in  a  closed  space,  as  in  the  deep 
chambered  trenches  of  the  western  front. 

Countless  Internal   Wounds 

Most  of  our  commotion  cases  were  in- 
jured in  the  trenches.  Often  they  were 
hurled  some  distance,  dashed  against  a 
wall,  and  buried  alive.  If  an  examination 
is  made  of  the  bodies  of  these  dead,  or  of 
those  who  have  survived  a  few  days  be- 
fore death,  it  is  found  that  there  has 
taken  place  an  intimate  tearing  of  the 
finer  structures  throughout  the  body. 
The  lungs  are  torn;  there  are  abundant 
hemorrhages  in  the  pleura  and  stomach. 
The  blood  vessels  in  the  brain  are  rup- 
tured, and  minute  hemorrhages  are 
found  throughout. 

Many  are  killed  outright,  but  most 
survive.  Even  these  survivors  bleed  in 
many  cases  from  the  ears,  the  lungs,  the 
stomach,  the  bladder,  and  bowels.  There 
are  sometimes  hemorrhages  into  the  ret- 
ina and  under  the  conjunctivae.  The 
normally  clear  cerebro-spinal  fluid  is 
found  blood  tinged.  Even  after  blood  is 
no  longer  found  the  fluid  is  often  discov- 


AMAZING  EFFECTS  OF  SHELL  SHOCK 


341. 


ered  to  be  under  high  pressure,  the  white 
cells  and  globulins  that  indicate  damage 
to  the  meninges  continue  to  be  found  in  it 
for  months. 

The  patients  seldom  regain  memory  of 
the  beginning  of  their  accidents.  At 
most  they  recall  the  whistling  sound  that 
preceded  the  arrival  of  the  shell.  In  cer- 
tain cases  there  will  be  found  only  a 
more  or  less  transient  clouding  of  con- 
sciousness, or  a  very  painful  sensation 
of  having  been  beaten  on  the  head.  Usu- 
ally the  patient  is  unable  to  walk,  and 
as  he  is  carried  on  the  stretcher  every 
movement  is  painful.  The  limbs  are 
inert,  the  head  drops  on  the  shoulder. 
Even  when  sitting  he  collapses  if  not 
supported.  Any  movements  made  are 
maladroit  and  imprecise.  The  sphincters 
are  relaxed;  almost  all  arrive  at  the  aid 
stations  soiled  with^  excrements.  Later 
they  may  have  retention,  but  in  the  be- 
ginning the  contrary  is  the  rule. 

The  facial  expression  is  typical — com- 
parable to  that  seen  in  the  cerebral  type 
of  infantile  paralysis — the  corners  of  the 
mouth  droop,  the  tongue  is  paretic,  the 
lids  droop,  and  the  eyeballs  are  without 
motion.  The  pupils  are  dilated,  almost 
always  unequal. 

In  all  cases  is  found  the  sign  of  Babin- 
ski — irritation  of  the  foot  sole,  provoking 
an  obvious  and  prompt  elevation  of  the 
great  toe  and  a  fanlike  spreading  of  the 
other  toes — an  unequivocal  indication  of 
damage  to  the  motor  pathways  leading 
from  the  brain;  and,  as  further  indica- 
tion of  this  damage,  the  tendinous  re- 
flexes are  generally  strongly  exaggerat- 
ed. Kernig's  sign  of  cortical  irritation  is 
present. 

In  cases  of  moderate  severity  we  ob- 
serve a  rapid  retrocession  of  symptoms. 
Within  twenty-four  hours  the  mental 
cloudiness  tends  to  disappear,  the  expres- 
sion of  the  face  changes,  the  strabismus 
diminishes  and  disappears,  the  reflexes 
approach  normal. 

In  severe  cases,  however,  and  some- 
times from  milder  ones,  there  develop  a 
series  of  most  bizarre  clinical  pictures. 
It  is  the  general  nervous  system  that  is 
most  often  and  most  strikingly  affected. 
As  the  patient  emerges  from  his  cloud- 
ing of  consciousness,  he  seems  to  be  in  a 


state  of  confusion.  His  memory  is  weak- 
ened. He  has  lost  in  power  of  voluntary 
attention.  He  has  hallucinations.  These 
psychopathic  states  may  persist  for  days 
or  months,  and  are  accompanied  almost 
always  by  persistent  nightmares  of  fire 
and  battle  that  startle  and  disturb  the 
rest. 

It  is  at  this  stage  extraordinarily  diffi- 
cult to  disentangle  symptoms  that  are 
due  to  gross  organic  injury  from  those 
that  would  be  reckoned  hysterical.  Very 
frequently  there  are  convulsive  attacks 
that  seem  frankly  similar  to*  that  de- 
scribed above;  occasionally  a  case  that 
resembles  true  Jacksonian  epilepsy. 

Sight  and  Hearing  Affected 

There  is  often  deafness  associated  with 
injury  to  the  ears;  again,  deafness  is 
present  with  ears  apparently  normal. 
Sometimes  the  deafness  is  associated 
with  vertigo  such  as  suggests  damage  to 
the  inner  ear. 

As  to  the  sight,  we  encounter  every  de- 
gree of  disability,  from  slight  cloudiness 
of  vision  and  narrowing  of  the  visual 
field  to  complete  blindness.  In  a  consid- 
erable number  of  cases  these  troubles  are 
due  to  damage  done  the  retina.  In  a 
larger  number,  however,  so  far  as  exami- 
nation can  determine,  they  are  purely 
subjective.  These  troubles  of  sight  and 
hearing  are  almost  never  isolated.  They 
are  found  associated  with  an  assemblage 
of  other  symptoms  referable  to  the  nerv- 
ous system. 

Much  more  frequent  than  the  troubles 
of  the  special  senses  are  the  paralyses — 
paralysis  of  a  single  member,  of  both 
legs,  or  of  a  lateral  half  of  the  body. 
Some  of  these  paralyses  are  obviously 
due  to  hemorrhage  within  the  brain,  oth- 
ers are  a  flaccid  paralysis  with  loss  of 
sensation.  In  all  the  characteristics  that 
are  accessible  to  investigation  most  re- 
semble hysterical  paralysis,  and  the 
greater  number  are  associated  with  con- 
tracture of  the  muscles. 

The  foot  will  be  drawn  into  the  position 
of  a  clubfoot  and  firmly  fixed  there.  The 
hand  is  tightly  clenched,  and  the  wrist 
and  elbow  bent.  The  contracted  muscles 
of  half  the  body  may  draw  the  trunk  and 
head  to  one  side.    The  neck  may  be  fixed 


342 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


as  a  wry  neck.  A  very  frequent  de- 
formity is  the  bent  back.  A  peculiar  cir- 
cumstance is  the  violent  fit  of  coughing 
that  is  induced  by  any  attempt  to 
straighten  the  bent  back,  either  in  bed  or 
against  the  wall. 

The  vocal  cords  may  be  paralyzed  and 
the  tongue  incapable  of  being  protruded, 
so  that  the  patient  is  entirely  mute,  un- 
able to  make  the  slightest  sound,  to 
whistle  or  to  blow,  or  even  to  imitate  the 
movements  of  the  lips  in  speech.  His 
breathing  muscles  are  contracted  so  that 
he  cannot  draw  a  long  breath.  In  milder 
cases  there  is  a  stammering  to  the  degree 
of  almost  complete  unintelligibility. 

A  muscular  trouble,  often  of  the  most 
striking  and  startling  sort,  is  the  shaking 
and  trembling.  This  may  be  a  fine 
tremor,  such  as  we  have  in  Graves's  dis- 
ease, and  Graves's  disease  is  a  complica- 
tion that  is  superadded  to  the  picture  in 
a  large  percentage  of  cases,  or  a  very 
coarse,  irregular  shaking  and  jerking  of 
the  head,  arms,  legs,  in  contortions  that 
make  walking  or  any  co-ordinated  move- 
ment nearly  or  quite  impossible. 

Pitiful  Motion  Pictures 
A  remarkable  series  of  moving  pict- 
ures, which  are  already  to  be  seen  in  this 
country,  was  made  of  these  patients  at 
Lyons.  Large  groups  illustrating  each 
of  the  contractures  and  paralyses  were 
marched  past  the  camera,  but  the  most 
striking  groups  were  the  tremblers  and 
the  bent  backs,  and  when,  as  constantly 
happens,  many  physicians  come  to  see 
the  astonishing  and  almost  incredible 
cases  that  are  found  in  this  neurological 
hospital,  the  profound  pity  that  these  pa- 
tients excite  is  inevitably  mixed  with 
laughter  at  the  sight  of  the  poor  fellows 
with  wildly  inco-ordinate  movements, 
struggling  to  maintain  their  balance  as 
they  totter  across  the  stage  of  the  exhi- 
bition hall  or  shuffle  along  with  feet  in 
constant  motion,  like  a  novice  at  skating, 
and  the  back  bent  forward  from  the  hips 
almost  at  right  angles. 

Upon  these  troubles  of  movement  there 
are  always  superimposed  troubles  of  sen- 
sibility. In  the  paralyses  with  contrac- 
tion, and  especially  in  the  flaccid  paral- 
yses, all  the  modes  of  sensibility,  superfi- 
cial and  deep,  including  the  sensibility  to 


electric  currents  and  the  sensibility  of 
the  bones  to  vibration,  are  affected,  and 
often  to  an  extreme  degree.  Some  of  the 
patients  have  inflicted  burns  on  them- 
selves accidentally  without  knowing  it. 
In  others  the  joints  can  be  twisted  to  an 
extreme  degree  without  causing  the  least 
pain  or  sensation. 

In  opposition  to  these  anaesthesias  or 
hypoaesthesias  there  is  found  extreme 
sensitiveness  to  pain.  Sometimes  the 
patient  cannot  endure  the  least  touch  or 
the  least  movement  of  the  limbs. 

Purely  Physical  Causes 

Are  these  patients  hysterical  in  the 
sense  of  any  of  the  theories  of  hysteria 
that  we  have  mentioned — these  deaf, 
these  mutes,  these  palsied,  trembling  men 
with  agonized  or  deadened  members? 
Was  it  a  mental  picture  or  a  buried  idea 
or  a  suggestion  from  the  physician  that 
developed  these  phenomena? 

In  the  language  of  Dr.  Sollier,  the  emi- 
nent neurologist  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
hospital  at  Lyons: 

In  the  true  commotion  case,  we  find  our- 
selves in  the  presence  of  hysteria  in  the  raw, 
of  the  elementary  hysteria,  in  which  the 
physical  element  is  absolutely  preponderant, 
whereas,  in  the  ordinary  traumatic  hysteria, 
the  somatic  phenomena  and  the  psychological 
phenomena  are  almost  on  the  same  level,  and 
in  the  commonplace  hysteria  of  civil  practice 
the  psychologic  element  tends  to  take  domi- 
nant importance. 

When  we  envisage  the  similarity  of  the 
pictures  presented  by  ordinary  hysteria  and 
the  nervous  phenomena  that  result  from  shell 
shock,  we  are  forced  to  conclude  that  their 
nature  is  identical.  Shell  shock  thus  demon- 
strates to  us  that  hysteria  may  be  provoked 
by  causes  purely  physical,  and  we  are  led 
to  conclude  that  the  purely  psychological 
theories  are  inexact,  since  they  do  not  apply 
to  all  the  cases.  Since  it  is  undeniable,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  hysteria  can  be  provoked 
by  emotional  and  moral  causes,  we  must  con- 
clude that  there  exists  an  entire  gamut  of 
forces— physical,  mechanical,  organic,  and 
psychic— that  may  lead  to  the  same  clinical 
results. 

Such  are  the  views  that  are  upheld  by 
Dr.  Sollier,  who  in  numerous  forcible  pub- 
lications had  sustained  before  the  war 
his  physiological  theory  of  hysteria.  In 
his  treatise  on  hysteria,  published  in 
1914,  he  maintained  that  hysteria  was 
essentially  a  sleep  of  portions  of  the 
brain,  a  dulling  or  numbing  (engour- 
dissement)    of  certain  cerebral  centres; 


AMAZING  EFFECTS  OF  SHELL  SHOCK 


343 


that  the  disassociation  of  personality  re- 
sulted from  the  unequal  wakefulness  of 
different  portions  of  the  brain ;  that  the 
attacks  were  disorderly  expressions  of  a 
sudden  movement  toward  reawakening. 

We  must  remember  that  a  thought  is 
not,  for  the  individual  that  harbors  it  at 
least,  a  disembodied  concept,  but  that 
with  every  thought  there  must  be  a 
physical  change,  a  movement  of  matter 
and  energy  in  the  molecular  structure  of 
brain  cells.  Modern  psychology  concerns 
itself  more  and  more  with  the  attempt  to 
conceive  the  physical  processes  in  the 
brain  that  accompany  thought.  Espe- 
cially in  the  study  of  the  emotions  (and 
it  is  the  emotional  side  of  ideation  with 
which  we  are  chiefly  concerned  in  hyste- 
ria) has  emphasis  been  laid  on  its  physi- 
cal aspect. 

Our  American  psychologist,  William 
James,  lent  his  astute  support  to  the 
view  that  emotion  was  rather  the  con- 
scious appreciation  of  a  series  of  physical 
changes  that  resulted  from  the  presence 
of  an  idea;  that  we  felt  fear  because  the 
heart  stood  still,  the  hair  stood  on  end, 
the  knees  shook  at  sight  of  the  ghost, 
rather  than  that  the  emotion  of  fear 
brought  about  these  physical  changes. 

We  are  obliged,  if  the  facts  of  the  de- 
velopment of  our  commotion  cases  have 
been  faithfully  observed  and  accurately 
recorded,  to  shift  from  the  formerly  con- 
ventional viewpoint  of  the  essential  nat- 
ure of  hysteria  and  to  place  the  emphasis 
on  its  physical  and  its  physiological  as- 
pects. 

Dr.  Babinski  and  his  followers,  with 
their  rather  narrow  definition  of  hysteria 
as  a  malady  provoked  by  suggestion  and 
curable  by  persuasion,  have  been  led  to 
assert  that  these  grand  hysterias  of  shell 
shock  are  not  hysteria,  and  to  erect  a  new 
and  heretofore  unheard  of  classification 
in  which  to  place  them,  so  far  will  the 
attachment  of  a  scientist  to  a  favorite 
theory  carry  him.  The  cases  that  we  see 
in  the  military  hospitals  of  France  were 
not  produced  by  suggestion,  nor  are  they 
amenable  to  persuasion. 

These  theoretical  considerations,  how- 
ever, are  by  no  means  without  their  prac- 
tical importance.  Even  before  the  earli- 
est publication,  in  1895, "of  his  views,  Dr. 


Sollier  contended  that  by  his  so-called 
method  of  cerebral  reawakening  he  was 
able  to  cure  by  physical  and  mechanical 
means  many  hysterical  conditions  that 
proved  refractory  to  suggestion,  and  it 
was  largely  these  therapeutic  successes 
that  led  to  the  crystallization  and  devel- 
opment of  his  idea  of  hysteria. 

Sollier's  Method  of  Cure 

Dr.  Sollier  is  a  large  and  vigorous  man 
both  morally  and  physically,  a  man  whom 
one  would  fancy  inclined  by  temperament 
to  snatch  his  patients  back  to  health 
rather  than  coax  them  back.  His  evident 
kindness  and  goodness  to  his  men,  how- 
ever, give  them  courage  to  endure  with- 
out question  the  rigors  of  the  physical 
treatment  to  which  they  are  submitted. 
The  central  idea  of  his  treatment  is  that 
the  cerebral  centres  must  be  awakened 
from  their  dormant  state  by  physical 
measures  addressed  to  the  parts  of  the 
body  corresponding  to  the  cerebral  in- 
volvement. 

The  treatment  of  one  case,  for  instance, 
consisted  in  cold  douches  and  showers  for 
a  general  effect,  but  more  particularly  in 
twisting  and  manipulating  the  joints  of 
the  paralyzed  limbs  until  pain,  and  even 
very  severe  pain,  was  induced.  If  bend- 
ing the  finger  joints  produces  no  pain, 
the  wrist  is  manipulated;  if  the  wrist  is 
without  sensation,  the  shoulder  is  ma- 
nipulated. Sensibility  returns  to  the 
anaesthetic  areas  through  the  pathway 
of  pain  induced  in  neighboring  regions 
that  are  more  sensitive. 

In  another  case  the  treatment  was  to 
place  the  hands  over  the  eyes,  whereupon 
the  patient  would  promptly  fall  into  a 
hypnotic  state  and  go  through  all  the 
phases  of  the  grand  attack.  As  his  strug- 
gles began  to  subside  and  he  was  sinking 
into  a  quiet  sleep,  he  was  ordered  to  wake 
up,  to  awaken  his  shoulders,  awaken 
his  back,  awaken  his  limbs,  awaken  all 
over.  He  is  regarded  when  apparently 
awake  as  a  vigilambule,  one  who,  while 
apparently  awake,  has  large  portions  of 
his  brain  cortex  asleep,  and  who  for  this 
reason  is  so  easily  and  by  such  slight 
transition  thrown  into  complete  hypnotic 
slumber. 

In  addition  to  these  treatments  carried 


344 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


out  by  the  attending  physicians,  and  by 
trained  masseurs  working  under  their 
direction,  an  interesting  and  indeed  most 
inspiring  part  of  the  work  for  the  resto- 
ration of  these  men  is  the  systematic 
motor  re-education  carried  out  by  the 
men  themselves.  Every  morning  from  8 
until  9  o'clock,  and  again  of  an  afternoon 
from  2  until  3,  in  the  quadrangle  of  the 
Lycee  the  men  are  gathered  at  the  sound 
of  tne  bugle  for  drill. 

Patients  Treated  in  Croups 

They  are  grouped  in  squads  according 
to  their  several  disabilities.  The  club- 
footed  squad,  the  hemi-contractured 
squads,  the  contractures  of  the  left  arm, 
the  contractures  of  the  right  arm,  and  so 
on.  Each  squad  has  its  non-commissioned 
officer,  who  is  himself  convalescing  from 
the  same  disorder,  and  the  whole  battal- 
ion is  under  the  command  of  a  Sergeant, 
who  is  partially  recovered  from  severe 
organic  and  functional  disturbances. 

The  apparatus  employed  in  the  exer- 
cises is  of  the  simplest — a  manual  of 
arms  carried  out  with  a  wooden  pole, 
some  board  platforms  for  the  exercises 
to  be  taken  lying  down,  a  few  weights 
and  pulleys.  The  intention  is  to  bring 
the  defective  muscles  into  play  through 
the  unconscious  influence  of  limitation; 
to  strengthen  the  muscles  which  oppose 
those  that  are  contracted;  to  give  tone  to 
the  physique  as  well  as  to  the  morale  of 
the  men. 

A  physician  passes  from  group  to 
group  encouraging  and  instructing  the 
leaders,  calling  attention  to  stragglers 
that  may  be  failing  of  the  efforts  de- 
manded of  them.  The  cheerful  atmos- 
phere of  this  scene,  the  sharp  cries  of 
command  making  a  not  unpleasing  dis- 
cord of  sound;  the  emulation  of  the  sol- 
diers to  attain  the  progress  that  they  see 
others  have  made — all  gives  one  the  feel- 
ing that  these  men  are  cordially  enlisted 
in  the  effort  to  overcome  the  handicaps 
under  which  they  labor,  and  a  large  part 
of  the  success  of  the  treatment  in  this 
institution  is  to  be  attributed  to  this 
community  of  effort. 

It  is  too  early  to  say  whether  the  views 
which  Dr.  Sollier  has  advanced  as  to  the 
nature  of  hysteria,  his  so-called  physio- 
logical theory,  will  be  generally  accepted. 


It  is  certain  that  his  effort  to  place  the 
emphasis  on  the  physical  and  physiolog- 
ical aspects  of  this  trouble  has  been  tre- 
mendously favored  by  the  large  group  of 
cases  that  have  come  to  observation 
through  the  accidents  of  war. 

When  I  first  walked  through  his  ward 
and  looked  with  astonishment  at  the 
array  of  nervous  phenomena  presented,  I 
began  to  wonder:  Is  this  the  result  of 
the  traditionally  excitable  and  nervous 
French  temperament?  Would  English- 
men or  Germans  or  Russians  exhibit  such 
astonishing  bizarreries  of  nervous  func- 
tion? I  learned  on  asking  the  physicians 
of  the  Lyons  hospitals,  who  were  neuro- 
logists by  profession,  that  in  years  of 
practice  at  the  Salpetriere,  the  famous 
Paris  hospital  for  nervous  diseases,  they 
had  only  rarely  encountered  cases  com- 
parable to  hundreds  that  we  had  in  our 
hospital.  I  learned  from  consulting  the 
literature  that  Englishmen  and  Germans 
were  suffering  the  same  nervous  acci- 
dents as  the  French. 

Some    Unsolved    Questions 

It  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
for  Dr.  Sollier  to  prove  that  the  sufferer 
from  shell  shock,  as  he  emerged  broken 
and  bleeding  from  unconsciousness, 
might  not,  in  his  awakening  intelligence, 
develop  hysterical  symptoms  on  a  psy- 
chological basis,  and  that  this  elementary 
hysteria  of  molecular  vibration  might 
not  have  interwoven  with  it  as  a  psychic 
state  ideas  associated  with  terror  and 
dread,  the  most  powerful  of  human  emo- 
tions. His  opponents,  moreover,  will  ask 
him  to  explain  the  rarity  of  these  com- 
motional  states  in  the  numerous  wound- 
ed that  received  physical  injuries  from 
projectiles  that  have  exploded  near  them, 
patients  exposed  to  the  same  displace- 
ments of  air,  and  the  same  physical  con- 
ditions— an  embarrassing  question  to  the 
partisan  of  the  organic  theory. 

Some  of  the  commotionnes  tell  us  that 
they  had  often  had  large  shells  burst  near 
them  without  experiencing  anything 
more  than  the  disturbance  legitimate  to 
such  circumstances,  a  disturbance  easily 
mastered  and  quite  transient.  Further- 
more, as  Dr.  Sollier  has  himself  pointed 
out,  it  is  most  unwise  to  return  the  pa- 


AMAZING  EFFECTS  OF  SHELL  SHOCK 


345 


tient  when  apparently  quite  cured  to  the 
firing  line.  The  first  explosion  in  his 
neighborhood  will  bring  back  a  return  of 
the  old  symptoms,  sometimes  with  added 
violence,  so  that  the  recrudescence  is  ap- 
parently due  less  to  the  physical  reopen- 
ing of  an  old  wound  than  to  the  re-pres- 
entation of  remembered  conditions. 

Dr.  Sollier's  .conceptions,  however,  gain 
valuable  support  from  the  success  of  his 
treatments  when  applied  to  the  commo- 
tion cases,  even  though  they  be  very 
severe,  provided  the  patient  is  fortunate 
enough  to  be  taken  in  hand  early. 

Sergeant  B.,  for  example,  a  robust  and 
muscular  man  of  25,  was  in  Fort  Douau- 
mont  during  a  bombardment.  He  was 
thrown  many  yards  by  the  explosion  of  a 
large  shell;  consciousness  was  lost  for 
some  time.  At  the  first-aid  station  he 
had  difficulty  in  breathing,  and  conscious- 
ness was  only  gradually  restored.  He 
was  brought  back  at  once  to  Lyons,  where 
he  was  found  to  be  in  a  state  of  general 
rigidity  and  hyperaesthesia.  Even  small 
movements  of  his  limbs  were  painful. 
His  heart  was  moderately  dilated,  pulse 
rather  rapid,  fibrillary  tremor  of  the 
hands,  slight  goitre,  and  exophthalmus. 
When  the  treatments,  which  consisted  in 
forced  movements  of  his  limbs,  were  un- 
dertaken, he  would  gradually  become 
stuporous,  cry  out  with  pain,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  seance  would  almost  lose  con- 
sciousness and  would  dissolve  into  tears. 

However,  after  a  month  of  such  treat- 
ment the  stiffness  and  sensitiveness  were 
rapidly  disappearing  from  his  members, 
he  was  able  to  stand  erect  and  walk,  and 
was  obviously  on  the  high  road  to  recov- 
ery. Had  he  been  treated  merely  by  rest 
and  care,  he  would  probably  have  made 
no  such  progress. 

Alongside  of  him  other  men,  whose  in- 
juries had  come  about  in  the  early  months 
of  war,  and  who  in  the  early  stages  of 
their  trouble  were  treated  by  the  conven- 
tional methods,  seemed  to  have  crys- 
tallized in  their  disabilities.  It  appeared 
that  after  the  deformities  and  tremors 
had  become  inveterate  it  was  most  diffi- 
cult to  eradicate  them,  even  by  the  treat- 
ment of  motor  re-education,  though  this 
brought  about  slow  and  steady  gains. 


A   Harrowing  Summary 

It  was  possible,  then,  in  this  hospital 
to  find  the  same  clinical  pictures  result- 
ing from  causes  of  every  degree  of  po- 
tency— a  slight  and  merely  psychic 
trauma  sufficing  to  induce  the  symp- 
toms in  the  unstable,  a  violent  physical 
trauma  being  needed  in  the  well  poised. 

1.  There  were  the  highly  neurotic  sub- 
jects, who  had  never  been  near  the  front, 
but  who  on  receiving  the  news  from 
home  of  the  death  of  a  wife  or  being 
parted  from  a  sweetheart  had  developed 
these  terrible  attacks  and  paralyses. 
These  were  few. 

2.  There  was  the  somewhat  larger 
group  of  cases  similar  to  the  first  two 
cited,  cases  of  tougher-fibred  but  still 
imaginative  men,  whom  the  emotional 
shocks  of  the  campaign,  combined  with 
fatigue  and  long  strain,  had  been  able  to 
bring  to  a  grand  hysteria. 

3.  A  third  group  more  stable  than  the 
last  could  be  made  hysterical  only  if, 
after  being  weakened  by  hunger,  sleep- 
lessness, and  overwork,  they  were  sub- 
jected to  the  shock  of  a  violent  explosion, 
though  the  same  shock  might  have  pre- 
viously left  them  untouched. 

4.  Last,  there  were  men,  stalwart, 
tranquil,  robust  men,  who  had  never 
known  nervousness,  neither  personally 
nor  in  their  families — unimaginative, 
stolid  men,  who,  being  suddenly  hurled 
through  the  air,  torn  and  lacerated  in  the 
finer  structures  of  their  bodies  by  an  ex- 
plosion, buried  alive  perhaps  by  falling 
earth,  were,  when  they  ultimately  re- 
gained consciousness,  transformed  in- 
stanter  into  disorganized  reurotics,  ex- 
hibiting all  the  characteristics  typical  of 
the  grand  hysterics. 

To  see  these  strong  men  suddenly  re- 
duced from  the  flower  and  vigor  of  youth 
to  doddering,  palsied  wrecks,  quivering  at 
a  sound,  dreading  the  visions  of  the  night, 
mute  or  deaf,  paralyzed  or  shaken  by  vio- 
lent agitations,  rent  from  time  to  time  Dy 
convulsive  seizures  as  though  tormented 
by  many  devils — this  wreckage  of  men's 
souls  seemed  to  me  to  mirror  more  vividly 
the  horror  of  war  than  any  picture 
drawn  from  the  carnage  of  the  battle- 
field. 


Curious   German  War  Medals 

"In  Our    Iron  Time— 1916" 

George  Macdonald,  who  a  year  ago  describe*!  in  The  Scotsman  some  500  German  war 
medals  struck  during-  the  first  eighteen  months  of  the  war,  has  written  this  interesting  ac- 
count of  later  medals  announced  in  a  supplementary  catalogue  issued  in  Amsterdam  . 


APATHETIC  feature  of  the  new 
sales  catalogue  of  German  war 
.medals  and  "  tokens  "  is  the  great 
increase  in  the  number  of  speci- 
mens of  paper  money  of  small  denomina- 
tions, intended  to  supply  a  currency  for 
prisoners'  camps  or  for  those  portions  of 
the  allied  countries  which  are  in  enemy 
occupation.  It  is  strange,  for  instance, 
to  encounter  a  group  of  notes,  ranging  in 
nominal  value  from  2  francs  to  10 
centimes,  that  belonged  to  an  issue  of 
2,000,000  francs,  guaranteed  under 
date  April  23,  1915,  by  a  resolution  of 
seventy  communes  in  the  region  of  the 
Somme  and  the  Ancre.  When  one  sees 
in  the  list  such  familiar  names  as  Mirau- 
mont,  Irles,  Courcelettes,  Thilloy,  and 
Warlencourt,  one  shudders  to  think  of 
the  appalling  rate  at  which  the  securities, 
heritable  and  other,  must  have  depreci- 
ated through  the  action  of  high  ex- 
plosives. 

All  the  belligerents,  except  Japan  and 
Portugal,  have  contributed  their  quota 
to  the  sum  total  of  the  war  medals 
proper.  Germany,  however,  has  once 
a^gain  been  far  and  away  the  most  active. 
In  a  fair  proportion  of  cases  the  under- 
lying motive  has  obviously  been  a  desire 
to  honor  individuals  by  associating  them 
with  some  particular  achievement  or 
with  some  popular  declaration  of  policy. 
The  collection,  in  fact,  constitutes  a  sort 
of  national  portrait  gallery  of  all  the 
German  Admirals,  German  Generals,  and 
German  statesmen  whom  the  events  of 
the  last  three  years  have  brought  into 
prominence.  A  bust  of  von  Tirpitz,  for 
example,  is  backed  by  a  plump  figure  of 
Germania  "  doing  battle  for  the  freedom 
of  the  seas,"  while  both  von  Scheer  and 
Hipper  receive  credit  for  their  great 
"  victory  off  the  Skagerrak,"  which  is 
said  to  have  been  won  "  not  by  chance 
but   by   sheer    capacity."     The   military 


laurels  have  been  gathered  mainly  on  the 
eastern  front,  and  first  and  foremost  by 
von  Mackensen. 

The  big  events  of  1916  in  the  west  are 
but  rarely  alluded  to,  although  a  huge 
iron  medal  with  allegorical  figures  de- 
picts "  the  horrors  of  the  Somme,"  and  a 
companion  piece  shows  the  scourge  of 
war  descending  upon  Verdun.  Tit-bits 
from  the  Imperial  Chancellor's  Reichstag 
speech  of  June  5  are  immortalized  on  un- 
wieldy lumps  of  metal  bearing  his  image 
and  superscription,  and  royalties  more  or 
less  considerable  are,  of  course,  sprinkled 
freely  through  the  pages  of  the  cata- 
logue— so  freely,  indeed,  that  the  Kaiser 
and  the  Crown  Prince  tend  rather  to  be 
elbowed  into  the  background. 

A  good  deal  of  space  is  occupied  by 
heroes  of  less  exalted  rank,  like  the 
aviators  Boelcke  and  Immelmann.  On 
the  latter  of  these  one  enthusiastic  medal- 
list has  conferred  the  title  of  "  The  Eagle 
of  Lille."  And  it  is  interesting  to  ob- 
serve that  few  even  of  the  major  hap- 
penings of  the  war  have  caught  the  Ger- 
man imagination  in  the  way  that  the 
exploits  of  the  Mowe  and  the  voyage  of 
the  Deutschland  appear  to  have  done. 
The  capture  of  the  Appam  could  hardly 
have  been  more  loudly  celebrated  if  it  had 
affected  the  naval  situation  as  profound- 
ly as  did  Trafalgar. 

The  tribute  of  medallic  portraiture  is 
paid  not  only  to  the  raider's  Captain, 
Count  zu  Dohna-Schlodien,  but  also  to 
the  officer  who  navigated  the  prize  to  the 
United  States,  Lieutenant  Berg.  So, 
too,  with  Captain  Konig  of  the  Deutsch- 
land, in  immediate  juxtaposition  to  whom 
we  are  astonished  to  find  a  much  older 
Atlantic  voyager — to  wit,  no  less  a  per- 
son than  Francis  Drake  himself.  The 
first  glance  at  his  bust,  dressed  in  cor- 
rect Elizabethan  costume,  and  identified 
beyond  possibility  of  mistake  by  his  name, 
sets    one    wondering    whether    Houston 


CURIOUS  GERMAN  WAR  MEDALS 


347 


Stewart  Chamberlain  has  succeeded  in 
proving  that  the  Spanish  Armada  was 
defeated  by  Germans.  But  the  real  ex- 
planation is  a  veritable  anti-climax;  it  is 
furnished  by  an  inscription  on  the  re- 
verse, "  Francis  Drake  was  the  name  of 
a  gallant  man  who  three  centuries  ago 
sailed  from  England  to  America  in  com- 
mand of  a  ship,  and  who  when  he  re- 
turned from  his  distant  travels  brought 
with  him  the  good  things  that  we  call 
potatoes.  This  useful  vegetable  we  owe 
to  the  very  same  State  that  is  today — 
1916 — endeavoring  to  starve  us  out. 
Such  is  the  irony  of  world  history  and  of 
world  politics." 

The  Drake  Medal  is  not  the  only  one 
on  which  the  food  difficulty  is  frankly 
alluded  to.  Another  piece  pillories  the 
butchers  who  indulge  in  "  profiteering," 
and  threatens  them  with  handcuffs  and 
the  knout.  A  third  is  directed  against 
the  bakers,  two  of  whom  are  represented 
diligently  sawing  a  log  of  wood  in  order 
to  secure  material  for  bread.  That 
bronze  is  growing  scarce  is  abundantly 
clear  from  the  fact  that  it  is  not  used 
for  almost  any  of  the  recent  medals, 
iron  being  the  usual  substitute.  And 
gold,  as  might  be  expected,  is  altogether 
unknown.  In  this  connection  a  small 
medal  of  iron  is  of  special  interest;  it  is 
issued  by  the  Reichsbank,  and  presented 
to  persons  who  hand  gold  ornaments  over 
the  counter.  On  the  obverse  is  a  kneel- 
ing woman,  holding  out  a  piece  of  jew- 
elry, accompanied  by  the  legend,  "  In 
our  iron  time,  1916."  On  the  reverse  is 
a  branch  of  oak,  and  the  couplet: 
Gold  I  gave  in  hour  of  need, 
Iron  received  as  honour's  meed. 

Presumably  the  idea  is  that  this  should 
be  transmitted  as  an  heirloom.  The 
same  consideration  for  the  future  is 
plainly  responsible  for  a  medal  having 
on  the  obverse  a  "  Pickelhaube,"  or 
spiked  helmet,  resting  on  a  shield,  and 
on  the  reverse  a  mailed  fist  clasping  a 
hand  that  is  indubitably  feminine,  the 
two  between  them  supporting  a  sword. 
The  legend  is,  "  Wedded  in  war  -time." 
The  mention  of  "  war  weddings  "  inevi- 
tably suggests  a  search  for  the  "  war 
baby."  And,  sure  enough,  here  he  is  on 
another    medal,    nestling    inside    an    in- 


verted "  Pickelhaube,"  which  reposes  on 
a  little  pile  of  bombs.  The  inscription 
reads,  "  Born  during  the  world  war." 
The  well-to-do  can  purchase  either  of  the 
last  two  medals  in  silver. 

The  productions  just  described  give  us 
a  quaint  glimpse  into  the  mentality  of 
the  great  nation  with  whom  our  own  is 
now  locked  in  a  life-and-death  struggle. 


A  MUCH-SOUGHT-AFTER  GERMAN  MEDAL, 
STRUCK  TO  COMMEMORATE  THE  SUBMA- 
RINE BLOCKADE  OF  ENGLAND,  FEB.  18,  1915. 
IT  PROVIDES  AN  EARLY  EXAMPLE  OF  THE 
FAMOUS  PHRASE  " GOTT  STRAFE  ENGLAND" 


The  definitely  satiric  medals  are  a  more 
lurid  illuminant.  It  is  sometimes  said 
that  a  boxer  never  feels  thoroughly  con- 
fident until  he  sees  that  his  opponent  is 
losing  his  temper.  If  the  analogy  holds 
good,  a  perusal  of  the  catalogue  should 
be  comforting.  In  any  case  it  provides 
a  wholesome  discipline  in  the  way  of 
seeing  ourselves  as  others  see  us.  The 
rest  of  the  Allies  escape  almost  scot-free, 
except  for  a  few  fierce  thrusts  at  Italy  or 
at  individual  Italians,  like  Gabriele 
d'Annunzio,  who  is  represented  as  Judas 
Iscariot.  It  is  for  Britain  that  the  vials 
of  German  wrath  are  reserved.  And 
what  vials  they  are!  Humor,  or  at  all 
events  humor  of  the  conscious  variety, 
has  taken  to  itself  wings. 

The  catalogue  contains  nothing  quite 
so  shocking  as  the  Lusitania  medal.  On 
the  other  hand,  one  cannot  help  observ- 
ing that  the  author  of  that  infamy,  Karl 
Goetz,  now  appears  to  enjoy  extraordi- 
nary popularity  as  a  designer.    A  speci- 


348 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


men  of  his  handiwork,-  dealing  with  the 
loss  of  the  Zeppelin  L-19  in  the  North 
Sea,  forms  a  highly  instructive  counter- 
part to  the  performance  through  which 
he  first  became  notorious.  On  the  ob- 
verse is  the  airship  laboring  heavily  amid 
the  waves;  the  crew  have  clustered  on 
the  upper  portion  of  the  envelope,  and 
are  looking  over  the  angry  waters  to 
a  trawler,  the  King  Stephen,  which  is 
disappearing  in  the  distance.  The  re- 
verse is  almost  wholly  occupied  by  the  in- 
scription, "Curse  the  British  at  sea! 
Curse  your  evil  conscience,"  which  is 
doubtless  meant  to  express  the  feelings 
of  the  Zeppelin  crew,  (who  are  all  repre- 
sented as  shaking  their  fists  vigorously,) 
and  by  the  descriptive  sentence,  "  Ship- 
wrecked men,  imploring  help,  were  left 
to  drown,  2d  February,  1916."    Yet  an- 


GERMAN  SILVER  MEDAL,  INSCRIBED  "  NACH 
PARIS"  ON  ONE  SIDE,  WITH  A  PORTRAIT  OF 
GENERAL  VON  KLUCK  ON  THE  PACE,  MADE 
IN    ANTICIPATION    OP   THE    FALL    OF    PARIS 


other  of  Goetz's  creations  shows  on  the 
obverse  a  half-length  portrait  of  Roger 
Casement,  stripped  to  the  waist  and 
bound,  with  a  lanky  Highlander  busily 
engaged  in  tying  a  rope  round  his  neck; 
as  caricatured  in  Germany,  the  British 
Army  usually  wears  a  kilt,  a  delicate 
compliment  which  Scotsmen  will  not  be 
slow  to  appreciate.  On  the  reverse  a 
spider  is  hard  at  work  weaving  its  web 
round  a  stout  volume,  which  is  labeled 
"English  Law,  1351."  The  book  itself 
is   supported  by  a   pleasing   assortment 


of  mediaeval  instruments  of  torture,  from 
the  midst  of  which  there  grins  a  skull 
with  serpents  issuing  from  its  eyes. 
Across  the  field  is  the  date  of  Casement's 
execution,  "  3d  August,  1916,"  while 
round  the  margin  is  the  doggerel  verse: 
Edward  Third's  dead  hand 
Fastens  the  noose  round  Ireland. 

Another  echo  of  the  unhappy  Irish 
rising  presents '  us  with  a  picture  of 
Death,  wearing  the  undress  cap  of  a 
hussar  and  smoking  a  clay  pipe,  seated 
jauntily  on  the  edge  of  a  tomb  inscribed 
"  Home  Rule.  R.  I.  P."  He  is  contem- 
plating with  apparent  satisfaction  a 
bunch  of  shamrock  which  he  holds  in  his 
hand,  and  which  is  described  in  the 
rubric  as  "  A  posy  of  May  flowers  from 
'  the  Emerald  Isle."  This  medal  is  one  of 
a  group  of  six  executed  by  a  certain  W. 
Eberbach.  They  are  identical  in  size, 
and  are  clearly  meant  to  be  regarded  as 
forming  a  sort  of  "  danse  macabre."  In 
all  of  them  the  same  repulsive  figure  is 
conspicuously  "  featured,"  as  the  cinema 
advertisements  would  have  it.  Thus  on 
one  he  stands  astride  above  the  sinking 
Lusitania,  gloating  over  her  as  she  sinks 
beneath  the  waves,  the  accompanying 
legend  being  "  Spite  and  heedless  frivol- 
ity on  board  of  the  Lusitania."  The  re- 
verse dedicates  the  medal  "  To  Woodrow 
Wilson,  the  man  who  despised  our  warn- 
ing.    1916." 

It  is  far  from  agreeable  to  linger  in 
such  company.  But  the  effrontery  dis- 
played in  a  third  member  of  the  series  is 
so  colossal  that  one  cannot  pass  it  by  in 
silence.  As  in  the  case  of  all  the  others, 
Death  dominates  the  field.  This  time  he 
is  seated  with  his  back  to  the  spectator, 
closely  watching  a  passing  liner,  whose 
fate  is  plainly  foretold  by  the  mine  which 
he  holds  in  one  hand  and  the  torpedo 
which  he  grasps  in  the  other.  Above  are 
the  words,  "  England's  greeting  to  the 
neutral  ship  Tubantia,"  the  Tubantia 
being,  of  course,  the  fine  Dutch  steamer 
which  was  one  of  the  first  victims  of  Ger- 
many's campaign  against  neutrals.  On 
the  reverse  is  the  unexceptionable  senti- 
ment, "  The  best  of  people  can't  live  in 
peace  if  their  wicked  neighbor  doesn't 
want  them  to."  Britain  or  Germany — 
which  of  these  was  neighbor  to  him  that 
fell  among  thieves? 


The  War  Problems  of  Mothers 

By  the  Countess  of  Warwick 

[Published   by  arrangement  with   The   London    Chronicle.] 


MOTHERS  of  soldiers  have  been 
in  evil  plight  from  time  im- 
memorial, ever  since  the  wag- 
ing of  the  first  wars  in  some 
forgotten  era  of  which  history  takes 
no  count,,  but  in  England  their  troubles 
in  the  past  were  never  as  they  are  to- 
day. Before  1914  we  had  a  professional 
army  for  which  men  underwent  long 
training;  only  in  a  few  families  did 
the  service  claim  all  the  sons;  as  a  rule 
there  were  some  who  chose  a  civil  call- 
ing. The  result  was  very  satisfactory. 
Mothers  had  a  sense  of  double  security. 
In  the  first  place,  the  risks  of  war  could 
not  reach  all  their  loved  ones;  secondly, 
the  ethics  of  war  could  not  dominate  the 
house. 

Thinking  women,  whether  educated  or 
not,  have  always  recognized  in  militarism 
the  merciless  enemy  of  feminism;  it  is 
a  fight  to  a  finish  between  the  two,  and 
neither  side  will  abate  its  claims.  While 
militarism  is  up,  feminism  is  down,  and 
when  the  latter  ascends  the  former  must 
go.  I  have  known  suffragists  belonging  to 
families  that  have  a  great  military  rec- 
ord, and  some  of  them  have  hesitated  to 
face  the  truth  on  account  of  personal 
family  history,  but  there  can  be  no  two 
opinions  about  it.  If  women  did  not 
realize  the  whole  truth  earlier  it  was  be- 
cause the  services  claimed  no  more  than 
a  part  of  their  family,  and  the  war  risks 
were  comparatively  small.  In  the  past 
sixty  years  the  last  Transvaal  war  ( 1899- 
1902)  has  been  the  only  really  serious 
conflict,  and  that  was  little  more  than 
an  affair  of  outposts  by  the  side  of  the 
struggle  that  engages  the  world  today. 

If  the  responsible  section  of  my  sex  has 
been  betrayed  by  the  love  of  gold  lace, 
ribbons,  stars,  crosses,  and  other  decora- 
tions into  thinking  too  well  of  war 
through  all  the  years  of  peace,  the  retri- 
bution, long  though  it  lingered,  has  come 
at  last.  It  has  taken  a  double  form. 
Some   of   our   sons   have   gone   to   their 


death,  and  this,  indeed,  is  tragedy 
enough;  but  other  of  our  sons  have  come 
back  dead  to  the  life  that  held  them  be- 
fore they  went  away,  and  this  in  many 
instances  is  the  worst  tragedy  of  all.  A 
mother's  love  for  her  son  is  something 
that  no  man  can  nearly  understand;  so 
many  things  enter  into  it  beyond  the 
reach  of  his  perceptions.     The  thinking 


COUNTESS    OF   WARWICK 

woman  looks  to  him  to  carry  some  at 
least  of  her  ideals  into  the  world;  she 
molds  him  that  he  may  be  better,  nobler, 
more  useful  to  humanity  than  she  herself 
ever  hoped  to  be,  even  in  dreams. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  how  the  mother 
of  a  lad  who  fulfills  her  ideals  would  de- 
cide if  she  could  choose  for  him  one  of 
two  fates — the  first,  to  die  in  battle  in 
the  earliest  flush  of  youth  and  idealism, 
returning  to  his  Creator  a  soul  unstained; 


350 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  second,  to  return  from  the  war  sound 
of  limb,  but  with  the  feeling  that  our 
ends  and  aims  are  not  shaped  by  any 
Divinity,  that  nothing  matters,  and  that 
it  is  well  to  eat  and  drink  and  be  merry 
today,  because  tomorrow  the  just  and  the 
unjust  man  will  share  a  common  grave, 
over  which  the  dust  of  oblivion  will  soon 
be  blowing.  I  can  imagine  no  more  ter- 
rible choice  for  any  mother,  but  I  can- 
not doubt  what  answer  would  spring  to 
the  lips  of  those  who  have  kept  their 
faith  quite  free  from  definitions,  in  spite 
of  the  bankruptcy  of  Church  and  of  State. 
Happily,  such  an  awful  responsibility 
does  not  fall  to  any  one. 

Yet  it  will  be  the  fate  of  innumerable 
mothers  to  welcome  back  to  their  homes, 
when  war  is  over;  sons  whose  finer  sus- 
ceptibilities and  emotions  have  lost  all 
their  edge,  boys  who  were  in  all  save 
military  eyes  too  young  to  be  plunged 
into  the  inferno  of  strife,  who,  after  grow- 
ing careless  of  death,  are  now  careless 
of  life.  Men  go  through  their  appointed 
task  with  unquenchable  heroism,  and 
there  is  no  detailed  story  of  a  day's  work 
that  cannot  thrill  to  the  heart,  but  here  in 
England,  happily,  we  see  nothing  of  the 
actualities;  we  read  of  cannon  fodder,  but 
do  not  realize  what  it  actually  means. 
We  only  know  vaguely  that  every  time 
the  sun  rises  in  the  east  so  many  hun- 
dreds, or  even  thousands,  of  lads  and  men 
look  upon  the  dawn  for  the  last  time,  and 
that  by  the  hour  when  the  west  is  red- 
dening whatever  their  lives  held  of  prom- 
ise for  the  world  at  large  is  lost.  Ours 
is  the  knowledge,  but  the  actual  sight  of 
all  the  hideous  welter  upon  which  the  pen 
forbears  to  dwell  is  the  experience  of  our 
young  sons.  How  many  of  us,  not  lack- 
ing in  courage,  could  face  with  open  eyes 
the  sights  with  which  our  lads  have 
grown  familiar? 

There  is  a  certain  esprit  de  corps 
among  fighting  men.  They  are  jovial  to 
the  last,  they  have  neither  the  time  nor 
the  mood  to  mourn,  the  normal  values  of 
life  have  passed  entirely  out  of  sight. 
Recklessness  is  the  order  of  the  hour,  it 
strays  from  action  to  thought.  Young 
officers  have  told  me  in  all  seriousness 
that  we  at  home  have  no  real  idea  of  life 


at  all.  To  savor  the  true  sense  of  it 
one  must  needs  go  to  the  trenches,  or 
over  the  blackened  sites  of  villages  that 
once  held  a  few  hundred  simple,  harmless 
lives.  "  Perhaps  God  ruled  over  Europe 
•once  upon  a  time,"  said  one,  with  a  sud- 
den burst  of  candor,  "  but  I  know  He 
doesn't  now.  Even  He  could  not  claim 
to  rule  and  be  responsible  for  the  things 
I've  seen;  and  ours  is  no  more  than  a 
few  yards  of  line."  Another  assured  me 
that  when  the  army  is  finally  disbanded, 
nobody  will  go  to  church.  "  There  never 
could  be  any  hypocrisy,"  he  assured  me, 
"  equal  to  going  to  church  after  all  one 
has  seen. 

"  Yes,  I  did  hear  those  rather  pitiful 
stories  about  the  angels  at  Mons,  but  they 
were  supposed  to  have  been  seen  when 
the  war  was  a  month  old.  If  anybody 
tells  of  angels  now,  it  is  one  of  the  forms 
of  shell-shock.  That  does  make  some 
men  pray  and  others  curse,  and  some 
can't  do  the  one  or  the  other,  and  they 
go  mad.  But  nothing  really  matters. 
We  all  do  what  we  can,  and  the  enemy 
does  the  same,  and  we'll  win  because, 
man  for  man,  we're  better,  even  if  we're 
not  as  clever,  and  those  who  don't  go 
west  today  will  go  tomorrow,  or  next 
week  or  next  month,  but  most  of  us  will 
get  there  before  we  see  the  Rhine."  He 
went  on  to  talk  lightly  of  a  revue  that 
he  had  been  taken  to  see  three  times  on 
his  brief  leave.  "  I  suppose  it's  rather 
a  beastly  thing,"  he  said,  "but  we  all 
laughed,  and  it  doesn't  matter  much  any- 
way." 

I  could  dive  deeper  into  the  problem  I 
have  suggested  rather  than  outlined  here, 
but  to  do  so  would  be  to  commit  a  breach 
of  confidence.  Suffice  it  that  the  respon- 
sible mothers  of  the  young  men  who  come 
home  have  a  grave  problem  before  them, 
the  more  grave  because  they  cannot,  save 
in  a  very  few  exceptional  cases,  solve  it 
for  themselves.  All  mothers  have  to  re- 
member that  their  sons  grow  up,  and 
that  of  all  the  forcing  processes  in  the 
world  none  is  quite  so  drastic  as  war. 
The  lads  will  have  reached  the  time  when 
they  will  turn  for  counsel,  sympathy,  and 
affection,  not  to  their  mothers,  who  would 
so  willingly  give  them  of  their  best,  but 


THE  WAR  PROBLEMS  OF  MOTHERS 


351 


to  the  daughters  of  other  mothers,  who 
will  become  mothers  in  their  turn.  I  do 
not  think  I  have  ever  regretted  more 
keenly  the  neglect  of  the  education  of  ( 
girls  in  the  middle  and.  upper  classes, 
the  little  provision  there  is  in  it  by  which 
they  may  save  alive  the  soul  of  a  man 
who  is  in  danger  of  losing  it. 

It  is  one  of  the  ironies  of  the  times 
that  the  daughters  whose  education  is  in 
so  many  instances  scarcely  worthy  the 
name,  whose  tastes  are  so  often  per- 
verted by  the  empty  life  of  pleasure  that 
is  the  only  life  within  their  grasp,  whose 
physique  is  injured  by  town  life,  badly 
ventilated  rooms,  ill-chosen  food,  fash- 
ionable clothes  and  the  rest  of  the  evil 
to  which  the  daughters  of  wealthy  par- 
ents are  heir,  should  be  asked  to  save  the 
race.  Yet,  however  great  the  irony  of 
the  situation,  that  situation  exists.  It 
must  be  faced.  The  battle  of  militarism 
against  feminism  will  be  resumed.  Con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  they  will  be 
combatants.  They,  and  not  the  mothers 
who  yearn  for  sons  lost  and  sons  worse 
than  lost,  must  play'  their  part,  live 
awhile  face  to  face  with  the  grave  prob- 


lem, solve,  trifle  with  or  ignore  it.  War 
has  loaded  the  dice  for  militarism.  The 
times  will  gamble  with  these  loaded  dice 
for  the  bodies  of  a  generation  yet  unborn, 
and  all  that  many  a  lad  will  have  to 
stand  between  him  and  the  further  dis- 
aster of  perpetuating  the  evils  of  our 
day  will  be  some  young,  fair,  foolish  head 
with  eyes  that  a  piece  of  braid  or  ribbon 
may  be  able  to  dazzle. 

I  am  conscious  of  a  clear  conviction 
that  feminists  of  every  class  and  creed 
should  unite  to  face  this  problem;  any 
other  success  while  such  a  work  remains 
undone  is  the  gain  of  the  shadow  and 
the  loss  of  the  substance.  The  girls  of 
England  whose  attractions  will  rule  the 
English  world  and  decide  the  character 
of  the  next  generation  must  be  reached 
while  there  is  yet  time,  and  something 
of  their  responsibilities  brought  home  to 
them.  If  they  are  going  to  disregard 
them  and  help  to  prolong  the  agonies  of 
our  failing  civilization,  let  it  not  be  said 
that  they  erred  through  ignorance  or 
because  there  were  none  to  teach  them 
the  truth  about  the  part  they  are  called 
upon  to  play. 


British  Women  in  War  Service 


THE  British  War  Office  issued,  at  the 
end  of  February,  1917,  the  following 
statement  of  the  terms  and  condi- 
tions governing  the  employment  of 
women  with  the  British  armies  in  France. 
Many  thousands  of  women  in  England 
had  long  been  awaiting  official  arrange- 
ments enabling  them  to  volunteer  for 
this  service: 

For  twelve  months,  subject  to  termination 
earlier  at  the  discretion  of  the  Army  Council 
upon  one  month's  notice,  except  for  mis- 
conduct or  incompetence,  when  one  week's 
notice  will  be  given.  The  engagement  may- 
be renewed  by  mutual  consent  at  the  termina- 
tion of  the  first  period.  A  bonus  of  £5  will 
be  paid  to  each  woman,  irrespective  of  grade, 
on  renewal  of  the  agreement  for  a  second 
period. 

There  are  five  main  categories  of  em- 
ployment, viz. :  (a)  Clerical,  typist,  short- 
hand typist;  (b)  cooks,  waitresses,  and  do- 
mestic staff;  (c)  motor  transport  service; 
(d)    storehouse    women,    checkers,    and    un- 


skilled labor ;  (e)  telephone  and  postal 
services,  and  (f)  in  addition  there  will  be 
certain  miscellaneous  services  which  do  not 
fall   within    the   above   main   classification. 

(a)  Ordinary  clerical  work  and  typists, 
23s.  to  27s.  per  week,  according  to  efficiency; 
clerks  employed  on  higher  clerical  and 
supervisory  duties,  28s.  to  32s.  per  week, 
according  to  efficiency ;  shorthand  typists, 
28s.  to  32s.  per  week,  according  to  efficiency. 
These  rates  of  pay  cover  forty-two  working 
hours  per  week,  after  which  overtime  will 
be  paid  at  the  rate  of  7d.  per  hour  for 
ordinary  clerks  and  9d.  per  hour  for  clerka 
employed  on  higher  work  and  shorthand 
typists. 

(b)  Head  cooks  and  waitresses,  £40  per 
annum ;  cooks,  waitresses,  and  housemaids, 
£26  per  annum,  with  free  board  and  lodging, 
together  with  6d.  per  week  for  personal  wash- 
ing. 

(c)  Superintendents,  first  class,  52s.  6d.  per 
week ;  superintendents,  second  class,  46s.  per 
week ;  head  drivers,  40s.  per  week ;  qualified 
driver-mechanics,  35s.  per  week ;  washers, 
20s.  per  week.     These  above  weekly  rates  in- 


352 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


elude  Sunday  work  when  necessary,  but  if 
employed  on  Sunday  a  day's  rest  in  lieu 
will  be  given.  In  addition,  overtime  will  be 
allowed,  except  to  superintendents,  at  the 
rate  of  5d.  per  hour  after  eight  and  a  half 
working  hours   per   day. 

(d)  Storehouse  women  and  unskilled  labor, 
20s.  per  week.  Extra  pay  up  to  2s.  per  week 
where  special  aptitude  is  required ;  leading 
hands,  22s.  per  week ;  checkers,  22s.  to  24s. 
per  week ;  assistant  forewomen,  24s.  per 
week;  forewomen,  24s.  to  30s.  per  week,  ac- 
cording to  number  of  staff  supervised.  These 
rates  cover  forty-eight  working  hours  per 
week.  Overtime,  at  time  and  a  quarter  for 
the  first  two  hours  per  day;  thereafter  and 
on   Sundays,    time   and   a   half. 

(e)  Telephone  and  postal  services.  Rates 
of  pay  are  under  consideration  by  the  Post- 
master General  and  will  be  announced  later. 

(f )  Miscellaneous  services.  Special  ratesi  of 
pay,  according  to  nature  of  employment,  with 
a  minimum  of  20s.  per  week. 

No  woman  under  twenty  or  over  forty  years 
of  age  will  be  eligible  for  employment.  A 
short  form  of  agreement  will  be  entered  into. 
A  medical  examination  by  a  woman  doctor 
will  be  necessary.  The  period  of  prepara- 
tion in  England  will  include  elementary  in- 
struction in  hygiene  and  discipline.  Free 
conveyance  to  and  from  France  on  appoint- 
ment and  termination  of  engagement  will  be 
provided.     A  fortnight's  leave  will  be  given 


during  each  year's  service.  An  allowance 
of  £4  will  be  paid  to  provide  uniform  at 
the  beginning  of  service,  with  a  further 
grant  of  £1  at  the  end  of  six  months.  Similar 
grants  will  be  made  for  the  second  year's 
service.  Slightly  different  grants  will  be 
made  in  the  case  of  the  Motor  Transport 
'Section. 

In  all  cases  other  than  (b)  cooks,  wait- 
resses, and  domestic  staff ;  (d)  storehouse 
women  and  unskilled  labor,  and  (f)  miscel- 
laneous services — a  deduction  not  exceeding 
14s.  per  week  will  be  made  to  cover  cost  of 
board  and  lodging  and  washing  on  a  regu- 
lated scale,  which  will  be  provided  by  the 
military  authorities.  In  the  case  of  (d)  store- 
house women  and  unskilled  labor  and  (f) 
miscellaneous  services,  when  the  pay  is  less 
than  21s.  per  week,  the  deduction  will  not 
in  any  case  exceed  13s.  a  week.  The  women 
will  be  accommodated,  while  in  France,  in 
hostels,  under  the  care  and  supervision  of 
lady  superintendents.  The  above  applies  to 
France  only.  It  must  be  understood  that 
enrollment  for  service  includes  service  at 
home  as  well  as  in  France.  Those  who  have 
a  preference  should  declare  it.  Where  prefer- 
ence for  France  is  declared  it  will  be  satis- 
fied if  possible,  and  service  in  France  may 
ultimately  follow  service  begun  at  home.  The 
conditions  of  service  of  the  various  classes  of 
women  workers  at  home  will  remain  as  at 
present. 


To    the    First  Gun 

By  ROBERT  UNDERWOOD  JOHNSON 

[The  liner  St.  Louis,  the  first  American  merchant  ship  to  carry  guns  through  the  German 
submarine  zone,  sailed  from  New  York  on  March  18,  1917] 


Speak,  silient,  patient  gun! 

And  let  thy  mighty  voice 
Proclaim  the  deed  is  done — 

Made  is  the  nobler  choice; 
To  every  waiting  people  run 

And  bid  the  world  rejoice. 

Tell  them  our  heaving  heart 
Has  found  its  smiting  hand, 

That  craves  to  be  a  part 
Of  the  divine  command. 

Speak,  prove  us  more  than  ease  or  mart, 
And  vindicate  the  land. 

Thine  shall  the  glory  be 

To  mark  the  sacred  hour 
That  testifies  the  free 

Will  neither  cringe  nor  cower. 
God  give  thy  voice  divinity 

That  Right  be  armed  with  Power. 


Thou  art  not  lifeless  steel 
With  but  a  number  given, 

But  messenger  of  weal 

Hot  with  the  wrath  of  heaven. 

Go  earn  the  right  to  Honor's  seal — 
To  have  for  Honor  striven. 

Lead  us  in  holy  ire 

The  path  our  fathers  trod; 
The  music  of  thy  fire 

Shall  thrill  them  through  the  sod. 
The  smoke  of  all  thy  righteous  choir 

Is  incense  unto  God. 

And  when  long  Peace  is  found 
And  thou  has  earned  thy  rest, 

And  in  thy  cave  of  sound 

The  sparrow  builds  her  nest, 

By  Liberty  shalt  thou  be  crowned 
Of  all  thy  comrades,  best. 


German  Women  as  War  Workers 

By    Caroline  V.  Kerr 

The  writer  of  this  article  has  recently  returned  to  the  United  States  after  having  served  for 
many  years  as  Berlin  correspondent  of  a  New  York  newspaper.  She  is  able,  therefore,  to 
furnish  a  first-hand  report  on  the  wartime  activities  of  German  women. 


WHAT  are  the  women  of  Germany 
doing  today?  Everything, 
from  sitting  in  the  civic  coun- 
cils to  sweeping  the  snow  from 
the  streets.  From  the  very  outbreak  of 
the  great  war  it  was  plain  to  be  seen 
that  the  women  of  Ger- 
many were  filled  with 
the  determination  to 
play  their  part  in  the 
great  national  epic, 
and  to  play  it  with 
fortitude  and  devotion. 
At  no  time  have  they 
swerved  or  faltered, 
and  Dr.  Delbruck,  late 
Minister  for  Home 
Affairs,  paid  the  wo- 
men of  Germany  a 
well  -  deserved  tribute 
when  he  declared  in 
the  Reichstag  that 
"  such  intelligent  co- 
operation and  striking 
efficiency  as  that  dis- 
played by  the  women 
of  the  land  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war 
could  not  be  dispensed 
with  when  normal  conditions  were  once 
more  restored." 

Not  only  are  they  engaged  in  the  mani- 
fold phases  of  relief  work  such  as  ob- 
viously fall  upon  the  womenfolk  of  a  na- 
tion at  war,  but  they  have  taken  the 
places  left  vacant  by  the  men  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  factory.  The  rapid  readjust- 
ment of  the  German  labor  market  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  number  of  female 
industrial  workers  was  increased  by  half 
a  million  during  the  first  eight  months  of 
the  war.  This  new  home  army  has  been, 
chiefly  employed  in  the  "  war  industries  " 
— that  is  to  say,  in  the  metal  and  machine 
works  or  in  the  electrical  and  chemical 
plants.  Fifty  thousand  women  are  em- 
ployed in  one  large  ammunition  factory, 
and  the  manufacture  of  shells  is  almost 


CROWN   PRINCESS    CECILIE 
OF    GERMANY 


entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  women. 
Female  labor  is  utilized,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, in  the  production  of  other  war  sup- 
plies which  do  not  represent  so  striking  a 
departure  from  normal  activities.  This 
is  the  case  with  the  textile  industries  and 
the  factories  for  ready- 
made  clothing. 

No  one  has  been  sur- 
prised to  find  German 
women  developing 
great  organizing  gifts 
in  dealing  with  the 
many  ramifications  of 
the  Red  Cross  work,  in 
operating  a  National 
League  for  Public 
Service,  and  in  elabo- 
rating a  well-nigh  per- 
fect system  of  munici- 
pal kitchens,  but  it  was 
scarcely  to  be  expected 
that  they  would  so 
readily  fall  into  line 
when  it  came  to  re- 
cruiting the  ranks  of 
the  thousand  and  one 
small  trades  and  vo- 
cations which  go  to 
make  up  the  everyday  life  of  a  big  nation. 
They  are  serving  with  success  as  letter 
carriers,  as  messenger  boys,  as  chauf- 
feurs, as  window  cleaners,  as  "  motor- 
men,"  as  conductors  on  the  street  cars 
and  subways,  and  one  is  reported  as  hav- 
ing joined  the  ancient  and  honorable  guild 
of  chimney-sweeps. 

They  are  familiar  figures  on  the 
streets  where  public  works  are  in  course 
of  construction,  and  if  you  ask  them  who 
looks  after  their  households  in  the  mean- 
time they  cheerfully  explain  that  they 
can  rely  upon  the  thoroughly  organized 
system  of  municipal  welfare  work  to 
care  for  them  and  their  children. 

Women  haVe  been  included  in  the 
municipal  councils  of  Berlin  and  other 
large  cities,  and  no  civic  measure  bear- 


354 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ing  upon  the  subjects  of  alimentation 
and  public  welfare  is  carried  out  with- 
out their  counsel  and  co-operation;  in 
fact,  a  few  women  of  extraordinary- 
initiative  and  executive  ability  may  be 
spoken  of  as  ex-officio  members  of  the 
German  Home  Office. 

Frau  HcyYs  Enterprises 

One  of  these  is  Frau  Sophie  Heyl,  the 
woman  who  gave  the  impulse  to  the 
centralization  of  the  national  movement 
in  household  economics.  Frau  Heyl  has 
received  many  orders  for  distinguished 
service,  but  no  one  of  these  is  as  gratify- 
ing to  her  as  the  unofficial  title  be- 
stowed upon  her  of  "  The  Hindenburg  of 
the  Kitchen." 

She  is  verily  a  generalissimo  in  her 
line  of  work,  and  in  the  opening  days  of 
the  war  gave  striking  proofs  of  her 
gifts  in  this  direction  by  mobilizing  the 
housekeepers  of  the  land  and  initiating 
them  into  the  role  they  were  expected  to 
play  in  the  great  campaign  then  open- 
ing. Her  ever-fertile  brain  evolved  one 
scheme  after  another  for  meeting  the 
unexpected  economic  situation,  and  the 
awakening  of  a  national  consciousness 
among  the  cooks  and  housewives  of  the 
empire  was  largely  due  to  the  efforts 
of  this  remarkable  woman. 

It  was  she  who  organized  and  financed 
the  first  relief  kitchen  for  the  "  shame- 
faced poor,"  and  it  was  due  to  her  fore- 
sight that  the  meat  and  vegetables  were 
concocted  into  the  savory  stew,  known 
as  "  gulasch,"  millions  of  tins  of  which 
were  sent  to  the  soldiers  in  the  trenches. 
More  than  that,  her  name  became  a 
household  word  throughout  the  land  by 
means  of  the  series  of  "  War  Cook 
Books,"  compiled  at  the  request  of  the 
German  Home  Office  and  distributed 
gratis  by  the  tens  of  thousands. 

Frau  Heyl  has  not  confined  her 
energies  to  household  economics  on  a 
large  scale,  but,  believing  in  the  ef- 
ficacy of  small  economies,  has  instituted 
potato-paring  and  cherry-pit  campaigns. 
Such  activities  may  seem  ridiculously 
small  to  the  outside  world,  but  are  not 
to  be  despised  in  a  country  now  passing 
through  the  state  of  "  commercial  iso- 
lation," once  foreseen  by  the  great  Ger- 
man philosopher,  Fichte. 


Public  Service  League 

What  Frau  Heyl  has  accomplished 
in  the  field  of  household  economics  has 
been  achieved  along  the  broader  lines 
of  national  welfare  work  by  Dr.  Gertrude 
Baumer,  President  of  the  National  Coun- 
cil of  German  Women  and  of  that  re- 
markable war  organization  known  as 
the  National  League  of  Public  Service. 

This  organization  represents  a  con- 
centration of  effort  and  a  compre- 
hensiveness of  scope  never  before  at- 
tempted by  the  women  of  any  country. 
The  war  was  scarcely  a  week  old  when 
the  call  went  out  from  Berlin  to  the  re- 
motest corner  of  the  empire  summoning 
the  women  of  Germany  to  the  colors, 
and  the  result  was  the  present  far- 
reaching  organization  prepared  to  meet 
every  exigency  of  the  war  relief  and 
public  welfare  work. 

Both  Dr.  Baumer  and  Frau  Heyl  at- 
tribute the  phenomenal  rapidity  with 
which  they  were  able  to  organize  such 
large  bodies  of  women,  and  direct  their 
activities  into  channels  of  efficiency,  to 
the  much-decried  "  Prussian  militarism," 
which  they  claim  only  means  schooling 
and  subordination  of  the '  individual  to 
the  well-being  of  the  masses — in  other 
words,  discipline  and  organization. 

Every  town,  village,  and  hamlet 
throughout  Germany  maintains  a  branch 
of  the  Public  Service  League,  and  these 
local  organizations  receive  a  weekly 
budget  from  the  municipal  treasuries 
and  thus  work  hand  in  hand  with  the 
city  authorities  in  disbursing  the  relief 
funds.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  work  may  be  gained  from  the  fact 
that  in  Berlin  alone  more  than  ten  mil- 
lion marks  are  paid  out  every  month 
to  the  soldiers'  families,  and  practically 
all  the  applications  for  aid  are  handled 
by  the  league.  In  two  months  the  Berlin 
relief  committees  distributed  food  cer- 
tificates and  bread  and  milk  cards  to  a 
total  amount  of  more  than  130,000  marks. 

Relief  of  the  Needy 

Some  of  the  duties  of  the  league  are 
to  look  after  the  war  widows  and 
orphans,  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  clothe 
the  destitute,  to  find  work  for  the  un- 
employed,    to     mediate     between     land- 


GERMAN  WOMEN  AS  WAR  WORKERS 


355 


lords  and  tenants,  and  in  every  possible 
way  to  come  to  the  immediate  and  ef- 
fective relief  of  all  the  needy  classes  of 
the  population.  One  of  the  chief  activ- 
ities of  the  league  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  was  to  care  for  the  thousands 
and  thousands  of  refugees  from  the  dev- 
astated provinces  of  East  Prussia  who 
poured  into  Berlin  and  other  cities  of 
the  interior  and  for  months  claimed  the 
hospitality  of  their  more  fortunate  com- 
patriots living  within  the  "  safety  zone." 
In  addition  to  the 
funds  appropriated  by 
the  city,  the  league  is 
the  constant  recipient 
of  voluntary  contribu- 
tions; in  fact,  its 
treasury  is  in  no  dan- 
ger of  being  exhausted 
should  the  war  con- 
tinue indefinitely. 

A  fact  of  striking 
significance  in  connec- 
tion with  this  organ- 
ization was  the  sweep- 
ing away  of  all  reli- 
gious and  party  bar- 
riers. The  League  of 
Catholic  Women  as 
well  as  those  of  pro- 
nounced Social  Demo- 
crat tenets  allied  them- 
selves with  the  national  movement,  and  a 
Swedish  writer,  in  commenting  upon  this 
phenomenon,  says  that  if  "  dismembered 
Germany  was  welded  into  an  empire  by 
the  war  of  1870-71,  the  war  of  1914  may 
be  said  to  have  accomplished  still  more 
for  the  nation  by  bringing  about  an  in- 
ner unification  and  creating  an  entirely 
new  quality  of  national  consciousness." 

The  basic  principle  underlying  the 
activities  of  the  league  is  to  discourage 
charity  and  make  every  applicant  for 
aid  self-supporting.  It  is  not  possible 
to  carry  out  this  principle  in  all  cases, 
but  its  general  wisdom  is  incontestable. 
Living  upon  the  charity  of  others  soon 
becomes  an  incurable  habit  and  is  ut- 
terly destructive  of  all  feelings  of  self- 
respect  and  personal  responsibility. 

Parallel  with  the  work  of  the  Public 
Service  League  is  that  of  the  so-called 
"  Frauendank  " — an  endowment  fund  al- 


GRAND  DUCHESS  LOUISE  OF  BADEN 


ready  amounting  to  many  millions,  de- 
signed as  a  special  expression  of  grati- 
tude from  the  women  of  Germany  to 
their  fallen  heroes.  The  interest  on  this 
fund,  which  is  splendidly  invested,  is  to 
be  supplied  to  the  permanent  support 
of  the  families  thus  left  unprovided  for. 
It  is  the  women  who  have  also  taken 
the  lead  in  the  national  "  Gold  Offering." 
The  official  head  of  this  work  is  the 
German  Crown  Princess,  from  whose 
various  royal  residences  rich  treasures 
have  been  sent  to 
swell  the  sacrifices 
laid  upon  the  altar  of 
the  Fatherland. 

There  is  no  busier 
woman  in  the  empire 
than  the  Crown  Prin- 
cess, as  she  must  not 
only  lend  her  name 
and  influence  to  the 
manifold  war  organ- 
izations, but  she  is  also 
called  upon  to  repre- 
sent the  Empress  at 
all  public  functions 
owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  latter  has  with- 
drawn herself  from 
active  participation  in 
the  broader  phases  of 
the  relief  work  and 
confines  herself  to  a  few  charities  lying 
very  near  to  her  heart. 

Thus  it  happens  that  the  Crown 
Princess  is  daily  claimed  by  some  of- 
ficial duty  or  errand  of  mercy;  now  she 
makes  the  round  of  the  military  hos- 
pitals; now  she  is  investigatng  the 
progress  made  at  the  lace  school  started 
under  her  aegis;  now  she  is  presiding  at 
a  bazaar,  where  her  services  are  eagerly 
sought  as  a  saleswoman;  now  she  is  act- 
ing as  patroness  at  a  charity  concert,  the 
least  irksome  of  all  her  duties,  as  she 
is  a  thorough  musician.  She  is  par- 
ticularly interested  in  the  work  being 
accomplished  by  the  Crown  Princess 
Hospital  Train,  the  gift  of  the  Schoene- 
berg  Borough  of  Greater  Berlin  and  said 
to  be  the  best-equipped  hospital  on  wheels 
in  Germany. 

The  active  participation  taken  by  the 
royal  women  of  Germany  in  all  phases 


856 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


of  the  war  relief  work  has  been  a  great 
stimulus  to  the  women  of  the  land,  who 
feel  that  the  war  has  bridged  the  social 
chasm  and  united  them  in  one  common 
work,  quite  irrespective  of  caste  dis- 
tinctions. Here  they  meet  on  common 
ground  and  are  all  engaged  in  fulfilling 
their  sacred  duties  as  wives,  mothers, 
and  citizens. 

Even  the  octogenarian  Grand  Duchess 
Louise  of  Baden  does  not  allow  her  age 
to  deter  her  from  being  present  to  wel- 
come the  German  wounded  soldiers  when 
they  first  touch  home  soil  at  Constance  on 
their  way  back  from  the  prison  camps  of 
France. 

Other  Royal   Women 

The  Queen  of  Bavaria  is  another  royal 
woman  whose  heart  and  soul  are  in  the  re- 
lief work,  and  in  the  opening  days  of  the 
war  she  personally  presided  over  the  sew- 
ing rooms  established  in  one  of  the  wings 
of  her  Munich  palace. 

Court  society  furnishes  no  more  strik- 
ing example  of  fidelity  to  a  self-imposed 
task  than  Princess  Henckel-Dommers- 
marck,  the  wife  of  Germany's  largest  coal 
magnate.  Despite  her  years,  this  woman 
not  only  maintains  but  personally  super- 
vises a  hospital  of  200  beds.  By  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning  she  has  entered  upon  her 
round  of  daily  executive  duties,  and  8 
o'clock  in  the  evening  finds  her  still  en- 
gaged in  her  work  of  mercy. 

Baroness  von  Ihne,  one  of  the  beauties 
of  German  Court  society,  was  one  of  the 
first  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  placing 
the  work  being  done  for  the  "  war  blind  " 
on  an  organized  basis,  and  her  Home 
for  the  Blind  was  the  first  of  many  to 
undertake  the  systematic  education  of 
this  most  tragic  class  of  war  sufferers. 
Here  again  an  endownment  fund  already 
reaching  the  millions  insures  permanent 
aid  to  the  beneficiaries. 

Another  field  of  work  to  which  Ger- 
man women  have  devoted  themselves  with 
great  energy  is  gardening — not  futile, 
amateur  attempts  to  make  things  grow, 
but  "  war  gardening  "  on  a  large  and  pur- 
poseful scale. 

Baroness  von  Flotow  is  the  head  gar- 
dener at  the  Tel  tow  Vegetable  Fields  near 


Berlin,  where  200  young  women  of  gentle 
birth  and  breeding  have  braved  wind  and 
weather  for  two  years  in  the  execution  of 
their  volunteer  task  of  cultivating  150 
acres  of  land.  This  is  only  the  largest 
of  the  "  war  gardens  "  which  hang  like  a 
heavy  green  fringe  around  the  skirts  of 
Greater  Berlin,  now  widening,  now  nar- 
rowing as  the  brick  and  mortar  of  the 
suburban  settlements  or  the  shining  black 
ribbon  of  railway  steel  imposes  an  ob- 
stacle to  their  further  progress. 

The  fruits  and  vegetables  grown  in 
these  war  gardens  are  sold  for  minimum 
prices  in  the  co-operative  retail  shops 
opened  up  by  the  housewives'  unions, 
who  are  thus  in  a  position  to  control  the 
prices  of  foodstuffs. 

Raising  Sunflower  Seeds 

Nothing  is  deemed  so  insignificant  as 
to  be  a  negligible  quantity  in  the  general 
economic  scheme.  A  case  in  point  is 
furnished  by  the  attention  paid  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  sunflower,  strongly 
recommended  to  the  gardening  element 
by  reason  of  the  oil  to  be  extracted  from 
the  seeds  and  the  "sunflower  cake"  to  be 
made  from  the  residue  and  used  as 
fodder. 

Sunflower  products  form  an  important 
item  in  Russia's  export  trade,  the  reve- 
nue derived  from  the  export  of  sunflower 
oil  alone  having  brought  the  State  the 
sum  of  4,000,000  rubles  a  year.  Germany 
is  not  rich  in  oil-producing  plants,  and 
before  the  war  was  obliged  to  import 
practically  her  entire  supply  of  oils  and 
fats.  In  thus  encouraging  the  home  pro- 
duction of  an  indispensable  article  hither- 
to bought  in  foreign  countries,  the  Gov- 
ernment has  evidently  taken  as  a  prec- 
edent the  present  sugar  beet  industry, 
which  owes  its  origin  to  the  Continental 
blockade  imposed  by  Napoleon  I.  in  his 
wars  with  England.  Forced  back  upon 
her  own  efforts  to  supply  the  "nation's 
needs  in  this  article,  Germany  then  laid 
the  foundation  of  one  of  her  most  highly 
developed  national  industries. 

Naturally  the  question  arises  as  to 
what  this  activity  on  the  part  of  the  wo- 
men will  lead  to  after  the  war.  Dr. 
Gertrude  Baumer  answers  this  question 
at  the  close  of  her  book  on  the  "  German 


GERMAN  WOMEN  AS  WAR  WORKERS 


357 


GERMAN   WOMEN    AT    WORK    IN    A    STATE    GUN    FACTORY 


Woman  in  War  Welfare  Work."  Here 
she  says :  "  Thousands  of  women  have 
been  brought  to  a  full  realization  of  their 
duties  as  citizens  in  this  hour  of  fate 
and  will  remain  true  to  their  awakened 
consciousness.  The  war  has  had  a  qualita- 
tive effect  upon  woman's  work  and  en- 
deavor by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the 
enormous  and  unprecedented  problems 
created  by  the  war  have  forced  all 
sociological  organizations  to  shake  off 
their  dilettantism  and  plant  themselves 
upon  the  firm  ground  of  scientific 
knowledge  and  systematized  effort. 

Moreover,  the  official  recognition  of 
the  part  played  by  the  women  in  the 
communal  and  national  work  has  al- 
ready been  shown  by  the  appointment  of 
women  as  members  to  the  city  councils 
and  deputations,  the  full  significance  of 


which  will  not  be,  can  not  be,  estimated 
until  after  the  war. 

The  German  Nation  will  not  be  able 
to  forget  that  the  stern  fight  for  exist- 
ence behind  the  front  was  made  possible 
only  by  the  unremitting  efforts  of  the 
women  of  the  land,  working  hand  in  hand 
with  the  men  and  contributing  cheer- 
fully and  intelligently  to  the  economic 
upkeep  of  the  nation.  Even  women  who 
are  not  avowed  suffragists  think  that 
universal  suffrage  will  be  one  of  the  in- 
evitable results  of  the  war,  for  the 
reason  that  the  law-givers  of  all  the  bel- 
ligerent countries  can  no  longer  deny 
this  crowning  privilege  to  the  wives  and 
mothers  who  have  worked  so  bravely, 
suffered  so  keenly,  and  endured  so  pati- 
ently through  the  long  years  of  this  cruel 
war. 


(Copyright,  1917,  Otis  F.  Wood.) 


The  War's  Effects  on  Woman's  Status 

AUGUST     WINNIG,     NATIONAL     SECRETARY 
BUILDING    TRADE    UNION     OF     GERMANY 

Women  in  all  the  belligerent  countries  of  Europe  have  taken  men's  places  in  industrial 
life  in  unprecedented  numbers.  In  Germany  at  the  end' of  1916  the  number  of  women 
employed  in  industries  covered  by  the  sickness  and  death  "benefit  societies  numbered 
4,703,472,  or  nearly  one-half  the  persons  included  in  the  insurance  system.  This  is  a  33 
per  cent,  increase  since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  At  the  same  time  there  were  in  England 
3,219,000  women  employed  outside  their  own  homes,  of  whom,  706,000  had  replaced  men  gone 
to  war.  About  500,000  of  these  had  gone  into  munition  plants.  Cecil  Harmsworth,  head  of 
the  Woman's  War  Employment  Commission,  stated  on  Jan.  6,  1917,  that  his  commission 
then  had  a  trifle  over  1,000,000  women  doing  men's  work,  and  that  they  had  saved  England. 
In  France  similar  conditions  exist,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  women  are  making 
munitions  at  wages  ranging  from  $1.05  to  $2.15  a  day.  French  schools  are  now  taught 
almost  exclusively  by  women,  a  radical  change  from  the  past,  and  one  likely  to  remain 
after  the  war.— Editor  Current  History  Magazine. 


THE  world  war  is  a  revolution  the 
extent  and  meaning  of  which  will 
be  fully  apparent  only  to  coming 
generations.  Regarding  the  com- 
plex problems  that,  taken  together,  are 
called  the  woman  question,  the  war  has 
shown  itself  to  be  genuinely  revolution- 
ary, as  it  is  fast  ripening  the  new  social 
and  economic  phenomena  that  have  grown 
out  of  the  peculiar  needs  of  our  period. 
The  increasing  prominence  of  woman  in 
the  life  of  Germany  and  her  independent 
position  both  mentally  and  economically 
form  a  not  unimportant  peculiarity  of  our 
day.  This  is  a  phenomenon  inseparably 
connected  with  the  development  and  ad- 
vance of  capitalist  administration,  and, 
consequently,  cannot  be  stopped  by  any- 
thing, although  naturally  it  may  be  in- 
fluenced. 

Right  here  the  war  has  given  the 
wheel  of  time  a  powerful  turn  ahead. 
For  nobody  need  imagine  that  with  the 
return  of  peace  everything  in  this  matter 
will  go  back  to  its  old  form.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  are  many  considerations  that 
force  us  to  the  conclusion  that,  even 
after  the  war,  women's  labor  will  con- 
stitute a  far  more  weighty  factor  in  in- 
dustry than  it  did  before.  It  is  also  cer- 
tain that  this  phenomenon  cannot  be  re- 
stricted to  Germany  alone.  After  the  war 
all  Europe  will  be  compelled  to  employ 
women  to  a  greater  extent  in  industry. 
Millions  of  men  in  the  flower  of  their 
working  lives  are  being  eliminated  from 
the  industrial  sphere,  either  through  death 


or  permanent  injury.  Europe  must  find 
substitutes  for  them,  if  she  doesn't  want 
to  lose  her  hard-pressed  position  of  su- 
periority in  the  world  of  industry,  or, 
more  correctly  stated,  if  she  wishes  to 
regain  it.  Millions  of  the  wives  of  the 
dead  or  crippled  participants  in  the  war 
need  and  seek  industrial  employment  in 
order  to  earn  a  necessary  addition  to 
their  pension  allowances. 

The  surplus  of  women  will  increase, 
and,  in  line  with  this  fact,  there  will  be 
a  rise  in  the  number  of  women  who  must 
renounce  the  idea  of  marriage  and  make 
themselves  economically  independent. 
We  must  expect  a  sharper  competition 
among  the  industrial  States  for  the  ex- 
port markets,  and  this  will  involve  an 
increased  effort  to  lower  the  cost  of 
production.  These  conditions  will  be 
present  and  their  influence  will  be  felt 
in  all  the  industrial  nations.  Therefore 
this  mighty  transformation  in  the  eco- 
nomic position  of  woman  is  not  limited 
to  Germany.  It  will  be  extended  to  all 
the  belligerent  countries,  will  spread 
from  these  to  neutral  lands,  and,  as  a 
further  consequence,  will  form  the  base 
of  a  new  period  in  the  history  of 
woman. 

The  position  of  woman  as  to  her  pub- 
lic and  private  rights,  as  to  her  public 
and  intellectual  life,  is  closely  bound  up 
with  her  industrial  position  and  activity. 
Woman's  sphere  of  influence  in  the  State 
and  in  society  corresponds  to  her  field 
of  activity.     Where  woman's  activity  is 


THE  WAR'S  EFFECTS  ON  WOMAN'S  STATUS 


359 


limited  to  the  home  and  family,  where 
she  has  no  direct  connection  with  the 
industrial  life  of  the  nation,  there  her 
legal  and  intellectual  position  is  confined 
within  narrow  boundaries.  Right  here  is 
verified  Marx's  declaration  that  society 
does  not  rest  upon  the  law,  but  that  the 
law  Tests  upon  society.  Law  is  the  legal 
expression  of  the  actual  social  condition. 
Of  course,  like  everything  existing,  it  is 
ruled  by  the  tendency  to  stand  fast,  and, 
consequently,  it  generally  yields  but  hesi- 
tatingly, and  often  resistingly,  to  changes 
in  conditions. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  changes 
in  the  relation  of  women  to  industrial 
life  that  have  taken  place  during  the 
war  have  been  extraordinarily  great. 
Nevertheless,  they  would  remain  without 
any  influence  upon  the  legal  and  intel- 
lectual position  of  woman  if  they  were 
merely  of  a  transitory  nature.  Let  us 
summarize  the  reasons  that  show  that 
this  cannot  be  the  case; 

1.  The  economic  life  of  the  belligerent 
countries  needs  the  labor  of  women  as 
a  substitute  for  the  men  whom  the  war 
has  taken  from  industrial  life  either 
through  death  or  permanent  injury. 

2.  The  sharpened  industrial  competi- 
tion to  which  Europe  will  see  herself 
forced  because  of  her  loss  of  strength 
will  necessarily  develop — to  the  ad- 
vantage of  powerful  industrial  groups — 
a  strong  movement  toward  a  lowering 
of  the  cost  of  production,  which  will  be 
favored  by  woman's  labor,  as  it  is  at 
present  cheaper. 

3.  The  disappearance  of  the  fathers  of 
families  from  industrial  life  through 
death  or  disability  will  compel  a  great 
many  women  to  seek  productive  labor 
in  order  to  increase  their  pension  al- 
lowances from  the  public,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  maintain  the  family. 

4.  The  diminished  possibility  of  mar- 
riage will  force  more  women  than  for- 
merly to  make  themselves  economically 
independent  and  enter  industrial  life  for 
this  purpose. 

Quite  aside  from  the  question  as  to 
how  greatly  these  conditions  will  affect 
matters,  there  is  the  problem  of  how 
this  transformation  is  going  to  influence 
not  only  the  legal  and  intellectual  posi- 


tion of  woman,  but  also  the  entire 
economic  and  intellectual  life  of  our 
people. 

Up  to  the  present  there  have  been  in 
Germany  only  weak  currents  of  feminine 
opinion  insisting  upon  a  change  in  the 
present  legal  standing  of  women.  One 
of  these  was  composed  of  the  most  in- 
tellectually active  women  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, whose  interest  in  public  life  had 
been  aroused,  but  who  lacked  a  field  for 
its  exercise.  This  current  has  often  been 
called  the  "ladies'  movement,"  with  the 
intention  of  hinting  in  a  deprecatory  way 
that  this  was  not  so  much  an  earnest 
effort  for  the  attainment  of  equal  rights 
as  it  was  an  interesting  but  harmless 
sport.  The  view  thus  expressed,  how- 
ever, was  not  quite  fair.  Even  the 
women's  movement  of  the  bourgeoisie 
had  its  point  of  economic  support  in  the 
circles  under  its  influence.  A  growing 
number  of  women  remained  single  and 
saw  themselves  forced  by  economic,  and 
partly  by  psychological,  reasons  to  take 
up  a  profession,  which  these  women 
found  as  doctors,  teachers,  nurses,  or  as 
employes  in  commercial  offices,  or  in  the 
postal  service,  or  in  other  lines. 

In  so  far  as  the  bourgeois  woman's 
movement  really  was  backed  by  num- 
bers its  adherents  were  recruited  among 
these  circles,  and  as  a  matter  of  course 
the  leadership  fell  to  the  women  who 
were  the  most  fitted  for  it  through  edu- 
cation and  liberty  of  movement.  The 
second,  and  in  numbers  stronger,  move- 
ment among  the  German  women  was  that 
of  the  working  women  organized  dn  the 
Socialist  Party  and  the  trade  unions. 
This  movement  found  support  in  masses 
that  already  amounted  to  some  hundreds 
of  thousands,  but  in  comparison  with  the 
total  numbers  of  the  women  of  the  work- 
ing class  its  active  followers  were  but 
few.      *      *      * 

Enough:  It  is  beyond  question  that 
only  through  that  direct  participation  by 
women  in  the  economic  life  of  the  na- 
tion which  is  connected  with  economic 
independence  is  emphasis  lent  to  the  de- 
mand for  broader  rights,  and  that  only 
then  will  the  great  mass  of  women  take 
up  this  demand  and  earnestly  support  it. 
Consequently   it  is   evident  that  an  in- 


300 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


creasing  participation  by  women  in  in- 
dustrial labor  will  influence  the  legal 
position  of  woman  in  the  sense  of  a 
broadening  of  her  rights.  This  connec- 
tion is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  sphere  of 
activity  of  woman  in  industry  is  closely 
related  to  the  general  conditions  of  the 
people's  life.  The  wage-earning  woman, 
first  of  all,  has  quite  different  economic 
interests  from  those  of  the  housewife, 
whose  activities  are  limited  to  the  man- 
agement of  her  home,  the  care  of  her 
family,  and  the  rearing  of  her  children. 
Of  course  the  housewife  also  has  eco- 
nomic interests,  but  between  her  and  the 
basic  economic  conditions  of  life  stands 
the  man,  to  whom  falls  the  main  task  of 
providing  for  the  maintenance  of  life, 
and  who  is  the  first  to  have  to  contend 
with  the  handicaps  and  difficulties  en- 
countered in  this  work.  Here  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  the  man  forms  a  protecting 
shell  for  the  woman  and  the  family,  keep- 
ing off  the  economic  pressure  from  with- 
out, or  at  least  lessening  it.  For  this 
reason  the  contact  of  the  housewife  with 
the  economic  conditions  of  existence  is 
less  sharp.  The  case  of  the  wage-earning 
woman  is  different.  She  lacks  the  pro- 
tection of  the  man.  She  is  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  herself.  She  senses  her 
economic  interests  to  a  much  greater 
degree  and  soon  comes  to  the  conclusion 
that  she  must  take  action  herself  if  she 
wishes  to  better  her  conditions  of  labor. 

Moreover,  it  is  only  a  step  from  the 
field  of  economic  interests  to  participa- 
tion in  politico-economic  and  purely 
political  questions;  this  step,  however,  is 
very  seldom  taken  deliberately,  but 
simply  forces  itself  upon  the  women's 
organizations.  And  the  women's  eco- 
nomic organizations  will  be  something 
quite  different  in  significance  in  the 
future.      So   long    as   the   wage-earning 


woman  regards  her  industrial  activity 
merely  as  a  transition  period  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  marriage  she  does  not  take 
the  matter  of  defending  her  trade  in- 
terests very  seriously.  Only  the  con- 
sciousness that  her  wage-earning  labor 
forms  the  enduring  base  of  her  economic 
existence  makes  her  receptive  to  the  idea 
of  a  joint  representation  of  interests 
through  organization. 

The  basic  principle — equal  pay  for 
equal  work — has  more  than  mere  trade 
union  significance.  No  matter  what  ob- 
jections may  be  raised  against  it  on  the 
part  of  the  employers  it  is  indubitably 
justified  when  taken  in  connection  with 
the  nation's  industrial  and  political  life 
as  a  whole.  But  it  can  only  be  put  into 
effect  -if  woman  is  kept  away  from  the 
kind  of  gainful  labor  in  which  she  is  not 
equal  to  man,  therefore  above  all  from 
work  that  makes  especially  heavy  de- 
mands upon  bone  and  muscle.  The 
women  in  the  mines,  on  railroad  track 
and  construction  work,  in  foundries  and 
rolling  mills,  &c,  must  remain  a  phe- 
nomenon of  war  that  must  end  with  the 
war.  But  even  then  limitless  fields  of 
activity  are  open  to  them.  But  one  of 
the  most  necessary  tasks  of  legislation 
is  to  define,  after  careful  examination, 
which  of  the  fields  of  industrial  life  shall 
be  kept  open  to  woman  labor.  For  only 
thus  may  the  unavoidable  shocks  to  our 
economic  machinery  due  to  the  entering 
of  woman  into  the  army  of  wage  workers 
be  materially  lessened.      *       *       * 

The  war  has  given  the  wheel  of  evolu- 
tion a  swift  turn  forward.  The  woman 
question  has  entered  upon  a  new  stage; 
its  significance  for  the  entire  nation  has 
grown  mightily.  The  State  and  society 
must  recognize  the  new  nature  of  the 
woman  question  and  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  it. 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY   CARTOONISTS 

Note.— Owing    to    the    existing   blockade    of   Germany,    Current   History   Magazine    has    been 
unable  to  obtain  German  cartoons  for  this  issue. 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

An  International  Match 


—From  II  $0,  Florence. 
It  began  as  boxing — and  ends  as  football! 


361 


[Dutch  Cartoons] 


The  Arm  of  the  Law      Deep  Sea  Philosophy 


—From  De  Notenkraker,  Amsterdam. 
"  Father  Neptune,  what  do  they  mean 
—From  De  Notenkraker,  Amsterdam.  ^y  t  freedom  of  the  seas  '?  " 

"Donnerwetter!    Caught,  and  I  knew  "  They    mean>    my    dear>    that    they 

the  bait  was  illegal!  "  must  be  free  to  send  what  they  choose 

to  the  bottom." 


362 


[English  Cartoon] 

Holland's  Plight 


-'From  The  National  News,  London,: 
"  Between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea." 


[American  Cartoon] 


His  Easter  Egg 


—From    The  New   York   Times. 


Slow  in  hatching,  but  a  healthy  bird. 


864 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

The  New  Costume 


—From   L'Asino,   Rome. 

President  Wilson  :  "  And  now — cut  off  my  wings !  " 


365 


[English  Cartoon] 

The  Leper 


—From  Passing  Show,  London. 
Shunned  by  all  the  world. 


366 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

A  Sudden  Fear 

II                   ■      *     J 

II    '     ______    ■     B 

;  >,  ■—  -        \  ^;      <3| 

-  '■  jWP»^ 

^                     '  N  s  '                           v    1 

.    yr^ 

__HF' 

_______?_______[  _________P^    ';     JH 

;r^M '      i- 

1     _l 

KM 

>  •    .';•' 

mm                               -£&?■ 

■>■■      ;P 

*           „i>       ^^/te/^KM- 

K        x  i  > 

life-  >•!'"  i^l 

• 

___RT3Hi              :. 

■^-t§?    of 

K  fv 

l__i_ ___ _____ __ :     ' ' 1 : - i — in'.    '  ■  .".  '  -  '" 

—From  Campana  de  Gracia,  Barcelona. 

"  Where  is  the  good  old  ' 

Gott'  I  have  called  on  always?    Where  is  He?    Have  I 
slain  Him  also  in  error?  " 

367 


[German-Swiss   Cartoon] 

The  American  Crocodile 


—From  NebeUpalter,  Zurich. 
"My  good  rider  gives  me  such  good  fodder  that  I  like  to  please  him.     There- 
fore I  howl  about  the  Belgian  deportations." 


[German  Cartoon] 

French  Losses 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 
Better  Late  Than  Never 


S7        Vr    ~ 


—From  Ioeria,  Barcelona. 
"  While    England    does    the    shouting,      _      . ,        _.M       .     „     ,         ,  ^ 

France  loses  the  teeth."  President  Wilson's  final  rep  y  to  Ger- 

many  s    submarine   policy. 


368 


[Austrian  Cartoon] 

Besieging  John  Bull 


—From  Die  Muslcete,  Vienna. 
The  U-Maidens  at  Dover. 


369 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 


The  Woe  of  the  World 


—From  Be  Notenkraker,  Amsterdam. 

The  militarist  sees  all  the  thin  and  puny  hands  of  the  starving  peoples  shape 
themselves  into  one  mighty  fist. 


370 


[English  Cartoon] 


The  Harmony  Three 


-From  The  Evening  News,  London. 


A  song  of  the  German-Mexican-Japanese  plan  of  alliance. 


371 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 

England  Holds  Up  Dutch  Shipping 


■  ■ "  ■  ■ 


—From  De  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 
The  Dutch  Minister  shows  the  empty  bread  basket. 


[German-Swiss  Cartoon] 

The  American  Prestidigitateur 


—From  Neoelspalter,  Zurich. 
"  All   without   apparatus    or   double 
bottoms.     See,    ladies    and    gentlemen, 
one,  two,  three — the  dove  is  a  cannon!  " 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

The  Pirate  Emperor 


^q 

Mt:-^"^ 

—From  11  $0,  Florence. 

Kaiser  :  "  Behold !  I  am  Emperor  of 
the  seas!  The  submarine  is  my 
throne !  " 

Death  :  "  I  think  you  will  find  it  your 
coffin." 


372 


[American  Cartoons] 

"You  Lose" 


—From   The  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 


As  It  Looks  to  Poor  Holland 


More  "Clever  Strategy" 


—From  The  Grand  Forfcs  Herald. 


—From  The  St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 


373 


[Italian  Cartoon] 


The  Strange  Position  of  Holland 


/ 


^w 


—From  11  Numero,  Turin. 
Germany  still  creeping  through  for  supplies 


374 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

The  Neutral 


—From  Esquella,  Barcelona. 
Playing  a  fandango,  while  fellow-citizens  perish. 


375 


[English  Cartoons] 

Straining  at  the  Leash 


—From  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 
The  dogs  of  war,  United  States  of  America. 
[Published  about  the  time  of  the  Senate  filibuster] 


A  Potato  Drama 


f?? 


Despair. 
The  Last  Potato. 


—From  The  Westminster  Gazette. 
Safety. 
Ha,  ha!     I  am  a  Seed  Potato! 


376 


[German-Swiss  Cartoon] 


Europe's  Progress  Toward  Bankruptcy 


—From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 
The  load  is  the  debt  and  the  imp  is  the  interest.     The  load  has  grown  from 
$4,000,000,000  to  $80,000,000,000. 


[American  Cartoon] 
In  Freedom's  Name 


—From  The  Baltimore  American. 
Helping  to  roll  away  the  stone. 


[American  Cartoon] 

Into  the  Light 


FaaiU 


—From  The  Providence  Journal. 
The  War's  Greatest  Work. 


377 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

The  Recompense 


-From  Campana  de  Gracia,  Barcelona. 


Germany  :  "  In  return  for  the  kindness  shown  by  you  to  my  people  I  reward 
you  with  this  note  in  regard  to  my  unlimited  submarine  campaign." 


378 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

America's  Latest  Reply 


—From  III  $0,  Florence. 
The  Kaiser  :  "  Donnerwetter !    This  is  a  new  kind  of  American  note !  " 


[American  Cartoon] 
More  Trouble  for  Germany 


[American  Cartoon] 
The  Pariah 


—From  The  Portland  Oregonian. 

Now  China's  kicking  the  Kaiser's   dog      .        —From  The  New  York  Evening  Post. 

around.  "  What  has  become  of  my  friends?  " 


379 


[German-Swiss  Cartoon] 


Intensive  Submarine  Warfare 


mm& 


—From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 
Neptune  :  "  You  can  only  put  a  good  face  on  a  bad  position,  John." 


380 


■m— mi—  wmwn mwiimmiiniwiHHMiHi 

DR.  GEORG  MICHAELIS 


Germany's  new  Imperial  Chancellor,  successor  to  Herr  von  Bethmann 

Hollweg,  and  head  of  a  complete  new  Imperial  and 

Prussian  administration 

(Photo  Central  If9W§) 


ALEXANDER   F.   KERENSKY 


Premier  of  Russia,  on  whom  the  new  Republic  is  depending  for  a  suc- 
cessful issue,  both  to  its  external  dangers  and  its  internal  troubles 
(©  The  New  York  Times  Mid-Week  Pictorial) 


tVrw^ 


MUSTERING  OUR  ARMED  FORCES 

America's  First  Million  of  Fighting  Men  Mobilized 
and  Ready  to  Begin  Training  for  the  Front 


ONE  of  the  most  notable  advances  in 
the  preparations  of  the  United 
States  to  take  part  in  the  Euro- 
pean war  came  with  the  conclusion 
of  the  effort  to  bring  the  regular  army 
up  to  war  strength.  This  was  accom- 
plished on  Aug.  9,  1917,  when  the  183,898 
men  required  at  the  beginning  of  the 
recruiting  campaign  on  April  1  were  at 
last  enlisted.  More  than  four  months 
were  thus  occupied  in  reaching  the  maxi- 
mum war  strength  of  300,000  men.  The 
average  daily  enlistments  during  the  141 
days  were  1,300.  But,  despite  its  having 
now  reached  its  war  strength,  volunteers 
for  the  regular  army  have  since  been 
coming  forward  in  considerable  numbers, 
so  that  on  Aug.  20  the  total  was  more 
than  10,000  in  excess  of  the  number 
originally  required.  m 

A  further  addition  to  the  nation's  mili- 
tary forces  was  made  on  Aug.  5,  when 
the  National  Guard  was  drafted  into 
Federal  service.  More  than  300,000  men 
in  the  guard  units  were  discharged  from 
State  service,  and  with  enlistments  which 
have  since  taken  place  the  National 
Guard  now  numbers  about  350,000.  Add 
this  to  the  regular  army,  and  we  find 
that  the  United  States  now  has  650,000 
men  under  arms.  These  figures  do  not 
include  the  40,000  men  in  officers'  train- 
ing camps.  Finally,  when  the  687,000 
men  of  the  first  conscript  army  are  under 
arms,  the  United  States  will  have  over 
1,300,000  men  in  its  land  forces.  If  the 
training  of  these  men  proceeds  without 
delay,  the  United  States  ought  to  have 
its  first  million  men  on  the  firing  line 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Summer  of  1918. 
Early  in  September  the  first  section  of 
the  National  Army — raised  by  draft — 
will  be  in  camp.  From  now  onward  all 
these  men  will  form  one  great  army,  since 
regulars,  guardsmen,  and  conscripts,  to- 
gether with  the  newly  trained  officers, 
will  be  merged  into  a  single  fighting 
force. 


Comparison   With  Peace  Forces 

Within  five  months  of  America's  entry 
into  the  war  the  nation  will  have  raised 
over  a  million  men,  a  fact  which  can  be 
more  fully  appreciated  by  looking  back 
a  few  years  to  the  small  army  which  was 
considered  adequate  for  the  defense  of 
the  United  States  in  times  of  peace.  In 
1880  the  actual  strength  of  the  regular 
army  was  26,509,  in  1890  it  was  27,095, 
in  1900  it  was  69,155,  and  in  1910  it  was 
77,035.  At  the  beginning  of  1916  it  had 
increased  tc  5,016  officers  and  92,973 
enlisted  men,  including  5,733  Philippine 
Scouts. 

But  the  year  1916  saw  important  de- 
velopments. The  Mexican  raid  on  March 
9,  1916,  caused  Congress  to  authorize  an 
increase  of  20,000,  while  the  National 
Defense  act  of  June  3,  1916,  which  was 
passed  at  a  time  when  there  was  no 
thought  of  the  United  States  intervening 
in  the  war,  provided  an  aggregate  war 
strength — including  officers  and  special 
corps  and  services  of  all  kinds — of  301,- 
375.  But  when  the  United  States  declared 
war  in  April,  1917,  over  180,000  enlisted 
men  were  required  to  bring  the  army  up 
to  this  figure.  The  National  Guard  be- 
fore the  war  had  about  8,500  officers  and 
123,000  enlisted  men. 

At  that  time  it  was  calculated  that  the 
United  States  could  put  into  the  field 
not  more  than  80,000  men  at  the  utmost. 
It  follows,  then,  that  practically  the 
whole  army  which  will  be  ready  to  go  to 
the  front  in  1918  will  be  an  entirely 
new  fighting  force,  created  since  America 
entered  the   war. 

Navy  and  Army  Totals 

The  naval  forces  have  not  been  included 
in  these  figures.  It  was  officially  an- 
nounced on  Aug.  18  that  since  the  United 
States  declared  war  approximately  1,300,- 
000  men  had  offered  themselves  for  serv- 
ice in  the  naval  and  military  forces  of 
the  country.    Of  this  number,  not  includ- 


382 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


ing  those  who  have  been  commissioned 
from  the  training  camps,  448,859  had 
been  accepted  since  April  1. 

The  total  number  serving  on  Aug.  18 
in  the  armed  forces — all  volunteers — on 
land  and  sea  was  943,141  men,  not  in- 
cluding the  687,000  men  who  are  being 
drafted  and  who  will  go  into  training 
camps  in  September  and  October.  Since 
the  United  States  became  a  belligerent 
in  April,  121,514  men  who  had  volun- 
teered for  service  in  the  navy,  marine 
corps,  and  other  sea  forces  had  been  ac- 
cepted. In  the  regular  army  the  increase 
since  April  1  by  voluntary  enlistment  had 
been  190,347,  and  in  the  National  Guard 
136,998,  making  a  total  of  327,345  re- 
cruits accepted  in  the  army  branches,  and 
a  grand  total  of  448,859  for  both  land 
and  sea  forces. 

Even  this  figure  does  not  include  all 
who  have  been  accepted  for  service,  for 
there  have  been  additions  to  the  different 
reserve  corps,  but  these  figures  are  not 
all  available.  The  largest  single  item  is 
that  of  27,341  added  to  the  list  of  land 
officers  representing  the  young  men 
commissioned  from  the  first  series  of 
training  camps. 

The  land  forces  on  Aug.  18  were: 

.    Enlisted 
Officers     Men. 

Regular    army 6,700       298,996 

National    Guard 11,000       300,000 

Reserve    Corps 10,500         55,487 

Res.  Corps   (train,  camps) 27,341         


Total    55,541       654,483 

55,541 


Total  land  forces 710,024 

The  sea  forces  are  as  follows: 

Regular  navy,  enlisted  men 138,500 

Naval   Reserves,   enlisted   men 35,000 

Naval   Militia   in   Federal    service,    en- 
listed men 11,000 

Hospital    Corps,    regular    navy,    enlist- 
ed  men 0,000 

Hospital    Corps,    Naval    Reserves,    en- 
listed  men 400 

Marine    Corps,     officers    and    enlisted 
men    33,117 


Total    224,077 

Approximate  number  of  naval  officers    9,040 


Total    233,117 

The  total  forces   on   the   date  named 
were : 


Land  forces 710,024 

Sea  forces 233,117 

Total    forces 943,141 

The  enlistments  since  the  declaration 
of.  war  (in  the  case  of  the  army  since 
April  1)  were  as  follows: 

Regular   navy 73,880 

Naval  Reserve  forces 25,000 

Hospital  Corps 4,400 

National  naval  volunteers 1,500 

Marine   Corps 1  f>,7:>4 

Total  naval  forces 121,514 

Regular    army 1<>o,::47 

National   Guard 136.998 

Total  land  forces 327,345 

Grand    total 448,859 

Nev>  System  of  Organization 

The  changes  in  warfare  during  the  last 
three  years  have  been  responsible  for  an 
important  change  in  American  Army 
organization.  The  new  scheme  is  outlined 
in  the  following  general  order  issued  by 
the  War  Department  on  Aug.  7: 

"  The  ratio  of  artillery  strength  to  in- 
fantry is  greatly  increased.  A  division 
will  hereafter  include  only  four  infantry 
regiments  in  two  brigades  in  place  of 
the  old  division  of  three  brigades,  each 
comprising  three  regiments  of  infantry. 
There  will  still  be  three  regiments  of 
field  artillery  in  each  division.  Thus,  in 
the  new  organization,  there  will  be  three 
regiments  of  field  artillery  to  every  four 
regiments  of  infantry  instead  of  the  ratio 
of  three  to  nine.  In  addition,  a  trench 
mortar  battery  is  attached  to  each  divi- 
sion. 

"The  machine  gun  arm  is  also  mate- 
rially enlarged.  A  machine  gun  battal- 
ion of  four  companies  has  been  made  a 
unit  of  each  division,  in  addition  to  the 
three  machine  gun  companies  included 
in  each  regiment. 

Each  Division  1 9,000  Men 

"  The  American  division  will  be  made 
by  this  order  to  confirm  practically  to 
the  units  utilized  by  the  Entente  Allies, 
among  whom  a  division  numbers  ap- 
proximately 19,000  men.  The  reason  for 
the  change  is  that  the  division  as  here- 
tofore made  up  of  about  28,000  men  is 
too  unwieldy  for  the  demands  of  trench 
warfare.    With  so  large  a  unit,  sure  and 


MUSTERING  OUR  ARMED  FORCES 


swift  communication  with  all  parts  is 
difficult.  The  problem  to  be  met  was 
basically  one  of  mobility  for  the  peculiar 
needs  of  fighting  on  the  western  front. 

"  The  smaller  sized  units  call  for  main- 
tenance of  all  units  at  full  fighting 
strength.  For  this  purpose  reserve  bat- 
talions will  be  provided.  These  will  con- 
sist of  612  men  each  and  are  listed  in 
the  general  order  as  '  separate  training 
battalions.'  The  number  of  these  bat- 
talions has  not  been  made  public.  Details 
of  regimental  organization  are  also  with- 
held for  military  reasons. 

"  The  new  order  provides  for  army 
corps  and  armies,  units  which  have  prac- 
tically existed  only  on  paper  since  the 
civil  war.  Corps  were  organized  during 
the  Spanish  war,  but  were  not  actually 
operated  as  such  to  any  great  extent. 

Three  Divisions  to  a  Corps 

"  Each  army  corps  will  consist  of  three 
infantry  divisions,  corps  headquarters, 
and  certain  army  corps  troops  not  speci- 
fied. Each  army  will  normally  consist 
of  three  or  more  army  corps,  army  head- 
quarters, and  certain  army  troops  not 
specified. 

"  Under  the  new  order  each  infantry- 
division  will  be  composed  as  follows,  the 
changes  from  the  present  organization 
being  as  indicated: 

"  One  division  1  eadquarters,  (same  as 
at  present.) 

"  One  machine  gun  battalion  of  four 
companies,  (new.) 

"  Two  infantry  brigades  of  two  regi- 
ments and  one  machine  gun  battalion 
(four  companies)  each.  (The  present 
division  is  three  infantry  brigades  of 
three  regiments  each.) 

"  One  field  artillery  brigade  of  three 
regiments  and  one  trench  mortar  bat- 
tery, (same,  except  trench  mortar  bat- 
tery, is  new.) 

"  One  field  signal  battalion,  (same.) 

"  One  train  headquarters  and  military 
police,  (same.) 

"  One  ammunition  train,  (same,) 

"  One  supply  train,  (same.) 

"  One  engineer  train,  (same,  except 
that  pontoon  and  searchlights  sections 
are  not  included  in  new  plan.) 

"  One  sanitary  train  of  four  field  hos- 


pital   companies    and    four    ambulance 
companies,  (same.) 

"  The  new  organization  provides  for 
no  cavalry  in  the  division.  The  division 
as  at  present  constituted  calls  for  one 
regiment  of  cavalry.  The  present  divi- 
sion also  calls  for  one  aero  squadron, 
while  the  new  plan  calls  for  none,  the 
aircraft  units  being  otherwise  provided 
for. 

"  The  order  specifies  sixteen  divisions 
of  the  National  Army  to  be  organized 
and  numbered  from  76  to  91,  both  inclu- 
sive, and  states  the  numbers  to  be  given 
to  each  of  the  different  units  in  each 
division.  It  provides  that  the  sixteen 
divisions  of  the  National  Guard  now  or- 
ganized shall  be  reorganized  to  conform 
to  the  new  plan  as  soon  as  practicable 
after  their  arrival  in  the  training  camps. 

"  The  regular  army,  the  National 
Guard,  and  the  National  Army  will  all 
conform  to  the  same  plan." 

So  far  as  the  regulars  are  concerned, 
the  reorganization  already  has  been  car- 
ried out  for  the  units  now  in  France. 
Sixteen   Wee\s  of  Training 

A  large  number  of  French  officers 
have  been  selected  by  the  French  War 
Office  to  assist  in  the  training  of  the 
new  armies.  France  has  also  furnished 
aviation  specialists  for  the  instruction 
of  American  officers  as  well  as  a  num- 
ber of  artillery  specialists,  who  are  giv- 
ing the  benefit  of  their  experience  to 
American  artillery  men  at  the  Army 
School  of  Fire  at  Fort  Sill,  Okla. 
There  are  several  French  officers  in 
Washington  who  have  been  in  daily  con- 
ference at  the  War  College  and  the  War 
Department.  These  officers  will  be  at- 
tached to  the  staffs  of  the  thirty-seven 
Major  Generals  recently  announced  to 
command  the  national  army  divisions. 

The  plans  of  the  War  Department  call 
for  sixteen  weeks,  or  virtually  four 
months,  intensive  training,  for  the  Na- 
tional Army  and  the  National  Guard  in 
the  cantonments.  According  to  this  plan, 
the  first  of  these  men  should  complete 
their  training  i:i  January.  On  account 
of  difficulties  of  transportation  the  prob- 
abilities are  that  American  troops  will 
be  sent  to  France  in  a  steady  stream  as 
fast  as  transports  are  available  to  send 


384 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


them.  A  considerable  number  of  picked 
National  Guard  officers  are  now  under- 
going special  training  at  the  War  College 
in  Washington.  This  special  instruction 
covers  the  whole  field  of  modern  war- 
fare as  now  developed  in  Europe. 

The  number  of  applications  for  the  sec- 
ond series  of  officers'  training  camps  was 
much  larger  than  was  at  first  expected. 
The  figures  made  public  by  the  Adjutant 
General  showed  a  total  of  72,914,  of 
whom  51,838  passed  the  physical  exami- 
nations. This  work  was  accomplished  in 
a  month,  as  the  applications  were  opened 
June  15  and  closed  July  15.  It  was  orig- 
inally stated  that  the  War  Department 
would  choose  for  the  second  series  of 
camps  about  16,000  applicants.  Applica- 
tions came  in  very  slowly  at  first,  but 
increased  with  unexpected  rapidity  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  days,  as  a  result  of  the 
active  campaign  of  the  War  Department. 
The  camps  opened  on  Aug.  27. 

Forty-seven  Major  Generals 

President  Wilson  on  Aug.  14  sent  to 
the  Senate  the  names  of  37  Major  Gen- 
erals and  147  Brigadier  Generals  whom 
he  had  appointed  as  general  officers  in 
the  National  Army.  The  appointments 
are  for  the  period  of  the  war.  -These 
officers  may  be  assigned  to  the  regular 
army,  the  National  Guard  army,  or  the 
National  Army.  All  the  thirty-five  Briga- 
dier Generals  in  the  regular  army  were 
promoted  to  be  Major  Generals,  and  two 
officers  of  the  National  Guard  were  like- 
wise promoted. 

These,  with  the  ten  Major  Generals  of 
the  regular  army  already  in  office,  give 
the  United  States  a  total  of  forty-seven 
Major  Generals. 

Following  are  the  names  of  the  Briga- 
diers of  the  regular  army  who  have  been 
made  Major  Generals: 


William  A.  Mann,  Joseph   T.   Dickman, 

James    Parker,  Charles  G.  Treat, 

Eben  Swift,  Adelbert  Cronkhite, 

Edward  H.  Plummer,  Henry  T.   Allen, 

Edwin  F.  Glenn,  William  H.  Sage, 

A.   P.  Blocksom,  Clarence  R.  Edwards, 

Henry  A.  Greene,  John  W.   Ruckman, 

Francis  H.  French,  Chase  W.   Kennedy, 

Charles  J.  Bailey,  Omar  Bundy, 

George   Bell,   Jr.,  Harry  C.  Hale, 

F.  S.  Strong,  R.  M.  Blatchford, 

Harry  F.  Hodges,  Samuel  D.   Sturgis, 

C.   P.  Townsley,  David  C.  Shanks, 

E.  St.  J.  Greble,  William  M.  Wright, 

Francis   J.    Kernan,  Robert  L.  Bullard, 

John  F.   Biddle,  Joseph  E.  Kuhn, 

George   T.    Bartlett,  Peyton  C.  March. 
Henry  C.  Hodges.Jr., 

The  National  Guard  officers  made 
Major  Generals  of  the  army  are: 

Major  Gen.    Charles   M.   Clement,    Pennsyl- 
vania.    * 
Major  Gen.  John  F.  O'Ryan,  New  York. 

The  Major  Generals  already  in  office 
in  the  regular  army  are: 
John  J.  Pershing,  Tasker  H.  Bliss, 

Leonard  Wood,  Erasmus  M.  Weaver, 

J.    Franklin   Bell,  Hunter  Liggett, 

Thomas  H.  Barry,  Henry  G.   Sh'arpe, 

Hugh  L.  Scott,  William  C.  Gorgas. 

One  hundred*  and  five  Colonels  of  the 
regular  army  and  two  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nels of  that  service  were  appointed  Briga- 
dier Generals  of  the  National  Army;  also 
thirty  Brigadier  Generals  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  and  nine  National  Guard 
Colonels.  The  new  officers  are  to  rank 
from  Aug.  5,  1917. 

It  was  announced  on  Aug.  14  that  the 
first  National  Guard  division  to  be  sent 
to  France  would  be  the  Forty-second,  to 
be  formed  immediately  out  of  troops 
from  twenty-six  States  and  commanded 
by  Major  Gen.  William  A.  Mann.  Three 
days  later  the  War  Department  had  com- 
pleted plans  for  sending  another  com- 
posite division,  the  Forty-third,  to  be 
made  up  of  National  Guard  troops  from 
twenty-four  States. 


The  Conscript  Army  in  the  Making 


The  second  step  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  the  National  Army  was  taken  on 
July  20  when  a  drawing  by  lot  at  Wash- 
ington decided  the  order  in  which  the 
nine  and  a  half  million  men  who  had 
registered  on  June  5  should  be  called  up 


for  examination.  The  great  national 
lottery  created  far  more  interest  and  dis- 
cussion than  either  the  enactment  of  the 
conscription  law  or  the  registration  of 
the  nation's  young  men. 

The  War   Department  had   devised   a 


MUSTERING   OUR  ARMED  FORCES 


385 


simple  system  of  deciding  the  order  of  all 
registrants  in  each  of  the  4,557  local 
registration  districts.  As  the  total 
registered  in  any  one  district  did  not  ex- 
ceed 10,500,  all  that  was  necessary  was 
to  draw  all  numbers  up  to  that  number. 
When  the  drawing  was  complete,  the  list 
of  rearranged  numbers  enabled  every 
man  to  see  at  a  glance  when  he  would  be 
required  to  report  for  examination. 
Thus,  the  first  number  drawn  was  258, 
and  the  man  in  each  district  who  had 
received  that  number  was  the  first  to 
report  to  the  local  board.  If  there  were 
not  258  men  in  the  district,  then  the  first 
man  called  was  the  one  holding  the  first 
sufficiently  low  number  drawn  at  Wash- 
ington. It  took  sixteen  and  a  half  hours 
to  draw  the  10,500  numbers. 

A  Historic  Occasion 

The  drawing  of  the  numbers  was  made 
the  occasion  of  an  interesting  ceremony. 
The  scene  was  one  of  the  rooms  in  the 
Senate  Office  Building,  and  the  centre 
of  the  stage  was  taken  by  Newton  D. 
Baker,  Secretary  of  War.  He  opened 
the  proceedings  with  a  brief  address,  in 
which  he  said: 

We  have  met  this  morning-  to  conduct 
the  lot  or  draft  by  which  the  national 
army  and  such  additions  as  may  be  nec- 
essary to  bring  the  regular  army  and  the 
National  Guard  up  to  war  strength  are 
to  be  selected.  This  is  an  occasion  of 
very  great  dignity  and  some  solemnity. 
It  represents  the  first  application  of  a 
principle  believed  by  many  of  us  to  be 
throughly  democratic,  equal  and  fair  in 
selecting  soldiers  to  defend  the  national 
honor  abroad  and  at  home. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  say  that  every 
step  has  been  most  honestly  studied  with 
a  view  not  only  to  preserving  throughout 
the  utmost  fairness  in  the  selection,  but 
also  to  preserve  all  those  appearances  of 
fairness  which  are  necessary  to  satisfy 
the  country  that  this  great  selection  has 
been  made  in  accordance  with  every  prin- 
ciple of  justice. 

There  are  assembled  here  this  morning 
In  addition  to  officers  of  the  army,  who 
are  going  to  conduct  for  the  most  part  the 
mechanical  part  of  the  work,  the  Chief  of 
Staff,  the  Adjutant  General,  and  other 
men  high  in  the  military  establishment, 
and  the  drawing  is  to  be  held  under  the 
observation  of  the  Senate  and  House  Mili- 
tary Committees,  so  that  both  the  execu- 
tive and  legislative  branches  of  the  Gov- 
ernment are  here  to  see  that  fairness  is 
given  to  every  person. 


Secretary  Baker  then  introduced  Gen- 
eral Crowder,  who  succinctly  explained 
the  process  of  the  lottery  and  the  pro- 
gram of  the  War  Department  to  acquaint 
each  one  of  the  men  registered  on  June 
5  with  information  regarding  the  priority 
of  his  examination  for  service  with  the 
National  Army.  As  General  Crowder  con- 
cluded, a  handkerchief  was  tied  about  the 
eyes  of  Secretary  Baker,  the  camera 
squad  focused  their  instruments,  the  cal- 
cium light  of  the  movie  operators  played 
upon  the  big  blackboards  in  the  rear,  and 
the  lottery  began. 

Drawing  the  First  Numbers 

Secretary  Baker  plunged  his  hand  into 
the  large  glass  jar  containing  the  10,500 
numbers  inclosed  in  capsules  and  drew 
one,  announcing  to  the  spectators,  "  I 
have  drawn  the  first  number."  A  clerk 
assigned  by  the  War  Department  opened 
the  capsule  and  announced  "  258."  An 
officer  seated  at  the  long  table  upon 
which  were  spread  the  tally  sheets  re-^ 
peated  the  number,  and  another  clerk 
walked  to  a  large  blackboard  at  the  rear 
and  wrote  upon  it  the  figures.  Senator 
Chamberlain  of  Oregon,  likewise  blind- 
folded, drew  the  second  number.  He  was 
plainly  nervous.  His  hand  was  guided 
to  the  top  of  the  jar,  which  was  fourteen 
inches  in  diameter.  "  The  second  number 
is  2,522,"  said  the  announcer,  and  again 
there  came  the  click  of  the  cameras,  the 
rustle  of  copy  paper,  and  the  murmur 
of  excited  men  and  women  who  thronged 
the  committee  room. 

Members  of  Congress  and  high  offi- 
cials of  the  army  attended  the  start  of 
the  drawing.  Eight  numbers  were  drawn 
by  officials  before  the  ceremony  became 
routine,  with  students  from  various  uni- 
versities acting  as  the  blindfolded  with- 
drawers  of  the  fateful  capsules.  Chair- 
man Dent  of  the  House  Committee  on 
Military  Affairs  drew  the  third  gelatin 
capsule  from  the  jar.  The  number  with- 
in was  9,613.  In  turn  Senator  Warren, 
Representative  Kahn,  the  ranking  Repub- 
lican of  the  House  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs;  Major  Gen.  Tasker  H.  Bliss, 
Acting  Chief  of  Staff;  Provost  Marshal 
General  Enoch  H.  Crowder,  and  Adjt. 
Gen.  McCain  were  blindfolded  and  led  to 
the  glass  bowl. 


386 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


A  round  of  applause  greeted  the  ap- 
pearance of  General  Crowder,  who  had 
worked  tirelessly  for  days  perfecting 
the  details  of  the  nation-wide  lottery. 
Adjt.  Gen.  McCain,  too,  was  applauded 
by  the  throng  which  crowded  the  com- 
mittee rooms.  Members  of  the  Senate 
and  House  Committees  on  Military  Af- 
fairs and  other  members  of  Congress  oc- 
cupied seats  of  honor  at  the  drawing. 

The  unprecedented  ceremony  seemed 
particularly  to  impress  Representative 
Julius  Kahn,  who  had  led  the  Administra- 
tion's fight  in  the  House  for  the  Army 
Draft  bill.  "  It  is  an  inspiring  sight," 
he  commented  as  he  left  the  room  soon 
after  the  proceedings  settled  down  to  a 
routine  basis.  Mr.  Kahn  was  born  in 
Germany  and  came  to  the  United  States 
when  a  child.  The  thrilling  statement 
printed  at  the  end  of  this  article  was 
issued  by  him  on  July  20.  As  the  eighth 
number  was  drawn  by  an  official,  Secre- 
tary Baker  said:  "We  will  wait  a 
"  moment  while  the  photographers  re- 
"  move  their  apparatus.  Meanwhile  I 
"  want  to  ask  that  perfect  quiet  prevail. 
"  This  is  a  most  important  occasion  and 
*  absolute  quiet  is  necessary." 

Work   of   Regular    Tellers 

John  H.  Phillips,  a  student  of  Prince- 
ton University,  was  the  first  "  regular 
teller  "  who  took  his  place  at  the  glass 
jar  and  began  to  draw  out  the  capsules 
— black  looking  affairs,  because  the 
paper  upon  which  the  numbers  were 
written  was  coated  black  on  the  outer 
surface.  It  was  impossible  for  any  one 
to  examine  the  exterior  of  a  capsule  and 
ascertain  the  number  within.  The  blind- 
folding lent  an  additional  touch  of  the 
dramatic  to  the  event,  but  it  was  unnec- 
essary. Every  few  minutes  Major  Gen. 
C.  A.  Devol,  delegated  by  Secretary 
Baker  to  guard  the  glass  container, 
walked  over  to  stir  the  capsules  with  a 
long  wooden  spoon.  On  the  handle  of 
the  spoon  was  a  piece  of  bunting,  red, 
white,  and  blue.  General  Devol  stirred 
deeply,  bringing  the  capsules  at  the  bot- 
tom to  the  top  and  a  few  moments  later 
sending  the  capsules  at  the  top  to  the 
bottom.  While  this  stirring  process  was 
on  there  was  a  momentary  pause  in  the 
recording    of.   the    numbers.      The    only 


interruptions  were  the  frequent  changes 
of  tired  announcers  and  tabulators  and 
the  removal  of  the  blackboards.  When  a 
group  of  500  numbers  had  been  written 
the  first  section  of  the  board  was  taken 
out  to  be  photographed  to  establish  an 
absolute  record,  while  a  second  section 
was  substituted. 

The  lottery  ended  at  2:15  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  July  21,  and  later  the 
same  day  the  figures  were  officially 
checked  and  rechecked  in  the  office  of 
General  Crowder.  There  were  a  number 
of  tally  sheets  kept  simultaneously,  in 
addition  to  the  recording  of  the  drawn 
numbers  on  two  blackboards,  and  every 
number  was  gone  over  and  checked  by 
a  force  of  experts  under  the  supervision 
of  army  officers.  The  result  of  the  draw- 
ing was  set  into  type  at  the  Government 
Printing  Office.  "  Master  sheets  "  con- 
taining the  numbers  in  the  order  in  which 
they  were  drawn  were  then  sent  by  Gen- 
eral Crowder  to  each  Governor  and 
distributed  to  each  local  registration 
board. 

Appointing  the  District  Boards 

Another  step  accomplished  was  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  district  boards  of  the 
States  and  the  announcement  of  the 
names  of  the  five  men  who  composed 
each  of  them.  Some  States  have  six  or 
eight  boards  to  ease  the  task,  Federal 
judicial  districts,  the  areas  used  for  geo- 
graphical location  of  the  boards,  being 
divided  into  two  or  three  parts  for  that 
purpose  and  a  separate  board  named  for 
each.  These  district  boards  have  no 
function  until  the  local  boards  in  their 
territory  have  begun  to  certify  to  them 
the  men  found  fitted  for  military  duty 
physically  and  not  burdened  with  de- 
pendents. The  higher  boards  are  courts 
of  appeal,  either  for  the  individual  or  for 
the  Government,  against  the  findings  of 
the  local  boards.  The  whole  question  of 
industrial  exemption,  however,  has  been 
turned  over  directly  to  these  district 
'boards,  which  have  original  jurisdiction 
in  all  cases  of  this  kind.  They  are  sole 
judges  of  any  registered  man's  field  of 
greatest  service  to  the  nation,  whether 
in  the  army  or  in  the  munition  factory, 
business  house,  or  other  civilian  occupa- 
tion in  which  he  is  engaged.     Each  case 


MUSTERING   OUR  ARMED  FORCES 


387 


is  weighed  on  its  merits  and  the  value 
of  the  individual,  for  there  is  no  blanket 
exemption  for  the  other  classes  specific- 
ally named  in  the  law.  Even  they  must 
file  affidavits  showing  their  status,  to 
be  supported  in  such  matters  as  the  board 
may  determine. 

The  War  Department,  having  com- 
pleted the  work  of  deciding  the  order  in 
which  registrants  should  be  called  for 
examination,  drew  up  a  list  showing  the 
quota  which  each  State  would  have  to 
furnish  toward  the  687,000  men  required 
in  the  first  draft.  Each  State  in  turn  de- 
termined the  quotas  for  its  registration 
districts.  To  allow  for  exemptions,  the 
number  called  up  in  each  district  was 
double  that  of  the  quota,  but  as  it  was 
soon  found,  when  the  examinations  be- 
gan at  the  end  of  July,  that  there  was  a 
very  high  percentage  of  rejects  on  phys- 
ical grounds  and  an  unexpectedly  higher 
percentage  of  claims  for  exemption,  many 
more  men  on  the  lists  had  to  be  called 


up.  At  this  writing  the  work  of  exam- 
ination is  proceeding  all  over  the  country. 
Sporadic  cases  of  resistance  to  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  conscription  law  were  re- 
ported from  some  parts  of  the  country, 
mostly  in  the  South  and  Southwest.  At 
the  outset  most  of  the  agitation  was  in 
the  mountain  regions  of  the  South,  but 
it  spread  later  to  other  districts,  and 
one  of  the  most  serious  revolts  against 
the  law  was  in  Texas.  The  Department 
of  Justice  was  informed  that  fifty-three 
members  of  the  Farmers'  and  Laborers' 
Protective  Association  had  been  indicted 
in  the  United  States  court  at  Dallas  for 
an  organized  attempt  to  resist  the  draft. 
In  Oklahoma  farmers  were  reported  to 
have  armed  to  prevent  Federal  officers 
from  executing  the  draft  law.  There  was 
also  said  to  be  organized  resistance  in 
Georgia.  Through  an  agent  of  the  In- 
ternal Revenue  Service  the  Department 
of  Justice  learned  of  a  revolt  against  the 
draft  in  Western  North  Carolina. 


An  Appeal  to  American  Patriotism 


Representative  Julius  Kahn  of  Cali- 
fornia, a  German-born  American,  made 
the  following  statement  on  the  occasion 
of  the  drawing  of  the  numbers  under  the 
conscription  law  on  July  20,  1917: 

For  the  fourth  time  in  our  history  we 
are  ready  to  fight  for  the  right  of  Amer- 
ican citizens  to  sail  the  seas  untram- 
meled.  Our  first  difficulty  after  the 
Revolution  was  with  France.  In  1798 
we- broke  off  diplomatic  relations  with 
that  Government.  We  ordered  the  im- 
mediate construction  of  a  fleet  of  many 
vessels.  Washington  was  appointed,  by 
act  of  Congress,  commander  of  the  Amer- 
ican forces.  France  had  interfered  with 
our  ships  and  our  shipping.  We  were 
determined  to  fight  rather  than  submit. 
France  yielded  our  rights,  and  the  inci- 
dent was  closed. 

In  1812  we  fought  England  for  the 
rights  of  American  citizens  on  the  seas. 
Every  schoolboy  is  familiar  with  the  his- 
tory of  that  war.  In  1815  we  threw 
down  the  gage  of  battle  for  the  third 
time  and  fought  the  Barbary  corsairs 
who  interfered  with  American  ships  in 
the  Mediterranean.    We  brought  them  to 


terms  and  compelled  them  to  recognize 
American  rights  on  the  seas  without  the 
payment  of  any  tribute. 

Now  we  are  at  war  with  Germany  to 
protect  again  the  rights  of  Americans  on 
the  seas.  Today  the  National  Army  of 
the  United  States  is  being  formed  through 
the  medium  of  the  draft.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  of  our  citizens  between  the 
ages  of  21  and  31  years  will  give  their 
lives,  if  need  be,  to  the  service  of  the 
country. 

To  those  who  were  drawn  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  the  Republic  on  the  field  of 
battle  I  would  like  to  recall  an  incident 
in  our  national  life.  In  1798,  when  we 
broke  off  relations  with  France,  the  Con- 
gress appointed  George  Washington  as 
commander  of  the  American  forces.  He 
was  in  retirement  at  Mount  Vernon.  The 
Secretary  of  War  himself  brought  the 
commission  to  General  Washington  and 
announced  to  him  the  action  of  Con- 
gress. 

Washington  was  in  the  field  at  the 
time  harvesting  his  crops.  When  the 
matter  was  stated  to  him  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  he  said: 


388 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


"  I  am  ready  for  any  service  that  I 
can  give  to  my  country." 

In  that  spirit  I  am  sure  the  young 
men  of  this  day  will  accept  their  obliga- 
tion to  the  Republic.  In  that  spirit  they 
will  again  show  the  world  that  American 
rights  must  be  observed  by  all  the  world. 


In  that  spirit  they  will  make  it  possible 
for  future  generations  to  continue  still  to 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  liberty  which  this 
country  vouchsafed  to  its  humblest  citi- 
zens. In  that  spirit  they  will  again 
c&rry  the  American  colors  to  victory, 
and  may  God  defend  the  right. 


The  United  States  Army  in  France 


The  number  of  American  soldiers  in 
France  is  gradually  increasing  as  addi- 
tional contingents  arrive,  and  the  train- 
ing of  these  men  with  the  assistance  of 
French  and  British  instructors  is  mak- 
ing excellent  progress.  These  are  the 
two  principal  facts  of  the  last  month 
regarding  the  United  States  Army  in 
France. 

The  entire  army  is  divided  into  squads, 
the  majority  of  which  are  billeted  out 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  in 
which  the  training  camp  is  located.  The 
first  official  inspection  of  the  camp  and 
the  quarters  where  troops  are  billeted 
was  made  by  Major  Gen.  William  L.  Si- 
bert  on  July  19.  The  result  of  the  in- 
spection was  apparently  satisfactory  in 
the  main,  for  the  General  criticised  but 
seldom,  and  everywhere  had  a  good 
word  for  the  results  achieved  by  the 
troops  in  cleaning  up  the  quarters  into 
which  they  had  moved.  The  encamp- 
ment has  almost  metamorphosed  the 
thoroughly  and  distinctively  French  town 
into  an  American  community,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  soldiers  have 
taken  notable  pains  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  customs  and  habits  of  their  hosts. 

Actual  intensive  training  began  on 
July  25.  Trenches  were  dug  in  the  way 
of  practice  with  an  enthusiasm  almost 
equal  to  that  with  which  soldiers  dig 
themselves  in  under  actual  artillery  fire. 
These  trenches  were  of  full  depth  and 
were  duplicates  of  certain  sections  of 
the  front  line,  consisting  of  front,  or  fire, 
trenches,  support  trenches,  and  reserve 
trenches,  with  intricate  communication 
trenches  connecting  them.  Dummies 
were  constructed  for  bayonet  practice, 
and  the  men  taught  the  six  most  vital 
points  of  attack.  Later  instruction  in 
the  use  of  gas  masks  was  begun  under 
British  officers. 


General  Pershing  made  a  thorough  in- 
spection of  the  training  centres  on  Aug. 
1  and  2.  He  also  inspected  various 
places  suggested  for  his  field  quarters, 
in  anticipation  of  removing  from  Paris 
to  near  the  troops  in  training.  At  the 
end  of  the  first  day's  inspection  General 
Pershing  said: 

Our  principal  concern  just  now.  of 
course,  is  to  perfect  the  army  organiza- 
tion. This  is  a  big  task,  but  it  is  moving 
along  smoothly  and  in  a  most  satisfactory 
manner. 

The  work  at  certain  ports  of  disem- 
barkation is  well  started.  Railroad  ma- 
terial is  coming  over  as  rapidly  as  can 
be  arranged.  The  progress  we  have  made 
'  thus  far  with  the  assistance  of  the  French 
is  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  me. 
Billets  and  training  ground  for  the  men 
are  as  well  located  as  could  be  expected 
at  this  time  of  the  year,  when  space  is 
limited  by  crops  in  the  field. 

After  these  are  removed  we  shall  have 
plenty  of  space  for  lodging  and  training 
the  divisions  that  are  to  come.  Some  of 
the  places  where  men  are  now  sleeping 
are  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  this 
soon  will  be  remedied  by  the  construction 
of  portable  barracks.  Training  is  progress- 
ing very  well  with  the  assistance  of  the 
French. 

Official  announcement  was  made  on 
July  18  that  the  United  States  transport 
service  was  taking  over  control  of  the 
French  railroad  lines  from  the  port  bases 
to  the  permanent  camp  and  the  front. 
Tracks  were  laid  and  sidings  enlarged. 

A  section  of  the  French  State  forests 
has  been  turned  over  to  the  United 
States.  American  lumbermen  are  taking 
out  lumber  for  railroad  ties,  barracks, 
and  other  purposes.  In  addition  to  this, 
30,000  tons  of  lumber  are  being  imported 
from  America  monthly. 

Troops  Greeted  in  London 

A  great  demonstration  took  place  in 
London  on  Aug.  15,  when  a  large  con- 
tingent of  United  States  troops  marched 


MUSTERING  OUR  ARMED  FORCES 


389 


through  the  streets,  escorted  by  all  the 
famous  bands  of  the  Guards,  English, 
Scotch,  and  Irish,  and  were  reviewed  by- 
Ambassador  Page  and  Admiral  Sims 
from  the  balcony  of  the  embassy  in 
Grosvenor  Gardens,  and  afterward  by 
King  George  at  Buckingham  Palace. 
British  soldiers  on  their  way  to  the  front 
and  wounded  men  recently  sent  back 
from  the  firing  line  joined  in  the  demon- 
stration, the  like  of  which  had  not  been 
witnessed  since  the  frenzied  scenes  which 
marked  the  return  of  the  troops  from 
the  Boer  war. 

A  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  was  in  prog- 
ress when  the  Americans  approached 
Whitehall.  It  was  promptly  adjourned 
and  the  Premier  and  his  colleagues  hur- 
ried in  a  body  to  the  War  Office.  As  the 
Americans  passed  the  Horse  Guards 
Parade  to'  Whitehall  they  were  greeted 
from  the  windows  of  the  War  Office  by 
Premier  Lloyd  George,  Foreign  Secre- 
tary Balfour,  Chancellor^  Bonar  Law, 
War  Secretary  Derby,  Winston  Spencer 


Churchill,  Minister  of  Munitions;  George 
N.  Barnes,  member  of  the  War  Council; 
Admiral  Jellicoe,  and  other  high  officials, 
as  well  as  by  French  and  Belgian  officers. 
The  greatest  crowd  gathered  in  front 
of  Buckingham  Palace.  The  King,  accom- 
panied by  the  Queen,  Queen  Alexandra, 
Princess  Mary,  Field  Marshal  French, 
commander  of  the  home  forces;  the 
household  staff,  and  officers,  took  his 
place  at  the  gate.  The  Americans  then 
filed  past,  eyes  left,  officers  at  salute, 
while  the  bands  played  and  the  cheering 
and  waving  of  flags  continued.  As  the 
first  Stars  and  Stripes  passed  with  the 
ranks  the  King  and  his  party  raised 
their  hands  in  salute.  The  flag  was 
dipped,  and  the  crowd  roared  approval 
so  vigorously  that  the  King  was  forced 
to  smile.  As  each  flag  passed  the  King 
saluted,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd 
became  almost  uncontrollable.  After  the 
review  the  Americans  camped  tempo- 
rarily in  Green  Park,  at  the  rear  of  the 
palace. 


Food  Dictator  for  the  United  States 

Law  to  Control  War  Supplies  Places  Large 
Powers  in  the  Hands  of  Herbert  C.  Hoover 


A  WAR  measure  endowing  the  Pres- 
ident with  far-reaching  powers 
over  the  nation's  food  supplies 
became  law  on  Aug.  10,  1917. 
Herbert  C.  Hoover,  who  was  thereupon 
formally  appointed  Food  Administrator 
by  President  Wilson,  immediately  served 
notice  on  speculators  and  profiteers  that 
the  time  of  reckoning  had  come  if  they 
were  not  ready  to  co-operate  with  the 
Government  to  obtain  lower  prices  for 
the  American  consumer  and  help  supply 
the  Allies  with  foodstuffs. 

The  Government's  food  control  pro- 
gram was  outlined  in  a  statement  issued 
by  President  Wilson  on  May  19,  in  which 
he  said: 

The  objects  sought  to  be  served  by  the 
legislation  asked  for  are :  Full  inquiry 
into  the  existing  available  stocks  of  food- 


stuffs and  into  the  costs  and  practices  of 
the  various  food  producing  and  distribut- 
ing trades ;  the  prevention  of  all  unwar- 
ranted hoarding  of  every  kind  and  of  the 
control  of  foodstuffs  by  persons  who  are 
not  in  any  legitimate  sense  producers, 
dealers,  or  traders ;  the  requisitioning 
when  necessary  for  the  public  use  of 
food  supplies  and  of  the  equipment  neces- 
sary for  handling  them  properly;  the 
licensing  of  wholesome  and  legitimate 
mixtures  and  milling  percentages,  and  the 
prohibition  of  the  unnecessary  or  waste- 
ful use  of  foods. 

Authority  is  asked  also  to  establish 
prices,  but  not  in  order  to  limit  the 
profits  of  the  farmers,  but  only  to  guar- 
antee to  them  when  necessary  a  minimum 
price  which  will  insure .  them  a  profit 
where  they  are  asked  to  attempt  new 
crops  and  to  secure  the  consumer  against 
extortion  by  breaking  up  corners  and  at- 
tempts at  speculation,  when  they  occur, 
by  fixing  temporarily  a  reasonable  price 
at  which  middlemen  must  sell. 


S90 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


After  nearly  two  months'  delay  in  the 
Senate  the  Administration  Food  Control 
bill  was  passed  by  that  body  on  Aug. 
8.  One  of  the  chief  objections  made  by 
the  Senate  was  to  the  appointment  of  one 
man  who  would  practically  have  dicta- 
torial powers.  But  the  Senate  eventually 
yielded,  as  it  also  did  in  eliminating  the 
amendment  by  which  it  had  sought  to 
create  a  Congressional  board  to  super- 
vise the  conduct  of  the  war. 

Statement  by  Mr.  Hoover 
Immediately  after  his  formal  appoint- 
ment, Mr.  Hoover  issued  a  statement  in 
the  course  of  which  he  said: 

The  hopes  of  the  food  administration 
are  threefold.  First,  to  so  guide  the  trade 
in  the  fundamental  food  commodities  as 
to  eliminate  vicious  speculation,  extortion, 
and  wasteful  practices  and  to  stabilize 
prices  in  the  essential  staples.  Second, 
to  guard  our  exports  so* that  against  the 
world's  shortage  we  retain  sufficient  sup- 
plies for  our  own  people,  and  to  co-operate 
with  the  Allies  to  prevent  inflation  of 
prices,  and  third,  that  we  stimulate  in 
every  manner  within  our  power  the  saving 
of  our  food  in  order  that  we  may  in- 
crease exports  to  our  Allies  to  a  point 
which  will  enable  them  to  properly  pro- 
vision their  armies  and  to  feed  their 
peoples   during   the   coming  Winter. 

The  food  administration  is  called  into 
being  to  stabilize  and  not  to  disturb  con- 
ditions and  to  defend  honest  enterprise 
against  illegitimate  competition.  If  there 
are  men  or  organizations  scheming  to 
increase  the  trials  of  this  country,  we 
shall  not  hesitate  to  apply  to  the  full  the 
drastic,  coercive  powers  that  Congress  has 
conferred  upon  us  in  this  instrument. 

The  deep  obligation  is  upon  us  to  feed 
the  armies  and  the  peoples  associated 
with  us  in  this  struggle.  The  diversion 
of  40,000,000  of  their  men  to  war  or  war 
work ;  the  additional  millions  of  women 
drafted  to  the  places  of  their  husbands 
and  brothers ;  the  toll  of  the  submarine, 
have  all  conspired  to  so  reduce  produc- 
tion that  their  harvests  this  Autumn  will 
fall  500,000,000  bushels  of  grain  below 
their   normal   production. 

Therefore,  whereas  we  exported  before 
the  war  but  80,000,000  bushels  of  wheat 
per  annum,  this  year,  by  one  means  or 
another,  we  must  find  for  them  225,000,000 
bushels,  and  this  in  the  face  of  a  short 
crop.  Our  best  will  but  partly  meet  their 
needs,  for  even  then  they  must  reduce 
their  bread  consumption  25  per  cent.,  and 
it  will  be  war  bread  they  must  eat— war 
bread,  of  which  a  large  portion  consists 
of  other  cereals. 

Already   the   greater   call   for   meat   and 


animal  products,  due  to  the  stress  of  war 
on  the  millions  of  men  on  the  fighting 
line  and  the  enhanced  physical  labor  of 
populations  ordinarily  subsisting  on 
lighter  diets,  coupled  with  the  inadequate 
world  supply,  have  compelled  our  allies 
to  kill  upward  of  33,000,000  head  of  their 
*  stock  animals.  This  is  burning  the  candle 
at  both  ends,  for  they  are  thus  stifling 
their  annual  production.  Therefore,  not 
only  must  we  increase  their  supplies  of 
meat  and  dairy  products,  but  must  pre- 
pare, as  war  goes  on,  to  meet  an  even 
greater  demand  for  these  necessary  com- 
modities. 

France  and  Italy  formerly  produced 
their  own  sugar,  while  England  and  Ire- 
land imported  largely  from  Germany. 
Owing  to  the  inability  of  the  first  named 
to  produce  more  than  one-third  of  their 
needs,  and  the  necessity  for  the  others 
to  import  from  other  markets,  they  all 
must  come  to  the  West  Indies  for  very 
large  supplies  and  therefore  deplete  our 
own  resources. 

Because  of  the  shortage  of  shipping 
only  the  most  concentrated  of  foods, 
wheat,  grain,  beef,  pork,  and  dairy 
products  and  sugar  can  be  sent  across 
the  seas.  Fortunately  we  have  for  our 
own  use  a  superabundance  of  foodstuffs 
of  other  kinds— the  perishables,  fish,  corn, 
and  other  cereals— and  surely  our  first 
manifest  duty  is  to  substitute  these  for 
those  other  products  which  are  of  greater 
use  to  our  fellow-fighters. 

Our  second  duty  is  to  eliminate  wastes 
to  the  last  degree.  Seventy  per  cent,  of 
our  people  are  well  known  to  be  as  thrifty 
and  careful  as  any  in  the  world,  and  they 
consume  but  little  or  no  more  than  is 
necessary  to  maintain  their  physical 
strength.  It  is  not  too  much  to  ask  the 
other  30  per  cent.,  by  simpler  living,  to 
reduce  their  consumption.  The  substitu- 
tions we  ask  impose  no  hardships. 

There  is  no  royal  road  to  food  conser- 
vation. It  can  be  accomplished  only 
through  sincere  and  earnest  daily  co-oper- 
ation in  the  20,000,000  kitchens  and  at  the 
20,000,000  dinner  tables  of  the  United 
States.  If  we  can  reduce  our  consumption 
of  wheat  flour  by  one  pound,  our  meat 
by  seven  ounces,  our  fat  by  seven  ounces, 
our  sugar  by  seven  ounces  per  person  per 
week,  those  quantities,  multiplied  by  100,- 
000,000,  will  immeasurably  aid  and  encour- 
age our  allies,  help  our  own  growing 
armies  and  so  effectively  serve  the  great 
and  noble  cause  of  humanity  In  which 
our  nation  has  embarked. 

Wheat  Speculation  Stopped 

Mr.  Hoover's  first  step  was  to  an- 
nounce a  sweeping  scheme  to  regulate 
wheat  and  flour  supplies.  In  a  state- 
ment  issued   on   Aug.    12   he   said   that, 


FOOD  DICTATOR  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES 


391 


with  the  full  approval  of  President  Wil- 
son, the  price  to  be  paid  for  the  wheat 
crop  of  1917  would  be  fixed  by  a  com- 
mission headed  by  Harry  A.  Garfield, 
son  of  the  late  President  James  A.  Gar- 
field, and  President  of  Williams  Col- 
lege. Gambling  on  the  Wheat  Ex- 
changes, Mr.  Hoover  asserted,  must  end, 
even  if  the  Government  had  to  purchase 
the  entire  wheat  supply  of  the  nation. 
As  a  preliminary  step,  Mr.  Hoover  de- 
cided to  take  over  control  of  all  grain 
elevators  and  all  mills  with  a  daily  ca- 
pacity of  over  100  barrels  of  flour  and 
place  them  under  a  system  of  licenses 
which  would  make  hoarding  impossible. 
The  Grain  Exchanges  at  the  same  time 
were  to  be  requested  to  suspend  all  deal- 
ings in  futures.  The  Food  Administra- 
tion, despite  the  protests  of  some  of  the 
bread-making  interests,  considered  the 
present  level  of  prices  extortionate. 

There  was  no  intimation  as  to  the 
price  which  would  be  fixed  for  the  1917 
crop,  but  Mr.  Hoover  was  careful  to 
point  out  that  the  minimum  of  $2  a 
bushel  fixed  by  the  Food  Control  act  did 
not  apply  to  it,  and  affected  next  year's 
crop  only,  under  restrictions  to  be  later 
explained. 

Flour   Contracts    Unlawful 
The   text   of   Mr.   Hoover's   announce- 
ment read: 

With  a  view  to  determining  a  fair  price, 
the  President  has  approved  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee,  to  be  selected  from 
representatives  of  the  producing  sections 
and  consuming  elements  in  the  commu- 
nity. The  committee  will  be  assembled 
under  the  Chairmanship  of  President  Gar- 
field of  Williams  College,  and  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  this  committee  to  determine 
a   fair   price    for    the    1917   harvest. 

Upon  the  determination  of  this  fair  basis 
it  is  the  intention  of  the  Food  Adminis- 
tration to  use  every  authority  given  it 
under  the  bill  and  the  control  of  exports 
to  effect  the  universality  of  this  fair  basis 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  1917  harvest 
year,  without  change  or  fluctuation.  It 
should  thus  be  clear  that  it  will  not  be 
to  the  advantage  of  any  producer  to  hold 
back  his  grain  in  anticipation  of  further 
advance,  for  he  will  do  so  only  at  his  own 
cost  of  storage  and  interest,  and,  if  it  is 
necessary  for  the  Government  to  buy  the 
entire  wheat  harvest  in  order  to  maintain 
this  fair  price  in  protection  of  the  pro- 
ducer, we  intend  to  do  so. 
Furthermore,    the   holding   of   wheat    or 


flour  contracts  by  persons  not  engaged  in 
the  trade,  and  even  when  in  trade,  in 
larger  quantities  than  is  necessary  for  the 
ordinary  course  of  their  business  is  un- 
lawful under  the  food  act,  and  such  cases 
will  be  prosecuted  with  vigor.  We  would 
advise  such  holders  to  liquidate  their  con- 
tracts at  once. 

Immediate  Drop  in  Prices 
A  Chicago  dispatch,  dated  Aug.  12, 
stated  that  the  signing  of  the  Food  Con^ 
trol  bill  had  caused  a  drop  in  prices  of 
grain,  vegetables,  and  poultry.  Cash 
corn  registered  a  decline  of  25  and  27 
cents  a  bushel.  Prices  in  St.  Louis  and 
Peoria  fell  off  30  and  32  cents  a  bushel. 
The  last  Chicago  quotation,  $1.85, 
showed  a  loss  of  50  cents  in  three  days. 
Futures  were  affected,  December  going 
to  $1.14.  Wheat  declined  4  cents  a 
bushel,  selling  down  to  $2.15,  within  15 
cents  of  the  minimum  established  by  the 
bill.  Hogs  at  the  yards  sold  at  the  high- 
est prices  ever  known,  one  lot  bringing 
$17.25  a  hundred  pounds.  Since  March  1 
hog  packing  had  fallen  off  225,000,  com- 
pared with  the  same  period  last  year. 
Pork  was  now  selling  higher  than  beef 
and  poultry.  Beef  sold  as  high  as  $14.50, 
almost  a  record  price.  Lard  was  22.75 
cents  a  pound,  10  cents  higher  than  the 
same  time  last  year.  Pork  was  $17  a 
barrel  higher,  at  $43.17.  Potatoes  sold 
for  $1.50  a  bushel,  $2  down  from  the 
high  price.  Poultry  was  down  2  and  3 
cents  a  pound,  turkeys  at  14  cents  and 
17  cents  for  chickens.  Eggs  were  down 
2  cents,  at  30  cents  for  firsts.  Butter 
was  down  1  cent,  to  37  cents. 

Federal  Wheat  Corporation 
A  $50,000,000  corporation,  with  all  the 
stock  held  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, was  established  on  Aug.  15  to  buy 
and  sell  wheat  at  the  principal  terminals. 
Preparations  were  made  to  take  over  the 
entire  1917  wheat  crop,  if  necessary,  to 
stabilize  the  price  of  wheat  throughout 
the  year.  The  move  was  one  of  a  series 
largely  with  the  object  to  reduce  the 
price  of  bread.  Millers  had  already 
agreed  to  put  themselves  under  voluntary 
regulations  and  were  working  out  with 
the  food  administration  a  differential  of 
profits. 

In   announcing   the   formation    of   the 


392 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


wheat  corporation,  the  food  administra- 
tion also  made  known  the  personnel  of 
a  committee  to  fix  the  price  for  this 
year's  wheat  yield  and  the  names  of 
twelve  purchasing  agents  for  the  cor- 
poration at  terminals.  The  wheat  cor- 
poration was  put  under  the  Administra- 
tion's  grain   division.    Its    Chairman   is 


Herbert  C.  Hoover  and  its  President 
Julius  Barnes,  a  Duluth  exporter,  who 
has  been  serving  as  a  voluntary  aid  in 
the  food  administration.  The  price-fixing 
committee  is  headed  by  President  Gar- 
field of  Williams  College,  and  will  com- 
prise twelve  members,  representing  pro- 
ducers and  consumers. 


Pope  Benedict's  Appeal  for  Peace 


Official  Text  of   His  Proposal 


PRESS  dispatches  from  Rome  on 
Aug.  14,  1917,  announced  that  the 
Pope  was  issuing  a  peace  proposal 
in  the  form  of  an  identic  letter 
to  all  the  belligerent  powers,  and  added 
an  official  outline  of  the  document. 
The  British  Foreign  Office  published  the 
French  text  and  an  English  translation 
of  the  Pope's  appeal  on  the  evening  of 
the  15th,  with  Cardinal  Gasparri's  note 
of  transmission.  The  translation  made  by 
the  State  Department  at  Washington, 
and  given  to  the  public  on  the  morning 
of  Aug.  16,  is  as  follows: 
To  the  Rulers  of  the  Belligerent  Peoples : 

From  the  beginning  of  our  Pontificate, 
in  the  midst  of  the  horrors  of  the  awful 
war  let  loose  on  Europe,  we  have  had  of 
all  things  three  in  mind  :  To  maintain  per- 
fect impartiality  toward  all  the  belliger- 
ents, as  becomes  him  who  is  the  common 
father  and  loves  all  his  children  with 
equal  affection,  continually  to  endeavor 
to  do  them  all  as  much  good  as  possible, 
without  exception  of  person,  without  dis- 
tinction of  nationality  or  religion,  as  is 
dictated  to  us  by  the  universal  law  of 
charity  as  well  as  by  the  supreme  spir- 
itual charge  with  which  we  have  been  in- 
trusted by  Christ;  finally,  as  also  required 
by  our  mission  of  peace,  to  omit  nothing, 
as  far  as  it  lay  in  our  power,  that  could 
contribute  to  expedite  the  end  of  these 
calamities  by  endeavoring  to  bring  the 
peoples  and  their  rulers  to  more  moderate 
resolutions,  to  the  serene  deliberation  of 
peace,  of  a  "  just  and  lasting  "  peace. 

Whoever  has  watched  our  endeavors  in 
these  three  grievous  years  that  have  just 
elapsed  could  easily  see  that,  while  we 
remained  ever  true  to  our  resolution  of 
absolute  impartiality  and  beneficent  ac- 
tion, we  never  ceased  to  urge  the  bellig- 
erent peoples  and  Governments  again  to 
be  brothers,   although  all  that  we  did  to 


reach  this  very  noble  goal  wag  not  made 
public. 

About  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  the 
war  we  addressed  to  the  contending  na- 
tions the  most  earnest  exhortations,  and 
in  addition  pointed  to  the  path  that  would 
lead  to  a  stable  peace  honorable  to  all. 
Unfortunately  our  appeal  was  not  heed- 
ed, and  the  war  was  fiercely  carried  on 
for  two  years  more,  with  all  its  horrors. 
It  became  even  more  cruel,  and  spread 
over  land  and  sea,  and  even  to  the  air, 
and  desolation  and  death  were  seen  to  fall 
upon  defenseless  cities,  peaceful  villages, 
and  their  innocent  people. 

And  now  no  one  can  imagine  how  much 
the  general  suffering  would  increase  if 
other  months  or,  still  worse,  other  years 
were  added  to  this  sanguinary  triennium. 
Is  this  civilized  world  to  be  turned  into  a 
field  of  death,  and  is  Europe,  so  glorious 
and  flourishing,  to  rush,  as  carried  by  a 
universal  folly,,  to  the  abyss  and  take  a 
hand  in  its  own  suicide? 

In  so  distressing  a  situation,  in  the 
presence  of  so  grave  a  menace,  we,  who 
have  no  personal  political  aim,  who  listen 
to  the  suggestions  or  interests  of  none  of 
the  belligerents,  but  are  solely  actuated 
by  the  sense  of  our  supreme  duty  as  the 
common  father  of  the  faithful,  by  the 
solicitations  of  our  children  who  implore 
our  intervention  and  peace-bearing  word, 
uttering  the  very  voice  of  humanity  and 
reason — we  again  call  for  peace,  and  we 
renew  a  pressing  appeal  to  those  who 
have  in  their  hands  the  destinies  of  the 
nations.  But  no  longer  confining  ourslves 
to  general  terms,  as  we  were  led  to  do 
by  circumstances  in  the  past,  we  will  now 
come  to  more  concrete  and  practical  pro- 
posals and  invite  the  Governments  of  both 
belligerent  peoples  to  arrive  at  an  agree- 
ment on  the  following  points,  which  seem 
to  offer  the  base  of  a  just  and  lasting 
peace,  leaving  it  with  them  to  make  them 
more   precise   and    complete. 

First,  the  fundamental  point  must  be 
that  the  material  force  of  arms  shall  give 


POPE  BENEDICTS  APPEAL  FOR  PEACE 


393 


way  to  the  moral  force  of  right,  whence 
shall  proceed  a  just  agreement  of  all 
upon  the  simultaneous  and  reciprocal  de- 
crease of  armaments,  according  to  rules 
and  guarantees  to  be  established,  in  the 
necessary  and  sufficient  measure  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  order  in  every 
State ;  then,  taking  the  place  of  arms,  the 
institution  of  arbitration,  with  its  high 
pacifying  function,  according  to  rules  to 
be  drawn  in  concert  and  under  sanctions 
to  be  determined  against  any  State  which 
would  decline  either  to  refer  international 
questions  to  arbitration  or  to  accept  its 
awards. 

When  supremacy  of  right  is  thus  estab- 
lished, let  every  obstacle  to  ways  of  com- 
munication of  the  peoples  be  removed  by 
insuring,  through  rules  to  be  also  deter- 
mined, the  true  freedom  and  community 
of  the  seas,  which,  on  the  one  hand, 
would  eliminate  any  causes  of  conflict, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  would  open  to  all 
new  sources  of  prosperity  and  progress. 

As  for  the  damages  to  be  repaid  and  the 
cost  of  the  war,  we  see  no  other  way  of 
solving  the  question  than  by  setting  up 
the  general  principle  of  entire  and  recip- 
rocal conditions,  which  would  be  justified 
by  the  immense  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  disarmament,  all  the  more  as  one 
could  not  understand  that  such  carnage 
could  go  on  for  mere  economic  reasons. 
If  certain  particular  reasons  stand  against 
this  in  certain  cases,  let  them  be  weighed 
in   justice   and   equity. 

But  these  specific  agreements,  with  the 
immense  advantages  that  flow  from  them, 
are  not  possible  unless  territory  now  oc- 
cupied is  reciprocally  restituted.  There- 
fore, on  the  part  of  Germany,  there  should 
be  total  evacuation  of  Belgium,  with 
guarantees  of  its  entire  political,  military, 
and  economic  independence  toward  any 
power  whatever ;  evacuation  also  of  the 
French  territory ;  on  the  part  of  the  other 
belligerents,  a  similar  restitution  of  the 
German  colonies. 

As  regards  territorial  questions,  as,  for 
instance,  those  that  are  disputed  by  Italy 
and  Austria,  by  Germany  and  France, 
there  is  reason  to  hope  that,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  immense  advantages  of  dur- 
able peace  with  disarmament,  the  con- 
tending parties  will  examine  them  in  a 
conciliatory  spirit,  taking  into  account, 
as  far  as  is  just  and  possible,  as  we  have 
said  formerly,  the  aspirations  of  the  popu- 
lation, and,  if  occasion  arises,  adjusting 
private  interests  to  the  general  good  of 
the  great  human  society. 

The  same  spirit  of  equity  and  justice 
must  guide  the  examination  of  the  other 
territorial  and  political  questions,  notably 
those  relative  to  Armenia,  the  Balkan 
States,  and  the  territories  forming  part 
of  the  old  Kingdom  of  Poland,  for  which 
in  particular,  its  noble  historical  tradi- 
tions   and    suffering,    particularly    under- 


gone in  the  present  war,   must  win,   with 
justice,  the  sympathies  of  the  nations. 

These  we  believe  are  the  main  basis 
upon  which  must  rest  the  future  reorgan- 
ization of  the  peoples.  They  are  such  as 
to  make  the  recurrence  of  such  conflicts 
impossible  and  open  the  way  for  the  solu- 
tion of  the  economic  question,  which  is  so 
important  for  the  future  and  the  material 
welfare  of  all  of  the  belligerent  States. 
And  so,  in  presenting  them  to  you,  who  at 
this  tragic  hour  judge  the  destinies  of  the 
belligerent  nations,  we  indulge  a  gratify- 
ing hope,  that  they  will  be  accepted  and 
that  we  shall  thus  see  an  early  termination, 
of  the  terrible  struggle  which  has  more 
and  more  the  appearance  of  a  useless 
massacre. 

Everybody  acknowledges,  on-  the  other 
hand,  that  on  both  sides  the  honor  of 
arms  is  safe.  Do  not,  then,  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  our  prayer,  but  accept  the  international 
invitation  which  we  extend  to  you  in  the 
name  of  the  Divine  Redeemer,  Prince  of 
Peace.  Bear  in  mind  your  very  grave 
responsibility  to  God  and  man.  On  your 
decision  depend  the  quiet  and  joy  of  num- 
berless families,  the  lives  of  thousands  of 
young  men,  the  happiness,  in  a  word,  of 
the  people,  for  whom  it  is  your  imperative 
duty  to  secure  this  boon. 

May  the  Lord  inspire  you  with  decisions 
comformable  to  His  very  holy  will.  May 
Heaven  grant  that  in  winning  the  ap- 
plause of  your  contemporaries  you  will 
also  earn  from  the  future  generations  the 
great  title  of  pacificators. 

And  for  us,  closely  united  in  prayer  and 
penitence  with  all  the  faithful  souls  who 
yearn  for  peace,  we  implore  for  you  the 
divine  spirit,  enlightenment,  and  guidance. 

Given  at  the  Vatican  Aug.  1,  1917. 

BENEDICTUS   P.    M.    XV. 

Cardinal  Gasparris  Note 

The  Papal  Secretary,  Cardinal  Gas- 
parri,  sent  the  following  note  of  trans- 
mission with  the  copy  of  the  Pope's 
appeal  addressed  to  the  King  of  England : 

Your  Majesty :  The  Holy  Father,  anx- 
ious to  do  everything  he  can  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  the  conflict  which  for  the 
last  three  years  has  ravaged  the  civilized 
world,  has  decided  to  submit  to  the  lead- 
ers of  the  belligerent  peoples  concrete 
peace  proposals  exposed  in  a  document 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  attach  to  this 
letter.  May  God  grant  that  the  words  of 
his  Holiness  will  this  time  produce  the 
desired  effect  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
of  humanity. 

The  Holy  See,  not  having  diplomatic  re- 
lations with  the  French  Government  or 
with  the  Government  of  Italy  or  of  the 
United  States,  I  very  respectfully  beg 
your  Majesty  to  be  good  enough  to  have 
handed  a  copy  of  his  Holiness's  appeal  to 


304 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


the  President  of  the  French  Republic,  to 
his  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy,  and  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  I  also 
beg  to  add  twelve  other  copies,  which  I 
request  that  your  Majesty  be  good  enough 
to  hand  to  the  leaders  of  the  nations 
friendly  to  the  Allies,  with  the  exception, 
however,  of  Russia,  Belgium,  and  Brazil, 
to  whom  the  document  has  been  sent 
direct. 

In  expressing  to  your  Majesty  my  sincere 
thanks  for  this  extreme  kindness,  I  am 
happy  to  take  the  opportunity  to  offer  you 
the  homage  of  sentiment  and  very  pro- 
found respect  with  which  I  have  the  honor 
to   sign   myself. 

Your  Majesty's  very  humble  and  devoted 
servant.  GASPARRI. 

Sentiment  of  the  Nations 

The  peace  proposal  of  Pope  Benedict 
was  received  witk  diverse  comments  in 
different  circles  and  nations.  The  senti- 
ment expressed  in  the  allied  countries 
indicated  the  likelihood  of  a  respectful 
refusal  by  the  Entc  te.  Comment  in  the 
press  of  the  Central  Powers  was  gener- 
ally favorable,  notably  in  tkat  of  the 
Catholic  Centre  Party,  whose  leader, 
Herr    Erzberger,    had    some    time    ago 


formulated  a  similar  peace  program.  In 
many  Entente  quarters  the  Pope's  pro- 
posal was  adversely  criticised  because  it 
contained  no  condemnation  of  German 
atrocities,  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  or 
the  submarine  warfare.  In  reply  to  this 
charge  the  Vatican  on  Aug.  17  issued  a 
supplementary  statement  thus  summar- 
ized in  a  Rome  dispatch: 

A  semi-official  statement  issued  today 
says  the  Vatican  considers  the  reproach 
of  a  part  of  the  press  that  the  Holy  See 
has  not  condemned  violations  of  law,  such 
as  atrocities  committed,  is  unjust,  since 
Pope  Benedict,  faithful  to  his  principle  of 
impartiality,  in  his  note  had  the  intention 
of  acting  as  peacemaker,  and  not  as 
judge,  and  also  because  he  lacks  the  nec- 
essary powers  to  do  so.  No  peacemaker, 
the  statement  adds,  would  have  the  faint- 
est chance  of  success  if  he  began  by  try- 
ing to  prove  which  side  is  right  and  which 
is  wrong.  The  Pontiff  went  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  statement  continues,  to  make 
understood  what  his  feelings  are  without 
risking  the  failure  of  his  proposal  on  the 
rocks  of  Austro-German  ill-feeling.  Be- 
sides, it  concludes,  the  Papal  proposals 
were  in  solemn  condemnation  of  those  re- 
sponsible for  the  war  methods  adopted 
and  the  barbarities  committed. 


Military  Events  of  the  Month 

From  July   18    to  August  18,  1917 


By  Walter  Littlefield 


ATTENTION  has  been  particularly 
concentrated  during  the  last 
thirty-one  days  on  three  sectors 
of  the  western  front,  and  on  one 
of  the  eastern — at  Ypres,  Lens,  and  the 
Aisne,  and  in  Bukowina  and  Moldavia. 
On  the  Italian  front — in  the  Trentino 
and  along  the  Julian  and  Carso  sectors — 
there  have  been  a  succession  of  bombard- 
ments, but  whether  these  foreshadow  an 
Austrian  offensive  in  the  former,  and  an 
Italian  offensive  in  the  latter,  or  merely 
the  consolidation  of  positions,  is  not 
known.  However,  by  a  series  of  bom- 
bardments from  their  famous  Caproni 
airplanes  on  the  Austrian  naval  base  of 
Pola  and  other  strategic  and  fortified  po- 
sitions of  the  enemy,  the  Italians  appear 
to  have  gained  the  mastery  of  the  air  in 


the  Upper  Adriatic.  News  from  the  Brit- 
ish fronts  in  Palestine  and  Mesopotamia 
reveals  the  fact  that  the  armies  there  are 
preparing  for  assault  in  force  by  the  en- 
emy. 

Although  the  strategy  maintained  on 
the  Aisne,  in  Champagne,  is  the  same  as 
it  has  been  from  the  beginning,  further 
west,  the  great  German  retreat  of  last 
Spring  has  caused  the  Allies  to  make 
several  modifications  in  the  method  and 
place  of  attack.  Whereas,  in  the  battle 
of  the  Somme  the  objectives  were  purely 
military,  they  now  have  a  decided  eco- 
nomic and  moral  significance.  In  the 
first  place,  the  air  service  has  laid  bare 
the  German  lines  of  communication  and 
their  industrial  and  supply  bases,  and, 
in  the  second,  it  has  been  demonstrated 


\ni,nE 


rwHF 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF  THE  MONTH 


that  from  whatever  terrain  the  enemy 
may  withdraw  he  leaves  behind  him  a 
desert  waste,  whether  the  material  de- 
stroyed be  of  military  or  industrial  or  of 
mere  civic  or  sentimental  value.  These 
considerations,  therefore,  have  been 
found  to  qualify,  if  not  actually  to  limit, 
the  recent  military  operations  of  Gener- 
als Haig  and  Petain. 

Hence,  it  may  be  convenient  to  separate 
the  military  from  the  non-military  phases 
of  the  engagements,  for  the  contrast  may 
be  summed  up  in  the  statement  that  the 
military  advantage  would  have  to  be 
greater  than  there  seems  the  remotest 
hope  of  gaining  to  offset  the  wanton 
destruction  of  a  town  like  Lille,  which 
would  be  likely  to  attend  deliberate  Ger- 
man evacuation  quite  as  much  as  occupa- 
tion by  assault.  And  Lille  is  to  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  line  in  France  what  Laon, 
with  its  blast  furnaces  and  mediaeval 
buildings,  is  to  the  southern  part.  And 
both  Lille  and  Laon,  as  well  as  the  new 
factories  established  by  the  Germans  at 
St.  Quentin,  are  supplied  with  fuel  from 
the  great  coalfields  of  Lens,  which  before 
the  war  produced  15,000,000  tons  a  year 
and  employed  25,000  hands.  Thus  we 
have  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  for 
the  last  month  the  attacks  of  the  Allies 
have  concentrated  at  Lens  rather  than  at 
St.  Quentin,  although  the  possession  of 
the  latter  would  be  of  more  military 
value  on  account  of  its  control  of  the 
German  line  to  the  southeast,  in  the 
Champagne. 

The  Battle  of  Flanders 
The  British  salient  at  Ypres  is  no  more. 
It  had  been  a  military  accident  which 
resulted  from  the  great  defensive 
manoeuvres  of  November,  1914,  when  Sir 
John  French  was  almost  flanked  ere  he 
could  form  a  junction  with  the  Belgians, 
and  the  French  reinforcements  arrived 
which  were  to  save  Dunkirk.  It  has 
since  been  maintained  at  great  tactical 
expense  and  merely  for  political  reasons. 
German  guns  from  the  east  commanded 
every  direct  approach  and  the  town  itself 
was  soon  a  mass  of  ruins.  For  the  Allies 
it  was  the  weakest  sector  on  the  whole 
front.  For  three  years  the  alternative 
had  been  the  constant  preoccupation  of 
the  British  and  French  General  Staffs: 


to  efface  it  by  either  abandonment  or  ex- 
pansion. Twice  had  an  attempt  to  achieve 
the  latter  failed. 

These  attacks  failed  because  they  were 
directed  against  its  centre,  and  its  cen- 
tre was  covered  by  the  German  guns  on 
Messines  Ridge,  lying  to  the  south.  With 
the  greatest  mine  and  bombardment 
preparation  in  the  history  of  the  war  the 
British,  on  June  7,  captured  this  ridge. 
This  capture  made  what  has  been  called 
the  Third  Battle  of  Ypres,  or  the  Battle 
of  Flanders,  possible.  So  far  it  consists 
of  two  phases — the  first  of  a  single  day, 
July  31,  the  second  begun  on  Aug.  16. 
In  both  attacks  French  troops  co-oper- 
ated in  the  northern  part  of  the  offen- 
sive. In  the  first  an  advance  was  made 
over  a  front  of  fifteen  miles — from  the 
River  Lys  to  the  Yser,  the  enemy's  posi- 
tions were  penetrated  to  a  depth  of  two 
miles  in  the  centre  and  to  one  mile  on  the 
right  centre,  the  powerfully  defended 
Sanctuary  Wood  and  neighboring  farms 
captured,  and  the  villages  of  La  Basse- 
ville,  Hollebeke,  Bixschoote,  Verloren- 
hoek,  Frezenberg,  St.  Julien,  Pilkem, 
Hooge  and  Westhoek  occupied.  Nearly 
5,000  prisoners  were  taken  by  the  at- 
tack arid  in  the  ineffectual  counterat- 
tacks of  the  succeeding  days.  The  first 
two  days  of  the  second  assault  saw  an 
advance  along  a  nine-mile  front  to  the 
northeast,  with  the  capture  of  Lange- 
marck  and  nearly  2,000  prisoners. 

The  capture  of  Pilkem  is  said  to  have 
been  a  particularly  fine  performance  on 
the  part  of  the  guards,  as  they  reached 
their  last  goal  without  the  assistance  of 
a  barrage  by  creeping  forward  and  stalk- 
ing machine  gun  posts.  In  this  way  they 
got  to  Steenbeck  River,  and  threw 
bridges  across  without  serious  opposi- 
tion. The  easiest  advance  was  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  salient,  where  there 
was  an  expanse  of  open  ground,  although 
more  or  less  waterlogged,  like  the  rest  of 
the  Plain  of  Flanders.  Directly  east  of 
the  town  of  Ypres  the  advance  was 
greatly  retarded  owing  to  the  unusual 
character  of  the  obstacles  met — patches 
of  wood  interlaced  with  shallow  streams 
and  pools  of  water. 

The  first  phase  of  the  Battle  of 
Flanders  demonstrated  several  things  and 
startled  the  Germans  with  at  least  one 


396 


THE  NEW- YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


It  6CM.E    OP  MILES 


BATTLE  LINE  AROUND  LENS,    (AUG.    18,    1917,)   WHERE  THE   CANADIANS 

HAVE   BEEN  WAGING   A  DESPERATE   FIGHT   FOR   POSSESSION   OF   THIS 

FRENCH    MINING    CENTRE 


surprise.  It  established  the  mastery  of 
the  British  artillery  over  the  German, 
both  in  bombardment  and  barrage  fire, 
particularly  with  mid-calibre  guns;  it 
hammered  into  pieces  some  thirteen  di- 
visions of  the  enemy;  and  it  confirmed, 
by  many  noteworthy  experiences,  the 
value  of  "  tanks  "  on  rolling  or  flat  sur- 
faces, and  the  use  of  the  bombad-plane  in 
protecting  shell-craters  from  being  occu- 
pied by  the  enemy. 

This  last  is  of  particular  importance. 
At  a  certain  point  the  barrage  fire  which 
has  protected  the  advance  of  infantry 
changes  its  shells  from  shrapnel  to  high 
explosive,  so  that  when  the  infantry  reach 
the  designated  point  they  find  a  line  of 
entrenchments  formed  by  shell-craters 
waiting  for  their  occupancy.  It  had  been 
the  custom  of  the  Germans  to  anticipate 
this  by  occupying  the  craters  themselves 
and  facing  the  advancing  infantry  with 
machine  guns.  In  the  Battle  of  Flanders 
the  curtain  dropped  by  the  bombad- 
planes  prevented  this. 

Although  the  f  jrst  and  second  phases 
of  the  Battle  of  Flanders  may  be  con- 
sidered in  natural  sequence  of  the  bat- 


tles on  the  Somme  and  the  Ancre,  at 
Vimy  Ridge,  and  at  Messines,  it  would  be 
idle  to  speculate  in  advance  how  the 
sequel  will  develop.  On  no  other  front, 
unless  it  be  amid  the  Alps  of  the  Tren- 
tino,  do  weather  conditions  play  such  a 
dominating  role  in  shaping  military 
actions.  All  the  elaborate  resources  with 
which  modern  armies  wage  war  have 
not  abolished  their  dependence  on  the 
weather,  whose  arbitrary  interventions 
are  only  the  more  to  be  feared  now  that 
the  complexities  of  an  attack  make  it  im- 
practicable to  vary  the  date  for  it. 

As  to  the  objective  of  the  Battle  of 
Flanders:  In  an  effusive  message  to 
Prince  Rupprecht  of  Bavaria  the  German 
Kaiser  suggested  that  the  Anglo-French 
attack  of  July  31  was  "  intended  to  con- 
quer the  coast  of  Flanders."  This  coast, 
with  its  submarine  bases  at  Zeebrugge, 
Ostend,  and  elsewhere  on  the  shore,  and 
its  aerodromes  hidden  on  the  downs, 
certainly  forms  an  inviting  objective.  On 
this  terrain,  too,  military  strategy  and 
valor  have  more  chance  for  endeavor  than 
they  do  amid  the  concrete-reinforced 
walled  towns  and  villages  further  south. 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF   THE  MONTH 


397 


Closing  In  on  Lens 

Lens  was  the  elusive  objective  sought 
in  the  Battle  of  Loos  in  September  and 
October,  1915,  when  Sir  John  French's 
plan  went  wrong  on  account  of  lack  of 
co-ordination  between  artillery  and 
infantry.  A  salient,  second  in  weakness 
only  to  that  of  Ypres,  was  then  left  ex- 
posed. This  Loos  salient  was  commanded 
from  the  south  by  the  Germans  on  the 
Vimy  Ridge,  which  bore  the  same  relation 
to  it  that  the  Messines  Ridge  did  to  the 
Ypres  salient.  But  Vimy  Ridge  also  had 
another  function,  it  commanded  the  great 
Arras  salient  to  the  south  and,  what  is 
more  important,  the  Arras-Cambrai  high- 
way. If  eliminated,  the  southern  ap- 
proaches to  Lens  would  be  thrown  open 
as  well  as  the  Arras-Cambrai  highway. 

It  was  eliminated — April  9 — and  imme- 
diately a  British  advance  was  made 
astride  the  highway — the  first  leg  of  the 
Hindenburg  line — and  preparations  were 
made  to  encircle  Lens  and  its  200  square 
miles  of  coal  area. 

Gradually  the  encircling  took  the  form 
of  a  pair  of  pincers.  On  July  20  the 
Canadian  troops  reached  a  post  in  the 
mine  region  to  the  north  hardly  1,500 
yards  from  the  heart  of  Lens.  Several 
days  earlier  it  had  been  revealed  from 
observations  made  on  Vimy  Ridge  that 
most  of  the  buildings  in  the  town  had 
been  reinforced  with  concrete,  just  as  St. 
Quentin  is  known  to  have  been,  and  all 
indications  showed  that  the  Germans 
were  intending  to  hold  the  centre  of  the 
city  until  their  losses  became  unendur- 
able. 

Hill  65  to  the  west  of  the  city  was 
taken  in  the  middle  of  June,  but  Hill  70, 
to  the  north,  was  not  to  succumb  until 
Aug.  15.  Gradually  at  first  and  then 
more  rapidly  have  the  jaws  of  the  pincers 
closed  upon  the  Prussians  from  the 
Rhinelands,  men  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Divi- 
sion, who  hold  this  mining  city.  They 
have  put  up  one  of  the  gamest  fights  of 
the  war — counterattacking  sometimes 
very  fiercely,  as  at  La  Coulotte,  just 
south  of  Lens  and  west  of  Avion,  where 
the  Canadian  infantry  pushed  closer  and 
threatened  their  main  defenses. 

On  the  same  day  that  Hill  70  fell, 
whose  formidable  defenses  had  resisted 


every  assault  in  the  battle  of  Loos,  fell 
also  every  defense  which  dominated  the 
city  from  the  north — Cite  Ste.  Elizabeth, 
Cite  St.  Laurent  and  the  Bois  Rase  just 
north  of  Hill  70. 

On  the  day  following  Prince  Rupprecht 


SHADED    SECTION    INDICATES    ALLIED 

GAINS    IN   THE    BATTLE    OF   FLANDERS 

UP   TO   AUG.    18,    1917 


made  frantic  efforts  to  capture  the  lost 
positions,  and  ten  times  the  Prussians 
charged,  each  time  driven  back  with 
frightful  slaughter  and  a  heavy  loss  in 
prisoners.  The  Seventh  Division  is  said 
to  have  been  completely  wiped  out  in  a 
sortie,  while  the  Fourth  Guard  Division 
fared  little  better.  It  was  a  day  of  ma- 
chine gun  and  volley  fire. 

Although  the  capture  of  Lens  would 
open  the  way  to  Douai  and  flank,  from 
the  north,  the  Siegfried  line  constructed 
to  protect  that  depot  and  Cambrai,  yet 
its  importance  to  the  Germans,  aside 
from  the  strategic  obstruction  it  has  pre- 
sented to  the  Allies,  is  chiefly  indus- 
trial, as  has  already  been  indicated.  And 
this  importance  is  commensurate  with 
the  defense  it  has  made. 

Laon  Threatened  n>ith  Investment 
Laon,  a  beautiful  city  whose  cathedral- 
topped  hill  can  be  seen  for  miles  around, 


398 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


is  held  as  a  sort  of  architectural  host- 
age by  the  Germans  for  the  preservation 
of  the  blast  furnaces  they  have  estab- 
lished there.  One  would  hardly  expect 
them  to  evacuate  it  without  leaving  it 
a  mass  of  ruins.  The  Germans  also  have 
a  sentimental  attachment  to  the  place, 
for  here  on  March  9-10,  1814,  the  Prus- 
sian Bliicher  beat  Napoleon. 

But  Laon  is  threatened  with  invest- 
ment from  two  sides — from  the  north- 
west and  the  southeast.  The  capture  of 
St.  Quentin  would  open  the  way  to  the 
first  approach,  and  as  long  as  the  French 
hold  the  Aisne  front  along  the  Chemin 
des  Dames  and  Craonne,  with  its  pla- 
teaus, the  second  is  a  constant  source  of 
danger.  Not  impossible  successes  simul- 
taneously achieved  at  both  points  would 
probably  mean  the  envelopment  of  the 
city  before  the  Germans  could  make  good 
their  retreat  or  wreck  the  place. 

Now  the  Chemin  des  Dames  and  the 
Craonne  terrain  bear  much  the  same  re- 
lation to  Laon  that  the  French  line  on 
the  edge  of  the  Meuse-Moselle  watershed 
does  to  the  great  fortress  of  Metz.  It 
fell  to  the  Crown  Prince  to  attempt  to 
eliminate  the  latter  in  the  battle  of  Ver- 
dun. He  is  now  attempting  to  eliminate 
the  other.  So  far  it  is  proving  as  costly 
in  German  lives  as  his  Verdun  enter- 
prise. Since  April  16  he  has  had  seventy- 
one  divisions,  or  1,065,000  men,  engaged 
in  vain  efforts  to  push  the  French  back 
from  their  threatening  positions  between 
Soissons  and  Craonne  and  along  the 
Aisne. 

Heavy  German  Losses 

Having  pulled  off  his  coup  d'etat  at 
Berlin  on  July  14,  a  week  later  he  was 
back  on  the  front  and  began  a  new  and 
furious  onslaught  against  Craonne  and 
its  defensive  plateaus,  Vauclerc,  Case- 
mates, and  Californie.  Four  days  later 
he  diverted  his  attack,  with  the  same 
prodigious  loss  of  men,  from  the  Craonne 
region  to  west  of  the  Aisne — to  a  two- 
mile  front  from  La  Bovelle  to  east  of 
the  Hurtebise  Farm.  And  so  it  has  been 
in  this  region  ever  since — furious  as- 
saults, a  waste  of  men,  and  the  French 
standing  firm  or  counterattacking  with 
vital  results. 

Now,  aside  from  the  military   aspect 


of  this  terrain  in  its  relation  to  Laon, 
already  dwelt  upon,  there  is  also,  as  an 
ever-present  rule  of  action  in  all  that 
the  Crown  Prince  does,  the  political  as- 
pect. And  it  has  been  said  on  high  au- 
thority that,  somehow,  somewhere,  his 
Imperial  Highness  had  to  secure  a  strik- 
ing victory  which  would  affect  the  mal- 
contents at  home,  in  the  Reichstag,  and 
elsewhere.  Whether  the  end  which  he 
had  in  view  was  purely  a  military  one 
or  not,  the  net  result  is  that  he  has  lost 
very  large  numbers  of  men  without  gain- 
ing anything  in  the  way  of  observation 
pests  or  a  tithe  of  the  area  which  rep- 
resented his  permanent  achievements 
against  Verdun. 

From  the  right  bank  of  the  Meuse  the 
French  lines  still  threaten  Metz  across 
the  plain  of  the  Woevre;  still  the  French 
from  the  Chemin  des  Dames  and  the 
Craonne  Ridge  can  see  the  cathedral  of 
Laon. 

Offensive  Against  Russia 

The  Teutonic  offensive  against  the 
southern  end  of  the  eastern  front,  where 
it  drops  from  Bukowina  into  Rumania, 
seems  like  an  attempt  to  capture  a 
doubtful  outpost  while  the  citadel  itself 
lies  exposed — the  citadel  in  this  case 
being  the  road  to  Petrograd  or  to  Mos- 
cow. But  it  takes  men  to  capture  even 
an  exposed  citadel,  and  men  neither  the 
Germans  nor  the  Austrians  have  got. 
The  Bulgars  will  not  lend  them  any.  The 
Turks  cannot. 

When  between  April  and  June  both 
the  Wilhelmstrasse  and  the  Ballplatz 
were  momentarily  expecting  Prince  Leo- 
pold's efforts  with  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment of  Russia  to  be  crowned  with 
the  success  of  a  separate  peace  300J000 
Germans  were  sent  to  the  western  front 
and  over  100,000  Austrians  to  the  Ital- 
ian. These  men  have  not  come  back. 
Many  of  them  cannot. 

Moreover,  a  successful  campaign  in 
Rumania  leading  into  Bessarabia,  aside 
from  its  political  significance,  would 
shorten  the  great  eastern  battlefront  by 
200  miles — a  very  inviting  prospect  in 
Teuton  eyes. 

By  July  11  the  personally  led  spas- 
modic offensive  of  Kerensky  had  capt- 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF   THE  MONTH 


399 


vs- is ^5  SC^L  OF  M,Lt5 

BLACK    LINE    INDICATES    WHERE    THE    RUSSIANS    AND    RUMANIANS 
AT    LAST    CHECKED     THE     GERMAN    ADVANCE     ABOUT     AUG.     15,     1917 


ured  Halicz,  the  strategic  key  to  Lem- 
berg,  the  capital  of  Galicia,  and  a  week 
later  the  offensive  reached  its  ultimate, 
investing  Zloczow  and  Brzezany,  forty 
miles  east  of  Lemberg.  By  July  21  the 
Russian  mutiny  and  retreat  in  Galicia 
were  in  full  swing.  That  it  has  not  ac- 
cumulated more  velocity  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  pursuers  are  not 
fully  prepared  either  in  numbers  or  in 
munitions. 

By  July  23  the  Russian  retreat  had  ex- 
panded to  a  150-mile  front,  but  there 
were  Russo-Rumanian  successes  in  the 
Susitza  and  Putna  Valleys,  with  2,000 
prisoners  and  57  guns  taken.  Then  in 
rapid  succession  followed  the  fall  of 
Stanislau  and  Tarnopol,  the  enemy 
crossing  the  Sereth  from  Tarnopol  to 
Czortkow,  and  finally  the  fall  of  Czerno- 
witz,  and  the  last  Russian  soldier  was 
driven  out  of  Bukowina. 

The  difficulty  of  getting  men  and  sup- 
plies over  the  mountains  to  the  Austrians 


desperately  fighting  among  the  streams 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Sereth  in 
Moldavia  gave  a  respite  to  all  that  re- 
mains of  Rumanian  territory.  Whether  it 
will  be  retained  depends  upon  the  re-, 
habilitation  of  the  Russian  arms.  Even 
so,  Rumania  has  not  the  value  as  an  ally 
to  the  Provisional  Government  at  Petro- 
grad  that  it  had  to  the  Government  of 
the  Czar.  The  present  Russian  institu- 
tion does  not  covet  Constantinople. 

Germany's  Waning  Man  Power 

The  most  striking  revelation  that  has 
emerged  from  the  month's  fighting  has 
been  the  waning  of  Germany's  man 
power,  both  in  numbers  and  stamina. 
She  is  already  using  her  1918  men  on 
the  western  front  and  there  are  isolated 
cases  of  boys  of  14  being  found  among 
her  dead.  In  November  she  will  call  her 
1919  men  to  training.  These  will  fur- 
nish 450,000;  no  more.  Her  casualties 
since  Aug.  1,  1916,  have  been  nearly  a 


400 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


million,  (943,982,)  according  to  her  own 
official  lists.  Man  for  man  they  have 
shown  themselves  inferior  to  the  French 
and  English  in  Flanders.      Another  im- 


Battle  of  Flanders,  has  been  the  machine- 
like, complementary  co-operation  between 
the  French  and  English  and  the  wonder- 
ful co-ordination  of  artillery  fire  and  its 


portant    feature,    also    revealed    in    the      relation  to  infantry  attacks. 


The  Battle  of  Flanders 

Terrific  Barrage  Fire 


BELGIUM,  during  the  last  month,  has 
been  the  scene  of  the  fiercest 
fighting  on  the  Western  front. 
For  three  weeks  the  bombardment  on 
both  sides  was  tremendous.  The  Ger- 
man artillery,  thickly  massed  against 
the  most  vital  sectors  of  the  British 
front,  poured  vast  quantities  of  shells 
into  Nieuport,  Ypres,  Armentieres,  and 
other  towns.  The  German  long-range 
guns  fired  at  targets  twelve  to  twenty 
miles  beyond  their  emplacements.  The 
British  reply  was  even  more  terrific. 
For  every  German  shell  fired,  the  Brit- 
ish returned  two.  "  A  rivalry  in  destruc- 
tion greater  than  any  former  phase  of 
the  war,"  was  one  British  correspond- 
ent's description  of  the  great  artillery 
duel. 

The  bombardment  culminated  on  the 
morning  of  July  31  in  a  gigantic  infantry 
attack  in  which  both  the  British  and 
French  troops  took  part.  They  attacked 
along  a  front  of  nearly  twenty  miles, 
rfrom  Dixmude  in  the  north  to  Warneton 
in  the  south,  on  the  Franco-Belgian 
frontier.  The  preliminary  bombardment 
had  leveled  the  German  trenches,  at 
some  points  wiping  them  out  completely. 
While  the  shelling  had  been  going  on  for 
days  at  what  appeared  to  be  the  highest 
pitch,  it  was  redoubled  on  the  morning 
of  the  attack  just  before  the  men  went 
"  over  the  top."  The  first  and  second 
German  lines  were  soon  behind  the  ad- 
vancing infantry,  and  in  places  they 
crossed  the  third  line  of  trenches.  At 
some  points  the  Germans  put  up  a  des- 
perate resistance  in  their  rear  positions, 
holding  up  the  advance  with  machine 
guns.  These  places  were  stormed,  not 
without  some  losses,  although  both  Gen- 
eral Haig  and  General  Petain  called  at- 


tention to  the  fact  that  their  losses  were 
exceedingly  small. 

Capture  of  Menin  Tunnel 
One  of  the  most  striking  and  spectac- 
ular events  of  the  day's  fighting  occurred 
at  the  so-called  Menin  tunnel,  a  great 
underground  fortification  constructed  by 
the  Germans  on  the  Menin  road,  opposite 
Hooge.  The  British  preliminary  bombard- 
ment had  forced  the  Germans  to  hold 
the  French  line  thinly  here,  and  the  Brit- 
ish division  which  was  to  attack  at  dawn 
lay  out  all  night  in  shell  holes,  within 
twenty-five  yards  of  the  German  line, 
waiting  for  the  signal  to  advance.  When 
the  time  arrived  for  the  charge,  and  the 
British  gunners  had  dropped  a  protect- 
ing barrage  on  the  German  front  trench 
ahead  of  the  British  troops,  it  was  seen 
that  the  Germans  were  fleeing.  The  Brit- 
ish, seeing  their  prey  escaping,  went  mad 
and  charged  directly  through  their  own 
barrage,  fortunately  without  heavy  cas- 
ualties. The  Menin  tunnel,  which  was  ex- 
pected to  be  occupied  by  several  hun- 
dred Germans,  was  found  to  be  held  by 
only  forty-one,  the  rest  having  retreated. 
It  was  only  at  the  second  line  that  the 
British  met  resistance,  and  here,  after 
sharp  hand-to-hand  fighting,  they  forced 
the  Germans  again  to  withdraw. 

German  Account  of  Fight 
A  semi-official  survey  of  the  Flanders 
battle  supplied  by  the  German  General 
Staff  through  the  Wolff  Bureau  men- 
tioned that  Bixschoote  three  times 
changed  hands,  the  French  eventually 
retaining  the  village  at  nightfall,  but 
that  the  German  lines  gripped  the  vil- 
lage north  and  east.  The  British,  ac- 
cording to  the  survey,  delivered  the 
main  thrust  before  Ypres  and  succeeded 


THE  BATTLE  OF  FLANDERS 


401 


in  capturing  Langemarck  in  addition  to 
other  places,  but  were  unable  to  hold 
Langemarck  and  St.  Julien  in  the  face 
of  a  German  counterattack  and  were  re- 
pulsed. The  report  sought  to  give  the 
impression  that  only  the  immediate  front- 
line trench  in  any  case  was  lost,  and  care- 
fully avoided  any  mention  of  the  depth 
of  the  Entente  gain.  The  Berliner  Tage- 
blatt  correspondent  wrote: 

The  great  brutal  force  of  the  initial  blow 
has  been  parried.  We  survived  the  grue-  . 
some  tension  occasioned  by  the  uncanny- 
artillery  fire,  and  we  are  able  again  to 
hold  our  heads  high  as  the  battle  of  living 
men  is  resumed.  The  struggle  has  now- 
reached  the  phase  of  human  effort,  after 
unseen  mechanical  death  has  been  knock- 
ing at  the  door  day  and  night  for  weeks. 
The  German  fighting  spirit  was  fully 
awakened,  and  heroes  flung  themselves 
from  the  islands  of  defense  in  the  con- 
quered district  against  the  advancing 
masses  and  seriously  weakened  the  flanks 
of  the  oncoming  troops.  Millions  of  shells 
have  been  spent,  and  now  comes  the  test 
of  strength   and  nerves. 

The  mainspring  which  impelled  the  Ger- 
man fighting  man  was  the  strong  rea- 
lization that  he  was  here  called  upon  to 
defend  the  German  U-boat— to  serve  the 
mightiest,  most  promising  weapon  of  his 
country  and  bar  the  path  to  it  with  his 
life.  The  German  troops  counterattacked 
in  frightful  bayonet  and  hand  grenade 
combats.  It  was  the  mightiest  counter- 
thrust,  following  the  mightiest  impact, 
which   the  world  has   ever   seen. 

Nightfall  witnessed  the  happy  German 
achievement.  The  foe  had  won  German 
trenches,  had  gained  control  of  Bixschoote, 
and  had  carried  off  prisoners,  but  he  lay 
bleeding  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  he  desired 
to  scale. 

Battling  in  the  Rain 
Stubborn  and  almost  blind  fighting  in 
the  pouring  rain  was  kept  up  through- 
out the  night  of  Aug.  1  and  the  follow- 
ing day  from  the  junction  of  the  French 
and  British  lines  at  Langemarck,  in 
Flanders,  to  the  French  frontier,  along 
the  banks  of  the  River  Lys.  It  was  al-* 
most  entirely  an  infantry  struggle,  for 
neither  the  air  nor  artillery  branches 
could  work  effectively  in  the  thick,  tor- 
rential weather.  General  Haig's  lines 
between  St.  Julien  and  the  Ypres-Kou- 
lers  railway,  northeast  of  Ypres,  were 
completely  re-established  in  the  face  of 
repeated  and  costly  enemy  assaults. 
The  controlling  factor  in  the  military 


situation  in  Flanders  at  this  time  was 
the  incessant  downpour  of  rain,  which 
had  now  lasted  for  fifty  hours.  Over 
the  whole  field  of  attack  the  only  high 
ground  lay  where  the  Germans  massed 
their  counterassaults.  Elsewhere  the 
country  was  a  marsh,  split  and  inter- 
woven with  flooded  streams.  This  un- 
stable quagmire  was  just  beginning  to 
form  when  the  Anglo-French  drive  was 
launched.  The  infantry  slipped  and 
stumbled  forward.  The  tanks  managed 
to  negotiate  the  distance  in  mud  up  to 
the  hubs  of  their  caterpillar  wheels. 

Westhoek  and  Langemarck 
By  a  sharp  stroke  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Aug.  10,  east  of  Ypres,  General 
Haig  penetrated  the  German  lines  to  a 
depth  of  several  hundred  yards,  com- 
pleting the  capture  of  the  village  of 
Westhoek,  and  carrying  the  remaining 
positions  held  by  the  Germans  on  the 
Westhoek  ridge. 

The  following  day  there  was  more  vio- 
lent fighting.  The  right  of  the  British 
attack  in  Glencorse  "Wood  was  heavily 
engaged  with  the  enemy  concealed  in  the 
usual  concrete  emplacements  and  defend- 
ing himself  with  well-placed  machine 
guns.  The  Germans  massed  great  power 
of  artillery  against  the  British,  and  there 
was  apparently  no  immediate  lack  of 
ammunition.  It  was  truly  a  fearful 
thing  to  see,  even  from  a  distance,  the 
wide  and  deep  belt  of  fire  flung  by  the 
German  guns  over  the  countryside.  For 
miles  the  horizon  was  seething  with  the 
smo]ke  of  heavy  shells.  Anti-aircraft 
guns  sprayed  the  sky  with  shrapnel,  and 
from  a  range  of  twelve  miles  or  more 
monstrous  shells  were  exploding.  The 
great  unending  tragedy  of  war  was  along 
that  belt  of  ground,  sweeping  around  the 
horizon  where  innumerable  shells  were 
bursting  and  where  in  the  smoke  of  them 
great  bodies  of  men  were  fighting  and 
dying. 

The  enemy's  barrage  fire  was  great; 
that  of  the  British  was  greater.  Between 
Glencorse  Wood  and  Inverness  Copse  and 
all  about  Stirling  Castle  and  Frezenberg 
he  made  a  hell  of  fire,  and  many  of  the 
British  had  to  pass  through  its  fury,  and 
not  all  passed  or  came  back  again.    But 


4oe 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


afterward  the  enemy's  turn  came,  and 
masses  of  his  men — thick  waves  of  them 
sent  forward  with  orders  to  counterat- 
tack— were  caught  under  the  fire  of  Brit- 
ish guns  and  smashed  to  pieces. 

Striking  together  on  a  nine-mile 
front  east  and  northeast  of  Ypres  early 
on  the  morning  of  Aug,  16,  British  and 
French  troops  carried  all  their  objec- 
tives except  on  the  right  flank.  The 
French,  on  the  left,  drove  the  Germans 
from  the  tongue  of  land  between  the 
Yser  Canal  and  the  Martjevaart  and 
captured  the  bridgehead  of  Dreigrach- 
ten.  In  the  centre  Haig's  troops  capt- 
ured the  village  of  Langemarck,  which 
had  been  held  strongly  by  the  Germans 
ever  since  the  allied  attack  early  in  the 
month,  and  pushed  half  a  mile  beyond. 
On  the  right  British  troops  attempted 
to  seize  the  high  ground  almost  directly 
east  of  Ypres,  which  lies  north  of  the 
read  to  Menin.  They  swept  up  and 
gained  the  ground,  but  in  face  of  ter- 
rific losses  the  Germans  attacked  with 
great  fury,  and  finally  pressed  the  Brit- 
ish back  from  the  terrain  they  had  won. 

Reports  of  British  casualties  issued 
during  the  first  two  weeks  of  August 
gave  a  total  of  21,722  officers  and  men. 
They  were  divided  as  follows:  Killed 
and  died  of  wounds — Officers,  223;  pri- 
vates and  noncommissioned  officers, 
4,424.  Wounded  or  missing — Officers, 
1,821;  men,  15,254.  Total  of  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  21,722. 

Wonderful  Barrage  Fire 
The  wonderful  accuracy  of  the  British 
barrage  fire  was  described  by  an  artil- 
lery observation  officer  who  was  wound- 
ed at  Langemarck: 

I  have  seen  much  modern  artillery  work, 
but,  frankly,  I  never  dreamed  there  could 
be  such  perfection.  I  was  stationed  in  an 
advance  post  where  I  could  see  the  full 
effects  of  our  fire  on  the  Langemarck 
region.  While  I  directed  the  firing-  of  the 
guns  in  the  rear  I  was  amazed  to  see 
what  our  gunners  could  not  see.  At  the 
jumping-off  hour,  which  was  4:45  o'clock, 
the  British  batteries  dropped  a  barrage  in 
front  of  our  infantry  for  the  advance. 
It  was  as  though  a  solid  curtain  of  steel 
had  been  dropped  before  our  men.  It 
moved  forward  with  the  mechanical  pre- 
cision of  clockwork.  All  our  guns  broke 
out  with  euch  a  hurricane   of  fire   that  I 


was  stunned  with  the  effect.  I  tried  to 
say  something  to  a  companion  standing 
beside  me,  but  could  not  make  him  hear 
my   loudest   shouts. 

The  barrage  moved  forward  with  such 
accuracy  that  our  infantry  was  able  to 
I  keep  quite  close  to  it  without  danger,  for 
there  was  no  wavering  of  the  barrage  line. 
Straight  on  over  Langemarck  and  the  sur- 
rounding region  passed  the  barrage,  with 
the  infantry  trailing.  The  Germans  un- 
doubtedly were  expecting  our  attack,  for 
their  counterbarrage  was  dropped  back  of 
our  lines  almost  as  soon  as  our  advance 
began.  There  is  absolutely  no  doubt  of 
the  tremendous  superiority  of  our  artillery 
work  and  the  preponderance  of  our  guns. 
No  worse  ground  for  an  advance  could 
have  been  encountered.  The  Steenbeke 
River  was  in  flood  and  the  whole  region 
was  waterlogged  from  recent  rains.  Our 
infantry  was  wallowing  in  mud  all  the 
time,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  efficacy 
of  our  artillery  fire  the  men  would  have 
had   a  hard   time   with   the    enemy. 

Our  troops  had  destroyed  most  of  the 
concrete  machine  gun  redoubts  which  rep- 
resent the  main  defenses  in  this  section, 
but  there  still  remained  many  under- 
ground fortifications  which  had  to  be 
fought  through  and  silenced  with  bombs 
or  left  behind  with  the  Germans  still  in 
them.  There  was  a  typical  example  of 
this  at  a  point  southwest  of  Langemarck 
known  as  Aubongite.  Here  the  Germans 
had  constructed  a  steel  and  concrete  dug- 
out with  heavy  steel  trapdoors  on  top. 
It  would  hold  perhaps  fifty  to  seventy-five 
men  with  numerous  machine  guns.  The 
artillery  had  been  unable  to  shell  them 
out,  and  when  the  infantry  advanced,  the 
Germans  crawled  into  their  hole  and 
closed  the  steel  doors  over  them.  There 
was  no  bombing  them  out,  but  the  Ger- 
mans themselves  were  prisoners.  They 
dared  not  open  their  doors  to  fire  machine 
guns  for  fear  of  bombs,  so  we  pushed 
ahead  and  left  the  Germans  there  with  a 
squad  of  bombers  sitting  outside  ready 
to  throw  explosives  when  the  door  opened. 

This  advance  brought  to  a  conclusion 
another  phase  of  the  battle  of  Flanders, 
The  Allies  were  now  able  to  look  back 
on  one  of  the  great  achievements  of  the 
war.  The  attack  against  the  Germans 
east  of  Ypres,  which  resulted  in  such 
sanguinary  fighting,  did  not  accomplish 
the  advance  desired,  but  the  great  push 
to  the  north  represented  one  of  the  re- 
markable accomplishments  of  the  year. 

This  fighting  was  noteworthy  for  a 
radical  change  in  the  German  defense 
methods.  The  continuous  lines  of  won- 
derfully constructed  forward  trenches 
with  their  deep  dugouts,  in  which  lived 


THE  BATTLE  OF  INLANDERS 


403 


and  fought  great  numbers  of  men,  were 
now  fast  passing  into  the  discard.  The 
new  system  was  one  of  scattering  ad- 
vance forces  over  a  great  depth.  Cun- 
ningly constructed  strongholds  among 
the  myriads  of  shell  holes  along  the  front 
concealed  innumerable  small  and  more 
or  less  isolated  garrisons  of  men  who 
formerly  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder 
along  great  stretches  of  picturesque 
ditches,  through  which  communication 
was  not  broken  for  miles.  This  alteration 
was  brought  about  by  the  ever-growing 


preponderance  of  British  artillery,  which 
buried  the  German  front  line  trenches 
under  an  avalanche  of  shells  and  left  the 
defenses  nothing  but  heaped  furrows  of 
earth,  and  rendered  the  famous  dugouts 
mantraps,  in  which  many  thousands 
lost  their  lives  without  a  chance  of  fight- 
ing back.  The  continuous  deluge  of 
breaking  steel  made  repair  work  on  the 
trenches  impossible,  and  as  the  Germans 
were  gradually  pushed  back  they  of 
necessity  were  forced  to  invent  another 
mode  of  stemming  the  advancing  tide. 


A  German  Word  Picture  of  the  British 
Attack  in  Flanders 


Max  Osborn,  war  correspondent  of  the 
Berlin  Zeitung  am  Mittag,  wrote  from 
the  German  Headquarters  on  the  west 
front,  July  30,  1917: 

NEVER-ENDING  howls  and  piercing 
screams  are  rending  the  air  from 
the  sea  to  the  River  Lys,  while  ac- 
cessory noises  like  growls  and  blows  seem 
to  spring  from  everywhere  on  the  Yser, 
in  front  of  Dixmude  and  Langemarck, 
around  Hollebeke  and  Warneton.  The 
whole  of  West  Flanders  is  one  large, 
steaming  pot,  in  which  death  and  devasta- 
tion are  brewing.  With  the  sun  smiling 
its  brightest  at  us,  terrific,  never-ending 
thunderstorms  are  raging  over  the  land. 
Amid  noises  such  as  the  old  earth  never 
heard  before,  a  crop  of  new  battles  and 
new  wars  between  nations  is  growing  to 
maturity. 

What  were  the  battles  of  the  Somme, 
Arras,  the  Aisne,  and  Champagne  against 
this  earthquake  of  Flanders?  Millions 
of  capital  are  blown  up  in  the  air  and  ex- 
plode in  the  ground.  It  is  like  a  Cyclo- 
pean concert  of  unheard-of  brutality,  to 
celebrate  with  becoming  fitness  the  end 
of  the  third  year  of  universal  madness. 
The  louder  the  desire  of  the  nations  for 
peace  begins  to  express  itself,  the  wilder 
the  thunder  of  the  guns  at  England's 
command  to  drown  any  cry  of  hope. 
Sometimes  one  thinks  the  end  of  the 
bloody  intoxication  is  coming,  but  there 


are  still  graduations  of  description  for 
which  there  are  no  words.  We  thought 
we  had  got  accustomed  to  the  atrocious- 
ness  of  all  this,  and  at  home  you  may  for- 
get the  monstrous  events.  At  the  front 
for  days  our  senses  and  nerves  must  cer- 
tainly have  suffered  from  these  awful 
three  years.  Spirit  and  feelings  seek  to 
escape  the  intolerable  horror,  but  it  is  no 
use.  Here,  up  against  the  worst  form  of 
slaughter,  again  these  nameless  noises 
bring  it  home  to  you  with  overpowering 
force. 

This  battle  has  lasted  for  days ;  now  it 
is  again  that  continuous  roar  that  ef- 
faces, or,  rather,  consumes,  all  individual 
noises,  that  makes  even  fierce  explosions 
close  by  you  indistinguishable.  Every- 
thing disappears  in  one  loud,  rolling, 
threatening  volume  of  sound.  The  air 
carries  it  a  hundred  miles  distant,  and 
tremblingly  they  listen,  south  and  north, 
west  and  east,  where  they  cannot  see  the 
horror  of  all  this. 

But  if  you  come  nearer,  it  is  like  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  exploding.  Our  sol- 
diers sit  in  their  dugouts,  and  cannot  do 
anything  but  trust  to  luck.  Just  now  the 
infantry  must  keep  quiet;  only  the  big 
guns  are  talking.  The  waiting  infantry 
is,  as  it  were,  locked  in  prison.  The  men 
cannot  get  out,  nor  can  anybody  ap- 
proach them.  The  way  to  them  is 
fraught  with  fearful  danger.    All  around 


'04 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


spatter  steel  splinters,  shrapnel  bullets, 
stones  and  earth.  If  you  are  hit  you  are 
dead  or  crippled.  What  shall  one  do? 
One  smokes  incessantly,  until  the  air  in 
the  narrow  shaft  is  heavy  enough  to  cut. 
That  is  bad,  but  somehow  it  helps  one  to 
endure  the  horror.,  of  the  situation. 

You  live  for  days  in  the  closest  contact 
with  your  comrades  in  a  contracted  space. 
You  cannot  move,  and  are  unable  to  think 
clearly.  Never  did  I  realize  how  diffi- 
cult it  can  be  to  lead  a  human  life.  There 
is  nameless  agony  in  it. 

Suddenly  there  is  a  terrible  explosion 
quite  near  you.  The  earth  is  moving. 
Splinters  drop  from  nowhere.  Our  works 
have  been  hit  at  an  adjacent  point,  but 
thank  Heaven!  there  are  no  wounded. 
Nobody  was  stationed  there  when  the 
projectile  struck. 

There  is  still  another  explosion,  this 
time  the  other  side  of  us.  Nine  dugouts 
have  been  hit  and  have  collapsed. 

Then  there  is  one  of  those  rare  lulls  in 
the  cannonade,  and  quite  distinctly  we 
make  out  some  of  our  comrades  strug- 
gling in  the  ruins  of  a  wrecked  dugout. 
We  rush  to  their  aid,  heedless  of  the 
shells  bursting  around  us.  Another  of 
those  deadly  beasts  strikes  almost  at  our 
feet,  but  it  does  not  explode.  We  don't 
stop ;  we  rush  on ;  we  shout  to  our  friends, 
who  are  buried  under  the  earth,  stones, 
and  timber,  and  we  set  to  work  digging 
them  out. 

"  Nobody  is  seriously  hurt,"  they  cry 
joyously,  when  we  drag  them,  covered 
with  scratches  and  contusions,  to  day- 
light again.  We  do  not  always  fare  so 
well  as  this.  Sometimes  we  dig  them 
from  cellars  and  earthworks  as  corpses, 
sometimes  fearfully  mutilated,  or  just  in 
time  to  draw  their  last  breath-. 

But,  after  all,  our  losses  are  not  so 
large — certainly  not  compared  with  the 
mass  of  munitions  exploded.  Our  men 
have  become  masters  in  the  art  of  dodg- 
ing  and   using   cover.      They    certainly 


have  had  experience  enough.  But  still 
too  many  sons  of  German  mothers  must 
yield  up  thf  ir  young  lives  mutely  without 
a  chance  of  defending  themselves.  But 
they  all  realize  that  only  the  Fatherland 
c&unts;  thrt  the  individual  cannot  claim 
special  attc  ntion  here.  The  heavy  twenty- 
four-centimeter  projectiles  of  the  enemy 
care  not  where  they  strike,  be  it  human 
life,  wire  entanglements,  or  trench,  and 
sometimes  they  hit  our  nerves  though 
they  strike  many  meters  distant. 

There  is  one  consolation:  Our  artillery 
pays  them  back  with  interest,  and  the 
hellish  noises  at  our  rear  are  almost  mu- 
sic to  the  ears  of  our  men  in  our  dugouts. 
Once  upon  a  time  infantrymen  used  to 
swear  at  artillery  in  battles;  nowadays 
you  hear  nothing  of  the  kind.  Our  in- 
fantry knows  that  those  men  behind  their 
guns  are  having  a  hell  of  a  time,  while 
the  infai  tryman  is  comparatively  safe 
in  his  dugout. 

But  even  the  artillery  needs  our  in- 
fantryman. He  must  carry  munitions 
to  positions  that  are  inaccessible  to  horses 
and  carts.  The  infantryman  must  watch 
the  approaches  to  the  artillery  positions 
from  all  sides,  and  must  be  at  his  post 
when  the  sign'  is  given  for  a  general  ad- 
vance. Is  this  the  end  of  terror,  or 
merely  the  lull  before  the  attack? 
Fiercely  your  fist  grips  gun  and  hand 
grenade.  The  eyes  of  the  men  on  guard 
pierce  the  dense  darkness  ahead.  There 
rises  a  green  fireball.  Is  it  ours?  Is  it 
theirs?  Nobody  seems  to  know  its  mean- 
ing, but  all  of  a  sudden  the  English  begin 
to  rain  steel  again.  We  give  them  tit  for 
tat.  The  artillery  on  each  side  seems  to 
try  to  surpass  that  on  the  other.  What 
has  happened?  Nothing  particular,  but 
since  they  were  at  it,  they  thought  they 
might  as  well  keep  Hammering,  and  that 
jone  long  roar  continues  until  the  sun  rises 
again  on  a  new  day  as  cruel  as  yester- 
day. Nobody  will  ever  forget  the  horror 
of  it. 


U-Boat  Destruction  of  Shipping 

Record  From  July  15  to  August  12,  1917 


THE   average   number   of   merchant 
ships     destroyed  .  by    submarines 
and    mines    apparently    remained 
almost  constant  in  the  last  month. 
The  aggregate  British  tonnage  lost  was 
almost  the  same  as  that  in  the  preceding 
month,  as  the  following  figures,  issued 
officially  by  the  Admiralty,  show: 
Over    Under 
1,600     1,600      Fishing 
Tons.    Tons.    Vessels. 
Week  ended  July  22..     23  3  1 

Week  ended  July  29..      18  3  0 

Week  ended  Aug.  5. . .      21  2  0 

Week  ended  Aug.  12..      14  2  3 


Total  for  four  weeks      74 

Total     for    previous 
four  weeks 64 


10 


19  26 

The  increase  in  the  loss  of  larger 
ships  equalizes,  if  it  does  not  exceed, 
that  of  the  smaller  vessels  and  fishing 
craft. 

Premier  Lloyd  George,  speaking  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  Aug.  16,  said  that 
there  was  a  steady  diminution  of  vessels 
sunk.  The  unrestricted  submarine  cam- 
paign, he  continued,  began  in  February, 
and  by  April  England  had  lost  560,000 
.tons  of  shipping  in  one  month.  The  Ger- 
man official  figures  claimed  that  Eng- 
land was  losing  between  450,000  and 
500,000  monthly  after  allowing  for  new 
construction  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said  his 
figure  of  560,000  tons  for  April  was 
gross.  In  June  the  losses  had  fallen  to 
320,000  tons  gross,  and  if  the  improve- 
ment were  maintained  those  for  July  and 
August  would  be  175,000  each.  Steps 
had  been  taken,  he  added,  for  quickening 
shipbuilding,  and  a  good  many  ships  had 
been  ordered  abroad.  In  1915  the  new 
tonnage  built  was  688,000  tons.  In  1916 
it  was  538,000  tons.  For  the  first  six 
months  of  this  year  it  was  480,000  tons. 
The  tonnage  acquired  by  construction 
and  purchase  during  the  last  six  months 
would  be  1,420,000.  The  total  for  the 
year  would  be  1,900,000  tons. 

The  figures  of  losses  given  above  do 
not    include    French,    Italian,    Swedish, 


Norwegian,  Dutch,  or  American  ships,  a 
considerable  number  of  which  have  been 
sunk  since  the  beginning  of  February.  In 
regard  to  American  vessels  37  have  been 
destroyed,  with  a  loss  of  121  lives,  in  the 
three  years  of  war  by  German  or 
Austrian  raiders  or  submarines.  Before 
the  United  States  entered  the  war,  on 
April  6,  1917,  thirteen  ships  had  been 
sunk.  Since  that  time  twenty-four  have 
been  destroyed.  The  tonnage  of  the  ves- 
sels destroyed  is  estimated  at  about  110,- 
000  tons,  61,000  of  which  have  been  lost 
since  the  United  States  entered  the  war. 
Only  four  American  ships  were  sunk 
before  Germany  began  her  unrestricted 
submarine  warfare.  Two  of  these  were 
destroyed  in  1915,  and  two  in  1916.  Be- 
tween the  publication  by  Germany  of  un- 
restricted submarine  warfare  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  a  state  of  war  by 
the  United  States  nine  American  vessels 
were  sunk,  either  by  torpedoes  or  by 
gunfire,  with  a  loss  of  forty-seven  lives. 
Since  the  United  States  entered  the  war 
twenty-four  ships  flying  the  United 
States  flag  have  been  lost,  and  seventy- 
one  lives  sacrificed. 

It  was  announced  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  Aug.  "14  that  9,748  lives 
were  lost  on  British  merchantmen  from 
the  opening  of  the  war  to  June  30,  1917, 
as  a  result  of  enemy  action.  Of  these 
3,828  were  passengers,  the  remainder 
being  officers  or  seamen.  A  later  official 
declaration,  bringing  the  figures  down  to 
Aug.  20,  1917,  stated  that  the  losses  of 
British  mercantile  sailors  and  officers 
were  6,637. 

The  Belgian  Prince   Outrage 

That  thirty-eight  members  of  the 
crew  of  the  British  steamship  Belgian 
Prince  were  drowned  in  the  most  de- 
liberate manner  by  the  German  sub- 
marine which  sank  the  ship  was  the  ac- 
cusation made  by  survivors  on  reaching 
British  shores.  One  of  them  was  the 
Chief  Engineer,  who  many  times  after 
the  steamer  was  torpedoed  was  perilously 


406 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


near  drowning.     He  gave  the  following 
narrative  of  his  experience: 

About    9    o'clock    on    Tuesday    evening", 
(July   31,)    when    we    were    200    miles    off 
land,   I  saw  the  wake  of  an  approaching 
torpedo.    The  vessel  gave  a  lurch  as  she 
was  hit,    and   I   was   thrown   to   the   deck 
among  the  debris.    The  vessel  listed  heav- 
ily, and  all  of  us  took  to  the  boats.    The 
submarine    approached     and     shelled     the 
vessel,   and   then  ordered  the  small  boats 
alongside     the    submarine.      The    skipper 
was    summoned    and    taken    inside.      The 
others  were  mustered  on  the  deck  of  the 
submarine.      The    Germans    removed    the 
lifebelts  and  the  other  clothing  of  all  ex- 
cept  eight    of    us,    smashed    the    lifeboats 
with  axes,    and   then   re-entered   the   sub- 
marine   and    closed    the    hatches,    leaving 
us   on   deck.     The   submarine   went   about 
two  miles  and  then  submerged.     I  had  a 
lifebelt.     Near  me  was  an  apprentice  boy 
of  16,   shouting  for   help.     I   went  to   him 
and   held   him   up   until   midnight,    but  he 
became  unconscious  and  died  of  exposure. 
At    daylight    I    saw    the    Belgian    Prince 
afloat.    I  was  picked  up  after  eleven  hours 
in  the  water  by  a  patrol  boat. 
The  second  engineer,  who  also  was  a 
survivor,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Bel- 
gian  Prince  before   she  blew  up.     The 
Germans  came  on  board  and  looted  her, 
he    reported.      He    was    in    hiding,   but 
finally   jumped   into   the    sea    and   kept 
afloat  on  the  wreckage.     William  Snell, 


a  negro  of  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  the  only- 
American  survivor,  added  the  following 
details : 

We  left  the  Belgian  Prince  in  three  boats 
and  had  got  fifty  yards  from  the  ship 
*  when  the  submarine  came  alongside  and 
asked  for  our  Captain,  who  was  taken 
aboard  and  inside  the  U-boat.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  crew  were  ordered  to  hold  up 
their  hands,  and  the  Germans  asked  if 
there  were  any  gunners  among  us.  Al- 
though there  were  two,  we  said  "  No." 
The  Germans  next  asked  if  we  had  any 
pocket  arms.  We  were  then  ordered  to 
the  deck  of  the  submarine,  where  we  were 
told  by  the  commander  to  remove  our  life- 
belts and  to  lie  on  the  deck.  This  we  did. 
Then  the  commander  went  into  the  boats, 
threw  the  oars  into  the  sea,  and  had  his 
men  remove  the  provisions.  After  that 
the  plugs  were  taken  out  of  holes  in  the 
boats,  which  were  then  cast  adrift.  The 
submarine  went  to  the  northeast  for  twelve 
miles,  the  commander  taking  the  lifebelts  to 
the  top  of  the  conning  tower  and  throwing 
them  overboard.  I  hid  mine  under  a  rain- 
coat, and  as  the  submarine  began  to  sub- 
merge I  tied  it  around  my  neck  and 
jumped  into  the  sea.  The  rest  of  the  crew 
stayed  on  deck  until  they  were  swept  off 
by  the  sea  as  the  boat  dived.  It  was  a 
terrible  sight.  One  by  one  they  threw  up 
their  hands  and  went  down,  or,  fighting 
to  keep  up,  they  splashed  water  as  they 
disappeared. 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


[Period  Ended  Aug.  20,  1917] 


China  and  Siam  Declare  War 

CHINA  formally  declared  war  on  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  beginning  at  10 
A.  M.,  Aug.  14,  1917.  The  official  war 
proclamation,  which  was  signed  by  Presi- 
dent Feng  Kuo-chang,  reviews  China's 
efforts  to  induce  Germany  to  modify  her 
submarine  policy.  It  says  that  respect 
for  international  law  and  protection  of 
the  lives  and  property  of  Chinese  citizens 
forced  China  to  sever  relations  with  Ger- 
many and  now  compels  her  to  declare 
war  against  Germany  and  Austria,  too, 
as  it  was  not  Germany  alone,  but 
Austria-Hungary  as  well,  which  adopted 
and  pursued  this  policy  without  abate- 
ment. 

The    proclamation    declares    that    all 


treaties,  agreements,  and  protocols  be- 
tween China  and  the  Central  Powers  have 
been  abrogated.  It  says  China  will  re- 
spect The  Hague  conventions  and  the  in- 
ternational agreements  respecting  the 
humane  conduct  of  the  war,  and,  in  con- 
clusion, asserts  that  China's  object  in 
entering  the  war  is  to  hasten  peace. 
President  Feng  Kuo-chang  made  this 
statement : 

Our  people  have  not  yet  recovered  from 
the  sufferings  due  to  the  recent  political 
disturbances.  Calamity  again  befalls  us. 
I,  as  President  of  the  Republic,  have  a 
profound  sympathy  for  our  people  when 
I  consider  their  further  sufferings.  I  did 
not  resort  to  this  step  until  it  seemed 
impossible  to  delay  the  momentous  deci- 
sion. I  could  not  bear  to  think  that  the 
dignity    of    international    law    should    be 


CURRENT   HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


407 


impaired    through    us;    that    our    position 
in  the  family  of  nations  should  be  under- 
mined,   or    that   the   restoration   of   world 
peace   and  happiness   should   be  retarded. 
Therefore,  it  is  hoped  that  all  our  people 
will  endeavor,  in  these  hours  of  hardship, 
to    maintain   and    strengthen    the    Chinese 
Republic,   so  that  we  may  establish  our- 
selves   amid    the    family    of    nations    and 
share    the    happiness    and    benefits    to   be 
derived  from  that  position. 
Siam   officially   declared   war  against 
Germany  and  Austria  at  6  o'clock  July 
22,  1917,  and  all  German  and  Austrian 
subjects  were  interned  and  German  ships 
seized.      Prince    of    Songkla,   brother   of 
the  reigning  monarch,  declared  on  July 
23    that    national    necessity    and    moral 
pressure   forced    Siam   into   the   war  on 
the  side  of  the  Entente.     Neutrality  on 
the  part  of  this  small  but  long  independ- 
ent nation  in  the  Far  East  had  become 
increasingly  difficult,  and  there  had  been 
a  growing   sentiment  that  freedom  and 
justice  for  States  not  strong  from  a  mil- 
itary standpoint  were  not  to  be  secured 
through  the  policy  of  the  Central  Powers. 
Sympathy  for  Belgium,  which  began  with 
the  invasion  of  that  country,  had  taken 
strong    hold    on    the    Siamese,    and    the 
popular    aversion    to    Teutonic    methods, 
solidified  by  President  Wilson's  message 
asking   Congress   to   declare   a   state   of 
war,  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  duty,  as  well 
as  the  path  of  expediency,  of  Siam. 

Our  Armed  Forces  1,500,000 

THE  regular  army  of  the  United 
States  was  brought  up  to  its  full 
war  strength  of  300,000  men  on  Aug.  9, 
182,000  volunteers  having  enlisted  from 
April  1  to  Aug.  9.  During  the  same 
four  months  the  volunteering  for  the 
navy  brought  the  naval  total  up  to  137,- 
000  men  and  the  Marine  Corps  to  its 
authorized  strength  of  30,000,  while  45,- 
000  enlisted  in  the  Naval  Reserve  and 
the  National  Naval  Volunteers.  The  Na- 
tional Guard,  brought  up  to  a  strength 
of  300,000,  was  drafted  into  the  Federal 
service  on  Aug.  5.  This  brought  the 
regular  army  and  navy  up  to  812,000, 
to  which  the  draft  for  the  National  Army 
added  687,000  on  Sept.  1,  thus  bringing 
the  armed  forces  of  the  United  States 
to  a  total  of  1,500,000.  It  was  only  four 
months  preceding  that  the  United  States 


was  a  peaceful  and  unprepared  nation, 
with  an  army  and  navy  totaling  less 
than  175,000.  In  the  same  period  the 
country  floated  and  oversubscribed  a  war 
loan  of  $2,000,000,000  and  made  extra- 
ordinary strides  in  preparation  and  equip- 
ment, besides  sending  a  preliminary  ex- 
peditionary force  of  sailors,  soldiers,  en- 
gineers, aviators,  doctors,  hospital  units, 
&c,  to  France. 

*  *     * 

Great  Britain  After  Three  Years  of 
War 

PREMIER  LLOYD  GEORGE,  while  at 
Paris  on  July  27,  in  a  formal  state- 
ment to  leading  French  editors,  said 
that  Great  Britain  now  had  between 
5,000,000  and  5,500,000  soldiers  enrolled, 
without  counting  between  400,000  and 
500,000  belonging  to  the  navy,  or  nearly 
a  million  men  from  the  dominions  and 
colonies. 

Great  Britain  had  placed  at  the  dispo- 
sition of  her  allies,  he  added,  from  1,500,- 
000  to  2,000,000  tons  of  merchant  ships. 
Next  year's  building  program  for  mer- 
chant  ships,   which   already   has   begun, 
amounts   to   4,000,000  tons,   or  twice  as 
much   as   in   a   good   year   during  peace 
time.    Referring  to  the  campaign  against 
submarines,  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said: 
The  diminution  in  shipping  losses  is  in- 
contestible.      It   is   impossible   to    abandon 
this  subject  without  paying  homage  to  the 
aid  given  by  the  American  Navy,  both  re- 
garding the   organization   of  convoys   and 
by    torpedo    boat    destroyers,    which   have 
rendered  an  invaluable  service. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George  said  that  5,000,000 
men  and  women  now  were  engaged  in 
war  work  in  the  United  Kingdom.  More 
women  could  be  employed  if  the  trades 
unions  did  not  fear  the  competition  of 

women  after  the  war. 

*  *     * 

China's  Millennium  of  Peace 

THIS  appears  to  be  the  first  time  in 
the  last  thousand  years,  since  the  re- 
construction of  the  Chinese  Empire 
under  the  founder  of  the  Sung  dynasty, 
that  China  has  issued  a  declaration  of 
war,  taking  the  initiative  in  bringing 
about  an  armed  conflict. 

Beginning  with  the  period  about  a 
thousand  years  ago,  China  was  repeat- 
edly invaded   by   her   militant   northern 


108 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


neighbors,  the  Mongols  and  their  kin- 
dred, but  China  always  fought  defensive 
campaigns  and  was  content  with  driving 
the  invaders  beyond  her  frontiers,  or  per- 
suading them  to  withdraw  by  the  pay- 
ment of  indemnities  of  money  and  China 
silks.  This  procedure  encouraged  the 
Mongols  to  continue  their  raids  until 
1260,  when  Kublai  Khan,  perhaps  the 
most  remarkable  member  of  a  family 
which  produced  some  of  the  world's 
greatest  soldiers  and  conquerors — the  de- 
scendants of  Ghengis  Khan — finally  in- 
vaded and  conquered  China.  His  suc- 
cessors, lacking  administrative  ability, 
gradually  allowed  his  empire  to  fall  to 
pieces,  until  the  founder  of  the  Ming 
dynasty  re-established  an  independent 
China.  But  raids  from  the  north  con- 
tinued, the  Manchus  gradually  becoming 
the  dominant  aggressors  and  conquering 
China  in  1644. 

The  Mings  had  waged  a  successful  war 
against  Japan  during  the  years  when 
Shakespeare  was  writing  his  first  plays, 
but  here  also  the  Japanese  were  the 
aggressors,  invading  and  overrunning 
Korea,  which  was  claimed  as  a  vassal 
kingdom  by  China.  Twenty-two  years 
ago  Japan  again  fought  China,  once 
more  for  the  control  of  Korea,  but  Japan 
was  the  aggressor.  In  1900,  at  the  time 
of  the  Boxer  outbreak,  Peking  was  occu- 
pied by  foreign  troops,  but  there  was  no 
formal  declaration  of  war.  Now,  after 
a  thousand  years,  China  for  the  first  time 
takes  the  initiative  by  declaring  war 
against  Germany  and  her  allies. 
*     *     * 

The  Pope's  Peace  Proposal  and  the 

Austrian  Empire 
OTUDENTS  of  contemporary  history 
^  have  already  pointed  out  the  close 
similarity  between  the  peace  proposals 
put  forward  in  the  middle  of  August  by 
Pope  Benedict  and  the  peace  plans  of 
the  Centrist  (Catholic)  Party  in  the 
Reichstag,  voiced  by  Matthias  Erzberger, 
a  representative  of  the  Catholic  King- 
dom of  Bavaria.  In  both  cases  it  was 
suggested  that  these  proposals  embodied 
the  wishes  of  Austria,  and  especially  of 
the  young  Austrian  Emperor  Charles. 
It  was  further  suggested  that  both  pro- 
posals represented  an  effort  on  the  part 


of  Austria  and  of  the  Catholic  States  of 
South  Germany  to  free  themselves  from 
the  burdens  laid  on  them  by  Prussia's 
victories  in  1866  and  1870;  and  that  the 
Vatican,  desiring  to  preserve  the  integ- 
rity of  the  strongly  Catholic  Austrian 
Empire  and  to  strengthen  the  South 
German  Catholic  States,  for  that  reason 
strongly  seconded  the  effort  of  the 
Emperor  Charles. 

When  this  possible  co-operation  be- 
tween the  Vatican,  on  the  one  side,  and 
Austria  and  the  South  German  Catholic 
States,  on  the  other,  has  been  discussed, 
it  has  generally  been  conjectured  that  an 
effort  to  revive  the  temporal  power  of 
the  Pope,  as  ruler  of  the  Papal  States, 
was  included  as  a  part  of  the  contem- 
plated arrangement.  It  has  many  times 
been  said  that  Kaiser  Wilhelm  had 
promised  this  restoration  in  case  of  the 
victory  of  the  Central  Empires. 

But,  even  without  this  restoration  of 
the  temporal  power,  the  Vatican's  posi- 
tion in  the  world  would  be  strengthened 
should  Catholic  Austria  regain  some- 
thing of  the  power  and  prestige  she  lost 
when  defeated  by  Prussia  in  1866,  and 
even  more,  perhaps,  when  the  King  of 
Prussia  assumed  the  title  of  Emperor  in 
1871;  and,  should  a  new  alignment  of 
the  Germanic  States  be  brought  about 
which  would  detach  Bavaria  and  the 
other  South  German  Catholic  States  from 
Prussia  and  join  them  to  Austria,  this 
would,  of  course,  still  further  raise  the 
Vatican's  prestige. 

*     *     * 

Russia's  Greek  Church  and  the  Roman 
Catholics 

WHILE  the  people  of  Russia  are  pre- 
paring to  hold  a  Constitutional 
Convention,  or  Constituent  Assembly,  to 
decide  on  the  future  government  of  the 
8,000,000  square  miles  of  territory  for- 
merly ruled  by  the  Czars,  the  Russian 
Church  is  getting  ready  to  hold  a  Na- 
tional Church  Council,  which  is  expected 
to  re-establish  the  office  of  Patriarch  of 
Russia,  abolished  by  Peter  the  Great;  for 
Peter  the  Great  was  unwilling  to  see  a 
single  conspicuous  personality  at  the 
head  of  the  national  church  who  might 
become  a  rival  to  the  Czar.  Peter,  there- 
fore, substituted  for  the  Russian  Patri- 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


409 


arch  a  Synod,  or  College  of  Bishops,  with 
a  civil  Procurator  as  his  representative; 
the  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod  having 
a  controlling  voice  in  church  appoint- 
ments. 

If  the  Russian  Patriarchate  be  restored, 
the  Patriarch  of  Russia  will  be  one  (and 
the  most  influential)  of  a  group  of  five 
Oriental  Patriarchs:  the  Patriarchs  of 
Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Alexandria,  Con- 
stantinople, and  Russia.  Two  of  these, 
the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
Patriarch  of  Antioch,  claim  to  outrank 
in  antiquity  the  Patriarch  (now  the  Pope) 
of  Rome,  who,  they  say,  owed  his  pre- 
cedence to  the  fact  that  Rome  was  the 
political    capital    of   the    empire. 

It  was  the  claim  of  the  Patriarch 
(Pope)  of  Rome  to  exercise  authority 
over  the  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople, 
Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Alexandria, 
which  brought  about  the  division  between 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches;  the 
Eastern  Patriarchs  were  willing  to  admit 
the  seniority,  but  not  the  absolute  au- 
thority, of  the  Patriarch  (Pope)  of  Rome. 
When  the  Roman  See  demanded  complete 
obedience,  the  Eastern  Patriarchs  de- 
clared their  complete  independence  of 
Rome.  This  event  took  place  some  nine 
centuries   ago. 

The  division  between  the  Eastern  and 
Western  Churches  has  colored  the  reli- 
gious life  of  Eastern  Europe  and  much  of 
Western  Asia  ever  since.  The  eastern 
half  of  the  empire,  with  Greek  as  its  ec- 
clesiastical tongue,  included  most  of  Asia 
Minor  and  the  Balkan  Peninsula — the 
whole  region  later  to  be  invaded  by  the 
Mohammedan  Turks.  Greece,  Serbia, 
Bulgaria,  and  Rumania  were  thus  within 
the  area  of  the  Eastern  Church,  and,  when 
Serbian  missionaries  carried  Eastern 
Christianity  northward,  to  the  new  realm 
of  Russia,  they  also  carried  with  them 
allegiance  to  Constantinople  and  the  old 
Serbian  tongue,  which  became,  and  has 
ever  since  been,  the  ecclesiastical  lan- 
guage of  Russia,  as  it  is  of  Bulgaria  and 
Serbia,  and  as  it  long  was  for  Rumania 
also. 

There  are  practically  no  differences  of 
doctrine  in  the  group  of  autonomous 
churches  which  form  the  Eastern  Ortho- 
dox  Church,  including,  besides  the  four 


ancient  patriarchates,  (Jerusalem,  An- 
tioch, Alexandria,  Constantinople,)  the 
churches  of  Russia,  Serbia,  Rumania,  and 
Bulgaria.  Poland,  though  Slavonic,  owes 
allegiance  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  while, 
in  the  regions  which  were  long  the  sub- 
ject of  contest  between  Poland  and  Rus- 
sia, a  compromise  was  arrived  at,  some 
two  centuries  ago,  under  which  certain 
populations  retained  the  Slavonic  ritual, 
while  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of 
the  Pope  of  Rome.  Their  religious  or- 
ganization was  called  the  Union,  or 
"Unia,"  and  they  were  known  as  Uniates; 
but  they  have  recently  been  called 
"  Greek  Catholics,"  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  Roman  Catholics,  who,  like 
them,  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the 
Pope,  but  who,  unlike  them,  used  the  Latin 
ritual,  on  the  one  hand;  and  from  the 
Greek  Orthodox,  belonging  to  the  East- 
ern Church  which  used  the  Greek  or 
Slavonic  ritual  and  included  the  group 
of  autonomous  but  united  churches,  gov- 
erned by  the  patriarchs  of  Jerusalem, 
Antioch,  Alexandria,  and  Constantinople, 
the  synods  of  Russia,  Serbia,  and  Bul- 
garia, and  the  Primate  of  Rumania. 

Russia's  intervention  in  the  Balkan 
Peninsula  in  the  nineteenth  century  to 
aid  in  the  liberation  of  the  Greeks,  Ser- 
bians, Rumanians,  and  Bulgarians  from 
the  domination  of  the  Mohammedan  Turks 
was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  these 
small  peoples,  like  Russia,  belonged  to 
the  Eastern  Orthodox  Church. 
*  *  * 
The  Peoples  of  Siam 

THERE  is  a  curious  fitness  in  the 
entry  of  Siam  into  the  world  war 
among  the  nations  that  are  "  making  the 
world  safe  for  democracy,"  since  the 
native  names  of  Siam,  "  Thai,"  and 
"  Muang-Thai,"  mean  "  free  "  and  "  the 
kingdom  of  the  free."  Siam  is  about  as 
large  as  France  (about  200,000  square 
miles)  with  a  population  slightly  larger 
than  that  of  Belgium  just  before  the 
war,  some  eight  millions.  Its  people,  who 
are  of  many  shades  of  yellowish  brown, 
appear  to  have  drifted  down  into  this 
furthest  outpost  of  Asia  from  the  high- 
lands north  of  Burma  and  east  of  Tibet 
descending   the   valley   of    two    immense 


410 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


rivers,  the  Mekong  and  the  Salwen,  that 
rise  on  the  Tibetan  uplands  not  far  from 
where  the  Yang  Tse-kiang  also  has  its 
source. 

There  was  a  folk  tradition  among  these 
people  that  the  further  south  they 
descended  the  shorter  they  would  grow; 
when  they  reached  the  southern  plains 
they  would  be  no  larger  than  rabbits; 
when  they  came  to  the  sea,  they  would 
vanish  altogether.  But  while  the  north- 
ern tribes  are  much  taller  than  the  south- 
ern, the  prophecy  has  stopped  short  of 
complete  fulfillment.  The  various  yellow- 
brown  tribes  who  make  up  the  Siamese 
people,  found  on  their  arrival,  several 
thousand  years  ago,  a  race  of  black 
dwarfs,  absolutely  savage  and  akin  to 
the  Negrito  race  of  the  Philippines — 
one  of  the  oldest  races  in  the  world. 
These  small. black  men  they  drove  back 
into  the  mountain  jungles,  where  they 
still  dwell  in  caves  and  nests  of  palm- 
leaves,  so  shy  and  furtive  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  catch  sight  of  them, 

Siam  received  its  literary  and  religious 
culture  from  Southern  India  and  Ceylon, 
after  the  conversion  of  Ceylon  to  Bud- 
dhism. In  this  way  Buddhism  became  the 
dominant  religion  of  "  the  kingdom  of 
the  free."  There  are  many  Mohammedans 
also,  supporting  more  than  500  mosques 
in  this  far-eastern  land,  yet  these  are 
far  from  being  the  most  easterly  Mo- 
hammedan settlements,  for  one  is  found 
nearly  2,500  miles  further  east,  in  the 
Aru  Islands,  immediately  over  Central 
Australia. 

*     *     * 

The  Fight  for  United  Italy 
"M'OT  all  students  of  the  world-war 
*■*  realize,  perhaps,  that  Italy's  part  in 
it  is  simply  the  continuation  of  the 
struggle  to  unite  the  whole  Italian  nation, 
the  fight  for  "United  Italy,"  begun  in 
Garibaldi's  days.  Italy  was  included  in 
Charlemagne's  empire,  the  union  between 
the  Emperor  and  the  Pope  dating  from 
800  A.  D.,  when  the  Pope  crowned 
Charlemagne.  By  the  Treaty  of  Verdun, 
Lothair,  Charlemagne's  grandson,  united 
under  a  single  crown  Italy  (to  a  line 
south  of  Rome)  and  Lotharingia,  (from 
which  comes  the  modern  name,  Lorraine,) 
which  included  both   Belgium  and  Hol- 


land. Thenceforth,  throughout  the  whole 
history  of  the  Empire,  much  of  Italy  was 
held,  for  long  periods,  by  the  Teutonic 
Emperors,  the  title  of  the  Empire,  from 
the  tenth  century,  being  "  The  Holy  Ro- 
man Empire  of  the  German  People." 

Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Napo- 
leonic period,  much  of  Northern  Italy, 
including  Venice  and  Trieste,  was  a  part 
of  the  Austrian  Empire.  Napoleon 
forced  Austria  to  loosen  her  grip  on  Italy, 
but  made  no  united  Italian  kingdom; 
and,  after  his  fall  in  1815,  both  Venice 
and  Trieste,  with  Lombardy,  were  united 
once  more  to  Austria.  Beginning  in 
1859,  Victor  Emmanuel  and  Cavour 
worked  for  the  union  of  Italy,  using 
Piedmont,  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
peninsula,  as  a  foundation  for  the  build- 
ing. In  that  year  the  victory  of  Na- 
poleon III.  over  Austria  at  Magenta  and 
Solferino  drove  Austria  out  of  Lom- 
bardy, and  brought  it  under  Victor  Em- 
manuel's crown. 

In  March,  1860,  the  three  duchies  of 
Parma,  Modena,  and  Tuscany,  having 
driven  out  their  dukes,  by  an  almost 
unanimous  plebescite  united  themselves 
to  Victor  Emmanuel's  growing  kingdom. 
Two  months  later,  in  May,  1860,  Gari- 
baldi sailed  from  Genoa  and  captured 
Sicily  and  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and 
proclaimed  Victor  Emmanuel  King  of 
Italy.  But  the  eastern  part  of  the  Papal 
States,  ruled  by  the  Pope  as  temporal 
sovereign,  was  excepted.  In  1866,  Venice 
was  won  from  Austria,  Prussia  being 
then  Italy's  ally;  and  finally,  in  1870, 
Italy  took  possession  of  Rome,  her  an- 
cient capital.  There  remained  "un- 
redeemed "  Trent  and  Trieste,  for  which 
Italy  is  now  fighting. 
*     *     * 

Germany's   New   Ministry 

THE  political  crisis  in  Germany  has  sub- 
sided following  the  appointment  of  Dr- 
Georg  Michaelis  as  Imperial  Chancellor, 
and  of  other  new  Imperial  and  Prussian 
Ministers.  Dr.  Zimmermann  has  been  suc- 
ceeded as  Foreign  Secretary  by  Dr.  Rich- 
ard von  Kuhlmann,  formerly  German 
Ambassador  to  Turkey.  Dr.  Karl 
Helfferich  remains  as  Imperial  Vice 
Chancellor,  member  of  the  Ministry  of 
State,    and    temporary    Minister    of    the 


THE  NEW  ALLIED  OFFENSIVE  IN  BELGIUM 


i&CHOpTE. 


NORPSCHOQJE 
EN.N^HE 

ZUIDSCHOOTE 

i       .i^K«S&_-i^*^^kP»l-KEM 
-i  ^  BOESING.HE 


NGHE 


HET5A5T 


ANGEMARK;/ 


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EKSTERNEST 


"(GHELUVELT 


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WYT^&AETE 


— .^>X(Z  A  NDVOO  R  P 


i 


A  picture-map  showing  the  scene  of  the  offensive  opened  by  the  Allies 

on  July  31,  1917,  on  a  line  extending  from  Dixmucfe  to  Armentieres 

«&  The  New   York  Times  Mid-Week  Pictorial) 


WHERE  THE  RUSSIANS  HAVE  RETREATED 


territory  abandoned  by  the  Russians  is  shown  in  the  above  pict- 
ure-map.    After  an   offensive  which  opened  vigorously  on 
July  1  demoralization  of  the  Russian  troops  set  in 
and  wiped  out  the  previous  success 
(©  The  New  York  Times  Mid- Week  Pictorial) 


CURRENT   HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


411 


Interior.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of 
the  new  appointments  is  that  of  Dr.  Peter 
Spahn,  leader  of  the  Catholic  Centre 
Party  in  the  Reichstag,  to  be  head  of  the 
Prussian  Ministry  of  Justice.  Adolph 
von  Batocki,  the  Food  Controller,  re- 
signed, and  was  succeeded  on  Aug.  15 
by  Herr  von  Waldow,  formerly  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Pomerania.  None  of  the 
changes  indicates  any  advance  toward 
Parliamentary  control.  The  Reichstag 
adjourned  on  July  20  to  reassemble  Sept. 
26. 

*  *     * 

Conscription  in  Canada 

A  FTER  an  acrimonious  debate  in  Par- 
**■  liament,  preceded  by  grave  disorders 
and  threats  of  civil  war  by  French  Cana- 
dian Catholics,  in  which  prominent  cleri- 
cals participated,  the  Canadian  Senate  on 
Aug.  8  passed  on  its  third  reading  the 
Conscription  bill  previously  passed  by  the 
House.  It  provides  for  drafting  men  be- 
tween the  ages  of  20  and  32.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  100,000  men  will  be  raised 
by  the  draft.  No  disorders  followed  the 
passage  of  the  measure. 

*  *     * 

Premier  Alexander  Kerensky 
TT  has  several  times  been  asserted  that 
■*■  Kerensky,  the  most  conspicuous 
figure  in  Russia  since  the  revolution, 
is  "  a  young  Jewish  Socialist."  But  a 
careful  canvass  of  the  Russian  official 
colony  in  New  York  appears  to  make  it 
certain  that  he  is  a  Russian  Slav  by 
birth  and  ancestry,  the  son  of  a  school- 
master in  the  town  of  Saratoff  on  the 
Volga.  Alexander  Kerensky  early  mani- 
fested oratorical  gifts  of  a  high  order, 
Studied  law,  and  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Duma  from  one  of  the  constit- 
uencies in  the  region  between  the  Volga 
and  the  Siberian  border.  He  particu- 
larly interested  himself  in  labor  ques- 
tions and  defended  labor  cases  in  the 
law  courts,  so  that  he  soon  came  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  leading  advocates 
of  labor  interests  in  the  Duma. 

As  labor  organizations  were  forbidden 
in  imperial  Russia,  the  workmen,  seek- 
ing to  protect  their  interests,  were  in- 
duced to  join  the  Socialist  Party  in  large 
numbers.     It    thus    happened    that    the 


Socialists  were  the  best  organized  and 
most  numerous  body  in  Petrograd 
when  the  revolution  took  place,  and 
their  Council  of  Workmen's  Deputies  im- 
mediately became  prominent,  seeking  to 
dictate  the  domestic  and  foreign  policies 
of  the  Provisional  Government  (formed 
of  Duma  leaders)  and  even  interfering 
disastrously  with  the  discipline  of  the 
army.  The  organization  of  debating  com- 
mittees in  each  unit  of  the  army  was 
the  work  of  this  council,  and  was  the 
source  of  the  worst  demoralization  of 
the  Russian  Army.  The  proposal  to  con- 
fiscate the  property  of  the  landowners 
originated  at  the  same  source. 

While  Kerensky  called  himself  a  So- 
cialist, he  has,  since  he  became  Premier, 
done  everything  in  his  power  to  reverse 
the  action  of  the  Petrograd  Socialists.  He 
has  forced  a  continuation  of  the  war, 
has  first  limited  and  then  forbidden  the 
army  debating  clubs,  and  has  restored 
the  death  penalty  for  insubordination  in 
the  army. 

*     *     * 

The  Political  Status  of  Egypt 
rnHE  present  political  status  of  Egypt 
■*■  is  an  example  of  the  innate  con- 
servatism— -in  the  sense  of  conservation — 
which  has  marked  all  England's  dealings 
with  Oriental  peoples,  and  notably  with 
the  peoples  of  India.  For  while,  as  a 
result  of  Turkey's  entry  into  the  war 
and  England's  command  of  the  sea,  Brit- 
ish power  was  extended  over  Egypt  in 
December,  1914,  Egypt  becoming  in  ef- 
fect an  integral  part  of  the  British  Em- 
pire, England  nevertheless  conserved  all 
details  of  the  existing  administration,  ex- 
cept that  the  title  of  Khedive,  hitherto 
borne  by  the  native  ruler,  was  changed 
to  Sultan.  As  the  former  Khedive  had 
thrown  in  his  lot  with  Turkey  and  the 
Central  Powers,  he  was  declared  deposed, 
and  Hussein  Kamil  Pasha  was  put  at  the 
head  of  the  Egyptian  Government,  with 
the  title  of  Sultan.  The  present  Sultan 
of  Egypt,  born  in  1854,  is  the  son  of 
Ismail  I.,  who  was  forced  to  abdicate 
under  pressure  of  the  British  and  French 
Governments  in  1879,  and  is  the  eighth 
in  descent  from  Muhammed  Ali,  appoint- 
ed Governor  in  1805,  who  threw  off 
Turkish     domination     six     years     later, 


412 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


though   a  money  tribute  was  still   paid 
to  Turkey. 

The  administration  of  Egypt  is  carried 
out  by  a  native  ministry  acting  under 
the  Sultan,  but  England  exercises,  through 
a  Financial  Adviser,  a  decisive  influence 
over  the  acts  of  the  Egyptian  Govern- 
ment. In  July,  1913,  certain  existing 
councils  were  replaced  by  a  new  Legis- 
lative Assembly,  which  includes  the  Min- 
isters, sixty-six  elected  members,  and 
seventeen  members  nominated  by  the 
Government,  to  represent  minorities.  The 
elected  members  hold  office  for  six  years, 
one  third  being  elected  every  two  years, 
as  in  the  United  States  Senate.  This 
Legislative  Assembly  has  a  considerable 
voice  in  law  making  and  taxation.  There 
are  10,000,000  Mohammedans  in  Egypt, 
or  90  per  cent,  of  the  population;  the 
Copts,  700,000  in  number,  who  are  the 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  are 
the  next  largest  element. 
*     *     * 

New  Faces  for  Wounded  Men 
"C1ACIAL  plastic  surgery  has  made 
■\  great  strides  recently.  A  new  hos-, 
pital  has  been  opened  in  London  devoted 
especially  to  the  work.  It  is  devoted  to 
the  building  up  of  the  features  and  res- 
toration of  contour  from  the  patient's 
own  tissues.  Portions  of  skin,  bone,  and 
cartilage  are  transferred  and  manipu- 
lated in  a  manner  which  a  few  months 
ago  would  have  been  thought  to  be 
impossible. 

Demonstrations  have  been  made  show- 
ing how  a  portion  of  a  man's  own  rib 
can  be  taken  whence  he  will  feel  no 
inconvenience,  and  used  as  the  founda- 
tion of  a  new  jaw.  Bits  of  cartilage  can 
be  taken  from  his  chest  to  reconstruct  a 
nose,  and  the  new  creation  is  of  a  type 
to  accord  with  the  features  of  the 
patient. 

Skin  from  the  brow  can  be  turned 
down,  flaps  can  be  drawn  from  parts  of 
the  face  that  are  intact,  for  these  things 
taken  from  the  living  organism  can  still 
preserve  their  own  vitality  under  the 
process  of  transference.  The  method  is 
slow.  As  much  as  a  whole  year,  or  even 
two,  may  be  occupied  as  one  after  an- 
other of  the  delicate  operations  are  suc- 
cessfully performed.  Indeed,  the  only 
real  difficulty  in  regard  to  a  perfect  cure 


is  that  the  men  are  frequently  so  de- 
lighted with  the  amendments  partially 
wrought  that  they  and  their  friends  say 
that  is  quite  good  enough,  and  no  more 
need  be  done.  At  least,  they  know  none 
will  shrink  away  from  them. 
*         *         * 

A    French    Officer's    Tribute   to   an 
American  Hero 

THE  first  American  to  be  killed  under 
enemy  fire  on  the  French  front  after 
the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war  was  Paul  G.  Osborn  of  Montclair, 
N.  J.,  a  Dart- 
mouth student 
in  the  class  of 
1917,  who  had 
volunteered  a  s 
a  n  ambulance 
driver  at  the  be- 
ginning o  f  th  e 
war,  and  who 
received  fatal 
injuries  while 
t  r  a  n  s  p  orting 
wounded  French 
soldiers  from 
amid  heavy 
shell  fire  to  the 
nearest  aid  sta- 
tions,   dying   on 

PAUL  G.  OSBORN     June   22,   1917. 

His  body  lay  for  a  time  in  the  little 
wooden  field  chapel  at  Chalons,  covered 
with  a  great  American  flag.  According  to 
l'lllustration  of  Paris,  which  devoted  a 
page  to  pictures  and  text  on  the  subject, 
the  funeral  was  held  at  Chalons  on  June 
26,  the  day  when  the  first  United  States 
troops  were  landing  on  French  soil.  The 
body,  borne  to  the  grave  on  an  ambu- 
lance truck  draped  with  the  flags  of 
both  nations,  was  accompanied  by  a  dele- 
gation of  French  troops  in  command  of 
General  A.  Baratier  of  Fashoda  fame, 
who  spoke  these  eloquent  sentences  in 
honor  of  the  young  hero: 

In  the  name  of  the  134th  Division  I 
salute  Soldier  Osborn,  who  came  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  to  aid  us  to  triumph 
for  right,  liberty,  and  justice.  In  his 
person  I  salute  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  which  is  fighting  with  us.  The 
same  ideal  inspires  and  leads  us  onward. 
We  are  fighting  to  save  the  liberty  of  the 
world. 
Soldier  Osborn,   my   thoughts   go  out   to 


CURRENT   HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


413 


your  parents,  who  on  the  other  side  of 
the  ocean  will  learn  of  the  grief  that  has 
stricken  them.  I  know  that  words  have 
no  power  to  lessen  a  mother's  sorrow,  but 
I  know,  too,  that  the  ideal  which  she  in- 
spired in  the  heart  of  her  son  will  be  able 
if  not  to  dry  her  tears  at  least  to  trans- 
form them,  for  it  is  through  these  tears, 
the  tears  of  all  mothers,  of  all  women, 
that  victory  will  come — that  victory  which 
will  assure  the  peace  of  the  world,  which 
will  be  theirs  more  than  any  others,  since 
they  will  have  paid  for  it  with  their 
hearts.  Soldier  Osborn,  sleep  in  the  midst 
of  your  French  comrades,  fallen  glorious- 
ly like -you.  Sleep  on,  wrapped  in  the 
folds  of  the  American  flag  and  under  the 
shadow   of  the   banners   of  France. 


Supporting  Canadian  Soldiers' 
Families 
rpHE  United  States  will  establish  a 
■*■  system  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
dependents  of  men  who  join  the  army 
and  navy  based  on  the  Canadian  system, 
whose  main  features  are  these: 

(1.)  Enlisted  men  (not  officers)  are  re- 
quired to  assign  at  least  one-half  of  their 
monthly  pay,  but  not  more  than  twenty 
days'  pay  each  month. 

(2.)  The  Canadian  Government  grants 
to  dependents  a  separation  allowance, 
based  on  the  rank  of  the  soldier,  as  fol- 
lows :  Privates,  $20 ;  Sergeants',  $25 ;  war- 
rant officers  and  Lieutenants,  $30;  Cap- 
tains, $40;  Majors,  $50;  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nels,  $60. 

(3.)  In  certain  localities  in  Canada  fam- 
ilies of  enlisted  men  are  protected  by  life 
insurance,    the    premiums    on    which    are 
paid    by    the    municipality    in    which    the 
soldier  resided  at  the  time  he  enlisted. 
On  May  14  in  Toronto  alone  $42,297,- 
000  insurance  was  outstanding,  of  which 
the  municipality  carried  76.4  per  cent. 

The  fourth  source  is  from  patriotic 
funds,  largely  made  up  of  voluntary  sub- 
scriptions. This  'fund  in  April,  1917, 
had  reached  $22,981,615,  of  which  $16,- 
575,634  had  been  disbursed.  The  scale 
of  assistance  runs  from  $5  a  month  for 
a  wife  having  no  children  (in  receipt  of 
$20  a  month  as  separation  allowance 
and  $15  a  month  or  more  as  assigned 
pay)  to  $30  a  month  for  a  wife  »with 
seven  or  more  children.  A  widowed 
mother  receives  from  the  fund  a  monthly 
allowance  not  to  exceed  $10.  If  the 
parents  are  dependent  on  the  soldier 
they  receive  from  the  fund  a  monthly 
allowance  not  to  exceed  $20.    A  wife  with 


three  children  receives  a  total  of  $60  a 
month  from  all  sources.  The  pension  for 
total  disability  or  death  is  $480  a  year 
for  privates  to  $2,700  for  Brigadier 
Generals. 

*  *     * 

Russian  Women  in  Battle 

PRESS  correspondents  assert  that  the 
battalion  of  Russian  women  was 
actively  engaged  late  in  July  on  the 
Vilna  front,  and  that  five  women  were 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  first  battle; 
it  was  reported  that  in  a  subsequent 
engagement  only  fifty-five  women  in  the 
entire  battalion  escaped  unhurt.  The 
women's  battalion  left  Petrograd  for  the 
front  in  July  under  command  of  Mme. 
Botchkneva,  who  was  herself  injured  by 
shell  shock.  They  called  themselves  the 
Legion  of  Death.  The  women  soldiers 
were  garbed  in  trousers,  puttees,  and 
tunics  a  trifle  longer  than  the  usual 
army  coats.  They  wore  the  regulation 
army  caps  over  bobbed  hair  and  carried 
packs  only  a  trifle  lighter  than  those  of 
the  regular  Russian  soldiers. 

They  entrained  amid  the  tears  of  their 
families,  like  veterans.  The  girls  were 
of  Russia's  best  blood,  of  the  strong  stock 
of  some  of  the  city's  intellectual,  finan- 
cial and  social  leaders.  Most  of  them 
were  students  at  universities.  Some  were 
wealthy.  They  were  recruited  from  the 
higher  educational  institutions  with  a  few 
peasants,  factory  girls,  and  servants. 
Some  married  women,  but  none  with  chil- 
dren, were  admitted.  They  range  in  age 
from  18  to  £5  years  and  are  of  excep- 
tional physique.  Their  hair  is  worn 
short.  They  are  armed  with  the  cavalry 
carbine,  which  is  lighter  than  the  regular 
army  rifle.  They  were  trained  by  offi- 
cers of  the  Kolynsky  Regiment. 

*  *     * 

Vast  British  War  Credits 

THE  British  Commons  granted  an  addi- 
tional new  vote  of  credit  of  $3,250,- 
000,000  in  July,  which  brings  the  total  up 
to  $26,000,000,000,  as  follows,  in  English 
money: 

1914-1915. 

Aug.  6 ! £100,000,000 

Nov.  15 ; 225,000,000 

March  1 37,000,000 

£362,000,000 


414 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


1915-1916. 

March  1 £250,000,000 

June    15 250,000,000 

July     20 150,000,000 

Sept.     15 250,000,000 

Nov.    11 400,000,000 

Feb.    21 120,000.000 

£1,420,000,000 
1916-1917. 

Feb.    21 £300,000,000 

May   23 300,000,000 

July    24 450,000,000 

Oct.    11 300,000,000 

Dec.    14 400,000,000 

Feb.    12 200,000,000 

March    15 60,000,000 

£2,010,000,000 
1917-1018. 

Feb.   16 £350,000,000 

May  9 500,000,000 

July    650,000,000 

Total    £5,292,000,000 

At  normal  exchange  this  total  is  $26,- 

460,000,000.       Of    the    preceding    sums, 

somewhat  in  excess  of  $5,000,000,000  was 

advanced  to  the  allies  of  Great  Britain. 
*     *     * 

How  Britain  Buys  Supplies 

GREAT  BRITAIN'S  expenditures  for 
army  supplies  up  to  June,  1917, 
embracing  only  clothing,  food,  and  uten- 
sils for  the  present  war,  were  $3,500,- 
000,000,  of  which  $1,000,000,000  was  ex- 
pended for  her  allies.  The  purchases 
now  run  for  Great  Britain  alone  at  the 
rate  of  $1,750,000,000  per  annum,  nearly 
$5,000,000  a  day.  Among  the  purchases 
during  the  war  are  included: 

Cloth    105,000,000  yards 

Flannel    115,000,000  yards 

Knives,       forks,       and 

spoons    35,000,000 

Bacon     400,000,000  pounds 

Cheese    167,000,000  pounds 

Jam    260,000,000  tins 

Preserved    meats 500,000,000  rations 

Boots    35,000,000  pairs 

Smoke    helmets 25,000,000 

Horseshoes   40,000,000 

The  method  pursued  in  buying  depends 
on  the  relation  that  the  demand  has  to 
the  general  output.  If  it  is  in  small  pro- 
portion, competitive  bids  are  invited;  if 
the  industry  must  be  enlarged  to  meet 
the  demand,  the  price  is  fixed  plus  a 
reasonable  profit.  In  some  trades,  on 
which  the  demands  of  the  department 
are  unusually  heavy,  it  is  necessary  to 
regulate  production  in  all  stages  of  man- 


ufacture down  to  the  raw  material.  The 
latter  is  either  purchased  by  the  depart- 
ment or  dealings  in  it  are  controlled  un- 
der the  Defense  of  the  Realm  Regula- 
tions, and  its  conversion  into  the  finished 
article  is  arranged  on  the  basis  of  fixed 
prices  for  each  process  of  manufacture. 
The  chief  raw  materials  controlled  in 
this  way  are  wool  and  jute,  and  a  simi- 
lar kind  of  control  is  applied  to  leather, 
flax,  and  hemp. 

*     *     * 

American  Loans  to  Allies 

THE  loans  by  the  United  States  to  the 
Allies    up    to    July    13,    1917,    had 
reached  $1,327,500,000,  divided  as  follows: 
1917.  France : 

Great  Britain  and  Ire-     May  8 $100,000,000 

land:  June  2...   100,000,000 

April  25.. $200, 000, 000  June  26..  10,000,000 
May  5....  25,000,000  July  6...  30,000,000 
May  7....  25,000,000  July  9...  70,000,000 
May  14...     75,000,000     July    23..     60,000,000 

May  25...     75,000,000  — 

June  9...     75,000,000  $370,000,000 

June  14..     25,000,000  = 

June   19..     35,000,OOOBelgium : 
June  26..     15,000,000     May    16..     $7,500,000 
June  30..     10,000,000     June   19..       7,500,000 
July    2...     25,000,000     July    23..       7,500,000 

July    5.  . .  100,000,000  . 

July    20..     85,000,000  $22,500,000 


Italy : 
May    3... $100, 000,000 
July    5...     20,000,000 


$770,000,000  Russia : 

:     July    6...  $35,000,000 
July    13..     10,000,000 


$45,000,000 


$120,000,000 


Germany's  Loss  of  Shipping 

IT  will  be  remembered  that,  on  or  about 
Aug.  5,  1914,  the  powerful  German 
wireless  stations  all  over  the  world 
sent  out  a  general  alarm  to  all  German 
ships,  announcing  that  England  had  de- 
clared war  against  Germany,  and  order- 
ing the  Captains  to  take  refuge  at  once 
from  the  British  fleet  in  the  nearest 
neutral  ports.  Obeying  this  order,  Ger- 
many's large  merchant  marine  almost 
immediately  disappeared  from  the  seven 
seas,  seeking  internment  in  American, 
Asiatic,  and  neutral  European  harbors. 
One  of  the  features  of  the  war  has  been 
the  progressive  conversion  of  nearly  all 
these  originally  neutral  powers  into  ac- 
tive enemies  of  Germany,  with  the  re- 


CURRENT  HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


415 


sultant  seizure  of  the  interned  German 
ships,  which  have  then  been  diverted  to 
the  traffic  of  the  Allies,  to  replace  ton- 
nage destroyed  by  Germany's  illegal  sub- 
marine campaign. 

Portugal  was  the  first  conspicuous  in- 
stance of  this,  a  large  fleet  of  German 
merchant  ships  which  had  taken  refuge 
in  the  Tagus  being  seized  by  the  Portu- 
guese Government  and  this  seizure  lead- 
ing to  a  declaration  of  war  against  Portu- 
gal by  the  German  Government;  Siam 
and  China  are  the  latest  powers  to  take 
this  course.  With  the  exception  of  the 
few  German  steamships  which  may  have 
taken  refuge  in  Scandinavian,  Dutch,  or 
Spanish  harbors,  and  the  few  ships  in 
German  ports  when  war  was  declared, 
practically  all  of  Germany's  once  great 
merchant  marine  is  now  in  the  service 
of  the  Allies,  or  is  being  prepared  for 
such  service. 


follows:    Between  $200,000  and  $400,000, 

1  per    cent.;    $400,000    and    $2,000,000, 

2  per  cent.;   $2,000,000  and  $20,000,000, 

3  per  cent.;  between  $20,000,000  and 
$40,000,000,  4  per  cent. ;  above,  5  per 
cent.  The  impost  on  revenue  from  rents 
starts  at  5  per  cent,  and  increases  to 
12  per  cent.  The  margin  free  of  tax 
allowed  residents  of  Paris  is  $600.  The 
impost  on  rents  annuls  the  tax  heretofore 
laid  on  doors  and  windows. 

*     *     * 

A  FORMAL  charge  of  theft  was  pre- 
•^  ferred  against  Prince  Eitel  Fried- 
rich,  second  son  of  the  Kaiser,  by  M. 
Dubois,  proprietor  of  a  chateau  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Compiegne.  There  was 
a  formal  hearing  before  the  Court  of  the 
Oise  Department,  and  testimony  was  in- 
troduced to  establish  the  theft  of  furni- 
ture, valuable  ornaments,  and  decorative 
and  artistic  articles  by  the  Prince. 


UNDER  the  new  income  tax  law  in 
France  the  following  are  the  rates: 
Business  profits,  4%  per  cent.;  salaries, 
incomes,  &c,  3%  per  cent.;  mortgages, 
loans,  deposits,  5  per  cent.  Revenue  tax 
on    total   business    done   by   firms   is    as 


THE  House  of  Commons  after  a  sharp 
debate  fixed  the  minimum  wage  of 
British  farm  laborers  at  $6.25  a  week. 
The  Labor  Party  moved  to  make  it  $7.50, 
but  the  Government  carried  its  point  by 
a  majority  of  199. 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From  July    19     Up    to    and    Including   August    19,    1917 


UNITED  STATES 

The  drawing  for  the  nation's  first  draft  army- 
took,  place  in  Washington  July  20. 

Congress  passed  a  bill,  signed  July  24,  ap- 
propriating $640,000,000  for  the  aviation 
service. 

Another  contingent  of  troops  from  the  regular 
army  arrived  in  France. 

A  controversy  between  William  Denman, 
Chairman  of  the  Shipping  Board,  and 
Major  Gen.  Goethals,  General  Manager 
of  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  over 
the  merits  of  steel  and  wooden  ships  re- 
sulted in  the  resignation  of  Major  Gen. 
Goethals  and  in  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Denman,  at  the  request  of  President  Wil- 
son. Edward  Hurley  was  appointed  to 
succeed  Mr.  Denman  and  Rear  Admiral 
Washington  Lee  Capps  was  named  to  suc- 


ceed Major  Gen.  Goethals.  Captain  John 
B.  White,  a  member  of  the  Shipping 
Board,  also  resigned.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Bainbridge  Colby. 

A  Norwegian  Commission  and  a  Swiss  Com- 
mission arrived  in  the  United  States  to 
discuss  the  question  of  food  importation 
as  the  result  of  the  passage  of  a  bill  to 
limit   exports   to   neutral   countries. 

The  Council  of  National  Defense  was  reor- 
ganized to  provide  for  the  formation  of 
a  War  Industries  Board  of  seven  mem- 
bers and  a  Central.  Purchasing  Commis- 
sion to  take  charge  of  obtaining  war 
supplies  for  the  United  States  and  her 
allies. 

A  food  control  bill  was  passed  by  Congress 
and  was  signed  by  President  Wilson  Aug. 
10.     Herbert  C.  Hoover  was  named  Food 


41 G 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


Administrator.  A  $50,000,000  corporation, 
headed  by  Mr.  Hoover,  was  formed  to 
control  wheat  prices  and  supply. 

SUBMARINE  BLOCKADE 

Official  British  reports  made  public  July  19 
showed  that  losses  by  actual  sinkings  of 
allied  and  neutral  ships  in  the  first  six 
months  of  1917  amounted  to  3,507,257  tons, 
and  the  total  losses  from  August,  1914, 
to  July,   1917,  were  7,706,291   tons. 

Germany  declared  that  the  monthly  average 
of  her  losses  in  submarines  was  little  more 
than  three. 

The  American  bark  Camela  was  sunk  by 
bombs  at  the  entrance  of  the  English 
Channel  after  it  had  been  attacked  by  a 
German  submarine  and  looted.  Twenty- 
four  persons,  including  eight  naval  gun- 
ners, lost  their  lives  in  the  sinking  of  the 
American  steamship  Motano.  The  Stand- 
ard Oil  tanker  Campana  was  sunk  and 
the  Captain  and  four  members  of  the 
naval  gun  crew  were  reported  taken  pris- 
oners. Other  American  losses  included 
the  schooners  John  Hays  Hammond  and 
John  Twohy  and  the  bark  Christiane. 

England  lost  twenty-one  vessels  of  more  than 
1,000  tons  in  the  week  ended  July  21, 
eighteen  in  the  week  ended  July  28, 
twenty-one  in  the  week  ended  Aug.  4, 
and  fourteen  in  the  week  ended  Aug.  11. 
Thirty-eight  members  of  the  crew  of  the 
steamship  Belgian  Prince,  including  four 
Americans,  were  drowned  after  the  at- 
tacking U-boat  took  away  their  lifebelts 
and  smashed  the  lifeboats.  Forty  Amer- 
ican muleteers  were  lost  on  the  steamer 
Argalia.  The  cruiser  Ariadne  was  sunk 
and  thirty-eight  members  of  the  crew 
drowned. 

French  losses  averaged  about  three  vessels 
of  more  than  1,600  tons  each  week.  Italy 
lost  from  four  to  six  small  steamers  each 
week  of  the  month. 

Sweden's  losses  from  submarines  and  mines, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  amounted 
to  136  vessels  with  a  tonnage  of  125,000 
and  Denmark's  amounted  to  100  ships. 
Norway  lost  thirty-three  ships  in  July. 
Ten  persons  were  killed  in  the  sinking  of 
the  Norwegian  steamer  Falkland. 

Argentina  sent  a  peremptory  note  to  Berlin 
concerning  the  sinking  of  the  steamship 
Toro. 

Peru  refused  Germany's  offer  to  submit  the 
circumstances  of  the  sinking  of  the  Peru- 
vian bark  Lorton  to  a  prize  court,  and 
demanded  payment  for  damages  and  an 
indemnity. 

The  German  Emperor  accepted  proposals  to 
spare  hospital  ships. 

CAMPAIGN  IN   EASTERN   EUROPE 

July  19— Germans  penetrate  Russian  positions 
in  Northeastern  Galicia  on  a  wide  front 
near  Zlochow;  Russians  reoccupy  Novica, 
but  withdraw  to  the  eastern  end  of  the 
village  under  heavy  losses. 


July  20— Teutons  make  successful  attacks  on 
the  Pieniaki-Harbuzov  front,  owing  to 
mutiny  of  extremist  Russian  regiments, 
and  occupy  Russian  first-line  trenches 
east  of  Brzezany. 

July  22— Russians  continue  to  retreat  in 
Northern  Galicia  as  mutiny  spreads,  and 
yield  ground  as  far  sduth  as  the  Dniester; 
Babino,  on  the  Lomnica,  evacuated. 

July  23— Russians  pierce  German  lines  north 
of  the  Pinsk  marshes,  in  the  district  of 
Tsary-Bogushi,  but  retreat  further  in 
Northern  Galicia ;  Germans  capture  Tar- 
nopol. 

July  24— Germans  pursue  Russians  on  a  155- 
mile  line  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Black 
Sea  and  cross  the  Sereth  River  in  the 
region  of  Mikulice ;  Russians  evacuate 
Stanislau  ;  regiments  on  the  Dvinsk-Vilna 
front  abandon  the  enemy's  positions  after 
capturing  them,  as  mutiny  spreads  north. 

July  25 — Germans  occupy  Tarnopol,  Stanis- 
lau, and  Nadworna. 

July  26— Germans  pursue  the  Russians  east 
of  Tarnopol  to  the  Gnizdiorzno  and 
Gnizna  Rivers,  penetrate  positions  near 
Loszniov  and  on  the  Sereth,  south  of 
Trembowla,  and  occupy  three  towns  south 
of  Tarnopol;  Russians  abandon  the  Car- 
pathian front  as  far  as  the  Kirlibaba 
sector. 

July  27— Russians  retire  from  Czernowitz; 
Germans  capture  Kolomea. 

July  29— Russians  retreat  over  the  Galician 
border  at  Husiatyn ;  Germans  capture 
Kuty,    in   the   Carpathians. 

July  30— Russians  stiffen  their  line  and  hold 
heights  to  the  east  of  the  River  Zbrocz ; 
Germans  advance  through  the  Suchawa 
Valley  toward  Seletyn. 

Aug.  1— Russians  begin  offensive  in  Galicia 
in  the  direction  of  Trembowla,  but  retreat 
in  the  south. 

Aug.  3— Austrians  capture  Czernowitz. 

Aug.  4— Austrians  cross  the  Russian  frontier 
northeast  of  Czernowitz ;  all  of  Galicia 
except  a  narrow  stretch  of  ground  from 
Brody  to  Zbaraz  wrested  from '  the  Rus- 
sians. 

Aug.  5 — Russians  resume  offensive  tactics 
east  of  Czernowitz  and  capture  a  wood 
near  Baian,  but  retire  southwest  of  that 
region. 

Aug.  6-7— Russians  take  the  offensive  in  Vol- 
hynia  and  capture  two  villages ;  Russians 
evacuate  Proskurov,  in  Podolia,  and  Ka- 
menetz-Podolsk,   the  capital   of  Podolia. 

Aug.  8— Russians  resume  the  offensive  in  the 
Chotin  region  and  capture  two  villages 
and  retake  positions  near  Sereminki,  in 
Volhynia,  after  being  driven  out. 

BALKAN  CAMPAIGN. 

July  21— Fighting  resumed  on  the  Rumanian 
front ;  Austro-Germans  attack  positions 
near  the  confluence  of  the  Rimnik  and 
Sereth   Rivers,   but  are  repulsed. 

July  25— Rumanians  enter  Teuton  trenches 
in  the  region  of  Bystro  Patak. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


417 


July  27— Rumanians  capture  ten  villages  in 
their  advance  toward  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  Suchitza  River. 

July  30— Germans  advance  east  of  the  Upper 
Moldavia  Valley  and  attack  on  both  sides 
of  the  Pokshani-Ajoud  Railway. 

July  31— Rumanians  take  fortified  positions 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  River  Putna, 
northwest  of  Soveia. 

Aug.  2— Teutons  advance  in  Bukowina  and 
take  stand  before  Kimpolung. 

Aug.  3— Russians  evacuate  Kimpolung. 

Aug.  5— Teutons  occupy  Varna. 

Aug.  7— Austro-Germans  begin  offensive 
against  Russo-Rumanian  armies  in  Mol- 
davia and  storm  Russian  positions  north 
of  Fokshani. 

Aug.  8— Russians  fall  back  between  the 
Fokshani-Marasechti  Railroad  and  the 
River  Sereth. 

Aug.  11— Teuton  attacks  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Sereth  and  Suchawa,  in  the  region  of 
Terechini  and  Gadikalba,  repulsed ;  Ru- 
manians retire  southwest  of  Ocna. 

Aug.  12— Austro-Germans  in  Moldavia  cap- 
ture Grozesni  and  the  dominating  heights ; 
Russian  attack  at  the  mouth  of  the  River 
Buzeu  repulsed. 
Aug.  15— Austro-Germans  seize  the  bridge- 
head at  Baltaretu  and  capture  Stracani, 
northwest  of  Pantziu. 

Aug.  16— Russians  and  Rumanians  forced  to 
cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  River  Sereth 
and  retire  on  the  Moldavian  border. 

Aug.  18— Austrians  drive  Russo-Rumanians 
from  intrenched  positions  south  of 
Grozesci. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE 

July  19— Germans  make  two  attacks  upon  the 
French  lines  south  of  St.  Quentin  and 
reach  the  first  French  line,  but  lose  most 
of  their  gains. 

July  20— Germans  repulsed  on  the  plateau  be- 
fore Craonne  and  Vauclerc,  and  between 
the  Californie  Plateau  and  Casemates 
Plateau. 

July  22-23— Germans  launch  fierce  attacks  on 
the   Casemates  and   Californie   Plateaus. 

July  24 — French  retake  all  ground  lost  be- 
tween Casemates  and  Californie  Plateaus ; 
heavy  artillery  duels  in  Flanders. 

July  26— Germans  penetrate  French  lines  from 
La  Bovelle  Farm  to  a  point  east  of 
Hurtebise. 

July  27— French  repulse  five  German  attacks 
on  the  heights  south  and  west  of  Moron- 
villiers;   British  capture  La  Bass6e  Ville. 

July  31— French  and  British  smash  German 
lines  in  Belgium  on  a  twenty -mile  front 
from  Dixmude  to  Warneton,  taking  ten 
towns  and  crossing  the  Yser  in  many 
places ;  French  on  the  Aisne  capture  Ger- 
man trenches  over  a  front  of  nearly  a 
mile. 

Aug.  1— Germans  in  Belgium  retake  St.  Julien 
from  the  British  and  gain  a  footing  at 
Westhoek. 

Aug.  2 — British  regain  Ypres-Roulers  railway 


station  and  repulse  German  assaults  be- 
tween the  railway  and   St.   Julien. 

Aug.  3— British  reoccupy  St.  Julien  and  im- 
prove  their  positions   south  of  Hollebeke. 

Aug.  4— French  push  forward  east  of  Korte- 
keer  Cabaret  and  check  Germans  near 
Verdun ;  British  expel  Germans  from 
trenches  near  Monchy-le-Preux,  re-estab- 
lishing their   lines. 

Aug.  5— Canadians  push  forward  southwest 
of  Lens ;  British  advance  at  St.  Julien 
and  repulse  attacks  at  Hollebeke. 

Aug.  8— French  take  German  trenches  north- 
west of  Bixschoote. 

Aug.  9— French  advance  south  of  Lange- 
marck. 

Aug.  10— British  capture  Westhoek  Ridge; 
French  extend  their  positions  in  the  Bix- 
schoote region  ;  Germans  win  ground  north 
of  St.    Quentin. 

Aug.  11-12— British  win  more  ground  east  of 
Ypres ;  French  retake  lost  trenches  at 
Fayet. 

Aug.  14— British  push  German  posts  across 
the  Steenbeke  River  and  re-establish  their 
lines. 

Aug.  15— Canadians  take  German  positions 
on  a  two-mile  front  east  and  south  of 
Loos,    including    Hill    70. 

Aug.  16— British  capture  Langemarck  and 
push  on  a  half  mile  beyond  ;  French  drive 
Germans  from  a  tongue  of  land  between 
the  Yser  Canal  and  the  Martjewaart. 

Aug.  18— French  complete  their  conquest  of 
German  territory  south  of  the  St.  Sans- 
beek  and   Breenbeek   Rivers. 

Aug.  19— British  advance  500  yards  east  of 
Langemarck. 

ITALIAN    CAMPAIGN 

July  20— Italians  destroy  advanced  Austrian 
post  on  Monte  Plana  and  repulse  a  patrol 
at  the  Maso  Torrent;  Austrians  bombard 
Italian  positions  in  the  Plezzo  Basin,  on 
the  Vodice,  on  the  Dosso  Faite,  and  west 
of  Versic. 

July  24— Austrians  show  increased  activity 
in  the  Trentino  and  attack  advanced  Ital- 
ian posts  in  the  Posina  Valley,  San  Pel- 
legrina   Valley,   and    Overbacher   region. 

Aug.  10— Italians  repulse  attacks  in  the 
Coalba  Valley,  at  Brenta,  and  north  of 
Caterina. 

Aug.  19— Italians  begin  offensive  on  a  thir- 
ty-seven-mile front  from  the  region  of 
Tolmino  to  near  the  head  of  the  Adriatic 
Sea. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  ASIA  MINOR 

July  24— Russians  bombard  Tireboli,  on  the 
Black  Sea,  with  torpedo  boats  and  artil- 
lery ;  scouting  parties  cross  the  Karshut 
Darasi  and  enter  Turkish  trenches ; 
Turks  report  dislodging  of  British  troops 
who  had  penetrated  positions  at  Chewet- 
Tepe,  on  Gaza-Honjunous  Road. 

Aug.  8— Russians  defeat  Kurds  near  Hos- 
haba,  southeast  of  Van,  and  near  Dizy, 
west  of  Urm. 


418 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


Aug.  14— Turks  begin  offensive  in  the  region 
of  Mount  Salvus,  Dag,  and  Pelimer,  in 
the  direction  of  Kharput. 

AERIAL  RECORD 

On  the  western  front  the  British  raided 
Zeebrugge,  Bruges,  Ghistelles,  and  other 
Belgian  towns  and  dropped  bombs  on  the 
German  airdrome  at  Sparappelhoek, 
Many  notable  battles  were  fought.  On 
July  28  the  British  downed  thirty-one 
German  machines,  and  on  July  29  they 
brought  down  sixteen  machines  and  drove 
fourteen  out  of  control.  Thirteen  British 
machines  were  reported  missing.  In  the 
fighting  Aug.  17-18  the  Allies  brought 
down  thirty-seven  machines  and  the  Ger- 
mans twenty-six. 

German  airplanes  flew  over  Paris  on  the 
nights  of  July  27  and  28  and  dropped 
bombs  in  suburban  sections.  One  aviator 
attacked  a  hospital  near  the  front,  killing 
four  people. 

Twenty  German  airplanes  dropped  bombs 
over  Felixstowe  and  Harwich  on  July  22, 
killing  eleven  persons  and  injuring  twen- 
ty-six. One  German  airplane  was  brought 
down  at  sea.  In  a  raid  on  watering 
places  on  the  southeast  coast  of  Essex 
on  Aug.  12  twenty-three  persons  were 
killed  and  fifty  injured.  Two  German 
machines  were-  destroyed. 

Sir  George  Cave,  the  Home  Secretary,  an- 
nounced in  Commons  on  July  30  that  since 
the  beginning  of  hostilities  366  persons 
had  been  killed  and  1*092  injured  in  the 
London  metropolitan  area. 

Germany  announced  that  the  Allies  lost  213 
airplanes  and  24  captive  balloons  in  July 
and  admitted  the  loss  of  60  German  ma- 
chines. 

Italians  raided  St.  Lucia-Tolmino,  damaging 
the  railway  works,  bombed  the  arsenal 
and  military  works  of  Pola,  and  dropped 
four  tons  of  high  explosives  on  Austrian 
troop  quarters  in  the  Chiapovano  Valley. 

Austrians  raided  the  maritime  arsenal  at 
Venice.  The  School  of  St.  Mark  was 
damaged. 

NAVAL  RECORD 

Two  German  ships  were  sunk  off  the  coast 
of  Holland  by  British  destroyers  and  two 
were  captured  and  taken  to  England. 

The  Netherlands  Government  charged  that  a 
British  submarine  violated  Holland's  neu- 
trality by  sinking  the  Dutch  steamship 
Batavier  II.   in  her  territorial  waters. 

Nineteen  passengers,  including  five  Amer- 
icans, were  lost  when  the  British  steamer 
City  of  Athens  was  sunk  by  a  mine  off 
Cape  Town  on  Aug.  10. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Chancellor  Michaelis  addressed  the  German 
Reichstag  on  July  20,  declaring  that  Ger- 
many contemplated  no  new  peace  offer, 
but  was  willing  to  treat  with  the  Allies 
if  they  opened  negotiations.  A  resolution 
for  peace  without  annexations  or  indem- 


nities was  adopted.  The  British  House 
of  Commons  rejected  a  resolution  of  sym- 
pathy with  this  move. 

Pope  Benedict  sent  a  letter  to  the  rulers   of 
the     belligerent    countries    urging    peace. 
The  text  was  made  public  in  England  on 
.  Aug.    15. 

The  Finnish  Diet  adopted  the  Autonomy  bill 
July  19,  after  rejecting  a  proposal  to 
submit  it  to  the  Russian  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment. The  Russian  Government  de- 
clined to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  the 
measure,  dissolved  the  Landtag,  and  de- 
clared that  it  would  submit  to  the  Land- 
tag its  own  laws  governing  Russo-Finnish 
relations.  On  Aug.  16  the  Cabinet  re- 
signed and  the  Governor  General  asked 
M.  Tokio  to  form  a  Socialist  Ministry. 
Revolts  were  put  down  by  Russian  troops. 

The  Canadian  Parliament  passed  a  conscrip- 
tion  bill. 

Siam  and  China  declared  war  on  the  Central 
Powers.  Austria-Hungary  declared  that 
China's  declaration  was  illegal  and  un- 
constitutional. 

Germany  notified  Turkey  and  Bulgaria  that 
she  would  assume  all  the  expenses  in- 
curred by  those  countries  in  the  campaign 
of  1917-1918. 

Changes  were  made  in  the  British  Admiralty, 
Vice  Admiral  -  Sir  Rosslyn  Wemyss  suc- 
ceeding Sir  Cecil  Burney  as  Second  Sea 
Lord  and  Alan  Garrett  Anderson  assum- 
ing the  Controllership  of  Naval  Construc- 
tion. George  Nicoll  Barnes  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Arthur  Henderson  as  Labor 
member   of   the   War    Cabinet. 

Serbia  protested  to  the  United  States  against 
the  economic  exploitation  of  the  Serbian 
provinces  by  the  Austro-Hungarian  and 
Bulgarian  authorities.  The  capital  was 
moved  from  Corfu  to  Saloniki. 

On  Aug.  6  official  announcement  was  made 
that  four  German  Imperial  Secretaries, 
including  Foreign  Secretary  Zimmer- 
mann  and  Adolph  von  Batocki,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Food  Regulation  Board,  and 
five  Ministers  of  the  Prussian  Cabinet 
had  resigned.  Dr.  Richard  von  Kiihl- 
mann  was  appointed  Foreign  Minister 
and  Herr  von  Waldon  was  named  food 
rationer. 

Representatives  of  the  allied  powers  held  a 
conference  in  Paris  July  25-26.  They  de- 
cided to  continue  the  war  until  their  ob- 
jects were  attained  and  to  withdraw  their 
"troops  from  ancient  Greece,  Thessaly,  and 
Epirus. 

Rear  Admiral  Lacaze,  French  Minister  of 
Marine,  and  Baron  Denis  Cochin,  Under 
Secretary  of  State  for  Blockade,  resigned 
from  the  French  Cabinet.  Charles  Chau- 
met  succeeded  Lacaze.  An  Under  Secre- 
taryship of  Marine  was  created  and 
Jacques  Louis  Dumesnil  was  appointed  to 
the  post.  The  Chamber  of  Deputies  was 
prorogued  until  Sept.  18,  following  the 
withdrawal  of  support  from  the  Govern- 
ment by  strong  Socialist  groups. 


The  Grand  Tactics  of  Three 
Years  of  Warfare 

By  Thomas   G.  Frothingham 

Member  of  the  Military  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts 


IT  is  now  known  that,  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  in  1914,  the  German 
Great  General  Staff  had  its  definite 
plan  of  campaign,  which  had  been 
decided  upon  for  years,  and  which  had 
been  carefully  worked  out  in  every  detail. 
This  was  a  repetition  of  the  plan  of  1870 
directed  against  Paris.  It  was  true  in 
- 1914,  as  in  1870,  that  the  French  capital 
was  the  heart  of  -France,  and  its  capture, 
with  the  huge  levy  of  money  that  would 
have  been  imposed  on  the  city,  would 
have  paralyzed  France. 

The  German  Staff  had  mistakenly  com- 
mitted its  plans  to  an  invasion  of  France 
through  Belgium  to  avoid  the  theoretical 
strength  of  the  French  frontier  for- 
tresses. The  Germans  at  that  time  did 
not  realize  that  in  the  powerful  Teutonic 
artillery  they  possessed  a  weapon  that 
made  all  fortresses  of  no  value.  They 
.had  believed  the  French  fortresses  im- 
pregnable, and  had  deliberately  chosen  a 
passage  through  a  neutral  nation  instead 
of  the  attempt  to  reduce  them. 

In  a  previous  article*  it  was  shown 
that  the  unexpected  resistance  of  the 
Belgians,  which  delayed  the  Germans 
nearly  three  weeks,  gave  the  French  time 
to  mobilize,  to  correct  the  mistaken  of- 
fensive in  Alsace,  and  to  interpose  the 
French  armies  against  the  German  in- 
vaders. The  French  Commander  in  Chief, 
General  Joffre,  was  the  ideal  man  in 
character  and  temperment  for  such  a 
crisis.  He  fought  a  cool,  wary,  retiring 
fight,  all  the  time  gathering  his  resources 
for  a  final  stand  against  the  onthrusting 
Germans. 

In  England  Lord  Kitchener  had  been 
given  absolute  military  authority,  and  a 
British  army  of  regulars,  (about  90,- 
000,)  under  General  French,  Kitchener's 
Lieutenant  in  South  Africa,  had  been 
sent  to  France,  where  it  was  placed  on 


the    left    flank    of   the    French    armies, 
(Aug.  21,  1914.) 

As  the  Germans  advanced  into  France 
General  Joffre  kept  his  armies  in  hand, 
fighting  and  falling  back  successively 
from  the  lines  of  the  Semois,  (Char- 
leroi,)  Meuse,  and  Aisne,  (Aug.  23-28.) 
At  the  beginning  of  these  withdrawals 
the  British  army  on  the  left  flank  had 
overstayed  its  battle,  (Mons,  Aug.  23,) 
and  in  its  retreat  had  been  badly  cut  up 
by  the  German  right,  but  the  French 
armies  were  not  impaired. 

Joffre  s  Stroke  at  the  Marne 

General  Joffre  had  withdrawn  to  the 
Marne,  (Sept.  3,)  and  General  von 
Kluck,  who  commanded  the  German  right, 
knowing  the  battered  condition  of  the 
British  army  on  the  French  left,  be- 
lieved that  his  own  right  flank  was  sate, 
and  drove  on  to  the  southeast  to  join  the 
massed  attack  on  Paris.  But  there  was 
a  new  element  in  the  campaign  that 
changed  the  result.  General  Joffre  had 
sent  in  a  fresh  army  from  the  environs 
of  Paris  (Sixth  Army)  and  placed  it  on 
the  left  of  the  British  army,  so  that  the 
latter  was  no  longer  the  left  flank  of  the 
Allies. 

This  Sixth  Army  on  Sept.  6  pressed 
north,  threatening  the  German  right,  as 
did  the  Fifth  Army  which  had  been  on 
the  right  of  the  British.  This  brilliant 
manoeuvre  decided  the  battle  of  the 
Marne,    (Sept.   6-10,)    and   saved  Paris. 

The  Germans  were  forced  to  retreat 
to  the  Aisne,  where  they  intrenched  in 
positions  previously  chosen  in  case  of  an 
emergency.  After  vain  attempts  to 
break  this  line,  (battle  of  the  Aisne,  Sept. 
12-17,)  the  Allies  intrenched  against  it. 

The  regions  of  Verdun  and  the  other 

*  The  Moltke  of  1870,  &c,  Cubeent  History 
Magazine,  February,  1917. 


420 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES  CURRENT   HISTORY 


French  frontier  fortresses  had  been  also 
intrenched,  as  fortresses  had  already- 
been  proved  of  no  value  against  the 
heavy  Teutonic  artillery.  Both  armies 
extended  their  flanks  toward  the  sea, 
and  in  an  astonishingly  short  time  there 
was  a  line  of  Petersburg  intrenchments 
from  Switzerland  to  the  sea,  which  has 
since  swayed  backward  and  forward  for 
almost  three  years. 

A  part  of  the  pre-war  calculations  of 
the  German  Staff  had  been  the  confident 
assumption  that  there  would  be  so  much' 
delay  in  the  mobilization  of  the  Russian 
Army  that  no  serious  move  was  to  be  ex- 
pected from  Russia  for  many  months. 
Instead  of  this  the  Russian  mobilization 
was  unexpectedly  rapid,  and  in  August, 
1914,  there  was  an  invasion  of  East 
Prussia  by  two  Russian  armies,  which 
started  an  exodus  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
made  it  necessary  to  send  German  troops 
to  that  front.  This,  of  course,  was  a 
help  to  the  Allies  in  the  French  cam- 
paign. 

Battle  of  Tannenberg 
The  command  of  this  German  army  in 
East  Prussia  was  given  to  General  von 
Hindenburg,  who  had  been  out  of  favor 
and  in  retirement.  Hindenburg  had  been 
derisively  called  "The  Old  Man  of  the 
Lakes,"  because  of  his  insistence  on  the 
strategic  value  of  the  Masurian  Lakes 
in  East  Prussia.  Against  the  Russians  in 
actual  warfare  Hindenburg  proved  the 
truth  of  his  contention.  Calmly  and 
methodically,  as  if  at  army  manoeuvres 
in  his  favorite  region,  he  halted  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Russian  General,  Sarnsonov, 
in  a  strong  frontal  position  among  the 
Masurian  Lakes,  and,  striking  first  one 
flank,  then  the  other,  Hindenburg  prac- 
tically destroyed  Samsonov's  army.  The 
other  Russian  army,  under  General  Ren- 
nenkampf,  which  had  invested  Koenigs- 
berg,  at  once  retreated  into  Russia. 

This  battle  of  Tannenberg  (Aug.  26- 
Sept.  1,  1914)  is  already  considered  a 
classic  by  military  critics,  and  it  made 
Hindenburg  the  idol  of  Germany,  as 
confidence  waned  in  the  supposedly  in- 
fallible General  Staff.  The  defeat  itself 
was  not  a  vital  blow  to  Russia,  nor  to  the 
Entente  Allies.  In  fact,  the  diversion  of 
troops  and  the  necessity  of  retaining  an 


army  on  the  Russian  front  was  well 
worth  the  price;  but  the  consequent  rise 
of  Hindenburg  resulted  in  great  harm  to 
the  cause  of  the  Entente  Allies. 

In  the  southeast  the  rapid  mobilization 
of  the  Russians  also  disconcerted  the 
Teutonic  Allies.  The  Austrians  had  pre- 
pared in  Galicia  for  an  invasion  of  Rus- 
sian Poland.  Instead  of  being  able  to 
carry  out  their  plans,  the  Austrians  met 
an  onslaught  of  Russian  armies,  which 
invaded  Galicia,  captured  Tarnopol, 
Halicz,  and  Lemberg,  the  capital,  (Aug. 
27-Sept.  3,)  and  forced  the  Austrians  to 
retreat  to  Cracow,  Przemysl,  and  Jaroslav. 
So  crippling  were  these  defeats  to  the 
Austrians  that  the  Serbians  were  able 
to  defeat  the  weak  Austrian  forces  that 
could  be  spared  for  use  against  them, 
and  Serbian  territory  was  kept  intact. 

On  the  western  front  in  France  and 
Belgium  intrenching  tactics  changed  the 
whole  character  of  the  war.  All  through 
the  Fall  of  1914  and  into  the  Winter 
there  were  bloody  battles  which  had  no 
real  military  effect  except  to  cause  great 
losses  on  both  sides.  The  one  tactical 
result  achieved  at  this  time  was  the  Ger- 
man conquest  of  the  Belgian  coast,  which 
the  Germans  have  retained  to  the  present 
date.  This  tactical  gain  was  not  appreci- 
ated at  the  time,  in  view  of  the  failure 
of  the  Germans  to  reach  Calais;  but  it 
has  given  the  Germans  a  base  for  sub- 
marines and  aircraft,  which  has  been  of 
increasing  tactical  value. 

On  the  eastern  fronts  the  Russian  suc- 
cesses continued.  In  the  north  repeated 
German  offensives  against  Warsaw  were 
beaten  off,  and  Russian  offensives  fol- 
lowed which  kept  up  a  continued  pres- 
sure on  the  Germans.  In  Galicia  the 
Russians  swept  forward.  Jaroslav  was 
captured,  (Sept.  20,  1914,)  Przemysl  was 
besieged,  (surrendered  March  22,  1915,) 
and  on  the  Carpathian  front  the  Rus- 
sians had  broken  into  Austria-Hungary. 

Early  British  Naval  Errors 

In  the  meantime  Great  Britain's  navy 
had  proved  to  be  the  great  factor  on  the 
sea,  as  anticipated  by  military  critics. 
The  concentration  of  the  British  fleet  in 
the  North  Sea  dominated  the  German 
fleet  at  once,  but  in  the  other  areas  her 
naval  resources  were  not  so  well  used. 


THE  GRAND  TACTICS  OF  THREE  YEARS  OF  WARFARE 


421 


TERRITORY    HELD     BY    CENTRAL,    POWERS    AT     THE     BEGINNING    OF     1915.       BLACK 
LINES    INDICATE     THE     BATTLE     FRONTS,     DOTTED     LINES     NEUTRAL     BOUNDARIES 


TERRITORY    HELD     BY     CENTRAL     POWERS     AT     END     OF    THREE     YEARS     OF    WAR. 
BLACK    LINES    INDICATE    BATTLE    FRONTS,    DOTTED   LINES    NEUTRAL    BOUNDARIES 


422 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Allowing  the  Goeben  and  Breslau  to  get 
into  Constantinople  had  a  serious  effect 
on  the  Turkish  situation,  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  value  of  the  ships  them- 
selves. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  reason 
for  leaving  the  squadron  in  the  Pacific 
without  reinforcement,  to  be  destroyed 
by  a  concentration  of  outlying  German 
cruisers  (Coronel,  Nov.  1,  1914) — neither 
should  the  light  cruisers  (Emden,  &c.) 
have  been  left  footloose  on  the  seas. 
These  last  errors  had  ho  effect  on  the 
grand  tactics  of  the  war,  but  Great 
Britain's  mistake  in  the  failure  to  de- 
clare a  legal  blockade  of  Germany  at 
the  outset  has  had  a  serious  and  increas- 
ing tactical  effect  on  the  war. 

The  perfected  case  of  a  legal  blockade 
established  by  the  United  States  in  the 
civil  war  was  at  England's  service,  but, 
not  realizing  the  possibilities  of  the  sub- 
marine, Great  Britain  trusted  to  her  com- 
mand of  the  sea,  and,  instead  of  declaring 
a  blockade,  in  an  Admiralty  order,  (Nov. 
2,  1914,)  announced  military  areas  in  the 
North  Sea.  This  was  most  unfortunate, 
as  it  gave  Germany  the  chance  to  adopt 
the  "  war  zone  "  policy,  which  has  been 
one  of  the  evils  of  the  war. 

The  harm  of  this  was  not  apparent 
early  in  1915.  Submarines  had  not  de- 
veloped any  alarming  efficiency.  Great 
Britain  controlled  the  sea,  and,  in  spite 
of  German  occupation  of  French  and 
Belgian  territory,  the  military  situation 
was  then  apparently  in  favor  of  the 
Entente  Allies.  On  the  western  front 
the  plan  of  the  German  General  Staff 
had  been  defeated,  and  the  great  Ger- 
man armies  of  invasion  had  been  brought 
to  a  halt.  On  the  eastern  front  there 
was  a  strong  pressure  on  the  Teutonic 
Allies,  especially  on  Austria.  In  fact,  a 
study  of  the  map  will  show  that  the 
Teutonic  Allies  were  practically  besieged 
in  the  early  Spring  of  1915.  They  were 
even  cut  off  from  their  new  ally,  Tur- 
key.    (Turkey  at  war  Oct.  30,  1914.) 

Allied  Offensives  of   1915 

The  three  great  nations  of  the  En- 
tente Allies  had  intrusted  their  prepara- 
tions for  the  coming  campaigns  of  1915 
to  three  military  dictators — for  such 
had    General   Joffre   become   in   France 


after  his  victory  of  the  Marne.  Lord 
Kitchener  and  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas, 
each  the  typical  soldier  of  his  nation,  had 
absolute  control  in  Great  Britain  and 
Russia.  Herein  lay  the  failure  of  the 
•Allies,  for  each  of  these  leaders  believed 
that  the  height  of  military  efficiency  had 
been  reached  in  the  past  campaigns.  The 
great  development  of  barrier  fire  and  the 
excellence  of  the  French  "  75s "  had 
brought  about  the  misguided  belief  in 
the  "  established  superiority  in  artillery," 
which  lulled  the  Entente  Allies  into  false 
confidence. 

In  reality  at  this  time  the  Teutonic 
Allies  were  making  the  colossal  prepa- 
rations of  artillery  and  munitions  which 
were  destined  to  change  the  year  of 
1915  into  a  tragedy  for  the  Entente 
Allies. 

The  first  allied  offensive  in  1915  was 
Great  Britain's  ill-starred  attempt  on  the 
Dardanelles,  which  was  undertaken  with 
her  fleet  alone.  In  spite  of  all  the  re- 
criminations of  those  responsible,  it  is 
evident  that  at  the  time  there  was  great 
confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  guns  of 
the  fleet  to  reduce  the  land  defenses. 
The  new  15-inch  guns  of  the  Queen 
Elizabeth  class  were  particularly  relied 
upon. 

All  the  naval  bombardments  were  with- 
out tactical  result — and  several  ships 
were  lost,  (February-March,  1915.)  It 
was  decided  to  use  a  landing  force,  which 
Great  Britain  had  available  in  Egypt. 
This  army  was  brought  to  the  strait 
in  March,  but  the  transports  were  found 
to  be  "  improperly  loaded."*  The  troops 
were  then  returned,  reshipped,  and,  after 
a  delay  of  more  than  another  month,  a 
landing  was  made  on  the  tip  of  the  Gal- 
lipoli  Peninsula,  (April  25-26,)  with  fear- 
ful losses.  Although  the  great  fleet 
was  at  hand,  there  was  no  serious  bom- 
bardment of  the  point  of  landing,  and  the 
Turks,  who  had  received  so  much  warn- 
ing in  advance,  took  full  advantage  of 
the   situation. 

The  battered  army  was  retained  on  the 
peninsula  for  months  of  desultory,  use- 
less fighting.  In  August  there  was  an- 
other landing,  which  was  as  costly  as  the 
first,  and  the  expedition  was  withdrawn 

♦General    Ian   Hamilton. 


THE  GRAND  TACTICS  OF  THREE  YEARS  OF  WARFARE         423 


in  the  Winter.  From  first  to  last  it  was 
a  blunder,  costly  in  losses,  and  most 
costly  in  its  effects  upon  the  war,  es- 
pecially in  its  influence  on  the  hesitating 
nations,  Bulgaria  and  Greece. 

In  the  Spring  of  1915  this  disaster  had 
not  yet  developed,  and  there  were  great 
hopes  of  the  allied'  offensives,  but  on 
the  western  front  these  hopes  were  soon 
disappointed.  The  failures  at  Neuve 
Chapelle,  Ypres,  &c,  showed  conclu- 
sively that  the  preparations  of  the  Allies 
for  carrying  the  formidable  German  in- 
trenchments  had  been  inadequate.  Not 
only  did  the  Allies'  best  efforts  fail  to 
make  any  real  impression  on  their 
enemies,  but  their  assaults  were  not  dan- 
gerous enough  to  divert  Teuton  troops 
from  the  eastern  front,  where  a  fearful 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  military 
situation. 

Hindenburg's  Drive  in  Calicia 

In  these  regions,  where  the  position  of 
the  Entente  Allies  was  apparently  so 
favorable  in  the  Spring  of  1915,  with 
Galicia  overrun  and  the  Russians  break- 
ing through  the  Carpathians,  Hinden- 
burg,  who  had  been  given  the  command 
in  the  East  because  of  his  victory  at 
Tannenberg,  had  been  making  prepara- 
tions for  a  campaign  unprecedented  in 
history.  The  Austrian  and  German 
forces  had  been  amalgamated,  and  the 
new  huge  artillery  had  been  massed  for 
an  assault  on  the  overconfident  Russians 
— for  the  Grand  Duke  and  his  Generals 
did  not  seem  to  have  any  suspicion  of  the 
impending  danger. 

Suddenly  (April  28,  1915)  the  storm 
broke.  General  von  Mackensen,  who  com- 
manded in  Galicia,  blasted  out  the  Rus- 
sian lines  with  artillery  attacks  such  as 
had  never  been  seen  in  war,  and  in  a  few 
days  the  whole  Russian  front  was  in  re- 
treat before  massed  assaults  that  did  not 
allow  the  Russians  to  make  a  successful 
stand  for  months. 

May  14  the  Russians  were  driven  over 
the  San.  Przemysl  fell  June  2,  Lemberg 
June  22.  In  the  north  Libau  was  taken 
in  May,  and  Courland  was  overrun.  Then 
came  the  irresistible  drive  on  Warsaw, 
which  was  taken  Aug.  5.  Kovno,  Novo 
Georgievsk,  Ossowietz,  Brest-Litovsk, 
and  Grodno  all  fell  within  a  month — and 


all  the  time  the  Russian  losses  in  men 
and  guns  had  been  enormous.  It  was 
not  until  Fall  that  the  Russians  were  able 
to  hold  the  line  from  Riga  to  Eastern 
Galicia,  where  they  have  remained  so 
long  with  little  change. 

At  the  time  there  was  so  much  daily 
comment  on  the  "  masterly  retreat n  of 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  that  most  of 
our  people  do  not  now  realiza  the  great 
military  results  of  this  most  disastrous 
campaign  in  all  history.  The  Russian 
losses  are  estimated  to  have  been:  Killed 
and  wounded,  1,200,000;  prisoners,  900- 
000.  Some  65,000  square  miles  of  ter- 
ritory were  lost. 

These  Russian  reverses  in  1915,  and 
the  failure  at  the  Dardanelles  brought 
Bulgaria  into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the 
Teutonic  Allies,  (October,  1915.)  There 
was  a  simultaneous  invasion  of  Serbia 
by  Austro-Germans  and  Bulgarians,  and 
all  Serbia  was  conquered  before  the 
Allies  could  give  any  help.  An  Anglo- 
French  army  was  landed  near  Saloniki, 
but  its  only  usefulness  was  to  insure  the 
neutrality  of  the  Greeks,  which  was  very 
uncertain  at  the  time.  By  the  end  of 
November,  1915,  the  last  of  the  Serbian 
troops  had  been  driven  into  Albania. 
In  January,  1916,  Montenegro  was  also 
conquered,  and  Scutari,  the  capital  of 
Albania,  was  captured,  (Jan.  23,  1916.) 

In  May,  1915,  Italy  had  declared  war 
on  Austria  alone,  and  at  once  frankly 
began  to  fight  "  nostra  guerra  "  in  an 
attempt  to  win  the  Trentino  and  Trieste. 
Consequently  the  tactical  value  of  the 
Italians  to  the  Entente  Allies  and  their 
effect  on  the  results  of  the  great  war 
in  1915  must  be  measured  by  the  num- 
ber of  Austrians  they  diverted  from  the 
Russian  campaign.  Owing  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  country,  which  made  de- 
fense easy  for  Austria,  it  is  probable 
that  no  great  numbers  of  Austrian 
troops  were  needed  until  after  the  fall 
of  Warsaw.  Consequently,  the  effect  of 
the  entrance  of  Italy  was  not  great — and 
Italy's  own  campaign  of  conquest  was 
barren  of  military  results  in  1915. 

On  the  western  front,  after  the  allied 
failures  in  the  Spring  of  1915,  there  was 
only  desultory  fighting  through  the  Sum- 
mer.     In    September    the    British    and 


424 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


French  undertook  another  offensive  in 
the  region  of  Loos  and  in  the  Champagne, 
but  again  the  Allies  failed  to  win  any 
military  results;  neither  did  they  suc- 
ceed in  making  a  diversion  that  would 
take  away  troops  from  the  eastern  front 
and  help  Russia  and  Serbia. 

Development  of  Submarines 

On  the  sea  in  1915  Germany  was  shut 
in  so  far  as  concerned  any  use  of  her 
fleet.  There  had  been  some  raiding,  but 
nothing  that  had  any  effect  on  the  war. 
Throughout  the  year  Germany  was  de- 
veloping a  tactical  use  of  submarines, 
and,  taking  advantage  of  the  pernicious 
war  zone  areas,  was  breaking  away  from 
international  law  with  the  U-boats;  but 
at  the  end  of  1915,  although  there  had 
been  much  ruthless  destruction  of  life, 
it  cannot  be  said  that  the  submarines  had 
become  a  factor  in  the  grand  tactics  of 
the  war. 

A  comparison  on  the  map  will  show 
that  the  military  situation  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1916  was  much  less  favorable 
for  the  Entente  Allies  than  early  in  1915. 
On  the  western  front  the  intrenched 
lines  faced  one  another  as  before,  but  in 
the  East  all  was  changed.  On  their 
northern  front  the  Russians  had  been 
driven  out  of  Russian  Poland  and  far  back 
into  Russia.  In  the  south  they  had  been 
swept  back  in  Galicia  until  they  only 
held  a  narrow  strip  on  the  eastern  fron- 
tier. 

The  entrance  of  Bulgaria  and  the  con- 
quest of  Serbia  had  given  the  Teutonic 
Allies  a  strip  of  territory  which  con- 
nected them  with  Turkey — and  gave 
them  the  control  of  the  "bridge"  to  the 
East.  The  Teutons  were  no  longer 
hemmed  in;  they  had  raised  the  siege. 

At  the  beginning  of  1916  the  disappoint- 
ment of  the  Allies  in  their  military  hopes 
and  the  realization  that  their  prepara- 
tions in  the  first  Winter  had  been  in- 
adequate, had  brought  changes  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Allies.  The  three 
military  dictators  were  no  longer  in  con- 
trol. Joffre  was  not  paramount  in 
France,  though  still  Commander  in  Chief. 
In  England,  Lloyd  George  had  become 
Minister  of  Munitions,  Lord  Derby  had 
charge  of  the  recruiting,  and  Sir  William 


Robertson  was  Chief  of  Staff.  The  Rus- 
sian Grand  Duke  Nicholas  had  been  sent 
to  command  in  the  Caucasus. 

The  Attack  at  Verdun 
At  this  time  in  England  and  France 
powerful  artillery  and  vast  amounts  of 
munitions  were  being  hurried  to  comple- 
tion for  use  in  the  campaigns  of  1916 — 
but  before  these  were  ready  in  sufficient 
quantities  France  received  a  costly  lesson 
as  to  the  need  of  heavy  guns  to  cope 
with  the  German  artillery.  Suddenly  in 
February,  1916,  north  of  Verdun,  on  a 
sector  over  ten  miles  long,  the  French 
were  blasted  out  of  their  trenches  by  a 
concentration  of  heavy  artillery,  just  as 
the  Russians  had  been  in  the  Spring  of 
1915.  Although  it  was  known  that  there 
was  some  movement  on  foot,  the  French 
Staff  had  been  unable  to  tell  where  an 
attack  was  to  be  made.*  That  the  Ger- 
mans were  able  to  make  this  concen- 
tration of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men 
and  hundreds  of  guns  without  being  ob- 
served by  the  airplanes  is  a  blow  to  faith 
in  scouting  from  the  air,  but  such  is  the 
fact. 

For  three  weeks  after  the  first  as- 
sault (Feb.  21,  1916)  there  was  a 
fearful  sacrifice  of  the  best  blood  of 
France.  Verdun  itself,  as  has  been  ex- 
plained, was  no  longer  a  fortress,  but  a 
system  of  trenches,  and  of  no  more  real 
value  than  any  other  system  of  trenches. 
But  the  name  Verdun  meant  the  prestige 
of  France  in  all  Europe,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  hold  the  place  at  any  cost. 

Enormous  losses  were  heroically  en- 
dured. Every  available  gun  was  rushed 
to  this  region,  and  at  last,  by  using  naval 
guns,  many  of  them  actually  taken  from 
the  warships,  an  equality  in  artillery 
was  secured.  In  the  latter  part  of  March 
it  became  an  even  battle,  and  later  the 
advantage  was  with  the  French.  It  is 
evident  from  the  official  accounts  that  in 
the  first  stages  the  French  losses  greatly 
exceeded  those  of  the  Germans,  as  the 
German  gains  were  made  by  artillery, 
and  then  consolidated;  but  in  the  later 
phases  the  German  losses  were  probably 
greater.  This  battle  was  a  fearful  drain 
on   the   man-power   of   France,   but   the 

♦Official,  March  18,  1916. 


THE  GRAND  TACTICS  OF  THREE  YEARS  OF  WARFARE 


425 


German  prolongation  of  the  action  for 
months  without  result  caused  great  dis- 
satisfaction in  Germany,  and  brought 
about  the  appointment  of  Hindenburg  to 
supreme  command  of  the  German  armies. 
Spring  and  Summer  of  1916 

On  the  eastern  fronts  in  the  Spring 
of  1916  there  was  naturally  no  early  allied 
offensive  of  any  moment.  The  Russian 
armies  had  great  losses  to  repair,  and 
the  allied  army  at  Saloniki  was  held 
inactive  by  the  attitude  of  Greece.  In 
Asia  Minor,  however,  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas's  campaign  was  winning  im- 
portant results.  Erzerum  was  taken 
Feb.  14,  Trebizond  April  18.  On  the 
Tigris  the  totally  inadequate  British 
force  which  had  been  sent  from  India 
against  Bagdad  was  compelled  to  sur- 
render, (Kut-el-Amara,  April  28,  1916,) 
but  this  was  unimportant  except  as  it 
affected  British  prestige  in  the  East.  In 
the  Spring  of  1916,  on  the  Italian  front, 
the  Austrians,  relieved  from  the  pressure 
of  the  Russians,  invaded  northern  Italy 
and  were  steadily  making  progress, 
when  a  renewed  Russian  offensive  (June, 
1916)  made  it  necessary  to  recall  Aus- 
trian troops,  and  this  saved  the  situation 
for  the  Italians. 

The  Russians  had  recuperated  in  an 
astonishing  degree,  and  in  June,  1916, 
under  General  Brusiloff,  took  the  offen- 
sive, quickly  overran  Bukowina,  and  be- 
came dangerous  in  Galicia,  again  threat- 
ening Lemberg.  So  strong  was  the 
pressure  on  Austria-Hungary  through 
the  Summer  of  1916  that  the  Rumanians, 
who  had  been  waiting  with  a  mobilized 
army  for  a  chance  to  win  spoil  in  the 
war,  thought  that  Austria  was  suffi- 
ciently weakened  to  enable  the  Ruman- 
ian Army  to  seize  Transylvania.  In  this 
belief  Rumania  declared  war,  Aug.  27, 
1916,  and  at  once  invaded  the  coveted 
province,  without  making  any  attempt  to 
act  in  unison  with  the  Entente  Allies. 

Never  was  there  a  more  complete 
failure.  Hindenburg  had  made  unsus- 
pected preparations  for  just  such  action 
on  the  part  of  Rumania.  Two  armies 
under  Mackensen  and  Falkenhayn  were 
ready — they  swept  the  Rumanians  out  of 
Transylvania,  invaded  Dobrudja,  and, 
united  under  Mackensen,  conquered  Ru- 


mania without  a  check.  (Bucharest 
captured,  Dec.  6,  1916.)  The  Teutons 
had  gained  rich  wheat  fields  and  oil  lands 
at  small  cost,  and  only  Moldavia  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  Rumanians. 

Battle  of  the  Somme 

On  the  western  front  the  Entente  Al- 
lies had  begun  their  great  offensive  of 
the  year  on  July  1,  1916.  This  is  known 
as  the  battle  of  the  Somme,  and  it  lasted 
intermittently  until  November.  As  has 
been  said,  the  Allies  had  much  strength- 
ened their  artillery.  At  first  there  was 
great  encouragement  at  the  gains  made, 
but  after  a  time  it  became  evident  that, 
while  they  were  taking  a  certain  number 
of  trenches,  these  trenches  were  being 
yielded  only  at  a  prohibitive  price  in 
losses.  For  months  the  British  losses  alone 
were  far  above  100,000  a  month,  and  the 
battle  gradually  slowed  down  to  raiding 
tactics.  As  was  the  case  in  1915,  the 
pressure  of  the  allied  assaults  had  not 
been  sufficient  to  affect  the  situation  in 
the  east  and  prevent  the  conquest  of 
Rumania. 

The  Italians,  relieved  by  the  withdraw- 
als of  Austrian  troops  to  Galicia  in  June, 
1916,  won  their  one  victory  of  the  war  by 
the  capture  of  Gorizia,  Aug.  9,  1916, 
but  they  have  been  unable  to  make  any 
progress  in  the  difficult  mountainous 
country  from  that  time  to  the  present 
date.  However,  there  is  an  Italian  army 
of  perhaps  200,000  men  in  Albania,  which 
helps  the  allied  situation  in  the  Balkans, 
although  it  has  aroused  the  jealousy  of 
Greece.  In  this  region,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  King  Constantine  has  abdicated 
and  Greece  is  nominally  pro-ally,  the 
Greek  situation  has  been  so  uncertain 
that  General  Sarrail's  Balkan  army  has 
remained  inactive. 

Battle  of  Jutland 
On  the  sea  in  1916  the  German  High 
Sea  Fleet  came  out  and  fought  the  Brit- 
ish Grand  Fleet,  so  timing  its  battle  that 
the  German  fleet  first  struck  Vice 
Admiral  Beatty's  advance  force,  which 
was  out  of  touch  with  Admiral  Jellicoe's 
main  fleet.  After  badly  damaging  this 
detached  force,  the  German  fleet  managed 
to  engage  the  superior  British  fleet  under 
conditions  of  mist  and  falling  darkness, 


426 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


with  threatened  torpedo  attacks,  which 
caused  the  British  fleet  to  draw  off  from 
the  battlefield — to  return  to  it  the  next 
morning.  In  consequence,  the  German 
fleet  was  enabled  to  return  to  port  with 
the  prestige  of  having  inflicted  heavier 
losses  on  the  British,  and  of  having  re- 
mained on  the  battlefield.  This  great 
naval  battle  (Jutland,  May  31,  1916)  had 
no  effect  on  England's  control  of  the 
sea,  but  it  had  a  great  moral  effect  in 
Germany. 

Throughout  1916  Germany  developed 
increased  tactical  use  of  the  submarines, 
and  Feb.  1,  1917,  began  unrestricted 
submarine  warfare  in  the  greatly  en- 
larged war  zones,  which  included  all  the 
waters  about  her  enemies.  Since  then 
large  numbers  of  Teuton  U-boats  have 
caused  a  serious  loss  of  shipping,  and 
this  successful  tactical  result  has  made 
the  submarine  campaign  as  much  a  part 
of  the  grand  tactics  of  the  war  as  any 
movements  of  the  armies.  In  fact,  the 
submarine  is  now  the  most  dangerous 
weapon  possessed  by  the  Teutonic  Allies. 

Dissatisfaction  with  the  conduct  of  the 
war  in  1916,  especially  with  the  Somme 
offensive,  had  brought  about  a  political 
change  in  England,  and  the  energetic 
Lloyd  George  was  made  head  of  the  new 
War  Council,  (Dec.  6,  1916.)  Increased 
preparations  in  great  guns  and  muni- 
tions were  made  by  Great  Britain  and 
France,  and  Russia  was  equipped  as 
never  before. 

Events  of  19 1 7  Summarized 
In  the  beginning  of  1917  an  adequate 
British  expedition  was  approaching  Bag- 
dad, (taken  March  11,  1917,)  and  Rus- 
sian forces  were  moving  to  co-operate  in 
Asia  Minor  and  Persia.  There  appeared 
to  be  hope  of  cutting  through  the  Teuton 
"  bridge  "  to  the  east,  but  suddenly  the 
Russian  revolution  broke  out  (Czar  ab- 
dicated March  15,  1917)  and  all  the 
Russian  armies  were  paralyzed  for  any 
offensive  value. 

For  four  months  the  Russian  armies 
did  practically  nothing  but  debate.  In 
July,  1917,  there  was  a  feverish  offensive, 
urged  on  by  the  Russian  democratic 
leader,  Kerensky,  and  the  Russians  made 
gains  in  Galicia,  probably  helped  by  the 
surprise  and  by  withdrawals  of  Teutonic 


troops.  But  when  Austro-German  forces 
were  brought  up  against  them,  the 
Russian  troops  again  became  demoralized, 
and  many  of  them  refused  to  fight, 
marching  away  in  Galacia  without  firing 
a  shot.  This  is  the  situation  at  the  time 
of  writing.  However,  there  is  one  fav- 
orable element  in  this  Russian  situation 
which  must  be  kept  in  mind:  Evidently 
the  Teutonic  allies  are  still  compelled  to 
keep  large  forces  on  the  Russian  fronts. 

On  the  western  front,  in  the  Spring 
of  1917,  a  great  allied  offensive,  using 
the  new  strength  of  artillery,  was 
launched  against  the  Arras  salient,  which 
extended  from  north  of  Arras  beyond 
Soissons.  Here  an  extraordinary  situa- 
tion developed.  Hindenburg  had  antici- 
pated the  attack  of  the  Allies  on  this 
sector,  and  he  had  withdrawn  to  more 
favorable  positions  behind  the  exposed 
salient,  (March,  1917.) 

Leaving  small  detachments  in  his 
trenches  to  keep  up  appearances,  Hin- 
denburg had  moved  back  his  men,  his 
guns,  and  all  his  material  safely  to  his 
new  positions.  That  he  was  able  to  do 
this  on  a  front  of  over  fifty  miles,  un- 
suspected and  unmolested,  with  the  air 
full  of  allied  airplanes,  is  comment 
enough  on  the  limitations  of  scouting 
from  the  air.  An  attack  in  force  by  the 
Allies  while  this  movement  was  going  on 
would  have  been  dangerous  for  the  Ger- 
mans. 

At  first  this  withdrawal  was  not  un- 
derstood, but  in  the  battle  of  Arras 
(April  9-May)  which  followed,  it  was 
found  that  Hindenburg  had  improved  his 
own  positions  and  given  the  Allies  a 
devastated  and  shell-scarred  terrain  to 
fight  over.  There  were  gains  for  the 
Allies  at  first,  but,  as  before,  the  battle 
waned  into  raids,  and  there  has  been  no 
aggressive  fighting  in  this  region  for 
weeks.  Again  the  only  tactical  result  of 
great  effort  has  been  the  number  of 
Germans  who  have  been  put  out  of 
action. 

A  terrific  blast  of  over  1,000,000 
pounds  of  high  explosives  which  had  been 
placed  in  mines  under  a  salient  at  Mes- 
sines,  south  of  Ypres,  wrecked  everything 
in  the  German  trenches  (June  7,  1917) 
and  gave  the  British  possession;  but  no 


THE  GRAND  TACTICS  OF  THREE  YEARS  OF  WARFARE         427 


tactical  gain  has  followed, ,  and  this  is 
cited  merely  to  show  the  proportions  to 
which  mining  operations  have  grown. 
Since  then  north  of  Ypres  the  Germans, 
by  a  concentration  of  artillery  unnoticed 
by  the  airplanes,  destroyed  British  forces 
across  the  Yser  Canal  and  captured  their 
position.  This  British  loss  was  of  some 
tactical  importance,  as  it  strengthened 
the  German  hold  on  the  Belgian  coast, 
which  is  now  realized  to  be  a  dangerous 
German  base.  At  the  time  of  writing, 
a  new  British  offensive  has  begun  in 
Flanders. 

In  spite  of  all  the  resources  devoted 
to  them  in  the  three  years  of  warfare, 
aircraft  have  not  become  a  part  of  the 
grand  tactics  of  the  war.  The  Zeppelins 
have  not  been  of  any  military  value,  and 
airplanes  have  not  yet  been  devised  that 
can  carry  their  fuel  and  sufficient  weight 
of  explosives  for  serious  bombardments. 
Even  for  the  short  flights  over  the  Chan- 
nel the  raids  have  been  mere  haphazard 
dropping  of  bombs,  and  have  not  won  any 
military  results;  and  for  scouting  and 
direction  of  artillery  the  present  air- 
planes have  great  limitations. 

True  Military  Situation 
From  the  foregoing,  it  is  evident  that 
the  advantage  would  be  with  the  Teutonic 
allies  if  it  were  possible  to  weigh  the 
military  results  of.  this  war  in  the  usual 
scales.  But  such  standards  of  other  days 
do  not  apply  to  this  epoch-making  cata- 
clysm. Entirely  different  estimates  must 
be  made  to  arrive  at  the  true  military 
situation.  To  military  critics  the  one  out- 
standing fact  is  that  this  war  is  being 


fought  with  enormous  losses  in  men  and 
material  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
military  results  attained. 

Changes  to  intrenching  tactics  have 
greatly  increased  the  tasks  of  the  armies 
and  multiplied  their  losses.  The  giant 
proportions  of  the  artillery  and  of  mate- 
rial of  all  kinds  in  these  campaigns  have 
become  a  fearful  drain,  such  as  has  never 
before  been  imagined.  Simply  to  con- 
sider the  tons  of  costly  munitions- thrown 
away  in  an  everyday  bombardment  is 
astonishing,  and  expenditure  on  the  same 
enormous  scale  must  be  made  in  all  the 
other  material.  The  constant  appalling 
losses  of  men*  and  the  incalculable  wast- 
age of  material  have  become  the  domi- 
nant factor  in  the  grand  tactics  of  the 
war,  and  all  other  military  results  are 
dwarfed  in  comparison. 

In  all  the  wars  in  the  past,  the  mili- 
tary results  have  been  self-evident  in 
victories  and  in  gain 'of  territory.  In  this 
war,  to  judge  from  any  such  evidence 
would  be  to  arrive  at  a  false  estimate 
of  the  actual  military  situation,  which  is 
not  contained  in  any  list  of  victories  or 
in  any  advantages  that  can  be  seen  on 
the  map.  The  real  military  results  have 
gone  far  beyond  all  this,  and  the  only 
true  estimate  of  the  present  tactical 
situation  is  to  realize  that  the  real  results 
of  the  grand  tactics  of  three  years  of 
war  are  two  groups  of  haggard  nations, 
equally  depleted  in  men  and  resources — 
and  equally  war  weary! 

*  A    conservative    estimate   of   those   killed 
in  three  years  is  7,000,000. 


Estimates  of  War  Casualties 

OFFICIAL   statistics   of  the   killed,  ported  during  June,  1917,  are  as  follows: 

wounded,     and     missing     are     not       Killed  and  died  of  wounds 28,819 

ii  u*s  *.  -  j  i_  •  J?       Died  of  sickness 3,215 

regularly  published  by  any  one  of      Prisoners    1,835 

the   nations,   though   compilations      Missing    36,772 

made  from  official  lists  as  published  each      Severely  wounded   21,315 

month  by  some  of  the  belligerents  convey      Wounded    • 5,354 

a    fairlv    arrnrate    idea    of    the    losses         Slightly  wounded    56,160 

a    lainy    accurate    iaea    ot    tne    losses.  Wounded  remaining  with  units.... ....  13,077 

These  lists,  however,  do  not  specify  the  

particular  periods  covered.  Total 166,547 

The  German  official  casualty  lists,  re-  The  above  casualties,  added  to  those 


428 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


reported  in  previous  months,  (including 
the  corrections  reported  in  June,  1917,) 
bring  the  totals  reported  in  the  German 
official  lists  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  to: 

Killed  and  died  of  wounds 1,032,800 

Died  of  sickness 72,960 

Prisoners 316,506 

Missing   275,460 

Severely  wounded   590,883 

Wounded    i 315,239 

Slightly    wounded    1,655,685 

Wounded  remaining  with  units 263,774 

Total 4,523,307 

The  above  figures  include  all  German 
nationalities  —  Prussians,  Bavarians, 
Saxons,  and  Wurttembergers.  They  do 
not  include  naval  casualties  or  casualties 
of  colonial  troops. 

Since  these  figures  were  put  into  type 
the  German  casualty  totals  for  July,  1917, 
have  been  published,  adding  an  aggregate 
of  89,863  to  the  total  in  the  foregoing 
table. 

The  British  casualties,  as  officially  re- 
ported for  July,  1917,  prove  the  extreme 
severity  of  the  fighting  in  the  series  of 
offensives  launched  by  Field  Marshal 
Haig.  In  that  month  alone  the  casual- 
ties totaled  71,348,  of  whom  2,490  were 
officers  and  68,858  men;  killed,  died  of 
wounds,  and  missing  were  723  officers 
and  16,276  men;  only  2  officers  were 
made  prisoners  of  war,  and  only  96  men. 
The  ghastly  figures  for  the  five  months 
of  March,  April,  May,  June,  and  July, 
1917,  tell  a  tale  of  ferocious  fighting,  and 
are  as  follows,  respectively: 

Officers.         Men. 

March   1.765  28,709 

April    4,381  31,619 

May   5,991  107,075 

June    3,601  84,667 

July  2,490  68,858 

Total    .18,228  252,928 

This  makes  a  grand  total  of  271,256 
British  casualties  for  the  five  months. 

In  July,  1915,  estimates  by  the  Red 
Cross  were  as  follows  for  the  first  year 
of  the  war: 

First  First 

6  Mos.  12  Mos. 

Dead    482,000  1,000,000 

Severely  wounded   07,000  200,000 

Slightly  wounded  ..760,000  1,500,000 

Prisoners   ...> 233,000  485,000 


In  March,  1917,  the  official  compila- 
tions at  Washington  placed  the  number 
of  German  dead  at  893,000,  wounded  at 
450,000,  captured  and  missing  at  245,000. 

The  untrustworthiness  of  all  present 
estimates  is  clear  from  the  above.  The 
number  of  German  prisoners  and  missing 
estimated  in  the  first  year  is  put  at 
485,000,  whereas  near  the  end  of  the 
third  year  the  number  officially  reported 
by  Germany  is  591,966. 

On  Dec.  6,  1915,  the  following  tables 
were  compiled,  showing  the  losses  during 
the  first  fifteen  months  of  the  war: 

Prisoners 
and 
Killed.      Wounded.  Missing. 

Great  Britain 115,000  351,000       710,000 

France 270,000,         840,000       180,000 

Russia   450,000       1,400,000       375,000 

Italy 72,000  224,000         48,000 

Belgium    27,000  84,000         18,000 

Serbia    27,000  84,000         18,000 

Montenegro 4,500  14,000  3,000 

Germany    485,370'     1,510,040       323,580 

Austria 319,140  992,880       265,950 

Turkey    45,000  140,000         30,000 

Bulgaria 36,000  112,000         24,000 

In  March,  1917,  compilations  made  at 
Washington  were  tabulated  as  follows, 
covering  the  period  from  the  beginning 
of  the  war  to  February,  1917: 

Prisoners 
and 
Dead.    Wounded.  Missing. 

Russia 1,500,060       784,200       800,000 

France    870,000       540,800       400,000 

Great  Britain 205,400       102,500       107,500 

Rumania    100,000       150,000       250,000 

Italy 105,000         49,000         56,000 

Belgium    50,000         22,000         40,000 

Serbia 60,000         28,000         

Germany    893,200       450,000       245,000 

Austria  523,000       355,000       591,000 

Turkey    127,000       110,000         70,000 

Bulgaria    7,500  7,000  6,000 

Estimates  at  the  end  of  the  third  year, 
published  July  28,  1917,  are  tabulated  as 
follows : 

Seriously  Capt'd  or 

Killed.    Wounded.  Missing:.  Total. 

England..  *298,988     177,224     182,452  659,664 

France  ...1,580,000     921,328     696,548"  3,197,876 

Russia   . .  .2,002,064  1,223,476  1,243,096  4,528,636 

Italy    130,356       60,840       68,292  259,488 

Belgium..       62,064       27,324     149,644  239,032 

Serbia  ...      74,484       34,776       109,260 

Totals   .  .4,263,956  2,444,968  2,341,032    9,049,956 
•Includes  Canadian  and  Australian  but  not 
Indian  troops. 


ESTIMATES  OF  WAR  CASUALTIES 


429 


Seriously  Capt'd  or 

Killed.    Wounded.   Missing.  Total. 

Germany.  1,908,800     958,612     704,128  3,571,540 

Austria  ..     849,368     540,673     833,644  481,096 

Turkey    ..     157,644     236,548       86,904  481,096 

Bulgaria..        9,324         8,676         7,452  25,452 

Total    ..2,925,136  1,744,509  1,632,128    6,301,776 

Grand  tls.  7, 188,092* 4,189,477  3,973,169  15,351,732 
Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  Entente  allied 
wounded  return  to  the  armies ;  Germany 
claims  that  85  per  cent,  of  her  wounded 
return  as  combatants. 

According  to  an  Associated  Press  esti- 
mate  made   May   15,   1917,  the   Central 
Powers  held  the  following  prisoners  at 
that  time : 
Held  by  Germany. .  .1,690,731  (17,474  officers) 

By   Austria" 1,092,055 

By   Bulgaria    67,582 

By  Turkey   23,903 

Total    2,874,271  (27,620  officers) 


This  total  is  made  up  as  follows : 

(  Total.  In  Germany. 

Russian    prisoners 2,080,699  1,212,007 

French    368,607  367,124 

Serbian    .  . 154,630  25,879 

Italian     98,017  

Rumanian     79,033  10,157 

British 45,241  33,129 

Belgian    42,437  42,435 

Montenegrin     5,607  

The  total  number  of  prisoners  taken 
by  the  Allies  up  to  May,  1917,  was  esti- 
mated at  1,284,050,  divided  as  follows: 
In  In  In  In 

England.    France.    Russia.    Italy. 
German 

prisoners    ..85,000      259,050      250,000  

Austrian    550,000      80,000 

In  addition,  40,000  Austrians  and  Bul- 
garians captured  by  Serbia  are  now  in 
Italy,  and  20,000  Turkish  prisoners  are 
in  Egypt. 


Arrival  of  the  Japanese  Mission 

Other    Visiting    Envoys 


A  JAPANESE  Commission,  headed 
by  Viscount  K.  Ishii,  Ambassador 
Extraordinary  and  Plenipotenti- 
ary, arrived  at  a  Pacific  port  on  Aug.  13, 
1917,  where  its  members  were  met  by  an 
official  delegation  from  Washington 
consisting  of  Breckenridge  Long,  Third 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  and  Gavin 
McNab,  an  attorney,  with  representa- 
tives of  the  army  and  navy.  A  United 
States  battleship  circled  the  Japanese 
vessel  during  its  approach  to  the  port, 
and  masses  of  troops  at  "  present  arms  " 
lined  the  streets  through  which  the  mis- 
sion passed,  while  the  Japanese  anthem 
was  played.  A  reception  in  the  City  Hall 
began  a  series  of  entertainments  lasting 
three  days,  during  which  every  appropri- 
ate honor  and  courtesy  was  vouchsafed 
the  visitors. 

At  a  dinner  given  to  the  mission  in  the 
evening  of  Aug.  14  Viscount  Ishii  said: 
We  are  here  to  say  that  in  this  tremen- 
dous struggle  for  those  rights  and  lib- 
erties America  and  Japan  are  bound  to- 
gether ;  that  when  the  victory  of  the  allied 
forces  is  secure,  America  and  Japan 
should    so    live    that   your    sons   and    our 


sons  will  have  a  certainty  of  good  neigh- 
borhood ;  so  live  that  no  word  or  deed  of 
either  can  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion; 
that  venomous  gossip,  hired  slander, 
sinister  intrigue  and  influence,  of  which 
we  have  both  been  the  victims,  can  in 
future  only  serve  to  bring  us  closer  to- 
gether for  mutual  protection  and  for  the 
common  welfare. 

The  importance  of  this  co-operation 
was  brought  home  to  us  particularly  as 
we  voyaged  safely  and  pleasantly  across 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  We  must  indeed  have 
assurance  bf  good  order  in  our  neighbor- 
hood. We  cannot,  either  of  us,  take  risks. 
It  becomes  the  first  duty  of  Japan  and 
America  to  guard  the  Pacific  and  to  in- 
sure safe,  continuous  intercourse  between 
Asia  and  the  United  States,  to  see  to  it 
that  the  ships  of  the  ferocious  pirates 
whose  crimes  upon  the  high  seas  can  never 
be  palliated  find  no  shelter  in  the  waters 
of  our  seas. 

It  is  for  us  together  to  continue  to  en- 
force respect  for  law  and  humanity  upon 
the  Pacific,  from  which  the  German 
menace  was  removed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war.  Had  this  not  been  so, 
had  the  barbarian  of  Europe  not  been 
rooted  from  his  Oriental  bases,  the  shud- 
dering horrors  of  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Mediterranean  would  today  be  a  grim 
reality  on  the  Pacific.  In  the  protection 
of  our   sea-going  merchandise  and  men, 


430 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


in  safeguarding  the  pleasures  of  inter- 
course, you  may  count  on  us  as  we  must 
count  on  you. 

In  the  dawning  of  this  new  day  of  stress 
and  strain  let  us  forget  the  little  molehills 
that  have  been  exaggerated  into  mountains 
to  bar  our  good  relations.  Let  us  see 
together  with  a  clearer  vision  the  pitfalls 
dug  by  a  cunning  enemy  in  our  path, 
let  us  together  fix  our  eyes  upon  the 
star  of  principle  which  shall  lead  us 
together  most  surely  to  a  participation 
in  the  triumph  of  the  right,  to  a  certain 
victory  in  the  greatest  and,  let  us  hope, 
the  last  great  war  in  human  history. 

The  cordiality  of  the  Pacific  Coast's 
reception  of  the  mission  impressed  the 
visitors  deeply.  "  Your  action,"  said 
their  spokesman,  when  departing  for 
Washington,  "  clears  away  many  a  doubt 
and  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the 
people  of  both  countries  as  to  our  mutual 
aims  and  aspirations.  Your  generous  at- 
titude makes  it  possible  for  every  fair- 
minded  man  to  believe  that  there  are  no 
pending  questions  between  America  and 
Japan  which,  approached  in  this  spirit, 
are  not  susceptible  of  honorable  and  fair 
adjustment." 

Nanseris  Norwegian  Mission 

All  the  neutral  nations  of  Europe  were 
greatly  perturbed  by  President  Wilson's 
declaration  of  July  9,  placing  under  Gov- 
ernment control  the  volume  of  foodstuffs 
and  other  wartime  material  which  may 
be  sent  to  other  countries.  As  put  into 
operation,  this  order  has  resulted  in  a 
virtual  embargo  on  foods,  forage,  and 
fats  bound  for  neutral  lands  adjoining 
Germany.  At  the  present  writing  more 
than  eighty  Dutch  vessels  laden  with 
such  cargoes  have  been  waiting  for  .a 
month  in  New  York  Harbor  and  adjoin- 
ing waters  for  a  ruling  that  would  give 
them  clearance  papers. 

Norway  was  among  the  first  of  the 
European  neutrals  ^to  send  missions  to 
this  country  to  negotiate  for  a  relaxa- 
tion of  the  embargo,  which,  they  de- 
clared, threatened  them  with  starvation. 
Dr.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  the  arctic  explorer, 
headed  the  Norwegian  Mission,  which 
reached  Washington  at  the  beginning  of 
August,  and  held  a  long  conference  with 
the  State  Department  on  Aug.  8. 

To  press  representatives  Dr.  Nansen 
stated  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
Norway  had  3,000,000  tons  of  merchant 


shipping,  and  that  one-third  of  it  had 
fallen  victim  to  Germany's  submarines. 
Most  of  the  ships  so  lost,  he  said,  were 


DR.     FRIDTJOF    NANSEN 

serving  the  Allies  when  destroyed.    Dr. 

Nansen  stated  his  case  as  follows: 

The  fact  that  our  imports  from  the 
United  States  have  increased  during  the 
war  does  not  mean  that  our  total  im- 
ports have  increased.  Exportation  of 
fats,  grain,  and  sugar  is  wholly  prohib- 
ited ;  no  licenses  are  issued  for  them. 
What  we  want  first  of  all  are  foodstuffs, 
because  Norway  does  not  produce  enough 
to  live  on.  Our  chief  needs  are  carbohy- 
drates, which  are  found  in  wheat,  sugar, 
and  fats;  if  they  are  cut  off  it  will  mean 
starvation.  We  had  an  instance  of  that 
one  hundred  years  ago,  during  the  Na- 
poleonic wars,  and  we  don't  want  to  ex- 
perience it  again. 

Our  exports  to  Germany  now  consist  of 
fish,  principally.  We  wish  to  remain  neu- 
tral, and  it  would  be  unneutral  to  cut  off 
all  supplies  to  one  side  and  permit  them 
to  continue  to  go  to  the  other  side.  Meats, 
fats,  milk,  butter,  everything  in  the  way 
of  Norwegian  foodstuffs,  except  fish,  has 
been  cut  off  from  Germany,  and  fish  is 
exported  to  Germany  in  accordance  with 
an  agreement  with  Great  Britain.  We 
have  maintained  that  we  could  not  cut 
Off  fish  to  Germany  because  that  would 
mean  war  with  Germany;  whatever  is 
now  exported  to  Germany  is  really  with 
the  consent  of  the  British  Government. 
My  hope  is  to  come  to  some  agreement 
with  the  United  States  on  the  lines  we 
have  with  Gre^t  Britain. 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  JAPANESE  MISSION 


431 


A  Swedish  mission  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, headed  by  Hermann  Lagerkrantz, 
former  Swedish  Minister  to  the*United 
States,  visited  Washington  in  July.  A 
similar  mission  from  Switzerland,  con- 
sisting of  National  Counselor  John  Suz, 
Colonel  Staenpfi,  and  Professor  William 
Rappard,  arrived  on  Aug.  15,  in  company 
with   Dr.   Hans   Sulzer,  the  new   Swiss 


Minister  to  the  United  States  to  succeed 
Dr.  Paul  Ritter.  At  the  same  time  an 
official  mission  of  the  same  nature  was 
sailing  from  Holland.  Its  chief  spokes- 
man, Joost  von  Vollenhoven,  declared: 
"  If  we  fail  to  persuade  the  American 
Government  to  permit  a  continuance  of 
the  supply  of  grain  it  will  mean  misery 
and  economic  ruin  for  Holland." 


Serbia' 3  Plan  of  Reorganization 


Following  is  a  summary  of  an  official 
statement  'issued  min  July,  1917,  by  the 
Serbian  Press  Bureau  on  the  Island  of 
Corfu : 

AT  a  conference  of  members  of  the 
former  Coalition  Cabinet,  the  pres- 
ent Cabinet,  and  the  representatives 
of  the  Jugoslav  Committee,  views  were 
exchanged  with  the  co-operation  of  the 
President  of  the  Skupshtina  on  all  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  life  of  the  Serbians, 
Croats,  and  Slovaks  in  their  future  united 
state.  Complete  unanimity  on  every  ques- 
tion that  arose  prevailed.  Divided  among 
several  States  our  country  is  cut  up  in 
Austria-Hungary  alone  into  eleven  pro- 
vincial adminstrations  with  thirteen  legis- 
lative bodies.  The  war  forced  by  German 
militarism  upon  Russia,  France,  and 
Great  Britain  has  been  transformed  into 
a  fight  for  the  liberty  of  the  world  and 
for  the  triumph  of  right  over  force.  To 
noble  France,  which  proclaimed  the  lib- 
erty of  nations,  and  to  Great  Britain, 
the  home  of  liberty,  there  has  been  joined 
the  great  American  Republic  and  the 
new,  free,  and  democratic  Russia  in  pro- 
claiming as  the  principal  object  of  the 
war  the  triumph  of  liberty  and  democracy, 
and,  as  the  basis  of  a  new  international 
system,  the  freedom  of  nations  to  govern 
themselves. 

The  authorized  representatives  of  the 
Serbs,  Croats,  and  Slovenes  declare  that 
the  desire  of  our  people  is  to  free  itself 
from  all  foreign  oppression  and  to  con- 
stitute itself  into  a  free,  national,  and 
independent  State,  based  on  the  principle 
that  every  people  is  free  to  govern  itself, 
and  are  agreed  in  considering  that  this 
State  should  be  founded  on  the  following 
modern  and  democratic  principles: 


1.  The  State  of  the  Serbs,  Croats,  and 
Slovenes,  who  are  also  known  by  the  names 
of  Southern  Slavs  and  Jugoslavs,  will  be  a 
free  and  independent  monarchy,  with  an  indi- 
visible territory  and  unity  of  power.  This 
State  will  be  a  constitutional,  democratic,  and 
Parliamentary  monarchy,  with  the  Kara- 
georgevitch  dynasty,  which  has  always 
shared  the  ideals  and  feelings  of  the  nation 
in  placing  above  everything  else  the  national 
liberty  and  will  at  its  head. 

2.  The  name  of  this  State  will  be  the  King- 
dom of  the  Serbs,  Croats,  and  Slovenes,  and 
the  title  of  the  sovereign  will  be  King  of  the 
Serbs,   Croats,   and   Slovenes. 

3.  This  State  will  only  have  one  coat  of 
arms,  one  flag,  and  one  crown. 

4.  The  four  different  flags  of  the  S'erbs, 
Croats,  and  Slovenes  will  have  equal  rights, 
and  may  be  hoisted  freely  on  all  occasions. 
The  same  will  obtain  for  the  four  different 
coats  of  arms. 

5.  The  three  national  denominations,  the 
Serbs,  Croats,  and  Slovenes,  are  equal  before 
the  law  in  all  the  territory  of  the  kingdom, 
and  each  may  freely  use  it  on  all  occasions 
in  public  life  and  before  all  authorities. 

6.  The  two  Cyrillic  and  Latin  alphabets 
also  have  the  same  rights,  and  every  one  may 
freely  use  them  in  all  the  territory  of  the 
kingdom.  The  royal  and  local  self-governing 
authorities  have  the  right  and  ought  to  em- 
ploy the  two  alphabets  according  to  the  desire 
of  the  citizens. 

7.  All  religions  are  recognized,  and  may 
be  free  and  publicly  practiced.  The  Ortho- 
dox Roman  Catholic  and  Mussulman  religions, 
which  are  most  professed  in  our  country, 
will  be  equal,  and  will  enjoy  the  same  rights 
in  relation  to  the  State.  In  view  of  these 
principles,  the  Legislature  will  be  careful  to 
preserve  the  religious  peace  in  conformity 
with  the  spirit  and  tradition  of  our  entire 
nation. 

8.  The  Gregorian  calendar  will  be  adopted 
as  soon  as  possible. 

9.  The  territory  of  the  Serbs,  Croats,  and 
Slovenes  will  comprise  all  the  territory  where 
our  nation  lives  in  compact  masses  and  with- 
out discontinuity,  and  where  it  could  not  be 
mutilated  without  injuring  the  vital  interests 
of  the  community.     Our  nation  does  not  ask 


432 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


for  anything  which  belongs  to  others,  and 
only  claims  that  which  belongs  to  it.  It 
desires  to  free  itself  and  establish  its  unity. 
That  is  why  it  conscientiously  and  firmly  re- 
jects every  partial  solution  of  the  problem 
of  its  freedom  from  the  Austro-Hungarian 
domination. 

10.  The  Adriatic  Sea,  in  the  interests  of 
liberty  and  equal  rights  of  all  nations,  is  to 
be  free  and  open    to  all  and  each. 

11.  All  citizens  throughout  the  territory  of 
the  kingdom  are  equal  and  enjoy  the  same 
rights  in  regard  to  the  State  and  the  law. 

12.  The  election  of  Deputies  to  the  national 
representation  will  take  place  under  universal 
suffrage,  which  is  to  be  equal,  direct,  and 
secret.  The  same  will  apply  to  the  elections 
in  the  communes  and  other  administrative 
institutions.  A  vote  will  be  taken  in  each 
commune. 

13.  -~e  Constitution  to  be  established  after 
the  conclusion  of  peace  by  the  Constituent 
Assembly  elected  by  universal,  direct,  and 
secret  suffrage  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  the 
life  of  the  State.  It  will  be  the  origin  and 
ultimate  end  of  all  the  powers  and  all  rights 


by  which  the  whole  national  life  will  be  regu- 
lated. The  Constitution  will  give  the  people 
the  opportunity  of  exercising  its  particular 
energies  in  local  autonomies,  regulated  by 
natural,  social,  and  economic  conditions.  The 
Constitution  must  be  adopted  in  its  entirety 
by*  a  numerical  majority  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  and  all  other  laws  passed  by  the 
Constituent  Assembly  will  not  come  into  force 
until  they  have  been  sanctioned  by  the  King. 

Thus  the  united  nation  of  Serbs,  Croatians, 
and  Slovenes  will  form  a  State  of  twelve 
million  inhabitants.  This  State  will  be  a  guar- 
antee of  their  national  independence  and  of 
their  general  national  progress  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  a  powerful  rampart  against  the 
pressure  of  the  Germans,  and  an  inseparable 
ally  of  all  civilized  peoples  and  States.  Hav- 
ing proclaimed  the  principle  of  right  and 
liberty  and  of  international  justice,  it  will 
•form  a  worthy  part  of  the  new  society  of 
nations. 

Signed  at  Corfu,  July  20,  1917,  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council  and  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  of  the  Kingdom  of  Serbia,  Nikola 
Pashitch,  and  the  President  of  the  Jugoslav 
Committee,    Dr.    Anto  Trumbic. 


O  Valiant  Hearts 

By    JOHN    S.    ARKWRIGHT 

[A  new  hymn  sung  at  the  intercession  service  in  Westminster  Abbey,  London,  on  the  third 

anniversary  of  the  war.] 


O  valiant  Hearts,  who  to  your  glory  came 
Through  dust  of  conflict  and  through  battle-flame; 
Tranquil  you  lie,  your  knightly  virtue  proved, 
Your  memory  hallowed  in  the  Land  you  loved. 

Proudly  you  gathered,  rank  on  rank  to  war, 
As  who  had  heard  God's  message  from  afar; 
All  you  had  hoped  for,  all  you  had,  you  gave 
To  save  Mankind — yourselves  you  scorned  to  save. 

Splendid  you  passed,  the  great  surrender  made, 
Into  the  light  that  nevermore  shall  fade; 
Deep  your  contentment  in  that  blest  abode, 
Who  wait  the  last  clear  trumpet-call  of  God. 

Long  years  ago,  as  earth  lay  dark  and  still, 
Rose  a  loud  cry  upon  a  lonely  hill, 
While  in  the  frailty  of  our  human  clay 
Christ,  our  Redeemer,  passed  the  self-same  way. 

Still  stands  His  Cross  from  that  dread  hour  to  this 
Like  some  bright  star  above  the  dark  abyss; 
Still,  through  the  veil,  the  Victor's  pitying  eyes 
Look  down  to  bless  our  lesser  Calvaries. 


Russia  Passes  Through  Deep  Waters 

Kerensky's  New  Leadership 


THE  Russian  revolution  encountered 
its  most  perilous  period  toward 
the  end  of  July,  1917,  and  for  a 
time  conservative  judgment  in  the 
United  States  and  England  entertained 
grave  fears  of  civil  war  or  anarchy;  but 
there  was  remarkable  restraint  on  the 
part  of  the  masses  when  affairs  seemed 
at  their  worst,  and  out  of  the  depths  of 
the  national  spirit  there  arose  a  new 
revolution  to  save  the  situation  and  main- 
tain order.  Within  a  fortnight  after  the 
crisis  the  forces  of  law  and  order  were 
firmly  in  the  ascendency  and  the  revo- 
lution seemed  more  strongly  intrenched 
by  the  middle  of  August  than  at  any 
previous  time. 

When  matters  were  at  their  worst  late 
in  July,  the  country  everywhere  the 
scene  of  riotous  disturbances,  the  army 
in  a  state  of  demoralization,  anarchists, 
radicals,  and  monarchists  seeming  to  be 
working  hand  in  hand  to  precipitate  a 
reign  of  terror,  the  real  Russian  con- 
servatives who  accomplished  the  original 
revolution  practically  without  bloodshed, 
again  took  control  and  effected  a  com- 
plete reorganization  of  the  Provisional 
Government. 

Kerens^  Saves  the  Situation 
On  July  20  it  was  announced  that  the 
Premier,  Prince  Lvoff,  had  resigned,  and 
that  Alexander  F.  Kerensky  had  been 
appointed  Premier,  but  would  also  tem- 
porarily retain  his  portfolio  as  Minister 
of  War  and  Munitions.  A  new  Govern- 
ment was  quickly  formed.  Kerensky  was 
made  practical  dictator,  and  his  Govern- 
ment received  the  complete  indorsement 
of  the  Joint  Congress  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Councils  and  of  the  All-Russia 
Council  of  Peasant  Delegates,  conferring 
upon  the  new  Premier  and  his  Cabinet 
unlimited  authority. 

The  effect  was  electrical.  Orders  were 
given  to  fire  on  deserters  and  runaways 
at  the  front,  and  warrants  were  issued 
for  the  arrest  of  revolutionary  agitators 
wherever  they  might  be.    Rear  Admiral 


Verdervski,  commander  of  the  Baltic 
fleet,  was  seized  for  communicating  a 
secret  Government  telegram  to  sailors' 
committees.  Lieutenant  Dashkevitch  and 
another  executive  committeeman  of  the 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Council  also 
were  arrested,  the  former  on  the  charge 
of  inciting  the  Peterhof  troops  to  remove 
the  Provisional  Government. 

The  decision  of  the  councils  to  resort 
to  the  extreme  measure  of  conferring 
supreme  and  unrestricted  power  on  the 
Government  was  reached  after  a  session 
that  lasted  throughout  the  night  of  July 
22,  and  was  embodied  in  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  passed  by  252  to 
57: 

Recognizing    that    the    country    is    men- 
aced  by   a  military   debacle   on   the   front 
and   by  anarchy  at  home,    it  is   resolved : 
First — That   the    country   and   the   revo- 
lution are  endangered ; 

Second — That  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment is  proclaimed  the  Government  of 
National  Safety ; 

Third — That  unlimited  powers  are  ac- 
corded the  Government  for  re-establish- 
ing the  organization  and  discipline  of  the 
army  for  a  fight  to  the  finish  against 
the  enemies  of  public  order  and  for  the 
realization  of  the  whole  program  em- 
bodied in  the  Governmental  program  just 
announced. 

A  Ringing  Proclamation 
The    Executive    Councils    of   the    All- 
Russia     Workmen's     and     Soldiers'    and 
Peasants'   organizations   issued   the   fol- 
lowing proclamation  on  the  23d: 

Fellow-soldiers :  One  of  our  armies  has 
wavered,  its  regiments  have  fled  before 
the  enemy.  Part  of  our  front  has  been 
broken.  Emperor  "William's  hordes,  which 
have  moved  forward,  are  bringing  with 
them  death  and  destruction. 

Who  is  responsible  for  this  humiliation? 
The  responsibility  rests  with  those  who 
have  spread  discord  in  the  army  and 
shaken  its  discipline,  with  those  who  at 
a  time  of  danger  disobeyed  the  military 
commands  and  wasted  time  in  fruitless 
discussions  and  disputes. 

Many  of  those  who  left  the  line  and 
sought  safety  in  running  away  paid  with 
their  lives  for  having  disobeyed  orders. 
The  enemy's  fire  mowed  them  down.     If 


*:>4 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


this  costly  lesson  has  taught  you  nothing, 
then  there  will  be  no  salvation  for  Russia. 

Enough  of  words.  The  time  has  come 
to  act  without  hesitation.  We  have  ac- 
knowledged the  Provisional  Government. 
With  the  Government  lies  the  salvation 
of  the  revolution.  We  have  acknowledged 
its  unlimited  authority  and  its  unlimited 
power.  Its  commands  must  be  law.  All 
those  who  disobey  the  commands  of  the 
Provisional  Government  in  battle  will  be 
regarded  as  traitors.  Toward  traitors 
and  cowards  no  mercy  will  be  shown. 

Fellow-soldiers :  You  want  a  durable 
peace.  You  want  your  land,  your  free- 
dom. Then  you  must  know  that  only  by 
a  stubborn  struggle  will  you  win  peace  for 
Russia  and  all  nations.  Yielding  before 
the  troops  of  the  German  Emperor,  you 
lost  both  your  land  and  your  freedom. 
The  conquering,  imperialistic  Germans  will 
force  you  again  and  again  to  fight  for 
your  interests. 

Fellow-soldiers  at  the  front:  Let  there 
be  no  traitors  or  cowards  among  you. 
Let  not  one  of  you  retreat  a  single  step 
before  the  foe.  Only  one  way  is  open 
for  you— the  way  forward. 

Fellow-soldiers  in  the  rear:  Be  ready 
to  advance  to  the  front  for  the  support 
of  your  brothers,  abandoned  and  betrayed, 
fleeing  from  their  positions  in  the  regi- 
ments. Gather  all  your  strength  for  the 
struggle  for  a  durable  peace,  for  your 
land  and  your  freedom.  Without  waver- 
ing, without  fear,  without  disastrous  dis- 
cussions, carry  out  all  military  commands. 
At  the  time  of  battle  disobedience  and 
wavering  are  worse  than  treachery.  Your 
ruin  lies   in  them,   the  ruin  of  Russia. 

Fellow-soldiers  :  You  are  being  watched 
by  those  who  work  for  Russia  and  by 
the  whole  world.  The  ruin  of  the  Russian 
revolution  spells  ruin  for  all.  Summon  up 
all  your  manhood,  your  perseverance  and 
sense  of  discipline  and  save  the  father- 
land. 

Provisional  Government's  Action 

The  Provisional  Government  also 
issued  a  proclamation  on  July  22  charg- 
ing that  the  disorders  were  precipitated 
to  bring  about  a  counter  revolution  by 
the  enemies  of  the  country.  Proceeding, 
the  proclamation  said: 

The  Government  firmly  believes  that  the 
crisis  will  lead  to  recovery,  not  death. 
Strong  in  that  belief,  the  Government  is 
ready  to  act  with  the  energy  and  resolu- 
tion the  exceptional  circumstances  de- 
mand. The  Government  regards  as  its 
first  and  capital  task  the  application  of 
its  whole  strength  to  the  struggle  against 
the  foreign  foe  and  to  the  defense  of  the 
new  Governmental  regime  against  every 
anarchical   and    counter-revolutionary    at- 


tempt, without  hesitating  to  take  the  most 
rigorous  measures  in  its  power.  At  the 
same  time  the  Government  reiterates  that 
not  a  drop  of  blood  of  a  Russian  soldier 
shall  be  shed  for  any  foreign  end,  as  al- 
ready proclaimed  to  the  whole  world.  *  *  * 
The  Government  considers  it  indispen- 
sable immediately  to  proceed  with  a  series 
of  measures  putting  the  principles  an- 
nounced on  May  19  into  operation,  and 
adheres  to  the  steps  already  taken  to  con- 
vene a  constituent  assembly  on  Sept.  30. 
The  speediest  introduction  of  autonomy 
for  municipalities  and  Zemstvos,  based  on 
direct,  equal,  secret,  universal  suffrage, 
and  the  extension  of  this  principle  to  the 
entire  country  is  the  Government's  chief 
problem  in  internal  policy. 

Military  Disaster 

The  political  crisis  produced  deeper 
demoralization  in  the  army,  which  dis- 
regarded discipline  and  refused  to  re- 
cognize military  rule.  A  general  re- 
treat followed.  The  Germans  and  Aus- 
trians  steadily  advanced  through  Galicia 
and  crossed  the  frontier  before  the  Rus- 
sian armies  could  be  forced  to  make  a 
stand.  The  death  penalty  for  treason  or 
mutiny  was  restored  in  the  army  on  July 
25,  when  Kerensky  threatened  to  resign 
unless  this  was  done.  The  Government 
on  July  25  authorized  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior  to  suspend  the  publication  of 
periodicals  that  incite  to  insubordination 
or  disobedience  to  orders  given  by  the 
military  authorities. 

On  the  25th  the  Council  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates  and  the  Peasants 
Congress  issued  another  proclamation, 
declaring : 

Lack  of  discipline  and  open  treachery 
at  the  front  are  facilitating  Field  Mar- 
shal von  Hindenburg's  new  offensive. 
The  serious  defeats  inflicted  on  our  army 
are  opening  the  way  to  the  enemy  for  in- 
creasing the  general  panic  and  preparing 
the  soil  in  which  the  poisonous  seeds  of 
counter-revolution  may  come  into  full 
bloom.  Already  an  attack  is  being  or- 
ganized by  the  strong  bourgeoisie ;  al- 
ready the  jackals  and  hyenas  of  the  old 
regime  are  howling.    *    *    * 

We  turn  to  you,  our  representatives, 
with  a  passionate  appeal.  *  *  *  Sup- 
port the  revolutionary  authority ;  try  to 
secure  the  full  submission  of  working- 
men,  soldiers,  and  peasants  to  all  the 
decisions  of  democracy's  majority.  In- 
spire them ;  awaken  enthusiasm  in  them. 
Exert  your  entire  will,  your  entire  en- 
ergy. Rally  round  our  All-Russian  cen- 
tres  and   we   will   show   the   country   and 


RUSSIA  PASSES  THROUGH  DEEP  WATERS 


435 


the  world  that  the  nation  which  created 
the  greatest  revolution  in  the  world  can 
not  and  shall  not  perish. 

By  July  28  the  situation  had  become 
more  hopeful.  On  that  day  General  Nich- 
olas Ruszky,  formerly  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  northern  armies  of  Russia, 
and  General  Gurko,  ex-commander  on 
the  Russian  southwestern  front,  were 
summoned  to  Petrograd.  The  retire- 
ment of  General  Ruszky  from  command 
of  the  armies  of  the  north  and  of  Gen- 
eral Gurko  from  a  group  in  the  south 
had  involved  the  same  principle,  but  from 
different  points  of  view — interference 
with  the  Provisional  Government  by  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates. 

Pro-German  Agitators  Censured 
As  further  exidence  of  the  return  of 
reason  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates adopted  by  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority (300  to  11)  a  resolution  censur- 
ing Lenine  and  his  associate,  Zinovieff, 
and  demanding  that  the  Radical  leaders 
be  tried.  The  resolution  contains  the  fol- 
lowing recommendations : 

First— The  whole  revolutionary  democ- 
\  racy  desires  that  the  group  of  Maximalists 
accused  of  having  organized  disorders  or 
incited  revolts  or  of  having  received 
money  from  German  sources  should  be 
tried  publicly.  In  consequence,  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  considers  it  absolutely  in- 
admissible that  Lenine  and  Zinovieff 
should  escape  justice,  and  demands  that 
the  Maximalist  faction  immediately  and 
categorically  express  its  censure  of  the 
conduct  of  its  leaders. 

Second— In  view  of  the  exceptional  situ- 
ation, the  committees  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates  demand  from  all  their 
members  and  from  all  factions  of  which 
they  are  composed,  as  well  as  from  all 
members  of  local  councils,  the  putting  into 
absolute  practice  of  all  decisions  adopted 
by  the  majority  of  the  central  organiza- 
tions. 

It  was  disclosed  on  July  31  that  the 
crisis  in  Russia  earlier  in  the  month  had 
been  the  work  of  radicals  like  Lenine 
working  under  German  direction  and 
financed  by  Germans.  A  whole  day  before 
the  news  of  the  crisis  in  Petrograd 
reached  the  army  Lenine's  agents  were 
acquainted  with  it  through  traitors  in  the 
wireless  service.  They  spread  a  report 
among  the  troops  that  the  Maximalists 


were  in  control  of  the  Government  and 
that  the  war  was  at  an  end,  hence  the 
army  became  demoralized  and  the  Ger- 
man advance  was  practically  unopposed. 
On  Aug.  2  it  was  announced  that 
General  Alexis  A.  Brusiloff,  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  Russian  Armies,  had  re- 
signed. General  L.  G.  Korniloff,  Com- 
mander in  Chief  of  the  Russian  armies  on 
the  southwestern  front,  was  appointed 
Generalissimo.  General  Tcheremissoff, 
commander  of  the  Eighth  Army,  was  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  General  Korniloff  on 
the  southwestern  front. 

Cabinet  Reorganization 
The  Cabinet  was  disrupted  on  Aug.  3 
by  charges  made  against  M.  Tchernoff, 
the  Socialist  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
whose  resignation  was  demanded  by 
Kerensky  and  his  fellow-Ministers. 
Kerensky  then  undertook  the  difficult 
task  of  organizing  a  coalition  Cabinet, 
and  was  at  length  successful.  The  new 
Cabinet  was  announced  Aug.  7.  Only 
three  of  the  original  Ministers  survived: 
Kerensky,  who  was  originally  Minister  of 
Justice;  Terestchenko,  Minister  of  Fi- 
nance, and  Nekrasoff,  First  Minister  of 
Communications.  In  addition  these  four 
Ministers  were  included  from  the  first 
Kerensky  Cabinet  of  July  24:  Tchernoff 
resumed  his  portfolio  of  Agriculture; 
Pieschehonoff,  that  of  Supplies;  Yefrem- 
off,  that  of  Justice,  and  Skobeleff,  that 
of  Labor. 

Four  of  the  most  prominent  Parlia- 
mentary Socialists — Kerensky,  Skobeleff, 
Tchernoff,  and  Pieschehonoff — were  re- 
tained, while  extreme  radicals,  whether 
Socialists  or  not,  were  dropped.  Tseretelli, 
who  was  the  famous  obstructionist 
leader  of  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates,  in  the  Department  of 
Posts  and  Telegraphs,  gave  way  to  M. 
Nikitine,  a  Social  Democrat. 

A  feature  of  the  new  Cabinet  was  the 
appearance  of  representatives  of  the 
"  bourgeoisie "  class,  who  so  long  held 
aloof  and  who  appeared  as  Constitutional 
Democrats — M.  Oldenburg  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  M.  Astroff,  Mayor  of 
Moscow;  M.  Kartasheff,  who  succeeded 
Nicholas  Lvoff  as  Prosecutor  of  the  Holy 
Synod,  and  Golovine,  who  succeeded  God- 
neff  as  Controller  of  State. 


436 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


There  were  four  Parliamentary  Social- 
ists and  one  Social  Democrat  facing  four 
representatives  of  the  new  Constitutional 
Democracy,  which  also  had  the  support 
of  the  non-Socialists  who  came  over  from 
the  late  Cabinet — Terestchenko,  Nekras- 
off,  Yefremoff,  and  Prekopovitch — who 
swing  the  balance  of  power. 

Conditions  began  to  show  improvement 
from  this  time  forth.  On  Aug.  11  the 
Government  showed  confidence  by  an- 
nouncing that  commissions  would  be  ap- 
pointed in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment of  iron  discipline  in  the  army.  The 
Government  also  prohibited  the  further 
holding  of  all  meetings  or  congresses 
which  they  regard  as  dangerous  from  a 
military  viewpoint  or  as  menacing  the 
security  of  the  State. 

Colonel  Kolotkoffs  Report 

Causes  of  the  military  collapse  were 
set  forth  Aug.  10,  in  a  report  by  Colonel 
Kolotkoff  to  the  Council  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  who  placed  the 
responsibility  on  the  former  policemen, 
gendarmes,  and  spies  of  Emperor  Nich- 
olas  at   the   front. 

Until  the  end  of  June,  says  Colonel 
Kolotkoff,  the  army  on  the  west  front 
was  in  excellent  fighting  trim  technically, 
and  was  beyond  criticism  as  regards  sup- 
plies. There  was  an  admirable  plan  to 
advance,  which  would  probably  have  led 
to  the  reconquest  of  Vilna,  but  the  police, 
gendarmes,  and  spies  of  the  autocracy 
started  a  cownter-revolutionary  cam- 
paign, the  first  aim  of  which  was  the 
dissolution  of  the  army. 

Large  numbers  managed  to  get  elected 
to  company  committees,  and  started  a 
propaganda  against  war,  inciting  soldiers 
against  officers  and  the  Provisional 
Government's  commissaries.  Later  they 
distilled  vodka,  and  on  the  advance  dosed 
soldiers  therewith.  Criminal  convicts, 
who  were  sent  to  the  army  as  were 
deserters,  demoralized  the  soldiers  by 
their  example. 

The  Germans  took  advantage  of  these 
conditions  and  flooded  the  Russian 
trenches  with  spies  in  Russian  uniforms, 
finding  this  easy  because  many  Russian 
soldiers  at  the  front  do  not  carry  docu- 
ments of  identity.  Many  of  these  Ger- 
mans spoke  Russian  so  well  that  they  sat 


at  the  officers'  mess  without  exciting 
suspicion.  The  spies  organized  fraterni- 
zation. Soldiers  born  in  provinces  oc- 
cupied by  the  enemy  were  allowed  to 
visit  their  homes,  and  after  a1  short 
absence  returned  to  the  trenches  com- 
pletely Germanized  in  sentiment. 

The  result  was  that  as  the  attempt 
was  started  to  recover  Vilna  many 
soldiers  refused  to  participate  in  the 
attack.  How  good  was  Russia's  chance, 
says  Colonel  Kolotkoff,  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  weakened  Germans  often  ran 
away,  and  the  strange  spectacle  of  Rus- 
sians flying  from  fleeing  Germans  was 
sometimes  seen.  The  Germans  realized 
the  situation  first,  and  having  an  iron 
discipline  were  able  to  turn  the  Russian 
collapse  to  advantage. 

Return  of  the  Root  Mission 

The  Root  Mission  returned  from  Rus- 
sia early  in  August,  and  reported  to 
Washington  Aug.  12.  On  that  day,  at  a 
public  reception  given  by  the  citizens  of 
New  York,  Senator  Root,  head  of  the 
mission,  expressed  supreme  confidence 
in  the  stability  of  the  revolution.  He 
spoke  as  follows: 

The  extraordinary  ease  with  which  the 
Czar's  Government  was  removed  was  due 
not  merely  to  the  fact  that  it  was  an  au- 
tocracy, but  also  to  the  fact  that  it  did 
not  govern  efficiently ;  it  was  not  up  to 
the  job ;  it  had  allowed  Russia  to  drift 
into  a  position  where  there  was  vast  con- 
fusion and  they  were  on  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy,  and  the  Government  had  be- 
come, practically,  merely  a  Government 
of  suppression,  a  Government  of  nega- 
tives that  ceased  to  lead  the  people,  so 
that  the  Czar  and  the  bureaucracy  were 
slipped  off  as  easily  as  a  crab  sheds  its 
hard  shell  when  the  proper  time  comes. 

Now,  into  that  state  of  affairs  there 
came  intervention  by  that  malevolent 
power  which  is  intermeddling  with  the 
affairs  of  every  nation  upon  earth,  stir- 
ring up  discord,  stimulating,  feeding, 
financing  all  the  forces  of  evil— doing 
it  here  among  us  now — that  power  that 
finds  its  account  in  alliance  with  all  evil 
passions,  all  the  sordid  impulses  of  hu- 
manity in  every  nation  in  the  world,  en- 
tered into  Russia.  Thousands  of  agents 
poured  over  the  border  immediately  upon 
the  revolution. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  in  a  country 
with  no  Central  Government  that  had 
power  to  enforce  its  decrees,  in  a  country 
with  no  police,  a  country  in  which  the 
sanction    and    moral    obligation    of    the 


RUSSIA  PASSES  THROUGH  DEEP  WATERS 


437 


laws  had  disappeared  with  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  Czar,  there  reigned  order  to 
a  higher  degree  than  has  existed  in  the 
United  States  of  America  during  this 
period. 

Peoples  Wonderful  Stability) 
In  the  first  enthusiasm  for  freedom  in 
the  liberation  of  political  prisoners  a  great 
many  ordinary  criminal  prisoners  were 
also  released,  and  they  went  about  and 
committed  some  depredations,  which,  of 
course,  all  found  their  way  into  the  news- 
papers, but  even  with  that  the  general 
average  of  peace  and  order,  of  respect 
for  property  and  life  in  Russia  was  high- 
er than  could  reasonably  be  expected 
from  any  1S0,000,000  people  in  the  world 
1   under  any  Government. 

Now,  that  extraordinary  phenomenon 
called  for  a  study,  a  careful  study,  not 
merely  from  the  newspapers  or  from  talk- 
ing with  Government  officials,  but  by 
countless  serious  interviews  and  conversa- 
tions with  men  of  all  grades  and  stripes 
and  -callings  and  conditions  of  life,  and 
those  studies  satisfied  all  the  members  of 
this  mission  that  the  Russian  people  pos- 
sessed to  a  very  high  degree  qualities  that 
are  necessary  for  successful  self-govern- 
ment. They  have  self-control  equaled  in 
few  countries  of  the  world.  They  have 
persistency  of  purpose;  they  have  a  most 
kindly  and  ingrained  respect— not  only  re- 
spect, regard  for  the  rights  of  others. 
They  will  not  willingly  do  an  injustice  to 
any  one,  and  that  sense  of  justice  carries 
with  it  a  broad  character.  They  have  a 
noble  idealism  which  is  developed  and  ex- 
hibited in  the  minds  that  are  enlarged  by 
education,  and  they  have  a  strong  sense 
of  the  mission  of  liberty  in  the  world,  and 
they  have  an  extraordinary  capacity  for 
concerted  action. 

If  their  character  is  unequal  to  the  task, 
all  the  aid  of  all  the  great  countries  in 
the  world'  cannot  give  them  their  freedom. 
Freedom  must  find  its  foundation,  its  sure 
foundation,  within  the  people  themselves, 
and  we  think  the  Russians  have  that  sure 
foundation.    *    *    * 

No  one  can  tell  what  the  outcome  will 
be,  but  this  is  certain,  that  Russia,  tired 
of  the  war,  worn  and  harried  by  war; 
Russia,  which_  has  lost  7,000,000  of  her 
sons,  every  village  in  mourning,  every 
family  bereaved,  Russia  has  again  taken 
up  the  heavy  burden ;  she  has  restored 
the  discipline  of  her  army;  she  has  put 
away  the  bright  vision  of  peace  and  rest, 
and  returned  yet  again  to  the  sacrifice 
^  and  the  suffering  of  war  in  order  that 
she  might  continue  free. 

Former  Emperor  Nicholas  and  his 
family  were  removed  Aug.  15  from  the 
palace  at  Tsarskoe  Selo  to  Tobolsk,  Si- 


beria. The  official  announcement,  not 
issued  until  the  19th,  was  as  follows: 
Owing  to  reasons  of  State,  the  Govern- 
ment decided  to  transfer  to  a  new  resi- 
dence? the  ex-Emperor  and  ex-Empress, 
who  are  detained  under  guard.  The 
place  selected  was  Tobolsk,  where  they 
were  taken  after  requisite  measures  to  in- 
sure their  safety.  With  them  went  of 
their  own  free  will  their  children  and  cer- 
tain of  their  entourage. 

Former  Czar  an  Exile 
Nicholas  was  very  depressed  in  ap- 
pearance, but  the  former  Empress,  Al- 
exandra, who  was  seen  walking  for  the 
first  time  in  months,  seemed  pleased  at 
the  prospect  of  a  change  in  surround- 
ings. 

An  hour  after  the  train  arrived  Nich- 
olas appeared  on  the  steps  of  the  palace, 
dressed  in  a  Coloners  uniform,  with  a 
khaki  blouse  and  with  no  decorations. 
Without  lifting  his  eyes  from  the  ground 
he  entered  an  automobile,  accompanied 
by  Prince  Dolgoroukoff  and  Count 
Benckendorff,  former  Court  Marshal, 
who  thus  far  have  shared  the  captivity 
of  the  fallen  ruler.  They  were  followed 
by  the  former  Empress  Alexandra,  who 
was  accompanied  by  Countess  Narysh- 
ken,  her  close  friend  and  former  Lady  of 
the  Court;  all  the  four  Grand  Duchesses, 
with  their  maids  of  honor,  and  finally 
by  Alexis,  the  former  heir  to  the  throne, 
at  whose  side  was  the  gigantic  sailor, 
"  Derevenko,"  the  protector  of  Alexis 
since  his  birth,  and  his  constant  compan- 
ion and  playmate. 

Tobolsk  is  a  remote  town  of  20,000  in- 
habitants in  Western  Siberia,  far  from 
the  railroad,  and  visited  only  by  steam- 
ers which  ply  the  Irtish  River.  In  former 
times  it  was  an  administrative  centre  for 
exiles  banished  to  Siberia  by  the  Russian 
rulers.  The  climate  is  extremely  severe 
in  Winter.  Tobolsk  recently  achieved  a 
dubious  publicity  in  revolutionary  Rus- 
sia as  the  birthplace  of  Gregory  Ras- 
putin, the  mystic  monk,  who  wielded  a 
remarkable  influence  over  the  ex-Emper- 
or^ family  up  to  the  time  of  the  priest's 
assassination  in  Petrograd  last  Decem- 
ber. 

The  Finnish  Diet,  under  the  influence 
of  Swedish  members,  on  July  19  adopted 
a  bill  refusing  longer  to  recognize  any 
rights  of  Russia  in  Finnish  affairs.    The 


438 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


Provisional  Government  of  Russia  on  July 
25  refused  to  acknowledge  the  validity  of 
this  measure.  On  Aug.  4  the  Finnish 
Senate  by  a  vote  of  7  to  6  adopted  a 
resolution  declaring  the  action  in  pro- 
claiming independence  a  mistake,  and 
asserting  that  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment was  the  legitimate  organ  of  control. 
This  action,  however,  was  not  approved 
by  the  Deputies  of  the  Landtag,  and  seri- 
ous disorders  arose,  resulting  in  clashes 
between  the  Russian  authorities  and  the 
independents,  in  which  a  number  of  Finns 
were  killed  and  wounded. 


The  Ukraine  National  Assembly,  which 
has  declared  for  autonomy,  includes  in 
the  request  the  following  States  to  be 
incorporated  into  the  new  Government: 
Kiev,  Poltava,  Podolia,  Volhyjiia,  Tcher- 
nikov,  Khargov,  Ekaterinaslav,  Kherson, 
Taurida,  and  Bessarabia. 

The  Russian  Goy^rnment  is  disposed 
to  grant  autonomy  to  all  these  dis- 
tricts except  Bessarabia,  where  the 
Ukraine  population  is  only  19  per 
cent.,  and  a  plebiscite  will  be  held 
in  that  territory  to  determine  the  will 
of  the  majority. 


Paris  Conference  on  Balkan  Affairs 


A  CONFERENCE  of  allied  diplomats 
and  military  leaders  held  at  Paris 
to  examine  into  the  situation  in 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  adjourned  its  last 
sitting  on  July  26,  1917.  Before  separ- 
ating, the  members  unanimously  passed 
the  following  resolution : 

The  allied  powers,  more  closely  allied 
and  more  closely  united  than  ever  before 
in  defense  of  the  rights  of  nations,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  are 
determined  only  to  lay  down  arms  when 
they  have  reached  the  goal  which  in 
their  eyes  is  more  important  than  all 
others,  that  is,  to  render  impossible  any 
return  in  the  future  of  acts  of  criminal 
aggression  such  as  those  for  which  the 
autocracy  of  the  Central  Empires  has 
been  responsible. 

The  conference  reached  an  agreement 
concerning  the  Greek  territories  at  pres- 
ent in  military  occupation.  Great  Brit- 
ain, France,  and  Italy  agreed  to  cease 
simultaneously,  as  soon  as  possible,  the 


military  occupation  they  were  obliged  to 
undertake  of  territory  in  Old  Greece, 
Thessaly,  and  Epirus.  The  occupation 
of  the  triangle  formed  by  the  Santi 
Quaranta  road,  the  frontier,  and  Epirus 
will  be  continued  provisionally,  in  view 
of  the  maintenance  of  order,  pending  an 
arrangement  between  Italy  and  Greece 
regarding  the  re-establishment  of  civil 
administration  under  the  authority  of  a 
Greek  Commissioner. 

Great  Britain,  France,  and  Italy  will 
retain  for  the  period  of  the  war  the 
naval  arid  military  base  at  Corfu,  which 
will  remain  under  Greek  sovereignty. 

Representatives  of  all  the  allied  coun- 
tries had  been  invited  to  this  conference. 
The  decisions  adopted  were  unanimously 
confirmed,  and  a  conference  of  the  Min- 
isters of  Departments  concerned  met 
shortly  afterward  in  London  to  arrange 
measures  for  their  execution. 


The  Socialists  in  the  War 


Their  Pacifist   Activities 


DURING  the  last  month  the  Social- 
ists of  various  countries  have 
caused  a  great  deal  of  discussion 
on  account  of  their  attempt  to 
hold  an  international  conference  at  which 
terms  of  peace  were  to  be  formulated. 
As  the  Socialists  include  active  pacifist 
elements  in  all  countries  and  have  be- 
come a  focus  of  whatever  strength  there 
is  in  any  general  movement  for  peace, 
it  is  important  to  review  their  activities 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  to 
grasp  their  point  of  view.  Although  the 
action  of  the  British,  French,  Italian, 
and  American  Governments  in  refusing 
passports  to  delegates  has  virtually- 
broken  up  the  proposed  Stockholm  Con- 
ference, certain  elements  of  socialism 
continue  their  agitation  for  such  a  con- 
ference, and  are  profiting  by  whatever 
discontent  and  weariness  the  war  is 
producing. 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  at  the 
beginning  of  August,  1914,  the  European 
Socialists  had  organized  a  revived  "  In- 
ternational," which  borrowed  the  name 
and  principles  of  an  organization  several 
decades  earlier,  and  the  purpose  of  which 
was  to  make  war  impossible  by  organiz- 
ing general  strikes  in  the  different  coun- 
tries of  Europe.  It  is  of  historic  in- 
terest that  this  scheme  of  universal 
strikes  was  largely  developed  by  Aristide 
Briand,  France's  great  war  Premier,  in 
his  earlier  Socialist  days. 

When  the  war  began  the  Parliamen- 
tary strength  of  the  Socialists  in  Europe 
was  as  follows:  In  the  German  Reichs- 
tag there  were  about  100  Socialist  mem- 
bers, of  a  total  of  397;  but  the  Socialists 
represented  4,250,399  votes  out  of  12,- 
260,731  who  actually  voted;  that  is,  con- 
siderably more  than  one-third,  while 
they  had  only  about  a  fourth  of  the 
Reichstag  membership.  But  as  under 
the  German  Constitution  the  Reichstag 
has  no  voice  in  the  question  of  war  or 
peace,  these  Socialist  members  had  no 
opportunity  at  all  to  declare  themselves 


on  the  question  of  the  invasion  of  Bel- 
gium and  France. 

In  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  of 
a  total  of  602  members  there  were,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  102  organized 
Socialists  and  30  independent  Socialists. 
In  the  Russian  Duma,  elected  in  1912, 
with  a  total  of  383  members,  there  were 
12  Social  Democrats  and  11  Labor  mem- 
bers, but  the  Socialist  Party  was  strong 
in  the  manufacturing  centres.  In  the 
Italian  Chamber  of  Deputies,  elected  in 
1913,  with  508  members,  there  were  80 
Socialists.  There  were  also  a  few  So- 
cialists in  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons. 

When  German  armies  invaded  France 
the  Socialist  members  of  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies  frankly  deserted 
the  International  and  supported  the  Min- 
istry, of  which  M.  Rene  Viviani,  who 
afterward  visited  the  United  States, 
was  then  the  head.  Socialist  Ministers 
like  M.  Albert  Thomas,  Minister  of  Mu- 
nitions, were  among  the  ablest  members 
of  the  successive  French  War  Ministries 
under  Viviani,  Briand,  and  Ribot. 

Views  of  Various  Leaders 

In  Germany  Dr.  Karl  Liebknecht,  at 
one  time  leader  of  the  powerful  Socialist 
Party,  was  the  only  member  of  the  So- 
cialist faction  to  vote  against  the  war 
credits  demanded  by  the  Imperial  Chan- 
cellor, Dr.  Bethmann  Hollweg.  In  the 
Tagwacht,  published  at  Berne,  in  Ger- 
man Switzerland,  Dr.  Liebknecht  wrote: 
"  It  is  painful  to  write  at  a  time  when 
"  the  radiant  hope  of  former  days,  the 
"  Social  International,  lies  smashed  amid 
"  its  thousand  expectations ;  when  even 
"  many  Socialists  of  the  belligerent  coun- 
"  tries  of  this  most  rapacious  war  will- 
"  ingly  put  on  the  yoke  of  imperialism." 
Dr.  Liebknecht  was  severely  rebuked  by 
the  German  Socialist  Party  for  violating 
the  policies  of  their  Reichstag  caucus.  He 
aroused  the  enmity  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment by  declaring  that  "  this  war  was 


440 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


begun  by  a  lie  and  is  carried  on  by  lies"; 
and  he  was  finally  prosecuted,  con- 
demned, and  sentenced  to  a  long  prison 
term  on  a  charge  of  treason. 

The  Russian  Socialist  organ,  Sovre- 
menny  Mir  (the "Contemporary  World,) 
declared  that  "  the  present  war  is  caused 
"by  the  vital  interests  of  capitalist  na- 
"tions;  it  is  the  inevitable  way  of  solv- 
"  ing  international  conflicts  in  a  bour- 
"  geois  society.  Russia's  participation 
"  in  this  war  is  necessitated  by  the  vital 
"  interests  of  the  country,  the  impera- 
"  tive  demands  of  its  capitalistic  develop- 
"ment,  and  its  social  economic  prog- 
"  ress." 

An  International  Congress  of  Social- 
ists was  planned  to  meet  at  The  Hague, 
Holland,  in  July,  1915;  but  M.  Vander- 
velde,  the  Belgian  Socialist  leader,  re- 
fused pointblank  to  take  part  in  it,  as 
this  would  have  involved  meeting  Ger- 
man Socialists.  The  French  Socialists 
also  refused  to  attend. 

On  July  27,  1916,  the  National  Com- 
mittee of  the  American  Socialist  Party 
began  the  preparation  of  a  party  plat- 
form, to  be  adopted  by  a  mail  referen- 
dum vote,  and  containing  the  following 
among  other  planks: 

That  all  laws  for  the  increase  of  the 
army  and  navy  be  repealed. 

That  power  be  taken  from  the  President 
to  lead  the  nation  into  war  *  *  *  that 
no  war  be  declared  or  waged  without  a 
referendum  vote  of  the  people,  except 
for  the  purpose  of  repelling  invasion. 

That  the  Monroe  Doctrine  be  aban- 
doned. 

On  July  31,  1916,  an  International  So- 
cialist Conference  of  six  neutral  nations 
— the  United  States,  Spain,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  Argentina,  Holland — was  held, 
at  which  the  Dutch  Socialist  leader, 
Pieter  Jelles  Troelstra,  presided.  Reso- 
lutions were  passed  demanding  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  independence  of 
Belgium  and  Poland  and  a  democratic 
federal  union  of  the  Balkan  States;  an 
economic  war  after  the  war  was  con- 
demned, and  protests  were  recorded 
against  the  sentences  of  Dr.  Liebknecht 
and  others. 

On  Aug.  7,  1916,  the  National  Council 
of  French  Socialists,  assembled  at  Paris, 
voted  by  1,824  to  1,075  votes  to  sever 


international  relations  with  the  German 
Socialists.  " 

Socialist  Split  in   Germany 

On  Jan.  13,  1916,  the  German  Social- 
ist caucus  censured  Dr.  Liebknecht  for 
his  opposition  to  the  war  policy  of  the 
Imperial  German  Government.  On  March 
24,  1916,  eighteen  of  the  Socialist  mem- 
bers of  the  Reichstag  broke  away  from 
their  comrades  and  founded  an  indepen- 
dent Socialist  group,  with  the  title  of  the 
Social  Democratic  Labor  Union.  Under 
the  leadership  of  Philip  Scheidemann, 
eighty-nine  Socialist  members  of  the 
Reichstag  continued  to  support  the  Im- 
perial war  policy  and  to  vote  war  credits. 

On  Oct.  11,  1916,  speaking  in  the 
Reichstag,  Scheidemann  said :  "  We  de- 
"  clare  openly  and  clearly  that  the  na- 
"  tion  wants  peace.  *  *  * "  Hugo 
Haase,  leader  of  the  dissenting  minority 
of  eighteen  Socialists,  said :  "  Millions 
"  are  looking  to  the  Reichstag  for  a 
"  glimmer  of  peace.  *  *  *  Our  dream 
"  of  domination  in  this  war  will  never 
"  be  realized.  An  agreement  must  be 
"  sought  without  hesitation  in  order  to 
"  save  the  people  from  the  worst.  *  *   *  " 

These  speeches  were  followed  by  Chan- 
cellor Bethmann  Hollweg's  "  peace  ges- 
tures "  on  Nov.  9  and  Nov.  30,  1916. 

On  March  1,  1917,  the  British  Social- 
ists, refusing  an  invitation  to  a  Social- 
ist conference,  voted  that  "  the  weakness 
"  of  the  German  Social  Democratic  Party, 
"  whose  leaders,  despite  pledges  made  in 
"  Paris  and  Brussels,  vigorously  support- 
"  ed  the  Junker  and  capitalist  army  of 
"  aggressive  militarism,  destroyed  at  a 
"  blow"  all  the  mutual  international  con- 
"  fidence  between  the  Socialists  of  all 
"  nations." 

The  Russian  Revolution 

On  March  15,  1917,  Nicholas  II.  signed 
an  act  of  abdication  for  himself  and  his 
son,  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  and  named 
his  brother  Michael  as  his  successor.  The 
Grand  Duke  Michael  refused  to  accept 
this  nomination  until  it  should  be  evident 
that  such  was  the  will  of  the  Russian 
people. 

A  Provisional  Government,  under  the 
Presidency  of  Prince  George  E.  Lvoff, 
was  then  formed    of  leaders  of  the  Lib- 


THE  SOCIALISTS  IN  THE  WAR 


441 


eral  and  Socialist  Parties  in  the  Duma, 
Paul  Milukoff ,  Michael  Rodzianko,  Alex-* 
ander  Gutchkoff  and  Alexander  Kerensky 
being  the  most  prominent. 

The  Provisional  Government,  however, 
found  itself  opposed  at  every  step  by 
the  Socialist  Council  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates,  with  Nicholas  Tsch- 
eidze,  a  native  of  Georgia  in  the  Cau- 
casus, at  its  head.  This  council  claimed 
to  represent  revolutionary  Russia  and, 
as  such,  to  dictate  all  policies  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government.  It  issued  two  or- 
ders to  the  army,  calling  on  each  unit 
(company,  battalion,  regiment,  brigade, 
division  and  corps)  to  form  a  deliberative 
council  to  decide  all  questions  and  to 
answer  for  the  discipline  of  that  unit. 
Army  units  were  also  invited  to  elect 
their  own  officers,  but  it  was  later  said 
that  this  should  apply  only  to  the  regi- 
ments in  Petrograd  and  Moscow  that  had 
helped  to  bring  about  the  revolution. 
Gutchkoff,  the  Minister  of  War,  accepted 
the  measure  thus  dictated  by  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates, 
embodied  it  in  a  Ministerial  order  and 
distributed  it  to  all  sections  of  the  Rus- 
sian Army. 

This  order  at  once  destroyed  the  au- 
thority of  the  officers  and  dislocated  the 
discipline  of  the  Russian  armies.  It 
caused  an  immediate  and  forceful  pro- 
test from  the  highest  and  best-known 
Generals,  with  General  Brusiloff  at  their 
head,  with  the  result  that  Gutchkoff  was 
forced  to  resign,  Alexander  Kerensky 
taking  his  place  as  War  Minister  and 
declaring  that  he  intended  to  introduce 
iron  discipline  once  more  into  the  army. 

The  continual  pressure  of  the  Social- 
ist Council  of  "Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates,  with  violent  demonstrations 
organized  by  Socialists  in  the  streets  of 
Petrograd,  made  the  work  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  almost  impossible, 
with  the  result  that  first  Paul  Milukoff, 
and  later  Prince  Lvoff,  Rodzianko,  and 
all  the  Duma  leaders  were  forced  out  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  which  be- 
came almost  completely   Socialistic. 

Immediately  after  the  revolution  the 
Provisional  Government  issued  orders 
liberating  all  political  exiles  in  Siberia 
and  inviting  all  those  who  had  left  Rus- 
sia for  political  reasons  under  the  im- 


perial rule  to  return.  Bands  of  exiles  at 
once  began  to  stream  toward  Petrograd 
from  Siberia,  from  the  United  States, 
and  from  Switzerland.  The  Imperial 
German  Government  did  everything  to 
facilitate  the  return  of  certain  of  these 
Russian  exiles  who  had  been  living  at 
Berne  and  elsewhere  in  German  Swit- 
zerland, providing  them  with  passports, 
and  expediting  their  passage  through 
Germany,  although  they  were  citizens  of 
a  country  then  at  war  with  Germany. 
Two  conspicuous  members  of  this  Ger- 
man-Swiss group  were  Nikolai  Lenin  and 
Chernoff,  later  a  member  of  the  Minis- 
try. 

The  arrival  of  certain  of  these  Russian 
Socialists,  whose  return  had  thus  been 
facilitated  by  Germany,  was  the  signal 
for  violent  disturbances  and  anarchistic 
outbreaks  at  Petrograd  and  elsewhere. 
The  garrison  of  Schluesselburg,  and  later 
the  garrison  of  the  great  naval  base  at 
Eronstadt,  in  the  Neva  River  below  Pe- 
trograd, declared  themselves  indpendent 
republics  and  refused,  for  some  time,  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  Provis- 
ional Government. 

Nikolai  Lenin  organized  demonstra- 
tions of  armed  anarchists  and  Socialists 
in  the  streets  of  Petrograd,  denounced 
the  Provisional  Government,  threatened, 
and  even  attempted,  to  kidnap  members 
of  the  Ministry,  and  did  everything  that 
was  possible  to  bring  Russia  to  ruin 
and  confusion. 

When  he  was  at  the  height  of  his 
power,  he  delivered  before  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  a 
violent  address,  urging  Russia  to  con- 
clude a  separate  peace  with  Germany, 
"  without  annexation  or  indemnity." 
This  was  on  June  22.  When  this  ha- 
rangue was  concluded,  M.  Veirensky — ac- 
cording to  a  special  cable  from  Ambas- 
sador Francis,  representative  of  the 
United  States  at  Petrograd — announced 
that  he  would  repeat  Lenin's  speech,  and 
proceeded  to  read  a  document  almost 
identical  with  it.  When  M.  Veirensky 
had  concluded,  he  announced  that  he  had 
been  reading  an  intercepted  radiogram 
from  Germany,  signed  by  Prince  Leopold 
of  Bavaria,  German  commander  on  the 
Russian  front.     A  few  days  later  Gen- 


4H 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


eral  Brusiloff  announced,  through  an  of- 
ficer of  his  staff,  that  he  had  conclusive 
evidence  that  Lenin  was  the  agent  in 
Russia  of  the  German  General  Staff. 
Other  members  of  the  Socialist  group 
who  returned  through  Germany  were  im- 
plicated; it  was  announced  that  one  of 
them  had  to  his  credit  a  sum  of  2,000,- 
000  rubles,  to  be  used  as  a  German  cor- 
ruption fund.  It  was  further  said  that 
large  sums  of  gold  had  been  withdrawn 
from  the  German  Reichsbank,  to  be  used 
for  corruption  work  in  Russia.  There 
were  further  anarchist  and  Socialist  ex- 
tremist plots  in  Petrograd,  leading  to 
street  fighting,  during  which  Lenin  dis- 
appeared, fleeing,  it  was  said,  to  Fin- 
land and  thence,  through  Sweden,  back 
to  Germany. 

Disastrous  Military  Results 

On  July  1  the  Russian  Army  began  an 
offensive  in  Galicia,  under  the  personal 
leadership  of  General  Korniloff.  At  first 
he  carried  everything  before  him,  captur- 
ing Halicz  and  sweeping  forward  close 
to  Dolina  in  the  Carpathian  foothills. 
Then,  under  very  slight  Austro-German 
pressure,  the  Russian  armies  imme- 
diately to  the  north  and  south  of  Kor- 
niloff's  army  broke  and  ran.  This  ac- 
tion, which  was  directly  traced  to  the 
orders  subversive  of  discipline,  emanat- 
ing from  the  Socialist  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  began  a 
disastrous  retreat  which,  by  the  first 
week  in  August,  had  practically  lost  the 
whole  of  Galicia,  threatened  Moldavia, 
and  gravely  menaced  Russian  Bessarabia 
and  even  the  great  seaport  of  Odessa. 

The  Socialist  Council  had  already 
driven  every  conspicuous  member  of  the 
Duma  Provisional  Government  to  resign. 
It  had  further  undertaken  to  bring  pres- 
sure on  all  the  Entente  Powers  to  revise 
their  war  aims  in  conformity  with  the 
Socialist  formula,  "  peace  without  an- 
nexation or  indemnity,"  which  had  been 
indorsed  by  the  German  commander, 
Prince  Leopold  of  Bavaria,  and  which 
had  been  cordially  indorsed  by  Field 
Marshal  Hindenburg  in  another  radio- 
gram to  the  Petrograd  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates.* 
■  \ 

*  See  The  New  York  Times,  June  8,  1917. 


The  Stockholm  Conference 
The  German  majority  Socialists  in  the 
Reichstag,  89  in  number,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Philip  Scheidemann,  had,  as 
*we  saw,  accepted  the  imperial  war  pro- 
gram of  the  Chancellor,  which  was  at- 
tacked by  the  minority  group  under  the 
leadership  of  Hugo  Haase.  Shortly 
after  the  split,  which  took  place  nine 
days  after  the  abdication  of  Nicholas  II., 
it  was  openly  said  that  Scheidemann  was 
cordially  co-operating  with  the  Chancel- 
lor in  his  effort  to  bring  about  the  peace 
which  was  desired  by  Germany,  the  peace 
supported  by  the  Chancellor  in  his 
Reichstag  speeches  of  Nov.  9  and  Nov. 
30,  1916. 

A  plan  for  an  International  Confer- 
ence of  Socialists,  to  meet  at  Stockholm, 
to  discuss  the  basis  of  peace,  came  to  the 
front  in  the  following  months,  and  was 
warmly  accepted  by  the  Petrograd  So- 
cialist Council  of  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Delegates.  The  proposed  Stock- 
holm Conference  at  once  became  an  in- 
ternational storm  centre.  On  the  one 
hand,  it  was  said  by  Socialists  that  to 
refuse  to  take  part  in  this  conference 
would  be  to  offend  the  Socialist  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  at 
Petrograd  and,  perhaps,  might  drive  the 
Council  and  the  new  Russia  into  the 
arms  of  Germany.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  said  that  this  conference,  at  which 
the  German  Government  would  be  rep- 
resented by  Philip  Scheidemann,  was 
nothing  but  a  German  stratagem  to 
bring  about  "  a  German  peace." 

The  Stockholm  Conference  was  several 
times  postponed.  English  Socialists  and 
Labor  groups  elected  delegates,  but  the 
British  Seamen's  Union  absolutely  re- 
fused to  navigate  any  ship  that  carried 
them,  so  that  they  were  unable  to  sail. 

Opinion  in  France  was  divided.  There 
was  a  decided  unwillingness  to  meet  Ger- 
man Socialists  at  Stockholm;  but  there 
was  an  almost  equal  reluctance  to  allow 
the  Russian  Socialists  to  meet  their  Ger- 
man "  comrades "  with  no  Entente  So- 
cialists present  to  counsel  and  safeguard 
them. 

The  State  Department  of  the  United 
States  more  than  once  refused  to  issue 


THE  SOCIALISTS  IN  THE  WAR 


443 


passports  to  delegates  chosen  by  the  So- 
cialist Party  of  the  United  States. 

American  Socialist  Party 
Meeting  at  St.  Louis  on  April  14,  dele- 
gates of  the  Socialist  Party  of  the  United 
States  addressed  this  open  letter  to  "  the 
Socialists  of  the  Belligerent  Countries": 
Comrades :     Now  that  the  people  of  the 
United   States  have   been   forced   by   their 
ruling  class  into  this  world  cataclysm,  as 
you    have    been    heretofore   by    your    own 
rulers,    we,    the    Socialists    of    the    United 
States,   feel  it  our  right  and  duty  to  ad- 
dress you   on  this  most  momentous  sub- 
ject. 

We  wish  to  say  at  the  outset  that  the 
workers  of  this  country  have  no  enmity 
toward  the  workers  of  Germany,  and  that 
we,  the  Socialists  of  the  United  States, 
feel  that  the  great  affliction  now  shared 
in  common  by  the  workers  of  the  United 
States  and  Germany  should,  and  we  hope 
that  it  will,  strengthen  that  consciousness 
of  a  common  brotherhood  between  them 
which  will  ultimately  bring  about  peace 
between  these  two  countries,  and  a  gen- 
eral world  peace  with  it. 

"We  also  wish  to  convey  to  you  our  firm 
determination,  and  we  pledge  ourselves 
to  do  our  duty  and  make  the  sacrifice 
which  may  be  necessary,  to  force  our 
masters  to  conclude  a  speedy  peace,  and 
we  hope  and  expect  that,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  policies  which  some  of  you 
may  have  followed  in  the  past,  you  will 
henceforth  adopt  rigorous  measures  to 
force  your  masters  to  the  same  course  of 
action. 

We  therefore  call  upon  you  to  join 
hands  with  us  so  that  all  of  us  may  use 
all  the  means  at  our  disposal  in  a  com- 
mon effort  to  bring  about  a  general  peace 
which  will  be  just  and  lasting,  without  in- 
demnities, and  without  any  forcible  an- 
nexations of  territory  by  any  of  the  bel- 
ligerents, whether  avowed  or  sought  to  be 
hidden  by  some  less  offensive  term  that 
may  be  invented  for  the  purpose ;  so  that 
no  nation  may  be  deprived  of  any  part  of 
its  liberty  or  made  in  any  way  dependent, 
politically  or  economically,  upon  any  other 
nation ;  and  that  no  change  of  territory 
shall  take  place  without  the  consent  of  its 
inhabitants,  freely  and  unmistakably  ex- 
pressed. 

Down  with  war !  Down  with  misery  and 
hunger  and  mass  murder,  must  be  the  war 
cry  of  the  proletariat.  Long  live  peace ! 
Long  live  the  brotherhood  of  nations  and 
the  solidarity  of  the  proletariat ! 

British  Labor  and  Stockholm 

On  Aug.  11  a  conference  of  the  British 
Labor  Party  was  held  at  Westminster,  to 
vote  on  the  question  of  sending  delegates 


to  the  postponed  Socialist  Conference  at 
Stockholm. 

James  Ramsay  Macdonald,  Socialist 
Member  of  Parliament,  made  a  vigorous 
plea  to  the  delegates  to  "  bury  the  past, 
"  go  to  Stockholm,  lay  your  case  before 
"  the  conference,  hear  the  other  side  dis- 
"  cuss  matters  generally,  and  return  with 
"  the  basis  of  peace  in  your  pockets." 

Arthur  Henderson,  Minister  without 
portfolio,  urged  the  sending  of  delegates 
to  Stockholm  for  consultation,  but  not  to 
discuss  peace  terms. 

G.  N.  Barnes,  Minister  of  Pensions, 
spoke  against  attending  a  conference  at 
which  delegates  from  enemy  countries 
would  be  present,  saying  that  the  United 
States,  Belgium,  France,  and  Italy  were 
not  sending  delegates.  George  Henry 
Roberts,  Labor  Member  of  Parliament, 
made  a  strong  fighting  speech  against 
delegates  going  to  Stockholm.  When  a 
vote  was  taken,  it  was  found  that  votes 
representing  1,046,005  members  had  been 
cast  in  favor  of  sending  delegates  to 
Stockholm,  to  a  consultative  conference, 
with  550,000  votes  against  this. 

On  Aug.  11  it  was  also  announced  that 
Alexander  Kerensky,  Premier  of  Russia, 
had  declared  that  the  sending  of  Russian 
delegates  to  the  Stockholm  Conference 
was  against  the  best  interests  of  Russia. 
Arthur  Henderson  was  strongly  criticised 
for  concealing  this  fact  from  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Labor  Conference,  which  had 
voted  to  send  delegates  to  Stockholm 
largely  because  this  was  believed  to  be 
the  desire  of  Russia.  Arthur  Hender- 
son's resignation  from  the  British  War 
Cabinet  was  demanded. 

On  Aug.  13  Andrew  Bonar  Law,  the 
Government  spokesman  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  announced  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  decided  not  to  grant  permission 
to  the  British  delegates  to  go  to  the 
Stockholm  Conference.  He  added  that 
the  same  decision  had  been  made  by  the 
United  States,  France,  and  Italy. 

American  Federation  of  Labor 

Samuel  Gompers,  President  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  on  Aug. 
3  cabled  as  follows  to  W.  A.  Appleton, 
Secretary  of  the  General  Federation  of 
Trade  Unions,  and  M.  Jouhaux,  Secretary 
of   the    French   Federation    Generale    du 


444 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Travail,  in  answer  to  their  inquiry  as  to 
whether  American  labor  intended  to  be 
represented  at  the  Stockholm  Confer- 
ence: 

Jouhaux  having  asked  my  opinion  upon 
a  conference  of  labor  representatives  of  all 
countries,  I  am  replying  as  follows : 

In  responding  to  your  request  for  my 
opinion  of  an  invitation  to  a  conference 
of  labor  organizations  of  all  countries, 
without  hesitation  I  answer  that  such  a 
conference  cannot  at  this  time  or  in  the 
near  future  be  productive  of  good,  and  as 
far  as  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
is  concerned  it  will  not  send  representa- 
tives. New  and  more  favorable  results 
must  develop  before  a  conference  of  labor 
of  all  countries  can  advantageously  be 
held. 

Mr.  Gompers  on  Aug.  13  attacked  the 
Workmen's  Council,  a  branch  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Council  of  America,  which  declared 
it  represented  American  labor  in  an  ef- 
fort to  foster  a  peace  movement.  He 
wrote : 

It  has  been  the  constant  claim  of  the 
People's  Council  that  it  represented  labor. 
Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  some  few  local 
unions  affiliated  with  the  People's  Coun- 
cil, but  when  it  is  considered  that  there 
are  about  15,000  local  unions  in  America 
it  will  be  seen  that  even  a  half  hundred 
that  may  be  affiliated  with  the  People's 
Council  is  an  insignificant  number. 

The  American  labor  movement  as  a  body 
is  loyal  .to  America  and  steadfast  in  its 
determination  to  help  secure  victory  for 
this  country  and  the  cause  of  democracy. 
In  pursuing  this  course  it  must  be  recog- 
nized that  it  is  necessary  for  the  labor 
movement  to  take  steps  from  time  to  time 
to  preserve  working  standards.  This,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  is  necessary  to  the  most 
effective  conduct  of  the  war.  It  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  those  anti- American,  pro- 
Kaiserist  activities  of  which  the  People's 
Council  is  the  promoter,  and  is,  in  fact, 
exactly  in  opposition  to  them. 

It  is  our  purpose  to  try,  by  educational 
methods,  to  bring  about  a  more  American 
spirit  in  the  labor  movement,  so  that  what 
is  now  the  clear  expression  of  the  vast 
majority  m*y  become  the  conviction  of  all. 
"Where  we  find  ignorance,  we  shall  edu- 
cate; where  we  find  something  worse,  we 
shall  have  to  deal  as  the  situation  de- 
mands. But  we  are  going  to  leave  no 
stone  unturned  to  put  a  stop  to  anti- 
American  activities  among  workers. 
•  The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is 
the  organized  labor  movement  of  America. 
There  is  no  other.  Its  position  is  clear. 
It  is  loyal.  It  was  so  expressed  in  the 
manifesto  issued  at  the  Washington  Con- 
ference of  March  12,  and  there  has  been 
no   change   since.      No   other  organization 


can  express  the  wishes  of  the  American 
labor  movement,  and  the  pretenses  of  the 
so-called  People's  Council  in  that  direc- 
tion are  nothing  short  of  ridiculous. 

The  People's  Council  is  an  organization 
that  is  for  the  most  part  evidently  alien 
in  membership — so  far  as  it  has  member- 
ship— led  by  men  who  have  never  been 
known  as  labor  men,  though  some  of  them 
have  made  frantic  claims  to  having  been 
labor  men  for  various  reasons.  Money 
evidently  is  plentiful,  and  the  work  of  un- 
doing America  proceeds  merrily.  Amer- 
ican labor  must  denounce  any  such  move- 
ment, and  any  such  foreign  propaganda. 
I  suggest  that  the  methods  of  the  or- 
ganization are  entirely  German  in  char- 
acter and  that  undoubtedly  the  Kaiser  is 
greatly  cheered  by  the  reports  he  gets  of 
the  People's  Council  activities.  We  shall 
do  our  best  to  put  an  end  to  operations  of 
that  kind. 

The  French   Socialists 

The  French  Socialist  Party  decided  on 
Aug.  12  to  send  delegates  to  Stockholm. 
Two   days   later  it  was   announced  that 
the  French  Government  would  refuse  to 
issue  passports  to  such  delegates.     The 
official  declaration  of  the  party,  in  an- 
nouncing its  action,  was  as  follows: 
The    (Socialist)    party    does    not    go    to 
Stockholm   in   search  of  a  peace   of   com- 
promise which  would  leave  the  fate  of  the 
peoples  in  suspense   and  at  the   mercy  of 
fresh   wars.     It   goes   to    declare   that   re- 
spect  for    the   peoples'    right,    respect   for 
treaties,    and    an    engagement    henceforth 
to   submit   every   possible    conflict    to    the 
justice  of  nations,  can  alone  constitute  an 
acceptable  peace. 

It  goes  to  ask  Socialists — all  Socialists — 
whether  they  condemn  the  Governments 
responsible  for  violations  committed  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  and  if,  after  pro- 
nouncing such  condemnations,  the  Social- 
ists— all  Socialists — will  take  action 
against  the  Governments  in  order  to 
shorten  the  war  by  saving  the  honor  and 
lives  of  the  people. 

It  goes  to  demand  that  the  Governments 
which  still  refuse  should  be  obliged  by 
Socialist  action  to  make  known  their  war 
aims  and  whether  they  are  prepared  to 
make  reparations  in  accordance  with  the 
rights  of  the  peoples,  and  to  declare  pub- 
licly if  they  still  intend  using  the  war  map 
as  a  means  of  reaching  peace. 

It  goes  to  demand  whether  the  Socialists 
Who  persist  in  giving  moral  and  material 
aid  to  the  guilty  Governments  can  still  re- 
main members  of  the  Internationale,  and 
whether  the  Internationale  will  not  recog- 
nize as  its  own  only  those  who,  by  de- 
nouncing those  responsible,  show  thereby 
that  they  are  resolute  to  accomplish  acts 
which  will  give  life  to  the  Internationale, 


THE  SOCIALISTS  IN  THE  WAR 


445 


while  at  the  same  time  they  will  conduct 
the   peoples   toward   a   beneficent  peace. 

The  Stockholm  Conference,  which  had 
been  called  for  Aug.  15,  could  no  longer 


claim  international  representation  when 
the  leading  Entente  Governments  refused 
passports  to  the  delegates,  and  thence- 
forth ceased  to  occupy  public  attention. 


Peace  Program  of  Belgian  Socialists 

M.  Vandervelde's  Manifesto 

The  attempts  of  the  International  Socialists  to  hold  a  peace  convention  at  Stockholm  in 
the  early  Summer  of  1917  proved  abortive,  though  the  movement  at  length  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Petrograd  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  which  issued  a  call 
embodying  the  catch-phrase,  "  No  indemnities,  no  annexations."  The  one  noteworthy  result 
of  this  action — up  to  the  middle  of  August — is  found  in  the  striking  document  issued  July  5 
by  the  Belgian  delegates,  M.  Vandervelde  and  M.  de  Brouckere,  through  the  medium  of 
the  Dutch-Scandianavian  Committee  at  Stockholm.  It  is  a  manifesto  addressed  primarily 
to  the  Russian  leaders,  and  tells  exactly  what  Belgian  Socialists  think  on  the  subject  of 
"  No  indemnities,  no  annexations."  It  is  here  placed  on  record  in  a  condensed  English 
translation  as  one  of  the  historic  utterances   of  the  war. 


THE  war  appears  to  us  to  be  less  a 
war  between  peoples  than  a  strug- 
gle, probably  decisive,  between  two 
political  principles.  It  is  in  this  sense 
that  it  has  been  justly  called  civil  war 
within  the  society  of  nations.  The  Rus- 
sian revolution  and  the  entry  of  the 
United  States  have  had  the  effect  of 
ranging  on  one  side  all  the  free  nations, 
that  is  to  say,  those  who  have  already 
effected  their  democratic  revolution,  and, 
on  the  other  hand — almost  entirely  iso- 
lated— the  last  three  semi-feudal,  semi- 
absolute  powers — namely,  the  Empire  of 
the  German  Emperor,  that  of  the  Sover- 
eign of  Austria-Hungary,  and  that  of-  the 
Grand  Turk. 

In  the  deliberate  execution  of  a  long- 
cherished  project,  these  powers  have  let 
loose  war  on  the  most  villainous  pretexts 
and  for  the  most  wretched  of  causes. 
Imperialism  has  been  able  to  carry  out 
its  plan,  thanks  to  a  popular  passivity 
which  would  have  been  inconceivable  in 
any  other  country.  Attack  and  invasion 
have  placed  upon  us  the  burden  of  the 
most  crushing  of  tyrannies — the  German 
military  tyranny,  whose  object,  as  defined 
by  Bismarck,  is  to  leave  a  people  only 
their  eyes  with  which  to  weep. 

Belgian  socialism  has  not  for  one 
moment  believed  that  it  ought  to  bow 
before  external  oppression  when  our  vil- 
lages were  burned,  our  women  insulted, 
and  our  dearly  acquired  liberties  brutally 
oppressed.     It  has  not  admitted  that  it 


was  "  a  simple  bourgeois  quarrel,  which 
ought  to  leave  the  proletariat  indiffer- 
ent." If  it  had  abandoned  the  struggle 
under  the  pretense  that  the  soldiers  of 
William  II.  were  too  numerous  and  his 
guns  too  powerful,  it  would  have  been 
dishonored  in  its  own  eyes.  It  has  never 
reckoned  cowardice  among  revolutionary 
virtues. 

Defense  against  aggressive  imperial- 
ism implies  for  us  something  more  than 
the  mere  repulse  of  the  invader.  The 
destruction  of  German  imperialism  might 
have  been  the  business  of  the  Germans 
alone,  if  their  imperialism  had  stayed  at 
home.  But  it  crossed  our  frontiers,  and 
we  want  to  break  the  power  of  our 
tyrant.  Our  desire  is  as  legitimate  as 
that  of  the  Russians,  who  have  broken 
the  power  of  their  tyrant;  and  the  fact 
that  our  tyrant  is  enthroned  at  Berlin  is 
not  sufficient  reason  for  changing  our 
opinion. 

We  cannot  conceive  any  possible  last- 
ing peace  if  Hohenzollern  and  Hapsburg 
retain  their  powers.  The  greatest  present 
danger  is  that  of  seeing  free  countries 
accept  a  precarious  peace.  We  could  not 
lend  ourselves  to  this  without  betraying 
our  deepest  convictions  as  Socialists. 

We  adhere  to  the  Petrograd  formula  of 
"  no  annexations  and  no  indemnities." 
But  refusal  of  "  annexations  "  does  not 
imply  maintenance  of  the  territorial 
status  quo.  If,  in  accordance  with  the 
wishes    of   the    inhabitants,    Alsace-Lor- 


446 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


raine  were  restored  to  France  we  should 
not  consider  it  an  "  annexation,"  but  a 
"  disannexation."  In  the  same  way  the 
unification  of  Poland  and  the  completion 
of  Italian  and  Serbian  unity,  as  desired 
by  the  peoples  concerned,  would  not  be 
"  annexations."  Near  Stavelot  there  are 
Walloon  villages  which  appear  to  desire 
once  more  to  become  Belgian.  The  peace 
treaty  might  accept  their  aspirations. 
This,  too,  would  apply  to  Luxemburg, 
with  its  200,000  inhabitants,  if  it  should 
consider  that  a  return  to  Belgium,  from 
whom  it  was  separated  in  1839,  would  be 
to  its  advantage. 

While  we  repudiate  the  exaction  of 
"  indemnities  "  such  as  Bismarck  in  1871 
levied  on  France  and  such  as  Germany 
is  continually  imposing  on  occupied  Bel- 
gium, we  could  not  recognize  a  peace  that 
sanctioned  the  exactions  of  the  invader. 
For  Belgium  this  question  is  vital. 

The  Germans  have  by  menaces,  compul- 
sion, and  violence  exacted  from  our  towns 
many  millions  of  pounds  in  cash.  Since 
the  occupation  they  have  levied  monthly 
for  the  needs  of  the  army  a  contribution 
of  $10,000,000,  and  for  some  time  past 
have  raised  the  sum  to  $12,000,000.  They 
have  levied  several  hundred  millions  in 
foodstuffs,  in  kind,  and  in  raw  materials 
and  machinery.  In  the  interest  of  mili- 
tary operations  they  have  done  countless 
deeds  of  destruction,  and,  in  many  cases, 
simply  in  order  to  terrorize  the  popula- 
tion and  to  gain  future  economic  advan- 
tage by  suppressing  an  embarrassing 
competitor. 

The  Belgian  Nation  will  have  to  in- 
demnify the  victims  of  these  acts  of  vio- 
lence, and  this  charge  upon  it  must  be 
added  to  all  those  we  have  just  enume- 
rated. Would  it  not  be  the  height  of 
iniquity  to  make  the  victim  bear  this  bur- 
den at  the  risk  of  seeing  him  succumb 
under  the  weight  of  peace?  Does  not  jus- 
tice demand  reparation  from  those  guilty 
of  outrage  in  so  far  as  the  outrage  may 
be  reparable? 

On  Aug.  4,  1914,  the  German  Chan- 
cellor acknowledged  in  the  Reichstag  that 
Germany  was  violating  the  rights  of  Bel- 
gium and  owed  her  reparation.  We  are 
firmly  convinced  that  the  Russian  democ- 
racy will  not  be  less  solicitous  than  was 


the  representative  of  the  Kaiser  of  the 
clear  rights  of  an  oppressed  nation. 

As  for  the  "  right  of  nations  to  dispose 
of  their  own  destinies,"  it  would  be  as 
tyrannous  to  keep  by  force  in  Austria- 
Hungary  populations  like  those  of  Bo- 
hemia, Transylvania,  or  Bosnia,  which 
aspire  to  other  national  destinies,  as  it 
would  be  to  attach  Belgium  by  force  to 
the  German  Empire.  Indeed,  we  could 
hardly  describe  Germany  as  free,  in  this 
sense,  so  long  as  the  semi-absolutism  of 
the  Hohenzollerns  endures.  We  consider 
that  a  democratic  Constitution  for  Ger- 
many is  not  only  a  right  to  which  the 
Germans  are  entitled,  but  that  it  is  also  a 
condition  upon  the  fulfillment  of  which 
other  nations  are  entitled  to  make  their 
adhesion  to  a  general  peace  depend.  A 
treaty  guaranteed  only  by  an  Emperor 
who  is  accustomed. to  hold  his  word  cheap 
would  be  merely  another  scrap  of  paper. 

We  do  not,  of  course,  refuse  to  meet  the 
Germans;  but  what  we  decline  is  to  as- 
sociate ourselves  with  German  Socialist 
supporters  of  the  imperialism  of  the  Em- 
peror William  and  of  the  Emperor 
Charles.  We  should  not  object  to  con- 
certed action  with  those  in  the  Central 
Empires  who  oppose  a  policy  of  aggres- 
sion and  of  conquest,  and  who  in  effect 
pursue  the  same  end  as  we  ourselves. 
We  should  not  decline  to  meet  the  Ger- 
man majority  Socialists  if  they  renounced 
the  error  of  their  present  ways,  and  took 
an  open  and  manly  part  against  their 
Emperors.  But,  pending  such  action  on 
their  part,  we  should  regard  a  meeting 
with  them  as  not  only  useless  but  danger- 
ous to  the  international  democratic  cause 
— dangerous,  since  it  would  tend  to  ac- 
credit the  illusion  that  a  just  and  lasting 
peace  is  possible  before  aggressive  im- 
perialism has  been  destroyed;  and  be- 
cause the  maintenance  of  false  hopes  of 
an  impending  equitable  solution  relaxes 
effort  and  strengthens  the  current  that 
is  carrying  the  weak-willed  toward  a 
peace  at  any  price. 

This  is  why,  following  the  example  of 
the  French  and  British  representatives, 
we  urged  that  admission  to  the  proposed 
conference  should  be  conditional  upon 
frank  adhesion  to  an  anti-imperialist  pro- 
gram. 


German  Socialism  and  World  War 

By  Richard  Dobson 


GERMAN  Social  Democracy  began 
.  with  Ferdinand  Lassalle,  who,  in 
1844,  went  to  Paris,  and  there 
came  under  the  influence  of 
French  socialism.  In  1848  he  worked  on 
the  staff  of  Karl  Marx's  Neue  Rhenische 
Zeitung.  He  took  an  active  part  in  revo- 
lutionary social  agitation,  and  during  the 
reactionary  period  devoted  his  time  and 
tenacity  to  scientific  social  research. 

German  socialism  in  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  an  academic 
theory,  which  appealed  largely  to  college- 
bred,  middle-class  people,  with  quite  a 
large  sprinkling  of  workingmen.  Las- 
salle converted  this  academic  theory  of 
socialism  into  practical  social  democ- 
racy. His  brilliancy  as  an  orator, 
coupled  with  his  acumen  and  learning,  en- 
abled him  to  make  a  series  of  propa- 
ganda tours  that  proved  to  be  personal 
as  well  as  national  triumphs. 

Lassalle  organized  the  Allgemeiner 
Deutscher  Arbeiterverein,  or  General 
Labor  Union  of  Germany,  of  which  he 
was  the  first  President.  The  aims  of 
the  union  were  to  secure  manhood  suf- 
frage for  the  election  of  members  of  the 
popular  branch  of  the  Federal  Parlia- 
ment. Seven  years  later  Lassallener 
and  Eisenacher,  social  warring  factions, 
came  to  a  common  peace,  and  thus  be- 
came the  Social  Democratic  Party  of 
Germany. 

The  Socialists  of  France,  of  Russia,  of 
Italy,  and  of  Great  Britain  ascribe  to 
the  Social  Democracy  of  Germany  much 
of  the  blame  for  the  war  that  is  now 
devastating  Europe  and  paralyzing  the 
world.  They  were  astonished  and  be- 
wildered at  the  action  of  Germany's 
great  democratic  party  in  that  ominous 
month  of  August,  1914.  Only  eight 
days  before  the  war  broke  out  the  Ger- 
man Socialists  denounced  Austria  as  a 
world  disturber  when  she  sent  her  im- 
possible ultimatum  to  Serbia.  And  then 
this  same  German  Socialist  Party,  after 
eight  days  had  passed,  voted  unanimous- 
ly in  favor  of  the   German  war  credit 


through  its  110  members  in  the  Reichs- 
tag! The  reason  given  by  these  Depu- 
ties was  that  they  were  supporting  the 
defense  of  Germany  against  a  conspiracy 
of  the  nations  of  Europe,  instigated  and 
abetted  by  Great  Britain.  There  was 
not  a  word  of  complaint  from  the  Ger- 
man Social  Democracy  when  the  Im- 
perial Chancellor,  at  the  same  Reichstag 
sitting,  announced  that  the  German 
Army  had  already  invaded  Belgium,  a 
somewhat  singular  beginning  for  a  coun- 
try on  the  defensive  and  fighting  for  its 
existence. 

In  a  secret  conference  of  the  German 
Social  Democrats  held  the  day  before 
the  regular  sitting  of  the  Reichstag, 
fourteen  members  had  voted  against  sup- 
porting the  war  credit.  Herr  Haase,  one 
of  the  fourteen,  had  actually  been  chosen 
to  be  their  spokesman  before  the  as- 
sembled Reichstag.  Later  Herr  Haase 
confessed  that  party  discipline  forced 
him  to  betray  his  conscience. 

Split  on  War  Credit 
On  Dec.  2,  1914,  the  Socialist  members 
opposed  to  the  second  war  credit  had 
increased  from  fourteen  to  seventeen. 
On  this  occasion  Dr.  Liebknecht  voted 
against  the  war  credit.  In  March,  1915, 
thirty-two  Socialist  'members  of  the 
Reichstag  voted  against  the  so-called 
War  of  Defense.  In  the  Neue  Zeit,  Karl 
Kautzky  was  busy  expounding  the  right 
of  the  minority  to  independent  action. 
The  following  declaration  was  made  by 
Herr  Geyer  in  the  Reichstag  on  Dec.  21, 
1915: 

For  myself,  and  in  behalf  of  nineteen  col- 
leagues, I  have  to  declare  that  the  military- 
dictatorship  which  ruthlessly  suppresses  all 
endeavors  for  peace  and  seeks  to  sacrifice 
every  free  expression  of  opinion  makes  it 
impossible  for  us  to  discuss  our  attitude  on 
the  war  credit  outside  of  this  House.  Just 
as  we  oppose  the  conquest  plans  of  other 
Governments,  so  we  are  determined  to  op- 
pose the  ominous  scheme  of  our  own  annexa- 
tion politicians,  who  are  also  a  hindrance  to 
the  opening  of  peace  negotiations.  The  Im- 
perial Chancellor  was  requested  by  the  So- 
cial Democratic  Party  to  make  a  peace  offer, 


448 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


as  the  Central  Towers  were  in  a  most  favor- 
able military  situation  and  could  have  taken 
the  first  steps  toward  peace.  The  Chan- 
cellor, however,  bluntly  refused,  and  this 
horrible  war  goes  on.  Every  day  brings  new 
and  unutterable  sorrow.  A  policy  which  does 
not  exert  all  its  powers  to  end  this  nameless 
misery,  a  policy  which  in  its  entire  activity 
is  utterly  opposed  to  the  interests  of.  the 
masses,  cannot  command  our  support  any 
longer.  Our  desire  to  give  the  evident  long- 
ing for  peace  in  all  countries  a  mighty  im- 
pulse, our  own  will  for  peace  and  our  an- 
tagonism to  all  plans  of  conquest,  do  not 
permit  us  to  vote  for  the  war  credit.  We 
vote  against  it. 

On  the  very  day  that  Herr  Geyer  made 
this  declaration  of  the  Socialist  minority, 
the  Socialist  Party  as  a  whole  condemned 
the  separate  action,  and  on  Jan.  8,  1916, 
the  party  in  a  full  council  passed  a  vote 
of  censure  on  the  dissidents. 

The  Socialist  press,  comprising  sev- 
enty-seven daily  newspapers,  besides  a 
number  of  monthly  and  fortnightly  publi- 
cations, was  divided  into  two  camps.  One 
supported  the  policy  of  the  majority  So- 
cialists, and  the  other  favored  the  minor- 
ity, which  demanded  a  return  to  the  pre- 
war policy:  "  Diesem  System  Keinen 
Mann  und  Keinen  Groschen  "— "  We  will 
not  vote  a  man  or  a  farthing  for  this  sys- 
tem." The  Socialist  majority,  however, 
whose  aims  and  ideas  practically  agreed 
with  the  German  Government,  enjoyed  a 
considerable  advantage  over  their  minor- 
ity brethren. 

Radical  Utterances 

In  the  early  months  of  1916,  anony- 
mous pamphlets  were  circulated  through- 
out the  empire  under  such  titles  as  "  End 
the  Winter  Campaign,"  "Europe's  Pro- 
letarians," "  Annexation  Madness,"  "  The 
Policy  of  Dogs."  A  passage  from  the 
latter  reads  as  follows: 

David  Landsberg  and  socialism  have  sur- 
passed the  public  prosecutor  and  put  the 
Police  President  to  shame.  Woe  to  us  Social- 
ists if  these  fellows  had  administered  Bis- 
marck's anti-Socialist  law.  They  would  have 
sent  the  Socialist  members  of  the  Reichstag 
and  the  editors  of  the  newspapers  to  penal 
servitude.  They  would  have  hanged  August 
Bebel  and  Liebknecht  the  elder  on  the  public 
gallows. 

He  is  a  dog  who  licks  the  boots  which  have 
kicked  him  for  several  decades.  He  is  a  dog 
who  wags  his  tail  with  the  muzzle  of  mili- 
tary law  over  his  face.  He  is  a  dog  who  ab- 
jures the  entire  past  of  his  party  and  every- 
thing which  has  been  sacred  to  it  for  a  gener- 


ation, and  spits  upon  it  all,  at  the  order  of 
the  Government.  Therefore,  David  Landsberg 
and  their  set  are  dogs,  and  when  the  day  of 
reckoning  comes,  the  German  working  classes 
will  give  them  the  kick  they  deserve. 

On  March  24,  1916,  a  crisis  came  in 
the  history  of  Social  Democracy  in  the 
Reichstag.  A  vote  was  asked  for  by  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  to  cover  the  Govern- 
ment war  expenditures  in  April,  May, 
and  June.  The  vote  was  supported  by 
the  Socialist  majority  and  negatived  by 
the  minority.  In  special  session  the  ma- 
jority Socialists  voted  to  exclude  the  mi- 
nority from  any  further  common  action 
with  the  party.  The  resolution  passed 
by  a  vote  of  58  to  33. 

Liebfynechfs  Daring  Speech 

Dr.  Liebknecht's  exclusion  from  the 
party  was  a  separate  matter.  In  fact,  he 
and  Herr  Ruhle  had  acted  as  indepen- 
dents since  December,  1914.  On  April  8, 
1916,  Dr.  Liebknecht  succeeded  in  getting 
the  floor  of  the  Reichstag,  and  this  is  the 
substance  of  what  he  said: 

Gentlemen,  the  principal  work  of  the  State 
Secretary,  whose  salary  we  are  asked  to 
vote,  was  his  activity  for  the  war  loan  dur- 
ing the  last  year.  I  intend  to  devote  a  little 
criticism  to  these  activities.  The  new  loan 
has  brought  1,400,000,000  marks  less  than  the 
preceding  one,  but  still  a  grand  total  of 
10,000,000,000.  What  methods  were  employed 
to  obtain  this  success?  Gentlemen,  last 
Autumn  the  Imperial  Exchequer  issued  some 
propaganda  pamphlets  which  placed  the 
methods  by  which  the  English  Government 
was  financing  the  war  in  a  very  unfavorable 
light.  Any  one  who  read  these  pamphlets 
critically  saw  at  once  that  the  charges  made 
against  the  English  Government  covered  ex- 
actly the  same  methods  employed  by  the 
German  Government,  a  fact  which,  of  course, 
was  not  allowed  to  be  stated  in  public  or  in 
the  press.     [Excitement  in  the  Reichstag.] 

In  regard  to  our  loans,  it  has  been  said 
that  our  system  is  one  of  inbreeding— that 
the  practice  of  obtaining  loans  on  a  former 
loan  in  order  to  invest  the  capital  thus  ob- 
tained in  another  new  war  loan  is  a  sort  of 
"  perpetuum-mobile."  In  a  certain  sense  the 
loans  may  be  compared  to  a  merry-go-round. 
To  a  large  extent  it  means  simply  the  cen- 
tralization of  public  wealth  in  the  Exchequer. 
[Great  disturbance,  followed  by  cries  of 
"  Treason!  "] 

I  have  the  right  to  criticise.  The  truth 
must  be  spoken  and  you  shall  not  hinder  me. 
[Long  continued  uproar.  The  President  of 
the  Reichstag  intervened,  and  Dr.  Liebknecht 
continued :]  Gentlemen,  you  represent  cap- 
ital.    I  am  a  Socialist-Democrat  and   repre- 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND    WORLD   WAR 


449 


sent  International  Proletarians.  [Great  up- 
roar and  pandemonium.] 

During  the  uproar  Dr.  Miiller  of 
Meiningen  went  to  the  tribune  and 
snatched  Dr.  Liebknecht's  notes  from  his 
hands  and  threw  them  on  the  floor.  Dr. 
Liebknecht  undertook  to  pick  up  his. 
notes,  and  when  he  returned  to  the  trib- 
une to  continue  his  speech  the  Presi- 
dent ruled  him  out  of  order  because  he 
had,  according  to  German  procedure, 
forfeited  his  rights  to  continue  by  leav- 
ing the  tribune. 

Shortly  after  this  exciting  affair  Dr. 
Liebknecht  was  sentenced  to  prison  for 
four  years  and  one  month  on  various 
charges,  including  high  treason  and  re- 
sistance to  authorities.  Later  Herr 
Konrad  Hanische,  in  his  work,  "  German 
Social  Democracy  In  and  After  the 
World  War,"  said:  "It  is  utterly  im- 
possible to  obtain  a  clear  picture  of  the 
Social  Democratic  Party  on  account  of 
the  strangling  influence  of  martial  law, 
and,  further,  a  large  number  of  the 
members  are  with  the  colors."  Accord- 
ing to  Herr  Hanische,  the  Social  Demo- 
cratic minority  faction  finds  its  great- 
est support  in  Berlin,  on  the  lower 
Rhine,  in  Northern  Bavaria,  Thuringia, 
and  Saxony.  The  majority  faction  finds 
its  chief  strength  in  Hanover,  West- 
phalia, and  Hamburg. 

Majority's  War  Creed 

At  a  private  session  held  in  Berlin  by 
the  Social  Democracy  in  September, 
1916,  the  following  resolutions  were  car- 
ried by  a  vote  of  251  to  5,  the  Social 
Democratic  minority  not  voting  or  tak- 
ing any  part  in  the  procedure: 

First— It  is  a  duty  to  defend  one's  country. 
The  present  war  is  a  war  of  defense. 

Second— The  Socialists  are  determined  to 
continue  the  struggle  till  the  enemy  is  pre- 
pared to  make  a  peace  which  guarantees  Ger- 
many's political  independence,  territorial  In- 
tegrity, and  free  economic  development. 

Third— We  condemn  unreservedly  the  action 
of  those  who  say  the  war  is  one  of  German 
aggression.  Such  persons  only  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Fourth— The  ideal  of  a  permanent  world 
peace  is  still  the  guiding  star  of  our  policy. 

Fifth— We  shall  work  for  the  revival  of  the 
International  Socialist  League  after  the  war. 

Since  that  action  nothing  occurred  to 
reconcile  the  two  socialistic  factions  until 


the  beginning  of  1917.  Herr  Scheide- 
mann  and  Herr  Ebert  in  December,  1916, 
visited  the  Dutch  Socialists,  and  it  was 
suspected  by  the  minority  faction  of  the 
German  Social  Democratic  Party  that 
they  were  in  collusion  with  the  Imperial 
Chancellor.  The  German  peace  proposi- 
tion submitted  to  President  Wilson,  and 
through  him  to  the  Entente  Allies,  in- 
creased that  suspicion. 

The  Pan  German  Deutsche  Tageszeit- 
ung  stated  that  Herr  Scheidemann  plead- 
ed in  a  speech  at  Hamburg  for  a  world 
peace  based  on  the  status  quo  ante,  each 
nation  paying  its  own  costs.  The  Ger- 
man minority  Socialists  criticised  Ger- 
many's peace  note  on  the  ground  that  no 
terms  were  stated,  and  another  Socialist 
Party  organ  declared  the  whole  German 
peace  note  proposition  to  be  an  unmiti- 
gated swindle.  On  Dec.  22,  1916,  four 
mass  meetings  arranged  by  Social  Demo- 
crats in  Leipsic  were  suppressed  by  the 
police. 

Herr  Scheidemann  s  Defense 

In  defending  the  action  of  the  majority 
faction  and  its  support  of  the  Govern- 
ment's  war   policy,    Herr    Scheidemann 

says: 

The  German  Reichstag  has  not  the  con- 
stitutional right  to  vote  for  or  against  a 
war.  The  decision  for  peace  or  war  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  Kaiser.  By  refusing  to 
vote  the  war  credit  we  could  not  have  un- 
done the  declaration  of  war  or  hindered  the 
progress  of  military  events.  *  *  *  The 
war  is  a  struggle  for  the  world's  feeding 
grounds.  Three  of  the  leading  factors  in 
the  war  have  been :  First,  the  future  of 
Constantinople  and  the  Near  East;  second, 
England's  despotism  of  the  world's  markets, 
and,  third,  the  severance  from  European 
markets  of  Serbia  by  Austria.  *  *  *  We 
knew  what  a  Russian  victory  would  mean 
for  the  German  people,  and  especially  for 
the  German  workingmen's  movement.  It  was 
our  sacred  duty  to  prevent  it  by  all  means 
in  our  power,  and  coming  generations  will 
appreciate  these  services  to  world  history 
by  the  German  Nation.  If  we  could  not 
prevent  the  war,  then  it  was  our  duty  to  do  i 
everything  to  prevent  defeat. 

Dr.  Lensch,  referring  to  the  Socialist 
Party  declaration  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
world  war,  says:  "We  have  always  said 
we  would  not  leave  the  Fatherland  in 
the  lurch  in  the  hour  of  danger.  Ger- 
man   Social    Democrats    will    remember 


450 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


that  for  forty  years  they  have  con- 
stantly voted  against  every  credit  for 
military  purposes,  excepting  the  special 
taxes  imposed  on  the  richer  classes  in 
1913  for  the  increase  of  the  German 
Army."  Dr.  Lensch  admits  that  the 
German  Social  Democratic  Party's  action 
in  supporting  the  war  was  illogical  in 
view  of  its  history,  but  morally  right  in 
all  other  respects. 

August  Bebel,  a  Socialist  leader  in  the 
Reichstag,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
said : 

The  Social  Democrats  recognize  that,*  under 
present  conditions,  the  nation  cannot  be  left 
helpless;  therefore  they  demand  that  every 
man  capable  of  bearing  arms  shall  have  the 
right  to  carry  a  weapon,  and  in  case  the 
Fatherland  is  attacked  it  shall  be  his  duty  to 
defend  it.  The  party  demands  that  all  males 
from  the  age  of  ten  shall  receive  military 
training.  No  Social  Democrat  doubts  that  the 
German,  irrespective  of  rank,  shall  do  his 
full  duty  in  war. 

The  majority  Socialists,  in  defense  of  their 
attitude  to  the  war  and  military  service,  claim 
that  their  opposition  to  militarism  before  the 
war  was  mostly  intended  as  a  criticism  of  the 
existing  system.  They,  the  German  Demo- 
cratic Socialists,  are  in  favor  of  every  man 
being  a  soldier,  but  they  oppose  Germany's 
army  system,  the  ill-treatment  of  the  common 
soldier,  and  the  methods  of  taxation  by  which 
the  army  expenditure  is  met. 

The  Minority's  Attitude 
The  minority  Socialists,  on  the  other 
hand,  consider  the  pre-war  opposition  to 
militarism  as  a  genuine,  whole-hearted 
rejection  of  war  and  everything  connect- 
ed with  it.  One  of  the  minority  So- 
cialists says: 

The  German  military  State  is  to  me  nothing 
but  a  State  which  oppresses  its  subjects  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave.  Our  sons  are  sworn 
at  and  maltreated  in  the  gay  uniform,  and 
on  the  slightest  show  of  resentment  con- 
demned to  imprisonment;  in  a  word,  slowly 
tortured  to  death.  In  fact,  we  often  saw  that 
our  soldiers  were  unworthily  treated,  and  that 
the  iron  discipline  and  the  popinjay  trappings 
of  the  army  made  militarism  unpopular. 

This  all  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  thing,  and 
cannot  be  rooted  out ;  but  many  soldiers 
learned  in  the  army  the  discipline  and  order- 
liness which  were  missing  from  their  home 
life. 

Concerning  international  socialism  and 
its  relation  to  German  socialism,  Dr. 
Lensch  thus  queries :  "  What  did  the  In- 
ternational Socialists  in  other  lands  do 
in  1914  to  prevent  their  own  countries 


from  going  to  war  with  Germany?  "  Dr. 
Lensch  charges  the  French  Socialists 
with  believing  false  reports  of  German 
atrocities,  especially  as  perpetrated  in 
Belgium,  and  as  reported  by  Jules  Guesde 
and  Marcel  Sembat.  He  is  still  more  in- 
censed against  the  English  Socialists,  of 
whom  he  says :  "  They  are  worse  than  the 
French,  for  they  identified  themselves 
with  the  ruling  classes  in  England  and 
took  over  to  themselves  their  catch- 
phrases  in  order  to  hammer  them  into  the 
heads  of  the  masses;  they  carried  on  a 
regular  agitation  in  favor  of  the  war, 
conducting  it  with  the  intensity  of  an 
election  campaign.  *  *  *  Any  slander, 
any  stupidity  was  good  enough  for  the 
English  Socialists  with  which  to  /be- 
smirch the  German  Government.'* 

Nearly  all  the  German  socialistic  writ- 
ers of  the  minority  or  Liebknecht  faction 
are  in  favor  of  an  individual  national- 
ism giving  every  other  section  of  the 
human  family  the  right  to  develop  its 
own  national  idea.  Dr.  E.  David,  how- 
ever, in  "  Social  Democracy  in  the  World 
War,*'  says:  "The  existence  of  a  nation 
cannot  be  regarded  as  an  end  in  itself. 
There  are  aims  beyond  its  limits  which 
every  nation  must  have  and  serve."  An- 
other member  of  the  majority  camp 
says :  "  In  this  war  we  have  become  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  the  German 
'  State  ■  idea  has  justified  itself,  from 
both  the  organizing  and  military  point 
of  view,  in  spite  of  its  beauty  spots  and 
its  political  infirmities.  We  have  be- 
come aware  of  the  enormous  forces  em- 
bodied in  the  State.  Because  its  activi- 
ties often  displease  us  we  had  become 
accustomed  to  look  upon  the  State,  to- 
gether with  the  whole  of  its  social  in- 
stitutions, as  being  inwardly  decayed  and 
rotten.  The  war  has  thoroughly  cured 
us  of  the  error." 

Collectivism  in  Germany 
Dr.  Lensch,  one  of  the  leading  apostles 
of  German  socialism,  declares  that  Ger- 
many stands  for  collectivism,  while  Eng- 
land stands  for  individualism,  adding: 

All  German  Socialists  plump  their  line  by 
the  former.  While  great  leaders  of  armies 
have  come  to  the  front,  no  towering  political 
leader  has  as  yet  appeared  on  either  side.  It 
is  as  if  the  spirit  of  history  wished  to  make 
evident  that  this  is  the  end  of  individualism. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND    WORLD   WAR 


451 


At  a  time  when  armies  are  counted  by  mil- 
lions, and  whole  nations  wage  war  ;  when  the 
battle  is  fought  not  only  by  the  man  in  uni- 
form, but  by  the  wives  and  children  at  home, 
the  importance  of  the  individual  diminishes 
before  the  totality  and  its  organization. 

It  is  along  the  lines  of  mass  warfare  that 
the  German  revolution  is  developing  in  the 
present  world  war,  thus  distinguishing  itself 
from  the  French  revolution  and  the  great 
English  rebellion.  The  fundamental  idea  of 
both  of  the  latter  movements  was  individual- 
ism, and  it  was  no  mere  chance  that  striking 
individualities  stood  in  the  forefront,  Na- 
poleon in  the  one  and  Oliver  Cromwell  in  the 
other.  At  the  head  of  the  German  revolution 
stands  Bethmann  Hollweg,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  name  these  three  names  in  a 
breath  to  realize  the  changed  conditions.  Yet, 
although  Napoleon  failed  to  shake  England's 
world  supremacy,  Bethmann  Hollweg  has  ac- 
complished that  end.  Wherein  lies  the  dif- 
ference? The  French  Emperor  was  not  in  a 
position  to  fight  England  from  the  plane  of 
a  higher  social  system.  France's  system  was 
at  that  time  of  the  same  type  as  England's, 
that  is,  based  on  individualism.  Modern  Ger- 
many, on  the  othe^  hand,  represents  a  higher 
and  more  progressive  principle ;  that  of  social 
organization,  and  although  the  system  is  still 
in  its  infancy,  it  has  proved  itself  so  vastly 
superior  to  obsolete  individualism  that  Eng- 
land's war  power  has  been  shaken  to  its 
foundations. 

The  importance  of  the  individual  is  diminish- 
ing, in  proportion  as  that  of  social  organ- 
ization increases.  The  individual  principle 
attained  its  highest  ideal  in  England  and 
France,  where,  in  fact,  it  broke  up  the  com- 
munity into  so  many  atoms.  Now,  it  is  the 
historical    task    of    the    working    classes    to 


change  the  trend  of  history  in  the  opposite 
direction,  for  the  atomized  system  threatens 
them  with  economic  misery  and  political 
helplessness. 

It  is  fitting,  too,  that  this  change  should 
become  most  apparent  in  Germany,  the  mis- 
ery of  whose  economic  past  had  crippled  the 
country,  prohibiting  the  complete  victory  of 
individualism  as  in  England.  Our  State  was 
compelled  by  toil  and  trouble  to  make  good 
the  blessings  which  England  enjoyed  through 
the  mere  force  of  circumstances.  But  it  was 
exactly  that  economic  poverty  which  devel- 
oped in  Germany  the  principle  which  sup- 
plies it  now  with  vitalizing  powers  capable 
of  waging  a  world  war  against  the  greatest 
land  and  sea  powers  which  our  planet  has 
ever  seen— that  is,  the  principle  of  organiza- 
tion. What  was  looked  upon  as  a  curse  has 
become  our  greatest  blessing.  The  social 
system  based  upon  the  individual  stands  to- 
day on  its  last  legs.  A  new  epoch,  and  with 
it  a  new  social  ideal,  has  dawned.  Germany 
is  the  herald  of  the  new  day. 

In  the  above  is  revealed  the  real  force 
which  has  united  all  Germany  in  the 
present  war,  making  patrician  and  ple- 
beian as  one.  The  super-German  idea 
and  the  super-German  temper,  even 
among  Socialists,  have  lent  themselves 
to  the  Pan  German  leaders'  scheme  of 
conquest. 

Editorial  Note.— At  the  time  when  the 
Reichstag  granted  the  latest  German  war 
credit  both  wings  of  the  Socialist  Party 
voted  against  the  bill,  indicating  growing 
dissatisfaction  with  the  Government's  war 
policy. 


[German  Cartoon] 

MMM 


—From    Lustige    Blaetter,    Berlin. 
Another  "  hospital  ship  "  that  will  have  to  be  torpedoed. 


The  Appalling  Waste  of  the  War 

By  Hall  Caine 

(Special  Cable  to  The  New  York  Times) 
Copyright,  1917,  by  Ths  New  Yokk  Times  Company.      Copyright  in  Canada 


WHEN  the  war  began,  the  great 
soldier  who  took  the  death  of  a 
sailor  in  the  stormy  waters  of 
the  northern  seas  was  reported 
to  have  said  it  would  last  three  years.  It 
has  already  lasted  so  long,  and  is  still 
going  on.  When  will  it  end,  and  what  is 
to  come  of  it? 

"  If  Adam,"  said  Luther,  "  could  have 
seen  in  a  vision  what  horrible  instru- 
ments his  children  were  to  invent  to 
torture  and  to  destroy  -each  other  he 
would  have  died  of  grief."  Coming  four 
centuries  later,  we  may  go  further  than 
that.  If  Adam  could  have  foreseen  what 
we  are  now  seeing  he  would  have  prayed 
for  death  that  he  might  never  propagate 
his  species. 

Three  years  ago  today  (July  28)  one 
of  the  oldest  and  feeblest  of  men,  being 
crowned  in  the  name  of  God  and  exer- 
cising the  vicarship  of  Christ  in  his  coun- 
try, signed  with  his  trembling  hand  the 
proclamation  which  plunged  the  world 
into  this  war.  History  will  concern  itself 
With  the  cause  of  his  act,  but  the  motive 
assigned  for  it  was  that  a  member  of 
his  family,  a  worthy  but  quite  common- 
place Austrian  gentleman,  as  I  have 
reason  to  know  and  say,  had  been  foully 
done  to  death.  For  that  crime  millions 
have  since  died,  millions  been  wounded, 
and  millions  on  millions  have  been 
brought  down  to  the  depths.  One  wonders 
what  mad  game  the  world  has  been  play- 
ing. 

Bloodshed  is  indeed  the  staple  of  his- 
tory, and  history  is  the  story  of  how 
often  and  with  what  merciless  brutality 
the  children  of  men  have  slain  each 
other.  But  if  we  could  detach  ourselves 
from  all  thought  of  the  impulses  with 
which  we  are  prosecuting  this  war,  all 
questions  of  the  righteousness  of  our 
cause,  and  conceive  of  God  walking  not 
in  the  garden  but  in  the  desert  of  this 
war-worn  world  to  make  a  reckoning  of 


the  good  and  bad  in  the  doings  of  the 
last  three  years,  what  audit  it  would 
seem  to  be,  what  lesson  such  as  history 
never  before  supplied  for  people  who 
have  been  saying  that  war  has  a  nobil- 
ity and  grandeur  of  its  own,  that  it  is 
productive  of  more  than  evil,  and  is  a 
beneficial  influence  in  the  betterment  of 
mankind ! 

The  Loss  to  Civilization 

Think  first  of  the  injury  the  war  has 
inflicted  on  the  ordinary  conditions  of 
civilized  existence.  During  forty-odd 
years  preceding  Aug.  2,  1914,  the  chief 
activities  of  Europe  in  science,  law,  leg- 
islation, literature,  art,  and  general  in- 
dustry were  directed  toward  protecting 
and  purifying  human  life,  making  it  more 
clean  and  sweet  and  secure.  There  never 
has  been  a  great  war  that  has  not 
lowered  the  standard  of  existence,  but 
during  the  last  three  years,  by  the  new 
necessities  of  modern  warfare,  from  five 
to  twenty-five  millions  of  human  creat- 
ures have  been  living  a  great  part  of 
their  lives  in  holes  in  the  ground,  ex- 
posed to  uncleanness  and  disease  that 
belong  to  the  condition  of  savage  man. 

Think  next  of  the  loss  the  war  has  in- 
flicted on  the  world's  wealth — not  wealth 
that  is  represented  by  title  deeds  or  pass 
books  or  gold  and  silver  coins  in  the 
strong-rooms  of  banks,  but  only  the 
wealth  that  is  necessary  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  race,  the  natural  wealth 
that  comes  from  the  soil  at  the  call  of 
the  sun  and  rain  and  changing  seasons 
and  the  plow  in  the  hands  of  man.  There 
has  never  been  a  great  war  that  has  not 
diminished  the  sum  of  this  natural 
wealth,  but  the  present  war,  by  the  very 
number  of  nations  engaged  in  it,  has 
probably  come  nearer  than  any  previous 
one  to  starving  a  large  part  of  the 
human  family.  Will  the  world  recover 
from  this  three  years'  loss  of  its  natural 
wealth?     Nature  works  no  overtime,  the 


THE  APPALLING    WASTE  OF   THE   WAR 


453 


thousand^  sunrises    since    August,    1914, 
can  never  come  again. 

Fruits  of  Labor  Destroyed 

Then  think  of  the  loss  to  the  world  in 
human  labor.  Every  great  war  has,  in 
some  measure,  paralyzed  industrial 
enterprise,  but  the  necessities  of  modern 
warfare  have  gone  near  to  killing  it 
by  submerging  nearly  all  industrial 
enterprise  in  one  sole  work  of  producing 
these  munitions  of  war  which  have  now 
to  be  supplied  in  illimitable  quantities. 
The  ordinary  progress  of  civilization  in 
Europe  has  for  the  last  three  years  been 
brought  well-nigh  to  a  standstill.  This, 
too,  is  a  loss  that  is  irretrievable.  It  has 
yet  to  be  seen  if  the  energies  of  the 
world  can  ever  make  up  for  it.  But  the 
waste  of  human  labor  is  the  least  part 
of  the  world's  injury. 

If  the  output  of  all  the  munition  fac- 
tories in  the  world  since  August,  1914, 
had  been  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
that  would  have  been  waste  enough;  but 
think  of  the  uses  their  products  have 
been  put  to.  As  man  does  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  his  first  duty  after  the 
necessities  of  food  and  clothing  have 
been  satisfied  is  to  surround  himself 
with  those  things  of  beauty  and  sanctity 
which  link  his  life  with  the  past  and 
carry  it  on  to  the  future.  But  the  busi- 
ness of  war  is  to  batter  down  and  burn 
up  all  such  sacred  and  historic  monu- 
ments, and  never  before  has  it  done  its 
work  so  ruthlessly.  Peace  builds  cities; 
war  destroys  them.  The  big  guns  and 
high  explosives  of  modern  warfare, 
thundering  and  pounding  on  the  habita- 
tions of  man,  have  left  vast  tracts  of 
Europe  more  bare  and  barren  than  the 
fiery  desert.  Large  parts  of  Belgium, 
Northern  France,  Serbia,  and  Galicia, 
lately  so  full  of  life  and  fruitfulness, 
now  look  as  if  the  rake  of  hell  had  gone 
over  them.  Where  there  were  homes  and 
inns  and  churches  in  which  people  lived 
and  loved  and  laughed  from  generation 
to  generation,  there  is  only  a  wilderness 
of  empty  space  whereon  no  stone  stands 
upon  another.  Nothing  like  this  has 
happened  before  in  all  the  mad  history 
of  war;  neither  earthquake  nor  eruption 
ever  wrought  such  ruin.  It  is  irrepar- 
able; no  indemnity  can  restore  what  has 


been  wrecked.  Northern  Europe  may  be 
rebuilt,  but  then  it  will  be  another 
Europe.  The  past  that  was  alive  in  it 
is  dead. 

The  Misery  of  the  War 

Then  think  of  the  misery  which  scenes 
like  these  involve.  Misery  is  the  camp 
follower  of  all  wars.  There  never  has 
been  a  great  war  without  its  train  of 
suffering.  But  the  suffering  of  the 
last  three  years  seems  to  have  had  no 
parallel  in  the  human  story.  Whole 
nations  have  been  plunged  into  it,  and 
the  greatest  suffering  has  been  that  of 
the  small  and  the  powerless. 

Man  that  is  born  of  woman  must  needs 
feel  the  ties  of  blood  and  brotherhood. 
Hence  he  gathers  his  children  together 
into  groups  that  have  the  same  faith  and 
the  same  customs  and  speak  the  same 
dear  tongue.  That  in  the  mysterious 
workings  of  Providence  is  the  origin  of 
national  spirit  and  love  of  motherland. 
It  is  totally  undisturbed  by  any  thought 
of  whether  she  is  big  or  little,  strong  or 
weak.  My  country  is  my  mother,  and, 
therefore,  I  love  her  and  think  her  the 
fairest  spot  the  sun  shines  upon.  But 
when  war  comes  in  the  armor  of  great 
nations,  it  has  usually  no  use  for  such 
emotions.  Faith,  custom,  language,  and 
kindred  count  for  nothing  against  mo- 
mentary military  advantage  or  even  the 
lust  of  a  little  earth.  That  was  what 
happened  three  years  ago  when  Austria 
marched  over  Serbia  and  Germany  over 
Belgium,  driving  the  native-born  people 
with  their  women  and  little  children 
from  their  smoking  homes  and  scatter- 
ing them  over  the  world.  For  this,  too, 
there  can  be  no  possible  reparation. 
Misery  cannot  be  paid  for.  Belgium  will 
regain  her  sovereignty  and  material 
amends  will  be  made  to  her,  but  when 
peace  is  proclaimed  the  Belgians  will  go 
back,  not  to  a  country,  but  to  a  cemetery. 
Every  step  of  their  homeward  way  will 
be,  as  the  Prime  Minister  finely  said,  a 
station  of  the  cross  to  the  scene  of  Cal- 
vary, and  if  their  resurrection  is  to 
come,  as  God  grant  it  may,  it  will  be 
peace,  not  war,  that  will  bring  it. 

Then  think  of  the  injury  the  world  has 
sustained  during  the  last  three  years 
from  loss  of  population.    For  the  propa- 


454 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


gation  of  the  race  and  the  happiness  and 
general  well-being  of  the  human  family 
nature  wants  her  youngest,  strongest, 
bravest,  and  most  resourceful.  But  these 
are  precisely  what  war  demands  for  its 
work  of  bloodshed  and  destruction,  de- 
spoiling the  world  of  the  flower  of  its 
manhood.  It  condemns  some  to  enforced 
celibacy,  some  to  lifelong  injury,  and 
many  to  death.  Every  great  war  has  com- 
mitted this  mad  crime  against  the  world 
and  its  Creator,  but  surely  no  war  before 
the  present  one  has  done  it  so  deliber- 
ately, so  self-consciously,  so  shamelessly, 
and  on  so  great  a  scale.  For  this,  too,  no 
reparation  is  possible.  Gold  and  silver 
cannot  pay  for  the  loss  of  flesh  and 
blood ;  no  accession  of  territory  can  atone 
to  us  for  the  lives  of  our  dead  that  lie 
under  their  wooden  crosses  along  the  sea 
in  Flanders.  The  everlasting  surf  of 
proud  if  scorching  tears  that  washes  that 
consecrated  coast  will  not  be  stayed  by 
indemnities  and  annexations.  When 
peace  comes  after  all  this  sacrifice  of  life 
she  must  bring  more  than  the  conquering 
sword  in  her  hand,  or  the  victory  will  be 
in  vain. 

Then  think  of  the  wrong  this  war  has 
done  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind. 
Every  war,  whatever  its  necessity  or  jus- 
tification, is  an  outrage  on  humanity, 
but  war  in  our  time  as  never  before  in 
man's  history  is  crime.  In  the  past  ages 
there  has  been  much  to  excuse  it.  Dif- 
ferences of  language,  conflicts  of  faith 
and  divisions  of  space,  not  to  speak  of 
more  sinister  evils,  have  been  sufficient 
to  create  an  atmosphere  of  mistrust  and 
suspicion  in  which  wars  have  been  bred, 
but  modern  education,  travel,  commerce, 
literature,  and,  above  all,  science,  with 
its  mysterious  and  angelic  power,  as  in 
the  telegraph,  of  bringing  people  in  a 
moment  into  the  same  place,  ought  to 
have  broken  down  the  barriers  that 
separated  the  nations  by  showing  them 
that  they  were  members  one  of  another, 
with  the  same  joys  and  sorrows,  the  same 
weakness  in  the  presence  of  man's  re- 
lentless enemy,  the  elements,  and  the 
same  dependence  on  the  Merciful  Father 
who  is  over  all.  They  have  not  done  so. 
War  has  come  with  its  insensate  brutali- 
ties  and  in  a  day  all  the  barbed  wire 


fences  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  have 
been  set  up  afresh,  charged  with  re- 
doubled currents  of  hatred  and  malice 
and  lust  of  blood. 

Had  one-tenth  of  all  the  lives  destroyed 
by  this  three  years'  war  been  swallowed 
up  by  flood  or  earthquake,  by  another 
and  more  frightful  Messina,  Galveston,  or 
San  Francisco,  what  a  wave  of  human 
brotherhood  would  have  swept  over  the 
nations,  making  the  whole  world  kin! 
But  man,  not  nature,  has  been  the  author 
of  this  tragedy.  So  the  people  in  Ger- 
many rejoice  over  the  sinking  of  the 
Lusitania  and  illuminate  the  streets  of 
Berlin  after  the  slaughter  of  little 
children  in  London.  What  a  moral 
catastrophe!  Can  humanity  ever  recover 
from  it  after  the  bitterness  of  the  last 
three  years?  Is  any  reconciliation  of 
peoples  possible?  If  not,  is  real  peace 
conceivable?  When  the  end  comes,  will 
it  only  be  a  cessation  of  activities? 

Shall  we  of  the  allied  countries  ever 
be  able  to  take  the  hand  of  a  German 
again?  In  looking  to  the  future  of  the 
civilized  nations  must  we  always  think 
and  feel  as  if  one  hundred  millions  of 
our  fellow-creatures  did  not  exist?  Some 
of  us  who  are  not  visionaries  used  to 
dream  of  a  day  when  humanity  would 
step  out  of  darkness  and  put  on  the 
armor  of  light.  Is  that  to  be  another  of 
our  dead  joys  and  buried  hopes  on  the 
road  of  life? 

A  Glimpse  at  the  Future 

And  then  think  finally  of  the  wrong 
this  three  years'  war  has  done  to  re- 
ligion. For  two  thousand  years  faith  has 
been  working  for  the  Christianization 
of  the  world.  It  has  been  a  long  and 
almost  hopeless  labor  in  the  past  with  so 
many  temporalities  to  contend  against, 
so  many  pagan  impulses  to  overcome.  If 
there  is  one  thing  certain  about  Jesus 
Christ  it  is  that  chief  among  his  purposes 
was  that  of  bringing  war  to  an  end,  of 
substituting  for  the  force  of  arms  the 
force  of  righteousness.  Painfully  through 
the  ages  has  religion  toiled  after  that 
great  ideal,  although  again  and  again  it 
has  been  compelled  to  see  the  vicars  of 
Christ  girding  themselves  with  the  sword 
in  spite  of  the  rebuke  of  Gethsemane. 

But  in  these  later  days  we  were  tell- 


THE  APPALLING   WASTE   OF   THE   WAR 


4a5 


ing  ourselves  that  in  spite  of  all  the 
machinations  of  military  despotism  the 
gospel  of  peace  was  sweeping  through 
the  world.  We  held  conferences  to 
celebrate  its  victorious  advance,  and 
great  German  theologians  like  Harnack 
came  to  England  to  preach  the  doctrine 
of  universal  pacification.  Down  to  the 
first  days  of  August,  1914,  we  were 
praying  in  our  churches  with  a  fervor 
and  conviction  never  felt  before  that  God 
would  give  us  peace  in  our  time,  that  He 
would  grant  to  all  nations  a  spirit  of 
unity  and  concord,  that  He  would  save 
us  from  violent  and  untimely  deaths,  and 
above  all  that  His  Kingdom  might  come 
on  earth,  even  as  it  is"  in  heaven. 

And  then — what  then?  At  the  first 
blast  of  war  the  gospel  of  peace  was 
gone,  nations  were  hardening  their 
hearts,  clergy,  under  holy  orders  from 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  were  shouldering 
rifles  and  going  out  to  kill.  The  Har- 
nacks  of  Germany,  with  a  blasphemy 
never  known  before  in  written  or  spoken 
words,  were  calling  on  God  to  strengthen 
their  arms  that  they  might  kill  more  and 
more  Englishmen.  And  then  there  came 
three  years  of  rapine,  murder,  slaughter, 


rape,  and  every  horror  known  to  hell. 
What  a  shock  if  the  dead  were  to  awake 
after  their  long  dream  of  heaven  that 
was  to  right  the  wrongs  and  heal  the 
wounds  of  their  lives  on  earth  to  find 
there  was  no  heaven  and  no  healing. 
Could  the  shock  be  greater?  Were  our 
dreams  a  delusion  ?  The  law  of  love  which 
proceeded  from  the  Cross,  was  it  incon- 
sistent with  the  laws  of  life  ?  Did  it  fail 
us  at  the  last  moment?  Is  the  Chris- 
tianization  of  the  world  further  off  than 
ever?  Are  there  two  Christianities — one 
for  the  individual  man  and  the  other  for 
the  State?  Will  God's  Kingdom  ever 
come?  Is  it  useless  and  foolish  to  hope 
for  the  commonwealth  of  humanity,  the 
League  of  Nations,  for  the  protection  of 
the  world's  peace? 

Is  peace  impossible,  and  will  the  war 
last  as  long  as  man? 

Thank  God,  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  the  darkest  hour  is  the  hour  be- 
fore dawn,  and  out  of  the  very  blackness 
of  the  present  I  see  hope  for  the  future, 
such  a  hope  as  the  world  has  never 
known  before.  Man's  days  are  as  a 
span,  yet  I  think  some  of  us  will  live 
to  see  not  only  peace  but  the  end  of  war. 


Secretary  Lansing  on  Our  War  Aims 

The  United  States,  for  the  Sake  of  Its  Own  Liberty, 
Must    Fight    Until    German   Autocracy   Is    Broken 


Robert  Lansing,  Secretary  of  State,  de- 
livered a  noteworthy  address  to  1,600  can- 
didates for  commissions  as  reserve  offi- 
cers at  Madison  Barracks,  Sachet  Har- 
bor, N.  Y.,  on  July  29,  1917.  After  a  few, 
introductory  sentences,  he  plunged  into 
his  theme,  saying: 

WE  are  living  in  the  most  mo- 
mentous time  in  all  history,  in 
a  time  when  the  lives  and  des- 
tinies of  nations  are  in  the 
balance,  when  the  civilization  which  has 
taken  centuries  to  build  may  crumble 
before  the  terrible  storm  which  is  sweep- 
ing over  Europe.  We  are  not  only  living 
in  this  critical  period,  but  we,  as  a  nation, 
have  become  a  participant  in  the  strug- 


gle. Having  cast  our  lot  on  the  side  of 
the  powers  allied  against  the  Imperial 
German  Government,  we  will  put  behind 
our  decision  the  full  power  and  the  re- 
sources of  the  Republic.  We  intend  to 
win  in  this  mighty  conflict,  and  we  will 
win  because  our  cause  is  the  cause  of 
justice  and  of  right  and  of  humanity. 

I  wonder  how  many  of  us  comprehend 
what  the  outcome  of  this  war  means  to 
mankind,  or,  to  bring  it  nearer  to  each 
one  of  us,  what  it  means  to  our  country. 
I  sometimes  think  that  there  prevail  very 
erroneous  impressions  as  to  the  reasons 
why  we  entered  the  war,  not  the  imme- 
diate reasons,  but  the  deep  underlying 
reasons  which  affect  the  life  and  future 


456 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


of  the  United  States  and  of  all  other  lib- 
erty-loving nations  throughout  the  world. 

Of  course,  the  immediate  cause  of  our 
war  against  Germany  was  the  announced 
purpose  of  the  German  Government  to 
break  its  promises  as  to  indiscriminate 
submarine  warfare  and  the  subsequent 
renewal  of  that  ruthless  method  of  de- 
struction with  increased  vigor  and  bru- 
tality. 

While  this  cause  was  in  itself  sufficient 
to  force  us  to  enter  the  war  if  we  would 
preserve  our  self-respect,  the  German 
Government's  deliberate  breach  of  faith 
and  its  utter  disregard  of  right  and  life 
had  a  far  deeper  meaning,  a  meaning 
which  had  been  growing  more  evident  as 
the  war  had  progressed  and  which  needed 
but  this  act  of  perfidy  to  bring  it  home 
to  all  thinking  Americans.  The  evil  char- 
acter of  the  German  Government  is  laid 
bare  before  the  world.  We  know  now 
that  that  Government  is  inspired  with 
ambitions  which  menace  human  liberty 
and  that  to  gain  its  end  it  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  break  faith,  to  violate  the  most 
sacred  rights,  or  to  perpetrate  intolerable 
acts  of  inhumanity. 

Proof  of  German  Perfidy 

It  needed  but  the  words  reported  to 
have  been  uttered  by  the  German  Chan- 
cellor to  complete  the  picture  of  the 
character  of  his  Government  when  he 
announced  that  the  only  reason  why  the 
intensified  submarine  campaign  was  de- 
layed until  February  last  was  that  suf- 
ficient submarines  could  not  be  built 
before  that  time  to  make  the  attacks  on 
commerce  efficient.  Do  you  realize  that 
this  means,  if  it  means  anything,  that 
the  promises  to  refrain  from  brutal  sub- 
marine warfare  which  Germany  had 
made  to  the  United  States  were  never 
intended  to  be  kept,  that  they  were  only 
made  in  order  to  gain  time  in  which  to 
build  more  submarines,  and  that  when 
the  time  came  to  act  the  German 
promises  were  unhesitatingly  torn  to 
pieces  like  other  "  scraps  of  paper  "  ? 

It  is  this  disclosure  of  the  character 
of  the  Imperial  German  Government 
which  is  the  underlying  cause  of  our 
entry  into  the  war.  We  had  doubted,  or 
at  least  many  Americans  had  doubted, 
the  evil  purposes  of  the  rulers  of  Ger- 


many. Doubt  remained  no  longer.  In 
the  light  of  events  we  could  read  the 
past  and  see  that  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  the  absorbing  ambition  of  the 
military  oligarchy,  which  was  the  master 
of  the  German  Empire,  was  for  world 
dominion.  Every  agency  in  the  fields  of 
commerce,  industry,  science,  and  diplo- 
macy had  been  directed  by  the  German 
Government  to  this  supreme  end.  Philos- 
ophers and  preachers  taught  that  the 
destiny  of  Germany  was  to  rule  the 
world,  thus  preparing  the  mind  of  the 
German  people  for  the  time  when  the 
mighty  engine  which  the  German  Gov- 
ernment had  constructed  should  crush  all 
opposition  and  the  German  Emperor 
should  rule  supreme. 

For  nearly  three  years  we  have 
watched  the  conduct  of  the  Imperial 
Government,  and  we  have  learned  more 
and  more  of  the  character  of  that  Gov- 
ernment and  of  its  aims.  We  came  very 
slowly  to  a  realizing  sense  that  not  only 
was  the  freedom  of  the  European  nations 
at  stake  but  that  liberty  throughout  the 
world  was  threatened  by  the  powerful 
autocracy  which  was  seeking  to  gratify 
its  vast  ambition. 

Not  impulsively,  but  with  deliberation, 
the  American  people  reached  the  only 
decision  which  was  possible  from  the 
standpoint  of  their  own  national  safety. 
Congress  declared  that  a  state  of  war 
existed  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Imperial  Government  of  Germany, 
and  this  country  united  with  the  other 
liberal  nations  of  the  earth  to  crush  the 
power  which  sought  to  erect  on  the  ruins 
of  democracy  a  world  empire  greater 
than  that  of  Greece  or  Rome  or  the 
Caliphs. 

Quotes  President's  Slogan 

The  President  has  said,  with  the  won- 
derful ability  which  he  has  to  express 
aptly  a  great  thought  in  a  single  phrase, 
that  "the. world  must  be  made  safe  for 
democracy."  In  that  thought  there  is' 
more  than  the  establishment  of  liberty 
and  self-government  for  all  nations; 
there  is  in  it  the  hope  of  an  enduring 
peace. 

I  do  not  know  in  the  annals  of  history 
an  instance  where  a  people,  with  truly 


SECRETARY  LANSING  ON  OUR  WAR  AIMS 


457 


democratic  institutions,  have  permitted 
their  Government  to  wage  a  war  of  ag- 
gression, a  war  of  conquest.  Faithful  to 
their  treaties,  sympathetic  with  others 
seeking  self-development,  real  democra- 
cies, whether  monarchical  or  republican 
in  their  forms  of  government,  desire 
peace  with  their  neighbors  and  with  all 
mankind. 

Were  every  people  on  earth  able  to 
express  their  will  there  would  be  no  wars 
of  aggression,  and,  if  there  were  no  wars 
of  aggression,  then  there  would  be  no 
wars,  and  lasting  peace  would  come  to 
this  earth.  The  only  way  that  a  people 
can  express  their  will  is  through  demo- 
cratic institutions.  Therefore,  when  the 
world  is  made  safe  for  democracy,  when 
that  great  principle  prevails,  universal 
peace  will  be  an  accomplished  fact. 

No  nation  or  people  will  benefit  more 
than  the  United,  States  when  that  time 
comes.  But  it  has  not  yet  come.  A  great 
people,  ruled  in  thought  and  word  as 
well  as  in  deed  by  the  most  sinister  Gov- 
ernment of  modern  times,  are  straining 
every  nerve  to  supplant  democracy  by 
the  autocracy  which  they  have  been 
taught  to  worship. 

When  will  the  German  people  awaken 
to  the  truth?  When  will  they  arise  in 
their  might  and  cast  off  the  yoke  and 
become  their  own  masters?  I  fear  that 
it  will  not  be  until  the  physical  might  of 
the  united  democracies  of  the  world  has 
destroyed  forever  the  evil  ambitions  of 
the  military  rulers  of  Germany  and 
liberty  triumphs  over  its  arch  enemy. 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  these  truths  which 
have  been  brought  to  light  in  these  last 
three  years,  I  wonder  how  many  Amer- 
icans feel  that  our  democracy  is  in  peril; 
that  our  liberty  needs  protection;  that 
the  United  States  is  in  real  danger  from 
the  malignant  forces  which  are  seeking 
to  impose  their  will  upon  the  world,  as 
they  have  upon  Germany  and  her  de- 
ceived allies. 

Let  us  understand  once  for  all  that 
this  is  no  war  to  establish  an  abstract 
principle  of  right.  It  is  a  war  in  which 
the  future  of  the  United  States  is  at 
stake.  If  any  one  among  you  has  the  idea 
that  we  are  fighting  others'  battles  and 
not  our  own,  the  sooner  he  gets  away 


from  that  idea  the  better  it  will  be  for 
him,  the  better  it  will  be  for  all  of  us. 

Germany  Menaces  America 

Imagine  Germany  victor  in  Europe 
because  the  United  States  remained 
neutral.  Who,  then,  think  you,  would 
be  the  next  victim  of  those  who  are  seek- 
ing to  be  masters  of  the  whole  earth? 
Would  not  this  country,  with  its  enor- 
mous wealth,  arouse  the  cupidity  of  an 
impoverished,  though  triumphant,  Ger- 
many? Would  not  this  democracy  be 
the  only  obstacle  between  the  autocratic 
rulers  of  Germany  and  their  supreme 
ambition?  Do  you  think  that  they  would 
withhold  their  hand  from  so  rich  a 
prize  ? 

Let  me,  then,  ask  you,  would  it  be 
easier  or  wiser  for  this  country  single- 
handed  to  resist  a  German  Empire  flushed 
with  victory  and  with  great  armies  and 
navies  at  its  command  than  to  unite  with 
the  brave  enemies  of  that  empire  in  end- 
ing now  and  for  all  time  this  menace  to 
our  future? 

Primarily,  then,  every  man  who 
crosses  the  ocean  to  fight  on  foreign 
soil  against  the  armies  of  the  German 
Emperor  goes  forth  to  fight  for  his  coun- 
try and  for  the  preservation  of  those 
things  for  which  our  forefathers  were 
willing  to  die.  To  those  who  thus  offer 
themselves  we  owe  the  same  debt  that 
we  owe  to  those  men  who  in  the  past 
fought  on  American  soil  in  the  cause 
of  liberty.  No,  not  the  same  debt,  but  a 
greater  one.  It  calls  for  more  patriotism, 
more  self-denial,  and  a  truer  vision  to 
wage  war  on  distant  shores  than  to  repel 
an  invader  or  defend  one's  home. 

I  know  that  some  among  you  may  con- 
sider the  idea  that  Germany  would  at- 
tack us  if  she  won  this  war  to  be  im- 
probable; but  let  him  who  doubts  remem- 
ber that  the  improbable,  yes,  the  impos- 
sible, has  been  happening  in  this  war 
from  the  beginning.  If  you  had  been  told 
prior  to  August,  1914,  that  the  German 
Government  would  disregard  its  solemn 
treaties  and  send  its  armies  into  Belgium, 
would  wantonly  burn  Louvain,  would 
murder  defenseless  people,  would  extort 
ransoms  from  conquered  cities,  would 
carry  away  men  and  women  into  slavery, 


458 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


would,  like  Vandals  of  old,  destroy  some 
of  history's  most  cherished  monuments, 
and  would  with  malicious  purpose  lay 
waste  the  fairest  fields  of  France  and 
Belgium,  you  would  have  indignantly  de- 
nied the  possibility.  You  would  have  ex- 
claimed that  Germans,  lovers  of  art  and 
learning,  would  never  permit  such  foul 
deeds.  Today  you  know  that  the  unbe- 
lievable has  happened,  that  all  these 
crimes  have  been  committed,  not  under 
the  impulse  of  passion,  but  under  official 
orders. 

Atrocities  and  Iron  Crosses 

Again,  if  you  had  been  told  before 
the  war  that  German  submarine  com- 
manders would  sink  peaceful  vessels  of 
commerce  and  send  to  sudden  death  men, 
women,  and  little  children,  you  would 
have  declared  such  scientific  brutality  to 
be  impossible.  Or,  if  you  had  been  told 
that  German  aviators  would  fly  over 
thickly  populated  cities  scattering  mis- 
siles of  death  and  destruction,  with  no 
other  purpose  than  to  terrorize  the  inno- 
cent inhabitants,  you  would  have  de- 
nounced the  very  thought  as  unworthy 
of  belief  and  as  a  calumny  upon  German 
honor.  Yet,  God  help  us,  these  things 
have  come  to  pass,  and  Iron  Crosses 
have  rewarded  the  perpetrators. 

But  there  is  more,  far  more,  which 
might  be  added  to  this  record  of  un- 
believable things  which  the  German  Gov- 
ernment has  done.  I  only  need  to  men- 
tion the  attempt  of  the  Foreign  Office 
at  Berlin  to  bribe  Mexico  to  make  war 
upon  us  by  promising  her  American  ter- 
ritory. It  was  only  one  of  many  in- 
trigues which  the  German  Government 
was  carrying  on  in  many  lands.  Spies 
and  conspirators  were  sent  throughout 
the  world.  Civil  discord  was  encouraged 
to  weaken  the  potential  strength  of 
nations  which  might  be  obstacles  to  the 
lust  of  Germany's  rulers  for  world 
mastery.  Those  of  German  blood  who 
owed  allegiance  to  other  countries  were 
appealed  to  to  support  the  Fatherland, 
which  beloved  name  masked  the  military 
clique  at  Berlin. 

Some  day  I  hope  that  the  whole  tale 
may  be  told.  It  will  be  an  astounding 
tale,  indeed.     But  enough  has  been  told 


so  that  there  no  longer  remains  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  as  to  the  character 
of  Germany's  rulers,  of  their  amazing 
ambition  for  world  empire  and  of  their 
intense  hatred  for  democracy. 

The  day  has  gone  by  when  we  can 
measure  possibilities  by  past  experi- 
ences or  when  we  believe  that  any  physi- 
cal obstacle  is  so  great  or  any  moral  in- 
fluence is  so  potent  as  to  cause  the  Ger- 
man autocracy  to  abandon  its  mad  pur- 
pose of  world  conquest. 

It  was  the  policy  of  those  who  plotted 
and  made  ready  for  the  time  to  ac- 
complish the  desire  of  the  German  rulers 
to  lull  '  into  false  security  the  great 
nations  which  they  intended  to  subdue, 
so  that  when  the  storm  broke  they  would 
be  unprepared.  How  well  they  succeeded 
you  know.  But  democracy  no  longer 
sleeps.  It  is  fully  awake  to  the  menace 
which  threatens  it.  The  American  people, 
trustful  and  friendly,  were  reluctant  to 
believe  that  imperialism  again  threatened 
the  peace  and  liberty  of  the  world.  Con- 
viction came  to  them  at  last,  and  with  it 
prompt  action.  The  American  Nation 
arrayed  itself  with  the  other  great  de- 
mocracies of  the  earth  against  the  genius 
of  evil  which  broods  over  the  destinies  of 
Central  Europe. 

America  s  High  Resolve 

No  thought  of  material  gain  and  no 
thought  of  material  loss  impelled  this 
action.  Inspired  by  the  highest  motives, 
American  manhood  prepared  to  risk  all 
for  the  right.  I  am  proud  of  my  country. 
I  am  proud  of  my  countrymen.  I  am 
proud  of  our  national  character.  With 
lofty  purpose,  with  patriotic  fervor,  with 
intense  earnestness,  the  American  de- 
mocracy has  drawn  the  sword,  which  it 
will  not  sheathe  until  the  baneful  forces 
of  absolutism  go  down  defeated  and 
broken. 

Who  can  longer  doubt — and  there  have 
been  many  who  have  doubted  in  these 
critical  days — the  power  of  that  eternal 
spirit  of  freedom  which  lives  in  every 
true  American  heart? 

My  friends,  I  am  firmly  convinced  that 
the  independence  of  no  nation  is  sure, 
that  the  liberty  of  no  individual  is  sure, 
until  the  military  despotism,  which  holds 
the  German  people  in  the  hollow  of  its 


VICE-ADMIRAL  SIR  ERIC  GEDDES 


The  new  First  Lord  of  the  British  Admiralty,  in  succession  to  Sir 

Edward  Carson.    Sir  Eric  Geddes  was  previously  Controller  of  the 

Navy.    As  a  Minister  he  has  had  to  be  elected  to  Parliament 

(Photo  Press  Illustrating  Service) 


SECRETARY  LANSING  ON  OUR  WAR  AIMS 


459 


hand,  has  been  made  impotent  and  harm- 
less forever.  Appeals  to  justice,  to  moral 
obligation,  to  honor,  no  longer  avail  with 
such  a  power.  There  is  but  one  way  to 
restore  peace  to  the  world,  and  that  is 
by  overcoming  the  physical  might  of  Ger- 
man imperialism  by  force  of  arms. 

For  its  own  safety,  as  well  as  for  the 
cause  of  human  liberty,  this  great  Repub- 
lic is  marshaling  its  armies  and  prepar- 
ing with  all  its  vigor  to  aid  in  ridding 
Germany,  as  well  as  the  world,  of  the 
most  ambitious  and  most  unprincipled 
autocracy  which  has  arisen  to  stay  the 
wheels  of  progress  and  imperil  Christian 
civilization. 

It  is  to  this  great  cause  you,  who  are 
present  here  tonight,  like  thousands  of 
other  loyal  Americans,  have  dedicated 
yourselves.  Upon  each  one  of  you  much 
depends.  You  are  going  forth  into  foreign 
lands,  not  only  as  guardians  of  the  flag 
of  your  country  and  of  the  liberties  of 
your  countrymen,  but  as  guardians  of  the 
national  honor  of  the  United  States. 
American  character  will  be  judged  by 
your  conduct,  American  spirit  by  your 
deeds.  As  you  maintain  yourselves  coura- 
geously and  honorably,  so  will  you  bring 
glory  to  the  flag  which  we  all  love  as  the 
emblem  of  our  national  unity  and  inde- 
pendence. 

Reward  of  the  Soldier 
It  is  in  the  toil  and  danger  of  so  great 
an  adventure  as  you  are  soon  to  experi- 
ence that  a  man's  true  character  will  be- 
come manifest.  He  will  be  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  realities.  The  little 
things  which  once  engrossed  his  thought 
and,  called  forth  his  energies  will  be  for- 
gotten in  the  stern  events  of  his  new  life. 
The  sternness  of  it  all  will  not  deprive 
him  of  the  satisfaction  which  comes  from 


doing  his  best.  As  he  found  gratification 
and  joy  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  the 
old  life,  so  will  he  find  a  deeper  gratifica- 
tion and  a  greater  joy  in  serving  his 
country  loyally  and  doing  his  part  in 
molding  the  future. 

And  when  your  task  is  completed,  when 
the  grim  days  of  battle  are  over,  and  you 
return  once  more  to  the  quiet  life  of  your 
profession  or  occupation,  which  you  have 
so  generously  abandoned  at  your  coun- 
try's call,  you  will  find  in  the  gratitude 
of  your  countrymen  an  ample  reward  for 
the  great  sacrifice  which  you  have  made. 

If  enthusiasm  and  ardor  can  make  suc- 
cess sure,  then  we,  Americans,  have  no 
cause  for  anxiety,  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
outcome  of  the  conflict.  But  enthusiasm 
and  ardor  are  not  all;  they  must  be 
founded  on  a  profound  conviction  of  the 
righteousness  of  your  cause  and  on  an 
implicit  faith  that  the  God  of  Battles  will 
strengthen  the  arm  of  him  who  fights  for 
the  right. 

In  the  time  of  stress  and  peril,  when 
a  man  stands  face  to  face  with  death  in 
its  most  terrible  forms,  God  will  not 
desert  him  who  puts  his  trust  in  Him. 
It  is  at  such  a  time  that  the  eternal 
verities  will  be  disclosed.  It  is  then,  when 
you  realize  that  existence  is  more  than 
this  life  and  that  over  our  destinies 
watches  an  all-powerful  and  compassion- 
ate God,  you  will  stand  amidst  the  storm 
of  battle  unflinching  and  unafraid. 

There  is  no  higher  praise  that  can  be 
bestowed  upon  a  soldier  of  the  Republic 
than  to  say  that  he  served  his  country 
faithfully  and  trusted  in  his  God.  Such 
I  earnestly  hope  will  be  the  praise  to 
which  each  of  you  will  be  entitled  when 
peace  returns  to  this  suffering  earth  and 
mankind  rejoices  that  the  world  is  made 
safe  for  democracy. 


War  for  American  Honor  and  Lives 

Senator  Borah  on  Our  War  Aims 

Senator  Borah  of  Idaho  delivered  a  remarkable  speech  in  the  Senate  on  July  26,  1917, 
during  the  debate  on  river  arftl  harbor  appropriations,  in  which  he  warned  Congress  and  the 
nation  against  useless  expenditures,  at  the  same  time  stating  just  what  were  the  issues  for 
which  Americans  were  about  to  offer  their  blood  and  treasure  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe. 
All  the  essential  parts  of  the  speech  are  given  below. 


The  debate  having  brought  Mr.  Borah 
to  the  point  vjhere  he  warned  the  Senate 
that  the-  millions  of  waste  in  the  River 
and  Harbor  bill  might  be  a  cause  of  dis- 
aster, he  continued: 

ENGLAND  has  up  to  the  present 
time  issued  war  "bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $18,740,000,000.  France 
has  issued  $10,532,000,000  of 
bonds,  Germany  has  issued  $13,400,000,- 
000  of  bonds,  Russia  has  issued  $7,896,- 
000,000  of  bonds,  Italy  has  issued  $2,520,- 
000,000  of  bonds,  Austria  has  issued  $3,- 
659,000,000  of  bonds,  and  the  United 
States  will  add  to  it  this  year  in  the  way 
of  bonds  in  all  probability  to  the  amount 
of  at  least  $10^000,000,000.  You  have,  Mr. 
President,  the  stupendous,  almost  in- 
comprehensible burden  of  $66,747,000,000 
in  the  way  of  bonded  indebtedness  upon 
the  countries  named  that  are  engaged  in 
this  war.  Calculate  the  annual  interest 
on  this  and  you  get  some  conception  of 
this  burden.     *     *     * 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  countries 
with  which  we  are  now  allied  are  raising 
apparently  every  dollar  that  they  can, 
but  must  necessarily  vote  these  large 
issues  of  bonds,  and  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  we  have  already  incurred  obliga- 
tions or  provided  for  expenditures  ap- 
proaching $17,000,000,000,  as  a  matter  of 
patriotism,  in  the  simple  discharge  of  the 
most  simple  duty  which  devolves  upon 
us  we  ought  to  insist  that  every  item  of 
appropriations  which  passes  through  this 
body  shall  have  stamped  upon  it  "  neces- 
sity ";  that  no  item  which  cannot  be  said 
to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  the  success- 
ful carrying  on  of  the  war  ought  to>pass, 
and  that  to  pass  it  would  be  an  act  in 
disregard  of  the  imminent  urgency  which 
confronts  this  country. 

Mr.  President,  there  never  has  been  a 
time  in  this  struggle,  from  the  first  day 


of  August,  1914,  until  this  present  hour, 
when  the  outlook  was  so  serious  and 
menacing  to  the  Allies  as  it  is  at  this 
time.     There  has  never  been  an  instant 


WILLIAM  E.  BORAH 
SENATOR  FROM  IDAHO 


so  calculated  to  call  forth  patriotic  effort, 
to  enlist  the  unselfish  zeal  of  those  who 
have  to  do  with  the  guiding  of  their 
country's  affairs  as  this  present  time. 
Russia  has  for  all  practical  purposes  at 
this  hour,  for  the  present  at  least,  passed 
out  of  the  conflict.  Her  internal  diffi- 
culties have  made  it  practically  impos- 
sible for  her  to  be  of  effect  upon  the 
fighting  line.  That  vast  body  of  people, 
upon  whom  all  interested  in  this  war 
upon  the  side  of  the  Allies  depended  so 


WAR  FOR  AMERICAN  HONOR  AND  LIVES 


461 


much  and  from  whom  they  expected  so 
much  has  by  reason  of  the  situation  at 
home  practically  left  the  battle  front. 

NeT»  Crisis  Due  to  Russia 

What  does  that  mean  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  ?  Could  a  more  serious 
message  come  over  the  wires  at  any  time, 
one  involving  more  nearly  the  lives  of 
millions  of  our  boys,  than  the  fact  that 
Russia  is  breaking  down?  If  there  is 
efficacy  in  prayer  in  such  things  as  these, 
the  American  people  may  well  offer  up  a 
silent  prayer  at  this  hour  for  the 
guidance  and  the  preservation  and  the 
success  of  Kerensky.  If  this  gallant 
leader,  standing  now  at  the  head  of  his 
disorganized  forces,  meets  either  the 
assassin's  bullet  or  failure  in  other  ways, 
it  means  a  leaven  which  will  disorganize 
and  demoralize  the  situation  beyond  any 
power  that  language  can  portray.  It 
means,  Mr.  President,  that  in  all  proba- 
bility a  million  American  boys  in  addi- 
tion will  find  graves  upon  European  soil. 

No  more  serious  situation,  Sir,  could 
confront  warring  nations  than  that  which 
confronts  the  Allies  at  this  hour.  In  the 
minds  of  some  it  may  not  be  considered 
wise  to  say  so,  but  the  situation  is  here, 
and  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  that 
we  should  speak  truthfully  and  plainly 
to  those  who  must  pay  our  taxes  and 
fight  our  battles.  The  hour  of  sacrifice 
has  arrived,  and,  being  here,  will  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  linger  and 
parley,  Sir,  over  money  to  go  into  Fish 
Creek,  Tombigbee  Creek,  or  some  other 
inconsequential  and  worthless  water- 
ways? Will  the  American  Senate  delay 
for  a  single  hour  to  cut  away  all  un- 
necessary .and  idle  things  which  impede 
progress  or  add  unnecessary  burdens  and 
meet  this  situation  as  it  is  necessary  for 
us  to  meet  it  in  order  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem ?  Shall  we  rise  to  the  invitations  of 
this  solemn  and  awful  hour  or  shall  we 
still  trifle  with  selfish  and  immaterial 
matters  as  the  storm  comes  on? 

But  that  is  not  all,  Mr.  President.  Not 
only  has  Russia  for  the  present  time 
passed  out  of  this  war,  but  the  submarine 
problem,  which,  it  was  hoped  a  few 
weeks  ago,  might  by  this  time  be  well 
upon  its  way  to  a  successful  solution,  in- 
stead of  being  favorable  to  the  Allies  is 


distinctly  favorable  to  the  Teuton  powers. 
I  read  in  the  reliable  papers  this  morn- 
ing that,  instead  of  the  amount  of  ton- 
nage sunk  decreasing,  it  is  increasing 
day  by  day,  and  thus,  while  the  Russian 
forces  are  breaking  away  from  the  fight- 
ing line,  the  submarines  of  the  Teuton 
powers  are  spreading  havoc  upon  the 
seas,  and  France  is  being  fought  almost 
to  her  knees,  though  displaying  again 
and  again  courage  and  heroism  such  as 
have  never  been  excelled  in  the  history  of 
the  world. 

[Here  Mr.  Borah  reviewed  the  work  of 
German  submarines,  estimating  the  sink- 
ings at  9,000,000  tons  a  year,  and  con- 
tinued] : 

Americas  Peace  Terms 
This  is  not  a  propitious  time,  gener- 
ally speaking,  to  discuss  peace  or  to  pro- 
pose peace  if  we  intend  to  have  that 
peace  which  is  permanent  and  which  en- 
dures. With  an  enemy  that  is  apparently 
marching  on  to  victory,  we  shall  hardly 
be  listened  to  upon  their  part;  we  can- 
not discuss  peace  with  them;  *  *  * 
but  I  think  this  much  ought  to  be  said, 
lest  I  be  misunderstood:  I  am  not  so 
sure  but  that  the  time  has  come  when  the 
American  people  should  have  presented 
to  them  more  definitely  and  specifically 
the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  we 
are  fighting  the  war  and  the  terms  and 
conditions  upon  which  we  would  cease  to 
fight  it.  I  believe  that  there  ought  to  be 
laid  before  our  people  a  more  specific 
program  as  to  what  we  propose  to  attain, 
as  to  what  we  propose  to  accomplish,  and 
as  to  the  terms  and  conditions  upon 
which  the  war,  so  far  as  America  is 
concerned,  can  end.  I  think  we  ought  to 
say  in  as  clear  terms  as  possible  just 
what  America  demands  as  a  prerequisite 
of  peace. 

I  say  this,  not,  Sir,  with  the  view  of 
dealing  with  Germany  or  with  the  ex- 
pectation that  she  would  accept  from  us 
at  this  time  any  proposal  which  we  might 
submit,  but  I  say  it  in  behalf  of  our  own 
people  and  of  permitting  them  to  know 
definitely  and  specifically  the  things  for 
which  they  are  expected  to  fight  and  the 
things  which  shall  constitute  the  end  of 
their  task.    We  cannot  carry  on  this  war, 


462 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


in  my  judgment,  without  a  thoroughly- 
aroused  and  sustained  public  opinion  in 
favor  of  the  war,  which  does  not  at  this 
time  exist ;  and  one  of  the  reasons,  in  my 
opinion,  why  it  does  not  exist  is  because 
of  the  nebulous  and  uncertain  terms  and 
conditions  upon  which  we,  are  supposed 
to  be  in  the  war,  and  the; utter  want  of 
knowledge  as  to  what  conditions  will  take 
us  out  of  the  war.  No  one  seems  to  know 
what  will  constitute  the  end.  America 
ought  to  hold  the  reins  of  peace  every 
hour  and  at  all  times. 

The  Real  American  Issue 
Mr.  President,  Viviani,  in  that  remark- 
able address  bidding  farewell  to  the 
American  people,  told  us  that  the  great 
mistake  the  German  Government  made 
was  in  not  knowing  the  French  and  Eng- 
glish  people ;  that  they  sent  their  Ambas- 
sadors to  France  and  England  to  study 
government  and  to  practice  the  arts  of 
diplomacy,  but  they  misunderstood  or  did 
not  read  at  all  the  noble  qualities  of  the 
masses.  Let  us  not  as  a  Government 
make  that  same  fatal  mistake  with  refer- 
ence to  our  own  people.  Let  us  keep  in 
mind  that  the  ways  of  Government  and 
the  paths  of  diplomacy  overshadowed  by 
no  sacrifice  are  often  far  from  the  sad 
and  dusty  lanes  down  which  the  people 
march  to  war.  Government  and  diplo- 
macy may  be.  interested  in  the  future  of 
Constantinople  and  the  Bagdad  Railway, 
but  out  yonder  in  the  open,  where  every 
move  toward  war  means  sorrow  and  sac- 
rifice, where  families  are  to  be  separated 
and  broken,  where  husband  and  brother 
and  son  are  to  be  offered  upon  the  altar, 
that  altar  must  be  our  country — you 
must  speak  to  them  of  things  of  home 
and  of  the  flag,  you  must  give  them  an 
American  issue  for  which  to  die. 

After  we  have  declared  war  and 
taken  the  steps  upon  the  part  of  the 
Government  which  necessarily  follow, 
we  come  then  to  deal  with  another 
world  entirely.  We  leave  the  field  of 
form  and  formality  and  find  ourselves 
in  the  world  of  the  concrete,  of  the  real, 
where  hearts  throb  and  grieve  and  men 
are  preparing  to  suffer  and  die.  From 
this  forward  you  must  deal  with  the 
man  on  the  street,  in  the  field,  and  in 


the  factory;  the  man  of  simple  and 
fixed  but  noble  national  instincts;  the 
man,  bless  God!  in  whose  moral  and  in- 
tellectual fibre  are  ingrained  the  teach- 
ings and  traditions  and  aspirations  of  a 
century  of  national  life — a  national  life 
separate,  distinct,  exceptional,  and  sub- 
lime. 

Fighting  for  Our  Own  Rights 

You  will  not  change  these  things  over 
night.  The  American  citizen  must  live 
his  character;  you  cannot  transplant  in 
a  few  weeks  the  habits  and  ideas,  the 
methods  and  ways,  of  other  people.  We 
have  our  allies,  and  with  them  a  com- 
mon purpose;  but  America  is  still 
America,  with  her  own  institutions,  her 
individuality,  the  moral  and  intellectual 
conceptions  of  her  own  people;  she  is 
still  a  sun  and  not  a  satellite. 

Sir,  if  our'  own  institutions  are  not  at 
stake,  if  the  security  of  our  own  country 
is  not  involved,  if  we  as  a  people  and 
as  a  nation  are  not  fighting  for  our 
own  rights  and  the  honor  and  lives  of 
our  own  people,  our  declaration  of  war 
was  a  bold  and  impudent  "betrayal  of  a 
whole  people,  and  its  further  continu- 
ance a  conspiracy  against  every  home 
in  the  land.     *     *     * 

A  few  weeks  ago  Russia  made  a  dec- 
laration in  favor  of  peace  based  upon  no 
indemnities  and  no  annexations.  It  found 
no  response  from  any  one  of  her  allies. 
In  my  humble  judgment,  the  United 
States  could  not  have  taken  a  more  im- 
portant and  effective  step  than  to  have 
indorsed  the  proposition  which  Russia  at 
that  time  put  out  to  the  world.  Some 
noted  exceptions,  some  of  which,  I  have 
no  doubt,  Russia  herself  would  have  ac- 
cepted, could  have  been  noted,  but  the 
principle  maintained.  It  is  my  opinion 
that  if  the  United  States  had  taken  a 
bold  stand  at  that  time  in  favor  of  that 
principle  Russia  would  be  in  100  per 
cent,  better  condition  as  a  fighting  force 
today  than  she  is.  But  the  impression 
immediately  obtained  that  certain  influ- 
ences prevented  the  United  States  from 
defining  its  position,  waiting  upon  other 
powers  which  were  directing  the  course 
of  this  war.  And  there  is  abroad  in  this 
land  now  the  belief  that  we  must  fight 


WAR  FOR  AMERICAN  HONOR  AND  LIVES 


463 


on  and  on  until  captured  colonies  and 
certain  territory  are  adjusted.  Sir,  I 
warn  you  now,  do  not  let  that  idea  be- 
come fastened  in  the  minds  of  our  people. 
Because  Americans  Were  Murdered 

Mr.  President,  I  can  only  speak  for 
myself  and  for  myself  alone.  But  speak- 
ing for  myself*  I  did  not  vote  for  war 
out  of  sympathy  for  France,  much  as  I 
sympathize  with  and  greatly  as  I  admire 
that  brave  and  chivalrous  people.  I  voted 
for  war  because  our  own  rights  had  been 
trampled  under  foot,  because  our  own 
people  had  been  murdered,  and  because 
we  were  warned  that  the  slaughter  was 
to  be  renewed.  I  could  see  nothing  un-* 
der  those  conditions  in  the  future  but 
continued  wrongs,  dishonor,  and  complete 
national  degradation.  I  did  not  vote  for 
war  that  we  might  spread  democracy 
over  Europe,  though,  in  common  with  all 
my  countrymen,  I  presume,  I  would  be 
glad  to  see  every  King  and  every  Em- 
peror and  every  Prince  exiled  from 
among  men  and  the  last  vestige  of  dy- 
nastic power  swept  into  the  refuse  of 
history. 

I  voted  for  war  to  preserve  and  make 
safe  our  own  blessed  Republic,  to  give 
honor  and  dignity  and  security  to  this 
democracy  of  ours,  and  to  keep  it  if  we 


could  as  our  fathers  transmitted  it,  whole 
and  triumphant.  I  felt  that  self-respect 
was  the  very  breath  of  life  of  a  democ- 
racy, that  while  other  Governments  might 
continue  on  in  humiliation,  and  even  in 
degradation,  without  self-respect  a  dem- 
ocracy could  not  long  endure.  I  felt  that 
a  free  Republic  living  alone  and  existing 
only  in  the  affection  and  the  devotion 
of  the  citizen  could  not  long  survive  the 
day  when  that  Republic  should  refuse  to 
defend  the  rights  and  protect  the  lives 
of  its  citizens.  So  I  voted  for  war  be- 
cause the  most  vital  thing  in  our  na- 
tional life  was  and  is  involved,  and  for 
no  other  reason  on  earth  would  I  have 
cast  that  vote  and  aided  in  plunging  our 
nation  into  the  midst  of  this  world  con- 
flict. 

As  I  view  it,  from  that  hour  this  was 
no  longer  a  European  war  to  settle  and 
adjust  European  affairs,  to  rehabilitate 
European  nations,  but  an  American  war, 
to  be  carried  on,  prolonged,  or  ended 
according  to  American  interests,  and  to 
be  adjusted  upon  American  principles, 
and  to  settle,  once  and  we  hope  for  all 
time,  that  while  slow  to  wrath  we  are 
swift  to  avenge  those  wrongs  which  chal- 
lenge national  honor  and  imperil  the  se- 
curity of  our  own  people. 


America  Will  Make   No  Difference" 


Dr.  Kahl,  a  Professor  of  Law  at  the  University  of  Berlin,  delivered  a  lecture 
in  July  on  "  The  Turning  Point  of  the  World  War."  He  was  reported  as  saying: 
The  turning  point  of  the  war  has  arrived — that  is  to  say,  the  climax  is 
passed,  and  the  scales  are  fixed  in  our  favor.  We  can  say  deliberately  that 
the  German  victory  is  waving  to  us.  Our  enemies  are  many.  Our  latest 
enemies  have  been  forced  to  come  in  as  economic  satellites  of  our  main  ene- 
mies. It  is  only  the  old  enemies  that  seriously  count  in  calculations  about 
the  result  and  end  of  the  compaign;  among  them  is  Wilson,  who  was  always 
playing  false.  Such  a  nature  as  his  is  repulsive  to  the  German  character. 
At  the  turning  point  of  the  world  war,  however,  the  fact  that  we  are  at  war 
with  America  will  make  no  difference — not  even  if  the  much-trumpeted 
200,000  men  come  over  the  sea.  With  just  conviction  and  hope  we  can  cry 
to  the  peace  hypocrite  on  the  warpath,  "  Too  late !  " 


The  Battle  of  the  Chancelleries 

British  Premier's  Attack  on  New  German  Chan- 
cellor's First  Speech  Opens  a  Many-Sided  Debate 


PREMIER  LLOYD  GEORGE,  speak- 
ing at  a  patriotic  demonstration 
in  Queen's  Hall,  London,  on  Bel- 
gium's Independence  Day,  July  21, 
1917,  characterized  the  recent  speech  of 
the  German  Chancellor,  Dr.  Michaelis, 
as  a  sham,  facing  both  ways,  and  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  wish  the  Germans 
to  "  harbor  any  delusions  that  they  are 
going  to  put  Great  Britain  out  of  this 
fight  until  liberty  has  been  re-established 
throughout  the  world."  The  German 
speech  in  question  was  delivered  in  the 
Reichstag  on  July.  19,  and  its  essential 
portions  will  be  found  in  the  August 
issue  of  this  magazine.  Toward  the  end 
of  his  speech  Mr.  Lloyd  George  said  that 
the  Germans  were  making  the  same  mis- 
take in  underestimating  America's  efforts 
in  the  war  as  they  had  made  about 
Great  Britain  in  the  beginning: 

They  said  that  we  wouldn't  fight,  and  If 
we  would  we  couldn't.  We  had  no  army 
and  we  couldn't  raise  one,  and  they 
needn't  worry  about  Britain.  I  think 
they  have  discovered  their  mistake  about 
us,  and  now  they  are  just  going  through 
the  same  process  with  America. 

I  want  to  put  this  to  them:  If  Great 
Britain,  not  a  very  large  country,  while 
she  is  maintaining  and  equipping  and  even 
building  up  equipment  for  an  army  of 
millions  afield  and  in  reserve  in  full 
fighting  array,  while  she  is  maintaining 
the  largest  navy  in  the  world,  can  or- 
ganize in  the  third  year  of  an  exhausting 
war  to  turn  out  millions  of  tons  of  new 
shipping,  is  America,  with  twice  the  popu- 
lation of  this  country,  with  endless  natural 
resources,  going  to  be  beaten  merely  be- 
cause she  puts  forth  no  effort?  The  man 
who  talks  like  that  knows  not  America; 
otherwise  he  would  not  say  it. 

Brighter  Days  for  Belgium 

The  other  essential  portions  of  Mr. 
Lloyd  George's  speech  are  as  follows: 
Three  years — even  of  agony— are  not  long 
in  the  life  of  a  nation,  and  the  deliverance 
of  Belgium  is  assuredly  coming,  and  when 
it  comes  that  deliverance  must  be  com- 
plete. France  owes  it,  Britain  owes  it, 
Europe    owes    it,    the    civilization    of    the 


world    owes    it    to    Belgium    that   her   de- 
liverance shall  be  complete. 

What  have  we  got  in  the  way?  There  is 
a  new  Chancellor.  The  Junker  has  thrown 
the  old  Chancellor  into  the  waste-paper 
basket  with  his  scrap  of  paper  and  they 
are  lying  there  side  by  side.  You  will  not 
have  to  wait  long  before  Junkerdom  will 
follow.  What  hope  is  there  in  his  speech 
of  peace— I  mean  an  honorable  peace, 
which  is  the  only  possible  peace?  It  is  a 
dexterous  speech.  A  facing-all-ways 
speech.  There  are  phrases  for  those  who 
earnestly  desire  peace— many.  But  they 
are  phrases  which  the  military  powers  of 
Germany  will  understand — phrases  about 
making  the  frontier  of  Germany  secure. 
That  is  the  phrase  which  annexed  Al- 
sace-Lorraine ;  that  is  the  phrase  which 
has  drenched  Europe  with  blood  from 
1914 ;  that  is  the  phrase  which,  if  they 
dare,  will  annex  Belgium ;  and  that  is  the 
phrase  which  will  once  more  precipitate 
Europe  into  a  welter  of  blood  within  a 
generation  unless  that  phrase  is  wiped 
out  of  the  statesmanship  of  Europe. 

Hcrr  Michaelis's  Phrases 

There  are  phrases  for  men  of  democratic 
mind  in  that  speech— many.  He  was  calling 
men  from  the  Reichstag  to  co-operate 
with  the  Government;  they  were  even  to 
get  office,  men  of  all  parties  and  ljien  of 
democratic  sentiment.  But  there  were 
phrases  to  satisfy  the  Junkers— to  other 
men  nothing.  There  was  to  be  no  parting 
with  imperialistic  rights.  Ah !  They  will 
call  men  from  the  Reichstag  to  office,  but 
they  will  be  not  Ministers,  but  clerks.  It 
is  the  speech  of  a  man  waiting  on  the 
military  situation,  and  let  the  Allies- 
Russia,  Britain,  France,  Italy,  all  of  them 
—bear  that  in  mind.  It  is  a  speech  that 
can  be  made  better  by  improving  the 
military  situation.  If  the  Germans  win  in 
the  west,  if  they  destroy  the  Russian  Army 
in  the  east,  if  their  friends  the  Turks 
drive  Britain  out  of  Mesopotamia,  if  the 
U-boats  sink  more  merchant  ships,  then 
that  speech,  believe  me,  means  annexation 
all  round  and  military  autocracy  more 
firmly  established  than  ever.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  should  the  German  Army  be 
driven  back  in  the  west,  be  beaten  in  the 
east,  and  should  their  friends  the  Turks 
fail  in  Bagdad,  and  the  submarines  be  a 
failure  on  the  high  seas,  that  speech  is  all 
right.  We  must  all  help  to  make  that  a 
good  speech.  There  are  possibilities  in  it 
of  excellence.     Let  us  help  Dr.  Michaelis; 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  CHANCELLERIES 


465 


let  us  give  our  assistance  to  the  new- 
Chancellor  to  make  his  first  speech  a  real 
success.  But  for  the  moment  it  means 
that  the  military  party  has  won. 

Guarantees  of  Peace 

I  want  to  repeat  In  another  form  a 
statement  which  I  made  before.  What 
manner  of  Government  they  choose  to 
rule  over  them  is  entirely  the  business  of 
the  German  people  themselves;  but  what 
manner  of  Government  we  can  trust  to 
make  peace  with  is  our  business.  De- 
mocracy is  in  itself  a  guarantee  of  peace, 
and  if  you  cannot  get  it  in  Germany  then 
we  must  secure  other  guarantees  as  a  sub- 
stitute. The  German  Chancellor's  speech 
shows,  in  my  judgment,  that  those  who 
are  in  charge  of  affairs  in  Germany  have 
for  the  moment  elected  for  war. 

There  is  no  hope  for  Belgium  in  that 
speech.  It  is  not  even  mentioned.  The 
phraseology  is  full  of  menace  to  Belgium. 
All  that  about  making  their  frontiers 
Secure— which  took  Metz  and  Strasburg 
away,  and  will  take  Liege  and  the  control 
over  Antwerp  again— that  is  not  a  phrase 
of  good  omen  for  Belgium.  All  that  about 
the  necessity  of  seeing  that  the  economic 
interests  of  Germany  are  secure  means 
that,  even  if  they  restore  Belgium,  their 
restoration  will  be  a  sham.  The  deter- 
mination of  the  Allies  is  this,  that  Bel- 
gium must  be  restored  as  a  free  and  an 
independent  people.  Belgium  must  be  a 
people  and  not  a  protectorate.  We  must 
not  have  a  Belgian  scabbard  for  the  Prus- 
sian sword.  The  sceptre  must  be  Belgian, 
the  sword  must  be  Belgian,  the  scabbard 
must  be  Belgian,  the  soul  must  be  Belgian. 
I  read  that  speech,  as  it  was  my  duty 
to  read  it  once,  twice,  thrice,  to  seek 
anything  in  it  which  would  give  hope  for 
an  end  of  this  bloodshed,  and  I  see  a  sham 
independence  for  Belgium,  a  sham  de- 
mocracy for  Germany,  a  sham  peace  for 
Europe ;  and  I  say  Europe  has  not  sacri- 
ficed millions  of  her  gallant  sons  to  set 
up  on  soil  consecrated  by  their  blood  a 
mere  sanctuary  for  shams. 

Vanishing   German   Illusions 

The  German  Chancellor  tries  to  stimu- 
late the  courage  of  his  people  by  doping 
them  with  illusions.  Germany  will  find 
that  her  new  hopes  are  just  such  illusions 
as  the  others  that  have  been  dispelled. 
Paris  in  six  weeks— that  is  gone.  The  cir- 
cumvention of  our  blockade  by  opening 
up  the  route  to  Bagdad  and  to  the  reserves 
of  the  East— that  is  gone.  The  Zeppelin 
raids— where  are  they?  And  now  it  is  the 
Turks  and  the  U-boats,  both  equally  bar- 
barous and  good  company,  the  one  for  the 
other.  The  U-boats  are  to  put  England 
out  of  business.  Owing  to  the  submarine 
attacks,  according  to  the  German  Chan- 
cellor, we  cannot  last  much  longer.  I  am 
sorry  to  disillusion  him  at  the  outset  of  his 
career.     But  truth  compels  me  to  do  it. 


Gradually,  but  surely,  we  are  increasing 
our  production  and  decreasing  our  losses 
in  ships. 

We  are  a  slow  people ;  we'  are  not  very 
quick  at  the  outset,  but  we  are  difficult  to 
beat  when  we  begin ;  and  certainly  I  think 
Germany  has  underrated  our  intelligence, 
our  industry,  and  our  determination.   *   *  * 

There  has  been  a  change,  a  more  sig- 
nificant change  than  that  of  the  substitu- 
tion of  Dr.  Michaelis  for  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg,  and  that  is  the  change  which  has 
been  announced  just  a  few  hours  ago.  That 
brilliant  young  Russian  statesman,  the 
outstanding  figure  of  the  Russian  revolu- 
tion, the  man  whose  inspiration  has  re- 
generated and  revived  Russian  military 
forces,  has  succeeded  to  the  leadership  of 
the  Russian  democracy.  In  the  great 
coming  struggle  in  the  east  and  in  the 
west,  every  German  soldier  must  know 
in  his  heart  that  if  he  falls  he  will  be 
dying  for  military  autocracy  in  fighting 
against  the  federation  of  free  peoples. 
On  the  other  hand  every  Belgian  soldier, 
every  French  soldier,  every  Russian  sol- 
dier knows  that  he  is  risking  his  life  for 
the  freedom  and  independence  of  his  native 
land.  Every  British,  every  American, 
every  Portuguese  soldier  knows  that  he 
will  be  fighting  side  by  side  with  the 
others  for  international  right  and  justice 
throughout  the  world,  and  it  is  that  grow- 
ing conviction  more  even  than  the  knowl- 
edge of  vast  unexhausted  resources  which 
gives  them  all  heart— it  gives  us  heart 
— to  go  on  fighting  to  the  end,  knowing 
full  well  that  the  future  of  mankind  is  our 
trust  to  maintain  and  to  defend. 

Commons  Rejects  Resolution 
The  attitude  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons  toward  a  peace  move  initiated 
by  Germany  was  shown  July  26,  when  by 
a  vote  of  148  to  19  it  defeated  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  moved  by  James  Ramsay 
Macdonald,  Socialist  and  Labor  Member 
for  Leicester: 

That,  .in  view  of  the  resolution  passed  by 
the  representatives  of  the  German  people 
assembled  in  the  Reichstag,  to  the  effect 
that,  putting  aside  the  thought  of  ac- 
quisition of  territory  by  force,  the  Reichs- 
tag is  striving  for  a  peace  of  understand- 
ing and  lasting  reconciliation  of  nations; 
that  with  such  a  peace,  political,  economic, 
and  financial  usurpation  are  incompatible, 
also  that  the  Reichstag  repudiates  all 
plans  which  aim  at  the  economic  isolation 
and  tying  down  of  nations  after  the  war, 
this  House  declares  that  this  statement  ex- 
presses the  principles  for  which  this 
country  has  stood  throughout,  and  calls 
upon  the  Government,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Allies,  to  restate  their  peace  terms 
accordingly;  and,  further,  it  declares 
that  the  Allies  should  accept  the  Russian 


406 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


proposal  that  the  forthcoming,  allied  con- 
ference on  war  aims  shall  comprise  repre- 
sentatives of  the  peoples  and  not  solely 
spokesmen  of  the  Governments. 

Former  Premier  Asquith,  in  discussing 
the  resolution,  welcomed  the  news  that  a 
conference  would  be  held  early  in  the 
Autumn  on  the  invitation  of  the  Russian 
Government.  Nothing  but  good  could 
come  of  a  plain  restatement  of  the  Allies* 
aims  in  a  good  cause.  Two  new  facts  of 
the  present  year,  first,  that  Russia  had 
ceased  forever  to  be  autocratic,  and,  sec- 
ond, the  appearance,  with  all  her  moral 
and  material  forces,  of  the  United  States 
in  the  struggle,  had  a  direct  and  practi- 
cal bearing  upon  the  opinion  of  the  world 
as  to  the  sincerity  of  the  Allies'  aims.  He 
continued: 

Earnestly  as  we  desire  peace,  no  peace 
is  worth  having  which  would  restore, 
under  some  thin  disguise,  the  precarious 
status  quo  ante  bellum  and  would  leave 
countries  like  Belgium,  Serbia,  and  Greece 
at  the  mercy  of  dynastic  intrigue  or 
under  the  menace  of  military  coercion. 
It  would  be  premature  and  futile  to 
grapple  in  detail  with  the  geographical 
problems  eventually  to  be  solved. 

The  principle  clearly  agreed  to  by  every 
one  of  the  Allies  is  that  in  any  rearrange- 
ment made  the  governing  principle  ought 
to  be  the  interests  and  the  wishes  of 
the  populations  affected.  But  is  that 
principle  acceptable  to  the  Central 
Powers?  Is  Germany  prepared  not  only 
to  evacuate  Belgium  but  to  make  repara- 
tion for  the  colossal  mischief  and  damage 
which  accompanied  her  devastating  occu- 
pation and  the  practical  enslavement  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  Belgian  people? 
Is  she  prepared  not  only  to  do  that  but 
to  restore  to  Belgium  not  a  pretense  of 
but  absolute   independence? 

Other  Official  Replies 

The  speech  of  Bonar  Law  dealt  large- 
ly with  the  Russian  crisis.  He  said  that 
all  the  nations  engaged  were  staggering 
under  the  blow,  but  that  the  resources 
of  the  Allies  were  sufficient  to  make  it 
absolutely  certain  that,  unless  their 
hearts  failed  them,  they  must  secure  the 
results  for  which  they  had  entered  the 
war.  The  struggle  had  reached  a  point 
where  it  was  a  question  of  staying  power, 
and  in  this  matter  he  had  absolute  con- 
fidence in  the   Allies. 

Another  official  reply  to  Chancellor 
Michaelis  is  contained  in  the  latter  part 


of  a  summary  of  war  events  prepared  for 
The  Associated  Press  by  Sir  Edward 
Carson,  British  Minister  without  port- 
folio, under  date  of  July  29.  After  de- 
claring that  the  Russian  revolution  and 
the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war  were  the  two  great  events  of  the 
year,  he  said: 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  Russian 
revolution,  from  a  military  point  of  view, 
gives  cause  for  great  anxiety  and  has,  up 
to  the  present,  proved  disastrous.  But  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  late  Russian  Emperor  was 
hatching  positive  treachery  to  the  alli- 
ance and  would  have  caused  much  greater 
disaster  to  us  by  concluding  separate 
peace  with  Germany. 

The  revolution,  even  from  a  military 
point  of  view,  has  been  far  better  than 
the  regime  which  it  displaced.  And,  from 
a  political  and  social  point  of  view,  we  in 
England  welcome  it  without  reserve.  We 
are  confident  that  the  inevitable  disturb- 
ance which  accompanies  every  revolution 
When  the  seat  of  existing  authority  is 
overturned  will  settle  into  constitutional 
order  based  on  free  democratic  institu- 
tions and  that  as  soon  as  this  is  brought 
about  the  ingrained  patriotism  of  the  Rus- 
sian people,  combined  with  their  splendid 
military  qualities,  proved  on  a  thousand 
battlefields,  once  more  will  bring  that 
great  country  into  line  in  effective  co-op- 
eration with  her  allies  in  striking  at  the 
common  enemy  of  all. 

The  Russian  revolution,  moreover,  has 
drawn  a  clear-cut  line  between  the  con- 
tending nations,  ranging  them  as  the  de- 
fenders of  democracy  on  one  side  and  as 
its  assailants  on  the  other.  This  aspect 
of  the  struggle,  of  course,  has  been  most 
strongly  emphasized  by  the  action  of 
America  in  joining  the  alliance  against 
the  Central  Empires  and  Turkey. 

Americas  Momenlous  Decision 
The  momentous  decision  of  the  United 
States  that  no  alternative  remained  to  her 
but  to  take  up  arms  against  Germany  is 
one  of  the  greatest  events  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  Previous  to  taking  it  she 
had  proved  by  a  long  course-  of  patient 
statesmanship  how  deeply  seated  was  her 
abhorrence  of  war  and  her  idealism  in  the 
conduct  of  international  affairs.  Nothing 
but  persistent  and  openly  avowed"  adop- 
tion by  Germany  of  a  policy  of  public 
crime  and  flagrant  violation  of  neutral 
rights  would  have  driven  America  into 
the  war. 

The  utterances  of  President  Wilson  have 
nobly  vindicated  the  moral  basis  of  the 
alliance  against  Germany,  and  we  have 
full  confidence  that  America's  moral  sup- 
port will,  in  good  time,  be  backed  by  ma- 


THE  BATTLE   OF   THE  CHANCELLERIES 


467 


terial  aid  of  overwhelming'  power  which 
will  make  an  end  of  all  doubts  as  to  the 
completeness  of  the  victory  attainable  by 
the  Allies. 

We  feel  sure  that  the  American  people 
realize  as  clearly  as  we  do  ourselves  that 
no  peace  can  be  lasting  which  is  not  the 
fruit  of  a  complete  and  unquestionable 
military  victory.  The  new  German  Chan- 
cellor has  shown  that  neither  the  German 
Government  nor  the  German  people  is  yet 
prepared  for  any  such  peace.  They  still 
hope  to  make  civilization  and  democracy 
surrender  to  the  black  flag. 


It  would  be  foolish  to  deny  that  the 
submarine  menace  is  an  exceedingly  grave 
one ;  but  it  will  be  defeated  as  every  other 
German  expedient  has  been  defeated  in 
the  three  years  of  war  we  now  have 
passed  through. 

We  enter  on  the  fourth  year  in  a  spirit 
of  confident  determination  to  see  this 
thing  through  until  we  have  attained  the 
aims  we  proclaimed  at  the  beginning, 
which  could  not  be  better  summarized 
than  in  President  Wilson's  pregnant 
phrase  to  "  make  the  world  safe  for  de- 
mocracy." 


Reply  of  Dr.  Michaelis  to  Lloyd  George 


Dr.  Georg  Michaelis,  the  German  Im- 
perial   Chancellor,     summoned    a    large 
number  of  newspaper  men  to  his  office 
in  Berlin  on  July  29  and  made  the  fol- 
lowing  declaration   and   countercharges: 
The  speech  of  David  Lloyd  George,  the 
British  Premier,  at  Queen's  Hall,  London, 
and  the  recent  debate  in  the  British  House 
of  Commons   again  have  proved  with   in- 
disputable   clearness    that    Great    Britain 
does   not   desire   peace  by  agreement   and 
understanding,    but   only   a   conclusion    of 
the  war  which  means  the  enslavement  of 
Germany  to  the  arbitrary  violence  of  our 
enemies. 

Proof  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  fact 
that  Sir  Edward  Carson  recently  declared 
in  Dublin  that  negotiations  with  Germany 
could  begin  only  after  the  retirement  of 
German  troops  beyond  the  Rhine.  In  re- 
sponse to  a  question  put  by  Commoner 
Joseph  King,  A.  Bonar  Law,  the  spokes- 
man of  the  British  Government  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  modified  this  declara- 
tion by  fixing  the  standpoint  of  the  British 
Government  as  being  that  if  Germany 
wanted  peace  she  first  of  all  must  declare 
herself  willing  to  evacuate  the  occupied 
territories. 

We  possess  clear  proofs  that  the  enemy 
gives  assent  to  a  declaration  going  even 
further  than  that  impudently  made  by  Sir 
Edward  Carson.  You  all  know  that  de- 
tailed information  regarding  the  French 
plans  of  conquest,  approved  by  Great 
Britain  and  Russia,  has  been  circulated 
for  weeks  past  in  the  neutral  press  and 
that  it  has  not  been  denied  up  to  the 
present. 

Says   French    See£    Conquest 

It  would  be  of  the  greatest  importance 
for  the  enlightenment  of  the  whole  world 
regarding  the  true  reasons  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  sanguinary  massacre  of 
nations  for  it  to  be  known  that  written 
proofs  of  our  enemies'  greed  for  conquest 
have  since  fallen  into  our  hands.  I  refer 
to  reports  of  the  secret  debate  on  June  2 
in  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies. 


I  ask  the  French  Government  this 
question :  Does  it  deny  that  ex-Premier 
Briand  and  Premier  Ribot,  in  the 
course  of  that  secret  sitting,  at  which 
were  present  Deputies  Moutet  and  Cochin, 
who  had  just  returned  from  Petro- 
grad,  were  forced  to  admit  that  France, 
shortly  before  the  Russian  revolution,  had 
come  to  an  agreement  having  in  view  vain 
plans  of  conquest  with  a  Government 
which  Premier  Lloyd  George  described  in 
his  last  speech  as  a  "  corrupt  and  nar- 
row autocracy"? 

I  ask  if  it  is  true  that  the  French  Am- 
bassador at  Petrograd,  in  response  to  a 
request  sent  by  him  to  Paris,  received  in- 
structions to  sign  a  treaty  prepared  in  ad- 
vance by  M.  Doumergue  (ex-Premier  and 
Foreign  Minister)  after  negotiations  with 
the  Russian  Emperor? 

Is  it  true  or  not  that  the  French  Presi- 
dent at  the  instance  of  General  Berthelot, 
head  of  the  French  military  mission  to 
Rumania,  formally  intrusted  him  with  a 
mandate,  and  that  M.  Briand  afterward 
sanctioned  this  step? 

This  treaty  assured  to  France  her  fron- 
tiers, but  amended  on  lines  of  previous 
wars  the  conquest  of  1870  to  include, 
besides  Alsace-Lorraine,  Saarbriicken  and 
vast  territorial  modifications  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine. 

As  desired  by  France  when  M.  Terest- 
chenko  (the  Russian  Foreign  Minister) 
took  office,  the  Russian  Government  pro- 
tested against  the  French  aims  of  con- 
quest, which  also  included  that  of  Syria, 
and  declared  that  new  Russia  no  longer 
would  be  willing  to  take  part  In  the 
struggle  if  it  learned  of  these  French  war 
aims. 

Professes   to   Quote   Briand 

Wasn't  it  the  principal  object  of  Albert 
Thomas  (member  of  the  French  War 
Council)  on  his  journey  to  Russia  to 
overcome  this  remorse  of  M.  Terest- 
chenko?  The  French  Government  will 
not  be  able  to  deny  all  this,  and  it  will  be 
obliged  to  confess,  although  it  may  do  so 
only  tacitly,  that  M.  Briand  was  the  ob- 


468 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Ject  of  stormy  attacks  during  the  secret 
session ;  that  Premier  Ribot  was  obliged 
to  produce  the  secret  treaty  in  response  to 
the  demand  of  M.  Renaudel,  (leader  of 
the  majority  Socialists  in  the  French 
Chamber,)  and  also  that  M.  Briand,  in 
the  course  of  the  excited  debate  which  en- 
sued, declared  that  revolutionary  Russia 
was  obliged  to  carry  out  what  Imperial 
Russia  had  promised  and  that  it  did  not 
matter  to  France  what  was  said  by  the 
lowest  classes  in  Russia. 

It  Is  characteristic  that  Deputy  Moutet, 
according  to  his  own  statement,  replied  in 
Russia  to  the  question  whether  Alsace- 
Lorraine  was  the  only  obstacle  to  peace 
by  saying  he  could  not  answer  the  question 
in  that  form  and  that  Russia  ought  to 
take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the 
Russian  revolution  had  been  purchased  by 
French  blood. 

The  admission  of  Deputies  Cochin  and 
Moutet  that  the  Russian  representatives 
had  declared  in  the  course  of  the  negotia- 
tion that  they  attached  no  importance 
to  Constantinople  throws  clear  light  on 
Russian  sentiment.  The  delegates  from 
the  Russian  armies  also  are  in  agreement 
with  this. 

Regardless  of  this  manifest  proof  of  the 
revulsion  of  the  Russian  people  against  a 
policy  of  aggrandizement,  Premier  Ribot 
refused  in  the  secret  session  of  the  French 
Chamber  to  undertake  any  revision  of  the 
French  war  aims  and  announced  the  fact 
that  Italy  also  had  received  guarantees  of 
great  territorial  aggrandizements. 

In  order  to  divest  their  ambitions  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  of  a  character 
of  greed  and  conquest,  he  announced  the 
necessity  of  a  buffer  State,  but  the  Oppo- 
sition speakers  cried  out  amid  a  din  of 
contradictions  :     "  It  is  disgraceful !  " 

I  would  like  also  to  mention  that  Pre- 
mier Ribot,  after  a  pacifist  speech  by 
Deputy  Augagneur,  replied  that  the  Rus- 
sian Generals  had  declared  that  the  Rus- 
sian armies  never  were  in  better  con- 
dition or  better  equipped  than  then.  Here 
appears  in  perfect  clearness  the  desire  to 
let  the  Russian  people  go  on  shedding 
their  blood  in  behalf  of  the  unjust  ambi- 
tions of  France. 

This  desire  has  been  fulfilled,  but  not  as 
Premier  Ribot  anticipated,  for  we  ean 
hardly  presume  he  had  such  an  absolute 
lack  of  humanity  as  that ;  though  fore- 
seeing the  failure  of  the  Russian  offensive, 
he  yet  insisted  upon  it,  thinking  it  would 
give  another  hour's  respite  pending  the 
entry  of  America  into  the  war. 

The  enemy  press  endeavors  to  force 
upon  my  inaugural  speech  the  interpreta- 
tion that  I  only  consented  to  the  majority 
resolution  with  an  ill-concealed  reserva- 
tion of  Germany's  desires  for  conquest. 
I  am  obliged  to  deny  the  imputation  as 
to   an   object   of  which   there  can   be   no 


doubt.      Besides,    the   resolution    implies— 
which  is  quite  clear— that  the  enemy  must 
also   renounce   any  ideas   of  conquest. 
Dr.  Michaelis  added  that  it  was  mani- 
fest Germany's  enemies  were  not  in  the 
least  considering  such  renunciation  and 
that*  the  French  meeting  held  in  secret 
was  fresh  proof  that  her  enemies  were 
responsible  for  the  prolongation  of  the 
war    and    were    "actuated    by    lust    of 
conquest." 

"The  conspicuousness  of  the  justice 
of  our  defensive  war,"  the  Chancellor 
concluded,  "will  steel  our  strength  and 
determination  in  the  future." 

Supported  by   Count  Czernin 
Count  Ottokar  Czernin  von  Chudenitz, 
the  Austro-Hungarian  Foreign  Minister, 
gave  out  a  similar  statement  at  Vienna 
on  the  same  day,  declaring  that  the  Dual 
Monarchy   would   fight   to    the   last   ex- 
tremity if  the   Entente  Powers  refused 
to  accept  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Michaelis 
and  enter  into  negotiations  on  the  basis 
of  a  peace  by  understanding.     He  also 
replied  to  Mr.  Lloyd.  George's  speech  of 
July  21  and  said  that  the  British  Premier 
was  mistaken  when  he  called  the  Reichs- 
tag resolution  a  "  peace  bluff."    He  said : 
I   must  reply   to   Premier   Lloyd   George 
with  the  question:     What  are  we  finally 
to   expect   from    the    Entente?     What   we 
desire    is    quite    evident    from    the    well- 
known   declarations   made   in  Vienna  and 
from   the  demonstrations  by   the   German 
people    showing    that    a    complete    agree- 
ment exists  to  the  very  last  detail  between 
Vienna  and  Berlin. 

What  the  Chancellor  and  the  Reichstag 
declared  is  what  I  described  months  ago 
as  an  honorable  peace,  which  the  Vienna 
Government  is  ready  to  accept  and  where- 
by it  seeks  a  lasting  reconciliation  of  the 
nations.  But  there  also  exists  the  com- 
plete agreement  that  we  never  shall  accept 
a  peace  which  is  not  honorable  for  us. 

If  the  Entente  does  not  wish  to  enter 
negotiations  on  the  basis  which  we  have 
clearly  indicated,  we  shall  continue  the 
war  and  fight  to  the  last  extremity. 

I  don't  care  whether  this  admission  is 
regarded  as  a  sign  of  weakness  or  of 
strength.  To  me  it  seems  only  a  sign  of 
common  sense  and  morality,  which  revolt 
against  the  idea  of  prolonging  the  war. 
I  am  absolutely  convinced  the  Entente 
will  never  succeed  in  crushing  us ;  and, 
since  in  our  position  of  defense  we  have 
no  intention  of  crushing  the  enemy,  the 
war  will  end  sooner  or  later  in  a  peace 
by    understanding.      But,    to    my    way    of 


REPLY  OF  DR.  MICHAELIS   TO   LLOYD   GEORGE 


4C9 


thinking,  the  natural  conclusion  is  that 
the  further  sacrifices  and  suffering  im- 
posed on  all  humanity  are  useless,  and 
that  it  is  necessary,  in  the  interests  of 
humanity,  to  reach  a  peace  by  under- 
standing as  soon  as  possible. 

As  we  have  fought  in  conjunction  with 
our  faithful  allies,  so  we  shall  make 
peace  in  conjunction  with  them,  now  or 
later,  and  we  shall  fight  in  conjunction 
with  them  to  the  last  extremity  unless  the 
enemy  shows  a  willingness  to  understand 
our  viewpoint. 

I  shall  not  put  the  question  who  was 
responsible  for  the  war,  because  it  is 
useless  to  discuss  the  past  in  this  con- 
nection. But  I  shall  speak  of  the  future, 
and  I  wish  to -express  the  desire  that  the 
world  may  succeed  after  the  conclusion  of 
peace  in  finding  adequate  means  and  ex- 
pedients to  prevent  forever  the  recurrence 
of  such  a  frightful  war. 
■  The  democratization  of  Constitutions  is 
the  great  demand  of  the  time.  Both  in 
Austria  and  in  Hungary  the  Governments 
are  putting  their  hands  to  this  great 
work,  but  they  are  against  intervention 
from  the  outside.  We  do  not  intervene  in 
the  internal  affairs  of  other  States,  and 
we  demand  complete  reciprocity  in  this 
matter. 

Balfour *s  Guarded'  Statement 
The  following  day,  July  30,  Arthur  J. 
Balfour,  British  Foreign  Minister,  took 
part  in  a  discussion  in  the  House  of 
Commons  regarding  Lord  Robert  Cecil's 
recent  statement  that  "  the  dismember- 
ment of  Austria  was  not  one  of  Great 
Britain's  war  aims."  Mr.  Balfour  said 
it  would  not  be  wise  for  the  Government 
to  declare  the  details  of  its  policy  at  this 
juncture.  With  respect  to  the  Jugoslav 
and  Austrian  question  it  was  impossible 
to  foretell  the  position  in  which  the 
world  would  find  itself  when  that  issue 
came  to  be  decided.  "  As  everybody 
"  knows,"  he  said,  "  we  first  entered  the 
"  war  to  defend  Belgium  and  prevent 
"  France  from  being  crushed  before  our 
"  eyes."  If  France  now  asked  for  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  he  saw  no  reason  why  Great 
Britain  should  not  assist  her  until  she 
got  back  into  the  position  which  existed 
before  the  attack  engineered  against  her 


by  Bismarck  in  1871,  namely,  that  she 
"  obtain  restoration  of  that  of  which  she 
"  was  violently  robbed  more  than  forty 
"years  ago."  He  added:  "As  long  as 
"  France  fights  for  Alsace-Lorraine  we 
"shall   support  her." 

As  for  the  democratization  of  Ger- 
many, Mr.  Balfour  continued,  nobody 
was  foolish  enough  to  suppose  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  impose  upon  Ger- 
many a  Constitution  made  outside  of 
Germany.     He  added: 

Germany  must  work  out  her  salvation. 
You  do  not  mend  matters  by  imposing  a 
Constitution,  even  if  you  have  the  power. 
Nations  must  make  their  scheme  of  lib- 
erty for  themselves,  according  to  their 
own  ideas,  and  based  on  their  history, 
character,  and  hopes. 

But  if  it  is  true  that  the  great  power  of 
German  imperialism  is  still  depending 
upon  the  belief— the  belief  driven  into  the 
German  Nation  by  the  wars  of  1866  and 
1870— that  only  under  the  imperial  system 
can  Germany  be  great,  powerful,  and 
rich,  then  if  experience  shows  that  the 
imperialistic  system  can  produce  not 
merely  a  triumph  one  time  but  inevitably 
lead  to  corresponding  disaster  at  another, 
it  may  well  be  that  those  views  which 
found  German  teachers  for  more  than  a 
generation  before  the  Bismarckian  dom- 
ination will  revive  with  new  lustre  and 
new  strength,  and  that  Germany,  with  all 
her  powers  of  organization  and  all  her  in- 
herited cultivation,  will  be  added  to  those 
nations  which  before  the  war  could 
hardly  conceive  how  a  universal  war  of 
this  sort  could  be  deliberately  provoked  in 
order  to  further  the  commercial  or  polit- 
ical interests  of  any  single  community. 

When  Germany  has  come  to  the  level  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in 
that  respect  we  may  hope  that  one  of  the 
great  disturbers  of  the  peace  will  forever 
be  eliminated.  I  do  not  know  who  will 
venture  to  say  for  a  moment  that,  looking 
at  the  internal  condition  of  Germany  as 
far  as  we  are  allowed  to  see  it  at  the 
present  time,  the  ideas  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking  will  really  grow  in  such 
fashion  as  to  raise  legitimate  hopes  that 
in  our  lifetime  we  shall  see  that  estab- 
lished. But  I  am  sure  that  if  it  is  not 
estabfished  the  security  of  Europe  will 
not  be  established  either. 


The  "Potsdam  Plot"  and  Countercharges 


The  London  Times  on  July  28  published 
an  article  from  a  "  well-informed  corre- 
spondent "  tending  to  show  that  the  die 


had  been  cast  for  war  at  a  secret  meet- 
ing in  Potsdam  on  July  5,  1914.  The 
Leipziger    Volkszeitung    had    published 


470 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


eight  days  earlier  a  report  of  Hugo 
Haase's  speech  in  the  Reichstag  contain- 
ing a  reference  to  "the  meeting  of  July 
5,  1914,"  as  one  of  the  matters  which 
would  have  to  be  explained  before  the 
origin  of  the  war  could  be  fully  under- 
stood. The  correspondent  of  The  Times 
wrote: 

This  is  the  first  public  reference  to  a 
date  which  probably  will  become  the  most 
famous  of  the  fateful  month  of  July,  1914. 
I  have  it  on  authority  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult if  not  impossible  to  doubt  that  the 
meeting  referred  to  was  a  meeting  held  at 
Potsdam  on  the  date  named.  There  were 
present  the  Kaiser,  Dr.  von  Bethmann 
Hollweg,  Admiral  von  Tirpitz,  General 
von  Falkenhayn,  Dr.  "William  von  Stumm, 
Under  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs ; 
Archduke  Frederick  of  Austria,  Count  von 
Berchtold,  Austrian  Foreign  Minister; 
Count  Tisza,  Premier  of  Hungary,  and 
General  Conrad  von  Hoetzendorf.  It 
appears  that  von  Jagow  and  Count  Moltke 
were  not  present. 

The  meeting  discussed  and  decided  on 
all  the  principal  points  in  the  Austrian 
ultimatum  which  was  to  be  dispatched  to 
Serbia.  Eighteen  days  later  it  was  recog- 
nized that  Russia  would  probably  refuse 
to  submit  to  such  a  direct  humiliation, 
and  that  war  would  result.  That  conse- 
quence the  meeting  definitely  decided  to 
accept.  It  is  probable  but  not  certain 
that  the  date  of  mobilization  was  fixed 
at  the  same  time. 

The  Kaiser,  as  is  well  known,  then  left 
for  Norway  with  the  object  of  throwing 
dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  French  and  Rus- 
sian Governments.  Three  weeks  later, 
when  it  became  known  that  England 
would  not  remain  neutral,  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg wished  to  withdraw,  but  it  was  too 
late.  The  decision  of  July  5  was  irrevoc- 
able. 

The  peculiar  way,  or  rather  ways,  in 
which  the  facts  have  become  known  can- 
not as  yet  be  told,  but  it  is  certain  that 
most  of  Haase's  hearers  were  fully  aware 
of  the  meaning  of  his  reference  to  July  5, 
for  the  subject  appears  to  have  been  dis- 
cussed more  fully  at  a  session  of  the 
Budget  Committee  of  the  Reichstag  eight 
weeks  ago,  when  a  Socialist  Deputy,  Herr 
Cohn,  challenged  a  certain  Minister  to 
deny  the  facts.  To  the  astonishment  of 
other  Deputies,  the  Minister  did  not  deny 
the  facts,  but  declined  to  make  any  state- 
ment. The  incident  created  an  immense 
sensation  in  the  Reichstag. 

The  Berlin  Government,  through  its 
semi-official  news  agency,  denied  this 
charge  in  the  following  dispatch  dated 
Aug.  1: 


The  Wolff  Bureau  is  authorized  to  de- 
clare the  statements,  with  all  their  de- 
tails, pure  inventions.  Neither  on  the 
day  named  nor  on  any  other  day  in  July 
did  such  a  joint  conference  occur,  either 
with  or  without  the  participation  of  the 
Emperor.  Moreover,  we  again  declare 
that  the  German  Government  abstained 
from  any  intervention  in  drafting  the 
Austrian  ultimatum  to  Serbia  and  that 
the  German  Government  was  completely 
ignorant  of  the  contents  of  the  ultimatum 
before  its  dispatch.  The  Times  supports 
its  false  allegations  on  statements  made 
by  Deputy  Cohn  in  the  main  committee 
of  the  Reichstag.  The  statement  of  the 
Deputy  was  immediately  refuted  in  com- 
mittee by  the  Government  as  incorrect. 

Ribot  Answers  Countercharge 
Dr.  Michaelis,  as  has  been  seen,  came 
back  with  the  countercharge  that  France 
and  Russia    had    made  a  secret    treaty 
aiming  at  conquest.     Premier  Ribot  re- 
plied to  the    latter    on    July  30,  in  the 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  saying: 
I  wish  to  reply  to  the  singular  speech 
which  Dr.   Michaelis  thought  fit  to  invite 
the  Berlin  journalists  to  hear.     The  Ger- 
man   Chancellor  publicly   commanded   the 
French  Government  to  declare  whether  in 
a  secret  sitting  June  1  the  French  Govern- 
ment had  not  made  known  to  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies   the  terms  of  a  secret  treaty 
made      before      the      Russian      revolution 
whereby    the    [Russian]    Emperor    bound 
himself  to  support  French   pretensions  to 
German  territory  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine. 

The  Chancellor's  version  contains  gross 
inaccuracies  and  absolute  lies,  notably  re- 
garding the  r61e  he  attributes  to  the 
President  of  the  Republic  in  giving  an 
order  to  sign  a  treaty  unknown  to  Pre- 
mier Briand.  The  Chambers  know  how 
things  passed.  M.  Doumergue,  (former 
Premier  and  Foreign  Minister,)  after  a 
conversation  with  the  Emperor,  demanded 
and  obtained  M.  Briand's  authorization 
to  take  note  of  the  Emperor's  promise  to 
support  our  claim  to  Alsace-Lorraine  and 
to  leave  us  free  to  seek  guarantees 
against  fresh  aggression,  not  by  annexing 
territories  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine, 
but  by  making  an  autonomous  State  of 
these  territories,  which  would  protect  us 
and  also  Belgium  against  invasion. 

We  have  never  thought  to  do  what  Bis- 
marck did  in  1871.  We  are,  therefore, 
entitled  to  deny  the  allegation  of  the 
Chancellor,  who  evidently  knows  of  the 
letters  exchanged  in  February,  1917,  at 
Petrograd,  and  falsified  since  as  his  most 
illustrious  predecessor  falsified  the  Ems 
dispatch.     Whenever  the  Russian  Govern- 


THE  "POTSDAM  PLOT"  AND  COUNTERCHARGES 


471 


ment  is  willing-  to  publish  these  letters 
we  have  no  objection. 

The  Chancellor  refrained  from  speaking" 
about  my  declaration  March  21,  wherein 
I  repudiated  in  France's  name  any  policy 
of  conquest  and  annexation  by  force.  He 
has  willfully  forgotten  my  language  May 
22  in  the  Chamber,  saying  we  were  ready 
to  enter  into  conversations  with  Russia 
as  to  the  object  of  the  war ;  and  if  the 
German  people,  whose  right  to  live  and 
develop  peacefully  we  do  not  contest, 
understood  that  we  wished  peace  founded 
on  the  right  of  the  people,  the  conclusion 
of  peace  would  thereby  be  singularly 
facilitated. 

Finally  the  Chancellor  passed  over  in 
silence  the  resolution  unanimously  voted 
after  the  June  secret  session.  *  *  * 
What  is  the  Chancellor  seeking?  He  is 
trying  to  hide  the  embarrassment  which 
he  feels  in  defining  Germany's  objects 
of.  war  and  conditions  whereon  she  would 
make  peace.  He  is  trying  especially  to 
turn  aside  attention  from  the  terrible  re- 
sponsibility weighing  on  the  conscience  of 
the  Kafcser  and  his  councilors. 

It  is  on  the  morrow  of  the  publication  of 
decisions  made  July  5,  1914,  at  a  council 
held  at  Potsdam,  at  which  all  conse- 
quences of  the  ultimatum  to  be  sent  to 
Serbia  were  discussed,  and  from  which  war 
was  bound  to  spring,  that  the  Chancellor 
is  trying  this  diversion.  There  is  some- 
thing shameless,  when  one  has  such  re- 
sponsibilities, in  demanding  our  intentions. 

Assuredly  it  is  not  to  Germany  that  we 
address  ourselves,  but  to  all  who  are  wit- 
nesses or  actors  in  the  struggle'  which  we 
have  been  maintaining  for  the  last  three 
years  and  who  know  that  there  is  in  the 
depth  of  the  French  people's  soul  a  deep 
attachment  to  the  principles  of  justice, 
respect  for  people's  rights,  and,  I  may 
add  at  the  risk  of  not  being  understood 
by  our  enemies,  true  generosity. 

The    Russian    Foreign    Minister,    M. 

Terestchenko,  also  denied  absolutely  the 

declarations    attributed    to   him    by    Dr. 

Michaelis.      He    issued    a    statement    on 

Aug.  1,  saying: 

The  Russian  Foreign  Minister  drew  up 
no  protest  nor  made  any  special  declara- 
tions to  the  French  Government  beyond 
a  general  declaration  by  the  Provisional 
Government  respecting  war  aims,  which 
was  generally  made  known  May  18.  This 
declaration,  which  was  sympathetically 
received,  will  be  thoroughly  examined  by 
.the  inter-allied  conference  to  be  held 
shortly. 

Cambon  on  Potsdam  Council 

Jules  Cambon,  who  was  the  French 
Ambassador  to  Germany  when  the  war 
broke  out,  and  who  is  now  General  Sec- 


retary of  the  French  Foreign  Office, 
confirmed  M.  Ribot's  statements.  To  an 
Associated  Press  representative  on  Aug. 
2  he  said,  in  reference  to  the  revelations 
regarding  the  Potsdam  Crown  Council  of 
July  5,  1914: 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  these 
revelations,  which  place  at  this  date  the 
responsibility  and  initiative  of  the  war, 
conform  to  the  truth,  and  I  am  not  sur- 
.  prised  that  the  German  Government  at- 
tempts to  divert  the  discussion  by  accus- 
ing us  of  seeking  annexations  which  are 
absolutely  contrary  to  the  feelings  of  all 
reasonable  Frenchmen. 

The  purpose  of  Herr  Michaelis  was  to 
mislead  the  anti-annexationist  elements  of 
Russia  and  the  United  States  in  attribut- 
ing to  France  a  desire  to  annex  what  had 
never  belonged  to  her.  No  Frenchman, 
myself  among  them,  who  keeps  the 
memory  of  the  sad  wound  of  1870  would 
have  dreamed  of  precipitating  Europe  into 
a  war  to  avenge  this  injury;  but,  since 
war  has  been  imposed  upon  us,  it  is 
natural  and  just  that  we  should  profit 
by  it  to  retake  what  had  been  unjustly 
torn  from  us. 

In  the  region  of  the  Sarre,  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made,  are  towns  which 
have  been  French  for  centuries  and  which 
the  treaty  of  1814  recognized  as  ours. 
Sarre  Louis,  for  example,  is  the  birth- 
place of  Marshal  Ney,  who  in  1814  refused 
before  a  court-martial  to  avail  himself  of 
the  argument  of  his  lawyer,  who  would 
have  made  him  innocent  of  the  crime  of 
treason  by  the  fact  that  his  birthplace 
was  no  longer  in  France.  Ney  preferred 
to  be  shot  rather  than  to  renounce  his 
French  citizenship  by  judicial  subtlety. 

Washington  dispatches  on  Aug.  2 
stated,  apparently  with  authority,  that 
the  United  States  Government  had  for 
sometime  been  in  possession  of  proof  that 
the  German  Emperor  and  his  advisers 
had  a?  copy  of  the  Serbian  ultimatum  in 
their  hands  fourteen  hours  before  it  was 
sent  to  Serbia.  This  charge,  which  fits 
in  with  the  story  of  the  meeting  of  July 
5,  1914,  has  been  denied  by  the  German 
Government,  but  is  said  to  have  been  ad- 
mitted by  Dr.  Zimmermann  under  pres- 
sure in  the  Reichstag.  Dr.  Zimmermann 
was  Under  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs 
at  the  date  in  question. 

Kaiser  Disclaims  Conquest 

Emperor  William  on  Aug.  1  took  a 
hand  in  the  war  aims  debate  of  the  Chan- 
celleries by  issuing  a  proclamation  to 
the  German  people,  as  follows: 


472 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


To  the  German  People:  Three  years  of 
hard  fighting  are  behind  us.  With  grief 
we  remember  our  dead,  with  pride  our 
soldiers  now  fighting,  with  confidence  all 
our  workers,  and  with  a  heavy  heart 
those  who  are  languishing  in  captivity ; 
but,  above  all,  our  thoughts  stand  reso- 
lute in  the  determination  to  prosecute 
this  righteous  war  of  defense  to  a  success- 
ful termination. 

The  enemy  is  stretching  out  his  hands 
toward  German  territory,  but  he  shall 
never  have  it.  New  nations  continue  to 
enter  the  war  against  us,  but  that  doesi 
not  frighten  us.  "We  know  our  strength, 
and  we  are  determined  to  make  use  of  it. 
They  wish  to  see  us  weak  and  powerless 
at  their  feet,  but  they  shall  not  prevail. 

They  received  disdainfully  our  words  of 
peace ;  they  did  not  know  how  Germany 
could  fight.  Throughout  the  world  they 
have  slandered  the  German  name,  but 
they  cannot  extinguish  the  glory  of  Ger- 
man deeds. 

Thus  we  stand  erect  at  the  close  of  this 
year,  immovable,  victorious,  and  intrepid. 
Trials  may  still  await  us,  but  we  shall 
meet  them  with  a  grave  mien  and  full 
of  faith.  Throughout  the  three  years* 
achievement  the  mighty  German  people 
has  become  firm  in  its  resistance  against 
all  that  the  power  of  the  enemy  can  con- 
ceive. If  the  enemy  wishes  to  prolong  the 
sufferings  of  war,  they  will  weigh  more 
heavily  upon  him  than  upon  us. 

For  that  which  has  been  accomplished 
on  the  front  let  us  at  home  show  our 
gratitude  by  tireless  toil.  We  must  con- 
tinue to  fight  and  to  furnish  arms  for  it. 
But  our  people  may  rest  assured  that 
German  blood  and  German  zeal  are  not 
being  gambled  with  for  an  empty  shadow 
of  ambition  or  schemes  of  conquest  and 
subjugation,  but  in  defense  of  a  strong, 
free  empire  In  which  our  children  may 
live  in  security. 

Let  all  our  actions  and  all  our  thoughts 
be  devoted  to  this  fight.  Let  this  be  our 
solemn  promise  of  this  day,  Aug.  1,  1917. 
WILLIAM,   I.   R. 

On  the  same  day  the  Kaiser  issued  the 
following  proclamation  to  the  German 
Army  and  Navy  and  to  the  German 
colonial  forces: 

The  third  year  of  the  war  has  come  to 
an  end.  The  number  of  our  adversaries 
has  increased,  but  their  prospects  of  vic- 
tory have  not  improved.  You  crushed 
Rumania  last  year.  The  Russian  Empire 
once  more  trembles  under  your  strokes. 
Both  countries  sacrificed  themselves  for 
the  interests  of  others  and  are  now  bleed- 
in  to  death.  In  Macedonia  you  forcibly 
withstood  the  enemy's  assaults.  In 
mighty  battles  on  the  western  front  you 
remain  the  masters  of  the  situation. 
Your     lines    are     firm,     protecting    your 


beloved    homes    against    the    terrors    and 
devastations  of  war. 

The  navy  has  achieved  good  results.  It 
has  threatened  the  enemy's  command  of 
the  sea  and  his  very  existence.  Far  from 
home,  a  little  German  group  is  defending 
a  German  colony  against  forces  many 
times  superior. 

Victory  in  the  coming  year  will  again 
be  on  our  side  and  on  that  of  our  allies. 
Ours  will  be  the  final  victory. 

With  a  deeply  moved  heart  I  thank  you 
In  my  own  name  and  in  that  of  the 
Fatherland  for  what  you  have  achieved, 
in  this  last  year  of  the  war.  With  ven- 
eration we  remember  the  fallen  who  gave 
up  their  lives  for  the  greatness  and 
safety  of  the  Fatherland. 

The  war  goes  on.  It  is  still  being  forced 
upon  us.  We  shall  fight  for  our  existence 
in  the  future  with  firm  resolution  and 
unfailing  courage.  As  our  problems  mul- 
tiply, so  does  our  strength  increase.  We 
are  invincible.  We  shall  be  victorious. 
The  Lord  God  will  be  with  us. 

WILLIAM,  I.  R. 

In  the  Field.  Aug.  1. 

British  Sovereigns  Message 

King  George  V.,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
third  anniversary  of  the  war,  Aug.  4, 
sent  identical  telegrams  to  the  Presidents 
and  sovereigns  of  the  United  States, 
France,  Portugal,  Italy,  Japan,  Serbia, 
and  Rumania,  expressing  "  the  unwaver- 
"  ing  determination  of  the  British  Empire 
"  to  pursue  the  contest  until  our  joint  ef- 
"  forts  are  crowned  with  success  and  our 
"common  aims  attained." 

His  Majesty  also  expressed  confidence 
in  the  unwavering  will  of  the  allied  peo- 
ples and  the  heroism  of  their  forces  in 
achieving  a  final  victory,  obtaining  the 
possibility  of  peaceful  progress  for  hu- 
manity. Similar  telegrams  were  sent  to 
the  Kings  of  Belgium  and  Siam  and  the 
President  of  Cuba. 

In  his  message  to  King  Albert  of  Bel- 
gium King  George  expressed  his  unshak- 
able confidence  in  the  ultimate  restora- 
tion of  Belgium  to  her  rightful  position 
among  the  free  countries  of  Europe,  add- 
ing: "  The  unfailing  spirit  of  her  people 
"under  the  grievous  suffering  inflicted 
"upon  them  by  their  enemies  will  con- 
tinue to  inspire  the  joint  efforts  of  the 
"allied  countries  against  the  nation 
"  which  has  trampled  them  underfoot." 

The  London  newspapers  commemorated 
the  conclusion  of  three  years  of  war  by 
long  reviews  and  statements  by  members 


THE  "POTSDAM  PLOT"  AND  COUNTERCHARGES 


17& 


of  the  Government  and  other  leaders  pro- 
claiming the  determination  to  fight  to  the 
end.  Some  of  these  statements  were 
epigrammatic.  Lord  Robert  Cecil  said: 
"The  path  to  freedom  lies  through  the 


"  German  lines."  Sir  Edward  Carson, 
Minister  without  portfolio,  said:  "  The 
"  Germans  unsheathed  the  sword;  they 
"  must  not  be  allowed  to  put  it  back  un- 
"  broken." 


The  Kaiser's  Message  to  President  Wilson 


A  Historic  Cable  Sent  Aug.  /0,  1914 
A  hitherto  unpublished  letter  cabled 
by  the  German  Emperor  to  President 
Wilson  on  "Aug.  10,  1914,  giving  the 
Kaiser's  own  version  of  how  the  world 
war  began,  was  made  public  on  Aug.  5, 
1917,  as  part  of  the  first  installment  of 
former  Ambassador  Gerard's  book,  "  My 
Four  Years  in.  Germany,"  which  was 
published  serially  in  The  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger.  The  original,  in  the 
Kaiser's  own  handwriting,  was  repro- 
duced. By  official  request  in  Berlin,  Am- 
bassador Gerard  had  suppressed  the 
message,  which  the  Kaiser  had  given  him 
for  publication.  It  is  now  made  public 
with  President  Wilson's  permission. 

-The  document  is  one  which  historians 
will  study  word  by  word  for  its  light  on 
the  hidden  motives  back  of  Germany's 
action  in  the  diplomatic  crisis  at  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  The  Kaiser's  plain  ad- 
mission that  Belgian  neutrality  "  had  to 
be  violated  by  Germany  on  strategical 
grounds,"  his  "apparent  belief  of  the  false 
assertion  that  France  was  preparing  to 
invade  Belgium,  and  his  statement  that 
King  George  gave  promises  which  Sir 
Edward  Grey  refused  to  fulfill — these 
are  a  few  of  the  many  points  of  interest 
in  it.  Here  is  the  text  of  the  letter: 
For  the  President  of  the 
United   States   Personally: 

10/VIII  14. 

1.  H.  R.  H.  Prince  Henry  was  received 
by  his  Majesty  King  George  V.  in  London, 
who  empowered  him  to  transmit  it  to  me 
verbally  that  England  would  remain  neu- 
tral if  war  broke  out  on  the  Continent  in- 
volving -  Germany  and  France,  Austria 
and  Russia.  This  message  was  telegraphed 
to  me  by  my  brother  from  London  after 
his  conversation  with  H.  M.  the  King, 
and  repeated  verbally  on  the  29th  of  July. 

2.  My  Ambassador  in  London  trans- 
mitted a  message  from  Sir  E.  Grey  to 
Berlin  saying  that  only  in  case  France  was 
likely  to  be  crushed  England  would  inter- 
fere. 

3.  On  the  30th  my  Ambassador  in  London 
reported  that  Sir  Edward  Grey  in  course 


of  a  "  private  '*  conversation  told  him 
that  if  the  conflict  remained  localized  be- 
tween Russia — not  Serbia — and  Austria, 
England  would  not  move,  but  if  we 
"  mixed  "  in  the  fray  she  would  take 
quick  decisions  and  grave  measures ;  i.  e., 
if  I  left  my  ally  Austria  in  the  lurch  to 
fight  alone  England  would  not  touch  me. 

4.  This  communication  being  directly 
counter  to  the  King's  message  to  me,  I 
telegraphed  to  H.  M.  on  the  29th  or  30th, 
thanking  him  for  kind  messages  through 
my  brother  and  begging  him  to  use  all  his 
power  to  keep  France  and  Russia — his 
allies — from  making  any  warlike  prepara- 
tions calculated  to  disturb  my  work  of 
mediation,  stating  that  I  was  in  constant 
communication  with  H.  M.  the  Czar.  In 
the  evening  the  King  kindly  answered 
that  he  had  ordered  his  Government  to 
use  every  possible  influence  with  his 
allies  to  refrain  from  taking  any  provoc- 
ative military  measures.  At  the  same 
time  H.  M.  asked  me  if  I  would  transmit 
to  Vienna  the  British  proposal  that  Aus- 
tria was  to  take  Belgrade  and  a  few  other 
Serbian  towns  and  a  strip  of  country  as 
a  "  mainmise,"  to  make  sure  that  the 
Serbian  promises  on  paper  should  be  ful- 
filled in  reality.  This  proposal  was  in 
the  same  moment  telegraphed  to  me  from 
Vienna  for  London,  quite  in  conjunction 
with  the  British  proposal ;  besides,  I  had 
telegraphed  to  H.  M.  the  Czar  the  same 
as  an  idea  of  mine,  before  I  received  the 
two  communications  from  Vienna  and 
London,  as  both  were  of  the  same  opinion. 

5.  I  immediately  transmitted  the  tele- 
grams vice  versa  to  Vienna  and  London. 
I  felt  that  I  was  able  to  tide  the  question 
over  and  was  happy  at  the  peaceful  out- 
look. 

6.  While  I  was  preparing  a  note  to  H. 
M.  the  Czar  the -next  morning,  to  inform 
him  that  Vienna,  London,  and  Berlin  were 
agreed  about  the  treatment  of  affairs,  I 
received  the  telegrams  from  H.  Ei  the 
Chancellor,  that  in  the  night  before  the 
Czar  had  given  the  order  to  mobilize  the 
whole  of  the  Russian  Army,  which  was,  of 
course,  also  meant  against  Germany ; 
whereas  up  till  then  the  southern  armies 
had  been  mobilized  against  Austria. 

7.  In  a  telegram  from  London  my  Am- 
bassador informed  me  he  understood  the 
British  Government  would  guarantee 
neutrality  of  France  and  wished  to  know 
whether  Germany  would  refrain  from  at- 
tack.    I  telegraphed  to  H.   M.   the  King 


474 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


personally  that  mobilization,  being  already- 
carried  out,  could  not  be  stopped,  but  if 
H.  M.  could  guarantee  with  his  armed 
forces  the  'neutrality  of  France  I  would 
refrain  from  attacking  her,  leaving  her 
alone,  and  employ  my  troops  elsewhere. 
H.  M.  answered  that  he  thought  my  offer 
was  based  on  a  misunderstanding ;  and, 
as  far  as  I  can  make  out,  Sir  E.  Grey 
never  took  my  offer  into  serious  consider- 
ation. He  never  answered  it.  Instead, 
he  declared  England  had  to  defend  Bel- 
gian neutrality,  which  had  to  be  violated 
by  Germany  on  strategic  grounds,  news 
having  been  received  that  France  was 
already  preparing  to  enter  Belgium,  and 
the  King  of  the  Belgians  having  refused 
my  petition  for  a  free  passage  under 
guarantee    of   his    country's   freedom. 

I  am  most  grateful  for  the  President's 
message. 

WILLIAM,   I.   R. 

The  existence  of  such  a  letter  was 
promptly  denied  by  the  German  Govern- 
ment. The  semi-official  Norddeutsche 
Allegemeine  Zeitung  printed  an  article 
on  Aug.  13  saying:  "We  are  in  a  posi- 
tion to  declare  that  no  such  telegram 
from  the  Emperor  exists."  The  United 
States  Government  responded  by  pub- 
lishing, without  comment,  the  text  of  the 
cable  letter  as  received  in  Washington 
three  years  ago.  It  differed  in  no  essen- 
trial  from  the  version  printed  above. 

Kaiser1  s  Excuse   Contradicted 

The  Kaiser's  assertion  that  Belgian 
neutrality  was  violated  because  "  France 
was  already  preparing  to  enter  Belgium" 
has   been   contradicted  by    one   of   Ger- 


many's leading  military  historians,  Lieut. 
Gen.  Baron  von  Freytag-Loringhoven, 
head  of  the  Supplementary  General  Staff 
of  the  German  Army.  In  an  article  pub- 
lished by  official  sanction  in  the  German 
press  early  in  August,  1917,  the  Baron 
stated  that  France  was  caught  unawares 
by  the  invading  armies,  greatly  to  the 
German  advantage.  His  narrative  of 
events  in  August,  1914,  contains  this 
passage : 

The  French  main  concentration  was 
originally  accomplished  between  Belfort 
and  the  Belgian  frontier,  and  the  first 
Indication  that  we  contemplated  a  Ger- 
man advance  through  Belgium  resulted  in 
a  shift  to  the  left.  *  *  *  The  Entente 
Allies  recognized  only  on  Aug.  17  that 
strong  German  forces  also  were  advanc- 
ing in  a  wide  enveloping  movement  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  River  Meuse,  where  pre- 
viously they  had  assumed  that  only  an 
army  of  cavalry,  strengthened  by  some 
infantry,  was  present. 

In  consequence  of  the  original  erroneous 
concentration  directed  toward  the  east,  the 
French  Fifth  Army  did  not  succeed  in  ad- 
vancing beyond  the  line  of  Dinant-Charle- 
roi  by  Aug.  22,  and  was  forced  to  content 
itself   with    holding    the    passages    of    the 
Rivers  Sambre  and  Meuse. 
General  von  Freytag-Loringhoven  de- 
clares that  the  Germans  retreated  from 
the  Marne  because  they  were  too  weak 
to  break  through  the  French  lines.    But 
he   argues   that,   although   final   success 
was  missed  there,  Germany,  by  seizing 
the    opportunity    of    a    daring    advance 
through    Belgium,    avoided   war   on   her 
own  territory. 


The  Kaiser  Contradicts  Himself 


Stephen  Lauzanne,  editor  of  the  Paris 
Matin  and  a  member  of  the  French  Mis- 
sion to  the  United  States,  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing comment  on  the  Kaiser's  letter 
when  it  was  made  public: 

In  the  letter  written  by  Kaiser  Wil- 
helm   to   President  Wilson   on   Aug.   10, 
1914,  we  find  the  following  passage: 
While  I  was  preparing  a  note  to  H.   M. 
the   Czar   next   morning    (July  31)    to   in- 
form him  that  "Vienna,  London,   and  Ber- 
lin  were   agreed    about   the   treatment   of 
affairs  I  received  the  telephone  messages 
from  H.    E.    the   Chancellor    that,    in    the 
night  before,  the  Czar  had  given  the  order 
to    mobilize    the    whole    of    the    Russian 
Army,   which  was,    of   course,    also   made 
against    Germany ;    whereas,    up    till   then 


the   southern   armies   had   been   mobilized 
against  Austria. 

It  is  not  the  first  time  that  a  similar 
assertion  is  made  by  the  German  rulers. 
In  an  official  document  issued  from  Ber- 
lin last  year  we  read  the  following  lines: 
History's  verdict  will  not  pass  over  the 
complete   mobilization   of  Russian   forces, 
which  meant  war  against  Germany. 
And    in    his    maiden    speech    at    the 
Reichstag   Dr.    Michaelis,   the   new   Im- 
perial   Chancellor,    declared    that    "  the 
Russian  mobilization  was  the  real  cause 
of  the  war,"  because  that   mobilization 
obliged  Germany,  for  her  safety,  to  take 
military  precautions. 

Unfortunately,    all   these   assertions — 


M.  I.  TERESTCHENKO 


Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  Russian  Provisional  Government. 
He  was  Minister  of  Finance  in  the  first  Russian  Cab- 
inet after  the  Revolution 
(Photo  Press  Illustrating   Service) 


THE  KAISER  CONTRADICTS  HIMSELF 


475 


letter  of  the  Kaiser,  official  com- 
muniques, speech  of  the  Chancellor— are 
entirely  untrue,  and  constitute  one  of 
the  most  audacious  and  impudent  lies. 
The  Germans,  who  are  masters  in  the  art 
of  falsification,  may  falsify  history  and 
geography;  but  they  will  find  it  more 
difficult  to  falsify  chronology  and  to 
prove  that  a  fact  which  takes  place  at  10 
o'clock  in  the  morning  is  posterior  to  a 
fact  which  took  place  at  6  in  the  evening. 
The  truth,  the  undeniable  truth  which 
all  historians  will  be  obliged  to  admit, 
is  that  the  German  mobilization  took 
place  before  the  Russian  mobilization, 
and  this  is  undeniably  proved  by  German 
documents. 

On  July  31,  1914,  at  noon,  took  place 
in  Germany  what  is  called  the  "  Kriegs* 
gefahrzustand  "  —  that  is,  the  official 
proclamation  of  danger  of  war.  It  is 
the  first  preliminary  measure  to  the 
complete  mobilization  of  the  German 
forces.  It  took  place  at  noon;  it  was 
placarded  at  noon  all  over  Berlin,  an- 
nounced by  special  editions  of  the  papers, 
and  telegraphed  through  the  empire.  A 
few  hours  later,  at  4  P.  M.,  the  German 
Kaiser  telegraphed  to  King  George  of 
England,  (the  telegram  has  been  pub- 
lished in  the  German  White  Book,)  and 
this  is  what  he  says: 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  communica- 
tion. *  *  *  I  have  just  heard  from  the 
Chancellor  that  intelligence  has  just 
reached  him  that  Nicholas,  this  evening, 
has  ordered  the  mobilization  of  his  entire 
army  and  fleet.  He  has  not  even  awaited 
the  result  of  the  mediation  in  which  I  am 
engaged,  and  he  has  left  me  completely 
without   information.  WILLIAM. 

Now  this  is  extremely  clear.  At  noon 
the  Kaiser  proclaims  the  "  Kriegsge- 
f  ahrzustand "  and  at  4  P.  M.  he  just 
hears  that  the  Chancellor  has  just 
learned  that  the  Czar  hasj  in  the  evening, 
ordered  the  mobilization  of  the  Russian 
Army.  The  "  Kriegsgef ahrzustand  "  is 
therefore  undoubtedly  anterior  to  the 
Russian  mobilization,  and  undoubtedly 
the  Kaiser  lies  when  in  his  letter  to 
President  Wilson  he  writes: 

While  I  was  preparing  a  note  in  the 
morning  I  received  the  telephone  messages 
from  the  Chancellor  that  in  the  night  be- 
fore the  Czar  had  given  the  order  to 
mobilize  the  whole  of  the  Russian  Army. 


He  lies,  because  he  has  himself  avowed 
in  his  telegram  to  King  George  that 
it  was  not  in  the  morning,  but  in  the 
evening,  that  the  news  had  reached  him 
through  the  Chancellor  that  Nicholas 
had  just  ordered  the  mobilization  of  his 
army.  The  Kaiser  has  indeed  tele- 
graphed too  much  in  those  tragic  hours 
of  1914,  and  he  has  forgotten  what  he 
telegraphed,  or  he  has  not  taken  the 
trouble  of  comparing  his  telegrams.  To 
King  George  he  wires  that  the  Russian 
mobilization  has  taken  place  in  the* even- 
ing of  July  31.  To  President  Wilson  he 
writes  that  the  Russian  mobilization 
has  taken  place  in  the  evening  of  July 
SO.  Historians  may  compare  and  choose. 
But  what  is  the  value  of  the  assertions 
of  a  man  who  says  one  thing  in  a  tele- 
gram and  another  thing  in  another  tele- 
gram? 

But  there  is  something  more.  In  his 
telegram  to  King  George  the  Kaiser 
complains  that  the  Czar  had  left  him 
"without  information.*'  This  is  another 
lie,  because  before  mobilizing  his  army 
the  ex-Czar  sent  four  telegrams  to  the 
Kaiser  of  Germany.  The  last  one  was 
couched  in  the  following  terms: 

Tsarskoe  Selo,  July  29,  1914. 
To  H.  M.  the  Kaiser  of  Germany : 

Thanks  for  your  telegram,  which  is  con- 
ciliatory and  friendly,  whereas  the  official 
message  presented  today  by  your  Ambas- 
sador to  my  Minister  was  conveyed  in  a 
very  different  tone.  I  beg  you  to  explain 
this  divergency.  It  would  be  right  to  give 
over  the  Austro-Serbian  problem  to  The 
Hague  Tribunal.  I  trust  in  your  wisdom 
and  friendship.  NICHOLAS. 

Not  only  did  the  Kaiser  not  answer 
that  telegram,  but  he  suppressed  it.  And 
in  the  official  German  White  Book,  giv- 
ing all  the  documents  about  the  war,  the 
last  telegram  of  the  Czar  has  disap- 
peared. The  reason  given  by  the  Ger- 
man officials  for  suppressing  the  tele- 
gram is  the  following:  They  say  that 
it  was  not  interesting! 

History  will  decide  if  the  proposal  of 
the  Czar  to  give  over  the  whole  Austro- 
Serbian  problem  to  The  Hague  Tribunal 
was  or  was  not  interesting.  But  it  is 
not  necessary  to  wait  for  history  to  de- 
cide what  degree  of  confidence  must  be 
placed  in  assertions  of  the  German 
Kaiser. 


Russia  Renews  Pledge  to  Her  Allies 


Foreign  Minister  Terestchenko  on  Aug. 
2  sent  the  following  telegram  to  Russian 
diplomatists  accredited  to  the  allied 
powers : 

At  a  moment  when  new  and  grave  mis- 
fortunes are  threatening-  Russia  we  con- 
sider it  our  duty  to  give  to  our  allies  who 
have  shared  with  us  the  burden  of  trials 
in  the  past  a  firm  and  definite  explanation 
of  our  point  of  view  regarding  the  conduct 
of  the  war.  The  greatness  of  the  task 
of  the  Russian  revolution  corresponds  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  change  which  it 
caused  in  the  life  of  the  State.  Reorgani- 
zation in  the  face  of  the  enemy  of  the 
entire  Governmental  system  could  not 
be  effected  without  serious  disorders. 
Nevertheless,  Russia,  convinced  there  is 
no  other  means  of  safety,  has  continued 
in  accord  with  the  Allies'  common  action 
on  the  front. 

Fully  conscious  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
task,  Russia  has  taken  up  the  burden  of 
conducting  active  military  operations  dur- 
ing reconstitution  of  the  army  and  the 
Government.  The  offensive  of  our  armies, 
which  was  necessitated  by  a  strategical 
situation,  encountered  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles on  both  fronts  and  in  the  interior 
of  the  country.  The  criminal  propaganda 
of  irresponsible  elements  was  used  by 
enemy  agents  and  provoked  a  revolution  in 
Petrograd.  At  the  same  time  part  of  the 
troops  on  the  front  were  seduced  by  the 


same  propaganda,  forgot  their  duty  to 
the  country,  and  facilitated  the  enemy's 
attempt  to  pierce  our  front. 
•  The  Russian  people  have  been  stirred  by 
these  events.  Through  the  Government 
created  by  the  revolution  and  an  un- 
shakable will  the  revolt  was  crushed  and 
its  originators  were  brought  to  justice. 
All  necessary  steps  have  been  taken  at  the 
front  for  restoring  the  combative  strength 
of  the  armies. 

The  Government  intends  bringing  to  a 
successful  end  the  task  of  establishing  an 
administration  capable  of  meeting  all  dan- 
gers and  guiding  the  country  in  the  path 
of  revolutionary  regeneration.  Russia  will 
not  suffer  herself  to  be  deterred  by  any 
difficulty  in  carrying,  out  the  irrevocable 
decision  to  continue  the  war  to  a  final 
triumph  of  the  principles  proclaimed  by 
the  Russian  revolution. 

In  the  presence  of  an  enemy  menace  the 
country  and  the  army  will  continue  with 
renewed  courage  the  great  work  of  res- 
toration as  well  as  the  preparation  on  the 
threshold  of  the  fourth  year  of  the  war 
for  the  coming  campaign.  We  firmly 
believe  that  Russian  citizens  will  combine 
all  efforts  to  fulfill  the  sacred  task  of 
defending  their  beloved  country  and  that 
the  enthusiasm  which  lighted  in  their 
breasts  a  flame  of  faith  in  the  triumph 
of  liberty  will  direct  the  whole  invincible 
force  of  revolution  against  the  enemy  who 
threatens  the  country. 


Italy's*  Position  Defined  by  Baron  Sonnino 


Baron  Sonnino,  Italian  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  delivered  an  important 
address  at  the  reopening  of  Parliament 
on  June  20,  defining  Italy's  position  on 
the  Balkan  issues  and  other  war  ques- 
tions. He  began  with  a  tribute  to  Amer- 
ica's entry  into  the  war,  saying:  "  The 
"  justice  of  our  cause  could  not  have  re- 
"  ceived  a  more  solemn,  a  more  manifest, 
"  sanction  than  this  given  by  a  nation 
"  which,  within  the  limits  of  national 
"  dignity,  tried  everything  to  avoid  war." 
Concerning  the  problems  and  aims  di- 
rectly affecting  Italy  he  said: 

Last  March  the  Italian  Government, 
together  with  the  other  Allies,  formally 
recognized  the  Provisional  Russian  Gov- 
ernment. The  Italian  Ration  and  the 
Parliament  follow  with  intense  interest 
the  course  of  events  of  their  great  ally 
in  its  hew  life  of  liberty.  "We  must  trust 
that  the  noble  Russian  people  will  find  in 


the  principles  of  democracy  the  strength 
necessary  to  overcome  all  the  difficulties 
inherent  in  its  racial  and  constitutional 
transformation,  and  that  the  sure  instinct 
of  the  people  will  be  on  its  guard  against 
all  enemy  tricks  which  aim  not  only  to 
make  their  own  political  and  military 
interests  prevail  but  also  to  undo  the 
free  organization  of  Russia.  Russia, 
however,  will  find  her  best  protection  in 
a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  and  in 
her  complete  accord  with  her  allies.  The 
sad-  case  of  Rumania  had  a  profound  echo 
among  us,  who  have  with  her  common 
ideals  and  aspirations.  Rumania,  how- 
ever, not  unmindful  of  her  traditions  and 
conscious  of  the  justice  of  her  cause,  will 
find  the  power  necessary  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  of  her  present  situation. 

No  peace  will  be  agreeable  to  us  which 
does  not  assure  the  restoration  of  three 
unhappy  nations  that  have  seen  their  ter- 
ritory invaded  and  devastated,  but  who 
live  with  full  confidence  in  the  future- 
Belgium,    Serbia,    and    Montenegro.     Also 


ITALY'S  POSITION  DEFINED  BY  BARON  SONNINO 


477 


the  restoration  of  the  independence  of 
Poland  is  an  essential  clause  of  our  peace 
terms.  The  rights  of  nationality  must  be 
protected.  It  is  in  moments  of  danger 
that  the  bonds  between  nations  become 
stronger. 

The  recent  proclamation  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Albania  has  publicly  con- 
firmed the  special  concern  of  the  Italian 
Government  toward  that  country,  the 
interests  of  which,  in  connection  with  our 
direct  and  safe  possession  of  Valona,  are 
intimately  bound  to  the  general  problem 
of  the  settlement  of  the  Adriatic— a  vital 
question  for  Italy.  We  want  the  inde- 
pendence of  Albania  in  agreement  with 
the  general  principles  on  which  our  alli- 
ances are  based  and  which  have  been  re- 
cently repeated  so  eloquently  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  by  the  new  Russian  Gov- 
ernment. Italy,  in  regard  to  Albania,  has 
no  other  aim  than  that  of  preventing  a 
possible  Interference  of  a  third  power. 
Italy  guarantees  the  absolute  autonomy 
of  Albania  and  will  protect  her  interests 
and  aspirations  in  the  conferences  of  the 
nations.  It  will  be  the  province  of  the 
peace  conference  to  determine  the  exact 
boundaries  of  Albania.  While  the  war  is" 
on  it  is  necessary  that  the  General  Staff  of 
the  Italian  Army  have  the  direction  of  all 
affairs,  always,  however,  with  due  re- 
gard to  the  existing  usages  and  interests 
of  the  Albanian  people.  After  the  war 
Albania  will  decide  for  herself. 

Military  necessity  has  forced  the  three 
protecting  powers  to  take  in  regard  to 
Greece  such  measures  as  have  resulted  in 
/the  abdication  of  King  Constantine  and 
the  assumption  of  the  throne  by  his  sec- 
ond son,  Alexander.  Italy,  not  being  in 
the  number  of  the  protecting  powers,  had 
no  part  in  all  this,  although — it  is  well  to 
say  it— the  Italian  Government  in  this  cir- 
cumstance, as  well  as  in  the  general  di- 
rection of  the  war,  has  been  in  full  agree- 
ment with  its  allies.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  Greece  has  now  reached  such  a  con- 
dition in  its  internal  affairs  as  not  to  en- 
danger any  longer  the  military  position 
of  the  allied  armies  in  Macedonia.  We 
wish  well  to  the  new  King,  fully  con- 
vinced that  Italy  and  Greece  must  pro- 
ceed together  in  the  development  of  their 
political  and  economic  activities  toward 
those  glorious  ends  to  which  their  his- 
torical traditions  and  their  ancient  civili- 
zation call  them.  • 

Against  Turkey  England  has  recently 
undertaken  a  new  vigorous  military  action 
in  Palestine,  in  which  the  bravery  of  the 
British  Army  has  already  been  demon- 
strated. The  Italian  flag  is  represented 
in  that  expedition— a  fact  which  responds 
to  a  high  international  political  and  moral 
interest.  The  constant  care  of  this  Gov- 
ernment   and    of    our    allies    is     this— to 


strengthen  our  unity  of  action  and  har- 
monize our  respective  interests. 

The  Mediterranean  interests  of  Italy  are 
essentially  based  on  the  principle  of  equi- 
librium and  equality  among  the  powers. 
We  have  the  greatest  guarantees  that 
these  interests  will  be  equally  protected 
and  safeguarded. 

Lately  many  efforts  from  many  sides 
(from  the  enemy  also)  have  been  made  to 
have  all  the  elements  of  the  future  peace 
inclosed  in  a  short  formula.  It  is  worth 
while  to  remember  the  wise  words  which 
the  President  of  the  United  States  ad- 
dressed to  Russia  a  few  days  ago :  "  All 
wrongs  must  be  redressed  and  their  re- 
currence made  impossible."  One  cannot 
do  this  with  highly  sounding  words  or 
pleasing  phrases.  The  general  situation 
is  very  complicated,  because  it  includes 
problems  of  difference  of  race,  civiliza- 
tion, geographical  position,  traditions,  as- 
pirations. A  short  formula  cannot  cover 
the  whole  ground  of  so  many  cases.  Com- 
plicated problems  exclude  a  priori  the 
simplicism  of  a  formula  that  covers  every- 
thing. Thus  the  formula  of  "  no  annexa- 
tions and  no  indemnities  "  is  purely  nega- 
tive if  it  is  separated  from  the  positive 
principles  of  liberty  and  independence  of 
all  nations.  The  negative  policy  of  no  in- 
demnities and  no  annexations  without 
a  guarantee  that  peace  and  inter- 
national justice  will  be  maintained  would 
amount  to  the  same  as  to  admit  that  all 
the  iniquities  and  violences  of  the  past  are 
to  be  continued  forever. 

Italy's    War  Aims  Explained 

A  prominent  Admiral  of  the  Italian 
Navy  recently  gave  to  Whitney  Warren 
in  Paris  the  following  succinct  and  il- 
luminating statement  of  Italy's  war  aims 
on  both  sides  of  the  Adriatic: 

In  centuries  of  servitude  we  learned  to 
suffer,  but  not  to  submit.  We  are  fight- 
ing to  complete  our  union,  and  rather  than 
forego  it  we  prefer  to  die.  The  Trentino 
and  Trieste  are  doors  to  our  home  where- 
of the  foreigner  has  taken  possession, 
which  prevents  us  from  closing  them 
against  robbers.  If  New  York  and  San 
Francisco  were  occupied  by  the  Germans, 
would  Americans  have  acted  differently 
from  the  Italians?  And  what  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Trentino  and  Trieste  on  land 
is  represented  by  the  Adriatic  on  the  sea, 
for  the  sea  frontiers  of  Italy  are  greater 
than  her  frontiers  on  land.  By  sea  Italy 
breathes  and  lives.  The  Tyrrhenian  and 
the  Adriatic  are  her  two  lungs.  If  you 
take  a  lung  from  a  man  he  may  not  die 
immediately,  but  he  will  be  short  of . 
breath.  If  you  take  the  Adriatic  from 
Italy  she  will  die  of  suffocation. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at  the 
map    to    see    that    without    Dalmatia   and 


478 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  chain  of  islands  along  the  coast  Italy- 
can  never  be  secure  on  the  Adriatic.  Dal- 
matia  and  those  islands  belonged  to 
Venice.  By  their  possession  she  assured 
herself  and  Europe  against  the  Turkish 
pirates  in  the  sea.  When  Venice  fell,  and 
Austria  ravished  the  heritage  of  Saint 
Mark,  Italy  was  not  yet  freed  from  her 
long  bondage.  This  heritage  in  the  hands 
of  the  usurpers  formed  an  integral  and 
.  indivisible  part  of  the  great  Italian  moth- 
erland too  feeble  to  break  the  bonds 
asunder. 

Everywhere  Austria  found  traces  of  Ital- 
ian culture  on  the  coasts  and  among  the 
islands.  Ancient  monuments  and  modern 
houses,  churches  of  old  and  churches  of  to- 
day, language,  customs,  civilization — all  Is 
Latin,  all  part  of  the  Italian  motherland. 
But  little  by  little  Austria  by  persecution 
and  confiscation  replaced  the  Italians  of 
these  regions  by  Germans  or  Croatians 
from  the  interior.  Our  houses,  our  altars, 
our  monuments  are  now  occupied  in  great 
measure  by  foreigners  of  another  tongue 
and  another  civilization,  who  do  not 
realize  what  they  have  torn  from  us,  who 
understand  neither  the  language  of  our 
country  nor  its  ruins.  They  only  know 
they  are  there  because  there  is  the  key 
to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Adriatic.  The 
Italians  left  in  Dalmatia  struggle  still  to 
save  what  remains  of  their  country  and 
Invoke  her  aid,  but  their  voices  become 
more  feeble  as  their  numbers  decrease. 
We  must  strike  now,  for  soon  it  will  be 
too  late,  our  thousand-year-old  Latin  civ- 
ilization will  be  abolished  by  these 
spoilers. 

To  these  reasons  must  be  added  another 
of  military  order.  Our  dreadnoughts  are 
shut  up  in  Tarento  because  we  do  not 
possess  a  harbor  large  or  deep  enough  on 
the  Adriatic  to  hold  a  large  squadron, 
whereas  Austria  dominates  the  whole 
upper  Adriatic  from  Pola,  the  middle  Adri- 
atic from  Setenco  and  Spalato,  the  lower 
Adriatic  down  to  Corfu  from  Cattaro,  and 
every  channel,  every  isle  affords  excellent 
shelter  for  a  large  and  powerful  fleet. 
Thus  Austria  can  overcome  the  inferiority 
of  her  fleet  to  those  of  Italy,  France,  and 
England.  At  any  moment  she  can  bring 
out  her  vessels  from  any  point  of  the  mag- 
nificent coast  she  has  stolen  from  us,  and 
we  have  no  port  at  all  to  harbor  our  big 
ships. 

I  have  spent  all  my  life  on  the  sea  and 
now  I  have  the  honor  to  command  all  the 
mobilized  naval  forces  of  my  country.  I 
can   therefore   speak   with   full  knowledge 


of  the  subject,  as  I  base  my  arguments 
not  on  theory,  but  on  experience.  Where- 
as the  Italian  coast  from  Venice  to 
Otranto  is  entirely  low-lying,  without 
ports,  without  anchorages,  and  wholly  ex- 
posed to  the  north  wind,  the  CurzoLari 
Islands  and  Dalmatia  offer  vast  and  nu- 
merous points  of  refuge  both  from  the 
enemy  and  from  bad  weather.  No  matter 
where  the  Austrian  ship  is  in  the  Adriatic, 
she  can  always  find  shelter  by  steaming  a 
few  miles  and  reaching  one  of  the  nu- 
merous channels  to  the  interior.  But  our 
vessels  can  only  take  refuge  at  Venice  or 
Brindisi,  our  only  natural  naval  ports. 
Brindisi  and  Venice  are  800  miles  apart 
and  impracticable  for  great  modern  war- 
ships. So  that  the  enemy  can  use  the 
islands  as  a  bridge  between  Dalmatia  and 
Italy  and  cross  it  to  attack  us  just  as  he 
can  choose  his  own  moment  and  withdraw 
before  we  can  pursue  him,  because  Brindisi 
and  Venice  are  too  distant  for  us  to  arrive 
in  time.  Besides,  each  lofty  peak  of  the 
Curzolari  Island  mountains  is  an  excel- 
lent signaling  station  to  sweep  the  whole 
surrounding  ocean.  On  the  Italian  side 
the  reverse  is  the  case ;  our  view  extends 
rbut  a  few  miles. 

For  these  reasons  the  words  Dalmatia 
and  Adriatic  evoke  the  following  thought 
in  all. Italians  today:  We  cannot  use  the 
sea  which  bathes  half  of  our  country  be- 
cause all  advantages  are  on  the  opposite 
coast.  Austria  was  for  many  centuries 
without  the  Adriatic,  yet  she  was  pow- 
erful and  prosperous  because  she  was  not 
a  seafaring  but  essentially  a  contintental 
nation.  We,  on  the  contrary,  by  our 
geographical  situation,  are  exclusively  a 
maritime  nation.  We  never  have  been 
able  to  live  without  the  Adriatic,  and  now 
that  we  are  threatened  to  be  deprived  of  it 
forever  we  will  fight  for  it  to  the  death. 

Italy  does  not  demand  territorial  con- 
quests ;  she  wants  simply  to  get  back 
what  belongs  to  her,  what  is  necessary  for 
her  existence.  If  we  had  nourished  the 
idea  of  conquest  would  we  not  have  joined 
our  former  allies  to  profit  by  the  advan- 
tages they  held  out?  A  vast  colonial  em- 
pire, the  riches  of  Corsica,  Nice,  and 
Savoy — was  not  that  a  tempting  bait  for 
our  ambition?  And  remember  that  at 
the  time  Italy  entered  the  war  everything 
pointed  to  a  victory  for  the  Central  Pow- 
ers. But  to  these  promises  Italy  preferred 
the  Carso,  the  Trentino,  and  the  Curzolari 
Islands.  We're  not  waging  a  war  of  con- 
quest, but  struggling  to  turn  out  the  in- 
truder in  our  home,  to  deliver  our  own 
sons,  to  save  Latin  civilization. 


Germany's  Attitude  Toward  Restoration 


Premier  Lloyd  George  spoke  on  Aug. 
4,  1917,  at  a  great  patriotic  meeting  held 
in  Queen's  Hall,  London,  to  mark  the 
third  anniversary  of  the  war.  He  as- 
serted that  the  German  ambition  for 
world  conquest  had  been  checked,  and 
that  before  Great  Britain  entered  a  peace 
conference  the  Germans  must  learn  the 
full  meaning  of  the  word  "  restoration." 
Denouncing  the  peace  talk  of  the  German 
Emperor  and  of  Chancellor  Michaelis  as 
a  subterfuge  for  German  war  lords  to 
gain  time,  he  shouted: 

There  must  be  no  next  time.  Don't  let 
us  repeat  this  horror.  Let  us  be  a  gen- 
eration that  manfully,  courageously,  and 
resolutely  eliminated  war  from  among 
the  tragedies  of  human  life.  Let  us  make 
victory,  at  any  rate,  so  complete  that 
national  liberty,  whether  for  great  na- 
tions or  for  small  nations,  can  never  be 
challenged. 

The  nations  of  the  world  have  been 
climbing  painfully  up  the  steps  that  lead 
to  national  independence  and  self-respect, 
and  now  comes  a  great  power  with  brute 
force  to  thrust  the  nations  back  crushed 
and  bleeding  into  the  chasm  of  servitude. 
That  is  what  we  have  been  fighting. 

They  talk  glibly  of  peace,  but  stammer 
and  stutter  when  they  come  to  the  word 
"  restoration."  It  has  not  yet  crossed 
their  lips  in  its  entirety.  We  have  chal- 
lenged them.     They  cannot  say  it. 

Pointing  to  the  soldiers  in  the  audience, 
the  Premier  said  they  were  "  gradually 
curing  the  Kaiser  of  his  stuttering."  He 
went  on: 

So  far  he  has  not  learned  the  alphabet 
of  peace,  not  the  first  letter  of  that 
alphabet.  "  Restoration  "—that's  the  first 
letter.     Then  we  will  talk. 

What  do  they  mean?  Do  they  mean 
peace  when  they  talk  it?  The  truth  is, 
the  Prussian  war  lords  have  not  yet 
abandoned  their  ambitions.  They  are  not 
discussing  that.  They  are  only  discussing 
the  postponement  of  those  ambitions.  *  *  * 
The  allied  powers  at  the  first  moment 
felt  instinctively  that  a  great  menace  to 
human  liberty  had  appeared  on  the  hor- 
izon, and  they  accepted  the  challenge. 
America  saw  it  and  joined  us.  That  is 
what  the  Germans  have  been  striving 
against  for  three  years,  and  not  without 
success. 

War  is  a  ghastly  business,  but  it  is  not 
as  grim  as  a  bad  peace.  There  is  an  end 
to  a  horrible  war,  but  a  bad  peace  will  go 
on  and  on,  staggering  from  one  war  to 
another. 


On  all  the  roads  ever  confronted  there 
are  ups  and  downs,  and  no  doubt  the 
Russian  collapse  is  rather  a  deep  glen, 
and  I  am  not  sure  that  we  have  reached 
its  darkest  level,  but  across  the  valley " 
I  can  see  the  ascent. 

The  Germans  claim  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  last  battle.  All  I  can  say  is  that 
Field  Marshal  Haig  has  secured  all  his 
objectives.  We  had  enough  guns  to  smash 
lines- upon  which  for  three  years  the  Ger- 
mans had  expended  willing  and  forced 
labor,  and  if  the  Germans  are  pleased 
with  the  battle,  we  will  let  it  continue 
thus,   to  our  mutual  satisfaction. 

The  course  the  advance  is  taking  is  the 
British  method  of  saving  life,  and  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  nation  to  stand  behind 
the  army,  patient,  strong,  and  united. 
In  this  way  we  will  win.  The  nation  that 
turns  back  or  falters  before  it  reaches 
its  purpose  can  never  become  a  great 
people. 

Angry  Retorts  from  Germany 
An  extraordinary  outburst  of  anger  in 
the  German  press  followed  Mr.  Lloyd 
George's  "  restoration "  speech.  The 
Hamburger  Fremdenblatt  called  the  ad- 
dress rubbish,  an  agitator's  speech  of  the 
lowest  sort,  almost  hysterical,  and  full  of 
reckless  calumnies  and  misstatements. 
The  Kolnische  Volkszeitung,  after  calling 
the  British  Prime  Minister  a  war  fanatic 
and  an  agitator,  declared  that  the  curses 
of  the  whole  world  would  soon  "  follow 
"  to  Hades  this  man  of  demoniacal  energy 
"  and  humdrum,  narrow  outlook."  The 
Frankfurter  Zeitung,  usually  moderate 
in  its  tone,  called  Lloyd  George  a  circus 
clown  and  added  that  Germany  would 
not  have  the  word  restoration  dictated 
to  her.  "  We  can  reach  the  exact  mean- 
"  ing  of  that  word,"  it  continued,  "  only 
"  by  assuming  that  restoration,  at  Eng- 
land's command  means  destruction  for 
"  us.  Nothing  in  the  speech  shows  the 
"  way  to  peace.  Lloyd  George  talks  of 
"  victory  with  the  Russian  defeat  and  the 
"failure  in  Flanders  staring  him  in  the 
"  face."  The  Lokal-Anzeiger  of  Berlin 
called  him  a  senseless  dictator  and  said: 
"  We  are  victors  in  the  East  and  in  the 
"  West.  Germany  is  not  concerned  about 
"  restoration  and  is  not  afraid  to  con- 
tinue the  war." 

Count    zu    Reventlow,   commenting    in 
the   Deutsche   Tageszeitung,   wrote  that 


480 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Lloyd  George  was  trying  to  distract  Eng- 
land's attention  from  the  Entente  failure 
in  Flanders,  adding: 

He  uses  strong"  words  in  speaking-  of 
weakened  German  nerves.  He  wants  to 
teach  the  Kaiser  the  pronunciation  of  the 
word  restitution,  of  course,  in  the  Eng- 
lish sense,  which  is  synonymous  with  the 
restitution  of  English  domination  over 
Belgium.  The  conquest  of  Belgium  by 
English  arms  has  failed,  and  that  is  why 
the  Premier  now  tries  to  reconquer  it 
with  his  mouth.  He  prefers  that  as  the 
safer  method.  But  we  need  not  bother 
about  this.  "We  have  but  one  aim — the 
security  of  our  frontiers — which  can  only 
be  achieved  by  victory. 

At  a  reception  in  the  Reichstag  build- 
ing on  Aug.  4,  the  anniversary  of  the  sit- 
ting of  Aug.  4,  1914,  addresses  were 
made  by  Parliamentary  and  military 
leaders,  after  which  Dr.  Michaelis,  the 
Imperial  Chancellor,  said  in  part: 

We  all  know  what  we  want.  We  will 
hand  our  patrimony  intact  to  the  future 
generations.  We  will  guarantee  our 
children  and  grandchildren  against  the 
misfortune  of  a  war  like  this.  We  will 
preserve  our  country  by  a  strong  and  wise 
peace,  in  order  that  the  German  race 
may  retain  sure  ground  for  its  healthy 
and  vigorous  development.  The  gentle- 
men who  preceded  me  showed  that  our 
strength  is  not  paralyzed ;  that  our  will 
is  as  strong  as  it  was  in  1914.  The  heav- 
iest sacrifices  deserve  the  highest  reward. 
Let  us  swear  fidelity  to  the  Emperor  and 
the  empire.  Long  live  the  Fatherland, 
the  Emperor,  and  the  empire ! 
A  telegram  to  the  Chancellor  by  Field 
Marshal  von  Hindenburg  on  that  occasion 
said: 

Firmly  consolidated  in  the  interior  and 
unshaken  on  all  the  fronts,  Germany 
braves  the  exasperating  thrusts  of  her 
ancient  and  her  new  enemies.  The  Ger- 
man Army  is  fighting  far  in  the  enemies' 
country  and  is  marching  with  unbroken 
strength  to  new  successes.  It  enters  the 
iourth  year  of  the  war  supported  by  con- 
fidence as  firm  as  a  rock  that  our  home 
spirit  and  united  perseverance  will  remain 
alive,  which  is  a  guarantee  of  victory  and 
of  an  honorable  peace  to  our  nation. 

Boasts  of  Occupied  Area 

A  review  of  the  third  year  of  the  war 
printed  in  the  Berliner  Tageblatt  called 
attention  to  what  the  writer  regarded  as 
Entente  weakness  and  sought  proof  of 
German  success  in  figures  regarding 
conquered  territory: 

The  past  year  has  been  fruitful  of  many 


instructive  results.  Above  all  it  may  be 
asserted  that  the  Entente  no  longer  has 
the  disposal  of  unlimited  production  and 
supplies  of  ammunition  as  was  the  case 
during  the  Somme  battle.  This  cessation 
of  munition  reinforcement  has  had  a 
noticeable  effect  on  the  western  front. 
And  whereas  the  material  resources  of 
our  opponents  have  not  increased  and  the 
strength  of  France  has  become  visibly 
diminished  we  still  are  unimpaired  in  our 
strength  and  more  strongly  fortified  than 
ever  before. 

He  who  is  willing  to  be  guided  solely  by 
the  facts  and  will  not  permit  himself  to 
be  deceived  by  illusions  must  admit  that 
the  ambition  of  our  foes  to  crush  us  is 
today  less  justified  than  at  any  other 
period,  and  because  this  is  so  we  may  be 
permitted  to  express  the  hope  that  com- 
mon sense  and  a  sincere  desire  for  peace 
may  finally  assert  themselves  in  the 
ranks  of  our  opponents. 

The  German  people,  through  its  ac- 
credited representatives,  has  plainly  an- 
nounced to  the  world  at  large  its  readi- 
ness for  peace.  We  hope  this  expression 
will  be  appreciated  in  its  full  importance 
on  the  other  side. 

The  following  offers  an  approximate 
picture  of  the  area  of  occupied  territory 
which  now  is  held  by  the  military  forces 
of  the  Central  Powers  measured  in  square 
kilometers. 

Belgium,  28,980;  France,  19,220;  Russia, 
280,490;  Rumania,  100,000;  Serbia,  85,807; 
Montenegro,  14,180;  Albania,  20,000.  Total, 
548,737. 

This  total  is  opposed  by  900  square 
kilometers  of  land  held  by  the  French 
and  the  Austro-Hungarian  territory  in 
Russian  possession,  measuring  29,500 
square  kilometers.  The  latter  figure  no 
longer  holds  good.  It  has  been  dimin- 
ished by  fully  GO  per  cent.,  and  is  likely 
to  fall  away  entirely  in  the  near  future. 

Attitude  of  Socialists 

Vorwarts,  the  organ  of  the  majority 
Socialists,  on  the  third  anniversary  of 
the  war,  published  an  article  replying  to 
Socialists  in  other  lands  who  were  call- 
ing upon  the  German  members  to  with- 
draw their  support  from  the  Kaiser  and 
his  military  machine.  The  paper  said 
in  part: 

How  could  they  expect  us  to  hail  the 
invasion  of  a  hostile  army  in  our  own 
country  and  joyously  greet  our  own 
armies'  defeat  just  to  satisfy  a  real  or 
imaginary  sense  o€  justice?  It  is  mis- 
erable hypocrisy  to  ask  us  to  recognize 
the  czarism  of  the  past  and  the  clamor 
for  Alsace-Lorraine  and  the  Saar  district 
at  present  as  the  embodiment  of  ideal 
justice.     Must  not  foreign  conquest  be  as 


GERMANY'S  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  RESTORATION 


481 


repulsive  to  us  as  to  our  enemies?  Are 
we  expected  to  recognize  evil  only  at 
home  and  not  to  see  the  crimes  of  others? 
If  the  attitude  of  the  German  social 
democracy  is  so  badly  misunderstood  in 
hostile  countries  it  is  only  a  sign  of  the 
fearful   devastation   which    this   war   has 


caused  within  the  province  of  the  most 
natural  and  human  sense  of  justice.  No 
man  who  has  preserved  that  sense,  on 
whatever  side  he  stands,  will  ask  another 
people  to  sacrifice  itself.  Even  their  own 
self-esteem  ought  to  prevent  our  oppo- 
nents from  asking  anything  of  the  sort. 


Fighting  Forces  of  France 

Statement  of  Andre  Tardieu 


Andre  Tardieu,  French  High  Commis- 
sioner to  the  United  States,  made  public 
on  July  30,  through  a  letter  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  many  important  facts  re- 
garding the  present  strength  of  France 
as  a  fighting  unit.  After  three  years  of 
war,  he  said,  France  had  3,000,000  men 
in  the  battle  zone,  a  million  more  than  at 
the  beginning.  She  also  had  one  heavy 
gun  for  every  twenty -six  meters  of  front 
— that  is  one  for  every  eighty-five  feet  on 
the  average.  The  increase  in  munitions 
output  is  on  a  similar  scale,  as  revealed 
in  detail  in  M.  Tardieu's  letter  to  Mr, 
Baker,  which  follows: 

July  30,  1917. 

DEAR  MR.  BAKER:  I  brought  to 
your  knowledge  in  a  recent  talk 
the  surprise  I  felt  in  reading  so 

often  in  American  newspapers 
some  utterly  inaccurate  information  re- 
garding the  military  conditions  pre- 
vailing in  Europe,  and  especially  in 
the  French  Army.  In  connection  with 
our  conversation,  I  believe  it  would  be  of 
interest  to  present  to  you  some  figures 
which,  better  than  any  comments,  will  ex- 
pose to  you  the  reality;  these  figures  will 
show  you  France  as  she  is,  vigorous  and 
powerful,  in  spite  of  three  years  of  suf- 
fering without  precedent  in  history. 

I.— STRENGTH  IN  MEN 
The  strength  in  men,  now  present  in 
the  zone  of  the  armies  alone,  shows  the 
maximum  figure  reached  during  the  war. 
This  figure,  which  amounts  to  a  little 
less  than  three  millions  of  men,  exceeds 
by  over  a  million  the  number  of  men  ac- 
tually in  the  said  zone  at  the  beginning, 
and  one  must  add  to  that  figure  the  men 
in  the  zone  of  the  interior  and  in  the 
colonies.     We  are  certain,  with  the  re- 


sources of  our  metropolitan  and  colonial 
depots,  to  be  able  to  maintain  that  num- 
ber up  to  its  present  level  for  a  long  time 
to  come. 

Our  strength  in  men,  by  reason  of  a 
better  command  and  of  better  methods 
of  instruction,  has  shown  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  constantly  decreasing 
definitive  casualties,  (killed,  missing,  and 
those  taken  prisoner.) 

The  following  figures  substantiate 
this: 

Casualties. 
P.  C. 
Battles  of  Charleroi  and  of  theMarne.  *5.41 

First  six  months  of  1915 *2.39 

Second  six  months   of  1915 *1.68 

First  six  months  of  1916 *1.47 

Second  six  months  of  1916 *1.28 

♦In    proportion    to    the    total    mobilized 
strength. 

II.— FRONT   HELD 
For  measuring  the  offensive  and  de- 
fensive    quality    of    the    troops    whose 
numerical     strength     I     have     indicated 
above,  I  can  do  nothing  better  than  to 
quote  some  more  figures.     The  western 
front  has  an  extension  of  739  kilometers: 
27  kilometers  are  held  by  the  Belgians. 
138  kilometers   are  held   by   the   English. 
574  kilometers   are  held  by  the  French. 

The  French  Army  holds  accordingly 
more  than  two -thirds  of  the  western 
front,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  front  where 
the  enemy  has  always  directed  its  chief 
exertion. 

The  German  divisions  in  line  on  the 
western  front  were,  moreover,  in  June, 
1917,  distributed  as  follows: 

42  opposite  to  the  English. 
81  opposite  to  the  French. 

A  German  division  holds  an  average 
front  of  4  kilometers  700  meters;  a 
French   division   an  average  front   of   5 


482 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


kilometers    500   meters — that   is   to   say, 
one-sixth  more. 

III.— ARTILLERY 
We  were  amply  furnished  with  "  75s  " 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The 
number  of  these  guns  was  constantly 
increased;  it  is  adequate  to  our  needs. 
As  for  the  heavy  artillery,  we  had  in 
August,  1914,  300  guns  grouped  in  regi- 
ments. In  June,  1917,  we  had  6,000  of 
them,  mostly  modern.  During  our  present 
offensive  we  have,  on  the  average,  one 
heavy  gun  for  26  meters.  If  we  sum 
up  all  the  trench,  field,  and  heavy  artil- 
lery, we  have  one  gun  for  eight  meters  in 
the  sector  of  attack. 

Our  output  in  munitions  was  arranged 
in  August,  1914,  for  13,000  shots  of 
"  75s  "  a  day.  It  is  now  arranged  for 
250,000  shots  of  "  75s  "  and  100,000  shots 
of  heavy  guns. 

To  be  equal  to  this  enormous  produc- 
tion, invaded  France  did  not  hesitate,  in 
the  midst  of  war,  to  create  new  industries 
and  to  bestow  on  military  industries  the 
best  of  its  productive  strength. 

If  you  consider,  on  another  side,  the 
weight-  of  the  projectiles  shot  on  the  Ger- 
man trenches  during  one  of  the  last  of- 
fensives, you  will  find  the  following 
figures  for  one  lineal  meter: 

Kilos. 

Field  artillery 407 

Trench  artillery   203 

Heavy  artillery   704 

High-power   artillery    128 

Total  1,442 

Here  below,  lastly,  come  figures,  on  the 
monthly  expenditure  in  ammunition  for 
the  "75s": 

July,  1916   6,400,000 

September,   1916  7,000,000 

October,    1916    5,500,000 

During  the  last  offensive  the  expendi- 
ture was  12,000,000  shots  in  all  calibres. 
I  might  also  add  that  we  completely 
re-equipped   and   re-armed   the   Belgian, 
Serbiafi?  and  Greek  Armies. 


I  recall,  likewise,  that  the  number  of 
heavy  guns  given  by  us  to  the  Allies  ex- 
ceeds 800. 

IV.— FINANCIAL  EFFORT 

The  financial  effort  cannot  be  sep- 
arated from  the  military  effort.  Here, 
below,  are  some  more  figures.  France 
has  expended  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  the  following  sums: 

Francs. 

1914  8,040,000,000 

1915  22,800,000,000 

1916 32,640,000,000 

1917  19,167,000,000 

Total  82,647,000,000 

She  received  from  foreign  countries 
from  the  first  of  August,  1914,  to  the 
first  of  January,  1917,  6,000,000,000 
francs.  During  the  same  period  she 
loaned  to  several  allied  Governments 
4,000,000,000  francs. 

If  France  alone,  which  has  only  38,- 
000,000  inhabitants,  and  whose  richest 
and  most  populated  provinces  are  in- 
vaded, was  by  herself  capable  of  such  a 
financial  effort,  it  is  because  of  the  strict 
discipline  which  she  forced  upon  the  em- 
ployment of  her  resources;  this  discipline 
also  is  proof  of  strength. 

Such  is  the  situation.  Severe  was  the 
ordeal;  stronger  is  the  national  energy. 
Now  it  is  a  question  of  striking  the  last 
blow  to  the  adversary.  You  will  help  us. 
But,  at  the  moment  when  the  American 
soldiers  arrive  in  France,  it  is  proper  to 
let  them  know  that  they  will  find  to 
receive  them  a  country  which,  today  as 
well  as  during  the  last  three  years,  bears 
the  principal  exertion  of  our  dreadful 
foe;  a  country  which  maintains  to  the 
maximum  of  her  power,  without  hesita- 
tion and  without  weakness,  her  strength, 
her  means,  and  her  will. 

Believe  me,  dear  Mr.  Secretary,  very 
sincerely  yours,       ANDRE  TARDIEU, 
Hon.   N.    D.    Baker,    Secretary   of   War, 

Washington. 


Results  of  Three  Years  of  War 

A  Brief  Review  by  Major  Gen.  Maurice 


Major  Gen.  Frederick  B.  Maurice, 
Chief  Director  of  Military  Operations  at 
the  British  War  Office,  summarized  the 
results  of  three  years  of  war  on  July  28, 
1917,  as  follows: 

THE  first  year  of  the  war,  broadly 
speaking,  was  an  attempt  by  Ger- 
many to  put  into  effect  elaborate 
plans  which  her  military  strategists  had 
been  preparing  over  the  space  of  many 
long  years.  The  first  phase  was  a  con- 
centrated attack  on  France  and  Belgium 
during  a  certain  allotted  period  of  time, 
in  which  the  Germans  estimated  it  would 
be  impossible  for  Russia  to  disturb  them 
in  the  east.  The  attack  on  France  was 
checked,  first  on  the  Marne,  later  on  the 
Yser  and  at  Ypres,  although  France  and 
Belgium  suffered  severely  in  the  process. 

Germany  then,  according  to  her  plan, 
took  the  defensive  on  the  western  front 
and  turned  her  offensive  effort  eastward 
in  an  effort  to  knock  out  Russia.  Here 
again  she  failed,  although  her  attack 
enormously  weakened  Russia's  offensive 
power. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1915  Germany  defi- 
nitely abandoned  her  old  pre-war  stra- 
tegic scheme  and  started  in  on  a  new 
plan  developed  since  the  war  began, 
namely,  an  effort  to  upbuild  "  Mittel- 
Europa"  as  a  great  block  composed  of 
four  so-called  Central  Powers  which 
would  command  the  road  to  the  East. 
The  Autumn  campaign  of  1915  con- 
sisted, in  essence,  of  the  furtherance  of 
this  scheme  by  conquering  Serbia,  bring- 
ing in  Bulgaria,  and  halting  our  Darda- 
nelles effort  by  rushing  munitions,  sup- 
plies, and  soldiers  to  the  assistance  of 
the  Turks. 

By  the  Winter  of  1915  Germany  had 
gone  a  long  way  toward  realization  of 
her  own  ambition,  and  this  point  repre- 
sents to  my  mind  the  grand  climacteric 
of  Germany's  offensive  power.  All  this 
time  Great  Britain  had  been  building  up 
armies,  and  with  the  beginning  of  1916 
we,  for  the  first  time,  had  a  real  army 
in  the  field. 


With  the  Spring  of  1916  Germany  had 
come  to  realize  that  the  conquest  of  Rus- 
sia was  impossible — Russia  was  too  mas- 
sive to  kill  or  crush.  So  the  German  staff 
again  turned  on  France,  and  the  Verdun 
attack  was  the  result. 

With  the  defeat  of  Germany  at  Ver- 
dun came  a  turning  of  the  tide,  of  which 
further  manifestation  was  seen  in  a  suc- 
cessful British  offensive.  Previous  Brit- 
ish military  efforts  had  been,  compara- 
tively speaking,  minor  operations,  or 
operations  undertaken  in  support  of  the 
French.  At  the  Somme  we  started  our 
new  work,  and  really  great,  important 
work  it  was,  although  a  great  deal  of  the 
contemporary  effect  of  the  Verdun  de- 
feat and  of  the  Somme  victory  was  neu- 
tralized by  Germany's  push  into  Ruma- 
nia. The  Rumanian  push,  however, 
viewed  in  true  historical  perspective,  was 
merely  a  flash  in  the  pan.  The  German 
military  power  already  was  on  the  de- 
cline, and  her  offensive  strength  was 
nothing  like  what  it  had  been  the  year 
before. 

The  end  of  1916  found  the  situation 
between  the  two  great  groups  of  con- 
testants about  equally  balanced,  but  with 
the  scales  leaning  slightly  in  favor  of  the. 
Entente. 

The  year  1917  has  presented  a  still 
rosier  picture.  During  the  whole  third 
year  of  the  war  Germany  and  her  allies 
have  attempted  nothing  on  land.  They 
everywhere  have  been  on  the  defensive. 
The  Turks  lost  Bagdad  and  the  Sinai 
Peninsula.  On  Germany's  eastern  frontier, 
although  the  Russian  revolution  enor- 
mously weakened  Russia's  military  pow- 
er, Germany  was  incapable  of  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  situation.  On  the  Austrian 
front  the  Italians  got  in  powerful  blows. 
In  the  west  the  British  and  French  struck 
repeatedly,  and  the  Germans  have  been 
powerless  to  answer  back. 

This  is  the  pitiful  state  to  which  we 
have  reduced  the  great  power  whose 
whole  military  gospel  was  summed  up  in 
the  phrase,  "vigorous  offensive."    Ger- 


484 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


many's  military  helplessness,  owing  to 
the  long  strain  on  her  man  power,  ma- 
terial, and  resources,  is  such  that  today 
she  barely  is  able  to  hang  on,  and  her 
only  hope  is  that  she  may  find  some  way 
of  similarly  wearing  us  down  and  forc- 
ing us  out  of  the  war  before  we  get  up 
momentum  to  drive  her  back. 


U-boat.  She  hopes  against  hope  that  the 
U-boat  will  reduce  the  people  of  the  En- 
tente Powers  to  the  same  state  of  want, 
privation,  and  suffering  which  she  has 
been  enduring  for  months  and  years  past. 
She  hopes  to  make  the  Entente  people 
cry  enough  and  start  peace  parleys  while 
she    still   has    got   the   big   pawns   with 


At  present  Germany  is  banking  on  the      which  to  bargain  at  a  peace  conference 


General  Robertson  on  the  Situation 


General  Sir  William  Robertson,  Chief 
of  the  British  Imperial  General  Staff,  on 
Aug.  4,  1917,  reviewed  the  past  three 
years  of  war,  and  made  the  following 
statement  of  the  situation  to  a  London 
correspondent  of  The  New  York  Times: 

SUPPOSE  we  must  conclude  that  no 
army  of  millions  can  be  broken  and 
crushed.  Is  the  same  thing  to  be 
supposed  of  the  nation  behind  the  army  ? 
Surely  we  see  in  this  tremendous  contest 
much  more  than  a  struggle  of  armed 
forces.  It  is  a  sifting  of  nations,  a  trial 
of  character,  a  test  of  racial  quality.  The 
workmen  and  workwomen  of  each  nation 
are  engaged  in  the  conflict,  and  the 
forces  in  the  field  are  only  the  hands 
of  a  vast  body  in  which  every  muscle 
is  being  strained  and  tried. 

Suppose  you  cannot  roll  up  the  flanks 
of  your  enemy's  army.  Cannot  you  break 
his  heart?  Suppose  you  can  only  drive 
him  yard  by  yard,  hammering  him  back 
to  his  frontiers  month  by  month?  Sup- 
pose that  is  all  you  can  do.  Cannot  you 
destroy  his  civilian  confidence  and  break 
his  political  will?  If  that  is  the  effect 
of  your  strategy  the  decision  is  a  mili- 
tary decision.  You  have  broken  his  will; 
you  have  imposed  your  will  upon  him; 
you  have  conquered  his  resistance. 

But  it  is  too  early  yet  to  say  you  can- 
not destroy  his  defensive  in  the  field 
while  his  civilian  will  is  still  stubborn; 
we  on  our  side,  at  any  rate,  do  not  say 
that. 

Why  should  our  people  forget  the 
difference  betwen  1914  and  1917?  They 
forget  that  Germany  was  ready  three 
years  ago.  We  had  our  backs  to  the 
Germans;  we  were  within  a  few  miles 
of    Paris.     The  French  Government  had 


removed  to  Bordeaux.  We  were  retreat- 
ing— the  French  and  English  together — 
with  the  loss  of  a  few  guns  and  with 
many  casualties. 

What  is  the  position  today?  We  are 
far  north  and  facing  north.  We  no  longer 
have  our  backs  to  the  Germans,  and  we 
are  millions  where  before  we  were  thou- 
sands. We  have  driven  them  before  us; 
we  have  taken  positions  that ,  they  re- 
garded as  matters  of  life  and  death,  and 
our  guns  are  hammering  them  now  as 
they  have  never  been  hammered  before. 

It  is  too  early  to  say  that  the  de- 
fensive in  modern  warfare  is  impreg- 
nable. Military  writers  in  Germany  may 
say  so,  but  our  men  in  France  are  not 
laying  down  law  on  that  subject.  I 
would  say  it  is  too  early  yet  for  such 
dogmatism. 

Let.  us  wait  a  few  weeks.  The  guns 
are  speaking  now;  let  them  go  on  speak- 
ing, and  let  us  remember  while  we  wait 
that,  whether  or  not  vast  armies  can  be 
conquered  in  the  field  as  they  were  con- 
quered years  ago,  the  will  of  nations  can 
be  broken  by  hopelessness  and  despair. 
If  the  army  does  not  crack,  the  nation 
behind  it  may  crack. 

Some  one  has  got  to  give  way  in  this 
conflict  on  one  side  or  the  other.  There 
must  be  submission;  and  when  you  stop 
to  consider  the  numbers  and  resources  of 
each  side,  you  may  fairly  conclude  that 
if  the  nations  of  the  Allies  are  steadfast, 
if  the  civilian  heart  is  sound,  submission 
must  come  sooner  or  later  from  the  Cen- 
tral Powers.  The  material  odds  are  on 
our  side  at  last,  but  quality  is  going  to 
win  this  war.     Character  will  decide  it. 

America  brings  the  hope  of  an  earlier 
end  to  all  the  frightful  agony  and  loss  of 


GENERAL  ROBERTSON  ON  THE  SITUATION 


485 


this  war.  Without  her  we  and  our  allies 
should  go  on  fighting  to  the  end.  We 
are  forced  to  do  so.  Our  life  depends 
upon  it.  Europe  would  not  be  fit  to  live 
in  if  we  submitted  it  to  the  war  lords  of 
Prussia.  That  would  be  the  death  of  in- 
ternational good-will. 

But  America  should  hasten  the  end. 
That  is  the  crowning  mercy  of  her  ap- 
pearance on  the  battlefield.  She  has  be- 
gun splendidly.  She  is  solemnly  earnest, 
and  when  she  strikes  her  hardest  it  will 
be  with  the  supreme  object  of  saving  the 
world  for  democracy  and  Europe  from 
further  death.  We  may  be  pretty  con- 
fident that  her  blows  will  strike  despair 
into  the  hearts  of  the  Prussian  war  lords, 
troubled  now  lest  their  own  people  should 
find  them  out. 

Do  not  let  us  underrate  the  Germans, 
because  their  cause  is  bad,  because  they 
are  guilty  of  provoking  the  war,  and  be- 
cause their  material  resources  are  less 
than  ours.  The  whole  German  Nation  is 
as  disciplined  as  an  army.  It  is  the  army. 
Germans  have  discipline  in  their  blood, 
discipline  finely  drawn  to  thinness.  Do- 
cility is  a  bad  thing  in  peace,  making  for 
slavishness,  but  it  provides  a  people  with 
certain  advantages  in  war. 

Germany  is  strong  because  she  is  un- 


democratic, and  she  is  undemocratic  be- 
cause she  has  been  drilled  in  iron  disci- 
pline. All  those  millions  of  people  have 
been  forced  to  take  the  sword  from  the 
hand  of  a  King.  Terrible  as  this  disci- 
pline is  and  formidable  as  it  is,  there  is  a 
discipline  more  formidable  still.  I  mean 
the  self-imposed,  self-accepted  discipline 
of  a  free  people. 

What  could  be  more  magnificent  than 
the  spectacle  which  America  now  pre- 
sents to  mankind?  She  has  liberty  in 
her  blood.  She  loathes  despotism.  She 
could  no  more  bend  her  knee  to  the  yoke 
of  autocracy  than  she  could  turn  her 
broad  rivers  into  puddles  and  her  great 
lakes  into  ponds.  But  look  at  her  now, 
submitting  herself  to  the  discipline  of 
war  freely  of  her  own  will  for  the  sake  of 
a  moral  issue. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  prophesy.  It  is 
not  for  me  even  to  pronounce  an  opinion 
on  America's  preparations,  but  I  should 
say  that  throughout  the  world  freedom 
breathes  more  freely  and  democracy  is 
more  confident  for  the  mere  spectacle  of 
that  vast  nation  imposing  upon  itself 
the  restraints  and  rigors  of  discipline.  It 
means  now  as  much  to  the  spirit  of  this 
struggle  as  later  its  effects  will  mean  in 
the  final  grip. 


Serbia  Plundered  by  Conquerors 


THE  American  Ambassador  in  Paris 
received  the  following  communica- 
tion   on    July   24,    1917,    from    the 
Serbian   Legation  there: 

Mr.  Ambassador:  I  am  instructed  by 
my  Government  to  inclose  herewith  to 
your  Excellency  a  memorandum  relating1 
to  the  economic  exploitation  of  the  Ser- 
bian provinces  occupied  by  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  and  Bulgarian  authorities. 

The  economic  exploitation  which  they 
are  practicing  by  means  of  the  illegal 
imposition  of  taxes,  by  the  depreciation 
of  Serbian  money,  the  abolition  of  the 
moratorium,  the  sale  of  Serbian  monopo- 
lies, the  introduction  of  fresh  monopolies 
by  the  violation  of  the  rights  of  private 
property,  and  by  forced  subscription  to 
the  war  loan,  has  but  one  object  in  view : 
the  economic  ruin  of  occupied  Serbia. 

Taking  as  their  justification  Articles  23, 
43,  44,  40,  48,  52,  53,  and  56  of  The  Hague 


Regulations,  the  Royal  Government  of 
Serbia  protests  strongly  against  these  ar- 
bitrary measures  on  the  part  of  the  Aus- 
trian and  Bulgarian  authorities,  consti- 
tuting, as  they  do,  flagrant  Violations  of 
the    public    international    law. 

I  should  be  obliged  if  your  Excellency 
wouM  be  so  good  as  to  communicate  this 
protest  to  your  Government. 

I  remain,  &c, 

VESNITCK. 

The  memorandum  transmitted  with  the 
note  gives  notice  that  Serbia  reserves 
the  right  of  claiming  at  the  time  of  peace 
negotiations  an  indemnity  correspond- 
ing to  the  damage  inflicted,  both  on  the 
Serbian  State  and  its  subjects,  by  these 
flagrant  violations  of  international  law. 
It  is  charged  that  more  than  100,000,000 
crowns  have  been  illegally  extorted,  as 
well  as  6,000,000  crowns  in  the  form  of 


486 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


forced  subscriptions  to  Austrian  war 
loans  and  the  Austrian  and  Bulgarian 
Red  Cross.  Extracts  from  the  memoran- 
dum are: 

Our  law  of  the  29th  July,  1914,  with 
regard  to  the  moratorium,  was  abolished 
by  decree  of  the  Military  Government  of 
the  19th  January,  1917.  In  virtue  of  this 
decree,  Austrian  and  German  creditors 
can  legally  and  without  hindrance  claim 
payment  of  all  their  debts  plus  6  per  cent, 
interest,  in  quick  installments,  and  in 
either  Austrian  or  Serbian  money,  (which 
is  accepted  at  only  half  its  nominal 
value.)  The  decree  was  passed  at  the 
instigation  of  Austrian  and  German  cred- 
itors.    It   has   ruined   Serbian   trade. 

The  Austrians  have  pillaged  all  the 
houses  in  Belgrade  and  in  other  towns 
where  the  owners  were  absent.  Accord- 
ing to  reports  received,  such  houses  have 
been  completely  ransacked.  Private  prop- 
erty has  never  been  so  little  respected 
in  any  war.  The  royal  palace  has  been 
plundered. 

The  Ethnographical  Museum  and  the 
National  Museum  have  been  pillaged,  and 
all  valuable  objects  taken  away,  contrary 
to  Article  56  of  The  Hague  Regulations, 
according  to  which  museums  are  as  invio- 
late as  private  property. 
The  Bulgarians,  like  the  Austrians,  have 


plundered  all  the  houses  abandoned  by 
their  owners.  At  Monastir,  for  instance, 
it  was  proved  upon  the  entry  of  our 
troops  that  the  personal  property  of  all 
our  officials  had  been  carried  away  to 
Bulgaria.  The  Bulgarians  designate  all 
kinds,  factories,  buildings,  furniture,  and 
other  property  belonging  to  those  who 
had  emigrated  from  the  occupied  prov- 
inces as  unowned  property,  putting  up 
such  property  for  sale  or  letting  it  on 
lease  for  the  benefit  of  their  treasury. 

The  National  Library,  the  University 
Library  of  Nish,  and  the  Library  of  the 
School  of  Theology  at  Prizzen  were  taken 
by  the  Bulgarians  as  war  booty.  The 
books  and  manuscripts  of  all  these  libra- 
ries were  carried  away  to  Bulgaria. 

The  Serbian  Legation  at  Sofia  was  pil- 
laged, and  also  the  private  belongings  of 
the  Minister  and  his  secretaries. 

It  must  be  especially  remarked  that 
the  Bulgarians  have  plundered  to  an  ex- 
tent and  with  an  effrontery  unexampled 
in  modern  warfare.  They  have  sold  as 
booty  silk,  calico,  linen,  glass,  furniture, 
kitchen  utensils,  agricultural  implements, 
and   even   tombstones. 

The  Austrians  and  Bulgarians,  without 
having  formally  annexed  the  occupied 
provinces,  behave  as  veritable  sovereigns. 
Their  economic  administration  has  an  evi- 
dent tendency  to  ruin  the  population. 


The  Marching   Stars 

By  AUGUSTE  VILLEROY 

[Contributed   to   the   Paris  Figaro   in  honor   of   the   first  arrivals   of  United    States   troops 

in  France.] 

Sous  la  voute  d'un  grand  arc-en-ciel  qui  s'eploie, 
Dans  Padieu  du  dernier  broiiillard  qui  se  dissout, 
Belle  de  certitude  et  chantante  de  joie, 
L'Amerique  la-bas  tout  entiere  est  debout. 

C'est  fait!   La  Liberte  sainte,  dont  la  statue 
Triomphale  brandit  un  astre  en  son  poing  clos, 
Comme  Jesus,  de  gloire  eclatante  vetue, 
S'avance  vers  PEurope  en  marchant  sur  les  flots. 

Et  nous  voyons,  du  fond  de  Pespace  enfin  libre, 
Fiddles  au  tragique  et  sacre  rendez-vous, 
Sur  Pazur  des  drapeaux,  ou  leur  lumiere  vibre, 
Des  constellations  qui  s'en  viennent  vers  nous! 


A  German  Version  of   the  Marne 


Reviewed    by    a    French    Historian 

JOSEPH  REINACH  IN  LA  REVUE  DE  PARIS 

[Translated  for  Current  History  Magazine] 

One  of  the  great  decisive  battles  of  the  world's  history  was  fought  three  years 
ago  this  month.  The  salvation  of  France  and  of  democracy  throughout  the  world 
hung  upon  the  outcome  of  a  great  series  of  engagements  in  which  French  and  Eng- 
lish soldiers,  wearied  by  the  long  retreat  from  Mons  and  Charleroi,  stood  and  fought 
to  the  death  with  the  pursuing  German  armies' in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris.  The 
action  was  on  so  vast  a  scale  and  extended  through  so  many  days  that  only  when  it 
was  all  over  could  its  full  meaning  be  grasped  as  a  great  French  victory — the  battle 
of  the  Marne.  The  world  could  not  understand  at  first  why  the  German  armies  had 
swerved  to  the  south  and  left  Paris  unharmed,  and  the  details  of  the  cause  are  only 
now  coming  gradually  to  the  light.  Even  the  fact  that  the  battle  was  a  decisive  Ger- 
man defeat  was  denied  or  carefully  concealed  at  first  in  Germany.  The  book  dis- 
cussed by  M.  Reinach  in  the  following  article  was  the  first  to  admit  the  truth — indi- 
rectly. The  narrative  of  this  German  eyewitness,  with  M.  Reinach's  lucid  French 
comments,  and  with  General  Clergerie's  supplementary  account  of  how  General  Gal- 
lieni's  taxicab  army  issued  out  of  Paris  and  surprised  and  defeated  von  Kluck,  con~ 
stitutes  one  of  the  most  valuable  chapters  yet  written  on  the  subject. 


THERE  appeared  at  Berlin  in  the 
year  1916  a  book,  "  The  Battles 
of  the  Marne,"  which  made  a 
great  stir  in  Germany.  Extracts 
from  it  had  already  been  known  through 
the  American  newspapers.  I  have  been 
informed  that  the  volume  has  been  since 
withdrawn  by  order  from  circulation.  In 
any  case,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a 
copy  in  neutral  countries,  even  though 
Germany  has  deluged  them  with  a  war 
literature  as  voluminous  as  it  is  insipid. 
The  Belgian  Minister  of  War  has  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  copy,  which  he  has 
had  translated.  He  has  asked  me  to 
write  a  preface  for  it.  M.  Hanotaux, 
on  his  part,  intends  to  publish  a  critical 
edition  of  it.  The  Revue  Militaire  Suisse 
consecrated  a  short  but  substantial  arti- 
cle to  it  in  August. 

The  book  is  anonymous.  The  author  is 
manifestly  an  authority  and  an  eye- 
witness. Necessarily,  he  claims  to  write 
ad  narrandum.  In  reality,  it  is  to  prove 
that  the  battle  of  the  Marne  "  was  inter- 
rupted for  purely  strategical  motives  "; 
consequently,  that  it  was  not  "an  im- 
mense victory  "  for  the  armies  of  France; 
that  General  von  Moltke's  plan  is  one  of 
the   greatest  of  all   time,   and   that   the 


commander  of  the  First  German  Army  is 
above  all  reproach.  In  all  probability,  he 
is  an  officer  of  the  staff  of  von  Moltke 
©r  of  von  Kluck.  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  he  was  attached  to  the  latter,  be- 
cause of  the  very  special  attention  which 
he  pays  to  the  actions  of  the  First  Army, 
and  the  eulogies  which  he  lavishes  on  the 
commander  who  was  beaten  at  the 
Ourcq.  At  times,  one  would  say  he 
writes  at  von  Kluck's  dictation.  But  he 
is  equally  attached  to  General  von 
Moltke,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Grand 
General  Staff  from  August,  1906,  and 
who  was  to  be  forced  into  retirement  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  first  year  of  the  war. 
It  is  thus  easy  to  understand  how  the 
book  should  be  first  authorized  and  then 
withdrawn.     *     *     * 

He  explains  the  plan  of  the  German 
General  Staff  with  great  lucidity;  a 
strict  defensive  from  the  Swiss  frontier 
to  the  Donon;  a  defensive-offensive,  ac- 
cording to  Marshal  von  Moltke's  formula, 
between  the  Donon  and  Verdun,  where 
the  chief  mission  of  the  Fifth  Army 
will  be  to  retain  the  enemy  forces  op- 
posed to  it;  a  vigorous  offensive  of  the 
first  four  armies  which,  starting  from 
the  base  Thionville-Aix-la-Chapelle,  are 


488 


THE  NEW  YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


to  penetrate  France  through  Luxem- 
burg and  Belgium  "  in  order  to  endeavor 
later  to  extend  the  right  wing  more  and 
more  toward  the  sea." 

This  movement  of  conversion  "  full  of 
genius "  authorized  the  greatest  hopes. 
"  In  the  great  curve  which,  through 
Brussels,  Valenciennes,  Compiegne, 
Meaux,  passed  to  the  east  of  Paris,  we 
should  throw  the  French  armies  back  be- 
yond the  Aisne,  the  Marne,  and,  per- 
haps, beyond  the  Seine,  in  order  eventu- 
ally to  outflank  them  to  the  south  of 
Fontainebleau,  and  thus  to  roll  up  the 
whole  French  battle  line."  Meanwhile, 
reserve  and  Landwehr  corps  would  pre- 
vent later  debarkation  of  English  troops 
between  Calais  and  Dunkirk. 

"  So  far  as  human  foresight  could  tell, 
this  plan  could  have  been  carried  out  at 
the  end  of  September,  1914."  Many 
army  corps  would  have  been  liberated, 
and  could  have  been  hurled  against  Rus- 
sia.    *     *     * 

It  will  have  been  observed  that  our 
author  indicates,  as  having  formed  a  part 
of  the  German  plan,  the  passage  "  to  the 
east  of  Paris  "  after  the  first  successes. 
So  that  the  German  Staff  did  not  hesi- 
tate, we  are  told,  on  the  morrow  of  the 
battles  of  Mons  and  Charleroi,  between 
pushing  straight  on  to  Paris  and  seeking 
the  JFrench  army  on  the  Marne  or  on  the 
Seine.  *  *  *  It  can  be  seen  at  once 
what  a  brilliant  exculpation  of  von  Kluck 
and  von  Moltke  is  contained  in  this  af- 
firmation. All  Germany  was  convinced, 
in  August,  and,  with  it,  almost  the  whole 
world,  that  her  victorious  armies  had 
Paris  as  their  objective.  "  Nach  Paris !  " 
shouted  all  her  soldiers,  when  entering 
Belgium,  and,  later,  all  along  our  roads, 
deafening  and  frightening  all  those  who 
saw  them  rushing  forward  at  the  rate  of 
forty  kilometers  a  day.  But  the  General 
Staff  and  the  Emperor  himself  were 
already  resolved  not  to  attack  Paris  be- 
fore having  destroyed  the  French  armies 
"  to  the  south  of  Fontainebleau." 

Is  this  the  truth  ?  I  think  so.  Or  is  it 
an  invention,  after  the  disillusion,  after 
the  failure  of  the  "  plan  of  genius,"  and 
the  defeat?  Evidently,  this  will  not  be 
known  for  certain  until  the  German 
archives  disclose  to  us  the  original  plan 


of  the  General  Staff,  as  it  was  before  the 
war  or  during  its  first  days.     *     *     * 

However  great  is  the  admiration  of  the 
German  author  for  the  German  plan,  he 
finds  one  fault  with  it:  "  The  tasks  im- 
posed upon  the  armies  of  the  centre  and, 
even  more,  those  of  the  right  wing  were 
really    excessive."      In    fact,    "not   only 


GENERAL   VON    KLUCK 

were  they  to  break  the  resistance  of  the 
Belgians  and  their  forts,  but  they  were 
also,  through  the  stifling  heat  of  August, 
to  execute  an  altogether  extraordinary 
march,  before  they  could  come  to  grips 
with  the  French,  who  held  good  positions 
chosen  by  themselves,  and  who  had  to 
reckon  with  no  supply  problem."  *  *  * 
There  are,  as  we  know,  other  causes 
for  the  German  defeat  on  the  Marne — 
and  our  author  himself  will  indicate 
them;  but  these  causes  are  manifestly 
accurate.  To  march,  in  the  hottest  part 
of  the  Summer,  at  the  rate  of  forty  kilo- 
meters a  day,  and  even  though  inspired 
by  victory  and  sure  of  an  early  triumphal 
entry  into  the  enemy's  capital,  would 
have  undermined  the  offensive  vigor  of 
armies  of  steel  and  iron  and  sapped  their 
power  of  resistance.  This  was  the  case 
of  the  soldiers  of  von  Kluck  and  von 
Biilow,  when  they  arrived  at  the  Ourcq 
and  the  Marne.  They  were  weary.  With- 
out doubt,  our  troops  and  the  English 
had  also  endured  heavy  fatigues;  but 
they  had  not  had  to  pass  through  all 
Belgium  fighting.     Thus  the  violation  of 


A   GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MARNE 


489 


Belgian  neutrality,  decided  on  for  rea- 
sons of  strategy,  weighed  heavily  at  this 
point  also  on  the  German  armies.  Final- 
ly, it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  German 
supply  service  became  more  difficult  as 
the  invading  armies  got  further  from 
their  base.  We,  on  the  contrary,  were 
fighting  near  ours.  It  was  an  apprecia- 
ble advantage. 

Wine  a  Cause  of  Defeat 

Must  we  add  that  the  German  armies 
drank  more  as  they  ate  less?  The  Ger- 
man author  is  silent  as  to  this,  but  there 
are  certain  and  numerous  evidences  of  it. 
These  beer  drinkers  were  not  used  to  our 
wines.  Weary  and  sweating,  they  rushed 
into  our  cellars.  The  wine  of  France 
had  its  part  in  our  victory. 

The  confession  of  this  is  found  in  the 
notebook  of  an  officer  on  von  Kluck's 
staff,  a  prisoner  today.  On  Sept.  2  he 
notes: 

Our  soldiers  are  worn  out.  For  four  days 
they  have  been  marching  forty  kilometers  a 
day.  The  ground  is  difficult,  the  roads  are 
torn  up,  trees  felled,  the  fields  pitted  by 
shells  like  strainers.  The  soldiers  stagger 
at  every  step,  their  faces  are  plastered  with 
dust,  their  uniforms  are  in  rags ;  one  might 
call  them  living  rag-bags.  They  march  with 
closed  eyes,  and  sing  in  chorus  to  keep  from 
falling  asleep  as  they  march.  The  certainty 
of  victory  close  at  hand  and  of  their  tri- 
umphal entry  into  Paris  sustains  them  and 
whips  up  their  enthusiasm.  Without  this 
certainty  of  victory  they  would  fall  ex- 
hausted. They  would  lie  down  where  they 
are,  to  sleep  at  last,  no  matter  where,  no 
matter  how.  Only  the  delirium  of  victory 
keeps  our  men  going.  And,  to  give  their 
bodies  a  drunkenness  like  that  of  their  souls, 
they  drink  enormously.  But  this  drunken- 
ness also  helps  to  keep  them  up.  Today,  after 
an  inspection,  the  General  was  furiously 
angry.  He  wanted  to  put  a  stop  to  this  col- 
lective debauch.  We  have  just  persuaded 
him  not  to  give  severe  orders.  It  is  better 
not  to  be  too  strict,  otherwise  the  army  could 
not  go  on  at  all.  For  this  abnormal  weari- 
ness abnormal  stimulants  are  needed.  In 
Paris  we  shall  remedy  all  this.  We  shall 
forbid  the  drinking  of  alcohol  there.  When 
our  troops  are  at  last  able  to  rest  on  their 
laurels,   order   will   be   restored. 

"  They  drink  enormously."  It  is  a 
German  officer  who  writes  it,  before  the 
battle.  They  kept  it  up  during  the  bat- 
tle, on  the  evenings  of  the  battle,  in  our 
villages  of  the  Ile-de-France  and  Cham- 
pagne, drinking  enormously  in  our  welK 


filled  cellars.  One  of  the  cavalry  officers 
who  led  the  pursuit  has  told  me  that  he 
found  the  main  street  of  a  village  so 
strewn  with  wine  bottles  and  broken 
glasses  that  he  had  to  make  his  way 
through  the  fields.     *     *     * 

German  Praise  of  Joffre 
Our  author  underlines  the  importance 
of  the  nomination  of  Gallieni,  (as  Mili- 
tary Governor  of  Paris:)  "One  of "  the 
best  Generals  of  Republican  France,  who 
was  absolutely  the  right  man  in  the 
right  place."  *  *  *  But  his  admira- 
tion goes  especially  to  Joffre,  the  rea- 
soned admiration  of  a  soldier  who  does 
not  feel  the  need  of  diminishing  his 
enemy,  thus  diminishing  himself  by  a 
back  stroke.  It  is  natural  that  he  calls 
the  victories  of  the  Sambre  and  the  Meuse 
"  prodigious."  We  do  not  deny  that  they 
were  great,  and  that  they  filled  the  world 
with  astonishment  and  anxiety.  Let  us 
quote  textually: 

During  the  last  third  of  August,  1914,  the 
defeats  of  the  French  and  English,  especially 
on  their  left  wing,  had  been  so  prodigious 
that  only  a  general  of  very  high  gifts  could 
have  stopped  the  march  of  the  Germans  or 
obliged  the  adversary  to  evacuate  a  part  of 
the  territory  occupied.  The  man  who  at- 
tempted this  was  General  Joffre.  Gathering 
all  available  reserves,  a  General  with  less 
decision  would,  perhaps,  have  tried  to  stop 
the  enemy  at  several  points.  But  a  partial 
success  gained  in  this  way  would  have  had  no 
influence  on  the  final  result.  Joffre  imme- 
diately saw  that  it  would  not  do  to  stop  at 
half  measures,  and  he  found  both  the  means 
and  the  efficient  secondary  commanders  to 
carry  out  his  ideas. 

To  begin  with,  Joffre  did  not  allow 
himself  to  be  disturbed  "  by  the  messages 
of  misfortune  which  succeeded  each  other 
without  interruption,"  during  the  closing 
days  of  August.  He  immediately  recog- 
nized "  at  the  first  glance  "  that,  on  the 
one  hand,  "  the  strongly  occupied  line 
between  Belfort  and  Verdun  could  hold 
at  least  for  several  days  or  weeks  "  and 
"  contain  the  German  attack  ";  and  that, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  danger  to  be 
guarded  against  was  that  of  the  immense 
enveloping  movement— pursued  "  with  a 
rapidity  that  had  never  been  reached  by 
armies  of  that  size " — by  the  moving 
right  wing  of  the  enemy.  Sure  of  his 
own  right,  Joffre  therefore  ordered  the 


400 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


splendid  strategic  retreat — according  to 
the  expression  of  Marshal  French — which 
was  to  end  in  the  victory  of  the 
Marne.     *     *     * 

Difficulties  of  Germans 

An  uneasiness  begins  to  show  through 
the  following  pages,  in  which  the  Ger- 
man Army  is  seen  growing  weaker  as 
Joff re  compels  it  to  follow  him  still  fur- 
ther. We  may  suppose  that  the  under- 
standing of  the  famous  manoeuvre  was 
reached  by  the  German  Staff  only  after 
their  defeat,  and  that  the  homage  ren- 
dered to  Joffre  is  part  of  the  special 
pleading  for  von  Moltke  and  von  Kluck. 
But  this  supposition  is  not  essential,  and 
we  may  well  believe  that  such  able  sol- 
diers perceived  the  growing  peril  which 
they  could  not  avoid.  In  either  case,  we 
can  indorse  almost  all  the  views  of  the 
German  narrative. 

The  further  the  Germans  advanced,  and  the 
longer  the  French  and  English  were  able  to 
escape  without  engaging  in  a  decisive  action, 
the  more  did  the  initial  advantage  of  the 
Germans  pass  into  the  hands  of  their  adver- 
saries. The  Germans  got  further  and  further 
from  their  base,  and  grew  more  and  more  ex- 
hausted by  their  forced  marches.  They  were 
using  up  their  munitions  and  their  food  sup- 
plies with  alarming  rapidity,  and  the  least 
dislocation  of  the  supply  service  might  be- 
come fatal  to  armies  so  vast  as  those  which 
the  Germans  launched,  in  the  month  of 
August,  against  Belgium  and  the  north  of 
France. 

But  Joffre,  who,  it  must  not  be  forgotten, 
was  fighting  on  interior  lines,  was  coming 
closer  and  closer  to  his  supply  bases.  Every 
day  new,  fresh  troops  were  arriving  behind 
his  lines  of  battle ;  day  by  day  the  first  lines 
could  be  provided  with  food  supplies  and 
munitions,  and,  finally,  the  French  Staff 
found  itself  in  the  agreeable  situation  of 
bringing  into  battle  far  fewer  wornout  troops 
than  its  adversary,  who,  for  a  month,  had 
been  marching  almost  day  and  night.  In 
addition  to  this,  it  was  a  piece  of  good  fortune 
for  the  French  that'  their  front,  however  thin 
it  might  be  at  certain  points,  had  not  yet 
been  pierced. 

When  Joffre  had  taken  the  resolution  only 
to  accept  battle  under  particularly  favorable 
circumstances,  he  gave  the  order  to  his 
subordinate  commanders  to  withdraw  before 
the  enemy  and  to  march  further  and  further 
south.  If  his  preparations  had  not  been  com- 
pleted in  time,  he  would  eventually  have  ac- 
cepted battle  to  the  south  of  the  Seine,  and 
have  abandoned  Paris.  He  then  took  meas- 
ures to  reinforce  his  threatened  left  wing  and 
centre,  and,   before  all,   to  prevent  the  army 


which  was  marching  on  the  (German)  ex- 
treme right  wing  from  outflanking  his  battle 
line. 

We  are  familiar  with  these  measures; 
it  is  not  doubtful  that  the  German  in- 
telligence department  was  acquainted 
with  them  at  the  time  when  they  were 
taken,  or  very  soon  afterward.  They 
were  "  the  creation  of  two  new  armies : 
the  Sixth  Army,  which,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Maunoury,"  should 
have  been  formed,  according  to  the  initial 
plan,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Amiens,  and 
which  "because  of  the  rapid  German 
advance,  was  actually  formed  to  the 
northeast  of  Paris  and  in  its  vicinity"; 
the  Ninth  Army,  "  which  was  slipped  in 
between  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  Armies, 
and  intrusted  to  General  Foch,  a  very 
able  commander." 

These  armies  were  made  up  of  divi- 
sions, very  accurately  enumerated,  some 
of  them  brought  by  rail  from  Alsace  and 
Lorraine,  "  drawn  from  Castelnau's  large 
Second  Army,"  from  the  First  Army, 
commanded  by  General  Dubail,  and  from 
the  Second  Army,  under  General  Sarrail; 
others  were  drawn  from  the  Paris  garri- 
son and  the  Moroccan  contingents.  An- 
other part  of  these  measures  was  "  the 
submission  to  Joffre's  orders  of  the 
troops  of  the  intrenched  camp  of  Paris 
which  were  commanded  by  General  Gal- 
lieni,"  the  Sixth  Army  being  at  the  same 
time  "  put  at  the  disposition  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Paris,  that  is,  indirectly  intrust- 
ed to  the  Commander  in  Chief,"  and  this, 
"because,  at  all  times,  unity  of  com- 
mand has  been  one  of  the  principal  fac- 
tors of  success."  Finally,  "  in  order  that 
nothing  might  be  neglected  which  could 
contribute  to  the  success  of  the  great 
plan,  Joffre,  who  had  already  replaced 
Ruffey  by  Sarrail,  put  the  Fifth  Army 
under  the  orders  of  Franchet  d'Esperey. 

Swerving  Aside  From  Paris 

While  Joffre's  armies  withdrew  step 
by  step  on  the  Marne,  where  they  were 
to  halt  on  Sept.  5  and  be  joined  by  the 
English  army,  "  the  German  armies  of 
the  right  wing  were  marching  forward 
into  France  without  a  halt.  It  seemed  as 
though  a  wall  of  iron  were  ceaselessly 
moving  forward.     A  single  thought  ani- 


A  GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MARNE 


491 


mated  this  colossal-  gray  mass;  the  an- 
nihilation of  the  French  field  army,  in 
order  to  end  at  a  stroke  the  war  on  the 
western  front.  It  was  everywhere  be- 
lieved that  Paris  was  the  goal  of  the 
German  Generals,  and  every  day  the 
newspapers  announced  the  diminution  of 
the  distance  which  separated  the  German 
advance  guard  from  the  French  capital. 
And  then  suddenly — it  was  on  Sept.  4 — 
the  German  First  Army,  leaving  Paris  on 
its  right,  swerved  toward  the  south!  " 

The  exclamation  mark  stands  in  the 
German  text,  but,  without  doubt,  only  to 
mark  the  final  point.  "  The  point  is  all." 
The  narrator  has  explained,  as  we  have 
seen,  at  the  beginning  of  his  narrative, 
that  "  the  passage  to  the  east  of  Paris  " 
had  been  written  beforehand  in  the  plan 
"  full  of  genius  "  of  Moltke,  and  not  the 
march  upon  Paris.  This  affirmation 
must  suffice  as  an  answer  to  all  the 
criticisms  which  have  been  raised  in  the 
sequel  against  the  abandonment,  assur- 
edly only  for  a  very  brief  period,  in  the 
thought  of  the  German  Staff,  but  which 
in  fact  became  final,  of  the  direct  attack 
against  the  capital.  Magister  dixit.  Thus 
the  younger  Moltke  had  decided.  Thus 
the  elder  Moltke  had  prescribed  in  his 
famous  note  of  1859:  "Even  though  the 
fate  of  Paris  decides  everything,  as  in 
1814,"  it  would  be  right  to  "turn  away 
from  Paris "  in  case  a  French  army 
should  be  gathered  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Rheims.  It  would  then  be  necessary 
to  attack  the  French  behind  the  Aisne, 
to  throw  them  back  across  the  Marne,  the 
Seine,  the  Yonne,  and,  finally,  the 
Loire.  After  that,  we  could  march  on 
Paris. 

I  have  said  that  this  explanation  ap- 
pears to  me  genuine.  It  is,  none  the 
less,  singular  that  the  author  of  this  nar- 
rative, so  complete  in  other  respects, 
should  make  no  allusion  at  all  to  the 
tempest  of  recriminations  which  was 
raised  in  Germany,  after  the  defeat  of 
the  Marne,  against  the  movement  "to 
the  east  of  Paris."  It  is  comprehensible 
that  he  should  keep  silent  concerning  the 
intervention  of  the  Emperor,  who  wished, 
as  I  believe  to  be  the  case,  that  the  Ger- 
man army  should  march  direct  on  Paris, 


and  concerning  the  opposition  of  Moltke, 
who  must  have  spoken  of  it  to  von  Kluck, 
to  the  imperial  proposal.  All  the  same, 
he  might  try  to  justify  the  manoeuvre, 
and  to  prove  to  German  opinion  that  the 
attack  on  Paris,  far  from  leading  to  cer- 
tain victory,  might  have  led  to  disaster, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  strategic  rule 
must  be  followed.  Why  does  he  not  at- 
tempt this  demonstration,  which  I  believe 
to  be  sound? 

His  mere  sketching  it  has  sufficed  to 
bring  about  the  suppression  of  his  book, 
or  the  prohibition  of  a  second  edition  by 
the  higher  authorities. 

German  Officer's  Memorandum 
In  contrast  with  this,  here  is  what  may 
be  read  in  the  notebook  of  the  German 
officer  already  mentioned,  under  date  of 
Sept.  3.  The  bulk  of  the  army  had  taken 
up  its  quarters  in  the  forest  of  Ermen- 
onwille.  The  columns  were  advancing 
toward  Betz: 

We  are  leaving  Paris  on  our  right,  and 
we  shall  concentrate  toward  the  southeast, 
opposite  the  remnants  of  the  Franco-English 
army,  which  is  trying,  it  is  true,  to  reas- 
semble its  broken  fragments  in  the  plain  of 
the  Marne.  Our  soldiers  have  no  suspicion 
that  we  are  temporarily  leaving  the  road  to 
Paris.  They  are  counting  so  completely  on 
finding  themselves  at  the  gates  of  Paris  to- 
morrow, or  the  day  after,  that  it  would  be 
cruel  to  tell  them  the  truth.  They  would  lose 
all  their  spring.  Our  soldiers  believe  that 
the  epoch  of  battles  is  ended,  that  the  deci- 
mated French  Army  is  hiding,  and  that  we 
are  going  to  enter  Paris  singing  and  drink- 
ing. 

Paris  is  not  only  the  great  triumph; 
it  is  rest  and  peace: 

One  of  our  battalions  was  marching  wearily 
forward.  All  at  once,  while  passing  a  cross- 
road, they  discovered  a  signpost,  on  which 
they  read :  Paris,  thirty-seven  kilometers, 
(twenty-three  miles.)  It  was  the  first  sign- 
post that  had  not  been  erased.  On  seeing  it, 
the  battalion  was  as  though  shaken  up  by  an 
electric  current.  The  word  Paris,  which  they 
have  just  read,  drives  them  crazy.  Some  of 
them  embrace  the  wretched  signpost,  others 
dance  round  it.  Cries,  yells  of  enthusiasm, 
accompany  these  mad  actions.  This  sign- 
post is  their  evidence  that  we  are  near  Paris, 
that,  without  doubt,  we  shall  soon  be  really 
there.  This  notice  board. has  had  a  miraculous 
effect.  Faces  light  up,  weariness  seems  to 
disappear,  the  march  is  resumed,  alert, 
cadenced,  in  spite  of  the  abominable  ground 
in  this  forest.  Songs  burst  forth  louder,  and 
no  longer  the  traditional  songs,  but  Parisian 
ditties,  stupid  enough  in  all  conscience. 


492 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Then  on  the  next  day,  (Sept.  4,)  Gen- 
eral von  Kluck  himself  comes  to  make  a 
visit  of  inspection  to  Lizy-on-Ourcq.  The 
officer  of  the  notebook  talks  with  a 
Major  in  his  escort.  Is  von  Kluck  only 
the  well-disciplined  interpreter  of  the  de- 
cisions of  Moltke,  the  supreme  chief? 
In  any  case,  "  he  feels  certain  that  the 
Germans  will  soon  crush  the  crumbs  of 
the  French  Army.  The  reports  of  spies 
who  have  watched  the  retreat  of  the  ene- 
my army  are  very  encouraging.  They 
are  a  dejected  horde,  discontented,  with- 
out any  spring.  There  is  no  chance  of 
their  regaining  a  biting  edge.  The  Gen- 
eral fears  nothing  from  the  direction  of 
Paris.  We  shall  come  back  to  Paris, 
after  having  annihilated  what  is  left  of 
the  Franco-British  army.  The  Fourth 
Corps  of  reserves  will  be  intrusted  with 
the  triumphal  entry  into  the  great  capi- 
tal     *     *     * " 

On  Sept.  5,  the  eve  of  the  general  at- 
tack, the  officer  of  the  notebook  records 
that  the  high  German  command  fore- 
sees a  flank  attack,  "  although  our  recon- 
noissances  have  not  brought  any  certain 
information  on  this  point."  Orders  are 
given  to  dig  trenches,  to  hasten  defensive 
works.  "  These  orders  are  very  badly 
executed."  Von  Kluck  makes  a  tour  of 
inspection;  "he  is  evidently  very  dis- 
pleased." The  soldiers  work  badly,  or 
not  at  all.  They  are  "  worn  out  by  forced 
marches,. or  drunk."  But  there  is  some- 
thing more:  "Persuaded  that  they  have 
already  attained  complete  success,  they 
are  full  of  disillusionment  when  they 
learn  that  they  will  have  to  dig  defensive 
trenches.  Our  soldiers  have  been  too 
much  accustomed  to  singing  hymns  of 
victory  and  triumph." 

New  Spirit  of  the  French 
This  is  very  good  military  psychology. 
Here  is  a  German  who  can  read  more 
than  is  in  his  books.  Note  the  phrase 
that  follows :  "  If  the  French  were  not  so 
profoundly  demoralized,  they  might  be- 
come very  dangerous,  for  our  First  Army 
is  very  far  from  possessing  the  energy 
and  discipline  which  were  its  strength 
in  Belgium  and  on  the  northern  frontier 
of  France."  Also,  on  Sept.  7,  (battles 
of  Marcilly,  Barcy,  and  Chambry,)   and 


Sept.  8,  (capture  of  Chambry,)  what 
surprise:  "The  French  troops  appear  to 
be  full  of  ardor.  *  *  *  Our  men  hold 
the  heights,  but  the  French  have  be- 
come demons,  they  charge  in  the  face  of 
machine-gun  fire,  joyfully  let  themselves 
get  killed.  *  *  *  The  valor  of  the 
French  is  superhuman.  *  *  *  Like 
spontaneous  generation,  troops  appear 
from  all  sides.     *     *     *  " 

On  Sept.  8  the  officer  of  the  notebook 
writes : 

Col.  Gen.  von  Kluck  has  inspected  the  posts. 
I  saw  him.  His  eyes,  usually  so  brilliant,  are 
dull.  He,  so  energetic  in  his  whole  attitude, 
speaks  in  a  faint  voice.  He  is  quite  cast 
down.  I  question  the  Major  who  accompanies 
him.  Our  reconnoissances  have  just  un- 
masked considerable  French  formations.  To- 
day's battles  have  been  terrible  for  us.  And 
all  our  armies,  from  the  Marne  to  Alsace, 
are  bearing  an  unendurable  burden.  We  must 
parry  this  danger  at  any  cost,  even  by  re- 
treat. 

It  was,  writes  the  German  historian 
of  the  Marne,  "  to  escape  the  danger  of 
being  outflanked  that  the  French  Com- 
mander in  Chief  had  created  a  new  army 
on  the  extreme  French  left.  This  new  army 
the  Sixth,  and  the  German  Fifth  Army, 
against  which  J  of  f  re  created  it,  were  only 
fighting  on  the  Ourcq,  for  four  days  now, 
in  order  to  try  to  outflank  each  other. 
Neither  succeeded.  However,  von  Kluck 
was  only  able  to  stop  Maunoury's  turn- 
ing movement  by  drawing  strong  rein- 
forcements from  Biilow,  whose  Second 
Army  was  thereby  greatly  weakened; 
the  English,  and  the  French  Fifth  Army, 
under  Franchet  d'Esperey,  concentrated 
all  their  efforts  on  the  point  of  least  re- 
sistance in  front  of  them;  the  English 
recrossed  the  Marne;  the  French  Fifth 
Army  pushed  north;  thus  the  German 
forces  facing  our  Sixth  Army  on  the 
Ourcq  were  taken  in  the  flank.  *  *  * 
Here  is  the  German  account: 

Sept.  9  was  a  very  critical  day  for  Mau- 
noury.  The  Germans  had  been  marching  un- 
ceasingly for  five  weeks,  they  had  fought 
numerous  battles,  and  lacked  munitions  and 
even  more,  food.  Yet,  in  irresistible  assaults, 
they  had  the  force  to  throw  the  French  back 
at  all  points.  Instead  of  yielding,  they  com- 
pelled the  French  to  yield ;  instead  of  being 
outflanked,  they  outflanked  the  French,  and 
even  captured  Nanteuil-le-Haudouin.  But  the 
finest  energy  must  grow  weak  when  it  is 
not    supported    and    refreshed.      Reduced    to 


A   GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MARNE 


493 


corps,  weakened  and  melted  away  by  fighting- 
and  fatigue,  even  these  valiant  warriors  lost 
their  power. 

The  French,  on  the  contrary,  who  were  only 
a  few  kilometers  from  Paris,  not  only  re- 
ceived continual  reinforcements,  but  were 
further  supplied  with  all  kinds  of  munitions. 
General  Gallieni  ceaselessly  watched  with 
vigilant  eye  over  the  movements  of  the  Sixth 
Army,  and  made  every  imaginable  effort  to 
furnish  it,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  with  every 
kind  of  support.  He  requisitioned  thousands 
of  automobiles  in  Paris,  and,  during  the 
night,  sent  them  to  Maunoury  with  reinforce- 
ments, which  were  brought  to  him  by  rail 
from  the  interior  and  other  parts  of  the 
front.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
transports  was  that  of  the  Sixty-second  Di- 
vision (Zouaves)  toward  Creil  and  Senlis, 
carried  out  in  the  night  of  Sept.  8-9,  with  a 
view  to  hindering  at  all  costs  the  outflank- 
ing of  the  French  left  wing. 

Finally,  on  the  same  day,  Maunoury  asked 
that  the  division  which  he  had  lent  to  the 
Marshal  should  be  returned  to  him,  because 
the  danger  of  being  beaten  by  the  cavalry 
corps  of  General  von  Marwitz  no  longer  ex- 
isted for  the  three  English  corps.  This  Eighth 
Division  was  sent,  by  rail,  from  Paris  toward 
Maunoury's  extreme  left  wing. 

On  the  evening  of  Sept.  9,  in  spite  of  all  the 
reinforcements  they  had  received,  the  situa- 
tion of  the  French  Sixth  Army  was  anything 
but  brilliant.  But  it  had  to  hold  its  ground 
at  all  costs,  and  could  not  withdraw  even  an 
inch  further,  no  matter  what  it  might  cost. 

But  on  the  German  side  the  offensive  power 
was  equally  paralyzed.  After  all  their  efforts, 
and  all  the  prodigious  battles  of  the  last 
days,  the  iron  legions  of  von  Kluck's  army 
had  arrived  at  the  extreme  limit  of  what  they 
could  give.  On  Sept.  9,  toward  noon,  General 
von  Marwitz  had  to  announce,  with  an  un- 
willing heart,  to  his  chief  that  it  was  no 
longer  possible"  for  him  to  resist  the  whole 
English  Army  and  the  French  Eighteenth 
Corps.  To  spare  the  blood  of  the  English, 
Marshal  French  had  in  fact  asked  his  neigh- 
bor on  the  right,  the  commander  of  the  Fifth 
Army,  for  a  whole  corps,  the  Eighteenth. 

In  accord  with  the  Chief  of  the  General 
Staff,  von  Kluck  was  forced,  unwillingly,  to 
give  the  order  to  cease  fighting,  because  the 
superiority  of  the  enemy  left  wing  grew 
continually.  During  the  night  of  Sept.  9-10 
the  German  armies  withdrew  toward  the 
north  in  complete  order.  When,  on  the  next 
morning,  the  French  wished  to  continue  the 
battle,  von  Kluck  and  his  army  had  disap- 
peared. Strong  rearguards  alone  covered  his 
retreat  and  for  a  long  time  occupied  Nanteuil- 
le-Haudouin.    *    *    * 

Thus  reads  this  early  German  admis- 
sion of  military  defeat  at  the  Marne. 

A  retreat  in  good  order.  *  *  *  The 
officer  of  the  notebook  writes :  "  At  Lizy 
the  retreat  is  organized.  *  *  *  If  that 
helter-skelter  can  be  called  organization." 


The  anonymous  narrator,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  remains  faithful  to  his  ill- 
starred  chief:  "  The  skill  with  which  the 
Germans  succeeded  in  withdrawing  from 
their  adversary  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  von  Kluck  only  abandoned  a  small 
number  of  guns  and  almost  no  prisoners." 
He  also  praises  him  for  having  retired  to- 
ward Compiegne  and  Soissons,  and  not 
toward  Rheims,  for  if  he  had  bent  toward 
the  east,  "  the  Germans,  when  Antwerp 
fell,  would  not  have  been  in  a  position  to 
extend  and  carry  their  front  as  far  as 
the  coast."     This  is  accurate. 

Necessarily,  as  von  Kluck,  with  his 
army  of  the  extreme  right  wing,  "  served 
in  a  certain  way  as  guide  for  the  other 
armies,"  his  retreat  compelled  that  of 
Billow's  army,  which,  in  its  turn,  involved 
that  of  von  Hausen's  Saxon  Army  and 
of  the  Guard,  in  the  centre  of  the  Ger- 
man front.  Duke  Albert  of  Wurttem- 
berg  and  the  Crown  Prince,  not  wishing 
to  lose  contact,  withdrew  in  their  turn. 

Foch  the  Storm  Centre 
Of  all  the  battles  in  progress,  that  of 
Sept.  9  before  General  Foch's  army  was 
much  the  hardest  and  bloodiest.  Von 
Hausen's  furious  offensive  was  the  ultima 
ratio  of  Moltke,  requiring  of  an  action  of 
the  centre  a  decision  which  he  no  longer 
hoped  to  be  able  to  win  on  his  wings.  And 
Foch  immediately  proclaimed  his  faith 
in  the  famous  Order  of  the  Day,  like  a 
challenge,  which  destiny  did  not  accept: 
"  The  situation  is  excellent;  I  order  that 
the  offensive  shall  be  renewed.  The  key 
of  the  day  will  be  to  debouch  by  Fere- 
Champenoise."  The  very  name  of  Fere, 
like  that  of  Mondement  and  Marais,  fails 
to  appear  in  the  narrative.  Our  centre 
might  not  have  broken  on  Sept.  10;  Du- 
bois, Humbert,  Grossetti,  and  all  the  oth- 
ers, firm  in  their  reconquered  positions, 
were  masters  of  the  hour. 

The  marshes  of  Saint-Gond  in  their 
turn  witnessed  a  flanking  manoeuvre 
which  had  a  decisive  share  in  the  victory. 
The  narrative  admits,  however,  that 
Langle  de  Cary's  attack,  on  Foch's  right, 
against  the  Nineteenth  German  Corps — 
the  retaking  of  Sermaize  and  of  the  crest 
west  of  Vassincourt — "  had  a  certain  in- 
fluence on  the  course  of  the  battle,"  and 
"  to  a  certain  degree  hastened  the  retreat 


494 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


of  the  (German)  centre."  He  also  ad- 
mits that  the  energetic  resistance  offered 
by  our  Third  Army  "  to  the  Crown 
Prince's  violent  and  able  attacks,"  stopped 
them  on  the  heights  of  the  Meuse  and 
between  Verdun  and  Saint-Mihiel.  "  The 
ring  of  iron  around  Verdun  and  the  forts 
of  the  Meuse  was  also  slackened — for  a 
time." 

Everything  is  linked  together  in  the 
manoeuvre  of  battle,  but  on  condition 
that  no  link  bends  or  breaks.  It  would 
have  availed  Maunoury  nothing  to  hold 
like  a  rock  if  Foch  had  yielded,  nor  Foch 
to  have  pierced  the  German  centre  if 
Maunoury  had  been  enveloped  on  his  left. 
And  everything  would  have  smashed  if 
Franchet  d'Esperey  and  French  had  not 
pierced  their  hole  between  the  First  and 
Second  German  armies,  or  if  Langle  de 
Cary  had  been  pushed  back  or  Sarrail 
had  been  repulsed  on  the  extreme  right 
-wing. 

Finally,  the  German  writer,  while  he 
still  refuses  to  utter  the  word  defeat, 
marks  in  clear  enough  lines  the  failure  of 
Moltke's  plan,  which  was  "  to  smash  the 
French  Army  at  the  first  shock,  to  cut 
it  into  pieces  and  dislocate  it."  But,  he 
says,  "  Joffre  succeeded  still  less  in  turn- 
ing the  Germans,  in  rolling  up  their 
battle  line  and  in  throwing  them  out  of 
France,  across  the  Rhine." 

In  other  words,  we  lost  the  battle  of 
the  frontiers;  the  Germans  lost  the  battle 
of  the  Marne.     *     *     * 

Significance  of  the  Marne 

These  are  the  facts  as  they  appear  to 
a  German  officer,  who  is  not  a  Jomini, 
but  who  understands  what  he  sees  and 
whose  mind  is  well  balanced.  The  moral 
significance  of  the  Marne  escapes  him; 
that  of  Valmy,  as  we  know  today,  was 
only  revealed  years  later  to  Goethe. 
"  Moltke  withdrew  the  front  of  the  Ger- 
man battle  line  about  a  day's  march  to 
the  north."  That  is  all  he  sees.  It  was 
"a  battle  interrupted  for  tactical  reasons." 

And  Moltke  had  five  motives.  Two 
have  already  been  discussed,  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  armies  of  the  right  wing 
and  the  centre,  which  were  "  quite  worn 
out,"  and  the  defective  supply  of  food  and 
munitions.     In  the  third  and  the  fourth 


place,  the  Germans  had  discounted  a  more 
rapid  fall  of  the  fortresses  of  Liege, 
Namur  and  Maubeuge,  and  "the  energetic 
sortie  of  the  Antwerp  army,"  coinciding 
with  the  battle  of  the  Marne,  held  army 
corps  whose  mere  presence  would  have 
been  enough  to  make  German  victory 
certain  and  "  break  the  French  line." 
Finally,  it  was  necessary,  beginning  with 
the  end  of  August,  "  before  the  deploying 
of  the  German  armies  was  completed,"  to 
transport  to  the  eastern  frontier  several 
army  corps  from  the  western  front  and 
from  the  interior  of  the  empire,  because 
the  Austrians  had  not  been  able  to  stand 
up  against  the  formidable  thrust  of  the 
Russians  into  Galicia  and  the  Russians 
had  invaded  East  Prussia. 

These  three  Russian  and  the  Belgian 
reasons  are  perfectly  accurate. 

The  Russian  mobilization  was  ordered 
oh  the  night  of  July  30-31,  a  partial 
mobilization  of  the  four  southern  dis- 
tricts— Kieff,  Moscow,  Kazan,  Odessa — 
as  a  reply  to  the  mobilization  of  seven 
Austrian  army  corps  on  July  27;  the  gen- 
eral mobilization  was  ordered  on  July  31, 
toward  midday,  in  reply  to  the  general 
mobilization  of  Austria  decided  on  in  the 
morning.  The  German  Chancellor  de- 
livered an  important  speech  (on  Nov.  9, 
1916)  to  establish  the  assertion  that  the 
partial  mobilization  of  Russia  rendered 
war  inevitable.  An  impudent  lie,  but  let 
it  pass,  and  suppose  that  Russia  had 
waited  for  the  completion  of  her  con- 
centration before  taking  the  offensive 
against  Prussia.  This  would  have  made 
Germany  safe  on  her  eastern  frontier. 
Consequently,  two  or  three  army  corps 
which  Hindenburg  summoned  would  have 
been  on  the  Marne,  on  Sept.  9,  or  on  the 
Ourcq;  and  the  wheel  might  have  turned. 

Hov>   the  Belgians  Helped 

The  same  reasoning  applies  to  the 
Third  and  Ninth  German  Reserve  Corps, 
which  remained  on  the  banks  of  the  Dyle 
and  the  Scheldt,  where  the  Belgian  Army 
of  the  intrenched  camp  of  Antwerp  "  was 
working  to  draw  them  against  itself  and 
to  keep  them  far  from  the  French  battle- 
field." There  were  two  fine  combats  at 
Impde  and  Hofstade,  on  the  canal  from 
Louvain  to  Malines,  on  Aug.  24  and  25, 


A   GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MARNE 


495 


during  the  battles  of  Mons  and  of  the 
Sambre.  At  the  sound  of  the  firing,  the 
Hanoverians  set  fire  to  Louvain,  its  Col- 
legiate church  and  Halle  aux  Draps,  with 
the  famous  library.  On  Sept.  4,  on  the 
eve  of  the  battle  of  the  Marne,  there  was 
an  engagement  at  Capelle-aux-Bois,  a. 
bloody  check  of  the  Germans,  who  took 
vengeance  for  it  by  burning  the  village. 

Moltke  summoned  from  Belgium  three 
reserve  divisions,  replaced  by  a  division 
of  Landwehr  and  a  naval  division.  "  The 
moment  for  a  contribution  by  the  Belgian 
Army  to  the  operations  of  the  allied 
armies  became  from  that  time  oppor- 
tune." It  was  the  offensive  against  the 
German  position,  strongly  organized,  and 
extending  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Dyle 
(from  the  village  of  Haecht)  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Senne  and  the  town  of  Wal- 
verthem,  which  is  ten  kilometers  distant, 
to  the  southeast  of  Termonde.  The 
battles  of  Sept.  9,  10,  and  11  were  so 
clearly  favorable  to  the  Belgians  that  the 
Germans  sent  for  reserves  taken  from  the 
interior  garrisons  and  the  Sixth  Reserve 
Division,  already  on  the  march  toward 
France.  They  then  counterattacked  on 
Sept.  12,  and  gained  the  advantage  at  the 
cost  of  heavy  losses. 

When,  on  Sept.  13,  the  Belgian  Army 
withdrew  on  the  intrenched  camp,  "  the 
aim  which  it  had  had  in  view  was  at- 
tained ";  the  battle  of  the  Marne  had 
been  wpn. 

Finally,  it  is  clearly  proved  that  the 


German  plan  of  a  sudden  attack  had  be- 
gun to  fail  with  the  refusal  of  Belgium 
to  open  its  territories  to  the  armies  which 
were  rushing  to  attack  us,  and  to  the 
heroic  resistance  of  this  noble  people. 
The  German  plan  was  strictly  a  hora- 
rium.  Every  minute  in  it  was  deter- 
mined. From  the  German  frontier,  op- 
posite Aix-la-Chapelle,  to  the  gap  of  the 
Oise,  on  the  French  frontier — the  source 
of  the  Oise  is  in  the  Belgian  province  of 
Namur — there  are  six  days'  march.  But 
the  passage  of  the  Germans  across  Bel- 
gium in  arms — halted  before  Liege  and 
before  Namur,  halted  on  the  line  of  the 
Gette,  beaten  on  Aug.  12  on  the  edge  of 
the  forest  of  Haelen,  victorious  on  Aug. 
18  and  19  at  Aerschot — had  lasted  six- 
teen daysy  (Aug.  4-20.)  The  splendid  ef- 
fort of  the  Belgians  had  therefore  made 
ten  full  days  late  the  arrival  of  the  Ger- 
man armies  on  the  French  frontier,  from 
which  only  eight  marches  separ- 
ated them  from  the  advanced  forts  of 
Paris. 

Thus  the  Russians  and  the  Belgians, 
not  less  than  the  English,  conquered  with 
us  on  the  Marne.  The  German  author 
is  not  mistaken  about  this.  It  still  re- 
mains for  him  to  see  that  a  battle  which 
ends  in  a  retreat  is  a  defeat,  that  the 
violation  of  Belgian  neutrality  was  at 
once  a  political  crime  and  a  military 
blunder,  and  that  the  war  was  premedi- 
tated and  intended  by  the  German  Em- 
peror. 


How  Paris  Was  Saved 

General  Clergerie's  Story  of  a  Great  Sally,  the  Battle  of  the 
Ourcq,  and  von  Kluck's  Defeat 

the  moment  when  the  latter,  in  the  region 
of  the  Ourcq,  was  preparing  to  envelop 
the  left  wing  of  the  French  Army. 

Here  is  a  summary  of  that  page  of  his- 
tory, the  story  of  an  eyewitness: 

From  Aug.  26,  1914,  the  German  ar- 
mies had  been  descending  upon  Paris  by 
forced  marches.  On  Sept.  1  they  were 
only  three  days'  march  from  the  ad- 
vanced line  of  the  intrenched  camp,  which 
the  garrison  were  laboring  desperately  to 


GENERAL  CLERGERIE,  former 
Ckief  of  Staff  in  the  Military 
Government  of  Paris  and  a  close 
associate  with  General  Gallieni 
in  the  tragic  hours  of  August  and  Sep- 
tember, 1914,  officiated  at  the  distribu- 
tion of  prizes  to  the  boys  of  the  Lycee  of 
Perigueux,  July  14,  1917.  In  an  informal 
address  he  told  how  the  army  of  the  in- 
trenched camp  of  Paris  was  led  to  attack 
the  right  wing  of  the  German  Army  at 


496 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


put  into  condition  for  defense.  It  was 
necessary  to  cover  with  trenches  a  circuit 
of  110  miles,  install  siege  guns,  assure 
the  coming  of  supplies  for  them  over  nar- 
row-gauge railways,  assemble  the  food 
and  provisions  of  all  kinds  necessary  for 
a  city  of  4,000,000  inhabitants. 

But  on  Sept.  3  the  intelligence  service, 
which  was  working  perfectly,  stated, 
about  the  middle  of  the  day,  that  the  Ger- 
man columns,  after  heading  straight  for 
Paris,  were  swerving  toward  the  south- 
east and  seemed  to  wish  to  avoid  the  for- 
tified camp. 

"  General  Gallieni  and  I,"  continued 
the  speaker,  "  then  had  one  of  those  long 
"  conferences  which  denoted  grave  events: 
"  they  usually  lasted  from  two  to  five  min- 
"  utes  at  most.  The  fact  is  that  the  mili- 
"  tary  Government  of  Paris  did  little  talk- 
"  ing — it  acted.  The  conference  reached 
"  this  conclusion :  '  If  they  do  not  come  to 
" '  us,  we  will  go  to  them  with  all  the 
" '  force  we  can  muster.'  Nothing  re- 
"  mained  but  to  make  the  necessary 
"  preparations.  The  first  thing  to  do 
"  was  not  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  enemy. 
"  General  Maunoury's  army  immediately 
"  received  orders  to  lie  low  and  avoid  any 
"  engagement  that  was  not  absolutely 
"  necessary."  Then  care  was  taken  to 
reinforce  it  by  every  means.  All  was 
ready  at  the  designated  time. 

In  the  night  of  Sept.  3,  knowing  that 
the  enemy  would  have  to  leave  only  a 
rear  guard  on  one  bank  of  the  Ourcq, 
General  Gallieni  and  General  Clergerie 
decided  to  march  against  that  rear  guard, 
to  drive  it  back  with  all  the  weight  of  the 
Maunoury  army,  to  cut  the  enemy's  com- 
munications, and  take  full  advantage  of 
his  hazardous  situation.  Immediately 
the  following  order  was  addressed  to  Gen- 
eral Maunoury: 

Because  of  the  movement  of  the  German 
armies,  which  seem  to  be  slipping-  in  be- 
fore our  front  to  the  southeast,  I  intend  to 
send  your  army  to  attack  them  in  the 
flank,  that  is  to  say,  in  an  easterly  direc- 
tion. I  will  indicate  your  line  of  march 
as  soon  as  I  learn  that  of  the  British 
Army.  But  make  your  arrangements  now 
so  that  your  troops  shall  be  ready  to 
march  this  afternoon  and  to  begin  a  gen- 
eral movement  east  of  the  intrenched 
camp  tomorrow. 


At  10  in  the  morning  a  consultation 
was  held  by  Generals  Gallieni,  Clergerie, 
and  Maunoury,  and  the  details  of  the 
plan  of  operations  were  immediately  de- 
cided. In  the  afternoon  an  understand- 
ing with  the. English  was  reached  at  Me- 
lun.  General  Joffre  gave  permission  to 
attack  and  announced  that  he  would  him- 
self take  the  offensive  on  the  6th.  On 
the  5th,  at  noon,  the  army  from  Paris 
fired  the  first  shot;  the  battle  of  the 
Ourcq,  a  preface  to  the  Marne,  had 
begun. 

General  Clergerie  then  told  what  a  pre- 
cious purveyor  of  information  he  had 
found  in  General  von  der  Marwitz,  cav- 
alry commander  of  the  German  First 
Army,  who  made  intemperate  use  of  the 
wireless  telegraph  and  did  not  even  take 
the  trouble  to  put  into  cipher  his  dis- 
patches, of  which  the  Eiffel  Tower  made 
a  careful  collection.  "  In  the  evening  of 
"  Sept.  9,"  he  said,  "  an  officer  of  the  in- 
"  telligence  corps  brought  me  a  dispatch 
"  from  this  same  Marwitz  couched  in 
"  something  like  these  terms :  '  Tell  me 
"'  exactly  where  you  are  and  what 
"'you  are  doing.  Hurry  up,  because 
"  <  XXX  *  *  *'  The  officer  was  greatly 
"  embarrassed  to  interpret  those  three 
"  Xs.  Adopting  the  language  of  the 
"  poilu,  I  said  to  him :  '  Translate  it,  u  I 
"  am  going  to  bolt." '  True  enough, 
"  next  day  we  found  on  the  site  of  the 
"  German  batteries,  which  had  been  pre- 
"  cipitately  evacuated,  stacks  of  muni- 
"  tions ;  while  by  the  roadside  we  came 
"  upon  motors  abandoned  for  the  slightest 
"  breakdown,  and  near  Betz  almost  the 
"  entire  outfit  of  a  field  bakery,  with  a 
"  great  store  of  flour  and  dough  half- 
"  kneaded.    Paris  and  France  were  saved. 

"  Von  Kluck  could  not  get  over  his  as- 
"  tonishment.  He  has  tried  to  explain  it 
"  by  saying  he  was  unlucky,  for  out  of  a 
"  hundred  Governors  not  one  would  have 
"  acted  as  Gallieni  did,  throwing  his 
"  whole  available  force  nearly  forty  miles 
"  from  his  stronghold.  It  was  downright 
"  imprudence.  Of  course,  it  was  Gallieni 
"  who  was  in  the  wrong!  " 

General  Clergerie  pointed  the  moral 
for  his  youthful  audience  in  these  words : 
"  If  you  want  France  to  be  great,  there's 
only  one  way:  Act." 


A  German  Sailor's  Account  of  the  Jutland 

Battle 


PKRUG,  one  of  the  survivors  of  the 
German  flagship  Lutzow,  which 
was  sunk  in  the  battle  of  Jutland 
in  June,  1916,  published  in  July,  1917,  a 
pamphlet  giving  his  view  of  the  naval 
engagement.  His  pamphlet,  which  ap- 
peared at  The  Hague,  is  the  first  pub- 
lished account  of  the  battle  by  a  German 
sailor. 

Torpedoed  by  a  British  warship  early 
in  the  engagement,  the  Lutzow,  which 
was  the  flagship  of  Admiral  Hipper,  was 
hammered  unmercifully  by  the  big  guns 
of  the  British  vessels,  and  soon  became  a 
complete  wreck,  a  "  ship  of  the  dead,"  as 
Krug  describes  her. 

According  to  his  story,  twenty-seven 
German  sailors  were  trapped  in  the  Die- 
sel dynamo  room  before  the  battle  had 
been  long  in  progress,  and  remained  there 
when  the  Lutzow,  a  disabled  hulk,  was 
abandoned  and  sent  to  the  bottom  by  a 
torpedo  from  a  German  destroyer.  Two 
of  these  imprisoned  men  had  been  driven 
insane  and  were  kept  tied  by  their  ship- 
mates. 

After  describing  the  first  part  of  the 
battle  and  telling  how  the  arrival  of  Brit- 
ish battleships  turned  the  tables  on  the 
Germans,  Krug  writes : 

Suddenly  the  entire  ship  Is  roughly 
shaken.  The  colossus  heaves  far  over, 
and  everything  that  is  not  fixed  is  upset. 
The  first  direct  hit!  The  torpedo  pierces 
the  fore  part  of  the  ship.  Its  effects  are 
terrible.  Iron,  wood,  metal,  parts  of 
bodies,  and  smashed  ships'  implements 
are  all  intermixed,  and  the  electric  light, 
by  chance  spared,  continues  to  shine 
upon   this   sight. 

Two  decks  lower,  in  the  Diesel  dyna- 
mo room,  there  is  still  life.  That  com- 
partment has  not  been  hit,  and  twenty- 
seven  men,  in  the  prime  of  life,  have 
been  spared,  but  the  chamber  is  shut  off 
from  all  others,  for  the  water  is  rushing 
into  all  sections.  They  are  doomed  to 
death.  Several  38-centimeter  shells 
squarely  hit  their  mark,  working  terrible 
havoc.  The  first  hit  the  wireless  de- 
partment. Of  the  twelve  living  men  who 
a  moment  ago  were  /seated  before  the 
apparatus,  there  is  nothing  more  to  be 
seen.    Nothing    is    left    but    a    smoking 


heap  of  ruins.  The  second  shot  again 
pierced  the  fore  part  of  the  ship.  The  en- 
tire forepart  of  the  vessel,  as  far  as  the 
Diesel  motor  room,  was  past  saving. 

Another  broadside  meant  for  the  Lut- 
zow fell  short,  but  a  torpedo  boat  close 
by  disappeared,  leaving  only  a  few  odd 
pieces  of  wood  and  a  smashed  lifeboat 
drifting  around.  It  is  now  half-past  7, 
and  the  hostile  circle  grows  ever  smaller. 
The  Lutzow  and  the  Seydlitz  lie  with 
their  bows  deep  in  the  water ;  both  are 
badly  mauled.  The  forepart  of  the  Lut- 
zow was  in  flames.  Shells  burst  against 
the  ship's  side  in  rapid  succession.  A  ter- 
rible sight  is  presented  on  board  the  Liit- 
zow,  and  it  needs  iron  nerves  to  look 
upon  it  coolly.  Hundreds  have  lost  their 
lives,  while  many  have  lain  for  hours 
in  torture,  and  the  fight  is  not  yet  over. 
The  bow  is  now  crushed  in  and  is  en- 
tirely submerged.  The  four  screws  are 
already  sticking  half  out  of  the  water,  so 
that  the  Lutzow  can  only  make  eight  to 
ten  knots  an  hour,  as  against  the  normal 
thirty-two. 

The  Admiral  decides  to  transfer  to  the 
Moltke.  He  gives  orders  to  turn  and  get 
away  from  the  scene  of  the  fight,  but 
the  Lutzow  has  not  gone  a  mile  before 
she  receives  a  broadside  of  38-centimeter 
shells.  The  entire  ship  was  filled  with 
the  poisonous  fumes  of  the  shells,  and 
any  one  who  failed  to  affix  his  gas  mask 
was   doomed  to  be  suffocated. 

It  was  three-quarters  of  an  hour  be- 
fore the  lighting  installation  was  restored. 
Then  for  the  first  time  could  the  extent 
of  the  damage  wrought  by  the  salvo  be 
seen.  One  of  the  shells  had  landed  in 
the  sick  bay.  Here  there  were  only  three 
doctors  and  fifteen  attendants,  besides 
160  to  180  wounded.  Of  all  those,  only 
four  remained  alive.  These  four  were 
hurled  into  the  next  compartment  by  the 
air  pressure ;  there  they  lay  unconscious. 

The  Lutzow  was  now  a  complete  wreck. 
Corpses  drifted  past.  From  the  bows  up 
to  the  first  30-centimeter  gun  turret 
the  ship  lay  submerged.  The  other  gun 
turrets  were  completely  disabled,  with 
the  guns  sticking  out  in  all  directions.  On 
deck  lay  the  bodies  of  the  sailors  in  their 
torn  uniforms,  in  the  midst  of  the  empty 
shell  cases.  From  the  masts  fluttered 
torn  flags,  twisted  signal  lines,  and  pieces 
of  wire  of  the  wireless  installation.  Had 
not  the  lookout  man  and  the  three  officers 
on  the  commander's  bridge  given  signs  of 
life,  the  Liitzow  would  have  truly  re- 
sembled  a   ship   of   the   dead.    Below,    on 


498 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


the  battery  deck  and  in  the  coal  bunkers, 
there  still  lay  innumerable  wounded,  but 
there  was  no  longer  a  doctor  to  attend 
to  them. 

Night  came  on  and  hope  was  entertained 
of  getting  away  without  a  further  en- 
counter. But  at  3  o'clock,  in  the  night 
news  of  the  approach  of.  two  British 
cruisers  and  five  destroyers  was  received 
and  just  at  that  critical  time  the  fore 
and    middle  bulkheads    gave    way. 

Orders  were  given  to  quickly  carry  the 
wounded  to  the  stern.  Then  the  order 
rings  out:  "All  hands  muster  in  division 
order .  abaft."  A  tumult  arises  on  the 
lower  deck,  for  everybody  is  now  bent  on 
saving  his  life.  It  is  impossible  in  that 
short  space  of  time  to  bring  up  all  the 
wounded,  for  they  are  scattered  every- 
where. Eighteen  men  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  be  carried  up,  but  all  the  rest  who 
could  not  walk  or  crawl  had  to  be  left 
behind. 

The  twenty-seven  men  shut  up  in  the 
Diesel  dynamo  chamber  had  heard  the 
order  through  the  speaking  tube,  for 
many,     mad     with     anguish,  *  screamed 


through  the  tube  for  help,  and  It  was 
learned  that  two  of  their  number  lay 
bound  because  they  had  become  Insane. 
Inspired  by  their  sense  of  duty,  these 
sealed-up  men  had  continued  to  carry  on 
their  work  in  order  to  provide  the  ship 
•with  light. 

The  torpedo  boats  now  quickly  took  off 
the  crew  of  the  Liitzow,  and  those  left 
behind  were  doomed  to  death.  It  was 
resolved  that  no  piece  of  the  vessel  should 
fall  into  the  enemy's  hands.  An  order 
was  given  and  a  torpedo  cleft  the  waters. 
Just  then  seven  men  were  to  be  seen  run- 
ning like  madmen  round  the  rear  deck. 
Overfatigued  as  they  were,  they  had  ap- 
parently dropped  off  to  sleep  and  only 
just  awakened.  As  the  torpedo  exploded, 
the  Liitzow' s  bow  quickly  dipped,  and  the 
stern  rose  until  she  stood  on  end.  Then 
she  heeled  over  and  sank,  forming  a 
great  whirlpool  that  carried  everything 
within   it  into   the   depths. 

When  the  roll  was  called  it  appeared 
that  there  were  1,003  survivors  of  the 
Liitzow;  597  men  had  perished  in  the 
battle. 


Heartrending  Scenes  in  Belgium 


A  CITIZEN  of  Liege  who  succeeded  in 
escaping  from  Belgium  draws  a 
terrible  picture,  says  Reuter's 
Agency,  of  the  sufferings  of  the  repa- 
triated deportees  and  of  the  brutality 
with  which  the  unfortunate  people  are 
still  treated  by  the  Germans.  This  es- 
caped Belgian  was  engaged  from  March 
to  July,  1917,  at  an  infirmary  outside 
*  Liege  station  and  witnessed  the  arrival 
of  train  after  train  of  repatriated  depor- 
tees. Describing  what  he  had  seen,  he 
said: 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  terrible  scenes 
I  have  witnessed.  The  trains  contained 
sometimes  500  to  900  men,  who  had  been 
for  three  days  practically  without  food. 
A  great  many  of  them  had  their  feet  and 
legs  frostbitten  or  frozen  off,  and  had  to 
be  carried  on  stretchers.  They  had  been 
obliged  to  walk  for  hours  in  their  stocking 
feet  in  the  snow.  Often  gangrene  had  set 
in  and  the  men  died  within  a  few  days. 

We  had  an  average  of  two  deaths  every 
day  in  our  small  infirmary.  Some  of  them 
were  so  famished  that  they  could  not 
take  any  food,  and  had  to  be  fed  with  a 
spoon;    others    ate    ravenously    anything 


that  they  could  snatch  from  your  hand. 
Eighty  per  cent,  are  stricken  with  tuber- 
culosis, and  will  never  recover.  Such  is 
the  result  of  a  few  months  spent  in  the 
German  prison  camps  and  kommandos. 

The  first  time  we  saw  them  alight  from 
the  train  we  could  not  believe  that  these 
ragged  ghosts,  with  haggard  faces  and 
feet  wrapped  in  muddy  sackcloth,  could 
be  the  same  men  who  had  passed  through 
Liege,  singing  patriotic  songs,  on  their 
way  to  Germany.  According  to  their  re- 
ports many  have  died  over  there ;  many 
also  died  on  the  way  home,  every  train 
bringing  a  load  of  three  or  four  dead  as 
well  as  the  dying.  Many  more  have  died 
at  home  later  after  horrible  sufferings 
from  the  incurable  diseases  which  they 
have  contracted. 

But  these  physical  tortures  are  nothing 
beside  the  moral  trials  to  which  they  havo 
been  subjected.  Some  of  the  men  hav» 
gone  quite  mad  and  do  not  realize  that 
they  have  come  back.  One  of  the  men  I 
attended,  in  his  delirium  repeated  un- 
ceasingly the  same  cry,  while  making  a 
movement  as  if  pushing  something  away. 
"I  will  not  sign,  I  will  not  sign!  "  He 
did  not,  and  he  died  for  it  in  my  arms. 
As  an  old  woman  said  to  me  who  was 
waiting  for  her  son  to  be  returned,  "  Is  it 
not  enough  to  make  the  stones  weep?  " 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By  Major  Edwin  W.  Dayton 

Inspector  General,  National  Guard,  State  of  New  York;  Secretary,  New 
York  Army  and  Navy  Club 

VII. — Battle  of  Loos  and  Champagne  Offensive 


A  FRENCH  writer  observing  the 
new  British  divisions  which  be- 
gan to  march  to  the  western 
battle  front  late  in  May,  1915, 
said,  *  This  is  an  army  of  athletes  which 
England  has  trained."  The  splendid 
regular  army  which  had  fought  so  brave- 
ly in  the  Summer  and  Autumn  of  the  first 
year  of  the  war  was  resting  mostly  in 
thick-sown  graves  between  the  Seine  and 
the  sea.  But  the  best  soldier  material 
of  Britain  had  flocked  to  the  colors  in 
the  early  "Winter  and  was  thoroughly 
trained  and  equipped  by  this  time.  These 
were  Kitchener's  men  and  were  to  con- 
tinue the  task  of  hammering  at  the  Ger- 
man lines  as  they  were  left  after  the 
fighting  at  Souchez,  Festubert,  Aubers 
Ridge,  and  Neuve  Chapelle  in  the  Spring 
of  1915.  The  new  troops  found  hard 
fighting  awaiting  them  at  Hooge. 

The  salient  at  Ypres  was  still  a  storm 
centre,  and  the  Germans  since  May  had 
held  the  high  ground  about  the  Chateau 
of  Hooge,  two  miles  east  of  Ypres  on  the 
road  to  Menin,  which  was  the  point  of 
their  nearest  approach  to  the  town  after 
the  terrific  battles  and  the  gas  attacks 
in  May.  In  June  and  July  there  was 
continued  close  fighting  for  every  out- 
building or  fortified  rubbish  heap  on  this 
low  ridge,  where  positions  were  taken 
and  lost  over  and  over  again.  By  July 
the  advantage  was  considerably  on  the 
German  side,  especially  in  the  region  of 
Bellewaarde  Lake,  a  pond  north  of  the 
chateau. 

Here  the  British  had  lost  ground  until 
they  were  pressed  back  to  a  little  lane 
connecting  the  Menin  road  with  the  high- 
way to  Zonnebeke,  a  full  half  mile  nearer 
Ypres  than  the  position  at  Hooge.  This 
made  a  dangerous-looking  dent  in  the 
British  line,  but  along  the  Menin  road 
they  still  clung  to  trenches  close  up  to 


the  chateau.  A  huge  depression  called 
"  The  Crater  "  resulted  from  the  explo- 
sion of  a  British  mine  at  this  point  and 
was  the  scene  of  a  powerful  German  at- 
tack before  dawn  on  July  30. 

First  Use  of  Liquid  Fire 

In  this  assault  liquid  fire  was  employed 
for  the  first  time,  and  after  a  heavy  bom- 
bardment by  trench  mortars  (minenwer- 
fern)  the  infantry  stormed  the  British 
trenches,  using  a  great  number  of  gre- 
nades. The  troops  in  the  trenches  at- 
tacked were  practically  annihilated,  and 
the  British  line  gave  way  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  to  the  edge  of  the  high 
ground  at  the  corner  of  Zouave  Wood. 
The  Germans  were  about  to  thrust  their 
lines  south  of  the  Menin  road  forward 
to  a  point  abreast  of  their  furthest  posi- 
tions westward  along  the  lane  north  of 
that  road.  Second  Lieut.  Woodroffe,  a 
boy  under  twenty,  was  the  first  soldier 
of  the  new  army  to  win  the  Victoria 
Cross,  which  was  awarded  for  a  splendid 
effort  to  lead  his  men  back  in  a  counter- 
attack in  which  he  was  killed.  Major 
Gen.  Keir,  commanding  the  Sixth  Corps, 
ordered  a  counterattack  in  midafternoon 
which  resulted  in  the  useless  slaughter  of 
the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Rifle  Battalions, 
which  were  torn  to  pieces  in  the  death 
trap  called  Zouave  Wood  and  the  fields 
beyond,  where  2,000  men  fell,  including 
sixty  officers. 

No  further  suicidal  attempts  were  made 
to  storm  the  German  lines  by  daylight,  and 
for  ten  days  the  British  heavy  artillery 
poured  a  flood  of  8-inch  and  9.2-inch 
shells  over  them.  The  British  superiority 
in  heavy  guns  began  at  that  time  to  be 
in  evidence  and  has  continued  to  grow 
ever  since. 

On  Aug.  9  two  brigades  renewed  the 
counterattack  just  before  dawn  and, 
charging  across  a  "  no-man's  land  "  500 


500 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


yards  wide  and  heaped  with  the  unburied 
victims  of  the  previous  effort,  these  gal- 
lant troops  recaptured  the  crater  and 
trenches  close  to  the  chateau.  Two  hun- 
dred Germans  who  held  the  dugouts  in 
the  crater  were  killed  to  the  last  man. 
That  night  the  Germans  shelled  the  new 
British  positions,  part  of  which  it  proved 
impossible  to  hold.  In  this  day's  fighting 
the  two  brigades  lost  over  2,000  men,  but 
nearly  all  the  ground  was  held  until  a 
fresh  brigade  arrived  and  gave  the  much- 
needed  reinforcement  required  to  retain 
the  position. 

Western  Front,  September,  1915 
In  the  early  Autumn  of  1915  it  was 
estimated  that  the  Germans  were  defend- 
ing their  western  front  of  570  miles  with 
a  total  force  of  nearly  2,000,000  men. 
They  were  outnumbered  by  the  Allies, 
for  Sir  John  French  commanded  a  million 
British  soldiers  in  France,  while  the 
French  had  2,000,000  men  on  this  front 
with  strong  forces  of  recruits  in  training 
camps  in  the  rear.  There  were  about 
6,000  guns  of  varied  calibre  on  each  side. 
By  this  time  the  British  production  of 
artillery  munitions  had  been  very  greatly 
increased  over  the  capacity  of  the  early 
Spring.  The  German  system  of  field 
fortification  had,  however,  been  de- 
veloped to  the  utmost.  Back  of  every 
front-line  system  lay  another  complete 
and  even  stronger  line  of  trenches,  com- 
pletely prepared  with  wire  entanglements, 
very  deep  dugouts,  &c.  The  second  line 
was  usually  about  700  yards  behind  the 
first,  and  a  third  and  stronger  position 
was  prepared  usually  about  a  mile  to  the 
rear.  There  were  frequent  fortins  or  low 
redoubts  of  great  strength  so  situated  as 
to  enfilade  trench  systems  which  might 
be  lost.  Against  this  elaborate  fortifica- 
tion the  operations  took  on  increasingly 
the  character  of  sieges  rather  than  field 
manoeuvres  intended  to  break  through  or 
outflank  an  enemy  in  the  field;  but  in 
September  the  Allies  launched  two  great 
attacks  which  it  was  hoped  might  win 
from  the  enemy  some  of  his  vantage 
ground.  The  time  seemed  propitious,  for 
von  Hindenburg's  great  campaign  in 
Russia,  while  widely  victorious,  still  re- 
quired every  man  that  could  be  spared 
from  other  fields. 


The  German  lines  in  France  formed  a 
great  right  angle,  whose  upper  line  faced 
west  from  the  sea  to  the  Aisne,  where  it 
bent  and  ran  toward  the  southeast  to  the 
Swiss  frontier.  The  Allies  planned  to 
strike  two  great  blows  back  of  the  head 
of  this  vast  salient — one  in  the  north  to- 
ward Lens,  and  the  other  in  Champagne 
about  Souain. 

The  Battle  of  Loos 

On  the  northern  sector  a  terrific  bom- 
bardment was  maintained  from  Sept.  23 
until  the  early  morning  of  the  25th, 
when  the  British  attack  upon  Loos 
started.  On  the  French  front,  facing 
Vimy  Heights,  the  bombardment  con- 
tinued until*  early  afternoon,  when  the 
infantry  assaults  began  and  made  excel- 
lent progress  before  night.  The  next 
day  D'Urbal's  soldiers  fought  their  way 
to  the  lower  slopes  of  the  heights  north 
of  Thelus,  crossed  the  Souchez  stream 
and  gained  part  of  Givenchy  Wood.  By 
the  29th  the  western  slopes  of  Vimy 
Heights  and  much  of  Givenchy  Wood  had 
been  taken  from  the  Germans,  and  it  be- 
came necessary  for  the  French  com- 
mander to  send  reinforcements  to  the 
British  on  his  left  flank,  where  a  deep 
salient  was  being  held  east  of  Loos  by 
a  dangerously  inadequate  force. 

While  the  French  were  winning  their 
footing  on  Vimy  Heights  the  British  had 
fought  a  series  of  separate  battles  both 
north  and  south  of  the  Vimy  sector.  It 
will  be  well  to  realize  in  connection  with 
this  whole  series  of  actions  that  they 
were  timed  to  coincide  with  the  great 
French  attack  far  to  the  south  in  Cham- 
pagne, and  intended  to  so  thoroughly 
engage  the  Germans  in  the  north  as  to 
prevent  the  dispatch  of  reserves  from 
that  region  to  the  south,  where  the  Allies 
hoped  to  be  able  to  break  through  the 
invader's  fortified  lines  and  reach  the 
railway  communications  in  the  rear.  The 
northern  attacks  were  planned  to  be  at 
least  "  holding  "  battles,  but  the  numbers 
of  both  men  and  guns  employed  were  so 
great  as  to  lead  to  the  hope  that  at  some 
vulnerable  spot  the  German  lines  might 
be  broken  and  the  railways  from  Lille 
southward  be  reached. 

On  Sept.  25  the  British,  after  a  final 
bombardment,  exploded  a  mine  and  then 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


501 


once  more  attacked  Hooge,  the  blood- 
drenched  point  of  the  Ypres  sector.  Two 
infantry  divisions  stormed  German 
trenches  in  some  places  to  a  depth  of  as 
much  as  600  yards,  but  nearly  all  the 
ground  gained  was  so  completely  com- 
manded by  the  heavy  German  artillery 
that  it  had  once  more  to  be  yielded  by  the 
end  of  the  day. 

Another  British  attack  developed  soon 


GENERAL     DE     CASTELNAU 

after  4  A.  M.  in  front  of  Armentieres. 
Here  the  forces  on  the  flanks  made  good 
progress,  but  the  centre  failed  to  gain, 
so  that  in  the  end  both  flanks  were  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  to  re-establish  the 
alignment.  The  only  result  here  was 
that  the  German  troops  were  kept  occu- 
pied on  their  own  front. 

An   Unsuccessful  Phase 

A  third  battle  meanwhile  was  fought 
by  the  British  Indian  Corps,  commanded 
by  General  Anderson,  above  Neuve  Cha- 
pelle,  and  this  effort  was  the  least  suc- 
cessful of  all.  The  faults  seem  to  have 
been  divided  between  imperfect  staff  ar- 
rangements and  unsatisfactory  qualities 
displayed  by  some  of  the  native  troops. 
Two  Indian  brigades  which  rushed  over 
German  first-line  trenches  failed  to  either 
clear   out   or   hold   the   positions,   which 


were  presently  reoccupied  in  dangerous 
force  by  the  Germans.  A  reserve  bri- 
gade of  Indians,  which  should  have  fol- 
lowed closely  the  advancing  units, 
stopped  in  the  old  British  front-line 
trenches  and  viewed  with  dismay  a  front 
which,  to  their  astonishment,  bristled 
with  resistance,  although  two  whole  bri- 
gades had  swept  over  it  and  disappeared 
beyond.  At  the  opening  of  this  battle 
one  of  the  Indian  divisions  (the  Meerut) 
attempted  to  send  a  cloud  of  poison  gas 
over  the  German  lines,  but  in  a  drizzling 
mist  with  almost  no  wind  the  gas  lay 
still,  so  that  when  they  advanced  they 
were  compelled  to  charge  through  the  gas 
themselves.  As  the  day  wore  on,  Ger- 
man counterattacks  drove  back  the  lines 
of  the  Twentieth  Division  of  the  Third 
Corps,  which  exposed  the  flank  of  the 
Meerut  Division,  to  which  the  main  at- 
tack toward  Aubers  Ridge  had  been  com- 
mitted. 

Gradually  whatever  plans  had  existed 
dissolved  and  the  action  degenerated  into 
an  utterly  confused  melee,  out  of  which 
the  remnants  of  the  leading  brigades 
finally  fought  their  way  back  to  the  old 
lines.  The  reports  laid  great  emphasis 
upon  the  sturdy  courage  of  the  British 
regular  battalions  serving  with  the  native 
brigades.  Once  more  the  Neuve  Chapelle 
sector  proved  a  deadly  area  impregnable 
to  British  efforts,  and  this  battle  of  Sep- 
tember in  this  fatal  sector  was  a  failure 
like  the  preceding  ones  of  December  and 
May. 

Fighting  Near  Givenchy 

Still  another  attack  was  made  by  the 
British  troops  near  Givenchy,  the  strong- 
ly defended  outpost  on  the  west  front  of 
La  Bassee.  Some  gains  were  made,  but 
the  lack  of  reserves  made  it  impossible  to 
hold  such  of  the  first-line  positions  as 
were  entered. 

The  great  British  attack  on  this  day  of 
many  battles  was  mearrwhile  launched 
against  the  fortified  ridge  and  quarries 
west  of  the  La  Bassee-Lens  road.  Here 
General  Haig  had  Rawlinson's  (Fourth) 
and  Gough's  (First)  Corps  for  deploy- 
ment on  a  front  of  about  eight  miles  be- 
tween Givenchy  and  Grenay.  This  im- 
portant phase  of  the  great  battle  of  Sept. 
25  opened  soon  after  6  A.  M.  with  an  at- 


502 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


tack  on  the  German  positions  just  below 
the  La  Bassee  Canal,  but,  although  some 
progress  resulted  after  desperate  fight- 
ing, the  brigade  engaged  here  was  com- 
pelled before  night  to  fall  back. 

Just  below  this  sector  another  Scotch 
brigade  in  a  glorious  attack  won  the  Ho- 
henzollern  Redoubt  and  a  fortified  posi- 
tion called  Fosse  8.  On  their  right  the 
Seventh  Division  drove  their  attack 
through  to  the  German  second  line  in  the 
Cite  St.  Elie  and  the  village  of  Haisnes, 
both  places  well  in  the  rear  of  the  Ho- 
henzollern  Redoubt  and  directly  on  the 
La  Bassee-Lens  highway.  The  lack  of 
sufficient  reserves  made  it  impossible  to 
hold  the  more  advanced  positions  won, 
and  by  midday  part  of  the  gains  had  to  be 
relinquished. 

The  Capture  of  Loos 
Further  south  Rawlin son's  men  fought 
brilliantly,  and  in  an  advance  of  nearly 
two  miles  reached  the  outer  edge  of  Hul- 
luch  and  captured  Loos  close  to  the  Lens- 
Bethune  road.  In  this  splendid  success 
there  was  a  notable  improvement  over  the 
methods  which  on  the  same  day  scored 
such  a  failure  at  Neuve  Chapelle.  Loos 
was  taken  by  divisions  made  up  of  Lon- 
don regiments  which  had  spent  a  number 
of  days  before  the  battle  in  studying  a 
big  model  of  this  sector,  with  the  result 
that  when  one  battalion  (the  Nineteenth 
London)  lost  every  officer,  the  men  went 
on  and  accomplished  their  part  without 
hesitation. 

Success  in  this  war  is  reserved  for 
those  adequately  prepared  to  win  it. 
However,  even  successes  so  won  cannot 
be  maintained  unless  supported  by  large 
reserves  equally  well  prepared.  The 
brave  Scotch  battalions,  having  taken 
Loos,  pressed  on  with  mad  courage  into 
the  very  heart  of  a  fortified  zone  be- 
yond. In  less  than  three  hours  Gordons, 
Camerons,  Seaforths,  and  Black  Watch 
had  driven  nearly  four  miles  through 
the  German  trenches.  An  English  writer 
commenting  upon  the  heroic  fighting  of 
the  Scotch  brigades  in  this  battle  justly 
remarked  that  while  what  they  did  was 
magnificent  it  was  not  war,  for  it  was 
an  attack  unprovided  with  reserves. 
About  10  o'clock  word  was  sent  up  to 
the  advanced  units  that  they  must  fall 


back;  but,  almost  encircled  by  the  enemy 
as  they  were,  the  task  was  well-nigh 
impossible.  Only  a  few  men  fought  their 
way  back  to  the  lines,  which  were  finally 
held. 

In  summing  up  the  results  of  these 
great  efforts,  which  involved  something 
like  five  separate  but  eo-ordinated  battles 
on  the  British  front,  we  must  admit  that 


MAP  OF  REGION  WHERE  BATTLE  OF  LOOS 
WAS   FOUGHT 

little  more  resulted  than  the  prevention 
of  reinforcements  being  sent  by  the 
enemy  from  the  northern  positions  to  his 
hard-pressed  lines  in  Champagne.  There 
seems  to  have  been  a  time  when  the 
prompt  use  of  adequate  reserves  in  the 
sector  north  of  Lens  might  have  rescued 
the  whole  region  between  Lille  and  Douai 
from  the  invader.  Sir  John  French  was 
in  supreme  command,  and  he  had  in  re- 
serve and  immediately  under  his  control 
the  Eleventh  Corps,  consisting  of  the 
Guards  Division  and  the  new  Twenty- 
first  and  Twenty-fourth  Divisions.  At 
the  critical  moment  when  the  great 
Scotch  charge  reached  Cite  St.  Auguste 
the   Guards   Division  was  about  twenty 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


503 


miles  away  from  the  Loos  sector.  Gen- 
eral French  gave  Sir  Douglas  Haig  the 
Twenty-first  and  Twenty-fourth  Divi- 
sions before  10  A.  M.,  but  even  these 
troops  were  eight  miles  away., 

On  Sunday,  the  26th,  the  Germans 
made  heavy  counterattacks  and  severely 
defeated  the  inexperienced  troops  of  the 
Twenty-fourth  Division,  so  that  a  good 
deal  of  ground  was  lost.  On  Monday 
the  Guards  Division,  consisting  of  three 
brigades  of  England's  finest  troops,  was 
sent  in  to  redeem  the  situation.  The 
Guards  fought  well.  The  Third  Brigade, 
consisting  of  the  First  Grenadiers, 
Fourth  Grenadiers,  Second  Scots,  and 
First  Welsh,  attacked  the  strongly  forti- 
fied Hill  70,  just  north  of  Lens,  and 
were  deployed  in  columns  of  half  pla- 
toons, with  100  yards  intervals  between 
the  sections  and  250  yards  distance  be- 
tween the  lines.  They  reached  the  crest 
of  Hill  70,  but  could  not  hold  it  against 
the  converging  machine-gun  fire,  and, 
falling  back,  dug  themselves  in  about  a 
hundred  yards  to  the  west.  On  the  28th 
the  First  Coldstreams  succeeded  in 
reaching  a  fortified  chalk  pit  north  of 
Hill  70,  but  that  place,  too,  was  too  hot 
to  hold. 

Through  the  remaining  days  of  Sep- 
tember and  the  early  part  of  October, 
under  heavy  bombardment,  the  British 
consolidated  the  positions  and  straight- 
ened the  lines.  They  had  taken  3,000 
German  prisoners,  with  26  field  guns  and 
40  machine  guns.  Lord  Kitchener  in  Eng- 
land and  Field  Marshal  French  at  the 
front  gave  unstinted  praise  to  the  gal- 
lantry of  the  troops,  but  there  was  a  dis- 
tinct disappointment  in  England,  where 
it  was  felt  that  the  errors  of  Neuve 
Chapelle  in  the  Spring  had  been  repeat- 
ed and  that  the  possibility  of  a  great  vic- 
tory had  been  lost  because  of  imperfect 
plans.  Probably  the  fairest  of  the  many 
criticisms  leveled  at  the  British  staff 
was  that  which  admitted  their  lack  of 
training  in  the  handling  of  great  armies. 
Had  the  splendid  British  armies  pos- 
sessed a  thoroughly  efficient  and  com- 
petent General  Staff  they  would  have 
won  in  the  early  Autumn  of  1915  what 
they  have  fought  for  through  two  long 
and  bloody  years  since. 

The  British  losses  at  Loos  and  there- 


about   were    45,000,    including    3    Major 
Generals  and  28  battalion  commanders.* 

French  Attack  in  Champagne 
While  the  British  were  fighting  the 
series  of  battles  which  culminated  at  Loos 
and  d'Urbal's  Tenth  French  Army  was 
fighting  for  Vimy  Ridge  all  France 
awaited  breathlessly  the  great  effort 
which  it  was  hoped  would  smash  a  way 
through  the  German  fortifications  on 
the  chalk  ridges  of  Champagne.  Here 
the  really  great  effort  was  planned  to 
deal  such  a  blow  as  would  cut  through 
the  invader's  railway  communications, 
which  so  perfectly  assisted  his  Generals 
to  shift  men  and  guns  quickly  wherever 
required. 

The  sector  selected  for  attack  was  that 
above  Suippes,  between  Auberive  and 
Ville-sur-Iourbe,  and  de  Castelnau's 
army  was  chosen  for  the  grand  effort. 
All  through  September  both  French  and 
British  airmen  flew  straight  at  any  Ger- 
man aircraft  which  attempted  to  recon- 
noitre back  of  their  lines.  They  were  most 
successful  in  masking  the  great  concen- 
trations of  troops  back  of  the  sectors  se- 
lected for  attack.  Early  in  the  morning 
of  Sept.  25  de  Castelnau's  men  began  to 
crowd  forward  through  the  communica- 
tion trenches  under  a  volcanic  discharge 
of  shells  hurled  over  their  heads  against 
the  German'  trenches  of  both  first  and 
second  lines.  Every  platoon  had  been 
carefully  taught  just  what  its  own  ob- 
jective was  to  be,  and  General  Jof f re's 
famous  order  read:  "  Soldiers  of 'the  Re- 
public: After  months  of  waiting  the  hour 
has  come  to  attack  and  to  conquer." 
Every  soldier  had  an  extra  ration  of 
wine  on  the  night  of  the  24th,  and  trench 
knives  were  added  to  the  regular  equip- 
ment for  the  close  fighting  anticipated 
in  trenches  and  dugouts. 

At  9:15  on  the  morning  of  Sept.  25 
the  bugles  sounded,  the  officers  cried  out 
"To  Win  or  Die!"  and  on  a  front  of 
fifteen  miles  a  splendid  French  Army 
charged.    Both  field  batteries  ("  seventy- 

*It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  losses  in 
the  month  of  May,  1917,  when  the  casualties 
amounted  to  114,000  as  the  price  of  another 
offensive  on  nearly  the  same  ground  but  in 
which  positions  won  were  held  and  3,412 
Germans  were  captured. 


504 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


fives ")  and  cavalry  were  used  during 
the  day,  for  on  that  long  front  the 
French  lines  had  by  night  advanced  an 
average  of  two  and  a  half  miles.  Four 
great  redoubts  had  been  stormed  and 
thousands  of  prisoners  taken,  together 
with  hundreds  of  guns.  On  Sunday,  the 
26th,  further  progress  was  made,  and 
on  the  27th  the  French  repulsed  an  at- 
tempted diversion  by  the  Crown  Prince 
at  La  Fille  Morte,  in  the  Argonne. 

By  Wednesday,  Sept.  29,  the  French 
had  sufficiently  reorganized  their  forces 
to  resume  the  attack,  which  was  directed 
particularly  along  the  west  side  of  the 
Souain-Somme-Py  road,  where  the  Na- 
varin  Farm,  on  the  east  side  of  the  high- 
way, and  Hill  185,  on  the  west,  marked 
a  line  about  midway  between  the  two 
towns.  The  German  lines  proved  too 
strong  to  be  forced,  and,  although  there 
was  a  gap  opened  near  the  great  Lu- 
beck  trench,  a  concentrated  German  fire 
poured  through  the  opening  forbade 
any  further  advance.  In  fact,  the  scien- 
tific arrangement  of  the  German  forti- 
fications was  such  that  any  position 
captured  immediately  was  subjected  to  an 
enfilading  lateral  fire  from  neighboring 
positions,  as  well  as  a  deluge  of  shellfire, 
both  direct  and  indirect.  Above  the  farm 
called  Maisons  de  Champagne  a  defensive 
work  called  the  "  Ouvrage  de  la  Defaite  " 
was  won  and  lost  over  and  over  again 
before  the  brave  French  soldiers  would 
admit  their  inability  to  hold  it.  All  that 
de  Castelnau's  men  could  do  was  to  dig 
themselves  in  where  they  were  and  fight 
hard  to  hold  what  had  cost  them  so  much. 

The  French  losses  in  Champagne,  and 
including  those  in  Artois  at  Vimy  Ridge, 
amounted  to  120,000  men.  The  Germans 
were  pushed  back  nearly  three  miles  on 
a  front  of  about  fifteen  miles,  but  they 
remained  secure  in  a  stronger  position 
than  the  first,  and  their  railway  com- 
munications were  undisturbed. 

Net  Results  Disappointing 

The  great  allied  offensive  in  the  west 
in  the  Autumn  of  1915  resulted  in  tre- 
mendous battles  which  won  considerable 
local  success,  but  nowhere  succeeded  in 
seriously  disturbing  the  invaders'  grip 
upon  France.  Nothing  was  achieved 
which   could   be   reckoned    an   offset   to 


what  the  enemy  had  accomplished  in  Rus- 
sia through  the  Summer,  and  only  part  of 
Joffre's  optimistic  prophecy  was  realized. 
The  splendid  elan  of  the  French  soldier 
did  carry  him  at  a  bound  up  to  the  bat- 
teries of  the  adversary,  but  the  hope  that 
he  would  charge  on  past  and  beyond  the 
fortified  lines  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. Despite  superiority  in  numbers  of 
troops,  guns,  and  shells,  the  Allies  were 
compelled  to  realize  that  the  bravest  of 
attempts  could  not  hope  to  pierce  those 
fortifications.  The  slow  processes  of 
siege  operations  must  be  resorted  to,  and 
years  consumed  in  a  task  which  it  had 
been  fondly  hoped  might  be  accom- 
plished in  a  series  of  smashing  attacks. 

It  was  after  the  Marne  that  the  Ger- 
mans dug  themselves  in  so  thoroughly  on 
the  chalky  hills  of  Champagne,  and  as  the 
months  have  lengthened  into  years  they 
have  created  a  series  of  defensive  works 
secure  from  flank  attacks  and  capable  of 
a  deadly  defense  against  frontal  assaults. 
The  French  staff  knew  the  difficulties  of 
their  task,  and  were  provided  with  exact 
information  as  to  every  trench,  alley  of 
communication,  and  clump  of  trees.  Let- 
ters or  numbers  were  assigned  to  each  of 
such  objects  on  the  detailed  maps  fur- 
nished to  the  troops  in  every  sector  of 
the  attack.  It  was  found  that  the 
wire  entanglements  between  the  German 
trenches  attained  a  width  of  from  15  to 
60  meters.  The  French  official  report  on 
the  battle  in  Champagne  said  that  a  line 
showing  the  different  stages  of  the 
French  advance  would  assume  a  curi- 
ously winding  outline,  revealing  on  the 
one  hand  the  defensive  power  of  an  ad- 
versary resolved  to  stick  to  the  ground  at 
all  costs,  and  on  the  other  the  victorious 
continuity  of  the  efforts  of  the  French 
soldiers  in  this  hand-to-hand  struggle. 
At  the  two  extremities  of  the  attacking 
front  the  offensive  could  make  no  prog- 
ress because  of  the  converging  fire  of  the 
enemy  and  his  powerful  counterattacks. 

In  an  order  dated  Oct.  5  General  Joffre 
announced  the  results  in  Champagne, 
where  25,000  prisoners  and  150  guns 
were  captured  and  made  visible  evidence 
of  the  splendid  success  of  the  opening 
phase  of  the  battle.  That  the  outcome 
of  the  great  effort  was  a  bitter  disap- 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


505 


pointment  to  the  French  was  never  evi- 
dent in  the  slightest  weakening  of  their 
determination  to  fight  on  at  all  costs 
until  somewhere  and  somehow  the  final 
defeat  of  the  enemy  shall  be  accom- 
plished. 

German  Counteroffensive 

The  Germans  had  maintained  in  the 
east  their  favorite  conception  of  war, 
that  only  the  offensive  can  win.  On  the 
west  front  through  all  this  long  series 
of  battles  in  1915  they  were  compelled 
to  assume  the  to  them  repugnant  role 
of  the  defensive.  But  to  the  German 
military  mind  it  was  perfectly  clear  that 
the  only  successful  defensive  must  be 
that  of  the  active  and  aggressive  kind 
known  as  the  offensive-defense. 

When  the  allied  effort  of  late  Sep- 
tember died  down  the  Germans  began 
a  campaign  of  counterstrokes  serious 
enough  to  shake  the  Allies  out  of  some 
of  the  vantage  points  recently  gained, 
and  all  sufficiently  threatening  to  compel 
both  British  and  French  to  hold  heavy 
mobile  reserves  distributed  back  of  the 
battle  lines  ready  for  instant  dispatch  to 
any  point  where  serious  disaster  might 
threaten.  The  German  commanders  knew 
that  a  fatal  deterioration  in  the  best 
troops  in  the  world  is  certain  to  result 
if  they  are  permitted  entirely  to  lose  the 
initiative.  Their  announced  plan  was  to 
hold  rather  lightly  the  first-line  posi- 
tions to  minimize  the  losses  from  bom- 
bardments, yet  in  sufficient  strength  to 
inflict  severe  losses  upon  the  assaulting 
infantry;  then,  when  an  exhausted  frac- 
tion of  the  original  force  had  gained  the 
second-line  positions,  to  hurl  upon  them 
powerful  fresh  reserves  competent  to  de- 
stroy survivors  of  the  original  attack  and 
recover  much,  if  not  all,  of  the  lost 
ground. 

This  plan  was  perfectly  sound  and 
failed  of  great  results  only  because  the 
Germans  no  longer  possessed  the  supe- 
riority in  numbers  which  it  demanded. 
Nearly  their  whole  force  was  required 
to  resist  the  allied  attacks,  and  when 
these  stopped  exhausted  the  Germans 
had  nowhere  immediately  available  fresh 
units  strong  enough  to  be  hurled  in  for 
an  instant  counterstroke.  The  counter- 
strokes  were  made,  but   only  after  the 


lapse  of  days  or  weeks  in  which  the 
Allies  had  repaired  their  losses  in  men 
and  improved  the  defensive  arrange- 
ments in  the  new  positions.  Late  in 
September  several  divisions  arrived  in 
France  from  Russia,  and  it  is  probable 
that  this  reinforcement  numbered  some- 
where near  125,000  men. 

On  Oct.  3  the  British  front  was  at- 
tacked between  La  Bassee  Canal  and  the 
town  of  Loos,  which  had  been  captured 
the  week  before.  In  the  salient  near 
Cite  St.  Elie  the  defense  held  well,  but 
further  north  at  the  Hohenzollern  re- 
doubt the  British  were  forced  out  of  most 
of  the  works.  On  Oct. -8  the  Germans 
after  a  five-hour  bombardment  with  ex- 
plosive shells  launched  strong  infantry 
attacks  in  four  waves,  which  were  torn 
to  pieces  by  the  French  and  British  guns. 
Only  small  and  temporary  advantages 
were  gained,  and  nearly  9,000  dead  were 
left  in  front  of  the  British  trenches, 
against  which  the  finest  German  infantry 
had  been  marched  shoulder  to  shoulder. 
Unquestionably  the  German  commanders 
blundered  badly  here,  for  in  result  this 
battle  amounted  to  no  more  than  a  dem- 
onstration, but  the  price  paid  was  far 
too  high  for  such  a  purpose.  The  artil- 
lery preparation  had  been  entirely  inade- 
quate, notwithstanding  that  on  all  sides 
the  war  had  taught  the  lesson  that  with- 
out most  thorough  artillery  preparation 
no  frontal  attack  on  a  prepared  position 
can  be  expected  to  win. 

The  Germans  seem  to  have  learned  this 
lesson  more  slowly  than  the  Allies.  Over 
and  over  again  they  have  acted  as  though 
no  economy  were  worth  while  in  the  use 
of  their  magnificently  trained  infantry. 
They  appear  often  to  overestimate  the 
effect  of  a  bombardment  of  a  few  hours 
which  has  really  only  begun  to  pave  the 
way  for  a  frontal  attack. 

Fierce  Fighting  Around  Hulluch 
On  Oct.  13  the  British  sent  a  great 
cloud  of  poison  gas  (white  on  top,  mot- 
tled red  and  green  below)  over  the  Ger- 
man front  between  the  Hohenzollern  re- 
doubt and  Hulluch.  Then  when  the  heavy 
guns  had  pounded  the  front  the  infantry 
attacked.  Southwest  of  Hulluch  Ger- 
man trenches  on  a  front  of  1,000  yards 
were  taken,  but  as  the  German  artiller- 


506 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


ists  had  the  range  to  a  foot  the  positions 
could  not  be  held.  Between  the  redoubt 
and  Cite  St.  Elie  parts  of  a  heavily  forti- 
fied quarry  were  captured.  At  the  great 
redoubt  the  main  British  attacks  were 
directed,  and  in  the  face  of  a  terrific 
cross-fire  a  division  of  Territorial  troops 
fought  their  way  into  the  two  great  com- 
municating trenches  known  as  the  Big 
Willie  and  the  Little  Willie,  where  for 
three  days  close  hand-to-hand  fighting 
largely  with  bombs  followed.  Here  Cap- 
tain C.  G.  Vickers  (of  the  Sherwood  For- 
esters) won  the  Victoria  Cross  by  most 
exceptional  bravery.  When  only  two  of 
his  men  were  left  to  hand  him  bombs 
he  held  a  barrier  for  hours  and  ordered 
a  new  barrier  completed  behind  him  to 
insure  the  holding  of  the  trench  against 
attacks  pressing  in  on  three  sides.  Even 
such  gallantry  and  enormous  losses  suf- 
ficed only  to  win  part  of  the  great  re- 
doubt, which  was  found  to  be  a  marvel 
of  intricate  defensive  fortification  in  the 
hands  of  defenders  of  the  greatest  cour- 
age and  resolution. 

On  Oct.  19  the  Germans  repeated  their 
attacks  between  the  Quarries  and  Hul- 
luch  as  well  as  in  the  Hohenzollern  re- 
doubt. "Only  heavy  losses  resulted.  The 
British  losses  on  the  western  front  from 
Sept.  25  to  Oct.  18  were  59,666,  of  whom 
11,000  were  killed,  including  773  officers. 

In  Champagne  on  Oct.  6  the  French 
made  a  great  attack  upon  one  of  the  key 
positions,  that  at  the  Butte  de  Tahure, 
just  north  of  the  ruined  village  of  the 
same  name.  It  is  noticeable  that  in 
this  area  the  German  engineers  had  most 
skillfully  located  the  wire  entanglements 
and  other  defenses  just  under  the  hill- 
crests  on  the  reverse  or  northern  sides, 
where  the  French  gunners  could  get  no 
direct  observations.  After  a  heavy  bom- 
bardment by  massed  guns  the  Picardy 
Division  captured  the  top  of  the  Butte, 
and  so  gained  the  rear  of  the  village, 
where  the  Germans  still  occupied  strong 
positions  among  the  rubbish  heaps.  This 
day's  success  marked  the  culmination  of 
French  progress  in  the  campaign  in 
Champagne  in  the  Autumn  of  1915. 

On  the  same  day  the  French  Moroccan 
infantry  made  a  little  progress  north  of 
the  Navarin  Farm,  but  was  checked  by 
a  storm  of  machine-gun  fire.     German 


counterattacks  on  Oct.  8  at  both  Navarin 
Farm  and  Tahure  failed,  but  on  the  19th 
General  von  Heeringen  made  a  very 
threatening  attack  further  to  the  west  in 
the  Rheims  sector.  After  shelling  and 
gassing  the  French  positions  for  many 
hours,  four  lines  of  German  infantry  ad- 
vanced, with  intervals  of  300  yards.  Only 
the  fourth  line  survived  to  reach  the 
French  trenches,  from  which  French  re- 
inforcements expelled  them  later  in  the 
day.  On  the  20th  renewed  attacks  fur- 
ther west,  near  the  village  of  Prunay, 
were  all  defeated.  At  one  point  in  front 
of  the  wire  entanglements  1,600  German 
dead  were  counted,  all  from  one  regi- 
ment. 

On  Oct.  24  the  French  captured  La 
Courtine,  a  typical  German  field  fort 
near  Le  Mesnil,  and  held  it  against  nu- 
merous counterattacks.  On  Oct.  30,  hav- 
ing been  strongly  reinforced  from  the 
Russian  front,  the  Germans  again  coun- 
terattacked on  a  front  of  four  miles. 
They  failed  to  recapture  La  Courtine, 
but  stormed  the  Butte  de  Tahure.  In 
the  north,  in  Artois,  d'Urbal's  Tenth 
Army  fought  daily  on  Vimy  Ridge,  but 
no  great  single  actions  occurred.  The 
Medaille  Militaire  was  won  by  a  feat  of 
extraordinary  courage  by  two  Breton  sol- 
diers, Privates  Manduit  and  Cadoret,  who 
were  blown  up  in  a  sap  by  a  counter- 
mine; after  three  days  of  molelike  bur- 
rowing they  got  back  to  the  French  lines. 

Bulgaria  Joins  the  Germans 

While  German  armies  were  winning 
Western  Russia  in  the  Summer  of  1915, 
and  while  the  allied  attacks  in  France 
were  going  on  in  the  early  Autumn,  Ger- 
man diplomats  were  secretly  scoring  a 
notable  victory  in  the  Balkans.  Bul- 
garia, the  most  warlike  of  the  three 
small  kingdoms — Serbia,  Bulgaria,  and 
Rumania — which  separated  the  Teutons 
from  Turkey,  was  won  to  the  side  of  the 
Central  Powers,  and  about  Sept.  20  a 
treaty  was  signed  between  Bulgaria  and 
Turkey.  About  the  same  day  Field  Mar- 
shal von  Mackensen,  Germany's  ablest 
soldier,  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  new 
German  army — which  included  at  least 
one  Austrian  corps — opposite  Belgrade, 
the  Serbian  capital,  on  the  Danube.  The 
Bulgarian,  Serb,  and  Greek  armies  were 


General  Feng  Kue-chang.  former  Vice  President,  assumed  the  office 
of   President  after  defeating  Chang   Hsun   and  preventing  the 
restoration  of  the  empire  under  the  Manchu  dynasty  . 
(Photo  Bain  News  Service) 


VA.TIRAVUDH,  KING  OF  SIAM 


The  young  monarch,  who  is  86  years  Of  aire,  hat  brought  his  country 
into  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies.    About  19,000  tons  of  Ger- 
man and  Austrian  shipping  in  Siamese  ports  have  been  seised 

( Photo*  Vnrlrrwood  4!  Underwood) 


MMMWIMI 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


507 


all  mobilized,  and  the  Serbs  were 
anxious  to  attack  Bulgaria  without  wait- 
ing for  a  declaration  of  war.  England 
persuaded  them  to  wait,  still  believing 
that  Bulgaria  could  be  kept  neutral,  if 
not  won  to  the  allied  side.  This  cost 
Serbia  whatever  advantage  might  have 
been  gained  by  the  initiative.  On  Oct. 
4  diplomatic  relations  with  Russia  were 
severed  in  consequence  of  an  ultimatum 
which  demanded  that  Bulgaria  should 
definitely  break  with  the  Central  Pow- 
ers. The  next  day  every  village  in  Bul- 
garia was  circularized  with  a  Govern- 
ment pamphlet  stating  the  case  against 
the  Allies  as  follows:  Russia  was  in 
the  war  to  get  Constantinople  and  the 
Dardanelles;  France  for  Alsace-Lorraine; 
England  to  ruin  Germany;  Italy,  Serbia, 


and  Montenegro  for  plunder.  Also  the 
Allies  had  offered  too  little  for  Bulga- 
rian help  on  their  side.  Inferentially  the 
German  price  was  much  higher. 

Early  in  October,  disregarding  a  Greek 
protest,  French  and  British  divisions 
were  landed  at  Saloniki  for  the  purpose 
of  helping  Serbia  to  resist  the  threat- 
ened invasion  and  to  prevent  any  pos- 
sible lapse  of  the  Greeks  toward  the 
Teuton  side.  On  Oct.  7  von  Mackensen 
forced  the  river  frontiers  of  Northern 
Serbia,  and  on  the  9th  captured  Bel- 
grade. Two  Bulgarian  armies  were  on 
the  eastern  frontier,  and  Turkish  troops 
were  moving  up  from  the  southeast.  On 
Oct.  11  Bulgaria  declared  war  on  Serbia, 
and  four  days  later  England  declared 
war  on  Bulgaria. 


Barrage    Fire   in   Modern    Warfare 

A  barrage  fire,  such  as  that  used  by  the  British  with  wonderful  precision 
and  effectiveness  in  the  recent  offensive  in  Flanders,  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able developments  of  the  great  war.  Dictionaries  of  a  few  years  ago  say  a  bar- 
rage is  a  dam  or  barrier,  and  that  is  just  what  it  is  in  battle  tactics.  In  general 
terms,  barrage  fire  is  the  systematic  advance,  in  front  of  charging  infantry,  of  a 
curtain  of  exploding  shells  fired  from  guns  to  the  rear  of  the  line.  Although 
modifications  of  the  system  were  used  even  by  Napoleon,  it  never  has  been 
possible  to  develop  it  to  scientific  exactness  until  the  present  conflict. 

Barrage  fire  does  not  start  until  the  so-called  artillery  preparation  is  com- 
plete. In  the  preparation  guns  of  practically  every  size  take  part.  For  the  bar- 
rage a  certain  uniformity  of  calibre  is  essential.  A  series  of  batteries,  say  of 
eight-inch  howitzers,  is  arranged  upon  a  more  or  less  straight  line,  usually 
close  behind  the  division  or  army  corps  that  is  to  go  forward.  The  gunners  never 
see  their  targets,  their  fire  being  directed  entirely  by  telephone,  telegraph,  o? 
airplane. 

At  the  time  designated  for  the  charge  these  guns  are  elevated.  They  must 
drop  a  steady  line  of  shells  just  far  enough  ahead  of  the  charging  troops  to  pre- 
vent any  effective  counterthrust  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  Usually  the  shells 
fall  only  a  few  hundred  feet  ahead  of  the  charging  line.  When  this  is  the  case 
the  fire  is  known  as  "  creeping  barrage."  Constant  correction  of  the  range  is 
necessary,  as  shells  too  close  may  endanger  their  own  men  and  too  far  away 
may  allow  play  for  the  machine  guns,  which  creep  out  of  their  dugouts  at  short 
notice,  wreak  havoc,  and  then  crawl  back  underground  before  field  artillery  can 
be  brought  to  play  upon  them.  Only  precision  of  observation,  perfect  ammuni- 
tion supply,  and  absolute  sympathy  between  the  movements  of  the  attacking 
line  and  the  heavy  guns  can  render  the  creeping  barrage  effective.  But  when 
these  are  attained  it  is  the  dominating  and  irresistible  feature  of  a  modern  battle. 


Berlin  After  Three  Years  of  War 

Observations  of  a  University  Professor 

[This  article  was  written  in  June,  1917,  for  The  London  Times  by  F.  Sefton  Delmer,  for 
thirteen  years  English  Lecturer  at  Beilin  University.  The  introductory  portion  appeared  In 
the  August  issue  of  Current  History  Magazine,  Pages  324-327.] 


THE  traffic  in  the  London  streets, 
too,  is  a  surprise  to  me.  I  find 
them  pulsing  with  life  compared 
with  corresponding  thoroughfares 
in  Berlin.  The  Leipziger  and  Friedrich 
Strassen  are  still,  it  is  true,  fairly  ani- 
mated, but  in  the  rest  of  the  city  a  baby 
could  wander  about  at  no  great  risk  to 
life  and  limb.  Private  carriages  and 
motor  cars  have  long  since  disappeared 
from  the  streets,  and  the  riding  tracks 
through  the  alleys  of  the  Tiergarten  are 
untrodden.  Here  there  seems  to  be  no 
lack  either  of  taxicabs  or  chauffeurs. 

In  Berlin  it  is  practically  impossible  to 
get  such  a  vehicle.  I  have  known  men 
leave  their  comfortable  flats  in  the  Tier- 
garten quarter  to  live  in  hotels  in  the  city 
in  order  to  be  close  to  their  work,  as  an 
auto  or  droshky  is  never  to  be  had.  The 
fine  military  cars  one  Occasionally  sees  in 
Berlin  are  said  to  have  been  part  of  the 
cargo  of  the  captured  Yarrowdale.  Ber- 
lin is,  too,  almost  without  horses.  All 
available  horses  were  called  in  long  ago 
for  military  and,  where  they  can  be 
spared,  for  agricultural  purposes.  The 
horses  now  seen  in  public  vehicles,  drosh- 
kies,  omnibuses,  &c,  excite  one's  pity. 
They  are  mere  bags  of  bone,  and  I  have 
seen  them  greedily  eat  potato  peelings 
from  the  hand  of  some  kind-hearted  child 
or  woman  in  the  streets.  One  hears,  too, 
of  special  horse  diseases  brought  about 
by  lack  of  proper  fodder. 

This  lack  of  horses  leads  to  all  sorts  of 
difficulties  of  transport  and  makes  itself 
felt  in  a  thousand  ways. 

Landlords  provide  tenants  each  week 
with  ration  tickets. 

The  method  of  distribution  of  these 
tickets  is  very  simple.  The  landlord  or 
the  caretaker  (Portierfrau)  of  each  house 
makes  out  on  a  printed  form  provided 
for  the  purpose  a  list  of  the  families  in 
the  various  flats,  stating  the  number  of 
persons  in  each.     This  list  is  handed  in 


to  the  Brotkommission — District  Bread 
Ticket  Distribution  Committee — which 
has  its  office  in  a  classroom  of  one  of 
the  big  municipal  schools.  There  are 
many  such  officers  spread  over  Greater 
Berlin,  so  that  no  one  has  to  go  far  to 
reach  one.  This  committee  then  gives  the 
exact  number  of  tickets  required  to  the 
Portierfrau,  who  distributes  them  to  the 
various  families  in  the  house  and  gets 
a  printed  receipt  for  them.  One  gets 
quite  a  sheaf  of  such  tickets,  of  all  colors 
and  sizes,  handed  in  at  the  door  once  a 
month. 

For  each  of  the  following  commodities 
there  is  a  separate  card:  Bread,  (SV2 
pounds  a  week;)  meat,  (1  pound  a 
week;)  butter,  (1%  ounces,)  and  marga- 
rine, (1  ounce  a  week;)  eggs,  (during  the 
Winter  one  a  fortnight,  now  three  a  fort- 
night;) potatoes,  (5  pounds  a  week;) 
sugar,  (%  pound  a  fortnight;)  milk, 
varies  according  to  age,  but  is  only  al- 
lowed to  children  up  to  the  age  of  six 
years  and  to  invalids  in*  cases  where  a 
committee  of  doctors  decides  that  it  is 
absolutely  necessary. 

There  is  an  extra  ticket  called,  the 
Lebensmittelkarte,  which  enables  the 
holder  to  buy  certain  quantities  of  oat- 
meal, barley,  semolina,  jam,  canned  vege- 
tables, herrings,  soup  tablets,  -  &c. 
Readers  must  not  suppose,  however,  that 
all  these  good  things  on  the  grocery 
ticket  are  handed  out  at  once.  Each 
week  a  proclamation  is  posted  up  on  the 
advertisement  pillars  at  the  street  cor- 
ners making  known  that,  say,  SV2  ounces 
or  sometimes  even  7  ounces  of  barley, 
or  7  ounces  of  oatmeal,  or  Zxk 
ounces  of  semolina,  or,  perhaps,  if  it 
is  a  good  week,  7  ounces  of  barley  and 
3^  ounces  of  semolina  will  be  distributed 
as  his  weekly  portion  to  each  person  ap- 
plying in  time.  Every  week  brings  one 
at  least  of  these  extras  with  it,  and  on 
rare   occasions — three   times   during   the 


BERLIN  AFTER  THREE  YEARS  OF  WAR 


509 


whole    Winter — there    was    1    pound    of 
so-called  jam  allotted  to  each  person. 

The  chief  ingredients  of  this  jam  were 
mangolds  and  beetroot,  sweetened  with 
saccharin.  It  was  not  altogether  a  tasty- 
concoction,  and  the  German  soldiers  at 
the  front,  who  get  practically  nothing 
but  this  eternal  "  marmelade,"  as  ■  the 
Germans  call  jam,  to  put  on  their  bread, 
are  said  to  make  it  the  butt  of  the  dog- 
gerel in  which  they  are  so  fond  of  indulg- 
ing. Of  canned  vegetables  there  was 
only  one  distribution  during  the  past 
Winter — it  was  in  March,  and  they  gave 
us  2  pounds  each.  The  number  of  her- 
rings distributed  during  the  last  six 
months  was  one  to  each  person  on  three 
separate  occasions,  nnd  they  cost  about 
6  pence  each.  Fresh  vegetables — when 
they  are  to  be  had — can  be  bought  with- 
out cards.  Brussels  sprouts  and  spinach 
were  obtainable  during  part  of  the  Win- 
ter, but  cost  as  much  as  3  shillings  a 
pound. 

We  could  sometimes  get  a  head  of 
coarse  white  cabbage  from  some  hiding 
place  under  the  counter  in  the  green- 
grocer's shop;  such  a  cabbage  cost  2 
shillings.  Horse  carrots  were  greatly  in 
demand  at  8  pence  a  pound.  Mangold- 
wurzels,  obtainable  on  the  potato 
card,  cost  only  %  penny  a  pound. 
For  my  part,  I  never  want  to  see 
another  mangold-wurzel  as  long  as  I 
live,  much  less  to  have  to  make  my  din- 
•ner  off  one,  as  my  family  and  I  not  seldom 
had  to  do.  In  spite  of  the  unappetizing 
quality  of  this  "  vegetable,"  I  have  seen 
long  queues  of  people  standing  for  an 
hour  at  a  time  at  the  Wittenburg  Platz 
market  when  a  lorry  happened  to  draw 
up  laden  with  these  roots,  often  in  a  half- 
frozen  state.  No  one  knew  beforehand 
when  or  at  what  shops  wares  were  ex- 
pected to  arrive,  so  it  was  a  matter  of 
luck  if  you  happened  to  get  to  the  right 
shop  at  the  right  time,  and  it  was  amus- 
ing to  notice  the  interest  with  which  peo- 
ple peered  into  one  another's  baskets  in 
the  streets  in  order  to  get  hints  as  to 
where  there  was  something  to  be  had. 

In  the  days  when  potatoes  were  so  rare, 
about  Christmas  time,  trailing  groups  of 
people  armed  with  potato  nets  could  be 
seen  running  as  fast  as  their  legs  would 


carry  them  from  one  shop  to  another. 
After  they  had  been  standing,  perhaps, 
for  an  hour  at  one  place,  the  ominous 
placard  with  "  Kartof f  eln  ausverkauf t " 
("  Potatoes  sold  out ")  would  appear  in 
the  shop  window.  The  door  would  be 
locked,  and  off  the  whole  band  would 
scour  to  the  next  shop  that  rumor  credit- 
ed with  potatoes.  At  the  present  time, 
however,  these  queues  have  in  most  cases 
been  rendered  superfluous  by  the  intro- 
duction of  customers'  lists.  One  can,  for 
,  instance,  only  obtain  meat  at  that  par- 
ticular butcher's  shop  where  one  has  had 
one's  ticket  stamped  and  one's  ticket 
x  number  registered.  The  meat  tickets  are, 
of  course,  good  for  the  same  amount  of 
meat  at  a  restaurant,  too.  There  is  in 
Berlin  no  such  possibility  as  there  is  in 
London,  where  a  greedy  and  unpatriotic 
individual,  having  consumed  his  one-and- 
threepence  worth  of  luncheon  at  one  res- 
taurant, may  go  next  door  and  have  an- 
other one-and-threepence  worth. 

The  prices  of  the  rationed  articles  have 
been  fixed  fairly  low.  The  loaf  of  rye 
bread  for  the  week  costs,  for  instance,  7% 
pence;  the  wheaten  loaf,  8  pence;  butter 
is  a  little  over  3  shillings  a  pound;  mar- 
garine, 2  shillings  a  pound;  sugar  costs 
4^  pence  a  pound;  eggs  are  now  4  pence 
each.  The  price  of  meat — and  such 
meat! — varies  according  to  the  cut  from 
2  shillings  to  2  shillings  9  pence  a  pound. 
Ham,  bacon,  and  sausage  of  the  better 
kinds  are  no  longer  to  be  seen  in  any  of 
the  shops,  but  occasionally  an  enterpris- 
ing tradesman  will  manage  to  get  a  small 
quantity  of  bacon  or  butter  through  from 
Holland  or  Poland,  and  he  sells  it  secret- 
ly, independently  of  the  ration  tickets.  He 
gets  as  much  as  12  shillings  a  pound  for 
the  bacon  and  8  shillings  a  pound  for 
butter.  Swiss  cheese  is  the  only  cheese 
that  has  been  seen  in  the  Berlin  shops 
since  September  last. 

The  Public  Kitchens 

Several  of  the  big  market  halls  that 
had  been  put  out  of  action  by  the  war 
have  been  refitted  by  the  municipalities 
to  serve  as  soup  kitchens;  it  has  involved 
an  expenditure  of  something  like  2,000,- 
000  marks,  (£100,000  at  pre-war  rates,) 
if  I  can  trust  my  memory.  In  these  im- 
mense central  kitchens  the  food  is  cooked 


510 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


in  huge  boilers,  made  for  the  purpose, 
the  vegetables  being  washed  and  peeled 
by  machinery.  From  here  lorries  bring 
the  thousands  of  gallons  of  suppe  (hot- 
pot) in  airtight  caldrons  to  the  dis- 
tributing centres.  These  centres  are  gen- 
erally located  in  the  gymnastic  halls 
(turnhallen)  of  the  big  Government 
schools. 

The  heavy  work  of  transport  is  done 
for  the  most  part  by  convicts  serving 
sentences  of  hard  labor,  the  driver  alone 
being  a  Government  official.  The  soup 
is  then  dealt  out  by  women  who  volun- 
teer for  the  work.  A  characteristic 
labor-saving  detail  is  that  the  ladles 
these  women  use  are  especially  made  to 
contain  one  litre,  (almost  a  quart,)  this 
being  the  maximum  portion  allowed  to 
each  person. 

The  public  kitchens  are  run  by  the 
various  Town  Councils  of  Greater  Berlin, 
which  have  the  best  opportunities  of  ob- 
taining the  necessary  raw  materials 
from  the  supplies  already  requisitioned 
by  the  State  with  the  minimum  of  inter- 
vention by  the  profiteering  middleman. 

During  the  Winter  there  were  times 
when  my  family  and  I  found  it  prac- 
tically impossible  to  get  along  without 
having  recourse  to  the  public  kitchens — 
I  mean  at  periods  when  there  were  abso- 
lutely no  fish,  no  eggs,  no  potatoes,  and 
no  vegetables  to  be  had,  and  only  half 
a  pound  of  meat  per  person  per  week. 
The  middle  and  professional  classes 
rather  hung  back  at  first,  and  it  was 
amusing  to  see  how  people  we  knew  fol- 
lowed suit  once  they  found  us  "  proud 
English "  unblushingly  lining  up  with 
our  enamel  pot  in  a  tea  basket. 

Mangold-Wurzel  Mixture 

The  one-course  bill  of  fare  of  the  mid- 
day meal  is  chalked  up  in  its  daily  vari- 
ations on  a  blackboard  in  a  prominent 
place  at  the  entrance  to  the  kitchen.  The 
meal  provided  consists  of  a  kind  of  thick 
soup  that  we  should  call  hot-pot.  This 
hot-pot  would  one  day  contain  nudeln,  a 
German  variation  of  macaroni.  It  would 
have  been  very  good  if  it  had  not  gen- 
erally been  musty;  it  was  always  wel- 
comed with  delight  on  account  of  its  fill- 
ing properties.  Next  day  there  would 
be  mangold-wurzels,  cut  into  small  cubes 


and  boiled  in  water  thickened  with  barley 
or  oatmeal.  This  dish  was  generally 
greeted  with  satirical  remarks. 

Another  day  there  would  be  stockfish, 
the  most  unappetizing  dried  salt  fish 
Imaginable,  boiled  to  shreds  and  thick- 
ened with  potatoes.  I  have  often  seen 
this  fish  in  the  back  streets  of  Genoa, 
but  never  thought  that  I  should  eat  it. 
It  excited  no  enthusiasm  among  the 
hungry  Berliners.  But  when  on  another 
day  sauerkraut  (shredded  cabbage  that 
has  been  allowed  to  ferment  in  brine) 
appeared  on  the  notice  board  their  faces 
were  wreathed  in  smiles.  On  Sundays 
there  is  generally  tv/o  inches  of  sausage 
in  addition  to  the  quart  of  hot-pot  al- 
lowed to  each  person.  On  New  Year's 
Day,  1917,  we  were  even  treated  to  rice 
and  prunes. 

During  the  time  of  strike  unrest  the 
menu  grew  perceptibly  better,  and  pea 
soup  once  more  appeared,  but  soon  after- 
ward mangold-wurzels  (woe  to  me!) 
came  into  their  own  again.  We  paid 
f ivepence  a  quart,  which  was  a  fair  aver- 
age price.  This  hot-pot  was  sometimes 
fairly  good,  and  it  was  always  infinitely 
better  than  the  food  provided  at  Ruhle- 
ben  while  I  was  there ;  but,  as  a  rule^  had 
we  not  been  really  hungry,  we  could  not 
have  eaten  it  at  all. 

No  food  can  be  got  from  such  kitchens 
unless  a  person  has  registered  as  a  cus- 
tomer at  latest  by  the  Thursday  for  the 
coming  week,  and  he  must  register  for 
a  whole  week  at  a  time.  This  involves  the 
sacrifice  of  three  pounds  out  of  the  five 
pounds  of  his  potato  ticket  for  the  week 
and  seven-tenths  of  his  meat  ticket,  (the 
whole  ticket  throughout  the  Winter  being 
only  for  one-half  pound.)  Through 
this  method  of  registration  the  purveyors 
are  enabled  to  estimate  almost  to  a  ladle- 
ful  the  amount  of  food  required  at  each 
centre. 

Middle-class  families  always  sent  a 
servant  girl  to  fetch  the  food  and  con- 
sumed it  at  home,  as  did  the  poorer  peo- 
ple also  for  the  most  part,  but  young  peo- 
ple in  situations  who  preferred  to  eat 
their  dinners  at  the  public  kitchen  could 
do  so  at  tables  provided  for  that  purpose. 
The  table  appointments  were  of  the 
plainest,  but  clean. 


BERLIN  AFTER  THREE  YEARS  OF  WAR    * 


511 


Were  the  people  satisfied  with  this  ar- 
rangement? There  is  no  doubt  that  it 
would  have  been  a  great  deal  more  popu- 
lar had  the  people  not  been  obliged  to 
give  up  such  a  large  proportion  of  their 
meat  and  potato  tickets.  They  were, 
on  the  whole,  very  chary  of  criticism, 
being  apparently  afraid  to  find  fault  too 
openly  with  food  provided  by  such  an 
official  body  as  the  Berliner  Magistrat, 
which  corresponds  to  the  London  County 
Council. 

To  keep  these  public  kitchens  up  to 
even  a  moderate  standard  of  efficiency 
the  municipalities  have  had  to  encroach 
upon  the  food  supplies  reserved  for  the 
army.  The  military  commissariat  has 
even  been  forced  by  the  stern  protests  of 
the  municipalities — who  feared  that  the 
patience  of  the  people  at  home  was  being 
tried  to  the  breaking  point — to  give  up 
quantities,  not  large  it  is  true,  of  rice, 
peas,  and  beans  that  had  been  long  since 
requisitioned  for  the  officers  and  soldiers. 
The  officers  are  said  to  have  particularly 
good  fare,  and  they  certainly  always 
look  well  fed.  If  any  one  is  starving  the 
women  and  children  of  Germany  it  is  the 
.  German  Army. 

Oils  of  all  sorts  are  practically  unob- 
tainable. I  heard  of  a  Berlin  lady  only 
a  few  weeks  ago  who  gave  200  marks 
(£10)  for  ten  pounds  of  ordinary  salad 
oil,  and  thought  herself  lucky  to  get  it. 
Paraffin  may  not  be  sold  in  the  shops 
between  April  1  and  Sept.  30.  Methy- 
lated spirits  can  be  obtained  only  by 
people  in  special  trades  who  have  a  per- 
mit. Ammonia,  boracic  acid,  vaseline, 
and  glycerine  have  disappeared  from  the 
shops,  and  one  has  almost  forgotten  that 
such  a  thing  as  benzine  ever  existed. 
Turpentine  came  to  an  end  long  ago. 
How  the  painters  still  contrive  to  paint 
the  houses  is  beyond  me,  but  somehow 
they  manage  it. 


Misleading  Tone  of  Reports 
Every  afternoon,  day  after  day,  I 
went  across  the  street  to  the  police  sta- 
tion, where  on  a  notice  board  was  hung 
out  the  day's  military  report  from  head- 
quarters. It  was  posted  up  punctually 
at  3:30  every  day.  Month  after  month 
I  watched  the  reports  to  see  the  progress 
our  men  were  making,  and  I  had  to 
learn  to  read  between  the  lines  and  to 
force  myself  to  disbelieve,  not  the  de- 
tails of  the  report,  but  its  misleading 
tone.  Little  groups  of  passersby  would 
gather  around  the  notice  board  and  after 
a  while  again  dissolve.  The  impression, 
I  could  tell,  left  on  their  minds  was  a 
negative  but  hopeful  one — Germany  at 
bay  and  her  foes  uselessly  battering 
themselves  to  pieces  in  hopeless  on- 
slaughts. 

All  their  hopes  of  going  forward  into 
France  have  long  since  vanished.  "  This 
time  we  intend  to  destruct  France,"  a 
German  officer  said  to  his  English  wife 
in  my  hearing  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  The  word  still  rings  in  my  ears. 
"We  intend  to  destruct  France!"  And 
now!  So  modest  have  these  Germans 
grown  that  merely  to  hold  out  against 
attacks  is  greeted  as  victory.  In  silence 
they  read  the  report  and  in  silence  they 
turn  and  walk  away. 

Now  and  again  an  individual  will  point 
to  some  telling  sentence  tucked  away  in 
the  middle  of  the  report — a  village,  a 
trench  left  to  the  enemy  because  it  was 
no  longer  of  any  value — and  his  face 
will  betray  an  almost  imperceptible  note 
of  distrust,  but  he  will  say  nothing.  The 
womenfolk  in  the  queues  are  more  out- 
spoken, and  one  used  often  to  hear  them 
say,  "  Wir  siegen  fortwahrend,  doch 
kommen  wir  immer  weiter  zuriick " — 
"  We  have  nothing  but  victories,  and 
yet  we  always  get  further  back." 


lllilllllllllllllllllllllll! 

pfKf ill  Hi 

Life  in  Denmark's  Lost   Province 

By  Gudrun  Randrup    Toksvig 

[Translated  from  the  Danish  for  Curren*  History  Magazine  by  the  author] 


SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN,  the  Danish 
province  captured  by  Germany 
and  Austria  in  the  war  with  Den- 
mark in  1870,  is  the  Alsace- 
Lorraine  of  Denmark.  Sonderjylland 
or  South  Jutland  is  the  Danish  name 
for  this  province.  Officially,  there  is 
no  South  Jutland,  of  course.  A  story  is 
told  of  a  Danish  girl  who,  from  habit, 
addressed  a  letter  going  to  the  province 
of  Schleswig-Holstein  as  going  to  South 
Jutland.  Her  letter  was  returned  to 
her  with  the  following  inscription: 
"  Sonderjylland  unbekannt  in  Deutsch- 
land."  (South  Jutland  unknown  in  Ger- 
many.) 

The  people  are  still  pathetically  loyal 
to  Denmark  in  spite  of  Germany's  ef- 
forts to  Germanize  the  province  by  for- 
bidding the  teaching  of  the  Danish  lan- 
guage in  the  schools,  and  frowning  upon 
the  official  use  of  that  tongue  in  gen- 
eral. Nevertheless,  Danish  is  secretly 
taught  to  the  children  in  the  homes. 
There  is  hardly  a  South  Jutland  youth 
who  cannot  speak  his  old  mother  tongue. 
South  Jutland  Danes  may  be  said  to  be 
more  Danish  than  the  Danes  themselves. 
It  must  be  said  that  this  only  holds  true 
in  North  Schleswig-Holstein,  since  the 
southern  part  of  the  province  is  com- 
pletely Germanized,  and,  in  fact,  this 
section  has  never  been  Danish  in  custom 
or  language. 

The  lost  province  is  so  dear  to  the 
Danish  people  that  news  from  there  is 
published  as  an  inseparable  part  of  the 
newspapers  in  Denmark.  The  death  and 
casualty  lists  of  South  Jutlanders 
pressed  into  German  military  service  are 
faithfully  published  even  in  Danish- 
American  papers.  Den  Danske  Pioneer 
is  one  of  the  leading  Danish  newspapers 
published  in  the  United  States.  The 
Pioneer  has  a  special  department  en- 
titled, "  Fra  hinsides  Graensen," 
(across  the  border  there,)  which  is  de- 
voted to  news  from  the  former  Danish 
province  of  Schleswig-Holstein.   It  is  from 


this  department  that  the  following  items 
and  stories  have  been  selected  and  trans- 
lated: 

An  Officer's  Daring  Escape 

A  Russian  officer  recently  fled  across 
the  border  into  Denmark  at  a  point 
south  of  Vamdrup,  (a  small  Danish  town 
very  near  the  German  frontier.)  His 
escape  from  a  German  military  prison 
camp  sounds  very  Baron  Munchhauseny. 
He  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Ger- 
mans in  one  of  the  big  battles  on  the 
eastern  front.  After  some  time  he  was 
put  to  work  as  a  sort  of  postmaster  in 
a  camp  of  Russian  war  prisoners  in  East 
Prussia.  His  excellent  knowledge  of 
German  and  Russian  made  him  valuable 
in  this  capacity.  One  fine  day  the  Lieu- 
tenant got  hold  of  a  German  passport. 
Luck  was  with  the  stout-hearted,  for  the 
"  postmaster "  saw  his  chance  to  steal 
a  German  uniform.  Thus  equipped,  he 
went  by  train  through  East  Prussia  and 
clear  through  Germany  until  he  reached 
one  of  the  nearest  border  stations,  where 
he  got  out  of  the  train.  Under  cover  of 
the  friendly  night  he  crossed  the  border 
safely.  The  next  morning  he  reached 
the  Danish  city  of  Kolding,  (a  city  of 
14,000  inhabitants  about  nine  miles 
from  the  frontier.)  He  went  up  to  the 
City  Hall  and  reported  the  details  of  his 
escape  with  the  request  to  be  sent  back 
to  Russia. 

New   German  Delicacies 

A  South  Jutland  newspaper  mentions 
two  new  German  war  dishes  said  to  be 
rare  delicacies:  boiled  nettle  leaves  and 
tea  brewed  from  cowslip  blossoms. 

Burial  Shrouds  of  Paper 

The  Kieler  Zeitung  says :  "  The  custom 
"  of  burying  the  dead  in  their  valuable 
"clothes  is  the  means  of  great  loss  of 
"  much  good  cloth.  The  loss  of  such 
"  cloth  is  now  irreparable  because  of  the 
"  war.  For  the  public  good,  before  which 
"  the  individual  must  bow,  it  is  necessary 


LIFE  IN  DENMARK'S  LOST  PROVINCE 


513 


"  to  break  this  old  custom.  It  should  be 
"  taken  under  consideration  that  the  dead 
"  should  be  clothed  in  burial  shrouds 
"  made  of  paper,  and  should  be  covered 
"  with  a  sheet  of  similar  material.  Pil- 
"  lowslips  could  likewise  be  made  of 
"  paper.  In  view  of  existing  conditions, 
"  it  seems  unsuitable  to  clothe  the  dead 
"  with  shoes  and  stockings." 

Fines   for   Thistles 

The  population  in  the  district  of  Haders- 
leben  (about  ten  miles  from  the  border) 
have  been  ordered  to  destroy  thistles  in 
the  pastures,  by  the  roadsides,  in  the 
garden,  in  the  woods,  and  in  the  culti- 
vated fields,  either  by  cutting  them  or 
knocking  them  down.  Neglect  of  this 
order  will  bring  on  a  maximum  fine  of 
150  marks,  or  about  $35. 

Fate    of  Historic   Bells 

The  German  military  authorities  in 
South  Jutland  have  seized  a  goodly 
number  of  the  country's  old  church  bells. 
The  metal  is  to  be  used  for  military  pur- 
poses. These  church  bells  often  have  pe- 
culiar old  .inscriptions.  For  this  reason 
Nis  Nissen,  a  member  of  the  Landsthing 
or  Danish  Upper  House,  appeals  to  the 
readers  of  a  South  Jutland  newspaper  to 
copy  accurately  the  words  and  numerals 
engraved  on  the  venerable  bells,  so  that 
at  least  something  may  be  preserved  of 
these  historic  relics. 

Nis  Nissen  mentions  among  others  the 
oldest  bell  in  Norburg,  a  city  on  the  island 
of  Alsen,  thirty-five  miles  north  of  Kiel. 
It  hangs  in  Tundtoft  Church  and  bears 
the  following-Latin  inscription,  translated 
into  Danish :  "  When  Christian  the 
"  Fourth  was  King,  Statholder,  (Imperial 
"  Chancellor,)  Jacob  Ulfeld  church  di- 
"  rector,  Johannes  Mikkelsen  church  pa- 
"  tron,  Pastor  Johannes  Monrad  dean, 
"  and  M.  Johannes  Monrad  rector  in 
"  Tundtoft,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1620, 
"  Melchior  Lucas  made  (cast)  me." 

The  youngest  and  also  the  largest  bell 
in  Norburg,  now  become  a  sacrifice  to  the 
war,  has  the  following  Danish  inscription 


at  the  top:  "  Johan  David  Kriesche  cast 
"this  bell."  On  one  side:  "Cast  at 
"  Eckernforde  (about  fifteen  miles  north 
"of  Kiel)  Anno  Domini  1777,  when 
"  Counselor  of  Justice  Johan  Christian 
"  Anders  was  church  inspector  and  Hol- 
"  ger  Fangel  rector."  On  the  opposite 
side :  "  Psalms,  95,  6 :  '  0,  come,  let  us 
"  worship  and  bow  down :  Let  us  kneel 
"  before  the  Lord,  our  Maker.'  " 

A  foreign  firm  has  made  an  offer  to  the 
board  of  church  directors  to  take  the  big 
bell  down  intact  for  the  sum  of  100 
marks,  or  about  $23.  This  offer  has  not 
been  accepted  by  the  German  authorities. 
The  bell  will  be  broken  to  pieces  in  the 
tower  and  brought  down  in  small  sec- 
tions. 

It  is  with  a  sorrowful  heart  that  every 
Dane  must  see  this  sacrifice  laid  on  the 
altar  of  war.  The  venerable  bells  of 
South  Jutland  that  have  rung  in  so  many 
centuries  are  not  only  historical  antiqui- 
ties, they  are  witnesses  also — stones  that 
speak. 

Prayers  for  German  Harvest 

The  official  organ  of  the  Kiel  Consis- 
tory says: 

"  Since  harvest  prayer  services  have 
"  been  held  in  all  churches  throughout 
"  the  land  for  the  past  two  years  of  the 
"  war  at  the  instigation  of  Die  Deutsche 
"  Evangelische  Kirche  Ausschuss,  (the 
"  German  Evangelical  Church  Commit- 
"  tee,)  this  year  we  also  appeal  to  the 
"  honored  clergy  to  call  upon  God's  bless- 
"  ing  for  a  bountiful  harvest  in  these 
"  hard  times  of  war.  The  experiences  of 
"  the  last  years  of  the  war  have  con- 
"  stantly  brought  home  to  us  what  sig- 
"  nificance  a  good  harvest  has  for  a  suc- 
"  cessf ul  and  victorious  termination  of 
"  the  war.  We  therefore  ordain  that  our 
"  national  church  shall  touch  upon  the 
"  great  national  importance  which  this 
"  year's  harvest  will  have  for  our  people. 
"  At  the  same  time,  we  request  the  min- 
"  isters.  to  pray  for  a  rich  harvest  in  the 
"  church  prayer  every  Sunday  until  har- 
"  vest  time." 


$640,000,000  for  American 
Aviation  Corps 


PRESIDENT  WILSON  on  July  24 
signed  the  war  aircraft  bill  ap- 
propriating $640,000,000,  a  sum 
greatly  in  excess  of  the  com- 
bined army  and  naval  expenditures  of 
previous  years  and  larger  than  any  sum 
for  a  single  project  ever  voted  by  any 
Congress.  With  these  funds  it  is  hoped 
that  the  United  States  will  be  able  to 
fill  the  air  along  the  western  front  in 
Europe  with  thousands  of  aviators  and 
military  airplanes.  The  aviation  corps 
is  ultimately  to  consist  of  about  100,000 
men  with  about  22,000  airplanes. 

As  soon  as  the  bill  was  signed  Howard 
Coffin,  Chairman  of  the  Aircraft  Pro- 
duction Board,  stated  that  the  board  was 
prepared  to  go  ahead  at  once,  but  re- 
sults should  not  be  expected  too  soon. 
He  added: 

Under  ordinary  conditions  at  least  a  year 
would  be  required  for  the  industrial  prepara- 
tion which  this  program  demands.  Yet  we 
have  no  such  length  of  time  in  which  to 
perform  the  task  now. 

In  every  other  country  there  is  a  shortage 
of  materials  for  aircraft  construction.  In 
every  other  country  there  is  a  shortage  of 
the  type  of  men  required  for  the  air  service. 
In  spite  of  our  previous  inexperience  in 
quantity  production  of  fighting  planes,  we 
must  have  thousands  of  them  for  next  year's 
use  to  make  the  contribution  which  the  Allies 
expect  of  us. 

The  design  and  construction  of  jigs,  tools, 
and  gauges  will  require  weeks,  and  even 
months,  no  matter  how  rapidly  we  work.  It 
must  be  remembered,  therefore,  that  a  few 
months  will  necessarily  elapse  before  the 
outward  results  of  our  industrial  effort  will 
show  in  the  shape  of  quantities  of  finished 
fighting  machines. 

Most  gratifying  progress  on  the  preliminary 
organization  has  been  made  during  the 
last  few  weeks.  If  it  progresses  in  the 
future  at  the  stride  that  has  been  developed 
there  need  be  no  fear  as  to  America's 
position  in  the  aircraft  field  by  next  Summer. 

The  difficulties  which  apply  to  the  pro- 
duction of  high-powered  machines  for  fight- 
ing and  bombing  purposes  fortunately  do  not 
apply  with  equal  force  to  the  training  pro- 
gram. Within  a  comparatively  short  time  we 
shall  have  enough  of  the  type  required  for 
training  the  thousands  of  men  who  will  con- 


stitute a  contribution  to  the  winning  of  the 
war  equal  in  importance  to  the  production 
of  machines. 

America  is  the  last  great  reservoir  of  ma- 
terial for  war  pilots  as  well  as  for  airplanes. 
Already  three  of  the  twenty-four  big  new 
training  fields  are  completed  and  instruc- 
tion on  them  has  begun.  Others  are  being 
rushed  to  completion.  Orders  for  training 
machines  were  placed  weeks  ago,  and  ship- 
ments of  the  first  output  already  have  been 
made.  The  output  of  this  most  necessary 
type  will  continue  to  increase  rapidly,  as  we 
already  have  plants  experienced  in  their 
manufacture. 

In  consiflering  the  size  of  the  appropriation 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  less  than  half 
this  amount  is  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase 
of  airplanes  alone.  Personnel,  training, 
equipment,  overseas  maintenance,  spare  parts, 
flying  stations,  armament,  and  scientific 
apparatus,  all  are  to  be  provided  for,  and 
are  equally  as  important  as  the  manu- 
facture of  the  machines.  One  hundred  and 
ten  thousand  officers  and  enlisted  men— an 
army  of  the  air  greater  than  our  standing 
army  of  a  few  months  ago— will  be  needed. 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task 
before  the  Aircraft  Production  Board 
may  be  gathered  from  the  statement  on 
British  progress  in  manufacturing  war- 
planes  made  on  July  12  by  Dr.  Christo- 
pher Addison,  who  was  then  Minister  of 
Munitions  and  who  has  since  been  ap- 
pointed Minister  in  charge  of  recon- 
struction. Since  January,  1917,  when  the 
Munitions  Ministry  became— responsible 
to  the  British  Flying  Services  for  supply, 
the  program  had  been  steadily  and 
largely  increased;  and  it  was  still  ex- 
panding.    Dr.  Addison  added: 

No  fewer  than  1,000  factories  are  engaged 
on  some  process  or  other  connected  with  the 
construction  and  equipment  of  the  flying 
machine.  If  for  the  purposes  of  comparison 
you  put  the  number  of  airplanes  produced  in 
May,  1916,  at  100,  then  in  May  of  this  year 
the  number  rose  to  rather  more  than  300. 
Even  this  rate  of  increase  is  being  accel- 
erated. The  output  in  December  will  be 
twice  what  it  was  in  April,  and  the  December 
total  will  be  far  surpassed  in  succeeding 
months.  The  number  of  airplane  engines 
turned  out  monthly  has  been  more  than 
doubled  this  year  already  and  this  total  will 
be  doubled  again  before  the  close  of  the  year. 


$6^0,000,000  FOR  AMERICAN  AVIATION  CORPS 


515 


What  these  figures  involve  in  organization 
will  perhaps  be  appreciated  when  it  is  stated 
that  a  single  cylinder  of  the  rotary  engine 
involves  forty-eight  different  operations  in 
its  manufacture.  As  for  spare  parts,  an  enor- 
mous number  has  to  be  manufactured,  as, 
owing  to  the  fragility  of  the  machine,  its 
parts  require  frequent  renewal  and  "  spares  " 
must  be  ready  to  hand  whenever  and  wher- 
ever wanted. 

A  growing  number  of  workers  is  employed 
in  the  airplane  factories,  the  increase  in  the 
last  five  months  being  25  per  cent,  on  the 
previous  total.  Along  with  this  the  replace- 
ment of  skilled  workers  by  women  has 
gone  on,  the  dilution  having  risen  from 
19  per  cent,  to  37  per  cent.  To  meet  the 
demand  for  labor  special  schools  have  been 
started  all  over  the  country,  where  a  training 
of  about  two  months  qualifies  a  pupil  to 
carry  out  some  simple  process  in  airplane 
manufacture.  About  100  qualified  workers 
are  supplied  each  week  under  this  system. 

Yet  the  demand  is  not  satisfied.  More  and 
more  women  are  wanted,  both  in  London 
and  in  the  provinces ;  and  women  of  good 
education  and  good  physique  can  render  the 
nation  no  better  service  at  the  present  time 
than  by  undergoing  the  training  which  is  of- 
fered in  these  schools. 

The  Ministry  of  Munitions  has  had  special 
difficulties  to  overcome  to  reach  the  present 
degree  of  output  and  efficiency.  The  tech- 
nical development  of  the  airplane  has  pre- 
sented peculiar  problems.  New  types  are 
continually  being  evolved.  Those  responsible 
for  the  manufacture  of  our  flying  machines 
have  always  had  to  allow  for  a  new  invention 
coming  along  and  revolutionizing  all  their 
projects.  Speed,  climbing  power,  armament, 
have  continually  increased  and  improved  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  war.  An  engine  that  can 
develop  up  to  350  horse  power,  for  example, 
and   a  single-seater   scout   able   to   travel   at 


150  miles  per  hour  are  built  on  very  dif- 
ferent lines  from  their  prototypes  of  August, 
1914.  Where  there  is  no  finality  there  is  a 
limit  to  standardization,  except  in  small 
details,  and  the  problem  of  supervising  the 
manufacture  of  our  airplanes  is  correspond- 
ingly complicated. 

The  variety  of  materials  used  in  airplane 
construction,  again,  has  been  a  great  source 
of  anxiety  to  the  Ministry.  Linen,  timber, 
chemicals  for  tightening  the  fabric  of  wings, 
alloy  steel,  light  alloys,  thin  tubes  are  among 
the.  essential  requirements  of  the  industry. 
Even  if  these  were  wanted  in  normal 
quantities,  there  would  be  difficulty  in  get- 
ting enough  in  view  of  other  necessities. 
But  the  needs  of  the  airplane  program  are 
enormous,    almost   passing   belief. 

For  our  present  program  of  construction 
more  spruce  is  wanted  than  the  present 
annual  output  of  the  United  States,  more 
mahogany  than  Honduras  can  supply— and 
Honduras  is  accustomed  to  supply  the  re- 
quirements of  the  world.  Besides  this,  all 
the  linen  of  the  type  required  made  in 
Ireland,  the  home  of  the  linen  industry,  and 
the  whole  of  the  alloyed  steel  that  England 
can  produce  can  be  used.  As  for  flax,  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  air  service  the  Govern- 
ment has  actually  to  provide  the  seed  from- 
which  to  grow  the  plant  essential  for  its 
purposes.  Still,  despite  the  magnitude  of  the 
demands,  all  the  needs  of  airplane  manu- 
facture will  be  met.  The  program  before 
the  Ministry  of  Munitions  is  that  of  a 
maximum    production. 

In  Germany  the  Zeppelin  has  been 
practically  discarded  and  all  energies  are 
being  directed  to  an  enormously  in- 
creased production  of  airplanes,  with  the 
object  of  taking  up  the  Allies'  challenge 
for  the  supremacy  of  the  air. 


Some  Historic  Airplane   Raids 

Recent  Attacks  on  London  and  Paris,  and  the 
Advent  of  Giant  Machines  in  Aerial  Warfare 


A  IR  raids  on  a  large  scale  were 
f\  made  in  July  and  August  by  Ger- 
1  \  man,  British,  French,  and  Italian 
aviators.  Harwich,  a  seaport 
town  on  the  east  coast  of  England,  was 
visited  on  July  4,  1917,  by  twelve  or  more 
German  air  raiders  who  dropped  bombs, 
killing  eleven  persons  and  injuring  thirty- 
six  others.  It  was  a  misty  morning,  and 
the  machines  could  be  distinguished  only 
at  intervals  when  they  appeared  from 
behind  cloud  banks.  Bombs  were  dropped 
in  rapid  succession.  British  airmen 
intercepted  the  Germans  and  broke  up 
their  formation,  causing  them  to  return 
toward  the  sea.  Their  retreat  was 
marked  by  a  series  of  duels  with  British 
aviators.  Two  of  the  enemy  machines 
were  brought  down  ablaze  and  a  third 
was  damaged. 

Greatest  Raid  on  London 

The  greatest  air  raid  on  London  up 
to  the  present  writing  was  made  by 
twenty-two  German  airplanes  on  the 
morning  of  July  7,  1917.  The  total  num- 
ber of  persons  killed  in  the  metropolitan 
area  and  the  Isle  of  Thanet  was  43; 
injured,  197.  The  raiding  machines 
were  of  the  new  Gotha  type,  which  is 
about  three  times  the  size  of  the  single- 
seated  machine.  Three  of  the  airplanes 
which  took  part  in  the  attack  were 
brought  down  at  sea  on  the  return  trip. 
British  airmen  at  Dunkirk  prepared  to 
intercept  them,  but  they  took  a  more 
northerly  route.  The  Dunkirk  fliers,  in 
the  course  of  their  patrol,  brought  down 
seven  machines  of  another  German 
squadron. 

The  battle  in  the  air  was  an  engross- 
ing spectacle.  Despite  official  appeals 
to  the  population  to  take  cover  in  case 
of  another  raid,  millions  saw  some  part 
of  it  and  hundreds  of  thousands  watched 
it  in  all  its  phases.  The  raiders  were 
plainly  visible  during  most  of  the  time. 
Their  arrival  was  favored  by  a  thick 
Summer   haze,   which    assisted   them   in 


their  manoeuvres  over  the  metropolis. 
Their  plan  of  action  had  evidently  been 
worked  out  to  the  smallest  details  and 
their  formation  was  maintained  through- 
out. They  crossed  London  from  north- 
west to  southeast.  Shrapnel  was  burst- 
ing all  around  them,  but  they  flew,  as  one 
spectator  put  it,  like  a  school  of  crows 
following  a  leader.  The  simile  was  inac- 
curate in  respect  to  color,  for  the  raiders 
were  shimmering  white  in  the  sun.  A 
little  later  their  course  might  have  been 
compared  to  the  flight  of  swallows,  for 
anti-aircraft  guns  seemed  to  get  their 
range  as  the  northern  districts  of  the 
capital  were  reached.  The  machines 
dived  and  swerved  just  as  swallows  do. 
At  times  one  or  another  machine  would 
drop,  and  many  spectators,  unversed  in 
the  tricks  of  flying,  jumped  to  the  con- 
clusion that  one  or  more  planes  had  been 
brought  down.  Experienced  airmen 
understood  these  "  falls  "  to  be  what  has 
now,  with  the  advance  in  flying,  become 
a  common  device  to  change  the  altitude 
when  one  position  becomes  too  hot. 

London  again  showed  a  spirit  of  phleg- 
matic endurance.  Curiosity  to  see  what 
was  going  on  was  much  less  general  than 
it  had  been  on  the  occasion  of  the  June 
13  raid.  While  the  earlier  phases  of 
the  raid  attracted  crowds  to  roofs  and 
windows,  and  even  into  the  streets,  a 
marked  disposition  to  take  to  cover  made 
itself  evident  as  the  firing  continued. 
When  the  raid  reached  its  height  certain 
usually  crowded  streets  were  left  empty. 
The  fact  that  a  larger  proportion  of 
people  took  cover  than  was  the  case  in 
June  was  held  to  explain  the  smaller 
casualty  list. 

Details   of  Damage   Done 

Subsequent  uncensored  reports  stated 
that  bombs  were  dropped  in  Whitechapel 
and  killed  a  number  of  persons.  A  bomb 
was  dropped  in  Aldgate  near  where  hay 
wagons  were  standing,  but  it  did  not 
explode.     From  Aldgate  the  raiders  flew 


SOME  HISTORIC  AIRPLANE  RAIDS 


517 


over  Fenchurch  Street  and  Mincing  Lane, 
where  the  tea,  coffee,  indigo,  and  spice 
merchants  have  their  offices.  Several 
persons  were  injured  by  bombs  there. 
By  this  time  British  aircraft  were  coming 
from  all  directions  to  repel  the  invaders, 
and  the  anti-aircraft  guns  on  the  tall 
buildings  near  the  Bank  of  England  were 
also  in  action.  Apparently  the  raiders 
were  trying  to  hit  the  bank,  as  they  had 
attempted  on  previous  raids,  but  did  not 
succeed.  One  of  the  bombs  struck  the 
Swiss  Bank,  which  was  full  of.  men  and 
boys,  and  several  were  injured. 

Five  or  six  of  the  bombs  that  fell  in 
Cheapside  as  the  German  machines  con- 
tinued their  flight  toward  St.  Paul's  did 
not  explode.  One  struck  the  General  Post 
Office  and  set  part  of  the  building  on 
fire.  Another  bomb  fell  into  St.  Paul's 
churchyard  and  destroyed  the  iron  rail- 
ings on  the  north  side  and  broke  several 
of  the  stone  monuments.  One  was 
dropped  on  the  west  side  of  the  cathe- 
dral in  front  of  the  main  entrance,  but 
did  not  explode.  From  there  the  air 
raiders  flew  down  Ludgate  Hill  and  over 
Fleet  Street,  and  then  made  a  swing  to 
the  northwest  as  far  as  Oxford  Circus, 
where  more  bombs  were  dropped,  with- 
out doing  much  harm.  Then  they  changed 
their  course  and  turned  back  to  the  south- 
east over  St.  Giles-in-the-Fields,  down  to 
Marconi  House,  in  the  Strand,  and  over 
Somerset  House  and  the  River  Thames 
toward  the  Kentish  coast,  flying  at  great 
speed  and  followed  by  squadrons  of 
British  aircraft. 

A  Defender's  Heroic  Charge 

One  of  the  heroic  episodes  of  the  raid 
was   the   charge   by    Second   Lieutenant 
I.  E.  R.  Young,  an  officer  of  the  Royal 
Flying  Corps.     His  feat  is  described  in 
a  letter  from  his  Major  to  his  father: 
Your  son,  as  you  know,  had  only  been 
in    my    squadron    for    a    short    time,    but 
quite  long  enough  for  me  to  realize  what 
a  very  efficient  and   gallant    officer    he 
was.     He  had   absolutely  the  heart  of  a 
lion  and  was  a  very  good  pilot.    Your  son 
had   been  up  on  every  raid  of  late,   and 
had    always   managed    to    get   in    contact 
with  the  enemy  machines.    The  last  raid, 
which  unfortunately  resulted  in  his  death, 
shows  what  a  very    gallant    officer    we 
have  lost. 
Almost    single-handed    he   flew  straight 


into  the  middle  of  the  twenty-two 
machines,  and  both  himself  and  his  ob- 
server at  once  opened  fire.  All  the  enemy 
machines  opened  fire  also,  so  he  was  hor- 
ribly outnumbered.  The  volume  of  fire  to 
which  he  was  subjected  was  too  awful  for 
words.  To  give  you  a  rough  idea:  There 
were  twenty-two  machines,  each  machine 
had  four  guns,  and  each  gun  was  firing 
about  400  rounds  per  minute.  Your  son 
never  hesitated  in  the  slightest.  He  flew 
straight  on  until,  as  I  should  imagine,  he 
must  have  been  riddled  with  bullets.  The 
machine  then  put  its  nose  right  up  in  the 
air  and  fell  over,  and  went  spinning  down 
into  the  sea  from  14,000  feet. 

I,  unfortunately,  had  to  witness  the 
whole  ghastly  affair.  The  machine  sank 
so  quickly  that  it  was,  I  regret,  im- 
possible to  save  your  son's  body,  he  was 
so     oadly     entangled     in     the    wires,  &c. 

H.  M.  S.  rushed  to  the  spot  as  soon 

as  possible,  but  only  arrived  in  time  to 
pick  up  your  son's  observer,  who,  I  regret 
to  state,  is  also  dead.  He  was  wounded 
six  times,  and  had  a  double  fracture  in 
the  skull. 

The  same  afternoon  Premier  Lloyd 
George  called  a  special  meeting  of  mili- 
tary and  aerial  defense  experts  at  Down- 
ing Street  in  connection  with  the  raid. 
A  group  of  Members  of  Parliament  in- 
terested in  air  questions  also  held  a 
meeting  and  decided  to  press  the  Gov- 
ernment for  a  definite  statement  of 
policy  in  the  matter  of  reprisals  on 
German  towns.  Lord  Derby,  Minister  of 
War,  had  on  June  26,  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  stated  that  the  Government  had 
no  intention  of  imitating  German  bru- 
tality, but  would  confine  aerial  opera- 
tions to  exclusively  military  purposes. 
But  the  new  raid  immediately  evoked  a 
fresh  demand  for  reprisals  on  German 
towns. 

Another  daylight  raid  over  England 
was  made  on  the  morning  of  July  22. 
This  time  the  east  coast  was  visited  by 
about  twenty  German  airplanes,  which 
dropped  bombs  on  Felixstowe  and  Har- 
wich, killing  eleven  persons  and  injuring 
twenty-six.  The  property  loss  was  in- 
significant. An  alarm  was  sounded  in 
London,  but  before  the  Germans  could 
reach  any  point  near  the.  city  they  were 
attacked  heavily  by  defending  squadrons 
of  aircraft,  which  caused  them  to  re- 
treat. "A  patrol  of  the  Royal  Flying 
Corps,"  said  an  official  statement,  "  en- 
countered some  hostile  machines  return- 


51S 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


ing  to   Belgium   and   brought  down   one 
at  sea  near  the  coast." 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  366  per- 
sons had  been  killed  and  1,092  injured  by 
air  raids  in  the  London  metropolitan 
area,  according  to  a  statement  made  by 
Sir  George  Cave,  the  Home  Secretary,  in 
the  House  of  Commons  on  July  30.  In 
the  same  period,  he  added,  2,412  persons 
had  been  killed  and  7,863  injured  in  ordi- 
nary street  accidents  in  the  same  area. 

Tv> o  Raids  on  Paris 

Paris  was  attacked  by  German  airmen 
on  the  two  successive  evenings  of  July 
27  and  28.  These  were  the  first  raids  on 
the  French  capital  since  January,  1916. 
A  few  minutes  before  11  P.  M.  watchers 
of  the  French  Aviation  Service  in  Paris 
heard  the  noise  of  a  motor  and  then  an 
explosion,  followed  after  a  brief  interval 
by  another.  The  Prefecture  of  Police 
was  accordingly  instructed  to  give  the 
alarm  throughout  the  city.  Soon  after  the 
warning  the  sky  over  the  city  was  alive 
with  defense  airplanes,  twinkling  like 
stars,  fr>om  which  they  hardly  could  be 
distinguished.  Firemen  dashed  through 
the  streets  sounding  alarms  on  powerful 
sirens,  and  one  by  one  the  street  lamps 
flickered  out.  Bombs  were  dropped  on 
three  different  suburban  sections.  In  the 
first  the  bombardment  caused  no  dam- 
age; in  the  other  two  localities  five  or 
six  bombs  were  dropped,  causing  the 
slight  injury  of  two  women.  One  of  the 
women  was  struck  while  in  bed  and  was 
removed  to  a  hospital;  the  other  was 
injured  by  flying  glass.  At  1:10  A.  M. 
the  firemen  gave  the  signal  that  all 
danger  was  over. 

The  second  attack  proved  wholly  futile, 
the  German  airmen  being  dispersed  by 
French  sky  fighters  before  they  even 
reached  the  outskirts  of  the  capital. 
Somewhere  on  the  front,  however,  one 
German  flier  dropped  four  bombs  on  a 
Red  Cross  hospital,  killing  two  doctors,  a 
chemist,. and  a  male  nurse  and  injuring 
several  others,  including  patients.  The 
raider  was  flying  low  and  the  distinguish- 
ing marks  of  the  hospital  were  plainly 
apparent. 

French  Raid  in  Reprisal 

In  retaliation  for  German  attacks  on 


open  French  towns  eighty-four  French 
airplanes  made  a  series  of  raids  far  into 
Germany  on  the  evening  of  July  6.  The 
text  of  the  official  statement  read: 

On  the  night  of  July  6  eighty-four  ma- 
chines took  to  the  air  in  reprisal  for  bom- 
bardments against  our  open  towns.  Several 
of  these  raids  had  as  their  objectives 
towns  situated  very  far  in  the  interior  of 
the  enemy   territory. 

Eleven  of  our  airplanes  flew  over 
Treves,  on  which  they  showered  2,050 
kilos  of  shells.  Seven  fires  broke  out,  one 
of  great  violence  in  the  central  station. 
Six  other  machines  bambarded  Ludwigs- 
hafen  doing  considerable  damage.  Among 
other  buildings,  the  important  Badische 
aniline  factory  was  devoured  by  flames. 

Another  of  our  airplanes,  piloted  by 
Sergeant  Gallois,  pushed  as  far.  as  Essen 
and  dropped  projectiles  on  the  buildings 
of  the  Krupp  factory. 

Military  installations  in  the  environs  of 
Coblenz,  the  Hirson  station,  the  railroad 
west  of  Pfalzburg,  and  the  Thionville  sta- 
tion were  likewise  bombarded. 

Another  series  of  operations  over  the 
enemy  lines  gave  excellent  results.  A  fire 
broke  out  in  the  station  at  Dun-sur-Meuse, 
a  munitions  depot  exploded  at  Banthe- 
ville,  the  railroad  station  at  Machault, 
and  establishments  at  Cauroy  were 
burned. 

In  all  30,455  kilos  (about  07,000  pounds) 
of  projectiles  were  used.  Two  of  our  air- 
planes have  not  returned. 

Bombing  the  Krupp  Works 

The  exploit  of  Sergeant  Maxime  Gal- 
lois, who  flew  446  miles  to  bomb  the 
Krupp  Works,  was  told  by  himself  in 
these  words:  - 

Four  of  us— Lieutenant  Ardisson  de 
Perdiguier,  Sergeant  Durand,  another 
comrade,  and  myself— left  our  base  at 
nightfall  Friday,  (July  0.)  with  the  in- 
tention of  reaching  Essen.  Soon  after- 
ward we  ran  into  foggy  weather  and  lost 
sight  of  each  other.  I  flew  at  an  altitude 
of  1,200  meters,  and  passed  over  Metz 
and  Thionville,  following  the  course  of 
the  River  Moselle,  which,  however,  rap- 
Idly  disappeared  in  the  mist. 

The  batteries  fired  at  me  crossing  the 
Rhine,  and  as  I  passed  over  Metz  search- 
lights played  about  the  sky.  At  Thion- 
ville I  heard  another  airplane  near  by,  but 
made  it  out  to  be  Ardisson's.  Afterward 
I  was  compelled  to  travel  by  the  aid  of 
the  compass,  the  stars,  and  the  moon. 

At  Treves  I  saw  a  heavy  bombardment, 
which  I  calculated  was  directed  at  my 
comrade.  Therefore  I  knew  I  was  travel- 
ing in  the  right  direction.  I  did  not  see 
Coblenz.    I  saw  the  reflection  of  the  moon 


SOME  HISTORIC  AIRPLANE  RAIDS 


519 


on  the  Rhine  and  found  Bonn.  From 
there  to  Diisseldorf  there  was  a  regular 
sea  of  electricity,  which  increased  as  I 
got  further  north. 

Cologne  was  a  blaze  of  luminosity,  and 
at  Diisseldorf  there  were  all  kinds  of 
lights — blue,  red,  and  white.  All  the  time 
the  anti-aircraft  guns  fired  as  I  passed, 
and  around  Cologne  the  gunners  were 
very  accurate  in  the  range. 

Leaving  there,  I  saw,  like  cliffs  on  the 
horizon,  a  brilliant  illumination  which 
seemed  kilometers  in  length  stretching  to 
the  left  of  Essen,  while  southward  was 
another  long  line  of  lights  coming  from 
the  factories.  Arriving  over  Essen,  I  rose 
to  about  2,000  meters.  I  circled  around, 
searching  for  a  place  where  the  lights 
from  the  workshops  appeared  densest. 
Then  I  threw  the  first  bomb.  After 
counting  ten  I  dropped  the  second,  and 
then  the  remainder  of  the  ten  I  carried 
at  similar  intervals.  I  could  not  tell 
whether  the  bombs  exploded,  but  they 
probably  did.  It  was  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish their  effect,  owing  to  the  flam- 
ing furnace  chimneys. 

My  duty  done,  I  turned  homeward,  not 
having  seen  my  comrades  again.  The 
motor  worked  with  wonderful  regularity 
all  the  time.  I  came  back  exactly  the 
same  as  I  went,  and  was  fired  at  many 
times. 

I  was  thoroughly  exhausted  and  was 
suffering  from  my  eyes,  which  were  af- 
fected by  the  strain  and  wind,  as  I  had 
lost  both  pairs  of  goggles  at  the  start, 
and  was  often  obliged  to  put  my  head 
outside  in  order  to  see  the  director.  When 
nearing  the  base,  owing  to  the  darkness 
I  could  not  tell  exactly  where  I  was.  I 
thought  possibly  I  was  still  over  the  Ger- 
man lines  and  decided  to  continue  west- 
ward as  long  as  the  petrol  lasted.  I  had 
a  few  litres  left  and  was  driving  onward, 
when  suddenly  I  recognized  a  prearranged 
signal  and  managed  to  land  just  at  dawn  , 
at  the  same  place  from  which  I  had  de- 
parted. The  distance  covered  was  750 
kilometers,   (about  466y2  miles.) 

The  whole  flight  lasted  seven  hours. 
When  Gallois  landed  on  his  return  he 
was  unable  to  get  out  of  his  machine 
owing  to  fatigue  and  semi-blindness,  but 
after  a  day's  rest  he  was  fully  recovered 
and  ready  to  undertake  further  expedi- 
tions. Thirty-eight  years  of  age,  he  was 
serving  in  the  dragoons  when  the  war 
broke  out.  He  passed  a  short  time  in 
the  squadron  and  was  then  sent  to  the 
hospital  where  sick  horses  were  cared 
for.  He  tried  to  exchange  to  the  auto- 
cannon  battery,  but  was  told  he  was  too 
old.     He  applied  four  times  for  the  Avia- 


tion Corps  unsuccessfully,  but  was  ac- 
cepted on  the  fifth  application. 

The  German  official  report  stated  that 
only  two  bomb  holes  were  found  at  the 
Krupp  Works,  and  that  six  other  bombs 
smashed  windows  in  a  village  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Essen.  Bombs  also  were 
dropped  in  the  villages  of  Speecher, 
Ehrang,  and  Oberemmel,  where  a  child 
was  killed,  and  on  Neunkirchen,  where  a 
man  was  killed;  on  a  suburb  of  Dieden- 
hofen,  where  a  family  of  three  were 
killed,  and  on  Treves,  where  the  Fran- 
ciscan Monastery  was  set  on  fire.  One 
airman  who  attacked  Treves  was  brought 
down  near  the  Saar,  it  was  announced, 
while  another  airplane  was  destroyed  and 
its  pilot  made  prisoner.  The  report  con- 
cluded :  "  For  what  reason  the  open  and 
militarily  unimportant  town  of  Treves 
was  bombed  is  incomprehensible." 

British  naval  airplanes  carried  out  a 
raid  on  the  night  of  July  7  on  the 
Ghistelles  aerodrome  in  Belgium.  Al- 
though heavily  attacked  by  an  enemy 
formation,  bombs  were  successfully 
dropped  on  objectives,  and  all  the  British 
machines  returned  safely. 

List  of  Air  Raids 

The  more  important  of  the  organized 

raids  carried  out  by  the  Allies  and  the 

Germans  since  May  1  are  set  out  in  the 

following  list: 

Allies.  German. 

May     L.Sissonnes   Aviation 

Camp    

May     2..Sissonnes   Aviation 

Camp     

May    2 . .  Bethenville    

May    7 London 

May  12 . .  Zeebrugge    

May  23..Rethel    

May  24 *East  Anglia 

May  25 Folkestone 

June    1.  .Zeebrugge,  Ostend, 

Bruges    

June    2 Dunkirk 

June  3.  .Zeebrugge,  Bruges, 
and  St. Denis  West- 
rem  Aerodrome   . . 

June    3.  .Treves   

June    4.. Bruges   

June    4..Colmar    Aerodrome  

June    5 •    Thames  Estuary 

June    6.  .Nieuwmunster  Aero- 
drome     

June    9.  .St.  Denis  Westrem.  

June  13 London 

June  15.  .St.  Denis  Westrem.  

June  17 *Kent  &  E.  Anglia 


520 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Allies.  German. 

June  26 Nancy 

July  2.. Bruges  Docks  and 
Lichtervelde  Muni- 
tion Depots 

July    3..Ghistelles  and   Os- 

tend  Aerodromes. .  

July    4 Harwich 

July  6.. Treves,  Ludwigs- 
hafen,  Essen,  and 
Coblenz    

July    6 Epernay  &  Nancy 

July    7 London 

♦Raids  by  Zeppelins. 

In  the  series  of  raids  during  June  and 
July  on  Zeebrugge,  Ostend,  Bruges,  St. 
Denis  Westrem,  and  other  places  the 
British  machines  all  returned  safely  on 
every  occasion,  although  heavily  bom- 
barded by  German  anti-aircraft  guns. 

420  Airplanes  Lost  in  July 

The  following  table  shows  the  losses  in 
machines  officially  reported  on  the  west- 
ern front  from  the  beginning  of  May  to 
July  8: 

German.  British. 


Driven  Down 
Destroyed.  Out  of  Control.  Missing. 

May   133  116  90 

June   104  90  74 

July   14  11  3 

Total    ....251  217  167 

Within  a  period  of  one  week,  during 
June,  British  official  communiques  re- 
ported the  following  German  losses:  Two 
Zeppelins  destroyed,  two  seaplanes  de-. 
stroyed,  twenty-two  airplanes  brought 
down,  and  twenty-one  airplanes  driven 
down  out  of  control.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  British  losses  in  the  same  period 
amounted  to  only  six  airplanes  missing. 
French  official  reports  do  not  give  the 
number  of  machines  lost,  but  merely  re- 
cord the  damage  inflicted  on  the  enemy. 
How  substantial  the  German  losses  have 
been  at  the  hands  of  the  French  is  proved 
by  the  following  figures  for  a  recent 
month : 

Machines  destroyed  102 

Machines  seriously  damaged 109 

According  to  a  British  official  state- 
ment, 420  airplanes  were  lost  on  the  west- 
ern front  in  July.  This  figure  is  approx- 
imate only,  owing  to  variations  in  the 
French  and  German  methods  of  announc- 
ing air  losses.  The  month's  losses  are 
the  third  highest  of  the  war  and  com- 


pare with  392  for  June,  713  for  May, 
and  717  for  April.  The  July  losses  were 
divided  among  the  belligerents  as  fol- 
lows: German  machines,  291 ;  Allies,  129, 
of  which  89  were  British,  although  this 
figure  probably  is  incomplete.  The 
British  brought  down  247  German 
machines,  the  French  35,  and  the 
Belgians  9. 

Italian  Raids  on  Pola. 

Early  in  August  the  Italians  began 
a  series  of  raids  with  giant  Caproni  air- 
planes against  the  Austrian  naval  base 
at  Pola.  These  were  meant  to  be  both 
reprisals  for  Austrian  raids  and  military- 
assaults  upon  the  nest  of  aircraft  and 
warships  with  which  Austria  seals  the 
entry  to  the  Gulf  of  Trieste.  Each 
Caproni  airplane  carried  a  crew  of  four 
or  five  men,  With  an  extraordinary  cargo 
of  bombs.  An  eyewitness  thus  describes 
the  departure: 

The  first  raid  was  carried  out  by  thirty- 
six  machines,  including  fast  fighting 
machines,  which  escorted  the  great 
Caproni  bomb-droppers.  It  was  like 
watching  a  flotilla  of  destroyers  go  to 
sea  as  the  great  machines  moved  off  at 
four-minute  intervals,  taking  up  a  perfect 
alignment  against  the  sky.  Motor  boats 
were  out  to  guide  them  to  the  Austrian 
coast,  for  there  was  a  fog  over  the  sea. 
Before  midnight  the  squadron  was  over 
Pola,  manoeuvring  amid  a  tangle  of 
searchlight  beams  and  a  hurricane  of 
shots  from  panic-stricken  gunners  in  the 
city's  defenses.  Bombs  ranging  from  70 
to  200  pounds  were  raining  down  on  the 
arsenal,  dockyard,  and  anchored  ships. 

Three  waves  of  airplanes  went  over,  and 
the  first  two  saw  a  huge  explosion  in 
the  arsenal  and  a  great  fire  start  up,  either 
in  the  arsenal  or  in  the  submarine  depot. 
Six  and  a  half  tons  of  bombs  were 
dropped  in  all,  and  there  would  have  been 
'  more  but  that  the  third  wave  of  attackers 
failed   to   find   purely   military  targets. 

The  following  night  they  again  returned 
to  the  attack.  This  time  a  light  fog 
favored  the  aviators,  and  eight  tons  of 
explosives  were  deposited  where  they  were 
likely  to  do  the  most  damage.  The  results 
are  described  as  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  600  horse  power  Caproni  is  a  tri- 
plane  with  two  fuselages  or  bodies,  and 
driven  by  three  Fiat  or  Isotta-Fraschini 
motors,  any  one  of  which  has  sufficient 
power  to  keep  the  craft  aloft  even  were 
the  others  to  be  disabled.  The  machine 
is  of  both  the  tractor  and  pusher  type, 


Some  historic  airplane  raids 


521 


for  two  propellers  are  mounted  in  front 
and  one  in  the  rear.  The  plane  carries  a 
so-called  useful  load  of  4,408  pounds, 
which  assures  fuel  for  six  hours,  to- 
gether with  a  crew  of  three  men,  three 
guns,  and  2,750  pounds  of  bombs.  It  has 
a  speed  of  close  to  eighty-five  miles  an 
hour  and  is  capable  of  climbing  3,250 
feet  in  thirten  minutes,  6,500  feet  in 
twenty-seven  minutes,  and  10,000  feet  in 
fifty-seven  minutes. 

This  seems  slow  in  comparison  to  the 
Spads,  which  climb  10,000  feet  in  five 
minutes  or  less;  but  a  Spad  is  simply  a 
flying  motor,  with  sustaining  strength 
barely  sufficient  to  support  the  aviator 
and  a  gun.  The  Caproni  is  as  big  as 
a  trolley  car.  Its  wing  span  is  more  than 
100  feet.  It  stands  twenty-one  feet  in 
the  air  and  it  is  nearly  fifty  feet  long. 

The  only  aircraft  which  compares  with 
it  in  size  is  the  British  Handly-Page 
machine,  which,  with  two  280  horse 
power  Rolls-Royce  motors,  carried 
twenty-seven  passengers,  and  has  a  wing 
spread  of  98  feet,  and  the  Curtiss  and 
Gallaudet  monsters  made  in  this  country. 

Earlier  Raids  of  Note 

Long-distance  airplane  raids  have  been 
made  at  intervals  since  the  first  year  of 
the  war,  but  hitherto  they  have  had  to  be 
executed  with  machines  that  are  dwarfed 
by  the  newer  constructions.  One  of  the 
first  raids  of  historic  importance  was  that 
against  Carlsruhe  on  June  15,  1915.  It 
was  conducted  by  twenty-three  twin- 
motored  Caudron  machines,  in  charge  of 
Captain  de  Kerillis,  and  dropped  close  to 
fifty  large  bombs  on  Carlsruhe.  Three  of 
the  machines  did  not  return — they  had 
to  land  and  were  captured,  but  the  dam- 
age to  Carlsruhe  was  serious. 


In  the  very  first  bombardment  of  Sofia 
on  April  21,  1916,  a  single  aviator  started 
from  Saloniki,  flew  to  Sofia,  dropped  four 
bombs  and  proclamations  announcing  the 
capture  of  Trebizond,  and  returned  to  Sa- 
loniki. This  exploit  was  repeated  by 
single  aviators  from  time  to  time;  then 
on  Sept.  15,  1916,  it  was  repeated  by  fout 
aviators  who  left  Saloniki  at  6:20  and 
arrived  over  Sofia  at  8:40.  They  dropped 
their  bombs,  many  of  which  were  effec- 
tive, and  returned.  They  had  crossed  the 
Balkan  Mountains  at  6,000  feet  without 
trouble,  and  had  accomplished  what  an 
army  could  not  have  done.  The  only 
limitation  was  that  the  airplanes  were 
too  few  in  number  to  win  a  decisive  vic- 
tory. In  every  raid  in  the  Balkans  only 
four  or  five  airplanes  participated. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  long-dis- 
tance bombing  expeditions  were  the  raids 
on  Essen  and  Munich  by  Captain  de 
Beauchamp  and  Lieutenant  Dancourt  on 
Sept.  24  and  Nov.  18,  1916,  which  have 
been  repeated  since  by  other  aviators. 
The  raid  on  Ludwigshafen,  accomplished 
on  May  27,  1915,  in  which  eighteen  air- 
planes took  part,  also  involved  a  flight  of 
about  400  miles.  It  was  conducted  suc- 
cessfully, and  only  one  airplane  was 
forced  to  land  and  submit  to  capture. 
Another  classic  was  the  bombing  raid  on 
the  Mauser  Works  at  Oberndorf  on  Oct. 
12,  1916,  in  which  a  French  bombing 
squadron  and  a  British  bombing  squad- 
ron participated,  escorted  by  Lafayette 
Flying  Corps  fighters.  In  all  these  raids 
the  aviators  had  to  fly  from  five  to  seven 
hours  continuously  under  most  trying 
conditions,  having  to  protect  themselves 
with  insufficient  arms.  A  night  raid  in 
large,  well-armed  warplanes  would  be 
easy  in  comparison — and  much  safer. 


A   German  Airman's   Story  of  a   Raid 

on  London 


Under  the  signature  of  "A  Partici- 
pant "  the  commander  of  one  of  the  Ger- 
man airplanes  which  took  part  in  a  re- 
cent raid  on  London  described  his  ex- 
periences : 


THE  morning  sky  is  bluer  than  ever  at 
9    o'clock,    the    sun    seeming    to    be 
laughing  at  the  world.     We  are  get- 
ting ready.     Our   commander  addresses 
a  few  last  words  to  us,  ending  with  "  God 


522 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


bless  you,  lads."  At  10  o'clock  punctu- 
ally our  leader's  machine,  heavily  bur- 
dened, rises  and  heads  for  London.  Our 
huge  birds  swarm  after  him. 

Soon  the  Belgian  coast  comes  in  view. 
To  the  left  we  clearly  make  out  the  Ger- 
man front  lines.  Next  we  are  at  Nieu- 
port  with  a  wide  territory  all  around  in- 
undated. Ostend  and  Zeebrugge  follow. 
We  leave  Holland  to  the  right  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Scheldt  and  Vlissingen  is 
just  visible.  The  commander  is  still  fly- 
ing somewhat  ahead,  the  squadron,  in 
close  formation,  behind.  We  can  recog- 
nize the  men  in  the  machine  flying  near- 
est us,  and  signals  and  greetings  are 
exchanged.  A  feeling  of  absolute  security 
and  indomitable  confidence  in  our  success 
are  our  predominant  emotions. 

Now  our  leader  turns  to  the  left.  We 
are  above  the  sea,  the  coast  lines  disap- 
pearing gradually.  Barographs  indicate 
higher  altitudes.  The  motors  are  thun- 
dering their  monotonous  song  of  human 
power.  Now  and  then  the  sharp  tack- 
tack  of  practicing  machine  guns  pene- 
trates even  the  clamor  of  winds  and  the 
humming  motors.  In  front,  but  far 
below  us,  appears  a  cloud  bank. 

Still  more  distant  in  a  hazy  atmosphere 
is  the  English  coast.  We  notice  our  com- 
rades in  other  machines  pointing  to  the 
coastline.  They  nod  at  each  other  and 
seem  highly  enthusiastic.  We  pass  the 
cloud  bank  and  in  long  lines  see  English 
sentinel  boats  stretched  behind.  Then, 
in  a  hazy  veil,  the  mouth  of  the  Thames 
appears.  We  approach  Sheerness  at  the 
left,  which  town  ought  to  know  us. 

In  a  straight  line  we  make  for  London, 
and  now  the  first  British  shots  reach  our 
altitude,  but  that  does  not  matter  much. 
Onward  we  fly.  Soon  the  bombardment 
dies  away  and  the  squadron  closes  in, 
moving  higher.  We  follow  the  windings 
of  the  Thames  on  the  map,  and  find  we 
are  speedily  approaching  our  goal. 

But  another  cloud  bank  appears. 
"  Damn  it  all,  shall  our  game  be  spoiled 
this  time  ?  "  I  exclaim.  I  write  my  fears 
on  a  piece  of  paper  and  hand  it  to  my 
pilot,  and  I  see  his  fist  coming  down 
broadside  with  an  oath. 

Five  minutes  pass  in  anxious  suspense, 
and  I  look  around  after  the  comrade  air- 


ships. They  are  still  following  in  close 
formation.  Then  we  pass  that  cloud 
bank,  and  London's  sea  of  houses  stretches 
in  vast  expanse  far  below  us. 

We  now  discover  the  first  of  the  Eng- 
lish chasing  fliers,  but  for  the  present 
they  do  not  concern  us.  Suddenly  there 
stand,  as  if  by  magic  here  and  there  in 
our  course,  little  clouds  of  cotton,  the 
greetings  of  enemy  guns.  They  multiply 
with  astonishing  rapidity.  We  fly  through 
them  and  leave  the  suburbs  behind  us.  It 
is  the  heart  of  London  that  must  be  hit. 

We  see  the  bridges,  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, Liverpool  Station,  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land, the  Admiralty's  palace — everything 
sharply  outlined  in  the  glaring  sunlight. 
There  are  ships  on  the  Thames  that  look 
like  toys.  With  my  glasses  in  one  hand 
I  signal  with  the  other  to  my  pilot.  Slowly 
long  rows  of  streets  pass  through  the 
small  orbit  of  the  glasses. 

At  last  it  is  time  to  stop,  I  give  a  sig- 
nal, and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell 
I  have  pushed  the  levers  and  anxiously 
follow  the  flight  of  the  released  bombs. 
With  a  tremendous  .crash  they  strike  the 
heart  of  England.  It  is  a  magnificently 
terrific  spectacle  seen  from  midair.  Pro- 
jectiles from  hostile  batteries  are  sput- 
tering and  exploding  beneath  and.  all 
around  us,  while  below  the  earth  seems 
rocking  and  houses  are  disappearing  in 
craters  and  conflagrations,  in  the  light 
of  the  glaring  sun. 

In  a  few  moments  all  is  over  and  the 
squadron  turns.  One  last  look  at  the 
panic-stricken  metropolis  and  we  are  off 
on  our  home  course.  I  nod  to  my  pilot, 
indicating  that  everything  is  all  right. 
He  answers  "  likewise."  We  have  gotten 
somewhat  behind  the  squadron,  but  soon 
make  up  the  distance. 

Now  we  are  in  for  a  little  bout  with 
English  chasers.  They  don't  let  us  wait 
very  long.  As  we  reach  the  suburbs  the 
first  three  English  fliers  suddenly  ap- 
pear in  front  of  us,  seeking  to  block  our 
flight.  At  a  hundred  or  two  hundred 
meters  distance  both  sides  open  fire, 
striving  to  get  at  each  other's  weak  spots. 

Then  from  several  directions  the  at- 
tacking British  planes  reach  us.  They 
appear  from  below,  then  from  the  right 
or  left  or  from  above.     My  pilot  is  watch- 


A  GERMAN  AIRMAN'S  STORY  OF  A  RAID  ON  LONDON 


523 


ing  with  eagle  eyes,  while  I,  with  my 
hand  on  the  gun  lever,  am  not  slow  to 
give  a  tack-tack  to  the  daredevil  who  ex- 
poses himself  to  my  machine.  Twice  we 
just  evade  terrific  onslaughts.  Two  hos- 
tile pilots  turn  and  do  not  come  back. 

But  the  third  is  a  brave  and  tenacious 
fellow.  For  ten  minutes  we  fire  at  each 
other  almost  incessantly,  my  opponent 
looking  for  an  opening.  Suddenly  he 
makes  for  us  and  showers  his  bullets  on 
our  machines.  I  can  see  or  feel  that  the 
bullets  have  struck  our  planes,  but  I 
know  I've  got  him.  I  send  a  whole  sheaf 
of  fire  into  his  body.  His  machine  rears 
up  in  the  air  like  a  wounded  animal, 
turns  a  somersault,  and  disappears  in  the 
depths.  This  is  the  first  enemy  I  have 
defeated  over  British  soil.     Three  cheers ! 

Already  the  British  coast  is  in  view 
again,  but  more  fighting  awaits  us.    This 


time  the  English  fliers  seem  to  have  lost 
heart.  Their  attacks  are  easily  beaten 
off.  Our  machines  reach  the  coast  at 
length  and  close  up  with  the  rest  of  the 
squadron.  While  reloading  my  machine 
gun  my  pilot  discovers  a  new  enemy. 
By  his  tactics  I  recognize  him  as  one  of 
those  astute  English  fliers  we  encoun- 
tered at  the  Somme.  Perhaps  we  had  met 
there.  For  a  short  time  we  fly  almost 
parallel,  both  preparing  to  attack.  Sud- 
denly he  turns  sharply  to  the  left  and 
there  he  is  not  twenty  meters  distant. 
Our  machine  guns  pour  lead  into  each 
other.  Suddenly  his  gun  stops  dead. 
Must  have  jammed.  He  turns  sharply 
and  tries  to  fly,  but  my  machine  gun 
catches  him  squarely  on  the  broadsides, 
and  down  he  goes.  Just  twenty  seconds 
of  fighting  and  all  is  over,  old  friend  of 
last  Summer! 


Ear  Disturbances  Suffered  by  Aviators 

By  P.  Lacroix,  M.  D. 

[Translated  from  the  Bulletin  de  1' Academic  de  M6decine  de  Paris  for  Current 

History  Magazine.] 


AS  a  military  surgeon  I  have  spent 
a  year  in  one  of  our  most  impor- 
tant schools  of  aviation.  This  has 
enabled  me  to  make  a  systematic  study 
of  the  reactions  and  disturbances  of  the 
ear  observed  in  aviators  during  their 
flights.  I  have  based  this  study  on  ques- 
tioning and  on  the  otoscopic  examination 
of  numerous  pilots  from  the  aviation 
centre  at  Amberieu  (near  Lyons)  and 
also  on  personal  auto-observation  dur- 
ing the  flights  which  I  have  made  my- 
self as  an  observer  at  altitudes  varying 
from  about  1,500  to  6,000  feet. 

The  ear  is  both  an  organ  for  the  main- 
tenance of  equilibrium  and  an  organ  for 
hearing.  As  an  organ  for  maintaining 
equilibrium,  how  does  the  ear  behave  it- 
self in  the  aviator  during  flight?  Do 
the  flights  produce  vertigo  ?  It  seems,  a 
priori,  that  rising  in  an  aeroplane  to 
great  altitudes  must  entail  a  tendency 
to  vertigo;  but  this  conception  does  not 
correspond  at  all  to  the  reality;  on  the 
contrary,  one  is  struck  with  the  rarity 
of  vertigo  under  such  circumstances.    As 


soon  as  the  aeroplane  leaves  the  ground, 
the  fear  of  dizziness  which  one  was  ex- 
pecting disappears,  and  is  replaced  by  a 
feeling  of  calm  stability.  When  the  ap- 
paratus, having  attained  the  altitude 
sought,  advances  in  the  air,  proceeding 
at  a  speed  which  ordinarily  is  an  average 
of  sixty  miles  an  hour,  one  believes  that 
he  is  advancing  only  with  a  majestic  de- 
liberation. Aside  from  the  impression 
caused  by  the  spectacle  (very  beautiful 
it  is)  which  one  has  below  him — the  long, 
white  ribbons  of  the  roads,  the  diminu- 
tive houses,  the  microscopic  living  be- 
ings, a  spectacle  truly  Lilliputian — there 
is  really  the  absence  of  every  painful  im- 
pression, of  all  dizzy  conditions.  Per- 
sonally, although  I  feel  visual  dizziness 
on  the  balcony  of  a  second  story,  I  have 
never  felt  it  in  an  airplane  even  in  the 
eddy  wind,  in  the  spirals,  in  the  rapid 
descents. 

This  is  easily  explained.  Vertigo,  a 
malady  of  the  sense  of  space,  may  have 
for  its  origin  a  visual  condition,  or  a 
tactile   disturbance,    or   an   affection   of 


521 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


the  labyrinth  of  the  ear.  In  the  airplane, 
the  terrestrial  guiding  marks  are  too  far 
distant  to  disturb  the  visual  state.  The 
habitual  stability  of  the  apparatus  brings 
with  it  tactile  and  labyrinthine  stabil- 
ity. It  is  only  when  the  airplane  is  taken 
in  a  violent  eddy  wind  that  the  tendency 
to  vertigo  may  appear.  But,  in  the  mat- 
ter of  aviation,  the  rolling  and  the  pitch- 
ing, the  dangerous  "  montagnes  russes," 
are  already  abnormal  and  are  near  neigh- 
bors to  accident. 

Let  us  now  consider  how  the  aviator's 
ear  behaves  as  an  organ  of  hearing 
during  flights.  Do  the  flights  provoke 
deafness  ? 

The  disturbances  of  equilibrium  with 
vertigo  are  exceptional;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  affections  of  the  hearing  —  buz- 
zings,  deafness — are  habitual  and  prac- 
tically the  rule.  The  observer  who  is 
making  his  first  flight  is  surprised  to 
hear  his  ears  buzz  while  the  airplane  is 
rising.  This  buzzing  disappears  at  cer- 
tain moments  and  then  appears  again. 
Auditory  distinctness  follows  the  same 
alternations.  The  noise  of  the  motor 
which  was  striking  the  eardrums  ceases 
to  be  perceived,  then  reappears.  It  is 
in  the  very  high  altitudes  especially  that 
these  disturbances  are  produced  during 
the  ascents  and  the  rapid  descents;  it  is 
to  these  phenomena  (deafness  and  inter- 
mittent buzzings)  that  it  is  fitting  to 
give  the  name  of  "  reactions  of  the  ear." 

These  reactions  are  the  rule,  but  they 
vary  in  intensity  as  well  as  in  duration. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  explain 
them  by  the  effect  of  the  air  set  in 
motion  by  the  propellers,  by  the  noise  of 
the  motor.  The  air,  which  strikes  the 
face  quite  vigorously  during  flight,  cer- 
tainly plays  a  role  in  this  respect.  How- 
ever, the  disturbances  in  question  are 
also  dependent  in  good  part  on  the  irreg- 
ular aeration  of  the  middle  ears.  The 
successive  atmospheric  strata  into  which 
the  airplane  passes  do  not  have  the  same 
density,  for  the  barometric  pressure  de- 
creases as  the  altitude  increases.  The 
air  which  fills  the  external  auditory 
canal  in  a  given  atmospheric  stratum 
finds  itself  in  a  different  pressure  from 
that  of  the  air  which  has  been  stored  up 


by  the  middle  ear  in  the  preceding  atmos- 
pheric stratum.  To  this  fact  are  due  the 
tractions  on  the  eardrum  and  on  the  chain 
of  the  ossicles  [small  bones  of  the  ear] 
and  also  the  buzzings  and  the  deafness; 
but  these  cease  as  soon  as  an  act  of 
swallowing  (which  opens  the  Eustachian 
tube)  re-establishes  the  balance  of  the 
pressure  on  the  internal  and  external 
surfaces  of  the  eardrum.  The  aviator 
protects  himself  from  these  ear  dis- 
turbances, in  fact — sometimes  without 
noticing  that  he  does  so — by  executing 
almost  automatic  acts  of  swallowing, 
which,  by  aerating  the  middle  ear,  re- 
store the  equilibrium  on  the  two  sur- 
faces of  the  membrane  of  the  eardrum. 

I  have  made  frequent  otoscopic  exami- 
nations on  pilots  who  had  just  landed,  and 
I  have  verified  in  varying  degrees  ob- 
jective traces  of  these  reactions  of  the 
ear.  For  these  examinations  I  have 
chosen  pilots  returning  from  important 
tests,  flights  at  high  altitude,  flights  of 
long  duration,  which  constitute  the  tests 
for  the  brevet  of  pilot.  In  such  cases  the 
lesions  of  the  eardrum  ascertained  are 
always  similar.  One  finds  more  or  less 
pronounced:  (a)  On  the  one  hand,  a  red 
stripe  the  whole  length  of  the  handle  of 
the  hammer-bone  in  front  and  behind; 
(b)  on  the  other  hand,  a  congestive  state 
sometimes  very  intense  of  that  upper 
part  of  the  eardrum  known  under  the 
name  of  the  membrane  of  Shrapnell. 
This  appearance  of  the  eardrum  is  well 
known  to  aurists;  this  it  is  which  one 
excites  in  correcting  a  retracted  ear- 
drum by  insufflations  of  air  into  the 
middle    ear. 

In  healthy  ears  these  disturbances  are 
temporary.  In  the  flights  of  short  dura- 
tion they  cease  immediately  on  landfall. 
For  the  prolonged  flights,  a  slight  buz- 
zing with  some  deafness  may  persist  for 
a  few  hours  or  even  a  day,  but  rarely 
beyond  that.  I  believe,  however,  that  in 
case  of  ears  already  diseased,  as  found 
in  persons  subject  to  ear  or  tube  ail- 
ments, the  flights  would  be  susceptible 
of  aggravating  these  affections.  There- 
fore it  is  with  good  reason  that  the  medi- 
cal certificate  of  fitness  for  pilotage  de- 
mands in  the  candidate  integrity  of  the 
middle  and   internal   ears. 


Airplanes  and  Gas  Bombs 

New  and  Deadly  Methods  of  Warfare  Developed  Since  the 
Beginning  of   the  Conflict 


CONGRESSMAN  TILS0N  of  Con- 
necticut, in  a  discussion  in  Con- 
gress on  new  methods  of  warfare, 
advocated  the  expenditure  of 
$600,000,000  for  airplanes,  arguing  that 
if  the  United  States  could  have  100,000 
machines  in  the  air  in  France  the  result 
would  be  to  blind  the  artillery  of  the  ene- 
my and  win  the  war.  In  the  course  of 
his  address,  he  said: 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  each  side 
had  a  few  airplanes.  The  sub'ject  had 
appealed  to  the  imaginative  Frenchman 
more  than  it  had  to  us  or  to  the  English. 
So  France  had  quite  a  number.  Ger- 
many, of  course,  following  out  her  prac- 
tice of  thorough  preparedness  in  every- 
thing, was  well  prepared  with  airplanes. 
At  the  battle  of  the  Marne  airplanes  cut 
a  considerable  figure.  The  Germans  had 
the  old  Taube  machine  and  the  French 
had  the  old  Nieuport  and  others.  These 
machines  made  something  like  seventy  or 
eighty  miles  an  hour.  At  once  both  sides 
set  to  developing  this  art,  and  very  soon 
they  were  turning  out  machines  on  both 
sides  that  made  very  much  in  excess  of 
those  figures.  First  came  the  German 
Fokker,'  and  gained  superiority  for  the 
Germans.  Then  the  Nieuport  and  other 
French  machines  were  improved,  and  so 
it  has  gone,  with  superiority  first  going 
to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other.  Both 
sides  now  claim  to  have  machines  that 
will  make  the  incredible  speed  of  140 
miles  an  hour,  and  that  will  climb  in  the 
air  10,000  feet  in  thirteen  minutes. 

"  The  old  machine  was  made  to  carry 
one  man,  or  two  at  the  most,  and  some 
thought  that  was  the  limit  of  the  size  of 
airplanes.  The  development  in  size  has 
gone  on  until  today  larger  machines  are 
flying  than  ever  were  thought  possible. 
Today  smaller  ones  than  any  practical 
constructor  dreamed  of  are  being  suc- 
cessfully flown.  Take  the  big  machines 
of  the  Handley-Page  type,  in  which 
eleven  men  have  flown  from  London  to 


Rome  in  the  night  time.  Such  a  ma- 
chine is  so  large  that  it  can  take  two 
little  airplanes  with  their  aviators  on 
the  wings,  go  up  in  the  air  10,000  feet, 
and  launch  the  small  machines  from  the 
wings  of  the  big  one.  That  feat  actually 
has  been  done.  A  machine  of  this  larger 
type,  which  it  is  necessary  to  fly  lower 
and  which  now  usually  flies  at  night, 
when  we  are  able  to  take  and  hold  com- 
plete supremacy  of  the  air  we  shall  be 
able  to  use  in  the  daytime. 

"  The  weapons  that  can  be  used  from 
aircraft  are  practically  all  of  those  that 
can  be  used  on  the  land,  up  to  and  in- 
cluding the  Davis  3-inch  recoilless  gun, 
and  a  number  that  can  be  used  in  no 
other  way,  as  I  shall  show  in  the  case  of 
certain  drop  bombs.  I  have  spoken  of 
the  use  of  pistols,  rifles,  and  machine 
guns  from  airplanes.  The  machine  gun 
especially  is  extremely  important.  I  also 
referred  to  the  use  from  airplanes  of 
fragmentation  bombs,  especially  the 
Barlow  bomb.  At  that  time  I  told  the 
House  that  this  bomb  had  not  yet  received 
its  final  test.  The  test  was  held  at  the 
Hampton  grounds  a  few  days  ago.  It 
was  dropped  from  airplanes  at  great 
heights,  so  as  to  thoroughly  test  it,  espe- 
cially as  to  accuracy  and  destructiveness. 
I  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  give  you 
the  official  figures,  but  I  am  permitted 
to  say  that  the  results  were  highly  satis- 
factory in  every  respect,  and  that  the 
officers  having  the  matter  in  charge  are 
quite  enthusiastic.  This  bomb,  in  my 
opinion,  is  sure  to  be  heard  from  before 
the  war  is  over.  Not  only  is  great  credit 
due  to  the  inventive  genius  of  Mr.  Bar- 
low, but  to  the  Ordnance  Department, 
and  especially  to  the  commandant  and 
other  officials  of  Frankford  Arsenal,  un- 
der whose  special  guidance  this  young 
man's  fertile  ideas  were  so  satisfactorily 
worked  out.  I  am  informed  that  an  up- 
to-date  corporation  of  patriotic  men  has 
made  all  preparations  necessary  to  manu- 


526 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


facture  these  bombs  in  large  quantities 
under  whatever  arrangement  the  Gov- 
ernment may  deem  necessary  and  proper. 

Deadly  Cas   Warfare 

"In  addition  to  the  fragmentation  bombs 
there  is  a  large  field  to  which  I  now  re- 
fer, viz.,  that  of  gas-  bombs.  Fighting 
with  gas  is  worthy  of  an  entire  chapter 
by  itself.  The  use  of  gas  as  a  weapon 
of  defense,  like  many  of  the  other  weap- 
ons now  in  common  use  in  the  armies  of 
Europe,  such  as  the  catapult,  flame  pro- 
jector, trench  knife,  and  sling,  is  an  in- 
heritance from  the  early  ages  amplified, 
improved,  and  made  more  destructive  by 
the  aid  of  modern  science. 

"  The  first  recorded  effort  to  overcome 
the  enemy  by  the  generation  of  poison- 
ous and  suffocating  gases  seems  to  have 
been  in  the  wars  of  the  Athenians  and 
Spartans,  (431  to  404  B.  C.,)  when,  in 
besieging  the  Cities  of  Platea  and  Belium, 
the  Spartans  saturated  wood  with  pitch 
and  sulphur  and  burned  it  under  the 
walls  of  these  cities  in  the  hope  of 
choking  the  defenders  and  rendering  the 
assault  less  difficult.  They  also  melted 
pitch,  charcoal,  and  sulphur  together  in 
caldrons  and  blew  the  fumes  over  the 
defenders'  lines  by  means  of  bellows. 

" '  Greek  fire  '  was  used  by  the  Byzan- 
tine Greeks  under  Constantine  about  673 
A.  D.  to  destroy  the  Saracens,  and  Sara- 
cens in  turn  used  it  as  a  weapon  of  de- 
fense against  the  Christians  during  the 
Crusades.  This  Greek  fire  had  the  double 
advantage  of  being  not  only  inflammable 
but  also  generating  during  the  process 
of  combustion  clouds  of  dense,  blinding 
smoke  and  gas  of  an  asphyxiating  char- 
acter. Its  chemical  composition  was  sup- 
posed to  .be  a  mixture  of  quicklime,  pe- 
troleum, sulphur,  and  such  other  inflam- 
mable substances  as  pitch,  resin,  &c. 
Upon  the  addition  of  water  the  slaking 
process  which  the  quicklime  underwent 
generated  enough  heat  to  ignite  the  pe- 
troleum, which  in  turn  ignited  the  resin, 
pitch,  and  sulphur.  This  flaming*  mixture 
was  delivered  against  the  enemy  by 
means  of  phantastic  syringes  in  the  shape 
of  dragons  and  other  monsters  with  wide 
jaws. 

"  The  first  use  of  gas  in  modern  war- 


fare occurred  April  22,  1915,  when  the 
Germans  liberated  great  clouds  of  gas 
against  the  allied  trenches  near  Ypres 
with  a  resulting  complete  demoralization 
of  the  troops  and  a  large  number  of  cas- 
'  ualties.  The  Germans  at  that  time 
turned  loose  fifty  tons  of  chlorine  gas 
to  the  mile  of  front  occupied.  Chlorine 
gas  is  two  and  one-half  times  as  heavy 
as  air.  It  apparently  rolls  along  the 
ground  in  a  greenish-yellow  cloud.  As 
soon  as  it  reaches  the  vicinity  of  the 
dugouts,  being  heavier  than  air,  it  im- 
mediately goes  down  into  the  dugout  and 
remains  there  until  removed.  The  Allies 
had  to  meet  this  problem,  and  they  be- 
gan meeting  it  at  once.  Some  Germans 
were  captured  who  had  gas  masks,  and 
in  a  few  days  every  woman  in  France 
that  could  find  any  material  out  of 
which  to  make  these  things  was  making 
gas  masks — imperfect,  crude  things  at 
first,  but  they  improved  rapidly.  A  gas 
mask  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  life 
of  any  one  who  is  exposed  to  these  dead- 
ly gases. 

"  Coincident  with  the  use  of  the  '  gas 
cloud '  the  Germans  began  to  use  gas 
also  in  bombs,  hand  grenades,  and  shells. 
From  this  beginning  gas  has  now  be- 
come recognized  as  one  of  the  accepted 
arms  of  the  military  service  and  is  be- 
ing used  very  extensively  in  all  armies, 
especially  in  the  form  of  gas  shells.  The 
gases  were  used  against  the  Canadian 
troops  contrary  to  The  Hague  Conven- 
tion, but  are  now  generally  used,  not 
only  by  the  enemy  but  by  the  Allies 
themselves." 

Cas  Bombs  Most  Terrible 

In  answer  to  a  question  as  to  whether 
the  use  of  cloud  gases  had  been  discon- 
tinued on  account  of  the  effective  re- 
sults from  gas  masks,  Mr.  Tilson  replied: 
"  That  is  probably  true  as  to  cloud  gases, 
which  of  course  can  be  used  successful- 
ly only  against  the  front  line  of  trenches, 
in  which  every  man  must  be  thoroughly 
prepared  to  defend  himself  against 
gases.  It  is  our  intention  to  have  one  of 
these  respirators  of  the  box  type  with 
every  man,  and  a  reserve  mask  of  the 
type  used  by  the  French  and  the  Bel- 
gians,   so    that    cloud    gases    will    prob- 


AIRPLANES    AND    GAS    BOMBS 


527 


ably  not  be  used  much  when  it  is  known 
that  everybody  is  thoroughly  prepared 
against  them.  The  gentleman  will  note, 
however,  that  it  is  my  expectation  that 
these  gases  will  be  made  use  of  from 
airplanes  a  great  deal  more  than  they 
ever  have  been.  They  have  already  been 
used,  and  are  now  being  used  increasing- 
ly, in  the  form  of  projectiles  of  glass 
and  steel  containing  these  poisonous 
gases  and  fired  from  trench  mortars 
and  howitzers.  They  are  using  those  in- 
creasingly. My  idea  is  that  they  will  be 
used  still  more  from  airplanes  when  we 
get  supremacy  of  the  air,  and  that  the 
gases  being  dropped  suddenly  from  the 
air,  perhaps  at  some  distance  back  from 
the  front  line,  the  men  behind  the  front 
line  will  not  be  so  well  prepared  and 
will  suffer  demoralization  and  other 
damage,  especially  among  the  artillery." 

A  member  asked :  "  Is  the  nature  of 
these  gases  such  that  if  the  bombs  con- 
taining them  are  fired  from  a  howitzer 
or  dropped  from  an  airplane  there  will 
be  time  to  adjust  a  mask  which  is  actual- 
ly being  carried  by  the  soldier,  in  time 
to  prevent  his  being  harmed  by  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  container  of  the  gas?  " 

"  There  is  not  time,"  Mr.  Tilson  re- 
plied. "  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  figure 
that  in  order  for  a  man  to  be  sure  to 
protect  himself  against  cloud  gases  he 
must  be  ready  to  put  these  masks  on  in 
six  seconds.  The  drill  in  putting  on 
these  masks  is  made  as  accurate  as  the 
manual  of  arms  used  by  infantry.  It  is 
intended  to  speed  up  so  that  a  man  can 
put  one  on,  as  I  say,  in  six  seconds. 
Even  six  seconds  may  be  too  long  with 
these  deadly  gases  falling  from  the  sky, 


going  out  in  every  direction,  and  a  man 
getting  a  whiff  of  the  gas  before  it  is 
possible  to  put  on  his  mask.  That  has 
happened.  I  remember  one  of  the  party 
with  the  British  Commissioners  told  of 
an  instance  showing  the  effect  of  gas 
shells  containing  the  terribly  poisonous 
gas  called  phosgen,  which,  unlike  the 
chlorine  or  bromine  gas,  has  a  delayed 
action,  so  that  you  take  it  today  and  die 
tomorrow.  The  instance  was  one  where 
a  shell  descended  and  two  men  got  a 
whiff  of  the  gas.  A  surgeon  being  near, 
saw  that  they  were  exposed  to  it,  and  im- 
mediately ordered  them  to  the  hospital 
and  to  bed.  They  obeyed  orders  and 
went  off  to  the  hospital,  joshing  each 
other  that  two  strong  men  should  be 
ordered  to  bed  with  nothing  the  matter 
with  them.  Before  the  dawn  of  the 
next  morning  both  had  died  horrible 
deaths  from  that  awful  poison." 

Another  member  asked  whether  the 
Germans  would  not  see  these  flying  ma- 
chines coming  or,  hearing  them  and 
knowing  that  we  had  resorted  to  the 
use  of  this  outrageous  way  of  fighting, 
would  they  not  have  time  to  put  their 
masks  on.     Mr.  Tilson  said: 

"  It  is  hoped  that  we  are  going  to 
have  so  many  machines  in  the  air  that 
they  will  not  have  to  fly  10,000  feet  high, 
but  will  be  able  to  fly  down  nearer  the 
ground,  and  in  that  way  the  Germans 
may  have  to  wear  their  masks  all  day 
long. 

"  The  point  is  that  only  a  small  part 
of  the  men  can  be  on  the  front  at  once. 
They  take  turns,  and  the  men  on  the 
front  line,  subject  to  exposure  to  cloud 
gases,  all  have  to  be  doubly  prepared  by 
having  these  masks." 


Japan's  Part  in  the  War 

By  Gardner  L.  Harding 


FOLLOWING  her  capture  of  Kiao- 
Chau  and  her  hardly  less  dramatic 
diplomacy  in  China,  Japan's  role 
in  war  and  policy  has  been  less 
spectacular;  but  its  effect  has  been  none 
the  less  actual,  and  the  harmony  of  that 
effect  with  the  larger  policies  of  the 
Allies  has  within  the  last  two  years 
steadily  and  substantially  increased.  The 
arrival  of  the  Ishii  mission  in  the  United 
States,  (in  the  month  of  August,)  a  wise 
and  statesmanlike  attempt  on  Japan's 
part  to  co-ordinate  with  America,  Japan's 
contributions  toward  the  conduct  of  the 
war  and  her  policies  with  respect  to  its 
aims,  has  provided  an  excellent  land- 
mark wherewith  to  trace  up  to  this  point, 
in  extent  and  in  actual  results,  Japan's 
assistance  to  the  allied  cause. 

Her  naval  assistance  began  even  before 
the  capture  of  Kiao-Chau,  when  fast  Japa- 
nese cruiser  squadrons  carried  out  the 
occupation  of  the  three  groups  of  Ger- 
man islands  in  the  South  Seas  during 
the  first  two  months  of  the  war.  From 
that  time  forward  the  Japanese  fleet  has 
done  extremely  valuable  and  incessant 
patrol  duty  in  the  Pacific,  in  the  China 
Sea,  and  far  westward  in  the  Indian 
Ocean.  The  disposition  of  the  Japanese 
fleet  during  this  period  has  naturally 
been  a  naval  secret,  but  it  early  allowed 
the  substantial  withdrawal  of  British 
warships  from  the  crucial  shipping  lanes 
between  Hongkong  and  Suez.  It  also 
bore  a  large  part  in  the  increased  patrol 
necessitated  by  the  depredations  of  Ger- 
man raiders  like  the  Emden;  it  took  a 
responsible  share  in  keeping  watch  on 
the  interned  German  ships  in  Chinese  and 
Dutch  East  Indian  ports,  and  until  re- 
cently in  American  harbors  in  Guam  and 
the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine  Islands. 

Japanese  warships  have  engaged  on 
patrolling  missions  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
of  both  North  and  South  America;  they 
have  landed  marines  to  quell  riots  at 
Singapore,  and  finally,  within  the  past 
five    months,    they    have    appeared    on 


active  service  in  European  waters,  in 
the  shape  of  a  destroyer  squadron  oper- 
ating in  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

The  ability  of  the  Japanese  fleet  to 
perform  such  services  is  evidenced  by 
its  possession  of  ten  superb  destroyers, 
practically  brand  new,  (having  been  fin- 
ished since  the  opening  of  the  war,)  with 
possibly  some  of  the  eight  others  voted 
under  the  Okuma  Ministry  already  avail- 
able, and  with  a  reserve  of  twenty-odd 
other  destroyers,  including  four  launched 
since  1910,  less  than  twelve  years  old. 
Of  other  potential  patrolling  ships  the 
latest  Japan  Year  Book  gives  twenty- 
one  first  and  second  class  cruisers,  all 
rated  above  20  knots  speed.  Finally, 
there  is  the  first  line  of  the  Japanese 
Navy,  numbering  twenty  battleships  and 
battle  cruisers,  including  eight  of  dread- 
nought construction,  to  which  the  three 
big  battleships  of  the  Fuso  type  voted 
by  the  Okuma  Ministry  are  soon  to  be, 
or  may  already  have  been,  added.  The 
sixty-five  leading  ships  of  this  formida- 
ble fleet  displace  no  less  than  628,321 
tons. 

Japan  s  Naval  Contributions 

Since  the  entrance  of  America  into  the 
war,  the  Japanese  fleet  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean has  several  times  seen  active 
service,  and  one  victorious  encounter 
with  a  submarine  has  cost  a  Japanese 
warship  the  loss  of  her  commander,  two 
other  officers,  and  a  number  of  her 
crew,  the  first  casualties  suffered  by 
Japanese  naval  forces  in  European  wa- 
ters. 

No  account  of  Japan's  naval  contribu- 
tions to  the  Allies'  cause  would  be  com- 
plete without  mention  of  her  assistance 
in  convoying  to  Europe  the  Anzac  troops 
at  a  time  when,  with  the  Emden  still 
abroad,  such  assistance  was  of  immense 
importance  to  the  scheme  of  transporta- 
tion. Furthermore,  though  other  units  of 
the  Japanese  fleet  were  not  at  that  time 
fortunate  enough  to  encounter  the  Ger- 
man raiding  squadron  in  the  South  Pa- 


JAPAN'S   PART   IN    THE    WAR 


529 


cific,  they  had  much  to  do  with  driving 
it  into  a  position  where  it  was  effectu- 
ally dealt  with  off  the  Falkland  Islands 
by  Admiral  Cradock's  British  cruisers. 

The  extension  of  her  submarine-chas- 
ing service  in  the  Mediterranean,  where 
the  U-boats  have  accounted  for  practi- 
cally all  the  Japanese  merchantmen  who 
have  so  far  been  their  prey,  and  the  as- 
sumption by  Japan  of  new  naval  respon- 
siblities  in  the  Pacific,  with  the  object  of 
freeing  American  warships  for  service  in 
the  Atlantic,  have  both  been  widely  sug- 
gested among  influential  centres  of  opin- 
ion near  to  the  Japanese  Government, 
and  both  these  proposals,  though  as  yet 
still  unrealized,  are  undergoing  serious 
consideration  at  the  hands  of  the  Allies, 
in  close  consultation  with  our  own  Gov- 
ernment. 

Commercial  Assistance 
Japan's  naval  aid  has  been  formidable; 
but  it  has  been  in  financial  and  com- 
mercial assistance  that  her  power  has  so 
far  been  applied  to  the  allied  cause  with 
the  most  cumulative  and  effectual  result. 
The  military  character  of  this  assistance 
makes  its  determination  during  the  course 
of  the  war  a  delicate  matter  for  general 
discussion;  but  in  its  broad  features  it  is 
readily  ascertainable.  For  instance,  Ja- 
pan had  provided  Russia  with  enormous 
quantities  of  guns,  ammunition,  military 
stores,  hospital  and  Red  Cross  supplies, 
with  skilled  officers  and  experts  to  ac- 
company them,  which  have  admittedly 
been  factors  of  the  highest  potency  in 
sustaining  Russia  through  the  period  of 
her  disorganization,  a  period  which  is  by 
no  means  wholly  concluded  yet.  Those 
supplies  alone  had  reached  a  total  value 
of  $250,000,000  by  the  first  of  August, 
1917. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  entire 
volume  of  Japan's  exports  in  1914  was 
less  than  $300,000,000,  it  will  be  seen 
how  much  Japan  has  expanded  her  facil- 
ities of  export  under  the  influence  of 
the  war.  Her  exports  to  Russia  have, 
of  course,  been  spread  over  a  period  of 
three  years,  but  they  have  been  accom- 
panied by  a  huge  expanse  in  general 
exports,  most  of  it  directly  attributable 
to  the  war,  so  that  in  1916  for  the  first 
time  in  her  history  her  exports  passed 


the  billion-yen  mark,  mounting  to  as 
high  as  1,127,468,118  yen,  or,  in  round 
numbers,  to  over  $550,000,000.  Her  im- 
ports also  established  a  record  last  year, 
assisted  by  an  unparalleled  influx  of  raw 
materials  for  war  manufactures,  of  756,- 
427,910  yen.  The  difference  gave  Japan 
a  trade  balance  double  that  of  1915,  of 
371,040,208  yen,  and  insured  her  the  firm- 
est commercial  and  industrial  position  in 
her  modern  political  life. 

This  extraordinary  influx  of  prosper- 
ity, while  it  has  naturally  enormously 
benefited  Japan,  has  also  been  converti- 
ble to  allied  advantage  in  the  war.  It 
has  enabled  Japan  to  ship  to  both  Eng- 
land and  France  vast  quantities  of  flour, 
beans,  peas,  and  canned  goods.  A  char- 
acteristic reaction  of  her  food  export 
possibilities  to  this  country  has  been,  for 
instance,  the  increase  of  our  imports  of 
Japanese  canned  crabs  from  supplies 
worth  $450,000  in  1915  to  last  year's 
total  of  over  $900,000.  She  also  sent 
us  a  third  again  as  much  sulphur,  al- 
most four  times  as  much  camphor,  al- 
most five  times  as  much  cotton  fabric, 
(mostly  of  cheap  grades,)  according  to 
the  Japanese  Ministry  of  Agriculture 
and  Commerce;  and  according  to  our 
own  statistics  she  sent  us  ten  times  as 
much  of  her  famous  Manchurian  soya 
bean  oil. 

Japan  s  Financial  Aid 

Besides  this  direct  trade,  besides  sup- 
plying ourselves  and  the  Allies  with 
many  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of 
economic  staples,  worth  even  more  than 
their  enhanced  price  in  the  ultimate  con- 
tingencies of  wartime,  Japanese  finance 
has  managed  to  accommodate  nations  in 
the  stress  of  the  war  who  are  usually 
and  normally  her  creditors.  It  has  been 
semi-officially  reckoned  in  Japan  that 
these  accommodations,  in  actual  and  out- 
right loans,  in  the  purchase  of  bonds  for 
cancellation  in  England  and  France,  and 
in  other  and  equally  useful  transactions 
involving  munition  supplies,  have  mount- 
ed up  to  well  over  $200,000,000.  Japan's 
early  loans  to  Russia  of  $25,000,000  and 
$35,000,000,  respectively;  her  loan  to 
Great  Britain  of  $50,000,000  to  help  ad- 
just British  credit  in  the  United  States, 


520 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


all  promptly  subscribed  and  ably  floated, 
have  produced  in  Europe  an  effect  of 
generosity  and  good-will  on  the  part  of 
the  Japanese  Government  which  is  not  at 
all  affected  by  the  fact  that  the  com- 
paratively high  terms  of  these  loans 
make  the  benefit  mutual.  The  benefit  is 
an  immediate  benefit  to  the  Allies  at  a 
time  of  great  need,  and  the  fact  that 
Japan's  economic  and  financial  organiza- 
tion has  been  in  a  position  to  supply  that 
need  has  resulted  opportunely  to  her 
credit. 

Incidentally,  her  gold  holdings  doubled 
in  two  years,,  from  $175,000,000  to  over 
$350,000,000,  (in  round  numbers,)  and 
they  are  still  rapidly  increasing.  A  sym- 
bol of  the  strength  of  the  Japanese  mar- 
ket was  evident  in  this  country  when,  in 
the  eight  months  preceding  June  1,  1917, 
as  much  as  $50,000,000  in  specie  gold 
was  shipped  from  America  to  Japan,  a 
withdrawal  that  went  on  during  the 
month  of  May  at  the  rate  ■  of  between 
$150,000,000  and  $200,000,000  a  year. 

In  short,  Japan  is  today  a  great  work- 
shop and  trading  mart  intimately  con- 
cerned with  the  economic  side  of  the  war 
purposes  of  her  allies,  and  formidably 
useful  in  furthering  those  purposes.  A 
typical  instance  of  the  overseas  destina- 
tion of  her  principal  products  is  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  copper.  Her  output 
of  copper  increased  last  year  under  the 
acceleration  of  war  necessity  from  78,000 
to  108,000  tons ;  but  of  all  this  great  yield 
hardly  10  per  cent,  was  used  at  home. 
Some  60  per  cent,  went  to  Russia,  at 
least  20  per  cent,  was  shipped  to  Eng- 
land, a  substantial  part  of  the  rest  was 
sent  to  France — even  America,  richly 
productive  in  copper,  received  over 
3,000,000  yen  worth  (about  a  million  and 
a  half  dollars)  of  this  precious  metal. 

Growth  of  Japanese  Shipping 

Finally,  Japanese  merchant  shipping, 
which  grew  in  gross  tonnage  from  7v*0,- 
000  to  over  2,000,000  tons  between  1904 
and   1914,  and  stands   at  2,000,000   tons 


today  in  oceangoing  shipping  alone,  has 
loyally,  though  most  profitably,  served 
allied  purposes  throughout  the  war.  The 
immense  cargoes  that  have  been  moved 
from  the  American  seaboard  to  Vladi- 
vostok, the  coolie  labor  transportation 
service  that  has  put  over  100,000  Chinese 
industrial  laborers  at  the  service  of  the 
Allies  in  France  and  England,  and  scat- 
tered tramp  and  traffic  services  with  In- 
dia, Australia,  China,  and  East  Africa, 
often  of  importance  wholly  disproportion- 
ate to  the  size  of  the  cargo — all  these 
services  have  been  insured  and  stabilized 
by  the  presence  of  Japanese  shipping  as 
by  no  other  factor. 

With  direct  connections  established 
from  Japan  with  every  great  port  in  the 
world,  including  a  service  maintained  by 
six  8,000-ton  boats  of  the  Nippon  Yushen 
Kaisha,  (Japan  Steamship  Company,)  for 
instance,  between  Yokohama  and  New 
York,  via  the  Panama  Canal,  Japan's  op- 
portunity for  placing  part  of  this  mag- 
nificent merchant  fleet  as  reinforce- 
ments into  the  depleted  shipping  lanes 
of  the  Atlantic  powers  has  several  times 
been  spoken  of  semi-officially  by  the  au- 
thorities at  Tokio;  in  fact,  full  consid- 
eration of  that  momentous  step  has  al- 
ready been  stated  in  the  Japanese  press 
to  be  one  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tions to  be  discussed  in  this  country  by 
the  Ishii  mission. 

In  naval  and  maritime,  commercial  and 
financial  aid,  then,  Japan's  freely  given 
assistance  to  the  allied  cause  has  been, 
up  to  the  present,  considerable.  There 
is  still  no  responsible  move,  however, 
either  from  Europe  o~  from  Japan,  ac- 
tually to  transfer  Japanese  soldiers  to  the 
battle  front.  Japan  has  sent  to  France 
some  excellent  Red  Cross  units,  and 
some  of  her  ablest  surgeons  and  sanitary 
experts,  but  she  is  not  yet  prepared  to 
undertake  the  vast  and  delicate  task  of 
supplying,  replenishing,  and  maintaining 
abroad  her  sons  as  troops  in  a  war  that 
is  still  half  a  world  away. 


The  Arabs  and  the  Turks 
In  the  War 


By  Dr.  J.  F.  Scheltema 


I  IKE  the  war  in  Europe,  its  counter- 
part in  Asia  is  being  fought  on 
J  more  than  one  front.  The  prin- 
cipal theatre  of  action  in  the 
East  was  at  first  the  Caucasus,  where 
the  Turks,  launching  a  brisk  attack,  tried 
to  reconquer  the  provinces  wrested  from 
them  by  Russia;  they  were  repulsed  and 
had  to  evacuate  almost  the  whole  of  Ar- 
menia. Then,  after  initial  reverses,  the 
British  tightened  their  hold  on  Mesopo- 
tamia, swept  on  to  Bagdad  and  beyond. 
Turkish  attempts  on  Egypt  having  failed, 
there,  too,  they  were  thrown  back,  and  a 
British  army  followed  closely  on  their 
heels  into  Palestine.  Now  we  hear  of 
the  occupation  of  Maan,  Tafilah,  and 
Akaba  by  the  Grand  Sherif  of  Mecca, 
who,  proclaiming  himself  King  of  the 
Hejaz,  had  already  chased  the  garrisons 
out  of  the  holy  places  of  Islam  and  ad- 
jacent strongholds.  This  tends  to  ham- 
per still  further  the  use  of  the  Syrian 
railway  system  for  the  transportation 
of  Turkish  troops. 

Incidentally,  it  proves  also  the  wisdom 
of  the  Syrian  leaders  of  the  Arabic  move- 
ment, who,  as  recently  became  known, 
abandoned  their  plan  of  starting  their 
projected  revolution  in  Iraq  to  promote 
the  defection  of  the  Hejaz  and  its  trans- 
formation into  an  independent  State  un- 
der the  Grand  Sherif  Husayn  Ibn  Aly 
with  the  title  and  prerogatives  of  King. 
This  coup  won  over  to  their  side  the 
orthodox  Arabs,  perhaps  somewhat  suspi- 
cious of  the  Syrian  intellectuals  but  will- 
ing to  make  common  cause  against  the 
Turks,  aliens  and  usurpers  in  the  land 
of  the  Prophet's  own;  especially  against 
the  Young  Turks,  downright  "  departers 
from  the  precepts  of  the  Book."  Some 
of  the  Syrian  leaders  had  been  officers 
in  the  Ottoman  Army,  which  they  de- 
serted, and  this,  with  the  assistance 
given  to  the  King  of  Hejaz  by  the  powers 
of  the  Entente,  may  account  for  his  suc- 


cess in  reducing  the  fortified  towns  of 
Western  Arabia  held  by  Turkish  troops. 

Husayn  Ibn  Aly's  son  Abd' Allah,  who, 
as  the  new-blown  King's  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  notified  the  powers  of  his 
advent  to  the  throne,  was  replaced  in 
that  capacity  by  a  Syrian  Moslem.  Other 
counselors  have  been  provided  by  the  En- 
tente, notably  from  among  Moslemin  that 
owe  allegiance  to  the  French  Republic. 
The  loyal  Arabs  are  well  supplied  from 
the  same  source  with  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion, with  machine  guns,  field  batteries, 
and  even,  it  is  said,  with  heavy  ordnance 
of  the  most  improved  type,  together  with 
expert  gunners  to  instruct  them  in  the 
efficient  use  of  modern  artillery.  The 
expenses  attendant  on  his  Majesty  Hus- 
ayn Ibn  Aly's  civil  list  are  provisionally 
guaranteed  by  the  Governments  of  Brit- 
ain and  France.  Repayment  of  the 
money  thus  lent  can  be  secured  by  a  lien 
on  the  revenue  assured  to  the  holy  places 
of  Islam  by  the  yearly  pilgrimage.  And 
if,  as  seems  likely,  this  asset  does  not 
cover  principal  and  interest  of  the  debt 
saddled  on  the  new  kingdom,  the  possibili- 
ties of  future  restitution  in  some  form  or 
another  are  not  exhausted. 

The  story  of  the  British  advance  on 
Bagdad  and  beyond,  of  the  Russian  oper- 
ations in  Armenia  and  Persia,  need  not 
be  retold.  In  the  latter  country 
German  influence,  stimulated  by  the 
construction  of  the  Bagdad  Railroad,  re- 
ceived a  staggering  blow  with  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Turks.  This  influence  had 
grown  steadily  since  the  brilliant  recep- 
tion accorded  at  Berlin  in  1902  to  the 
Shah  Muzaffar  ad-Din.  Extending 
northward  from  Bushir  with  the  exten- 
sion of  German  trade,  with  the  founda- 
tion of  a  German  bank,  its  growth  can  be 
best  gauged  by  the  statistics  of  Persian 
exports  and  imports:  from  3,670,000 
krans  in  1901,  their  total  had  increased 
to  more  than  30,000,000  krans  in   1914. 


532 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


It  goes  without  saying  that  political  plot- 
ting went  pari  passu  with  trade.  It  was 
principally  directed  against  Great  Britain 
and  Russia.  Agitators  of  doubtful  ante- 
cedents, but  useful  for  the  German  prop- 
aganda, were  called  to  Consular  posts  and 
abused  their  official  positions  to  organ- 
ize a  strong  campaign,  supported  by 
Turkish  envoys.  Shiraz,  Kerman,  Kash- 
an,  and  Khum,  the  centre  of  revolution- 
ary intrigue  fomented  with  funds  secretly 
supplied  by  Berlin,  became  almost  unin- 
habitable for  Europeans  not  in  sympathy 
with  German  ambitions.  Astute  and 
adroit,  the  German  emissaries  managed 
even  to  make  the  Persians  and  Turks, 
equally  hostile  to  the  giaours  who  were 
dividing  up  their  ancient  patrimony,  for- 
get the  rancorous  animosity  that  sepa- 
rates in  Islam  the  Shi'ite  from  the  Sunn- 
ite. 

Carried  on  in  that  manner,  the  Ger- 
man propaganda,  with  a  smaller  Aus- 
trian one  in  its  wake,  was  greatly  aided 
by  the  Turkish  occupation  of  Tabriz  and 
Urumiah,  as  it  had  been  by  the  institu- 
tion of  a  Swedish  instead  of  a  French 
gendarmerie  to  police  the  roads  and,  gen- 
erally, to  keep  up  an  appearance  of  re- 
establishing order  in  a  country  which  did 
not  escape  the  fate  of  other  lands  fallen 
into  anarchy  by  foreign  interference. 
When  the  Russians  in  Northern  Persia 
had  to  retire  before  the  massed  battal- 
ions of  the  Ottoman  army,  all  foreigners 
not  acceptable  to  the  representatives  of 
the  Central  Powers  were  more  or  less 
directly  notified  to  leave.  Among  those 
driven  out  were  the  French  Carmelite 
Fathers,  who,  in  Bagdad,  kept  an  excel- 
lent industrial  college;  the  Dominicans 
and  Lazarists,  who  taught  school  in  Mo- 
sul and  Ispahan.  Soon,  however,  the 
fortune  of  war  changed  and  the  Rus- 
sians were  able  to  shove  the  Turks  back 
over  the  Persian  frontier.  Meanwhile 
General  Maude  entered  Bagdad,  and  the 
allied  forces,  pushing  on,  threatened  to 
crush  the  Sixth  Turkish  Army  Corps  be- 
tween them  if  it  offered  resistance  to 
their  junction  for  a  combined  sweep  to 
the  north. 

There  matters  rested  for  a  while  until 
tidings  came  of  a  Russian  reverse  which, 
for  the  present,  delays  that  junction,  in 


fact,  jeopardizes  the  advantages  gained 
both  in  Persia  and  Mesopotamia.  The 
Turk,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  lately 
been  said  of  his  declining  mettle,  is  not 
to  be  despised  as  a  warrior.  Especially 
where  distances  are  so  enormous  and 
means  of  transportation  so  bad  as  on 
his  Asian  front  he  possesses  one  virtue 
which  makes  him  vastly  superior  to  Tom- 
my Atkins  and  Ivan  Ivanovitch.  He  sub- 
sists and  marches  obediently  and  fights 
cheerfully  on  very  little,  indeed,  on  next 
to  nothing.  He  needs  no  tremendously 
complicated  commissariat,  no  excessively 
heavy  and  long  provision  trains  that  in- 
cumber the  movements  of  the  comba- 
tants proper.  A  cup  of  coffee  and  a 
handful  of  millet  or  corn,  at  a  pinch  only 
a  drop  of  water  and  a  few  dates,  suffice 
him  for  days  at  a  stretch.  He  pulls 
through  without  elaborate  preparations 
and  implements  of  newest  invention, 
whether  the  khamsin  blows  or  the  rain 
pours  down  in  torrents  when  his  tent  has 
not  arrived,  if  he  has  a  tent  at  all.  His 
merits  are  those  commended  for  the  ideal 
soldier  by  Napoleon,  who  ranked  courage 
in  the  third  place,  after  discipline  and 
the  ability  to  endure  hardships  and 
fatigue. 

Besides  that,  he  knows  how  to  help 
himself  in  a  quandary.  The  Turkish  mili- 
tary engineers  are  excellent  bridge  build- 
ers in  the  most  approved  scientific  fash- 
ion if  they  have  the  material  to  hand. 
If  it  is  lacking,  the  men  return  to  the 
methods  of  their  fathers,  having  recourse 
to  kelleks  for  the  crossing  of  streams  in 
their  path,  inflating  goatskins  for  the 
construction  of  rafts  in  any  desired  di- 
mension, exactly  as  we  see  it  done  on 
the  old  Assyrian  bas-reliefs.  Safely 
across,  they  remove  the  plugs  and  load 
the  empty  kelleks  on  camels  or  asses;  if 
no  such  animals  are  handy,  on  their  own 
backs.  Though  in  the  present  war  the 
finished  sections  of  the  Bagdad  Rail- 
road, like  the  Syrian  railways,  were  of 
the  greatest  service  to  the  Turks,  the 
secret  of  their  stubborn  resistance  lies 
in  their  extraordinary  mobility  in  regions 
innocent  of  even  ordinary  roads,  or  roads 
of  any  description.  Unincumbered  by 
burdensome  baggage,  or  by  the  super- 
fluous   equipment    which    no     European 


THE  ARABS  AND  THE  TURKS  IN  THE  WAR 


533 


armament  can  do  without,  they  pass 
everywhere  at  their  fastest  gait,  sharing 
this  power,  of  course,  with  the  Arabs  of 
Hejaz  and  the  other  native  auxiliaries 
of  the  Entente.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
suffer  from  the  desertion  of  many  of 
their  best  officers,  and  from  the  disrup- 
tion of  their  military  administration  in 
Asian  provinces  by  their  forced  removal 
from  Erzerum,  Erzinjan,  and  Bagdad, 
headquarters,  under  the  old  dispensation, 
of  their  Ninth,  Tenth,  and  Thirteenth 
Army  Corps. 

The  Turkish  reoccupation  of  Khanikin, 
among  other  places  of  strategic  signifi- 
cance, facilitates  again  the  concentration 
of  Ottoman  efforts,  guided  by  German 
brains,  in  the  direction  of  Khum,  with 
Teheran  and  Ispahan  as  their  ulterior 
objects.  At  any  rate,  instead  of  receiv- 
ing Russian  support  in  their  march  on 
Mosul,  the  British  forces  under  General 
Maude  are  seriously  imperiled  on  their 
right  flank.  The  situation  on  the  Cau- 
casian front,  too,  appears  less  favorable, 
since  many  Armenians,  equally  averse 
to  Russian  as  to  Turkish  rule,  have 
joined  an  armed  league  for  the  attain- 
ment of  absolute  independence.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  have  to  note  the  auspi- 
cious activity  of  the  Arabs  of  the  Hejaz, 
which  runs  counter  to  the  dictum  of  one 
of  the  highest  authorities  on  Arabian  af- 
fairs— the  dictum  that  the  Sherifate  of 
Mecca  cannot  possibly  take  part  in  the 
present  conflict  in  its  wider  sense. 

And  yet,  he  may  be  right.  In  the  game 
now  in  progress  on  the  chessboard  of  the 
Near  East  the  Grand  Sherif-King  is  but 
a  pawn  moved  forward  as  suits  the  gam- 
bit planned  by  Western  players  for 
higher  stakes  than  the  royal  prestige  of 


an  Oriental  Kinglet  whose  counselors 
could  do  worse  for  him  than  inculcate  the 
homely  advice  of  the  Scotch  sage:  Creep 
before  ye  gang.  Al-Oiblah,  the  official 
organ  of  the  royal  Arabian  Government, 
sees  fit  to  repeat  periodically  that  its  al- 
liance with  the  powers  of  the  Entente  is 
based  upon  its  unconditional  indepen- 
dence. Its  very  existence  being  founded 
in  its  purely  Islamic  character,  there 
seems  occasion  for  such  statements  in  an- 
ticipation of  hyperorthodox  protests.  And 
Mohammedan  doctors  of  the  new  school 
can  be  trusted  to  find  an  acceptable 
equivalent  for  the  opinion  of  an  eminent 
unbeliever  that  religion  and  politics  are 
merely  the  mutually  supplementary  mani- 
festations of  a  single  idea. 

However  this  may  be,  according  to  the 
German  newspapers,  General  von  Falken- 
hayn  has  repaired  to  the  East  to  continue 
the  work  of  von  der  Goltz  Pasha,  re- 
moved from  the  scene  by  assassination. 
This  fact  indicates  the  importance  Berlin 
attaches,  and  rightly,  to  the  conduct  of 
the  war  in  its  Oriental  ramifications.  But 
the  supreme  command  in  such  hands, 
though  perhaps  it  can  delay,  cannot  avert 
the  final  outcome  of  the  gigantic  strug- 
gle, which,  for  Germany  and  Turkey 
alike,  bids  fair  to  prove  Charles  H.  Pear- 
son's contention*  apropos  of  one  of  Ba- 
con's axioms,f  that,  if  the  nation  which 
cultivates  war  absorbingly  is  bound  to 
achieve  great  success,  it  is  bound  also  to 
do  it  at  the  cost,  within  measurable  time, 
of  its  place  among  the  nations  of  the 
world. 

♦National  Life  and  Character. 

fEssay  XXIX :  *  *  *  that  no  nation  which 
doth  not  directly  profess  arms  may  look  to 
have  greatness  fall  into  their  mouths  (laps). 


General  Haig's  Official  Report 

ii. 

The   German  Retreat 


Field  Marshal  Sir  Douglas  Haig's  offi- 
cial report  of  the  operations  of  the  Brit- 
ish armies  in  France  from  November, 
1916,  to  March  11,  1917,  appeared  in  the 
August  issue  of  Current  History  Maga- 
zine. The  report  of  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Germans,  which  began  March  12-13, 
to  the  opening  of  the  1917  Spring  offen- 
sive, follows: 

FOR  some  time  prior  to  March  12-13  a 
number  of  indications  had  been  ob- 
served which  made  it  probable  that 
the  area  of  the  German  withdrawal 
would  be  yet  further  extended. 
It  had  been  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was 
preparing  a  new  defensive  system  known  as 
the  Hindenburg  line,  which,  branching  off 
from  his  original  defenses-  near  Arras,  ran 
southeastward  for  twelve  miles  to  Queant  and 
thence  passed  west  of  Cambrai  toward  St. 
Quentin.  Various  "  switches  "  branching  off 
from  this  line  were  also  under  construction. 
The  enemy's  immediate  concern  appeared  to 
be  to  escape  from  the  salient  between  Arras 
and  Le  Transloy,  which  would  become  in- 
creasingly difficult  and  dangerous  to  hold  as 
our  advance  on  the  Ancre  drove  ever  more 
deeply  into  his  defenses.  It  was  also  evident, 
however,  from  the  preparations  he  was  mak- 
ing, that  he  contemplated  an  eventual  evacua- 
tion of  the  greater  salient  between  Arras  and 
the  Aisne  Valley,  northwest  of  Rheims. 

Constant  watch  had  accordingly  been  kept 
along  the  whole  front  south  of  Arras,  in 
order  that  instant  information  might  be  ob- 
tained of  any  such  development.  On  March 
14  patrols  found  portions  of  the  German  front 
line  empty  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Pierre 
Vaast  Wood.  Acting  on  the  reports  of  these 
patrols,  during  that  night  and  the  following 
day  our  troops  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
enemy's  trenches  on  the  western  edge  of  the 
wood.  Little  opposition  was  met,  and  by 
March  16  we  held  the  western  half  of  Mois- 
lains  "Wood,  the  whole  of  St.  Pierre  Vaast 
Wood,  with  the  exception  of  its  northeastern 
corner,  and  the  enemy's  front  trenches  as  far 
as  the  northern  outskirts  of  Sailly-Saillisel. 
Meanwhile,  on  the  evening  of  March  15, 
further  information  had  been  obtained  which 
led  me  to  believe  that  the  enemy's  forces  on 
our  front  south  of  the  Somme  had  been  re- 
duced, and  that  his  line  was  being  held  by 
rearguard  detachments  supported  by  machine 
guns,  whose  withdrawal  might  also  be  expect- 
ed at  any  moment.  The  corps  commanders 
concerned  were  immediately  directed  to  con- 
firm   the    situation   by   patrols.    Orders   were 


thereafter  given  for  a  general  advance,  to  be 
commenced  on  the  morning  of  March  17,  along 
our  whole  front  from  the  Roye  Road  to  south 
of  Arras. 

Bapaume  and  Peronne 

Except  at  certain  selected  localities,  where 
he  had  left  detachments  of  infantry  and  ma- 
chine guns  to  cover  his  retreat,  such  as 
Chaulnes,  Vaux  Wood,  Bapaume,  and  Achiet- 
le-Grand,  the  enemy  offered  little  serious  op- 
position to  our  advance  on  this  front,  and 
where  he  did  so  his  resistance  was  rapidly 
overcome.  Before  nightfall  on  March  17 
Chaulnes  and  Bapaume  had  been  captured, 
and  advanced  bodies  of  our  troops  had  pushed 
deeply  into  the  enemy's  positions  at  all  points 
from  Damery  to  Monchy-au-Bois.  On  our 
right  our  allies  made  rapid  progress  also  and 
entered  Roye. 

On  March  18  and  subsequent  days  our  ad- 
vance continued,  in  co-operation  with  the 
French.  In  the  course  of  this  advance  the 
whole  intricate  system  of  German  defenses  in 
this  area,  consisting  of  many  miles  of  power- 
ful, well-wired  trenches  which  had  been  con- 
structed with  immense  labor  and  worked  on 
till  the  last  moment,  were  abandoned  by  the 
enemy  and  passed  into  the  possession  of  our 
troops. 

At  7  A.  M.  on  March  18  our  troops  entered 
Peronne  and  occupied  Mont  St.  Quentin,  north 
of  the  town.  To  the  south  our  advanced 
troops  established  themselves  during  the  day 
along  the  western  bank  of  the  Somme  from 
P6ronne  to  just  north  of  Epenancourt.  By  10 
P.  M.  on  the  same  day  Brie  Bridge  had  been 
repaired  by  our  engineers  sufficiently  for  the 
passage  of  infantry  in  single  file,  and  our 
troops  crossed  to  the  east  bank  of  the  river, 
in  spite  of  some  opposition.  Further  south 
French  and  British  cavalry  entered  Nesle. 

North  of  Peronne  equal  progress  was  made, 
and  by  the  evening  of  March  18  our  troops 
had  entered  the  German  trench  system  known 
as  the  Beugny-Ypres  line,  beyond  which  lay 
open  country  as  far  as  the  Hindenburg  line. 
On  the  same  day  the  left  of  our  advance  was 
extended  to  Beaurains,  which  was  captured 
after  slight  hostile  resistance. 

By  the  evening  of  March  19  our  infantry 
held  the  line  of  the  Somme  from  Canizy  to 
P6ronne,  and  infantry  outposts  and  cavalry 
patrols  had  crossed  the^  river  at  a  number  of 
points.  North  of  Peronne  our  infantry  had 
reached  the  line  Bussu,  Barastre,  Velu,  St. 
Leger,  Beaurains,  with  cavalry  in  touch  with 
the  enemy  at  Nurlu,  Bertincourt,  Noreuil, 
and  Heninsur-Cojeul.  Next  day  considerable 
bodies  of  infantry  and  cavalry  crossed  to  the 


GENERAL   HAIG'S  REPORT:   THE   GERMAN  RETREAT 


£35 


SCENE    OF    THE    GERMAN    RETREAT    ON    THE    ANCRE    AND    SOMME 


east  of  the  Somme,  and  a  line  of  cavalry  out- 
posts with  infantry  in  support  was  established 
from  south  of  Germaine,  where  we  were  in 
touch  with  the  French,  through  flancourt 
and  Nurlu  to  Bus.  Further  north  we  occu- 
pied Morchies. 

Difficulty  of  Communications 
By  this  time  our  advance  had  reached  a 
stage  at  which  the  increasing  difficulty  of 
maintaining  our  communications  made  it  im- 
perative to  slacken  the  pace  of  our  pursuit. 
South  of  P§ronne,  the  River  Somme,  the 
bridges  over  which  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  retreating  enemy,  presented  a  formidable 
obstacle.  North  of  Peronne  the  wide  belt  of 
devastated  ground  over  which  the  Somme 
battle  had  been  fought  offered  even  greater 
difficulties  to  the  passage  of  guns  and 
transport. 
At    different    stages    of    the    advance    suc- 


cessive lines  of  resistance  were  selected  and 
put  in  a  state  of  defense  by  the  main  bodies 
of  our  infantry,  while  cavalry  and  infantry 
outposts  maintained  touch  with  the  enemy 
and  covered  the  work  of  consolidation.  Mean- 
while, in  spite  of  the  enormous  difficulties 
which  the  condition  of  the  ground  and  the 
ingenuity  of  the  enemy  had  placed  in  our 
way,  the  work  of  repairing  and  constructing 
bridges,  roads,  and  railways  was  carried  for- 
ward with  most  commendable  rapidity. 

Increased  Enemy  Resistance 
North  of  the  Bapaume-Cambrai  road,  be- 
tween Noreuil  and  Neuville-Vitasse,  our  ad- 
vance had  already  brought  us  to  within  two 
or  three  miles  of  the  Hindenburg  line,  which 
entered  the  old  German  front-line  system  at 
Tilloy-lez-Mofflaines.  The  enemy's  resist- 
ance now  began  to  increase  along  our  whole 
front,    extending   gradually    southward    from 


536 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


the  left  flank  of  our  advance,  where  our 
troops  had  approached  most  nearly  to  his 
new  main  defensive  position. 

A  number  of  local  counterattacks  were  de- 
livered by  the  enemy  at  different  points  along 
our  line.  In  particular,  five  separate  at- 
tempts were  made  to  recover  Beaumetz-lez- 
Cambrai,  which  we  had  captured  on  March 
21,  and  the  farm  to  the  north  of  the  village. 
All  failed,  with  considerable  loss  to  the 
enemy. 

Meanwhile,  our  progress  continued  steadily, 
and  minor  engagements  multiplied  from  day 
to  day  all  along  our  front.  In  these  we  were 
constantly  successful,  and  at  small  cost  to 
ourselves  took  many  prisoners  and  numerous 
machine  guns  and  trench  mortars.  In  every 
fresh  position  captured  large  numbers  of  Ger- 
man dead  testified  to  the  obstinacy  of  the 
enemy's  defense  and  the  severity  of  his 
losses. 

Our  cavalry  took  an  active  part  in  this 
fighting,  and  on  March  27  in  particular  car- 
ried out  an  exceedingly  successful  operation, 
in  the  course  of  which  a  squadron  drove  the 
enemy  from  Pillers  FauQon  and  a  group  of 
neighboring  villages,  capturing  twenty-three 
prisoners  and  four  machine  guns.  In  an- 
other series  of  engagements  on  April  1  and 
2,  in  which  Savy  and  Selency  were  taken,  and 
our  line  advanced  to  within  two  miles  of  St. 
Quentin,  we  captured  ninety-one  prisoners 
and  six  German  field  guns.  The  enemy's 
casualties  were  particularly  heavy. 

On  April  2  also  an  operation  on  a  more  im- 
portant scale  was  undertaken  against  the 
enemy's  positions  north  of  the  Bapaume- 
Cambrai  road.  The  enemy  here  occupied  in 
considerable  strength  a  series  of  villages  and 
well-wired  trenches,  forming  an  advance  line 
of  resistance  to  the  Hindenburg  line.  A  gen- 
eral attack  on  these  positions  was  launched 
in  the  early  morning  of  April  2  on  a  front  of 
over  ten  miles,  from  Doignies  to  Henin-sur- 
Cojeul,  both  inclusive.  After  fightpig  which 
lasted  throughout  the  day  the  entire  series 
of  villages  was  captured  by  us,  ywith  270 
prisoners,  four  trench  mortars,  ar&l  twenty- 
five  machine  guns. 

By  this  date  our  troops  were  established  on 
the  general  line  Selency,  Jeancourt,  Epehy, 
Ruyaulcourt,  Doignies,  Mercatel,  Beaurains. 
East  of  Selency,  and  between  Doignies  and 
our  old  front  line  east  of  Arras,  our  troops 
ware  already  close  up  to  the  main  Hinden- 
burg defenses.  Between  Selency  and  Doig- 
nies the  enemy  still  held  positions  some  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  his  new  system.  During 
the  succeeding  days  our  efforts  were  directed 
to  driving  him  from  these  advanced  positions 
and  to  pushing  our  posts  forward  until  con- 
tact had  been  established  all  along  our  front 
south  of  Arras  with  the  main  defenses  of  the 
Hindenburg  line.  Fighting  of  some  impor- 
tance again  took  place  on  April  4  and  5  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Epehy  and  Havrincourt 
Wood,  in  which  Ronssoy,  Lempire,  and  Metz- 
en-Couture    were    captured    by    us,    together 


with  100  prisoners,   two  trench   mortars,   and 
eleven  machine  guns. 

Tribute  to   Officers  and  Men 

Certain  outstanding  features  of  the  past  five 
months'  fighting  call  for  brief  comment  be- 
fore I  close  this  report.  In  spite  of  a  season 
of*  unusual  severity,  a  Winter  campaign  has 
been  conducted  to  a  successful  issue  under 
most  trying  and  arduous  conditions. 

Activity  on  our  battle  front  has  been  main- 
tained almost  without  a  break  from  the  con- 
clusion of  last  year's  offensive  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  operations.  The 
successful  accomplishment  of  this  part  of  our 
general  plan  has  already  enabled  us  to  realize 
no  inconsiderable  installment  of  the  fruits  of 
the  Somme  battle,  and  has  gone  far  to  open 
the  road  to  their  full  achievement.  The  cour- 
age and  endurance  of  our  troops  have  car- 
ried them  triumphantly  through  a  period  of 
fighting  of  a  particularly  trying  nature,  in 
which  they  have  been  subjected  to  the  maxi- 
mum of  personal  hardship  and  physical 
strain.  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the 
qualities  displayed  by  all  ranks  of  the  army. 

I  desire  also  to  place  on  record  here  my 
appreciation  of  the  great  skill  and  energy 
displayed  by  the  army  commanders  under 
whose  immediate  orders  the  operations  de- 
scribed above  were  carried  out.  The  ability 
with  which  the  troops  in  the  Ancre  area 
were  handled  by  General  Sir  Hubert  Gough, 
and  those  further  south,  on  our  front  from 
Le  Transloy  to  Roye,  by  General  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson,  was  in  all  respects  admirable. 

The  retreat  to  which  the  enemy  was  driven 
by  our  continued  success  reintroduced  on  the 
western  front  conditions  of  warfare  which 
had  been  absent  from  that  theatre  since  the 
opening  months  of  the  war.  After  more  than 
two  years  of  trench  warfare  considerable 
bodies  of  our  troops  have  been  engaged 
under  conditions  approximating  to  open 
fighting,  and  cavalry  has  been  given  an  op- 
portunity to  perform  its  special  duties. 

Our  operations  south  of  Arras  during  the 
latter  half  of  March  are,  therefore,  of  pe- 
culiar interest,  and  the  results  achieved  by 
all  arms  have  been  most  satisfactory.  Al- 
though the  deliberate  nature  of  the  enemy's 
withdrawal  enabled  him  to  choose  his  own 
ground  for  resistance,  and  to  employ  every 
device  to  inflict  losses  on  our  troops,  our 
casualties,  which  had  been  exceedingly  mode- 
rate throughout  the  operations  on  the  Ancre, 
during  the  period  of  the  retreat  became  ex- 
ceptionally light.  The  prospect  of  a  more 
general  resumption  of  open  fighting  can  be 
regarded  with  great  confidence. 

The  systematic  destruction  of  roads,  rail- 
ways, and  bridges  in  the  evacuated  area  made 
unprecedented  demands  upon  the  Royal  Engi- 
neers, already  heavily  burdened  by  the  work 
entailed  by  the  preparations  for  our  Spring 
offensive.  Our  steady  progress,  in  the  face 
of  the  great  difficulties  confronting  us,  is  the 
best  testimony  to  the  energy  and  thorough- 
ness with  which  those  demands  were  met. 

The    bridging    of    the    Somme    at    Brie,    to 


GENERAL    HAIG'S  REPORT:    THE   GERMAN  RETREAT 


537 


which  reference  has  already  been  made,  is  an 
example  of  the  nature  of  the  obstacles  with 
which  our  troops  were  met  and  of  the  rapid- 
ity with  which  those  obstacles  were  over- 
come. In  this  instance  six  gaps  had  to  be 
bridged  across  the  canal  and  river,  some  of 
them  of  considerable  width  and  over  a  swift- 
flowing  stream.  The  work  was  commenced 
on  the  morning  of  March  18,  and  was  carried 
out  night  and  day  in  three  stages.  By  10  P. 
M.  on  the  same  day  footbridges  for  infantry 
had  been  completed,  as  already  stated.  Me- 
dium type  bridges  for  horse  transport  and 
cavalry  were  completed  by  5  A.  M.  on  March 
20,  and  by  2  P.  M.  on  March  28,  or  four  and 
a  half  days  after  they  had  been  begun,  heavy 
bridges  capable  of  taking  all  forms  of  traffic 
had  taken  the  place  of  the  lighter  type.  Me- 
dium type  deviation  bridges  were  constructed 
as  the  heavy  bridges  were  begun,  so  that 
from  the  time  the  first  bridges  were  thrown 
across  the  river  traffic  was  practically  con- 
tinuous. 

Roads  and  Railways 

Throughout  the  past  Winter  the  question  of 
transport,  in  all  its  forms,  has  presented 
problems  of  a  most  serious  nature,  both  in 
the  battle  area  and  behind  the  lines.  On  the 
rapid  solution  of  these  problems  the  success 
or  failure  of  our  operations  necessarily 
largely  depended. 

At  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1916  the 
steady  growth  of  our  armies  and  the  rapid 
expansion  of  our  material  resources  had  al- 
ready taxed  to  the  utmost  the  capacity  of  the 
roads  and  railways  then  at  our  disposal. 
Existing  broad  and  narrow  gauge  railways 
were  insufficient  to  deal  with  the  increasing 
volume  of  traffic,  an  undue  proportion  of 
which  was  thrown  upon  the  roads.  As  Win- 
ter conditions  set  in  these  rapidly  deterio- 
rated, and  the  difficulties  of  maintenance  and 
repair  became  almost  overwhelming.  An  in- 
crease of  railway  facilities  of  every -type  and 
on  a  large  scale  was  therefore  imperatively 
and  urgently  necessary  to  relieve  the  roads. 
For  this  purpose  rails,  material,  and  rolling 
stock  were  required  immediately  in  great 
quantities,  while  at  a  later  date  our  wants  in 
these  respects  were  considerably  augmented 
by  a  large  program  of  new  construction  in 
the  area  of  the  enemy's  withdrawal. 

The  task  of  obtaining  the  amount  of  rail- 
way material  required  to  meet  the  demands 
of  our  armies,  and  of  carrying  out  the  work 
of  construction  at  the  rate  rendered  neces- 
sary by  our  plans,  in  addition  to  providing 
labor  and  material  for  the  necessary  repair  of 
roads,  was  one  of  the  very  greatest  difficulty. 
Its  successful  accomplishment  reflects  the 
highest  credit  on  the  Transportation  Service, 
of  whose  efficiency  and  energy  I  cannot  speak 
too  highly.  I  desire  to  acknowledge  in  the 
fullest  manner  the  debt  that  is  owed  to  all 
who  assisted  in  meeting  a  most  difficult  situa- 
tion, and  especially  to  Major  Gen.  Sir  Eric 
Geddes,  Director  General  of  Transportation, 
[General  Geddes  became  a  member  of  the 
British  Government  July  2  as   First  Lord  of 


the  Admiralty,]  to  whose  great  ability,  or- 
ganizing power,  and  energy  the  .results 
achieved  are  primarily  due.  I  am  glad  to 
take  this  opportunity  also  to  acknowledge  the 
valuable  assistance  given  to  us  by  the  Chemin 
de  Fer  du  Nord,  by  which  the  work  of  the 
Transportation  Service  was  greatly  facili- 
tated. 

I  wish  also  to  place  on  record  here  the  fact 
that  the  successful  solution  of  the  problem  of 
railway  transport  would  have  been  impos- 
sible had  it  not  been  for  the  patriotism  of  the 
railway  companies  at  home  and  in  Canada. 
They  did  not  hesitate  to  give  up  the  locomo- 
tives and  rolling  stock  required  to  meet  our 
needs,  and  even  to  tear  up  track  in  order  to 
provide  us  with  the  necessary  rails.  The 
thanks  of  the  army  are  'due  also  to  those  who 
have  accepted  so  cheerfully  the  incon- 
venience caused  by  the  consequent  diminution 
of  the  railway  facilities  available  for  civil 
traffic. 

The  various  other  special  services,  to  the 
excellence  of  whose  work  I  was  glad  to  call 
attention  in  my  last  dispatch,  have  con- 
tinued to  discharge  their  duties  with  the  same 
energy  and  efficiency  displayed  by  them  dur- 
ing the  Somme  battle,  and  have  rendered 
most  valuable  assistance  to  our  artillery  and 
infantry. 

I  desire  also  to  repeat  the  well-merited 
tribute  paid  in  my  last  dispatch  to  the  dif- 
ferent administrative  services  and  depart- 
ments. The  work  entailed  by  the  double 
task  of  meeting  the  requirements  of  our  Win- 
ter operations  and  preparing  for  our  next  of- 
fensive was  very  heavy,  demanding  unremit- 
ting labor  and  the  closest  attention  to  detail. 

The  fighting  on  the  Ancre  and  subsequent 
advance  made  large  demands  upon  the  devo- 
tion of  our  medical  services.  The  health  of 
the  troops  during  the  period  covered  by  this 
dispatch  has  been  satisfactory,  notwithstand- 
ing the  discomfort  and  exposure  to  which  they 
were  subjected  during  the  extreme  cold  of 
the  Winter,  especially  in  the  areas  taken 
over  from  the  enemy. 

The  loyal  co-operation  and  complete  mutual 
understanding  that  prevailed  between  our 
allies  and  ourselves  throughout  the  Somme 
battle  have  been  continued  and  strengthened 
by  the  events  of  the  past  Winter,  and  in  par- 
ticular by  the  circumstances  attending  the 
enemy's  withdrawal.  During  the  latter  part 
of  the  period  under  review  a  very  consider- 
able tract  of  country  has  been  won  back  to 
France  by  the  combined  efforts  of  the  allied 
troops.  This  result  is  regarded  with  lively 
satisfaction  by  all  ranks  of  the  British 
armies  in  France.  At  the  same  time  I  wish 
to  give  expression  to  the  feelings  of  deep 
sympathy  and  profound  regret  provoked  > 
among  us  by  the  sight  of  the  destruction  that 
war  has  wrought  in  a  once  fair  and  pros- 
perous countryside.  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
my  Lord,  your  Lordship's  obedient  servant, 

D.  HAIG, 
Field  Marshal  Commanding  in  Chief,  British 
Armies  in  France. 


The  Mesopotamian  Disaster 

The  British   Commission's  Scathing  Report 
on  Negligence  of  High  Officials  and  Generals 


THE  commission  appointed  by  the 
British  Government  in  August, 
1916,  to  inquire  into  the  disas- 
trous Mesopotamian  expedition  in 
1915-16,  submitted  its  report  June  26, 
1917,  and  it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most 
sensational  revelations  of  the  war. 

The  commission  consisted  of  Lord 
George  Hamilton,  G.  C.  S.  I.,  Chairman; 
Lord  Donoughmore,  Lord  Hugh  Cecil, 
M.  P.;  Admiral  Sir  Cyprian  Bridge,  Gen- 
eral Sir  Neville  Lyttelton,  Sir  Archibald 
Williamson,  M.  P.;  John  Hodge,  M.  P., 
and  Commander  Josiah  Wedgwood, 
M.  P. 

The  report  is  of  such  length  that  it 
would  be  impracticable  to  publish  it  in 
full,  hence  only  a  summary  of  certain 
questions  can  be  given.  The  commis- 
sion's findings  as  to  the  first  abortive  ad- 
vance on  Bagdad  are  as  follows: 

The  advance  to  Bagdad  under  the  conditions 
existing  in  October,  1915,  was  an  offensive 
movement  based  upon  political  and  military 
miscalculations  and  attempted  with  tired  and 
insufficient  forces  and  inadequate  preparation. 
It  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  more  than  a 
division  of  our  finest  fighting  troops,  and  the 
casualties  incurred  in  the  ineffective  attempts 
to  relieve  Kut  amounted  to  some  23,000  men. 
The  loss  of  prestige  associated  with  these 
military  failures  was  less  than  might  have 
been  anticipated  owing  to  the  deep  impression 
made  throughout  and  beyond  the  localities 
where  the  combats  occurred  by  the  splendid 
fighting  power  of  the  British  and  Indian 
forces  engaged. 

Various  authorities  and  high  officials  are 
connected  with  the  sanction  given  to  this 
untoward  advance.  Each  and  all,  in  our 
judgment,  according  to  their  relative  and  re- 
spective positions,  must  be  made  responsible 
for  the  errors  in  judgment  to  which  they  were 
parties  and  which  formed  the  basis  of  their 
advice  or  orders. 

The  weightiest  share  of  responsibility  lies 
with  Sir  John  Nixon,  whose  confident  opti- 
mism was  the  main  cause  of  the  decision  to 
advance.  The  other  persons  responsible  were : 
In  India,  the  Viceroy  (Lord  Hardinge)  and 
the  Commander  in  Chief,  (Sir  Beauchamp 
Duff;)  in  England,  the  Military  Secretary  of 
the  India  Office,  (Sir  Edmund  Barrow.)  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India,  (Austen  Cham- 
berlain,) and  the  War  Committee  of  the  Cabi- 


net. "We  put  these  names  in  the  order  and 
sequence  of  responsibility.  The  expert  ad- 
visers of  the  Government  who  were  consulted 
also  approved  the  advance  and  are  responsi- 
ble for  their  advice,  but  the  papers  sub- 
mitted to  us  suggest  that  the  approval  of  the 
naval  and  military  experts  was  reluctant  and 
was  perhaps  partly  induced  by  a  natural  de- 
sire not  to  disappoint  the  hopes  of  advantage 
to  the  general  situation  which  the  Govern- 
ment entertained.  It  is,  however,  notablo 
that  the  experts  unanimously  anticipated  no 
difficulty  in  the  advance  on  Bagdad,  but  only 
in  holding  it. 

We  have  included  the  War  Committee  of 
the  Cabinet  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
India  among  those  upon  whom  responsibility 
for  this  misadventure  rests.  It  is  true  that 
the  War  Committee  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  acted  upon  the  opinion  of  their  expert 
military  advisers,  and  that  the  Secretary  of 
State  only  gave  his  assent  to  the  advance 
after  he  had  received  an  assurance  from 
the  General  on  the  spot  that  he  had  an  avail- 
able force  sufficient  for  his  purpose.  But  so 
long  as  the  system  of  responsible  depart- 
mental administration  exists  in  this  country 
those  who  are  political  heads  of  departments 
in  time  of  war,  whether  they  be  civilian  or 
military,  cannot  be  entirely  immune  from  the 
consequences  of  their  own  action. 

The  Cabinet  from  the  first  laid  down  the 
principle,  from  which  it  never  departed,  that 
questions  jointly  involving  civil  and  military 
policy  should,  in  existing  circumstances,  only 
be  decided  by  the  Cabinet.  This  authority  it 
exercised  throughout,  though  at  times  it 
largely  delegated  its  powers  to  the  War  Com- 
mittee of  the  Cabinet. 

The  Siege  of  Kut 

The  commission  does  not  deal  at  any 
length  with  the  conditions  in  Kut  during 
its  siege,  but  it  publishes,  as  an  appendix, 
an  account  of  the  siege  by  Colonel  Hehir, 
principal  medical  officer  to  the  besieged 
force. 

The  Turks  closed  in  on  General  Town- 
shend  on  Dec.  7,  and  at  first  their  assaults 
were  numerous  and  severe;  but  after 
three  days'  fighting  about  Christmas  the 
enemy  was  repulsed  with  such  hoavy 
losses  that  no  serious  attempts  to  storm 
the  town  were  made  for  the  remainder  of 
the  siege.  The  real  enemy  was  starva- 
tion, and  this  compelled  the  surrender  of 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  DISASTER 


539 


the  place  on  April  29,  1916,  after  a  most 
gallant  and  tenacious  defense  of  147 
days. 

The  following  extracts  from  Colonel 
Hehir's  paper  show  the  straits  to  which 
the  garrison  was  reduced : 

During  the  last  month  of  the  siege,  men 
at  fatigues,  such  as  trench-digging,  after  ten 
minutes'  work  had  to  rest  a  while  and  go 
at  it  again;  men  on  sentry-go  would  drop 
down,  those  carrying  loads  would  rest  every 
few  hundred  yards;  men  availed  themselves 
of  every  opportunity  of  lolling  about  or  lying 
down.  There  were  instances  of  Indians  re- 
turning from  trench  duty  in  the  evening 
seemingly  with  nothing  the  matter  who  lay 
down  and  were  found  dead  in  the  morning- 
death  due  to  starvation  asthenia.  Men  in 
such  a  low  state  of  vitality  can  stand  little 
in  the  shape  of  illness— an  attack  of  diar- 
rhoea that  they  would  have  got  rid  of  in  a 
day  or  so  at  the  beginning  of  the  siege  often 
ended  fatally— all  recuperative  power  had 
gone.  At  the  end  of  the  siege  I  doubt  whether 
there  was  a  single  person  equal  to  a  five- 
mile  march,  carrying  his  equipment.  Person- 
ally, up  to  the  middle  of  March  I  could 
make  a  complete  inspection  of  the  front-line 
trenches  and  fort  (about  five  miles)  in  the 
morning;  I  had  then  to  halve  it,  and  at  the 
end  of  April,  while  doing  even  half,  I  had 
to  rest  on  the  way.  Practically  all  officers 
were  in  the  same  condition  of  physical  in- 
capacity. 

The  behavior  of  the  troops  throughout 
the  siege  was  splendid.  The  defaulter's  sheet 
of  the  British  soldier  was  a  carte  blanche, 
and  there  was  no  grumbling ;  there  was 
almost  a  complete  absence  of  suicide  and 
insanity. 

The  difficulties  in  rationing  the  Indian 
troops  were  much  enhanced  by  caste  preju- 
dices as  to  food.  For  a  long  time  many  of 
them  refused  to  eat  horse  or  mule  flesh.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this,  these  animals  could 
not  only  have  been  used  as  food  for  the  men, 
but  the  grain  they  consumed  could  have  been 
devoted  to  the  same  purpose. 

Right  up  to  the  end  of  the  siege  General 
Townshend  and  his  brigadiers  retained  the 
confidence  and  allegiance  of  their  men.  After 
the  terms  of  surrender  had  been  settled  and 
the  Generals  were  departing  in  a  steamboat 
as  prisoners  of  war  their  men  fcrmed  up 
along  the  riverside  and  gave  them  a  parting 
cheer  as  a  proof  of  their  unbroken  loyalty. 

Equipment  and  Commissariat  Deficiencies 
Every  General  who  appeared  before  the 
commission  agreed  that  the  Mesopotamian 
expedition  was  badly  equipped.  Sir  Beau- 
champ  Duff  informed  it  that  the  Indian 
Army,  which  furnished  the  expedition,  was 
organized  only  for  semi-savage  fighting,  was 
not  well  found  for  an  'overseas  expedition,  to 


a  large  extent  had  second-rate  equipment, 
and  Was  "  backward  in  every  particular." 

The  unpreparedness  of  the  Indian  Army  for 
its  task  in  Mesopotamia  was  primarily  due 
to  a  long-standing  policy  of  economy  and  re- 
striction of  military  preparation  to  the  needs 
of  frontier  warfare,  for  which  the  Home  and 
Indian  Governments  were,  of  course,  re- 
sponsible, and  not  Sir  Beauchamp  Duff  and 
the  General  Staff  at  Simla.  But  the  unpre- 
paredness for  overseas  warfare  was  well 
known  to  the  Indian  military  authorities,  and 
when  they  undertook  the  management  of  an 
expedition  which  was  to  fight  against  Turkey 
supported  by  Germany  they  ought  immedi- 
ately to  have  striven  energetically  to  bring 
the  equipment  of  the  expedition  up  to  the 
standard  of  modern  warfare.  Serious  defects 
in  military  equipment,  resulting  in  un- 
necessary suffering  and  casualties  among  the 
troops,  were  allowed  to  persist  month  after 
month  during  the  first  fourteen  months  of 
the  campaign,  when  the  Indian  Government 
was  responsible  for  its  management. 

The  commission's  finding  on  this  part  of 
its  inquiry  is  : 

"  During  the  period  for  which  the  Indian 
Government  was  responsible,  the  commis- 
sariat of  the  expedition  cannot  be  said  to 
have  been  up  to  the  standard  of  our  army 
in  France,  but  there  was  no  general  break- 
down. The  ration  originally  supplied  to  the 
Indian  troops  was  deficient  in  nutritive 
qualities,  and  a  serious  outbreak  of  scurvy 
ensued. 

"  In  other  essentials  the  expedition  was 
badly  and  insufficiently  equipped,  and  little 
if  any  effort  was  made  to  remedy  deficien- 
cies until  the  War  Office  took  over  the 
expedition." 

Disputes  frith  the  Home  Government 
The  history  of  the  supply  of  reinforcements 
to  the  force  is  a  melancholy  tale  of  alterca- 
tion between  London  and  Simla.  Although 
up  to  the  time  of  the  advance  on  Bagdad 
the  expedition  was  always  numerically  strong 
enough  to  cope  with  the  Turkish  forces,  yet 
this  result  was  only  attained  after  pro- 
tracted wrangling  between  the  Governments 
at  home  and  in  India,  neither  of  whom 
appeared  willing  to  accept  the  task  of  rein- 
forcing an  expedition  for  the  success  of 
which   they  were   jointly   responsible. 

Transport 

The   findings  as   to   transport   are : 

1.  From  the  first  the  paramount  im- 
portance both  of  river  and  railway  transport 
in  Mesopotamia  was  insufficiently  realized 
by    the    military   authorities    in    Inida. 

2.  A  deficiency  of  river  transport  existed 
from  the  time  the  army  left  tidal  water  and 
advanced  up  river  from  Kurna.  This  de- 
ficiency became  very  serious  as  the  lines  of 
communication  lengthened  and  the  numbers 
of  the  force  increased. 

3.  Up  to  the  end  of  1915  the  efforts  made 


540 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


to   rectify   the    deficiency   of   river    transport 
were  wholly  inadequate. 

4.  For  want  of  comprehensive  grasp  of 
the  transport  situation,  and  insufficiency  of 
river  steamers,  we  find  the  military  authori- 
ties in  India  are  responsible.  The  respon- 
sibility is  a  grave  one.  , 

5.  River  hospital  steamers  were  an  urgent 
requirement  for  the  proper  equipment  of  the 
expedition,  and  were  not  ordered  until  much 
too    late. 

6.  With  General  Sir  J.  Nixon  rests  the  re- 
sponsibility for  recommending  the  advances 
in  1915  with  insufficient  transport  and  equip- 
ment. The  evidence  did  not  disclose  an  im- 
perative need  to  advance  without  due  prepa- 
ration. For  what  ensued  from  shortage  of 
steamers  both  as  concerns  suffering  of  the 
wounded  and  military  losses  General  Sir 
John  Nixon  must,  in  such  circumstances,  be 
held  to  blame. 

7.  During  the  first  four  months  of  1916  the 
shortage  of  transport  was  fatal  to  the  opera- 
tions undertaken  for  the  relief  of  Kut.  Large 
reinforcements  could  not  be  moved  to  the 
front  in  time  to  take  part  in  critical  battles. 

Medical   Breakdown 

The  commission  adopts  the  principal  con- 
clusions of  the  Vincent-Bingley  Commission, 
which  were  that  from  a  very  early  stage  in 
the  campaign  the  sick  and  wounded  under- 
went avoidable  discomfort  and  at  times 
great  suffering,  owing  to  deficiencies  in 
medical  arrangements,  especially  as  regards 
river  hospital  steamers,  land  ambulance 
transport,  hospitals,  and  medical  personnel 
and  equipment.  The  sufferings  of  the 
wounded  from  these  defects  became  aggra- 
vated after  the  battle  of  Ctesiphon,  and 
culminated  during  the  Kut  relief  operations 
early  in  January,  1915,  when  there  was  a 
complete  breakdown  of  the  medical  arrange- 
ments. For  these  deficiencies  the  Vincent- 
Bingley  Commission  divides  responsibility  be- 
tween the  authorities  in  India  and  Mesopo- 
tamia. 

No  river  hospital  steamers  were  provided 
for  what  it  was  known  must  be  largely  a 
riverine  campaign.  Consequently,  until  1916, 
the  sick  and  wounded  had  to  use  ordinary 
river  transport  steamers.  These  were  always 
overburdened  with  ordinary  transport  work, 
were  not  infrequently  used  for  carrying 
animals,  and  it  was  not  always  possible 
properly  to  clear  them  of  their  accumulations 
of  filth  and  dung  before  they  were  used  for 
sick  and  wounded  troops.  No  wheeled  ambu- 
lance transport  was  provided.  It  follows  that 
ordinary  army  transport  carts  were  the  only 
vehicles  available  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
where  land  transport  was  necessary.  There 
is  an  overwhelming  mass  of  evidence  as  to 
the  inhumanity  of  using  these  carts  for  the 
wounded.  Padding  for  them  was  not  always 
available.  In  some  cases  dead  bodies  were 
even  used  as  cushions.  Even  when  padded 
they   were   cruel    and   dangerous    for   certain 


classes  of  wounded.  All  this  must  have  been 
well  known  to  Surgeon  General  Babtie,  or 
might  have  been  easily  ascertained  by  in- 
quiry or  experiment.  His  only  action  in 
regard  to  developing  a  more  suitable  vehicle 
than  the  bullock  tonga  was  to  ask  the  Maha- 
rajah of  Benares  to  provide  a  special  corps 
of  pony  tongas,  none  of  which  was,  how- 
ever, available  in  Mesopotamia  till  long  after 
Sir  W.   Babtie  had  left  India. 

Official  Want  of  Fran\nen 
In  matters  affecting  the  sick  and  wounded 
the  want  of  frankness  has  painfully  im- 
pressed the  commission.  A  number  of  in- 
stances is  given  in  which  defects  in  medical 
arrangements  were  not  reported.  Perhaps 
the  most  striking  of  these  is  in  connection" 
with  the  medical  breakdown  after  Ctesiphon, 
when  over  3,500  wounded  had  to  be  removed 
(from  the  battlefield  to  the  river  bank,  in 
some  cases  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  without 
proper  ambulance  transport,  and  with  an  in- 
sufficiency of  medical  personnel,  of  food,  and 
of  comforts,  so  that  a  large  proportion  of 
the  wounded  had  to  make  their  way  on  foot 
in  spite  of  their  injured  condition.  When 
they  arrived  at  the  river  the  available 
steamer  accommodation  was  gravely  inade- 
quate. 

How  one  of  these  river  convoys  arrived  at 
Basra  is  thus  described  by  Major  Carter, 
the  medical  officer  in  charge  of  an  ocean 
hospital  ship,  which  was  waiting  at  Basra 
to  receive  the  wounded : 

"  I  was  standing  on  the  bridge  on  the 
evening  when  the  Medjidieh  arrived.  She 
had  two  steel  barges,  without  any  protec- 
tion against  the  rain,  as  far  as  I  remem- 
ber. As  this  ship,  with  two  barges,  came 
up  to  us  I  saw  that  she  was  absolutely 
packed,  and  the  barges,  too,  with  men. 
The  barges  —ere  slipped  and  the  Med- 
jidieh was  brought  alongside  the  Varela. 
When  she  was  about  300  or  400  yards  off 
it  looked  as  if  she  was  festooned  with 
ropes.  The  stench  when  she  was  close  Mas 
quite  definite,  and  I  found  that  what  I 
mistook  for  ropes  were  dried  stalactites 
of  human  faeces.  The  patients  were  so 
huddled  and  crowded  together  on  the  ship 
that  they  could  not  perform  the  offices  of 
nature  clear  of  the  edge  of  the  ship,  and 
the  whole  of  the  ship's  side  was  covered 
with  stalactites  of  human  faeces.  This  is 
what  I  then  saw.  A  certain  number  of 
men  were  standing  and  kneeling  on  the 
immediate  perimeter  of  the  ship.  Then  we 
found  a  mass  of  men  huddled  up  any- 
how—some with  blankets  and  some  with- 
out. They  were  lying  in  a  pool  of  dysen- 
tery about  thirty  feet  square.  They  were 
covered  with  dysentery  and  dejecta  gen- 
erally from  head  to  foot.  With  regard  to 
the  first  man  I  examined,  I  put  my  hand 
into  his  trousers  and  I  thought  he  had  a 
hemorrhage.    His  trousers  were  full  almost 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  DISASTER 


541 


■to  his  waist  with  something-  warm  and 
slimy.  I  took  my  hand  out,  and  thought 
it  was  blood  clot.  It  was  dysentery.  The 
man  had  a  fractured  thigh,  and  his  thigh 
was  perforated  in  five  or  six  places.  He 
had  apparently  been  writhing  about  the 
deck  of  the  ship.  Many  cases  were  almost 
as  bad.  There  were  a  certain  number  of 
cases  of  terribly  bad  bed  sores.  In  my 
report  I  describe  mercilessly  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  India  how  I  found  men  with, 
their  limbs  splinted  with  wood  strips 
from  '  Johnny  Walker '  whisky  boxes, 
1  Bhoosa  '  wire,  and  that  sort  of  thing." 
"  Question.— Were  they  British  or  Indian?— 

A.— British  and  Indian  mixed." 
The  withdrawal  of  the  wounded  to   Basra, 

which   resulted   in  such  appalling  conditions, 

was   officially   reported   to    the   Secretary    of 

State  as  follows : 

"  Wounded  satisfactorily  disposed  of. 
Many  likely  to  recover  in  country,  com- 
fortably placed  in  hospitals  at  Amara  and 
Basra.  Those  for  invaliding  are  being 
placed  direct  on  two  hospital  ships  that 
were  ready  at  Basra  on  arrival  of  river 
boats.  General  condition  of  wounded  very 
satisfactory.  Medical  arrangements  under 
circumstances  of  considerable  difficulty 
worked  splendidly." 

Surgeon  General  Hathaway,  the  principal 
medical  officer  in  Mesopotamia,  who  was  re- 
sponsible for  drafting  the  above  telegram, 
afterward  sent  to  India  a  detailed  report  of 
the  evacuation  of  the  wounded ;  and  the  com- 
mission says:  "Nobody  reading  that  report 
would  gather  that  anything  untoward  had 
happened,  or  that  the  wounded  had  under- 
gone any  special   or  avoidable   sufferings." 

Medical  Findings 

The  medical  provision  for  the  Mesopo- 
tamia campaign  was  from  the  beginning  in- 
sufficient ;  by  reason  of  the  continuance  of 
this  insufficiency  there  was  a  lamentable 
breakdown,  causing  severe  and  unavoidable 
suffering  to  the  sick  and  wounded  after  the 
battle  of  Ctesiphon  and  the  battles  in  Janu- 
ary, 1916 ;  there  was  amelioration  in  March 
and  April,  1916 ;  but  since  then  the  improve- 
ment has  been  continual,  until  it  is  reasonable 
to  hope  that  now  the  medical  provision  is  sat- 
isfactory. The  main  deficiencies  were  in 
river  hospital  steamers,  medical  personnel, 
river  transports,  and  ambulance  land  trans- 
port. 

The  Secretary  of  State  showed  an  earnest 
and  continuous  anxiety  as  to  the  condition 
of  the  wounded,  and  the  only  comment  that 
can  be  made  upon  his  procedure  is  that  he 
did  not  fully  utilize  the  official  powers  at 
his  disposal  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  at 
an  earlier  period  an  investigation  into  the 
treatment  of  the  wounded  in  Mesopotamia. 

To  Lord  Hardinge  of  Penshurst,  as  Vice- 
roy, belongs  the  general  responsibility  attach- 
ing to  his  position  as  the  head  of  the  Indian 


Government.  In  regard  to  the  actual  medi- 
cal administration  he  showed  throughout  the 
utmost  good-will,  but,  considering  the  para- 
mount authority  of  his  office,  his  action  was 
not  sufficiently  strenuous  and  peremptory. 

A  more  severe  censure  must  be  passed 
upon  the  Commander  in  Chief  in  India,  who 
failed  closely  to  superintend  the  adequacy  of 
medical  provision  in  Mesopotamia.  He  de- 
clined for  a  considerable  time,  until  ultimately 
forced  by  the  superior  authority  of  the  Vice- 
roy, to  give  credence  to  rumors  which 
proved  to  be  true,  and  failed  to  take  the 
measures  which  a  subsequent  experience 
shows  would  have  saved  the  wounded  from 
avoidable  suffering. 

The  commission's  findings  as  to  the  di- 
vision of  responsibility  are : 

"  The  division  of  responsibility  be- 
tween the  India  Office  and  the  Indian 
Government,  the  former  undertaking 
policy  and  the  latter  the  management  of 
the  expedition,  was,  in  the  circumstances, 
unworkable.  The  Secretary  of  State, 
Austen  Chamberlain,  who  controlled  the 
policy,  did  not  have  cognizance  of  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  expedition  to  carry  out  the 
policy.  The  Indian  Government,  which 
managed  the  expedition,  did  not  accom- 
pany developments  of  policy  with  the 
necessary  preparations,  even  when  they 
themselves  proposed  those  developments. 
The  scope  of  the  objective  of  the  expedi- 
tion was  never  sufficiently  defined  in 
advance,  so  as  to  make  ot.ch  successful 
move  part  of  a  well-thought-out  and 
matured  plan." 

The  Indian  Military  administration  is 
found  to  be  faulty,  and  radical  military  re- 
forms  are   recommended. 

Censure  of  Indian   Government 

The  commission  differentiates  between  the 
error  of  judgment  shown  by  the  Indian  Gov- 
ernment in  its  advocacy  of  the  advance  to 
Bagdad,  which  might  have  happened  in  any 
campaign,  and  its  failure  adequately  to  min- 
ister to  the  wants  of  the  forces  employed  in 
Mesopotamia. 

"  This  failure,"  it  says,  "  was  persistent 
and  continuous,  and  practically  covered  the 
whole  of  the  period  during  which  the  Indian 
Government  was  intrusted  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  expedition.  With  the  knowledge 
of  the  facts  which  we  now  possess  and  of  the 
extent  and  scope  of  the  preparations  of  the 
War  Office  since  it  undertook  the  manage- 
ment of  the  campaign,  it  is  impossible  to  re- 
frain from  serious  cerisure  of  the  Indian  Gov- 
ernment for  the  lack  of  knowledge  and  fore- 
sight shown  in  the  inadequacy  of  its  prepara- 
tions and  for  the  lack  of  readiness  to  recog- 
nize   and    supply    deficiencies.    It    ought    to 


542 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


have  known,  and  with  proper  touch  with  the 
expedition  it  could  have  known,  what  were  its 
wants  and  requirements.  It  is  true  that  its 
military  system  was  cumbrous  and  inept.  It 
was,  however,  within  the  power  of  the  Vice- 
roy and  the  Commander  in  Chief  to  have 
established  a  more  effective  procedure  and  a. 
closer  touch  with  the  expedition  itself." 

The  report  produced  a  profound  sensa- 
tion and  was  followed  shortly  afterward 
by  the  resignation  of  Austen  Chamber- 
lain, Secretary  for  India,  and  this  action 
caused  a  partial  reorganization  of  the 
Ministry  and  the  War  Council. 

Lord   Hardinge's   Defense 

Lord  Hardinge,  Viceroy  of  India  from 
1910  to  1916  and  now  Permanent  Under 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  replied  in 
the  House  of  Lords  to  the  criticisms 
passed  upon  him  by  the  Mesopotamia 
Commissioners.  The  following  were  the 
chief  points  in  his  speech : 

1.  The  War  Effort  of  India.— The  commis- 
sion did  not  give  sufficient  prominence  to  the 
unexampled  effort  made  by  India  at  the  out- 
set of  the  war  and  to  the  generosity  of  her 
contributions,  which  could  not  fail  to  hamper 
her  further  operations  elsewhere. 

2.  Internal  and  Frontier  Affairs.— Adequate 
weight  was  not  given  in  the  report  to  the  risks 
and  preoccupations  of  the  Government  of 
India  during  1914  and  1915  in  connection  with 
internal  and  frontier  affairs. 

3.  The  Military  Budget.— The  financial  side 
of  the  pre-war  military  administration  was  in 
excess  of  the  maximum  fixed  by  the  Nichol- 
son Committee.  In  the  light  of  after  events, 
he  recognized  that  possibly  all  ordinary  finan- 
cial considerations  ought  to  have  been  sacri- 
ficed if  the  Secretary  of  State  and  India 
Council  would  have  agreed. 

4.  The  Advance  on  Bagdad.— The  full  tele- 
graphic correspondence  showed  that  the  Gov- 
ernment of  India  was  strongly  opposed  to  an 
advance  on  Bagdad  without  reinforcements. 
It  might  be  contended  that  it  ought  to  have 
maintained  its  veto,  but  he  asked  whether 
such  a  course  would  have  been  justified  in 
view  of  the  obvious  political  advantages  of  the 
capture  of  Bagdad,  of  the  strong  pressure 
from  home,  and  of  the  unanimous  military 
opinion  in  favor  of  it. 

5.  The  Inadequacy  of  River  Transport.— 
This  was  only  revealed  when  it  was  too  late 
to  make  it  good,  although  everything  possible 
was  done  to  remedy  it.    » 

6.  The  Medical  Breakdown.— He  could  only 
confess  to  having  been  completely  deceived  by 
the  misleading  reports  received  from  the 
front,  and  to  that  extent  he  must  accept  full 
responsibility.  But  the  moment  the  truth 
dawned  upon  him  he  made  every  effort  within 
his  power  to  remedy  the  situation. 

Lord   Hardinge  said  that  the   British 


garrison  in  India  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  was  reduced  to  about  150,000  men; 
80,000  British  and  210,000  Indian  troops 
had  been  sent  away. 

In  the  Summer  of  1914  "  the  Indian 
Army  was  at  war  strength,  the  maga- 
zines were  full,  the  equipment  was  com- 
plete." Indeed,  India  sent  abroad  70,- 
000,000  rounds  of  small-arm  ammunition, 
60,000  rifles,  more  than  550  new  guns, 
and  over  3,500  combatant  officers,  with 
tents,  boots,  saddlery,  clothing,  &c. 

"  India  was  bled  absolutely  white  dur- 
ing the  first  weeks  of  the  war,"  said 
Lord  Hardinge,  and  when  the  Mesopo- 
tamia campaign  was  started  the  sacri- 
fices were  severely  felt.  Repeated  de- 
mands for  troops,  drafts,  airplanes,  ma- 
chine guns,  bombs,  &c,  were  for  the 
most  part  refused  by  the  War  Office  or 
given  with  a  sparing  hand  owing  to  the 
greater  need  in  France. 

In  speaking  of  the  dangers  in  India 
in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  Lord 
Hardinge  said: 

"  Conspiracies  were  discovered  at 
Delhi,  Lahore,  and  elsewhere.  Revolu- 
tionaries sought  to  undermine  the  loyalty 
of  the  Indian  troops.  In  the  Spring  of 
1915  no  fewer  than  7,000  revolutiona- 
ries returned  from  the  United  States  and 
Canada  who  instigated  murder  and  ter- 
rorism in  the  Punjab,  where  there  were 
arrests  in  one  week  of  3,500  hooligans. 
Later  a  German  conspiracy  in  Bengal 
aimed  at  rebellion  on  Christmas  Day, 
1915.  The  Bay  of  Bengal  was  patrolled. 
For  ten  days  every  officer  had  to  be  at 
his  post.  Troop  trains  waited  at  big 
railway  junctions.  That  year,  1915,  was 
a  very  anxious  one  for  India." 

Mr.  Chamberlain's  resignation  was 
announced  in  the  House  of  Commons  in 
an  intensely  dramatic  climax  July  12. 
Mr.  Chamberlain  gave  a  detailed  account 
of  the  part  which  he  had  played  in  the 
control  of  operations  in  Mesopotamia. 
He  began  by  repudiating  any  suggestion 
that  General  Sir  Edmund  Barrow,  Mili- 
tary Secretary  at  the  India  Office,  had 
in  any  way  exceeded  his  powers  in 
recommending  an  expedition  to  Mesopo- 
tamia. He  reviewed  stage  by  stage  the 
communications  which  passed  between 
the    Government    of    India,    the    India 


THE  MESOPOTAMIAN  DISASTER 


5  3 


Office,  and  Sir  John  Nixon,  both  before 
and  during  the  advance  from  Kut.  The 
report  of  the  commission,  he  was  able 
to  show,  condensed  some  of  the  tele- 
grams which  passed  and  omitted  im- 
portant passages  from  others.  One 
example  was  the  suppression  of  the 
political  reasons  mentioned  in  the  tele- 
gram of  Oct.  5  as  making  the  occupa- 
tion of  Bagdad  desirable.  These  reasons, 
Mr.  Chamberlain  disclosed,  were  the  ac- 
tivity of  German  emissaries  in  Persia, 
the  pressure  on  Afghanistan,  and  the 
situation  in  the  Balkans  and  the  Dar- 
danelles. At  the  same  time,  he  made  it 
clear  that  Sir  John  Nixon  urged  the  ad- 
vance for  military  reasons,  provided  that 
he  was  properly  reinforced.  The  prob- 
lem, according  to  the  General  Staff,  was 
not  to  get  to  Bagdad  but  to  remain 
there. 

In  the  course  of  a  history  of  the  dis- 
cussions and  correspondence  on  the  pos- 
sibility of  providing  reinforcements  to 
hold  the  city  and  the  probable  effects  of 
a  compulsory  retirement,  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain referred  to  the  attacks  made  on 
Mr.  Asquith  and  his  colleagues  for  de- 
liberately embarking  on  a  hazardous 
gamble.  The  attacks,  he  said,  were 
based  on  a  mutilated  telegram,  which  at- 
tributed to  the  Cabinet  the  declaration 
that  "  we  are  in  great  need  of  a  striking 
success  in  the  East." 

Again  filling  the  gaps,  he  revealed 
the  fact  that  these  words  were  preceded 
in  the  original  message  by  the  statement 
that  Persia  was  drifting  into  the  war  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy  and  the  Arabs 
were  wavering. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  summed  up  the  case 
for  authorizing  the  advance  on  Bagdad 
as  follows: 

"  The  capture  of  Bagdad  might  be  a 
decisive  factor  in  preserving  peace  in  the 
Middle  East  and  up  to  and  on  the  Indian 
-frontier. 

"  The  Cabinet  was  told  by  every  mili- 
tary adviser  whom  it  consulted  that  the 
operation  was  perfectly  feasible. 

"  No  one  of  these  authorities  questioned 
the  sufficiency  of  the  force  under  Sir 
John  Nixon's  orders  for  the  purpose,  nor 
was  any  doubt  suggested  as  to  the  capac- 


ity of  his  supply  and  transport  depart- 
ments to  sustain  the  operations. 

"  The  problem  the  Cabinet  had  to  con- 
sider was  whether  the  possibility  of  an 
eventual  withdrawal  outweighed  the  ad- 
vantages of  an  immediate  and  appar- 
ently assured  success. 

"  The  Cabinet  decided  that  it  did  not, 
and  after  ascertaining  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  concurred  in  this  view,  the 
orders  for  the  advance  were  issued  by 
us." 

From  the  military  and  political  aspects 
of  the  operations  Mr.  Chamberlain 
passed  to  the  collapse  of  the  hospital  ar- 
rangements, and  remarked  that  it  was 
both  lamentable  and  inexcusable.  "  I 
cannot  say  one  word,"  he  confessed,  "  to 
excuse  or  to  palliate  the  horrible  break- 
down." His  personal  plea  was  that  he 
was  entirely  ignorant  of  it  until  the 
damage  had  been  done. 

In  the  course  of  a  defense  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Meyer  and  others  who  held  respon- 
sibility in  the  Government  of  India,  Mr. 
Chamberlain  protested  vigorously  against 
efforts  to  cast  odium  on  Lord  Hardinge, 
"  the  most  popular  Viceroy  that  India 
has  ever  had,"  because  the  military  ad- 
ministration to  which  he  trusted  broke 
down  under  a  great  strain.  It  would  be 
an  evil  day  for  the  country,  he  declared, 
if,  because  of  any  errors  of  judgment  or 
any  miscalculation  for  which  others  were 
as  much  responsible  as  he,  a  great  public 
servant  was  to  be  hounded  out  of  public 
life  without  a  trial  and  without  a  hear- 
ing, in  answer  to  the  clamors  of  an  ill- 
informed,  and  passionate  mob. 

Mr.  Bonar  Law  announced  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  July  18  that  the 
Government  did  not  propose  to  take 
action  in  regard  to  the  civilians  criticised 
in  the  commission's  report,  that  the 
resignation  of  Lord  Hardinge  would  not 
be  accepted,  and  that  the  soldiers  would 
be  dealt  with  in  the  ordinary  way  by 
the  Army  Council.  The  Government's 
decision  regarding  Lord  Hardinge  was 
challenged  by  Mr.  Dillon  on  a  motion  of 
adjournment,  which,  however,  was  de- 
feated after  a  vigorous  debate  by  176 
votes  against  81,  a  Government  majority 
of  95. 


Report  on  the  Capture  of  Bagdad 

General    Maude's    Official    Narrative    of   the 
Fighting  From  August,  1916,  to  March,  1917 


GENERAL  SIR  STANLEY  MAUDE, 
commanding  the  Mesopotamian 
Expeditionary  Force,  officially  de- 
scribed in  a  dispatch  dated  July 
10,  1917,  the  operations  which  culminated 
in  the  capture  of  Bagdad  and  the  con- 
quest of  a  large  area  north  of  the-  city, 
thus  retrieving  the  ill-starred  expedition 
of  the  year  before  which  resulted  in  the 
surrender  of  a  British  army  at  Kut,  and 
proved  one  of  the  most  serious  disasters 
which  befell  the  British  during  the  war. 

The  dispatch  covers  the  seven  months 
from  the  end  of  August,  1916,  to  March 
31,  1917— three  weeks  after  the  fall  of 
Bagdad.  The  first  half  of  this  period 
was  devoted  to  the  work  of  preparation, 
the  active  operations  beginning  in  the 
middle  of  December.  In  his  summary  of 
the  results  achieved  Sir  Stanley  Maude 
says: 

During1  the  second  period  fighting"  was 
strenuous  and  continuous,  and  the  strain  im- 
posed upon  all  ranks,  both  at  the  front  and 
on  the  lines  of  communication,  severe.  The 
nature  of  the  operations  has  been  as  varied 
as  it  has  been  complex,  and  the  training  of 
the  troops  has  been  tested,  first  in  the  fierce 
hand-to-hand  fighting  in  trench  warfare  round 
Kut  and  Sannaiyat,  and  later  in  the  more 
open  battles  which  characterized  the  opera- 
tions in  the  Dahra  Bend,  the  passage  of  the 
Tigris,  the  advance  on  Bagdad,  and  sub- 
sequent  actions. 

From  this  ordeal  they  have  emerged  with 
a  proud  record,  and  have  dealt  the  enemy  a 
series  of  stinging  blows,  the  full  significance 
of  which  will  not  be  easily  effaced.  British 
and  Indian  troops  working  side  by  side  have 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  effort  to  close 
with  the  enemy. 

Recalling  that  the  area  over  which  the 
responsibilities  of  the  army  extended  was 
a  wide  one,  embracing  Falahiyeh,  on  the 
Tigris;  Ispahan,  (exclusive,)  in  Persia; 
Bushire,  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  Nasa- 
riyeh,  on  the  Euphrates,  the  dispatch 
proceeds : 

Briefly  put,  the  enemy's  plan  appeared  to 
be  to  contain  our  main  forces  on  the  Tigris, 
while  a  vigorous  campaign,   which  would  di- 


rectly threaten  India,  was  being  developed 
in  Persia.  There  were  indications,  too,  of  an 
impending  move  down  the  Euphrates  toward 
Nasariyeh.  It  seemed  clear  from  the  outset 
that  the  true  solution  of  the  problem  was  a 
resolute  offensive,  with  concentrated  forces, 
on  the  Tigris,  thus  effectively  threatening 
Bagdad,  the  centre  from  which  the  enemy's 
columns  were  operating. 

At  the  beginning  of  December  the  enemy 
still  occupied  the  same  positions  on  the  Tigris 
front  which  he  had  held  during  the  Summer, 
and  it  was  decided  first  to  secure  possession 
of  the  Hai  River ;  secondly,  to  clear  the 
Turkish  trench  systems  still  remaining  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris ;  thirdly,  to  sap 
the  enemy's  strength  by  constant  attacks, 
and  give  him  no  rest;  fourthly,  to  compel 
him  to  give  up  the  Sannaiyat  position,  or  in 
default  of  that  to  extend  his  attenuated 
forces  more  and  more  to  counter  our  strokes 
against  his  communications ;  and,  lastly,  to 
cross  the  Tigris  at  the  weakest  part  of  his 
line  as  far  west  as  possible,  and  so  sever  his 
communications. 

The  Hai  position  was  seized  with  little  dif- 
ficulty in  the  middle  of  December,  but  the 
clearing  of  the  Khadairi  Bend,  which  was  un- 
dertaken on  Jan.  6,  involved  severe  hand-to- 
hand  fighting,  and  it  was  not  until  Jan.  19 
that  the  enemy,  who  had  suffered  heavy 
losses,  was  finally  driven  out. 

Capture  of  Hai  Salient 
On  Jan.  11,  while  Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe  was 
still  engaged  in  clearing  the  Khadairi  Bend, 
Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall  commenced  prepara- 
tions for  the  reduction  of  the  Hai  salient — 
the  extensive  trench  system  which  the  Turks 
held  astride  the  Hai  River  near  its  junction 
with  the  Tigris,  and  for  a  fortnight  we 
gained  ground  steadily  in  face  of  strong 
opposition,  until,  on  the  24th,  our  trenches 
were  within  400  yards  of  the  enemy's  front 
line. 

On  the  25th  the  enemy's  front  line  astride 
the  Hai  was  captured  on  a  frontage  of  about 
1,800  yards.  On  the  eastern  (or  left)  bank 
our  troops  extended  their  success  to  the 
Turkish  second  line,  and  consolidated  and 
held  all  ground  won  in  spite  of  counter- 
attacks during  the  day  and  following  night. 
The  enemy  lost  heavily,  both  from  our  bom- 
bardment and  in  violent  hand-to-hand  en- 
counters. On  the  western  (or  right)  bank 
the  task  was  a  severe  one.  The  trench 
system  was  elaborate,  and  offered  facilities 
for  counterattack.  The  enemy  was  in  con- 
siderable strength  on  this  bank,  and  guns 
and  machine  guns  in  skillfully  concealed  po- 


REPORT   ON   THE   CAPTURE   OF   BAGDAD 


545 


sitions  enfiladed  our  advance.  Our  objective 
was  secured,  but  the  Turks  made  four  coun- 
terattacks. The  first  was  repulsed ;  the  sec- 
ond reached  the  captured  line,  and  was 
about  to  recapture  it  when  a  gallant  charge 
across  the  open  by  the  Royal  Warwicks 
restored  the  situation;  the  third  was  broken 
up  by  our  artillery  fire ;  the  fourth,  sup- 
ported by  artillery  and  trench  mortars, 
forced  our  infantry  back  to  their  own 
trenches. 

On  the  26th  the  assault  was  renewed  by 
two  Punjabi  battalions  with  complete  suc- 
cess, and  the  captured  trenches  were  at  once 
consolidated.  Subsequently  our  gains  were 
increased  by  bombing  attacks  and  with  the 
bayonet  in  face  of  stubborn  opposition,  and 
a  counterattack  in  the  afternoon  was  re- 
pulsed by  our  artillery.  Meanwhile  our 
troops  had  considerably  increased  their  hold 
on  the  enemy's  position  east  of  the  Hai  by 
bombing  attacks,  though  their  progress  was 
hampered  by  the  battered  condition  of  the 
trenches  and  by  the  numbers  of  Turkish  dead 
lying  in  them.  On  this  bank  the  first  and 
second  lines,  on  a  frontage  of  2,000  yards, 
were  captured  by  the  27th,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  the  whole  of  the  front  line  had 
been  secured  on  a  frontage  of  two  miles  and 
to  a  depth  varying  from  300  to  700  yards, 
the  enemy  withdrawing  to  an  inner  line.  On 
the  27th  and  28th  our  troops  penetrated 'fur- 
ther into  the  Turkish  defenses  west  of  the 
Hai  by  bombing  attacks  supported  by  artil- 
lery barrage,  and  consolidated  their  position 
In  the  first  four  lines  of  trenches  on  a  front- 
age of  600  yards.  On  the  29th  they  secured 
more  trenches  by  means  of  infantry  raids 
supported  by  artillery. 

After  a  short  pause  to  readjust  our  disposi- 
tions, the  centre  of  the  enemy's  third  line  on 
the  eastern  (or  left)  bank  of  the  Hai  was 
successfully  assaulted  by  the  Cheshires  on 
Feb.  1.  Bombers  pushed  rapidly  east  and 
west  until  the  whole  trench  had  been  se- 
cured from  the  Tigris  to  the  Hai  on  a  front 
of  about  2,100  yards,  and  an  attempted  coun- 
terattack was  broken  by  our  artillery.  The 
enemy's  casualties  were  heavy  and  many 
prisoners  were  taken.  On  the  western  (or 
right)  bank  the  two  Sikh  battalions  captured 
the  enemy's  position  on  a  front  of  500  yards, 
but  our  troops— especially  the  left  of  the  at- 
tack—were subjected  to  artillery  and  ma- 
chine-gun fire  in  enfilade.  The  trench  sys- 
tem was  complicated  and  difficult  to  consoli- 
date, and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Turks 
delivered  a  counterattack  in  strength.  The 
most  advanced  parties  of  our  infantry  met 
the  enemy's  charge  in  brilliant  style  by  a 
countercharge  in  the  open,  and  casualties 
on  both  sides  were  severe.  The  preponderance 
of  weight  was,  however,  with  the  enemy, 
and  our  troops,  in  spite  of  great  gallantry, 
were  forced  back  by  sheer  weight  of  num- 
bers to  their  original  front  line. 

On  Feb.  3  the  Devons  and  a  Ghurka  bat- 
talion carried   the   enemy's  first  and  second 


lines,  and  a  series  of  counterattacks  by  the 
Turks,  which  continued  up  till  dark,  withered 
away  under  our  shrapnel  and  machine  gun 
fire.  Our  troops  east  of  the  Hai  co-operated 
with  machine  gun  and  rifle  fire,  and  two 
counterattacks  by  the  enemy  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Hai  during  the  day  were  satisfactorily 
disposed  of.  In  the  evening  there  were  indi- 
cations that  he  was  contemplating  withdrawal 
to  the  right  bank,  and  by  daybreak  on  the 
4th  the  whole  of  the  left  bank  had  passed  into 
our  possession.  The  enemy  was  found  to 
have  fallen  back  to  the  licorice  factory 
and  a  line  east  and  west  across  the  Dahra 
Bend. 

During  this  period  the  splendid  fighting 
qualities  of  the  infantry  were  well  seconded 
by  the  bold  support  rendered  by  the  artillery, 
and  by  the  ceaseless  work  carried  out  by  the 
Royal  Flying  Corps.  These  operations  had 
again  resulted  in  heavy  losses  to  the  enemy, 
as  testified  to  by  the  dead  found,  and  many 
prisoners — besides  arms,  ammunition,  equip- 
ment, and  stores — had  been  taken,  while  the 
Turks  now  only  retained  a  fast  vanishing 
hold  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris. 

Dahra    Bend    Cleared 

Feb.  6  to  8  were  days  of  preparation,  but 
continuous  pressure  on  the  enemy  was  main- 
tained day  and  night.  On  the  ninth  the 
licorice  factory  was  bombarded,  and  simul- 
taneously the  King's  Own  effected  a  lodg- 
ment in  the  centre  of  the  enemy's  line,  there- 
after gaining  ground  rapidly  forward  and  to 
both  flanks.  Repeated  attacks  by  the  en- 
emy's bombers  met  with  no  success,  and  two 
attempted  counterattacks  were  quickly  sup- 
pressed by  our  artillery.  Further  west  the 
Worcesters,  working  toward  Yusufiyah  and 
west  of  that  place,  captured  some  advanced 
posts,  trenches,  and  prisoners,  and  established 
a  line  within  2,500  yards  of  the  Tigris  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  Shumran  .Bend. 

On  Feb.  3  the  Devons  and  a  Ghurkha  bat- 
west  of  the  licorice  factory,  who  had  been 
subjected  all  night  to  repeated  bombing  at- 
tacks, began  early  to  extend  our  hold  on  the 
enemy's  front  line.  This  movement  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  bombardment  directed  against 
machine  guns  located  at  Kut  and  along  the 
left  bank  of  the  Tigris,  which  were  bringing 
a  galling  fire  to  bear  against  our  right. 
During  this  the  Buffs  and  a  Ghurkha  battalion 
dashed  forward,  and,  joining  hands  with  the 
King's  Own  on  their  left,  the  whole  line 
advanced  northward.  As  communication 
trenches  did  not  exist,  any  movement  was 
necessarily  across  the  open,  and  was  subject 
to  a  hot  fire  from  concealed  machine  guns 
on  the  left  bank,  but,  in  spite  of  this,  prog- 
ress was  made  all  along  the  front  to  depths 
varying  from  300  to  2,000  yards,  our  success 
compelling  the  enemy  to  evacuate  the  licorice 
factory.  He  withdrew  to  an  inner  line,  ap- 
proximately two  and  a  half  miles  long,  across 
the  Dahra  Bend,  with  advanced  posts  strongly 
held,  and  was  finally  inclosed  in  the  Dahra 
Bend  by  Feb.  13. 


546 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


An  attack  against  the  enemy's  right  centre 
offered  the  best  prospects  of  success,  and  this 
involved  the  construction  of  trenches  and 
approaches  for  the  accommodation  of  troops 
destined  for  the  assault.  Early  on  Feb.  15 
the  Loyal  North  Lancashires  captured  a 
strong  point  opposite  our  left,  which  enfiladed, 
the  approaches  to  the  enemy's  right  and 
centre,  the  retiring  Turks  losing  heavily  from 
our  machine-gun  fire.  An  hour  later  the 
enemy's  extreme  left  was  subjected  to  a  short 
bombardment  and  feint  attack.  This  caused 
the  enemy  to  disclose  his  barrage  in  front  of 
our  right,  and  indicated  that  our  constant 
activity  on  this  part  of  his  front  had  been 
successful  in  making  him  believe  that  our 
main  attack  would  be  made  against  that  part 
of  his  line.  Shortly  after  the  Royal  Welsh 
Fusiliers  and  South  Wales  Borderers  carried 
the  enemy's  right  centre  in  dashing  style  on 
a  front  of  700  yards,  and  extended  their  suc- 
cess by  bombing  to  a  depth  of  500  yards  on 
a  frontage  of  1,000  yards,  taking  many  pris- 
oners. Several  half-hearted,  counterattacks 
ensued,  which  were  crushed  by  our  artillery 
and  machine  guns,  and  it  became  evident 
that  the  enemy  had  strengthened  his  left  and 
could  not  transfer  troops  back  to  his  centre 
on  account  of  our  barrage.  A  little  later  the 
enemy's  left  centre  was  captured  by  the  Buffs 
and  Dogras,  and,  pushing  on  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  to  the  bank  of  the  Tigris, 
they  isolated  the  enemy's  extreme  left,  where 
about    1,000    Turks    surrendered. 

Heroic   Infantry 

By  nightfall  the  only  resistance  was  from 
some  trenches  in  the  right  rear  of  the  posi- 
tion, covering  about  a  mile  of  the  Tigris 
bank,  from  which  the  enemy  were  trying  to 
escape  across  the  river,  and  it  had  been  in- 
tended to  clear  these  remaining  trenches  by 
a  combined  operation  during  the  night;  but 
two  companies  of  a  Ghurkha  battalion,  acting 
on  their  own  initiative,  obtained  a  footing  in 
them  and  took  98  prisoners.  By  the  morning 
of  the  16th  they  had  completed  their  task, 
having  taken  264  more  prisoners.  The  total 
number  of  prisoners  taken  on  the  15th  and 
16th  was  2,005,  and  •  the  Pahra  Bend  was 
cleared  of  the  enemy. 

Thus  terminated  a  phase  of  severe  fight- 
ing, brilliantly  carried  out.  To  eject  the 
enemy  from  this  horseshoe  bend,  bristling 
with  trenches  and  commanded  from  across 
the  river  on  three  sides  by  hostile  batteries 
and  machine  guns,  called  for  offensive  quali- 
ties of  a  high  standard  on  the  part  of  the 
troops.  That  such  good  results  were  achieved 
was  due  to  the  heroism  and  determination  of 
the  infantry,  and  to  the  close  and  ever-pres- 
ent support  rendered  by  the  artillery,  whose 
accurate  fire  was  assisted  by  efficient  air- 
plane observation. 

The  enemy  had  now,  after  two  months  of 
strenuous  fighting,  been  driven  entirely  from 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Kut.  He  still  held,  however,  a  very 
strong  position,    defensively,    in   that   it   was 


protected  from  Sannaiyat  to  Shumran  by  the 
Tigris,  which  also  afforded  security  to  his 
communications  running  along  the  left  bank 
of  that  river.  The  successive  lines  at  San- 
naiyat, which  had  been  consistently  strength- 
ened for  nearly  a  year,  barred  the  way  on  a 
narrow  front  to  an  advance  on  our  part  along 
the  left  bank,  while  north  of  Sannaiyat  the 
Suwaikieh  Marsh  and  the  Marsh  of  Jessan 
rendered  the  Turks  immune  from  attack  from 
the  north. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  had,  by  the  appli- 
cation of  constant  pressure  to  the  vicinity 
of  Shumran,  where  the  enemy's  battle  line 
and  communications  met,  compelled  him  so 
to  weaken  and  expand  his  front  that  his 
attenuated  forces  were  found  to  present  vul- 
nerable points,  if  these  could  be  ascertained. 
The  moment  then  seemed  ripe  to  cross  the 
river  and  commence  conclusions  with  the 
enemy  on  the  left  bank.  To  effect  this  it 
was  important  that  his  attention  should  be 
engaged  about  Sannaiyat  and  along  the  river 
line  between  Sannaiyat  and  Kut,  whilst  the 
main  stroke  was  being  prepared  and  deliv- 
ered as  far  west  as  possible. 

Storming  of  Sannaiyat 

While  Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall's  force  was  en- 
gaged in  the  Dahra  Bend,  Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe 
maintained  constant  activity  along  the  San- 
naiyat front,  and  as  soon  as  the  right  bank 
had  been  cleared  orders  were  issued  for 
Sannaiyat  to  be  attacked  on  Feb.  17.  The 
sodden  condition  of  the  ground,  consequent 
on  heavy  rain  during  the  preceding  day  and 
night,  hampered  final  preparations,  but  the 
first  and  second  lines,  on  a  frontage  of  about 
400  yards,  were  captured  by  a  surprise  as- 
sault with  little  loss.  Before  the  captured 
trenches,  however,  could  be  consolidated  they 
were  subjected  to  heavy  fire  from  artillery 
and  trench  mortars,  and  were  strongly  coun- 
terattacked by  the  enemy.  The  first  counter- 
attack was  dispersed,  but  the  second  regained 
for  the  enemy  his  lost  ground,  except  on  the 
river  bank,  where  a  party  of  Ghurkhas  main- 
tained themselves  until  dusk,  and  were  then 
withdrawn.  The  waterlogged  state  of  the 
country  and  a  high  flood  on  the  Tigris  now 
necessitated  a  pause,  but  the  time  was  use- 
fully employed  in  methodical  preparation  for 
the  passage  of  the  Tigris  about  Shumran. 

On  Feb.  22  the  Seaforths  and  a  Punjabi 
battalion  assaulted  Sannaiyat,  with  the  same 
objective  as  on  the  17th.  The  enemy  were 
again  taken  by  surprise,  and  our  losses 
were  slight.  A  series  of  counterattacks  fol- 
lowed, and  the  first  three  were  repulsed 
without  difficulty.  The  fourth  drove  back 
our  left,  but  the  Punjabis,  reinforced  by  an 
Indian  Rifle  battalion  and  assisted  by  the 
fire  of  the  Seaforths,  who  were  still  holding 
the  Turkish  trenches  on  the  right  front,  re- 
established their  position.  Two  more  counter- 
attacks which  followed  were  defeated.  As 
soon  as  the  captured  position  had  been  con- 
solidated two  frontier  force  regiments  as- 
saulted the  trenches  still  held  by  the  enemy 


REPORT   ON    THE   CAPTURE   OF  BAGDAD 


547 


MAP  OP  REGION   TRAVERSED   BY   THE   BRITISH   EXPEDITION   THAT   CAPTURED   BAGDAD 


in  prolongation  of;  and  to  the  north  of,  those 
already  occupied  by  us.  A  counterattack 
forced  our  right  back  temporarily,  but  the 
situation  was  restored  by  the  arrival  of  re- 
inforcements, and  by  nightfall  we  were  in 
secure  occupation  of  the  first  two  lines  of 
Sannaiyat.  The  brilliant  tenacity  of  the  Sea- 
forths  throughout  this  day  deserves  special 
mention. 

Feints  in  connection  with  the  passage  of 
the  Tigris  were  made  on  the  night  of  the 
22d-23d  opposite  Kut  and  at  Magasis,  re- 
spectively. Opposite  Kut  preparations  for 
bridging  the  Tigris  opposite  the  licorice  fac- 
tory, under  cover  of  a  bombardment  of  Kut, 
were  made  furtively  in  daylight,  and  every 
detail,  down  to  the  erection  of  observation 
ladders,  was  provided  for.  The  result  was, 
as  afterward  ascertained,  that  the  enemy 
moved  infantry  and  guns  into  the  Kut  penin- 
sula, and  these  could  not  be  retransferred  to 
the  actual  point  of  crossing  in  time  to  be  of 
any  use.  The  feint  at  Magasis  consisted  of 
a  raid  across  the  river,  made  by  a  detach- 
ment of  Punjabis,  assisted  by  parties  of 
sappers  and  miners  and  of  the  Sikh  Pioneers. 
This  bold  raid  was  successfully  carried  out 
with  trifling  loss,  and  the  detachment  re- 
turned with  a  captured  trench  mortar. 

Tigris  Crossed 
The  site  selected  for  the  passage  of  the 
Tigris  was  at  the  south  end  of  the  Shumran 
Bend,  where  the  bridge  was  to  be  thrown, 
and  three  ferrying  places  were  located  im- 
mediately downstream  of  this  point.  Just 
before  daybreak  on  Feb.  23  the  three  ferries 


began  to  work.  The  first  trip  at  the  ferry 
immediately  below  the  bridge  site,  where 
the  Norfolks  crossed,  was  a  complete  sur- 
prise, and  five  machine  guns  and  some  300 
prisoners  were  captured.  Two  battalions  of 
Ghurkhas,  who  were  using  the  two  lower 
ferries,  were  met  by  a  staggering  fire  before 
they  reached  the  left  bank,  but  in  spite  of 
losses  in  men  and  pontoons  they  pressed  on 
gallantly  and  effected  a  landing.  The  two 
downstream  ferries  were  soon  under  such 
heavy  machine-gun  fire  that  they  had  to  be 
closed,  and  all  ferrying  was  subsequently 
carried  on  by  means  of  the  upstream  ferry. 

By  7  :30  A.  M.  about  three  companies  of  the 
Norfolks  and  some  150  of  the  Ghurkhas  were 
on  the  left  bank.  The  enemy's  artillery  be- 
came increasingly  active,  but  was  vigorously 
engaged  by  ours,  and  the  construction  of  the 
bridge  commenced.  The  Norfolks  pushed 
rapidly  upstream  on  the  left  bank,  taking 
many  prisoners,  while  our  machine  guns  on 
the  right  bank,  west  of  the  Shumran  Bend, 
inflicted  casualties  on  those  Turks  who  tried 
to  escape.  The  Ghurkha  battalions  on  the 
right  and  centre  were  meeting  with  more 
.opposition,  and  their  progress  was  slower. 
By  3  P.  M.  all  three  battalions  were  estab- 
lished on  the  east  and  west  line  one  mile 
north  of  the  bridge  site,  and  a  fourth  bat- 
talion was  being  ferried  over.  The  enemy 
attempted  to  counterattack  down  the  centre 
of  the  peninsula  and  to  reinforce  along  its 
western  edge,  but  both  attempts  were  foiled 
by  the  quickness  and  accuracy  of  our  artil- 
lery. At  4  :30  P.  M.  the  bridge  was  ready  for 
traffic. 


648 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES.  CURRENT    HISTORY 


By  nightfall,  as  a  result  of  the  day's  opera- 
tions, our  troops  had,  by  their  unconquerable 
valor  anad  determination,  forced  a  passage 
across  a  river  in  flood,  340  yards  wide,  in 
face  of  strong  opposition,  and  had  secured  a 
position  2,000  yards  in  depth,  covering  the 
bridgehead,  while  ahead  of  this  line  our  pa- 
trols were  acting  vigorously  against  the  ene- 
my's advanced  detachments,  who  had  suf- 
fered heavy  losses,  including  about  700  pris- 
oners taken  in  all.  The  infantry  of  one  divi- 
sion were  across  and  another  division  was 
ready  to  follow. 

Kul  Reoccupied 

While  the  crossing  at  Shumran  was  pro- 
ceeding, Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe  had  secured  the 
third  and  fourth  lines  at  Sannaiyat.  Bomb- 
ing parties  occupied  the  fifth  line  later,  and 
work  was  carried  on  all  night  making  roads 
across  the  maze  of  trenches  for  the  passage 
of  artillery  and  transport.  Early  on  Feb.  24 
our  troops  in  the  Shumran  Bend  resumed  the 
advance,  supported  by  machine  guns  and  ar- 
tillery from  the  right  bank.  The  enemy  held 
on  tenaciously  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
peninsula,  where  there  is  a  series  of  nalas  in 
which  a  number  of  machine  guns  were  con- 
cealed, but  after  a  strenuous  fight,  lasting  for 
four  or  five  hours,  he  was  forced  back,  and 
two  field  and  two  machine  guns  and  many 
prisoners  fell  into  our  possession.  Further 
west  our  troops  were  engaged  with  strong 
enemy  forces  in  the  intricate  mass  of  ruins, 
mounds,  and  nalas  which  lie  to  the  northwest 
of  Shumran,  and  rapid  progress  was  impos- 
sible, but  toward  evening  the  enemy  had  been 
pushed  back  to  a  depth  of  1,000  yards,  al- 
though he  still  resisted  stubbornly. 

While  this  fighting  was  in  progress  the  cav- 
alry, the  artillery,  and  another  division 
crossed  the  bridge.  The  cavalry  attempted 
to  break  through  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
Shumran  Bend  to  operate  against  the  enemy's 
rear  along  the  Bagdad  road,  by  which  air- 
planes reported  hostile  columns  to  be  retreat- 
ing, but  strong  Turkish  rearguards  intrenched 
in  nalas  prevented  them  from  issuing  from  the 
peninsula.  During  this  day's  fighting  at 
Shumran  heavy  losses  had  been  inflicted  on 
the  enemy,  and  our  captures  have  been  in- 
creased in  all  to  four  field  guns,  eight  ma- 
chine guns,  some  1,650  prisoners,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  rifles,  ammunition,  equipment, 
and  war  stores.  The  gunboats  were  now  or- 
dered upstream  from  Falahiyeh,  and  reached 
Kut  the  same  evening. 

While  these  events  wre  happening  at  Shum- 
ran, Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe  cleared  the  enemy's 
sixth  line  at  Sannaiyat,  the  Nakhailat,  and 
Suwada  positions,  and  the  left  bank  as  far  as 
Kut  without  much  opposition. 

The  capture  of  the  Sannaiyat  position, 
which  the  Turks  believed  to  be  impregnable, 
had  only  been  accomplished  after  a  fierce 
struggle,  in  which  our  infantry,  closely  sup- 
ported by  our  artillery,  displayed  great  gal- 
lantry and  endurance  against  a  brave  and 
determined  enemy.  The  latter  had  again 
suffered     severely.       Many     trenches     were 


choked  with  corpses,  and  the  open  ground 
where  counterattacks  had  taken  place  was 
strewn  with   them. 

Flight    of    the     Turks 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Feb.  25  the  cav- 
alry and  Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall's  force  moved 
northwest  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  whose 
rearguards  had  retired  in  the  night.  The 
gunboats  also  proceeded  up  stream.  Our 
troops  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy  about 
eight  miles  from  Shumran  and  drove  him 
back,  in  spite  of  stubborn  resistance,  to  his 
main  position  two  miles  further  west,  where 
the  Turks,  strong  in  artillery,  were  disposed 
in  trenches  and  nalas.  Our  guns,  handled 
with  dash,  gave  valuable  support,  but  were 
handicapped  in  this  flat  country  by  being  in 
the  open,  while  the  Turkish  guns  were  con- 
cealed in  gun  pits.  After  a  severe  fight  our 
infantry  gained  a  footing  in  the  enemy's  po- 
sition and  took  about  400  prisoners.  The 
cavalry  on  the  northern  flank  had  been 
checked  by  intrenched  infantry  and  were  un- 
able to  envelop  the  Turkish  rearguard.  The 
Royal  Navy,  on  our  left  flank,  co-operated 
with  excellent  effect  in  the  bombardment  of 
the  enemy's  position  during  the  day. 

On  the  26th  one  column,  following  the  bend 
of  the  river,  advanced  to  force  any  position 
which  the  enemy  might  be  holding  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Tigris,  while  another  column 
of  all  arms  marched  direct  to  the  Sumar 
Bend  in  order  to -intercept  him.  His  retreat 
proved,  however,  to  be  too  rapid.  Stripping 
themselves  of  guns  and  other  incumbrances, 
the  Turks  just  evaded  our  troops,  who  had 
made  a  forced  march  across  some  eighteen 
milse  of  arid  plain.  Our  cavalry  came  up 
with  the  enemy's  rear  parties  and  shelled 
his  rearguard,  intrenched  near  Nahr  Kellak. 

The  gunboat  flotilla,  proceeding  upstream 
full  speed  ahead,  came  under  very  heavy  fire 
at  the  closest  range  from  guns,  machine 
guns,  and  rifles,  to  which  it  replied  vigor- 
ously. In  spite  of  casualties  and  damage  to 
the  vessels,  the  flotilla  held  on  its  course 
past  the  rearguard  position,  and  did  consid- 
erable execution  among  the  enemy's  retreat- 
ing columns.  Further  upstream  many  of  the 
enemy's  craft  were  struggling  to  get  away, 
and  the  Royal  Navy  pressed  forward  in  pur- 
suit. The  hostile  vessels  were  soon  within 
easy  range,  and  several  surrendered,  includ- 
ing the  armed  tug  Sumana,  which  had  been 
captured  at  Kut  when  that  place  fell.  The 
Turkish  steamer  Basra,  full  of  troops  and 
wounded,  surrendered  when  brought  to  by  a 
shell  which  killed  and  wounded  some  German 
machine  gunners.  His  Majesty's  ship  Fire- 
fly, captured  from  us  during  the  retreat  from 
Ctesiphon  in  1915,  kept  up  a  running  fight, 
but,  after  being  hit  several  times,  she  fell 
into  our  hands,  the  enemy  making  an  un- 
successful attempt  to  set  fire  to  her  maga- 
zine. The  Pioneer,  badly  hit  by  our  fire, 
was  also  taken,  as  well  as  some  barges  laden 
with  munitions.  Our  gunboats  were  in  touch 
with  and  shelled  the  retreating  enemy  during 


REPORT    ON    THE   CAPTURE    OF   BAGDAD 


549 


most  of  the  27th,  and  his  retirement  was 
harassed  by  the  cavalry  until  after  dark, 
when  his  troops  were  streaming  through 
Aziziyeh   in  great  confusion. 

Hussars'   Brilliant   Charge 

The  pursuit  was  broken  off  at  Aziziyeh, 
(fifty  miles  from  Kut  and  half  way  to  Bag- 
dad,) where  the  gunboats,  cavalry,  and 
Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall's  infantry  were  con- 
centrated during  the  pause  necessary  to  re- 
organize our  extended  line  of  communication 
preparatory  to  a  further  advance.  Lieut. 
Gen.  Cobbe's  force  closed  to  the  front,  clear- 
ing the  battlefields  and  protecting  the  line 
of  march.  Immense  quantities  of  equipment, 
ammunition,  rifles,  vehicles,  and  stores  of 
all  kinds,  lay  scattered  throughout  the  eighty 
miles  over  which  the  enemy  had  retreated 
under  pressure,  and  marauders  on  looting 
Intent  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  small  parties 
who  stood  in  their  way. 

Since  crossing  the  Tigris  we  had  captured 
some  4,000  prisoners,  of  whom  188  were  offi- 
cers ;  thirty-nine  guns,  twenty-two  trench 
mortars,  eleven  machine  guns,  his  Majesty's 
ships  Firefly,  Sumana,  (recaptured),  Pioneer, 
Basra,  and  several  smaller  vessels,  besides 
ten  barges,  pontoons,  and  other  bridging  ma- 
terial, quantities  of  rifles,  bayonets,  equip- 
ment, ammunition  and  explosives,  vehicles, 
and  miscellaneous  stores  of  all  kinds.  In  ad- 
dition, the  enemy  threw  into  the  river  or 
otherwise  destroyed  several  guns  and  much 
war  material. 

On  March  5,  the  supply  situation  having 
been  rapidly  readjusted,  Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall 
marched  to  Zeur,  (eighteen  miles,)  preceded 
by  the  cavalry,  which  moved  seven  miles 
further  to  Lajj.  Here  the  Turkish  rearguard 
was  found  in  an  intrenched  position,  very 
difficult  to  locate  by  reason  of  a  dense  dust 
storm  that  was  blowing  and  of  a  network  of 
nalas,  with  which  the  country  is  intersected. 
The  cavalry  was  hotly  engaged  with  the 
enemy  in  this  locality  throughout  the  day, 
and  took  some  prisoners.  A  noticeable  feature 
of  the  day's  work  was  a  brilliant  charge 
made,  mounted,  by  the  Hussars  straight  into 
the  Turkish  trenches.  The  enemy  retreated 
during  the  night. 

The  dust  storm  continued  on  the  6th, 
when  the  cavalry,  carrying  out  some  use- 
ful reconnoissances,  got  within  three  miles 
of  the  Diala  River,  and  picked  up  some 
prisoners.  The  Ctesiphon  position,  strongly 
intrenched,  was  found  unoccupied.  There 
was  evidence  that  the  enemy  had  intended 
to  hold  it,  but  the  rapidity  of  our  advance 
had  evidently  prevented  him  from  doing  so. 
Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall  followed  the  cavalry 
to  Bustan,  (seventeen  miles,)  and  the, head 
of  Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe's  column  reached  Zeur. 

On  March  7  our  advanced  guard  came  in 
contact  with  the  enemy  on  the  line  of  the 
Diala  River,  which  joins  the  Tigris  on  its 
left  bank,  about  eight  miles  below  Bagdad. 
As  the  ground  was  absolutely  flat  and  de- 
void   of   cover,    it   was    decided    to   make   no 


further  advance  till  after  sunset.  Our  gun- 
boats and  artillery,  however,  came  into 
action  against  the  hostile   guns. 

Callanl    North    Lancashire* 

Measures  for  driving  the  enemy's  infantry 
from  the  Diala  were  initiated  on  the  night 
of  March  7-8.  It  appeared  as  though  the 
enemy  had  retired,  but  when  the  first  pon- 
toon was.  launched  it  was  riddled  by  rifle 
and  machine-gun  fire.  A  second  attempt  was 
made  with  artilley  and  machine-gun  co- 
operation. Five  pontoons  were  launched,  but 
they  were  all  stopped  by  withering  fire  from 
concealed  machine  guns.  They  floated  down 
stream,  and  were  afterward  recovered  in  the 
Tigris  River  with  a  few  wounded  survivors 
on  board,  and  further  ferrying  enterprises 
were  for  the  time  being  deemed  impracticable. 
It  now  became  evident  that,  although  the 
line  of  the  Diala  was  not  held  strongly,  it 
was  well  defended  by  numerous  guns  and 
machine  guns  skillfully  sited,  and  the  bright 
moonlight  favored  the  defense.  To  assist  in 
forcing  the  passage  a  small  column  from  the 
force  under  Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall  was  ferried 
across  the  Tigris  in  order  to  enfilade  the 
enemy's  position  with  its  guns  from  the  right 
bank  of  that  river. 

During  the  night  of  the  8th-9th,  after  an 
intense  bombardment  of  the  opposite  bank, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  ferry  troops  across 
the  Diala  River  from  four  separate  points. 
The  main  enterprise  achieved  a  qualified  suc- 
cess, the  most  northern  ferry  being  able  to 
work  for  nearly  an  hour  before  it  was 
stopped  by  very  deadly  rifle  and  machine 
gun  fire,  and  we  established  a  small  post  on 
the  right  bank.  When  day  broke  this  party 
of  seventy  of  the  Loyal  North  Lancashires 
had  driven  off  two  determined  counterattacks 
and  were  still  maintaining  themselves  in  a 
small  loop  of  the  river  bend.  For  the  next 
twenty-two  hours,  until  the  passage  of  the 
river  had  been  completely  forced,  the  detach- 
ment held  on  gallantly  in  its  isolated  position 
under  constant  close  fire  from  the  surround- 
ing buildings,  trenches,  and  gardens,  being 
subjected  to  reverse  as  well  as  enfilade  fire 
from  distant  points  along  the  right  bank. 

On  the  8th  a  bridge  was  constructed  across 
the  Tigris,  half  a  mile  below  Bawi,  and  the 
cavalry,  followed  by  a  portion  of  Lieut.  Gen. 
Cobbe's  force,  crossed  to  the  right  bank  in 
order  to  drive  the  enemy  from  positions 
which  our  airplanes  reported  that  he  had  oc- 
cupied about  Shawa  Khan,  and  northwest  of 
that  place,  covering  Bagdad  from  the  south 
and  southwest.  The  advance  of  our  troops 
was  much  impeded  by  numerous  nalas  and 
water  cuts,  which  had  to  be  ramped  to  ren- 
der them  passable.  During  the  forenoon  of 
the  9th  Shawa  Khan  was  occupied  without 
much  opposition,  and  airplanes  reported  an- 
other position  one  and  a  half  miles  to  the 
northwest,  and  some  six  miles  south  of  Bag- 
dad, as  strongly  held.  Our  attack  against 
this    developed    later    from    the    south    and 


550 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


southwest  in  an  endeavor  to  turn  the  ene- 
my's right  flank.  The  cavalry,  which  at 
first  had  been  operating  on  our  left  flank, 
withdrew  later,  as  the  horses  needed  water ; 
but  our  infantry  were  still  engaged  before 
this  position  when  darkness  fell,  touch  with 
the  enemy  being  kept  up  by  means  of  patrols, 
and  the  advance  was  resumed  as  soon  as  in- 
dications of  his  withdrawal  were  noticed. 

City   Entered 

On  the  morning  of  March  10  our  troops 
were  again  engaged  with  the  Turkish  rear- 
guard within  three  miles  of  Bagdad,  and 
our  cavalry  patrols  reached  a  point  two  miles 
west  of  Bagdad  railway  station,  where 
they  were  checked  by  the  enemy's  fire.  A 
gale  and  blinding  dust  storm  limited  vision 
to  a  few  yards,  and  under  these  conditions 
reconnoissance  and  co-ordination  of  move- 
ments became  difficult.  The  dry  wind  and 
dust  and  the  absence  of  water  away  from 
the  river  added  greatly  to  the  discomfort  of 
the  troops  and  animals.  About  midnight  pa- 
trols reported  the  enemy  to  be  retiring.  The 
dust  storm  was  still  raging,  but,  following 
the  Decauville  Railway  as  a  guide,  our 
troops  occupied  Bagdad  railway  station  at 
5:55  A.  M.,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
enemy  on  the  right  bank  had  retired  up- 
stream of  Bagdad.  Troops  detailed  in  ad- 
vance occupied  the  city,  and  the  cavalry 
moved  on  Kadhimain,  some  four  miles  north- 
west of  Bagdad,  where  they  secured  some 
prisoners. 

On  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris  Lieut.  Gen. 
Marshall  had  during  the  9th  elaborated  prep- 
arations for  forcing  the  passage  of  the 
Diala.  At  4  A.  M.  on  the  10th  the  crossing 
began  at  two  points  a  mile  apart,  and  met 
with  considerable  opposition,  but  by  7  A.  M. 
the  East  Lancashires  and  Wiltshires  were 
across  and  had  linked  up  with  the  detach- 
ment of  Loyal  North  Lancashires  which  had 
so  heroically  held  its  ground  there.  Motor 
lighters  carrying  infantry  to  attack  the 
enemy's  right  flank  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Diala  grounded  lower  down  the  river,  and 
took  no  part  in  the  operation.  The  bridge 
across  the  Diala  was  completed  by  noon, 
and  our  troops,  pushing  steadily  on,  drove 
the  enemy  from  the  riverside  villages  of 
Saidah,  Dibaiyi,  and  Qararah— the  latter 
strongly  defended  with  machine  guns— and 
finally  faced  the  enemy's  last  position  cover- 
ing Bagdad  along  the  Tel  Muhammad  Ridge. 
These  operations  had  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  300  prisoners  and  a  large  quantity  of 
arms,  ammunition,  and  equipment,  while 
severe  loss  had  been  inflicted  on  the  enemy 
in  killed  and  wounded,  more  than  300  of  his 
dead  being  found  by  our  troops. 

During  the  night  of  March  10-11  close  touch 
with  the  enemy  was  maintained  by  patrols, 
and  at  1 :30  A.  M.  on  the  11th  it  was  reported 
that  the  Turks  were  retiring.  The  Tel 
Muhammad  position  was  at  once  occupied, 
and  patrols  pushed  beyond  it,  but  contact 
with  the  enemy  was  lost  in  the  dust  storm. 


Early  on  the  11th  Lieut.  Gen.  Marshall  ad- 
vanced rapidly  on  Bagdad,  and  entered  the 
city  amid  manifestations  of  satisfaction  on 
the  part  of  the  inhabitants.  A  state  of 
anarchy  had  existed  for  some  hours,  Kurds 
and  Arabs  looting  the  bazaars  and  setting  fire 
indiscriminately  at  various  points.  Infantry 
guards  provided  for  in  advance  were,  how- 
ever, soon  on  the  spot,  order  was  restored 
without  difficulty,  and  the  British  flag 
hoisted  over  the  city.  In  the  afternoon  the 
gunboat  flotilla,  proceeding  up  stream  in 
line  ahead  formation,  anchored  off  the 
British  Residency,  and  the  two  forces  under 
Lieut.  Gens.  Marshall  and  Cobbe  provided 
for  the  security  of  the  approaches  to  the  city, 
being  disposed  one  on  either  bank  of  the 
river. 

For  more  than  a  fortnight  before  we  entered 
Bagdad  the  enemy  had  been  removing  stores 
and  articles  of  military  value  and  destroying 
property  which  he  could  not  remove,  but  an 
immense  quantity  of  booty,  part  damaged, 
part  undamaged,  remained.  This  included 
guns,  machine  guns,  rifles,  ammunition,  ma- 
chinery, railway  workshops,  railway  material, 
rolling  stock,  ice  and  soda  water  plant, 
pipes,  pumps,  cranes,  winches,  signal  and 
telegraph  equipment,  and  hospital  accessories. 
In  the  arsenal  were  found,  among  some  can- 
non of  considerable  antiquity,  all  the  guns 
(rendered  useless  by  General  Townshend) 
which  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands  at  the 
capitulation  of  Kut  in  April,   1910. 

Care  of  Sick  an^  Wounded 
On  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris  the  retreat- 
ing enemy  had  intrenched  a  strong  position 
south  of  Mushaidie  railway  station,  some 
twenty  miles  north  of  Bagdad.  A  force 
under  Lieut.  Gen.  Cobbe  carried  this  on 
March  14,  after  a  brilliant  charge  by  the 
Black  Watch  and  Ghurkhas.  At  Mushaidie 
station  the  enemy  made  his  last  stand,  but 
the  Black  Watch  and  Ghurkhas  rushed  the 
station  at  midnight,  and  pursued  the  enemy 
for  half  a  mile  beyond.  The  enemy's  flight 
was  now  so  rapid  that  touch  was  not  obtained 
again,  and  on  March  16  our  airplanes  reported 
stragglers  over  a  depth  of  twenty  miles,  the 
nearest  being  twenty-five  miles  north  of 
Mushaidie. 

On  the  same  day  a  post  was  established  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Diala,  opposite 
Baqubah,  thirty  miles  northeast  of  Bagdad, 
and  four  days  later  Baqubah  was  captured. 
On  March  19  our  troops  occupied  Feluja, 
thirty-five  miles  west  of  Bagdad,  on  the 
Euphrates,  driving  out  the  Turkish  garrison. 
The  occupation  of  Feluja,  with  Nasariyeh 
already  in  our  possession,  gave  us  control 
over  the  middle  Euphrates  from  both  ends. 
During  the  remainder  of  the  month  minor 
operations  were  undertaken  on  the  Diala, 
pending  the  arrival  of  the  Russian  forces  ad- 
vancing from  Persia.  The  total  number  of 
prisoners  taken  during  the  period  Dec.  13  to 
March  31  was  7,921. 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY   CARTOONISTS 


[English   Cartoon] 

United  Again 


w:-":'- 


—From  The  Evening  News,  London. 

John  :     "  Today's  the  day  you  left  me,  Sam,  the  day  that  made  you  free." 
Sam:     "Yep,  John,  free  to  come  back!  " 


551 


[French   Cartoon] 


A  Large  Contract 


—From  Pele-Mele,  Paris. 

William  :     "  I  never  imagined  Liberty  was  so  high  that  it  was  impossible 
to  extinguish  her  flame." 


552 


[German  Cartoon] 


The  Roar  of  the  American  War  God 


—From  Kladderadatsch,  Berlin. 
[One  of  Germany's  many  attempts  to  ridicule  the  fighting  ability  of  the  United 

States.] 


553 


[French   Cartoon] 


After  the  Charge 


-4 

—From  La  Baionnette,  Paris. 

The  Poilu  :  "  I,  too,  have  brought  down  my  fifth  Boche,  but  it  won't  be 
mentioned  in  the  War  Office  bulletin." 

[Note.— Every  French  aviator  who  brings  down  his  fifth  enemy  machine  is  cited  in  the 
official  reports] 


554 


[English   Cartoon] 


America's  Choice 


fcr^v-TL 


—Raemaehers  in  Land  and  Water,  London. 

America  refuses  the  olive  branch  from  "  the  ugly  talons  of  the  sinister  power." 

(President  Wilson's  Address  on  Flag  Day,  June  14.) 


555 


[Australian  Cartoon] 


For  the  Armageddon  Melting  Pot 


—F-rom    The   Sydney    Bulletin. 
Democritus  the  Junk  Man:   "Any  old  crowns  today — any  old  crowns?" 


556 


[Italian  Cartoon] 
Constantine's  Report 


[Italian  Cartoon] 
Constantine's  Departure 


—From   II   Numero.    Turin. 


—From  II  }20j  Florence. 

Wilhelm  :     "  What  necessity  forced 
you  to  leave  Greece?  " 

Constantine  :"  It  was  not  necessity.      A    cold    welcome    in    Switzerland,    but 
It  was  the  Entente."  *         things  are  coming  his  way. 


[French   Cartoon] 

The  Sovereigns5  Asylum 


—From  La  Ylctoire,  Paris. 
Constantine:     "Move  up,  Nicholas,  some  others  are  coming." 


557 


[German  Cartoon] 


John  Bull,  the  Conqueror 


T^^r*^ 


—From   Der    Ulk.   Berlin. 


"  It's  an  easy  job  to  conquer  Germany.     Look,  I  have  already  captured  a 
French  village!  " 


558 


[English  Cartoon] 

Uncle  Sam's  War  Aim 


—From  The  Bystander,  London. 
To  demonstrate  to  the  Kaiser  a  new  meaning  of  Stars  and  Stripes. 


559 


[English   Cartoon] 
The    U-Boat  Blockade 


[Norwegian   Cartoon] 
Full  Compensation 


yet! 


.3  ***$"*&* 

-From   London   Opinion.  -From  Hvepsen,  Christian*. 

T  T>,„,       uxxti.  4.1     m;    i       ■  Gbrman  Consul:  "Our  Government 

John  Bull:     "What!     Not  starving      has   decided  to   pay  full  compensation 

for  the  torpedoed  ship  on  which  your 
husband  was  drowned.  How  much  do 
you  want?  " 


[French  Cartoon] 
The  American  Spirit 


[Polish  Cartoon] 
We,  Nicholas  II.,  &c,  &c. 


H©    Le  Rire,  Paris. 

No    longer    a    matter    of    typewriting 
machines. 


-From   Mucha,  formerly  of   Warsaw. 


560 


[American  Cartoon] 

The  Last  Draft 


—From  The  New  York  Times. 
Democracy:  u  On  what  grounds  do  you  claim  exemption?  " 


561 


[French   Cartoon] 

The  Kaiser's  Insignia 


—From  Le  Pele-Mele,  Paris. 


— and  as  they  are. 


562 


[Italian   Cartoon] 


Peace 


-From  II  lfiO,  Florence. 


Over  the  body  of  Attila  the  celebrated  artist  Death  will  sing  the  hymn  of  peace. 


563 


[American  Cartoon] 

On  the  Brink 


—From   The  New  York  Times. 


561 


[American  Cartoon] 


Whose  Fire  Is  It,  Anyhow? 


—From  The  Baltimore  American. 


565 


[German-Swiss   Cartoon] 


Deciding  the  Hunger  War 


i 

Ga  tL 

1    £i\    <A,                      /'S*' 

la 

6  i 

THm 

WwN>i  I 

i. 


Q 


ZsL 


—From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 

In  the  end  it  will  be  fought  out  by  a  German  poet  and  a  French  artist  in 
the  form  of  a  hunger  duel. 


566 


[American  Cartoons] 


Ivan's  Answer 


The  Persecuted  Middleman 


G-^   cZ\.l±Z<':-i)  libslo/juQ 


— St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 


•jrt^Ml  '±R     -  ■i-ij;^Pmm&&ik 


—Dallas   News. 


A  Hard  Leap  for  Fritzie  u#  g  .  «That  FeUw  Certainly 

Has  Some  Appetite" 


—Cleveland  Leader. 


-Ohio  State  Journal. 


567 


[American  Cartoons] 


"'Smaller,  Pop?" 


Off  for  the  Front 


—From  The  Manchester  Union. 


—Baltimore  American. 


The  Man  Behind  the  Gun 


The  Tail  Trying  to  Wag  the  Dog 


568 


[American  Cartoons] 
*f  The  Last  Argument  of  Kings"  Unmasked 


-St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 


—Atlanta  Journal 


The  Third  Anniversary 


The  Early  Bird  Loses  the  Worm 


—Knickerbocker  Press,  Albany,  N.    Y. 


•Baltimore  American. 


569 


[German  Cartoon] 

English  Reserve 


John  Bull:    "Look  out,  Russia! 
my  Japanese  on  you !  " 


—From  Simplicissimus ,  Munich. 
If  you  don't  love  me  any  more  I  will  set 


570 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  AND  INDEX 


Volume  VI. 

[SECOND    PART] 

July — September,  1917 

Pages  1-570 

[Titles  of  articles  appear  in  italics'] 


ADDISON,  (Dr.)  Christopher,  on  munitions 
output,  224 ;  on  aircraft  manufacture  in 
England,   514. 

ADLER,  (Dr.)  Friedrich,  decision  of  Aus- 
trian Parliament  on  trial,  226 ;  summary 
of  his  own  defense  of  assassination  of 
Count   Stuergkh,   330. 

Adventures  of  Submarine  Victims,  95. 

AERONAUTICS,  plans  for  creation  of  U.  S. 
air  fleet ;  use  of  Wright  field  at  Dayton 
by  Govt.,  13;  feats  of  aviators  over  Mes- 
sines  Ridge,  40;  accounts  of  air  raids  on 
England  from  May  23  to  June  16,  70;  air- 
planes shot  down  on  western  front  dur- 
ing April  and  May ;  Major  Rees  on  Brit- 
ish and  French  supremacy,  78 ;  on  length 
of  training  for  pilot,  79 ;  description  of 
his  own  capture  by  Prince  Karl  Fried- 
rich,  79 ;  fight  on  western  front  described, 
80 ;  tribute  to  work  of  Lafayette  Esca- 
drille  at  Verdun,  by  L.  Cammen,  81 ;  ap- 
propriation for  air  fleet  passed  by  House, 
226 ;  use  of  airplanes  and  hydroplanes  in 
detecting  submarines,  discussed  by  T.  G. 
Frothingham.  249;  Govt,  training  camps 
in  Canada,  289 ;  tactical  value  of  aircraft 
in  three  years  of  war,  427 ;  U.  S.  appro- 
priation for  aviation  corps ;  H.  Coffin  on 
work  ahead  of  Aircraft  Board ;  Dr.  Ad- 
dison on  aircraft  manufacture,  514;  ac- 
count of  attacks  on  London  and  Paris, 
516;  meeting  called  by  Lloyd  George  to 
consider  reprisals,  517 ;  French  raid  in 
reprisal ;  bombing  of  Krupp  works,  518 ; 
British  raid  on  Ghistelles ;  list  of  air  raids 
since  May  1,  519;  losses,  Italian  raids, 
520;  "Early  Raids  of  Note,"  "German 
Airman's  Story  of  a  Raid  on  London," 
521;  "Ear  Disturbances  Suffered  by 
Aviators,"  523;  Congressman  Tilson  on 
"  Airplanes  and  Gas  Bombs,"  525. 

AFRICA,  see  GERMAN  East  Africa. 

AGRICULTURE,  T.  P.  O'Connor  on  land 
under  cultivation  in  England  and  Ireland, 
275;  work  by  French  authorities  in  re- 
storing lands  devastated  by  Germans, 
347. 

AIMS  of  the  War,  Pres.  Wilson's  Flag  Day 
address,  1 ;  Pres.  Wilson's  note  to  Rus- 
sia, 49 ;  first  address  of  Dr.  Michaelis, 
197 ;  speech  of  Lloyd  George  at  Glasgow, 
261 ;  Baron  Sonnino  on  Italy's  aims,  263 ; 
stated  in  French  reply  to  Russian  demand 
for  statement.  264;  speech  in  Deputies  by 
R.  Viviani,  277 ;  reply  of  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg  to  Pan  Germanist  protest  against 
narrow  view  of  utilization  of  victories, 
353 ;  P.  Scheidemann  on  leading  factors, 
449:  address  at  Madison  Barracks  by 
Secretary  Lansing  on  aims  of  U.  S.,  455; 
Sen.  Borah  on  U.  S.  aims,  460;  views  of 
H.  H.  Asquith,  466;  France  accused  bv 
Dr.  Michaelis  of  making  secret  treatv 
with  Russia  aiming  at  conquest,  in  reply 
to  Lloyd  George,  467 ;  Baron  Sonnino  on 
Italian  attitude  toward  Balkan  issues. 
476;  statement  given  out  by  Admiral  of 
Italian  Navv.  477. 
See  also  CAUSES  of  War;  PEACE. 

AIR  raids,  see  AERONAUTICS. 

Airplanes  and  Gas  Bombs,  525. 

ALBANIA,  offers  of  autonomy  by  Austria 
and  by  Italy,   85;   Italian  occupation,   86; 

Vol.    6 — Part    Two 


republic  established  by  Allies  at  Koritza, 
87 ;  article  on  rival  plans  of  autonomy  and 
attitude  of  country,  284 ;  text  of  Italian 
proclamation  of  autonomy,  285 ;  Baron 
Sonnino  on  Italian  aims,  477. 

ALBERT,  King  of  the  Belgians,  letter  to 
Pres.  Wilson  presented  by  Belgian  Mis- 
sion, 272. 

ALEXANDER  I.,  King  of  Greece,  succeeds 
Constantine,  83 ;  proclamation  on  ascend- 
ing throne ;  manifesto  by  M.  Jonnart  off- 
setting proclamation,  282. 

ALEXANDRA  Feodorovna,  Czarina  of  Rus- 
sia, part  in  war  compared  with  that  of 
Marie  Antoinette  in  French  Revolution, 
108,  118. 

ALEXEIEFF,  (Gen.)  Michael  V.,  resigna- 
tion, 55. 

ALGECIRAS  Conference,  attitude  of  U.  S. 
toward   enforcement  of  treaty,   304. 

ALIENS,  see  ENEMY  Aliens;  UNITED 
STATES — Foreign    Population. 

All  Anti-Jewish  Laws  Repealed,  214. 

ALLIES'  Commissions  to  United  States,  edi- 
torial comment,  19;  closing  addresses  of 
French  and  British  Envoys  and  summary 
of  work,  59;  account  of  visit  of  Italian 
Commission,  62  ;  French  Mission  in  Balti- 
more, 237 ;  account  of  visit  of  Russian 
Mission,  26(3 ;  mission  resolves  itself 
into  permanent  Russian  Embassy,  269; 
"  Tour  of  the  Italian  Mission  "  speeches 
of  G.  Marconi,  E.  Arlotta.  and  Prince 
Udine,  270;  account  of  visit  of  Belgian 
Mission,  272 ;  speech  of  Lord  Northcnne 
in  New  York ;  representatives  of  Irish 
Parliamentary  Party,  purpose  explained 
by  T.  P.  O'Connor,  274;  visit  of  Irish 
Nationalist  leaders ;  Andre  Tardieu  as 
French  High  Commissioner,  275 ;  Ruma- 
nian Patriotic  Mission,  276;  "Objects  of 
Japanese  Mission,"  276:  account  of  arrival 
of  Japanese  Mission,  429. 
See  also  HOLLAND ;  NORWEGIAN  Com- 
mission;  SWEDEN;   SWITZERLAND. 

ALLIES'  Conference  on  Balkan  Affairs,  de- 
cisions, 438. 

ALLIN,   C.    D.,   64. 

ALNWICK  Castle  (S.  S.).  account  by  Capt. 
Chave  of  torpedoing,  93. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE,  resolution  on  return 
to  France,  in  Chamber  of  Deputies,  50; 
restoration  demanded  as  condition  of 
peace  in  French  note  to  Russia,  264; 
Order  of  the  Day  in  French  Chamber  of 
Deputies  on  return.  264 ;  text  of  Declara- 
tion of  Bordeaux,  265;  A.  J.  Balfour  on 
restoration,  469. 

AMEGLIO,    (Gen.)   Giovanni,   299. 

"  America  Will  Make  No  Difference,"  463. 

AMERICAN  Commission  to  Russia,  see  under 
RUSSIA. 

AMERICAN  Escadrille,  see  LAFAYETTE 
Escadrille. 

AMERICAN  Federation  of  Labor,  444. 

AMERICAN  Fund  for  French  Wounded,  in 
charge  of  rebuilding  Behericourt,  349. 

American  Mission  in  Russia,  57. 

America's  Army  in  the  Making,  11. 

America's  Fleet  in  Being,  14. 


11. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


AMMUNITION,       "  Enormous      Weight      of 
Metal  Hurled  by  Artillery,"  334. 
See  also  MUNITIONS  of  War. 

ANDERSON,    (Dr.)   William,  64. 

ANNEXATION,  see  AIMS  of  War;  PEACE. 

Appalling  Waste  of  the  War,  452. 

Appeal  to  American  Patriotism,  387. 

APPONTI,  (Count)  Albert,  made  Minister  of 
Education,    20. 

ARABIA,  new  kingdom  protected  by  Entente 
Allies,   531. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

Arabs  and  the  Turks  in  the  War,  531. 

ARBITRATION,  International,  view  of  Ger- 
man Chancellor  in  1911,  72;  attitude  of 
U.   S.  and  of  Germany,  306,  309. 

ARIGA,    (Prof.)   Nagao,   104. 

ARKWRIGHT,  John  S..  poem,  "  O  Valiant 
Hearts,"  432. 

ARLOTTA,  Enrico,  plea  for  war  materials 
and  ships,  271. 

ARMED  Merchant  Ships,  see  UNITED 
STATES — Armed  Neutrality. 

ARMENIA,   see  ATROCITIES. 

Armenian  Tragedy,  332. 

ARMIES,    Sir   W.    Robertson   on  number   of 
men  in  Franco-Prussian  war  and  in  pres- 
ent conflict,  136 ;  comment  on  small  armies 
and  decisive  battles,  226. 
See  also  under  names  of  countries. 

ARNIM,  (Gen.)  Sixt  von,  report  on  ammu- 
nition expended  in  Somme  battle,  334. 

ASIA,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

ASPHYXIATING  Gas,  account  of  first  at- 
tacks at  Ypres,  125;  use  of  sabadilla  for 
production  of  gases,  258;  sketch  of  use  in 
warfare,  by  Congressman  Tilson,  526. 

ATHOS  (S.  S.),  account  of  heroism  on,  92. 

ATROCITIES,  Armenians  referred  to  by  Lord 
Cecil  in  defense  of  annexation  policy,  46; 
"  The  Armenian  Tragedy,"  by  E.  Cand- 
ler,  332. 

See  also  VANDALISM. 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  Cabinet  changes  and 
racial  problems,  20 ;  attitude  on  submarine 
issue  and  break  with  U.  S.,  73;  figures 
showing  division  of  races  and  plan  for 
ideal  reconstruction,  222 ;  wartime  life  in 
Vienna  and  desire  for  peace,  321 ;  sum- 
mary of  Dr.  Adler's  justification  of  his 
assassination  of  Count  Stuergh  by  condi- 
tion of  country,  330 ;  "  The  Pope's  Peace 
Proposal  and  the  Austrian  Empire,"  408. 

AUTOMOBILES,  tanks  at  Messines  Ridge 
battle,  39;  "  tank  "  at  Gaza,  described  by 
W.  T.  Massey,  165;  war  demand  for  trucK 
output  and  drivers  stated  by  Lord  North- 
cliffe,  274. 

AVIATION,  see  AERONAUTICS. 

AYLMER  (Gen.).  303. 

B 

BAGDAD,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

BAGDAD  Railway,  value  in  control  of  Cen- 
tral Europe,  97 ;  effect  of  war  on,  166. 

BAKER,  (Sec.)  Newton  Diehl,  statement  on 
war  strength  of  army,  12 ;  address  at 
drawing  of  conscription  numbers,  385;  let- 
ter of  A.  Tardieu  on  France's  fighting 
strength,  481. 

BAKHMETEFF,  Boris  A.,  heads  Russian 
mission,  19 ;  formal  address  upon  presenta- 
tion of  credentials  as  Ambassador,  207 ; 
rep'y  Gf  Pres.  Wilson,  208;  statement  to 
newspaper  men  on  political  and  military 
program  of  Russia,  266 ;  address  before 
the  House,  267 ;  at  Washington's  tomb ; 
speechs  in  Senate,  278 ;  speech  in  Central 
Park  and  reception  in  New  York ;  resolves 
mission  into  permanent  Russian  Embassy, 


Vol.    6 — Part    Two 


BALFOUR,  Arthur  James,  speech  in  Parlia- 
ment in  Ottawa,  61 ;  on  restoration  of 
Alsace-Lorraine,  and  on  democratization 
of  Germany,  469. 

BALKAN  States,  agreements  reached  in  Al- 
lies'   Conference,    438;   Italy's   position   on 
issues  defined  by  Baron  Sonnino,  470. 
See  also  names  of  States. 

BALL,   (Capt.)  Albert,  79. 

BALTBIE,  (Surgeon  Gen.  Sir)  W.,  censured 
for  deficiencies  in  medical  service  in 
Bagdad  campaign,  540. 

BALTIMORE,  Md.,  ground  broken  by  French 
Mission  for  Lafayette  monument,  237. 

BARBARITIES,  see  ATROCITIES;  VAN- 
DALISM. 

BARATIER,  (Gen.)  A.,  tribute  to  P.  G.  Os- 
born,  412. 

BARBOSA,  Ruy,  extract  from  speech  in  Rio 
Janeiro  calling  for  war,  280. 

BARKET,  J.  H.,  M  Joffre's  Tribute  to  La- 
fayette at  Baltimore,"  237. 

BARLOW,  Lester  P.,  525. 

BARNES,  G.  N.,  stand  against  Stockholm 
Conference,  443. 

Barrage  Fire  in  Modern  Warfare,  507. 

BARROW,  (Maj.  Gen.  Sir)  Edmund,  244, 
538. 

BATOCKI,  Adolph  von,  on  potato  crop ; 
bread-card   system,    152 ;    resignation,   411. 

Battle  of  Messines  Ridge,  35. 

Battle  of  the  Chancelleries,  464. 

BATTLES,  see  CAMPAIGNS ;  NAVAL  Oper- 
ations. 

BAUDRILLART   (Mgr.),   53. 

BEAUCHAMP,   (Capt.)  de,  521. 

BEBEL,  August,  on  attitude  of  Social  Demo- 
crats toward  war,  450. 

BEHERICOURT,  to  be  rebuilt  by  Amer. 
Fund  for  French  Wounded,  349. 

BELGIAN  Commission  to  United  States,  see 
ALLIES'  Commissions. 

BELGIAN  Prince  (S.  S.),  accounts  of  sink- 
ing, by  survivors,  406. 

BELGIUM,  official  memorandum  on  eco- 
nomic exploitation  and  deportations  by 
Germans,  143;  reorganization  of  war  in- 
dustries and  of  army,  146;  Lloyd  George 
on  restoration  by  Germany,  261 ;  plan  of 
Baron  von  Bissing  for  annexation,  352 ; 
German  levies  discussed  in  Belgian  So- 
cialist manifesto,  446 ;  necessity  for  resto- 
ration as  peace  guarantee  stated  by  Lloyd 
George,  465;  version  of  necessity  for  in- 
vasion given  in  telegram  from  Kaiser  to 
Pres.  Wilson,  Aug  10,  1914,  474;  account 
of  sufferings  of  repatriated  deportees, 
498. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Western. 

BENEDICT  XV.,  Pope,  text  of  appeal  to 
belligerent  countries  for  peace,  392 ;  ac- 
companying note  from  Cardinal  Gasparri, 
393 ;  attitude  of  countries  toward  note, 
394. 

BERGER,  Victor  L.,  20. 

BERLIN,  war  conditions  described  by  F.  S. 
Delmer,  324,  508. 

BERLINER  Tageblatt,  on  territory  occupied 
by  Germany  at  close  of  third  year,  480. 

BERNHARDI,  Friedrich  von,  quoted,  75. 

BELLS,  In  churches  in  South  Jutland  seized 
by  Germans,  513. 

BETHMANN  HOLLWEG,  (Dr.)  Theobald 
von,  comment  of  Lord  Cecil  on  speech, 
48 ;  quoted  on  invasion  of  Belgium,  <>*.* ; 
resignation  forced  by  political  crisis,  191 ; 
antagonism  of  Crown  Prince  toward,  195; 
letter  of  Kaiser  accepting  resignation, 
196;  fealty  to  Emperor,  by  C.  D.  Hazen, 
199 ;  opposition  to  secret  voting.  202 ;  re- 
ply to  Baron  Gebsattel  on  Pan-Germanist 
war  alms,  353. 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


in. 


Better  to  Die,  104. 

BIRDS,  description  of  bird  life  in  battle  zone, 
by  H.   Thoburn-Clarke,  140. 

BISMARCK,  (Prince)  Otto  von,  and  "  Ems 
dispatch,"  70;  as  Chancellor,  221. 

BISSING,  (Gen.)  Moritz  P.  von,  plan  for  an- 
nexation of  Belgium,  352. 

BLISS,  Cornelius  N.,  25. 

BLOCKADE,  British,  mistakes  discussed  by 
T.  G.  Frothingham,  422. 

BLOCKADE,  German,  see  SUBMARINE 
Warfare. 

BOMBS,  see  ASPHYXIATING  Gas. 

BORAH,  William  Edgar,  on  aims  of  U.  S. 
in  war,  460. 

BORDEAUX,   Declaration  of,   text,  2G5. 

BORODINE    (Prof.),  266. 

BOXER  Indemnities,  abrogation  promised 
by  Allies,  101. 

BRAILLON  (Dr.),  343. 

BRAZIL,  preparations  for  entering  war,  23 ; 
note  to  U.  S.  on  revocation  of  neutrality, 
279 ;  reply  by  F.  L.  Polk ;  seizure  of  Ger- 
man vessels ;  co-operation  of  navy  with 
U.  S.  fleet ;  R.  Barbosa's  speech  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro  calling  for  war,  280. 

BREAD  Cards,   summary  of  system  in  Ger- 
many, 153. 
See  also  FOODSTUFFS. 

BRIAND,  Aristide,  part  in  development  of 
general  strikes,  439 ;  accused  by  Dr. 
Michaelis  of  aiming  at  conquest,  467. 

BRIDGES,  Robert,  poem,  "  To  the  United 
States  of  America,"  316. 

Britain's  Fight  on  Food  Shortage,  149. 

BRITISH  Commission  to  United  States,  see 
ALLIES'  Commissions. 

British  in  the  Promised  Land,  163. 

British  Reverse  on  the  Yser,  242. 

BROQUEVILLE,  Charles  de,  146. 

BROUCKERE,   (M.)  de,  445. 

BRUSILOFF,  (Gen.)  Alexis,  made  Comman- 
der in  Chief,  55 ;  resignation,  435. 

BUELOW  (Prince)  von,  on  German  militar- 
ism, 203;  as  Chancellor,  221. 

BULGARIA,  entry  into  war,  506. 

BUSINESS,  appeal  of  Pres.  Wilson  against 
profiteering,  256. 

BUTCHKAREFF  (Lieut.),  raises  regiment  of 
women,  56;  on  system  of  training  of  regi- 
ment of  women,  210. 


CADORNA,  (Gen.)  Luigi,  295. 

CAINE,  Hall,  "  The  Appalling  Waste  of  the 
War,"  452. 

CALDWELL,  (Rev.)  M.,  79. 

CAMBON,  Jules,  on  charge  by  Dr.  Michaelis 
of  French  desire  for  annexation,  471. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor,  objectives  and 
events  of  British  and  Russian  operations 
in  Western  Asia  discussed  by  J.  B.  Mac- 
donald,  156;  article  by  W.  T.  Massey, 
"The  British  in  the  Promised  Land," 
163;  Russian  failure,  233;  "Report  on 
British  Disaster  at  Kut-el-Amara,"  244; 
review  of  operations,  by  Maj.  Dayton, 
300;  in  Spring  of  1916,  425;  "The  Arabs 
and  the  Turks  in  the  War,"  531;  extracts 
from  report  of  British  Commission  on 
failure  of  Mesopotamian  expedition,  1915- 
1916,  538;  text  of  report  by  Gen.  Maude 
on  operations  culminating  in  capture  of 
Bagdad,  544. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Austro-Italian  Bor- 
der, reviewed  by  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner,  26; 
account  of  Italian  offensive  on  Carso  and 
Isonzo  fronts,  33;  account  of  operations 
since  beginning,  by  Maj.   Dayton,  295. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Balkan  States,  situa- 
tion reviewed  by  J.   B.   W.   Gardiner,  29; 


Italy  in  Balkans;  occupation  of  Albania, 
86;  Gen.  Ameglio  in  Albania,  300. 
CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Eastern,  Russian 
front  in  1915,  reviewed  by  Maj.  Dayton, 
128;  renewal  of  Russian  offensive  in  Ga- 
licia,  reviewed  by  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner,  227 ; 
W.  Littlefield  on  Bukowina  offensive,  398 ; 
"  The  Grand  Tactics  of  Three  Years  of 
Warfare,"  by  T.  G.  Frothingham,  419; 
retreat  of  Russians  in  Galicia.  442. 

CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Western,  battle  of 
Messines  Ridge  reviewed  by  J.  B.  W. 
Gardiner,  27 ;  account  of  battle  on  Mes- 
sines-Wytschaete  Ridge,  35;  "Storming 
of  the  Aisne  Quarries  "  described  by  W. 
Williams,  41;  account  of  work  of  Ameri- 
can Escadrille  at  Verdun,  by  L.  Cammen, 
81 ;  second  battle  of  Ypres,  Verdun,  Artois, 
and  Festubert,  article  by  Maj.  Dayton,  124 ; 
extracts  from  diary  of  Cardinal  Lucon  on 
bombardment  of  Rheims,  139 ;  J.  B.  W. 
Gardiner  on  British  at  Lens  and  German 
attack  on  Chemin  des  Dames,  231 ;  on 
German  attack  on  Yser,  232;  "War's  In- 
ferno on  the  Aisne  Ridge,"  by  W.  Will- 
iams, 239;  "A  British  Reverse  on  the 
Yser,"  by  P.  Gibbs,  242;  official  report  of 
Sir  D.  Haig  on  battles  on  Ancre  from 
Nov.,  1916,  to  Mar.,  1917,  335;  account  of 
storming  of  Ginchy,  by  Lieut.  Young,  354 ; 
events  from  July  18  to  Aug.  18,  1917,  394; 
"Battle  of  Flanders,"  400;  "German 
Word  Picture  of  the  British  Attack  ir. 
Flanders,"  by  M.  Osborn,  403;  "The 
Grand  Tactics  of  Three  Years  of  War- 
fare,"  by  T.  G.  Frothingham,  419;  Ger- 
man version  of  the  Marne  reviewed  by  J. 
Reinach,  487 ;  summary  of  address  by 
Gen.  Clergerie,  "  How  Paris  Was  Saved," 
495 ;  account  of  operations  in  Autumn  of 
1915,  by  Maj.  Dayton,  499;  report  of  Sir 
D.  Haig  on  operations  in  France  from  re- 
treat of  Germans  to  opening  of  Spring  of- 
fensive, 534. 

CANADA,  conscription  bill  and  opposition  in 
Quebec,  21 ;  article  by  F.  Yeighi,  "  Can- 
ada's Three  Years  of  War,"  summing  up 
war  activities,  287 ,  article  by  V.  De  W. 
Rowell  on  Indians  at  the  front,  290;  at- 
titude of  Roman  Catholic  clergy  and  of 
political  parties  toward  conscription,  292 ; 
convention  of  Liberals  called,  293;  com- 
ment on  passage  of  draft  act,  411. 

CANDLER,  Edmund,  "  The  Armenian  Trag- 
edy," 332. 

Cardinal's  Bombardment  Diary,  139. 

CARSO,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Austro- 
Italian  Border. 

CARSON,  (Sir)  Edward,  extract  from  sum- 
mary of  war  events,  on  Russian  revolu- 
tion and  entry  of  U.  S.,  466;  comment  on 
close  of  third  year  of  war,  473. 

CARTIER  de  Marchienne,  Emile  de,  143. 

CASUALTIES,  Austrian  losses  in  Italian 
campaign,  34;  losses  on  Messines  Ridge, 
35 ;  American  lives  lost  on  ocean  during 
war,  66 ;  in  air  raids  on  England,  76 ; 
compared  by  Sir  W.  Robertson  with  those 
in  1870,  136;  in  battle  at  Gaza,  159;  in 
Thirteenth  and  Eighteenth  Turkish  Army 
Corps,  163;  German  losses  during  May  and 
total  to  date,  226;  Canadian,  for  three 
years,  288;  British  at  Ctesiphon,  302;  of 
Gen.  Aylmer  near  Felahie,  303;  German 
since  Aug.,  1916,  399;  British  losses  in 
Flanders,  during  two  weeks  of  August, 
402;  on  British  merchantmen,  up  to  Aug., 
1917,  405;  Russian  in  retreat  in  Galicia, 
423;  British  losses  per  month  in  battle  of 
Somme  in  1916,  425;  "Estimates  of  War 
Casualties,"  427;  French  percentage  in 
proportion  to  strength,  481;  British  losses 
at  Loos,  503 ;  French  losses  in  Champagne, 
504;  British  losses  on  western  front  from 
Sept.  25-Oct.  18,  1915.  506;  deaths  due  to 
air  raids  in  London,  518. 

CAUSES  of  the  War,  German  responsibility 
discussed  by  Pres.  Wilson  in  Flag  Day 
address,  2;  annotations  on  Pres.  Wilson's 


Vol.    6— Part   Two 


IV. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


war  message,  64 ;  responsibility  of  Russian 
mobilization  discussed  in  Reichstag  by  Dr. 
Michaelis,  196;  "How  the  War  Came  to 
America,"  official  statement,  304;  "Why 
We  Entered  the  Great  War,"  by  W.  H. 
Taf  t,  317 ;  London  Times  account  of  Pots- 
dam meeting  at  which  ultimatum  to  Ser- 
bia was  decided  upon ;  denial  by  Wolff 
Bureau,  470;  U.  S.  in  possession  of  proof 
that  Serbian  ultimatum  was  first  in  hands 
of  German  Emperor,  471 ;  telegram  from 
Kaiser  to  Pres.  Wilson,  Aug.  10,  1914, 
giving  version  of  how  war  began,  473 ; 
comment  on  telegram  by  S.  Lauzanne 
showing  how  Kaiser  contradicted  himself, 
474. 

CAVE,    (Sir)  George,  statement  on  air  raid 

casualties,  518. 
CAVELL,  Edith,  quoted  by  Lord  Cecil,  48. 

CECIL,  (Lord)  Robert,  address  in  Parliament 
in  reply  to  amendment  on  annexation  by 
P..  Snowden,  46 ;  statement  at  close  of 
third  year  of  war,  473. 

CELS,  Jules,  on  submarine  menace  to  ship- 
ping, 88. 

CENSORSHIP,  failure  of  Congress  to  estab- 
lish, 23. 

CENTRAL  Europe,  German  plans  stated  by 
Pres.  Wilson  in  Flag  Day  address,  3 ; 
article  by  T.  G.  Frothingham  on  "  Threat 
of  '  Mittel-Europa,'  "  97. 

CEVADILLA,  258. 

CHABRANNES,  (Comte3se)  de,  takes  charge 
of  rebuilding  Maucourt,  349. 

CHAMBERLAIN,  J.  Austen,  consured  for 
failure  of  Mesopotamian  expedition,  1915- 
1916,  538;  resignation,  and  reply  in  Com- 
mons to  censure,   542. 

CHANG,  Hsun,  259. 

CHARLES  I.,  Emperor  of  Austria,  first 
Throne  speech,  44. 

CHAVE,  (Capt.)  Benjamin,  report  on  torpe- 
doing of  S.  S.  Alnwick  Castle,  93. 

CHERNOFF,  M.  Y.  N.,  441. 

CHIESA,  Eugenio,  on  Italian  occupation  of 
Albania,   86. 

CHINA,  article  by  G.  L.  Harding  on  events 
leading  up  to  break  with  Germany,  100; 
account  of  beginning  of  disorder,  102 ;  re- 
appointment of  Premier  Tuan,  retirement 
of  Li  Yuang-hung  in  favor  of  Feng  Kuo- 
chang,  226;  account  of  attempt  to  restore 
Manchu  dynasty,  258  ;  comment  on  declara- 
tion of  war  against  Germany;  statement 
of  Feng  Kuo-chang,  406;  "China's  Mil- 
lennium of  Peace,"  407. 

China  Foils  a  Royalist  Coup,  259. 

CHOULGINE  (M.),  account  of  Czar's  abdi- 
cation,   115. 

CHRONOLOGY  of  the  War,  29,  233,  415. 

CHTYHEGLOVITOFF,   indicted,  208. 

CIVTL  War  (U.  S.),  draft  riots  in  New  York, 
223. 

CLERGERIE  (Gen.),  summary  of  account  of 
"  How  Paris  Was  Saved,"  495. 

CL'UNET,  (Dr.)  Jean,  account  of  career  and 
death,    by   R.    de   Lezeau,    137. 

COAL,  needed  by  Italy  supplied  by  U.  S.,  62; 
shortage  in  Italy  discussed  by  G.  Mar- 
coni, 270. 

COATES,  Florence  Earle,  poem,   "  Better  to 

Die,"  104. 
COBBE  (Lieut.   Gen.),  544. 
COCHIN   (Deputy),  467. 
COFFIN,  Howard  E.,  on  use  of  Wright  field 

for  training  of  aviation  students,    13;   on 

aircraft  production,  514. 

Come  Into  the  Garden  {of  Eden)  Maude,  96. 

COMMAND  of  Death,  description  of  forma- 
tion and  training,  210. 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


COMMERCE,  understanding  worked  out  be- 
tween U.  S.  and  Entente  Allies  as  result 
of  War  Mission,  61 ;  German  ambitions 
and  Central  Europe  problem,  97. 
See  also  EXPORTS;  SHIPPING. 
•COMMITTEE  on  Public  Information,  text  of 
pamphlet,  "  How  the  War  Came  to  Amer- 
ica." 304. 

CONSCRIPTION,  see  CANADA;  UNITED 
STATES— Army. 

CONSPIRACIES,   see  GERMAN   Plots. 

CONST ANTINE  I.,  King  of  Greece,  over- 
throw ;  connection  with  royal  houses  of 
Europe,  18 ;  events  leading  up  to  abdica- 
tion, 83;  message  from  Emperor  William, 
84 ;  account  of  abdication  and  departure, 
281 ;  chronological  table  of  war  policy ; 
arrival  and  reception  in  Switzerland,  283. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  war  conditions,  327;  at- 
titude of  Russian  people  stated  by  Dr. 
Michaelis,  468. 

COSSACKS,    revolution   pledging   support    to 
Govt.,  55. 
See  also  RUSSIA— Army. 

COST  of  War,  sociological  study  "  Who  Pays 
for   the   Cost  of  War,"   by   W.   A.   Wood, 
134;    "Appalling  Waste  of  the  War,"   by 
H.  Caine,  452. 
See  also  FINANCE. 

COTTON,    passed    on    by    neutrals    to    Ger- 
many, 256. 
See  also  EXPORTS. 

COUNCIL  of  National  Defense,  statement  on 
aviation  policy,  13. 

CRANE,  Charles  R.,  "  Russian  Church  Re- 
forms," 213. 

Creating  the  New  American  Armies,  218. 

CROCKER,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  takes  charge  of  re- 
building Vitrimont,  349. 

CROWDER,  (Brig.  Gen.)  Enoch  H.,  tells 
Congress  number  of  men  required  in  draft, 

CZERNIN  von  Chudenitz,  (Count)  Ottokar 
von,  interchange  of  notes  with  Dr. 
Michaelis  on  relations  of  Germany  with 
Austria-Hungary,  197 ;  reply  to  speech  of 
Lloyd  George  attacking  Dr.  Michaelis's 
first  address,  468. 

Cry  From  the  Canadian  Hills,  75. 

Current  History  Chronicled,  18,  221,  406. 

D 

DANCOURT  (Lieut.),  521. 

DANIELS,  Josephus,  article  summarizing 
naval  progress  of  U.  S.  in  war  measures, 
252. 

DATO,  Eduardo,  attitude  as  Premier  toward 
war,  22. 

DAVID,  (Dr.)  E.,  on  Social  Democracy,  450. 

DAVIS,  William  Stearns,  annotations  on 
Pres.  Wilson's  message  calling  for  war, 
64. 

DAVISON,  Henry  P.,  appointed  on  Red 
Cross  Council,  25. 

DAYTON,  (Maj.)  Edwin  W.,  "Military  Ope- 
rations of  the  War,"  124,  295,  499. 

Death  of  Prince  Karl  Friedrich,  79. 

DECLARATION  of  Bordeaux,  text,  265. 

DELBRUECK,   (Dr.)  Hans,  192. 

DELBRUECK,  Rudolf,  on  protection  of  em- 
pire through  Jesuit  act,  20. 

DELMER,  F.  Sefton,  on  life  in  Berlin  during 
war,  324,  508. 

DENIKINE   (Gen.),  56. 

DEPORTATIONS,   see  BELGIUM;   JEWS. 

Deportations  Planned  in  Advance,  143. 

DESTROYERS,  value,  247. 

Details  of  the  Czar's  Abdication,  115. 

DEVONPORT  (Baron),  orders  regulating 
.    foodstuffs,   149;  resignation,   150. 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


DJEMAL  Pasha,  cruelty  to  Jews,  167. 
DGBSON,   Richard,    "  German   Socialism  and 

World  War,"  447. 
DONZEL  (Engineer),  92. 
DORISE  (Capt.).  93. 
DOUMERGUE   (M.),   4^7,  470. 
Downfall  of  King  Constantine,  83. 
DRAFT,  see  UNITED  STATES— Army. 
DUBOIS    (M.),   415. 

DUFF,  (Gen.  Sir)  Beauchamp,  244,  538. 
DUMAS    (Gen.),    salute   to   U.    S.    on   arrival 

of  Gen.  Pershing,  7. 


Ear  Disturbances  Suffered  by  Aviators,  523. 

EFREMOFF   (M.),   107,   113. 

EGYPT,  political  status,  411. 

EITEL     Friedrich     (Prince),     charged    With 

theft  in  France,  415. 
EMBARGO,  see  EXPORTS. 
EMS  Dispatch,  70. 

ENEMY  Aliens,  annotations  on  Pres.  Wil- 
son's reference  in  war  message,  74. 

See  also  GERMAN  Plots;   GERMANS  in 
America. 
ENGLAND  :— 

Army,  Maoris  in,  22 ;  races  and  nations 
represented,  25 ;  numbers  of  Canadian 
enlistments  for  three  years,  287 ;  state- 
ment of  Lloyd  George  on  number  of 
men  enrolled,  407;  tribute  by  Sir  D. 
Haig,  536. 
See  also  CANADA. 

Cabinet,  changes  announced,  July  17,  224. 

Commission  on  Failure  of  Mesopotamian 
Expedition,  report,  244,  53S. 

Electoral  Reform,  effect  of  new  bill  and 
provision  for  woman  suffrage,  18. 

Finances,  Canadian  contributions,  288 ; 
war  credits  tabulated  by  dates,  413. 

Foreign  policies,  in  relation  to  Teutonic 
control  of  Central  Europe,  article  by  T. 
G.    Frothingham,    97. 

Germany,    Relations   with,    telegram  from 
Kaiser  to   Pres.  Wilson,   Aug.  10,    1914, 
giving   account   of   events   immediately 
following  Serbian  ultimatum,  473. 
See  also  CAUSES  of  the  War. 

Imperial  Conference,   results,   147. 

Munitions  of  War,  Dr.  Addison  on  output, 
224;   amounts   purchased,    414. 

Royal  House,  abolishes  German  titles,  list 
of  substitutions,  224;  announcement  of 
change  of  name  to  House  of  Windsor, 
251. 

Russia,  Relations  with,  note  in  reply  to 
Russian  demand  for  statement  of  war 
aims,  50. 

ZEPPELIN  Raids,  see  AERONAUTICS. 

Enormous  Weight  of  Metal  Hurled  by  Artil- 
lery,   334. 

Entente  Peace  Terms  Defined,  50. 

ENVER  Pasha,   327. 

ERZBERGER,  Mathias,  peace  move  among 
Catholic  clergy,  53 ;  change  of  front  on 
peace,  192;  similarity  of  peace  plans  to 
those  of  the  Pope,  408. 

ESPIONAGE   Act,  provisions,    23. 

ESSAD   Pasha,    President  of   Albania,   87. 

ESSEN,   Krupp  works  bombed,  518. 

ESTERHAZY,    (Count)    Moritz,    20. 

EXEMPTION  Boards,  appointment  and 
power,  386. 

EXPORTS  Council,  16,  254. 

EXPORTS,  decision  of  Pres.  Wilson  to  place 
embargo  on  essential  commodities  to  pre- 
vent neutral  re-exports  to  Germany ; 
statement    of    Sec.    Redfield    on    licenses, 

Vol.    6— Part   Two 


16 ;  purpose  of  embargo  act,  23 ;  "  Em- 
bargo on  Exports  of  Food  and  Other 
Commodities,"  254;  attitude  of  countries 
of  Europe  toward  embargo ;  denial  by  E. 
B.  Trolle  that  Sweden's  imports  were  not 
for  home  consumption,  255. 


FABRY,    (Lieut.    Col.)   Jean,    10. 
FACIAL  Surgery,   progress,  412. 
Facts    Supporting    President     Wilson's     War 
Message,    64. 

FALKENHAUSEN,     (Baron)    Friedrich    von, 

53. 
FEDERATION  of  Allied  Nations,    suggested 
by      Lord      Northcliffe      as      post-bellum 
measure,   274. 
FENG  Kuo-chang,  Pres.  of  China,  appointed, 
226.  260;  statement  on  declaration  of  war 
against  Germany,  406. 
FERDINAND,    King   of    Rumania,    reply    on 

Jewish  question  to   deputation,   155. 
FERRERO,    (Gen.)    Giacinto,   2S5. 
Fighting  Forces  of  France,  481. 
FIJI  Islanders,  part  in  war,  21. 
FINANCE,   U.   S.   loans  to  Allies,   414;   state- 
ment of   Sen.    Borah   on   amount  of   bond 
issues   in   belligerent  countries,   4(J0. 
See  also  tinder  names  of  countries. 
FINLAND,      concessions     by     Russian     Pro- 
visional   Govt.,    57;    problem    of   liberation 
and    German    intrigue    discussed     by    Dr. 
Lange,    112 ;   Russian   problem   in,   205. 
First  American  Army  in  France,  215. 
First  United  States  War  Loan,  17. 
FLEMINGS,  views  of  von  Bissing  on  move- 
ment,   352. 
FLOUR,    see    FOODSTUFFS. 
FOCH,    (Gen.)    Ferdinand,    127,   493. 
FOLKESTONE,    air    raid    on,    76. 
Food  Crisis  in  the  United  States,  15. 
Food  Dictator  for  the  United  States,  3S9. 
Food    Restrictions   in   France — Use   of  Horse 

Meat,  151. 
FOODSTUFFS  : — 

Austria-Hungary,     conditions    in    Vienna, 

321. 
Canada,  M.  J.  Hanna  appointed  Controller 

and  working  with  Mr.  Hoover,  289. 
England,    text   of   order   on   meatless   and 
potatoless  days,  149;  official  summary 
of  other  food  regulations,  150. 
France,   orders  for  meatless  day  with  ex- 
ception of  horse  meat,   regulations  for 
use  of  flour,  151 ;  list  of  regulations  in 
Paris,  322. 
Germany,   shortage  of  potatoes ;  summary 
of      bread-card       system,       152 ;       Dr. 
Michaelis  in   Reichstag  on  severity   of 
conditions,    197 ;    conditions    in    Berlin ; 
use   of  wood  for  flour,  326;  article  by 
F.  S.  Delmer,  508. 

Holland,  need  of  grain,  431. 

Norway,  Dr.  Nansen  on  needs,  430. 

Turkey,  scarcity  and  rise  in  prices,  169, 
328. 

United  States,  Pres.  Wilson  and  measures 
to  avert  crisis,  15 ;  tables  presented  by 
Senator  Gallinger  showing  comparative 
prices  in  1914  and  1917,  99 ;  war 
measures,  Pres.  Wilson  on  program  for 
control,  and  effect  on  prices,  389. 

See  also  EXPORTS. 
Foreign  Born  Men  in  America,  22. 

FRANCE,  races  represented  in  army,  24; 
article  comparing  Russian  and  French 
Revolutions,  118 ;  war  regulations  in  Paris, 
322 ;  official  report  of  German  barbarities 
in  occupied  territory,  340;  work  done  in 
restoring   communities   destroyed   in  Ger- 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


man  retreat,  347 ;  "  Two  Years  Under  the 
Germans,"  diary  of  a  villager  of  Savy, 
350 ;  new  income  tax  rates,  415 ;  accused 
by  Dr.  Michaelis  of  making  secret  treaty 
with  Russia  aiming  at  conquest,  467;  de- 
nial In  Deputies  by  Premier  Ribot,  470; 
denial  of  Russian  protest  against  aims, 
by  M.  Terestchenko ;  denial  by  J. 
Cambon,  471 ;  assertion  of  Kaiser  that 
Eelgian  neutrality  was  violated  be- 
cause "  France  was  already  prepar- 
ing to  enter  Belgium,"  made  in  letter 
to  Pres.  Wilson  Aug.  10,  1914 ;  contradic- 
tion of  assertion  of  Kaiser  by  Gen.  Frey- 
tag-Loringhoven,  474 ;  letter  from  A. 
Tardieu  to  Sec.  Baker  giving  figures  for 
strength  of  France  as  fighting  unit,  481; 
war    expenditures,    482. 

See  also  ALLIES'  Commissions ;  CAM- 
PAIGN in  Europe,  Western ;  VAN- 
DALISM. 

FRANK  (Dr.),  on  German  lack  of  rights  in 
politics,  200. 

FREDERICK  the  Great,  policy  of  right  con- 
trasted with  that  of  George  Washington, 
69. 

FREEDOM  of  the  Seas,  see  INTERNA- 
TIONAL Law. 

FREIGHT  Rates,  Pres.  Wilson  on  high  ocean 
rates,  257. 

FRENCH  Commission  to  United  States,  see 
ALLIES'  Commissions. 

FREYTAG-LORINGHOVEN,  (Gen.  Baron) 
von,  extract  from  article  showing  France 
was  caught  unawares  by  invasion,  474. 

FROTHINGHAM,  Thomas  G.,  "  The  Threat 
of  '  Mittel-Europa,'  "  97;  "The  Subma- 
rine Situation,"  245;  "The  Grand  Tactics 
of  Three  Years  of  Warfare,"  419. 

FRANCO-Prussian  War,  Bismarck's  method 
of  provoking,  70. 

Fruits  of  Diplomatic  Missions,  59. 

FULLER,  Paul,  255. 


GALLIC  Temperament,  compared  with  Sla- 
vonic as  shown  in  French  and  Russian 
Revolutions,  121. 

GALLIENI,  (Gen.)  Joseph  S.,  at  defense  of 
Paris,  496. 

GALLINGER,  Jacob  H.,  table  presented  in 
Senate  showing  food  prices  in  1914  and 
1917,  99. 

GALLOIS,  (Sergeant)  Maxime,  account  of 
bombing  of  Krupp  Works,  518. 

GAMA,  (Dr.)  Domicio,  note  to  U.  S.  on  revo- 
cation of  neutrality  by  Brazil,  279;  reply 
by  F.  L.  Polk,  280. 

GARDINER,  J.  B.  W.,  "Military  Review  of 
the  Month,"  26,  227. 

GARFIELD,  Harry  A.,  391. 

GARIBALDI,  Giuseppe,  visit  of  Prince  Udine 
and  members  of  commission  to  memorial 
at  Rosebank,  271. 

GARRELS  (Consul  at  Alexandria),  report 
on  deportation  of  Jews  from  Jaffa,  167. 

GAS   Bombs,  see  ASPHYXIATING  Gas. 

GASPARRI  (Cardinal),  text  accompanying 
Pope's  peace  note,  393. 

GAZA,  in  history,  159. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

GEBSATTEL  (Baron),  protest  in  behalf  of 
Pan-Germanist  League,  reply  by  Beth- 
mann  Hollweg,  353. 

GEDDES,  (Maj.  Gen.  Sir)  Eric,  work  com- 
mended by  Sir  D.  Haig ;  made  First  Lord 
of  the  Admiralty,  537. 

GEORGE  V.,  King  of  England,  greeting  to 
Gen.  Pershing,  6 ;  abolishes  German  titles 
of  royal  house,  224 ;  sends  message  to 
allied  nations  on  third  anniversary  of 
war,  472. 

German  Airman's  Story  of  a  Raid  on  Lon- 
don, 521. 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


German  Barbarities  in  France,  340. 

GERMAN  Conspiracies,  see  GERMAN  Plots. 

German  Crisis,  191. 

GERMAN  East  Africa,   treatment  of  natives 

.     by  Germany  described  by  Lord  Cecil,  47. 

GERMAN  Language,  repeal  of  act  forbidding 
use  of  other  languages  in  public  meet- 
ing, 20. 

GERMAN  Plots,  activities  of  conspirators  re- 
ferred to  by  Pres.  Wilson  in  Flag  Day 
address,  2;  annotation  on  Pres.  Wilson's 
war  message,  giving  list  of  intrigues  in 
U.  S.,  71;  comment  on  Zimmermann  plot 
in  Mexico,  72 ;  in  Russia,  204 ;  work  of 
hostile  spies  in  America,  treated  in  offi- 
cial statement  of  U.  S.  on  war ;  extract 
from  speech  of  Pres.  Wilson  in  St.  Louis, 
310;  proclamation  of  Workmen's  Council 
censuring  pro-German  agitators  in  Rus- 
sia, 435;  Lenine  as  agent  in  Russia,  442. 

German  Sailor's  Account  of  the  Jutland 
Battle,  497. 

German  Socialism  and  the  World  War,  447. 

German  Version  of  the  Marne,  487. 

German  Word  Picture  of  the  British  Attack 
in  Flanders,  403. 

GERMANS  in  America,  tables  showing  per- 
centage unnaturalized  in  registration  for 
draft.  220. 

See  also  ENEMY  Aliens ;  GERMAN  riots, 
GERMANY  :— 

Army,  W.  Littlefield  on  waning  power  in 
men  and  stamina,  399. 

Chancellors,  historical  sketch  of  holders 
of  Chancellorship,  221. 

China,   Relations  with,   see   CHINA. 

Colonies,  Lloyd  George  on  settling  future 
Government  in  peace  terms,  202. 
See  also  GERMAN  East  Africa. 

Electoral  reform,  demands  leading  to  po- 
litical crisis,  191;  manifesto  of  Em- 
peror William,  193 ;  unfairness  of  pres- 
ent electoral  system  discussed  by  C.  D. 
Hazen,  201. 

England,  Relations  with,  telegram  from 
Kaiser  to  Pres.  Wilson,  Aug.  10.  1914. 
giving  account  of  events  immediately 
following  Serbian  ultimatum,  473. 

Government,  autocratic  spirit  discussed 
in  annotations  on  Pres.  Wilson's  war 
message,  69;  article  by  C.  D.  Hazen 
on  "  How  the  Hohenzollerns  and 
Junkers  Control,"  198. 
See  also  GERMANY— Electoral  Re- 
form; GERMANY— Political   Crisis. 

Imports,  from  neutrals,  255. 

Merchant  marine,  seizure  by  Allies,  414. 

Political  Crisis,  account  of  events  culmi- 
nating in  resignation  of  Bethmann 
Hollweg  and  appointment  of  Dr. 
Michaelis  as  Chancellor,  191;  editorial 
comment  on  changes,  410. 

Reforms,  repeal  of  Jesuit  act  and  lan- 
guage paragraph,  20. 

Social  Democrats,  see  SOCIALISTS. 

United   States,    Relations  with,   see  under 
UNITED  STATES. 
Germany's  Attitude  Toward  Restoration,  479. 
GERMENI,  Themistocles,  87. 
GEYER,     Friedrich     A.     K,     declaration     in 

Reichstag  on  peace,  in  1915,  447. 
GIBBON.  Perceval,  description  of  fighting  on 

Italian  front,  33. 
GIBBS,  Philip,  on  Battle  of  Messines  Ridge. 

36;    "A    British    Reverse    on    the    Yser," 

242. 

GIRONDISTS,  likened  to  Constitutional 
Democrats    in    Russia,    120. 

GLEAVES,  (Rear  Admiral)  Albert,  in  com- 
mand of  squadron  convoying  U.  S.  troops, 
216. 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


GLENNON,      (Admiral)     James     H..     quells 

mutiny  at  Sabastopol,  212. 
GLOSS   (Colonel),   342. 

GOLTZ,  (Field  Marshal  Baron)  von  der,  303. 
GOMPERS,   Samuel,   letter   on   sending  dele- 
gates to  Stockholm  conference ;  attack  on 

Workmen's  Council,   444. 
GORGAS,   (Maj.  Gen.)  William  Crawford,  on 

selection   of   locations   of   training  camps, 

219. 
GORKY,  Maxim,  119. 
GO  UGH,    (Gen.    Sir)   Hubert,   commended  by 

Gen.   Haig,  536. 
30UTOR  (Gen.),  55. 
Grand    Tactics   of   Three    Years   of    Warfare, 

419. 
GRAVINA    (S.    S.),    account  of  treatment   of 

crew  by  Germans,  95. 
Great  Britain's  Royal  Family  Now  the  House 

of    Windsor,   251. 
Great  Fight  in  the  Air,  80. 

GREECE,  events  leading  up  to  and  following 
abdication  of  King  Constantine,  S3;  text 
of  Entente  ultimatum,  account  of  abdica- 
tion of  Constantine,  281 ;  proclamation  of 
King  Alexander  and  events  following,  282  ; 
break  with  Germany ;  chronological  table 
of  leading  events  from  Mar.,  1915,  283; 
Italian  attitude  defined  by  Baron  Son- 
nino,  477. 

GREEK  Catholic  Church,  article  by  C.  R. 
Crane  on  "  Russian  Church  Reforms," 
213:  "Russia's  Greek  Church  and  the 
Roman  Catholics,"  408. 

GREERUL  Hospital,  139. 

GRENFELL,   (Capt.)  Francis,  126. 

GREY,  (Sir)  Edward,  attitude  toward  in- 
vasion of  France  and  Belgium  as  given 
in  letter  to  Pres.  Wilson  from  Kaiser,  473. 

GRIMM,  Robert,  requested  to  leave  Russia 
on  account  of  communication  from  M. 
Hoffmann  on  separate  Russian  peace,  209. 

GUNS     (ordnance),     captured     and     lost    by 
British  during  war,   225. 
See  also   MUNITIONS   of  War. 

GURKO   (Gen.),  56,  435. 

GUTCHKOFF,  Alexandre  Ivanovitch,  at 
abdication  of  Nicholas  II.,  115. 

H 

HAASE,  Hugo,  quoted  on  peace,  440;  refer- 
ence to   "  Potsdam  Plot,"  470. 

HAGUE  Conference,  German  refusal  of 
disarmament,  71 ;  statement  of  U.  S.  on 
Monroe   Doctrine,   304. 

HAIG,  (Field  Marshal  Sir)  Douglas,  text  of 
report  on  operations  on  the  Ancre  from 
Nov.,  1916,  to  Mar.,  1917,  335;  official  re- 
port on  German  retreat  On  Ancre  and 
Somme,  534. 

HAMBURGER  Fremdenbiatt,  article  on  po- 
litical crisis,   193. 

HANISCHE,   Konrad,   449. 

HANNA,  W.  J.,  appointed  Canadian  Food 
Controller  and  working  with  Mr.  Hoover, 
289. 

HARDEN,  Maximilian,  article  which  caused 
suppression  of  Zukunft  and  his  drafting 
as  military  clerk,  193. 

HARDING,  Gardner  L.,  "  China  and  the 
World  War,"  100;  "Japan's  Part  in  the 
War,"  528. 

HARDINGE  (Baron),  censured  for  Kut  dis- 
aster and  defended  by  A.  J.  Balfour  and 
Commons,  244;  censured  for  failure  of 
first  Mesopotamian  expedition,  538 ;  reply 
to  criticism.  542 ;  defended  by  A.  Cham- 
berlain :  resignation  not  accepted  In  Com- 
mons, 543. 

Hardships  of  the  U-Boat  Service,  90. 

Vol.    6 — Part    Two 


HARNACK,  (Dr.)  Adolph  von,  extract  from 
address  in  Berlin  on  "  Wilson's  American 
Ideal  of  Liberty,"  142. 

Harrowing  Sea  Story,  93. 

HARVEST  Prayer,  German,  513. 

HATHAWAY,  (Surgeon  Gen.)  H.  G.  cen- 
sured, 244. 

HAZEN,  Charles  Downer,  "  How  the  Hohen- 
zollerns  and  Junkers  Control,"   198. 

HAZLETON,  Richard,  274. 

Heartrending  Scenes  in  Belgium,  498. 

HEHIR  (Col.),  report  on  conditions  during 
Kut-el-Amara  siege,  539. 

HENDERSON,  Arthur,  favors  Stockholm 
Conference,  443. 

Heroic  Death  of  Dr.  Clunet,  137. 

Heroic  Men  of  the  Athos,  92. 

HILLQUIT,  Morris,  passport  for  Socialist 
conference  refused  by  Govt.,  20. 

HINDENBURG,  (Gen.)  Paul  von,  at  Tan- 
nenburg,  420;  telegram  to  Dr.  Michaelis 
on  third  anniversary  of  war,  4S0. 

HINTZE,   (Admiral)  Paul  von,  100. 

HOFFMANN,  Arthur,  text  of  note  to  R. 
Grimm  on  separate  Russian  peace,  209; 
resignation  from   Swiss  Council,   210. 

HOLLAND,  Mission  to  U.  S.  ;  need  of  grain, 
431. 

HOLZMEHL,    326. 

HOOVER,  Herbert  C,  and  food  crisis,  15; 
tribute  by  Baron  Moncheur,  273 ;  ap- 
pointed Food  Dictator,  389 ;  statement  on 
purpose  of  food   administration,   390. 

HORSE  Meat,  used  in  France,  151. 

HOSPITAL  Ships,  annotations  on  Pres.  Wil- 
son's reference  in  message  to  sinking,   65. 

How  American  Aviators  Saved  Verdun,  81. 

How   Paris    Was   Saved,  495. 

How  the  Hohenzollerns  and  Junkers  Control, 
19S. 

How  the  War  Came  to  America,  304. 
HSU    Shih-chang,    made    dictator,    103. 
HSUAN  Tung,  259. 
HURLEY,  Edward  N.,  25. 

HYDROPLANE,  use  against  U-boat  dis- 
cussed by  T.   G.   Frothingham,   249. 

I 

INCOME  Tax,  amount  collected  during  1917 
compared  with  period  from  civil  war  to 
1873,  25 ;  increase  in  Russia,  209 ;  in 
France,   415. 

INDEMNITY,   Lloyd   George   on   purpose   of, 
261. 
See   also   PEACE. 

INDIA,  difficulty  in  feeding  troops  In  Asia 
Minor  campaign,  539 ;  Govt*,  censured  for 
failure  of  Mesopotamian  expedition,  541 ; 
reply  to  Lord  Hardinge  to  criticism,  show- 
ing condition  of  country,   542. 

INDIANS,  article  by  V.  de  W.  Rowell  on 
"  Canadian  Indians  at  the  Front,"   290. 

Indictment  of  Czar's  Former  Officials,  208. 

INSURANCE,  for  soldiers,  413. 

See    also    UNITED    STATES— War    Risk 
Insurance  Bureau. 

INTERNATIONAL  Conference  of  Socialists 
at  Stockholm,  attitude  In  leading  coun- 
tries toward,  442 ;  attitude  of  Belgian 
Socialists,   446. 

INTERNATIONAL  Law,  applied  to  issues  In 
Pres.  Wilson's  war  message,  64;  attitude 
of  U.  S.  toward  freedom  of  seas.  Declara- 
tion of  London  and  arbitration,  305 ;  W.  H. 
Taft  on  German  violations  of  maritime 
laws,  317 ;  J.  Kahn  on  periods  in  which 
U.  S.  has  been  ready  to  fight  for  freedom 
of  the  seas,  387. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


INTERNED  Ships,  value  of  and  damage  to 
vessels  taken  over  by  Govt.,  21 ;  seizure 
of  German  vessels  by  Allies,  414. 

IRELAND,  convention  on  home  rule,  19; 
T.  P.  O'Connor  on  situation  and  explana- 
tion of  purpose  of  mission  to  U.  S.,  274. 

IRON,  shipments  to  Germany  from  Sweden, 
256. 

ISHII,  (Viscount)  Kikujiro,  on  purpose  of 
mission  to  U.  S.,  276;  arrival  in  U.  S., 
speech  at  dinner  to  mission,  429. 

ITALIAN  Commission  to  United  States,  see 
ALLIES'  Commissions. 

Italian  Offensive  on  the  Carso  and  Isonzo 
Fronts,  33. 

ITALY,  official  communication  in  reply  to 
Russian  demand  for  statement  of  war 
aims,  51 ;  purposed  in  war  stated  by  Prince 
Udine  in  U.  S.  Senate;  resum.6  of  finan- 
cial conditions,  63 ;  G.  Marconi  on  strain 
of  war  and  privation,  270;  on  need  for 
coal;  E.  Arlotta's  plea  for  war  materials 
and  ships,  271 ;  circumstances  under  which 
Italy  revealed  to  France  her  decision  to 
remain  neutral  and  its  effect  on  the 
Marne  battle,  described  by  G.  Marconi, 
272 ;  Maj.  Dayton  on  entry  into  war ; 
sketch  of  relations  with  Austria  and  Ger- 
many, 295;  historical  sketch,  410;  position 
on  Balkan  issues  defined  by  Baron  Son- 
nino,  476. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,   Austro- 
Italian  Border. 


JACOBINS,  120. 

JAFFA,  deportations  of  Jews  from,  167. 

JAPAN,  attitude  toward  American  note  to 
China;  104;  article  by  G.  L.  Harding  on 
"  Japan's  Part  in  the  War,"  528. 

JAPANESE  Commission  to  United  States, 
see  ALLIES'   Commissions. 

JESUIT  act,  repeal  in  Germany,  20. 

JEWS,  agitation  against  ill-treatment  in 
Rumania  and  reply  of  King  Ferdinand, 
155;  "Cruelties  to  Jtvrs  Deported  From 
Jaffa,"  1G7 ;  text  of  Russian  decree  affect- 
ing rights,  214. 

JOFFRE,  (Marshal)  Joseph,  designated  by 
French  Govt,  to  co-operate  with  Gen. 
Pershing,  10;  tribute  by  R.  Viviani  in 
speech  at  Waldorf,  59;  breaks  ground  for 
Lafayette  monument  in  Baltimore,  238 ; 
T.  G.  Frothingham  on  tactics  at  Marne, 
419 ;  praised  in  German  account  of  Marne, 
489. 

JONNART  (Greek  Senator),  lays  demands 
for  abdication  of  Constantine  before  Zai- 
mis ;  reply  by  Zaimis,  83 ;  proclamation  to 
Greek  people,  84 ;  manifesto  to  offset  King 
Alexander's  proclamation,  2S2. 

JUNKERS,  article  by  C.  D.  Hazen  on  "  How 
the  Hohenzollerns  and  Junkers  Control," 
198. 

JUTLAND,  Battle  of.  effect,  425;  account 
by  German  sailor  from  Luetzow,  497. 


KAHL  (Dr.),  statement  that  "  America  Will 
Make  No  Difference  "  in  war,  463. 

KAHN,  Julius,  statement  on  occasion  of 
drawing  of  numbers  for  conscription,  387. 

Kaiser's  Message  to  President  Wilson,  473. 

KANEKO,  (Viscount)  Kentaro,  on  America's 
entry  into  war,  277. 

KARL  Friedrich  (Prince),  personal  account 
of  capture ;  death,  79. 

KERENSKY,  Alexander  Feodorovich.  pre- 
vents collapse  of  army  and  navy,  53 ;  part 
in  revolution  and  Provisional  Govt.,  110; 
career,  ll4 ;  effect  on  Russian  situation, 
204 :  credited  with  renewal  of  fighting  by 
J.  B.  W.  Gardiner,  227 ;  sketch  of  career, 
411 ;  appointed  Premier,  433 ;  stand  on 
Stockholm   Conference,   443. 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


KLUCK,  (Gen.)  von,  anger  at  desertion  of 
French  village  by  natives,  346;  at  battle 
of  Marne,   488. 

Knightly  Orders  for  Women,  225. 

KOLOTKOFF  (Col.),  report  on  army  col- 
lapse, 436. 

KORITZA,  establishment  of  Albanian  repub- 
lic in  district  by  Allies,  S7. 

KORNILOFF,    (Gen.)   L.   G.,  435,  442. 

KOURLOFF   (M.),   208. 

KRAMER,  Louis,  sentenced  for  anti-draft 
agitation,  14. 

KRONSTADT  Fortress,  seizure  by  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  55. 

KROPOTKIN,    (Prince)    Peter,    119. 

KRUIZHANOVSKY   (Governor),   208. 

KRUPP  Works,  bombed  in  air  raid,  518. 

KUEHLMANN,    (Dr.)   Richard  von,   410. 

KUGEMANN  (Commander),  text  of  notice  to 
civilian   workers,    340. 

KUT-EL-AMARA,  findings  of  investigation 
of  failure  of  expedition,  244 ;  conditions 
during  siege  described  by  Col.  Hehir  in 
report  of  commission  to  inquire  into 
failure,  539. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 


LABOR,  exorbitant  demands  of  Russian 
workmen,  53;  establishment  of  eight-hour 
day  in  Russia,  54 ;  recruiting  of  Chinese 
labor  by  Allies,  102  ;  minimum  wage  passed 
in  England  by  Commons,  415. 

LACAZE  (Admiral),  statements  In  Chamber 
of  Deputies  on  submarine  depredations 
on  shipping,  88 ;  on  methods  of  counterat- 
tack, 89 ;  on  submarine  destruction  of 
shipping,  251. 

LACROIX,  P.,  M.  D.,  "Ear  Disturbances 
Suffered  by  Aviators,"  523. 

LAFAYETTE,  Marquis  de,  visit  of  Gen. 
Pershing  to  tomb,  9;  breaking  of  ground 
by  French  Mission  for  monument  in  Balti- 
more;  visits  of  Marquis  to  Baltimore,  237. 

LAFAYETTE  Escadrille,  tribute  to  work  at 
Verdun,  by  L.  Cammen,  81. 

LAGERKRANTZ,  Hermann,  431. 

LANGE,  Christian  L.,  "  Story  of  the  Russian 
Upheaval,"  105. 

LANSING,  (Sec.)  Robert,  address  at  Madison 
Barracks  on  war  aims  of  U.  S.,  455. 

LASSALLE,  Ferdinand,  447. 

LAUZANNE,  Stephen,  comment  on  Kaiser's 
letter  to  Pres.  Wilson  on  causes  of  war, 
474. 

LAW,  Andrew  Bonar,  on  abdication  of  Con- 
stantine, in  Commons,  83. 

LE  ROUX,  Hughes,  "  Heroic  Men  of  the 
Athos,"  92. 

LECLERCQ    (Gen.),   272. 

LEE,  Algernon,  20. 

LENINE,  Nikolai,  leader  in  disturbances, 
204 ;  censure  by  Workmen's  Council,  435 ; 
organizes  demonstrations  after  return  from 
exile ;  peace  speech  shown  to  be  mes- 
sage from  Prince  Leopold  of  Bavaria, 
441 ;  declared  by  Brusiloff  to  be  agent  of 
German  General  Staff,  442. 

LENSCH  (Dr.),  on  stand  of  Social  Demo- 
crats, 449 ;  on  international  socialism ;  on 
individualism  and  collectivism  in  England, 
France,  and  Germany,  450. 

LEOPOLD,  Prince  of  Bavaria,  441. 

LERROUX   (Deputy),  23. 

LEVERIDGE,  Lilinn,  poem,  "A  Cry  From 
the  Canadian  Hills,"  75. 

LEZEAU,  Robert  de,  "  Heroic  Death  of  Dr. 
Clunet,"  137. 

LI  CHING-HSI,   103. 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


IX. 


LI    YUAN-HUNG,     President    of    China,     in 
crisis    over    break    with    Germany,     102; 
and  Chinese  rebellion,  259. 
LIBERTY    Loan,    success    of   campaign,    17; 
figures  showing  subscriptions,  224. 
See  also  UNITED   STATES-Finances. 

LIEBKNECHT,  (Dr.)  Karl,  opposition  to 
German  war  policy,  439,  447 ;  criticism  of 
war  loan  in  Reichstag  and  disturbance 
following,  448. 

Life  in  Denmark's  Lost  Province,  512. 

LINCOLN,  Abraham,  second  inaugural  ad- 
dress quoted,  74. 

LITTELL,  (Col.)  I.  W.,  12. 

LITTLEFIELD,  Walter,  "  Military  Events 
of  the  Month,"  394. 

LLOYD  GEORGE,  (Premier)  David,  tribute 
in  Commons  to  U.  S.  Navy,  15 ;  statement 
on  meeting  of  Imperial  Conference  an- 
nually, 148 ;  on  shipping  losses,  405 ;  at- 
tack on  Dr.  Michaelis's  first  speech  in 
Reichstag,  464 ;  reply  by  Dr.  Michaelis, 
467;  reply  by  Count  Czernin  to  attack  on 
Dr.  Michaelis,  46S ;  extract  from  Queen's 
Hall  speech,  defining  German  attitude  to- 
ward "restoration";  comment  of  Ger  • 
man  press,  479;  comment  of  Count  Rs- 
ventlow,  480. 

LOMONOSOFF  (Prof.),  on  Russian  need  of 
Amer.  locomotives,  268. 

LONDON,  Declaration  of,  attitude  of  U.  S. 
and  of  Germany,  305. 

LONDON,    air   raids,    see   AERONAUTICS. 

LONDON  Times,   on   "  Potsdam  Plot,"  470. 

LOOTING,  see  VANDALISM. 

LOUIS  XVI.,  in  French  Revolution,  118. 

LUCACIU,    (Rev.)   Basil,   276. 

LUCON,  Cardinal,  extracts  from  diary  on 
bombardment  of  Rheims,  139. 

LUETZOW  (flagship),  497. 

LUTHER,  Martin,  quoted  by  H.  Caine,  452. 

LUTHERANS,  number  and  control  in  Ger- 
many and  Austria,   222. 

LVOFF,  (Prince)  George  E.,  statement  on 
Russian  situation,  for  Information  of 
America,  205. 

LYNCH,   Arthur,   84. 

M 

McCAIN.  (Brig.  Gen.)  Henry  P.,  statement 
on  officers'   training  camps,   12. 

MACDONALD,  James  B.,  "  The  War  in 
Western  Asia,"  156. 

MACDONALD,  James  Ramsay,  plea  for 
Stockholm  conference,  443 ;  text  of  resolu- 
tion on  acceptance  of  German  peace  move, 
465. 

MACKENSEN,   (Field  Marshal)  von,  128. 

MacNEILL,  John  Gordon  Swift,  84. 

MAETERLINCK,  Maurice,  "  The  Mothers," 
293. 

MAHAN,  (Capt.)  Alfred  Thayer,  on  merits  of 
rail  and  water  transportation  in  relation 
to  Bagdad  railway,  97. 

MAJOR  Generals,  list  of  U.  S.  officers,  384. 

MANN,   (Major  Gen.)  William  A.,  384. 

Marching  Stars    486. 

MARCONI,  Guglielmo,  says  submarine  situa- 
tion is  serious,  251 ;  speech  in  Chicago  on 
burden  borne  by  Italy ;  on  Italy's  shortage 
of  coal,  in  New  York,  270;  speech  at 
Mayor's  dinner  on  "  Italy's  Part  in  the 
Marne  Victory,"  271. 

MARIE  Antoinette,  compared  with  Empress 
Alexandra  of  Russia,   108,   118. 

MARINGER,  Georges,  340. 

MARITIME  Law,  see  INTERNATIONAL 
Law. 

MARSHALL  (Lieut.  Gen.).  544. 

MARX,  Karl,  119. 

"Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


MASSE Y,  W.  T.,  "  British  in  the  Promised 
Land,"  163. 

MAUCOURT,  Comtesse  de  Chabrannes  takes 
charge  of  rebuilding,  349. 

MAUDE,  (Gen.  Sir)  F.  Stanley,  in  Asia 
Minor  campaign,  156 ;  text  of  report  on 
capture  of  Bagdad,  544. 

MAUNOURY   (Gen.),  492,  495. 

MAURICE.  (Maj.  Gen.)  Frederick  B.,  sum- 
mary of  three  years  of  war,  483. 

MAVROMICHAELIS     (Commander),    S3. 

MEAT,    see   FOODSTUFFS. 

MESOPOTAMIA,  disposition  in  peace  con- 
ference suggested  by  Lloyd  George,  261; 
report  of  Commission  on  Failure  of  First 
Expedition,  538. 

See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 
Mesopotamian  Disaster,  53S. 

MESSINES,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe, 
Western. 

MEXICO,  Zimmermann  plot  for  German- 
Japanese-Mexican  alliance,  72. 

MICHAEL  Alexandrovitch  (Grand  Duke), 
116. 

MICHAELIS,  (Dr.)  Georg,  succeeds  Beth- 
mann  Hollweg  as  Chancellor,  191 ;  first 
address  to  Reichstag,  196 ;  sends  message 
to  Count  Czernin  on  relations  with  Aus- 
tria, 197 ;  first  speech  in  Reichstag  at- 
tacked by  Lloyd  George,  464;  repiy  to 
Lloyd  George,  467 ;  extract  from  address 
on  Aug.  4,  480. 

Military  Events  of  the  Month,  394. 

Military  Operations  of  the  War,  124,  295, 
499. 

Military  Review  of  the  Month,  26,  227. 

MILITARY  Science,   see  TACTICS. 

MILNER  (Viscount),  on  exporting  from  neu- 
trals to  Germany,  255. 

MINIMUM  Wage,  rate  fixed  in  England, 
415. 

MOHAMMEDANS,  deported  from  Jaffa,  168. 

MOLLARD,  Armand,  340. 

MOLTKE,    (Gen.)   von,  487. 

MOLTKE,  (Count)  Helmuth  Karl  Bernhard 
von,   491. 

MONCHEUR,  (Baron)  Ludovic,  at  head  of 
Belgian  Mission  to  U.  S.,  19;  statement 
to  newspaper  correspondents  at  Washing- 
ton ;  address  at  tomb  of  Washington ; 
speech  in  House,  273. 

MONROE  Doctrine,  referred  to  in  Brazilian 
note  to  U.  S.,  279;  as  foreign  policy  and 
in  relation  to  present  war  in  official  pam- 
phlet issued  by  Committee  on  Public  In- 
formation on  cause  of  war,  304. 

MORRISON,  (Dr.)  George,  in  Chinese  crisis, 
104. 

MORRISON,    (Maj.   Gen.)  John  F.,  13. 

MORTON,   (Maj.   Gen.)  Charles  G.,  13. 

MOTA,  Jean,  276. 

MOTHERS,  tribute  by  M.  Maeterlinck,  293. 

MOTT,  John  R.,  summary  of  address  at 
sobor  of  Greek  Church,  213. 

MOUJEAU  (Sergeant),  93. 

MOUTET  (Deputy),  467. 

MUNITIONS  of  War,  control  centralized  by 
Allied  Buying  Committee,  61 ;  statement 
by  Sir  W.  Robertson  on  tons  of  ammuni- 
tion expended,  136;  reorganization  of  Bel- 
gian war  industries,  146;  Dr.  Addison  on 
English  output,  224;  U.  S.  embargo  and 
furnishing  of  supplies  to  Germany  by 
neutrals,  255;  Canadian  supply,  289;  de- 
fense of  right  of  neutral  to  sell  munitions, 
in  official  Amer.  statement  on  causes  of 
war.  309. 

MURPHY,  Grayson,  M.  P.,  25. 

MURRAY,  (Gen.  Sir)  Archibald,  in  Palestine, 
159. 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


Mustering  Our  Armed  Forces,  381. 

N 

NANSEN,  (Dr.)  Fridtjof,  visit  to  U.  S.  to 
procure  food  supplies  for  Norway,  276; 
head  of  Norwegian  Mission ;  statement  on 
shipping  to  Germany,  430. 

NAPOLEON    I.,    account    of    visit    of    Gen. 

Pershing  to  tomb,  8. 
NARISCHKINE    (Gen.),    115. 

NATIONAL,  Guard,  see  UNITED  STATES— 

Army. 
NAUMANN,   (Dr.)  Friedrich.  quoted  on  lack 

of  power  of  Reichstag,  200. 

NAVAL    Operations,    tactics    of    three    years 
discussed  by  T.  G.  Frothingham,  420:  ac- 
count of  Jutland  battle  by  German  sailor 
from  Luetzow,    497. 
See  also  SUBMARINE  Warfare. 

NESLE,  account  of  barbarities  of  German 
occupation,   340,  342. 

Nesting  Mothers  of  Battle  Zone,  140. 

Never  Heard  of  the  War,  22. 

New  Phase  of  Air  Raids  on  England,  76. 

NEW  YORK   (City)   draft  riots  in  1863,  223. 

NEY,  Marshal,  471. 

NICHOLAS  II.,  Czar  of  Russia,  allowed 
privilege  of  voting.  56 ;  likened  by  Dr. 
Lange  to  Louis  XVI.,  108;  details  of 
abdication,  116;  appeal  to  be  allowed 
stock  in  "  Loan  of  Freedom,"  amount  of 
possessions,  209 ;  exile  to  Tobolsk  with 
family,  437 ;  telegram  to  Kaiser  on  sub- 
mitting Serbian  question  to  Hague,  475. 

NIXON,  (Sir)  John,  censured  for  Mesopo- 
tamian   disaster,   244,   538. 

NONCOMBATANTS,  annotations  on  refer- 
ence in  Pres.  Wilson's  war  message,  66. 

NORTHCLIFFE  (Lord),  as  head  of  British 
Commission  to  U.  S.,  19;  speech  in  New 
York,  274. 

NORTON,    Charles  D.,   25. 

NORWEGIAN  Commission  to  United"  States, 
276,   430. 

NO  YON,  adopted  by  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
restoration,  349. 

o 

O  Valiant  Hearts,  432. 

O'CONNOR,  T.  P.,  as  representative  of  Irish 

Nationalist    Party     explains    purpose    of 

mission  to  U.  S.,  274. 
OFFICERS'    Training   Camps,    see   UNITED 

STATES— Army. 
OILS,  shortage  in  Berlin,  511. 
OLD  Dutch  Market  Company,  99. 
1,1,30  Airplanes  Shot  Down  in  Two  Months,  78. 

ORDERS,  of  knighthood,  conferred  on  wom- 
en, 225 ;  "  Order  of  British  Empire  "  and 
"  Companions  of  Honour,"  established 
and  opened  to  women,  328. 

ORLEANS  (Duke  of),  offer  of  services  to 
U.  S.  Army,  123. 

OSBORN,  Max.  account  of  British  attack  in 
Flanders,  403. 

OSBORN,  Paul  G.,  comment  on  bravery  and 
death,  412. 

OUDARD,  Leon,  342. 


PAILLOT.  Edmond,  340. 

PARIS,    complete    list    of    war    regulations, 

322;  air  raid  on,  518. 
Paris  Conference  on  Balkan  Affairs,  438. 
PASSPORTS;  refused  by   U.    S.    to   Socialist 

delegates,  20. 
PALESTINE,  see  CAMPAIGN  In  Asia  Minor. 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


PATROL  Boats,  Admiral  Lacaze  on  use  In 
counterattack  on  submarines  and  on  diffi- 
culty in  acquiring,  89. 

PAULSEN  (Prof.),  quoted  on  soul  of  Ger- 
man people,  73. 

PAXTON,  John,  Stanhope  medal  awarded 
for  bravery,  154. 

PEACE,  German  intrigue  for,  discussed  by 
Pres.  Wilson  in  Flag  Day  address,  4; 
International  Socialist  Conference  and  ef- 
forts for  terms,  19;  referred  to  by  Em- 
peror Charles  of  Austria  in  throne  speech, 
45;  Russia's  demand  for  restatement  of 
war  aims  by  her  allies ;  repudiation  of  an- 
nexation by  Russia;  amendment  in  Par- 
liament moved  by  P.  Snowden  on  repu- 
diation of  annexation;  address  of  Lord 
Cecil  m  reply  defending  policy  of  annexa- 
tion and  indemnities,  46;  Pres.  Wilson's 
note  to  Russia,  49;  text  of  replies  of  En- 
tente Allies  to  Russian  demand  for  state- 
ment of  war  aims,  50 ;  criticism  of  replies, 
by  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Council,  51;  report  of  Workmen's  Coun- 
cil on  efforts  of  Central  Powers  to  nego- 
tiate for  peace ;  dispatch  on  German  peace 
manoeuvres,  52;  further  German  efforts 
for  peace;  Council  of  Peasant  Deputies  in 
Russia  declares  against  separate  peace, 
53;  alliance  of  Russian  commercial  and 
banking  institutions  declares  against  sepa- 
rate peace,  56;  M.  Erzberger  declares  for 
peace  without  annexations  and  indemni- 
ties, 192;  liberal  policy  of  Dr.  Bethmann 
Hollweg  responsible  for  fall,  195;  resolu- 
tion in  Reichstag  supported  by  Centre 
Radicals  and  Socialists,  195;  Dr.  Michaelis 
on  German  desire  for  and  aims,  in  Reichs- 
tag, 197;  text  of  note  from  M.  Hoffmann 
on  separate  Russian  peace,  causing  expul- 
sion of  R.  Grimm  from  Russia,  209 ;  Lloyd 
George  on  German  desire  for  peace,  261 ; 
extracts  from  speech  in  Italian  Deputies 
by  Baron  Sonnino,  French  reply  to  Rus- 
sian proclamation  on  annexation  and  in- 
demnities, 263;  rejection  by  Russia  re- 
ferred to  by  B.  Bakhmeteff  in  speeches. 
267,  268;  German  note  in  1916  discussed 
In  official  U.  S.  statement,  *'  How  the 
War  Came  to  America,"  311;  extract  from 
Pres.  Wilson's  speech  in  Senate  Jan.  22, 
1917,  312 ;  desire  for  peace  in  Vienna,  322 ; 
text  of  appeal  of  Pope  to  belligerent  coun- 
tries, 392;  sentiment  of  nations  toward 
note,  summary  of  statement  of  Vatican 
on  note,  394 ;  "  The  Pope's  Peace  Pro- 
posal and  the  Austrian  Empire,"  408; 
pacifist  activities  of  Socialists  in  various 
countries,  439;  manifesto  of  Belgian  So- 
cialists on  annexations  and  indemnities, 
445;  speech  by  Lloyd  George  attacking 
first  speech  of  Dr.  Michaelis  and  outlining 
guarantees  of  peace,  464;  resolution  by 
J.  R.  Macdonald  in  Commons  on  accept- 
ance of  German  move,  465;  Macdonald 
resolution  discussed  by  H.  H.  Asquith. 
466;  reply  by  Dr.  Michaelis  to  attack  of 
Lloyd  George,  467;  reply  by  Count  Czer- 
nin  to  charge  of  Lloyd  George  that  Cen- 
tral Powers'  proposal  was  a  "  bluff,"  468; 
conditions  agreeable  to  Italy  defined  by 
Baron  Sonnino,  476;  Lloyd  George  on  Ger- 
man attitude  toward  restoration;  retorts 
of  German  press  on  "restoration,"  479; 
comment  of  Count  Reventlow  on  Lloyd 
George's  speech,  480:  right  of  indemnity 
claimed  by  Serbia,  485. 
See  also  AIMS  of  War. 

Peace  Program  of  Belgian  Socialists,  445. 

PEOPLE'S  Council  of  America,  attack  by 
Samuel  Gompers,   444. 

PERONNE,  vandalism  of  Germans,  344. 

PERSHING,  (Maj.  Gen.)  John  J.,  account 
cf  reception  in  England  and  France; 
message  to  British  public,  6;  status,  10; 
comment  on  his  being  first  soldier  to  draw 
sword  of  America  on  European  battlefield, 
24;  text  of  statements  on  arrival  of  troops 
in  France,  216:  text  of  order  on  behavior 
cf    soldiers,    217 ;    demonstration    for,    in 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


Deputies,    279 ;    on    progress    of    organiza- 
tion in  France,  388. 

PERSIA,    German    propaganda,    531. 
See  also  CAMPAIGN  in  Asia  Minor. 

PERSIUS,  (Capt.)  L.,  "  Hardships  of  the 
U-Boat  Service,"  90. 

PETAIN,  (Gen.)  Henri  Philippe,  text  of 
order  on  arrival  of  American  troops,  217. 

PILLAGE,    see   VANDALISM. 

POEMS  :— 

Arkwright,    J.    S.,    "  O    Valiant    Hearts," 

432. 
Bridges,    Robert,    "  To   the   United    States 

of  America,"  316. 
Coates,  Florence  Earle,   "  Better  to  Die," 

104. 
"Come     Into     the     Garden,      (of     Eden,) 

Maude,"  90. 
Leveridge,     Lilian,      "  A     Cry     from     the 

Canadian   Hills,    75. 
Villeroy,  A.,  "  The  Marching  Stars,"  480. 

POINCARE,  (Pres.)  Raymond,  reply  to  mes- 
sage of  Pres.  Wilson  on  Bastile  Day,  218. 

POLAND,  mentioned  by  Lord  Cecil  in  de- 
fense of  annexation  policy,  47 ;  mentioned 
in  British  note  in  reply  to  Russian  de- 
mand for  statement  of  aims  of  war,  51 ; 
possibility  of  free  Poland  discussed  by 
Dr.  Lange,  113. 

POLK,    Daisy,   349. 

POLK,  Frank  L.,  reply  to  Brazilian  note, 
280. 

Polyglot  Armies  of  the  Entente,  24. 

POLYNESIANS,  in  the  war,  21. 

Pope  Benedict's  Appeal  for  Peace,  392. 

PORTUGAL,  seizure  of  German  vessels,  415. 

"  Potsdam:  Plot  "  and  Countercharges,  469. 

Premier  Lvoff  on  Russia's  Situation,  205. 

President   Wilson's  Note   to  Russia,  49. 

PRICES  in  1914  and  1917,  99 ;  appeal  of  Pres. 
Wilson  against  undue  profits,  250. 
See   also   FOODSTUFFS. 

PRISONERS  of  War,  captured  by  British  at 
Messines  Ridge,  28;  taken  in  Italian  of- 
fensive, 33,  34 ;  taken  on  Messines  Ridge, 
35 ;  in  offensive  between  Soissons  and 
Rheims,  42 ;  inhuman  treatment  by  Ger- 
mans described  by  member  of  crew  of 
Gravina,  95 ;  taken  by  British  at  Festu- 
bert ;  Russian  claims  in  Bukowina  cam- 
paign, 128;  taken  by  Russians  at  Krasnik, 
130 ;  by  Germans  at  Kovno ;  by  Russians 
at  Tarnopol,  131 ;  British  and  German, 
225 ;  average  weekly  number  of  parcels 
sent  to  Germans,  226 ;  taken  by  Germans 
at  Yser  attack,  233,  242;  Canadians  in 
Germany,  288 ;  taken  by  Austrians  at  Go- 
rizia,  300;  claimed  by  Turks  in  surrender 
of  Gen.  Townshend,  303 ;  account  of  man- 
ner of  surrender  and  treatment  accorded 
Germans  at  Ginchy,  359 ;  text  of  protest 
of  German  Foreign  Office  against  use  of 
skeletons  of  Germans  for  anatomy  study 
as  depicted  in  Daily  Mirror ;  British  de- 
nial made  by  Foreign  Minister,  339;  at 
battle  of  Flanders,  395;  Associated  Press 
estimates  made  May,  1917,  429;  taken  by 
French  in  Champagne  in  1915,  announced 
by  Gen.  Joffre,  504;  taken  in  operations 
leading  to  capture  of  Bagdad,  550. 

PROFITS,  text  of  appeal  of  Pres.  Wilson 
against  profiteering,  256. 

Progress  of  the  War,  29,  233,  415. 

PROTOPOPOFF,  Alexander  Dmitrievitch, 
indicted  for  stealing  dispatches  of  Ras- 
putin, 209. 

PRUSSIA,    Government,    and    domination    of 
nation,  by  C.  D.  Hazen,  200. 
See  also  GERMANY. 

PRZEMYSL,  see  CAMPAIGN  In  Europe, 
Eastern. 

PUBLIC  Kitchens#in  Berlin,  509. 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


Putting    the   Conscription    Law   Into    Opera- 
tion, 13. 

Q 

QUEBEC,  secession  urged  by  Roman  Catho- 
lic press,  292. 
See  also  CANADA. 


RAILROADS,  value  of  Bagdad  Railway  in 
control  of  Central  Europe,  97;  "War's 
Effects  on  Turkish  Railways,"  106;  Prince 
Lvoff  on  difficulties  in  Russia  and  hope 
from  Stevens  Railroad  Commission,  206; 
recommendations  of  J.  F.  Stevens  for 
Russian  improvement,  212 ;  Prof.  Lomo- 
nosoff  on  conditions  in  Russia  and  need 
for  American  locomotives,  268. 

RAPPARD,   (Prof.)  William,  431. 

RASPUTIN,  Gregory,  influence  over  Em- 
press Alexandra,  108. 

RATHENAU,  (Dr.)  Walter,  plan  for  ex- 
ploitation  of  occupied   countries,    143. 

RAWLINSON,  (Gen.  Sir)  Henry,  mentioned 
by  Sir  D.  Haig  in  report,  536. 

RED     Cross,     members     of     American     War 
Council,  25. 
See  also  RELIEF  Work. 

REDFIELD,  (Sec.)  William  C,  on  export 
licenses,   16. 

REES,  (Maj.)  L.  W.  B.,  on  supremacy  of 
British  and  French  in  aerial  warfare,  78. 

Re-establishing  Albania,  284. 

REGISTRATION   Day,    proclaimed   by    Pres. 
Wilson,  13. 
See  also  UNITED   STATES— Army. 

REINACH,  Joseph,  review  of  "  German  Ver- 
sion of  the  Marne,"  4S7. 

RELIEF  Ships,  annotation  on  Pres.  Wilson's 
reference  to  sinking,  65. 

RELIEF  Work,  services  of  Dr.  Clunet  in 
fighting  epidemics  at  Dardanelles  and  in 
Rumania,  137 ;  Canada's  contributions, 
288 ;  in  communities  devastated  in  Ger- 
man retreat,  348 ;  progress  in  facial 
surgery,  412 ;  report  of  breakdown  in 
medical  arrangements  in  Bagdad  cam- 
paign, 540. 

RELIGION,  article  by  Maj.  W.  Redmond  on 
effect  of  war  on  revival,  132 ;  Catholics 
and  Lutherans  in  Germany  and  Austria, 
222. 

RENNENKAMPF,  (Gen.)  Paul  Charles  von, 
208. 

RESTORATION,  see  PEACE. 

Results  of  Three  Years  of  War,  483. 

Resurrection  of  Devastated  France,  347. 

REVENTLOW,  (Count)  Ernst  von,  comment 
on  Lloyd  George's  speech  on  "  restora- 
tion," 480. 

REVOLUTIONARY  War  (U.  S.),  decisive 
battles  with  small  bodies  of  troops,  226. 

RHEIMS,  extracts  from  diary  of  Cardinal 
Lucon  during  bombardment,  139. 

RHONDDA  (Lord),  on  U.  S.  embargo,  255. 

RIBOT,  (Premier)  Alexandre,  extract  from 
greeting  to  Gen.  Pershing,  9 ;  on  resolu- 
tion in  Deputies  on  peace  terms,  50 ;  on 
abdication  of  Constantine,  84 ;  accused  by 
Dr.  Michaelis  of  conspiracy  for  conquest, 
467. 

ROBERTS,  George  Henry,  stand  on  Stock- 
holm Conference,  443. 

ROBERTSON,  (Gen.  Sir)  William,  state- 
ments on  war  at  Mansion  House,  136;  re- 
view of  three  years  of  war,  484. 

ROMAN  Catholic  Church,  movement  of  Ger- 
man and  Swiss  clergy  for  peace,  53 ; 
numbers  compared  with  Lutherans  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  222;  attitude  in 
Canada  toward  conscription,  292. 
See  also  RELIGION. 


xn. 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


ROOP  (Lieut.  Gen.),  266. 

ROOT,  Elihu,  first  address  in  Russia  as  head 
of    American     Mission ;     response    by    M. 
Terestchenko,    57 ;    speeches     in     Moscow, 
211 ;  statement  on  accomplishment  of  pur- 
pose   of    mission,    212 ;    speech    on    return 
from  Russian  mission  outlining  situation, 
436. 
ROSE,   (Dr.)  J.  N.,  258. 
ROTHSCHILD,    (Baron)   Henri  de,  349. 
ROUSSEAU,  Jean  Jacques,  119. 
ROWELL,    Verne    De    W.,     "  Canadian    In- 
dians at  the  Front,"  290. 
Royal    Volunteer    for    the    American    Army. 

123. 
RUKOVISHIKOFF,  Barbara,  210. 
RUMANIA,    Jewish   question ;   reply   of  King 

Ferdinand  to  deputation  of  Jews,  155. 
RUMANIAN    Mission   to    United    States,    see 

ALLIES'  Commissions. 
RUSSELL,  Charles  Edward,  work  on  Ameri- 
can Commission  in.  Russia,  212. 
RUSSIA  :— 

American  Commission,  arrival  in  Russia, 
first  address  of  E.  Root,  57 ;  text  of 
Pres.  Wilson's  note  explaining  aims  of 
mission,  58 ;  account  of  activities,  211 ; 
summary  of  address  of  J.  R.  Mott, 
213;  return,  436. 
Army,  new  regulations,  54 ;  resolution  of 
Peasant  Council  calling  upon  army  to 
submit  to  discipline ;  female  regiment 
raised  by  Ensign  Butchkareff,  56; 
views  of  Dr.  Lange  on  reverses,  113; 
account  of  a  mutiny  and  the  attitude 
of  loyal  troops,  123 ;  mobilization  as 
cause  of  war  discussed  by  Dr. 
Michaelis,  196;  strengthening  of  mo- 
rale, 204 ;  Premier  Lvoff  on  improve- 
ment in  morale,  206 ;  regiment  of  wom- 
en, 210;  comment  on  women  soldiers, 
413;  appeal  of  Workmen's  Delegates 
to,  433,  434 ;  disorder,  434 ;  report  of 
Colonel  Kolotkoff  on  collapse,  436; 
break  in  discipline  due  to  Socialist 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates,  442 ;  mobilization  given  as 
one  of  causes  of  war  by  Kaiser  in 
letter  to  Pres.  Wilson,  473;  article  by 
S.  Lauzanne  disproving  Kaiser's  as- 
sertion, 474. 
Cabinet,     Kerensky     appointed     Premier, 

433;  reorganization,  435. 
Church  Reforms,   article  by  C.   R.   Crane 
Oil   progress  and  work  of  J.   R.   Mott, 
213. 
Congress    of    Peasant    Deputies,    against 
separate   peace,    53;    resolution   calling 
on  army  to  submit  to  discipline,  56. 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates,   statement    on    German    efforts 
for  separate  peace,   52;   resolutions  in 
support  of  army ;  seizure  of  Kronstadt 
Fortress,    55 ;    organization,    109 ;    com- 
pared with  Jacobins   in   French  Revo- 
lution :  part  of  soldiers  and   of  work- 
men, 121 ;  resolution  to  abolish  Duma, 
210;    proclamations    appealing    to    sol- 
diers, 434,  435 ;  proclamation  censuring 
pro-German    agitators,   435;   opposition 
to  Provisional  Govt.,  441. 
Duma,   resolution  in   reply  to  demand  by 
Congress  of  Soldiers'   Deputies  that  it 
be  abolished,  210. 
Finances,   views   of  Dr.   Lange,   114 ;  new 

measures,  209. 
France,  Relations  with,  negotiations  for 
French  connuest  charged  by  Dr. 
Michaelis.  467 ;  denial  by  Premier 
Ribot,  470;  denial  by  M.  Terestchenko 
of  Russian  protest  against  alms,  471. 
German  Influence,  71. 

See  also  GERMAN  Plots. 

Politics      and      Government,       "  Russia's 
Perilous  Transitional  Stage,"  53. 

Vol.    6 — Part    Two 


Provisional    Govt.,    proclamation    against 
disorder,  434. 

Reforms,  Prince  Lvoff  on  advances  under 
Provisional  Govt.,  206;  anti-Jewish 
laws  repealed,  214. 
*  Revolution,  report  of  Investigation  by  Dr. 
Lange  at  instance  of  Carnegie  Endow- 
ment, 105;  "Details  of  the  Czar's  Ab- 
dication," by  M.  Choulgine,  115;  arti- 
cle on  parallels  with  and  contrasts  to 
French  Revolution,  118 ;  telegram  of 
M.  I.  Terestchenko  to  allied  powers 
telling  difficulties  of  reorganization, 
176;  achievements  and  problems  in 
fourth  month,  204 ;  views  of  Prince 
Lvoff,  207;  "Indictment  of  Czar's 
Former  Officials,"  208;  progress  and 
program  outlined  by  B.  Bakhmeteff  in 
speeches  in  U.  S.,  266-269;  new  crisis; 
rise  of  Kerensky  Govt,  and  events 
during  July  and  August,  433;  situation 
discussed  by  E.  Root  in  New  York. 
436;  Socialist  activities,  411;  effect  on 
military  situation  discussed  by  Sir  E. 
Carson,  466. 

Rural  conditions,  described  by  Dr.  Lange, 
111. 

United  States,  Relations  with,  see  under 
UNITED  STATES. 
Russia  Passes  Through  Deep  Waters,  433. 
Russia  Renews  Pledge  to  Her  Allies,  476. 
Russian  and  French  Revolutions,  118. 
RUSSIAN  Commission  to  United  States,  see 

ALLIES'   Commissions. 
Russia's  New  Outlook,  204. 
Russia's  Perilous  Transition  Stage,  53. 
RUSZKY,    (Gen.)    Nicholas,    retirement,   435. 

S 

SABADILLA,  use  for  poison  gases,  258. 

"  SAMMIES  "  name  given  by  French  to  U. 
S.  soldiers,  216. 

SAMPSON  (Admiral),  attack  on  Santiago 
compared  with  present  German  usage,  66. 

SARRAIL  (Gen.),  85. 

SAXONY,  revolt  in  Diet  over  political  re- 
form, 191. 

SCHEIDEMANN,  Philip,  support  of  imperial 
war  policy ;  on  peace,  440 ;  defense  of  sup- 
port of  Govt,  war  policy  by  Social  Demo- 
crat majority,  449. 

SCHELTEMA,  (Dr.)  J.  F.,  M  The  Arabs  and 
the  Turks  in  the  War,"  531. 

SCHLESWIG-Holstein,  life  in  wartime  de- 
scribed by  G.  R.  Toksirg,  512. 

SCIALVIA,  Viterio,  address  in  Rome  on 
American  reception  of  Italian  Mission,  63. 

SCULLY  (Lieut.).  10. 

SEAS,  Freedom  of,  see  INTERNATIONAL 
Law. 

Selecting  the  Conscript  Army,  220. 

SERBIA,  plan  of  reorganization,  431 ;  account 
of  meeting  at  Potsdam  to  discuss  Aus- 
trian ultimatum,  470;  memorandum 
transmitted  to  Amb.  Sharp  charging  ex- 
ploitation of  country  by  conquerors,  485. 

SHIPPING,  annotations  on  references  in 
Pres.  Wilson's  war  message,  64 ;  under- 
standing reached  by  U.  S.  and  the  Allies, 
61 ;  sunk  by  submarines  from  May  14- 
June  23,  88;  record  of  destruction  from 
June  13-July  15,  250;  Pres.  Wilson  on  high 
rates,  257;  destruction  from  July  15  to 
Aug.  12,  405 ;  Lloyd  George  on  British 
tonnage  and  diminution  of  losses,  407 : 
Dr.  Nansen  on  Norwegian  situation,  430 ; 
growth   of  Japanese   tonnage,   530. 

SHIPS,   pleas  of  G.   Marconi  and  E.   Arlotta 
for  rapid  construction,  271. 
See  also  INTERNED  Ships. 

SIAM,  declares  war  on  Germany,  407;  "The 
Peoples  of  Siam,"  409.  • 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


Xlll. 


S1BERT,   (Maj.  Gen.)  William  L.,  13,  216. 

SIMS,  (Vice  Admiral)  William  S.,  in  com- 
mand of  allied  forces  in  Irish  waters,  15, 
248;  statement  by  Sec.  Daniels  on  declara- 
tion in  England  that  blood  was  thicker 
than  water,  253. 

SKAGERRAK,  see  JUTLAND. 

SKRYDLOFF,    Marya,   210. 

SLAVS,  comparison  of  temperament  with 
Gallic  as  shown  in  Russian  and  French 
Revolutions,  121. 

Small  Armies  in  Decisive  Battles,  226. 

SMOKE  Screen,  248. 

SNELL,  William,  account  of  sinking  of  S.  S. 
Belgian  Prince,  406. 

SNOWDEN,  Philip,  amendment  in  Parlia- 
ment on  repudiation  of  annexation  policy, 
address  in  reply  by  Lord  Cecil,  46. 

SOCIALIST  Party  of  United  States,  open 
letter  to  "  Socialists  of  Belligerent  Coun- 
tries," 443. 

SOCIALISTS,  conference  at  Stockholm  and 
peace  terms,  19 ;  refusal  of  U.  S.  Govt,  to 
issue  passports  to  delegates,  20;  dissatis- 
faction in  Russia  with  Allies'  reply  on 
aims  of  war,  and  with  message  of  Pres. 
Wilson,  correspondence  over  call  for  inter- 
national conference  to  consider  peace  in 
reply  to  A.  Thomas,  A.  Henderson,  and 
E.  Vandervelde,  51 ;  expulsion  of  R. 
Grimm  from  Russia  caused  by  note  from 
M.  Hoffmann  on  separate  peace,  209 ; 
German  attempt  to  neutralize  Russia 
through,  230;  "The  Socialists  in  the 
War,"  439;  manifesto  of  Belgian  Socialists 
on  peace,  445;  attitude  of  Social  Demo- 
crats in  Germany  toward  Govt,  war 
policy,  447 ;  reply  in  Vorwaerts  to  appeal 
of  Socialists  in  other  countries  for  non- 
support  of  Kaiser,  481. 

SOLDIERS,   aid   of  Canadian   Govt,    for  re- 
turned soldiers.  289;  U.   S.  and  Canadian 
plans  for  maintenance  of  dependents,  413. 
See  also  heading  ARMIES  under  names  of 
countries. 

SONNINO,  (Baron)  Sydney,  extracts  from 
speech  in  Deputies  on  Italy's  war  aims, 
203;  address  in  Parliament  on  Italian 
aims  in  war,  476. 

SPAHN.   (Dr.)  Peter,  411. 

SPATN.  account  of  disagreement  of  factions 
on  stand  on  war,  22. 

SPANISH- American  War,  Admiral  Samp- 
son's treatment  of  Santiago  compared  with 
present  German  usages,  66. 

SQUIER.  (Brig.  Gen.)  George  O.,  on  ap- 
propriation for  air  fleet,   13. 

STANHOPE  Medal,  awarded  to  John  Paxton, 
154. 

STEVENS,  John  F.,  recommendations  for 
meeting  Russian  railway  problems,  212. 

STOCKHOLM  Conference  of  Socialists,  see 
INTERNATIONAL  Conference  of  Social- 
ists. 

STOICA,    (Lieut.)  Vasili,    276. 

Storming  of  the  Aisne  Quarries,  41. 

Story  of  the  Russian  Upheaval,   105. 

STRIKES,  in  Germany,  caused  by  smaller 
bread  ticket,  326. 

STUERGKH,  (Count)  Karl,  summary  of  de- 
fense of  assassination  by  Dr.   Adler,  330. 

STURMER,  Boris,  indictment  and  imprison- 
ment, 208. 

SUBMARINE  Warfare,  annotations  by  Prof. 
W.  S.  Davis  on  Pres.  Wilson's  references 
in  war  message,  64;  effect  on  shipping 
shown  by  figures,  88;  Admiral  Lacaze  on 
methods  employed  to  counterattack  sub- 
marines, 89 ;  Capt.  Persius  on  "  heroic 
activities"  of  U-boats,  90;  account  of 
heroism  on  torpedoed  Athos,  92;  report 
of  Capt.  Chave  on  torpedoing  of  S.  S. 
Alnwick    Castle,    93;    adventures   of   crew 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


of  Gravina  captured  by  submarine,  95; 
protests  of  China  and  events  leading  to 
break  with  Germany,  100;  declared  by  Dr. 
Michaelis  in  Reichstag  to  have  been 
forced  by  British  blockade,  196;  attacks 
on  American  ships  transporting  troops, 
215 ;  article  by  T.  G.  Frothingham  on  peril 
of  U-boat,  245;  destruction  of  shipping, 
June  13  to  July  15,  250;  destruction  of 
shipping,  July  15  to  Aug.  12,  405;  T.  G. 
Frothingham  on  "  Great  Tactics  of  Three 
Years  of  Warfare,"  419. 
See  also  UNITED  STATES — War  with 
Germany. 

SUBMARINES,  article  by  Capt.  Persius  on 
hardships  in  life  of  crews,  90;  G.  Marconi 
on  way  Germany  sends  boats  into  Medi- 
terranean, 251. 

SLKHOMLINOFF   (M),   in  prison,  209. 

SURGERY,  advances  in  facial  surgery,  412. 

SUZ,  John,  431. 

SWEDEN,  alarmed  by  U.  S.  embargo;  de- 
nial by  E.  B.  Trolle  of  charge  that  im- 
ports were  not  for  home  consumption,  255; 
mission   to   U.    S.,    431. 

SWITZERLAND.  Mission  to  U.  S.,  431. 


TACTICS,  article  by  T.  G.  Frothingham  on 
"  Grand  Tactics  of  Three  Years  of  War- 
fare," 421. 

TAFT,    William    Howard,    appointed   to    Red 
Cross  Council,  25 ;  "  Why  We  Entered  the 
Great  War,"  317. 
TAKESHITA,  (Vice  Admiral)  Isamu,  276. 

TANKS,    see    AUTOMOBILES. 

TARDIEU.  Andre,  head  of  French  Commis- 
sion, 19 ;  extract  from  speech  at  Franco- 
American  Society  on  organization  of  U. 
S.  for  war,  275;  statement  sent  to  Sec. 
Baker  on  "  Fighting  Forces  of  France," 
481. 

TCHEREMISSOFF  (Gen.),  435. 

TERESTCHENKO,  M.  I.,  response  to  ad- 
dress of  E.  Root,  58 ;  commits  Govt,  to 
concessions  in  Ukraine,  205 ;  denial  of  ac- 
cusation by  Dr.  Michaelis  that  Russia 
protested  against  French  aims,  471 ;  text  of 
telegram  to  allied  powers  renewing  pledge 
of  support,   476. 

TERRITORY  Occupied,  figures  given  by  Ber- 
liner Tageblatt,  480;  figures  for  Belgian, 
English,  French,  and  German,  4S1. 

TESSAN,   (Lieut.)  de,  10. 

THIRD  Year  of  War,  review  in  Berliner 
Tageblatt,  480;  Maj.  Gen.  Maurice  on 
"Results  of  Three  Years  of  War,"  483; 
review  by   Gen.   Robertson,   484. 

Threat  of  "  Mittel-Europa,"  97. 

THOBURN-Clarke,  H.,  "  Nesting  Mothers  of 
Battle  Zone,"  140. 

THOMAS,  Albert,  51. 

TILSON,  John  Quillin,  on  airplanes  and  gas 
bombs,  525. 

TINKHAM,  (Capt.)  E.  I.,  leader  of  first  U. 
S.  combatant  corps  at  front,  10. 

To  the  United  States  of  America,  316. 

TOKSVIG,  Gudrun  Randrup,  "  Life  in  Den- 
mark's Lost  Province,"  512. 

TOLSTOY,  (Count)  Leo,  influence  on  Russia 
at  present  time  compared  with  that  of 
Voltaire,  119. 

TOWNSHEND  (Gen.),  in  Asia  Minor  cam- 
paign, 301 ;  said  by  Col.  Hehir  to  have  re- 
tained confidence  of  men,  539. 

TRANSPORTATION,  merits  of  rail  and  wa- 
ter travel  discussed  by  Capt.  Mahan,  97; 
difficulties  in  Russia,  206;  Gen.  Haig  on 
problem  on  western  front,  537 ;  difficulties 
in  Bagdad  campaign,  539. 

TREASON,  U.  S.  statutes,  74. 

TREES,  Fruit,  devastated  by  Germans  in  re- 
treat in  France  saved  by  surgery,  347. 


XIV 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


TROLLE,  E.  B.,  statement  on  Sweden's  im- 
ports, 255. 

TRUMBIC,    (Dr.)  Anto,  432. 

TSCHEIDZE,  N.  S.f  account  of  interview  on 
the  effect  of  war  on  English  democracy, 
117 ;  compromise  with  Finnish  National- 
ists due  to  efforts,  205. 

TSERETELLI  (Prince),  commits  Govt,  to 
concessions  in  Ukraine,  205. 

TUAN  Chi- Jul,  disagreement  with  Govt.,  102; 
dismissal,  103;  re-appointed  Premier,  226. 

TURKEY,  comment  of  Lord  Cecil  on  turning 
Ottoman  Empire  out  of  Europe,  48;  ac- 
count of  conditions  due  to  war,  169;  illu- 
sions regarding  German  power ;  financial 
condition,  170;  war  conditions,  327;  prog- 
ress of  women,  328 ;  merits  of  soldiers  dis- 
cussed by  Dr.  Scheltema  in  article  "  Arabs 
and  the  Turks  in  the  War,"  531. 

Two  Offers  of  Autonomy  for  Albania ,  85. 

Two  Years  Under  the  Germans,  350. 

u 

U-Boat  Destruction  of  Shipping,  250,  405. 
UDINE  (Prince  of),  head  of  Italian  Commis- 
sion   to   U.    S.,    formal    address    to    Pres. 
Wilson ;   address   in   Senate,   62 ;   at  Gari- 
baldi Memorial  on  Staten  Island,  271. 
UKRAINE,  demand  for  autonomy,  205. 
UNITED  STATES  :— 

Armed  Neutrality,  comment  on  previous 
periods  in  U.  S.  history;  German  code 
before  war,  67 ;  phase  in  relations  with 
Germany,  314. 
Army,  arrival  of  Gen.  Pershing  in  Eng- 
land and  France,  6 ;  special  units  which 
preceded  Gen.  Pershing,  10;  plans  and 
progress  of  organization  for  war,  11 ; 
training  camps  for  providing  officers, 
12;  promotion  of  officers  by  Pres.  Wil- 
son ;  plans  for  new  air  fleet ;  results  of 
registration  for  draft,  13 ;  submarine 
attacks  on  transports  and  account  of 
arrival  and  reception  of  first  contin- 
gents in  France,  215;  month's  prog- 
ress in  recruiting,  218;  mobilization  of 
National  Guard ;  locations  of  training 
camps,  219;  numbering  of  regiments 
and  training  of  officers ;  tables  show- 
ing registration  by  States,  220:  plans 
for  draft.  221 ;  "  Draft  in  1863  and 
1917,"  223;  small  number  of  men  in 
battles  of  Revolution,  226;  progress  of 
mobilization  and  training.  381 ;  new 
system  of  organization,  382 ;  list  of 
Major  Generals;  new  promotions,  first 
National  Guard  Division  to  be  sent  to 
France,  384;  account  of  drawing  of 
numbers  for  conscript  army,  384; 
power  of  exemption  boards,  386:  re- 
sistance to  conscription  law,  387;  bil- 
leting and  training  in  France,  388;  re- 
ception in  England,  389;  figures  show- 
ing strength,  407;  new  appropriation 
for  aircraft-  H.  E.  Coffin  on  task  be- 
fore Aircraft  Board  and  Dr.  Addison 
on  manufacture  of  flying  machines  in 
England,  514. 
Bureau  of  Export  Licenses,  255. 
China,  Relations  with,  American  note  ex- 
pressing regret  for  rebellion,  103 ;  Japa- 
nese attitude  toward  note,  104. 
Congress,    chronology    of    war    measures, 

68. 
Economic  Mobilization,  A.  Tardieu  on  al- 
lied co-ordination  of  forces,  275. 
England,     Relations    with,     controversies 

over  maritime  rights,  308. 
Finances,  success  of  Liberty  Loan  cam- 
paign, allotments  and  subscription, 
17;  subscriptions  and  allotments  by 
districts  for  Liberty  Loan,  224;  loans 
to  allies,  414. 
Foreign  ^Policy,  outstanding  features  dis- 
cussed in  "  How  the  War  Came  to 
America,"  published  by  Committee  on 
Public  Information,  304. 

Vol.    6 — Part    Two 


Foreign  Population,  foreign-born  males, 
22 ;  statement  of  Secretary  of  War, 
223. 

See  also  ENEMY  Aliens ;  GERMANS  in 
America. 

Germany,  Relations  with,  lack  of  arbitra- 
tion  treaty   and   events   leading  up   to 
war,  official  American  statement,  309. 
See  also  UNITED  STATES— War  with 
Germany. 

History,  participation  of  country  in  former 
European  and  African  wars,  24. 

Industries,  text  of  appeal  by  Pres.  Wilson 
against  profiteering,  256;  mobilization 
discussed  by  Lord  Northcliffe,  274. 

Navy,  assistance  being  rendered  to  allies', 
14;  increase  of  strength  of  navy  and 
Marine  Corps,  15;  active  part  played 
by  destroyer  flotilla,  89 ;  location  of 
training  camps,  219;  valuable  work  of 
destroyers  under  Admiral  Sims  in 
British  waters,  248;  progress  of  war 
measures  summarized  by  Sec.  Daniels, 
252 ;  strength  of  forces  and  enlistments, 
382,  407;  tribute  by  Lloyd  George,  407. 

Russia,  Relations  with,  note  of  Pres.  Wil- 
son giving  objects  of  U.  S.  in  war,  49; 
arrival  of  American  Mission  to  Russia ; 
first  address  of  E.  Root,  57;  text  of 
Pres.  Wilson's  note  explaining  aims  of 
Root  commission,  58 ;  Prince  Lvoff  on 
program  for  American  aid  and  on 
"America  as  Russia's  Ideal,"  206; 
address  of  B.  Bakhmeteff  upon  pres- 
entation of  credentials  to  Pres.  Wil- 
son, 207;  Pres.  Wilson's  reply,  208; 
activities  of  Root  commission,  211 ; 
J.  R.  Mott  of  commission  addresses 
sobor  of  Greek  Church,  213;  visit  of 
Russian  Commission  to  U.  S.,  266. 

War  Risk  Insurance  Bureau,  list  of  losses 
on  vessels,  25. 

War  with  Germany,  Pres.  Wilson's  Flag 
Day  address  giving  reasons,  1 ;  note  of 
Pres.  Wilson  to  Russia  explaining  aims 
of  U.  S.,49:  "Facts  Supporting  President 
Wilson's  War  Message,"  annotations 
citing  the  issues  in  international  law, 
by  Prof.  W.  S.  Davis,  64;  effect  of 
entry  of  U.  S.  into  war  on  Greek  situa- 
tion, 85;  extract  from  speech  by  Dr. 
von  Harnack,  142 ;  effect  belittled  by 
Dr.  Michaelis  in  Reichstag,  197;  J.  S. 
Williams  on  necessity  for,  260;  com- 
ment of  Lloyd  George  in  Glasgow,  262 ; 
comment  on  entry,  by  King  Albert  and 
by  Baron  Moncheur,  273 ;  speech  by  R. 
Viviani  in  Deputies,  278;  text  of 
pamphlet  issued  by  Committee  on  Pub- 
Public  Information,  "  How  the  War 
Came  to  America,"  setting  forth  events 
that  forced  entry  into  war,  304-316; 
text  of  resolution  declaring  state  of 
war,  316;  "Why  We  Entered  the 
Great  War,"  by  W.  H.  Taft,  317; 
Secretary  Lansing  on  "  Our  War 
Aims,"  455;  Sen.  Baker  on  war 
aims,  461 ;  statement  by  Dr.  Kahl  that 
"  America  Will  Make  No  Difference," 
463;  U.  S.  declared  by  Lloyd  George 
to  be  underestimated  by  Germany, 
464 ;  views  of  Sir  E.  Carson,  466. 


VANDALISM  in  France,  official  report  of 
illegal  treatment  inflicted  upon  territory 
occupied  by  Germans,  340 ;  account  of  work 
in  restoring  communities  destroyed  in 
German  retreat,  347;  in  Savy,  351;  in 
Serbia,  486. 

VANDERVELDE,  Emlle,  refusal  to  meet 
German  Socialists.  440:  manifesto,  "  Peace 
Program   of  Belgian    Socialists,"    445. 

VENIZELOS,  Eleutherios,  return  to  power; 
statement  upon  taking  oath,  283. 

VERDUN,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  West- 
ern. 


INDEX   AND    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


xv. 


VESNITCK    (Serbian  Ambassador),   485. 

VICKERS,    (Capt.)   C.    G.,   bravery,   506. 

VIENNA,   Wartime   Life   in,  321. 

VILLAIN,    343. 

VILLEROY,  August,  poem,  "  The  Marching 
Stars,"   486. 

V1NAWER,    see  WINAWER. 

VIOLLETTE,  Maurice,   151. 

V1RUBOVA    (Mme.),  209. 

VITRIMONT,  rebuilding  taken  in  charge  by 
Mrs.    Crocker,   349. 

VIVIANI,  Rene,  speech  at  dinner  of  Mayor's 
Committee  at  Waldorf-Astoria,  recalling 
battle  of  the  Marne,  59 ;  tribute  to  Amer- 
ica in  Chamber  of  Deputies,  277. 

VOLLENHOVEN,  Joost  von,  on  Holland's 
need   of  gain,  431. 

VOLTAIRE,  Francois  M.  A.  de,  influence 
compared  with  that  of  Tolstoy  in  present 
war,   119. 

Von  Batocki's  Bread-Card  Methods  in  Ger- 
many,  152. 

w 

WADSWORTH,  Eliot,  25. 
WALDORF,    (Herr)  von,   411. 

WAR,  sociological  study,  "  Who  Pays  for 
the  Cost  of  War,"  134;  article  by  H.  Caine 
on    "  Appalling  Waste   of   the   War,"    452. 

War  Aims  and  Peace  Terms  Restated,  261. 

War  Aims  of  Allies  Restated,   46. 

War  for  American  Honor  and  Lives,  460. 

WAR  Risk  Insurance,  losses  of  U.  S.  bureau, 
25. 

WARREN,   Whitney,   477. 

War's  Inferno  on  the  Aisne  Ridge,  239. 

WARSAW,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  East- 
ern. 

Wartime  Life  in  European  Capitals,  321. 

Wartime  Suffering  in  Turkey,  169. 

WASHINGTON,  George,  extract  from  first 
inaugural  address  contrasted  with  senti- 
ment of  Bethmann  Hollweg  on  invasion  of 
Belgium,  and  with  Frederick  the  Great 
on  question  of  right,  69 ;  extract  from 
address  of  B.  Bakhmeteff  during  visit  of 
Russian  and  British  Missions  to  tomb,  268 ; 
called  as  Commander  in  Chief  in  1798, 
387. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  "  adopts  "  Noyon, 
France,  to  rebuild,  349. 

"  V,re  Grazed  the  Very  Edge  of  Cowardice," 
260. 

Welding  Britain's  Empire  Closer,  147. 

What  Has  Paralyzed  Russia's  Armies,  116. 

What  the  American  Navy   Has  Done,  252. 

WHEAT,    H.    C.    Hoover   on   regulation,   390; 
Federal  wheat  corporation,  391. 
See  also  FOODSTUFFS. 

Who  Pays  the  Cost  of  War,  135. 

Why  We  Entered  the  Great  War,  317. 

Why  We  Went  to  War,  1. 

WILLIAM  II.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  speech 
to  Brandenburg  troops,  53 ;  message  to 
Constantine  on  abdication,  84 ;  manifesto 
on  electoral  reform,  193 ;  letter  accepting 
resignation  of  Bethmann  Hollweg,  196; 
political  power  discussed  in  article  by  C. 
H.  Hazen  on  "  How  the  Hohenzollerns  and 
Junkers  Control,"  198;  proclamations  at 
close  of  third  year  of  war,  472 ;  telegram 
to  Pre3.  Wilson  on  Aug.  10,  1914,  telling 
how   war   began,   473. 

WILLIAM,  Crown  Prince  of  Germany,  reason 
for  summoning  to  Crown  Councils,  194 ; 
antagonism  toward  Dr.  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg; applause  for  Heydebrand  in  Agadir 

Vol.    6 — Part   Two 


debate  and  attitude  toward  Zabern  affair, 
195. 
WILLIAMS,  John  Sharp,  extract  from  speech 
in  reply  to  Sen.   Stone  on  war,  260. 

WILLIAMS,  Wythe,  "  Storming  of  the  Aisne 
Quarries,"  41;  "War's  Inferno  on  the 
Aisne  Ridge,"  239. 

WILLOUGHBY,  (Dr.)  W.,  on  Chinese  crisis, 
104. 

WILSON,  (Capt.)  Henry  B.,  in  command  of 
coast  patrol,  253. 

WILSON,  (Pres.)  Woodrow,  Flag  Day  ad- 
dress at  Washington  giving  reasons  for 
war  with  Germany,  1 ;  promotion  of  offi- 
cers, 13 ;  efforts  to  avert  food  crisis,  15 ; 
letter  to  H.  C.  Hoover  on  conservation  of 
food,  16 ;  note  to  Russia  explaining  objects 
of  U.  S.  in  entering  war,  49 ;  reference  to 
war  message,  in  British  note  to  Russia  on 
war  aims ;  comment  in  Italian  note ;  com- 
ment on  message  to  Russia  in  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  bul- 
letin, 51 ;  text  of  note  to  Russia  on  aims 
of  Root  commission,  58;  annotations  by 
Prof.  W.  S.  Davis  on  issues  in  war  mes- 
sage, 64;  extract  from  speech  by  Dr.  von 
Harnack  attacking  "ideal,"  142;  reply 
to  address  of  Ambassador  Bakhmeteff,  on 
Russo-American  relations,  208 ;  eulogy  by 
Mayor  of  Moscow;  telegram  thanking  him 
for  Root  commission,  211 ;  message  to 
Pres.  Poincare,  on  Bastile  Day ;  reply  of 
Pres.  Poincare,  218 ;  on  purpose  of  Ex- 
ports Council,  254 ;  statement  on  licensing 
exports,  255 ;  text  of  appeal  against  prof- 
iteering, 256 ;  letter  from  King  Albert, 
presented  by  Belgian  Mission,  272 ;  quoted 
on  neutrality  at  beginning  of  war,  307 ; 
on  willingness  of  U.  S.  to  enter  a  peace 
league,  308 ;  extracts  from  speeches  in 
Topeka  and  St.  Louis  on  war,  310;  extract 
from  speech  in  Senate  on  peace,  312 ; 
statement  on  food  control  program,  389; 
charged  by  Dr.  Kahl  with  playing  false, 
463 ;  telegram  from  Emperor  William, 
Aug.  10,  1914,  telling  how  war  began,  473. 

WINAWER  (M.),  declines  High  Court  nomi- 
nation, 112. 

WINDSOR,  House  of,  now  name  of  British 
royal  family,  251. 

WOMAN  Suffrage,  clauses  in  British  elec- 
toral reform  bill,  18. 

WOMEN,  Russian  regiment  under  Lieut. 
Butchkareff ;  represented  in  Russian  Con- 
stituent Assembly,  56 ;  change  in  status 
in  Turkey,  169 ;  description  of  regiment 
in  Russia,  210;  knightly  orders  conferred 
upon,  225 ;  progress  in  Turkey ;  two  new 
orders  of  knighthood  in  England  open  to 
women,  328 ;  comment  on  Russian  regi- 
ment of  women,  413. 

WOOD,    William    A.,    "Who    Pays    for    the 

Cost  of  War,"  134. 
WOOD,  used  for  flour  in  Germany,  326. 

WOOLSEY,  Theodore  S.,  quoted  on  subma- 
rine usage  in  neutral  ports,  67. 

WORKMEN'S  Council,  444. 

WRIGHT  Bros.,  original  aviation  field  in- 
cluded in  new  Govt,  four-squadron  field, 
13. 

WU  TING-FANG,  protest  to  Germany 
against  submarine  warfare,  100. 

Y 

YAVEIN,  (Mme.)  Shishkin,  representative 
in  Russian  Constituent  Assembly,  56. 

"  Year's  Bravest  Englishman,"  154. 

YEIGH,  Frank,  "  Canada's  Three  Years  of 
War,"  287. 

YOUNG,  (Lieut.)  Arthur  C,  "  Battle's  Grim 
Realities  at  Ginchy,"  354. 

YOUNG,    (Lieut.)   I.   E.   R.,   517. 

YPRES,  see  CAMPAIGN  in  Europe,  Western. 


XVI. 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


ZAIMIS,    Alexander,    reply    to    demand    for 

abdication  of  Constantine,  83. 
ZEMSTVOS,  work  in  war,  107. 


ZIMMERMANN,   (Dr.)   Alfred,   Mexican  plot, 

72. 
ZINOVIEFF,    Leone,    435. 
ZUKUNFT,  Die,  suppression  and  article  which 
was  cause,  193. 


Portraits 


ADOR,  Gustave,  285. 

ALEXANDER,  King  of  Greece,  47. 

BARNETT,  (Maj.  Gen.)  George,  205. 

BEATTY,   (Admiral  Sir)  David,  458. 

BENSON,   (Admiral)  W.   S.,  221. 

BORAH,   William   E.,   4G0. 

BORDEN,    (Sir)  Robert,   317. 

CADORNA,    (Gen.)  Luigi,  296. 

CASTELNAU,    (Gen.)   de,   501. 

CHANG  HSUN   (Gen.),  259. 

CROWDER,    (Brig.   Gen.)   Enoch  H.,  15. 

CROZIER,    (Gen.)    William,  221. 

CURRIE,  (Sir)  Arthur,  317. 

DATO,   Eduardo,  285. 

DOYEN,   (Col.)  Charles  A.,  220. 

DUKE,    Henry   E.,    310. 

FENG  KUO-CHANG,  Pres.  of  China,  506. 

GEDDES,    (Vice  Admiral   Sir)   Eric,   459. 

GEORGE  V..  King  of  England,  and  Admiral 

Beatty,  458. 
GLEAVES,  (Rear  Admiral)  Albert,  204. 
HANNA,  W.  J.,  317. 
HOETZENDORF,   (Gen.)  von,  298. 
KLUCK,   (Gen.)  von,  488. 
KNUDSEN.  Gunnar,  285. 


KORNILOFF,  (Gen.)  L.  G.,  427. 
KUHN,    (Gen.)   Joseph  E.,   221. 
LAURIER,    (Sir)    Wilfrid,    317. 
LTTTELL,    (Col.)   Isaac  W.,  221. 
McADOO,  William  Gibbs,  46. 
McCAIN,   (Brig.  Gen.)  Henry  P.,  14. 
MACKENSEN,   (Gen.)  A.  L.  F.  August  von, 

129. 
MARCONI,  Guglielmo,  94. 
NANSEN,  (Dr.)  Fridtjof,  430. 
NICHOLAS,    Nicholaievitch,    (Grand    Duke), 

130. 
NORTHCLIFFE  (Lord),  95. 
OSBORN,    Paul   G.,   412. 
PAINLEVE,  Paul,  475. 

ROBERTSON,  (Gen.  Sir)  William  R.,  426. 
RUSSIA'S  First  Revolutionary   Cabinet,   142. 
SCHEIDEMANN,  Philipp,  284. 
SQUIER,  (Brig.  Gen.)  George  O.,  236. 
TARDIEU,  Andre,  275. 
TERESTCHENKO,   M.   I.,  474. 
TOWNSHEND  (Gen.),  302. 
TSCHEIDZE,  N.   S.,  127. 
VAJIRAVUDH,  King  of  Siam,  507. 
ZAHLE,  C.  T.,  285. 


Illustrations 


AIRPLANE  for  Bombing,  German,  523. 
BELGIAN  Mission  in  America,  268. 
BRITISH  Army  Entering  Bagdad,  522. 
DRAWING  the  Numbers  of  America's  First 

Conscripts,  394. 
ITALIAN   Mission   to   United    States   at   City 

College  Stadium  in  New  York,  269. 
JOFFRE    Breaking    Ground     for    Lafayette 

Monument,  Baltimore,  237. 


ORDER  of  the  British  Empire,  329. 
RECRUITING  Posters,  army,  78;  navy,  79. 
RUSSIAN    Duma,    Delegates    of    Workmen's 

and  Soldiers'   Delegates  Electing  Council, 

143. 
RUSSIAN  Mission  in  America,  268. 
SUBMARINE,  New  German  Type,  246. 
UNITED    STATES    Army,    Medical    Unit    at 

Blackpool,   England,  237;  on  French  Soil, 

395. 


Maps 


ALBANIA,  86,  285. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE,  332,  333. 

ASIA  MINOR  Campaign,  British  and  Russian 
operations,  158 ;  Russian  operations,  162 ; 
capture  of  Bagdad,   547. 

CARSO  Plateau,  Italian  drive,  31. 

EASTERN   Campaign,   399,  411. 

FLANDERS,  Battle  of,  36,  397,  410. 

GALICIA,  progress  of  new  Russian  offen- 
sive, 228. 

GINCHY,   355. 


LENS,  British  advances,  231,  396. 

LOOS,  Battle  of,  502. 

TERRITORY  held  by  Central  Powers,  at  be- 
ginning of  1915  and  at  end  of  three  years, 
421. 

VERDUN  Front,   30. 

WESTERN  Campaign,  proximity  of  French 
battle  line  to  lost  Province  of  Lorraine, 
332 ;  section  of  Alsace  regained  by  France, 
833;  German  retreat  on  Ancre  and 
Somme,  535. 

YPRES,  see  FLANDERS. 

YSER  River,   British  reverses,  232. 


Cartoons 

CARTOONS,    168,    171-190,    361-380,   451,    551-570. 


Vol.    6— Part    Two 


Appointed  by  President  Wilson  to  Command  the  American 
Army  in  Europe 

(Photo   Central  News) 


■  ■■■■■■mi 


VICE  ADMIRAL  WILLIAM  S.  SIMS 


Commander  of  the  United  States  Destroyer  Flotilla,  Which 
Is  Co-operating  with  the  British  Navy  in  the  War  Zone 

(Photo  Harris  d-  Kwing) 


■!  •••••••••>> 


7h\ch 

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WHY  WE  WENT  TO  WAR 

President  Wilson's  Flag  Day  Ad- 
dress Explains  the  Grievance  of 
the  United  States  Against  Germany 


President  Wilson  delivered  an  ad- 
dress at  Washington,  June  14,  at  a 
Flag  Day  celebration,  in  which  he 
set  forth  in  detail  the  reasons  why 
the  United  States  went  to  war  with 
Germany.   He  spoke  as  follows: 


!M 


Y  FELLOW-CITIZENS:  We 
meet  to  celebrate  Flag  Day 
because  this  flag  which  we 
honor  and  under  which  we  serve 
is  the  emblem  of  our  unity,  our 
power,  our  thought  and  purpose 
as  a  nation.  It  has  no  other  charac- 
ter than  that  which  we  give  it 
from  generation  to  generation.  The 
choices  are  ours.  It  floats  in  majes- 
tic silence  above  the  hosts  that  exe- 
cute those  choices,  whether  in  peace 
or  in  war.  And  yet,  though  silent, 
it  speaks  to  us — speaks  to  us  of  the 
past,  of  the  men  and  women  who 
went  before  us  and  of  the  records 
they  wrote  upon  it.  We  celebrate  the 
day  of  its  birth;  and  from  its  birth 
until  now  it  has  witnessed  a  great 
history,  has  floated  on  high  the 
symbol  of  great  events,  of  a  great 
plan  of  life  worked  out  by  a  great 
people.  We  are  about  to  carry  it  into 
battle,  to  lift  it  where  it  will  draw 
the  fire  of  our  enemies.  We  are 
about  to  bid  thousands,  hundreds  of 


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thousands,  it  may  be  millions,  of  our 
men,  the  young,  the  strong,  the 
capable  men  of  the  nation,  to  go 
forth  and  die  beneath  it  on  fields  of 
blood  far  away — for  what?  For 
some  unaccustomed  thing?  For 
something  for  which  it  has  never 
sought  the  fire  before?  American 
armies  were  never  before  sent  across 
the  seas.  Why  are  they  sent  now? 
For  some  new  purpose,  for  which 
this  great  flag  has  never  been  car- 
ried before,  or  for  some  old,  fa- 
miliar, heroic  purpose  for  which  it 
has  seen  men,  its  own  men,  die  on 
every  battlefield  upon  which  Ameri- 
cans have  borne  arms  since  the 
Revolution  ? 

These  are  questions  which  must  be 
answered.  We  are  Americans.  We  in 
our  turn  serve  America,  and  can 
serve  her  with  no  private  purpose. 
We  must  use  her  flag  as  she  has 
always  used  it.  We  are  accountable 
at  the  bar  of  history  and  must  plead 
in  utter  frankness  what  purpose  it 
is  we  seek  to  serve. 

Items  of  the  Indictment 

It  is  plain  enough  how  we  were 
forced  into  the  war.  The  extraordi- 
nary insults  and  aggressions  of  the 
Imperial  German  Government  left  us 
no  self-respecting  choice  but  to  take 


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* :  *-  *i  *:i  »H  M  P*  *  I  M  N  *~:  M  I*  ftl  te  I  *    *    I*  Ml  *".  Hi  *  -  V  M  I*  V* 


up  arms  in  defense  of  our  rights  as 
a  free  people  and  of  our  honor  as  a 
sovereign  Government.  The  military 
masters  of  Germany  denied  us  the 
right  to  be  neutral.  They  filled  our 
unsuspecting  communities  with  vi- 
cious spies  and  conspirators  and 
sought  to  corrupt  the  opinion  of  our 
people  in  their  own  behalf.  When 
they  found  that  they  could  not  do 
that,  their  agents  diligently  spread 
sedition  among  us  and  sought  to 
draw  our  own  citizens  from  their  al- 
legiance— and  some  of  those  agents 
were  men  connected  with  the  official 
embassy  of  the  German  Government 
itself  here  in  our  own  capital.  They 
sought  by  violence  to  destroy  our  in- 
dustries and  arrest  our  commerce. 
They  tried  to  incite  Mexico  to  take 
up  arms  against  us  and  to  draw 
Japan  into  a  hostile  alliance  with 
her — and  that,  not  by  indirection,  but 
by  direct  suggestion  from  the  For- 
eign Office  in  Berlin.  They  impu- 
dently denied  us  the  use  of  the  high 
seas  and  repeatedly  executed  their 
threat  that  they  would  send  to  their 
death  any  of  our  people  who  ventured 
to  approach  the  coasts  of  Europe. 
And  many  of  our  own  people  were 
corrupted.  Men  began  to  look  upon 
.their  own  neighbors  with  suspicion 
and  to  wonder  in  their  hot  resent- 
ment and  surprise  whether  there  was 
any  community  in  which  hostile  in- 
trigue did  not  lurk.  What  great  na- 
tion in  such  circumstances  would  not 
have  taken  up  arms?  Much  as  we 
had  desired  peace,  it  was  denied  us, 
and  not  of  our  own  choice.  This  flag 
under  which  we  serve  wc  fid  have 
been  dishonored  had  we  withheld  our 
hand. 

But  that  is  only  part  of  the  story. 


We  know  now  as  clearly  as  we  knew 
before  we  were  ourselves  engaged 
that  we  are  not  the  enemies  of  the 
German  people  and  that  they  are  not 
our  enemies.  They  did  not)  originate 
or  desire  this  hideous  war  or  wish 
that  we  should  be  drawn  into  it;  and 
we  are  vaguely  conscious  that  we  are 
fighting  their  cause,  as  they  will 
some  day  see  it,  as  well  as  our  own. 
They  are  themselves  in  the  grip  of 
the  same  sinister  power  that  has  now 
at  last  stretched  its  ugly  talons  out 
and  drawn  blood  from  us.  The 
whole  world  is  at  war  because  the 
whole  world  is  in  the  grip  of  that 
power  and  is  trying  out  the  great 
battle  which  shall  determine  whether 
it  is  to  be  brought  under  its  mastery 
or  fling  itself  free. 

Germany's  Military  Masters 
The  war  was  begun  by  the  military 
masters  of  Germany,  who  proved  to 
be  also  the  masters  of  Austria-Hun- 
gary. These  men  have  never  regard- 
ed nations  as  peoples,  men,  women, 
and  children  of  like  blood  and  frame 
as  themselves,  for  whom  Govern- 
ments existed  and  in  whom  Govern- 
ments had  their  life.  They  have  re- 
garded them  merely  as  serviceable 
organizations  which  they  could  by 
force  or  intrigue  bend  or  corrupt  to 
their  own  purpose.  They  have  re- 
garded the  smaller  States,  in  partic- 
ular, and  the  peoples  who  could  be 
overwhelmed  by  force  as  their  nat- 
ural tools  and  instruments  of  dom- 
ination. Their  purpose  has  long  been 
avowed.  The  statesmen  of  other  na- 
tions, to  whom  that  purpose  was  in- 
credible, paid  little  attention;  regard- 
ed what  German  professors  ex- 
pounded in  their  classrooms  and  Ger- 


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man  writers  set  forth  to  the  world 
as  the  goal  of  German  policy,  as 
rather  the  dream  of  minds  detached 
from  practical  affairs,  as  preposter- 
ous private  conceptions  of  German 
destiny,  than  as  the  actual  plans  of 
responsible  rulers;  but  the  rulers  of 
Germany  themselves  knew  all  the 
while  what  concrete  plans,  what  well- 
advanced  intrigues  lay  back  of  what 
the  professors  and  the  writers  were 
saying,  and  were  glad  to  go  forward 
unmolested,  filling  the  thrones  of 
Balkan  States  with  German  Princes, 
putting  German  officers  at  the  ser- 
vice of  Turkey  to  drill  her  armies 
and  make  interest  with  her  Govern- 
ment, developing  plans  of  sedition 
and  rebellion  in  India  and  Egypt, 
setting  their  fires  in  Persia.  The  de- 
mands made  by  Austria  upon  Serbia 
were  a  mere  single  step  in  a  plan 
which  compassed  Europe  and  Asia, 
from  Berlin  to  Bagdad.  They  hoped 
those  demands  might  not  arouse  Eu- 
rope, but  they  meant  to  press  them 
whether  they  did  or  not,  for  they 
thought  themselves  ready  for  the 
final  issue  of  arms. 

Austria-Hungary  a  Pawn 
Their  plan  was  to  throw  a  broad 
belt  of  German  military  power  and 
political  control  across  the  very  cen- 
tre of  Europe  and  beyond  the  Medi- 
terranean into  the  heart  of  Asia;  and 
Austria-Hungary  was  to  be  as  much 
their  tool  and  pawn  as  Serbia  or  Bul- 
garia or  Turkey  or  the  ponderous 
States  of  the  East.  Austria-Hun- 
gary, indeed,  was  to  become  part  of 
the  Central  German  Empire,  ab- 
sorbed and  dominated  by  the  same 
forces  and  influences  that  had  origi- 
nally cemented  the  German  States 


themselves.  The  dream  had  its  heart 
at  Berlin.  It  could  have  had  a  heart 
nowhere  else!  It  rejected  the  idea  of 
solidarity  of  race  entirely.  The 
choice  of  peoples  played  no  part  in  it 
at  all.  It  contemplated  binding  to- 
gether racial  and  political  units 
which  could  be  kept  together  only  by 
force  —  Czechs,  Magyars,  Croats, 
Serbs,  Rumanians,  Turks,  Armeni- 
ans— the  proud  States  of  Bohemia 
and  Hungary,  the  stout  little  com- 
monwealths of  the  Balkans,  the  in- 
domitable Turks,  the  subtile  peoples 
of  the  East.  These  peoples  did  not 
wish  to  be  united.  They  ardently 
desired  to  direct  their  own  affairs, 
would  be  satisfied  only  by  undis- 
puted independence.  They  could  be 
kept  quiet  only  by  the  presence  of 
the  constant  threat  of  armed  men. 
They  would  live  under  a  common 
power  only  by  sheer  compulsion  and 
await  the  day  of  revolution.  But  the 
German  military  statesmen  had  reck- 
oned with  all  that  and  were  ready  to 
deal  with  it  in  their  own  way. 

The  Present  Situation 
And  they  have  actually  carried 
the  greater  part  of  that  amazing 
plan  into  execution.  Look  how 
things  stand.  Austria  is  at  their 
mercy.  It  has  acted,  not  upon  its 
own  initiative  or  upon  the  choice  of 
its  own  people,  but  at  Berlin's  dicta- 
tion ever  since  the  war  began.  Its 
people  now  desire  peace,  but  cannot 
have  it  until  leave  is  granted  from 
Berlin.  The  so-called  Central  Pow- 
ers are  in  fact  but  a  single  power. 
Serbia  is  at  its  mercy,  should  its 
hands  be  but  for  a  moment  freed; 
Bulgaria  has  consented  to  its  will, 
and  Rumania  is  overrun.   The  Turk- 


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K3  15  . 


ish  armies,  which  Germans  trained, 
are  serving  Germany,  certainly  not 
themselves,  and  the  guns  of  Ger- 
man warships  lying  in  the  harbor 
at  Constantinople  remind  Turkish 
statesmen  every  day  that  they  have 
no  choice  but  to  take  their  orders 
from  Berlin.  From  Hamburg  to  the 
Persian  Gulf  the  net  is  spread. 

German  Cry  for  Peace 
Is  it  not  easy  to  understand  the 
eagerness  for  peace  that  has  been 
manifested  from  Berlin  ever  since 
the  snare  was  set  and  sprung? 
Peace,  peace,  peace  has  been  the 
talk  of  her  Foreign  Office  now  for 
a  year  and  more;  not  peace  upon 
her  own  initiative,  but  upon  the  in- 
itiative of  the  nations  over  which 
she  now  deems  herself  to  hold  the 
advantage.  A  little  of  the  talk  has 
been  public,  but  most  of  it  has  been 
private.  Through  all  sorts  of  chan- 
nels it  has  come  to  me,  and  in  all 
sorts  of  guises,  but  never  with  the 
terms  disclosed  which  the  German 
Government  would  be  willing  to  ac- 
cept. That  Government  has  other 
valuable  pawns  in  its  hands  besides 
those  I  have  mentioned.  It  still 
holds  a  valuable  part  of  France, 
though  with  slowly  relaxing  grasp, 
and  practically  the  whole  of  Bel- 
gium. Its  armies  press  close  upon 
Russia  and  overrun  Poland  at  their 
will.  It  cannot  go  further;  it  dare 
not  go  back.  It  wishes  to  close  its 
bargain  before  it  is  too  late,  and  it 
has  little  left  to  offer  for  the  pound 
of  flesh  it  will  demand.   . 

The  military  masters  under  whom 
Germany  is  bleeding  see" very  clearly 
to  what  point  fate  has  brought  them. 
If  they  fall  back  or  are  forced  back 


an  inch  their  power  both  abroad  and 
at  home  will  fall  to  pieces  like  a 
house  of  cards.  It  is  their  power  at 
home  they  are  thinking  about  now 
more  than  their  power  abroad.  It  is 
that  power  which  is  trembling  under 
their  very  feet;  and  deep  fear  has 
entered  their  hearts.  They  have  but 
one  chance  to  perpetuate  their  mil- 
itary power  or  even  their  controlling 
political  influence.  If  they  can  secure 
peace  now  with  the  immense  advan- 
tages still  in  their  hands,  which  they 
have  up  to  this  point  apparently 
gained,  they  will  have  justified  them- 
selves before  the  German  people; 
they  will  have  gained  by  force  what 
they  promised  to  gain  by.it — an  im- 
mense expansion  of  German  power, 
an  immense  enlargement  of  German 
industrial  and  commercial  opportuni- 
ties. Their  prestige  will  be  secure, 
and  with  their  prestige  their  polit- 
ical power.  If  they  fail,  their  people 
will  thrust  them  aside ;  a  Government 
accountable  to  the  people  themselves 
will  be  set  up  in  Germany  as  it  has 
been  in  England,  in  the  United 
States,  in  France,  and  in  all  the 
great  countries  of  the  modern  time 
except  Germany.  If  they  succeed 
they  are  safe  and  Germany  and  the 
world  are  undone;  if  they  fail  Ger- 
many is  saved  and  the  world  will  be 
at  peace.  If  they  succeed  America 
will  fall  within  the  menace.  We  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  must  re- 
main armed,  as  they  will  remain,  and 
must  make  ready  for  the  next  step 
in  their  aggression;  if  they  fail  the 
world  may  unite  for  peace  and  Ger- 
many may  be  of  the  union. 

Do   you   not  now   understand  the 
new  intrigue,  the  intrigue  for  peace, 


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and  why  the  masters  of  Germany  do 
not  hesitate  to  use  any  agency  that 
promises  to  effect  their  purpose,  the 
deception  of  the  nations?  Their  pres- 
ent particular  aim  is  to  deceive*  all 
those  who  throughout  the  world  stand 
♦for  the  rights  of  peoples  and  the  self- 
government  of  nations;  for  they  see 
what  immense  strength  the  forces  of 
justice  and  of  liberalism  are  gather- 
ing out  of  this  war. 

Tools  of  Peace  Propaganda 
They  are  employing  liberals  in 
their  enterprise.  They  are  using 
men,  in  Germany  and  without,  as 
their  spokesmen  whom  they  have 
hitherto  despised  and  oppressed, 
using  them  for  their  own  destruction 
— Socialists,  the  leaders  of  labor,  the 
thinkers  they  have  hitherto  sought  to 
silence.  Let  them  once  succeed  and 
these  men,  now  their  tools,  will  be 
ground  to  powder  beneath  the  weight 
of  the  great  military  empire  they  will 
have  set  up;  the  revolutionists  in 
Russia  will  be  cut  off  from  all  succor 
or  co-operation  in  Western  Europe 
and  a  counter-revolution  fostered 
and  supported ;  Germany  herself  will 
lose  her  chance  of  freedom,  and  all 
Europe  will  arm  for  the  next,  the 
final,  struggle. 

The  sinister  intrigue  is  being  no 
less  actively  conducted  in  this  coun- 
try than  in  Russia  and  in  every  coun- 
try in  Europe  to  which  the  agents 
and  dupes  of  the  Imperial  German 
Government  can  get  access.  That 
Government  has  many  spokesmen 
here,  in  places  high  and  low.  They 
have  learned  discretion.  They  keep 
within  the  law.  It  is  opinion  they 
utter  now,  not  sedition.  They  proclaim 
the  liberal  purposes  of  their  masters; 
declare  this  a  foreign  war  which  can 
touch  America  with  no  danger  to 
either  her  lands  or  her  institutions; 
set  England  at  the  centre  of  the 
stage  and  talk  of  her  ambition  to  as- 
sert economic  dominion  throughout 
the  world;  appeal  to  our  ancient  tra- 
dition of  isolation  in  the  politics  of 


the  nations,  and  seek  to  undermine 
the  Government  with  false  profes- 
sions of  loyalty  to  its  principles. 

But  they  will  make  no  headway. 
The  false  betray  themselves  always 
in  every  accent.     It  is  only  friends 
and  partisans  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment whom  we  have  already  identi- 
fied who  utter  these  thinly  disguised 
disloyalties.    The  facts  are  patent  to 
all  the  world,  and  nowhere  are  they 
more  plainly  seen  than  in  the  United 
States,  where  we  are  accustomed  to 
deal  with  facts  and  not  with  sophis- 
tries; and  the  great  fact  that  stands 
out  above  all  the  rest  is  that  this 
is  a  people's  war,  a  war  for  free- 
dom and  justice  and  self-government 
among  all  the  nations  of  the  world, 
a  war  to  make  the  world  safe  for 
the  peoples  who  live  upon  it  and  have 
made  it  their  own,  the  German  peo- 
ple   themselves    included;    and    that 
with   us   rests   the   choice   to   break 
through    all    these    hypocrisies    and 
patent   cheats   and   masks    of   brute 
force  and  help   set  the  world  free, 
or   else    stand   aside   and   let   it   be 
dominated   a   long   age   through   by 
sheer  weight  of  arms  and  the  arbi- 
trary    choices     of     self-constituted 
masters,   by   the   nation    which   can 
maintain    the    biggest    armies    and 
the  most  irresistible  armaments — a 
power  to  which   the   world  has  af- 
forded no  parallel  and  in  the  face  of 
which  political  freedom  must  wither 
and  perish. 

For  us  there  is  but  one  choice.  "We 
have  made  it.  Woe  be  to  the  man 
or  group  of  men  that  seeks  to  stand 
in  our  way  in  this  day  of  high  reso- 
lution when  every  principle  we  hold 
dearest  is  to  be  vindicated  and  made 
secure  for  the  salvation  of  the  na- 
tions. We  are  ready  to  plead  at  the 
bar  of  history,  and  our  flag  shall 
wear  a  new  lustre.  Once  more  we 
shall  make  good  with  our  lives  and 
fortunes  the  great  faith  to  which  we 
were  born,  and  a  new  glory  shall 
shine  in  the  face  of  our  people. 


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General  Pershing  in  France 

Advance   Guard  of  American  Expeditionary  Force    On   the 

Way  to  the. Front 


M 


AJOR  GEN.  JOHN  J.  PER- 
SHING, who  is  to  command 
the  American  expeditionary; 
force  on  the  western  front,  ar- 
rived safely  in  England  on  June  8  with 
his  staff  of  53  officers  and  146  men,  in- 
cluding privates  and  civilian  attaches. 
On  landing  at  Liverpool  from  the  White 
Star  liner  Baltic,  he  gave  the  following 
message  to  the  British  public: 

We  are  very  proud  and  glad  to  be  the 
standard  bearers  of  our  country  in  this  great 
war  for  civilization  and  to  land  on  British 
soil.  The  welcome  which  we  have  received  is 
magnificent  and  deeply  appreciated.  "We 
hope  in  time  to  be  playing  our  part — and  we 
hope  it  will  be  a  big  part — on  the  western 
front. 

The  American  commander  was  received 
by  a  British  General  with  a  guard  of 
honor  and  a  regimental  band,  which 
played  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner." 
The  British  Admiralty  was  represented 
by  the  Admiral  in  command  of  the  port 
and  the  municipal  authorities  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  Liverpool.  After  these  greet- 
ings were  concluded  General  Pershing 
left  for  London  by  special  train,  the  offi- 
cial state  car  being  attached  for  him  to 
travel  in;  and  on  arrival  in  London  he 
was  received  by  Lord  Derby,  Secretary 
of  State  for  War;  General  Lord  French, 
other  high  officers  of  the  British  Army, 
the  United  States  Ambassador,  and  Ad- 
miral Sims  of  the  United  States  Navy. 
At  every  stage  the  British  Government 
showed  every  possible  mark  of  honor  to 
America's  commander,  while  the  greet- 
ings of  the  people  were  warmly  enthusi- 
astic. 

The  following  day  General  Pershing 
and  his  entire  personal  staff  were  re- 
ceived by  King  George  at  Buckingham 
Palace.  General  Lord  Brooke,  com- 
mander of  the  Twelfth  Canadian  Infan- 
try Brigade,  presented  the  American 
commander  to  the  King,  who  said  to  him: 

It  has  been  the  dream  of  my  life  to  see  the 
two  great  English-speaking  nations  more 
closely  united."1    My  dreams  have  been  real- 


ized. It  is  with  the  utmost  pleasure  that  I 
welcome  you,  at  the  head  of  the  American 
contingent,  to  our  shores. 

Later  King  George  chatted  for  a  few 
moments  with  each  member  of  Pershing's 
staff.  He  conversed  with  the  General 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  shaking  hands 
enthusiastically  as  they  parted.  A  series 
of  calls  and  entertainments  followed  the 
ceremony  at  the  palace.  On  June  11  Gen- 
eral Pershing  and  Ambassador  Page  took 
luncheon  with  King  George  and  Queen 
Mary,  spending  nearly  two  hours  at  the 
palace.  After  luncheon  the  King  and 
Queen  showed  the  visitors  through  the 
historic  rooms  and  about  the  palace 
grounds.  From  the  palace  General  Per-, 
shing  went  to  the  War  Office,  where  mem- 
bers of  his  personal  staff  had  been  in 
conference  for  several  hours  with  repre- 
sentatives of  their  corresponding  depart- 
ments in  the  British  Army.  The  officer 
who  represents  the  American  military  air 
service  devoted  two  hours  to  discussing 
plans  for  co-operation  with  the  British 
service. 

In  the  afternon  General  Pershing  vis- 
ited the  House  of  Commons.  He  sat  in 
the  Distinguished  Visitors'  Gallery  for  a 
time,  and  later  took  tea  on  the  Terrace 
as  a  guest  of  members.  In  the  evening 
he  took  dinner  with  Ambassador  Page  at 
his  residence  to  meet  members  of  the 
British  Cabinet  and  naval  and  military 
officers.  Among  the  guests  were  Premier 
Lloyd  George,  Arthur  J.  Balfour,  Lord 
Derby,  Lord  Robert  Cecil,  Viscount 
French,  Admiral  Sir  John  R.  Jellicoe, 
Vice  Admiral  William  S.  Sims,  U.  S.  N., 
and  General  Jan  Smuts. 

•  The  first  opportunity  General  Pershing 
had  of  observing  British  Army  methods 
was  on  June  12,  when  he  was  taken  to 
a  training  camp  to  watch  instruction  in 
trench  warfare.  Afterward  he  was  the 
War  Secretary's  guest  at  luncheon.  In 
the  evening  the  General  and  eighteen 
members  of  his  staff  were  the  guests  of 
the  British  Government  at  a  formal  dinner 


GENERAL  PERSHING  IN  FRANCE 


at  Lancaster  House,  a  Government  build- 
ing devoted  solely  to  purposes  of  state 
entertainment  of  distinguished  visitors. 
There  were  thirty  other  diners,  including 
eight  members  of  the  Cabinet.  The 
Prime  Minister  sat  at  the  first  of  six 
round  tables  in  the  sumptuous  dining 
hall.  The  other  tables  were  presided  over 
by  Lord  Curzon,  Lord  President  of  the 
Council;  Viscount  Milner,  member  of  the 
War  Cabinet;  the  Right  Hon.  George  M. 
Barnes,  Pensions  Minister;  the  Earl  of 
Derby,  Secretary  for  War,  and  Sir  Al- 
fred Mond. 

The  dinner  was  not  an  elaborate  af- 
fair, the  menu  conforming  strictly  to  the 
prescribed  war  rations.  There  were  no 
speeches,  but  toasts  were  drunk  to  the 
King  and  the  President.  Early  in  the 
evening,  before  Major  Gen.  Pershing  left 
his  hotel,  ex-Premier  Asquith  called  on 
him. 

Enthusiasm  in  France 

An  even  more  thrilling  welcome  await- 
ed General  Pershing  on  French  soil.  "  I 
salute  the  United  States  of  America, 
which  has  now  become  united  to  the 
United  States  of  Europe,"  from  the  lips 
of  General  Dumas,  commanding  the 
northern  region,  were  the  first  words 
that  greeted  Pershing  as  he  stepped 
ashore  at  Boulogne  on  the  morning  of 
June  13.  It  was  the  first  time  in  his- 
tory that  a  soldier  wearing  the  Amer- 
ican uniform  had  landed  on  the  Euro- 
pean Continent  with  sword  in  hand  for 
the  purpose  of  using  it  against  an  enemy. 
As  Pershing  himself  said,  it  was  a  his- 
toric moment. 

The  scenes  that  greeted  him,  the  re- 
ception that  followed,  both  at  Boulogne 
and  in  Paris,  were  both  historic  and 
deeply  significant.  Drawn  up  on  the 
landing  quay  was  a  detachment  of  French 
infantry  in  battle  uniform.  They  came 
only  recently  from  the  trenches.  As  the 
American  chief  greeted  their  colors,  they 
came  to  salute  and  stood  like  iron  stat- 
ues as  he  passed  slowly  down  the  line. 
Pershing's  face  showed  his  emotion. 
They  were  all  grizzled  or  middle-aged 
veterans.  There  was  not  a  youth  among 
them — that  little  detachment  of  the  army 
of    France.     Their    faces,    too,    showed 


eagerness  at  his  coming,  and  the  few 
Americans  who  were  there  felt  heart- 
throbs of  pride  at  the  splendid  way  in 
which  their  leader  fitted  into  the  picture. 
As  the  boat  neared  the  landing  stage 
Pershing's  figure  stood  out  prominently 
from  the  centre  of  his  staff,  and  the  com- 
mon French  utterance  was :  "  Truly,  here 
comes  a  man!  " 

Among  the  officials  that  met  him  were 
Rene  Besnard,  Under  Secretary  of  State 
for  War;  Brig.  Gen.  Pelletier,  who  is  chief 
of  the  French  Mission  to  the  American 
expeditionary  force ;  General  Dupont,  who 
represented  General  Petain;  General  Du- 
mas, commanding  the  region  of  the 
north;  Sir  George  Fowke,  representing 
Sir  Douglas  Haig;  Captain  Baron  de 
Courcel,  who  was  to  act  as  Pershing's  of- 
ficial interpreter;  also  the  Military  Gov- 
ernor of  Boulogne,  and  representatives 
of  the  French  and  British  Navies.  The 
American  War  Department  was  repre- 
sented by  Captain  Boyd,  Military  At- 
tache. 

After  a  drive  through  Boulogne,  where 
great  crowds  gathered  in  all  the  streets, 
the  entire  staff  departed  by  special  train 
for  Paris.  Immediately  after  the  start, 
General  Pershing  received  the  French 
newspaper  men  in  his  private  car,  and 
afterward  the  representaives  of  the 
American  press.  To  the  former  he  said, 
after  expressing  his  pleasure  at  landing 
in  France :  "  The  reception  we  have  re- 
ceived is  of  great  significance.  It  has  im- 
pressed us  greatly.  It  means  that  from 
the  present  moment  our  aims  are  the 
same."  To  the  Americans  he  declared 
that  this  arrival  of  the  advance  guard  of 
the  American  Army  "  makes  us  realize 
the  fullest  importance  of  American  par- 
ticipation. America  has  entered  the  war 
with  the  fullest  intention  of  doing  her 
share  no  matter  how  great  or  how  small 
that  share  may  be.  Our  allies  can  depend 
on  that." 

Stirring  Reception  in  Paris 

The  reception  at  Paris  was  by  far  the 
greatest  given  to  anybody  since  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  From  the  moment  the 
fortifications  were  reaehed  every  house- 
top, wall,  and  window  was  filled  with 
cheering    thousands.     At    the    Gare    du 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Nord  special  cordons  of  troops  lined  the 
platforms,  while  dense  ranks  of  soldiers 
flanked  every  street  for  blocks  and  pa- 
trolled the  route  of  the  party  all  the  way 
to  the  Hotel  de  Crillon,  in  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  where  the  General  made  his 
temporary  headquarters.  Paris  turned 
out  literally  tens  of  thousands,  and  it 
seemed  every  one  was  waving  an  Ameri- 
can flag,  while  cries  of  "Vive  l'Ameri- 
que!  "  became  a  sustained  roar  all  the 
way  from  the  Gare  du  Nord  to  the  Boule- 
vards. General  Pershing  was  visibly  af- 
fected by  the  welcome  as  he  stepped  from 
the  train.  Bands  in  the  station  played 
"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner "  and  the 
"  Marseillaise."  Those  who  greeted  him 
were  Marshal  Joffre,  M.  Viviani,  M. 
Painleve,  Minister  of  War;  Generals 
Foch  and  Dutail,  Ambassador  Sharp,  and 
all  the  attaches  of  the  American  Em- 
bassy. 

To  the  masses  in  the  streets  as  they 
followed  the  automobiles  from  the  Gare 
it  seemed  the  coming  of  Pershing  was 
veritably  the  coming  of  an  army.  Here 
was  America  to  help  them,  America, 
which  had  always  stood  in  popular  im- 
agination as  the  symbol  of  incredible 
wealth  and  greatness.  In  the  person  of 
the  simply  dressed  American  General 
they  cheered  the  whole  American  Army 
« — millions  strong,  if  need  be,  to  carry  the 
war  to  victory. 

In  the  evening  Ambassador  Sharp  gave 
a  dinner  at  the  American  Embassy, 
where  the  General  met  the  chief  mem- 
bers of  the  French  Cabinet  and  officers 
of  the  army  and  navy. 

Pershing  at  Napoleons  Tomb 

Among  the  most  moving  episodes  was 
Pershing's  visit  to  the  tomb  of  Napoleon, 
in  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  on  June  14,  for 
here  was  witnessed  the  impressive  scene 
of  the  American  commander  standing 
with  uncovered  head  at  the  resting  place 
of  the  world's  most  famous  soldier.  Per- 
shing, accompanied  by  his  staff,  was  re- 
ceived at  the  Hotel  des  Invalides  by  Gen- 
eral Niox,  the  military  commander  of 
the  historic  monument,  and  General  Mal- 
terre.  As  the  American  party  entered 
the  spacious  grounds  leading  to  the 
building  they  encountered  a  number  of 


veterans  of  the  French  wars  who  have 
their  home  at  this  institution.  One  of 
these  was  a  grizzled  soldier  of  the 
Crimea,  who  still  wore  the  ancient  uni- 
form and  carried  on  his  breast  decora- 
tions of  the  old  days.  As  the  veteran 
saluted  General  Pershing  the  General 
stopped  and  extended  his  hand,  saying: 
*  It  is  a  great  honor  for  a  young  soldier 
like  myself  to  press  the  hands  of  an  old 
soldier  like  yourself,  who  has  seen  such 
glorious  service." 

Passing  into  the  Invalides,  General 
Niox  conducted  the  American  command- 
er within  the  vast  rotunda  with  its  walls 
hung  with  battle  flags,  and  thence  the 
party  proceeded  below  to  the  crypt 
where  the  sarcophagus  of  Napoleon  re- 
poses. Entrance  to  the  crypt  is  rigor- 
ously restricted,  and  it  is  seldom  that  any 
one  is  admitted  except  crowned  heads  or 
former  heads  of  States,  as  in  the  case  of 
ex-President  Roosevelt  when  he  visited 
Paris. 

General  Pershing  and  his  staff  were 
conducted  to  the  crypt  by  Marshal  Joffre, 
who  followed  the  precedent  laid  down  by 
Napoleon,  that  only  a  Marshal  of  France 
might  remain  covered  in  his  presence. 
The  great  key  was  inserted  in  the  brass 
door  of  the  crypt.  Marshal  Joffre  and 
General  Niox  drew  aside  while  General 
Pershing  faced  the  door  alone.  He  took 
a  deep  breath,  stepped  suddenly  forward, 
and  with  a  single  motion  threw  his  arm 
straight  out  and  turned  the  key.  In  a 
tiny  alcove  at  one  side  of  the  crypt  the 
Governor  of  the  Invalides  unlocked  the 
case,  drew  out  the  sword,  and  raised  it 
to  his  lips.  Then  he  presented  the  hilt  to 
General  Pershing,  who  received  it,  held  it 
at  salute  for  a  moment,  and  then  kissed 
the  hilt.  The  same  ceremony  was  fol- 
lowed with  the  cross  of  the  cordon  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  General  Pershing  hold- 
ing the  cross  to  his  lips  before  passing  it 
back  to  the  Governor.  This  was  the  most 
signal  honor  France  ever  bestowed  upon 
any  man.  Before  this  occasion  not  even  a 
Frenchman  ever  was  permitted  to  hold 
the  historic  relics  in  his  hands.  Kings 
and  Princes  have  been  taken  to  the  crypt 
that  holds  the  body  of  the  great  Emperor, 
but  they  only  viewed  the  sword  and  cross 
through   the   plateglass   of   the   case    in 


GENERAL  PERSHING  IN  FRANCE 


9 


which  they  rest.    The  relics  had  not  been 

touched  since  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 

Visit  to  President  Poincare 

After  his  visit  to  the  Invalides  Gen- 
eral Pershing  made  a  formal  call  on  Am- 
bassador Sharp,  and  was  then  escorted 
with  military  honors  to  the  Elysee  Palace 
to  be  presented  to  President  Poincare. 
At  1:30  o'clock  the  President  and  Mme. 
Poincare  gave  a  state  breakfast  in  honor 
of  the  American  commander.  Other 
guests  were  Premier  Ribot,  Paul  Pain- 
leve,  Minister  of  War;  Marshal  Joffre, 
Rene  Viviani,  Minister  of  Justice,  and 
Ambassador  Sharp. 

General  Pershing  received  a  remark- 
able greeting  from  the  Deputies  when  he 
entered  the  diplomatic  box  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  at  3  o'clock,  just  before 
Premier  Ribot  rose  to  tell  the  Chamber 
what  the  Allies  purposed  doing  in  Greece. 
The  first  part  of  the  session  partook  of 
the  nature  of  an  official  parliamentary 
reception  to  General  Pershing,  the  United 
States  figuring  in  M.  Ribot's  speech  and 
being  the  theme  of  an  eloquent  oration 
by  M.  Viviani.  Once  they  were  aware  of 
General  Pershing's  entry,  the  Deputies 
rose  and  stood,  cheering,  until  the  Gen- 
eral bowed  his  acknowledgments.  Then 
the  galleries  caught  up  the  enthusiasm 
and  violated  the  tradition  of  the  House 
by  joining  in  the  applause.  The  Deputies 
again  rose  and  turned  toward  General 
Pershing,  cheering,  when  M.  Ribot  fin- 
ished his  speech  by  quoting  President 
Wilson's  phrase  in  his  message  to  Russia: 
"  The  day  has  come  to  conquer  or  sub- 
mit," and  declaring:  "We  will  not  sub- 
mit; we  will  vanquish."  M.  Viviani  fol- 
lowed M.  Ribot,  describing  the  spirit  of 
the  United  States  and  the  principles  for 
which  both  republics  were  fighting. 
General  Pershing  was  compelled  to  re- 
spond to  another  demonstration  after  M. 
Viviani's  speech,  and  at  4  o'clock  he  left 
the  Chamber,  followed  by  a  storm  of 
cheering. 

Premier  Ribot  said  in  the  course  of  his 
speech : 

The  people  of  France  fully  understand  the 
deep  significance  of  the  arrival  of  General 
Pershing  in  France.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
events  in  history  that  the  people  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  should  come  here  to  struggle,  not 


in  the  spirit  of  ambition  or  conquest,  but  for 
the  noble  ideals  of  justice  and  liberty.  The 
arrival  of  General  Pershing  is  a  new  message 
from  President  Wilson,  which,  if  that  is  pos- 
sible, surpasses  in  nobility  all  those  preced- 
ing it. 

The  people  of  Paris  gave  Pershing  and 
Joffre  a  remarkable  reception  on  the 
morning  of  June  15,  when  the  two  Gen- 
erals stool  bareheaded  together  on  the 
balcony  of  the  Military  Club,  looking 
down  on  the  excited  crowd  on  the  Place 
de  l'Opera.  "  Vive  Joffre,  who  saved  us 
from  defeat!  Vive  Pershing,  who  brings 
us  victory!  "  cried  an  excited  girl,  cling- 
ing to  the  arm  of  a  be-medaled  permis- 
sionaire,  in  a  brief  moment  of  silence, 
and  at  her  words  cheering  burst  forth 
tenfold  only  to  cease  long  after  the  club 
balcony  was  vacant  and  the  crowd  was 
at  last  convinced  that  its  two  idols  had 
definitely  withdrawn. 

A    Wreath   for   Lafayette 

-General  Pershing's  personal  program 
of  official  calls,  dinners,  and  ceremonies 
came  to  an  abrupt  end  in  the  afternoon 
after  he  visited  Picpus  Cemetery,  where 
he  placed  a  huge  wreath  of  American 
Beauty  roses  on  the  tomb  of  Lafayette. 
Then  he  announced  definitely  that  next 
day  he  intended  to  get  down  to  work  at 
the  headquarters  of  the  American  Army, 
which  was  already  in  full  operation,  in 
the  Rue  de  Constantine.  The  ceremony 
at  the  tomb  was  very  brief,  simple  but 
impressive.  With  half  a  dozen  officers 
of  his  staff  he  motored  to  the  cemetery, 
where  he  was  received  only  by  the  Mar- 
quis and  the  Count  de  Chambrun,  de- 
scendants of  Lafayette,  who  conducted 
him  to  the  tomb.  The  wreath  was  car- 
ried behind  by  two  orderlies.  The  Mar- 
quis de  Chambrun  said  a  few  words  wel- 
coming General  Pershing,  who  replied 
simply,  expressing  the  great  pleasure  of 
every  American  to  visit  the  tomb  of  one 
who  had  done  so  much  for  the  United 
States — to  pay  a  tribute  of  devotion 
which  sealed  friendship  forever.  Then 
the  wreath  was  placed  on  the  slab,  while 
General  Pershing  and  the  officers  stood 
at  salute.  The  streets  along  the  route 
to  and  from  the  cemetery  were  lined,  as 
usual,  with  crowds,  whose  cheers  seemed 
to  indicate  their  appreciation  of  General 


10 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Pershing  in  this  symbolic  fashion  repay- 
ing the  debt  of  Lafayette. 

General  Pershing  spent  his  third  and 
last  day  in  Paris  before  leaving  for  the 
front  in  making  official  calls,  paying  a 
visit  to  Marshal  Joffre,  with  whom  he 
had  luncheon,  and  visiting  the  Senate. 
During  his  visit  to  the  Senate  there  were 
scenes  of  enthusiasm  similar  to  those  in 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  the  previous 
day.  The  Senators  stood  when  General 
Pershing  appeared  in  the  diplomatic  box, 
accompanied  by  the  American  Ambassa- 
dor, and  applauded  him  for  several  min- 
utes. The  General  had  to  bow  his 
acknowledgments  repeatedly. 

M.  Ribot,  the  Premier,  alluded  to  the 
presence  of  the  distinguished  American 
soldier,  and  called  on  Foreign  Minister 
Viviani  to  address  the  Senate.  M. 
Viviani,  speaking  at  first  with  restraint, 
launched  with  great  beauty  of  expression 
into  an  oration,  in  which  he  described 
the  refusal  of  the  United  States  to  see 
the  ideals  of  civilization,  of  democracy, 
and  of  right  in  battle  with  destructive 
forces  without  taking  her  part,  which,  he 
declared,  was  a  great  and  noble  part.  The 
speaker  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
applause,  and  at  the  close  of  his  address 
all  the  members  of  the  Senate  stood  and, 
turning  again  toward  General  Pershing, 
clapped  their  hands  and  shouted,  "  Vivent 
les  Etats  Unis."  General  Pershing  rose 
and  bowed  several  times  before  the  dem- 
onstration subsided. 

The  Senate  took  a  recess  of  half  an 
hour,  so  that  the  members  might  be  in- 
troduced to  General  Pershing,  and  An- 
tonin  Dubost,  President  of  the  Senate, 
escorted  him  through  the  immense  lobby 
of  the  Luxembourg  Palace,  introducing 
him  to  the  members,  Baron  D'Estour- 
nelles  de  Constant  assisting  in  the  pres- 
entations. 

Organizing  for  the  Front 
With  the  great  series  of  official  and 
popular  greetings  at  an  end  General 
Pershing  set  to  work  to  establish  his 
headquarters  in  France.  Marshal  Joffre 
was  designated  by  the  French  Minister 
of  War  to  continue  his  work,  begun  in 
Washington,  of  assisting  to  organize 
American  participation  in  the  war.     He 


will,  therefore,  be  the  representative  of 
the  French  Government  in  co-operating 
with  the  American  Commander,  Lieut. 
Col.  Fabry,  as  Chief  of  Staff,  and  Lieu- 
tenant de  Tessan  as  aid,  both  members 
of  the  French  War  Commission  to  the 
Ignited  States,  continue  with  the  Mar- 
shal. According  to  a  statement  made  by 
the  War  Department  at  Washington  on 
June  13,  General  Pershing,  in  confer- 
ence with  French  army  heads,  will  deter- 
mine where  the  American  expedition 
shall  be  sent,  and  his  recommendations, 
which  will  be  practically  final,  will  be 
approved  by  the  authorities  at  Washing- 
ton. He  will  be  an  independent  com- 
mander, like  Field  Marshal  Haig,  neces- 
sarily co-operating  with  the  French  high 
command  while  on  French  soil. 

General  Pershing  was  preceded  to 
France  by  various  special  units  of  the 
American  Army,  and  on  May  24  the  first 
United  States  combatant  corps  went  to 
the  front  under  Captain  E.  I.  Tinkham, 
who  won  the  War  Cross  at  Verdun,  and 
Lieutenant  Scully  of  Princeton.  It  was 
a  proud  moment  when  the  first  detach- 
ment of  the  American  field  service,  con- 
sisting mainly  of  Cornell  undergraduates, 
departed  for  the  Aisne  battlefield.  They 
were  armed  with  carbines,  attired  in 
khaki  uniforms,  and  drove  American  five- 
ton  motor  cars.  As  they  left,  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  floating  over  the  canton- 
ment in  a  historic  French  forest,  spread 
out  in  the  breeze,  and  other  contingents 
cheered  them  on  their  way.  Other  Amer- 
ican sections,  drilling  in  preparation  for 
active  participation  in  the  fighting,  in- 
cluded detachments  from  Andover,  Dart- 
mouth, Harvard,  Johns  Hopkins,  Yale, 
Chicago,  and  Williams  College,  while  a 
large  body  from  Princeton  is  awaiting 
organization.  Most  of  them  intended  to 
serve  with  the  American  Ambulance 
Corps,  but  selected  -  the  fighting  corps 
after  the  United  States  decided  to  enter 
the  war. 

An  official  statement  issued  by  the 
British  War  Office  on  May  28  said  that, 
counting  the  Americans  serving  in  the 
British  and  French  armies  and  the  ad- 
ditional units  ordered  to  France,  there 
would   shortly  be   100,000   Americans   in 


GENERAL  PERSHING  IN  FRANCE 


u 


France,  and,  further,  that  3,500  war  air- 
planes would  be  constructed  and  6,000 
aviators  trained  in  the  United  States  this 
year.  The  statement  added  that  flotillas  of 
destroyers  were,.co-operating  with  the  En- 
tente Allies  in  the  submarine  zone,  that 
one  army  division,  a  force  of  marines,  and 
nine  regiments  of  engineers  had  been  or- 
dered to  France,  and  that  10,000  doctors 


and  many  nurses  had  been  ordered  to 
England,  hundreds  of  these  having  al- 
ready arrived.  "  Together  with  the  Amer- 
icans already  serving  in  the  British  and 
French  armies,"  the  announcement  ex- 
plained, "  these  additional  units  will 
shortly  give  a  total  of  100,000  Americans 
in  France,  equaling  five.  German  divis- 


America's  Army  in  the  Making 


THE  work  of  pulling  together  the  dif- 
ferent lines  of  organization  which 
will  result  in  the  formation  of  a 
United  States  Army  fighting  in  Europe 
has  been  proceeding  gradually  and  me- 
thodically. Explaining  the  Government's 
military  plans,  Secretary  of  War  Baker, 
in  a  statement  on  May  9,  said  that  all 
the  forces  raised  for  the  war  were  to  be 
dovetailed  into  one  great  army  machine 
of  more  than  1,200,000  men  when  the 
National  Guard  had  been  raised  to  full 
war  strength,  when  the  regular  army 
had  been  similarly  increased  and 
strengthened,  and  when  the  first  draft  of 
500,000  men  for  the  national  army  had 
been  raised.  This  army  would  consist 
of  about  forty  divisions. 

Under  the  National  Defense  act  of 
June  3,  1916,  the  full  war  strength  of  the 
regular  army  was  fixed  at  293,000  men, 
and  of  the  National  Guard  at  409,000, 
but  recruiting  for  both  branches  has  been 
below  requirements.  On  April  1,  1917, 
the  regular  army  still  needed  183,898 
men,  but  the  number  of  enlistments  on 
June  18  had  reached  only  120,815.  In 
some  States  the  National  Guard  actually 
showed  a  decrease  through  discharges. 
It,  therefore,  became  obvious  that  more 
than  the  500,000  men,  as  originally  in- 
tended, would  have  to  be  drafted.  Gen- 
eral Crowder  told  the  Senate  Military 
Affairs  Committee  on  June  4  that  the 
number  then  required  was  625,000,  and 
to  obtain  this  number  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  draft  at  least  900,000  and  pos- 
sibly 1,500,000,  because  of  expected  ex- 
emptions. The  additional  125,000  would 
be  needed  to  fill  up  vacancies  in  the  army 


and  to  keep  the  training  camps  in  con- 
tinuous operation. 

The  President  on  May  14  had  already 
approved  the  completed  plans  for  the 
immediate  expansion  of  the  regular  army 
to  its  full  war  strength  of  293,000  men 
through  the  formation  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible of  all  the  new  units  authorized  by 
the  National  Defense  act  of  June  3,  1916. 
To  accomplish  this  forty-five  new  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  field 
artillery  are  being  organized.  This  in- 
crease, as  contemplated  by  Congress  in 
1916,  was  to  have  been  obtained  in  five 
equal  increments  in  a  five-year  period. 
The  orders  issued  by  the  President  now 
call  for  the  formation  of  twenty-seven 
regiments  of  infantry,  twelve  of  field 
artillery,  and  six  of  cavalry.  When  these 
have  been  obtained  the  army  will  com- 
prise sixty-four  regiments  of  infantry, 
twenty-one  of  field  artillery,  and  twenty- 
five  of  cavalry — a  total  of  110  regiments 
— exclusive  of  coast  artillery,  staff  corps, 
and  special  service  units.  There  will  be 
3,379  officers  and  127,985  men  in  the  in- 
fantry, 1,325  officers  and  37,175  men  in 
the  cavalry,  and  897  officers  and  26,748 
men  in  the  field  artillery.  The  entire 
regular  army  will  comprise  more  than 
12,000  officers  and  293,000  men.  Pre- 
viously there  had  been  thirty-seven  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  nine  regiments  of  field 
artillery,  and  nineteen  regiments  of  cav- 
alry. The  new  infantry  regiments  will 
be  known  as  the  Thirty-eighth  to  the 
Sixty-fourth,  inclusive ;  the  new  field  ar- 
tillery will  be  the  Tenth  to  the  Twenty- 
first,  inclusive,  and  the  new  cavalry,  the 
Twentieth  to  the  Twenty-fifth,  inclusive. 


1  > 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Expanding  the  Arm}) 
The  expansion  of  the  army  is  being 
accomplished  by  the  conversion  of  each 
existing  battalion  into  a  full  regiment. 
When  the  expansion  is  complete,  the 
regular  army  will  have  seven  full  di- 
visions, including  the  four  infantry  and 
two  cavalry  divisions  regarded  as  es- 
sentially troops  of  the  mobile  army.  A 
full  war  strength  division  is  maintained 
in  the  Philippines  and  additional  forces 
are  in  the  Panama  Canal  Zone  and 
Hawaii. 

Secretary  of  War  Baker  in  a  state- 
ment with  reference  to  the  regular 
army    says: 

The  Cavalry,  Engineers,  Coast  Artillery, 
Signal  Corps,  and  Quartermaster  Corps  of 
the  regular  army  have  already  been  brought 
to   war   strength. 

Forty-five  thousand  recruits  are  needed 
at  once  to  complete  the  new  regiments  of 
infantry  and  field   artillery. 

Twenty-five  thousand  additional  recruits 
are  desired  at  the  earliest  practicable  date 
to  fill  vacancies  in  order  that  the  war 
strength  of  300,000  men  may  be  maintained. 

Facilities  are  in  readiness  for  placing  these 
70,000   men   under   proper   training. 

The  expansion  of  the  National  Guard 
has  also  been  planned  on  the  principle  of 
enlarging  existing  units  and  forming  new 
ones.  Including  naval  militia  the  total 
authorized  is  433,800.  This  force  is  being 
formed  on  the  basis  of  800  guardsmen  for 
each  Senator  and  representative.  For 
the  531  Senators  and  representatives  this 
allotment  would  give  424,800  men.  Adding 
9,000  for  the  insular  possessions,  and  sub- 
tracting 24,700  reserved  for  the  naval 
militia,  gives  a  total  of  409,100  for  the 
National  Guard.  There  were  recently 
fewer  than  200,000  in  the  guard. 

In  accordance  with  President  Wilson's 
orders,  Brig.  Gen.  William  A.  Mann  of 
the  General  Staff,  as  Chief  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Militia  Affairs,  has  sent  to  each 
Adjutant  General  complete  information 
about  the  quota  assigned  for  each  State, 
the  units  to  be  comprised,  and  the  order 
in  which  the  units  shall  be  organized. 
The  War  Department,  in  an  explanation 
of  what  had  been  done,  added: 

Notwithstanding  such  action  some  States 
have  undertaken  the  organization  of  units 
which  cannot  be  utilized  in  the  formation  of 


complete  higher  tactical  units.  While  it  is 
much  to  be  desired  to  take  full  advantage  of 
the  patriotic  interest  stirring  in  the  country, 
such  advantage  can  only  come  through  a  co- 
ordination and  regulation  in  keeping  with  a 
general  and  basic  plan. 

The  War  Department  and  the  Militia 
Bureau  are  vitally  concerned  in  getting  the 
best  value  from  the  National  Guard  and  to 
that  end  have  perfected,  as  far  as  practicable, 
definite  plans,  for  which  co-operation  on  the 
part  of  State  officials  and  representatives  is 
urgently   desired. 

All  persons  desiring  to  offer  their  services 
in  the  National  Guard,  and  especially  those 
interested  in  raising  new  units,  are  requested 
to  communicate  with  the  Adjutant  General 
of  their  State  and  to  be  governed  by  the 
wishes  of  the  State  authorities  in  carrying 
out  the  announced  policy  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  the  organization  and  acceptance  of 
such  troops. 

For  the  training  of  the  new  draft 
armies  plans  have  been  adopted  to  build 
sixteen  cantonments,  which  will  practi- 
cally be  cities.  Here  accommodation  will 
be  provided  for  600,000  conscripts.  The 
building  of  the  sixteen  soldier  cities  is 
under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Littel, 
Chief  of  Cantonment  Construction. 

Training  Thousands  of  Officers 
Sixteen  camps  in  different  parts  of  the 
United  States  for  the  training  of  officers 
began'  work  on  May  15,  the  number  of 
trainees  in  attendance  being  40,000.  The 
preliminary  training  was  concluded  about 
five  weeks  later.  During  this  period  only 
engineers  received  special  instruction;  all 
the  other  officers  were  formed  into  in- 
fantry regiments,  and  trained  as  infantry. 
The  second  training  period  began  on  June 
18,  when  the  future  officers  began  to 
specialize  in  the  different  branches  of 
the  service.  They  now  ceased  to  be 
"  rookies."  The  second  period  of  train- 
ing is  to  conclude  about  the  middle  of 
August,  a  week  or  two  before  the  first 
500,000  men  of  the  draft  army  will  be 
called  to  the  colors. 

But  as  officers  will  be  required  for  the 
second  500,000  men  the  War  Department 
has  already  completed  plans  for  a  second 
series  of  officers'  training  camps.  Brig. 
Gen.  Henry  P.  McCain,  Adjutant  General 
of  the  army,  on  June  2  issued  the  follow- 
ing statement: 

To  provide  officers  for  the  drafted  forces 
of  the  national  army,  the  War  Department 
has  adopted  the  policy  of  commissioning  new 


AMERICA'S  ARMY  IN  THE  MAKING 


13 


officers  of  the  line  (infantry,  cavalry,  field 
and  coast  guard  artillery)  purely  on  the  basis 
of  demonstrated  ability,  after  three  months' 
observation  and  training  in  the  officers'  train- 
ing camps. 

To  provide  officers  for  the  first  500,000  the 
War  Department  has  put  into  operation  six- 
ten  officers'  training  camps,  with  about  40,000 
men  in  attendance.  These  sixteen  camps  cor- 
respond to  the  territorial  divisions  in  which 
the  national  army  will  be  raised.  The  pres- 
ent camps  will  provide  line  officers  sufficient 
in  quantity  and  quality  for  the  first  500.000 
and  a  reserve  for  that  increment.  It  is  pro- 
posed to  officer  further  increments  raised 
under  the  draft  by  promotion  from  the  ranks 
of  the  regular  army,  the  National  Guard,  and 
drafted  forces  previously  in  service. 

The  second  series  of  officers'  training  camps 
will  be  held  beginning  Aug.  27,  with  the  defi- 
nite mission  of  producing  a  body  of  line 
officers  capable  of  filling  all  places  in  the 
grades  above  Lieutenant  and  many  places 
in  the  Lieutenant  grades  of  the  second  500,000 
troops.  These  camps  will  open  on  Aug.  27, 
1917,  and  the  training  period  will  last  until 
Nov.  26,  1917. 

The  President  has  commissioned  offi- 
cers by  the  hundred  for  the  Officers'  Re- 
serve Corps,  until  its  total  strength  is 
now  in  the  neighborhood  of  10,000.  Many- 
promotions  have  become  necessary,  and 
on  June  8  President  Wilson  raised  three 
Brigadier  Generals  (John  F.  Morrison, 
Charles  G.  Morton,  and  William  L.  Si- 
bert)  to  the  rank  of  Major  General, 
while  eighteen  new  Brigadier  Generals 
and  three  new  Lieutenant  Colonels  were 
also  nominated.  In  making  these  promo- 
tions the  President  disregarded  strict 
seniority  and  went  down  the  list  in 
.search  of  "  live  wires,"  promoting  sev- 
eral officers  by  selection. 

A  Great  Air  Fleet 

The  creation  of  a  great  American  air 
fleet  has  begun.  Three  aviation  fields  are 


under  construction  and  cadets  are  in 
training  at  the  preliminary  aviation 
schools  established  in  six  representative 
engineering  colleges  and  universities.  The 
Aircraft  Production  Board  announces  also 
that  a  site  has  been  selected  in  France 
for  the  final  training  of  the  first  aviators 
graduated  from  the  American  fields. 

Work  has  been  begun  on  a  big  four- 
squadron  aviation  field  at  Dayton,  Ohio, 
and  "it  is  significant,"  says  Howard  E. 
Coffin,  Chairman  of  the  Aircraft  Pro- 
duction Board,  "  that  this  Dayton  field  of 
2,500  acres,  built  to  accommodate  the 
largest  group  of  aviation  students  to  be 
trained  in  the  great  project  on  which 
America  has  now  set  forth,  should  be  on 
the  site  of  the  original  field  on  which  the 
Wrights  developed  their  first  successful 
airplanes.  The  original  Wright  hangar, 
placed  on  a  modest  tract  of  eighty-six 
acres,  which  constituted  the  Wright 
experimental  field,  is  set  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  big  new  Government 
field." 

A  statement  by  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  says  in  regard  to  aviation 
policy: 

The  immediate  policy  involves,  roughly,  a 
program  for  the  first  year  of  turning  out  in 
American  factories  about  3,500  air  machines, 
including  both  training  and  battle  types,  and 
the  establishment  of  schools  and  training 
fields  with  sufficient  capacity  not  only  to 
man  these  machines  but  to  supply  a  constant 
stream  of  aviators  and  mechanics  to  the 
American   forces   in   Europe. 

Brig.  Gen.  George  O.  Squier,  Chief 
Signal  Officer  of  the  United  States  Army, 
who  directs  the  aviation  service,  informed 
Congress  on  June  15  that  $600,000,000 
was  needed  as  an  initial  appropriation 
for  America's  air  fleet. 


Putting  the  Conscription  Law  Into 

Operation 


THE  first  step  in  putting  into  opera- 
tion the  select  conscription  law,  of- 
ficially known  as  "  an  act  to  author- 
ize the  President  to  increase  temporarily 
the  military  establishment  of  the  United 
States,"  which  was  approved  on  May  18, 
1917,  was  to  register  all  male  residents 


who  had  reached  the  age  of  21  years  but 
who  were  not  yet  31  years  of  age.  The 
President  by  a  proclamation,  dated  May 
18,  fixed  June  5  as  the  day  of  registra- 
tion. 

When   it   became   apparent   that   men 
who  came  under  the  law  were  leaving,  or 


14 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


endeavoring  to  leave  the  country,  the 
President  on  June  1  issued  another  proc- 
lamation warning  all  persons  subject  to 
registration  who  withdrew  from  the 
United  States  for  the  purpose  of  evad- 
ing registration  that  they  would  be  prose- 
cuted on  their  return  and  be  liable  to 
one  year's  imprisonment. 

The  registration  blank  contained  twelve 
questions  covering  among  others,  name, 
address,  age,  nationality,  birthplace, 
and  occupation,  and  concluding  with  the 
interrogation,  "  Do  you  claim  exemption 
from  draft  (specify  grounds)  ? "  The 
official  estimate  by  the  Census  Bureau 
of  the  number  of  men  who  should  register 
was  10,264,867,  and  they  were  directed  to 
appear  at  their  polling  booths  and  other 
places  usually  employed  for  elections. 

Registration  day  passed  off  quietly. 
Although  trouble  was  expected  from  anti- 
conscriptionists,  there  was  practically  no 
disorder.  A  few  arrests  were  reported, 
but  the  method  employed  by  the  young 
men  who  were  opposed  to  conscription 
was  in  nearly  every  case  simply  to  ne- 
glect to  register.  An  official  statement 
given  out  by  the  Committee  on  Public 
Information  on  the  evening  of  June  5, 
said  in  part: 

Nearly  10,000,000  Americans  of  military  age 
registered  today  for  service  in  the  army 
against  Germany.  The  registration  was  ac- 
complished in  a  fashion  measuring  up  to  the 
highest  standards  of  Americanism.  The  young 
men  came  to  the  registration  places  enthusi- 
astic; there  was  no  hint  of  a  slacking  spirit 
anywhere  except  in  a  few  cases  where  mis- 
guided persons  had  been  prevailed  upon  to 
attempt  to  avoid  their  national  obligation. 

From  every  State  reports  were  received 
showing  that  the  sporadic  conspiracies  to 
thwart  the  first  step  toward  the  mobilization 
of  as  large  an  army  as  the  country  may  need 
to  bring  the  war  to  a  victorious  conclusion 
had  failed  utterly.  The  Department  of  Jus- 
tice had  a  tremendous  machinery  ready  to 
cope  with  these  conspiracies,  but  it  proved  to 
be  unnecessary. 

Arrangements   had   been   made   by   the    De- 


partment of  Justice  and  the  War  Department 
to  secure  immediate  telegraphic  reports  upon 
any  outbreaks  or  troublesome  occurrence. 

The  spirit  of  the  young  men  from  whom  the 
fighting  forces  are  to  be  selected  was  evi- 
denced in  their  attitude  toward  Question  12 
on  the  registration  blanks,  which  asked  if  ex- 
emption was  claimed.  In  thousands  of  cases 
young  men  availed  themselves  of  their  right 
to  ignore  this  question  and  to  leave  it  entirely 
for  the  Government  to  decide  whether  they 
should  be  selected.  This  spirit  was  evidenced 
again  in  the  receipt  during  the  day  of  num- 
erous requests  from  diplomatic  and  consular 
officials  of  the  United  States  for  additional 
registration  cards  to  be  used  by  citizens  who 
are  now  in  other  countries  ;  this  fact  was  im- 
pressive because  registration  is  voluntary  on 
the  part  of  Americans  resident  abroad. 

Provost  Marshal  General  Crowder,  on 
June  16,  gave  figures  to  show  the  re- 
sults of  the  registration.  With  the  re- 
ports from  Kentucky,  New  Mexico,  and 
Wyoming  still  missing,  the  number  reg- 
istered was  9,401,314.  It  was  estimated 
that  the  missing  States  would  add  at 
least  265,000  to  this  number,  and  that 
the  grand  total  would  be  not  less  than 
9,666,000.  This,  the  War  Department  con- 
sidered, would  represent  a  registration  of 
slightly  more  than  100  per  cent,  of  the 
census  figures,  as  a  careful  tabulation 
showed  that  there  were  at  least  600,000 
men  in  the  service  of  military  age  who 
were  not  compelled  to  register,  although 
they  were  included  in  the  census  esti- 
mate. 

From  various  parts  of  the  country 
plots  and  conspiracies  to  avoid  or  op- 
pose the  draft  were  reported.  In  many 
places  those  who  had  failed  to  register 
were  rounded  up  and  given  another 
chance  to  enroll.  There  were  also  some 
arrests.  Anarchist  agitators  were  the 
most  troublesome,  and  one  of  them, 
Louis  Kramer,  was  sentenced  by  the 
Federal  Court  in  New  York  to  three 
years'  imprisonment  for  conspiracy  to 
dissuade  men  of  conscript  age  from  reg- 
istering. 


America's  Fleet  in  Being 


THE    United    States    Navy   began   to 
render  the  Allies  assistance  almost 
from   the   first   day   of   America's 
entrance  into  the  war.    The  whereabouts 


of  the  Atlantic  Fleet  have  been  shroud- 
ed in  secrecy,  but  announcements  have 
been  made  regarding  the  movements  of 
certain   units.     On   June    6    the    French 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  HENRY  P.  McCAIN 


Adjutant  General  of  the  United  States  Army  and  Director 

of  the  Organization  of  the  New  Forces  for 

Service  in  Europe 


■  ■■iiiiiiiiiiiiimiiin 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  ENOCH  H.  CROWDER 


Judge  Advocate  General  of  the  United  States  Army,  One  of 

the  Chief  Officers  Concerned  in  the  Making 

of  the 'New  Draft  Armies 


(Photo   Rain    Xcus   Service) 


■•>■■•••••••>■••■••>•■•••• 


■••>••■••■ •■■••«•■■••«>■••■ 


AMERICA'S  FLEET  IN  BEING 


15 


Minister  of  Marine  stated  that  American 
warships  had  anchored  off  the  French 
coast.  The  same  day  the  flotilla  of 
American  destroyers  under  Rear  Ad- 
miral Sims,  who  has  been  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Vice  Admiral,  completed 
their  first  month  of  war  service.  In  the 
course  of  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, on  May  25,  Prime  Minister  Lloyd 
George  referred  to  the  work  of  the 
United  States  Navy  in  these  words: 

We  owe  a  very  considerable  debt  of  grat- 
itude to  the  great  American  people  for  the 
effective  assistance  they  have  rendered  and 
the  craft  they  have  placed  at  our  disposal. 
Now  that  the  American  Nation  is  in  the 
war  it  is  easier  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  protection  of  our  mercantile  marine  than 
it  was  before. 

The  American  destroyers  have  been  as- 
signed to  work  hand  in  hand  with  the 
British  squadrons,  being  virtually  assimi- 
lated into  the  British  naval  machinery. 
A  destroyer  is  usually  out  for  four  or 
five  days,  and  then  returns  to  port  for 
two  or  three  days  while  coaling  and  load- 
ing supplies.  The  Americans  take  their 
turn  with  the  British  boats  in  all  routine 
work  of  patrol  and  convoy.  The  work, 
although  largely  routine,  is  interesting, 
and  the  Americans  have  never  yet  found 
time  hanging  heavy  on  their  hands.  The 
lookout  must  be  constant,  and  eyes  must 
be  trained  to  an  unbelievable  degree  of 
keenness.  The  young  Americans  take 
zealously  to  this  business  of  finding  the 
periscopic  needles  in  the  nautical  hay- 
stack, and  daily  reports  of  submarines 
sighted,  of  observations  made,  of  wire- 
less warnings  sent  broadcast,  show  that 


the  American  boats  are  already  making 
an  average  of  results  almost  as  satis- 
factory as  the  long-experienced  English 
boats  with  which  they  are  operating.  An 
assignment  to  convoy  a  liner  "  from 
home  " — that  is,  from  an  American  port 
— is  regarded  as  an  especially  choice 
morsel.  A  transatlantic  liner  which 
sights  the  American  flag  approaching  to 
escort  her  to  land  never  fails  to  respond 
with  a  great  waving  of  flags  and  hand- 
kerchiefs from  her  decks,  and  there  is  a 
fine  exchange  of  wigwag  signals  in  lieu 
of  handshakes. 

Admiral  Sims,  it  was  officially  an- 
nounced in  London  on  June  19,  had  been 
appointed  by  the  British  Admiralty  to 
take  general  charge  of  the  allied  naval 
forces  in  Irish  waters  during  the  ab- 
sence of  the  British  naval  Commander  in 
Chief.  Admiral  Sims  accordingly  hoisted 
his  flag  as  allied  senior  officer  command- 
ing. 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  by 
the  President  on  May  22,  the  enlisted 
strength  of  the  navy  and  Marine  Corps 
was  increased  to  150,000  and  30,000  men, 
respectively.  A  substantial  increase  in 
the  pay  of  enlisted  men  and  a  temporary 
increase  in  the  commissioned  personnel 
were  provided  for.  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  Daniels  on  June  8  said  that  the 
navy  was  so  popular  that  recruits  had 
come  in  far  more  rapidly  than  had  been 
expected.  Since  Jan.  1  about  60,000  re- 
cruits have  been  added  to  the  service.  The 
Marine  Corps  has  also  made  good  prog- 
ress. On  May  16  it  had  21,864  officers 
and  enlisted  men. 


Food  Crisis  in  the  United  States 


PRESIDENT  WILSON  has  exerted  all 
his  authority  during  the  month  to  se- 
cure measures  to  cope  with  an  im- 
pending food  crisis  in  the  United  States. 
In  a  statement  issued  on  May  19  he  de- 
clared that  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  place  unquestionable  powers  m  his 
hands  to  prevent  hoarding  and  specula- 
tion, and  generally  to  regulate  the  dis- 
tribution and  consumption  of  food. 

Herbert  C.  Hoover,  whom  the  Presi- 


dent has  designated  as  Food  Admin- 
istrator, stated  officially  on  June  2  that 
America's  allies  would  require  971,000,000 
bushels  of  bread  and  fodder  grains  out 
of  the  next  harvest  and,  in  addition, 
provision  must  be  made  for  the  grain 
ships  destroyed  by  submarines.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  North  America,  Mr. 
Hoover  added,  to  furnish  all  of  the  971,- 
000,000  bushels,  but  the  major  load  must 
fall  on  us. 


1C 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


At  a  conference  in  Washington  on 
June  13,  which  was  attended  by  Mr. 
Hoover,  representatives  of  organized 
labor,  and  about  twenty-five  Congress- 
men, the  statement  was  made  that  the 
present  cost  of  living  probably  could  be 
reduced  about  30  per  cent,  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time  if  President  Wilson 
received  the  powers  he  demanded.  It 
was  said  that  hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  were  being  wasted  in  getting 
foodstuffs  from  the  producer  to  the  con- 
sumer; that  speculators  and  illegitimate 
middlemen  were  getting  the  greater  part 
of  this  wastage,  and  that  poorly  organ- 
ized methods  of  transportation  and  dis- 
tribution were  to  blame  in  no  small 
measure  for  the  rest. 

President  Wilson  made  clear  his  de- 
cision in  this  matter  by  publishing  a 
letter  which  he  had  written  on  June  12 
to  Mr.  Hoover  and  which  was  issued  on 
June  16: 

My  dear  Mr.  Hoover :  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  inauguration  of  that  portion  of  the 
plan  for  food  administration  which  con- 
templates a  national  mobilization  of  the 
great  voluntary  forces  of  the  country  which 
are  ready  to  work  toward  saving  food  and 
eliminating  waste  admits  of  no  further  delay. 

The  approaching  harvesting,  the  immediate 
necessity  for  wise  use  and  saving  not  only 
in  food,  but  in  all  other  expenditures,  the 
many  undirected  and  overlapping  efforts  be- 
ing made  toward  this  end,  all  press  for 
national  direction  and  inspiration.  While  it 
would  in  many  ways  be  desirable  to  wait 
complete  legislation  establishing  the  food  ad- 
ministration, it  appears  to  me.  that  so  far 
as  voluntary  effort  can  be  assembled  we 
should  not  wait  any  longer,  and  therefore 
I  would  be  very  glad  if  you  would  proceed 
in  these  directions  at  once. 

The  women  of  the  nation  are  already 
earnestly  seeking  to  do  their  part  in  this 
our  greatest  struggle  for  the  maintenance 
of  our  national  ideals,  and  in  no  direction 
can  they  so  greatly  assist  as  by  enlisting 
in  the  service  of  the  food  administration  and 
cheerfully  accepting  its  direction  and  advice. 
By  so  doing  they  will  increase  the  surplus 
of  food  available  for  our  own  army  and  for 
export  to  the  Allies.  To  provide  adequate  sup- 
plies for  the  coming  year  is  of  absolutely 
vital  importance  to  the  conduct  of  the  war, 
and  without  a  very  conscientious  elimination 
of  waste  and  very  strict  economy  in  our 
food  consumption  we  cannot  hope  to  fulfill 
this   primary  duty. 

I  trust,  therefore,  that  the  women  of  the 
country  will  not  only  respond  to  your  appeal 
and  accept  the  pledge  to  the  food  administra- 
tion  which   you    are   proposing,    but    that  all 


men  also  who  are  engaged  in  the  personal 
distribution  of  foods  will  co-operate  with 
the  same  earnestness  and  in  the  same  spirit. 
I  give  you  full  authority  to  undertake  any 
steps  necessary  for  the  proper  organization 
and  stimulation  of  their  efforts.  Cordially 
and  sincerely  yours,    WOODROW  WILSON. 

t"he  extent  to  which  speculation  had 
been  rife  since  the  beginning  of  1917 
was  described  by  Mr.  Hoover  when  he 
appeared,  on  June  19,  before  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Agriculture  to  explain  the 
Food  Administration  bill.  In  the  last 
five  months,  he  said,  on  the  item  of 
flour  alone  $250,000,000  had  been  ex- 
tracted from  the  American  consumer  in 
excess  of  normal  profits.  Mr.  Hoover 
then  uttered  this  warning: 

We  now  have  a  high  cost  of  living  beyond 
the  abilities  of  certain  sections  of  the  popu- 
lation to  withstand  and  to  secure  proper 
nourishment  from  the  wage  levels.  Unless 
we  can  ameliorate  this  .condition  and  unless 
we  can  prevent  further  advances  in  prices, 
we  must  confront  further  an  entire  re- 
arrangement of  the  wage  level,  with  all  the 
hardships  and  social  disturbances  which 
necessarily  follow.  We  shall  in  this  turmoil 
experience  large  loss  in  national  efficiency 
at  a  time  when  we  can  least  afford  to  lose 
the  energies  of  a  single  man. 

President  Wilson,  it  was  announced  on 
June  19,  had  decided  to  exercise  in  full 
the  powers  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
embargo  clause  in  the  espionage  law  and 
thereby  make  it  impossible  for  neutral 
countries  or  the  allies  of  America  to 
export  from  this  country  so  much  as  a 
bushel  of  wheat  or  the  smallest  quantity 
of  any  other  essential  commodity  without 
-obtaining  a  license  and  the  approval  of 
an  Exports  Council,  to  be  composed  of 
Herbert  C.  Hoover  and  representatives 
of  the  Departments  of  State,  War,  Navy, 
and  Commerce.  The  statement  to  this 
effect  was  made  through  Secretary  Red- 
field  of  the  Department  of  Commerce: 

The  procedure  of  issuing  an  export  license 
will  be  about  as  follows :  The  President's 
proclamation  will  designate  the  particular 
articles  under  control  and  countries  to  which 
such  controlled  articles  may  be  exported  un- 
der license.  The  quantity  of  the  particular 
commodity  to  be  exported  under  license  will 
be  decided  by  the  Exports  Council,  and  upon 
the  advice  of  the  departments  concerned,  and 
with  such  facts  as  may  be  presented  by  the 
trade  expert  dealing  with 'that  particular  com- 
modity. After  the  amount  has  been  deter- 
mined, the  Division  of  Export  Licenses  will 
then    restrict     the     amount     licensed     to     the 


FOOD  CRISIS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


17 


amount    determined    upon    by    the    Exports 
Council. 

President  Wilson  has  assumed  full  re- 
sponsibility for  the  decisions  which  are 


to  be  made,  and  in  reaching  his  conclu- 
sions he  will  have  at  his  disposal  all  of 
the  information  and  advice  of  Secretary 
of  State  Lansing  and  Mr.  Hoover. 


The  First  United  States  War  Loan 

THE  first  popular  offering  of  bonds  The  last  days  of  the  loan  campaign 
for  the  war — in  the  sum  of  $2,000,-  were  marked  by  picturesque  propaganda. 
000,000 — closed  June  15,  1917,  in  In  many  cities  bells  were  rung  and 
a  large  oversubscription,  the  total  amount  whistles  blown  to  indicate  progress  of  the 
subscribed  exceeding  $2,900,000,000.  subscriptions;  enormous  clocks  were  con- 
There  were  nearly  3,000,000  individ-  spicuously  placed  to  show  how  the  totals 
ual  subscribers.  It  was  the  largest  bond  were  mounting;  women  and  men  all  over 
offering  in  the  history  of  the  United  the  country  delivered  addresses  at  street 
States,  and  the  individual  subscriptions  corners  and  in  public  places,  advocating 
exceeded  several  times  the  largest  total  subscriptions ;  naming  and  appealing  pos- 
ever  before  recorded  in  this  country.  ters  were  everywhere  displayed,  and  all 
The  loan  was  known  as  "  The  Liberty  the  newspapers  inserted  large  advertise- 
Loan."  The  interest  rate  was  SV2  per  ments  gratuitously.  The  Liberty  Bell  at 
cent.,  and  the  amount  was  limited  to  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia  was 
$2,000,000,000.  Allotments  were  made  of  run&  for  the  first  time  in  half  a  century 
the  sums  expected  from  each  of  the  on  the  last  day,  and  as  the  broken  bell 
twelve  Federal  Reserve  Districts,  and  in  pealed  the  sound  was  taken  up  at  the 
every  case,  with  one  exception,  these  same  time  by  other  bells  in  all  parts  of 
amounts  were  largely  exceeded.    The  of-  the  country. 

ficial  figures  have  not  been  issued  at  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  McAdoo 
this  writing,  (June  20,)  but  semi-official  visited  the  leading  cities  in  advocacy  of 
reports  show  the  following  subscriptions  the  loan>  and  everywhere  met  with  an 
in  the  various  Reserve  Districts:  enthusiastic  reception.  Large  corpora- 
Minimum.  Estimated  tions'  railroads>  industrial,  commercial, 
District.                 Allotment.      Subscription.  and  banking  institutions  made  subscrip- 

New  York $600,000,000      $1,050,000,000  tions  for  their  employes,  allowing  them 

Philadelphia    ...     140,000,000          225,000,000  to  subscribe  on  the  installment  plan,  in 

Boston    240,000,000          300,000,000  this  way  giving  the  loan  a  wide  distri- 

Richmond    80,000,000            100,000,000  ,     ,.           t>      i            j   u      j   t.                 n 

Atlanta    60,000,000            nWooo  bufaon.^  Banks  and  bond  houses  all  over 

Chicago    260,000,000          355,000,000  the  United  States  put  all  the  machinery 

Cleveland 180,000,000          276,286,950  and   energy   of  their   sales   organization 

St.   Louis 80,000,000            90,000,000  behind  the  loan  without  charge,  and  this 

Minneapolis 80,000,000            62,000,000  one  fact  contributed  in  no  little  degree  to 

Kansas  City 100,000,000            100,000,000  ..     „UCCG_     Th                           h  p.ratif ication 

Dallas  40,000,000            48,000,000  lts  success-    l  nere  was  much  gratification 

San    Francisco..      140,000,000           180,000,000  over  the  larSe  oversubscription,  and  es- 

, pecially  because  of  the  large  number  of 

Total $2,000,000,000      $2,844,868,950  individual  subscribers. 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


Period   Ended  June  20,   1917 


British  Electoral  Reform:  Votes  for 

Women 

THE  Representation  of  the  People  bill, 
introduced  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons by  Mr.  Long,  is  in  its  way  more 
radical  even  than  the  first  great  Reform 
bill  of  1832,  which  brought  about  the 
downfall  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the 
victor  of  Waterloo,  who  violently  opposed 
it;  much  greater  than  the  Reform  bill 
of  1867,  which  enfranchised  the  artisan 
class  and  added  over  3,000,000  to  the 
voters  of  the  nation;  greater  by  far  than 
the  Reform  bill  of  1885,  which  was,  in 
the  main,  a  redistribution  bill,  reappor- 
tioning the  seats  in  Parliament  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  population. 

The  effect  of  the  new  Reform  bill  may 
be  summarized  as  follows:  There  were 
in  1915  8,357,000  male  voters  on  the 
registers;  the  present  bill  will  add  over 
2,000,000  male  voters  to  this  number; 
but  far  more  striking  is  the  addition  of 
over  6,000,000  women  voters,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  following  clauses'  of  the 
bill: 

1.  A  woman  shall  be  entitled  to  be  regis- 
tered as  a  Parliamentary  elector  for  a  con- 
stituency, (other  than  a  university  constitu- 
ency,) if  she  has  attained  the  age  of  30  years, 
and  is  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  Local 
Government  elector  in  respect  of  land  or 
premises  in  that  constituency,  or  is  the  wife 
of  a  husband  entitled  to  be  so  registered. 

2.  A  woman  shall  be  entitled  to  be  regis- 
tered as  a  Parliamentary  elector  for  a  uni- 
versity constituency  if  she  has  attained  the 
age  of  30  years,  and  would  be  entitled  to  be 
so  registered  if  she  were  a  man. 

3.  A  woman  shall  be  entitled  to  be  regis- 
tered as  a  Local  Government  elector  for  any 
Local  Government  electoral  area  where  she 
would  be  entitled  to  be  so  registered  if  she 
were  a  man ;  provided  that  a  husband  and 
wife  shall  not  both  be  qualified  as  Local  Gov- 
ernment electors  in  respect  of  the  same  prop- 
erty. 

The  age  limit  was  adopted  because  the 
bill  could  not  have  been  passed  without  it. 
The  reason  for  the  apparent  discrimina- 
tion against  women  in  the  matter  of  age 
seems  to  be  that,  with  the  destruction  of 
male  voters  now  going  on  at  the  front, 
the  women  would  vastly  preponderate  at 


the  polls  if  they,  like  the  men,  were  al- 
lowed to  vote  at  the  age  of  21,  and  it  was 
thought  safer  to  give  time  for  the  equal- 
ization of  the  sexes  numerically. 

*     *     * 

CONSTANTINE  AND    HlS   DYNASTY 

CONSTANTINE  of  Greece,  who  has 
lost  his  throne,  reversed  the  policy 
of  his  father,  George  I.,  King  of  the  Hel- 
lenes, who  was  strongly  pro-English,  and 
who  succeeded  Otho  of  Bavaria  when  the 
Greeks  drove  him  out  of  the  country  in 

1862.  The  Greek  Nation  thereupon,  by  a 
plebiscite,  elected,  as  King,  Prince  Alfred, 
son  of  Queen  Victoria,  the  Duke  of 
Edinburgh;  and,  when  he  refused  the 
throne,  requested  Great  Britain  to  nomi- 
nate a  candidate.  The  British  Govern- 
ment chose  Prince  Christian  William 
Ferdinand  Adolphus  of  Schleswig-Hol- 
stein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg,  who  was 
recognized   by   the  powers   on    June   6, 

1863,  and  for  whom  the  Conference  of 
London,  in  August,  1863,  created  the 
style,  King  of  the  Hellenes,  at  the  same 
time  making  Greece  a  present  of  the 
Ionian  Islands,  which  contain  about  one- 
tenth  of  the  population  of  Greece. 

Just  before  his  nomination  the  new 
Greek  King's  sister,  Princess  Alexandra, 
had  married  the  Prince  of  Wales,  after- 
ward King  Edward  VII.,  and  it  has  been 
repeatedly  affirmed  and  denied,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  Queen  Alexan- 
dra's protection  kept  her  nephew  Con- 
stantine  on  the  throne  long  after  his 
policy  had  become  an  open  danger  to  the 
Allies  at  Saloniki. 

Shortly  after  George  of  Denmark  be- 
came King  of  the  Hellenes,  his  father 
succeeded  to  the  crown  of  Denmark, 
while  another  sister,  Princess  Dagmar, 
married  the  future  Czar  Alexander  III. 
of  Russia;  she,  also,  as  Dowager  Em- 
press Marie  of  Russia,  was  supposed  to 
uphold  Constantine,  who  is  further  allied 
with  several  of  the  Russian  Grand  Ducal 
families,  his  mother  having  been  the 
daughter  of  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  his 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


19 


sister  having  married  the  Grand  Duke 
George  Mikhailovitch,  while  his  brother 
Nicholas  married  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helena  Vladimirovna.  From  each  of  the 
three  powers  which  guarantee  the  consti- 
tutional Government  of  Greece,  King 
George  received  a  personal  allowance  of 
$20,000  yearly. 

Visiting   Commissions 

LORD  NORTHCLIFFE,  proprietor  of 
The  London  Times,  The  London 
Mail,  and  other  publications,  arrived  at 
New  York  June  12  to  take  up  the  duties 
of  head  of  the  British  Commission  to  the 
United  States,  which  post  had  been  ten- 
dered him  by  Premier  Lloyd  George.  His 
duties  are  to  co-ordinate  the  work  of  the 
various  British  organizations  already  en- 
gaged in  the  task  of  supplying  British 
war  and  other  needs.  His  appointment  is 
not  a  diplomatic  position.  Each  of  the 
allied  Governments  has  numerous  com- 
missions engaged  in  various  duties  of  as- 
sembling and  procuring  supplies  in  this 
country.  The  head  of  the  French  Com- 
mission is  Andre  Tardieu.  Baron  Mon- 
cheur,  former  Belgian  Minister  to  the 
United  States,  arrived  at  New  York  with 
a  Belgian  Commission  June  16.  A  com- 
mission of  Russians  consisting  of  forty 
members,  headed  by  Boris  A.  Bakmetieff, 
arrived  at  Seattle  June  13;  this  commis- 
sion was  appointed  prior  to  the  fall  of 
the  Milukoff  Cabinet. 

*     *     * 

The  Irish  Convention 

THE  Irish  convention  which  will  de- 
liberate during  the  Summer  to  en- 
deavor to  reach  an  agreement  on  a  form 
of  home  rule  will  consist  of  101  members. 
The  British  Government,  seeking  to  se- 
cure for  this  convention  representatives 
of  the  everyday  life  of  Ireland,  invited 
the  Chairmen  of  every  County  Council 
and  county  borough,  while,  in  addition,  in- 
vitations had  been  extended  to  the  Chair- 
men of  small  towns  and  urban  districts 
in  each  of  the  four  provinces  to  appoint 
two  members  to  the  convention. 

The  convention  will  also  include  four 
Roman  Catholic  Bishops,  together  with 
the  Primate,  Dr.  Crosier,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin,  Dr.  Bernard,  repre- 
senting the  Protestant  Church  of  Ireland, 


and  Dr.  John  Irwin,  Moderator  of  the 
Irish  Presbyterian  Assembly.  Commerce 
will  be  represented  by  the  Chairmen 
of  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  Dublin, 
Belfast,  and  Cork,  while  five  representa- 
tives of  labor  will  be  sent  by  the  trade 
councils  of  Dublin,  Belfast,  and  Cork, 
and  trade  unions. 

Political  parties  will  be  represented 
as  follows:  Five  Nationalists,  five  Ulster 
Unionists,  two  O'Brienites,  two  Irish 
representative  peers,  five  Southern  Un- 
ionists, and  five  Sinn  Feiners  or  Separa- 
tists. As  to  Sinn  Feiners,  the  spokesmen 
of  the  Separatists'  bodies  had  stated 
they  would  not  enter  the  convention,  but 
the  Government  reserved  five  places  for 
them.  Fifteen  additional  members  will 
be  nominated  by  the   Government  from 

among  leading  Irishmen  of  all  sections. 
*     *     * 

Socialist  Efforts  for  Peace 
rpHE  International  Socialist  Conference, 
•*■  which  was  summoned  to  meet  at 
Stockholm  in  May,  but  which  was  de- 
layed because  delegates  from  important 
countries  would  not  attend  or  were  not 
permitted  by  their  Governments  to  go  to 
Stockholm,  has  taken  on  a  more  im- 
portant aspect  since  the  Russian  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  as- 
sumed the  responsibility  for  summoning 
the  assembly.  The  Russian  Provisional 
Government  has  indorsed  the  invitation. 
The  British  and  French  Governments 
have  granted  passports  to  Socialist  dele- 
gates, including  so  ardent  a  pacifist  as 
Ramsay  MacDonald,  evidently  because 
the  Socialists  of  the  allied  countries  com- 
mand a  majority  of  the  votes  in  the  con- 
ference and  for  them  not  to  attend  would 
give  the  delegates  from  the  central  coun- 
tries a  chance  to  dominate  the  gathering. 
The  Dutch-Scandinavian  Socialist  Com- 
mittee at  Stockholm  has  been  holding 
a  series  of  preliminary  consultations  and 
informal  discussions  with  Socialists  from 
the  different  belligerent  countries,  and 
has  succeeded  in  eliciting  from  the  Ger- 
man majority  Socialists,  who,  under 
Scheidemann's  leadership,  are  support- 
ing their  Government,  a  statement  of 
their  peace  terms.  This  statement  has 
been  condemned  by  prominent  anti- 
Government      leaders      among      German 


20 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Socialists,  on  the  ground  that  it  merely 
represents  German  imperialism.  At  the 
conference,  which  has  been  called  for 
July  8,  Germany  has  twenty  votes,  but 
they  are  divided  equally  between  the 
Scheidemann  group  and  the  minority, 
which  includes  Kautsky,  Haase,  and  Bern- 
stein. The  United  States  Government 
refused  to  issue  passports  to  Morris 
Hillquit,  Algernon  Lee,  and  Victor  L. 
Berger,    the    delegates    chosen    by    the 

Socialist  Party  of  America. 

*     *     * 

Chaos  Growing  in  Austria-Hungary 

COUNT  MORITZ  ESTERHAZY  has 
completed  the  formation  of  a  new 
Hungarian  Cabinet,  in  which  all  parties 
opposed  to  the  policies  of  Count  Tisza 
are  represented,  Count  Albert  Apponyi 
being  Minister  of  Education,  while  Count 
Karolyi  has  so  far  refused  to  take  of- 
fice. Hungarian  feeling  both  against 
Germany  and  against  the  German  domi- 
nance of  Austria  is  reported  as  steadily 
growing;  but  the  rock  in  the  channel  is 
the  Slav  question.  More  than  half  the 
population  of  Hungary  is  either  Slav  or 
Rumanian,  and  is  held  in  political  helotry 
by  the  dominant  Magyars.  Without  the 
help  of  Germany  and  of  the  Austrians  in 
Germany  the  Magyars  would  inevitably 
be  submerged  in  the  rising  flood  of  Slav- 
dom. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Austrian  half  of 
the  Dual  Monarchy — which,  since  1866, 
has  been  the  weaker  half — are  also  rap- 
idly growing.  The  Southern  Slavs,  agi- 
tation among  whom  was  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  war,  are  restive  under  the  Ger- 
manizing pressure  of  the  Vienna  Govern- 
ment, while  the  Northern  Slavs — the 
Czechs  of  Bohemia,  the  Moravians,  and 
Slovaks — are  practically  in  open  rebel- 
lion, and  these  two  Slav  groups  far  out- 
number the  German  factions  in  Austria, 
as  the  non-Magyars  outnumber  the  Mag- 
yars in  Hungary. 

German  and  Magyar  domination  has 
only  been  maintained  by  franchise  laws, 
and  now,  as  in  Prussia,  there  is  strong 
pressure  for  the  establishment  of  a  wide- 
ly extended  franchise.  If  this  were  done, 
the  domination  of  both  Magyars  and 
German-Austrians  would  come  to  an  end. 
Even  now,  in  the  Reichsrat,  233  Germans 


— who  are  divided  into  mutually  antago- 
nistic parties — are  faced  by  263  Slavs 
and  Italians,  the  Slavs  including  108 
Czechs,  some  80  Galician  Poles,  and  a 
certain  number  of  Ruthenians,  Slovenes, 
Dalmatians,  Croatians,  and  Italians.  On 
June  19  the  Poles  in  the  Austrian  Parlia- 
ment refused  to  vote  for  the  war  budget 
and  forced  the  Austrian  Premier,  Count 
Clam-Martinic,  to  resign;  the  Poles  are 
seeking  independence. 

*     *     * 

Two  German  Reforms 

THE  German  Federal  Council  has  de- 
cided upon  the  repeal  of  two  of  the 
main  features  of  "  exceptional  legisla- 
tion "  in  Germany,  the  Jesuit  act  and  the 
language  paragraph,  the  first  of  which 
.  forbade  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
to  establish  themselves  in  Germany,  while 
the  second  forbade  the  use  in  public  meet- 
ings of  any  language  but  German,  except 
in  the  case  of  international  congresses 
and  election  meetings.  This  decision  is 
final,  and  will  not  be  referred  to  the 
Reichstag,  as  that  body  is  formally  re- 
garded as  having  already  given  its  con- 
sent, having  voted  in  favor  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Jesuit  act  in  1894,  and  again 
in  1899,  and  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the 
language  paragraph  in  1908.  On  all  three 
occasions,  however,  the  Federal  Council 
refused  to  ratify  the  decision  of  the 
House,  whose  vote  has,  therefore,  been 
overruled  until  now. 

The  language  paragraph  was  directed 
against  the  Polish  and  Danish  subjects  of 
the  empire  and  the  inhabitants  of  Al- 
sace-Lorraine, and  was  considered  neces- 
sary, in  view  of  the  German  custom  of 
arranging  for  a  State  official  to  be  pres- 
ent at  any  public  meeting,  so  as  to  inter- 
vene in  the  event  of  any  inadmissible  ut- 
terance. 

The  Jesuit  act  dated  from  1872  and 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  famous  Kul- 
turkampf.  The  aggressive  policy  of  the 
Vatican  at  that  time  had  aroused  Prot- 
estant opinion,  and  its  claim  as  to  the 
precedence  of  ecclesiastical  over  secular 
jurisdiction  had  given  rise  to  the  convic- 
tion that,  as  Herr  Rudolf  Delbriick,  the 
then  Secretary  of  State,  stated  in  the 
Reichstag  at  the  time,  the  young  German 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


21 


Empire  must  be  protected  from  the  dis- 
integrating effect  of  international  influ- 
ences on  the  imperial  consciousness  being 
evolved  in  its  midst.  The  Society  of 
Jesus  and  its  kindred  organizations  were, 
therefore,  forbidden  to  establish  them- 
selves in  Germany,  their  existing  settle- 
ments were  ordered  to  be  broken  up 
within  six  months,  and  Jesuits  of  non- 
German  nationality  were  permitted  to  re- 
side only  in  certain  districts,  and  were 
liable  to  banishment  at  any  time. 

Our  German  and  Austrian  Ships 

GERMAN  merchant  vessels  numbering 
about  100  and  representing  a  gross 
tonnage  of  about  600,000  were  taken  un- 
der the  control  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment on  April  6,  the  German  crews 
being  removed  and  turned  over  to  the 
immigration  authorities.  Customs  offi- 
cials .took  over  the  ships  at  Porto  Rico 
and  Hawaii,  while  the  War  Department 
had  earlier  taken  possession  of  German 
merchant  ships  in  the  Canal  Zone,  the 
Navy  Department  taking  control  of  the 
German  raiders  at  Philadelphia.  It  is 
estimated  that,  while  the  German  ships 
now  controlled  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment cost  more  than  $50,000,000,  they 
now  represent,  even  in  their  present  dam- 
aged condition,  considerably  over  $100,- 
000,000;  and  while  practically  every  ship 
was  more  or  less  damaged,  by  orders 
emanating  from  the  German  Embassy, 
the  injuries,  except  in  one  or  two  cases, 
were  much  less  serious  than  had  been 
feared.  The  Kronprinzessin  Cecilie  was 
probably  the  most  seriously  damaged, 
while  the  Liebenfels,  sunk  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  was  almost  intact,  except  for 
the  opening  of  the  seacocks. 

Fourteen  Austrian  ships,  of  a  gross 
tonnage  of  67,807,  were  also  taken  over, 
the  largest  being  the  Martha  Washing- 
ton, 8,312  tons;  the  Dora,  7,037  tons;  the 
Lucia,  6,744  tons,  and  the  Ermy,  6,515 
tons.  The  first  two  were  in  New  York, 
the  third  at  Pensacola,  and  the  fourth  at 
Boston.  Of  these  fourteen  Austrian 
ships,  eight  belonged  to  the  Union  Aus- 
triaca  di  Navigazione.  The  four  Ham- 
burg-American liners  seized  at  Colon — 
the  Griinewald,  Sachsenwald,  Savoja,  and 
Prinz    Sigismund — were   first   moved   to 


Gatun  Lake,  in  order  that  the  fresh  water 
might  kill  the  barnacles  accumulated  on 
their  hulls. 

Rush  repairs  were  immediately  begun 
on  all  the  ships  except  those  at  Hono- 
lulu, H.  T.,  and  the  Vaterland  at  New 
York,  the  latter  being  too  large  for  any 
American  dry  dock.  By  a  unanimous 
Senate  resolution,  no  suit  for  compensa- 
tion may  begin  until  one  year  after  peace 
is  made. 

*  *     * 

Canada's  Conscription  Bill 
A  BILL  has  been  introduced  in  the  Ca- 
■*"*•  nadian  Parliament  providing  for 
compulsory  military  service  for  men 
between  the  ages  of  20  and  45.  Ac- 
cording to  the  bill,  drafts  shall  be  called 
out  by  the  Governor  in  council  in  prece- 
dence of  youth  and  lack  of  home  entan- 
glements. Ten  classes  are  provided  in 
which  age  and  dependents  (confined  to 
wives  and  children)  are  given  the  prefer- 
ence. When  a  certain  class  is  called  out 
by  proclamation  those  who  fall  under 
that  class  are  bound  to  respond  to  the 
call.  Those  who  do  not  may  be  designat- 
ed as  deserters  and  held  liable  to  impris- 
onment not  exceeding  three  years.  The 
proposition  is  bitterly  opposed  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  especially  by  the 
French  Catholics.  An  effort  was  made 
to  form  a  coalition  Cabinet  to  pass  the 
measure  without  party  division,  but  it 
failed. 

*  *     * 

The  Fiji  Islanders  in  the  War 
rpHE  Fijians,  whose  archipelago  became 
■*■  British  territory  in  1874,  have  actively 
entered  the  world  war,  a  group  of  sturdy 
Fijians  recently  disembarking  at  Van- 
couver and  passing  through  Canada  on 
their  way  to  France,  where  they  will  act, 
however,  not  as  belligerents,  but  as  ste- 
vedores on  the  wharfs  of  France.  But 
a  larger  contingent  may  follow,  trained 
for  war.  Many  of  the  Polynesian  races, 
to  which  the  Fijians  belong,  are  splen- 
didly built.  At  the  Columbian  World's 
Fair  the  prize  for  physical  perfection  was 
awarded  to  a  South  Sea  Islander,  and  the 
average  among  some  of  these  races  is 
the  highest  in  the  world  both  for  stature 
and  for  all-round  physical  development. 


22 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


These  Fijians  are,  however,  not  the 
first  group  of  Polynesians  to  take  an  act- 
ive part  in  the  war;  a  strong  force  of 
fully  trained  Maoris,  who  are  also  of  the 
Polynesian  race,  accompanied  the  "  An- 
zac  " — Australian  and  New  Zealand  Army 
Corps — to  Gallipoli  and  served  with  great 
gallantry.  And  the  entry  of  the  United 
States  into  the  war  has  made  belliger- 
ents of  the  large  Polynesian  population 
of  Hawaii.  All  over  the  vast  South  Sea 
archipelagos  the  Polynesian  race  is  sin- 
gularly uniform,  except  in  certain  re- 
gions, where  there  is  an  infusion  of 
Malay  or  Melanesian  blood;  the  group  of 
languages  which  covers  this  area,  while 
they  have  been  separated  by  vast  spaces 
of  ocean  for  unnumbered  centuries  or 
millenniums,  are  nevertheless  quite  evi- 
dently very  closely  related. 

*  *     * 

Never  Heard  of  the  War 
rpHE  Japan  Chronicle  notes  the  fact 
-*-  that  recently  a  Japanese  girl  came  to 
Kobe  to  work  in  the  house  of  an  English 
lady.  A  portrait  of  a  young  man  in 
khaki  stood  on  the  mantelpiece  of  one 
room,  and  as  the  mistress  speaks  Japa- 
nese fluently,  the  girl  asked  about  him 
and  his  uniform.  On  being  told  that  he 
was  fighting  in  the  great  war  in  Europe, 
she  asked,  "  What  war? "  Further  in- 
quiry showed  that  this  young  woman, 
though  quite  intelligent,  had  never  heard 
of  the  war.  She  herself  had  lost  her 
father  in  the  Russo-Japanese  War  when 
she  was  about  7  or  8  years  old,  and  her 
mother  had  had  a  terrible  struggle  to 
maintain  the  family.  But  she  had  not 
heard  of  any  war  being  waged  at  pres- 
ent, nor  had  she  heard  any  one  talk  of  the 
war  or  refer  to  it  in  any  way. 

*  *     * 

Foreign-Born  Men  in  America 
rpHE  foreign-born  white  males  21  years 
-*-  of  age  and  over  in  the  United  States 
in  1910  totaled  6,646,817,  of  whom  3,034,- 
117  were  naturalized  and  2,266,535  were 
aliens;  570,772  had  first  papers  and 
775,393  failed  to  report  citizenship.  The 
increase  in  total  foreign  population  in 
ten  years  from  1900  was  35.5  per  cent.; 
there  was  only  6.6  per  cent,  increase  in 
the  number  naturalized,  but  an  increase 


of  147.7  per  cent,  in  the  number  of 
aliens.  The  total  number  of  aliens  ad- 
mitted in  1916  was  only  298,826,  and  129,- 
765  departed. 

In  1910  the  percentage  of  foreign-born 
males  over  21  years  of  age  in  the  United 
States  who  had  been  naturalized  was  dis- 
tributed as  follows:  Ireland,  67.8;  Can- 
ada, 51;  Russia,  26.1;  Italy,  17.7;  Eng- 
land, 59.4;  Germany,  69.5;  Sweden,  62.8, 
and  Scotland,  56.5. 

Figures  just  compiled  by  the  Bu- 
reau of  the  Census  show  the  total 
number  of  alien  inhabitants  in  the  United 
States  of  the  nationalities  with  which 
this  country  is  at  war  or  which  are  allied 
with  Germany,  to  be  4,662,000,  constitut- 
ing 4Y2  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
inhabitants.  The  distribution  is  as  fol- 
lows, and  contains  all  men,  women,  and 
children  born  in  the  countries  named: 

Germany    2,349,000 

Austria   1,370,000 

Turkey    188,090 

Bulgaria  11,000 

The  number  of  male  aliens  21  years  of 
age  and  over  would  be  about  964,000,  or 
about  3.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
male  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  21 
years  of  age  and  over,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  these  males  according  to  country 
of  birth  is: 

Germany   136,000 

Austria    447,000 

Hungary    280,000 

Turkey   93,000 

Bulgaria    8,000 

Up  to  1910  most  of  the  Germans  were 
naturalized,  but  the  Austrians  and  Hun- 
garians did  not  seem  so  ready  to  amalga- 
mate with  the  Americans  and  become 
citizens. 

Difficulties  Before  the  New  Spanish 

Ministry 
T^DUARDO  DATO  heads  the  new  Min- 
-"  istry,  pledged  to  preserve  the  neu- 
trality of  Spain.  His  immediate  prede- 
cessor, Marquis  Manuel  Garcia  Prieto, 
held  office  only  since  April  19,  when 
Count  de  Romanones  resigned,  declaring 
that  acquiescence  in  Germany's  ruthless 
submarine  campaign  was  endangering 
the  very  life  of  the  Spanish  Nation  and 
that  Spain  should  forthwith  join  the  En- 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


23 


tente  Allies.  Eduardo  Dato  was  Premier 
when  the  war  broke  out.  Germany  tried 
hard  to  induce  him  to  assume  an  attitude 
of  open  hostility  toward  France,  mobiliz- 
ing troops  south  of  the  Pyrenees,  and 
thus  compelling  Joffre  to  withdraw  large 
forces  from  the  defense  of  Paris  and  the 
Marne.  Dato,  though  considered  pro- 
German,  refused  the  offer  of  Gibraltar 
and  Morocco  and  held  Spain  to  a  rigid 
neutrality. 

The  Premier's  position  is  highly  pre- 
carious. Spain,  with  a  population  of  only 
20,000,000,  has  ten  organized  political 
parties  whose  Parliamentary  combina- 
tions are  exceedingly  unstable.  The  ultra- 
Conservatives,  who  include  the  nobility, 
the  Church,  and  army,  are  openly  pro- 
German,  the  army  upholding  militarism 
and  a  military  caste,  while  the  German 
bait  of  temporal  power  for  the  Pope  is  in- 
tended to  capture  the  Church.  Other 
groups  still  resent  the  French  invasion 
during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  are  not 
pro-English,  in  spite  of  Wellington's 
help  at  that  time,  because  of  England's 
holding  Gibraltar. 

The  Liberals,  the  Republicans,  and  the 
moderate  Socialists,  who  are  all  grouped 
together  as  Reformists,  are  strongly  pro- 
ally,  Sefior  Lerroux,  Deputy  for  Bar- 
celona, having  said,  on  April  30,  that 
Spain's  moral  ascendancy  over  Latin 
America  has  already  passed  to  the  United 
States;  that  this  moral  loss  would  be 
followed  by  economic  loss,  and  that,  by 
failure  to  enter  the  war  on  the  side  of 
the  Allies,  Spain  showed  her  impotence, 
fear,  and  incapacity.  But  a  lively  Ger- 
man propaganda  still  dominates  the  Con- 
servatives, whom  Dato  leads.  This  Ger- 
man domination  is  provoking  widespread 
revolutionary  protest  in  Catalonia,  Astu- 
rias,  and  elsewhere  throughout  Spain. 
On  June  18  it  was  reported  that  the 
Province  of  Catalonia,  which  embraces 
the  City  of  Barcelona,  was  in  a  political 
ferment  and  threatened  to  secede  from 
Spanish  dominion.  Authentic  reports 
from  Madrid  on  June  18  indicated  that 
demand  for  radical  reforms  was  acute 
all  over  Spain  and  that  a  thorough  liber- 
alization of  the  electoral,  military,  and 
economic  laws  was  inevitable. 


Espionage  and  Embargo  Act 

THE  Espionage  act,  as  finally  passed 
by  Congress,  is  much  wider  in  its 
scope  than  its  title  indicates,  although  it 
does  not  go  so  far  in  many  directions  as 
the  Administration  desired.  The  most 
serious  clash  between  the  Executive  and 
the  Legislature  was  with  regard  to  a 
press  censorship.  Despite  the  urgent 
appeals  of  the.  Administration,  Congress 
refused  to  set  up  a  censorship,  thus 
leaving  the  newspapers  of  the  United 
States  practically  the  only  ones  in  a  bel- 
ligerent country  not  subject  to  the  of- 
ficial blue  pencil.  The  Espionage  act 
prescribes  death  or  long  imprisonment 
as  the  punishment  for  convicted  spies, 
penalizes  interference  with  foreign  com- 
merce, provides  for  the  enforcement  of 
neutrality,  authorizes  the  seizure  of 
shipments  of  arms  designed  for  unlaw- 
ful purposes,  fixes  penalties  for  injuring 
vessels  in  foreign  commerce  and  for 
disturbing  foreign  relations,  and  sets 
forth  new  restrictions  upon  passports. 
Other  important  provisions  deal  with 
censorship  of  mails  and  the  extension  of 
.the  use  of  search  warrants,  and  confer 
on  the  President  authority  to  embargo 
exports.  The  embargo  feature  puts  into 
the  hands  of  the  Executive  a  weapon  by 
which  it  is  intended  to  stop  supplies 
from  entering  Germany  through  neutral 
countries. 

Brazil  Prepares  to  Enter  the  War 

WHILE  Brazil  has  definitely  ranged 
herself  on  the  side  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Entente  Powers,  it  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  give  an  accurate 
legel  definition  of  her  position.  Brazil 
is  not  at  peace  with  Germany;  she 
is  not  neutral;  she  is  not  an  active  bel- 
ligerent. At  the  end  of  May  the  Bra- 
zilian Foreign  Minister  declared :  "  Brazil 
declares  war  on  nobody.  It  is  Germany 
which  declares  war  on  all  neutrals.  *  *  * 
Our  Government  is  not  free  to  declare 
war;  that  is  for  Congress  to  decide." 

The  Brazilian  Chamber  on  May  28 
passed  the  first  reading  of  the  Adminis- 
tration measure  revoking  Brazil's  neu- 
trality in  the  war  between  Germany  and 
the  United  States  by  a  vote  of  136  to  3. 


24 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Thereupon  Brazil  began  to  take  active 
war  measures.  The  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties authorized  the  Government  to  utilize 
German  ships  in  Brazilian  ports,  and  on 
June  2  President  Braz  signed  a  decree 
carrying  this  into  effect.  Forty-six  Ger- 
man merchant  ships  were  laid  up  in  Bra- 
zilian ports  early  in  the  war,  aggregating 
240,779  tons  displacement.  The  largest 
of  these  is  the  Hamburg-American  liner 
Blucher,  of  12,350  tons;  while  thirty- 
three  of  the  vessels  are  of  more  than 
4,000  tons  each.  A  second  step  was  the 
opening  of  Brazilian  ports  to  all  Entente 
warships,  including  those  of  the  United 
States.  A  third  step  was  the  develop- 
ment of  measures  whereby  Brazil  will 
share  with  the  United  States  Navy  the 
policing  of  the  South  Atlantic,  thus  lib- 
erating many  English  and  French  ships 
to  fight  in  the  North  Sea  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Brazil,  once 
a  colony  of  Portugal,  and  still  using  Por- 
tuguese as  its  official  language,  is  one  of 
the  largest  countries  in  the  world,  with  an 
area  of  3,218,991  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation approaching  20,000,000,  being  ex- 
ceeded in  area  only  by  the  British  Empire, 
the  Russian,  French,  and  Chinese  domin- 
ions, and  the  United  States.  Most  of 
South  America  is  preparing  to  follow 
Brazil's  lead,  while  in  Central  America 
only  Costa  Rica  and  Salvador  still  main- 
tain relations  with  Germany. 
*     *     * 

General   Pershing   Carries   America's 
Sword  to  Europe 

SINCE  the  national  existence  of  the 
United  States  began,  General  Per- 
shing is  the  first  soldier  of  the  Republic 
to  draw  the  sword  of  America  on  a  Eu- 
ropean battlefield,  though  a  full  army 
corps  of  young  Americans  have  been 
fighting  in  the  battlefields  of  France  un- 
der the  flags  of  France  and  England.  In 
the  Colonial  period,  during  the  wars 
waged  between  1689  and  1763— King 
William's  war,  Queen  Anne's  war,  and 
the  war  of  the  Austrian  succession,  pre- 
cipitated by  the  attack  of  Frederick  the 
Great  against  Maria  Theresa< — all  offi- 
cers in  the  British  colonies  in  America 
were,  of  course,  officers  of  the  English 
Crown,  and  it  may  be  held  that  for  this 


reason  they  took  part  in  European  wars, 
though  fighting  in  America.  Thus,  Wash- 
ington and  Clive  were  at  the  same  time 
fighting  on  the  same  side  in  the  same 
war,  though  the  one  was  engaged  at 
Pittsburgh,  the  other  at  Plassey,  in  Lower 
Bengal.  In  this  war  both  Cuba  and  the 
Philippines  were  taken  by  England  from 
Spain,  but  were  returned  when  peace  was 
made. 

In  the  Barbary  wars,  from  1802  to 
1806,  the  United  States  was  at  war  in  the 
Old  World,  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa. 
The  Pasha  of  Tripoli,  who  had  collected 
tribute  from  the  United  States,  declared 
when  payment  of  this  tribute  was  stopped 
that  "we  are  all  hungry,  and  if  we  are 
not  provided  for  we  soon  get  peevish," 
and  opened  a  war  against  the  United 
States.  There  was  naval  fighting  in  Eu- 
ropean waters  when  John  Paul  Jones, 
leading  a  little  fleet  fitted  out  by  France, 
cruised  in  the  North  Sea  and  took  the 
British  ship  Serapis  in  September,  1779. 
Since  the  United  States  was  then  allied 
with  France,  it  may  be  said  that  Paul 
Jones  carried  the  sword  of  America  to 
Europe. 

The  war  of  1812  was  directly  caused  by 
the  great  European  struggle  against  Na- 
poleon, but  the  United  States  was  no 
longer  allied  with  France.  Indeed,  it  was 
openly  declared  in  Congress  that  the 
United  States  "  ought  to  fight  France 
also."  So  General  Pershing  opens  a  new 
page,  carrying  the  sword  of  America  to 
the  battle  plains  of  Belgium  and  France. 
*     *     * 

Polyglot  Armies  of  the  Entente 

THE  forces  of  humanity  are,  in  the 
most  literal  sense,  fighting  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  Central  Empires; 
practically  every  race,  creed,  and  color 
under  the  sun  is  represented  in  the  En- 
tente armies,  whether  already  in  the  field 
or  in  training  camps.  France's  Foreign 
Legion  is  already  a  congress  of  races; 
but  there  are  also,  in  the  armies  of  the 
French  Republic,  representatives  of  half 
a  dozen  African  and  Asian  stocks,  includ- 
ing the  troops  of  Arab  and  Moorish 
blood,  from  Algeria,  Tunis,  and  Morocco, 
who  fought  valiantly  in  the  Champagne 
offensive;  and,  at  Verdun,  the  coal-black 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


25 


sharpshooters  from  Senegal  and  the  Up- 
per Niger — territories  largely  opened  up 
by  Gallieni  and  Joffre — and  the  Colonials 
from  French  Farther  India,  from  the 
territories  of  Tonking.  Many  Chinese  are 
also  working  for  France,  in  the  munition 
shops  and  in  the  fields. 

England's  army  is  even  more  varicol- 
ored, as  England's  Empire  is  more  wide- 
.  ly  extended;  and  it  should  be  remembered 
that,  with  the  exception  of  Great  Britain 
— that  is,  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales 
— the  armies  of  England,  including  the 
large  contingents  from  India,  are  all  vol- 
unteers. Fighting  with  the  Colonials  are 
Red  Indians  from  the  Canadian  North- 
west, Polynesians  and  Maoris— raboriginal 
New  Zealanders — and,  in  the  Imperial 
Army  of  Britain,  there  are  representa- 
tives of  a  dozen  nations  of  India,  and  of 
one  at  least,  the  Gurkas,  who  do  not  owe 
political  allegiance  to  England,  but  who 
cross  over  the  frontier  from  Nepal,  to  en- 
list in  the  British  Indian  army,  because  it 
offers  a  career  to  these  hereditary  fight- 
ing men. 

In  Africa,  side  by  side  with  the  Britons 
and  the  Boers,  led  by  Generals  like  Louis 
Botha  and  Smuts,  who,  not  so  long  ago, 
were  fighting  against  England,  there  are 
representatives  of  several  South  African 
races,  of  the  Kaffir  stock,  who  are  quite 
distinct  from  the  negro  races  of  Equa- 
torial Africa.  Besides  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, there  are  represented,  among 
these  troops,  Brahamanism,  Buddhism, 
Mohammedanism,  Jainism,  and  a  dozen 
forms  of  paganism  and  fetich  worship. 
*     *     * 

TTENRY  P.  DAVISON  of  J.  P.  Morgan 
■*--*-&  Co.  has  been  appointed  Chairman 
of  the  Red  Cross  War  Council  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson.  It  is  proposed  to  raise 
$100,000,000.  With  Mr.  Davison  on  the 
War   Council   will   be  William   H.   Taft, 


Edward  N.  Hurley  of  Chicago,  former 
Chairman  of  the  Federal  Trade  Commis- 
sion; Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  Jr.,  Charles  D. 
Norton,  Grayson  M.  P.  Murphy  of  New 
York,  and  Eliot  Wadsworth  of  Boston, 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  American  Red  Cross. 

*  *     * 

THE  total  amount  of  income  taxes  col- 
lected in  the  United  States  from  the 
civil  war  law  in  the  ten  years  it  remained 
on  the  statute  books,  1863  to  1873,  was 
$346,762,000,  as  against  $330,565,628,  the 
total  amount  collected  in  the  single  year 
ended  June,  1917. 

*  *     * 

War  Insurance  Losses 

THE  United  States  War  Risk  Insurance 
Bureau  up  to  May  23,  1917,  had 
issued  policies  totaling  $504,003,016,  with 
net  losses  of  $5,844,531;  total  premiums, 
$10,300,355.  The  following  were  the 
losses: 

1915. 
Vessel.  Hull.        Cargo.  Total. 

Evelyn  $100,000  $301,000.00     $401,000.00 

Carib    22,253    235,850.00       258,103.00 

Greenbrier   . . .      50,000  50,000.00 

Wm.   P.   Frye.      11,550  11,550.00 

Navajo 58,368.34         58,368.34 

Seguranca    235.73  235.73 


Total    for    1915 $779,257.07 

1916. 
Carolyn $62,595.03       $62,595.03 


1917. 

Healdton $400,000  $99,000.00  $499,000.00 

Illinois    250,000           .« 250,000.00 

Rockingham    .    800,000  498,10S.OO  1,298,108.00 

Missourian     .  .1,000,000           1,000,000.00 

Edw.  R.  Hunt      50,000           50,000.00 

N.  York,  (est.)    100,000  150,000.00  250,000.00 

Percy  Birdsall      25,000           25,000.00 

Vacuum     1,000,000           1,000,000.00 

Hilonian    275,000  414,627.00  6S9.627.00 

Total  for  1917 $5,061,735.00 

Total  losses   $5,903,5S7.10 


Military  Review  of  the  Month 

Period  From  May  18  to  June   18,   1917 

By  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner 

Formerly  Lieutenant  Eleventh  U.  S.  Cavalry 
[See  map  of  Italian  front  Page  31,  and  of  Yprea  front  on  Page  36] 


AS  last  month's  review  was  being 
/\  written,  one  of  the  fiercest  Ital- 
jLJL  ian  battles  of  the' war  was  being 
fought  on  the  front  between  Tol- 
mino  and  the  sea.  The  Italian  objective 
was  the  Carso  Plateau,  on  which  they 
already  had  a  foothold,  obtained  shortly 
after  the  fall  of  Gorizia  last  year.  In- 
stead of  attacking  here,  however,  they 
began  operations  on  the  Isonzo  between 
Tolmino  and  Gorizia,  thereby  following 
the  same  strategy  which  has  marked  all 
the  later  battles  of  the  Entente.  Two 
points  were  particularly  selected  for  the 
attack:  The  first  Canale,  and  the  second 
Plava.  After  a  very  heavy  bombard- 
ment the  Italians,  who  were  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  surged  across  and  es- 
tablished themselves  on  the  east  bank. 
Vodice  Ridge,  close  to  the  river  and  just 
to  the  north  of  Mount  Cucco,  was  taken 
and  Mount  Cucco  itself  occupied. 

For  days  there  was  fighting  of  the 
heaviest  character.  The  Austrians  coun- 
terattacked heavily  in  an  effort  to  throw 
the  Italians  back  across  the  river,  and, 
when  this  failed,  began  a  minor  attack 
in  the  Trentino  in  order  to  divert  atten- 
tion. In  both,  however,  they  were  un- 
successful. The  Italians  had  their  object 
thoroughly  in  mind  and  were  not  to  be 
distracted  from  it. 

Fighting  on  the  Carso 
Then  the  scene  of  operations  was  sud- 
denly shifted  south  of  the  valley  of  the 
Vippaco.  It  was  the  much  discussed  plan 
of  the  oscillating  attack.  As  in  most 
other  cases  where  it  has  been  tried,  it 
was  successful.  The  work  on  the  Carso 
was  brilliantly  performed.  The  front  at- 
tack extended  from  Castagnavizza  to  the 
sea.  There  was  no  attempt  to  advance 
the  entire  Carso  line.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary, nor  could  sufficient  concentration  of 
guns  and  shells  have  been  made. 

The  Carso  is  a  hairpin-shaped  plateau 


which  generally  parallels  the  seacoast. 
The  distance  from  the  southern  edge  to 
the  seacoast  varies  considerably,  in  some 
cases  being  several  miles,  in  others  prac- 
tically nothing,  the  sides  of  the  plateau 
sloping  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
surface  of  the  Carso  is  broken  and  rough, 
honeycombed  with  natural  caverns  of 
varying  size,  the  plateau  being  of  vol- 
canic origin  and  calcareous  in  nature.  It 
is  the  great  barrier  to  Trieste  from  what- 
ever direction  a  land  attack  might  come, 
and  must  be  occupied  in  its  entirety 
before  Trieste  can  be  taken. 

The  advance,  after  the  most  severe 
fighting,  was  for  a  depth  of  nearly  a 
mile,  and  many  thousands  of  prisoners 
were  taken.  The  Italians  finally  reached 
a  point  about  half  way  up  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Hermada  Hill,  or  Hill  323. 
This  hill  is  the  key  to  the  entire  situation. 
It  is  a  nearly  isolated  height  about  1,000 
feet  above  sea  level,  which  dominates  the 
Adriatic  and  both  the  highway  and  the 
railroad  which  run  along  the  coast  at 
the  base  of  the  tableland.  Its  capture 
would  give  the  Italians  almost  perfect 
observation  for  a  distance  of  five  miles, 
whereas,  as  matters  now  stand,  the 
Austrians  are  in  a  position  to  observe 
every  preparation  the  Italians  put  under 
way.  This  is  always  a  matter  of  car- 
dinal importance  because  it  is  on  perfec- 
tion of  observation  that  any  success  in 
this  war  is  based. 

In  this  case  it  is  of  particular  im- 
portance in  view  of  the  railroad  -  and 
supply  situation.  The  Carso  is  bounded 
by  two  railroads,  one  generally  following 
the  line  of  the  Vippaco  on  the  north  and 
the  other  on  the  south,  running  along  the 
seacoast,  the  latter  branching  at  Na- 
bresina.  The  plateau  itself  is  not  touched 
by  any  railroad.  A  few  indifferent  dirt 
roads  pass  over  it,  which,  after  consider- 


MILITARY  REVIEW  OF  THE  MONTH 


27 


able  winding,  connect  with  one  of  the 
two  railroads.  The  only  road  of  moment 
which  crosses  the  Carso  runs  from 
Nabresina  through  the  village  of  Comen 
to  Scherbina,  a  rail  junction  in  the  Vip- 
paco  Valley.  Once  Hermada  Hill  is  in 
Italian  hands,  this  road  with  its  southern 
connection  is  not  alone  under  observa- 
tion but  under  reasonably  close  artillery 
fire. 

The  Italian  attack  lasted  for  eighteen 
days  without  pause.  It  was  the  longest 
and  most  sustained  offensive  yet  carried 
on  by  any  of  the  belligerents,  and  the 
fact  that  the  Italians  were  able  to  con- 
tinue for  such  a  great  length  of  time 
speaks  exceedingly  well  for  their  trans- 
port system.  After  that  time  the  at- 
tacks gradually  lessened  and  then  died 
down.  Since  then  they  have  not  been  re- 
newed. 

The  Austrians  were  able  to  strengthen 
their  line  greatly  at  the  expense  of  the 
Russian  front.  This  latter  front  was 
still  inactive,  with  no  prospect  of  its  be- 
coming otherwise,  and  men  could  be 
taken  without  danger.  This  was  done 
freely,  and  several  divisions  were  recog- 
nized as  having  been  on  the  Russian 
front  a  short  time  before.  This  in  itself 
is  sufficient  reason  for  the  final  halting 
of  the  Italian  offensive.  After  several 
days  the  Austrians,  who  had  refused  to 
admit  that  Italy  had  moved  forward  at 
all,  counterattacked  and  reported  that  all 
their  lost  positions  (which  up  to  this 
time  had  not  been  lost)  were  recovered. 
But  while  it  is  probably  true  that  some 
gains  were  made,  it  is  unlikely  that  any 
serious  reclamation  of  ground  took  place. 
The  claims  made  were  too  vague. 

Battle  of  Messines  Ridge 

The  event  of  the  month  on  the  west- 
ern front  was  the  British  attack  between 
the  Ypres  salient  and  Armentieres.  The 
defeat  of  the  German  attempt  to  reach 
Calais,  known  as  the  battle  of  Ypres, 
left  the  lines  most  peculiarly  shaped.  A 
great  wedge  bulged  out  into  the  German 
lines  east  of  Ypres,  with  the  flanks 
beaten  back,  one  as  far  west  as  Furnes 
on  the  Ypres  Canal,  the  other  well  to  the 
west  of  the  village  of  Wytschaete.  From 
Wytschaete  the  line  curved  about  Mes- 


sines, and  then  continued  on  east  of  Ar- 
mentieres. The  British  attack  was 
launched  from  Hill  60,  just  west  of  Zil- 
lebeke,  to  a  point  south  of  Warrenton 
on  the  Lys  River.  The  object  of  the  at- 
tack was  twofold:  first  to  straighten  out 
the  British  lines  from  Ypres  south  and 
remove  the  danger  of  having  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  Ypres  salient  crushed  in. 
This  danger  was  always  present,  and  if 
such  an  attack  should  succeed  there  would 
be  an  immediate  possibility  of  the  Ger- 
mans being  able  to  continue  the  drive  to 
Calais. 

There  was  the  second  consideration  of 
improving  the  line  from  the  standpoint 
of  terrain.  This  section  of  Belgium  and 
of  France  is  extremely  flat.  There  are 
but  few  points  which  rise  more  than 
seventy-five  feet  above  the  sea;  indeed, 
this  is  almost  the  exact  level  of  the  entire 
belt.  Between  Wytschaete  and  Messines, 
however,  there  is  a  distinct  ridge  which 
varies  in  height  from  260  feet  to  about 
190.  This  ridge,  together  with  Hill  60, 
the  British  had  most  thoroughly  and 
carefully  mined.  In  fact,  from  the  extent 
to  which  preliminary  work  was  carried 
it  must  have  been  begun  nearly  a  year 
ago.  Its  importance  justified  this 
measure,  and  all  the  work  that  was  in- 
volved. There  is  not  an  artillery  posi- 
tion within  ten  miles  of  this  section  of 
the  British  front  after  this  ridge  has 
been  eliminated.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
Germans  to  move  any  considerable  body 
of  troops  or  to  move  their  guns,  whether 
in  reinforcement  or  withdrawal,  without 
the  entire  operation  opening  out  under 
the  British  eyes.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
order  for  the  British  to  make  the  most 
important  concentrations  unobserved,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  keep  German  air- 
planes away,  and  the  work  can  be  done  in 
complete  concealment. 

The  fighting  was  begun  by  setting  off 
the  mines,  which  had  been  so  placed  and 
so  carefully  constructed  that  the  entire 
German  front  positions  were  destroyed. 
Immediately  the  artillery  began,  and  in 
a  short  time  the  infantry  went  forward. 
The  Germans  had  full  warning  of  the  at- 
tack. The  action  of  the  artillery,  which 
was  of  very  heavy  calibre,  for  some  days 


28 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


before  the  infantry  went  into  action,  was 
in  itself  a  warning  that  an  attack  was 
pending.  In  spite  of  this  the  resistance 
was  not  up  to  the  German  mark.  The 
entire  command  seems  to  have  been 
thrown  into  a  panic  by  the  explosion  and 
was  unable  to  fight  effectively.  At  an 
absurdly  small  loss  the  infantry  took 
these  two  villages,  Wytschaete  and 
Messines,  and  occupied  the  entire  ridge 
between.  Over  7,000  prisoners  were  cap- 
tured in  the  operation — more  than  the 
total  British  loss.  The  entire  British 
objective  was  gained;  at  no  point  was 
a  reverse  suffered.  This  meant  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  entire  ridge  and  to  a 
large  extent  the  flattening  out  of  the  old 
salient. 

Later  operations  showed  almost  im- 
mediately the  value  of  the  positions 
which  the  British  had  gained.  The 
weight  of  British  artillery  fire,  directed 
partly  from  the  new  observation  posts 
and  partly  by  airplane,  forced  the 
abandonment  of  several  lines  of  trenches 
almost  without  the  infantry  going  into 
action  at  all.  This  was  particularly  the 
case  between  the  Lys  River  and  the  vil- 
lage of  St.  Yvon,  where  the  Germans 
fell  back  solely  because  of  the  effects 
of  the  artillery. 

The  final  result  of  this  fighting  as  it 
stands  at  the  moment  of  writing  is  that 
the  British  have  cleaned  out  the  old 
salient  in  its  entirety  and  have  drawn 
a  straight  line  from  Hill  60,  east  of 
Zillebeke,  to  a  point  east  of  Armen- 
tieres.  To  the  north  the  old  salient  still 
exists.  But  in  this  case  the  Germans 
have  to  launch  their  attack  across  the 
Furnes  Canal,  which  stretches  out  before 
the  British  lines;  judging  from  former 
experience,  this  is  apt  to  prove  an  im- 
passable obstacle  with  the  important  ar- 
tillery positions  all  in  British  hands. 

The  British  attack,  however,  did  a 
great  deal  more  than  straighten  out  the 
dangerous  southern  salient.  It  will  event- 
ually mean  the  abandonment  by  the  Ger- 
mans of  the  triangular  strip  of  terri- 
tory, the  vertices  of  which  are  Hill  60 
on  the  north,  Comines  on  the" east,  and 
Warrenton  on  the  south.  This  triangle  is 
bounded  on  its  eastern  sides  by  the  Ypres 


Canal  and  the  River  Lys.  The  ground 
embraced  by  it  is  exceedingly  low  with- 
out a  single  elevation.  It  is  nothing  like 
the  rolling  country  found  in  Artois 
further  south.  It  is  absolutely  flat,  ex- 
cept for  a  gentle  slope  from  west  to  east. 
There  is  no  cover,  there  are  no  positions 
from  which  a  German  attack  can  be 
launched.  That  the  British  have  not  yet 
launched  another  attack  does  not  mean 
that  they  are  not  in  a  position  to  take 
advantage  of  this  situation.  But  the 
lesson  had  been  dearly  bought  with  ex- 
perience, that  liberal  use  of  the  mechanics 
of  war  is  to  be  economical  in  human  lives. 
The  British  output  of  shells  is  sufficient 
to  permit  them  to  be  used  lavishly,  and 
this  the  British  are  prepared  to  do.  It  is 
a  question,  however,  of  accumulating 
them  in  the  gun  positions — of  transporta- 
tion. It  is  this  accumulation  which  is 
going  on  now,  and  when  it  is  deemed  suf- 
ficient, the  Germans  are  almost  certain 
to  feel  the  weight  of  another  torrent  of 
steel. 

The  capture  of  this  triangle  will  push 
well  out  into  the  German  positions  a  deep 
wedge  several  miles  beyond  their  present 
lines.  It  will  endanger  both  Lille  on  the 
south  and  the  Germans  about  the  Ypres 
salient  on  the  north.  Their  lines  before 
Armentieres  will  be  taken  almost  directly 
in  the  rear  and  the  whole  line  as  far 
south  as  Lens  endangered.  The  situation 
created  in  £he  German  lines  by  this  recent 
success,  though  generally  local,  is  still 
the  most  interesting  from  the  standpoint 
of  possible  developments,  and  will  bear 
the  closest  watching. 

Further  south  the  fighting  has  come 
to  a  standstill.  After  taking  Bullecourt, 
for  which  the  struggle  was  most  intense 
and  most  bitterly  contested,  the  British 
found  that  they  were  unable  to  advance 
further.  Heavy  counterattacks  held  them 
in  place  and  even  wrested  from  them 
isolated  sections  of  trenches  which  they 
had  won  at  so  great  a  cost.  On  the  whole, 
however,  both  sides  have  been  fought  to 
a  standstill  with  but  little  to  choose.  On 
the  French  front  matters  are  in  very 
much  the  same  state,  and  the  fighting 
has  generally  ceased  on  a  large  scale. 
Attacks  by  the  Germans — all  fruitless — 


MILITARY  REVIEW  OF  THE  MONTH 


29 


against  the  Chemin  des  Dames  have  been 
the  only  outstanding  features. 

Situation  in  the  Balkans 

The  most  hopeful  thing  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  Allies  has  been  the  abdica- 
tion of  the  Greek  King  Constantine  with 
his  heir  apparent  in  favor  of  the  second 
son.  For  many  months  Constantine  has 
been  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  SarraiPs  army 
before  Saloniki.  The  latter  has  been 
afraid  to  make  any  serious  attempt  to 
move  forward  lest  the  Greek  Army  under 
the  King's  directions  sever  his  linesx  of 
communications  behind  him.  This  fear  is 
now  removed  and  there  is  nothing  to  pre- 
vent an  offensive  movement  should  he 
care  to  make  it. 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  if  this  attempt 
will  be  made  at  the  present  time.  A 
change  of  plan  is  under  way  now  on  this 
front  from  which  anything  may  develop. 
It  would  surprise  no  one  if  the  main  part 


of  the  armies  which  now  hold  this  front 
should  be  withdrawn  for  service  in  other 
fields — possibly  the  Near  East — leaving 
only  a  covering  force  of  sufficient 
strength  to  hold  the  Bulgarians  in  check. 
This  force  will  of  course  be  assisted  in 
part  at  least  by  the  Greek  Army,  and 
could  be  safely  left  to  look  after  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Entente,  while  close  to  750,000 
men  could  be  detached. 

As  matters  now  stand,  the  task  before 
the  Saloniki  army  of  moving  up  either 
the  Vardar,  the  Struma,  or  the  Cerna 
against  Nish  seems  well  nigh  hopeless. 
Such  a  movement  could  only  be  begun 
with  Russia  sufficiently  active  to  prevent 
withdrawals  from  her  front.  As  this  is 
far  from  being  the  case,  it  is  not  apparent 
just  what  use  the  army  is  in  its  present 
location.  All  indications  point  to  a  com- 
plete readjustment  of  this  entire  situa- 
tion in  the  near  future. 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From    May     19     Up    to    and    Including    June     18,    1917 


UNITED  STATES 

Announcement  was  made  on  May  19  that  a 
regiment  of  American  marines  under 
Colonel  Doyen  would  be  sent  to  the  fight- 
ing front  at  the  earliest  practicable  mo- 
ment. On  June  7  the  French  Ministry 
of  Marine  announced  the  arrival  of 
American  warships  off  the  French  coast, 
and  the  collier  Jupiter  arrived  at  a  port 
in  France  with  wheat  and  other  supplies 
for  the  American  troops.  On  June  8  an- 
nouncement was  made  that  one  thousand 
naval  aviators  had  arrived  in  France. 
On  the  same  day  Major  Gen.  Pershing 
reached  London,  and  went  from  there  to 
Paris.  Several  hospital  units  arrived  in 
Europe. 

The  State  Department  refused  passports  to 
delegates  to  the  International  Socialist 
Conference  at  Stockholm. 

An  Italian  Commission  headed  by  Prince 
Ferdinand  of  Udine  conferred  with  Amer- 
ican officials  in  Washington  on  the  con- 
duct of  the  war,  and  a  Belgian  Commis- 
sion headed  by  Baron  Moncheur  reached 
this  country  and  was  received  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson.  Lord  Northcliffe  was  sent 
from  England  to  act  as  head  of  the  Brit- 
ish Commission. 


Congress  passed  an  Espionage  bill  with  an 
embargo  clause  giving  the  President 
power  to  control  exports. 

Between  9,000,000  and  10,000,000  men  regis- 
tered on  June  5  in  compliance  with  the 
army    draft    law. 

Subscriptions  to  the  Liberty  Loan,  closed 
June  15,  reached  a  total  of  almost 
$2,900,000,000. 

SUBMARINE  BLOCKADE 

The  British  official  statement  for  the  week 
ended  May  19  showed  that  eighteen  mer- 
chant ships  of  over  1,600  tons  each  had 
been  sunk ;  for  the  week  ended  May  26, 
eighteen  vessels ;  for  the  week  ended 
June  2,  fifteen,  and  for  the  week  ended 
June  9,  twenty-two  ships  of  more  than 
1,600  tons. 

On  May  22  announcement  was  made  that 
Denmark  had  lost  150  ships  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war  through  subma- 
rines or  mines. 

Germany  sent  a  conciliatory  reply  to  Spain's 
protest  concerning  the  sinking  of  the  Pa- 
tricio, offering  an  indemnity  and  a  salute 
to  the  Spanish  flag.  Two  other  Spanish 
ships,  the  mail  steamer  C.  De  Eizaguirre 
and  the  steamship  Begona,  were  sunk. 
More   than  eighty  lives  were  lost  on  the 


so 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Eizaguirre.  Pro-ally  demonstrations  were 
held  in  Madrid. 

Several  Swedish  grain  ships  were  sunk.  In 
reply  to  a  protest  from  the  Swedish  Gov- 
ernment, Germany  expressed  regret.  A 
Swoosh  ship  engaged  in  the  work  of  the 
Belgian  Belief  Commission  was  also  sunk. 

Three  American  sailing  vessels,  the  Dirigo, 
the  Frances  M.,  and  the  Barbara,  were 
sunk. 

The  British  hospital  ship  Dover  Castle  was 
sunk,  but  all  the  patients  on  board  were 
saved.  One  hundred  ninety  men  lost 
their  lives  in  the  sinking  of  the  South 
Atlantic  liner  Sequana.  The  Leyland 
liner  Anglian  and  the  British  steamship 
Southland  were  sunk. 

A  French  submarine  sank  an  enemy  subma- 
rine as  it  was  coming  out  of  Cattaro  har- 
bor on  June  2,  escorted  by  a  torpedo  boat. 

Nicaragua  and  Haiti  severed  relations  with 
Germany. 

The  Brazilian  steamer  Tijuca  was  sunk. 
Following  the  recommendation  of  Presi- 
•  dent  Braz,  the  Brazilian  Chamber  of  Dep- 
uties passed  a  bill  authorizing  the  revoca- 
tion of  neutrality  in  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Germany,  and  au- 
thorized the  seizure  of  German  ships  in 
Brazilian  ports. 

CAMPAIGN   IN  EASTERN   EUROPE 

May    20— Russians    repulse    German    attacks 

east   of  Kalncem. 
June  2— Germans  bombard  Russian  positions 

at  Krevo  and  Brody. 
June    4— Russian    scouts    raid    German    lines 

near  Kovel  and  Pnevi. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN   EUROPE 

May  19— Germans  launch  strong  attack  on 
the  Aisne;  small  force  reaches  French 
lines  northwest  of  Braye-en-Laonnois. 

May  20— British  break  into  Hindenburg  line 
on  a  front  of  over  a  mile  between  Fon- 
taine-les-Croisilles  and  Bullecourt;  Ger- 
mans seize  French  trenches  on  a  216-yard 
front  on  the  Chemin-des-Dames. 

May  22— French  repulse  strong  attacks 
against  new  positions  in  Western  Cham- 
pagne, north  of  Mont  Carnillet,  and 
against  the  heights  of  Casque  and  the 
Teton;   Germans  bombard  Rheims. 

May  23— French  seize  the  last  heights  domi- 
nating the  valley  of  the  Aillette  River  and 
enlarge  their  positions  on  the  northern 
slopes  of  the  Vauclerc  and  California 
Plateau. 

May  24— French  check  German  assault  on 
Vauclerc  Plateau. 

May  25— Germans  penetrate  French  lines 
near  Braye,  but  lose  most  of  the  ground 
later;  British  make  gains  southeast  of 
Loos. 

May  26— French  extend  their  gains  on  both 
sides  of  Mont  Carnillet. 

May  27— Germans  pierce  French  lines  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Moronvilliers  Range; 
British   gain  near  Fontaine-les-Croisilles. 


May  2S— Germans  fail  in  three  attempts  to 
wrest  Moronvilliers  Heights  from  the 
French. 

May  30— Germans  attack  French  trenches 
south  of  Mont  Blond,  but  are  driven 
back ;  fighting  resumed  south  of  St. 
Quentin. 

June  1— Berlin  reports  unusual  activity  in 
the  region  of  the  sand  dunes  on  the  Bel- 
gian coast,  at  the  Ypres  salient,  and  in 
the  sector  of  Wytschaete ;  Germans  attack 
on  the  Aisne  and  penetrate  French 
trenches  near  the  Laffaux  mill,  but  lose 
most  of  their  gains ;  French  capture  a 
German  outpost  south  of  Chevreaux. 

June  2— General  von  Hindenburg  announces 
thaj:  the  French  and  British  offensive  has 
come  to  a  definite  conclusion ;  French 
War  Office  reports  capture  of  52,000 
prisoners  and  an  enormous  amount  of 
war  material  since  April  1. 

June  3— British  advance  near  Lens,  but  are 
forced  back  by  German  counterattacks; 
Germans  enter  British  lines  near  Chgrisy, 
but  are  driven  out- 

June  6— British  attack  Arras  line  from  Roeux 
to  Gavrelle  and  carry  German  positions 
on  a  front  of  about  a  mile  on  the  west- 
ern slopes  of  Greenland  Hill,  north  of  the 
Scarpe;  Germans  attack  on  the  Aisne  and 
make  small  gains  near  Braye-en-Lannois. 

June  7— British  smash  salient  south  of  Ypres 
with  a  terrific  blow,  preceded  by  gigantic 
mine  operations,  and  win  Messines, 
Wytschaete,  Oosttaverne,  and  other 
strongly  fortified  positions  that  had  been 
held  by  the  Germans  for  two  and  a  half 
years. 

June  8— British  organize  new  positions  south 
of  Ypres  and  repulse  German  counterat- 
tacks. 

June  9.— Germans  make  counterattack  on  a 
six-mile  front  east  of  Messines  and  near 
Klein  Zillebeke,  but  are  repulsed ;  Cana- 
dians penetrate  German  lines  on  a  front 
of  two  miles  south  of  Lens  ;  French  repel 
attacks   along  the   Chemin-des-Dames. 

June  10— British  make  further  gains  at  sev- 
eral points  south  of  Ypres. 

June  11— British  capture  German  trench  sys- 
tem on  a  front  of  about  a  mile  near  La 
Poterie  farm. 

June  13— British  sweep  forward  on  a  front  of 
about  two  miles  east  and  northeast  of 
Messines  and  occupy  Gaspard. 

June  14— German  troops  in  the  Messines 
region  abandon  their  positions  between 
St.  Yves  and  the  River  Lys. 

June  15— British  force  Germans  out  of  new 
positions  east  and  south  of  Messines  and 
capture  a  further  portion  of  the  Hinden- 
burg line  northwest  of  Bullecourt. 

June  16—  British  driven  back  in  counterat- 
tacks east  of  Loos  and  from  second  line 
trenches  northwest  of  Bullecourt,  but 
make  gains  south  of  Ypres. 

June  17— Germans  penetrate  French  salient 
northwest  of  Hurtebise  Farm,  but  French 


BIRDSEYE  VIEW  OF  VERDUN  FRONT 


This  Picture-Map,  Drawn  in  Five-Mile  Squares  in  Perspec- 
tive, Shows  How  the  Battle  Line  Has  Moved  to 
and  Fro  Since  the  Germans  Attempted  to 
.  Capture  the  Great  French  Fortress 

(©    The  New  York  Timea  Mid-Week  Pictorial) 


THE  ITALIAN  DRIVE  ON  TRIESTE 


■ 


L.         F 


Wg~  t~ i,p^^ 


ToTT»wwtfti^ 

A     D    R    /    A     T    I      C  S      £    A 


Picture-Map  of  the  Carso  Plateau,  Across  Which  the  Italians 

Are    Driving    in    Their    Attempt    to    Capture 

Trieste,  the  Key  to  Italia  Irredenta 

<C$    the  Veto   Verk  Time*  Mid-Week  Pictorial) 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


31 


retake  all  except  a  small  part  of  the  first 
line. 

June  18— British  fall  back  east  of  Monchy-Ie- 
Preux;  French  capture  a  German  salient 
in  Champagne  between  Mont  Carnillet 
and  Mont  Blond. 

ITALIAN  CAMPAIGN 

May  19— Italians  take  Hill  652  on  Monte 
Vodice;  Austrians  admit  loss  of  Monte 
Kuk. 

May  20— Italians  extend  their  positions  on 
Hill  652  and  break  into  Austrian  lines 
east  of  Gorizia. 

May  23— Italians  recapture  positions  pene- 
trated by  the  Austrians  in  the  Travignolo 
Valley. 

May  24— Italians  break  through  Austrian 
lines  from  Castagnavizza  to  the  sea,  cap- 
turing Boscomalo,  Jamiano,  and  strong 
heights  east  of  Pietrarossa  and  Bagni, 
and  advance  in  the  San  Marco,  Monte 
Santo,  and  "Vodice  areas. 

May  25— Italians  capture  fortified  heights 
north  of  Jamiano  and  gain  ground  south 
of  Jamiano  to  the  sea. 

May  26— Italians  capture  a  strong  network 
of  trenches  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ti- 
mavo  River  to  a  point  east  of  Jamiano, 
take  heights  between  Flondar  and  Me- 
deazza,  and  trenches  around  Castagna- 
vizza. 

May  27— Italians  smash  through  Austro- 
Hungarian  positions  between  Jamiano 
and  the  Gulf  of  Trieste,  driving  across 
the  Monfalcone-Duino  Railroad  to  Me- 
deazza,  and  carry  the  heights  at  the 
head  of  the  Palliova  Valley. 

May  28— Italians  cross  the  Timavo  estuary 
and   occupy   San   Giovanni. 

May  31— Austrians  fail  in  attack  north  of 
the  Tonale  Ridge,  on  the  northern  side  of 
Monte  Pizzul,  and  in  the  Rocolana  Valley. 

June  1— Italians  defeat  Austrian  attempts  to 
recapture  heights  in  the  Vodice  area. 

June  4— Italians  drive  Austrians  from  cap- 
tured advanced  positions  on  the  western 
slopes  of  San  Marco. 

June  5— Italians  repulse  massed  attacks 
south  of  Gorizia  from  Dosso  Faiti  to  the 
sea  and  take  advance  positions  in  the 
sector  between  Castagnavizza  and  Ja- 
miano. 

June  6— Austrians  regain  positions  before 
Flondar,    south   of  Jamiano. 

June  7— Austrians  report  successful  attacks 
near  Jamiano  and  defeat  of  Italian  at- 
tacks between  the  Vipacco  Valley  and 
the  sea. 

June  11— Italians  begin  new  offensive  on  the 
Asiago  Plateau  and  seize  Monte  Ortigara 
and  the  Agnello  Pass. 

June  16— Italians  in  the  eastern  Trentino 
carry  Corno  Cavento. 

June  18— Italians  advance  northeast  of  Ja- 
miano and  repulse  attacks  on  Monte  Mos- 
ciagh,  on  the  Asiago  Plateau,  and  on  Hill 
652  in  the  Vodice. 


BALKAN  CAMPAIGN 

May  20— Russians  repulse  German  attacks  on 

the  Rumanian  front  east  of  Koverka. 
May   27— British    bombard    German    positions 

near  Livancvo. 
May    31— Italians    in    Albania    occupy    Cere- 

voda,  Velisest,  Osaja,  and  Cafa. 
June  7— Rumanians  show  activity  on  the  Do- 

brudja  front ;  gun  duels  in  Macedonia  on 

the  right  bank   of   the  Vardar  and  south 

of   Huma. 
June  16— French  cavalry  occupies  five  towns 

in   Northern   Thessaly. 
June  17— British  evacuate  several  villages  on 

the     Bulgar     front,     after     setting     them 

afire ;    French    extend    the    occupation    of 

Thessaly. 

AERIAL  RECORD 

Danube  towns  were  raided  by  the  Germans 
and  many  persons  were  killed  in  Ismail, 
Bessarabia. 

Many  great  raids,  in  which  hundreds  of  ma- 
chines took  part,  occurred  on  the  western 
front.  The  British  dropped  bombs  on  Os- 
tend,  Zeebrugge,  Bruges,  and  Niemun- 
ster.  Ghent  was  also  raided  and  St. 
Peter  Station  partly  destroyed.  The  Lon- 
don morning  papers  on  June  2  announced 
that  713  airplanes  were  shot  down  on  the 
western  front  in  May,  of  which  442  were 
German  and  271  British  and  French.  On 
June  5  the  French  raided  eleven  points 
behind  the  German  lines,  including  the 
City  of  Treves,  in  Rhenish  Prussia.  The 
Lafayette  Escadrille,  composed  chiefly 
of  Americans,  fought  fifteen  battles  in 
the  last  two  weeks  of  May. 

The  Zeppelin  L-43  was  destroyed  by  British 
naval  forces  in  the  North  Sea. 

Many  lives  were  lost  and  hundreds  of  per- 
sons injured  in  raids  on  England.  On  May 
23  the  eastern  counties  were  attacked  and 
one  man  killed.  On  May  26  seventy-six 
persons  were  killed  and  174  injured  in  the 
Folkestone  raid.  Three  machines  were 
shot  down.  One  hundred  and  four  persons 
were  killed  and  403  hurt  in  a  raid  on  June 
13.  On  June  17  two  lives  were  lost  and 
sixteen  persons  injured.  One  Zeppelin 
was  brought  down. 

NAVAL   RECORD 

A  French  topedo  boat  flotilla  put  to  rout  a 
flotilla  of  German  destroyers  on  May  20. 
One  French  craft  was  damaged. 

British  warships  bombarded  Ostend  and 
Zeebrugge.  In  a  running  fight  between 
six  German  destroyers  and  the  British 
squadron  one  German  destroyer,  the  S-20, 
was  sunk  and  another  damaged. 

Japanese  light  craft  arrived  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea  to  help  in  fighting  sub- 
marines. 

Thirteen  Bulgarian  ships  bombarded  Kavala. 

A  Russian  squadron,  cruising  along  the 
Anatolian  coast  on  May  29,  bombarded 
four  ports  and  destroyed  147  sailing  ships 
loaded    with    supplies. 


32 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


British  warships  captured  Fort  Saliff  on  the 
Red  Sea. 

The  American  steamer  Mongolia  fired  four 
shots  at  a  German  submarine  which  dis- 
charged a  torpedo  at  the  liner  on  June  1. 
Neither  the  Mongolia  nor  the  submarine 
was  damaged.  The  American  ship  Silver 
Shell  had  a  running  battle  with  a  sub- 
marine in  the  Mediterranean  on  May  30. 
After  an  exchange  of  sixty  shots  the 
submarine  disappeared.  The  Standard 
Oil  steamer  Moreni  was  sunk  after  a  two- 
hour  battle  with  a  submarine,  and  four 
of  her  crew  were  lost. 
RUSSIA 

The  reorganized  Cabinet  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  on  May  19,  declared  itself 
a  unit  for  general  peace  only,  and  no 
annexations  or  indemnities. 

A  congress  of  the  Swedish  political  party 
passed  a  resolution  favoring  complete 
separation  of  Finland  from  Russia. 

On  June  1  the  Kronstadt  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates repudiated  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment and  decided  to  assume  control  of 
Kronstadt.  The  committee  surrendered 
on  June  6,  but  their  decision  was  re- 
versed on  June  11  by  agitators,  who  de- 
clared that  the  declaration  of  independ- 
ence was    still   in   force. 

A.  I.  Konovaloff,  Minister  of  Commerce  and 
Trade,  resigned  because  of  disagreement 
with  M.  Skobeleff,  the  Labor  Minister, 
concerning  economic  and  financial  ques- 
tions. Many  strikes  occurred  in  Petro- 
grad.  General  Michael  V.  Alexeieff  re- 
signed as  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Russian  Armies,  and  General  Brusiloff 
succeeded  him.  General  Goutor  took 
Brusiloff's  place  on  the  southwestern 
front. 

An  American  diplomatic  commission,  headed 
by  Elihu  Root,  and  a  railroad  commission, 
headed  by  John  F.  Stevens,  arrived  in 
Petrograd.  President  Wilson  sent  a  note 
to  the  Provisional  Government  outlining 
the  objects  and  ideal's  of  the  United  States 
in  the  war.  These  principles  were  ap- 
proved  in  a  note  sent  by   Great   Britain. 

The  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates,  in  reply  to  Austrian  overtures, 
made  in  a  telegram  from  Prince  Leopold 
of  Bavaria,  adopted  a  proclamation  ex- 
pressing opposition  to  a  separate  peace. 
Robert  Grimm,  a  Swiss  Socialist  who 
acted  as  Germany's  agent  in  a  new  peace 
move,    was    expelled    from    the    country. 


On  June  17  the  Duma,  in  secret  session, 
voted  for  an  immediate  offensive  by 
Russian  troops. 

GREECE 

On  June  12,  in  response  to  the  demand  of 
the  protecting  powers— France,  Great 
Britain,  and  Russia— King  Constantine 
abdicated  in  favor  of  his  second  son, 
Prince  Alexander.  Entente  forces  landed 
at  Piraeus  and  Castella,  and  occupied  the 
heights  near  Phalerum  Bay.  French 
cavalry  occupied  a  number  of  towns  in 
Northern  Thessaly,  and  the  populace  of 
Larissa  went  over  to  the  Venizelos  Gov- 
ernment. M.  Jonnart,  the  High  Commis- 
sioner of  the  protecting  powers,  issued  a 
proclamation  guaranteeing  popular  lib- 
erty. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

A  revolt  occurred  in  China  as  the  result  of 
the  dismissal  of  Premier  Tuan  Chi-jui. 
The  rebellious  provinces,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  General  Chang-Hsun,  demanded 
the  dismissal  of  the  National  Assembly, 
the  revision  of  the  Constitution,  the  dis- 
missal of  the  President's  advisers,  the 
reinstatement  of  Tuan  Chi-jui,  and  war 
against  Germany.  The  United  States 
Government  sent  a  friendly  message  to 
the  Foreign  Office  urging  tranquillity. 

The  Spanish  Cabinet  headed  by  Marquis 
Prieto  resigned  and  a  new  one  was 
formed  by  Eduard  Dato.  A  revolution  in 
the  army  was  averted  by  the  Premier 
granting  infantry  officers  the  right  to 
form  committees  of  defense. 

Count  Tisza  resigned  as  Premier  of  Hun- 
gary after  a  struggle  over  electoral  re- 
forms.    Count  Esterhazy  succeeded  him. 

An  attempt  to  form  a  Coalition  Ministry  in 
Canada  failed.  E.  P.  Patenaud,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  resigned  because  of  his  op- 
position  to   conscription. 

Lord  Devonport  resigned  as  Food  Controller 
in  England  and  was  succeded  by  Baron 
Rhondda.  Colonel  Churchill  succeeded 
Viscount  Cowdray  as  Chairman  of  the 
British  Air  Board. 

The  Grand  Dukes  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin 
and  Macklenburg-Strelitz  consented  to  far- 
reaching  revision  of  the  Constitutions  of 
the  duchies. 

The  French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  in  secret 
session,  adopted  a  resolution  declaring 
that  peace  conditions  must  include  the 
liberation  of  territories  occupied  by  Ger- 
many, the  return  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to 
France,  and  just  reparation  for  damage 
done  in  the  invaded  regions. 


Italian  Offensive  on  the  Car  so 
and  Isonzo  Fronts 


[See  rotogravure  map  opposite  Page  31] 


DURING  the  latter  half  of  May, 
1917,  General  Cadorna's  forces 
on  the  Isonzo  and  Carso  fronts 
made  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able drives  of  the  year — an  assault  that 
lasted  eighteen  days,  with  all  its  orig- 
inal fury.  The  fighting  took  place  amid 
the  peaks  and  chasms  north  of  Gorizia, 
and  on  the  volcanic  Carso  plateau  to  the 
south,  a  region  of  desolate  rocks  and 
caves,  where  all  the  water  for  the  sol- 
diers had  to  be  brought  by  building  an 
aqueduct,  bit  by  bit,  as  the  army  ad- 
vanced. This  land  of  caves  and  hiding 
places  had  been  fortified  by  the  Austri- 
ans  and  complicated  with  broad  areas  of 
barbed  wire,  behind  which  enormous  10- 
inch  guns  and  innumerable  machine  guns 
swept  every  path  of  approach. 

The  Italians  won  victories  despite 
these  odds.  They  took  heavy  guns  up 
mountains  hitherto  ascended  only  by  Al- 
pine climbers  who  roped  themselves  to- 
gether. They  swung  bridges  from  one 
peak  to  another.  They  built  trenches, 
fortifications,  roads,  tunnels,  retaining 
walls  10,000  feet  above  sea  level;  all  this 
in  the  face  of  an  enemy  fighting  des- 
perately on  the  defensive. 

When  the  campaign  on  the  Isonzo 
closed  last  November  the  town  of  Go- 
rizia and  43,000  Austrians  had  been  cap- 
tured, and  the  Italian  front,  from  Plezza 
on  the  north,  just  over  the  frontier, 
skirted  the  Monte  Nero  heights  of  the 
Julian  Alps  to  the  bridgehead  of  Tol- 
mino,  (Monte  Cucco,)  swung  along  the 
same  range  east  of  Gorizia,  passed  over 
the  plain  south  of  that  city,  and,  cross- 
ing the  Vipacco,  struck  across  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  Carso  plateau  to  the 
sea,  two  miles  from  Duino,  the  Summer 
home  of  Prince  Hohenlohe,  and  fourteen 
miles  northwest  of  Trieste. 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  Ital- 
ians on  May  12  began  a  heavy  bombard- 
ment   of   the    Austrian    positions    from 


Tolmino  to  the  sea,  which  two  days  later 
became  concentrated  across  the  Isonzo, 
five  miles  north  of  Gorizia,  where  the 
Austrians  by  their  defenses  on  the  Kuk, 
611  meters  high,  and  on  the  Vodice,  524 
meters,  still  kept  the  Italians  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  stream.  On  May  13  there 
was  also  a  concentration  of  fire  on  the 
Carso  front,  south  from  the  Italian  posi- 
tions of  Volkovniak,  343  meters,  and 
Dosso  Faiti,  432  meters,  against  which 
the  Austrians  later  made  counterattacks. 

Then  on  Monday  morning,  May  14,  the 
Italian  infantry  crossed  the  river  in 
several  detachments,  deployed  on  the  left 
bank,  and  stormed  the  ascent  of  Monte 
Cucco.  The  following  day  they  advanced 
east  of  Gorizia  and  also  on  the  Carso  to 
the  south.  On  the  16th  they  captured 
the  wooded  heights  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Isonzo  and  took  several  small  vil- 
lages with  more  than  3,000  prisoners.  The 
17th  found  the  Italians  fighting  their 
way  toward  the  mountain  crests  of 
Vodice  and  Monte  Santo.  Heavy  British 
artillery  had  been  added  to  the  Italian 
armament.  Duino  was  captured  that 
day.  Perceval  Gibbon,  an  eyewitness  of 
part  of  the  fighting,  wrote: 

"  The  picturesque  point  is  Monte  Santo. 
It  is  a  steep  cone,  with  slopes  like  the 
side  of  a  roof,  and  on  the  summit  strag- 
gle white  buildings  of  a  monastery  long 
since  shot  to  ruins.  A  single  cypress,  black 
and  monumental,  stands  not  far  from 
the  shattered  walls  of  the  close,  clear- 
cut  against  the  shell-vexed  sky.  About  it 
a  frenzy  of  shells  roars  and  blazes.  Our 
barrage  and  theirs  mingle  in  a  hellbroth 
of  fire  and  smoke,  through  whose 
tempestuous  fog  emerges  at  moments 
that  single  statuesque  tree,  monumentally 
and  tragically  faithful  to  its  duty  of 
sentinel  over  the  graves  of  forgotten 
saints.  But  slowly  the  Italian  lines  are 
crawling  uphill,  paying  with  their  valor- 
ous lives  for  every  yard  of  progress.  If 
in  England  anybody  doubted  Italy's  ca- 


34 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


pacity  for  liberal  sacrifice  or  her  inten- 
tion toward  victory  at  all  costs,  he  is 
now  answered." 

By  stubborn  and  sustained  assaults  on 
the  Carso  the  Italians  on  May  23  finally 
broke  through  the  Austro-Hungarian 
lines  on  a  front  of  six  miles  from  Cas- 
tagnavizza  to  the  sea,  taking  more  than 
9,000  prisoners,  with  the  town  of  Ja- 
miano  and  the  strong  heights  east  of 
Pietrarossa  and  Bagni.  The  next  day 
enlarged  this  success,  and  on  the  25th 
the  Italians  took  the  heights  between 
Flondar  and  Medeazza  and  a  strong  net- 
work of  trenches  extending  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Timavo  River  to  a  point, 
east  of  Jamiano. 

On  May  27  General  Cadorna's  forces 
smashed  through  the  Austro-Hungarian 
positions  between  Jamiano  and  the  Gulf 
of  Trieste,  passing  the  Monfalcone- 
Duino  Railway  northeast  of  San  Gio- 
vanni and  establishing  themselves  with- 
in a  few  hundred  yards  of  Medeazza. 
North  of  Plava  they  carried  the  heights 
at  the  head  of  the  Palliova  Valley,  thus 
joining  their  Monte  Cucco  lines~  with 
those  of  Hill  363.  This  day's  work 
brought  the  Italians  within  eleven  miles 
of  Trieste.  The  next  day  these  results 
were  consolidated  by  crossing  the  Timavo 
estuary  and  occupying  the  village  of  San 
Giovanni.  In  the  northern  section  the 
Austrians  were  hunted  out  of  their  sub- 
terranean chambers  and  many  prisoners 
added  to  the  total,  which,  by  this  time, 
amounted  to  about  25,000. 

The  Austrian  losses  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing  between  May  14  and  29 
were  estimated  at  85,000,  and  included 
five  Generals  and  forty  high  officers. 
A  hundred  cannon  were  taken  or  de- 
stroyed. Perceval  Gibbon,  writing  on  the 
29th,  described  the  scene  on  the  Carso: 

"  Everywhere  there  is  evidence  of  the 
ghastly  Austrian  losses.  There  are  whole 
areas  of  ground  over  which  the  fight 
stamped,  its  way  southeast  of  Jamiano 
and  Hudilog  and  along  the  battleground 


parallel  with  Castagnavizza  Road  which 
are  littered  with  bodies  clad  in  that  dull 
gray  which  is  Austria's  fighting  color. 
There,  for  the  first  time  during  this  of- 
fensive, one  sees  what  was  so  common 
on  the  Somme — steel  helmets  of  the  en- 
emy lying  about,  many  smashed  or 
drilled  by  bullets." 

Two  days  later  the  same  correspond- 
ent added  a  curious  bit  of  authenticated 
history: 

"The  Italians  have  just  completed  ex- 
amination of  two  railway  tunnels  upon 
the  line  to  Trieste,  one  200  yards  long, 
the  other  slightly  less.  Both  had  been 
turned  into  shelters  for  troops  and  very 
completely  equipped.  The  roofs  are 
pierced  with  long  ventilating  shafts,  and 
water  mains  have  been  carried  in.  There 
is  a  mass  of  arms  and  ammunition  here, 
and  numbers  of  machine  guns. 

"  It  is  here  that  they  discovered  what 
was  never  certainly  known  upon  this 
front,  though  frequently  rumored,  name- 
ly, machine  gunners  chained  and  pad- 
locked to  their  guns.  I  understand  they 
have  been  officially  photographed.  Each 
man  has  a  light  steel  chain  of  twisted 
links,  like  a  dog  chain,  shackled  around 
one  ankle  and  fastened  to  the  tripod  of 
the  gun,  and  a  similar  chain  padlocked 
around  his  waist  and  linked  up  to  the 
barrel.  These  prisoners  state  that  the 
object  is  to  prevent  them  leaving  the 
gun  in  Italian  hands  when  falling  back 
before  an  attack.  Another  explanation  is 
suggested  by  the  fact  that  the  chief 
forces  on  this  southern  edge  of  the  Carso 
consist  of  Rumanians." 

With  the  beginning  of  June  the  Italian 
offensive  abated  and  the  Austro-Hun- 
garians  began  a  series  of  heavy  counter- 
attacks, in  which  the  daring  Honveds  did 
some  terrific  fighting  and  took  many 
prisoners — Vienna    claimed   27,000. 

The  net  result  of  the  month's  fighting, 
however,  is  a  considerable  gain  for  the 
Italian  forces. 


The  Battle  of  Messines  Ridge 

A  British  Victory  That  Began  With  the  Explosion 
of  Enormous  Mines 


THE  action  of  June  7,  1917,  in  which 
the  British  by  one  terrific  blow 
smashed  the  strong  German  salient 
south  of  Ypres,  was  one  of  the 
most  spectacular  and  thrilling  episodes  of 
the  war.  It  took  place  in  the  little  corner  of 
Belgium  where  the  allied  armies  had  held 
the  enemy  checkmated  for  two  and  a  half 
years,  and  where,  all  that  time,  they  had 
been  harassed  by  German  guns  on  the 
Messines- Wytschaete  Ridge. 

For  nearly  two  years  several  companies 
of  Australian,  New  Zealand,  and  British 
sappers  had  been  patiently  burrowing 
under  this  low  range  of  hills,  placing  be- 
neath them  nineteen  powerful  mines  con- 
taining a  total  of  more  than  1,000,000 
pounds  of  ammonite.  Great  charges  of 
this  new  explosive  had  been  in  a  firing 
position  for  fully  twelve  months,  yet  the 
secret  was  kept  and  the  dangerous  work 
went  on  under  the  German  fortifications. 
At  3:10  in  the  morning  of  June  7  the 
whole  series  of  mines  was  discharged  by 
electric  contact,  blowing  off  the  hilltops 
in  a  vast  flame-burst  of  volcanic  fire, 
rocking  the  ground  for  miles  as  in  an 
earthquake,  and  emitting  a  roar  that  was 
distinctly  heard  in  England  by  Lloyd 
George,  listening  for  it  at  his  country 
home  140  miles  away. 

At  the  same  time  the  whole  salient  was 
subjected  to  the  most  intense  shellfire  of 
the  whole  war,  the  climax  of  nearly  two 
weeks  of  artillery  preparation.  In  the 
wake  of  this  infernal  rain  came  the  in- 
fantry battalions  of  General  Haig  under 
Sir  Herbert  Plumer,  dashing  forward 
with  rifle  and  bayonet.  Before  the  day 
was  over  the  whole  of  Messines  Ridge  was 
securely  in  British  hands,  with  more  than 
7,000  prisoners  and  many  guns.  The 
German  casualties  were  estimated  at 
30,000.  Those  of  the  British  were  about 
10,000. 

The  attack  was  divided  into  three 
phases.  The  battle  opened  with  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  mines  at  dawn,  which  was 


the  signal  for  the  artillery.  Large  por- 
tions of  the  German  front  and  support 
trenches,  dugouts,  and  mining  systems 
went  up  in  smoke.  The  German  front 
line  over  the  entire  distance  of  ten  miles 
was  captured  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  second  phase  was  the  storming 
of  the  Messines-Wytschaete  Ridge,  which 
was  accomplished  with  little  loss  three 
hours  after  the  attack  began.  The  Brit- 
ish went  forward  in  a  concerted  rush 
along  the  whole  sector  south  of  Ypres, 
from  Observation  Ridge  to  Ploegsteert 
Wood,  north  of  Armentieres.  The  third 
and  final  phase,  later  in  the  day,  was  the 
assault  of  the  rear  defenses,  which  ran 
across  the  base  of  the  salient  formed  by 
the  ridge  itself.  Here  the  British  found 
the  enemy  in  greater  strength,  and  the 
fighting  was  very  fierce.  Nevertheless, 
by  nightfall  the  village  of  Oosttaverne 
and  the  whole  rear  position — along  a 
front  of  five  miles  and  at  a  depth  of 
nearly  three  miles — had  fallen  into  Brit- 
ish hands.  The  day's  work  was  the  largest 
since  Vimy  Ridge.  It  was  achieved  by 
the  British  Second  Army,  under  General 
Sir  Herbert  C.  O.  Plumer,  and  his  force 
included  English,  Irish,  Australian,  and 
New  Zealand  troops. 

Official  Report  of  Battle 

The  British  War  Office  summarized 
the  action  as  follows  in  its  report  of 
June  8: 

The  position  captured  by  us  yesterday  was 
one  of  the  enemy's  most  important  strong- 
holds on  the  western  front.  Dominating-  as 
it  did  the  Ypres  salient  and  giving  the  enemy 
complete  observation  over  it,  he  neglected  no 
precautions  to  render  the  position  impreg- 
nable. These  conditions  enabled  the  enemy 
to  overlook  all  our  preparations  for  attack, 
and  he  had  moved  up  reinforcements  to  meet 
us.  The  battle  therefore  became  a  gauge  of 
the  ability  of  the  German  troops  to  stop  our 
advance  under  conditions  as  favorable  to 
them  as  an  army  can  ever  hope  for,  with 
every  advantage  of  ground  and  preparation 
and  with  the  knowledge  that  an  attack  was 
impending. 


36 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


^^ANOEMARCK  ^  \\  \  ISEGHE 


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lOORSELE, 
IN 


PLOJGSmRlM 


IINES 


>CRON 


ARMENTIERES| 


MAP    OP    YPRES    REGION    SHOWING    GROUND     GAINED     BY     BRITISH    IN     BATTLE     OP 

MESSINES    RIDGE 


The  German  forward  defenses  consisted  of 
an  elaborate  and  intricate  system  of  well- 
wired  trenches  and  strong  points  forming  a 
defensive  belt  over  a  mile  in  depth.  Numer- 
ous farms  and  woods  were  thoroughly  pre- 
pared for  the  defense,  and  there  were  large 
numbers  of  machine  guns  in  the  German  gar- 
risons. Guns  of  all  calibres,  recently  in- 
creased in  numbers,  were  placed  to  bear  not 
only  on  the  front  but  on  the  flanks  of  an  at- 
tack. Numerous  communicating  trenches 
and  switch  lines,  radiating  in  all  directions, 
were  amply  provided  with  strongly  con- 
structed concrete  dugouts  and  machine-gun 
emplacements  designed  to  protect  the  enemy 
garrison  and  machine  gunners  from  the  ef- 
fect of  our  bombardment.  In  short,  no  pre- 
caution was  omitted  that  could  be  provided 
by  the  incessant  labor  of  years,  guided  by  the 
experience  gained  by  the  enemy  in  his  previ- 
ous defeats  on  the  Somme,  at  Arras,  and  on 
Vimy  Ridge. 

Despite  the  difficulties  and  disadvantages 
which  our  troops  had  to  overcome,  further 
details  of  yesterday's  fighting  show  that  our 
first  assault  and  the  subsequent  attacks  were 
carried  out  in  almost  exact  accordance  with 
the   timetable   previously    arranged.    *    *    * 

Following  on  the  great  care  and  thorough- 
ness in  preparations  made  under  the  orders 
of  General  Sir  Herbert  Plumer,  the  complete 
success  gained  may  be  ascribed  chiefly  to 
the  destruction  caused  by  our  mines,  to  the 
violence  and  saccuracy  of  our  bombardment, 


to  the  very  fine  work  of  the  Royal  Flying 
Corps,  and  to  the  incomparable  dash  and 
courage  of  the  infantry.  The  whole  force 
acted  in  perfect  combination.  Excellent  work 
was  done  by  the  tanks,  and  every  means  of 
offense  at  our  disposal  was  made  use  of,  so 
that  every  arm  of  the  service  had  a  share  in 
the  victory. 

"The  British  had  to  level  many  bits 
of  woodland,  and  then  they  sprayed 
these  woods  with  drums  of  blazing  oil, 
which  burned  them  away  and  made  at- 
tacking across  what  would  be  considered 
impregnable  natural  defenses  almost  an 
easy  matter.  The  communication 
trenches  were  so  damaged  that  it  was 
impossible  for  the  Germans  to  make 
their  way  along  them  in  daylight  ex- 
cept on  all  fours.  Ration  parties  at- 
tempting at  night  to  come  up  over  the 
open  were  badly  cut  up  by  the  constant 
British  fire. 

Described  by  Philip  Cibbs 

Philip  Gibbs,  the  war  correspondent, 
cabled  a  vivid  story  on  the  day  of  the 
battle,  saying  in  part: 

"  For  five  days  at  least  many  Ger- 
mans were  pinned  to  their  tunnels  as 
prisoners    of    fire.      No    food    reached 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MESSINES  RIDGE 


37 


them.  There  was  no  way  out  through 
these  zones  of  death.  A  new  regiment, 
which  tried  to  come  up  last  night,  was 
broken  and  shattered.  A  prisoner  says 
that  out  of  his  own  company  he  lost 
fifty  to  sixty  men  before  reaching  the 
line.  For  a  long  way  behind  the  lines 
the  British  heavy  guns  laid  down  belts 
of  shell  fire,  and  many  of  the  enemy's 
batteries   kept   silent. 

"  The  British  gunners  smothered  the 
German  batteries  whenever  they  were 
revealed  to  the  airmen.  Those  flying 
men  have  been  wonderful.  A  kind  of 
exaltation  of  spirits  took  possession  of 
them,  and  they  dared  great  risks  and 
searched  out  the  enemy's  squadrons  far 
over  his  lines.  In  five  days  from  June 
1  forty-four  separate  machines  were 
sent  crashing  down,  and  this  morning 
very  early  flocks  of  airplanes  went  out 
to  blind  the  enemy's  eyes  and  report  the 
progress  of  the  battle. 

"  In  the  darkness  queer  monsters 
moved  up  close  to  the  lines,  many  of 
them  crawling  singly  over  the  battle- 
fields under  cover  of  woods  and  ruins. 
They  were  the  tanks,  ready  to  go  into 
action  on  the  great  day  of  the  war,  when 
their  pilots  and  crews  have  helped  by 
high  courage  to  a  great  victory. 

"  Last  night  all  was  ready.  The  men, 
knowing  the  risks  of  it  all,  (for  no  plans 
are  certain  in  war,)  had  a  sense  of  op- 
pression, strained  by  poignant  anxiety. 
Many  men's  lives  were  on  the  hazard  of 
all  this.  The  air  was  heavy  as  if  nature 
itself  was  full  of  tragedy.  A  Summer 
fog  was  thick  over  Flanders  and  the  sky 
was  livid.  Forked  lightning  rent  the  low 
clouds  and  thunder  broke  with  menacing 
rumblings.  Rain  fell  sharply,  and  on  the 
conservatory  of  the  big  Flemish  house, 
where  officers  bent  over  their  maps  and 
plans,  raindrops  beat  noisily. 

March  Over  Dark  Roads 
"  But  the  storm  passed  and  the  night 
was  calm  and  beautiful.  Along  the  dark 
roads  and  down  the  leafy  lanes  columns 
of  men  were  marching  and  brass  bands 
played  them  through  the  darkness.  Guns 
and  limber  moved  forward  at  a  sharp 
pace.  "  Lights  out,"  rang  the  challenges 
of  sentries  to  staff  cars,  passing  beyond 


the  last  village  and  nearer  to  the  line. 
Masses  of  men  lay  sleeping  or  resting  in 
the  fields  before  getting  orders  to  go  for- 
ward into  the  battle  zone. 

"  All  through  the  night  the  sky  was 
filled  with  vivid  flashes  of  bursting 
shells  and  with  the  steady  hammer- 
strokes  of  guns.  From  an  observation 
post  looking  across  the  shoulder  of  Kem- 
mel  Hill  straight  to  Wytschaete  and  Mes- 
sines  Ridge  I  watched  this  bombardment 
for  that  moment  when  it  should  rise  into 
a  mad  fury  of  gunfire,  before  the  troops, 
lying  in  those  dark  fields,  should  stumble 
forward. 

"  The  full  moon  had  risen,  veiled  by 
vapors  until  they  drifted  by  and  revealed 
all  her  pale  light  in  a  sky  that  was  still 
faintly  blue,  with  here  and  there  a  star. 
The  moon  through  all  her  ages  never 
looked  down  upon  such  fires  of  man-made 
hell  as  those  which  lashed  out  when  the 
bombardment  quickened.  That  was  just 
before  3  o'clock. 

"  The  drone  of  a  night  flying  airplane 
passed  overhead.  The  sky  lightened  a 
little  and  showed  great  black  smudges 
like  ink  blots  on  a  blue  silk  cloth  where 
the  British  kite  balloons  rose  in  clusters 
to  spy  out  the  first  news  of  the  coming 
battle. 

Ridges  Co  Up  in  Fire 

"  The  cocks  of  Flanders  crowed,  and 
two  heavy  German  shells  roared  over 
Kemmel  Hill  and  burst  somewhere  in  the 
British  lines.  A  third  came,  but  before 
its  explosion  could  be  heard  all  the  noise 
there  had  been,  all  these  separate  sounds 
of  guns  and  high  explosives  and  shrapnel 
were  swept  into  a  tornado  of  artillery 
which  now  began. 

"  The  signal  for  its  beginning  was  the 
most  terrible,  beautiful  thing,  the  most 
diabolical  splendor  I  have  seen  in  the 
war.  Out  of  the  dark  ridges  of  Mes- 
sines  and  Wytschaete  and  that  ill- 
famed  Hill  60,  for  which  many  of  Brit- 
ain's best  have  died,  there  gushed  up 
enormous  volumes  of  scarlet  flame 
from  exploding  mines  and  of  earth  and 
smoke,  all  lighted  by  flame  spilling 
over  into  fountains  of  fierce  color,  so 
that  the  countryside  was  illuminated  by 
the  red  light. 


38 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


"  Where  some  of  us  stood  watching, 
aghast  and  spellbound  by  this  burning 
horror,  the  ground  trembled  and  surged 
violently,  too.  Truly  the  earth  quaked. 
A  boy,  who  came  back  wounded,  spoke 
to  me  about  his  own  sensations:  'I  felt 
like  being  in  an  open  boat  in  the  rough 
sea.  It  rocked  up  and  down,  this  way 
and  that.' 

"  Thousands  of  British  soldiers  were 
rocked  like  that  before  they  scrambled 
up  and  went  forward  to  the  German  lines 
— forward  beneath  that  tornado  of 
shells,  which  crashed  over  the  enemy's 
ground   with   a   prolonged   tumult. 

"  Just  as  the  day  broke  with  crimson 
feathers  unfolding  in  the  eastern  sky 
and  flights  of  airmen,  following  other 
flights  above  the  troops,  rockets  rose 
from  the  German  lines.  They  were  dis- 
tress signals,  flung  up  by  men  who  still 
lived  in  that  fire  zone — white  and  red 
and  green.  They  were  calling  to  their 
gunners,  warning  them  that  the  British 
were  upon  them.  Presently  there  were 
no  more  of  them,  but  others,  which  were 
ours,  rose  in  places  which  had  been 
German." 

The  Scene  of  Destruction 
Two  days  later  the  same  correspondent 
visited  Wytschaete  Wood  and  looked 
down  into  the  vast  mine  craters.  Here 
is  his  description  of  the  captured  German 
trenches : 

"  They  are  horribly  smashed,  so  that 
only  bits  of  trench  and  a  few  traverses 
here  and  there  and  concrete  emplace- 
ments, knocked  sideways  above  the 
closed  entrances  of  deep  tunnels  and 
dugouts,  remained  among  the  shell 
craters.  Some  bodies  of  German  sol- 
diers lie  amid  this  vast  midden  of  war, 
their  dead  faces  as  gray  as  their  tunics — 
but  not  many  of  them.  Most  of  those 
killed  were  buried  as  they  died,  buried 
under  the  masses  of  earth  flung  up  by 
exploding  shells,  buried  in  their  tunnels, 
which  fell  in  upon  them  as  they  crouched 
under  the  drumfire  of  the  British  guns 
hiding  deep  in  those  subterranean  cham- 
bers, buried  by  the  wild  upheaval  of 
mines  which  opened  the  earth  beneath 
them  with  yawning  chasms  a  hundred 
yards  wide  and  sixty  feet  deep. 


"  Bits  of  tunics,  bits  of  rifles,  rags 
and  tatters  of  equipment,  weapons  and 
human  flesh  lie  in  holes  and  pools,  pro- 
truding from  rubbish  heaps  of  the 
chaotic  earth  ravaged  by  British  gun- 
*fire.  Looking  down  into  the  mine  crat- 
ers, the  vast  Peckham  crater  or  that  by 
Maedelstede  Farm,  where  the  primitive 
blue  clay  had  been  flung  up  above  the 
topmost  strata,  I  agreed  with  that  Ger- 
man officer  who  came  back  dazed  as  a 
prisoner  and  said :  *  This  is  more  than 
human  nature  itself  can  suffer.' 

How  the  Mines  Were  Sprung 
"  On  the  night  of  June  7  the  Australian 
tunnelers,  who  had  waited  for  the  mo- 
ment when  their  year's  work  would  be 
accomplished  by  the  touch  of  a  little 
spring  on  a  metal  plate  from  which  an 
electric  wire  ran  to  a  mine  shaft  below 
Hill  60,  assembled  in  a  dugout  not  far 
away.  They  waited  for  that  moment  at 
dawn  with  nerves  strung  tensely,  deeply 
excited,  though  very  quiet,  at  this  fright- 
ful expectation.  They  knew  exactly  the 
explosive  power  of  those  tons  of  am- 
monal packed  under  the  enemy's  po- 
sition. There  was  always  the  risk  of 
misadventure,  the  appalling  risk  of  fail- 
ure, because  it  is  tricky  business,  this 
work  of  a  man-made  earthquake. 

"  The  metal  disk  was  touched.  In  just 
one  tick  of  time  there  was  the  noise  of 
earth  in  travail,  the  rending,  rushing 
noise  breaking  out  into  a  vast  roar,  as 
though  a  cliff  were  falling  down  a 
precipice. 

"  Hill  60  opened  and  let  forth  a  great 
eruption  of  flaming  clods.  Some  Eng- 
lish troops  took  Hill  60  after  this  ex- 
plosion, which  flung  some  of  them  to 
the  ground  as  they  rose  at  the  signal  of 
attack.  Below  Mount  Sorrel  and  Ar- 
magh Wood  groups  of  Wurttembergers 
and  Jagers  rose  from  holes  in  the 
stricken  earth  and  held  up  trembling 
hands,  asking  for  mercy.  They  still 
shook  with  terror  of  the  mines.  Not 
many  of  them  showed  any  will  to  fight. 
Some  of  them  had  to  be  searched  for 
below  ground,  cowering  in  dark  pits 
which  had  been  good,  deep  dugouts  and 
observation  posts  with  heavy  concrete 
protection.  Now  all  were  smashed  like 
those  I  saw  by  Wytschaete  Wood. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MESSINES  RIDGE 


39 


"  Just  south  of  these  men,  astride  the 
Ypres-Comines  Canal,  a  number  of  Lon- 
don troops  were  fighting  forward  to  the 
ruins  of  a  famous  white  chateau  south 
of  the  canal  on  the  west  of  Hollebeke. 
It  was  the  Chateau  Matthieu.  The  Ger- 
mans here  did  not  surrender  without  a 
desperate   resistance." 

Fighting  in  Rear  Trenches 

Another  correspondent,  describing  the 
fighting  in  detail,  says  that  Dam  Strasse, 
a  street  of  houses  built  of  great  blocks  of 
concrete  six  feet  thick,  gave  the  British 
officers  great  anxiety,  as  they  expected  to 
meet  stiff  resistance  here ;  but  they  found 
that  the  shellfire  had  been  so  amazing  as 
to  shatter  many  of  these  blockhouses,  so 
that  the  garrison  was  cowed  and  surren- 
dered by  hundreds. 

The  first  check  came  outside  the  ruin  of 
an  estaminet,  in  which  a  party  of  Ger- 
mans with  machine  guns  and  rifles  were 
determined  to  sell  their  lives  dearly.  They 
poured  fire  into  the  British,  who  suffered 
a  good  many  casualties  here,  but  would 
not  be  balked,  whatever  the  cost.  They 
took  what  cover  they  could  and  used  their 
rifles  to  riddle  the  place  with  shot.  One 
by  one  the  Germans  fell  and  their  fire 
slackened.  Then  the  British  charged  the 
ruins  and  captured  all  those  who  still  re- 
mained alive. 

Fresh  waves  of  men  came  up  and  went 
forward  into  Ravine  Wood,  with  its  tat- 
tered trunks  and  litter  of  broken  branches. 
There  was  another  fight,  very  fierce  and 
bloody,  between  some  South  Country 
troops  and  German  soldiers  of  the  Thirty- 
fifth  Division,  who  attempted  a  strong 
counterattack.  The  Englishmen  had  their 
bayonets  fixed,  and  at  a  word  from  the 
officers  they  made  a  quick,  grim  dash  at 
the  Germans  advancing  upon  them 
through  Dead  Wood  with  their  bayonets 
ready  also.  So  that  morning  sun  gleamed 
upon  all  this  steel.  The  bayonets  crossed. 
The  men  of  Kent  went  through  the  ene- 
my, thrusting  and  stabbing,  but,  though 
they  saw  red  in  that  hour,  they  gave 
quarter  to  the  men  who  dropped  their 
rifles  and  cried  "  Kamerad."  The  Ger- 
man losses  here  were  very  heavy. 

An  eyewitness  gives  this  account  of  the 
armored  tanks  and  the  marvels  achieved 
by  aviators: 


"  Several  tanks  came  up  to  share  in 
the  fighting  and  climbed  over  all  this 
broken  ground,  but  did  not  find  much 
work  to  do.  All  along  the  battle  line 
these  brown  beasts  were  nosing  about, 
crawling  through  the  slough,  pitching  and 
tossing  over  the  cratered  earth  and  rear- 
ing their  long  snouts  over  sandbag  bar- 
ricades. Their  pilots  and  crews  were  out 
for  any  kind  of  adventure  over  any  kind 
of  ground.  They  did  not  have  many 
casualties  and  would  have  been  more 
successful  if  the  infantry  had  wanted 
more  help  from  them,  but  the  guns  had 
done  most  of  the  work  beforehand. 

"  The  completeness  of  this  victory,  the 
march  through  of  the  troops,  and  the 
utter  despair  of  the  German  troops  were 
due  in  an  overwhelming  way  to  the  guns 
and  the  gunners  who  served  them.  It  is 
only  right  and  just  that  the  highest  trib- 
ute should  be  paid  to  these  men,  who 
worked  day  and  night  for  nearly  a  fort- 
night under  an  intense  strain  and  in- 
fernal noise,  without  sleep  enough  to 
relieve  the  nerve  rack,  and  always  in 
danger  of  death.  The  gunner  officers 
are  hoarse  with  shouting  under  fire. 

"  They  were  for  the  moment  hollow- 
eyed  with  bodily  and  mental  exhaustion. 
The  ammunition  carriers  worked  them- 
selves stiff  in  order  to  feed  the  guns. 
They  used  up  an  incredible  number  of 
shells.  The  gunners  of  one  division  alone 
fired  180,000  shells  with  their  field  bat- 
teries and  over  46,000  with  their  heavies. 
On  the  same  scale  has  been  the  ammuni- 
tion expenditure  of  all  the  other  groups 
of  guns. 

Guns  Move  to  New  Positions 
"  A  historic  scene,  intensely  thrilling, 
took  place  after  the  troops  gained  the 
high  ground  of  Wytschaete  and  Messines. 
An  order  was  passed  along  to  all  bat- 
teries. Horses  standing  by  were  har- 
nessed to  the  guns,  and  limbers  of  the 
field  batteries  were  lined  up.  Then  half 
way  throughout  the  battle  the  old  gun 
positions  were  abandoned  after  two  and  a 
half  years  of  stationary  warfare  in  a 
salient  searched  every  day  of  that  time 
by  German  shells  fired  by  direct  observa- 
tion from  the  ground  just  taken. 

"  The  drivers  urged  on  their  horses. 
They-  drove   at    a    gallop    past   the    old 


40 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


screens,  and  out  of  camouflaged  places 
where  the  men  had  walked  stealthily,  and 
dashed  up  the  slopes.  The  infantry  stood 
by  to  let  them  pass,  and  from  thousands 
of  men,  these  dusty,  hot,  parched  soldiers 
who  were  waiting  to  go  forward  in  sup- 
port of  the  first  waves  of  the  assaulting 
troops,  there  rose  a  great  following  cheer 
which  swept  along  the  track  of  the  gun- 
ners and  went  with  them  up  the  ridge, 
where  they  unlimbered  and  got  into 
action  again  for  the  second  phase  of  the 
fighting  down  the  further  slope.  Never 
before  in  this  war  has  there  been  any- 
thing like  this  in  excitement  and  sense  of 
victory. 

Amazing  Feats  of  Aviators 
"  As  the  scouts  of  the  gunners,  as  their 
watchers  and  signalers,  were  the  boys 
of  the  Royal  Flying  Corps.  They  were 
uplifted  with  a  kind  of  intoxication  of 
enthusiasm,  and  youthful  madness  took 
possession  of  them.  One  man's  flight,  told 
in  his  own  dry  words,  is  like  a  wild  night- 
mare of  an  airman's  dream.  He  flew  to 
a  German  airdrome  and  circled  around. 
A  German  machine  gun  spat  out  bullets 
at  him.  The  airman  saw  it,  swooped  over 
it,  and  fired  at  the  gunner.  He  saw  his 
bullets  hit  the  gun.  The  man  ceased  to 
fire,  screamed,  and  ran  for  cover.  Then 
the  airman  flew  off,  chased  trains  and 
fired  into  their  windows. 

"  He  flew  over  small  bodies  of  troops 
on  the  march,  stopped,  fired,  and  scat- 
tered them.  Afterward  he  met  a  con- 
voy going  to  Comines,  and  he  circled 
over  them  hardly  higher  than  their  heads 
and  fired  into  them.  Near  Warne- 
ton  he  came  upon  troops  massing  for  a 
counterattack  and  made  a  new  attack,  in- 
flicting casualties  and  making  them  run 
in  all  directions. 

"  Another  man  found  himself  under 
fire  by  Archies  mounted  on  lorries.  He 
dived  and  fired  on  the  gunners,  who  ran 
away  and  hid.     One  flying  man  attacked 


and  silenced  four  machine-gun  teams  in 
strong  emplacements.  Others  cleared 
trenches  of  German  soldiers,  who  scuttled 
like  rabbits  into  dugouts.  They  fired 
everything  they  carried,  anything  which 
would  kill  the  enemy  or  destroy  his 
material.  Having  used  up  all  his  Lewis 
gun  ammunition  upon  the  marching 
troops,  one  lad  fired  his  signal  rockets 
at  the  next  group  of  men  he  saw. 

"  They  flew  at  the  field  gunners  and 
put  them  to  flight,  at  heavy  guns  crawl- 
ing along  the  roads  on  caterpillar  wheels, 
at  transport  wagons,  motor  lorries,  and 
one  motor  car,  whose  passengers,  if  they 
live,  will  never  forget  that  sudden  rush 
of  wings  four  feet  overhead,  with  a  spasm 
of  bullets  about  them.  The  airplane  was 
so  low  that  the  pilot  thought  he  would 
crash  into  the  motor  car,  but  he  just 
planed  clear  of  it  as  the  driver  steered 
it  sharply  into  a  ditch,  where  he  over- 
turned with  the  five  occupants.  The  air- 
man went  on  his  journey,  scattered  500 
infantry,  and  returned  home  after  a  long 
flight,  never  higher  than  500  feet  above 
the  ground. 

"  In  this  battle  of  Messines  there  was 
not  anybody  of  the  British  Army  who 
did  not  spend  all  his  strength  and  take  all 
risks  with  a  kind  of  passionate  exaltation 
of  spirit.  *  *  *  It  is  the  greatest 
and  cheapest  achievement  of  the  British 
arms  throughout  this  war,  though  the 
loss  of  so  many  gallant  men  is  sad 
enough,  God  knows.  And  for  the  enemy 
it  is  as  hard  a  blow  as  our  taking  of 
Vimy  Ridge  two  months  ago,  when  he 
was  staggered  by  his  losses." 

The  battle  of  Messines  Ridge  took  from 
the  Germans  the  last  commanding 
natural  position  opposite  the  British 
lines.  Bapaume  and  Vimy  and  Messines 
Ridges,  as  well  as  Monchy  Plateau,  five 
miles  east  of  Arras,  were  all  captured  by 
the  British  within  three  months,  and  this 
has  materially  changed  the  military 
situation  on  the  western  front. 


Storming  of  the  Aisne  Quarries 

By  Wythe  Williams 

[In  a  cable  dispatch  to  The  New  York  Times,  May  25,  1917.] 


REGARDING  the  offensive  on  the 
Rheims-Soissons  front,  which 
began  on  April  16,  1917,  I  am 
permitted  to  state  that  it  was 
the  biggest  concentrated  effort  yet  made 
by  the  French  Army,  although  at  first 
glance  it  seemed  to  have  accomplished 
less  material  result  than  any  other  of- 
fensive, except  the  long-ago  offensive 
in  the  Champagne,  which  can  be  classi- 
fied as  a  failure.  I  think  all  the  army 
experts  will  admit  that  the  result  needs 
explanation.  Yet,  as  the  explanation  was 
made  to  me  while  going  over  the  ground, 
it  was  both  logical  and  good,  and  in  sum- 
ming it  up  I  believe  that  the  offensive 
will  in  later  histories  be  considered  as  a 
success. 

In  the  first  place,  the  ground  chosen 
was  the  toughest  proposition  anywhere  on 
the  front,  yet  it  was  essential  to  take 
the  offensive  there,  for  the  very  reason 
that  it  was  necessary  to  keep  on  bending 
back  the  line  on  which  the  Germans  had 
already  taken  the  initiative  by  their  re- 
treat. 

I  visited  Soissons  for  the  first  time  in 
September,  1914,  just  after  the  battle  of 
the  Marne  and  just  at  the  beginning  of 
the  battle  of  the  Aisne.  *  *  *  We 
talked  confidently  about  when  the  Ger- 
mans were  once  disengaged  from  their 
"  quarries  "  and  another  retreat  from  the 
Aisne  would  begin,  just  as  had  happened 
from  the  Marne.  But  the  Germans  re- 
mained in  those  same  quarries  for  two 
years  and  seven  months.  Day  by  day 
from  September,  1914,  more  guns,  bigger 
guns,  concentrated  their  fire  upon  them; 
but  they  held  out.  Week  by  week,  month 
by  month,  year  by  year,  more  guns  and 
bigger  guns  and  still  bigger  guns  were 
added,  until  there  was  an  unbroken  line 
of  guns  that  in  April  of  this  year  opened 
the  heaviest  fire  the  world  has  ever 
known,  pouring  18,000  tons  of  high  ex- 
plosives upon  the  quarries  day  after  day; 
and  still  they  held  out — almost  intact — 


until  they  finally  were  taken  by  storm  by 
the  French  infantry  going  up  on  the  hill- 
sides wave  after  wave,  driving  out  the 
Germans  with  bayonets  and  gas  bombs. 
I  have  often  heard  remarks  in  the  last 
few  weeks  that  the  chief  trouble  with  the 
recent  offensive  was  that  the  artillery 
fire  was  ineffective.  Yes,  it  was  inef- 
fective, but  now  that  I  have  seen  those 
quarries,  I  know  why.  Until  the  orders 
arrived  for  the  infantry  to  advance  and 
take  those  quarry  heights  "  at  all  costs  " 
the  Germans  were  quite  as  safe  there  as 
in  a  submarine  far  below  the  surface  of 
the  sea. 

Vast  Underground  Fortresses 

I  went  down  into  one  of  the  quarries. 
The  opening  was  a  tiny  hole  in  solid 
granite.  I  went  down  and  down  in  pitch 
blackness.  The  officer  and  I  stumbled 
down,  fumbling  at  solid  rock  walls.  A 
soldier  came  up  to  meet  us  with  an  elec- 
tric lamp,  and  below  we  could  see  a  line 
of  wooden  steps,  at  least  a  hundred  of 
them.  Then  we  came  into  a  great  arched 
cavern  that  led  into  another  similar  one, 
and  then  to  another,  and  then  into  long 
galleries  and  through  dark,  narrow  pas- 
sages, where  we  had  to  stoop  low,  only  to 
come  into  other  caverns  with  exits  lead- 
ing in  various  directions,  and  so  on  until, 
at  least  half  a  mile  toward  the  German 
rear,  from  where  we  entered,  we  walked 
out  again  into  daylight.  That  quarry 
alone  was  big  enough  to  secrete  5,000 
German  soldiers,  who  poured  from  a 
dozen  similar  exits  when  the  French  in- 
fantry advanced. 

Every  gallery  of  these  underground 
fortresses  the  Germans  raked  with  ma- 
chine guns  when  stormed.  The  artillery 
positions  were  so  constructed  that  the 
guns  could  be  whirled  behind  granite 
walls  whenever  necessary  to  avoid  de- 
struction by  the  concentrated  French  fire. 

They  were  the  strongest  defenses  I 
have  ever  seen.  They  made  every  other 
fortress,  every  trench  line,  every  concrete 


42 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT    HISTORY 


abri  I  have  visited  seem  weak.  And  now 
they  belong  to  the  French — all  of  them. 
True,  they  were  only  a  little  way  from 
the  old  front  line,  and  now  the  front 
French  line  is  just  a  little  further  beyond. 
The  French  paid  dearly  for  them.  Their 
orders  were  to  capture  them  "  at  all 
costs."  They  simply  had  to  have  them, 
and  now  that  they  have  them,  it  does  not 
seem  to  me  the  offensive  can  in  any  re- 
spect be  called  a  failure. 

The  positions  on  that  front  are  now 
entirely  reversed.  Before  the  French 
had  all  the  bad  positions  and  the  Ger- 
mans the  good  ones  in  the  quarries  and 
on  the  hill  crests.  Besides,  the  French 
had  the  River  Aisne  at  their  backs,  which 
was  always  an  uncomfortable  thought. 
Now  the  Germans  have  all  the  bad  posi- 
tions. They  are  down  in  the  hollows  and 
have  another  river — a  branch  of  the  Oise 
■ — behind  them. 

Also,  in  the  offensive  between  Soissons 
and  Rheims  the  French  alone  took  30,000 
prisoners,  while  the  entire  offensive 
bagged  55,000  and  a  total  of  600  cannon 
and  1,200  mitrailleuse. 

In  the  light  of  the  dwindling  man 
power  on  both  sides,  55,000  prisoners 
means  nearly  five  divisions,  and  is  con- 
siderable. 

All  along  the  line  the  French  have 
undoubtedly  got  the  upper  hand.  So  far 
as  I  am  able  to  learn  their  air  service  is 
once  more  supreme,  and  as  for  the  artil- 
lery, both  field  and  heavy  guns  are  now 
positively  dominant  over  the  enemy,  as 
has  been  the  case,  in  fact,  ever  since  the 
Somme. 

Indeed  so  perfect  is  the  munition  or- 
ganization that  now  every  army  corps 
has  a  supply  station  directly  behind  it, 
where  there  is  a  platform  350  yards  long, 
just  for  discharging  heavy  shells,  an- 
other platform  the  same  length  for  light 
shells,  another  for  engineers'  supplies, 
another  for  macadam  for  roads,  and  an- 
other for  food. 

I  was  permitted  to  witness  one  of  the 
engagements,  beginning  with  the  tuning 
up  of  the  heavy  guns  until  after  the  in- 
fantry had  advanced — in  this  case  up  a 
steep  hillside — and  captured  the  posi- 
tions. As  drama  it  was  the  most  superb 
I  ever  witnessed.     On  the  opposite  hill- 


side, probably  two  miles  distant,  I  stood 
with  the  General  commanding  the  army 
corps  who  was  conducting  the  operations. 
It  was  about  3  o'clock  on  a  cloudy  after- 
noon. I  took  a  position  sprawling  on  a 
grass  patch  at  the  top,  with  my  back 
against  a  bush  blending  in  color  tone 
with  my  clothing,  and  got  my  glasses 
carefully  adjusted  for  the  performance 
about  to  begin.  Although  it  was  cloudy 
there  was  no  haze,  and  the  absence  of 
sunshine  made  everything  stand  out 
more  clearly. 

An  Impressive  Stage  Setting 
The  hillside  dropped  straight  before 
us,  and  then,  stretching  away,  was  a 
great  panorama  of  wooded  valleys, 
meadows,  a  winding  river,  and  a  steep 
rise  of  a  bare,  shell-marked  slope  op- 
posed. In  the  centre  of  the  slope  was  the 
remnant  of  a  town,  but  only  a  remnant. 
All  we  could  make  out  was  a  few  piles 
of  stones  against  the  red  earth.  Near 
the  top  of  the  hill  ran  a  darkish  line  that 
marked  the  French  trenches,  and  beyond, 
over  the  crest,  were  the  Germans.  In  the 
valley  at  our  feet,  in  the  woods  and 
meadows,  were  French  cannon — but  we 
could  see  none  of  them,  all  were  so  care- 
fully concealed.  Immediately  overhead 
were  a  couple  of  large  observation  bal- 
loons, one  attached  by  ropes  to  an  auto- 
mobile that  guided  it  from  a  road  on  the 
side  of  our  hill,  the  second  guided  from  a 
boat  in  the  river.  All  about  circled  air- 
planes, both  observation  machines  and 
avions  de  chasse.  There  were  at  least  a 
dozen,  some  keeping  near  the  balloons 
and  others  swooping  high  and  low  over 
the  German  lines  on  the  hill  opposite. 

There  was  a  constant  boom  of  cannon 
that,  in  connection  with  the  cloudiness  of 
the  day,  seemed  more  like  the  rolling  of 
thunder  than  artillery — especially  as  the 
wind  was  away  from  us.  We  could  not 
hear  the  sound  of  the  shells  leaving  the 
guns  until  the  reports  first  detonated 
across  the  valley.  But  we  could  constant- 
ly see  the  bursts  of  smoke  where  the 
shells  were  exploding  beyond  the  crest. 
But  this  thunder  of  guns  was  only  a 
minor  overture.  The  General  explained 
that  the  real  performance  was  sched- 
uled to  begin  at  exactly  3:30  P.   M.     I 


STORMING  OF  THE  AISNE  QUARRIES 


43 


asked  how  long  it  would  last,  and  his 
laconic  reply  was:  "  Until  we  take  their 
positions." 

It  is  estimated  that  in  that  compara- 
tively small  sector  of  the  contemplated 
attack — it  was  not  more  than  a  couple  of 
miles  in  breadth — there  were  seven  to 
eight  hundred  guns,  but  for  this  prelimi- 
nary attack  probably  not  more  than  300 
were  in  action.  The  remainder,  reserved 
for  the  signal  of  infantry  advance,  would 
then  turn  on  a  barrage  fire,  so  hot  that 
the  Germans  could  not  bring  up  rein- 
forcements. 

The  artillery  had  been  pouring  ex- 
plosives into  those  German  positions  for 
several  days,  it  was  explained  to  me. 
Already  they  were  all  pretty  badly  de- 
molished. It  was  not  considered  that  the 
infantry  would  have  much  trouble — ex- 
cept from  concealed  machine  guns.  That 
was  what  the  guns  were  hunting  then. 
The  Germans  evidently  knew  what  was 
coming,  but  I  wondered,  nevertheless,  at 
the  lightness  of  their  artillery  reply. 

The  day  became  darker,  so  dark,  in 
fact,  that  down  at  our  feet  we  could  see 
bright  flashes  from  the  nearest  guns. 
The  General  commanding  the  brigade 
leaned  carelessly  against  a  tree  near  me, 
holding  a  watch  in  his  hand.     *     *     * 

I  was  fascinated  by  my  watch  as  it 
ticked  around  to  that  fatal  3:30.  At  the 
very  tick  of  the  second  a  blast  of  fire 
went  up  that  shook  the  hill  we  were  sit' 
ting  on.  Those  500  remaining  guns  must 
all  have  been  fired  simultaneously,  and 
then  on  until  the  end  of  the  performance 
there  was  one  continual,  awful  roar  of 
explosive.  The  hillside  opposite,  which 
we  could  see  so  clearly  a  whole  minute 
before,  was  now  completely  blotted  out  in 
a  vast  roll  of  heavy  smoke.  Even  with 
the  glasses  we  could  distinguish  abso- 
lutely nothing. 

I  looked  down  into  the  valley  and  the 
sparks  of  guns  were  so  bright  and  fast  I 
could  not  count  them.  The  meadows  and 
woods  seemed  alive  with  guns,  distin- 
guished only  by  rapid,  short  flashes  of 
flame.  I  fixed  my  glasses  on  just  one 
little  portion  of  the  open  field  and  tried 
to  count  the  flashes,  but  gave  it  up  as 
quite  impossible.     There  were  too  many 


flashes  from  different  portions  of  the 
field  at  the  same  second.  It  looked  as 
though  the  field  were  suddenly  alive  with 
a  swarm  of  fireflies — that  fire  was  the 
winking  of  the  guns  as  they  sent  out 
their  shells. 

All  in  Motion  at  the  Signal 

I  glanced  overhead.  Simultaneously 
with  the  signal  of  attack  both  balloons 
sailed  majestically  forward  until  they 
now  hung  out  before  us  over  the  valley, 
guided  by  the  ropes  that  attached  them 
to  the  automobile  and  the  river  boat. 
The  fleet  of  airplanes,  doubled  in  num- 
ber, still  circled  about  them  and  now 
swooped  low  over  the  German  positions 
to  report  back  how  the  infantry  was  get- 
ting on. 

I  looked  across  at  the  hillside.  Just 
at  the  crest  I  could  see  three  rockets  go- 
ing up.  The  officer  explained  that  it  was 
the  infantry's  signal  to  the  artillerymen, 
asking  them  to  place  shells  just  in  ad- 
vance of  that  spot.  At  another  point  on 
the  crest  three  more  rockets  appeared, 
then  three  more  still  further  on. 

Through  that  impenetrable  bank  of 
heavy  smoke  I  tried  to  visualize  the 
companies  of  infantry  going  up  to  the 
crest,  meeting  the  enemy,  hurling  hand 
grenades,  and  using  bayonets,  finding 
fierce  resistance  where  the  machine  guns 
were  hidden,  and  then  sending  up  their 
rockets  to  show  their  gunners  behind 
just  where  to  send  them  aid.  And  I 
noted  that  wherever  the  signal  rockets 
went  up  almost  immediately  after  there 
would  come  a  great  spurt  of  black  smoke. 

I  went  forward  late  the  following  aft- 
ernoon?  not  to  lines  which  even  then  were 
too  unsafe,  but  behind  them  through  the 
forest  from  which  the  Germans  had  been 
driven.  It  was  a  strange,  unforgettable 
sight.  The  entire  forest  bed  was  of  long, 
slender  green  leaves  and  tiny  white  flow- 
ers, lilies  of  the  valley.  Resting  on  a  bed 
of  green  leaves,  as  far  as  one  could  see, 
were  the  bodies  of  German  soldiers.  A 
strange,  compelling,  and  arresting  odor 
filled  the  air,  an  odor  indescribably  sweet 
and  unspeakably  horrible.  It  was  a  com- 
bination of  the  lilies  of  the  valley  and 
the  dead. 


Emperor  Charles's  Throne  Speech 

In  the  Austrian  Reichsrat    on  May  31,   1917 

For  the  first  time  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Austrian  Parliament  at  Vienna  was 
convened  by  the  Emperor  on  May  31  in  the  Grand  Hall  of  Ceremonies  in  the  Imperial 
Hofburg.  Many  Deputies  appeared  in  picturesque  national  costumes,  and  the  entry  of 
Emperor  Charles  was  greeted  with  three  enthusiastic  "  hochs,"  which  were  repeated  when 
he  took  his  seat  on  the  golden  throne  under  a  red  and  gold  canopy,  while  the  Empress  and 
Archduchesses  ranged  themselves  on  the  dais  beside  him.  The  Emperor  read  his  speech  in  a 
resonant  voice.     It  was  his  first  Parliamentary  address  since  his  accession. 


Emperor  Charles  began  with  an  affec- 
tionate tribute  to  the  memory  of  Empe- 
ror Francis  Joseph,  and  continued: 

SUMMONED  in  a  fateful  time  to  di- 
rect the  State,  I,  from  the  begin- 
ning, have  been  conscious  of  the 
immense  seriousness  of  the  task 
Providence  has  laid  on  my  shoulders.  I 
feel,  however,  within  me,  the  will  and 
power  loyally  to  discharge  my  duties  as 
ruler,  following  the  example  of  my  illus- 
trious predecessor,  and  to  do  justice,  with 
God's  help,  to  my  sublime  office. 

The  interests  of  the  State  shall  no 
longer  be  deprived  of  that  effective  fur- 
therance which  zealous  co-operation  of 
a  popular  assembly  rightly  compre- 
hending its  power,  judicious  and  con- 
scientious, can  provide.  I  have  sum- 
moned you,  honorable  gentlemen,  to 
exercise  your  constitutional  activity,  and 
I  heartily  welcome  you  today  on  the  in-- 
auguration  of  your  work. 

In  full  consciousness  of  the  constitu- 
tional duties  taken  over  from  my  illus- 
trious predecessor,  and  from  my  own 
deepest  conviction,  I  desire  solemnly  to 
declare  to  you  my  unalterable  will  to 
exercise  my  right  as  ruler  at  all  times 
in  a  truly  constitutional  spirit  and  to 
respect  inviolably  liberties  according  to 
the  fundamental  law  and  to  preserve  un- 
abridged to  the  people  that  share  in  the 
formation  of  the  State's  will  which  the 
prevailing  Constitution  provides  for. 

In  the  loyal  co-operation  by  my  people 
and  its  representatives,  I  see  support 
for  the  success  of  my  activity,  and  I 
think  that  the  welfare  of  the  State, 
whose  glorious  existence  has  been  main- 
tained in  the  storms  of  a  world  war  by 
the  grim  cohesion  of  its  citizens,  cannot 
in    times    of    peace    be    more    securely 


rooted  than  in  the  unassailable  rights  of 
a  mature,  patriotic,  and  free  people. 

Mindful  of  my  obligation  to  the  Con- 
stitution and  adhering  to  my  intention 
expressed  immediately  on  my  accession 
to  fulfill  this  obligation  freely,  I  must 
at  the  same  time  keep  in  mind  the  pro- 
visions of  the  fundamental  law  which 
places  in  my  hands  alone  the  decisions 
to  be  taken  at  the  great  moment  of  the 
conclusion  of  peace.  I  am,  however,  con- 
vinced that  a  happy  development  of  our 
constitutional  life  after  the  unfruitful- 
ness  of  the  past  years  and  after  the  ex- 
ceptional political  conditions  of  war  time 
— apart  from  the  solution  of  the  Gali- 
cian  question,  for  which  my  illustrious 
predecessor  has  already  indicated  the 
way — is  not  possible  without  expanding 
the  Constitution  and  the  administrative 
foundations  of  the  whole  of  our  public 
life,  both  in  the  State  and  in  the  sep- 
arate kingdoms  and  countries,  especially 
in  Bohemia. 

I  trust  that  recognition  of  your  serious 
responsibility  for  the  formation  of  politi- 
cal conditions  and  your  belief  in  the 
happy  future  of  the  empire,  splendidly 
strengthened  in  this  terrible  war,  will 
give  you,  honorable  gentlemen,  strength, 
in  union  with  me,  speedily  to  create  con- 
ditions giving  scope  to  free  national  and 
cultural  development  of  equally  privi- 
leged people.  From  these  considerations 
I  decided  to  postpone  taking  the  constitu- 
tional oath  until  the  time,  which  I  hope 
is  not  far  distant,  when  the  foundation 
of  a  new,  strong,  and  happy  Austria  will 
again  for  generations  to  come  be  firmly 
consolidated  internally  and  externally. 

Today,  however,  I  declare  I  shall  al- 
ways be  the  just,  affectionate,  and  con- 
scientious  ruler  of  my  dear   peoples   in 


EMPEROR  CHARLES'S   THRONE  SPEECH 


45 


the  sense  of  the  constitutional  idea  which 
we  have  taken  over  as  a  heritage  from 
our  forefathers  and  in  the  spirit  of  that 
true  democracy  which,  during  the  storms 
of  a  world  war,  has  wonderfully  stood  the 
ordeal  of  fire  in  the  achievements  of  the 
entire  people  at  home  and  at  the  front. 

We  are  still  in  the  midst  of  the  might- 
iest war  of  all  times.  Let  me,  from  your 
midst,  with  thankful  heart  offer  my  im- 
perial greeting  to  all  the  heroes  who  for 
nearly  three  years  on  our  far-flung 
fronts  have  loyally  discharged  the  heavy 
duty,  and  on  whose  iron  resistance  be- 
tween the  Alps  and  the  Adriatic  the  re- 
newed desperate  enemy  attack  even  now 
is  breaking  to  pieces. 

Our  group  of  powers  did  not  seek  the 
sanguinary  trial  of  strength  of  this 
world  war.  Aye,  more  than  that,  it  has, 
from  the  moment  when,  thanks  to  the 
imperishable  achievements  of  the  allied 
armies  and  fleets,  the  honor  and  exist- 
ence of  our  States  no  longer  appear  se- 
riously threatened,  openly  and  without 
ambiguity  made  known  its  readiness  for 
peace,  guided  by  the  firm  conviction  that 
the  true  formula  of  peace  can  only  be 
found  in  the  mutual  recognition  that  the 
positions  have  been  gloriously  defended. 

The  future  life  of  the  peoples  should, 
in  our  view,  remain  free  from  animosity 
and  thirst  for  revenge,  and  for  genera- 
tions there  should  be  no  need  to  employ 
what  may  be  called  the  last  resource  of 
the  State.  But  this  high  aim  of  hu- 
manity can  only  be  attainable  by  such  a 
conclusion  to  the  war  as  will  correspond 
to  that  peace  formula. 

The  great  neighboring  people  to  the 
east,  to  whom  old  friendship  united  us, 
is  gradually  becoming  conscious  of  its 
true  aims  and  tasks,  and  it  lately  ap- 
pears to  approach  this  point  of  view  and 
seek  from  an  obscure  impulse  a  direc- 
tion of  policy  which  will  save  the  treas- 
ures of  the  future  before  they  have  been 
devoured  by  a  senseless  war  policy.  We 
hope  that,  in  the  interest  of  humanity, 
this  process  of  internal  reformation  will 
manifest  itself  externally  in  a  strong 
development  of  will,  and  that  such  en- 
lightenment of  the  public  mind  will  also 
extend  to  the  other  enemy  countries. 

While  our  group  of  powers  is  fighting 


with  irresistible  force  for  honor  and  exist- 
ence, it  is  and  remains  toward  every  one 
who  honestly  abandons  the  intention  to 
threaten  us  readily  prepared  to  cease 
hostilities,  and  whoever  wishes  to  reopen 
better  and  more  human  relations  will 
certainly  find  our  side  ready  in  a  con- 
ciliatory spirit.  In « the  meantime,  how- 
ever, our  fighting  spirit  will  not  relax; 
our  sword  will  not  become  blunt. 

In  true  co-operation  with  our  old  ally, 
the  German  Empire,  and  the  allies  whom 
our  just  cause  won  during  the  war,  we 
shall  remain  ready  to  force,  if  necessary 
by  arms,  a  good  end  to  the  war,  which 
we  should  like  to  be  able  to  attribute  to 
a  victory  of  reason. 

t  deplore  the  increasing  sacrifices 
which  the  long  duration  of  the  war  im- 
poses on  our  population.  I  deplore  the 
blood  of  my  brave  soldiers,  the  privations 
of  brave  citizens,  and  all  the  distress  and 
hardships  which  are  heroically  endured 
for  the  sake  of  the  beloved  Fatherland. 
The  efforts  of  my  Government,  supported 
by  well-trained  officials,  are  incessantly 
directed  toward  facilitating  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  population — whose  loyalty 
to  the  State  and  public  spirit  find  my 
thankful  recognition — and  toward  guar- 
anteeing that  the  stock  of  food  will  be 
made  to  go  around  by  suitable  organiza- 
tion.    *     *     * 

Always  remember,  however,  that  the 
strength  of  the  monarchy  is  rooted  not 
the  least  in  its'  historic  associations,  and 
that  only  affectionate  regard  for  it  can 
maintain  and  develop  its  living  strength. 
Therefore,  I  hope  you  will  zealously  cul- 
tivate a  loyal  sense  of  unity  with  the 
countries  of  my  Hungarian  holy  crown- 
land,  which  has  recently  proved  itself 
one  of  the  principal  supports  of  the  mon- 
archy. 

Honorable  gentlemen  of  both  houses, 
once  again  accept  my  cordial  greetings. 
It  is  a  great  moment  which  brings  a  new 
ruler  for  the  first  time  face  to  face  with 
the  people's  respresentatives.  May  it  be 
the  beginning  of  a  time  of  flourishing 
progress,  a  time  of  power  and  prestige 
for  venerable  Austria,  and  of  happiness 
and  blessings  for  my  beloved  peoples. 
God  grant  it! 


War  Aims  of  Allies  Restated 


RUSSIA'S  revolution  and  the  entry 
of  the  United  States  into  the  war 
brought  about  a  restatement  of 
the  purposes  of  the  war  by  the 
Allies.  The  Russian  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates  had  pre- 
viously forced  the  Russian  Provisional 
Government  to  modify  its  original  dec- 
laration of  its  war  aims  by  forcing  the 
retirement  of  Milukoff  and  the  entire 
reconstruction  of  the  Cabinet,  with 
the  more  radical  Socialists  in  control. 
The  declaration  of  the  new  Government 
was  summed  up  in  the  phrase,  "  Peace 
without  annexations  or  indemnities  on 
the  basis  of  the  rights  of  nations  to  de- 
cide their  own  destiny."  On  June  5  this 
policy  was  again  announced  in  a  call  for 
an  international  Socialist  peace  confer- 
ence issued  by  the  Russian  Central  Fed- 
erations and  Socialist  Parties,  accom- 
panied by  a  demand  that  Russia's  allies  in 
the  war  restate  explicitly  their  war  aims. 


The  first  response  to  this  demand  was 
made  in  the  British  Parliament  by  Lord 
Robert  Cecil  in  reply  to  a  question  from 
a  pacifist  member  of  the  body,  Philip 
Snowden. 

The  debate  was  originated  by  Mr. 
Snowden,  who  moved  the  following 
amendment  on  May  16: 

That  this  House  welcomes  the  declaration 
of  the  new  democratic  Government  of  Russia, 
repudiating  all  proposals  for  imperialistic 
conquest  and  aggrandizement,  and  calls  on 
his  Majesty's  Government  to  issue  a  similar 
declaration  on  behalf  of  the  British  democ- 
racy, and  to  join  with  the  Allies  in  con- 
formity with  the  Russian  declaration. 

Mr.  Snowden  wanted  to  know  whether 
the  treaty  made  with  the  old  order  in 
Russia  was  still  binding  or  whether  it 
had  been  rendered  void  by  the  revolu- 
tion; also  whether  the  British  Govern- 
ment accepted  the  declared  ^policy  of  the 
new  Russian  Government  in  regard  to 
war  aims. 


Lord  Cecil  on  Russia's  Peace  Program 


The  address  of  Lord  Cecil  in  reply  fol- 
lows : 

WHATEVER  there  may  be  in  store 
for  Russia  in  history,  she  will 
at  any  rate  have  the  credit  of 
having  carried  through,  by  practically 
the  unanimous  wish,  so  far  as  an 
outsider  is  permitted  to  judge,  of  the 
whole  of  her  people  and  of  every  class  of 
her  people,  a  revolution  which  has  been 
stained  with  far  less  bloodshed  than  any 
movement  comparable  with  it  in  size.  I 
am  anxious  to  make  that  clear,  because, 
of  course,  in  dealing  with  this  declaration, 
possibly  some  phrase  might  escape  me 
which  would  appear  to  be  a  criticism.  I 
am  anxious  to  avoid  any  chance  of  that 
being  said.  It  is  quite  true  that  the 
phrase  which  is  thought  to  crystallize 
the  new  policy  is  the  phrase,  "  No  an- 
nexation and  no  indemnity."  The  honor- 
able member  for  Leicester  says  that  the 
word  "  annexation  "  is  a  mistranslation 
— at  any  rate,  a  completely  wrong  version 


of  what  is  meant.  I  am  disposed  to  agree 
with  him. 

But  what  would  the  real  policy  of 
"  no  annexation  "  mean  ?  Take  Arabia. 
Arabia  has  declared  its  independence 
from  Turkey.  No  human  being  would 
suggest  that  we  should  use  our  power  of 
influence  to  place  Arabia  again  under  the 
domination  of  Turkey.  Take  Armenia.  I 
do  not  know  whether  it  is  yet  realized 
what  Armenia  really  meant  and  what 
crimes  were  committed  upon  Armenia. 
Here  is  a  statement  which  says: 

"  Of  the  1,800,000  Armenians  who  were 
in  the  Ottoman  Empire  two  years  ago 
1,200,000  have  been  either  massacred  or 
deported.  Those  who  were  massacred 
died  under  abominable  tortures,  but  they 
escaped  the  longer  agonies  of  the  de- 
ported. Men,  women,  and  children,  with- 
out food  or  other  provisions  for  the 
journey,  without  protection  from  the  cli- 
mate, regardless  of  age  or  weakness  or 
disease,   were   driven   from   their  homes 


-••••••■»■•..«...........< 


WILLIAM  GIBBS  McADOO 


The   Secretary  of  the  Treasury,   the  Man  Officially  Re- 
sponsible   for    the    Successful    Flotation    of    the 
Liberty    Loan   of   Two    Billion   Dollars 


(Photo   Underwood  d-   Underwood) 


«■•••••>••••■••••■• 


KING  ALEXANDER  OF  GREECE 


Second    Son    and    Successor    of    King    Constantine,    Who 

Abdicated    on    the    Demand    of    France, 

Great  Britain,  and  Russia 

(Photo   American   Press   Association) 

■  ■■*«*■■■■■■••■  iiiiiiMiMiiiiiniiii •iiiiiinn iiuiiiuiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii"""1 


WAR  AIMS  OF  ALLIES  RESTATED 


47 


and  made  to  march  as  long  as  their 
strength  lasted  or  until  those  who  drove 
them  drowned  or  massacred  them  in 
batches.  Some  died  of  exhaustion  or  fell 
by  the  way;  some  survived  a  journey  of 
three  months  and  reached  the  deserts 
and  swamps  along  the  middle  Euphrates. 
There  they  have  been  abandoned,  and  are 
dying  now  of  starvation,  disease,  and  ex- 
posure " — I  am  afraid  they  are  dead  now, 
because  this  was  written  some  months 
ago.  "  A  recent  report  tells  of  a  group 
of  survivors  at  Abu  Herrera,  mostly  wo- 
men, children,  and  a  few  old  men,  who 
had  been  without  food  for  seven  days." 

The  most  imperialistic  annexation 
would  be  of  benefit  to  the  people  who 
suffered  such  crimes  as  that.  Take  the 
case  of  Syria  and  Palestine.  Although 
in  Syria  the  numbers  are  not  so  great, 
yet  there  in  substance  the  same  thing  has 
taken  place.  I  confess  I  have  some  hesi- 
tation in  denouncing  annexation  if  it 
means  that  no  territory  which  has  been 
taken  by  force  during  this  war  is  not  to 
be  restored  to  its  original  owners.  If 
that  is  what  is  meant,  then  I  am  certain- 
ly unable  to  accept  the  policy  of  no  an- 
nexation. May  I  give  a  few  examples? 
The  favorite  example  referred  to  is  that 
of  the  German  African  colonies.  I  do 
not  say  that  we  attacked  the  German 
African  colonies  in  order  to  rescue  the 
native  from  misgovernment.  We  did  it 
as  part  of  the  war  against  Germany.  I 
do  not  say  that  it  would  have  been  right 
in  any  circumstances  to  go  to  war  in  or- 
der to  rescue  the  African  population  from 
misgovernment  by  Germany.  But  hav- 
ing rescued  them,  are  you  to  hand  them 
back?  That  is  a  very  different  question, 
which  requires  to  be  carefully  considered. 

German  East  Africa 

Just  let  me  read  one  or  two  descrip- 
tions, because  I  am  not  sure  that  this  is 
always  realized.  This,  for  instance,  is 
from  a  description  given  to  us  this  year 
as  to  the  treatment  of  carriers  in  Ger- 
man East  Africa: 

"  Many  carriers  are  dying  of  cold.  The 
treatment  of  carriers  lately  by  the  Ger- 
mans has  been  terrible;  their  carriers  in- 
clude our  Indian  soldier  prisoners  of  war, 
and    many    wretched    villagers,     young 


boys,  old  men,  and  women;  in  fact,  they 
catch  those  who  cannot  run  away.  They 
chain  them  together,  and  just  work  them 
until  they  die  of  starvation  and  exhaus- 
tion. In  following  upon  Wahle's  track 
from  Walangali  to  Lupembe  we  kept 
finding  dead  and  dying  carriers.  Nor 
after  an  action  do  they  trouble  any  more 
about  their  wounded  Askari,  but  just 
leave  them  to  die. 

"  The  great  aim  of  German  policy  in 
German  Southwest  Africa  as  regards  the 
native  is  to  reduce  him  to  a  state  of 
serfdom,  and,  where  he  resists,  to  destroy 
him  altogether.  The  native,  to  the  Ger- 
man, is  a  baboon,  and  nothing  more.  The 
war  against  the  Hereros,  conducted  by 
General  Trotha,  was  one  of  extermina- 
tion; hundreds — men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren— were  driven  into  desert  country, 
where  death  from  thirst  was  their  end; 
those  left  over  are  now  in  great  locations 
near  Windhuk,  where  they  eke  out  a  mis- 
erable existence;  labor  is  forced  upon 
them,  and,  naturally,  unwillingly  per- 
formed. Again  with  the  Hottentots — 
their  treatment  is  still  more  barbarous, 
as  the  Germans  are  fully  determined  to 
root  out  that  race  lock,stock,  and  barrel." 

I  do  not  know,  of  course,  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  say,  what  we  may  not  be 
forced  to  do  at  the  end  of  the  war,  but  if 
there  is  any  measure  of  success  I  con- 
fess I  should  regard  with  horror  the  idea 
of  returning  natives  who  have  been  freed 
from  a  Government  of  that  kind.  What 
about  Poland  ?  I  think  we  are  all  agreed 
that  it  was  desirable  to  set  up  an  inde- 
pendent Poland.  Is  there  to  be  no  an- 
nexation there?  Are  you  to  say  really 
that  Germany,  having  taken  two  prov- 
inces from  France,  they  shall  not  be 
restored?  Take  Italia  Irredenta.  Are 
we  really  to  commit  ourselves  to  the 
proposition  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  we  restore  to  Italy  provinces  pop- 
ulated by  Italians?  I  should  regret  any 
acceptance  of  short,  misleading  phrases. 
Mr.  Whyte  referred  to  another  phrase — 
"  No  peace  with  the  Hohenzollerns." 
There  is  a  great  deal  in  that  that  is  very 
attractive  to  any  ordinary  British  mind, 
but  at  the  same  time  I  agree  with  him 
that  it  is  too  attractive  to  be  quite  true — 
at  any  rate,  to  be   quite  prudent  as  a 


tfl 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


definition  of  national  policy.  It  may  be 
quite  true  that  it  would  not  be  a  good 
ground  for  going  to  war  to  accomplish 
acts  of  justice  and  reparation  such  as  I 
have  described,  yet  it  is  quite  a  different 
thing  to  ask  to  resign  and  abandon  the 
fruits  which  every  one  must  recognize 
are  desirable  achievements. 

"  No  Indemnity"  Cri; 

About  "  No  indemnity  "  I  confess  that 
for  us  to  talk  about  not  wishing  for 
any  indemnity  seems  to  me  a  little  diffi- 
cult. What  about  Belgium?  Does  the 
honorable  member  say  no  indemnity  to 
Belgium? 

Mr.  Snowden — We  have  always  de- 
manded as  an  essential  of  any  settlement 
the  restoration  to  Belgium  of  its  inde- 
pendence, and  not  only  that,  but  of  all 
the  damage  that  has  been  done. 

Lord  R.  Cecil— What  about  Serbia? 
What  about  the  northern  provinces  of 
France?  Are  we  to  rule  out  definitely 
all  reparation  for  the  destruction  of 
peaceful  merchant  vessels  by  subma- 
rines? I  certainly  am  not  prepared  to  do 
it.  Mr.  Snowden  said  the  allied  Govern- 
ments should  rewrite  their  reply  to  Presi- 
det  Wilson  and  issue  a  new  note  in  very 
different  terms.  He  proceeded  to  give 
a  description  of  the  note,  which,  indeed, 
I  read  in  the  German  papers,  but  which 
is  altogether  at  variance  with  the  terms 
of  the  note.  The  one  statement  in  the 
note  which  I  suppose  is  objected  to  is 
that  referring  to  the  turning  out  of 
Europe  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  I  re- 
member the  time  when  it  was  one  of  the 
greatest  doctrines  of  the  most  progres- 
sive forces  in  this  country  that  the  Turks 
were  to  go  out  bag  and  baggage.  It  was 
only  we  benighted  Tories  who  ever  said 
anything  for  the  Turks  in  those  -  days. 
We  are  all  agreed  there  is  nothing  to  be 
said  for  the  Turks  now.  If  that  is  the 
only  sentence  which  the  honorable  mem- 
ber thinks  conflicts  with  the  general 
spirit  of  the  declaration  made  by  the 
Council  of  Workmen,  I  cannot  see  that 
there  is  any  ground  for  saying  there  is 
any  substantial  difference  of  opinion  be- 
tween any  of  those  who  have  spoken  in 
this  debate.  I  confess  that  at  this  mo- 
ment it  does  not  seem  to  me  that  it  would 


be  desirable  for  us  to  ask  for  terms  of 
peace  from  Germany.  There  is  a  well- 
known  French  proverb,  Que  messieurs 
les  assassins  commencent,  (let  the  mur- 
derers begin.) 

Beihmann  Hollrveg's  Speech 
To  judge  by  the  German  Chancellor's 
speech,  there  is  no  inclination  on  the 
part  of  the  Germans  even  to  state  what 
terms  of  peace  they  are  ready  to  accept. 
As  far  as  I  can  see,  what  has  happened 
in  Germany  now  is  what  has  happened 
in  every  domestic  controversy  in  that 
country  for  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years. 
There  is  a  popular  demand  for  some  re- 
form, an  appearance  by  the  Government 
that  they  are  going  to  yield  and  make 
terms,  a  protest  generally  couched  in 
very  offensive  terms  from  the  Junker 
party,  and  an  immediate  surrender  by 
the  Government  to  the  Junkers.  That  is 
really  the  meaning  of  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg's  speech  in  the  Reichstag  yesterday, 
and  until  that  spirit  has  been  exorcised 
from  Germany  it  appears  to  me  to  be 
ludicrous — apart  from  want  of  dignity 
— to  suggest  that  we  should  ask  for 
terms  from  the  German  Emperor. 

We  of  the  Allies  are  determined  not 
to  accept  a  peace  that  will  be  no  peace. 
It  must  be  a  peace  just  and  durable.  I 
am  a  great  adherent  of  the  idea  of  a 
league  of  nations,  but  before  there  can 
be,  in  the  most  sanguine  mind,  the  slight- 
est expectation  of  its  success,  you  must 
first  establish  a  sound,  just,  equitable 
peace.  The  honorable  member  quoted 
some  phrase  about  patriotism.  I  think 
the  last  word  on  that  subject  was  said 
by  Miss  Cavell  when  she  was  under 
sentence  of  death.  "  Patriotism  is  not 
enough,"  she  said.  I  agree;  but  you  do 
not  want  less  than  patriotism;  you  want 
more — you  want  the  condition,  and  this 
must  be  the  foundation  of  any  peace  we 
make — justice,  chivalry,  respect  for  obli- 
gations, and  respect  for  the  weak.  If  we 
can  secure  peace  founded  on  this  central 
doctrine,  I  shall  be  glad  to  co-operate 
with  any  honorable  member  of  the  House 
to  erect  what  barriers  may  be  possible 
against  the  recurrence  of  a  devastating 
war  such  as  the  present  is. 


President  Wilson's  Note  to  Russia 


The  Allies,  however,  seemed  to  have 
agreed  that  the  formal  reply  should  be 
made  by  the  United  States.  This  was 
done  in  a  note  cabled  to  Russia  May  26, 
but  its  publication  was  delayed  until 
June  10.    The  note  follows: 

IN  view  of  the  approaching  visit  of  the 
American  delegation  to  Russia  to  ex- 
press the  deep  friendship  of  the 
American  people  for  the  people  of  Rus- 
sia and  to  discuss  the  best  and  most  prac- 
tical means  of  co-operation  between  the 
two  peoples  in  carrying  the  present 
struggle  for  the  freedom  of  all  peoples 
to  a  successful  consummation,  it  seems 
opportune  and  appropriate  that  I  should 
state  again,  in  the  light  of  this  new 
partnership,  the  objects  the  United 
States  has  had  in  mind  in  entering 
the  war.  Those  objects  have  been  very- 
much  beclouded  during  the  last  few 
weeks  by  mistaken  and  misleading  state- 
ments, and  the  issues  at  stake  are  too 
momentous,  too  tremendous,  too  signifi- 
cant for  the  whole  human  race  to  permit 
any  misinterpretations  or  misunderstand- 
ings, however  slight,  to  remain  uncor- 
rected for  a  moment. 

The  war  has  begun  to  go  against  Ger- 
many, and  in  their  desperate  desire  to 
escape  the  inevitable  ultimate  defeat 
those  who  are  in  authority  in  Germany 
are  using  every  possible  instrumentality, 
are  making  use  even  of  the  influence  of 
groups  and  parties  among  their  own  sub- 
jects to  whom  they  have  never  been  just 
or  fair  or  even  tolerant,  to  promote  a 
propaganda  on  both  sides  of  the  sea 
which  will  preserve  for  them  their  in- 
fluence at  home  and  their  power  abroad, 
to  the  undoing  of  the  very  men  they  are 
using. 

The  position  of  America  in  this  war  is 
so  clearly  avowed  that  no  man  can  be 
excused  for  mistaking  it.  She  seeks  no 
material  profit  or  aggrandizement  of 
any  kind.  She  is  fighting  for  no  advan- 
tage or  selfish  object  of  her  own,  but  for 
the  liberation  of  peoples  everywhere 
from  the  aggressions  of  autocratic  force. 
The  ruling  classes  in  Germany  have 
begun  of  late  to  profess  a  like  liberality 


and  justice  of  purpose,  but  only  to  pre- 
serve the  power  they  have  set  up  in  Ger- 
many and  the  selfish  advantages  which 
they  have  wrongly  gained  for  themselves 
and  their  private  projects  of  power  all 
the  way  from  Berlin  to  Bagdad  and  be- 
yond. Government  after  Government 
has  by  their  influence,  without  open  con- 
quest of  its  territory,  been  linked  to- 
gether in  a  net  of  intrigue  directed 
against  nothing  less  than  the  peace  and 
liberty  of  the  world.  The  meshes  of  that 
intrigue  must  be  broken,  but  cannot  be 
broken  unless  wrongs  already  done  are 
undone;  and  adequate  measures  must  be 
taken  to  prevent  it  from  ever  again  being 
rewoven  or  repaired. 

Of  course,  the  Imperial  German  Gov- 
ernment and  those  whom  it  is  using  for 
their  own  undoing  are  seeking  to  obtain 
pledges  that  the  war  will  end  in  the  res- 
toration of  the  status  quo  ante.  It  was 
the  status  quo  ante  out  of  which  this  ini- 
quitous war  issued  forth,  the  power  of 
the  Imperial  German  Government  within 
the  empire  and  its  widespread  domina- 
tion and  influence  outside  of  that  em- 
pire. That  staus  must  be  altered  in  such 
fashion  as  to  prevent  any  such  hideous 
thing  from  ever  happening  again. 

We  are  fighting  for  the  liberty,  the 
self-government,  and  the  undictated  de- 
velopment of  all  peoples,  and  every  fea- 
ture of  the  settlement  that  concludes  this 
war  must  be  conceived  and  executed  for 
that  purpose.  Wrongs  must  first  be 
righted,  and  then  adequate  safeguards 
must  be  created  to  prevent  their  being 
committed  again.  We  ought  not  to  con- 
sider remedies  merely  because  they  have 
a  pleasing  and  sonorous  sound.  Practi- 
cal questions  can  be  settled  only  by  prac- 
tical means.  Phrases  will  not  accom- 
plish the  result.  Effective  readjustments 
will;  and  whatever  readjustments  are 
necessary  must  be  made. 

But  they  must  follow  a  principle,  and 
that  principle  is  plain.  No  people  must 
be  forced  under  sovereignty  under  which 
it  does  not  wish  to  live.  No  territory 
must  change  hands  except  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  those  who  inhabit  it  a 


50 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


fair  chance  of  life  and  liberty.  No  in- 
demnities must  be  insisted  on  except 
those  that  constitute  payment  for  mani- 
fest wrongs  done.  No  readjustments  of 
power  must  be  made  except  such  as  will 
tend  to  secure  the  future  peace  of  the 
world  and  the  future  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  its  peoples. 

And  then  the  free  peoples  of  the  world 
must  draw  together  in  some  common 
covenant,  some  genuine  and  practical  co- 
operation that  will  in  effect  combine 
their  force  to  secure  peace  and  justice  in 
the  dealings  of  nations  with  one  another. 
The  brotherhood  of  mankind  must  no 
longer  be  a  fair  but  empty  phrase;  it 
must  be  given  a  structure  of  force  and 
reality.  The  nations  must  realize  their 
common  life  and  effect  a  workable  part- 


nership to  secure  that  life  against  the 
aggressions  of  autocratic  and  self-pleas- 
ing power. 

For  these  things  we  can  afford  to  pour 
.out  blood  and  treasure.  For  these  are 
the  things  we  have  always  professed  to 
desire,  and  unless  we  pour  out  blood  and 
treasure  now  and  succeed,  we  may  never 
be  able  to  unite  or  show  conquering  force 
again  in  the  great  cause  of  human  lib- 
erty. The  day  has  come  to  conquer  or 
submit.  If  the  forces  of  autocracy  can 
divide  us  they  will  overcome  us;  if  we 
stand  together,  victory  is  certain  and  the 
liberty  which  victory  will  secure.  We 
can  afford,  then,  to  be  generous,  but  we 
cannot  afford,  then  or  now,  to  be  weak  or 
omit  any  single  guarantee  of  justice  and 
security.  WOODROW  WILSON. 


Entente  Peace  Terms  Defined 


MORE  precise  definition  of  France's 
aims  was  given  by  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  on  June  5,  when,  by 
a  vote  of  453   to   55,   a   resolution   was 
adopted  in  the  following  terms: 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies,  the  direct  expres- 
sion of  the  sovereignty  of  the  French  people, 
salutes  the  Russian  and  other  allied  democ- 
racies, and  indorses  the  unanimous  protest 
which  the  representatives  of  Alsace-Lorraine, 
torn  from  France  against  their  will,  have 
made  to  the  National  Assembly.  It  declares 
that  it  expects  from  the  war  imposed  upon 
Europe  by  the  aggression  of  imperialist  Ger- 
many the  return  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to  the 
mother  country,  together  with  liberation  of 
invaded  territories  and  just  reparation  for 
damage. 

Far  removed  from  all  thoughts  of  conquest 
and  enslavement,  it  expects  that  the  efforts 
of  the  armies  of  the  republic  and  her  allies 
will  secure,  once  Prussian  militarism  is  de- 
stroyed, durable  guarantees  for  peace  and  in- 
dependence for  peoples  great  and  small,  in  a 
league  of  nations  such  as  has  already  been 
foreshadowed. 

Confident  that  the  Government  will  bring 
this  about  by  the  co-ordinated  military  and 
diplomatic  action  of  all  the  Allies  and  reject- 
ing all  amendments,  the  Chamber  passes  to 
the  order  of  the  day. 

Speaking   to    the    resolution,    Premier 
Ribot  said: 

When  the  hour  for  supreme  decisions 
strikes  it  will  be  for  representatives  of  the 
country  to  determine  the  conditions  of  peace. 
We  wish  to  bring  about  the  triumph  of 
the  rights   of  the  peoples   and   the  ideas   of 


justice  and  liberty.  Do  not  let  us  be  deceived 
by  formulae  whose  makers  hide  themselves 
and  who  wish  to  spread  the  conviction  that 
we  seek  conquest.  We  ask  only  that  what  is 
ours  be  returned  to  us.  We  demand  that  the 
provinces  which  never  ceased  to  be  French  be 
restored  to  us. 

The  resolution  which  the  Government  asks 
you  to  pass  demands  a  reparation,  which 
none  can  contest,  for  appalling  damages.  The 
universal  conscience  will  ratify  these  preten- 
sions. 

Appealing  to  what  has  been  said  by  the 
President  of  the  great  Republic  of  the  United 
States,  we  wish  to  establish  in  stable  fashion 
justice  and  right  for  all  nations,  guarantees 
for  tomorrow,  for  our  children  against  the 
renaissance  of  barbarism.  If  we  fall  back 
into  our  old  differences  the  danger  might  be 
great,  but  France  united  cannot  be  van- 
quished. 

I  ask  you  in  the  name  of  the  Government, 
in  the  name  of  France,  that  your  vote  be 
unanimous. 

British  and  Italian  Aims 
The  following  note  was  forwarded  on 
June  11  by  the  British  Government  to 
the  Russian  Provisional  Government's  re- 
quest for  a  statement  of  war  aims: 

In  the  proclamation  to  the  Russian  people 
inclosed  with  the  note  it  is  said  that  free 
Russia  does  not  purpose  to  dominate  other 
peoples  or  take  from  them  their  national 
patrimony  or  forcibly  occupy  foreign  terri- 
tory. In  this  sentiment  the  British  Govern- 
ment heartily  concur.  They  did  not  enter  the 
war  as  a  war  of  conquest ;  they  are  hot  con- 
tinuing it  for  such  object.     Their  purpose  at 


WAR  AIMS  OF  ALLIES  RESTATED 


51 


the  outset  was  to  defend  the  existence  of 
their  country  and  enforce  respect  for  interna- 
tional engagements.  To  those  objects  have 
now  been  added  that  of  liberating  populations 
oppressed  by  alien  tyranny. 

They  heartily  rejoice,  therefore,  that  free 
Russia  has  announced  her  intention  of  lib- 
erating Poland,  not  only  Poland  ruled  by  the 
old  Russian  autocracy  but  equally  that  within 
the  dominion  of  the  -Germanic  Empires.  In 
this  enterprise  the  British  democracy  wish 
Russia  godspeed. 

Beyond  everything  we  must  seek  such  set- 
tlement as  will  secure  the  happiness  and  con- 
tentment of  peoples  and  take  away  all  legiti- 
mate causes  of  future  war. 

The  British  Government  heartily  join  with 
their  Russian  allies  in  their  acceptance  and 
approval  of  the  principles  laid  down  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson  in  his  historic  message  to  the 
American  Congress.  These  are  the  aims  for 
which  the  British  peoples  are  fighting.  These 
are  the  principles  by  which  their  war  policy 
is  and  will  be  guided. 

The  British  Government  believe  that, 
broadly  speaking,  the  agreements  they  have 
from  time  to  time  made  with  their  allies  are 
conformable  to  these  standards,  but  if  the 
Russian  Government  so  desire  they  are  quite 
ready,  with  the  allies,  to  examine  and,  if 
need  be,  to  revise  these  agreements. 

An  official  communication,  dated  June 
13,  which  was  received  in  Washington 
from  the  Italian  Government  read: 

In  Italian  political  circles  it  is  felt  that  the 
.attitude  of  the  Allies  toward  Russia  warrants 
them  in  questioning  the  Russian  Government 
concerning  intentions  of  Russia. 

The  message  of  President  Wilson  has  so 
thoroughly  cleared  the  situation  it  is  impossi- 
ble honestly  to  connect  the  alleged  democratic 
views  of  the  Russian  Government  with  the 
pacifist  advances  of  the  Central  Powers. 

The  consent  on  the  part  of  England,  in  the 
name  of  all  the  Allies,  to  revise  the  conditions 
of  the  alliance  excludes  every  pretext  whatso- 
ever of  the  Russian  extremists  of  evading  the 
duty  to  fight  against  Germany  and  Austria. 

In  view  of  these  declarations  of  the  Allies, 
it  is  felt  that  the  Russian  Government  cannot 
further  delay  its  decision  in  order  to  render 
the  pro-German  tendencies  of  a  part  of  the 
Russian  population  vain. 

Russia  must  free  herself  from  the  dangerous 
position  she  is  in  now,  especially  for  the  sake 
of  Russian  freedom. 

This  was  supplemented  by  an  unoffi- 
cial statement  made  in  Washington  to 
the  effect  that  the  Entente  Powers  had 
carefully  examined  the  situation  and 
reached  these  conclusions: 

1.  That  the  position  occupied  by  Russia 
affects  the  entire  plans  of  the  Allies,  espe- 
cially as  regards  military  operations  in  the 
near  future  contemplated  by  England, 
France,  and  Italy. 


2.  That  nothing  Russia  does  can  irreparably 
damage  the  cause  or  the  interests  of  the 
Allies. 

3.  That  Japan  can  be  counted  upon  to  pre- 
vent Russia  from  forming  an  alliance  with 
Germany  or  with  giving  aid  to  the  Central 
Powers. 

Allies'   Position    Unsatisfactory   to   Rus- 
sian Socialists 

The  replies  of  the  Allies  to  the  request 
for  the  war  aims  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  Russian  Socialists.  Their  newspapers 
acutely  criticised  the  replies.  The  most 
important  and  decisive  comment  was 
printed  June  15  in  the  Ivestia,  the  offi- 
cial bulletin  of  the  Council  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  in  these  words: 
Mr.  Wilson  is  mistaken  if  he  thinks  that 
such  ideas  can  find  reception  in  the  hearts  of 
a  revolutionary  people.  The  Russian  revolu- 
tionary democracy  knows  very  well  that  the 
road  to  the  passionately  awaited  universal 
peace  lies  only  through  a  united  struggle  of 
the  laboring  classes  with  the  imperialists  of 
the  world.  It  is  quite  easy  to  understand 
what  feelings  will  be  called  forth  by  the 
strange  pretense  of  describing  the  ever-grow- 
ing spirit  of  brotherhood  and  peace  in  the  in- 
ternational Socialist,  as  also  a  German  in- 
trigue. The  French  and  English  notes  will 
undoubtedly  not  call  forth  enthusiasm  among 
the  revolutionary  democracy. 

That  these  views  represent  the  domi- 
nating thought  of  the  party  in  control  in 
Russia  at  the  time  was  confirmed  by  the 
following  reply  to  a  letter  from  the  Exec- 
utive Committee  of  the  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Council  addressed  to  it  by 
Albert  Thomas,  the  French  Minister  of 
Munitions;  Arthur  Henderson,  British 
Minister  without  portfolio,  and  Emile 
Vandervelde,  Belgian  Minister  of  Muni- 
tions, expressing  surprise  that  a  call  had 
been  issued  by  the  council  for  an  inter- 
national conference  to  consider  peace  be- 
fore the  negotiations  between  the  Brit- 
ish, French,  and  Belgian  delegations  and 
the  council  had  been  concluded. 

"  The  Russian  revolution,"  says  the 
statement,  "  which  is  a  revolt  of  the  peo- 
ple not  only  against  the  tyranny  of  Czar- 
ism,  but  also  against  the  horrors  of  the 
world  war,  the  blame  for  which  falls 
upon  international  imperialism,  has 
placed  before  all  countries,  with  extraor- 
dinary acutenes^,  the  urgent  need  of  con- 
cluding peace. 
At   the   same   time   the  Russian   revolution 


52 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


has  indicated  to  the  nations  a  way  for  realiz- 
ing this  problem,  notably  a  union  of  all  the 
working  classes  to  combat  all  attempts  of 
imperialism  to  prolong  the  war  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  wealthy  classes  and  to  prevent 
peace  without  annexations  or  indemnities. 

The  working  classes  of  all  countries  can 
easily  come  to  a  speedy  solid  agreement  only 
if  they  are  inspired  with  their  own  interests 
and  remove  the  aspirations  of  imperialists 
and  militarists,  who  often  hide  their  true 
face  under  a  seductive  mask.  It  is  evident 
that  the  conference  can  become  the  turning 
point  in  the  terrible  epoch  of  fratricidal  war 
only  if  the  members  of  the  conference  are 
imbued  with  these  ideas.  And  it  is  no  less 
evident  that  all  the  questions  you  have  raised 
cannot  be  the  subject  of  discord  or  a  motive 
for  a  continuation  of  the  war. 

Having  recognized  the  right  of  nations  to 
dispose  of  their  destiny,  the  members  of  the 
conference  will  come  to  an  understanding 
without  difficulty  regarding  the  future  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  and  other  regions.  More- 
over, the  working  classes,  relieved  of  the 
mutual  distrust  with  which  the  imperialists 
have  envenomed  them,  will  agree  regarding 
the  means  of  granting  compensation  and  the 
amount  of  such  compensation  to  the  coun- 
tries devastated  by  war,  like  Belgium,  Po- 
land, Galicia,  and  Serbia.  But  it  goes  with- 
out saying  that  such  compensation  must 
have  nothing  in  common  with  the  contribu- 
tion which  is  imposed  on  the  conquered  coun- 
try. 

Regarding  your  statement  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  you  to  break  the  secret  union— 
this  statement  evidently  is  based  on  a  mis- 
understanding, for  the  Council  of  the  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates  claims  from 
no  party  as  a  preliminary  condition  the  re- 
nunciation of  the  policy  already  pursued  by 
it.  The  council  expects  from  the  conference 
of  the  Socialists  of  the  belligerent  and  neu- 
tral countries  the  creation  of  an  Interna- 
tionale, which  will  permit  all  the  working 
classes  of  the  whole  world  to  struggle  in 
concert  for  a  general  peace  and  break  the 
bonds  which  unite  them  by  force  to  the  Gov- 
ernments and  the  classes  imbued  with  im- 
perialistic tendencies  which  prevent  peace. 

The  Council  of  the  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Delegates  also  considers  it  futile  for 
parties  to  make  it  an  absolute  condition  of 
their  taking  part  in  the  conference  that  the 
preliminary  consent  of  other  parties  shall  be 
obtained  to  any  obligatory  decision,  for  that 
would  give  rise  to  irreconcilable  contradic- 
tions on  questions  an  amicable  discussion  of 
which  might  lead  to  a  solution  acceptable  to 
both  parties. 

Regarding  your  desire  to  obtain  a  previ- 
ous complete  agreement  between  the  allied 
Socialists,  the  way  in  which  we  put  the  prob- 
lem renders  futile  any  such  understanding. 
We  consider  that  the  conference  can  succeed 
only  if  the  Socialists  consider  themselves,  not 
the    representatives    of    the    two    belligerent 


parties,  but  the  representatives  of  a  single 
movement  of  the  working  classes  toward  a 
common  aim  of  a  general  peace. 

Teutonic  Efforts  for  Peace 
The  Central  Powers'  efforts  to  bring 
about  a  separate  peace  with  Russia 
failed,  despite  the  fact  that  the  peace 
sentiment  among  the  Russian  people  is 
both  intense  and  widespread.  One  of  the 
most  daring  peace  moves  made  by  Ger- 
many was  that  disclosed  by  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  on 
June  9.    The  council's  statement  read: 

The  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  German 
armies  on  the  Eastern  front  has  sent  to  our 
troops  a  wireless  message  proposing  to  indi- 
cate to  them  a  way  toward  an  honorable 
peace  and  a  means  for  ceasing  to  wage  war 
without  a  rupture  with  the  Allies.  The  Ger- 
man General  talks  this  way  because  he  knows 
that  the  Russian  revolutionary  troops  would 
reject  with  indignation  any  overt  proposal  for 
a  separate  peace. 

That  is  why  the  enemy  Commander  in  Chief 
invites  our  armies  to  a  separate  armistice  and 
proposes  that  we  should  enter  into  secret 
pourparlers  with  the  German  military  lead- 
ers on  the  Eastern  front.  In  his  wireless  tele- 
gram the  German  General  declares  that  a 
separate  armistice  does  not  offer  Germany 
any  advantage.  But  this  is  Untrue,  for,  in 
speaking  of  the  inactivity  of  the  German 
Army  on  the  Russian  front,  the  German  Gen- 
eral forgets  what  Russia  cannot  forget,  nota- 
bly the  Russian  defeat  on  the  Stokhod.  The 
German  General  has  forgotten  that  the  Rus- 
sian troops  know  whither  the  divisions  and 
heavy  batteries  are  being  taken  from  our 
front.  The  German  General  has  forgotten 
that  we  in  Russia  hear  the  sound  of  the 
bloody  battles  which  are  being  fought  on  the 
Franco-British  front.  He  has  forgotten  that 
Russia  knows  that  the  overthrow  of  her 
allies  would  mean  the  overthrow  of  Russia 
and  the  end  of  her  political  liberty. 

Further  light  was  thrown  on  the  peace 
manoeuvres  of  the  Central  Powers  by  the 
following  dispatch,  dated  June  7,  from 
Jassy,  the  temporary  Rumanian  capital, 
to  The  London  Daily  Chronicle: 

Following  up  their  earlier  attempts  in  this 
region  to  seduce  the  Russian  troops,  the 
enemy  on  the  Russo-Rumanian  front  has  now 
sent  delegates  to  demand  an  armistice  pre- 
paratory to  the  discussion  of  peace  terms. 
Over  100  delegates  have  arrived  on  the  front 
of  the  Russian  Ninth  Army  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  white  flag.  They  include  several 
officers — two  of  high  rank,  one  being  an  Aus- 
trian Prince. 

The  delegates  bore  letters  from  General 
Roher,  commanding  the  Austrian  army  group 
facing  the  Ninth  Army,  and  also  from  Ger- 
man   army    commanders    on    the    Rumanian 


WAR  AIMS  OF  ALLIES  RESTATED 


53 


front,  stating  that  the  delegates  are  duly 
accredited,  and  that  they  have  been  dis- 
patched with  the  full  consent  of  the  Austrian 
and  German  commanders.  The  peace  envoys 
stated  that  they  had  been  selected  by  the 
various  Austrian  divisions  on  the  Rumanian 
front.     There  are  no  Germans  among  them. 

The  delegates,  blindfolded,  were  taken  into 
the  Russian  lines,  where  the  regimental  offi- 
cers' and  soldiers'  committee  claimed  them, 
maintaining  that  it  was  the  soldiers'  right, 
under  the  new  regime,  to  discuss  and  consider 
the  question  of  an  armistice.  Ultimately  the 
Russian  soldiers'  committee  waived  their 
claim,  and  the  delegates  were  sent  to  the 
Ninth  Army  headquarters. 

There  the  commander  took  a  dignified  atti- 
tude. He  stated  simply  that  he  was  a  soldier 
and  could  therefore  listen  to  no  peace  pro- 
posals, and  said  it  was  a  matter  for  the  Rus- 
sian Government.  He  also  refused  the  dele- 
gates' request  that  the  Russians  should  ap- 
point military  delegates  to  arrange  an  armis- 
tice preparatory  to  the  formulation  by  the 
Austrians  of  peace  terms. 

The  Russian  commander  released  two  of  the 
higher  officers,  including  the  Austrian  Prince, 
and  sent  them  back  to  the  Austrian  lines 
bearing  a  letter  in  which  it  was  announced 
that  he  declined  to  entertain  the  request  for 
an  armistice,  saying  that  he  had  no  authority 
to  negotiate,  and  adding  that  he  intended  to 
treat  the  envoys  as  prisoners  of  war. 

Another  peace  move  was  that  initiated 
by  the  German  Catholic  clergy.  Accord- 
ing to  Mgr.  Baudrillart,  rector  of  the 
Catholic  Institute  in  Paris,  there  was 
held  at  Olten  on  May  18  a  meeting  of 


Swiss  Catholics  summoned  by  the  Ger- 
man Centre  Deputy  Erzberger,  (Mathias 
Erzberger,  leader  of  the  Clerical  Centre 
in  the  Reichstag.)  The  latter  obtained 
the  assistance  of  Swiss  Catholics  with  a 
view  to  taking  action  with  the  Entente 
bishops  in  favor  of  an  early  peace.  A 
professor  of  international  law  of  Lau- 
sanne was  charged  with  the  task  of 
sounding  the  French  Catholics,  and  even 
some  of  the  French  bishops.  Others  de- 
clared themselves  sure  of  obtaining  the 
support  of  certain  Italian  bishops. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  newly  appointed 
Governor  General  of  Belgium,  General 
von  Falkenhausen,  in  an  interview  pub- 
lished in  Berlin  on  June  5,  took  up  the 
position  that  it  was  no  time  to  talk 
peace. 

The  Kaiser,  in  a  speech  to  the  Bran- 
denburg troops  a  couple  of  days  later, 
said: 

The  enemy  is  seeking  a  decision.  We 
await  it  calmly,  placing  our  trust  in  God, 
who  heretofore  has  graciously  protected  and 
aided  us.  Our  enemy  will  be  compelled  to 
sacrifice  men  until  he  is  exhausted  and  lays 
down  his  arms. 

You  must  hasten  his  exhaustion.  When 
this  is  accomplished  you  will  have -won  for 
the  German  people  the  position  which  they 
are  entitled  to  occupy.  Peace  will  be  dictated, 
through  you. 


Russia's  Perilous  Transition  Stage 

The  Paralysis  of  Military  Operations 


RUSSIA  was  the  scene  of  dramatic 
episodes  during  the  month  ended 
June  20,  1917.  At  times  the  situ- 
ation seemed  so  critical  that  all 
except  the  most  sanguine  lost  hope  of 
avoiding  anarchy  or  civil  war  between 
the  radicals  and  conservatives.  The  first 
comforting  word  came  on  May  26  in  the 
report  that  the  All-Russian  Council  of 
Peasant  Deputies,  which  consisted  of  real 
agricultural  workers,  With  no  politicians 
or  professional  agitators  as  members, 
had  declared  against  a  separate  peace  and 
demanded  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war  under  a  firm  Government.  Keren- 
sky,   Minister  of   War,   the  outstanding 


figure  of  the  revolution  in  the  firmness, 
consistency,  and  courage  of  his  efforts 
for  law  and  order  and  for  fidelity  to  the 
Entente  Allies,  rose  to  the  crisis;  his  elo- 
quent patriotism  aroused  a  popular  re- 
sponse and  prevented  the  complete  col- 
lapse of  the  army  and  navy. 

Complete  economic  collapse  was  threat- 
ened at  the  beginning  of  June  by  the  ex- 
orbitant demands  of  labor.  In  many  of 
the  factories  the  demands  by  the  work- 
men for  increased  wages  were  actually 
greater  than  the  entire  profits  of  the  fac- 
tories under  the  best  conditions  of  pro- 
duction. The  workmen,  through  their 
committees,  were  in  virtual  command  of 


54 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


the  factories,  and  all  business  had  to  be 
submitted  to  them  for  approval.  Wages 
in  a  majority  of  the  factories  were  in- 
creased from  100  to  150  per-  cent.  But 
there  has  yet  been  no  offset  by  an  ad- 
vance in  prices  of  the  output. 

In  one  of  the  works  in  Petrograd  the 
workmen  demanded  the  immediate  pay- 
ment of  13,000,000  rubles — normally  $6,- 
500,000 — to  cover  an  increase  of  15  ko- 
pecks per  hour  for  each  workman  since 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  The  Directors 
of  the  organization  immediately  com- 
municated with  the  Government  and 
asked  to  be  placed  under  voluntary  arrest 
as  protection  against  the  threats  of  the 
workmen,  which,  as  usual,  accompanied 
the  demand.  The  Directors  were  for 
two  days  housed  in  the  Ministry  of  Jus- 
tice. The  Government  finally  informed 
the  Directors  that  the  matter  would  be 
considered,  and,  with  the  demand  of  the 
workmen  held  temporarily  in  abeyance, 
the  Directors  returned  to  the  factory. 

An  eight-hour  day  was  everywhere  es- 
tablished. In  eighteen  metal  establish- 
ments in  the  Donets  district,  with  a  capi- 
talization of  195,000,000  rubles  and  an- 
nual profits  of  75,000,000,  the  workmen 
had  demanded  an  increase  of  240,000,000 
rubles.  The  owners  had  agreed  to  64,- 
000,000,  but  the  workmen  refused  to  ac- 
cept this.  In  some  of  the  works  the  own- 
ers decided  to  cede  all  the  profits  to  the 
workmen,  but  this  did  not  meet  their 
exorbitant  demands.  The  demands  in 
Southern  Russian  factories  aggregate 
800,000,000  rubles.  In  the  Urals  the  in- 
crease in  wages  demanded  reaches  30,- 
000,000  rubles,  while  the  annual  business 
does  not  exceed  200,000,000. 

Nerv  Army  Regulations 
The  disciplinary  regulations  of  the 
Russian  Army,  as  promulgated  May  27 
by  the  new  Government,  constitute  a 
document  of  historic  interest  as  betoken- 
ing the  attitude  of  advanced  Socialists 
toward  a  national  army.  They  are  en- 
titled "  A  Decree  Regarding  the  Funda- 
mental Rights  of  Men  in  the  Fighting 
Services."  The  wording  throughout  is  so 
chosen  as  to  include  every  one,  from  Gen- 
erals and  Admirals  down  to  drummer 
boys,  in  an  absolute  equality  of  rights. 
The   decree  is  a  document  of  eighteen 


paragraphs.  The  first  three  lay  down 
that  all  fighting  services  men  shall  enjoy 
all  the  rights  of  free  citizens,  but  must 
regulate  their  conduct  by  the  require- 
ments of  the  service  and  of  discipline. 
They  are  to  have  the  right  to  belong  to 
any  political  party  and  to  speak,  write, 
or  publish  anything  whatsoever  on  any 
political,  religious,  social,  or  other  sub- 
jects, within  the  scope  of  the  ordinary 
laws.  The  fourth  paragraph  gives  full 
religious  freedom;  no  man  is  compelled 
to  attend  any  forms  of  prayer  anywhere. 

The  next  two  safeguard  correspondence 
and  printed  matter:  "All  printed  matter, 
periodical  or  otherwise,  without  any  ex- 
ception, must  be  delivered  without  hin- 
drance to  the  addressees."  The  seventh 
allows  the  uniform  to  be  discarded  ex- 
cept when  on  actual  service,  with  some 
exceptions  as  to  garrisons  in  the  war 
zone.  The  eighth  paragraph  runs:  "  The 
relations  between  fighting  services  men 
must  be  based,  with  strict  regard  for 
military  discipline,  upon  the  sentiment 
or  dignity  of  citizens  of  free  Russia  and 
upon  mutual  confidence,  respect,  arid 
politeness."  The  next  three  paragraphs 
abolish  various  details  of  service  as 
formerly  practiced,  such  as  fixed  for- 
mulas for  replies  to  superiors,  the  use  of 
soldier  servants,  orderlies,  &c.  The 
twelfth  runs :  "  The  compulsory  salute, 
whether  for  individuals  or  commands,  is 
abolished.  For  all  fighting  services  men, 
in  its  place,  is  instituted  a  voluntary  mu- 
tual greeting."  Exception  is  made  for 
such  cases  as  parades  and  ceremonial  oc- 
casions. The  thirteenth  gives  freedom  out- 
side duty  hours  to  quit  barracks  or  ships 
on  merely  announcing  such  an  intention 
to  superiors. 

The  fourteenth  says  that  no  one  can 
be  subjected  to  punishment  without  trial, 
but  in  actual  fighting  conditions  the 
superior  has  the  right,  on  his  own  per- 
sonal responsibility,  to  take  all  meas- 
ures, even  to  the  use  of  armed  force, 
against  such  as  do  not  fulfill  his  orders. 
The  next  three  paragraphs  relate  to 
punishments,  which  must  nowise  offend 
against  the  sense  of  honor  or  dignity. 
A  special  note  abolishes  the  form  of  pun- 
ishment known  as  standing  under  arms. 
The  use  of  any  form  of  punishment  ex- 


RUSSIA'S  PERILOUS  TRANSITION  STAGE 


55 


cept  such  as  is  indicated  in  the  code  is 
a  criminal  act,  for  which  the  offender 
must  be  put  on  trial.  No  fighting  serv- 
ices men  can  in  any  circumstances  be 
subjected  to  physical  punishment  of  any 
kind.  The  last  paragraph  alone  contains 
some  hint  that  commanding  officers 
exist  to  command.  By  paragraph  eight- 
een superiors  have  the  right  to  make 
appointments  and  temporarily  remove 
from  appointments,  and  to  issue  orders 
concerning  fighting  activity  or  the  prep- 
arations therefor,  but  all  matters  con- 
cerning the  internal  economy  of  the  regi- 
ment or  ship  are  in  the  hands  of  elec- 
tive committees.  These,  by  the  regula- 
tions already  published,  consist  of  men 
and  officers,  the  latter  being  limited  to 
one-fifth  of  the  number  of  men  elected 
to  a  company  or  regimental  committee. 

Action  of  Soldiers*  Delegates 

On  May  30  the  Congress  of  Delegates 
from  the  front  voted  the  following  reso- 
lutions : 

First,  the  army  in  the  trenches  declares 
that  it  is  indispensable  to  take  every  meas- 
ure to  put  an  end  as  quickly  as  possible  to 
the  international  carnage  and  conclude  peace 
•without  annexation  or  indemnities,  on  the 
basis  of  the  right  of  all  nations  to  dispose  of 
themselves,  proclaiming-  at  the  same  time  the 
watchword,  "  Whoever  wishes  for  peace  must 
prepare  for  war." 

Second,  the  army,  pointing  out  that  the 
Russian  soldiers  have  been  fighting  hitherto 
under  conditions  infinitely  worse  than  those 
of  the  Allies,  that  the  Russian  soldier  has 
had  to  march  almost  unprotected  against  the 
enemy's  bullets  and  break  with  bare  hands 
the  barbed  wire  entanglements,  which  the 
Allies  and  the  enemy  pass  freely  after  artil- 
lery preparation,  declares  that  the  Russian 
front  must  be  provided  with  munitions  and 
everything  necessary  to  maintain  the  princi- 
ple,  "  The  more  metal,  the  less  gun  fodder." 

In  conclusion  the  congress  declared 
that  the  army  appealed  to  all  to  whom 
free  Russia  is  dear  to  rally  around  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates and  the  Provisional  Government 
and  not  to  permit  "  adventurers  to  let  the 
army  become  manure  for  foreign  fields." 

The  Cossacks  in  the  Ural  district  held 
a  convention  and  passed  a  resolution  to 
give  their  unqualified  support  to  the  tem- 
porary Government.  They  also  issued  an 
appeal  to  all  citizens  of  free  Russia  to 
follow  their  example.    Among  the  decla- 


rations contained  in  the  appeal  were  the 
following : 

"  You  must  remember  that  the  enemy 
is  watching  our  interior  disorganization. 
Away  with  fraternization  and  disorders! 
We  have  only  one  front — our  own  and 
that  of  our  allies.  The  army  must  not 
remain  quiet,  but  must  help  the  Allies  by 
advancing." 

Seizure  of  Kronstadt  Fortress 

A  most  serious  step  was  taken  June  1, 
when  the  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates defied  the  Provisional  Government 
and  decided  to  assume  control  of  Kron- 
stadt, the  great  fortress  which  defends 
Petrograd.  Two  days  later  it  was  an- 
nounced that  the  Provisional  Government 
had  decided  that  firm  measures  must  be 
taken  to  compel  the  seceders  to  yield,  and 
two  Cabinet  Ministers  were  sent  to  Kron- 
stadt. 

A  few  days  later  it  was  announced  that 
the  matter  had  been  adjusted  and  that  the 
Provisional  Government  had  re-estab- 
lished its  authority  there.  The  climax 
was  reached  in  the  crisis  June  2,  when  a 
parade  of  armed  anarchists  calling  for 
the  Commune  and  war  on  capitalists 
marched  through  the  streets  of  Petrograd 
carrying  black  banners  inscribed :  "  Down 
with  Authority!  "  "  Long  Live  the  Social 
Revolution  and  the  Commune!  "  There 
was  no  interference  from  the  authorities. 

This  seemed  the  turning  point  of  the 
frenzy  of  unrest,  for  from  that  time  the 
news  became  more  reassuring. 

On  June  5  it  was  announced  that  Gen- 
eral Michael  V.  Alexeieff,  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Russian  Armies,  had  re- 
signed. General  Brusiloff,  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  Armies  of  the  Southwest- 
ern Front,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

General  Goutor  replaced  Brusiloff  as 
commander  on  the  southwestern  front. 

General  Alexeieff  was  appointed  Com- 
mander in  Chief  on  April  15,  soon  after 
the  retirement  of  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
from  that  post.  General  Brusiloff  a  few 
weeks  previously  resigned  from  his  posi- 
tion as  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Armies 
on  the  Southwestern  Front,  but  withdrew 
his  resignation  after  a  conference  at  Pe- 
trograd. 


56 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Peoples  Call  for  Action 
On  June  8  the  alliance  of  all  Russian 
commercial,  industrial,  and  banking  in- 
stitutions held  its  first  meeting.  After  a 
discussion  of  the  politcal  situation  and 
speeches  by  the  Belgian  Minister  to  Rus- 
sia and  representatives  of  the  French 
Embassy  it  was  unanimously  resolved 
to  address  to  the  Entente  Allies  a  decla- 
ration rejecting  emphatically  all  possi- 
bility of  Russia  concluding  a  separate 
peace.  The  resolution  also  expressed  con- 
fidence in  an  approaching  decisive  vic- 
tory over  the  Central  Powers. 

A  resolution  calling  upon  the  army  to 
submit  itself  to  discipline  and  defend 
revolutionary  Russia  was  adopted  by  the 
Congress  of  Peasants  in  session  on  June 
8,  in  these  words: 

The  peasants  aspire  to  an  equitable  peace 
without  humiliating  annexation  or  indemnity 
and  with  the  right  of  each  nation  to  dispose 
of  itself.  International  relations  and  treaties 
should  be  submitted  to  the  control  of  the  peo- 
ples interested.  Disputes  should  be  settled 
by  an  international  tribunal,  and  not  by 
force.  The  congress  approves  the  union  of 
workers  and  appeals  to  the  peasants  of  all 
countries  to  force  their  Governments  to  re- 
nounce annexations  and  indemnities. 

The  congress  considers  that  it  is  its  duty 
energetically  to  defend. its  country,  recoiling 
before  no  sacrifices  in  order  to  sustain  the 
fighting  strength  of  the  army  and  the 
struggle  for  the  safety  of  the  patrimony  of 
the  Russian  people.  The  congress  summons 
the  army  to  submit  itself  to  discipline  and 
defend  revolutionary  Russia,  of  peasants, 
and  workers.  It  grants  its  benediction  to  this 
war,  and  will  not  forget  the  blood  which  has 
been  shed. 

Minister  of  War  Kerensky  ordered  that 
the  resolution  be  read  to  all  ranks  of  the 
army  and  navy.  Two  hundred  girl  stu- 
dents of  the  Petrograd  Technical  Insti- 
tute entered  their  names  on  the  rolls  of  a 
female  regiment  which  was  raised  by 
Ensign  Butchkareff.  The  aim  is  to  start 
to  the  front  and  to  fight  in  all  respects 
under  the  same  conditions  as  men.  Scores 
of  girls  and  women,  anxious  to  fight,  ap- 
peared at  the  offices  of  the  League  of 
Equal  Rights  for  Women,  which  has  ex- 
pressed its  approval  of  Lieutenant  Butch- 
karefFsi  plan. 

The   Constituent  Assembly 
On  June  12  a  council  of  sixty-one  mem- 
bers under  the  Presidency  of  Kokashkine, 


a  member  of  the  Duma,  met  to  prepare 
for  the  Constituent  Assembly.  This  As- 
sembly will  not  only  draft  Russia's  per- 
manent Constitution,  but  will  also  solve 
certain  immediate  problems,  the  chief  of 
which  are  the  questions  of  nationalities 
and  the  conditions  of  the  transfer  of  the 
lands  of  the  nobles  to  the  peasantry.  In 
this  preparatory  council  sat  a  group  of 
constitutional  specialists,  also  deputies 
from  the  army  and  from  all  the  political 
parties,  representatives  of  Jews,  Ukrain- 
ians, Poles,  and  other  races,  and  also  a 
representative  of  the  women,  the  famous 
feminist,  Mme.  Shishkin  Yavein. 

The  voting  age  was  fixed  at  20,  with 
secret,  direct  voting  by  both  sexes,  and  18 
years  for  soldiers. 

An  important  reform  proclaimed  June 
12  is  the  introduction  of  the  small  unit 
of  local  self-government,  in  which  all 
classes  may  participate  equally.  Here- 
tofore the  smallest  of  such  units  was 
the  district  Zemstvo,  which  adminis- 
tered a  very  large  area,  cantons  and 
communes  having  purely  peasant  ad- 
ministrations. Henceforth  the  cantons 
will  be  administered  by  representatives 
of  all  classes  voting  equally. 

These  reforms,  though  they  were  pro- 
claimed autocratically  by  the  Provis- 
ional Government,  were  enthusiastically 
received,  as  they  satisfy  the  historic  na- 
tional demands,  which  the  former  Gov- 
ernment repeatedly  promised,  but  never 
fulfilled. 

It  was  decided  to  allow  the  former 
Emperor  and  members  of  the  imperial 
family  the  privilege  of  voting. 

On  June  14,  as  evidence  of  the  grow- 
ing confidence  of  the  Government,  a  de- 
cree was  issued  declaring  all  acts  of  mili- 
tary disorder  to  be  insubordination,  in- 
cluding refusal  to  fight  and  also  incite- 
ment to  fight  against  the  Government. 
Such  acts,  says  the  decree,  are  punish- 
able by  long  sentence  to  servitude  in  the 
penitentiary  and  the  deprivation  of 
rights  to  property  and  also  the  right  to 
receive  land  under  the  coming  land  re- 
distribution. 

General  Denikine,  former  Chief  of 
Staff,  was  nominated  to  succeed  Gen- 
eral Gurko  who  had  resigned  his  com- 
mand of  the  armies  on  the  western  front. 


RUSSIA'S  PERILOUS  TRANSITION  STAGE 


57 


The  conflict  caused  by  Finland's  claim 
that  the  rights  of  the  former  Emperor 
as  Grand  Duke  of  Finland  did  not  pass 
automatically  to  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment was  satisfactorily  settled  by  a  new- 
law  which  will  be  valid  until  Russo-Fin- 
nish  relations  are  permanently  regu- 
lated by  the  Constituent  Assembly.  The 
right  to  decide  all  State  transactions, 
excepting  affairs  affecting  Russian  sub- 
jects, and  also  the  right  to  fill  the  date 


for  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  Fin- 
nish Diet  is  conceded  to  the  Finnish  Sen- 
ate. Finland  also  gets  the  right  of  legis- 
lative initiative,  the  right  to  confirm  the 
budget,  revoke  administrative  decrees, 
summon  the  Ecclesiastical  Council,  and, 
finally,  the  right  to  pardon  offenders, 
counted  in  almost  all  countries  as  a 
sovereign  prerogative.  The  law  prac- 
tically confers  on  Finland  complete  in- 
ternal autonomy. 


The  American  Mission  in  Russia 


THE  American  Commission  to  Rus- 
sia headed  by  Elihu  Root,  former 
Secretary  of  State,  reached  Petro- 
grad  via  Vladivostok  on  June  13.  The 
commission  was  cordially  received  and 
housed  in  the  former  Winter  Palace  of 
the  Czar. 

On  June  15  the  American  Ambassador, 
David  R.  Francis,  presented  the  Root 
mission  to  the  Council  of  Ministers  in 
Marinsky  Palace,  explaining  that  the 
members  of  the  mission  had  come  to  Rus- 
sia to  discover  how  America  could  best 
co-operate  with  its  ally  in  forwarding  the 
fight  against  the  common  enemy.  The 
presentation  was  very  informal.  M.  Ke- 
rensky,  the  Minister  of  War,  just  back 
from  the  front,  wore  the  khaki  blouse  of 
a  common  soldier. 

Mr.  Roofs  First  Address 

The  Ministers  listened  with  rapt  atten- 
tion to  Mr.  Root's  address,  which  was  as 
follows : 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Council 
of  Ministers  :  The  mission  for  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  speak  is  charged  by  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America  with  a  message  to  the  Government 
and  people  of  Russia.  The  mission  comes 
from  a  democratic  republic.  Its  members  are 
commissioned  and  instructed  by  a.  President 
Who  holds  his  high  office  as  Chief  Executive 
of  more  than  100,000,000  free  people  by  virtue 
of  popular  election,  in  which  more  than  18,- 
000,000  votes  were  freely  cast,  and  fairly 
counted  pursuant  to  law,  by  universal,  equal, 
direct,  and  secret  suffrage. 

For  140  years  our  people  have  been  strug- 
gling with  the  hard  problems  of  self-govern- 
ment. With  many  shortcomings,  many  mis- 
takes, many  imperfections,  we  still  have 
maintained  order  and  respect  for  law,  indi- 
vidual freedom,  and  national  independence. 
Under  the  security  of  our  own  laws  we  have 


grown  in  strength  and  prosperity.  But  we 
value  our  freedom  more  than  wealth.  We 
love  liberty,  and  we  cherish  above  all  our 
possessions  the  ideals  for  which  our  fathers 
fought  and  suffered  and  sacrificed  that 
America  might  be  free. 

We  believe  in  the  competence  of  the  power 
of  democracy  and  in  our  heart  of  hearts 
abides  faith  in  the  coming  of  a  better  world 
in  which  the  humble  and  oppressed  of  all 
lands  may  be  lifted  up  by  freedom  to  a  her- 
itage of  justice  and  equal  opportunity. 

The  news  of  Russia's  new-found  freedom 
brought  to  America  universal  satisfaction 
and  joy.  From  all  the  land  sympathy  and 
hope  went  out  to  the  new  sister  in  the  circle 
of  democracies.  And  the  mission  is  sent  to 
express  that  feeling. 

The  American  democracy  sends  to  the  de- 
mocracy of  Russia  a  greeting  of  sympathy, 
friendship,  brotherhood,  godspeed.  Distant 
America  knows  little  of  the  special  conditions 
of  Russian  life  which  must  give  form  to  the 
Government  and  laws  which  you  are  about 
to  create.  As  we  have  developed  our  in- 
stitutions to  serve  the  needs  of  our  national 
character  and  life,  so  we  assume  that  you 
will  develop  your  institutions  to  serve  the 
needs  of  Russian  character  and  life. 

As  we  look  across  the  sea  we  distinguish 
no  party,  no  class.  We  see  great  Russia  as 
a  whole,  as  one  mighty,  striving,  aspiring 
democracy.  We  know  the  self-control,  essen- 
tial kindliness,  strong  common  sense,  cour- 
age, and  noble  idealism  of  the  Russian  char- 
acter. We  have  faith  in  you  all.  We  pray 
for  God's  blessing  upon  you  all.  We  believe 
you  will  solve  your  problems,  that  you  will 
maintain  your  liberty,  and  that  our  two 
great  nations  will  march  side  by  "side  in  the 
triumphant  progress  of  democracy  until  the 
old  order  everywhere  has  passed  away  and 
the  world   is   free. 

One  fearful  danger  threatens  the  liberty  of 
both  nations.  The  armed  forces  of  a  military 
autocracy  are  at  the  gates  of  Russia  and  the 
Allies.  The  triumph  of  German  arms  will 
mean  the  death  of  liberty  in  Russia.  No 
enemy  is  at  the  gates  of  America,  but  Amer- 
ica has  come  to  realize  that  the  triumph  of 


58 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


German  arms  means  the  death  of  liberty  in 
the  world;  that  we  who  love  liberty  and 
would  keep  it  must  fight  for  it,  and  fight  for 
it  now  when  the  free  democracies  of  the 
world  may  be  strong  in  union,  and  not  delay 
until  they  may  be  beaten  down  separately  in 
succession. 

So  America  sends  another  message  to  Rus- 
sia—that we  are  going  to  fight,  for  your  free- 
dom equally  with  our  own,  and  we  ask  you 
to  fight  for  our  freedom  equally  with  yours. 
We  would  make  your  cause  ours,  and,  with 
a  common  purpose  and  mutual  helpfulness  of 
a  firm  alliance,  make  sure  of  victory  over 
our  common  foe.. 

Mr.  Root  then  added :  "  You  will  recog- 
nize your  own  sentiments  and  purposes  in 
the  words  of  President  Wilson  to  the 
American  Congress,  when  on  the  2d  of 
April  last  he  advised  a  declaration  of  war 
against  Germany,"  and  he  quoted  from 
that  address,  closing  as  follows: 

That  partnership  of  honor  in  the  great 
struggle  for  human  freedom  the  oldest  of  the 
great  democracies  now  seeks  in  ^fraternal 
union  with  the  youngest.  Practical  and  specific 
methods  and  the  possibilities  of  our  allies'  co- 
operation the  members  of  the  mission  would 
be  glad  to  discuss  with  the  members  of  the 
Government  of  Russia. 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  M. 
Terestchenko,  who  rose  from  a  sickbed  to 
attend  the  presentation,  responded  with- 
out notes,  expressing  great  joy  in  wel- 
coming the  commission  from  America. 
He  said  that  Russia's  revolution  was 
based  on  the  wonderful  words  uttered  by 
America  in  1776.  He  read  part  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  ex- 
claimed : 

"  Russia  holds  with  the  United  States 
that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal." 

M.  Terestchenko  sketched  the  history 
of  the  Russian  revolution  briefly,  saying 
that  the  Russians,  enslaved  for  centuries, 
threw  off  all  the  old  order  just  as  the 
wind  blows  Autumn  leaves  from  the 
forest.  Russia  now  faces  two  problems, 
said  the  Minister,  the  necessity  of  creat- 
ing a  strong  democratic  force  within  its 
boundaries  and  the  fighting  of  an  exter- 
nal foe.  Then  he  declared  for  war  and 
expressed  unbounded  confidence  in  the 
power  of  Russia  to  meet  the  situation. 

The  text  of  President  Wilson's  note  to 
the  Russian  Government  explaining  the 
aims  of  the  Root  Commission  was  made 
public  June  18,  and  is  as  follows : 


The  High  Commission  now  on  its  way  from 
this  country  to  Russia  is  sent  primarily  to 
manifest  to  the  Russian  Government  and 
people  the  deep  sympathetic  feeling  which 
exists  among  all  classes  in  America  for  the 
adherence  of  Russia  to  the  principle  of 
democracy,  which  has  been  the  foundation 
of  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  this  coun- 
try. The  High  Commissioners  go  to  convey 
the  greetings  of  this  Republic  to  the  new  and 
powerful  member  which  has  joined  the  great 
family  of  democratic  nations. 

The  Commissioners  who  will  bear  this  fra- 
ternal message  to  the  people  of  Russia  have 
been  selected  by  the  President  with  the  spe- 
cial purpose  of  giving  representation  to  th& 
various  elements  which  make  up  the  Amer- 
ican people  and  to  show  that  among  them  all 
there  is  the  same  love  of  country  and  the 
same  devotion  to  liberty  and  justice  and  loy- 
alty to  constituted  authority.  The  commis- 
sion is  not  chosen  from  one  political  group, 
but  from  the  various  groups  into  which  the 
American  electorate  is  divided.  United,  they 
represent  the  Republic.  However  much  they 
may  differ  on  public  questions,  they  are  one 
in  support  of  democracy  and  in  hostility  to 
the  enemies  of  democracy  throughout  the 
world. 

The  commission  is  prepared,  if  the  Russian 
Government  desires,  to  confer  upon  the  best 
ways  and  means  to  bring-  about  effective  co- 
operation between  the  two  Governments  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  the  Ger- 
man autocracy,  which  is  today  the  gravest 
menace  to  all  democratic  Governments.  It 
is  the  view  of  this  Government  that  it  has  be- 
come the  solemn  duty  or  those  who  love 
democracy  and  individual  liberty  to  render 
harmless  this  autocratic  Government,  whose 
ambition,  aggression,  and  intrigue  have  been 
disclosed  in  the  present  struggle.  Whatever 
the  cost  in  life  and  treasure,  the  supreme 
object  should  be  and  can  be  attained  only  by 
the  united  strength  of  the  democracies  of  the 
world,  and  only  then  can  come  that  per- 
manent and  universal  peace  which  is  the 
hope  of  all  people. 

To  the  common  cause  of  humanity,  which 
Russia  has  so  courageously  and  unflinching- 
ly supported  for  nearly  three  years,  the 
United  States  is  pledged.  To  co-operate  and 
aid  Russia  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  task, 
which  as  a  great  democracy  is  more  truly 
hers  today  than  ever  before,  is  the  desire  of 
the  United  States.  To  stand  side  by  side, 
shoulder  to  shoulder  against  autocracy,  will 
unite  the  American  and  Russian  peoples  in  a 
friendship  for  the  ages. 

With  this  spirit  the  High  Commissioners  of 
the  United  States  will  present  themselves  in 
the  confident  hope  that  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment and  people  will  realize  how  sincerely 
the  United  States  hopes  for  their  welfare  and 
desires  to  share  with  them  in  their  future 
endeavors  to  bring  victory  to  the  cause  of 
democracy   and   human   liberty. 


Fruits  of  Diplomatic  Missions 

Closing  Addresses  of  French  and  British   Envoys, 
and  Summary  of  Their  Work 


MARSHAL  J0FFRE  and  Vice 
Premier  Viviani,  with  the  other 
members  of  the  French  diplo- 
matic mission  to  the  United 
States,  sailed  secretly  from  New  York  in 
the  night  of  May  15,  and  the  world  knew 
nothing  of  their  departure  until  their 
safe  arrival  at  Brest  was  announced  on 
May  23.  They  traveled  on  the  same 
French  steamer  that  had  brought  them 
over,  and  were  convoyed  by  a  French 
warship.  The  State  Department  at 
Washington  issued  a  note  of  appreciation 
to  the  press,  which  had  imposed  a  volun- 
tary censorship  on  itself,  for  having  suc- 
cessfully withheld  every  detail  of  news 
that  might  have  jeopardized  the  safety  of 
the  visitors. 

The  series  of  eloquent  speeches  deliv- 
ered in  the  United  States  by  Rene  Vivi- 
ani, head  of  the  French  mission,  was  re- 
corded at  length  in  the  June  issue  of 
Current  History  Magazine,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  f  fnal  one  in  New  York,  de- 
livered at  the  official  dinner  of  the  May- 
or's committee  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria. 

Viviani  s    Waldorf    Speech 

After  paying  a  graceful  tribute  to  New 
York  and  to  the  American  people,  M. 
Viviani  recalled  again  the  deeds  of  Joffre 
at  the  battle  of  the  Marne,  and  con- 
tinued : 

Well,  what  did  we  make  manifest  to  the 
whole  world?  Two  qualities:  '  One  which  all 
men  knew  who  know  the  glorious  traditions 
of  France  throughout  the  ages — dash,  in- 
trepidity, valor,  contempt  of  death ;  but  an- 
other quality  was  denied  us,  that  of  en- 
durance, that  of  patience,  that  of  quiet  cour- 
age; the  steady  heart  and  unshaken  nerves 
under  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell.  Now,  in 
two  battles  we  combined  both  qualities  as  if 
we  would  offer  them  up  to  the  whole  world 
as  a  homage  and  a  lesson.  In  August,  1914, 
we  showed  what  dash  French  troops  pos- 
sessed in  spite  of  weariness,  in  spite  of  the 
heat  of  an  endless  Summer,  the  exhaustion  of 
three  weeks'  incessant  fighting.  Suddenly, 
miraculously,  the  whole  French  Army  stood 
at  bay  and  turned  upon  its  enemy. 


And  the  man  who  commanded  that  army  had 
remained  calm  and  impassive.  Every  evening 
he  telephoned  to  me,  who  was  then  Premier 
of  France,  the  result  of  the  military  opera- 
tions; at  this  very  moment  I  can  hear  his 
voice  come  to  me  over  the  wires,  quiet, 
grave,  unbroken  by  the  slightest  emotion. 
And  that  voice  spoke  its  unflinching  confi- 
dence in  final  victory  in  spite  of  all.  And 
when  the  hour  had  struck,  the  moment  come, 
the  order  was  issued,  was  forwarded  to  the 
armies,  the  Generals ;  every  officer  read  it 
to  his  men :  "  My  children,  here  we  stand. 
Halt  and  face  the  barbarians.  Die  to  the 
last  man  rather  than  retreat  another  step !  " 

Such  was  French  dash,  French  valor.  It 
counted  for  nothing  in  German  eyes.  But 
the  day  came  when  the  other  virtue  was 
shown,  that  on  which  they  relied  yet  less.  One 
day  they  dreamed  Verdun  could  be  taken,  not 
because  it  was  in  itself  the  greatest  prize  ;  it 
would  have  been  no  victory— but  to  drive  into 
France  and  impose  peace— for  our  enemies 
think  they  can  let  peace  loose  on  the  world 
as  they  unchain  war.  And  so  German  armies 
were  piled  up  on  the  French  front.  It  was 
impossible  for  us  to  advance  against  such 
odds.  Our  Generals  spoke :  "  Children,  not 
one  step  back;  if  you  yield  a  yard,  let  every 
yard  have  its  bloody  cost  for  your  enemy." 
And  through  the  endless  days  and  nights, 
under  shot  and  shell,  under  the  avalanche  of 
shells  that  tore  up  the  very  earth,  among 
their  falling  comrades,  led  by  their  officers, 
our  men  held  fast,  contesting  every  inch  of 
ground,  fighting  for  months  and  months  with- 
out an  instant's  respite,  checking  the  whole 
weight  of  the  German  Army.  And  now  when 
we  leave  our  land,  when  we  say  those  two 
names— the  Marne  and  Verdun— we  mingle 
in  one  the  two  master  virtues  of  our  race- 
valor  and   patience,    courage   and  -endurance. 

What  yet  remains  to  be  done?  For  three 
long  years  the  English  and  the  French,  sword 
in  hand,  have  fought,  .not  for  England  alone, 
not  for  France  alone,  but  for  humanity,  for 
right,  for  democracy.  For  three  long  years 
the  Russian  soldiers  in  the  northern  snows, 
victorious  in  southern  Europe,  have  fought 
for  the  same  ideal ;  for  two  years  seductive, 
virile  Italy  has  scaled  the  Alps  and  shattered 
with  its  hands  the  stony  barrier  that  stifled 
its  liberty ;  for'  three  years  Serbia,  murdered, 
trampled  under  foot  ruthlessly,  has  fought; 
for  three  years  heroic  Belgium  has  main- 
tained her  honor  against  a  perjured  foe.  For 
three  long  years  we  have  striven,  face  to  face 
with  our  enemy,  tightened  our  grasp  upon 
her  throat,  held  our  own. 


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THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


And  now,  when  we  are  still  strong  and  un- 
dismayed, neither  worn  out  nor  doubting, 
still  full  of  force  and  resource,  comes  free 
America  to  our  side,  radiant  with  its  demo- 
cratic ideals  and  ancient  traditions,  to  fight 
with  us.  She  read  in  President  Wilson's  in- 
comparable message  which  has  gone  to  the 
heart  of  every  Frenchman  the  deep  reasons 
why  she  could  not  but  enter  into  this  war. 
Yes ;  doubtless  you  had  your  slaughtered  dead 
to  avenge,  to  avenge  the  insults  heaped  on 
your  honor.  Tou  could  not  for  one  moment 
conceive  that  the  land  of  Lincoln,  the  land  of 
Washington,  could  bow  humbly  before  the  im- 
perial eagle.  But  not  for  that  did  you  rise ; 
not  for  your  national  honor  alone ;  do  not 
say  it  was  for  that.  You  are  fighting  for  the 
whole  world ;  you  are  fighting  for  all  liberty ; 
you  are  fighting  for  civilization ;  that  is  why 
you  have  risen  in  battle.  And  just  now  Mr. 
Choate  said :  "  The  English  and  French  Mis- 
sions are  here  to  tell  us  what  to  avoid  and 
what  to  do." 

And  your  Mayor  expressed  in  an  accurate 
formula  his  generous  conception  of  our  rela- 
tions when  he  said:  "America  is  founded 
on  French  idealism  and  English  common 
law."  Nothing  could  be  truer;  it  is  all  the 
truth;  I  can  add  nothing  to  his  words.  But 
I  will  tell  you  what  you  can  do.  You  are 
remote  from  our  battlefields;  no  Zeppelins 
can  fly  above  your  towns  and  scatter  their 
bombs  over  the  cradles  of  your  innocent 
children;  German  ships  are  blocked  in  the 
Kiel  Canal;  they  cannot  defile  your  waters; 
at  this  distance  you  cannot  hear  the  roar  of 
the  cannon.  But  can  you  imagine  that  you 
are  not,  in  sooth,  as  close  to  us,  in  spite  of 
distance,  as  we  are  to  you— that  Germany 
is  not  as  near  you  as  she  is  to  us,  that  the 
peril  is  remote!  No.  The  menace  of  Ger- 
many lies  where  Mr.  Balfour  so  philosoph- 
ically defined  it.  He  told  you  that  the  men- 
ace of  Germany  lies  in  her  scientific  organ- 
ization, and  I  will  attempt  to  interpret  his 
words  in  the  spirit  that  prompted  them.  We 
are  all  agreed  Prussian  militarism  must  be 
crushed;  so  long  as  the  world  contains  it 
there  is  no  safety  in  it  for  democracy.  But 
what  is  Prussian  militarism?  It  was  not 
born  yesterday;  it  was  not  born  in  1914.  It 
is  an  ancient  sore.  It  is  the  bestial  and  in- 
human expression  of  a  philosophy,  the  out- 
come of  a  whole  race  so  madly  intoxicated 
with  conceit,  that  it  imagines  it  is  predes- 
tined to  dominate  the  world,  and  is  amazed 
to  see  free  men  dare  to  rise  and  contest  its 
rights.  And  if  you  had  not  risen  against 
it,  it  is  not  with  artillery,  not  with  shells,  not 
with  submarines,  not  with  Zeppelins,  you 
would  have  been   attacked. 

It  is  by  the  methods  and  spirit  of  Germany 
gradually  filtering  into  your  brains,  impreg- 
nating invisibly  your  hearts,  and  little  by 
little  violating  your  souls  and  consciences. 
That  was  the  hidden  danger,  the  menace  of 
Germany.     You   realized   the   peril,    and   you 


have  risen  to  face  it,  to  fight  a  menace  not 
to  you  alone,  but  to  all  civilization.  Now 
all  we  free  men  are  one  in  will.  The  hour 
for  the  liberation  of  all  men  has  struck  at 
last.  All  have  risen  in  arms  in  the  good 
flight,  fought  by  us,  by  our  children,  to  the 
bitter  end.  And  we  will  never  falter  till 
victory  crowns  our  aims.  And  when  in  far- 
off  days  after  this  war  history  shall  tell  why 
we  fought,  in  days  yet  ringing  with  this  strife, 
long  after  the  voice  of  the  cannon  is  silent, 
then  impartial  history  shall  speak.  It  will 
say  why  all  the  peoples  arose  in  battle,  why 
the  free  allied  peoples  fought.  Not  for  con- 
quest. They  were  not  nations  of  prey.  No 
morbid  ambitions  lay  festering  in -their  hearts 
and  consciences. 

Why  then  did  they  fight?  To  repel  the  most 
brutal  and  insidious  of  aggressions.  They 
fought  for  the  respect  of  international  treaties 
trampled  under  foot  by  the  brutal  soldiery  of 
Germany,  they  fought  to  raise  all  the  peoples 
of  the  earth  to  free  breath,  to  the  ideal  of 
liberty  for  all,  so  that  the  world  might  be 
habitable  for  free  men— or  to  perish.  And 
history  will  add:  "They  did  not  perish.  They 
vanquished.  They  shattered  the  ponderous 
sword  that  German  militarism  aimed  against 
the  conscience  and  the  heart  of  all  free  men." 
And  thus  together  we  shall  have  won  the 
moral  victory  and  a  material  one.  It  is  that 
dawn  I  greet,  that  hour  of  fate  I  bow  my 
head  before.  May  the  soul  of  Washington 
inspire  our  souls ;  may  the  great  shade  of 
Lincoln  rise  from  its  shroud.  We  are  all  re- 
solved to  battle  till  the  end  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  humanity,  the  deliverance  of  democ- 
racy. Rise  then,  brother  citizens,  and  lift 
your  brows  to  the  level  of  your  flag! 

Results  of  Conferences 

Arthur  J.  Balfour,  head  of  the  British 
mission,  delivered  his  farewell  address 
before  the  National  Press  Club  at  Wash- 
ington on  May  24.  The  next  day  he  and 
the  other  Commissioners  crossed  into 
Canada  on  their  way  home,  after  having 
spent  six  fruitful  weeks  in  the  United 
States,  a  longer  period  than  any  other 
Foreign  Secretary  had  been  away  from 
London  since  the   Napoleonic  wars. 

The  situation  in  France  depicted  by  M. 
Viviani  and  Marshal  Joffre  is  believed  to 
have  been  largely  responsible  for  the 
American  Government's  decision  to  send 
at  once  an  expeditionary  force  of  about 
25,000  men,  a  division  of  nine  regiments 
of  railroad  engineers,  and  six  base  hos- 
pitals. The  British  visitors,  having  faced 
the  same  problems  that  now  confront 
America  in  training  large  armies  for  for- 
eign service,  were  able  to  clear  away 
many  doubts  in  technical  matters. 


FRUITS  OF  DIPLOMATIC  MISSIONS 


61 


The  most  important  understandings 
arrived  at  were  in  trade  matters.  In 
general  it  was  decided  that  the  United 
States  should  give  the  Allies  preferen- 
tial treatment  in  commerce.  It  was 
agreed  that  all  shipping,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, should  be  devoted  to  emergency- 
transportation,  with  a  view  to  defeating 
the  German  submarine  campaign.  Brit- 
ish trade  experts  have  worked  out  accu- 
rately the  amount  of  ship  tonnage  need- 
ed to  continue  the  flow  of  life  necessi- 
ties to  England  and  France,  and  the 
Federal  Shipping  Board  has  a  detailed 
program  for  meeting  that  need,  with  a 
priority  schedule  showing  the  order  of 
importance  of  the  various  commodities 
and  the  minimum  amounts  necessary. 
A  definite  understanding  was  reached  to 
cover  both  American  and  Canadian 
wheat  for  sale  to  the  Allied  Wheat  Exec- 
utive Committee,  and  arrangements 
were  made  for  full  Canadian  co-opera- 
tion through  the  proposed  Food  Ad- 
ministration Bureau. 

Munitions  control  and  purchase  were 
similarly  centralized  through  the  Allied 
Buying  Committee,  although  without 
price  control.  The  Council  of  National 
Defense  charged  itself  with  so  increas- 
ing manufacture  as  to  provide  for  the 
American  war  army  without  cutting  off 
exports  vitally  needed  abroad. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  United  States 
would  co-operate  as  far  as  possible  in 
maintaining  the  British  blockade,  and 
would  participate  through  Consuls  in  the 
rationing  of  Holland  and  Scandinavia, 
with  a  view  to  preventing  American 
products  from  reaching  firms  dealing 
regularly  with  the  enemy. 

The  shipping  problem,  in  view  of  the 
April  ravages  of  submarines,  was  the 
most  urgent  of  all,  and  the  American 
shipbuilding  program  was  speeded  up  as 
a  direct  result  of  the  British  representa- 
tions on  this  subject.  One  of  England's 
greatest  shipping  experts  was  sum- 
moned across  the  seas  to  supply  more 
technical  details  than  the  mission  pos- 
sessed. Three  members  of  the  British 
party  were  left  in  Washington  to  con- 
tinue work  on  trade  problems.  Confer- 
ences   with    General    Goethals    and    Mr. 


Denman  of  the  Federal  Shipping  Board 
helped  to  shape  the  plans  of  that  body. 
Many  of  the  seized  German  ships  were 
turned  over  to  the  French,  Italians,  and 
Russians  upon  the  British  statement 
that  England  had  enough  tonnage  for 
herself  and"  was  strained  only  to  meet 
the  needs  of  her  allies.  The  Shipping 
Board,  however,  decided  not  to  pool  all 
American  shipping  with  the  other  allies 
in  the  International  Committee  in  Lon- 
don, owing  to  the  need  of  American  im- 
ports from  outside  the  war  zone.  Means 
for  curtailing  the  wasteful  use  of  ocean 
tonnage,  which  were  communicated  by 
the  British  envoys,  have  been  embodied 
in  a  bill  on  that  and  kindred  subjects 
now  before  Congress. 

Balfour  in  Canada 

The  British  mission  remained  in  Can- 
ada until  the  end  of  May.  The  most 
striking  address  delivered  there  by  Mr. 
Balfour  was  the  one  before  the  two 
houses  of  Parliament  at  Ottawa,  in 
which  he  declared  that  the  British  Em- 
pire had  "  staked  its  last  dollar  on  de- 
mocracy," and  continued: 

I  know  the  democraries  of  the  Old  "World 
and  the  New  will  come  out  of  this  struggle, 
not  merely  triumphant  in  the  military  sense, 
but  strengthened  in  their  own  inner  life,  more 
firmly  convinced  that  the  path  of  freedom  is 
the  only  path  to  national  greatness. 

Foreign  speculators  about  the  British  Em- 
pire, before  the  war  began,  said  to  them- 
selves that  this  loosely  constructed  State  re- 
sembled nothing  that  ever  existed  in  history 
before,  that  it  was  held  together  by  no 
coercive  power,  that  the  mother  country  could 
not  raise  a  Corporal's  guard  in  Canada,  Aus- 
tralia, New  Zealand,  or  wherever  you  will ; 
that  she  could  not  raise  a  shilling  by  taxa- 
tion. 

She  had  no  power  except  the  power  which 
a  certain  class  of  politician  never  remem- 
)ers — the  moral  power  of  affection,  sentiment, 
common  aims,  and  common  ideals.  Even 
those  of  us  who  believed  the  new  experiment 
of  the  British  Empire  was  going  to  succeed 
felt  it  was  difficult  that  so  vast  an  empire,  so 
loosely  knit,  should  be  animated  by  one 
soul,  or  that  the  indirect  thrill  of  common 
necessity  should  go  from  end  to  end. 

No  greater  miracle  has  ever  happened  in  the 
history  of  civilization  than  the  way  in  which 
the  co-ordinated  British  democracies  worked 
together  with  a  uniform  spirit  of  self-sacrifice 
in  the  cause  in  which  they  believed  not  merely 
their  own  individual  security  but  the  safety 
of  the  empire  and  the  progress  of  civilization 
and  liberty  itself  were  at  stake. 


The  Italian  Diplomatic  Commission 


THE  Italian  War  Commission,  headed 
by  the  Prince  of  Udine,  a  cousin  of 
the  King,  was  officially  received  by 
President  Wilson  May  24.  The  members 
included  the  following:  Prince  Udine, 
eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa;  Senator 
Guglielmo  Marconi,  the  inventor  of  wire- 
less telegraphy;  Marquis  Birsarelli, 
Under  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs; 
Enrico  Arlotta,  Minister  of  Maritime 
and  Railway  Transportation,  a  leading 
banker  of  Italy;  General  Gugliemetti, 
Military  Attache;  Commander  Vannu- 
telli,  representing  the  Italian  Navy;  Al- 
vise  Bragadini  of  the  Transportation  De- 
partment; C,  Pardo  of  the  Department  of 
Industry  and  Commerce;  Gaetano  Pietra 
of  the  Agricultural  Department,  and 
Deputies  Ciufelli  and  Nitti,  former  Min- 
isters. 

In  his  formal  address  to  the  President, 
the  Prince  of  Udine  said: 

I  am  proud,  indeed,  Mr.  President,  be- 
longing as  I  do  to  a  house  which  has  never 
conceived  royal  power  otherwise  than  asso- 
ciated with  the  most  complete  liberty  of  the 
people,  to  have  been  chosen,  together  with 
the  gentlemen  of  this  commission,  to  greet 
you  on  behalf  of  my  King  and  cousin. 
You  will  read  the  message  which  the  King 
of  Italy,  a  faithful  interpreter  of  our  coun- 
try's thought,  has  addressed  to  you.  Permit 
me,  however,  to  express  the  great  sympathy 
and  deep  admiration  which  I  feel  for  this 
great  and  noble  country. 

As  an  Italian,  a  sailor  and  a  Prince,  I  con- 
sider it  a  happy  omen  that  I  and  my  col- 
leagues, who  have  been  chosen  by  the  Gov- 
ernment from  among  the  worthiest,  should  be 
the  symbols  of  the  fulfillment  of  a  sincere 
aspiration  of  ours.  I  rejoice  that  Italy  is  now 
united  in  a  brotherhood  of  arms  with  the 
American  people  and  that  it  will  always 
in  the  future  be  united  with  them  by  common 
ideals  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  work  of 
liberty  and  of  civilization. 

The  first  conferences  with  the  Amer- 
ican Government  were  held  May  28. 

The  problem  of  transporting  coal  to 
Italy  was  the  most  important  feature  of 
the  discussions.  Italy,  it  was  said,  need- 
ed coal  to  assure  the  continued  manufac- 
ture of  guns  and  ammunition  and  the 
maintenance  of  war  industries  which  had 
been  created  since  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities with  Germany.     Italy,  it  was  as- 


serted at  the  conference,  was  not  in  ur- 
gent need  of  foodstuffs,  but  did  need 
coal,  iron,  lumber,  agricultural  machin- 
ery, locomotives,  and  railroad  equipment. 

If  Italy  could  obtain  coal  in  the  United 
States  it  was  said  that  her  problem  of 
making  brick  for  use  in  the  construction 
of  mountain  dugouts  and  trenches  would 
be  solved.  She  had  heretofore  imported 
brick  from  the  United  States  because  she 
could  not  afford  to  utilize  her  meagre 
coal  supply  in  their  manufacture. 

The  American  representatives  were  in- 
formed that  the  industries  of  Italy  had 
grown  during  the  war.  Italy,  it  was  said, 
was  at  this  time  making  her  own  guns, 
and  they  had  proved  to  be  as  effective 
as  those  manufactured  by  the  French 
and  Austrians. 

Following  the  conference  it  was  an- 
nounced that  an  ample  quantity  of  coal 
and  some  other  supplies  had  been  assem- 
bled at  certain  ports  and  were  ready  for 
shipment  whenever  vessels  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

Prince  Udine  to  the  Senate 

The  Prince  of  Udine  and  the  Italian 
mission  were  received  on  the  floor  of 
the  United  States  Senate  May  31.  In 
his  address  to  the  Senate  he  said: 

The  message  of  your  President,  as  our 
sovereign  has  said,  is  worthy,  by  the  nobility 
of  its  conceptions  and  the  dignity  of  its  form, 
to  rank  with  the  most  inspiring  pages  in  the 
history  of  ancient  and  immortal  Rome.  It 
was  greeted  with  the  enthusiasm  of  faith 
when  it  made  clear  the  objects  of  the  war 
and  defined  the  aims  of  American  action. 

By  proclaiming  that  right  is  more  precious 
than  peace ;  that  autocratic  Governments, 
supported  by  the  force  of  arms,  are  a 
menace  to  civilization ;  by  affirming  the 
necessity  of  guaranteeing  the  safety  of  the 
world's  democracies ;  by  proclaiming  the 
right  of  small  nations  to  live  and  to  prosper, 
America  has  now,  through  the  action  of  her 
President,  acquired  a  title  of  merit  which 
history  will  never  forget. 

Italy  entered  into  the  war  with  aims 
equal  to  those  which  you  pursue.  Her  ter- 
ritory had  not  been  invaded,  her  insecure 
boundaries  had  not  been  violated.  Our  peo- 
ple understood  that  the  sacrifice  of  free 
nations  was  the  prelude  to  their  own  sacri- 
fice, and  that  we  could  not  remain  indiffer- 


THE  ITALIAN  DIPLOMATIC  COMMISSION 


63 


ent  without  denying  the  very  reasons  of  our 
existence. 

Italy  wants  the  safety  of  her  boundaries 
and  her  coasts,  and  she  wants  to  secure  her- 
self against  new  aggressions.  Italy  wants  to 
deliver  from  long-standing  martyrdom  pop- 
ulations of  Italian  race  and  language  that 
have  been  persecuted  implacably,  and  are 
nevertheless  prouder  than  ever  of  their  Ital- 
ian nationality.  But  Italy  has  not  been  and 
will  never  be  an  element  of  discord  in  Eu- 
rope, and  as  she  willed  her  own  free  na- 
tional existence  at  the  cost  of  any  sacrifice, 
so  she  will  contribute  with  all  her  strength 
to  the  free  existence  and  development  of 
other  nations. 

By  increasing  the  ruthlessness  of  subma- 
rine warfare  and  thus  rendering  navigation 
unsafe  and  dangerous,  our  enemies  hope  to 
win  the  war  by  increasing  misery  and  suf- 
fering. They  hope  that  our  powerful  ally, 
Great  Britain,  will  lack  food;  that  France 
will  lack  food  and  men,  and  that  Italy  will 
lack  especially  food,  and  that  which  is  more 
important,  coal  for  the  war,  for  industries, 
and  for  railways.  The  problem  of  shipping 
is  for  all  of  us  the  greatest  problem  of  the 
war. 

With  our  united  efforts  we  shall  van- 
quish all  these  difficulties,  and  that  which 
the  force  of  arms,  secretly  prepared  and  un- 
expectedly employed,  was  not  able  to  accom- 
plish, will  not  be  accomplished  by  disloyal 
means  on  land  and  water.  We  shall  triumph 
over  all  these  difficulties  if  we  continue  our 
efforts  in  brotherly  agreement,  united  by 
the  great  duty  which  we  now  have  volun- 
tarily taken  upon  us  for  a  cause  which  is 
superior  to  all  worldly  interests,  and  which 
partakes  of  an  almost  divine  nobility. 

The  mission  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
be  the  head  and  in  which  there  are  represen- 
tatives of  the  Senate  of  the  kingdom,  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  members  of  the 
Government,  desires  to  express  through  me 
the  liveliest  sympathy  to  the  representatives 
of  the  American  people. 

The  mission,  was  officially  received  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  June  2 
and  the  Prince  delivered  an  address  ex- 
pressing1 warmest  appreciation  of  Amer- 
ica's entry  into  the  war,  which  gave  an 


assurance  of  victory.     An  address  was 
also  delivered  by  Senator  Marconi. 

The  mission  was  hospitably  enter- 
tained in  various  cities. 

Stale  of  Italian  Finances 

A  resume  of  the  Italian  financial  con- 
dition before  the  United  States  entered 
the  war  and  granted  a  loan  of  $100,000,- 
000  to  the  Government  at  Rome  showed 
that  Italy  had  spent  up  to  Dec.  31,  1916, 
$2,783,075,040  for  the  War  Department 
and  $156,198,335  for  the  Navy.  For  the 
departments  of  Commerce,  Agriculture, 
Transportation,  Colonies,.  Interior,  and 
Treasury  the  expenditures  amounted  in 
the  same  period  to  $3,200,000,000. 

Comparing  the  future  expenditures 
and  the  income  of  the  nation,  it  was 
calculated  that  the  income  would  be 
about  $80,000,000  larger  than  the  expen- 
ditures. This  result  was  attained  by 
sound  financing,  together  with  the  im- 
position at  that  time  of  new  taxes.  The 
total  loans  raised  by  Italy  up  to  June  15, 
1917,  during  the  war  is  about  $3,000,000,- 
000,  chiefly  at  5  and  5%  per  cent. 

Viterio  Scialoia,  a  member  of  the  Ital- 
ian Chamber,  in  an  address  to  the  Amer- 
ican people  delivered  at  Rome  June  7, 
expressed  the  warmest  appreciation  of 
the  reception  given  the  mission  by  the 
American  people,  closing  with  these 
words : 

'"*  The  alliance  between  Italy  and  America 
will  lead  to  new  and  greater  commercial  rela- 
tions, new  sympathy  in  spirit  and  in  common 
political  actions  with  a,  view  to  realization 
of  conditions  of  liberty  for  the  peoples  who 
still  suffer  from  the  violence  imposed  upon 
heir  nations  by  tyrannical  Governments,  such 
as  Austria,  or  from  violent  conquest,  such  as 
the  conquests  of  Germany.  All  this  will  be 
a  solid  basis  for  the  relations  of  the  future, 
which  can  never  be  shaken,  as  it  is  impossible 
to  see  how  even  the  slightest  of  differences 
could  arise. 


The  Facts  Supporting  President 
Wilson's  War  Message 


THE  historic  message  of  President 
Wilson,  delivered  before  Congress 
on  April  2,  1917,  has  been  offi- 
cially published  by  the  Govern- 
ment, with  annotations  giving  the  leading 
facts  on  which  the  rupture  with  Ger- 
many was  developed,  citing  the  issues  in 
international  law,  and  contrasting  the 
spirit  of  Prussianism  and  Americanism. 
This  publication  is  to  be  distributed  to 
the  schools  throughout  the  country. 

In  a  foreword  it  announced  that  the 
editorial  annotations  are  the  work  of 
Professor  William  Stearns  Davis  of  the 
History  Department  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota,  assisted  by  Professor  C.  D. 
Allin  and  Dr.  William  Anderson.  The 
official  sponsor  for  the  publication  adds : 
The  message  is  the  best  possible  preparation 
for  all  loyal  Americans  who  are  studying  the 
causes  and  justification  for  the  present  war, 
and  who  are  trying  to  discover  the  proper 
mental  attitude  they  themselves  should  take 
toward  the  personal  part  which  they  may  be 
called  to  play  in  the  struggle.  *  *  *  Mr. 
Wilson  contrasts  the  American  and  Prussian 
political  philosophy  and  methods  of  doing 
things  in  a  way  that  would  become  even  more 
convincing  if  he  had  been  allowed  time  to 
enter  into  specific  details.  Solemn  official 
promises  made  only  to  be  broken,  conspira- 
cies to  burn  and  blow  up  American  indus- 
tries, to  hamper  our  manufactures  and  crip- 
ple our  Government  by  strikes  and  riots, 
spies  in  every  centre  of  political  and  indus- 
trial activity,  plans  made  on  American  soil 
and  financed  by  German  funds  to  dynamite 
canals,  bridges,  and  munition  factories  in 
Canada,  invitations  to  Mexico  in  times  of 
peace  to  join  with  Germany  in  dismembering 
our  Union,  have  led  people  and  President 
alike  to  see  submarine  warfare  as  but  a 
more  flagrant  expression  of  a  German  State 
policy  running  amuck  in  absolute  disregard 
of  every  sense  of  national  and  international 
morals  and  decency  and  callous  to  the  claims 
of  common  humanity. 

A  military  autocracy  astride  the  ruins  of 
Europe  and  dominant  on  the  seas  by  virtue 
of  an  arm  that  both  serves  and  reveals  its 
ambitions  and  irresponsibility  has  forced 
America  to  accept  its  challenge.  A  new 
Monroe  Doctrine  must  be  defended  on  the 
pathways  of  the  seas  and  in  the  fields  of 
Flanders  if  the  Western  World  is  to  be  pre- 
served as  the  .citadel  of  a  free-developing, 
forward-looking  democracy. 


Current  History  Magazine,  May, 
1917,  published  the  official  text  of  the 
President's  war  message.  Professor  Da- 
vis's annotations  are  here  reproduced, 
with  brief  references  to  the  sentences 
commented  upon.  Thus  the  annotations 
are  here  woven  into  a  consecutive  thesis, 
elucidating  and  amplifying  the  war  mes- 
sage. In  explaining  the  President's  open- 
ing reference  to  his  choices  of  policy, 
which  he  could  not  adopt  constitutionally 
without  Congressional  advice,  the  editors 
remark: 

There  had  been  only  two  other  periods  in 
the  history  of  the  country  equally  serious — 
1770  and  1861.  Nobody  can  pretend  that  there 
have  been  any  other  crises  in  American  his- 
tory (barring  the  Revolution  and  the  civil 
war)  when  so  much  that  citizens  of  this 
country  count  dear  has  been  at  stake.  The 
War  of  1812,  the  Mexican  and  Spanish  wars 
seem  as  child's  play  beside  the  present  exi- 
gency. Now,  as  this  message  makes  clear, 
the  very  liberties  of  the  world  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  peaceful  democracies  are  at  stake. 
If  Germany  should  win  this  war,  and  thus 
become  supreme  on  land  and  sea,  the  very 
existence  of  free  democracies  would  be  im- 
periled. 

President  Wilson  had  the  sworn  duty  to 
lay  the  facts  before  Congress  and  recom- 
mend to  it  the  needful  action.  The  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  prescribes  his 
duties  in  such  emergencies. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Constitution 
lays  this  duty  and  power  of  declaring  war 
directly  upon  Congress,  and  that  it  can  not 
be  evaded  by  Congressmen  by  any  referen- 
dum to  the  voters,  for  which  not  the  slightest 
constitutional   provision   is   made. 

Congress  performed  this  duty  by  voting  on 
the  war  question  as  requested.  The  vote  of 
the  Senate  was  82  to  6  for  war;  of  the 
House  373  to  50.  Such  comparative  unanimi- 
ty upon  so  momentous  a  question  is  almost 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  free  nations. 

Beginning  of  Ruthless  Policy 

The  President's  reference  to  the  adop- 
tion of  unrestricted  submarine  warfare 
by  the  German  Government  is  comment- 
ed upon  as  follows : 

The  German  Chancellor  in  announcing  this 
repudiation  of  all  his  solemn  pledges  in  the 
Imperial  Parliament,  [Reichstag,]  on  Jan. 
31,  frankly  admitted  that  this  policy  involved 
"  ruthlessness  "     toward    neutrals.      "  When 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       65 


the  most  ruthless  methods  are  considered  the 
best  calculated  to  lead  us  to  victory  and  to  a 
swift  victory  *  *  *  they  must  be  em- 
ployed. *  *  *  The  moment  has  now  ar- 
rived. Last  August  [when  he  was,  as  he 
himself  here  admits,  allowing  the  American 
people  to  believe  that  in  response  to  its  pro- 
test he  had  laid  aside  such  ruthless  methods] 
the  time  was  not  yet  ripe,  but  today  the 
moment  has  come  when  we  can  undertake 
this  enterprise." 

And  the  promise  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment, withdrawn  on  Feb.  1,  is  re- 
ferred to  in  these  terms: 

The  broken  Sussex  pledge.  On  May  4,  1916, 
the  German  Government,  in  reply  to  the  pro- 
test and  warning  of  the  United  States  fol- 
lowing the  sinking  of  the  Sussex,  gave  this 
promise:  That  "  merchant  vessels  both  with- 
in and  without  the  area  declared  a  naval 
war  zone  shall  not  be  sunk  without  warning, 
and  without  saving  human  lives,  unless  the 
ship  attempt  to  escape  or  offer  resistance." 

Germany  added,  indeed,  that  if  Great  Brit- 
ain continued  her  blockade  policy,  she  would 
have  to  consider  "  a  new  situation." 

On  May  8,  1916,  the  United  States  replied 
that  it  could  not  admit  that  the  pledge  of 
Germany  was  "  in  the  slightest  degree  con- 
tingent upon  the  conduct  of  any  other  Gov- 
ernment," (i.  e.,  on  any  question  of  the 
English  blockade.)  To  this  Germany  made 
no  reply  at  all,  and  under  general  diplomatic 
usage,  when  one  nation  makes  a  statement 
to  another,  the  latest  statement  of  the  case 
stands  as  final  unless  there  is  a  protest 
made. 

The  promise  made  by  Germany  thus  became 
a  binding  pledge,  and  as  such  was  torn  up 
with  other  "  scraps  of  paper  "  by  the  Ger- 
man "  unlimited  submarine  warfare  "  note 
of  Jan.  31,  1917. 

Regarding  the  President's  references  to 
the  "  cruel  anl  unmanly  business "  of 
sinking  merchant  ships,  and  the  "  certain 
degree  of  restraint "  observed  at  that 
time,  the  editors  cite  these  facts: 

As  to  the  proper  usages  in  dealing  with 
merchant  vessels  in  war,  here  are  the  rules 
laid  down  some  time  ago  for  the  American 
Navy,  (a  fighting  navy,  surely,)  and  these 
rules  hardly  differed  in  other  navies,  includ- 
ing the  Russian  and  Japanese : 

United  States  Naval  War  Code,  on  treat- 
ment of  merchant  vessels  stopped  or  captured 
by  American  men-of-war,    (1900  ed.,  P.  48:) 

"  The  personnel  of  a  merchant  vessel  cap- 
tured as  a  prize  are  entitled  to  their  personal 
effects. 

"  All  passengers  not  in  the  service  of  the 
enemy,  and  all  women  and  children  on  board 
such  vessels,  should  be  released  and  landed 
at  a  convenient  port  at  the  first  opportunity. 

"  All  persons  in  the  naval  service  of  the 
United  States  who  pillage  or  maltreat  in  any 
manner  any  person  found  on  board  a  mer- 


chant vessel  captured  as  a  prize  shall  be 
severely  punished." 

United  States  Naval  War  College,  "  Inter- 
national Law  Topics,"  1905,  Page  6:  "If  a 
seized  neutral  vessel  cannot  for  any  reason 
be  brought  into  court  for  adjudication  it 
should  be  dismissed." 

United  States  Naval  War  Code,  on  safety 
required  for  persons  on  a  captured  vessel, 
(United  States  Naval  War  College,  "  Inter- 
national Law  Topics,"  1913,  Page  165:)  "  The 
destruction  of  a  vessel  which  has  surrendered 
without  first  removing  its  officers  and  crew 
would  be  an  act  contrary  to  the  sense  of 
right  which  prevails  even  between  enemies  in 
time  of  war." 

And  also  Lawrence,  (standard  authority  on 
international  law,)  "  International  Law," 
Page  406 :  "  It  is  better  for  a  naval  officer  to 
release  a  ship  as  to  which  he  is  doubtful  than 
to  risk  personal  punishment  and  interna- 
tional complications  by  destroying  innocent 
neutral  property." 

Sinking  of  Hospital  Ships 

The  President's  reference  to  the  sink- 
ing of  hospital  and  relief  ships  was  elab- 
orated as  follows : 

Mr.  Wilson  was  undoubtedly  thinking  of  the 
cases  of  the  British  hospital  ships  Asturias, 
sunk  March  20,  and  the  Gloucester  Castle. 
These  vessels  had  been  sunk  although  pro- 
tected by  the  most  solemn  possible  of  inter- 
national compacts.  The  Germans  seem  to 
have  acknowledged  the  sinking  of  the  Asturias 
and  to  have  regarded  their  feat  with  great 
complacency.  Somewhat  earlier  in  the  war 
the  great  liner  Britannic  had  been  sunk  while 
in  service  as  a  hospital  ship,  and  the  evi- 
dence seems  to  be  it  was  torpedoed  by  a 
U-boat,  although  the  proof  here  is  not  con- 
clusive. Since  this  message  was  written  the 
Germans  have  continued  their  policy  of  mur- 
dering more  wounded  soldiers  and  their 
nurses  by  sinking  more  hospital  ships. 

The  Belgian  relief  ships  referred  to  were 
probably  the  Camilla,  Trevier,  and  the 
Feistein,  but  most  particularly  the  large  Nor- 
wegian steamer  Storstad,  sunk  with  10,000 
tons  of  grain  for  the  starving  Belgians.  Be- 
sides these  sinkings,  two  other  relief  ships — 
the  Tunisie  and  the  Haelen — were  attacked 
unsuccessfully. 

And  to  his  words,  "  I  was  for  a  little 
while  unable  to  believe  that  such  things 
would  in  fact  be  done  by  any  Government 
that  had  hitherto  subscribed  to  humane 
practices  of  civilized  nations,"  this  note 
was  added: 

No  nation  assuredly  has  made  prouder 
claims  than  Germany  to  a  superior  "  kul- 
tur,"  or  made  louder  assertions  of  its  desire 
to  vindicate  "  the  freedom  of  the  seas." 

His  sentence  referring  to  the  "  wanton 
and  wholesale  destruction  of  the  lives  of 


66 


THE   NEW    YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


noncombatants,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, engaged  in  pursuits  which  have  al- 
ways, even  in  the  darkest  periods  of  mod- 
ern history,  been  deemed  innocent  and 
legitimate,"  is  elucidated  in  these  words : 

Mr.  Wilson  could  have  gone  further  back 
than  "modern  history."  Even  in  the  most 
troubled  period  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  was 
consistent  effort  to  spare  the  lives  of  non- 
belligerents.  Thus  in  the  eleventh  century 
not  merely  did  the  Church  enjoin  the  "  truce 
of  God  "  which  ordered  all  warfare  to  cease 
on  four  days  of  the  week,  but  it  especially 
pronounced  its  curse  upon  those  who  out- 
raged or  injured  not  merely  clergymen  and 
monks,  but  all  classes  of  women.  We  also 
have  ordinances  from  this  "  dark  period  " 
of  history  forbidding  the  interference  with 
Shepherds  and  their  flocks,  the  damaging  of 
olive  trees,  or  the  carrying  off  or  destruction 
of  farming  implements.  All  this  at  a  period 
When  feudal  barons  are  alleged  to  have  been 
waging  their  wars  with  unusual  ferocity. 

Contrast  also  with  the  German  usages  this 
American  instance : 

On  May  12,  1898,  Admiral  Sampson  with  the 
American  fleet  appeared  before  Santiago, 
and  conducted  a  reconnoissance  in  force 
to  see  if  Cervera's  squadron  was  in  the 
port,  but  he  did  not  "  subject  the  city  to  a 
regular  bombardment  "  because  that  "  would 
have  required  due  notice  "  for  the  removal 
of  the  women,  children,  and  the  sick.  He 
did  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a 
sudden  attack,  well  driven  home,  would  prob- 
ably have  given  him  the  city.  In  the  attack 
on  the  forts  alone,  which  he  actually  made, 
his  ship  Captains  were  carefully  charged  to 
avoid  hitting  the  Spanish  Military  Hospital. 
(See  H.  Doc.  No.  12,  Fifty-fifth  Congress, 
Third  Session,  Page  368.) 

No  one  certainly  has  ever  accused  the 
American  Navy  of  "  hitting  soft  "  or  of  being 
unwilling  to  wage  the  most  strenuous  kind 
of  honorable  warfare. 

American    Vessels  Destroyed 

President  Wilson's  brief  reference  to 
the  sinking  of  American  ships  calls  for 
this  definite  list: 

American  vessels  sunk  by  submarines  fol- 
lowing German  decree  of  ruthless  submarine 
policy,  Jan.  31,  1917. 

Following  eight  or  more  American  vessels 
which  had  been  sunk  or  attacked  earlier,  in 
most  cases  in  contravention  to  international 
law,  these  ships  also  had  been  sunk  following 
the  repudiation  of  her  pledges  by  Germany : 

Feb.  3,  1917,  Housatonic. 

Feb.  13,  1917,  Lyman  M.  Law. 

March  16,  1917,  Vigilancia-. 

March  17,  1917,  City  of  Memphis. 

March  17,  1917,  Illinois. 

March  21,  1917,  Healdton,  (claimed  to  have 
been  sunk  off  Dutch  coast,  and  far  from  the 
so-called  "  prohibited  zone.") 


April  1,   1917,  Aztec. 

March  2,   1917,  Algonquin. 

Furthermore,  no  American  should  forget 
the  sinking  of  the  William  P.  Frye  on  Jan. 
28„1915,  by  a  German  raider.  This  act  under 
normal  circumstances  would  be  a  casus  belli. 
The  raider,  the  Prinz  Eitel  Friedrich,  then 
impudently  took  refuge  in  an  American  port. 

And  the  American  lives  lost  in  such 
sinkings  are  summarized  as  follows: 

American  lives  lost  on  the  ocean  during  the 
war.  (See  Cong.  Rec,  65th  Cong.,  1st  sess., 
p.  1,006.) 

American  lives  have  been  lost  during  the 
sinking  of  at  least  twenty  vessels,  whereof 
four  were  American,  one  Dutch,  and  one  Nor- 
wegian. In  one  or  two  cases  the  vessel  tried 
to  escape  and  made  resistancs,  and  the  loss 
of  life  was  possibly  excusable  for  the  Ger- 
mans. In  the  bulk  of  the  cases  the  destruc- 
tion was  without  fair  warning  and  without 
reasonable  effort  to  give  the  passengers  and 
crew  chance  to  escape. 

Among  the  more  flagrant  cases  were : 

May  7,  1915,  Lusitania,  114  Americans  lost. 

Aug.  19,  1915,  Arabia,  3  Americans  lost. 

Sept.  4,  1915,  Hesperian,  1  American  lost. 

Oct.  28,  1916,  Marina,  8  Americans  lost. 

Dec.  14,  1916,  Russian,  17  Americans  lost. 

Feb.  26,  1917,  Laconia,  8  Americans  lost. 

March  16,  1917,  Vigilancia,  5  Americans 
lost,   (United  States.) 

March  21,  1917,  Healdton,  7  Americans  lost, 
(United  States.) 

April  1,  1917,  Aztec,  28  Americans  lost, 
(United  States.) 

Some  on  Aztec  probably  not  American  citi- 
zens, although  she  was  a  regular  American 
ship. 

In  all,  up  to  declaration  of  war  by  us,  226 
American  citizens,  many  of  them  women  and 
children,  had  lost  their  lives  by  the  action 
of  German  submarines,  and  in  most  instances 
without  the  faintest  color  of  international 
right. 

Losses  of  Other  Neutrals 

The  President's  reference  to  the  de- 
struction of  "  ships  and  people  of  other 
neutral  and  friendly  nations  "  is  supple- 
mented with  these  facts: 

The  Norwegian  Legation  at  London  has  an- 
nounced that  during  February  and  March, 
1917,  105  Norwegian  vessels  of  over  228,000 
tons  have  been  sunk,  and  106  persons  thereon 
killed,  and  222  are  missing. 

On  Feb.  22,  1917,  seven  Dutch  vessels  which 
left  an  English  port  on  promise  of  "  relative 
security  "  from  the  Berlin  authorities,  were 
all  attacked  by  German  U-boats  and  six  of 
them  were  sunk.  Germany  has  admitted  that 
Its  boats  did  the  deed,  and  has  expressed 
M  regrets  "  to  Holland,  although  adding 
blandly  "  the  incident  proves  how  dangerous 
it  is  to  navigate  the  prohibited  zone,  and 
gives    expression    to    our    wish    that    neutral 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       67 


navigators  remain  in  their  ports."  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  policy  of  terrorism,  the  ships  of 
Holland  have  been  practically  driven  off  the 
seas.  Many  of  them  have  taken  refuge  in  the 
harbors  of  the  United  States. 

Spaniards  have  been  exasperated  by  the  de- 
struction of  their  vessels,  the  most  recent  in- 
stance being  that  of  a  Spanish  ship,  with  a 
Spanish  cargo,  sunk  in  Spanish  waters. 
Swedish  oversea  commerce  is  practically 
ruined  by  the  fear. of  their  owners  at  the  in- 
discriminate ruthlessness  of  the  submarine. 

The  United  States  Government  made  an  of- 
ficial estimate  that  by  April  1,  1917,  no  less 
than  668  neutral  vessels  had  been  sunk  by 
German  submarines  since  the  beginning  of 
the  war.  This  did  not  include  any  American 
vessels.  (New  York  Times  History  of  the 
War,  May,  1917,  pp.  241  and  244.) 

"  The  challenge  is  to  all  mankind. 
Each  nation  must  decide  for  itself  how  it 
will  meet  it."  To  these  words  of  the 
President's  war  message  Professor 
Stearns  adds  this  summary  of  what  other 
nations  have  done: 

Practically  all  the  civilized  neutral  countries 
of  the  earth  have  protested  at  the  German 
policy.  Some,  like  Brazil,  China,  Bolivia,  and 
Guatemala,  have  broken  diplomatic  relations 
with  Germany. 

The  neutral  States  of  Europe,  fearful  of  be- 
ing caught  in  the  horrors  of  the  great  war, 
have  protested  just  as  far  as  they  have 
dared.  Holland  and  Denmark  may,  of  course, 
at  any  time  see  a  German  army  over  their 
borders.  Norway  and  Sweden  are  hardly  in 
a  safe  position,  but  they  have  made  their  ve- 
hement protest  at  the  German  outrages. 
Spain,  which  had  exercised  a  forbearance 
similar  to  that  of  the  United  States,  has 
finally,  after  futile  protests,  been  obliged 
(May  18,  1917)  to  send  Germany  a  note  in  the 
nature  of  an  ultimatum,  demanding  repara- 
tion for  the  past  and  guarantees  for  the 
future. 

The  statement  that  the  motive  of  the 
United  States  in  going  to  war  would  be 
"  only  the  vindication  of  right "  is  eluci- 
dated thus: 

Submarines  are  such  exceptional  instru- 
ments of  warfare  that  it  is  held  by  authori- 
ties on  international  law  that  they  ought 
never  to  submerge  in  neutral  waters,  other- 
wise it  is  impossible  for  a  neutral  to  control 
them  and  be  responsible  for  them  as  with  or- 
dinary visiting  warships. 

Says  Professor  Theodore  S.  Woolsey  of 
Yale,  a  very  high  authority : 

"  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
U-boat  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  surface  cruiser 
with  no  additional  rights  and  privileges  and 
with  the  same  duties  and  liabilities.  Hence 
in  neutral  waters  it  should  not  submerge. 
Submergence  imperils  neutrality,  by  making 
the  performance  of  neutral  duties  more  ardu- 


ous and  the  evasion  of  neutral  rights  easier." 
(American  Journal  of  International  Law, 
January,  1917,  p.  139.) 

Arming  Merchant  Vessels 
Concerning  armed  neutrality  and  its 
present  impracticability  in  defending  our 
right  to  use  the  seas  without  suffering 
"  unlawful  violence,"  this  comment  is 
offered : 

In  1798,  on  account  of  the  attacks  on  our 
commerce  by  French  cruisers  and  privateers, 
Congress  empowered  President  John  Adams 
to  arm  merchant  vessels,  to  let  them  defend 
themselves,  and  to  let  our  warships  attack 
the  offending  French  vessels. 

There  were  several  really  serious  naval 
battles,  (especially  when  the  U.  S.  S.  Con- 
stellation took  the  French  frigate  L'lnsur- 
gente,  1799,)  and  international  experts  are  of 
the  opinion  that  very  probably  an  actual 
state  of  war  existed.  In  any  case  the  coun- 
try was  headed  straight  into  war,  and  prepa- 
rations were  being  made  to  raise  a  strong 
army  with  Washington  again  as  commander, 
with  Alexander  Hamilton  under  him,  while 
an  alliance  was  being  discussed  with  Eng- 
land. Then  at  the  last  moment  Napoleon, 
who  had  just  come  to  power,  had  the  wisdom 
to  offer  terms  President  Adamstcould  accept. 
The  German  Imperial  Government  had  no 
such  wisdom  or  restraint. 

"  The  German  Government,"  said  the 
President,  "  denies  the  right  of  neutrals 
to  use  arms  at  all  within  the  areas  of  the 
sea  which  it  has  proscribed  even  in  the 
defense  of  rights  which  no  modern  pub- 
licist has  ever  before  questioned  their 
right  to  defend." 

Editor's  annotation: 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  follow- 
ing were  the  standing  orders  in  the  German 
Navy  for  dealing  with  even  enemy  merchant 
vessels,  and  if  that  was  the  case  how  much 
more  consideration  should  be  given  to  neu- 
trals. The  new  German  orders  are  a  brazen 
contradiction  of  their  own  previous  precepts. 
(German  Prize  Code,  p.  75.) 

General  orders  of  German  Admiralty  staff, 
Berlin,  June  22,   1914.     (Note  date.) 

"  If  an  armed  merchant  vessel  of  the  enemy 
offers  armed  resistance,  such  resistance  may 
be  overcome  with  all  means  possible.  The 
crew  are  to  be  taken  prisoners  of  war.  The 
passengers  are  to  "be  left  to  go  free  unless  it 
appears  that  they  participated  in  the  resist- 
ance."    (German  Prize  Code,  p.  68,  par.  116.) 

"  Before  proceeding  to  the  destruction  of 
the  (neutral)  vessel  (which  has  been  seized 
for  proper  reason)  the  safety  of  all  persons 
on  board,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  their  ef- 
fects, is  to  be  provided  for." 

Dr.  Wehberg,  (great  German  authority  on 
International  law,  quoted  in  American  Jour- 
nal of  Int.  Law,  Oct.,  1916,  p.  871.) 


68 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


"  The  enemy  merchant  ship  has  the  right  of 
defense  against  enemy  attack,  and  this  right 
it  can  exercise  against  *  visit,'  (i.  e.,  being 
stopped  and  investigated,)  for  this  indeed  is 
the  first  act  of  capture.  The  attacked  mer- 
chant ship  can  indeed  itself  seize  the  over- 
powered warship  as  a  prize." 

And  still  again — 

In  Oxford,  1913,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Insti- 
tute of  International  Law,  at  which  the  rep- 
resentatives of  Germany,  as  well  as  of  all 
other  great  nations,  were  present,  it  was  de- 
cided as  a  firm  principle  : 

**  Private  vessels  may  not  commit  acts  of 
hostility  against  the  enemy;  they  may,  how- 
ever, defend  themselves  against  the  attack  of 
any  enemy  vessel."  (American  Journal  of  In- 
ternational Law,  vol.  10,  1916,  p.  868.) 

The  President's  words,  "  we  will  not 
choose  the  path  of  submission  and  suffer 
the  most  sacred  rights  of  our  nation  and 
our  people  to  be  ignored  or  violated,"  are 
supported  with  these  citations: 

Right  of  American  citizens  to  protection  in 
their  doings  abroad  and  on  the  seas  no  less 
than  at  home.  Decided  by  Supreme  Court  of 
United  States.  (Slaughter  House  Cases,  16 
Wall.,  36.) 

"  Every  citizen  has  the  right  to  demand  the 
care  and  protection  of  the  United  States  when 
on  the  high  seas  or  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
a  foreign  Government." 

See  Cooley's  "  Principles  of  Constitutional 
Law,"  third  edition,  page  273,  (standard  au- 
thority. ) 

Obviously  a  Government  which  can  not  or 
will  not  protect  its  citizens  against  a  policy 
of  lawless  murder  is  unworthy  of  respect 
abroad  or  obedience  at  home.  The  protection 
of  the  lives  of  the  innocent  and  law-abiding 
is  clearly  the  very  first  duty  of  a  civilized 
State. 

Declaration  of  War 

In  regard  to  the  President's  advice  that 
Congress  pronounce  Germany's  action  to 
be  "  nothing  less  than  war  against  the 
Government  and  people  of  the  United 
States,"  the  editors  remark: 

Wars  do  not  have  to  be  declared  in  order  to 
exist.  The  mere  commission  of  warlike  or 
unfriendly  acts  commences  them.  Thus  the 
first  serious  clash  in  the  Mexican  war  took 
place  April  24,  1846.  Congress  **  recognized  " 
the  state  of  war  only  on  May  11  of  that  year. 
Already  General  Taylor  had  fought  two  seri- 
ous battles  at  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la 
Palma. 

Many  other  like  cases  could  be  cited;  the 
most  recent  was  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
between  Japan  and  Russia.  In  1904  the  Jap- 
anese attacked  the  Russian  fleet  before  Port 
Arthur,  and  only  several  days  after  this 
battle  was  war    "  recognized." 

If  the  acts  of  Germany  were  unfriendly,  war 


in  the  strictest  sense  existed  when  the  Presi- 
dent addressed   Congress. 

With  reference  to  "the  granting  of 
adequate  credits  " : 

Bills  passed  by  Congress,  with  dates  on 
which  they  were  presented  to  President : 

April  5,  S.  J.  Res.  1— Declaration  of  war. 

April  17,  H.  R.  12— Deficiency  Appropriation 
bill  for  the  year  ending  June,  1917. 

April  23,  H.  R.  2,762— Bond  Issue  bill. 

April  23,  H.  R.  2,339— Increasing  number  of 
midshipmen  at  Annapolis. 

April  23,  H.  R.  2,008— Extending  minority 
enlistments  in  the  navy. 

April  23,  H.  R.  2,338— Authorizing  additional 
officers  for  Hydrographic  Office. 

April  23,  H.  R.  2,300— Increasing  age  limit 
for  officers  in  Naval  Reserve. 

April  23,  H.  R.  1,771— Amending  Naval  Ap- 
propriations act  for  the  year  ending  June, 
1917. 

May  5,  H.  R.  2,893— Permitting  foreign  Gov- 
ernments to  enlist  their  nationals  residing  in 
the  United  States. 

May  10,  S.  J.  Res.  42— Authorizing  seizure  of 
interned  German  ships. 

May  11,  H.  R.  13— Army  Appropriation  bill 
for  the  yCar  ending  June,  1918. 

May  15,  H.  R.  2,337— Enrollments  of  aliens 
in  the  Naval  Reserve. 

May  16,  H.  R.  3,330— Increasing  Navy  and 
Marine  Corps  to  150,000  men. 

May  18,  S.  1,871— Conscription  bill. 

Bills  in  conference  on  May  17 : 

April  16,  H.  R.  11— Sundry  Civil  Appropria- 
tions for  the  year  ending  June,  1918. 

April  16,  H.  R.  10— Military  Academy  Ap- 
propriations for  the  year  ending  June,  1918. 

May  15,  S.  2— Espionage  bill. 

Bills  awaiting  action  of  one  house : 

S.  383— Passed  Senate  April  9,  punishing  the 
destruction  of  war  material. 

H.  R.  328— Passed  House  May  9,  car  short- 
age. 

H.  R.  3,971— Passed  House  May  2,  Special 
War  Appropriation  bill. 

The  President  said  of  the  Entente  Al- 
lies: "They  are  in  the  field,  and  we 
should  help  them  in  every  way  to  be  ef- 
fective there."  The  editors  make  this 
comment : 

To  any  one  who  will  reflect  upon  the  sub- 
ject, it  will  soon  appear  to  be  preposterous 
folly  to  suggest  that  we  "  go  it  alone  " 
against  Germany,  and  to  fail  to  give  all  pos- 
sible aid  to  her  original  enemies.  Obviously 
unless  we  send  munitions,  troops,  submarine 
chasers,  &c,  to  France,  England,  and  possi- 
bly Russia,  since  the  German  high  sea  fleet 
does  not  at  present  come  out,  the  war  for  us 
will  mean  little  more  than  calling  names 
across  the  Atlantic — until  the  European  war 
is  ended,  and  then  if  Germany  has  a  pound 
of  strength  left  (and  very  possibly  she  might 
be  victorious)  she  can  vent  on  us  all  her  hate 
and  fury,  and  exact  from  us  the  indemnities 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       69 


she  can  not  wring  from  a  bankrupt  Europe. 
So  obvious  is  the  military  necessity  of  giv- 
ing every  possible  help  to  the  present  enemies 
of  Germany  that  those  who  try  to  thwart 
this  are  almost  open  to  the  very  grave  crimi- 
nal charge  of  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
enemies  of  the  United  States. 

Regarding  the  Presidents  reference  to 
his  previous  utterances : 

On  Jan.  22  Mr.  Wilson  spoke  In  favor  of  a 
league  to  secure  peace.  On  Feb.  3  he  an- 
nounced he  had  broken  diplomatic  relations 
with  Germany,  but  expressed  the  earnest 
hope  that  issues  would  not  proceed  to  a  clash 
of  arms.  On  Feb.  26  he  asked  for  "  armed 
neutrality,"  but  still  avoided  an  actual  state 
of  war. 

Menace  of  Autocracy 

The  reference  to  the  menace  of  "  auto- 
cratic Governments,  backed  by  organized 
force  which  is  controlled  wholly  by  their 
will,  not  by  the  will  of  their  people,"  calls 
forth  the  following: 

Contrast  these  two  standards :  Bethmann 
Hollweg  addressing  the  Reichstag,  Aug.  4, 
1914: 

"  We  are  now  in  a  state  of  necessity,  and 
necessity  knows  no  law.  Our  troops  have 
occupied  (neutral)  Luxemburg  and  perhaps 
already  have  entered  Belgian  territory.  Gen- 
tlemen, this  is  a  breach  of  international  law. 
The  wrong— I  speak  openly— the  wrong  we 
hereby  commit  we  will  try  to  make  good  as 
soon  as  our  military  aims  have  been  at- 
tained. 

"  He  who  is  menaced  as  we  are,  and  is 
fighting  for  his  highest  possession,  can  only 
consider  how  he  is  to  hack  his  way  through." 

Or  Frederick  the  Great  again,  the  arch 
prophet  of  Prussianism,  speaking  in  1740  and 
giving  the  keynote  to  all  his  successors : 
"  The  question  of  right  is  an  affair  of  Minis- 
ters. *  *  *  It  is  time  to  consider  it  in 
secret,  for  the  orders  to  my  troops  have  been 
given,"  and  still  again :  "  Take  what  you 
can ;  you  are  never  wrong  unless  you  are 
obliged  to  give  back."  ("Perkins,  France  Un- 
der Louis  XV.,"  vol.  1,  pp.  169-170.) 

Against  this  set  the  words  of  the  first 
President  of  the  young  American  Republic, 
speaking  at  a  time  when  the  nation  was  so 
weak  that  surely  any  kind  of  shifts  could 
have  been  justified  on  the  score  of  necessity. 

Said  George  Washington  in  his  first  in- 
augural address,  (1789  :)  "  The  foundations 
of  our  national  policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure 
and  immutable  principles  of  private  morality. 
There  exists  in  the  course  of  nature  an  indis- 
soluble union  between  virtue  and  happiness, 
between  duty  and  advantage,  between  honest 
policy  and  public  felicity  "  [and]  "  the  pro- 
pitious smiles  of  Heaven  can  never  be  ex- 
pected on  a  union  [or  government]  that  dis- 
regards the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right, 
which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained." 


The  present  war  is  for  a  large  part  being 
waged  to  settle  whether  the  American  or  the 
Prussian  standard  of  morality  is  valid. 

The  phrase  applying  the  same  stand- 
ards of  conduct  to  Governments  as  to  in- 
dividuals calls  forth  a  brief  statement  of 
the  nature  of  the  evil  in  Germany: 

The  autocratic  spirit  of  the  German  Empe- 
ror is  clearly  revealed  in  his  own  utterances, 
(cf.  p.  11.)  The  Imperial  Government  is  in 
form  a  Government  by  the  Emperor  and  the 
Imperial  Diet.  The  dominant  factor  in  the 
latter  is  the  Federal  Council,  (Bundesrat,) 
appointed  by  the  Kings  and  Princes.  Here, 
as  King  of  Prussia,  William,  II.  can  make  or 
break  any  policy.  Prussia  is  the  controlling 
factor,  political,  economic,  and  military,  in 
modern  Germany.  In  area  it  constitutes  two- 
thirds  of  Germany,  and  five-eighths  of  its 
population  and  two-thirds  of  the  members  of 
the  lower  house  of  the  German  Congress  are 
Prussians.  Within  Prussia  there  is  little 
limit  on  the  power  of  William  II.  In  a  Con- 
stitution which  his  great  uncle  "  decreed  "  in 
1850  the  rights  of  the  King  and  of  the  Jun- 
kers (the  feudal  military  nobles  east  of  the 
Elbe)   are  carefully  guarded. 

The  Constitution  of  Prussia  has  remained 
practically  unchanged  and  the  electoral  dis- 
tricts and  three-class  voting  system  of  nearly 
seventy  years  ago  still  exist.  Liberal  indus- 
trial and  socialistic  elements  in  the  great  mod- 
ern cities  and  manufacturing  areas  are  with- 
out adequate  representation  in  the  Prussian 
Diet,  and  the  old  country  districts  are  practi- 
cally "  rotten  boroughs,"  where  the  peasant 
who  votes  by  voice,  not  written  ballot,  is  at 
the  mercy  of  his  feudal  noble  landlord.  It  is 
the  latter  who  back  the  throne  and  its  auto- 
cratic power  so  long  as  the  policy  suits  their 
narrow  provincial  militaristic  views  formed 
in  the  days  of  Frederick  the  Great  and  his 
despotic  father  and  revived  and  glorified  by 
Bismarck. 

A  ttitude  of  German  People 

It  was  not  upon  the  impulse  of  the 
German  people  that  the  Kaiser's  Govern- 
ment acted  in  precipitating  the  war.  The 
editors  of  the  war  message  cite  the  fol- 
lowing evidence: 

When  the  crisis  was  precipitated  late  in 
July,  1914,  there  was  a  strong  peace  party  in 
Germany,  and  earnest  protests  were  made 
against  letting  Austrian  aggression  against 
Serbia  start  a  world  conflagration.  In  Berlin 
on  July  29,  twenty-eight  mass  meetings  were 
held  to  denounce  the  proposed  war,  and  one 
of  them  is  said  to  have  been  attended  by  70,000 
men.  The  Vor warts  (the  great  organ  of  the 
Socialists)  declared  on  that  day,  "  the  indica- 
tions proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  cama- 
rilla of  war  lords  is  working  with  absolutely 
unscrupulous  means  to  carry  out  their  fearful 
designs  to  precipitate  an  international  war 
and   to   start   a  worldwide  fire   to   devastate 


70 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Europe."  On  the  31st  this  same  paper  as- 
serted that  the  policy  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment was  "  utterly  without  conscience.''  Then 
came  the  declaration  of  "  war  emergency," 
(Kriegsgefahr,)  mobilization,  martial  law, 
and  any  expression  of  public  opinion  was 
stilled  in  Germany. 

The  German  people  had  not  the  slightest 
share  in  shaping  the  events  which  led  up  to 
the  declaration  of  war.  The  German  Empe- 
ror is  clothed  by  the  imperial  Constitution 
with  practically  autocratic  power  in  all  mat- 
ters of  foreign  policy.  The  Reichstag  has  not 
even  a  consultative  voice  in  such  matters. 
The  German  Constitution  (Art.  11)  gives  to 
the  Emperor  specific  power  to  "  declare  war, 
conclude  peace,  and  enter  into  alliances." 
The  provision  that  only  defensive  wars  may 
be  declared  by  the  Emperor  alone  puts  the 
power  in  his  hands  to  declare  this  and  any 
other  war  without  consulting  any  but  the 
military  group,  for  no  power  in  modern 
times  has  ever  admitted  that  it  waged  ag- 
gressive warfare.  William  II.  declared  this 
War  without  taking  his  people  into  the  slight- 
est confidence  until  the  final  deed  was  done. 

The  whole  tendency  of  responsible  German 
statesmen  has  been  to  ignore  the  people  in 
foreign  affairs.  The  retired  Chancellor,- 
Prince  von  Biilow,  defended  this  policy  blunt- 
ly on  the  ground  that  the  Germans  were  not 
capable  of  self-government,  saying,  "  We  are 
not  a  political  people." 

As  for  William  II.,  speeches  without  num- 
ber can  be  cited  to  show  his  sense  of  his  own 
autocratic  authority— e.  g.,  speaking  at  Ko- 
nigsberg,  in  1910—"  Looking  upon  myself  as 
the  instrument  of  the  Lord,  regardless  of  the 
views  and  the  opinions  of  the  hour,  I  go  on 
my  way."  And  another  time:  "  There  is  but 
one  master  in  this  country ;  it  is  I,  and  I  will 
bear  no  other."  He  has  also  been  very  fond 
of  transforming  an  old  Latin  adage,  making 
it  read,  "  The  will  of  the  King  is  the  highest 
law." 

Other   Wars  of  Aggression 

"  It  was  a  war  determined  upon  as 
wars  used  to  be  determined  upon  in  the 
old  unhappy  days,"  continued  the  Presi- 
dent, "  when  peoples  were  nowhere  con- 
sulted by  their  rulers  and  wars  were  pro- 
voked and  waged  in  the  interest  of  dy- 
nasties or  of  little  groups  of  ambitious 
men  who  were  accustomed  to  use  their 
fellow-men  as  pawns  and  tools."  The  edi- 
tors add: 

President  Wilson  probably  had  in  mind 
such  wars  as  those  of  Louis  XIV.,  waged  by 
that  King  almost  solely  for  his  own  glory 
and  interest  and  with  extremely  little  heed 
to  the  small  benefit  and  great  suffering  they 
brought  to  France.  The  War  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  (begun  in  1701)  was  particularly 
such  a  war.  History,  of  course,  contains  a 
great  many  others  begun  from   no   worthier 


motive,  including  several  conducted  by  Prus- 
sia and  earlier  by  Philip  II.  of  Spain. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  situa- 
tion in  Europe  in  July,  1914,  was  regarded  by 
the  German  "jingo"  party — von  Tirpitz, 
Bernhardi,  et  al. — as  peculiarly  favorable. 
Russia  was  busy  re-arming  her  army,  and  her 
railway  system  had  not  yet  been  properly 
developed  for  strategic  purposes.  France  was 
vexed  with  labor  troubles,  a  murder  trial 
was  heaping  scandal  upon  one  of  her  most 
famous  statesmen,  and  her  army  was  re- 
ported by  her  own  statemen  as  sadly  un- 
ready. England  seemed  on  the  point  of  be- 
ing plunged  into  a  civil  war  by  the  revolt  of 
a  large  fraction  of  Ireland. 

Such  a  convenient  crippling  of  all  the  three 
great  rivals  of  Germany  might  never  come 
again.  The  murder  of  the  Archduke  of 
Austria  at  Serajevo  came,  therefore,  as  a 
most  convenient  occasion  for  a  stroke  which 
would  either  result  in  great  increase  of  Teu- 
tonic prestige  or  enable  Germany  to  fight 
with   every  possible  advantage. 

There  is  official  Italian  evidence  that  Ser- 
bia would  have  been  attacked  by  the  Teutonic 
powers  in  August,  1913,  if  Italy  had  con- 
sented to  help  the  scheme.  Her  refusal  made 
the  Austro-German  war  lords  wait  until  July, 
1914,  when  they  felt  the  situation  favorable 
enough  to  be'  able  to  strike  without  waiting 
for  the  aid  of  Italy.  (Signor  Giolitti,  in 
Italian  Parliament,  Dec.  5,  1914.) 

Ems  Incident  Recalled 
In  confirmation  of  the  statement  that 
"  a  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never 
be  maintained  except  by  a  partnership  of 
democratic  nations,"  the  method  used  by 
Germany  to  provoke  the  war  of  1870  is 
cited : 

The  willingness  of  Prussian  rulers  to  pre- 
cipitate war  and  to  throw  aside  ordinary  con- 
siderations for  peace  is  best  illustrated,  of 
course,  by  the  famous  "  Ems  incident  "  of 
1870. 

At  that  time  Bismarck  had  decided  that  the 
quickest  way  to  promote  German  unity  and 
serve  his  political  schemes  was  to  precipi- 
tate a  war  with  France.  The  inflamed  state 
of  public  opinion  in  France  against  Prussia 
made  the  task  easy  for  him.  On  July  13, 
1870,  he  received  a  telegram  from  King  Will- 
iam I.,  telling  of  an  interview  he  had  had 
with  the  French  Ambassador  about  a  very 
ticklish  matter,  and  leaving  it  to  Bismarck 
to  decide  what  facts  it  was  wise  to  give  to 
the  press. 

Bismarck,  after  consulting  von  Moltke  as  to 
the  state  of  the  army,  deliberately  cut  down 
and  sharpened  the  wording  of  the  telegram, 
very  moderately  phrased,  from  the  King  so 
as  to  make  it  appear  that  a  deliberate  insult 
had  been  offered  the  French  Ambassador, 
and  then  gave  out  this  text  of  the  dispatch 
for  publication.  This  so  enraged  Paris  public 
opinion,  that  war  was  immediately  declared. 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       71 


Bismarck  took  great  pride  in  this  stroke, 
and  the  facts  are  related  in  all  the  standard 
German  histories,  as  well  as  many  others 
which  copy  them. . 

Bismarck  always  regarded  the  manner  in 
which  he  precipitated  this  war  as  a  master- 
piece of  statecraft.  It  remained  a  kind  of 
glorious  example  of  true  public  policy  for  the 
next  generation  of  public  men  in  Germany. 
(See  the  account  by  Bismarck  himself  in  his 
memoirs  translated  as  Bismarck:  The  Man 
and  the  Statesman.) 

Germany  at  The  Hague 
"  Only  free  people  can  hold  their  pur- 
pose and  their  honor  steady  to  a  common 
end,  and  prefer  the  interests  of  mankind 
to  any  narrow  interest  of  their  own." 

The  great  humanitarian  aims  of  The  Hague 
peace  conferences  of  1899  and  1907  were  the 
limitation  of  armaments  and  the  compulsory 
arbitration  of  international  disputes.  Una- 
nimity among  the  world  powers  was  essential 
to  the  success  of  both.  None  dared  disarm 
unless  all  would  do  so.  The  great  democra- 
cies, Great  Britain,  France,  and  the  United 
States,  favored  both  propositions,  but  Ger- 
many, leading  the  opposition,  prevented  their 
adoption.  She  agreed  with  reluctance  to  a 
convention  for  optional  arbitration,  but  re- 
fused at  the  second  conference  even  to  discuss 
disarmament.  (See  Scott,  James  Brown, 
"  The  Hague  Peace  Conferences  of  1899  and 
1907,"  I.,  index,  "  Armaments  "  and  "  Arbi- 
tration.") 

The  President's  statement  that  the 
Russian  autocracy,  now  fallen,  was  not 
Russian  in  origin,  character,  or  purpose, 
is  confirmed  with  these  facts: 

The  whole  autocratic  regime  has  been  im- 
posed on  a  people  whose  instincts  and  institu- 
tions are  fundamentally  democratic.  The  de- 
posed Romanoff  dynasty  began  in  an  election 
among  the  nobles.  Peter  the  Great  and  the 
more  despotic  of  his  successors  created  large- 
ly by  imitation  and  adaptation  of  German 
bureaucracy  the  machinery  with  which  they 
ruled.  Underneath  this  un-Russian  -machin- 
ery of  despotism  Russian  communal  and  local 
life  has  preserved  itself  with  wonderful  vital- 
ity. 

During  the  Russian  revolution  of  1905-1906 
it  was  perfectly  evident  that  the  German 
Government  was  doing  its  uttermost  to  help 
the  Czar  and  the  old  regime.  The  passage  of 
revolutionary  exiles  into  Germany  was  con- 
stantly hindered ;  many  were  arrested  by  the 
Prussian  police,  and  all  who  succeeded  in  en- 
tering Germany  were  kept  under  constant  es- 
pionage. 

The  Czar  and  the  Kaiser  were  hand  in  glove 
to  a  large  extent  before  the  war  broke  out. 
The  German  White  Paper,  which  was  pub- 
lished at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  containing 
telegrams  which  passed  personally  between 
Nicholas  II.  and  Wilhelm  II.,  gives  repeated 


appeals  from  one  to  the  other  as  representa- 
tives of  a  common  interest. 

Intrigues  in  United  States 

The  reference  to  the  Prussian  autoc- 
racy's spies  and  intrigues  in  the  United 
States  is  thus  elaborated: 

Besides  undoubtedly  many  matters  which 
from  reasons  of  public  policy  the  Government 
has  still  kept  hidden,  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  when  it 
presented  the  war  resolution  following  the 
President's  message,  went  on  formal  record 
as  listing  at  least  twenty-one  crimes  or  un- 
friendly acts  committed  upon  our  soil  with 
the  connivance  of  the  German  Government 
since  the  European  war  began.  Among  these 
were : 

Inciting  Hindus  within  the  United  States  to 
stir  up  revolts  in  India,  and  supplying  them 
with  funds  for  that  end,  contrary  to  our  neu- 
trality laws. 

Running  a  fraudulent  passport  office  for 
German  reservists.  This  was  supervised  by 
Captain  von  Papen  of  the  German  Embassy. 

Sending  German  agents  to  England  to  act 
as  spies,  equipped  with  American  passports. 

Outfitting  steamers  to  supply  German  raid- 
ers, and  sending  them  out  of  American  ports 
in  defiance  of  our  laws. 

Sending  an  agent  from  the  United  States  to 
try  to  blow  up  the  International  Bridge  at 
Vanceboro,  Me. 

Furnishing  funds  to  agents  to  blow  up  fac- 
tories in  Canada. 

Five  different  conspiracies,  some  partly  suc- 
cessful, to  manufacture  and  place  bombs  on 
ships  leaving  United  States  ports.  For  these 
crimes  a  number  of  persons  have  been  con- 
victed, also  Consul  General  Bopp  of  San 
Francisco  (a  very  high  German  official  ac- 
credited to  the  United  States  Government) 
has  been  convicted  of  plotting  to  cause 
bridges  and  tunnels  to  be  destroyed  in  Can-' 
ada. 

Financing  newspapers  in  this  country  to 
conduct  a  propaganda  serviceable  to  the  ends 
of  the  German  Government. 

Stirring  up  anti-American  sentiment  in 
Mexico  and  disorders  generally  in  that  coun- 
try, to  make  it  impossible  for  the  United 
States  to  mix  in  European  affairs. 

[N.  B.— This  last,  from  a  humanitarian 
standpoint,  seems  peculiarly  outrageous.  Ger- 
many had  not  the  slightest  grievance  against 
the  helpless  Mexicans.  To  incite  them  to  re- 
volt against  their  own  Government  and  to 
make  war  on  the  United  States  simply  in- 
volved their  misery  and  probable  destruction, 
in  return  for  a  very  doubtful  and  roundabout 
gain  for  Germany.  The  greatest  wrong  was 
not  to  the  United  States  but  to  Mexico.] 

German  military  usage  has  been  quite  in 
this  spirit,  however,  and  approves  of  such  do- 
ings. (See  German  War  Code,  standard 
translation,  p.  85.) 

"  Bribery  of  enemies'  subjects,  acceptance 
of  offers  of  treachery,   utilization  of  discon- 


72 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


tented  elements  in  the  population,  support  of 
pretenders,  and  the  like,  are  permissible ;  in- 
deed, international  law  is  in  no  way  opposed 
to  the  exploitation  of  crimes  of  third  parties." 
This,  of  course,  is  an  outrageous  travesty 
of  international  law.  As  Holland  ("  Laws  of 
War  on  Land,"  p.  61)  said,  speaking  of  such 
acts,  The  Hague  Conference  "  declined  to  add 
to  the  authority  of  a  practice  so  repulsive  " 
by  legislating  upon  the  subject.  What  would 
the  German  people  say  of  America,  if  our 
Government  hired  assassions  to  murder  Kai- 
ser Wilhelm  or  von  Hindenburg? 

The  Zimmermann  Note 

The  German  Government's  intrigues, 
including  the  attempt  to  embroil  us  with 
Mexico,  "  have  played  their  part  in;  serv- 
ing to  convince  us  at  last  that  that  Gov- 
ernment entertains  no  real  friendship  for 
us,  and  means  to  act  against  our  peace 
and  security  at  its  convenience."  The 
facts  underlying  this  statement  are  cited 
as  follows: 

A  Prussianized  Germany,  triumphant  in 
Europe  and  dominant  on  the  seas,  would  find 
Its  occasion  to  strike  down  America  in  its 
Isolation  and  make  of  us  the  overseas  tribu- 
tary of  a  new  Roman  Empire.  There  can  be 
no  question  that  the  future  of  democracy  and 
of  independent  national  life  is  hanging  in  the 
balance  in  this  struggle. 

The  famous  "  Zimmermann  note,"  exposed 
by  our  Government  March  1,  is  a  document 
that  should  stick  in  the  memories  of  all 
Americans.  Remember,  it  was  composed  on 
Jan.  19,  1917,  at  a  time  when  Germany  and 
America  were  officially  very  good  friends, 
and  the  date  was  just  three  days  before  Mr. 
Wilson  appeared  in  the  Senate  with  his 
scheme  for  a  league  to  assure  peace  and  jus- 
tice to  the  world. 

Zimmermann  admitted  the  authenticity  of 
the  note,  and  only  deplored  that  it  had  been 
discovered.  The  significant  parts  were  these : 
"  Berlin,  Jan.  19,  1917. 

"  On  Feb.  1  we  intend  to  begin  submarine 
warfare  unrestricted.  In  spite  of  this,  it  is 
our  intention  to  keep  neutral  the  United 
States  of  America. 

"  If  this  attempt  is  not  successful,  we  pro- 
pose an  alliance  on  the  following  basis  with 
Mexico :  That  we  shall  make  war  together 
and  together  make  peace.  We  shall  give  gen- 
eral financial  support,  and  it  is  understood 
that  Mexico  is  to  reconquer  the  lost  territory 
in  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Arizona.  The  de- 
tails are  left  to  you  for  settlement." 

The  rest  of  the  dispatch  tells  the  German 
Minister  in  Mexico  to  open  secret  negotia- 
tions with  Carranza  the  moment  war  with 
us  is  certain,  and  to  get  Carranza  to  draw  in 
Japan. 

Germany  has  attempted  to  apologize  for 
this  note  by  saying  that  they  did  not  intend 
to  do  anything  unless  we  first  declared  war. 


It  is  a  complete  retort  that  decent  nations  do 
not  go  around  preparing  schemes  for  the  dis- 
memberment of  other  nations  with  which 
they  are  at  peace,  and  that  Zimmermann's 
whole  proposal  sprang  out  of  an  evil  con- 
•  science,  because  he  realized  that  the  sub- 
marine policy  projected  was  so  vile  that  the 
United  States  could  not  submit  to  it  without 
utter  loss  of  self-respect,  and  he  did  us  the 
justice  of  believing  we  were  not  such  extreme 
cravens  as  to  refuse  to  fight. 

The  whole  dispatch  was  so  gross  a  revela- 
tion of  international  immorality  that  Ger- 
man-American papers  immediately  denounced 
it  as  a  forgery,  only  to  have  its  genuineness 
brazenly  acknowledged  and  defended  by 
Berlin. 

In  the  presence  of  such  an  organized 
power  "  there  can  be  no  security  for  the 
democratic  Governments  of  the  world. 
*  *  *  The  world  must  be  made  safe  for 
democracy."    Comment : 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  although  nearly  all 
the  nations  opposed  to  Germany  concluded 
the  so-called  ■■  cooling  off  "  arbitration 
treaties  with  the  United  States,  negotiated  by 
Mr.  Bryan,  Germany,  although  indulging  in 
certain  meaningless  talk  about  "  approving 
the  principle  "  of  arbitration,  &c,  declined  to 
join  in  the  compacts. 

There  was  no  arbitration  treaty  that  could 
be  invoked  when  trouble  arose  with  Ger- 
many. 

On  March  30,  1911,  the  German  Imperial 
Chancellor  had  stated  openly  in  the  Reichs- 
tag that  no  general  arbitration  treaty  would 
be  useful  for  Germany,  since  it  afforded  no 
guarantee  for-  a  permanent  peace.  If  condi- 
tions changed,  from  the  time  it  was  made, 
he  said,  then,  "  every  arbitration  treaty  will 
burn  like  tinder  and  end  in  smoke."  (Quoted 
in  Bernhardi,  "  Germany  and  the  Next 
War,"  p.  33.) 

Germany  and  Fair  Play 
"We  shall,  I  feel  confident,"  said  the 
President,  "  conduct  our  operations  as 
belligerents  without  passion  and  our- 
selves observe  with  proud  punctilio  the 
principles  of  right  and  of  fair  play  we 
profess  to  be  fighting  for."  The  editors 
add: 

"  Fair  play  "  has  small  part  in  the  Prus- 
sian military  usage,  however.  (See  German 
War  Code,  Introduction,  par.  3 ;  authorized 
translation,  p.  52.) 

"  A  war  conducted  with  energy  cannot  be 
directed  merely  against  the  combatants  of 
the  enemy  State,  and  the  positions  which 
they  occupy,  but  will  in  like  manner  seek  to 
destroy  the  total  intellectual  and  material 
resources  of  the  latter.  Humanitarian 
claims,  such  as  the  protection  of  men  and 
their  goods,  can  only  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion in  so  far  as  the  nature  and  object  of  the 
war  permits." 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       73 


See  also  Clausewitz,  (the  Prussian  military- 
authority  and  oft-quoted  oracle.)  Treatise 
"  On  War  "   (Vom  Kriege.)  V. :  Kap.  14,  (3.) 

Speaking  of  the  desirability  of  crushing 
down  a  hostile  country  by  requisitions,  &c, 
he  commends  it  because  of  "  the  fear  of  re- 
sponsibility, punishment,  and  ill-treatment, 
which  in  such  cases  presses  like  a  general 
weight  on  the  whole  population."  This  re- 
course (of  requisitions)  has  "  no  limits  ex- 
cept those  of  the  exhaustion,  impoverishment, 
and  devastation  of  the  country." 

By  this  Prussian  gospel,  not  merely  is  war 
inevitably  "  hell,"  but  it  is  to  be  made,  de- 
liberately the  lowest  stratum  of  hell,  and  the 
means  of  rendering  it  such  are  to  be  worked 
out  with  scientific  precision.    • 

Concerning  Austria-Hungary's  attitude 
on  the  submarine  issue: 

Austria  had  a  serious  clash  with  the  United 
States  in  the  Ancona  case  late  in  1915,  when 
Americans  perished,  thanks  to  the  ruthless 
action  of  an  Austrian  submarine.  In  reply 
to  American  protests  Austria  promised  to 
order  her  commanders  to  behave  with  hu- 
manity, and  (compared,  at  least,  to  her  Ger- 
man allies)  she  kept  her  word  with  reason- 
able exactness. 

On  April  8,  however,  Austria,  probably  act- 
ing under  German  pressure,  broke  off  diplo- 
matic relations  with  the  United  States  with- 
out waiting  for  action  by  our  Government, 
and  the  same  was  done  a  little  later  by  Ger- 
many's other  obedient  vassal,  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey. 

The  President's  avowal  of  our  sincere 
friendship  for  the  German  people,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  their  Government,  re- 
ceives this  annotation: 

There  are  now  two  Germanies— the  old  noble 
idealistic  Germany ;  the  new  hard,  material- 
istic nation,  created  by  Prussia.  Americans 
would  fain  love  and  recall  the  former. 

Here  is  what  two  of  their  own  writers  said, 
men  of  leadership  and  insight,  speaking  very" 
shortly  before  the  war : 

Professor  Rein  of  Jena :  "  A  one-sidedness 
which  only  esteems  material  values  and  an 
increasing  control  over  nature  is  destructive 
in  its  influence,  and  this  one-sidedness  set  in 
during  the  nineteenth  century  in  Germany. 
We  Germans  have  ceased  to  be  the  nation"  of 
thinkers,  poets,  and  dreamers,  we  aim  now 
only  at  the  domination  and  exploitation  of 
nature." 

And  again  Professor  Paulsen  of  Berlin : 
"  Two  souls  dwell  in  the  German  Nation.  The 
German  Nation  has  been  called  the  nation  of 
poets  and  thinkers,  and  it  may  be  proud  of 
the  name.  Today  it  may  again  be  called  the 
nation  of  masterful  combatants,  as  which  it 
originally  appeared  in  history." 

Proofs  of  President's  Patience 
"We   have   borne   with   their  present 
Government     through     all    these    bitter 


months,  because  of  that  friendship,  exer? 
cising  a  patience  and  forbearance  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  impossible." 
The  facts  back  of  this  passage  are  thus 
arrayed: 

No  one  can  accuse  Mr.  Wilson  of  the  least 
precipitancy  in  bringing  matters  to  an  issue. 
Of  course,  on  the  contrary,  his  persistent  at- 
tempts to  bring  the  German  Government  to 
recognize  the  claims  of  reason  and  humanity 
have  caused  him  to  be  bitterly  criticised.  De- 
spite this  criticism  he  has  patiently  and  stead- 
ily held  to  the  policy  announced  a  year  ago, 
**  to  wait  until  facts  became  unmistakable  and 
were  susceptible  of  only  one  interpretation." 
(Sussex  note,  April  18,  1916.) 

Here  is  a  partial  list  of  the  stages  in  the 
U-boat  campaign : 

1.  Dec.  24,  1914.  Admiral  von  Tirpitz  throws 
out  hints  in*  a  newspaper  interview  of  a  whole- 
sale torpedoing  policy.  He  directly  asks, 
"  What  will  America  say?  "  This  was  con- 
siderably before  the  so-called  English  block- 
ade was  causing  Germany  any  serious  food 
problem. 

2.  Feb.  4,  1915.  German  Government  pro- 
claims a  war  zone  within  which  any  ship  may 
be  sunk  unwarned. 

3.  Feb.  10,  1915.  Mr.  Wilson  tells  German 
Government  it  will  be  held  to  "  strict  ac- 
countability "  if  any  American  rights  were 
violated  in  this  way. 

4.  April  22,  1916.  German  Embassy  pub- 
lishes in  New  York  papers  warning  against 
taking  passage  on  ships  which  our  Govern- 
ment had  told  their  people  they  had  a  perfect 
right  to  take. 

5.  May  7,  1915.     Sinking  of  Lusitania. 

6.  May  13,  1915.  Mr.  Wilson's  "  first  Lusi- 
tania "  note. 

7.  May  28,  1915.  Germany's  reply  defending 
the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania. 

8.  June  9,  1915.  Mr.  Wilson's  "  second  Lu- 
sitania "  note. 

9.  July  21,  1915.  Mr.  Wilson's  "  third  Lusi- 
tania "  note,  (following  more  unsatisfactory 
German  rejoinders.) 

10.  Aug.  19,  1915.  Sinking  of  the  Arabic, 
whereupon  ,von  Bernstorff  gave  'an  oral 
pledge  for  his  Government  that  hereafter 
German  submarines  would  not  sink  "  liners  " 
without  warning. 

11.  February,  1916.  (After  still  more  debat- 
able sinkings,)  Germany  makes  proposals 
looking  toward  "  assuming  liability  "  for  the 
Lusitania  victims,  but  the  whole  case  is  soon 
complicated  again  by  the  "  armed  ship  " 
issue. 

12.  March  24,  1916.  Sinking  of  the  Sussex, 
passenger  vessel  with  Americans  on  board. 

13.  April  10,  1916.  Germany  cynically  tells 
United  States  she  cannot  be  sure  whether  she 
sunk  the  Sussex  or  not,  although  admitting 
one  of  her  submarines  was  active  close  to  the 
place  of  disaster. 

14.  April  18,  1916.  President  Wilson  threat- 
ens Germany  with  breach  of  diplomatic  rela- 


74 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


tions  if  Sussex  and  similar  incidents  are  re- 
peated. 

15.  May  4,  1916-  Germany  grudgingly 
makes  the  promise  that  ships  will  not  be  sunk 
Without  warning. 

16.  Oct.  8,  1916.  German  submarine  ap- 
pears off  American  coast  and  sinks  British 
passenger  steamer  Stephano  with  many  Amer- 
ican passengers  (vacationists  returning  from 
Newfoundland)  on  board.  Loss  of  life  almost 
certain  had  not  American  men-of-war  been  on 
hand  to  pick  up  the  refugees. 

[From  this  time  until  final  break  several 
other  vessels  sunk  under  circumstances  which 
made  it  at  least  doubtful  whether  Germany 
was  living  up  to  her  pledges.] 

17.  Jan.  31,  1917.  Germany  tears  up  her 
promises  and  notifies  Mr.  Wilson  she  will  be- 
gin "  unrestricted  submarine  war." 

18.  Feb.  3,  1917.  Mr.  Wilson  gives  Count 
von  Bernstorff  his  passports  and  recalls  Am- 
bassador Gerard  from  Berlin. 

In  all  modern  history  it  may  be  doubted  if 
there  is  another  chapter  displaying  such  pro- 
longed patience,  forbearance,  and  concilia- 
toriness  as  that  shown  by  Mr.  Wilson  and 
Mr.  Lansing  in  the  face  of  a  long  course  of 
deliberate  evasion  and  prevarication  to  them 
personally,  as  well  as  outrage  after  outrage 
upon  the  property,  and,  still  more,  upon  the 
Jives  of  very  many  American  citizens. 

Germans  in  America 

"  "We  shall  happily  still  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  prove  that  friendship  in  our 
daily  attitude  and  actions  toward  the 
millions  of  men  and  women  of  German 
birth  and  native  sympathy  who  live 
among  us  and  share  our  life,  and  we  shall 
be  proud  to  prove  it  toward  all  who  are 
in  fact  loyal  to  their  neighbors  and  to 
the  Government  in  the  hour  of  test." 

On  April  6,  1917,  President  Wilson  issued  a 
proclamation  in  which  he  asserted  that 
"  alien  enemies  "  who  preserved  the  peace, 
kept  the  laws,  and  gave  no  aid  to  the  ene- 
mies of  the  United  States  "  shall  be  undis- 
turbed in  the  peaceful  pursuit  of  their  lives 
and  occupations,  and  shall  be  accorded  the 
consideration  due  to  all  peaceful  and  law- 
abiding  persons,  and  toward  such  [persons] 
all  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  enjoined 
to  preserve  the  peace  and  to  treat  them  with 
all  such  friendliness  as  may  be  compatible 
with  loyalty  and  allegiance  to  the  United 
States." 

In  May  the  Attorney  General  issued  a 
statement  congratulating  the  country  on  the 
friendly  relations  between  Americans  and 
German  residents,  the  absence  of  disorders, 
and  the  necessity  of  interning  only  a  very 
small  number  of  persons,  (about  125,)  an  in- 
significant fraction  of  the  whole  number  of 
German  citizens  in  this  country. 

At  almost  the  same  time  the  cables  carried 
dispatches  that  the  German  police  had  or- 
dered  strict   measures   of   oversight   and   re- 


straint for  the  few  Americans  remaining  in 
Germany,  although  all  such  persons  were 
probably  people  whose  ties  with  Gerrnany 
made  them  almost  more  at  home  there  than 
in   their   nominal   country. 

'  "  If  there  should  be  disloyally,  it  will 
be  dealt  with  with  a  firm  hand  of  stern 
repression  ": 

The  treason  statutes  of  the  United  States 
have  seldom  been  invoked,  but  they  exist  and 
possess  teeth. 

It  is  treason  to  "  levy  war  against  the  Uni- 
ted States,  adhere  to  their  enemies,  or  give 
them  aid  or  comfort."  (Ch.  1,  sec.  1,  Rev. 
Stat.)  The  penalty  is  death,  or  imprisonment 
for  at  least  five  years,  and  a  fine  of  at  least 
$10,000. 

It  is  "misprision  of  treason  "  to  know  of 
any  treasonable  plots  or  doings  and  fail  to 
report  the  same  to  the  authorities.  The  pen- 
alty is  seven  years'  imprisonment.  The  pen- 
alty for  inciting  a  rebellion  or  insurrection  is 
ten  years,  and  the  crime  of  entering  into  any 
correspondence  with  a  foreign  Government 
to  influence  it  in  any  dispute  with  the  Uni- 
ted States,  or  to  defeat  any  measures  taken  by 
our  Government,  calls  for  three  years'  im- 
prisonment. (Ch.  1,  sec.  5.)  There  is  also  a 
penalty  of  six  years'  imprisonment  for  any 
seditious  conspiracy  to  oppose  the  authority 
of  the  United  States. 

All  these  laws  President  Wilson  has,  by 
recent  proclamation,  (April  6,  1917,)  remind- 
ed the  people  are  in  full  force. 

"  Giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of 
the  United  States  "  has  been  defined  in  the 
courts  (30  Federal  Cases,  No.  18272.)  as: 

"  In  general,  any  act  clearly  indicating  a 
want  of  loyalty  to  the  Government  and  sym- 
pathy with  its  enemies,  and  which  by  fair 
construction  is  directly  in  furtherance  of  their 
hostile  designs."  Such  deeds  are,  of  course, 
liable  to  all  the  penalty  of  treason. 

In  extreme  cases,  also,  of  "  rebellion  and 
invasion  "  the  Constitution  specifically  gives 
the  Government  power  to  suspend  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  (Constitution,  Art.  I.,  sec.  9, 
par.  2;)  in  other  words,  to  arrest  and  im- 
prison on  mere  suspicion  witnout  trial,  and 
this  was  actually  done  in  the  civil  war. 

In  support  of  the  President's  statement 
that  "  the  right  is  more  precious  than 
peace,  and  we  shall  fight  for  the  things 
which  we  have  always  carried  nearest  our 
hearts,"  the  editors  cite  the  following 
contrast: 

Abraham  Lincoln,  (second  inaugural  ad- 
dress, 1865:) 

"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  chanty 
for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God 
gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  finish  the 
work  we  are  in— to  bind  up  another's  wounds, 
to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  bat- 
tle, and  for  his  widow  and  orphans  ;  to  do  all 
which   may   achieve  and   cherish   a   just   and 


FACTS  SUPPORTING  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  WAR  MESSAGE       75 


lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all 
nations." 

Friedrich  von  Bernhardi,  (German  Lieu- 
tenant General,  and  acceptable  mouthpiece, 
not  of  the  whole  German  Nation,  but  of  the 
Prussian  military  caste  which  holds  the  Ger- 
man Nation  in  its  grip :) 

"  Might  is  at  once  the  supreme  right,  and 


the  dispute  as  to  what  is  right  is  decided  by 
the  arbitrament  of  war,"  (p.  23.) 

["  It  is  outrageous  to  presume  that]  a  weak 
nation  is  to  have  the  same  right  to  live  as  a 
powerful  and  vigorous  nation,"   (p.  34.) 

"  Which  of  these  two  national  view- 
points," the  editors  ask,  "  is  to  be  al- 
lowed to  dominate  the  world?  " 


A  Cry  From  the  Canadian  Hills 

By   LILIAN   LEVERIDGE 
The  author  of  these  heart-searching  lines,  a  Canadian,  wrote  them  for  The  Daily  Ontario 
as  a  tribute  to  her  brother,  Private  Frank  Leveridge,  a  member  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Canadian 
Battalion,  who  died  of  wounds  in  France. 


Laddie,  little  laddie,  come  with  me  over 

the   hills, 
Where  blossom  the  white  May  lilies,  and 

the  dogwood  and  daffodils; 
For  the  Spirit  of  Spring  is  calling  to  our 

spirits  that  love  to  roam 
Over  the  hills  of  home,  laddie,  over  the 

hills  of  home. 

Laddie,    little    laddie,    here's    hazel    and 

meadow  rue, 
And  wreaths  of  the  rare  arbutus,  a-blow- 

ing  for  me  and  you; 
And  cherry  and  bilberry  blossoms,  and 

hawthorn  as  white  as  foam, 
We'll  carry  them  all  to  Mother,  laddie, 

over  the  hills  at  home. 

Laddie,  little  laddie,  the  winds  have  many 

a  song 
And  blithely  and  bold  they  whistle  to  us 

as  we  trip  along ; 
But  your  own  little  song  is  sweeter,  your 

own  with  its  merry  trills; 
So,  whistle  a  tune  as  you  go,  laddie,  over 

the  windy  hills. 

Laddie,   little  laddie,   'tis  time  that   the 

cows  were  home, 
Can  you  hear  the  klingle-klangle  of  their 

bell  in  the  greenwood  gloam? 
Old  Rover  is  waiting,  eager  to  follow  the 

trail  with  you, 
Whistle  a  tune  as  you  go,  laddie,  whistle 

a  tune  as  you  go. 

Laddie,  little  laddie,  there's  a  flash  of  a 

bluebird's  wing, 
0  hush!    If  we  wait  and  listen  we  may 

hear  him  caroling. 
The  vesper  song  of  the  thrushes,  and  the 

plaint  of  the  whip-poor-wills, 
Sweet,  how  sweet  is  the  music,  laddie, 

over  the  twilit  hills. 


Brother,  little  brother,  your  childhood  is 

passing  by, 
And  the  dawn  of  a  noble  purpose  I  see 

in    your   thoughtful    eye. 
You  have  many  a  mile  to  travel  and  many 

a  task  to  do;. 
Whistle  a  tune  as  you  go,  laddie,  whistle 

a  tune  as  you  go. 

Laddie,  soldier  laddie,  a  call  comes  over 
the  sea, 

A  call  to  the  best  and  bravest  in  the  land 
of  liberty, 

To  shatter  the  despot's  power,  to  lift  up 
the  weak  that  fall. 

Whistle  a  song  as  you  go,  laddie,  to  an- 
swer your  country's  call. 

Brother,  soldier  brother,  the  Spring  has 

come  back  again, 
But  her  voice  from  the  windy  hilltops  is 

calling  your  name  in  vain; 
For   never   shall   we   together   'mid   the 

birds  and  the  blossoms  roam, 
Over  the  hills  of  home,  brother,  over  the 

hills  of  home. 

Laddie!    Laddie!    Laddie!    "Somewhere 

in  France  "  you  sleep, 
Somewhere  'neath  alien  flowers  and  alien 

winds  that  weep. 
Bravely    you    marched   to    battle,    nobly 

your  life  laid  down, 
You   unto    death    were    faithful,    laddie; 

yours  is  the  victor's  crown. 

Laddie!     Laddie!     Laddie!     How   dim   is 

the  sunshine  grown, 
As  Mother  and  I  together  speak  softly  in 

tender  tone! 
And  the  lips  that  quiver  and  falter  have 

ever  a  single  theme, 
As  we  list  for  your  dear,  lost  whistle, 

laddie,  over  the  hills  of  dream. 


Laddie,  beloved  laddie!  How  soon  should 
we  cease  to  weep 

Could  we  glance  through  the  golden  gate- 
way whose  keys  the  angels  keep! 

Yet  love,  our  love  that  is  deathless,  can 
follow  you  where  you  roam, 

Over  the  hills  of  God,  laddie,  the  beauti- 
ful hills  of  Home. 


The  New  Phase  of  Air  Raids 
On  England 


BETWEEN  May  23  and  June  16, 
1917,  there  were  five  aerial  at- 
tacks on  England  in  nearly  all  of 
which  the  Germans  used  air- 
planes instead  of  Zeppelins.  Two  of  the 
raids  were  particularly  serious  in  the 
number  of  civilian  lives  lost.  The  first 
of  the  series  took  place  on  May  23,  when 
four  or  five  German  aircraft  flew  over 
the  eastern  counties  of  England  and 
dropped  bombs,  killing  one  man.  The 
second  attack,  on  May  25,  resulted  in 
the  killing  of  76  persons  and  the  in- 
juring of  174;  practically  all  the  casual- 
ties occurred  at  Folkstone,  on  the  south- 
east coast.  The  principal  victims  were 
women  and  children  who  had  been  stand- 
ing in  a  long  line  in  the  town's  busiest 
street  waiting  to  buy  potatoes. 

It  was  6:30  P.  M.  when  a  peculiar 
humming  noise  in  the  sky  warned  the 
people  of  the  approach  of  danger.  The 
German  airplanes,  numbering  about  six- 
teen, were  not  more  than  three  minutes 
over  the  town  before  they  passed  away 
in  the  direction  of  the  sea.  Most  of  the 
bombs  were  dropped  on  Folkestone.  Of 
the  killed  twenty-seven  were  women  and 
twenty- three  children;  and  of  the  injured 
forty-three  women  and  nineteen  children. 

Airplanes  of  the  Royal  Flying  Corps 
immediately  went  in  pursuit  and  the  Ger- 
man aircraft  were  also  engaged  by  the 
Royal  Naval  Air  Service  from  Dunkirk 
on  their  return  journey.  The  Admiralty 
reported  that  three  of  the  enemy  air- 
planes were  shot  down  in  mid-Channel. 

The  attack  was  methodically  organized. 
The  first  squadron  of  five  airplanes  was 
followed  after  short  intervals  by  a  second 
squadron  and  then  a  third  and  fourth, 
each  of  which  repeated  the  tactics  of  the 
first.  Scarcely  any  part  of  Folkestone 
escaped  injury.  At  least  sixty  bombs 
were  dropped,  falling  in  a  shower  all 
over  the  town.  The  worst  damage  done 
was  from  a  group  of  bombs  which  struck 
the  business  thoroughfare  thronged  with 
people.    At  one  spot  here  sixteen  women, 


eight  men,  and  nine  children  were  killed, 
and  forty-two  persons  were  injured.  The 
intervals  of  comparative  quiet  after  the 
departure  of  each  squadron  of  raiders 
were  only  broken  by  the  sound  of  distant 
firing  of  naval  guns  out  at  sea  and  were 
even  more  harrowing  to  the  populace 
than  were  the  brief  periods  when  the 
bombs  were  actually  bursting  in  the 
town. 

After  each  visit  the  people  in  shelters 
or  cellars  asked  each  other  whether  this 
was  the  last.  Hours  after  the  last  raider 
had  gone  many  people  kept  to  their  shel- 
ters in  the  belief  that  more  raiders  were 
coming.  There  was  much  employment 
for  voluntary  relief  workers.  The  hos- 
pitals were  crowded  not  only  with  in- 
jured, but  with  women  and  children 
suffering  from  shock,  while  the  police 
and  constables  had  their  hands  full  pa- 
trolling the  devastated  districts  and  at- 
tending to  the  work  of  rescue,  identifica- 
tion, and  the  hundreds  of  odds  and  ends 
which  such  a  crisis  brings  to  an  unpre- 
pared town. 

Reports  from  the  surrounding  district 
indicated  that  there  were  some  bombing 
of  neighboring  villages,  even  at  some 
distance,  inland.  The  bombs  were 
dropped,  for  the  most  part,  as  the  Ger- 
man airplanes  were  making  a  wide  circle 
to  approach  from  the  land  side. 

The  third  of  this  series  of  air  raids 
took  place  on  the  evening  of  June  5,  when 
sixteen  German  airplanes  came  over  the 
North  Sea  and  dropped  many  bombs  on 
the  small  towns  and  villages  in  Essex 
and  Kent.  Only  fourteen  of  them  re- 
turned to  their  home  base,  for  two  were 
brought  down  by  British  guns.  Only 
two  persons  were  killed  and  twenty-nine 
injured  in  the  bombarded  districts.  The 
raiders  met  with  a  lively  reception,  extra 
precautions  having  been  taken  by  the 
British  authorities  after  the  previous 
raid.  The  Germans  were  attacked  by 
British  aviators  before  they  had  an  op- 
portunity   to    carry    out    their    raiding 


THE  NEW  PHASE  OF  AIR  RAIDS  ON  ENGLAND 


77 


intentions  to  any  great  extent,  and  the 
British  anti-aircraft  guns  were  very- 
effective.  The  official  statement  said 
that  the  raiders  also  attacked  the  naval 
establishments  in  the  Medway.  A  con- 
siderable number  of  bombs  were  dropped 
and  a  certain  amount  of  damage  was 
done  to  house  property,  but  the  damage 
done  to  naval  and  military  establish- 
ments was  practically  negligible. 

The  worst  raid  of  all  was  that  made 
upon  London  on  June  13  in  the  broad 
daylight  of  noon.  A  squadron  of  German 
airplanes  bombed  the  East  End  and  the 
business  sections  of  the  city,  killing  97 
persons  and  injuring  437.  Many  of  the 
victims  were  women  and  children,  120  of 
the  latter  being  either  killed  or  injured. 
The  large  number  of  casualties  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  eating  places  in  the 
East  End  were  crowded  at  the  hour  of 
the  raid,  schools  were  still  in  session,  and 
large  numbers  of  people  were  on  the 
streets.  Of  the  victims,  an  official  an- 
nouncement stated  55  men,  16  women, 
and  26  children  were  killed,  while  the 
injured  comprised  223  men,  122  women, 
and  94  children.  No  damage  of  a  mili- 
tary or  naval  nature  was  done.  Only 
one  of  the  attacking  airplanes  was 
brought  down. 

A  supplementary  official  report 
stated :  "  The  first  bombs  were  dropped 
on  the  eastern  outskirts  of  London  at 
about  11:30  A.  M.  Numerous  bombs  fell 
in  rapid  succession  in  various  districts  in 
the  East  End.  One  bomb  fell  in  a  rail- 
way station,  hitting  an  incoming  train. 
Seven  persons  were  killed  and  17  injured 
here.  Another  bomb  fell  on  a  school, 
killing  10  and  injuring  about  50  children. 
A  number  of  warehouses  were  damaged 
and  fires  were  caused.  A  few  bombs  also 
were  dropped  near  North  Foreland  and 
opposite  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  four 
persons  being  injured.  The  air  raid  over 
London  lasted  about  fifteen  minutes.  The 
raiders  were  engaged  by  guns  of  the  East 
London  defenses  and  a  large  number  of 
airplanes  of  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  and 
Royal  Naval  Air  Service  were  sent  up  as 
soon  as  the  enemy  was  reported  off  the 
coast.  Several  engagements  took  place 
in  the  air." 

The  most  tragic  episode  of  the  attack 
was  the  bombing  of  a   London   County 


Council  School,  of  which  the  following 
graphic  description  was  given  by  a 
soldier  who  went  to  assist  the  teachers : 

"  I  found  the  class  mistress,  who  had 
got  the  uninjured  children  into  a  passage 
where,  if  there  came  another  bomb,  they 
would  be  less  likely  to  be  hurt.  She  was 
all  alone  until  I  came.  Then  we  both  set 
to  get  out  the  uninjured.  She  brought 
down  two  or  three  from  the  upper  room 
first,  then  we  went  into  the  classroom 
where  the  bomb  had  sunk  into  the  earth 
when  it  exploded.  The  sight  was  a  ter- 
rible one,  and  but  for  the  excitement  it 
would  have  been  unbearable.  Many  of 
the  little  ones  were  lying  across  their 
desks,  apparently  dead,  and  with  terrible 
wounds  on  heads  and  limbs,  and  scores  of 
others  were  writhing  with  pain  and  moan- 
ing piteously  in  their  terror  and  suffer- 
ing. 

"  Many  bodies  were  mutilated,  but  our 
first  thought  was  to  get  at  the  injured 
and  have  them  cared  for.  We  took  them 
gently  in  our  arms  and  laid  them  out 
against  a  wall  under  a  shed.  I  didn't 
count  them,  but  I  should  think  there  were 
twenty  or  thirty.  I  was  just  wondering 
what  we  should  do  next  when  some  more 
people  came  to  help,  including  soldiers, 
naval  cadets,  police,  and  special  con- 
stables. We  were  frantic  for  ambulances 
and  it  was  impossible  to  carry  them  to 
the  hospital,  which  was  half  a  mile  away. 
Just  then  two  lorries  drew  up  and  the 
driver  suggested  that  he  should  help.  We 
packed  the  poor  little  souls  on  the  lorries 
as  gently  as  we  could  and  he  drove  as  if 
he  was  afraid  of  something  giving  away 
and  so  at  last  we  got  them  to  the  hos- 
pital. 

"  While  they  were  gone  I  put  a  sentry 
on  the  door,  and  I  can  tell  you  it  was 
a  tough  job.  The  women  were  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  panicky,  but  they  were 
selfish  in  their  love  at  first  and  in  their 
earnestness  to  get  at  their  own  babies 
endangered  by  others  who  were  lying  on 
the  floor.  Some  mothers  were  almost  in- 
sane with  grief,  and  when  they  couldn't 
find  their  own  children  would  rush 
through  the  bodies  looking  for  them,  and 
when  you  remember  that  there  was  a 
hole  in  the  roof  four  feet  deep  and  cover- 
ing the  whole  area  of  the  classroom  it 


78 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


will  be  understood  what  that  meant.  The 
worst  part  of  our  task  was  the  last — 
that  of  picking  up  the  mutilated  frag- 
ments of  humanity." 

Two  Zeppelins  made  an  attack  on  the 
east  coast  of  England  in  the  night  of 
June  16.  The  official  report  said  that 
one  of  the  airships  crossed  the  Kentish 
coast  at  2  A.  M.  and  dropped  bombs  on  a 
coast  town,  killing  two  persons,  injuring 
sixteen,  and  wrecking  a  large  number  of 
houses.  The  second  airship  attacked  a 
coast  town  of  East  Anglia,  but  did  no 
damage  before  it  was  engaged  by  the 
Royal  Flying  Corps,  brought  down  in 
flames,  and  destroyed. 

Thousands  of  people  witnessed  the  end 


of  this  Zeppelin.  The  attack  by  anti- 
aircraft guns  on  the  dirigible  lasted  fully 
half  an  hour,  and  people  ran  from  their 
houses  half  dressed  to  watch  the  fight. 
•When  the  black  object,  drifting  across 
the  sky  from  the  southeast  to  the  north- 
west, was  seen  to  burst  into  flames  the 
spectators  cheered  tumultously.  It  had 
been  first  winged  by  a  land  gun,  and 
was  then  finished  by  an  airplane,  which 
the  Zeppelin  fought  to  the  last  with  her 
guns.  The  dirigible  dropped  in  a  field 
of  corn,  far  from  any  habitation,  and 
was  entirely  destroyed.  All  of  the  crew 
were  killed  and  their  bodies  badly 
charred.  Some  of  the  men  appeared  to 
have  jumped  from  the  airship. 


1,430  Airplanes  Shot  Down  in  Two  Months 


THE  intensity  of  the  aerial  warfare 
on  the  western  front  is  indicated  by 
the  figures  showing  the  number  of 
airplanes  lost  in  April  and  May.  A  com- 
pilation from  the  British,  French,  and 
German  official  reports  shows  that  717 
airplanes  were  shot  down  during  April, 
the  Germans  losing  369,  the  French  and 
Belgians  201,  and  the  British  147.  Dur- 
ing May  713  airplanes  were  shot  down 
on  the  western  front.  The  Germans  lost 
442  and  the  British  and  French  271,  of 
which  86  were  admitted  to  have  been 
British  and  the  remainder,  by  inference, 
French.  Thus,  in  two  months,  1,430  air- 
planes were  destroyed. 

How  the  British  and  French  have 
gained  the  supremacy  of  the  air  was 
described  by  Major  L.  W.  B.  Rees  of  the 
British  Flying  Corps,  during  a  visit  to 
Washington.  While  the  Allies'  opera- 
tions are  conducted  almost  entirely  be- 
yond the  German  lines,  the  Major  said, 
the  German  machines  now  cross  over  the 
allied  lines  only  rarely  in  raiding  parties. 
The  British  fly  on  three  levels  with  three 
kinds  of  machines.  The  lowest  are  the 
artillery  directors,  who  circle  about  in 
big  figure  eights  about  6,000  feet  above 
the  enemy  trenches  and  flash  back  direc- 
tions to  the  British  gunners  by  wireless. 
Above  them,  at  10,000  feet,  are  the  heavy 
fighters  with  two  men  to  a  machine  and 


able  to  keep  the  air  for  four  hours  at  a 
speed  of  110  miles  per  hour.  At  a  height 
of  15,000  feet  are  the  single-man  light 
fighters,  capable  of  130  miles  an  hour 
and  of  ascending  the  first  10,000  feet  in 
ten  minutes. 

The  Germans  have  given  up  all  at- 
tempts to  guide  their  artillery  by  air- 
plane and  seek  only  to  smash  up  the 
allied  reconnoissance  over  their  lines. 
Their  machines  are  largely  of  one  class, 
therefore,  fast,  heavy  fighters,  generally 
biplanes,  which  are  continually  seeking 
to  swoop  down  on  the  British  artillery 
observers  and  send  them  to  the  ground 
before  the  British  fighting  patrols  can 
reach  them.  Recently,  however,  the  Ger- 
mans have  developed  another  light  fight- 
ing machine,  which  by  climbing  to  20,000 
feet  seeks  to  overtop  the  British  light 
fighters  and  clear  them  out. 

British  losses  have  been  running  re- 
cently as  high  as  thirty  to  forty  machines 
a  day,  because  of  the  extraordinary 
chances  taken  over  the  enemy's  lines.  As 
a  rule  they  go  out  in  squadrons  of  six, 
divided  into  three  pairs  and  prepared  to 
swoop  down  in  unison  on  any  German 
machine  that  may  come  up. 

Major  Rees  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
the  British  had  defeated  the  Germans  in 
every  way  in  the  air  and  deprived  them 
of  invaluable  reconnoissance  power.    The 


a 


1 


AMERICA'S  CALL  TO  ARMS 


€AUL§ 


tttt^'M  k,  fBANCtS  MAMS  HAIS 


One  of  the  Most  Striking  Posters  Used  in  Recruiting  the 
United  States  Army  Up  to  War  Strength 

(Poster  by  Frances  Adams  Halsted  and  V.  Aderente) 


i 


^das^&y&yid 


0 


THE  NAVY'S  APPEAL  FOR  MEN 

THE  NAVY 

NEEDS  YOU!  4 ,,, 

DON'T  READ 
AMERICAN  HISTORY- 
MAKE  IT ! 


.».»«  MNAklWdr  vv»«« 


31 


USNAVY  RECRUITING  STATION 

A  Poster  Used  by  the  Navy  Recruiting  Department  to  Obtain 
the  Increased  Personnel  Required  for  the  War  Fleet 

(Poster  by  James  Montgomery  Flagg) 


xm^&k 


1,430  AIRPLANES  SHOT  DOWN  IN  TWO  MONTHS  79 

Zeppelin  is  now  practically  useless  as  a  tance.  Many  American  machines  are  in 
military  weapon.  Germany's  whole  artil-  use  in  England  for  training  purposes, 
lery  observation  is  conducted  by  means  but  none  on  the  fighting  line, 
of  captive  balloons.  A  short  time  ago  The  most  brilliant  of  British  military 
the  British  and  French  made  a  combined  aviators  has  been  officially  reported 
attack  at  4  P.  M.  and  knocked  down  every  killed.  He  was  Captain  Albert  Ball, 
captive  balloon  from  the  North  Sea  to  D.  S.  O.,  who  was  reported  missing  early 
Switzerland.  Not  for  three  days  did  in  May  and  is  now  known  to  be  buried 
another  balloon  appear  in  sight.  at  a  place  named  Annoeullin.  Captain 
Pilots  can  be  trained  in  about  three  Ball  had  brought  down  over  forty  enemy 
months,  according  to  Major  Rees,  and  machines.  He  was  only  21  years  of  age, 
should  be  from  19  to  25  years  old,  weigh-  was  absolutely  fearless,  but  never  a  reck- 
ing not  much  over  160  pounds.  The  less  flier.  General  Trenchard  of  the 
supreme  consideration  he  gave  as  in-  Royal  Flying  Corps  described  him  as  the 
telligence  and  reliability,  as  the  task  in-  most  daring,  skillful,  and  successful 
trusted  to  the  airmen  is  of  vital  impor-  pilot  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  ever  had. 


The  Death  of  Prince  Karl  Friedrich 

When  Prince  Karl  Friedrich,  the  Kaiser's  nephew  and  royal  airman,  was 
brought  down  on  the  French  front  and  held  prisoner  until  he  died  of  his  wounds, 
he  was  visited  every  day  by  the  Rev.  M.  Caldwell,  a  British  Baptist  minister, 
who  is  serving  as  official  Chaplain  to  the  German  prisoners  in  France.  The 
young  Prince  talked  freely  to  him,  describing  his  capture  in  these  terms: 

"  I  was  doing  important  work  for  my  commander  when  I  was  attacked  by 
British  aeronauts.  I  kept  on  my  course  at  first,  but  soon  found  I  had  to  defend 
myself  against  their  determined  onslaught.  The  contest  was  keen  and  exciting. 
I  was  hit  on  my  foot,  and  the  pain  was  intense,  but  that  was  not  my  undoing. 
My  machine  was  hit  in  a  vital  part,  and,  although  I  did  my  utmost  to  get  back 
to  my  lines,  I  was  compelled  to  descend  in  full  view  of  the  Australians.  I  saw  the 
predicament  I  would  be  in  when  I  landed,  so  decided  to  burn  my  machine  and 
run  for  it.  The  Australians  were  too  clever  for  me,  and  gave  me  a  warm  time 
when  I  took  to  my  heels.  I  had  a  sporting  chance,  and  took  it,  but  I  was  not  a 
winner.  I  felt  a  twitching  sensation  in  my  back,  and  fell  forward,  done  for. 
The  Australians,  whose  prisoner  I  became,  treated  me  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness. They  are  sportsmen,  and  great  men.  I  have  a  wonderful  admiration  for 
them.  If  I  am  anything,  I  am  a  sport.  I  have  played  tennis  with  Wilding  and 
other  first-class  players.  I  shall  never  forget  the  jolly  time  I  had  in  England 
when  I  played  them  all." 

The  dying  man  added:  "  God  is  with  me.  When  I  was  christened  the  pastor 
read  out  a  text  from  the  Bible,  which  he  repeated  at  my  confirmation,  and  gave 
me  as  my  lifelong  message  from  God.  I  fear  I  did  not  value  it  enough  before  I 
was  wounded,  but  since  then  it  has  been  a  source  of  consolation  to  me.  It  keeps 
returning  to  my  thoughts.  It  is,  '  If  God  be  with  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  ' 
What  greater  evidence  could  I  have  of  its  truth  than  the  kindness  which  has 
been  shown  me  ?  Now  you  come  daily  to  speak  of  God  and  pray  for  me.  I  am 
grateful  to  you  and  all  who  wish  me  well.  I  lie  here  a  helpless  prisoner,  but 
I  have  no  regrets.  I  did  my  best  for  my  country,  and  I  am  hot  sorry  I  am 
finished  with  the  war.  I  want  to  live.  I  am  young,  and  when  the  war  is  over,  I 
shall  go  back  and  help  to  build  up  my  nation  again." 


A  Great  Fight  in  the  Air 

[Described  by  a  British  War  Correspondent  at  the  Front 


THIS  is  the  story  of  how  five  Brit- 
ish airplanes  fought  twenty- 
seven  Germans  and  beat  them, 
sending-  eight  to  earth  crashing, 
crippled  or  in  flames.  It  was  on  Satur- 
day, May  5,  1917,  a  day  of  great  heat, 
when  there  was  a  haze  so  thick  that  you 
could  hardly  see  the  ground  from  a  height 
of  2,000  feet.  Our  men  had  started  fairly 
late  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  5  o'clock 
were  well  over  in  enemy  country,  when, 
with  the  sun  at  their  backs,  they  saw  two 
enemy  machines  ahead.  They  tried  to 
close  with  the  enemy,  who  made  some 
show  of  giving  fight.  It  was  only  a 
show,  however,  for  as  our  leading  ma- 
chine drew  near  the  Germans  turned  and 
made  with  all  speed  for  home. 

The  tactics  suggested  that  the  two 
enemy  machines  were  only  decoys,  in- 
tended to  lure  our  little  flotilla  as  far 
as  possible  from  its  base — and  the  sus- 
picion was  soon  confirmed.  Even  as  we 
started  to  chase  the  two  flying  enemies, 
out  of  the  haze  and  void  on  all  sides  new 
fleets  came  closing  in. 

The  new  arrivals  flew  in  three  forma- 
tions, two  of  which  contained  eight  ma- 
chines, and  the  third  contained  nine, 
making  twenty-five  German  airplanes, 
all  of  a  uniform  fighting  type,  to. whom 
the  other  two,  which  now  ceased  to  run 
away,  joined  themselves,  making  twen- 
ty-seven enemy  machines  in  all. 

One  of  the  enemy  fleets,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  thick  air,  had  passed  be- 
hind our  little  squadron  and  came  at  it, 
as  from  the  direction  of  our  own  lines, 
straight  between  it  and  the  sun — an 
awkward  direction  from  which  to  have 
an  enemy  flying  at  you  in  the  late  after- 
noon, when  the  sun  is  getting  fairly  low. 
The  other  two  fleets  came  from  the 
southeast  and  northeast.  As  they  ap- 
proached they  spread  out  so  that  our 
men  were  ringed  around  with  enemies  on 
every  side. 

The  fight  began  at  about  11,000  feet; 
but  in  the  course  of  the  things  that  fol- 
lowed it  ranged  anywhere  from  3,000  to 


12T,000,  up  and  down  the  ladders  of  heav- 
en. And  an  extraordinary  fact  is  that, 
all  the  while  that  it  went  on,  the  German 
anti-aircraft  guns  below  kept  at  work. 
Usually,  as  soon  as  airplanes  engage 
overhead,  the  "  Archies  "  are  silent  for 
fear  of  hitting  the  wrong  man;  and 
whether  the  German  gunners  were  drunk 
with  excitement  at  what  was  going  on 
above  them,  or  whether  it  was  that  our 
machines  formed  so  isolated  and  compact 
a  mass  in  the  heart  of  the  great  mael- 
strom that  it  seemed  still  possible  to 
shoot  at  them  in  safety,  is  not  known. 
At  all  events,  the  tumult  in  the  skies  was 
increased  by  the  constant  pumping  into 
the  tangled  mass  of  shells  from  the 
ground. 

The  actual  fighting  lasted  for  a  full 
hour,  from  5  to  6  o'clock,  an  extraordi- 
nary time  for  such  a  thing,  and  during  all 
that  hour  our  men  fought  tooth  and  nail. 
And  the  fight  had  lasted  but  a  few  min- 
utes when  we  drew  first  blood,  and  an 
enemy  machine  which  Captain  A.  had  at- 
tacked went  down  in  flames,  with  the 
wings  of  one  side  shot  away.  Then  it 
was  Lieutenant  B.'s  turn.  He  caught  his 
adversary  at  close  range  fairly,  and  the 
German  airplane  went  down,  turning 
over  and  over  as  it  fell  straight  down 
11,000  feet,  leaving  a  trail  of  smoke  be- 
hind. Lieutenant  C.  scored  next,  his 
enemy's  machine  spinning  plumb  down  to 
where,  somewhere  below  the  haze,  it  must 
have  crashed. 

Then,  for  a  moment,  it  seemed  that  our 
luck  was  turning.  Lieutenant  B.'s  engine 
gave  out  and  he  was  "  compelled  to  leave 
the  formation."  It  is  a  simple  phrase, 
but  what  it  means  is  that,  helpless  and 
with  engine  still,  the  airplane  dropped 
out  of  the  fight  from  11,000  feet  down  to 
3,000  feet.  It  was  a  dizzying  drop,  and 
as  he  fell,  an  enemy,  seeing  him  defense- 
less and  scenting  easy  prey,  went  after 
him. 

But  other  eyes  were  watching.  Lieu- 
tenant C.  saw  his  crippled  comrade  slip- 
ping downward  and  saw  the  German  div- 


A  GREAT  FIGHT  IN  THE  AIR 


81 


ing  after.  Quick  as  a  flash  he  followed, 
and  before  the  German  could  do  his  work 
the  British  airplane  was  almost  touching 
the  tail  of  his  machine,  and  in  another 
second  the  German  turned  clean  over  in 
the  air  and  then  crashed  nose  foremost 
down   into   the   abyss. 

Then,  almost  by  a  miracle,  B.'s  engine 
caught  its  breath  again.  Once  more  the 
machine  was  under  control,  and  B.,  who 
was  one  of  those  who  were  new  to  the 
game,  climbed  and  rejoined  formation. 
Some  8,000  feet  he  had  to  climb,  with 
the  baffled  "  Archies "  blazing  at  him 
from  below,  up  into  the  inverted  hell 
above,  where  his  four  comrades  were 
fighting  enemies  who  outnumbered  them 
six  to  one.  Just  as  he  "  rejoined  "  an- 
other German  fell.  It  was  A.'s  second 
victim  of  the  day,  and  friend  and  foe 
alike  saw  the  machine  go,  sheeted  in 
flames,  down  into  the  gulf. 

Then  once  again  it  seemed  that  a 
throw  had  gone  against  us,  for,  still  un- 
der control,  but  with  flames  bursting 
from  its  reserve  petrol  tank,  one  of  our 
machines  began  to  drop.  Again  an  ene- 
my, glimpsing  an  easy  quarry,  dived  for 
the  flaming  ruin  as  it  fell,  but,  quicker 
than  he,  A.  also  dived,  and  while  our 
crippled  machine,  still  belching  flames, 
slid  off,  with  its  nose  set  for  home,  the 
German,  mortally  hit,  dropped  like  a 
stone. 

It  was  just  retribution.  The  unwrit- 
ten laws  of  this  marvelous  game  pre- 
scribe that  no  honorable  fighter  attack 
an  enemy  in  flames.  Such  an  enemy  is 
out  of  the  fight,  and  has  trouble  enough 
for  a  brave  man.  The  German  who 
dived    for    our    burning    machine    knew 


that  he  was  doing  an  unchivalrous  thing, 
and  it  may  be  that  that  knowledge  un- 
nerved him  so  that  he  paid  the  penalty. 

Strangely  enough,  our  burning  airplane 
got  home.  I  have  seen  the  wreckage, 
with  the  reserve  petrol  tank  on  the  roof 
bearing  two  bullet  holes  on  one  side  and 
great  ragged  tears  on  the  other  where 
the  bullets  passed  out.  The  whole  tank 
is  scorched  and  crumpled.  The  flames 
had  burned  away  the  whole  central  span 
of  the  upper  plane.  The  thick  rear  main 
spar  was  charred  and  burned  through, 
and  two  ribs  were  completely  severed 
and  hung  with  loose,  blackened  ends. 
Yet,  like  a  great  blazing  meteor,  it 
crossed  our  lines  and  came  to  earth,  not, 
indeed,  at  its  own  home,  but  on  safe  and 
friendly  ground;  and,  as  another  airman 
said  to  me  in  admiration,  "  He  made  a 
perfectly  topping  landing." 

Meanwhile  the  wonderful  fight  was 
drawing  to  a  close.  The  British  pilot, 
Lieutenant  D.,  emptied  a  belt  from  his 
machine  gun  into  an  enemy  when  so 
close  that  his  wings  almost  brushed  the 
other's  rudder;  and  the  enemy  turned 
turtle,  clear  over  on  his  back,  and,  spurt- 
ing out  a  thick  column  «ef  black  smoke, 
went  down. 

Some  of  the  enemy  were  already  draw- 
ing off,  but  our  men  were  in  no  mood 
to  let  them  go.  It  is  harder  to  get  out 
of  a  losing  fight  than  it  is  to  begin  it, 
and  before  the  enemy  mob  could  disen- 
tangle itself  from  the  battle  two  more 
of  their  machines  had  gone  to  earth — 
one,  his  third  in  the  fight,  falling  to 
Lieutenant  C.  and  one  to  Lieutenant  E. 

Then  the  last  four  of  our  machines, 
still  lords  of  the  air,  came  home. 


How  American  Aviators  Saved  Verdun 


The  demand  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment for  the  production  of  3,500  air- 
planes before  the  end  of  1917,  the  output 
to  be  doubled  each  succeeding  year,  as  an- 
nounced by  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, lends  added  interest  to  this  state- 
ment of  Leon  Cammen,  Vice  President  of 
the  American  Aeronautical  Society: 


ALL  we  hear  of  over  here  are  the 
_  exploits  of  the  daredevils  of  the  air, 
the  men  who  have,  brought  down 
their  nineteenth  or  their  twentieth 
Boche.  We  don't  hear  of  the  less 
spectacular  but  fully  as  valuable  work 
of  the  men  who  fly  in  squadrons  against 
squadrons  of  the  enemy,  who  do  recon- 


82 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


noissance  work  or  who  act  as  the  eyes 
of  the  big  guns  and  hover  over  the 
section  under  bombardment  spotting 
the  falls  of  shells  and  directing  the  gun- 
ners. And  it  isn't  generally  known  that 
American  fliers  are  ideal  for  such  work, 
just  as  they  are  unsurpassed  for  the 
more  thrilling  task  of  single  combat. 

The  point  is  that  the  French  are  not 
so.  There  is  in  France  a  class  of  men 
who  are  pre-eminent  as  individul  fliers, 
whose  skill  and  daring  may  be  matched 
but  cannot  be  excelled  even  by  an  Ameri- 
can. But  this  class  is  limited  in  number, 
and  back  of  it  the  average  Frenchman 
does  not  make  an  ideal  aviator.  It  is  the 
American  who  has  shown  himself  es- 
pecially adapted  to  this  work. 

It  was  a  group  of  American  fliers, 
the  Escadrille  Lafayette,  who  saved 
Verdun.  That  surprises  you?  But  it  is 
true.  I  have  it  on  authority  of  French- 
men themselves,  army  men  and  fliers, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  truth.  It 
was  at  Verdun,  too,  that  military  men 
first  realized  the  value  of  the  airplane 
for  something  more  than  bomb-dropping 
work.  For,  yon  must  remember,  avia- 
tion abroad  was  not  much  further  ad- 
vanced at  the  outbreak  of  war  than  it 
is  here  today;  not  so  far.  At  first  the 
planes,  just  ordinary  exhibition  ma- 
chines, were  employed  to  carry  bombs 
to  be  dropped  on  enemy  territory.  It  was 
Verdun  that  taught  their  value  for  re- 
connoissance  and  gun  sighting. 

The  attack  on  Verdun  came  so  sud- 
denly and  so  unexpectedly  that  for  three 
or  four  days  the  French  thought  it  a 
feint  designed  to  force  the  withdrawal  of 
their  men  from  about  Ypres  so  that  the 
Germans  might  break  through  to  Calais. 
When  the  French  found  that  it  was  a 
genuine  attack  they  faced,  the  Germans 
already  had  sent  their  airmen  scudding 
over  Verdun  and  its  environs.  They  had 
mapped  the  two  railroads — one  a  broad 
gauge,  one  a  narrow  gauge  —  that  en- 


tered Verdun  from  the  southwest  and 
provided  the  only  mechanical  road  for 
the  entrance  of  munitions  into  the  for- 
tress and  town.  How  thoroughly  they  had 
dtfne  their  work  has  been  disclosed  to  me 
by  French  officers,  who  have  shown  me 
photographs  of  the  district,  revealing 
that  the  German  shells  fell  in  squares, 
clearly  mapped  out  by  their  aviators,  so 
that  almost  undamaged  sections  of  the 
town  were  surrounded  by  ruins  where 
storehouses  and  depots  had  stood,  the 
uninjured  parts  being  residential  sections 
on  which  the  Germans  had  not  wasted 
a  shell. 

But  they  destroyed  the  railroads,  or, 
rather,  made  them  incapable  of  service 
by  almost  continuous  fire,  so  that  when 
General  Petain  undertook  the  defense 
of  Verdun  he  found  at  hand  munitions 
for  less  than  ten  days,  and  the  only 
means  of  introducing  more  a  motor  road 
running  south  from  Verdun  to  Buc.  The 
salvation  of  Verdun,  and  probably  of 
France,  depended  on  keeping  this  road 
open,  yet  the  German  fliers  had  already 
begun  to  speed  past  Verdun,  directing 
the  shell  fire  of  their  big  guns  against 
just  this  road.  Petain  sent  an  urgent 
call  for  aviators  to  drive  off  the  German 
fliers  and  to  confound  their  artillerymen 
by  depriving  them  of  the  services  of  their 
flying  "  spotters." 

And  they  sent  him  the  Escadrille 
Lafayette,  the  American  fliers  who  al- 
ready had  made  a  name  for  themselves 
by  their  daring  and  hardihood.  The 
Americans  went  aloft  over  Verdun  and 
gave  battle  to  the  Germans.  They  drove 
them  back  and  kept  them  back  so  that 
no  man  might  direct  a  gun  against  that 
road  to  Buc — "  La  Voie  Sacree,"  or  the 
Sacred  Road,  as  the  French  now  call  it. 

And  over  it  rolled  the  trains  of  mo- 
tors bringing  the  munitions  and  supplies 
that  made  Verdun  a  turning  point  in  the 
war.  So  much  the  Escadrille  Lafayette 
accomplished.  Do  you  wonder  they  want 
American   aviators  ? 


Downfall  of  King  Gonstantine 


THE  long  diplomatic  struggle  be- 
tween King  Constantine  of  Greece 
and  the  Entente  Allies  culminated 
on  June  12  in  the  abdication  of 
that  monarch.  He  was  at  once  succeeded 
by  his  second  son,  Prince  Alexander,  as 
King  of  the  Hellenes. 

The  opposition  of  the  Entente  Allies  to 
Constantine  was  based  upon  the  allega- 
tion that  he  was  not  only  pro-German  in 
his  sympathies,  but  that  he  repeatedly 
tried  to  bring  Greece  into  the  war  on  the 
side  of  the  Central  Powers.  The  ex-King, 
on  the  other  hand,  declared  that  his  sole 
aim  was  to  preserve  Greek  neutrality  and 
to  spare  his  people  from  the  horrors  and 
miseries  of  war. 

Early  in  June  the  Entente  Allies  had 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  time 
for  decisive  action  had  arrived.  M.  Jon- 
nart,  a  former  Foreign  Minister  and  now 
a  member  of  the  French  Senate,  was  ap- 
pointed High  Commissioner  to  represent 
France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia,  the 
three  protecting  powers  of  Greece.  After 
visiting  Saloniki,  the  Allies'  headquarters 
and  seat  of  the  Provisional  Government 
headed  by  M.  Venizelos,  M.  Jonnart  pro- 
ceeded to  Athens  and,  on  June  11  placed 
before  the  Greek  Premier,  Alexander 
Zaimis,  the  demands  of  the  allied  Gov- 
ernments. The  abdication  of  King  Con- 
stantine was  insisted  upon,  and  the 
Crown  Prince  George  was  also  ruled  out 
on  the  ground  that  he  shared  his  father's 
pro-German  leanings.  The  second  son, 
Prince  Alexander,  was  indicated  as  ac- 
ceptable. Alexander,  who  is  only  24 
years  old,  is  amenable  to  the  ideas  of  the 
protecting  powers  in  regard  to  the  part 
which  Greece  should  play  in  the  war. 
M.  Jonnart  informed  the  Premier  that 
troops  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal, 
but  that  they  would  not  be  landed  until 
the  King  had  given  his  answer. 

Premier  Zaimis,  in  his  reply  to  M.  Jon- 
nart, said  that  he  recognized  the  disinter- 
estedness of  the  protecting  powers, 
whose  sole  object  was  to  reconstitute  the 
unity  of  Greece  under  the  Constitution, 
and  that  a  decision  would  be  taken  by 
the     King    after    consulting    with    the 


Crown  Council,  composed  of  former  Pre- 
miers. On  the  morning  of  June  12  Pre- 
mier Zaimis  communicated  King  Con- 
stantine's  decision  in  the  following  letter 
to  M.  Jonnart: 

The  Minister  and  High  Commissioner  of 
France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia : 
Having  demanded  by  your  note  of  yester- 
day the  abdication  of  his  Majesty,  King  Con- 
stantine, and  the  nomination  of  his  successor, 
the  undersigned,  Premier  and  Foreign  Minis- 
ter, has  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency 
that  his  Majesty  the  King,  ever  solicitous  for 
the  interests  of  Greece,  has  decided  to  leave 
the  country  with  the  Prince  Royal,  and  nomi- 
nates Prince  Alexander  as  his  successor. 

ZAIMIS. 

The  deposed  monarch's  proclamation 
announcing  his  abdication,  which  was 
posted  throughout  the  streets  of  Athens, 
reads: 

Obeying  the  necessity  of  fulfilling  my  duty 
toward  Greece,  I  am  departing  from  my  be- 
loved country  with  the  heir  to  the  throne  and 
am  leaving  my  son  Alexander  my  crown.  I 
beg  you  to  accept  my  decision  with  calm,  as 
the  slightest  incident  may  lead  to  a  great 
catastrophe. 

Before  King  Constantine's  decision  was 
announced,  many  Greeks,  loyal  to  the 
Crown,  gathered  for  the  protection  of 
the  sovereign.  On  the  evening  of  June 
11  2,000  reservists  formed  a  cordon 
around  the  palace  in  his  defense,  if  that 
should  be  necessary,  and  a  delegation 
headed  by  Naval  Commander  Mavro- 
michaelis  was  received  by  Constantine 
and  pledged  the  devotion  of  the  army  and 
the  people  to  his  cause.  The  King's  only 
reply  was  an  appeal  that  they  should  re- 
main calm.  All  efforts  of  agitators  to 
start  a  manifestation  failed,  and  the 
army  officers  announced  their  intention 
to  obey  the  order  of  the  Government  to 
take  no  part  in  any  demonstrations  and 
to  maintain  peace. 

The  announcement  of  King  Constan- 
tine's abdication  made  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons  by  Andrew  Bonar 
Law,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  was 
received  with  cheers,  but  a  less  favorable 
reception  was  given  his  statement  that 
Prince  Alexander  had  succeeded  his 
father.  The  Chancellor  said  that  Alex- 
ander had  taken  the  oath  as   King  of 


84 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Greece.  "  We  hope,"  added  the  Chancel- 
lor, "  that  this  change  may  make  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Constitutional  Govern- 
ment of  that  country.  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
was  asked  by  Arthur  Lynch,  member  for 
West  Clare :  "  What  does  the  Govern- 
ment expect  to  gain  by  the  abdication  of 
the  King  when  it  is  perpetuating  the 
same  abuses  under  another  name  ?  "  Mr. 
Bonar  Law  replied:  "What  we  hope  to 
gain  is  a  Constitutional  Government 
representing  the  whole  of  Greece."  John 
Gordon  Swift  MacNeill,  member  for 
South  Donegal,  asked  if  in  fact  permis- 
sion had  been  given  to  Constantine  to 
abdicate  and  if,  in  regard  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  practically  been  expelled  from  the 
throne,  he  should  be  allowed  to  nominate 
his  successor.  The  Chancellor  replied 
that  it  would  not  be  in  the  public 
interest  to  give  any  more  information  at 
present,  but  that  Mr.  MacNeill  was 
wrong  in  saying  that  his  successor  had 
been  nominated  by  Constantine." 

Premier  Ribot,  addressing  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies  on  June  14,  said 
conditions  in  Greece  had  become  intoler- 
able; that  the  attitude  of  Constantine 
had  nullified  the  Constitution  of  Greece 
and  amply  justified  the  protecting  pow- 
ers in  intervening  in  such  manner  as  to 
secure  the  indispensable  unity  of  the 
country.  "  Greece,"  said  M.  Ribot,  "  was 
divided  into  two  hostile  camps,  one  hos- 
tile to  the  Allies  and  the  other  support- 
ing them  courageously  with  Eleutherios 
Venizelos  bearing  aloft  the  real  flag  of 
Greece."  Great  applause  greeted  the 
mention  of  the  name  of  M.  Venizelos.  M. 
Ribot  then  proceeded  to  explain  to  the 
Chamber  the  advantages  which  would 
arise  from  the  new  regime  in  Greece. 

Military  measures  by  the  Allies  were 
taken  simultaneously  with  M.  Jonnart's 
action  at  Athens.  French  and  British 
troops  were  landed  in  Thessaly  and  Cor- 
inth, the  French  War  Office  announce- 
ment on  the  subject  being: 

The  troops  charged  with  control  of  the  har- 
vests in  Thessaly  have  penetrated  that 
province  without  difficulty  as  far  as  the 
region  of  Elassona. 

The  ex-King  and  all  the  members  of 
his  family,  except  the  new  King,  left 
Athens   on   June   13,   embarking   at  the 


Piraeus  on  a  British  warship.  One  of 
Constantine's  private  secretaries  had 
previously  arrived  at  Lugano,  in  Switzer- 
land, to  look  for  a  large  villa  suitable  for 
the  exiled  royalties.  Prince  von  Biilow, 
the  former  German  Imperial  Chancellor, 
and  several  other  German  diplomatists 
are  staying  at  Lugano. 

A  telegram  from  Berlin  on  June  15 
stated  that  Emperor  William  had  sent 
the  following  message  (not  confirmed) 
to  one  of  the  Greek  diplomatic  represen- 
tatives abroad  for  transmission  to  former 
King  Constantine: 

I  have  heard  with  wrath  of  the  infamous 
outrage  committed  by  our  common  enemies 
upon  you  and  upon  your  dynasty.  I  assure 
you  that  your  deprivation  can  be  only  tempo- 
rary. The  mailed  fist  of  Germany,  with 
further  aid  from  Almighty  God,  will  restore 
you  to  your  throne,  of  which  no  man  by 
right  can  rob  you.  The  armies  of  Germany 
and  Germany's  allies  will  wreak  vengeance 
on  those  who  have  dared  so  insolently  to  lay 
their  criminal  hands  on  you.  We  hope  to 
welcome  you  in  Germany  at  the  earliest 
opportunity.  A  thousand  cordial  greetings 
from  your  WILLIAM. 

M.  Jonnart,  the  High  Commissioner 
who  brought  about  the  abdication  of  King 
Constantine,  published  on  June  16  the 
following  proclamation  to  the  Greek 
people : 

France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia  desire 
the  independence,  greatness,  and  prosperity 
of  Greece.  They  intend  to  defend  the  brave 
little  land  they  have  liberated  against  the 
united  efforts  of  the  Turks,  Bulgarians,  and 
Germans.  They  are  here  to  checkmate  the 
manoeuvres  of  the  hereditary  enemies  of  the 
kingdom.  They  will  put  an  end  to  the  re- 
peated violations  of  the  Constitution,  of 
treaties,  and  the  diplorable  intrigues  which 
led  up  to  the  massacre  of  soldiers  of  the 
Allies. 

Yesterday  Berlin  was  in  command  of  Athens 
and  was  gradually  leading  the  people  under 
the  yoke  of  the  Bulgarians  and  Germans 
We  resolved  to  re-establish  the  constitutional 
rights  and  unity  of  Greece.  The  protecting 
powers,  therefore,  demanded  the  abdication 
of  the  King.  They  have  ne  intention  of 
tampering  with  the  constitutional  preroga- 
tives; they  have  other  aims,  namely,  to  as- 
sure the  regular  and  constitutional  progress 
ot  the  country,  to  which  the  late  King  George, 
of  glorious  memory,  had  always  been  scrupu- 
lously faithful,  but  which  King  Constantine 
had  ceased  to  respect. 

Hellenes,    the    hour    of    reconciliation    has 
arrived.      Your    destinies   are   closely    associ- 


DOWNFALL  OF  KING  CONSTANTINE 


85 


ated  with  those  of  the  protecting  powers, 
your  ideals  are  the  same  as  theirs,  your 
hopes  are  identical.  We  appeal  to  your  good 
sense  and  patriotism. 

Today  the  blockade  is  raised.  Any  reprisal 
against  Greeks,  to  whatever  party  they  be- 
long, will  be  pitilessly  repressed.  No  breach 
of  the  peace  will  be  tolerated.  The  liberty 
and  prosperity  of  every  one  will  be  safe- 
guarded. This  is  a  new  era  of  peace  and 
labor  which  is  opening  before  you.  Know 
that,  respectful  of  the  national  sovereignty, 
the  protecting  powers  have  no  intention  of 
forcing  upon  the  Greek  people  general  mobili- 
zation. 

Long  live  Greece,  united  and  free ! 
Following  the  ex-King's  departure 
from  Athens,  Entente  troops  were  landed 
at  Piraeus  and  Castella.  Some  of  the 
troops  occupied  the  heights  near  Pha- 
lerum  Bay,  while  others  marched  to 
Athens.  The  landing  at  Piraeus  was  ef- 
fected in  perfect  order.  At  the  sugges- 
tion of  Premier  Zaimis,the  Greek  superior 
officer  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
General  Sarrail  to  facilitate  the  housing 
of  the  troops.  Senator  Jonnart  said  that 
they  would  remain  ashore  pending  their 
return  to  resume  the  struggle  against 
"  Greece's  traditional  foes."  He  also  in- 
formed Premier  Zaimis  that  when  the  war 
was  over  and  order  which  the  Allies 
would    exact    had    been    re-established, 


Constantine  would  be  permitted  to  re- 
sume his  throne  if  such  was  the  will  of 
the  Greek  people. 

The  entrance  of  the  United  States  into 
the  war,  it  was  stated  on  high  authority 
in  London,  had  a  direct  and  important 
influence  in  bringing  about  the  solution 
of  the  Greek  difficulty.  American  in- 
fluence was  characterized  by  the  author- 
ity in  question  as  a  fresh  breeze  of  de- 
mocracy sweeping  out  the  corners  where 
the  autocracies  which  disregard  the 
claims  of  their  peoples  have  been  shel- 
tering. 

Plans  for  dealing  with  the  situation 
which  King  Constantine  provoked  first 
began  to  assume  definite  shape  at  the 
British,  French,  and  Italian  conference 
held  in  Savoy,  when  Premier  Lloyd 
George  and  Paul  Painleve,  the  French 
War  Minister,  found  themselves  in  entire 
agreement,  and  the  Italian  representative 
was  seen  to  be  nearly  of  the  same  mind. 
The  execution  of  the  details  of  the  plan 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  French, 
of  course  in  full  collaboration  with  their 
allies,  and  Senator  Jonnart  was. selected 
to  take  on  the  work  with  whatever  sup- 
port might  be  necessary  from  General 
Sarrail  and  the  Admiral  commanding  the 
allied  fleets  in  Greek  waters. 


Two  Offers   of  Autonomy  for 

Albania 


AFTER  the  occupation  of  Serbia 
/\  and  Montenegro  by  the  Central 
JL  JL  Powers  in  1916  the  northern  por- 
tion of  Albania  was  overrun  by 
Austrian  troops,  while  the  Italian  troops 
continued  to  hold  the  southern  portion, 
including  the  important  port  of  Avlona, 
(or  Valona,)  on  the  Adriatic.  Both 
powers  have  since  issued  proclamations 
offering  autonomy  to  Albania.  On  March 
10,  1917,  the  official  announcement  was 
made  in  London  that  Austria-Hungary 
had  issued  a  manifesto  granting  the  Al- 
banians autonomy  under  an  Austrian 
protectorate.  The  London  statement  as- 
serted that  the  purpose  was  to  justify  a 


levy  upon  Albanians  for  the  Austrian 
armies. 

Dispatches  from  Rome  on  June  4  con- 
tained the  first  intimation  that  Italy  also 
was  making  a  definite  offer  of  this  kind 
to  Albania.  A  semi-official  statement  in- 
formed the  world  that  a  proclamation  of 
the  unity  and  independence  of  Albania — 
under  an  Italian  protectorate — had  been 
issued  "  in  support  of  the  principle  of  na- 
tionality, which  is  one  of  the  objects  of 
the  Allies  in  the  war."  The  statement 
added : 

"  Since  the  cessation  of  Ottoman  do- 
minion, Italy  has  aimed  to  reconstruct 
Albania,  while  Austria  has  used  Albania 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


as  a  means  to  exercise  dominion  through 
the  Balkans.  She  promised  a  deceiving 
autonomy,  which,  if  accepted,  would  soon 
put  the  country  under  the  Austrian 
yoke." 

Italy  has  been  co-operating  in  recent 
months  with  the  British,  French,  and 
Serbian  forces  in  the  Balkans,  and  now 


RTTi&NE 


WHERE  AUSTRIANS  AND  ITALIANS 
ARE     FIGHTING    FOR     ALBANIA 


has  300,000  men  on  that  front,  chiefly  be- 
yond the  Albanian  boundary,  in  Serbia, 
where  the  Allies'  Saloniki  forces  con- 
front the  Austro-Bulgarians  north  of 
Monastir.  This  large  army  was  trans- 
ferred across  the  Adriatic  into  Southern 
Albania  with  the  loss  of  only  one  trans- 
port and  400  men.  Early  in  June  the 
Italian  forces  renewed  active  operations 
against  the  enemy  at  Berat  in  Albania. 

An  Italian  Deputy,  Eugenio  Chiesa, 
who  recently  journeyed  across  Albania 
and  Northern  Epirus  to  Saloniki,  made 
this  statement  to  a  correspondent  in 
Rome: 


"  The  Italian  occupation  in  Albania  and 
Northern  Epirus  extends  well  into  the 
Greek  Kingdom.  Not  only  have  the  Ital- 
ians occupied  Valona  and  its  hinterland, 
but  they  have  passed  a  long  way  to  south 
of  the  boundary  between  Greece  proper 
and  Northern  Epirus  at  Cape  Stylos,  and 
have  extended  in  a  northern  direction  as 
far  as  the  River  Kalamas,  opposite  the 
south  end  of  Corfu,  which  was  intended 
by  the  thirteenth  protocol  of  the  Berlin 
Congress  of  1878  and  by  the  Berlin  Con- 
ference of  1880  to  have  been  the  north- 
western frontier  of  Greece,  but  which, 
since  the  last  Balkan  wars,  has  been  well 
within  the  enlarged  northwestern  boun- 
dary." 

The  trilingual  proclamation  of  General 
Ferrero,  of  which  Signor  Chiesa  gave  the 
correspondent  a  copy  dated  April  1,  in- 
formed the  inhabitants  that  for  purely 
military  reasons  the  Allies  had  ordered 
their  troops  to  occupy  the  region  south  of 
the  frontier  fixed  by  London.  To  the 
north  of  Valona  the  Italian  occupation 
goes  as  far  as  the  River  Vojusa,  while  in- 
land the  Italian  outposts  are  at  Kalibaki, 
on  the  road  from  Janina  to  Premeti. 

"  I  am  opposed,"  said  Chiesa,  "  to  the 
permanent  occupation  of  these  places, 
nor  do  I  believe  the  Italian  Government 
intends  to  retain  them.  I  consider  as 
sincere  the  manifesto  of  the  commandant 
of  Valona,  but  Valona  Kanina,  the  old 
Arta,  north  of  Valona,  the  surrounding 
districts  and  the  Isle  of  Saseto  must  re- 
main Italian,  not  only  for  strategic  but 
for  sanitary  reasons,  owing  to  the  neces- 
sity of  draining  the  pestilential  marshes 
which  affect  the  health  of  Valona.  Veni- 
zelos,  with  whom  I  spoke  at  Saloniki, 
frankly  recognized  this  occupation  of  Va- 
lona, Saseto,  and  the  territory  of  Valona. 

"  The  Italians  have  already  constructed 
over  400  kilometers  of  roads  and  opened 
over  125  schools  where  both  Italian  and 
Albanian  are  taught." 


The  New  Republic  of  Koritza 

Reorganization  in  Albania 


FEW  people  know  that  the  process  of 
remaking  the  map  of  Europe  has 
been  begun  already  by  the  Entente 
Allies  in  Albania.  As  long  ago  as  Dec. 
12,  1916,  they  established  the  capital  of  a 
free  and  independent  Albanian  Republic 
in  the  Koritza  district.  This  district  at 
present  marks  the  limits  of  the  embryo 
State,  for  the  Austrians  still  hold  most 
of  Albania;  but  it  possesses  all  the  ma- 
chinery of  a  modern  Government — a  rul- 
ing council,  an  army  600  strong,  postage 
stamps,  paper  money,  a  national  flag, 
foreign  alliances,  even  a  budget  that  cov- 
ers expenditures. 

The  French  Army  was  the  sponsor  of 
this  new-born  State.  The  aim  of  its 
foundation  was  as  much  strategical  as 
political.  At  the  end  of  1916  the  Bulga- 
rians were  in  occupation  of  the  whole 
district  south  of  Lakes  Ochrida  and 
Prespa,  and  their  patrols  came  as  far 
south  as  Koritza.  The  Greeks  were  in 
control  of  the  town.  They  were  Royalists, 
and  Koritza  was  a  centre  of  espionage 
and  contraband.  The  German  mail  to 
and  from  Athens  used  to  pass  through 
there  several  times  a  week.  The  Aus- 
trians had  bands  of  paid  komitadjis 
(irregulars)  ranging  the  whole  district. 

When  the  French  patrols  first  reached 
Koritza  they  soon  found  that  the  hostil- 
ity of  the  local  Albanians  was  not  so 
much  love  of  the  Austrians  as  resentment 
of  any  fresh  incursion  of  foreigners  into 
their  country.  By  ousting  the  Royalist 
Greeks  and  allowing  the  proclamation  of 
the  independence  of  Albania  with  Koritza 
as  capital,  the  French  converted  enemies 
into  allies. 

Themistocles  Germeni,  a  Christian  Al- 
banian Nationalist,  who  was  one  of  the 
principal  chiefs  of  irregular  bands  in 
the  pay  of  the  Austrians,  was  won  over 
so  rapidly  by  this  measure  that  he  be- 
came Prefect  of  Police  of  the  new  re- 
public. Authority  is  exercised  by  an 
elected    council    of    fourteen    members, 


seven  Mussulman  and  seven  Christian. 
They  raise  money  by  taxation — $9,000  a 
month;  $7,000  of  this  goes  to  pay  their 
Albanian  gendarmerie,  of  whom  a  part 
are  fighting  by  the  side  of  the  French 
against  the  Austrian  paid  bands  and 
showing  themselves  of  great  use  as 
guides. 

The  success  of  the  measure  of  pro- 
claiming, or  rather  reproclaiming,  the 
independence  of  Albania  is  said  to  be 
complete.  In  fact,  every  power  involved 
in  Albania  seems  to  be  driven  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Albanians  must  be 
humored  rather  than  dragooned.  The 
Italians  have  proclaimed  Albanian  inde- 
pendence at  Premeti,  in  their  sphere, 
and  the  Austrians  appear  to  have  done 
something  of  the  same  kind  on  their  side 
in  the  north. 

It  was  the  Conference  of  London  in 
1913  that  first  founded  an  independent 
Albania  and  put  it  "under  the  Prince  of 
Wied.  He  was  driven  out  in  May,  1914, 
by  revolution,  and  succeeded  by  Essad 
Pasha  as  President  of  the  Albanian  Re- 
public. In  September,  1914,  Essad  de- 
clared war  on  the  Austrians,  and  has 
throughout  remained  a  loyal  ally  of  the 
Entente,  though,  like  other  rulers  of 
small  States,  he  has  temporarily  lost  his 
country  and  is  now  in  Saloniki.  Five 
hundred  Albanians  who  have  followed 
him  are  fighting  at  the  front,  brigaded 
with  the  French. 

Though  recognized  as  President  of 
Albania  and  flying  his  standard — a 
black  star  on  a  red  ground — over  his 
house  in  Saloniki,  Essad  Pasha  con- 
stantly maintains  that  the  present  is  not 
the  time  to  decide  about  the  future  of 
Albania.  The  task  of  the  moment  is  to 
eject  the  Austrian  invaders  from  the 
country,  and  the  congress  of  allied 
powers  who  settle  the  terms  of  peace 
will  do  the  rest.  But  he  holds  strongly 
the  view,  nevertheless,  that  the  only  sat- 
isfactory Albania  will  be  one  where  the 
Albanians  rule  themselves. 


Shipping  Sunk  by  Submarines 

Record  From  May  14  to  June  13,  1917 

THE  destruction  of  merchant  ship-  000  tons  of  goods  entered  French  ports, 
ping  by  submarines  continues  to  and  during  April  4,300,000  tons, 
be  very  considerable.  Adequate  The  most  recent  British  Admiralty 
figures  are  not  available,  but  the  figures  show  that  while  there  was  a  de- 
estimates  of  allied  Government  officials  crease  in  the  number  of  ships  sunk  for  a 
are  alarmingly  high.  Thus,  in  the  few  weeks,  there  has  been  a  fresh  burst 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  May  25,  of  destructive  activity  on.  the  part  of  the 
M.  Cels,  a  member  of  the  Marine  Com-  German  submarines.  Continuing  the  of- 
mittee,  gave  the  following  striking  ficial  weekly  record  of  British  merchant 
figures  to  show  the  growing  menace  of  ships  destroyed,  as  published  in  the  June 
submarine  warfare :  issue  of  this  magazine,  we  find : 

Tons  of  Over        Under 

Shipping  1,600  1,600      Fishing 

Sunk.  Tons.       Tons.     Vessels. 

1915    1,204,000  Week  ended  May  20. .    18  9  3 

1910    2,079,000  Week  ended  May  27..    18  1  2 

1917— first  four  months  only 2,400,000  Week  ended  June  3. .    15  3  5 

M.  Cels  said  that  one  method  of  meet-  Week  ended  June  10.    22  10  6 

ing  the  submarine  menace  was  to  build        m  .  ,  ^     ^  ,      ~7n  ™  71 

,.        ,  1A1/1  ,,          ,    .  ...      .,  Total  for  four  weeks.    73  23  16 

ships,  but  in  1916  the  whole  world  s  ship-        _       A  •  •  •     _  •       .  , 

,     .,  ,.  .  i     i  ^  r,™  ™«  >  For    the    previous    four    weeks    the    totals 

building  only  reached  1,780,000  tons.  were.    Ships  over  1>600  tons>  120.  under  1>600 

Admiral  Lacaze,  the  Minister  of  Ma-  tons,  55;  fishing  vessels,  36. 

rine,  the  same  evening  made  a  statement  Norway's  losses  in  May  also  showed  a 

supplementing   that   of   M.    Cels.     With  decrease   as   compared  with   March   and 

the  captured  enemy  tonnage  and  the  ton-  April>  the  number  of  shipS  sunk  being  49. 

nage  purchased  and  constructed,  he  said,  Denmark's  losses  since  the  war,  according 

the  allied  and  neutral  tonnage  at  the  be-  to   a   Copenhagen   dispatch   of   May   22, 

ginning  of  1917  was  about  the  same  as  at  place  the  number  0f  ships  sunk  by  sub- 

the  beginning  of  the  war.     For  the  first  marines  0r  mines  at  150,  with  the  death 

four  months  of  1917  the  total  losses  might  of   210   Danish   seamen.     A   number  of 

be  put  at  2,500,000   tons.     Taking   into  Swedish  ships  have  been  sunk  during  the 

account  the  rate  of  construction,  without  month>  but  details  of  size  are  not  avail_ 

being  unduly  optimistic,   the  losses   for  able     The  Athens  newSpaper,  Patris,  on 

the  year,  if  the  submarine  warfare  con-  M      2g  printed  a  m  of  102  Greek  ships> 

*^nn  .Z  Sam!  mtenSlty'  WOfd  be  with  an   aggregate   tonnage  of   300,000, 

^^V°n^  °i  *  ttnnaA^.of  over  which  had  been   sunk  by   German   sub- 

40,000,000.     With  what  the  Allies  were  marines>  thug  ]eaving  to  ^  Qnly  149 

doing  in  restricting  imports  they  could,  ^      ^  ft  ^  tQ  of  m0Q^ 

with  their  present  tonnage,  meet  the  re-  ,     ,  _ .  ,    _ 

quirements  of  the  country  and  assure  the  Amon^  the  lar^er  shlPS  reP«rted  sunk 

transport  of  war  material.     The  Minister  durinS  the  month  have  been  the  British 

pointed  out  that  the  figures  of  tonnage  transport  Transylvania,  14,000  tons,  with 

sunk  up  to  May  23  showed  a  marked  de-  the  loss  of  413  lives,  mainly  soldiers;  the 

crease,  being  only  290,000  tons,  and  he  British  steamer   Southland,  11,899  tons; 

then  gave  statistics  proving  that  the  Ger-  the  British  transport  Cameronia,  10,963 

man  blockade  had  never  been  effective,  tons,  with  the  loss  of  140  soldiers,  and 

since  up  to  the  present  the  French  ports  the  British  hospital  ship,  Dover  Castle, 

had  received  as  many  ships  as  they  could  8,271  tons. 

accommodate.     These  vessels  had  brought         Among    American    ships    sunk    were 

everything  of  which  the  country  stood  in  three  sailing  vessels:     The  Dirigo,  3,005 

need.     During  the  month  of  March  4,200,-  tons,  with  a  cargo  valued  at  $500,000,  on 


SHIPPING  SUNK  BY  GERMAN  SUBMARINES 


89 


May  31;  the  Frances  M.,  1,229  tons,  on 
May  18,  and  the  Barbara,  838  tons,  on 
May  24.  According  to  the  skipper  of  the 
American  schooner  Margaret  B.  Rouss, 
after  that  vessel  was  torpedoed  in  the 
Mediterranean,  the  crew  of  the  German 
submarine  robbed  him  and  his  crew  of 
every  article  they  possessed  when  they 
were  in  the  lifeboat. 

Methods  of  Fighting  U-Boah 
Admiral  Lacaze,  in  the  French  Cham- 
ber  of   Deputies,    May   26,   threw   some 
light    upon    the    methods    employed    to 
counterattack  the  submarines.    He  said: 

I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  not  speak 
of  these  methods  in  public.  It  would  be 
childish  to  think  they  are  unknown  to  the 
enemy.  They  consist  of  a  system  of  patrol 
boats,  of  arming  merchantmen  with  guns, 
and  fitting  them  with  wireless ;  of  seaplanes, 
nets,  mines,  smoke-raising  devices,  and  drag- 
nets. 

I  sought  to  get  patrol  boats  built  here  and 
buy  them  abroad.  I  scoured  the  world  over 
with  missions,  covering  the  ground^  from 
America  to  North  Cape,  from  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  to  Japan,  but  England  had  been 
beforehand.  When  I  entered  the  Ministry  I 
found  243  patrols.  Now  we  have  552.  I  have 
drawn  up  a  scheme  which  will  increase  the 
figure  to  900.  I  continue  to  buy  in  London, 
the  world's  centre  for  shipping.  I  am  obliged 
to  do  so  because  our  shipyards  had  been  al- 
most completely  abandoned ;  because,  as  a 
result  of  that  short-war  theory  which  weighed 
so  regrettably  upon  all  decisions  taken  at  the 
outset  of  the  war,  the  yards  had  been  trans- 
formed into  war  material  factories  to  meet 
the  pressing  need  of  the  national  defense. 
We  have  now  got  back  most  of  the  arsenals 
and  a  number  of  private  yards,  together  with 
skilled  workmen. 

The  guns  we  mount  on  the  patrol  boats 
have  been  referred  to  disdainfully,  but  you 
cannot  put  ten-centimeter  guns  on  a  small 
vessel.  A  patrol  boat  on  guard,  armed  with 
95-millimeter  guns,  met  two  submarines 
armed  with  105-millimeter  guns,  sank  one  and 
put  the  other  to  flight. 

We  have  1,200  dragnets  as  well  as  170,500 
curtain  nets  and  5,000  20-foot  float  nets, 
which  indicate  the  presence  of  submarines. 
We  have  special  bombs  for  submarines  and 
apparatus  to  throw  them. 

We  have  organized  seaplane  posts  all 
around  the  coasts,  so  that  the  zone  of  action 
of   each   post  joins   that   of   its    neighbor    on 


either  side.  By  October  all  merchantmen  and 
patrollers  will  be  fitted  with  wireless  and  all 
merchantmen  supplied  with  guns  of  as  heavy 
calibre  as  possible,  for  which  measures  pro- 
grams have  been  drawn  up  even  beyond  what 
was  thought  possible. 

For  building  the  plates  and  frames  required 
M.  Loucheur,  Under  Secretary  for  Munitions, 
in  charge  of  the  manufacturing  sections,  has 
started  up  again  all  the  rolling  mills.  They 
will  be  able  to  supply  us  with  the  plates  I 
asked  for,  and  we  hope  that  the  merchant 
marine  will  also  be  able  to  obtain  the  quan- 
tity of  plates  to  which  it  is  entitled. 

Speaking  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
again  on  June  7,  Admiral  Lacaze  said 
that  the  proportion  of  submarines  sunk 
had  increased  to  a  marked  extent.  "  We 
are  employing,"  he  added,  "  a  very  effi- 
cient method,  and  we  are  able  to  see  the 
possibility  of  developing  this  method  so 
as  to  render  it  more  efficacious."  The 
Minister,  reviewing  the  submarine  situa- 
tion, said  that  Germany  had  announced  a 
blockade  and  had  fixed  a  certain  date. 
The  result  had  been  that  the  Allies  were 
not  blockaded.  Their  ships  had  gone 
wherever  it  was  necessary  to  go.  At  no 
moment  could  any  one  say  that  France 
had  been  blockaded,  either  near  at  hand 
or  at  a  distant  point. 

The  Navy  Department  at  Washington 
has  received  reports  stating  that  more 
submarines  are  being  run  down,  captured, 
and  destroyed  than  ever  before,  and  al- 
though the  exact  details  cannot  be  di- 
vulged, it  is  known  that  the  American 
destroyer  flotilla,  under  Rear  Admiral 
Sims,  has  been  playing  an  active  part  in 
the  work  with  the  British  and  French 
fleets.  Recently  twenty-eight  German 
submarines  were  captured  or  destroyed 
in  a  single  week. 

The  increased  success  of  the  campaign 
against  the  U-boats  is  attributed  more  to 
improvements  in  organization  than  to 
any  new  devices.  It  is  said  the  presence 
of  American  destroyers  has  enabled  the 
British  and  French  to  send  some  of  their 
small  craft  to  their  bases  for  docking 
and  sorely  needed  repairs,  after  virtually 
continuous  service  for  the  last  two  years. 


Hardships  of  the  U-Boat  Service 

Captain  L.  Persius,  Leading  German  Naval  Critic, 
Praises  the  Men  Who  Torpedo  Merchant  Ships 

This  article  from  the  Berliner  Tageblatt  has  been  translated  for  Current  History 
Magazine,  both  on  account  of  its  human  interest  and  because  it  reveals  the  prevailing 
German  mental  attitude  toward  ruthless  submarine  warfare. 


AT  present  the  crews  of  the  German 
/\  submarines  are  the  objects  of 
A.  _Y»  particularly  warm  interest.  Of 
course,  their  heroic  activities 
have  been  followed  with  undiminished 
attention  ever  since  that  notable  22d  of 
September,  1914,  when  the  never-to-be- 
forgotten  Weddigen  sent  three  English 
armored  cruisers  to  the  bottom  of  the 
North  Sea  with  well-aimed  torpedoes 
from  the  U-9.  That  the  "David,"  the 
little  submarine,  is  able  to  give  the 
deathblow  to  the  huge  "  Goliath,"  the 
battleship,  and  that  it  possesses  powers 
far  exceeding  the  expectations  placed 
upon  this  most  modern  instrument  of 
battle  before  the  war,  has  been  proved 
by  the  torpedoing  of  the  ships  of  the 
line  before  the  Dardanelles,  which  put 
an  end  to  the  entire  Anglo-French  un- 
dertaking, in  particular,  and  further- 
more by  the  sinking  of  many  other  en- 
emy warships. 

But  the  U-boats  have  made  them- 
selves the  centre  of  attraction  only  since 
they  have  shown  their  effectiveness  in 
the  warfare  on  commerce.  Here  an  en- 
tirely new  field  was  opened  to  them. 
On  Oct.  26,  1914,  the  British  merchant- 
man Glitra  fell  a  victim  to  a  U-boat 
(U-17)  southwest  of  Skudenaes  on  the 
Norwegian  coast.  This  was  the  first 
destruction  of  a  merchant  ship  by  a  sub- 
marine. Soon  others  followed  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  France,  in  the  Irish 
Channel,  &c.  The  world  stared  in  sur- 
prise. The  U-boats  were  attacking  the 
enemy's  commerce.  That  was  a  novelty 
never  anticipated.  During  the  two  and 
a  half  years  that  have  passed  the  feel- 
ing of  certitude  has  grown  more  defi- 
nite from  month  to  month  that  the  U- 
boat  may  be  destined  to  cut  off  the 
main  artery  even  of  Great  Britain,  ruler 
of  the  seas,  through  the  tying  up  of  her 


imports,  and  that  thus  the  U-boat 
points  to  the  way  in  which  the  "free- 
dom of  the  seas  "  may  be  insured  in  the 
future. 

If  the  nation  whose  existence  is  most 
closely  connected  with  the  uninterrupt- 
ed importation  of  foodstuffs  sees  that 
for  its  own  life  it  must  move  for  the  un- 
disturbed peaceful  use  of  the  seas  even 
in  war  times,  then  the  last  barrier  will 
fall — i.  e.,  all  the  paragraphs  contrary 
to  civilization,  those  speaking  of  prizes, 
privateering,  contraband,  &c,  must  be 
removed  from  sea  law;  in  short,  the 
principle  that  ought  to  be  taken  for 
granted  by  civilized  nations  that  private 
property  may  not  be  destroyed  on  the 
water,  as  it  may  not  be  infringed  upon 
on  land  in  time  of  war,  will  be  recog- 
nized. 

The  men  who  are  helping  create  this 
condition  desired  in  the  interests  of 
humanity  and  the  development  of  cult- 
ure are  the  crews  of  the  U-boats.  Of 
course,  in  order  to  carry  out  their  task, 
they  need  instruments,  vessels,  and 
weapons  of  the  most  cunning  construc- 
tion. The  creators  of  these  things,  the 
shipbuilders  and  engineers,  must  not  be 
forgotten  when  the  triumphs  of  the  sub- 
marine weapon  are  brought  to  mind. 
Only  after  the  war  will  the  world  recog- 
nize to  its  full  extent  what  the  German 
people  owes  to  its  U-boat  builders  and 
to  the  constructors  of  the  many  pieces 
of  machinery  concealed  in  the  U-boats, 
and  what  almost  incredible  technical 
progress  has  been  made  in  Germany 
since  the  Fall  of  1914,  not  only  in  the 
perfection  of  products,  but  also  in  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  desires  of  the 
front  have  been  fulfilled.  Any  one  who 
might  be  permitted  to  raise  the  curtain 
just  a  little  and  to  penetrate  the  veil 
that    now    naturally    covers    everything 


HARDSHIPS  OF  THE  U-BOAT  SERVICE 


91 


connected  with  U-boat  construction 
would  be  overwhelmed  with  the  extent 
of  what  has  been  created  by  German 
science  in  every  necessary  line. 

A  seaman's  lot  is  never  easy.  Night 
and  day  he  is  separated  from  a  watery 
grave  only  by  a  thin  plank.  And  yet 
his  existence  seems  like  paradise  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  U-boat  man.  This 
man  dispenses  with  what  every  one  re- 
gards- as  indispensible  for  life — light 
and  air.  When  the  road  to  hades  gapes 
for  the  U-boat  man  it  leads  through 
darkness  and  torment.  He  knows  that 
he  is  threatened  most  by  a  slow  death 
through  suffocation.  Everybody  else — 
with  exceptions  like  stokers,  men  in  the 
magazines,  and  some  others — enjoys 
the  fresh  air  and  looks  up  and  sees 
above  him  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven 
when  in  the  roar  of  the  battle  he  must 
enter  the  gates  of  the  Great  Beyond. 
Indeed,  in  every  case,  "  Dulce  et  decorum 
est  pro  patria  mori."  But  our  sym- 
pathies will  be  more  deeply  moved  when 
we  think  of  the  death  of  the  U-boat  man. 

Of  course  the  U-boat  man  also  sees 
some  of  the  bright  side  of  life,  and  it 
would  be  wrong  to  pass  by  without 
noting  this.  On  board  a  big  battleship 
the  individual  is  more  or  less  lost  in  the 
crowd.  He  is  only  one  among  the  more 
than  1,100  men  composing  the  crew  of  a 
modern  ship  of  the  line.  On  board  the 
U-boat  every  one  is  an  important  per- 
sonality. There  are  rarely  more  than 
thirty  men  in  a  high  seas  U-boat.  So 
every  one,  be  he  sailor  or  oiler,  has 
several  duties  to  perform;  so  every  one  is 
fully  acquainted  with  all  the  numerous 
mechanisms  and  expert  in  their  use. 
The  commander,  watch  officer,  and 
chief  engineer  know  every  one  of  their 
men  thoroughly.  They  stand  in  a  com- 
radely relationship  to  them,  they  share 
their  sufferings  and  joys  in  every  way. 
Their  food  is  all  cooked  in  the  same 
kettle  and  gift  cigarettes  of  the  same 
brand  are  found  between  their  lips  when 
the  boat  bobs  up  for  a  brief  rest  and  the 
weather  permits.  Below  decks  smoking 
is  not  allowed.  To  be  sure,  the  com- 
mander has  a  tiny  room  of  his  own — in 
which  to  write  his  official  reports,  &c. 
But   the    lack    of    light   and    air,    the 


absence  of  every  comfort,  the  dangers 
that  menace  them  every  hour,  yes, 
every  minute,  are  the  common  lot  of  all 
U-boat  men.  There  is,  however,  greater 
responsibility  upon  the  officers  and  the 
chief  engineers,  although  every  single 
U-boat  man,  sailor  and  oiler  alike, 
knows  that  oftentimes  a  slight  over- 
sight or  a  false  move  will  seal  the  fate 
of  himself  and  his  comrades. 

The  most  careful  selection  among 
the  volunteers,  who  are  always  offering 
themselves  in  great  numbers  for  the 
U-boat  service,  is  just  as  important  as 
the  long  period  of  training  during  which 
the  U-boat  aspirants  are  schooled  in 
every  branch  of  their  difficult  service. 
They  must  all  be  in  superior  health  and 
be  what  they  call  "  fixe  Kerle  " — i.  e., 
quick  in  perception  and  decision,  never 
timid  or  hesitating,  skilled,  and  also  in- 
finitely serious  in  their  conception  of 
duty,  dependable  and  steadfast.  The 
sailor  must  be  a  "  thoroughbred  sea- 
man," the  oiler  a  perfect  mechanic. 

The  members  of  the  crews  are 
trained  at  the  U-boat  school.  There 
they  became  acquainted  with  all  the 
complicated  apparatus,  the  expert  use 
of  which  forms  the  basis  for  every  suc- 
cess. The  pupils  are  made  familiar  with 
the  instruments  that  show  the  condition 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  trim  of  the  boat 
and  the  height  and  depth,  with  the  func- 
tions of  the  numerous  valves,  slides  and 
levers,  &c,  and  with  the  safety  and 
life-saving  apparatus,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  which  is  indispensable  for 
every  U-boat  man.  In  addition  to  these 
general  points,  the  submarine  sailor 
must  have  skill  in  navigation,  in  sig- 
naling, in  serving  and  launching  tor- 
pedoes and  in  handling  the  deck  guns 
and  their  ammunition,  while  the  oiler 
must  understand  the  care  of  the  engines 
that  drive  the  U-boat  above  and  below 
the  water  well  enough  to  enable  him, 
in  case  of  necessity,  to  take  the  place  of 
the  engineers  and,  if  possible,  that  of 
the  chief  engineer. 

Correspondingly  greater  demands  are 
made  upon  the  officers  and  the  engin- 
eers. Every  U-boat  commander  is  al- 
most a  "  superman."  He  must  possess 
extraordinary  gifts  of  both  an  intellect- 


92 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


ual  and  physical  kind  if  he  wants  to  fill 
his  post  with  success.  To  him  belongs 
a  quite  special  talent.  The  officers' 
corps  of  the  German  Navy  includes  a 
number  of  such  "  supermen."  These 
commanders  are  reinforced  by  an  ex- 
cellent body  of  engineers,  whose  loyalty 
and  knowledge  already  in  times  of  peace 
had  more  than  once  demanded  unlimited 
recognition. 

The  U-boat  commander  and  chief  en- 


gineer, manager  of  the  boat  and  com- 
mander of  the  weapons  on  board  and 
manager  of  the  engines — that  is,  the 
forces  that  give  life  to  the  boat — are 
supported  by  a  personnel  of  sailors  and 
oilers  capable  and  filled  with  the  joy  of 
service.  They  all  blend  in  a  whole  that 
firmly  binds  "  a  row  of  brothers "  in 
danger  and  distress,  and  that,  if  a  pitiless 
fate  so  decides,  maintains  its  firmness 
in  loyal  comradeship  in  death  itself. 


The  Heroic  Men  of  the  Athos 

By  Hughes  Le  Roux 

To  the  soul  of  America,  on  the  eve  of  her  entry  into  the  world  war,  this  stirring  tale 
of  heroism  was  dedicated.  Printed  in  Le  Matin,  Paris,  it  has  been  specially  translated  for 
Current  History  Magazine. 


IT  is  not  enough  to  say:  "  Such  a 
liner  has  sunk,  gutted  by  a  German 
torpedo.  *  *  *  The  conduct  of 
the  crew  and  of  the  passengers  was 
splendid.  *  *  *"  It  is  necessary  to 
go  further  and  set  forth  before  the  eyes 
of  the  world  certain  explanations  which 
will  show  what,  in  this  third  year  of  the 
war,  the  expression  "  splendid  conduct " 
means  in  French. 

I  wish  to  place  on  record  the  story  of 
how  the  Athos  died,  with  the  tricolor 
floating  from  her  mizzenmast.  The  affair 
took  place  on  Feb.  17,  1917.  Launched 
by  an  attacking  submarine  which  re- 
mained unseen,  the  torpedo  penetrated 
the  liner.  The  Captain  calculated  that 
he  had  ten  minutes  to  save  whatever  could 
be  saved. 

A  torpedoed  steamship  does  not  simply 
sink;  she  often  blows  up.  She  tosses 
into  the  air  men's  bodies,  smashed,  dis- 
membered, shot  forth  by  the  explosion 
like  stones  from  a  sling.  On  board  the 
Athos  there  was  an  engineer  officer  who 
made  up  his  mind:  "At  least,  I  will 
prevent  that!  " 

The  liner  was  listing  frightfully.  By 
the  narrow  steel  stair,  slimy  with  oil,  the 
officer,  whose  hand  was  already  muti- 
lated, made  his  way  down  into  the  engine 
room,  from  which  he  knew  he  would 
never  come  forth  again.  He  shut  off  the 
valves;  he  handled  the  control  levers;  he 


checked  the  explosion.  He  sleeps  now  in 
the  abysses  of  the  sea.  This  was  his 
choice.  His  name  was  Donzel.  Let  us 
salute  him! 

At  Hongkong  the  Athos  had  embarked 
a  thousand  Chinese  coolies,  the  sallow- 
faced  workers  who  come  to  France  to 
replace  our  lacking  workmen.  They  be- 
gin their  journey  under  contracts  worthy 
of  France  and  of  themselves — a  part  of 
their  earnings  is  kept  back  for  their 
wives,  their  parents,  their  children,  those 
whom  they  love  as  we  love  our  own  kin. 
These  Asiatics  were  in  charge  of  a 
French  Captain  and  a  dozen  Corporals 
and  interpreters. 

These  officers  and  interpreters  did  not 
say  to  themselves :  "  There  are  four  hun- 
dred million  more  Chinese  in  China!  Let 
us  think  first  of  our  own  lives.  They  are 
more  valuable."  Until  the  last  second 
they  worked  to  secure  the  safety  of  these 
foreign  laborers  who  had  intrusted  them- 
selves to  Fance.  For  themselves,  the  ship 
was  their  coffin.  We  salute  Captain  Sil- 
vestre  and  his  valorous  aids! 

The  Athos  was  bringing  back  to  France 
three  German  prisoners.  They  had  been 
taken  aboard  at  the  port  of  Indo-China. 
They  had  wormed  their  way  into  our  col- 
ony to  whisper  words  of  treason  and  of 
hate  in  the  ears  of  the  natives  whom 
France  is  governing  in  friendship,  guid- 
ing them  toward  a  higher  justice.    Pris- 


THE  HEROIC  MEN  OF  THE  ATHOS 


93 


oners  below  decks,  they  were  in  charge  of 
a  Sergeant. 

At  the  moment  when  the  German  tor- 
pedo pierced  the  hull  of  the  French  ship, 
this  Sergeant  thought:  "  These  Germans 
are  human  beings.  I  will  not  leave 
them  in  their  cells  simply  because  their 
fellow-countrymen  are  infamous."  He 
went  below.  He  had  time  to  open  two 
cabins.  He  set  free  two  Germans,  who 
succeeded  in  getting  up  on  deck  and 
jumping  into  the  sea.  They  were  picked 
up.  He,  the  French  Sergeant,  was 
drowned  while  opening  the  door  of  the 
third  cabin  to  save  the  third  of  his 
enemies. 

Dear  friends  in  America,  would  you 
not  wish,  in  the  list  of  your  Laconia 
dead,  to  write  the  name  of  Sergeant 
Moujeau  between  those  of  Mrs.  Hoy  and 
Miss  Hoy — of  Sergeant  Moujeau,  who 
died  in  order  to  bear  witness,  before  the 
world,  that  France  is  the  fatherland  of 
honor  for  all  men,  good  and  evil  equally  ? 

Further,  the  Athos  had  taken  aboard  a 
battalion  of  Senegalese  sharpshooters, 
under  the  orders  of  Major  Colonna 
d'Istria.  Paris  and  France  know  them 
well  today  and  love  them,  these  black 
soldiers.  In  our  field  hospitals,  the 
hands  of  our  wives  and  of  our  daughters 
have  dressed  their  wounds.    France  has 


taught  them  to  live  and  die  with  joy,  for 
a  bit  of  ribbon,  for  a  ray  of  honor. 

They  were  in  numbers  on  the  Athos, 
and  inevitably  in  the  ship's  boats  and 
on  the  rafts  there  was  not  room  for 
every  one.  Their  officers  organized  the 
work  of  rescue  under  rigid  discipline. 
Naturally,  these  officers  elected  to  re- 
main with  those  for  whom  there  would 
not  be  room,  and  to  go  first  into  the 
abyss.  This,  then,  is  what  happened: 
At  the  moment  when  the  liner  sank, 
drawn  up  in  ranks  as  though  on  parade, 
Major  Colonna  d'Istria's  Senegalese 
sharpshooters  presented  arms.  They 
sank  with  their  hands  upon  their  rifles, 
with  bayonets  fixed.  They  were  saluting 
France.  Commandant  Dorise,  Captain  of 
the  Athos,  had  not  left  the  bridge.  He 
dominated  this  scene  of  death  by  the 
calmness  of  his  voice  and  orders.  When 
the  sinking  ship  went  under  he  was 
thrown  from  a  height  of  sixty  feet.  But 
his  soul  remained  with  his  ship.  He  was 
already  a  dying  man.  He  was  kept  afloat 
in  the  water' by  Maurel,  the  supervisor 
of  the  mails,  and  Ensign  Verdelhan,  as 
a  bit  of  glorious  wreckage.  He  was  dead 
when  they  landed  him  in  Malta,  where 
his  grave  will  be. 

This,  then,  is  what  did  not  sink  with 
the  Athos! 


A  Harrowing  Sea  Story 

Captain  Chave's  Report 


ONE  of  the  most  heroic  and  terrible 
sea  episodes  of  the  war  is  enshrined 
in  the  report  made  by  Captain  Ben- 
jamin Chave  to  the  owners  of  the  British 
merchant  steamer  Alnwick  Castle,  which 
he  had  commanded.  The  Alnwick  Castle 
was  torpedoed  without  warning  by  a 
German  submarine  320  miles  at  sea,  off 
the  Scilly  Isles,  in  April,  1917,  and  the 
crew  were  left  in  six  open  boats  at  the 
mercy  of  wild  North  Atlantic  gales,.  Some 
of  these  boats  were  never  heard  of  again. 
The  one  with  Captain  Chave  contained 
twenty-nine  men,  and  their  awful  suffer- 
ings are  an  index  to  what  the  missing 
ones  endured  before  they  perished. 


The  Captain's  boat  soon  lost  sight  of 
the  others.  There  were  only  three  men 
with  him  who  could  help  him  to  steer, 
and  one  of  these  soon  became  delirious. 
The  wind  and  waves  were  unsafe  for 
sailing.  There  was  a  terrible  fight  with 
the  sea,  and  the  men  were  constantly 
soaked  with  spray  and  pierced  with  the 
bitter  north  wind.  Water  was  served  out 
twice  daily — each  portion  about  one-third 
of  a  condensed  milk  tin.  A  can  of  milk 
was  divided  among  four  men  once  a  day, 
and  a  six-pound  can  of  beef  was  appor- 
tioned daily  among  twenty-nine  persons. 
The  men's  thirst  became  terrible,  and 
pitiful  appeals  for  water  were  made.    An 


94 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


extra  ration  was  served  to  a  few  of  the 
weaker  men. 

The  ship  had  been  sunk  on  a  Monday, 
and  on  Thursday  morning  the  wind  fell 
for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  several  show- 
ers of  hail  fell.     The  Captain  continues: 

"  The  hailstones  were  eagerly  scraped 
from  our  clothing  and  swallowed.  I  or- 
dered the  sail  to  be  spread  out  in  the  hope 
of  catching  water  from  a  rain  shower, 
but  we  were  disappointed  in  this,  for  the 
rain  was  too  light.  Several  of  the  men 
were  getting  light-headed,  and  I  found 
that  they  had  been  drinking  salt  water, 
in  spite  of  my  earnest  and  vehement 
order. 

"  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  any 
one  could  be  prevailed  on  to  bale  out  the 
water,  which  seemed  to  leak  into  the  boat 
at  an  astonishing  rate,  perhaps  due  to 
some  rivets  having  been  started  by  the 
pounding  she  had  received. 

"  Our  water  was  now  very  low,  and  we 
decided  to  mix  condensed  milk  with  it. 
Most  of  the  men  were  now  helpless,  and 
several  were  raving  in  delirium.  The 
foreman  cattleman,  W.  Kitcher,  died  and 
was  buried.  Soon  after  dark  the  sea  be- 
came confused  and  angry.  I  furled  the 
tiny  reef  sail  and  put  out  the  sea  anchor. 
At  8  P.  M.  we  were  swamped  by  a  break- 
ing sea  and  I  thought  all  was  over.  A 
moan  of  despair  rose  in  the  darkness,  but 
I  shouted  to  them  to  *  Bale,  bale,  bale ! ' 
and  assured  them  that  the  boat  could  not 
sink.  How  they  found  the  balers  and  the 
bucket  in  the  dark  I  don't  know,  but  they 
managed  to  free  the  boat  while  I  shifted 
the  sea  anchor  to  the  stern  and  made  a 
tiny  bit  of  sail  and  got  her  away  before 
the  wind. 

"  The  wind  died  away  about  midnight, 
and  then  we  spent  a  most  distressing 
night.  Several  of  the  men  collapsed,  and 
others  temporarily  lost  their  reason,  and 
one  of  these  became  pugnacious  and 
climbed  about  the  boat  uttering  com- 
plaints and  threats.  The  horrors  of 
that  night,  together  with  the  physical 
suffering,  are  beyond  my  power  of 
description. 


"  When  daylight  came  the  appeals  for 
water  were  so  angry  and  insistent  that  I 
deemed  it  best  to  make  an  issue  at  once. 
After  that  had  gone  around,  amid  much 
cursing  and  snatching,  we  could  see  that 
only  one  more  issue  remained.  One  fire- 
man was  dead  and  another  nearly  so. 
My  steward  was  almost  gone.  We  tried 
to  pour  some  milk  and  water  down  his 
throat,  but  he  could  not  swallow.  No 
one  could  now  eat  biscuits,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  swallow  anything  solid,  our 
throats  were  afire,  our  lips  furred,  our 
limbs  numbed,  our  hands  were  white  and 
bloodless.  During  the  forenoon  on  Fri- 
day another  fireman  died  and  my  steward 
died,  also  a  cattleman  collapsed  and  died 
about  noon. 

"  To  our  unspeakable  relief  we  were 
rescued  about  1:30  P.  M.  by  the  French 
steamer  Venezia.  A  considerable  swell 
was  running,  and  in  our  enfeebled  state 
we  were  unable  properly  to  manoeuvre 
our  boat,  but  the  French  Captain,  M. 
Paul  Bonafacie,  handled  his  empty  vessel 
with  great  skill  and  brought  her  along- 
side us,  sending  out  a  lifebuoy  on  a  line 
for  us  to  seize.  We  were  unable  to  climb 
the  ladders,  so  they  hoisted  us  one  by 
one  in  ropes  until  the  twenty-four  live 
men  were  aboard.  The  four  dead  bodies 
were  left  in  the  boat,  and  she  was  fired 
at  by  the  gunners  of  the  Venezia,  in 
order  to  destroy  her,  but  the  shots  did 
not  take  effect." 

An  illustration  of  the  spirit  that  ani- 
mates officers  of  the  British  merchant 
service  is  found  in  the  concluding  words 
of  Captain  Chave.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  when  he  was  torpedoed  he  had  sur- 
vivors of  another  vessel  on  board,  which 
in  its  turn  had  observed  another  steamer 
blown  up,  and  that  he  himself  witnessed 
a  further  steamer  sunk,  in  spite  of  the 
terrible  sufferings  which  he  had  experi- 
enced, he  adds:  "At  present  I  have  not 
regained  fully  the  use  of  my  hands  and 
feet,  but  hope  to  be  fit  again  before  ar- 
rival in  England,  when  I  trust  you  will 
honor  me  with  appointment  to  another 
ship." 


p»"""" 


GUGLIELMO  MARCONI 


Pioneer  of  Wireless  Telegraphy,  Who  Is  a  Member  of  the 
Italian  War  Mission  to  the  United  States 

(Photo    ©    Harris  <fc  Ewing) 


LORD  NORTHCLIFFE 


The  Noted  British  Newspaper  Owner,  Who  Has  Come  to 
America  to  Act  as  Head  of  the  British  War  Mission 

\  (Photo     ©     Underwood  d    Underwood) 

rsiitiau  ■■■•■■  ■■■■■■■■■■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitilliiiiiiiitlliiimiiiin ■miiilliiiliililiiliiil 


Adventures  of  Submarine  Victims 


Eight  Spanish  sailors  from  the  crew  of 
the  British  vessel  Gravina,  which  was 
sunk  by  a  German  submarine  on  Feb.  7, 
1917,  reached  their  homes  in  Barcelona 
in  April.  One  of  them  gave  the  follow- 
ing account  of  their  remarkable  experi- 
ences : 

THE  Gravina  was  struck  by  a  torpedo 
amidships,  and  broke  in  halves. 
The  fifteen  survivors  were  able  to 
keep  afloat  by  clinging  to  two  bales  of 
corkwood.  In  about  half  an  hour's  time 
we  saw  a  submarine  coming  toward  us. 
We  shouted,  "  We  are  Spaniards,  we  are 
Spaniards!  Save  us!  "  The  submarine 
came  near  to  us,  and  many  of  the  crew 
were  on  its  platform  looking  at  us  and 
laughing  at  our  struggles.  We  expected 
to  be  picked  up  quickly,  but,  no,  we  still 
had  to  remain  in  the  water  another  ten 
minutes  while  the  submarine  'officers 
prepared  their  cameras  to  photograph  us. 
Having  done  this,  they  proceeded  to  save 
us.  They  threw  lifebelts  attached  to 
ropes  and  got  us  on  board.  We  had  been 
fighting  against  death  for  three-quarters 
of  an  hour. 

We  were  immediately  made  to  go  below 
through  the  afterhatch  to  the  part  of 
the  submarine  used  for  discharging  tor- 
pedoes and  storing  ammunition.  In  this 
floating  prison  we  found  two  companions 
in  misfortune,  the  Captains  of  two  Eng- 
lish steamers  sunk  by  the  same  sub- 
marine. 

The  monotonous  but  not  tranquil  life 
was  disturbed  from  time  to  time  by  a 
rapid  manoeuvre.  Some  vessel  was  in 
sight,  and  it  was  necessary  to  sink  it. 
They  forced  us  to  load  the  torpedo,  an 
operation  which  was  performed  with  all 
the  repugnance  of  honorable  men.  They 
opened  the  chamber  of  the  tube,  made  us 
lift  the  torpedo  and  put  it  in.  After- 
ward they  gave  the  order  to  fire,  and 
after  a  few  seconds  of  anxiety 'we  heard 
a  formidable  explosion.  The  German 
seamen  jumped,  laughed,  and  sang.  They 
had  hit  the  target.  During  the  twelve 
days  that  we  were  on  board  they  sank 
five  vessels,  among  them  a  Swedish  sail- 
ing ship  which  was  sunk  by  cannon  shots. 


Generally  speaking,  we  went  down  at 
night  time,  and,  although  submerged,  we 
always  navigated.  In  the  daytime  we 
came  up  on  to  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
which,  however,  they  never  allowed  us 
to  see.  We  were  aware  of  it  by  the 
change  of  motors.  Our  region  of  opera- 
tion (that  is,  of  the  submarine)  was  for 
nine  days  south  of  Ireland. 

On  Feb.  15,  1917,  we  started  on  the 
homeward  trip  to  the  naval  base,  as  the 
German  seamen  informed  us.  We  went 
up  the  west  side  of  England,  round  the 
north,  and  then  to  Jutland,  always  on 
the  surface,  and  in  three  days  arrived 
in  the  waters  of  Heligoland.  One  of  us 
managed  to  see  the  engineer's  diary, 
where  the  following  particulars  appeared: 
"  Eighteen  miles  speed  on  the  surface 
and  thirteen  miles  submerged;  12,000 
tons.  Crew  of  thirty,"  and  in  each  page 
was  noted  U-81.  Four  hours  before  ar- 
riving at  the  Island  of  Heligoland  they 
made  all  the  prisoners  go  up  on  the  deck 
platform,  and  they  photographed  us. 
They  then  ordered  us  down  below  again 
to  the  torpedo  room.  The  port  where  we 
landed  was  not  very  large.  There  were 
about  a  dozen  submarines  and  four  or 
five  destroyers  there,  but  all  the  quays 
and  jetties  bristled  with  seamen  with 
bayonets  fixed.     *     *     * 

Three  days  after  our  arrival  in  prison 
camp  we  were  awakened  by  cries  from 
the  Russians  who  slept  in  the  hut.  Fire 
had  broken  out  in  one  hut  apart  from  the 
others,  which  served  as  a  dungeon  where 
they  shut  up  prisoners  who  were  rebel- 
lious. That  day  six  Russians,  one  French- 
man, and  one  Englishman  were  under- 
going this  punishment.  The  prisoners 
naturally  called  to  be  let  out,  but  in  vain. 
The  sentry  remained  unmoved.  No  doubt 
he  was  awaiting  orders  from  his  su- 
periors. Those  inside  the  dungeon  were 
being  stifled.  The  Englishman  broke  the 
panes  of  a  small  window,  with  the  idea  of 
freeing  himself  and  his  companions.  The 
sentry,  seeing  him  leaning  out  of  the  win- 
dow, gave  him  a  tremendous  bayonet 
thrust  in  the  chest.     The  wounded  man 


96 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


fell  like  lead.  A  small  but  revolting 
struggle  then  took  place.  The  prisoners 
attempted  to  get  out,  and  the  German 
soldier  reddened  his  bayonet  again  and 
again  with  the  blood  of  the  men  shut  up, 
who  saw  with  horror  that  the  fire  was  in- 
creasing. The  conflagration  could  not  be 
extinguished  by  the  other  prisoners  until 
it  had  done  its  work.  The  eight  unhappy 
individuals  who  occupied  the  dungeon 
were  corpses.  For  an  hour  afterward 
nothing  was  heard  but  shouts  of  indigna- 
tion. It  looked  as  if  a  formidable  out- 
break would  take  place.  The  guards  were 
immediately  reinforced,  and  we  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  number  of  German  soldiers. 
The  commander  of  the  camp  issued  an  or- 
der stating  that  he  was  sorry  for  what 
had  occurred,  and  that  on  the  following 
day  he  would  allow  the  funeral  of  the 
victims  to  take  place  with  ceremony. 

It  was  not  all  the  prisoners  who  re- 
signed themselves  to  suffer  what  was 
imposed  on  them.  The  English,  above 
all,  were  the  most  rebellious.  One  day 
we  were  present  at  a  scene  which  was 
celebrated  with  great  rejoicing  in  all  the 
camp.  An  English  seaman,  who  already 
had  one  eye '  blind  as  a  result  of  blows 
they  had  given  him  on  a  previous  occa- 
sion, refused  to  obey  two  officers  who 
ordered  him  to  go  to  work.   They  reviled 


one  another  mutually,  and  finally  the 
Englishman  invited  them  to  fight,  giving 
them  such  punches  that  as  a  consequence 
we*  saw  them  for  days  afterward  with 
their  heads  bandaged.  The  German  sol- 
diers were  the  first  to  scoff  at  the  cow- 
ardice of  their  superiors.  The  English 
sailor  was  condemned  to  bread  and  wa- 
ter until  the  end  of  the  war. 

What  saddened  me  most  were  the 
seventy  old  men  and  thirty  children  of 
12  to  14  years  of  age,  all  English  except 
one,  who  was  French;  they  were  young- 
sters who  had  been  captured  on  board 
the  vessels  sunk,  and  ran  from  hut  to 
hut  asking  for  sweets  and  tobacco. 
Another  day  I  also  suffered  a  great  shock 
on  seeing  the  English  Captain  of  our 
steamer  Gravina,  who  had  so  far  re- 
ceived no  news  from  his  family,  who 
came  up  to  us  to  beg  bread.  "  I  have 
always  been  good  to  you.  Have  com- 
passion on  me.  Give  me  a  little  piece 
of  bread,  if  you  can  spare  it."  We 
certainly  had  no  reason  to  complain  of 
his  treatment  of  us,  and  we  respected 
him.    We  gave  him  all  we  could. 

[On  April  14  the  eight  Spanish  seamen 
were  entrained  for  the  Swiss  frontier. 
All  the  way  they  were  much  struck  by 
the  number  of  wounded  and  by  the  gen- 
eral air  of  depression  among  the  people.] 


Come  Into  the  Garden,  (of  Eden,)  Maude 


(With  Apologies) 


[Contributed  to  The  Times  of  India  on  the  occasion  of 
General    Maude's    victorious    advance     in    Mespotamia] 

Come  into  the  garden,  Maude, 

For  the  black-browed  Turk  hath  flown ; 

Come  into  the  garden,  Maude, 

For  the  fall  of  Kut  atone ; 

And  the  "  Woodbine  "  spices  are  wafted  abroad 

And  the  bluff  of  the  Hun  is  blown. 

For  the  screen  of  darkness  moves 

And  your  star  of  Glory's  high, 

Beginning  to  glow  in  the  light  we  love 

In  the  light  of  victory. 

To  shine  in  the  folds  of  the  Flag  we  love, 

To  fight  for  till  we  die. 


The  Threat  of  "Mittel-Europa" 

By  Thomas  G.  Frothingham 


"  The  perennial  conflict^  between  land  and 
water  transport,  between  natural  and  artifi- 
cial conditions,  in  which  the  victory  is  likely 
to  rest,  as  heretofore,  with  nature's  own 
highway,  the  seas."— Mahan. 

GERMANY  attained  one  of  her  most 
,  coveted  aims — the  "  bridge  to  the 
East " — when,  early  in  the  war, 
Turkey  and  Bulgaria  joined  the 
Central  Powers,  and  General  von  Mack- 
ensen  swept  through  Serbia,  opening  up 
the  last  European  section  of  the  Berlin- 
to-Bagdad  railway.  The  world  at  once 
recognized  a  menace  in  Germany's  pos- 
session of  this  coveted  commercial 
weapon.  It  so  happens  that  Admiral 
Mahan  has  left  on  record  a  dispassionate 
estimate  of  the  measure  of  this  menace, 
and  his  words  are  of  vital  interest  at 
this  stage  of  the  war. 

The  Teutonic  desire  to  control  the  Near 
East  is  only  a  modern  form  of  one  of  the 
oldest  problems  in  the  world,  a  legacy  of 
the  ancient  empires  and  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  dream  of  Napoleon.  Seizure  of 
this  source  of  power  by  some  rival  has 
long  been  the. dread  of  England.  To  com- 
bat imagined  attempts  at  such  control  on 
the  part  of  Russia  was  Great  Britain's 
self-imposed  task  for  three  generations.* 
The  great  Slavic  Empire,  though  vainly 
attempting  to  find  an  outlet  to  the  sea, 
was  never  a  real  danger;  yet  to  guard 
against  the  imaginary  threat  of  this  im- 
pending avalanche  England  unwisely 
built  up  Germany  into  a  dominating 
power  and  retained  Turkey  in  Constanti- 
nople, both  designed  to  be  barriers 
against  Russia.  Both  are  now  united 
against  Great  Britain. 

It  is  this  union  of  Germany  and  Tur- 
key that  makes  the  present  Teutonic  con- 
trol of  the  passage  to  the  East  a  serious 
matter  for  the  whole  commercial  world. 
No  longer  is  it  a  question  of  the  great 
undeveloped  Slavic  empire  seeking  an 
outlet  to  the  sea ;  it  is  a  new  military  and 
trade  weapon  already  firmly  in  the  grasp 

♦British  Foreign  Policies  and  the  Present 
War. — Current  History,  May,  1917. 


of  the  most  efficient  military  power  ever 
developed.  The  Teutons  at  present  domi- 
nate the  whole  Balkan  Peninsula,  as  well 
as  the  Dardanelles;  Serbia,  Montenegro, 
and  Rumania  have  been  overcome  in  de- 
tail and  are  out  of  the  running.  Russia 
has  passed  through  a  revolution,  and  at 
present  is  not  to  be  considered  as  an  ac- 
tive military  factor. 

The  Russian  Empire,  before  the  sudden 
collapse  of  its  armies  that  came  with 
the  revolution,  had  given  promise  of 
checking,  and  even  cutting  off,  Teutonic 
domination  through  the  Russian  advance 
in  Asia  Minor  and  north  of  Bagdad. 
Now  all  this  is  at  an  end — at  least  for 
the  present.  It  is  true  that  Bagdad  is 
in  British  hands,  but  the  consolidation  of 
the  great  strip  of  territory  from  Ger- 
many, through  Austria-Hungary,  the 
Balkan  States,  and  Asia  Minor,  to  the 
East  may  be  called  an  accomplished  fact 
from  a  military  point  of  view. 

Teutonic  control  of  these  territories 
implies  ownership  of  long  lines  of  land 
transportation  and  domination  of  com- 
merce through  them.  What  danger  is 
there  for  the  rest  of  the  commercial 
world  in  this  situation,  with  so  great  a 
power  ready  to  use  such  control  to  its 
own  advantage?  Even  under  such  effi- 
cient control,  can  artificial  conditions  of 
land  transportation  compete  with  the 
great  natural  lanes  of  the  sea  ?  Never  in 
history  has  this  proved  possible,  yet 
here  are  all  the  elements  of  the  most 
efficient  machinery  ever  devised  to  build 
up  such  a  structure.  The  foundation  of 
this  Germanic  edifice  is  the  Bagdad  Rail- 
road, originally  projected  as  a  line  from 
the  Levant  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  now  en- 
larged into  the  railway  systems  reaching 
from  Hamburg  on  the  North  Sea  to  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris  Valleys  in  Asia 
Minor. 

In  a  paper  by  Admiral  Mahan,  pub- 
lished in  1902,  from  which  was  taken  the 
quotation  at  the  head  of  this  article,  is  a 
most  interesting  discussion  of  the  mili- 
tary and  commercial  values  of  this  rail- 


98 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


road  as  originally  planned.  He  sums  up 
the  merits  of  the  railway  in  words  that 
are  well  worthy  of  study  in  the  present 
circumstances: 

This  new  line  will  have  over  the  one  now 
existing  the  advantage  which  rail  travel  al- 
ways has  over  that  by  water,  of  greater  spe- 
cific rapidity.  It  will,  therefore,  serve  par- 
ticularly for  the  transport "  of  passengers, 
mails,  and  lighter  freights.  On  the  other 
hand,  for  bulk  of  transport,  meaning  thereby 
not  merely  articles  singly  of  great  weight  or 
size,  but  the  aggregate  amounts  of  freight 
that  can  be  carried  in  a  given  time,  water 
will  always  possess  an  immense  and  irre- 
versible advantage  over  land  transport  for 
equal  distances.  A  water  route  is,  as  it 
were,  a  road  with  numberless  tracks.  For 
these  reasons,  and  on  account  of  the  first 
cost  of  construction,  water  transport  has  a 
lasting  comparative  cheapness,  which,  so  far 
as  can  be  foreseen,  will  secure  to  it  forever  a 
commercial  superiority  over  that  by  land.  It 
is  also,  for  large  quantities,  much  more 
rapid;  for,  though  a  train  can  carry  its 
proper  load  faster  than  a  vessel  can,  the 
closely  restricted  number  of  trains  that  can 
proceed  at*  once,  as  compared  to  the  numer- 
ous vessels,  enables  the  latter  in  a  given 
time,  practically  simultaneously,  to  deliver  a 
bulk  of  material  utterly  beyond  the  power 
of  the  road. 

These  wise  conclusions  were  drawn 
from  the  first  project  of  the  railway 
from  the  Levant  to  the  Persian  Gulf — 
and  these  fixed  conditions,  with  which  a 
railway  has  to  contend,  are  multiplied  by 
length.  So  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that 
even  German  efficiency  has  a  hard  prob- 
lem to  solve  in  the  railroad  from  Berlin 
to  the  East. 

A  study  of  the  map  will  show  that  the 
proper  economic  uses  of  these  railway 
systems  are  the  normal  functions  of  any 
railroads,  to  distribute  goods  brought  by 
water,  to  deliver  goods  for  shipment  by 
water,  and  to  connect  neighboring  coun- 
tries. Under  such  natural  commercial 
conditions,  as  pointed  out  by  Admiral 
Mahan,  the  great  bulk  of  freight  shipped 
for  long  distances  would  not  use  the  rail- 
ways, but  no  matter  what  concessions 
might  be  made  in  rates,  would  be  carried 
over  the  seas.  Railways  can  never  com- 
pete with  waterways. 

So  the  conclusion  is  obvious  that,  un- 
der natural  conditions,  even  though  these 
railways  may  be  under  Teutonic  control, 
they  are  of  great  value  to  the  countries 
through  which  they  run;  but  that,  while 


of  great  advantage  to  German  trade, 
they  are  not  a  source  of  undue  power  to 
Germany.  Such  power,  which  Germany 
has  unquestionably  sought,  can  therefore 
only  be  founded  on  artificial  conditions. 

Is  there,  then,  any  dangerous  power  in 
the  conditions  which  have  been  created 
by  Germany?  That  there  is  a  danger 
would  only  be  denied  by  one  who  is  blind 
to  German  methods  and  German  ambi- 
tions. This  should  be  stated  as  baldly 
as  possible.  Germany  aims  to  establish 
such  a  control  over  these  regions  that  all 
commercial  gains  shall  be  hers,  and  the 
other  nations  be  excluded.  The  ruthless- 
ness  and  tenacity  of  purpose  of  Germany 
have  been  so  plainly  shown  that  it  is  no 
wonder  Germanic  control  of  "  Mittel-Eu- 
ropa  "  is  widely  held  to  be  the  greatest 
menace  of  the  war. 

But,  as  is  often  the  case,  this  dread 
has  become  exaggerated.  In  fact,  it  has 
been  allowed  to  grow  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  other  great  interests  at  stake 
in  this  war.  There  are  counteracting 
forces  that  tend  to  make  the  situation 
normal.  There  has  been  so  much  fear  of 
Germanic  control  of  the  passage  to  the 
East  that  the  hardships  for  Germany  and 
her  allies  of  such  enforced  conditions 
have  not  been  considered. 

Germany's  commerce  would  suffer  from 
this  restricted  traffic.  To  hold  their  own, 
even  with  all  possible  favoritism  shown 
to  them,  the  German  merchants  must 
make  proper  use  of  the  waterways  or 
submit  to  a  ruinous  tax  on  their  trade. 
The  same  is  true  of  Germany's  friends 
and  allies — and  this  leads  at  once  to  nat- 
ural conditions  of  commerce. 

With  German  merchants  and  the  mer- 
chants of  her  friendly  States  the  worst 
sufferers,  how  is  it  possible  to  attempt 
to  confine  traffic  to  the  railways?  Yet 
such  must  be  the  basis  of  any  abnormal 
German  domination  in  the  East.  Conse- 
quently, leaving  all  the  other  nations  out 
of  consideration,  the  interests  of  Ger- 
many and  her  allies  are  against  the  mis- 
use of  control  that  has  been  so  widely 
considered  the  dangerous  threat  in  the 
present  conditions. 

There  is  another  restraint  on  this 
much-feared  Teutonic  influence.     To  be 


THE  THREAT  OF  MITTEL-EUROPA 


99 


maintained  at  all  such  a  central  control 
must  be  that  of  nations  closely  united 
and  unanimous  in  purpose.  Where  can 
this  be  found  in  these  regions  ?  With  all 
the  diversities  of  interest,  with  the  an- 
tagonisms of  races  and  religions,  is  it 
possible  that  Germany  has  built  a  har- 
monious machine  that  has  accomplished 
what  has  never  been  done  in  history — 
diverted  the  bulk  of  commerce  from  the 
sea  to  the  land? 

Studying  the  question  in  this  way  from 
conditions  that  have  prevailed  through- 
out all  history — and  still  exist — we  realize 
that  this  issue  must  not  be  magnified  and 


allowed  to  cloud  our  minds.  The  mili- 
tary results  secured  by  Germany  should 
not  be  underestimated,  but  neither  should 
they  be  misunderstood.  In  1915  the  Teu- 
tonic allies  were  practically  besieged. 
Since  then  Hindenburg  and  his  lieuten- 
ants have  not  only  raised  this  siege,  but 
have  conquered  great  areas  of  territory 
rich  in  much-needed  supplies.  With  Rus- 
sia paralyzed  by  revolution,  all  serious 
opposition  to  the  German  armies  in  the 
East  is  for  the  time  ended.  These  are 
serious  and  far-reaching  military  condi- 
tions, but  they  must  not  be  distorted  into 
anything  worse. 


Prices  in  1914  and  1917 


IN  the  United  States  Senate  on  May  2 
Senator  Gallinger  of  New  Hamp- 
shire presented  a  table  prepared  by 
the  Old  Dutch  Market  Company  showing 
a  comparison  of  prices  in  April,  1914, 
with  those  of  April,  1917.  It  revealed 
the  fact  that  the  average  increase  was 
85.32  per  cent.    The  table  is  as  follows: 

COMPARISON     OF     RETAIL     PRICES     OP 

FOODS  DURING  APRIL,  1914,  BEFORE 

THE    WAR,    AND    APRIL,     1917 

GROCERIES 

April,  April,  Inc. 

1914.  1917.  P.  C. 

Sugar,     granulated,     lb .$0.04  $0.09  125 

Flour : 

Gold    Medal,    lb 7.25  14.00    93 

Hecker's,     lb 6.50  13.50  107 

Milk: 

Condensed,    can 09  .15    67 

Evaporated,    tall   can 07%  .12    65 

Evaporated,  small  can 03%  .06    70 

Tomatoes,  standard,  2%'s,  can.     .07  .17  142 

Corn,    standard,    2%'s,    can. .     .07  .13    85 

Peas,    D.    J 07  .10    45 

Baked   beans    08  .13     65 

Cornmeal,    lb 02%  .05  100 

Hominy,    lb 03  .05    66 

Rice,    best,    lb 08  .09    12 

Oatmeal,    lb 03%  .06    70 

Macaroni,  spaghetti,  bulk,  lb.     .08  .13    65 

Prunes,    small,    lb 05  .08    60 

Salmon : 

Chum,    can    08,  .14    75 

Red  Alaska,  can 14  .23    64 

Soups,    can    08  .13    65 

Navy   beans,    best,    lb 07%  .18  140 

Lima  beans,   dried,   lb 07  .20  185 

Catsup,   bottle    08  .12    50 

Syrup,  can 08%  .12    41 

Corn    flakes,    (Quaker,)    pkg.     .04%  .08    78 

Split  peas,  lb 06  .12  100 


April, 
1914. 

Scotch  peas,  lb 05 

Black-eyed  peas,  lb 04 

Butter,  first  grade,  lb 30 

Eggs,   fresh,    dozen 21 

VEGETABLES 

Potatoes,    peck    23 

Kale,  peck   20 

Spinach,   peck    20 

Onions,   yellow,   lb 04 

Lettuce,  head 05 

Sweet  potatoes,   peck 35 

Cabbage,  new,  lb 03 

Yams,    peck    40 

BEEF 

Rib   roast,   lb 20 

Chuck   roast,    lb 17 

Plate    (soup    meat) 13 

Porterhouse    steak,    lb 28 

Sirloin  steak,   lb 24 

Round  steak,   lb 20 

Chuck  steak,  lb 18 

Hamburg  steak,   lb 15 

PORK 

Fresh   hams    15 

Fresh  shoulders    13% 

Fresh  pork  chops,  lean 16 

Fresh  pork  chops,   loin 18 

Fresh  pork  roast,   lean 16 

Fresh  pork   roast,   centre 18 

Corned  shoulders   13% 

Corned  hams    15 

Smoked  hams,  whole 17 

Smoked  hams,   sliced    28 

Smoked  shoulders    13% 

Smoked  bacon,  sliced 24 

Smoked  sausage 12% 

Lard : 

Pure,    lb 12% 

Compound,  lb 10 

Total    of    items,    60. 
Total  increase,   5,119  per  cent. 
Average  increase  on  all  items  shown 
list,   85.32   per   cent. 


April,  Inc. 

1917.  P.C. 

.09 

80 

.08 

100 

.55 

83 

.38 

80 

.90  291 

.40  100 

.40  100 

.13  250 

.10  100 

.75  114 

.15  400 

.60 

50 

.25 

25 

.22 

30 

.16 

23 

.37 

32 

.34 

42 

.32 

60 

.25 

38 

.20 

33 

.27 

80 

.22 

58 

.28 

80 

.32 

80 

.28 

75 

.30 

66 

.20 

50 

.24 

60 

.25 

47 

.45 

60 

.21 

50 

.34 

42 

.25  100 

.25  100 

.20  100 

on  this 


China  and  the  World  War 


By  Gardner  L.  'Harding 

Author  of  "Present  Day  China" 


THE  months  following  Feb.  1,  1917, 
not  only — by  bringing  America 
into  the  great  war — changed  the 
face  of  the  Western  Hemisphere; 
they  made  a  lasting  alteration  in  the  Far 
East  also.  On  Feb.  9,  Wu  Ting-fang, 
Foreign  Minister  of  the  Chinese  Repub- 
lican Government,  handed  a  note  to  Ad- 
miral von  Hintze,  the  German  Minister  to 
Peking,  that  made  a  rupture  between  the 
Chinese  and  German  Governments  ulti- 
mately inevitable.  Six  days  before  Presi- 
dent Wilson  had  issued  an  appeal  urging 
neutral  powers  everywhere  to  show  their 
abhorrence  of  Germany's  new  campaign 
of  unrestricted  submarine  warfare  by 
breaking  off  relations  with  the  German 
Government.  China's  response  was 
therefore  of  special  interest  to  Ameri- 
cans, especially  as,  accompanying  a  copy 
of  the  note  to  Germany,  a  special  note 
was  handed  to  Dr.  Reinsch,  the  Ameri- 
can Minister  to  Peking,  in  which  there 
appeared  the  following  significant 
words: 

China,  being-  in  accord  with  the  principles 
set  forth  in  your  Excellency's  [President 
Wilson's]  note,  and  firmly  associating  itself 
with  the  United  States,  has  taken  similar 
action  by  protesting  energetically  to  Ger- 
many against  the  new  blockade  measures. 
China  also  proposes  to  take  such  other  action 
in  the  future  as  will  be  deemed  necessary  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  principles  of  inter- 
national law. 

The  sentences  of  greatest  weight  in  Dr. 
Wu's  first  note  to  Germany  were  these: 

The  new  measures  of  submarine  warfare 
inaugurated  by  Germany  are  imperiling  the 
lives  and  property  of  Chinese  citizens  even 
more  than  the  measures  previously  taken, 
which  have  already  cost  China  many  lives 
and  constitute  a  violation  of  international 
law.  *  *  *  If,  contrary  to  expectation, 
this  protest  be  ineffective,  China  will  be  con- 
strained, to  its  profound  regret,  to  sever 
diplomatic  relations. 

China's  reasons  for  taking  this  stand 
were  amply  covered  by  specific  ills  and 
grievances  at  Germany's  hands,  and  by 
the  wider  strategy  of  China's  own  political 
position.     For  specific  grievances,  China 


had  a  death  roll  of  over  200  peaceful  mer- 
chant seamen,  lost  on  neutral  and  bellig- 
erent ships  at  the  hands  of  German  sub- 
marines. In  principle  also  the  ambitious 
and  rapidly  developing  Chinese  mercan- 
tile communities,  whose  cornerstone  of 
commercial  progress  is  unrestricted  ac- 
cess to  the  high  seas,  had  begun  to  distin- 
guish sharply  by  Feb.  1  between  the  salu- 
tary restraint  of  allied  policing  and  the 
indiscriminate  outrages  of  German  pi- 
racy. The  Allies,  furthermore,  were  the 
principal  guarantors  of  China's  integrity 
and  autonomy,  and  in  the  closer  associa- 
tion with  them  which  thus  became  so  op- 
portune, China's  assurance  of  a  place  at 
the  peace  conference,  which  she  might 
expect  as  an  actual  and  belligerent  ally, 
was  the  third  major  element  which  in- 
duced her  Government  to  take  its  first 
step  toward  war. 

Influenced  by  America 

Lastly,  China's  move  was  due  to  her 
increasing  and  always  sympathetic  re- 
sponsiveness to  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
United  States,  the  only  power  which  to- 
day holds  no  concessions  or  spheres  of  in- 
terest in  her  sovereign  territory,  and  has 
exacted  no  punitive  indemnity  from  her 
Government.  For  China,  on  America's 
invitation,  capably  and  energetically  pre- 
sented to  the  Peking  Government  by  Dr. 
Reinsch,  not  only  took  the  first  step  to- 
ward breaking  off  relations  with  Ger- 
many, but  incidentally,  for  the  first  time 
in  her  modern  history,  assumed  in  a  diplo- 
matic note  a  position  of  active  interest 
and  presumptive  interference  in  the  af- 
fairs of  European  nations. 

The  German  answer  to  China's  note 
did  not  reach  Peking  till  the  first  days  of 
March,  though  by  Feb.  25,  Dr.  Yen, 
China's  Minister  to  Berlin,  announced 
that  the  German  Government  had  as- 
sured him  orally  that  Germany  could  not 
alter  her  submarine  campaign.  By 
March  9,  however,  Admiral  von  Hintze 
had  handed  to  the  Chinese  Government  a 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


101 


formal  refusal  to  accede  to  China's  de- 
mands, offering  merely  the  barren  assur- 
ance that  Germany  was  willing  to  open 
negotiations  so  as  better  to  "  respect  the 
lives  of  Chinese  and  their  property," 
*  *  *  "hoping"  that  China  would  not 
break  off  diplomatic  relations,  and 
"  promising  "  that  Germany  would  do  her 
utmost  to  secure  China's  participation  in 
the  peace  conference  if  friendly  relations 
between  the  two  countries  were  main- 
tained. 

China's  attitude,  in  the  meantime,  had 
substantially  matured  toward  the  final 
rupture.  Three  factors,  in  the  main, 
brought  her  to  this  decision.  The  Japa- 
nese Government,  through  Baron  Motono, 
its  Foreign  Minister,  had  publicly  an- 
nounced that  it  would  put  no  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  China's  independent  action. 
Tuan  Chi-jui,  then  Prime  Minister  of 
China  under  President  Li  Yuan-hung,  had 
assured  the  nation  that  the  Allies  were 
prepared  to  guarantee  China  adequate 
concessions  upon  her  becoming  a  bel- 
ligerent. Chief  among  these  concessions, 
as  stated  by  Premier  Tuan,  were  the 
abrogation  of  the  Boxer  indemnities 
(roughly,  $15,000,000  in  1916)  for  the 
period  of  the  war,  and  possibly  for  an 
even  longer  period;  the  extension  to 
China  of  the  right  to  raise  her  customs 
duties  above  the  statutory  5  per  cent,  now 
allowed  on  a  diminishing  scale  of  price 
levels  dating  back  more  than  ten  years, 
and  the  removal  of  the  foreign  troops  in- 
stalled after  the  Boxer  -outrages  along 
the  Peking- Mukden  Railroad.  And,  third- 
ly, under  the  influence  of  these  guaran- 
tees and  the  possibility  of  gaining  even 
further  concessions,  and  encouraged  by 
relief  from  Japanese  constraint,  China's 
disputing  factions  took  a  larger  view  of 
their  country's  welfare  and  gave  the  issue 
with  Germany  a  clear  field  for  imme- 
diate decision. 

Diplomatic  Relations  Severed 
That  decision  was  a  foregone  conclu- 
sion. Every  politically  important  ele- 
ment in  China's  limited  but  energetic 
sphere  of  public  life  was  in  favor  of 
breaking  off  with  Germany.  The  Presi- 
dent and  the  Prime  Minister,  the  Cabinet, 
and  the  military  parties  of  the  north, 
and    particularly    the    radically    inclined 


Parliament,  largely  representing  the 
ideas  of  the  southern  parties,  all  decisive- 
ly ratified  this  momentous  step.  Scat- 
tered elements  opposed  it,  such  as  a 
group  of  radicals  led  by  the  famous  ex- 
President  Sun  Yat-sen,  but  the  southern 
parties  as  a  whole  approved  it  and  backed 
it.  This  was  clearly  shown  when,  on 
March  11,  Premier  Tuan  Chi-jui  appeared 
before  both  houses  of  Parliament  and  put 
the  question  of  rupture  with  Germany 
to  a  final  vote.  The  outcome,  a  majority 
of  158  to  37  in  the  Senate  and  331  to  87 
in  the  House,  or  a  joint  support  of  the 
Premier's  policy  by  4  to  1,  manifested 
impressively  the  decision  of  liberal 
China  and  gave  the  Government  an  im- 
mediate mandate  to  break  off  relations 
with  Germany. 

Thereupon,  on  March  14,  Dr.  Wu  Ting- 
fang  handed  to  Admiral  von  Hintze  a 
final  note,  of  which  the  closing  words 
effectually  put  China's  position  as  fol- 
lows: 

It  [the  German  reply]  is  therefore  not  in 
accord  with  the  object  of  that  [the  Chinese 
Government's]  protest;  and  the  Government 
of  China,  to  its  deep  regret,  considers  its 
protest  to  be  ineffectual.  It  is  therefore  con- 
strained to  sever  the  diplomatic  relations  at 
present  existing  with  the  Imperial  German 
Government. 

Admiral  von  Hintze  was  at  once  given 
his  passports,  and  China  inaugurated  her 
new  status  toward  Germany  by  seizing 
German  merchant  ships  at  her  ports,  in- 
cluding six  at  Shanghai,  and  interning 
their  crews  on  shore.  Germany's  imme- 
diate loss  through  her  rupture  with  China 
went  much  further  than  this,  however. 
China  had  been  the  centre  and  the  base 
of  extensive  plotting  and  propaganda  in 
the  German  cause  throughout  the  Far 
East.  The  mutiny  at  Singapore,  sedi- 
tious propaganda  in  India,  and  the  mys- 
teriously financed  Mongolian  bandits 
who  roved  along  the  Siberian  border  dur- 
ing the  first  two  years  of  the  war  are 
instances  of  Germany's  opportunity,  if 
not  of  her  actual  achievements,  in  the 
way  of  using  China's  neutrality  as  a  safe 
and  convenient  shield  for  the  virtual  war 
measures  with  which  we  became  some- 
what earlier  so  disagreeably  familiar  in. 
America.  With  the  loss  of  China's  friend- 
ship, all  this  was  substantially  curtailed. 


102 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Loss  of  Trade  Advantages 
There  is  still  to  be  considered  Ger- 
many's loss  of  an  economic  base  there. 
Germany  had  244  companies  in  China  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  with  a  total 
capitalization  of  over  a  quarter  of  a  bill- 
ion dollars.  Her  trade  had  increased  by 
120  per  cent,  in  the  eight  years  preced- 
ing the  war,  years  in  which  American 
trade  had  remained  practically  station- 
ary. It  was  also  of  a  carefully  planned 
strategic  quality,  specializing  in  engi- 
neering afield  in  inland  China  and  in 
representing  the  firms  of  many  other 
nations  as  middlemen  in  the  treaty  ports. 
It  had  ballasted  its  favored  position 
everywhere  with  special  concessions; 
thus  it  had  to  lose  not  merely  its  own 
material  substance,  but  just  the  sort  of 
imponderable  advantage  derived  from 
long  penetration  which  is  hardest  to  re- 
cover; and  which  China's  unfriendliness 
at  once  enormously  accentuated. 

The  positive  advantage  to  the  Allies  of 
China's  rupture  with  Germany  was  much 
less  obvious,  but  it  was  by  no  means  in- 
significant. China  had  by  Feb.  1  already 
sent  some  100,000  of  her  sons  as  indus- 
trial workmen  in  Government  shops,  con- 
trolled establishments,  and  war  munition 
factories  in  general  behind  the  battle 
lines  in  France.  The  closer  association 
with  the  Allies  that  became  opportune 
after  March  14  opened  the  way  imme- 
diately to  increase  this  service  far  be- 
yond previous  plans;  so  that  China's  vast 
labor  supply  was  again  drawn  upon,  and 
estimates  were  made  for  its  utilization 
by  the  allied  Governments  in  a  non- 
combatant  army  of  200,000,  or  even  250,- 
000  men.  England  also  commenced  to 
recruit  Chinese  labor,  in  close  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Chinese  Government,  not 
only  for  service  in  the  factories — and  on 
the  farms — of  Europe,  but  for  her  great 
construction  works  in  Mesopotamia; 
while  in  another  extreme  of  the  world's 
climate  Russia,  too,  enlisted  thousands 
of  Chinese  woodsmen  and  northern  peas- 
ants to  serve  her  agricultural  needs  as 
loggers  and  farm  hands  in  Siberia  and 
Russian  Mongolia. 

Though  there  was  no  immediate  pros- 
pect, or  desire,  even  after  China  might 


declare  war  on  Germany,  of  sending  Chi- 
nese troops  to  Europe,  the  prospective 
disposal  of  China's  enormous  stocks  of 
iron  and  coal,  as  well  as  those  of  tin  and 
antimony,  of  which  latter  China  pro- 
duces a  substantial  portion  of  the  world's 
annual  yield,  constituted  a  really  estima- 
ble allied  advantage.  Her  500,000-ton* 
production  of  iron  ore  and  her  13,000,- 
000-ton*  production  of  coal,  both  of  ex- 
cellent quality,  were  each  factors  in  the 
economic  scale  in  a  world  reduced  to  the 
ultimates  in  men  and  metal. 

Beginning  of  Internal  Disorder 

China's  own  domestic  political  situa- 
tion, stabilized  by  the  crisis  of  March  14, 
became  less  and  less  stable,  however,  as 
that  crisis  receded.  In  that  situation 
there  were  three  capital  factors.  Domi- 
nance in  China  in  a  military  sense  was 
held  by  the  Prime  Minister,  Tuan  Chi- 
jui,  who  was  also  Minister  of  War  and 
leader  of  the  conservative  party  of  the 
Generals  and  old  officials  generally 
known  (though  the  designation  is  not 
quite  accurate)  as  the  northern  party. 
Dominance  in  a  political  sense  was  held 
by  the  liberals,  led  by  the  President,  Li 
Yuan-hung,  an  ex-General  of  the  first 
revolution  and  a  mid-Chinaman  from 
the  Yang-tse  Province  of  Hupeh,  and 
backed  up  by  a  Cabinet  representing  the 
constructive  and  liberal  forces,  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  radicals,  of  the  Repub- 
lican Government.  The  third  major 
force,  the  radical  element  which  was 
mainly  responsible  for  the  first  revolu- 
tion, in  1911,  was  intrenched  in  control  of 
the  Senate,  and  held  the  balance  of  pow- 
er, with  the  assistance  of  so-called  inde- 
pendents, in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

As  the  question  of  China's  entrance 
into  the  war  drew,  during  April  and  May, 
more  and  more  urgently  to  a  decision, 
sharp  and  irreconcilable  differences  be- 
tween these  parties  began  to  be  revealed. 
Already  there  had  been  one  crisis,  be- 
tween March  6  and  8,  when  the  Prime 
Minister,  in  the  heat  of  a  disagreement 
with  the  President,  had  left  the  capital 
and  conducted  the  Government  indepen- 

♦Approximate  estimates.  See  China  Year 
Book,  1916. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


103 


dently  from  Tien-tsin.  The  issue  then 
was  whether  or  not  Tuan  Chi-jui  had  the 
right  to  send  a  telegram  to  Tokio  which 
virtually  broke  off  relations  with  Ger- 
many, without  consulting  Parliament, 
through  the  agency  and  under  the  tute- 
lage of  Japan.  President  Li  eventually 
induced  him  to  return  to  the  capital  and 
submit  the  question  to  Parliament,  with 
the  result  that  China  broke  with  Ger- 
many quite  as  decisively,  but  independ- 
ently, with  respect  to  any  foreign  advice 
or  control  whatsoever. 

Early  in  May  the  Prime  Minister  be- 
gan to  press  for  China's  immediate  en- 
trance into  the  war.  The  President's 
party  and  the  radical  parties  demurred, 
first,  because  they  professed  not  to  know 
positively  what  guarantees  the  Allies 
were  prepared  to  give,  and,  secondly,  be- 
cause they  feared — so  they  asserted — the 
plenary  powers  which  a  state  of  war 
would  place  in  the  hands  of  the  Premier 
and  his  reactionary  followers.  A  mili- 
tary conference  of  the  chief  northern 
Generals,  which  had  been  summoned  to 
the  capital  in  April,  gave  color  to  the  gen- 
eral fears  of  a  reactionary  ascendency  by 
making  frequent  and  vigorous  demands 
for  intervention.  At  length  the  Premier 
invited  them  to  meet  with  the  Cabinet, 
and  on  May  2  it  was  announced  that  the 
Cabinet  was  unanimously  committed  to 
an  immediate  declaration  of  war  against 
Germany. 

Drifting  Toward  Rebellion 
On  May  10  the  Premier  appeared  be- 
fore Parliament,  and  amid  scenes  of  great 
disorder,  and  in  a  session  surrounded  by 
soldiers  and  crowds  friendly  to  the  north- 
ern party,  vehemently  urged  an  uncondi- 
tional and  immediate  declaration  of 
China's  belligerency  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies.  After  stormy  sessions  lasting  the 
greater  part  of  the  night,  Parliament 
voted  down  the  Premier's  policy.  The 
press  of  the  southern  parties  thereupon 
directly  accused  the  Premier  of  seeking 
the  war  only  as  an  excuse  for  instituting 
martial  law  and  assuming  control  of  the 
Government.  The  Premier  rejoined  by 
summarily  arresting  the  editor  of  the 
leading  radical  paper  in  Peking,  the  bi- 
lingual English  and  Chinese  Peking  Ga- 
zette, who  had  also  accused  Tuan  of  con- 


niving at  Japanese  ascendency  over 
China's  war  policy.  On  this  the  Presi- 
dent acted  with  equal  promptness,  and 
on  May  23  dismissed  Tuan  Chi-jui  from 
office. 

Tuan's  dismissal  was  the  signal  to  the 
northern  Generals  not  merely  to  endeavor 
to  recover  their  lost  prestige,  but  to  rise 
in  actual  rebellion  against  the  Govern- 
ment. President  Li  attempted  to  con- 
ciliate them  by  appointing  as  Premier 
on  May  29  Li  Ching-hsi,  nephew  to  the 
great  statesman  Li  Hung  Chang  and  one 
of  their  own  leaders;  and  Parliament 
ratified  his  nomination  by  a  decisive  and 
obviously  conciliatory  majority.  But  the 
northern  Generals,  after  seizing  every 
trunk  railroad  to  Peking  and  after  plac- 
ing their  own  soldiers  around  the  Presi- 
dent's immediate  person  in  Peking,  de- 
clared on  June  3  that  they  no  longer  rec- 
ognized Li  Yuan-hung's  authority  and 
appointed  a  Provisional  Government, 
with  Hsu  Shih-chang,  former  Premier 
under  Yuan  Shih-kai  and  Viceroy  in  Man- 
churia under  the  Imperial  Government, 
as  Dictator.  They  then  issued  a  procla- 
mation from  Tien-tsin  reiterating  their 
demand  for  China's  immediate  entrance 
into  the  war,  but  insisting  that  that  ac- 
tion must  be  accompanied  by  the  dis- 
missal of  Parliament,  the  extinction  of 
the  almost  completed  liberal  Constitu- 
tion, and  the  reinstatement  of  Premier 
Tuan  Chi-jui.  They  disclaimed  vigor- 
ously any  desire  to  set  up  a  monarchy 
and  professed  themselves  on  June  5  to  be 
loyal  to  the  republic. 

The  situation  remained  a  complete 
deadlock.  On  June  7  the  American  Gov- 
ernment dispatched  the  following  note  to 
Peking,  the  first  word  to  be  received 
from  any  of  the  powers,  which  lent  the 
full  weight  of  American  influence  to  the 
cause  of  conciliation: 

The  United  States  Government  learns  with 
the  most  profound  regret  of  the  dissensions 
in  China  and  expresses  a  sincere  desire  that 
tranquillity  and  political  co-ordination  be 
forthwith  established. 

The  entry  of  China  into  the  war,  or  the 
continuance  of  the  status  quo  in  her  relations 
with  the  German  Government,  are  matters  of 
secondary  importance.  China's  principal  ne- 
cessity is  to  resume  and  continue  her  political 
entity  and  proceed  along  the  road  to  national 
development.      In    China's    form    of    govern- 


104 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


ment,  or  the  personnel  which  administers  the 
Government,  America  has  only  the  friendliest 
interest,  and  desires  to  be  of  service  to  China. 
America  expresses  the  sincere  hope  that 
factional  and  political  disputes  will  be  set 
aside  and  that  all  parties  and  persons  will 
work  to  re-establish  and  co-ordinate  the  Gov- 
ernment and  secure  China's  position  among 
nations,  which  is  impossible  while  there  is 
internal  discord. 

On  the  same  day  Secretary  Lansing 
added  to  the  salutary  impression  of  this 
note  by  vehemently  disclaiming  the 
statement  that  America  had  given  any 
aid  or  encouragement  to  the  rebellion. 
On  June  11  Dr.  George  Morrison,  British 
adviser  to  the  Chinese  President,  added 
an  intimation  of  the  policy  of  his  Gov- 
ernment by  urging  "  in  the  strongest  pos- 
sible manner  the  retention  of  Parlia- 
ment "  and  by  saying  directly  to  Presi- 
dent Li  Yuan-hung,  "  You  must  retain 
Parliament."  Professor  Ariga,  the  Japa- 
nese adviser,  gave  the  less  decisive  ad- 
vice that  President  Li  had  the  right  to 
dismiss  Parliament  if  he  wished  to  do  so. 

The  American  adviser,  Dr.  W.  Wil- 
loughby,  interviewed  in  Tokio,  summed  up 
the  situation  in  the  following  words :  "  I 
look  for  turmoil  of  long  duration  between 
militarism  and  constitutionalism ";  dur- 
ing which,  it  would  seem  to  be  inferred, 
China's  genuinely  serviceable  participa- 
tion in  the  war  will  be  indefinitely  de- 
layed. 


[Editorial  Note. — A  dispatch  from  Peking, 
dated  June  13,  announced  that  the  Presi- 
dential mandate  dissolving  Parliament  had 
been  signed  by  Ching  Chao-chung  as  Acting 
Premier,  and  that  it  was  believed  that  the 
dissolution  would  bring  about  civil  war,  as 
the  leaders  in  the  southern  provinces  had 
telegraphed  President  Li  Yuan-hung  that 
they  no  longer  recognized  his  authority,  de- 
spite the  fact  that  the  President  had  accom- 
panied the  dissolution  mandate  with  a  long 
statement  attempting  to  justify  his  action. 
The  President  again  called  into  conference  at 
the  palace  Dr.  George  Morrison  and  Professor 
Nagao  Ariga,  who  repeated  the  advice  they 
had  previously  given.  The  President  said 
that  he  had  already  placed  his  seal  on  the 
mandate,  and  asked  what  he  could  do,  declar- 
ing that  he  could  not  obtain  the  signature  of 
any  of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  to  the 
document.  Dr.  Morrison  replied  that  the 
President  had  better  tear  it  up.  Professor 
Ariga  said  that  if  the  President  was  unable 
to  obtain  a  countersignature  of  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet  he  should  get  one  from  the  head 
of  the  judiciary. 

A  Tokio  dispatch  of  June  12  stated  that  the 
alleged  failure  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  consult  Japan  before  presenting  its 
note  to  China  had  caused  considerable  resent- 
ment in  Japan.  Secretary  of  State  Lansing 
on  June  13  authorized  the  statement  that  the 
text  of  the  note  as  first  published  in  Japan 
was  false  and  that  the  irritation  expressed  by 
the  Japanese  press  had  been  caused  by  the 
fabricated  text.  The  correct  text  was  ob- 
tained later  and  accurately  printed  in  the 
Japanese  newspapers.  Nevertheless,  the  latest 
dispatches  show  that  Japanese  opinion  holds 
that  the  United  States  should  be  asked  to 
recognize  Japan's  special  position  in  China  in 
order  to  prevent  future  misunderstandings.] 


Better  to   Die 

By  FLORENCE  EARLE  COATES 


Better  to  die,  where  gallant  men  are  dying, 
Than  to  live  on  with  them  that  basely  fly: 

Better  to  fall,  the  soulless  Fates  defying, 

Than  unassailed  to  wander  vainly,  trying 
To  turn  one's  face  from  an  accusing  sky! 

Days  matter  not,  nor  years  to  the  undaunted; 

To  live  is  nothing, — but  to  nobly  live! 
The  poorest  visions  of  the  honor-haunted 
Are  better  worth  than  pleasure-masks  enchanted, 

And  they  win  life  who  life  for  others  give. 

The  planets  in  their  watchful  course  behold  them — 

To  live  is  nothing, — but  to  nobly  live! — 
For  though  the  Earth  with  mother-hands  remold  them, 
Though  Ocean  in  his  billowy  arms  enfold  them, 
i    They  are  as  gods,  who  life  to  others  give! 


[Official  Report] 

Story  of  the  Russian  Upheaval 

By  Christian  L.  Lange 

Secretary   of   the   Interparliamentary    Union   and   Correspondent    of   the    Carnegie 
Endowment  for  International  Peace 

Dr.  Lange,  a  resident  of  Christiania,  has  served  in  the  Norwegian  Parliament,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Second  Hague  Conference.  The  report  here  printed  (with  minor  omissions)  is 
the  result  of  a  special  investigation  in  Russia  undertaken  by  Dr.  Lange  at  the  instance  of  the 
Carnegie  Endowment.  It  was  written  April  20,  1917,  before  the  resignation  of  Milukoff 
and  the  reorganization  of  the  Provisional  Government. 


I  LEFT  Christiania  on  March  12,  when 
as  yet  nothing  was  known  at  all 
about  what  was  going  on  at  Petro- 
grad.  At  Stockholm,  where  I  stop- 
ped two  days  to  meet  the  Interparlia- 
mentary Group  of  the  Riksdag,  I  read 
telegrams  about  the  riots  in  the  Russian 
capital.  I  also  learned  of  the  adjourment 
of  the  Duma. 

The  journey  to  Russia  is  now  [Spring 
of  1917]  very  long,  the  Baltic  being  im- 
passable. One  has  to  go  north  by  rail  for 
forty  hours.  I  left  Stockholm  Wednesday, 
March  14,  in  the  afternoon,  and  only  Fri- 
day morning  I  reached  the  frontier  at 
Haparanda.  In  the  train  I  had  already 
seen  the  first  communication  from  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Duma  that 
it  had  seized  the  reins  of  Government, 
that  the  Czar's  Ministers  were  in  prison, 
that  the  Petrograd  garrison  had  joined 
the  Duma,  and  that  the  town  was  quiet. 
At  Tornea,  the  Finnish  railway  ter- 
minus, we  were  examined  by  the  Rus- 
sian gendarmerie,  as  usual  at  European 
frontiers  during  the  war.  I  had  a 
laissez-passer  from  the  Russian  Minister 
at  Christiania  and  was  not  even  searched, 
and  I  heard  from  my  fellow-travelers 
that  their  examination  had  also  been 
very  lenient.  The  people  at  the  station 
knew  less  of  what  had  passed  at  Petro- 
grad than  we.  They  had  not  seen  the 
first  communique,  and  the  Finnish  wo- 
man who  kept  the  bookstall  at  the  sta- 
tion was  delighted  when  I  slipped  to  her 
a  Swedish  paper 'which  gave  the  text  of 
the  document. 

Our  excitement  reached  its  pitch  when 
we  slowly  came  up  to  the  platform  at 
Bielo-Ostrov,  where  the  customs  and 
passport  examinations  take   place.     We 


were  standing  ready  with  our  bags,  lug- 
gage tickets,  passports,  and  everything 
— the  platform  was  empty,  not  a  human 
being  to  be  seen.  Then,  all  of  a  sudden, 
the  carriage  door  opens,  enters  a  little 
dwarf,  no  taller  than  my  writing  desk, 
and  he  cries  out  as  he  rolls  down  along 
the  corridor:  "  Liberty  is  supreme.  All 
the  gendarmes  are  sent  to  prison  to 
Petrograd.  No  more  passports,  no  cus- 
toms.    Only  liberty  reigns!  " 

He  was  our  herald  of  the  revolution! 
And  he  proved  true.  The  train  left  at 
once,  without  any  examination  at  all, 
and  within  two  minutes  we  all  carried, 
God  knows  how,  red  badges  in  our  but- 
tonholes. I  got  mine  from  the  carriage 
maid,  who  tore  asunder  a,  piece  of  red 
flag  cloth  and  freely  distributed  the 
pieces,  and  she  at  once  became  very 
communicative.  There  had  been  a  strike 
for  some  hours  on  the  railway  lines,  a 
strike  of  pronounced  political  character. 
The  men  had  insisted  on  the  removal  of 
some  high  Russian  officials  in  the  rail- 
way administration.  As  soon  as  they 
had  obtained  satisfaction,  they  returned 
to  work.  This  accounted  for  the  delays 
we  had  had  and  still  had. 

Conditions  in  Petrograd 

On  our  arrival  at  Petrograd  we  found 
the  city  quiet.  We  met  some  soldiers  pa- 
trolling the  streets;  here  and  there  we 
saw  groups  of  young  students  with  white 
bands  around  the  left  arm  bearing  in  red 
the  letters  G.  M.  (Militia  Guard)  and  a 
gun  thrown  across  the  shoulder.  Once 
or  twice  we  met  some  persons  returning 
from  a  dinner  party.  Otherwise  the  streets 
were  as  if  dead,  not  a  horse  and  carriage, 
nor  a  tram.    When  we  had  crossed  the 


106 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


great  bridge  we  saw  the  dreary  ruins  of 
the  big  police  court  on  the  Lieteny  Pros- 
pect, (one  of  the  main  thoroughfares.) 
It  had  been  burned,  but  otherwise  no 
traces  of  destruction  were  to  be  seen  so 
far.  The  popular  exasperation  had 
turned  against  the  police  and  its  head- 
quarters. Unfortunately,  some  very  im- 
portant documents  were  destroyed  at 
the  same  time;  not  only  the  etats  civils, 
the  registers  of  the  population,  their  age, 
status,  and  so  on,  but  also  the  archives 
of  the  secret  police  have  in  part  been 
destroyed,  so  it  is  now  one  of  the  difficult 
tasks  of  the  new  administration  to  trace 
the  agents  provocateurs,  who  were  every- 
where. 

As  I  walked  along  the  Nevsky,  I  met  a 
procession  of  workmen,  soldiers,  and  wo- 
men singing  the  revolutionary  hymn — an 
old  song,  I  was  told — sung  to  a  tune 
evidently  borrowed  from  the  "  Marseil- 
laise," but  in  rather  a  depraved  setting. 
The  text  may  be  rendered  as  follows 

Let  us  give  up  the  ancient'world. 

Let  us  shake  its  dust  from  our  feet. 

We  want  no  idol  in  gold. 

We  hate  the  palace  of  the  Czars. 

We  will  go  to  our  suffering  brethren. 

We  will  go  to  those  who  are  starving. 

With  them  we  execrate  the  felon, 

And  we  will  challenge  him  to  fight. 

March,  march,  workmen,  forward ! 

The  procession  carried  red  banners,  on 
which  was  written  "  Land  and  Liberty," 
"  Down  with  Autocracy,"  &c.  It  was  a 
revolutionary  sight,  but  at  the  head  of 
the  procession  in  the  very  middle  of  the 
street  I  saw  a  strange  sight.  High  up 
in  a  car  drawn  by  a  horse  a  man  was 
standing,  turning,  turning  incessantly 
his  cinematograph,  preparing  his  "  Films 
of  the  Russian  Revolution."  Then  I  un- 
derstood that  I  was  really  a  witness  of 
historic  events,  but  also  that  all  danger 
was  passed.  Petrograd  had  settled  down 
to  civilized  life. 

Czar's  Dread  of  War 

The  revolution  of  1917  was  inevitable. 
I  remember  very  well  that,  when  at  Pe- 
trograd in  February,  1914,  I  was  told  by 
Milukoff  that  the  Czar  Nicholas  had 
"  une  peur  bleue  de  la  guerre,"  because 
he  very  well  realized  that  there  had  been 
an  intimate  connection  between  the  war 
with  Japan   and  the  ensuing  revolution 


of  1905-1906.  This  dread  of  the  Czar 
was  in  Milukoff's  eyes  one  of  the  guaran- 
tees of  European  peace,  at  any  rate  a  se- 
curity against  aggressive  tendencies  on 
the  part  of  Russia.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  was  then  in  Russia  great  apprehen- 
sion of  German  and  Austrian  aggression, 
especially  in  connection  with  the  negotia- 
tions which  were  to  come  as  to  the  re- 
newal of  the  Russo-German  Treaty  of 
Commerce,  which  was  to  expire  in  1917. 
War  with  the  Central  Powers  was  con- 
sidered as  inevitable,  and  it  may  have 
served  as  an  argument  for  war  in  1914 
that  Russia  at  any  rate  had  strong  allies. 

I  was  told  now  in  1917  that  there  had 
been  divided  counsels  in  the  Government 
of  1914.  The  majority  of  the  Ministers 
favored  war;  a  minority,  represented  by 
Sazonoff,  the  Ministers  of  Finance  and 
of  Agriculture,  Bark  and  Kriwoshein, 
were  for  peace,  and  the  Rietch,  which 
supported  the  peace  policy  of  Sazonoff, 
was  even  prohibited  for  a  time.  The 
Czar  was,  as  usual,  vacillating;  fits  of 
seeming  restiveness  alternated  with 
periods  of  complete  apathy,  and  as  it 
happened  his  "  peur  bleue  de  la  guerre  " 
had  no  decisive  importance.  Sazonoff 
was,  however,  at  any  rate  able  to  take 
up  an  attitude  which  left  the  responsi- 
bility of  aggression  with  the  other  side. 
But  there  is  no  doubt  that  also  at  Petro- 
grad— as  indeed  in  all  capitals — there 
was  a  military  party  pushing  toward 
war.  The  responsibilities  for  the  war 
are  divided,  European,  but  they  should 
evidently  be  apportioned  in  different 
degrees. 

But  when  the  war  came,  it  was  im- 
mensely popular  in  Russia.  Slavonic  na- 
tionalism, which  was  an  important  ele- 
ment in  aristocracy  and  among  the  great 
landowners,  turned  against  Austria-Hun- 
gary and  Germany,  who  were  bent  on 
crushing  the  Slavonic  sister  State,  Ser- 
bia. The  progressive  elements  saw  the 
immense  importance  of  the  dissolution  of 
the  league  of  the  three  Emperors,  formed 
around  the  pactum  turpe  of  the  partition 
of  Poland,  which  had  held  good  for  up- 
ward of  a  century  and  a  half,  and  no  less 
the  great  potentialities  which  might  flow 
from  the  alliance  with  Western  democ- 
racy.    Their  hopes  were  high  during  the 


STORY  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  UPHEAVAL 


107 


first  year  of  the  war,  as  letters  from 
Efremoff  and  from  Milukoff  at  that  time 
testify.  They  saw  in  Germany  the 
stronghold  of  reaction  and  of  militarism 
in  Europe,  and  trusted  that  its  downfall 
would  be  followed  by  that  of  Russian  au- 
tocracy. It  has  happened  otherwise.  But 
at  any  rate  this  feeling  created  a  wide- 
spread feeling  of  responsibility  for  the 
war,  of  the  necessity  of  supplementing, 
as  far  as  in  them  lay,  the  shortcomings 
of  the  administration  and  of  the  bu- 
reaucracy. 

Work  of  the  Zemstvos 

Thus  was  called  into  being  a  spon- 
taneous participation  in  the  war  work 
from  the  best  and  most  healthy  elements 
within  Russian  society.  The  Association 
of  the  Zemstvos  on  one  side,  a  voluntary 
institution  formed  by  the  members  of 
the  Municipal  Councils  of  the  "  Gouv- 
ernements,"  consequently  by  men  versed 
in  local  government  and  in  public  af- 
fairs, combined  with  the  leaders  of  the 
great  commercial  and  industrial  enter- 
prises to  form  all  sorts  of  committees 
outside  the  administration.  In  a  hun- 
dred ways  they  have  been  able  to  help 
and  to  prove  their  efficiency.  When 
Brusiloff  prepared  his  great  offensive, 
he  had,  of  course,  to  secure  his  rear. 
Trenches  were  to  be  dug  for  the  eventu- 
ality of  a  retreat.  But  he  could  not  use 
his  own  soldiers,  as  their  offensive  force 
might  be  sapped  if  they  knew  that  posi- 
tions were  prepared  for  a  retreat.  Then 
the,  Association  of  the  Zemstvos  at  once 
mobilized  500,000  peasants,  who  did  the 
work.  Another  General  complained  that 
his  companies  were  suffering  through  the 
fact  that  so  many  soldiers  were  called 
off  to  become  cooks.  In  a  very  short  time 
50,000  men,  not  fit  for  military  work,  but 
able  to  do  service  as  cooks,  were  put  at 
his  disposal.  In  innumerable  ways  the 
Industrial  Committee  has  helped  to  or- 
ganize the  importation  of  munitions  and 
of  raw  materials  for  the  war  industries. 

Middle  Class's  Influence 

Quietly  the  direction  of  Russian  life 
and  activity  during  the  war  was  more 
and  more  taken  over  by  the  middle  class 
itself,  and  its  services  appeared  all  the 
more  brilliant  against  the  dark  setting  of 


the  incapacity,  the  corruption,  not  to  men- 
tion the  occasional  treason,  of  the  old 
administration.  It  is,  so  to  speak,  the 
leaders  of  this  activity  who  have  now 
undertaken  also  the  nominal  direction  of 
Russia.  The  new  Premier,  Prince  Lvoff, 
was  President  of  the  Association  of 
Zemstvos.  Gutchkoff,  [then,]  Minister 
of  War;  Konovaloff,  [then,]  Minister  of 
Commerce  and  Industry;  Chingareff, 
[then,]  Minister  of  Agriculture,  all 
played  leading  or  prominent  parts  in  the 
different  organizations  and  committees 
controlling  the  private  activity  for  the 
war,  while  Milukoff,  [then,]  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  has  represented  the  Rus- 
sian people  before  the  world,  through  his 
work  in  the  press  or  through  his  nume- 
rous addresses  abroad  during  the  war. 
A  new  official  Russia  was  silently  in  for- 
mation. It  has  now  risen,  shaking  off 
the  feeble  fetters  which  Czardom,  bu- 
reaucracy, and  police  were  trying  to  lay 
on  a  people  prepared  to  work  out  its  own 
salvation,  while  the  powers  of  old  mani- 
festly proved  incapable  of  their  task. 

It  is  impossible  to  rate  highly  enough 
the  importance  and  the  influence  of  the 
Duma  in  this  silent  preparation  of  the 
momentous  revolution  of  1917.  If  a  bet- 
ter horoscope  is  undoubtedly  to  be  cast 
for  this  revolution  than  for  its  predeces- 
sor of  1905-1906,  it  is  chiefly  because  the 
Duma,  through  its  existence  alone,  has 
educated  Russian  public  opinion  toward 
common  national  aims.  In  the  Duma 
the  Russian  Nation  has  found  a  com- 
mon symbol,  and  through  the  speeches 
there,  especially  during  the  war,  the 
silent  desires  and  hopes  of  the  masses 
and  of  the  classes  have  found  expres- 
sion and  distinct  objects  for  a  national 
policy.  Some  of  these  speeches  are  so 
characteristic  that  they  may  be  cited 
even  here. 

Spirit  of  the  Duma 

When  Milukoff  had  made  his  famous 
attack  on  Sturmer,  an  attack  which  led 
to  the  Minister's  fall  and  to  the  aban- 
donment for  the  time  being  of  the  pol- 
icy for  a  separate  peace  with  Germany, 
Efremoff,  leader  of  the  Progressives. — an 
intermediary  party  between  the  Octo- 
brists  and  the  Cadets,  these  latter  not 
by  far  a  radical  party — made  a  speech 


108 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


in  which  he  said:  "There  is  little  use 
in  removing  the  mushrooms  from  a  rot- 
ten trunk,  they  will  sprout  again,  as 
soon  as  weather  favors.  The  only  ef- 
ficient cure  is  to  cut  down  the  rotten 
trunk."  This  is  pure  revolutionary  doc- 
trine. And  Kerensky  once  took  for  his 
text  the  famous  sculptural  groups  on  the 
Anitchkoff  Bridge  on  the  Nevsky,  repre- 
senting four  tamers  of  horses  in  differ- 
ent attitudes.     He  said: 

"  In  the  first  group  you  see  the  tamer 
dominating  his  horse;  in  the  second  and 
third  group,  the  horse  is  more  and  more 
freeing  itself  from  its  master;  in  the 
fourth  group  the  man  is  on  the  ground 
under  the  hoofs  of  the  horse,  who  is 
galloping  freely  along.  The  tamer  is 
the  Bureaucracy,  the  horse  is  the  Rus- 
sian people.  It  will  know  how  to  obtain 
its  liberation." 

It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  think 
that  the  Fourth  Duma  was  anything  re- 
sembling a  revolutionary  assembly.  As 
will  be  known,  the  reactionaries  and  Na- 
tionalists, together  with  the  Centre, 
formed  a  solid  majority  against  any  evo- 
lution, even  toward  Parliamentary  Gov- 
ernment; even  the  Octobrists  were 
against  Ministerial  responsibility.  But 
so  glaring  was  the  incapacity  of  the  old 
regime  that  a  bloc  was  formed  during 
the  war  by  all  the  bourgeois  parties 
from  the  Cadets  to  the  Nationalists. 
This  group  united  on  the  single  aim  of 
pushing  on  the  war  and  silently  prepar- 
ing for  the  moment  when  the  catas- 
trophe to  Czarism  was  to  come.  The 
reactionaries  dwindled  down  to  insignifi- 
cance. Even  the  notorious  Purishke- 
vitch,  who  took  service  in  the  army, 
joined  the  bloc,  and  the  still  more  no- 
torious Markoff  II.  was  pictured  in  a 
cartoon  sitting  sulking  in  his  corner  as 
the  "  only  Russian  conservative." 

This  was  long  before  the  revolution. 
The  Cadets  had  to  make  sacrifices  in 
order  to  keep  this  bloc  together.  Thus 
they  voted,  and  Milukoff  himself  spoke, 
against  a  proposal  of  raising  the  ques- 
tion of  Ministerial  responsibility  before 
the  Duma.  "  The  time  was  not  ripe." 
Miluokff's  attitude  then  impaired  his 
popularity  with  the  radical  elements,  and 
this  fact,  together  with  his  imperialistic 


attitude  with  regard  to  the  objects  of 
the  war,  may  compromise  his  position. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  is  rather  isolated 
in  the  Government.  But  the  bloc  was 
maintained,  and  the  way  paved  for  a 
united  advance,  when  the  movement  of 
action  was  to  come. 

Czar  Like  Louis  XVI, 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  Duma  would 
ever  have  taken  an  initiative  of  revolu- 
tion, but  the  fact  that  even  Rodzianko, 
the  moderate  Octobrist  President  of  the 
Duma,  was  ready  to  take  the  chair  in 
the  new  Executive  Committee;  that  the 
still  more  conservative  Shulgin  was 
ready  to  go  with  Gutchkoff  to  force 
Nicholas  to  abdicate,  shows  how  far  the 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  a  pro- 
found change  had  spread.  Everybody 
saw  that  a  catastrophe  was  coming. 
But  they  did  not  know  when.  Would  it 
be  during  the  war,  would  it  be  after? 
Nobody  was  able  to  tell.  But  they  saw 
the  necessity  of  preparation,  of,  so  to 
speak,  mobilization  for  the  eventuality. 
The  Executive  Committee  was  secretly 
formed;  even  the  Ministers  were  desig- 
nated long  ago.  Therefore,  the  decisions 
could  be  made  so  quickly  when  the  su- 
preme moment  arrived. 

Czardom  took  upon  itself  to  force  mat- 
ters to  an  issue.  Nicholas  Romanoff  will 
probably  figure  in  history  as  no  less  a 
tragical  personality  than  Louis  XVI.  In- 
deed, there  are  several  points  of  resem- 
blance. But  above  all  they  are  alike  in 
having  had  consorts  whose  influence  be- 
came fatal  to  them;  both  partook  of  the 
intense  unpopularity  their  wives  had  in- 
curred. The  Empress  Alexandra  has  not 
been  wasteful  or  extravagant  as  Marie 
Antoinette,  but  her  connection  with  the 
notorious  Rasputin,  to  whom  in  her  hys- 
teria she  became  quite  submissive,  sapped 
no  less  the  last  remnants  of  loyalty  to  the 
dynasty.  Rasputin's  corpse  was  buried 
in  the  imperial  park  at  Tsarskoe  Selo,  and 
it  was  told  that  the  corpse  had  been  re- 
moved to  be  burned;  in  order  to  put  an 
end  to  this  sordid  story  and  to  any  at- 
tempt at  beatification  of  the  "  Starest," 
an  ikon  (a  saint's  image)  was  found  with 
the  corpse,  on  the  back  of  which  were 
written  the  names  Alexandra,  Olga, 
Tatyana,  &c. — the  whole  family. 


STORY  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  UPHEAVAL 


109 


But  the  supreme  trait  of  similarity  be- 
tween the  two  ill-fated  Queens  is  their 
"  enemy  connection  " — Marie  Antoinette 
"  Pautrichienne  ";  Alexandra  the  German, 
female  cousin  of  Wilhelm  the  Kaiser. 
And  unfortunately  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Czaritsa's  "  enemy  connection  "  was 
far  from  innocent.  She  has  not  only  been 
active  in  all  the  tentative  efforts  for  a 
separate  peace,  but  I  was  told  in  diplo- 
matic circles  that  on  one  occasion  an  of- 
fensive movement,  fully  prepared,  had 
been  stopped  by  a  telegram  signed  by  her 
name.  A  wireless  was  in  function  at 
Tsarskoe  Selo,  corresponding  with  Nauen. 

Anybody  can  see  how  all  this  must 
have  killed  the  last  remnants  of  loyalty, 
already  undermined  by  the  notorious  in- 
capacity of  the  administration  to  cope 
with  the  problems  of  the  war.  The  con- 
tinual changes  of  Ministers  proved  the 
vacillation  at  the  head  of  affairs.  Czar- 
ism  was  evidently  tottering  to  its  fall. 

Quern  Deus  perdere  vult,  prius  de- 
mentat.  The  Government,  in  an  act  of 
sheer  desperation,  added  open  provoca- 
tion to  its  glaring  faults  and  shortcom- 
ings. By  stopping  the  transport  of  food 
to  Petrograd  it  intended  to  call  forth 
riots  in  the  capital;  they  were  to  serve 
as  pretexts  for  an  adjournment  of  the 
Duma,  for  the  creation  of  a  practical 
dictatorship  probably  in  the  hands  of 
Protopopoff  or  of  a  "  strong "  General, 
and  lastly  for  the  conclusion  of  a  sep- 
arate peace.  Efremoff  told  me  that  one 
was  on  the  track  of  a  telegram  to  this  ef- 
fect: "Almost  all  transports  to  Petro- 
grad stopped.  Everything  goes  well." 
Under  it  the  signature  of  a  Minister. 

Porver  of  the  Proletariat 

The  form  which  the  provocation  took 
called  in  the  element  which  made  the 
revolution.  The  Duma  would  perhaps 
have  been  capable  of  a  coup  d'etat,  and 
Efremoff  told  me  that  in  fact  this  had 
always  been  the  favorite  hypothesis.  But 
the  proletariat  are  willing  to  pay  with 
their  lives.  And  the  proletariat  found 
an  associate  in  the  garrison  of  Petro- 
grad. These  two  facts  are  of  capital  im- 
portance; the  latter  gave  the  victory  to 
the  revolution;  both  together  determined 
the  democratic  character  of  the  events, 


and  it  seems  as  if  this  characteristic  has 
come  to  stay.  The  democratic  elements 
have  been  very  strong  in  the  revolution 
itself,  and  these  forces  are  organizing 
themselves  in  order  to  maintain  their  in- 
fluence. 

The  troops  at  Petrograd  combined  with 
the  workmen  refused  to  shoot  at  the  peo- 
ple, and  turned  their  guns  against  the 
police.  The  explanation  of  this  extraor- 
dinary fact  is  to  be  found  in  the  compo- 
sition of  these  troops.  They  were  not 
real  garrison  soldiers;  they  were  partly 
older  reserve  soldiers,  recently  called  to 
the  colors  after  having  passed  years  in 
their  villages,  partly  young  recruits,  who 
had  not  yet  undergone  the  influence  of 
the  barracks.  They  were  really  a  peas- 
ant democracy,  who  through  their  stay  in 
the  regiments  had  developed  a  certain 
class  feeling,  not  as  soldiers,  but  as  peas- 
ant laborers  having  interests  in  common 
with  the  Petrograd  proletariat,  among 
whom  many  of  them  probably  have  found 
friends  or  relatives  from  their  own  vil- 
lages. When  ordered  to  fire  on  the  peo- 
ple they  immediately  protested  and  fired 
on  the  police  instead.  And  the  two 
popular  forces  then  turned  to  the  Duma 
as  the  representative  of  the  Russian  Na- 
tion, asking  the  National  Assembly  to 
take  the  lead  which  had  fallen  from  the 
hands  of  the  Government. 

In  order  to  co-operate,  the  soldiers  and 
workmen  organized  their  council,  to 
which  each  regiment  and  each  factory 
sent  a  delegate.  Through  an  Executive 
Committee  and  a  delegation  they  opened 
negotiations  with  the  Duma,  whose  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  as  stated  above,  was 
ready  to  act. 

Kerens^  Chief  Figure 
The  central  figure  in  this  situation  be- 
came the  Duma  member  for  Saratoff, 
Kerensky,  a  young  barrister.  This  re- 
markable man  is  the  leader  of  the 
"Revolutionary  Socialists" — thus  far  a 
misnomer,  as  they  are  revolutionary 
only  as  the  word  applies  to  the  method 
of  their  action.  As  long  as  the  autocracy 
existed  they  approved  of  terroristic  at- 
tempts. After  the  revolution  they  de- 
clared for  parliamentary  action  and  pop- 
ular propaganda  alone,  and  one  of 
Kerensky's  first  decrees  as  Minister  of 


110 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Justice  abolished  capital  punishment. 
In  their  program  they  can  hardly  be 
said  to  be  Socialists;  it  is  rather  an 
agrarian  party  aiming  at  the  creation  of 
a  class  of  small  proprietors,  and  most 
of  their  adherents  are  peasants  and  land 
laborers,  while  the  workers  of  the  towns 
rally  round  Tscheidze,  who  is  an  orthodox 
Marxist  and  whose  program  appeals  to 
the  industrial  workingman. 

Kerensky  was  the  link  between  the 
bourgeois  Duma  and  the  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates.  Through 
his  unique  eloquence  and  moral  courage  he 
was  able  to  exert  an  enormous  influence 
during  these  first  difficult  weeks,  and 
the  state  of  his  health  is  a  serious  mat- 
ter. It  is  bad,  for  he  is  suffering  from 
tuberculosis  of  the  kidneys,  one  of 
which  has  been  removed,  alas,  very  late, 
for  the  Russian  surgeons  had  not  dis- 
covered what  was  really  the  matter;  it 
was  during  a  visit  to  Finland  that  the 
very  serious  state  of  his  health  was  dis- 
covered and  the  necessary  operation  un- 
dertaken. 

He  is  sitting  in  the  new  Government 
as  the  representative,  but  at  the  same 
time  as  the  hostage,  of  democracy.  It 
would  be  most  difficult  to  find  a  substi- 
tute, and  every  well-wisher  for  Russia 
will  hope  and  pray  that  he  may  be 
spared  for  the  great  mission  awaiting 
him.  He  made  an  extraordinary  impres- 
sion on  me  during  my  conversation  with 
him;  a  soul  of  fire,  sincere,  and  truthful 
to  himself,  at  the  same  time  a  powerful 
intelligence  and  a  born  leader.  His 
powers  of  work  are  said  to  be  extraor- 
dinary.    *     *     * 

The  Constituent  Assembly 

The  big  question,  besides  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war,  is  the  organization  and 
the  convocation  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly.  The  Government  program 
says  the  assembly  was  to  meet  "  as  soon 
as  possible."  I  suppose  the  Ministers 
are  likely  to  put  the  stress  on  the  last 
word.  Indeed,  I  hardly  spoke  with  one 
bourgeois  politician  without  his  shaking' 
his  head  over  the  impossibility  of  co- 
ordinating the  working  of  this  assembly 
with  the  active  prosecution  of  the  war. 
They,   therefore,    sincerely   hope   to    see 


the  end  of  the  war  in  the  Autumn.  But 
if  the  end  does  not  come,  they  are  likely 
to  insist  on  the  necessity  of  postponing 
"the  assembly. 

•  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  extreme 
elements  wish  to  strike  the  iron  while 
it  is  hot,  and  the  last  proclamation  from 
the  council  requests  the  immediate  or- 
ganization of  the  assembly.  The  Pre- 
mier, Prince  Lvoff,  has  said  it  was  to 
meet  within  a  period  of  at  least  three,  at 
most  six,  months.  The  problem  is  not 
only  one  of  organization;  for  instance, 
how  are  the  soldiers  at  the  front  to  vote, 
the  vote  being  not  only  the  act  of  putting 
a  ballot  in  a  box,  but  a  method  of  con- 
tributing to  form  a  real  public  opinion 
on  a  series  of  very  grave  questions? 
There  is  also  the  serious  difficulty  of 
having  a  deliberative  assembly  sitting 
discussing  intricate  constitutional  and 
social  problems  while  the  greatest  war 
in  history  is  being  waged  at  the  fron- 
tier. Indeed,  it  is  highly  to  be  desired 
that  the  bloodshed  might  come  to  an 
early  end,  if  for  no  other  reasons,  lest 
the  future  of  Russia  should  be  compro- 
mised. 

Outlook  for  the  Republic 
As  to  the  future  constitution,  there  is 
officially  and  outwardly  absolute  unanim- 
ity; the  cadets,  even  the  progressives, 
have  put  the  democratic  republic  on  their 
program.  Indeed,  no  sane  politician,  at 
the  present  juncture,  considers  any  other 
solution  as  possible.  Monarchy,  and  es- 
pecially the  dynasty,  is  compromised  be- 
yond remedy;  none  of  the  Grand  Dukes  is 
to  be  thought  of  as  Czar,  because  it  would 
imply  dangerous  family  connections.  But 
bourgeois  politicians  are  far  from  en- 
thusiastic republicans.  They  see  the 
danger  in  such  an  enormous  empire  pass- 
ing at  one  single  step  from  an  autocracy 
to  a  republic,  and  they  are  not  blind  to 
the  advantages  of  monarchy  as  a  symbol 
of  the  unity  and  the  indivisibility  of  the 
nation.  This  did  not  imply  any  senti- 
mentalism  toward  the  Little  Father,  and 
I  was  told  that  the  existence  of  this  senti- 
ment even  among  the  peasants  was  great- 
ly exaggerated.  There  was  only  cool  po- 
litical calculation  in  it.  Efremoff  went 
to  the  length  of  saying  to  me :  "  If  we 
only  had  had  a  very  popular  General — " 


STORY  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  UPHEAVAL 


111 


This  would  seem  a  most  dangerous  ex- 
periment. And  I  know  that  Milukoff  and 
other  cadet  leaders  reluctantly  approved 
of  the  republic  being  admitted  to  their 
program. 

I  imagine  that  the  solution  contem- 
plated is  a  sort  of  federal  republic,  based 
on  the  nationalities  and  racr.s  within  the 
enormous  empire  as  constituent  parts, 
probably  supplemented  with  local  divi- 
sions in  the  Great  Russian  provinces. 
This  solution,  more  or  less  on  American 
lines,  can,  as  in  the  United  States,  be 
combined  with  a  strong  executive  power. 
It  sounds  like  a  prophecy  that  the  Amer- 
ican Constitution  has  sometimes  been  de- 
fined as  a  "  Czaristic  "  republic. 

Already  the  Government  program  had 
outlined  large  liberties  of  speech,  of  asso- 
ciation, even  of  strike — the  first  instance, 
I  believe,  in  history.  The  last  point  is  of 
special  importance  to  the  industrial  work- 
man, and  through  his  participation  in  the 
revolution  he  has  also  obtained  another 
advantage — the  eight-hour  day.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  one  of  the  Freres 
Nobel  expressly  stated  that  they  were  de- 
lighted with  the  result  of  this  regime.  Its 
efficiency  was  better  than  the  former  one 
with  the  long  hours,  which  had  tempted 
to  passivity  and  even  to  sabotage. 

These  problems  of  industry  are,  hew- 
ever,  not  by  far  so  important  to  Russia 
as  the  all-dominating  agrarian  problem, 
which  will  absorb  a  great  part  of  the  ac- 
tivity and  the  interests  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly.  In  his  heart  of  hearts  every 
Russian  is  an  agriculturist,  in  his  dreams 
a  landed  proprietor.  "  Land  and  lib- 
erty "  was  written  on  every  second  red 
banner.  The  soldiers,  peasants  them- 
selves or  peasants'  sons,  voiced  this  de- 
sire, and  everybody  realized  that  it  had 
to  be  satisfied  on  a  very  large  scale. 

Rural  Conditions 

The  state  of  the  Russian  countryside 
during  the  war  is  very  curious,  and  in  a 
certain  respect  an  unexpected  one.  The 
absolute  prohibition  of  vodka — very 
strictly  executed — in  the  Petrograd 
hotels  I  saw  no  stronger  drink  than 
kvass,  a  sort  of  ginger  beer — has  stopped 
the  chief  expense  of  the  peasants  toward 
luxury;  the  soldiers'  wives  and  mothers 
receive  Government  support;  the  absence 


of  workmen  creates  a  great  demand  for 
laborers,  with  a  consequent  rise  of 
wages;  all  this  combines  to  create  an  un- 
known prosperity  in  the  villages.  The 
peasant  girls  are  able  to  buy  a  greater 
number  of  those  gowns  which,  hanging 
new  and  not  yet  used  in  the  large  ward- 
robe, are  to  impress  their  suitors.  They 
are  now  said  to  decline  work  offered  to 
them  with  the  remark:  "I  have  got 
gowns  enough."  The  peasants,  among 
them  the  soldiers  on  returning  from  the 
front  or  from  captivity,  will  be  able  to 
buy  land.  On  the  other  hand,  the  great 
landowners  are  often  unable  to  work 
their  fields  because  of  the  scarcity  of 
labor.  They  will,  therefore,  be  willing 
to  sell  land.     So  far  all  seems  well. 

The  danger  is  that  there  may  be  ideas 
of  the  laborer's  right  to  own  the  land  he 
till  now  has  been  working  on.  There  will 
be  hot  debates  about  the  principle  of  ex- 
propriation and  its  application.  The 
landowners  will  say :  "  Why  shall  landed 
property  alone  be  considered  as  more  or 
less  liable  to  confiscation?  Why  not  as 
well  the  industrial  plant,  or  personal 
property?  "  Fortunately,  immense  tracts 
of  land  will  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  na- 
tion in  the  form  of  public  domains  or  of 
land  belonging  to  the  monasteries.  Here 
thousands  on  thousands  of  peasants  can 
be  made  proprietors  without  any  great 
difficulty,  and  means  can  perhaps  be 
found  of  financing  also  the  transfer  of 
private  land  from  the  great  owners  to 
small  holders.  Everybody  will  see  the 
great  seriousness  of  this  problem  and  its 
bearing  on  the  future  of  Russia.  In  this 
new  class  of  small  farmers  new  Russia 
will  find  the  basis  of  its  democracy,  just 
as  the  French  Revolution  found  it  for 
France. 

Difficult  Racial  Problems 

The  Government  program  proclaimed 
the  abolition  of  all  disabilities  for  racial 
and  religious  reasons.  This  principle, 
loyally  executed,  will  automatically  take 
away  the  sting  in  the  otherwise  so  thorny 
questions  of  delimitation  within  the  em- 
pire, especially  in  the  west,  where  on  the 
wide  plains, the  different  nationalities — 
Poles,  Ukrainians,  Lithuanians,  Ests,  and 
other  Baltic  races — merge  imperceptibly 
one  into  the- other,  or  in  the  Caucasus, 


112 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


where  the  motley  diversity  is  as  great. 
No  doubt,  however,  there  will  still  be 
great  difficulties  in  this  respect,  and  more 
especially  this  will  be  the  case  with  the 
Jews.  I  had  no  special  opportunity  of 
studying  the  Semitic  problem,  and  there- 
fore shall  only  give  one  piece  of  informa- 
tion, which  shows  on  one  hand  its  acuity, 
on  the  other  the  apprehensions  as  to  the 
future. 

The  leading  inspirer  of  the  cadets  is 
said  to  be  an  Israelitic  Petrograd  bar- 
rister, Vinaver,  a  close  friend  of  Milu- 
koff  and  an  exceptionally  able  man. 
The  Government  had  ^nominated  him  a 
Senator,  member  of  the  High  Court,  but 
he  declined,  because  he  would  not  expose 
the  revolution  to  the  risk  of  being  dubbed 
a  "  Semitic  machination."  Generally  the 
Jews  took  up  an  attitude  of  great  re- 
serve. Pogroms  were  still  considered  as 
possible. 

To  return  to  the  problems  of  nation- 
ality, there  are  two  questions  under  this 
head  which  require  special  treatment, 
namely,  Finland  and  Poland. 

The  complete  liberation  of  Finland, 
the  reversal  of  all  laws  and  decrees  is- 
sued contrary  to  the  Finnish  Constitu- 
tion, and  the  proclamation  of  the  right  of 
the  Finnish  people  to  decide,  through 
their  own  representatives,  the  future  re- 
lations between  Finland  and  Russia,  was 
on  one  hand  the  fulfillment  of  an  old 
pledge  from  Russian  liberals  to  the 
Finns.  Especially  Milukoff,  Rodicheff, 
now  Secretary  of  State  for  Finland,  and 
Stakhovitch,  now  Governor  General,  had 
engaged  themselves  strongly  on  this  line. 
It  was,  moreover,  a  sort  of  morning  gift 
to  Western  democracy  which  has  always 
taken  a  special  interest  in  progressive 
Finland.  And  it  was — last,  but  not  least 
— a  stroke  of  generous  and  far-sighted 
policy  against  the  German  machinations 
in  Finland,  which  surely  in  certain  con- 
tingencies might  have  been  extremely 
dangerous:  Finland  is  the  glacis  of  Pet- 
rograd. 

The  Case  of  Finland 

It  is  no  secret  that  during  the  war 
numerous  young  Finns  have  crossed  the 
frontier  to  go  to  Germany,  where  hun- 
dreds of  them  have  been  trained  as  offi- 


cers to  lead  an  eventual  Finnish  insur- 
rection. It  is  said  that  thousands  of 
young  men  in  Finland  itself  have  been 
equipped  in  secret  for  military  service: 
two  pairs  of  boots,  a  Winter  coat,  a  gun, 
&c.  But  it  was  understood  that  no  move- 
ment was  to  be  initiated  if  the  Germans 
did  not  succeed  in  throwing  artillery 
across  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  .  Hence  the 
extreme  importance  of  the  Riga  front. 

This-  movement  found  chiefly  its  ad- 
herents among  the  Swedish  party  in  Fin- 
land, a  political  faction  decidedly  on  the 
wane,  but  still  important  because  of  its 
strong  intellectual  and  economic  position. 
However,  only  part  of  them  favored  this 
policy  of  despair,  which  really  amounted 
to  a  driving  out  of  the  devil  by  Beelze- 
bub. Some  adherents  were  also  said  to 
have  come  from  the  "  Old  Fennomans," 
a  conservative  party  which  often  has 
been  very  weak-kneed  toward  Russia. 
Their  belief  in  authority  as  the  supreme 
prop  of  social  life  may  have  brought 
some  of  them  to  admire  the  Prussian 
spirit.     *     *     * 

[The  Swedish  Party  late  in  May  issued  an 
address  demanding  a  separate  republic  for 
Finland,  but  it  received  no  approval  at  Pe- 
trograd.—Editor  Current  History  Magazine.] 

Finns  very  well  see  the  realities  of  the 
problem — that  Russia  and  Finland  are 
indissoluble  for  plain  geographical  rea- 
sons. It  would  be  sheer  insanity  for 
Finland  to  rely  on  the  support  of  Ger- 
many, from  which  it  is  divided  by  the 
sea,  while  Russia  dominates  its  entire 
land  frontier  to  the  east,  while  the  Rus- 
sian capital  is  situated  at  a  distance  of 
only  a  few  miles.  Moreover,  Finnish  in- 
dustrial merchandise  and  dairy  produce 
arc  dependent  on  the  Russian  market. 

The  Finns  do  not  desire  their  country 
to  be  merged  in  the  Russian  Empire  as 
one  of  its  constituent  parts.  They  de- 
mand a  separate  existence,  a  Finnish 
State  at  Russia's  side,  united  with  the 
empire  through  a  sort  of  loose  union, 
giving  to  Russia  only  the  direction  of 
foreign  affairs.  The  problem  is  a  deli- 
cate one,  besides  entirely  new  in  the  his- 
tory of  constitutional  law,  if  Russia  is  to 
become  a  republic,  and  as  the  Finns  are 
a  difficult  race  to  treat  with,  tenacious, 


STORY  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  UPHEAVAL 


113 


sometimes   revengeful,   it   may   tax   the 
powers  of  statesmen  on  both  sides. 

Free  Poland  Possible 

The  proclamation  from  the  Russian 
Government  to  the  Poles  is  the  highest 
bid  made  during  the  war  for  the  sym- 
pathies of  this  people,  which,  after  a 
tragedy  of  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
can  at  last  look  forward  with  certainty 
to  a  future  of  political  independent  life 
for  part,  if  not  for  the  whole,  of  the 
race.  And  this  bid  is  not  only  a  clever 
diplomatic  device  made  to  win  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Poles,  it  is  a  sincere  appli- 
cation of  the  principle  of  nationalities. 
The  Russians,  of  course,  wish  to  see  a 
reunited  Poland,  including  the  Polish — 
but  not  the  Ukrainian — part  of  Galicia, 
the  whole  of  Posnania,  and  the  Polish 
parts  of  Silesia  and  West  Prussia.  Only 
this  enumeration  suffices  to  show  what 
problems  will  be  raised  in  connection 
with  this  program.  Germany  is  far  from 
entertaining  any  idea  of  this  sort.  But 
if  an  independent  Poland  were  formed, 
say,  out  of  Russian  Poland  and  Western 
Galicia,  it  would  certainly  exercise  a 
most  powerful  attraction  on  the  Poles 
in  the  Prussian  irredenta.  It  is  incom- 
prehensible how  Austria  and  Germany 
have  been  capable  of  creating  their 
"  Kingdom  of  Poland  "  after  the  experi- 
ence of  Austria  with  an  Italian  and  a 
Serbian  irredenta.  The  need  for  Polish 
soldiers  must  have  been  enormous,  in- 
deed. 

Many  will  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Russia 
in  giving  full  freedom  of  action  to  the 
Poles  as  to  the  future  of  their  new 
State.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  discuss- 
ing the  question  with  Efremoff,  now  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
consequently  in  close  touch  with  the 
Government,  and  his  opinion  was  that, 
after  all,  an  entirely  independent  Poland 
would  perhaps  represent  the  best  solu- 
tion for  Russia.  A  buffer  State  might 
be  useful  against  Germany,  though  he 
saw  the  danger  of  the  absence  of  mili- 
tary frontiers,  if  the  principle  of  inter- 
national anarchy  were  still  to  prevail. 
But  he  added  that  a  complete  severance 
from  Poland  would  present  certain  inner 
advantages  to  Russia.    Polish  nobles  had 


bought  land  in  Russia,  and  they  were 
hard  masters  to  the  Russian  peasants. 
Many  Poles  had  obtained  high  situations 
in  Russian  administration,  and  after  a 
very  short  time  their  offices  had  been 
filled  with  Poles.  It  is  curious  to  ob- 
serve this  animosity  against  a  seemingly 
subject  race  which  has  been  able  to  ob- 
tain a  superior  social  position.  There 
are  parallels  in  the  relation  between 
English  and  Scots,  between  English  and 
Irish. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  full  sepa- 
ration would  raise  most  difficult  prob- 
lems; Polish  industry  is  dependent  on 
the  Russian  market;  a  tariff  arrange- 
ment would  at  any  rate  be  necessary.  A 
connection  between  Poland  and  Germany 
would  spell  economic  ruin  to  Polish  in- 
dustry, as  it  could  not  withstand  Ger- 
man competition.  For  this  reason  alone 
no  Pole  in  his  senses  can  have  seriously 
entertained  the  idea  of  looking  westward. 

In  any  case,  whether  the  solution  is  to 
be  one  of  complete  separation  or  one  of 
a  connection  with  Russia,  there  will  be 
the  most  difficult  problems  of  delimi- 
tation.    *     *     * 

Able  to  Keep  War  Going 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Russia  is  still 
able — from  an  exclusively  military  point 
of  view — to  prosecute  the  war.  Its  of- 
fensive powers  are  impaired  through  lack 
of  munitions  and  guns.  But  the  new 
regime  has,  at  any  rate,  done  away  with 
the  artificial  impediments  created  by  the 
late  Government  and  the  dynasty,  and 
Russia  still  disposes  of  great  reserves  in 
man  power — it  was  said  about  forty  divi- 
sions, at  least  one  million  of  fully  trained 
men,  besides  the  young  recruits  now  be- 
ing trained,  and  one  year  gives  another 
million — and  in  officers.  Especially  there 
is  a  large  reserve  of  cavalry  officers 
who  might  be  used  also  as  leaders  of 
infantry.  Besides,  a  potential  reserve  is 
to  be  found  in  young  cultivated  Jews 
who  have  been  trained  as  soldiers  but 
have  not  been  admitted  to  serve  as  offi- 
cers. They  would  be  able — if  need  be — 
to  act  as  garrison  officers  and  in  other 
subsidiary  military  situations. 

The  financial  position  is  far  from  good. 
The  debt  is  enormous,  the  paper  money 


114 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


flooding  the  country  is  daily  increasing 
in  bulk,  and  the  foreign  exchange  is  de- 
plorable, because  the  exports  have  prac- 
tically ceased.  But,  economically  speak- 
ing, the  position  of  Russia  is  probably 
better  than  that  of  any  other  European 
country  now  at  war.  Agriculture  is  Rus- 
sia's chief  pursuit;  in  consequence  it  is 
suffering  far  less  than  highly  industrial- 
ized countries  like  Great  Britain,  Ger- 
many, or  France.  It  can  find  within  its 
own  borders  nearly  everything  it  may 
want.  The  problem  is  one  of  transpor- 
tation and  of  organization. 

Russia,  then,  still  can  certainly  go  on 
with  the  war  for  years.  And  its  present 
Government  is  firmly  determined  to  re- 
main true  to  the  London  agreement, 
and  to  conclude  peace  only  in  common 
with  the  other  allies.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  support  of  the  West- 


ern Powers  was  decisive  for  the  very 
success  of  the  "  miraculous "  revolu- 
tion, that  Russia  financially  is  dependent 
on  France  and  Great  Britain,  tied  to 
them  by  "  golden  chains."  The  Govern- 
ment and  the  Duma  both  are  bent  on 
prosecuting  the  war  as  one  of  liberation 
for  Europe  in  general.  Russia  has  freed 
itself;  now  Germany  and  Austria  are  to 
follow  suit.  This  is  a  conception  com- 
mon to  bourgeois  liberals  and  to  So- 
cialist workingmen.  Both  regard  the 
two  Central  Powers  as  the  props  of  re- 
action in  Europe.  The  middle  classes 
and  the  peasants,  moreover,  consideir 
the  war  as  a  means  of  liberation  from 
the  commercial  domination  of  Germany, 
established  by  the  treaty  of  1907. 

[Dr.  Lange  concludes  his  report  with  the 
prediction  that  Russia  will  remain  true  to 
the  Allies.  1 


The  Career  of  Kerensky 


ALEXANDER  KERENSKY,  the  real 
£\.  leader  of  the  Russian  revolution, 
first  became  Minister  of  Justice  in 
the  Provisional  Government  and  recently 
succeeded  Gutchkoff  as  Minister  of  War, 
achieving  wonders  in  reviving  the  army 
as  a  fighting  force  during  May  and  June. 
He  was  born  about  thirty-five  years  ago 
in  Tashkent,  a  Russian  town  in  Middle 
Asia.  Although  of  small  means,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  a  university  educa- 
tion and  becoming  a  lawyer.  From  the 
beginning  of  his  practice  he  was  an  en- 
ergetic defender  of  workmen  and  peas- 
ants, appearing  in  their  interest  when 
they  were  arrested  and  oppressed  by 
agents  of  the  Czar's  Government.  He 
included  the  Jews  among  his  clients,  and 
fought  for  the%  rights  which  the  anti- 
Semitic  powers  denied  them.  The  climax 
of  his  legal  career  came  in  1912,  when 
he  represented  the  workmen  in  an  inves- 
tigation following  the  shooting  by  the 
police  of  some  sixty  strikers  in  the  gold 
fields  along  the  River  Lena.  His  work 
in  this  case  made  him  famous  through- 
out Russia  as  a  friend  of  the  revolution- 
ary forces  and  an  enemy  of  the  auto- 
cratic Government. 


The  lawyer  entered  public  life  about 
four  years  ago  and  was  elected  to  the 
Duma,  where  he  became  the  leader  of  the 
Socialist  labor  forces.  He  was  constantly 
under  the  eye  of  the  Czar's  police,  who 
dared  not  touch  him,  however,  without 
real  provocation,  because  of  his  member- 
ship in  the  national  body.  They  thought 
they  had  this  provocation  shortly  before 
the  revolution,  when  Kerensky  attacked 
the  Government  in  a  speech  in  the  Duma, 
and,  according  to  information,  the  order 
for  his  arrest  had  been  prepared  when 
the  revolution  nullified  it. 

As  a  member  of  the  Duma,  Kerensky 
strengthened  his  attack  upon  the  Czar's 
Government  by  exposing  the  corruption 
and  pro-Germanism  among  the  ruling 
powers.  The  Black  Hundreds  of  Russia 
were  so  German  in  their  sympathies  that 
they  were  called  the  "  Prussian  leaders," 
instead  of  the  "  Russian  leaders,"  and 
they  were  the  most  intolerant  and  auto- 
cratic of  all  the  factors  in  the  old  regime. 
Kerensky  investigated  their  conduct  dur- 
ing the  war  and  made  public  exposure 
of  their  sentiments. 

He  also  turned  the  spotlight  upon 
wholesale  corruption  among  the  officials 


THE  CAREER  OF  KERENSKY 


115 


who  purchased  supplies  for  the  army, 
and  by  this  work  did  much  to  hasten  the 
revolution. 

When  the  revolution  was  making  its 
first  rumblings  heard,  the  Czar  ordered 
the  dissolution  of  the  Duma,  and  Keren- 
sky,  rising  in  his  place,  said:  "We  will 
not  go.  We  will  stay  here."  And  the 
Duma  stayed. 

Kerensky  was  made  Minister  of  Justice 
in  the  original  Provisional  Government, 
and  one  of  his  first  official  acts  was  to 
issue  an  order  releasing  all  the  political 
prisoners  in  Siberia. 

His  friends  testify  that  one  of  his  out- 


standing qualities  is  tact,  and  it  was  by 
this  that  he  was  able,  they  say,  to  assist 
materially  in  reconciling  disputing  fac- 
tions and  persuading  them  to  form  the 
present  Provisional  Government. 

Kerensky  is  described  as  a  slight,  mod- 
erately tall,  blonde  man  who  looks  more 
like  an  Englishman  than  a  Russian.  He 
is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  forceful 
public  speakers  in  Russia  and  a  clear- 
thinking  man,  possessing  ability  to  pre- 
sent his  thoughts  with  compelling  logic. 
His  popularity  among  the  masses,  ac- 
cording to  report,  amounts  to  enthusias- 
tic faith. 


Details  of  the  Czar's  Abdication 


Nicholas  II.  abdicated  the  throne  of 
Russia  at  Pskof  Station  on  March  15, 
1917.  A  correspondent  of  the  Paris 
Temps  has  obtained  from  M.  Choulgine, 
one  of  the  actors  in  the  memorable  scene, 
the  following  detailed  narrative  of  what 
took  place: 

AS  our  train  stopped  in  the  station  of 
L  Pskof,  one  of  "the  Emperor's  Aids 
de  Camp  entered  our  carriage  and 
said:  "His  Majesty  is  awaiting  you." 
We  only  had  to  go  a  few  steps  to  reach 
the  imperial  train.  I  was  not  in  the 
least  moved.  We  had  reached  that  ex- 
treme of  physical  tension  after  the  days 
which  we  had  just  lived  in  Petrograd, 
when  nothing  can  either  astonish  or  seem 
impossible. 

We  entered  a  brightly  lighted  saloon 
carriage  upholstered  in  pale  green.  The 
Court  Chamberlain  and  General  Narisch- 
kine  were  there  and  the  Emperor  en- 
tered immediately;  he  was  wearing  the 
uniform  of  one  of  the  Caucasian  regi- 
ments. He  seemed  quite  calm  and  shook 
hands  with  us;  he  was  in  fact  more  cor- 
dial than  cold.  He  sat  down  and  told 
us  to  do  the  same.  Gutchkoff  sat  by 
him  near  a  small  round  table;  I  sat  op- 
posite Gutchkoff,  Freedericks  sat  a  little 
further  along,  and  General  Narischkine 
took  his  seat  at  a  table,  ready  to  take 
down  all  that  was  said,  as  he  had  been 
asked  to  do  by  the  Emperor.  General 
Russky  entered  at  that  moment,  apolo- 


gized for  not  having  been  there  when 
we  arrived,  bowed  to  us  and  took  his 
place  next  to  me,  that  is,  opposite  the 
Czar. 

Gutchkoff  spoke.  I  was  afraid  that 
he  would  be  pitiless  and  that  he  would 
say  something  cruel  to  the  Emperor. 
But  I  soon  felt  reassured.  Gutchkoff 
spoke  at  length  and  quite  easily.  The 
parts  of  his  speech  seemed  to  come  in 
perfect  order.  He  did  not  refer  to  the 
past,-  but  spoke  of  the  present,  trying  to 
make  his  hearer  understand  how  far  the 
country  had  fallen.  He  spoke  with  low- 
ered eyes  and  his  hand  on  the  little 
table,  and  so  he  could  not  see  the  face 
of  the  Czar,  and  this  made  it  easier  for 
him  to  finish  his  painful  speech.  He 
ended  it  by  stating  that  the  only  way  out 
of  the  situation  was  for  the  monarch  to 
abdicate  in  favor  of  the  little  Alexis, 
with  the  Grand  Duke  Michael  as  Regent. 
At  the  moment  when  Gutchkoff  was  say- 
ing these  words,  Russky  leaned  toward 
me  and  whispered :  "  This  has  already 
been  decided." 

Then  the  Emperor  spoke.  His  voice 
and  his  gestures  were  much  calmer,  much 
more  simple  than  Gutchkoff's  manner 
and  speech  had  been.  Gutchkoff  was 
deeply  moved  by  the  momentous  nature 
of  the  interview,  and  this  made  him  em- 
phatic. "  I  have  thought  a  great  deal 
yesterday  and  today,"  said  Nicholas  IL, 
in  the  same  tone  of  voice  as  if  he  had 


116 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


been  speaking  of  some  ordinary  busi- 
ness. "  Up  to  3  o'clock  today  I  was  pre- 
pared to  abdicate  in  favor  of  my  son, 
but  I  have  since  realized  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  me  to  be  separated 
from  him."  The  Czar  here  paused  slight- 
ly, and  then  continued  as  calmly :  "  You 
will  understand  me,  I  hope !  That  is  why 
I  have  decided  to  abdicate  in  favor  of 
my  brother."  He  was  then  silent  as  if 
he  expected  some  reply. 

I  then  said:  *'  This  proposition  is  a 
surprise  to  us;  we  only  considered  an 
abdication  in  favor  of  the  Czarevitch 
Alexis.  I  therefore  request  to  be  per- 
mitted to  have  a  few  minutes'  private 
conversation  with  Alexandre  Ivanovitch 
(Gutchkoff)  so  that  we  may  give  a  con- 
sidered reply.  The  Czar  consented,  and 
I  forget  now  how  the  conversation  was 
resumed,  but  it  is  a  certain  fact  that  we 
made  no  difficulties  in  accepting  the  ob- 
jections which  were  set  before  us.  Gutch- 
koff said  that  he  did  not  feel  he  had  the 
courage  to  combat  the  feelings  of  a 
father,  and  considered  all  pressure  im- 
possible on  that  point.  It  seemed  to  me 
that,  on  hearing  this,  a  trace  of  satisfac- 
tion passed  over  the  face  of  the  sovereign 
whom  we  had  just  dethroned.  *  *  * 
We  therefore  accepted,  under  these  con- 
ditions, the  Emperor's  solution. 

He  then  asked  us  if  we  could  guaran- 
tee with  certainty  that  the  act  of  abdica- 
tion would  bring  peace  to  the  country 


and  not  provoke  further  effervescence. 
We  replied  that,  as  far  as  it  was  possible 
to  foresee  the  future,  we  did  not  expect 
difficulties  of  that  kind.  I  am  not  quite 
certain  as  to  when  exactly  the  Czar  re- 
tired into  the  next  carriage  to  sign 
the  act.  He  came  back  at  about  11:15, 
holding  a  few  small-sized  pieces  of 
paper  in  his  right  hand.  He  said 
to  us:  "  This  is  the  act  of  abdication, 
read  it."  We  read  it  in  low  tones.  The 
document  was  in  noble  language.  I  felt 
ashamed  of  the  text  which  we  had  rapid- 
ly written  down.  I,  however,  asked  the 
Emperor  to  add  to  the  phrase,  "  We  re- 
quest our  brother  to  govern  in  full  unity 
with  the  representatives  of  the  nation 
sitting  in  the  legislative  assemblies,"  the 
following  words :  "  And  to  give  assur- 
ance of  this  on  oath  to  the  people."  The 
Czar  consented  and  immediately  added 
what  I  asked,  changing,  however  the  al- 
teration, which  finally  read,  *  And  to 
enter  with  them  upon  a  sworn  and  in- 
violable agreement."  Thus  Michael 
Alexandrovitch  was  a  constitutional 
sovereign  in  the  full  acceptation  of  the 
term.  Events  have  gone  beyond!  the 
form  of  government  which  we  were 
considering. 

The  act  was  copied  in  type  on  small 
sheets  of  paper.  *  *  *  Two  or  three 
copies  were  made.  The  Emperor  signed 
in  pencil.  *  *  *  When  I  looked  at 
my  watch  for  the  last  time  it  was  11:48. 


What  Has  Paralyzed  Russia's  Armies 

M.  Tscheidze's  Political  Ideal 


A  British  newspaper  correspondent  re- 
cently talked  with  M.  Tscheidze,  head  of 
the  Petrograd  Committee  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  the  central  revo- 
lutionary organization  that  has  its  net- 
work of  committees  throughout  Russia 
and  the  Russian  Army.  Coming  from  the 
man  who,  with  Kerensky,  may  be  said  to 
control  Russia's  war  policy,  his  ideas  may 
be  of  far-reaching  importance.  The  cor- 
respondent wrote  : 

M    TSCHEIDZE,    in    appearance,    is 
#   our  own  John  Burns  in  duodeci- 
mo.   He  is  a  highly  educated  man 
and    a    lawyer.      After    courtesies,    this 


brisk  little  gentleman,  sitting  sideways 
on  an  upright  chair,  with  both  hands 
clasped  on  the  back  of  it,  announced  that 
while  with  all  the  will  in  the  world  he 
would  answer  any  question  about  Rus- 
sian socialism  which  I  cared  to  put  to 
him,  he  would  first  of  all  be  greatly 
obliged  if  I  would  allow  him  to  address  a 
few  questions  to  me  on  a  matter  of  very 
first-rate  importance. 

His  questions  did  not  at  that  time  seem 
to  me  of  very  first-rate  importance.  I 
now  realize  how  important  they  were — 
nay,  how  important  they  are  still.  In- 
deed,  the   future   of   our   relations   with 


WHAT  HAS  PARALYZED  RUSSIA'S  ARMIES 


117 


democratic  Russia  may  turn  upon  the  an- 
swers which  Britain  makes  by  her  policy 
to  these  questions  of  M.  Tscheidze. 

Briefly,  his  questions  come  to  this :  Is  it 
not  true  that  the  war  has  destroyed  Eng- 
lish liberalism?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  we 
have  surrendered  all  those  liberties  for 
which  we  profess  ourselves  to  be  fight- 
ing? What  has  happened  to  our  right  of 
public  meeting,  our  free  speech,  our  lib- 
erty of  the  press,  even  to  our  right  of 
trial  by  jury?  In  a  word,  has  not  this 
war  forced  us  to  abandon  the  democratic 
principle  of  government  which  has  been 
Britain's  glory  for  so  many  years,  and 
obliged  us  to  adopt  the  Prussian  system 
of  a  military  dictatorship,  which  we  de- 
nounce? 

Very  earnestly  did  I  seek  to  persuade 
M.  Tscheidze  that  there  is  all  the  differ- 
ence in  the  world  between  democracy's 
deliberate  choice  of  a  certain  curtailment 
of  its  liberties,  in  its  own  general  inter- 
ests, and  an  absolutist  system  of  govern- 
ment holding  in  its  iron  grip  a  nation 
which  has  never  been  free  to  decide  under 
what  form  of  government  it  will  live.  He 
saw  what  I  meant,  but  was  not  convinced. 

His  point  was  that  Britain's  course  had 
acted  as  a  check  to  the  democratic  move- 
ment all  over  the  world;  that  it  had  tend- 
ed to  discredit  the  democratic  principle, 
and  that  those  men  who  were  fighting 
for  freedom  in  other  nations  felt  them- 
selves depressed  by  Britain's  submission 
to  a  virtual  dictatorship. 

"Is  it  not  true,"  he  demanded,  "that 
your  soldiers  decide  what  shall  be  printed 
and  what  not  ?  " 

"  Only  in  the  interests  of  our  strategy," 
I  replied,  believing  at  the  time  that  what 
I  said  was  true. 

"Is  it  not  true,"  he  demanded,  "that 
your  soldiers  decide  what  meetings 
should  be  held  and  what  suppressed?  " 


I  made  a  like  answer. 

"  Is  it  not  true  that  your  soldiers  seize 
people  and  lock  them  up  in  prison  with- 
out trial  ?  " 

I  flatly  denied  this,  not  knowing  at  the 
time  that  Miss  Howson,  for  one,  had 
been  so  treated — she  has  now  been  nine- 
teen months  in  prison  without  legal  ad- 
vice and  without  a  trial. 

M.  Tscheidze  then  held  forth  to  me  on 
the  general  question.  War,  he  declared, 
is  the  most  dangerous  enemy  of  freedom. 
Rights  are  surrendered  which  may  never 
be  regained.  The  man  of  thought  is  dis- 
placed by  the  man  of  action.  Reason 
gives  way  to  force.  The  destinies  of  the 
human  race  are  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  thinker  and  intrusted  to-  the  sol- 
dier. With  the  soldier  in  power  no  one 
knows  what  may  happen — no  one  is  per- 
mitted even  to  discuss  what  ought  to 
happen.  The  soldier  only  thinks  in 
slaughter  and  destruction.  He  has  no 
political  instincts,  no  sense  of  statesman- 
ship. His  one  business  is  to  kill.  He 
kills,  and  keeps  on  killing  till  there  is 
nothing  more  to  kill.  It  is  not  safe  to 
trust  the  world  to  such  a  man.  The 
thinkers  must  continue  to  think.  Dis- 
cussion must  be  free,  so  that  truth  may 
emerge. 

It  is  a  dangerous  policy  to  dismiss  the 
Russian  Socialist  as  a  dreamer  or  to 
lament,  as  is  done  in  some  quarters,  that 
the  people  of  Russia  have  fallen  victims 
to  the  sentimental  idealism  of  Tolstoy. 
*  *  *  The  Rusisan  Socialist  believes 
that  the  Germans  themselves  will  de- 
stroy Kaiserism.  He  is  not,  believe  me, 
false  to  our  ideals  in  this  war.  The 
trouble  that  he  causes  springs  only  from 
the  fact  that  he  hungers  and  thirsts 
with  all  the  force  of  his  idealism  to  get 
what  we  want  by  reason  and  not  by 
force. 


The   Russian   and   French 
Revolutions 

1789—1917:   Parallels  and  Contrasts 


THE  clamor  in  the  fortress  of 
Kronstadt  for  .the  immediate  trial 
and  punishment  of  the  deposed 
Czar  is  a  vivid  reminder  of  the 
French  Revolution,  in  the  perilous  days 
at  the  close  of  1792,  when  Dantbn,  Robe- 
spierre, and  Marat,  the  leaders  of  the 
extremists,  were  debating  the  punish- 
ment of  Louis  XVI.,  who  was  condemned 
to  death  and  executed  on  Jan.  21,  1793. 
The  charge  against  Louis  XVI.  was 
"treason  against  the  nation";  he  had 
been  proved  guilty  of  treasonable  com- 
munication with  Leopold,  Emperor  of 
Austria,  whose  armies  were  threatening 
the  very  life  of  revolutionary  France. 
The  parallel  is  made  closer  when  we  com- 
pare the  role  of  the  former  Russian 
Empress — a  German  Princess,  at  heart 
devoted  to  the  German  Emperor  and  the 
German  cause — with  the  ill-fated  Marie 
Antoinette,  sister  of  the  Austrian  Em- 
peror, fanatical  upholder  of  despotic  gov- 
ernment and  fatal  counselor  of  Louis  of 
France.  And,  just  as  Marie  Antoinette 
had,  with  blind  and  ruinous  obstinacy, 
exercised  her  baneful  fascination  over  the 
French  King,  most  of  all  in  the  selection 
of  Ministers,  so  Alexandra  of  Russia, 
prompted  thereto  by  Germany's  tool, 
Rasputin,  in  fact  brought  about  the  fall 
of  Nicholas  II.  by  leading  him  to  appoint 
men  like  Sturmer  and  Protopopoff  to  rule 
the  Russian  Empire. 

Louis  XVI.,  faced  by  national  bank- 
ruptcy brought  on  by  the  excesses  and 
fiscal  follies  of  his  predecessor,  had  chosen 
at  first  wise  men  like  Turgot  and  Necker; 
Turgot,  of  whom  Carlyle  said  that  there 
was  "  a  whole  pacific  French  Revolution 
in  that  head,"  might  have  saved  France 
from  a  revolution  of  violence  by  his  wise 
reforms  and  economies — abolition  of  the 
corvee,  of  the  internal  tolls  on  the  trans- 
port of  grain,  of  the  ancient  guilds  which 
strangled  labor;  equalization  of  burdens, 
abolition    of    feudal    dues,    systematized 


public  education.  But  all  this  was 
brought  to  nought  through  the  fanatical 
hostility  of  Marie  Antoinette,  whose  sulk- 
ing and  pouting  induced  Louis  XVI.  to 
betray  and  dismiss  Turgot.  Necker  fol- 
lowed, advocating  similar  reforms,  but 
once  more  the  Queen  demanded  and  ob- 
tained his  dismissal;  and,  with  the  ap- 
pointment of  Calonne  and  his  successors, 
unscrupulous  favorites  of  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, the  revolution  of  violence  became 
inevitable.  These  men  were  the  Sturmers 
and  Protopopoffs  of  revolutionary 
France. 

Duma  and  Constituent  Assembly 
There  is  a  parallel  equally  close  be- 
tween the  succession  of  assemblies  in  the 
two  countries.  Louis  XVI.,  after  Turgot 
and  Necker  had  been  dismissed,  tried  to 
govern  through  the  Notables  of  France,  a 
body  of  men  of  the  privileged  classes,  not 
elected  but  in  effect  nominated  by  the 
sovereign,  who  bear  a  close  resemblance 
to  the  old  Council  of  the  Empire  in  Russia. 
When  the  Notables  accomplished  nothing, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  blocked  every  proj- 
ect of  reform,  there  was  a  general  out- 
cry for  the  summoning  of  the  States  Gen- 
eral ;  and  from  this  body  was  evolved  the 
revolutionary  Constituent  Assembly.  In 
the  same  way,  the  Council  of  the  Empire 
in  Russia  gave  way  before  the  Imperial 
Duma,  and  the  Duma  did  much  to  bring 
about  the  Russian  revolution. 

The  French  States  General  was  a  re- 
version to  an  older  form  of  government 
that  had  gradually  been  forced  out  of 
existence  by  the  growing  autocracy  of  the 
Kings  of  France.  It  had  been  summoned 
last  in  1614.  By  a  curious  coincidence, 
the  last  great  representative  assembly  in 
Russia  met  almost  at  the  same  time — in 
1613 — this  being  the  Constituent  Assem- 
bly which  elected  the  house  of  Romanoff. 
And,  as  the  States  General  had  at  first  no 
intention  either  to  dethrone  Louis  XVI. 


THE  RUSSIAN  AND  FRENCH  REVOLUTIONS 


119 


or  to  bring  about  a  revolution,  so  the 
Russian  Duma  expected  to  open  the  way 
not  to  a  republic  but  to  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  And  in  both  countries  it  is 
practically  certain  that,  had  the  sover- 
eign wisely  and  loyally  yielded  at  the 
critical  moment,  establishing  genuine 
representative  institutions  aiid  a  Minis- 
try responsible  to  the  representatives  of 
the  nation,  no  revolution  would  have 
taken  place.  In  both  countries,  likewise, 
the  final  and  fatal  opposition  came  from 
the  foreign  Queen  and  through  her  dan- 
gerous power  over  the  sovereign. 

Voltaire  and  Tolstoy 

In  Russia,  as  in  France,  there  was  a 
long  preparation  for  the  coming  revolu- 
tion, carried  out  not  by  politicians  and 
statesmen,  but  by  a  brilliant  and  impas- 
sioned group  of  philosophical  essayists 
and  writers.  There  is,  at  first  blush, 
small  resemblance  between  Voltaire, 
"  that  leering  old  mocker,"  as  Lowell 
called  him,  and  the  grimly  serious,  al- 
most lugubrious  Count  Tolstoy;  but  the 
contrast  between  them  is  largely  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Gallic  and  the  Sla- 
vonic genius. 

We  think  of  Voltaire  as  an  iconoclas- 
tic philosopher,  jeering  at  churches;  he 
valued  himself  rather  as  a  dramatist,  a 
poet,  a  writer  of  imagination,  and  was, 
without  doubt,  far  prouder  of  his  plays 
than  of  his  theories.  Tolstoy  had  a  like 
twofold  influence.  Transcendently  great 
as  an  imaginative  writer,  the  author  of 
"  Anna  Karenina,"  of  "  War  and  Peace," 
of  "  The  Resurrection,"  he  himself  held, 
in  his  later  years,  that  these  things  were 
valueless;  that  only  his  moral  and 
political  theories  had  real  worth.  History 
has,  in  a  way,  indorsed  his  judgment;  for 
it  is  to  the  philosophic  anarchism  and 
pacifism  of  Tolstoy  that  we  owe  much  of 
the  dominant  mood  of  Russia  at  this 
moment,  from  the  seizure  of  land  by  the 
peasants  of  Pskov  and  Bessarabia  to  the 
dangerous  "fraternization"  in  the 
trenches,  where  the  youthful  soldiers  be- 
lieve that  they  are  carrying  out  Tol- 
stoy's interpretation  of  the  command 
"  Love  your  enemies."  Tolstoy  wrote  the 
gospel  which  the  revolutionaries  of 
Kronstadt  and  Schluesselburg  are  trying 


to  carry  out.  His  tracts  are  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Lenins  and  Lomanoffs  who 
are  urging  Russia  to  make  peace  with 
her  enemies,  to  open  the  era  of  universal 
brotherhood. 

But,  just  as  against  the  philosophical 
aloofness  of  Voltaire  stood  the  impas- 
sioned anarchism  of  Rousseau — Rousseau 
with  his  "  Social  Contract,"  opening  with 
the  words,  "  Man  was  born  free,  but  he  is 
everywhere  in  chains,"  which  inspired  the 
opening  phrase  of  the  American  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  has  his  Russian 
counterparts  in  Herzen  and  Bakunin,  the 
real  fathers  of  Russia's  revolutionary  so- 
cialism. Tolstoy,  while  preaching  against 
political,  social,  and  economic  injustice, 
also  preached  pacifism  and  absolute  non- 
resistance;  his  doctrines,  logically  fol- 
lowed, could  never  have  led  to  armed  re- 
volt, though  they  might  have  inspired  and 
reinforced  it.  But  Herzen  and  Bakunin 
were  all  for  action ;  for  the  forcible  seiz- 
ure of  power  by  the  proletariat,  for  the 
formation  of  such  an  internationale  as 
the  extremists  in  Petrograd  are  advo- 
cating today.  It  is  true  that  many  of 
the  phrases  of  the  Russian  extremists 
were  created  by  Karl  Marx,  when  he 
wrote  "  Capital  " ;  such  ideas  as  the  de- 
scription of  the  present  world  conflict  as 
"  a  capitalistic  war  " ;  but  the  real  drive 
and  force  of  these  ideas  in  Russia  is  due 
to  the  influence  and  writings  of  men  like 
Herzen  and  Bakunin,  and  their  disciples, 
Prince  Peter  Kropotkin  and  Maxim 
Gorky.  It  is  quite  true  that  Kropotkin's 
long  sojourn  in  England  has  made  him 
enthusiastically  pro-ally,  but  that  does 
not  cancel  his  earlier  preaching  of 
anarchism.  In  one  sense  he  is  pro-ally 
because  he  sees  that  the  democracy  of 
England  and  France  is  far  closer  to  the 
absolute  liberty  which  is  his  ideal. 

Feudalism  and  Bureaucracy 

To  a  very  large  degree  the  French 
Revolution  was  a  passionate  uprising 
against  feudal  privilege;  against  the  ter- 
rible oppression  and  depression  of  the 
peasantry  of  France.  Immediately  after 
the  taking  of  the  Bastile,  on  July  14, 
1789,  the  downtrodden  peasantry  through- 
out France  rose  in  armed  insurrection; 
roving  bands  plundered  and  demolished 
the   chateaux   of  the  nobles,  filling  the 


120 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


land  with  a  carnival  of  bloodshed  and  out- 
rage. 

Here  we  have  the  first  sharp  contrast. 
Russia  had  no  feudal  system.  And  while 
in  France  hardly  one-fifth  of  the  land 
was  in  effective  possession  of  peasant 
proprietors,  in  Russia  much  less  than 
one-fifth  was  in  possession  of  hereditary 
landlords  who  might  be  compared  with 
the  feudal  nobles  of  France.  This,  be- 
cause, as  a  result  of  the  great  Act  of 
Emancipation  carried  out  by  the  Czar, 
Alexander  II.,  in  1861 — two  years  before 
Lincoln's  Emancipation  Proclamation — 
large  masses  of  the  Russian  peasantry 
became  landowners,  while  some  four- 
tenths  of  Russia's  arable  land  formed  the 
Crown  demesne,  having,  therefore,  no 
landlord  but  the  Czar  himself.  And,  as 
one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  revolutionary 
Government  of  Russia  was  to  declare  the 
Crown  demesne  forfeit,  there  were,  for 
this  enormous  tract  of  over  a  million 
square  miles,  no  land-owning  nobles  to 
dispossess. 

There  was  an  equally  sharp  contrast 
between  the  methods  of  procedure  in  the 
two  countries.  While  France  saw  wild 
excesses  of  outrage  and  bloodshed  in 
every  province,  in  Russia  the  very  small 
fraction  of  the  land  seized  by  the  peas- 
ants was  taken  without  brutality  on  the 
one  side,  without  resistance  on  the  other. 
So  far,  not  a  single  murder  has  been  at- 
tributed to  this  cause  in  Russia,  though 
there  have  been  many  cases  of  plunder 
and  incendiarism.  The  real  enemy  in 
Russia  was  not  feudalism,  but  bureau- 
cracy. It  follows  that  one  chief  cause  of 
later  disorder  in  revolutionary  France — 
the  creation  of  the  class  of  emigres,  or 
exile  nobles — can  have  no  existence  in 
Russia.  The  French  emigres,  the  land- 
owning nobles  who  survived  the  first 
uprising  and  massacre  in  the  Summer  of 
1789,  fled  across  the  eastern  frontier, 
largely  to  Austria  and  Prussia,  and  did 
everything  in  their  power — and  success- 
fully— to  incite  these  strongholds  of 
despotism  to  make  war  on  revolutionary 
France.  One  group  of  emigres  went  to 
Russia. 

**  The  Cause  of  Kings  " 

With  the  emigres  there  is  another 
striking  contrast  between  revolutionary 


France  and  revolutionary  Russia.  In 
France,  war,  the  tremendous  cycle  of 
wars  la'sting  for  nearly  a  quarter  century 
and  involving  all  Europe,  Western  Asia, 
Egypt,  and,  ultimately — in  1812 — the 
United  States  also,  sprang  directly  from 
the  French  Revolution  and  primarily 
from  the  Declaration  at  Pilnitz,  in  which 
the  Austrian  Emperor  and  the  King  of 
Prussia  united  in  announcing  that  the 
cause  of  Louis  XVI.  was  "  the  cause  of 
Kings,"  and  that,  therefore,  revolutionary 
France  must  be  crushed  into  subjection. 
In  Russia,  on  the  contrary,  the  revolution 
sprang  from  the  war,  and  directly  from 
the  belief  that  the  imperial  house  of  Rus- 
sia was  planning  to  make  common  cause 
with  the  Austrian  Emperor  and  the  King 
of  Prussia — who  had  become  the  German 
Emperor — against  the  people  of  Russia 
and  against  the  democracy  in  all  lands. 
But  in  both  countries  the  link  between 
the  throne  and  the  central  despots  was 
the  foreign  consort  of  the  sovereign: 
Queen  Marie  Antoinette  in  France  and 
the  Hessian  Princess  who  became  Czarina 
Alexandra  in  Russia. 

Moderates   and  Extremists 

In  April,  1792,  revolutionary  France 
declared  war  against  Austria,  Louis  XVI. 
being  still  nominally  King,  while  Francis 
II.  had  succeeded  Leopold  as  Austrian 
Emperor. 

There  is  a  striking  resemblance  be- 
tween the  parties  in  the  revolutionary 
France  of  that  year  and  those  in  revolu- 
tionary Russia  today.  The  Girondists,  so 
called  from  the  Gironde,  the  department 
on  the  Bay  of  Biscay  with  Bordeaux  as 
its  capital,  from  which  its  leaders  came, 
who  were  also  called  the  men  of  the 
Plain,  because  their  seats  were  on  the 
main  floor  of  the  assembly,  correspond 
pretty  closely  to  the  group  of  the  Duma, 
led  by  Milukoff  and  Rodzianko,  who 
really  planned  for  Russia  not  a  republic 
but  a  limited,  constitutional  monarchy 
after  the  English  model;  while  the  Jaco- 
bins, so  called  because  they  met  in  a 
building  formerly  held  by  the  Jacobin  or 
Dominican  friars  of  Saint  Jacques,  pretty 
closely  correspond  to  the  extremists  who, 
in  Russia,  fulminate  in  the  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates.    The 


THE  RUSSIAN  AND  FRENCH  REVOLUTIONS 


121 


initial  policy  of  Rodzianko  and  Milukoff 
was  exactly  the  policy  of  Mirabeau; 
though  matters  have  not  reached  the 
point  in  Petrograd  which  they  had 
reached  in  Paris  when  Mirabeau  wished 
to  raise  the  provinces  against  the  capital, 
to  check  the  drift  toward  anarchism. 

The  parties  in  the  Duma,  in  fact,  adopted 
the  names  created  in  the  Assembly  of 
revolutionary  France,  and  there  has  been 
exactly  the  same  shifting  of  the  centre 
of  gravity  from  right  to  left.  And,  just 
as,  by  1792,  the  old  party  of  the  Extreme- 
Right  had  practically  gone  out  of  exist- 
ence in  Paris,  so  the  old  Petrograd  Ex- 
treme-Right has  ceased  to  exist.  The 
Girondists,  who  had  begun  as  the  Consti- 
tutionalist Left- Centre,  became  the  party 
of  the  Right;  just  as  the  Constitutional- 
Democrats  of  Petrograd,  called,  from  the 
initial  and  final  letters  of  their  name, 
the  C-D-ts  or  Cadets,  who,  under  the 
leadership  of  Milukoff,  were  the  Left- 
Centre  Party  in  the  Imperial  Duma,  have 
now  become  the  party  of  the  Right,  with 
the  extreme  revolutionary  Socialists  and 
even  the  Anarchists,  ranged  against  them 
on  the  Left. 

Exactly  in  what  way  these  extremists 
got  hold  of  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates  is  not  yet  clear;  but 
it  is  quite  clear  that,  in  the  acts  of  that 
body,  the  soldier  delegates  have  very  lit- 
tle part,  since,  being  mere  boys  without 
anything  more  than  the  most  rudimen- 
tary education  and  with  no  experience  of 
life,  they  could,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
play  no  real  role  in  complicated  political 
discussions.  All  real  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  small  group  of  leaders  like 
Tscheidze  and  Tseretelli — both  of  them 
natives  of  the  Caucasus,  of  non-Russian 
origin — while  it  seems  clear  that  many  of 
their  decisions,  such  as  the  formula, 
"  Peace  without  annexations  or  contribu- 
tions," are  directly  inspired  by  German 
agents. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  the  pacifist-ex- 
tremists have  their  exact  parallel  in  revo- 
lutionary France:  Robespierre,  Danton, 
and  Marat  were  all  in  favor  of  peace  and 
very  active  in  opposing  the  declaration 
of  war  against  Austria,  which  virtually 
opened  the  great  epoch  of  the  Napoleonic 
wars. 


And,  just  as  Danton  upset  the  Giron* 
dist  Moderates  and  established  the  radi- 
cal Government  of  the  Commune  of  Paris, 
so  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Delegates  at  Petrograd  has  at- 
tempted to  upset  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  the  Duma  Moderates,  though  so 
far  unsuccessfully,  the  expedient  of  a 
Coalition  Government  being  at  present 
tried.  But  the  council  has  just  issued  a 
manifesto  declaring  that,  by  forming  this 
Coalition  Government,  they  have  not,  in 
fact,  abated  any  of  their  original  de- 
mands. Danton's  ominous  words,  "  The 
allied  Kings  march  against  us.  Let  us 
hurl  at  their  feet,  as  the  gauntlet  of  bat- 
tle, the  head  of  a  King,"  find  their  echo  in 
Kronstadt's  demand  for  the  "punish- 
ment "  of  Nicholas  II. ;  but  it  is  entirely 
possible  that  the  Kronstadt  demand  is 
simply  a  German  scheme,  intended  to 
plunge  Russia  into  a  civil  war  between 
the  extremists  and  the  wiser  moderates. 

Gallic  and  Russian  Temperament 
The  moment  we  try  to  pair  off  the 
leaders  in  the  two  revolutions,  we  are  con- 
fronted with  the  fundamental  differences 
in  temperament  between  the  Gallic  and 
Slavonic  races.  That  difference  has  al- 
ready been  strikingly  manifested  in  three 
things:  in  the  fact,  already  noted,  that, 
confiscation  of  land  in  Russia  has  been 
carried  on  without  brutality  on  the  one 
side,  and  without  resistance  on  the  other; 
in  the  second  fact  that,  while  Louis  XVI. 
fought  against  the  revolution  openly  and 
secretly,  fairly  and  treacherously,  and 
owed  his  death  to  that  resistance,  Nich- 
olas II.  frankly  accepted  the  Russian 
revolution  at  once,  never  contemplating 
resistance,  but,  with  evident  loyalty  and 
sincerity,  wishing  Russia  all  success  in 
her  new  venture,  publicly  praying  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Government  which  had 
deposed  him.  Thirdly,  revolutionary 
Russia  began  by  abolishing  capital  pun- 
ishment, while  revolutionary  France  in- 
vented the  guillotine.  On  the  one  hand, 
a  fiery  people,  instantly  leaping  to  action, 
easily  rushing  into  wild,  even  ferocious, 
excess ;  on  the  other,  a  people  singularly 
gentle,  even  phlegmatic,  by  nature  very 
orderly  and  slow  to  violence.  This  fun- 
damental difference  in  temperament  has 


122 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


shown  itself  at  every  point  since  the 
Russian  revolution  began. 

Take,  for  example,  the  fighting  at 
Petrograd  from  March  10  to  March  15, 
when  the  Czar  abdicated.  First  reports 
of  the  numbers  killed  spoke  of  thousands. 
But,  when  the  bodies  of  "  the  martyrs  of 
the  Russian  revolution  "  came  to  be  in- 
terred with  solemn  ceremonies,  they 
numbered  only  182  in  all.  Without  doubt, 
there  were  many  casualties  on  the  other 
side,  beginning  with  ex-Minister  Sturmer, 
who  was  reported  to  have  died  of  fright, 
and  including  numbers  of  the  political 
police,  as  well  as  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy,  like  General  Kashtalinski  and 
Admiral  Butakoff,  well  known  in  Wash- 
ington as  Russian  Naval  Attache  when 
Count  Cassini  was  Ambassador;  many  of 
them  fanatically  murdered  in  the  first 
delirium  of  liberty.  And  there  have  been 
lynchings  throughout  Russia,  chiefly  of 
men  supposed  to  be  German  spies. 

But,  on  the  whole,  there  has  been  won- 
derfully little  violence.  Even  the  anar- 
chist demonstrations  in  Petrograd,  the 
revolts  at  Schliisselburg  and  Kronstadt, 
and  the  declaration  of  independence  in  a 
southern  district — all  of  them,  most  prob- 
ably, engineered  by  German  agents — have 
been  met  with  only  the  gentlest  handling, 
with  persuasion  rather  than  force,  in 
sharp  contrast  to  the  Parisian  slaughters 
during  the  Red  and  the  White  Terrors,  or 
even  the  comparatively  recent  holocaust 
of  Parisian  Communists  in  1871,  when, 
after  desperate  fighting  in  the  streets, 
court-martial  executions  of  large  batches 
of  prisoners  continued  for  many  months, 
to  be  followed  by  numberless  sentences  of 
transportation;  these  incisive  measures 
being  taken  by  the  men  who  founded  the 
Third  Republic,  the  present  Government 
of  France. 

Kerens^  Not  L\\o.  D anion 
In  Russia  there  have  been  no  "mas- 
sacres of  the  Champ  de  Mars,"  no  "  Sep- 
tember massacres";  the  Petrograd  Field 
of  Mars,  so  named  after  its  French  coun- 
terpart or  the  older  Campus  Martius  at 
Rome,  has  been  the  scene  only  of  the 
ceremonial  burial  of  the  "  martyrs  of  the 
revolution."  '  This  expresses  the  profound 
differences  between  the  Slavonic  and  the 


Gallic  temperament  which  makes  direct 
comparison  between  the  leaders  impos- 
sible. 

It  is  true  that  Alexander  Kerensky, 
the  present  Minister  of  War,  has  been 
compared  to  Danton,  who*  played  such  a 
heroic  part  in  creating  and  inspiring  the 
armies  of  France  to  fight  against  the 
Austrian  and  Prussian  invaders;  but,  in 
truth,  there  is  small  likeness  beyond  the 
fact  that  both  were  radical  lawyers. 
Kerensky  seems  much  more  truly  to  re- 
semble the  great  Carnot,  who  "  organized 
victory "  for  France.  And  men  like 
Tscheidze  and  Tseretelli,  who  might  con- 
ceivably wish  to  play  extremist  roles  like 
those  of  Marat  and  Robespierre,  are  not 
Russians  or  Slavs  at  all  but  Asiatics 
from  the  Caucasus  Mountains. 

Further,  in  Russia  it  is  the  leaders, 
the  famous  Generals,  who  are  urging  the 
nation  to  fight,  while  the  common  sol- 
diers hang  back.  In  France,  the  men  in 
the  ranks  were  full  of  militant  ardor, 
while  the  Generals,  like  Dumouriez, 
played  traitor,  surrendering  fortresses  to 
the  enemy;  even  Lafayette  at  one  time 
lost  his  nerve  and  fled  to  the  Austrians, 
who  promptly  clapped  him  into  a  dungeon, 
whence  only  Napoleon's  victories  deliv- 
ered him,  so  that  he  survived  to  play  a 
great  and  worthy  part  in  the  Revolution 
of  1830. 

A  Charasteristic  Episode 

There  is  a  certain  parallel  between  the 
internal  fighting  in  France,  in  La  Vendee, 
and  in  the  south,  at  Toulon,  where  Na- 
poleon won  his  spurs,  and  the  threatened 
conflicts  at  Kronstadt  and  in  the  Russian 
Army.  But,  through  the  decisive  firm- 
ness of  Kerensky  and  the  Commander  in 
Chief,  General  Brusiloff,  the  loyalists 
seem  certain  to  win,  and  to  win  with  lit- 
tle or  no  bloodshed.  The  sweeping  vic- 
tory of  the  loyalists  was  announced  from 
Petrograd  on  June  11,  in  a  dispatch  tell- 
ing how  General  Stcherbatof f — one  of  the 
four  army  commanders  under  Brusiloff, 
in  the  great  drive  of  1916 — had  given  an 
order  to  disband,  for  pacifist  disloyalty, 
a  regiment  of  infantry  and  two  regiments 
of  sharpshooters. 

Three  regiments  of  another  division 
were  ordered  to  take  up  a  new  position 


THE  RUSSIAN  AND  FRENCH  REVOLUTIONS 


123 


on  the  Rumanian  front,  but  refused  to 
do  so,  and  thereupon  received  an  order  to 
disband.  The  soldiers  openly  mutinied. 
The  men  of  one  of  the  regiments  arrested 
the  commander  and  seven  officers,  tore 
their  badges  from  their  uniforms,  and 
beat  two  officers,  leaving  one  insensible 
on  the  road.  Thereupon  a  loyal  com- 
mittee of  soldiers  of  the  whole  army, 
after  deliberating  with  the  army  staff, 
decided  to  take  stern  measures  against 
the  mutineers,  whose  ringleader  was 
named  Philipoff.  A  resolute  General 
was  chosen,  having  under  his  command 
two  divisions  of  loyal  cavalry,  two  bat- 
talions of  infantry,  one  light  battery, 
armored  motor  cars  and  airplanes.  Occu- 
pying positions  against  the  mutineers,  he 
sent  them  an  ultimatum,  demanding  the 
surrender  of  their  ringleader  and  com- 
manding them  to  take  up  their  positions 
as  ordered,  and  to  undertake  to  serve 
faithfully  in  the  future. 

The  mutinons  soldiers,  seeing  that  they 
were  surrounded,  attempted  to  negotiate, 
but  at  the  last  moment  Philipoff  incited 


them  to  new  resistance.  The  loyalist 
General  immediately  ordered  his  guns 
into  action,  whereupon  the  rebels  uncon- 
ditionally accepted  the  ultimatum  and 
surrendered  Philipoff  and  others,  who 
were  carried  off  to  prison  in  an  automo- 
bile. The  loyal  troops,  enraged .  at 
this  clemency,  fired  at  the  automo- 
bile, but  their  commander,  in  order  to 
save  the-  prisoners'  lives,  jumped  into  the 
car,  whereupon  the  firing  ceased. 

What  a  striking  illustration  of  Russian 
gentleness;  the  whole  thing  settled,  ap- 
parently without  bloodshed;  the  sole 
casualty  recorded  being  one  officer  beaten 
into  insensibility,  while  the  mutinous 
ringleaders,  instead  of  being  shot  after  a 
drumhead  court-martial,  are  sent  to 
prison,  the  General  risking  his  life  to  save 
theirs. 

Through  all  parallels  and  resemblances 
this  striking  contrast  of  temperaments 
between  the  Frenchman  and  the  Russian 
stands  out  sharply;  throughout,  the  Rus- 
sian revolution  has  been  seasoned  with 
mercy. 


A  Royal  Volunteer  for  the  American  Army 

The  Due  d'Orleans,  who  under  different  conditions  might  have  been  King  of 
France,  has  offered  his  services  as  a  volunteer  in  the  United  States  Army.  Early 
in  April  he  sent  the  following  telegram  to  Lieut.  Col.  John  P.  Nicholson  of  the  Mili- 
tary Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States: 

"  At  the  moment  when  America  is  entering  the  war  I  come  to  claim  the 
honor  and  the  right  to  serve  the  common  cause  of  civilization  and  humanity.  Son 
of  Comte  de  Paris,  veteran  of  the  Federal  Army,  myself  a  member  of  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Legion  of  the  United  States,  I  ask  you  to  take  the  steps  necessary 
to  obtain  for  me  a  place  under  your  flag."  . 

The  Due's  reference  to  his  father  recalls  the  fact  that  when  the  American 
civil  war  broke  out  Louis  Philippe  d'Orleans,  Comte  de  Paris,  joined  the  United 
States  Volunteers  as  Captain  and  Aide  de  Camp  in  1861.  He  served  on  the 
staff  of  General  McClellan  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  resigning  in  July,  1862, 
and  died  in  1894  at  Stowe  House.  The  commission  was  forwarded  to  him  from 
Washington  by  Secretary  W.  H.  Seward  in  September,  1861. 

Lieut.  Col.  Nicholson  replied  to  the  present  Duke,  informing  him  that  his 
tender  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm  by  the  commanderies  of  the  order,  and 
that  it  was  presented  to  the  President,  but  that  it  did  not  yet  appear  that  there 
was  a  willingness  to  accept  volunteers.  The  President's  Secretary  had  written: 
"  While  regretting  that  the  services  of  the  Due  d'Orleans  would  not  seem  to  be 
required,  the  department  nevertheless  appreciates  very  highly  the  Due's  proffer." 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By  Major  Edwin  .W.  Dayton 

Inspector   General,   National   Guard,   State    of  New    York;   Secretary,   New    York 

Army  and  Navy  Club 

Major  Dayton  has  long-  had  the  official  recognition  of  the  United  States  War  Department 
as  an  expert  authority  on  strategy  and  tactics.  This  is  the  fifth  article  in  a  series  which  he 
is  writing  for  Current  History  Magazine,  covering  in  a  rapid  narrative  all  the  military  events 
of  importance  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  conflict. 

V. — Second  Battle  of  Ypres — Von  Mackensen's  Victories 

[See  map  of  Ypres  region,   in  "  The  Battle  of  Messines  Ridge,"   elsewhere  in   this  issue  of 

Current  History  Magazine] 


THERE  was  a  general  anticipation 
among  the  Allies  in  the  early  part 
of  1915  that  May  Day  in  that  year 
would  be  a  sort  of  military  New 
Year's  Day.  It  was  confidently  predicted 
that  about  that  time  the  French  Army, 
and  more  especially  the  British  Army, 
would  begin  an  offensive  which  would 
drive  the  invaders  out  of  Belgium  and 
France.  The  British  disappointment  at 
Neuve  Chapelle  in  March  was  regarded  as 
a  premature  effort  to  begin  the  drive  be- 
fore the  plans  had  been  sufficiently  ma- 
tured, but  the  French  successes  in  Cham- 
pagne showed  the  Gallic  armies  to  be  well 
in  hand  and  thoroughly  prepared  for 
hard  fighting.  French  troops  were  hold- 
ing about  90  per  cent,  of  the  long  west- 
ern battle  front,  and  both  French  and 
British  combined  to  defend  the  important 
salient  around  Ypres.  All  the  publicists 
were  busy  prophesying  allied  attacks,  and 
only  a  very  few  of  the  really  expert 
writers  suggested  the  possibility  of  a  re- 
newed German  attack. 

Second  Battle  of  Ypres 
In  the  previous  October  the  first  battle 
of  Ypres  had  been  fought,  and  that  tre- 
mendous German  effort  to  drive  a  way 
through  to  Calais  had  ended  in  defeat 
when  the  final  charges  of  the  Prussian 
Guard  failed  on  Nov.  11.  Ypres  is  an 
important  local  centre  of  communications, 
with  important  roads  radiating  northeast, 
east,  and  southeast.  In  April,  1915,  the 
allied  lines  circled  above  and  beyond  the 
town  from  four  to  five  miles,  except  at 
the  south,  where  the  lines  from  Hill  60 
to  the  Yser  Canal  were  rather  less  than 
two  miles  away. 


It  will  be  worth  the  student's  while  to 
trace  the  position  on  the  map  as  it  was 
on  April  22.  Beginning  at  Yser  Canal 
on  the  north,  French  troops  were  in  the 
trenches  which  curved  eastward  through 
Bixschoote  to  a  point  beyond  Lange- 
marck,  whence  General  Alderson's  Cana- 
dian division  with  four  brigades  stretched 
over  the  front  to  a  point  beyond  Grafen- 
stafel.  From  the  Canadian  right  the 
British  Twenty-eighth  Division  occupied 
the  trenches  down  to  the  Polygon  Wood 
two  miles  east  of  Hooge.  At  the  edge 
of  this  wood  Princess  Patricia's  regiment 
was  on  the  left  of  General  Snow's 
(Twenty-seventh)  division,  which  carried 
the  line  on  down  east  of  the  Veldhoek 
Ridge  to  Hill  60,  where  at  the  re-entering 
angle  Snow's  right  flank  joined  the 
Fifth  Division  of  General  Morland.  The 
trenches  held  by  the  Canadians  had 
originally  been  dug  by  the  French,  and 
they  were  wet  and  shallow.  The  dead 
were  buried  thick  in  the  sides  and  bottom, 
so  that  it  was  an  ugly  task  to  try  to 
improve  these  positions. 

On  April  17  seven  British  mines  were 
exploded  under  Hill  60  and  two  British 
regular  regiments  captured  and  held  the 
position.  For  several  days  the  Germans 
made  almost  continuous  counterattacks, 
and  both  sides  lost  heavily  in  the  strug- 
gle for  this  little  hill,  which  was  im- 
portant because  it  would  afford  the 
British  an  opportunity  to  enfilade  some 
of  the  German  trenches  toward  Hollebeke 
on  the  south.  On  the  20th  the  German 
heavy  artillery  began  to  bombard  the 
town  of  Ypres  with  the  object  of  block- 
ing   the    British    transport,    which    was 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


125 


supplying  the  positions  covering  the  place, 
and  a  large  number  of  civilians  were 
killed. 

The  First  Cas  Attacks 

Early  in  the  evening  of  April  22  a 
light,  steady  breeze  was  blowing  over  the 
lines  from  the  northeast,  when  suddenly 
a  low  greenish  bank  of  vapor  was  ob- 
served drifting  upon  the  French  trenches. 
Soon  a  demoralized  stream  of  French 
colonial  soldiers  was  pouring  back  from 
the  Bixschoote-Langemarck  sector,  wild 
with  the  terror  of  an  unheard-of  attack. 
The  Germans  had  pumped  out  of  cylin- 
ders a  large  quantity  of  heavy  chlorine 
gas,  which  rolled  low  and  thick  into  the 
trenches,  blinding,  choking,  and  suffocat- 
ing men  utterly  unprepared  and  un- 
warned. A  horrible  death  came  upon 
hundreds,  and  those  of  their  comrades 
able  to  run  broke  in  gasping  horror  upon 
the  surprised  Canadian  reserves  in  the 
rear. 

The  result  of  this  rout  was  a  gap  in 
the  allied  lines  four  miles  wide,  through 
which  the  Germans  followed  the  de- 
moralized French  troops  back  to  the 
canal  between  Boesinghe  and  Steen- 
straate.  The  Canadians  were  less  af- 
fected by  the  gas,  but  their  left  flank, 
held  by  General  Turner's  brigade,  was 
compelled  to  bend  back  east  of  the 
Poelcapelle  road  to  a  wood  at  the  right 
of  St.  Julien. 

Late  in  the  night  various  units  were 
brought  up  to  fill  the  gap  between  St. 
Julien  and  Boesinghe,  and  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Geddes  of  the  Buffs,  this 
mixed  force  succeeded  in  blocking  what 
for  some  hours  at  least  had  been  an  open 
road  toward  Ypres.  Providentially,  the 
Germans  were  so  busy  forcing  a  way 
across  the  canal  near  Lizerne  that  they 
missed  the  chance  for  a  smashing  drive 
into  the  town  of  Ypres,  where  the  streets, 
blocked  by  shell-strewn  ruins,  were  con- 
gested by  all  the  transport  trains  and  the 
mad  struggle  to  straighten  out  the  tangle 
into  which  the  gas  surprise  had  thrown 
the  whole  northern  sector.  On  Friday 
the  Canadian  Third  Brigade  was  covering 
St.  Julien,  and,  despite  heavy  attacks, 
lack  of  food,  and  low  physical  conditions 
following   the   nausea   of   the   gas,   this 


heroic  force  managed  to  preserve  touch 
with  Geddes's  right  flank. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  after 
a  violent  artillery  attack,  the  second 
great  gas  attack  was  launched  by  the 
Germans.  Observers  preserved  a  care- 
ful record  this  time,  and  we  know  that  it 
took  the  deadly  green  bank  of  gas  two 
minutes  to  roll  across  the  ground  inter- 
vening between  the  opposing  trenches.  It 
rose  not  above  seven  feet  at  most,  and 
was  deadliest  toward  the  bottom.  The 
heavy  gas  rolled  down  into  and  penetrated 
every  corner  of  the  trenches.  There 
were  then  no  such  defensive  appliances 
as  the  now  familiar  gas  masks.  Wet 
handkerchiefs,  an  erect  position,  and  the 
avoidance  of  any  deep  breathing  were 
the  only  protective  measures  known,  and 
even  these  were  but  slightly  understood. 
Those  who  inhaled  it  deeply  found  their 
lungs  filled  with  the  fluid  and  suffered 
terribly;  their  blue,  swollen  faces  and 
bulging  eyes,  added  to  spasmodic  gasping 
efforts  to  breathe,  made  the  victims  things 
of  horror.  More  than  half  a  mile  to  the 
rear  the  gas  was  still  strong  enough  to 
cause  violent  nausea  and  dizziness. 

Allies  Forced  to  Retreat 

Under  this  attack  the  worn-out  Cana- 
dian Third  Brigade  gave  way  and  re- 
treated below  the  Ypres-Passchendele 
road.  Colonel  Lipsett's  Eighth  Battalion 
made  a  superb  defense  of  the  pivotal  po- 
sition on  the  hill  at  Grafenstafel  and 
prevented  a  German  flank  attack  which 
would  have  turned  the  whole  eastern  part 
of  the  line. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  25th;  large 
British  reinforcements  had  arrived,  and 
a  determined  effort  was  made  to  recover 
St.  Julien;  but  in  spite  of  the  hardest 
kind  of  fighting  the  effort  was  defeated 
and  the  lines  forced  back  to  Fortuin.  The 
pivot  at  Grafenstafel  was  helped  by  the 
addition  of  fresh  regiments,  and  held; 
but  in  the  heavy  fighting  of  Monday  the 
Germans  won  Fortuin  and  drove  the  Brit- 
ish back  another  400  yards  behind  Han- 
nabeeke  Brook.  The  Northumberland 
brigade  and  the  Lahore  division  (In- 
dian) suffered  a  bloody  repulse  in  an  ef- 
fort to  retake  St.  Julien.  The  Fortieth 
Pathans   (the  "  Forty  Thieves  ")   fought 


K'6 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


well  and  lost  not  only  their  Colonel  but 
nearly  every  British  officer. 

For  a  week  attacks  and  counterattacks 
continued,  but  by  May  3  it  became  evi- 
dent that  prudence  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  some  of  the  ugly  angles  in  the 
line,  and  the  British  shortened  their  hard- 
pressed  front  by  a  skillful  retreat  to  a 
new  line  closer  to  Ypres.  The  French 
Ninth  Corps  (regulars)  had  taken  posi- 
tion on  the  east  bank  of  the  Yser  Canal, 
and  on  a  curve  toward  the  southeast  their 
right  joined  the  British  left  west  of 
Shelltrap  Farm,  half  way  between  St. 
Julien  and  St.  Jean.  The  new  British 
position  curved  east  and  south  through 
Frezenberg  and  Hooge  to  Hill  60.  The 
front  between-  Grafenstafel  and  Polygon 
Wood  had  been  withdrawn  fully  two 
miles. 

On  May  5  the  Germans  took  Hill  60, 
and  on  the  8th  and  9th  they  drove  the 
British  back  of  the  Frezenberg  Hill  to 
Verlorenhoek.  In  this  fighting  shellfire 
reduced  the  First  Suffolks  to  seven  men, 
and  the  Second  Cheshires  fought  until 
they  had  only  one  officer  left.  Many 
other  units  had  similar  losses  in  this  pe- 
riod; 900  eight-inch  shells  fell  in  the 
trenches  occupied  by  one  regiment  of  ter- 
ritorials. 

Heavy  British  Losses 

On  May  13  the  First  and  Third  Cavalry 
Divisions  under  General  de  Lisle  were 
desperately  engaged  in  the  sector  be- 
tween Hooge  and  Verlorenhoek.  The 
dismounted  cavalry  included  some  of  the 
most  famous  regiments  in  British  army 
annals  as  well  as  a  number  of  Yeomanry 
regiments.  The  divisions  fought  splen- 
didly and  suffered  great  losses,  but  were 
compelled  to  yield  more  ground  between 
Bellewaarde  Lake  and  Verlorenhoek. 
Shelltrap  Farm,  captured  by  the  Ger- 
mans, was  retaken  in  a  bayonet  charge 
by  the  Second  Essex. 

On  May  24  the  Germans  again  released 
gas,  this  time  on  a  front  of  three  miles 
from  Shelltrap  Farm  to  Bellewaarde  Lake. 
This  time  the  cloud  rose  much  higher 
and  the  wind  carried  it  over  the  lines  to 
the  southwest.  The  troops  had  by  now 
been  furnished  with  respirators,  but 
more  ground  was  yielded  in  this  sector 


when  the  gas  was  followed  by  a  storm 
of  shells  and  heavy  infantry  attacks. 
The  hard-pressed  British  lines  were  saved 
by  the  heroic  fighting  of  the  cavalry 
supports,  who  again  suffered  great  loss. 
The  famous  Ninth  Lancers  lost  many 
officers,  including  that  splendid  soldier, 
Captain  Francis  Grenfell,  who  had  won 
the  Victoria  Cross  and  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  battles  of  1914. 
So  toward  the  end  of  May  the  second 
battle  of  Ypres  died  away  and  the  bodies 
of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  allied 
soldiers  were  added  to  the  soil  of  this 
hard-held  salient  in  the  western  battle 
front.  Two  years  have  passed  since  then, 
and  on  this  front  the  lines  remain  about 
Ypres  almost  as  Grenfell  saw  them  last. 
In  that  Spring  of  1915  the  man  power 
of  the  Allies  on  the  battlefields  began 
to  gain  numerical  superiority  over  the 
enemy,  and  that  superiority  has  grown 
steadily  since  then.  Yet  still  the  Ger- 
man stands  there  and  waits  for  us. 

Campaign  in  the  South 

In  March  and  April,  1915,  the  news 
vendors  throughout  the  world  were  at 
their  wits'  end  to  determine  who  had  last 
captured  Hartmanns-Weilerkopf,  for  that 
mountain  spur  changed  hands  over  and 
over  again  in  the  hard  campaign  fought 
in  the  Vosges.  The  Chasseurs  Alpins 
under  Maud'huy  fought  a  series  of  small 
battles  along  the  Valley  of  the  Fecht 
with  Colmar,  an  important  railhead,  for 
objective.  Numerous  small  successes 
seemed  to  pave  the  way  for  a  serious 
drive  against  the  German  frontier,  but  no 
really  great  move  developed.  Through- 
out the  rest  of  1915  the  lines  remained 
almost  exactly  as  they  settled  down  after 
the  series  of  minor  battles  in  the  late 
Winter  and  Spring  of  that  year. 

Attacks  on  St.  Mihiel  Salient 

When  the  German  attack  upon  Paris 
was  repulsed  and  thrown  back  after  the 
battle  of  the  Marne,  the  invaders  still 
held  the  strategically  important  salient 
south  of  Verdun,  at  St.  Mihiel,  where 
their  guns  on  the  heights  at  the  Fort  of 
the  Camp  des  Romains  commanded  the 
plains  for  miles  and  the  valley  of  the 
Meuse  below  Verdun.  In  the  Spring  of 
1915  an  important  item  in  the  French 


Russia's  Minister  of  War,  Described  as  the  "Strong  Man" 
of  the  Reconstructed  Government 

(Photo     Q     Underwood  rf    Underwood) 


'«••»•••••■••••••••••••>«■.•••••>••.•■■•■•■••■.••■••■•>■•■••■•■•■•■>••>••.■•>..••••••>•••>••••••••••■••••• 


President  of  the  Russian  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Council, 
Addressing  Sailors  of  the  Baltic  Fleet 

(Photo    ©    International   Film   Service) 


■■••■•••••■••■a... .......... 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


127 


program  was  the  squeezing  out  of  this 
salient,  and  the  plan  adopted  was  to  drive 
in  the  already  rather  constricted  sides. 
The  principal  attack  was  aimed  at  Les 
Eparges,  a  dozen  miles  north  of  St. 
Mihiel,  where  the  Germans  had  ousied 
themselves  since  the  previous  September 
in  fortifying  a  naturally  strong  position 
which  defended  the  lines  of  communica- 
tion inside  the  salient. 

On  April  5  and  6,  in  heavy  rain,  the 
French  infantry  attacked  with  the 
bayonet,  and  positions  were  won  and  lost 
all  the  way  up  to  the  summit  of  the 
coveted  height.  On  the  8th  several 
French  regiments  fought  their  way  to 
the  top  and  held  their  ground  until  rein- 
forced on  the  following  day,  when  the 
victory  was  completed.  Further  to  the 
north  the  French  advanced  to  Etain,  and 
it  appeared  as  though  the  German  com- 
mander would  certainly  be  compelled  to 
fall  back  upon  the  high  ground  in  front 
of  Metz;  but  the  demands  for  a  vigorous 
attack  far  to  the  north  prevented  the  de- 
velopment of  this  campaign,  which  was 
destined  to  make  no  further  progress 
toward  the  great  German  frontier 
fortress.  The  Germans  were  left  in  pos- 
session of  the  St.  Mihiel  salient  and  of 
the  positions  circling  Verdun  and  joining 
the  lines  of  the  Crown  Prince  in  the 
Argonne — positions  back  of  which  they 
were  able  to  prepare  for  the  great  at- 
tacks upon  Verdun  in  the  early  part  of 
1916. 

The  Campaign  in  Arlois 

In  May,  1915,  two  great  objectives 
confronted  the  British  and  the  French 
commanders.  General  Joffre's  task  was 
to  take  Lens  and  advance  toward  Douai, 
Valenciennes,  and  Namur,  while  the  Brit- 
ish target  was  the  great  northern  city 
of  Lille. 

The  Germans  held  their  lines  about 
Lens  in  strong  force,  and  the  chalk  of 
the  region  had  been  carved  into  skillful 
defensive  positions.  General  Foch  took 
command  of  the  French  forces  in  this 
sector,  where  seven  corps  were  gathered 
with  1,100  guns.  Opposed  to  him  was 
von  Bulow,  outnumbered  and  outgunned, 
but  in  a  series  of  mutually  supporting 
positions  of  great  strength. 


On  May  9  Foch's  guns  hurled  300,000 
shells  upon  the  German  lines  between  La 
Targette  and  Carency.  Then  the  infan- 
try charged  and  took  La  Targette,  and 
carried  the  attack  into  the  streets  of  Neu- 
ville  St.  Vaast,  where  the  battle  raged  at 
close  quarters  from  house  to  house.  The 
centre  pushed  on  across  the  Arras- 
Bethune  road,  and  in  the  morning  hours 
succeeded  in  advancing  nearly  three 
miles.  The  left  at  Carency  made  slower 
progress  because  of  the  more  difficult  ter- 
rain, but  by  the  day's  end  the  French  had 
made  a  brilliant  advance  on  a  front  of 
about  five  miles,  and  had  captured  over 
3,000  prisoners  with  a  large  number  of 
machine  guns  and  some  cannon. 

This  battle  raged  on  through  the  10th, 
11th,  and  12th,  and  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  last  day  the  last  survivors  of  the  gar- 
rison in  Carency  surrendered.  The 
cemetery  of  Neuville  St.  Vaast  and  the 
summit  at  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette,  as  well 
as  Ablain,  were  taken  by  the  French, 
whose  attacks  would  not  be  denied. 

On  May  13  in  heavy  rain  the  French 
continued  the  attacks,  now  aimed  at 
Angres,  Souchez,  and  Neuville  St.  Vaast, 
and  from  then  on  through  the  rest  of  the 
month  one  after  the  other  of  the  wonder- 
ful series  of  separate  German  fortifica- 
tions were  captured.  On  May  29  Ablain 
fell,  and  on  the  31st  the  sugar  refinery  at 
Souchez  was  stormed  after  changing 
hands  a  number  of  times.  Early  in  June 
Neuville  St.  Vaast  was  taken,  but  just  to 
the  south  lay  the  famous  Labyrinth, 
where  the  battle  raged  for  a  long  time 
in  deep  galleries,  sometimes  fifty  feet 
under  ground. 

Aubers  Ridge  and  Festubert 

The  British  campaign  toward  Lille  was 
ushered  in  as  a  co-operative  offensive 
timed  to  coincide  with  the  French  attacks 
in  Artois.  A  first  objective  was  the  win- 
ning of  the  Aubers  Ridge  overtopping  the 
old  fatal  field  at  Neuve  Chapelle.  On 
Sunday,  May  9,  the  First  Corps  and  the 
Indian  Corps  advanced  upon  theisouthern 
end  of  the  Bois  du  Biez,  a  mile  and.a  half 
east  of  Richebourg  l'Avoue.  The  Eighth 
Division  attacked  further  north,  toward 
Fromelles  and  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
Aubers  Ridge.  The  artillery  had  failed 
properly  to  prepare  the  way,  and  the  in- 


128 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


fantry  were  stopped  by  unbroken  wire 
entanglements  with  heavy  resulting 
losses  and  little  or  no  gains. 

A  week  later,  on  the  16th,  there  was 
another  strong  attack  east  of  Festubert, 
after  a  bombardment  in  which  the  French 
75s  assisted.  There  was  much  close 
fighting  and  the  bombers  of  the  First 
Grenadiers  did  good  work.  A  company 
of  the  Scots  Guards  got  too  far  ahead 
and  was  cut  off.  Some  days  later  its 
men  were  found  lying  with  plenty  of 
German  dead  about  them. 

This  battle  of  Festubert  ended  in  the 
last  week  of  May  with  a  net  result  of 
having  given  to  the  British  the  enemy's 
first-line  trenches  on  a  front  of  over 
3,000  yards.  In  addition  some  second- 
line  trenches  were  taken,  with  nearly  800 
prisoners  and  ten  machine  guns.  But 
despite  the  extremely  heavy  losses  in- 
curred, the  attack  had  nowhere  succeed- 
ed in  breaking  the  enemy  line.  In  June 
the  Belgians  won  a  German  blockhouse 
south  of  Dixmude,  and  throughout  that 
month  and  July  there  was  a  prolonged 
struggle  for  the  ruins  of  the  chateau  at 
Hooge,  just  east  of  Ypres.  There  were 
several  minor  battles  near  Givenchy, 
Festubert,  and  Hooge,  but  invariably  the 
British  forces  were  compelled  to  abandon 
sections  of  enemy  trenches  won  at  severe 
cost.  The  only  big  thing  on  the  side  of 
the  Allies  was  the  casualty  list. 

In  the  early  Summer  a  series  of  small 
victories  were  won  in  the  Vosges  by  the 
French  Alpine  Chasseurs,  who  captured 
Metzeral  in  June,  and  in  July  stormed 
the  Sondernach  Ridge,  pushing  their  ad- 
vance close  to  Minister. 

Late  in  June  and  early  in  July  the 
German  Crown  Prince  made  four  attacks 
upon  the  French  lines  in  the  Argonne 
along  the  Vienne-le-Chateau  and  Binar- 
ville  road.  Only  small  gains  resulted, 
and  on  July  7  the  Kaiser's  heir  hurled  a 
stronger  attack  against  the  hill  called 
La  Fille  Morte,  which  was  captured,  but 
later  retaken  by  the  French.  It  seemed 
impossible  for  the  Crown  Prince  to  win 
any  glory  in  "  the  day  "  (der  Tag!  )  for 
which  he  had  openly  longed  in  the  years 
of  peace. 

It  is  a  difficult  thing  now  for  most 
people  to  admit  what  they  believed  two 


years  ago.  In  the  Spring  of  1915  the 
consensus  of  European  military  opinion 
was  that  the  Russians  were  prepared  to 
launch  a  tremendous  campaign  with  huge 
armies  and  adequate  equipment.  They 
had  won  a  strong  hold  in  the  Carpathians 
and  were  supposed  to  be  ready  for  a 
crushing  invasion  of  Hungary.  Possibly 
there  would  be  men  and  guns  enough  to 
strike  as  well  toward  Southern  Germany 
via  Cracow. 

Russian  Front  in  19 1 5 

The  Russians  took  Przemysl  on  March 
22,  and  on  the  25th  they  crossed  the 
Pruth.  Early  in  April  they  won  the 
crest  of  the  mountain  barrier  for  all  of 
seventy  miles,  and  Brusiloff  was  within  a 
few  days'  march  of  the  Hungarian  plains 
below.  In  a  short  campaign  of  a  few 
weeks  in  Bukowina  the  Russians  claimed 
to  have  captured  70,000  prisoners  and 
many  guns.  Late  in  April  General  von 
Linsingen  feinted  toward  Stanislau  and 
succeeded  in  drawing  down  that  way  the 
Russian  mobile  reserves. 

In  December  Dmitrieff  had  dug  him- 
self into  a  good  defensive  position  behind 
the  Donajetz  Riyer,  and  felt  so  secure 
that  no  positions  to  the  rear  had  been 
prepared,  in  case  retreat  might  become 
needful,  for  no  such  possibility  seemed  to 
threaten. 

The  supreme  command  of  the  German 
army  groups  was  given  to  that  idol  of 
the  German  Army,  von  Mackensen,  who 
had  for  the  great  operation  about  to  be 
undertaken  as  many  as  2,000,000,  and 
perhaps  2,500,000,  men.  On  April  28 
the  Austro-German  armies  lay  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Donajetz  down  to  the  Cracow- 
Tarnow  Railroad,  and  thence  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Biala  down  to  the  mountains 
below  Rapa  and  Grybow.  On  that  day 
von  Mackensen  struck  his  first  blow  from 
his  right  flank  toward  Gorlice.  May  1 
saw  the  attack  developed  further  north, 
where,  under  a  tremendous  artillery  fire, 
a  crossing  was  effected  over  the  Biala 
and  Crezkowice  was  taken.  Gorlice,  too, 
was  stormed,  and  by  the  2d  the  whole 
Russian  front  in  this  sector  was  in  full 
retreat  toward  the  Wislowka  River, 
twenty  miles  in  the  rear.  The  Caucasian 
corps   of  Irmanov'  came    to    Dmitrieff's 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


129 


help,  and  the  Wislowka  was  held  until 
May  7,  when  the  Germans  forced  a  cross- 
ing at  Jaslo.  The  flank  of  the  army  in 
the  Carpathians  was  turned,  and  its  hur- 
ried retreat  involved  heavy  losses,  but 
desperate  fighting  enabled  Brusiloff  to 
get  his  army  clear  of  its  perilous  position 
in  the  mountains. 


FIELD  MARSHAL  VON  MACKENSEN 
(©.  F.    0.    Koch) 

By  May  14  the  Russians  were  across 
the  San,  and  the  bridgehead  at  Jaroslav 
was  defended  until  men  and  guns  were 
over.  The  fortnight  had  been  a  costly 
one  for  Russia.  Her  armies  had  retreat- 
ed something  over  eighty  miles,  and  some 
corps  had  lost  75  per  cent,  of  their 
strength. 

The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  took  over  the 
Russian  command.  On  May  5  a  Russian 
army  under  General  Ewarts  turned  in  a 
strong  counterattack,  which,  after  sev- 
eral days'  fighting,  drove  back  a  German 
force  advancing  toward  Ostrowiecz  with 
a  loss  of  30,000  casualties.  Toward  the 
south,  too,  a  vigorous  counterstroke  made 
good  progress  and  threatened  Kolomea 
and  Czernowitz.  The  German  checks  on 
both  flanks  did  not  interfere  with  von 
Mackensen's  main  attack,  which  developed 
on  May  15  and  became  one  of  the  great 
battles  of  the  war. 


The  Battle  of  the  San 

The  chief  German  attack  was  aimed  at 
the  sector  between  Jaroslav  and  Prze- 
mysl,  and  at  midnight  on  the  15th  the 
northern  town  fell.  On  the  18th  the  Rus- 
sians lost  Sieniawa,  and  in  the  south 
von  Marwitz  captured  the  railway  junc- 
tions at  Dobromil  and  Sambor,  on  the 
Dniester,  and  drove  on  toward  the  north 
against  the  fortif cations  about  Przemysl. 
Pushing  on,  he  took  Hussakow  and  Lut- 
kow. 

Von  Mackensen  crossed  the  San  at 
Radymno  and  on  June  2  entered  Prze- 
mysl, which  the  Russians  had  held  for 
some  two  months  or  more.  On  June  1 
von  Linsingen  captured  Stryj,  and  the 
Prussian  Guard  took  prisoners  and  guns 
from  Brusiloff.  On  June  7  the  same  vic- 
tor forced  the  Dniester  at  Zurawno  and 
was  well  on  his  way  toward  Lemberg. 
Brusiloff  turned,  and  in  a  three-day  bat- 
tle drove  von  Linsingen  back  over  the 
river  with  the  loss  of  15,000  prisoners, 
and  some  guns. 

However,  the  great  German  advance 
continued,  and  Mosciska,  east  of 
Przemysl,  was  captured  June  14,  and 
the  Russians  were  back  on  the  San,  the 
Tanev,  and  the  Grodek  Ponds.  By  the 
16th  von  Mackensen  was  advancing  to- 
ward Rava  Russka,  and  after  taking 
Javorov  his  army  entered  that  position 
as  well  as  Zolkico  on  June  20.  On  the 
22d  the  great  City  of  Lemberg  was  taken, 
and  Galicia  was  once  more  in  Austrian 
hands. 

At  this  time  the  German  invasion  be- 
ginning at  the  north  was  approaching 
Windau  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  the  Ger- 
man line,  curving  southeast,  reached 
close  to  Shavli,  and  toward  the  south 
cut  between  Suwalka  and  Grodno;  then 
back  on  a  curve  west  of  Warsaw  and 
across  the  Vistula  at  the  junction  with 
the  Tanev;  thence  on  a  broad  out  curve 
toward  Brody  and  down  to  Halicz.  In 
the  north,  Libau,  the  seaport,  had  been 
taken  early  in  May,  and  throughout  that 
month  and  June  Courland  was  being 
overrun  by  the  German  forces,  which, 
before  long,  were  threatening  Riga.  The 
British  and  French  efforts  fo  help  Russia 
by  a  diversion  in  the  west  at  Festubert 


130 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


and  Souchez  were  signal  failures  so  far 
as  their  effect  on  the  campaign  in  the 
east  was  concerned. 

Battles   in   Front   of    Warsaw 

After  the  fall  of  Lemberg  the  German 
General  Staff  prepared  to  attack  War- 
saw, now  a  dangerous  salient  for  the 
Russians,  with  German  armies  threat- 
ening the  railway  communications  both 
north  and  south  of  the  ancient  Polish 
capital.  The  strongly  fortified  city  was 
the  target,  but  the  real  object  was  a 
much  greater  thing.  The  Germans 
planned  not  only  to  capture  cities  and 
provinces,  but  to  surround  and  destroy 
the  field  armies  opposing  their  progress. 
They  hoped  to  induce  the  Russian  com- 
mander to  commit  great  forces  to  the  de- 
fense of  certain  important  localities 
where  the  favorite  Hindenburgian  tactics 
might,  by  far-flung  flank  movements, 
surround  and  capture  or  destroy  them. 

A  very  powerful  army  was  mobilized 
in  the  vicinity  of  Thorn  for  the  great  new 
effort  after  the  capture  of  Lemberg.  In 
the  south  the  German  campaign  pro- 
gressed methodically.  Early  in  July  they 
took  Krasnik  and  Zamosc.  In  the  first 
week  of  July  the  Russians  won  an  im- 
portant four  days'  battle  along  the  Lublin 
highway  above  Krasnik,  capturing  15,000 
prisoners  and  many  guns. 

Late  in  June  the  German  army  of  von 
Linsingen  crossed  the  Dniester,  and  on 
the  28th  captured  Halicz.  The  Russians, 
fighting  stubborn  rear-guard  actions, 
finally  halted  on  the  left  (east)  bank  of 
the  Zlota  Lipa,  a  northern  tributary  of 
the  Dniester.  The  battle  line  further 
north  was  temporarily  halted  along  the 
River  Bug,  at  Kamionka  and  Sokal,  but 
by  the  middle  of  July  von  Mackensen  had 
his  vast  force  ready  to  strike  new  and 
irresistible  blows  from  Courland  in  the 
north  all  the  way  down  to  Galicia. 
Przasnysz,  north  of  Warsaw,  was  taken 
on  -July  14  by  General  von  Gallwitz,  and 
within  the  next  few  days  the  Germans 
reached  the  lines  of  the  Rawka  and  the 
Bzura,  and  the  Russians  fell  back  to 
Blouie,  a  prepared  position  fifteen  miles 
west  of  Warsaw.  By  July  20  the  Russian 
defense  on  the  north  had  fallen  behind 
the  Narco,  a  tributary  of  the  Bug  north- 


east of  Warsaw,  and  by  July  23  von 
Gallwitz  won  crossings  over  the  Narev 
and  two  days  later  reached  the  River 
Bug  between  Novo  Georgievsk  and  Se- 
rock. 

Meanwhile  von  Mackensen  was  fight- 
ing a  successful  campaign  midway  be- 
tween Lemberg  and  Warsaw.     On  July 


GRAND    DUKE    NICHOLAS 
(©     Undenoood    &■  Uhderwood) 

18  he  captured  Krasnostav  and  Pilasko- 
wice,  where  he  was  dangerously  close  to 
a  vital  Russian  line  of  communications — 
the  railway  from  Lublin  through  Chulm 
to  Kovel.  After  a  series  of  hard-fought 
but  nearly  always  successful  actions  the 
Germans  south  of  Warsaw  pressed  on, 
and  by  July  22  had  the  Vistula  bridge- 
head at  Nova  Alexandria,  following  the 
capture  of  Radom  and  a  number  of  other 
positions  west  of  the  great  river. 

In  the  far  north  the  German  wave 
rushed  on,  submerging  Tukkum  and 
Windau  (July  20)  and  rapidly  threat- 
ened Mitau,  an  important  railway  junc- 
tion southwest  of  Riga.  On  July  29  von 
Mackensen  cut  the  railway  south  between 
Lublin  and  Chulm,  and  on  the  30th  both 
towns  fell. 

Fall  of  Warsaw  and  Kovno 

On  Aug.  4  the  Russians  who  had  held 
the   point   of   the  salient   at   Blouie   fell 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


131 


back  through  Warsaw,  for  the  sides  of 
the  salient  were  pinching  in  dangerously, 
and  on  Aug.  5  German  cavalry  entered 
Warsaw.  The  successful  withdrawal  of 
the  large  garrison  was  the  forerunner 
of  a  long  series  of  similar  successes. 
Over  and  over  again  Russian  flanks  were 
strongly  held  while  large  armies  nearly 
trapped  were  safely  extricated.  The 
campaign  went  on  from  victory  to  vic- 
tory, but  the  German  Generals  were 
always  denied  the  darling  wish  of  their 
strategy — the  capture  or  destruction  of 
the  armies  which  they  were  able  to  de- 
feat but  not  to  annihilate.  On  Aug.  4 
Ivangorod  fell,  and  the  middle  of  the 
month  the  Germans  were  pressing  for- 
ward toward  the  railway  Chulm-Brest- 
Litovsk- Grodno. 

On  Aug.  17  Kovno  was  taken,  with 
20,000  prisoners  and  200  guns,  after  of- 
fering a  heroic  resistance.  The  fall  of 
this  important  and  strongly  fortified  city 
on  the  Niemen  was  a  deadly  blow  to  the 
Russian  scheme  of  defense,  for  it  opened 
the  way  toward  the  main  railway  line 
from  Poland  to  Petrograd  via  Vilna.* 
On  Aug.  19  von  Beseler  (the  victor  at 
Antwerp)  after  a  three  weeks'  siege  took 
Novo  Georgievsk  with  another  20,000 
prisoners  and  more  than  700  guns.  This 
great  fortress  close  to  Warsaw  had  been 
relied  upon  to  withstand  a  long  siege, 
and  meanwhile  threaten  the  communica- 
tions of  German  armies  pushing  east 
into  Russia.  The  hope  was  vain  in  face 
of  von  Beseler's  great  siege  guns. 

On  Aug.  23  Ossowietz  fell,  and  Tykocin, 
just  south  of  the  fortress,  was  stormed. 
Two  days  later  the  Germans  took  Brest- 
Litovsk,  the  fortress  covering  the  railway 
to  Moscow.  On  the  26th  they  captured 
Bialystok,  the  great  railway  centre  south 
of  Grodno.  Olita,  a  fortress  defending 
the  crossings  of  the  Niemen  north  of 
Grodno,  fell  on  the  27th.  Further  to  the 
north  the  Germans  began  an  attack 
against  Friedrichstadt  in  an  attempt  to 
force  a  crossing  of  the  Dvina  above 
Dvinsk.      On    the    last    day    of    August 

♦General  Grigorieff  was  tried  by  a  Russian 
court-martial  and  sentenced  to  fifteen  years' 
imprisonment  at  hard,  labor  for  insufficient 
measures  of  defense  and  absence  from  Kovno 
during  the  siege. 


Lutsk,  on  the  Styr,  in  Volhynia,  was 
captured,  and  on  Sept.  2  the  Germans 
took  Grodno,  against  which  von  Beseler's 
siege  artillery  had  been  concentrated. 
The  Russians  lost  only  the  rear  guard  of 
2,000  men  and  a  few  fortress  guns. 

Czar  Assumes  Command 

On  Sept.  5  the  Czar  took  personal  com- 
mand of  all  the  Russian  armies,  and  sent 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  to  command  in 
the  Caucasus.  Early  in  September  the 
Russian  lines  east  of  Grodno  retired  to  a 
position  reaching  from  Orany  (at  the 
crossing  of  the  Petrograd  railway  over 
the  Meretchanka  River)  to  Mosty,  on  the 
Niemen.  On  Sept.  18  Vilna,  a  position  of 
great  strategic  importance,  fell  after  a 
brave  resistance  in  which  two  divisions 
of  the  Russian  Imperial  Guard  played  a 
distinguished  part.  Von  Eichorn,  the 
German  commander,  pushed  40,000  cav- 
alry with  140  guns  toward  the  flank  of 
the  Russian  position,  and  the  garrison 
barely  effected  their  escape  along  the 
line  toward  Minsk.  By  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember the  Czar's  troops  were  making  a 
stand  along  a  line  through  Smorgon,  be- 
tween Vilna  and  Molodetchno,  and  south 
to  Novo  Grodek. 

Further  southward,  von  Mackensen 
reached  and  captured  Pinsk  on  Sept.  16, 
but  a  week  earlier  the  Russians  made  a 
surprise  attack  in  front  of  Tarnopol  and 
along  the  Sereth,  in  which  they  captured 
383  officers,  17,000  men,  and  nearly  100 
guns. 

That  success  was  continued  and  the 
German  flank  driven  back  to  the  Stripa 
with  heavy  additional  losses.  Dubno 
was  retaken,  and  General  Ivanoff  seemed 
for  a  time  to  threaten  dangerously  von 
Mackensen's  right  flank. 

A  long  series  of  battles  were  fought 
through  the  Autumn  and  early  Winter 
about  Czartorysk  and  Rafadowka,  in 
Volhynia,  and  along  the  Rivers  Styr, 
Stripa,  and  Zlota  Lipa,  in  Eastern  Ga- 
licia.  Above  Pinsk  the  Germans  held 
securely  Baranovitchi,  an  important  com- 
mercial and  railway  centre  east  of 
Slonim.  All  efforts  failed  to  capture 
Dvinsk,  and  the  Dvina  marked  the  limit 
of  German  progress  toward  Petrograd. 
On  the  west  front  of  Riga  the  German 


132 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


lines  curved  back  west  of  Babit  See  and 
Lake  Kanger  to  the  west  shores  of  the 
Gulf  of  Riga. 

From  Riga  to  Czernowitz  the  battle 
front  measured  about  785  miles,  and 
while  the  Russians  bent  the  southern  end 
back  along  the  Dniester  in  the  Spring  of 
1916,  when    they    recaptured  Bukowina 


from  Brody  (in  Galicia)  on  to  the  north, 
the  military  frontier  has  remained  al- 
most exactly  as  the  great  German  vic- 
tories of  1915  left  it.  The  adequate  de- 
fense of  that  frontier,  inclosing,  as  it 
does,  all  of  Western  Russia,  "required 
the  maintenance  on  that  front  of  nearly 
2,000,000  Austro-German  troops. 


The  Religious  Revival  in  France 

By  Major  William  Redmond,  M.  P. 

[Major  Redmond  died  June  9,  1917,  from  wounds  received  in  action  two  days  before.  He 
was  a  brother  of  John  Redmond,  the  Irish  Nationalist  leader,  and  had  been  a  member  of 
Parliament  for  the  East  Division  of  Clare  since  1892.  He  was  one  of  the  idols  of  his  native 
land  and  was  beloved  alike  by  friend  and  opponent.  The  subjoined  article,  written  shortly 
before  he  fell,  is  here  published  by  arrangement  with  The  London  Chronicle.] 


WITH  all  the  evil  that  has  fol- 
lowed in  its  train  it  is  good  to 
find  at  least  one  beneficial  re- 
sult from  the  war.  It  has  led 
to  the  revival  of  religion  in  a  most  re- 
markable way. 

As  to  this,  practically  every  one  is 
agreed,  and  it  is  apparent  in  a  hundred 
directions.  Perhaps  this  revival  is  most 
marked  of  all  in  France,  and  there  it  is 
attributable  in  no  little  degree  to  the 
splendid  record  of  the  French  priests  in 
the  army.  To  many  people  it  seemed  a 
wrong  thing  that  the  ministers  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  should  be  called  upon  to 
take  up  arms  and  play  a  part  in  the 
terrible  work  of  bloodshed  and  slaughter 
which  has  converted  so  large  a  portion 
of  Europe  into  a  veritable  shambles. 
What  seemed  wrong,  and  what  was  from 
some  point  of  view  wrong  no  doubt,  has 
in  the  result  turned  out  a  blessing. 

The  spectacle  of  thousands  of  priests 
marching  and  fighting  for  the  country 
and  the  flag  has  touched  deeply  the  heart 
of  France,  and  many  and  many  a  man 
who  was,  perhaps,  ready  enough  to  pro- 
claim himself  an  anti-Cleric  will  never  so 
describe  himself  any  more.  The  bravery 
displayed  by  the  French  priests  in  battle 
(2,000  have  been  killed)  has  been  only 
equaled  by  their  devotion  to  their  holy 
office.  Few  things  are  more  appealing 
than  the  sight  of  the  soldier-priest  turn- 
ing to  administer  the  last  consolations  of 


religion  to  his  fallen  comrades  round 
about.  And  this  has  been  witnessed  on 
every  battlefield  of  France,  and  it  has 
its  natural  effect  upon  the  impression- 
able French  character,  and  the  effect 
will  remain  long  after  the  last  shot  of 
the  war  has  been  fired. 

To  those  who  have  been  brought  to 
France  by  the  war  the  manifestations  of 
religion  everywhere  displayed  have  come 
more  or  less  as  a  surprise,  especially  to 
those  who  had  been  led  to  believe  from 
the  action  of  many  successive  French 
Governments  that  the  Church  was  more 
or  less  a  thing  of  the  past  in  France. 
It  is  hard,  of  course,  to  judge  of  the 
real  depth  or  intensity  of  religious  feel- 
ing, but  all  one  can  say  is  that  if  this 
can  be  done  by  noticing  the  attendance 
at  church,  then  the  religion  of  France 
is  today  very  true  and  very  sincere. 

For  over  a  year  the  writer  of  these 
lines  has  been  with  the  British  Army  in 
France  and  has  been  billeted  in  scores 
of  villages  and  small  towns.  Everywhere 
the  way  in  which  the  civil  population 
thronged  the  churches  on  Sundays  and 
holidays  was  very  noticeable,  and  in  the 
larger  towns  more  noticeable  still.  It 
may  be  that  the  attacks  which  the  enemy 
have  made  on  holy  places  have  caused 
a  revulsion  of  feeling  in  France.  The 
ruins  of  Rheims  cathedral,  Ypres,  and  so 
many  other  churches  in  the  land  have 
stricken  the  population  with  remorse  and 


THE  RELIGIOUS  REVIVAL  IN  FRANCE 


133 


sorrow.  Certain  it  is,  be  the  real  reason 
what  it  may,  there  has  been  a  great  re- 
vival in  the  devotion  of  the  French  people 
since  war  broke  out.  Of  course  the  cyn- 
ical will  say,  "When  the  devil  was  sick 
the  devil  a  saint  would  be,"  &c. 

The  writer  has  seen  more  deep  and 
reverent  devotion  displayed  by  worship- 
pers inside  the  walls  of  semi-ruined 
churches  which  had  their  stained  glass 
windows  shattered  than  ever  he  has  seen 
before.  Probably  more  fervent  prayers 
have  been  poured  out  before  broken 
crosses  and  shell-torn  statues  of  our 
Saviour  in  France  and  Belgium  than  were 
ever  offered  in  peace  time  before  the 
most  beautiful  shrines  in  the  whole 
world.  Religion  has  been  perhaps  the 
one  thing  in  all  the  world  so  far  strength- 
ened and  built  up  afresh  amid  the  hor- 
rible ravages  of  war.  That  there  has 
been  a  similar  result  all  over  the  world 
and  away  from  the  actual  scene  of  war 
is  also  apparent. 

The  fact  is  that  the  ruin  and  carnage 
have  been  so  stupendous,  the  sacrifices 
have  been  so  great,  the  horrors  have  been 
so  widespread  and  have  so  penetrated 
into  almost  every  family  circle  that 
almost  every  human  being  in  the  world 
has  turned  to  look  for  hope  and  com- 
fort beyond  the  grave.  Miserable  indeed 
is  the  man  or  woman  who  is  not  assured 
that  that  hope  and  comfort  are  so  to 
be  found,  for  in  sooth  this  war  has  made 
this  transitory  world  but  a  sorry  place! 
The  writer  of  these  impressions  has  been 
with  a  section  of  the  British  Army  in  the 
field,  which  numbers  very  many  Catholic 
soldiers  in  its  ranks.  The  conduct  of 
these  men  has  undoubtedly  had  a  good 
effect  upon  the  population  wherever  they 
have  been  stationed.  The  majority  of 
the  soldiers  are  of  Irish  nationality, 
though  of  English  and  Scottish  and  over- 
seas Catholic  soldiers  there  are  also  not 
a  few.  The  simple  and  yet  deep  faith 
exhibited  by  these  men  upon  all  occasions 
made  a  wonderful  impression  on  the 
French  and  Belgian  peoples. 
-  It  is  not  at  the  very  best  a  happy  thing 
to  have  one's  country  occupied  by  foreign 
troops,  even  though  they  come  to  defend 


your  soil  from  the  invader.  Masses  of 
men  overrunning  villages  and  towns  and 
eager  for  some  sort  of  relaxation  from 
the  rigor  and  hardship  of  trench  life  are 
apt  to  give  trouble,  even  though  well  be- 
haved and  well  disposed  in  every  way. 
It  is  always  a  source  of  anxiety  to  the 
higher  command  to  secure  that  nothing, 
even  by  inadvertence,  shall  be  done  by 
the  troops  to  cause  annoyance  to  the  in- 
habitants of  occupied  territory.  The  out- 
standing feature  of  the  British  occupa- 
tion of  France  and  Belgium  has  been  the 
fine  and  chivalrous  spirit  displayed  by 
the  men.  They  have  put  themselves  on  a 
footing  of  the  best  and  kindest  sort  with 
the  people,  and  complaints  of  any  kind  as 
to  their  behavior  are  few  and  far  be- 
tween. 

But,  in  addition  to  the  relief  of  the 
people  in  finding  the  troops  kind  and 
considerate,  imagine  the  good  impres- 
sion created  when  the  French  people  find 
that  large  numbers  of  the  men  are 
devoted  to  their  own  religion  and  more 
earnest  in  their  practice  of  it.  When 
Irish  regiments  are  billeted  in  a  village 
the  church  large  enough  for  the  villagers 
becomes  at  once  too  small.  It  is  thronged 
by  the  soldiers,  and  the  cure  finds  his 
congregation  enormous,  and  has,  in  con- 
junction with  the  army  Chaplains,  to 
arrange  for  many  services  on  Sunday. 
The  General  commanding  a  division  com- 
posed for  the  most  part  of  Irish  Catholic 
soldiers  informed  the  present  writer  that 
his  division  never  left  an  area  without 
the  local  authorities,  and  notably  the 
cure,  coming  to  him  to  express  their 
appreciation  of  the  good  behavior  of 
the  troops  and  their  admiration  for  their 
earnest  devotion  to  their  religion. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  scourge  of 
war  has  purified  the  hearts  of  many 
people,  and  the  advent  of  large  numbers 
of  Catholic  troops  into  France  has  prob- 
ably helped  to  bring  back  to  some 
Frenchmen  an  appreciation  of  something 
which  they  may  have  seemed  to  have 
almost  lost.  Thus  in  one  way,  and  a  way 
of  no  little  importance,  the  war  has 
wrought  a  change  for  the  better  in 
France. 


Who  Pays  for  the  Cost  of  War 


By  William  A.  Wood 


IT  may  be  said  in  a  fair  spirit  that 
the  beliefs  of  the  best  of  men  di- 
vide on  the  problem  of  the  cost  of 
war.  It  has  been  shown  by  Ward 
in  his  "  Pure  Sociology "  that  war  has 
been  a  leading  factor  in  the  development 
of  that  which  we  call  civilization.  Un- 
questionably this  is  true,  if  we  tabulate 
the  results;  but  sound  reasoning  re- 
quires that  it  be  shown  that  there  is  no 
better  way.  There  is  a'  better  way. 
Ward's  deduction  does  not  mean  that 
he  favored  war  as  a  means  to  an  end: 
he  simply  stated  the  fact  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  sociologist.  The  problem 
is  at  once  ethical  as  well  as  sociological. 
What  has  been  should  not  necessarily  be 
continued.  The  basis  of  the  sociological 
aspect  is  human  achievement ;  that  of  the 
ethical  is  the  power  of  the  mind;  and  in 
the  religious  field  we  have  the  main- 
springs of  human  conduct. 

A  few  facts  need  consideration:  The 
object  of  nature  is  function.  The  object 
of  man  is  happiness.  The  object  of  so- 
ciety is  action.  Severally  and  jointly 
man  is  equipped  with  certain  potential 
qualities,  both  of  mind  and  body,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  these  faculties  he  achieves 
whatever  he  sets  his  mind  to  do.  The 
mind  itself  is  not  a  force,  but  jt  is  the 
directive  agent  that  guides  the  dynamic 
qualities  of  men.  In  those  epochs  of  civil- 
ization which  mark  the  movements  of 
man  toward  development  and  progress, 
that  which  has  proved  sturdiest  among 
human  qualities  is  the  virtue  of  the  pio- 
neer; and  as  obstacles  have  given  way 
before  the  march  of  human  achievement, 
the  more  serviceable  and  permanent  ele- 
ments of  life  have  been  successfully  set 
up.  These  are  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  in 
the  glamour  of  war.  The  human  race  is 
unconquerable,  and  in  the  long  run  man 
wins  over  nature  and  becomes  master  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  laws. 

Thus  we  may  trace  our  progress,  from 
its  faint  beginnings  in  tribal  successes 
onward  to  the  establishment  of  those 
substantial  moral  gains  which  connote  the 


value  of  the  human  soul  in  its  struggles 
with  nature.  Whatever  nature  has  set 
up  as  a  hindrance  has  been  largely  over- 
come, but  the  mistakes  which  man  him- 
self makes  constitute  a  drag  on  his  prog- 
ress. They  check  what  is  otherwise  the 
dominion  over  nature  which  man  aims  to 
secure,  and  they  do  it  by  heaping  up  the 
compound  interest  assessed  against  suc- 
ceeding generations.  And  in  this  cate- 
gory war  is  the  great  offender.  It  is 
true  in  the  laws  of  biology  that  the 
forces  of  anabolism  and  katabolism  are 
pitted  against  each  other,  but  in  this 
conflict  of  unlike  elements  the  forms  of 
life  are  born  and-come  to  maturity.  That 
fruition  is  the  gift  which  nature  pro- 
vides for  the  sustentation  of  the  lives  of 
men.  And  it  is  on  this  basis  that  man 
successfully  builds,  for  in  the  partnership 
of  the  individual  with  others  the  co-oper- 
ation of  the  many  rewards  the  unit  with 
increased  fruitage. 

Every  explosion  of  powder  is  costly,  if 
at  the  end  of  the  range  we  have  a  human 
being,  and  the  cost  must  be  paid  for  both 
by  the  living  and  the  unborn.  Every  ex- 
plosion of  powder  is  costly  in  any  case, 
for  the  price  of  the  marksman  is  the 
price  which  he  pays  for  the  securing  of 
the  game.  Bows  and  arrows  and  repeat- 
ing rifles  cost  human  labor,  and  when 
men  shoot  arrows  and  bullets  into  the  air, 
they  must  go  and  pick  them  up  or  else 
make  other  ones.  When  they  explode 
shells,  they  must  make  new  shells  in  their 
place.  If  they  keep  on  firing,  some  one 
else  must  make  the  ammunition  and  fur- 
nish new  guns,  for  guns  wear  out  as  well 
as  shells.  When  men  consume 'more  than 
they  produce,  they  must  soon  stop  either 
the  production  or  the  destruction.  Fire- 
works once  a  year  cost  labor;  fireworks 
for  nearly  three  years  that  batter  forts 
and  dismember  bodies  must  be  paid  for  in 
the  only  element  that  can  produce  them, 
namely,  human  labor. 

A  nation  at  war  is  keeping  a  ledger, 
and  as  the  balance  is  on  the  debit  side, 
redoubled   efforts   are   necessary   to   re- 


WHO  PAYS  FOR  THE  COST  OF  WAR 


135 


store  the  equilibrium.  No  juggling  with 
figures  can  offset  this  inexorable  law  of 
nature.  No  human  reasoning  can  com- 
pensate nature  for  the  consumption  of 
her  resources;  nothing  but  human  labor 
can  compensate  her.  Her  bounties  con- 
tain no  values  until  they  are  carved  out 
by  specific  and  productive  human  energy; 
and  when  these  values  are  once  created 
in  the  form  of  wealth,  they  fall  under  the 
law  of  katabolism.  If  man  hastens  the 
breaking-up  process  by  recklessness  or 
by  war,  he  must  pay  for  it  in  continued 
expenditure  of  effort,  he  must  pay  the 
cost.  When  a  man  borrows  anything 
from  nature  he  may  use  it  or  not,  as  he 
wills;  but  in  any  instance  what  he  bor- 
rows must  be  returned  to  her  reservoirs. 

War  quickly  destroys  what  man  pro- 
duces, but  the  cost  is  paid  for,  not  in 
money,  but  by  labor  augmented  many 
times  over  as  a  price  paid  for  the  follies 
of  men.  Constructive  labor  yields  per- 
manent results;  war  uproots  them.  Bat- 
tleships are  not  paid  for  by  Governments, 
but  by  subjects  of  the  nation.  A  thou- 
sand men  on  a  warship  produce  nothing; 
the  same  men  in  action  destroy  both  ship 
and  enemy.  The  payment  of  taxes  comes 
out  of  human  labor;  the  payment  of  in- 
terest on  loans  is  a  double  burden,  falling 
on  those  who  now  live  and  labor,  and 
striking  hard  against  those  who  are  later 
to  become  creators  of  the  nation's  wealth. 
We  are  still  paying  pensions  on  a  war 
that  ended  102  years  ago.  Wars  are 
paid  for  in  human  sacrifice — in  human 
lives;  but  they  are  also  paid  for  in  sac- 
rifice that  eats  up  the  products  of  man's 
labor;  and  when  these  visible  things  are 
shot  to  pieces,  an  increase  of  human 
energy  alone  can  replace  them.  Men 
who  build  battleships  are  also  paying  for 
the  battleships.  If  the  ships  go  to  the 
bottom,  no  power  on  earth  can  replace 
them  save  human  labor;  and  the  more 
ships  at  the  bottom,  the  greater  the  drain 
on  the  living  labor  which  creates  them 
out  of  earth's  material. 

Take  an  illustration  from  our  national 
sports,  baseball  and  college  football. 
Who  pays  the  salaries  of  the  twenty-two 
players  on  each  of  the  sixteen  teams  of 
the  major  leagues?  Who  accounts  for 
the  cost  of  training  the  college  men  for 


their  annual  seasons  on  the  gridiron? 
Manifestly  those  who  pay  as  witnesses  of 
the  games.  Suppose  a  quarter  of  all 
these  men  were  killed  and  the  same  pro- 
portion injured  for  life.  Suppose  hos- 
pitals and  nurses  were  supplied  to  meet 
these  losses  and  that  they  were  kept  up 
during  the  entire  season.  Suppose  fresh 
players  were  drawn  from  the  ranks  and 
drafted  into  the  daily  slaughter  on  the 
diamond  or  the  gridiron  in  times  of  peace. 
Would  any  man  of  ordinary  judgment 
infer  that  this  loss  constituted  no  drain 
on  the  nation? 

You  cannot  pay  for  war  out  of  taxes. 
War  is  liquidated  by  the  human  cost,  and 
by  cost  is  meant  that  continued  outgo  of 
human  labor  which  is  the  sole  source  of 
wealth.  In  addition  to  the  destruction 
of  the  human  element  and  the  accom- 
panying blasting  of  the  material  element, 
war  makes  a  steady  drain  on  the  future; 
that  is  to  say,  the  cost  is  passed  on  for 
many  decades,  through  pensions  and  in- 
terest, and  in  no  sense  will  nature  let  up 
in  her  demands.  We  borrow  from  na- 
ture as  well  as  from  bankers,  and  when 
nature  recalls  the  things  we  have  taken, 
her  mandates  are  scrupulously  carried 
out.  War  hastens  the  destruction  of  all 
these  elements,  speeds  up  the  processes 
by  which  wealth  is  torn  to  pieces,  and 
when  these  things  are  shattered  and  scat- 
tered they  must  be  replaced  by  human 
toil  and  increased  human  sacrifice.  Taxes 
laid  on  interest  augment  the  national 
burden  by  increasing  the  tax  gatherers, 
who  must  be  paid  out  of  the  national  rev- 
enues. And  in  the  last  analysis  the  re- 
ceiver of  interest  is  essentially  a  non- 
producer  and  as  such  he  has  to  be  fed 
along  with  those  who  do  the  fighting  and 
the  destroying. 

Man  pays  for  war.  It  is  his  creation, 
and  as  long  as  he  keeps  it  up  he  will  have 
to  stand  for  the  game.  Governments 
create  war  debts,  but  subjects  pay  them. 
Kings  and  Congresses  may  declare  war, 
but  that  is  only  bequeathing  to  innocent 
successors  the  obligations  that  must  be 
met.  It  cost  Russia  $600,000,000  to  for- 
tify Port  Arthur.  It  cost  Japan  $400,- 
000,000  to  batter  it  to  pieces.  But  the 
cost  is  not  in  money;  it  is  in  human  lives 
and  human  wealth,  and  such  destruction 


136 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


ultimately  rolls  up  what  no  generation 
can  pay.  Seventy  cents  out  of  every  dol- 
lar received  by  our  Federal  Government 
was  paid  out  for  military  purposes,  with 
the  nation  still  at  peace.  If  the  baseball 
players  killed  in  the  supposititious  war- 
fare above  cited  were  to  leave  widows  and 
orphans  requiring  pensions,  who  would 
stand  for  the  increased  expense  of  our 
national  game?  The  cases  are  parallel  in 
their  economic  bearing,  and  show  the 
principle  involved  in  human  loss. 

The  problem  of  the  cost  of  war  is  so- 
ciological and  must  be  examined  in  the 
light  of  the  forces  and  resultants  of  hu- 
man action.  Fire  insurance  companies 
pay  for  losses,  but  not  until  after  they 
have  collected  an  adequate  fund  from 
the  community.  Life  insurance  pre- 
miums provide  the  source  out  of  which 


claims  are  met,  else  what  other  source 
could  pay  for  them?  If  the  companies 
get  interest  on  loans,  that  only  brings 
other  factors  into  the  problem.  The  cir- 
cle is  thus  widened,  but  the  principle  re- 
mains the  same;  namely,  that  from  hu- 
man labor  is  drawn  the  fund  that  com- 
pensates for  losses  sustained.  War  raises 
those  losses  to  the  nth  degree  and  leaves 
to  posterity  the  burden  of  paying  for 
other  people's  quarrels.  The  interest 
claims  pile  up  faster  than  they  can  be 
discharged,  and  drain  away  from  con- 
structive labor  the  higher  fruits  of  hu- 
man toil. 

Were  half  the  power  that  fills  the  world  with 
terror, 
Were  half  the  wealth  bestowed   on  camps 
and  courts, 
Given  to  redeem  the  human  mind  from  error, 
There  were  no  need  of  arsenals  or  forts. 


Nearly  24,000,000  Men  Engaged 

Sir  William  Robertson,  Chief  of  the  British  General  Staff,  made  these  note- 
worthy statements  in  a  dinner  speech  at  the  Mansion  House.  London,  in  May. 
1917:  J 

No  two  wars  and  no  two  battles  were  ever  fought  under  exactly  the  same 
conditions,  and  no  war  has  ever  differed  so  greatly  from  its  predecessor  as  does 
the  war  in  which  we  are  now  engaged.  Airplanes,  for  instance,  have  entirely 
changed  the  whole  strategical  and  tactical  conduct  of  operations.  The  use  of 
enormous  masses  of  heavy  artillery  is  another  new  factor,  and  has  made  efficient 
preparation  for  battle  dependent  upon  the  most  elaborate  system  of  communica- 
tions and  transport,  and  has  demanded  the  highest  qualities  of  organization  in 
general.  During  the  last  five  or  six  weeks,  I  suppose,  we  have  expended  some 
200,000  tons  of  ammunition,  which  have  had  to  be  moved  by  road,  rail,  and  sea 
from  the  factories  in  England  to  the  guns  in  France  and  man-handled  probably 
not  less  than  half  a  dozen  times.  As  you  can  imagine,  this  has  entailed  a  great 
deal  of  railway  work  at  the  front  as  well  as  in  England,  and  the  skillful  and 
determined  way  in  which  the  work  has  been  executed  by  the  railway  managers 
and  employes  who  have  assisted  us  is  beyond  all  praise. 

But  the  greatest  peculiarity  of  all  is  the  colossal  size  of  the  armies  engaged. 
In  the  1870  war  armies  were  counted  by  the  hundred  thousand,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Gravelotte,  where  the  heaviest  losses  were  incurred,  the  total  casualties  were 
only  about  33,000  men  on  both  sides,  while  for  the  whole  war  the  total  casual- 
ties on  both  sides  were  less  than  half  a  million.  In  the  present  war  the  killed 
alone  can  be  counted  by  the  million,  while  the  total  number  of  men  engaged 
amounts  to  nearly  24,000,000. 

In  fact,  this  war  is  not,  as  in  the  past,  a  war  merely  of  opposing  armies, 
but  a  war  of  nations,  and  there  is  not  today  a  man  or  woman  in  the  empire  who 
is  not  doing  something  either  to  help  or  to  hinder  the  winning  of  the  war.  A 
man  of  great  distinction  told  me  the  other  day  that  he  estimated  the  weight  of 
purely  military  effort  at  only  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  the  remaining  75  per 
cent,  being,  strictly  speaking,  of  a  non-military  nature,  and  made  up  of  many 
elements — agriculture,  food,  shipping,  diplomacy,  &c.  I  think  he  is  probably 
not  far  wrong,  and  when  people  ask  me,  as  they  sometimes  do,  how  the  war  is 
getting  on,  I  feel  inclined  to  reply,  "  Why  ask  me?  Why  not  ask  yourself  and 
the  remainder  of  the  75  per  cent.?  K 


The  Heroic  Death  of  Dr.  Glunet 

By   Robert  de  Lezeau 

Dr.  Jean  Clunet,  who  died  of  typhus  at  Jassy,  Rumania,  in  April,  1917,  had  so  memorable 
a  career  that  the  Paris  Figaro  gave  a  leading  place  on  its  first  page  to  the  subjoined  article, 
which  has  been  specially  translated  for  Current  History  Magazine. 


ONE  of  the  simplest  and  most  in- 
spiring of  heroes  has  just  suc- 
cumbed to  the  terrible  epidemic 
of  spotted  typhus  that  is  ravage 
in'g  Rumania.  He  died  in  the  hospital 
which  he  had  created  from  the  ground 
up,  at  the  bedside  of  the  sufferers,  whom 
he  continued  to  aid  to  his  last  breath 
with  all  his  science  and  all  his  faith:  two 
warring  sisters  who  had  become  recon- 
ciled in  his  great  heart.  We  who  knew 
him  here  in  Jassy,  at  the  place  of  his 
supreme  sacrifice,  cherish  his  memory 
as  that  of  one  of  the  greatest  French- 
men we  have  ever  known. 

Jean  Clunet  was  the  son  of  a  lawyer 
who  has  acquired  just  renown  in  the  do- 
main of  international  law.  A  former 
hospital  interne,  assistant  in  the  Medical 
Faculty,  and  finally  appointed  to  the 
Chair  of  Pathological  Anatomy  in  the 
Medical  College  at  Nancy,  Jean  Clunet 
gave  himself  up  to  science  with  a  tire- 
less ardor  that  engrossed  his  whole  mind 
and  heart.  He  always  had  a  sort  of 
predestination  for  sacrifice.  Wherever 
he  could  devote  himself  to  others,  save 
lives,  comfort  souls,  Clunet  was  there. 

In  1912  he  visited  Morocco,  and  one 
day  a  native  servant  who  had  become 
attached  to  him  said:  "  Master,  you  must 
leave  here — quick,  quick,  at  once!  They 
are  going  to  massacre  all  the  foreign- 
ers." 

Though  he  had  no  duty  to  perform, 
Jean  Clunet  remained.  The  next  day 
the  revolt  at  Fez  broke  out,  with  all  its 
horrors — massacres,  lynchings,  tortures. 
With  two  comrades  he  found  safety  in  a 
blind  alley,  which  the  insurgents  could 
not  capture,  though  they  besieged  the 
entrance.  Twenty-four  hours  later  two 
local  officials  whom  Clunet  had  cured  of 
illness  sent  their  escorts  to  rescue  him. 
Once  free,  he  paid  no  attention  to  the 
mobs  that  were  still  raging,  but  went 
everywhere  that  the  wounded  lay.     The 


dying  called  him  and  the  living  threat- 
ened him.  v  Clunet  was  in  his  element. 
He  dressed  wounds,  he  performed  oper- 
ations, he  saved  lives.  And  when  this 
hard  work  was  done  he  learned  that 
among  the  Jewish  population,  which  had 
taken  refuge  in  dense  masses  before  the 
Sultan's  deer  cages,  an  epidemic  was 
breaking  out.  He  threw  himself  into 
this  new  task,  took  all  the  precautionary 
measures,  evacuated  the  infected  cases, 
disinfected  the  whole  place,  and  averted 
the  epidemic.  And  after  two  months  of 
this  intense  labor  he  returned  to  France 
feeling  that  he  had  had  what  he  went 
for — a  pleasure  trip. 

The  great  war  broke  out,  and  Clunet 
was  at  the  front  from  the  first  day.  A 
surgeon  in  the  332d  Regiment  of  the  line, 
he  was  with  the  vanguard  at  the  battle 
of  Charleroi.  Then  came  the  retreat, 
in  the  course  of  which  two  orderlies 
were  killed  at  his  side  and  two  horses 
were  struck  down  at  the  moment  when 
he  was  mounting  into  the  saddle.  No 
matter!  It  was  a  fine  life — there  are 
wounds  to  care  for  and  well  men  to  com- 
fort. Clunet  devotes  himself  to  those 
around  him. 

The  332d  withdraws  as  far  as  the 
Aisne  and  Berry-au-Bac.  There  it  is 
ordered  to  hold  a  precarious,  untenable 
position.  It  digs  in,  it  hangs  on,  in  spite 
of  the  intensity  of  the  bombardment 
and  the  violence  of  the  rifle  fire.  Jean 
Clunet  has  set  up  his  aid  station  at  the 
most  exposed  point,  because  it  is  there 
that  he  can  most  quickly  get  at  the 
wounded.  Finally  his  regiment  is  forced 
to  withdraw  precipitately  and  cross  the 
Aisne  in  all  haste.  Clunet  is  among  the 
last  to  go.  He  has  a  third  horse  killed 
under  him  and  crosses  the  river  by 
swimming. 

On  the  other  side  of .  the  Aisne  the 
332d  establishes  itself  solidly  in  trenches. 
The   furious  fighting  abates.     Life  be- 


138 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


comes  more  calm,  more  monotonous. 
Clunet  grows  restless.  The  day  is  long 
with  no  act  of  devotion  to  perform.  So, 
when  he  hears  that  an  expedition  is  to 
be  sent  to  the  Dardanelles,  he  tells  him- 
self: "I  will  go — I  am  going!"  And 
he  goes. 

At  the  Dardanelles  Clunet  gives  the 
maximum  of  his  energy  and  devotion. 
Epidemics  multiply,  various  and  deadly. 
He  fights  them  all.  He  cleans  up  the 
first-line  trenches  under  fire,  burying 
the  dead  by  night.  He  defends  himself, 
revolver  in  hand,  against  the  Turkish 
patrols  during  that  depressing  labor, 
rescuing  both  the  dead  and  the  living. 
He  succeeds  in  bringing  drinkable  water 
to  the  camp  and  in  establishing,  despite 
a  thousand  difficulties,  a  service  for 
hauling  away  the  dead  horses  and 
throwing  them  into  the  sea. 

One  day,  all  in  a  second,  he  is  struck 
down  by  a  frightful  pain  that  twists  his 
limbs  and  sets  his  brain  on  fire — it  is 
the  dreaded  fever,  which  the  colonials 
know  well  and  which  they  call  the 
"  dingue."  He  is  at  the  point  of  death. 
But  men  of  that  mettle  do  not  die  so 
easily.  Clunet  recovers  and  leaves  the 
Dardanelles — the  last  man  to  get  away. 
Last  in  retreat,  first  in  advance — that 
was  his  chosen  place. 

Jean  Clunet  then  passed  a  month  at 
Paris,  chiefly  in  the  Pasteur  Institute, 
where  he  had  formerly  worked  a  great 
deal  and  where  he  now  profited  from  all 
that  science  had  learned  regarding  con- 
tagious diseases.  "  I  prefer  contagious 
cases,"  he  said,  "  and  I  don't  know  why." 
We,  his  friends,  knew.  It  was  because 
those  were  the  cases  in  which  the  physi- 
cian ran  the  greatest  risks  in  treating 
them.  Clunet  waited,  impatient  for  the 
next  task  of  devotion.  It  came.  A  vio- 
lent epidemic  of  exanthematic  typhus 
was  raging  in  the  Serbian  Army  at 
Corfu.  Clunet  said :  "  I  will  go — I  am 
going!  "     And  he  went. 

He  was  asked  first  to  make  a  little  de- 
vour, to  go  through  Saloniki  and  set  up  a 
laboratory  there.  Clunet  sailed  on  La 
Provence.  The  vessel  was  torpedoed  and 
sinking.  The  officers,  foreseeing  the  pos- 
sibility of  such  a  catastrophe,  had  pro- 
vided  rafts.     These  were  thrown   over- 


board, and  Clunet  reached  one  of  them 
by  swimming.  He  was  safe,  or  would 
have  been,  but  for  the  one  thought  that 
possessed  him — to  save  others.  At  the 
risk  of  capsizing  a  hundred  times  he 
forces  the  raft  to  right  and  left,  haphaz- 
ard, any  way  to  pick  up  the  shipwrecked 
men  in  the  water.  Five,  then  ten,  then 
fifteen!  Those  whom  he  has  snatched 
from  disaster  cry  to  him:  "Enough! 
Enough!  We  are  going  to  sink."  But 
Clunet  estimates  that  he  can  still  save 
two  more  lives.  He  is  determined  to  save 
them.  Those  around  him  mutter,  almost 
threaten.  He  still  wears  his  uniform 
with  the  chevrons  of  an  officer.  He  or- 
ders silence,  commands  obedience.  The  men 
are  silent,  they  obey,  and  soon  two  more 
unfortunates  are  hauled  aboard  the  raft. 
One  of  them  is  grievously  wounded  in 
the  head.  Clunet  dresses  the  wound.  But 
the  others  must  be  fed.  He  succeeds  in 
gathering  in  several  loaves  of  bread  toss- 
ing about  in  the  waves,  and  thirty  apples. 
At  the  end  of  eighteen  hours  a  ship  ap- 
pears and  rescues  them,  eighteen  hours 
during  which  Clunet  has  sustained  the 
flagging  courage  of  his  companions, 
stimulated  their  energies,  extinguished 
incipient  revolts,  dissipated  ill-humor, 
all  by  force  of  his  own  indomitable  spirit. 
Then  came  Corfu.  To  typhus  was  add- 
ed dysentery,  and  both  diseases  were  rav- 
aging the  Serbian  Army.  Clunet  re- 
mained night  and  day  at  the  bedside  of  the 
sufferers.  He  was  himself  stricken  with 
dysentery,  but  did  not  cease  his  work.  In 
his  observation  of  the  typhus  epidemic  he 
noted  that  the  milk-diet  treatment  was 
giving  only  indifferent  results.  He  sub- 
stituted a  raw  meat  diet,  which  succeeded 
better.  He  did  not  return  to  France  until 
the  disease  had  been  stamped  out. 

Mme.  Clunet,  his  admirable  wife,  was 
at  the  station  to  meet  him.  She  was  in 
black,  but  not  in  mourning.  Little  by  lit- 
tle, with  all  the  tact  of  an  infinite  tender- 
ness, she  told  her  husband  that  their  only 
son,  a  child  of  5  years,  had  died  three 
days  before.  To  all  his  voluntary  sacri- 
fices was  added  this  involuntary  sacri- 
fice, the  most  cruel,  the  most  dreadful  of 
all.  Clunet  did  not  bury  himself  long  in 
his  grief.  Only  in  labor  to  relieve  the 
sufferings  of  others  could  he  forget  his 


THE  HEROIC  DEATH  OF  DR.  CLUNET 


139 


own.  He  learned  that  an  epidemic  had 
broken  out  in  Rumania,  that  the  spotted 
typhus,  with  which  he  had  already  meas- 
ured his  strength,  "was  claiming  its  vic- 
tims there.  How  could  he  go  anywhere 
else?  He  said,  "  I  am  going."  But  this 
time  Mme.  Clunet  replied  simply,  "  I  am 
going,  too."    And  they  went. 

In  a  spacious  villa  near  Jassy,  which 
today  bears  the  name  of  the  Greerul  Hos- 
pital, Dr.  and  Mme.  Clunet  established  a 
hospital  for  contagious  diseases.  Here 
they  first  treated  intermittent  fever  and 
spotted  typhus,  and  later,  when  the  epi- 
demic grew  worse,  typhus  alone.  Jean 
Clunet  was  everything  in  that  asylum  of 
pain — architect,  carpenter,  glazier,  water 


carrier,  food  provider,  physician.  Bend- 
ing over  the  dying,  burying  the  dead,  re- 
moving vermin  from  the  living,  he  at  last 
contracted  the  terrible  disease.  On  the 
thirteenth  day  he  died.  He  had  asked 
that  he  might  be  buried  near  the  hospital 
which  he  had  founded.  He  rests  there 
forever.  Even  in  death  he  desired  to  re- 
main at  the  post  which  he  had  assigned 
to  himself. 

Jean  Clunet  left  behind  him  an  admi- 
rable helpmate.  I  have  never  seen  grief 
more  noble  or  more  worthy.  I  bow  with 
respect  before  this  woman,  whom  the 
hope  of  approaching  motherhood  alone 
attaches  to  life.  She  said  to  me  simply, 
"  If  only  it  is  a  son !  " 


A  Cardinal's  Bombardment  Diary 


CARDINAL  LUCON,  Archbishop  of 
Rheims,  remained  in  that  city  dur- 
ing the  bombardment  that  practi- 
cally finished  the  destruction  of  the  cathe- 
dral. To  a  cure  in  Paris  he  sent  these 
extracts  from  his  diary: 

Holy  Tuesday,  April  3,  [1917.]— Inter- 
mittent bombardment  during  the  morning-; 
continuous  in  the  afternoon.  Between  10 
o'clock  and  midnight  a  shell  wrecks  the  apse 
of  the  Clairmarais  Chapel,  shatters  the 
statue  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  crushes  the  altar, 
and  buries  the  holy  ciborium  and  ten  conse- 
crated wafers  beneath  a  block  of  stone.  The 
house  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
and  the  Orphanage  in  the  Rue  de  Betheny 
are  annihilated  by  ten  big  shells. 

Good  Friday,  April  6. — Infernal  bombard- 
ment from  4  o'clock  onward :  7,750  shells ! 
Mme.  Beaudet,  an  admirable  Christian,  sis- 
ter of  M.  le  Cure  of  St.  Benoit,  killed  at  8 
P.  M.  in  a  motor  car,  with  the  wife  and 
daughter  of  the  sacristan  of  St.  Remi,  the 
chauffeur,  and  a  soldier.  Five  persons  killed 
at  Ste.  Genevieve  as  they  were  leaving  their 
cellar. 

Holy  Saturday,  April  7.— At  4  P.  M.  the 
great  seminary  took  fire.  No  water  to  ex- 
tinguish the  flames.  The  firemen  dare  not 
approach,  for  the  Germans  are  dropping  four 
shells  a  minute  on  the  building,  keeping  it  up 
throughout  the  evening  and  night.  Two  fire- 
men were  killed  yesterday,  Friday,  and  two 
others  have  had  their  legs  broken. 

Easter  Day,  April  8.— The  only  divine  serv- 
ice was  a  low  mass  at  8 :30.  No  vespers. 
This  was  fortunate,  for  at  the  hour  when  it 
is  customary  to  chant  them  a  hellish  bom- 
bardment began.  The  Cer&s  suburb  is  burned 
down  or  knocked  to  pieces  right  and  left  over 


the  length  of  half  a  mile.  The  church  of  St. 
Andre  is  ruined,  the  vaults  shattered,  and 
the  walls  knocked  in.  Our  little  seminary 
receives  such  a  number  of  shells  that  it  is 
uninhabitable.  The  church  of  St.  Benoit 
had  its.  ceiling  destroyed,  its  walls  knocked 
in,  and  its  porch  and  belfry  wrecked. 

Monday,  April  9.— Violent  bombardments 
Six  killed,  seventeen  wounded  :  10,000  shells ! 

Saturday,  April  14. — Violent  bombardment 
from  9  to  11  o'clock  all  around  us.  Asphyxi- 
ating shells  on  the  Rue  du  Barbatu  and  Rue 
du  Cloitre,  where  Mile.  Leparqueur  is  killed ; 
fifteen  persons  died  from  asphyxiation.  The 
lay  clerk  of  St.  Remi,  together  with  his  wife 
and  daughter,  also  died,  poisoned  and  as- 
phyxiated. 

Tuesday,  April  24.— From  9  to  10:15  o'clock 
systematic  bombardment  of  the  cathedral 
with  big  calibre  shells,  many  of  them 
305mm.,  fired  at  regular  intervals.  They  were 
all  manifestly  aimed  at  the  cathedral.  A 
great  number  hit  it,  the  rest  falling  beyond 
it,  short  of  it,  to  right  of  it,  and  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Archbishop's  palace  to  left  of 
it.  The  cathedral  is  •'  assassinated  !  "  The 
apse  outside  is  "  massacred,"  three  flying 
buttresses  are  broken,  numerous  pinnacles 
truncated  or  knocked  down,  the  open  gal- 
leries of  the  apse  of  the  lofty  walls  are  to  a 
large  extent  thrown  down.  The  walls  have 
received  such  injuries  that  their  solidity  is 
imperiled.  The  towers  "have  been  seriously 
damaged.  Lastly,  the  vaults  have  fallen  in 
in  five  places,  in  the  south  transept,  in  the 
chancel— which  is  in  ruins— and  before  the 
pulpit.  The  font  is  crushed;  the  high  altar, 
buried  beneath  the  debris  of  the  vault,  is  no 
longer  visible.  Needless  to  say,  the  stained- 
glass  windows  have  lost  the  few  panes  which 
still   remained. 


Nesting  Mothers  of  Battle  Zone 

Bird   Life  Where  Cannons  Roar 

Nature  lovers,  weary  of  the  war's  horrors,  will  find  a  charming  interlude  in  this  article, 
which  was  contributed  to  Land  and  Water  by  H.  Thoburn-Clarke,  an  observant  British 
soldier  on  the  battle  front  in  France. 


THE  war,  with  its  upheaval  of  most 
of  our  ideas  of  the  effect  of  gun- 
fire upon  the  habits  of  the  nature 
folk,  does  not  appear  to  have 
troubled  the  migrating  resident  birds  of 
the  western  battle  zone.  Already  airmen 
have  encountered  vast  flocks  of  migrating 
waders,  ducks,  and  other  birds  flying  at 
an  immense  altitude  far  above  the  sound 
of  our  massed  artillery,  and  this  year 
great  flocks  of  green  plover  have  settled 
in  the  marshes,  and  appear  likely  to  stay 
for  a  while.  Until  early  in  March  I  had 
seen  only  two  or  three  green  plover  at 
a  time  during  all  my  two  years  wander- 
ing up  and  down  the  battle  front.  Now 
they  have  settled  down  here  in  dozens, 
but,  so  far,  I  have  not  seen  any  of  their 
absurd  attempts  at  a  nest,  although  they 
are  wheeling,  dipping,  and  fluttering  in 
their  dainty  love  flights  over  the 
marshes. 

Last  year  wild  ducks  nested  among 
the  reed  beds  to  our  left,  and  brought 
off  large  families  of  young  ones.  One 
family  numbered  ten  when  it  first  came 
off  the  nest,  and  it  was  most  amusing 
to  watch  the  tiny  balls  of  fluff  waddling 
up  and  down  an  almost  submerged  stump 
of  a  tree  that  had  been  felled  by  our 
gunfire.  The  mother  duck  would  swim 
up  and  down  watching  them  anxiously, 
making  angry  dashes  every  now  and 
then  at  the  coot  that  was  occupied  with 
a  family  of  seven  black  velvet  balls  of 
fluff  on  the  other  side  of  the  reeds. 
The  two  mothers  would  meet  with  a 
rush;  the  duck  would  grip  hold  of  a 
beakful  of  feathers,  while  the  coot 
would  fight  with  beak  and  claws.  The 
fray  generally  lasted  for  a  few  seconds; 
then  the  mothers  would  race  back  to 
their  broods,  each  evidently  considering 
that  she  had  triumphed  over  the  other! 
The  scene  was  repeated  at  intervals,  day 
after  day,  but,  alas!  the  two  broods  grew 


daily  smaller,  until  each  mother  had  only 
one  nestling  left.  Probably  the  rats  had 
killed  and  eaten  the  rest. 

At  another  time  I  captured  a  tiny  coot 
and  took  it  to  my  dugout.  I  hoped  to 
tame  it,  but  the  wee  mite  developed 
most  extraordinary  climbing  powers.  It 
literally  raced  up  the  walls  of  the  dug- 
out, hurled  itself  out  of  boxes  and 
through  the  entrance,  and  tore  off, 
making  by  instinct  in  the  direction  of 
the  river.  It  was  caught  and  brought 
back,  but  nothing  would  tame  its  restless 
spirit,  so  in  the  evening  I  crept  down  to 
the  river,  with  the  small  coot  carefully 
tucked  into  my  pocket.  I  could  see 
nothing  of  the  old  bird  and  her  brood. 
She  had  apparently  left  the  scene.  How- 
ever, I  took  the  little  coot  out  of  my 
pocket,  and  allowed  him  to  call.  Almost 
immediately  I  heard  a  reply  from  the 
reeds  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  the  mother  coot  came  swimming 
toward  me.  I  let  the  little  beggar  go, 
and  the  last  I  saw  o^  him  was  a  small 
black  object  swimming  through  the 
moonlight.  He  joined  his  mother,  and 
they  both  vanished  into  the  shadows  of 
the  opposite  bank  and  I  saw  them  no 
more. 

Our  gun  positions  are  favorite  nesting 
places  for  many  birds.  Whenever  we  re- 
main in  the  same  place  for  a  few  weeks 
they  take  possession  of  the  "  structures  " 
we  use  for  masking  the  guns.  Last 
Autumn  a  blackbird  built  her  nest  in 
the  sandbag  parapet,  and  in  spite  of 
the  storms  and  the  repeated  firing  of 
our  gun  she  hatched  out  three  eggs, 
and,  I  believe,  reared  the  young  ones 
successfully.  At  another  position — in  an 
orchard  this  time — another  blackbird 
made  her  nest  among  the  sandbags; 
this  time  only  about  four  feet  to  the 
side  of  the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  and  stuck 
tight  during  the  whole  time  we  were 
strafing  the   Germans,  and  successfully 


WESTING  MOTHERS  OF  BATTLE  ZONE 


141 


hatched  all  four  of  her  eggs,  a  sur- 
prising feat  when  one  considers  the  con- 
cussion. Not  very  far  away  a  pair  of 
blackcaps  had  built  their  nest  in  the 
gnarled  stump  of  an  old  apple  tree.  They 
were  unfortunate,  for  a  well-aimed  shell 
during  a  German  evening  strafe  demol- 
ished the  apple  tree  and  the  nest.  Ap- 
parently the  blackcaps  did  not  trouble, 
for  they  built  another  nest  in  the  next 
tree  stump  and  hatched  out  and  brought 
up  their  young  ones  safely. 

Ammunition  wagons  have  a  great  at- 
traction for  the  birds.  A  pair  of  spar- 
rows endeavored  to  construct  a  nest  in 
an  empty  one  during  a  dinner  hour,  when 
we  were  resting,  and  actually  followed  us 
to  the  next  rest,  but  the  move  on  the 
next  day  discouraged  them  and  they  left 
us.  During  one  of  our  stays  in  a  cer- 
tain part  of  the  front  a  pair  of  wrens 
succeeded  in  building  a  nest,  and  when 
we  were  moved  half  a  mile  further  on 
the  two  birds  came  with  the  wagon  and 
would  no  doubt  have  hatched  out  their 
young  ones  if  the  fortunes  of  war  had 
not  prevented  it.  A  hedge  sparrow  had 
her  home  in  a  ruined  wagon,  and  when 
I  found  her  nest  she  was  patiently 
feeding  a  cuckoo  larger  than  herself. 
The  hedge  sparrows  and  their  foster 
child  occupied  the  wagon  for  a  long  time, 
and  I  have  watched  the  two  patiently 
feeding  the  cuckoo  while  the  shells  were 
bursting  in  all  directions.  At  another 
time  I  found  the  nest  of  a  hedge  spar- 
row in  the  hub  of  a  broken  wheel  lying 
in  a  position  that  was  continually  being 
shelled  by  the  Germans.  Evidently  she 
must  have  stuck  tight,  for  at  the  time  the 
nest  was  discovered  it  had  four  young 
ones  in  it,  and  the  parent  birds  were 
feeding  their  nestlings  with  serene  indif- 
ference to  the  dropping  of  shrapnel  and 
bursting  of  shells. 

It  is  extraordinary  how  fond  the  birds 
are  of  certain  localities,  and  quite  a  large 
number  of  different  varieties  will  nest 
together.  In  one  wood,  somewhat  to  the 
rear  of  our  position,  during  last  Summer, 
a  vast  number  of  pigeons,  magpies,  rooks, 
and  crows  were  nesting  in  the  taller 
trees,  while  various  warblers,  tree  creep- 
ers, and  tits  built  their  dwellings  in  the 
undergrowth.     Yet  in  the  early  days  of 


the  war  the  wood  had  been  heavily 
shelled,  and  still  bore  marks  of  gunfire 
in  the  shape  of  fallen  trees.  The  con- 
flict had  been  severe  enough  to  have 
driven  the  birds  to  seek  some  safer  abode, 
but  evidently  they  had  clung  to  the  old 
place  and  declined  to  nest  anywhere  else. 
The  numbers  of  pigeons  seem  to  increase 
at  an  extraordinary  rate.  Probably  the 
destruction  caused  by  warfare  does  not 
equal  that  in  times  of  peace,  while  the 
quantities  of  mice  and  rats  afford  suffi- 
cient food  for  the  kestrels  and  other 
birds  that  might  prey  upon  the  young 
nestlings.  Sometimes  in  the  height  of 
the  nesting  season  the  noise  of  the  nest- 
lings in  the  various  nests  was  almost 
deafening,  all  clamoring  loudly  for  food 
the  instant  they  heard  the  beat  of  their 
mother's  wings.  One  would  almost  im- 
agine that  each  bird's  wing  had  a  dif- 
ferent sound,  in  that  respect  resembling 
the  tread  of  the  human  footsteps. 

I  have  always  associated  the  nightin- 
gale with  a  certain  railway  cutting  in 
Berkshire,  where  it  is  possible  to  hear 
them  singing  all  night  through,  but  al- 
most impossible  to  find  their  nests,  and 
exceedingly  difficult  to  see  the  bird  itself. 
Out  here,  however,  the  shyness  has  van- 
ished. I  have  heard  of  nests  in  the  front- 
line trenches;  of  eggs  being  hatched  dur- 
ing a  furious  bombardment;  while  close 
to  our  billets  six  pairs  had  built  in  a 
ruined  garden,  and  we  watched  their 
nesting  with  keen  pleasure.  A  blackcap 
literally  sang  us  to  sleep  at  nights.  It 
perched  in  a  sapling  that  screens  a  gun 
and  sang  constantly,  its  vivid  notes  punc- 
tuated with  the  boom  of  distant  firing. 
At  another  place,  a  reedy  remnant  of  a 
ruined  moat,  ten  different  kinds  of  birds 
were  nesting  in  the  weeds  and  rushes 
that  clothed  the  bank.  Tits,  far  bluer 
than  any  British  bird,  reed  warblers, 
garden  warblers,  blackcaps,  several 
greenfinches,  and  many  other  warblers. 

The  martins  and  swallows  are,  I  think, 
more  numerous  than  in  England,  and 
appear  as  pleased  with  the  ruins  as  the 
sparrows  and  starlings.  I  have  seen 
house  martins'  nests  built  under  the  cor- 
nice of  the  ruins  of  a  highly  decorated 
drawing  room,  pink  Cupids  and  blue  love 
knots  contrasting  strangely  with  the  mud 


142 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


of  the  nest.  In  most  villages  the  peasants 
are  very  superstitious  about  the  swallows 
and  house  martins,  and  consider  that  ill- 
luck  will  follow  the  destruction  of  a  nest. 
So  the  swallows  and  martins  are  free  to 
build  where  they  like,  and  I  often  wonder 
whether  when  the  ruins  are  reconstructed 
they  will  endeavor  to  reconcile  the  birds 
to  a  change  ©f  dwelling.  At  present  their 
nests  are  everywhere.  One  built  on  the 
rack  where  we  hung  our  clothes,  another 
on  a  rafter  in  our  harness  room,  while 
several  occupied  a  shed  in  which  the  gun- 
ners were  billeted  during  a  "  rest."  The 
shed  was  strafed  and  a  shell  broke  a 
large  hole  in  the  roof,  but  failed  to  ex- 
plode. The  swallows  had  previously  used 
the  doorways  as  an  entrance,  but  they 
at  once  saw  the  convenience  of  the  shell 
hole,  and  almost  before  the  dust  of  the 


broken  roof  had  subsided  they  were  calm- 
ly flying  in  and  out  with  food  for  their 
young  ones.  Possibly  young  swallows 
and  martins  require  more  food  than  other 
nestlings,  for  the  parent  birds  were  feed- 
ing them  from  the  earliest  dawning  until 
it  was  almost  too  dark  to  see  the  birds. 
Yet  the  baby  birds  never  ceased  squeal- 
ing for  more.  Shells  might  burst  and 
shatter  the  adjoining  sheds,  even  a 
"  dud "  pierce  the  roof  that  sheltered 
them,  but  still  they  cried  insistently. 
Perhaps  that  is  why  the  nesting  mothers 
of  the  battlefields  take  matters  so  placid- 
ly. They  have  no  time  to  waste,  but 
must  feed  their  young  ones  in  spite  of 
war's  wild  alarms,  and,  after  all,  it  is 
the  quantity  of  food  that  matters  with 
the  wild  folk,  and  they  have  enough  of 
that  in  all  conscience  at  the  front. 


Professor  Harnack    Scorns  American  Ideals 

Dr.  Adolph  von  Harnack,  Professor  of  Theology  and  General  Director  of 
the  Royal  Library,  Berlin,  delivered  a  lecture  in  Berlin  on  May  19,  1917,  on 
"  Wilson's  American  Ideal  of  Liberty."  After  attacking  the  President's  "  pacifist, 
democratic,  and  plutocratic  ideal  "  as  contrasted  with  the  "  interior  and  exterior 
liberty  of  Germans,"  the  noted  theologian  continued: 

The  hostility  of  the  United  States  against  us  is  reducible  to  the  inconven- 
ience which  was  caused  to  America  by  German  economical  efficiency.  A  second 
reason  is  that  America  feared  to  lose  the  enormous  capital  she  had  invested  in 
the  Entente  from  the  beginning,  in  the  firm  belief  that  the  latter  would  be 
victorious.  Now  America  is  witnessing  the  chances  of  victory  gradually  dis- 
appearing, and  rushes  in  to  save  what  is  possible. 

America  conducted  silent  war  against  us  long  before  the  declaration  of 
war,  and  never  was  particular  in  choosing  her  means.  Wilson  and  many  Amer- 
icans with  him  have  undergone  an  ugly  development  from  an  honest  democratic 
republicanism  to  a  bedizened  emperorism.  In  addition,  Wilson  distinguishes 
himself  by  amazing  ignorance  about  Germany,  He  is  an  intellectual  moralist, 
but  without  any  depth  whatever. 

Professor  Harnack  then  quoted  extensively  from  President  Wilson's  books 
to  show  "  what  startling  political,  judicial,  and  ethical  metamorphoses  the  Presi- 
dent had  passed  through,  changing  his  convictions  as  often  as  his  trousers. 
Germany  must  decidedly  decline  this  many-colored  uniform  of  liberty  which  one 
can  easily  picture  from  Wilson's  words  and  deeds.  We  don't  want  liberty,  ex- 
cept of  our  own  make  and  in  accord  with  our  history." 


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Deportations  Planned  in  Advance 

Belgian  Official  Memorandum 


AN    official    memorandum    presented 

/\  to  the  United  States  Government 
1  \  by  M.  de  Cartier,  the  Belgian 
Minister  at  Washington,  and 
made  public  June  3,  1917,  summarizes  the 
facts  of  German  rule  in  Belgium,  and 
charges  that  enforced  idleness  of  the  Bel- 
gian workingmen  was  part  of  a  deliberate 
war  policy  preparatory  to  the  deporta- 
tions. 

"  The  cessation  of  the  larger  part  of 
Belgian  industry  is  an  admitted  fact," 
says  the  memorandum.  "  But  Germany 
founds  an  argument  upon  this  fact  as 
upon  an  event  due  to  the  circumstances 
of  a  state  of  war,  and  in  the  presence  of 
which  the  good  intentions  of  the  occupant 
were  powerless. 

"  However,  this  is  not  the  case.  The 
depressed  condition  of  Belgian  industry 
is  not  a  case  of  accident  caused  by  the 
force  of  extraneous  circumstances  un- 
connected with  the  action  of  the  German 
authorities;  these  authorities  are,  on  the 
contrary,  personally  responsible.  Their 
responsibility  is  double.  The  German 
Government  is  the  direct  author  of  the 
crisis  in  Belgian  industry  and  labor.  The 
German  Government  has  deliberately  pre- 
vented the  Belgians  from  applying  the 
remedy. 

"  Since  the  occupation  of  Belgium  the 
German  authorities,  in  spite  of  their  de- 
ceitful proclamations,  have  put  into  ef- 
fect the  plan  worked  out  in  August,  1914, 
at  Berlin,  by  Dr.  W.  Rathenau,  for  the 
systematic  exploitation  of  all  the  economic 
resources  of  occupied  countries  to  the 
profit  of  the  war  organization  of  the  em- 
pire. 

The    Rathenau    Plan 

"  This  plan  allowed,  notably,  the  seiz- 
ure of  all  stocks  of  raw  materials  exist- 
ing in  the  occupied  territories,  and  the 
transfer  of  them  into  Germany,  in  order 
to  avert  the  consequences  of  the  closure 
of  the  seas.  This  was  to  be  completed 
by  the  removal  of  the  implements  of 
labor,   and,   in   general,   by  the   removal 


of  all  means  of  production  which  the 
empire  might  need  for  the  continuation 
of  the  struggle.  Economic  commissions, 
attached  to  all  the  military  authorities 
in  the  occupied  territories,  were  to  be 
constituted  the  agents  for  putting  into 
execution  the  Rathenau  plan.  By  this 
plan — as  the  German  publicists  have 
written  on  so  many  occasions  with  the 
approval  of  the  censor — the  war  carried 
on  by  the  empire  would  take  on  the 
haracter  of  an  '  economic  war.' 

"  This  program  was  methodically  car- 
ried out." 

The  memorandum  then  cites  the  Ger- 
man official  bulletin  of  laws  and  decrees 
for  the  occupied  territory  published  at 
Brussels  from  the  end  of  August,  1914, 
containing  more  than  120  orders  relating 
to  economic  conditions,  many  of  them 
commandeering  raw  materials,  finished 
products,  and  tools,  as  well  as  domestic 
animals,  crops,  and  seeds. 

"  The  Belgian  Government,"  it  con- 
tinues, "  knows  that  the  operation  of  re- 
moving machines  and  installation  was,  in 
several  cases,  confined  to  the  representa- 
tives of  German  firms  who  were  the  di- 
rect competitors  of  the  Belgian  indus- 
tries, and  that,  in  at  least  one  instance, 
in  an  artificial  silk  factory,  the  Belgian 
firm's  secret  process  of  fabrication  was 
ascertained  from  the  factory  inspected. 

"  Numerous  Belgian  industries  have 
been  placed  under  sequestration  without 
plausible  reason. 

"  Finally,  the  German  authorities,  in 
1916,  placed  prohibitive  tariffs  on  the 
remaining  Belgian  industries  which  had 
still  maintained  a  relative  degree  of  ac- 
tivity through  their  commercial  relations 
with  certain  neutral  countries — the  glass 
industry  and  the  metallurgic  industry. 

"  These  prohibitive  measures  are  of  a 
nature  to  close  to  Belgian  industry  any 
markets  which  may  have  remained  open, 
and  even  to  render  impossible  all  export 
trade. 

"  Attention  can  be  called  here  only  to 


144 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


the  principal  acts  which  have  marked 
the  German  financial  policy: 

"  (a)  A  war  tax  of  40,000,000  francs  per 
month  for  the  benefit  of  the  German  war 
treasury— a  tax  fixed,  at  first,  for  one  year, 
the  Belgian  provinces  being-  jointly  and  sev- 
erally responsible,  (December,  1914,)  with  the 
official  promise  that  there  should  not  be 
afterward  any  other  war  tax.  In  November, 
1915,  however,  this  tax  was  made  permanent. 
In  November,  1916,  after  nearly  1,000,000,000 
francs  had  been  extracted  from  the  country, 
the  tax  was  increased  by  the  sum  of  10,000,000 
francs  per  month,  (50,000,000  francs  instead 
of  40,000,000.) 

"  (b)  Imposition  of  the  mark  at  the  forced 
rate  of  1  franc  25  centimes. 

"  (c)  Refusal  of  the  German  authorities  to 
accept  marks  in  payment  of  the  war  tax,  of 
which  a  large  proportion  was  required  to  be 
paid  in  francs. 

"  (d)  Absolute  prohibition  of  the  exportation 
of  securities,  even  to  pay  for  commodities 
necessary  for  the  feeding  of  the  civil  popu- 
lation. 

"  (e)  Extortion  of  marks  held  as  cash  re- 
serve by  Belgian  banks,  (the  Banque  Na- 
tionale  and  the  SoctetS  Generate,)  that  is  to 
say,  430,000,000  marks  which  were  transported 
into  Germany  (Sept.  12,  191G)  with  the  stipu- 
lation of  repayment  two  years  after  the  end 
of  the  war  at  the  average  rate  of  exchange 
of  Berlin  at  that  period. 

"  Any  country  whatever,  if  subjected 
to  such  a  system  of  exploitation,  would 
find  itself  overwhelmed  by  the  calamity 
of  unemployment.  The  number  of  Bel- 
gian workers  (men)  thus  reduced  to  idle- 
ness, in  spite  of  their  desire  to  work,  va- 
ries between  300,000  and  400,000;  if  this 
number  (which  the  German  statements 
tend  to  exaggerate  in  order  to  draw  some 
quibbling  argument) — if  this  number  is 
not  greater,  it  is  due  only  to  the  prodi- 
gies of  ingenuity  and  initiative  of  the 
Belgians,  who  have  truly  shown  them- 
selves in  this,  as  in  other  spheres,-  *  the 
nation  that  will  not  die.' " 

Next  it  is  shown  that  the  aid  dispensed 
to  the  victims  of  the  German  invasion, 
amounting  to  10,000,000  or  12,000,000 
francs  a  month,  has  not  cost  Germany  a 
cent  and  has  been  only  a  small  charge  on 
the  local  budgets  of  the  occupied  terri- 
tory— thus  disposing  of  the  oft-quoted 
German  argument  that  it  could  not  per- 
mit such  considerable  burdens  to  be 
placed  upon  local  communities. 

Efforts  of  the  Belgian  authorities  to 
keep  the  population  from  falling  into  the 


habits  of  idleness  so  strongly  reprobated 
by  the  late  von  Bissing  and  other  apostles 
of  German  humanitarianism  were  thwart- 
ed by  the  German  authorities.  One  of 
these  plans  was  to  require  the  unem- 
ployed who  received  allowances  from 
charity  to  take  up  the  study  of  a  trade. 
The  operation  of  this  plan  was  paralyzed 
by  German  interference. 

Unemployment  Created 

"  The  fact  is,"  the  memorandum  con- 
tinues, "  that,  while  artifically  creating 
unemployment  in  Belgium  by  the  re- 
moval of  stocks  of  raw  materials  and 
tools  and  by  the  restrictions  placed  upon 
the  commercial  activity  of  the  country, 
the  German  administration  had  conceived 
the  idea  of  enrolling  the  workers,  thus 
thrown  into  enforced  idleness,  in  the 
service  of  its  war  industries,  either  in 
the  requisitioned  Belgian  factories  or  in 
Germany. 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  Summer  of 
1915  a  campaign  was  started  to  over- 
come, in  this  matter,  the  passive  re- 
sistance of  Belgian  patriotism;  the  Ger- 
man authorities  had  had  recourse,  suc- 
cessively or  simulaneously,  to  the  bait 
of  high  wages,  to  intimidation,  then  to 
violence,  in  order  to  procure  the  manual 
labor  necessary  for  their  military  ob- 
jects, (see  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
reports  of  the  Belgian  Commission  of  In- 
quiry in  regard  to  the  violation  of  the 
law  of  nations;)  but  these  attempts  had 
failed;  very  few  Belgian  workmen  had 
consented  to  engage  themselves  in  the 
service  of  the  enemy;  of  the  others,  a 
certain  number  had  been  deported  to 
Germany  as  prisoners  as  a  punishment 
for  their  refusal.  Then  the  German  ad- 
ministration resolved  to  prevent,  by  all 
means  in  its  power,  the  Belgian  unem- 
ployed from  finding  elsewhere  a  liveli- 
hood or  assistance;  it  counted  upon  hold- 
ing them  at  its  mercy  by  the  pressure  of 
the  needs  and  the  destitution  of  their 
families." 

Still  more  incredible,  except  on  the 
assumption  that  Germany  had  set  out  to 
reduce  Belgium  to  such  a  state  that  she 
could  make  to  the  world  the  plea  that 
the  Belgians'  alternatives  were  beggary 
or  deportation,  was  the  German  opposi- 


DEPORTATIONS  PLANNED  IN  ADVANCE 


145 


tion  to  works  of  public  utility  for  the 
benefit  of  the  unemployed.  The  Province 
of  Luxembourg  had  completely  solved 
its  problem  of  unemployment  by  or- 
ganizing works  of  improvement  of  this 
character  when  the  order  of  May  2,  1916, 
was  issued,  in  which  the  local  authorities 
were  directed  to  abandon  these  works,  on 
which  nearly  $2,000,000  had  been  spent, 
because,  as  the  memorandum  says,  "  it 
was  a  matter  of  work  for  the  unem- 
ployed." When  the  Luxembourgers  thus 
thrown  out  of  employment  sought  work 
in  other  communes  the  German  authori- 
ties refused  to  authorize  any  work  where 
employment  was  given  to  workmen  from 
outside  communes. 

"  Thus  hunted  down,"  says  the  mem- 
orandum, "  in  every  place  where  employ- 
ment could  still  be  obtained  in  Belgium," 
the  Belgian  laboring  class,  at  the  end  of 
September,  1916,  found  itself  compelled 
to  fold  its  arms  by  order  of  the  German 
authorities. 

"  This  was  the  moment  chosen  by  the 
German  Government  to  decree  the  de- 
portation of  the  Belgian  unemployed  into 
Germany  under  the  official  pretext  '  that 
sufficient  occupation  for  the  unemployed 
could  no  longer  be  found  in  Belgium.'  " 

The  memorandum  refutes  the  German 
allegation  that  the  British  blockade,  by 
shutting  out  raw  materials,  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  economic  woes  of  Bel- 
gium, showing  that  a  system  of  imports 
of  such  materials  under  neutral  guar- 
antees failed  of  adoption  because  of 
Germany's  refusal  to  give  the  guaran- 
tee required  of  her. 

Deliberate    Wat   Measure 

The  deportation  order  of  Oct.  3,  1916, 
to  which  the  Belgian  Government  con- 
tends all  Germany's  previous  policy  had 
been  leading  up,  was  essentially  a  war 
measure.    The  memorandum  says: 

"  This  character  is  shown,  in  the  first 
place,  by  the  authority  from  which  it 
emanates,  and  which  is,  not  the  civil 
Government  of  unoccupied  Belgium,  but 
the  German  General  Headquarters.  This 
character  is  shown,  moreover,  by  the 
fact  that  similar  orders  were  given  out 
simultaneously,  and  by  the  military  au- 


thorities also,  covering  the  occupied  dis- 
tricts of  Poland  and  Lithuania.  In  both 
cases  it  was  only  the  putting  into  exe- 
cution of  a  general  plan  tending  to  com- 
plete the  entire  incorporation  of  the  re- 
sources (men  as  well  as  goods)  of  the 
occupied  countries  into  the  war  organiza- 
tion of  the  empire. 

"  Finally,  this  character  is  shown,  in 
an  absolutely  decisive  way,  by  the  cor- 
relation, today  openly  avowed,  between 
the  order  of  Oct.  3,  1916,  and  the  law 
of  December,  1916,  ordering  the  mobili- 
zation in  Germany  itself  of  the  entire 
able-bodied  civil  population  for  the  aux- 
iliary service  of  the  army.  The  de- 
ported Belgians  have  been  incorporated 
into  this  vast  economic  military  organ- 
ism by  approximately  the  same  legis- 
lative claim  and  for  exactly  the  same 
ends  as  the  able-bodied  male  population 
of  Germany;  that  is  to  say,  to  aid  the 
German  Army  to  support  the  burden  of 
the  war  and  to  make  a  supreme  effort." 
Not  Justified  b$  Danger 
While  admitting  the  Belgian  people's 
aversion  to  the  invaders,  the  memoran- 
dum remarks  upon  their  absolute  self- 
control  : 

"  During  two  years  of  occupation  under 
a  very  severe  regime,  there  has  been  no 
uprising,  no  disorder  anywhere.  All  the 
social  authorities,  or  those  who  have  been 
placed  in  such  authority,  have  constantly 
occupied  themselves  in  recommending  calm 
and  patience  to  the  sorely  tried  people. 
Moreover,  the  population  has  no  arms; 
surrounded  by  a  barrier  of  death-dealing 
electric  wires,  the  population  is  literally 
held  as  in  a  cage.  All  constitutional  lib- 
erties, liberty  of  opinion,  of  the  press,  of 
reunion  and  of  association,  are  suspended. 
The  danger  of  disorder  is  so  remote  that 
the  German  administration  has  main- 
tained only  relatively  weak  garrisons  in 
Belgium.     *     *     * 

"  It  can  be  said  without  exaggeration 
that  such  an  attack  upon  the  essential 
rights  of  humanity  had  never  before  been 
made  in  modern  times  by  any  State  call- 
ing itself  civilized.  The  brutality  and 
the  duplicity  with  which  the  measure 
has  been  enforced  have  augmented  (if 
such  a  thing  be  possible)   this  unprece- 


146 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES  CURRENT    HISTORY 


dented  scandal;  they  have  wrung  from 
Belgium,  which  seemed  to  have  already 
reached  the  limit  of  the  afflictions  of  a 
nation  at  war,  a  cry  of  anguish  which  has 
caused  an  echo  of  horror  and  indignation 
from  the  neutral  States. 

"  Although  in  1863  the  Instructions  for 
the  Armies  in  the  Field,  published  for  the 
use  of  the  American  troops,  noted  even 
then  that  deportation  and  reduction  to 
servitude  of  the  civil  population  of  con- 
quered States  by  the  conqueror  were  no 
longer  practiced  except  among  barbaric 
hordes,  the  spectacle  has  been  seen  in 
Belgium  of  the  regular  army  of  a  power- 
ful empire  employed  in  carrying  out  me- 


thodic slave-raids  upon  the  citizens  of 
a  small,  captive  nation  which  had  entered 
the  war  solely  for  the  defense  of  its  in- 
dependence and  for  the  fulfillment  of  its 
international  duties.      *     *       * 

"  No  peace  is  possible,  nor  durable, 
without  the  observance  of  the  elemen- 
tary rules  of  right,  one  of  the  first  of 
which  is  respect  for  the  human  person. 

"  No  abuse  of  force  can  exhaust  the 
resistance  of  the  Belgian  people  to  foreign 
oppression.  All  history  witnesses  that  the 
aspiration  of  the  Belgian  people  for  in- 
dependence is  indomitable  and  that  their 
endurance  will  win  the  mastery  over 
tyranny." 


Belgium's  New  War  Industries 


THE  Belgian  Army  in  1917  is  making 
its  own  cannon,  its  own  rifles,  its 
own  shells,  its  own  transport  wag- 
ons, its  own  saddles  and  harness.  After 
the  heroic  battle  of  the  Yser  in  1914  it 
had  six  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  di- 
visions of  cavalry  left  to  hold  a  line  of 
approximately  eighteen  miles,  or  just 
about  four  men  to  the  yard  of  front;  a 
front  where  particular  vigilance  is  re- 
quired because  of  the  German  tactics  of 
constant  trial  attacks.  No  part  of  the 
Allies'  line  is  more  closely  watched  and 
explored  by  the  enemy's  patrols.  A  weak 
spot  anywhere  would  provoke  an  imme- 
diate offensive. 

Belgium  lost  all  her  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments and  all  her  resources  in 
raw  materials  in  the  defeat  of  the  Allies 
at  Charleroi  and  in  the  retreat  from 
Antwerp,  yet  M.  de  Broqueville,  Minister 
of  War,  with  Belgian  ingenuity,  skill, 
and  perseverance,  has  built  up  on  the 
hospitable  soil  of  France  artillery  and 
munitions  establishments  that  not  only 
enable  the  Belgian  Army  to  reply  shot 
for  shot  to  the  Germans  on  the  Yser 
front  but  also  contribute  to  the  arma- 
ment and  supplies  of  the  allied  armies. 

It  was  to  the  United  States  that  M.  de 
Broqueville  looked  immediately  after  the 
termination  of  the  heroic  defense  of  Bel- 
gian soil  on  the  Yser  for  the  reconstitu- 
tion    of   Belgian    industry.      Specialists 


were  sent  to  purchase  American  machine 
tools  for  the  manufacture  of  everything 
the  army  needed,  and  when  the  ma- 
chines arrived  mechanics  released  from 
military  service  were  ready  to  operate 
them.  Fourteen  thousand  workmen  are 
today  employed  in  those  establishments. 

The  invasion  found  the  Belgian  Army 
in  the  midst  of  an  entire  reorganization 
of  ite  artillery.  Siege  cannon  ordered 
from  the  Krupp  works  in  Germany  had 
not  been  furnished.  Millions  of  cart- 
ridges ordered  from  the  same  source  also 
had  been  held  up.  It  was  with  a  disor- 
ganized armament  and  insufficient  ma- 
terial that  the  Belgians  held  the  Ger- 
mans before  Liege.  Before  Antwerp,  in 
the  retreat  to  Flanders,  and  in  the  de- 
fense of  the  Yser,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  remaining  debris  of  the  armament 
and  munitions  was  exhausted. 

The  worn-out  field  guns,  brought  back 
in  the  retreat  to  the  Yser,  were  partly 
replaced  by  French  three-inchers,  but  at 
that  all  the  Allies  were  short  of  their 
requirements  in  armament  and  mu- 
nitions. 

The  Belgian  Government,  with  no  in- 
dustries left  nor  territory  remaining  out 
of  range  of  the  German  guns  on  which 
to  instil  new  ones,  began  in  exile  to  work 
out  its  great  problem  of  war  supplies. 
Today  it  furnishes  saddles  and  harness 
to  the  British  Army  and  other  supplies 


BELGIUM'S  NEW   WAR  /NDUSTRIES 


147 


of  different  kinds  to  all  its  allies,  includ- 
ing Russia,  besides  keeping  up  the  equip- 
ment of  its  new  army. 

The  Belgian  Army  is  new  in  nearly 
every  feature.  Of  the  120,000  men  in 
the  field  and  60,000  men  who  garrisoned 
the  forts,  30,000  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Germans  at  Liege  and  Namur  and  in  the 
retreat;  30,000  more  took  refuge  in  Hol- 
land, and  were  interned  for  the  duration 
of  the  war;  14,000  were  lost  on  the  Yser, 
in  addition  to  more  than  20,000  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  battles  of  Liege,  Haelen, 
and  St.  Trond.  There  remained  neither 
bases,  depots,  nor  hospitals. 

The  reorganization  was  difficult.  Un- 
able to  call  a  session  of  Parliament  to 
revise    recruiting    laws    to    accord    with 


the  new  situation,  the  Government  could 
only  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  refugees 
in  England  and  France.  The  response 
was  such  as  to  reconstitute  an  army  of 
six  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  divis- 
ions of  cavalry,  while  14,000  men  were 
detached  for  the.  manufacture  of  muni- 
tions in  France  and  600  sent  to  Russia 
for  the  same  purpose.  About  30,000  more 
men  were  raised  by  decree  calling  up  all 
Belgians  eligible  for  service  between  18 
and  40  years  of  age. 

A  regiment  of  automobile  artillery  re- 
cruited among  the  Belgian  refugees  and 
trained  in  Paris  was  sent  to  the  Rus- 
sian front,  where  it  played  an  important 
part  in  Brusiloff's  offensive  in  Galicia 
and  Volhynia  in  the  Spring  of  1916. 


Welding  Britain's  Empire  Closer 

Important  Results  of  the  Recent  Imperial  War  Conference  in  London 


TO  make  the  British  Empire  a  more 
solidly  united  world  power  was 
the  object  of  the  Imperial  War 
Conference  that  met  in  London  in  May, 
1917.  England  is  only  one  of  four  coun- 
tries which  constitute  the  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and 
this  kingdom  is  only  part  of  an  empire 
which  embraces  five  self-governing  colo- 
nial nations  or  dominions,  besides  the 
great  Indian  Empire  and  dependencies 
all  over  the  world.  The  problems  which 
the  Imperial  War  Conference  considered 
were  twofold — first,  to  devise  some  meth- 
od whereby  the  empire  will  be  able  to 
act  as  a  political  unit  without  interfering 
with  colonial  autonomy;  second,  to  con- 
solidate the  material  resources  of  the 
empire  and  make  it  as  far  as  possible 
economically  self-contained. 

The  readjusting  of  constitutional  re- 
lations within  the  empire  was  deferred 
till  after  the  war,  but  two  important 
decisions  were  arrived  at.  The  first  was 
that  India  should  be  recognized  as  a 
member  of  the  "  Imperial  Common- 
wealth," and  the  second  that  the  domin- 
ions and  India  should  have  the  right  to 
"  an  adequate  voice  in  foreign  policy  and 
in   foreign   relations,"   which   they  have 


not  at  present.  While  the  dominions 
have  loyally  supported  the  mother  coun- 
try in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  it  has 
become  obvious  that  if  the  self-govern- 
ing peoples  of  the  empire  are  to  lend 
material  support  in  future  international 
relations,  they  should  have  a  share  in 
the  shaping  of  those  relations.  The 
number  of  whites  inhabiting  the  domin- 
ions is  now  nearly  40  per  cent,  of  the 
population  of  the  United  Kingdom,  while 
in  regard  to  material  resources  and  in- 
dustrial development  the  dominions  are 
steadily  gaining  ground. 

The  importance  of  the  recent  confer- 
ence in  London  is  largely  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  statesmen  of  Great 
Britain  have  now  definitely  conceded  the 
right  of  the  dominions  to  an  active  part 
in  the  solving  of  the  empire's  problems. 
Commenting  on  this  subject,  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  Walter  H.  Long,  in  a  state- 
ment issued  on  May  3,  said: 

The  resolution  with  regard  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  empire  was  made  the  occasion  for 
striking  expressions  by  the  various  speakers 
of  attachment  to  the  monarchical  institutions 
of  the  empire  and  their  value  for  the  preser- 
vation of  imperial  unity.  In  the  words  of 
one  of  the  speakers,  "  The  monarchy  is  the 
keystone  of  the  imperial  arch." 

Another  set  of  resolutions  dealt  with 


148 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


defense.  The  British  Admiralty  is  to 
work  out  immediately  after  the  war  a 
scheme  for  the  effective  naval  defense 
of  the  empire  as  a  whole.  Behind  this 
resolution  lies  the  story  of  controversy  in 
which  the  colonial  standpoint  was  most 
thoroughly  sustained  by  Australia.  This 
dominion  some  years  ago  insisted  that 
in  addition  to  the  British  Navy,  whose 
function  was  to  act  as  a  safeguard 
against  the  great  rival  navies,  there 
should  be  a  distinctly  Australian  navy, 
under  Australian  control,  for  the  defense 
of  Australian  waters  and  trade  routes, 
instead  of  the  then  prevalent  system  of 
paying  a  money  tribute  to  the  British 
Admiralty.  Australians  argued — with  in- 
creased force  after  Admiral  Fisher's  pol- 
icy of  concentrating  the  British  fleet  in 
home  waters  was  adopted — that  there 
must  be  local  protection  as  well  as  a  sys- 
tem of  naval  defense  against  Britain's 
most  likely  enemy.  Australia  eventually 
had  her  way,  and  by  the  time  the  war 
broke  out  had  already  created  a  respect- 
able navy  of  her  own.  It  was  an  Aus- 
tralian cruiser,  H.  M.  A.  S.  Sydney, 
which  finally  disposed  of  the  German 
raider  Emden.  The  concentration  of  the 
British  fleet  in  home  waters  also  neces- 
sitated relying  upon  the  Japanese  Navy 
for  a  great  deal  of  convoy  and  patrol 
work  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans. 
Other  defense  resolutions  adopted  in 
London  call  for  the  development  of  a  co- 
ordinated and  standardized  empire-wide 
system  of  producing  munitions  and  other 
war  supplies. 

Plans  for  Economic  Union 

Most  advance  was  made  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  future  economic  union. 
On  this  subject  the  resolution  adopted 
read  in  part: 

The  time  has  arrived  when  all  possible  en- 
couragement should  be  given  to  the  develop- 
ment of  imperial  resources,  and  especially  to 
making  the  empire  independent  of  other 
countries  in  respect  of  food  supplies,  raw  ma- 
terials, and  essential  industries.  With  these 
objects  in  view,  this  conference  expresses 
itself  in  favor  of: 

(1)  The  principle  that  each  part  of  the  em- 
pire, having  due  regard  to  the  interests  of 
our  allies,  shall  give  specially  favorable 
treatment  and  facilities  to  the  produce  and 
manufactures  of  other  parts  of  the  empire. 

(2)  Arrangements  by  which  intending  emi- 


grants from  the  United  Kingdom  may  be 
induced  to  settle  in  countries  under  the  Brit- 
ish flag. 

Having  regard  to  the  experience  obtained 
in  the  present  war,  this  conference  records 
its  opinion  that  the  safety  of  the  empire  and 
the  necessary  development  of  its  component 
parts  require  prompt  and  attentive  consid- 
eration, as  well  as  concerted  action,  with  re- 
gard to  the  following  matters : 

(1)  The  production  of  an  adequate  food 
supply  and  arrangements  for  its  transporta- 
tion when  and  where  required,  under  any  con- 
ditions that  may  reasonably  be  anticipated. 

(2)  The  control  of  natural  resources  avail- 
able within  the  empire,  especially  those  that 
are  of  an  essential  character  for  necessary 
national  purposes,  whether  in  peace  or  in 
war. 

(3)  The  econonomical  utilization  of  such 
natural  resources  through  processes  of  man- 
ufacture carried  on  within   the  empire. 

That  it  is  desirable  to  establish  In  London 
an  Imperial  Mineral  Resources  Bureau,  upon 
which  should  be  represented  Great  Britain, 
the  dominions,  India,  and  other  parts  of  the 
empire. 

All  the  members  of  the  Imperial  War 
Conference  signed  an  address  to  the 
King,  which  they  presented  in  person 
on  May  3.    Part  of  the  address  read: 

We  further  considered  steps  that  may  be 
required  to  insure  that  victory  may  not  be 
lost  by  unpreparedness  In  times  of  peace, 
and  so  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  empire 
that  it  may  not  be  possible  hereafter  for  an 
unscrupulous  enemy  to  repeat  his  outrages 
on  liberty  and  civilization.  We  shall  return 
to  our  homes  inspired  by  the  magnificent 
efforts  put  forth  by  all  classes  of  your 
Majesty's  subjects  throughout  the  world, 
confident  that  the  trials  and  sacrifices  borne 
in  common  must  draw  still  closer  the  bonds 
of  imperial  unity  and  co-operation,  each  in 
its  own  sphere,  to  leave  nothing  undone 
which  may  tend  for  the  honor  and  welfare 
of  your  Majesty  and  your  dominions. 

Prime  Minister  Lloyd  George  made  an 
important  statement  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  May  17  when  he  announced 
that  in  future  the  Imperial  Conference 
would  meet  annually,  instead  of  every 
four  years,  as  heretofore,  and  that  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  war  there  would  be 
a  special  conference  to  adjust  the  con- 
stitutional relations  of  the  empire.  The 
new  Imperial  Council  would  be  composed 
of  the  British  Prime  Minister,  other 
British  Cabinet  Ministers  concerned  with 
imperial  affairs,  the  Prime  Ministers  of 
the  Dominions,  and  a  specially  accredited 
representative  of  India,  with  equal  au- 
thority. 


Britain's  Fight  on  Food  Shortage 

Public  Meals  Order,  April  15,  1917 


IORD  DEVONPORT,  the  British  Food 
Controller,  after  trying  various 
_J  methods  for  voluntary  conservation 
of  food,  finally  issued  an  official 
order  compelling  the  observation  of  meat- 
less and  potatoless  days  in  hotels  and 
restaurants  throughout  the  United  King- 
dom, beginning  April  15,  1917.  The  text 
of  this  order  is  as  follows: 
>  In  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  upon 
him  by  Regulation  2F  of  the  Defense  of  the 
Realm  Regulations,  and  of  all  other  powers 
enabling  him  in  that  behalf,  the  Food  Con- 
troller hereby  orders  as  follows : 

1.  Except  under  the  authority  of  the  Food 
Controller  the  following  regulations  as  to 
foodstuffs  shall  be  observed  in  every  inn, 
hotel,  restaurant,  refreshment  house,  club, 
boarding  house,  and  place  of  refreshment 
open  to  the  general  public,  (hereinafter  re- 
ferred to  as  a  public  eating  place,)  and  by 
every  person  having  the  management  or  con- 
trol thereof. 

2.  (a)  No  meat,  poultry,  or  game  shall  be 
served  or  eaten  on  any  meatless  day.  The 
meatless  day  in  the  area  comprising  the  City 
of  London  and  the  Metropolitan  Police  Dis- 
trict shall  be  Tuesday,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
United  Kingdom  shall  be  Wednesday  in  every 
week. 

(&)  No  potatoes  or  any  food  of  which  pota- 
toes form  part  shall  be  served  or  eaten  on 
any  day  except  on  meatless  days  and  on  Fri- 
days. 

3.  The  total  quantities  of  meat,  flour,  bread, 
and  sugar  used  in  or  by  any  public  eating 
place  in  any  week  shall  not  exceed  the  gross 
quantities  ascertained  in  accordance  with  the 
following  scale  of  average  quantities  per 
meal : 

SCALE  I. 

Meat.  Sugar.  Bread.  Flour. 
Oz.        Oz.        Oz.        Oz. 

Breakfast    2  2.7  2  0 

Luncheon        (including 

middle  day  dinner)..  5  2.7  2  1 

Dinner  (including  sup- 
per and  meat  tea) ...  5  2.7  2  1 
Tea    0          2.7          2          0 

4.  The  following  provisions  shall  have  effect 
as  to  weight:  (a)  Two  ounces  of  poultry 
and  game  to  be  reckoned  as  one  ounce  of 
meat.  (6)  The  weight  of  meat  to  be  the  un- 
cooked weight,  including  bone  as  usually  de- 
livered by  the  butcher,  and  the  weight  of 
poultry  and  game  shall  be  the  uncooked 
weight,  as  usually  delivered  by  the  poulterer, 
without  feathers  or  without  skin,  as  the  case 
may  be,  but  including  offal,     (c)  Twenty-five 


per  cent,  to  be  added  to  the  weight  of  meat 
delivered  cooked  into  the  public  eating  place, 
and  50  per  cent,  when  delivered  cooked  and 
without  bone. 

(a)  Four  ounces  of  bread  to  be  reckoned 
as  three  ounces  of  flour. 

(&)  Cakes,  biscuits,  pastries,  confectionery, 
and  similar  articles,  when  the  ingredients 
are  not  otherwise  brought  into  account,  to  be 
reckoned  as  containing  30  per  cent  of  flour 
and  20  per  cent,  of  sugar  by  weight. 

5.  In  reckoning  the  quantities  of  meat, 
sugar,  bread,  and  flour  for  meals  served,  no 
account  shall  be  taken  of  any  meal  which  be- 
gins before  5  A.  M.  or  after  9:30  P.  M.,  or,  in 
respect  of  the  meat  allowance,  of  any  meal 
which  is  served  on  a  meatless  day. 

6.  None  of  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this 
order  except  Article  2  (6)  relating  to  potatoes 
shall  apply  to  food  served  over  the  counter 
of  a  buffet  at  a  railway  station. 

7.  This  order  shall  not  apply  to :  (a)  Any 
boarding  house  where  the  number  of  bed- 
rooms let  and  available  for  letting  does  not 
exceed  ten;  or  (&)  any  public  eating  place 
where  no  meal  is  served  the  total  charge  for 
which  (exclusive  of  the  usual  charges  for 
beverages)  exceeds  Is.  3d.,  and  where  there 
is  exhibited  on  every  tariff  card,  and  also  in 
a  conspicuous  position  in  every  room  where 
meals  are  usually  served,  a  notice  to  the 
effect  that  no  such  meal  will  be  served. 

8.  The  person  or  persons  having  the  man- 
agement of  any  public  eating  place  shall  for 
the  purposes  of  this  order  keep  a  register  in 
the  form  prescribed  by  the  Food  Controller, 
and  shall  also  keep  invoices,  vouchers,  and 
such  other  documents  relating  to  foodstuffs 
purchased  and  used,  meals  served,  and  other 
matters  as  the  Food  Controller  may  from 
time  to  time  prescribe. 

9.  For  the  purposes  of  this  order,  the  ex- 
pression "  meat  "  includes  butcher's  meat, 
sausages,  ham,  pork,  bacon,  venison,  and  pre- 
served and  potted  meats,  and  other  meats  of 
all  kinds,  but  does  not  include  suet,  lard,  or 
dripping.  The  expression  "  poultry  and 
game  "  includes  rabbits  and  hares,  and  any 
kind  of  bird  killed  for  food.  The  expression 
"  flour  "  shall  mean  any  flour  for  the  time 
being  authorized  to  be  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  wheaten  bread.  The  expression 
"  week  "  shall  mean  a  calendar  week  ending 
on  a   Saturday  midnight.     . 

10.  The  Regulation  of  Meals  Order,  1916,  is 
hereby  revoked  as  on  the  date  when  this  order 
comes  into  force. 

11.  If  any  person  acts  in  contravention  of 
this  order  or  aids  or  abets  any  other  person 
in  doing  anything  in  contravention  of  this 
order,  that  person  is  guilty  of  a  summary 
offense  against  the   Defense   of   the   Realm 


150 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Regulations,  and  if  such  person  is  a  company 
every  Director  and  officer  of  the  company  is 
also  guilty  of  a  summary  offense  against 
those  regulations  unless  he  proves  that  the 
contravention  took  place  without  his  knowl- 
edge or  consent. 

12.  (a)  This  order  may  be  cited  as  the 
Public  Meals  Order,  1917.  (&)  This  order 
shall  come  into  force  on  April  15,  1917. 

An  official  summary  of  other  food 
regulations  issued  by  Lord  Devonport 
was  sent  to  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment on  May  25,  as  follows: 

No  trader,  in  selling  an  article,  may  im- 
pose a  condition  involving  the  purchase  of  any 
other  article.  No  person  may  acquire  supplies 
of  food  beyond  the  needs  of  his  ordinary  con- 
sumption. .  • 

A  tradesman  shall  not  sell  any  article  of 
food  where  he  has  reasonable  ground  for  be- 
lieving that  the  quantity  ordered  is  in  excess 
of  requirements.  The  Food  Controller  may 
order  the  inspection  of  premises  in  which  he 
has  reason  to  believe  that  hoarding  is  taking 
place. 

The  maximum  price  of  wheat  is  fixed  at  78 
shillings  per  quarter  of  480  pounds  ;  of  barley 
(other  than  kiln  dried)  at  65  shillings  per 
quarter  of  400  pounds,  and  of  oats  at  55  shil- 
lings per  quarter  of  312  pounds. 

The  extraction  of  flour  frOm  wheat  is  raised 
to  a  basis  of  81  per  cent. ;  the  percentage  of 
flour  from  other  cereals  to  be  mixed  with 
wheaten  flour  must  not  be  less  than  10  per 
cent,  and  not  more  than  25  per  cent.  Barley, 
maize,  oats,  and  rice  may  be  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  bread,  but  when  wheaten 
flour  is  used  it  must  not  be  of  the  regulation 
grade.  Bread  must  not  be  sold  until  it  has 
been  made  at  least  twelve  hours.  The  only 
loaves  allowed  are  the  tin  loaf  and  the  one- 
piece  oven-bottom  loaf.  No  currant,  sultana, 
or  milk  bread  may  be  made.  No  sugar  may 
be  used  in  bread. 

All  bread  must  be  sold  by  weight.  All 
loaves  must  be  one  pound  or  an  even  number 
of  pounds.  No  wheat,  rye,  rice,  tapioca, 
sago,  manioc,  or  arrowroot  or  products  there- 
of may  be  used  except  for  human  food.  No 
bread  or  other  product  of  cereals  shall  be 
Wasted.  No  maize,  barley,  or  oats  or  products 
thereof  may  be  used  except  for  human  or 
animal  food. 

The  Food  Controller  has  taken  over  all  flour 
mills  of  the  United  Kingdom  which  use 
wheat  In  the  making  of  flour,  except  those 
with  an  output  of  less  than  five  sacks  per 
hour. 


No  chocolate  may  be  sold  or  bought  retail 
at  a  price  exceeding  3  pence  per  ounce,  or  any 
other  sweetmeats  at  a  price  exceeding  2  pence 
per  ounce.  The  quantity  of  sugar  used  by 
manufacturers  other  than  of  jam,  marmalade, 
or  condensed  milk  is  reduced  to  40  per  cent, 
of  the  1915  supply. 

The  maximum  retail  price  of  milk  is  2  pence 
a  quart  over  the  price  on  the  15th  of  the 
same  month  in  1914. 

No  tea  may  be  packed  other  than  the  net 
weight.  After  July  1  all  tea  sold  at  retail, 
whether  contained  in  a  package  or  not,  shall 
be  sold  by  net  weight.  Forty  per  cent,  of  the 
total  imports  of  tea  from  India  and  Ceylon 
are  allocated  for  the  purpose  of  the  sale  re- 
tail at  2  shillings  4  pence  per  pound.  An  ar- 
rangement has  also  been  made  with  the 
Coffee  Trade  Association  to  supply  a  good, 
sound,  pure  coffee  at  a  rate  which  would  en- 
able grocers  to  sell  retail  at  1  shilling  6  pence 
a  pound. 

The  Food  Controller  has  taken  over  all  bar- 
ley, foreign  and  home,  grown,  other  than 
home-grown  barley'  which  has  not  been 
kiln  dried.  The  output  of  beer  is  limited  to 
the  rate  of  10,000,000  barrels  per  annum,  as 
compared  with  36,000,000  barrels  before  the 
war.  The  manufacture  and  sale  of  malt,  or 
its  use  by  other  than  a  brewer  for  sale,  is 
prohibited. 

Any  infringement  of  an  order  made  by  the 
Food  Controller  is  a  summary  offense  under 
the  Defense  of  the  Realm  Regulations,  and 
the  offender  is  liable  to  imprisonment  for 
six  months,  with  or  without  hard  labor,  or  a 
fine  of  £100,  or  both. 

The  order  of  April  15,  it  was  esti- 
mated, would  produce  a  saving  of  65  per 
cent,  on  meat,  53  per  cent,  on  bread,  and 
63  per  cent,  on  sugar,  as  compared  with 
the  consumption  under  preceding  regula- 
tions. 

Lord  Devonport's  new  measures  were 
subjected  to  bitter  criticism.  On  May  8, 
in  the  course  of  an  interpellation  in  Par- 
liament, he  announced  the  withdrawal  of 
the  meatless  feature  of  the  order  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  found  to  increase  the 
consumption  of  breadstuffs,  the  most  im- 
portant item  in  the  whole  food-shortage 
situation. 

On  June  1,  1917,  Baron  Devonport  re- 
signed his  difficult  and  thankless  position 
as  Food  Controller. 


Food   Restrictions   in  France — Use  of 
Horse   Meat 


IN  France  the  task  of  combating  the 
universal  food  shortage  is  in  the 
hands  of  Maurice  Viollette,  the  Minis- 
ter of  Subsistence.  On  April  22,  1917, 
he  issued  an  order  that  there  should  be 
one  meatless  meal  each  day.  The  meas- 
ure was  adopted  as  an  experiment,  with 
notice  that  if  it  was  not  successful  two 
meatless  days  would  have  to  be  insti- 
tuted. It  was  not  successful.  On  May 
17  a  new  order  appeared  in  the  Journal 
Officiel  regulating  the  sale  and  con- 
sumption of  meat,  as  follows: 

1.  Monday  and  Tuesday  shall  be  meatless 
days. 

2.  On  those  two  days  of  the  week  it  is  for- 
bidden— with  the  exception  named  below — to 
sell  meat  of  any  kind,  including  tripe,  fowl, 
and  rabbit. 

3.  It  shall  be  permissible,  however,  to  sell 
horse  meat  every  day  in  the  week. 

4.  These  measures  apply  to  all  France. 
Certain   modifications   are   allowed   in 

cases  of  illness,  and  special  arrange- 
ments are  made  for  shipping  meat  to 
the  troops.  Buteher  shops  selling 
horse  meat  exclusively  may  do  business 
on  the  meatless  days,  but  the  consump- 
tion of  horse  meat  is  not  allowed  in  res- 
taurants on  those  days. 

Restrictions  regarding  the  use  of  flour 
were  embodied  by  M.  Viollette  in  the  fol- 
lowing order,  issued  May  1,  1917.  In  a 
report  accompanying  the  decree  he  stat- 
ed that  a  census  of  food  stocks  had 
shown  the  necessity  for  scrupulous  econ- 
omy and  that  the  measures  adopted  were 
intended  to  apportion  the  existing  sup- 
plies to  the  real  needs  of  the  people 
with  the  least  possible  inconvenience  to 
any  class: 

Article  1.  Beginning  on  May  10,  1917,  mil- 
lers are  forbidden  to  send  from  their  mills  or 
to  place  on  sale  any  wheat  flour  comprising 
less  than  85  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  used  to 
make  it.  Besides  this  flour  it  shall  be  lawful 
to  sell  only  bran  and  the  waste  from  wheat 


grains  found  unfit  for  milling.  Mixtures  of 
substitute  flours  with  wheat  flour,  author- 
ized by  Article  14  of  the  order  of  April  8, 
1917,  will  be  made  with  the  flour  prescribed 
by  the  present  article. 

Article  2.  From  the  date  of  publication  of 
this  order  millers  are  also  forbidden  to  de- 
liver flour  to  any  one  except  bakers  and 
farmers  who  have  brought  their  wheat  to  the 
mill  to  be  ground  ;  except,  however,  that  this 
interdiction  shall  not  apply  to  makers  of 
health  foods  and  the  like,  save  to  the  extent 
determined  by  rules  fixed  by  the  Food  Con- 
troller. S'emoules  must  be  made  of  Winter 
wheat  and  be  delivered  to  pastry  makers  un- 
der regulations  established  by  the  said  Min- 
ister. 

Article  3.  Biscuit  factories  shall  henceforth 
work  only  for  the  needs  of  the  army,  navy, 
merchant  marine,  and  Department  of  Public 
Aid,  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  pre- 
scribed under  the  order  of  April  19,  1917. 
They  are,  however,  permitted  to  exhaust 
their  stocks,  though  without  raising  the  pres- 
ent prices  of  their  products. 

Article  4.  Bakers  alone  are  authorized  to 
sell  wheat  flour  at  retail  in*  quantities  not 
exceeding  125  grams. 

Article  5.  Save  for  the  exceptions  provided 
in  Articles  2,  3,  and  4,  wheat  flour  cannot  be 
employed  henceforth  for  any  other  purpose 
than  the  making  of  bread.  Consequently, 
within  ten  days  after  the  publication  of  the 
present  order  every  mercantile  holder  of 
wheat  flour  must  dispose  of  it  to  a  baker  or 
place  it  at  the  service  of  the  Mayor,  who 
will  attend  to  reimbursing  the  holder. 

Article  6.  Within  the  same  period  of  ten 
days  every  baker  is  expected  to  place  on  file 
at  the  Mayor's  office  of  the  town  in  which 
he  does  business,  the  name  of  the  miller  or 
millers  from  whom  he  intends  to  get  his 
flour ;  he  cannot  be  supplied  by  any  other 
miller,  save  by  authorization  of  the  prefect 
or  sub-prefect. 

Article  7.  Within  the  same  ten  days  the 
owners,  directors,  or  managers  of  hotels, 
restaurants,  buffets,  and  other  similar  es- 
tablishments must  declare  at  the  Mayor's 
office  the  name  of  the  baker  or  bakers  from 
whom  they  will  get  their  supplies ;  they  can- 
not buy  of  any  other  baker  save  with  the 
authorization  of  the  prefect  or  sub-prefect. 
All  bakers  are  forbidden  to  sell  to  any  other 
establishment  than  those  for  which  they  are 
the  regular  caterers. 


Von  Batocki's  Bread- Card  Methods 
in  Germany 


GERMANY  continued  to  suffer  from 
the  increasing  scarcity  of  food  dur- 
ing the  months  preceding  the  har- 
vest of  1917.     Early  in  June  the  Food 
Controller,  Herr  von  Batocki,  said  in  a 
speech  before  the  Reichstag : 

In  certain  provinces  the  potato  crop  is  much 
poorer  than  the  reports  led  us  to  expect.  On 
the  other  hand,  home  consumption  by  the 
producers  is  insufficiently  supervised.  In  the 
occupied  territories  the  crops  are  a  great  dis- 
appointment to  the  German  authorities,  as 
seed  will  hardly  germinate  in  ruined  soil.  Ru- 
mania has  given  as  much  as  could  be  ex- 
pected, but  it  is  less  than  was  hoped  for  by 
the  German  population.  The  country  is  al- 
most completely  ruined,  and  the  harvest  is 
much  inferior  to  that  raised  in  time  of  peace. 
"With  respect  to  Germany's  allies,  the  situa- 
tion is  not  much  better.  For  six  years  the 
Turks  have  struggled  for  their  existence  and 
their  production  has  suffered  thereby.  The 
Bulgars  are  in  a  similar  position.  In  Austria 
the  situation  is  worse  than  in  Germany.  Hun- 
gary for  three  years  has  had  poor  crops.  The 
rural  population  will  be  subjected  to  a  severe 
trial.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  spare 
small  producers,  but  this  can  hardly  con- 
tinue. Three-fourths  of  the  pigs,  two-thirds 
of  the  cows,  and  two-thirds  of  the  potato 
crop  are  in  the  hands  of  the  small  producers. 
It  is  a  hard  trial,  but  the  rural  population 
will  triumph  by  bearing  in  mind  that  the 
urban  population  last  Winter  suffered  a  still 
greater  trial. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed,  Deputy 
Schmidt,  a  Berlin  Socialist,  expressed  the 
grievances  of  the  city  against  the  rural 
population.  "  Do  the  peasants  know,"  he 
asked,  "  that  the  urban  population  of  the 
Palatinate  is  obliged  to  content  itself  with 
a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  potatoes  daily  for 
each  person?  " 

The  Morgen  Post  of  Berlin  said  that 
meat  was  completely  lacking  in  the  me- 
tropolis. In  Baden,  Minister  of  State 
Bodman  indicated  the  possibility  of  meat- 
less weeks  next  Fall.  Bavarian  news- 
papers inserted  the  following  notice : 

"  In  view  of  the  extreme  scarcity  of 
potatoes  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Bavarian  towns  and  industrial  centres 
are  suffering  from  this  lack,  an  attempt 
will  again  be  made  to  seize  all  the  pota- 
toes available  throughout  the  country." 
The    Berlin    authorities    published    an. 


order  forbidding  the  eating  of  pork  on 
any  day  but  Thursday  because  of  the  in- 
sufficiency of  the  stocks.  The  forging 
and  theft  of  bread  cards  became  a  serious 
evil  throughout  Germany.  In  Berlin  a 
tribunal  condemned  an  individual  to 
three  months  at  hard  labor  for  having 
stolen  20,000  bread  cards.  Five  new 
establishments  in  which  false  bread  cards 
were  being  printed  were  discovered  in 
Berlin.  In  Dresden  there  were  frauds 
and  speculations  in  flour.  The  news- 
papers asked  if  it  would  be  possible  to 
continue  after  Aug.  15  the  meat  ration 
of  500  grams,  (17.5  ounces.) 

German  Bread-Card  System 

[This  summary  of  the  German  bread-card 
system  was  prepared  by  a  London  newspaper 
writer  with  a  view  to  its  possible  adoption 
in  England.] 

All  the  ordinary  requirements  of  every- 
day life  are  now  distributed  in  Germany 
by  means  of  the  ticket  system.  The 
earliest  of  these  tickets  was  for  bread, 
and  was  adopted  in  the  Spring  of 
1915.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  tickets  do  not  confer  on  their  hold- 
ers any  legal  right  to  the  goods  to  which 
they  refer.  There  is  this  difference, 
however,  between  bread  and  other  tick- 
ets in  Germany — that  while  it  was  not 
always  certain  that  the  purchaser  would 
be  able  to  obtain  butter,  potatoes,  meat, 
eggs,  &c,  he  could  generally  rely  on 
getting  his  bread  ration.  That  was  be- 
cause quite  early  in  the  war  the  Gov- 
ernment took  all  the  wheat  in  the  coun- 
try under  its  control.  It  stands  to  reason 
that  any  system  of  bread-ticket  ration- 
ing must  be  preceded  by  such  a  course, 
for  unless  there  is  a  central  clearing 
house  for  supplies  the  whole  system  will 
break  down. 

In  Germany  the  Central  Government 
decided  what  the  bread  rations  should 
be,  and  issued  the  necessary  regulations 
for  their  distribution;  but  the  actual 
work  of  providing  the  population  with 
tickets  is  undertaken  by  the  local  au- 
thorities,  who   are   at   liberty   to   adopt 


VON  BATOCKVS  BREAD-CARD  METHODS  IN  GERMANY 


153 


any  machinery  for  the  purpose  they 
may  choose.  In  Greater  Berlin  local 
Bread  Committees  have  been  appointed 
by  the  various  Borough  Councils.  There 
are  107  such  committees  in  the  Ger- 
man capital,  and  they  have  in  hand 
the  bread-ticket  system.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  the  duty  of  house  owners  to 
make  a  return  of  all  the  people  living 
in  their  houses  who  are  entitled  to  tick- 
ets. The  tickets  are  then  issued  to  the 
house  owners,  whose  duty  it  is  to  dis- 
tribute them  among  their  tenants,  ob- 
taining in  each  case  a  receipt  which  is 
returned  to  the  Bread  Committee! 

Tickets  are  usually  issued  for  a  month 
at  a  time,  and  in  the  early  days  com- 
plaints were  loud  about  petty  abuses.  On 
the  one  hand,  tenants  deliberately  gave 
unpopular  landlords  much  unnecessary 
trouble  by  making  them  call  several  times 
for  the  delivery  of  the  tickets  and  the 
return  of  the  receipts.  On  the  other 
hand,  landlords  penalized  tenants  in  ar- 
rears with  their  rent  by  refusing  to  issue 
their  tickets  until  the  rent  was  paid. 

Tickets  are  non-transferable.  Yet, 
though  it  is  a  criminal  offense  to  utilize 
tickets  to  which  the  holder  is  not  entitled, 
it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  prevent 
fraud.  Tickets  are  often  stolen,  and  bur- 
glaries at  the  offices  of  the  Bread  Com- 
mittees are  frequent  occurrences.  But 
this  evil  can  at  least  be  overcome  by 
great  caution.  Not  so,  however,  another 
evil,  which  greatly  weakens  the  whole 
system.  Nothing  can  be  done  to  check 
the  illegal  sale  or  bartering  of  tickets. 
It  seems  to  be  no  infrequent  occurrence 
for  people  in  Germany  to  sell  their  bread 
tickets  or  exchange  them  for  other  sorts. 
Only  a  high  sense  of  public  duty  can  be 
effective  here.  It  need  hardly  be  added 
that  unused  tickets  are  expected  to  be 
returned  to  the  Bread  Committee. 

Besides  the  ordinary  bread  ticket  there 
is  in  Germany  a  supplementary  bread 
ticket.  Three  categories  of  the  popula- 
tion receive  rations  over  and  above  those 
generally  current — growing  children,  or- 
dinary factory  workers  who  are  away 
from  home  all  day,  (the  so-called 
"  heavy "  workers,)  and  those  engaged 
on  particularly  hard  work,  especially  in 
mining   and  munition   making,    (the   so- 


called  "  heaviest  "  workers.)  The  re- 
duced bread  ration  which  came  into  force 
in  Germany  on  April  15,  1917,  was  ac- 
companied by  the  abolition  of  the  first 
category  of  supplementary  tickets.  The 
other  two  are  issued  to  the  different 
works  and  factories,  where  they  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  men  qualified  to  re- 
ceive them. 

What  happens  if  a  bread  ticket  is  lost? 
Local  practice  varies.  Some  towns  will 
not  replace  lost  tickets  at  all,  while  oth- 
ers will  partially  make  good  the  loss  on 
payment  of  a  fee.  But  so  much  red  tape 
is  associated  with  the  replacement  that 
the  possibility  of  constant  fraud  is  re- 
duced to  a  minimum.  Besides,  too  fre- 
quent applications  for  the  restoration  of 
lost  tickets  are  bound  to  raise  suspicions 
with  the  police. 

Another  difficult  problem  is  that  of 
providing  for  the  floating  population, 
as,  for  instance,  soldiers  on  leave,  visitors, 
foreigners,  and  commercial  travelers. 
Temporary  visitors  are  granted  bread 
tickets  for  the  period  of  their  stay  in  the 
locality,  after  satisfying  the  local  Bread 
Committee  of  their  bona  fides,  and  pre- 
senting a  certificate  from  their  own  Bread 
Committee  or  other  local  authorities 
issuing  bread  tickets.  Travelers  may  ob- 
tain travelers'  tickets,  which  are  valid  all 
over  Germany.  It  should  be  noted  that 
local  bread  tickets  have  currency  only  in 
the  locality  where  they  are  issued,  save 
only  that  all  the  South  German  States — 
Bavaria,  Baden,  Saxony,  and  Alsace-Lor- 
raine— have  agreed  to  recognize  each 
other's  bread  tickets. 

The  form  of  the  tickets  varies  in  each 
locality.  The  most  common  is  what  may 
be  termed  a  central  trunk  surrounded 
by  coupons,  each  with  an  amount  of  bread 
or  flour  imprinted  upon  it.  The  seller 
must  sever  the  coupon  for  the  amount 
sold,  and  return  all  the  coupons  to  the 
Bread  Committee.  On  the  basis  of  these 
returns  the  committee  determines  the 
quantity  of  flour  to  be  allowed  to  the  dif- 
ferent bakers,  each  of  whom  is  given  a 
buying  permit  entitling  him  to  receive  his 
allotted  share  of  flour  from  the  whole- 
saler. 

The  system  as  a  whole  suffers  from 
two  weaknesses  which  seem  inherent,  and 


154 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


it  is  a  little  difficult,  therefore,  to  see 
how  they  can  be  overcome.  The  one  is 
the  control  of  the  tickets.  It  is  true  that 
persons  leaving  the  district  are  bound 
to  notify  the  Bread  Committee,  just  as 
the  committee  is  also  informed  of  all  the 
deaths  in  the  neighborhood.  But  German 
experience  has  been  that  in  a  great  many 
cases  removal  notice  is  not  given.  What 
is  the  result?  Unless  the  landlords  are 
scrupulously  careful  the  Bread  Commit- 
tee goes  on  issuing  bread  tickets  as  be- 
fore, and  improper  use  is  made  of  them. 
Toward  the  end  of  1916  it  was  felt  that 
the  number  of  illegal  bread  tickets  in 
circulation  in  Germany  was  alarmingly 
large,  and  a  census  taken  on  Dec.  1,  1916, 
showed  that  there  were  four  million  more 
bread  tickets  in  use  than  the  total  popu- 
lation warranted. 

Even  greater  is  the  second  difficulty 
— to  deal  satisfactorily  with  the  pro- 
ducer, i.  e.,  the  farmer.  If  he  is  too 
much  interfered  with  he  may  stop  pro- 
ducing altogether.  That  obviously  must 
be  avoided  at  all  costs.  Hence  a  certain 
latitude  is  allowed  the  rural  population 
in  Germany  in  respect  of  bread  rations. 
They  are  permitted  to  consume  more 
bread  than  the  town  population.  This 
has  been  the  cause  of  great  bitterness  in 
Germany  no  less  than  in  Austria  and  in 
Hungary.  In  the  last-named  country  it 
has  been  necessary  to  keep  a  tight  hold 
on  the  farmers.  In  the  first  place  they 
did  not  always  thrash  the  whole  of  their 
corn.     In  the  second,  by  collusion  with 


the  local  miller,  they  had  more  corn 
ground  than  their  official  permits  al- 
lowed. In  the  third,  by  all  manner  of 
subterfuges,  they  fed  their  beasts  on 
wheat  fit  for  bread.  It  is  asserted  that 
these  evils  still  exist  in  Hungary. 

So  far  as  the  consumer  is  concerned, 
he  must  have  the  assurance  that  when 
he  presents  his  ticket  to  his  tradesman 
the  commodity  will  be  forthcoming. 
Over  and  over  again  during  the  last  two 
years  buyers  in  Germany  have  had  to 
leave  the  shops  empty-handed.  A  sys- 
tem of  ordering  in  advance  has  therefore 
been  developed.  The  customer  places 
his  order  with  his  tradesman,  at  the 
same  time  delivering  up  his  bread- 
ticket  coupon,  for  which  he  receives  the 
tradesman's  receipt.  The  tradesman  is 
thus  enabled  to  make  provision  in  ad- 
vance for  each  day's  business,  and  when 
the  customer  arrives  he  finds  what  he 
wants.  But  obviously  the  system  is  more 
adapted  to  better-class  neighborhoods. 
Whether  it  will  work  effectively  in 
poorer  districts  is  questionable.  More- 
over, it  does  not  follow  that,  though  the 
ration  is  fixed  for  the  whole  country, 
the  quality  of  the  bread  is  the  same 
everywhere. 

At  best,  rationing  by  ticket  is  a  make- 
shift. It  undoubtedly  minimizes  in- 
equalities and  reduces  waste.  But  per- 
fect it  cannot  be,  and,  imperfect  as  it  is, 
it  needs  a  large  staff  for  its  execution 
and  no  little  expenditure  both  on  per- 
sonnel and  on  tickets. 


"The  Year's    Bravest   Englishman" 

The  Stanhope  Medal  of  the  Royal  Humane  Society  was  awarded  recently 
to  John  Paxton,  a  marine  fireman,  for  a  remarkable  feat  of  heroism.  Some 
months  ago  his  vessel  was  shelled  and  sunk  by  a  German  submarine  in  the  Med- 
iterranean. In  the  hurry  of  leaving  the  vessel  Paxton  and  three  other  men, 
none  of  whom  could  swim,  were  left  behind.  Immediate  action  was  necessary, 
and  Paxton,  at  once  jumping  overboard,  called  on  the  first  man  to  follow,  which 
he  did,  and  Paxton  swam  with  him  to  the  nearest  boat.  Returning,  he  called  on 
the  second  man,  and  he  also  was  taken  to  a  boat.  Again  Paxton  came  back,  and 
in  like  manner  rescued  the  third  man,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  high  wind  and 
rough  sea. 

The  medal  is  awarded  annually  for  what  is  regarded  as  the  bravest  feat  of 
the  year.  It  was  presented  to  Paxton  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Liverpool  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Mercantile  Marine  Service  Association  in  May. 


Jewish  Liberty  in  Rumania 

King  Ferdinand's  Promise 


CHARGES  of  ill-treatment  of  Jews 
in  Rumania,  where  more  than 
250,000  of  that  faith  still  live,  have 
been  frequent  since  the  removal  of  the 
Rumanian  capital  to  Jassy,  and  there 
have  also  been  countercharges  of  pro- 
German  intrigue  in  connection  with  Jews 
who  remained  in  Bucharest  under  Ger- 
man rule.  Agitation  of  the  subject  has 
now  led  to  a  clear  and  important  promise 
of  Jewish  liberty  by  King  Ferdinand. 
„  On  May  11,  1917,  a  deputation  from 
the  Rumanian  Jews  in  Jassy  waited  upon 
the  King  to  present  to  him  the  assurance 
of  their  loyalty.  The  deputation  re- 
counted the  grievances  of  the  native  Jews 
and  assured  him  that  they  would  prove 
in  all  circumstances  that  they  were  an 
element  of  order,  as  sincerely  devoted  to 
their  native  land  and  to  its  ruler  as  was 
the  case  in  countries  where  Jews  enjoyed 
full  equality.  A  note  handed  to  the  King 
begged  him  to  take  the  native  Jews  under 
his  protection.  Accompanying  the  note 
was  an  appeal  which  the  native  Jews 
had  distributed  in  Jassy  on  May  6. 

In  this  appeal  the  Jewish  Committee 
set  forth  the  wish  for  national  unity  and 
the  victory  of  the  allied  armies;  they  de- 
nounced those  among  them  who  had 
shown  that  they  did  not  share  the  pa- 
triotic views  of  the  nation,  and  they  stat- 
ed that  they  relied  on  the  wisdom  of  the 
Rumanian  people  as  regarded  the  solu- 
tion of  their  question.  This  manifesto 
laid  stress  on  the  decision  arrived  at  by 
the  Rumanian  Jews  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  not  to  increase  the  difficulties  of 
the  situation  by  raising  their  question  at 
the  present  time.  The  manifesto  con- 
cluded as  follows :  "  Having  confidence  in 
our  fellow-citizens,  we  will  do  our  duty 
toward  our  country,  sparing  no  sacrifice 
and  taking  into  consideration  nothing 
but  the  welfare  of  Rumania." 

King  Ferdinand  made  the  following  re- 
ply: 

After  having  been  long  in  close  touch  with 


the  daily  life  of  all  classes  of  people  in  the 
country,  I  formed  the  conviction— and  I  am 
pleased  to  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  in  the 
present  circumstances  that  I  was  not  mis- 
taken—that all  the  inhabitants  of  Rumanian 
soil,  irrespective  of  differences  of  origin,  of 
race,  or  of  religion,  were  actuated  by  the 
same  exalted  ideas  of  fraternity.  This  fra- 
ternity and  community  of  aspirations  consti- 
tutes the  surest  guarantee  for  the  future  of 
the  country  and  the  realization  of  our  na- 
tional ideal.  One  of  the  glorious  character- 
istics of  our  native  Princes  was  that,  while 
preserving  their  faith  in  Its  traditions,  they 
permitted  the  existence  and  the  celebration 
of  all  the  religions  of  their  subjects.  King 
Carol  was  so  faithful  to  this  tradition  that 
he,  a  Roman  Catholic,  requested  that  his 
body  might  be  laid  to  rest  in  one  of  the  old- 
est religious  monuments  belonging  to  the 
worship  of  our  ancestors. 

I  ascended  the  throne  impressed  with  the 
same  sentiments.  When  I  undertook  the 
task  of  uniting  all  Rumanians  under  the 
same  flag  I  realized  that  that  flag  must  be 
at  the  same  time  a  symbol  of  the  union  and 
of  the  religious,  political,  and  economic  free- 
dom of  all  the  sons  of  the  Fatherland.  All 
who  have  striven  for  the  realization  of  the 
aspirations  which  Rumanians  have  enter- 
tained for  so  many  ages,  by  shedding  their 
blood,  by  enduring  the  difficulties  and  sacri- 
fices imposed  by  the  war  and  invasion, 
whether  they  are  Christians,  Jews,  or  ad- 
herents of  any  other  form  of  belief,  will 
equally  have  a  right  to  the  gratitude  of  the 
country  and  to  that  of  the  King,  and  will 
enjoy  equal  rights  in  a  free,  great,  and  flour- 
ishing Rumania,  closely  united,  all  of  us, 
under  the  folds  of  the  national  flag. 

A  Jewish  demonstration  took  place  on 
May  13  in  Odessa,  Russia,  where  some 
thousands  gathered  in  front  of  the  Ru- 
manian Consulate  to  protest  against  re- 
cent ill-treatment  of  Jews  in  Rumania. 
The  crowd  elected  delegates,  one  of 
whom  presented  to  M.  Grecianu,  the 
Consul  General,  a  written  protest  against 
the  reported  acts  of  violence.  The  Con- 
sul General  telegraphed  the  protest  to 
Jassy  and  communicated  to  the  delegates 
a  telegram  from  Jassy  stating  that  the 
whole  Jewish  question  was  to  be  dealt 
with  in  the  current  session  of  the  Ruma- 
nian Parliament. 


The  War  in  Western  Asia 

By  James  B.  Macdonald 


BRITISH  and  Russian  operations  in 
Western  Asia  are  widely  dis- 
persed and  appear  to  be  uncon- 
nected, yet  they  are  all  concentric 
and  tend  to  merge  into  a  single  campaign. 
Each  and  all  have  a  common  objective, 
and  co-operation  is  secured  through  the 
higher  commands  being  kept  advised  of 
the  plans  of  the  allied  war  council.  To 
the  latter  they  are  units  in  a  single  cam- 
paign comprising  the  Russo-Siberian 
right  wing  in  Armenia  and  Kurdistan, 
the  Anglo-Indian  centre  operating  from 
Bagdad,  and  the  Anglo-Anzac  left  wing 
advancing  through  Palestine. 

The  centre  is  thrusting  as  a  javelin  at 
Aleppo  and  the  Cicilian  Gate,  and,  inci- 
dentally, seeking  to  establish  contact 
with  the  right  wing  beyond  Mosul.  Its 
Euphrates  column  will  later  co-operate 
effectively  with  the  left  wing  in  Syria. 
The  operations  of  the  centre  are  of  su- 
preme interest,  as  they  threaten  to  cut 
the  Ottoman  Empire  in  two. 

Kut-el-Amara  did  not  fall  to  the  Brit- 
ish for  the  second  time  as  the  issue  of  a 
hard-fought  battle,  but  rather  as  the  se- 
quence of  a  successful  series  of  small 
tactical  engagements.  These  were  strict- 
ly in  accordance  with  military  maxims 
on  minor  tactics  and  are  interesting  in 
themselves. 

The  Tigris,  in  its  course  below  Bag- 
dad and  until  it  passes  beyond  Kut-el- 
Amara,  assumes  a  remarkable  series  of 
corrugations  inclosing  little  peninsulas, 
some  of  which  project  into  the  side  held 
by  the  British  and  others  into  the  side 
held  by  the  Turks.  Kut-el-Amara  itself 
is  situated  at  the  point  of  one  of  these 
peninsula  projections  which  encroach 
upon  the  British  side,  and  it  was  flanked 
on  either  side  by  a  reverse  salient  penin- 
sula across  which  the  Turks  had  in- 
trenched themselves  to  the  next  bend  in 
the  river.  They  could  only  protect  the 
town  in  this  way,  because  if  they  aban- 
doned these  trenches  the  British,  without 
crossing  the  river,  could  fire  into  Kut-el- 
Amara  from  three  sides  and  make  its  re- 


tention impossible.  As  a  further  protec- 
tion, the  Turks  held  some  points  of  van- 
tage on  a  line  running  south  from  the 
Shamrun  bend,  which  were  so  situated  as 
to  enfilade  any  direct  assault  upon  the 
trenches  and  at  the  same  time  to  circum- 
vent any  flanking  movement  to  the  north. 

Fall  of  Kut-el-Amara 
Before  daybreak  on  Feb.  15  British 
infantry  rushed  some  ruins  on  their  left 
flank,  while  the  machine  guns  picked  off 
the  defenders  as  they  retired.  A  heavy 
bombardment  followed,  and  a  direct  as- 
sault was  ordered  upon  the  Ottoman 
right  centre.  As  the  infantry  ap- 
proached, the  Turks  surrendered  and  the 
trenches  were  further  extended  by  bomb- 
ing. Similar  procedure  in  the  afternoon 
secured  the  remainder  of  the  trenches. 
The  whole  of  the  Dahra  Peninsula,  west 
of  the  town,  had  now  been  captured,  with 
the  exception  that  a  few  Turks  still  held 
out  at  the  extreme  tip.  After  dark  these 
were  rushed  and  surrendered.  Mean- 
while cavalry  cleared  the  vantage  ground 
to  the  south  and  west  of  the  Shamrun 
bend.  These  tactical  successes  were  no 
sooner  achieved  than  the  rain  came  down 
in  torrents — too  late  to  save  the  Turks. 
Further  operations  were  stopped  for  the 
time  being.  In  all  1,995  prisoners  were 
taken,  which  for  a  minor  engagement 
compares  with  the  1,650  taken  by  General 
Townshend  at  the  first  battle  of  Kut-el- 
Amara,  the  1,600  taken  by  him  at  Ctesi- 
phon,  and  the  2,080  taken  at  Amara. 

By  way  of  diversion  the  operations 
were  next  resumed  at  the  Sanna-i-yat 
Gap,  some  twenty  miles  away,  and  were 
so  far  successful  that  they  drew  the 
enemy's  attention  in  that  direction.  Gen- 
eral Sir  F.  S.  Maude  now  deemed  it  pos- 
sible to  force  a  crossing  of  the  Tigris 
River,  which  was  then  in  flood,  and 
planned  accordingly.  Early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Feb.  23  covering  parties  were  fer- 
ried across  the  river  and  others  later  in 
the  day,  while  the  resistance  of  the  Turks 
was  held  down  by  artillery  and  machine- 
gun  fire.     When  sufficient  clearance  had 


THE   WAR   IN   WESTERN  ASIA 


157 


been  obtained,  a  pontoon  bridge  was 
thrown  across  the  400  yards  of  flooded 
river  and  troops  streamed  across.  By 
next  morning  the  neck  of  the  Shamrun 
Peninsula  had  been  captured  and  544 
prisoners  taken.  Simultaneously  the 
third  and  fourth  line  of  trenches  at 
Sanna-i-yat  were  taken  by  assault. 

The  Turks,  recognizing  that  the  game 
was  up,  evacuated  Kut-el-Amara  and  re- 
tired rapidly  toward  Baghela,  their  for- 
ward base,  some  twenty-four  miles  up- 
stream. 

Capture  of  Bagdad 

The  Anglo-Indian  cavalry  and  horse 
artillery  rode  hard  for  the  enemy's  right 
flank,  while  the  infantry  engaged  his 
rear  guard  and  the  river  gunboats  ha- 
rassed his  left.  On  the  afternoon  of  Feb. 
26  the  gunboats  Tarantula,  Mantis,  and 
Moth  passed  the  Ottoman  Army  in  re- 
treat and  inflicted  heavy  loss  on  it.  They 
later  captured  a  number  of  Turkish 
steamers  and  barges  and  recovered  the 
gunboat  Firefly,  which  had  been  aban- 
doned in  the  retreat  from  Ctesiphon  in 
December,  1915.  The  pursuit  on  land 
was  maintained,  notwithstanding  a  sand 
storm,  and  came  up  with  the  Turkish  rear 
guard  at  Lajj,  who  moved  on  when  the 
Anglo-Indian  vanguard  attacked  from 
three  sides.  The  cavalry  swept  through 
Ctesiphon  without  opposition  and  drew 
rein  six  miles  south  of  the  Diala  River, 
which  joins  the  Tigris  eight  miles  be- 
low Bagdad.  Ctesiphon  was  the  Winter 
capital  of  the  Parthians,  the  redoubtable 
horsemen  who  checked  the  Roman  power 
in  the  East.  It  was  near  here  that  the 
Roman  Emperor  Julian  was  defeated  in 
363  A.  D.  and  lost  his  life.  On  the  oppo- 
site bank  of  the  river  are  the  ruins  of 
Seleucia,  the  capital  of  the  Syrian  Kings 
who  succeeded  to  the  empire  of  Alexander 
the  Great. 

The  left  wing  of  General  Maude's 
army,  under  Sir  Percy  Lake,  threw  a 
bridge  across  the  Tigris  below  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Diala,  and,  crossing 
over,  marched  upon  Bagdad.  After  a 
trying  march  of  eighteen  miles  in  the 
heat  and  dust  they  were  confronted  with 
the  Turkish  intrenchments  six  miles 
southwest  of  Bagdad.  These  were  at- 
tacked at  once  and  the  defenders  driven 


back  upon  their  second  line,  two  miles  in 
the  rear. 

Meanwhile,  the  centre  and  right  wing 
under  General  Kearny  met  with  consider- 
able resistance  from  the  Turks  on  the 
Diala  front,  but  succeeded  in  forcing  a 
passage  on  the  night  of  March  8,  and 
improved  their  position  next  day.  On 
March  10  a  concerted  assault  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  drove  the  Turks  back 
upon  the  environs  of  Bagdad,  and  during 
the  night  they  evacuated  their  defenses. 
At  dawn  next  morning  the  British  en- 
tered the  city  and  recovered  the  guns 
surrendered  at  Kut-el-Amara.  The 
Turks  abandoned  500  of  their  wounded 
and  two-thirds  of  their  artillery. 

Bagdad  is  not  of  strategic  importance, 
situated  as  it  is  in  the  centre  of  an  open 
plain  200  miles  wide  and  built  on  both 
sides  of  the  Tigris.  It  is  connected  by 
canal  with  the  Euphrates,  which  at  this 
point  is  only  twenty  miles  distant.  This 
juxtaposition  of  the  two  rivers  in  relation 
to  the  City  of  Bagdad  made  it  impossible 
for  the  Turks  to  retain  their  hold  on  the 
lower  Euphrates  above  Nasiriyeh  when 
their  main  force  on  the  Tigris  withdrew 
from  Kut-el-Amara.  The  whole  of  the 
grain-bearing  and  irrigable  lands  of 
Babylonia,  therefore,  fell  to  the  British 
with  the  capture  of  Bagdad. 

Civil  Rule  of  Babylonia 
The  British  Commander  in  Chief  issued 
a  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Bagdad 
stating  inter  alia:  That  the  British  and 
Bagdad  merchants  had  traded  for  200 
years  with  profit  and  mutual  friendship; 
that  the  Turks  since  the  time  of  Midhat 
Pasha  had  been  profuse  with  promises  of 
reform  and  barren  of  performances;  and 
that  the  Germans  during  the  twenty 
years  they  had  been  in  Bagdad  had  made 
of  it  a  centre  from  which  to  assail  the 
great  British  Raj  and  the  mighty  Rus- 
sian Empire.  It  concludes  by  emphasiz- 
ing that  the  British  Government  cannot 
permit  this  to  happen  again  in  Bagdad 
and  calls  upon  the  inhabitants  to  co-ope- 
rate with  the  British  civil  authorities 
who  will  now  administer  the  country. 

The  Flight  from  Persia 
The   Persian   boundary  hills   rise   ab- 
ruptly from  the  Mesopotamian  plain  like 
a  natural  wall  4,000  to  5,000  feet  high. 


158 


THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


SCENE    OF    BRITISH    AND    RUSSIAN    OPERATIONS    IN    WESTERN    ASIA 


In  this  respect  they  resemble  the  Hima- 
layas in  India,  although  not  so  high  or 
so  steep.  From  the  western  plain  two 
tolerable  roads  penetrate  this  mountain 
barrier,  but  they  are  tolerable  only  in  a 
comparative  sense.  One  is  the  caravan 
route  from  Mosul  to  Tabriz,  and  the 
other  is  the  caravan  route  from  Bagdad 
to  Teheran  via  Kermanshah  and  Hama- 
dan.  These  boundary  hills  are  inhabited 
by  the  Kurds,  a  brave  and  warlike  race 
who,  in  the  present  war,  have  thrown  in 
their  lot  with  the  Turks,  but  as  they  ac- 
knowledge neither  Shah  nor  Sultan  as 
their  suzerain  the  political  boundary  be- 
tween Turkey  and  Persia  in  these  parts 
has  little  meaning. 

East  of  the  Kurd  country  the  hills 
sink  down  into  the  Iran  Plateau,  and 
there  the  roads  are  better,  although  dif- 
ficult in  places. 

The  most  v/esterly  of  the  Persian  main 
roads  is  the  one  running  north  and  south 


from  Tabriz  to  Kermanshah,  where  it 
connects  at  right  angles  with  the  Bag- 
dad-Teheran caravan  route.  The  Turk- 
ish contingents  in  Persia  were  spread 
out  along  these  roads  when  the  order  of 
recall  reached  them  after  their  main 
army  commenced  its  retreat  from  Kut-el- 
Amara.  One  detachment  was  away  to 
the  east  of  Hamadan,  while  another  was 
north  of  Sakhiz.  Both  had  to  fall  back 
beyond  the  crossroads  at  Kermanshah, 
and  if  their  arrival  at  that  place  did  not 
synchronize  then  the  laggard  would  be 
cut  off  by  the  Russian  vanguard  pursu- 
ing the  leading  contingent.  This  actual- 
ly happened.  The  retreat  of  the  Hama- 
dan contingent  was  so  rapid — probably 
due  to  the  defection  of  the  Kurds — that 
the  Russians  entered  Kermanshah  before 
the  Sakhiz  contingent  had  arrived.  The 
latter,  therefore,  were  cut  off  and  took 
to  the  Kurd  hills. 

Meanwhile  the  Indian  Government  has 


THE   WAR   IN   WESTERN  ASIA 


159 


re-established  order  and  stable  condi- 
tions within  the  British  sphere  of  influ- 
ence in  Southern  Persia.  Sir  Percy 
Sykes,  with  an  Indian  escort,  marched 
from  Bander  Abbas  to  Ispahan  and  later 
to  Teheran — a  journey  of  over  a  thou- 
sand miles  overland.  His  mission  was 
to  establish  a  Government  in  Persia 
satisfactory  to  the  Entente,  and  to  raise 
a  force  of  military  gendarmerie  under 
Anglo-Indian  officers.  Both  objects 
have  been  attained. 

Invasion  of  Palestine 

The  British  Army  from  Egypt  under 
General  Sir  Archibald  Murray,  formerly 
Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  having  laid 
down  a  military  railway  across  the  Sinai 
Desert  to  Rafa  on  the  Turkish  bor- 
der, embarked  upon  the  invasion  of  Pal- 
estine. The  topography  of  the  country, 
which  is  familiar  to  Biblical  students,  left 
no  doubt  as  to  the  route  they  would  take 
even  had  there  not  been  the  historical 
precedent  of  Napoleon's  march  from 
Gaza  to  Acre  in  1799,  where  he  was  re- 
pulsed after  a  61-day  siege  by  the  Turk- 
ish garrison  under  old  Djezzar  Pasha, 
assisted  by  a  British  naval .  contingent 
under  Sir  Sidney  Smith.  The  whole  of 
the  western  side  of  Palestine  is  an  open 
plain  bordering  upon  the  Mediterranean 
and  flanked  on  the  east  by  the  hills  of 
Hebron,  Jerusalem,  and  Gibeon.  What- 
ever sentimental  interest  may  attach  to 
the  famous  City  of  Jerusalem,  it  is  not 
a  military  objective  in  the  present  cam- 
paign; the  immediate  purpose  is  to  seize 
Damascus  and  Beirut,  and  join  hands 
with  the  left  wing  of  General  Maude's 
army  in  Mesopotamia. 

The  invasion  of  Palestine  commenced 
with  a  march  of  fifteen  miles  to  the 
Wadi  Ghuzzeh,  a  river  five  miles  south 
of  Gaza,  with  the  object  of  advancing 
the  railhead.  The  river  was  reached 
without  opposition,  but  as  the  Turks 
seemed  undecided  to  stand,  and  it  was 
desirable  to  hold  them,  General  Sir 
Charles  Dobell,  in  command  of  the  ad- 
vance forces,  decided  to  strike  for  the 
town  of  Gaza.  A  dense  fog  delayed  the 
advance,  and  then  the  water  supply  gave 
out,  so  that  the  contemplated  manoeuvre 
had  to  be  abandoned,  and  a  defensive 
position  was  taken  up  midway  between 


Gaza  and  the  river.  The  Turks,  with 
20,000  men,  attacked  on  March  27,  but 
were  repulsed  everywhere  with  heavy 
loss.  The  British  camelry  corps  com- 
pletely outfought  the  Turkish  cavalry 
and  captured  a  General  and  the  entire 
divisional  staff  of  the  Fifty-third  Turkish 
Division.  The  Turkish  losses  are  esti- 
mated at  8,000  men,  including  950  pris- 
oners, and  two  Austrian  howitzers  were 
captured.  The  British  losses  are  given 
as  400  dead,  200  missing — believed  to 
have  fought  their  way  into  Gaza  and 
been  cut  off — and  wounded  not  stated. 
Their  advance  column  retired  on  the 
river,  leaving  the  camelry  in  contact 
with  the  Turks,  who  showed  no  disposi- 
tion to  renew  the  attack. 

Gaza  has  been  prominent  in  the  world's 
history.  It  was  near  here  that  Selim  I. 
of  Turkey  decisively  defeated  the  Sul- 
tan of  Egypt  in  1517  and  led  to  the  Otto- 
man acquisition  of  that  country.  After 
the  Generals  of  Alexander  the  Great  dis- 
agreed as  to  how  they  should  divide  his 
empire  among  themselves,  Ptolemy 
gained  a  sweeping  victory  over  Deme- 
trius, the  son  of  Antigonus,  at  Gaza  in 
312  B.  C,  and  this  enabled  Selucus  Ni- 
cator,  then  a  refugee  in  Egypt,  to  re- 
turn to  his  satrapy  at  Babylon  and  re- 
gain most  of  the  dominion  of  his  great 
predecessor. 

British  Aim  in  Palestine 
Syria  in  bygone  days  has  been  con- 
quered by  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Medes, 
Persians,  Macedonians,  Seleucidae,  Ro- 
mans, Arabs,  Egyptians,  Mongols,  and 
Turks,  but  never  in  its  long  history  have 
such  large  armies  been  aligned  for  bat- 
tle as  are  now  contending  for  its  pos- 
session. To  meet  the  new  invasion  the 
Turks  have  120,000  men  deeply  dug  in 
between  Gaza  and  Beersheba,  while 
another  army  is  protecting  them  from  a 
flank  attack  upon  their  communications 
by  the  Anglo-Indian  force  ascending  the 
Euphrates.  The  Turks  consider  Syria 
and  Palestine  of  vital  importance  to 
them — not  so  much  that  it  threatens 
Egypt  as  that  it  is  a  necessary  point 
d'appui  for  recovering  the  holy  cities  of 
Mecca  and  Medina  from  the  Arabs;  Je- 
rusalem, also,  is  a  sacred  city  as  well 


160 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


to  the  Moslems  as  to  the  Christians  and 
Hebrews. 

The  British,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
committed  to  the  policy  of  setting  free 
the  Semitic  races  in  Arabia,  Palestine, 
Mesopotamia,  and  Syria  from  Turkish 
domination,  and  this  policy  marches  with 
their  own  interests  in  safeguarding 
India  and  Egypt.  The  collapse  of  Rus- 
sia, whether  temporary  or  otherwise, 
will  not  deter  them  from  their  purpose, 
for  India  is  set  on  removing  the  Teuton 
menace  and  ending  the  religious  and 
rapacious  prestige  of  the  Turks.  India 
is  specially  interested  in  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris  Valleys,  and  her  troops  are 
mainly  operating  in  this  theatre.  Im- 
perial and  oversea  troops  only  are  en- 
gaged in  the  Holy  Land. 

The  Russian  revolution,  coinciding 
with  the  Ottoman  defeats  in  Palestine 
and  Mesopotamia,  enabled  the  Turks  to 
withdraw  troops  from  Armenia  and  the 
eastern  front  and  send  them  to  oppose 
the  British.  This  had  the  immediate 
effect  of  checking  the  progress  of  the 
latter  until  they,  too,  could  be  reinforced. 
Particularly  it  affected  the  position  in 
Palestine  and  caused  a  reversion  to  trench 
warfare.  Gaza  is  now  a  modern  fort- 
ress flanked  by  trenches  and  command- 
ing eminences  as  far  as  Beersheba.  The 
country  to  the  south  of  Gaza  is  an  open 
plain  traversed  by  the  Waddy  Guzzeh, 
(River  Gaza,)  which  at  present  is  dry, 
although  at  times  a  raging  torrent.  To 
the  west  are  sand  dunes  reaching  to  the 
Mediterranean,  and  to  the  east  a  range 
of  hills. 

At  daybreak  on  April  17  the  British 
advance  began  under  cover  of  an  en- 
filade fire  from  a  warship  and  the  usual 
field  artillery  preparation.  The  Turkish 
advance  positions  were  captured  on  a 
front  of  over  six  miles.  Next  day  advan- 
tage was  taken  of  a  duststorm  to  rush  up 
supplies  to  the  front  while  the  movements 
of  the  motor  transport  were  obscure  to 
the  opposing  artillery,  and  the  following 
morning  the  bombardment  of  the  main 
position  commenced.  The  infantry  at- 
tack was  only  partially  successful,  and, 
although  continued  next  day,  was  not 
pushed  home,  as  the  frontal  position  was 
apparently  too  strong  for  direct  assault. 


A  Turkish  counterattack  in  one  section 
of  the  front  by  3,000  infantry  and  800 
cavalry  was  broken  up  through  a  squad- 
ron of  British  airplanes  dropping  forty- 
seven  bombs  directly  on  them.  When 
last  seen  the  Turkish  cavalry  was  still 
flying.  Reinforcements  have  since 
reached  the  British  commander. 

Strategic  Considerations 
After  the  fall  of  Bagdad,  the  Turks 
had  the  choice  of  two  routes  along  which 
to  retreat — either  to  ascend  the  Tigris 
to  Mosul  or  the  Euphrates  to  Aleppo — 
and  they  decided  to  take  both.  The  Eu- 
phrates Valley  had  been  the  old  cara- 
van road  between  Syria  and  Mesopotamia 
for  3,000  years,  and  it  offered  the  best 
march,  yet  it  had  few  natural  defenses 
to  impede  a  pursuing  enemy.  Neverthe- 
less, it  was  necessary  to  send  some  troops 
by  this  route  to  delay  the  British  as 
long  as  possible  while  fresh  troops  were 
being  assembled  for  the  defense  of  Alep- 
po, the  Amanus  Tunnel,  and  the  commu- 
nications of  the  Syrian  Army.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  only  hope  of  extricating 
the  Turkish  contingent  in  Persia  was 
for  the  main  army  to  retire  up  the  Tigris 
and  attempt  to  hold  on  the  headwaters 
of  the  Diala  River  until  such  time  as 
a  reunion  had  been  effected  with  their 
detached  wing.  The  railway  had  been 
completed  from  Bagdad  to  Samara,  but 
there  was  nothing  in  the  way  of  rolling 
stock  except  the  construction  outfit.  Be- 
yond Tekrit  a  range  of  hills  runs  south- 
east toward  the  Diala  River  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Khanikin,  whence  the  Persian 
column  might  be  expected  to  emerge. 
Here  the  Turks  decided  to  make  a  stand. 

In  Upper  Mesopotamia 
Sir  Stanley  Maude's  operations  from 
Bagdad  are  projected  upon  five  lines  of 
advance.  His  left  wing  crossing  the 
intervening  space  between  the  two  rivers 
— from  which  Mesopotamia  takes  its 
name — seized  Feluja  on  the  Euphrates 
as  its  starting  point.  Its  immediate  pur- 
pose is  to  ascend  that  river  and  hold  the 
crossroads  at  El  Deir,  which  lead  to 
Damascus,  Horns,  Aleppo,  Urfa,  Mosul, 
and  Bagdad.  Possession  of  El  Deir  would 
afford  opportunities  for  striking  at  the 
main    communications    of   the    Turks    in 


THE   WAR   IN   WESTERN  ASIA 


161 


Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  since  these  are 
both  based  upon  Aleppo,  which  itself  is 
threatened  by  this  column.  The  direc- 
tion of  this  blow  will  depend  upon  the 
measure  of  success  attained  by  the  other 
columns  in  Southern  Palestine  and  the 
Tigris  Valley.  Holding  the  interior  posi- 
tion with  good  lateral  communications 
by  means  of  which  one  column  can  assist 
its  neighbor,  the  strategic  advantage  lies 
with  the  British.  Midway  between  Bag- 
dad and  El  Deir  lies  Hit,  where  there  are 
important  oil  wells  in  which  Anglo-Dutch 
capital  is  interested. 

The  right  wing  of  General  Maude's 
army  was  assigned  the  duty  of  clearing 
the  Turks  from  the  caravan  route  be- 
tween Bagdad  and  Persia,  and  further  to 
endeavor  to  hold  up  the  retreat  of  their 
army  corps  in  Persia  before  it  could 
escape  through  the  famous  pass  known 
as  "  the  gate  of  Zagros."  This  object  it 
was  the  aim  of  the  opposing  Turkish 
commander  to  frustrate.  In  consequence, 
the  whole  of  the  British  centre  and  right 
wing  became  engaged  with  the  enemy  at 
widely  dispersed  points.  The  route 
mapped  out  for  the  Anglo-Indian  centre 
was  for  one  column  to  advance  direct  on 
Mosul  by  the  road  alongside  the  Tigris, 
but  to  keep  in  alignment  with  the  other 
columns,  and  for  another  to  take  the  road 
to  Kifri  and  Erbil,  which  lies  midway 
between  the  Tigris  and  the  Kurd  hills. 
This  last  road  strikes  the  caravan  route 
from  Mosul  to  Tabriz  in  rear  of  where 
the  Turks  are  holding  up  the  main  Rus- 
sian left  wing  near  Rivanduz  and  pre- 
venting a  junction  between  the  main 
allied   armies. 

The  scheme  then  was  for  an  advance 
in  force  by  the  centre  upon  Mosul  and 
Rivanduz  along  three  parallel  routes, 
while  the  right  wing  secured  the  Bagdad 
caravan  way  into  Persia,  and  the  left 
wing  ascended  the  Euphrates  to  El  Deir 
and  awaited  further  orders. 

The  Ottoman  forces  were  disposed  as 
follows:  The  Thirteenth  Army  Corps  on 
both  banks  of  the  Tigris,  the  Eighteenth 
Army  Corps  between  the  Tigris  and  Diala 
Rivers,  the  Sixth  Army  Corps  retiring 
from  Persia  by  the  Bagdad  caravan 
route,  and  another  force  withdrawing 
before  the  British  on  the  Euphrates.  The 


Jeb-el-Hamrin  hills  lay  diagonally  on 
the  flank  of  General  Maude's  line  of 
march  on  Mosul,  and  by  holding  them  the 
Turks  reckoned  not  only  to  delay  his  ad- 
vance but  to  enable  their  Sixth  Army 
Corps  to  make  good  its  escape  by  taking 
a  bypath  through  the  mountains  from 
Kasr-i-Shirin  to  Kifri  in  rear  of  their 
left  flank.  These  expectations  were 
borne  out,  but  under  severe  punishment, 
and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  in  sav- 
ing the  small  force  in  Persia  they  have 
not  compromised  their  whole  army. 

Open  warfare  prevails  in  this  theatre 
and  the  scenes  change  rapidly.  The  ope- 
rations consequently  are  of  particular  in- 
terest to  military  students.  While  pro- 
gression may  appear  to  be  slow  on  the 
Tigris  and  in  Syria,  such  delaying  tactics 
may  be  considered  by  the  British  as  an 
advantage  provided  their  Euphrates  col- 
umn is  making  good  progress  toward  the 
vital  communications  of  the  enemy.  This 
is  an  unknown  but  all-important  factor. 
Meanwhile,  we  may  record  the  actual 
progress  of  the  Tigris  column. 

The  Advance  on  Mosul 

The  short  section  of  the  Bagdad  Rail- 
way, which  from  this  end  is  completed  as 
far  as  Samara,  about  seventy  miles  up 
stream,  is  built  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Tigris,  but  the  road  to  that  town  follows 
the  east  bank  part  of  the  way.  The 
Tigris  and  its  tributary,  the  Diala,  take 
parallel  courses,  about  fifteen  miles'  dis- 
tant, as  they  approach  Bagdad,  and  the 
road  to  Persia,  as  well  as  the  one  to  the 
north,  both  emerge  from  this  narrow  area 
with  the  Tahwila  Canal  separating  them. 
All  these  roads  were  made  use  of  by 
General  Maude  in  his  advance  from  Bag- 
dad. His  left  centre,  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Tigris,  came  up  with  the  enemy's 
rearguard  holding  a  ridge  covering  the 
railway  station  of  Mushaidie,  and  at- 
tacked it  during  the  night  of  March  14. 
The  engagement  was  continued  next  day, 
when  the  position  was  carried  and  three 
Turkish  divisions  defending  it  retired  to 
the  north. 

Simultaneously,  the  right  wing  crossed 
the  Diala  to  the  east  bank  and  seized 
the  town  of  Bakuba,  through  which  the 
main  caravan  road  runs  to  Khanikin 
on   the    Persian   border.      They   also   se- 


162 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


cured  the  village  of  Bahriz,  through 
which  a  subsidiary  road  runs  through 
Mendeli  into  Persia.. 

Meanwhile,    the    Russians    in    Persia 
under  General  Baratoff  continued  their 


REGION    OF    RUSSIAN    OPERATIONS 


pursuit  of  the  Sixth  Turkish  Army  Corps, 
which  had  been  recalled  after  the  retreat 
from  Kut-el-Amara  began,  and  occupied 
Kirind  on  March  17.  The  Turkish  left 
fell  back  toward  Khanikin  to  cover  the 
retirement  of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps.  The 
converging  Anglo-Russian  armies  en- 
countered considerable  natural  difficul- 
ties, for  while  the  Indian  troops  on  the 
plain  were  delayed  by  numerous  small 
canals  and  rivers,  the  Russians  were 
traversing  snow-clad  mountains  and  con- 
fronted with  the  formidable  obstacle  of 
the  Paitak  Pass  to  the  east  of  Kasr-i- 
Shirin.  The  Turks  in  the  foothills  were 
assembled  in  strength,  for  they  were 
battling  to  avoid  the  surrender  of  their 
Sixth  Army  Corps,  whose  retreat  was 
precarious  unless  the  British  advance 
could  be  delayed.  After  numerous  en- 
gagements the  British  right  pushed  on, 
and  Shahroban  was  occupied,  fifty-five 
miles  northeast  of  Bagdad.  The  Otto- 
man centre  now  advanced   and  the  op- 


posing forces  clashed  near  Deltawa, 
when  the  Turks  were  repulsed  and  retired 
across  the  River  Adhaim,  a  tributary  of 
the  Tigris.  The  British  centre  continued 
its  advance  and  entered  Deli  Abbas  on 
March  31. 

The  Turkish  Sixth  Army  Corps,  in  the 
meantime,  was  approaching  Kasr-i- 
Shirin,  whence  their  escape  was  assured 
by  a  side  track  to  Kifri.  When  they 
took  the  latter  road,  a  squadron  of  Rus- 
sian Cossacks  sped  on  along  the  caravan 
route  and  established  contact  with  the 
Indian  cavalry  on  April  2.  The  main 
Russian  column  deflected  its  course  in  an 
endeavor  to  intercept  the  Turkish  left 
wing,  which  was  falling  back  before  the 
British,  but  they  were  held  up  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Diala.  Persia  is  now  free 
of  the  Ottoman  invasion,  although  some 
small  contingents  were  cut  off  in  the  re- 
retirement  and  sought  refuge  in  the  Kurd 
hills  to  the  west  of  Bana. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress 
the  Anglo-Indian  column  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Tigris  fought  the  Turks  out 
of  Balad  Station,  some  fifty  miles  north 
of  Bagdad.  General  Maude,  finding  his 
advance  to  the  north  threatened  by  the 
Turkish  concentration  on  his  flank  in  the 
Jeb-el-Hamrin  hills,  manoeuvred  to  give 
them  battle.  On  March  10  he  ordered  his 
advance  detachments  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Diala  to  fall  back,  whereupon  the 
Turks,  leaving  the  hills,  pressed  on  after 
them.  During  the  night  General  Maude 
dispatched  another  force  from  the  east 
bank  of  the  Tigris  to  the  scene  of  action, 
and  at  daybreak  a  general  engagement 
commenced  against  the  Thirteenth  Turk- 
ish Army  Corps.  The  British  artillery 
soon  established  an  ascendency,  but  a 
mirage  temporarily  interrupted  the  duel. 
When  the  infantry  was  brought  into 
action  the  enemy  abandoned  their  posi- 
tions, ten  miles  northeast  of  Deltawa, 
and  retired  rapidly  on  the  Jeb-el-Hamrin 
hills,  leaving  300  dead  on  the  field. 
Their  casualties  are  reported  as  700.  The 
British  centre  now  continued  its  march, 
and  on  the  night  of  April  17  forced  the 
passage  of  the  River  Adhaim,  which  was 
held  by  a  detachment  of  the  Eighteenth 
Turkish  Army  Corps;  next  day  a  battle 
ensued  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris, 


THE   WAR   IN   WESTERN  ASIA 


163 


when  the  Turks  were  again  routed  and 
1,250  prisoners  taken,  but  their  guns 
escaped,  owing  to  tlje  exhaustion  of  the 
pursuing  cavalry  from  the  intense  heat 
and  their  arduous  advance. 

Capture  of  Samara 

The  operations  of  the  next  few  days 
were  directed  against  the  enemy's  posi- 
tions on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tigris  be- 
tween Istabulat  and  Samara.  Severe 
hand-to-hand  fighting  took  place  with 
numerous  counterattacks,  but  in  the  end 
the  Turks  had  to  yield  their  carefully 
prepared  intrenchments,  together  with  a 
5.9  howitzer,  14  Krupp  guns,  and  687 
prisoners.  Their  demoralization  was  due 
to  the  enfilade  fire  of  the  British  artil- 
lery posted  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
river  and  the  threatening  manoeuvres 
of  the  Indian  cavalry  on  the  other 
flank. 

On  April  23  Anglo-Indian  troops 
entered  Samara,  and  at  the  railhead  cap- 
tured 16  locomotives  and  240  trucks, 
while  in  the  town  a  large  quantity  of 
military  stores  and  munitions  was  se- 
cured. The  Bagdad- Samara  railway  is 
now  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  British 
and  will  soon  be  available  to  bring  up 
munitions  and  supplies  from  Bagdad. 

The  Turks  depend  on  river  transport 
from  Mosul  to  meet  their  requirements, 
but  this  service  is  liable  to  constant  at- 
tack from  British  flying  squadrons.  The 
Thirteenth  Turkish  Army  Corps  ven- 
tured to  leave  the  Jeb-el-Hamrin  hills  in 
an  attempt  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  their 


Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  and,  march- 
ing southwest,  came  in  conflict  with  the 
British  centre.  A  force  detached  from 
the  latter  made  a  night  march  on  April 
24  and  surprised  an  Ottoman  division  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  River  Adhaim,  about 
seven  miles  north  of  its  junction  with  the 
Tigris.  The  Turks  were  routed  with  the 
loss  of  150  prisoners  and  many  transport 
mules,  ponies,  and  camels. 

A  moving  fight  ensued  for  the  next 
few  days,  while  the  Turks  were  falling 
back  upon  their  prepared  positions  on 
either'  side  of  the  River  Adhaim  where 
it  issues  from  the  Jeb-el-Hamrin  hills, 
ome  twenty-five  miles  southeast  of  Kifri. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  April  30  the 
major  portion  of  the  British  column, 
which  had  crossed  the  river  during  the 
night,  stormed  and  carried  the  first  two 
lines  of  the  Turkish  defenses,  including  a 
fortified  village,  but  during  a  sandstorm 
they  were  driven  out  of  the  village,  only 
to  return  and  recapture  it.  The  whole 
of  the  Thirteenth  Turkish  Army  Corps 
then  retired  into  the  Jeb-el-Hamrin  hills, 
covered  by  strong  rearguards.  Their 
known  losses  include  359  prisoners  and 
182  dead.  The  prevailing  duststorm 
seriously  interfered  with  the  artillery 
and  flying  corps,  and  facilitated  the  Otto- 
man retreat. 

The  Eighteenth  Turkish  Army  Corps, 
after  its  defeat  at  Samara,  continued  its 
flight  to  Tekrit,  thirty-two  miles  further 
up  stream.  The  total  loss  of  this  corps 
during  the  fighting  from  April  18  to 
April  22  is  reported  as  4,000. 


The  British  in  the  Promised  Land 


W.  T.  Massey,  war  correspondent  with 
the  Desert  Column  in  Egypt,  ivrote  to 
The  London  Times  under  date  of  March 
20,  1917: 

THE  Promised  Land!  After  twelve 
months'  incessant  toil  in  the  Sinai 
Desert,  sometimes  fighting  hard,  al- 
ways digging,  making  military  works, 
building  railways,  constructing  pipe  lines 
and  roads,  and  forever  marching  over  the 
heavy,  inhospitable  wastes,  our  troops 
have  at  last  come  into  the  Promised 
Land. 


What  a  marvelous  change  of  scene! 
They  are  in  Palestine.  Behind  them  is 
a  hundred  miles  and  more  of  monotonous 
sand.  Before  them,  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach,  is  unfolded  a  picture  of  tran- 
scending beauty.  No  wonder,  when  the 
troops  come  up  to  Rafa  and  look  over 
the  billowy  downs,  they  break  into  rounds 
of  cheers. 

Before  and  around  us  everything  is 
green  and  fresh.  Big  patches  of  barley, 
for  which  the  plain  south  of  Gaza  is 
famous,  shine  like  emeralds,  and  the  im- 


164 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


mense  tracts  of  pasture  are  today  as 
bright  and  beautiful  as  the  rolling  downs 
at  home. 

I  have  been  out  on  a  reconnoissance 
over  ground  evacuted  by  the  Turks  and 
toward  positions  which  the  enemy  at 
present  holds.  The  high  minaret  of  Gaza 
showed  itself  to  us  from  above  the  dark 
framework  of  trees  inclosing  the  town. 
That  mosque  was  formerly  a  Christian 
church  built  by  the  Knights  Templars  in 
the  twelfth  century,  when  the  Crusaders 
fortified  themselves  within  Gaza's  walls, 
but  Saladin  drove  them  out. 

After  many  centuries,  (Napoleon's 
hold  on  Gaza  was  merely  temporary,) 
British  forces  are  within  sight  of  the 
town.  Away  on  our  right  over  the  aban- 
doned Turkish  stronghold  of  Wali  Sheikh 
Narun  is  Beersheba,  tucked  in  the  plaih 
beneath  the  southern  end  of  the  hills  of 
Judea.  These  two  of  the  most  ancient 
cities  of  Palestine — it  was  in  Gaza  that 
Samson  was  betrayed  by  Delilah  to  the 
Philistines,  and  Abraham  dug  the  "  well 
of  the  oath  "  in  Beersheba — have  been 
seen  by  some  of  our  troops,  and  the  Des- 
ert Column  is  exceeding  glad. 

The  Battle  of  Caza 

The  fighting  for  Gaza  developed  into 
a  pitched  battle  and  then  settled  into 
trench  warfare.  Following  is  Mr.  Mas- 
sey's  description  of  the  battle  of  Gaza, 
written  on  April  21,  1917: 

The  biggest  battle  in  all  Palestine's 
long  history  is  being  fought  at  Gaza  by 
bodies  of  troops  on  both  sides  im- 
measurably larger  than  any  armies 
which  have  taken  part  in  the  countless 
campaigns  of  the  Holy  Land.  Though 
we  have  only  fought  the  first  phase,  it 
is  clear  that  we  are  engaged  upon  the 
hardest  struggle  in  this  age-worn  battle 
area.  We  have  gained  our  first  line, 
which  we  are  consolidating,  but  ap- 
parently there  is  a  period  of  trench  war- 
fare before  us  ere  we  reach  the  im- 
portant system  of  trenches  which  has 
lately  been  cut  to  turn  Gaza  into  a 
modern  fortress  of  great  strength.  We 
paid  a  price  for  our  gains,  but  we  in- 
flicted very  heavy  casualties  on  the 
Turks,  whose  counterattacks  were  re- 
pulsed with  sanguinary  losses.  With  the 
conditions  pre-eminently  favorable  to  the 


defense,  an  early  decision  before  Gaza 
must  not  be  expected. 

We  had  to  dispose  the  British  forces 
on  a  sixteen-mile  front,  practically  the 
whole  of  which  the  Turks  had  intrenched 
deeply.  The  positions  we  had  to  attack 
on  the  Gaza  front  could  not  be  stronger 
if  the  whole  country  had  been  built  up 
for  defense.  There  are  sand  dunes  two 
miles  deep  between  the  sea  and  the 
town  and  an  extraordinary  variety  of 
redoubts,  trenches,  and  pits  covering  the 
western  town,  while  Samson  Ridge,  3,000 
yards  to  the  southwest,  is  strongly  held 
to  secure  the  enemy  observation  posts. 

Southeast  of  Gaza  there  is  a  green 
plain  a  mile  and  a  half  wide  and  six  miles 
deep  inclosed  on  the  sea  side  by  sand 
dunes,  on  the  north  by  the  town,  and  the 
east  by  a  range  of  hills  running  to  Ali- 
muntar,  the  spot  where  Samson  displayed 
his  prodigious  strength.  The  plain  is 
intersected  by  the  Wadi  Ghuzze,  a  ravine 
with  precipitous  sides,  through  which  the 
Winter  rains  on  the  Judea  hills  pour  in 
terrific  torrent  to  the  sea.  It  is  now  dry, 
but  crossings  have  been  made  for  guns, 
cavalry,  infantry,  and  supply  columns. 
The  northernmost  part  of  the  plain  is 
covered  with  trenches  protecting  the 
town,  and  for  two  miles  to  the  southeast 
of  Alimuntar  the  enemy  on  the  irregular 
hills  and  deep  woods,  at  one  spot,  pre- 
pared an  intricate  system  connected  up 
with  trenches  of  great  defensive  power. 

Mounted   Troops  Engaged 

Three  miles  due  south  of  Alimuntar  is 
Mansura  Ridge,  facing  another  important 
series  of  defenses.  About  a  mile  further 
to  the  east  is  Sheikh  Abbas  Ridge, 
backed  by  ground  torn  and  cracked  as  if 
by  an  earthquake,  and  looking  over  the 
country  rolling  to  the  Beersheba  road. 
East  by  south  are  the  tiny  villages  of 
Sihan,  Atawinieh,  Aseiferieh,  and  Munk- 
heileh,  near  which  our  cavalry  fought 
strong  actions  against  infantry  counter- 
attacking from  Hareira  Sharia. 

The  whole  country  is  extremely  diffi- 
cult for  cavalry,  as  it  constitutes  a  con- 
tinuous bottle  neck,  full  of  deep  ravines, 
but  the  part  played  by  the  mounted 
troops  under  these  disadvantageous  cir- 
cumstances was  superb.  Soon  after  day- 
break on  April  17  our  movement  began. 


THE  BRITISH  IN  THE  PROMISED  LAND 


165 


A  war  vessel  assisted  the  shore  batteries 
to  cover  a  short  advance  of  infantry  to 
take  up  positions  from  which  we  might 
hope  to#  secure  our  first  objective  at  a 
subsequent  date.  The  operations  were 
brilliantly  successful.  We  got  to  our 
mark  on  the  sand  dunes  quickly,  reached 
the  positions  in  front  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  took  Sheikh  Abbas  Ridge  by  half- 
past  7,  with  remarkably  small  cas- 
ualties. The  cavalry  were  out  on  the 
right  during  this  blazing  hot  morning, 
but  it  was  impossible  to  hide  them  owing 
to  every  movement  raising  dense  columns 
of  dust.  A  wet  night  would  have  been 
of  immense  advantage,  but  throughout 
the  operations  rain  was  denied  to  us. 

On  April  18,  while  the  country  was  ob- 
scured by  dust  clouds,  we  made  ready 
for  the  next  advance,  sending  much  sup- 
plies forward.  The  whole  terrain  was 
covered  with  supply  columns,  and  when 
the  wind  decreased  an  enormous  pall  of 
dust  hung  over  the  area.  An  occasional 
motor  rushing  across  country  raised  a 
trail  of  dust  like  steam  issuing  from  an 
express  train.  Bombardment  of  the  out- 
er trenches  of  Gaza  began  as  the  sun 
lifted  over  the  black  hills  of  Judea  on 
the  19th. 

Infantry  and  a  "  Tank  " 

Infantry  attacks  were  launched  at  8:30 
o'clock.  On  the  left  they  gained  Samson 
Ridge  and  found  the  trenches  full  of 
Turkish  dead.  The  enemy  observation 
posts  were  seized.  Toward  Alimuntar 
and  south  of  Gaza  progress  was  more 
difficult  and  slower,  but  Scottish  troops 
went  forward  with  splendid  steadiness 
under  a  desperately  heavy  machine-gun 
fire,  and  ultimately  advanced  2,000  yards 
to  Outpost  Hill,  south  of  Alimuntar, 
where  they  have  consolidated  their  gains. 

There  was  also  considerable  progress 
from  Sheikh  Abbas  Ridge.  Between  9 
and  10  I  saw  a  "  tank  "  go  into  action 
against  a  green  hill  near  a  warren  in 
front  of  the  Alimuntar.  She  stood  with 
her  nose  posted  in  the  air  across  a 
trench,  down  which  her  crew  poured 
rapid  fire  right  and  left.  Then  she 
crossed  the  trench  and  turned  south. 
The   Austrian    gunners   with   the   Turks 


soon  found  the  range,  and  turned  an 
immense  volume  of  fire  on  the  tank, 
which  seemed  completely  surrounded  by 
bursting  high-explosive  shells.  For  sev- 
eral minutes  I  lost  sight  of  her,  but 
presently  she  emerged,  pursuing  the  un- 
even tenor  of  her  way  toward  our  lines. 
Then  a  second  succession  of  rapid  artil- 
lery fire  again  enveloped  the  tank.  When 
the  fire  ceased  she  had  disappeared.  I 
thought  she  had  been  smashed  to  pieces. 
But  I  learned  she  dropped  back  into  the 
trench  we  had  captured. 

During  the  day,  particularly  in  the 
afternoon,  our  mounted  troops  were 
heavily  engaged.  The  Turks  made  five 
desperate  counterattacks  with  infantry 
against  the  mounted  troops  and  camel 
corps.  Though  inflicting  considerable 
losses  on  us,  they  must  have  suffered 
very  severe  casualties. 

Heroic  Camel  Corps 

One  heroic  episode  I  did  not  see,  but  I 
repeat  it  from  the  evidence  of  compe- 
tent witnesses.  It  was  an  effort  by  sixty 
men  of  the  Camel  Corps.  The  enemy 
had  concentrated  considerable  forces  at 
one  spot  to  break  through.  A  junior  of- 
ficer of  the  Camel  Corps  saw  the  prep- 
aration and  took  his  men  forward,  with 
two  machine  guns,  up  a  grassy  slope,  to 
prevent  the  advance,  with  absolutely  no 
cover.  His  small  party  crept  on  stealth- 
ily, undeterred  by  a  murderous  machine- 
gun  fire,  in  what  was  a  forlorn  hope.  A 
tremendous  shellfire  fell  about  them,  but 
the  party,  gradually  becoming  smaller 
through  inevitable  losses,  pressed  on  un- 
til within  300  yards.  The  crest  was  lined 
with  scores  of  machine  guns  and  hun- 
dreds of  riflemen.  There  they  stopped, 
and  kept  the  Turks  from  issuing  to  at- 
tack by  sound  and  accurate  bursts  of  fire 
every  time  the  enemy  showed  themselves. 
For  an  hour  and  a  half  this  gradually 
reduced  band  staved  off  attack  until 
every  one  was  hit.  Most  of  them  were 
killed,  and  the  wounded  fell  into  Turkish 
hands.  It  was  too  late  in  the  day  for 
the  Turks  to  get  through.  My  informant 
declared  that  every  Camel  Corps  man 
in  this  section  deserved  the  Victoria 
Cross,  whether  he  be  alive  or  dead. 


The  War's  Effects  on  Turkish  Railways 

THE  war  has  had  some  unforeseen  ef-  .  Minor   toward    Turkey    in    Europe,    and 

fects  on  the  economic  life  of  Turkey.  only   90,316  tons   in  the   opposite   direc- 

To   a   certain    extent    that   country  tion.     The  report  for  1916  has  not  yet 

has   become   the   port   of   entry  through  been  issued  at  this  writing,  but  it  will 

which    Central    Europe    seeks   to   escape  show   a   much   greater   increase,   as   the 

the   Entente   blockade,   and   the   Austro-  construction  of  the  Bagdad  Railway  has 

German  engineers  are  bending  all  their  made  extensive  progress  in  the  interval. 

energies  to  draw  from  it  every  ounce  of  -p„     •  .„A     •  .,  ■                ,.         „  ,_      , 

. ,  , ,                         r™               .           .     ,  By  virtue  of  the  convention  of  March 

available  resources.     The  men  m  control  c     iaao    *%.     »     j  j   •»  »i           ^ 

*  4.U     rvn.            -c*       •        ii       4.1-             j  5»   1903>   tne   Bagdad   Railway   Company 

of  the  Ottoman  Empire  allow  them  to  do      ,     .     ,     ,  ,      -  *     rkA.  *     J 

.,.     .,                   .,,.     ,     ,               ,,  undertook    to    seek    from    the    Ottoman 

this  the  more  willingly  because  they  re-  nM   _         .                            ,,      .  '            . 

,  ..                           /                 . .  „ J  Government  a  separate  authorization  for 

gard  the  present  epoch  as  essentially  one      „     ,  ,. ,   fA  L    ,       _. 

-  .         ...          ml/               .     ,           , .  each    section    to    be    constructed.      The 

of  transition.     They  seem  to  be  seeking  »,..«  V. .      .h                 „ 

.  „          ,       i       a  -    m»-            -i.i-  xT.  Turkish    authorities,    usually    very    slow 

especially  to  develop  Asia  Minor  with  the  ,          ,.             -A.                      f      A, 

'a    -e  n             x    t,   •  •         V  u-       il  and   negligent,   in   this    case,   under   the 

aid  of  German  technicians,  holding  them-  ,.      *        '»  ,J                       ,    '   ^. 

i                                 xi.     j*1*-     ix  x    i      *  stimulus  of  the  war,  granted  the  neces- 

selves  ready,  once  the  difficult  task  of  ,,      .     ,.            ?,,              ,.       . 

/  ,  r,    ,.        .                  ,.  ,     ,  sary  authorizations  with  exceptional  ra- 

economic   rehabilitation   is  accomplished,  .,.,                                               e 

to  get  rid  of  all  foreign  control  and  to 

adopt  a  frankly  nationalist  policy.  Al-  Konia>  the  southern  terminus  of  the 
ready,  under  German  protection,  they  are  Anatolian  Railway,  is  the  western  ter- 
breaking  the  contracts  which  bound  them  mmus  of  the  Bagdad  Railway  proper, 
to  other  European  powers.  Between  Konia  and  Bagdad  there  re- 
Let  us  glance  at  what  has  taken  place  main  only  two  sections  yet  to  be  built; 
in  the  domain  of  transportation.  As  soon  otherwise  the  whole  enterprise  is  com- 
as the  war  had  demonstrated  the  strate-  Plete'  The  lowing  table  from  the 
gic  and  commercial  importance  of  the  Pans  TemPs  shows  the  progress  of  the 
railways,  the  Germans  applied  them-  work: 
selves,  first,  to  utilizing  the  existing  lines-  Sections.                       Kilometers.    Opened. 

for  intensive   exploitation   of  resources;      ^°^T  f^Tri 2°°   °ct  25'  19°4 

j     x      .*•    •  i_-         xi-  x-  j:       Bulgurlu   to   Ulukishla 38    July     1,  1911 

second,   to   finishing  the  construction   of      ulukishla  to  Bozanti 53    Dec.  21,  1912 

railways    begun    before    the    war,    and,      Bozanti  to  Dorak 42   Not  comp't'd 

third,  to  establishing  entirely  new  lines.      Dorak  to  Adana 15   Apr.  27,  1912 

With   the   closing   of   the   Dardanelles  Ada™  to  °smanie  and  Na~ 

,,  --.     u  ,  .    .      ,,.  ,  m  mune    100    Apr.  27,  1912 

the  traffic  between  Asia  Minor  and  Tur-  0smanie  to  Alexandretta...  59   Nov.    l,  1913 

key  in  Europe  became  extremely  active,      Namurie  to  isiahie 54   Feb.,       1916 

and  the  new  state  of  things  was  imme-      Isiahie  to  Radjun 47   Oct.  20,  1915 

diately    reflected    in    the    movement    of  R?dju"    to    Muslimie    an*    ? 

x     •   A  xi_  x.   tt    •  a        n     v       xi.  Jerablus     203    Dec.  15,  1912 

freight  through  Haidar  Pasha,  the  gate-      Muslimie  t0  Aleppo 15   Dec.  15>  1912 

way  to  the  Bagdad  Railway,  lying  just  jerablus  to  Tel-el-Abiad.  ...101   July  11,  1914 

across  the  Bosporus  from  Constantinople.      Tel-el-Abiad  to  Tuem 62   June    1,  1915 

The    report   of   the    Anatolian    Railway,      Tuem  to  Raz-el-Ain 41   July  23,  1915 

,  .  ,    ,         „        ,.       -r,       ,     ,   „    ..  .         Raz-el-Am   to   Samara 541    Not  comp't  d 

which  handles  the  Bagdad  Railway  traf-      Samara  t0  Istabulat 30   Qct.     7.  1914 

fie   at  that  point,  showed  for  the  year      istabulat  to  Sumiken 38   Aug.  27,  1914 

1915  a  total  of  510,236  tons  of  merchan-       Sumiken   to   Bagdad 02    June    2,  1914 

dise  transported  through  Haidar  Pasha,  Of  the  whole  2,435  kilometers  (1,510 
as  against  317,217  tons  in  1914.  miles)  that  separate  Haidar  Pasha  from 
The  increase  was  due  especially  to  the  Bagdad  there  remain  583  kilometers  (361 
provisioning  of  Constantinople  and  of  miles)  still  to  construct;  but  the  con- 
the  Turkish  troops  fighting  at  that  time  nection  between  the  Bosporus  and  the 
in  the  Peninsula  of  Gallipoli;  in  fact,  Euphrates  is  already  made,  and  it 
out  of  a  total  of  510,236  tons,  419,920  should  be  noted  that  the  greatest  en- 
tons  were  carried  over  the  road  in  Asia  gineering   difficulties   of  the   whole   en- 


THE  WAR'S  EFFECTS  ON  TURKISH  RAILWAYS 


167 


terprise  have  been  surmounted  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  Two  important 
gaps  remained  to  be  filled  when  the 
war  broke  out.  One  was  the  road  across 
the  Taurus  Mountains,  the  other  that 
across  the  Amanus  Mountains.  Now, 
the  Namurie-Islahie  section,  opened 
in  February,  1916,  and  built  at  an  alti- 
tude of  874  meters,  connects  the  plain 
of  Adana  with  that  of  Mesopotamia. 
The  great  tunnel  at  Bagtche,  pierced  on 
June  16,  1915,  is  in  this  section.  The 
crossing  of  the  Taurus  was  effected  at 
an  altitude  of  1,465  meters.  In  that  sec- 
tion several  tunnels,  totaling  eleven  kilo- 
meters in  length,  were  bored,  including 
that  at  Bilemdik,  opened  in  December, 
1914.  Only  a  few  more  tunnels  remain 
to  be  finished  in  that  part  of  the  road 
in  order  to  complete  the  Bozanti-Dorak 
section.  Meanwhile  their  place  is  sup- 
plied by  automobile  roads,  which  also 
have  been  constructed  during  the  war. 
On  April  30,  1915,  the  Germans  com- 
pleted the  great  810-meter  bridge,  weigh- 
ing 3,400  tons,  across  the  Euphrates. 
The  Turks  also  have  carried  through 


other  railway  projects  of  some  im- 
portance. They  have  finished  the  line 
from  Haifa  to  Jerusalem  and  made  con- 
siderable progress  on  that  to  Sinai, 
which  branches  off  from  the  other  at 
Afoule,  and  is  soon  to  furnish  connec- 
tions with  the  Sinai  Peninsula.  The 
Young  Turks  expect  the  port  of  Haifa  to 
supplant  that  of  Beirut  when  the  rail- 
way is   completed. 

The  task  of  building  the  great  Black 
Sea  railway  system — from  Samsun  to 
Sivas,  from  Angora  to  Erzerum,  &c. — 
was  handed  over  by  Russia  to  France 
after  M.  Poincare's  journey  to  Petro- 
grad;  a  Turkish  law  of  June  25,  1915, 
however,  transferred  this  work  to  the 
Ottoman  Government.  Meanwhile  the 
presence  of  Russian  troops  in  Armenia 
has  prevented  the  Turks  from  doing 
anything  on  it.  The  Germans  attach 
great  importance  to  this  project,  which 
they  regard  as  furnishing  the  missing 
link  in  their  great  waterway  system  to 
connect  the  North  Sea  with  the  Persian 
Gulf  by  way  of  the  Rhine,  Danube, 
Black  Sea,  and  Tigris  River. 


Cruelties  to  Jews  Deported  From  Jaffa 


Djemal  Pasha,  Turkish  Governor  Gen- 
eral in  the  Palestine  region,  signalized 
the  approach  of  the  British  expeditionary 
force  by  driving  all  Jews  from  Jaffa, 
north  of  Gaza.  The  cruelties  perpetrated 
in  the  execution  of  his  order  early  in 
April,  1917,  were  reported  to  the  United 
States  Government  by  Consul  Garrels  at 
Alexandria.  Ambassador  Elkus  advised 
the  State  Department  on  June  12  that 
no  massacres  had  taken  place,  though  the 
Jews  had  been  compelled  to  leave  Jaffa. 
Mr.  Garrels' s  report  follows: 

THE  orders  of  evacuation  were  aimed 
chiefly  at  the  Jewish  population. 
Even  German,  Austro-Hungarian, 
and  Bulgarian  Jews  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  town.  Mohammedans  and 
Christians  were  allowed  to  remain  pro- 
vided they  were  holders  of  individual 
permits.  The  Jews  who  sought  the  per- 
mits were  refused.  On  April  1  the  Jews 
were  ordered  to  leave  the  town  within 
forty-eight  hours.    Those. who  rode  from 


Jaffa  to  Petach  Tikvah  had  to  pay  from 
100  to  200  francs  instead  of  the  normal 
fare  of  15  to  25  francs.  The  Turkish 
drivers  practically  refused  to  receive 
anything  but  gold,  the  Turkish  paper 
note  being  taken  as  the  equivalent  of 
17.50  piastres  for  a  note  of  100  pias- 
tres. 

Already  about  a  week  earlier  300 
Jews  had  been  deported  in  a  most  cruel 
manner  from  Jerusalem.  Djemal  Pasha 
openly  declared  that  the  joy  of  the  Jews 
on  the  approach  of  the  British  forces 
would  be  short-lived,  as  he  would  make 
them  share  the  fate  of  the  Armenians. 
In  Jaffa  Djemal  Pasha  cynically  assured 
the  Jews  that  it  was. for  their  own  good 
and  interests  that  he  drove  them  out. 
Those  who  had  not  succeeded  in  leaving 
on  April  1  and  following  days  were 
graciously  accorded  permission  to  remain 
at  Jaffa  over  the  Easter  holidays  until 
April  9.  Thus  8,000  were  evicted  from 
their  houses  and  not  allowed  to  carry  off 


168 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


their  belongings  or  provisions.  Their 
houses  were  looted  and  pillaged  even  be- 
fore the  owners  had  left.  A  swarm  of 
pillaging  Bedouin  women,  Arabs  with 
donkeys,  camels,  &c,  came  like  birds  of 
prey  and  proceeded  to  carry  off  valuables 
and  furniture. 

The  Jewish  suburbs  have  been  totally 
sacked  under  the  paternal  eye  of  the  au- 
thorities. By  way  of  example  two  Jews 
from  Yemen  were  hanged  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Jewish  suburb  of  Tel  Avid  in  order 
clearly  to  indicate  the  fate  in  store  for 
any  Jews  who  might  be  so  foolish  as  to 
oppose  the  looters.  The  roads  to  the  Jew- 
ish colonies  north  of  Jaffa  are  lined  with 
thousands  of  starving  Jewish  refugees. 
The  most  appalling  scenes  of  cruelty  and 
robbery  are  reported  by  absolutely  reli- 
able eyewitnesses.  Dozens  of  cases  are 
reported  of  wealthy  Jews  who  were  found 
dead  in  the  sandhills  around  Tel  Avid. 
In  order  to  drive  off  the  bands  of  robbers 
preying  on  the  refugees  on  the  roads  the 
young  men  of  the  Jewish  villages  organ- 
ized a  body  of  guards  to  watch  in  turn 


the  roads.  These  guards  have  been 
arrested  and  maltreated  by  the  author- 
ities. 

The  Mohammedan  population  have  also 
left  the  town  recently,  but  they  are  al- 
lowed to  live  in  the  orchards  and  country 
houses  surrounding  Jaffa  and  are  permit- 
ted to  enter  the  town  daily  to  look  after 
their  property,  but  not  a  single  Jew  has 
been  allowed  to  return  to  Jaffa. 

The  same  fate  awaits  all  Jews  in  Pales- 
tine. Djemal  Pasha  is  too  cunning  to 
order  cold-blooded  massacres.  His  meth- 
od is  to  drive  the  population  to  starvation 
and  to  death  by  thirst,  epidemics,  &c, 
which,  according  to  himself,  are  merely 
calamities  sent  by  God.  Those  who  know 
his  methods  will  not  be  surprised  if  after 
a  short  time  severe  punishment  is  dealt 
out  to  those-  who  have  looted  and  pillaged 
under  his  orders,  or  at  least  with  his  con- 
nivance. This  would  be  in  accordance 
with  his  settled  policy  of  exciting  one 
part  of  the  population  against  the  other, 
and  exterminating  all  those  who  are  not 
Turanians. 


Djemal  Pasha — A  Turkish  Ivanoff 

[Cartoon   from   the  American   Jewish   Chronicle] 


Wartime  Suffering  in  Turkey 


A  foreign  official,  whose  duties  took 
him  to  Constantinople  in  April,  1917, 
gave  the  following  account  of  conditions 
in  the  Turkish  capital: 

THE  reports  which  reach  the  outer 
world  from  time  to  time  about  con- 
ditions in  Turkey  invariably  under- 
state the  facts.  The  vast  mass  of  the 
Turkish  population  is  now  subsisting  on 
the  verge  of  starvation.  The  misery  which 
prevails  at  Constantinople  among  the 
middle  and  working  classes  is  heart- 
breaking; while  conditions  inland,  owing 
to  the  epidemics  which  prevail,  are  even 
worse.  There  is  no  cholera  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  the  admirable  sanitary  meas- 
ures imposed  on  the  city  by  the  Germans 
have  succeeded  in  keeping  typhus  within 
close  limits.  The  Germans  tried  to  make 
the  tramway  company  daily  disinfect  its 
vehicles,  but,  as  usual,  they  acted  in  the 
matter  without  tact,  and,  the  company 
refusing,  no  European  now  travels  in  the 
tramcars. 

Pitiful  incidents,  indicating  the  misery 
of  the  people,  can  be  witnessed  daily  at 
any  street  corner.  The  faces  you  see  are 
haggard,  pinched,  and  worn,  the  eyes 
haunted,  the  frames  feeble.  I  do  not 
know  whether  people  die  of  starvation  in 
Constantinople,  but  I  have  frequently 
seen  old  men  and  women  collapse — I  sup- 
pose from  hunger — in  the  streets.  Poor 
people  will  pay  enormous  sums  for  worm- 
eaten  figs  with  which  one  would  not  at- 
tempt to  poison  a  mad  dog.  In  the  old 
far-off  days  of  peace  the  average  humble- 
class  Turk  would  make  a  piece  of  bread 
and  cheese,  some  olives,  and  some  Turk- 
ish delight  form  his  principal  meal.  To- 
day such  a  meal  would  cost  him 
about  $1.25. 

Prices  have  risen  steadily  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  and  in  American 
terms  are  something  like  the  following: 
Butter,  $2.50  a  pound;  cheese,  $3.50  a 
pound;  olives,  75  cents  a  pound;  sugar, 
$2.50  a  pound;  rice,  $1  a  pound;  Turkish 
delight,  $2  a  pound.  The  veritable  fam- 
ine in  sugar  which  now  prevails  in  Con- 
stantinople is  a  great  blow  to  the  sweets- 
loving  Turk.  Lumps  of  sugar  at  5  cents 
each  are  hawked  about  the  streets.   Aus- 


tria recently  promised  to  send  Tur- 
key 2,000  carloads  of  sugar  at  the  rate 
of  200  cars  a  month,  but  owing  to  the 
great  scarcity  of  rolling  stock  nobody 
takes  the  promise  seriously.  In  spite  of 
the  hunger  and  abject  misery  everywhere 
prevailing,  the  Turk  manifests  no  desire 
to  revolt.  Food  riots  are  unknown  at 
Constantinople,  and  the  shops  are  never 
looted. 

The  shortage  of  bread  is  a  great  cause 
for  complaint  among  the  women.  The 
Turkish  Government,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Germans,  early  in  the  present  year 
introduced  a  rationing  system,  but  the 
wealthy  Turks  declined  to  submit  to  it, 
and  the  elaborate  organization  set  up 
speedily  collapsed.  The  apathy  of  the 
Turks  angers  the  foreign  observer.  Only 
once  have  they  been  roused  from  their 
apathy,  and  that  was  when  the  thousands 
of  wounded  poured  into  Constantionple 
from  the  Dardanelles.  The  sight  of  their 
dying  men-folk  caused  several  hundred 
women  to  march  to  the  War  Office  to 
call  on  the  Government  to  give  them  back 
their  husbands  and  sons. 

In  Turkey,  as  in  other  belligerent  coun- 
tries, the  war  has  opened  up  new  avenues 
of  employment  to  women.  The  Greeks 
and  Armenians  formerly  employed  at  the 
post  and  telephone  offices  have  been  dis- 
missed and  their  places  taken  by  Turkish 
women  and  girls.  The  war  has  hastened 
rather  than  checked  the  emancipation  of 
Turkish  women.  All  the  young  women 
wear  veils  of  the  flimsiest  description, 
and  in  the  tramcars  they  always  draw 
them  up  from  their  faces.  An  incident 
which  illustrates  the  strength  of  the 
"  new  woman  "  movement  in  Turkey  oc- 
curred quite  recently.  The  following  no- 
tice was  issued  by  the  police  department. 

The  adoption  of  new  forms  of  apparel  has 
become  a  public  scandal,  in  Constantinople. 
All  Mohammedan  women  are  given  two  days 
in  which  to  lengthen  their  skirts,  discard  cor- 
sets, and  substitute  thick  for  flimsy  veils. 

Two  days  passed,  and  the  following 
notice  appeared: 

We  regret  that  through  the  interference  of 
certain  old  women  a  subordinate  of  the  Po- 
lice  Department    has    attempted    to    regulate 


170 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


the  costumes  which  Mohammedan  women 
wear.  The  Police  Department  regrets  this 
blunder  and  cancels  the  previous  order. 

The  "  police  subordinate "  who  blun- 
dered was  an  invention  of  the  depart- 
ment, anxious  to  find  an  excuse  to 
capitulate  to  the  storm  which  the  orig- 
inal order  provoked.  The  wives  of 
Turkish  aristocrats,  Ministers,  and  high 
Government  officials  threatened  to  hold 
up  the  Red  Crescent  nursing  work  in 
Turkey,  the  telephone  girls  threatened 
to  strike,  the  Post  Office  girls  to  leave 
the  Post  Office,  unless  the  offending 
order  was  canceled;  and  before  two  days 
had  passed  Turkish  women,  determined 
to  be  Westernized,  had  won.  The  inci- 
dent provoked  an  outburst  of  indigna- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  women  against 
the  German  authorities  in  Turkey,  who 
were  accused,  probably  wrongly,  with 
wanting  to  keep  Turkish  women  in  a 
backward  condition. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  some  il- 
lusions are  entertained  outside  Turkey 
regarding  the  powers  possessed  by  the 
German  authorities  in  Turkey.  The 
Germans  are  certainly  the  masters  of 
the  Turks  in  the  sense  that  they  con- 
trol the  Turkish  Government,  but  the 
influence  of  the  German  officials  over 
the  civilian  population  is  very  small. 
The  German  police  in  Constantinople  are 
strictly  forbidden  to  interfere  with  the 
population,  and  even  in  the  army  Turk- 
ish soldiers  are  not  compelled  to  be 
subservient  toward  their  German  of- 
ficers. Besides  holding  them  responsible 
for    the    misery    and    misfortune    which 


have  befallen  their  country,  the  Turks 
dislike  the  Germans  personally.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  German  naval  and  mili- 
tary officers  make  no  secret  of  their 
contempt  for  what  they  regard  as  the 
laziness  and  slackness  of  their  Turkish 
charges.  Admiral  von  Souchon,  the  Ger- 
man Admiral  at  Constantinople,  is  never 
tired  of  declaring  to  other  Europeans  at 
the  Constantinople  Club  that  the  Turks 
as  fighting  men  are  hopelessly  inef- 
ficient. 

The  principal  preoccupation  of  the 
Turkish  Parliament  is  the  deplorable 
financial  condition  of  the  country.  Gold, 
nickel,  and  copper  have  long  since  van- 
\  ished  from  circulation,  and  the  country 
is  flooded  with  notes  and  stamps — the 
latter  worth  about  5  cents  each — of  all 
kinds.  At  the  backs  of  the  notes  in  one 
of  these  categories  is  a  design  of  Kut, 
and  an  inscription,  rather  amusing  in 
the  light  of  recent  events,  to  the  effect 
that,  thanks  to  the  bravery  of  the  Turk- 
ish troops  and  their  German  allies,  the 
town  will  remain  in  Turkish  hands  until 
the  end  of  time.  Turkish  finances  are 
run  on  the  simplest  lines.  Every  time 
that  the  Turkish  Government  is  hard  up 
it  asks  Berlin  for  a  "  loan."  The  "  loan  " 
consists  in  permission  by  the  German 
Government  for  the  Turkish  authorities 
to  issue  paper  money  for  the  amount 
required.  The  German  Government  has 
promised  to  redeem,  out  of  the  indemni- 
ties exacted  from  its  enemies,  all  the 
paper  money  issued  in  Turkey  during 
the  war.  The  mark  has  dropped  ex- 
tremely low  lately  in  value  in  Turkey. 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY   CARTOONISTS 

Note— Owing  to  the  existing  blockade  Current  History  Magazine  has  been  unable  to  obtain 
any  German  cartoons  for  this  issue. 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

Uncle  Sam's  First  Projectile 

The  United  States  has  voted  a  loan  of  $3,000,000,000  to  the  Entente."— Cable  news. 


From  II  420,  Florence. 


America  to  Germany:  "First  I'll  hand  you  this  one.     Other  presents  will 
follow  later." 


171 


[English  Cartoon] 


Receiving  the  Order  of  the  Boot 


-From  The  Sunday  Pictorial,  London. 


The  Kaiser  (to  the  republics  who  have  revolted  against  U-boat  savagery) 
It's  all  very  well  to  dissemble  your  love,  but  why  did  you  kick  me  down  stairs?  : 


172 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 

Times   Change 


—From  De  Nieuwe  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 

The  German  Peasant  :  "  I  always  used  to  think  how  that  beast  would  like  to 
eat  me,  but  now  I  think  how  much  I  should  like  to  eat  it." 


173 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 


Compensation 


—From   Espana,  Madrid. 

First  Dutch  Seaman  :  "  They  have  sunk  seven  of  our  ships,  at  one  stroke, 
after  promising  not  to  touch  them!  " 

Second  Sailor:  "Yes,  and  they  did  not  touch  the  Rochester  and  the  Orleans 
after  threatening  to  smash  them!  Probably  that  is  because  America  is  not  a 
little  country." 


174 


[English  Cartoon] 

The  Hindenbeggar 


—From  News  of  the  World,  London. 

Weary  War  Lord  (at  the  hot  air  pump) :  "  Ach,  Himmel!     What'll  happen 
when  the  beggar  bursts !  " 


[French  Cartoon] 


The  Fatal  Ladder 


1914. 


1915. 


1916.  1917. 

—From  he  Pele-Mele,  Paris. 


175 


[English  Cartoon] 


The  Two  Giants 


JL—  out  •>  \"\  0& MOfi^^         - 

—Raemaekers  in  Land  and  Water,  London. 


Germany:  "I  flestroy! 
America  :  "  I  create !  " 


176 


[Italian  Cartoon] 


The  Return  Visit 


1492. — The  caravels  of  Columbus  visit  America. 


—From  II  Numero,  Turin. 
1917. — The  naval  squadron  returns  the  call. 


177 


[French  Cartoon] 


Every  Man  to  His  Trade 


-From   Ruy  Bias,  Paris. 


Crown  Prince  :  "  Louis  XVI.  was  a  locksmith,  Nicholas  a  carpenter,  and  I- 
oh!  I'm  a  furniture  remover." 


178 


[English  Cartoon] 

Beware  the  German  Gift! 


—From  The  Passing  Show,  London. 

[In  the  Trojan  war  the  Greeks,  unable  to  capture  Troy  by  fighting,  resorted 
to  the  treacherous  gift  of  a  huge  wooden  horse,  which  they  pretended  was  an  offer- 
ing to  the  gods,  but  was  in  reality  full  of  armed  men.  The  Trojans  admitted  the 
innocent-looking  gift,  and  Troy  fell.  The  German  peace  offers  to  Russia  correspond 
to  the  Wooden  Horse.] 


179 


[English  Cartoon] 


Spades  Are  Trumps 


ft  ^  v 


£S>^*  ^  3 


—From  The  Passing  Show,  London. 
England  mobilizing  against  the  U-boats. 


[80 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 

David  and  Goliath 


J^sig*ri\*6 


—From  De  Nieuwe  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 
David  Lloyd  George,  the  giant  Germania,  and  the  results  of  the  Somme  offensive. 


181 


[American  Cartoon] 


Another  Plan  Gone  Wrong 


GERMAN 
INTRIQUC 


—From  The  New  York  Times. 
Kaiser:  "  So!    You've  failed  again!  " 


182 


[Swiss  Cartoon] 


The  Hot  Peace  Soup 


-From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 


All  eager  to  taste  it. 


183 


184 


[American  Cartoons] 


Hold  Fast,  Young  Russia 


One  He   Can't  Submerge 


"It  Beats   the  Dutch" 


\ 


"<* y 


Si 


-From  The  Baltimore  American. 


185 


[Swiss  Cartoon] 


Spring  in  the  War  Zone 


—From  Nebelspalter,  Zurich. 


The  ogre  of  death  and  the  spirit  of  awakening  life. 


18G 


[American  Cartoons] 

wU-Boats  Be  D— d!"  "Oh,  Say,  Can  You  See?" 


—From   The  Providence  Journal. 


—From  The  Los  Angeles  Times. 


Stuck ! 


Hock  der  Kaisex! 


—From  Tlv§  St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 


—From  The  Pittsburgh  Post. 


187 


[American  Cartoons] 

"  The  Goblins  '11  Get  U  " 

fcaJM 


1  "  Gott !  Papa,  They're  in 
Earnest !  " 


—From  The  Baltimore  American. 


—From  The  Dayton  News. 


It's  Up    to  You,  Mr.  Farmer 


Peace   Chestnuts 


—Knoxville  (Tenn.)  Journal  and  Tribune. 


—From   The  Dallas  News. 


88 


[American  Cartoons] 


Removing  Those  Painful  Crowns  The  Missing  Link 


The   Melting   Pot 


The  Giant   Awakens 


E.  Murphy  in  San  Francisco  Call. 


189 


[American  Cartoons] 


The  Nation's  Shield  The  Eagle's  New   Brood 


—From  The  Memphis  Commercial  Appeal. 


—From  The  Dayton  News. 


Mothering  the  Cuh  The    Question  Mark  of  Europe 


^r/wew^w*^ 


g^        >•/*•" 


—From   The  Providence  Journal. 


-From   The  Atlanta  Journal. 


190 


PERSHING'S  ARRIVAL  IN  FRANCE 


The  First  United  States  Commander  to  Lead  an  Army  in 
Europe  Arriving  at  Boulogne,  France,  June  13, 1917. 

(Photo  €>  International  Film  Service.) 


IIIIUIIIlll 


.»•••••«•«.. •••.■■••••..••.•••••■•••■■■••■■••■•■•■••■•, 


MAJOR  GENERAL  WILLIAM  L.  SIBERT 


Commander  of  the  First  Division  of  the  United  States  Army 

Sent  Abroad  to  Serve  Under  the  Commander  in  Chief, 

General  Pershing. 

(Photo  ©  Clinedinst  from   Underwood  <€   Underwood.) 


THE    GERMAN    CRISIS 

Chancellor  von  Bethmann  Hollweg  Resigns  and 
Is  Succeeded  by  Dr.  Michaelis  and  a  New  Ministry 


GERMANY  was  the  last  of  tke  bel- 
.  ligerent  powers  to  experience  a 
political  crisis  due  to  popular  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  conduct  of 
the  war,  but  the  end  of  the  third  year 
brought  as  complete  a  change  as  that 
suffered  by  any  other  warring  Govern- 
ment except  Russia.  On  July  14,  1917, 
after  a  fortnight  of  excitement  and  ten- 
sion that  stirred  all  other  nations  and 
convulsed  Germany,  Dr.  Theobald  von 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  the  Imperial  Chan- 
cellor since  July  14,  1909,  was  forced  to 
tender  his  resignation,  and  was  succeed- 
ed by  Dr.  Georg  Michaelis,  Prussian  Un- 
der Secretary  of  Finance  and  Food  Con- 
troller. A  complete  reorganization  of  the 
Ministry  ensued. 

Owing  to  the  rigid  suppression  of  news 
regarding  internal  affairs  in  Germany, 
the  world  could  obtain  only  meagre  de- 
tails of  what  was  happening;  such  news 
as  filtered  beyond  the  border  had  suf- 
fered curtailment  and  revision  at  the 
hands  of  military  censors,  and  much  even 
of  this  information  came  second  hand 
from  Copenhagen,  Stockholm,  Amster- 
dam, and  Berne,  and  was  incomplete  and 
contradictory.  Enough,  however,  man- 
aged to  elude  the  censors  by  word  of 
mouth  from  trustworthy  travelers  and 
correspondents  to  disclose  late  in  June 
that  a  political  tumult  was  raging  in 
Germany  and  that  new  political  align- 
ments were  forming.  The  influence  of 
the  Russian  revolution  had  been  far  more 
pervasive  than  the  censored  dispatches 
had  indicated.  A  new  situation,  too,  was 
acutely  felt  to  be  at  hand  when  the  Ger- 
man people  realized  that  the  United 
States  intended  to  bring  at  once  to  the 
support  of  the  Allies  the  full  weight  of 
its  resources,  wealth,  and  military  power. 
The  discontent,  which  made  itself 
manifest  in  half-suppressed  newspaper 
comment  and  public  expressions  by  men 
of  prominence  in  civil  and  political  life, 


was  lulled  temporarily  by  the  hope  of  a 
separate  peace  with  Russia  and  by  the 
popular  belief  that  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  Russia's  again  becoming  a  fight- 
ing factor  for  years.  When  the  Russian 
offensive  was  resumed  with  brilliancy 
and  with  disastrous  consequences  to  both 
Austria  and  Germany,  and  when  the  Rus- 
sian armies  gave  proof  that  they  pos- 
sessed a  greater  power  of  offensive  than 
at  any  time  since  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  the  crisis  in  Germany's  political 
circles  immediately  became  acute.  It  soon 
culminated  in  the  collapse  of  the  Beth- 
mann Hollweg  Government  and  the  for- 
mation of  an  entirely  new  coalition,  with 
all  sorts  of  sensational  possibilities  in 
prospect  as  a  consequence. 

Revolt  in  the  Saxon  Diet 

The  first  intimation  of  a  serious  state 
of  affairs  came  in  a  dispatch  which  was 
permitted  by  the  censors  to  pass  late  in 
June,  relating  that  in  "  the  Saxon  Diet 
"  the  Prime  Minister  of  Saxony  declared 
"  that  the  Government  would  fight  any 
"  attempt  to  secure  franchise  reform  in 
"  the  individual  States  through  the  ac- 
"  tion  of  the  Reichstag,  whereupon  the 
"  Socialist  Vice  President  of  the  House 
"  declared  that  Saxon  soldiers  were  not 
"  fighting  because  of  loyalty  to  the  King, 
"  but  '  out  of  love  of  the  Fatherland  and 
"  monarchical  principle.'  If  the  Govern- 
"  ment  of  Saxony  persisted  in  its  reac- 
"  tionary  attitude,  he  said  that  '  reform 
"would  come,  if  not  from  the  Crown, 
"  then  from  the  mob.'  A  Nationalist 
"  member  of  the  Reichstag  said  *  that  a 
"vast  majority  of  the  Saxons  were  in- 
"  spired  by  an  utter  lack  of  confidence  in 
"the  Government.'" 

The  next  important  incident  which  was 
permitted  to  be  made  public  occurred 
June  30,  when  it  was  announced  that 
the  movement  to  secure  an  equal  elec- 
toral franchise  in  Prussia  found  cham- 


lOi 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


pions  in  unexpected  quarters.  Leading 
Conservatives  joined  in  a  public  declara- 
tion calling  or  the  Government  to  take 
action  for  the  prompt  enactment  of  legis- 
lation in  favor  of  election  reform. 

Demands  for  Franchise  Preforms 
Their  call,  which  is  an  unequivocal  in- 
dorsement of  the  agitation  carried  on  by 
the    Social    Democrats    for   many   years 
past,  reads: 

The  mighty  struggle  in  which  the  Ger- 
man people  are  now  engaged  is  not  yet 
ended.  The  undersigned  until  now  have 
been  largely  of  the  opinion  that  the  prom- 
ise contained  in  the  imperial  Eastertide 
message  for  the  elimination  of  acrimo- 
nious internal  struggles  might  be  fulfilled 
in  co-operation  with  the  conservative 
forces  of  our  public  life.  However,  the 
opposition  emanating  from  these  sources 
is  so  powerful  as  to  call  forth  doubts 
whether  this  Easter  message,  in  its  true 
spirit,  can  at  all  become  a  reality  after 
the  conclusion  of  peace. 

Today  such  doubt  is  intolerable.  To 
keep  that  faith  with  the  German  people  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  it  is  needful  to  take 
this  work  in  hand  without  further  delay. 
We  therefore  do  not  hesitate  to  publicly 
emphasize  the  need  of  the  hour  which  de- 
mands of  the  Government  that  it  forth- 
with lay  before  the  Diet  a  draft  of  an 
election  reform  which  not  only  calls  for  a 
general,  direct,  secret  ballot,  but  for  an 
equal  voting  franchise  for  all;  and,  fur- 
ther, that  the  Government  in  addition 
give  effective,  visible  expression  of  the 
confidence  to  which  the  German  people 
are  entitled. 

The  call  was  signed  by  Professor  Hans 
Delbriick,  historian  of  the  University  of 
Berlin;  Alexander  Dominicus,  Chief 
Magistrate  of  Schoeneberg;  Professor 
Emil  Fischer,  Dr.  Adolf  von  Harnack, 
Dean  of  the  German  theologians;  Pro- 
fessor Friedrich  Meinecke,  Count  Monts, 
retired  Ambassador;  Professor  Walter 
Ernst,  Dr.  Paul  Rohrbach,  Dr.  Friedrich 
Thimme,  and  Professor  Ernst  Troeltsch. 
The  signers,  almost  without  exception, 
have  been  looked  upon  generally  as  stal- 
wart conservatives. 

This  call  was  hailed  with  enthusiasm 
by  the  Berliner  Tageblatt  and  other  im- 
portant papers,  and  the  Socialist  news- 
paper Vorwarts  pronounced  it  "  an  his- 
toric document." 

Agitation  in  the  Reichstag 

The  Executive  and  Constitutional 
Committees  of  the  Reichstag  met  July  4, 


preliminary  to  the  opening  of  the  new 
session  of  that  body.  The  Socialists  de- 
manded that  immediate  steps  be  taken  to 
bring  about  electoral  reform  by  having 
the  Reichstag  initiate  the  measures  to 
bring  about  reforms  in  the  individual 
States.  The  Government  was  reported 
as  being  willing  to  proceed  at  once  with 
Reichstag  election  reform,  involving  sub- 
divisions of  the  larger  election  districts 
and  introduction  of  the  proportionate  bal- 
lot system  which  is  quite  well  known  in 
certain  States  of  the  American  Union, 
but  the  Government  did  not  think  it  ad- 
visable that  the  Reichstag  should  make 
ballot  reform  in  the  individual  German 
States,  especially  Prussia,  its  own  busi- 
ness. 

The  Socialists,  however,  wished  to  make 
it  the  business  of  the  Reichstag,  because 
the  Prussian  Diet  was  ultra-Conservative 
and  would  not  favor  reform;  hence  they 
announced  a  preference  to  have  the  set- 
tlement of  Prussian  ballot  reform  placed 
in  the  Reichstag's  power;  that  body,  ac- 
cording to  the  Socialists'  idea,  need  only 
pass  a  law  making  the  individual  State 
electoral  systems  conform  to  that  of  the 
Reichstag.  This,  translated  into  Ameri- 
can politics,  would  mean  that  Congress  in 
Washington  has  the  right  to  dictate  to 
Ohio  or  Idaho  what  ballot  system  these 
States  have  to  employ  in  their  home  elec- 
tions. 

These  episodes  were  but  the  mutterings 
before  the  storm.  It  broke  forth  in  its 
furry  on  July  6  at  a  joint  session  of  the 
Main  Committee  and  Constitutional  Com- 
mittee, held  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Reichstag.  Although  the  sessions  of  these 
committees  were  strictly  executive,  the 
comments  in  the  newspapers  next  day 
indicated  that  very  serious  dissensions 
occurred. 

Erzhergers  Change  of  Front 

It  became  known  that  Mathias  Erz- 
berger,  a  leader  of  the  Clerical  Centre, 
one  of  the  most  influential  Catholics  in 
Bavaria,  which  is  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful States  in  the  German  Confederation, 
created  a  profound  sensation  by  deserting 
the  Pan  German  and  War  Junker  factions, 
and  declaring  for  peace  without  annexa- 
tions or  indemnities.  He  severely  criti- 
cised the  Government's  submarine  policy 


THE    GERMAN   CRISIS 


193 


and  the  blundering  diplomacy  which  had 
brought  America  into  the  conflict  as  Ger- 
many's enemy.  This  was  a  complete  volte 
face,  as  Herr  Erzberger  had  previously 
been  regarded  as  a  stanch  Government 
supporter  and  his  party  as  a  main  factor 
of  the  coalition.  When  it  became  known 
that  the  majority  of  his  party,  represent- 
ing the  influential  Catholic  faction  of  the 
Reichstag,  was  with  him,  it  was  clear 
that  a  crisis  was  impending,  and  that  a 
majority  in  the  Reichstag  was  probably 
against  the  Government. 

Crown  Council  Summoned 

Only  fragmentary  dispatches  appeared 
for  several  days  after  this,  and  these 
were  contradictory,  but  the  world  knew 
that  the  situation  was  serious.  The 
Kaiser  summoned  a  Plenary  Crown  Coun- 
cil. The  Crown  Prince  was  called  to 
Berlin,  as  were  Field  Marshal  von  Hin- 
denburg  and  Chief  Quartermaster  Gen- 
eral Ludendorff.  On  July  8  the  Ham- 
burger Fremdenblatt  said: 

"We  are  now  living-  through  the  greatest 
crisis  in  our  political  life  which  has  arisen 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  This  crisis 
centres  around  the  fundamental  questions 
of  war  and  peace  as  well  as  the  reorgan- 
ization of  our  internal  political  system. 
It  is  in  the  nature  of  things  that  every 
such  event  crystallizes  into  a  personal 
contest.  Member  of  Parliament  Erzber- 
ger's  speech  in  the  Reichstag-  General 
Committee  was  an  attack  on  the  Gov- 
ernment, which  means  against  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  as  well  as  against  the 
Chancellor.  To  avoid  misunderstanding 
it  should  be  said  that  the  continuation  of 
the  submarine  war  does  not  come  into 
the  question,  not  even  so  far  as  Erzberger 
is  concerned.  The  question  is  of  the  re- 
vising of  the  war  aim  formula  somewhat 
en  the  lines  demanded  by  our  Social 
Democrats.  Resolutions  in  the  Reichstag 
will  not  accomplish  this. 

Since  May  there  have  been  many 
changes.  One  thing,  however,  .has  not 
changed,  and  that  is  the  complete  lack  of 
contact  between  Government  and  people. 
The  reason  for  all  these  happenings?  One 
has  only  to  remember  that  the  speech  of 
a  member  of  Parliament  who  chanced  to 
be  called  Erzberger  has  sufficed  to  over- 
throw the  entire  structure  of  both  our 
internal  and  external  politics,  nor  was  the 
Government  able  to  stop  it.  That  shows 
the  bankruptcy  of  the  system.  The  Kaiser 
is  today  in  Berlin  and  conferring  with 
Hindenburg,  Ludendorff,  and  the  Chan- 
cellor.    Is  it  thinkable  that  at  such  a  time 


the  party  leaders  should  not  be  present 
and  that  what  they  have  to  say  should 
not  be  also  considered? 

Harden  s  Magazine  Suppressed 
On  July  11  Die  Zukunft,  Maxmilian 
Harden's  publication,  was  suppressed, 
and  Herr  Harden  was  drafted  under  the 
auxiliary  civil  service  law  to  be  employed 
as  a  military  clerk.  The  following  is  an 
extract  from  the  article  which  caused  the 
suppression : 

Herr  von  Bethmann  is  like  neither 
Buddha  nor  a  preacher  in  the  mountains. 
He  who  hopes  for  his  world  to  be  saved 
by  heavy  guns,  poisoned  gas,  mine3, 
flame  throwers,  submarines,  and  air  bombs 
must  do  without  a  reputation  for  sublime 
humanity.  Every  child  understands  that. 
Are  impartial  neutrals,  then,  to  learn  to 
dream  with  their  eyes  open  that  in  the 
pure  scales  of  the  North  Germans  gentle 
humanity  weighs  heavier  than  rattling 
armor  of  power?  Neutrals  will  never 
learn. 

Are  they  (Germany's  rulers)  allowed  by 
slandering  an  enemy  who  is  not  yet  ready 
to  conclude  peace  and  by  insisting  all  too 
loudly  upon  their  deep  belief  in  the  near- 
ness of  peace,  to  nourish  the  mad  but 
damaging  belief  that  Germany  is  more 
weary  than  the  league  of  her  enemies? 
Must  we  not  demand  that  our  rulers  shall 
learn  and  apply  properly  the  principles  of 
psychology  and  acoustics?  Must  we  not 
demand  that  before  they  choose  new  weap- 
ons, and  even  before  they  resume  the  use 
of  old  weapons,  they  shall  think  out  to 
the  end  every  possible  effect — not  merely 
the  effect  which  is  desired  by  the  com- 
mander in  the  field? 

Harden  reviewed  once  more  the  efforts 
to  make  capital  out  of  the  Russian  revo- 
lution. He  argued  that  it  might  have 
been  possible  for  Germany  to  imitate  the 
methods  by  which  Frederick  the  Great 
ended  the  Seven  Years'  War  after  the 
death  of  Empress  Elizabeth  of  Russia, 
but  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  act 
promptly  and  make  complete  concessions, 
and  the  achievement  would  have  required 
powerful  statesmanship  instead  of  "  the 
Swiss  pills  "  which  merely  reminded  for- 
eign countries  of  Herr  Zimmermann's 
proposals  to  Mexico. 

The  first  official  utterance  as  the  out- 
come   of   the    crisis    was    the    following 
manifesto,  issued  July  13,  and  addressed 
to  the  President  of  the  State  Ministry: 
Upon  the  report  of  my  State  Ministry, 
made  to  me  in  obedience  to  my  decree  of 
April   7   of   the   current   year,    I   herewith 
decide  to  order  a  supplement  to  the  same, 


104- 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


that  the  draft  of  the  bill  dealing-  with  the 
alteration  of  the  electoral  law  for  the 
House  of  Deputies,  which  is  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Diet  of  the  monarchy  for 
decision,  is  to  be  drawn  up  on  the  basis 
of  equal  franchise.  The  bill  is  to  be 
submitted  in  any  case  early  enough  that 
the  next  elections  may  take  place  accord- 
ing to  the  new  franchise.  I  charge  you  to 
make  all  necessary  arrangements  for  this 
purpose. 

(Signed)  WILLIAM. 

-    (Countersigned) 

BETHMANN    HOLLWEG. 

The  same  day  a  statement  was  issued 
in  explanation  of  the  summoning  of  the 
Crown  Prince.  An  official  communica- 
tion issued  in  Berlin  had  stated  that 
Emperor  William  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  political  and  constitutional  re- 
forms demanded  by  the  Reichstag  were 
such  that  they  concerned  not  merely  him- 
self but  his  successor,  inasmuch  as  they 
would  be  permanent.  For  this  reason  the 
Emperor  summoned  the  Crown  Prince  to 
attend  the  Crown  Councils  at  which  final 
decisions  regarding  the  extent  to  which 
the  Crown  and  the  Government  would 
make  concessions  to  the  Reichstag  were 
to  be  reached. 

A  Berlin  correspondent,  commenting 
on  the  Emperor's  manifesto  ordering 
electoral  reform,  said  that  the  intro- 
duction of  the  phrase  "  equal  suffrage  " 
into  the  Emperor's  manifesto  restored 
a  provision  which,  according  to  Berlin 
gossip,  was  contained  in  the  original 
draft  of  the  Easter  manifesto  and  was 
eliminated  at  the  last  moment  in  conse- 
quence of  a  reactionary  intrigue  against 
the  realization  of  the  Emperor's  wish  for 
universal,  equal,  direct,  and  secret  suf- 
frage in  Prussia.  This  is  attributed  to 
the  reactionary  Prussian  Diet,  which  on 
an  earlier  occasion  did  not  hesitate 
to  disregard  the  sovereign's  expressed 
wishes  on  franchise  reform. 

A  correspondent  at  Berlin  stated  that 
the  Emperor's  manifesto  forced  the 
Prussian  Ministry  to  discard  its  reform 
project,  the  draft  of  which  had  been 
largely  worked  out,  and  which,  accord- 
ing to  reports  in  Berlin  political  circles, 
although  doing  away  with  the  three- 
class  system,  introduced  'the  principle  of 
plural  voting  as  a  concession  to  the  Con- 
servative and>  National  Liberal  Parties. 
A  proviso  was  made  that  the  attainment 


of  a  certain  age,  marriage,  or  educational 
qualification   entitled   an   elector   to   ad- 
ditional votes.   The  correspondent  added: 
The  extent  to  which  equal  suffrage,   if 
the    Government    is    able    to    get    its    bill 
through   the  hostile  Diet,  .will   shake   the 
domination  0"  the  Junker  Prussian  Gov- 
ernment may  be  judged  by  the  compila- 
tion of  the  probable  strength  of  the  par- 
ties   in    the    Diet   under   this    bill. 

The  Conservative  leaders  have  figured, 
on  the  basis  of  their  voting  tables,  that 
the  strength  of  the  two  Conservative 
parties,  now  262  out  of  a  total  member- 
ship of  443  in  the  lower  house,  would 
drop  even  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions to  134,  and  might  go  to  100.  The 
National  Liberals,  now  with  73  members, 
would  be  represented  in  an  equal  suffrage 
House  by  34  to  52,  while  the  Socialists, 
with  10  members  at  the  present  time, 
would  jump  to  at  least  60,  and  might 
obtain  as  many  as  123  seats.  The  Rad- 
icals would  gain  slightly  and  the  Centre 
would  show  moderate  shrinkage. 

The  Chancellor's  Resignation 

The  story  of  the  resignation  of  the 
Chancellor  as  related  by  The  Associated 
Press  correspondent  is  as  follows: 

The  resignation  of  the  Chancellor  came 
in  the  end  quite  unexpectedly,  for  Dr.  von 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  in  the  prolonged 
party  discussions  and  heated  debates  of 
the  Main  Committee  of  the  Reichstag, 
which  have  been  proceeding  all  through 
the  week,  seemed  to  have  triumphed  over 
his  opponents,  who  had  been  clamoring 
for  his  head,  by  making  concessions 
which  were  tantamount  to  the  formation 
of  a  kind  of  imperial  Coalition  Ministry. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Chancellor,  by  a 
declaration  that  Germany  was  fighting 
defensively  for  the  freedom  of  her  ter- 
ritorial possessions,  evolved  a  formula 
that  seemed  satisfactory  to  both  those 
who  clamored  for  peace  by  agreement 
and  those  who  demanded  repudiation  of 
the  formula  "  no  annexations  and  no  in- 
demnities." 

In  all  this,  Dr.  von  Bethmann  Hollweg 
was  strongly  backed  by  the  Emperor. 
The  advent  of  the  Crown  Prince  at  the 
summons  of  his  father  to  share  the  de- 
liberations affecting  the  future  of  the 
dynasty  seems  to  have  changed  entirely 
the  situation  with  regard  to  the  Imperial 
Chancellor.  The  Crown  Prince  at  once 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  discussions 
with  the  party  leaders,  and  his  ancient 


THE   GERMAN   CRISIS 


195 


hostility  toward  Dr.  von  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg,  coupled  with  his  notorious  dislike 
for  political  reform,  undoubtedly  precipi- 
tated the  Chancellor's  resignation. 

Majority  Peace  Resolution 
The  Reichstag  met  July  11  and  refused 
to  vote  the  war  credit,  pending  a  solu- 
tion of  the  political  crisis.  On  July  13 
the  majority  bloc  of  the  Centre  Radicals 
and  Socialists,  constituting  a  majority, 
decided  to  support  the  following  peace 
resolutions : 

As  on  Aug*.  4,  1914,  so  on  the  threshold 
of  the  fourth  year  of  the  war  the  German 
people  stand  upon  the  assurance  of  the 
speech  from  the  throne — "  "We  are  driven 
by  no  lust  of  conquest." 

Germany  took  up  arms  in  defense  of  its 
liberty  and  independence  and  for  the  in- 
tegrity of  its  territories.  The  Reichstag 
labors  for  peace  and  a  mutual  under- 
standing: and  lasting  reconciliation  among 
the  nations.  Forced  acquisitions  of  terri- 
tory and  political,  economic,  and  financial 
violations  are  incompatible  with  such  a 
peace. 

The  Reichstag  rejects  all  plans  aiming 
at  an  economic  blockade  and  the  stirring 
up  of  enmity  among  the  peoples  after  the 
war.  The  freedom  of  the  seas  must  be 
assured.  Only  an  economic  peace  can  pre- 
pare the  ground  for  the  friendly  associa- 
tion of  the  peoples. 

The  Reichstag  will  energetically  pro- 
mote the  creation  of  international  jurid- 
ical organizations.  So  long,  however,  as 
the  enemy  Governments  do  not  accept 
such  a  peace,  so  long  as  they  threaten 
Germany  and  her  allies  with  conquest  and 
violation,  the  German  people  will  stand 
together  as  one  man,  hold  out  unshaken, 
and  fight  until  the  rights  of  itself  and  its 
allies  to  life  and  development  are  secured. 
The  German  Nation  united  is  unconquer- 
able. 

The  Reichstag  knows  that  in  this  an- 
nouncement it  is  at  one  with  the  men  who 
are  defending  the  Fatherland.  In  their 
heroic  struggles  they  are  sure  of  the  un- 
dying thanks  of  the  whole  people. 

This  resolution  was  adopted  July  19 
by  a  vote  of  214  to  116,  with  17  not 
voting. 

Crown  Prince's  Influence 
The  Tagliche  Rundschau  of  Berlin  in- 
dicated that  the   Chancellor  was  forced 
out  by  the  Crown  Prince.    It  said  in  its 
issue  of  July  14: 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Crown 
Prince's  attitude  toward  the  Chancellor 
and  his  policies  is  well  known,  and  that, 


apart  from  many  other  instances,  at  the 
time  the  Chancellor  at  the  request  of  the 
Kaiser  went  to  inform  the  Crown  Prince 
at  his  headquarters  of  the  coming  Easter 
message,  the  Crown  Prince  had  no  scruples 
in  expressing  his  vigorous  opposition  to 
the  Chancellor's  policies.  To  avoid  fur- 
ther discussion  the  Chancellor  withdrew, 
stating  that  he  had  fulfilled  the  Kaiser's 
mission,  inasmuch  as  he  had  informed 
the  Crown  Prince  of  the  coming  action. 

A  Berlin  correspondent  added: 

It  is  recalled  here,  also,  how  during  the 
angry  debate  in  the  Reichstag  on  the 
Agadir  affair  in  November,  1911,  when 
Herr  von  Heydebrand,  the  so-called  "  un- 
crowned King  of  Prussia,"  attacked  the 
Government's  policy  as  being  pro-Eng- 
lish, the  Crown  Prince  sat  in  the  gallery 
shaking  his  head  at  Bethmann  .Hollweg 
and  openly  applauding  Heydebrand,  even 
clapping  his  hands. 

It  was  after  this  that  the  Crown  Prince 
was  banished  by  his  angry  father  to  Dan- 
zig, much  to  his  disgust. 

Also  at  the  time  of  the  Zabern  inci- 
dent the  Crown  Prince  telegraphed  to 
Captain  Forstner,  "Fester  d'rauf!" 
("  Hit  him  again !  ")  According  to  the 
view  of  many  persons,  the  question 
whether  the  military  or  the  civil  power 
should  dominate  in  Germany  was  settled 
at  that  time  in  favor  of  the  former. 

Judged  by  the  comments  of  the  Ger- 
man liberal  press  up  to  July  20,  the  po- 
litical upheaval  has  strengthened  the 
Extreme  War  Party  and  jeopardized  the 
prospects  of  constitutional  or  Parlia- 
mentary reform. 

The  Vossische  Zeitung,  the  Tageblatt, 
and  Vorwarts  on  July  18  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Michaelis  was  made  without  pre- 
viously sounding  Parliament,  and  that 
the  new  Chancellor  accepted  the  post 
without  consultation  with  the  party  lead- 
ers or  an  attempt  to  learn  whether  his 
proposed  policy  was  acceptable  to  the 
Reichstag.  This  they  regarded  as  con- 
firmatory evidence  that  the  Reichstag's 
desire  for  formal  acknowledgment  of 
Parliamentary  control  of  the  old  Gov- 
ernment was  ignored. 

A  correspondent  at  Amsterdam  as  late 
as  July  18  asserted  that  Bethman  Holl- 
weg had  fallen  because  he  favored  re- 
form and  a  liberal  peace  policy.  It  was 
stated  that  he  made  two  proposals,  the 
first  that  in  the  direction  of  democratiza- 
tion a  new  body  under  the  name  of  the 


196 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Reichsrat  should  be  immediately  consti- 
tuted, which  would  be  a  sort  of  Commit- 
tee of  National  Defense,  and  would  for 
the  time  being  act  as  a  go-between  twixt 
the  Reichstag  and  the  Emperor,  thus  in- 
stituting on  a  modified  scale  the  princi- 
ple of  Parliamentary  responsibility;  the 
second  that  the  Government  should  im- 
mediately make  an  authoritative  decla- 
ration of  "  no  annexations  or  indemni- 
ties." Both  these  proposals,  it  is  asserted, 
had  the  backing  of  Bavaria  and  Aus- 
tria, although  Austria  naturally  had  no 
open  voice  in  the  matter,  which  was  pure- 
ly a  German  internal  affair. 

Both  proposals  were  violently  opposed 
by  the  Crown  Prince,  von  Hindenburg, 
and  Ludendorff.  It  is  declared  that  von 
Hindenburg  came  out  openly  for  a  "  Ger- 
man peace." 

Cain  for  Militarist  Party 
The  official  view  at  Washington  was 
that  the  crisis   had  resulted  in  a  com- 


plete triumph  for  the  Militarist  Party, 
headed  by  the  Crown  Prince,  and  in  a  les- 
sening of  the  prestige  of  the  Emperor 
and  the  Moderates. 

The  letter  of  the  Kaiser  accepting  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  von  Bethmann  Holl- 
weg  was  made  public  July  16,  as  fol- 
lows: 

I  decide  with  a  heavy  heart  by  today's 
decree  to  grant  your  request  to  be  re- 
lieved from  your  office.  For  eight  years 
you  have  occupied  the  highest  and  most 
responsible  offices  in  the  imperial  and 
State  services  with  eminent  loyalty,  and 
have  successfully  placed  your  brilliant 
powers  and  personality  at  the  services  of 
the  Kaiser  and  the  empire  and  the  King 
and  the  Fatherland. 

In  the  most  grievous  times  that  have  ever 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  German  countries 
and  peoples — times  in  which  decisions  of 
paramount  importance  for  the  existence 
and  future  of  the  Fatherland  have  had  to 
be  taken — you  have  stood  by  my  side  with 
counsel  and  aid.  It  is  my  heart's  desire  to 
express  my  most  cordial  thanks  for  your 
faithful'  service. 


First  Address  of  the  New  Chancellor 


DR.  MICHAELIS,  the  new  Chancellor, 
made    his    initial    address    to    the 
Reichstag  July  19.    He  paid  a  warm 
tribute  to  his  predecessor.    In  the  course 
of  his  remarks  he  said: 

Unless  I  had  believed  firmly  in  the 
justice  of  our  cause  I  would  not  have 
accepted  office.  We  must  keep  before 
our  eyes  daily  the  events  of  three  years 
ago,  which  are  fixed  in  history  and  which 
show  we  were  forced  into  the  war  by 
Russia's  secret  mobilization,  which  was 
a  great  danger  to  Germany.  To  have 
participated  in  a  conference  while  the 
mobilization  proceeded  would  have  been 
political  suicide.  [Exclamations  of  "  quite 
right  "    from    the    Conservatives.] 

The  mobilization  of  the  Russian  Army 
compelled  Germany  to  seize  the  sword. 
There  was  no  choice  left  to  us,  and  what 
is  true  of  the  war  itself  is  true  also  of 
our  /weapons,  particularly  the  submarine. 
"We  deny  the  accusation  that  the  subma- 
rine warfare  is  contrary  to  international 
law  and  violates  the  rights  of  humanity. 

England  forced  this  weapon  into  our 
hands  through  an  illegal  blockade.  Eng- 
land prevented  neutral  trade  with  Ger- 
many and  proclaimed  a  war  of  starva- 
tion. Our  faint  hope  that  America,  at  the 
head  of  the  neutrals,  would  check  English 


illegality  was  vain,  and  the  final  attempt 
we  made  by  an  honorably  intended  peace 
offer  to   avoid   the  last  extremity  failed. 

Then  Germany  had  to  choose  this  last 
weapon  as  a  countermeasure  of  self-de- 
fense. New,  also,  she  must  carry  it 
through  for  the  purpose  of  shortening  the 
war. 

The  submarine  war  is  accomplishing  all, 
and  more  than  all,  it  is  expected  to. 
False  reports  which  found  their  way  into 
the  press  as  a  result  of  the  secret  session 
of  the  Reichstag  evoked  for  a  time  a  cer- 
tain feeling  of  disappointment  which 
ended  at  a  particular  time.  They  did 
the  Fatherland  no  service. 

I  declare,  in  fact,  that  the  submarine 
war  accomplishes  in  the  destruction  of 
enemy  tonnage  what  it  should.  It  im- 
pairs England's  economic  life  and  the 
conduct  of  the  war  month  to  month  in  a 
growing  degree,  so  that  it  will  not  be 
possible  to  oppose  the  necessity  for  peace 
much  longer.  We  can  look  forward  to  the 
further  labors  of  the  brave  U-boat  men 
with   complete   confidence.    *    *    * 

Russian   Offensive   Unimportant 

In  the  East,  in  consequence  of  the  con- 
fusion in  Russia,  the  attack  of  Russian 
millions  did  not  materialize,  and  there  is 
comparative  calm.  Only  after  false  re- 
ports   and    incitement    by    Russia's    allies 


FIRST  ADDRESS  OF  THE  NEW  CHANCELLOR 


197 


had  stirred  the  Russian  soldiers  did  the 
present  offensive  develop.  Its  goal  was 
Lemberg  and  Drohobycz.  General  Brusi- 
loff,  with  all  his  enormous  sacrifices,  has 
gained  only  a  slight  advantage.     *     *     * 

Greece  was  forced  by  violence  to  enter 
the  war  against  us.  Our  common  front 
with  the  brave  Bulgarians  stands  firm. 

Italy,  even  through  the  eleventh  Izonso 
battle  against  our  war-tried  Austro-Hun- 
garian  brothers,  will  not  be  able  to  attain 
the  goal  of  its  breach  of  faith— the  pos- 
session of  Trieste. 

We  look  without  serious  concern  upon 
the  optimistic  sentiment  in  the  Entente 
countries  caused  by  America's  interven- 
tion. It  is  easy  to  reckon  how  much  ton- 
nage is  necessary  to  transport  an  army 
from  America  to  Europe,  how  much 
tonnage  is  required  to  feed  such  an  army. 
France  and  England  are  scarcely  able  to 
feed  and  supply  their  own  armies  with- 
out influencing  the  economic  situation 
still  further.  After  our  previous  success 
we  shall  be  able  to  master  this  situation 
also  through  our  fleet,  particularly  the 
submarines.  That  is  our  firm  conviction 
and  assurance.  We  and  our  allies,  there- 
fore, can  look  forward  to  any  further  de- 
velopment of  military  events  with  calm 
security. 

Hor»  Much  Longer? 

The  burning  question  in  our  hearts, 
however,  is  how  much  longer  the  war  is 
to  last.  With  this  I  come '  to  a  matter 
which  stands  in  the  centre  of  all  our  in- 
terest and  all  our  proceedings  today.  Ger- 
many did  not  desire  the  war  in  order  to 
make  violent  conquests  and,  therefore, 
will  not  continue  the  war  a  day  longer 
merely  for  the  sake  of  such  conquests,  if 
it  could  obtain  an  honorable  peace. 

The  Germans  wish  to  conclude  peace  as 
combatants  who  have  successfully  accom- 
plished their  purpose  and  proved  them- 
selves invincible.  A  condition  of  peace 
was  the  inviolability  of  Germany's  terri- 
tory. No  parley  was  possible  with  the 
enemy  demanding  the  cession  of  German 
soil. 

We  must,  by  means  of  understanding 
and  in  a  spirit  of  give  and  take,  guar- 
antee conditions  of  the  existence  of  the 
German   Empire  upon  the  Continent   and 


overseas.  Peace  must  offer  the  founda- 
tion of  a  lasting  reconciliation  of  nations. 
It  must,  as  expressed  in  your  resolution, 
prevent  nations'  from  being  plunged  into 
further  enmity  through  economic  block- 
ades and  provide  a  safeguard  that  the 
league  in  the  arms  of  our  opponents  does 
not  develop  into  an  economic  offensive 
alliance   against  us. 

These  aims  may  be  attained  within  the 
limits  of  your  resolution,  as  I  interpret 
it.  We  cannot  again  offer  peace.  We 
have  loyally  stretched  out  our  hands  once. 
We  met  no  response,  but  with  the  entire 
nation  and  with  Germany,  the  army  and 
its  leaders  in  accord  with  this  declara- 
tion, the  Government  feels  that  if  our 
enemies  abandon  their  lust  for  conquest 
and  their  aims  at  subjugation  and  wish 
to  enter  into  negotiations  we  shall  listen 
honestly  and  readily  to  what  they  have 
to  say  to  us.  Until  then  we  must  hold 
out   calmly    and    patiently. 

Nation  s  Most  Serious  Crisis 
The  present  time  is,  in  regard  to  food 
conditions,  the  most  severe  we  have  ex- 
perienced, and  the  month  of  July  has 
been  the  worst.  Drought  has  delayed  the 
crops,  and  want  exists  in  many  cases,  but 
I  can  declare  with  glad  confidence  that 
relief  will  shortly  set  in  and  the  popula- 
tion can  then  be  supplied  more  ade- 
quately. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  acceptance  of 
the  Chancellorship  Dr.  Michaelis  sent  a 
message  to  Count  Czernin,  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Foreign  Minister,  saying  that 
he  considered  it  his  chief  and  inviolable 
duty  to  preserve  the  previous  inheritance 
of  the  closest  and  most  loyal  confedera- 
tion. It  was  his  firm  conviction  that 
Austria-Hungary  and  Germany  would  be 
victorious  and  that  the  war  would  secure 
for  the  heroic  people  a  happy  and  bright 
future.  Count  Czernin,  in  reply,  said  he 
saw  the  best  guarantee  of  a  happy  future 
in  intimate  and  confident  co-operation 
with  the  leaders  of  the  German  policy 
and  firm  insistence  upon  the  well-tried 
alliance. 


How    the    Hohenzollerns 
Junkers   Control 

By  Charles  Downer  Hazen 

Professor  of  European  History,  Columbia  University 


and 


THE  German  Empire  is  a  confedera- 
tion, founded  in  1871 — founded  by 
the  Princes,  not  by  the  people — 
and  consists  of  twenty-five  States 
and  one  imperial  territory,  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  The  King  of  Prussia  is  ipso 
facto  German  Emperor.  The  legislative 
power  rests  with  two  bodies — the 
Bundesrat,  or  Federal  Council,  and  the 
Reichstag.  The  Emperor  declares  war 
with  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrat,  the 
assent  of  the  Reichstag  not  being  re- 
quired. He  is  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy,  he  has  charge  of 
foreign  affairs,  and  makes  treaties,  sub- 
ject to  the  limitation  that  certain  kinds  of 
treaties  must  be  ratified  by  Parliament. 
He  is  assisted  by  a  Chancellor,  whom  he 
appoints  and  whom  he  removes,  and  who 
is  responsible  to  him,  and  to  him  alone. 
Under  the  Chancellor  are  various  Secre- 
taries of  State,  who  simply  administer 
departments,  but  who  do  not  form  a 
Cabinet,  either  in  the  English  or  French 
or  American  sense.  They  are  responsi- 
ble to  the  Chancellor. 

The  laws  that  govern  the  German 
Empire  are  made  by  two  bodies — the 
Bundesrat  and  the  Reichstag.  The 
Bundesrat,  of  which  we  in  America 
hear  very  little,  is  the  most  powerful 
body  in  the  empire,  far  more  powerful 
than  the  Reichstag,  of  which  we  hear  a 
great  deal.  It  possesses  legislative,  ex- 
ecutive, and  judicial  functions,  and  is  a 
kinX  of  diplomatic  assembly.  It  repre- 
sents the  States;  that  is,  the  rulers  of 
the  twenty-five  States  of  which  the  em- 
pire consists.  It  is  composed  of  dele- 
gates appointed  by  the  rulers.  Unlike 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  the 
States  of  Germany  are  not  represented 
equally  in  the  Bundesrat,  but  most  un- 
equally. There  are  sixty-one  members. 
Of  these  Prussia  has  seventeen,  and  the 
three  votes   allotted  to  Alsace-Lorraine 


since  1911  are  "  instructed  "  by  the  Em- 
peror. Thus  Prussia  has  twenty,  Ba- 
varia has  six,  Saxony  and  Wiirttemberg 
four  each,  others  three  or  two,  and  sev- 
enteen of  the  States  have  only  one 
apiece.  The  members  are  really  diplo- 
mats, representing  the  numerous  raon- 
archs  of  Germany. 

Voting  Under  Orders 
They  do  not  vote  individually,  but  each 
State  delegation  votes  as  a  unit  and  as 
the  ruler  orders  it  to.  Thus  the  votes 
that  Prussia  controls  are  cast  always 
as  a  unit  and  as  the  King  of  Prussia 
directs.  The  Bundesrat  is  in  reality  an 
assembly  of  the  sovereigns  of  Germany. 
It  is  responsible  to  nothing  on  earth,  and 
its  powers  are  very  extensive.  It  is  the 
most  important  element  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, as  most  legislation  begins  in  it;  its 
consent  is  necessary  to  all  legislation, 
and  every  law  passed  by  the  Reichstag 
is,  after  that,  submitted  to  it  for  ratifica- 
tion or  rejection.  It  is  therefore  the  chief 
source  of  legislation.  The  Princes  of  Ger- 
many have  an  absolute  veto  upon  the  only 
popular  element  in  the  Government,  the 
Reichstag.  Representing  the  Princes  of 
Germany,  the  Bundesrat  is  a  thorough- 
ly monarchical  institution,  a  bulwark  of 
the  monarchical  spirit.  The  proceedings 
of  this  princely  assembly  are  secret, 
which  is  one  reason  why  we  know  and 
hear  less  about  it  than  we  do  about  the 
Reichstag. 

Much  less  important  than  the  Bundes- 
rat is  the  Reichstag,  the  only  popular 
element  in  the  government  of  the  empire. 
It  consists  of  397  members,  elected  for  a 
term  of  five  years  by  the  voters,  that  is, 
by  men  25  years  of  age  or  older.  The 
powers  of  the  Reichstag  are  vastly  in- 
ferior to  the  powers  of  the  House  of 
Commons  or  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  or 
the  House  of  Representatives.  While  it, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Bundesrat,  votes 


HOW  THE  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  JUNKERS  CONTROL 


the  appropriations,  certain  ones,  notably 
those  for  the  army,  are  voted  for  a  period 
of  years.  Its  consent  is  required  for  new- 
taxes,  whereas  taxes  previously  levied 
continue  to  be  collected  without  the  con- 
sent of  Parliament  being  again  secured. 

The  Reichstag  has  no  power  to  make 
or  unmake  Ministries;  in  other  words,  to 
control  the  executive,  the  Emperor.  It 
may  reject  the  measures  demanded  by 
the  Government,  it  may  vote  what 
amounts  to  a  lack  of  confidence  in  the 
Chancellor,  but  to  the  Chancellor  it 
makes  notoriously  little  difference.  As 
long  as  he  enjoys  the  confidence  of  the 
Emperor  he  continues  on  his  way.  Bis- 
marck was  fond  of  repeating  from  the 
tribune  that  he  was  not  the  servant  of 
the  Reichstag,  but  exclusively  of  the 
Crown.  William  II.  dismissed  in  turn 
Bismarck,  Caprivi,  Hohenlohe,  and 
Biilow.  The  imperial  will  determines 
the  fate,  dictates  the  rise  and  fall  of 
the  Chancellor. 

Bethmann  Hollweg  has  been  the  Em- 
peror's man  in  body  and  soul.  No  val- 
leity  of  independence  has  surged  up  in 
that  submissive  bosom.  A  bureaucrat  of 
forty  years'  standing,  advancing  by  regu- 
lar gradations  from  the  lowest  rung  of 
the  administrative  ladder  to  the  highest, 
his  view  has  remained  the  same,  his  gaze 
has  been  at  every  stage  and  is  still 
riveted  solely  upon  his  superior,  and  his 
superior  never  has  been  nor  is  now  the 
Reichstag.  His  source  of  inspiration  is 
in  the  Schloss,  not  in  the  benches  of  the 
popularly  elected  Legislature.  Bethmann 
Holiweg  is  sometimes  frank,  frank  to 
the  point  of  rudeness.  "  Gentlemen,"  he 
said  at  the  beginning  of  his  Chancellor- 
ship, "  I  do  not  serve  Parliament,"  and 
was  loudly  applauded  for  his  insolence 
by  the  members  of  the  conservative  par- 
ties of  the  Parliament,  thus  a  victim  of 
the  proud  man's  contumely.  And  he 
ended  this  scornful  speech  with  the  state- 
ment that  there  was  one  role  which  he 
absolutely  refused  to  play,  that  of  the 
servant  of  the  people's  representatives. 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  who  has  curiously 
been  considered  a  liberal  by  some  ill- 
informed  and  putative  American  liber- 
als, has  the  merit  of  great  clarity  in  his 
consistent,  undeviating  hostility  and  con- 


tempt for  parliamentarism  and  for  de- 
mocracy. When  reproached  by  the  So- 
cialists for  not  resigning  after  a  vote  of 
censure,  as  they  do  in  France,  he  retorted 
that  even  children  knew  the  difference 
between  France  and  Germany. 

"  I  know  full  well  that  there  are  those 
who  are  striving  to  establish  similar  in- 
stitutions here,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  oppose 
them  with  all  my  force." 

Only  the  other  day  this  "  liberal " 
told  the  Right  and  the  Left  contempt- 
ously  that  he  was  serving  neither  of 
them.  He  had  a  more  august  master. 
Not  only  does  the  Reichstag  have  no 
control  over  the  Government,  not  only 
is  it  blocked  and  immensely  outweighed 
by  the  Emperor,  by  the  Bundesrat,  and 
by  the  army,  but  it  is  itself,  even  with- 
in the  sacred  circle  of  its  impotence,  a 
very  inaccurate  representation  of  the 
people.  The  electoral  districts  as  laid 
out  in  1871  were  equal,  each  represent- 
ing approximately  100,000  inhabitants. 
But  since  that  day  there  has  been  prac- 
tically no  change,  although  population 
has  increased  in  some,  decreased  in 
others,  so  that  there  now  exists  a  glar- 
ing inequality  between  the  districts. 
There  are  some  members  of  the  Reichs- 
tag elected  by  a  few  thousand  voters, 
others  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands.  The 
voter  in  some  districts  counts  for  only  a 
thirtieth  of  the  voter  in  certain  other 
districts.  The  large  districts  are  natu- 
rally progressive  cities,  the  small  ones 
the  conservative  country  regions.  A  Ber- 
lin Deputy  represents  on  the  average 
125,000  voters;  a  Deputy  of  East  Prus- 
sia, home  of  the  far-famed  Junkers,  an 
average  of  24,000. 

The  Impotent  Reichstag 

But  the  fundamental  evil  is  that  the 
elections  to  the  Reichstag  result  in  the 
creation  of  an  Assembly  politically  im- 
potent, which  does  not  control  the  execu- 
tive and  whose  powers  of  legislation  are 
subject  to  an  absolute  veto  by  the  Bun- 
desrat— that  is,  by  the  reigning  Princes, 
big  and  little.  German  government  is 
government  by  the  Emperor  and  the 
dynasties,  with  the  consent  of  the  Reichs- 
tag, a  consent  which  in  practice  can  be 
forced,  if  not  given  voluntarily,  for  the 


200 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Bundesrat  has  the  power  of  dissolving 
the  Reichstag  whenever  it  wishes  to,  a 
power  always  efficacious  thus  far.  The 
German  governing  classes,  the  Princes, 
the  bureaucracy,  agree  with  Moltke,  who 
said  that  the  real  ballot  was  the  cart- 
ridge which  the  German  soldier  carried 
in  his  cartridge  box,  that  the  real  repre- 
sentative of  the  nation  was  the  army. 

For  all  practical  purposes  the  Reichs- 
tag is  merely  a  debating  club,  and  a 
debating  club  that  has  no  power  of  seeing 
that  its  will  is  carried  out.  As  late  as 
January,  1914,  Dr.  Friedrich  Naumann 
of  "  Middle  Europe  "  fame  described  the 
humiliating  position  of  the  body  of  which 
he  was  a  member  in  the  following  words: 

"  We  on  the  Left  are  altogether  in 
favor  of  the  parliamentary  regime,  by 
which  we  mean  that  the  Reichstag  can- 
not forever  remain  in  a  position  of 
subordination.  Why  does  the  Reichstag 
sit  at  all,  why  does  it  pass  resolutions, 
if  behind  it  is  a  wastepaper  basket  into 
which  these  resolutions  are  thrown  ?  The 
problem  is  to  change  the  impotence  of 
the  Reichstag  into  some  sort  of  power." 
He  added:  "  The  man  who  compared  this 
House  to  a  hall  of  echoes  was  not  far 
wrong.  To  those  who  are  accustomed 
to  do  practical  work  in  life  it  appears  a 
mere  waste  of  time  to  devote  themselves 
to  this  difficult  and  monotonous  mechan- 
ism. *  *  *  When  one  asks  the  ques-' 
tion,  What  part  has  the  Reichstag  in 
German  history  as  a  whole?  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  part  is  a  very  limited  one." 

"  Many  millions  among  us,"  said  Dr. 
Frank  in  the  Reichstag  on  Jan.  23,  1914, 
"feel  it  a  burning  shame  that  while 
Germans  achieve  great  things  in  trade 
and  industry,  in  politics  they  are  de- 
prived of  rights." 

In  the  determination  of  national  policy 
the  German  Nation  has,  therefore,  no  way 
of  enforcing  its  wishes  through  the  only 
agency  it  possesses.  In  other  words,  the 
nation  does  not  govern  itself.  The  main- 
spring of  power  lies,  not  in  the  Reichstag, 
but  in  the  Bundesrat,  the  organ  of  the 
Princes,  every  one  of  whom  claims  to 
rule  by  Divine  right,  not  one  of  whom 
has  his  policy  dictated  to  him  by  his 
people's  representatives — and  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Prussia. 


Absolutism    in    Prussia 

The  Kingdom  of  Prussia  is  larger  than 
all  the  other  German  States  combined, 
comprising  two-thirds  of  the  territory 
and  about  two-thirds  of  the  population 
of  Germany.  The  empire  differs  from 
other  confederations  in  that  the  States 
composing  it  are  of  unequal  voting  power 
in  both  the  Bundesrat  and  the  Reichs- 
tag. It  was  Prussia  that  made  the  Ger- 
man Empire,  and  made  it  by  blood  and 
iron,  and  in  the  empire  she  has  installed 
herself  at  every  point  of  vantage  and 
guards  jealously  not  only  the  primacy 
but  also  the  actual  power. 

Prussia  has,  since  1850,  had  a  Consti- 
tution and  a  Parliament.  What  are  they 
like?  The  Constitution  was  granted  by 
the  King,  and  nowhere  does  it  recognize 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  What 
the  monarch  has  granted  he  can  alter 
or  withdraw.  All  the  restriction  the 
Constitution  imposes  upon  the  monarch- 
ical principal  is  that  henceforth  it  shall 
be  exercised  and  expressed  in  certain 
forms,  with  a  certain  procedure.  Prus- 
sian statesmen  and  Prussian  jurists  main- 
tain with  practical  unanimity  that  this 
does  not  mean  any  diminution  of  the 
power  of  the  monarch,  that  the  fact  that 
he  creates  a  Legislature  does  not  for  an 
instant  mean  that  he  devolves  upon  it 
a  part  of  the  sovereignty. 

The  Legislature  of  Prussia  is  the  Land- 
tag, which  consists  of  two  chambers,  the 
House  of  Lords  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. The  Legislature  does  not  ini- 
tiate much  legislation.  Most  of  the  bills 
passed  by  it  have  been  proposed  by  the 
Government;  that  is,  by  the  King.  The 
Legislature  has  practically  no  control 
over  the  administration;  that  is,  over  the 
powerful  and  permanent  bureaucracy.  It 
can  in  this  sphere  express  opinions  and 
practically  nothing  more.  The  Consti- 
tution does  not  determine  the  composition 
of  the  House  of  Lords,  but  leaves  that 
to  the  King  to  determine  by  royal  ordi- 
nance. As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  House 
is  really  overwhelmingly  dominated  by 
the  land-owning  nobility,  the  famous 
Junkers,  men  frequently  more  royalist 
than  the  King,  conservative  and  mili- 
taristic to  the  marrow  of  their  bones. 
The    House    is    subject   to    the    absolute 


HOW  THE  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  JUNKERS  CONTROL 


201 


control  of  the  monarch  through  his  un- 
restricted power  to  create  peers.  It  is 
really  a  sort  of  royal  council,  an  exten- 
•  sion  or  variation  of  the  royal  power.  It 
is  a  body  that  in  no  sense  represents 
the  people  of  Prussia.  It  has  a  veto 
upon  all  legislation,  and  the  King  has  an 
absolute  veto  also. 

Yet  there  exists  another  House  in  this 
Legislature  which  enacts  the  laws  that 
govern  40,000,000  Prussians — the  so- 
called  House  of  Representatives;  and 
marvelous,  indeed,  is  the  construction 
and  composition  of  that  body.  Every 
Prussian  man  who  has  attained  his 
twenty-fifth  year  has  the  vote.  Is 
Prussia,  therefore,  a  democracy?  Not 
exactly,  for  the  exercise  of  this  right  is 
so  arranged  that  the  ballot  of  the  poor 
man  is  practically  annihilated.  Universal 
suffrage  has  been  rendered  illusory.  And 
this  is  the  way  it  has  been  done:  The 
voters  are  divided  in  each  electoral  dis- 
trict into  three  classes  according  to 
wealth.  The  amount  of  taxes  paid  by 
the  district  is  divided  into  three  equal 
parts.  Those  taxpayers  who  pay  the 
first  third  are  grouped  into  one  class; 
those,  more  numerous,  who  pay  the  sec- 
ond third,  into  another  class;  those  who 
pay  the  remainder,  into  still  another 
class.  The  result  is  that  a  very  few  rich 
men  are  set  apart  by  themselves,  the 
less  rich  by  themselves,  and  the  poor  by 
themselves.  Each  of  these  groups,  voting 
separately,  elects  an  equal  number  of 
delegates  to  a  convention,  which  conven- 
tion chooses  the  delegates  of  that  con- 
stituency to  the  lower  house  of  the  Prus- 
sian Parliament. 

No  Chance  for  the  Poor 
Thus  in  every  Electoral  Convention 
two-thirds  of  the  members  belong  to  the 
wealthy  or  well-to-do  class.  There  is  no 
chance  in  such  a  system  for  the  poor, 
for  the  masses.  This  system  gives  an 
enormous  preponderance  of  political 
power  to  the  rich.  The  first  class  con- 
sists of  very  few  men,  in  some  districts 
of  only  one;  the  second  is  sometimes 
twenty  times  as  numerous,  the  third 
sometimes  a  hundred,  or  even  a  thou- 
sand times.  Thus,  though  every  man 
has  the  suffrage,  the  vote  of  a  single 
rich  man  may  have  as  great  weight  as 


the  votes  of  a  thousand  workingmen. 
Universal  suffrage  is  manipulated  in  such 
a  way  as  to  defeat  democracy  decisively 
and  to  consolidate  a  privileged  class  in 
power  in  the  only  branch  of  the  Govern- 
ment that  has  even  the  appearance  of 
being  of  popular  origin.  Bismarck,  no 
friend  of  liberalism,  once  characterized 
this  electoral  system  as  the  worst  ever 
created.  Its  shrieking  injustice  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  1900  the  Social  Demo- 
crats, who  actually  cast  a  majority  of  the 
yotes,  got  only  7  seats  out  of  nearly  400. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  undemocratic  sys- 
tems in  existence. 

The  voters  do  not  choose  their  repre- 
sentatives directly.  The  suffrage  is  in- 
direct, and  is,  moreover,  as  we  have 
seen,  grossly  unequal.  As  this  system 
is  in  vogue  for  municipal  elections  as 
well  as  for  State  elections,  it  throws 
power,  whether  in  the  municipality  or 
in  the  nation,  into  the  hands  of  men  of 
wealth. 

In  1908  there  were  293,000  voters  in 
the  first  class,  1,065,240  in  the  second,, 
6,324,079  in  the  third.  The  first  class 
represented  4  per  cent.,  the  second  14 
per  cent.,  the  third  82  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  In  Cologne  the  first  class 
comprised  370  electors,  the  second  2,584, 
while  the  third  had  22,324.  The  first 
class  chose  the  same  number  of  electors 
as  the  third.  Thus,  370  rich  men  had 
the  same  voting  capacity  as  22,324  pro- 
letarians. In  Saarbriicken,  the  Baron 
von  Sturm  formed  the  first  class  all  by 
himself,  and  announced  complacently 
that  he  did  not  suffer  from  his  isolation. 
In  one  of  the  Berlin -districts  Herr  Heffte, 
a  manufacturer  of  sausages,  formed  the 
first  class. 

This  system  would  seem  to  be  mon- 
strous enough  by  reason  of  the  mon- 
strous plutocratic  cast.  But  this  is  not 
all.  This  reactionary  edifice  is  appro- 
priately crowned  by  another  device,  oral 
voting.  Neither  in  the  primary  nor  the 
secondary  voting  is  a  secret  ballot  used. 
Voting  is  viva  voce.  Thus  every  one 
exercises  his  right  publicly  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  superior  or  his  patron  or 
employer,  or  his  equals  or  the  official 
representative  of  the  King.  In  such  a 
country  as  Prussia,  where  the  police  are 


202 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


notoriously  ubiquitous,  what  a  weapon 
for  absolutism!  The  great  landowners, 
the  great  manufacturers,  the  State,  can 
easily  bring  all  the  pressure  they  desire 
to  bear  upon  the  voter,  exercising  his 
wretched  rudiment  of  political  power. 

On  Feb.  10,  1910,  Herr  von  Bethmann 
Hollweg  defended  this  system  in  the 
Landtag  with  great  frankness:  "We  are 
opposed  to  secret  voting  because,  in- 
stead of  developing  the  sense  of  respon- 
sibility in  the  voter,  it  attenuates  it,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  favors  the  terror- 
ism which  Socialists  exercise  over  the 
bourgeois  voters." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  large  number  of 
voters  prefer  to  forego  their  miserable 
privilege  entirely  and  stay  at  home.  In 
1903,  23.6  per  cent,  only  of  them  voted 
for  the  Prussian  House  of  Representa- 
tives, while  the  same  year  75  per  cent, 
voted  in  the  elections  for  the  Reichstag, 
where  the  secret  ballot  is  used.  Of 
those  who  failed  to  vote,  much  the 
larger  percentage  is  from  the  third 
class,  whose  members  evidently  feel  the 
nullity  of  the  privileges  they  enjoy  in 
this  "  people's  kingdom  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lern,"  as  the  Kaiser  alluringly  de- 
scribes it. 

An  additional  evidence  as  to  the  per- 
fection of  the  "  people's  kingdom "  is 
this:  With  the  exception  of  a  thoroughly 
insignificant  measure  passed  in  June, 
1906,  there  has  been  no  change  in  the 
electoral  districts  since  1858.  No  account 
has  been  taken  of  the  changes  in  the 
population,  and  there  are  the  same  or 
worse  disparities  than  there  are  in  the 
case  of  the  Reichstag,  as  previously 
stated.  It  thus  happens  that  3,000,000 
inhabitants  of  four  large  Prussian  dis- 
tricts return  nine  representatives,  while 
three  other  million,  divided  among  forty 
smaller  districts,  return  sixty-six.  Here 
again  the  natural  result  of  the  change  of 
the  population  owing  to  the  economic  evo- 
lution has  inordinately  increased  the  in- 
fluence of  the  rural  districts,  prevail- 
ingly Conservative. 

In  1903  under  this  system  324,157 
Conservative  votes  elected  143  represen- 
tatives; but  314,149  Social  Democratic 
votes  did  not  secure  the  election  of  a 
single  member. 


Princes  Have  the  Veto 
Neither  in  the  empire  nor  in  Prussia 
nor  any  of  the  other  States  that  com- 
pose the  empire  does  the  elected  Cham- 
ber control  the  Government.  In  every 
case  the  Prince  has  the  absolute  veto. 
Where  there  are  second  Chambers,  as  in 
many  of  the  States,  they  are  not  elected, 
but  are  nominated,  and  are  a  bulwark 
of  a  privileged  class.  And  in  Prussia 
even  the  so-called  popular  House  is 
merely  another  name  for  a  privileged 
class.  Neither  in  the  nation  nor  in  the 
States  are  the  Ministers  controlled  by 
the  popular  assemblies.  They  may  vote 
a  lack  of  confidence  as  often  as  they  feel 
like  it.  The  Ministers  will  go  right  on  as 
long  as  the  Emperor,  King,  Grand  Duke, 
or  Prince  desires.  You  cannot  amend  the 
Constitution  in  any  German  State  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  Prince.  You  can- 
not amend  the  Constitution  of  the  empire 
without  the  consent  of  one  man,  William 
II.  Reichstag  committees  may  discuss 
and  propose  amendments  to  their  hearts' 
content.  After  they  have  obtained  the 
consent  of  the  Reichstag  a  rocky  road 
opens  out  broadly  ahead  of  them.  For 
they  must  have  the  approval  of  the  Bun- 
desrat,  which  is  appointed  by  the  reign- 
ing Princes  of  Germany  and  is  obliged 
to  vote  as  they  direct.  No  amendment 
can  pass  the  Bundesrat  if  14  votes  out 
of  the  61  are  cast  against  it.  Of  these 
61,  Prussia  has  20.  The  Prussian  votes 
are  cast  as  the  King  of  Prussia  directs. 
If  every  individual  in  Germany  except 
this  one,  and  including  the  other  Kings 
and  Dukes,  wanted  a  change  in  the  Con- 
stitution, they  couldn't  get  it  if  William 
II.  said  No!  This  is  the  people's  king- 
dom with  a  vengeance! 

The  power  of  the  Prussian  Crown  is 
virtually  absolute  —  "  absolutism  under 
constitutional  forms,"  said  Rudolph 
Gneist,  once  considered  in  Germany  a 
great  authority  on  public  law,  before  the 
modern  school  of  publicists  —  Laband, 
George  Meyer,  Bornhak,  Jellinek,  Del- 
bruck — became  the  teachers  of  Germany, 
and  taught  the  most  reactionary  political 
philosophy  that  Europe  has  heard  since 
the  time  of  de  Bonald  and  de  Maistre. 
They  have  taught  that  the  complete,  un- 
controlled power  of  the  "  Government " 


HOW  THE  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  JUNKERS  CONTROL 


203 


(Regierung)  is  in  the  power  of  the 
Prince,  that  the  granting  of  Constitutions 
did  not  mean  the  recognition  of  popular 
sovereignty  in  the  slightest  degree,  that 
Legislatures  are  not  representations  of 
the  people  but  are  mere  organs  of  the 
State,  that  Legislatures  have  no  right  to 
bring  the  State  to  a  standstill,  that  is, 
have  no  right  to  refuse  a  budget  until 
their  wishes  are  respected;  that,  if  they 
do,  they  are  acting  not  in  a  constitutional 
but  in  a  revolutionary  sense;  that  if  such 
a  step  is  taken,  then  it  is  the  right  of  the 
sovereign  to  recur  to  the  principle  that 
existed  before  the  granting  of  the  Con- 
stitution, absolute  monarchy,  and  to  do 
what  he  regards  as  wise. 

German  Legislatures  are  impotent  and 
ineffective.  The  effective  seat  of  political 
power  in  Germany  is,  as  it  has  always 
been,  in  the  monarchs.  Germans  may 
have  the  right  to  vote,  but  Napoleon  I. 
and  Napoleon  III.  showed  men  (and  Bis- 
marck among  others)  that  that  made  no 
difference,  if  the  vote  led  nowhere,  if  the 
body  elected  by  the  voters  was  carefully 
and  completely  nullified  by  other  bodies 
over  which  the  voters  had  no  control 
whatever. 

The  Legislatures  of  Germany  are  really 
only  royal  councils,  consultative  assem- 
blies. Bismarck's  defiance  of  the  Prus- 
sian Chamber  and  the  voters  who  elected 
it,  in  the  Conflict  Period,  from  1862  to 
1866,  has  been  decisive  for  the  fate  of 
popular  government  in  Germany. 

The  All-Parverful  King 

Prince  von  Biilow,  the  ablest  Chancel- 
lor of  the  empire  since  Bismarck,  said  in 
1914:  "Prussia  attained  her  greatness 
as  a  country  of  soldiers  and  officials,  and 
as  such  she  was  able  to  accomplish  the 
work  of  German  union ;  to  this  day  she  is 
still,  in  all  essentials,  a  State  of  soldiers 
and  officials."  The  governing  classes  are, 
in  Prussia,  which  in  turn  governs  Ger- 
many, the  monarch,  the  aristocracy,  and 
a  bureaucracy  of  military  and  civil  offi- 
cials, responsible  to  the  King  alone.  The 
determining  factor  in  the  State  is  the 
personality  of  the  King. 

Prussia  has  been  the  strongest  obstacle 
the  democratic  movement  of  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  centuries  has  en- 
countered.     Germany   in    1914   was   less 


liberal  than  in  1848.  The  most  serious 
blow  that  the  principle  of  representative 
government  received  during  that  century 
was  the  one  she  received  at  the  hands  of 
Bismarck.  We  have  expert  testimony  of 
the  highest  and  most  official  sort  that 
the  effects  of  that  blow  are  not  outlived. 
Prince  von  Biilow,  writing  in  1914,  said: 

"  Liberalism,  in  spite  of  its  change  of 
attitude  in  national  questions,  has  to  this 
day  not  recovered  from  the  catastrophic 
defeat  which  Prince  Bismarck  inflicted 
nearly  half  a  century  ago  on  the  party  of 
progress  which  still  clings  to  the  ideals 
and  principles  of  1848." 

Parliaments  will  not  control  in  Ger- 
many, the  civil  power  will  not  dominate 
the  military,  until  the  present  regime, 
exalted  and  strengthened  by  the  victories 
of  1864-70,  is  debased  and  disgraced  by 
resounding  and  disastrous  defeats.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  will  be  any  change  even 
then,  for  the  German  people  are  the  most 
docile  in  Europe,  with  no  taste  for  revo- 
lutions, w^ith  no  revolutions  to  their 
credit,  as  have  England,  France,  Amer- 
ica, Russia,  even  China.  Personal  Gov- 
ernment has  brought  the  present  calam- 
ity upon  the  world,  and  the  possessors  of 
that  power  will  fight  to  retain  it,  and 
will,  if  necessary,  treat  the  German  peo- 
ple with  the  same  ruthlessness  as  they 
have  treated  the  other  peoples  of  Europe. 
Moreover,  the  solidarity  of  governed  and 
governors,  in  atrocious  crimes,  during 
the  past  three  years  gives  little  hope  to 
liberals  in  other  countries  who  desire 
liberalism  in  Germany. 

Let  us  not  be  hoodwinked  by  Easter 
messages  from  William  II.,  or  by  cloudy 
and  ambiguous  utterances  of  Bethmann 
Hollweg,  as  presaging  forthcoming  liber- 
alization of  Germany.  Prussian  Kings 
have  shown  that  not  only  are  treaties 
scraps  of  paper  but  that  Constitutions 
are  also  scraps  of  paper  when  their  pro- 
visions annoy  the  monarch.  And  Prus- 
sian monarchs  have  never  been  squeam- 
ish about  perjury.  The  famous  Easter 
"  promises  "  of  this  year  will  not  be  a 
greater  hindrance  to  imperial  and  royal 
volition  than  previous,  celebrated  prom- 
ises to  Belgium  and  to  the  United  States 
have  been. 


RUSSIA'S   NEW  OUTLOOK 

Achievements  and  Problems,  Both  Civil   and 
Military,  in  the  Fourth  Month  of  the  Revolution 


THE  situation  in  Russia  improved, 
on  the  whole,  during  the  fourth 
month  after  the  abdication  of 
Nicholas  II.  The  marked  feature 
of  this  advance  was  the  way  in  which 
the  civil  power  and  the  army  reacted 
upon  each  other,  each  strengthening  and 
steadying  the  other.  The  great  offensive, 
which  began  on  July  1 — the  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  the  Somme — and  which, 
up  to  the  middle  of  the  month,  had  netted 
some  35,000  prisoners,  was  made  pos- 
sible by  the  strong  hand  of  Alexander 
Kerensky  at  the  War  Ministry  and  the 
iron  discipline  which  he  promised  to  in- 
troduce, aided  by  the  power  of  his  fiery 
eloquence,  which  swept  through  Russia 
like  a  flame.  And,  once  the  offensive 
was  started,  the  rapid  succession  of  vic- 
tories gained  by  the  far-sighted  military 
genius  of  General  Brusiloff  reacted  in  a 
very  favorable  sense  upon  the  position  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  giving  it 
new  strength  and  prestige.  Hindenburg 
checked  the  advance  on  July  17,  but  suc- 
cess had  already  consolidated  the  Rus- 
sian Army  and  hardened  and  condensed 
the  national  spirit  of  the  civil  population 
behind  the  lines. 

The  instant  success  of  Brusiloff's 
army,  which  duplicated  the  striking 
achievements  of  June,  1916,  went  far  to 
show  that  the  demoralization  of  the  Rus- 
sian Army  had  not  gone  to  anything  like 
the  point  suggested  by  pessimist  cable- 
grams from  Petrograd.  It  was  evident 
that  General  Brusiloff  to  a  large  degree 
succeeded  in  shutting  out  from  the  army 
under  his  personal  command — the  Army 
of  the  Southwest,  which  was  attacking — 
the  wave  of  demoralization  which  turned 
the  heads  of  the  troops  at  Kronstadt  and 
Schlusselburg;  succeeded  also  to  a  great 
extent  in  preventing  the  "fraternization" 
which  is  believed  to  have  been  a  war  ruse 
of  the  German  Intelligence  Department. 
Further,  he  kept  his  men  vigilant  and 
prepared  along  the  fighting  front;   for 


during  the  three  months  of  inactivity  and 
disorder  following  the  revolution  the 
combined  Teuton  armies  did  not  gain  a 
foot  of  ground  anywhere  along  the  long 
Russian  line.  This  was  no  doubt  due 
in  part  to  a  politic  holding  back  inspired 
by  the  illusive  hope  of  a  separate  peace; 
but  at  the  same  time  it  showed  that  the 
Russian  lines  all  the  way  from  the  Baltic 
to  the  Danube  were  kept  watertight  dur- 
ing all  the  months  of  political  turmoil. 
Finally,  the  supply  of  shells  must  have 
been  steadily  accumulating  behind  the 
lines,  in  spite  of  all  obstructions  in  traffic 
arrangements. 

Two  difficult  problems  confront  the 
Provisional  Government,  both  due  to 
groups  calling  themselves  Socialists. 
There  have  been  armed  riots  on  the 
Nevsky  Prospect.  The  most  serious  dis- 
turbances since  the  new  Government 
was  organized  occurred  in  Petrograd  on 
July  17.  The  radicals,  by  continued  agi- 
tation and  inflammatory  appeals  against 
the  Provisional  Government  under  the 
leadership  of  an  extremist  named  Lenin, 
succeeded  in  precipitating  disorders  in 
the  streets,  and  a  number  of  disaffected 
soldiers  and  sailors  co-operated  with 
them.  There  was  fighting  between 
mobs  and  the  troops  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  and  fully  500  were  killed 
and  wounded  during  the  two  days.  It 
was  openly  charged  that  documentary 
evidence  was  discovered  which  showed 
that  Lenin  and  other  radical  leaders 
were  in  the  pay  of  pro-Germans. 

The  avowed  purpose  of  the  anarchist 
demonstrations  was  to  overturn  the 
Provisional  Government  and  seize  the 
reins  of  power,  immediately  recalling 
the  Russian  Army  from  the  fighting 
line. 

The  Government  succeeded  in  restor- 
ing order  on  July  19,  and  received  evi- 
dences of  renewed  support  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  A  special  Congress  of 
Delegates  representing  all  the   Councils 


Commander  of  the  Naval  Force  Which  Safely  Convoyed  the 
First  Part  of  the  United  States  Army  Across  the  Atlantic. 


iiiiiiiiminii 


MAJOR  GENERAL  GEORGE  BARNETT 


Commander  in  Chief  of  the  United  States  Marine  Corps, 
Whose  Motto  Is  "First  to  Fight." 

i  (Photo  ©  Harris  d  EiOing.) 


■■■■■••••■■••  UIIMIIIIIIIIIIII 


■  ■.........«•........»••■■■'■•• 


RUSSIA'S   NEW   OUTLOOK 


205 


of  Russia  was  summoned  to  meet  July 
28  to  determine  the  future  Governmental 
policy.  . 

The  second  difficulty  is  also  due  to 
"  Socialist  "  tendencies.  It  appears  that 
two  members  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, the  Georgian  Tseretelli  and  Terest- 
chenko,  Foreign  Minister,  whose  name 
shows  him  to  be  of  South  Russian  origin, 
were  deputed  to  meet  representatives  of 
the  so-called  Ukrainian  Party,  which  de- 
mands autonomy,  if  not  independence,  for 
a  region  partly  in  Southwestern  Russia, 
partly  in  Galicia,  called  the  Ukraine,  or 
Borderland,  (from  the  Russian  "  krai,"  a 
border.)  It  appears  that  these  two  Min- 
isters committed  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment to  certain  extreme  concessions, 
which  practically  suspend  the  authority 
of  the  Provisional  Government  in  this 
loosely  denned  territory  lying  along 
and  immediately  behind  the  fighting 
line.  The  insistence  that  autonomy 
be  granted  at  once  caused  the  resig- 
nation July  15  of  five  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  who  were  Constitutional  Demo- 
crats. 

The  so-called  "  Ukraine "  movement, 
which  is  very  like  the  Sinn  Fein  move- 
ment in  Ireland,  had  a  certain  develop- 
ment among  emigrants  to  the  United 
States,  and  there  was  good  reason  to 
believe  that  it  had  strong  German  sup- 
port. Whether  its  recrudescence  in  Rus- 
sia is  directly  due  to  this  cause,  or  simply 
represents  the  efforts  of  Socialist  ex- 
tremists bent  on  carrying  out  a  theory  of 
decentralization  at  whatever  cost  to  the 
State,  it  is  evident  that  the  Ukrainian 
movement  will  require  very  careful  han- 
dling if  it  is  not  to  become  an  open 
menace. 

Finland  presents  a  like  problem.    The 


people  of  the  Ukraine  are  of  Slavonic 
blood,  speaking  a  dialect  so  close  to 
Russian  as  to  be  easily  intelligible  to 
all  Russians.  The  Finns,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  non- Aryan,  remotely  allied  to 
the  Magyars  and  the  Turks,  and  also  to 
a  wide  strip  of  peoples  along  Northern 
Russia  and  through  the  whole  length 
of  Siberia.  On  the  ground  of  difference 
of  race  they  now  demand  separate 
treatment,  further  alleging  that  the 
rights  of  the  former  Czar,  as  Grand 
Duke  of  Finland,  did  not  pass  automat- 
ically to  the  Provisional  Government  at 
the  revolution,  but  reverted  to  the  Fin- 
nish people. 

There  is  reason  to  see  the  hand  of 
Germany  in  the  Finnish  imbroglio  also. 
While  the  bulk  of  the  population  is 
Finnish,  the  ruling  class  is  Swedish, 
speaking  the  Swedish  tongue,  and,  like 
Sweden  itself,  strongly  sympathizes 
with  Germany  in  the  present  war.  It 
has  been  announced  that  some  kind  of 
a  working  compromise  with  the  Finnish 
"  nationalists "  has  been  reached,  in 
part  through  the  efforts  of  the  Georgian, 
Nicholas  Tscheidze,  conspicuous  during 
the  early  days  of  the  revolution  as 
President  of  the  Committee  of  Work- 
men's and  '  Soldiers'  Delegates,  which 
made  so  many  difficulties  for  the  Pro- 
visional Government  during  its  early 
existence,  especially  by  demanding  that 
all  army  orders  must  be  submitted  to 
this  committee  before  coming  into 
force.  This  danger  was  measurably  re- 
moved by  the  strengthening  of  disci- 
pline in  the  army,  by  the  formation  of 
committees  of  the  army  itself  and  of  its 
officers,  but  even  more  by  the  strong 
and  successful  offensive.  C.  J. 

July  20,  1917. 


Premier  Lvoff  on  Russia's  Situation 


[Statement  made  July  7,  1917] 


PRINCE  LVOFF,  Russian  Premier 
and  Minister  of  the  Interior,  made 
a  public  statement  at  Petrograd  on 
July  7  for  the  information  of  America. 
He  began  by  declaring  his  unshaken  con- 
viction that,  despite  grave  difficulties  to 
be  faced,  Russia  was  marching  toward 


reconstruction  and  stability,  and  that  the 
war  was  developing  toward  victory 
Prince  Lvoff  continued: 

Regarding-  the  war,  say  that  the  latest 
action  of  our  army  inspires  in  me  full 
hope.  I  am  convinced  that  the  new 
advance,  even  if  temporarily  stayed,  is 
not   finished,   but  Is  a  prelude  to   much 


20G 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


greater  successes.  The  advance  thor- 
oughly confutes  the  pessimists  who  unan- 
imously predicted  that  an  offensive  by 
our  supposed  disorganized  troops  was  im- 
possible. From  actual  intercourse  with 
delegates  from  the  army  and  with  other 
observers  on  the  spot,  I  know  that  the 
offensive  spirit   is   spreading. 

This  is  no  gradual  reconstruction  of 
the  army,  but  the  first  stage  of  a  com- 
plete process  of  recreation,  which  is  al- 
most miraculous,  proving,  in  my  judg- 
ment, that  the  troops  are  infected  with 
a  genuine  revolutionary  and  crusading 
spirit  and  the  consciousness  of  a  mission 
to  save  Russia  and  influence  world  events 
in  the  direction  desired  by  all  progressive 
men. 

The  good  side  is  the  army's  supply  of 
munitions  and  other  necessaries,  in  which 
we  are  markedly  better  off  than  last 
year;  in  fact,  guaranteed  for  the  imme- 
diate future.  The  bad  side  is  the  trans- 
port difficulties,  which  still  are  serious. 
These  are  an  evil  heritage  from  the  old 
regime,  and,  naturally,  it  is  impossible 
to  restore  order  in  three  months  crowded 
with  revolutionary  activities.  Even  with 
stable  political  conditions  the  creation  of 
efficient  transport  is  a  problem  of  years. 
Our  great  hope  of  speedy  improvement 
lies  with  the  Stevens  Railroad  Commis- 
sion, (the  American  Commission,)  from 
which  we   expect   much. 

American  Aid  Welcome 
With  regard  to  American  help  generally, 
I  lay  down  no  specific  program.  It  will 
be  simplest  to  say  that  all  conceivable 
American  aid  is  wanted  in  every  domain. 
But  the  key  to  the  solution  of  all  our 
military  and  economic  difficulties  la 
transport  amelioration,  in  which  it  is 
impossible  to   do   too   much. 

Send  my  hearty  thanks  for  the  Ameri- 
can project,  the  dispatch  of  the  Red 
Cross  mission,  as  here  we  have  serious 
defects  and  deficiencies.  I  follow  the 
news  on  this  subject  from  New  York 
with  intense  interest,  but,  having  myself 
ceased  to  direct  Red  Cross  and  sanitary 
affairs,  I  can  only  beg  America  as  far 
as  possible  to  meet  the  requests  for 
material  and  personal  help  made  by  our 
official  Red  Cross,  in  the  consciousness 
that  the  triumph  of  our  common  cause 
will    be    furthered    thereby. 

I  hope  also  for  further  American  .finan- 
cial support.  I  am  unable  to  say  what 
form  this  will  take,  presumably  a  loan, 
but  on  this  subject  our  Finance  Minister, 
M.  Shingaroff,  in  his  discussion  with  the 
financial  members  of  the  Root  Commis- 
sion, will  no  doubt  produce  a  practical 
program  which  America  can  help  realize. 
America  should  note  that  we  ourselves 
are  ready  to  bear  the  heaviest  monetary 
sacrifices  and  have  already  passed  more 
drastic   measures    respecting   taxation    on 


property  than  any  of  the  other  belligerent 
powers  and  are  ready  to  go  much  further. 
Among  our  other  economic  problems  the 
most  vital  is  food.  Here  again  the  cen- 
tral question  is  transport,  and  if  America 
helps  in  this  we  can  do  the  rest  ourselves, 
as  the  total  stock  of  food  is  sufficient  for 
both  the  army  and  the  civilian  popula- 
tion. 

The  Internal  Situation 
Prince  Lvoff  proceeded  to  discuss  the 
internal  situation,  declaring  that  this  has 
had  a  marked  influence  on  Russia's  abil- 
ity to  carry  on  the  fight  in  the  war  with 
vigor.    He  said: 

I  am  glad  to  see  last  week's  marked 
signs  of  amelioration.  Tell  America  that 
I  have  daily  evidence  of  the  rallying  of 
all  the  rational  elements  of  the  nation 
round  the  Coalition  Cabinet.  The  irra- 
tional elements,  such  as  the  anarchists 
and  Bolsheviki,  are  in  such  a  minority 
that  there  is  no  reason  to  fear  their  get- 
ting the  upper  hand.  Not  only  the  bour- 
geoisie, but  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  workingmen  are  against  them.  Their 
present  excesses  are  merely  a  last  des- 
perate reaction  against  their  conciousness 
of  this. 

On  the  whole,  the  nation  is  satisfied 
with  the  Provisional  Government,  because 
the  Government,  though  hampered  by 
grave  military  and  diplomatic  preoccu- 
pations, has  already  successfully  carried 
through  internal  reforms  which  embody 
the  traditional  aspirations  of  Russia's 
progressives.  Do  you  know  that  within 
a  few  weeks  of  the  Czarists'  downfall  the 
Government  realized  a  liberal  fivefold 
program,  giving  complete  liberty  of  per- 
son, speech,  press,  meeting,  and  religion, 
and  going  therein  further  than  most  pro- 
gressive democracies  in  Europe  or  Amer- 
ica? 

Although  these  tremendous  reforms 
were  pushed  through  hastily  In  the  ab- 
sence of  legislative  machinery,  not  one 
of  them  has  been  subjected  to  serious 
criticisms  even  by  the  avowed  anti- 
Government  factions.  Perhaps  America 
knows  of  this,  but  does  she  know  that 
we  have  also  executed  a  comprehensive 
scheme  of  minor  economic,  financial,  and 
social  reforms,  which  has  been  unani- 
mously  approved? 

I  refer  you,  for  instance,  to  the  com- 
plete democratization  of  the  country,  local 
self-government  in  the  towns  through- 
out the  country,  with  the  universal  and 
equal  suffrage  for  both  sexes  regardless 
of  qualifications,  the  special  feature  of 
which  is  the  establishment  of  a  smaller 
unit  of  local  government,  in  which  is 
abolished  the  inequality  between  peasants 
and  the  other  classes,  thus  eradicating 
from  the  Russian  law  the  ancient  and  de- 
grading    distinction    of     "  the    privileged 


PREMIER   LVOFF   ON  RUSSIA'S  SITUATION 


207 


classes  " ;  the  reform  of  the  military- 
courts  and  of  local  courts  of  justice,  with 
the  admission  of  women  to  the  magistracy 
and  legal  profession ;  educational  reform. 
Including  a  new  university  in  the  City  of 
Perm ;  secondary  school  reconstruction, 
the  reform  of  the  backward  parish  ele- 
mentary school,  the  democratic  income 
property  tax,  with  the  proposal  for  the  re- 
form of  succession  taxation ;  the  organiza- 
tion of  peasant  home  work,  which  is  an 
important  factor  In  our  village  economy; 
the  mobilization  of  the  nation's  technical 
knowledge  for  war  purposes ;  many  church 
reforms,  among  them  the  election  of  the 
highest  prelates  by  popular  vote,  and  the 
preparations  for  an  ecumenical  church 
council,  aiming  at  the  abolition  of  State 
despotism  in  church  affairs. 

Through    these    reforms    Russia    in    100 
days  has  advanced  100  years. 

America  as  Russia's  Ideal 
Prince  Lvoff  went  on  to  declare  that 
diplomatic  relations  with  the  Allies  were 
much  improved;  that,  despite  three 
months  of  stagnation  on  the  part  of 
Russia's  Army  and  the  critical  attitude 
of  her  democracy  to  the  Allies,  the  pro- 
gram of  mutual  confidence  was  un- 
shaken. "  Equally  satisfactory,"  said 
Prince  Lvoff,  "are  our  relations  with 
America.  Let  me  here  express  to  Amer- 
ica our  hearty  satisfaction  at  the  visit 
of  the  Root  Mission."  In  conclusion  he 
discussed  Russo-American  and  Russian 
world    relations    with    fervor,    declaring 


that  the  greatest  hope  lay  in  Russia's 
new  approximation  to  America.  He 
added: 

For  decades  of  darkness  and  oppression 
America  had  been  our  ideal  of  freedom 
and  intellectual  and  material  development ; 
rather,  not  our  ideal,  for  we  had  consid- 
ered it  unattainable,  but  a  remote  fairy 
tale  of  happiness.  Now  we  have  in  one 
jump  reached  America's  condition  of  free- 
dom. There  remains  the  slower  but  not 
Impossible  task  to  overtake  her  in  educa- 
tion, material  progress,  culture,  and  re- 
spect for  order. 

We  are  on  the  right  track.  The  spirit 
of  new  Russia  is  closely  akin  to  the  im-* 
memorial  spirit  of  free  America,  and 
where  the  spirit  is,  work  follows.  That 
means  Russia's  salvation.  But  that  is  not 
all.  I  am  convinced  that  our  revolution  is 
no  mere  domestic  affair,  but  a  stage  in 
the  new  world  -movement  toward  liberty, 
equality,  fraternity — perhaps  the  greatest 
stage  in  the  world's  history.  Equally,  I 
consider  that  the  war,  like,  indeed,  pre- 
ceding wars,  is  a  stage  in  world  evolu- 
tion. This  war's  mission  is  to  spread 
throughout  the  world  all  that  is  vital  and 
abiding  in  our  revolution.  That  is  why  as 
a  citizen  of  the  world  I  desire  victory. 

I  regard  the  growing  friendship  between 
Russia  and  America  as  a  Providential  in-  • 
strument  in  this  world  process.  There- 
fore I  consider  that  all  the  help,  sym- 
pathy, and  encouragement  we  get  from 
your  people  beyond  the  seas  constitute 
not  merely  a  local,  temporary  benefit,  but 
a  permanent  contribution  toward  the  re- 
generation of  the  world. 


Russian  Ambassador's  Formal  Address 


BORIS    BAKHMETEFF    on    July   5 
formally  presented  his  credentials 
to    President    Wilson    as    Russian 
Ambassador.    The  formal  addresses  were 
as  follows: 

Mr.  President,  I  have  the  honor  of 
presenting  to  you  the  letters  by  which  the 
Provisional  Government  of  Russia  is  ac- 
crediting me  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  of  America  as  its  Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary. 

My  Government  has  directed  me  to  ex- 
press to  you  its  profound  gratitude  for 
the  noble  act  of  prompt  recognition  by 
your  Government  of  the  new  order  es- 
tablished in  Russia  and  to  convey  to  ihe 
Government  and  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  the  feelings  of  sincere  sym- 
pathy and  friendship. 

At  the  present  time  the  historical  paths 
of  the  United  States  and  Russia  have  been 
drawn   close  in  the  common   struggle  for 


freedom  and  lasting  peace  of  the  world, 
and  in  this  strife  the  new-born  Russian 
democracy  is  being  guided  by  the  same 
unselfish  aims,  the  same  human  and 
democratic  principles,  as  this  great  Re- 
public. 

The  success  of  our  mutual  task  makes 
essential  the  firm  establishing'  of  the 
democratic  regime  in  Russia,  as  well  as 
the  consolidation  of  Russia's  fighting 
power.  To  that  end  are  tending  the 
efforts  of  the  Provisional  Government 
which  is  awaiting  to  find  a  source  of  new 
Strength  in  the  hearty  spirit  and  brotherly- 
support  of  the  United  States.  For  such 
attainments  the  Provisional  Government  is 
endeavoring  to  establish  a  full  under- 
standing and  a  close  co-operation  with 
the  Government  of  this  country,  whose 
immense  resources  and  unlimited  energy 
can  contribute  most  effectively  to  the 
achievement  of  our  cause.  To  bring  such 
co-operation  into  effect  and  to  establish' 


208 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


means  of  common  activity  on  the  most 
practical  lines  and  with  no  loss  of  time, 
the  Provisional  Government  has  consid- 
ered It  necessary  to  bestow  on  me  ex- 
ceptional powers  to  treat  and  decide,  on 
behalf  of  my  Government,  all  manifold 
questions  In  which  such  co-operation 
should  have  to  reveall  itself. 

To  secure  unity  of  action  the  Pro- 
visional Government  has  concentrated  un- 
der my  supreme  guidance  the  activities 
of  various  Russian  institutions  and  rep- 
resentatives in  this  country,  and  has  pro- 
vided for  amplified  efficiency  by  sending  a 
number  of  new  competent  delegates  who 
have  accompanied  me  on  my  mission. 

Confident  that  the  natural  sympathy  of 
the  two  nations  will  grow  now  into  bonds 
of  solid  friendship,  I  look  forward  with 
the  greatest  hopes  to  the  results  of  united 
efforts  of  the  two  great  democracies,  based 
on  mutual  understanding  and  common 
ends. 

The  President's  Reply 

Following  is  the  reply  of  the  Presi- 
dent: 

Mr.  Ambassador,  to  the  keen  satisfac- 
tion which  I  derived  from  the  fact  that 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  was 
the  first  to  welcome,  by  its  official  rec- 
ognition, the  new  democracy  of  Russia  to 
the  family  of  free  States  is  added  the  ex- 
ceptional pleasure  which  I  experience  in 
now  receiving  from  your  hand  the  letters 
whereby  the  Provisional  Government  of 
Russia  accredits  you  as  its  Ambassador 
Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary  to  the 
United    States    and   in   according    to   you 


formal  recognition  as  the  first  Ambassa- 
dor of  free  Russia  to  this  country. 

For  the  people  of  Russia  the  people  of 
the  United  States  have  ever  entertained 
friendly  feelings,  which  have  now  been 
greatly  deepened  by  the  knowledge  that, 
actuated  by  the  same  lofty  motives,  the 
two  Governments  and  peoples  are  co-op- 
erating to  bring  to  a  successful  termina- 
tion the  conflict  now  raging  for  human 
liberty  and  a  universal  acknowledgment 
of  those  principles  of  right  and  justice 
which  should  direct  all  Governments.  I 
feel  convinced  that  when  this  happy  day 
shall  come  no  small  share  of  the  credit 
will  be  due  to  the  devoted  people  of  Rus- 
sia, who,  overcoming  disloyalty  from 
within  and  Intrigue  from  without,  remain 
steadfast  to  the  cause. 

The  mission  which  It  was  my  pleasure 
to  send  to  Russia  has  already  assured  the 
Provisional  Government  that  In  this  mo- 
mentous struggle  and  In  the  problems 
that  confront  and  will  confront  the  free 
Government  of  Russia  that  Government 
may  count  on  the  steadfast  friendship  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  and 
its  constant  co-operation  in  all  desired  ap- 
propriate directions. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  give  expres- 
sion to  my  admiration  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Provisional  Government  of  Rus- 
sia are  meeting  all  requirements,  to  my  en- 
tire sympathy  with  them  in  their  noble 
object  to  insure  to  the  people  of  Russia 
the  blessings  of  freedom  and  of  equal 
rights  and  opportunity,  and  to  my  faith 
that  through  their  efforts  Russia  will  as- 
sume her  rightful  place  among  the  great 
free  nations  of  the  world. 


Indictment  of  Czar's  Former  Officials 


LATE  in  June,  1917,  the  Provisional 
Government  began  to  take  severe 
measures   against  the  highest  of- 
ficials of  the  old  regime  who  are  declared 
to  be  guilty  of  breaches  of  the  laws  of 
the  empire. 

An  indictment  was  handed  down  against 
former  Prime  Minister  Sturmer  under  a 
law  which  provides  severe  punishment 
for  the  arbitrary  transgression  by  an 
official  of  the  limits  of  his  rightful 
power. 

Former  Secretary  of  the  Empire,  M. 
Kruizhanovsky,  the  strongest  man  in 
the  Government  under  former  Premier 
Stolypin,  was  indicted  for  issuing  a  de- 
cree in  June,  1907,  by  which  the  election 
law  was  violated  in  defiance  of  the  Con- 
stitution df  1906. 


M.  Chtyheglovitoff,  former  Minister  of 
Justice,  was  indicted  for  unlawfully  stop- 
ping the  prosecution  of  former  Governor 
Skallon  of  Warsaw,  who  was  charged 
with  having  accepted  a  bribe  of  100,000 
rubles. 

•Former  Governor  Kourlof  f  was  charged 
with  complicity  in  the  murder  of  Colonel 
Karpoff,  Chief  of  the  Secret  Police  of 
Petrograd,  who  was  assassinated  in  1909 
and  whose  death  caused  a  great  sensa- 
tion. 

General  Rennenkampf ,  one  of  the  army 
commanders  in  the  early  part  of  the  war, 
and  who  was  defeated  by  von  Hinden- 
burg  in  East  Prussia,  was  indicted  for 
alleged  offenses,  conviction  of  which 
means  imprisonment. 

Against  M.  Protopopoff,  former  Min- 


INDICTMENT  OF  CZAR'S  FORMER  OFFICIALS 


209 


ister  of  the  Interior,  was  preferred  a 
new  charge — that  of  stealing  from  the 
telegraph  archives  the  original  dispatches 
between  the  late  mystic  monk  Rasputin 
and  Emperor  Nicholas  and  Empress 
Alexandra.  On  conviction  Protopopoff 
would  be  subject  to  a  jail  sentence. 
Officials  in  Their  Cells 

A  correspondent  who  visited  the  Fort- 
ress of  Peter  and  Paul  thus  describes 
the  prison  cells  of  the  former  Ministers 
of  the  Czar: 

In  the  bastion  are  more  than  eighty 
cells,  some  above  and  some  below.  I  en- 
tered one  of  these  cells.  A  room  twenty- 
one  feet  long-  and  and  about  twelve  feet 
broad,  rather  high,  lit  by  one  semicir- 
cular window  almost  at  the  ceiling.  It  is 
impossible  to  peep  out  of  it,  as  the  iron 
bed  and  the  table  are  fixed  to  the  wall. 
The  window  is  stoutly  barred  with  iron. 
The  air  in  the  cell  is  damp  and  stuffy. 

The  bed  consists  of  wooden  planks  laid 
over  the  iron  framework.  It  has  a  straw 
mattress  and  a  single  straw  pillow.  Above 
is  a  coarse  cloth  blanket.  The  table  is 
painted  dark  gray.  A  water  tap  and 
basin  are  fixed  to  the  wall  and  there  are 
the  necessary  toilet  utensils ;  nothing 
more. 

The  cells  below  are  furnished  similarly, 
but  they  are  much  damper  and  colder.  In 
them  one  feels  the  nearness  of  the  waters 
of  the  Neva,  the  plash  of  which  on  the 
stone  walls  is  heard  by  the  captives. 
Every  quarter  of  an  hour  the  boom  of  the 
big  cathedral  clock  bell  reverberates 
through  the  bastion. 

The  captives  have  exactly  the  same  ra- 
tions as  the  soldiers,  mainly  stew,  black 
bread,  and  soup.  They  are  allowed  to 
purchase  no  dainties.  The  same  condi- 
tions apply  to  all,  to  Stiirmer  and  Pro- 
topopoff, to  the  former  Minister  of  War, 
Sukhomlinov,  and  his  wife,  to  Fraulein 
Virubova— companion  of  the  former  Czar- 
ina and  close  friend  of  Rasputin. 

Sukhomlinov  makes  a  painful  impres- 
sion on  the  observer.  A  thin  old  man 
with  an  unkempt  gray  beard  and  narrow 
little  eyes.  His  troubled  glance  met  ours 
as  we  peeped  through  the  hole  in  the  door. 

The  notorious  "  hangman "  the  gen- 
darmeries officer,  S'obestchanki,  lay  on  his 
bed,  enveloped  in  tobacco  smoke  through 
which  faintly  appeared  his  cruel  features. 

Stiirmer,  when  I  peeped  in,  was  sitting, 
with  bowed  shoulders,  on  the  end  of  his 
bed,  his  back  to  the  door. 

Fraulein  Virubova  sat  on  her  bed,  now 
and  then  crossing  herself.  Near  her  lay 
a  crutch.  Since  her  injury  in  a  railroad 
smash  on  the  Moscow-Windau-Ribinsk 
road  two  years  ago  she  has  had  to  get 
about  with  crutches. 


Protopopoff,  like  a  beast  in  its  den, 
strode  to  and  fro,  to  and  fro,  incessantly 
from  corner  to  corner  of  his  cell.  He  paid 
no  attention  to  the  sound  of  men  moving 
in  the  corridor.  He  did  not  even  glance 
at  the  hole  in  the  door. 

New  Financial  Measures 
The  Provisional  Government  issued  a 
law  June  29  increasing  the  existing  pro- 
gressive income  tax  to  30  per  cent,  on  in- 
comes over  $200,000.  Another  new  law 
increases  the  war  tax  on  increment  of 
industrial  profits  to  60  per  cent.  A 
third  law  establishes  a  supplementary 
progressive  income  tax,  rising  on  the 
largest  incomes  to  more  than  30  per 
cent.,  and  making,  together  with  the 
highest  ordinary  income  tax,  60  per  cent, 
of  the  income. 

The  new  Russian  loan  received  sub- 
scriptions amounting  to  $1,500,000,000, 
bringing  the  total  debt  to  $20,500,000,000. 
A  dispatch  dated  July  12  from  Petro- 
grad  stated  that  the  deposed  Emperor 
Nicholas  had  appealed  to  the  Provisional 
Government  to  allow  him  and  the  mem- 
bers of  his  family  to  acquire  stock  in  the 
"  Loan  of  Freedom."  He  announced 
that  the  amount  of  their  investment  in 
the  loan  depended  upon  whether  the  Rus- 
sian State  intended  to  support  his  fam- 
ily. He  added  that  of  his  own  property 
he  possessed  now  only  900,000  rubles,  his 
wife  1,000,000  rubles,  his  heir,  Alexis, 
1,500,000;  his  daughter  Olga  3,000,000, 
and  his  other  daughters  between  1,000,- 
000  and  2,000,000  rubles.  The  nominal 
value  of  the  ruble  is  51.46  cents. 

The  Crimm  Episode 
The  German  conspiracy  for  a  separate 
peace  received  a  severe  setback  when  the 
General  Congress  of  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Delegates  of  all  Russia,  by  a  vote 
of  640  to  121,  approved  the  attitude  of 
the  Government  in  expelling  from  Russia 
Robert  Grimm,  a  Swiss  Socialist  paci- 
fist, who  had  received  the  following  com- 
munication, when  in  Petrograd,  from  M. 
Hoffmann,  member  of  the  Swiss  Federal 
Council : 

Germany  will  not  undertake  an  offensive 
so  long  as  she  considers  it  possible  to  ar- 
rive at  an  understanding  with  Russia. 
Numerous  conversations  with  prominent 
politicians  lead  me  to  believe  that  Ger- 
many is  seeking  to  conclude  with  Russia 
a  mutually  honorable  peace,  and  a  peace 


210 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


which  would  result  in  the  re-establishment 
of  close  economic  and  commercial  rela- 
tions with  Russia ;  the  financial  support 
of  Germany  to  Russia  for  her  restoration; 
no  intervention  in  the  internal  affairs  of 
Russia;  a  friendly  understanding  with  re- 
gard to  Poland,  Lithuania,  and  Courland  ; 
and  the  restoration  to  Russia  of  her  occu- 
pied territories,  in  return  for  the  districts 
of  Austria  invaded  by  Russia.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  if  the  allies  of  Russia  desired 
it,  Germany  and  her  allies  would  be  ready 
immediately  to  open  peace  negotiations. 

On  hearing  of  this  document  the  Rus- 
sian Government  requested  the  Socialist 
Ministers  MM.  Tseretelli  and  Skobeleff 
to  demand  an  explanation  from  M. 
Grimm,  who  handed  to  these  Ministers  a 
document  in  which  he  sought  to  prove 
that  he  had  had  no  communication, 
either  direct  or  indirect,  on  the  subject  of 
peace  negotiations,  and  that  the  telegram 
mentioned  above  was  an  endeavor  on  the 
part  of  Germany  to  profit  by  his  stay  in 
Russia  to  re-establish  the  bonds  of  inter- 
national Socialists  and  a  general  peace 
in  the  interests  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment; and,  furthermore,  that  when  in 
Berne  having  his  passport  vised,  he 
avoided  all  political  conversations  and  all 
contact  with  the  German  Majority  Social- 
ists ;  and  that  finally,  in  his  capacity  of  a 
Socialist,  he  could  not  be  the  intermedi- 
ary for  imperialistic  peace  projects  be- 
tween Governments. 

MM.  Tseretelli  and  Skobeleff  found 
these  explanations  unsatisfactory,  and 
the  Provisional  Government  therefore  re- 
quested M.  Grimm  to  leave  Russia,  and 
he  left.  The  episode  caused  the  resigna- 
tion of  M.  Hoffmann  from  the  Swiss 
Council. 

Regiment  of  Russian  Women 
One  of  the  most  picturesque  episodes 
of  the  return  of  Russia  into  the  war  was 
the  formation  of  a  woman's  regiment 
known  as  "  The  Command  of  Death," 
which  was  reviewed  at  Petrograd  June 
21  by  Minister  of  War  Kerensky. 

The  Associated  Press  correspondent 
who  visited  the  barracks  found  posted  at 
the  gate  a  little  blue-eyed  sentry  in  a 
soldier's  khaki  blouse,  short  breeches, 
green  forage  cap,  ordinary  woman's  black 
stockings,  and  neat  shoes.  The  sentry 
was  Marya  Skrydloff,  daughter  of  Ad- 
miral   Skrydloff,   former  commander   of 


the  Baltic  Fleet  and  Minister  of  Marine. 
Inside  there  were  four  large  dormi- 
tories, the  beds  without  bedding  and 
strewn  with  soldiers'  heavy  overcoats.  In 
the  courtyard  300  girls  were  at  drill, 
mostly  between  18  and  25  years  old,  of 
good  physique,  and  many  of  them  pretty. 
They  wore  their  hair  short  or  had  their 
heads  entirely  shaved.  They  were  drill- 
ing under  the  instruction  of  a  male  Ser- 
geant of  the  Volynsky  regiment,  and 
marched  to  an  exaggerated  goosestep. 

Commander    Lieut.    Buitchkareff    ex- 
plained that  most  of  the  recruits  were 
from  the  higher  educational  academies  or 
secondary  schools,  with  a  few  peasants, 
factory  girls,  and  servants.     Some  mar- 
ried women  were  accepted,  but  none  who 
had  children.   The  girl  commander  said: 
We  apply  the  rigid  system  of  discipline 
of   the    pre-revolutionary    army,    rejecting 
the  new   principle   of  soldier  self-govern- 
ment.    Having  no  time  to  inure  the  girls 
gradually  to  hardships,  we  impose  a  Spar- 
tan regime  from  the  first.    They  sleep  on 
boards   without  bedclothes,    thus   immedi- 
ately eliminating  the  weak.     The  smallest 
breach    of    discipline    is    punished    by   ex- 
pulsion in  disgrace. 

The  ordinary  soldier's  food  is  furnished 
by  the  guards'  equipage  corps.  We  rise 
at  4  and  drill  daily  from  7  to  11,  and 
again  from  1  to  6.  The  girls  carry  the 
cavalry  carbine,  which  is  five  pounds 
lighter  than  the  regular  army  rifle.  On 
our  first  parade  I  requested  any  girl 
whose  motives  were  frivolous  to  step  out. 
Only  one  did  so,  but  later  many  who  were 
unable  to  stand  the  privations  left  us. 

We  are  fully  official,  and  are  already 
entered  on  the  list  of  regiments.  Uni- 
forms and  supplies  are  received  from  the 
Ministry  of  War,  to  which  we  render  ac- 
count and  present  reports.  Yesterday  the 
commander  of  the  Petrograd  military 
district  reviewed  us,  and  expressed  his 
satisfaction.  I  am  convinced  that  we  will 
excel  the  male  fighters. 

Asked  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  male 
army,  Commander  Buitchkareff  said  that 
only  the  Volynsky  regiment,  which  led 
the  Petrograd  revolution,  was  really  fa- 
vorable. The  regimental  clerk  is  Mme. 
Barbara  Rukovishikoff,  editor  of  the 
weekly  Woman  and  Economy  and  author 
of  some  admirable  short  stories. 

Duma  Refuses  to  Be  Abolished 
The  Pan-Russian  Congress  of  Soldiers' 
Deputies  on  June  23  passed  a  resolution 
to  abolish  the  Duma,  but  this  was  ignored 


INDICTMENT  OF  CZAR'S  FORMER  OFFICIALS 


211 


by  the  Duma,  which  passed  a  resolution 

on  June  29  as  follows: 

The  Duma,  having-  powerfully  contrib- 
uted to  the  abdication  of  Nicholas,  and 
the  formation  of  the  provisional  revolu- 
tionary government,  which  the  entire 
country  immediately  recognized,  thus 
showing  its  confidence  in  the  Duma,  and,, 
having  in  this  manner  acted  as  a  revolu- 
tionary institution  independently  of  its 
position  during  the  old  regime,  is  of  the 
opinion  that  it  cannot  cease  to  exist  as 
an  organ  of  national  representation,  and 


will  adhere  to  its  patriotic  duty  of  raising 
its  voice,  if  necessary,  to  preserve  the 
fatherland  from  the  dangers  which  threaten 
it,  and  guide  it  in  the  right  path. 

Courts-martial  have  been  abolished  by 
the  Provisional  Government.  It  is  pro- 
vided, when  offenders  are  caught  in  cir- 
cumstances of  particular  gravity  the 
case  will  be  submitted  under  forms  of 
urgent  procedure  to  a  permanent  mili- 
tary court. 


Root  Commission  in  Russia 


THE  first  formal  address  to  the  Rus- 
sian Government  in  behalf  of  the 
American  Mission  was  made  by 
Elihu  Root,  the  Chairman,  at  Petrograd, 
June  15,  (printed  in  July  Current  His- 
tory Magazine.)  The  mission  imme- 
diately plunged  into  active  work,  the  va- 
rious members  taking  up  separately  the 
various  features,  and  dividing  their 
functions.  On  June  22  the  entire  body 
proceeded  to  Moscow,  where,  at  the  pal- 
ace of  the  Governor  General,  they  met 
representatives  of  the  Zemstvo  and  Mu- 
nicipal Unions,  the  Zemstvo  Industrial 
Committee,  and  the  local  Council  of  the 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates. 

Roofs  Address  at  Moscow 
The  meeting  was  in  the  nature  of  a 
test  case  to  determine  whether  the  com- 
mission was  to  have  the  real  sympathy 
of  the  Socialist  element  in  the  country. 
It  is  said  here  that  no  foreigner  ever 
before  succeeded  in  enlisting  the  atten- 
tion and  interest  of  this  association  of 
committees  representing  the  working 
masses  of  Moscow.  But  as  Mr.  Root  be- 
gan to  speak,  antagonism  and  indiffer- 
ence yielded  to  rapt  attention,  and  he 
was  warmly  applauded  at  the  conclusion. 
In  the  course  of  his  address  Mr.  Root 
said: 

We  have  seen  nothing  since  we  came  to 
Russia  that  gives  cause  for  criticism.  We 
marvel  at  the  self-control,  the  kindliness 
of  spirit,  and  the  sound  common  sense 
that  the  Russians  display.  We  feel  that 
the  work  you  are  doing  in  the  commit- 
tees is  on  the  right  path  toward  an  actual 
permanent  democracy. 

The  Government  of  Germany,  the  Ger- 
man social  system,  even  German  social- 
ism, are  all  militaristic  in  their  essential 
nature.      They   shall    not  gain   control   of 


free  America,  and  if  we  can  help  you  to 
prevent  their  gaining  control  of  free  Rus- 
sia we  shall  be  happy  in  feeling  that  we 
have  assisted  in  the  perpetuation  of  the 
ideals  of  our  fathers  who  fought  and  sac- 
rificed to  make  us  free. 

The  representatives  of  the  various 
groups  replied,  formally  welcoming  Mr. 
Root  and  the  other  members  of  the  com- 
mission. At  the  second  meeting,  before 
the  City  Duma,  Mr.  Root  said: 

We   have   heard    reports    about   dangers 
threatening  your  new  liberty,  but  we  hope 
you   will   find   a   way   of   expanding   your 
experience    in    local    self-government    inco 
power  which  will  govern  the  whole  nation. 
We    have    the    marvelous    spectacle    of    a 
people  remaining  peaceful  and  preserving 
the  rights  of  others  without  the  enforce- 
ment of  law— a  people  waiting  only  for  the 
establishment    of    a    strong    Government, 
which  will  lay  down  the  proper  basis  for 
law  and  order.     You  have  made  sacrifices 
in  the  past;  we  know  that  you  will  still 
make  sacrifices  to  preserve  your  freedom, 
won  at  such  a  high  cost.     Now  comes  the 
test.      You    must    make    sacrifices.      You 
must  struggle  until  your  liberty  is  secure. 
We  have  faith  that  Russia  will  do  this. 
The    Mayor    in    reply    said :    "  Russia 
welcomes    America's    assistance    in    her 
present  period  of  infirmity  and  economic 
exhaustion."    He  concluded  with  a  eulogy 
of  President  Wilson,  saying:  "  The  aims 
of  the  war,  the  definition  of  the  prob- 
lems standing  before  humanity  have  been 
given  by  your  great  pacifist,  President 
Wilson,  who,  in  preserving  the  ideal  of 
peace,  has  realized  the  vital  importance 
of  the  struggle.     His  way  of  speaking 
appeals  to  us." 

On  motion  of  the  Mayor  the  meeting 
unanimously  decided  to  send  a  telegram 
to  President  Wilson,  thanking  him  for 
sending  the  Root  Commission  to  Russia. 
The  experiences  at  Moscow  gave  much 


212 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


encouragement  to  the  mission,  and  Mr. 
Root  announced  that  he  felt  that  the 
situation  was  rapidly  clearing. 

Admiral  Glennon  s  Service 
An  interesting  episode  occurred  at 
Sebastopol  when  the  American  Admiral, 
James  H.  Glennon  of  the  mission,  suc- 
ceeded in  tranquilizing  sailors  of  the 
Black  Sea  fleet  who  had  mutinied  and 
dismissed  all  their  officers.  He  arrived 
soon  after  the  cailors  had  sent  away 
Admiral  Koltchak.  At  the  request  of 
the  sailors,  Admiral  Glennon  addressed 
them,  urging  a  continuance  of  the  war 
without  cessation. 

He  was  heartily  applauded.  He  also 
addressed  a  general  meeting  of  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  councils  of  soldiers, 
sailors,  and  workmen  of  Sebastopol, 
where  his  advocacy  of  renewed  energy 
in  pushing  the  war  was  well  received. 
After  hearing  the  Admiral,  the  meeting 
voted,  60  to  3,  to  restore  all  the  Black 
Sea  fleet  officers,  with  the  exception  of 
Admiral  Koltchak  and  his  staff,  who 
were  distrusted  by  the  sailors.  The 
meeting  also  voted  to  support  the  Pro- 
visional Government.  Conditions  with 
the  fleet  since  then  have  been  tranquil. 

Work  of  Mr.  Russell 
Charles  Edward  Russell,  Socialist  and 
a  member  of  the  American  Commission, 
outlined  the  aims  of  the  United  States 
and  the  reasons  which  brought  the  coun- 
try into  the  war  before  a  full  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  on 
June  25.  Mr.  Russell  was  warned  in  ad- 
vance that  he  might  expect  an  unfriendly 
demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  extrem- 
ists among  his  auditors,  but  for  the  most 
part  his  hearers  were  sympathetic,  and 
often  interrupted  him  with  applause. 

The  declaration  of  Mr.  Russell  that  the 
United  States  was  fighting  only  because 
the  democracies  of  the  world  were  in 
danger,  and  that  after  democracy  was 
safe  the  people  would  turn  to  social 
reform,  was  cheered  to  the  echo. 

M.  Tcheidze,  President  of  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates, 
in  replying  to  the  speech  of  Mr.  Russell, 
said  the  democracy  of  Russia  was  built 
upon  the  same  foundation  as  that  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  Russia  would 
carry  on  the  war  until  mutual  aims  were 


achieved.  The  American  Mission  an- 
nounced on  July  10  that  its  purpose  had 
been  accomplished  in  a  month's  visit. 
Chairman  Root  sent  this  statement: 

The  mission  has  accomplished  what  It 
came  here  to  do,  and  we  are  greatly  en- 
couraged. We  found  no  organic  or  in- 
curable malady  in  the  Russian  democracy. 
Democracies  are  always  in  trouble,  and 
we  have  seen  days  just  as  dark  in  the 
progress  of  our  own. 

We  must  remember  that  a  people  in 
whom  all  constructive  effort  has  been 
suppressed  for  so  long  cannot  immedi- 
ately develop  a  genius  for  quick  action. 
The  first  atage  is  necessarily  one  of  de- 
bate. The  solid,  admirable  traits  in  the 
Russian  character  will  pull  the  nation 
through  the  present  crisis.  Natural  love 
of  law  and  order  and  capacity  for  local 
self-government  have  been  demonstrated 
every  day  since  the  revolution.  The 
country's  most  serious  lack  is  money  and 
adequate  transportation.  We  shall  do 
what  we  can  to  help  Russia  in  both. 

Stevens    Railway    Commission 

John  F.  Stevens,  as  head  of  the  Amer- 
ican Railroad  Commission  in  Russia,  has 
officially  reported  recommending  certain 
reforms  and  asking  that  Russia  be  given 
a  credit  of  $375,000,000  in  this  country 
for  new  locomotives,  cars,  and  other 
equipment. 

The  construction  of  workshops  at 
Vladivostok  for  the  putting  together  of 
locomotives  imported  from  the  United 
States  is  deemed  necessary  by  the  com- 
mission. In  all  repair  shops  work  must 
continue  uninterruptedly  twenty-four 
hours  a  day,  thus  enabling  a  reduction 
in  the  percentage  of  locomotives  out  of 
use.  It  also  will  be  necessary  to  take 
rational  measures  for  the  acceleration 
and  regulation  of  exchange  of  cars  be- 
tween the  different  roads  and  for  the 
speeding  up  of  the  system  of  loading. 

The  creation  of  a  special  State  Depart- 
ment, the  chief  of  which  will  be  an  In- 
spector General  responsible  for  seeing 
that  the  whole  network  of  roads  is  sup- 
plied with  all  necessary  material  both 
for  traffic  and  repairs,  and  also  for  the 
responsible  distribution  of  such  material 
between  the  different  roads,  is  recom- 
mended by  the  commission.  This  offi- 
cial must  have  the  right  to  demand  the 
necessary  material,  and  he  himself  must 
take  measures  to  insure  its  delivery. 


Russian  Church  Reforms 

By  Charles  R.  Crane 

Member  of  United  States  Commission  to  Russia 
[Cable  to  The  Chicago  Herald,  June  27,  1917,  from  Petrograd] 


IN  the  revolution  that  is  taking  place, 
the  Russian  Church  is  making  more 
rapid  progress '  toward  adjusting 
itself  to  the  new  conditions  than  the 
State.  It  has  practically  been  separated 
from  the  State  and  is  now  managing  its 
own  affairs.  More  changes  were  made  in 
the  Russian  Church  during  the  month  of 
May  than  had  been  made  in  two  centuries 
before. 

The  process  has  been  one  of  democra- 
tization. Every  priest  has  had  to  have 
his  position  confirmed  by  a  vote  from  the 
people  of  his  parish.  Twelve  Bishops  have 
been  dismissed,  including  the  Bishop  of 
Petrograd,  and  new  Bishops  have  been 
installed  only  after  election  by  congrega- 
tions. The  physical  property  of  the 
churches  has  been  transferred  from  the 
State  and  is  to  be  administered  by  the 
congregations,  the  clergy  and  Bishops 
occupying  themselves  solely  with  theo- 
logical affairs. 

During  the  last  weeks  two  very  sig- 
nificant sobors,  or  assemblies  of  the 
Church,  have  been  taking  place  at  Mos- 
cow. One  of  them  was  that  of  Old 
Believers,  who  include  some  15,000,000 
people  and  who  never  were  reconciled  to 
the  reforms  of  Nicon,  representing  the 
oldest  and  most  uncompromising  division 
of  the  Russian  people.  The  other  sobor 
was  that  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  the 
former  State  Church,  and  was  the  first 
one  to  meet  in  some  250  years. 

They  were  the  most  representative 
gatherings  it  was  possible  to  have  in 
Russia,  and.  the  delegates  came  from  every 
corner  of  the  empire,  two  priests  and  two 
laymen  being  elected  to  represent  every 
100  churches,  the  whole  body  numbering 
1,268  delegates.  As  the  political  organ- 
ization is  entirely  shattered,  the  Church 
represents  at  present  the  only  unifying 
^fundamental  idea. 

The  two  most  effective  members  of  this 


latter  sobor  were  the  former  Archbishop 
of  the  United  States,  Platon,  and  Pastor 
Alexanderoff  of  a  San  Francisco  church. 
In  various  questions  that  arise  in  the 
sobor  the  appeal  was  always  made  to 
these  two  authorities,  as  to  the  way  these 
problems  were  solved  in  America,  and 
their  answer  was  usually  enough  to  de- 
termine the  action  of  the  sobor. 

John  R.  Mott,  the  leader  in  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  work,  was 
invited  to  address  the  sobor,  and  every 
member  was  present.  His  speech  was 
interpreted,  sentence  by  sentence,  by  Fa- 
ther Alexanderoff,  who  was  in  entire 
sympathy  with  Mr.  Mott  and  who  him- 
self was  a  member  of  Mr.  Mott's  organ- 
ization in  San  Francisco.  It  was  a  mov- 
ing address  and  was  received  with  great 
emotion. 

Mr.  Mott  divided  his  address  into  three 
parts.  The  first  was  expression  of  grati- 
tude for  the  many  acts  of  friendship  Rus- 
sia had  shown  for  America  in  the  course 
of  the  last  hundred  years,  with  special 
emphasis  on  its  enormous  sacrifices  dur- 
ing the  present  war,  which  the  American 
people  now  recognize,  he  said,  as  having 
been  made  quite  as  much  for  them  as  for 
Russia.  He  also  expressed  his  gratitude 
for  the  contributions  the  Russian  Church 
had  made  to  a  common  Christianity. 

The  second  part  of  his  address  was 
the  expression  of  solicitude  lest  in  the 
great  upheaval  now  going  on  the  Church 
might  lose  its  central  position  and  that, 
although,  if  carefully  arranged,  the  proc- 
ess of  democratization  ought  only  to 
strengthen  the  Church,  the  members 
must  be  very  careful  to  guard  historical 
Christianity,  the  creed,  mystical  Chris- 
tianity, and  vital  Christianity. 

The  third  part  of  the  address  was  a 
message  of  hope  and  reassurance,  and 
went  over  in  detail  America's  plans  for 


214 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


aid  to  Russia  and  the  other  Entente 
Allies  in  the  war,  closing  with  a  stirring 
appeal  to  Russia  to  do  its  best  on  every 
front. 

The  reception  of  Mr.  Mott's  address 
was  very  sympathetic,  and  unanimous, 
and  at  its  end  the  whole  body  rose,  and 
for  half  an  hour  sang  the  most  moving 
of  their  old  church  hymns.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  fine  responses  from  the  Chair- 
man of  the  meeting,  Prince  Lvoff,  the 
head  of  the  Synod;  Prince  Eugene  Trou- 
betzkoy,    one    of    the    first    citizens    of 


Russia,  and  Bishop  Andre,  the  greatest 
spiritual  force  in  the  Russian  Church 
today. 

Immediately  after  the  meeting  Prince 
Lvoff,  who  is  charged  with  the  chief 
responsibility  for  all  these  things, 
asked  Mr.  Mott  to  spend  the  afternoon 
with  the  leaders  and  go  over  in  detail  all 
the  various  reforms.  He  was  also  in- 
vited to  engage  in  a  meeting  of  the  pro- 
fessors who  were  revising  the  courses  of 
the  theological  academies  and  also  to  ad- 
dress the  synod  in  formal  session. 


All  Anti- Jewish  Laws  Repealed 


THE  Russian  Provisional  Government 
issued  a  decree  repealing  absolute- 
ly all  laws  restricting  the  civil,  po- 
litical, and  religious  rights  of  the  Jews. 
The  text  of  the  decree,  as  published  in 
The  New  York  Jewish  Chronicle,  July 
13,  1917,  is  as  follows: 

All  existing  legal  restrictions  upon  the 
rights  of  Russian  citizens,  in  connection 
with  this  or  that  faith,  religious  teaching 
or  nationality,  are  revoked.  In  accord- 
ance with  this: 

I.  Repealed  are  all  laws  existing  for  Rus- 
sia as  a  whole,  as  well  as  those  of  sepa- 
rate localities,  embodying  limitations  con- 
cerning : 

1.  Selection  of  place  of  residence  and 
change  of  residence  or  movement. 

2.  Acquiring  rights  of  ownership  and 
other  material  rights  in  all  kinds  of  mov- 
able and  immovable  property,  and  like- 
wise in  the  possession  of,  the  use  and  the 
managing  of  all  property,  or  receiving 
such  for  security. 

3.  Engaging  in  all  kinds  of  trades,  com- 
merce and  industry,  not  excepting  mining ; 
also  equal  participation  in  the  bidding  for 
Government  contracts,  deliveries  and  in 
public  auctions. 

4.  Participation  in  joint  stock  and  other 
commercial  or  industrial  companies  and 
partnerships,  and  also  employment  in 
these  companies  and  partnerships  in  all 
kinds  of  positions,  either  by  elections  or 
by  hiring. 

5.  Employment  of  servants,  salesmen, 
foremen,  laborers,   and  trade  apprentices. 

6.  Entering  the  Government  service, 
civil  as  well  as  military,  and  the  grade 
or  condition  of  such  service;  participation 
in  the  elections  for  the  institutions  of  local 
self-Government,  and  all  kinds  of  public 


Institutions;  serving  in  all  kinds  of  posi- 
tions of  Government  and  public  establish- 
ments, as  well  as  the  prosecution  of  the 
duties  connected  with  such  positions. 

7.  Admission  to  all  kinds  of  institutions 
of  learning,  whether  private,  Government 
or  public,  and  the  pursuing  of  the  courses 
of  instructions  of  these  institutions,  and 
receiving  scholarships.  Also  the  pursuance 
of  teaching  and  the  other  educational  pro- 
fessions. 

8.  Performing  the  duties  of  guardians, 
trustees,   or  jurors. 

9.  The  use  of  languages  and  dialects, 
other  than  Russian,  in  the  proceedings  of 
private  societies,  or  in  teaching  in  all  kinds 
of  private  educational  institutions,  and  in 
commercial  bookkeeping. 

Paragraphs  II.,  III.,  IV.,  V.,  VI.,  VII., 
and  VIII.  proceed  to  enumerate  and  cite 
section  by  section,  paragraph  by  para- 
graph, each  and  every  law  that  was  in 
existence  coming  within  the  broad  terms 
of  the  repeal  enumerated.  The  enormous 
number  of  the  citations  and  the  minute- 
ness of  their  character  testify  in  them- 
selves to  the  thoroughness  in  which  the 
Jewish  restrictions  were  carefully  searched 
out,  so  as  to  leave  not  the  slightest  ques- 
tion as  to  the  exact  laws  which  were 
abolished.  They  also  serve  to  bear  out 
quite  convincingly  the  statement  which 
Baron  Gunzburg  made,  that  prominent 
Jewish  lawyers  were  called  into  consulta- 
tion by  the  Ministry  of  Justice  in  the 
searching  for  these  laws  and  the  drafting 
of  the  repealing  laws. 

Early  in  July  Jewish  Chaplains  were 
sent  to  the  front. 


First  American  Army  in  France 

A  Memorable  Welcome 


THE  first  contingents  of  the  first 
United  States  Army  to  fight  in 
Europe  arrived  at  a  port  in 
France  on  June  26  and  27,  1917. 
The  President's  order  had  been  issued  on 
May  18  and  the  transports  had  departed 
from  various  Atlantic  seaports  in  less 
than  four  weeks.  Never  before,  it  was 
stated,  had  a  military  expedition  of  such 
size  been  assembled,  transported,  and 
landed  without  mishap  in  so  short  a  time. 
The  only  rival  in  magnitude  was  the 
movement  of  British  troops  to  South 
Africa  in  the  Boer  war,  and  that  was 
made  without  danger  from  submarines, 
mines,  or  other  obstacles. 

Although  the  first  contingents  reached 
their  destination  in  safety,  it  was 
not  without  some  thrilling  moments 
during  which  disaster  was  an  imminent 
possibility.  Rear  Admiral  Albert  Gleaves, 
who  commanded  the  convoy  squadron, 
reported  to  the  Navy  Department  that 
German  submarines  twice  attacked  the 
transports,  but  were  each  time  beaten  off. 

The  first  attack  took  place  in  the  night 
of  June  22,  and  was  over  before  any  one 
except  the  crews  of  the  warships  and  the 
officers  on  the  bridges  of  the  transports 
were  aware  of  the  peril.  The  first  sign 
of  the  presence  of  German  submarines 
was  a  streak  of  shining  foam  noticed 
by  a  look-out  man  high  above  on  one  of 
the  big  ships.  Almost  at  the  moment 
that  the  alarm  was  given  a  gleaming  line 
of  bubbles,  scarce  twenty  feet  from  the 
bow  of  one  of  the  transports,  announced 
the  torpedo  with  its  fatal  burden  of  ex- 
plosive. Then,  in  the  words  of  an  eye- 
witness: 

Hell  broke  loose.  Our  (the  big  ship's) 
helm  was  jammed  over.  Firing  every  gun 
available,  we  swung  in  a  wide  circle  out 
of  line  to  the  left.  A  smaller  ship  slipped 
into  our  place,  and  frbm  what  the. lookout 
told  me  I  think  one  of  her  shells  must 
have  landed  almost  right  above  the  sub- 
marine. But  they  are  almost  impossible 
to  hit  when  submerged,  and  the  periscope 
is  no  target,  anyway. 

They  fired  three,  if  not  four,  torpedoes. 


It  was  God's  mercy  that  they  all  went 
astray  among  so  many  of  our  ships.  One 
passed  just  astern.  As  you  see,  our  helm 
jamming    was    absolutely    Providential. 

Naturally  the  old acted  quite  differ- 
ently from  what  the  Boches  expected; 
otherwise  they  might  have  got  us.  It 
was  simply  extraordinary.  We  drove 
right  at  them,  (really,  I  suppose,  the  safest 
thing  to  do,  as  the  bow  gives  the  smallest 
mark  to  shoot  at,)  and  it  seems  to  have 
rattled  Brother  Boche  considerably.  After 
all,  we  draw  enough  water  to  smash  a 
submarine  at  a  level  of  the  periscope 
awash,  and  no  doubt  he  did  not  care  to 
wait  for  us.  Or  perhaps  a  lucky  shot  dis- 
posed of  him.  We  can't  be  certain  either 
way.  Anyhow,  he  disappeared,  and  we 
saw  no  more  of  him. 

The  whole  business  lasted  only  about  a 
minute  and  a  half.  But,  believe  me,  it 
added  more  than  that  to  my  life.  While 
the  thing  was  happening  I  had  no  time 
for  anything  but  to  attend  to  my  job. 
Afterward  I  found  myself  sweating  and 
my  breast  heaving  as  if  I  had  run  five 
miles.  The  other  boys  told  me  the  same 
thing,  but  we  got  a  compliment  on  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  guns  were  served, 
so  I  guess  it  didn't  interfere  any  with  our 
action. 

The  second  attack  occurred  the  next 
morning.  No  periscope  was  visible  this 
time,  but  the  unmistakable  bubble  line, 
clean  across  the  bows,  put  the  certainty 
of  danger  beyond  question.  The  subma- 
rine was  in  front  instead  of  in  the  dead- 
liest position  on  the  flank  toward  the 
rear.  Like  a  striking  rattlesnake,  one  of 
the  American  destroyers  darted  between 
a  couple  of  the  transports.  As  it  flashed 
at  nearly  forty  miles  an  hour  across  the 
spot  where  the  submarine  was  supposed 
to  be  hidden  the  commander  of  the  de- 
stroyer gave  orders.  A  column  of  smoke 
and  foam  rose  a  hundred  feet  in  the  air, 
and  in  the  waterspout  that  followed  it 
the  soldiers  on  the  nearest  transport, 
(she  had  swung  in  a  headlong  curve  to 
the  left,)  distinguished  clearly  pieces  of 
wood  and  steel  and  some  dark  blue  frag- 
ments that  a  moment  before  had  been 
living  men.  Any  uncertainty  was  impos- 
sible. Transport  after  transport  passed 
through  floating  oil,  patched  with  wreck- 


216 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


age.    This  submarine,  at  least,  had  timed 
its  hour  too  well. 

Soldiers   Welcomed  in  France 

The  arrival  in  France  of  the  first 
United  States  troops,  which  were  under 
the  command  of  Major  General  William 
L.  Sibert,  was  the  occasion  of  a  mag- 
nificent welcome  by  the  French  people. 
The  transports,  whose  arrival  had  not 
been  previously  announced,  steamed  into 
the  harbor  of  the  seaport  [the  name  was 
suppressed  by  the  censor]  at  an  early 
hour  on  the  morning  of  June  26.  The 
news  that  the  Americans  were  arriving 
spread  with  amazing  rapidity,  and  by  the 
time  the  troopships  drew  alongside  the 
quays  where  the  men  were  to  debark 
thousands  of  persons  were  on  hand  to 
greet  them.  A  wild  welcome  was  shrieked 
by  whistles  of  craft  in  the  harbor,  and 
cries  of  "  Vive  la  France !  "  and  "  Vivent 
les  Etats  Unis !  "  seemed  to  come  from 
every  throat  in  the  crowd,  which  was 
thickly  dotted  with  the  varicolored  uni- 
forms of  French  soldiers  and  sailors. 
Meanwhile  the  bands  on  the  warships 
were  playing  "  The  Star-Spangled  Ban- 
ner "  and  the  "  Marseillaise "  as  the 
American  colors  were  hoisted  to  their 
staffs.  The  town  soon  took  on  a  holiday 
appearance,  and,  before  the  day  was  over, 
scores  of  American  flags  were  flying 
along  with  the  Tricolor  of  France  over 
public  buildings  and  private  homes. 

The  American  soldiers  were  spon- 
taneously dubbed  "  Sammies  "  by  the  ex- 
cited French  crowds,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  British  "  Tommies." 

Delegations  of  American  Army  offi- 
cers from  Paris  and  American  naval  men 
from  elsewhere  were  present,  with 
French  military  men  of  high  rank,  and 
a  similar  representation  from  the  French 
Navy  to  receive  the  new  fighting  forces 
of  the  Allies,  who  were  soon  after  trans- 
ferred to  a  camp  not  far  distant  from 
the  port  where  they  arrived.  General 
Sibert  took  up  his  quarters  at  the  camp 
as  commander  of  the  first  United  States 
force  sent  abroad,  under  General  Persh- 
ing as  Commander  in  Chief.  . 

The  last  units  of  the  expedition,  com- 
prising vessels  loaded  with  supplies  and 
horses,  reached  port  on  July  2.  Their 
coming,  one  week  after  the  first  troops 


landed,  was  greeted  almost  as  warmly 
as  the  arrival  of  the  troops  themselves, 
because  it  meant  complete  success  of  the 
undertaking. 

Probably  the  happiest  man  in  port  was 
Rear  Admiral  Gleaves.  From  the  bridge 
of  his  flagship  he  watched  the  successful 
conclusion  of  his  plans  and  with  char- 
acteristic modesty  insisted  upon  bestow- 
ing the  lion's  share  of  credit  for  the 
crossing  on  the  navigation  officers  of  his 
command.  All  units  of  the  contingent 
had  to  keep  a  daily  rendezvous  with 
accompanying  warships.  Thanks  to  his 
navigation  officers  and  despite  overcast 
skies  which  made  astronomical  observa- 
tions impossible,  each  rendezvous,  the 
Admiral  said,  had  been  minutely  and 
accurately  kept  by  each  unit.  This  exact- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  navigation  officers 
was  responsible  in  no  small  degree  for  the 
brilliant  success  of  the  entire  under- 
taking. 

Two  Statements  by  Pershing 
General     Pershing,     accompanied     by 
General    Pelletier,    representing    French 
General  Headquarters,  visited  the  camp 
on    June    28,    and    after    inspecting   the 
troops  made  the  following  statement: 
This  is  the  happiest  of  the  busy  days 
which  I  have  spent  in  France  preparing 
for   the    arrival    of   the    first   contingent. 
Today   I    have   seen    our   troops   safe    on 
French  soil,  landing  from  transports  that 
were  guarded  in  their  passage  overseas 
by  the  resourceful  vigilance  of  our  navy. 
Now  our  task  as  soldiers  lies  before  us. 
We    hope,    with    the    aid   of    the    French 
leaders  and  experts  who  have  placed  all 
the  results  of  their  experience  at  our  dis- 
posal, to  make  our  force  worthy  in  skill 
and  in  the  determination  to  fight  side  by 
side  in  arms  with  the  French  Army. 
On   returning  to  his   headquarters   in 
Paris  on  June  30,  General  Pershing  made 
a  further  statement: 

The  landing  of  the  first  American  troops 
has  been  a  complete  success.  In  this  re- 
markable transfer  of  a  large  force  across 
the  ocean  (one  of  the  largest  operations 
we  have  ever  undertaken)  not  a  man  or 
an  animal  was  lost  or  injured,  and  there 
was  not  a  single  case  of  serious  sickness — 
nothing  but  a  few  unimportant  cases  of 
mumps.  The  men  landed  in  splendid 
morale,  with  keen,  confident,  and  eager 
spirit. 

The  physical  appearance  of  our  men  is 
truly  inspiring.  They  are  all  fine,  husky 
young  fellows,   with   the   glow   of   energy, 


FIRST  AMERICAN  ARMY  IN  FRANCE 


217 


good  health,  and  physical  vigor  which  will 
make  them  a  credit  alongside  any  troops. 
They  are  exceptionally  well  camped  and 
cared  for,  with  substantial  wooden  bar- 
racks, good  beds,  good  food,  and  the  best 
sanitary  arrangements.  They  are  located 
on  high  ground.  For  all  of  this  we  are 
deeply  indebted  to  French  co-operation 
with  members  of  my  staff. 

Hon?  Order  rvas  Maintained 
The  question  of  maintaining  order  in 
the  town  where  the  camp  was  situated 
was  settled  by  the  French  authorities 
transferring  to  the  United  States  mili- 
tary police  the  necessary  authority  for 
maintaining  discipline  in  the  town,  which 
now  became  overwhelmingly  American  in 
appearance  and  public  life.  In  order  to 
assist  the  Americans  to  keep  order,  how- 
ever, the  authorities  issued  new  and 
stringent  regulations  forbidding  the  sale 
of  spirituous  liquors  to  any  men  in  uni- 
form, regulating  the  hours  the  men  might 
be  admitted  to  or  served  in  cafes  and 
restaurants,  and  specifying  that  disputes 
and  disorders  should  be  referred  to  and 
decided  by  the  Americans. 

The  necessity  of  good  behavior  was 
set  forth  by  General  Pershing  in  the  fol- 
lowing general  order: 

For  the  first  time  in  history  an  Amer- 
ican Army  finds  itself  in  European  ter- 
ritory. The  good  name  of  the  United 
States  of  America  and  the  maintenance 
of  cordial  relations  require  the  perfect 
deportment  of  each  member  of  this  com- 
mand. 

It  is  of  the  gravest  importance  that  the 
soldiers  of  the  American  Army  shall  at 
all  times  treat  the  French  people,  and 
especially  the  women,  with  the  greatest 
courtesy  and  consideration.  The  valiant 
deeds  of  the  French  armies  and  the 
Allies,  by  which  they  together  have  suc- 
cessfully maintained  the  common  cause 
for  three  years,  and  the  sacrifices  of  the 
civil  population  of  France  in  support  of 
their  armies,  command  our  profound  re- 
spect. This  can  best  be  expressed  on  the 
part  of  our  forces  by  uniform  courtesies 
to  all  the  French  people  and  by  the  faith- 
ful observance  of  their  laws  and  customs. 

The  intense  cultivation  of  the  soil  in 
France,  under  conditions  caused  by  the 
war,  makes  it  necessary  that  extreme 
care  be  taken  to  do  no  damage  to  private 
property.  The  entire  French  manhood 
capable  of  bearing  arms  is  in  the  field 
fighting  the  enemy,  and  it  should,  there- 
fore, be  a  point  of  honor  to  each  member 
of  the  American  Army  to  avoid  doing  the 
least  damage  to  any  property  in  France. 
Such  conduct  is  much  more  reprehensible 


here.      Honor  them  as  those  of  our  own 
country. 

Fourth  of  July  in  France 
General   Petain,   Commander  in   Chief 
of  the  French  armies  operating  on  the 
French  front,  on  July  3  issued  the  fol- 
lowing general  order: 

Tomorrow,  the  Independence  Day  cele- 
bration of  the  United  States,  the  first 
American  troops  which  have  debarked  in 
France  will  defile  in  Paris.  Later  they 
will  join  us  on  the  front.  Let  us  salute 
these  new  companions  in  arms  who  with- 
out thought  of  gain  or  of  conquest,  but 
with  the  simple  desire  of  defending  the 
cause  of  right  and  liberty,  have  come  to 
take  their  places  in  the  ranks  beside  us. 

Others  are  preparing  to  follow  them. 
They  will  soon  be  on  our  soil.  The  United 
States  mean  to  put  at  our  disposition, 
without  reckoning,  their  soldiers,  their 
factories,  their  vessels,  and  their  entire 
country.  They  want  to  pay  a  hundred- 
fold the  debt  of  gratitude  which  they  owe 
to  Lafayette  and  his  companions. 

From  all  the  points  of  the  front  a  single 
shout  on  this  July  4  will  be  heard :  "  Honor 
to  the  great  sister.  Long  live  the  United 
States!  " 

The  Fourth '  of  July  was  enthusias- 
tically celebrated  throughout  France.  In 
Paris  the  chief  feature  of  interest  was 
the  presence  of  a  battalion  of  United 
States  troops  which  was  about  to  leave 
for  training  behind  the  battle  front. 
Everywhere  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were 
flying  from  public  buildings,  hotels,  and 
residences,  and  from  automobiles,  cabs, 
and  carts;  horses'  bridles  and  the  lapels 
of  pedestrians  carried  them.  The  crowds 
began  to  gather  early  at  vantage  points. 
The  Rue  de  Varenne  was  choked  long 
before  8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
the  Republican  Guard  Band  executed  a 
field  reveille  under  General  Pershing's 
windows,  and  all  routes  toward  the  Inva- 
lides  were  thronged  even  before  Per- 
shing's men  turned  out. 

In  the  chapel  before  the  Tomb  of  Na- 
poleon General  Pershing  received  Ameri- 
can flags  and  banners  from  the  hands  of 
President  Poincare.  The  enthusiasm  of 
the  vast  crowd  reached  its  highest  pitch 
when  General  Pershing,  escorted  by 
President  Poincare,  Marshal  Joffre,  and 
other  high  French  dignitaries  passed 
along  reviewing  the  lines  of  the  Ameri- 
cans drawn  up  in  square  formations. 
Cheering  broke  out  anew  when  the  Amer- 


218 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


ican  band  struck  up  the  "  Marseillaise," 
and  again  when  the  French  band  played 
"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  and  Persh- 
ing received  the  flags  from  the  Presi- 
dent. "  Vivent  les  Americains !  Vive 
Pershing !  Vivent  les  Etats  Unis !  "  shout- 
ed over  and  over  by  the  crowd,  greeted 
the  American  standard  bearers. 

Crowds  in   Tullerles  Gardens 

More  people  were  massed  in  the  Tuile- 
ries  Gardens  than  on  the  Esplanade  des 
Invalides.  Few  of  them  could  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  parade,  but  all  joined  in 
a  tremendous  outburst  of  cheering  when 
music  from  the  Republican  Guard  Band 
announced  the  approach  of  the  troops, 
and  the  cheering  did  not  diminish  in 
volume  until  the  last  man  in  the  line  had 
disappeared  from  view  of  the  gardens 
down  the  Rue  de  Rivoli. 

With  this  great  demonstration  the 
ceremonies  of  welcome  came  to  an  end 
and  the  serious  business  of  warfare  was 
taken  in  hand.  On  July  6  it  was  an- 
nounced that  the  training  bases  for  the 
American  troops  in  France  had  been 
established  and  were  ready  for  occu- 
pancy. They  included  aviation,  artillery, 
infantry,  and  medical  bases.  The  section 
of  the  battle  front  eventually  to  be  occu- 
pied by  the  Americans  was  decided  upon 
by  the  military  authorities  and  approved 
by  Major  Gen.  Pershing,  who  had  thor- 
oughly covered  the  ground.  The  location 
of  this  section  was  a  military  secret,  and 
no  actual  time  was  fixed  for  American 
participation  on  the  fighting  front.  The 
batttalion  of  United  States  soldiers  that 
took  part  in  the  Independence  Day  cele- 
bration    in     Paris     immediately    began 


training  at  its  permanent  camp,  over 
which  General  Sibert  was  placed  in  com- 
mand. 

Basiile  Day  Messages 
Messages  of  mutual  good-will  were 
exchanged  by  President  Wilson  and 
President  Poincare  on  the  French  na- 
tional holiday,  July  14.  President  Wil- 
son cabled: 

On  this  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  de- 
mocracy in  France,  I  offer  on  behalf  of 
my  countrymen,  and  on  my  own  behalf, 
fraternal  greeting-  as  befits  the  strong-  ties 
that  unite  our  peoples  who  today  stand 
shoulder  to  shoulder  in  defense  of  liberty, 
in  testimony  of  the  steadfast  purpose  of 
our  two  countries  to  achieve  victory  for 
the  sublime  cause  of  the  rights  of  the 
people  against  oppression. 

The  lesson  of  the  Bastile  is  not  lost 
to  the  world  of  free  peoples.  May  the  day 
be  near  when  on  the  ruins  of  the  dark 
stronghold  of  unbridled  power  and  con- 
scienceless autocracy  a  nobler  structure, 
upbuilt  like  our  great  Republic  on  the 
eternal  foundations  of  peace  and  right, 
shall  arise  to  gladden  an  enfranchised 
world. 

President  Poincare  replied: 
The  French  people  who  for  three  years 
have  made  so  many  heroic  sacrifices  in 
the  defense  of  right  and  liberty  shall  re- 
ceive in  grateful  emotion  the  brotherly 
message  which  you,  Mr.  President,  were 
pleased  to  send  me  for  them. 

"We  shall  be  proud  to  carry  on  to  vic- 
tory, elbow  to  elbow  with  the  great  and 
generous  American  Nation,  the  war  which 
was  let  loose  on  the  world  by  the  imperi- 
alism of  our  foes,  in  spite  of  the  strenu- 
ous efforts  which  the  French  Republic  al- 
ways exerted  to  avert  so  awful  a  cata- 
clysm. I,  like  you,  have  no  doubt  that  the 
defeat  of  autocracy  and  German  militar- 
ism will  at  last  open  a  future  of  indus- 
trious peace  and  prosperity  to  liberate 
mankind. 


Creating  the  New  American  Armies 


THE  month's  progress  in  building  up 
the  new  armies  of  the  United  States 
has  been  rather  in  the  nature  of  lay- 
ing solid  foundations  for  the  future  than 
in  actual  results.  Recruiting  to  bring  the 
regular  army  up  to  its  full  strength  of 
293,000  continues  slow,  despite  the  special 
effort  of  the  President  to  obtain  70,000 
recruits  in  the  period  between  June  23 
and  June  30,  which  he  designated  as  Re- 


cruiting Week.  The  call  was  for  unmar- 
ried men  between  the  ages  of  18  and  40 
years.  At  the  end  of  the  week  over  50,- 
000  men  were  still  needed.  On  July  16 
the  deficiency  had  been  reduced  to  just 
under  37,000  men.  Three-fourths  of  the 
States  had  not  yet  filled  their  quotas. 

Nevertheless,  it  has  to  be  remembered 
that,  when  the  United  States  entered  the 
war,  the  strength  of  the  regular  army 


CREATING  AMERICA'S  NEW  ARMIES 


219 


was  only  100,000,  and  in  about  three 
months  this  has  been  increased  to  nearly 
250,000  by  purely  voluntary  methods  and 
in  competition  with  the  recruiters  of  the 
National  Guard,  the  navy,  and  the  ma- 
rines. Thus,  by  the  middle  of  July,  1917, 
nearly  half  a  million  men  had  volun- 
teered for  service  in  one  or  other  of  the 
different  branches  of  the  army  and 
navy,  while  men  had  been  obtained  for 
various  special  units,  and  many  candi- 
dates for  officers'  commissions  were  in 
training. 

Mobilizing  the  National  Guard 
An  important  step  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  army  was  the  calling  into 
Federal  service  of  the  National  Guard 
regiments  not  already  in  service.  This 
was  done  in  three  increments,  one  third 
being  mobilized  on  July  15  and  the  other 
two  thirds  being  warned  to  be  ready  on 
July  25  and  Aug.  5.  It  was  stated  that 
after  preliminary  training  the  National 
Guard  woul4  soon  be  sent  to  France  and 
that  some  regiments  would  leave  the 
United  States  as  early  as  November.  At 
the  date  of  moBilization  the  National 
Guard  had  reached  a  strength  of  about 
300,000  men,  and,  as  the  war  strength 
had  been  fixed  at  400,000,  recruiting  con- 
tinued. It  was  the  intention  of  the  War 
Department  that  if  the  full  quota  were 
not  secured  before  the  draft  began,  the 
vacancies  in  the  National  Guard,  as  in 
the  regular  army,  would  be  filled  by  con- 
scripted men.  The  only  members  of  the 
National  Guard  who  were  not  called  up 
were  officers  holding  general  rank,  as 
some  of  these  appointments  had  been 
made  on  political  grounds. 

In  addition  to  the  sixteen  cantonments 
which  were  begun  for  the  new  National 
Army,  sixteen  other  camps  were  chosen 
for  the  training  of  the  National  Guard. 
The  sites  for  practically  all  these  camps 
were  chosen  in  Southern  States  because, 
as  Major  Gen.  Gorgas,  Surgeon  General 
of  the  Army,  explained,  the  climate  was 
milder  in  the  Winter  and  rain  less  fre- 
quent. The  accommodation  was  planned 
for  about  35,000  men  and  10,000  horses 
and  mules  in  each  camp. 

Army  Training  Camps 
The  following  are  the  locations  of  can- 


tonments for  the  training  of  the  nation's 
new  armies : 

NATIONAL  ARMY 
Inf'y 
Div. 
No.  Department.  Location. 

1 Northeastern  Ayer,   Mass. 

2 Eastern Yapahank,  Long  Island 

3 do Wrightstown,  N.  J. 

4 do Annapolis  Junction,  Md. 

5 do Petersburg,  Va. 

6 Southeastern  Columbia,  S.  C. 

7 do Atlanta,  Ga. 

8 Central Chillicothe,  Ohio. 

9 do Louisville,   Ky. 

10 do Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

11 do Rockford,  111. 

12 Southeastern  Little  Rock,    Ark. 

13 Central Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

14 do Fort  Riley,  Kan. 

15 Southern. . . .  Fort  Sam  Houston, Tex. 

16 Western American  Lake,  Wash. 

NATIONAL    GUARD 
Inf'y 
Div. 
No.  Department.  Location. 

5 Southeastern  Greenville,  S.  C. 

6 do Spartanburg,   S.   C. 

7 do Augusta,   Ga. 

8 do Macon,  Ga. 

9 do Montgomery,   Ala. 

10 do Anniston,   Ala. 

11 Southern Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

12 do Fort  Sill,  Okla. 

13 do Deming,    N.    M. 

14 do Waco,  Tex. 

15 do Houston,   Tex. 

16 Southeastern  Charlotte,  N.  (J. 

17 do Hattiesburg,   Miss. 

18 do Alexandria,    La. 

19 Western Linda  Vista,  Cal. 

20 do Palo  Alto,  Cal. 

Navy  Training  Camps 
Sites  for  naval  training  camps  were  se- 
lected as  follows: 

Philadelphia,  for  5,000  men. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  for  6,000  men. 

Cape  May,  N.  J.,  for  2,000  men. 

Charleston,  S.  C,  for  5,000  men. 

Pensacola,  Fla.,  for  1,000  additional  men. 

Key  West,  Fla.,  for  500  men. 

Mare  Island,  Cal.,  for  5,000  men. 

Puget  Sound,  Wash,  for  5,000  men. 

Hingham,  Mass.,  for  500  men. 

New  Orleans,  La.,  for  500  men. 

San  Diego,  Cal.,  for  2,500  men. 

Great  Lakes  Training  Station,  Chicago,  ac- 
commodations for  15,000  additional  recruits. 

Port  Royal,  S.  C,  5,000  men  of  the  Marine 
Corps;  also  a  Marine  Corps  Camp  at  Quan^ 
tico,  Va.,  for  8,000  men. 

Hampton  Roads  naval  operating  base,  10,000 
men. 

Mississippi  Exposition  Grounds,  Gulfport, 
Miss.,  3,500  men. 

New  York,  a  camp  for  3,000  regulars  ad- 
joining the  navy  yard;  Pelham,  N.  Y.,  5,000 
reserves. 

A  camp  will  also  be  located  at  Boston. 

An  indication  of  the  merging  of  the 
National  Guard  with  the  other  military- 
forces  of  the  United  States  was  furnished 
by  the  War  Department  statement  that 
regiments  were  henceforth  to  be  num- 


220 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


bered  without  reference  to  the  fact  that 
a  particular  regiment  belonged  to  the 
Regular  Army,  National  Guard,  or  Na- 
tional Army.  The  numbers  of  the  Na- 
tional Army  regiments  begin  where  those 
of  the  National  Guard  regiments  end,  but 
locality  is  indicated  in  parentheses. 

Rapid  Training  of  Officers 
The  training  of  officers  has  been  more 
rapidly  conducted  than  that  of  the  men, 
because  without  qualified  leaders  the  new 
armies  cannot  be  organized.  The  Presi- 
dent has  signed  the  commissions  of  sev- 
eral hundred  new  officers  of  the  Army 
Reserve  Corps,  and,  according  to  an  an- 
nouncement   from     General     Pershing's 


headquarters  in  Paris,  these  officers  are 
to  see  service  in  France  much  earlier 
than  was  anticipated.  In  this  way  the 
demand  for  regular  officers  to  train  the 
men  in  France  is  being  met.  Every 
trainee  in  the  Officers'  Training  Corps  is 
assured  of  a  commission  if  he  can  qual- 
ify. The  officers'  training  camps  are  at 
Fort  Myer,  Virginia,  (two  camps,)  Fort 
McPherson,  Georgia,  (two  camps,)  Fort 
Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  (two  camps,)  Fort 
Benjamin,  Indiana,  (three  camps,)  Fort 
Logan  H.  Roots,  Arkansas,  (two  camps,) 
Leon  Springs,  Texas,  (two  camps,)  Fort 
Riley,  Kansas,  (two  camps,)  and  Pre- 
sidio, San  Francisco,  (one  camp.) 


Selecting  the  Conscript  Army 

SETTING   up    exemption   boards    and  cate  that  there  has  been  any  general  at- 

arranging  for  the  drawing   of  lots  tempt  at  evasion  of  registration  by  any 

to  decide  who  shall  serve  in  the  first  important  element  of  the  population, 

conscript  army  have  been  the  principal  The  following  table  shows,  by  States, 

developments    in    the    operation    of    the  the  total  registration,  the  number  of  un- 

selective  draft  law  during  the  month.  naturalized  Germans,  including  those  who 

The   total   registration  was   9,659,382,  have  declared  their  intention  to  become 

or    95.9    per    cent,    of    the    preliminary  citizens,   and  the   percentage   which   the 

estimate.     The  apparent  shortage,  about  total  represents  of  the  census  estimate: 

413,000,    is    considerably    less    than    the  Per     Unnat- 

number  of  men  21  to  30  years  of  age,  in-  RegiSra-  °Esti°f  UrGe?-d 

elusive,  who  are  estimated  by  the  War  tion-         mate-     mans. 

Department  to  have  been  in  the  various  A1  ™ted  states-"9^9.382       95.9      111,823 

m? .        m  ,  ,,  ......  ,  ,  Alabama    1*9,828         S5.7  89 

branches  of  the  military  and  naval  serv-     Arizona , 36,932      106.4  193 

ices  of  the  United  States  on  June  5,  and     Arkansas  147,522       94.2  98 

for  that  reason  exempt  from  the  require-      California 297,532        82.2         3,948 

^e„nLof  ngisIratr  ™!n™beris  SSW:::::z  «K5  mi    t™ 

600,000.     On  the  face   of  these   figures,      Delaware  21,804      108.8       .      92 

therefore,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  District  of  Columbia     32,327        87.1              79 

men  between  the  ages  of  21  and  31  in      Florida  84,683        88.9  208 

the  United  States  is  slightly  in  excess  of  g£hrf a  ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;   2l\'*™       ™9l      .     J*[ 

the  number  estimated  by  the  Census  Bu-  iiinois'.' !!.'■! !.'."!.'!!.'    072^498      105^2         6,051 

reau  on  May  12 — 10,079,000.  Indiana 255,145       100.6  1,149 

7,347,794  are  white;  953,899  are  colored;      Kentucky 187,573        92.8      

1,239,865    are    unnaturalized    foreigners      Louisiana 157,827       92.3  216 

from    countries    other    than    Germany;      Maine   60,176        95.5  120 

111,823  are  unnaturalized  Germans,  in-      JJaryla"d  ": 2K™      -JJ-J         -  ££ 

.     ..         „  ,     ,  ,     „  .  '  Massachusetts    359,323       101.1  1,508 

eluding      declarants ";   that   is,  persons     Michigan 372,872      129.4         3,021 

having   declared   their   intention    to   be-      Minnesota    221,715       90.6         1,971 

come    citizens    but   not   having    received     Mississippi  139,525        79.7  45 

their    final    naturalization     nar>Prs-     and       Missouri    299,625         94.9  1,008 

tneir    nnal    naturalization    papers,    and      Montan;l  88273      1204  ^ 

6,001  are  Indians.  Nebraska    118,123         91.3  1,156 

There  is  nothing  in  the  returns  to  indi-      Nevada    11,821        71.6  87 


Commander  of  the  First  Division  of  the  United  States  Army 

Sent  Abroad  to  Serve  Under  the  Commander  in  Chief, 

General  Pershing. 

(Photo  ©  Clinedinst  from  Underwood  d-  Underwood.) 


i 


te 


SOME  OF  AMERICA'S  WAR  CHIEFS 


GEN.  WILLIAM  CROZIER 
Chief  of  Ordnance  of  the  Army 

(Photo  Harris  &  Ewing) 


ADMIRAL  W.  S.  BENSON 

Chief  of  Office  of  Naval 

Operations. 


CQL.  ISAAC  W.  LITTELL 

Chief    of    Cantonment    Con- 
struction. 

(Photo   ©  Harris   &    Ewing) 


GEN.  JOSEPH  E.  KUHN 

President  of  the  Army  War 

College  at  Washington. 

(Photo  ©  Harris  d   Ewing) 


SELECTING  THE  CONSCRIPT  ARMY 


221 


Per  Unnat- 

Total  Cent,  of  uralized 

Registra-  Esti-  Ger- 

tion.  mate.  mans. 

New  Hampshire....      37,642  102.3  79 

New  Jersey. 302,742  100.8  4,952 

New  Mexico 32,202  77.6  108 

New  York 1,054,302  99.4  30,870 

North  Carolina 200,032  102.9  73 

North   Dakota 65,007  73.0  615 

Ohio   565,384  114.4  6,189 

Oklahoma 169,211  79.3  219 

Oregon 62,618  57.9  577 

Pennsylvania 830,507  95.0  12,674 

Rhode  Island  53,415  88.7  126 

South  Carolina 128,089  93.4  28 

South  Dakota 58,014  72.1  484 

Tennessee 187,611  96.2  85 

Texas .408,702  97.3  1,834 

Utah 41,952  90.8  344 

Vermont     27,658  94.1  72 

Virginia    181,826  97.5  179 

Washington    108,330  49.8  791 

West  Virginia 127,409  90.0  1,003 

Wisconsin    240,170  104.6  23,121 

Wyoming    22,848  64.5  329 

National  parks 85       2 

Indians  6,001  

The  rules  and  regulations  for  the  draft 
were  issued  to  the  local  exemption  boards 
by  the  War  Department  on  June  21. 
Every  board  was  required  to  make  four 
copies  of  the  registration  list.  One  it 
kept  for  its  own  use,  the  second  was 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  public  place,  the 
third  was  made  available  to  the  public 
press,  and  the  fourth  was  sent  to  the 
Provost  Marshal  General  at  Washington. 

Every  board  numbered  the  cards  in  its 
jurisdiction  with  red  ink  in  a  series  run- 
ning from  1  to  the  number  representing 
the  total  number  of  cards  in  its  jurisdic- 


tion, and  it  was  provided  that  these  serial 
numbers,  not  the  names,  should  be  drawn. 
Alphabetical  arrangement  of  the  names 
was  expressly  prohibited.  The  numbers 
were  to  be  drawn  at  Washington.  If  15 
and  167  were  drawn,  for  example,  the 
two  men  in  each  registration  district 
against  whose  names  these  numbers  were 
written  would  be  thereby  automatically 
drafted.  Exemption  could  be  claimed  only 
afterward — through  the  local  board. 

President  Wilson  on  July  2  promul- 
gated the  regulations  governing  exemp- 
tion from  military  service.  These  regula- 
tions permitted  the  local  and  appeal 
exemption  boards  already  appointed  to 
organize  at  once  and  prepare  for  the  con- 
cluding stages  of  raising  the  draft  army. 
In  an  accompanying  statement  the  Presi- 
dent called  upon  the  boards  to  do  their 
work  fearlessly  and  impartially  and  to 
remember  that  "  our  armies,  at  the  front 
will  be  strengthened  and  sustained  if  they 
be  composed  of  men  free  from  any  sense 
of  injustice  in  their  mode  of  selection." 
A  statement  issued  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment on  July  13  set  forth  the  number  to 
be  drafted  from  each  State.  The  total 
for  the  first  call  was  to  be  687,000. 

On  July  20  all  the  numbered  registra- 
tion lists  from  the  4,550  districts  had 
reached  Washington,  and  the  fateful 
drawing  of  numbers  took  place  on  that 
day.  The  story  of  the  historic  event 
will  be  told  in  the  September  issue  of 
this  magazine. 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


[Period  Ended  July  20,  1917] 


The     Chancellors    op    the     German 
Empire 

COUNT  BISMARCK  was  the  first 
Chancellor  of  the  German  Empire, 
being  appointed  on  Jan.  18,  1871,  the  day 
on  which  King  William  of  Prussia  was 
proclaimed  Emperor  of  Germany,  in  the 
Mirror  Room  at  Versailles.  Bismarck 
was  then  raised  to  princely  rank.  He 
held  office  until  March  20,  1890,  less 
than  two  years  after  William  II.  became 
Emperor,  on  the  death  of  his  father, 
(June  15,  1888.)      During  his  tenure  of 


office  Prince  Bismarck  accomplished 
two  things:  the  Triple  Alliance  or  Drei- 
bund,  uniting  Germany,  Austria,  and 
Italy,  and  later  including  Rumania  and 
Bulgaria;  and  the  formation  of  Ger- 
many's colonial  empire,  in  1885,  in  East 
and  West  Africa  and  New  Guinea. 

Bismarck  was  succeeded  by  Count 
Caprivi,  who  held  office  until  Oct.  29, 
1894.  Caprivi  was  succeeded  by  Prince 
Hohenlohe,  who  gave  place,  on  Oct.  17, 
1900,  to  Count  Bernhard  von  Bulow,  then 
raised    to    princely    rank.      Prince    von 


222 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Billow  was  called  upon  to  defend  Kaiser 
Wilhelm's  celebrated  "  mailed  fist " 
speech  on  the  departure  of  German 
troops  to  China,  and,  some  years  later, 
to  extricate  the  Kaiser  from  the  very  dif- 
ficult situation  caused  by  an  interview 
which  he  gave  to  The  Daily  Telegraph, 
(Oct.  28,  1908,)  he  carried  the  point  that 
the  Kaiser's  pronouncements  must  first 
be  approved  by  his  responsible  advisers. 
Prince  von  Bulow  went  out  of  office  on 
July  14,  1909,  being  succeeded  by  Dr.  von 
Bethmann  Hollweg,  who  held  office  for 
exactly  eight,  years. 

Primarily,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire  is  the  head  of  the  Bundesrat,  the 
Federal  Council,  which  represents,  not 
the  peoples  of  the  various  States  which 
make  up  the  empire,  but  the  Kings,  (of 
Prussia,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Wurttem- 
berg,)  Grand  Dukes,  Dukes,  and  Princes 
who  rule  them.  In  the  Bundesrat  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  represents  the  King 
of  Prussia,  who  has  preponderant  power 
in  that  body.  The  Chancellor  is  respon- 
sible solely  to  the  Emperor.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  that  Dr.  Georg  Michaelis  is 
the  first  man  not  of  noble  birth  to  be 
appointed  Imperial  Chancellor. 
*     *     * 

Austria,  Bavaria,  and  Catholic  South 

Germany 
rpHE  recent  vigorous  protest  of  Ma- 
-*■  thias  Erzberger,  the  Catholic  mem- 
ber of  the  Reichstag  from  Bavaria, 
against  the  autocratic  militarism  and 
annexationist  policy  of  Lutheran  Prus- 
sia, apparently  with  the  knowledge,  and 
perhaps  the  active  consent,  of  Emperor 
Charles  of  Austria,  suggests  that  one 
of  the  results  of  the  war  may  be  a  re- 
grouping of  the  kingdoms  and  principali- 
ties within  the  frontiers  of  the  Central 
Empires  in  a  way  resembling  their  po- 
sition before  1860,  when  Bismarck  began 
to  execute  his  plan  to  break  the  Aus- 
trian supremacy  in  German  affairs  and 
to  put  Prussia  in  Austria's  place  as  the 
dominant  German  State,  a  plan  fur- 
thered by  the  aggressive  wars  of  1864, 
1866,  and  1870,  and  consummated  when 
William  I.  was  proclaimed  German  Em- 
peror at  Versailles  in  January,  1871. 

In  the  German  Empire  the  Lutherans 
number  40,000,000;  tht?  Catholics  24,000,- 


000,  or  some  37  per  cent.  In  Prussia 
about  two-thirds  are  Lutherans;  in  Sax- 
ony the  vast  majority  are  Lutherans;  in 
Wurttemberg  about  two-thirds  are 
Lutherans;  these  three  kingdoms  would 
form  the  nucleus  of  a  Lutheran  group  of 
States.  In  Bavaria,  on  the  contrary, 
there  are  about  5,000,000  Catholics  to 
2,000,000  Lutherans,  while  within  the 
Kingdom  of  Prussia  Catholics  are  in  a 
majority  in  Posen,  Silesia,  Westphalia, 
and  the  Rhine  Provinces.  Austria  is  al- 
most completely  Catholic,  having  22,- 
500,000  Roman  Catholics  and  3,500,000 
Greek  Catholics;  the  Lutherans  do  not 
number  600,000.  In  Hungary,  Roman 
Catholics  likewise  predominate,  number- 
ing 11,000,000  in  a  population  of  21,000r 
000,  the  minority  being  divided  between 
Protestants,  members  of  the  Greek 
churches,  (Catholic  and  Oriental,)  and 
others. 

This  would  give  two  groups  of  States, 
the  Catholic,  with  a  population  of  some 
60,000,000;  the  Lutheran,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  some  45,000,000.  The  growth  of 
the  present  German  Empire  has  largely 
consisted  in  the  extension  of  the  power 
of  Lutheran  Prussia  over  the  Roman 
Catholic  States,  like  Silesia,  the  Rhine 
Provinces,  and  Bavaria;  to  these  Aus- 
tria, in  which  Prussian  influence  pre- 
dominates, may  be  added. 


The  Race  Question  in  Austria- 
Hungary 
IN  Austria  (excluding  Hungary)  the 
division  of  races,  calculated  on  the  not 
wholly  accurate  basis  of  language,  is 
approximately  as  follows:  Germans,  10,- 
000,000;  Bohemian  Czechs,  Moravians, 
and  Slovaks,  (all  speaking  practically 
the  same  language,)  6,500,000;  Poles, 
5,000,000;  Ruthenians  in  Galicia  and 
Bukowina,  3,500,000;  Slovenes,  Serbs, 
and  Croatians,  (all  speaking  what  is 
practically  Serbian,)  2,000,000;  or,  in  all, 
17,000,000  Slavs. "  There  are  also  about 
1,000,000  speaking  Italian  or  Rumanian. 
Thus  18,000,000  non-Germans,  nearly  all 
of  whom  are  Slavs,  are  dominated  politi- 
cally by  10,000,000  Germans* 

In  Hungary  there  are  under  9,000,000 
Hungarian  Magyars.;  just  over  2,000,000 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


223 


Germans,  2,000,000  Slovaks,  2,600,000 
Croato-Serbians,  400,000  Ruthenians,  and 
something  under  3,000,000  Rumanians. 
In  Hungary  the  9,000,000  Magyars  and 
2,000,000  Germans  completely  dominate 
the  5,000,000  Slavs  and  3,000,000  Ru- 
manians. 

Taking  the  Dual  Monarchy  as  a  whole, 
we  find  that  12,000,000  Germans  and 
9,000,000  Magyars  exercise  political  con- 
trol over  22,000,000  Slavs  and  4,000,000 
Latins.  That  is,  21,000,000  dominating 
and  26,000,000  dominated. 

An  ideal  reconstruction  along  the  lines 
of  race,  (or,  to  speak  more  strictly,  along 
the  lines  of  language  as  calculated  by 
the  German-Magyar  enumerators,)  would 
divide  the  Dual  Monarchy  into  four 
States,  as  follows :  A  German  State,  con- 
sisting of  the  northern  part  of  what  is 
now  Austria  and  the  western  corner  of 
Hungary,  with  12,000,000  inhabitants;  a 
north  Slav  State,  (Czech-Bohemians,  Mo- 
ravians, Slovaks,  Poles,  Ruthenians,) 
with  about  18,000,000  inhabitants ;  a  Mag- 
yar State  with  about  9,000,000,  and  a 
south  Slav  State,  predominantly  Serbian, 
with  about  5,000,000;  but  this  last  would 
be  practically  identical  in  blood  and 
speech  with  Serbia  and  Montenegro, 
which,  before  the  war,  had  a  combined 
population  of  about  3,500,000 ;  so  that  we 
have  the  basis  of  a  Pan-Serbian  State 
with  about  8,500,000  inhabitants. 
*     *     * 

The  Draft  in  1863  and  1917 

THE  extraordinary  smoothness  and 
freedom  from  disturbance  which  have 
marked  each  stage  of  the  enrollment  of 
our  huge  national  army  stand  out  in 
sharp  contrast  with  the  violent  outbreaks 
which  accompanied  the  operation  of  the 
Conscription  act  signed  on  March  3, 
1863.  That  act  declared  that  all  able- 
bodied  male  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
and  foreigners  intending  to  become 
citizens,  between  the  ages  of  20  and  45 
were  liable  for  military  service;  a  second 
section  defined  exemptions,  while  a  third 
favored  married  men.  On  July  7  the 
actual  work  of  the  draft  was  begun  in 
Rhode  Island;  on  the  following  day  it 
began  in  Massachusetts. 

Saturday,  July  11,  was  the  date  set  for 
New  York   City.     That   day  everything 


went  quietly,  even  gayly.  But  on  Sunday, 
July  12,  there  were  mutterings  in  the 
Ninth  Congressional  District,  which  was 
inhabited  mainly  by  laborers,  and  which 
had  a  Democratic  majority  of  over  3,000. 
These  laborers,  says  Rhodes,  when  they 
faced  the  fact  of  three  years'  compulsory 
military  service,  "  fell  into  despondency, 
while  their  wives  and  mothers  abandoned 
themselves  to  excitement  and  rage." 
Prominent  Democrats  went  about  de- 
claring the  law  was  unconstitutional.  A 
point  of  inflammation  was  the  fact  that 
a  man  might  "  buy  himself  loose "  for 
$300,  favoring  the  rich  at  the  expense  of 
the  poor. 

On  July  13,  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
Ninth  District,  at  the  corner  of  Third 
Avenue  and  Forty-sixth  Street,  where  the 
names  were  being  drawn  from  a  revolv- 
ing wheel  by  a  blindfolded  man,  pistols 
were  fired,  brickbats  were  hurled  through 
the  window,  the  crowd  burst  in,  poured 
petroleum  on  the  floor  and  set  the  build- 
ing on  fire.  Workmen  of  the  Second  and 
Sixth  Avenue  street  railroads  noisily 
paraded  the  streets.  The  rioters  were 
"  almost  all  foreign  born,  with  a  large 
preponderance  of  Irish,"  who  vented  their 
wrath  on  the  negroes,  shooting  and  hang- 
ing them  by  the  score  and  wrecking  a 
Negro  Orphan  Asylum  on  Fifth  Avenue 
between  Forty-third  and  Forty-fourth 
Streets.  The  rioters  seized  arms  from  the 
arsenals ;  troops  were  called ;  "  cannon 
and  howitzers  raked  the  streets." 

The  battle  raged  during  four  days, 
more  than  1,000  persons  being  killed  and 
wounded,  while  damage  amounting  to 
$1,500,000  was  done.  In  all,  10,000  in- 
fantry and  three  batteries  of  artillery  as- 
sisted in  quelling  the  riots.  There  was 
violence  also  in  Pennsylvania  and  Wis- 
consin. 

*     *     * 

THE  Secretary  of  War  reported  on 
June  22,  1917,  that  there  were  in  the 
United  States  1,239,179  persons  born  in 
foreign  countries  with  which  the  United 
States  was  not  at  war,  who  had  not  de- 
clared their  intention  to  become  citizens, 
and  111,933  persons  of  birth  in  countries 
with  which  the  United  States  was  at  war, 
who  had  not  declared  their  intention  to- 
become  citizens. 


221 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


Success  of  the  Liberty  Loan 
rjlHE  official  announcement  of  the  Lib- 
-*■    erty   Loan,   the   first    United    States 
war  loan,  was  in  substance  as  follows : 

The  total  of  the  subscriptions  was 
$3,035,226,850,  an  oversubscription  of 
$1,035,226,850,  over  50  per  cent.  More 
than  4,000,000  men  and  women  sub- 
scribed. Of  this  number  about  3,960,- 
000  took  the  bonds  in  amounts  ranging 
from  $50  to  $10,000;  21  subscriptions 
were  $5,000,000  and  over,  aggregating 
$188,789,900.  The  subscriptions  by  Fed- 
eral Reserve  districts  were  as  follows : 

Boston     $332,447,600 

New    York    1,1SG,788,400 

Philadelphia     232,309,250 

Cleveland     28G,14S,;00 

Richmond    109,737,100 

Atlanta     57,878,550 

Chicago     357,195,950 

St.  Louis   86,134;Y00 

Minneapolis     70,255,500 

Kansas    City    91,758,850 

Dallas   48,948,350 

San  Francisco  175,623,900 

Allotments  were  made  as  follows :  Sub- 
scriptions up  to  and  including  $10,000, 
100  per  cent.;  up  to  $100,000,  60  per 
cent.;  up  to  $250,000,  45  per  cent.;  up  to 
$2,000,000,  30  per  cent.;  over  $2,000,000 
and  up  to  $6,000,000,  25  per  cent.;  up  to 
$10,000,000,  21  per  cent.;  $25,000,000, 
22.22  per  cent.;  $25,230,000,  20.17  per 
cent. 

*     *     * 

British  Cabinet  Changes 
TMPORTANT  changes  in  the  British 
J-  Cabinet  were  announced  July  17.  Sir 
Edward  Carson  resigned  as  First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty  and  joined  the  War  Cabi- 
net without  portfolio;  he  was  succeeded 
by  Sir  Eric  Campbell  Geddes,  former 
Director  General  of  Munitions  Supply. 
Winston  Spencer  Churchill  succeeded  Dr. 
Christopher  Addison  as  Minister  of  Mu- 
nitions, the  latter  to  become  Minister 
without  portfolio  in  charge  of  reconstruc- 
tion. Edwin  Samuel  Montagu  became 
Secretary  for  India,  vice  Austen  Cham- 
berlain, who  resigned  on  account  of  the 
Mesopotamia  campaign  disaster.  Sir 
Edward  Carson  replaced  Bonar  Law  as 
the  fifth  member  of  the  War  Cabinet, 
which  consists  of  Premier  Lloyd  George, 
Labor  Minister*  Henderson,  Earl  Curzon, 
Lord  Milner,  and  Sir  Edward  Carson,  the 


three  latter  being  Conservatives  of  the 
most  extreme  type. 

*  *     * 

British    Royal    House   Abolishes    Its 

German  Titles 
T7-[NG  GEORGE  of  England  has 
*■*■  changed  the  name  of  his  family  and 
house  from  .Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha  to 
the  House  of  Windsor.  He  has  also 
abolished  the  titles  of  the  Princes  of  his 
family  that  bear  German  names  and  sub- 
stituted British  surnames,  peerages  being 
conferred  as  follows: 

The  Duke  of  Teck,  a  Marquis. 

Prince  Alexander  of  Teck,   an  Earl. 

Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg,  a  Marquis. 

Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg,  a 
Marquis. 

Princess  Victoria  and  Princess  Marie 
Louise  of  Schleswigr-Holstein  shall  be 
styied  Helena  Victoria  and  Marie  Louise, 
respectively,  and  the  Princesses  of  the 
royal  family  who  bear  the  title  of  Duchess 
of  Saxony  have  relinquished  the  title. 
Prince  Leopold  of  Battenberg,  whose  elder 
brother,  Prince  Alexander,  "becomes  a 
Marquis,  will  take  the  title  of  Lord  Leo- 
pold  of  Mountbatten. 

The  action  of  the  King  reserves  the 
title  "  Royal  Highnesses  "  to  the  children 
and  grandchildren  of  the  sovereign,  con- 
sequently the  titles  "  Highness "  and 
"  Serene  Highness  "  will  disappear  from 
English  life,  as  well  as  the  rank  of  Prince 
and  Princess  in  the  families  upon  which 
the  King  conferred  peerages. 

*  *     * 
England's  Munitions  Output 

DR.  ADDISON,  British  Minister  of 
Munitions,  declared  in  an  address  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  that  in  March, 
1917,  England's  capacity  for  the  pro- 
duction of  high  explosives  was  more  than 
four  times  that  of  1916  and  28  times  as 
great  as  that  of  March,  1915.  He  said 
the  country  was  now  turning  out  twenty 
times  as  many  machine  guns  as  two  years 
ago.  In  the  matter  of  small  arms  and 
small  ammunition  the  country  was  en- 
tirely independent  of  outside  supplies.  At 
Woolwich  there  were  73,571  workers,  of 
whom  25,000  were  women,  as  against 
10,860  workers  in  August,  1914,  of  whom 
125  were  women. 

In  May  twice  as  many  airplanes  were 
produced  as  in  December  last.  They  were 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


225 


producing  now  10,000,000  tons  of  steel 
per  annum  as  against  7,000,000  tons  per 
annum  in  pre-war  days,  and  by  the  end 
of  1918  the  figures  would  have  risen  to 
12,000,000  tons. 

He  announced  that  a  plant  was  now 
available  for  supplying  the  entire  quan- 
tity needed  of  potash;  they  had  also  a 
plant  to  supply  their  needs  entirely  in 
scientific  instruments,  optical  glass,  ma- 
chine tools,  sulphuric  acid,  superphos- 
phates, and  tungsten,  for  all  of  which 
they  had  been  dependent  on  outside 
sources.  Fully  2,000  miles  of  railway 
track  had  been  supplied  to  the  several 
fronts,  together  with  nearly  1,000  loco- 
motives, apart  from  hundreds  supplied 
by  the  Railway  Executive  Committee. 
India,  Australia,  and  Canada  had  sent 
their  contributions. 

Knightly  Orders  for  Women 

RECENT  distinctions  conferred  upon 
women  have  suggested  the  ques- 
tion whether,  in  the  past,  the  services 
and  qualities  of  women  have  ever  re- 
ceived recognition  in  the  great  knightly 
orders.  The  answer  is  distinctly  in  the 
affirmative.  England,  which  has,  in 
some  ways,  the  most  democratic  gov- 
ernment in  the  world,  not  only  possesses 
the  oldest  existing  knightly  order,  but 
is  also  the  only  country  in  existence 
where  the  ancient  knightly  custom  of 
"  dubbing  "  by  the  accolade,  or  laying  on 
of  the  sword,  is  still  preserved,  as  in  the 
days  when  knighthood  was  in  flower. 
The  oldest  knightly  order  is  the  Order 
of  the  Garter,  which  dates  from  about 
1350 ;  the  "  garter  "  is  ascribed  by  tra- 
dition to  Richard  I.,  who  sent  it  as  a 
battle  sign  to  the  troops  before  Acre; 
to  Edward  III.  at  Crecy;  to  Joan,  the 
"  fair  maid  of  Kent,"  Countess  of  Salis- 
bury. Ladies  were  systematically  ad- 
mitted to  the  Order  of  the  Garter  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  (at 
a  time  when  prioresses  and  abbesses  had 
the  vote;)  the  Queen  Consort,  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  Knights  of  the  Order, 
and  other  women  of  exalted  position 
being  members,  and  known  as  "  Dames 
de  la  Fraternite  de  Saint  George,"  patron 
saint  of  the  Garter.  Entries  of  the  de- 
livery of  robes  and  garters  to  ladies  are 


found  in  the  wardrobe  accounts  from 
1376  to  1495,  the  first  being  to  Isabel, 
Countess  of  Bedford,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward III.;  the  last,  Margaret  and  Eliza- 
beth, daughters  of  Henry  VII.  Effigies 
of  Margaret  Byron  and  Alice  Chaucer 
at  Ewelme  have  garters  on  their  left 
arms.  The  Order  of  the  Thistle,  estab- 
lished by  James  II.  in  1687,  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Andrew,,  counts 
among  its  heads  Queen  Anne  and  Queen 
Victoria,  who  were  also  heads  of  the 
Order  of  the  Garter,  as  were  Queen  Mary 
and  Queen  Elizabeth.  This  is  the  order 
recently  conferred  on  Sir  Douglas  Haig. 
The  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  estab- 
lished by  Philip  the  Good  in  1492,  counts 
Queens  among  its  members.  The  Order 
of  St.  Stephen  of  Hungary,  founded  by 
Maria  Theresa  in  1764,  was  presided 
over  by  her.  The  British  Order  of  Merit 
was  conferred  on  Florence  Nightingale. 
Women  as  well  as  men  are  eligible  to 
the  Imperial  Service  Order.  The  Royal 
Order  of  Victoria  and  Albert  and  the 
Imperial  Order  of  the  Crown  of  India 
are  conferred  only  on  women.  The 
decoration  of  the  French  Legion  of 
Honor,  founded  by  Napoleon  on  May  19, 
1802,  has  been  conferred  on  several  dis- 
tinguished women,  including  Rosa  Bon- 
heur  and  Mme.  Curie,  the  discoverer  of 
radium. 


British  and  German   Prisoners 

THE  British  have  captured  117,776 
prisoners  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  not  counting  natives  taken  in  the 
African  campaigns,  many  of  whom  have 
been  released,  according  to  the  statement 
of  Major  Gen.  F.  B.  Maurice,  Director  of 
Military  Operations  at  the  War  Office  in 
London.  The  British  have  lost  to  the 
enemy  51,088  men  as  prisoners,  includ- 
ing Indian  and  native  troops 

The  British  have  captured  739  guns 
during  the  war  and  lost  113.  Of  the  guns 
lost  37  were  recaptured,  and  of  the  96 
remaining  in  enemy  hands  84  were  lost 
by  the  British  on  the  west  front  early  in 
the  war.  The  British  have  not  lost  a 
single  gun  on  the  west  front  since  April, 
1915. 

There  are  58,138  German  prisoners  of 


226 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


war  interned  in  England,  as  against  42,- 
831  British  prisoners  of  war  or  interned 
prisoners  in  Germany,  according  to  a  re- 
port made  by  the  Postmaster  General  to 
the  House  of  Commons  on  June  20.  Each 
week  the  interned  Germans,  receive  an 
average  of  9,260  parcels  and  money 
orders  having  a  total  value  of  $12,000. 
The  number  of  parcels  received  has  de- 
creased nearly  one-half  from  last  year. 
This  was  attributed  by  the  Postmaster 
General  to  greater  difficulty  in  obtaining 
materials  to  send  from  Germany. 

*  *     ♦ 
German  Casualty  Figures 

GERMAN  casualties  reported  in  Ger- 
man official  lists  during  May,  1917, 
were  as  follows : 

Total  to 
May.  date. 

Killed  and  died  of  wounds..  19,006  998,439 

Died   of   sickness 2,994  69,688 

Prisoners    886  303,309 

Missing    25,076  2.14,101 

Severely   wounded 14,348  571,386 

Wounded    3,858  310,010 

Slightly  wounded 36,133       1,599,743 

Wounded     remaining     with 
units. 8,055  249,478 

Total     110,956       4,356,760 

*  *      * 

Small  Armies  in  Decisive  Battles 

THE  attempt  of  a  Chinese  General  to 
restore  the  fallen  Manchu  dynasty, 
which  conquered  China  in  1644,  having  at 
his  disposal  only  7,000  troops  with  which 
he  tried  to  change  the  destinies  of  400,- 
000,000  population  covering  4,000,000 
square  miles,  recalls  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  world's  decisive  battles  have  been 
fought  with  bodies  of  troops  which,  in 
comparison  with  the  numbers  involved 
in  the  present  war,  seem  absolutely  in- 
significant. But  it  should  be  remembered 
that  only  the  very  recent  development  of 
railroads  has  made  possible  the  moving 
and  victualing  of  the  huge  mod9rn 
armies. 

On  the  morning  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington  130  answered  Captain  John 
Parker's  rollcall,  and  not  all  of  these 
took  part  in  the  fighting;  at  Concord, 
later  in  the  same  day,  Aprij  19,  1775, 
there  were  450  minutemen;  men,  that  is, 
who  "  answered  at  a  minute's  notice." 
The  Americans  under  Lieut.  Col.  Smith 


lost  eighteen  killed.  At  the  battle  of 
Long  Island,  Aug.  22,  1776,  Lord  Howe 
had  20,000  men,  while  Washington  sent 
to  General  Putnam  only  7,000  men,  who, 
however,  constituted  more  than  one-third 
of  his  entire  effective  force.  At  the  battle 
of  Harlem  Heights,  Sept.  16,  1776,  Lord 
Howe  had  5,000  against  Washington's 
1,800  Americans,  and  the  relative  num- 
bers were  about  the  same  at  Bennington, 
Stony  Point,  and  King's  Mountain.  At  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  Jan.  3,  1777,  Lord 
Cornwallis  had  6,000,  while  Washington 
had  3,600  men;  yet  this  battle  held  Howe 
up  for  six  months  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  French  alliance.  At  Yorktown, 
Washington  had  16,600  American  and 
French  troops,  while  Cornwallis  had 
5,316. 

A  recent  historian  asserts  that  there 
were  not  more  than  5,000  knights  in  the 
feudal  army  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
though  older  traditions  placed  the  num- 
ber at  60,000.  John  Fiske  speaks  of  the 
forces  in  Cromwell's  wars  as  "  trivial," 
though  Cromwell's  victories  had  a  world- 
wide  significance. 


rpHE  lower  house  of  Congress  on  July 
J-  14  passed  without  opposition  a  bill 
appropriating  $640,000,000  for  the  crea- 
tion of  a  great  air  fleet.  It  is  understood 
that  the  personnel  authorized  will  ap- 
proximate 100,000  men. 


r[E  Austrian  Parliament  decided  July 
17  that  Dr.  Friedrich  Adler,  the  as- 
sassin of  Dr.  Karl .  Sturgkh,  Premier  of 
Austria,  should  have  been  tried  by  a  civil 
instead  of  a  military  court,  consequently 
the  death  sentence  imposed  on  him  will 
not  be  carried  out.  His  address  at  his 
trial  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


TUAN  CHI-JUI  was  reappointed 
Premier  and  War  Minister  of  China 
after  the  collapse  of  the  effort  to  restore 
the  monarchy,  and  Li  Yuan-hung  an- 
nounced that  he  would  retire  from  the 
Presidency  in  favor  of  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Feng  Kuo-chang.  Tuan  favored 
China's  entrance  into  the  war.  on  the 
side  of  the  Allies. 


Military  Events  of  the  Month 

Period  From  June  18  to  July  18,  1917 

By  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner 

Formerly  Lieutenant  Eleventh  U.  S.  Cavalry 


THE  past  month  has  seen  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  of  the  en- 
tire war — the  renewal  of  the  Rus- 
sian offensive  begun  last  year.  On 
July  1,  the  anniversary  of  the  beginning 
of  the  battle  of  the  Somme,  the  Russians 
began  a  determined  movement  along  the 
northern  course  of  the  Zlota  Lipa  from 
Brzezany  to  Zloczow. 

From  such  information  as  had  reached 
us  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
new  republic,  the  conclusion  was  almost 
unavoidable  that  there  was  no  hope  of 
Russia  giving  any  assistance  to  the  Allies 
during  the  current  year.  The  spirit  of 
the  army,  it  appeared,  had  been  destroyed 
through  the  period  of  fraternization  with 
the  enemy;  their  discipline  was  believed 
to  have  broken  down  entirely  and  their 
morale  to  be  seriously  impaired.  The 
ammunition  industry,  besides,  was  par- 
tially paralyzed  through  strikes  and  im- 
possible demands  of  the  workmen,  and  the 
transport  service,  by  which  food  and 
supplies  were  sent  to  the  front,  was  com- 
pletely disorganized.  There  was  also  an 
element  in  Petrograd,  supported  by  Ger- 
man interests,  that  was  outspoken  against 
a  renewal  of  the  fighting  and  in  favor 
either  of  a  separate  peace  or  an  indefinite 
armistice.  In  the  face  of  this  condition, 
it  did  not  seem  possible  that  Russia  could 
be  counted  upon  as  a  factor  in  the  fight- 
ing until  next  year. 

But  there  was  one  man  in  Russia  who 
saw  the  condition  of  affairs  in  its  true 
perspective,  who  knew  that  the  success  of 
the  revolution  depended  upon  a  continu- 
ation of  hostilities  until  Germany  was 
beaten,  and  whose  enthusiasm  and 
personal  magnetism  were  so  great  as  to 
nullify  all  opposing  influences.  This  man 
was  the  new  Secretary  of  War,  Kerensky. 
The  credit  for  the  renewal  of  the  fighting 
on  the  Russian  front  is  his  and  his  alone, 
and  its  successful  prosecution  a  tribute  to 
his  personal  inspiration. 


When  the  Russian  offensive  of  last 
year  was  finally  halted,  the  battle  line 
followed  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Zlota 
Lipa  from  its  source  near  Zloczow  as 
far  as  Brzezany.  Here  it  made  a  curve 
around  the  latter  point,  crossing  the 
river,  and  continued  southward  to  the 
Dniester,  which  it  crossed  just  west  of 
Maryimpol.  Passing  west  of  Stanislau, 
it  continued  south  to  the  Carpathian 
Mountains,  where  it  linked  up  to  the 
Rumanian  line  along  the  border  between 
Rumania  and  Transylvania. 

First  Russian  Attack 
The  first  task  which  the  Russians  had 
to  accomplish,  then,  if  they  proposed  to 
reach  out  for  Lemberg  from  the  east, 
was  to  clear  the  line  of  the  Zlota  Lipa 
throughout  its  length.  This  river  flows 
through  a  deep  cut  with  almost  perpen- 
dicular sides,  making  it  a  particularly 
nasty  line  to  force.  All  the  advantage 
lies  with  the  defense,  and  only  great  pre- 
ponderance of  artillery  would  give  an 
attack  a  reasonable  chance  of  success. 
It  could,  however,  be  flanked  by  a  cross- 
ing to  the  north,  where  the  river  is  nar- 
row and  presents  a  less  difficult  prob- 
lem, and  this  the  Russians  tried  to  do 
through  an  attack  between  Brzezany  and 
Zloczow. 

The  small  village  of  Koniuchy  was 
taken  in  this  first  effort,  and  about 
10,000  prisoners  fell  into  Russian  hands. 
The  ground  gained,  however,  added  little 
to  their  achievement.  It  was  in  every 
way  immaterial.  There  was,  however,  a 
valuable  significance  in  the  character  of 
the  fighting.  The  Russians  used  artil- 
lery on  a  very  large  scale.  Apparently 
they  had  a  great  supply  of  shell  and 
were  disposed  to  use  it.  There  was  also 
evidence  that  the  army  which  made  the 
attack,  the  army  of  Brusiloff ,  had  not 
been  seriously  affected  by  the  revolu- 
tion.    No  army  which  was  in  an  unor- 


228 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


ganized  condition  a  short  time  before 
could  have  been  driven,  thoroughly  in 
hand  at  all  times,  as  was  the  army 
which  took  this  small  village  and  so 
many  Austrian  prisoners.  The  fighting 
.was  of  the  heaviest  kind  and  must  have 
been  accompanied  by  very  heavy  losses 
on  the  part  of  the  Russians.    That  they 


Blow  South  of  the  Dniester 
Suddenly,  without  pausing  in  their  at- 
tacks at  Brzezany,  the  Russians  opened 
up  a  terrific  attack  south  of  the  Dniester, 
driving  due  west  from  the  vicinity  of 
Stanislau  toward  Dolina  and  Stryj.  It  is 
somewhere  in  this  vicinity  that  the  Ger- 
mans and  the  Austrians  link  up,  and  it 


0     y    io    so 

(MILES) 


LEMBER 

RUSSIAH 


MAP   SHOWING   PROGRESS   OF   THE   NEW   RUSSIAN   OFFENSIVE    IN    GALICIA 


kept  up  the  fighting  is  another  indica- 
tion of  the  morale  which  prevailed. 

Not  meeting  with  any  great  success  at 
this  point*  the  attack  was  switched  fur- 
ther south,  to  Brzezany,  where  an  effort 
was  made  to  draw  a  noose  around  that 
important  crossing,  which,  because  of  the 
high  hills  behind  it,  controls  the  country 
to  the  south  and  defends  the  railroad 
from  Lemberg  through  Rohatyn.  The 
Russian  effort  here  was  another  failure. 


was  the  Russian  idea,  undoubtedly,  to 
separate  the  two  forces  by  driving  a 
wedge  between  them.  This  idea  is  sound. 
The  history  of  the  war  on  the  eastern 
front  will  show  conclusively  that  the  Au- 
strian is  no  match  for  the  Russian.  Where- 
ever  they  have  met  on  the  field  of  battle 
the  Austrian  has  invariably  been  beaten. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  war  it  was 
the  first  invasion  of  Galicia  which  placed 
the  Russian  Army  at  the  gates  of  Cracow 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF  THE  MONTH 


229 


and  threatened  Silesia.  Last  year  it  was 
the  great  blow  in  Volhynia  which  nearly- 
destroyed  the  Austrian  Army.  And  now 
again  Russia  was  attempting  the  same 
thing.  How  reasonable  the  argument  is 
is  shown  by  the  results.  The  Austrian 
line  cracked,  the  crack  widened,  and 
finally  the  line  broke,  permitting  the 
Russians  to  pour  through.  We  hear  very 
often  of  a  line  being  broken,  but  we 
seldom  see  it  done.  It  is  not  sufficient 
merely  to  penetrate  it.  The  gap  through 
which  the  penetration  is  made  must  be 
very  wide,  so  that  sufficient  troops  can 
pass  through  to  have  some  effect  on  the 
two  wings  thus  separated.  But  the  Au- 
strian line  was  truly  broken,  and  the  Rus- 
sian cavalry  raced  through,  widening  the 
gap  as  they  passed. 

The  Lukwa  River  was  reached  and 
crossed  almost  without  opposition.  The 
Lomnica,  the  next  stream  met  with,  was 
the  test.  The  east  bank  is  low,  the  west 
bank  very  high  and  heavily  wooded.  If 
the  Austrians  could  hold  the  Russians  to 
the  east  bank  of  the  stream  they  still  had 
a.  chance  to  repair  the  damage.  But  the 
Russians  were  not  to  be  halted  here. 
The  Cossack  cavalry  forced  the  river  not 
more  than  fifteen  miles  south  of  the 
Dniester  and  drove  at  the  town  of  Ka- 
lusz,  the  Austrians'  former  headquar- 
ters. They  found  it  unoccupied  and  took 
possession. 

Fall  of  Kalusz  and  Halicz 
The  Germans,  however,  had  hurried 
reinforcements  south  to  assist  the  beaten 
Austrians,  and  they  came  in  contact  with 
the  advancing  Russians  first  at  this  point. 
A  heavy  but  local  battle  occurred,  and 
the  Russians,  finding  themselves  tem- 
porarily outnumbered,  withdrew.  But  re- 
inforcements were  arriving  for  both 
sides,  and  the  real  battle  for  the  town 
was  on.  It  changed  hands  several  times, 
but  finally  fell  securely  to  the  Russians. 
Kalusz  has  an  importance  which  in  every 
way  justified  the  effort  to  take  it.  West 
of  the  Lomnica  River  there  is  no  barrier 
between  it  and  the  Stryj.  The  country* 
is  wide  open,  rolling,  it  is  true,  but  with- 
out any  definite  natural  barrier  which 
would  hinder  the  advance.  If  a  stand  is 
to  be  made  anywhere  east  of  the  Stryj, 
the  Lomnica  is  the  line  which  would  be* 
selected.     Kalusz  is  the  "most  important 


town  along  the  river,  and  is,  moreover, 
on  the  Lemberg-Stanislau  railroad.  It 
was  for  these  reasons  that  the  Austrians 
selected  it  for  their  headquarters.  With 
its  fall  went  the  line  of  £he  Lomnica,  the 
Russians,  as  this  article  is  written,  be- 
ing apparently  firmly  established  on  the 
west  bank. 

While  this  wedge  was  being  pushed 
between  the  Austrian  and  the  German 
armies  the  town  of  Halicz,  on  the  Dnies- 
ter, was  stormed  and  taken.  This  place 
is  important  because  it  covers  the  first 
large  bridge  east  of  Chotin  across  the 
Dniester,  and  therefore  may  be  said  to 
guard  Lemberg  from  an  attack  from  the 
south.  A  covering  force  to  guard  the 
bridgehead  was  at  once  thrown  across 
the  Dniester,  so  that  the  Russians  are 
now  securely  on  the  northern  bank. 

Effects  of  Russian  Advance 
The  net  results  of  the  Russian  advance 
up  to  the  present  time  have  been  large. 
Nearly  50,000  prisoners  have  been  taken 
— mostly  Austrians — together  with  great 
quantities,  not  enumerated  in  dispatches, 
of  guns  and  war  material  of  all  kinds. 
It  is  certain  that  the  latter  results  have 
been  considerable.  The  wedge  which  the 
Russians  have  pushed  into  the  Teutonic 
lines  is  over  twenty  miles  deep  and  at 
least  half  that  width.  The  rate  of  ad- 
vance was  extremely  rapid,  the  entire 
advance  having  been  made  in  twelve 
days.  There  was  not  sufficient  time  to 
remove  to  safety  the  mass  of  materials 
normally  held  behind  such  a  line.  The 
fact  that  the  taking  of  a  number  of  guns 
of  large  calibre  is  sufficient  indication  of 
what  must  have  happened  to  the  Austrian 
reserve  supply  centres. 

The  Russian  offensive  is,  however,  in- 
finitely more  injurious  to  the  Teutonic 
cause  than  the  military  damage  so  far  in- 
flicted. Ever  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  Germany  has  played,  as  a  most  im- 
portant card,  the  sympathy  of  a  not  in- 
considerable number  of  Russians  close 
to  the  Petrograo"  Court.  .  Sturmer  yraf  Al- 
most openly  a  German  tool.  The  result 
was  hardly  what  Germany  had  been  led 
to  expect  |  nevertheless,  it  was  not  for  the 
moment  without<a  decided  element  of  ad- 
vantage. 

When  the  Russian  revolution  broke,  the 
German  military  councils  had  before  them 


230 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


two  alternatives.  It  was  inevitable  that 
such  a  tremendous  civil  upheaval  should 
bring  in  its  wake  a  military  upheaval  of 
equal  intensity.  Disorganization  in  the 
military  would  follow  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Should  the  German  Army  take 
advantage  of  the  military  situation  and 
attack  with  chances  of  a  conclusive  vic- 
tory, or  should  Germany  play  the  diplo- 
matic game,  trusting  to  her  complete  or- 
ganization in  Russia  to  produce  either  a 
separate  peace  or  a  perpetual  armistice? 
Either  way  the  chances  of  success  were 
bright.  While  Germany  was  hesitating 
between  the  two,  the  British  and  the 
French  on  the  western  front  became  most 
active.  A  perfect  hurricane  of  attacks 
followed,  almost  without  cessation,  de- 
manding all  Germany's  reserve  strength 
to  fight  back.  The  situation  was  des- 
perate. 

A  Diplomatic  Battle  Lost 
Confronted,  then,  with  this  resistless, 
unrelenting  pressure  on  the  western 
front,  Germany  decided  to  fight  Russia 
with  diplomacy  rather  than  with  force  of 
arms.  It  was  a  gamble,  but,  as  far  as 
was  apparent  at  the  time,  in  no  sense  a 
desperate  gamble.  There  was  no  indi- 
cation that  Russia  could  get  her  organ- 
ization straightened  out  for  some  time  to 
come.  German  Socialists  were  contin- 
ually active  and  had  formed  an  anti-war 
party  in  Russia  which  precluded  the  idea 
of  any  immediate  military  activity.  To 
them  Germany  intrusted  the  task  of  neu- 
tralizing Russia.  To  have  attacked  Rus- 
sia under  such  circumstances  would  have 
been  to  run  the  danger  of  solidifying,  on 
the  theory  of  the  defense  of  the  new  free- 
dom, all  the  discordant  elements.  And  a 
new  Russia  in  the  field,  with  all  elements 
of  treachery  removed — a  Russia  in  con- 
trol of  the  people  rather  than  of  a  weak 
aristocracy — would  possess  an  element  of 
potential  force  that  Germany  could  not 
face  with  equanimity. 

There  were,  moreover,  certain  military 
factors  to  be  considered.  The  first  was 
the  situation  on  the  western  front,  a 
situation  upon  which  hung  the  reputation 
of  von  HindenbUrg.  His  celebrated  line 
was  under  attack,  and  a  weakening  of 
any  portion  just  at  that  time  might  cause 
a  breach  aria*  send  the  German  Army 
scurrying  back  to  the   frontier.     There 


was  Italy,  who  had  begun  an  offensive  on 
a  large  scale  on  the  Carso,  the  initial 
success  of  which  promised  badly  for  the 
Central  Powers  unless  it  could  be  checked. 
Austrian  reinforcements  had  to  be  sent  to 
Italy  and  to  France.  The  available  sup- 
ply of  human  materials  was  small  unless 
the  needed  men  could  be  detached  from 
the  eastern  theatre.  Germany,  therefore, 
abandoned  the  Russian  front — particu- 
larly the  northern  portion — to  the  diplo- 
mats, and  betook  a  not  inconsiderable 
part  of  the  army  for  service  in  the  west 
and  south. 

But  Russia  has  always  been  the  great 
surprise  of  this  war.  At  the  end  of  1915 
he  seemed  completely  out  of  it,  as  a  result 
)f  her  disastrous  defeat  along  the  Dunajec 
line,  only  to  return  to  the  fighting  six 
months  later  more  powerful  than  ever. 
And  now  Russia  is  again  afield,  possess- 
ing the  power  of  at  least  a  tremendous 
initial  drive,  whether  or  not  it  can  be  sus- 
tained for  any  considerable  period.  Ger- 
many played  her  cards  and  lost. 

Delay  Means  German  Defeat 
The  situation  in  which  the  Central 
Empires  are  placed  is,  therefore,  that  they 
must  win  the  war  in  1917,  force  the  Allies 
to  admit  a  draw  during  that  year,  or  go 
down  to  inevitable  defeat.  In  1918  a  new 
Russia  will  be  in  the  field,  a  Russia  of 
whose  strength  the  present  is  but  an 
indication.  In  that  year  the  United 
States,  fast  mobilizing  its  resources  for 
war  purposes,  will  have  material  strength 
in  Europe,  and  will  be  growing  stronger 
as  each  day  passes.  It  will  not  be  a  ques- 
tion, as  was  once  contemplated,  of 
America  taking  the  place  of  Russia  on 
the  battlefield;  America  will  be  supple- 
menting the  resources  of  the*iew  republic 
with  her  own. 

There  remains,  as  far  as  is  apparent, 
the  submarine  campaign,  which  has  fallen 
far  short  of  the  requirements  admitted 
by  Germany  as  necessary  last  February. 
The  effect  of  this  will  have  to  be  greatly 
increased  if  it  is  to  accomplish  its  pur- 
pose. And,  if  we  admit  as  true  the  state- 
ments of  the  German  Chancellor,  it  is 
Germany's  only  and  last  hope. 
The  British  at  Lens 
The  most  important  series  of  actions 
on  the  western  front  during  the  month 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF  THE  MONTH 


231 


was  that  of  the  British  along  that  dirty- 
little  stream  which  flows  about  Lens — 
the  Souchez  River.  Ever  since  taking 
Vimy  Ridge  the  British  have  been  peck- 
ing at  the  Lens  position.  Their  aim  is  to 
surround  it  from  the  south  and  so  force 
its  occupants  out  by  the  squeezing  proc- 
ess. The  steps  taken  this  month  were 
begun  by  the  Canadians  seizing  the  high 
ground  west  of  the  suburb  of  Coulotte. 
From  here,  with  the  trenches  close  to- 
gether, they  advanced  step  by  step,  oc- 
cupied Coulotte,  and  established  a  line 
squarely  across  the  Lens-Arras  road,  a 
scant  mile  from  the  village. 

The  same  slow  but  unhalting  process 
resulted  somewhat  later  in  the  occupation 
of  Avion,  and  Lens  was  placed  in  a  deep 


SCENE   OF   BRITISH  ADVANCES    NEAR   LENS 

pocket,  the  mouth  of  which  was  being 
constantly  narrowed.  There  seems  to  be 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  British  could 
take  Lens  whenever  it  is  desired  to  do  so ; 
but  the  Germans  have  so  conducted  mat- 
ters that  it  would  be  a  very  expensive 
operation.  In  order  to  give  a  clear  field 
of  fire  to  the  artillery,  the  houses  of  the 
town  have  been  practically  leveled.  The 
whole  town  was  then  turned  into  one 
gigantic  nest  of  machine  guns,  the  cellar 
of  every  house  being  a  machine-gun  em- 
placement. 

The  process  how  going  on  is  slow,  but 


interesting.  British  raiding  parties,  made 
up  almost  entirely  of  Canadians,  are  en- 
tering the  town  with  very  small  loss, 
and  are  destroying  these  positions  one 
after  the  other  by  means  of  bombs.  Some- 
times a  machine  gun  or  two  are  taken, 
sometimes  they  are  simply  destroyed.  But 
the  raids  are  being  carried  on  without 
cessation. 

It  is  distinctly  noticeable  that  several 
weeks  have  elapsed  since  the  British 
have  attempted  any  major  attack.  There 
is  no  way-  of  gauging  the  situation  as 
there  was  in  the  battle  of  the  Somme. 
The  operations  of  the  year  have  con- 
sisted in  a  series  of  more  or  less  de- 
tached attacks,  each  an  independent  bat- 
tle. It  is  an  entirely  new  development 
on  this  front,  and  has  one  distinguishing 
feature.  Every  attack  has  had  for  its 
object  some  one  position  of  great  local 
value — usually  from  the  standpoint  of 
observation.  In  almost  every  case,  more- 
over, this  object  has  been  attained. 
"What  the  next  phase  will  bring  forth  it 
is   impossible   to   forecast. 

The  Chemln  des  Dames 
Except  for  one  minor  attack  in  the 
Champagne  country  east  of  Rheims, 
which  produced  only  negative  results, 
France  has  been  on  the  defensive  for 
the  entire  month.  The  Germans  have  at- 
tacked at  a  number  of  points  between 
Soissons  and  Verdun,  many  of  their  at- 
tacks having  reached  the  intensity  and 
magnitude  of  a  major  effort.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  the  many  attacks 
made  along  the  Chemin  des  Dames. 
There  is  no  line  between  Verdun  and  the 
North  Sea  that  is  more  valuable  than 
this  Road  of  the  Ladies.  As  long  as  it  is 
in  French  hands  it  remains  a  constant 
threat  against  the  German  position  at 
Laon,  which  is  the  very  pillar  of  the 
whole  line  to  the  north. 

This  celebrated  road  runs  along  a  tree- 
fringed  ridge  and  brings  under  obser- 
vation many  miles  of  country  northward. 
At  the  foot  of  the  northern  slopes  runs 
the  Aillette  River,  and  from  its  valley- 
rises  the  high  ground  on  which  Laon  is 
situated.  It  is  amost  literally  true  that 
the  German  attacks  against  the  French 
positions  here  have  been  unceasing.     In- 


232 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


deed,  such  has  been  their  persistency 
that  one  is  reminded  of  the  attacks  at 
Verdun.  It  might  well  be  that  what  the 
Germans  failed  to  do  at  Verdun — bleed 
the  French  to  death — they  are  now  try- 
ing to  do  on  the  Chemin  des  Dames. 
Whether  this  be  the  object  or  not,  it  is 
certainly  true  that  the  British  are  being 
left  alone,  and  all  strength  concentrated 
against  the  French. 

All  the  attacks,  however,  have  been 
utterly  fruitless.  The  French  have  broken 
them  one  after  the  other  without  having 
their  lines  even  dented.  Because  of  the 
great  advantage  of  the  French  position 
the  probabilities  are  that  the  German 
losses  have  far  exceeded  those  of  the 
French. 

German  Attack  on  the  Yser 
On  the  extreme  left  of  the  allied  line, 
far  to  the  north  amid  the  sand  dunes  of 
Belgium,  the  Germans  made  the  first  of- 
fensive effort  against  the  British  that 
they  have  undertaken  on  their  own  initia- 
tive within  a  year.  They  had  been 
whipped  and  spurred  into  many  heavy 
and  vicious  counterattacks,  but  not  for  a 
long  time  had  they  undertaken  an  of- 
fensive effort  voluntarily. 

The  northern  extremity  of  the  British 
line  in  Belgium  is  in  a  sense  inclosed  by 
a  triangle  formed  by  a  bend  in  the  Yser 
Kiver.  Going  up  the  river  from  its  mouth, 
we  travel  generally  southward  for  a  dis- 
tance of  about  two  miles,  and  then  turn 
abruptly  eastward.  The  British  line,  as 
it  was  established  after  the  German  at- 
tempt to  drive  to  Calais,  ran  about  600 
yards  to  the  east  of  the  southward 
stretch  of  the  Yser,  circled  about  the 
town  of  Nieuport,  and,  crossing  the  Yser 
Canal,  continued  south  past  Ypres  to 
Armentieres.  It  was  against  that  stretch 
of  line  between  the  coast  and  the  canal 
that  the  German  attack  fell. 

Inasmuch  as  the  establishment  of  the 
British  lines  in  this  sector  was  the  re- 
sult of  a  defensive  engagement,  it  is  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  a  position  on  the 
far  side  of  the  river  was  selected.  To 
make  a  stand  before  an  aggressive  enemy 
with  a  river  only  600  yards  in  one's  rear 
is  a  rather  hazardous  undertaking.  A 
quick,  hard  blow  which  shatters  the  cross- 


ings in  rear  while  the  infantry  presses 
forward  in  front  is  apt  to  pin  the  de- 
fenders in  between  the  advancing  infan- 
try and  the  river  in  such  a  way  that 
"escape  becomes  impossible.  The  only 
reason  that  suggests  itself  as  to  the  re- 
tention by  the  British  of  such  a  dangerous 
position  is  that  the  posibilities  of  an  of- 
fensive from  this  quarter  was  con- 
templated, and  in  view  of  this  it  was  con- 
sidered better  to  have  the  river  behind 
rather  than  a  barrier  before  them.  In 
other  words,  it  was  a  gamble  as  to  who 
would  start  the  first  offensive.  If  Ger- 
many  acted   first,   the   British   were   in 


SCENE  OF  BRITISH  REVERSE  ON  THE  YSER 
RIVER 

serious  trouble.  If  the  British  began 
operations  they  stood  a  good  chance  of 
improving  their  situation  and  eliminating 
the  danger  of  having  the  river  in  their 
rear. 

The  ground  over  which  the  German 
attack  was  made  is  perfectly  flat,  except 
for  the  dunes,  the  intrenchments  being 
built  up  of  sandbags  instead  of  being 
dug.  Apparently  there  has  been  but  lit- 
tle airplane  activity  on  this  front,  so  that 
when  the  Germans  were  ready  for  the 
attack  they  had  the  great  advantage  of 
superiority  in  the  air,  which  means  the 
advantage  of  observation. 

Attack   Was  a  Surprise 
The  attack  came  as  a  distinct  surprise. 
Unnoticed  by  the  British  air  scouts,  the 
Germans  effected  a  heavy  concentration 


MILITARY  EVENTS  OF  THE  MONTH 


233 


of  guns  on  this  small  front  and  suddenly- 
opened  a  hurricane  of  artillery  fire  on  the 
sandbag  defenses.  At  the  same  time  the 
bridges  over  the  river  as  well  as  over  the 
canal  were  bombarded  and  destroyed. 
Reinforcements  were  thus  held  back  of 
the  river  where  they  could  not  reach  the 
front  British  trenches.  After  a  brief  but 
intense  artillery  preparation  the  Ger- 
man infantry  was  sent  forward  and 
caught  the  British  against  the  river  with 
no  line  of  retreat. 

The  battle  was  of  very  brief  duration 
and  was  a  decMed  success.  The  British 
force  north  of  the  canal — not  more  than 
a  few  battalions — was  completely  de- 
stroyed either  through  capture  or  casual- 
ties. The  prisoners  taken  were  about 
1,200,  with  probably  very  >  small  loss  to 
the  Germans.  It  was  a  brilliant  move- 
ment, but  one  of  minor  importance.  Its 
result  on  the  general  situation  is  that  it 
improves  the  defensive  strength  of  the 
German  line  in  this  section  by  forcing 
the  British  into  a  position  where  they 
have  to  fight  their  way  across  a  river 
under  fire  should  they  ever  intend  to  take 
the  offensive  against  the  Belgian  coast. 
The  Germans  at  no  point  were  able  to 
cross  the  river  themselves,  and  having 
destroyed  the  bridges  with  their  own  ar- 
tillery they  will  have  considerable  diffi- 
culty following  the  affair  any  further 
should  they  be  so  disposed. 

Failure  in  Western  Asia 
Russia's  very  effective   and  truly  re- 


markable work  on  the  European  front 
has  to  some  extent  been  offset  by  her 
complete  failure  in  Western  Asia,  as 
evidenced  by  the  Turkish  reoccupation 
of  the  town  of  Khanikin.  This  small 
village  has  a  peculiarly  important 
strategic  value  in  any  campaign  whose 
object  is  the  occupation  of  the  Meso- 
potamian  plains.  The  mountains  of 
Western  Persia  limit,  as  with  a  heavy 
wall,  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  plain. 
This  wall  is  broken  in  but  one  place, 
and  that  by  the  excellent  road  from 
Kermanshah  to  Bagdad.  This  passage 
is  covered  by  Khanikin.  It  was  here 
that  the  Russian  offensive  broke  down 
a  year  ago,  and  during  the  past  months 
we  have  seen  a  similar  retreat. 

This  means  that  contact  with  the  Brit- 
ish, upon  which  the  success  of  the  entire 
Asiatic  campaign  is  based,  has  again 
been  broken,  leaving  the  British  right 
flank  completely  in  the  air.  On  account 
of  the  excessive  heat  in  this  theatre,  this 
matter  is  not  as  important  or  as  serious 
as  it  would  have  been  had  the  incident 
occurred  earlier  in  the  year.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  there  has  yet  to  be  any  ac- 
tivity in  Mesopotamia  during  the  Sum- 
mer months,  and  this  may  explain  the 
Russian  action. 

In  all  other  theatres  there  has  been 
marked  quiet,  as  if  all  the  powers  were 
pausing  for  breath  before  undertaking 
new  engagements. 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From    June     19    Up    to    and    Including    July     18,    1917 


UNITED  STATES 

A  Russian  Commission  headed  by  Ambas- 
sador Boris  A.  Bakhmeteff  and  a  Ru- 
manian Commission  headed  by  Dr.  Ba- 
sile  Lucaciu  conferred  with.  American  of- 
ficials in  Washington  on  the  conduct  of 
the  war. 

On  June  19  Vice  Admiral  Sims  was  appoint- 
ed to  take  general  charge  of  the  allied 
naval  forces  in  Irish  waters. 

All  contingents  of  the  American  expedition- 
ary forces  arrived  safely  in  France  arid 
were  sent  to  training  camps.  The  trans- 
ports   were    attacked    twice    by    German 


submarines,  but  the  U-boats  were  driven 
oft  by  American  naval  gunners,  and  at 
least  one  of  them  was  sunk. 

American  airplane  experts  reached  England 
to  study  modern  aircraft  designing  and 
manufacturing. 

On  June  22  President  Wilson  signed  an  or- 
der authorizing  the  creation  of  an  Ex- 
ports Council,  and  on  July  8  he  issued  a 
proclamation  providing  for  Government 
control  of  exports. 

An  appeal  to  business  men  calling  for  fair' 
war  prices  was  issued  by  the  President 
July  11. 


234 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


SUBMARINE  BLOCKADE 

The  American  steamships  Orleans,  Kansan, 
Massapequa,  and  Grace,  the  schooner 
Mary  W.  Bowen,  and  the  barkentine  Hil- 
degaard   were   sunk  by   submarines. 

According-  to  British  official  statements, 
England's  losses  for  the  week  ended  June 
16  included  twenty-seven  vessels  of  over 
1,600  tons ;  for  the  week  ended  June  23, 
twenty-one  vessels ;  for  the  week  ended 
June  30,  fifteen ;  for  the  week  ended  July 
7,  fourteen,  and  for  the  week  ended  July 
14,  fourteen.  These  included  the  Leyland 
liner  Cestrian  and  the  transport  Arma- 
dale. A  torpedo  boat  destroyer  was  sunk 
In  the   North    Sea. 

Announcement  was  made  on  June  23  that 
twelve  Greek  vessels,  with  tonnage  of 
31,542,   had  been   sunk   since   April   1. 

France  reported  two  steamships  of  more 
than  1,600  tons  lost  in  the  week  ended 
June  24  and  four  in  the  week  ended 
July  1. 

Germany  ceded  to  Holland  a  number  of  Ger- 
man ships  interned  in  the  Dutch  East  In- 
dies as  payment  for  vessels  destroyed  by 
U-boats. 

Argentina  demanded  an  indemnity  for  the 
torpedoing  of  the  vessels  Oriana  and 
Toro. 

Spain  barred  submarines  from  her  territorial 
waters. 

Brazil  revoked  her  decree  of  neutrality  in 
the  war  between  the  Entente  Allies  and 
Germany,  and  her  navy  joined  the  United 
S'tates  fleet  in  patrolling  the  South  At- 
lantic on  watch  for  German  sea  raiders 
or  submarines. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE 

June  26 — Russians  repulse  strong  attacks  in 
Galicia  in  the  direction  of  Zlochoff. 

July  1-2 — Russians,  led  by  Kerensky  in 
person,  resume  their  drive  toward  Lem- 
berg  and  advance  on  an  eighteen-mile 
front ;  they  raid  Teuton  positions  in  Vol- 
hynia,  toward  Kovel. 

July  3 — Austro-Germans  are  evacuating 
Brzezany ;  Russians  take  Presovce,  Zbo- 
row,  and  Korshiduv,  and  drive  the  enemy 
across  the  Stripa  River. 

July  6 — Teutons  repulse  Russian  massed  at- 
tacks between  Zborow  and  Koniuchy. 

July  7 — Fighting  begins  near  Pinsk  ;  city  of 
Pinsk  reported  in  flames ;  Russians  occupy 
German  trenches  in  the  Zlochoff  region 
and  near  Koniuchy. 

July  8-9 — Russian  offensive  spreads  north 
and  south  of  Halicz ;  Russians  cross  the 
Bystritza  River  on  both  sides  of  the  rail- 
road line  running  west  from  Stanislau  to 
Kalusz  and  Dolina,  and  capture  several 
villages  and  the  town  of  Jezupol. 

July  10 — Russians  take  Halicz;  Austro-Ger- 
man  forces  driven  across  the  Lomnica  and 
Luvka  Rivers. 

July  11 — Russians  advance  on  100-mile  front, 
pursuing  the  Teutons  across  the  upper 
Lomnica  River. 


July   12 — Russians   capture   Kalusz   and   push 

on   toward   Dolina. 
July   13 — Russians   press   on   in   Galicia   on   a 

front  of  nearly  fifty  miles  from  Halicz  to 

the    foot    of    the    Carpathians,    capturing 

several    important    heights    north    of    the 

Dniester  and  driving  the  Teutons  back  to 

northeast  of  Ehilus  and  capturing  Perch- 

insko,  west  of  Kalusz. 
July    14 — Russians   beat   off   two   attacks    on 

Kalusz  and  capture  Novicka. 
July    15 — Russians    repulse    attacks    in    the 

Lodziany  region  and  take  many  Austrian 

prisoners. 
July      16 — Russians     take     eastern     end     of 

Lodziany. 
July   17 — Russians    driven    out  of   Kalusz   by 

German  reinforcements  and  lose  Novicka, 

but  retake  it. 
July  18 — Teutons   open   heavy  fire  along  the 

front  from  south  of  Brzezany  and  in   the 

region  of  Halicz. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE 

June  19 — French  repulse  German  attempts 
to  regain  positions  in  the  Champagne  dis- 
trict between  Mont  Carnillet  and  Mont 
Blond. 

June  20 — British  retake  lost  positions  east 
of  Monchy-le-Preux ;  Canadians  repulse 
attacks  on  new  positions  near  Lens ;  Ger- 
mans on  the  Aisne  capture  part  of 
French  first-line  trench  east  of  Vaux- 
aillon. 

June  21 — French  retake  part  of  lost  ground 
at  Vauxaillon  and  push  their  lines  ahead 
near  Mont  Carnillet  on  a  600-yard  front. 

June  22 — Germans  pierce  French  salient  on 
a  front  of  one  and  a  quarter  miles  along 
the  Chemin  des  Dames  from  west  of  La 
Royere  Farm  to  the  Epine  de  Chevregny. 

June  24— French  recapture  greater  part  of 
salient  east  of  Vauxaillon. 

June  25 — British  advance  on  a  front  of  one 
and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Lens. 

June  26 — Canadians  capture  La  Coulotte  and 
push  beyond  it  toward  Lens;  French  on 
the  Aisne  capture  positions  northwest  of 
Hurtebise  Farm. 

June  27 — French  drive  Germans  from  the 
Dragon's  Cave  near  Hurtebise. 

June  28 — Canadians,  in  drive  on  Lens,  push 
on  half  way  through  Avion. 

June  29 — British  carry  German  line  between 
Oppy  and  Gavrelle  on  a  front  of  2,000 
yards ;  Germans  at  Verdun  capture 
French  positions  on  both  sides  of  the 
Malancourt-Esnes  road  and  storm  Avo- 
court  Wood. 

June  30 — British  advance  a  mile  toward 
Lens  over  a  front  of  four  miles  ;  Germans 
make  small  gains  at  Dead  Man  Hill. 

July  1— Heavy  fighting  around  Avocourt 
Wood,  Hill  304,  and  Dead  Man  Hill; 
British  draw  close  to  Lens. 

July  2— French  drive  Germans  out  of  posi- 
tions west  of  Cerny  village ;  British  forced 
to  retire  west  of  Lens. 

July  3— French    repulse    German    attacks    on 


PROGRESS   OF    THE    WAR 


235 


the  Aisne  on  both  sides  of  the  Ailles- 
Paissy  road ;  big  artillery  battle  in  the 
Ypres  salient. 

July  4— Germans  launch  powerful  offensive 
north  of  the  Aisne  on  a  front  of  nearly 
eleven  miles,  from  north  of  Joney  to  the 
Californie  Plateau,  but  are  repulsed  with 
heavy  losses ;  Germans  attack  French  po- 
sitions on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse  with 
liquid  fire,  but  are  driven  back. 

July  5— British  advance  their  line  south  of 
Ypres  on  a  600-yard  front  near  Hollebeke. 

July  7— British  advance  east  of  Wytschaete 
in  Belgium. 

July  8— German  attack  in  four  sectors  on  the 
Chemin  des  Dames  repulsed ;  French  seize 
three  strongly  organized  salients  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Meuse. 

July  9— French,  drive  Germans  from  positions 
on  the  Aisne  front  near  Bovettes  and 
Chevregny    Ridge. 

July  11 — Germans  launch  a  strong  attack 
against  the  British  north  of  Nieuport  and 
drive  them  back  on  the  Yser  River. 

July  12— Germans  storm  British  trenches 
near  Monchy  and  take  many  prisoners. 

July  15 — Germans  penetrate  French  salient 
west  of  Cerny,  but  lose  part  of  ground 
seized ;  French  in  Champagne  capturie 
German  trenches  north  of  Mont  Haut 
and  northwest  of  Teton  height. 

July  17 — French  capture  German  first  and 
second"  lines^on  a  wide  front  northwest  of 
Verdun. 

ITALIAN  CAMPAIGN 

June  20 — Italians  resume  the  offensive  in  the 
Trentino  and  capture  Austrian  positions 
on   Monte   Ortigara. 

June  21— Italians  explode  a  mine  in  the  Val 
Gasteana-Ampezzo  sector  under  the  spur 
of  the  Lagazroi  Piccolo  and  destroy  the 
Austrian   garrison. 

June  26 — Austrians  suffer  heavy  losses  in 
attempt  to  retake  positions  in  the  Orti- 
gara sector. 

July  11 — Italians  advance  on  the  Carso  and 
occupy  Dalino. 

July  12 — Austrians  driven  back  in  counter- 
attack after  reaching  advanced  Italian 
position  on   Col  Bricon. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  ASIA  MINOR 

June  29 — Turks  drive  Russians  across  the 
River  Abis  Hirman  on  the  Persian  fron- 
tier. 

July  6 — Russians  attack  Turks  in  the  region 
of  Sakkiz. 

July  9 — Turks  reoccupy  Panjwin,  Khanikin, 
and  Kasr-i-Shirin  on  the   Persian  border. 

July  12 — Announcement  made  in  British 
House  of  Commons  of  capture  by  the 
Arabs  of  Turkish  posts  between  the 
Tafila-Main  district  and  Akaba. 

July  15 — Russians  drive  back  Turkish'  ad- 
vance guards  on  the  left  bank  of  the  River 
Arish-Darasi. 

AERIAL  RECORD 

British  aviators  bombarded  Ghistelles,  Nieu- 


munster,  Ostend,  and  other  towns  in  Bel- 
gium and  brought  down  seven  German 
machines  at  Dunkirk.  On  July  6  eighty- 
four  French  machines  raided  Germany, 
dropping  bombs  on  Treves,  Coblenz, 
Essen,  and  other  towns  of  military  im- 
portance, and  causing  heavy  damage  at 
the  Krupp  Works.  In  the  biggest  air 
battle  of  the  war,  July  12,  the  British 
brought  down  fourteen  German  airplanes 
on  the  French  front  and  drove  sixteen 
out  of  control.  Nine  British  machines 
were    lost. 

Two  great  raids  were  made  on  England. 
On  July  4  German  airplanes  dropped 
bombs  on  Harwich,  killing  eleven  people 
and  injuring  thirty-six.  Two  German  ma- 
chines were  lost.  On  July  11  London  was 
raided  and  thirty-seven  persons  killed  and 
141  injured.  Three  of  the  twenty  German 
machines  that  took  part  in  the  raid  were 
brought  down. 

British  naval  aviators  attacked  the  Turkish 
fleet  off  Constantinople  and  dropped 
bombs  on  the  cruiser  Sultan  Selin, 
formerly  the  German  cruiser  Goeben.  The 
War  Office  at  Constantinople  was  also 
hit. 

NAVAL   RECORD 

The  American  sailing  ship  Galena  was  sunk 
by  a  bomb  off  the  French  coast. 

Great  Britain,  in  a  decree  that  became  ef- 
fective July  4,  extended  the  danger  zones 
in  the  North  Sea  northward  and  west- 
ward. 

Ponta  Delgada,  in  the  Azores,  was  bombarded 
by  a  German  submarine.  An  American 
transport  joined  in  the  firing  at  the 
U-boat. 

The  Peninsular  and  Oriental  liner  Mongolia 
was  sunk  by  a  mine  off  Bombay. 

The  French  armored  cruiser  Kleber  was  sunk 
by  a  mine  off  Point  St.  Mathieu  on 
June  27.    Thirty-eight  men  were  lost. 

A  British  torpedo  boat  destroyer  and  a  Ger- 
man torpedo  boat  were  sunk  by  mines  in 
the  North  Sea.  British  destroyers  sank 
four  German  merchant  ships,  captured 
four,  and  routed  others  off  the  coast  of 
Holland. 

An  armed  American  schooner  returning  to  an 
Atlantic  port  reported  that  she  had  sunk 
an  attacking  U-boat. 

A  Russian  torpedo  boat  was  blown  up  by  a 
mine  in  the  Black  Sea  on  June  30. 

RUSSIA 

The  Pan-Russian  Congress  of  Councils  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates 
adopted  a  minority  resolution  approving 
the  creation  of  a  Coalition  Government, 
voted  to  dissolve  the  Duma  and  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Empire,  and  rejected  the  pro- 
posal for  a  separate  peace  with  Germany. 

Rear  Admiral  Glennon  of  the  American  diplo- 
matic mission,  by  an  address  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  Black  Sea  fleet  at  Sebas- 


236 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


topol,  ended  the  mutiny  there  and  secured 
the    restoration    of   the    officers. 

Elihu  Root  and  other  members  of  the  Ameri- 
can Commission  addressed  the  people  of 
PetrogTad  and  other  large  cities,  pleading 
for  the  establishment  of  a  secure  Govern- 
ment and  continued  co-operation  with  the 
Allies. 

The  Social  Democratic  Congress  of  Finland 
adopted  resolutions  demanding  the  sep- 
aration of  Finland  from  Russia  and  the 
formation  of  an  independent  republic. 
The  Finnish  Diet  passed  the  second  read- 
ing of  a  bill  establishing  virtual  indepen- 
dence, and  refused  to  grant  a  full  350,000,- 
000  mark  loan  to  Russia. 

Five  Ministers  resigned  from  the  Cabinet 
because  of  their  unwillingness  to  decree 
the  autonomy  of  Ukraine  in  the  absence 
of   the   Constituent   Assembly. 

Petrograd  was  placed  under  martial  control 
on  July  18,  following  outbreaks  by  the 
Maximalists. 

GREECE 

The  Zaimis  Cabinet  resigned  and  a  new 
Ministry  was  formed  by  Venizelos.  On 
June  29  the  Government  severed  diplo- 
matic relations  with  the  Teutonic  Allies. 
Turkey  announced  that  she  would  con- 
sider this  act  equivalent  to  a  declaration 
of  war  and  would  deport  the  Greeks  and 
confiscate  their  property.  On  July  16  the 
United  States  received  official  informa- 
tion that  Greece  considered  herself  a  bel- 
ligerent. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

German  authorities  seized  twenty  prominent 
Belgians  and  deported  them  to  Germany 
in  reprisal  for  what  Germany  alleged 
was  inhuman  treatment  of  German  civil- 
ian prisoners  taken  by  the  Belgians  at 
Tabora,   in   German   East  Africa. 

The  German  Emperor  divided  Belgium  into 
two  districts  and  named  one  German  ad- 
ministrator for  the  Flemish  district  and 
another  for  the  Walloon  section.        * 

Germany  imposed  a  fine  of  250,000,000  francs 
on  the  occupied  territory  in  Rumania. 

An  investigation  into  German  plots  for  sink- 
ing Norwegian  ships  by  concealing  ex- 
plosives in  artificial  lumps  of  coal  in  the 
coal  bunkers  resulted  in  the  arrest  of 
several  Germans  in  Norway  and  a  for- 
mal protest   to   the    German   Government. 

A  secret  German  wireless  station  was  found 
on  an   island  outside   of  Arendal. 

The  Austrian  Ministry,  headed  by  Count 
Clam-Martinic,  resigned  following  the 
refusal  of  the  Polish  Party  in  Parliament 
to  vote  for  the  war  budget.  A  temporary 
Ministry  was  formed  by  Dr.  von  Seydler. 

The  extent  of  Bohemian  disaffection  was  re- 
vealed in  a  statement  by  F.  von  Georgi, 
retiring  Minister  of  Defense,  that  three 
Czech  regiments  had  deserted  to  the  Rus- 


sians and  that  Czech  prisoners  of  war  had 
volunteered   for  service  against  Austria. 

Spain  suspended  constitutional  guarantees  on 
June  26.  Catalonia  and  the  Basque 
provinces   demanded   autonomy. 

The  young  Manchu  emperor,  Hsuan  Tung, 
was  restored  to  the  throne  in  China  on 
July  1  by  General  Chang  Hsun,  who  or- 
dered President  Li  Yuan-hung  to  retire. 
He  was  forced  to  abdicate  on  July  7  when 
the  Republican  forces  under  Tuan  Chi-jui 
routed  the  Monarchists  near  Lang  Fang. 
The  Republicans  later  captured  Peking. 
President  Li  Yuan-hung  decided  not  to 
resume  office  and  Tuan  Chi-jui  assumed 
the  Premiership  and  took  over  the  war 
portfolio. 

Germany  was  convulsed  by  a  political  crisis. 
Chancellor  von  Bethmann  Hollweg,  in  a 
speech  before  the  Reichstag  on  July  9, 
rejected  the  Socialist-Centrist  program  of 
peace  without  annexation  and  declared  for 
continued  fighting  for  conquest.  The  Em- 
peror promised  electoral  reforms  in 
Prussia.  Dr.  A.  F.  M.  Zimmermann  re- 
signed as  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  and 
was  succeeded  by  Count  Brockdorff- 
Rantzau.  Count  von  Roedern,  the  Fi- 
nance Minister,  replaced  Dr.  Karl  Helf- 
ferich  as  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Beth- 
mann Hollweg  resigned  on  July  14  after 
a  conference  between  the  Kaiser  and  the 
Crown  Prince  and  other  military  leaders. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Georg  Michaelis. 

Vice  Admiral  Delbono  succeeded  Vice  Ad- 
miral Arturo  as  Italian  Minister  of  Ma- 
rine. 

Albanian  leaders  asked  the  Italian  Govern- 
ment to  represent  them  and  their  interests 
at  the  coming  allied  conference  in  Paris, 
and  to  demand  for  them  Epirus  and  parts 
of   Serbia. 

Anti-conscription  agitation  on  the  part  of  the 
French  Canadians  resulted  in  riots  in 
Montreal  and  Quebec. 

As  a  result  of  a  report  on  the  mismanage- 
ment of  the  British  campaign  in  Meso- 
potamia, J.  Austen  Chamberlain  resigned 
as  Secretary  of  State  for  India.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Edwin  Samuel  Montagu. 
Lord  Hardinge -also  presented  his  resig- 
nation as  Under  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  but  it  was  not  accepted. 
Bonar  Lav/  announced  in  Commons  that 
a  judicial  inquiry  would  be  made  to  place 
the  blame  for  the  fiasco.  Several  other 
changes  wei*e  made  in  the  British  Min- 
istry. Sir  Edward  Carson  resigned  as 
First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  and  joined 
the  War  Cabinet  without  portfolio.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Sir  Eric  Campbell 
Geddes.  Winston  Churchill  succeeded  Dr. 
Christopher  Addison  as  Minister  of  Mu- 
nitions, Dr.  Addison  becoming  Minister 
without  portfolio  in  charge  of  recon- 
struction. 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  GEORGE  0.  SQUIER 


Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army,  Whose  Department  Is 
Responsible  for  Aviation. 

{Photo    Press    Illustrating    Service) 


irnmiiiiiiiui 


__ 


v--vvj--r  v\ 


THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES  IN  EUROPE 


The  Standard  Bearers  of  a  United  States  Army  Medical  Unit 
at  Blackpool,  England. 

.  •  (Photo  Central  News) 


<5gfix^i 


FTTH 


GENERAL  JOFFRE  BREAKING  GROUND  FOR  THE  LAFAYETTE  MONUMENT  AT  BALTIMORE. 
BEHIND  HIM  IS  M.  VIVIANI,  AND  ON  THE  LEFT,  WITH  HAND  EXTENDED,  IS  MAYOR 
JAMES   H.    PRESTON 

Joffre's  Tribute  to  Lafayette  at  Baltimore 

By  J.  H.  Barget 


AFTER  the  lapse  of  136  years  the  close 
XA.  ties  of  friendship  uniting  French 
and  American  hearts  were  renewed 
in  a  dramatic  episode  in  which  the  re- 
cent French  Mission  took  part  at  Balti- 
more, Md.  It  was  one  of  those  mo- 
ments in  which  history  repeats  itself. 
On  Nov.  5,  1781,  when  this  nation 
was  just  emerging  from  its  struggle  for 
independence,  the  citizens  of  Baltimore 
addressed  these  words  to  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette  as  he  passed  through  that 
place  on  his  way  from  the  South:  "  Your 
good  offices  could  not  but  increase  a 
cordiality  which  must  render  our  union 
with  France  a  permanent  one."  The 
presence  of  our  troops  today  on  the 
battle  front  in  France  is  a  fulfillment  of 
that  pledge.  General  Lafayette  said  in 
reply: 

"  In  the  affections  of  the  citizens  of  a 


"  free  town  I  find  a  reward  for  the 
"  services  of  a  whole  life.  The  honor  of 
"  being  among  America's  first  soldiers 
"  is  for  me  a  source  of  great  happiness. 
"  The  time  when  I  had  command  of  an 
"  army  in  Virginia,  which  you  are  pleased 
"  so  politely  to  mention,  has  only  shown 
"  that  the  courage  and  fortitude  of 
"  American  troops  are  superior  to  every 
"  kind  of  difficulty." 

Like  an  echo  from  the  tomb  of  that 
beloved  Frenchman  came  the  expressions 
of  gratitude  uttered  by  Marshal  Joffre 
on  May  14,  1917,  when  the  hero  of  the 
Marne,  with  Vice  Premier  Viviani  and 
other  French  dignitaries,  stood  upon  the 
site  in  Mount  Vernon  Square,  Baltimore, 
where  a  monument  is  shortly  to  rise  in 
memory  of  Lafayette.  And  two  months 
later,  on  July  14,  Frenchmen  at  home 
celebrated  their  own  national  fete,  recall 


238 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


ing  still  more  vividly  the  meaning  of 
the  great  epoch  of  human  liberty  which, 
dawning  in  America  in  1776,  reached  a 
new  fullness  in  France  in  1789,  and  is 
about  to  culminate  in  the  destruction  of 
the  last  Bastile  of  absolutism. 

In  Baltimore  during  the  Revolution 
men  and  women  provided  General  La- 
fayette's troops  with  flour  and  clothing 
on  his  march  to  the  South;  and  today, 
through  popular  subscription,  they  are 
raising  funds  to  erect  a  monument  to  the 
illustrious  Frenchman.  Nothing  more 
was  needed  to  stir  the  blood  and  senti- 
ment of  Americans  than  the  presence  of 
the  Marquis  de  Chambrun,  a  member  of 
the  French  War  Commission.  When  he 
followed  General  Joffre  in  breaking  the 
ground  on  which  the  monument  to  his 
great-grandfather  will  rise  in  Baltimore 
the  cheering  of  the  masses  rose  in  vol- 
umes for  the  hero  of  their  ancestors,  and 
the  echo  passed  the  gigantic  monument 
of  his  friend,  General  George  Washing- 
ton, whose  shadow  falls  on  the  Lafayette 
site. 

Many  of  those  present  at  the  dedication 
of  the  Lafayette  site  were  ancestors  of 
the  association  of  youths  known  as  the 
De  Kalb  Cadets,  which  took  part  in  the 
great  ovation  given  Lafayette  when  he 
visited  Baltimore  on  Oct.  24,  1824,  as  the 
guest  of  the  city,  through  a  resolution 
passed  by  the  City  Council.  General  La- 
fayette arrived  on  the  steamboat  United 
States,  which  conveyed  him  from  French- 
town.  After  being  shown  about  the  city 
and  entertained  at  the  City  Hall,  Gen- 
eral Lafayette  was  taken  to  an  elevated 
pavilion  at  Baltimore  and  Light  Streets. 
At  this  point  the  De  Kalb  Cadets  passed 
in  review  and  a  scene  took  place  which 
has  been  repeated  in  thousands  of  homes 
to  show  how  the  great  soldier  of  freedom 
loved  the  people  of  Baltimore. 


Each  Marshal  of  the  De  Kalb  Association 
carried  a  scroll  in  his  hand  bound  with 
blue  ribbon,  upon  which  was  inscribed 
the  word  "  Gratitude."  Each  Marshal  de- 
posited the  scroll  at  the  feet  of  the  Gen- 
eral. He  repeatedly  opened  and  closed 
his  arms  as  if  in  the  act  of  pressing  them 
to  his  heart;  and,  when  the  procession 
had  passed,  Lafayette  suddenly  turned 
away  and  burst  into  tears. 

The  breaking  of  the  ground  for  the 
Lafayette  Monument  recalled  this  scene 
as  the  earth  was  turned  over  by  the 
French  Commission.  The  thousands  of 
school  children  seemed  thrilled  and 
fairly  throbbed  the  sentiments  of  the 
noble  Lafayette.  They  each  recalled  the 
story  of  the  banner  of  crimson  silk  with 
which  Lafayette  was  saluted  on  his 
visit  to  the  city  in  1824 — the  banner 
whose  memory  lives  in  Longfellow's 
poem,  "  Hymn  of  the  Moravian  Nuns  at 
the  Consecration  of  Pulaski's  Banner." 
The  banner  was  presented  to  Count  Pu- 
laski by  the  nuns  of  Bethlehem.  At  the 
time  he  was  raising  a  corps  of  cavalry 
in  Baltimore,  having  been  made  a  Brig- 
adier in  the  Continental  Army,  and  had 
called  on  Lafayette,  who  was  wounded. 

The  visit  to  our  shores  of  General 
Joffre,  former  Premier  Viviani,  and  the 
French  War  Commission,  coupled  with 
the  celebration  in  Paris  this  year, 
brings  back  vividly  the  days  of  the 
Revolution.  It  appears  singular  that 
after  all  these  years  we  find  ourselves 
in  a  role  similar  to  that  played  by 
Lafayette  and  his  fellow-countrymen  in 
our  hour  of  peril. 

Thomas  Hastings,  who  designed  the 
Lafayette  Monument  in  Paris,  is  now 
working  on  the  plans  for  its  completion. 
It  is  proposed  to  have  the  monument 
erected  in  Baltimore  before  the  next  na- 
tional holiday  of  France,  July  14,  1918. 


War's  Inferno  on  the  Aisne  Ridge 

By  Wythe  Williams 

(Cabled  to  The  New  York  Times,  July  12,  1917) 


YESTERDAY  at  dawn  I  stood  on 
the  Chemin  des  Dames.  For  the 
first  time  in  almost  three  years 
some  one  other  than  the  strug- 
gling soldiery  has  been  able  to  reach 
that  bloody  ridge.  It  is  called  the 
Road  of  the  Ladies,  because  it  was  built 
by  Louis  XV.  for  his  daughters.  Al- 
though grim  irony  now,  the  name  must 
remain  famous  forever  as  the  scene  of 
the  mighty  conflict  still  raging  for  its 
final  possession. 

Only  a  few  yards  from  me  was  the 
spot  where  once  stood  the  monument  of 
Hurtebise,  commemorating  the  battles  of 
Napoleon.  Nothing  remains  of  it.  It  is 
just  a  spot  pointed  out  by  my  officer  in 
that  waste  of  tortured  earth.  The  whole 
road  is  the  same.  It  is  -only  a  place  no 
different  from  all  that  surrounds,  and 
which  my  officer  told  me  was  the  Che- 
min des  Dames. 

I  crawled  forward  and  down  deep  into 
the  earth  through  a  great  granite  cavern 
known  as  the  Den  of  the  Dragons.  I 
passed  out  beyond  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
and  crept  slowly  and  cautiously  into  the 
first  line  of  shellholes  of  the  French 
Army — not  trenches,  but  shellholes 
vaguely  connected  by  gullies  of  mud 
and  water.  The  first  line  of  German 
shellholes  was  directly  down  the  ridge 
beneath  me. 

The  last  of  the  stars  were  burning  out 
and  the  light  of  a  new  day  was  just 
beginning  to  make  things  clear.  There 
had  been  four  alarms  sounded  on  that 
particular  section  of  the  line  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  previous,  and  during 
the  evening  a  strong  but  futile  German 
attack.  But  now  it  was  intensely  quiet. 
Soldiers  lay  all  about  me — rifles  and 
hand  grenades  always  ready — but  no 
sound  broke  the  silence.  The  artillery 
was  taking  an  early  morning  sleep, 
which  fact  alone  was  responsible  for  the 
permission  granted  to  me  to  get  so 
close  to  the  very  hand  grapple  of  war. 


What  Our  Troops  Will  See 
Many  miles  behind  lay  an  American 
army.  With  its  early  coffee  it  might 
dimly  hear  the  artillery  awake  from 
slumber — the  awakening  wafted  to  it  on 
the  breezes  of  a  July  morning.  I  thought 
of  the  American  Army  as  I  sat  in  the 
mud  beside  a  French  poilu  carefully 
sighting  his  rifle  on  a  ridge  of  wet 
earth  before  us.  I  thought  of  the  day, 
so  soon  to  come,  when  that  army  must 
march  forward  to  relieve  some  similar 
portion  of  this  line  that  is  hell's  very 
own.  I  thought  of  the  great  armies 
now  being  organized  back  home — armies 
containing  my  friends  and  relatives,  my 
own  people — which  must  come  soon  to 
take  their  places  in  order  that  the  world's 
civilization  may  be  saved. 

Last  November  I  tried  to  describe  the 
blasted  slopes  of  Douaumont  and  the 
battle  front  of  Verdun.  That  battlefield 
remains  and  always  will  remain  the  very 
last  word  in  modern  war.  Nothing  sur- 
passes its  appearance.  Nothing  can  ever 
surpass  it.  But  now  the  whole  battle 
line  is  getting  just  like  that.  Some  of 
it  gradually,  some  quickly,  like  the 
Chemin  des  Dames,  which  is  almost  as 
awful  a  sight  as  Verdun  after  nearly 
a  year  of  constant  grueling  artillery 
fire. 

Along  the  Chemin  des  Dames  I  count- 
ed four  charred  and  splintered  stumps 
at  great  intervals.  That  was  all  that 
remained  to  mark  a  roadway,  once  mac- 
adamized and  lined  with  great  trees 
and  hedge  rows.  In  a  day  or  even  an 
hour  they  are  likely  to  vanish,  too,  so  that 
nothing  will  remain  but  a  long  expanse 
of  tortured,  shell-pocked,  upturned,  and 
battered  earth.  It  is  like  a  wild  sea  sud- 
denly made  to  be  still  a  moment,  draw- 
ing under  the  caps  of  its  waves  thou- 
sands of  pieces  from  the  wreckage  of 
sunken  ships — the  debris  of  battle  and 
the  remnants  of  men.  No  other  com- 
parison than  a  sea  fits  the  battlefield, 


240 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


both  in  its  appearance  and  its   desola- 
tion. 

Importance  of  the  Highroad 

The  Chemin  des  Dames  runs  for  miles 
along  the  very  top  of  the  crest  captured 
by  the  French  at  the  time  of  the  last 
great  offensive.  It  is  something  prob- 
ably the  most  coveted  by  the  Germans  on 
the  whole  battle  line.  Its  possession 
gives  the  French  all  the  observatories 
overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Aillette. 
Its  continued  possession  by  the  French 
makes  the  Germans  tremble  for  their 
future.  So  the  battle  is  always  going 
on.  Every  day,  almost  every  hour,  at 
some  point  or  other  along  the  Chemin 
des  Dames,  the  enemy  strives  desperately 
to  regain  some  portion  of  the  old  line 
he  held  so  long. 

On  this  particular  evening  I  was  bil- 
leted at  an  Army  Headquarters  far  in 
the  rear,  but  was  awakened  by  the  sound 
of  the  guns.  There  was  a  continuous,  un- 
ending roar  that  sounded  plainly  through 
the  night.  I  feared  that  the  trip  would 
be  called  off,  but  on  the  stroke  of  2 
o'clock — the  hour  set  for  the  start — an 
orderly  came  to  my  cot  with  a  pot  of  hot 
coffee  and  told  me  an  auto  was  waiting. 
Getting  into  my  boots,  I  noticed  the  bom- 
bardment had  died  down,  and  went  out- 
side into  a  heavy  drizzle  which  made  me 
quite  happy.  Not  that  I  particularly  wel- 
comed walking  some  hours  in  the  rain 
and  mud,  but  because  the  air  was  so 
heavy  I  felt  positively  there  would  be  no 
German  gas  attack  just  while  making  the 
last  stages  of  the  journey.  The  thought 
of  a  gas  attack  at  dawn  on  the  unshel- 
tered slopes  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
was  anything  but  cheerful. 

"We  went  some  miles  in  the  car  with 
lights  bright,  then  at  a  certain  point 
everything  was  made  dark.  We  plowed 
away  over  tiny  twisting  new  roads  lead- 
ing in  the  general  direction  of  the  front. 
We  went  very  slowly.  I  could  see  through 
the  dark  long  lines  of  troops  plodding 
along  the  roadside  going  in  the  same  di- 
rection. They  were  fresh  troops,  as  we 
learned  later,  going  to  relieve  the  men  in 
the  front  line  who  had  borne  the  brunt  of 
the  attack  that  night. 

At  4  o'clock — it  was  still  dark  on  ac- 


count of  the  heavy  weather — we  left  the 
car  in  the  rear  at  a  post  called  the  Moulin 
Rouge.  I  could  faintly  see  a  cluster  of 
wooden  shacks  through  the  trees.  I  was 
•met  by  a  French  Major.  It  was  the  gay 
welcome  habitual  to  French  officers,  no 
matter  what  their  business  in  hand.  *  *  * 

Sharpshooters  at  Work 

We  reached  the  listening  post  and 
slumped  down  into  the  mud.  The  soldier 
there  was  standing  erect.  We  were  all 
exactly  the  same  color  as  the  mud  about, 
and  the  soldier  told  us  it  was  quite  safe 
to  stand  up  and  take  a  look  over  the  bar- 
rier at  the  valley  below.  He  explained 
casually,  but  in  whispers,  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  straight  down  the  slope  at  our 
feet,  so  if  they  looked  up  to  see  what  he 
was  doing  they  would  be  sure  to  be  killed 
by  any  one  of  scores  of  riflemen  in  simi- 
lar positions  to  our  own  all  along  the 
line. 

He  was  leaning  over  the  parapet,  aim- 
ing his  rifle  as  he  spoke.  He  was  so 
unconcerned,  so  ordinary,  so  matter  of 
fact,  that  I  jumped  back,  startled  and 
amazed,  as  the  sound  of  the  rifle  fired 
suddenly  broke  the  thread  of  conversa- 
tion. 

"  Got  an  officer  that  time,"  he  said, 
after  a  moment,  and  kept  holding  the 
same  apparently  casual  but  very  careful 
aim  over  the  edge. 

I  stepped  forward  and  looked  about. 
The  entire  valley  of  the  Aillette  stretched 
away  to  distant  hills.  On  the  left  I  could 
see  moving  Germans  through  a  grove  of 
trees  through  glasses.  They  seemed  no 
further  distant  than  across  an  ordinary 
street.  The  artillery  was  still  sleeping, 
and  they  continued  to  move  unchecked. 
Over  the  tiny  stream  I  could  see  several 
white  flags  on  what  seemed  to  be  bridges. 
The  officer  explained  that  they  were  fake 
Red  Cross  flags  hung  there  by  the  Ger- 
mans in  a  vain  hope  to  avert  fire. 

I  looked  once  more  across  the  waste  of 
mud.  Only  a  few  yards  out  lay  a  head- 
less body.  It  was  recognizable  as  a  body 
then,  but  in  a  little  while  when  the  artil- 
lery duel  would  again  be  under  way  it 
would  quickly  be  torn  and  retorn,  buried 
and  reburied  under  the  storm  until  noth- 
ing remained. 


WAR'S  INFERNO  ON  THE  AISNE  RIDGE 


241 


As  I  stepped  into  the  shelter  a  cannon 
roared.  It  was  broad  daylight  on  the 
Road  of  the  Ladies. 

Weary  Troops  From  the  Front 
In  a  few  minutes  we  began  passing 
lines  of  poilus  headed  for  the  rear.  We 
could  not  see  clearly,  but  we  understood 
they  were  troops  just  out  of  the  front 
line.  They  paid  no  attention  to  us,  and 
we  noticed  a  sense  of  weariness  in  their 
walk  as  they  plodded  silently  along. 

We  continued  on  our  path  beyond  the 
village,  where  we  met  another  party 
marching  to  the  rear.  At  their  heads 
was  a  small  detachment  of  stretcher 
bearers.  But  the  stretchers  were  rolled. 
There  were  no  wounded.  The  sight  of 
those  rolled  stretchers  gave  us  a  thrill 
as  great  as  if  that  detachment  had  been 
a  band  playing  martial  music.  The  Ger- 
mans had  indeed  failed  if  these  Red 
Cross  men  were  going  back  with  their 
stretchers  empty.  Several  of  them  smiled 
a  greeting  as  we  passed.  But  the  men 
coming  behind  were  like  those  we  had 
seen  among  the  stones  of  the  village. 
They  did  not  smile.  Stumbling  along  in 
the  dim  light  they  looked  as  forlorn  as 
scarecrows  and  just  as  bedraggled  and 
unkempt.  The  glory  of  fighting  and 
winning  had  all  gone.  They  were  just 
a  gang  of  dog-tired  men  and  they  did 
not  care  a  hang  who  we  were  or  what. 
They  did  not  even  see  us;  they  stared 
straight  ahead  with  eyes  so  fixed,  yet 
so  lifeless,  that  it  almost  seemed  as  if 
they  were  blind. 

They  had  come  from  that  hell  on  the 
Chemin  des  Dames.  They  had  been 
there  for  a  prescribed  number  of  days. 
They  had  not  slept;  they  had  only  fought 
and  fought  and  fought.  Now  they  were 
going  back  for  several  days'  rest,  the 
same  prescribed  number.  Then  they 
would  return  to  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
or  elsewhere,  where  they  would  go 
through  the  same  performance  over  and 
over  again,  some  of  them.  And  they 
would  do  it  willingly  and  bravely  to  the 
end.  They  were  soldiers  of  France  fight- 
ing for  more  than  men  ever  fought  for 
before. 


We  got  our  slow  barrage  as  we  came 
out  from  the  trees  into  the  open  desola- 
tion that  now  exists  everywhere  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  line  of 
fire.  We  hugged  the  lower  stretches  of 
the  ridge  which  is  the  Chemin  des 
Dames.  The  Germans  were  sending  over 
shrapnel,  but  it  fell  into  the  valley  at  our 
left,  and  only  occasionally  were  we  forced 
to  wait  when  black  clouds  of  smoke  hung 
in  the  sky  directly  before  our  path. 

In  the  Dragons1  Den 
We  gradually  crept  up  the  sides  of  the 
slope  until  about  a  third  of  the  way  from 
the  top.  We  welcomed  with  a  sigh  of  re- 
lief a  yawning  hole  that  is  the  entrance 
of  the  Dragons'  Den.  This  vast  winding 
cavern,  one  of  scores  along  the  Chemin 
des  Dames  front,  is  chiefly  remarkable 
in  that  it  extends  clear  across  the  ridge 
under  the  roadway  and  gives  a  view  from 
the  opposite  side  across  the  valley  of  the 
Aillette.  It  was  held  by  the  Germans  long 
after  the  surrounding  positions  were  capt- 
ured, the  French  having  only  the  end 
where  we  entered  and  a  few  yards  of  the 
tunnel.  It  is  part  quarry,  part  natural 
grotto,  and  big  enough  to  conceal  whole 
regiments.  It  resisted  until  a  couple  of 
weeks  ago.  When  the  French  entered 
they  merely  had  to  count  and  bury  the 
dead  where  they  had  fallen,  and  count 
the  unresisting  prisoners.  We  wandered 
through  it  lighted  by  candles.  It  still  held 
a  faint,  sickly  odor  of  gas.  It  is  now  used 
as  a  shelter  for  troops  holding  the  front 
lines. 

There  are  several  holes  where  one 
can  crawl  directly  to  the  summit  of  the 
ridge,  others  on  the  far  side  leading  just 
above  the  present  lines.  It  was  by  scram- 
bling up  through  one  of  these  holes  on 
the  Chemin  des  Dames  and  through  a 
second  one  that  we  crawled  to  a  listening 
post  only  fifteen  yards  from  the  Ger- 
mans. The  second  exit  was  very  diffi- 
cult, and  it  made  me  wonder  how  it  had 
been  possible  for  all  the  German  soldiers 
to  pass  through  it  whenever  an  alarm 
sounded  calling  them  to  their  places  in 
the  shellholes. 


A  British  Reverse  on  the  Yser 

By  Philip  Gibbs 

[Cabled  to  The  Ne^r  York  Times]   ■ 

The  Germans  struck  a  heavy,  unexpected  blow  on  July  10,  1917,  against  the  British 
lines  north  of  Nieuport,  on  the  Belgian  Coast.  After  twenty-four  hours  of  terrible  artillery 
fire  they  broke  through  on  a  front  of  nearly  a  mile,  driving  the  defenders  back  upon  the  Yser 
River  (or  Canal)  and  capturing  a  strip  of  sand  dunes  to  a  depth  of  600  yards.  The  defend- 
ers, the  King's  Royal  Rifles  and  Northamptons,  were  cut  off  from  relief  by  the  shell  fire, 
which  smashed  all  defenses  and  destroyed  the  bridges,  so  that  only  a  few  wounded  men) 
escaped  by  swimming.     The  Germans  took  1,250  prisoners;  the  rest  of  the  force  died  fighting. 

[See  Map  on  Page  232] 


IT  began  early  on  the  morning  of  July 
10,  when  the  enemy  concentrated  a 
great  power  of  artillery  on  the  Brit- 
ish trenches  and  breastworks  in  the 
sands  of  the  east  side  of  the  Yser  Canal, 
north  of  Nieuport,  with  their  left  on  the 
seashore.  The  enemy's  position  was  in  a 
network  of  trenches,  tunnels,  concrete 
emplacements,  and  breastworks  of  thick 
sandbag  walls,  built  down  from  the  coast 
to  south  of  Lombaertzyde.  Facing  him 
were  other  trenches  and  breastworks 
which  the  British  had  recently  taken  over 
from  the  French.  Behind  them  was  the 
Yser  Canal,  with  pontoon  bridges  cross- 
ing to  Nieuport  and  Nieuport-les-Bains. 
Without  these  bridges  there  was  no  way 
back  or  around  for  the  men  holding  the 
lines  in  the  dunes. 

The  enemy  began  early  in  the  morning 
by  putting  a  barrage  down  on  the  British 
front-line  system  of  defenses  from  a  large 
number  of  batteries  of  heavy  howitzers. 
His  shells  swept  up  and  down  the  Brit- 
ish front,  smashing  breastworks  and  em- 
placements and  flinging  up  a  storm  of 
sand.  After  that  hour  the  enemy  altered 
his  line  of  fire.  There  was  five  minutes 
pause,  five  minutes  of  breathing  space  for 
the  men  still  left  alive  among  the  many 
dead,  and  then  the  wall  of  shells  crossed 
the  canal  and  stayed  there  for  another 
hour,  churning  up  the  sand  with  a  tor- 
nado of  steel. 

The  guns  then  drifted  to  the  front  line 
again,  and  for  another  hour  continued 
their  work  of  destruction,  pausing  for  one 
of  those  short  silences  which  had  given 
the  men  hope  that  the  bombardment  had 
ceased.  It  had  not  ceased.  It  traveled 
again  to  the  support  Hne  and  stayed, 
smashing  there  for  sixty  minutes,  then 
across  the  canal.    There  was  one  interval 


of  a  whole  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  offi- 
cers had  time  to  tell  their  men  it  must 
be  a  fight  to  the  death,  because  the  posi- 
tion must  be  held  until  death.  At  best 
when  the  shelling  began  it  was  thought 
by  some  of  the.  officers  it  was  retaliation 
for  a  raid  on  Lombaertzyde  the  night  be- 
fore, and  would  not  be  followed  by  an  at- 
tack from  the  German  marines,  who 
were  known  to  be  holding  the  enemy's 
line. 

But  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
Sixtieth  became  convinced  by  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  that  all  this  destructive 
fire  was  preparatory  to  a  big  attack. 
He  saw  his  bridges  had  gone  behind  him, 
so  there  was  no  way  of  escape,  and  he 
saw  that  the  enemy  was  trying  to  cut  off 
all  means  of  relief  and  communication. 
He  tried  to  get  massages  through,  but 
without  success. 

Two  shells  came  into  his  battalion 
headquarters,  killing  and  wounding  some 
of  the  officers  and  men  crowded  in  the 
sandbag  shelter  and  dugout  in  the  dune. 
He  took  the  survivors  into  a  tunnel  bored 
by  miners  along  the  seashore,  and  here 
for  a  time  they  were  able  to  carry  on. 
But  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  out  to 
reconnoitre  the  situation  or  to  give  some 
word  of  comfort  or  courage  to  the  men 
standing  to  arms  among  the  wreckage. 
Flights  of  hostile  airplanes  were  over- 
head, and  they  flew  low  and  poured  ma- 
chine-gun fire  at  any  living  man  who 
showed.  Away  behind  they  were  search- 
ing for  British  batteries. 

At  6:15  all  the  German  batteries  broke 
into  a  drum  fire  and  poured  shells  all 
over  the  British  position  for  three-quar- 
ters of  an  hour  without  pause.  After  all 
these  previous  barrages  it  reached  great- 
er heights  of  hellishness,  destroying  what 


A  BRITISH  REVERSE  AT  THE  YSER 


243 


already  had  not  been  destroyed,  sweeping 
all  this  wide  tract  of  sand  dunes  right 
away  from  coast  to  south  of  Lombaert- 
zyde  with  flame  and  smoke  and  steel  and 
reaping  another  harvest  of  death. 

There  are  many  details  of  this  action 
which  may  never  be  known.     No   man 
saw  it  from  other  ground,  and  those  who 
were  across  that  bank  of  the  Yser  could 
see  very  little  beyond  their  own  neigh- 
borhood of  bursting  shell.     But  a   Ser- 
geant of  the  Northamptons,  who  had  an 
astounding  escape,   saw  the  first  three 
waves  of  German  marines  advance  with 
bombing  parties.    That  was  shortly  after 
7  o'clock  in  the  evening.     They  were  in 
heavy  numbers  against  the  few  scattered 
groups  of  English  soldiers  still  left  alive 
after  a  day  of  agony  and  blood.     They 
came   forward    bombing    in   a   crescent 
formation,  one  horn  of  the  crescent  try- 
ing to  work  around  behind  the  flank  of 
rifles  on  the  seashore  as  the  other  tried  to 
outflank  the  Northamptons  on  the  right. 
A  party  of  machine  gunners  crept  along 
the  edge  of  the  sands,  taking  advantage 
of  the  low  tide,  and  enfiladed  the  support 
line,  now  a  mere  mass  of  sand  in  which 
some  wounded  and  unwounded  men  held 
out,  and  swept  them  with  bullets.     An- 
other party  of  marines  made  straight  for 
the  tunnel,  which  now  was  the  battalion 
headquarters  of  the  Sixtieth,  and  poured 
liquid  fire  down  it.     Then  they  passed  on, 
but,  as  if  uncertain  of  having  completed 
their  work,  came  back  after  a  time  and 
bombed  it.     Even  then  there  was  at  least 
one  man  not  killed  in  that  tunnel.     He 
stayed  there  among  the  dead  till  night, 
then  crept  out  and  swam  across  the  canal. 
Two  platoons  of  riflemen  fought  to  the 
last  man,  refusing  to  surrender.   One  lit- 
tle group  of  five  lay  behind  a  band  of 
sand  and  fired  with  rifles  and  bombs  until 
they    were    destroyed.     Meanwhile    the 
Northamptons  on  the  right  were  fighting 
desperately  against  the  German  marines, 
trying  to  get  behind  them  on  the  right 
flank.      Seeing   that   they   had   not   the 
strength  to  resist  this,  they  got  a  mes- 
sage  through   to    some    troops    further 
down  in  front  of  Lombaertzyde  to  form  a 
barrier,  so  that  the  enemy  could  not  come 
through,    and    these    fought    their    way 
grimly  up,  thrusting  back  the  enemy's 
storm  troops,  and  then  made  a  defensive 


block  through  which  the  marines  could 
not  force. 

The  German  marines  brought  up  a  ma- 
chine gun  and  fixed  it  behind  the  place 
where  the  Northampton  officers  had  es- 
tablished their  headquarters  and  fired 
upon  it.  The  British  machine  guns  were 
out  of  action,  filled  with  sand  or  buried 
in  the  sand.  One  gunner  managed  to  get 
his  weapon  into  position,  but  it  jammed 
at  once,  and  with  a  curse  on  it  he  flung 
it  into  the  waters  of  the  Yser,  and  then 
jumped  in  and  swam  back.  Another 
gunner  lay  by  the  side  of  his  machine 
gun,  hit  twice  by  shells,  so  that  he  could 
not  work  it.  One  of  his  comrades  wanted 
to  drag  him  off  to  the  canal  bank,  in  the 
hope  of  swimming  back  with  him.  To 
linger  there  a  minute  meant  certain 
death. 

"  Don't  mind  about  me,"  said  the  ma- 
chine gunner  of  the  Northamptons. 
"  Smash  my  gun  and  get  back." 

There  was  no  time  for  both,  so  the  gun 
was  smashed  and  the  wounded  man 
stayed  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  bank. 

The  fighting  lasted  an  hour  and  a  half 
after  the  beginning  of  the  infantry  at- 
tack. It  was  over  at  8:30  P.  M.  A 
wounded  Sergeant  of  the  Northamptons 
who  swam  back  saw  the  last  of  the 
struggle.  He  saw  a  little  group  of  his 
own  officers,  not  more  than  six  of  them, 
surrounded  by  marine  bombers,  fighting 
to  the  end  with  their  revolvers.  The 
picture  of  these  six  boys  out  there  in  the 
sand  with  their  dead  lying  around  them, 
refusing  to  yield  and  fighting  on  to  cer- 
tain death,  is  one  of  the  memories  of  this 
war  that  should  not  be  allowed  to  die. 

Over  the  Yser  Canal  men  were  trying 
to  swim,  men  dripping  with  blood  and 
too  weak  to  swim,  and  men  who  could 
not  swim.  Some  gallant  fellow  on  the 
Nieuport  side  swam  across  with  a  rope 
under  a  heavy  fire,  and  fixed  it  so  that 
the  men  could  drag  themselves  across. 

So  a  few  survivors  came  over,  and  so 
we  know,  at  least  in  its  broad  outline, 
how  all  this  happened.  It  is  a  tragic  tale, 
and  there  will  be  tears  when  it  is  read, 
but  above  the  tragedy  there  is  the  splen- 
dor of  these  poor  boys,  young  soldiers  all, 
who  fought  with  a  courage  as  great  as 
any  in  history. 


Report  on  the  British  Disaster  at 
Kut-el-Amara 


THE  report  of  the  British  commission 
which  investigated  the  first  Meso- 
potamia expedition  was  submitted  to 
Parliament  June  26,  1917,  and  created  a 
profound  sensation.  The  report  finds 
that  the  expedition  was  a  justifiable  mili- 
tary enterprise,  but  was  undertaken 
"  with  insufficient  forces  and  inadequate 
preparation,"  and  that  its  initial  failure, 
with  the  loss  of  Kut,  was  due  to  lack  of 
foresight,  mistakes,  and  miscalculations. 
The  report  frankly  declares  that  the 
shortcomings  revealed  reflect  discredit 
upon  the  organizing  aptitude  of  all  con- 
cerned. 

The  report  finds  that  the  main  re- 
sponsibility for  recommending  an  ad- 
vance in  1915  with  insufficient  transport 
and  equipment  rests  with  General  Sir 
John  Eccles  Nixon,  the  former  com- 
mander of  the  British  forces  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, while  the  others  sharing  respon- 
sibility are  placed  in  the  following  se- 
quence: In  India,  Baron  Hardinge,  the 
former  Viceroy,  and  General  Sir  Beau- 
champ  Duff,  the  former  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  British  forces  in  India;  and 
in  England,  Major  Gen.  Sir  Edmund 
Barrow,  the  Military  Secretary  of  the 
India  Office;  J.  Austen  Chamberlain, 
Secretary  for  India,  and  the  War  Com- 
mittee of  the  Cabinet.  The  report  shows 
the  mistakes  and  miscalculations  .incident 
to  the  attempt  to  advance  on  Bagdad, 
which  involved  the  surrender  of  more 
than  a  division  of  the  finest  fighting 
troops,  while  the  casualties  incurred  in 
the  ineffectual  attempt  to  relieve  Kut 
amounted  to  about  23,000  men. 

The  report  says  that  the  general  arma- 
ment and  equipment  were  not  up  to  the 
standard  of  modern  European  warfare 
and  were  quite  insufficient  for  the  pur- 
pose. Up  to  the  end  of  1915  the  efforts 
made  to  rectify  the  deficiency  in  river 
transport  were  wholly  inadequate.  The 
report  concludes: 

Looking  at  the  facts,  the  want  of  fore- 
sight and  provision  for  the  most  funda- 
mental needs  of  the  expedition  reflects 
discredit  upon  the  organizing  aptitude  of 
all    the    authorities    concerned*      To   Lord 


Hardinge,  as  Viceroy,  belongs  the  general 
responsibility  attaching  to  his  position  as 
head  of  the  Indian  Government.  More 
severe  censure  must  be  passed  upon  the 
Commander  in  Chief,  for  not  only  did  he 
fail  closely  to  superintend  the  adequacy 
of  the  medical  provision,  but  he  declined 
for  a  considerable  time,  until  ultimately 
forced  by  the  superior  authority  of  the 
Viceroy,  to  give  credence  to  rumors  which 
proved  to  be  true,  and  failed  to  take 
measures  which  subsequent  experience 
shows  would  have  saved  the  wounded  from 
avoidable  suffering. 

The  report  largely  attributes  the  short- 
comings to  the  policy  of  indiscriminate 
retrenchment  pursued  for  some  years  be- 
fore the  war  by  the  India  Government 
under  instructions  from  the  home  Gov- 
ernment. Transport  and  medical  serv- 
ices are  indicated  as  the  weakest  spots 
in  the  expedition,  the  lack  of  transport 
preventing  reinforcements  from  reaching 
Kut  in  time.  For  "  the  lamentable 
breakdown  "  of  the  technical  services  the 
responsibility  is  attributed  to  Surgeon 
General  H.  G.  Hathaway,  who  "  showed 
singular  unfitness  for  the  high  adminis- 
trative office  he  held." 

The  signatories  to  the  report  are  Lord 
George  Hamilton,  Earl  Donoughmore, 
Lord  Hugh  Cecil,  Sir  Archibald  William- 
son, Admiral  Sir  Cyprian  Bridge,  Gen- 
eral Sir  Neville  Lyttelton,  and  John 
Hodge,  Minister  of  Labor. 

In  consequence  of  this  report  J.  Aus- 
ten Chamberlain  resigned  as  Secretary 
for  India.  It  is  understood  that  judicial 
proceedings  are  contemplated  against 
the  responsible  military  officers. 

Arthur  Balfour,  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  in  the  House  of  Commons  July 
18  supported  Lord  Hardinge,  formerly 
Viceroy  of  India  and  now  Under  Secre- 
tary for  Foreign  Affairs.  Mr.  Balfour 
declared  criticism  of  Baron  Hardinge  to 
be  grossly  unjust,  and  said  that,  while 
he  held  his  present  office,  he  would  not 
permit  such  a  gross  act  of  injustice  to 
any  of  his  subordinates.  The  House  of 
Commons  then  supported  Mr.  Balfour's 
refusal  to  accept  Baron  Hardinge's  resig- 
nation as  Under  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs  by  a  vote  of  176  to  81. 


The   Submarine  Situation 

By  Thomas  G.  Frothingham 


The  material  in  this  article  was  supplied  to 
the  writer  by  an  American  scientist,  one  of 
the  leading  practical  experts  on  the  submarine. 

IT  is  evident  that  in  times  of  war 
there  are  many  things  that  cannot 
be  discussed,  but  it  is  allowable  to 
give  a  better  idea  of  the  situation, 
and  especially  to  correct  widely  accepted 
errors  concerning  the  U-boat,  the  most 
persistently  misunderstood  factor  in  the 
present  war. 

If  one  realizes  that  the  proposition  is 
being  soberly  considered,  from  a  purely 
commercial  point  of  view,  of  shortening 
the  voyage  from  Northern  Europe  to  the 
Pacific  some  10,000  miles  by  sending 
goods  in  submarines  under  the  arctic  ice, 
it  brings  home  the  possibilities  of  what 
were  considered  a  few  years  ago  unrelia- 
ble mechanical  toys. 

Even  after  the  results  accomplished  by 
the  U-boats  in  this  war  there  is  a  gen- 
eral easy-going  tendency  in  the  public 
mind  to  regard  the  submarine  as  an  out- 
side factor  that  somehow  or  other  will 
be  done  away  with.  This  is  all  wrong, 
and  it  should  be  recognized  that  the 
U-boat  is  today  the  most  active  force  in 
the  war,  the  most  dangerous  weapon  of 
the  Teutonic  allies.  Submarines  are 
steadily  doing  more  damage  than  any 
other  military  arm  of  the  enemy.  To 
curb  the  U-boat  is  the  greatest  problem 
of  the  war.  This  does  not  mean  that 
Americans  should  fall  into  pessimism  and 
believe  that  the  U-boats  are  now  accom- 
plishing military  results  that  are  decisive 
of  the  war.  For  this  is  not  true.  But 
Americans  should  not  allow  themselves 
to  remain  blind  to  the  fact  that  our 
greatest  danger  is  this  American  inven- 
tion, and  every  resource  of  American  in- 
genuity must  be  called  upon  to  over- 
come it. 

The  truth  should  be  baldly  stated,  that 
the  submarine  evil  is  at  its  worst.  It 
would  be  a  good  thing  for  our  people  to 
understand  this,  for  an  intelligent  public 
demand  is  an  incentive  to  military  activ- 
ity. The  lack  of  such  a  spur  in  Great 
Britain  has  been  harmful.     It  is  only 


recently  that  the  British  public  has  be- 
gun to  realize  the  submarine  situation. 
At  jirst  there  was  no  cenception  that  the 
U-boats  were  a  menace,  then  came  over- 
confidence  from  a  few  successes  against 
them  in  the  early  stages — and  then  the 
censored  concealment  of  the  damage  they 
were  doing. 

Growth  of  the   U~Boat  Peril 

The  above  is  largely  the  reason  for  the 
unrestricted  growth  of  the  evil.  After 
the  first  shock  of  the  blow  at  British  con- 
trol of  the  seas,  if  the  British  Navy, 
stimulated  by  an  aroused  public,  had  de- 
voted its  best  energies  to  devising  means 
to  suppress  the  U-boat  there  might  have 
been  a  different  story  today.  Instead  of 
this  the  first  lull  in  U-boat  activity  was 
regarded  as  a  complete  victory.  There 
had  been  some  successes,  using  nets, 
chasers,  ramming,  &c,  and  these  means 
were  assumed  to  be  sufficient.  It  is 
known  that  many  devices  lay  for  months 
without  being  looked  at.  The  "  author- 
ized "  tales  of  Kipling,  Noyes,  &c,  lulled 
the  public  into  security,  and  the  British 
Navy  thought  the  problem  was  solved. 

Then  the  U-boats  outgrew  the  methods 
that  had  been  relied  upon.  The  engine 
noises  that  helped  the  chasers  have  been 
muffled.  The  nets  are  not  effective  in 
broad  areas  of  ocean.  The  U-boat,  which 
at  first  required  three  to  five  minutes  to 
submerge,  now  rises,  observes,  and  sub- 
merges in  fifteen  seconds.  What  chance 
is  there  of  ramming  one  now,  except  by 
the  most  unheard-of  luck? 

The  U-boats  spread  their  activities 
over  wide  areas  on  the  seas,  and  there 
were  no  new  schemes  of  defense  ready 
to  cope  with  the  new  conditions.  As  the 
sinkings  increased,  the  losses  were  con- 
cealed or  minimized  by  the  British  cen- 
sors, and  the  British  public  did  not  real- 
ize the  extent  of  the  damage  until  it 
was  so  self-evident  that  the  censorship 
could  not  conceal  it. 

Full  Truth  Not  Told 

Even  today  there  is  no  frankness  in 
telling   the .  story.      The    carefully   pre- 


246 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


pared  weekly  tables  are  most  mislead- 
ing. The  five  thousand  and  odd  sailings 
and  arrivals  include  all  the  local  craft 
that  make  short  trips  in  and  out  of 
British  ports.  Upon  these  numbers  the 
small  percentages*  are  computed.  The 
actual  losses  are  a  large  percentage  of 
the  cargo-carrying  tonnage,  and  far  ex- 
ceed any  replacements  that  are  in  sight. 
We  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  mis- 
led, or  to  think  that  the  submarine  dan- 
ger  is    abating.      On   the   contrary,   its 


and  at  other  times  greater  numbers  in 
active  service. 

Of  course  it  is  now  evident  that  the 
tales  of  great  captures  of  U-boats,  kept 
secret  to  impress  the  enemy  with  the  hor- 
ror of  "  disappearance,"  are  wholly 
imaginary.  Throughout  all  the  warfare 
against  the  submarines  the  actual  capt- 
ures have  been  very  few.  There  is  good 
authority  to  say  that  the  number  of  U- 
boats  taken  has  not  yet  come  anywhere 
near  to  two  figures. 


THE  NEW  TYPE  OF  GERMAN   U-BOAT,   WITH  3-INCH  ARMORED  CONNING  TOWER 
(©    American    Press    Association) 


perils  are  as  great  as  ever,  and  sinkings 
can  be  prevented  only  by  ceaseless  vigi- 
lance and  the  use  of  every  possible  means 
of  defense. 

On  the  best  authority  it  can  be  stated 
that  the  Teutonic  allies  have  some  800 
U-boats  engaged  in  the  present  campaign. 
These  may  be  roughly  described  as  divided 
into  three  "  watches,"  one-third  coming 
from  the  base,  one-third  on  active  service, 
and  one-third  on  its  way  back  to  the  base. 
The  average  time  of  this  turn  of  service, 
from  the  base  and  return,  is  about  three 
weeks.  It  is  known  that  there  is  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  supplying  at  sea,  but  it 
may  be  safely  assumed  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  U-boats  return  to  their 
bases  to  refit.  As  is  natural  in  such  an 
arrangement,  there  are  at  times  lulls, 


Some  submarines  have  been  destroyed, 
but  it  is  believed  that  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  losses  have  been  from  acci- 
dents at  sea,  probably  in  most  cases  from 
the  diving  mechanism  getting  out  of  or- 
der and  letting  the  submarine  sink  to  a 
great  depth.  This  is  the  main  danger  to 
the  U-boats,  and  this  will  happen  at 
times  even  in  the  most  effectively  oper- 
ating types  of  submarines.  We  have 
been  saved  from  frequent  accidents  of 
this  nature  in  the  United  States  Navy  by 
trying  out  and  developing  our  U-boats  in 
shallow  waters.  We  have  great  stretches 
of  comparatively  shallow  water  off  our 
coast,  and  most  of  the  operating  of  the 
submarines  has  been  so  safeguarded.  The 
tragic  accident  at  Honolulu  in  a  great 
depth  of  water  will  be  remembered  as  an 
example  of  this  kind  of  accident. 


THE   SUBMARINE   SITUATION 


247 


Enemy  Submarines  Increasing 
In  the  period  of  warfare  against  the 
U-boats  the  German  losses  of  these  craft 
from  all  causes  are  believed  by  the  best 
experts  to  have  averaged  from  three  to 
five  per  month.  It  is  known  that  the 
Germans  are  able  to  turn  out  U-boata 
rapidly,  and  that  they  have  much  more 
than  replaced  these  losses.  This  is  very 
far  from  the  popular  idea,  but  it  is  better 
to  try  to  get  at  the  truth. 

One  great  mistake  is  to  exaggerate 
the  weaknesses  of  the  submarine,  yet 
this  is  the  usual  habit.  It  is  an  untrue 
picture  to  paint  the  U-boat  as  a  fugitive 
cheerily  chased  by  a  swarm  of  mosquito 
boats,  each  armed  with  a  feeble  sting, 
and  each  certain  that  the  submarine  must 
soon  rise  to  the  surface  to  meet  destruc- 
tion from  the  one-pounder's  shot  in  the 
periscope — to  disappear  in  a  spot  of  oil. 

In  the  first  place,  the  idea  that  the 
U-boat  must  come  to  the  surface  at  fre- 
quent intervals,  though  still  exploited,  is 
no  longer  true.  The  present  types  of 
submarines  can  remain  two  days  sub- 
merged with  perfect  comfort,  and  can 
easily  travel  250  miles  while  thus  sub- 
merged. The  smitten  periscope  and  the 
swirl  of  oil,  announcing  the  doom  of  a 
U-boat,  are  also  too  frequently  in  print. 
All  the  submarines  now  carry  two  peri- 
scopes, some  also  have  emergency  peri- 
scopes, and  most  of  them  several  spares. 
So  evidently  the  wound  in  the  periscope 
alone  does  not  put  out  the  submarine. 
It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
essential  hull  of  the  submarine  is  inside 
the  oil  tanks,  and  a  liberal  pouring  of 
oil  on  the  waters  may  only  mean  a  punc- 
tured oil  tank.  The  real  hull  must  be 
injured  to  destroy  the  U-boat. 

Gun  Power  of  U-Boals 

While  the  fleet  of  small  patrol  boats 
is  of  real  use  in  scouting,  and  most  valu- 
able in  developing  and  educating  an  in- 
telligent personnel  that  will  be  a  valu- 
able auxiliary  to  the  navy,  it  should  be 
realized  that  these  patrol  boats  alone 
cannot  hope  to  engage  submarines.  If 
they  are  to  attempt  more  than  keeping 
a  lookout,  they  must  work  in  company 
with  craft  that  are  heavily  enough 
armed  to  dominate  the  gunfire   of  the 


U-boats.  Otherwise,  all  a  submarine 
would  have  to  do,  when  attacked  by  these 
lightly  gunned  patrol  boats,  would  be  to 
thrust  its  protected  superstructure  above 
the  surface  and  then  destroy  the  patrols 
at  its  leisure  by  gunfire.  The  present 
submarines  carry  very  able  guns,  4-inch, 
5-inch,  and  in  some  cases  6-inch.  These 
are  short-calibre  guns,  as  they  must  be 
designed  to  be  housed  down  into  the  hull, 
and  consequently  they  are  not  equal  to 
the  naval  guns  of  corresponding  calibre, 
but  they  are  very  effective  at  the  ranges 
of  the  U-boat's  operations. 

Although  in  the  war  game  the  life  of 
the  U-boat  is  given  as  one  hit,  it  must  be 
a  real  hit  with  a  real  gun.  Besides  this, 
any  craft  that  is  to  engage  a  U-boat  must 
have  more  than  one  gun,  to  be  sure  of 
destroying  its  enemy,  as  the  U-boat  has 
the  advantage  of  offering  a  smaller  tar- 
get— and  the  U-boat  itself  has  more  than 
one  gun. 

The  usual  two  naval  guns  in  the  bow 
and  stern  of  the  armed  merchantman 
have  not  proved  an  insurance  against  the 
U-boat,  as  there  already  have  been  cases 
of  ships  so  armed  being  worsted  by  the 
gunnery  of  the  U-boats.  It  is  now  evi- 
dent that  arming  merchantmen,  while  it 
is  a  help,  is  not  a  panacea  against  the 
submarine  peril,  as  was  hoped  at  first. 
Value  of  Destroyers 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  de- 
stroyer is  the  lowest  denominator  in  war- 
ships that  can  be  considered  strong 
enough  really  to  dominate  a  U-boat  with 
gunfire.  That  is,  a  flotilla  of  destroyers 
consists  of  units  each  one  of  which  is 
able  to  destroy  a  U-boat  in  action. 

The  destroyer  type,  which  was  less  es- 
teemed before  the  present  war,  has  won 
for  itself  recognition  because  its  value 
has  been  proved  in  war  conditions.  At 
Jutland  the  destroyer  showed  its  worth 
as  an  auxiliary  of  the  battleship.  In  the 
warfare  against  the  submarine  the  de- 
stroyer has  proved  the  most  effective 
warship. 

The  destroyers  of  the  United  States 
Navy  which  were  sent  abroad  made  an 
impression  at  once  in  Great  Britain. 
Our  destroyers  are  far  superior  to  those 
of  the  British  Navy.  From  our  idea  of  a 
wider  use  of  these  craft  as  scouts  we 


248 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


have  evolved  a  type  that  is  a  better 
sea  boat,  and  consequently  they  can  buck 
the  weather  and  stay  at  sea  much  longer 
without  being  docked.  There  were  not 
very  many  of  our  destroyers  sent  abroad, 
but  their  presence  in  British  waters  at 
once  set  a  new  standard,  and  this  has 
been  a  great  stimulus  to  the  British 
Navy.  Without  undue  self-praise  we  may 
believe  that  there  is  now  much  more 
alertness  and  vigilance  in  the  operations 
against  the  U-boats. 

Sending  Admiral  Sims,  in  command  of 
our  naval  contingent,  to  co-operate  with 
the  British  Navy  meant  even  more  than 
giving  the  assistance  of  one  of  our  ablest 
officers.  Admiral  Sims  had  been  for 
some  months  the  President  of  the  Naval 
War  College,  and  he  carried  with  him  the 
results  of  the  study  of  the  submarine 
problem  in  the  United  States  Navy. 

Early  in  the  game  the  United  States 
Navy  had  recognized  the  submarine  as 
the  greatest  danger  on  the  sea,  and  much 
work  has  been  done  in  seeking  means  to 
neutralize  this  menace.  Admiral  Sims 
and  his  officers  have  had  all  the  benefit 
of  this.  There  are  many  promising  de- 
vices that  may  be  worked  out,  but  it  is 
not  wise  to  hope  for  sensational  develop- 
ments at  once.  It  is  more  sensible  to  be- 
lieve that  evasion  of  the  U-boats  and 
protection  of  their  intended  victims  will 
prove  the  present  task  of  the  united 
navies. 

Undoubtedly  an  increasing  amount  of 
zealous  skill  is  being  devoted  to  the  use 
of  all  means  of  defense  available,  and 
vigilance  is  taking  the  place  of  self-con- 
fidence. It  is  probable  that  the  whole 
game  is  being  plotted  out  as  never  before, 
and  to  this  should  be  attributed  any 
check  on  the  sinkings,  not  to  radical  in- 
ventions. 

The  reports  of  sinkings  have  recently 
been  more  favorable,  and  this  gives 
ground  for  hope  that  the  more  syste- 
matic use  of  every  safeguard,  and  the 
new  spirit  in  the  campaign  against  the 
U-boats,  may  be  already  showing  good 
results.  In  any  case,  there  must  be  no 
delusions  as  to  lessened  danger  from  the 
U-boats,  and  no  return  of  self-confidence, 
either  in  the  navies  or  on  the  merchant- 
men, i 


Best  Methods  for  Safety 
As  has  been  said,  arming  the  merchant- 
man has  not  insured  safety  against  the 
U-boat.  In  many  cases  it  has  saved  the 
ship — but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  in  others 
it  has  done  harm  in  making  the  merchant 
Captains  overconfident.  From  the  first 
this  quality  has  caused  a  great  many 
sinkings.  There  have  been  too  many 
Captains  cocksure  that,  though  the  enemy 
craft  might  get  other  boats,  they  would 
never  "  get  him  " — and  at  all  times  too 
many  ships  have  been  coming  and  going 
in  their  same  old  lanes.  The  tragedy  of 
the  Lusitania  was  an  instance  of  this. 

Unexpected  courses,  the  use  of  speed 
at  the  right  time,  concealment,  and  pro- 
tection are  all  necessary  means  of  evad- 
ing the  U-boats,  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  use  of  these  precautions  is  now  being 
imposed  upon  the  merchant  Captains. 

Convoying  has  from  the  first  been  rec- 
ognized as  a  great  protection.  But  it  is 
evident  that  the  convoying  destroyer  or 
other  armed  ship,  if  simply  moving  along 
abreast  of  its  charge,  shares  the  same 
danger  from  waiting  submarines.  What 
is  called  "  stationary  convoying  "  is  now 
considered  much  more  effective.  This 
implies  large  areas  policed  by  patrols, 
into  and  through  which  the  ship  moves 
on  her  voyage.  The  increase  in  safety  is 
obvious,  and  it  is  probable  that  this 
means  of  defense  will  be  increasingly 
used.  In  these  days  of  steam  navigation 
a  voyage  can  be  plotted  out  with  definite 
rendezvous  at  all  stages,  and  it  is  possible 
to  arrange  a  schedule  so  as  to  insure  a 
comparatively  protected  voyage. 

Use  of  SmoJ^e  Screens 
The  smoke  screen,  which  was  devel- 
oped by  the  United  States  Navy,  has 
probably  been  found  the  best  protection 
for  a  ship  in  actual  danger  of  attack  by 
a  U-boat.  Concealment  is  given  quickly 
and  effectively.  In  most  cases  this  screen 
is  thrown  out  by  convoying  craft,  but  our 
navy  has  devised  a  practical  and  econom- 
ical way  of  equipping  merchantmen  with 
this  protection. 

The  United  States  Navy  is  known  to 
have  developed  an  improved  high  explo- 
sive bomb  for  use  against  the  U-boat.  In 
warfare  against  submarines  the  British 


THE   SUBMARINE   SITUATION 


249 


Navy  had  used  bombs,  especially  when 
the  presence  of  the  U-boat  was  shown  by 
the  "  Pram  "  nets,  which  were  buoyed  out 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  But  these 
bombs  did  no  damage  unless  they  were 
practically  in  contact  with  the  U-boat. 
Cases  are  known  of  escapes  when  the 
bomb  exploded  within  four  feet  of  the 
craft  attacked.  In  the  improved  Ameri- 
can bombs  the  delayed  explosion  below 
the  surface  is  so  powerful  that  it  will 
seriously  injure  the  hull  of  a  U-boat 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  away. 

It  is  too  generally  believed  that  an  air- 
plane can  detect  a  submerged  U-boat. 
With  the  present  tendency  to  overesti- 
mate the  tactical  value  of  aircraft,  this 
is  one  of  the  functions  glibly  assigned  to 
these  machines.  The  truth  is  that  the 
airplane  can  detect  a  submarine  only  in 
a  perfect  calm.  Even  the  slightest  ripple 
reduces  greatly  the  depths  at  which  it 
can  be  seen.  In  any  sea  at  all  the  sub- 
merged U-boat  cannot  be  detected  by  an 
airplane  flying  over  it. 

In  May  of  this  year  there  were  two 
weeks  of  abnormally  calm  weather  in  the 
North  Sea,  and  some  U-boats  were  ob- 
served by  airplanes,  especially  in  shal- 
low water,  assisted  by  the  shadow  of  the 
U-boat.  Curiously  enough,  the  sub- 
merged U-boats  so  seen  are  said  to  ap- 
pear like  whitish  objects,  no  matter  what 
color  they  are  painted.  This  exceptional 
weather  condition  is  so  rare  that  it 
proves  the  rule  cannot  be  counted  upon 
— and  there  is  not  a  great  future  for  the 
airplane  in  detecting  U-boats  under  the 
surface. 

Hydroplanes  Effective 

A  more  practical  utility  for  aircraft 
against  submarines  is  to  use  hydroplanes 
to  observe  large  areas  of  water,  to  watch 
out  for  U-boats  rising  to  the  surface, 
and  to  signal  their  presence  to  ships. 
With  their  wide  range  of  vision  hydro- 
planes can  cover  long  distances  on  the 


seas.  Perhaps  at  present,  with  the  dif- 
ficulties of  navigating  planes  at  sea, 
dirigibles  of  a  reliable  type  might  do 
this  work  better,  but  probably  these  dif- 
ficulties of  navigating  the  hydroplanes 
will  be  overcome  in  the  future. 

Any  system  of  safeguarding  against 
the  submarine  must  reckon  on  the  possi- 
bility of  attack  without  the  U-boat  show- 
ing a  periscope  at  all.  It  is  known  that 
some  of  the  submarines  are  equipped 
with  apparatus  that  will  locate  the  posi- 
tion of  an  enemy  ship  in  an  astonishingly 
accurate  way.  A  ship  400  feet  long  at 
8,000  feet  range  might  become  a  target 
for  a  U-boat  thus  equipped,  so  that  the 
U-boat,  without  observing  through  its 
periscope,  would  be  able  to  discharge  its 
torpedo  at  the  target  without  a  large 
angle  of  error.  This  last,  however,  in- 
creases the  chances  of  a  miss  sufficiently 
to  make  the  U-boat  prefer  the  periscope, 
as  the  submarine's  torpedoes  are  expen- 
sive and  few  in  number;  but  such  ability 
on  the  part  of  the  U-boat  must  always  be 
considered  in  the  problem. 

This  is  only  one  more  reason  to  em- 
phasize the  need  of  some  means  of  de- 
tecting the  position  of  the  U-boat  when 
submerged.  The  importance  of  finding 
a  practical  detector  will  be  self-evident 
to  the  reader.  There  are  great  hopes  of 
such  an  invention  in  the  near  future — 
but  of  course  there  can  be  no  discussion 
of  this  at  present.  Neither  can  there  be 
any  mention  of  other  means  that  are 
being  worked  out;  but  the  above  is  a  fair 
statement  of  "  the  case  so  far." 

To  sum  up  the  elements  of  defense,  we 
should  have: 

Stationary  convoying,  with  policed 
areas. 

Destroyers  to  dominate  the  U-boats.       i 

Smoke  screens  as  the  best  concealment. 

Aircraft  to  observe  U-boats  coming  to 
the  surface. 

Some  means  of  detecting  submarines. 

The  utmost  zeal  and  vigilance  in  the 
navies  and  on  the  merchantmen. 


U-Boat  Destruction  of  Shipping 

Record  From  June  13  to  July  15,  1917 


THE  destruction  of  merchant  ships 
belonging  to  the  Allies  and  neu- 
trals has  reached  a  stage  where 
the  outlook  is  regarded  in  some 
quarters  as  serious.  A  startling  dispatch 
from  a  press  correspondent  in  London 
on  July  18  asserted  that  "  the  loss  of 
ships  by  submarines  totals  1,600,000  tons 
a  month,  or  from  two  to  three  times  the 
total  of  new  construction."  The  avail- 
able figures  by  no  means  support  this  es- 
timate; they  are,  however,  incomplete.  The 
figures  issued  by  the  British  Admiralty, 
while  referring  only  to  British  ships,  and 
concealing  the  tonnage  totals,  do  not  sug- 
gest that  more  than  about  500,000  tons 
of  British  shipping  are  being  destroyed 
monthly.  The  available  figures  of  all 
other  losses  of  Allies'  and  neutrals'  ships 
by  no  means  bridge  the  indicated  differ- 
ence. 

The  British  merchant  ships  destroyed 
by  submarines  and  mines  since  the  last 
figures  published  in  this  magazine  are, 
according  to  the  Admiralty  reports : 

Over  Under 

1,600  1,000  Fishing 

Tons.  Tons.  Vessels. 

Week  ended  June  17... 27  5  0 

Week  ended  June  24... 21  7  0 

Week  ended  July  1 15  5  11 

Week  ended  July  8 14  3  7 

Week  ended  July  15 14  4  8 

Total  for  five  weeks.  91  24  26 

The  totals  for  the  last  three  months 
(thirteen  weeks)  are: 

Over  1,600  tons 284 

Under  1,600  tons 102 

Fishing   vessels 78 

It  is  stated  that  the  average  tonnage  of 
vessels  of  over  1,600  tons  is  4,500.  On 
that  basis  1,278,000  tons  of  British  ship- 
ping has  been  destroyed  in  three  months, 
or  an  average  of  426,000  tons  per  month. 
Add  the  ships  under  1,600  tons  and  the 
fishing  vessels,  and  it  is  certain  the  aver- 
age tonnage  lost  is  considerably  under 
500,000— probably  about  470,000— tons  a 
month.         » 


French  official  figures  show  the  follow- 


ing losses: 

Over 
1,600 
Tons. 
Week  ended  June  17...  0 
Week  ended  June  24...  2 


Under 

1,600  Fishing 

Tons.  Vessels. 

5  0 

3  0 


Total  for  two  weeks..  2  8  0 

Complete  figures  for  June  showed  the 
loss  of  fourteen  ships.  Later  dispatches 
from  Paris  report  two  steamers  of  the 
Messageries  Marj times  sunk,  the  Hima- 
laya, 5,620  tons,  on  July  1,  and  the  Cale- 
donien,  4,140  tons,  on  July  10. 

Italian  ships  lost  included  two  steam- 
ers and  five  sailing  ships  during  the  week 
ended  June  17,  one  steamer,  eight  small 
sailing  vessels,  and  four  fishing  barks 
during  the  week  ended  July  1,  and  one 
steamer  and  four  small  sailing  vessels 
during  the  week  ended  July  15. 

Norwegian  ships  reported  lost  included 
three  steamers  of  2,829  tons,  2,798  tons, 
and  1,458  tons,  respectively.  The  Argen- 
tine steamer  Toro,  1,141  tons,  was  tor- 
pedoed and  sunk  off  Gibraltar. 

Greek  shipping  has  suffered  heavily, 
according  to  a  report  received  by  the 
State  Department  at  Washington  and 
published  on  June  23.  Twelve  Greek 
ships,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  31,542, 
valued  at  $4,592,000,  had  been  sunk  by 
German  and  Austrian  submarines  since 
April  1. 

To  the  foregoing  should  be  added  Amer- 
ican losses.  No  complete  official  figures 
have  yet  been  published,  but  news  dis- 
patches and  reports  received  by  marine 
insurance  companies  mention  the  sink- 
ing of  eight  vessels  with  a  total  tonnage 
of  38,345,  between  June  12  and  July  16. 
The  eight  vessels  were  the  Kansan, 
Haverford,  Bay  State,  Moreni,  Petrolite, 
Massapequa,  Orleans,  and  Grace.  Some 
smaller  vessels  were  also  destroyed  dur- 
ing the  period  mentioned. 

The  conflict  of  opinion  is  evidenced  by 
a  statement  on  July  13  by  Admiral  La- 


U-BOAT  DESTRUCTION  OF  SHIPPING 


251 


caze,  the  French  Minister  of.  Marine.   He 
said  in  part: 

It  is  true  we  are  suffering  considerable 
losses,  but  every  month  increases  our  cer- 
tainty of  being  able  to  repair  them.  Fur- 
thermore, we  are  in  a  position  to  stand 
these  losses,  as  a  large  part  in  new  con- 
struction will  be  taken  by  the  United 
States.  The  shipbuilding  already  under 
way,  the  effect  of  which  will  naturally 
only  be  felt  after  a  certain  time,  is  great 
enough  to  replace  the  highest  average  of 
destruction  the  submarines  are  likely  to 
reach. 

Never  in  peace  times  have  the  entries 
into  French  ports  been  so  numerous  as 
now.  The  German  authorities  exaggerate 
the  results  of  the  submarine  activity  by 
from  30  to  50  per  cent.,  while  the  French 
'statistics  are  absolutely  correct.  The  curve 
representing  the  tonnage  sunk  does  not 
mount  steadily,  but  rises  and  falls.  We 
know,  too,  that  the  Germans  find  great 
difficulty  in  obtaining  trained  crews  for 
submarines. 

On  the  other  hand,  Senator  Marconi, 
the  inventor  and  a  member  of  the  Italian 
War  Mission,  stated  in  an  interview 
while  in  New  York  City  that  the  sub- 
marine situation  was  becoming  increas- 
ingly serious.     Speaking  of  the  Mediter- 


ranean he  described  how  the  larger 
U-boats  go  through  the  Strait  of 
Gibraltar  and  how  the  smaller  ones  are 
constructed  in  Germany  and  sent  by  rail 
to  Pola,  the  Austrian  naval  base  on  the 
Adriatic,  where  they  are  put  together 
and  sent  to  sea.  The  Italian  Navy  had 
between  300  and  400  patrol  boats  on  duty 
trying  to  cope  with  the  submarine 
menace. 

A  German  Admiralty  statement  pub- 
lished on  June  30  asserted  that  the  total 
tonnage  available  for  Great  Britain's 
supply  of  food,  munitions,  and  materials, 
based  upon  two  independent  sets  of 
figures,  was  10,000,000,  including  new 
construction,  confiscated  German  ships, 
and  purchases  from  neutrals.  More 
than  5,500,000  tons  of  this  total  had 
been  destroyed  up  to  June  1,  leaving  4,- 
500,000,  or,  at  the  utmost,  5,000,000  tons 
then  available.  With  a  further  loss  of 
800,000  to  1,000,000  tons  a  month,  the 
German  Admiralty  believed  that  it  could 
be  confidently  expected  that  Great  Britain 
would  be  brought  to  a  point  where  she 
would  be  willing  to  make  peace. 


Great    Britain's    Royal    Family    Now   the 

House  of  Windsor 


KING  GEORGE  of  Great  Britain,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Privy  Council  held 
in  St.  James's  Palace  July  17, 
1917,  announced  that  the  name  of  his 
royal  house  and  family  had  been  changed 
from  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha  to  "the 
House  of  Windsor." 

Those  present  on  this  historic  occa- 
sion included  Premier  Lloyd  George, 
Foreign  Secretary  Balfour,  and  other 
members  of  the  Cabinet;  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  ex-Premier  Asquith,  and 
all  members  of  the  Colonial  Government 
who  were  then  in  London.  The  Privy 
Council  unanimously  indorsed  King 
George's  announcement,  and  the  procla- 
mation putting  it  into  effect  was  pub- 
lished that  afternoon.    It  says: 

We  out  of  our  royal  will  and  authority 


do  hereby  declare  and  announce  that  as 
from  the  date  of  our  royal  proclamation 
our  house  and  family  shall  be  styled  and 
known  as  the  House  and  Family  of 
Windsor,  and  that  all  descendants  in  the 
male  line  of  our  grandmother,  Queen 
Victoria,  who  are  subjects  of  these 
realms,  other  than  the  female  descendants 
who  may  marry  or  may  have  married, 
shall  bear  the  said  name  of  Windsor. 

And  we  do  hereby  declare  and  announce 
that  we  for  ourselves,  and  for  and  on 
behalf  of  our  descendants  and  all  other 
descendants  of  our  grandmother,  Queen 
Victoria,  who  are  subjects  of  these 
realms,  relinquish  and  enjoin  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  use  of  degrees,  styles, 
dignities,  titles,  and  honors  of  the  Dukes 
and  Duchesses  of  Saxony  .and  the  Princes 
and  Princesses  of  Saxe-Coburg  and 
Gotha,  and  all  other  German  degrees, 
styles,  dignities,  titles,  and  honors,  and 
the  appellation  to  us  or  to  them  here- 
tofore belonging  or  appertaining. 


What  the  American  Navy  Has  Done 

Summary  by  Secretary  Daniels 


Josephus  Daniels,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  made  the  following  statement  to  a 
representative  of  The  New  York  Times, 
summarizing  the  naval  progress  of  the 
United  States  in  war  measures  up  to 
June  24,  1917: 

THE  policy  of  the  United  States 
Navy  is  simply  to  do  at  at' any 
given  moment  the  thing  most  ef- 
fective to  win  the  war  for  our 
allies  and  ourselves.  As  to  the  specific 
things  we  have  done  so  far  and  are  still 
doing  in  accordance  with  that  policy,  I 
can  mention  four.  We  have  armed 
and  manned  with  navy  gun  crews 
about  200  merchant  ships,  and  are  in- 
creasing the  number  daily.  We  have  sent 
our  destroyers  to  the  other  side  to  help 
the  British  fleet  in  the  war  on  the  sub- 
marines, and  will  send  more.  We  are 
taking  over  the  cruiser  patrol  of  the 
Atlantic  Coast  on  this  side  of  the  ocean 
from  Brazil  to  Newfoundland.  We  have 
trained  our  naval  gunners  in  the  most 
difficult  marksmanship  in  the  world,  until 
they  have  become  as  efficient  in  training  a 
small  gun  on  a  distant,  hardly  visible, 
and  constantly  moving  periscope  as  they 
are  in  shooting  the  big  turret  guns  at  a 
target  as  big  as  a  battleship.  And  a  big 
work  for  the  navy  that  is  in  the  future 
will  be  the  convoying  of  our  troops. 

The  arming  of  the  merchantmen  came 
before  this  country  had  entered  the  war, 
and  was  ordered  by  the  President.  This 
was  a  new  problem  for  the  navy,  some- 
thing which  never  had  been  contemplated 
before  by  the  United  States  Government, 
and  it  was  not  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world  to  find  all  the  guns  that  were 
needed.  Some  of  them  we  had  to  take 
from  ships  of  the  navy.  Then  the  owners 
of  the  merchant  vessels  called  upon  us  to 
furnish  the  gun  crews.  From  the  mere 
technical  navy  viewpoint  that  was  not 
the  thing  to  do.  We  needed  the  men  on 
our  naval  vessels,  but  it  proved  to  be  the 
next  thing  that  had  to  be  done;  so  we 
manned  every  armed  merchant  ship  with 
efficient  gunners.    I  gave  orders  that  none 


but  the  best  marksmen  in  the  navy  should 
be  sent  into  this  new  service  because  of 
the  extreme  difficulties  of  the  shooting 
they  were  to  be  called  upon  to  do.  So  it 
meant  a  temporary  drain  on  the  battle- 
ship crews. 

To  some  of  the  larger  merchant  vessels 
I  sent  as  many  as  sixteen  men  each.  But 
this  has  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  best 
things  the  navy  has  ever  done  because 
of  the  training  it  has  afforded  in  the  new 
kind  of  shooting  that  has  become  neces- 
sary in  this  war.  Every  battleship  has 
become  a  school  for  marksmanship  with 
a  periscope  as  the  target,  and  with  re- 
markable results.  Previously  all  the  em- 
phasis had  been  placed  on  the  necessity 
of  accuracy  in  working  the  big  guns  in 
the  turrets,  with  the  result  that  the 
American  Navy  had  the  best  records  of 
the  world  at  big-gun  practice.  Needless 
to  say,  we  are  not  neglecting  that  turret 
work  or  acquiring  our  skill  in  shooting 
submarines  at  the  expense  of  our  prep- 
aration for  fighting  bigger  ships  if  the 
opportunity  comes.  Up  to  the  present 
time  the  dreadnoughts  have  no  work  in 
this  war  except  to  wait  in  complete  readi- 
ness for  the  big  thing  that  they  may  be 
called  upon  to  do.  In  that  respect  our 
fleet  would  be  a  fair  match  for  the  Ger- 
mans, even  assuming  the  apparently  im- 
possible situation  in  which  we,  alone, 
would  be  called  upon  to  engage  in  a  great 
sea  fight  off  our  own  coast. 

Another  big  educational  work  now  in 
progress  on  the  battleships  is  the  training 
of  the  engine  and  fire  room  crews  so  that 
they  will  be  ready  for  efficient  service 
aboard  the  big  merchant  ships  that  will 
be  used  later  on  for  the  transportation  of 
our  troops.  America,  as  a  nation,  has 
become  so  lacking  in  what  you  may  call 
a  seagoing  personnel  that  we  have  to 
look  to  the  navy  as  the  source  of  supply 
in  any  big  emergency. 

The  next  service  undertaken  by  the 
navy  was  the  sending  of  our  destroyers 
over  to  the  other  side  for  actual  partici- 
pation in  the  hostilities  at  sea.    This  was 


WHAT  THE  AMERICAN  NAVY  HAS  DONE 


253 


done  in  spite  of  the  theory  that  the  place 
of  the  destroyers  was  with  the  battle- 
ship, that  every  dreadnought  should  have 
at  least  four  destroyers  to  act  as  her  eyes 
and  scouts,  and  screen  her  with  their 
smoke.  But  a  great  many  former  theories 
have  had  to  be  revised  in  this  war;  so  we 
sent  the  type  of  craft  that,  under  normal 
conditions,  would  have  been  the  last  to 
go,  and  our  allies  were  greatly  elated  by 
our  decision. 

Both  the  English  and  French  Commis- 
sions told  us  that  the  smaller  vessels  of 
our  navy  would  be  the  most  useful  to 
them,  and  they  expressed  the  hope  that 
we  might  be  able  to  send  destroyers, 
although  they  did  not  expect  it.  But 
after  consultation  with  Admiral  Benson, 
Chief  of  Naval  Operations,  and  later  with 
Admiral  Mayo,  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Atlantic  Fleet,  I  ordered  the  de- 
stroyers to  go,  even  though  it  seemed  a 
somewhat  risky  thing  to  do. 

In  addition  to  the  destroyers,  we  have 
sent  over  enough  fuel  and  supply  ships 
to  serve  our  own  naval  vessels  without 
calling  on  the  Allies,  and  we  also  have 
placed  several  of  our  small  craft  at  the 
disposal  of  France.  These  latter  ships 
are  already  there,  and  the  number  will 
be  increased.  We  have  two  bases  estab- 
lished on  the  French  coast.  Still  more, 
we  have  sent  over  100  navy  aviators  to 
France,  and  are  now  preparing  to  estab- 
lish two  hospital  units  in  England  and 
one  in  France. 

Of  course,  I  cannot  say  how  many  de- 
stroyers were  sent,  but  there  were  enough 
to  be  effective,  and  more  will  go  later. 
Sixty  new  destroyers  for  the  American 
Navy  are  now  under  construction.  The 
time  allowed  for  their  completion  has 
been  cut  from  the  customary  eighteen 
months  to  one  year.  We  hope  to  have 
them  on  time  within  the  shorter  period. 

But  I  can  say  of  our  ships  now  on  the 
other  side  that  they  are  all  manned  by 
picked  officers  and  men.  Nobody  was 
allowed  to  go  on  this  expedition  who  had 
not  had  experience  on  destroyers,  which 
is  in  these  days  the  hardest  and  most  ex- 
acting service  in  the  navy.  But  it  devel- 
ops a  wonderful  breed  of  men.  They  are 
young,  alert,  ambitious.  The  Captain  of  a 
destroyer  is  generally  a  Lieutenant  Com- 


mander, and  it  is  a  great  thing  for  a 
youngster  of  that  rank  to  be  in  command 
of  his  own  ship.  The  best  of  them  strive 
for  it,  and  the  other  officers  of  the  de- 
stroyer are  of  the  same  stamp,  and  the 
personnel  of  the  crew  is  a  good  match  for 
them.  It  was  because  of  the  quality  of 
these  officers  and  men  and  because  of 
the  splendid  construction  and  equipment 
of  the  ships  themselves  that  they  were 
able  to  surprise  the  English  with  the 
statement  that  they  were  ready  to  go  to 
work  immediately  upon  their  arrival  on 
the  other  side.  The  spirit  of  the  men  in 
this  part  of  the  navy  had  been  greatly 
improved  by  the  organizing  of  the  de- 
stroyers into  a  flotilla  of  their  own,  and 
they  had  had  the  great  inspiration  of 
serving  under  Admiral  Sims  when  he  was 
in  command  of  that  flotilla,  and  later  un- 
der Admiral  Gleaves. 

It  was  Sims  who  declared  at  a  dinner 
in  London  about  fifteen  years  ago  that 
blood  was  thicker  than  water  and  that  if 
war  ever  came  England  could  count  upon 
America  as  an  ally.  Germany  resented 
that  officially  through  diplomatic  chan- 
nels, and  Sims  was  reprimanded.  Of 
course,  he  should  have  been  reprimanded. 
I  told  him  so  myself  not  so  very  long 
ago,  and  then  selected  him  to  go  to  Eng- 
land and  France  before  America  entered 
the  war.  Even  then  I  thought  I  could  see 
the  clouds  and  felt  the  need  of  getting  in 
touch  with  the  British  and  French  Ad- 
miralties. Sims  was  the  youngest  Rear 
Admiral  in  the  service.  It  was  for  that 
reason  a  violation  of  another  tradition  to 
select  him,  but  he  has  been  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place,  both  from  our  point  of 
view  and  that  of  our  allies,  which,  after 
all,  is  the  same  point  of  view  in  every- 
thing we  undertake. 

As  to  the  fourth  thing  I  mentioned,  the 
coast  patrol,  that  is  as  thorough  as  we 
can  make  it  and  is  under  the  command  of 
one  of  our  ablest  officers,  Captain  Henry 
B.  Wilson,  who  is  soon  to  be  made  an 
Admiral.  In  addition  to  the  big  naval 
vessels  assigned  to  this  patrol,  there  are 
small  craft  on  guard,  which  will  be 
steadily  increased  in  number.  These,  to- 
gether with  the  Coast  Guard  and  Light- 
house Services,  the  Navy  Department 
has  taken  over  for  the  purpose  of  more 


254 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


efficient  coast  protection.  There  is  not  a 
harbor,  not  even  a  cove,  between  Brazil 
and  Newfoundland  that  we  do  not  know 
about.  We  have  investigated  many  re- 
ports and  rumors  that  the  Germans  had 
submarine  bases  on  this  coast,  but  none 
has  been  discovered. 

To  do  all  this  work  has  put  a  tremen- 
dous pressure  on  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  navy.  We  need  more  of  both,  in  spite 
of  the  recent  big  increases.  By  graduat- 
ing two  classes  at  Annapolis  far  ahead  of 
their  time  we  have  gained  380  new  offi- 
cers, and  the  enlisted  strength  of  the 
navy  has  increased  from  53,000  to  120,928 
since  the  beginning  of  the  year.  By  the 
end  of  the  year  we  must  have  150,000 


men,  the  limit  fixed  by  the  law  as  it 
stands  today.  I  have  no  doubt  about  get- 
ting these  men,  thanks  to  the  new  plan 
of  dividing  the  country  into  fourteen 
naval  districts  and  the  perfecting  of  the 
recruiting  organization  in  each  of  those 
districts.  One  big  factor  in  our  favor  is 
the  greatly  improved  chance  which  the 
enlisted  man  now  has  to  become  an  offi- 
cer. I  am  now  authorized  by  law  to  ap- 
point 100  enlisted  men  to  Annapolis  every 
year,  so  the  chance  of  the  man  who 
enters  the  navy  as  a  sailor  to  become  an 
Admiral  is  now  much  more  than  a  pleas- 
ant fiction.  Last  year  an  appointee  from 
the  ranks  was  the  President  of  his  class 
at  the  Academy. 


Embargo  on  Exports  of  Food  and  Other 

Commodities 


ACTING  under  the  authority  con- 
ferred on  him  by  the  Espionage 
act,  President  Wilson  has  adopted 
drastic  and  far-reaching  war  measures 
for  the  control  of  exports  from  the 
United  States.  By  an  executive  order, 
dated  June  22,  1917,  he  established  an 
Exports  Council  "  to  formulate  policies 
for  the  consideration  and  approval  of  the 
President,  and  make  the  recommenda- 
tions necessary  to  carry  out  the  pur- 
poses "  of  the  Espionage  act.  The  mem- 
bers appointed  to  form  the  Exports 
Council  were: 

Mr.  Lansing,   Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.   Redfield,   Secretary  of  Commerce. 

Mr.  Houston,   Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Mr.   Hoover,   Food  Administrator. 

The  administrative  end  of  the  work 
was  assigned  to  Secretary  Redfield  and 
the  Commerce  Department. 

In  a  statement  issued  on  June  25, 
President  Wilson  made  it  quite  clear 
that  the  work  of  the  Exports  Council 
would  be  merely  advisory,  and  that  there 
would  be  no  prohibition  of  exports.  The 
statement  continued: 

The  whole  object  will  be  to  direct  ex- 
ports in  such  a  way  that  they  will  go 
first  and  by  preference  where  they  are 
most  needed  and  most  immediately  need- 
ed, and  temporarily  to  withhold  them,  if 
necessary,  where  they  can  best  be  spared. 
Our    primary    duty    in    the     matter    of 


foodstuffs  and  like  necessaries  is  to  see 
to  it  that  the  peoples  associated  with  us 
in  the  war  get  as  generous  a  proportion 
as  possible  ox  our  surplus,  but  it  will  also 
be  our  wish  and  purpose  to  supply  the 
neutral  nations  whose  peoples  depend  upon 
us  for  such  supplies  as  nearly  in  propor- 
tion to  their  need  as  the  amount  to  be 
divided  permits. 

There  will  thus  be  little  check  put  upon 
the  volume  of  exports,  and  the  prices 
obtained  for  them  will  not  be  affected 
by   this  regulation. 

This  policy  will  be  carried  out,  not  by 
prohibitive  regulations,  therefore,  but  by 
a  system   of   licensing   exports. 

The  Government  is  taking,  or  has  taken, 
steps  to  ascertain,  for  example,  just  what 
the  available  present  supply  of  wheat  and 
corn  is  remaining  from  the  crops  of  last 
year;  to  learn  from  each  of  the  countries 
exporting  these  foodstuffs  from  the  United 
States  what  their  purchases  in  this  coun- 
try now  are  and  where  they  are  stored, 
and  what  their  needs  are,  in  order  that 
we  may  adjust  things,  so  far  as  possible, 
to  our  own  needs  and  free  stocks ;  and 
this  information  is  in  course  of  being 
rapidly  supplied. 

The  step  by  which  the  President  as- 
sumed absolute  control  of  exports  of 
essential  wartime  commodities  was  taken 
in  a  proclamation  dated  July  9  and 
brought  into  operation  on  July  15.  It 
provided  that  none  of  the  commodities 
named  might  be  exported  except  under 
license.  Fifty-six  nations  and  their  pos- 
sessions,   including    allied,    neutral,    and 


EMBARGO   ON  EXPORTS  OF  COMMODITIES 


255 


enemy  countries,  were  specified  as  those 
to  which  the  licensing  system  applied. 
The  commodities  named  were  coal,  coke, 
fuel  oils,  kerosene,  and  gasoline,  includ- 
ing bunkers,  food  grains,  flour  and  meal, 
fodder  and  feeds,  meats  and  fats,  pig 
iron,  steel  billets,  ship  plates  and  struc- 
tural shapes,  scrap  iron  and  scrap  steel, 
ferro-manganese,  fertilizers,  arms,  am- 
munition and  explosives. 

Immediately  after  issuing  the  procla- 
mation the  President  made  a  statement 
in  the  course  of  which  he  said : 

In  controlling-  by  license  the  export  of 
certain  indispensable  commodities  from 
the  United  States,  the  Government  has 
first  and  chiefly  in  view  the  amelioration 
of  the  food  conditions  which  have  arisen 
or  are  likely  to  arise  in  our  own  country 
before  new  crops  are  harvested.  Not  only 
is  the  conservation  of  our  prime  food 
and  fodder  supplies  a  matter  which  vital- 
ly concerns  our  own  people,  but  the  reten- 
tion of  an  adequate  supply  of  raw  ma- 
terials is  essential  to  our  program  of 
military  and  naval  construction  and  the 
continuance  of  our  necessary  domestic 
activities.  We  shall  therefore  similarly 
safeguard   all    our    fundamental   supplies. 

The  statement  added  that  the  Gov- 
ernment did  not  want  to  hamper  neutral 
nations,  but  rather  to  co-operate  with 
them  so  long  as  supplies  from  the  United 
States  would  not  become  available,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  feed  the  enemy. 

A  Bureau  of  Export  Licenses,  as  part 
of  the  Department  of  Commerce,  was 
immediately  created,  and  its  organiza- 
tion completed  by  creating  a  division  of 
war  trade  intelligence  with  Paul  Fuller, 
Jr.,  of  New  York  as  its  head.  Mr.  Ful- 
ler is  widely  known  as  an  international 
lawyer,  and  has  served  as  a  special  agent 
abroad  for  President  Wilson.  As  a 
member  of  the  Haitian  Commission  he 
helped  reorganize  Haiti's  fiscal  system. 
The  Intelligence  Division  is  charged  with 
keeping  the  Government  informed  of  the 
movement  of  American  exports  after 
they  reach  foreign  shores. 

The  action  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment was  warmly  approved  by  the 
Allies.  Lord  Rhondda,  the  British  Food 
Controller,  said  that  the  President's  ac- 
tion was  typical  of  the  way  in  which  the 
United  States  had  thrown  itself  into  the 
war.  Public  opinion  in  England  gener- 
ally welcomed  the  embargo  as  a  means 


of  tightening  the  blockade  of  Germany. 
The  neutral  nations  of  Europe,  par- 
ticularly Holland  and  the  Scandinavian 
countries,  however,  viewed  these  meas- 
ures with  feelings  of  something  more 
than  misgiving,  believing  that  the  effect 
would  be  to  reduce  their  necessary  sup- 
plies of  food  and  raw  materials.  At- 
tempts were  made  to  refute  the  accusa- 
tion that  the  neutral  countries  were 
helping  Germany  with  their  own  sup- 
plies and  also  importing  commodities  for 
re-export  to  Germany.  The  whole  of 
this  controversy,  which  has  been  in  prog- 
ress since  the  early  months  of  the  war, 
was  revived  in  an  acute  form. 

A  request  was  made  to  the  United 
States  by  the  British  Government  on 
June  28,  1917,  for  the  adoption  of  meas- 
ures to  prevent  neutral  countries  con- 
tiguous to  the  Central  Powers  from 
importing  anything  beyond  their  needs, 
so  that  little  or  nothing  could  be  sent 
into  the  enemy  countries.  Viscount  Mil- 
ner,  member  of  the  British  War  Cabinet, 
said  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  July  4 
that  there  was  undoubtedly  still  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  exporting  from  the 
neutral  countries  into  Germany,  but  it 
was  entirely  the  neutrals'  own  home 
products. 

The  news  of  the  impending  embargo 
on  exports  from  the  United  States  caused 
considerable  alarm  in  Sweden.  E.  B. 
Trolle,  former  Foreign  Minister  and  now 
President  of  the  Swedish  Government 
War  Trade  Commission,  made  a  state- 
ment on  July  6  in  reply  to  the  assertions 
that  Sweden's  imports  were  not  intended 
solely  for  Swedish  consumption.  He  said 
in  part: 

Official  statistics  of  Sweden's  importa- 
tions for  1916,  which  are  now  nearly 
complete,  demonstrate  conclusively  the 
absolute  erroneousness  of  assertions  that 
we  have  been  bringing  in  American  prod- 
ucts for  the  purpose  of  passing  them  on 
to  the  Central  Powers.  In  several  in- 
stances our  total  importations  from 
America  show  a  decided  decrease  com- 
pared with  1913,  the '  last  normal  year, 
and  in  many  instances  in  which  our  im- 
ports from  the  United  States  have  in- 
creased, this  increase  has  fallen  consider- 
ably short  of  making  good  the  deficit 
caused  by  the  decrease  or  total  discon- 
tinuance of  our  pre-war  importations 
from  belligerent  countries. 
A  Paris  paper  recently  said  that  exports 


256 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORl 


to  Scandinavia  and  Switzerland  rose  from 
$40,000,000  in  1913  to  $183,000,000  in  1916. 
Leading  American  papers  have  published 
similar  statistics  and  have  maintained 
that  the  increase  was  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  Sweden  had  been  re-exporting 
to  Germany.  This  assertion  will  not 
stand  the  test  of  examination. 

I  may  remind  you  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  merchandise  mentioned  in  the 
American  export  statistics  never  reached 
us,  having  been  detained  by  the  British, 
and  hence  this  cannot  be  considered. 

Let  us  consider  first  the  group  show- 
ing the  greatest  increase.  This  embraces 
agricultural  products,  and,  in  particular, 
cereals.  It  is  a  fact  that  our  importa- 
tions of  cereals  from  the  United  States 
in  1916  showed  an  increase  of  72,840,000 
crowns  over  1913,  but  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  in  1913  we  imported  55,- 
000,000  crowns'  worth  of  cereals  from 
Germany,  whereas  we  did  not  bring  in 
a  crown's  worth  last  year.  Nor  must  it 
be  forgotten  that  an  increase  in  the  value 
of  products  imported  by  no  means  indi- 
cates an  increase  in  the  quantity,  in 
view  of  the  tremendous  rise  in  prices. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  total  imports 
of  cereals  in  1916  amounted  to  only  355,000 
tons,    against  515,000   in   1913. 

I  could  continue  similar  citations,  but 
these  show  the  hollowness  of  assertions 
regarding  our  imports  from  the  United 
States. 

As  against  these  explanations  an  offi- 
cial report  made  to  the  United  States 
Government  and  published  on  July  8 
showed  the  extent  to  which  Sweden  was 
furnishing  supplies  to  Germany.  Large 
quantities  of  materials  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  war  supplies  figured  promi- 
nently in  the  report.  Iron  ore  shipments 
from  Sweden  to  Germany  have  reached 
a  total  of  9,000,000  tons,  all  of  the  high 
grade  required  in  the  production  of  fine 
steel,  and  representing  an  amount  equal 
to  Sweden's  entire  pre-war  export.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  report  stated  that 


Sweden  had  shipped  to  Germany  15,000 
tons  of  ferro-silicon  and  ferro-manga- 
nese  for  hardening  shells,  together  with 
large  quantities  of  copper,  zinc,  manga- 
nese, sulphur,  and  other  ores.  Germany 
had  also  imported  from  Sweden  in  two 
years  fully  200,000  tons  of  wood  pulp 
for  use  as  a  basis  for  cellulose,  used  in- 
stead of  cotton  for  the  manufacture  of 
high  explosives,  and  large  quantities  of 
ball-bearings  for  use  in  the  manufacture 
of  war  vehicles  and  submarines. 

Another  charge  against  Sweden  made 
in  the  report  was  that  she  had  discrimi- 
nated against  the  Allies  in  the  use  of 
her  railroads.  Agricultural  machinery 
destined  for  Russia  had  been  held  up  for 
months,  Sweden  exacting  from  Russia 
extraordinary  bargains  before  delivery 
was  permitted. 

A  similar  report  was  made  in  regard 
to  large  quantities  of  American  cotton, 
said  to  have  been  passed  on  by  neutrals 
to  Germany  for  use  in  making  high  ex- 
plosives. Neutrals  are  believed  to  have 
taken  90,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  over 
and  above  their  own  requirements  since 
the  war  began.  The  United  States  Gov- 
ernment therefore  is  considering  the  lay- 
ing of  an  export  ban  on  that  commodity. 

On  July  13  the  State  Department  re- 
quested the  neutrals  contiguous  to  Ger- 
many to  furnish  this  Government  with 
complete  information  concerning  their 
production  and  supplies  of  foodstuffs, 
the  amount  exported,  to  what  countries 
exported,  and  their  estimates  as  to 
their  minimum  import  requirements.  This 
information,  supplemented  by  statistics 
already  in  the  possession  of  the  Exports 
Council,  will  determine  the  amount  of 
exports  to  go  from  the  United  States 
to  those  countries. 


Text  of  President  Wilson's  Appeal 
Against  Profiteering 


PRESIDENT    WILSON    has    insisted 
from  the  beginning  that  the  large 
business   interests   of  the   country 
should   be   content   with   normal  profits, 
instead    of    excessive    wartime    profits, 
upon  all  supplies  and  materials  entering 


into  the  Government's  prosecution  of  the 
war.  The  recommendation  of  the  Fed- 
eral Trade  Commission  (June  20)  that 
the  railroads,  coal  mines,  and  coke-pro- 
ducing companies  be  operated  by  the 
Government  was  one  of  the  more  radical 


PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  APPEAL  AGAINST  PROFITEERING        257 


steps    by    which    the    authorities    have 
sought  to  bring  about  a  definite  under- 
standing on  the  whole  range  of  wartime 
prices.     On  July  11,  1917,  the  President 
issued   the   following   extraordinary   ap- 
peal   to    the    business    interests    of    the 
country: 
My   Fellow-Countrymen  : 
.    The  Government  is  about  to  attempt  to 
determine  the  prices  at  which  it  will  ask 
you  henceforth  to  furnish  various  supplies 
which  are  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of 
the  war  and  various  materials  which  will 
be  needed  in  the  industries  by  which  the 
war    must    be    sustained.      We    shall,    of 
course,   try  to  determine  them  justly  and 
to  the  best  advantage  of  the  nation  as  a 
whole,    but   justice    is    easier    to    speak    of 
than  to  arrive  at,  and  there  are  some  con- 
siderations   which    I    hope    we    shall   keep 
steadily    in    mind    while    this    particular 
problem    of  justice    is   being   worked   out. 
I,    therefore,    take    the    liberty    of   stating 
very  candidly  my  own  view  of  the  situa- 
tion   and    of   the    principles    which    should 
guide  both  the  Government  and  the  mine 
owners  and  manufacturers  of  the  country 
in  this  difficult  matter. 

A  just  price  must,  of  course,  be  paid 
for  everything  the  Government  buys.  By 
a  just  price  I  mean  a  price  which  will 
sustain  the  industries  concerned  in  a  high 
state  of  efficiency,  provide  a  living  for 
those  who  conduct  them,  enable  them  to 
pay  good  wages,  and  make  possible  the 
expansions  of  their  enterprises  which  will 
from  time  to  time  become  necessary  as  the 
stupendous  undertakings  of  this  great  war 
develop.  We  could  not  wisely  or  reason- 
ably do  less  than  pay  such  prices.  They 
are  necessary  for  the  maintenance  and  de- 
velopment of  industry,  and  the  mainte- 
nance and  development  of  industry  are 
necessary  for  the  great  task  we  have  in 
hand. 

But  I  trust  that  we  shall  not  surround 
the  matter  with  a  mist  of  sentiment. 
Facts  are  our  masters  now.  We  ought 
not  to  put  the  acceptance  of  such  prices 
on  the  ground  of  patriotism.  Patriotism 
has  nothing  to  do  with  profits  in  a  case 
like  this.  Patriotism  and  profits  ought 
never  in  the  present  circumstances  be 
mentioned  together.  It  is  perfectly  proper 
to  discuss  profits  as  a  matter  of  business, 
with  a  view  to  maintaining  the  integrity 
of  capital  and  the  efficiency  of  labor  in 
these  tragical  months  when  the  liberty  of 
free  men  everywhere,  and  of  industry  itself 
trembles  in  the  balance,  but  it  would  be 
absurd  to  discuss  them  as  a  motive  for 
helping  to  serve  and  save  our   country. 

Patriotism  leaves  profits  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. In  these  days  of  our  supreme  trial, 
when  we  are  sending  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  our  young  men  across  the  seas 
to  serve  a  great  cause,  no  true  man  who 
stays  behind   to  work  for   them  and  sus- 


tain them  by  his  labor  will  ask  himself 
what  he  is  personally  going  to  make  out 
of  that  labor.  No  true  patriot  will  per- 
mit himself  to  take  toll  of  their  heroism 
in  money  or  seek  to  grow  rich  by  the 
shedding  of  their  blood.  He  will  give 
as  freely  and  with  as  unstinted  self- 
sacrifice  as  they.  When  they  are  giving 
their  lives  will  he  not  at  least  give  his 
money? 

I  hear  it  insisted  that  more  than  a  just 
price,  more  than  a  price  that  will  sustain 
our  industries,  must  be  paid ;  that  it  is 
necessary  to  pay  very  liberal  and  unusual 
profits  in  order  to  "  stimulate  produc- 
tion " ;  that  nothing  but  pecuniary  re- 
wards will  do — rewards  paid  in  money, 
not  in  the  mere  liberation  of  the  world. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  those  who 
argue  thus  do  not  stop  to  think  what  that 
means.  Do  they  mean  that  you  must  be 
paid,  must  be  bribed,  to  make  your  con- 
tribution, a  contribution  that  costs  you 
neither  a  drop  of  blood  nor  a  tear,  when 
the  whole  world  is  in  travail  and  men 
everywhere  depend  upon  and  call  to  you 
to  bring  them  out  of  bondage  and  make 
the  world  a  fit  place  to  live  in  again 
amidst  peace  and  justice?  Do  they  mean 
that  you  will  exact  a  price,  drive  a  bar- 
gain with  the  men  who  are  enduring  the 
agony  of  this  war  on  the  battlefield,  in 
the  trenches,  amidst  the  lurking  dangers 
of  the  sea,  of  with  the  bereaved  women 
and  pitiful  children,  before  you  will  come 
forward  to  do  your  duty  and  give  some 
part  of  your  life,  in  easy  peaceful  fashion, 
for  the  things  we  are  fighting  for,  the 
things  we  have  pledged  our  fortunes,  our 
lives,  our  sacred  honor,  to  vindicate  and 
defend — liberty  and  justice  and  fair  deal- 
ing and  the  peace  of  nations? 

Of  course  you  will'  not.  It  is  incon- 
ceivable. Your  patriotism  is  of  the  same 
self-denying  stuff  as  the  patriotism  of  the 
men  dead  or  maimed  on  the  fields  of 
France,  or  else  it  is  no  patriotism  at  all. 
Let  us  never  speak,  then,  of  profits  and 
of  patriotism  in  the  same  sentence,  but  face 
facts  and  meet  them.  Let  us  do  sound 
business,  but  not  in  the  midst  of  a  mist. 
Many  a  grievous  burden  of  taxation  will 
be  laid  on  this  nation,  in  this  generation 
and  in  the  next,  to  pay  for  this  war.  Let 
us  see  to  it  that  for  every  dollar  that  is 
taken  from  the  people's  pockets  it  shall 
be  possible  to  obtain  a  dollar's  worth  of 
the  sound  stuffs  they  need. 

Let  me  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  ship 
owners  of  the  United  States  and  the  other 
ocean  carriers  whose  example  they  have 
followed  and  ask  them  if  they  realize  what 
obstacles,  what  almost  insuperable  ob- 
stacles, they  have  been  putting  in  the 
way  of  the  successful  prosecution  of  this 
war  by  the  ocean  freight  rates  they  have 
been  exacting.  They  are  doing  every- 
thing that  high  freight  charges  can  do  to 
make  the  war  a  failure,  to  make  it  im- 
possible.    I  do  not  say  that  they  realize 


258 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


this  or  intend  it.  The  thing  has  happened 
naturally  enough,  because  the  commercial 
processes  which  we  are  content  to  see 
operate  in  ordinary  times  have,  without 
sufficient  thought,  been  continued  into  a 
period  where  they  have  no  proper  place. 
I  am  not  questioning  motives.  I  am 
merely  stating  a  fact,  and  stating  it  in 
order  that  attention  may  be  fixed  upon  it. 

The  fact  is  that  those  who  have  fixed 
war  freight  rates  have  taken  the  most 
effective  means  in  their  power  to  defeat 
the  armies  engaged  against  Germany. 
"When  they  realize  this,  we  may — I  take  it 
for  granted — count  upon  them  to  recon- 
sider the  whole  matter.  It  is  high  time. 
Their  extra  hazards  are  covered  by  war 
risk  insurance. 

I  know,  and  you  know,  what  response  to 
this  great  challange  of  duty  and  of  op- 
portunity the  nation  will  expect  of  you ; 
and  I  know  what  response  you  will  make. 
Those  who  do  not  respond,  who  do  not 
respond  in  the  spirit  of  those  who  have 
gone  to  give  their  lives  for  us  on  bloody 
fields  far  away,  may  safely  be  left  to  be 
dealt  with  by  opinion  and  the  law — for 
the  law  must,  of  course,  command  these 
things.  I  am  dealing  with  the  matter  thus 
publicly  and  frankly,  not  because  I  have 
any  doubt  or  fear  as  to  the  result,  but 
only  in  order  that  in  all  our  thinking  and 
in  all  our  dealings  with  one  another  we 
may  move  in  a  perfectly  clear  air  of 
mutual   understanding. 

And  there  is  something  more  that  we 
'must  add  to  our  thinking.  The  public  is 
now  as  much  part  of  the  Government  as 
are  the  army  and  navy  themselves;  the 


whole  people  in  all  their  activities  are  now 
mobilized  and  in  service  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  nation's  task  in  this  war; 
it  is  in  such  circumstances  impossible 
justly  to  distinguish  between  industrial 
pin cliases  made  by  the  Government  and 
industrial  purchases  made  by  the  man- 
agers of  individual  industries ;  and  it  is 
just  as  much  our  duty  to  sustain  the  in- 
dustries of  the  country,  all  the  industries 
that  contribute  to  its  life,  as  to  sustain 
our  forces  in  the  field  and  on  the  sea.  "We 
must  make  the  prices  to  the  public  the 
same  as  the  prices  to  the  Government. 

Prices  mean  the  same  thing  everywhere 
now.  They  mean  tke  efficiency  or  the 
inefficiency  of  the  nation,  whether  it  is  the 
Government  that  pays  them  or  not.  They 
mean  victory  or  defeat.  They  mean  that 
America  will  win  her  place  once  for  all 
among  the  foremost  free  nations  of  the 
world,  or  that  she  will  sink  to  defeat  and 
become  a  second-rate  power  alike  in 
thought  and  in  action.  This  is  a  day  of 
her  reckoning  and  every  man  amongst  us 
must  personally  face  that  reckoning  along 
with  her. 

The  case  needs  no  arguing.  I  assume 
that  I  am  only  expressing  your  own 
thoughts — what  must  be  in  the  mind  of 
every  true  man  when  he  faces  the  tragedy 
and  the  solemn  glory  of  the  present  war 
for  the  emancipation  of  mankind.  I  sum- 
mon you  to  a  great  duty,  a  great  privilege, 
a  shining  dignity  and  distinction.  I  shall 
expect  every  man  who  is  not  a  slacker  to 
be  at  my.  side  throughout  this  great  en- 
terprise. In  it  no  man  can  win  honor 
■Who  thinks  of  himself. 


One   Source  of   Germany's  Poison  Gases 

A  pamphlet  on  the  field  work  conducted  by  and  for  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion states  that  while  carrying  on  botanical  explorations  in  Venezuela  in  the  Fall 
of  1916  Dr.  J.  N.  Rose,  Associate  Curator  of  Plants  in  the  National  Museum, 
secured  some  interesting  specimens  of  sabadilla,  a  Venezuelan  plant  of  the  lily 
family,  from  the  seeds  of  which  are  produced  some  of  the  asphyxiating  and 
tear-producing  gases  used  by  the  Germans  in  the  present  war. 

The  specimens  were  secured  by  Dr.  Rose  through  the  co-operation  of  Consul 
Homer  Brett,  La  Guaira,  Venezuela,  who  stated  in  a  report  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  that  this  plant  is  known  locally  as  cevadilla,  a  diminutive  of  the 
Spanish  word  cebada,  meaning  barley,  and  occurs  in  Venezuela  and  Mexico.  Its 
highly  poisonous  seeds  have  long  been  used  in  medicine.  The  substances  produced 
from  sabadilla  seed  are  cavadine,  or  crystallized  veratric,  ai>  alkaloid;  veratric 
acid,  and  sabadalline,  a  heart  stimulant. 

The  dust  from  the  seed  in  the  field  irritated  the  eyes,  throat,  and  especially 
the  nose,  so  much  that  the  native  laborers  were  obliged  to  wear  masks.  It  has 
been  reported  that  the  Germans  had  bought  all  the  available  supply  of  these 
seeds  before  the  declaration  of  war.  Both  the  sabadilla  seeds  and  all  prepara- 
tions compounded  from  them  are  now,  however,  declared  contraband  by  England. 


China  Foils  a  Royalist  Coup 

Attempt  to  Restore  the  Manchu  Emperor 


THE  first  chapter  of  the  rebellion  in 
China  closed  on  June  24,  1917, 
when  a  compromise  was  arranged 
between  the  rebels  and  the  Con- 
stitutionalist leaders,  which  appeared  to 
have  bridged  over  the  principal  difficul- 
ties without  recourse  to  bloodshed.  Presi- 
dent Li  Yuan-hung's  dissolution  of  Par- 
liament on  June  14,  although  against  the 
counsel  of  Dr.  George  Morrison,  his  Brit- 
ish constitutional  adviser,  and  deeply  re- 
sented throughout  South  China,  was  on 
that  day  accepted  by  the  southern  lead- 
ers on  the  understanding  that  a  new  elec- 
tion of  both  houses  of  Parliament  would 
be  held  soon  without  military  interfer- 
ence. 

Li  Ching-hsi,  the  President's  original 
appointee  to  the  Premiership  in  place  of 
Tuan  Chi-jui,  was  accepted  by  the  rebels 
as  Premier,  and  the  beginnings  toward  a 
reorganized  Cabinet  were  made  with  Gen- 
eral Wang  Shih-cheng,  former  Chief  of 
Staff,  as  Minister  of  War,  and  Admiral 
Sah  Chen-ping,  China's  well-known  naval 
leader — who  once  served  on  a  British  bat- 
tleship— as  Minister  of  the  Navy.  Nego- 
tiations then  opened  for  the  rest  of  the 
Cabinet  posts,  and  messages  from  the  le- 
gations in  Peking  generally  agreed  that 
the  civil  war  between  the  militarists  ar?d 
the  southerners  had  for  the  time  being 
been  avoided  by  reassuring  and  patriotic 
concessions  on  both  sides. 

The  world  was  suddenly  amazed  to 
hear  on  July  1,  however,  that  Hsuan 
Tung,  the  little  Manchu  Emperor,  had 
been  put  back  on  the  Imperial  Throne  by 
the  notorious  Tartar  General,  Chang 
Hsun.  On  July  2,  the  young  Emperor 
took  possession  of  the  palace  occupied  by 
President  Li  Yuan-hung,  and  Chang,  as 
his  protector,  issued  an  edict  explaining 
that  Li  Yuan-hung  "  bemoans  his  defects 
and  asks  us  to  punish  him.  We  recog- 
nize his  mistakes  and  also  his  merits," 
the  edict  continued ;  "  we  hereby  appoint 
him  Duke  of  the  first  class." 

Chang  Hsun  accomplished  his  coup  by 
concentrating  strong  divisions  of  troops 


in  Peking  of  what  was  practically  his  per- 
sonal army,  and  he  carried  out  the  final 
arrangements,  including  the  conveying 
of  the  little  Emperor  to  the  Forbidden 
City,  at  3  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning, 
July  1.  Though  the  rest  of  the  country, 
even  the  hitherto  reactionary  rebel  Gen- 
erals, began  at  once  to  stir  to  the  defense 
of  the  republic,  Chang  Hsun  continued  to 
issue  edicts  from  Peking,  promising, 
among  other  things,  an  administration 
according  to  the  constitutional  laws  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Manchus,  the  forbidding 


GENERAL  CHANG  HSUN 
Chinese   Dictator 

of  all  blood  Princes  to  interfere  in  poli- 
tics, enforcement  of  all  foreign  treaties 
and  contracts,  abolition  of  distinction  and 
permission  of  marriage  between  Man- 
chus and  Chinese,  the  pardoning  of  all 
political  offenders,  and  the  optional  wear- 
ing of  the  queue.  The  expenses  of  the 
Imperial  household  were  to  remain  the 
same  as  under  the  republic,  (which  has 
treated  the  Manchu  family  with  the 
status  of  "visiting  royalty.")  Chang 
Hsun  was  appointed  Viceroy  of  Chihli, 
the  position  held  by  Li  Hung-chang  un- 


260 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


der  the  Dowager  Empress  when  Chang 
Hsun  was  a  Tartar  General  in  her  serv- 
ice. The  nominee  to  the  office  of  For- 
eign Affairs  was  Liang  Tun-yen,  Minis- 
ter to  America  in  1911,  a  famous  emis- 
sary on  foreign  diplomacy  under  the 
Manchus,  and  Yuan  Shih-kai's  late  Min- 
ister of  Communications. 

So  rapid  was  the  concentration  of  the 
republican  armies  on  Peking,  however, 
that  by  July  5  this  romantic  Manchu 
restoration  was  already  on  the  verge  of 
collapse.  No  important  leader  in  China 
came  to  Chang  Hsun's  relief;  and  no 
armies  from  either  North  or  South  China 
repaired  to  his  imperial  standard.  His 
30,000  troops  were  faced  on  the  5th  of 
July  by  more  than  50,000,  with  many 
thousands  of  others  hurrying  up  from 
the  south  and  west.  By  the  8th,  exactly 
a  week  after  his  sensational  re-entry  into 
the  public  life  of  the  world,  the  Manchu 
Emperor  accepted  Chang  Hsun's  resigna- 
tion and  abdicated  from  his  throne.  The 
armies  continued  to  close  in,  however,  and 
on  July  9  Chang  Hsun  handed  over  the 


administration  of  the  City  of  Peking  to 
General  Wang  Shih-cheng,  the  Minister 
of  War,  fighting  having  meanwhile  taken 
place  at  the  village  of  Lang  Fang,  south 
of  the  city. 

The  republican  troops  entered  the  city 
in  force  on  the  11th,  and  hemmed  in 
Chang  Hsun  and  his  fast  dwindling 
troops  in  the  imperial  city.  Large  num- 
bers of  these  were  captured,  and  the  final 
flight  of  Chang  Hsun  from  the  capital 
was  reported  on  the  14th,  at  which  time 
the  city  had  again  been  taken  over  by 
the  police  gendarmerie,  who  had  success- 
fully prevented  looting. 

Meanwhile,  Vice  President  Feng  Kuo- 
chang  had  succeeded  temporally  to  the 
Presidency  on  July  7,  and  had  adminis- 
tered the  republican  Government  since 
that  time  from  Nanking.  The  failure  of 
Chang  Hsun's  imperial  coup  caused  the 
situation  to  revert  to  the  compromise  of 
June  24,  on  the  basis  of  which  it  is  ex- 
pected, now  that  republicanism  is  as- 
sured, the  reorganization  of  the  Govern- 
ment may  continue  in  China. 


"We  Grazed  the  Very  Edge  of  Cowardice" 

Senator  John  Sharp  Williams  of  Mississippi,  retorting  on  July  1U  to  Senator 
Stone's  assertion  that  " we  are  in  the  war  unwisely"  delivered  a  speech  in  the  Sen- 
ate in  which  he  said: 

The  President  and  the  Administration  did  do  everything  that  human 
intellect  could  conceive  for  the  purpose,  if  possible,  of  bringing  an  end  to  the 
war.  We  did  everything  we  had  a  right  to  do.  The  President  came  to  this 
Chamber  and  made  that  speech  which  was  criticised,  not  only  abroad  but 
here  in  this  Chamber,  as  being  a  "  peace-at-any-price  "  speech — the  cele- 
brated speech  in  which  he  said  we  must  have  peace  without  victory. 

The  President  traveled  the  whole  gamut,  up  and  down.  He  allowed  this 
nation  to  suffer  humiliation  after  humiliation,  shame  piled  upon  shame — 
grazed  the  very  edge  of  cowardice  because  his  heart  beat  in  unison  with  the 
cause  of  a  just  and  lasting  peace. 

Now  we  are  in  it,  we  have  got  to  see  it  through — not  only  to  a  successful 
issue  of  this  war,  but,  while  we  are  about  it,  to  a  just  and  permanent  treaty 
which  shall  as  far  as  possible  make  war  cease  to  be  a  game  of  national 
athletes. 

We  have  got  to  see  it  through  to  a  point  where  the  world  can  hope  that 
there  will  be  peace  for  some  generations — at  any  rate  to  a  point  where  the 
civilized  world  shall  say  to  any  nation  which  goes  to  war  without  having 
previously  submitted  the  cause  in  controversy,  or  proposed  to  submit  it,  to 
fair  and  impartial  arbitration :  "  You  are  an  outlaw  nation.  You  are  no 
longer  within  the  pale  of  international  law.  You  are  everybody's  enemy, 
and  we  shall  treat  you  as  such  until  you  come  back  to  your  senses." 

We  do  not  propose  in  time  of  peace  to  prepare  for  war,  always.  We  pro- 
pose now  in  time  of  war  to  prepare  for  peace,  and  for  a  just  and  lasting 
peace,  and  we  are  going  through  with  it  with  men  and  money  and  ships,  on 
land  and  on  sea,  and  in  the  air,  and  above  the  land  and  sea  and  under  the 
sea,  until  we  have  seen  it  through  not  only  to  peace,  but  to  a  just  and  lasting 
peace,  a  righteous  peace. 


War  Aims  and  Peace  Terms 
Restated 

Official  Utterances  of  Premier  Lloyd  George,  Baron  Sonnino, 
and  Other  Ministers 


David  Lloyd  George,  British  Prime 
Minister,  made  a  noteworthy  speech  be- 
fore the  Burgesses  in  St.  Andrew's  Hall, 
Glasgow,  on  June  29,  1917.  The  most 
significant  passages  were  aimed  at  the 
German  Social  Democratic  peace  program 
as  stated  at  Stockholm,  and  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

NEVER  have  good  men  stood  more 
in  need  of  sympathy,  support,  and 
co-operation  than  the  men  who  are 
guiding  the  fate  of  the  nation  in 
this  hour  in  all  lands.  They  were  called 
to  the  helm  in  a  raging  tornado,  the  most 
destructive  that  ever  swept  over  the 
world  on  land  or  sea.  Great  Britain  so 
far  has  weathered  the  storm.  She  has 
successfully  ridden  the  waves,  but  the 
hurricane  is  not  yet  over  and  it  will  need 
all  the  efforts,  all  the  skill,  all  the  patience 
and  all  the  courage  and  endurance  of  all 
on  board  to  steer  the  country  through 
without  foundering  in  the  angry  deep. 

But  with  the  co-operation  of  everybody 
we  should  get  through  once  again.  It  is 
a  satisfaction  that  Great  Britain  had  no 
share  in  the  responsibility  for  these  grim 
events.  Our  part  was  as  honoraole  and 
as  chivalrous  a  part  as  was  ever  taken 
by  any  country  in  any  war.  The  people 
must  be  sustained  by  the  unswerving 
conviction  that  no  part  of  the  guilt  for 
this  terrible  bloodshed  rests  on  the  con- 
science of  their  native  land. 

The  story  of  the  early  days  of  the 
war  is  not  that  of  the  wolf  and  the 
lamb,  for  Germany,  expecting  to  find  a 
lamb,  found  a  lion.     *     *     * 

In  my  judgment  the  war  will  come 
to  an  end  when  the  allied  armies  have 
reached  the  aims  which  they  set  out  to 
attain  when  they  accepted  the  challenge 
thrown  down  by  Germany.  As  soon  as 
these  objectives  have  been  reached  and 
guaranteed,  this  war  will  come  to  an 
end,  but  if  the  war  comes  to  an  end  a 


single  minute  before,  it  will  be  the  great- 
est disaster  that  has  ever  befallen  man- 
kind. 

No  doubt  we  can  have  peace  now  at 
a  price.  Germany  wants  peace — even 
Prussia  ardently  desires  it.  They  said 
give  us  some  indemnity  for  the  wrongs 
we  have  done,  just  a  little  territory  here 
and  a  little  there  and  just  a  few  privi- 
leges in  other  directions,  and  we  will 
clear  out.  We  are  told  that  if  we  are 
prepared  to  make  peace  now  Germany 
will  restore  the  independence  of  Belgium. 
But  who  has  said  so? 

No  German  statesman  has  ever  said 
he  would  restore  the  independence  of 
Belgium.  The  German  Chancellor  came 
very  near  to  it,  but  all  the  Junkers  fell 
on  him  and  he  received  a  sound  box  on 
the  ears  from  the  mailed  fist. 

The  only  terms  on  which  Germany  has 
suggested*  restoring  Belgium  are  not 
those  of  independence,  but  of  vassalage. 
Then  came  the  doctrine  of  the  status 
quo  and  no  annexation  and  no  indem- 
nities. No  German  statesman  has  ac- 
cepted even  that. 

But  what  did  indemnity  mean?  In- 
demnity is  an  essential  part  of  the 
mechanism  of  civilization  in  every  land 
and  clime.  Otherwise  what  guarantee 
have  we  against  a  repetition?  Then  it 
is  said,  "  That  is  not  what  you  are  after. 
You  are  after  our  colonies,  and  prob- 
ably Palestine  and  Mesopotamia."  If 
we  had  entered  into  this  war  purely  for 
the  German  colonies  we  would  not  have 
raised  an  army  of  3,000,000  or  4,000,000. 
We  could  have  got  them  without  adding 
a  single  battalion  to  the  army. 

Our  greatest  army  is  in  France.  We 
are  there  to  recover  for  the  people  who 
have  been  driven  out  of  their  patrimony 
the  land  which  belonged  to  them. 

As  to  Mesopotamia,  it  is  not  and 
never  has  been  Turkish.    You  have  only 


262 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


to  read  the  terrible  reports  to  see  what 
a  wilderness  the  Turks  have  made  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  What  is  to  happen  to 
Mesopotamia  must  be  left  to  the  peace 
conference,  and  there  is  one  thing  that 
will  never  happen  to  it.  It  will  never 
be  restored  to  the  blasting  tyranny  of 
the  Turks.  The  same  observation  applies 
to  Armenia. 

As  to  the  German  colonies,  that  again 
is  a  matter  which  must  be  settled  by  the 
great  international  peace  conference. 
When  we  come  to  settle  who  must  be 
the  future  trustees  of  those  uncivilized 
lands  we  must  take  into  account  the 
sentiments  of  the  peoples  themselves  and 
whether  they  are  anxious  to  secure  the 
return  of  their  former  masters  or 
whether  they  would  rather  trust  their 
destinies  to  other  and  juster  and  gentler 
hands.  The  wishes,  desires,  and  interests 
of  the  peoples  themselves  of  those  coun- 
tries must  be  the  dominant  factors  in 
settling  their  future  government. 

Peace  must  be  framed  on  so  equitable 
a  basis  that  the  nations  would  not  wish 
to  disturb  it.  It  must  be  guaranteed  by 
destruction  of  Prussian  military  power, 
so  that  the  confidence  of  the  German 
people  shall  be  put  in  the  equity  of  their 
cause  and  not  in  the  might  of  their 
armies.  A  better  guarantee  than  either 
would  be  democratization  of  the  German 
Government. 

No  one  wishes  to  dictate  to  the  Ger- 
man people  the  form  of  government  un- 
der which  they  should  choose  to  live. 
But  it  is  right  that  we  should  say  that  we 
will  enter  into  negotiations  with  a  free 
Government  of  Germany  with  a  differ- 
ent attitude  of  mind  and  a  different 
temper  and  different  spirit  and  with  less 
suspicion  and  more  confidence  than  we 
should  with  a  Government  whom  we  feel 
today  to  be  dominated  by  the  aggressive 
and  arrogant  spirit  of  Prussian  militar- 
ism. 

All  the  allied  Governments  will,  in  my 
judgment,  be  acting  wisely  if  they  draw 
that  distinction  in  their  general  attitude 
toward  the  discussion  of  peace  terms. 

As  to  the  military  situation,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  startling  developments 
in  Russia  have  modified  the  military 
situation   this   year   temporarily   to   our 


disadvantage,  but  permanently  for  the 
tetter.  What  happened  on  the  western 
front  showed  what  could  have  been  ac- 
complished this  year  if  all  the  allied 
forces  had  been  ready  to  bring  all-round 
pressure  to  bear. 

In  training,  equipment,  and  experience 
our  army  is  infinitely  better  than  it  ever 
has  been.  The  finest  collection  of  trench- 
pounding  machines  which  any  army  has 
ever  seen  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
British  forces. 

The  Russian  revolution,  beneficent  as 
it  undoubtedly  is,  great  as  will  be  its  re- 
sults both  this  year  and  even  more  here- 
after, undoubtedly  has  had  the  effect  of 
postponing  complete  victory.  But  Russia 
will  regain  her  strength  with  a  bound, 
and  become  mightier  and  more  formid- 
able than  ever.     *     *     * 

The  strength  of  Great  Britain,  once 
more  flung  into  the  breach,  has  once 
more  saved  Europe  and  human  liberty. 
But  now  Russia  is  gaining  strength  every 
day.  It  has  a  capable  Government.  It 
never  had  a  better  one,  and  her  power 
in  the  future  will  be  inspired  by  free- 
dom. 

America,  always  the  mainstay  of  free- 
dom, is  beginning  to  send  her  valiant 
sons  to  the  battlefields  of  Europe  to 
rally  around  the  standard  of  liberty. 
That  is  why  victory  now  is  more  assured 
and  more  complete  than  we  could  have 
hoped  for. 

Victory  is  assured  under  two  condi- 
tions. The  first  is  that  the  German 
submarine  attacks  must  be  defeated  or 
kept  within  reasonable  bounds. 

The  losses  are  heavy.  They  may,  and 
probably  will,  drive  us  to  further  restric- 
tions in  some  trades  and  perhaps  to 
hardships.  That  all  depends  on  the  na- 
tion, for,  after  carefully  reckoning  the 
chances  and  the  possibilities,  the  Gov- 
ernment has  come  to  the  conclusion, 
based  on  best  advice,  that  submarines 
can  neither  starve  us  at  home  nor  drive 
our  armies  out  of  the  field  abroad.  Our 
losses  during  May  and  June  were  heavy, 
but  they  were  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
tons  beneath  the  Admiralty  forecast. 

We  are  beginning  to  get  them.  Ar- 
rangements  also   have   been    made    for 


WAR  AIMS  AND  PEACE   TERMS  RESTATED 


263 


frustrating  them  and  for  destroying 
them.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  if  we  all  do  our  part  the  German 
submarine  will  be  almost  as  great  a 
failure  as  the  German  Zeppelin. 

If  we  do  not  waste  we  shall  not  starve. 
We  have  succeeded  in  increasing  the 
food  supply,  and  we  are  engaged  in  a 
great  shipbuilding  program  for  fighting 
and  for  carrying  purposes.  If  every 
employer  and  every  workman  would  pull 
together,  between  them  they  would  pull 
us  through.     *     *     * 


Europe  is  again  drenched  with  the 
blood  of  its  bravest  and  its  best,  but  do 
not  forget  the  great  succession  of  hal- 
lowed causes.  They  are  the  stations  of 
the  cross  on  the  road  to  the  emancipa- 
tion of  mankind.  I  again  appeal  to  the 
people  of  this  country  and  beyond  that 
they  should  continue  to  fight  for  the 
great  goal  of  international  rights  and 
international  justice,  so  that  never  again 
shall  brute  force  .  sit  on  the  throne  of 
justice  nor  barbaric  strength  wield  the 
sceptre  over  liberty. 


Sonnino  On  Italy's  War  Aims 


Baron  Sonnino,  the  Italian  Minister  of 
War,  addressing  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties at  Rome  on  June  21,  1917,  declared 
that  Italy  did  not  aspire  to  frontiers  con- 
stituting a  menace  to  any  neighboring 
State,  but  was  seeking  a  bulwark  ade- 
quate to  protect  the  independence  of  a 
pacific  country.    He  said,  in  part: 

The  hour  is  solemn  for  our  country.  We 
cannot  deny  that.  'By  the  prolongation  of 
the  war  general  conditions  have  become 
worse  day  by  day,  and  they  have  become 
even  more  disagreeable  for  the  nations  as- 
piring now,  or  who  may  be  expected  to 
aspire,  to  an  equitable  and  durable  peace.  It 
must  be  equitable  to  prove  durable— a  peace 
which  will  mark  an  advance  in  the  march  of 
civilization.  It  is  to  obtain  such  a  peace 
that  we  appeal  to  the  entire  nation  without 
distinction  of  rank,  sex  or  age,  asking  that 
each  continue  his  efforts  in  the  sacred  name 
of  all  our  brothers  who  have  given  their 
health  or  life  for  the  common  cause. 

Every  momentary  weakness,  every  hesita- 
tion, might  render  useless  the  steps  which 
have  been  taken  up  to  the  present  amid  so 
many  arduous  difficulties  and  innumerable 
sacrifices,  and  might  even  imperil  the  vic- 
torious outcome. 

Italy  counts  today  absolutely  upon  the  de- 
votion of  her  sons,  upon  their  actions,  their 
words,  and  their  sublime  spirit  of  self-ab- 
negation. 

Baron  Sonnino  pointed  out  that  it  was 
impossible  for  the  country  of  Mazzini 
and  Garibaldi  to  accept  a  peace  which 


should  leave  a  country  under  foreign  op- 
pression, which  should  exclude  all  repara- 
tion for  all  the  iniquities  and  violent 
cruelties  endured  by  Belgium,  which,  by 
implication,  should  tolerate  the  organized 
extermination  of  the  Armenians  by  the 
Turks,  and  stand  in  the  way  of  a  unified 
and  independent  Poland.  Baron  Sonnino 
continued : 

Would  that  ever  be  a  peace  such  as  ha3 
been  proposed  by  President  Wilson,  which 
his  memorable  message  guaranteed  for  the 
future  and  for  which  the  United  States  has 
chivalrously  drawn  the  sword?  It  would  be 
an  insult  to  suppose  so.  The  objective  for 
which  all  our  politics  are  striving  and  by 
which  all  our  warfare  is  being  guided  is 
peace,  not  conquests  or  imperialism — a  desire 
to  assure  the  country  of  the  future  of  dura- 
ble peace  and  free  competition  in  the  de- 
velopment of  civilization  and  material  re- 
sources. And  for  a  durable  peace  it  is 
necessary  for  Italy  to  have  assurance  of 
frontiers  according  to  nationality,  a  condi- 
tion which  is  indispensable  to  its  effective 
independence. 

Far  from  us  is  the  thought  not  only  of 
the  oppression  but  also  of  the  debasement  of 
any  race  or  State,  far  or  near,  big  or  little. 
We  seek,  on  the  contrary,  to  co-operate  in 
the  constitution  of  an  equilibrium  of  power 
which  is  a  condition  and  guarantee  of  re- 
ciprocal respect  and  mutual  concessions — es- 
sential elements  in  the  liberty  and  equality 
of  the  communal  and  social  life  of  indi- 
viduals as  of  peoples. 


French  Note  to  Russia  Defining  War  Aims 


Great  Britain  and  France  both  replied 
on  June  11,  1917,  to  the  Russian  procla- 
mation of  April  9,  restating  their  war 
aims  in  the  light  of  the  Russian  dictum 
concerning  "no  annexations  and  no  in- 


demnities."   The  British  reply  was  print- 
ed in  the  preceding  issue  of  this  mag- 
azine.    The  text  of  the  French  note  is 
as  follows: 
It  is  with  entire  satisfaction  that  the  Gov- 


26  i 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


ernment  of  the  French  Republic  has  taken 
cognizance  of  the  proclamation  of  the  Rus- 
sian Provisional  Government  of  April  9, 
(March  27,  Old  Style,)  which  the  Russian 
Ambassador  was  instructed  to  communicate 
to  it.  The  Government  of  the  republic 
shares  the  full  confidence  which  the  Provi- 
sional Government  entertains  in  the  restora- 
tion of  the  political,  economical,  and  military 
forces  of  the  country. 

It  does  not  doubt  that  the  measures  an- 
nounced for  the  improvement  of  the  condi- 
tions in  which  the  people  mean  to  carry 
through  to  victory  the  war  against  an  ad- 
versary who  threatens  their  national  patri- 
mony more  than  ever,  will  permit  them  to 
drive  him  from  their  soil,  definitely  establish 
their  reconquered  liberty,  and  thus  effectively 
take  their  part  in  the  common  struggle  of 
the  Allies.  In  this  way  the  efforts,  which 
our  enemies  do  not  cease  to  renew,  to  sow 
misunderstanding  among  the  Allies,  and  to 
obtain  credit  for  the  most  lying  reports  re- 
garding their  reciprocal  decisions,  will  be 
rendered  vain. 

The  Government  of  the  French  Republic, 
always  confident  in  the  sentiment  of  its  old 
and  faithful  ally,  is  glad  to  feel  itself  in  full 
community  of  ideas  with  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment and  people  regarding  the  principles 
by  which  its  policy  has  not  ceased  to  be  in- 
spired during  the  present  conflict.  France 
thinks  of  oppressing  no  people  and  no  na- 
tionality, not  even  those  of  her  enemies  of 
today,  but  she  intends  that  the  oppression 
which  has  so  long  weighed  upon  the  world 
shall  be  finally  destroyed  and  that  the  au- 
thors of  the  crimes  which  will  remain  for 
our  enemies  the  shame  of  this  war  shall  be 
chastised. 

Leaving  to  her  enemies  the  spirit  of  con- 
quest and  greed  by  which  they  are  inspired 
In  peace  as  in  war,  France  will  never  aspire 
to  snatch  any  territory  from  its  legitimate 
owners.  Rebuffed  in  all  the  efforts  which 
she  made  to  maintain  peace,  forced  to  reply 
by  arms  to  the  most  unjust  of  aggressions, 
she  entered  the  war  only  to  defend  her  lib- 
erty and  her  national  patrimony,  and  to  as- 
sure henceforward  in  the  world  a  respect  for 
the  independence  of  peoples.     Just  as  Russia 


proclaimed  the  restoration  of  Poland  to  her 
former  independence,  so  France  hails  with 
joy  the  effort  which  is  being  carried  on  in 
different  parts  of  the  world  by  peoples  still 
.  tied  by  the  bonds  of  a  dependence  which  has 
been  condemned  by  history. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE 

Be  it  to  conquer  or  recover  their  national 
independence,  to  assert  their  rights  to  the 
respect  of  an  ancient  civilization,  or  to  shake 
this  Germanic  tyranny  ready  to  weigh  so 
heavily  on  peoples  less  advanced  on  the  path 
of  progress,  the  only  end  of  the  war  which 
France  looks  to  is  the  triumph  of  right  and 
justice.  For  herself  she  intends  that  her 
faithful  and  loyal  provinces  of  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  which  were  snatched  from  her  in 
the  past  by  violence  shall  be  liberated  and 
shall  return  to  her. 

With  her  allies  France  will  fight  until  vic- 
tory in  order  that  they  may  be  assured  the 
complete  restoration  of  their  territorial  rights 
and  their  political  and  economic  indepen- 
dence, as  well  as  reparatory  indemnities  for 
the  long  toll  of  inhuman  and  unjustified  acts 
of  devastation  and  the  indispensable  guaran- 
tees against  a  recurrence  of  the  evils  caused 
by  the  incessant  acts  of  provocation  of  our 
enemies. 

The  Government  of  the  repubjic  remains, 
like  the  Russian  people,  convinced  that  it  is 
by  drawing  inspiration  from  these  principles 
that  the  foreign  policy  of  Russia  will  attain 
the  aims  of  a  people  enamored  of  justice  and 
liberty,  and  that  after  a  victorious  struggle 
the  Allies  will  be  able  to  create  a  solid  and 
lasting  peace  founded  on  right.  The  Russian 
Government  may  be  assured  that  the  French 
Government  is  desirous  of  coming  to  an  un- 
derstanding with  it  not  only  regarding  the 
means  for  continuing  the  struggle,  but  also 
regarding  those  for  ending  it,  by  examining 
and  settling  a  common  agreement  as  to  the 
conditions  in  which  they  may  hope  to  reach 
a  final  settlement  in  accordance  with  the 
ideas  by  which  their  conduct  in  this  war  is 
directed. 

To  this  reply  was  attached  the  text  of 
the  Order  of  the  Day  voted  on  June  5 
by  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies. 


Alsace-Lorraine:    The  Declaration  of  Bordeaux 


The  Order  of  the  Day  adopted  on  June 
5,  1917,  by  the  French  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, at  the  close  of  the  debate  on  the 
Stockholm  peace  movement,  contained 
this  passage: 

"  Unanimously  indorsing  the  protest 
made  before  the  National  Assembly 
in  1871  by  the  representatives  of  Al- 
sace-Lorraine against  the  wresting  of 
that  territory  from  France,  the  Cham- 
ber declares  that  it  awaits  from  the  pres- 


ent war,  which  has  been  imposed  upon 
Europe  by  the  aggression  of  imperialist 
Germany,  along  with  the  liberation  of 
the  invaded  provinces,  the  return  of  Al- 
sace-Lorraine to  the  mother  country,  and 
the  just  reparation  of  damages." 

The  Declaration  of  Bordeaux  referred 
to  in  this  Order  of  the  Day  was  printed 
in  full  in  the  Bulletin  des  Armees  a  few 
days  later,  and  is  here  translated  for 
Current  History  Magazine: 


ALSACE-LORRAINE:  THE  DECLARATION  OF  BORDEAUX        265 


DECLARATION  OP  BORDEAUX 
National   Assembly,    Session    of  1871.     Annex 

to   the  Official  Report   of  Feb.   16,  1S71. 
Proposition  relative  to  the  declaration  of  the 
Deputies  of  the  Departments  of  the  Upper 
Rhine,    Lower    Rhine,    Moselle,    Meurthe, 
and   of   the   Vosges,   in  regard   to    Alsace 
and  Lorraine. 
Presented   by  Messrs  Leon   Gambetta,   Gros- 
jean,   Humbert,   Kuss,   Saglio,   H.   Varroy, 
Titot,     Andre,     Kable,     Tachard,     Rehm, 
Edouard,      Teutsch,     Domes,     Hartmann, 
Ostermann,    La    Flize,    Deschange,    Billy, 
Bardon,  Viox,   Albrecht,   Alfred  Koechlin, 
Charles  Boersch,   Grandpierre,   Chauffour, 
Rencker,   Melsheim,   Keller,   Brice,   Berlet, 
Schneegans,    Ed.    Bamberger,    Noblott    A. 
Boell,    Scheurer-Kestner,    Ancevon. 
"We,  the  undersigned,  French  citizens  chosen 
and  deputed  by  the  Departments  of  the  Lower 
Rhine,    Upper   Rhine,    Moselle,   Meurthe,   and 
the    Vosges,    to    bring    to    the    National    As- 
sembly   of    France     the    expression    of    the 
unanimous  will  of  the  populations  of  Alsace 
and   Lorraine,    after   having   met   and   delib- 
erated, have  resolved  to  proclaim  in  a  solemn 
declaration     their     sacred     and     unalterable 
rights,    in    order    that    the    National    Assem- 
bly, France,  and  Europe,  having  under  their 
eyes  the  prayers  and  the  resolutions  of  our 
constituents,    can    neither    commit   nor   allow 
to  be  committed  any  act  that  shall  attaint  the 
rights  whose  guardianship  and  defense  have 
been  intrusted  to  us  by  formal  mandate. 
DECLARATION 

I. — Alsace  and  Lorraine  do  not  wish  to  be 
alienated. 

Associated  .  for  more  than  two  centuries 
with  France  in  both  good  and  ill?  fortune, 
these  two  provinces,  ceaselessly  exposed  to 
the  blows  of  the  enemy,  have  constantly 
sacrificed  themselves  for  the  national  wel- 
fare; they  have  sealed  with  their  blood  the 
indissoluble  pact  that  binds  them  to  a 
united  France.  Made  the  subject  of  dispute' 
today  by  the  pretensions  of  a  foreign  ag- 
gressor, they  affirm  in  the  face  of  all  ob- 
stacles and  all  dangers,  under  the  very  yoke 
of  the  invader,   their  unshakable  fidelity. 

In  full  unanimity  the  citizens  who  remained 
in  their  homes,  like  the  soldiers  who  rallied 
to  the  flag,  the  former  by  voting,  the  latter 
by  fighting,  have  made  known  to  Germany 
and  to  the  world  the  immovable  will  of 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  remain  French  ter- 
ritory. 

II. — France  can  neither  consent  to  nor  sign 
the    cession   of  Alsace   and   Lorraine. 

She  cannot,  without  imperiling  her  national 
existence,  deal  a  mortal  blow  at  her  own 
unity  by  abandoning  those  who  have  ac- 
quired   by    two    hundred    years    of    patriotic 


devotion  the  right  to  be  defended  by  the 
whole  country  against  the  aggressions  of 
victorious  force. 

An  assembly,  even  though  a  product  of 
universal  suffrage,  could  not  invoke  its  sov- 
ereignty to  cover  or  ratify  exactions  de- 
structive of  the  national  integrity:  it  would 
be  arrogating  to  itself  a  right  which  does 
not  belong  even  to  a  people  united  in  its 
legislative  functions.  Such  an  excess  of 
power,  whose  effect  would  be  to  mutilate  the 
mother  community,  would  expose  those 
guilty  of  it  to  the  just  denunciations  of 
history.  France  can  endure  the  blows  of 
brute  force;  she  cannot  sanction  its  decrees. 

III. — Europe  can  neither  permit  nor  ratify 
the  abandonment  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine. 

Guardians  of  the  rules  of  justice  and  in- 
ternational law,  the  civilized  nations  could 
not  long  remain  insensible  to  the  fate  of  their 
neighbor,  under  pain  of  being,  in  their  turn, 
victims  of  the  aggression  which  they  had 
tolerated.  Modern  Europe  cannot  allow  a 
people  to  be  seized  like  a  wretched  herd;  it 
cannot  remain  deaf  to  the  repeated  protests 
of  the  threatened  communities ;  it  owes  it  to 
its  own  safety  to  forbid  such  abuses  of  force. 
It  knows,  besides,  that  the  unity  of  France 
is  today,  as  in  the  past,  a  guaranty  of  the 
general  order  of  the  world,  a  barrier  against 
the  spirit  of  conquest  and  invasion.  Peace 
made  at  the  price  of  a  cession  of  territory 
would  only  be  a  ruinous  truce  and  not  a 
definitive  peace.  It  would  be  for  all  a  cause 
of  internal  agitation,  of  legitimate  and  per- 
manent provocation  throughout  the  earth. 

In  brief,  Alsace  and  Lorraine  protest  highly 
against  all  cession ;  France  cannot  consent 
to  it,  Europe  cannot  sanction  it. 

In  support  of  this  we  call  upon  our  fellow- 
citizens  of  France,  and  upon  the  Govern- 
ments and  nations  of  the  whole  world,  to 
witness  that  in  advance  we  hold  null  and  vqid 
all  acts  and  treaties,  votes  or  plebiscites, 
which  shall  consent  to  abandoning  to  the 
stranger  all  or  part  of  our  provinces  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine. 

We  proclaim  by  these  presents  forever  in- 
violable the  right  of  citizens  of  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  to  remain  members  of  the  French 
Nation,  and  we  swear,  both  for  ourselves  and 
for  those  we  represent,  likewise  for  our 
children  and  their  descendants,  to  claim  it 
eternally  by  all  ways  and  means  and  against 
all  usurpers. 

The  undersigned  members  of  the  National 
Assembly  place  on  file  the  following  propo- 
sition with  the  Chamber  of  Deputies :  "  The 
National  Assembly  has  taken  under  consid- 
eration the  unanimous  declaration  of  the 
Deputies  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  Upper  Rhine, 
Moselle,  Meurthe,  and  Vosges."  [Followed 
by  the  signatures.] 


Russian  Mission  to  United  States 

Ambassador  Bakhmeteff,  in  a  Series  of  Addresses, 
Tells  of  Free  Russia's  Purposes 


THE  Russian  Mission  to  the  United 
States,  which  was  appointed  be- 
fore the  reconstruction  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  arrived 
at  Seattle  on  June  13,  1917.  The  mission 
was  headed  by  Special  Ambassador  Boris 
A.  Bakhmeteff,  and  included  about  forty 
officials  and  experts,  representing  nearly 
every  department  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment. The  following  constituted  the  spe- 
cial embassy,  in  order  of  their  rank: 

Ambassador  Boris  A.  Bakhmeteff,  (and 
wife.) 

Lieut.  Gen.  Roop,  representative  of  the 
Russian   Army. 

Professor  Lomonosoff,  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Engineers  and  representative  of  the 
Ministry. 

Professor  Borodine,  'representative  of  the 
Ministry  of  Agriculture. 

M.  Novitzky,  representative  of  the  Min- 
istry of  Finance. 

Attaches— M.  Soukine,  First  Secretary  of 
Legation,  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs ;  Cap- 
tain Dubassoff  of  the  Guard,  aide  de  camp, 
(and  wife,)  and  Captain  Chutt. 

Reaching  Washington  on  June  19,  the 
visitors  were  greeted  by  Secretary  of 
State  Lansing,  and  received  an  enthusi- 
astic welcome  as  they  passed  through  the 
streets  from  the  station.  Next  day  Am- 
bassador Bakhmeteff  was  formally  pre- 
sented to  President  Wilson,  while  General 
Roop  paid  his  respects  to  Secretary 
Baker. 

Program  of  Nen>  Russia 

Outlining  the  political  and  military 
program  of  "  New  Russia  "  to  the  news- 
paper correspondents  at  Washington,  M. 
Bakhmeteff  said: 

In  behalf  of  the  Russian  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment and  in  behalf  of  all  the  people  of 
new  Russia,  I  have  been  first  of  all  sent 
here  to  express  their  gratitude  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  for  the  prompt 
recognition  of  the  new  political  order  in 
Russia.  This  noble  action  of  the  world's 
greatest  democracy  has  afforded  us  •  strong 
moral  support  and  has  created  among  our 
people  a  general  feeling  of  profound  appre- 
ciation. Close  and  active  relationship  be- 
tween the  two  nations  based  upon  complete 
and    sincere  .  understanding    encountered    in- 


evitable obstacles  during  the  old  regime  be- 
cause of  its  very  nature.  The  situation  is 
now  radically  changed  with  free  Russia  start- 
ing  a  new   era   in   her  national   life. 

The  Provisional  Government  is  actively 
mobilizing  all  its  resources  and  is  making 
great  efforts  to  organize  the  country  and 
the  army  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the 
war.  We  hope  to  establish  a  very  close  and 
active  co-operation  with  the  United  States, 
in  order  to  secure  the  most  successful  and 
intensive  accomplishment  of  all  work  neces- 
sary for  our  common  end.  For  the  purpose 
of  discussing  all  matters  relating  to  military 
affairs,  munitions  and  supplies,  railways  and 
transportation,  finance,  and  agriculture,  our 
mission  includes  eminent  and  distinguished 
specialists. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  hope  that  the  result 
of  our  stay  and  work  in  America  will  bring 
about  a  clear  understanding  on  the  part  of 
your  public  of  what  has  happened  in  Russia 
and  also  of  the  present  situation  and  the  end 
for  which  our  people  are  most  earnestly 
striving.  The  achievements  of  the  revolu- 
tion are  to  be  formally  set  forth  in  funda- 
mental laws  enacted  by  a  Constitutional  As- 
sembly, which  is  to  be  convoked  as  soon 
as  possible.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Provis- 
ional Government  is  confronted  with  the 
task  of  bringing  into  life  the  democratic 
principles  which  were  promulgated  during  the 
revolution. 

New  Russia  received  from  the  old  Govern- 
ment a  burdensome  heritage  of  economic  and 
technical  disorganization  which  affected  all 
branches  of  the  life  of  the  State,  a  disor- 
ganization which  weighs  yet  heavily  on  the 
whole  country.  The  Provisional  Government 
is  doing  everything  in  its- power  to  relieve 
the  difficult  situation.  It  has  adopted  many 
measures  for  supplying  plants  with  raw  ma- 
terial and  fuel,  for.  regulating  the  transpor- 
tation of  the  food  supply  for  the  army  and 
for  the  country,  and  for  relieving  the  finan- 
cial difficulties. 

The  participation  in  the  new  Government 
by  new  members  who  are  active  and  prom- 
inent leaders  in  the  Council  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Delegates  has  secured  full  sup- 
port from  the  democratic  masses.  The  es- 
teem in  which  such  leaders  as  M.  Kerensky 
and  M.  Tseretelli  and  others  are  held  among 
the  working  classes  and  soldiers  is  contrib- 
uting to  the  strength  and  stability  of  the  new 
Government.  The  Constitutional-Democratic 
Party,  the  Labor  Party,  the  Socialist-Popu- 
lists, and,  excepting  a  small  group  of  ex- 
tremists, the  Social  Democrats— all  these  par- 
ties, embracing  the  vast  majority  of  the  peo- 


RUSSIAN  MISSION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 


267 


pie,  are  represented  by  strong  leaders  in  the 
new  Government,  thereby  securing  for  it  au- 
thority. 

Plans   of   the   Government 

Firmly  convinced  that  unity  of  power  is  es- 
sential, and  casting  aside  class  and  special 
interests,  all  social  and  political  elements 
have  joined  in  the  national  program  which 
the  new  Government  proclaimed  and  which 
it  is  striving  to  fulfill.     This  program  reads : 

"  The  Provisional  Government,  rejecting, 
"  in  accord  with  the  whole  people  of  Russia, 
"all  thought  of  separate  peace,  puts  it 
"  openly  as  its  deliberate  purpose  the 
"  promptest  achievement  of  universal  peace ; 
"  such  peace  to  presume  no  dominion  over 
*'  other  nations,  no  seizure  of  their  national 
"  property  nor  any  forced  usurpation  of  for- 
"  eign  territory ;  peace  with  no  annexations 
"  or  contributions,  based  upon  the  free  de- 
"  termination  by  each  nation  of  its  des- 
"  tinies. 

"  Being  fully  convinced  that  the  establish- 
"  ment  of  democratic  principles  in  its  in- 
"  ternal  and  external  policy  has  created  a  new 
"  factor  in  the  striving  of  allied  democracies 
"  for  durable  peace  and  fraternity  of  all  na- 
"  tions,  the  Provisional  Government  will  take 
"  preparatory  steps  for  an  agreement  with 
•*  the  Allies  founded  on  its  declaration  of 
"  March  27.  The  Provisional  Government  is 
"  conscious  that  the  defeat  of  Russia  and  her 
"  allies  would  be  the  source  of  the  greatest 
"  misery,  and  would  not  only  postpone  but 
"  even  make  impossible  the  establishment  of 
"  universal  peace  on  a  firm  basis. 

"  The  Provisional  Government  is  convinced 
"  that  the  revolutionary  army  of  Russia  will 
"  not  allow  the  German  troops  to  destroy 
"  our  allies  on  the  western  front  and  then 
"  fall  upon  us  with  the  whole  might  of  their 
"  weapons.  The  chief  aim  of  the  Provisional 
"  Government  will  be  to  fortify  the  demo- 
"  cratic  foundations  of  the  army  and  organ- 
"  ize  and  consolidate  the  army's  fighting 
"  power  for  its'  defensive  as  well  as  offensive 
*'  purpose." 

The  last  decision  of  the  Russian  Council  of 
"Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  the  de- 
cision of  the  All-Russian  Peasant  Congress, 
the  decision  of  the  Duma,  the  voice  of  the 
country  as  expressed  from  day  to  day  by  al- 
most the  entire  Russian  press,  in  resolutions 
adopted  at  different  conferences  and  con- 
gresses—all these  confirm  their  full  support 
to  this  national  program  and  leave  not  the 
slightest  doubt  that  Russia  is  decided  as  to 
the  necessity  to  fight  the  German  autocracy 
until  the  conditions  for  a  general  and  stable 
peace  in  Europe  are  established.  Such  decis- 
ion is  becoming  more  and  more  evident  each 
day  by  practical  work  and  results  and  shows 
itself  in  the  pressing  and  rapid  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  army  which  is  now  being  fulfilled 
under  the  firm  and  efficient  measures 
adopted  by  Minister  Kerensky. 

New  Russia,  in  full  accord  with  the  motives 
which    impelled    the    United    States    to    enter 


the  war,  is  striving  to  destroy  tyranny,  to 
establish  peace  on  a  secure  and  permanent 
foundation  and  to  make  the  world  safe  for 
democracy. 

Address  Before  the  House 
Stirring  scenes  were  witnessed  when 
the  House  of  Representatives  gave  a  for- 
mal reception  to  the  mission  on  June  23. 
Speaker  Champ  Clark  caused  the  first 
outburst  of  enthusiasm  when  he  re- 
minded the  House  that  Russia  was  the 
twenty- seventh  republic  and  "  that  there 
was  one  other  republic  on  earth  (Switz- 
erland) when  our  fathers  proclaimed  our 
independence  in  1776."  M.  Bakhmeteff, 
speaking  in  excellent  English  and  with 
much  fervor,  was  frequently  interrupted 
by  bursts  of  applause.    He  said,  in  part: 

Does  not  one  feel  occasionally  that  the 
very  greatness  and  significance  of  events  are 
not  fully  appreciated,  due  to  the  facility  -and 
spontaneity  with  which  the  change  has  been 
completed?  Does  one  realize  what  it  really 
means  to  humanity  that  a  nation  of  180,000,- 
000,  a  country  boundless  in  expanse,  has  been 
suddenly  set  free  from  the  worst  of  oppres- 
sions, has  been  given  the  joy  of  a  free,  self- 
conscious   existence? 

Instead  of  the  old  forms  there  are  now 
being  firmly  established  and  deeply  imbedded 
in  the  minds  of  the  nation  principles  that 
power  is  reposed  and  springs  from  and  only 
from  the  people.  To  effectuate  these  princi- 
ples and  to  enact  appropriate  fundamental 
laws  is  going  to  be  the  main  function  of  the 
Constitutional  Assembly  which  is  to  be  con- 
voked as  promptly  as  possible. 

Guided  by  democratic  precepts,  the  Pro- 
visional Government  is  meanwhile  reorganiz- 
ing the  country  on  the  basis  of  freedom, 
equality,  and  self-government,  rebuilding  its 
economic   and    financial    structure. 

The  people  are  realizing  more  and  more 
that  for  the  very  sake  of  further  freedom 
law  must  be  maintained  and  manifestation 
of  anarchy  suppressed.  In  this  respect  local 
life  has  exemplified  a  wonderful  exertion  of 
spontaneous  public  spirit.  On  many  occa- 
sions, following  the  removal  of  the  old  au- 
thorities, a  new  elected  administration  has 
naturally  arisen,  conscious  of  national  in- 
terest and  often  developing  in  its  spontaneity 
amazing  examples  of  practical  statesman- 
ship. 

The  latest  resolutions,  framed  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Workingmen,  the  Congress  of  Peasants, 
and  other  democratic  organizations,  render 
the  best  proof  of  the  general  understanding 
of  the  necessity  of  creating  strong  power. 
The  coalitionary  character  of  the  new  Cab- 
inet, which  includes  eminent  Socialist  lead- 
ers, and  represents  all  the  vital  elements  of 
the  nation,  therefore  enjoying  its  full  sup- 
port, is  most  effectively  securing  the  unity 
and     power     of     the     Central     Government, 


268 


THE   NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


the  lack  of  which  was  so  keenly  felt  during 
the  first  two  months  after  the  revolution. 

Realizing  the  grandeur  and  complexity  of 
present  events  and  conscious  of  the  danger 
which  is  threatening  the  very  achievement  of 
,the  revolution,  the  Russian  people  are  gather- 
ing around  the  new  Government,  united  on 
a  "  national  program."  It  is  this  program  of 
"  national  salvation  "  which  has  united  the 
middle  classes,  as  well  as  the  Populists,  the 
labor  elements,  and  Socialists.  Deep  political 
wisdom  has  been  exhibited  by  subordinating 
class  interests  and  differences  to  national 
welfare.  In  this  way  this  Government  is 
supported  by  an  immense  majority  of  the 
nation,  and  outside  of  reactionaries  only  is 
being  opposed  by  comparatively  small  groups 
of    Extremists    and    Internationalists. 

As  to  foreign  policy,  Russia's  national  pro- 
gram has  been  clearly  set  forth  in  the  state- 
ment of  the  Provisional  Government  of  March 
27,  and  more  explicitly  in  the  declaration  of 
the  new  Government  of  May  18.  With  all  em- 
phasis may  I  state  that  Russia  rejects  any 
idea  of  separate  peace.  I  am  aware  that  ru- 
mors were  circulated  in  this  country  that  a 
separate  peace  seemed  probable.  I  am  happy 
to  affirm  that  such  rumors  are  wholly  with- 
out foundation  in  fact. 

Gentlemen  of  the  House,  I  will  close  my  ad- 
dress by  saying — Russia  will  not  fail  to  be 
a  worthy  partner  in  the  "  league  of  honor." 

After  this  address  members  of  the 
mission  stood  in  a  receiving  line  while 
members  of  the  House  passed  by.  Every 
one  warmly  congratulated  Ambassador 
Bakhmeteff  on  his  address. 

At  Washington  s  Tomb 
The  Russian  Mission  joined  with  the 
Belgian  Mission  on  June  24  to  pay  hom- 
age at  the  tomb  of  George  "Washington 
at  Mount  Vernon.  M.  Bakhmeteff  con- 
cluded his  address  with  these  words: 

With  a  feeling  of  solemn  veneration  and 
overwhelming  emotion  I  bestow  on  this  im- 
mortal tomb  this  wreath  as  a  tribute  to  the 
hero,  to  the  knight  of  liberty  and  democracy, 
from  the  messengers  of  Russia's  freedom. 

Professor  Lomonosoff,  in  a  statement 
on  June  25  regarding  the  condition  of 
the  Russian  railroads,  said  that  locomo- 
tives were  the  fundamental  need  of  Rus- 
sia today.  "  Quite  frankly  I  can  say  to 
you,  our  American  friends,"  he  said, 
"  give  us  locomotives,  and  we  shall  give 
you  military  success."  Russia  needs  at 
once  1,000  ten-wheel  American  locomo- 
tives to  put  her  idle  cars  in  operation; 
another  1,000,  with  appropriate  number 
of  cars,  to  free  the  congested  freight 
terminals,  and  another  850  annually  to 
meet  the  discrepancy   between   Russia's 


manufacture  and  her  needs  for  renewal 
and  new  construction.  "  I  must  frankly 
tell  you,"  Professor  Lomonosoff  added, 
"  that  the  Russian  railways  are  now  in 
•  a  most  critical  state.  Heroism  can  do 
nothing  when  there  is  a  lack  of  muni- 
tions and  food."  The  Siberian  railroad 
was  in  splendid  condition  for  the  im- 
mense task  put  upon  it.  Coal  was  avail- 
able and  adequate  sidings  had  been  com- 
pleted. 

Speech  in  the  Senate 

The  Senate  reception  to  M.  Bakhmeteff 
and  his  colleagues  on  June  26  was  in 
every  way  as  enthusiastic  as  that  given 
previously  by  the  House.  The  Ambas- 
sador's address  followed  the  same  lines 
as  that  delivered  before  the  House.  In 
part  he  said: 

Two  considerations  make  me  feel  that 
Russia  has  passed  the  stage  of  the  world 
when  the  future  appeared  vague  and  un- 
certain. In  the  first  place  is  the  firm  con- 
viction of  the  necessity  of  legality,  which  is 
widely  developing  and  firmly  establishing 
itself  throughout  the  country.  My  latest 
advices  give  joyful  confirmation  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  firm  power,  strong  in  its  demo- 
cratic precepts  and  activity,*  strong  in  the 
trust  reposed  in  it  by  the  people  in  its  ability 
to  enforce  law  and  order. 

In  the  second  place,  and  no  less  important, 
is  the  growing  conviction  that  the  issues  of  the 
revolution  and  the  future  of  Russia's  freedom 
are  closely  connected  with  the  fighting  might 
of  the  country.  It  is  such  power,  it  is  the 
force  of  arms,  which  alone  can  defend  and 
make  certain  the  achievements  of  the  revo- 
lution against  autocratic  aggression.  Like 
the  nation,  the  army,  an  offspring  of  the 
people,  had  to  be  built  on  democratic  lines. 
Such  work  takes  time,  and  friction  and  partial 
disorganization  must  be  overcome. 

Conscious  of  the  enormous  task,  the  Pro- 
visional Government  is  taking  measures  to 
restore  promptly  throughout  the  country  con- 
ditions of  life  so  deeply  disorganized  by  the 
inefficiency  of  the  previous  rulers  and  to  pro- 
vide for  whatever  is  necessary  for  military 
success. 

In  this  respect  exceptional  and  grave  con- 
ditions provide  for  exceptional  means.  In 
close  touch  with  the  Pan  Peasant  Congress, 
the  Government  has  taken  control  of  stores 
of  food  supplies  and  is  providing  for  effective 
transportation  and  just  distribution.  Follow- 
ing examples  of  other  countries  at  war,  the 
Government  has  undertaken  the  regulation  of 
the  production  of  main  products  vital  for  the 
country  and  the  army.  The  Government  at 
the  same  time  is  making  all  endeavor  to 
settle  labor  difficulties,  taking  measures  for 
the  welfare  of  workmen  consistent  with  the 


The  Russian  Mission — Boris  Bakhmeteff ,  the  New  Ambas- 
sador, in  Civilian  Clothes,  in  the  Front  Row,  with 
General  Roop  on  His  Left  and  Professor 
Lomonossof  on  His  Right. 

(Photo  ©  Harris  &  Ewing.) 


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The  Belgian  Mission — Baron  Moncheur,  Head  of  the  Mis- 
sion, Is  Seated  to  the  Right  of  General  Leclerq, 
Who  Is  at  the  Extreme  Left  of  the  Row. 

(Photo  ©  Harris  &  Swing.) 


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RUSSIAN  MISSION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 


269 


active    production    necessitated    by    national 
welfare. 

Senators  shook  hands  with  all  mem- 
bers of  the  commission,  and  later,  by- 
unanimous  consent,  adopted  a  resolution 
by  Senator  Gore  of  Oklahoma  expressing 
"  profound  satisfaction  over  the  assur- 
ances of  the  determination  of  the  Russian 
people  in  their  new-found  liberty  and  re- 
publican institutions  to  defend  and  main- 
tain them." 

New  York's  reception  to  the  Russian 
Mission  on  July  6  was  a  fitting  expres- 
sion of  the  enthusiasm  which  "  the  most 
democratic  city  in  the  world,"  as  Am- 
bassador Bakhmeteff  described  it,  felt 
at  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of 
the  new  democracy.  The  procession 
through  the  streets  was  greeted  by  large 
and  enthusiastic  crowds;  and  everywhere 
the  red  flag  of  the  revolution  was  in  evi- 
dence. Replying  to  Mayor  MitchePs 
greetings,  the  Ambassador,  speaking  in 
English,  said  that  the  enthusiasm  that 
had  been  manifested  represented  "  the 
joy  of  America  that  a  new  democracy 
had  been  born.  So  momentous  is  the 
present  hour,"  he  continued,  "  that  sol- 
emn gravity  and  earnest  sincerity  are  in 
our  greeting,  and  our  two  nations  have 
extended  to  each  other  their  brotherly 
hands.  Liberty  and  democracy,  such  are 
the  aims  of  the  Russian  revolution.  De- 
mocracy and  liberty,  such  are  the  aims 
which  this  great  Republic  is  seeking  to 
obtain  for  all  nations.  Is  there  not  a 
deep  historic  meaning  in  the  fact  that 
while  the  first  American  troops  stepped 
upon  the  soil  of  Europe  as  true  cham- 
pions of  mankind,  Russia,  inspired  by  the 
vision  of  freedom  and  democracy,  has 
thrust  her  warriors  with  unyielding  im- 
pulse upon  the  yet  unbroken  ranks  of  the 
foe  of  liberty  ?  " 

On  July  7  a  crowd  of  20,000  people 
gathered  at  a  concert  on  the  Mall  of 
Central  Park.  In  his  speech  Ambassador 
Bakhmeteff  said: 

I  have  come  to  this  country  in  behalf  of 
the  new  Russia,  a  Russia  freed  from  the 
shackles  of  hundreds  of  years  of  oppres- 
sion and  hatreds.  With  a  deadly  blow 
has  the  Russian  people  shattered  the 
chains  of  serfdom. 

Russia  is  free !  One  hundred  and  eighty 
millions  of  men,  women,  and  children  now 


have  the  blessings  of  self-government  and 
self-rule.  And  with  us  others  are  free. 
The  Pole  is  free.  The  Jew  enjoys  full 
equality.  The  Jew  is  a  full  fellow-citizen 
of  free  Russia. 

This  war  in  which  we  are  comrades  is 
not  a  common  war  between  nations  seek- 
ing personal  ends.  It  is  a  war  for  a  prin- 
ciple. On  the  issues  of  this  war  will  de- 
pend the  future  of  the  world,  whether' 
the  world  will  be  "  safe  for  democracy  " 
or  whether  it  will  be  fettered  with  au- 
tocracy. 

Liberty  and  democracy  !  That  was  what 
the  great  hero  Kerensky  pleaded  for  when 
he  led  the  soldier-citizen  to  fight.  Let 
us  be  united.  Let  us  all  be  one.  Let  us 
fight  for  liberty  and  democracy — that  is 
the  message  to  you,  the  oldest  democracy 
of  the  New  World,  from  the  newest  de- 
mocracy of  the  Old  World. 

One  episode  marred  the  otherwise  un- 
broken flow  of  harmony  which  charac- 
terized the  visit  of  the  mission  to  New 
York.  At  the  great  meeting  in  Madison 
Square  Garden  on  the  evening  of  July  7 
a  crowd  of  12,000  persons  was  thrown 
into  disorder  by  a  hostile  demonstration 
against  a  declaration  that  the  Russians 
must  fight  until  the  Kaiser  was  removed 
from  power.  The  speaker  interrupted  was 
a  representative  of  Russian  workers  in 
the  United  States.  The  disturbance  was 
stopped,  and  a  little  later  Ambassador 
Bakhmeteff  made  an  address.  Without 
challenging  the  pacifist  sentiment  in  the 
audience  by  making  any  direct  reference 
to  the  determination  on  the  part  of  the 
new  Russia  to  continue  the  war  until 
victory  is  secure,  the  Ambassador  paid 
glowing  compliments  to  the  revolutionary 
army.  He  spoke  in  Russian,  and  was 
interrupted  frequently  by  tumultuous 
cheers.  He  described  the  critical  mo- 
ments of  the  revolution,  the  economic, 
political,  and  social  disorganization  which 
necessarily  followed  "the  overturn  of  thei 
old  regime.  For  a  time,  he  said,  it 
seemed  as  though  the  revolution  might 
prove  a  failure,  that  the  obstacles  were 
too  great.  "  But  the  moment  of  salvation 
came,"  he  added,  "  when  Tseretelli,  Sko- 
beleff ,  and  Tchernoff  united  and  formed 
the  coalition  which  strengthened  the  Pro- 
visional Government  and  put  the  young 
nation  on  a  firm  and  reliable  foundation." 

The  mission  on  July  5  resolved  itself 
into  the  permanent  Russian  Embassy  in 


270 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


the  United  States.  Special  Ambassador 
Boris  A.  Bakhmeteff  presented  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson  his  credentials  as  permanent 
Ambassador,  but  continued  to  exercise 
extraordinary  powers  of  negotiation.  The 
former  Russian  Embassy  at  Washington 
has  been  transformed  into  a  network  of 
offices.  From  there  Ambassador  Bakh- 
meteff now  directs  all  the  special,  tech- 
nical,    and     purchasing     missions.     The 


other  members  of  the  special  mission  are 
working  under  his  direction,  some  of 
them  for  the  length  of  the  war  and  others 
for  at  least  four  or  five  months. 

•The  text  of  the  new  Ambassador's 
formal  address  to  the  President,  delivered 
when  he  presented  his  credentials,  will 
be  found  on  a  preceding  page,  in  connec- 
tion with  articles  on  the  Russian  situa- 
tion. 


Tour  of  the  Italian  Mission 


THE  story  of  the  arrival  of  the  Italian 
Mission  in  the  United  States  was 
given  in  the  preceding  issue  of 
Current  History  Magazine,  with  the 
first  public  utterances  of  Prince  Udine 
and  his  distinguished  associates.  To  con- 
tinue the  narrative:  In  the  course  of  a 
tour  of  the  Middle  West  the  commission 
visited  Chicago  on  June  18,  1917.  At  a 
formal  dinner  in  the  evening  the  princi- 
pal speaker  was  Guglielmo  Marconi,  who 
told  of  Italy's  difficult  position  in  the 
war,  saying  in  part: 

Among  all  the  nations  at  war  Italy  is 
silently  taking  the  greatest  strain  and  the 
greatest  privation.  Only  when  the  kind  of 
war  Italy  is  fighting  becomes  fully  known 
will  the  world  realize  what  sacrifices  the 
army  and  the  people  of  Italy  have  accom- 
plished. For  more  than  two  years  Italy  has 
had  an  army  of  more  than  3,000,000  men.  It 
is  now  approaching  4,000,000.  You  must  bear 
in  mind  that  her  population  is  a  little  over 
37,000,000— about  one-third  that  of  the  United 
States.  If  America  wese  to  make  an  equal 
sacrifice  she  would  have  to  maintain  under 
arms  for  more  than  two  years  about  12,000,000 
men,  and  even  then  her  effort  would  not  be 
equal  to  ours,  for  the  wealth  of  the  United 
States  is  incomparably  greater  than  that  of 
Italy.  To  feel  an  equal  strain  America  would 
have  to  fling  at  least  $30,000,000,000  into  the 
furnace  of  war. 

The  Italian  Mission  arrived  in  New 
York  on  June  21,  and  received  a  hearty 
welcome.  The  crowds  that  gathered 
about  the  Battery,  where  Prince  Udine 
and  his  colleagues  came  ashore  from  a 
ferryboat,  the  crowds  in  City  Hall  Park, 
in  Washington  Square,  and  along  the  rest 
of  the  way  to  Sixty-first  Street  were 
almost  as  large  as  those  which  had  greet- 
ed the  French  Commission  a  few  weeks 
previouslyo    The  city's  Italian  population 


turned  out  in  great  numbers.  An  inter- 
esting episode  was  the  stoppage  of  the 
procession  at  the  Garibaldi  Statue,  on 
the  pedestal  of  which  Prince  Udine,  the 
head  of  the  mission,  laid  a  wreath  of 
evergreens.  Then  he  saluted,  and  stood 
a  moment  contemplating  the  figure  of  the 
man  who  had  helped  to  create  modern 
Italy. 

At  the  luncheon  given  on  June  22  by 
the  Merchants'  Association,  Dr.  Nicholas 
Murray  Butler,  President  of  Columbia 
University,  reminded  the  audience  that 
Italy  had  almost  invented  banking  and 
that  Genoa  and  Venice  were  the  founders 
of  the  great  overseas  commerce  of  mod- 
ern times.  Charles  Evans  Hughes,  Re- 
publican candidate  for  President  in  1916, 
said  that  to  state  the  indebtedness  of 
America  to  Italy  was  to  recite  the  his- 
tory of  navigation  and  discovery,  of  arts 
and  letters,  of  commerce  and  invention — 
a  long  line  of  obligations,  extending  from 
Columbus  to  Marconi.  "  We  also  record 
the  fact,"  Mr.  Hughes  added,  "  that  Ital- 
ian skill  and  industry  are  part  of  the  very 
substance  of  American  prosperity." 

Marconi,  in  his  speech,  came  down  to 
the  practical  and  critical  question  of 
Italy's  shortage  of  coal,  the  importation 
of  which  had  fallen  to  half  the  normal 
quantity.     He  proceeded: 

We  want  coal,  we  must  have  coal,  to  keep 
our  munition  factories  going,  to  run  our 
railroads  carrying  ammunition  to  the  front 
and  food  to  all  the  scattered  populations  of 
the  country,  and  to  run  our  factories,  the 
stoppage  of  which  would  mean  the  throwing 
of  a  million  men  out  of  work  to  starve  and 
Increase  our  difficulties.  And  if  we  do  not 
get  this  coal,  and  get  it  quick,  our  ammuni- 
tion factories  will  have  to  work  half  time  or 


TQUR  OF  THE  ITALIAN  MISSION 


271 


stop,  our  trains  will  cease  to  run,  diminish- 
ing the  efficiency  of  the  army,  and  even  per- 
haps bringing  about  local  famines.  Above 
all,  we  must  hasten  the  construction  of  ships, 
hundreds  of  ships,  thousands  of  ships,  ships 
of  wood  and  ships  of  steel,  so  long  as  they 
will  float  and  carry  coal,  iron,  and  wheat  to 
Europe. 

We  expect  the  United  States  to  put  forth  a 
great  effort ;  given  the  spirit  of  organization 
and  the  industrial  power  of  this  great  coun- 
try, it  should  not  be  impossible  to  build  one 
and  a  half  million  tons  of  shipping  by  the 
end  of  this  year,  and  at  least  double  that 
amount  in  1918. 

In  addition  to  all  these  difficulties  we  must 
realize  that  the  production'  of  war  material 
diminishes  agricultural  production,  whereas 
the  latter  should  be  increased  at  all  costs. 
Here  again  the  United  States  can  hedp  us 
better  than  any  one  else  if  they  will  realize 
fully  that  the  essential  conditions  of  victory 
are  an  increase  in  agricultural  production 
and  the  construction  of  many  ships. 

Enrico  Arlotta,  Minister  of  Transpor- 
tation, pointed  out  the  initial  service  to 
the  Allies  constituted  by  Italy's  declara- 
tion of  neutrality.  He  declared  that, 
despite  the  increase  of  her  budget  from 
2,500,000,000f .  a  year  to  eighteen  billions, 
Italy  had  so  well  organized  her  finances 
that  every  new  loan  was  met  with  new 
income  adequate  to  cover  the  interest. 
He  duplicated  Marconi's  plea  for  war 
materials  and  ships: 

The  commodities  needed  are  wheat  and 
other  cereals,  steel  for  the  munitions,  and, 
above  all,  coal ;  but  these  three  things  have 
now  one  name  only,  and  this  name  is  "  ships, 
ships,  and  more  ships."  Italy  used  to  take 
before  the  war  about  twenty  millions  of  tons 
of  goods,  out  of  which  one  million  was  repre- 
sented by  coal  imported  from  England  and 
the  United  States.  Now  this  figure  is  almost 
cut  down  to  half,  and  this  diminution  repre- 
sents the  greatest  sacrifice  we  could  impose 
on  our  population. 

Gentlemen,  I  said  I  would  speak  to  you  as 
a  merchant  does  with  a  merchant.  We  have 
all  signed  a  bill  of  exchange,  and  this  bill  of 
exchange  is  indorsed  by  England,  by  France, 
by  Italy,  by  Russia,  and  so  on.  Now  the 
United  States  has  put  its  signature  on  this 
bill  of  exchange,  and  as  nations  live  on  credit, 
just  as  merchants  do,  when  the  bill  of  ex- 
change is  due  we  must  pay  it  by  winning  the 
war.     Otherwise  we  shall  all  be  bankrupt. 

Prince  Udine  on  the  afternoon  of  June 
22  journeyed  to  Staten  Island  to  pay  a 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Garibaldi,  who 
had  lived  for  a  while  in  a  little  frame 
house  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  at  Rosebank. 
It  was  estimated  that  at  least  100,000 


Italians  took  part  in  the  demonstration, 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  ever  seen  in 
New  York.  Members  of  Italian  com- 
munities as  far  away  as  a  hundred  miles 
were  represented  in  the  crowd.  The  little 
house  in  which  Garibaldi  lived  is  now 
an  Italian  shrine,  and  is  inclosed  in  an- 
other building,  above  it  the  words  in 
gold,  "  The  Garibaldi  Memorial."  In  this 
old  house  Garibaldi  supported  himself  by 
making  candles,  and  in  the  rooms  is  still 
some  of  the  humble  furniture  which  the 
Italian  patriot  used.  The  Prince  re- 
mained at  the  memorial  about  twenty 
minutes  and  the  cheering  never  ceased 
for  an  instant  while  he  was  there.  A 
committee  representing  the  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  Italy  greeted  the  Prince  and 
handed  him  a  check  for  $10,000,  to  be 
applied  to  the  relief  of  war  sufferers  in 
Italy.  Prince  Udine  accepted  the  check, 
and  expressed  his  deep  gratitude  for  the 
gift.     He  said: 

Before  this  memorial  to  Italy's  great  hero 
and  in  the  country  which  Garibaldi  loved 
so  dearly,  and  at  this  historic  moment  when 
Italy  is  fighting  for  the  principles  which 
Garibaldi  held  most  sacred,  it  is  indeed  a 
source  of  great  gratification  to  me  to  greet 
so  many  Italian  and  so  many  American  citi- 
zens at  such. a  place  as  is  this. 

The  Prince  referred  to  the  present  war 
as  one  for  the  complete  realization  of 
the  dreams  of  Garibaldi,  and  he  believed 
that  the  ideals  of  liberty  and  justice 
championed  by  the  Italian  patriot  would 
triumph.  He  closed  with  a  tribute  to 
George  Washington,  whose  ideals,  he 
added,  were  the  ideals  of  Garibaldi. 

The  official  entertainment  of  the  Ital- 
ian Mission  ended  on  June  23  with  a  cele- 
bration at  the  City  College  stadium.  In 
the  afternoon  a  visit  was  paid  to  Colonel 
Roosevelt  at  his  Long  Island  home,  and 
in  the  evening  Prince  Udine  and  his  col- 
leagues left  for  Boston. 

Italy's  Part  in  the  Marne 
Victory 

Senator  Guglielmo  Marconi  of  wireless 
fame,  speaking  as  a  member  of  the  Ital- 
ian Diplomatic  Mission  at  the  dinner 
given  to  the  visitors  by  Mayor  Mitchel 
of  New  York,  June  22,  1917,  revealed  for 
the  first  time  the  circumstances  in  which 


272 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


Italy  announced  to  France  her  decision 
to  remain  neutral  at  the  outset  of  the 
war,  thereby  releasing  a  million  French 
soldiers  on  the  Italian  frontier  and  en- 
abling France  to  win  the  battle  of  the 
Marne.  This  portion  of  Mr.  Marconi's 
speech  was  as  follows: 

And  now,  gentlemen,  1  come  to  what  is  per- 
haps one  of  the  least  well-known  matters  in 
connection  with  this  war,  the  absolutely  de- 
cisive influence  of  Italy's  conduct  at  the  very 
outbreak  of  hostilities  in  1914.  Let  me  tell 
you  a  few  facts  concerning  the  inner  political 
history  of  those  fateful  few  days  of  July, 
1914,  when  the  fate  of  Europe  was  trembling 
in  the  balance. 

Germany  did  not  expect  us  to  join  her  in 
her  savage  attack  on  the  liberties  of  Europe ; 
she  did  not  even  care  much  whether  we 
eventually  agreed  to  remain  neutral.  Her 
game  was  a  much  deeper  and  more  treach- 
erous one.  She  wanted  us  to  leave  France, 
our  great  Latin  sister,  in  doubt  as  to  our 
intentions. 

On  the  morning  of  July  30,  1914,  that  is  to 
say,  one  day  before  Germany  declared  war 
on  Russia,  and  two  days  before  she  de- 
clared war  on  France,  the  Marquis  de  San 
Giuliano,  who  was  then  our  Foreign  Minister, 
unofficially  informed  the  French  Ambassa- 
dor in  Rome  that  Italy  would  never  side  with 
the  Central  Powers  in  a  war  of  aggression. 
This  information  was  immediately  wired  to 
Paris,  but  it  was  not  sufficient  to  make 
France  feel  absolutely  certain  that  Italy's 
attitude  was  favorable  to  her,  because  there 
was  as  yet  no  official  declaration  of  neutral- 
ity on  our  part. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  1914,  three  days 
before    England    declared    war    against    Ger- 


many, at  a  Council  of  Ministers  held  in 
Rome,  Italy  decided  formally  to  declare  her 
neutrality.  The  news  was  immediately  com- 
municated to  our  Charge  d'Affaires  in  Paris, 
the  Ambassador  being  absent.  For  some 
reason  the  telegram  did  not  reach  him  until 
1  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation  he  went  to  see  M.  Viviani, 
the  French  Prime  Minister,  in  the  middle  of 
the  night. 

"When  he  was  introduced  into  M.  Viviani's 
presence  the  latter  turned  pale  and  drew 
back,  for  he  was  almost  convinced  that  noth- 
ing but  Italy's  decision  to  join  Germany 
would  have  brought  the  Italian  Charge 
d'Affaires  there  at  that  hour.  The  revulsion 
of  feeling  when  M.  Viviani  read  the  tele- 
gram was  such  that  he  could  not  hide  his 
emotion.  Within  half  an  hour  orders  had 
gone  forth  for  the  mobilization  for  service 
in  the  north  of  nearly  1,000,000  men  which 
France  would  have  had  to  keep  on  her 
southern  and  eastern  frontier  to  guard 
against   a  possible   attack   from   Italy. 

That  million  men  helped  to  stem  the  ad- 
vancing tide  of  Germans,  to  win  the  battle 
of  the  Marne,  and  to  save  France  from  being 
crushed  by  the  heel  of  German  militarism. 
Had  there  been  the  slightest  wavering,  the 
smallest  hesitation  on  the  part  of  Italy,  had 
any  Italian  politician  been  found  to  do  one- 
tenth  the  part  of  what  Bismarck  did  when 
he  altered  the  wording  of  the  famous  Ems 
telegram,  and  thus  brought  about  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war,  France  Would  not  have  dared 
to  withdraw  a  single  man  from  the  Italian 
frontier,  and  the  history  of  the  world  might 
have  been   written   differently. 

Gentlemen,  is  there  any  man  who  can 
think,  in  view  of  what  I  have  just  told  you, 
that  Italy's  conduct  was  not  a  decisive  factor 
in  the  war? 


The  Belgian  Mission  in  America 


A  MOST   sympathetic   reception   was 
accorded  to  the  Belgian  Commis- 
sion, which  arrived  in  the  United 
States  on  June  16,  1917.     Its  personnel 
included : 

Baron  Ludovic  Moncheur,  Chief  of  the 
Political  Bureau  of  the  Belgian  Foreign  Of- 
fice at  Havre  and  former  Belgian  Minister 
to  the  United  States,  President  of  the  com- 
mission. 

General  Leclercq,  a  cavalry  commander. 

Hector  Carlier,  member  of  a  Belgian  bank- 
ing family,  counselor  of  the  commission. 

Major  Osterrieth,  long  attached  to  the  Bel- 
gian Legation  in  Petrograd. 

Count  Louis  d'Ursel,  former  Secretary  of 
the  Belgian  Legation  in  Teheran,  Persia. 

The  members  of  the  mission  were  for- 
mally received  on  June  18  by  President 
Wilson,  to  whom  Baron  Moncheur  pre- 


sented the  following  letter  from  the  King 

of  the  Belgians: 
His  Excellency,  Woodrow  Wilson, 

President  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 
Great  and  good  friend:  I  commend  to 
your  Excellency's  kindly  reception  the 
mission  which  bears  this  letter.  This 
mission  will  express  to  the  President  the 
feelings  of  understanding  and  enthusiastic 
admiration  with  which  my  Government 
and  people  have  received  the  decision 
reached  by  him  in  his  wisdom.  The  mis- 
sion will  also  tell  you  how  greatly  the 
important  and  glorious  r61e  enacted  by  the 
United  States  has  confirmed  the  confi- 
dence which  the  Belgian  Nation  has  al- 
ways had  in  free  America's  spirit  of 
justice. 

The  great  American  Nation  was  par- 
ticularly moved  by  the  unwarranted  and 
violent    attacks   made   upon   Belgium.      It 


THE  BELGIAN  MISSION  IN  AMERICA 


273 


has  sorrowed  over  the  distress  of  my 
subjects  subjected  to  the  yoke  of  the 
enemy.  It  has  succored  them  with  in- 
comparable generosity.  I  am  happy  to 
have  an  opportunity  again  to  express  to 
your  Excellency  the  gratitude  which  my 
country  owes  you  and  the  firm  hope  enter- 
tained by  Belgium  that  on  the  day  of 
reparation  toward  which  America  will 
contribute  so  bountifully,  full  and  entire 
justice  will  be  rendered  to  my  country. 

My  Government  has  chosen  to  express 
its  sentiments  to  your  Excellency  through 
two  distinguished  men  whose  services  will 
command  credence  for  what  they  have 
to  say,  Baron  Moncheur,  who  for  eight 
years  was  my  representative  at  Wash- 
ington, and  Lieut.  Gen.  Leclercq,  who  has 
earned  high  appreciation  during  a  long 
military   career. 

I  venture  to  hope,  Mr.  President,  that 
you  will  accord  full  faith  and  credence 
to  everything  that  they  say,  especially 
when  they  assure  you  of  the  hopes  I  en- 
tertain for  the  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  the  United  States  of  America  and  of 
my  faithful  and  very  sincere  friendship. 

ALBERT. 

In  the  course  of  a  statement  to  the 
newspaper  correspondents  at  Washington 
on  June  20  Baron  Moncheur  said: 

Your  entry  into  the  war  not  only  brings  to 
us  the  satisfaction  of  finding  in  an  old  friend 
a  new  ally,  but  fires  us  with  complete  confi- 
dence in  an  early  and  victorious  issue  of  the 
great  struggle  which  has  brought  to  my 
country  so  much  of  misery  and  suffering. 

Our  admiration  for  your  decision  in  enter- 
ing the  war  is  all  the  greater  because  we 
know  that  you  did  so  in  full  knowledge  of  all 
its  horrors,  and  realized  fully  the  sacrifices 
you  will  be  called  upon  to  make,  the  tears 
that  will  flow,  the  inevitable  heartache  and 
sorrow  that  will  darken  your  homes. 

In  voicing  my  country's  gratitude  I  am 
happy  to  be  able  to  pay  a  tribute  of  admira- 
tion and  affection  to  Mr.  Hoover,  under 
whose  able  and  untiring  direction  the  great 
work  of  feeding  Belgium  was  carried  on.  We 
rejoice  for  you  that  a  man  so  eminently 
fitted  by  ability  and  experience  should  be  at 
your  service  in  handling  the  great  food  prob- 
lems that  confront  you. 

From  being  one  of  the  foremost  industrial 
nations  of  the  world,  ranking  fourth  among 
exporting  countries,  Belgium  for  the  time  be- 
ing has  been  ruthlessly  wiped  out.  Her  fac- 
tories are  closed.  With  cold  calculation  for 
the  ruin  of  the  country,  the  invader  has  even 
removed  the  machinery  from  our  factories 
and  shipped  it  to  Germany  as  part  of  a  far- 
sighted  and  cynical  program  of  economic  an- 
nihilation. And,  worst  of  all,  a  part  of  Bel- 
gium's unoffending  laboring  class  has  been 
torn  from  their  families  and  sent  to  toil  in 
Germany  under  a  system  that  would  have  of- 
fended the  moral  sense  of  the  Middle  Ages. 


The  Senate  received  the  mission  on 
June  22  with  every  mark  of  appreciation 
and  sympathy.  Baron  Moncheur's  ad- 
dress expressing  Belgium's  gratitude  for 
America's  aid  was  punctuated  with  fre- 
quent applause.  "  The  sympathy  of 
America,"  he  declared,  "  gives  us  new 
courage." 

Baron  Moncheur's  Eloquence 

Baron  Moncheur  was  one  of  the  speak- 
ers at  the  impressive  ceremony  on  June 
24,  when  the  Belgian  and  Russian  Mis- 
sions visited  Washington's  tomb  at 
Mount  Vernon.  Speaking  very  earnestly 
and  slowly,  he  said: 

In  this  solemn  hour  when  freedom  is  locked 
in  a  death  struggle  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness we  come  to  pay  homage  to  the  great 
founder  of  American  liberty.  Although  his 
body  lies  here,  his  work  survives  and  his 
spirit  still  lives  in  the  American  people.  I 
know  of  nothing  which  typifies  that  spirit 
better  than  the  words  of  Washington  when, 
in  bequeathing  his  sword  to  his  nephew,  he 
added  the  injunction  that  it  should  never  be 
dra\yn  except  in  defense  of  liberty  and  justice, 
and  that  when  once  drawn  it  should  never  be 
sheathed  before  the  complete  victory  of  right 
over  wrong. 

It  is  that  spirit  which  animates  your  nation 
in  the  present  as  in  the  past.  You  looked 
across  the  sea  and  saw  liberty  struggling  in 
the  grasp  of  autocracy,  that  hideous  monster, 
the  enemy  of  mankind.  You  came  to  her  aid, 
and  by  throwing  your  mighty  sword  into  the 
scales  you  have  insured  that  right  will  prevail 
and  that  the  world  will  be  made  safe  for  all 
honest  nations— the  small  as  well  as  the  great. 

You  have  done  what  Washington  would 
have  done.  And,  therefore,  in  paying  homage 
to  the  father  of  your  country  I  offer  a  tribute 
of  devotion  and  gratitude  to  the  whole 
American  people. 

Another  notable  address  by  Baron 
Moncheur  was  that  delivered  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  on  June  27.  He  said, 
in  part: 

As  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  knights  were 
accustomed  to  hold  a  vigil,  watching  their 
armor  in  the  chapel,  so  you  today  are  making 
the  same  holy  and  prayerful  preparation  for 
the  battle  to  come.  Everywhere  you  are 
carrying  on  work  which  day  by  day  brings 
nearer  the  moment  of  supreme  victory.  While 
the  flower  of  American  youth  is  preparing 
itself  in  your  splendid  training  camps,  your 
shipyards,  your  factories,  and  munition  plants 
resound  with  the  hum  of  feverish  work  pro- 
viding your  soldiers  with  the  implements  of 
war. 

American  aviation,  that  marvelous  product 
of  the  New  World,  is  making  ready  to  lend 


274 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


its  powerful  aid,  also,  to  support  our  armies. 
Is  it  not  natural,  indeed,  that  the  American 
eagle  from  the  skies  should  strike  the  death- 
blow to  the  enemy? 

After  your  great  stroke  for  liberty  in  1776 
you  formed  a  society,  which  you  called  the 
Order  of  the  Cincinnati,  to  indicate  that  when 
war  was  finished  you  knew  how  to  beat  your 
swords  into  plowshares ;  and  now,  when  war 
has  been  forced  upon  you,  you  have  given 
proof  that  you  know  equally  well  how  to  turn 
your  plowshares  into  swords. 

Some  twenty  years  ago  Prince  Albert  of 
Belgium,  heir  to  a  throne  which  seemed  to 
be  safely  sheltered  from  the  blast  of  war, 
came  to  America,  where  he  studied  with  the 
deepest  interest  your  marvelous  country  and 
the  wonderful  works  of  industry  and  com- 
merce    which     you     had     developed     in     the 


quietude  of  peace.  And  now,  how  can  I 
express  the  sentiments  which  fill  his  heroic 
soul  when,  fighting  at  the  head  of  his  troops 
in  the  last  trench  on  Belgian  soil,  he  sees 
the  sons  of  that  same  industrious  America 
lajid  upon  the  coast  of  Europe,  brave  cham- 
pions of  the  most  noble  principles  and  ready 
to  lay  down  their  lives  in  defense  of  right 
and  justice? 

On  a  certain  occasion  a  mighty  sovereign 
declared,  "  The  Pyrenees  exist  no  more,"  and 
today  we  can  say  with  even  more  truth, 
"  There  is  no  longer  any  ocean,"  for  endless 
friendship,  cemented  by  gratitude  and  joint 
effort  and  suffering  in  the  cause  of  justice 
and  liberty,  will  forever  obliterate  the  barrier 
of  the  seas  and  unite  the  children  of  old 
Belgium  to  the  sons  of  the  young  and  power- 
ful Republic  of  the  New  World. 


Lord  Northcliffe  and  Other  Envoys 


LORD  NORTHCLIFFE,  after  his  ar- 
rival in  the  United  States  as  special 
representative  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, delivered  his  first  speech  at  a 
luncheon  in  New  York  City  on  June  28. 
He  said,  in  part: 

It  is  only  by  an  absolute  mobilization  of 
man  power  and  machine  power  that  this  war 
can  be  won.  Industries  that  at  this  moment 
seem  remote  from  mobilization  for  the  war 
will  sooner  or  later  be  called  upon  to  do  their 
part.  In  Europe,  for  example,  one  of  the 
largest  corset  factories  is  now  turning  out 
very  delicate  pieces  of  machinery  needed  in 
the  construction  of  airplanes.  The  war, 
which  has  proved  the  efficacy  of  motor 
transport  to  an-  almost  incredible  degree, 
will  make  a  tremendous  drain  upon  the  au- 
tomobile industry  of  your  country.  For  one 
thing,  the  great  bulk  of  automobile  output 
will  have  to  be  concentrated  on  trucks.  In 
the  second  place,  the  automobile  factories 
will  inevitably  be  commandeered  for  the 
manufacture  of  airplane  parts  and  airplane 
construction  generally. 

In  the  airplane  lies  one  great  hope  of  allied 
victory.  The  war  has  taught  that  the  air- 
plane engine  of  Spring  may  be  almost  use- 
for  actual  fighting  by  the  next  Autumn, 
so  rapid  are  the  developments  produced  by 
the  fierce  competition  of  war. 

When  America  has  got  her  full  stride  in 
the  war,  as  surely  she  will  get  it,  it  will  be 
found  that  there  will  be  a  tremendous  de- 
mand for  chauffeurs.  England  today  has 
nearly  a  hundred  thousand  motor  trucks  in 
France,  and  is  constantly  sending  more. 
Every  one  of  these  trucks  must  be  manned 
by  a  trained  driver.  If  skilled  chauffeurs 
can  be  sent  to  operate  your  trucks  it  will  be 
possible  to  release  an  equal  number  of  men 
for   the  fighting  lines. 


Lord  Northcliffe  prophesied  a  post- 
bellum  federation  of  allied  nations: 

I  have  a  strong  conviction  that  with  peace 
will  come  a  close  federation  of  the  nations 
who  are  now  fighting  the  great  fight  for 
freedom.  You  have  only  to  look  at  the  spec- 
tacle of  what  I  might  call  the  United  Nations 
of  Great  Britain  today  to  see  the  effect  that 
the  war  has  upon  the  co-ordination  of  peoples 
and  nations  of  widely  conflicting  tempera- 
ments and  national  structures.  You  see  dem- 
ocratic Australia,  a  near  socialistic  New 
Zealand,  a  vast  country  like  India,  with  its 
feudal  princes  and  other  rulers,  a  free  Can- 
ada, and  what  is  nothing  less  than  the  Re- 
public of  South  Africa,  all  pouring  their 
blood  and  treasure  out  upon  the  battlefields 
of  France,  linked  by  a  common  feeling  of 
empire  and  sustained  by  a  common  hope  of 
liberation  from  the  militarism  that  sought  to 
dominate  the  world. 

A  close  federation  of  the  nations  now  fight- 
ing the  good  fight  will  be  the  only  insurance 
against  the  autocracy  that  made  this  war 
possible  and  the  horrors  that  the  armies  of 
the  autocrat  perpetrated  on  innocent  non- 
combatants.  The  world  must  be  made  free 
for  democracy. 

Irish  Nationalist  Leaders 
The  Irish  Nationalist  Party  in  the 
House  of  Commons  appointed  T.  P. 
O'Connor,  M.  P.,  and  Richard  Hazleton, 
M.  P.,  and  Secretary  of  the  party,  to 
visit  the  United  States  as  its  representa- 
tives. On  their  arrival  in  New  York  on 
June  24  Mr.  O'Connor  explained  the 
purpose  of  his  visit  as  follows: 

I  am  here  as  the  official  representative, 
with  my  colleague,  Mr.  Hazleton,  of  the 
Irish    Nationalist    Parliamentary    Party,    to 


LORD   NORTHCLIFFE  AND   OTHER   ENVOYS 


275 


lay  before  the  men  of  my  race  and  before  the 
friends  of  Ireland  of  all  races  the  realities 
and  the  issues,  for  the  opinion  of  the  Greater 
Ireland  and  of  this  democratic  Republic  be- 
yond the  seas  remains  the  most  potent  factor 
in  working  out  the  liberation  of  Ireland  and 
of  all  other  nationalities  in  the  world. 

The  situation  in  Ireland  is  still  somewhat 
confused.  A  series  of  unfortunate  mistakes 
and  tragic  events  have  produced  resentment 
and  thrown  many  of  the  younger  men  of  the 
country  off  their  balance  for  the  moment. 
But  this,  in  my  opinion,  represents  a  mood 
and  not  a  settled  preference  for  the  hopeless 
program  of  armed  insurrection  over  a  con- 
stitutional movement. 

As  to  the  war,  opinion  in  England  grows 
more  united  and  harder.  I  need  say  nothing 
more  at  the  moment  of  America's  welcome 
intervention  except  that  Lincoln's  speech  at 
Gettysburg  and  President  Wilson's  address 
to  Congress  represent  to  me  the  clearest  defi- 
nitions of  the  issues  and  purposes  for  which 
all  free  men  today  are  fighting. 

The  war  has  made  a  new  world  and  has 
transformed  the  soul  of  Europe.  No  man's 
political,  social,  or  mental  standpoint  has  re- 
mained the  same.  The  whole  groundwork  of 
society  has  adapted  itself  to  a  new  state  of 
things  in  which  men  fighting  in  the  air  and 
under  the  sea  are  recognized  as  prominent 
factors. 

Men  who  have  lost  two  or  three  sons  in  the 
war  do  not  speak  of  their  grief  in  going  about 
their  daily  duties.  It  is  only  by  the  whitened 
hair  and  the  drawn  features  that  we  can 
judge  of  what  they  are  inwardly  suffering. 

The  war  and  the  demand  for  wheat,  oats, 
and  other  grains  have  caused  the  British  Gov- 
ernment to  till  all  available  land,  tending 
toward  the  solution  in  Ireland  of  the  ranch 
problem.  While  the  land  under  cultivation 
in  England  has  increased  200,000  acres,  in 
Ireland  it  has  increased  by  700,000  acres. 
Fully  10  per  cent,  of  this  Irish  land,  broken 
up  for  tillage,  was  drawn  by  the  Government 
from  grazing  lands  reserved  for  breeding 
sheep,  horses,  and  cattle. 

The  series  of  conferences  with  promi- 
nent Irishmen,  by  which  Mr.  O'Connor 
and  Mr.  Hazleton  hope  to  be  able  to 
carry  back  to  the  Irish  convention  the 
correct  sentiment  of  America  in  regard 
to  home  rule,  was  started  in  New  York 
City  upon  the  arrival  from  Boston  of 
T.  B.  Fitzgerald  and  Michael  J.  Jordan, 
respectively  Treasurer  and  Secretary  of 
the  United  Irish  League  of  America. 
Mr.  O'Connor  divided  the  sentiment  in 
Ireland  into  three  classes:  pro-Irish,  pro- 
English,  and  the  so-called  pro-German, 
the  last  being,  in  his  opinion,  a  sentiment 
formed  not  on  love  of  Germany,  but 
rather  on  an  inveterate  pacifism. 


Andre  Tardieus  Advice 

Andre  Tardieu,  French  High  Commis- 
sioner to  the  United  States,  is  laboring 
at  Washington  and  elsewhere  for  the 
business  efficiency  of  the  Allies  and  the 
co-ordination  of  all  their  economic  forces. 
He  was  the  guest  of  honor  in  New  York 
on  July  11  at  a  luncheon  of  the  Franco- 
American    Society,   which   was   attended 


ANDRE  TARDIEU 
French  High  Commissioner 

by  many  of  the  leading  financiers  of  the 
United  States  and  other  notables  and 
diplomats.  After  a  brief  beginning  in 
English,  M.  Tardieu  spoke  in  French, 
and  the  more  important  passages,  duly 
translated,  are  these: 

To  set  at  nought  the  insolent  hope  of  our 
enemies  the  United  States  must  organize 
its  own  resources  without  ceasing  to  supply 
its  allies.  This  problem  is  difficult,  but  it 
is  not  insoluble  for  a  nation  of  decision  and 
realization  such  as  yours.  That  solution 
calls  for  the  concentration  of  the  whole  of 
your  financial,  economic,  and  human  re- 
sources in  the  hands  of  the  Government. 

The  Congress  has  voted  the  conscription  of 
men.  It  remains  to  organize  the  conscription 
of  material  means.  To  that  end  two  condi- 
tions must  be  fulfilled— a  thorough  knowledge 
of  those  means  and  an  equitable  fixation  of 
prices,  insuring  to  the  allied  armies  the  same 
treatment  in  America  as  to  the  American 
Army  itself,  because  we  are  now  one  com- 
mon army  fighting  in  a  common  cause. 


276 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


The  great  duty  of  the  United  States  at  the 
present  moment  is  to  put  on  the  same  footing 
all  those  who  are  fighting  for  the  same  cause. 
Since  you  have  been  in  this  war  you  have 
been  beset  with  isolated  financial,  industrial, 
and  military  requests  by  each  of  the  powers 
of  the  Entente.  You  gave  them  a  generous 
answer,  but  you  are  beginning  to  realize  that 
if  your  assistance  should  be  indefinitely 
solicited-  in  the  same  manner  your  immense 
resources  would  not  be  sufficient  to  comply 
with  requests  when  ill-regulated. 

You  are  compelled  to  say  yes  to  some,  no 
to  others.  You  must  consider  the  order  of 
urgency  of  the  solicitations  which  reach  you. 
We  must  put  an  end  to  confusion.  We  are 
entitled  to  ask  you  to  discipline  your  means 
with  a  view  to  victory,  but  also,  with  a  view 
to  victory,  you  are  entitled  to  ask  us  to  dis- 
cipline  our   needs. 

For  that  purpose,  there  is  clearly  one  method 
—that  is  to  create  in  Europe  as  near  the  front 
as  possible  an  inter-allied  committee  to  cen- 
tralize all  the  demands,  study  and  control 
them,  and  to  submit  them  to  you  on  behalf 
of  all  the  Allies,  grouped  according  to  their 
urgency  in  relation  to  military  operations. 

The  one  vital  thing  is  to  win  the  war. 
Discipline  of  the  American  resources  upon 
the  basis  of  the  common  interest,  discipline 
of  the  European  needs  upon  the  basis  of  the 
same  interest — such  is  the  aim  and  such  is 
the  duty.  The  aim  must  be  attained,  the 
duty   must  be   fulfilled. 

Such  is,  freed  from  innumerable  details,  the 
task  which  I  have  undertaken — such  is  the 
task  for  which  I  shall  need  all  your  as- 
sistance. 


Rumania  s  Patriotic  Mission 
The  Rumanian  Patriotic  Mission  ar- 
rived in  America  on  June  22,  1917,  and 
was  received  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
on  July  2.  The  mission  consists  of  the 
Rev.  Basil  Lucacju,  President  of  the 
Rumanian  League,  which  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  inducing  Rumania  to 
enter  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies; 
Jean  Mota,  the  Rumanian  Speaker,  and 
Lieutenant  Vasili  Stoica  of  the  Rumanian 
Army.  Father  Lucaciu  told  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  that  the  mission  had  come 
to  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of 
inducing  Rumanians  to  enlist  in  the 
American  Army  and  fight  for  the  allied 
cause.  The  Secretary  of  State  gave  the 
visitors  a  cordial  greeting  and  welcome, 
and  said  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  looked  with  sympathy  upon 
the  object  of  the  mission.  The  members 
are  now  at  work  among  their  fellow- 
countrymen  in  the  United  States,  urging 
them  to  enlist  and  fight  for  the  Allies. 

The  Norwegian  Government  nominated 
a  special  commission  of  six  members, 
with  Dr.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  formerly  Nor- 
wegian Minister  at  London,  as  President, 
to  visit  the  United  States  to  organize  and 
procure  the  importation  of  food  supplies 
from  that  country. 


Objects  of  the  Japanese  Mission 


THE  Department  of  State  announced 
that  the  Japanese  Government  was 
sending  a  diplomatic  mission  to 
the  United  States,  headed  by  Baron 
Kikujiro  Ishii,  to  arrive  in  the  latter 
part  of  July.  Baron  Ishii  was  for- 
merly Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs. 
He  was  an  attache  of  the  legation  in 
France  in  1891  and  went  through  the 
siege  of  Peking  during  the  Boxer  trouble. 
In  addition  to  Viscount  Ishii,  who  is 
made  an  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Plenipotentiary,  the  mission  in- 
cludes : 

Isamu  Takeshita,  Vice  Admiral,  Imperial 
Japanese  Navy,  formerly  Naval  Attach^  in 
Washington. 

Hisaichi  Sugano,  Major  General,  Imperial 
Japanese  Army. 

Matsuzo  Nagai,  Secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Office,  formerly  a  Secretary  of  the  Japanese 
Legation  at  Washington. 


Masataka  Ando,  Lieutenant  Commander, 
Imperial  Japanese  Navy. 

Seiji    Tanikawa,    Major,    Imperial    Japanese 
Army. 
Tadanao  Imai,  Vice  Consul. 
Viscount  Kikujiro  Ishii,  head   of  the 
Japanese  Mission  to  the  United  States, 
made  the  following  address  at  a  farewell 
dinner  given  to  the  mission  at  Tokio,  July 
4,  1917,  regarding  the  objects  in  view: 
My  mission,  I  consider,  is  a  military  one 
in   one   respect   and   one   of   peace   in   an- 
other—military   as    against    the     Central 
European  system  of  militarism  and  dom- 
ination,   but   one   of  peace  to   be   consoli- 
dated and  reaffirmed  as  between  the  Pa- 
cific powers— Japan  and  the  United  States. 

He  declared  that  the  Japanese  Nation 
unanimously  and  enthusiastically  wel- 
comed the  decision  to  send  a  mission  to 
America  as  wise,  proper,  and  eminently 
useful.      He    was    therefore   proud    that 


OBJECTS  OF  THE  JAPANESE  MISSION 


277 


part  of  his  duty  would  be  to  convey  to 
the  100,000,000  Americans  the  sympathy 
and  good-will  of  the  70,000,000  Japanese. 
The  intercourse  between  Japan  and 
America  had  gradually  come  to  assume 
a  more  popular  character,  which  he  con- 
sidered a  happy  augury  of  the  consolida- 
tion of  a  genuine  friendship,  since  that 
friendship  no  longer  hung  perilously  on 
the  caprice  of  individual  statesmen,  but 
rested  on  the  well -understood  mutual  in- 
terests and  reciprocal  respect  of  the  two 
nations.  Viscount  Ishii  concluded  as  fol- 
lows: 

It  is  gratifying-  to  think  of  one  great 
benefit  with  which  the  war  has  already- 
endowed  Japan  and  the  United  States.  I 
mean  the  disappearance  of  Germany  in 
this  quarter  of  the  world.  Now  that  Ger- 
many, the  universal  disturber  of  the 
peace,  has  been  completely  and  once  for 
all  driven  out  of  her  Asiatic  bases,  there 
remains  no  longer  any  one  who  will  ven- 
ture to  cherish  the  design  of  estranging 
Japan  from  America.  Consequently,  the 
Pacific  henceforth  will  have  the  noble 
destiny  to  join  the  two  great  nations  and 
never  to  separate  them. 

Viscount  Kentaro  Kaneko,  member  of 
the  House  of  Peers  and  a  Privy  Councilar, 
who  presided  at  the  dinner,  emphasized 
the  nobility  and  uprightness  of  the  atti- 
tude   of   America,   which,   he    said,   was 


fighting  for  the  individual  liberty,  na- 
tional freedom,  peace,  and  civilization  of 
mankind.  The  appearance  of  an  Amer- 
ican army  at  the  front  was  certain  to 
breathe  new  life  into  the  gallantry  and 
patriotism  of  the  Allies.  When  Germany 
was  crushed  and  the  belligerents  sat  in 
a  council  of  peace,  he  believed  the  voice 
of  the  United  States  would  have  great 
weight  in  determining  the  terms  of  peace, 
not  for  the  belligerents  only,  but  for  the 
peace  of  the  whole  world. 

"  A  clear  and  good  understanding  with 

the  United  States  is  most  important  for 

the  present  and  the  future,"  he  added. 

. "  This   may  be   the   reason   and   aim   of 

Viscount  Ishii's  mission." 

Former  Minister  Hioki  expressed  the 
opinion  that,  in  addition  to  the  questions 
of  the  day,  no  question  of  any  impor- 
tance existing  between  the  United  States 
and  Japan  would  escape  either  settlement 
or  discussion  while  Viscount  Ishii  was  in 
America.  The  mission  was  a  difficult 
one  because  of  the  vastness  of  the  field 
and  the  complexity  of  the  problems  to  be 
handled,  he  said,  but  the  two  groups 
would  not  be  throwing  dust  into  each 
other's  eyes.  There  would  be  plain  deal- 
ing, just  and  fair,  actuated  by  mutual 
respect  and  sympathy. 


Viviani's  Tribute  to  America 

[Speech  in  the  French  Chamber,   June  14,   1917.] 

Three  things  united  to  make  the  session  of  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  June  14 
a  memorable  occasion :  General  Pershing  was  present,  Premier  Ribot  spoke  on  the  reasons 
for  dethroning  King  Constantine,  and  Rene  Viviani,  Keeper  of  the  Seals,  told  the  Chamber,  in 
one  of  his  most  eloquent  speeches,  what  he  had  seen  and  felt  during  his  mission  to  the  United 
States.  The  chief  passages  of  M.  Viviani's  oration  are  here  translated  for  Current  History 
Magaztne. 


After  an  introductory  tribute  to  Amer~ 
ican  hospitality  and  to  the  qualities  of 
President  Wilson,  M.  Viviani  continued: 

SOLELY  because  I  represented  the 
French  Nation,  gentlemen,  and  in 
contravention  of  century-old  rules, 
I  was  admitted  to  the  unforgettable  hon- 
or of  addressing  the  United  States  Con- 
gress; and  I  desire  that  at  this  hour  you 
should  send  across  space  to  the  great 
American  Republic  the  fraternal  salute 
of  the' French  Republic.  [All  the  Depu- 
ties arose,  amid  applause.] 

Gentlemen,    how    does    the    American 


soul  group  before  its  vision  those  vigor- 
ous principles  and  sentiments  which  have 
carried  that  country  into  the  war?  This 
is  a  complex  and  delicate  question.  Was 
it  solely  a  matter  of  esteem  for  France, 
in  remembrance  of  the  glorious  services 
of  Lafayette  and  the  French  soldiers  who 
took  part  in  the  winning  of  indepen- 
dence? No  one  here  can  realize  the 
privileged  place  that  France  occupies  in 
the  vibrant  heart  of  vast  America. 
And  the  gratitude  to  Lafyette  is  in- 
finite.  *    *    * 

[M,  Viviani  went  on  to  say  that  this, 


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THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


however,  was  not  what  had  moved  the 
American  people;  it  was,  rather,  the 
silence,  the  dignity,  the  calm  courage  of 
France  amid  her  present  trials.  He  con- 
tinued :  ] 

To  see  a  nation  receiving  fierce  blows 
from  an  aggressor  without  crying  out, 
and  returning  them  without  boasting;  to 
see  that  nation  united,  the  people  of  the 
factories  and  those  of  the  trenches,  the 
people  of  thought  and  the  people  of  toil, 
to  see  these  grouping  themselves  around 
their  fighters;  to  see  at  the  Marne  the 
triumph  of  dash,  at  Verdun  the  triumph 
of  patience;  to  see  this  palpitating  capi- 
tal, which  German  calumny  had  called 
the  capital  of  pleasure  and  frivolity,  so 
peaceful  in  tragic  hours,  so  calm  when 
glory  later  came  to  shine  upon  our  ban- 
ners, reserving  its  enthusiasm  for  the 
day  when  universal  right,  by  force  of 
our  arms,  shall  be  implanted  throughout 
the  whole  world — that  is  the  spectacle 
which,  I  assure  you,  stirred  to  its  depths 
the  American  soul.    *    *    * 

It  would  have  been  easy  for  America, 
if  she  had  desired  to  stand  aloof,  to  think 
only  of  her  individual  grievances  at  the 
hands  of  imperial  Germany.  She  might 
have  said  that  she  could  not  tolerate  on 
her  own  soil  the  tortuous  intrigues  of  a 
faithless  Ambassador.  She  might  have 
said  that  she  would  never  subject  the 
honor  of  the  land  of  Washington  to  the 
arrogance  of  the  Germanic  boot;  that  she 
could  not  bear  to  hear  the  cries  of  those 
unfortunate  victims  who,  in  Summer 
evenings  and  Winter  nights,  were  hurled 
without  warning,  by  criminal  hands,  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea. 

America  did  say  these  things,  but  she 
said  more.  Her  merit,  after  stating  her 
own  grievances,  the  thing  that  will  con- 
stitute her  historic  honor  before  the 
world,  is  that  she  heard  the  cry  of  all  hu- 
manity, that  she  invoked  human  right, 
universal  right! 

Never  have  I  felt  that  profound  truth 
so  deeply  as  in  the  great  City  of  Chicago, 
the  greatest  German  city  after  Berlin, 
where,  pressed  by  20,000  breasts,  wearied 
by  effort  and  emotion,  I  proclaimed  in 
your  name  the  whole  truth  about  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  repudiating  the  historic  and 
juridical  fraud  that  has  proceeded  out  of 


a  lying  plebiscite.  And  I  still  hear  the 
storm  of  applause  that  followed,  and  the 
words  of  the  Governor  elected  by  several 
millions  of  men :  "  To  the  last  cent,  to  the 
last  man,  to  the  last  heart-beat!  " 

America  has  entered  the  war  with  the 
belief  that  there  can  be  no  peace  without 
victory,  unless  we  are  to  be  recreant  in 
our  duty  to  the  tomb  and  to  the  cradle, 
and,  by  the  barbarous  rhythm  that  re- 
turns every  thirty  years,  are  to  allow  our 
sons  to  go  upon  the  battlefield  and  stand 
where  their  fathers  have  fallen.  She  has 
entered  knowing  what  she  has  to  do:  not 
only  to  continue  what  she  did  while  still 
chained  to  neutrality — render  us  finan- 
cial and  economic  service — but  to  go  to 
the  end  with  her  full  might,  giving  to  the 
Allies  immediate  aid  of  every  kind  until 
victory  is  won  by  constant  co-operation. 

Ah,  well !  It  is  universal  justice  that  has 
thus  been  proclaimed  by  America  as  she 
takes  her  place  by  the  side  of  France  and 
the  Allies  to  champion  it.  But  what!  Is 
France  going  to  permit  a  portion  of  her 
heritage  to  be  snatched  from  her?  Hu- 
man rights,  universal  justice,  the  inde- 
pendence of  nations — whence  have  these 
sprung?  It  was  by  the  spirit  of  our 
philosophers  that  the  fire  of  indepen- 
dence was  lighted  in  the  world ;  it  was  by 
our  men  of  action  in  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  centuries  that  the  foundations 
of  justice  and  liberty  were  laid.  Ah,  I 
know,  I  understand! 

Yes,  yes,  three  years  of  war,  of  eco- 
nomic and  political  difficulties,  of  griefs, 
of  graves  added  to  graves,  of  cradles  over 
which  mothers  ask  whether  this  is  the 
punishment  for  life  itself!  All  the  sor- 
rows, all  the  anguish,  all  the  anxieties 
that  tear  our  hearts;  yes,  all  these — and 
after  them? 

[Here  the  whole  Chamber,  thrilled, 
rose  as  one  man,  carried  away  by  the 
speaker's  eloquence.  M.  Viviani  spoke  of 
the  sacrifices  that  his  people  would  still 
have  to  bear  before  victory  could  come, 
and  concluded  with  this  peroration:] 

Such  is  the  result  that  we  must  attain. 
For  this,  oh!  life  is  hard,  difficult,  deli- 
cate! The  mourning  robes,  the  tears,  the 
sufferings  of  the  widows  whom  we  meet 
at  every  step  of  the  way,  and  who  try  to 
hide   under   their   veils    their   saddening 


VIVIANFS  TRIBUTE  TO  AMERICA 


279 


grief,  yet  who  demand  expiation ;  all  that 
we  meet,  ail  that  we  know,  all  that  is 
written  to  us,  all  that  we  think,  yes,  all 
this  creates  around  us  an  inextricable 
difficulty.  But  do  not  forget:  you  are 
not  accountable  to  the  France  of  today, 
you  are  accountable  to  the  France  of 
yesterday,  you  are  accountable  to  the 
France  of  tomorrow. 

To  conquer  and  prevent  the  repetition 
of  such  crimes,  after  victory,  when  the 
American  Army  stands  by  our  side; 
when  immediate  aid  and  constant  co-op- 
eration are  promised  us,  when  we  are 
certain  not  to  be  alone  on  the  field  of 
combat,  when  the  same  glory  shall  be 
harvested  under  different  flags,  when  all 
the  free  peoples  shall  stand  upon  a  land 
that  trembles,  while  their  own  hearts 
tremble  not;  when  before  the  world  we 
shall  have  made  an  example  of  an  autoc- 
racy which,  if  not  beaten  down,  has  re- 
ceived fearful  blows  and  deserves  to  fall ; 
when  it  is  certain  that  there  can  be  no 
more  peace  in  the  world  for  the  sons  of 
our  sons  so  long  as  this  bleeding  autoc- 


racy survives,  I  ask  myself,  truly,  when 
duty  is  at  once  so  tragic  and  so  simple, 
how  can  it  be  difficult  to  follow  whither 
it  leads? 

But  you  will  follow  it.  At  present 
your  duty  is  simple:  first  to  be  men,  to 
look  our  destiny  in  the  face,  whatever  it 
be;  to  tell  us  that  there  is  no  historic 
fatality  that  cannot  be  redressed  by  cour- 
age and  will;  then  to  go  on  thus  all  the 
way  to  victory.  After  that,  let  others, 
more  happy,  who  shall  not  have  known 
our  griefs,  survive!  But  we  shall  have 
bequeathed  to  humanity  the  most  mag- 
nificent heritage  for  which  it  has  ever 
hoped. 

[At  the  close  the  assembly  leaped  to 
its  feet,  acclaiming  the  orator,  then 
turned  its  applause  upon  General  Per- 
shing, who,  standing  in  the  diplomatic 
tribune,  was  waving  his  military  cap. 
The  crowd  in  the  galleries  joined  in  the 
thrilling  demonstration,  and  the  public 
posting  of  the  speech  was  ordered  by  a 
unanimous  vote.] 


Brazil's  Revocation  of  Neutrality 


THE  friendly  act  of  Brazil  in  revoking 
its  earlier  attitude  of  neutrality 
and  definitely  taking  sides  with 
the  United  States  as  against  Germany 
was  formally  communicated  to  the  Wash- 
ington Government  on  June  4,  1917,  by 
the  Brazilian  Ambassador,  Dr.  Domicio 
da  Gama,  in  the  following  note: 

Mr.  Secretary  of  State :  The  President  of 
the  republic  has  just-  instructed  me  to  in- 
form your  Excellency's  Government  that  he 
has  approved  the  law  which  revokes  Brazil's 
neutrality  in  the  war  between  the  United 
States  of  America  and  the  German  Empire. 
The  republic  thus  recognized  the  fact  that 
one  of  the  belligerents  is  a  constituent  por- 
tion of  the  American  Continent  and  that  we 
are  bound  to  that  belligerent  by  traditional 
friendship  and  the  same  sentiment  in  the 
defense  of  the  vital  interests  of  America  and 
the  accepted  principles  of  law. 

Brazil  ever  was  and  is  now  free  from  war- 
like ambitions,  and,  while  it  always  refrained 
from  showing  any  partiality  in  the  European 
conflict,  it  could  no  longer  stand  unconcerned 
when  the  struggle  involved  the  United  States, 
actuated  by  no  interest  whatever  but  solely 
for  the  sake  of  international  judicial  order, 


and  when  Germany  included  us  and  the  other 
neutral  powers  in  the  most  violent  acts  of 
war. 

While  the  comparative  lack  of  reciprocity 
on  the  part  of  the  American  republics  divest- 
ed until  now  the  Monroe  Doctrine  of  its  true 
character,  by  permitting  of  an  interpretation 
based  on  the  prerogatives  of  their  sovereign- 
ty, the  present  events  which  brought  Brazil 
even  now  to  the  side  of  the  United  States  at 
a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  the  world 
are  still  imparting  to  our  foreign  policy  a 
practical  shape  of  continental  solidarity,  a 
policy,  however,  that  was  also  that  of  the 
former  regime  whenever  any  of  the  other 
sister  friendly  nations  of  the  American 
Continent  was  concerned.  The  republic 
strictly  observed  our  political  and  diplomatic 
traditions  and  remained  true  to  the  liberal 
principles  in  which  the  nation  was  nurtured. 

Thus  understanding  our  duty  and  Brazil 
taking  the  position  to  which  its  antecedents 
and  the  conscience  of  a  free  people  pointed, 
whatever  fate  the  morrow  may  have  in  store 
for  us,  we  shall  conserve  the  Constitution 
which  governs  us  and  which  has  not  yet  been 
surpassed  in  the  guarantees  due  to  the  rights, 
lives,  and  property  of  foreigners. 

In  bringing  the  above-stated  resolution  to 
your  Excellency's  knowledge,  I  beg  you  to 
be  pleased  to  convey  to  your  Government  the 


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THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


sentiments   of   unalterable   friendship   of   the 
Brazilian  people  and  Government. 

I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  reit- 
erate to  your  Excellency  the  assurances  of 
my  highest  consideration. 

DOMICIO    DA   GAMA. 

The  reply  to  Ambassador  da  Gama 
was  sent  by  Frank  L.  Polk,  Counselor  of 
the  State  Department,  as  Acting  Secre- 
tary of  State.    The  text  is  as  follows: 

Excellency :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowl- 
edge the  receipt  of  your  note  of  June  4  by 
which,  in  pursuance  of  instructions  from  the 
President  of  Brazil,  you  inform  me  of  the 
enactment  of  a  law  revoking  Brazil's  declara- 
tion of  neutrality  in  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Germany  and  request  me 
to  convey  to  this  Government  the  sentiments 
of  unalterable  friendship  of  the  Brazilian 
people  and  Government. 

I  have  received  with  profound  gratification 
this  notification  of  the  friendly  co-operation 
of  Brazil  in  the  efforts  of  the  United  States 
to  assist  in  the  perpetuation  of  the  principles 
of  free  government  and  the  preservation  of 
the  agencies  for  the  amelioration  of  the  suf- 
ferings and  losses  of  war  so  slowly  and  toil- 
fully  built  up  during  the  emergencies  of  man- 
kind from  barbarism. 

Your  Government's  invaluable  contribu- 
tion   to    the    cause    of    American    solidarity, 


now  rendered  more  important  than  ever  as  a 
protection  to  civilization  and  a  means  of  en- 
forcing the  laws  of  humanity,  is  highly  ap- 
preciated by  the  United  States. 

I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  be  good  enough 
to  convey  to  the  President,  the  Government, 
and  the  people  of  Brazil  the  thanks  of  this 
Government  and  people  for  their  course,  so 
consistent  with  the  antecedents  of  your  great 
and  free  nation  and  so  important  in  its  bear- 
ing on  issues  which  are  vital  to  the  welfare 
of  all  the  American  republics. 

Requesting  that  you  will  also  assure  your 
Government  and  people  of  most  cordial 
reciprocation  by  the  Government  and  people 
of  the  United  States  of  their  assurances  of 
friendship,  always  so  greatly  valued,  and 
now  happily  rendered  still  warmer  and  closer 
by  the  action  of  Brazil,  I  avail  myself  of  the 
occasion  to  renew  to  your  Excellency  the 
assurances  of  my  highest  consideration. 
FRANK  L.  POLK, 
Acting  Secretary  of  State. 

Brazil's  seizure  of  the  war-bound  Ger- 
man ships  added  to  her  merchant  marine 
more  than  150,000  tons.  On  June  30  it 
was  announced  that  Brazil's  navy  had 
begun  co-operating  with  the  American 
fleet  in  South  American  waters  in  hunt- 
ing for  German  sea  raiders  and  subma- 
rines. 


Ruy  Barbosa's  Stirring  Call  to  Brazil 

When  Brazil  broke  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany  on  April  11,  1917, 
Senhor  Ruy  Barbosa,  the  most  popular  statesman  in  that  country,  delivered  a 
memorable  speech  at  a  meeting  of  50,000  persons  in  Rio  Janeiro,  praising  the  United 
States  for  going  to  war,  and  urging  Brazil  to  do  likewise.  These  were  his  closing 
words : 

God  did  not  kindle  this  conflagration  to  consume  the  human  race,  but  to 
save  it.  From  the  great  calamity  will  come  a  great  renewal.  On  the  curve  of 
the  blood-reddened  horizon  already  glow  the  first  dawnings  of  a  better  world. 
Down  will  go  the  arbitrary  Governments,  and  up  will  rise  the  Governments  of 
law.     Yesterday,  Russia;  tomorrow,  Germany — and  then  others! 

God  grant  that  we,  too,  my  fellow-citizens,  may  drink  in  this  regenerating 
spirit,  this  spirit  of  genuine  heroism,  of  human  devoton,  of  liberal  self-sacrifice, 
and  that  our  nationality,  our  Constitution,  our  social  life,  revivified  in  these  foun- 
tains, may  mitigate  the  present  and  insure  us  better  days  in  the  future,  so  that  our 
moral  stature  may  grow,  so  that  we  may  be  worthy  of  our  place  upon  the  earth. 
Then  I  shall  be  able  to  see  in  my  declining  years  the  realization  of  the  patriotic 
dream  of  my  youth;  a  Brazil  in  whose  every  act  our  hearts  shall  be  able  to 
discern,  as  in  Milton's  vision,  "  a  noble  and  puissant  nation  rousing  herself  like 
a  strong  man  after  sleep  and  shaking  her  invincible  locks !  " 


Greece  Joins  the  Allies 

How  Constantine  Departed 


SINCE  the  abdication  of  King  Con- 
stantine in  favor  of  his  second 
son,  Alexander,  who  is  now  King 
of  the  Hellenes,  a  complete  change 
has  come  over  the  attitude  of  the  Greek 
Government,  and  the  division  of  the  na- 
tion into  two  factions  has  been  brought 
to  an  end.  Further  light  has  been  thrown 
on  the  course  of  events  (see  Current 
History  Magazine,  July,  1917,  Pages  83- 
85)  by  documents  which  have  now  come  to 
hand,  as  well  as  by  later  dispatches. 

The  full  text  of  the  ultimatum  which 
High  Commissioner  Jonnart  presented  to 
Premier  Zaimis  in  Athens  on  June  11 
was  made  public  by  the  Greek  Legation 
at  Washington.     It  read: 

The  protecting-  powers  of  Greece  have  de- 
cided to  reconstitute  the  unity  of  the  king- 
dom without  impairing  the  monarchical  con- 
stitutional institutions  that  they  have  guar- 
anteed to  Greece.  His  Majesty  King  Con- 
stantine, having  manifestly  on  his  own  initi- 
ative violated  the  Constitution  of  which 
France,  England,  and  Russia  are  the  trus- 
tees, I  have  the  honor  to  declare  to  your  Ex- 
cellency that  his  Majesty  the  King  has  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  protecting  powers,  and 
that  the  latter  consider  themselves  free 
toward  him  from  the  obligations  resulting 
from  their  right  of  protection. 

I  have  in  consequence  the  mission,  with  a 
view  of  re-establishing  the  real  Constitution, 
to  ask  for  the  abdication  of  his  Majesty  King 
Constantine,  who  will  himself  designate,  to- 
gether with  the  protecting  powers,  a  suc- 
cessor among  his  heirs.  I  am  under  the  ob- 
ligation to  ask  from  you  an  answer  within 
twenty-four  hours. 

Constantine,  as  already  recorded,  abdi- 
cated and  left  Athens  for  Switzerland, 
and  with  him  were  expelled  several  lead- 
ing men  among  his  supporters,  including 
former  Minister  Gounaris,  General  Dous- 
manis,  and  Colonel  Metaxas.  The  final 
scenes  are  described  in  dispatches  from 
the  Athens  correspondent  of  The  London 
Times. 

On  the  morning  of  June  11,  after 
Zaimis  had  seen  Jonnart  and  learned 
that  the  Allies'  decision  that  Constantine 
should  abdicate  was  irrevocable,  the  Pre- 
mier went  straight  back  to  the  King's 


palace   and  told   him   of  his  fate.     The 
narrative  then  proceeds: 

The  King  listened  with  great  calm,  and  said 
to  M.  Zaimis:  "I  desire  the  Crown  Council 
to  be  summoned."  M.  Zaimis,  much  dis- 
tressed, left  the  room,  and  the  King  retired 
to  his  study,  where  some  minutes  after  one 
of  his  Aides  de  Camp  found  him  deep  in  a 
chair,  his  head  bent  on  his  hand,  and  "  very 
pensive." 

At  11 :30  o'clock  the  Crown  Council  began, 
there  being  present,  besides  M.  Zaimis,  M. 
Skouloudis,  M.  Lambros,  M.  Dimitrakopoulos, 
M.  Gounaris,  M.  Stratos,  M.  Kalogheropoulos, 
M.  Rallis,  and  M.  Dragoumis— all  ex-Prime 
Ministers. 

When  they  were  seated,  the  King  read  to 
them  the  demands  of  the  Allies.  It  is  difficult 
to  be  quite  sure  of  what  happened,  but  it 
seems  certain  that  when  the  King  pronounced 
the  fateful  words  demanding  his  abdication 
he  turned  toward  them  as  for  their  opinion, 
and  M.  Gounaris  (the  arch  pro-German  poli- 
tician) half  rose  and  said  :  "  Impossible  !  It 
is  impossible  that—  "  when  the  King  stopped 
him,  raised  his  hand,  and  said :  "  I  have 
decided  to  accept." 

The  Council  lasted  till  2:30  o'clock,  the 
Ministers  insisting  on  seeing  if  a  way  of 
satisfying  the  Allies'  demands  could  not  be 
found  without  the  abdication  of  the  King, 
but  it  all  ended  in  their  recognizing  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  situation,  and  the  Council  was 
dismissed  by  the  King. 

The  demeanor  of  the  Ministers  as  they 
came  out  showed  the  throng  of  waiting  jour- 
nalists that  they  had  heard  grave  news,  but 
they  would  not  speak.  M.  Gounaris  seemed 
incapable  of  speaking.  M.  Skouloudis,  under 
whose  Premiership  Fort  Rupel  was  handed 
over  to  the  Bulgarians  and  the  disasters  of 
today  largely  prepared,  was  pale  and  shaking, 
and  had  to  be  assisted  into  his  motor  car. 
When  he  reached  home  he  remained  prostrate 
for  a  considerable  time. 

The  deposed  monarch's  departure  from 
the  shores  of  Greece  is  described  by  the 
Athens  Correspondent  of  The  London 
Times,  under  date  of  June  14: 

The  departure  of  ex-King  Constantine,  with 
Queen  Sophie,  the  Crown  Prince,  the  Prin- 
cesses, and  Prince  Paul,  which  I  witnessed 
this  morning  at  Oropos,  a  small  port  in  the 
Gulf  of  Euboea,  took  place  very  quietly. 

Oropos  Is  a  tiny  fishing  village  with  a 
small  jetty.  All  the  night  and  all  the  morn- 
ing motor  cars  had  been  bringing  the  King's 
luggage.  A  number  of  the  King's  personal 
friends  came  to  see  him  off.     The  late  King 


282 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


George's  yacht  Sphakteria  was  refitted  rap- 
idly to  receive  the  royal  family,  and  lay 
off  Oropos  this  morning  escorted  by  two 
French  destroyers  whose  Tricolors  flapped 
broadly  against  the  Euboean  hills. 

The  ex-King  and  Queen  and  the  Crown 
Prince  arrived  in  motor  cars  shortly  after  11 
o'clock.  The  King  wore  a  General's  uniform 
and  got  slowly  out  of  the  car,  which  drew 
up  close  to  the  jetty,  where  two  French  offi- 
cers stood  rigidly.  A  small  group  of  country 
people  and  schoolgirls  mingled  with  M. 
Zalmis,  the  Prime  Minister,  courtiers,  and 
official  personages. 

The  King  was  pale,  but  erect  and  com- 
posed. He  took  a  bouquet  of  flowers  which 
a  small  child  on  the  top  of  a  wall  thrust  out 
to  him.  People  gave  subdued  cheers,  and 
peasants  on  the  jetty  knelt  as  the  King  and 
Queen  passed  them.  The  King  made  way 
for  the  Queen,  bidding  the  people  let  them 
pass.  The  royal  family  then  quickly  en- 
tered a  waiting  motor  launch  and  were  borne 
to  their  vessel. 

The  King  was  dignified  and  bowed  and  sa- 
luted, but  he  scarcely  uttered  a  word  from 
the  moment  of  his  arrival  till  the  launch  cast 
off.  Several  of  his  friends  were  weeping. 
One  man  threw  himself  in  the  water  in  an 
endeavor,  apparently,  to  follow  the  royal 
boat,  but  he  was  rescued. 

The  new  King,  Alexander,  on  ascend- 
ing the  throne,  issued  a  proclamation  in 
the  following  terms: 

At  the  moment  when  my  venerated  father, 
making  to  the  Fatherland  the  supreme  sacri- 
fice, intrusts  me  with  the  heavy  duties  of  the 
Hellenic  throne,  I  pray  that  God,  granting  his 
wishes,  may  protect  Greece  and  permit  us  to 
see  it  once  more  united  and  strong. 

In  the  grief  of  being  separated  in  such 
painful  circumstances  from  my  well-beloved 
father  I  have  the  single  consolation  of  obey- 
ing his  sacred  command.  With  all  my  energy 
I  shall  try  to  carry  it  out  by  following  along 
the  lines  which  so  magnificently  marked  his 
reign,  with  the  help  of  the  people  on  whose 
love  the  Greek  dynasty  rests. 

I  have  the  conviction  that,  in  obeying  the 
will  of  my  father,  the  people  by  their  sub- 
mission will  contribute  to  our  being  able 
together  to  draw  our  well-beloved  country  out 
of  the  situation  in  which  it  now  is. 

The  publication  of  this  proclamation 
came  as  a  shock  to  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Italy.  The  question  was  raised 
whether  the  Allies  had  not  been  hood- 
winked and  if  another  German  diplomatic 
trick  had  not  succeeded  in  the  Balkans. 
Everywhere  the  demand  was  made  that 
the  Allies  take  direct  control  of  Greece, 
establish  Venizelos  in  power,  and  keep 
him  there  by  force  if  necessary. 

Jonnart  indirectly  but  very  effectively 


replied  to  the  young  King's  proclamation 
in  the  following  manifesto  addressed  to 
the  Greek  people: 

France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia  desire 
to  see  Greece  independent,  great,  and  pros- 
perous, and  they  mean  to  defend  the  noble 
country,  which  they  have  liberated,  against 
the  united  efforts  of  the  Turks,  Bulgarians, 
and  Germans.  They  (the  Entente  Allies)  are 
here  to  circumvent  the  manoeuvres  of  the 
kingdom's  hereditary  enemies ;  they  want  to 
end  the  repeated  violations  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  of  the  treaties  and  the  deplorable 
intrigues  which  have  resulted  in  the  mas- 
sacre of  soldiers  of  the  united  countries. 

Berlin  until  now  has  commanded  Athens 
and  has  been  gradually  bringing  the  people 
under  the  yoke  of  the  Bulgarians  and  Ger- 
mans* We  have  resolved  to  re-establish  the 
constitutional  rights  and  unity  of  Greece. 
The  protecting  powers  have  in  consequence 
demanded  the  abdication  of  King  Constan- 
tine.  But  they  do  not  intend  to  touch  the 
constitutional  monarchy.  They  have  no  other 
ambitions  than  to  assure  the  regular  opera- 
tion of  the  Constitution  to  which  King 
George  of  glorious  memory  had  always  been 
scrupulously  faithful  and  which  King  Con- 
stantine  has  ceased  to  respect. 

Greeks !  the  hour  of  reconciliation  ha&' 
come.  Your  destinies  are  closely  associated 
with  those  of  the  protecting  powers.  Your 
ideal  is  the  same.  Your  hopes  are  the  same. 
We  appeal  to  your  wisdom  and  patriotism. 
The  blockade  is  now  raised.  Every  reprisal 
against  the  Greeks,  no  matter  by  whom,  will 
be  pitilessly  suppressed.  No  attempt  against 
the  public  order  will  be  tolerated.  The  prop- 
erty and  liberty  of  all  will  be  safeguarded. 
A  new  era  of  peace  and  work  is  opening  be- 
fore you. 

Know  that  the  protecting  powers,  respect- 
ful of  the  national  sovereignty,  have  no  in- 
tention of  imposing  upon  the  Greek  people  a 
general  mobilization. 

Long  live  Greece,  united,  great,  and  free ! 

On  the  invitation  of  M.  Jonnart,  Veni- 
zelos arrived  at  Piraeus  on  June  21.  He 
received  a  great  welcome  from  a  crowd 
of  several  thousand  persons  and  with 
Jonnart's  approval  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  Premier  Zaimis  for  a  fusion 
of  the  two  parties.  Meanwhile,  King 
Alexander  in  a  letter  to  Zaimis  described 
himself  as  the  faithful  guardian  of  the 
Constitution,  and  thereby  repaired  the 
mistake  he  had  made  in  his  first  procla- 
mation. The  new  King  made  it  clear 
that  he  was  willing  to  comply  with  all 
the  demands  of  the  Entente  Allies.  But 
now  it  was  Zaimis  who  refused  to  be 
their  obedient  servant.  Jonnart  demand- 
ed the  convocation  of  the  Parliament  of 


GREECE  JOINS   THE  ALLIES 


283 


May  31,  1915,  in  which  Venizelos  had  had 
a*  majority  and  which  Constantine  had 
dissolved.  Zaimis,  refusing  to  take  re- 
sponsibility for  this  step,  resigned,  and 
once  more  Venizelos  returned  to  power. 
On  June  27  the  new  Ministry,  of  which 
he  became  head,  took  the  oath.  Its  per- 
sonnel was  as  follows: 

Premier  and  Minister  of  War— M.  VENI- 
ZELOS. 

Minister  of  the  Interior— M.  REPOULIES. 

Minister  of  Justice— M.  TSIRIMOKOS. 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs— M.  POLITIS. 

Minister  of  Marine— Admiral  P.  COUNDOU- 
RIOTIS. 

Minister  of  Finance— M.  MICHSALACO- 
POUDOS. 

Minister  of  Agriculture— M.  NEGROPON- 
TES. 

Minister  of  Communications— M.  PAPANA- 
STASION. 

Minister  of  Education— M.  DINGAS. 

Minister  of  Food  Supplies— M.  EMBIRKOS. 

Minister  of  Relief  for  Refugees— M.  SIMOS. 
Dispatches  from  Athens  dated  June  29 
announced  that  the  Greek  Government 
had  broken  off  diplomatic  relations  with 
Germany  and  her  allies.  The  Greek  Min- 
isters at  Berlin,  Vienna,  Sofia,  and  Con- 
stantinople were  instructed  to  leave  their 
posts  and  place  their  archives  with  the 
Netherlands  -  Legations.  This  did  not 
mean  that  Greece  was  going  to  war  at 
once.  Venizelos,  when  taking  the  oath  of 
office,  made  the  following  statement: 

We  realize  that  unless  we  drive  the  Bul- 
garians from  Eastern  Macedonia  that  part  of 
Greek  territory  will  be  always  exposed  to 
great  danger.  Before,  however,  thinking  of 
mobilizing  that  part  of  Greece  which  has  not 
shared  in  our  movement,  we  must  vitalize 
its  military  organization,  which  has  fallen 
into  such  decay,  and  bring  a.bout  a  fusion  of 
the  two  armies  in  brotherly  co-operation. 
Therefore,  we  shall  now  call  out  the  un- 
trained classes  of  1916  and  1917. 

With  the  abdication  of  Constantine  and 
with  Venizelos  once  more  guiding  the  des- 
tinies of  Greece,  administrative  control 
of  various  Governmental  services  by  the 
Entente  Allies  was  gradually  withdrawn, 
but  it  was  decided  that  the  telegraphs 
and  the  censorship  should  still  be  super- 
vised by  representatives  of  the  Allies,  in 
co-operation  with  the  Greek  Government. 
The  raising  of  the  blockade  had  already 
been  announced  on  June  19. 

An  important  result  of  the  political 
change  in  Greece  was  seen  in  the  report 
of  General  Sarrail,  whose  French  troops 


were  in  occupation  of  Thessaly,  that  the 
movements  of  troops  were  being  carried 
out  without  difficulty.  All  the  com- 
munes in  the  region  of  Larissa  and  Volo 
spontaneously  transferred  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Venizelos  Government  and 
installed  new  civil  authorities. 

Constantine  and  his  family  arrived  at 
Lugano,  Switzerland,  on  June  20.  Offi- 
cers and  delegates  of  the  Swiss  Govern- 
ment met  him  at  the  frontier  and  wel- 
comed him  in  the  name  of  Switzerland. 
A  large  number  of  German  personages 
waited  for  the  ex-King  at  the  station, 
including  Prince  and  Princess  von  Bulow 
and  Dr.  von  Muhlberg,  German  Minister 
to  the  Vatican.  The  Greek  Minister  to 
Berne  was  also  present.  A  number  of 
German  diplomats  arrived  at  Lugano  for 
the  coming  of  the  former  King,  who  was 
delayed  by  the  illness  of  his  wife.  A 
long  telegram  from  the  German  Emperor 
was  handed  to  Constantine  as  soon  as 
he  left  the  train.  He  was  very  coolly 
received  by  the  crowds.  After  dinner 
he  attended  an  open-air  concert,  where 
he  was  recognized  and  hissed  by  a  group 
of  strangers  who  were  leaving.  On  en- 
tering the  concert  the  former  King  was 
jostled,  and  he  left  later  by  a  rear  door 
to  avoid  the  curious  crowds. 

Georgios  Streit,  former  Adviser  of  the 
Greek  Foreign  Office,  who  is  one  of  Con- 
stantine's  entourage,  announced  on  June 
22  that  in  consequence  of  his  wound  the 
ex-King  needed  careful  nursing  and  com- 
plete rest,  and  his  physicians  had  advised 
him  to  proceed  immediately  to  a  sana- 
torium in  the  mountains,  where  he  was 
to  live  merely  for  his  health  and  family. 
The  Queen,  too,  was  not  in  good  health 
after  troubles  and  tribulations  of  the  last 
year.  According  to  other  reports  he  and 
the  ex- Queen  were  greatly  shocked  at 
their  reception  in  Switzerland. 

The  Creek  War  Record 
The  leading  episodes  in  King  Con- 
stahtine's  policy  from  the  time  the  ques- 
tion of  Greek  intervention  in  the  war 
was  first  raised  by  the  proposal  that 
Greek  troops  should  be  sent  to  Gallipoli 
are  set  out  in  the  following  chronological 
table  by  The  London  Times: 

March,  1915. — King  Constantine  refuses  M. 
Venizelos's  proposal  for  intervention  in  Gal- 


284 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


lipoli ;  M.  Venizelos  resigns  the  Premier- 
ship. 

May,  1915. — M.  Gounaris,  (Pro-German,) 
Prime  Minister. 

June,  1915.— General  election  in  Greece  re- 
sults in  a  Venizelist  majority. 

August,  1915. — M.  Venizelos  again  becomes 
Prime  Minister. 

Sept.  18,  1915. — King  Constantine  and  M. 
"Venizelos  "  in  complete  agreement "  about 
Balkan  policy. 

Sept.  21,  1915. — M.  Venizelos  invites  France 
and  Great  Britain  to  send  troops  to  Saloniki 
to  aid  Serbia. 

Sept.  23,  1915. — King  Constantine  signs  de- 
cree mobilizing  Greek  Army ;  to  support,  as 
is  supposed,  Serbia  against  Central  Powers 
and  Bulgaria.  • 

Oct.  3,  1915. — First  Anglo-French  troops 
reach  Saloniki. 

Oct.  4,  1915. — M.  Venizelos  announces  that 
the  Greek  Government  "  will  not  oppose  the 
Anglo-French  armies  hastening  to  the  aid 
of  the  Serbians,  the  allies  of  Greece." 

Oct.  5,  1915. — King  Constantine  dismisses 
M.  Venizelos  from  office.  Serbia's  appeal  to 
Greece  to  fulfill  her  treaty  obligations  and 
come  to  her  aid  when  attacked  refused.  King 
Constantine  alleges  that  the  treaty  refers 
only  to  an  attack  on  Serbia  by  a  Balkan  foe, 
not  to  a  war  against  Germany  and  Austria. 
"  If  Greece  intervenes  she  will  share  the  fate 
of  Belgium." 

November,  1915. — Protest  by  Allies  against 
interference  by  Greece  with  the  movement  of 
Franco-British  troops ;  partial  blockade  of 
Greece. 

March,  1916. — Greek  officers  in  Macedonia 
instructed  not  to  oppose  the  Bulgarian  ad- 
vance into  Greece. 


May,  1910. — Greek  Government  refuses 
facilities  for  Serbian  Army  to  cross  Greece 
by  rail. 

May  2G,  1916. — On  orders  approved  by  King 
Constantine,  Greek  commander  surrenders 
Fort  Rupel  to  Bulgarians;  Entente  Powers 
thereupon  blockade  Greek  ports. 

August,  1916. — Greek  division  in  Eastern 
Macedonia  "  surrenders  "  to  Bulgarians  and 
is  conveyed  to  Germany. 

Aug.  27,  1916. — M.  Venizelos  appealj  to 
King  Constantine  to  "  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  nation  and  defend  Greece's  honor 
and  territory."     King  Constantine  declines. 

Sept.  25,  1916. — M.  Venizelos  breaks  with 
King  Constantine  and  proclaims  a  Provisional 
Government.  Most  of  the  islands  and  part 
of  mainland  of  Greece  adhere  to  M.  Venizelos. 

Nov.  24,  1916.— In  consequence  of  anti-ally 
acts  of  King  Constantine's  Government,  En- 
tente Powers  present  ultimatum  to  Greece; 
Greece  refuses  to  surrender  certain  guns. 

Dec.  1,  1916. — Allied  troops  landed  at 
Athens  fired  on  by  King  Constantine's  troops ; 
several  killed.  Reign  of  terror  at  Athens. 
Venizelists  tortured. 

Dec.  14,  1916. — Another  ultimatum  to 
Greece.  M.  Venizelos  charged  with  treason 
by  King  Constantine. 

Jan.  8,  1917.— New  note  to  Greece;  evasive 
reply. 

February-May,  1917. — Continuance  of  King 
Constantine's  intrigues  with  Germany ;  peril 
to  the  rear  of  the  allied  army  in  Macedonia. 
Blockade  of  Greece  continues. 

June  7,  1917. — M.  Jonnart  arrives  in  Greece 
as  High  Commissioner  of  the  Protecting 
Powers. 

June  12,  1917.— King  Constantine  abdicates, 
and  is  succeeded  by  his  son  Alexander. 


Re-establishing  Albania 

Rival  Plans  of  Autonomy,  and  How  They  Conflict  with 
Albania's  Desire  for  Independence 

This  article,  written  by  a  native  Albanian  now  in  the  United  States,  summarizes  the 
latest  attempts  to  solve  the  knotty  problem  of  what  shall  be  done  with  Albania.  It  supple- 
ments the  brief  sketches  of  "  Albanian  Autonomy  "  and  "  The  New  Republic  of  Koritza  " 
which  appeared  in  the  July  issue  of  Current  History  Magazine. 


WHILE  the  diplomatic  pour- 
parlers for  the  abdication  of 
King  Constantine  and  for  the 
clearing  up  of  the  situation  in 
Greece  were  going  on,  the  Allies  were 
taking  the  necessary  steps  toward  the 
settlement  of  another  important  and  vex- 
atious question  concerning  the  Balkans. 
On  June  3,  1917,  the  Italian  Government 
proclaimed  the  independence  of  Albania, 
in    apparent    accord   with    England    and 


France,  and  placed  the  new  State  under 
Italian  protection,  marking  a  new  turn- 
ing point  in  the  Balkan  situation. 

Albania  had  proclaimed  her  indepen- 
dence early  in  1912,  and  the  London  con- 
ference of  the  same  year  recognized  and 
guaranteed  her  autonomy  by  placing  the 
new  principality  under  the  collective  pro- 
tection of  the  six  great  European  powers 
who  undertook  to  organize  it.  They 
placed  on  the  throne  of  Albania  Prince 


Leader  of  the  Majority  Socialist  Group  in  the   German 

Reichstag    and    a    Prominent    Figure    in    Recent 

Efforts  to  Bring  About  Peace. 


(Photo  Paul   Thompson) 


Pffofiiffr?^: 


^■gv-- 


r^T^l 


t 


u4 


1 
I 


STATESMEN  OF  NEUTRAL  NATIONS 


GUNNAR  KNUDSEN, 
Premier  of  Norway. 

(Photo    Bain    News    Service) 


C.  T.  ZAHLE, 
Premier  of  Denmark. 

(Photo    Bain    News    Service) 


GUSTAVE  ADOR 

The  New  Foreign  Minister  of 

Switzerland. 

(Photo  Press  Illustrating  Service) 


EDUARDO  DATO 
Premier  of  Spain. 

(Photo  Press  Illustrating  Service) 


RE-ESTABLISHING  ALBANIA 


285 


%nT .  k  2 


MAP  SHOWING  ALBANIA'S  POSITION  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  POWERS    SEEKING  TO   CONTROL 
ITS    DESTINY.     AUSTRIA-HUNGARY    HOLDS    THE    NORTHERN    PORTION 


William  of  Wied,  a  German  Prince.  With 
the  outbreak  of  the  European  war,  the 
Prince  was  forced  to  abandon  his  realm, 
after  a  troubled  reign  of  about  seven 
months,  and  Albania  fell  a  prey  of  her 
neighbors,  Serbians,  Montenegrins,  and 
Greeks.  After  several  changes  of  occu- 
pants, her  territory  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  Austria  and  Italy,  the  former 
holding  Northern  and  Central  Albania, 
about  two-thirds  of  the  whole  territory, 
and  the  latter  the  rest  of  it. 

The  Italian  action  in  proclaiming  the 
independence  of  Albania  took  place  as  a 
result  of  two  tentative  steps  made  sepa- 
rately by  France  and  Austria. 

In  October,  1916,  an  Anglo-French  de- 
tachment took  possession  of  the  City  of 
Koritza  and  of  the  adjoining  territory  in 
Eastern  Albania,  by  expelling  therefrom 
the  Greek  royalist  troops.  On  Dec.  10 
the  French  commander,  Colonel  Descoins, 
proclaimed  the  autonomy  of  the  region 
of  Koritza,  a  district  of  about  100,000 
inhabitants,  under  French  protection.  The 
French  commander  was  forced  by  the 
Albanian  militia  of  that  region  to  issue 
a  formal  proclamation,  and  according  to 
a  duly  signed  protocol  the  tiny  State 
was  made  a  provisional  republic. 

Following  the  action  of  France,  which 
had  deeply  impressed  the  Albanians  liv- 
ing under  Austrian  occupation,  the  com- 
mander of  the  Austro-Hungarian  troops 


in  Albania  issued  on  March  9,  1917,  a 
ringing  proclamation  to  the  Albanians  by 
which  he  guaranteed,  in  the  name  of  his 
Government,  the  independence  of  the 
whole  of  Albania,  under  Austrian  pro- 
tection, and  invited  the  Albanians  to  join 
the  Austrian  troops  in  the  war  against 
the  allied  forces  in  the  Balkans. 

Next  it  was  Italy's  turn.  She  had  de- 
clared, on  entering  the  war  against  the 
Central  Powers,  that  one  of  her  chief  war 
aims  was  the  re-establisment  of  the  in- 
dependence of  Albania  and  the  elimina- 
tion of  Austrian  influence  in  that  part  of 
the  Balkans.  She  had  irritated  Greece  by 
wresting  Southern  Albania  from  her,  and 
had  crossed  even  the  frontiers  decided 
upon  in  the  London  Conference,  by  occu- 
pying a  large  part  of  what  is  called  Al- 
bania Irredenta.  On  June  3  General  Fer- 
rero,  commander  of  the  Italian  troops  in 
Southern  Albania,  read  a  formal  procla- 
mation at.  Argyrocastro,  before  a  crowd- 
ed assembly  of  Albanian  notables.  The 
text  is  as  follows: 
To  the  whole  people  of  Albania: 
Today,  June  3,  1917,  the  memorable  an- 
niversary of  the  establishment  of  Italian 
constitutional  liberties,  .  I,  General  Giacinto 
Ferrero,  commander  of  the  Italian  expedi- 
tionary forces  in  Albania,  do  solemnly  pro- 
claim, in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  his 
Majesty,  King-  Victor  Emmanuel,  the  unity 
and  independence  of  the  whole  of  Albania, 
under  the  shield  and  protection  of  the  Italian 
Kingdom. 


286 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


By  this  proclamation  you,  Albanians,  have 
a  free  Government,  an  army,  tribunals, 
schools,  all  made  up  of  Albanians,  and  are 
free  to  use  as  you  wish  your  property  and 
the  fruits  of  your  labor,  for  your  own  benefit 
and/  for  the  enrichment  of  your  country. 

Albanians ! 

"Wherever  you  are,  whether  free  in  the  land 
of  your  birth,  an  old  and  honorable  race,  or 
in  exile  in  other  countries  and  under  foreign 
domination,  we  are  bringing  you  back  to  the 
civilization  of  the  Romans  and  of  the  Vene- 
tians. 

You  know  the  bonds  that  unite  the  Italian 
and  Albanian  interests.  The  sea  divides 
them,  and  at  the  same  time  the  sea  binds 
them  together.  Let  all  good  citizens,  then, 
stand  unitedly,  having  faith  in  the  future  of 
your  beloved  nation.  Come,  all  of  you,  un- 
der the  flags  of  Albania  and  Italy,  and 
pledge  yourselves  to  Albania,  which  is  today 
proclaimed  independent,  in  the  name  f  the 
Italian  Government  and  under  its  friendly 
protection. 

This  proclamation  of  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment was  the  subject  of  copious  com- 
ments throughout  the  allied  countries. 
For  many  days  the  Italian  newspapers 
devoted  columns  and  pages  to  the  great 
importance  of  the  proclamation,  empha- 
sizing the  paramount  necessity  of  such  a 
measure  to  bar  Austria  from  the  Adri- 
atic Sea.  La  Tribuna  of  Rome  on  June 
5  stated  that  many  misgivings  in  regard 
to  the  aims  of  Italy  have  been  in  the  air, 
but  that  the  proclamation  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  Albania  was  proof  that  Italy 
was  acting  in  accordance  with  the  princi- 
ple of  nationalities.  II  Giornale  d'ltalia, 
the  organ  of  Baron  Sonnino,  saluted  the 
independence  of  Albania  in  these  words: 

"  Italy,  well  aware  that  there  is  no 
sacrifice  too  great  for  the  inestimable 
boon  of  liberty,  salutes  with  joy  and 
with  confidence  in  the  triumph  of  justice 
the  ancient  people  of  Albania." 

The  impression  made  in  Petrograd, 
however,  by  the  proclamation  of  the  Ital- 
ian protectorate  on  Albania  was  the 
reverse  of  what  it  was  expected  to  be, 
and  M.  Terestchenko,  the  Russian  Minis- 
ter of  Foreign  Affairs,  asked  for  more 
ample  explanations  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  "protectorate."  On  the  other  hand, 
when  questions  were  raised  in  the  House 
of  Commons  and  the  French  Chamber  of 
Deputies  on  the  same  subject,  Lord  Cecil 
replied,  on  June  13,  that  the  Italian  pro- 


tectorate over  Albania  did  not  convey 
any  material  privileges  to  Italy,  and 
Jules  Cambon  declared  that  the  Italian 
protection  must  be  considered  in  the  light 
of  the  exclusion  of  Austrian  influence 
only. 

The  attitude  of  the  Albanian  press 
was  anything  but  complaisant.  Com- 
menting editorially  on  the  Italian  ac- 
tion, the  newspaper  Dielli,  (the  Sun,) 
organ  of  the  nationalist  Albanians  in 
America,  wrote  on  June  8: 

"The  proclamations  by  Austria  and 
Italy,  which  came  one  after  the  other, 
are  neither  welcome  nor  well  sounding. 
These  powers  are  disputing  between 
them  the  right  of  protection  over  Al- 
bania. The  way  in  which  each  desires 
to  reorganize  and  dominate  Albania  can- 
not meet  our  approval.  We  acknowledge 
with  boundless  pleasure  any  friendly  pro- 
tection, but  we  cannot  even  for  a  mo- 
ment agree  that  Albania  be  reduced  to 
the  state  of  a  vassal  country.  The  Al- 
banians are  fighting  for  the  real  inde- 
pendence of  Albania,  and  for  this  we 
can  rely  on  the  assistance  of  her  friends 
only.  The  Albanians  desire  that  Al- 
bania should  be  for  the  Albanians. 
They  do  not  wish  her  to  be  the  tool  of 
either  Austria  or  Italy.  Such  a  servile 
Albania  would  be  the  worst  element  in 
the  Balkans,  a  fire-maker  in  the  already 
troublesome  peninsula.     *     *     * " 

Acrimonious  criticisms  in  the  press 
and  in  diplomatic  circles  of  the  allied 
powers,  as  to  the  Italian  protection, 
led  Baron  Sonnino,  the  Italian  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs,  to  make  further 
official  declarations.  On  June  22  he 
stated  that  the  independence  of  Al- 
bania was  a  thing  to  be  desired,  being 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  ex- 
pounded by  President  Wilson  and  es- 
poused by  the  Allies. 

The  situation  in  Albania  is  likely  to 
be  further  complicated  by  the  advent  of 
M.  Venizelos  as  Premier  of  Greece. 
The  Greek  statesman  is  understood  to 
make  the  participation  of  Greece  in  the 
war  by  the  side  of  the  Allies  conditional 
upon  the  elimination  of  Italy's  ambi- 
tions in  Albania. 


Canada's  Three  Years  of  War 


By  Frank  Yeigh 


WHEN  Father  Time  ticks  off  the 
4th  of  August,  1917,  Canada 
will  have  ended  three  years  of 
experience  as  a  war  country. 
Looking  back  on  this  stirring  period  and 
on  her  record  as  a  participating  ally,  the 
Dominion  can  at  least  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  her  response  to  the 
call  of  the  motherland  and  civilization 
was  as  prompt  as  it  was  definite.  The 
story  of  the  enlistment  of  the  first  troops, 
their  initial  training  in  a  hastily  impro- 
vised camp,  and  their  passage  overseas, 
guarded  by  a  part  of  the  British  fleet, 
will  long  be  a  creditable  chapter  in  the 
history  of  Canada.  The  first  Canadian 
contingent,  comprising  nearly  33,000  men, 
7,500  horses,  and  70  pieces  of  artillery, 
was  the  largest  military  force  that  up  to 
that  time  had  ever  crossed  any  ocean  to 
go  to  any  war. 

When  war  was  declared,  and  Canada 
without  delay  promised  England  her  aid, 
the  plan  of  voluntary  enlistment  was 
adopted  as  the  one  best  suited  to  a  coun- 
try so  democratic  and  in  which  strong 
emphasis  is  placed  on  individual  liberty. 
The  cry  of  the  recruiter  was  at  once 
heard  throughout  the  land;  appeals  were 
made  from  platform  and  press,  organiza- 
tions of  all  kinds  became  recruiting  agen- 
cies, and  the  Church  added  its  voice  in 
solicitation.  This  method  resulted  in  the 
raising  of  the  first  400,000,  but  it  now 
seems  unable  to  go  further.  The  chief 
criticism  of  the  plan  is  that  it  is  unfair 
and  unequal  in  its  operation.  This  is 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  only  one  man 
out  of  fifty  joined  the  forces  from  Quebec, 
as  against  one  out  of  sixteen  in  Ontario 
and  one  out  of  twelve  in  the  Canadian 
West.  It  also  left  many  a  slacker  un- 
touched, while  married  men  with  home 
ties  and  responsibilities,  or  valuable  toil- 
ers, 'felt  the  call  and  enlisted. 

Total  Enlistment  Figures 
Canada's   total    enlisted    force,   up   to 
June  15,  1917,  was  421,767.     According 
to  a  recent  statement  made  in  the  House 


of  Commons  by  the  Minister  of  Militia, 
there  were,  of  the  above  total,  in  May 
last  136,400  troops  of  all  ranks  in 
France,  with  747  in  the  Near  East  and 
120  at  St.  Lucia.  There  were  at  the 
same  time  180,326  in  England,  not  count- 
ing those  in  hospitals  and  convalescent 
homes.  On  June  1,  1917,  there  were 
17,353  troops  of  the  Canadian  expedi- 
tionary forces  of  all  ranks  in  Canada, 
gathered  in  a  series  of  military  training 
camps. 

Of  the  men  sent  overseas  14,100  were 
French  Canadians.  The  number  of  na- 
tive-born Canadians  speaking  the  Eng- 
lish language  who  have  gone  overseas  is 
given  as  125,245,  and  the  number  of 
British  subjects  born  outside  of  Canada 
who  have  gone  overseas,  155,095.  The 
British-born  members  of  the  Canadian 
Army  outnumbered  the  Canadian-born  by 
about  15,000. 

It  is  estimated  that  Canada  has  1,- 
583,549  men  of  military  age,  (based  on 
the  census  of  1911,)  of  whom  760,453 
are  single  and  therefore  the  first  subject 
to  any  conscription  call,  and  680,307  mar- 
ried, between  the  ages  of  20  and  45,  or 
nearly  a  half-and-half  proportion. 

A  system  of  national  service  registra- 
tion was  next  adopted.  This  was  obliga- 
tory on  men  beyond  the  military  age,  and 
called  upon  them  to  describe  their  pres- 
ent occupations  and  responsibilities  and 
to  place  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Government  for  whatever  service  .it 
might  determine.  A  million  and  a  quar- 
ter responded,  but  it  is  asserted  that  few 
practical  results  have  ensued,  and  that 
as  a  source  of  military  strength  it  has 
proved  ineffectual.  The  same  might  be 
said  of  the  putting  into  force  of  a  long- 
standing Militia  act,  under  which  men 
of  military  age  are  liable  to  be  called  out 
for  home  defense.  Enlistments  were 
asked  under  this  act,  but  with  few  re- 
sults. Volunteers  said  in  effect  that 
they    were    willing    to    be    stay-at-home 


2K8 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


fighters,  but  drew  the  line  at  overseas 
service. 

The  increasingly  imperative  need  for 
further  reinforcements,  not  only  to  bring 
up  the  Canadian  Army  to  the  standard 
of  half  a  million  promised  early  in  the 
war  by  the  Premier,  but  to  replace  the 
wastage  in  the  ranks,  led  the  Govern- 
ment in  June,  1917,  to  bring  in  the  Mil- 
itary Service  bill,  which  is,  in  essence, 
like  that  of  the  United  States,  a  selective 
conscription  plan.  At  the  present  writ- 
ing this  bill  is  under  discussion  in  Par- 
liament and  throughout  the  country. 

More  Than  100,000  Casualties  ' 

The  casualties  in  the  Canadian  ranks 
have  passed  the  100,000  mark.  On  June 
22,  1917,  there  were  nearly  30,000  hos- 
pital cases;  of  this  number  22,067  were 
in  the  United  Kingdom  and  7,271  in 
Canada.  There  were  2,295  Canadian 
prisoners  of  war  in  Germany.  Canadians 
had  won,  up  to  the  first  of  January, 
1917,  2,715  decorations,  including  six 
Victoria  Crosses,  329  Military  Crosses, 
and  1,138  military  medals. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  war  thus  far 
has  cost  Canada  $600,000,000,  and  that 
it  is  now  costing  over  a  million  a  day. 
The  estimate  for  the  year  1917  alone  is 
$433,274,000.  To  meet  this  expenditure 
and  establish  a  line  of  credit  with  Great 
Britain,  three  Government  bond  issues 
have  been  floated,  totaling  $350,000,000 
Each  was  largely  and  quickly  oversub- 
scribed, and  a  fourth  is  foreshadowed  for 
the  Fall.    They  bear  5  per  cent,  interest. 

As  financial  aid  to  England  the  Domin- 
ion Government  has  contributed  $200,- 
000,000  as  a  loan  to  the  Imperial  Treas- 
ury, in  connection  with  the  financing  of 
munition  orders;  it  also  has  arranged  with 
the  Canadian  banks  for  advances  aggre- 
gating another  $100,000,000.  England, 
on  the  other  hand,  advanced  to  Canada, 
up  to  March  30,  1917,  $692,000,000.  The 
imperial  and  international  financing  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of 
the  war. 

The  war  expenditure  is  responsible  for 
a  steady  increase  in  the  public  debt  of 
the  Dominion.  Whereas  the  debt  stood 
at  $327,000,000  before  the  war,  it  had 
risen  to  $722,111,000  by   Dec.   31,   1916, 


and  it  is  estimated  that  it  will  reach  a 
total  of  $1,200,000,000  by  the  end  of  1918 
if  the  struggle  continues  until  then. 

Canada's  special  war  taxes  are  yielding 
approximately  $65,000,000  a  year,  made 
up,  for  the  last  fiscal  year,  as  follows: 
Excess  profits  tax,  $15,600,000;  war 
tariff,  $37,000,000;  bank  tax,  $1,000,000; 
loan  companies,  $400,000;  spirits  and 
tobacco,  $7,000,000;  extra  postage, 
$6,000,000.  The  excess  profits  tax,  which 
raised  $12,500,000  the  first  year,  is  ex- 
pected to  produce  $20,000,000  during  the 
current  year  under  an  increased  schedule. 
An  income  tax  is  also  foreshadowed. 

Millions  for  Relief  Work 
Canada's  war  gifts,  Governmental  and 
private,  have  been  on  a  most  generous 
scale.  Private  benefactions,  through  such 
agencies  as  the  Red  Cross,  the  Patriotic 
Fund  and  other  relief  funds,  total  $60,- 
000,000,  and  the  ratio  of  giving  is  con- 
tinually rising.  Every  province  gave, 
during  the  first  year  of  the  war,  large 
stores  of  flour, grain,  and  other  food  prod- 
ucts, coal  and  horses.  These  included  a 
million  bags  of  flour  from  the  Dominion, 
250,000  bags  from  Ontario,  and  50,000 
from  Manitoba;  4,000,000  pounds  of 
cheese  from  Quebec;  500,000  tons  of  coal 
from  Nova  Scotia;  oats,  cheese,  and  hay 
from  Prince  Edward  Island;  100,000  bush- 
els of  potatoes  from  New  Brunswick; 
1,200,000  cans  of  salmon  from  British 
Columbia,  and  1,500  horses  from  Sas- 
katchewan. The  Patriotic  Acre  in  Sas- 
katchewan has  produced  tangible  results. 
The  school  children,  too,  have  raised  large 
sums  in  the  aggregate,  through  food 
production  and  otherwise,  and  have  pre- 
sented some  ambulances  to  the  Red  Cross. 
In  a  word,  every  section  of  the  Dominion 
and  almost  every  class  of  the  population 
have  contributed  and  are  still  doing  so 
on  a  substantial  scale. 

Some  of  the  most  generous  gifts  of  men 
and  means  have  been  made  m  connection 
with  the  hospital  service  at  home  and 
overseas.  Several  of  the  larger  Cana- 
dian universities  have  equipped  war  hos- 
pitals and  manned  them  with  doctors  and 
nurses,  and  supplies  therefor  are  pro- 
vided as  a  gift  from  those  at  home.  The 
universities  have  sent  thousands  of  under- 


CANADA'S  THREE  YEARS  OF  WAR 


289 


graduates  to  the  front,  so  that  their  halls 
are  practically  empty  and  educational 
work  is  almost  at  a  standstill.  Officers' 
training  corps  of  students  have  been  pop- 
ular from  the  outset,  and  these  are  also 
being  maintained  as  a  source  for  supply- 
ing officers. 

Provincial  Governments  are  aiding  in 
providing  practical  work  for  the  returned 
soldiers.  Ontario  has  made  a  start  in  this 
direction  by  training  a  number  of  men 
on  the  Monteith  Government  Farm  in 
Northern  Ontario.  Following  the  train- 
ing the  men  will  be  given  homesteads  free 
of  cost,  after  proving  their  fitness  for  the 
work.  They  receive  soldiers'  pay  while 
in  training.  Alberta  also  is  active  in  the 
care  and  re-employment  of  those  who 
need  help  of  this  kind.  A  Soldiers'  Aid 
Committee  is  operating  in  500  different 
places,  seeking  not  only  to  act  as  the 
friend  of  the  soldier  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
but  to  assist-  some  in  settling  on  Govern- 
ment lands.  No  less  than  3,693  returned 
soldiers  have  been  given  positions  in  the 
Government  service,  and  vocational  train- 
ing  is  being  conducted  in  a  number  of 
centres.  The  great  war  veterans'  asso- 
ciation, with  a  membership  of  over  10,- 
000,  is  also  looking  after  the  interests  of 
the  homecoming  men. 

Caring  for  the  Wounded 

The  care  of  the  returned  soldier  who 
is  invalided  is  under  a  Military  Hospitals 
Commission  appointed  by  the  Govern- 
ment. On  the  arrival  of  the  men  at  a 
Canadian  port,  such  as  Halifax,  St.  John, 
or  Quebec,  distribution  is  made  according 
to  their  condition  and  ultimate  destina- 
tion. At  Quebec  the  commodious  immi- 
gration buildings  of  the  Government  are 
being  utilized  for  this  work.  For  trans- 
portation of  the  more  serious  cases, 
sleeping  cars,  specially  fitted  up  as  hos- 
pital cars,  are  used.  A  large  number  of 
military  hospitals  have  been  provided  in 
different  sections  of  the  "country,  many 
Government  institutions  being  used  to 
house  hundreds  of  men. 

The  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund,  a  re- 
markable voluntary  achievement,  has 
raised  over  $30,000,000.  A  million  a 
month  is  being  paid  out  through  this 
channel  as  an  auxiliary  help,  to  the  sol- 
dier and  his  dependents,  in  addition  to 


the  Government  pay  of  $1.10  a  day  to  the 
private  and  a  separation  allowance  for 
his  family.  This  fund  has  done  much  to 
stimulate  recruiting  by  assuring  the  sol- 
dier of  a  degree  of  support  for  those 
dependent  upon  him.  The  Red  Cross 
has  been  no  less  generously  supported;  in 
fact,  almost  every  city  exceeds  the  sum 
asked  from  it. 

In  addition  to  the  Government  pay  and 
the  patriotic  funds,  several  municipal- 
ities, like  Toronto,  have  insured  their  en- 
listed men,  mostly  for  $1,000  each.  Many 
corporations  and  large  employers  of  labor 
are  performing  a  similar  service  for  their 
employes. 

W.  J.  Hanna,  a  Cabinet  member,  was 
appointed  National  Food  Controller  in 
June,  1917,  and  is  working  in  harmony 
with  Mr.  Hoover,  who  occupies  a  similar 
position  for  the  United  States.  The  Ca- 
nadian Food  Controller,  like  the  Ameri- 
can, has  been  given  wide  powers  and  has 
already  issued  a  manifesto  to  the  people 
urging  maximum  production,  prevention 
of  waste,  and  the  largest  possible  con- 
sumption of  perishable  foodstuffs  in 
order  to  liberate  the  storable  foods  for 
transportation.  A  National  Fuel  Con- 
troller has  also  been  appointed,  to  whom 
has  been  given  wide  powers,  especially  in 
reference  to  the  coal  situation  both  for 
manufacturing  and  domestic  use. 

Munitions  and  Aviation 
Canada  has  become  an  important  mu- 
nition supplying  country,  operating  under 
the  Imperial  Munitions  Board.  The 
board  had  placed,  up  to  April  last,  $850,- 
000,000  worth  of  orders  in  the  Dominion, 
employing  over  250,000  persons  in  630 
factories. 

Britain  is  now  spending  $80,000,000  in 
aviation  training  in  Canada.  Formerly 
these  aviation  camps  were'  left  partly  to 
private  enterprise,  but  the  Government 
has  now  installed  large  ones  in  several  of 
the  provinces.  Several  aero  squadrons 
are  in  process  of  enlistment,  and  large 
numbers  of  machines  are  to  be  made  in 
Canada. 

The  effects  of  the  war  on  Canada,  com- 
mercially and  industrially,  have  been 
most  marked.  The  circulation  of  extra 
millions  of  dollars  is  felt  in  a  new  buoy- 
ancy of  trade,  though  the  trade  channels 


290 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


are  necessarily  changed  from  their  pre- 
war directions.  The  22,000  industrial 
plants  of  the  Dominion  are  working  for 
the  most  part  to  their  capacity,  often  on 
day  and  night  shifts.  The  flour  and  saw 
mills  tell  the  same  story,  while  the  500 
branch  United  States  industries  estab- 
lished in  Canada  find  themselves  fully 
occupied. 

Exceptionally  high  wages  prevail, 
though  the  cost  of  living  shows  a  steady 
increase  that  offsets  the  wage  scale  and 
creates  an  alarming  condition  for  those 
on  small  fixed  salaries.  Some  of  the  rail- 
ways are  suffering  from  a  lack  of  ade- 
quate rolling  stock  to  meet  the  excep- 
tional demands.  Gauged  by  the  bank 
figures,  both  as  to  deposited  savings  and 
loans  made,  the  country  is  enjoying  a 
degree  of  economic  prosperity  that  is 
enabling  it  to  handle  the  war  cost.  The 
Dominion,  for  example,  had  a  surplus  of 
$60,000,000  during  its  last  fiscal  year  as 
between  the  current  revenue  and  expendi- 
ture. 


The  Governments,  both  Federal  and 
Provincial,  have  appointed  commissions 
to  deal  with  resources  and  to  conduct 
thrift  and  food  production  campaigns.  A 
scientific  research  council  is  at  work. 
The  Governments  are  using  their  legis- 
lative powers  to  the  utmost,  especially  in 
the  Federal  realm,  through  the  appoint- 
ment of  food,  fuel,  and  other  controllers. 
The  mobilization  of  the  resources  of  the 
country,'  both  in  men  and  resources,  is 
being  carried  on  to  an  ever-increasing 
extent.  Along  with  the  movement  for 
conscription  of  men  there  is  a  strong  de- 
mand for  the  conscription  of  wealth  and 
of  profits  to  an  extent  not  yet  reached. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  three-year  story 
of  Canada  at  war.  The  period  presents 
an  interesting  study  of  development  un- 
der absolutely  new  conditions.  Errors 
naturally  crept  in  at  first,  but  the  ma- 
chinery of  war  is  working  more  smoothly 
now,  and  the  national  will  is  becoming 
more  and  more  fixed  on  seeing  the  strug- 
gle through  to  a  satisfactory  end. 


Canadian  Indians  at  the  Front 


By  Verne  De  Witt  Rowell 


r 

JL  t 


striking  contrast  to  the  bitter  racial 
discussions  provoked  in  Canada  by 
_  the  charges  of  the  Toronto  journal- 
istic school  that  French  Canada  has 
not  done  her  duty  in  the  matter  of  recruit- 
ing men  for  overseas  service  is  the  fer- 
vent patriotism  of  the  old-time  Indian 
allies  of  the  French  and  English  in 
America.  In  all,  approximately  5,000 
Canadian  Indians  have  been  trained  in 
Indian  companies  of  overseas  units  and 
been  sent  to  France  to  fight  for  the 
allied  cause.  The  only  tribe  that 
has  not  sent  its  full  quota  of  recruits  to 
the  firing  line  in  Europe  is  that  of  the 
Eskimo  Indians;  and  while  they  might 
prove  excellent  warriors  during  the- "Win- 
ter months,  they  obviously  would  not 
survive  a  Summer  campaign. 

The  once  ferocious  and  formidable 
Blackfeet  Indians,  who  lived  on  buffalo 
meat  and  were  the  terror  of  explorers 
and  outlying  settlements,  have  sent  sev- 


eral companies.  The  Crees  of  the  Slave 
Lake  and  Hudson  Bay  regions  have  sent 
their  representatives  in  khaki,  and  the 
Indians  of  Eastern  Canada  have  in  many 
instances  sent  practically  the  full  number 
of  eligible  males  in  their  tribes. 

In  the  early  days  of  American  colo- 
nization, when  the  French  and  English 
contended  in  warfare,  each  was  aided  by 
an  Indian  nation,  the  French  by  the  Al- 
gonquin federation,  and  the  English  by 
the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nation  Indians.  The 
Algonquins,  largely  domesticated,  tilled 
the  soil  and  lived  in  more  or  less  perma- 
nent settlements  in  the  territory  now 
forming  the  Provinces  of  Ontario  and 
Quebec.  Time  and  again  did  the  French 
establish  colonies  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  northern  shores  of  the  Great 
Lakes  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade  with 
their  Algonquin  friends,  but  nearly  al- 
ways did  these  colonies  disappear  before 
the  fierce  raids  of  the  Iroquois  warriors, 


CANADIAN  INDIANS  AT  THE  FRONT 


291 


who  made  their  home  in  Western  New 
York,  and,  as  the  unfailing  allies  of  the 
New  England  British  colonists,  swooped 
over  the  Niagara  and  St.  Lawrence  fron- 
tiers, burning  and  ravaging  the  French 
settlements  and  scalping  all  the  French 
palefaces  they  could  lay  their  hands  on. 
Today,  under  the  Canadian  flag,  Iroquois 
and  Algonquins  are  fighting  side  by  side 
in  the  same  Indian  companies  for  the  new, 
united  cause  of  the  French,  the  Eng- 
lish, and  the  great  nation  that  has  sprung 
from  the  little  New  England  and  Penn- 
sylvania settlements  of  those  early  days. 

Since  New  Year's,  1917,  companies  of 
American  Indians  have  been  holding 
front-line  trenches  on  the  western  front, 
and  they  would  have  been  there  nearly 
three  years  ago  had  not  an  order  of  the 
Canadian  Militia  Department,  for  some 
reason  never  quite  explained,  forbidden 
recruiting  among  the  Indians  when  the 
war  first  commenced.  But  no  sooner  had 
the  war  clouds  broken  in  Europe,  in 
August,  1914,  than  the  Indian  tribes  one 
and  all  met  in  their  tribal  councils, 
pledged  firm  allegiance,  and  offered  their 
service  to  the  British  Crown,  subscribed 
from  their  tribal  funds  money  to  the  Red 
Cross  and  to  buy  machine  guns,  and  peti- 
tioned to  be  allowed  to  go  overseas  as 
fighting  men. 

The  Canadian  Indian,  not  being  a  citi- 
zen, knows  no  politics  as  yet.  He  knows 
nothing  of  nationalism,  neither  that  of 
the  French-Canadian  variety,  which  has 
something  of  a  racial  basis,  nor  the  now 
unheard-of  nationalism  of  the  English- 
speaking  Canadian,  which  was  just  bud- 
ding before  the  war,  and  which,  as  one  of 
its  manifestations,  opposed  strenuously 
any  contribution  by  Canada  to  an  imperial 
navy.  The  Indian  is  loyal  to  the  Crown; 
he  is  a  monarchist.  Whether  his  views 
will  change  when  he  becomes  a  citizen,  as 
it  is  expected  he  will  as  a  reward  for  his 
services  in  the  war,  remains  to  be  seen. 
The  agitation  for  citizenship  is  now  led 
by  the  better  educated  of  the  old  chiefs 
of  the  tribes,  too  old  to  go  on  the  war 
trail  themselves,  but  who  have  given 
their  sons  freely,  and  when  these  young 
warriors  return,  their  education  broad- 
ened by  contact  with  the  death  grapple 
between  European  civilization  and  bar- 


barism, it  goes  without  saying  that  they, 
too,  will  expect  some  voice  in  the  direc- 
tion of  their  country's  affairs. 

Chief  Scobie  Logan  of  the  "  Munseys 
of  the  Thames,"  one  of  the  smallest  but 
most  progressive  and  highly  educated 
Indian  tribes  in  America,  is  an  ardent 
advocate  of  his  people  in  their  claim  to 
citizenship.  His  only  son  was  the  first 
Indian  killed  in  the  war,  having  enlisted 
in  a  Western  Ontario  unit  and  gone  over- 
seas before  any  Indian  companies  were 
authorized.  In  several  other  instances 
recruiting  officers  winked  at  the  regula- 
tions and  enlisted  individual  Indians  in 
white  units.  Tales  of  wonderful  Indian 
snipers  who  were  a  law  unto  themselves 
and  amply  earned  their  exemption  from 
disciplinary  rule  prescribed  for  their  pale- 
skin  comrades  by  bringing  scores  of  Ger- 
mans to  the  earth  found  their  way  into 
print  early  in  the  war.  But  at  the  most 
there  were  only  two  or  three  full-blooded 
Indians  in  the  first  contingent. 

The  first  Indian  company  to  arrive  in 
France  was  the  135th  Middlesex,  which 
crossed  the  English  Channel  in  Decem- 
ber, 1916,  after  training  several  months 
in  England.  Other  Indian  units  from 
Western  Ontario  which  soon  followed  the 
Middlesex  Indians  to  the  trenches  were 
the  149th  Lambton  Battalion  Indians, 
Chippewas  of  Walpole  Island  and  Sarnia 
Reserve;  the  160th  Bruce  Battalion, 
Saugeen  Indians  from  the  remote 
Georgian  Bay  district,  near  the  former 
scene  of  a  bloody  massacre  of  early 
Christianized  Hurons  by  the  Iroquois; 
the  114th  Haldimand  County  Battalion 
Indians,  and  the  Mohawks  of  the  Brant 
County  battalions. 

The  Mohawks  have  the  distinction  of 
giving  to  Canada  one  of  her  finest 
woman  writers,  E.  Pauline  Johnson,  or 
"  Tekahionwake,"  who  died  several  years 
ago  at  Vancouver.  United  JCmpire  Loyal- 
ists, the  Mohawks  came  to  Canada  after 
the  American  Revolution  and  settled  near 
where  the  City  of  Brantford  is,  known 
widely  as  the  "  Telephone  City,"  where 
Alexander  Graham  Bell  first  perfected 
his  epoch-making  invention. 

The  Middlesex  County  Indians  included 
representatives  of  three  tribes,  the  Al- 
gonquin Chippewas,  the  Iroquois  Oneidas, 


202 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


and  the  Munseys,  who  a  century  ago  came 
from  the  Susquehanna  River  district  in 
the  southland,  and,  welcomed  in  their 
homeless  wanderings  by  the  Chippewa 
chief,  were  allotted  one  square  mile  of 
territory  on  the  Chippewa  Reserve,  near 
the  picturesque  little  paleface  village  of 
Middlemiss,  Ont.  Throwing  his  blanket 
on  the  ground  and  drawing  with  chalk  a 
map  of  his  territory,  the  Chippewa  chief 
marked  off  the  little  corner  which  hence- 
forth should  be  the  home  of  the  Munseys. 
Before  the  war  many  of  the  Oneidas 
clung  to  their  pagan  faith,  and  in  so  do- 
ing were  the  last  of  their  race  to  resist 
Christianity.  Letters  from  the  trenches, 
however,  tell  of  many  of  them  accepting 
the  Christian  faith  at  Gospel  meetings 
held  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts  on  the  firing  line. 
Still  one  of  the  most  interesting  reli- 
gious temples  in  North  America  is  the 
"  Long  House,"  near  Southwold,  Ont.,  a 
short  distance  from  the  Michigan  Cen- 
tral Railway  connecting  Buffalo  and  De- 
troit, where  annually  the  sacrifice  and 
feast  of  the  "  White  Dog,"  a  ceremony 
of  purification  for  the  sins  of  the  year 
past,  is  held  by  the  Oneida  pagans.  The 
plain-looking  wooden  building  is  also 
the  Mecca  and  temple  of  the  pagan 
Oneidas  of  Western  New  York  State, 
but  the  only  other  remnant  of  the 
Oneida  race,  found  at  Green  Bay,  Wis., 
does  not  count  among  its  members  any 
braves  who  still  adhere  to  the  faith  of 
their  fathers.  After  all,  this  pagan  faith 
is    largely    colored    by    Christian    influ- 


ences very  similar  to  the  Judaism  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and,  incorporating  the 
story  of  the  Christ  among  its  legends, 
might  be  aptly  styled  an  American  Is- 
Jam. 

Among  the  Chippewas  of  the  Middle- 
sex Indian  unit  are  Moraviantown  In- 
dians, whose  reserve  on  the  River 
Thames  near  Chatham  is  believed  to 
contain  the  burial  place  of  Tecumseh, 
whose  name  is  a  romantic  and  bright 
one  in  Canadian  history,  on  account  of 
his  brilliant  assistance  given  to  the 
Canadians  in  repelling  the  American  in- 
vasion of  1812. 

The  loyalty  of  the  Indian  race  in 
Canada  may  be- illustrated  by  reference 
to  an  Indian  mother  now  living  in  Lon- 
don, Ont.  She  has  four  sons  in  the  war, 
and  her  baby  son  of  14  years  also  at- 
tempted to  enlist.  His  brother,  one  year 
older,  was  held  in  England  on  account 
of  his  age,  when  it  was  discovered,  and 
is  now  an  instructor  at  Wittley  Camp. 
This  Indian  mother,  whose  husband  is  a 
descendant  of  Moses  Schuyler,  who  led 
the  Oneidas  from  New  York  to  Ontario 
and  founded  the  settlement  on  the 
Thames  nearly  a  century  ago,  said  re- 
cently: "Yes,  I  have  given  four  of  my 
boys,  and  I  am  sorry  that  my  other 
children  died  when  they  were  babies,  for 
I  would  gladly  have  given  them,  too,  to 
fight  for  England." 

In  every  way  the  Canadian  Indians 
have  proved  themselves  the  equals  of 
their  white  comrades  on  the  battle  line. 


Canada  to  Have  Conscription 


A  BILL  for  compulsory  military  serv- 
ice by  Canadians  between  the 
ages  of  20  and  45  years  was  pre- 
sented in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
June  11,  1917,  by  Sir  Robert  Borden. 
The  measure  at  once  precipitated  a  bit- 
ter controversy.  Emboldened  by  the 
apparent  inactivity  of  the  authorities 
against  the  campaign  of  sedition  which 
was  fostered  throughout  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  and  in  which  the  clergy  took  an 
unostentatious  but  influential  part  in 
the  country  districts,  La  Croix,  a  Roman 
Catholic  Church  organ  published  in  Mon- 


treal, on  June  10  frankly  and  pointedly 
advocated  a  policy  of  "  down  with  con- 
scription." 

This  was  followed  up  immediately  by 
an  editorial  in  L'Ideal  Catholique,  gen- 
erally considered  to  be  the  semi-official 
organ  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
Montreal,  in  which  the  writer,  Joseph 
Begin,  also  an  assistant  editor  of  La 
Croix,  urged  Quebec  to  secede  from  the 
Confederation,  form  a  French  republic 
on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
impose  taxes  on  all  exports  from  Ontario 
passing  down  the  St.  Lawrence. 


CANADA   TO  HAVE  CONSCRIPTION 


293 


As  both  these  organs  are  considered  to 
be  semi-official  organs  of  the  Archdiocese 
of  Montreal,  and  as  Archbishop  Bruchesi 
did  not  remonstrate  with  their  editors, 
Catholics  and  Protestants  at  Montreal  as- 
sert that  the  Archbishop,  if  he  had  not 
approved  of  the  sentiments  expressed, 
would  assuredly  have  taken  some  action. 
The  Government  took  no  public  action. 

In  Parliament  on  July  6  the  contro- 
versy eventuated  in  a  victory  for  the 
Government,  when  Premier  Borden's  bill 
passed  the  House  on  second  reading  by 
a  majority  of  sixty- three.  Twenty-six 
Liberals  voted  with  the  Government  and 
against  their  leader,  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier, 
and  only  twelve  English-speaking  Lib- 
erals voted  against  the  idea  of  conscrip- 
tion of  the  manhood  of  Canada.  West 
of  Montreal  there  were  only  four  Lib- 
erals who  voted  against  the  bill.  At 
3:30  A.  M.  a  fresh  amendment  was 
sprung  upon  the  House  regarding  better 
treatment  for  wives  and  children  of  sol- 
diers, which  was  also  voted  down. 

One  of  the  immediate  results  of  the 
split  in  the  Liberal  Party  over  the  con- 
scription bill,  which  is  likely  to  have  very 
far-reaching  effects  on  the  political  fut- 


ure of  Canada,  is  the  formation  of  a 
new  Liberal  Party,  composed  of  the  Lib- 
erals of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Al- 
berta and  British  Columbia.  The  party 
as  at  present  led  by  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier, 
it  is  said,  is  to  disappear  and  the  new 
party  will  elect  its  own  leader. 

The  parliamentary  contingent  of  west- 
ern Liberals  held  a  meeting  and  decided 
to  call  a  convention  of  the  Liberals  of 
Western  Canada,  to  be  held  in  Winnipeg 
on  Aug.  7  and  8.  The  object  of  the  con- 
vention will  be  to  consider  the  whole 
political  situation,  particularly  as  it 
affects  Western  Canada.  The  member- 
ship will  include  all  Dominion  members 
and  Senators,  Dominion  Liberal  candi- 
dates, and  all  Liberal  candidates  in  the 
last  provincial  elections  in  the  western 
provinces. 

There  will  be  a  number  of  women,  it  is 
expected,  among  the  delegates,  each  con- 
stituency in  the  western  provinces  being 
empowered  to  send  four  representatives. 

Up  to  July  1  the  aggregate  of  volun- 
teer enlistments  in  Canada  was  423,858. 
In  the  last  two  weeks-  of  June  the  total 
enrolled  was  2,358,  as  against  3,392  in  the 
preceding  fortnight. 


The  Mothers 

Maurice  Maeterlinck's  Beautiful  Tribute  to  Women 
Who  Mourn  Soldier  Sons 


r!  is  they  who  bear  the  main  burden 
of  suffering  in  this  war.  In  our 
streets  and  open  spaces  and  all 
along  the  roads,  in  our  churches,  in 
our  towns  and  villages,  in  every  house 
we  come  into  contact  with  mothers  who 
have  lost  their  sons  or  are  living  in  an 
anguish  more  cruel  than  the  certainty 
of  death. 

Let  us  try  to  understand  their  loss. 
They  know  what  it  means,  but  they  do 
not  tell  the  men. 

Their  sons  are  taken  from  them  at  the 
fairest  moment  of  life,  when  their  own 
is  in  its  decline.  When  a  child  dies  in 
infancy  it  is  as  though  his  soul  had  hard- 
ly gone,  as  though  it  were  lingering  near 
the  mother  who  brought  it  into  the  world 


awaiting  the  time  when  it  may  return 
in  a  new  form.  The  death  which  visits 
the  cradle  is  not  the  same  as  that  which 
now  spreads  terror  over  the  earth,  but  a 
son  who  dies  at  the  age  of  20  does  not 
come  back  again  and  leaves  not  a  gleam 
of  hope  behind  him. 

He  carries  away  with  him  all  the  fut- 
ure that  his  mother  had  remaining  to 
her,  all  that  she  gave  to  him  and  all  his 
promise;  the  pangs,  anguish,  and  smiles 
of  birth  and  childhood,  the  joys  of  youth, 
the  reward  and  the  harvest  of  maturi- 
ty, the  comfort  and  the  peace  of  her  old 
age.  He  carries  away  with  him  some- 
thing much  more  than  himself;  it  is  not 
his  life  only  that  comes  to  an  end;  it 
is  numberless  days  that  finish  suddenly, 


294 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


a  whole  generation  that  becomes  extinct, 
a  long  series  of  faces,  of  little  fondling 
hands,  of  play  and  laughter,  all  of  which 
fall  at  one  blow  on  the  battlefield,  bid- 
ding farewell  to  the  sunshine  and  re- 
entering the  earth  which  they  have  never 
known. 

All  this  the  eyes  of  our  mothers  per- 
ceive without  understanding;  and  this  is 
why,  at  times,  the  weight  and  sadness  of 
their  glance  are  more  than  any  of  us 
can  bear. 

And  yet  they  do  not  weep  as  mothers 
wept  in  former  wars.  All  their  sons  disap- 
pear one  by  one,  and  we  do  not  hear  them 
complain  or  moan  as  in  days  gone  by, 
when  great  sufferings,  great  massacres, 
and  great  catastrophes  were  enwrapped 
by  the  clamors  and  lamentations  of  the 
mothers.  They  do  not  assemble  in  the 
public  places,  they  do  not  utter  recrimina- 
tions, they  rail  at  no  one,  they  do  not 
rebel.  They  swallow  their  sobs  and  stifle 
their  tears  as  though  obeying  a  command 
which  they  have  passed  from  one  to  the 
other,  unknown  to  the  men. 

We  do  not  know  what  it  is  that  sus- 
tains them  and  gives  them  the  strength 
to  bear  the  remnant  of  their  lives.  Some 
of  them  have  other  children,  and  we  can 
understand  that  they  transfer  to  them 
the  love  and  the  future  which  death  has 
shattered. 

Many  of  them  have  never  lost  or  are 
striving  to  recover  their  faith  in  the  eter- 
nal promises ;  and  here,  again,  we  can  un- 
derstand that  they  do  not  despair,  for  the 
mothers  of  the  martyrs  did  not  despair 
either.  But  thousands  of  others,  whose 
home  is  forever  deserted  and  whose  sky 
is  peopled  by  none  but  pale  phantoms,  re- 
tain the  same  hope  as  those  who  keep  on 
hoping. 

What  gives  them  this  courage  which 
astonishes  our  eyes?  When  the  best,  the 
most  compassionate,  the  wisest  among 
us  meet  one  of  these  mothers  who  has 
just  stealthily  wiped  her  eyes,  so  that  the 
sight  of  her  unhappiness  may  not  offend 


others  who  are  happier,  when  they  seek 
for  words  which,  uttered  amid  the  glar- 
ing directness  of  the  most  awful  sorrow 
that  can  strike  a  human  heart,  shall  not 
sound  like  odious  or  ridiculous  lies,  they 
can  find  hardly  anything  to  say  to  her. 

They  speak  to  her  of  the  justice  and 
beauty  of  the  cause  for  which  her  hero 
fell,  of  the  immense  and  necessary  sacri- 
fice, of  the  remembrance  and  gratitude 
of  mankind,  of  the  irreality  of  life,  which 
is  measured  not  by  the  length  of  days 
but  by  the  lofty  height  of  duty  and  glory. 
They  add  that  the  dead  do  not  die,  that 
there  are  no  dead,  that  those  who  are  no 
more  live  nearer  to  our  souls  than  when 
they  were  in  the  flesh,  and  that  all  that 
we  loved  in  them  lingers  on  in  our  hearts 
so  long  as  it  is  visited  by  our  memory 
and  revived  by  our  love. 

But  even  while  they  speak  they  feel 
the  emptiness  of  their  speech.  They  are 
conscious  that  all  this  is  true  only  for 
those  whom  death  has  not  hurled  into 
the  abyss  where  words  are  nothing  more 
than  childish  babble;  that  the  most  ar- 
dent memory  cannot  take  the  place  of  a 
dear  reality  which  we  touch  with  our 
hands  or  lips;  and  that  the  most  exalted 
thought  is  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
daily  going  out  and  coming  in,  the  fa- 
miliar presence  at  meals,  the  morning 
and  evening  kiss,  the  fond  embrace  at  the 
departure,  and  the  intoxicating  delight 
at  the  return. 

The  mothers  know  and  feel  this  better 
than  we  do ;  and  that  is  why  they  do  not 
answer  our  attempts  at  consolation  and 
why  they  listen  to  them  in  silence,  finding 
within  themselves  other  reasons  for  liv- 
ing and  hoping  than  those  which  we, 
vainly  searching  the  whole  horizon  of 
human  certainty  and  thought,  try  to 
bring  them  from  the  outside.  They  re- 
sume the  burden  of  their  days  without 
telling  us  whence  they  derive  their 
strength  or  teaching  us  the  secret  of 
their  self-sacrifice,  their  resignation,  and 
their  heroism. 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By  Major  Edwin  W.  Dayton 

Inspector  General,  National  Guard,  State  of  Netv  York;  Secretary,  New 
York  Army  and  Navy  Club 

Major  Dayton  has  long  had  the  official  recognition  of  the  United  States  War  Depart- 
ment as  an  authority  on  strategy  and  tactics.  The  article  here  presented  is  the  sixth  in  a 
series  which  he  is  writing  for  Current  History  Magazine,  covering  in  a  rapid  and  authorita- 
tive narrative  all  the  military  events  of  importance  since  the  beginning  of  the  great  conflict. 

VI. — Italy    in   the   War 


IN  the  Spring  of  1915  public  opinion 
in  Italy  finally  swept  aside  the  in- 
fluence of  a  large  conservative  ele- 
ment in  high  places,  and  on  May  19 
the  Chamber  by  a  vote  of  407  to  74  put  the 
full  responsibility  of  the  decision  for  or 
against  war  into  the  hands  of  the  Salan- 
dra  Cabinet.  This  action  was  equivalent 
to  a  decision  for  war,  because  no  Cabinet 
could  have  continued  to  hold  office  after 
denying  the  popular  clamor.  Italy  de- 
clared war  against  Austria  on  May  23, 
1915,  and  General  Cadorna,  Chief  of  the 
Italian  General  Staff,  took  command  of 
the  Italian  armies.  On  Aug.  21,  1915, 
Italy  also  declared  war  on  Turkey. 

No  other  country  entered  the  conflict 
with  so  much  popular  enthusiasm  as  did 
Italy,  which  had  been  until  recently  an 
active  ally  of  Germany  and  Austria. 
Much  that  modern  Italy  had  gained  was 
due  to  Germany,  for  that  northern  mas- 
ter had  compelled  Austria  to  make  large 
concessions  to  Italy  following  the  crush- 
ing defeat  suffered  by  the  Italian  armies 
at  Custozza  in  1866.  Austria  won  that 
war  with  Italy  on  the  field,  but  lost  it 
at  the  council  table,  when  Prussia  com- 
pelled the  victor  to  hand  over  the  fron- 
tier provinces  to  the  defeated. 

Italy,  receiving  these  territories  as  a 
gift,  had  for  two  generations  longed  to 
extend  the  conquest  on  the  north  through 
the  Trentino  to  Trent  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Adriatic  to  Trieste.  In  both 
regions  many  Italians  unquestionably 
live  on  the  Austrian  side  of  the  frontier, 
but,  while  it  is  a  fact  that,  so  far  as  the 
coast  regions  are  concerned,  Italian  in- 
fluence has  long  been  felt  close  to  the 
shores,  a  journey  of  a  very  few  miles 


inland  would  carry  the  traveler  into  Slav 
neighborhoods,  where  the  Italian  was 
heartily  hated.  As  in  the  case  of  most 
politically  arranged  frontiers,  national 
ambitions  and  complications  surged  back 
and  forth  in  the  Alps  and  along  the 
Isonzo  in  a  way  that  frequently  fanned 
historic  rivalries  close  to  the  flaming 
point.  In  1881,  at  a  critical  time,  Italy 
joined  Germany  and  Austria  in  forming 
the  Triple  Alliance,  but  Austrian  aggres- 
sions in  the  Balkans  were  viewed  by 
Italy  with  strong  disapproval.  In  1896 
Italian  ambition  to  expand  suffered  a 
severe  check  in  the  disaster  at  Adowa, 
but  in  1911  the  successful  war  with 
Turkey  won  Tripoli  and  reawakened  the 
national  aptitude  for  real  politik. 

The  year  1915  seemed  to  Italy  the 
proper  juncture  to  gratify  the  nation's 
aspirations.  In  last  efforts  to  keep  Italy 
from  bringing  war  on  her  western  fron- 
tier, Austria  offered  a  number  of  con- 
cessions —  territorial,  commercial,  and 
political.  Italy,  however,  believed  that, 
when  the  map  of  Europe  should  be  re- 
made after  the  war,  the  great  spoils 
would  go  only  to  those  who  had  fought, 
and  so  the  die  was  cast  for  war. 

Cadorna  s  Plan  of  Campaign 
In  the  Winter  of  1914-15  Italy  had 
been  busily  preparing  for  war,  so  that 
Cadorna  was  ready  to  strike  promptly. 
Two  aggressive  campaigns  were  imme- 
diately developed.  One,  aimed  straight 
to  the  north,  toward  the  City  of  Trent, 
sought  to  gain  control  of  the  many  mount- 
ain passes,  while  the  real  attacks  fol- 
lowed the  line  of  natural  approach  along 
Lake  Garda,  whose  northern  end  lay 
across  the  frontier.     The  most  direct  mili- 


296 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


tary  road  toward  Trent  lies  through  the 
Valle  Lagarina,  which  is  drained  by  the 
Adige.  Having  passed  the  frontier  town 
of  Borghetto,  the  City  of  Rovereto  be- 
comes the  main  strategic  objective,  guard- 
ing, as  it  does,  the  wider  valley  between 
the  mountain  fastnesses  to  Trent,  which 
lies  only  fifteen  miles  north  of  Rovereto. 
There  is  another  approach  to  Trent  from 
the  east  by  way  of  the  Val  Sugana,  but 
the    approaches    to    that    valley    were 


GENERAL  LUIGI  CADORNA 

guarded  by  the  almost  impregnable  forti- 
fied passes  of  the  higher  mountain  region. 
In  the  first  months  of  the  war  the 
news  dispatches  from  Italy  were  so  de- 
ceptive that  unprofessional  readers  all 
over  the  world  were  led  to  believe  that 
the  conquest  of  the  Trentino  was  to  be  an 
operation  of  a  few  triumphant  weeks 
only.  Two  years  and  more  have  passed, 
and  the  Austrians  are  still  secure  in 
Trent.  Unless  Italy  had  been  strong 
enough  to  engage  in  two  great  offensives 
and  Austria  too  much  occupied  elsewhere 
to  threaten  any  counterattack,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  General  Cadorna  would  never 
have  seriously  contemplated  a  great  in- 
vasion of  the  Trentino  while  Austria 
continued  to  hold  the  dangerous  fortified 
base  at  Gorizia  on  the  Isonzo.    As  a  mat- 


ter of  fact,  the  Italian  commander  wisely 
concentrated  his  strength  on  his  north- 
eastern front  after  making  secure  the 
approaches  toward  the  plains  of  Lom- 
bardy  from  the  north.  For  the  sake  of 
brevity  and  clearness  I  shall  here  discuss 
the  Trentino  operations  before  passing 
to  the  much  more  important  campaigns 
on  the  Isonzo. 

Operations  in  the   Trentino 

Italy  remembered  the  ugly  lesson  at 
Custozza  in  the  old  war  of  1866  and  de- 
termined to  block  Austria's  road  into 
Italy  past  the  southern  end  of  Lake 
Garda  by  immediately  shifting  opera- 
tions beyond  the  northern  end  of  that 
long,  narrow  lake.  Early  in  June  Ital- 
ian detachments  had  won  their  way  well 
into  the  crests  of  the  Dolomites,  the 
mountain  group  northeast  of  Trent,  and 
similar  successes  were  readily  won 
among  the  Carnic  Alps,  still  further  to 
the  east,  where  it  appeared  as  though 
Cadorna's  men  might  succeed  in  reach- 
ing the  Pusterthal  railway  between 
Lienz  and  Innichen. 

While  these  thrusts  were  prospering 
to  the  east  of  Trent,  several  small,  ag- 
gressive columns  appeared  among  the 
mountains  to  the  west,  between  Lake 
Garda  and  the  Swiss  frontier.  The  Val 
Camonica  was  the  highway  for  these 
forces,  one  of  which  struck  east  through 
the  Tonale  Pass,  while  at  least  three 
other  columns  took  the  same  general  di- 
rection via  passes  further  south.  A 
strong  force  marched  east  through  the 
Val  de  Ledro  and  menaced  Riva,  the  im- 
portant Austrian  town  at  the  north  end 
of  Lake  Garda. 

Austria  remained  strictly  on  the  de- 
fensive, and  for  the  first  few  weeks  at 
least  seems  to  have  had  only  Landwehr 
and  Landsturm  troops  with  which  to 
check  the  invasion.  The  veteran  regular 
troops  were  kept  in  Galicia  until  the  de- 
feat of  Ivanoff 's  armies  was  certain  and 
Russia's  attack  upon  the  Carpathians 
definitely  turned  back.  The  Allies  were 
greatly  disappointed  when  it  was  seen 
that  Italy's  entrance  into  the  war  had 
no  effect  in  relieving  the  pressure  upon 
the  Russians,  for  it  had  been  confidently 
expected   that   the   fresh   enemy   in   the 


MILITARY   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   WAR 


297 


rear  would  compel  Austria  to  shift  large 
armies  to  the  new  theatre  of  conflict. 
When  Ivanoff  had  been  defeated  and 
driven  back,  some  of  the  first-line  troops 
were  transferred  to  the  Italian  front,  but 
Cadorna's  time  to  have  taken  Trent  was 
in  the  early  Summer,  when  the  Austrian 
Generals  had  little  but  second  and  third 
line  troops  with  which  to  oppose  Italy's 
best. 

About  midsummer  in  1915  strong  ef- 
forts were  made  to  capture  Rovereto,  but 
without  success,  although  the  fall  of  the 
mountain  town  was  frequently  announced. 
In  the  Autumn  strong  columns  began  to 
make  some  progress  north  of  the  fron- 
tier on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Garda, 
while  another  force  took  Brentonico  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  lake.  In  the 
Carnic  Alps  the  Austrians  repulsed  fre- 
quent attacks  upon  their  fortified  lines 
on  the  Col  di  Lana,  but  could  not  prevent 
the  gradual  development  of  an  Italian 
offensive  along  the  upper  Cordevole. 
With  the  coming  of  snow  among  the  high 
mountains  both  sides  began  to  provide 
white  coats  for  the  soldiers,  whose  ordi- 
nary uniforms  would  have  stood  out  in 
bold  relief  against  snowy  backgrounds. 
In  November  an  Italian  column  fought 
hard  in  an  effort  to  advance  toward  Ro- 
vereto through  the  Adige  Valley. 

In  December  bayonet  attacks,  follow- 
ing heavy  bombardments,  won  a  num- 
ber of  fortified  positions  in  the  Giudi- 
caria  Valley  west  of  Lake  Garda,  and  in 
the  early  weeks  of  1916  the  Italian  cam- 
paign in  this  region  continued  to  make 
better  progress.  In  February  and  March 
there  were  a  series  of  minor  battles  in 
the  direction  of  the  Val  Sugana,  with 
the  Italians  almost  invariably  making 
the  attacks.  At  the  end  of  March  the 
Austrians  made  several  unsuccessful  ef- 
forts to  drive  back  from  their  advanced 
positions  the  columns  converging  toward 
Rovereto,  and  by  the  middle  of  April 
there  were  battles  in  the  Ledro  Valley 
only  three  miles  west  of  Riva,  and  fur- 
ther to  the  east  Italian  batteries  of  the 
heaviest  calibres  were  hurling  shells 
toward  Innchen  and  the  Pusterthal  rail- 
way. 

Italy  had  been  a  year  at  war,  and  it 
seemed   as   though   at   last   her   soldiers 


might  be  about  ready  to  debouch  from 
the  mountain  passes  and  begin  a  real 
invasion  of  the  Trentino.  In  April,  how- 
ever, it  began  to  be  rumored  that  large 
Austrian  reinforcements  had  been  as- 
sembled about  Trent,  and  on  May  15  the 
Austrians,  for  the  first  time,  assumed 
the  offensive.  With  the  aid  of  an  over- 
whelming artillery  fire  they  launched 
powerful  and  successful  attacks  on  a 
wide  front.  On  Armentara  Ridge  in  the 
southern  Sugana  Valley  and  on  Folgaria 
Plateau  south  of  Rovereto  3,000  Italian 
prisoners  were  taken  with  a  number  of 
cannon.  On  the  following  day  the  at- 
tack progressed  especially  in  the  sector 
east  of  Rovereto,  where  the  Austrian  in- 
fantry stormed  Zugna  Gorta,  and  at  vari- 
ous points  over  6,000  more  prisoners 
were  taken.  In  counterattacks  several 
hundred  Austrians  were  captured  in  Val 
Sugana,  but  by  May  24  the  Italians  had 
been  driven  back  across  the  frontier 
with  a  loss  of  over  27,000  prisoners,  300 
cannon,  and  many  machine  guns. 

By  the  end  of  May  the  Austrian  in- 
vasion of  Northern  Italy  had  established 
an  attack  which  threatened  the  Italian 
fortified  line  of  interior  defense  based 
on  Arsiero  and  Asiago.  They  were  ten 
to  eleven  miles  into  the  mountains  on 
the  Italian  side  of  the  frontier  and  ap- 
proaching the  easier  slopes  toward  the 
Venetian  plains.  Similar  progress  for 
another  fortnight  would  have  seriously 
threatened  the  communications  of  the 
main  Italian  armies  engaged  on  the 
Isonzo. 

As  May  ended,  the  Austrians  were  win- 
ning battles  close  to  Arsiero  and  were 
vigorously  attacking  Italian  fortifica- 
tions on  the  Asiago  Plateau.  Early  in 
June,  after  long  and  bitter  fighting,  the 
Italians'  were  compelled  to  yield  some 
ground  on  the  plateau  di  Sette  Com- 
muni,  and  within  less  than  four  miles 
of  Asiago  some  thousands  of  Italian 
prisoners  were  taken.  The  result  of  the 
failure  to  stop  the  Austrian  invasion 
at  the  frontier  threatened  serious  politi- 
cal results  in  emotional  Italy.  The  Cabi- 
net fell,  several  Generals  were  recalled, 
and  the  prestige  of  even  General  Cadorna 
was  threatened. 

Just  then   Russia   did  for  Italy  what 


298 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Italy  had  failed  to  do  for  Russia  in  the 
previous  year.  In  April  General  Ivanoff 
had  been  replaced  in  command  of  the 
Southern  Russian  Armies  by  General  A. 
A.  Brusiloff,  the  brilliant  cavalry  leader. 
The  new  commander  hurled  an  attack 
upon  the  Austrian  lines  in  Volhynia  and 
Galicia  which  compelled  the  immediate 
transfer  of  every  available  soldier  and 
gun  from  the  west  to  the  east.  That 
ended  the  Austrian  threat  against  the 
Province  of  Venice,  but  the  Austrians 
nevertheless  have  continued  to  hold  ap- 
proximately the  same  positions  up  to  the 
present  time,  (July,  1917,)  although  they 
have  been  driven  back  somewhat  from 
Arsiero  and  Asiago  and  have  lost  some 
ground  in  the  Val  Sugana. 

Campaign  on  the  Isonzo 

While  Italian  popular  ambition  longed 
for  the  Trentino,  General  Cadorna,  the 
trained  soldier,  knew  that  the  necessity 
for  the  real  attack  lay  further  to  the 
east.  While  very  considerable  forces 
were  detached  to  fight  the  campaigns 
described  above,  the  bulk  of  Italy's  mili- 
tary strength  was  concentrated  in  the 
attack  upon  Gorizia  and  the  Carso.  The 
actual  frontier  was  not  defended  by  the 
Austrians,  so  that  the  Italians  advanced 
practically  unopposed  until  they  ap- 
proached the  line  of  the  Isonzo  River 
and  the  heights  covering  the  approaches 
along  the  western  side  of  the  stream. 
While  the  higher  mountain  ridges  lie  on 
the  east,  there  are  numerous  rugged  hills 
on  the  near  (west)  side  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  defense.  The  communications  be- 
tween Gorizia  and  Trieste  were  covered 
by  the  extraordinarily  difficult  region 
called  the  Carso  Plateau,  where  a  seamed 
and  broken  plain  is  thickly  strewn  with 
huge  masses  of  limestone  boulders. 

By  the  early  part  of  June,  1915,  Gen- 
eral Cadorna's  men  were  deployed  on  a 
front  of  about  fifty  miles  from  Caporetto 
to  the  sea.  Monfalcone,  just  east  of  the 
river  mouth,  was  easily  taken,  (June  9,) 
and  Gradisca,  too,  was  won,  but  the  next 
three  principal  objectives  were  hard  to 
get.  At  the  north  a  large  force,  prin- 
cipally of  Alpine  troops,  attacked  Tol- 
mino  and  Monte  Nero.  Their  mission 
was  to  cut  the  railway  between  Gorizia 


and  Villach.  The  centre  had  the  hardest 
task  and  attacked  Gorizia  with  its  forti- 
fied bridgehead  west  of  the  Isonzo  and 
the  strong  covering  positions  on  Podgora 
Heights.  The  right  attacked  Monfal- 
cone, Gradisca,  and  the  Carso. 

The   Italians  found   the   Austrian  de- 
fenses far  stronger  than  had  been  be- 


GENERAL     VON     HOETZENDORP 

lieved,  although  the  forces  employed  to 
hold  them  were  quite  inadequate  and 
might  have  been  overwhelmed  by  a  quick, 
hard  attack  in  the  first  days  of  the  cam- 
paign. The  Austrian  artillery  positions 
had  been  well  chosen,  the  intrenched 
positions  were  skillfully  constructed  and 
the  approaches  heavily  wired.  The 
Italians,  by  means  of  pontoons,  crossed 
the  swift  running  river  at  dawn  on 
June  17,  and  in  a  brilliant  bayonet  at- 
tack carried  Plava,  where  the  defending 
artillery  included  12-inch  guns.  On  June 
28  General  Cadorna's  men  won  another 
bridgehead  at  Castelnuovo  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Isonzo,  and  a  footing  was 
gained  on  the  edge  of  the  Carso  Plateau 
between  Monfalcone  and  Sagrado. 

First  Battle  of  Gorizia 
In  the  first  week  of  July  the  first  bat- 
tle of  Gorizia  opened,  and  this  costly  ef- 
fort on  the  part  of  the  Italians  to  storm 


MILITARY   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   WAR 


299 


the  Austrian  stronghold  persisted  through 
the  next  six  weeks.  Some  ground  was 
gained  on  the  Carso — including  Sei  Busi, 
San  Martino,  and  San  Michele — and  on 
Podgora,  while  under  .the  eye  of  King 
Victor  Emmanuel  several  divisions  had 
finally  won  a  very  costly  victory  at 
Plava. 

The  Austrian  second  line  proved  even 
stronger  than  the  first,  and  no  great 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  direction 
of  Trieste  as  the  result  of  six  weeks  of 
terrific  fighting. 

The  fall  of  Warsaw  had  by  now  en- 
abled the  Austrians  to  bring  over  to  this 
front  reinforcements,  which  included 
some  of  their  best  units.  The  difficult 
terrain  was  thoroughly  understood  by  the 
Austrian  first-line  troops,  whose  manoeu- 
vres had  been  held  there.  The  Austrian 
commander,  Field  Marshal  Baron  von 
Hoetzendorf,  had  made  a  special  study  of 
the  region  and  wrote  a  book  on  its  mili- 
tary features.  He  knew  the  Isonzo  almost 
as  von  Hindenburg  knew  the  Masurian 
Lakes. 

After  the  first  great  attack  on  Gorizia 
ended  in  the  middle  of  August  there  was 
a  period  of  some  weeks  when  the  ex- 
hausted and  much-depleted  units  were 
rested  and  replenished.  By  early  Octo- 
ber the  Italians  were  renewing  the  at- 
tacks against  the  bridgehead  at  Tol- 
mino  and  on  the  Carso.  While  these  ef- 
forts made  little  progress,  the  Italians 
seemed  always  able  to  repulse  such 
counterattacks  as  were  attempted  by  the 
enemy.  On  Oct.  21  the  Italians  at- 
tacked along  the  whole  Isonzo  front  and 
made  substantial  gains  below  the  sum- 
mit of  Mrzli,  a  peak  dominating  Tol- 
mino  from  the  northwest.  Other  gains 
were  won  on  the  slopes  of  Monte  Sabo- 
tino  near  Gorizia  and  toward  San  Mar- 
tino on  the  Carso.  More  than  5,000  Aus- 
trian prisoners  were  taken,  and  General 
Cadorna  at  this  time  estimated  that  the 
Austrians  had  not  less  than  800,000  men 
defending  the  Isonzo  front.  The  actual 
figures  were  probably  less  than  this  es- 
timate, but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  General  Cadorna  had  close  to  a  mill- 
ion fighting  men  trying  to  break  through 
the  almost  impregnable  Austrian  posi- 
tions,   which    were    unquestionably    de- 


fended at  this  time  by  very  large  num- 
bers of  excellent  troops. 

In  November  the  Italians  made  new 
progress  at  Oslavia  on  the  west  face  of 
the  Gorizia  position,  and  in  spite  of  ter- 
rific losses  wave  after  wave  of  fresh 
infantry  continued  for  weeks  the  suc- 
cessive assaults  upon  the  fortifications 
on  Podgora  and  Oslavia  covering  Gorizia. 
As  the  year  closed  the  assaults  once  more 
subsided  into  the  normal  daily  artillery 
bombardments,  but  it  was  evident  that 
the  Italians  were  firmly  committed  to  the 
task  of  taking  Gorizia  and  continuing 
the  attacks  toward  Trieste  across  the 
Carso.  . 

Fighting  on  the  Carso 

On  this  plateau  the  fighting  somewhat 
resembled  that  in  France  about  the  fa- 
mous Labyrinth,  for  the  intricate  and 
difficult  terrain  had  made  it  possible  for 
the  Austrians  to  create  on  the  surface  a 
system  of  defenses  almost  as  intricate  as 
those  which  the  German  engineers  bur- 
rowed under  the  soil  of  Artois.  Progress 
was  won  only  by  desperate  hand-to-hand 
battles,  in  which  comparatively  small  de- 
tachments fought  to  the  death  for  every 
foot  of  vantage.  Occasionally  the  Aus- 
trians launched  powerful  counterattacks, 
and  in  the  middle  of  January,  1916,  they 
took  nearly  two  thousand  prisoners  at 
Oslavia  in  trenches  which  they  stormed 
but  had  to  yield  again  a  few  days  later. 
About  this  time  heavy  Italian  batteries 
resumed  the  long-distance  shelling  of 
Malborghetto,  on  the  road  toward  Garves, 
but  these  activities  were  part  of  the  ef- 
fort to  cripple  Austrian  lines  of  com- 
munication rather  than  the  prelude  to 
any  northern  extension  of  the  actual  at- 
tacks. 

Late  in  1915  Italy  began  to  move  large 
forces  across  the  Adriatic  into  Albania, 
and  by  February,  1916,  an  announcement 
from  Rome  credited  General  Giovanni 
Ameglio  with  a  command  numbering 
170,000  troops.  General  Ameglio  was 
the  conqueror  of  Libya  and  had  with  him 
in  Albania  a  division  of  22,000  veterans 
from  North  Africa.  This  powerful  army 
eventually  checked  the  southern  march 
of  the  Austrians  and  Bulgarians,  who 
hreatened  to  overrun  all  of  Albania  after 


300 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


their  successes  in  the  north  against  the 
Montenegrins,  Serbs,  and  Albanians  at 
Mount  Lovcen,  Alessio,  San  Giovanni  di 
Medua,  and  Elbassan. 

In  the  early  Spring  of  1916  there  was 
much  hard  fighting  in  front  of  Gorizia, 
which  subsided  during  the  great  Aus- 
trian invasion  from  the  Trentino.  After 
Brusiloff's  splendid  victories  in  the  east 
had  put  a  stop  to  that  Austrian  cam- 
paign, the  Italians  resumed  their  assaults 
along  the  Isonzo. 

The  Capture  of  Gorizia 
Early  in  August,  after  a  series  of 
terrific  battles,  General  Cadorna  scored 
the  first  great  Italian  victory  of  the  war. 
Tunnels  had  been  driven  close  up  to  the 
Austrian  fortifications,  which  enabled 
several  columns  of  infantry  to  rush  posi- 
tions that  had  resisted  all  other  assaults 
for  a  year.  On  Aug.  9,  after  storming 
the  bridgehead;  the  Italian  troops  entered 
the  City  of  Gorizia  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Isonzo.  Between  15,000  and  20,000 
Austrian  prisoners  were  taken  in  the 
ffnal  fighting  at  Gorizia.  The  Italian 
casualties  must  have  been  very  heavy, 
but  no  statement  indicating  the  extent 
of  the  losses  was  issued. 

Iii  the  year  that  has  elapsed  since 
Gorizia  was  taken  General  Cadorna  has 
made  only  a  little  progress  among  the 
high  and  difficult  mountain  positions  still 
stubbornly  defended  by  the  Austrians 
east  and  southeast  of  the  city.  Further 
south  on  the  Carso  the  Italians  have 
gradually  won  more  ground,  and  their 
lines  are  now  nearly  midway  of  that  most 
forbidding  plateau.  The  road  to  Trieste 
is  still  blocked  by  a  competent  and  stub- 
born foe,  who  knows  how  to  take  every 
advantage  of  a  region  singularly  adapt- 
ed to  a  defensive  campaign.  Had  the 
Russians  been  able  to  maintain  a  seri- 
ous compaign  on  the  other  side  of  Aus- 
tria in  the  Spring  of  1917  it  is  possible 
that  General  Cadorna  might  have  been 
enabled  to  push  his  striking  force  fur- 
ther toward  Trieste,  while  his  detaining 
forces  could  be  trusted  to  prevent  any  re- 
sumption of  the  previous  year's  Austrian 
attack  aimed  at  the  Venetian  plains  and 
the  rear  of  the  armies  on  the  Isonzo. 
In    the    Balkans     General    Ameglio's 


army  has  firmly  established  Italian  con- 
trol of  Southern  Albania,  with  a  naval 
and  military  base  at  Avlona.  This  force 
links  up  with  General  SarraiPs  interna- 
tional group  of  armies  near  Monastir, 
and  the  Italians  have  undoubtedly  made 
great  improvements  in  the  old  roadway 
.cross  Albania  from  Avlona  via  Elbassan, 
which  is  Ameglio's  line  of  communica- 
tions. 

The  British  in  Mesopotamia 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  1914  a  British  expedition  from 
India  landed  at  the  north  end  of  the 
Persian  Gulf  and  occupied  Basra,  the 
important  city  close  to  the  junction  of 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris.  Per- 
haps the  purpose  of  this  force  was  to 
block  any  possible  effort  which  the  Ger- 
mans might  have  launched  via  the 
Tigris  Valley  against  India.  Possibly 
it  was  a  campaign  of  conquest  designed 
to  wrest  from  German  influence  the 
partly  completed  railway  route  to  Bag- 
dad. If  it  were  only  a  defensive  meas- 
ure, as  it  was  announced  to  be  in  India, 
every  purpose  would  have  been  served 
by  maintaining  a  strong  force  at  Basra, 
backed  up  by  British  naval  power. 

A  fortnight  after  the  fall  of  Basra  the 
British  took  Kurna,  where  an  intrenched 
position  was  established  astride  the 
Tigris.  In  April  the  Turks  made  sev- 
eral abortive  efforts  against  British  out- 
posts, and  gradually  the  British  forces 
became  involved  in  operations  which  ex- 
tended considerably  to  the  north.  Fol- 
lowing a  routed  force  of  Turks,  Esra's 
tomb  was  passed,  and  on  June  3,  1915, 
the  British  captured  Amara,  seventy-five 
miles  above  Kurna.  What  was  left  of 
the  Turkish  force  under  Nur-ed-Din 
Pasha  retreated  150  miles  up  the  Tigris 
to  Kut-el-Amara. 

From  Kut-el-Amara  a  river  channel 
cuts  away  to  the  south  and  joins  the 
Euphrates  at  Nasiriyeh,  and  as  river 
routes  are  the  only  ones  practicable  for 
troops  in  this  sunbaked  region,  the  Brit- 
ish determined  to  gain  control  of  this 
waterway,  which  links  the  two  great 
rivers  in  the  interior.  Major  Gen.  G.  F. 
Gorringe  led  the  expedition  from  Kurna 
against  Nasiriyeh,  which,  with  the  help 


MILITARY   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   WAR 


301 


of  a  flotilla  of  gunboats,  was  captured 
after  a  stiff  fight  on  July  25;  2,500  Turks 
were  killed  and  700  captured,  while  the 
British  loss  was  only  600. 

Following  this  success  on  the  Euphra- 
tes, Sir  John  Nixon  dispatched  General 
Townshend's  division  up  the  Tigris,  and 
this  column  found  10,000  Turkish 
regulars  intrenched  a  few  miles  below 
Kut-el-Amara,  where,  on  Sept.  28,  in 
a  brilliantly  planned  action  a  large  part 
of  the  Turkish  position  was  captured. 
By  the  next  day  the  Turks  were  in  full 
retreat  toward  Bagdad,  and  the  British 
were  in  Kut-el-Amara.  General  Town- 
shend  embarked  a  brigade  of  infantry  on 
river  steamers  and  pushed  on  up  toward 
Bagdad. 

Townshend's   Bagdad    Expedition 

Every  mile  of  this  progress  toward  the 
north  lengthened  the  line  of  communi- 
cations with  Basra,  but  the  British  Staff 
doubtless  had  excellent  confidential  ad- 
vices as  to  the  attitude  of  the  Arabs 
who  were  passed  en  route.  When  the 
Caliph  proclaimed  from  Constantinople 
the  holy  war  against  the  Allies  he  called 
upon  no  other  community  so  solidly 
Mohammedan  as  the  Arabian  Peninsula, 
yet  the  event  proved  that  the  Arabs  of 
those  far  regions  felt  little  or  no  political 
obligation  to  the  ruler  on  the  Golden 
Horn. 

Below  Basra,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  were  three  vilayets  which 
had  either  resisted  Turkish  control  or, 
as  in  the  case  of  Oman,  had  always  re- 
mained independent.  West  of  Basra  lies 
the  extensive  interior  Arab  Kingdom 
of  Nejd,  which,  like  far-off  Oman,  had 
never  been  conquered.  Between  Nejd 
and  the  Red  Sea  lies  Hejaz,  with  both 
Mecca  and  Medina  within  its  borders, 
and  consequently  the  very  centre  of 
ultra  Mohammedan  influence.  While  in 
the  event  of  a  great  disaster  to  the 
British  expedition  most  of  these  tribes- 
men might  be  counted  upon  to  attack  and 
plunder  broken  and  retreating  columns, 
it  was  evident  that  no  strong  bonds  of 
sympathy  for  the  far-off  Turk  moved 
them  to  take  any  very  active  part  in 
harassing  the  British  advance. 

Bagdad,  the  great  city  of  the  Tigris, 


was  the  ancient  metropolis  of  the  Eastern 
world,  and  still  harbored  a  certain  pro- 
vincial independence  of  thought,  which 
treasured  the  history  of  a  past,  when  the 
fair  city  of  the  Tigris  was  easily  the  peer 
of  that  later  capital  which  settled  on  the 
distant  edge  of  Europe,  whence  little  new 
glory  had  come  to  Islam.  Whatever  dif- 
ficulties developed  further  up  the  country 
the  British  control  of  the  bases  at  Kurna, 
Basra,  and  Nasiriyeh  proved  amply  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  the  development  of  any 
very  serious  attacks  on  the  flanks. 

From  Kut-el-Amara  General  Town- 
shend  pushed  on  up  the  Tigris  to  attack 
Bagdad,  573  miles  from  the  waters  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  The  British  force  num- 
bered 15,000,  of  whom  about  one-third 
were  white  soldiers  and  the  other  two- 
thirds  Indian  troops.  The  army  was  ac- 
companied by  a  large  flotilla  of  river 
boats  of  various  types,  and  the  advanc- 
ing troops  went  forward  both  by  road 
and  by  -river. 

This  campaign  beyond  Kut-el-Amara 
was  a  colossal  blunder,  and  it  is  idle  now 
to  speculate  on  the  reasons  for  the  under- 
taking. To  General  Townshend's  profes- 
sional credit  it  is  related  that  he  protested 
against  so  large  an  undertaking  with  so 
small  a  force.  The  British  Indian  mili- 
tary administration  overruled  him,  and 
apparently  held  the  Turkish  soldier  far 
too  lightly.  British  political  and  diplo- 
matic interests  in  the  Autumn  of  1915 
were  certainly  in  a  bad  way  in  Gallipoli, 
in  France,  in  the  Balkans,  and  in  Russia. 
Undoubtedly  there  was  a  disposition  to 
take  a  gambler's  chance  and  hope  by  cap- 
turing Bagdad  to  offset  the  imminent 
failure  at  Constantinople. 

Reverse  at  Ctesiphon 

There  was  only  light  skirmishing  most 
of  the  way,  as  the  troops,  heartened  by 
the  change  from  the  murderous  heat  of 
the  Summer  campaign  to  the  clear  days 
and  cool  nights  of  October,  pushed 
bravely  on  up  the  river.  In  the  last  week 
of  October  a  flank  attack  dislodged  the 
Turkish  rear  guard  from  a  prepared  posi- 
tion at  Azizie,  and  by  Nov.  12  General 
Townshend's  force  camped  at  Lajj,  seven 
miles  below  Ctesiphon,  and  on  the  eve- 
ning of  the  21st  he  marched  three  columns 


302 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


out  to  attack  the  elaborately  prepared 
Turkish  positions  below  and  above  the 
ruins  of  Ctesiphon. 

The  plan  was  practically  a  duplicate 
of  that  which  had  succeeded  so  brilliant- 
ly at  Kut-el-Amara.  While  one  column 
made  a  direct  frontal  attack,  another 
was  to  strike  the  Turkish  left  flank  and 
hold  it  fully  occupied;  meanwhile,  the 
third  column,  by  a  wide  turning  move- 
ment, was  to  gain  the  rear  of  the  Turkish 
position  and  join  in  rolling  the  whole 
Turk  force  up  against  the  river.  After 
a  seven-mile  march  by  bright  moonlight, 
the  British  arrived  opposite  the  Turkish* 
positions  before  dawn  and  began  the 
grand  attack  before  9  o'clock.  By  the 
early  afternoon  the  British  had  the  first- 
line  position  won  and  the  Turks  fell  back 
to  their  second  and  much  stronger  pre- 
pared position.  In  the  afternoon  a  fresh 
division  joined  Nur-ed-Din's  forces,  and 
the  fortunes  of  the  fight  strongly  favored 
the  Turks.  On  the  23d  there  was  an 
exchange  of  shellfire  until  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  when  the  Turks  made  a 
number  of  counterattacks  upon  the  well- 
intrenched  British  lines. 

By  the  24th  the  British  casualties 
amounted  to  4,500,  with  especially  severe 
losses  among  the  officers.  The  Turks 
were  receiving  further  reinforcements, 
and  at  midnight  on  the  25th  General 
Townshend  retreated  to  Lajj,  and  on 
Dec.  30  was  back  in  Kut-el-Amara,  after 
a  heartbreaking  retreat  in  which  rear- 
guard actions  were  frequent,  and  the 
wearied  troops  sometimes  marched  as 
much  as  twenty-seven  miles  in  a  day. 
The  beaten  army  barely  managed  to 
stagger  into  Kut,  and  the  Turks  in- 
stantly closed  the  approaches  and  set- 
tled down  to  a  long  siege. 

The  Russians  in  Persia 
In  November  and  December,  1915,  a 
Russian  force  pushed  down  from  the 
Caucasus  and  defeated  several  forces  of 
Persian  rebels  fighting  on  behalf  of 
German  influence.  Teheran  was  occupied 
by  the  Russians  and  most  of  the  Persian 
forces  were  driven  back  on  Kermanshah. 
This  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  Russia 
defeated  an  elaborate  German  plan  to 
commit  Persia  to  the  Teuton  cause. 


In  the  following  year  military  opera- 
tions in  Persia  assumed  for  a  time  a 
realy  threatening  appearance,  and  a 
somewhat  important  campaign  was  re- 
quired to  drive  well-organized  forces 
from  several  of  the  larger  mountain 
towns  in  Western  Persia.    Wide  interest 


GENERAL     TOWNSHEND 

was  at  one  time  aroused  by  an  announce- 
ment that  a  small  force  of  Russian  cav- 
alry had  unexpectedly  joined  the  British 
on  the  Tigris,  and  there  was  a  possibility 
that  this  might  have  been  the  independ- 
ent cavalry  of  an  army  advancing  from 
Persia  to  join  the  British  campaign  for 
the  relief  of  Kut-el-Amara.  In  the  end 
no  such  army  appeared,  and  the  real 
story  of  that  strange  adventure  of  the 
Russian  horsemen  has  never  yet  been 
told. 

Townshend* s  Force   Besieged 

The  remnant  of  General  Townshend's 
army  just  managed  by  almost  superhu- 
man efforts  to  struggle  through  the  last 
terrible  days  of  the  retreat  into  Kut. 
That  they  were  able  still  to  preserve  a 
morale  that  enabled  them  to  hold  that 
place  against  a  victorious  enemy  greatly 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


303 


superior  in  numbers  reflected  the  great- 
est glory  on  the  British  service.  The 
failure  of  the  campaign  had  resulted  in 
a  damaging  blow  to  British  prestige,  but 
the  heroic  qualities  of  the  troops  en- 
gaged proved  that  there  was  nothing  the 
matter  with  the  courage  of  the  British 
soldier.  Muddled  plans  might  waste 
British  blood  and  treasure  on  the  Tigris 
as  well  as  on  the  Dardanelles,  but  noth- 
ing could  break  down  the  indomitable 
fighting  quality  of  the  army.  Thoroughly 
censored  press  dispatches  covered  up  for 
many  weeks  the  extent  of  the  disaster 
at  Ctesiphon  by  assertions  that  after  a 
great  victory  General  Townshend's  force 
had  been  compelled  temporarily  to  fall 
back  for  lack  of  water.  It  was  Decem- 
ber before  England  realized .  that  there 
was  a  besieged  remnant  of  a  heroic  army 
at  Kut-el-Amara  which  would  need 
prompt  succor. 

On  Christmas  Day,  1915,  after  a  heavy 
bombardment  for  many  hours,  the  Turks 
fought  their  way  into  one  of  the  forts  on 
the  right  flank.  They  were  expelled, 
but  returned  and  again  occupied  the 
position,  from  which  they  were  finally 
driven  back  to  their  own  trenches  after 
a  severe  battle. 

By  the  middle  of  January,  1916,  a 
strong  relief  force  was  advancing  well 
up  the  Tigris  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Aylmer,  but  this  expedition  found  a 
detached  Turkish  army  on  its  front 
blocking  the  road  toward  Kut.  From 
Sheik  Saad  onward  General  Aylmer's 
army  was  engaged  in  a  number  of  severe 
actions,  and  these  prevented  the  prompt 
relief  which  it  was  expected  to  afford  to 
the  besieged  force  up  the  river.  The 
British  lost  heavily  in  battles  at  Sheik 
Saad  and  at  Essin,  and  were  compelled 
to  intrench  at  a  point  twenty-three  miles 
below  Kut  against  a  foe  too  strong  to 
be  brushed  aside  or  pierced.  At  Men- 
larie  the  Turks  had  the  advantage  in 
another  hot  fight,  and  at  Felahie  a 
British  reconnoitring  party  were  all 
killed;  150  miles  down  stream,  at 
Kurna,  irregular  Turkish  forces  defeated 


a  British  transport  column,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary there  was  another  severe  defeat 
near  Batilia,  with  many  casualties  and 
the  loss  of  a  great  number  of  transport 
animals. 

At  this  time  Turkish  airmen  were  fre- 
quently bombing  the  British  batteries  at 
Kut.  Large  reinforcements  of  British 
and  Indian  regiments  began  to  reach  Gen- 
eral Aylmer's  army  in  February  and 
March,  and  along  the  Euphrates  the 
British  were  strong  enough  to  take  the 
offensive  against  the  Turks  above 
Nasiriyeh.  In  a  fight  on  the  upper  Ti- 
gris, near  Felahie,  General  Aylmer's 
men  entered  the  Turkish  trenches,  but 
were  driven  out  in  a  counterattack  with 
a  loss  of  2,000  dead.  The  British  re- 
treated, and  in  a  rear  guard  action  at 
Zenzir  Heights  had  5  officers  and  175 
men  captured. 

In  April  General  Lake  scored  the  first 
British  victory  in  a  long  time  by  winning 
a  battle  at  Umm-el-Henna,  about  twenty 
miles  below  Kut.  At  Bestissa  and  Fela- 
hie the  Turks  defeated  desperate  British 
efforts  to  cut  a  way  through  with  the 
bayonet,  and  news  from  General  Town- 
shend's  besieged  force  in  Kut  told  of  a 
serious  shortage  of  food. 

On  April  29,  1916,  General  Town- 
shend's  troops  could  hold  out  no  longer, 
and,  although  the  army  advancing  to 
their  relief  was  less  than  twenty-five 
miles  away,  it  was  apparent  that  the 
Turks  would  be  able  to  delay  any  further 
advance  for  a  long  time.  The  entire 
force  surrendered  unconditionally  after 
a  brave  defense  of  143  days.  The  Turks 
claimed  to  have  captured  13,000  men, 
while  the  British  figures  named  2,970 
British  and  6,000  Indian  troops.  General 
Townshend  surrendered  to  Halil  Pasha 
and  the  loot  was  said  to  include  £1,000,- 
000  in  cash. 

The  planning  of  the  successful  Turkish 
campaign  in  Mesopotamia  was  credited 
to  the  great  German  Field  Marshal  von 
der  Goltz,  who  died  April  19,  1916,  at 
Turkish  Headquarters.  Rumor  at  tho 
time  said  he  was  assassinated  by  a  Turk- 
ish Anatolian  officer. 


How  the  War  Came  to  America 

Official  Survey  of  the  Causes  That  Led  the 
United  States    to  Enter   the  Great  Conflict 


The  Committee  on  Public  Information, 
composed  of  the  Secretaries  of  State, 
War,  and  Navy,  with  George  Creel  as 
civilian  Chairman ,issued  on  June  24,1917, 
a  pamphlet  entitled  "  How  the  War  Came 
to  America,"  setting  forth  at  length  the 
events  that  had  forced  the  United  States 
to  enter  the  war  in  defense  of  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine,  freedom  of  the  seas,  and 
arbitration.  Following  is  the  full  text 
of  that  important  and  interesting  docu- 
ment : 

IN  the  years  when  this  Republic  was 
still  struggling  for  existence,  in  the 
face  of  threatened  encroachments 
by  hostile  monarchies  over  the 
Sea,  in  order  to  make  the  New 
World  safe  for  democracy  our  fore- 
fathers established  here  the  policy  that 
soon  came  to  be  known  as  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine.  Warning  the  Old  World 
not  to  interfere  in  the  political  life  of 
the  New,  our  Government  pledged  itself 
in  return  to  abstain  from  interference  in 
the  political  conflicts  of  Europe;  and 
history  has  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  this 
course.  We  were  then  too  weak  to  influ- 
ence the  destinies  of  Europe,  and  it  was 
vital  to  mankind  that  this  first  great  ex- 
periment in  government  of  and  by  the 
people  should  not  be  disturbed  by  foreign 
attack. 

Reinforced  by  the  experience  of  our 
expanding  national  life,  this  doctrine  has 
been  ever  since  the  dominating  element 
in  the  growth  of  our  foreign  policy. 
Whether  or  not  we  could  have  main- 
tained it  in  case  of  concerted  attack  from 
abroad,  it  has  seemed  of  such  importance 
to  us  that  we  were  at  all  times  ready  to 
go  to  war  in  its  defense.  And  though 
since  it  was  first  enunciated  our  strength 
has  grown  by  leaps  and  bounds,  although 
in  that  time  the  vast  increase  in  our  for- 
eign trade  and  of  travel  abroad,  modern 
transport,  modern  mails,  the  cables,  and 
the  wireless  have  brought  us  close  to  Eu- 


rope and  have  made  our  isolation  more 
and  more  imaginary,  there  has  been  un- 
til the  outbreak  of  the  present  conflict 
small  desire  on  our  part  to  abrogate,  or 
even  amend,  the  old  familiar  tradition 
which  has  for  so  long  given  us  peace. 

Policy  at  The  Hague 

In  both  conferences  at  The  Hague,  in 
1899  and  1907,  we  reaffirmed  this  policy. 
As  our  delegates  signed  the  First  Con- 
vention in  regard  to  arbitration,  they 
read  into  the  minutes  this  statement: 

Nothing  contained  in  this  convention  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  require  the  United 
States  of  America  to  depart  from  its  tradi- 
tional policy  of  not  intruding  upon,  interfer- 
ing with,  or  entangling  itself  in  the  political 
questions  or  policy  or  internal  administra- 
tion of  any  foreign  State;  nor  shall  any- 
thing contained  in  the  said  convention  be 
construed  to  imply  a  relinquishment  by  the 
United  States  of  America  of  its  traditional 
attitude  toward  purely  American  questions. 

At  The  Hague  we  pledged  ourselves,  in 
case  we  ever  went  to  war,  to  observe 
certain  broad  general  rules  of  decency 
and  fair  fighting.  But  at  the  same  time 
we  cleared  ourselves  from  any  responsi- 
bility for  forcing  other  nations  to  ob- 
serve similar  pledges.  And  in  1906,  when 
our  delegates  took  part  in  the  Algeciras 
Conference,  which  was  to  regulate  the 
affairs  of  the  distracted  Kingdom  of  Mo- 
rocco, they  followed  the  same  formula 
there.  While  acquiescing  in  the  new  re- 
gime which  guaranteed  the  independence 
and  integrity  of  Morocco,  we  explicitly 
announced  that  we  assumed  no  police  re- 
sponsibility for  the  enforcement  of  the 
treaty.  And  if  any  honest  doubt  was 
left  as  to  our  attitude  in  regard  to  the 
enforcement  of  Old  World  agreements, 
it  was  dispelled  five  years  later,  when 
our  Government  refused  to  protest 
against  the  overthrow  of  the  Acte  d' Al- 
geciras. 

We  declined  to  be  drawn  into  quarrels 
abroad  which  might  endanger  in  any  way 
our  traditional  policy. 


HOW   THE    WAR   CAME    TO   AMERICA 


305 


For  Freedom  of  the  Seas 

Our  second  great  tradition  in  interna- 
tional relations  has  been  our  persistent 
effort  to  secure  a  stable  and  equitable 
agreement  of  the  nations  upon  such  a 
maritime  code  as  would  assure  to  all  the 
world  a  just  freedom  of  the  seas. 

This  effort  was  born  of  our  vital  need. 
For  although  it  was  possible  for  the  Re- 
public to  keep  aloof  from  the  nineteenth 
century  disputes  that  rent  the  Continent 
of  Europe,  we  could  not  be  indifferent  to 
the  way  in  which  war  was  conducted  at 
sea.  In  those  early  years  of  our  national 
life,  when  we  were  still  but  a  few  com- 
munities ranged  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  we  were  a  seafaring  people.  At 
a  time  when  our  frontiersmen  had  not  yet 
reached  the  Mississippi,  the  fame  of  our 
daring  clipper  ships  had  spread  to  all  the 
Seven  Seas.  So  while  we  could  watch  the 
triumphant  march  and  the  tragic  counter- 
march of  Napoleon's  grand  army  with 
detached  indifference,  his  Continental 
blockade  and  the  British  Orders  in  Coun- 
cil at  once  affected  the  lives  of  our  citi- 
zens intimately  and  disastrously. 

So  it  was  in  the  case  of  the  Barbary 
pirates.  We  had  no  interest  in  the  land 
quarrels  and  civil  wars  of  the  Barbary 
States,  but  we  fought  them  for  obstruct- 
ing the  freedom  of  the  seas. 

And  in  the  decades  ever  since, 
although  the  imagination  of  our  people 
has  been  engrossed  in  the  immense 
labor  of  winning  the  West,  our  Depart- 
ment of  State  has  never  lost  sight  of 
the  compelling  interest  that  we  have 
upon  the  seas,  and  has  constantly  striven 
to  gain  the  assent  of  all  nations  to  a 
maritime  code  which  should  be  framed 
and  enforced  by  a  joint  responsibility. 
Various  watchwords  have  arisen  in  this 
long  controversy.  We  have  urged  the 
inviolability  of  private  property  at  sea, 
we  have  asked  for  a  liberal  free  list  and 
a  narrow  definition  of  contraband;  but 
our  main  insistence  has  not  been  on  any 
such  details.  One  salient  idea  has  guided 
our  diplomacy.  The  law  of  the  sea  must 
be  founded  not  on  might,  but  on  right 
and  a  common  accord — upon  a  code  bind- 
ing all  alike,  which  cannot  be  changed 


or  set  aside  by  the  will  of  any  one 
nation.  Our  ideal  has  been  not  a  weak- 
ening but  a  strengthening  of  legal  re- 
straint by  the  free  will  and  agreement 
of  all.  We  have  asked  nothing  for  our- 
selves that  we  do  not  ask  for  the  whole 
world.  The  seas  will  never  be  free,  in 
our  American  meaning,  until  all  who  sail 
thereon  have  had  a  voice  in  framing  sea 
laws.  The  just  governance  of  the  seas 
must  rest  on  the  consent  of  the  governed. 
The  Declaration  of  London 

No  other  question  of  international 
polity  has  found  the  great  powers  more 
divided.  But  in  our  insistence  on  this 
fundamental  principle,  we  have  been 
strengthened  by  the  support  of  many 
other  countries.  At  times  we  have  had 
the  support  of  Great  Britain.  No  one  of 
our  Secretaries  of  State  has  more  clearly 
defined  our  ideal  than  has  Viscount  Grey, 
recently  British  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  None  of  our  statesmen 
has  ever  gone  so  far  as  he  in  advocating 
limitation  of  the  rights  of  belligerents  on 
the  sea.  It  was  on  his  initiative  that  the 
international  naval  conference  was  sum- 
moned to  London  in  1909,  and  it  was 
under  his  guidance  that  the  eminent  in- 
ternational lawyers  and  diplomats  and 
Admirals  who  gathered  there  drew  up  the 
Declaration  of  London. 

While  there  were  in  that  declaration 
sections  that  did  not  quite  meet  our  ap- 
proval and  that  we  should  have  liked  to 
amend,  the  document  was  from  our  point 
of  view  a  tremendous  step  in  advance. 
For  although,  like  any  effort  to  concisely 
formulate  the  broad  principles  of  equity, 
it  did  not  wholly  succeed  in  its  purpose, 
it  was  at  least  an  honest  attempt  to 
arrive  at  an  agreement  on  a  complete  inr- 
ternational  code  of  sea  law,  based  upon 
mutual  consent  and  not  to  be  altered  by 
any  belligerent  in  the  heat  of  the  conflict. 

But  the  Declaration  of  London  was  not 
ratified  by  the  British  Parliament,  for 
the  point  of  view  prevailing  then  in 
England  was  that  a  power  dependent 
almost  wholly  upon  its  navy  for  protec- 
tion could  not  safely  accept  further  lim- 
itations upon  action  at  sea  unless  there 
were  compensating  limitations  on  land 
powers.    And  this  latter  concession  Ger- 


306 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


many  consistently  refused  to  make.  This 
conference  therefore  came  to  nought; 
and,  the  London  Declaration  having  been 
rejected  by  the  strongest  maritime 
power,  its  indorsement  was  postponed  by 
all  the  other  countries  involved.  Our 
motives,  however,  remained  unchanged, 
and  our  Government  persisted  in  its  pur- 
pose to  secure  a  general  ratification 
either  of  this  Declaration  or  of  some 
similar  maritime  code. 

Principle   of  Arbitration 

There  has  been  in  our  diplomacy  one 
more  outstanding  aspiration.  We  have 
constantly  sought  to  substitute  judicial 
for  military  settlement  of  disputes 
between  nations. 

The  genesis  of  this  idea  dates  from 
the  discussions  over  the  Federal  organ- 
izations of  our  thirteen  original  States, 
which  were  almost  as  jealous  of  their 
sovereignties  as  are  the  nations  of 
Europe  today.  The  first  great  step 
toward  the  League  of  Honor,  which  we 
hope  will  at  last  bring  peace  to  the 
world,  was  taken  when  our  thirteen 
States  agreed  to  disarm  and  submit  all 
their  disputes  to  the  high  tribunal  of  the 
new  federation. 

And  this  idea  of  an  interstate  court, 
which  except  at  the  time  of  our  civil  war 
has  given  this  nation  internal  peace,  has 
profoundly  influenced  our  foreign  policy. 
Of  our  efforts  to  bring  others  to  our  way 
of  thinking,  a  historical  resume  was 
presented  by  our  delegates  at  the  First 
Hague  Conference.  A  project  was  sub- 
mitted there  for  the  formation  of  a  world 
court.  And  a  few  years  later  Mr.  Root, 
our  Secretary  of  State,  in  instructing  our 
delegates  to  the  Second  Conference  at 
The  Hague,  laid  especial  emphasis  on  this 
same  international  ideal. 

We  have  taken  a  particular  pride  in 
being  in  the  vanguard  of  this  movement 
for  the  peaceable  settlement  by  process 
of  law  of  all  disputes  between  nations. 
And  these  efforts  have  not  been  without 
success.  For,  although  the  last  few  dec- 
ades have  seen  this  principle  time  and 
again  put  under  a  terrific  strain,  no 
nation  has  dared  to  go  to  war  against 
the  award  of  a  court  of  arbitration.  The 
stupendous    possibilities   that   lie   in   ar- 


bitration for  solving  international  prob- 
lems, promoting  liberal  principles,  and 
safeguarding  human  life  had  been  amply 
demonstrated  before  the  present  war 
begaji. 

But  in  the  discussions  at  The  Hague, 
largely  through  the  resistance  of  the 
German  Empire  and  its  satellites,  the 
efforts  of  our  delegates  and  those  of 
other  Governments  to  bring  about  a 
general  treaty  of  compulsory  arbitra- 
tion had  failed;  and  therefore  this 
nation,  having  been  thwarted  in  its 
attempts  to  secure  a  general  agreement, 
began  negotiations  with  all  those  nations 
which,  like  our  own,  preferred  the 
methods  of  law  and  peace,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  effecting  dual  arbitration 
treaties.  And  before  the  end  of  1914  we 
had  signed  far-reaching  treaties  with 
thirty  nations,  twenty  of  which  had  been 
duly  ratified  and  proclaimed.  But  in  this 
work,  too,  we  were  made  to  feel  the 
same  opposition  as  at  The  Hague;  for, 
while  Great  Britain,  France,  Russia,  and 
Italy  cordially  welcomed  our  overtures, 
the  German  and  Austro-Hungarian  Em- 
pires were  noticeably  absent  from  the 
list  of  those  nations  who  desired,  by 
specific  agreements  in  advance,  to  min- 
imize the  danger  of  war. 

Three  Cardinal  Doctrines 
On  the  eve  of  the  present  conflict  our 
position  toward  other  nations  might  have 
been  summarized  under  three  heads: 

I.  The  Monroe  Doctrine. — We  had 
pledged  ourselves  to  defend  the  New 
World  from  European  aggression,  and  we 
had  by  word  and  deed  made  it  clear  that 
we  would  not  intervene  in  any  European 
dispute. 

II.  The  Freedom  of  the  Seas. — In  every 
naval  conference  our  influence  had  been 
given  in  support  of  the  principle  that  sea 
law  to  be  just  and  worthy  of  general 
respect  must  be  based  on  the  consent  of 
the  governed. 

III.  Arbitration. — As  we  had  secured 
peace  at  home  by  referring  interstate  dis- 
putes to  a  Federal  tribunal,  we  urged  a 
similar  settlement  of  international  con- 
troversies. Our  ideal  was  a  permanent 
world  court.     We  had  already  signed  ar- 


HOW   THE    WAR    CAME    TO   AMERICA 


307 


bitration  treaties  not  only  with  great 
powers  which  might  conceivably  attack 
us,  but  even  more  freely  with  weaker 
neighbors  in  order  to  show  our  good  faith 
in  recognizing  the  equality  of  all  nations 
both  great  and  small.  We  had  made  plain 
to  the  nations  our  purpose  to  forestall  by 
every  means  in  our  power  the  recurrence 
of  wars  in  the  world. 

The  outbreak  of  war  in  1914  caught 
this  nation  by  surprise.  The  peoples  of 
Europe  had  had  at  least  some  warnings 
of  the  coming  storm,  but  to  us  such  a 
blind,  savage  onslaught  on  the  ideals  of 
civilization  had  appeared  impossible. 

The  war  was  incomprehensible.  Either 
side  was  championed  here  by  millions 
living  among  us  who  were  of  European 
birth.  Their  contradictory  accusations 
threw  our  thought  into  disarray,  and  in 
the  first  chaotic  days  we  could  see  no 
clear  issue  that  affected  our  national 
policy.  There  was  no  direct  assault  on 
our  rights.  It  seemed  at  first  to  most 
of  us  a  purely  European  dispute,  and 
our  minds  were  not  prepared  to  take 
sides  in  such  a  conflict.  The  President's 
proclamation  of  neutrality  was  received 
by  us  as  natural  and  inevitable.  It  was 
quickly  followed  by  his  appeal  to  "the 
citizens  of  the  Republic." 

"  Every  man  who  really  loves  America 
will  act  and  speak  in  the  true  spirit  of 
neutrality,"  he  said,  "  which  is  the  spirit 
of  impartiality  and  fairness  and  friend- 
liness to  all  concerned.  *  *  *  It  will 
be  easy  to  excite  passion  and  difficult  to 
allay  it."  He  expressed  the  fear  that 
our  nation  might  become  divided  in 
camps  of  hostile  opinion.  "  Such  divisions 
among  us  *  *  *  might  seriously  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  proper  performance 
of  our  duty  as  the  one  great  nation  at 
peace,  the  one  people  holding  itself  ready 
to  play  a  part  of  impartial  mediation 
and  speak  counsels  of  peace  and  accom- 
modation, not  as  a  partisan,  but  as  a 
friend." 

This  purpose — the  preservation  of  a 
strict  neutrality  in  order  that  later  we 
might  be  of  use  in  the  great  task  of 
mediation — dominated  all  the  President's 
early  speeches. 

"  We  are  the  mediating  nation  of  the 


world,"  he  declared  in  an  address  on  April 
20,  1915.  "We  are  compounded  of  the 
nations  of  the  world;  we  mediate  their 
blood,  we  mediate  their  traditions,  we 
mediate  their  sentiments,  their  tastes, 
their  passions;  we  are  ourselves  com- 
pounded of  those  things.  We  are,  there- 
fore, able  to  understand  them  in  the  com- 
pound, not  separately  as  partisans,  but 
unitedly  as  knowing  and  comprehending 
and  embodying  them  all.  It  is  in  that 
sense  that  I  mean  that  America  is  a 
mediating  nation." 

American  neutrality,  in  those  first 
months  of  the  great  war,  was  beyond  any 
question  real. 

Stirred  hy  Events  in  Belgium 
But  the  spirit  of  neutrality  was  not 
easy  to  maintain.  Public  opinion  was 
deeply  stirred  by  the  German  invasion  of 
Belgium  and  by  reports  of  atrocities 
there.  The  Royal  Belgian  Commission, 
which  came  in  September,  1914,  to  lay 
their  country's  cause  for  complaint  be- 
fore our  National  Government,  was  re- 
ceived with  sympathy  and  respect.  The 
President  in  his  reply  reserved  our  deci- 
sion in  the  affair.  It  was  the  only  course 
he  could  take  without  an  abrupt  depar- 
ture from  our  most  treasured  traditions 
of  non-interference  in  Old  World  disputes. 
But  the  sympathy  of  America  went  out  to 
the  Belgians  in  the  heroic  tragedy,  and 
from  every  section  of  our  land  money  con- 
tributions and  supplies  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing poured  over  to  the  Commission  for 
Relief  in  Belgium,  which  was  under  the 
able  management  of  our  fellow-country- 
men abroad. 

Still,  the  thought  of  taking  an  active 
part  in  this  European  war  was  very  far 
from  most  of  our  minds.  The  nation 
shared  with  the  President  the  belief  that 
by  maintaining  a  strict  neutrality  we 
could  best  serve  Europe  at  the  end  as 
impartial  mediators. 

But  in  the  very  first  days  of  the  war 
our  Government  foresaw  that  compli- 
cations on  the  seas .  might  put  us  in 
grave  risk  of  being  drawn  into  the  con- 
flict. No  neutral  nation  could  foretell 
what  violations  of  its  vital  interests  at 
sea  might  be  attempted  by  the  belli- 
gerents. And  so,  on  Aug.  6,  1914,  our 
Secretary  of   State  dispatched  an  iden- 


308 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES  CURRENT   HISTORY 


tical  note  to  all  the  powers  then  at  war, 
calling  attention  to  the  risk  of  serious 
trouble  arising  out  of  this  uncertainty 
of  neutrals  as  to  their  maritime  rights, 
and  proposing  that  the  Declaration  of 
London  be  accepted  by  all  nations  for  the 
duration  of  the  war. 

Controversies  With  Great  Britain 

But  the  British  Government's  re- 
sponse, while  expressing  sympathy  with 
the  purpose  of  our  suggestion  and  de- 
claring their  "  keen  desire  to  consult  so 
far  as  possible  the  interests  of  neutral 
countries,"  announced  their  decision  "  to 
adopt  generally  the  rules  of  the  Declara- 
tion in  question,  subject  to  certain  modi- 
fications and  additions  which  they  judge 
indispensable  to  the  efficient  conduct  of 
their  naval  operations."  The  Declara- 
tion had  not  been  indorsed  by  any  power 
in  time  of  peace,  and  there  was  no  legal 
obligation  on  Great  Britain  to  accept 
it.  Her  reply,  however,  was  disappoint- 
ing, for  it  did  nothing  to  clarify  the  situ- 
ation. Great  Britain  recognized  as  bind- 
ing certain  long-accepted  principles  of 
international  law  and  sought  now  to  ap- 
ply them  to  the  peculiar  and  unforeseen 
conditions  of  this  war.  But  these  prin- 
ciples were  often  vague  and  therefore 
full  of  dangerous  possibilities  of  friction. 

Controversies  soon  arose  between 
Great  Britain  and  this  nation.  In  prac- 
tice their  ruling  sometimes  seemed  to 
our  Government  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  international  law,  and  especially 
with  the  established  precedents  which 
they  invoked.  But,  painful  as  this  diver- 
gency of  opinion  sometimes  was,  it  did 
not  seriously  threaten  our  position  of 
neutrality,  for  the  issues  that  arose  in- 
volved only  rights  of  property  and  were 
amply  covered  by  the  arbitration  treaty 
signed  only  a  short  time  before  by  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States. 

And  this  controversy  led  to  a  clearer 
understanding  on  our  part  of  the  British 
attitude  toward  our  ideal  of  the  freedom 
of  the  seas.  They  were  not  willing  to 
accept  our  classification  of  the  seas  as 
being  distinct  from  the  Old  World.  We 
had  confined  our  interest  to  matters 
affecting  rights  at  sea  and  had  kept 
carefully  aloof  from  issues  affecting  the 


interests  of  European  nations  on  land. 
The  British  were  interested  in  both.  They 
explained  that  they  had  participated  in 
the  London  naval  conference  in  the  hope 
that  it  would  lead  to  a  sound  and  liberal 
entente  in  the  interest  of  the  rights  of 
all  nations  on  the  sea  and  on  the  land 
as  well,  and  that  they  had  refused  to 
ratify  the  London  Declaration  because 
no  compensating  accord  on  the  Continent 
had  resulted.  They  could  not  afford  to 
decrease  the  striking  power  of  their  navy 
unless  their  powerful  neighbors  on  land 
agreed  to  decrease  their  armies. 

America's  Changed  Attitude 
That  this  attitude  of  England  deeply 
impressed  our  Government  is  shown  by 
the  increasing  attention  given  by  the 
United  States  to  the  search  for  ways  and 
means  of  insuring  at  the  end  of  the  war 
a  lasting  peace  for  all  the  world.  The 
address  of  our  President,  on  May  27, 
1916,  before  the  League  to  Enforce 
Peace  was  a  milestone  in  our  history. 

He  outlined  the  main  principles  on 
which  a  stable  peace  must  rest,  principles 
plainly  indicating  that  this  nation  would 
have  to  give  up  its  position  of  isolation 
and  assume  the  responsibilities  of  a 
world  power.     The  President  said: 

So  sincerely  do  we  believe  these  things 
that  I  am  sure  that  I  speak  the  mind  and 
wish  of  the  people  of  America  when  I  say 
that  the  United  States  is  willing  to  become 
a  partner  in  any  feasible  association  of  na- 
tions formed  in  order  to  realize  these  ob- 
jects and  make  them  secure  against  violation. 

It  was  a  new  and  significant  note  in 
our  foreign  policy.  But  the  mind  of 
America  had  learned  much  in  the  long, 
bitter  months  of  war.  Future  historians 
will  make  charts  of  this  remarkable  evo- 
lution in  our  public  opinion :  the  gradual 
abandonment  of  the  illusion  of  isolation; 
the  slow  growth  of  a  realization  that  we 
could  not  win  freedom  on  sea — for  us  a 
vital  interest — unless  we  consented  to  do 
our  share  in  maintaining  freedom  on 
land  as  well,  and  that  we  could  not  have 
peace  in  the  world — the  peace  we  loved 
and  needed  for  the  perfection  of  our  de- 
mocracy— unless  we  were  willing  and 
prepared  to  help  to  restrain  any  nation 
that  willfully  endangered  the  peace  of 
the  whole  world  family. 


HOW   THE    WAR   CAME    TO   AMERICA 


309 


Had  this  address  of  the  President  come 
before  the  war  there  would  have  arisen 
a  storm  of  protest  from  all  sections  of 
the  land.  But  in  May,  1916,  the  nation's 
response  was  emphatic  approval. 

No  Treaty  with  Germany 

In  the  meantime,  although  our  neutral 
rights  were  not  brought  into  question  by 
Germany  as  early  as  by  England,  the 
German  controversy  was  infinitely  more 
serious. 

For  any  dissension  that  might  arise 
no  arbitration  treaty  existed  between  the 
United  States  and  the  German  Govern- 
ment. This  was  from  no  fault  of  ours. 
We  had  tried  to  establish  with  Germany 
the  same  treaty  relations  we  had  with 
Great  Britain  and  nineteen  other  nations. 
But  these  overtures  had  been  rejected. 
And  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Im- 
perial German  Government  was  only  one 
example  of  its  whole  system  of  diplo- 
macy. In  both  conferences  at  The  Hague 
it  had  been  the  German  delegates  who 
Were  the  most  active  in  blocking  all  proj- 
ects for  the  pacific  settlement  of  dis- 
putes between  nations. 

They  had  preferred  to  limit  inter- 
national relations  to  the  old  modes  of 
diplomacy  and  war.  It  was  therefore 
obvious  from  the  first  that  any  contro- 
versy with  the  German  Government 
would  be  exceedingly  serious;  for  if  it 
could  not  be  solved  by  direct  diplomatic 
conversations,  there  was  no  recourse  ex- 
cept to  war. 

From  such  conversations  there  is  small 
hope  of  satisfactory  results  unless  the 
good  faith  of  both  sides  is  profound.  If 
either  side  lacks  good  faith,  or  reveals  in 
all  its  actions  an  insidious  hostility,  diplo- 
macy is  of  no  avail.  And  so  it  has  proved 
in  the  present  case. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  "war  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Germany  stirred  up  among  its 
people  a  feeling  of  resentment  against 
the  United  States  on  account  of  our 
insistence  upon  our  right  as  a  neutral 
nation  to  trade  in  munitions  with  the 
belligerent  powers.  Our  legal  right  in  the 
matter  was  not  seriously  questioned  by 
Germany.  She  could  not  have  done  so 
consistently,  for  as  recently  as  the  Balkan 
wars  of  1912  and  1913  both  Germany  and 


Austria  sold  munitions  to  the  belligerents. 
Their  appeals  to  us  in  the  present 
war  were  not  to  observe  international 
law,  but  to  revise  it  in  their  interest. 
And  these  appeals  they  tried  to  make 
on  moral  and  humanitarian  grounds.  But 
upon  "  the  moral  issue "  involved,  the 
stand  taken  by  the  United  States  was 
consistent  with  its  traditional  policy  and 
with  obvious  common  sense. 

Our  Defense  at  StaJ^e 

For,  if,  with  all  other  neutrals,  we  re- 
fused to  sell  munitions  to  belligerents, 
we  could  never  in  time  of  a  war  of  our 
own  obtain  munitions  from  neutrals,  and 
the  nation  which  had  accumulated  the 
largest  reserves  of  war  supplies  in  time 
of  peace  would  be  assured  of  victory. 

The  militarist  State  that  invested  its 
money  in  arsenals  would  be  at  a  fatal 
advantage  over  the  free  people  who  in- 
vested their  wealth  in  schools.  To  write 
into  international  law  that  neutrals 
should  not  trade  in  munitions  would  be 
to  hand  over  the  world  to  the  rule  of  the 
nation  with  the  largest  armament  fac- 
tories. Such  a  policy  the  United  States 
of  America  could  not  accept. 

But  our  principal  controversy  with  the 
German  Government,  and  the  one  which 
rendered  the  situation  at  once  acute,  rose 
out  of  their  announcement  of  a  sea  zone 
where  their  submarines  would  operate  in 
violation  of  all  accepted  principles  of  in- 
ternational law.  Our  indignation  at  such 
a  threat  was  soon  rendered  passionate  by 
the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania.  This  at- 
tack upon  our  rights  was  not  only 
grossly  illegal;  it  defied  the  fundamental 
concepts  of  humanity. 

Aggravating  restraints  on  our  trade 
were  grievances  which  could  be  settled 
by  litigation  after  the  war,  but  the 
wanton  murder  of  peaceable  men  and  of 
innocent  women  and  children,  citizens  of 
a  nation  with  which  Germany  was  at 
peace,  was  a  crime  against  the  civilized 
world  which  could  never  be  settled  in 
any  court. 

Our  Government,  however,  inspired 
still  by  a  desire  to  preserve  peace  if 
possible,  used  every  resource  of  di- 
plomacy to  force  the  German  Govern- 
ment to  abandon  such  attacks.    This  diplo- 


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THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


matic  correspondence,  which  has  already- 
been  published,  proves  beyond  doubt  that 
our  Government  sought  by  every  honor- 
able means  to  preserve  faith  in  that 
mutual  sincerity  between  nations  which 
is  the  only  basis  of  sound  diplomatic  in- 
terchange. 

But  evidence  of  the  bad  faith  of  the 
Imperial  German  Government  soon  piled 
up  on  every  hand.  Honest  efforts  on 
our  part  to  establish  a  firm  basis  of 
good  neighborliness  with  the  German 
people  were  met  by  their  Government 
with  quibbles,  misrepresentations,  and 
counteraccusations  against  their  enemies 
abroad. 

Work  of  Hostile  Spies 

And  meanwhile  in  this  country  official 
agents  of  the  Central  Powers — protected 
from  criminal  prosecution  by  diplomatic 
immunity — conspired  against  our  internal 
peace  and  placed  spies  and  agents 
provocateurs  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  land,  and  even  in  high 
positions  of  trust  in  departments  of  our 
Government. 

While  expressing  a  cordial  friendship 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  the 
Government  of  Germany  had  its  agents 
at  work  both  in  Latin  America  and 
Japan.  They  bought  or  subsidized 
papers  and  supported  speakers  there  to 
rouse  feelings  of  bitterness  and  distrust 
against  us  in  those  friendly  nations,  in 
order  to  embroil  us  in  war.  They  were 
inciting  to  insurrection  in  Cuba,  in  Haiti, 
and  in  Santo  Domingo;  their  hostile  hand 
was  stretched  out  to  take  the  Danish  Isl- 
ands; and  everywhere  in  South  America 
they  were  abroad  sowing  the  seeds  of  dis- 
sension, trying  to  stir  up  one  nation 
against  another  and  all  against  the 
United  States. 

In  their  sum  these  various  operations 
amounted  to  direct  assault  upon  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine.  And  even  if  we  had  given 
up  our  right  to  travel  on  the  sea,  even 
if  we  had  surrendered  to  German  threats 
and  abandoned  our  legitimate  trade  in 
munitions,  the  German  offensive  in  the 
New  World,  in  our  own  land  and  among 
our  neighbors,  was  becoming  too  serious 
to  be  ignored. 

So  long  as  it  was  possible,  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  tried  to  be- 


lieve that  such  activities,  the  evidence  of 
which  was  already  in  a  large  measure  at 
hand,  were  the  work  of  irresponsible  and 
misguided  individuals.  It  was  only  re- 
luctantly, in  the  face  of  overwhelming 
proof,  that  the  recall  of  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Ambassador  and  of  the  German 
Military  and  Naval  Attaches  was  de- 
manded. 

tVoof  of  their  criminal  violations  of  our 
hospitality  was  presented  to  their  Gov- 
ernments. But  these  Governments  in  re- 
ply offered  no  apologies  nor  did  they  issue 
reprimands.  It  became  clear  that  such 
intrigue  was  their  settled  policy. 

In  the  meantime  the  attacks  of  the 
German  submarines  upon  the  lives  and 
property  of  American  citizens  had  gone 
on;  the  protests  of  our  Government  were 
now  sharp  and  ominous,  and  this  nation 
was  rapidly  being  drawn  into  a  state 
of  war. 

Warnings  Given  by  President 

As  the  President  said  in  Topeka,  on 
Feb.  2,  1916: 

"We  are  not  going  to  invade  any  nation's 
right.  But  suppose,  my  fellow-countrymen, 
some  nation  should  invade  our  rights.  What 
then?  *  *  *  I  have  come  here  to  tell  you 
that  the  difficulties  of  our  foreign  policy 
*  *  *  daily  increase  in  number  and  in* 
tricacy  and  in  danger;  and  I  would  be 
derelict  to  my  duty  to  you  if  I  did  not 
deal  with  you  in  these  matters  with  the 
utmost  candor,  and  tell  you  what  it  may  be 
necessary  to  use  the  force  of  the  United  States 
to  do. 

The  next  day,  at  St.  Louis,  he  repeated 
his  warning: 

The  danger  is  not  from  within,  gentlemen, 
it  is  from  without ;  and  I  am  bound  to  tell 
you  that  that  danger  is  constant  and  imme-. 
diate— not  because  anything  new  has  hap- 
pened, not  because  there  has  been  any 
change  in  our  international  relationships 
within  recent  weeks  or  months,  but  because 
the  danger  comes  with  every  turn  of  events. 

The  break  would  have  come  sooner  if 
our  Government  had  not  been  restrained 
by  the  hope  that  saner  counsels  might 
still  prevail  in  Germany.  For  it  was 
well  known  to  us  that  the  German 
people  had  to  a  very  large  extent  been 
kept  in  ignorance  of  many  of  the  secret 
crimes  of  their  Government  against  us. 

And  the  presence  of  a  faction  of  Ger- 
man public  opinion  less  hostile  to  this 


HOW   THE    WAR    CAME    TO   AMERICA 


311 


country  was  shown  when  their  Govern- 
ment acquiesced  to  some  degree  in  our 
demands  at  the  time  of  the  Sussex  out- 
rage, and  for  nearly  a  year  maintained 
at  least  a  pretense  of  observing  the 
pledge  they  had  made  to  us.  The  tension 
was  abated. 

While  the  war  spirit  was  growing  in 
some  sections  of  our  nation,  there  was 
still  no  widespread  desire  to  take  part 
in  the  conflict  abroad;  for  the  tradition 
of  non-interference  in  Europe's  political 
affairs  was  too  deeply  rooted  in  our  na- 
tional life  to  be  easily  overthrown. 

Moreover,  two  other  considerations 
strengthened  our  Government  in  its  ef- 
forts to  remain  neutral  in  this  war.  The 
first  was  our  traditional  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility toward  all  the  republics  of 
the  New  World.  Throughout  the  crisis 
our  Government  was  in  constant  com- 
munication with  the  countries  of  Central 
and   South  America. 

,  They,  too,  preferred  the  ways  of  peace. 
And  there  was  a  very  obvious  obligation 
upon  us  to  safeguard  their  interests  with 
our  own. 

The  second  consideration,  which  had 
been  so  often  developed  in  the  President's 
speeches,  was  the  hope  that  by  keeping 
aloof  from  the  bitter  passions  abroad,  by 
preserving  untroubled  here  the  holy  ideals 
of  civilized  intercourse  between  nations, 
we  might  be  free  at  the  end  of  this  war 
to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  the  conflict,  to 
be  the  restorers  and  rebuilders  of  the 
wrecked  structure  of  the  world. 

Neutrality  Becomes  Unsafe 

All  these  motives  held  us  back,  but  it 
was  not  long  until  we  were  beset  by  fur- 
ther complications.  We  soon  had  reason 
to  believe  that  the  recent  compliance  of 
the  German  Government  had  not  been 
made  to  us  in  good  faith,  and  was  only 
temporary,  and  by  the  end  of  1916  it  was 
plain  that  our  neutral  status  had  again 
been  made  unsafe  through  the  ever-in- 
creasing aggressiveness  of  the  German 
autocracy.  There  was  a  general  agree- 
ment here  with  the  statement  of  our 
President  on  Oct.  26,  1916,  that  this  con- 
flict was  the  last  great  war  involving  the 
world  in  which  we  would  remain  neutral. 

It  was  in  this  frame  of  mind,  fearing 
we  might  be  drawn  into  the  war  if  it  did 


not  soon  come  to  an  end,  that  the  Presi- 
dent began  the  preparation  of  his  note, 
asking  the  belligerent  powers  to  define 
their  war  aims.  But  before  he  had  com- 
pleted it  the  world  was  surprised  by  the 
peace  move  of  the  German  Government — 
an  identical  note  on  behalf  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire,  Austria-Hungary,  Bulgaria, 
and  Turkey,  sent  through  neutral  powers 
on  Dec.  12,  1916,  to  the  Governments  of 
the  Allies,  proposing  negotiations  for 
peace. 

While  expressing  the  wish  to  end  this 
war — "  a-  catastrophe  which  thousands  of 
years  of  common  civilization  was  unable 
to  prevent  and  which  injures  the  most 
precious  achievements  of  humanity " — 
the  greater  portion  of  the  note  was 
couched  in  terms  that  gave  small  hope  of 
a  lasting  peace. 

Boasting  of  German  conquests,  "the 
glorious  deeds  of  our  armies,"  the  note 
implanted  in  neutral  minds  the  belief 
that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Imperial 
German  Government  to  insist  upon  such 
conditions  as  would  leave  all  Central 
Europe  under  German  dominance  and  so 
build  up  an  empire  which  would  menace 
the  whole  liberal  world. 

Moreover,  the  German  proposal  was 
accompanied  by  a  thinly  veiled  threat  to 
all  neutral  nations;  and  from  a  thousand 
sources,  official  and  unofficial,  the  word 
came  to  Washington  that  unless  the  neu- 
trals used  their  influence  to  bring  the 
war  to  an  end  on  terms  dictated  from 
Berlin,  Germany  and  her  allies  would 
consider  themselves  henceforth  free  from 
any  obligations  to  respect  the  rights  of 
neutrals. 

The  Kaiser  ordered  the  neutrals  to 
exert  pressure  on  the  Entente  to  bring 
the  war  to  an  abrupt  end,  or  to  beware  of 
the  consequences.  Clear  warnings  were 
brought  to  our  Government  that  if  the 
German  peace  move  should  not  be  suc- 
cessful, the  submarines  would  be  un- 
leashed for  a  more  intense  and  ruthless 
war  upon  all  commerce. 

On  the  18th  of  December  the  President 
dispatched  his  note  to  all  the  belligerent 
powers,  asking  them  to  define  their  war 
aims.  There  was  still  hope  in  our  minds 
that  the  mutual  suspicions  between  the 
warring  powers  might  be  decreased,  and 


312 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


the  menace  of  future  German  aggression 
and  dominance  be  removed,  by  finding  a 
guaranty  of  good  faith  in  a  league  of 
nations. 

There  was  a  chance  that  by  the  crea- 
tion of  such  a  league  as  part  of  the  peace 
negotiations  the  war  could  now  be 
brought  to  an  end  before  our  nation  was 
involved.  Two  statements  issued  to  the 
press  by  our  Secretary  of  State,  upon 
the  day  the  note  was  dispatched,  threw  a 
clear  light  on  the  seriousness  with  which 
our  Government  viewed  the  crisis. 

German  Reply  Evasive 

From  this  point,  events  moved  rapidly. 
The  powers  of  the  Entente  replied  to  the 
German  peace  note.  Neutral  nations 
took  action  on  the  note  of  the  President, 
and  from  both  belligerents  replies  to  this 
note  were  soon  in  our  hands. 

The  German  reply  was  evasive — in  ac- 
cord with  their  traditional  preference  for 
diplomacy  behind  closed  doors.  Refusing 
to  state  to  the  world  their  terms,  Ger- 
many and  her  allies  merely  proposed  a 
conference.  They  adjourned  all  discus- 
sion of  any  plan  for  a  league  of  peace 
until  after  hostilities  should  end. 

The  response  of  the  Entente  Powers 
was  frank  and  in  harmony  with  our  prin- 
cipal purpose.  Many  questions  raised  in 
the  statement  of  their  aims  were  so  pure- 
ly European  in  character  as  to  have  small 
interest  for  us;  but  our  great  concern 
in  Furope  was  the  lasting  restoration  of 
pe?  je,  and  it  was  clear  that  this  was  also 
tr  ;  chief  interest  of  the  Entente  nations. 

As  to  the  wisdom  of  some  of  the  meas- 
ures they  proposed  toward  this  end,  we 
might  differ  in  opinion,  but  the  trend  of 
their  proposals  was  the  establishment  of 
just  frontiers  based  on  the  rights  of  all 
nations,  the  small  as  well  as  the  great,  to 
decide  their  own  destinies. 

The  aims  of  the  belligerents  were  now 
becoming  clear.  From  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  the  German  Government  had 
claimed  that  it  was  fighting  a  war  of 
defense.  But  the  tone  of  its  recent  pro- 
posals had  been  that  of  a  conqueror.  It 
sought  a  peace  based  on  victory. 

The  Central  Empires  aspired  to  extend 
their  domination  over  other  races.  They 
were  willing  to  make  liberal  terms  to 
any  one  of  their  enemies,  in  a  separate 


peace  which  would  free  their  hands  to 
crush  other  opponents.  But  they  were 
not  willing  to  accept  any  peace  which 
did  not,  all  fronts  considered,  leave  them 
victors  and  the  dominating  imperial 
power  of  Europe. 

The  war  aims  of  the  Entente  showed  a 
determination  to  thwart  this  ambition  of 
the  Imperial  German  Government. 
Against  the  German  peace  to  further 
German  growth  and  aggression  the 
Entente  Powers  offered  a  plan  for  a 
European  peace  that  should  make  the 
whole  Continent  secure. 

Blow  at  German  Domination 
At  this  juncture  the  President  read  his 
address  to  the  Senate,  on  Jan.  22, 
1917,  in  which  he  outlined  the  kind  of 
peace  the  United  States  of  America 
could  join  in  guaranteeing.  His  words 
were  addressed  not  only  to  the  Senate 
and  this  nation,  but  to  people  of  all 
countries: 

May  I  not  add  that  I  hope  and  believe  that 
I  am  in  effect  speaking  for  liberals  and 
friends  of  humanity  in  every  nation  and  of 
every  program  of  liberty?  I  would  fain  be- 
lieve that  I  am  speaking  for  the  silent  mass 
of  mankind  everywhere  who  have  as  yet  had 
no  place  or  opportunity  to  speak  their  real 
hearts  out  concerning  the  death  and  ruin 
they  see  to  have  come  already  upon  the  per- 
sons and  the  homes  they  hold  most  dear. 

The  address  was  a  rebuke  to  those 
who  still  cherished  dreams  of  a  world 
dominated  by  one  nation.  For  the  peace 
he  outlined  was  not  that  of  a  victorious 
Emperor,  it  was  not  the  peace  of  Caesar. 
It  was  in  behalf  of  all  the  world,  and  it 
was  a  peace  of  the  people: 

No  peace  can  last,  or  ought  to  last,  which 
does  not  recognize  and  accept  the  principle 
that  Governments  derive  all  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  that 
no  right  anywhere  exists  to  hand  people 
about  from  sovereignty  to  sovereignty  as  if 
they  were  property. 

I  am  proposing,  as  it  were,  that  the  nations 
should  with  one  accord  adopt  the  doctrine 
of  President  Monroe  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
world ;  that  no  nation  should  seek  to  extend 
its  policy  over  any  other  nation  or  people, 
but  that  every  people  should  be  left  free  to 
determine  its  own  polity,  its  own  way  of 
development,  unhindered,  unthreatened,  un- 
afraid, the  little  along  with  the  great  and 
powerful. 

I  am  proposing  that  all  nations  henceforth 
avoid  entangling  alliances  which  would  draw, 
them  into  competitions  of  power,  catch  them 


HOW  THE   WAR   CAME   TO  AMERICA 


313 


in  a  net  of  intrigue  and  selfish  rivalry  and 
disturb  their  own  affairs  with  influences  in- 
truded from  without.  There  is  no  entangling 
alliance  in  a  concert  of  power.  When  all 
unite  to  act  in  the  same  sense  and  with 
the  same  purpose,  all  act  in  the  common  in- 
terest and  are  free  to  live  their  own  lives 
under  a  common  protection. 

I  am  proposing  government  by  the  consent 
of  the  governed ;  that  freedom  of  the  seas 
which  in  international  conference  after  con- 
ference representatives  of  the  United  States 
have  urged  with  the  eloquence  of  those  who 
are  convinced  disciples  of  liberty,-  and  that 
moderation  of  armaments  which  makes  of 
armies  and  navies  a  power  for  order  merely, 
not  an  instrument  of  aggression  or  of  selfish 
violence. 

And  the  paths  of  the  sea  must,  alike  in 
Law  and  in  fact,  be  free.  The  freedom  of  the 
seas  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  peace,  equality, 
and  co-operation. 

It  is  a  problem  closely  connected  with 
the  limitation  of  naval  armament  and  the 
co-operation  of  the  navies  of  the  world  in 
keeping  the  seas  at  once  free  and  safe.  And 
the  question  of  limiting  naval  armaments 
opens  the  wider  and  perhaps  more  difficult 
question  of  the  limitation  of  armies  and  of 
all  programs  of  military  preparation.  *  *  * 
There  can  be  no  sense  of  safety  and  equality 
among  the  nations  if  great  preponderating 
armaments  are  henceforth  to  continue  here 
and  there  to  be  built  up  and  maintained. 

Mere  agreements  may  not  make  peace  se- 
cure. It  will  be  absolutely  necessary  that 
a  force  be  created  as  a  guarantor  of  the 
permanency  of  the  settlement  so  much  greater 
than  the  force  of  any  nation  now  engaged 
or  any  alliance  hitherto  formed  or  projected 
that  no  nation,  no  probable  combination  of 
nations,  could  face  or  withstand  it.  If  the 
peace  presently  to  be  made  is  to  endure,  it 
must  be  a  peace  made  secure  by  the  or- 
ganized major  force  of  mankind. 

The  Issue  Becomes  Clearer 
If  there  were  any  doubt  in  our  minds 
as  to  which  of  the  great  alliances  was  the 
more  in  sympathy  with  these  ideals,  it 
was  removed  by  the  popular  response 
abroad  to  this  address  of  the  President. 
For,  while  exception  was  taken  to  some 
parts  of  it  in  Britain  and  France,  it  was 
plain  that  so  far  as  the  peoples  of  the 
Entente  were  concerned  the  President  had 
been  amply  justified  in  stating  that  he 
spoke  for  all  forward-looking,  liberal- 
minded  men  and  women.  It  was  not  so 
in  Germany.  The  people  there  who  could 
be  reached,  and  whose  hearts  were  stirred 
by  this  enunciation  of  the  principles  of  a 
people's  peace,  were  too  few  or  too  op- 
pressed to  make  their  voices  heard  in  the 
councils  of  their  nation.    Already,  on  Jan. 


16,  1917,  unknown  to  the  people  of  Ger- 
many, Herr  Zimmermann,  their  Secre- 
tary of  Foreign  Affairs,  had  secretly  dis- 
patched a  note  to  their  Minister  in  Mex- 
ico, informing  him  of  the  German  inten- 
tion to  repudiate  the'  Sussex  pledge  and 
instructing  him  to  offer  to  the  Mexican 
Government  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  if 
Mexico  would  join  with  Japan  in  attack- 
ing the  United  States. 

In  the  new  year  of  1917,  as  through 
our  acceptance  of  world  responsibilities 
so  plainly  indicated  in  the  President's  ut- 
terances in  regard  to  a  league  of  na- 
tions we  felt  ourselves  now  drawing 
nearer  to  a  full  accord  with  the  Powers 
of  the  Entente;  and,  as  on  the  other 
hand,  we  found  ourselves  more  and  more 
outraged  at  the  German  Government's 
methods  of  conducting  warfare  and  their 
brutal  treatment  of  people  in  their  con- 
quered lands;  as  we  more  and  more  un- 
covered their  hostile  intrigues  against 
the  peace  of  the  New  World;  and,  above 
all,  as  the  sinister  and  anti-democratic 
ideals  of  their  ruling  class  became  mani- 
fest in  their  manoeuvres  for  a  peace  of 
conquest — the  Imperial  German  Govern- 
ment abruptly  threw  aside  the  mask. 

Unlimited  Submarine  Warfare 
On  the  last  day  of  January,  1917, 
Count  Bernstorff  handed  to  Mr.  Lansing 
a  note,  in  which  his  Government  an- 
nounced its  purpose  to  intensify  and  ren- 
der more  ruthless  the  operations  of  their 
submarines  at  sea,  in  a  manner  against 
which  our  Government  had  protested 
from  the  beginning.  The  German  Chan- 
cellor also  stated  before  the  Imperial 
Diet  that  the  reason  this  ruthless  pol- 
icy had  not  been  earlier  employed  was 
simply  because  the  Imperial  Government 
had  not  then  been  ready  to  act.  In 
brief,  under  the  guise  of  friendship  and 
the  cloak  of  false  promises,  it  had  been 
preparing  this  attack. 

This  was  the  direct  challenge.  There 
was  no  possible  answer  except  to  hand 
their  Ambassador  his  passports  and  so 
have  done  with  a  diplomatic  correspon- 
dence which  had  been  vitiated  from  the 
start  by  the  often  proved  bad  faith  of 
the  Imperial  Government. 

On  the   same   day,  Feb.   3,   1917,   the 


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THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


President  addressed  both  houses  of  our 
Congress  and  announced  the  complete 
severance  of  our  relations  with  Ger- 
many. The  reluctance  with  which  he 
took  this  step  was  evident  in  every  word. 
But  diplomacy  had  failed,  and  it  would 
have  been  the  hollowest  pretense  to 
maintain  relations.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  he  made  it  plain  that  he  did 
not  regard  this  act  as  tantamount  to  a 
declaration  of  war.  Here  for  the  first 
time  the  President  made  his  sharp  dis- 
tinction between  government  and  people 
in  undemocratic  lands: 

"  We  are  the  sincere  friends  of  the 
German  people,"  he  said,  "  and  earnestly 
desire  to  remain  at  peace  with  the 
Government  which  speaks  for  them. 
*  *  *  God  grant  we  may  not  be  chal- 
lenged by  acts  of  willful  injustice  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  of  Germany." 

In  this  address  of  the  President,  and 
in  its  indorsement  by  the  Senate,  there 
was  a  solemn  warning;  for  we  still  had 
hope  that  the  German  Government  might 
hesitate  to  drive  us  to  war.  But  it  was 
soon  evident  that  our  warning  had  fallen 
on  deaf  ears.  The  tortuous  ways  and 
means  of  German  official  diplomacy  were 
clearly  shown  in  the  negotiations  opened 
by  them  through  the  Swiss  Legation  on 
the  10th  of  February.  In  no  word  of 
their  proposals  did  the  German  Govern- 
ment meet  the  real  issue  between  us. 
And  our  State  Department  replied  that 
no  minor  negotiations  could  be  enter- 
tained until  the  main  issue  had  been  met 
by  the  withdrawal  of  the  submarine 
order. 

The  Armed  Neutrality  Phase 
By  the  1st  of  March  it  had  become 
plain  that  the  Imperial  Government,  un- 
restrained by  the  warning  in  the  Presi- 
dent's address  to  Congress  on  Feb.  3,  was 
determined  to  make  good  its  threat.  The 
President  then  again  appeared  before 
Congress  to  report  the  development  of 
the  crisis  and  to  ask  the  approval  of  the 
representatives  of  the  nation  for  the 
course  of  armed  neutrality  upon  which, 
under  his  constitutional  authority,  he  had 
now  determined.  More  than  500  of  the 
531  members  of  the  two  houses  of  Con- 
gress showed  themselves  ready  and  anx- 


ious to  act;  and  the  armed  neutrality 
declaration  would  have  been  accepted  if 
it  had  not  been  for  the  legal  death  of  the 
Sixty-fourth  Congress  on  March  4. 

No  "  overt "  act,  however,  was  ordered 
by  our  Government  until  Count  Bern- 
storff  had  reached  Berlin  and  Mr.  Gerard 
was  in  Washington.  For  the  German 
Ambassador  on  his  departure  had 
begged  that  no  irrevocable  decision 
should  be  taken  until  he  had  had  the 
chance  to  make  one  final  plea  for  peace 
to  his  sovereign.  We  do  not  know  the 
nature  of  his  report  to  the  Kaiser;  we 
know  only  that,  even  if  he  kept  his 
pledge  and  urged  an  eleventh-hour  rev- 
ocation of  the  submarine  order,  he  was 
unable  to  sway  the  policy  of  the  Im- 
perial Government. 

And  so,  having  exhausted  every  re- 
source of  patience,  our  Government  on 
the  12th  of  March  finally  issued  orders 
to  place  armed  guards  on  our  merchant 
ships. 

American  Aloofness  Ended 
With  the  definite  break  in  diplomatic 
relations  there  vanished  the  last  vestige 
of  cordiality  toward  the  Government  of 
Germany.  Our  attitude  was  now  to 
change.  So  long  as  we  had  maintained  a 
strict  neutrality  in  the  war,  for  the 
reason  that  circumstances  might  arise  in 
which  Europe  would  have  need  of  an 
impartial  mediator,  for  us  to  have  given 
official  heed  to  the  accusations  of  either 
party  would  have  been  to  prejudge  the 
case  before  all  the  evidence  was  in. 

But  now  at  last,  with  the  breaking  of 
friendly  relations  with  the  German  Gov- 
ernment, we  were  relieved  of  the  op- 
pressive duty  of  endeavoring  to  maintain 
a  judicial  detachment  from  the  rights 
and  wrongs  involved  in  the  war.  We  were 
no  longer  the  outside  observers  striving 
to  hold  an  even  balance  of  judgment  be- 
tween disputants.  One  party  by  direct 
attack  upon  our  rights  and  liberties  was 
forcing  us  into  the  conflict.  And,  much 
as  we  had  hoped  to  keep  out  of  the  fray, 
it  was  no  little  relief  to  be  free  at  last 
from  that  reserve  which  is  expected  of  a 
judge. 

Much  evidence  had  been  presented  to 
us  of  things  so  abhorrent  to  our  ideas  of 


HOW   THE    WAR   CAME    TO   AMERICA 


315 


humanity  that  they  had  seemed  incredi- 
ble, things  we  had  been  loath  to  believe, 
and  with  heavy  hearts  we  had  sought  to 
reserve  our  judgment.  But  with  the 
breaking  of  relations  with  the  Govern- 
ment of  Germany  that  duty  at  last  was 
ended.  The  perfidy  of  that  Government 
in  its  dealings  with  this  nation  relieved 
us  of  the  necessity  of  striving  to  give 
them  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  regard 
to  their  crimes  abroad.  The  Government 
which  under  cover  of  profuse  professions 
of  friendship  had  tried  to  embroil  us  in 
war  with  Mexico  and  Japan  could  not  ex- 
pect us  to  believe  in  its  good  faith  in 
other  matters.  The  men  whose  paid 
agents  dynamited  our  factories  here  were 
capable  of  the  infamies  reported  against 
them  over  the  sea.  Their  Government's 
protestations,  that  their  purpose  was  self- 
defense  and  the  freeing  of  small  nations, 
fell  like  a  house  of  cards  before  the  reve- 
lation of  their  "  peace  terms." 

And  judging  the  German  Government 
now  in  the  light  of  our  own  experience 
through  the  long  and  patient  years  of  our 
honest  attempt  to  keep  the  peace,  we 
could  see  the  great  autocracy  and  read 
her  record  through  the  war.  And  we 
found  that  record  damnable..  Beginning 
long  before  the  war  in  Prussian  opposi- 
tion to  every  effort  that  was  made  by 
other  nations  and  our  own  to  do  away 
with  warfare,  the  story  of  the  autocracy 
has  been  one  of  vast  preparations  for  war 
combined  with  an  attitude  of  arrogant 
intolerance  toward  all  other  points  of 
view,  all  other  systems  of  governments, 
all  other  hopes  and  dreams  of  men. 

Germany's  Criminal  Record 
With  a  fanatical  faith  in  the  destiny 
of  German  Kultur  as  the  system  that 
must  rule  the  world,  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment's actions  have  through  years  of 
boasting,  double  dealing,  and  deceit 
tended  toward  aggression  upon  the  rights 
of  others.  And,  if  there  still  be  any  doubt 
as  to  which  nation  began  this  war,  there 
can  be  no  uncertainty  as  to  which  one 
was  most  prepared,  most  exultant  at  the 
chance,  and  ready  instantly  to  march 
upon  other  nations — even  those  who  had 
given  no  offense. 
The  wholesale  depredations  and  hideous 


atrocities  in  Belgium  and  in  Serbia  were 
doubtless  part  and  parcel  with  the  Im- 
perial Government's  purpose  to  terrorize 
small  nations  into  abject  submission  for 
generations  to  come.  But  in  this  the 
autocracy  has  been  blind.  For  its  record 
in  those  countries,  and  in  Poland  and  in 
Northern  France,  has  given  not  only  to 
the  Allies  but  to  liberal  peoples  through- 
out the  world  the  conviction  that  this 
menace  to  human  liberties  everywhere 
must  be  utterly  shorn  of  its  power  for 
harm. 

For  the  evil  it  has  effected  has  ranged 
far  out  of  Europe — out  upon  the  open 
seas,  where  its  submarines  in  defiance  of 
law  and  the  concepts  of  humanity  have 
blown  up  neutral  vessels  and  covered  the- 
waves  with  the  dead  and  the  dying,  men 
and  women  and  children  alike.  Its  agents 
have  conspired  against  the  peace  of  neu- 
tral nations  everywhere,  sowing  the  seeds 
of  dissension,  ceaselessly  endeavoring  by 
tortuous  methods  of  deceit,  of  bribery, 
false  promises,  and  intimidation  to  stir 
up  brother  nations  one  against  the  other, 
in  order  that  the  liberal  world  might  not 
be  able  to  unite,  in  order  that  the  autoc- 
racy might  emerge  triumphant  from  the 
war. 

All  this  we  know  from  our  own  ex- 
perience with  the  Imperial  Government. 
As  they  have  dealt  with  Europe,  so  they 
have  dealt  with  us  and  with  all  man- 
kind. And  so  out  of  these  years  the 
conviction  has  grown  that  until  the  Ger- 
man Nation  is  divested  of  such  rulers  de- 
mocracy cannot  be  safe. 

Russia  Removes  the  Last  Doubt 

There  remained  but  one  element  to 
confuse  the  issue.  One  other  great  au- 
tocracy, the  Government  of  the  Russian 
Czar,  had  long  been  hostile  to  free  insti- 
tutions; it  had  been  a  stronghold  of  tyr- 
ranies  reaching  far  back  into  the  past, 
and  Jts  presence  among  the  Allies  had 
seemed  to  be  in  disaccord  with  the  great 
liberal  principles  they  were  upholding  in 
this  war.  Russia  had  been  a  source  of 
doubt.  Repeatedly  during  the  conflict 
liberal  Europe  had  been  startled  by  the 
news  of  secret  accord  between  the  Kaiser 
and  the  Czar. 

But  now  at  this  crucial  time  for  our 


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THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


nation,  on  the  eve  of  our  entrance  into 
the  war,  the  free  men  of  all  the  world 
were  thrilled  and  heartened  by  the  news 
that  the  people  of  Russia  had  risen  to 
throw  off  their  Government  and  found 
a  new  democracy;  and  the  torch  of  free- 
dom in  Russia  lit  up  the  last  dark  phases 
of  the  situation  abroad.  Here,  indeed, 
was  a  fit  partner  for  the  League  of 
Honor.  The  conviction  was  finally 
crystallized  in  American  minds  and 
hearts  that  this  war  across  the  sea  was 
no  mere  conflict  between  dynasties,  but 
a  stupendous  civil  war  of  all  the  world; 
a  new  campaign  in  the  age-old  war,  the 
prize  of  which  is  liberty.  Here,  at  last, 
was  a  struggle  in  which  all  who  love 
freedom  have  a  stake.  Further  neutral- 
ity on  our  part  would  have  been  a  crime 
against  our  ancestors,  who  had  given 
their  lives  that  we  might  be  free. 

"  The  world  must  be  made  safe  for 
democracy." 

State  of  War  Declared 
On  the  2d  of  April,  1917,  the  President 
read  to  the  new  Congress  his  message,  in 
which  he  asked  the  Representatives  of 
the  nation  to  declare  the  existence  of  a 
state  of  war,  and  in  the  early  hours  of 


the  6th  of  April  the  House  by  an  over- 
whelming vote  accepted  the  joint  reso- 
lution which  had  already  passed  the  Sen- 
ate: 

Whereas,  The  Imperial  German  Government 
has  committed  repeated  acts  of  war  against 
the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America:    Therefore  be  it 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the 
state  of  war  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Imperial  German  Government  whi~h  has 
thus  been  thrust  upon  the  United  States  is 
hereby  formally  declared ;  and  that  the  Presi- 
dent be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and 
directed  to  employ  the  entire  naval  and 
military  forces  of  the  United  States  and 
the  resources,  of  the  Government  to  carry 
on  the  war  against  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Government,  and  to  bring  the  conflict 
to  a  successful  termination  all  the  resources 
of  the  country  are  hereby  pledged  by  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Neutrality  was  a  thing  of  the  past. 
The  time  had  come  when  the  President's 
proud  prophecy  was  fulfilled:' 

There  will  come  that  day  when  the  world 
will  say,  "  This  America  that  we  thought 
was  full  of  a  multitude  of  contrary  counsels 
now  speaks  with  the  great  volume  of  the 
heart's  accord,  and  that  great  heart  of 
America  has  behind  it  the  supreme  moral 
force  of  righteousness  and  hope  and  the 
liberty  of  mankind. 


To  the  United  States  of  America 


By   ROBERT    BRIDGES 
British  Poet  Laureate 


Brothers  in  blood!     They  who  this  wrong  began 
To  wreck  our  commonwealth,  will  rue  the  day 
When  first  they  challenged  freemen  to  the  fray, 
And  with  the  Briton  dared  the  American. 
Now  are  we  pledged  to  win  the  Rights  of  man ; 
Labor  and  Justice  now  shall  have  their  way, 
And  in  a  League  of  Peace — God  grant  we  may- 
Transform  the  earth,  not  patch  up  the  old  plan. 

Sure  is  our  hope  since  he  who  led  your  nation 
Spoke  for  mankind,  and  ye  arose  in  awe 
Of  that  high  call  to  work  the  world's  salvation ; 
Clearing  your  minds  of  all  estranging  blindness 
In  the  vision  of  Beauty  and  the  Spirit's  law, 
Freedom  and  Honor  and  sweet  Loving  kindness. 
April  30,  1917. 


Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland,  Who  Has  Been  Recommended 
by  the  British  Government  as  Chairman  of  the  Conven- 
tion Called  to  Settle  the  Question  of  Irish  Home  Rule. 


(Photo  American  Press  Association) 


iiiiiiiiiuiin  •••••■• 


if 


m^^^^L— 


CANADIAN  LEADERS  IN  THE  WAR 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN 

Premier  and   Leader  in   the 

Fight  for  Conscription. 

(Photo    Campbell  Studios.) 


SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER 
Ex-Premier    and    Chief    Op- 
ponent of  Cbnscription. 


W.   J.   HANNA 
'f\    Recently      Appointed      Food 
Controller. 

(Photo  Press  Illustrating  Service.) 


SIR   ARTHUR   CURRIE 

Commander  in  Chief  of  the 

Canadian  Corps  in  France. 

(Photo  Preaa  Illustrating  Service. ) 


■J^^M'^M 


Why  We  Entered  the  Great  War 


Address  by  William  Howard  Taft 

Former  President  of  the  United  States 


[Delivered    at    the    121st    Commencement    Efccercises    of    Union    College,    Schenectady, 

N.    Y.,    June    13,    1917] 


Mr.  Taft  first  summarized  the  attacks 
on  our  shipping  and  the  plots  thai  led  up 
to  our  entry  into  the  war,  and  then  con- 
tinued: 

NOW,  was  there  any  other  alterna- 
tive for  us  than  to  declare  war  ? 
I  would  like  to  begin  with  the 
fundamentals.  That  depends 
upon  what  in  fact  and  in  law  the  act 
of  Germany  was.  What  was  the  law? 
It  is  what  is  called  international  law; 
that  is,  a  rule  of  conduct  adopted  by  the 
acquiescence  of  all  nations,  of  one  nation 
toward  another,  both  in  peace  and  in 
war.  The  branch  of  international  law 
in  which  we  are  concerned  here  is  per- 
haps the  most  definitely  fixed  of  any 
branch  of  that  jurisprudence,  which  in 
some  respects  is  indefinite.  It  is  the 
branch  that  governs  the  capture  of  com- 
mercial vessels  at  sea.  For  a  hundred 
years  there  haa  been  very  little  doubt 
about  the  rules  that  control  that  field 
of  jurisprudence.  During  the  Napoleonic 
wars  a  great  many  commercial  vessels 
were  captured  and  in  the  procedure  in- 
stituted they  had  to  be  brought  into  the 
domestic  courts  of  prize  where  these 
rules  were  laid  down.  At  the  same  time 
on  our  own  side  of  the  ocean  our  Su- 
preme Court  settled  many  of  the  cases. 
In  our  civil  war,  in  the  war  between 
France  and  Germany,  similar  conditions 
were  made.  So  that  when  we  speak  of 
that  law  we  are  speaking  of  a  law  that 
has  some  similitude  to  our  domestic  law. 

In  the  first  place,  a  belligerent — one 
of  those  engaged  in  war  upon  the  high 
seas — may  seize  a  commercial  vessel  of 
its  enemy,  may  confiscate  the  vessel  and 
its  cargo,  and,  if  necessity  requires,  may 
sink  or  burn  it.  The  second  is  that  a 
neutral  vessel  may  be  seized  by  a  bel- 
ligerent vessel  upon  the  high  seas  and 
examined  to  see  whether  that  neutral 
vessel    is    carrying    contraband    to    the 


enemy  of  the  captor,  and  if  so,  the  con- 
traband may  be  confiscated.  Third,  a 
belligerent  vessel  may  blockade  a  port 
of  its  enemy.  It  must  blockade  it  with 
visible  vessels  and  a  knowledge  to  the 
world  that  a  blockade  exists.  Even  if  a 
neutral  vessel  enter  this  blockade  it  may 
be  seized  by  the  belligerent  and  the 
cargo  confiscated. 

These  are  the  three  rules  that  cover 
the  whole  field  of  capture  of  commercial 
vessels.  But  accompanying  these  rules 
is  the  limitation  that  in  taking  a  com- 
mercial vessel  which  makes  no  response 
when  hailed,  which  does  not  attempt  to 
escape  under  the  circumstances  I  have 
described,  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the 
captor  to  see  to  it  that  the  officers,  the 
crew,  and  the  passengers,  all  of  the 
ship's  company,  shall  be  put  in  a  safe 
place.  The  captor  may,  as  I  say,  sink 
or  burn  the  vessel  at  the  time  or  it 
may  take  it  into  port  and  have  it'  ad- 
judged a  prize,  but  in  either  case  the 
captor  is  bound  to  secure  the  lives  of 
those  who  are  upon  that  commercial 
vessel. 

Deliberate  Violations 

.  Germany  has  violated  that  rule.  It  has 
deliberately  caused  the  death  of  men, 
women  and  children  on  the  high  seas, 
under  the  American  flag,  and  where  they 
had  a  right  to  be.  Killing  against  the 
law  with  deliberation  is  murder,  and 
Germany  has  been  guilty  of  murder  of 
200  of  our  fellow-citizens,  innocent  of 
any  offense,  national  or  international. 

Now,  what  is  our  duty  under  these 
circumstances?  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  is  interpreted  by  the 
Supreme  Court  to  say  the  duty  of  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  is  to  render 
allegiance,  to  do  service,  to  pay  taxes, 
and  support  the  Government,  and  the 
corresponding  duty  of  the  United  States 


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THE    NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


as  a  Government  is  to  protect  the  rights 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  home 
and  abroad.  Because  one  citizen  of  the 
United  States  puts  himself  under  the 
lawful  jurisdiction  of  another  country, 
the  absolute  right  of  protection  is  quali- 
fied by  his  voluntary  submission  to  an- 
other jurisdiction.  The  necessity  for 
protection  is  not  entirely  taken  away, 
but  it  is  qualified.  When  a  man  is  on  an 
American  deck  and  under  the  American 
flag,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  he  is 
as  much  entitled  to  protection  from  the 
unlawful  invasion  of  a  foreign  power  as 
if  he  stood  on  the  soil  of  the  United 
States. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  murder  of 
these  200  citizens  and  of  the  announce- 
ment of  a  policy  to  continue  these  mur- 
ders, what  alternative  was  there  left 
open  other  than  a  declaration  of  war 
to  the  United  States?  Suppose  this  had 
been  Guatemala  which  had  sunk  one  of 
our  vessels  and  had  sent  ten  of  our 
sailors  to  the  bottom?  How  many  hours 
do  you  think  it  would  be  before  the 
President  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
would  send  a  battleship  down  to  Guate- 
mala and  be  thundering  at  the  ports  of 
that  republic  and  demanding  restitution, 
demanding  a  promise  of  conduct  here- 
after, demanding  damages  for  what  had 
been  done,  and  on  failure  to  answer 
promptly,  to  begin  a  bombardment  ?  Even 
pacifists  would  have  justified  that. 

Difficult  Situations 
Now,  what  is  the  difference  between 
that  situation  and  this?  None?  Yes. 
A  very  great  difference.  The  nation  that 
has  done  this  is  the  greatest  military  na- 
tion in  the  world.  It  is  a  nation  with, 
which,  if  we  engage,  we  are  likely  to  lose, 
it  may  be,  a  million  men,  and  all  that  to 
resent  the  sacrifice  of  only  200  souls. 
That,  it  is  said,  is  a  trivial  discrepancy. 
Is  it?  It  is  if  you  look  at  it  from  a 
grossly  material  and  mathematical 
standpoint,  but  it  is  not  if  you  under- 
stand what  it  means  to  consent  to  the 
murder  of  200  of  our  citizens  because 
there  is  a  powerful  nation  you  have  to 
meet  and  overcome  in  order  to  vindicate 
the  rights  of  our  citizens.  It  means  sub- 
mission  to   the   domination    of    another 


power;  it  means  giving  up  the  independ- 
ence for  which  we  fought  in  1776  and 
which  we  made  sacrifices  to  maintain  in 
1861. 

There  was  great  criticism  of  the  Ad- 
ministration because  we  did  not  immedi- 
ately act  as  we  now  have  acted.  I  am 
not  going  into  the  pros  and  cons  of  that 
discussion.  It  suffices  to  say  that  the 
self-restraint,  the  deliberation,  the  toler- 
ance, if  you  choose,  which  characterized 
that  policy,  has  had  this  great  and  good 
effect.  It  has  shown  to  the  world,  and  it 
has  shown  to  our  people  that  in  entering 
this  war  we  have  done  it  with  the  ut- 
most reluctance,  and  in  entering  the 
war  we  are  entirely  void  of  offense. 
It  has  shown  that  we  have  been  forced 
in  and  that  the  situation  has  been  such 
that  no  self-respecting  nation,  no  nation 
which  appreciates  what  a  government  is 
formed  for,  could  avoid  doing  what  we 
are  doing  when  the  rights  of  our  citizens, 
the  preservation  of  which  is  the  chief 
object  of  government,  have  been  defiantly 
violated  by  a  power  that  rests  for  its 
right  upon  might. 

Wh  We  Are  in  War 
That  is  why  we  are  in.  There  are  many 
of  us  who  think,  "  for  my  country,  right 
or  wrong;  may  she  always  be  right,  but 
always  for  my  country."  I  do  not  care  to 
discuss  that  philosophy,  but  I  do  think  it 
important  we  should  realize  and  take  it 
home  to  our  souls  we  do  not  need  that 
kind  of  philosophy  in  fighting  out  the 
fight  we  are  to  fight  now.  In  1776  we 
were  fighting  for  our  own  independence 
and  the  development  of  our  future.  In 
1861  we  tried  to  eliminate  that  living  lie 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which 
declared  that  "  all  men  are  born  free  and 
equal."  It  took  us  four  years  of  a  terri- 
ble struggle  to  demonstrate  to  the  world 
what  had  been  doubted.  We  demonstrat- 
ed to  the  world  that  we  could  make  sac- 
rifices of  lives  and  treasure  for  the  main- 
tenance of  a  moral  principle  and  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  nation.  We  showed  in  the 
words  of  Lincoln,  that  "  the  rule  of  the 
people  should  not  perish  from  the  earth." 
And  then  we  went  on.  and  increased 
from  30,000,000  to  100,000,000  people, 
and  we   created   a    material     expansion 


WHY   WE  ENTERED    THE   GREAT   WAR 


319 


which  has  given  us  greater  wealth  thanu 
any  other  country.  We  have  had  com- 
fort and  luxury.  Now  the  question  was 
when  this  issue  came  on  whether  in  that 
change  from  30,000,000  to  100,000,000, 
from  comparative  wealth  to  great  wealth, 
we  had  lost  the  moral  spirit  we  had  be- 
fore shown,  we  had  become  so  enervated 
by  our  success  that  we  felt  it  was  not 
wise  to  risk  the  lives  of  those  dear  to  us, 
to  risk  the  destruction  that  war  must 
bring  in  order  to  assert  our  rights.  Now 
we  have  stepped  to  the  forefront  of  na- 
tions, and  they  look  to  us. 

Before  we  came  into  this  fight  Russia 
had  become  a  democracy,  and  we  find 
ourselves  fighting  shoulder  to  shoulder 
with  the  democracies  of  the  world.  We 
find  arrayed  against  us*  the  military  dy- 
nasties of  the  world,  Germany,  Austria, 
and  Turkey.  Of  course,  people  say  Eng- 
land has  a  King;  so  has  Italy  and  other 
countries  that  are  fighting  on  our  side. 
A  democracy  is  a  country  ruled  by  the 
people.  The  King  of  England  and  the 
King  of  Italy  haven't  any  more  influence 
over  the  policies  of  their  country  than  an 
ex-President. 

Form  Not  Our  Business 

The  issue  at  present  is  drawn  between 
the  democracies  of  the  world  and  the 
military  dynasties,  and  people  like  to 
characterize  that  as  the  issue.  It  is  and 
it  isn't.  What  I  mean  by  that  is:  The 
United  States  is  not  a  knight-errant 
country  going  about  to  independent  peo- 
ple and  saying,  "  We  do  not  like  your 
form  of  government,  we  have  tried  our 
own  popular  government  and  we  think  it 
is  better  for  you  to  take  it,  and  you  have 
got  to  take  it."  That  is  a  very  unrea- 
sonable position,  in  so  far  as  that  form  of 
government  deals  with  only  their  domes- 
tic pursuits  and  their  domestic  happiness. 
If  they  like  to  have  a  Czar,  if  they  prefer 
it,  why,  it  isn't  for  us  to  take  away  their 
freedom  of  will.  Otherwise  we  shall  go 
back  to  the  logic  of  the  Inquisition,  when 
they  burned  people  in  this  world  so  that 
they  might  not  burn  in  the  next. 

But  when  their  form  of  government  in- 
volves a  policy  which  does  not  confine  its 
opinions  to  the  people  who  make  the  gov- 
ernment or   support  it,  but  becomes  a 


visible  policy  against  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  rest  of  the  world  fam- 
ily, we  have  a  right  and  a  duty,  standing 
with  other  nations  as  we  do,  to  see  to  it 
that  such  a  foreign  policy  is  stopped  and 
stamped  out  forever. 

I  will  not  minimize  or  confuse.  Ger- 
many is  not  exhausted.  That  machine 
which  it  has  been  creating  for  fifty  years 
is  a  wonderful  machine.  *  *  *  It  did 
not  interfere  with  Austria  until  Austria 
showed  some  signs  of  coming  into  a  con- 
ference, and  then  it  said  to  Austria, 
"  This  is  the  time  to  strike."  It  had  been 
creating  this  force  for  fifty  years,  and 
now  seemed  the  time  to  make  it  most  ef- 
fective.    *     *     * 

This  militarism  is  a  cancer  which  must 
be  cut  out  by  a  surgical  operation.  It 
shows  its  malignant  character  in  the  ut- 
ter disregard  of  the  rules  of  war.  It 
shows  itself  in  the  violation  of  Belgium, 
in  the  policy  of  frightfulness  in  order  to 
subjugate  Belgium;  in  the  violation  of 
The  Hague  treaties,  which  forbid  the 
dropping  of  explosives  out  of  aerial  craft, 
the  planting  of  mines,  the  use  of  asphyx- 
iating gases  and  flames,  all  spread  out  in 
The  Hague  treaties,  and  all  violated 
promptly  by  this  German  military  ma- 
chine. 

It  is  therefore  a  cancer  which  would 
absorb  the  wholesome  life  of  the  world 
unless  it  is  cut  out,  and  necessitates  suf- 
fering and  pain  in  ridding  the  world  of  it. 
There  are  other  evidences  of  divine  plan. 
Think  of  the  battle  of  the  Marne,  where 
this  matchless  machine  began  to  find 
France  and  England  unprepared,  and  they 
turned  at  the  Marne  when  the  German 
hosts  with  their  guns  were  heard  in  Paris, 
and  by  mere  moral  force  they  turned 
these  German  legions  back.  Think  of 
the  blindness  of  this  absorption  of  gross 
materialism  as  brought  into  the  intellect 
of  the  Germans. 

Doril  Understand  Others 

They  cannot  understand  other  people. 
They  cannot  recognize  a  moral  force  that 
binds  people  together  in  a  cause.  They 
said  England  will  not  stand  by  Belgium; 
it  has  trouble  with  Ireland;  they  said 
France  is  torn  with  Socialism  and  it  is  a 
decadent  nation.    In  both  cases  they  made 


S20 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES  CURRENT   HISTORY 


blunders.  They  said  as  regards  Canada, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  South 
Africa,  England  has  no  control  over  them 
by  force;  they  are  far  removed  from  it 
and  will  follow  the  path  of  materialism 
and  gain;  they  will  follow  where  profit 
determines;  they  will  not  be  held.  And 
yet,  nothing  has  been  grander  than  this 
light  bond  which  unites  England  with 
these  independent  dependencies,  and  they 
have  rallied  to  the  support  of  the  mother 
country,  responded  out  of  gratitude  for 
the  liberty  that  it  had  conferred  upon 
them,  and  they  have  made  sacrifices 
which  call  for  our  profound  admiration. 
Think  of  it.  Canada  has  furnished  up- 
ward of  400,000  men.  Nearly  every  home 
in  English  Canada  is  mourning — their 
best  and  most  beloved.  If  we  furnish  as 
many  men  as  they  have  for  this  war  our 
armies  will  reach  6,500,000  men. 

If  our  contributions  to  the  Red  Cross, 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  other  voluntary  in- 
dividual contributions,  in  addition  to 
taxes,  reach  the  figures  which  they  have 
in  Canada,  we  shall  contribute  $14  to 
$15  per  capita. 

My  friends,  those  are  the  mistakes  or 
blunders  that  Germany  has  made,  self- 
imposed  or  imposed  by  a  definite  rule 
that  when  you  subject  yourself  to  grossly 
material  considerations  you  lose  the 
higher  mental  and  spiritual  forces  which 
enable  you  to  conquer  in  the  end. 

Now,  the  last  blunder  of  all.  In  its 
determination  to  depend  upon  the  devilish 


ingenuity  of  science  in  the  development 
of  war,  the  Germans  said:  "  We  can 
starve  England  out  with  this  submarine.'' 
When  it  saw  us  it  said,  "  There  is  a 
tango-loving  nation,  too  fat  to  fight,  too 
lazy  to  go  into  the  trenches,"  and  they 
have  deliberately  forced  us  into  the 
ranks  of  their  enemies.  Think  of  it. 
They  have  been  fighting  for  nearly 
three  years.  The  exhaustion  that  has 
come  to  them  has  had  no  comparison  in 
history.  The  war  must  be  determined 
by  the  weight  of  wealth  and  resources 
and  the  courageous  men  which  can  be 
gathered  together  to  fight  it  out  and  be 
sure  of  a  victorious  battle  in  the  end. 
And  yet,  in  the  face  of  that  fact,  we 
should  impress  on  them  that  they  delib- 
erately forced  into  the  ranks  of  their  en- 
emies the  nation  which  can  furnish  more 
wealth,  more  resources,  more  equipment, 
and  more  men  than  any  other  nation  in 
the  world. 

My  friends,  we  are  going  to  make 
these  sacrifices.  We  do  not  know  what 
they  are  yet,  and  we  shall  not  know 
until  we  see  the  bulletins.  The  English 
people  watched  the  bulletins  for  May 
and  saw  a  loss  of  114,000  in  the  British 
Army;  26,000  privates  killed  and  16,000 
officers  killed  in  action;  76,000  privates 
wounded,  and  3,600  officers  wounded 
and  7,000  missing.  When  we  watch  a  re- 
port like  this,  then  it  will  come  home  to 
us  in  our  souls  and  we  shall  understand 
the  sacrifice  we  have  to  make. 


Wartime  Life  in  European  Capitals 

Vienna — June,  1917 
By   a  Viennese  Sojourner  at  Berne 


VENN  A  hears  little  of  the  actual 
fighting.  The  city  is  full  of  peo- 
ple who  seem  bent  on  enjoyment, 
the  cafes — where  conversation 
about  the  war  is  taboo — are  full  of  peo- 
ple from  morning  till  night,  the  restau- 
rants, where  everything  except  bread  and 
potatoes  can  be  obtained,  if  one's  purse  is 
long  enough,  are  crowded;  the  opera  and 
the  theatres  have  nearly  every  seat 
booked  in  advance  and  the  cinemas  are 
filled  at  every  performance.  In  the  fash- 
ionable streets  of  the  city  one  cannot  help 
remarking  the  extraordinary  number  of 
officers  of  all  ranks  and  of  both  services, 
who  appear  to  have  no  other  duties  than 
to  make  themselves  agreeable  to  ladies. 
Both  morning  and  afternoon  the  pave- 
ments are  so  crowded  that  progress  is  a 
matter  of  the  utmost  difficulty.  On  all 
sides  are  fine  shops  full  of  the  latest 
fashions  which  find  purchasers  even  at 
the  prevailing  exorbitant  prices.  Every- 
thing is  up  to  date  and  of  the  best,  but 
only  within  the  reach  of  the  rich. 

If  one  makes  inquiries  below  the  sur- 
face, however,  one  finds  that  housekeep- 
ing, even  on  the  most  modest  scale,  is 
almost  an  impossibility,  owing  to  the  dif- 
ficulty of  obtaining  supplies.  The  rich 
solve  this  difficulty  by  giving  up  all  idea 
of  catering  for  themselves  and  going  to  a 
good  restaurant  for  most  of  their  meals, 
but  to  those  of  moderate  or  small  income 
the  food  problem  is  an  ever-increasing 
anxiety.  The  question  is  no  longer 
"  What  shall  I  buy?  "  but  "  What  can  I 
buy?"  for  it  is  impossible  to  procure 
many  articles  which  weije  formerly  re- 
garded as  necessaries. 

No  longer  can  a  customer,  unless  he 
can  afford  to  pay  a  fancy  price,  choose  a 
piece  of  meat;  he  must  be  thankful  for 
anything  he  can  get.  Bread  is  not  to  be 
bought  except  with  a  bread  card  at  a  par- 
ticular shop  in  the  district  in  which  the 
purchaser  dwells,  and  very  often  he  can- 
not get  bread  at  all.  The  supply  of  po- 
tatoes is  limited  to  one  pound  per  person 


weekly,  but  for  some  weeks  recently  there 
were  none  on  the  market.  Milk  is  so 
scarce  that  no  person  can  have  more 
than  about  one-fifth  of  a  pint  daily.  Such 
things  as  coffee,  butter,  fat,  macaroni, 
rice,  petroleum,  soap,  and  leather  are  not 
to  be  bought.  Cards  are  the  order  of 
the  day — bread  cards,  fat  cards,  sugar 
cards,  coffee  cards — indeed,  meat  is  about 
the  only  article  of  food  for  which  a  card 
is  not  necessary.  This  is  because  it  was 
foun&ahat  the  demand  for  meat  was  not 
increasing,  presumably  on  account  of  its 
prohibitive  price.  But  as  one  Viennese 
plaintively  remarked  to  my  informant: 
"  What  earthly  use  are  the  cards  to  me  if 
I  cannot  procure  the  articles  to  which 
they  are  supposed  to  entitle  me?  " 

The  shops  are  full  of  substitutes  and 
prices  have  gone  up  enormously — in  many 
cases  as  much  as  300  or  400  per  cent.  A 
pair  of  men's  boots  of  medium  quality 
costs  85  kroner,  (at  pre-war  rates,  $17.50,) 
a  lounge  suit  300  kroner  ($62.50)  and 
more ;  a  small  box  of  sardines  4.50  kroner, 
(90  cents.)  Meat  ranges  from  6  kroner 
($1.25)  to  14  kroner  ($2.75)  per  kilo- 
gram, (2.2  lbs.)  Danish  butter  is  14 
kroner  per  kilogram,  and  one  candle  (car- 
riage size)  costs  70  or  80  hellers,  (16 
cents.)  Cheese  costs  5  kroner  ($1.04)  to 
7  kroner  ($1.37)  per  kilogram,  and  every- 
thing else  is  in  proportion. 

The  poor  people  are  not  noticeable  in 
the  streets.  They  are  only  heard  of  by 
chance,  as  it  were,  and  their  distress  and 
privations  during  the  last  Winter,  owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  coal  and  coke  and  the 
price  of  food,  were  the  cause  of  nume- 
rous deaths  from  "  hunger-typhus."  At- 
tempts are  now  being  made  to  relieve 
their  wants  and  cheap  meat  is  being  sup- 
plied to  the  really  needy;  but  however 
cheap  this  meat  may  be,  it  is  not  of  much 
use  if  the  money  is  not  forthcoming  to 
pay  for  it. 

In  the  country  life  is  strenuous.  The 
villages  and  small  towns  are  peopled  by 


?>22 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


old  men,  women,  and  children,  for  every 
man  and  youth  capable  of  holding  a 
weapon  has  been  drafted  into  the  army. 
Day  in  and  day  out,  from  early  dawn  till 
late  in  the  evening,  the  entire  population 
of  a  village  may  be  seen  working  on  the 
land  trying  to  raise  a  crop  sufficient  for 
their  needs  during  the  coming  year,  after 
a  very  large  portion  of  the  harvest  has 
been  commandeered  by  the  Government 
to  feed  the  army — and  Vienna.  Even  in 
peace  time  the  peasant  lives  frugally,  but 
now  he  has  to  be  content  with  his  piece  of 
black  bread,  which  he  soaks  in  his  substi- 
tute for  coffee,  and  his  knodel,  (a  kind 
of  dumpling,)  and  he  may  consider 
himself  very  fortunate  if  he  can  add 
eggs  from  his  own  fowls  and  potatoes 
from  his  own  patch  of  ground.  Meat  he 
very  seldom  tastes,  as  he  cannot  afford 
to  buy  it,  and  he  has  also  to  do  without 
many  articles,  as  they  are  unobtainable 
in  the  shops. 

Hopes  for  Peace 

The  attitude  of  the  people  toward  the 
war  may  be  described  as  one  of  total  in- 
difference— except  in  regard  to  its  dura- 
tion. The  only  desire  of  the  people  is  for 
peace,  "  no  matter  who  wins."   For  some 


little  time  there  have  been  persistent  ru- 
mors that  Austria  was  about  to  make  a 
separate  peace.  Indeed,  the  Burgomas- 
ter of  Vienna  has  spoken  very  openly  and 
freely  about  the  desirability  of  peace. 
Letters  received  from  Vienna  have  spoken 
of  peace  almost  as  a  fait  accompli.  If 
Austria  could  shake  off  German  influ- 
ence and  get  good  terms  she  would  make 
peace  tomorrow,  but  as  she  knows  that 
she  would  be  obliged  to  give  up  so  much 
of  her  territory  she  is  obliged  to  continue 
the  fight,  in  the  hope  that  something  may 
turn  up.  As  an  Austrian  soldier  friend  of 
my  informant  expressed  it:  "  We  are  be- 
ginning to  realize  that  all  along  we  have 
been  the  tool  of  Germany,  and  whether 
we  win  or  lose  we  shall  have  to  pay,  and 
pay  dearly." 

From  the  press  it  is  most  difficult  to 
gather  anything  about  the  real  state  of 
affairs  except  as  regards  parliamentary 
reform,  which  is  being  kept  in  the  fore- 
ground and  dangled  before  the  eyes  of 
the  people  to  prevent  them  from  dwell- 
ing upon  more  important  matters.  Every 
paper  is  carefully  censored  and  papers 
frequently  appear  with  a  column  or  more 
blank;  it  is  not  an  unknown  thing  for  a 
number  not  to  appear  at  all. 


Paris— July,  1917 


[By    a    Correspondent    op    The    New    York 
World.] 

The  complete  list  of  things  regulated 
in  Paris  is  as  follows : 

Bread — May  be  sold  not  less  than 
twelve  hours  after  it  leaves  the  baker's 
oven ;  must  be  of  uniform  "  standard 
loaf  "  shape,  all  kinds  of  rolls  being  for- 
bidden; must  contain  not  more  than  85 
per  cent,  of  wheat  flour. 

Meat — May  not  be  sold  or  consumed  in 
restaurants  on  Mondays  and  Tuesdays, 
with  the  exception  of  horse,  donkey,  or 
mule  meat,  which,  however,  may  be 
bought  only  in  butcher  shops  and  not  in 
restaurants. 

Sugar — May  be  sold  only  upon  presen- 
tation of  a  card  issued  by  the  municipal 
authority,  which  permits  the  purchase  of 
not  more  than  750  grams  per  person  per 
month. 

Pastry — May  be  made  only  of  rice  flour 
and  may  not  be  sold  on  Tuesdays   and 


Wednesdays,  on  which  days  all  pastry 
shops,  tearooms,  candy  stores,  &c,  must 
be  closed. 

Coal,  Gas,  Transportation 
Coal — Stocks  in  excess  of  one  ton  must 
be  declared  by  all  householders  to  the 
municipal  authority;  persons  whose 
homes  are  not  supplied  with  gas  for 
heating  and  cooking  are  granted  priority 
in  the  purchase  of  coal,  to  an  extent, 
however,  not  exceeding  eighty  pounds 
per  month.  (Coal  cards  are  soon  to  be 
introduced.) 

Spirits — Alcohol,  turpentine,  gasoline, 
&c,  may  be  purchased  only  by  munici- 
pal card,  to  the  extent  of  not  more  than 
two  liters  per  month  per  household. 

Gas  and  Electricity — Consumption  in 
any  household  reduced  by  Government 
decree  to  about  two-thirds  of  the  amount 
consumed  by  the  same  household  in  No- 
vember of  1913  or  November  of  1915. 


WARTIME  ^  LIFE    IN    EUROPEAN    CAPITALS 


323 


Railroad  Transportation — Trains  great- 
ly reduced  in  number,  safe  conducts  for 
railroad  travel  issued  only  for  journeys 
made  necessary  by  business,  health,  or 
family  reasons;  each  passenger  limited 
to  sixty  pounds  of  personal  baggage,  ex- 
cept commercial  travelers,  who  may  carry 
up  to  400  pounds  by  special  license. 

Paris  Subway — Closed  between  10  P. 
M.  and  5:15  A.  M.,  except  on  Thursdays, 
Saturdays,  and  Sundays,  when  trains  run 
till  11:15  P.M. 

Automobile  Taxicabs — Reduced  in  num- 
ber to  a  maximum  of  5,974,  of  which, 
however,  not  more  than  2,500  are  in  op- 
eration at  any  given  hour.  (There  were 
8,000  constantly  in  operation  before  the 
war.) 

Automobiles  in  General — Are  limited 
to  a  maximum  consumption  of  forty  liters 
of  gasoline  per  vehicle  per  week. 

Street  Car  and  Bus  Lines — Are  in  op- 
eration daily  only  from  6  A.  M.  to  10  P. 
M.  (Only  two  bus  lines  are  operating  on 
the  pre-war  scale.) 

Must  Keep   to  Earth 

Aviation  and  Ballooning — Are  strictly, 
forbidden  to  private  individuals. 

Telegrams  and  Cables — Are  accepted 
for  transmission  only  after  the  sender 
has  verified  his  identity  by  passports, 
&c;  must  not  be  in  code;  must  be  in 
French  except  as  regards  messages 
abroad,  which  may  be  couched  in  French, 
Italian,  or  English,  and  are  subject  to 
censorship. 

Letters — Are  subject  to  censorship,  and 
may  be  received  at  the  general  delivery 
without  verification  of  the  recipient's 
identity  by  passports,  &c.  Price  of  post- 
age in  France  has  been  increased  to  3 
cents. 

Telephone  Communication — Is  restrict- 
ed to  local  and  a  few  suburban  ex- 
changes. *  Long-distance  calls  are  pro- 
hibited throughout  France. 

Wireless  Telegraphy — May  be  used 
only  by  the  Government. 

Stores — Must  be  closed  at  7  P.  M. 
daily,  except  grocery  and  provision  es- 
tablishments. 

Importation  and  Exportation  of  Mer- 
chandise— Regulated  by  a  series  of  re- 
strictions decreed  by  the  Government.  In 
principle  all  imports  are  forbidden,  but 


there   are   numerous   exceptions   to   this 
law. 

Firearms— May  not  be  sold,  and  gun- 
smiths must  keep  a  register -to  show  to 
the  police  at  monthly  intervals. 

Two  Non-Bathing  Days 

Bathing  Establishments  —  Are  closed 
Mondays  and  Tuesdays. 

Museums — Are  closed  wjibh  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  rooms  in  tfc'Louvre  and 
Luxembourg. 

Theatrical,  Musical,  and  Motion  Pict- 
ure Performances — Are  subject  to  cen- 
sorship by  the  Prefect  of  Police. 

Advertising  Matter — Must  be  submit- 
ted to  the  same  authority. 

Newspapers — Are  subject  to  the  mili- 
tary censorship;  may  not  publish  more 
than  one  edition  daily  or  be  cried  by 
newsdealers;  are  restricted  in  size  ac- 
cording to  the  form  in  which  they  appear. 
(Great  newspapers  like  Le  Matin  and 
Le  Temps  print  only  one  sheet  four  days 
a  w^ek.) 

Photography — Is  forbidden  in  the  zone 
of  the  armies,  and  subject  to  local  re- 
strictions elsewhere. 

Theatres  and  Concert  Halls — Are  per- 
mitted to  give  only  seven  evening  and 
two  matinee  performances,  or  vice  versa, 
and  must  close  at  11  P.  M. 

No  Evening  Clothes 

Evening  Clothes  and  Decollete  Frocks 
— May  not  be  worn  at  theatres  or  res- 
taurants or  in  other  public  places. 

Cafes  and  Restaurants — Must  be  closed 
at  9:30  P.  M.;  may  not  sell  spirituous 
liquors  to  soldiers  at  any  time,  and  to 
civilians  before  11  A.  M.;  may  not  have 
orchestras. 

Dancing — Is  forbidden  both  in  public 
places  and  in  the  home. 

Games  of  Chance — Are  not  tolerated 
even  in  the  fashionable  clubs. 

Hunting — Is  forbidden  except  in  re- 
gions where,  on  the  responsibility  of  the 
local  Government  authority,  a  general 
authorization  to  destroy  overabundant 
game  during  a  specified  period  is  issued. 

Horse  Racing — Is  prohibited,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  rarely  authorized 
semi-public  "  trials  "  of  thoroughbreds  at 
which  betting  is  not  permitted. 


324 


THE   NEW    YORK   TIMES  CURRENT   HISTORY 


Fairs — Save  certain  semi-public  bazaars 
held  for  the  benefit  of  war  charities,  are 
forbidden. 

Stock  Exchange  Transactions  in  Fut- 
ures— Are  prohibited,  except  for  the 
liquidation  of  contracts  entered  upon  be- 
fore the  war. 

Gold — May  not  be  dealt  in  commer- 
cially and  may  not  be  taken  out  of 
France. 

Personal  liberty  is  restricted  by  numer- 
ous regulations.  France  is  divided  into 
three  zones — of  the  army,  of  the  interior, 
and  of  the  frontiers.  For  all  of  them 
passports  and  municipal  identification 
papers  (permis  de  sejour)  are  required; 
for  the  zone  of  the  armies  one  must  also 
have  a  special  safe  conduct  issued  by  the 
Great  General  Staff,  and  for  the  frontier 


zone  a  safe  conduct  issued  by  the  Minis- 
try of  War.  Motoring  from  one  commu- 
nity to  another  is  forbidden  except  in 
cases  considered  exceptional  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. To  enter  or  leave  France  for- 
eigners are  obliged  to  carry  passports 
countersigned  by  a  French  Consulate  in 
the  country  from  which  they  have  come 
or  by  a  Consulate  in  France  of  the  coun- 
try to  which  they  are  going,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  all  the  papers  mentioned  above 
they  are  now  required  to  obtain  a  special 
identity  card,  application  for  which  must 
be  made  immediately. 

Less  than  half  these  restrictive  meas- 
ures were  put  into  effect  at  the  time  of 
mobilization,  and  all  those  controlling 
food  consumption  are  less  than  six 
months  old. 


Berlin— June,  1917 


[By  F.  Sefton  Delmer,  an  Australian,  Eng- 
lish Lecturer  at  Berlin  University  from  1901 
to  1914;  interned  at  Ruhleben  from  Novem- 
ber, 1914,  to  March,  1915;  resident  at  Berlin 
until  May,  1917. — In  The  London  Times.] 

The  Germans  were  enthusiastic  for  the 
war  only  so  long  as  they  were  convinced 
that  it  was  going  to  pay  a  tangible,  ma- 
terial dividend.  As  long  as  it  promised 
to  be  a  big  scoop  of  other  nations'  wealth 
they  were  for  it,  heart  and  soul,  peer  and 
peasant,  Socialist  and  Junker.  Let  this 
never  be  forgotten.  Their  enthusiasm 
waned  as  soon  as  success  began  to  look 
doubtful.  Their  doubts  will  turn  into  ex- 
ecration from  the  moment  they  recognize 
that  defeat  is  inevitable.  The  last  of 
these  three  stages  has  not  yet  been 
reached,  but  they  are  well  on  in  the  sec- 
ond. 

It  was  in  the  days  immediately  follow- 
ing Rumania's  entrance  into  the  war  that 
their  confidence  reached  its  lowest  ebb. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  the  criticism 
of  the  Emperor  and  his  family  and  his 
policy  became  positively  bitter — so  bitter 
as  to  alarm  his  Majesty  not  a  little.  The 
Rumanian  debacle  saved  the  situation, 
and  the  offer  of  peace  clinched  it. 

When  the  limelight-loving  Kaiser 
stepped  forward  as  the  protagonist  of 
peace  it  was  a  clever  move  with  a  double 
object.  It  aimed  at  throwing  dust  in  the 
eyes  of  pacifists  abroad  in  order  to  pro- 


mote dissension  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Allies,  and  at  the  stime  time  it  was  meant 
to  convince  the  malcontents  at  home  that 
they  were  the  victims  not  of  the  German 
Emperor's  own  criminal  policy,  but  of 
"that  wicked  England  and  its  accom- 
plices." 

Jeers  at  the  Kaiser 

When  I  remarked  to  the  intelligent  old 
Portierfrau  of  a  house  in  the  aristocratic 
Tiergarten  quarter  that  I  had  seen  the 
Kaiser  a  few  days  before  and  that  he 
was  looking  very  well,  "  Ach,  der!  "  (Oh, 
he!)  said  the  old  lady.  "I  daresay -he 
does,  but  he  wouldn't  look  so  well  by  a 
long  chalk  if  he  only  knew  what  folk 
around  here  are  thinking  and  saying 
about  him.  And  he  thought  he  was  going 
to  beat  the  English!     He,  indeed!  " 

Any  one  who  knows  German  will  no 
longer  recognize  the  Germany  in  which 
the  contemptuous  demonstrative  pro- 
noun "  der  "  can  be  used  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty.  That  in  itself  is  almost  a  revo- 
lution. No;  the  common  people  and, 
what  is  more,  the  common  soldiers  have 
not  the  faintest  trace  left  of  enthusiasm 
for  the  war.  "  Ach,  Gott,  wenn  man  nur 
das  Ende  absehen  konnte,"  (If  one  only 
knew  when  and  how  it's  all  going  to  end,) 
they  sigh.  You  hear  the  same  song  wher- 
ever you  go:  at  the  Boerse,  in  the  banks, 
in  the  shops,  and  in  the  queues. 


WARTIME    LIFE    IN    EUROPEAN    CAPITALS 


325 


At  the  police  station,  where  I  had  to 
report  myself  daily,  I  often  exchanged  a 
few  words  with  the  man  whose  duty  it 
was  to  stamp  my  paper.  He  used  to  ask 
me  about  once  a  fortnight  when  I  thought 
the  war  was  coming  to  an  end,  and  to 
give  an  oracular  answer  each  time  rather 
taxed  my  supply  of  commonplaces.  With 
some  people  who  asked  this  question  I 
usually  fell  back  on  the  reply  of  the 
Scotsman  to  his  German  prisoner:  "  I 
canna  say  positeevely;  but  I  think  the 
fur-st  three  year-rs'll  see  the  wur-rst  of 
it."  On  another  occasion,  when  I  mod- 
estly disclaimed  all  powers  of  second 
sight,  the  man,  a  furniture  dealer,  would 
not  take  "  I  haven't  the  f ainest  idea  "  for 
an  answer.  "  Oh,  you  must  know,  all 
right,"  he  said,  "for  you're  an  English- 
man." 

Just  before  I  came  away,  however,  the 
Mowe  films  were  shown,  and  they  were, 
from  many  points  of  view,  well  worth 
seeing.  From  a  German  standpoint  they 
are  undoubtedly  a  gross  mistake,  for,  in 
their  grim  realism,  they  bring  home  to 
the  beholder  the  wholesale  and  wanton 
destruction  of  peaceful  merchantmen  and 
lead  the  imagination  to  conceive  the  un- 
speakable horrors  of  the  U-boat  war, 
horrors  which  the  Germans,  as  a  whole, 
have  not  yet  grasped.  One  sees  on  these 
films,  which  take  exactly  one  hour  to 
show,  steamers  and  sailing  ships  brought 
up,  one  sees  the  torpedo  strike  the  ship, 
and  the  noble  vessel,  as  in  agony,  strug- 
gle, writhe,  fill,  and  sink. 

The  effect  on  the  spectators  was  the 
very  reverse  of  what  the  military  author- 
ities wished  to  produce.  Far  from  being 
exhilarated,  the  public  seemed  depressed 
by  the  sight  of  what  they  felt  to  be  cold- 
blooded murder  of  unarmed  ships. 
"Schrecklich!  Schrecklich!  "  (Frightful!) 
they  whisper,  as  if  it  is  just  beginning 
to  dawn  on  them  why  that  other  more 
terrible  and  cowardly  form  of  hostilities, 
the  U-boat  war,  has  made  the  German 
name  so  detested  throughout  the  civilized 
world. 

On  one  of  the  pictures  one  sees  the 
Captain  of  the  Brecknockshire  after  his 
ship  has  sunk,  standing  on  the  bridge  of 
the  Mowe  beside  Graf  Dohna,  the  Ger- 
man commander.     The  latter  had  made 


some  joke  at  which  the  British  Captain, 
as  was  intended,  had  felt  constrained  to 
laugh,  although  he  had  just  seen  his  ship 
sunk,  but  his  heart  was  breaking.  The 
chivalrous  German  newspapers  sneer  at 
his  heartlessness.  "  This  is  an  English 
dschentleman,"  they  say,  "laughing  as 
he  watches  his  ship  go  down !  " 

Hidden  Casualties 

In  spite  of  all  the  Germans'  twisting  of 
facts,  and  all  their  skill  in  making  the 
worse  appear  the  better  reason,  they 
really  do  not  believe  they  are  winning. 
None  of  them  has,  it  is  true,  any  idea  of 
their  actual  losses  in  the  field.  Vague 
estimates  are  current.  I  take  the  one 
that  is  going  the  rounds  as  being  most 
symptomatic.  Among  the  officials  at  the 
Deutsche  Bank  a  report  was  recently  in 
circulation  estimating  Germany's  losses 
alone  at  1,300,000  men  killed  up  to  the 
end  of  March,  1917.  A  civilian  in  a  high 
official  position,  who  was  present  at  the 
discussion,  contradicted  this,  saying  that 
he  believed  this  estimate  to  be  too  low  by 
at  least  half  a  million. 

But  no  official  totals  are  published. 
The  long  sheets  of  casualties  are  still 
pasted  up  on  the  polished  granite  of  the 
Kriegsakademie  (Staff  College)  in  Ber- 
lin, but  one  no  longer  sees  the  groups  of 
weeping  women  and  eager  searchers  that 
were  constantly  standing  there  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  war.  The  authorities 
now  have  more  expeditious  private  ways 
of  informing  the  relatives. 

In  spite  of  their  doubts  about  victory, 
and  of  their  distrust  of  and  resentment 
at  the  methods  their  own  Government  has 
adopted  toward  them,  there  is  no  sign 
that  the  Germans  will  yield  till  they  are 
at  their  last  gasp.  I  have,  however,  my- 
self heard  certain  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Centre  Party  in  the  Reichstag 
say  that  they  did  not  see  how  either  Ger- 
many or  its  enemies  could  possibly  hold 
out  till  Christmas.  Any  such  discourag- 
ing statements  when  made  by  less  privi- 
leged individuals  than  members  of  Par- 
liament are  liable  to  be  regarded  as 
treasonable,  and  a  reward  of  £150  is 
promised  to  any  one  who  can  bring  any 
propagator  of  such  rumors  to  book.  Po- 
lice proclamations  to  this  effect  adorn 
the  advertisement  pillars  in  the  streets. 


326 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


This  public  incitement  to  private  denun- 
ciation has  produced  a  reign  of  terror. 
*  Nobody  is  safe  in  even  the  most  confi- 
dential conversation,"  I  heard  a  univer- 
sity student  say.  This  new  regulation 
has  certainly  had  the  effect  of  muzzling 
conversation  between  all  but  the  closest 
of  friends.  . 

Even  their  idol  Hindenburg  now  comes* 
in  for  criticism.  He  has  the  reputation 
of  being  a  man  who  boasts  of  never  hav- 
ing read  any  books  except  those  written 
on  military  subjects,  nor  have  I  ever  seen 
or  heard  of  a  single  statement  of  his  that 
betrayed  anything  more  than  a  mediocre 
mind.  Nevertheless,  among  the  Revent- 
low  party  Hindenburg  is  still  a  fetich. 

Hindenburg  or  no  Hindenburg,  both 
soldiers  and  officers  are  heartily  sick  of 
the  war  in  general  and  the  western  front 
in  particular,  from  which  officers  are 
known  regularly  to  head  their  letters 
home  with  the  words,  "  Noch  am  Leben," 
(Still  alive.) 

And  that,  I  think,  expresses  the  state 
of  Germany  regarded  as  a  whole.  "  In 
spite  of  everything,  we're  still  alive !  " 

The  well-paid  munition  workers  excite 
the  envy  of  the  rest  of  the  working 
classes.  "  These  munition  workers,  who 
are  getting  handsome  pay  and  all  sorts 
of  extra  food,  even  sausage  and  fat,  are 
the  last  who  have  reason  to  strike,"  says 
the  ordinary  workman. 

The  munition  workers'  strike  in  Ber- 
lin in  the  middle  of  April  was  brought 
about  by  the  proclamation  of  a  smaller 
bread  ticket.  The  strike  had  practically 
no  political  inspiration,  and  was  soon 
nipped  in  the  bud.  The  authorities,  fear- 
ing a  new  outbreak  on  May  1,  liberally 
sprinkled  policemen  about  on  the  bridges 
and  at  other  strategic  points  of  the  town, 
much  to  their  discomfort  on  that  bleak 
east-wind  day. 

These  strikes,  as  well  as  the  riots  at 
Magdeburg  and  Leipsic  in  March,  seem 
to  have  been  rather  absurdly  exaggerated 
in  some  English  newspapers.  As  far  as 
Berlin  goes,  not  even  a  revolver  shot 
was  fired.  All  the  talk  about  machine 
guns  having  been  turned  on  the  crowd 
is  sheer  moonshine. 

The  German  Government  put  the  peo- 
ple on  bread  rations  at  an  early  stage  in 
the  war.    One  after  another,  almost  all 


other  foodstuffs  had  to  be  brought  under 
the  card  system.  Only  at  a  compara- 
tively late  date,  however,  was  the  inti- 
mate connection  between  the  supply  of 
food- for  human  being  and  the  supply  of 
fodder  for  stock  recognized.  The  tardy 
recognition  of  the  economic  connection 
between  food  and  fodder  very  nearly  led 
to  disaster.  The  Reichsfuttermittelstelle 
(Imperial  Fodder  Commission)  is  now  of 
almost  greater  importance  than  the 
Reichsgetreidestelle,  (Imperial  Bread- 
stuffs  Commission.) 

These  two  organizations  are  at  present 
working  out  a  great  scheme  for  the  form- 
ation of  a  monopoly  of  the  fodder  and 
breadstuffs  produced  in  the  whole  of 
Germany.  Up  to  the  middle  of  May  Ba- 
varia was  still  half  unwilling  to  throw  in 
its  lot  with  Northern  Germany  by  join- 
ing in  the  proposed  monopoly,  but  was 
showing  signs  of  yielding  to  Prussia's 
cajolery. 

Great  battles  were  taking  place  behind 
the  scenes  when  I  left,  as  I  know  from 
private  sources,  as  to  whether  the  new 
organization  of  the  breadstuff  and  fodder 
supplies  of  the  whole  German  Empire 
was  to  be  run  on  the  lines  of  a  great  pri- 
vate monopoly  or  on  State  socialistic 
lines.  Some  big  financiers  were  anxious 
for  the  former,  while  their  opponents, 
following  Adam  Smith,  (Yes!  Adam 
Smith  was  quoted  in  the  commission,) 
maintained  that  such  a  plan  would  spell 
depredation  and  hasten  revolution.  As 
far  as  I  could  understand,  Dr.  Michaelis 
was  likely  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  State 
socialistic  form. 

Wood  for  Food 

In  Germany  there  is  at  present  in  use 
a  method  secretly  but  every  extensively 
practiced  of  obtaining  a  kind  of  flour 
from  wood.  This  "  flour  "  goes  by  the 
name  of  Holzmehl.  It  is  a  modification 
of  the  discovery  of  a  Swedish  savant, 
whose  name  I  have  forgotten.  I  saw  a 
German  translation  of  his  book  on  the 
subject  in  the  hands  of  the  Director  of 
the  Fodder  Commission. 

This  new  wood-fodder  is  a  sort  of  for- 
lorn hope  which  the  landowners  have 
eagerly  clutched  at.  The  Russian  forests 
in  the  occupied  districts,  I  have  heard, 
are  being  ruthlessly  cut  down  and  turned 


WARTIME    LIFE    IN    EUROPEAN    CAPITALS 


327 


into  wood-meal.  This  wood-meal  is  intend- 
ed primarily  to  serve  as  a  cattle  food. 
Of  its  nutritive  properties  I  know  noth- 
ing. They  are  said  to  be  low.  Bread  is 
also  made  from  it,  and  I  have  been  told 
that  it  is  given  to  the  soldiers.  I  am 
more  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  reserved 
as  a  delicacy  for  the  prisoners'  camps. 


It  will  probably  be  an  improvement  on 
the  war  bread  served  out  to  us  at  Ruh- 
leben  in  the  Winter  of  1914-15,  which  was 
made  of  all  sorts  of  inferior  ingredients 
and  included  flour  made  from  straw.  I 
remember  yet  the  rasped,  scratched  feel- 
ing it  produced  in  one's  throat  and  diges- 
tive canal. 


Constantinople — June,  1917 


[By  a  correspondent  who  obtained  this  ex- 
pression of  views  from  an  official  who  in- 
vestigated conditions  in  Turkey.] 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  a  com- 
plete picture  of  present-day  conditions  in 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  because  even  the 
most  inquiring  foreign  resident  in  Tur- 
key finds  his  efforts  to  obtain  accurate 
information  persistently  balked.  No  di- 
plomatist is  allowed  to  leave  Constantino- 
ple, except,  of  course,  to  return  home; 
and  commmunication  between  Ambassa- 
dors and  Ministers  there,  and  Consuls 
and  Vice  Consuls  at  Smyrna,  Beirut, 
Damascus,  and  Jerusalem,  are  limited 
and  extremely  irregular.  Only  one  non- 
Turk  has  succeeded  in  getting  through 
from  Smyrna  to  Constantinople  for  near- 
ly a  year.  He  turned  up  toward  the 
end  of  last  month,  and  told  us  that, 
thanks  to  the  good  feeling  of  the  Turk- 
ish Governor  the**e,  Europeans  and 
Americans  have  a  very  comfortable  time. 
The  British  colony  numbers  about  forty, 
and  its  members  are  technically  supposed 
to  be  "  interned."  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  they  are  allowed  complete  lib- 
erty during  the  daytime,  the  only  re- 
striction being  that  they  must  be  indoors 
before  10  o'clock  each  evening.  The  Eng- 
lishmen there  are  nearly  all  representa- 
tives of  large  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
textile  firms.  They  are  greatly  respected 
by  the  Turks,  and  bear  up  very  bravely. 

British  Prisoners 
British  officers  and  men  whom  I  have 
met  in  Turkey  generally  told  me  that 
they  were  well  treated;  and  my  own  ex- 
perience is  similar,  so  far  as  the  civilians 
are  concerned.  The  internment  of  civi- 
lians, I  admit,  is  frequently  attended  by 
serious  hardships,  but  these  arise  from 
the  general  conditions  existing  in  Tur- 
key, and  are  not  to  be  ascribed  to  cruel- 


ty on  the  part  of  the  Turks.  I  have 
known  cases  of  poor  Europeans  who  have 
had  to  walk  with  their  jailers  hundreds 
of  miles  across  barren  country  to  inland 
internment  camps. 

The  peace  sentiment  is  daily  growing 
stronger  throughout  all  classes,  but  it  is 
folly  to  imagine  that  Turkey  will  ever 
take  the  initiative  toward  making  a 
separate  peace.  I  think,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  sympathetic  handling  on  the 
part  of  the  allied  powers  might  "  detach  " 
Turkey  from  her  Teutonic  masters. 

Popular  discontent  in  Constantinople  is 
provoked  by  the  food  scarcity,  and  not  by 
the  loss  of  close  on  500,000  square  miles 
of  Turkish  territory  and  5,000,000  Turk- 
ish subjects  in  Asia.  I  don't  think  the 
average  poor  Turk  has  any  spirit  left  to 
grieve  greatly  over  empire  losses,  but  the 
authorities,  who  probably  know  their 
people  better  than  I  do,  take  no  risks; 
and  an  organized  attempt  to  conceal,  or 
at  least  minimize,  British  success  in 
Mesopotamia  and  Egypt  is  in  operation. 
.  The  fall  of  Bagdad  has  not  yet  been  offi- 
cially announced  in  Turkey,  nor  has  any 
Turkish  newspaper  ever  contained  any 
reference  to  it. 

The  German  Crip 

The  Germans  are  more  unpopular  than 
ever;  but,  curiously  enough,  their  grip 
on  the  country  is  tighter  than  ever.  The 
only  tactful  thing  the  Germans  do  is  to 
conceal  the  outward  manifestation  of 
their  authority.  The  story  which  con- 
stantly crops  up  about  a  German  garri- 
son of  60,000  men  in  Constantinople  is 
false.  At  the  most  there  are  not  6,000; 
and  these  are  kept  discreetly  concealed  in 
a  building  outside  the  city.  The  crews 
of  the  Goeben  and  Breslau  never  come  to 
Constantinople,  and  there  are  no  German 
policemen  in  the  city.    Enver  Pasha  still 


328 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


continues  to  be  the  dominant  figure  in 
Turkey.    . 

This  man  is  an  enigma.  He  rules  with 
a  hand  of  iron;  and  those  of  his  oppo- 
nents who  have  escaped  the  summary 
process  of  hanging  are  so  terrified  and 
obsequious  that  the  great  man  rules  un- 
perturbed. The  misery  and  suffering  of 
the  masses  of  the  people  in  Constanti- 
nople and  the  other  large  cities  are  very 
great;  but  I  doubt  whether,  making  al- 
lowance for  the  size  of  their  respective 
populations,  there  is  as  much  abject  pov- 
erty as  in  London  or  New  York.  It  must 
be  admitted,  however,  that  people  do  act- 
ually die  of  starvation  in  Constantinople/ 
In  spite  of  all  German  efforts  to  impose 
a  "  system "  of  food  distribution  upon 
Turkey,  bread  is  the  only  article  of  food 
in  which  a  partial  Government  monopoly 
has  been  established.  Every  Turk,  rich 
or  poor,  is  entitled  to  half  a  pound  of 
bread  daily  for  one  penny.  If  his  needs 
extend  beyond  this  amount,  he  must  buy 
"  Trangola "  bread,  (a  kind  of  luxury 
bread,)  at  Is.  8d.  per  pound.  The  Euro- 
peans find  the  cost  of  living  terribly 
high.  Early  this  month,  as  I  personally 
ascertained,  tea  cost  £2,  coffee  14s.,  and 
sugar  8s.  per  pound.  The  middle  and 
upper  classes,  in  spite  of,  or  because  of, 
the  war,  live  a  gay,  feverish  kind  of  life. 
The  cafes,  theatres,  and  cinema  houses 
are  crowded  daily.  Special  cinema  per- 
formances are  given  for  the  women. 

New  and  Old  Turkey 

The  Young  Turk  Government,  it  must 
be  confessed,  is  doing  its  utmost  to  en- 
courage the  Turks  to  prepare  themselves 
for  the  after-the-war  economic  struggle. 


Elementary  school  teachers  are  excused 
military  service,  -and  new  schools  are 
springing  up  like  mushrooms  throughout 
the  empire.  The  "  right-f  or-women " 
movement  is  making  astonishing  prog- 
ress. Let  me  quote  the  following  in- 
stance, (one  among  many:)  A  great 
charity  concert  took  place  early  last 
month  in  Constantinople,  and  a  group 
of  aristocratic  "  new  "  women  determined 
to  exercise  their  rights.  They  went  to- 
gether to  the  concert  hall,  only  to  find 
their  entrance  to  it  barred  by  two  police- 
men. "  There  are  men  in  there;  you  can- 
not enter,"  said  the  head  policeman,  in 
horrified  tones.  "  We  are  going  to  enter. 
We've  bought  our  tickets,"  said  the 
spokeswoman  of  the  group.  "  Impossi- 
ble," said  the  policeman.  "Telephone 
the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and  see  what 
the  Minister  says,"  cried  the  women. 
The  policeman  rang  up  the  Ministry  and 
received  the  laconic  reply:  "  Let  the 
ladies  in."  The  "new"  woman  in  Tur- 
key had  won  another  victory. 

Side  by  side  with  the  new  movement 
are  the  old  ways.  I  went  recently  to  call 
upon  the  Grand  Vizier  and  his  wife.  The 
latter  ordered  coffee,  but  in  spite  of  re- 
peated protests  to  the  servants  it  was 
not  until  one  hour  and  a  half  later  that 
the  coffee  arrived.  The  Grand  Vizier's 
wife  is  not  "  modern."  She  claps  her 
hands  to  summon  the  servants,  and  does 
not  touch  an  electric  bell.  The  long  delay 
before  the  coffee  was  served  did  not  dis- 
please her.  "  You  see,"  she  explained, 
"  that  we  Turks  are  not  really  suited  to 
the  rapid,  go-ahead  methods  of  the 
West." 


New  Order  of  Knighthood  for  Women 
in  Great  Britain 


IN   recognition    of   services   that   have 
been  rendered  both  by  British  sub- 
jects  and   their   allies   in   connection 
with  the  war  the  King  has  instituted  two 
orders. 

The  first  is  an  Order  of  Knighthood, 
to  be  styled  "  The  Order  of  the  British 


Empire,"  and  to  be  conferred  for  serv- 
ices rendered  to  the  empire,  whether  at 
home  or  abroad.  This  order  will  follow, 
in  most  respects,  the  precedents  of  other 
orders  of  knighthood,  but  it  will  consist 
of  five  classes,  and  will  be  given  to 
women  as  well  as  men.    The  first  two 


NEW  ORDER  OF  KNIGHTHOOD  FOR  WOMEN 


329 


classes  will,  in  the  case  of  men,  carry 
the  honor  of  knighthood,  and  in  the  case 
of  women  the  privilege  of  prefixing  the 
title  "  Dame  "  to  their  names. 


STAR  WORN  BY  MEMBERS  OF  FIRST  TWO 
CLASSES,  ORDER  OF  THE  BRITISH 
EMPIRE 


The  second  order  will  be  entitled  the 
"  Order  of  the  Companions  of  Honour," 
and  will  consist  of  one  class  only,  to 
which  women  will  be  eligible  equally 
with  men.  The  order  will  carry  with  it 
no  title  or  precedence,  and  will  be  con- 
ferred upon  a  limited  number  of  persons, 
for  whom  this  distinction  seems  to  be  the 
most  appropriate  form  of  recognition, 
constituting,  as  it  will,  an  honor  disso- 
ciated either  from  the  acceptance  of  title 
or  the  classification  of  merit. 

Both  orders,  though  created  in  con- 
nection with  the  war,  will  doubtless  sur- 
vive it. 

The  King  appointed  the  Prince  of 
Wales  to  be  Grand  Master  of  the  order. 

The  five  classes  of  the  order  are  as 
follows: 

Men.— 1.  Knights  Grand  Cross,  (G.  B. 
E.)  2.  Knights  Commanders,  (K.  B.  E.) 
3.  Commanders,  (C.  B.  E.)  4.  Officers, 
(O.  B.  E.)    5.  Members,  (M.  B.  E.) 

"Women. — 1.  Dames  Grand  Cross,  (G. 
B.  E.)  2.  Dames  Commanders,  (D.  B. 
E.)  3.  Commanders,  (C.  B.  E.)  4.  Offi- 
cers, (O.  B.  E.)     5.  Members,  (M.  B.  E.) 


The  badge  of  the  order,  worn  by  the 
members  of  the  first,  second,  and  third 
classes,  is  a  silver  gilt  cross,  enameled 
pearl  gray,  in  the  centre  of  which,  in  a 


BADGE,   ORDER  OF  THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 

circle  enameled  crimson,  is  a  representa- 
tion of  Britannia  seated.  The  circle  con- 
tains the  motto  of  the  order,  "  For  God 
and  the  Empire." 

The  star,  worn  by  members  of  the  first 
two  classes,  is  an  eight-pointed  silver 
star,  the  centre  of  which  bears  the  same 
device  as  the  badge. 

The  treatment  of  the  badge  for  the 
fourth  class  is  similar  to  that  for  the 
first,  second,  and  third  classes,  except 
that  it  is  smaller  and  is  not  enameled. 
In  the  case  of  the  fifth  class  the  badge 
is  of  silver  instead  of  silver  gilt. 

As  in  the  case  of  other  orders,  the 
members  will  have  the  privilege  of  plac- 
ing the  initials  (above  indicated)  after 
their  names. 


Assassination  of  Austrian  Premier 

The  Apologia  of  Dr.  Adler  an  Important  Utterance 


DR.  FRIEDRICH  ADLER,  who  as- 
sassinated the  Austrian  Premier, 
Count  Sturgkh,  in  October,  1916, 
was  condemed  to  death  for  his 
act,  but  the  Socialists  of  neutral  coun- 
tries and  the  radicals  in  Germany  and 
Russia  have  petitioned  that  his  life 
be  spared.  After  the  sentence  was 
pronounced  the  condemned  man  turned 
to  the  spectators  and  shouted,  "  Long 
live  international,  revolutionary  Social 
Democracy!"  a  cry  that  was  loudly  re- 
echoed from  the  crowded  court  and  gal- 
leries, while  women  waved  their  hand- 
kerchiefs and  the  whole  assembly,  even 
including  some  individuals  in  the  well  of 
the  court,  enthusiastically  applauded  the 
prisoner.  The  President  thereupon  or- 
dered the  court  to  be  cleared,  and  four 
people  were  arrested  in  the  process, 
while  other  arrests  were  afterward  made 
in  the  street. 

Dr.  Adler  delivered  an  address  after 
his  trial  which  produced  a  profound  im- 
pression. He  protested  emphatically 
against  the  attempt  to  represent  him  as 
not  responsible  for  his  actions.  He  had 
known  beforehand,  he  said,  that  the 
"  Government  Socialists  "  of  Austria  and 
Germany  would  try  to  place  that  con- 
struction on  his  deed,  and  his  counsel 
was  naturally  anxious  to  do  the  same, 
but  the  change  that  came  over  Austrian 
political  life  within  only  a  few  days  of 
the  assassination  of  Count  Sturgkh  was 
striking  enough  to  compel  some  slight 
recognition  even  then  that  the  deed  was 
not  that  of  a  mere  irresponsible. 

He  asserted  that  all  constitutional 
rights  had  been  suspended  in  Austria  by 
the  failure  of  the  Premier  to  assemble 
the  Reichsrat.  He  declared  that  the  key- 
note to  the  situation  in  Austria  and  the 
explanation  of  his  deed  were  that  there 
was  no  authority  left  in  Austria  that 
could  be  considered  constitutionally  com- 
petent, and  that  Count  Sturgkh  had  per- 
sistently suppressed  the  one  institution 
which  could  have  held  him  and  his  Cabi- 


net to  account,  namely,  the  Reichsrat. 
What  other  way  remained  open  then,  he 
asked,  of  calling  Ministers  to  account 
than  the  way  they  had  themselves  chosen, 
that  of  force?  Years  before,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1898,  Herr  Hochenburger  himself, 
(Count  Stiirgkh's  Minister  of  Justice,) 
who  was  not  in  office  then,  declared  in 
the  Reichsrat  on  the  subject  of  legis- 
lation by  royal  decree  that  any  treading 
underfoot  of  justice  in  Austria  would  not 
go  unpunished.  "  Herr  Minister-Presi- 
dent," he  said  at  that  time,  "  take  care 
that  you  do  not  bring  things  to  such  a 
pass  that  you  are  made  to  learn  that  an 
aggravated  people  can  create  justice  for 
itself,  and  that  today  still  there  is  an 
emergency  code  of  peoples."  Yet  it  was 
this  same  Hochenburger,  who,  in  con- 
junction with  Count  Sturgkh,  promul- 
gated on  July  25,  1914,  such  a  series  of 
arbitrary  decrees  as  proved  that  every- 
thing had  been  prepared  long  before  the 
outbreak  of  war. 

"  Hochenburger  and  Sturgkh,"  said 
Dr.  Adler,  "  deliberately  planned  this 
coup  d'etat,  and  for  that  reason  the 
moral  justification  of  my  deed  is  com- 
plete for  me  as  a  citizen.  The  ques- 
tion at  issue  is  not  whether  force  is 
justifiable,  but  what  is  my  individual 
position.  In  my  opinion,  every  citizen 
is  justified,  if  the  law  is  trodden  under- 
foot, in  securing1  justice  for  himself. 
When  a  Government  has  placed  itself 
outside  the  legal  domain,  every  citizen 
is  justified  in  holding  it  to  account  out- 
side that  domain  also.  Indeed,  every 
citizen  is  not  only  justified  in  so  doing, 
but  is  under  an  obligation  so  to  do." 

He  objected  to  being  classed  as  either 
a  patriot  or  an  anti-patriot.  He  had  al- 
ways held,  he  said,  that  the  cause  of  so- 
cialism was  a  much  greater  thing  than 
any  temporary  State  organism,  and  that 
Socialists  should  not  identify  themselves 
too  intimately  with  any  one  State,  as 
certain  of  his  former  friends  had  now 
vnfortunately  done.    Indeed,  he  declared, 


ASSASSINATION  OF  AUSTRIAN  PREMIER 


331 


it  is  only  since  the  '70s  that  the  ideal  of 
the  national  State  has  taken  root  among 
even  the  bourgeoisie,  which  at  the  same 
time  began  to  regard  it,  not  as  the  na- 
tion, but  as  an  economic  unit.  Every- 
where before  that  date  the  intellectual 
bourgeoisie  was  not  patriotic,  but  na- 
tional, and  the  attitude  of  the  German 
Austrians  was  then  what  that  of  the 
Czechs  is  today.  Now,  however,  the 
bourgeoisie  is  interested  in  the  main- 
tenance as  an  economic  unit  not  only  of 
Austria,  but  of  the  whole  Central  Euro- 
pean bloc — with  the  King  of  Prussia  at 
its  head,  of  course,  and  Austria  sub- 
ordinate to  him.  Its  ideal,  in  fact,  is  no 
longer  national  independence,  but  na- 
tional predominance  and  the  foundation 
of  an  empire  from  Berlin  to  Bagdad. 
Many  Social  Democrats,  Dr.  Adler  com- 
plained, had  themselves  been  carried 
away  by  this  development,  but  while,  he 
observed,  it  was  true  in  his  own  case  that 
Austria  played  a  part  in  his  motives,  it 
was  not  on  account  of  her  existence  as  a 
State,  but  as  a  moral  unit.  It  was  the 
Austrian  character  for  which  he  was 
concerned. 

"  Already  at  school,"  he  said,  "  it  was 
clear  to  me  that  the  greatest  sin,  the 
one  which  cannot  be  forgiven,  is  the  sin 
against  character;  the  sin  that  is  cus- 
tomary in  Austria.  And  if  you  wish  to 
understand  my  deed  and  all  that  led  to 
it,  there  must  run  like  a  red  thread 
through  all  your  considerations  the  recog- 
nition that  it  was  a  revolt,  a  protest 
against  this  sin  against  character  which 
prevents  any  manly  action  in  Austria. 
We  are  in  a  State  which  was  once  made 
(Roman)  Catholic  again  by  fire  and 
sword  at  the  time  of  the  counter-reforma- 
tion. We  are  in  a  -  State  in  which  the 
convictions  of  men  are  despised,  in  which 
it  is  never  recognized  that  the  individual 
must  act  according  to  his  convictions.  It 
is  the  State  of  the  Metternich  doctrine 
which  weighed  down  Austria  before 
1848,  the  State  which  has  fettered  free 
speech  in  order  to  create  a  slavish  public 


opinion. 


I   have    shown    what 


Hochenburger  said  in  1898  and  how  he 
afterward  acted  as  Minister.  It  is  this 
abandonment  of  any  loyalty  to  convic- 
tions,   this    complete    lack    of    stability, 


which  has  always  filled  me  with  the  deep- 
est hatred  of  Austria,  not  as  a  political 
unit,  but  as  a  moral  one;  of  the  Aus- 
trian character  for  untrustworthiness." 

These  traits,  Dr.  Adler  continued,  were 
to  be  found  among  all  the  nationalities  of 
the  monarchy,  and  they  had  penetrated 
his  own  party,  a  penetration  against 
which  his  deed  was  a  protest.  He  was 
not  a  fanatical  purist,  he  declared,  but 
he  did  hold  that  a  man  should  be  clear 
with  himself  as  to  the  ground  on  which 
he  stood,  and  he  despised  a  party  that  al- 
lowed Austrian  Germans  to  masquerade 
as  Socialists.  He  denied,  however,  that 
he  was  isolated  from  the  majority  of  his 
party  except  as  concerned  his  final  act, 
and  maintained,  indeed,  that  in  the  seven 
months  that  had  since  elapsed  the  world 
had  in  many  respects  come  around  to  his 
standpoint  and  that  much  that  was  char- 
acterized as  absurd  then  was  now  con- 
sidered quite  natural. 

Internationalism,  for  instance,  had  be- 
come the  very  hope  of  the  Austrian  Gov- 
ernment, and  none  were  today  more 
sought  after  by  Count  Czernin  than  the 
"  revolutionists,"  to  whom  the  Public 
Prosecutor  had  referred  as  being  the 
speaker's  associates,  and  who,  as  having 
a  certain  amount  of  influence  in  Russia, 
were  to  travel  to  Stockholm  with  the 
Government  Socialists  of  Germany  as 
"  the  commercial  travelers  of  the  Foreign 
Office."  Austria's  real  greeting  to  the 
Stockholm  conference,  however,  Dr.  Ad- 
ler observed,  would  be  the  sentence 
passed  upon  himself. 

Proceeding  to  trace  in  detail  the  devel- 
opments which  led  him  to  regard  his 
party  as  having  altogether  forsaken  the 
Socialist  ideal  and  his  attempts  to  per- 
suade it  of  its  mistake,  Dr.  Adler  stated 
that  he  finally  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  only  by  acting  in  opposition  to  fhe 
party  leaders  would  it  be  possible  to  ef- 
fect a  real  revolution  in  Austria,  and  that 
he  must  do  what  he  could  to  pave  the 
way  for  that  revolution.  That,  he  said, 
did  not  mean  that  he  became  an  anarch- 
ist, or  that  he  imagined  he  alone  could 
set  afoot  a  revolution.  On  the  contrary, 
he  had  always  held  that  the  battle  must 
be  fought,  not  by  individuals,  but  by  the 
masses,  and  he  had  never  believed  that 


S3* 


THE   NEW    YORK   TIMES   CURRENT    HISJORY 


the  people  would  rise  in  his  support.  All 
he  wanted  to  do  was  to  prove  to  the  peo- 
ple and  the  Government  alike  that  revo- 
lutionary action  in  Austria  was  not  a 
matter  of  impossibility,  and  thus  to  set 
the  ball  a-rolling.  It  was  not  his  inten- 
tion to  introduce  a  new  Socialist  method 
of  warfare,  and  in  general  he  would 
deprecate  such  isolated  deeds;  but  his 
own  was  an  exceptional  one,  provoked 
by  exceptional  circumstances. 

Dr.  Adler  proceeded  to  recount  the  spe- 
cial considerations  that  had  weighed  with 
him,  and  dealt  in  detail  with  the  abuse 
of  the  censorship,  the  scandal  of  the 
political  trials  held  during  the  war,  and 
Count  Stiirgkh's  determined  attempt  to 
establish  permanently  an  absolutist 
regime,  which  eventually  became  so  ap- 
parent as  to  be  beyond  all  doubt,  and 
finally  determined  the  speaker  to  take 
forcible  action.  And  at  this  point  the 
latter  was  careful  to  point  out  that  it  was 
not  against  Count  Stiirgkh  himself  but 
against  his  system  that  the  deed  was  di- 
rected. He  had,  he  said,  a  certain  re- 
spect for  the  former  Premier,  who  con- 
trasted favorably  in  his  manly  straight- 
forwardness with  many  of  his  associates. 
Having  consciously  taken  his  stand  on 
force,  he  had  to  be  removed  by  force,  but 


the  speaker  reserved  his  contempt  for 
those  Austrians  "  who  tolerated  Stiirgkh 
without  attempting  to  defend  themselves, 
and  who  by  their  behavior  furnshed  the 
proof  that  every  land  has  the  Stiirgkh  it 
deserves." 

Above  all,  Dr.  Adler  concluded,  he  was 
moved  to  his  final  act  by  the  political 
situation  at  the  moment.  The  fact  that 
there  seemed  not  tfte  slightest  prospect 
of  peace  affected  him  profoundly,  and 
he  thought  hopelessly  of  what  would 
happen  at  the  Austrian  Labor  Congress 
that  was  to  meet  on  Nov.  5,  and  of  how 
he  would  again  bring  forward  his  mo- 
tion few  peace  without  annexations,  and 
of  how  he  would  perhaps  be  able  to 
count  an  increase  of  two  or  three  in  his 
following.  In  that  way,  he  felt,  he  would 
never  reach  the  masses;  hence  his  choice 
of  another  weapon,  which  had  proved 
effective'  in  this,  as  in  other  respects. 
The  resolution  that  was  adopted  on  Nov. 
5,  said  the  speaker,  was  almost  identical 
with  my  own,  with  the  one  that  had  al- 
ways been  rejected  previously.  My  deed, 
therefore,  had  the  result  I  anticipated.  I 
have  never  regretted  it  since,  and  am 
convinced  that  it  was  profitable — that  I 
did  what  had  to  be  done  to  rescue  the  sit- 
uation from  the  stagnation  into  which  it 
had  fallen. 


The  Armenian  Tragedy 

By  Edmund  Candler 

[Written  at  Bagdad  in  April,  1917] 


ONE  of  the  best  things  that  are  being 
done  in  Bagdad  is  the  salvage  of 
Armenian  women  and  children  who 
have  survived  the  massacres  and  who  are 
now  living  in  Mussulman  families.  These 
are  being  gathered  into  homes  financed 
by  the  British  Government,  and  their 
own  community  is  looking  after  them. 

I  visited  one  of  these  institutions  yes- 
terday. The  inmates  were  all  young, 
many  of  marriageable  age,  and  there 
were  a  great  number  of  children  under 
6  who  have  already  forgotten  their  lan- 
guage and  their  faith. 

The  bald  statement  of  what  they  have 


suffered  and  seen  is  a  damning  and  un- 
answerable arraignment  against  the 
Turkish  Government.  The  first  girl  I 
saw  was  a  child  of  10  from  a  village 
near  Erzerum.  She  and  her  family  had 
started  on  donkeys  with  a  few  of  their 
belongings,  but  in  three  days  the  Kurds 
had  left  them  nothing,  and  they  had  to 
walk.  The  Turks  had  issued  a  procla- 
mation in  all  the  villages  that  the  Ar- 
menians were  to  be  sent  away  to  a  col- 
ony that  was  being  prepared  for  them, 
and  that  their  property  was  to  be  kept 
under  the  care  of  the  Government  dur- 
ing the  war  and  then  restored.    This  was 


THE  FRENCH  BATTLE  FRONT  IN  ALSACE 


Picture-map   (in  ten-mile  squares  in  perspective)   showing 

where  the  battle  line  rests  on  the  Swiss  frontier  and  the 

section    of    Alsace    so    far    regained    by    France. 

iht    The  •■       H*<  ■  /,    n>  tnrtol) 


THE  ARMENIAN   TRAGEDY 


333 


more  than  a  year  ago.  The  gendarmes 
were  very  pleasant  to  them  in  their 
homes,  and  told  them  that  they  were  to 
be  given  new  land  to  cultivate,  and  that 
their  journey  would  not  be  long.  The 
first  assurance,  as  they  guessed,  was 
visionary.  In  the  second  the  gendarmes 
did  not  lie. 

For  many  of  them  it  was  all  over  on 
the  third  day.  Two  or  three  hundred  of 
the  men  were  separated  from  the  women 
and  killed  at  a  distance,  shot  or  cut  down 
with  the  sword.  After  that  the  same 
thing  happened  nearly  every  day.  The 
guards  were  very  haphazard;  there  was 
no  system.  Some  of  the  women  were 
pushed  into  the  river,  others  thrust  over 
precipices.  Twelve  hundred  left  the  two 
villages  near  Erzerum;  400  only  reached 
Ras-el-Ain.  The  survivors  were  all  wo- 
men and  children;  there  was  not  a  man 
among  them,  or  a  child  over  the  age  of  9. 

I  met  a  refugee  from  the  Kara-Hissar 
district  who,  with  six  companions,  had 
been  saved  by  some  Armenian  women 
he  found  established  in  a  Bedouin  camp. 
Eight  hundred  families  in  all  had  left 
Kara-Hissar.  Half  of  these  were  cap- 
sized and  drowned  on  Arab  boats  on  the 
Euphrates.  The  survivors,  when  they 
reached  Deir-ez-Zor,  were  placed  in  an 
internment  camp.  While  here  they  ap- 
proached the  Mutesarrif,  hoping  to  pur- 
chase their  release.  They  offered  him 
3,000  liras.  It  was  not  enough.  They 
made  a  second  collection;  every  piastre 
they  could  raise  was  thrown  into  the  pool. 
This  time  the  sum  was  nearly  5,000 
liras,  and  the  Mutesarrif  accepted  the 
bribe  on  condition  that  they  should  sign 

a  paper,  "  We,  the  Armenians'  of  , 

give  this  sum  willingly  to  the  Turkish 
Army."  But  it  did  not  save  them.  The 
hated  gendarmes  accompanied  them  on 
the  march,  and  nine  miles  from  the  city 
the  massacre  began.  Sticks  and  stones 
and  knives  and  daggers  were  employed, 
and  a  few  merciful  bullets.  But,  as  al- 
ways happens,  the  assasins  tired  of  their 
work;  even  the  physical  part  of  it  was 
exhausting,  and  the  last  act  was  post- 
poned from  day  to  day.  In  the  end  a 
tired  gendarme  gave  them  the  hint  to  go. 
The  night  was  dark,  and  the  guard  more 


careless  than  usual,  and  the  last  rem- 
nants of  the  party,  fifty-five  in  all, 
made  their  escape. 

Another  man  I  heard  of  was  the  sole 
survivor  of  a  group  of  refugees  who  dis- 
appeared between  Ras-el-Ain  and  Nisi- 
bin.  They  were  taken  into  the  desert 
and  formed  in  line,  as  in  a  Chinese 
execution,  to  be  dispatched  with  the 
sword.  There  was  no  shortage  of  am- 
munition, I  was  told,  but  the  sword  was 
employed  for  reasons  of  economy.  While 
waiting  for  his  turn,  it  occurred  to  the 
Armenian  that  a  bullet  would  be  an 
easier  death.  So  he  broke  from  the  line. 
In  the  confusion  the  gendarmes  missed 
him.  It  was  almost  dusk;  he  hid  in  the 
brushwood ;  by  a  miracle  he  escaped,  and 
found  his  way  to  Bagdad. 

The  main  features  of  the  massacres 
are  much  the  same.  The  emigrants,  if 
they  are  not  killed  on  the  road,  are  taken 
to  some  depot,  where  they  are  kept  a 
few  days.  Here  they  find  a  large  camp 
of  two  or  three  thousand  or  more.  Soon 
notice  comes  from  Constantinople  that 
the  refugees  of  a  certain  district  have 
been  allotted  land  for  cultivation,  and 
they  are  told  they  must  start  on  their 
journey  again.  This,  they  know,  is  prob- 
ably the  death  sentence,  but  they  nourish 
a  thin  hope.  For  the  first  half  day  they 
are  generally  safe,  as  murder  on  a  large 
scale  is  deprecated  near  a  town.  No- 
body, for  instance,  saw  any  one  killed  in 
Trebizond;  but  a  few  days  after  the  Ar- 
menians had  left  the  city  their  bodies 
came  floating  down  the  river.  The  desert 
is  a  non-conductor.  What  is  done  there 
leaves  only  vague  rumor. 

The  refugees,  though  unarmed,  some- 
times turn  on  their  guard.  More  than 
once  the  assassins  have  paid  dearly. 
There  is  a  woman  in  Bagdad  who  was 
one  of  a  band  of  200  or  300  Armenian 
women  from  the  hills  who  held  a  pass 
near  Urfa.  Their  men  had  been  treach- 
erously killed  off  earlier,  and  they  knew 
that  obedience  to  the  proclamation  of  ex- 
ile was  as  fatal  as  resistance.  They  held 
the  pass  with  their  rifles  nearly  a  week, 
and  the  Turks  had  to  bring  up  artillery. 
Some  fifty  of  them  escaped.  The  wo- 
man who  is  now  in  Bagdad  was  rescued 


334 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


by  a  Turk  of  the  better  school,  who  re- 
spected her  honor  and  on  the  journey 
treated  her  as  his  own  daughter,  though 
he  failed  to  convert  her  to  Islam. 

Few  Armenian  women  were  so  fortu- 
nate. Many  were  killed  with  as  little 
scruple  as  the  men.  Plainness  or  good 
looks  were  fatal  in  different  ways.  The 
old  and  ugly  died  by  violence  or  were 
starved;  the  young  were  taken  into  the 
families  of  the  Turks.     A  traveler  now 


in  Bagdad  was  given  a  letter  by  an  offi- 
cial at  Ras-el-Ain  to  deliver  to  the 
gendarme  in  charge  on  the  road. 
"  Choose  a  pretty  one  for  me,"  he  wrote, 
"  and  leave  her  in  the  village  outside 
the  town." 

At  Aleppo  and  Ras-el-Ain  German  of- 
ficers stalked  side  by  side  with  these 
spectres  of  famine  and  murder  and  death, 
and  not  a  finger  was  raised  or  a  word 
said. 


Enormous  Weight  of  Metal  Hurled  by  Artillery 


THE  weight  of  projectiles  fired  from 
the  German  77-millimeter  guns  in 
the  battle  of  the  Somme  in  July, 
1916,  was  more  than  121,000  tons,  or  about 
equal  to  the  combined  weight  of  four 
superdreadnought  battleships  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania type,  the  largest  vessel  of  that 
class  now  in  commission  in  the  United 
States  Navy.  In  an  article  dealing  with 
the  expenditure  of  ammunition  in  the 
Somme  battles  The  Field  Artillery  Jour- 
nal, published  by  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  Army,  says  that  in  July 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  77- 
millimeter  guns  in  the  German  Army 
fired  projectiles  the  total  weight  of 
which  was  121,140.25  tons,  or  242,280,500 
pounds. 

"  That  the  expenditure  of  field  artil- 
lery ammunition  in  the  present  war  has 
been  enormous  and  beyond  any  concep- 
tion based  upon  previous  experience  is 
well  known,  but,  like  many  other  mat- 
ters of  importance,"  The  Field  Artillery 
Journal  says,  "  exact  data  have  not  gen- 
erally been  available. 

"  The  following  data,  taken  from  Gen- 
eral Sixt  von  Arnim's  report  concerning 
the  battle  of  the  Somme,  July,  1916,  are 
extremely  interesting  in  that  they  give 
the  maximum  expended  in  any  one  day 
of  twenty-four  hours  and  the  average 
daily  expenditure  during  the  month  of 
July,  1916. 

"  First — Maximum  artillery  ammuni- 
tion expended  in  any  one  day  of  twenty- 
four  hours: 

Rounds  Per  Gun. 

77-mm.  field  gun 322 

105-mm.  field  howitzer 470 

150-mm.  howitzer 233 


Rounds  Per  Gun. 

105-mm.  gun  321 

210-mm.  mortar  116 

"  Second — Daily  average  during  July, 
1916: 

Rounds  Per  Gun. 

77-mm.  field  gun 145 

105-mm.  field  howitzer 170 

150-mm.  howitzer 119 

105-mm.  gun   118 

210-mm.  mortar  51 

"  One  field  battery  (howitzers)  ex- 
pended in  one  day  3,500  gas  shells. 

"  The  actual  number  of  guns  in  action 
is  not  known.  The  best  information 
gives  a  probable  number  of  one  field 
gun,  exclusive  of  heavy  types,  for  every 
twenty  yards  of  front.  The  approximate 
frontage  of  the  Somme  battle  was  forty 
miles,  so  that  the  number  of  field  guns 
engaged  numbered  in  the  vicinity  of 
3,500.  Each  gun  fired  145  projectiles 
per  day,  or  a  total  of  4,495  for  the  month, 
and  the  total  fired  becomes   15,732,500. 

"  The  German  77-millimeter  projectile 
weighs  7  kilograms,  or  15.4  pounds,  so 
that  the  total  weight  fired  was  242,280,- 
500  pounds,  or  121,140.25  tons.  The 
computed  weight  of  the  heavy  artillery 
ammunition  would  probably  more  than 
double  this  amount." 

It  was  announced  by  the  British  Min- 
istry of  Munitions  that  the  British  ex- 
penditure of  shells  of  the  calibre  of  six 
inches  and  upward  during  the  first  week 
of  the  offensive  that  opened  near  Arras 
on  April  9,  1917,  was  nearly  twice  that 
of  the  first  week  of  the  Somme  offen- 
sive, while  the  expenditure  of  such  shells 
during  the  second  week  was  six  and  one- 
half  times  that  of  the  second  week  on 
the  Somme. 


General  Haig's  Official  Report 

Battles  on  the  Ancre  From  Nov.  18,  1916,  to 
March  13,  1917 


[Field  Marshal  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  Com- 
mander in  Chief  of  the  British  armies  in 
France,  on  May  31  submitted  his  official 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War 
of  the  operations  of  the  armies  under  his 
command    during    the    period   following 
Nov.  18,  1916,  which  is  the  end  of  the  pre- 
ceding report  covering  the  period  from 
May  19,  1916,  to  Nov.  15, 1916,  as  printed 
in  Current  History  Magazine  March, 
1917,  Pages  1114-1132.] 
I. 
General  Headquarters, 
British  Armies  in  France, 
May  31,   1917. 
My  Lord: 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following 
report  on  the  operations  of  the  British 
armies  in  France  from  the  18th  of  November, 
1916,  to  the  commencement  of  our  present 
offensive. 

Nature  of  Operations 

(1)  My  plans  for  the  Winter,  already  de- 
cided on  at  the  opening-  of  the  period  under 
review,  were  based  on  several  considerations : 

The  enemy's  strength  had  been  consider- 
ably reduced  by  the  severe  and  protracted 
struggle  on  the  Somme  battlefields,  and  so 
far  as  circumstances  and  the  weather  would 
permit  it  was  most  desirable  to  allow  him 
no  respite  during  the  Winter. 

With  this  object,  although  possibilities 
were  limited  by  the  state  of  the  ground  un- 
der Winter  conditions,  I  considered  it  feasi- 
ble to  turn  to  good  account  the  very  favor- 
able situation  then  existing  in  the  region  of 
the  River  Ancre  as  a  result  of  the  Somme 
battle. 

Our  operations  prior  to  the  18th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1916,  had  forced  the  enemy  into  a  very 
pronounced  salient  in  the  area  between  the 
Ancre  and  the  Scarpe  Valleys,  and  had  ob- 
tained for  us  greatly  improved  opportunities 
for  observation  over  this  salient.  A  com- 
paratively short  further  advance  would  give 
us  complete  possession  of  the  few  points 
south  of  the  Ancre  to  which  the  enemy  still 
clung,  and  would  enable  us  to  gain  entire 
command  of  the  spur  above  Beaumont 
Hamel.  Thereafter  the  configuration  of  the 
ground  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ancre 
Valley  was  such  that  every  fresh  advance 
would  enfilade  the  enemy's  positions  and  au- 
tomatically open  up  to  the  observation  of  our 
troops  some  new  part  of  his  defense.  Ar- 
rangements could,  therefore,  be  made  for  sys- 


tematic and  deliberate  attacks  to  be  deliv- 
ered on  selected  positions,  to  gain  further 
observation  for  ourselves  and  deprive  the 
enemy  of  that  advantage.  By  these  means 
the  enemy's  defenses  would  be  continually 
outflanked,  and  we  should  be  enabled  to  di- 
rect our  massed  artillery  fire  with  such  ac- 
curacy against  his  trenches  and  communi- 
cations as  to  make  his  positions  in  the  Ancre 
Valley  exceedingly  costly  to  maintain. 

With  the  same  object  in  view  a  number  of 
minor  enterprises  and  raids  were  planned  to 
be  carried  out  along  the  whole  front  of  the 
British   armies. 

In  addition  to  the  operations  outlined 
above,  preparations  for  the  resumption  of  a 
general  offensive  in  the  Spring  had  to  be 
proceeded  with  in  due  course.  In  this  con- 
nection, steps  had  to  be  taken  to  overcome 
the  difficulties  which  a  temporary  lack  of 
railway  facilities  would  place  in  the  way  of 
completing  our  task  within  the  allotted  time. 
Provision  had  also  to  be  made  to  cope  with 
the  effect  of  Winter  conditions  upon  work 
and  roads,  a  factor  to  which  the  prolonged 
frost  at  the  commencement  of  the  present 
year  subsequently  gave  special  prominence. 

Another  very  important  consideration  was 
the  training  of  the  forces  under  my  com- 
mand. It  was  highly  desirable  that  during 
the  Winter  the  troops  engaged  in  the  recent 
prolonged  fighting  should  be  given  an  ade- 
quate period  out  of  the  line  for  training, 
rest,   and  refitting. 

Certain  modifications  of  my  program  in 
this  respect  eventually  became  necessary.  To 
meet  the  wishes  of  our  allies  in  connection 
with  the  plan  of  operations  for  the  Spring 
of  1917,  a  gradual  extension  of  the  British 
front  southward  as  far  as  a  point  opposite 
the  town  of  Roye  was  decided  on  in  January, 
and  was  completed  without  incident  of  im- 
portance by  Feb.  26,  1917.  This  alteration 
entailed  the  maintenance  by  the  British 
forces  of  an  exceptionally  active  front  of 
110  miles,  including  the  whole  of  the  Somme 
battle  front,  and,  combined  with  the  con- 
tinued activity  maintained  throughout  the 
Winter,  interfered  to  no  small  extent  with  my 
arrangements  for  reliefs.  The  training  of  the 
troops  had,  consequently,  to  be  restricted  to 
such  limited  opportunities  as  circumstances 
from  time  to  time  permitted. 

The  operations  on  the  Ancre,  however,  as 
well  as  the  minor  enterprises  and  raids  to 
which  reference  has  been  made,  were  carried 
out  as  intended.  Besides  gaining  valuable 
position  and  observation  by  local  attacks  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Bouchavesnes,  Sailly- 
Saillisel,    and    Grandcourt,    these    raids    and 


336 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


minor  enterprises  were  the  means  of  inflict- 
ing heavy  casualties  on  the  enemy,  and  con- 
tributed very  appreciably  to  the  total  of 
5,284  prisoners  taken  from  him  in  the  period 
under  review. 

The    Enemy's    Position 

(2)  At  the  conclusion  of  the  operations  of 
the  13th  of  November  and  following  days  the 
enemy  still  held  the  whole  of  the  Ancre  Val- 
ley from  Le  Transloy  to  Grandcourt,  and  his 
first  line  of  defense  lay  along  the  lower 
northern  slopes  of  the  Thiepval  Ridge. 

North  of  the  Ancre  he  still  held  the  greater 
part  of  the  spur  above  Beaumont  Hamel. 
Beyond  that  point  the  original  German  front 
line,  in  which  the  enemy  had  established 
himself  two  years  previously,  ran  past  S'erre, 
Gommecourt,  and  Monchy-au-Bois  to  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  main  watershed,  and 
then  northeast  down  to  the  valley  of  the 
River  Scarpe  east  of  Arras. 

Besides  the  positions  held  by  him  on  our 
immediate  front,  and  in  addition  to  the  for- 
tified villages  of  the  Ancre  Valley  with  their 
connecting  trenches,  the  enemy  had  prepared 
along  the  forward  crest  of  the  ridge  north  of 
the  Ancre  Valley  a  strong  second  system  of 
defense.  This  consisted  of  a  double  line  of 
trenches,  heavily  wired,  and  ran  northwest 
from  Saillisel  past  Le  Transloy  to  the  Albert- 
Bapaume  road,  where  it  turned  west  past 
Grevillers  and  Loupart  "Wood  and  then  north- 
west again  past  Achiet-le-Petit  to  Bucquoy. 
This  system,  which  was  known  as  the  Le 
Transloy-Loupart  line,  both  by  reason  of  its 
situation  and  as  a  result  of  the  skill  and  in- 
dustry expended  in  its  preparation,  consti- 
tuted an  exceedingly  strong  natural  defensive 
position,  second  only  to  that  from  which  the 
enemy  had  recently  been  driven  on  the  Mor- 
val-Thiepval  Ridge.  Parallel  to  this  line,  but 
on  the  far  side  of  the  crest,  he  had  con- 
structed toward  the  close  of  the  past  year  a 
third  defensive  system  on  the  line  Rocquigny, 
Bapaume,  Ablainzeville. 

Operations  Commenced 

(3.)  The  first  object  of  our  operations  in 
the  Ancre  Valley  was  to  advance  our  trenches 
to  within  assaulting  distance  of  the  Le  Trans- 
loy-Loupart  line. 

Accordingly,  on  Nov.  18,  1916,  before  the 
rapidly  deteriorating  condition  of  the  ground 
had  yet  made  an  undertaking  on  so  consid- 
erable a  scale  impossible,  an  attack  was  de- 
livered against  the  next  German  line  of  de- 
fense, overlooking  the  villages  of  Pys  and 
Grandcourt.  Valuable  positions  were  gained 
on  a  front  of  about  5,000  yards,  while  a 
simultaneous  attack  north  of  the  Ancre  con- 
siderably improved  the  situation  of  our 
troops  in  the  Beaucourt  Valley. 

By  this  time  Winter  conditions  had  set  in, 
and  along  a  great  part  of  our  new  front 
movement  across  the  open  had  become  prac- 
tically impossible.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  month,  therefore,  and  throughout  Decem- 
ber, our  energies  were  principally  directed  to 


the  improvement  of  our  own  trenches  and  of 
roads  and  communications  behind  them.  At 
the  same  time  the  necessary  rearrangement 
of  our  artillery  was  completed,  so  as  to  take 
full  advantage  of  the  opportunities  afforded 
by  our  new  positions  for  concentration  of 
fire. 

The  Beaumont  Hamel   Spur 

(4.)  As  soon  as  active  operations  again  be- 
came possible,  proceedings  were  commenced 
to  drive  the  enemy  from  the  remainder  of  the 


LINE  JULY  |  st  1916  ~ 
"     MARCH  1 5  *>»  »9 1 7»  ■» 

SCALE   OF  MILES 


BRITISH  ADVANCE  DURING  THE  ANCRE 
OFFENSIVE 


Beaumont  Hamel  Spur.  In  January  a  num- 
ber of  small  operations  were  carried  out  with 
this  object,  resulting  in  a  progressive  im- 
provement of  our  position.  Before  the  end 
of  the  month  the  whole  of  the  high  ground 
north  and  east  of  Beaumont  Hamel  was  in 
our  possession,  we  had  pushed  across  the 
Beaucourt  Valley  1,000  yards  north  of  Beau- 
court  Village,  and  had  gained  a  footing  on 
the  southern  slopes  of  the  spur  to  the  east. 
The  most  important  of  these  attacks  was 
undertaken  at  dawn  on  the  morning  of  the 
13  th  of  January  against  a  system  of  hostile 
trenches  extending  for  some  1,500  yards 
along  the  crest  of  the  spur  east  and  north- 
east of  Beaumont  Hamel.  By  8  :30  A.  M.  all 
our  objectives  had  been  captured,  together 
with  over  200  prisoners.  That  afternoon  an 
enemy  counterattack  was  broken  up  by  our 
artillery. 


GENERAL   HAIG'S   OFFICIAL   REPORT 


337 


Throughout  the  whole  of  the  month's  fight- 
ing in  this  area,  in  which  over  500  German 
prisoners  were  taken  by  us,  our  casualties 
were  exceedingly  light.  This  satisfactory 
circumstance  can  be  attributed  mainly  to 
the  close  and  skillful  co-operation  between 
our  infantry  and  artillery,  and  to  the  ex- 
cellence of  our  artillery  preparation  and 
barrages.  These  in  turn  were  made  possible 
by  the  opportunities  for  accurate  observation 
afforded  by  the  high  ground  north  of  Thiep- 
val  and  by  the  fine  work  done  by  our  air- 
craft. 

Grandcourt 
(5)  Possession  of  the  Beaumont  Hamel 
Spur  opened  up  a  new  and  extensive  field 
of  action  for  our  artillery.  The  whole  of  the 
Beaucourt  Valley  and  the  western  slopes  of 
the  spur  beyond  from  opposite  Grandcourt  to 
Serre  now  lay  exposed  to  our  fire.  Opera- 
tions were,  therefore,  at  once  commenced 
under  the  cover  of  our  guns  to  clear  the  rer 
mainder  of  the  valley  south  of  the  Serre 
Hill,  and  to  push  our  line  forward  to  the 
crest  of  the  spur. 

On  the  night  of  the  3d-4th  of  February  an 
important  German  line  of  defense  on  the 
southern  slopes  of  this  spur,  forming  part  of 
the  enemy's  original  second-line  system  north 
of  the  Ancre,  was  captured  by  our  troops  on 
a  front  of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile. 
The  enemy's  resistance  was  stubborn  and 
hard  fighting  took  place,  which  lasted 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  following  day 
and  night.  During  this  period  a  number  of 
determined  counterattacks  were  beaten  off  by 
our  infantry  or  dispersed  by  our  artillery, 
and  by  the  5th  of  February  we  had  gained 
the  whole  of  our  objectives.  In  this  operation, 
in  which  the  excellence  of  our  artillery  co- 
operation was  very  marked,  we  took  176 
prisoners  and  four  machine  guns. 

This  success  brought  our  front  forward 
north  of  the  Ancre  to  a  point  level  with  the 
centre  of  Grandcourt,  and  made  the  enemy's 
hold  on  his  position  in  that  village  and  in  his 
more  western  defenses  south  of  the  river 
very  precarious.  It  was  not  unexpected, 
therefore,  when  on  the  morning  of  the  Gth  of 
February  our  patrols  reported  that  the  last 
remaining  portion  of  the  old  German  second- 
line  system  south  of  the  river,  lying  between 
Grandcourt  and  Stuff  Redoubt,  had  been 
evacuated.  The  abandoned  trenches  were  oc- 
cupied by  our  troops  the  same  morning. 

Constant  reconnoissances  were  sent  out  by 
us  to  keep  touch  with  the  enemy  and  to  as- 
certain his  movements  and  intentions.  Grand- 
court  itself  was  next  found  to  be  clear  of 
the  enemy,  and  by  10  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  7th  of  February  was  also  in  ou>*  posses- 
sion. That  night  we  carried  Baillescourt 
Farm,  about  half  way  between  Beaumont 
and  Miraumont,  capturing  eighty-seven  pris- 
oners. 

(6)  The  task  of  driving  the  enemy  from  his 
position    in    the    Beaucourt    Valley    was    re- 


sumed on  the  night  of  Feb.  10-11.  Our  prin- 
cipal attack  was  directed  against  some  1,500 
yards  of  a  strong  line  of  trenches,  the  west- 
ern end  of  which  was  already  in  our  pos- 
session, lying  at  the  southern  foot  of  the 
Serre  Hill.  Our  infantry  were  formed  up 
after  dark,  and  at  8 :30  P.  M.  advanced 
under  our  covering  artillery  barrage.  After 
considerable  fighting  in  the  centre  and  to- 
ward the  left  of  our  attack,  the  whole  of  the 
trench  line  which  formed  our  objective  was 
gained,  with  the  exception  of  two  strong 
points  which  held  out  for  a  few  days  longer. 
At  5  A.  M.  a  determined  counterattack  from 
the  direction  of  Puisieux-au-Mont  was  beaten 
off  by  our  artillery  and  machine-gun  fire. 
Two  other  counterattacks  on  Feb.  11  and  a 
third  on  Feb.  12  were  equally  unsuccessful. 

The  Advance  Toward  Miraumont 
(7)  The  village  of  Serre  now  formed  the 
point  of  a  very  pronounced  salient,  which 
our  further  progress  along  the  Ancre  Valley 
would  render  increasingly  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  for  the  enemy  to  hold.  Accord- 
ingly, an  operation  on  a  somewhat  larger 
scale  than  anything  hitherto  attempted  since 
the  new  year  was  now  undertaken.  Its  ob- 
ject was  to  carry  our  line  forward  along  the 
spur  which  runs  northward  from  the  main 
Morval-Thiepval  Ridge  about  Courcelette, 
and  so  gain  possession  of  the  high  ground  at 
its  northern  extremity.  The  possession  of  this 
high  ground,  besides  commanding  the  ap- 
proaches to  Pys  and  Miraumont  from  the 
south,  would  give  observation  over  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Ancre,  in  which  many  hostile 
batteries  were  situated  in  positions  enabling 
their  fire  to  be  directed  for  the  defense  of 
the  Serre  sector.  At  the  same  time  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a  smaller  attack  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river,  designed  to  seize 
a  portion  of  the  Sunken  Road  lying  along 
the  eastern  crest  of  the  second  spur  north 
of  the  Ancre  and  so  obtain  control  of  the 
approaches  to  Miraumont  from  the  west. 

Our  assault  was  delivered  simultaneously 
on  both  banks  of  the  Ancre  at  5 :45  A.  M. 
on  the  17th  of  February.  The  night  was  par- 
ticularly dark,  and  thick  mist  and  heavy  con- 
ditions of  the  ground  produced  by  the  thaw 
that  had  just  set  in  added  to  the  difficulties 
with  which  our  troops  had  to  contend.  The 
enemy  was,  moreover,  on  the  alert,  and  com- 
menced a  heavy  barrage  some  time  before 
the  hour  of  our  assault,  while  our  attacking 
battalions  were  still  forming  up.  None  the 
less,  our  troops  advanced  to  the  assault  with 
great  gallantry.  On  the  left  of  our  attack 
our  artillery  preparation  had  been  assisted 
by  observation  from  the  positions  already 
won  on  the  right  back  of  the  Ancre.  In  con- 
sequence, our  infantry  were  able  to  make  a 
very  considerable  advance,  and  established 
themselves  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
Petit  Miraumont.  The  right  of  our  attack 
encountered  more  serious  resistance,  but  here 
also  valuable  progress  was  made. 


S38 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


North  of  the  Ancre  our  troops  met  with 
complete  success.  The  whole  of  the  position 
attacked,  on  a  front  of  about  half  a  mile, 
was  secured  without  great  difficulty,  and  an 
enemy  counterattack  during  the  morning  was 
easily  driven   off. 

Next  day,  at  11:30  A.  M.,  the  enemy  deliv- 
ered a  second  counterattack  from  the  north 
with  considerable  forces',  estimated  at  two 
battalions,  upon  our  new  positions  north  of 
the  river.  His  advancing  waves  came  under 
the  concentrated  fire  of  our  artillery  and 
machine  guns  while  still  some  distance  in 
front  of  our  lines,  and  were  driven  back  in 
disorder  with  exceedingly  heavy  losses. 

Eleven  officers  and  588  other  ranks  were 
taken  prisoners  by  us  in  these  operations. 

Miraumont  and  Serre   Evacuated 

(8)  The  ground  gained  by  these  two  attacks 
and  by  minor  operations  carried  out  during 
the  succeeding  days  gave  us  the  observation 
we  desired,  as  well  as  complete  command 
over  the  German  artillery  positions  in  the 
upper  Ancre  Valley  and  over  his  defenses 
in  and  around  Pys  and  Miraumont.  The 
constant  bombardment  by  our  artillery,  com- 
bined with  the  threat  of  an  attack  in  which 
his  troops  would  have  been  at  great  disad- 
vantage, accordingly  decided  the  enemy  to 
abandon  both  villages.  Our  possession  of 
Miraumont,  however,  gravely  endangered  the 
enemy's  positions  at  Serre  by  opening  up  for 
us  possibilities  of  a  further  advance  north- 
ward, while  the  loss  of  Serre  would  speedily 
render  Puisieux-au-Mont  and  Gommecourt 
equally  difficult  of  defense.  There  was, 
therefore,  good  ground  to  expect  that  the 
evacuation  of  Pys  and  Miraumont  would 
shortly  be  followed  by  a  withdrawal  on  a 
more  considerable  scale.  This,  in  fact,  oc- 
curred. 

On  the  24th  of  February  the  enemy's  posi- 
tions before  Pys,  Miraumont,  and  Serre  were 
found  by  our  patrols  to  have  been  evacuated, 
and  were  occupied  by  our  troops.  Our  patrols 
were  then  at  once  pushed  forward,  supported 
by  strong  infantry  detachments,  and  by  the 
evening  of  the  25th  of  February  the  enemy's 
first  system  of  defense  from  north  of  Gueude- 
court  to  west  of  Serre,  and  including  Luisen- 
hof  Farm,  Warlencourt-Eaucourt,  Pys,  Mi- 
raumont, Beauregard  Dovecot,  and  Serre, 
had  fallen  into  our  hands.  The  enemy  of- 
fered some  opposition  with  machine  guns  at 
selected  strong  points  in  his  line,  and  his  ar- 
tillery actively  shelled  the  areas  from  which 
he  had  withdrawn ;  but  the  measures  taken 
to  deal  with  such  tactics  proved  adequate, 
and  the  casualties  inflicted  on  our  troops 
were  light. 

The  enemy's  retirement  at  this  juncture  was 
greatly  favored  by  the  weather.  The  pro- 
longed period  of  exceptional  frost,  following 
a  wet  Autumn,  had  frozen  the  ground  to  a 
great  depth.  When  the  thaw  commenced  in  the 
third  week  of  February  the  roads  disinte- 
grated by  the  frost  broke  up,  the  sides  of 
trenches   fell   in,    and   the   area  across   which 


our  troops  had  fought  their  way  forward  re- 
turned to  a  condition  of  slough  and  quag- 
mire even  worse  than  that  of  the  previous 
Autumn.  On  the  other  hand,  the  condition 
of  the  roads  and  the  surface  of  the  ground 
behind  the  enemy  steadily  improved  the 
further  he  withdrew  from  the  scene  of  the 
fighting.  He  was  also  materially  assisted  by 
a  succession  of  misty  days,  which  greatly  in- 
terfered with  the  work  of  our  airplanes. 
Over  such  ground  and  in  such  conditions 
rapid  pursuit  was  impossible.  It  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  all  ranks  concerned  that,  in 
spite  of  all  difficulties,  constant  touch  was 
maintained  with  the  enemy  and  that  timely 
information  was  obtained  of  his  movements. 

Le  Barque  and  Gommecourt 

(9)  Resistance  of  a  more  serious  character 
was  encountered  in  a  strong  secondary  line 
of  defense  which,  from  a  point  in  the  Le 
Tnansloy-Loupart  line  due  west  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Beaulencourt,  crossed  in  front  of 
Ligny-Thilloy  and  Le  Barque  to  the  southern 
defenses  of  Loupart  Wood.  Between  Feb. 
25  and  March  2  a  series  of  attacks  were  car- 
ried out  against  this  line,  and  the  enemy  was 
gradually  driven  out  of  his  positions.  By  the 
evening  of  the  latter  day  the  whole  line  of 
trenches  and  the  villages  of  Le  Barque, 
Ligny-Thilloy  and  Thilloy  had  in  turn  been 
captured.  One  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
prisoners  and  a  number  of  trench  mortars 
and  machine  guns  were  taken  in  this  fight- 
ing, in  the  course  of  which  the  enemy  made 
several  vigorous .  but  unsuccessful  counter- 
attacks. 

Meanwhile,  rapid  progress  had  been  made 
on  the  remainder  of  the  front  of  our  ad- 
vance. On  Feb.  27  the  enemy's  rear- 
guards in  Puisieux-au-Mont  were  driven  to 
their  last  positions  of  defense  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  church,  and  to  the  north- 
west of  the  village  our  front  was  extended 
to  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  Gomme- 
court. That  evening  our  patrols  entered 
Gommecourt  Village  and  Park,  following 
closely  upon  the  retreating  enemy,  and  by 
10  P.  M.  Gommecourt  and  its  defenses  had 
been  occupied.  Next  morning  the  capture  of 
Puisieux-au-Mont  was  completed. 

Irles 

(10)  The  enemy  had,  therefore,  been  driven 
back  to  the  Le  Transloy-Loupart  line,  ex- 
cept that  he  still  held  the  village  of  Irles, 
which  formed  a  salient  to  his  position  and 
was  linked  up  to  it  at  Loupart  Wood  and 
Achiet-le-Petit  by  well  constructed  and  well- 
wired  trenches. 

Accordingly,  our  next  step  was  to  take 
Irles,  as  a  preliminary  to  a  larger  undertak- 
ing against  the  Le  Transloy-Loupart  line 
itself;  but  before  either  operation  could  be 
attempted  exceedingly  heavy  work  had  to 
be  done  in  the  improvement  of  roads  and 
communications,  and  in  bringing  forward 
guns  and  ammunition.  The  following  week 
was   devoted   to   these  very  necessary   tasks. 


GENERAL   HAIG'S   OFFICIAL   REPORT 


339 


Meanwhile,  operations  were  limited  to  small 
enterprises  designed  to  keep  in  touch  with 
the  enemy  and  to  establish  forward  posts 
which  might  assist  in  the  forthcoming  at- 
tack. 

The  assault  on  Irles  and  its  defenses  was 
delivered  at  5:25  on  the  morning  of  March 
10,  and  was  completely  successful.  The 
whole  of  our  objectives  were  captured,  and 
in  the  village  and  the  surrounding  works  289 
prisoners  were  taken,  together  with  sixteen 
machine  guns  and  four  trench  mortars.  Our 
casualties  were  very  light,  being  considera- 
bly less  than  the  number  of  our  prisoners. 

The  Loupart  Line 
(11)  The  way  was  now  open  for  the  main 
operation  against  the  centre  of  the  Le  Trans- 


loy-Loupart  line,  which  throughout  March 
11  was  heavily  shelled  by  all  kinds  of  our 
artillery.  So  effective  was  this  bombard- 
ment that  during  the  night  of  March  12-13 
the  enemy  once  more  abandoned  his  posi- 
tions, and  fell  back  on  the  parallel  system 
of  defenses  already  referred  to  on  the  re- 
verse side  of  the  ridge.  Grevillers  and  Lou- 
part Wood  were  thereupon  occupied  by  our 
troops,  and  methodical  preparations  were  at 
once  begun  for  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  next 
line  of  defense. 

[The  second  section  op  the  report  covering 
the  general  withdrawal  of  the  germans 
to  the  beginning  op  the  british  offen- 
SIVE April  9,  1917,  will  appear  in  the 
September  issue  of  Current  History 
Magazine.] 


Burial  of  German  Prisoners 


THE  Swiss  Minister  in  London,  M. 
Carlin,  transmitted  to  the  Foreign 
Office  under  date  of  May  22  the 
following  copy  of  a  Note  Verbale  of 
the  German  Foreign  Office,  dated 
May   9: 

The  Daily  Mirror,  in  their  issue  of  Jan.  8 
last,  published  under  the  heading  "  Hun  Skel- 
eton for  Anatomy  Class  "  a  picture  showing 
blind  English  soldiers  receiving  instructions 
in  skeleton  anatomy. 

Beneath  the  picture  was  written,  "  Twelve 
months  ago  the  skeleton  was  a  living  Ger- 
man." 

The  Foreign  Office  would  be  glad  if  the 
Swiss  Legation  would  protest  strongly  to  the 
British  Government,  pointing  out  at  the  same 
time  that  in  Germany  only  the  skeletons  of 
convicts  are  made  use  of  for  such  purposes. 
The  German  Government  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect that  German  prisoners  in  England  should 
be  buried  in  a  manner  in  accordance  with  the 
conceptions  of  civilized  peoples  regarding  the 
respect  due  to  the  dead.  This  is  still  more  so 
in  the  case  of  soldiers  who,  after  bravely  de- 
fending the  land  of  their  birth,  have  died  in 
a  foreign  country ;  for  the  earthly  remains  of 
such  men  even  their  opponents  ought  to  en- 
tertain feelings  of  sympathy  and  respect. 


The  reply  of  the  Foreign  Minister, 
dated  June  6,  is  as  follows: 

The  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Af- 
fairs presents  his  compliments  to  the  Swiss 
Minister,  and  with  reference  to  Monsieur 
Carlin's  note  No.  48G  S.G.  of  May  22,  trans- 
mitting a  Note  Verbale  from  the  German 
Government  relative  to  a  photograph  pub- 
lished with  the  description  "  Hun  Skeleton 
for  Anatomy  Class,"  in  The  Daily  Mirror  of 
Jan.  8,  1917,  together  with  the  statement 
"  Twelve  months  ago  the  skeleton  was  a 
living  German,"  has  the  honor  to  request 
that  the  German  Government  may  be  in- 
formed as  follows  : 

The  German  Government's  protest  is  based 
on  an  inaccurate  statement,  as  the  photo- 
graph in  question  did  not,  as  stated  by  The 
Daily  Mirror,  represent  the  skeleton  of  a 
German  soldier,  and  a  contradiction  of  the 
statement  was  published  in  the  edition  of  the 
newspaper  in  question  of  Jan.  10,  1917,  un- 
der the  heading  "  Training  Blind  Soldiers." 

The  skeleton  depicted  in  the  photograph 
was  purchased  by  the  National  Institute  for 
the  Blind  before  August,  1914. 

The  bodies  of  German  prisoners  who  die 
when  in  British  hands  are  invariably  buried 
in  a  manner  which  is  in  full  accord  with  the 
conceptions  of  civilized  peoples  regarding  the 
respect  due  to  the  dead. 


German  Barbarities  in  France 

Official  Report  of  Illegal  Treatment  Inflicted  Upon 
Inhabitants  in  Occupied  Territory 

The  appended  report,  handed  to  Premier  Ribot  by  a  commission  appointed  to  investigate 
acts  of  the  enemy  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations,  was  published  by  the  French  Government 
in  the  Journal  Officiel  on  June  1,  1917.  The  commission  consisted  of  Georges  Payelle,  First 
President  of  the  Court  of  Accounts;  Armand  Mollard,  Minister  Plenipotentiary;  Georges 
Maringer,  Counselor  of  State,  and  Edmond  Paillot,  Judge  in  the  Court  of  Cassation.  The 
complete  text  of  the  report  has  been  translated  for  Current  History  Magazine. 


SINCE  April  12,  [1917,]  the  date  of 
our  previous  report,  we  have  pur- 
sued our  investigations  in  the  por- 
tions of  France  recently  freed  from 
enemy  occupation,  and  this  further  in- 
quiry has  only  confirmed  our  conviction 
that  all  the  violations  of  international 
law  of  which  the  Germans  were  guilty 
at  the  time  of  their  departure  were  com- 
mitted under  general  orders  issued  by 
the  Supreme  Command.  In  all  the  towns 
the  same  measures  of  unjust  severity  and 
cruelty  toward  individuals,  the  same 
methods  of  devastation  and  brigandage 
were  employed  simultaneously  and  in 
identical  conditions.  Everywhere  the 
people  were  exploited  and  deported,  the 
factories  destroyed,  houses  demolished  or 
burned,  furniture  stolen  or  smashed,  trees 
cut  down,  wells  contaminated,  farm 
implements  broken  or  carried  away. 

There  is  not  a  single  locality  where 
inhabitants  of  both  sexes,  from  sixteen 
to  sixty  years  of  age,  were  not  torn  from 
their  homes  and  sent  into  Germany  or 
Northern  France;  sent  with  no  more  re- 
gard for  the  grief  of  their  families  than 
for  the  morality  of  the  young  girls  thus 
subjected  to  the  most  disquieting  dan- 
gers. The  scenes  caused  by  these  depor- 
tations were  so  heartrending  that  the 
Germans  themselves  at  times  were  moved 
by  them.  Thus  at  Nesle,  whence  180 
women  or  girls  and  164  men  were  taken 
away  on  Feb.  17,  1917,  an  officer  said 
that  he  "could  not  bear  to  watch  their 
departure,  because  it  was  too  sad  a 
sight."  It  is  true  that  all  were  not  so 
sensitive,  as  the  two  following  episodes 
prove : 

At  Douilly  a  young  woman,  who  had 
given  birth  to  a  dead  infant  two  days 
before,  was  forced  to  rise  from  her  bed 


and  depart.  As  she  passed,  weeping, 
before  the  door  of  Mme.  Wager,  the  lat- 
ter, seeing  that  she  was  scarcely  clothed, 
threw  a  shawl  over  her  shoulders  to  pro- 
tect her  from  the  cold,  and  watched  her 
depart  with  the  certainty  that  the  poor 
unfortunate  would  never  come  back. 

One  day  in  November,  1915,  after  the 
evacuation  of  a  part  of  the  population, 
a  distracted  woman  came  to  the  Town 
Hall  of  Chauny;  she  was  uttering  cries 
of  despair  and  tearing  her  hair,  demand- 
ing the  return  of  her  daughter,  a  child 
of  15  years,  who  had  been  sent  away  she 
knew  not  where.  The  Mayor  tcok  her  to 
Reserve  Officer  Bergschmidt,  a  Berlin 
lawyer,  the  local  representative  of  the 
Kommandantur;  but  he  drove  her  away, 
saying  that  she  annoyed  him  and  was 
disturbing  everybody.  Then,  turning  to 
the  Municipal  Magistrate,  who  was  try- 
ing to  move  him,  he  cried:  "  Mr.  Mayor, 
you  know  very  well,  as  I  have  told  you 
repeatedly,  that  the  words  *  pity '  and 
•  humanity '  are  erased  from  the  diction- 
ary. I  want  it  to  be  understood  that  you 
are  not  to  annoy  me  further  in  these 
matters.     That  is  clear,  is  it  not?  " 

Slavery  of  Deported  Victims 
It  would  be  impossible  to  overempha- 
size the  profoundly  outrageous  character 
of  these  abominable  practices,  which  are 
nothing  else  than  the  re-establishment, 
for  Germany's  profit,  of  the  hardest  and 
most  revolting  form  of  slavery.  The 
"  Notice  Concerning  the  Columns  of 
Civilian  Workers,"  which  was  prepared 
by  Column  Commander  Kugemann, 
(Form.  5  v.  28.  4.  16.  ZAK,)  and  of 
which  we  possess  a  copy,  surpasses  any- 
thing imaginable  in  this  regard.  It  con- 
tains long  instructions,  the  principal  ones 
being  these: 


GERMAN  BARBARITIES  IN  FRANCE 


341 


General  Considerations 
The  persons  belonging  to  the  column  of 
civilian  workers  are  employed  in  the  con- 
struction of  roads,  in  farm  labor,  and  in 
tasks  of  other  kinds.  It  is  forbidden  to 
make  them  work  in  the  zone  of  operations, 
properly  so  called. 

All  workers  of  said  column  wear  on  the 
part  of  the  left  arm  (sic)  a  red  armlet  firm- 
ly sewed  on;  the  armlet  contains  on  the  out- 
side a  black  A,  which  should  be  easily  vis- 
ible. Workers  whose  conduct  is  bad,  or  who 
have  been  punished  for  attempts  to  escape, 
wear  the  badge  on  both  arms. 

Duties  of  the  Workers 
The  workers  live  together  in  places  under 
guard.  In  exceptional  cases  permission  to 
live  outside  the  camp  may  be  granted  to 
aged  workers  whose  conduct  is  particularly 
good,  or  who  have  voluntarily  sought  ad- 
mission into  the  column  of  workers. 

During  their  labors,  and  on  the  way  to 
and  from  work,  the  men  are  guarded  by 
soldiers.  At  the  command  of  "  Achtung !  " 
("Attention  ")  given  by  the  soldier  in  charge, 
the  working  gangs  must,  in  passing  before 
the  officers,  as  a  mark  of  respect  take  off 
their  caps.  The  work  that  is  ordered  must 
be  done  with  speed  and  good-will. 

In  case  of  insubordination  or  attempt  to  es- 
cape, the  soldiers  will,  if  occasion  requires, 
use  their  weapons  unsparingly. 

Payment,  Food,  and  Housing 
Every  workman  receives  a  daily  wage  of 
2.25  francs,  (45  cents,)  from  which  are  de- 
ducted 1.50  francs  for  board  and  25  centimes 
for  clothes,  or  a  total  of  1.75  francs,  (35 
cents.)  Of  the  remaining  50  centimes,  25  are 
paid  on  account,  25  go  into  the  reserve  fund. 
Every  ten  days  each  serious  workman  re- 
ceives 2.50  francs,    (50  cents.) 

Those  who  are  placed  under  arrest  receive 
only  bread  and  water ;  however,  in  case  of 
moderate  offenses,  the  complete  rations  are 
given  every  second  day,  and  every  third  day 
in  case  of  serious  offenses.  Workmen  must 
furnish  their  own  clothes,  linen,  and  shoes. 
The  administration  undertakes  only  the 
mending  and  renewal  of  footwear  and  cloth- 
ing worn  out  by  work. 

Punishments 
The  civilian  workers  are  warned  that  in 
case  of  infraction  of  any  nature  whatever, 
and  particularly  when  it  is  a  matter  of  at- 
tempted escape,  of  disobedience,  of  insub- 
ordination, of  theft,  or  deception,  they  can 
be  punished  by  the  ordinary  police— if  the 
German  law  does  not  provide  heavier  pen- 
alties— with  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
three  months,  or  with  a  fine  not  exceeding 
1,000  marks,  ($250.)  In  case  of  an  offense 
against  a  member  of  the  German  Army  the 
delinquent  will  be  tried  before  the  War 
Council  and  may  be  sentenced  to  death. 


Jail  sentences,  punishments  for  minor  of- 
fenses, for  serious  offenses,  prison  to  the 
extent  of  three  months,  and  fines  to  a  max- 
imum amount  of  1,000  marks  may  be  inflict- 
ed by  the  local  commandant  of  the  place 
where  the  workers  are  housed.  The  impris- 
onment must  be  imposed  in  such  manner 
that  the  man  shall  not  be  absent  from  his 
work,  but  shall  be  confined  during  other 
than  his  working  hours.  Besides,  he  shall 
not  receive  his  pay  for  that  period. 

Workers  whose  attitude  gives  rise  to  con- 
tinual complaints  may  be  thrown  into  a  sep- 
arate section  for  discipline. 

System  of  Draconian  Laws 

Thus  all  these  free  men,  women,  and 
girls,  accustomed  to  family  life,  whom 
the  Germans  have  carried  away  in 
crowds  from  the  invaded  regions  in  de- 
fiance of  the  most  formal  rules  of  inter- 
national law,  are  compelled,  under  a  sys- 
tem of  pitiless  servitude,  to  perform  the 
hardest  kinds  of  work  for  the  enemy. 
At  the  mere  will  of  a  commandant  the 
slightest  infractions  of  the  Draconian 
rules  are  punished  with  imprisonment 
that  may  run  to  three  months,  during 
which  the  victims,  forced  to  work  hard 
from  morning  to  night,  receive,  two  days 
out  of  every  three,  only  a  little  bread  and 
water  as  their  sole  nourishment. 

If  this  is  the  treatment  of  the  de- 
ported, that  imposed  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants who  are  not  evacuated  is  scarcely 
more  tolerable.  A  notable  illustration 
of  the  fact  is  found  in  the  following 
proclamation,  which  was  posted  up  at 
Holnon   (Aisne)   on  July  20,  1915: 

All  workingmen  and  women  and  children 
of  15  years  are  required  to  labor  in  the  fields 
every  day,  including  Sunday,  from  4  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  8  in  the  evening,  (French 
time.)  Recreation,  half  an  hour  in  the  morn- 
ing, an.  hour  at  noon,  and  half  an  hour  in 
the  afternoon.  Disobedience  will  be  punished 
in  the  following  manner : 

1.  Lazy  workmen  will  be  brought  together 
during  the  harvest,  along  with  the  workmen 
in  barracks,  under  the  inspection  of  German 
Corporals.  After  the  harvest  the  idlers  will 
be  imprisoned  six  months;  on  every  third 
day  the  rations  shall  be  only  bread  and 
water. 

2.  Lazy  women  will  be  exiled  to  Holnon  to 
work.  After. the  harvest  the  women  will  be 
imprisoned  six  months. 

3.  Idle  children  will  be  punished  with 
blows  of  a  stick. 

Furthermore,  the  commandant  reserves  the 
right  to  punish  lazy  workmen  with  twenty 
Wows  of  a  stick  every  day. 


342 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


The  workmen  of  Vandelles  Commi'ne  are 
punished  severely. 

[Signed]  GLOSS, 

Colonel  and  Commandant. 

Other   Tyrannous  Edicts 

Innumerable  notices  posted  up  by  the 
enemy  upon  the  walls  of  the  invaded 
communities  bear  irrefutable  witness  to 
the  harshness  of  the  yoke  that  weighed 
upon  our  unfortunate  fellow-countrymen 
and  to  the  rigor  and  continuity  of  the 
requisitions  levied  upon  them.  In  these 
posters  will  be  found,  formulated  in  the 
most  imperative  terms  and  with  threats 
of  punishment,  the  obligation  to  salute 
officers,  to  go  without  lights,  and  to  keep 
all  doors  open  during  the  night;  also 
edicts  forbidding  the  people  to  leave  their 
homes  at  certain  hours  and  orders  com- 
pelling them  to  place  everything,  even  to 
their  garden  products,  at  the  disposal  of 
the  military  authorities.  One  ordinance 
from  General  Commandant  in  Chief  von 
Below,  dated  Oct.  1,  1915,  appears  to 
have  been  promulgated  solely  to  give  a 
semblance  of  legality  to  the  most 
arbitrary  executions.  It  will  suffice  here 
to  reproduce  the  measure  with  which  it 
ends: 

In  every  commune  a  certain  number  of 
notables,  whose  names  will  be  published, 
will  answer  with  their  Jives  for  the  safety 
of  the  railways  in  the  territory  tributary 
to  the  commune.  Besides,  every  community 
in  the  territory  belonging  to  a  railway  line 
that  has  been  damaged  or  destroyed  shall 
pay  a  contribution  or  suffer  other  punish- 
ment. In  certain  circumstances  the  whole 
town  can  be  evacuated,  the  men  taken  to  the 
prison  camp  and  the  rest  of  the  population 
scattered   to  other   localities. 

These  were  not  vain  threats.  On  the 
remnant  of  a  placard,  the  upper  part 
of  which  has  not  been  found — the  whole 
was  posted  up  at  Amigny-Rouy  (Aisne) 
— appears  this  notice: 

5.  Leon  Oudard,  farmer  and  Mayor  of 
Floignes,  because  he  did  not  immediately  no- 
tify the  nearest  German  authorities  of  the 
known  presence  of  enemy  soldiers. 

In  accordance  with  the  sentence,  the  con- 
demned were  shot  on  the  3d  of  August,  [or 
April,]    1916,  at  5:45  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

[Here  follows  the  mention  of  seven  persons 
condemned  to  terms  of  imprisonment  or  re- 
clusion.] 

Because  in  the  communes  of  La  Valine  and 
Floignes  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabi- 
tants doubtless  had  knowledge  of  the  criminal 
conduct    of    the    persons    above   named,    one- 


half  of  all  the  men  of  the  communes  of  La 
Valine  and  of  Floignes  are,  besides,  incor- 
porated for  the  duration  of  the  war  in  a  sec- 
tion  of   workers. 

[Signed]  V.   BOCKELBERG. 

Wringing  Money  From  Cities 

Officer  Bergschmidt  told  the  Mayor 
of  Chauny  that  the  words  pity  and 
humanity  were  to  be  expunged  from  the 
dictionary.  These,  alas!  are  not  the  only 
expressions  that  have  been  eliminated 
from  the  German  vocabulary.  It  is  the 
same  with  all  those  which  represent  any 
idea  of  generosity  or  simple  honesty,  and 
the  mind  would  refuse  to  admit,  if  not 
compelled  by  the  evidence,  that  the  army 
of  a  civilized  nation  could  be  guilty  of 
such  a  frenzy  of  theft  and  fury  of  de- 
struction. In  all  the  invaded  regions  and 
during  the  whole  period  of  occupation  the 
municipalities  have  been  scandalously  ex- 
ploited and  the  goods  of  private  indi- 
viduals continually  pillaged. 

In  the  beginning  Nesle  was  struck  with 
a  forced  contribution  of  13,000  francs, 
and  in  the  interval,  before  the  sum  could 
be  produced,  M.  Obry,  the  assistant  who 
was  fulfilling  the  functions  of  Mayor, 
with  two  members  of  the  Council  and 
an  owner  of  property,  were  imprisoned  in 
a  cellar  for  six  hours.  Later  the  city 
had  to  pay  3,000  francs  because  a  few  old 
suits  of  armor  were  found  in  an  aban- 
doned house,  and  30,000  as  the  penalty 
for  the  discovery  of  three  shotguns — for 
game — in  the  home  of  one  of  the  resi- 
dents. 

In  March,  1915,  the  authorities  seized 
a  great  quantity  of  wheat  at  Nesle,  which 
had  been  stored  up  in  reserve  for  the 
needs  of  the  population,  and  then  com- 
pelled the  Mayor  to  buy  flour  from 
them  for  cash.  In  the  same  year,  after 
having  exacted  the  expenditure  of  6,896 
francs  for  tilling  and  seeding,  they  seized 
the  whole  crop,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
buy  back  a  part  of  it  to  feed  the  horses. 
The  municipality  was  compelled,  besides, 
to  enter  into  a  consortium  for  the  issu- 
ance of  regional  bonds.  This  measure 
was  quite  general,  as  we  indicated  in  our 
previous  report,  and  at  Rethonvillers, 
where  it  was  not  put  into  effect  rapidly 
enough  to  suit  the  German  authorities, 
an  officer  announced  that  if  within  an 


GERMAN  BARBARITIES  IN  FRANCE 


343 


hour  the  City  Council  did  not  meet  and 
submit  to  the  bond  issue,  the  Mayor,  the 
notables  of  the  town,  and  their  families 
would  be  arrested  immediately  and  de- 
ported to  Germany. 

Looting  and  Destroying 

At  the  end  of  their  stay  in  Nesle  the 
Germans,  who  had  already  indulged  in 
many  acts  of  pillage,  finished  the  dis- 
mantling of  the  houses  and  carried  on 
particularly  fruitful  operations  in  those 
occupied  by  the  superior  and  general  of- 
ficers. In  the  church  they  carried  away 
the  pipes  of  the  great  organs,  and  after 
having  broken  the  bells  by  throwing  them 
out  of  the  belfry  they  carried  away  the 
pieces.  Dr.  Braillon,  60  years  old,  who 
for  four  months  had  spent  himself  in 
caring  for  the  enemy  wounded,  was  ar- 
rested and  transferred  to  Germany  under 
a  gross  pretext.  His  wife  had  to  give 
lodgings  to  the  General  Staff  and  the 
secretaries  of  the  central  telephone  serv- 
ice. Before  their  departure  her  guests 
sacked  the  house,  breaking  the  marbles 
and  furniture,  the  windows  and  mirrors, 
ripping  up  the  upholstered  seats  with  a 
knife,  cutting  down  ninety  pear  trees  and 
as  many  feet  of  vines  in  the  garden,  and 
contaminating  the  well  with  manure.  This 
task  was  attended  to  by  the  cook,  the 
chauffeur,  and  the  orderlies  of  the  of- 
ficers, with  the  aid  of  the  secretaries. 
When  Mme.  Braillon  protested  against 
the  destruction  of  the  roofs  of  small 
buildings  belonging  to  her  home,  a 
Lieutenant  contented  himself  with  reply- 
ing: "  It  is  the  order!  " 

Everywhere,  as  we  have  many  times 
repeated,  incessant  depredations  were 
committed  cynically.  The  number  of 
broken  safes  that  we  have  seen  in  the 
course  of  our  investigations  is  unprece- 
dented, and  we  have  also  found  proof 
that  the  enemy  had  no  scruples  against 
theft,  even  from  individuals.  Many  per- 
sons, in  fact,  were  robbed  of  objects  of 
value  and  of  securities  and  cash  which 
they  carried  on  their  persons.  At  Vrai- 
gnes,  notably,  the  Germans  on  the  eve  of 
departure  searched  many  inhabitants  of 
the  neighboring  villages  after  they  had 
been  herded  into  farmhouses  and  sta- 
bles.    They   did   the   same   at   Tincourt, 


where  Mme.  Vancopenolle,  after  having 
been  ordered  to  undress,  saw  them  carry 
away  a  rente  bond  representing  1,500 
francs. 

A  Characteristic  Theft 
An  old  man  atHoisel,  M.  Villain,  was 
ruined  by  an  important  theft  committed 
in  characteristic  circumstances.  On 
•March  4,  at  the  time  of  the  final  evacua- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  remain  with  the  baker  who  fur- 
nished bread  for  the  soldiers.  At  that 
time  he  owned  150,000  francs  [$30,000] 
in  securities,  and  the  enemy  authorities 
knew  it.  On  March  15  M.  Villain  was 
informed  that  he  was  wanted  at  the 
kommandantur.  He  went  there  and  had 
to  wait  a  long  time;  finally  he  was  told 
that  the  chief  could  not  receive  him. 
When  he  got  back  to  the  bakery  he  found 
that  the  valise  which  contained  his  for- 
tune, and  which  he  had  hidden  under  the 
covers  of  his  bed,  had  disappeared. 

He  had  noticed  for  several  days  that 
the  Germans,  as  he  said,  had  been  hover- 
ing around  his  securities.  Several  times 
the  secretaries  of  the  kommandantur  had 
come  under  thin  pretexts  to  his  quarters, 
and  on  the  evening  before  the  theft,  after 
the  departure  of  one  who  had  stopped 
a  considerable  time  near  the  door  of  the 
house,  it  was  seen  that  the  key  of  that 
door  had  been  carried  away.  As  early 
as  the  end  of  February  an  officer  of  the 
pioneers,  calling  at  M.  Villain's  house, 
had  laid  hands  upon  the  linen,  the  plate, 
and  various  other  objects,  and  had  sent 
them  all,  carefully  wrapped,  to  the  rail- 
way station.  The  owner  was  well  aware 
that  the  most  timid  protest  would  have 
been  not  only  useless  but  dangerous.  A 
workman  in  Roisel,  who  had  broken  one 
of  his  own  chairs  in  order  not  to  see  it 
carried  away,  had  been  imprisoned,  and 
Mme.  Boinet,  for  having  expressed  her- 
self in  a  rather  lively  manner  at  the 
moment  when  they  were  taking  away  her 
piano,  had  been  condemned  to  prison  and 
to  pay  a  fine  of  200  marks. 

In  many  places  the  commandants  used 
still  more  summary  methods  to  mulct  the 
inhabitants  and  those  drrven  from  their 
homes.  They  simply  ordered  them  to 
come  and  deposit  their  valuables.     They 


344 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


used  this  method  notably  at  Mesnil-Saint- 
Nicaise  and  at  Voyennes,  where  there 
were  many  victims;  at  Rouy-le-Petit, 
where  the  enemy  gathered  in  330,000 
francs  in  securities;  at  Offoy,  where  the 
people  had  the  prudence  not  t<5  deliver 
any  but  insignificant  papers,  and  at 
Nesle,  where  the  Mayor  flatly  refused 
to  transmit  the  order. 

It  is  not  without  interest  to  add  that 
at  Vraignes  and  Nesle  the  Germans  ap- 
propriated a  part  of  the  provisions  fur- 
nished by  the  Spanish-American  Food 
Commission. 

Vast  Destruction  of  Houses 
In  our  report  of  April  12  we  mentioned 
the  total  destruction  of  cities  and  villages 
by  means  of  fire  and  explosives.  We 
have  found  an  appalling  number  of 
further  cases  of  this  sort.  The  method 
was  applied  in  a  systematic  and  general 
manner,  and  scarcely  any  place  was 
spared  except  certain  towns  to  which 
the  enemy  sent  the  populations  from 
other  localities;  even  there,  sometimes, 
the  Germans,  on  retiring,  took  pleasure 
in  cannonading  the  unfortunates  whom 
they  had  themselves  assigned  to  those 
places.  We  have  already  told  of  the  bom- 
bardment of  Brouage,  a  suburb  of  Chauny; 
Rouy-le-Petit,  where  people  from  Douchy, 
Omissy,  Matigny,  Morcourt,  Sancourt, 
and  Viller-Saint-Christophe  were  herded 
together,  suffered  the  same  fate.  On 
March  18,  when  the  last  unit  had  de- 
parted, the  German  artillery  fired  on  the 
village  before  any  allied  soldier  could 
reach  there.  Three  persons  were 
wounded;  a  little  girl,  a  woman,  and  a 
man  were  killed. 

Out  of  thirty-seven  towns  and  villages 
in  the  Canton  of  Roye  only  three  remain 
— Roye,  Erchue,  and  Moyencourt;  all 
the  others  were  burned.  In  the  Canton 
of  Nesle  sixteen  communes  were  burned; 
Nesle,  Languevoisin,  Rouy  -  le  -  Grand, 
Rouy-le-Petit,  and  Mesnil-Saint-Nicaise 
alone  escaped  the  devastation.  Finally, 
in  the  Canton  of  Ham,  out  of  twenty-one 
towns  there  remain  only  Ham,  Estouilly, 
Saint-Sulpice,  and  Eppeville.  As  we  in- 
dicated above,  the  localities  spared  were 
places  of  asylum  for  the  last  inhabitants 
of  the  villages  condemned  to  the  flames. 
As  for  the  remnants  of  the  population 


in  the  Arrondissement  of  Peronne,  the 
Germans  gathered  a  part  of  them  at  Tin- 
court,  at  Vraignes,  and  at  Bouvincourt,  in 
a  pitiable  state  of  misery.  Of  the  other 
inhabitants  not  a  trace  remains,  but  it 
seems  already  to  be  certain,  from  in- 
vestigations which  we  are  making,  that 
as  long  ago  as  1914  these  people  were 
the  victims  of  frightful  atrocities.  At 
Vraignes  two  sections  were  burned,  de- 
spite the  presence  of  a  great  number  of 
persons  evacuated  from  the  surrounding 
region.  Many  of  these  unfortunates, 
while  houses  were  blazing  around  them, 
saw  the  illumination  made  by  the  flames 
of  their  own  villages  in  the  distance.  The 
Germans  had  said,  on  the  eve  of  their 
departure,  to  residents  of  Monchy- 
Lagache :  "  Look  in  the  direction  of 
Monchy  tomorrow!  "  And  the  next  day, 
indeed,  Monchy  was  in  flames. 

Trying  to  Ruin  the  Region 

Even  in  the  places  where  the  residences 
were  not  all  annihilated,  the  enemy  tried, 
with  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to  ruin 
the  country;  and  everywhere  he  ravaged 
the  factories.  At  Bernes  and  Hervilly, 
adjoining  towns,  there  were  two  im- 
portant sugar  factories,  one  belonging  to 
M.  Busignies,  the  other  to  M.  Carpeza. 
The  soldiers  blew  up  the  buildings  of 
both,  having  first  pillaged  them.  All  the 
destruction  of  property,  moreover,  was 
executed  with  implacable  minuteness.  In 
order  to  demolish  houses  the  Germans 
first  made  excavations  or  cut  long,  nar- 
row channels  into  the  walls,  intended  to 
promote  the  crumbling  of  the  building 
when  the  mine  exploded.  They  did  this 
at  Roisel  and  Peronne. 

This  latter  city  was  left  in  a  lament- 
able condition.  After  the  furniture  had 
been  carried  away  or  broken,  a  great 
number  of  houses  were  blown  up.  Among 
the  ruins  we  found  slashed  mattresses, 
bolsters  that  had  been  slit  from  end  to 
end,  baby  carriages  and  sewing  machines 
that  had  been  deliberately  smashed,  cup- 
boards that  had  been  broken  in,  and 
safes,  notably  those  of  the  Bank  of 
France,  which  were  shattered  and  empty. 
On  one  of  the  walls  of  the  City  Hall, 
which  is  almost  entirely  destroyed,  was 
displayed  a  large  wooden  panel  on  which 


GERMAN  BARBARITIES  IN  FRANCE 


345 


was  painted  in  large  letters  the  inscrip- 
tion, *  Nicht  argern,  nur  wundern !  " 
(Don't  be  annoyed,  only  astonished!) 
and  we  have  seen  and  photographed  an 
unexploded  bomb  fixed  to  a  beam  in  the 
fallen  roof  of  the  monument;  to  the  bomb 
were  still  attached  the  strings  intended 
to  set  it  off. 

At  Nesle,  after  compelling  the  resi- 
dents of  the  suburbs  to  go  into  the  mid- 
dle of  the  town,  the  troops  demolished 
the  empty  houses  with  axes.  They  also 
destroyed  the  gas  factory,  the  Lesaffre 
distillery,  the  Evence  Coppe  factory  for 
chemical  products,  and  the  Tabary  malt- 
house. 

At  Offoy,  two  days  before  the  retreat, 
they  consigned  all  that  remained  of  the 
popuation  to  one  part  of  the  village,  with 
orders  not  to  stir  outside  until  after 
forty-eight  hours.  Then  they  blew  up 
and  set  fire  to  the  vacated  quarter. 

Belated  Explosions 

Bapaume  has  been  completely  devas- 
tated, and  on  March  25,  at  11:30  in  the 
evening,  an  explosion,  certainly  produced 
by  a  bomb  with  retarded  action,  blew  the 
City  Hall  to  pieces  and  caused  the  death 
of  two  members  of  Parliament,  Messrs. 
Briquet  and  Tailliandier,  Deputies  from 
the  Pas-de-Calais,  who  had  installed 
themselves  in  that  edifice  for  the  night. 
This  catastrophe  at  Bapaume  is  not  the 
only  one  that  has  taken  place  since  the 
departure  of  the  enemy,  for  the  latter, 
before  turning  back,  sowed  in  the  coun- 
try which  he  was  compelled  to  surren- 
der a  number  of  deadly  snares  set  as 
well  for  the  civilian  population  as  for  the 
allied  soldiers.  It  was  thus  that  the 
churches  in  Sapignies  and  Bethancourt 
were  blown  up,  the  first  on  the  18th,  the 
second  on  the  22d  of  April,  that  is  to 
say,  mere  than  a  month  after  the  Ger- 
man retreat. 

The  measures  intended  to  destroy  the 
fruit  trees  and  render  useless  the  wells 
have  been  generalized  in  all  the  regions 
we  have  visited.  At  Rouy-le-Petit  the 
Germans,  after  trying  to  make  the ,  in- 
habitants themselves  contaminate  their 
wells  with  manure,  compelled  the  chil- 
dren to  do  it.  At  Berne  some  time  in 
February  two  soldiers,  accompanied  by 


a  petty  officer,  who  called  himself  an 
architect,  came  to  Mrs.  Payen  and  asked 
whether  she  had  provided  herself  with 
water,  warning  her  that  they  were  go- 
ing to  stop  up  the  cistern  with  manure. 
One  of  the  men  added :  "  It  is  unfortunate 
to  be  obliged  to  do  this."  At  Mesnil- 
Saint-Nicaise  a  German  said  to  Mme. 
Wager,  pointing  to  the  well  on  the  farm 
where  she  was  interned  after  leaving 
Douilly:  "Nicht  drink!     Colics!" 

Text  of  Official  Orders 
The  General  Staff  of  the  British  Fifth 
Army  has  come  into  possession  of  an 
order  given  by  the  German  commandant 
of  outposts  on  March  14,  1917,  in  which 
this  sentence  occurs:  "  The  detachment 
of  the  Sixth  Cuirassiers  will  see  to  it 
that  manure  in  sufficient  quantities  is 
placed  in  the  wells."  Another  document 
entitled  "  Order  Relating  to  Destruction," 
and  bearing  at  the  top  the  words  "  Streng 
geheim  "  (strictly  secret)  has  also  been 
communicated  to  us.  We  quote  from 
Chapter  III.: 

The  commandant  of  outposts  will  direct  the 
destruction  of  the  various  localities.  The 
final  and  complete  destruction  of  Grevillers, 
Biefvillers,  Aubin,  and  Avesnes  will  begin  at 
the  hour  of  X+2.  To  provide  the  detachments 
for  setting  fire  to  houses  each  commandant 
in  the  sector  will  furnish  two  sub-officers 
and  twenty  men  from  the  B  battalions,  and 
two  stretcher  bearers  with  litters.  The  de- 
struction of  Favreuil,  Beugnatre,  and  FrSmi- 
court  will  begin  on  the  second  day  of  the  re- 
tirement at  the  hour  of  X-f-3.  The  destruction 
of  Morchies  will  be  executed  in  the  morning  of 
the  third  day  of  the  retirement,  at  about  5 
o'clock.  *  *  *  The  destruction  of  Louver- 
val,  Boursies,  Demicourt  will  begin  on  the 
third  day  of  the  retirement.  For  these  opera- 
tions the  commandant  of  pioneers  will  ar- 
range with  the  commandant  of  outposts  of 
Division  S,  Sector  III.,  Major  von  Uechtritz, 
at  Doignies,  in  such  manner  that  all  the  de- 
tails of  destruction  not  carried  out  under 
orders  of  the  commandant  of  outposts  shall 
be  executed  later  by  Division  S. 

The  lighting  of  the  incendiary  fires  shall  bo 
executed  under  command  of  the  officers  by 
the  different  detachments.  The  destruction 
of  all  wells  is  important. 

TIEDE  (F.  d.  R.) 
BAESSLER,   Oberleutnant. 

Through  a  dispatch  emanating  from 
the  German  Legation  at  Berne,  Germany 
attempted,  in  view  of  the  indignation 
aroused  throughout  the  world  by  these 
latest  crimes  of  her  armies,  to  promul- 


346 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


gate  the  idea  that  "  the  measures  regret- 
fully adopted  by  the  commanders  were 
limited  to  strict  military  necessities  and 
had  no  other  object  than  the  defense  and 
safety  of  their  troops."  In  support  of 
this  statement  Germany  cited  an  Order 
of  the  Day,  said  to  have  been  issued  in 
the  following  terms  on  March  11,  1917, 
by  a  division  General  "  operating  in  the 
region  of  Bapaume,"  and  bearing  no 
other  signature  than  the  initials  V.  0.: 
The  acts  of  destruction  now  in  progress  in 
the  abandoned  territory  are  intended  to  wipe 
out  all  war  materials  that  would  be  useful 
to  the  enemy,  the  trees,  and  all  structures 
in  so  far  as  they  might  serve  the  enemy 
artillery  for  a  covering.  Everything  over 
and  above  this  military  aim  should  be 
avoided.  I  request  all  persons  intrusted  with 
this  work  to  keep  close  watch  and  see  that 
nothing  is  destroyed  except  what  enters  into 
this  program,  and  to  spare  particularly  the 
trees  and  plants  around  cemeteries  and  in 
gardens  of  little  elevation,  also   all  crosses. 

If  this  Order  of  the  Day  is  not  apoc- 
ryphal, it  simply  proves  that  among 
the  enemy  Generals  there  was  one  less 
brutal  and  inhuman  than  the  others.  In 
any  case,  it  must  be  admitted  that  his 
orders  were  very  poorly  carried  out. 

At  the  Bar  of  Nations 

The  German  Government  appears  to 
regard  military  interest  as  an  excuse  for 
everything;  but  is  it  not  precisely  to 
prevent  those  abuses  for  which  this  in- 
terest would  be  the  pretext  that  there 
exists  a  public  international  law,  and 
that  conventions,  which  Germany  herself 
has  formally  indorsed,  have  been  enacted 
by  the  civilized  nations?  Was  it,  further- 
more, in  behalf  of  military  interest  that 
the  enemy  burned  villages  situated  far 
from  the  highways,  where  their  destruc- 
tion could  not  retard  the  march  of  a 
pursuing  force;  that  citizens  and  their 
wives  and  children  were  reduced  to  servi- 
tude; that  their  goods  were  stolen,  their 
furniture  destroyed,  their  wells  poisoned, 
their  farming  implements  broken,  and 
fruit  trees  cut  down  or  girdled  by  thou- 
sands so  as  to  kill  them  slowly  where 
they  stand? 

The  truth  is  that  the  German  High 
Command  intended,  in  a  mood  of  anger 
and  hatred,  to  terrorize  a  defenseless 
population.     Such  was  the  mentality  of 


the  chief  officers  from  the  beginning, 
and  such  it  has  remained.  The  deposi- 
tion made  before  us  by  M.  Fabre,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  in  the  Paris  Court 
of  Appeals,  gave  us  a  striking  proof  of 
this.  That  Magistrate  found  himself 
with  his  family  at  Lassigny,  county  seat 
of  the  canton  which  he  represents  in  the 
General  Council  of  the  Oise,  when  the 
first  troops  of  General  von  Kluck  ar- 
rived there.  From  Aug.  31,  1914,  his 
property  was  occupied  by  officers  of  the 
General  Staff.  A  superior  officer,  who 
spoke  French  well,  at  that  time  sum- 
moned him,  as  well  as  Mme.  Fabre  and 
the  rest  of  the  household,  and  said: 

"  You  do  not  know  the  news,  but  I  am 
going  to  tell  it  to  you.  You  are  beaten 
everywhere — in  Alsace,  in  the  east,  in 
the  north,  at  St.  Quentin;  your  friends 
the  Russians  are  annihilated;  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  no  longer  exists,  the  English 
troops  are  scattered.  We  are  the  mas- 
ters. We  mean  to  wipe  France  off  the 
map.  It  must  disappear.  In  three  days 
we  shall  be  at  Paris;  we  shall  take  it; 
we  shall  carry  away  all  Its  wealth,  artis- 
tic and  commercial;  we  shall  pillage  and 
devastate  it;  nothing  but  ashes  and  ruins 
will  remain.  Paris  must  no  longer 
exist." 

This  harangue,  which  was  to  be  re- 
peated a  few  hours  later,  certainly  re- 
flected the  thought  of  the  great  chief. 
When  General  von  Kluck  arrived,  a  little 
later,  he  was  furious  at  finding  the  town 
almost  deserted.  In  the  presence  of  M. 
and  Mme.  Fabre  he  uttered  terrible  im- 
precations. "  Curses  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants who  have  left  their  homes!  "  he 
cried.  "  This  village  shall  be  punished ; 
everything  shall  be  pillaged,  destroyed; 
nothing  shall  remain.  We  will  it.  Woe, 
woe  to  this  wretched  population !  " 

The  Looting  of  Lassigny 

These  threats  were  soon  to  be  put  into 
effect.  The  next  day,  Sept.  1,  144  motor 
trucks  arrived;  the  men  in  them  scat- 
tered themselves  through  the  town  and 
gave  it  over  to  pillage;  they  carried  off 
everything  of  any  value,  packed  and 
crated  the  objects,  placed  them  in  the 
trucks,  and  ranged  the  vehicles  in  a  row 
after  having  tilted  them.    All  afternoon 


GERMAN  BARBARITIES  IN  FRANCE 


347 


there  was  an  orgy  of  confusion;  the 
horde  killed  the  animals  in  the  farm- 
yards, shook  the  fruits  from  the  trees, 
and  carried  into  the  public  square  great 
heaps  of  provisions.  To  cook  their  food 
and  entertain  themselves  with  bonfires 
they  burned  all  the  furniture  that  they 
disdained  to  carry  away.  Soldiers 
dressed  out  in  old  French  uniforms  or 
women's  clothes  paraded  the  streets, 
shouting,  under  the  complacent  eyes  of 
officers. 

After  such  scenes,  how  can  one  be- 
lieve in  the  so-called  humanitarian  in- 
tentions of  the  enemy  command,  or  in 
the  scruples  trumped  up  by  the  news 
dispatch  from  the  Berne  Legation?  Ac- 
cording to  the  text  already  cited,  this 
Order  of  the  Day  pretended  especially  to 
direct  the  sparing  of  trees  and  plants 
around  cemeteries;  but  it  failed  to  order 
the  soldiers  to  respect  the  graves  them- 
selves, for  the  sacred  dwelling  places  of 
the  dead  have  been  many  times  violated. 
To  the  horrors  of  this  nature  related  in 
our  previous  report,  unhappily,  many 
others  must  be  added.  The  cemetery  at 
Peronne  was  shamefully  ravaged,  and 
many  tombs  were  profaned.  At  Hervilly 
five  vaults  were  ransacked,  and  the  altar 
in  the  funereal  monument  of  the  Paux 
family  was  broken.  At  Cartigny  the 
Germans  opened  five  vaults,  each  with  a 
chapel  above  it,  by  tearing  apart  the 
stones.  They  did  the  same  thing  at 
Ronsoy,  at  Becquincourt,  at  Dompierre, 
at  Bouvincourt,  and  at  Herbecourt.  At 
Nurly,   Roisel,   Bernes,  they  even  broke 


into  coffins.  In  the  inclosed  ground 
serving  as  a  private  cemetery  for  the 
Rohan  family  at  Manancourt  they  buried 
a  great  number  of  their  soldiers,  and,  an 
inconceivable  thing,  established  a  kitchen 
in  the  interior  of  the  Rohan  mausoleum 
and  latrines  among  their  family  tombs. 
In  the  crypt,  where  indescribable  dis- 
order reigns,  almost  all  the  compart- 
ments are  empty.  A  child's  coffin,  taken 
from  one  of  them,  was  stripped  of  its 
lead.  A  heavy  leaden  casket,  half  drawn 
from  another  compartment,  bears  on  its 
lid  marks  of  a  chisel.  A  block  of  marble, 
in  which  is  seen  a  small  excavation,  has 
been  thrown  among  the  debris;  it  bears 
the  inscription:  "  Here  rests  the  heart 
of  Mme.  Amelie  de  Musnier  de  Folleville, 
Countess  of  Boissy,  who  died  at  Paris, 
July  16,  1830,  at  the  age  of  32  years  and 
10  months." 

To  what  motive  should  these  mon- 
strous profanations  be  attributed?  Did 
the  enemy  hope  to  find  valuables  or  gold 
placed  by  the  families  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  dead,  or  jewels  in  the  coffins  ? 
It  is  noteworthy  that  the  sepulchres  of 
the  rich  suffered  especially.  Whatever 
the  reason,  the  repetition  of  the  same 
acts  in  so  many  cemeteries  gives  ground 
for  affirming  that  the  German  chiefs  at 
least  tolerated  these  crimes,  if  they  did 
not  order  them. 

G.  PAYELLE,  President. 

ARMAND  MOLLARD. 

G.  MARINGER. 

PAILLOT,  Secretary. 


The  Resurrection  of  Devastated  France 

Fruit  Trees  Saved  by  Surgery 


THREE  months  after  the  French 
armies  had  taken  back  from  the 
Germans  1,000  square  kilometers  of 
French  soil,  blasted  and  devastated,  they 
had  worked  such  marvels  in  restoring 
the  fields  and  orchards  that  press  corre- 
spondents devoted  enthusiastic  articles  to 
the  transformation.  One  of  these,  an 
American,  looking  on  the  brighter  side 
of  the  picture,  wrote  in  the  last  week  of 
May,  1917: 


"  To  a  person  who  passed  through  this 
district  the  day  after  the  German  hordes 
had  departed,  and  who  passes  there 
today,  the  change  almost  exceeds  human 
belief.  It  presents  a  miracle  that  only 
the  genius  of  the  French  race  and  its 
painstaking  industry  could  have  per- 
formed. Nothing  has  been  done  to  restore 
the  ruined  towns,  villages,  and  farm- 
houses, but  these  now  stand  in  the  midst 
of  fields  of  waving  grain  and  blossoming 


348 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


orchards.  *  *  *  One  has  the  start- 
ling impression  that  those  thousands  of 
hewn-down  trees  have  all  grown  up 
again.  A  close  examination,  however, 
shows  what  has  really  happened.  The 
French  soldiers,  working  under  direction 
of  the  French  Generals,  who  know  other 
things  than  mere  military  operations, 
have  found  the  means  of  saving  a  large 
proportion  of  the  trees." 

This  miracle  was  worked  especially 
upon  those  trees  which  the  Germans  had 
intended  to  destroy  by  cutting  off  a  circle 
of  bark  around  the  trunk.  With  a  few 
days'  exposure  to  the  sun,  that  treatment 
was  sufficient  to  kill  thousands  of  peach, 
plum,  apple,  apricot,  and  cherry  trees 
that  had  been  half  a  century  attaining 
their  full  productiveness.  These  were 
saved  by  prompt  "  first  aid."  The 
wounds  were  merely  bound  up  like  the 
wounds  of  a  soldier.  The  American  cor- 
respondent already  quoted  has  described 
the  process: 

"  Thousands  of  army  Surgeons  and  Red 
Cross  ambulance  drivers  and  stretcher 
carriers  assisted  in  this  work,  so  like,  in 
many  respects,  their  own.  The  circle 
where  the  bark  had  been  cut  away  was 
first  covered  with  a  special  grafting  ce- 
ment, and  the  entire  wound  then  care- 
fully bandaged  up — often  with  the  same 
bandages  that  had  been  prepared  for 
human  limbs. 

"  So  great  was  the  number  of  trees 
that  had  to  be  dressed  in  this  way  that 
the  entire  available  supply  of  grafting 
preparation  was  quickly  exhausted.  Tar 
was  then  used  as  a  substitute,  and,  final- 
ly, loamy  clay.  Substitutes  for  surgical 
bandages  also  had  to  be  found,  and  in 
the  end  it  was  discovered  that  moss, 
twisted  and  tied  about  the  dressed  wound, 
was  as  effective  as  anything  else. 

"  A  much  more  serious  problem,  of 
course,  presented  itself  where  the  trees 
had  been  entirely  cut  or  sawed  down. 
But  here  French  genius  also  solved  the 
problem.  The  stumps,  protruding  usually 
two  or  three  feet  from  the  ground,  were 
first  trimmed  off  in  a  scientific  manner, 
so  as  to  conserve  the  sap  and  prevent  the 
death  of  the  roots.  This  stump  was  then 
treated  with  grafting  paste,  and  carefully 
bandaged,  till   the   cut-down   tree,  lying 


at  the  side,  budded  from  the  sap  and  life 
that  remained  in  it.  Branches  that 
showed  great  numbers  of  buds  and  other 
signs  of  exceptional  vitality  were  then 
cut  off  and  finally  grafted  into  the  care- 
fully prepared  stump.  Today  these  grafts 
are  in  full  leaf  and  blossom;  the  roots 
appear  to  have  been  entirely  saved  by 
this  process.  Years  have  been  saved  in 
restoring  the  cut-down  orchards  of 
France." 

A  more  conservative  view  is  presented 
by  an  English  correspondent,  who  esti- 
mates that  in  the  territory  recovered  by 
a  single  French  army  the  Germans  had 
felled  over  32,000  fruit  trees.  After  stat- 
ing that  some  of  these  have  been  saved 
by  the  methods  indicated,  he  adds:  "  Un- 
happily, in  the  immense  majority  of 
cases,  German  malice  has  proved  effec- 
tive." The  actual  extent  of  the  tree-res- 
cue work  lies  somewhere  between  these 
two  views. 

Of  the  lands  devastated  by  the  Ger- 
mans between  Noyon  and  the  Somme  the 
zone  covered  by  the  French  Army  alone 
contained  243  evacuated  villages  and 
hamlets,  not  counting  the  communes  re- 
covered in  the  Soissons  district  or  those 
in  the  British  zone.  The  pursuing  French 
Army  found  here  a  wretched  population 
of  35,000  old  men  and  women,  mothers 
of  large  families,  and  children  under  15. 
Twelve  thousand,  for  whom  it  was  im- 
possible to  find  food  or  shelter,  were  re- 
moved to  the  interior  of  France,  while 
the  remainder  stayed  in  their  ruined  vil- 
lages and  are  endeavoring  to  restore  life 
and  prosperity  to  what  had  been  one  of 
the  richest  agricultural  districts  of 
France.  Aided  by  the  French  Army  and 
by  American,  French,  and  British  civil- 
ians, they  achieved  wonders  in  the  few 
weeks  that  still  remained  for  planting 
and  sowing. 

The  situation  was  that  250,000  acres  of 
agricultural  land  which  had  once  kept 
the  whole  region  in  prosperity  had  been 
neither  plowed  nor  sown.  There  was  one 
small  exception.  About  1  per  cent,  of 
the  land  had  been  sown  with  rye  in  Sep- 
tember and  October,  before  the  enemy 
had  fully  made  up  his  mind  to  retire. 
The  work  began  at  the  end  of  March, 
and  in  less  than  two  months  over  6,000 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  DEVASTATED  FRANCE 


349 


acres  had  been  plowed  and  over  3,500 
acres  sown.  No  draught  animals  of  any- 
kind  har*  been  left  behind  by  the  enemy, 
and  almost  all  the  agricultural  imple- 
ments had  either  been  carried  off  or 
destroyed.  The  army,  however,  could 
supply  horses,  and  miracles  of  ingenuity 
were  displayed  by  the  French  officers  in 
repairing  and  improvising  the  indispen- 
sable machines. 

The  French  military  authorities  organ- 
ized the  whole  project  with  wisdom  and 
efficiency.  First  they  concentrated  their 
energies  upon  the  vegetable  gardens,  and 
these  were  soon  flourishing  throughout 
the  district,  later  giving  large  yields  of 
potatoes,  strawberries,  and  vegetables — 
enough  to  carry  the  local  population  until 
Winter.  The  army  based  its  system  on 
that  adopted  in  the  reconquered  territory 
of  Alsace.  The  recovered  zone  was 
divided  into  seven  sectors,  each  under 
the  command  of  a  Lieutenant  Colonel  or 
Major.  Each  officer  had  under  his 
orders  a  permanent  staff,  which  included 
an  agricultural  expert,  an  architect,  and 
about  forty  military  engineers.  This 
military  organization  is  still  working 
hand  in  hand  with  the  civil  organization, 
headed  in  each  town  by  the  Mayor,  or, 
if  he  has  been  carried  off  by  the  Ger- 
mans, then  by  a  municipal  councilor, 
who  acts  as  intermediary  between  the 
army  and  the  people.  The  results 
achieved  have  been  surprising. 

The  first  step  was  to  supply  food  for 
the  people,  and  this  was  done  through 
the  army  commissariat.  Horses  for 
plowing  were  lent  by  the  army,  broken 
plows  and  harrows  were  repaired  by 
motor  mechanics  of  the  army,  seeds  of 
all  kinds  were  procured,  and  thirty  Amer- 
ican tractors  found  lying  idle  in  a  depot 
were  put  to  work.  Soldiers  joined  the  mea- 
gre peasant  contingent  of  laborers  and 
toiled  early  and  late  to  sow,  cultivate,  and 
gather  the  crops,  counting  all  as  part  of 
their  service  for  beloved  France. 

In  the  meantime  houses  are  being  re- 
paired where  possible,  and  temporary 
buildings  erected  where  no  habitation 
exists.  Schools  have  been  opened,  mili- 
tary doctors  attend  the  sick,  a  postal 
service  has  begun,  and  so  far  as  possible 
life    is    being   made    endurable   for   the 


thousands  who  suffered  so  much  during 
the  German  occupation  and  virtually  lost 
everything  they  possessed  when  the  in- 
vaders departed. 

The  State,  in  providing  the  peasants 
with  their  immediate  necessities  as  con- 
cerns seeds,  animals,  implements,  and  the 
like,  has  adopted  the  following  system: 
One-fifth  of  the  cost  price  is  to  be  paid 
down  by  the  beneficiary,  while  the  re- 
mainder is  to  be  set  against  the  indem- 
nity that  he  is  to  receive  from  the  State 
as  compensation  for  the  damage  that  he 
has  suffered  through  the  war.  On  this 
principle  army  horses  still  capable  of 
work  in  the  fields,  though  past  war  work, 
are  being  sold  in  the  district.  Brood 
mares  also  are  being  sent  there  on  certain 
conditions.  In  addition  to  State  aid,  the 
inhabitants  are  being  helped  by  French, 
English,  and  American  subscriptions. 
Baron  Henri  de  Rothschild  has  central- 
ized a  part  of  the  work  and  founded  a 
store  that  has  rendered  invaluable  serv- 
ices by  supplying  gratuitously  all  neces- 
sities. 

Midsummer  of  1917  finds  at  least  a 
beginning  made  in  the  vast  task  of  re- 
building the  ruined  towns,  partly  with 
American  aid.  Noyon  has  been  "  adopt- 
ed" by  the  City  of  Washington  and  is 
being  rebuilt  by  contributions  from  the 
people  of  that  city.  The  American  Fund 
for  French  Wounded  has  taken  full 
charge  of  the  hamlet  of  Behericourt,  and 
the  Comtesse  de  Chabrannes  has  under- 
taken to  rebuild  the  hamlet  of  Maucourt, 
which  the  enemy  reduced  to  a  desolate 
heap  of  bricks  and  stones.  The  vastness 
of  the  task  that  remains,  however,  is  in- 
dicated by  the  fact  that  fully  a  hundred 
towns  and  villages  were  as  thoroughly 
destroyed  as  Maucourt. 

In  the  picturesque  mountain  region  of 
the  Vosges  is  the  village  of  Vitrimont, 
an  earlier  victim  of  German  destructive- 
ness,  which  Mrs.  Crocker  of  California 
has  chosen  for  a  similar  work  of  resur- 
rection. Being  too  infirm  to  go  abroad 
herself,  she  sent  Miss  Daisy  Polk  with  an 
ample  fund  to  rebuild  a  ruined  town  in 
the  region  designated.  Miss  Polk  chose 
Vitrimont,  a  village  in  Lorraine  that  had 
been  reduced  to  a  mass  of  blackened 
stones  during  the  fighting  around  Nancy. 


S50 


THE  NEW    YORK   TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


The  place  was  a  desert  when  she  began, 
but  soon  she  found  herself  at  the  head 
of  a  small  army  of  eager  villagers,  most- 
ly old  men  and  young  women,  who  un- 
dertook the  heaviest  tasks  of  house  build- 
ing under  her  leadership.  The  Prefet 
of  the  department  came  and  solemnly 
laid  the  first  stone  of  the  new  village. 
Already  a  church  and  rows  of  attractive 
two-story  houses  have  risen  under  the 
American  magic.  In  an  illustrated  arti- 
cle on  the  subject  in  Les  Annales  an  en- 
thusiastic French  writer  says: 

"  The  construction  of  Vitrimont  con- 
stitutes an  experience  which  deserves  to 
found  a  school.     The  architect  of  the  de- 


partment, who  is  directing  the  work,  in- 
tends to  make  of  Vitrimont  a  model  vil- 
lage. Houses,  farms,  public  buildings, 
are,  being  erected  according  to  a  plan 
which  gives  them  a  logical  grouping. 

"  Mme.  Crocker  has  devoted  a  first  ap- 
propriation of  $20,000  to  the  resurrection 
of  Vitrimont.  Her  ingenious  charity 
seeks  to  avoid  the  form  of  alms  and  to 
render  a  real  service.  Half  of  her  gift 
will  remain  the  property  of  the  com- 
mune, the  other  half  is  to  be  returned  to 
her  in  annuities  from  the  war  indemnity 
which  Vitrimont  will  receive  when  the 
imitators  of  the  Huns  will  be  compelled 
to  pay  for  breakage." 


Two  Years  Under  the  Germans 

A  Villager's  Diary 


SAVY  is  a  little  village  three  miles 
southwest  of  St.  Quentin.  A  resident 
of  Savy  kept  a  diary  throughout  the 
years  of  German  occupation,  a  simple 
document,  such  as  any  villager  might 
write,  but  presenting  a  unique  and 
truthful  picture  of  what  the  people  suf- 
fered under  the  heel  of  the  invader.  A 
correspondent  of  The  London  Times, 
writing  from  France,  has  summarized  its 
contents  in  an  interesting  article. 

The  diary  begins  with  occasional  en- 
tries recording  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
the  passing  of  English  soldiers,  and  then, 
on  Aug.  28,  1914,  the  news  comes  that 
the  Germans  are  at  St.  Quentin.  "At 
Savy  nobody  would  believe  it.  However, 
it  was  only  too  true."  The  next  day  the 
first  Germans  appeared  in  Savy  itself. 
They  celebrated  the  day  by  looting  a 
baker's  shop  and  taking  possession  of  the 
local  tavern  and  drinking  all  the  liquor. 

Then  began  the  real  occupation,  with 
continual  and  increasing  requisitions, 
plunderings,  limitations  of  the  liberty  of 
the  residents,  and  punishments  for  minor 
offenses.  People  were  fined  or  impris- 
oned for  going  out  of  the  village  into  the 
wood  without  permission,  for  hiding  oats 
or  food  in  their  houses  or  gardens,  for 
not  saluting  German  officers  or  not  sa- 
luting  properly,   for    giving   oats   to    a 


horse  to  eat,  for  plowing  a  field  without 
permission,  for  resisting  German  soldiers 
who  came  to  loot  furniture  without  au- 
thority, for  giving  coffee  to  a  French 
prisoner  of  war,  and  (the  Mayor  himself 
being  the  culprit  in  this  case)  for  selling 
potatoes  contrary  to  orders.  When  a  man 
was  imprisoned  he  got  off  his  sentence 
after  a  few  days  by  paying  money. 

Meanwhile,  constant  thieving  went  on 
by  German  soldiers,  especially  from  out- 
houses, barns,  &c,  which  the  villagers, 
being  obliged  to  be  indoors  after  dusk, 
were  powerless  to  prevent.  Houses  were 
looted  and  barns  stripped  of  planks  and 
whatever  odds  and  ends  seemed  worth 
taking. 

Then  notice  was  formally  posted  giving 
the  German  soldiers  the  right  to  go 
into  any  garden  and  take  vegetables  as 
they  pleased. 

Besides  money  tribute,  requisitions 
were  made  for  innumerable  articles,  such 
as  oats,  corn,  clover,  eggs,  potatoes,  beans, 
straw,  blankets,  boards,  tools,  and  espe- 
cially wine,  which  was  hunted  for  in  ev- 
ery celler  and  hiding  place  and  drunk. 
Besides  firearms,  bicycles  and  blankets 
had  to  be  given  up.  Individual  houses 
were  plundered  of  chairs,  beds,  stoves, 
bottles,  casks,  and  so  forth.  Censuses 
were  made  at  one  time  and  another  of 


TWO    YEARS    UNDER    THE    GERMANS 


351 


agricultural  implements,  fruit  trees, 
fowls,  wheelbarrows,  all  bronze  articles, 
and  sheep,  besides  horses,  asses,  and 
mules,  of  which  the  three  last  were  all 
first  vaccinated  and  then  commandeered 
by  installments.  So  with  cows.  By  No- 
vember, 1916,  only  three  cows  were  left 
in  Savy  to  give  milk  to  the  children  and 
invalids,  and  on  Feb.  9,  1917,  even  these 
last  three  were  taken. 

A  census  was  taken  of  all  walnut 
trees,  then  all  were  cut  down  and  the 
wood  carted  away.  The  Germans  sheared 
all  the  sheep  and  similarly  sent  away 
the  wool.  Russian  prisoners  were  set  to 
break  up  the  stones  of  the  local  mill  to 
prevent  illicit  grinding.  People  were  for- 
bidden to  go  into  the  wood  to  gather 
fuel,  or  glean  in  the  harvest  fields,  or 
to  set  traps  for  game.  Notices  ordered 
all  the  people  to  be  ready  to  work  in 
the  fields  from  4  in  the  morning  to  8 
in  the  evening.  Children  were  made  to 
weed  the  crops.  As  the  corn  and  oats 
were  reaped  the  Germans  took  charge 
of  it  all.  The  people  were  ordered  to 
pick  all  the  fruit  and  turn  it  over  to 
the  authorities.  Finally,  all  copper  arti- 
cles, including  the  bells  of  the  church 
and  the  school,  were  taken  off  to  Ger- 
many. 

We  hear  of  the  brutal  abusing  of  old 
men  of  80  by  German  soldiers  and  of 
men  being  beaten  with  sticks  for  trivial 
offenses.     Thus : 

At  the  general  census  of  horses  at  Holnon, 
the  owners  had  to  stand  for  six  hours  at 
their  horses'  heads.  Henri  Catry  happened 
to  be  standing-  two  yards  away  from  his 
horse.  A  gendarme  demanded  "  Is  that  your 
horse?  "  Henri  replied,  "  Yes,"  and  was 
beaten  with  a  stick.  "When  he  protested, 
"  Don't  hit  so  hard,"  he  was  beaten  even 
more  severely.  There  was  one,  an  old  man, 
who  was  lying  down  in  front  of  his  horse. 
He  was  severely  beaten  by  a  gendarme.  M. 
Datchy  of  Holnon  saw  an  old  man  who  had 
hardly  strength  to  walk.  Two  Germans  hit 
him  continually  with  their  sticks.  The  other 
communes  were  treated  in  the  same  brutal 
manner. 

These  random  quotations,  says  the  cor- 


respondent, can  give  little  of  the  impres- 
sion created  by  reading  the  whole  docu- 
ment, but  they  suffice  to  show  the  regime 
under  which  the  people  lived,  a  regime 
which  grew  steadily  more  severe.  Then 
came  the  beginning  of  the  end. 

On  June  29,  1916,  we  read:  "Com- 
mencement of  the  German  offensive,  ac- 
cording to  some;  of  the  English  offensive, 
according  to  others.  For  the  last  ten 
days  at  least  there  has  been  uninterrupt- 
ed bombardment."  For  some  days  the 
bombardment  continued,  then  on  July  3  it 
ceased :  "  All  is  quite  quiet."  Though  the 
people  in  Savy  knew  nothing  of  it,  the 
British  had  made  their  great  attack  and 
were  slowly  at  work  breaking  the  Ger- 
man power  on  the  slopes  of  the  ridge 
toward  Contalmaison  and  Mametz. 

In  November  the  Germans  began  to 
fill  in  the  wells  under  the  pretense  that 
they  were  no  longer  wholesome,  to  de- 
stroy empty  houses,  and  to  carry  all 
sorts  of  goods  away.  Just  before  Christ- 
mas the  destruction  of  the  fruit  trees 
commenced  and  went  on  through  the 
January  frosts,  when  the  Germans  also 
pulled  down  the  temporary  huts  which 
they  had  built  for  camp  purposes.  On 
Feb.  10  the  Cure,  doubtless  with  a  hint  of 
what  was  coming,  turned  over  the  sacred 
objects  and  vessels  from  the  church  to 
the  Germans  for  safe  keeping. 

And  then  comes  the  last  entry  in  the 
diary:  "  There  is  a  rumor  current  that 
soon  we  are  all  going  to  be  evacuated 
from  our  homes."  They  were  evacuated 
to  certain  villages  where  the  residents 
of  the  country  round  were  concentrated 
before  the  Germans  began  in  earnest 
their  work  of  devastation,  and  by  the 
middle  of  March  the  great  retreat  was 
in  full  swing.  When  the  British  reached 
the  site  of  Savy  in  the  early  days  of 
April  the  village  was  no  more  than  a 
litter  of  dust  and  broken  bricks.  The 
torch  and  high  explosives  had  done  their 
work  well  before  the  Germans  left  the 
town. 


Von  Bissing's  Plan  to  Annex  Belgium 

Pan-German  Program  Revealed 


THE  late  Governor  General  of  Bel- 
gium, Baron  von  Bissing,  left  at  his 
death  an  extraordinary  "  political 
testament,"  which  has  finally  reached  the 
outside  world  through  the  columns  of 
the  Hamburger  Nachrichten  and  the 
Deutsche  Tageszeitung.  As  a  frank  and 
insistent  statement  of  the  Junker  demand 
for  the  annexation  of  Belgium  it  must 
rank  among  the  historic  documents  bear- 
ing upon  the  war  aims  of  the  Central 
Powers. 

It  begins  with  a  long  argument  about 
the  dire  necessity  and  sacred  duty  of 
Germany  to  annex  Belgium,  insisting 
especially  upon  the  military  requirements 
of  "  the  next  war  "  and  the  value  of  the 
Belgian  coal  mines.  Baron  von  Bissing 
protests  against  any  thought  of  Ger- 
many's accepting  "  the  Meuse  line  "  and 
the  fortresses  of  Liege  and  Namur,  be- 
cause the  German  frontier  "  must  reach 
the  sea."  Coming  to  details,  he  reveals 
in  the  following  passage  the  real  intent 
underlying  the  talk  about  "  the  liberation 
of  the  Flemings  " : 

"We  have  among  the  Flemings  many  open, 
and  very  many  still  undeclared,  friends,  who 
are  ready  to  join  the  great  circle  of  German 
world  interests. '  That  will  also  he  very  im- 
portant for  the  future  policy  of  Holland. 
But,  as  soon  as  we  remove  our  protecting 
hand,  the  Flemish  movement  will  be  branded 
by  the  Walloons  and  the  Frenchlings 
(Franzoslinge)  as  pro-German,  and  will  be 
completely  suppressed.  We  must  do  every- 
thing without  delay  to  repress  boundless 
hopes  on  the  part  of  the  Flemings.  Some  of 
them  dream  of  an  independent  State  of 
Flanders,  with  a  King  to  govern  it,  and  of 
complete  separation.  It  is  true  that  we  must 
protect  the  Flemish  movement,  but  never 
must  we  lend  a  hand  to  make  the  Flemings 
completely  independent.  The  Flemings,  with 
their  antagonistic  attitude  to  the  Walloons, 
will,  as  a  Germanic  tribe,  constitute  a 
strengthening  of  Germanism.  But  if  we 
abandon  part  of  Belgium,  or  if  we  make  a 
part  of  it,  such  as  the  territory  of  Flanders, 
into  an  independent  Flemish  State,  we  are 
not  only  creating  for  ourselves  considerable/ 
difficulties,  but  we  are  depriving  ourselves  of 
the  considerable  advantages  and  aids  which 
can  be  afforded  us  only  by  Belgium  as  a 
whole  and  under  German  administration.  If 
only  on  account  of  the  necessary  bases  for 
our  fleet,   and  in   order  not   to  cut  off  Ant- 


werp   from    the    Belgian    trade    area,    it    is 
necessary  to  have  the  adjacent  hinterland. 

Thus  at  the  conclusion  of  peace  we  shall 
find  opportunity  after  a  century  to  make 
good  the  mistakes  of  the  Vienna  Congress. 
In  1871,  by  the  annexation  of  Alsace-Lor- 
raine, which  Prussia  even  at  the  time  of  the 
Vienna  Congress  wanted  to  claim  for  her- 
self, repaired  the  first  of  these  mistakes.  It 
is  our  business  now  to  put  aside  reluctance 
and  ideas  of  reconciliation,  and  not  to  fall 
into  new  mistakes. 

Baron  von  Bissing  goes  on  to  argue 
that  the  annexation  of  Belgium  is  the 
only  means  of  obtaining  "  the  necessary 
respect "  from  England,  and  of  saving  the 
Germans  from  being  regarded  all  over 
the  world  as  weaklings.  He  says  that  it 
is  also  the  only  means  of  repairing  the 
prestige  of  German  diplomacy.  He  then 
deals  with  alleged  German  anxieties  as  to 
the  danger  of  incorporating  non-German 
territory,  and  proceeds  to  the  following 
conclusions : 

There  is  no  prospect  that  we  shall  ever  be 
able  to  conclude  with  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians and  his  Government  a  peace  by  which 
Belgium  will  remain  in  the  German  sphere 
of  power,  and  it  is  impossible  that  the  Quad- 
ruple Entente,  over  the  heads  of  its  allies, 
shall  ever  accept  our  peace  demands  with 
regard  to  Belgium.  It  only  remains  for  us, 
therefore,  to  avoid  during  the  peace  negotia- 
tions all  discussion  about  the  form  of  the  an- 
nexation and  to  apply  nothing  but  the  right 
of  conquest. 

It  is  true  that  dynastic  considerations  have 
an  importance  which  is  not  to  be  underesti- 
mated. For,  in  view  of  our  just  and  ruth- 
less procedure,  the  King  of  the  Belgians  will 
be  deposed,  and  will  remain  abroad  as  an 
aggrieved  enemy.  We  must  put  up  with  that, 
and  it  is  to  be  regarded  almost  as  a  happy 
circumstance  that  necessity  compels  us  to 
leave  dynastic  considerations  entirely  out  of 
account.  A  King  will  never  voluntarily  hand 
over  his  country  to  the  conqueror,  and  Bel- 
gium's King  can  never  consent  to  abandon 
his  sovereignty  or  to  allow  it  to  be  restricted. 
If  he  did  so  his  prestige  would  be  so  under- 
mined that  he  would  have  to  be  regarded  not 
as  a  support,  but  as  an  obstacle,  to  German 
interests.  On  the  most  various  occasions  the 
English  have  described  the  right  of  conquest 
as  the  healthiest  and  simplest  kind  of  right, 
and  we  can  read  in  Machiavelli  that  he  who 
desires  to  take  possession  of  a  country  will 
be  compelled  to  remove  the  King  or  Regent, 
even  by  killing  him. 


VON  BISSING'S  PLAN  TO  ANNEX  BELGIUM 


353 


These  are  grave  decisions,  but  they  must 
be  taken,  for  we  are  concerned  with  the  wel- 
fare and  the  future  of  Germany,  and  con- 
cerned also  with  reparation  for  the  war  of 
destruction  that  has  been  directed  against  us. 

Finally,  Baron  von  Bissing  demands 
that  Belgium  shall  be  kept  under  the 
present  dictatorship  after  the  peace,  and 
discusses  the  comparative  values  of  Bel- 
gium and  the  Belgian  Congo.    He  says: 

For  years  to  come  we  must  maintain  the 
existing  state  of  dictatorship.  It  is  the  only 
form  of  administration,  based  as  it  is  upon 
military  resources,  which  can  be  chosen,  In 
order  to  gain  time  for  the  gradual  and  me- 
thodical building  up  of  the  most  appropriate 
possible  administration.  The  completion  of 
the  annexation  will  be  regarded  by  many 
Flemings  and  by  a  great  part  of  the  Wal- 
loons as  a  release  from  uncertainty  and  from 
vain  hopes.  Both  races  will  return  to  the 
life  that  will  be  rendered  possible  by  re- 
newed opportunities  for  trade  and  pleasure. 
The  Walloons  can,  and  must,  decide,  during 
this  period  of  transition,  whether  they  will 
adapt  themselves  to  the  definitely  altered 
state  of  affairs,  or  whether  they  prefer  to 
leave  Belgium.  He  who  remains  in  the  coun- 
try must  declare  his  allegiance  to  Germany, 
and,  after  a  fixed  time,  must  declare  his 
adoption  of  Germanism.    *    *    * 

Half  measures  and  a  middle  course  must 
be  condemned  most  of  all.  Lack  of  deter- 
mination in  the  decisive  days  of  German  fate 
will  be  a  grave  wrong  to  the  blood  that  has 
been  shed.  Among  such  half  measures  I  in- 
clude the  intention  of  treating  Belgium 
merely  as  a  pawn  which  might  be  used  to 
recover  or  extend  our  colonial  possessions. 
As  regards  the  extension  of  our  colonial  pos- 
sessions, the  Belgian  Congo  comes  especially 
into  question.  The  possession  of  the  Belgian 
Congo  is  certainly  to  be  aimed  at,  and  I  de- 
sire to  insist  that  a  German  colonial  em- 
pire, whatever  its  shape,  is  indispensable  for 
Germany's  world  policy  and  expansion  of 
power.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  only  such  frontiers  as  will  con- 
tribute to  the  acquisition  of  greater  freedom 
on  the  sea   are  calculated   to   make  colonial 


possessions  valuable.  Consequently  the  sup- 
porters of  the  colonial  movement  must  also 
demand  the  Belgian  coast,  together  with  the 
Belgian  hinterland.  If  we  give  up  the  Bel- 
gian coast  our  fleet  will  lack  important  bases 
for  its  share  in  the  protection  of  our  colonial 
empire.     ' 

Vorwarts,  the  Berlin  Socialist  organ, 
published  in  May,  1917,  an  interchange 
of  letters  between  Baron  Gebsattel,  a 
Pan-Germanist  leader,  and  Chancellor 
von  Bethmann  Hollweg.  On  May  5  the 
Baron  wrote  to  the  Chancellor  on  behalf 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Pan- 
Germanist  League  protesting  against  the 
Government's  too  narrow  view  of  the 
way  in  which  the  results  of  certain  vic- 
tory should  be  utilized.  The  Baron  said 
that  the  soldiers  might  even  overturn 
the  monarchy  itself  if  they  returned 
from  the  war  and  found  that  all  pos- 
sible gains  from  their  sacrifices  had 
not  been  secured  by  the  Government. 

The  Chancellor  replied  on  May  13  with 
a  letter  in  which  he  said: 

Only  after  the  complete  defeat  of  all  the 
enemies  of  Germany  will  the  time  be  rip© 
for  considering  the  Pan-Germanist  war  aims. 
For  the  moment,  the  interests  of  the  country 
forbid  a  closer  examination  of  these  aims. 
The  league  has  rendered  great  service  to 
Germany  by  developing  national  sentiment 
and  combating  the  idealism  of  those  who 
dreamed  of  a  fraternity  of  nations,  but  it  is 
grotesquely  lacking  in  political  judgment. 

The  Chancellor  added  that  the  Baron'* 
allusion  to  a  possible  revolution,  if  it  had 
any  foundation,  was  a  condemnation  of 
those  who  were  stirring  up  a  dangerous 
spirit  among  the  people,  and,  if  it  had  no 
foundation,  then  it  was  a  threat  betray- 
ing the  desires  of  those  who  were  using 
it  to  subjugate  to  their  own  will  the  re- 
sponsible counselors  chosen  by  the 
Kaiser. 


Battle's  Grim  Realities  at  Ginchy 

An  Irish  Officer's  Realistic  Account  of  One 
Day's  Awful  Experiences 

Second  Lieutenant  Arthur  C.   Young  of  the   Seventh   Battalion,   Royal  Irish  Fusiliers,   a 

volunteer   from   Kobe,    Japan,  took    part   in    the   storming   of   Ginchy    on   the    Somme   front, 

Sept.    9,    1916,   and   wrote   the  subjoined   letter   to   a   relative    in   London   shortly   afterward. 

This   remarkable  narrative   is  here  presented  in  its  entirety,   with  the  exception   of  a  few 
personal  references. 


THE  storming  of  Ginchy  took  place 
on  Saturday  last,  Sept.  9.  It 
had  been  taken  once  or  twice 
before,  I  believe,  (some  say  four 
times,)  but  even  out  here  it  is  so  diffi- 
cult to  get  authentic  news  about  things 
which  are  happening  quite  close  to  us 
that  you  will  have  to  make  allowances 
for  my  possible  inaccuracies.  Each  time, 
however,  it  was  recaptured  by  the  Ger- 
mans, for  to  them  it  was  a  most  im- 
portant stronghold,  particularly  from 
their  artillery's  point  of  view.  A  gunner 
officer  told  me  why  this  was.  You  must 
remember  that  artillery  fire  is  not  very 
effective  unless  there  is  good  observa- 
tion, for  atmospheric  conditions  affect 
shooting  considerably.  Now,  the  best  sort 
of  observation  is  that  obtained  from 
high  ground  in  a  forward  position — it  is 
better  even  than  airplane  or  balloon  ob- 
servation, so  I  am  told.  Well,  Ginchy 
was  the  last  bit  of  high  ground  which 
the  Germans  held,  and  now  that  they 
have  lost  it,  they  are  dependent  on  their 
less  certain  aerial  observation,  or,  failing 
that,  they  must  shoot  by  the  map,  which 
is  no  better  than  guesswork.  Hence  the 
vital  importance  to  the  Germans  of 
Ginchy. 

Try  and  picture  in  your  mind's  eye  a 
fairly  broad  valley  running  more  or  less 
north  and  south.  You  must  imagine  that 
the  Germans  are  somewhere  over  the 
further,  or  southern,  crest.  You  are 
looking  across  the  valley  from  the  ruins 
of  Guillemont.  About  half-right  the  fur- 
ther crest  rises  to  a  height  crowned  by 
a  mass  of  wreckage  and  tangled  trees. 
Well,  that  is  Ginchy.  The  valley  narrows 
somewhat  and  bends  round  this  way  to 
the  right  of  Ginchy.  Then  it  bends  back 
again   to   its   original   line   of   direction, 


and  goes  on,  goodness  knows  where.  At 
that  point  another  valley  branches  off 
at  right  angles  to  the  left,  or  southward, 
and  leads  up  to  Combles,  which  the 
French  are  investing. 

At  the  point  of  the  peninsula  between 
this  valley  and  that  other  one  is 
Falfemont  Farm,  which  is  now  in  our 
possession,  for  we  have  driven  the  Ger- 
mans well  back  along  the  flat  top  of  the 
peninsula  to  some  place  beyond  Leuze 
Wood,  which  is  on  the  right  of  Ginchy 
as  we  face  it  from  Guillemont.  You  can 
see  the  trees  stcking  up  on  the  sky- 
line. Now,  if  you  look  the  other  way, 
half-left,  you  will  see  the  ruins  of  Del- 
ville  Wood,  which  seems  to  start  almost 
at  the  botom  of  the  broad  valley  and  to 
go  over  the  top  of  the  slope  beyond. 
Well,  we  hold  that  place  too.  In  fact,  we 
hold  all  the  ground  which  you  can  see  in 
front  of  you,  except  Ginchy,  and  that  is 
what  the  Irish  division  is  now  going  to 
storm  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  if  you 
have  the  patience  to  follow  me. 

I  have  conjured  up  some  kind  of  scene 
in  your  mind — a  framework,  anyway. 
Now,  to  complete  it,  you  must  imagine 
that  every  square  yard  of  ground,  in 
front,  behind,  wherever  you  look,  is 
churned  up  as  if  by  some  monster  plow 
until  barely  one  blade  of  green  is  left. 
Think  what  Hampstead  Heath  would  look 
like  if  it  were  dug  up  in  all  directions 
into  pits  about  ten  feet  deep  and  fifteen 
feet  across — and  you  will  have  framed 
an  image  (I'm  afraid  a  faint  one  only) 
of  the  awful  scene  of  desolation  which 
your  eyes  have  to  dwell  upon  for  days  at 
a  time  on  the  battlefield  of  the  Somme. 
Seeling  a  Habitable  Trench 
On  the  night  previous  to  the  taking  of 
Ginchy  my  battalion  had  to  take  up   a 


BATTLE'S   GRIM   REALITIES   AT   GINCHY 


355 


position  on  the  further  slope  of  the  val- 
ley. We  were  some  distance  in  rear  at 
the  time,  where  the  shells  did  not  fall  so 
plentifully.  We  had  had  nearly  a  week 
of  it  already,  and  a  more  horrible  five 
days  I  have  never  passed  in  my  life.  We 
had  been  over  the  top  from  Falfemont 
Farm  on  the  Tuesday,  and  had  been 
thanked  for  our  services  in  a  special  di- 
visional order,  but  the  price  we  had  to 
pay  for  that  feat  of  arms  was  a  big  one, 
as  the  casualty  list  printed  by  this  time 
only  too  well  shows. 

I  was  sent  out  to  find  a  habitable 
trench  for  my  company.  I  found  one  near 
the  spot  indicated  on  the  map.  We  moved 
in  there  at  dusk.  There  is  no  proceeding 
to  your  sector  through  a  long  communi- 
cation trench  at  the  Somme.  You  just  go 
over  the  top,  skirting  shell  holes  all  the 
way.  Nor  is  there  any  "  taking  over  " 
in  the  sense  in  which  that  term  is  used 
in  the  more  civilized  regions  further 
north,  where  the  officer  of  the  relieving 
company  finds  out  the  exact  delimita- 
tions of  his  frontage,  and  takes  an  inven- 
tory of  all  stock  in  the  way  of  ammuni- 
tion, bombs,  stores,  &c.  You  don't  do 
things  on  those  lines  here.  The  reliev- 
ing company  comes  up  at  an  unexpected 
hour,  the  commander  reports  himself  to 
you,  and  asks  you  all  sorts  of  questions 
which  you  answer  to  the  best  of  your 
ability,  and  then  you  get  your  men  to-, 
gether  and  make  off,  hell  for  leather. 
And  the  trenches  are  nothing  like  the 
elaborate  affairs  you  meet  with  in  the 
more  settled  parts  of  the  line.  They  are 
just  ditches  and  nothing  else.  There  are 
no  dugouts  or  shelters  or  fire  bays  or 
anything  of  that  sort.  Then,  again,  you 
don't  always  relieve  another  regiment  in 
the  same  trench.  You  may  prefer  to  go 
on  a  little  bit  in  search  of  a  more  suit- 
able one. 

Driven  Out  by  the  Dead 

Well,  as  I  have  just  said,  we  moved 
into  our  trench  north  of  Guillemont  at 
dusk.  We  faced  half-right,  as  it  were, 
looking  up  the  slope  toward  Ginchy.  It 
was  like  being  near  the  foot  of  Parlia- 
ment Hill,  with  the  village  on  top.  Our 
right  flank  was  down  near  the  bottom 
of  the  valley;  our  left  extended  up  to 


the  higher  ground  toward  the  ruins  of 
Waterlot  Farm.  The  trench  was  very 
shallow  in  places,  where  it  had  been 
knocked  in  by  shellfire.  I  had  chosen 
it  as  the  only  one  suitable  in  the  neigh- 
borhood,   but    it    was    a    horrible    place. 


Bsssr     ™™ 


SCENE    OF    THE    FIGHT    FOR    GINCHY 

British  dead  were  lying  about  every- 
where. Our  men  had  to  give  up  digging 
in  some  places,  because  they  came  down 
to  bodies  which  were  buried  there  when 
the  parapet  blew  in.  The  smell  turned 
us  sick.  At  last  in  desperation  I  went 
out  to  look  for  another  trench,  for  I  felt 
sure  the  Germans  must  have  the  range 
of  the  trench  we  were  in,  and  that  they 
would  give  us  hell  when  dawn  broke.  To 
niy  joy  I  found  that  a  very  deep  trench 
some  distance  back  had  just  been  vacated 
by  another  regiment,  so  we  went  in 
there. 

The  night  was  bitterly  cold.  I  have 
felt  hunger  and  thirst  and  fatigue  out 
here  to  a  degree  I  have  never  experienced 
them  before,  but  those  torments  I  can  en- 
dure far  better  than  I  thought  I  could. 
But  the  cold — my  word!  It  is  dreadful. 
I  suppose  life  in  the  Far  East  does  not 
harden  one's  constitution  against  that  tor- 
ture. Many  a  night  have  I  slept  out  in 
the  open,  in  narrow,  wet  trenches,  with 
the  rain  pouring  down,  and  almost 
groaned  with  the  agony  of  cold.  If  two 
can  huddle  together,  you  can  get  some 


356 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


warmth,  but  the  trenches  are  frequently 
too  narrow  for  that.  I  think  I  feel  the 
cold  more  than  any  one. 

However,  dawn  broke  at  last.  It  was 
very  misty.  All  night  we  had  been 
trying  to  get  into  touch  with  the  unit  on 
our  left,  but  without  success.  So  the 
Captain  sent  me  out  with  an  orderly  to 
see  whether  I  could  manage  it.  We  two 
stumbled  along,  but  the  mist  was  so 
dense  we  could  see  nothing.  We  came 
to  one  trench  after  another,  but  not  a 
living  thing  could  we  see — nothing  but 
dead,  British  and  German,  some  of  them 
mangled  beyond  recognition.  Bombs  and 
rifles  and  equipment  were  lying  all  over 
the  place,  with  here  and  there  a  great- 
coat, khaki  or  gray  according  to  the 
nationality  of  their  one-time  owners,  but 
of  living  beings  we  could  see  no  sign 
whatsoever.  There  was  a  horrible 
stench  in  places  which  nearly  turned  our 
stomachs. 

A  Dangerous  Reconnoissance 

To  make  matters  more  wretched,  we 
could  not  make  sure  of  our  direction,  and 
were  afraid  of  running  into  a  German 
patrol,  or  even  into  a  German  trench,  for 
such  accidents  are  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon in  this  region.  However,  we  man- 
aged to  find  our  way  back  and  report  that 
up  to  such  and  such  a  point  on  the  map 
(approximately)  there  was  no  one  on 
our  left.  The  Captain  was  not  content 
with  this,  so  I  went  out  again,  this  time 
with  another  officer.  Having  a  compass 
on  this  second  occasion,  I  felt  far  more 
self-confidence,  and  to  our  mutual  satis- 
faction we  discovered  that  the  unit  on 
our  left  was  the  right  flank  of  an  English 

division.     Captain was  very  bucked 

when  we  brought  back  this  information. 
As  the  mist  continued  for  some  time 
afterward,  we  were  able  to  light  fires 
and  make  breakfast. 

Now,  I  have  forgotten  to  tell  you  that 
we  were  in  reserve.  The  front  line  was 
some  five  or  six  hundred  yards  higher  up 
the  slope  nearer  Ginchy.  We  knew  that 
a  big  attack  was  coming  off  that  day,  but 
did  not  think  we  should  be  called  upon  to 
take  part.  Accordingly,  we  settled  down 
for  the  day,  and  most  of  the  men  slept.  I 
felt  quite  at  home,  as  I  sat  in  the  bottom 
of  the  deep  trench,  reading  the  papers  I 


had  received  the  previous  day  from  Eng- 
land. I  went  through  The  Times  and 
was  much  interested  in  its  Japan  Supple- 
ment, for  the  memories  it  brought  back  of 
many  happy  days  in  Dai  Nippon  were 
vivid  ones.  I  also  read  The  Nation  from 
cover  to  cover.  At  Falfemont  Farm  I 
had  picked  up  a  good  copy  of  Burns's 
"  Poems  "  in  the  Everyman  Series,  so  I 
read  "The  Cottars  Saturday  Night" 
and  some  other  pieces.  Mentally,  in  fact, 
I  was  living  in  quite  another  world,  and 
it  was  only  the  occasional  "  cr-r-r-rump  " 
of  a  Boche  shell  which  brought  me  back 
to  my  senses  and  to  the  hideous  reality 
of  things. 

"  Over  the  Top  " 

It  was  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
when  we  first  learned  that  we  should 
have  to  take  part  in  the  attack  on  Ginchy. 
Now,  you  probably  expect  me  to  say  at 
this  point  in  my  narrative  that  my  heart 
leaped  with  joy  at  the  news  and  that  the 
men  gave  three  rousing  cheers,  for  that's 
the  sort  of  thing  you  read  in  the  papers. 
Well,  I  had  been  over  the  top  once  al- 
ready that  week,  and  knew  what  it  was 
to  see  men  dropping  dead  all  around  me, 
to  see  men  blown  to  bits,  to  see  men 
writhing  in  pain,  to  see  men  running 
round  and  round,  gibbering,  raving  mad. 
Can  you  wonder,  therefore,  that  I  felt 
a  sort  of  sickening  dread  of  the  horrors 
which  I  knew  we  should  all  have  to  go 
through?  How  the  others  felt  I  don't 
exactly  know,  but  I  don't  think  I  am  far 
wrong  when  I  say  that  their  emotions 
were  not  far  different  from  mine.  You 
read  no  end  of  twaddle  in  the  papers  at 
home  about  the  spirit  in  which  men  go 
into  action.  You  might  almost  think 
they  reveled  in  the  horror  and  the  agony 
of  it  all.  I  saw  one  account  of  the  battle 
of  Ginchy  in  which  the  correspondent 
spoke  of  the  men  of  a  certain  regiment 
in  reserve  as  "  almost  crying  with  rage  " 
because  they  couldn't  take  part  in  the 
show.  All  I  can  say  is  that  I  should  like 
to  see  such  superhuman  beings.  It  is 
rubbish  like  this  which  makes  thousands 
of  people  in  England  think  that  war  is 
great  sport.  As  a  famous  Yankee  Gen- 
eral said,  "  War  is  hell,"  and  you  have 
only  got  to  be  in  the  Somme  one  single 
day  to  know  it.     The  man  who  says  he 


BATTLE'S    GRIM   REALITIES   AT   GINCHY 


357 


loves  being  in  a  charge  is  a  liar,  and  an 
adjective  liar  at  that. 

But  to  get  on  with  the  story.  We  were 
ordered  to  move  up  into  the  front  line  to 
reinforce  the  Royal  Irish  Rifles.  None 
of  us  knew  for  a  certainty  whether  we 
were  going  over  the  top  or  not,  but  every- 
thing seemed  to  point  that  way.  Guides 
were  sent  down  by  the  Rifles  to  lead  us 
up.  We  wended  our  way  up  slowly, 
keeping  as  much  as  possible  to  the 
trenches,  which  were  so  shallow  that  the 
deepest  part  of  them  did  not  conceal  more 
than  our  waists,  but  they  were  something 
to  duck  into  if  we  heard  a  shell  coming. 
The  bombardment  was  now  intense.  Our 
shells  bursting  in  the  village  of  Ginchy 
made  it  belch  forth  smoke  like  a  volcano. 
The  German  shells  were  bursting  on  the 
slope  in  front  of  us.  The  noise  was 
deafening.  I  turned  to  my  servant 
O'Brein,  who  has  always  been  a  cheery, 
optimistic  soul,  and  said,  "  Well,  O'Brien, 
how  do  you  think  we'll  fare?  "  and  his 
answer  was  for  once  not  encouraging. 
"We'll  never  come  out  alive,  Sir!  "  was 
his  reply.  Happily,  we  both  came  out 
alive,  but  I  never  though  we  should  at  the 
time. 

Real  Picture  of  a  Charge 

It  was  at  this  moment,  just  as  we  were 
debouching  on  to  the  scragged  front  line 
of  trench,  that  we  beheld  a  scene  which 
stirred  and  thrilled  us  to  the  bottommost 
depths  of  our  souls.  The  great  charge  of 
the  Irish  division  had  begun,  and  we  had 
come  up  in  the  nick  of  time.  Mere  words 
must  fail  to  convey  anything  like  a  true 
picture  of  the  scene,  but  it  is  burned  into 
the  memory  of  all  those  who  were  there 
and  saw  it.  Let  me  employ  once  more 
the  simile  of  Parliament  Hill.  You  are 
more  than  half  way  up  it  now.  The  flat 
top,  where  the  village  lies  a  heap  of 
ruins,  surrounded  by  a  fence  of  shat- 
tered trees,  is  about  400  yards  away.  Be- 
tween the  outer  fringe  of  Ginchy  and  the 
front  line  of  our  own  trenches  is  No 
Man's  Land — a  wilderness  of  pits,  so  close 
together  that  you  could  ride  astraddle 
the  partitions  between  any  two  of  them. 
As  you  look  half-right,  obliquely  along 
No  Man's  Land,  you  behold  a  great  host 
of  yellow-coated  men  rise  out  of  the  earth 
and  surge  forward  and  upward  in  a  tor- 


rent— not  in  extended  order,  as  you  might 
expect,  but  in  one  mass — I  almost  said  a 
compact  mass.  The  only  way  I  can  de- 
scribe the  scene  is  to  ask  you  to  picture 
five  or  six  columns  of  men  marching  up 
hill  in  fours,  with  about  a  hundred  yards 
between  each  column.  Now,  conceive 
those  columns  being  gradually  disorgan- 
ized, some  men  going  off  to  the  right  and 
others  to  the  left  to  avoid  shell  holes. 
There  seems  to  be  no  end  to  them.  Just 
when  you  think  the  flood  is  subsiding,  an- 
other wave  comes  surging  up  the  beach 
toward  Ginchy. 

We  joined  in  on  the  left.  There  was 
no  time  for  us  any  more  than  the  others 
to  get  into  extended  order.  We  formed 
another  stream  converging  on  the  others 
at  the  summit.  By  this  time  we  were  all 
wildly  excited.  Our  shouts  and  yells 
alone  must  have  struck  terror  into  the 
Germans,  who  were  firing  their  machine 
guns  down  the  slope.  But  there  was  no 
wavering  in  the  Irish  host.  We  couldn't 
run.  We  advanced  at  a  steady  walking 
pace,  stumbling  here  and  there,  but 
going  ever  onward  and  upward.  That 
numbing  dread  had  now  left  me  complete- 
ly. Like  the  others,  I  was  intoxicated 
with  the  glory  of  it  all.  I  can  remember 
shouting  and  bawling  to  the  men  of  my 
platoon,  who  were  only  too  eager  to  go 
on.  The  German  barrage  had  now  been 
opened  in  earnest,  and  shells  were  falling 
here,  there,  and  everywhere  in  No  Man's 
Land.  They  were  mostly  dropping  on 
our  right,  but  they  were  coming  nearer 
and  nearer,  as  if  a  screen  were  being 
drawn  across  our  front.  I  knew  that  it 
was  a  case  of  "  now  or  never  "  and  stum- 
bled on  feverishly.  We  managed  to  get 
through  the  barrage  in  the  nick  of  time, 
for  it  closed  behind  us,  and  after  that  we 
had  no  shells  to  fear  in  front  of  us. 

A  Psychological  Note 
I  mention,  merely  as  an  interesting  fact 
in  psychology,  how  in  a  crisis  of  this  sort 
one's  mental  faculties  are  sharpened.  In- 
stinct told  us  when  the  shells  were  coming 
gradually  closer  to  crouch  down  in  the 
holes  until  they  had  passed.  Acquired 
knowledge  on  the  other  hand — the  knowl- 
edge instilled  into  one  by  lectures  and 
books,  (of  which  I  have  only  read  one, 
namely,  Haking's  "  Company  Training,") 


358 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


— told  us  that  it  was  safer  in  the  long 
run  to  push  ahead  before  the  enemy  got 
the  range,  and  it  was  acquired  knowledge 
that  won.  And  here's  another  observa- 
tion I  should  like  to  make  by  the  way:  I 
remember  reading  somewhere,  I  think  it 
was  in  a  book  by  Winston  Churchill,  that 
of  the  battle  of  Omdurman  the  writer 
could  recollect  nothing  in  the  way  of 
noise;  he  had  an  acute  visual  recollection 
of  all  that  went  on  about  him,  but  his 
aural  recollection  was  nil;  he  could  only 
recall  the  scene  as  if  it  were  a  cinemato- 
graph picture.  Curiously,  this  was  my 
own  experience  at  Ginchy.  The  din  must 
have  been  deafening,  (I  learned  after- 
ward that  it  could  be  heard  miles  away,) 
yet  I  have  only  a  confused  remembrance 
of  it.  Shells,  which  at  any  other  time 
would  have  scared  me  out  of  my  wits,  I 
never  so  much  as  heard — not  even  when 
they  were  bursting  quite  close  to  me.  One 
landed  in  the  midst  of  a  bunch  of  men 
about  seventy  yards  away  on  my  right; 
I  have  a  most  vivid  recollection  of  seeing 
a  tremendous  burst  of  clay  and  earth  go 
shooting  up  into  the  air — yes,  and  even 
parts  of  human  bodies — and  that  when 
the  smoke  cleared  away  there  was  noth- 
ing left.  I  shall  never  forget  that  hor- 
rifying spectacle  as  long  as  I  live,  but  I 
shall  remember  it  as  a  sight  only,  for  I 
can  associate  no  sound  with  it. 

Capture  of  the   Trenches 

How  long  we  were  in  crossing  No 
Man's  Land  I  don't  know.  It  could  not 
have  been  more  than  five  minutes,  yet  it 
seemed  much  longer.  We  were  now  well 
up  to  the  Boche.  We  had  to  clamber 
over  all  manner  of  obstacles — fallen  trees, 
beams,  great  mounds  of  brick  and  rubble 
— in  fact,  over  the  ruins  of  Ginchy.  It 
seems  like  a  nightmare  to  me  now.  I 
remember  seeing  comrades  falling  round 
me.  My  sense  of  hearing  returned,  for 
I  became  conscious  of  a  new  sound,  name- 
ly, the  pop,  pop,  pop  of  machine  guns 
and  the  continuous  crackling  of  rifle  fire. 
I  remember  men  lying  in  shell  holes  hold- 
ing out  their  arms  and  beseeching  water. 
I  remember  men  crawling  about  and 
coughing  up  blood,  as  they  searched  round 
for  some  place  in  which  they  could  shelter 
until  help  could  reach  thehn.  By  this 
time  all  units  were  mixed  up.     But  they 


were  all  Irishmen.  They  were  cheering 
and  cheering  and  cheering  like  mad.  It 
was  hell  let  loose.  There  was  a  machine 
gun  playing  on  us  near  by,  and  we  all 
made  for  it. 

At  this  moment  we  caught  our  first 
sight  of  the  Germans.  They  were  in  a 
trench  of  sorts,  which  ran  in  and  out 
among  the  ruins.  Some  of  them  had 
their  hands  up.  Others  were  kneeling 
and  holding  their  arms  out  to  us.  Still 
others  were  running  up  and  down  the 
trench  distractedly  as  if  they  didn't  know 
which  way  to  go,  but  as  we  got  close  they 
went  down  on  their  knees,  too.  To  the 
everlasting  good  name  of  the  Irish  sol- 
diery, not  one  of  these  Germans,  some  of 
whom  had  been  engaged  in  slaughtering 
our  men  up  to  the  very  last  moment,  was 
killed.  I  did  not  see  a  single  instance  of 
a  prisoner  being  shot  or  bayonetted. 
When  you  remember  that  our  men  were 
now  worked  up  to  a  frenzy  of  excitement, 
this  crowning  act  of  mercy  to  their  foes 
is  surely  to  their  eternal  credit.  They 
could  feel  pity  even  in  their  rage. 

Only  Trvo  Officers  Left 

By  this  time  we  had  penetrated  the 
German  front  line,  and  were  on  the  flat 
ground  where  the  village  once  stood,  sur- 
rounded by  a  wood  of  fairly  high  trees. 
There  was  no  holding  the  men  back.  They 
rushed  through  Ginchy,  driving  the  Ger- 
mans before  them.  The  German  dead 
were  lying  everywhere,  some  of  them 
having  been  frightfully  mangled  by  our 
shellfire.  As  I  was  clambering  out  of 
the  front  trench,  I  felt  a  sudden  stab  in 
my  right  thigh.  I  thought  I  had  got  a 
"blighty,"  [a  wound  serious  enough  to 
send  him  back  to  Britain,]  but  found  it 
was  only  a  graze  from  a  bullet,  and  so 
went  on. 

I  managed  to  find  my  men  without  dif- 
ficulty. They  had  rushed  through  the 
ruins  of  the  village  and  were  almost  a 
hundred  yards  beyond  the  wood,  where 
the  ground  dips  down  slightly  into  a 
shallow  valley  and  mounts  up  gradually 
to  a  ridge  about  half  a  mile  away.  We 
were  facing  south  here,  having  Delville 
Wood  away  to  our  left  and  Leuze  Wood 

on  bur  right.     and  I  were  the  only 

two  officers  left  in  the  company,  so  it 
was    up   to   us   to   take   charge.     There 


BATTLE'S    GRIM   REALITIES   AT   GINCHY 


359 


were  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  officers 
in  this  part  of  the  line,  and  so  we  had  a 
great  deal  of  work  to  do.  We  could  see 
the  Germans  hopping  over  the  distant 
ridge  like  rabbits,  and  we  had  some  dif- 
ficulty in  preventing  our  men  from  chas- 
ing them,  for  we  had  orders  not  to  go  too 
far. 

We  got  them — Irish  Fusiliers,  Innis- 
killings,  and  Dublins — to  dig  in  by  linking 
up  the  shell  craters,  and  though  the 
men  were  tired,  (some  wanted  to  smoke 
and  others  to  make  tea,)  they  worked 
with  a  will,  and  before  long  we  had 
got  a  pretty  decent  trench  outlined. 

Scenes  Among  Prisoners 

While  we  were  at  work  a  number  of 
Germans  who  had  stopped  behind,  and 
were  hiding  in  shell  holes,  commenced  a 
bombing  attack  on  our  right.  But  they 
did  not  keep  it  up  long,  for  they  hoisted 
a  white  flag,  (a  handkerchief  tied  to  a 
rifle,)  as  a  sign  of  surrender.  I  should 
think  we  must  have  made  about  twenty 
prisoners.  They  were  very  frightened. 
Some  of  them  bunked  into  a  sunken  road 
or  cutting  which  ran  straight  out  from 
the  wood  in  a  southerly  direction,  and 
huddled  together,  with  hands  upraised. 
They  began  to  empty  their  pockets  and 
hand  out  souvenirs — watches,  compasses, 
cigars,  penknives — to  their  captors,  and 
even  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  us! 
There  was  no  other  officer  about  at  the 
moment,  so  I  had  to  find  an  escort  to  take 
the  prisoners  down.  Among  the  prison- 
ers was  a  tall,  distinguished-looking  man, 
and  I  asked  him  in  my  broken  German 
whether  he  was  an  officer.  "  Ja !  mein 
Herr !  "  was  the  answer  I  got.  "  Sprechen 
sie  English?"  "Ja!"  "Good,"  I  said, 
thankful  that  I  didn't  have  to  rack  my 
brains  for  any  more  German  words; 
"  please  tell  your  men  that  no  harm  will 
come  to  them  if  they  follow  you  quietly." 
He  turned  round  and  addressed  his  men, 
who  seemed  to  be  very  grateful  that  we 
were  not  going  to  kill  them!  I  must  say 
the  officer  behaved  with  real  soldierly 
dignity,  and,  not  to  be  outdone  in  polite- 
ness, I  treated  him  with  the  same  re- 
spect that  he  showed  me.  I  gave  him  an 
escort  for  himself  and  told  off  three  or 
four  men  for  the  remainder.  I  could  not 
but   rather  admire   his   bearing,   for   he 


did  not  show  anything  like  the  terror 
that  his  men  did. 

I  heard  afterward  that  when  Captain 

's  company  rushed  a  trench  more  to 

our  right,  round  the  corner  of  the  wood, 
a  German  officer  surrendered  in  great 
style.  He  stood  to  attention,  gave  a 
clinking  salute,  and  said  in  perfect  Eng- 
lish, "  Sir,  myself,  this  other  officer,  and 
ten  men  are  your  prisoners."     Captain 

said,  "  Right  you  are,  old  chap !  " 

and  they  shook  hands,  the  prisoners  be- 
ing led  away  immediately.  So  you  see 
there  are  certain  amenities  which  are  ob- 
served even  on  the  bloodiest  of  battle- 
fields. I  believe  our  prisoners  were  all 
Bavarians,  who  are  better  mannered  from 
all  accounts  than  the  Prussians.  They 
could  thank  their  stars  they  had  Irish 
chivalry  to  deal  with. 

There  were  a  great  many  German  dead 
and  wounded  in  the  sunken  road.  One 
of  them  was  an  officer.  He  was  lying  at 
the  entrance  to  a  dugout.  He  was  wav- 
ing his  arms  about.  I  went  over  and 
spoke  to  him.  He  could  talk  a  little  Eng- 
lish. All  he  could  say  was,  "  Comrade,  I 
die,  I  die."  I  asked  him  where  he  was 
hit  and  he  said  in  the  stomach.  It  was 
impossible  to  move  him,  for  our  stretcher 
bearers  had  not  yet  come  up,  so  I  got  my 
servant  to  look  for  an  overcoat  to  throw 
over  him,  as  he  was  suffering  terribly 
from  the  cold.  Whether  or  not  he  sur- 
vived the  night  I  do  not  know. 

After,  the  Battle 

Our  line  was  now  extended  across  the 
sunken  road  and  beyond  the  corner  of 
the  wood  to  our  right.  Darkness  was 
coming  on.  Airplanes  were  hovering 
overhead,  and  shortly  afterward  our 
shells  began  to  form  a  barrage  in  front. 
The  Germans  had  evidently  rallied,  for 
we  could  see  a  long  line  of  them  coming 
up  on  our  right,  evidently  from  the  di- 
rection of  Leuze  Wood.  Our  machine 
guns  opened  fire.  The  counterattack 
was  hung  up,  but  the  Germans  must  have 
dug  themselves  in  for  the  night,  for  in 
the  morning  they  gave  us  a  good  deal  of 
trouble. 

I  could  go  on  in  this  strain  for  a  long 
time,  but  will  cut  the  rest  of  the  story 
short,  for  you  must  be  weary  of  it.  As 
briefly  as  possible,  then,  after  the  coun- 


360 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT    HISTORY 


terattack  had  subsided,  I  was  ordered  to 
take  my  men  and  join  up  with  the  rest  of 
the  battalion  on  our  right.  There  we 
spent  the  night  in  a  trench.  We  must 
have  been  facing  south.  It  was  a  miser- 
able night  we  passed,  for  we  were  all 
very  cold  and  thirsty.  We  had  to  keep 
digging.  When  morning  broke  it  was 
very  misty.  We  expected  to  be  relieved 
at  2  in  the  morning,  but  the  relief  did  not 
come  till  noon.  Never  shall  I  forget 
those  hours  of  suspense.  We  were  all 
hungry.  The  only  food  we  could  get  was 
German  black  bread,  which  we  picked  up 
all  over  the  place;  also  German  tinned 
sausages  and  bully-beef.  We  had  to  lift 
up  some  of  the  dead  to  get  at  these 
things.  Some  of  them  had  water  bottles 
full  of  cold  coffee,  which  we  drank. 

We  all  craved  a  smoke.  Fortunately, 
the  German  haversacks  were  pretty  well 
stocked  with  cigarettes  and  cigars.  I  got 
a  handful  of  cigars  off  a  dead  German, 
and  smoked  them  all  morning.  Also  a 
tin  of  cigarettes.  His  chocolates  also 
came  in  handy.  Poor  devil,  he  must  have 
been  a  cheery  soul  when  living,  for  he  had 
a  photograph  of  himself  in  his  pocket,  in 
a  group  with  his  wife  and  two  children, 
and  the  picture  made  him  look  a  jolly 
old  sport.  And  here  he  was  dead,  with 
both  legs  missing!  The  trench  (be- 
tween ours  and  the  wood)  was  stacked 
with  dead.  It  was  full  of  debris — bombs, 
shovels,  and  what  not — and  torn  books, 
magazines,  and  newspapers.  I  came 
across  a  copy  of  Schiller's  "  Wallen- 
stein." 

Treatment  of  Wounded  Germans 
Hearing  moans  as  I  went  along  the 
trench,  I  looked  into  a  shelter  or  hole  dug 
in  the  side  and  found  a  young  German. 
He  could  not  move,  as  his  legs  were 
broken.  He  begged  me  to  get  him  some 
water,  so  I  hunted  round  and  found  a 
flask  of  cold  coffee,  which  I  held  to  his 
lips.  He  kept  saying  "  Danke,  Kamerad, 
danke,  danke."  However  much  you  may 
hate  the  Germans  when  you  are  fighting 
them,  you  can  only  feel  pity  for  them 
when  you  see  them  lying  helpless  and 
wounded  on  the  ground.  I  saw  this  man 
afterward  on  his  way  to  the  dressing 
station.  About  ten  yards  further  on  was 
another  German,  minus  a  leg.     He,  too, 


craved  water,  but  I  could  get  him  none, 
though  I  looked  everywhere.  Our  men 
were  very  good  to  the  German  wounded. 
An  Irishman's  heart  melts  very  soon.  In 
fact,  kindness  and  compassion  for  the 
wounded,  our  own  and  the  enemy's,  is 
about  the  only  decent  thing  I  have  seen 
in  war.  It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to 
see  a  British  and  German  soldier  side  by 
side  in  the  same  shell  hole  nursing  each 
other  as  best  they  can  and  placidly  smok- 
ing cigarettes.  A  poor  wounded  Ger- 
man who  hobbled  into  our  trench  in  the 
morning,  his  face  badly  mutilated  by  a 
bullet— he  whimpered  and  moaned  as 
piteously  as  a  child — was  bound  up  by 
one  of  our  officers,  who  took  off  his  coat 
and  set  to  work  in  earnest.  Another 
German,  whose  legs  were  hit,  was  carried 
in  by  our  men  and  put  into  a  shell  hole 
for  safety,  where  he  lay  awaiting  the 
stretcher  bearers  when  we  left.  It  is 
with  a  sense  of  pride  that  I  can  write 
this  of  our  soldiers. 

There  was  a  counterattack  on  our  left 
in  the  morning,  and  for  a  few  minutes  the 
machine  guns  were  very  active,  but  the 
Germans  were  beaten  off.  At  last  we 
were  relieved,  and  made  our  way  back, 
behind  Guillemont,  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
line.  We  spent  one  night  in  a  camp  and 
next  day  came  on  here.  I  am  writing 
this  in  a  picturesque  French  village.  You 
can  see  green  fields  and  trees  and  stacks 
of  corn  and  cattle  when  you  look  through 
the  window.  Here,  at  all  events,  "  grim- 
visaged  war  hath  smoothed  his  wrinkled 
front."  I  am  not  alone  in  hoping  that 
we  shall  not  have  to  go  back  to  that 
hellish  place. 

Well,  now,  that's  the  story  of  the  great 
Irish  charge  at  Ginchy,  so  far  as  I  can 
tell  it.  I  suppose  by  this  time  the  great 
event  has  been  forgotten  by  the  English 
public.  But  it  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  took  part  in  it,  for  it  is  an 
event  we  shall  remember  with  pride  to 
the  end  of  our  days. 

Need  I  tell  you  how  proud  we  officers 
and  men  are  of  the  Royal  Irish  Fusiliers 
who  played  as  big  a  part  as  any  in  the 
storming  of  that  stronghold,  and  who 
went  into  action  shouting  their  old  battle 
cry  of  "  Faugh-a-Ballagh  "— "  Clear  the 
way!  " 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY  CARTOONISTS 


[Italian   Cartoon] 


The  World  Moves  Slowly 


"  And  still  it  moves 
who  tried  to  seize  it. 


—From  II  1,20,   Florence. 
Galileo  said — and  in  the  end  it  will  crush  those 


361 


[English  Cartoon] 


The  Old  Love  and  the  New 


ou-D 


— From   Cassell's  Saturday  Journal. 


Miss  U-Boat:  "  Will  you  love  me  as  much  three  months  later?  " 
William  (sotto  voce) :  "  I  wonder!  " 


362 


[Norwegian    Cartoon] 


U-Boat  Morality 


—From  Hvepsen,  Christiania. 
"  We  are  champions  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas."— German  Claim. 


363 


[German  Cartoon] 


Britain  and  the  U- Boats 


—From  Lustige  Blaetter,  Berlin. 

Ruler  of  the  Waves:   "I  will  break  Germany!     I  will  smash   Germany! 
I  will ! ! !  " 


364 


[German  Cartoon] 


?? 


Still  Lies  the  Sea! 


w 


Hi*: 


:<.:->-*&:::.::y:V::*s.v^:;; 


v;'# 


—From  Lustige  Blaetter,  Berlin. 
[A  German  dream  which  is  a  long  way  from  fulfillment.] 


365 


[English   Cartoons] 

A  Naval  Discovery 


—From  The  Sunday  Evening  Telegram,  London. 

Father  Neptune  (to  John  Bull  and  Brother  Jonathan) :  "  Well,  boys,  it's 
taken  over  a  hundred  years  and  Armageddon  to  convince  you  that  my  seas  are 
intended  not  to  divide,  but  to  bring  you  together." 

The  Hope  of  the  Family 


—From  The  News  of  the  World,  London. 
The  Woeful  Warrior:"  He  is  our  last  hope,  Willie  dear,  and  he's  sinking  fast!  " 


366 


[American  Cartoon] 


Getting  Hotter  Every.  Minute 


—From  The  New  York  Times, 


367 


[Spanish    Cartoon] 


The  German  Note  to  Spain 


—From  Iberia,  Barcelona. 


Germany    (to   Spain)  :     "  Bless   you,  my   dear,   you   are   the  only   one  who 
has  stood  by  me.     You  shall  be  rewarded  afterward." 


368 


[English    Cartoon] 


The  Junk  Sale  at  Stockholm 


— From  The  Passing  Show,  London. 


Auctioneer  Bethmann  (to  Russia) :    "Going!   Going!   this  wonderful  peace 
masterpiece.    Just  the  thing  for  a  democratic  art  lover's  parlor!  " 


369 


S     3 


«    g 


A  .2 


o   ° 

**-*  a) 

0)    £ 

So 

•3  U 
°>  sf 

4 


I 


X 


i 


370 


[Dutch   Cartoon] 

The  Stockholm  Conference 


—From  De  NotenJcraker,  Amsterdam. 
[English  Cartoon] 

St.  George  and  the  Pacifist 


~~  "—From  The  London  Evening  Mews. 

Peace  Crank  :   "  Before  you  go  on  with  this  conflict  you  must  give  me  your 
word  that  you  will  do  nothing  really  injurious  to  the  dragon." 


371 


[German  Cartoon] 

Germany's  Clever  Retreat 


—From  Kladderdatsch,  Berlin. 
British   Tommy:    "Where   are  those  confounded   Germans?" 


372 


[French  Cartoon] 


In  the  Torture  Chamber  at  Nuremberg 


■ :   .      ■■-' 


—From   La  Baionnette,  Paris. 


German  Mother:  "All  these  instruments,  my  boy,  will  be  useful  after  our 
victory — with  the  aid  of  the  good  old  God." 


373 


[Russian   Cartoon] 


Company  for  Nicholas 


— From  Novi  Satiricon,  Petrograd. 

"  Ha,  ha!     Here  is  a  fourth  partner.     New  we  can  play  whist!  " 
[The  other  three  are  the  ex-Shah  of  Persia,  ex-Sultan  Abdul  Hamid  of  Turkey,  and  ex-King 

Manuel  of  Portugal.] 


374 


[German  Cartoon] 


Wartime  Punch  and  Judy 


■::ll;i!l6i: ' 


—From  Der  Brummer,  Berlin. 


Mars:  "Whose  turn  next?" 

Britain  :  "  Please,  Sir,  take  Ivan  next ! 


375 


o    to 

§1 

eo  


OS 


■H 

O 

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■2 

d 

Cm 

o 


376 


[Dutch   Cartoon] 


A.  Difficult  Problem 


—From.  De  Nieuwe  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 
Peace  Angel  :  "  I  don't  see  where  I  can  ever  get  hold  of  it." 


377 


[American  Cartoons] 

Russia's  Answer  *fOh,  Say,  Can  You  See  ?" 


-Duluth  Herald. 


—Knoxville  Journal  and  Tribune. 


w—  and    Greece!" 


The  Middleman 


— Mobile  Register. 
Find  the  Producer  and  the  Consumer. 


— St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 


378 


[American    Cartoons] 


A  Late  Spring 


Blind  the  Enemy 


—Mobile  Register. 


How  Constantine  Lost  His  Crown 


—Baltimore  American. 

Bars  of  Gold 


—St.  Louis  Republic. 


—Memphis    Commercial    Appeal. 


379 


[American    Cartoons] 


Who  Next? 


That  Draft  Gives  Him  a  Chill 


—New  York  World. 


When  Charlie  Begins  Strafing 


-:y 


*^S 


*"* 


m: 


-Los   Angeles   Times. 


In  the  Wrong  Shop 


"I  DON'T  WANT 
A  HAIR  CUT  OinlV. 
I  WA  IN  T  A 

tfr^,  .CLEAN  SHAVE.!.'"    •  . 


—St.  I/Oitis  Post-Dispatch. 


— St.    Joseph    News-Press. 


380 


Pf^<;ry-,  -  ■■ 


^-      -M      ,„  . 


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JOSEPH  JACQUES  CESAIRE  JOFFRE 


The  Victor  of  the  Marne  and  Marshal  of  France,  with  One 
of  the  Vast  Crowds  That  Gathered  to  See  Him  in  New  York 

(©     Underwood  <t  Underwood  and  Mayor's  Reception  Committee) 


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THE   CALL  TO  ARMS 

President's  Proclamation  of  Conscription 

Law  Creating  the  National  Army 

of  the   United   States 


mmn,  Congress  has  enact- 
ed and  the  President  has 
on  the  18th  day  of  May,  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventeen,  approved  a  law, 
which  contains  the  following 
provisions : 

SECTION  5. — That  all  male  persons 
between  the  ages  of  21  and  30, 
both  inclusive,  shall  be  subject  to 
registration  in  accordance  with  regu- 
lations to  be  prescribed  by  the 
President:  And  upon  proclamation  by 
the  President  or  other  public  notice 
given  by  him  or  by  his  direction  stating 
the  time  and  place  of  such  registration 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  persons  of  the 
designated  ages,  except  officers  and 
enlisted  men  of  the  regular  army, 
the  navy,  and  the  National  Guard 
an*d  Naval  Militia  while  in  the 
service  of  the  Umted  States,  to 
present  themselves  for  and  submit  to 
registration  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act:  And  every  such  person  shall 
be  deemed  to  have  notice  of  the  require- 
ments of  this  act  upon  the  publication 
of  said  proclamation  or  other  notice  as 
aforesaid,  given  by  the  President  or  by 
his  direction  :  And  any  person  who  shall 
willfully  fail  or  refuse  to  present  him- 
self for  registration  or  to  submit  thereto 
as  herein  provided  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  and  shall,  upon  conviction 
in  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
having  jurisdiction  thereof,  be  punished 
by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  one 
year,  and  shall  thereupon  be  duly  regis- 
tered ;  provided  that  in  the  call  of  the 
docket  precedence  shall  be  given,  in 
courts  trying  the  same,  to  the  trial  of 
criminal  proceedings  under  this  act; 
provided,  further,  that  persons  shall  be 
subject  to  registration  as  herein  provided 


who  shall  have  attained  their  twenty- 
first  birthday  and  who  shall  not  have 
attained  their  thirty-first  birthday  on  or 
before  the  day  set  for  the  registration; 
and  all  persons  so  registered  shall  be 
and  remain  .subject  to  draft  into  the 
forces  hereby  authorized  unless  excepted 
or  excused  therefrom  as  in  this  act  pro- 
vided;  provided,  further,  that  in  the 
case  of  temporary  absence  from  actual 
place  of  legal  residence  of  any  person 
liable  to  registration  as  provided  herein, 
such  registration  may  be  made  by  mail 
under  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by 
the  President. 

SECTION  6.-That  the  President  is 
hereby  authorized  to  utilize  the  service 
of  any  or  all  departments  and  any  or 
all  officers  or  agents  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  States-,  Territories, 
and  the  District  of  Columbia  and  sub- 
divisions thereof  in  the  execution  of  this 
act,  and  all  officers  and  agents  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several  States, 
Territories,  and  subdivisions  thereof,  and 
of  the  District  of  Columbia ;  and  all  per- 
sons designated  or  appointed  under  regu- 
lations prescribed  by  the  President, 
whether  such  appointments  are  made  by 
the  President  himself  or  by  the  Gover- 
nor or  other  officer  of  any  State  or  Ter- 
ritory to  perform  any  duty  in  the  execu- 
tion of  this  act,  are  hereby  required  to 
perform  such  duty  as  the  President  shall 
order  or  direct,  and  all  such  officers  and 
agents  and  persons  so  designated  or  ap« 
pointed  shall  hereby  have  full  authority 
for  all  acts  done  by  them  in  the  execu- 
tion of  this  act  by  the  direction  of  the 
President.  Correspondence  in  the  execu- 
tion of  this  act  may  be  carried  in  penalty 
envelopes,  bearing  the  frank  of  the  War 
Department.  Any  person  charged,  aa 
herein  provided,  with  the  duty  of  carry- 
ing into  effect  any  of  the  provisions  of 
this  act  or  the  regulations  made  or  direc- 
tions given  thereunder  who  shall  fail  or 


381 


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la^^sfefes^^^ 


neglect  to  perform  such  duty,  and  any 
person  charged  with  such  duty  or  having 
and  exercising  any  authority  under  said 
act,  regulations,  or  directions,  who  shall 
knowingly  make  or  be  a  party  to  the 
making  of  any  false  or  incorrect  registra- 
tion, physical  examination,  exemption, 
enlistment,  enrollment,  or  muster,  and 
any  person  who  shall  make  or  be  a  party 
to  the  making  of  any  false  statement  or 
certificate  as  to  the  fitness  or  liability 
of  himself  or  any  other  person  for  service 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  regu- 
lations made  by  the  President  there- 
under, or  otherwise  evades  or  aids  an- 
other to  evade  the  requirements  of  this 
act  or  of  said  regulations,  or  who,  in 
any  manner,  shall  fail  or  neglect  fully 
to  perform  any  duty  required  of  him  in 
the  execution  of  this  act,  shall,  if  not 
subject  to  military  law,  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  in  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States  hav- 
ing jurisdiction  thereof  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  for  not  more  than  one 
year,  or,  if  subject  to  military  law,  shall 
/be  tried  by  court-martial  and  suffer  such 
punishment  as  a  court-marital  may 
direct. 

S^om,  $Utttfant  I,  Woodrow 
Wilson,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  call  upon  the 
Governor  of  each  of  the  several 
States  and  Territories,  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  all 
officers  and  agents  of  the  sev- 
eral States  and  Territories,  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
of  the  counties  and  municipali- 
ties therein,  to  perform  certain 
duties  in  the  execution  of  the 
foregoing  law,  which  duties  will 
be  communicated  to  them  di- 
rectly in  regulations  of  even 
date  herewith. 

9k  nb  I  do  further  proclaim 
and  give  notice  to  all  per- 
sons subject  to  registration  in 
the  several  States  and  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  above  law, 


*:*:te:.^: 


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that  the  time  and  place  of  such 
registration  shall  be  between  7 
A.  M.  and  7  P.  M.  on  the  fifth 
day  of  June,  1917,  at  the  regis- 
tration place  in  the  precinct 
wherein  they  have  their  per- 
manent homes.  Those  who 
shall  have  attained  their 
twenty-first  birthday  and  who 
shall  not  have  attained  their 
thirty-first  birthday  on  or  be- 
fore the  day  here  named  are 
required  to  register,  excepting 
only  officers  and  enlisted  men 
of  the  regular  army,  the  navy, 
the  Marine  Corps,  and  the  Na- 
tional Guard  and  Navy  Militia, 
while  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  officers  in 
the  Officers'  Reserve  Corps  and 
enlisted  men  in  the  Enlisted 
Reserve  Corps  while  in  active 
service.  In  the  Territories  of 
Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico 
a  day  for  registration  will  be 
named  in  a  later  proclamation. 

JLnb  I  do  charge  those  who 
through  sickness  shall  be 
unable  to  present  themselves 
for  registration  that  they 
apply  on  or  before  the  day  of 
registration  to  the  County 
Clerk  of  the  county  where 
they  may  be  for  instructions  as 
to  how  they  may  be  registered 
by  agent.  Those  who  expect  to 
be  absent  on  the  day  named 
from  the  counties  ,  in  which 
they  have  their  permanent 
homes  may  register  by  mail, 
but  their  mailed  registration 
cards  must  reach  the  places 
in  which  they  have  their  per- 


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manent  homes  by  the  day 
named  herein.  They  should 
apply  as  soon  as  practicable  to 
the  County  Clerk  of  the 
county  wherein  they  may  be 
for  instructions  as  to  how 
they  may  accomplish  their 
registration  by  mail.  In  case 
such  persons  as,  through  sick- 
ness or  absence,  may  be  unable 
to .  present  themselves  person- 
ally for  registration  shall  be 
sojourning  in  cities  of  over 
30,000  population,  they  shall 
apply  to  the  City  Clerk  of  the 
city  wherein  they  may  be  so- 
journing rather  than  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  county.  The  Clerks 
of  counties  and  of  cities  of  over 
30,000  population  in  which 
numerous  applications  from  the 
sick  and  from  nonresidents  are 
expected  are  authorized  to 
establish  such  agencies  and  to 
employ  and  deputize  such  cleri- 
cal force  as  may  be  necessary  to 
accommodate  these  applica- 
tions. 

nrij*  power  against  which  we 
are  arrayed  has  sought 
to  impose  its  will  upon  the 
world  by  force.  To  this  end  it 
has  increased  armament  until 
it  has  changed  the  face  of  war. 
In  the  sense  in  which  we  have 
been  wont  to  think  of  armies, 
there  are  no  armies  in  this 
struggle,  there  are  entire  na- 
tions armed.  Thus,  the  men 
who  remain  to  till  the  soil  and 
man  the  factories  are  no  less  a 
part  of  the  army  that  is  France 
than  the  men  beneath  the  battle 


flags.  It  must  be  so  with  us. 
It  is  not  an  army  that  we  must 
shape  and  train  for  war;  it  is 
a  nation. 

JJJn  this  end  our  people  must 
draw  close  in  one  com- 
pact front  against  a  common 
foe.  But  this  cannot  be  if  each 
man  pursues  a  private  purpose. 
All  must  pursue  one  purpose. 
The  nation  needs  all"  men;  but 
ft  needs  each  man  not  in  the 
field  that  will  most  pleasure 
him,  but  in  the  endeavor  that 
will  best  serve  the  common 
good.  Thus,  though  a  sharp- 
shooter pleases  to  operate  a 
trip-hammer  for  the  forging  of 
great  guns  and  an  expert  ma- 
chinist desires  to  march  with 
the  flag,  the  nation  is  being 
served  only  when  the  sharp- 
shooter marches  and  the  ma- 
chinist remains  at  his  levers. 


JjTlf*  whole 
team, 


nation  must  be  a 
in  which  each  man 
shall  play  the  part  for  which  he 
is  best  fitted.  To  this  end,  Con- 
gress has  provided  that  the 
nation  shall  be  organized  for 
war  by  selection ;  that  each  man 
shall '  be  classified  for  service 
in  the  place  to  which  it  shall 
best  serve  the  general  good  to 
call  him. 

TJTfy?  significance  of  this  can- 
not be  overstated.  It  is  a 
new  thing  in  our  history  and  a 
landmark  in  our  progress.  It 
is  a  new  manner  of  accepting 
and  vitalizing  our  duty  to  give 
ourselves  with  thoughtful  de- 


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383 


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votion  to  the  common  purpose 
of  us  all.  It  is  in  no  sense  a 
conscription  of  the  unwilling; 
it  is,  rather,  selection  from  a 
nation  which  has  volunteered 
in  mass.  It  is  no  more  a  choos- 
ing of  those  who  shall  march 
with  the  colors  than  it  is  a  se- 
lection of  those  who  shall  serve 
an  equally  necessary  and  de- 
voted purpose  in  the  industries 
that  lie  behind  the  battle  line. 

/jTlj*  day  here  named  is  the 
time  upon  which  all  shall 
present  themselves  for  assign- 
ment to  their  tasks.  It  is  for 
that  reason  destined  to  be  re- 
membered as  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  moments  in  our 
history.  It  is  nothing  less  than 
the  day  upon  which  the  man- 
hood of  the  country  shall  step 
forward  in  one  solid  rank  in  de- 
fense of  the  ideals  to  which  this 
nation  is  consecrated.  It  is  im- 
portant to  those  ideals  no  less 
than  to  the  pride  of  this  genera- 
tion in  manifesting  its  devotion 
to  them,  that  there  be  no  gaps 
in  the  ranks. 


^Jjt  is  essential  that  the  day 
be  approached  in  thoughtful 
apprehension  of  its  signifi- 
cance, and  that  we  accord  to  it 
the  honor  and  the  meaning  that 
it  deserves.  Our  industrial 
need  prescribes  that  it  be  not 
made  a  technical  holiday,  but 
the  stern  sacrifice  that  is  before 
us  urges  that  it  be  carried  in 
all  our  hearts  as  a  great  day  of 
patriotic  devotion  and  obliga- 
tion, when  the  duty  shall  lie 
upon  every  man,  whether  he  is 
himself  to  be  registered  or  not, 
to  see  to  it  that  the  name  of 
every  male  person  of  the  desig- 
nated ages  is  written  on  these 
lists  of  honor. 

fin  WitntBS  Wfymtxf,  I  have 
hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United 
States  to  be  affixed.  Done  at 
the  City  of  Washington  this 
18th  day  of  May  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  seventeen,  and  of 
the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-first. 
By  the  President : 


ROBERT  LANSING, 
Secretary  of  State. 


!*  1*  1*  1*  1*1*  Mltm  1*1*  1*1*  to  to  total***  1*1*  1*1*1*  to* 

384 


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hi  n » 


The  New  American  Army 

Operation  of  the  Selective  Draft  Law  and  Formation  of  the 
Nation's  Military   Forces 


CONGRESS  passed  the  bill  May  18 
authorizing  the  formation  of  the 
new  army  by  conscription — after 
a  month's  earnest  debate.  The 
measure  provides  for  increasing  the 
regular  army  to  287,000  men  and  the 
National  Guard  to  625,000.  It  further 
adopts  for  the  United  States  the  theory 
and  system  of  compulsory  service — which 
constitutes  a  revolutionary  change — and 
provides  a  system  of  selective  drafts  be- 
tween the  ages  of  21  and  30  years  where- 
by men  may  be  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  President  is  authorized  to  take 
500,000  at  once  and  500,000  later,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  army  and  National 
Guard  increases.  In  all,  this  legislation 
provides  an  army  of  approximately 
2,000,000  to  be  raised  in  the  first  year 
following  the  passage  of  the  law.  The 
vote  in  the  Senate  was  81  to  8  and  in  the 
House  397  to  24. 

President  Wilson  signed  the  measure 
the  day  it  passed,  and  at  once  issued  the 
proclamation  printed  in  the  preceding 
pages,  calling  the  nation  to  arms.  In  this 
proclamation  he  defined  the  workings  of 
the  law,  and  fixed  June  5  as  the  day  for 
registration.  This  day  is  to  be  made  the 
occasion  of  great  patriotic  demonstra- 
tions throughout  the  country. 

About  10,000,000  men  between  21  and 
30,  inclusive,  are  expected  to  be  regis- 
tered. After  the  registration  and  ex- 
emptions have  been  completed,  those  de- 
clared to  be  eligible  for  drafting  will 
have  their  names  placed  in  jury  wheels 
and  500,000  will  be  drafted  for  Federal 
service  in  the  formation  of  the  new  na- 
tional army.  It  is  expected  that  the  sec- 
ond call  for  500,000  men  will  follow  with- 
in a  few  weeks.  The  new  army  will  be 
completed  as  follows: 

The  regular  army  will  be  recruited  to  the 
maximum  war  strength  of  287,000  men  by- 
voluntary  enlistment  or,  as  a  last  resort,  by 
selective  enrollment. 

The  National  Guard  will  be  recruited  to  the 


maximum  war  strength  of  625,000  men  by 
voluntary  enlistment  or,  as  a  last  resort,  by 
selective  enrollment. 

The  first  additional  force  of  500,000  men 
will  be  raised  by  selective  enrollment. 

The  new  army  will  be  mobilized  in  16 
divisions  of  28,000  men  each,  distributed 
among  the  States  as  follows: 

First — Massachusetts,  Maine,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  and  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

Second — Lower  New  York  State  and  Long 
Island. 

Third — Upper  New  York  State  and  North- 
ern Pennsylvania. 

Fourth — Southern  Pennsylvania. 

Fifth — Virginia,  Maryland,  Delaware,  New 
Jersey,  and  District  of  Columbia. 

Sixth  —  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  and 
South  Carolina. 

Seventh — Alabama,   Georgia,  and  Florida. 

Eighth — Ohio  and  West  Virginia. 

Ninth — Indiana  and  Kentucky. 

Tenth — Wisconsin  and  Michigan. 

Eleventh — Illinois. 

Twelfth — Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louis- 
iana. 

Thirteenth — North  Dakota,  South  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Minnesota,   and  Iowa. 

Fourteenth — Colorado,  Kansas,  and  Mis- 
souri. 

Fifteenth — Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
and  Oklahoma. 

Sixteenth  —  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho, 
Montana,  California,  Nevada,  and  Utah. 

National  Guard  Called  Out 
Coincident  with  the  proclamation, 
President  Wilson  issued  orders  for  the 
mobilization  of  the  entire  National 
Guard,  which  will  immediately  be  drafted 
into  the  Federal  service;  60,000  of  this 
force  out  of  a  total  of  160,000  were 
drafted  into  the  Federal  service  prior 
to  May  15.  New  National  Guard  units 
will  be  expanded  to  a  total  of  400,000,  to 
be  known  as  the  National  Guard  Army, 
consisting  of  sixteen  divisions. 

All  men  taken  into  the  army  will  serve 
for  the  period  of  the  war. 

Although  local  units  will  be  kept  in- 
tact, so  far  as  possible,  the  regular  army, 
National  Guard,  and  enrolled  men  will  be 
welded  into  a  homogeneous  army,  with 


386 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


officers  appointed  and  assigned  by  the 
President. 

Enlisted  men  will  receive  pay  of  $30  a 
month,  an  increase  of  $15,  and  the  pay  of 
the  other  grades  is  increased. 

Recruits  of  the  regular  army  will  go 
into  training  at  once.  The  National 
Guard  units  will  be  in  training,  it  is  ex- 
pected, by  July  1,  and  the  500,000  en- 
rolled men  by  Sept.  1. 

There  was  a  prolonged  conflict  over  a 
provision  authorizing  the  formation  of 
four  divisions  of  volunteers  at  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  President,  which  was  intended 
to  authorize  former  President  Roosevelt 
to  head  this  volunteer  army;  it  was  final- 
ly incorporated  into  the  bill.  Announce- 
ment was  made  on  May  19,  however,  that 
the  President  had  decided  not  to  avail 
himself  of  the  authority  to  organize  vol- 
unteer divisions.  He  announced  at  the 
same  time  that  a  division  of  the  United 
States  regulars  would  be  sent  to  France 
at  the  earliest  date  practicable,  to  be 
commanded  by  Major  Gen.  John  J. 
Pershing,  who  had  been  in  command  of 
the  expedition  to  Mexico.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  announced  May  19  that  2,600 
marines  would  accompany  the  Pershing 
expedition. 

Training  Camps  Established 
Officers'  training  camps  were  opened 
on  May  15  as  follows: 

First — Troops  from  all  New  England  States, 
Plattsburg  Barracks,  N.  Y. 

Second — New  York  Congressional  Districts 
1  to  26,  (including  Long  Island,  New  York 
City,  and  a  strip  north  of  the  city,)  Platts- 
burg  Barracks,  N.  Y. 

Third — Remainder  of  New  York  State  and 
Pennsylvania  Congressional  Districts  10,  11, 
14,  15,  16,  21,  25,  and  28,  Madison  Barracks, 
N.  Y. 

Fourth — Remainder  of  Pennsylvania  State, 
Including  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh,  Fort 
Niagara,  N.  Y. 

Fifth — New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  District  of  Columbia,  Fort 
Myer,  Va. 

Sixth — North  and  South  Carolina  and  Ten- 
nessee, Fort  Oglethorpe,  Ga.,  near  Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. 

Seventh — Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Florida, 
Fort  McPherson,   Ga.,   near  Atlanta. 

Eighth — Ohio  and  West  Virginia,  Fort  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  near  Indianapolis. 

Ninth — Indiana  and  Kentucky,  Fort  Ben- 
jamin Harrison. 

Tenth — Illinois,  Fort  Sheridan,  near  Chicago. 


Eleventh — Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  Fort 
Sheridan. 

Twelfth — Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louis- 
iana, Fort  Logan  H.  Root,  Ark.,  near  Little 
Rock. 

Thirteenth — Minnesota,  Iowa,  North  and 
South  Dakota,  and  Nebraska,  Fort  Snelling, 
Minn.,  near  St.  Paul. 

Fourteenth — Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Colo- 
rado, Fort  Riley,  Kan. 

Fifteenth  —  Oklahoma  and  Texas,  Leon 
Springs,   Texas,  near  San  Antonio. 

Sixteenth — Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Cali- 
fornia, Nevada,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Arizona, 
and  New  Mexico,  Presidio,   San  Francisco. 

In  addition  there  will  be  two  separate 
cavalry  divisions  which  probably  will  be 
situated  in  the  Southwest,  near  the  Mexi- 
can border.  Officers  for  the  cavalry  di- 
visions will  be  trained  at  all  of  the  six- 
teen officers'  training  camps,  which  will 
open  with  40,000  prospective  officers  un- 
der training. 

Each  infantry  division  consists  of  nine 
full  regiments  of  infantry,  three  regi- 
ments of  field  artillery,  one  regiment  of 
cavalry,  one  regiment  of  engineers,  one 
division  hospital,  and  four  camp  infirma- 
ries. The  total  strength  of  the  sixteen  is 
15,022  officers  and  439,792  men. 

The  two  cavalry  divisions  combined 
will  have  1,214  officers  and  32,062  fight- 
ing men,  including  mounted  engineers 
and  horse  artillery  units,  and  each  will 
have  also  its  divisional  hospital  and  camp 
infirmaries. 

The  proportion  of  coast  artillery  troops 
to  be  provided  out  of  the  first  500,000 
will  be  666  officers  and  20,000  men,  with 
requisite  medical  troops. 

Supplementing  these  tactical  units  will 
be:  Sixteen  regiments  of  heavy  field  ar- 
tillery, strength,  768  officers  and  21,104 
men;  eight  aero  squadrons,  or  one  new 
squadron  to  each  two  new  infantry  divis- 
ions ;  eight  balloon  companies,  ten  field 
hospitals^  ten  ambulance  companies, 
twenty-two  field  bakeries,  six  telephone 
battalions,  sixteen  pack  companies,  six 
ammunition  trains,  and  six  supply  trains. 

Provisions  of  Conscription  Bill 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  conscrip- 
tion measure  men  without  dependent 
wives  or  children  are  required  to  serve 
unless  exempted  on  some  other  ground. 
Unmarried  men  with  dependents,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  not  required  to  serve. 
Unmarried   men   belonging  to  exempted 


THE  NEW  AMERICAN  ARMY 


387 


classes  under  regulations  to  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  President  also  may  be  ex- 
empted, even  if  they  have  no  dependents. 

The  President  himself  is  the  final  au- 
thority on  all  questions  of  exemption  or 
discharge.  The  law  authorizes  him  to 
appoint  a 'local  board  for  each  county  or 
similar  subdivision  and  a  local  board  for 
each  30,000  population  in  cities  of  30,000 
or  more.  These  local  boards  will  consist 
of  three  or  more  persons,  none  of  them 
to  be  connected  with  the  military  estab- 
lishment. The  members  of  these  boards 
will  be  chosen  from  local  authorities  or 
other  citizens  of  the  subdivision  in  which 
the  board  has  jurisdiction. 

Local  boards  have  power  to  hear  and 
determine,  subject  to  review  by  district 
boards  to  be  appointed  for  each  Federal 
judicial  district,  all  questions  of  exemp- 
tion and  all  questions  of  including  indi- 
viduals or  classes  in  the  selective  draft 
or  of  discharging  them  from  it. 

In  densely  populated  judicial  districts, 
as  in  New  York  City,  more  than  one 
board  will  be  appointed  to  revise  the 
findings  of  local  boards  in  each  district 
when  appeals  are  taken. 

The  entire  scheme  is  to  localize  the 
exemption  boards  and  boards  of  review  as 
much  as  possible,  officials  feeling  that  in 
this  way,  and  by  keeping  military  men 
off  the  boards,  the  minimum  of  friction 
will  result. 

The    district    boards,    also    appointed 


solely  by  the  President,  have  authority 
to  review  on  appeal,  affirm,  modify,  or 
reverse  the  decision  of  local  boards,  as  to 
any  individual  or  any  class  of  individu- 
als. Those  not  satisfied  with  the  decision 
of  the  Board  of  Review  may  appeal 
directly  to  the  President.  In  appointing 
all  boards,  the  President  has  absolute 
control  at  all  times  of  the  exemption  ma- 
chinery. The  exemption  work  is  a  purely 
civil  procedure.  The  army  has  no  part  in 
the  matter  until  after  all  questions  of 
exemption  or  discharge  of  individuals  or 
classes  have  been  finally  disposed  of  and 
the  new  draft  army  is  called  to  the 
colors. 

The  specific  exemptions  fixed  by  the 
bill  include  State  and  Federal  officials  of 
the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
branches,  persons  in  the  naval  or  military 
service,  members  of  religious  sects  with 
conscientious  scruples  against  war.  The 
President  is  authorized  to  exclude  from 
the  draft  or  to  draft  for  "  partial  mili- 
tar  service  only,"  county  and  municipal 
officers,  Custom  House  clerks,  persons 
employed  by  the  United  States  in  the 
transportation  of  the  mails  and  certain 
other  designated  classes,  together  with 
"  persons  engaged  in  industries,  includ- 
ing agriculture,  found  to  be  necessary  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  military  estab- 
lishment or  the  effective  operation  of  the 
military  forces  or  the  maintenance  of  the 
national  interest  during  the  emergency." 


Mobilizing  America's  Resources 


THE  mobilizing  of  America's  re- 
sources and  the  organizing  of  its 
man  power  for  the  war  proceeded 
in  earnest  in  May.  In  every  direction 
new  forms  of  co-operation  in  industry 
were  established  with  the  help  of  leading 
business  men,  technical  experts,  and  men 
whose  organizing  abilities  had  been  pre- 
viously employed  in  private  enterprise. 

Committees  to  serve  under  Bernard  M. 
Baruch,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Raw  Materials  of  the  Advisory  Commis- 
sion, and  Julius  Rosenwald,  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Supplies,  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Council  of  National  De- 


fense. These  committees  assisted  in  the 
co-ordination  of  industries.  Judge  El- 
bert H.  Gary  was  appointed  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Steel,  and  among 
the  members  of  the  committee  was 
Charles  M.  Schwab  of  the  Bethlehem 
Steel  Company.  A.  C.  Bedford,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  was 
appointed  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Oil.  Other  committees  to  handle  alcohol, 
aluminium,  asbestos,  magnesia,  and  roof- 
ing; brass,  coal  tar  by-products,  lumber, 
lead;  mica,  nickel,  rubber,  sulphur,  wool, 
and  zinc,  were  selected  from  the  chief 
leaders  in  those  lines. 


388 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  Commercial  Economy  Board  of  the 
Advisory  Commission  to  promote  effici- 
ency, eliminate  waste,  and  especially  to 
assist  commercial  houses  in  releasing  em- 
ployes for  Government  service  without 
dislocating  business,  proceeded  with  its 
work.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  in- 
crease output  of  coal  and  by  co-operation 
with  the  Committees  on  Raw  Materials 
and  Transportation  to  accelerate  the 
movement  of  coal  to  points  where  the 
need  is  greatest. 

Medical  men  organized  a  board  to 
work  with  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense. 

The  Women's  Committee,  presided  over 
by  Dr.  Anna  H.  Shaw,  endeavored  to 
prevent  overlapping  by  the  numerous 
women's  organizations,  and  to  organize 
their  work  in  an  efficient  manner. 

Measures  were  undertaken  to  recruit 
for  farm  work  boys  between  the  age  of 
16  and  the  age  of  enlistment,  of  whom 
there  are  5,000,000,  with  2,000,000  esti- 
mated as  idle.  This  was  directed  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  through  the 
United  States  Boys'  Working  Reserve. 

The  leaders  of  capital  and  labor  on 
May  15  met  at  Washington,  and,  putting 
aside  all  differences,  agreed  to  co-operate. 
Samuel  Gompers,  President  of  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor  and  Chairman 
of  the  Labor  Committee  of  the  Advisory 
Commission,  invited  a  group  of  America's 
greatest  industrial  magnates  to  discuss 
methods  of  co-operation  between  employ- 
ers and  workers.  Those  who  accepted 
included  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  Emer- 
son McMillan  of  New  York,  Daniel  Gug- 
genheim, Theodore  Marburg  of  Balti- 
more, and  Colgate  Hoyt  of  New  York. 
The  meeting  in  the  Labor  Federation 
building  at  Washington  was  unprece- 
dented. Mr.  Rockefeller  promised  that 
he  would  do  all  he  could  to  co-operate 
with  labor.  Similar  pledges  were  re- 
ceived from  other  men  representing  great 
industrial  interests,  who  were  not  present 
at  the  meeting.     At  its  conclusion  the 


spokesmen  of  capital  and  labor  went  in  a 
body  to  the  White  House,  and  were  re- 
ceived by  the  President,  who  said  that 
this  was  a  most  welcome  visit,  because  it 
meant  a  most  welcome  thing — co-opera- 
tion of  the  whole  nation.  The  labor  union 
leaders  of  America  have  also  conferred 
with  the  British  labor  representatives 
who  have  been  visiting  Washington  and 
learning  how  in  England  employers  and 
workers  have  co-operated  for  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war. 

The  Government  received  invaluable 
assistance  from  the  iron  and  steel  pro- 
ducers, who  formed  a  central  organiza- 
tion and  took  charge  of  all  orders  for 
war  munitions.  All  steel  mills  were  clas- 
sified according  to  tonnage,  so  as  to  make 
a  proper  distribution  of  the  financial 
burden.  The  copper  producers  made  an 
agreement  with  the  Metals  Committee  of 
the  National  Defense  Council  to  supply 
copper  at  the  average  market  price  for 
the  last  ten  years,  instead  of  the  current 
market  prices.  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
Daniels  stated  that  his  department  is 
thereby  saving  $850,000  in  the  cost  of 
cartridge  cases  under  contracts  just 
awarded.  The  agreement  was  brought 
about  by  Bernard  M.  Baruch.  Satisfac- 
tory arrangements  were  also  made  by  the 
Navy  Department  with  the  petroleum  in- 
terests to  supply  the  navy's  needs  at 
reasonable  cost.  Judge  Gary,  Chairman 
of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation, 
announced  that  the  Government  was  to 
obtain  the  steel  it  required  at  lower 
prices.  Other  branches  of  trade  and  in- 
dustry also  acted  on  the  principle  that 
patriotism  demands  the  subordination  of 
profit-seeking  to  war  needs. 

The  State  Governments  began  to  or- 
ganize so  as  to  help  the  National  Govern- 
ment, New  York  in  particular  being  well 
advanced  with  its  scheme  of  defense 
work.  Early  in  May  a  conference  of 
Governors  and  State  delegates  was  held 
at  Washington  and  received  explanations 
regarding  the  various  projects  of  com- 
mittees of  the  National  Defense  Council. 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 

Marshal  Joffre  and  Ministers  Balfour  and  Viviani 
Welcomed  by  the  United  States 

Text  of  Their  Most  Eloquent  Speeches 


THE  entrance  of  the  United  States 
into  the  great  conflict  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  a  decision  on 
the  part  of  the  British  and 
French  Governments  each  to  send  on 
one  of  its  warships  a  high  commission 
to  convey  the  greetings  and  sense  of 
appreciation  of  those  Governments  to 
this  country,  and  also  to  discuss  ways 
and  means  for  securing  the  most  effective 
co-operation  of  the  United  States. 

The  British  Commission  was  headed  by 
Arthur  J.  Balfour,  Foreign  Minister  and 
former  Premier;  his  personal  staff  in- 
cluded the  Hon.  Sir  Eric  Drummond, 
K.  C.  M.  G.,  G.  C.  B.;  Ian  Malcolm,  M.  P.; 

C.  F.  Dormer,  and  G.  Butler.  Sir  Eric 
Drummond  is  a  half-brother  and  heir  pre- 
sumptive of  the  Earl  of  Perth.  Mr.  Mal- 
colm at  different  times  was  an  attache 
of  the  British  Embassies  in  Berlin,  Paris, 
and  Petrograd,  and  during  the  war  has 
been  the  British  Red  Cross  officer  in 
France,  Switzerland,  and  Russia. 

Other  members  of  the  party  were 
Rear  Admiral  Dudley  R.  S.  de  Chair, 
K.  C.  B.,  M.  V.  O.;  Fleet  Paymaster  Vin- 
cent Lawford,  D.  S.  0.,  Admiralty;  Major 
General  George  T.  M.  Bridges,  C.  M.  G., 

D.  S.  O.;  Captain  H.  H.  Spender-Clay, 
M.  P.;  Lord  Cunliffe,  Governor  of  the 
Bank  of  England.  Admiral  de  Chair 
is  one  of  the  naval  advisers  of  the  British 
Foreign  Office.  General  Bridges  was 
the  head  of  the  military  mission  with  the 
Belgian  field  army  and  served  in  both 
the  Boer  war  and  the  present  conflict. 
Captain  Spender-Clay  married  the  daugh- 
ter of  William  Waldorf  Astor.  The 
commission  also  included  the  following: 

War  Office.— Colonel  Goodwin,  Colonel 
Langhorne,  Major  L.  W.  B.  Rees,  V.  C,  M. 
C,  Royal  Flying  Corps,  and  Major  C.  E. 
Dansey. 

Blockade  Department  Experts.— Lord  Eu- 
stace Percy  of  the  Foreign  Office.  A.  A.  Paton 
of  the  Foreign  Office,  F.  P.  Robinson  of  the 


Board  of  Trade,  S.  McKenna  of  the  War 
Trade  Intelligence  Department,  and  M.  D. 
Peterson  of  the  Foreign  Trade  Department, 
Foreign  Office. 

Wheat  Commission.— A.  A.  Anderson,  Chair- 
man, and  Mr.  Vigor. 

Munitions.—  W.  T.  Layton,  Director  of  Re- 
quirements and  Statistics  Branch,  Secretariat 
of  the  Ministry  of  Munitions ;  C.  T.  Phillips, 
American  and  Transport  Department,  Minis- 
try of  Munitions ;  Captain  Leeming,  Mr. 
Amos. 

Ordnance  and  Lines  of  Communication.— 
Captain  Heron. 

Supplies  and  Transports.— Major  Puckle. 

The  French  Commission  was  headed  by 
former  Premier  Viviani,  Minister  of  Jus- 
tice; General  Joffre,  Marshal  of  France; 
Vice  Admiral  Chocheprat,  Senior  Vice 
Admiral  of  the  French  Navy,  and  Mar- 
quis de  Chambrun,  a  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  Marquis  de  Lafayette.  The  party 
also  included  M.  Simon,  Inspector  of 
Finance;  M.  Hovelacque,  Inspector  Gen- 
eral of  Public  Instruction,  and  the  per- 
sonal staff  of  Marshal  Joffre,  compris- 
ing Lieut.  Col.  Fabry,  Chief  of  Staff; 
Lieut.  Col.  Remond,  (artillery,)  General 
Headquarters;  Major  Rerquim,  Ministry 
of  War;  Lieutenant  de  Tossan,  Tenth 
Army,  and  Surgeon  Major  Dreyfus  of  the 
Medical  Corps.  The  other  members  of 
the  party  are  Lieutenant  A.  J.  A.  K. 
Lindeboom  of  the  Ministry  of  Marine,  a 
specialist  in  sea  transport,  and  Captain 
George  E.  Simon,  Aid  de  Camp  of  Ad- 
miral Chocheprat. 

Arrival  of  British  Mission 

The  visit  of  these  eminent  men  was 
meant  to  fulfill  two.  separate  functions, 
the  one  to  express  to  the  people  of  Amer- 
ica the  gratification  of  the  allied  Govern- 
ments over  our  action,  and  the  other  to 
discuss  practical  ways  and  means  with 
our  Government  to  secure  its  most  effec- 
tive   co-operation    with    the    Allies. 

The  British  Commissioners  stole  se- 
cretly away  from  England  April  11  on  a 


390 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


fast  ship,  protected  in  every  possible 
way  from  German  spies,  who  might  have 
sent  out  word  to  lurking  submarines. 
The  voyage  was  entirely  uneventful, 
however,  and  the  party  arrived  at  Hal- 
ifax April  20.  Crossing  to  St.  John,  a 
special  train  took  them  to  the  little 
Canadian  town  of  McAdam,  just  across 
the  International  Bridge,  which  Werner 
Horn,  a  former  German  officer,  had 
attempted  to  blow  up. 

Meanwhile  the  American  Reception 
Committee,  headed  by  Breckinridge 
Long,  Third  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State;  Rear  Admiral  Fletcher,  and  Major 
Gen.  Wood,  slipped  out  of  Washington 
April  15  under  the  impression  that  the 
British  party  had  started  two  days 
earlier  than  it  did.  With  a  five-car  spe- 
cial train  standing  with  steam  up,  the 
committee  waited  anxiously  from  Monday 
until  Friday  afternoon,  when  the  word 
came  from  Halifax  which  sent  them  on  a 
night  ride  to  the  border.  At  9  A.  M.  of 
the  21st  they  arrived  at  the  little  frontier 
town  of  Vanceboro,  Me.  The  American 
officials,  with  the  army  and  navy  repre- 
sentatives in  uniform,  descended  to  a 
dingy  and  deserted  station  platform  in 
a  thick,  cold  mist.  News  of  the  distin- 
guished guests'  arrival  soon  brought  a 
small  gathering  of  railroad  workers, 
farmers,  and  French  Canadians,  rein- 
forced by  a  squad  of  youngsters  who 
came  marching  up  with  three  worn 
American  flags. 

To  these  modest  surroundings  the  spe- 
cial train,  which  had  gone  on  to  Mc- 
Adam, returned  two  hours  later  bearing 
Mr.  Balfour  and  his  party.  As  it  drew 
across  the  bridge,  Secretary  Long  and 
his  party  mounted  the  rear  of  the  ob- 
servation car  and  disappeared  inside  to 
welcome  the  commission  formally  to 
American  soil. 

Mr.  Balfour's  Statement 
The  party  reached  Washington  on 
Sunday,  April  22.  While  en  route  Mr. 
Balfour  issued  the  following  statement: 
I  have  not  come  here  to  make  speeches  or 
indulge  in  interviews,  but  to  do  what  I  can 
to  make  co-operation  easy  and  effective  be- 
tween those  who  are  striving  with  all  their 
power  to  bring  about  a  lasting  peace  by  the 
only  means  that  can  secure  it,  namely,  a  suc- 
cessful war. 


On  my  own  behalf  let  me  express  the  deep 
gratification  I  feel  at  being  connected  in  any 
capacity  whatever  with  events  which  asso- 
ciate our  countries  in  a  common  effort  for  a 
great  ideal. 

On  behalf  of  my  countrymen,  let  me  ex- 
press our  gratitude  for  all  that  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  of  America  have  done  to 
mitigate  the  lot  of  those  who,  in  the  allied 
countries,  have  suffered  from  the  cruelties  of 
the  most  deliberately  cruel  of  all  wars.  To 
name  no  others,  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Gerard  to 
alleviate  the  condition  of  British  and  other 
prisoners  of  war  in  Germany  and  the  admin- 
istrative genius  which  Mr.  Hoover  has  un- 
grudgingly devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  un- 
happy Belgians  and  French  in  the  territories 
still  in  enemy  occupation,  will  never  be  for- 
gotten, while  an  inexhaustible  stream  of  char" 
itable  effort  has  supplied  medical  and  nurs- 
ing skill  to  the  service  of  the  wounded  and 
the  sick. 

These  are  the  memorable  doing  of  a  benef- 
icent neutrality.  But  the  days  of  neutrality 
are,  I  rejoice  to  think,  at  an  end,  and  the 
first  page  i*  being  turned  in  a  new  chapter  in 
the  history  of  mankind. 

Your  President,  in  a  most  apt  and  vivid 
phrase,  has  proclaimed  that  the  world  must 
be  made  safe  for  democracy.  Democracies, 
wherever  they  are  to  be  found,  and  not  least 
the  democracies  of  the  British  Empire,  will 
hail  the  pronouncement  as  a  happy  augury. 

That  self-governing  communities  are  not  to 
be  treated  as  negligible  simply  because  they 
are  small,  that  the  ruthless  domination  of  one 
unscrupulous  power  imperils  the  future  of 
civilization  and  the  liberties  of  mankind,  are 
truths  of  political  ethics  which  the  bitter  ex- 
periences of  war  are  burning  into  the  souls 
of  all  freedom-loving  peoples.  That  this  great 
people  should  have  thrown  themselves  whole- 
heartedly into  this  mighty  struggle,  prepared 
for  all  the  efforts  and  sacrifices  that  may  be 
required  to  win  success  for  this  most  right- 
eous cause,  is  an  event  at  once  so  happy  and 
so  momentous  that  only  the  historian  of  the 
future  will  be  able,  as  I  believe,  to  measure 
Its  true  proportions. 

At  Washington  the  party  was  met  in 
the  station  by  Secretary  of  State  Lansing 
and  Colonel  W.  W.  Harts,  the  President's 
Aid;  Frank  L.  Polk,  Counselor  of  the 
State  Department  and  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  State;  Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice,  the 
British  Ambassador,  and  others.  Es- 
corted by  two  troops  of  cavalry,  the 
visitors  were  taken  to  the  private  resi- 
dence of  Franklin  MacVeagh,  former  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  which  had  been 
placed  at  their  disposal.  The  streets 
through  which  they  passed  were  filled 
with  welcoming  crowds,  and  as  they 
passed  they  were  everywhere  greeted 
with  cheers  and  waving  flags,  the  Stars 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


391 


and    Stripes   and   the    union   jack   being 
freely  intermingled. 

Mr.  Balfour  first  conferred  with  Presi- 
dent Wilson  on  the. morning  of  the  23d, 
and  that  night  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Wilson  gave  a  dinner  at  the  White  House 
in  honor  of  the  party. 

Seeding  No  Formal  Alliance 

On  April  25  Mr.  Balfour  made  his  first 
important  official  declaration,  in  which 
he  stated  that  the  Entente  Powers  did 
not  seek  a  formal  alliance  with  the 
United  States.  Speaking  to  a  group  of 
newspaper  correspondents,  he  said: 

I  do  not  suppose  that  it  is  possible  for  you— 
I  am  sure  it  would  not  be  possible  for  me 
were  I  in  your  place— to  realize  in  concrete 
detail  all  that  the  war  means  to  those  who 
have  been  engaged  in  it  for  now  two  years 
and  a  half.  That  is  a  feeling  which  comes, 
and  can  only  come,  by  actual  experience.  We 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  have  been 
living  in  an  atmosphere  of  war  since  August, 
1914,  and  you  cannot  move  about  the  streets, 
you  cannot  go  about  your  daily  business,  even 
if  your  affairs  be  disassociated  with  the  war 
Itself,  without  having  evidences  of  the  war 
brought  to  your  notice  every  moment. 

I  arrived  here  on  Sunday  afternoon  and 
went  out  in  the  evening  after  dark,  and  I  was 
struck  by  a  somewhat  unusual  feeling  which 
at  the  first  moment  I  did  not  analyze ;  and 
suddenly  it  came  upon  me  that  this  was  the 
first  time  for  two  years  and  a  half  or  more 
when  I  had  seen  a  properly  lighted  street. 
There  is  not  a  street  in  London,  there  is  not 
a  street  in  any  city  in  the  United  Kingdom 
in  which  after  dark  the  whole  community  is 
not  wrapped  in  a  gloom  exceeding  that  which 
must  have  existed  before  the  invention  of 
gas  or  electric  lighting.  But  that  is  a  small 
matter,  and  I  only  mention  it  because  it  hap- 
pened to  strike  me  as  one  of  my  earliest  ex- 
periences in  this  city. 

Of  course,  the  more  tragic  side  of  war  is 
never,  and  cannot  ever  be,  absent  from  our 
minds.  I  saw  with  great  regret  this  morning 
in  the  newspapers  that  the  son  of  Bonar  Law, 
our  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  was  wound- 
ed and  missing  in  some  of  the  operations  now 
going  on  in  Palestine,  and  I  instinctively  cast 
my  mind  back  to  the  losses  of  this  war  in  all 
circles,  but  as  an  illustration  it  seems  to  me 
impressive.  I  went  over  the  melancholy  list, 
and,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  out  of 
the  small  number  of  Cabinet  Ministers,  men 
of  Cabinet  rank  who  were  serving  the  State 
when  the  war  broke  out  in  August,  1914,  one 
has  been  killed  in  action,  four  at  least  have 
lost  sons.  That  is  the  sort  of  things  that  have 
happened  in  quite  a  small  and  narrowly  re- 
stricted class  of  men,  but  it  is  characteristic 
of  what  is  happeneing  throughout  the  whole 
country. 


The  condition  of  France  in  that  respect  is 
evidently  even  more  full  of  sorrow  and  trag- 
edy than  our  own,  because  we  had  not  a  great 
army,  we  had  but  a  small  army  when  war 
broke  out,  whereas  the  French  Army  was 
of  the  great  Continental  type,  was  on  a  war 
footing,  and  was,  from  the  very  inception  of 
military  operations,  engaged  in  sanguinary 
conflict  with  the  common  enemy. 

Tribute  to  General  Joffre 

"We  have  today  among  us  a  mission  from 
France.  I  doubt  not— indeed,  I  am  fully  con- 
vinced—that they  will  receive  a  welcome  not 
less  warm,  not  less  heartfelt,  than  that  which 
you  have  so  generously  and  encouragingly 
extended  to  us.  That  was  and  certainly  will 
be  increased  by  the  reflection  that  one  mem- 
ber of  the  mission  is  Marshal  Joffre,  who  will 
go  down  through  all  time  as  the  General  in 
command  of  the  allied  forces  at  one  of  the 
most  critical  moments  in  the  world's  history. 

I  remember  when  I  was  here  before  there 
was  a  book  which  was  given  out  in  the  schools 
called  "  The  Fifteen  Decisive  Battles  of  the 
"World."  I  do  not  know  whether  they  all 
quite  deserve  that  title,  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  or  question  whatever  that,  among  the 
decisive  battles  of  the  world,  the  Battle  of 
the  Marne  was  the  most  decisive.  It  was  a 
turning  point  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and 
I  rejoice  that  the  hero  of  that  event  is  today 
coming  among  us  and  will  join  us,  the  Brit- 
ish Nation  in  laying  before  the  people  of  the 
United  States  our  gratitude  for  the  sympathy 
which  they  have  shown  and  are  showing,  and 
our  warm  confidence  in  the  value  of  the  as- 
sistance which  they  are  affording  the  allied 
cause. 

Gentlemen,  I  do  not  believe  that  the  magni- 
tude of  that  assistance  can  by  any  possibility 
be  exaggerated.  I  am  told  that  there  are  some 
doubting  critics  who  seem  to  think  that  the 
object  of  the  mission  of  France  and  Great 
Britain  to  this  country  is  to  inveigle  the 
United  States  out  of  its  traditional  policy  and 
to  entangle  it  in  formal  alliances,  secret  or 
public,  with  European  powers.  I  cannot 
imagine  any  rumor  with  less  foundation,  nor 
can  I  imagine  a  policy  so  utterly  unnecessary- 

Our  confidence  in  the  assistance  which  we 
are  going  to  get  from  this  community  is  not 
based  upon  such  shallow  considerations  as 
those  which  arise  out  of  formal  treaties.  No 
treaty  could  increase  the  undoubted  confi- 
dence with  which  we  look  to  the  United 
States,  who,  having  come  into  the  war,  are 
going  to  see  the  war  through.  *  *  *  I  feel 
perfectly  certain  that  you  will  throw  into  it 
all  your  unequaled  resources,  all  your  powers 
of  invention,  of  production,  all  your  man 
power,  all  the  resources  of  that  country  which 
has  greater  resources  than  any  other  country 
in  the  world,  and,  already  having  come  to 
the  decision,  nothing  will  turn  you  from  it 
but  success  crowning  our  joint  efforts. 

The  vessel  bearing  the  French  High 
Commission    was    convoyed    across    the 


392 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Atlantic  by  French  warships,  and  was 
met  about  a  hundred  miles  at  sea  by 
American  naval  officers  aboard  a  flotilla 
of  our  destroyers.  The  meeting  was  at 
night,  and  not  a  light  was  shown  by 
either  party;  the  vessels  knew  of  each 
other's  presence  only  by  the  phospores- 
cence  kicked  up  by  the  propellers.  At 
dawn  the  flotilla  and  its  guests  fell  in 
by  rendezvous  with  an  American  cruiser, 
which  led  the  way  to  Hampton  Roads, 
arriving  there  on  April  24.  Here  the 
visitors  were  tendered  the  use  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  yacht,  the  Mayflower, 
which  they  at  once  boarded. 

French  Mission  Welcomed 

Meanwhile,  every  American  ship  in  the 
harbor  hoisted  the  French  tricolor  to  the 
masthead,  and  the  band  of  a  warship 
played  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner." 
Marshal  Joffre  and  the  military  and 
naval  members  stood  at  salute  until  the 
last  note  had  floated  across  tlie  water, 
while  the  civilian  members  stood  with 
bared  heads.  Immediately  after  came 
the  French  national  anthem,  which  was 
saluted  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  ship  bearing  the  mission  dropped 
anchor  off  Fort  Monroe,  while  the  con- 
voy steamed  several  miles  further  on. 
High  army  and  navy  officers  greeted  the 
visitors  and  accompanied  them  to  Wash- 
ington, where  the  Mayflower  arrived  soon 
after  noon  on  April  25. 

On  the  broad  landing  stage  were  as- 
sembled a  company  of  marines  and  two 
troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  with  the 
Marine  Band  at  hand  to  play  appropriate 
music,  all  these  military  contingents  in 
blue  dress  uniforms,  with  service  facings. 
The  members  of  the  French  Embassy 
Staff  were  there  also. 

As  the  yacht  docked,  Secretary  Lan- 
sing, accompanied  by  Frank  L.  Polk,  the 
Counselor  of  the  State  Department; 
William  Phillips,  the  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  Colonel  W.  W.  Harts, 
U.  S.  A.,  the  President's  aid,  walked  up 
the  gangplank  to  extend  a  welcome  to 
the  French  Commissioners  in  the  na- 
tion's name.  As  Mr.  Lansing  reached 
the  deck  of  the  ship  trumpeters  gave 
him  four  flourishes,  and  the  Mayflower's 
band  played  a  few  bars  of  a  ceremonial 


march.  The  greeting  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  was  first  extended  to  M.  Viviani, 
and  then  to  Marshal  Joffre,  and  was  of 
an  extremely  cordial  character.  Only 
a  few  minutes  were  spent  in  exchanging 
felicitations,  however,  and  then  the  whole 
party,  French  and  American,  came 
ashore,  while  the  Marine  Band  played 
"  The  Marseillaise,"  the  marines  and 
troopers  saluted,  and  the  spectators  ap- 
plauded. 

The  trip  through  Washington  to  the 
residence  of  Henry  White,  former  Am- 
bassador to  France,  which  was  placed 
at  their  disposal,  was  one  continuous  ova- 
tion. The  streets  were  lined  with  peo- 
ple, all  of  whom  were  carrying  the 
French  tricolor  and  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  and  as  the  visitors  passed  they 
were  greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers 
of  welcome.  Secretary  Lansing  issued 
this  statement: 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  this  Government 
and  to  the  people  that  we  should  have  as  our 
guests  such  distinguished  representatives  of 
the  French  Republic  as  arrived  this  noon.  In 
sending  men  who  so  fully  represent  the 
French  Government  and  people  we  have  the 
very  best  evidence  of  the  spirit  and  feeling 
of  France  toward  the  United  States.  We  can 
assure  the  French  people  that  we  reciprocate 
this  spirit  which  induced  them  to  send  these 
Commissioners,  and  rejoice  that  the  two 
great  nations  are  battling  side  by  side  for 
the  liberty  of  mankind. 

Statement  by  M.   Viviani 

M.  Viviani's  first  official  statement 
was  issued  on  the  26th,  after  he  had 
paid  his  formal  visit  to  President  Wilson, 
It  was  addressed  to  the  representatives 
of  the  press,  as  follows : 

I  am  indeed  happy  to  have  been  chosen  to 
present  the  greetings  of  the  French  Republic 
to  the  illustrious  man  whose  name  is  in  every 
French  mouth  today,  whose  incomparable 
message  is  at  this  very  hour  being  read  and 
commented  upon  in  all  our  schools  as  the 
most  perfect  charter  of  human  rights  and 
which  so  fully  expresses  the  virtues  of  your 
race— long  suffering  patience  before  appeal- 
ing to  force ;  and  force  to  avenge  that  long 
suffering  patience  when  there  can  be  no  other 
means. 

Since  you  are  here  to  listen  to  me  I  ask 
you  to  repeat  a  thousandfold  the  expression 
of  our  deep  gratitude  for  the  enthusiastic  re- 
ception the  American  people  has  granted  us 
in  Washington.  It  is  not  to  us,  but  to  our 
beloved  and  heroic  France  that  reception  was 
accorded.    We  were  proud  to  be  her  children 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


393 


in  those  unforgettable  moments  when  we  read 
in  the  radiance  of  the  faces  we  saw  the  noble 
sincerity  of  your  hearts.  And  I  desire  to 
thank  also  the  press  of  the  United  States 
represented  by  you.  I  fully  realize  the  ardent 
and  disinterested  help  you  have  given  by 
your  tireless  propaganda  in  the  cause  of 
right. 

We  have  come  to  this  land  to  salute  the 
American  people  and  its  Government,  to  call 
to  fresh  vigor  our  lifelong  friendship,  sweet 
and  cordial  in  the  ordinary  course  of  our 
lives,  and  which  these  tragic  hours  have 
raised  to  all  the  ardor  of  brotherly  love— a 
brotherly  love  which  in  these  last  years  of 
suffering  has  multiplied  its  most  touching  ex- 
pressions. You  have  given  "help,  not  only  in 
treasure,  but  also  in  every  act  of  kindness 
and  good-will.  For  us  your  children  have 
shed  their  blood,  and  the  names  of  your 
sacred  dead  are  inscribed  forever  in  our 
hearts.  And  it  was  with  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  meaning  of  what  you  did  that  you  acted. 
Your  inexhaustible  generosity  was  not  the 
charity  of  the  fortunate  to  the  distressed— it 
was  an  affirmation  of  your  conscience,  a 
reasoned  approval  of  your  Judgment. 
.  Your  fellow-countrymen  knew  that  under 
the  savage  assault  of  a  nation  of  prey  which 
has  made  of  war,  to  quote  a  famous  saying, 
"  its  national  industry,"  we  were  upholding 
with  our  incomparable  allies,  faithful  and 
valiant  to  the  death,  with  all  those  who  are 
fighting  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  on  the 
firing  line,  the  sons  of  indomitable  Eng- 
land, a  struggle  for  the  violated  rights  of 
man,  for  that  democratic  spirit  which  the 
forces  of  autocracy  were  attempting  to  crush 
throughout  the  world.  We  are  ready  to  carry 
that  struggle  on  to  the  end. 

And  now,  as  President  Wilson  has  said,  the 
Republic  of  the  United  States  rises  in  its 
strength  as  a  champion  of  right  and  rallies 
to  the  side  of  France  and  her  allies.  Only 
our  descendants,  when  time  has  removed 
them  sufficiently  far  from  present  events, 
will  be  able  to  measure  the  full  significance, 
the  grandeur  of  a  historic  act  which  has 
sent  a  thrill  through  the  whole  world.  From 
today  on  all  the  forces  of  freedom  are  let 
loose,  and  not  only  victory,  of  which  we 
were  already  assured,  is  certain ;  the  true 
meaning  of  victory  is  made  manifest.  It 
cannot  be  merely  a  fortunate  military  con- 
clusion to  this  struggle— it  will  be  the  victory 
of  morality  and  right,  and  will  forever  secure 
the  existence  of  a  world  in  which  all  our 
children  shall  draw  free  breath  in  full  peace 
and  undisturbed  pursuit  of  their  labors. 

44  France  Day  "  in  New  York 

April  26  was  officially  designated  as 
France  Day  by  Governor  Whitman  of 
New  York  in  commemoration  of  the  his- 
toric friendship  between  the  United 
States  and  the  French  Republic,  with 
particular   significance   as   the   accepted 


anniversary  of  Lafayette's  departure 
from  France  in  1777  to  fight  by  the  side 
of  Washington. 

From  one  end  of  New  York  City  to 
the  other  the  tricolor  flew  with  the 
American  flag  to  proclaim  the  union  of 
the  two  republics  in  the  war.  Groups 
of  children  in  their  schoolrooms  and  of 
their  elders  in  meeting  halls  sang  the 
"  Marseillaise "  and  applauded  tributes 
in  poetry  and  prose  to  Lafayette  and 
France.  Wreaths  of  flowers  were  piled 
high  about  the  statue  of  Lafayette  in 
Union  Square,  and  Frenchmen  were  the 
guests  of  honor  at  luncheons  and  din- 
ners. By  order  of  Dr.  Finley,  State 
Commissioner  of  Education,  President 
Wilson's  war  address  to  Congress  was 
read  in  all  the  schools. 

At  Washington  s  Tomb 
One  of  the  most  imposing  and  signi- 
ficant episodes  during  the  sojourn  of  the 
distinguished  guests  was  a  visit  by  both 
commissions  to  the  tomb  of  Washington 
at  Mount  Vernon  on  April  29.  The  two 
former  Premiers  of  France  and  Great 
Britain,  standing  before  the  tomb  of  the 
first  President,  with  the  flags  of  the 
three  great  democracies  floating  together 
above  it,  spoke  with  deep  emotion  of  the 
common  fight  for  freedom  in  which  all 
three  were  together  engaged,  while 
Joseph  Jacques  Cesaire  Joffre,  Marshal 
of  France,  laid  on  the  marble  sarcopha- 
gus with  his  own  hands  a  bronze  palm 
wound  with  the  French  tricolor.  A  card 
attached  to  a  huge  wreath  of  lilies  placed 
beside  the  French  palm  bore  the  follow- 
ing words  in  Mr.  Balfour's  handwriting: 
"Dedicated  by  the  British  Mission  to 
the  immortal  memory  of  George  Wash- 
ington, soldier,  statesman,  patriot,  who 
would  have  rejoiced  to  see  the  country 
of  which  he  was  by  birth  a  citizen  and 
the  country  his  genius  called  into  exist- 
ence fighting  side  by  side  to  save  man- 
kind from  a  military. despotism." 

An  Eloquent  Tribute 

Mr.  Viviani's  speech  on  that  occasion 
was  a  notable  tribute  in  the  following 
eloquent  terms: 

In  this  spot  lies  all  that  is  mortal  of  a  great 
hero.  Close  by  this  spot  is  the  modest  abode 
where    Washington     rested     after     the     tre- 


394 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


mendous  labor  of  achieving  for  a  nation  its 
emancipation.  In  this  spot  meet  the  admira- 
tion of  the  whole  world  and  the  veneration  of 
the  American  people.  In  this  spot  rise  be- 
fore us  the  glorious  memories  left  by  the 
soldiers  of  France  led  by  Rochambeau  and 
Lafayette.  A  descendant  of  the  latter,  my 
friend,  M.  de  Chambrun,  accompanies  us. 
And  I  esteem  it  a  supreme  honor  as  well 
as  a  satisfaction  for  my  conscience  to  be 
entitled  to  render  this  homage  to  our  an- 
cestors in  the  presence  of  my  colleague  and 
friend,  Mr.  Balfour,  who  so  nobly  represents 
his  great  nation.  By  thus  coming  to  lay  here 
the  respectful  tribute  of  every  English  mind, 
he  shows,  in  this  historic  moment  of  com- 
munion which  France  has  willed,  what  na- 
tions that  live  for  liberty  can  do. 

When  we  contemplate  in  the  distant  past 
the  luminous  presence  of  Washington;  in 
nearer  times  the  majestic  figure  of  Abraham 
Lincoln ;  when  we  respectfully  salute  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  the  worthy  heir  of  these  great 
memories,  we  at  one  glance  measure  the  vast 
career  of  the  American  people.  It  is  because 
the  American  people  proclaimed  and  won  for 
the  nation  the  right  to  govern  itself,  it  is 
because  it  proclaimed  and  won  the  equality 
of  all  men,  that  the  free  American  public,  at 
the  hour  marked  by  fate,  has  been  enabled 
with  commanding  force  to  carry  its  action 
beyond  the  seas.  It  is  because  it  was  resolved 
to  extend  its  action  still  further  that  Congress 
was  enabled  to  obtain  within  the  space  of  a 
few  days  the  vote  of  conscription  and  to  pro- 
claim the  necessity  for  a  national  army  in  the 
full  splendor  of  civil  peace. 

In  the  name  of  France  I  salute  the  young 
army  which  will  share  in  our  common  glory. 

While  paying  this  supreme  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Washington  I  do  not  diminish  the 
effect  of  my  words  when  I  turn  my  thoughts 
to  the  memory  of  so  many  unnamed  heroes. 
I  ask  you  before  this  tomb  to  bow  in 
earnest  meditation  and  all  the  fervor  of  piety 
before  all  the  soldiers  of  the  allied  nations 
who. for  nearly  three  years  have  been  fight- 
ing under  different  flags  for  the  same  ideal. 
I  beg  you  to  address  the  homage  of  your 
hearts  and  souls  to  all  the  heroes,  born  to 
live  in  happiness,  in  the  tranquil  pursuit  of 
their  labors,  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  human 
affections,  who  went  into  battle  with  virile 
cheerfulness  and  gave  themselves  up,  not  to 
death  alone,  but  to  the  eternal  silence  that 
closes  over  those  whose  sacrifice  remains  un- 
named, in  the  full  knowledge  that  save  for 
those  who  loved  them  their  names  would  dis- 
appear with  their  bodies.  Their  monument  is 
In  our  hearts.  Not  the  living  alone  greet  us 
here;  the  ranks  of  the  dead  themselves  rise 
to  surround  the  soldiers  of  liberty. 

At  this  solemn  hour  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  while  saluting  from  this  sacred  mound 
the  final  victory  of  justice,  I  send  to  the  Re- 
public of  the  United  States  the  greetings  of 
the  French  Republic. 

Mr.  Balfour,  who  followed  M.  Viviani, 
said: 


My  friend  and  colleague,  M.  Viviani,  in 
phrases  burning  with  emotion,  and  in  elo- 
quent language,  not  only  has  paid  tribute 
to  the  hero  who  is  buried  here,  but  has 
brought  our  thoughts  down  to  the  present 
crisis,  the  greatest  in  the  world's  history.  He 
has  told  us  of  the  people  of  France,  England, 
Belgium,  Russia,  Italy,  and  Serbia  who  have 
sacrificed  their  lives  for  what  they  believe  to 
be  the  cause  of  liberty.  No  spot  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  where  a  speech  in  behalf  of  lib- 
erty might  be  made,  could  be  more  appropri- 
ate than  the  tomb  of  Washington. 

Mr.  Balfour  concluded  by  reading  the 
inscription  on  the  card  attached  to  the 
British  wreath,  which  he  himself  had 
written. 

Mr.  Balfour  was  followed  by  Governor 
Stuart  of  Virginia,  who  spoke  of  the 
pride  of  his  State  in  claiming  Wash- 
ington as  its  son,  and  expressed  the  ap- 
preciation of  America  at  the  honor  that 
had  been  paid  to  her  hero. 

Marshal  Joffre,  as  France's  greatest 
soldier,  added  a  tribute  to  the  greatest 
soldier  of  the  United  States- 

"  In  the  French  Army,"  he  said,  "  all 
venerate  the  name  and  memory  of 
Washington.  I  respectfully  salute  here 
the  great  soldier  and  lay  upon  his  tomb 
the  palm  we  offer  our  soldiers  who  have 
died  for  their  country." 

The  bronze  palm  which  is  the  symbol 
with  which  France  honors  her  military 
heroes  was  laid  on  the  sarcophagus  by 
Marshal  Joffre,  assisted  by  Lieutenant  de 
Tossan,  his  aid. 

Mr.  Balfour  and  General  Bridges, 
Great  Britain's  chief  army  representa- 
tive in  the  mission,  placed  the  British 
wreath.  The  three  flags  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, France  and  the  United  States 
rested  on  it.  The  French  palm  had  on 
it  only  a  wide  band  in  the  French  na- 
tional colors. 

The  earnestness  and  feeling  with  which 
the  allied  representatives  spoke  carried 
with  it  a  full  conviction  of  the  reality 
of  the  symbolism  which  they  sought  to 
convey. 

Visit  to  Senate  Chamber 

In  the  United  States  Senate  Chamber 
May  1  Vice  Premier  Viviani,  Marshal 
Joffre,  and  Ambassador  Jusserand  were 
granted  the  courtesies  of  the  floor.  A 
demonstration  followed  such  as  had  not 
been   witnessed   in   that   Chamber   since 


f^CSRrfSStBES^ 


f<m^7t 


&. 


MR.  BALFOUR  AND  MR.  LANSING 


Arthur  James  Balfour,  British  Foreign  Minister  and  Head 

of   Diplomatic   Mission    to   United   States. 

(Secretary  Lansing  on  Right) 

(Photo  Harris  <C  Ewing) 


A 
i 


lA^WdJSbte. 


1 


rg^g^^Z. 


■'V^rrfrfffforg 


t 


6 


PROMINENT  WAR  AMBASSADORS 


SIR  CECIL  SPRING-RICE 

British  Ambassador  to 

United  States 

(American  Press  Ass'n) 


JULES  JUSSERAND 

French  Ambassador  to 

United  States 

(Photo  (£>  Harris  d  Ewing) 


WALTER  H.  PAGE 

American  Ambassador  to 

Great  Britain 

(Photo  ©  Paul  Thompson) 


WILLIAM  G.  SHARP 

American  Ambassador  to 

France 


iX*^j&&&. 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


395 


Lafayette  was  the  guest  of  the  United 
States  in  1822. 

The  visit  was  made  by  invitation.  The 
French  Mission  reached  Vice  President 
Marshall's  room  shortly  before  12:30 
o'clock.  The  Vice  President  was  notified, 
and  he  named  Mr.  Hitchcock  of  Nebras- 
ka, who  has  been  the  active  leader  of 
the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  and 
Mr.  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  the  ranking 
Republican  of  the  committee,  to  usher 
the  guests  into  the  chamber. 

The  two  Senators  crossed  the  lobby  to 
the  Vice  President's  room  and  returned 
at  once.  M.  Viviani  entered  with  Mr. 
Hitchcock,  Marshal  Joffre  with  Mr. 
Lodge,  and  the  French  Ambassador  with 
Admiral  Chocheprat.  The  committee's 
return  was  not  expected  so  soon,  but 
grave  salutes  to  Marshal  Joffre  by  two 
bright-eyed  little  pages  at  the  door, 
which  the  Marshal  as  gravely  returned, 
gave  the  signal.  The  Senators  clapped 
hands  deafeningly  and  rose,  the  galleries 
shouted  more  deafeningly  still  and  rose, 
leaning  forward  and  waving,  while  mem- 
bers of  the  House  standing  at  the  back 
of  the  chamber  surged  forward. 

The  visitors  shook  hands  with  the 
Vice  President  and  stood  beside  him, 
looking  with  evident  pleasure  at  the  wild 
scene  before  them.  When  the  applause 
had  lasted  for  several  minutes  Mr.  Mar- 
shall tapped  for  order. 

"  The  Senate  of  the  United  States," 
he  said,  "  has  had  the  pleasure  and 
honor  many  times  of  receiving  distin- 
guished visitors  to  the  Republic.  It  had 
the  honor  of  receiving  General  Lafay- 
ette, and  now,  nearly  a  century  later, 
it  has  the  honor  of  welcoming  the  Vice 
Premier  of  the  French  Government  and 
the  Marshal  of  France." 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  Senator  Martin 
of  Virginia,  the  majority  leader,  "  I  move 
that  the  Senate  now  recess  so  that  Sena- 
tors may  have  the  pleasure  of  greeting 
personally  our  distinguished  guests." 

The  motion  was  carried  by  acclama- 
tion, and  an  informal  reception  began. 

Viviani  Addresses  Senate 

M.  Viviani,  during  the  reception,  in 
which  Representatives  as  well  as  Sena- 
tors participated,  was  prevailed  upon  to 
make  an  address  and  spoke  as  follows: 


Since  I  have  been  granted  the  supreme 
honor  of  speaking-  before  the  representatives 
of  the  American  people,  may  I  ask  them  first 
to  allow  me  to  thank  this  magnificent  cap- 
ital for  the  welcome  it  has  accorded  us?  Ac- 
customed as  we  are  in  our  own  free  land 
to  popular  manifestations,  and  though  we 
had  been  warned  by  your  fellow-countrymen 
who  live  in  Paris  of  the  enthusiastic  burning 
in  your  hearts,  we  are  still  full  of  the  emo- 
tion raised  by  the  sights  that  awaited  us. 
I  shall  never  cease  to  see  the  proud  and 
stalwart  men  who  saluted  our  passage ;  your 
women,  whose  grace  adds  fresh  beauty  to 
your  city,  their  arms  outstretched  full  of 
flowers,  and  your  children  hurrying  to  meet 
us  at  the  call  of  their  schoolmasters,  as  if 
our  coming  were  looked  upon  as  a  lesson 
for  them,  all  with  one  accord  acclaiming, 
in  our  perishable  persons,  immortal  France. 
And  yet  I  predict  there  will  be  a  yet  grander 
manifestation  the  day  when  your  illustrious 
President,  relieved  from  the  burden  of  power, 
will  come  among  us  bearing  the  salute  of 
the  Republic  of  the  United  States  to  a  free 
Europ'e,  whose  foundations  from  end  to  end 
shall  be  based  on  right.  It  is  with  unspeak- 
able emotion  that  we  cross  the  threshold  of 
this  legislative  palace  where  prudence  and 
boldness  meet,  and  that  I,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  annals  of  America,  though  a  foreigner, 
speak  in  this  hall,  which  only  a  few  days 
since  resounded  with  the  words  of  virile  force. 

Tou  have  set  all  the  democracies  of  the 
world  the  most  magnificent  example.  So  soon 
as  the  common  peril  was  made  manifest  to 
you,  with  simplicity  and  within  a  few  short 
days  you  voted  a  formidable  credit  and  pro- 
claimed that  a  formidable  army  was  to  be 
raised.  The  commentary  on  his  acts  which 
President  Wilson  gave  before  acting,  and 
which  you  made  yours,  remains  in  the  his- 
tory of  free  peoples  the  weightiest  of  lessons. 

Doubtless  you  were  resolved  to  avenge  the 
insult  offered  your  flag,  which  the  whole 
world  respected ;  doubtless  through  the  thick- 
ness of  these  massive  walls  the  mournful 
cry  of  all  the  victims  which  criminal  hands 
hurled  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  has  reached 
and  stirred  your  souls;  but  it  will  be  your 
honor  in  history  that  you  also  heard  the 
cry  of  humanity,  and  invoked  against  autoc- 
racy the  rights  of  democracies.  And  I  can 
only  wonder  as  I  speak  what,  if  they  still 
have  any  power  to  think,  are  the  thoughts 
of  the  autocrats  who  three  years  ago  against 
us,  three  months  ago  against  you,  unchained 
this  conflict. 

Ah !  doubtless  they  said  among  themselves 
that  a  democracy  is  an  ideal  Government, 
that  it  showers  reforms  on  mankind,  that  it 
can  in  the  domain  of  labor  quicken  all 
economic  activities.  And  yet  now  we  see  the 
French  Republic  fighting  in  defense  of  its 
territory  and  the  liberty  of  nations  and  op- 
posing to  the  avalanche  let  loose  by  Prussian 
militarism  the  union  of  all  its  children  who 
are  still  capable  of  striking  many  a  weighty 
blow.    And  now  we  see  England,  far  removed 


396 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


like  you  from  conscription,  who  has  also,  by 
virtue  of  a  discipline  all  accept,  raised  from 
her  soil  millions  of  fighting  men.  And  we  see 
other  nations  accomplishing  the  same  act; 
and  that  liberty  not  only  inflames  all  hearts 
but  co-ordinates  and  brings  into  being  all 
needed  efforts.  And  now  we  see  all  America 
rise  and  sharpen  her  weapons  in  the  midst 
of  peace  for  the  common  struggle. 

Together  we  will  carry  on  that  struggle; 
and  when  by  force  we  have  at  last  imposed 
military  victory,  our  labors  will  not  be  con- 
cluded. Our  task  will  be — I  quote  the  noble 
words  of  President  Wilson — to  organize  the 
society  of  nations.  I  well  know  that  our 
enemies,  who  have  never  seen  before  them 
anything  but  horizons  of  carnage,  will  never 
cease  to  jeer  at  so  noble  a  dream.  Such  has 
always  been  the  fate  of  ideas  at  their  birth ; 
and  if  thinkers  and  men  of  action  had  al- 
lowed themselves  to  be  discouraged  by 
skeptics  mankind  would  still  be  in  its  in- 
fancy and  we  should  still  be  slaves.  After 
material  victory  we  will  win  this  moral  vic- 
tory. We  will  shatter  the  ponderous  sword 
of  militarism ;  we  will  establish  guarantees 
for  peace;  and  then  we  can  disappear  from 
the  world's  stage,  since  we  shall  leave  at  the 
cost  of  our  common  immolation  the  noblest 
heritage  future  generations  can  possess. 

When  he  concluded,  shouts  of  "Jof- 
fre!  "  "  Joffre!  "  filled  the  Chamber,  and 
the  Marshal  turned  and  said  with  a 
smile:  "I  do  not  speak  English."  Then 
raising  his  right  hand,  he  called  out, 
"  Vivent  les  Etats-Unis!  "  With  a  mili- 
tary salute,  he  was  gone. 

Reception  in  the  House 
M.  Viviani  and  Marshal  Joffre  visited 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  invita 
tion  on  May  3.  Practically  the  entire  mem 
bership  of  the   House  and  the  crowded 
galleries    rose    and    applauded    as    the 
visitors   were   announced.     Several   chil 
dren  of  members  received  kisses  from  the 
Marshal  of  France  and  the  Vice  Premier. 
When    Miss    Jeannette    Rankin,    woman 
member   of  the   House,   approached,   M 
Viviani  and  Admiral  Chocheprat  kissed 
her  hand. 

M.  Viviani  mounted  the  Speaker's 
rostrum  and  said: 

Gentlemen :  Once  more  my  fellow-country- 
men and  I  are  admitted  to  the  honor  of 
being  present  at  a  sitting  in  a  legislative 
chamber.  May  I  be  permitted  to  express  our 
emotion  at  this  solemn  derogation  against 
rules  more  than  a  century  old,  and,  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  may  I  say  that  as  a 
Member  of  Parliament  accustomed  for  twenty 
years  to  the  passions  and  storms  which 
sweep   through   political   assemblies    I   appre- 


ciate more  than  any  one  at  this  moment  the 
supreme  joy  of  being  near  this  chair,  which 
is  in  such  a  commanding  position  that,  how- 
ever feeble  may  be  the  voice  that  speaks 
thence,  it  is  heard  over  the  whole  world? 

Gentlemen,  I  will  not  thank  you,  not 
because  our  gratitude  fails,  but  because 
words  to  express  it  fail.  We  feel  that  your 
sympathy  and  enthusiasm  come  not  only 
from  your  hearts  but  from  the  jealousy 
.which  you  have  for  your  own  honor.  We 
have  all  felt  that  you  were  not  merely  fulfill- 
ing the  obligation  of  international  courtesy. 
Suddenly,  in  all  its  charming  intimacy,  the 
complexity  of  the  American  soul  has  been 
revealed  to  us.  When  one  meets  an  Amer- 
ican one  is  supposed  to  meet  a  practical  man, 
merely  a  practical  man,  caring  only  for  busi- 
ness, only  interested  in  business.  But  when 
at  certain  hours  in  private  life  one  studies 
the  American  soul  one  discovers  at  the  same 
time  how  fresh  and  delicate  it  is ;  and  when 
at  certain  moments  of  public  life  one  con- 
siders the  soul  of  the  nation,  then  one  sees 
all  the  force  of  the  ideals  that  rise  from  it 
is  so  that  this  American  people,  in  its  perfect 
balance,  is  at  once  practical  and  sentimental, 
a  realizer  and  a  dreamer,  and  is  always 
ready  to  place  its  practical  qualities  at  the 
disposal  of  its  puissant  thoughts. 

Intrusted  with  a  mandate  from  a  free 
people,  we  come  among  freemen  to  compare 
our  ideas,  exchange  our  views,  to  measure 
the  whole  extent  of  the  problems  raised  by 
this  war,  and  all  the  allied  nations,  simply 
because  they  repose  on  democratic  insti- 
tutions, through  their  Governments,  meet  in 
the  same  lofty  region  on  equal  terms,  in  full 
liberty. 

I  well  know  that  at  this  very  hour  in  the 
Central  Empires  there  is  an  absolute  mon- 
archy which  binds  other  peoples  to  its  will 
by  vassal  links  of  steel.  It  has  been  said 
that  this  was  a  sign  of  strength;  it  is  only 
an  appearance  of  strength.  In  truth,  only  a 
few  weeks  ago,  pn  the  eve  of  the  day  when 
outraged  America  was  about  to  rise  in  its 
force,  on  the  morrow  of  the  day  when  the 
Russian  revolution,  faithful  to  its  alliance, 
called  at  once  its  soldiers  to  arms  and  its 
people  to  independence,  this  absolute  mon- 
arch was  seen  to  totter  on  the  steps  of  his 
throne  as  he  felt  the  first  breath  of  the 
tempest  pass  over  his  crown.  He  bent 
toward  his  people  in  humiliation,  and,  in 
order  to  win  their  sympathy,  borrowed  from 
free  peoples  their  highest  institutions  and 
promised  his  subjects  universal  suffrage. 

The  day  before  yesterday,  in  a  public  meet- 
ing at  which  I  was  present,  I  heard  one  of 
your  greatest  orators  say  with  deep  emotion: 
**  It  has  been  sworn  on  the  tomb  of  Wash- 
ington." And  then  I  understood  the  full 
import  of  those  words.  If  Washington  could 
rise  from  his  tomb,  if  from  his  sacred  mound 
he  could  view  the  world  as  it  now  is— 
shrunk  to  smaller  proportions  by  the  lessen- 
ing of  material  and  moral  distances  and  the 
mingling  of  every  kind  of  communication  be- 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


397 


tween  men— he  would  feel  his  labors  were 
not  yet  concluded;  and  that,  just  as  a  man  of 
superior  and  powerful  mind  owes  a  debt  to 
all  other  men,  so  a  superior  and  powerful  na- 
tion owes  a  debt  to  other  nations,  and  after 
establishing1  its  own  independence  must  aid 
others  to  maintain  their  independence  or  to 
conquer  it.  It  is  the  mysterious  logic  of  his- 
tory which  President  Wilson  so  marvelously 
understood,  thanks  to  a  mind  as  vigorous  as 
it  is  subtle,  as  capable  of  analysis  as  it  is  of 
synthesis,  of  minute  observation  followed  by 
swift  action. 

It  has  been  sworn  on  the  tomb  of  Wash- 
ington. It  has  been  sworn  on  the  tomb  of 
our  allied  soldiers,  fallen  in  a  sacred  cause. 
It  has  been  sworn  by  the  bedside  of  our 
wounded  men.  It  has  been  sworn  on  the 
heads  of  our  orphan  children.  It  has  been 
sworn  on  cradles  and  on  tombs.  It  has 
been  sworn! 

Marshal  Joffre  in  Chicago 

The  French  Mission  left  Washington 
by  special  train  on*  the  3d  for  a  tour  of 
the  Middle  Western  States,  and  reached 
Chicago  on  the  4th.  At  a  public  recep- 
tion Marshal  Joffre  delivered  his  first 
address,  as  follows: 

My  friends,  I  am  proud  to  have  in  my  hand 
the  American  flag,  which  is  to  the  American 
people  what  the  French  flag  is  to  the  people 
of  France,  a  symbol  of  liberty.  I  hold  in  my 
other  hand  the  flag  of  France,  who  has  given 
of  her  best,  her  stanchest,  and  her  bravest, 
and  which  also  stands  for  liberty.  I  had  the 
honor  to  carry  the  French  flag  on  the  field  of 
battle,  and  I  am  glad  to  join  the  flag  of 
many  battles  to  the  flag  that  has  never 
known  defeat.  With  this  flag  I  bring  to  you 
the  salute  of  the  French  Army  to  the  Ameri- 
can people,  our  stanch  ally  in  the  common 
cause. 

As  he  joined  the  two  flags  of  red,,  white, 
and  blue  with  the  closing  words,  the 
whole  assembly  mounted  the  seats  and 
cheered. 

The  mission  was  enthusiastically  wel- 
comed and  hospitably  entertained  at  Chi- 
cago, and  thence  proceeded  to  St.  Louis. 
On  May  6  at  St.  Louis  20,000  persons 
crowded  into  the  Coliseum  to  welcome  the 
visitors,  and  as  many  more  stood  outside, 
unable  to  obtain  admission.  From  there 
they  proceeded  to  Kansas  City,  where 
they  were  received  with  tumultuous  en- 
thusiasm. They  returned  to  the  East 
via  Springfield,  111.,  where  they  visited 
the  tomb  of  Lincoln ;  a  wreath  was  placed 
upon  the  sarcophagus  by  Marshal  Joffre; 
here  the  Legislature  was  also  addressed. 
At  all  towns  through  which  they  passed 


large  crowds  assembled  and  greeted  the 
visitors  with  shouts  of  welcome. 

At  Philadelphia  they  were  elaborately 
entertained.  Independence  Hall  was 
visited.  General  Joffre,  receiving  a 
Marshal's  baton  made  from  a  piece  of 
one  of  the  Independence  Hall  rafters, 
said  he  held  "  a  piece  of  real  liberty,  and 
wished  to  convey  to  the  American  people 
the  greetings  of  the  French  Army  and 
an  expression  of  happiness  in  having  the 
co-operation  of  Americans." 

At  Independence  Hall  M.  Viviani  said: 
"  We  do  not  feel  in  America  as  if  we 
were  far  from  home.  The  ideals  and 
aims  of  America  and  of  France  are  the 
same.  It  was  in  this  holy  place  that 
freedom  was  first  breathed  from  the 
mouths  of  men  for  the  inspiration  of 
every  nation." 

French  Envoys  in  Nev>  York 
The  visitors  reached  New  York  City 
on  the  afternoon  of  May  9.  The  recep- 
tion tendered  them  on  their  arrival  was 
the  most  enthusiastic  ever  granted  any 
man  or  group  of  men  in  the  city's  his- 
tory. For  two  days  and  nights  enormous 
crowds  filled  Fifth  Avenue  and  Broadway 
and  overflowed  far  back  into  adjoining 
streets.  Flags,  bunting,  and  illumina- 
tions appeared  from  one  end  of  the  city 
to  the  other,  and  the  visitors  passed  for 
miles  along  Fifth  Avenue  amid  a  won- 
derful vista  of  the  French  tricolor,  the 
British  union  jack  and  the  American 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

The  New  York  Public  Library  and  the 
Court  of  Honor  in  front  of  it  were  re- 
markable for  the  beauty  of  the  decora- 
tions. The  columns  of  plaster,  sur- 
mounted by  the  American  eagle  standing 
on  globes  with  wings  outstretched,  sup- 
ported streamers  of  the  dark  blue  of 
France  and  poles  from  which  hung  the 
flags  of  the  three  allies.  In  front  of  the 
library  many  pine  trees  gave  a  touch 
of  color  to  the  great  marble  building. 
Along  the  terrace  and  on  either  side  of 
the  entrance  way  were  five  great  poles 
supporting  streaming  banners  alternately 
displaying  the  rooster  of  France,  the  lion 
of  Britain,  and  the  American  eagle.  At 
night  the  scene  was  far  more  beautiful, 
with  the  great  lines  of  the  library  out- 


398 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


lined  with  indirect  lighting  and  each 
column  of  the  court  standing  clear  in  a 
blaze  of  golden  illumination. 

Address  at  City  Hall 
At  the  City  Hall,  where  the  formal  re- 
ception was  held  on  the  evening  of  the 
mission's  arrival,  M.  Viviani,  in  response 
to  an  address  by  Mayor  Mitchel,  replied 
as  follows: 

You  were  right  when  you  dwelt  on  the 
wonderful  spectacle  which  France  has  given 
to  the  world  for  three  years.  You  were  right 
when  you  said  that  the  blood  of  France  is 
flowing  like  water.  From  the  open  wounds 
of  our  soldiers  has  flowed  the  pure  red  blood 
of  France.  It  has  flooded  our  plains  in  the 
very  spots  where  formerly  our  farmers  and 
our  workmen  were  living  at  peace. 

And  why  does  the  invader  pollute  our  soil? 
We  are  a  pacific  nation,  as  pacific  as  your- 
selves, but  you  have  seen  for  yourselves  how 
easy  it  was  to  remain  faithful  to  dreams  of 
universal  peace.  You  cherished  such  dreams. 
Y"ou  were  a  great  people,  with  only  one 
thought — humanity  and  justice.  We  were 
a  free  democracy  and  we  had  only  one 
thought— universal  right  and  humanity.  But 
German  aggression  was  thrust  upon  us.  We 
were  compelled  to  rise  in  arms,  and  now  we 
fight— we  fight  for  our  territory,  for  our 
wealth,  for  our  historical  traditions— in  order 
that  the  invader  may  not  take  another  step 
on  our  sacred  soil.  France  fights  for  the 
world — for  justice,  for  humanity — and  it  is 
because  she  fights  for  that  that  at  last  the 
American  people  have  risen  to  give  France 
and  her  allies  their  moral  and  -material  aid. 

Slavery  Worse  Than  War 
I  fully  understand  how  you  faltered  in  the 
face  of  the  awful  duty  that  confronted  you. 
For  war  has  its  dangers  and  its  horrors,  its 
moaning  widows,  its  premature  deaths,  and 
casts  a  blight  on  the  mothers  of  infants  who 
are  our  hope  and  joy  and  who  know  only 
woe  and  calamity. 

War  is  a  horrible  thing,  but  could  there  be 
anything  more  terrible  for  people  than  to 
live  without  honor  or  independence?  Just 
as  you  were  unwilling  to  allow  your  national 
honor  to  be  humiliated  under  the  insolent 
threats  and  mandates  of  Germany,  we  were 
unwilling  to  submit  to  break  our  oaths. 
When  we  look  back  into  the  events  of  the 
last  three  years,  you  have  seen  small  peoples 
oppressed  and  great  nations  like  Russia, 
England,  France,  and  Italy  rush  to  the  de- 
fense of  the  rights  of  mankind  in  order  to 
save  from  the  wreck  some  portion  of  their 
national  honor.  You  have  felt  the  revolt  of 
your  consciences  from  the  first  hour  when 
German  aggression  struck  at  your  brothers, 
and  it  was  then  an  easy  matter  for  those 
who  had  witnessed  the  evolution  of  Ameri- 
can feeling  to  foresee  what  would  happen 
and  what  has  actually  happened  since. 


All  America  has  risen  in  arms.  We' have 
just  visited  the  Middle  West.  We  have  just 
seen  what  enthusiasm  has  arisen  among 
the  men,  the  women,  and  the  children  of 
these  regions. 

We  have  found  everywhere,  even  in  those 
very  places  where  we  had  been  told  we 
would  not  find  it,  the  virile  resolution  of  a 
whole  people  acclaiming  our  message,  and 
we  find  it  here  again  in  these  streets  of  New 
York,  this  great  city  where  millions  of  men 
surge  like  waves  of  the  sea. 

Democracy  in  Arms 

I  cannot  do  better  in  order  to  symbolize 
this  union  of  the  French  and  American  peo- 
ple than  to  appear  before  you  side  by  side 
with  Marshal  Joffre.  It  is"  indeed  pleasing 
to  me  in  this  by  no  means  foreign  land,  in 
this  friendly  land,  bound  by  so  many  ties  to 
France,  to  thank  the  French  Army  for  the 
heroic  manner  it  has  fought,  for  the  great 
deeds  it  has  done.  That  army  at  the  outset 
of  the  war  had  to  give  way  materially 
before  the  most  formidable  onslaught  that 
the  history  of  man  has  ever  recorded,  but 
came  back  and  hurled  itself  upon  the  in- 
vader. Yes,  they  threw  themselves  into  the 
fray,  those  youths  in  their  teens,  their  eyes 
aflame  and  their  hearts,  going  into  battle, 
going  to  death,  but  going  for  the  country, 
for  civilization,  for  mankind. 

Our  army  is  our  nation  in  arms.  It  is  de- 
mocracy in  arms  for  its  honor  and  indepen- 
dence. You  will  say— you  also — that  you  have 
seen  that  wonderful  sight  of  democracy 
which  has  known  how  to  organize  its  forces, 
how  to  marshal  its  strength.  A-  democracy 
which  has  not  awaited  the  hour  of  danger, 
which,  like  our  own,  had  its  army,  its  lead- 
ers, its  chiefs,  and  which,  thanks  to  what 
it  had  done,  was  able  to  hold  its  own. 

As  I  was  on  my  way  here  I  heard  the 
crowd  acclaiming  those  who  accompanied 
me,  and  who  wear  the  uniform  like  Marshal 
Joffre,  as  the  saviors  of  the  world.  Yes; 
the  soldiers  of  the  Marne  are  the  saviors 
of  the  world.  But  if  we  had  not  had  con- 
scription, if  there  had  not  been  the  men  to 
answer  the  call  of  mobilization,  what  would 
have  befallen  our  country  despite  its  courage, 
its  enthusiasm,  its  valor?  There,  citizens, 
you  have  the  great  and  grave  legend  taught 
by  the  war. 

So  long  as  there  is  in  the  world  a  war- 
like Germany,  so  long  as  there  is  a  na- 
tion of  prey,  a  country  bent  on  oppression, 
on  treachery  and  violence,  so  long  wrill  de- 
mocracies be  imperiled.  If  they  would  save 
the  treasures  of  civilization  and  the  heritage 
of  mankind  which  are  theirs  they  must  meet 
the  danger,  they  must  be  ready,  they  must 
arm  themselves,  but  with  the  purpose  never 
to  place  the  sword  at  the  service  of  aught 
but  the  right. 

The  home  of  Henry  C.  Frick  on  Fifth 
Avenue  was  placed  at  the  service  of  the 
guests.    On  May  10  the  whole  city  united 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


399 


in  demonstrations.  The  commission  went 
in  the  morning  to  attend  the  unveiling;  of 
a  statue  of  Lafayette  in  Prospect  Park, 
Brooklyn,  and  later  were  entertained  at 
luncheon  by  the  Merchants'  Association 
of  New  York.  In  the  afternoon  Columbia 
University  conferred  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  upon  Marshal  Joffre 
.and  Vice  Premier  Viviani,  after  which 
they  visited  Grant's  Tomb.  In  the  evening 
a  reception  was  given  in  the  Public  Li- 
brary by  the  French  patriotic  societies, 
and  a  great  gala  concert  followed  in  the 
Metropolitan  Opera  House,  where  the  au- 
dience contributed  $85,000  for  Marshal 
Joffre's  use  in  relief  work'.  The  Mar- 
shal's arrival  in  the  Opera  House  at  11 
o'clock  at  night,  when  the  audience  in- 
terrupted Paderewski's  playing  of  a  mas- 
terpiece to  rise  and  cheer  the  victor  of  the 
Marne,  marked  the  climax  of  a  memora- 
ble and  strenuous  day  for  the  visitors. 

Balfour  Visits  Congress 

Meanwhile  at  Washington  the  British 
Commissioners  remained  in  daily  confer- 
ence with  Cabinet  officials.  On  May  5 
Mr.  Balfour,  head  of  the  commission,  was 
invited  to  attend  Congress.  In  the  scene 
that  followed  two  precedents  of  a  century 
and  a  half  were  broken.  It  was  the  first 
time  in  American  history  that  a  British 
official  had  been  -invited  to  address  the 
House  of  .Representatives,  and  it  was  the 
first  time  that  a  President  of  the  United 
States  had  sat  in  the  gallery.  The  wel- 
come to  Mr.  Balfour  and  his  associates 
equaled,  if  it  did  not  surpass,  the  demon- 
stration which  had  greeted  M.  Viviani 
and  Marshal  Joffre  earlier  in  the  week. 

The  demonstration  given  to  the  Presi- 
dent rivaled  that  which  Mr.  Balfour  re- 
ceived. Unannounced,  he  slipped  into 
the  Executive  Gallery.  For  several  min- 
utes no  one  on  the  floor  saw  Mr.  Wilson, 
although  he  was  sitting  in  the  front  row. 
Then  suddenly  a  member  on  the  floor  dis- 
covered him,  and  a  group  rose,  applaud- 
ing. The  whole  House  followed,  and  for 
several  minutes  the  floor  and  galleries 
joined  in  hearty  applause. 

As  the  applause  died  down,  Speaker 
Clark  appointed  a  committee  to  escort 
the  British  Mission  into  the  Chamber. 
At   a    few   minutes    after    12:30    o'clock 


they  appeared  and  the  whole  House  rose 
to  greet  them  while  hearty  applause 
swept  the  floor  and  the  galleries.  The 
ovation  lasted  several  minutes,  subsiding 
only  to  start  with  a  new  outburst  of 
cheers  and  hand-clapping  when  the 
Speaker  introduced  Mr.  Balfour.  The 
British  Minister  was  visibly  affected  by 
the  warmth  of  his  reception. 

Through  it  all  the  President  joined 
vigorously  in  the  applause.  When  the 
speaker  had  finished  and  stood  below  the 
rostrum  with  General  Bridges,  Admiral 
de  Chair,  and  the  British  Ambassador, 
shaking  hands  with  the  members  as  they 
filed  past,  Mr.  Wilson  again  surprised 
those  present  by  slipping  downstairs 
quietly  and  passing  down  the  line  with 
the  Congressmen. 

Balfour  s  Address  to  the  House 

In  his  address  before  the  House  of 
Representatives  Mr.  Balfour  said: 

Will  you  permit  me,  on  behalf  of  my 
friends  and  myself,  to  offer  you  my  deepest 
and  sincerest  thanks  for  the  rare  and  valued 
honor  which  you  have  done  us  by  receiving 
us  here  today?  We  all  feel  the  greatness  of 
this  honor,  but  I  think  to  none  of  us  can  it 
come  home  so  closely  as  to  one  who,  like 
myself,  has  been  for  forty-three  years  in  the 
service  of  a  free  assembly  like  your  own. 

I  rejoice  to  think  that  a  member,  a  very 
old  member  I  am  sorry  to  say,  of  the  British 
House  of  Commons  has  been  received  here 
today  by  this  great  sister  assembly  with 
such  kindness  as  you  have  shown  to  me  and 
to  my  friends. 

Ladies  and  -gentlemen,  these  two  assemblies 
are  the  greatest  and  the  oldest  of  the  free 
assemblies  now  governing  great  nations  in  the 
world.  The  history,  indeed,  of  the  .two  is 
very  different.  The  beginnings  of  the  British- 
House  of  Commons  go  back  to  a  dim  historic 
past,  and  its  full  rights  and  status  have  only 
been  conquered  and  permanently  secured 
after   centuries   of  political   struggle. 

Your  fate  has  been  a  happier  one.  You 
were  called  into  existence  at  a  much  later 
stage  of  social  development.  You  came  into 
being  complete  and  perfected  and  all  your 
powers  determined  and  your  place  in  the 
constitution  secured  beyond  chance  of  revo- 
lution, but  though  the  history  of  these  two 
great  assemblies  is  different,  each  of  them 
represents  the  great  democratic  principle  to 
which  wo  look  forward  as  the  security  for 
the  future  peace  of  the  world.  All  of  the  free 
assemblies  now  to  be  found  governing  the 
great  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  modeled 
either  upon  your  practice  or  upon  ours,  or 
upon  both  combined. 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  compliment  paid  to  the 
mission  from  Great  Britain  by  such  an  as- 


400 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


sembly  and  upon  such  an  occasion  is  one 
not  one  of  us  is  ever  likely  to  forget;  but 
there  is  something-,  after  all,  even  deeper  and 
more  significant  in  the  circumstances  under 
which  I  now  have  the  honor  to  address  you 
than  any  which  arise  out  of  the  interchange 
of  courtesies,  however  sincere,  between  two 
great  and  friendly  nations. 

We  all,  I  think,  feel  instinctively  that  this 
is  one  of  the  great  moments  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  and  that  what  is  now  happening 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  represents  the 
drawing  together  of  great  and  free  peoples 
for  mutual  protection  against  the  aggression 
of  military  despotism. 

I  am  not  one  of  those,  none  of  you  are 
among  those,  who  are  such  bad  democrats  as 
to  say  that  democracies  make  no  mistakes. 
All  free  assemblies  have  made  blunders, 
sometimes  they  have  committed  crimes.  Why 
is  it  then  that  we  look  forward  to  the  spirit 
of  free  institutions,  and  especially  among  our 
present  enemies,  as  one  of  the  greatest  guar- 
antees of  the  future  peace  of  the  world?  I 
will  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  how  it  seems 
to  me. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  people  and  the 
representatives  of  the  people  may  be  be- 
trayed by  some  momentary  gust  of  passion 
Into  a  policy  which  they  ultimately  deplore, 
but  it  is  only  a  military  despotism  of  the 
German  type  that  can  through  generations,  if 
need  be,  pursue  steadily,  remorselessly,  un- 
scrupulously, and  appallingly  the  object  of 
dominating  the  civilization  of  mankind.  And, 
mark  you,  this  evil,  this  menace,  under  which 
we  are  now  suffering,  is  not  one  which  di- 
minishes with  the  growth  of  knowledge  and 
progress  of  material  civilization,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  it  increases  with  them. 

When  I  was  young  we  used  to  flatter  our- 
selves that  progress  inevitably  meant  peace, 
and  that  growth  of  knowledge  was  always 
accompanied  as  its  natural  fruit  by  the 
growth  of  good-will  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Unhappily,  we  know  better  now,  and 
'we  know  there  is  such  a  thing  in  the  world 
as  a  power  which  can  with  unvarying  per- 
sistency focus  all  the  resources  of  knowledge 
and  of  civilization  into  the  one  great  task  of 
making  itself  the  moral  and  material  master 
of  the  world.  It  is  against  that  danger  that 
we,  the  free  peoples  of  Western  civilization, 
have  banded  ourselves  together. 

British  in  New  York 
Mr.  Balfour  and  the  other  members  of 
the  British  Commission  reached  New 
York  by  special  train  Friday  afternoon, 
May  11,  and  every  step  of  their  way 
from  the  Battery  to  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Vincent  Astor,  which  had  been 
placed  at  their  service,  lay  through 
cheering  crowds.  The  party  was  formally 
received  at  the  City  Hall  by  Mayor 
Mitchel  and  a  delegation  of  distinguished 


citizens.  An  enormous  crowd  was  in 
attendance.  The  lawn  at  the  entrance 
was  filled  with  2,000  schoolgirls,  all 
clad  in  white  middy  blouses  and  dark 
blue  skirts  with  red  hair  ribbons,  and 
each  with  a  flag.  Behind  this  group  was 
a  column  of  Boy  Scouts  in  mass  and 
pyramid  formations,  all  clad  in  khaki. 
Every  available  foot  of  space  in  the  park 
and  surrounding  streets  was  filled  with 
cheering  people,  among  whom  the  flags 
of  the  United  States,  France,  and  Great 
Britain  were  freely  intermingled. 

Mr.  Balfour  was  formally  greeted  by 
the  Mayor,  who  was  followed  by  Joseph 
H.  Choate,  former  Ambassador  to  Great 
Britain.  [Mr.  Choate  died  suddenly  three 
days  later  in  his  New  York  home.]  In 
the  course  of  his  speech  Mr.  Choate  said: 

We  hesitated,  we  doubted,  we  hung  back, 
not  from  any  lack  of  sympathy,  not  from 
any  lack  of  enthusiasm,  not  because  we  did 
not  know  what  was  the  right  path ;  but  how 
to  take  it  and  when  to  take  it  was  always 
the  question.  I  feared  at  one  time  that  we 
might  enter  into  it  for  some  selfish  purpose, 
for  the  punishment  of  aggressions  against  our 
individual,  national,  personal  rights,  for  the 
destruction  of  American  ships  or  of  a  few 
American  lives,  ample  ground  for  war ;  but 
we  waited,  and  it  turns  out  now  that  we 
waited  wisely,  because  we  were  able  at  last 
to  enter  into  this  great  contest  of  the  whole 
world  for  a  noble  and  lofty  purpose,  such 
as  never  attracted  nations  before.  We  are 
entering  into  it  under  your  lead,  Sir,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  vindication  of  human  rights, 
for  the  vindication  of  free  government 
throughout  the  world,  for  the  establishment — 
by  and  by ;  soon,  we  hope ;  late,  it  may  be — 
of  a  peace  which  shall  endure  and  not  a 
peace  that  shall  be  no  peace  at  all. 

Fortunately,  we  have  now  no  room  for 
choice.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  President, 
we  stand  pledged  now  before  all  the  world 
to  all  the  allies  whom  we  have  joined  to 
carry  into  this  contest  all  that  we  have,  all 
that  we  hope  for,  and  all  that  we  ever  aspire 
unto.  We  shall  be  in  time  to  take  part  in 
that  peace  which  shall  forever  stand  and 
prevent  any  more  such  national  outrages  as 
commenced  this  war  on  the  side  of  Germany. 
We  have  been  only  thirty  days  in  the  war, 
and  already  it  has  had  a  marvelous  effect 
upon  our  own  people.  Before  that  there  was 
apathy,  there  was  indifference,  there  was 
indulgence  in  personal  pursuits,  in  personal 
prosperity;  but  today  every  young  man  in 
America,  and  every  old  man,  too,  is  asking : 
"  What  can  I  do  best  to  serve  my  country?  " 

Mr.  Balfour,  in  the  course  of  his  re- 
ply, said: 

Those   who  had   the   good   fortune   to   drive 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


401 


through  the  streets  of  the  city  up  to  this 
hall,  I  am  sure  must  have  been  astounded 
at  the  whole-hearted  exhibition  of  enthusi- 
asm which,  from  every  street,  from  every 
window,  from  every  house,  made  itself  visi- 
ble and  audible  to  the  spectators.  Seldom 
have  I  seen  a  sight— and  my  experience,  alas, 
is  an  old  one— seldom,  or  never,  have  I  seen 
a-  sight  so  deeply  moving ;  never  have  I  seen 
a  sight  which  went  more  to  the  heart.  If, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  where  the 
stress  and  strain  of  battle  seem  sometimes 
hard  to  sustain,  they  could  have  one  glimpse 
of  the  sympathies  shown  them  in  this  vast 
and  noble  community,  it  would  give  them,  if 
there  be  faint  hearts— I  have  not  heard  of 
them  on  the  other  side— if  faint  hearts  there 
be,  they  indeed  would  regain  new  strength, 
new  courage,  new  enthusiasm,  new  resolu- 
tion, and  they  would  feel  again,  if  they 
ever  ceased  to  feel  it,  that  firm  determina- 
tion to  carry  through  at  all  sacrifices  this 
great  struggle  to  its  appointed  end,  which, 
after  all,  is  the  very  strength  and  nerve 
of  the  allied  forces. 

Dinner  of  Mayor's  Committee 

The  climax  of  all  these  proceedings 
was  the  joint  reception  in  New  York  on 
May  12  to  both  the  French  and  English 
Commissions.  It  took  the  form  of  a  din- 
ner at  the  Waldorf  tendered  by  the 
Mayor's  Reception  Committee,  which 
was  attended  by  1,000  of  New  York 
City's  leading  men;  in  addition  there 
were  present  the  only  two  living  ex- 
Presidents,  Taft  and  Roosevelt,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  and  other  men  dis- 
tinguished in  official  and  civic  life. 

Here  again  Mr.  Choate  delivered  the 
principal  address  on  the  part  of  the 
city,  following  Mayor  Mitchel.  In  the 
course  of  his  speech  Mr.  Choate  said: 

America,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  America  has 
learned  what  this  war  is  about,  what  it  is 
for— that  it  is  for  the  establishment  of  free- 
dom against  slavery,  for  the  vindication  of 
free  government  against  tyranny,  and  op- 
pression and  autocracy  and  all  the  other  hor- 
rible names  that  you  can  apply  to  misgov- 
ernment.  When  it  came  to  that  there  was 
but  one  question  for  America,  and  our  Presi- 
dent at  Washington  has  solved  it  for  us. 
Nobody  can  tell  how  far  he  saw  ahead  any 
more  than  we  at  this  moment  can  tell  how 
far  we  can  see  ahead. 

Balfour  on  the  Wars  Meaning 
In  his  address  Mr.  Balfour  said: 
I    have   not    come    here    authorized   by    my 
Government  to   set  myself  up   or  to   set  my 
friends  up  as  instructors  of  the  great  Amer- 


ican people.  They  know  and  you  know  how 
to  manage  your  affairs,  and  do  not  require 
us  to  teach  you.  It  may  be,  it  probably  is, 
the  fact,  that  a  study  of  the  history  of  this 
war  will  show  those  who  run  and'  desire  to 
read  that  there  are  certain  mistakes  which 
a  great  democracy,  imperfectly  prepared  for 
war,  may  easily  make.  We  shall  be  happy  to 
describe  these  mistakes  to  you,  if  happily  it 
will  be  your  desire  to  learn  the  lesson  from 
them.  But  I  do  not  propose  either  now  or  at 
any  other  occasion  to  set  myself  up  as  an  ad- 
viser or  monitor  on  these  great  themes.  It  is 
enough  that  I  proclaim  my  unalterable  con- 
viction that  we  have  reached  a  moment  in  the 
world's  history  on  which  the  future,  not  of 
this  country,  but  of  every  country,  not  of  its 
interests,  but  of  every  interest  of  civilization 
is  trembling  in  the  balance.  At  that  critical 
moment  it  is  my  bounden  duty  to  raise  my 
voice  and  to  appeal  to  all  who  will  listen  to 
me  today  in  the  great  task  which  we  have 
been  bearing  for  two  and  a  half  years,  and 
which  you  have  cheerfully  and  generously  de- 
termined to  take  the  weight  of  upon  your  own 
shoulders.    *    *    * 

Why  is  it  that  the  people  of  this  great  city 
have  come  forth  instinctively — I  was  going 
to  say  by  thousands ;  I  feel  inclined  to  say 
by  millions — to  show  their  enthusiasm  for 
the  cause  you  have  taken  up?  It  is  because 
they  instinctively  feel  what  is  the  vital  issue 
at  stake,  because  they  instinctively  feel  that 
it  is  neither  desirable  nor,  were  it  desirable, 
possible  for  this  great  Republic  to  hold  itself 
aloof  from  a  world  in  suffering  and  not  do 
its  part  to   redeem   mankind. 

Surely  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  here  we 
are,  the  representatives  of  three  great  democ- 
racies, in  the  very  heart  of  New  York,  to 
plead  a  common  cause.  What  has  brought 
us  all  together?  What  is  the  meaning  of  this 
unique  gathering?  What  is  the  meaning  of 
the  multitude  crowding  your  streets  today 
and  yesterday?  It  is  a  shallow  view  to  sup- 
pose that  each  of  these  great  nations  has  had 
a  separate  and  different  cause  of  controversy 
with  the  enemy — that  Russia  was  dragged 
in  because  of  Serbia,  that  France  was 
dragged  in  because  of  Russia,  that  Great 
Britain  was  dragged  in  because  of  the  viola- 
tion of  Belgian  territory,  and  that  the  United 
States  has  been  dragged  in  because  of  the 
piratical  warfare  of  the  German  submarines. 

All  those  causes  are,  each  of  them,  and 
separately,  no  doubt  a  sufficient  reason,  but 
for  a  moment  to  consider  this  war  carried 
on  by  the  Allies  as  that  of  separate  interests, 
separate  causes  of  controversy,  is  an  utterly 
inadequate  and  false  view  of  the  situation. 
These  are  but  symptoms  of  the  absolute 
necessity  in  which  a  civilized  world  finds 
itself,  to  deal  with  an  imminent  and  over- 
mastering peril.  What  is  that  peril?  What 
is  it  we  feel  that  we  have  got  to  -stop?  I 
will  tell  you  my  view  of  it.  It  is  the  calcu- 
lated and  remorseless  use  of  every  civilized 
weapon  to  carry  out  the  ends  of  pure  bar- 
barism.     To   us   of   English   speech  it   seems 


402 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


impossible,  incredible,  that  a  nation  should 
clearly  set  itself  to  work  and  co-ordinate 
every  means  of  science,  every  means  that 
knowledge,  that  industry  can  provide,  not 
for  the  bettering  of  its  own  people,  but  for 
the   demolition   of  other   peoples. 

The  history  of  the  world  is  too  full  of  the 
adventures  of  unscrupulous  ambition.  We 
know  all  through  history  of  men  who  have 
endeavored,  at  the  cost  of  others,  to  expand 
their  own  State.  Within  the  last  century,  or 
a  little  more,  we  have  seen  men  of  genius 
trying  to  coerce  the  world.  But  this  is  not  a 
case  of  a  new  Napoleon  arising  to  carry  out 
a  new  adventure.  This  is  not  a  case  of  ad- 
venture, of  a  genius  seeking  to  satisfy  his 
ambition  within  the  limits  of  his  own  coun- 
try. 

It  is  something  far  different  and  far  more 
dangerous  for  mankind.  It  is  the  settled 
determination  to  use  every  means  to  put  the 
whole  world  at  her  feet.  We  all  know 
It  is  a  commonplace  that  science  has  enor- 
mously expanded  the  means  by  which  men 
can  kill  each  other.  Modern  destruction  is 
carried  out  as  much  in  the  laboratory  of 
your  universities  as  it  is  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, but  we  have  always  believed,  we  have 
always  hoped,  that  this  increased  power  of 
destruction  would  be  limited  and  controlled 
by  the  growing  forces  of  humanity  and  civ- 
ilization. We  have  been  taught,  not  by  Ger- 
many, but  by  those  who  rule  Germany,  by 
the  military  caste  which  controls  Germany— 
we  have  been  taught  a  different  lesson,  and 
we  now  know  not  merely  that  every  scien- 
tific weapon  will  be  put  in  force  to  make 
war  more  horrible  than  it  was  in  barbarous 
times,  but  that  even  the  rights  of  civiliza- 
tion, of  trade,  of  commerce,  even  the  inter- 
communication between  different  peoples, 
will  be  used  for  the  same  sinister  object. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  is  the  danger 
we  have  to  meet,  and  if  at  this  moment  the 
world  is  bathed  in  blood  and  tears  from 
the  highlands  of  distant  Armenia  down  to 
the  very  fields  of  France,  almost  within 
sight  of  the  Strait  of  Dover— if  we  have 
seen  a  reckless  destruction  of  life,  not 
merely  of  soldiers  but  of  civilians;  if  we 
have  seen  peaceful  communities  dragged 
through  the  mire,  ruined,  outraged;  if  horror 
has  been  heaped  upon  horror,  until  really 
we  almost  get  callous  in  reading  our  news- 
papers in  the  morning— if  all  these  things 
are  true,  shall  we  not  rise  up  and  resist 
them? 

Shall  we  who  know  what  freedom  is  be- 
come the  humble  and  obsequious  servants 
of  those  who  only  know  what  power  is? 
That  will  never  be  tolerated.  The  free  na- 
tions of  the  earth  are  not  thus  to  be  crushed 
out  of  existence,  and  if  any  proof  is  re- 
quired that  that  consummation  is  impos- 
sible, it  is  a  gathering  like  this  where  the 
three  great  democracies  of  the  West  are 
joined  together  under  circumstances  unique 
in  the  whole  h'story  of  the  world. 

And    that    fact    should    also    give    strength 


and  consolation  to  those  who,  feeling  the 
magnitude  of  the  issue  at  stake,  are  inclined 
to  doubt  how  the  contest  will  end.  But  we 
will  fail  unless  all  here  who  love  liberty,  and 
who  are  prepared  to  labor  together,  to  fight 
together,  to  make  our  sacrifices  in  common— 
unless  that  happens  we  may  be  destroyed 
piecemeal  and  the  civilization  of  the  world 
may  receive  a  wound  from  which  it  will  not 
easily  recover. 

Viviams  Dinner  Speech 
M.   Viviani's    speech   was   one    of   im- 
passioned and  vivid  eloquence.     In  part 
he  said: 

The  Kultur  of  Germany  is  all  very  well  so 
long  as  its  interests  are  not  crossed,  but 
when  they  are  it  is  like  a  wild  beast.  Ger- 
many did  not  know  the  spirit  of  England, 
of  France,  or  of  Russia.  They  said  that 
England  would  not  fight,  that  Englishmen 
would  remain  at  home  while  the  Continent  of 
Europe  was  overrun,  but  they  did  not  know 
the  history   of  that   country. 

You  in  America  cannot  realize,  cannot 
imagine  the  suffering  and  horror  of  what 
war  has  meant  to  France  and  her  people. 
But  you  will  arouse  yourselves  to  the  battle 
fcr  liberty,  justice,  democracy,  and  humanity. 

When  the  war  is  over  and  peace  reigns 
in  the  world— and  Germany  is  vanquished— 
history  will  say  that  the  free  peoples  of  the 
earth  joined  their  powers  and  resources  to 
make  the  world  safe  for  justice,  for  good 
faith  between  nation  and  nation,  and  for 
humanity. 

In  the  name  of  France  and  my  companions 
I  thank  you  all  and  the  entire  population  of 
New  York  for  the  great  ovation  and  welcome 
you  have  extended  us.  The  soul  of  America 
is  so  great  and  noble  that  it  is  fitting  that 
America  should  arise  to  fight  for  the  causa 
of  freedom  and  justice.  It  is  the  greatest 
honor  of  my  life  to  have  been  here  and  see 
and  realize  the  spirit  of  this  sister  republic. 
You  may  depend  upon  Joffre  and  myself  to 
do  all  we  can  to  aid  you  and  inform  you  in 
all  the  details  of  the  great  task  ahead  of  you. 
I  see  before  me  now  the  might  and  strength 
of  Germany  and  realize  that  it  must— that 
it    will— be    overthrown. 

Following  the  dinner  at  the  Waldorf 
Mr.  Balfour  was  driven  to  the  home  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt.  There 
he  was  presented  with  the  diploma  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  conferred  upon  him  on 
Thursday  by  Columbia  University.  The 
presentation  was  made  by  Dr.  Nicholas 
Murray  Butler,  President  of  the  univer- 
sity, who  explained  how  the  degree  had 
been  conferred. 

In  accepting,  Mr.  Balfour  was  deeply 
touched.     He  said  afterward  that  he  had 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


403 


been  thrilled  as  never  before  in  his  life 
by  the  reception  in  New  York. 

Address  to  Lawyers'  Club 

Earlier  in  the  day  M.  Viviani  was  the 
guest  of  the  lawyers  of  New  York.  On 
this  occasion  he  delivered  another  of  his 
important  utterances,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  among  the  significant  pas- 
sages: 

It  is  not  an  abstract  salute  which  the 
French  Mission  has  brought  to  America.  No, 
we  are  not  here  merely  to  exchange  expres- 
sions of  international  friendship;  we  have 
not  come  merely  for  the  purpose  of  shaking 
hands  with  you;  we  have  not  come  here  to 
salute  you  nor  to  become  intoxicated  by  the 
clamorous  acclamations  which  greet  us  in 
your  streets.  We  have  come  here  to  pene- 
trate your  souls,  to  penetrate  your  hearts. 
Yes,  this  I  say,  we  have  come,  however  un- 
worthy we  may  be  of  our  mission,  to  show 
you  the  great  soul  of  wounded  France,  of 
suffering  France,  of  eternal  France. 

All  the  orators  who  have  preceded  me  upon 
this  platform  have  accorded  me  too  much 
praise  to  permit  me,  with  modesty,  to  sur- 
pass the  height  of  their  eulogy.  You  have 
shown  the  French,  isolated  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  sleeping  in  muddy  and  bloody 
trenches,  fighting  night  and  day,  constantly, 
not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  humanity. 
You  have  considered  the  French  Army  as 
the  vanguard  of  all  the  armies  of  free  men. 
Yes,  indeed,  that  is  true.  For  the  last  three 
years  we  have  been  fighting  for  liberty;  we 
are  flinging  to  the  breeze  under  the  fire  of 
cannon  the  banner  of  universal  democracy. 
May  free  men  now  rise  and  come  to  our 
side!  For  the  honor  of  humanity  let  us  not 
be  alone  in  this  fight! 

Come  to  us,  American  brothers,  whose 
hearts  have  been  attached  to  ours  since  La- 
fayette, with  his  French  soldiers,  landed 
upon  your  soil  and  loaned  the  aid  of  his 
arms  to  American  independence.  It  is  not 
for  France;  it  is  not  for  you;  it  is  not  for 
England;  it  is  not  for  Russia.  No;  it  is  not 
for  the  nations;  it  is  for  the  whole  world; 
i£  is  for  all  humanity. 

On  May  11  Marshal  Joffre  visited 
West  Point,  reviewed  the  Cadet  Corps, 
and  was  entertained  by  the  staff.  Pre- 
viously the  same  day  he  visited  Washing- 
ton's Headquarters  at  Newburg,  N.  Y., 
where  he  was  received  by  Governor 
Whitman.  Here  the  Eagle  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati  was  conferred  on 
him.  He' had  been  elected  an  honorary 
member  of  this  society.  The  only  other 
foreigners  who  had  thus  been  honored 
were  Rochambeau  and  Lafayette. 

From   New  York  the   French   Mission 


visited  Boston,  where  they  were  en- 
thusiastically received.  M.  Viviani  pro- 
ceeded to   Ottawa. 

Chamber  of  Commerce  Speech 
The  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce 
luncheon  to  Mr.  Balfour  and  the  English 
party  was  attended  by  more  than  1,000 
members  and  guests.  In  his  address, 
after  thanking  the  President,  E.  H.  Out- 
erbridge,  for  his  kindly  references  to  the 
bond  between  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land, Mr.  Balfour  said  the  hope  of  his 
life  had  been  that  before  he  died  "the 
union  between  the  English-speaking, 
freedom-loving  branches  of  the  human 
race  should  be  drawn  far  closer  than  in 
the  past,  and  that  all  temporary  causes 
of  difference  which  may  ever  have  sep- 
arated the  two  great  peoples  would  be 
seen  in  their  true  and  just  proportion,  and 
that  we  should  all  realize,  on  whatever 
side  of  the  Atlantic  fortune  had  placed 
us,  that  the  things  wherein  we  have  dif- 
fered in  the  past  sink  into  absolute  in- 
significance when  compared  with  those 
vital  agreements  which  at  all  times,  but 
never  more  than  at  such  a  time  as  the 
present,  unite  us  in  one  great  spiritual 
whole." 

In  alluding  to  the  bonds  between  the 
English-speaking   races,   he   said: 

You  have  absorbed  in  your  midst  many 
admirable  citizens  drawn  from  all  parts  of 
Europe,  whom  American  institutions  and 
American  ways  of  thought  have  molded  and 
are  molding  into  one  great  people.  I  rejoice 
to  think  it  should  be  so.  A  similar  process 
on  a  smaller  scale  is  going  on  in  the  self- 
governing  dominions  of  the  British  Empire. 
It  is  a  good  process,  it  is  a  noble  process. 
Let  us  never  forget  that  wherever  be  the 
place  in  which  that  great  and  beneficent 
process  is  going  on,  whether  it  be  in  Canada, 
whether  it  be  in  Australia,  or  whether  on  the 
largest  scale  of  all  it  be  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  spirit  which  the  immigrant 
absorbs  is  the  spirit  in  all  these  places  largely 
due  to  a  historic  past  in  which  your  fore- 
fathers and  my  forefathers,  gentlemen,  all 
had  their  share. 

In  speaking  of  the  Chairman's  refer- 
ence to  the  splendid  work  of  the  British 
fleet,  Mr.  Balfour  said: 

Does  anybody  think  that  if  the  sea  power 
were  transferred  from  British  to  German 
hands  the  historian  of  the  future  could  say 
the  same  of  the  German  fleet?  By  their  fruits 
we  know  them.    Deliberately  brought  into  ex- 


404 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


istence  in  the  hope  that  it  would  break  down 
that  naval  power  which  the  German  auto- 
cracy— not  the  German  people,  but  the  Ger- 
man autocracy — recognizes  as  one  of  the 
greatest  bulwarks  of  freedom,  and  one  of 
the  most  powerful  defenses  against  world 
domination,  knowing  that  instinctively  they 
have  been  feverishly  building  for  eighteen 
or  twenty  years  in  order  that,  if  it  might 
be  so,  they  could  destroy  the  country  with 
which  they  had  no  quarrel,  and  no  cause  of 
quarrel,  but  which  they  regarded  with  an  in- 
stinctive and  unalterable  jealousy.  They  have 
been  disappointed.  Their  fleet  remains  safely 
in  the  harbor. 

What  puts  out  to  sea  is  not  the  battleship 
or  the  battle  cruiser ;  there  is  no  successor  of 
the  great  fleets  of  ancient  times ;  but  the 
submarine  which,  in  their  hands,  finds  its 
natural  prey  in  the  destruction  of  defense- 
less merchantmen  and  the  butchery  of  de- 
fenseless women  and  children.  I  will  do  the 
German  fleet  the  justice  to  say  that  I  do 
not  believe  that  this  was  its  ideal  when  this 
war  started,  or  when  its  ships  were  under 
construction.  What  I  do  say  is  that  the  use 
which  the  German  governing  classes  are  now 
making  of  this  new  weapon,  while  it  will 
never  decide  the  issue  of  this  war,  neverthe- 
less indicates  a  menace  to  the  future  com- 
merce of  the  world  which  must  be  absolutely 
stopped  for  the  future.  Under  the  old  mari- 
time laws,  which  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  in  particular  have  always  recognized, 
fleets  undoubtedly  did  interfere  with  the  com- 
merce of  any  enemy  belligerents,  and  it  is 
very  difficult  to  see  how  that  could  or  ought  to 
be  avoided  until  that  happy  time  comes  when 
war  is  neither  on  land  nor  sea  permitted  to 
interfere  with  private  rights,  or  indeed  per- 
mitted to  go  on  at  all. 

Germans  Made  War  Inhuman* 

But,  gentlemen,  maritime  warfare  as  It 
has  been  carried  on  by  civlized  nations  in 
the  past  has  been  a  human  affair,  carried 
out  under  recognized  laws,  under  which  as 
little  injury  was  done  to  the  neutral  trader 
as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances, 
compared  to  the  abominations  which  are  now 
insisted  upon  by  the  German  staff.  Huge 
tracts  of  ocean  are  marked  out  at  the 
arbitrary  will  of  one  belligerent,  and  within 
these  vast  areas  neutrals,  peaceable  traders, 
do  not  merely  have  their  ships  taken  in,  ad- 
judged in  the  prize  court,  dealt  with,  and 
non-belligerent  life  carefully  regarded,  but 
they  are  sunk  at  sea,  no  examination,  no 
knowledge  of  what  is  in  the  ship,  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  character  of  the  crew,  no  knowl- 
edge of  whether  there  are  or  are  not  passen- 
gers aboard,  no  knowledge  of  the  goods  which 
are  being  transported,  of  the  place  from  which 
they  came  or  the  destination  designed.  That, 
gentlemen,  is  carrying  out  the  methods  of 
barbarism,  and  in  a  manner  which  would 
have  been  regarded  as  incredible  even  in 
Germany  two  years  ago.  It  has  been  carried 
out  by  a  Government  which,  when  it  thought 


worth  while  for  diplomatic  reasons,  was 
never  wearied  of  talking  of  the  freedom  of 
the  seas. 

But  it  is  a  method  of  conducting  warfare 
which  in  its  Indirect  consequences,  as  well  as 
its  direct  consequences,  is  of  such  a  character 
that  the  civilized  world  must,  -when  this  war 
is  over,  take  effectual  precautions  against  its 
repetition.  For,  if  not,  it  seems  to  me  that, 
whenever  two  countries  go  to  war,  and  when- 
ever it  suits  the  least  scrupulous  of  the 
belligerents,  not  merely  will  a  great  wrong 
have  been  inflicted  upon  its  opponent,  but  the 
commerce  of  the  whole  civilized  world  will 
be  disorganized  and  destroyed.  That  is  im- 
possible to  tolerate.  And  this  Chamber  has 
under  its  guardianship  the  interests  of  trade 
and  commerce,  and  it  is  of  all  bodies  the  one 
most  interested  in  seeing  that,  so  long  as 
wars  are  still  permitted — and  I  hope  that  will 
not  be  long — maritime  warfare  shall  be  con- 
ducted under  methods  consistent  with  public 
law,  consistent  with  ordinary  humanity,  con- 
sistent with  those  fundamental  principles  of 
morality  which  underlie — or  ought  to  under- 
lie— all  law. 

Problems   After  the    War 

When  this  tremendous  conflict  has  drawn 
to  its  appointed  close,  and  when,  as  I  believe, 
victory  shall  have  crowned  our  joint  efforts, 
there  will  arise  not  merely  between  nations 
but  within  nations  a  series  of  problems  which 
will  tax  all  our  statesmanship  to  deal  with. 
I  look  forward  to  that  time,  not,  indeed, 
wholly  without  anxiety,  but  in  the  main  with 
hope  and  with  confidence ;  and  one  of  the 
reasons  for  that  hope  and  one  of  the  founda- 
tions of  that  confidence  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  your  nation  and  my  nation  will 
have  so  much  to  do  with  the  settlement  of 
the  questions. 

I  do  not  think  anybody  will  accuse  me  of 
being  insensible  to  the  genius  and  to  the 
accomplishments  of  other  nations.  I  am  one 
of  those  who  believe  that  only  in  the  multi- 
tude of  different  forms  of  culture  can  the 
completed  movement  of  progress  have  all  the 
variety  in  unity  of  which  it  is  capable; 
and,  while  I  admire  other  cultures,  and 
while  I  recognize  how  absolutely  all  im- 
portant they  are  to  the  future  of  mankind, 
I  do  think  that  among  the  English-speaking 
peoples  is  especially  and  peculiarly  to  be 
found  a  certain  political  moderation  in  all 
classes  which  gives  one  the  surest  hope  of 
dealing  in  a  reasonable,  progressive  spirit 
with  social  and  political  difficulties.  And 
without  that  reasonable  moderation  inter- 
changes are  violent,  and  as  they  are  violent 
reactions  are  violent  also,  and  the  smooth 
advance  of  humanity  is  seriously  interfered 
with. 

I  believe  that  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  I  hope  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
if  and  when  these  great  problems  have  act- 
ively to  be  dealt  with,  it  will  not  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  your  statesmanship,  or  of  our 
own,  to  deal  with  them  in  such  a  manner  that 


VISIT  OF  NOTED  DIPLOMATS 


405 


we  cannot  merely  look  back  upon  this  great 
war  as  the  beginning  of  a  time  of  improved 
international  relations,  of  settled  peace,  of 
deliberate  refusal  to  pour  out  oceans  of  blood 
to  satisfy  some  notion  of  domination ;  but  that 
in  addition  to  those  blessings  the  war,  and 
what  happens  after  the  war,  may  prove  to 
be  the  beginning  of  a  revivified  civilization, 
which  <will  be  felt  in  all  departments  of 
human  activity,  which  will  not  merely  touch 
the  material  but  also  the  spiritual  side  of 
mankind,  and  which  will  make  the  second 
decade  of  the  twentieth  century  memorable 
in  the  history  of  mankind. 


The  Italian  War  Commission  reached 
New  York  on  May  10,  headed  by  Enrico 
Arlotta,  Minister  of  Maritime  and  Rail- 
way Transportation,  with  the  following 
associates:  Generai  Gugliemotti,  rep- 
resenting the  Italian  Army;  Commander 
Vannutelli,  representing  the  navy;  Alvise 
Bragadini  of  the  Transportation  Depart- 
ment, G.  Pardo  of  the  Department  of 
Industry  and  Commerce,  and  Gaetano 
Pietra  of  the  Agricultural  Department. 


The  Battle  of  Arras  Day  by  Day 

By    Philip  Gibbs 

[Published  by  arrangement  with  The  London  Chronicle] 

The  progress  of  the  great  struggle  in  the  region  of  Arras  is  here  graphically  described  as 
seen  from  day  to  day  by  one  of  the  most  brilliant  correspondents  with  the  British  armies  in 
France.  The  battle  of  Arras  began  on  April  9,  1917,  and  the  story  is  here  taken  up  where  it 
broke  off  in  the  May  issue  of  Current  History  Magazine. 

[See   Map   on  Page  1,22] 


A  PRIL  23,  1917.— The  battle  of  Arras 
/\  has  entered  into  its  second  phase; 
jLjL.  that  is  to  say,  into  a  struggle 
harder  than  the  first  day  of  the 
battle  on  April  9,  when  by  a  surprise, 
following  great  preparations,  we  gained 
great  successes  all  along  the  line. 

This  morning  shortly  before  5  o'clock 
English,  Welsh,  and  Scottish  troops 
made  new  and  strong  assaults  east 
of  Arras  upon  the  German  line  be- 
tween Gavrelle,  Guemappe,  and  Fontaine 
les  Croisilles,  which  is  the  last  switch 
line  on  this  part  of  the  front  between  the 
British  and  the  main  Hindenburg  line. 
It  has  been  hard  fighting  everywhere, 
for  the  enemy  was  no  longer  uncertain 
of  the  place  where  the  British  should  at- 
tack him.  As  soon  as  the  battle  of  Arras 
started  it  was  clear  to  him  that  they 
should  deliver  their  next  blow  when  they 
had  moved  forward  their  guns  upon  this 
"  Oppy  line,"  as  the  British  call  it,  which 
protects  the  Hindenburg  position  north 
and  south  of  Vitry-en-Artois.  His  troops 
were  told  to  expect  the  British  attack  at 
any  moment  and  hold  on  at  all  costs  of 
life. 

.  To  meet  the  British  strength  the 
enemy  had  brought  up  many  new  bat- 
teries, which  were  placed  in  front  of  the 


Hindenburg  line  and  close  behind  the 
Oppy  line,  and  massed  large  numbers  of 
machine  guns  in  the  villages,  trenches, 
and  emplacements,  from  which  they  could 
sweep  the  line  of  advance  by  direct  and 
enfilade  fire.  These  machine  guns  were 
thick  in  the  ruins  of  Roeux,  just  north  of 
the  River  Scarpe,  in  Pelves,  just  south 
of  it,  in  two  small  woods  called  Bois  du 
Sart  and  Bois  de  Vert,  immediately  facing 
Monchy,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  and  in 
and  about  the  village  of  Guemappe, 
which  we  had  assaulted  and  entered 
twice  before. 

Many  German  snipers,  men  of  good 
marksmanship  and  tried  courage,  had  been 
placed  all  about  in  shell  holes  with  orders 
to  pick  off  the  British  officers  and  men, 
and  the  enemy's  gunners  had  registered 
all  British  positions  so  that  they  were 
ready  to  drop  down  a  heavy  barrage  di- 
rectly the  British  made  a  sign  of  attack- 
ing. 

A  Battle  to  the  Death 

It  was  only  to  be  expected  that  this 
second  phase  of  the  battle  of  Arraa 
should  be  extremely  hard.  For  the 
British  it  is  a  battle  to  the  death.  Fight- 
ing is  in  progress  at  all  points  attained 
by  the  troops,  and  there  is  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  men — beaten  back  for  a  while 


406 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


by  the  intensity  of  fire,  but  attacking 
again   and  getting  forward. 

At  the  outset  of  the  attack,  according 
to  accounts  given  me  by  men  who  went 
over  with  the  first  waves,  the  enemy 
showed  himself  ready  to  meet  it  with 
fierce  resistance.  Last  night  was  terri- 
bly cold,  and  the  British  troops  lying 
out  in  shell  holes  or  in  shallow  trenches 
dug  a  day  or  two  ago  suffered  from  this 
exposure.  Some  of  the  Scottish  troops 
had  fought  in  the  first  day's  battles  of 
Arras,  and,  with  English  troops,  had 
gone  forward  to  Monchy  and  into  the 
storm  centre  of  German  fire.  Some  of 
the  men  I  met  today  had  been  buried 
by  German  crumps  and  had  been  dug  out 
again,  and  as  they  lay  waiting  for  the 
hour  of  attack  shells  fell  about  them 
and  the  sky  was  aflame  with  the  flashes 
of  British  bombs.  The  men  craved  for 
something  hot  to  drink.  But  they  nibbled 
dry  biscuits  and  waited  for  the  dawn, 
and  hoped  they  would  not  be  too  numb 
when  the  light  came  to  get  up  and  walk. 

The  light  came  very  pale  over  the 
earth,  and  with  it  the  signal  to  attack. 
The  bombardment  had  been  steady  all 
through  the  night  and  then  broke  into 
a  hurricane  of  fire.  As  soon  as  the  men 
left  the  trenches  the  gunners  laid  down 
a  barrage  in  front  of  them  and  made  a 
moving  wall  of  shells  ahead  of  them — a 
frightful  thing  to  follow,  but  the  safest 
if  the  men  did  not  go  too  quickly  or 
failed  to  distinguish  between  the  line  of 
German  shells  and  the  British.  It  is  not 
easy  to  distinguish,  for  the  men  had 
hardly  risen  from  the  shell  holes  and 
ditches  before  the  enemy's  barrage  start- 
ed and  all  the  ground  about  them  was 
vomiting  up  fountains  of  mud  and  shell 
splinters.  At  the  same  time  there  came 
above  all  the  noise  of  shellfire  a  furnace 
blast  of  machine  guns.  The  machine 
gunners  in  Roeux  and  Pelves,  in  the  two 
small  woods  in  front  of  Monchy,  and  in 
the  ground  about  Guemappe  were  slash- 
ing all  the  slopes  and  roads  below 
Monchy  on  the  hill.  "  It  was  the  most 
awful  machine-gun  fire  I  have  heard," 
said  a  young  Scot  this  morning  as  he 
came  back  with  a  bullet  in  the  hip. 


Desperate  Fighting  at  Monchy 

April  24. — Fighting,  harder  and  more 
stubborn  on  both  sides,  more  desperate  in 
resistance  on  the  enemy's  part  than  any- 
thing since  the  battles  of  the  Somme,  has 
been  in  progress  east  of  Arras  since  the 
hour  of  attack  yesterday  morning.  For 
the  German  Army  they  have  been  two 
days  of  dreadful  sacrifice,  for  the  Brit- 
ish days  of  grim  struggle,  with  many  at- 
tacks and  counterattacks  which  in  the 
end  have  won  and  held  important  ground. 

The  village  of  Monchy  dominates  the 
present  scene  of  battle,  and  is  the  key 
position  above  the  Cambrai  road,  for 
which  the  enemy  is  fighting  with  full 
strength.  His  gunners  made  it  one  of 
their  fixed  targets  yesterday  and  today 
and  flung  enormous  high  explosive  shells 
at  it,  so  that  it  is  no  longer  the  white 
village  I  saw  last  week,  but  a  heap  of 
broken  walls  and  skeleton  barns.  Oppo- 
site lie  the  two  woods  of  Bois  Vert  and 
the  Bois  du  Sart  on  the  slope  of  the  op- 
posite ridge,  and  it  is  from  these  woods 
that  the  enemy  has  come  in  his  counter- 
attacks. At  10  o'clock  yesterday  morn- 
ing strong  bodies  of  Rhinelanders  left  the 
cover  of  *Bois  Vert  and,  in  spite  of  heavy 
losses  from  British  machine-gun  fire  and 
field  batteries,  succeeded  in  driving  back 
part  of  the  British  foremost  line.  Four 
thousand  Germans  of  a  fresh  division 
gathered  in  the  Bois  du  Sart  for  a  further 
attempt  to  break  the  line,  but  they  were 
seen  by  flying  officers,  and  the  British 
batteries  filled  the  wood  with  gas  shells 
so  that  great  slaughter  was  done  there. 
This  body  of  men  was  literally  shelled  to 
death,  and  it  was  a  human  hell  in  that 
wood  under  the  blue  sky. 

Like  the  Somme  Battle 
April  25. — The  battle  which  is  still  in 
progress  east  of  Arras  is  developing 
rather  like  the  early  days  of  the  Somme 
battles,  when  the  British  fought  stub- 
bornly to  gain  or  regain  a  few  hundred ' 
yards  of  trenches  in  which  the  enemy  re- 
sisted under  cover  of  great-gun  fire  and 
to  which  he  sent  up  strong  bodies  of  sup- 
porting troops  to  drive  the  British  out  by 
counterattacks.  The  attack  made  by  the 
Scottish  troops  yesterday  afternoon  and 
English  troops  at  3:30  this  morning  re- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS  DAY  BY  DAY 


407 


established  the  line  on  this  side  of  the 
two  woods  called  Bois  Vert  and  Bois  du 
Sart,  and  on  the  further  side  of 
Guemappe.  Parties  of  British  troops  who 
had  been  cut  off,  and  were  believed  to  be 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  were  recov- 
ered yesterday,  having  held  out  in  the 
most  gallant  way  in  isolated  positions. 
The  British  barrage  preceding  an  infantry 
attack  actually  swept  over  them,  and 
they  gave  themselves  up  for  lost,  but 
escaped  from  the  British  shells  and  Ger- 
man shells  which  burst  all  around  them 
and  seemed  in  competition  for  their 
lives. 

A  similar  case  happened  with  a  party 
of  Worcester  men,  recovered  last  night. 
They  were  cut  off  in  a  small  copse,  and 
lay  quiet  there  for  several  days,  sur- 
rounded by  the  enemy.  They  had  rations 
with  them,  and  lived  on  them  until  they 
were  gone.  They  were  then  starving  and 
suffering  great  agony  for  lack  of  water, 
but  still  would  not  surrender,  and  last 
night  they  were  rewarded  for  their  en- 
durance by  seeing  the  enemy  retire 
before  the  advancing  waves  of  English 
troops,  the  enemy  suffering  big  losses, 
but  replacing  them  each  time  by  fresh 
battalions. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  Ger- 
man losses  during  the  last  three  days, 
but  successive  counterattacks  were 
smashed  by  shell  fire,  machine-gun  fire, 
and  rifle  fire,  so  that  the  ground  was 
heaped  with  their  dead.  There  have  been 
no  fewer  than  eight  counterattacks  al- 
ready upon  the  village  of  Gavrelle,  and 
not  one  of  them  reached  the  British  front 
line,  but  they  have  been  broken  and  dis- 
persed. In  the  first  counterattack  upon 
the  British  line  opposite  Monchy  between 
2,000  and  3,000  Germans  left  Bois  Vert, 
but  after  many  hundreds  had  fallen  they 
retired  to  reorganize.  The  second  attack 
was  in  greater  numbers  and  rolled  back 
the  British  line  for  a  time,  but  has  now 
been  forced  to  retire  to  its  old  position 
in  the  woods,  which  the  British  kept  con- 
tinually under  an  intense  fire,  so  that 
the  slaughter  there  must  be  great.  The 
guns  never  cease  their  laboring  night  and 
day,  shelling  the  enemy's  infantry  posi- 
tions, batteries,  lines  of  communication, 
railheads,    and    crossroads,    so    that  -no 


troops     may    move     except     under     the 
menace  of  death  or  mutilation. 
Fierce  Aerial  Combats 

April  26. — East  of  Arras,  after  three 
days  of  battle,  the  British  hold  good  lines, 
with  almost  all  the  high  and  command- 
ing positions  south  of  Scarpe,  and  the 
enemy  so  far  has  made  no  further  effort 
to  recapture  ground  by  sending  out 
masses  of  men  behind  heavy  curtain  fire. 
He  has  paid  a  heavy  price  already  in 
these  endeavors,  and  is  reorganizing  and 
replacing  his  shattered  divisions  and 
carrying  back  his  wounded  to  join  that 
vast  army  of  cripples,  blind  men,  and 
nerve-broken  men  who  in  Germany  are 
hideously  eloquent  of  the  truth  and  re- 
veal the  mockery  of  official  history. 

In  the  daily  official  reports  a  brief  pict- 
ure has  been  given  of  the  battle  which 
has  raged  in  the  skies  while  the  earth- 
men  have  been  struggling  below.  Truly 
during  these  last  few  days  the  air  serv^ 
ice  has  fought  wonderfully.  There  have 
been  hours  when  I  have  overheard  the 
continual  tattoo  of  the  Lewis  guns,  and 
when  the  great  sweep  of  the  sky  has  been 
tracked  out  with  white  shrapnel  clouds, 
following  the  British  flying  squadrons, 
engaged  hotly  with  hostile  machines. 

British  Daring  in  Raids 

The  British  airmen  go  daily  far  back 
across  the  German  lines,  taking  thou- 
sands of  photos,  engaging  enemy  squad- 
rons so  that  they  are  held  back  from 
the  line  of  battle,  and  dropping  tons  of 
explosives  upon  ammunition  dumps,  rail- 
heads, and  transport.  The  boys  (for 
they  are  absurdly  young  in  average  age) 
take  all  these  deadly  risks  and  do  all  this 
work  of  terror  with  the  same  spirit  as 
did  the  young  gentlemen  of  England 
who  rode  out  with  Sir  John  Chandos  and 
Sir  Walter  Manny  to  seek  combat  with 
the  French  knights  many  hundred  years 
ago  along  roads  where  the  modern  Brit- 
ish men  at  arms  go  marching  today. 
During  this  recent  fighting  one  of  them 
challenged  a  German  albatross,  who  ac- 
cepted fight,  and  for  an  hour  they  did 
every  trick  known  to  flying — stalling, 
banking,  sideslipping,  and  looping — in 
order  to  get  in  the  first  shot.  It  was 
the  German  who  tired  first,  though  he 


408 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


showed  himself  master  of  his  machine. 
There  are  boys  in  the  British  air  service 
who  have  killed  six  or  seven  Germans  in 
single  combat  and  a  few  who  have  ac- 
counted for  many  more  and  go  off  again 
for  mornings,  hunting  men  as  if  on  a 
good  adventure.  Yet  they  know  the  risks 
and  the  fortune  of  war.  They  cannot 
have  all  the  luck  all  the  time.  When 
their  turn  comes  it  is  quick  to  the  end, 
or  if  hit  and  left  alive  they  do  amazing 
things  up  there  in  the>high  skies  to  save 
the  final  crash. 

During  this  battle  of  Arras  the  British 
airmen  have  made  thousands  of  flights 
over  the  German  lines,  have  engaged  in 
hundreds  of  combats  with  hostile  squad- 
rons, and  at  the  cost  of  their  own  lives 
in  many  cases  have  saved  the  British 
infantry  great  losses  by  keeping  down 
the  fire  of  the  German  batteries,  de- 
stroying their  kite  balloons,  signaling 
preparations  for  the  German  counter- 
attacks, photographing  the  enemy's 
trenches  and  positions,  and  blinding  his 
own  power  of  observation  to  some  extent, 
at  least,  by  chasing  his  airplanes  away 
from  the  lines  on  a  day  when  the  British 
infantry  is  not  hard  pressed.  It  is  good 
to  pay  this  tribute  to  the  flying  men, 
whose  exploits  are  not  much  recorded, 
though  they  are  always  overheard  and 
though  the  droning  song  of  their  engines 
is  always  the  accompaniment  of  battle 
down  below. 

Capture  of  Arleux 
April  29.— Yesterday  the  attack  north- 
ward was  delivered  against  the  Oppy 
switch  line,  which  the  British  broke  by 
the  capture  of  Arleux  en  Gohelle,  which 
has  fallen  to  the  Canadians,  and  by  suc- 
cessful assaults  upon  Oppy  Village,  from 
which  the  British  troops  afterward  fell 
back  for  a  few  hundred  yards  owing  to 
the  intense  enemy  fire  making  a  target 
of  the  village.  English  divisions  have 
also  swept  across  the  northern  and  west- 
ern slopes  of  Greenland  Hill,  which  I  al- 
ready described  as  the  dominating  po- 
sition above  Roeux,  and  hold  the  ground 
in  spite  of  the  most  resolute  counter- 
attacks and  heavy  shelling.  Roeux  itself 
has    been    entered    by    the    British,    and 


their  line  now  runs  through  the  station 
there. 

Further  north  the  Canadians  fought 
hard  in  Arleux  Wood,  and  English  troops, 
who  had  advanced  up  to  Oppy,  came 
against  strong  forces  of  the  enemy,  who 
came  up  from  Neuvireuil  and  had  to 
swing  back  a  little  upon  a  defensive  line. 
South  of  the  River  Scarpe  there  was 
shellfire  heavier  than  the  British  had 
yet  encountered  since  the  full  height  of 
the  Somme  battle,  as  heavy  perhaps  as 
that  on  July  1  at  Gommecourt.  The  en- 
emy has  not  only  brought  up  new  divi- 
sions, massing  great  reserves,  but  has 
dragged  up  many  new  batteries  of  heavy 
guns  which  are  now  firing  ceaselessly 
day  and  night  at  long  range. 

At  Lagnicourt  I  saw  the  corpses  of 
the  Germans  who  tried  to  capture  the 
Australians'  guns,  and  I  was  told  that 
the  first  estimate  of  1,500  men  caught  on 
their  own  wire  by  the  British  artillery 
and  rifle  fire  was  much  below  the  number 
afterward  reckoned.  This  German  army 
is  paying  a  fearful  price  for  Hinden- 
burg's  strategic  plans,  but  the  men  are 
fighting  now  as  fiercely  as  ever  they 
fought  in  this  war,  and  this  battle,  now 
raging  under  a  blue  sky,  is  a  most  bloody 
episode  of  history. 

Terrible  Word  Picture 
April  30.— There  has  been  but  little 
time  lately  to  describe  the  scenes  of  war 
or  chronicle  the  small  human  episodes  of 
this  great  battle  between  Lens  and  St. 
Quentin,  with  its  storm  centre  at  Arras, 
where  men  are  fighting  in  mass,  killing 
in  mass,  and  dying  sometimes  in  mass, 
as  when  German  counterattacks  were 
broken  and  destroyed  at  Gavrelle, 
Monchy,  Guemappe,  and  Lagnicourt.  The 
scene  of  battle  changed  during  the  last 
few  days,  because  Spring  has  come  at 
last  and  warm  sunshine.  It  has  made  a 
tremendous  difference  to  the  look  of 
things  and  sense  of  things. 

More  frightful  now  even  than  in  the 
worst  days  of  Winter  is  the  way  up  to 
the  front.  In  all  that  great  stretch  of 
desolation  the  British  left  behind  the 
shell  craters  which  were  full  of  water, 
fed  water  and  green  water,  are  now 
dried  up  and  are  hard,  deep  pits,  scooped 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS  DAY  BY  DAY 


409 


out  of  the  powdered  earth  from  which 
all  vitality  is  gone  so  that  Spring  brings 
no  life  to  it.  I  thought,  perhaps,  that 
some  of  these  shell-slashed  woods  would 
put  out  new  shoots  when  Spring  came, 
and  I  watched  them  curiously  for  any 
sign  of  rebirth.  But  there  is  no  sign 
and  their  poor  mutilated  limbs,  their 
broken  and  tattered  trunks,  stand  naked 
and  stark  under  the  blue  sky.  Everything 
is  dead,  with  a  white,  ghastly  look  in  the 
brilliant  sunshine  except  where  here  and 
there  in  a  litter  of  timber  and  brickwork 
which  marks  the  site  of  a  French  village 
a  little  bush  is  in  bud  or  flowers  blossom 
in  a  scrap  heap  which  once  was  a  garden. 
All  this  is  the  background  of  the  pres- 
ent battle,  and  through  this  vast  stretch 
of  barren  country  British  battalions  move 
slowly  forward  to  take  part  in  the  battle 
when  their  turn  comes,  resting  a  night  or 
two  among  the  ruins  where  other  men 
who  work  always  behind  the  lines  road- 
mending,  wiring,  on  the  supply  column, 
at  ammunition  dumps,  in  casualty  clear- 
ing stations,  and  railheads  make  their 
billets  on  the  lee  side  of  the  broken  walls 
or  in  holes  dug  deep  by  the  enemy  and 
reported  safe  for  use.  Dead  horses  lie 
on  the  roadsides  or  in  great  shell  craters. 
I  passed  a  row  of  these  poor  beasts  as 
though  all  had  fallen  down  and  died  to- 
gether in  a  last  comradeship.  Dead  Ger- 
mans or  bits  of  dead  Germans  lie  in  old 
trenches,  and  a  few  days  ago  I  watched 
the  bombardment  of  Lens  close  to  the 
bones  of  a  little  Frenchman  who  had 
worn  the  red  trousers  of  the  old  army 
when  he  fought  down  the  slopes  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Lorette  to  the  outskirts  of 
Souchez.  He  seemed  like  a  man  of 
ancient  history,  and  that  red  scrap  of 
clothing  belonged  to  an  epoch  long  gone. 

May  Day  in  the  Trenches 

May  1. — May  Day  has  been  quiet  along 
the  British  front  so  far  as  infantry  ac- 
tivity was  concerned,  although  noisy 
enough  with  gunfire.  It  was  a  •  day  of 
perfect  weather,  rich  in  sunshine  under  a 
cloudless  sky,  through  which  the  British 
air  squadrons  went  away  this  morning 
flying  low,  so  that  they  were  fine  to  see, 
with  glistening  wings  and  wires.  Today 
as  well  as  yesterday  the  enemy's  chief 


targets  were  Arleux,  captured  by  the 
Canadians,  and  Guemappe,  which  fell  to 
the  Scottish  troops,  both  of  which  places 
he  tried  to  take  back  by  repeated  and 
violent  counterattacks.  He  is  still  in  a 
trench  on  the  east  side  of  Guemappe  run- 
ning down  to  a  bit  of  ruin  called  Cavalry 
Farm,  where  there  has  been  close  fight- 
ing for  several  days  since  the  great  bat- 
tle of  April  23,  when  Guemappe  was 
taken   by  the   Scots. 

Two  hundred  prisoners  were  taken  in 
that  first  forward  sweep,  when  the  kilted 
men  advanced  in  long  lines  and  went 
through  and  beyond  the  village  of  Gue- 
mappe with  loud  shouts  and  cheers.  For 
nearly  three  hours  the  Scots  were  held 
up  by  the  fire  of  German  machine  guns 
and  artillery,  and  suffered  many  casual- 
ties, but  they  fought  on,  each  little  group 
of  men  acting  with  separate  initiative, 
and  it  is  to  their  great  honor  as  soldiers 
that  they  destroyed  every  machine-gun 
post  in  front  of  them.  They  were  checked 
again  by  machine-gun  fire  from  many 
different  directions  and  from  the  ruin 
called  Cavalry  immediately  ahead  of 
them.  This  was  afterward  cleared  and 
many  Germans  lie  dead  there.  Then  be- 
tween 11  and  12  in  the  morning  the  en- 
emy developed  his  first  counterattack. 
He  massed  great  numbers  of  men  in  the 
valley  below  Guemappe,  flung  a  great 
storm  of  shell  on  to  the  village  ahd  then 
sent  forward  his  troops  to  work  around 
it.  It  was  then  that  these  Scottish  troops 
showed  their  fierce  and  stubborn  fighting 
spirit.  They  tore  rents  in  the  lines  of 
advancing  Bavarians  with  Lewis  guns 
and  rifle  and  grenade  fire,  and  the 
enemy's  losses  were  so  great  that  the 
supporting  troops  passed  over  lines  of 
dead  comrades. 

Canadians  Take  Fresnoy 
May  3. — -Another  day  of  close,  fierce, 
difficult  fighting  is  in  progress,  having 
begun  early  this  morning  in  the  darkness 
and  going  on  down  the  long  front  in  hot 
sunshine  and  dust  and  the  smoke  of  in- 
numerable shells.  At  many  points  the 
British  troops  succeeded  splendidly,  in 
spite  of  great  resistance  from  fresh  Ger- 
man regiments  and  intense  artillery  fire. 
The  most  important  gains  of  the  day 
were  in  the  direction  of  the  village  of 


410 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Cherisy,  where  ground  has  been  won  by 
the  English  battalions,  and  in  Bulleeourt, 
where  street  fighting  is  in  progress. 
This  thrust  at  the  enemy  by  Fontaine  lez 
Croiselles,  where  he  is  still  holding  out 
in  a  narrow-pointed  salient,  which  should 
be  an  utterly  unendurable  way  to 
Cherisy,  was  taken  rapidly  without  any 
serious  check,  although  there  was  savage 
machine-gun  fire.  At  Fontaine  lez 
Croiselles  the  British  troops  found  it 
very  difficult  to  get  forward,  owing  to 
the  strength  of  the  German  defenses 
south  of  the  wood  and  the  barrage  of 
heavy  shellfire. 

North  of  the  river  Scarpe  there  was 
great  fighting  around  Roeux,  Gavrelle, 
and  Oppy.  When  the  British  advanced 
they  were  met  by  masses  of  Germans, 
and  once  more  the  line  of  battle  had  an 
ebb  and  flow  and  both  sides  passed  over 
the  dead  and  wounded  in  assault  and  re- 
tirement. Four  times  the  old  windmill 
beyond  the  village  changed  hands.  Men 
were  fighting  here  as  if  these  bits  of 
brick  and  wall  were  worth  a  King's  ran- 
som or  a  world's  empire,  and  in  a  way 
they  were  worth  it,  for  the  windmill  at 
Gavrelle  is  one  point  which  will  decide 
a  battle  or  a  series  of  battles  upon  which 
the  fate  of  two  empires  is  at  stake.  # 

In  Oppy,  above  the  cathedral,  the  Ger- 
mans had  been  very  businesslike.  They 
knew  this  attack  was  coming.  It  was 
clear  that  it  must  come  to  them,  and  at 
night  they  worked  hard  to  protect  them- 
selves. They  made  machine-gun  em- 
placements not  only  in  pits  and  trenches, 
but  in  branches  of  many  trees,  and  wired 
themselves  in  with  many  twisted  strands. 
A  second  Guards  reserve,  newly  brought 
up,  held  the  village  and  wood  and  a  white 
chateau,  with  its  empty  windows  and 
broken  roofs,  and  kept  below  ground 
when  the  British  gunfire  stormed  about 
them.  So  when  the  British  attacked  in 
that  pale  darkness  of  the  night  they 
found  themselves  at  once  in  a  hail  of 
machine-gun  bullets  and  later  under  shell- 
fire  which  made  fury  about  them.  They 
penetrated  into  Oppy  Wood,  but,  owing 
to  the  massed  German  troops,  who  coun- 
terattacked fiercely,  they  did  not  go  far 
into  the  wood  or  lose  themselves  in  a  sure 
deathtrap.     They  were  withdrawn  to  the 


outskirts  of  Oppy,  so  that  the  British 
guns  could  get  at  the  enemy  and  drive 
him  below  ground  again. 

To  the  northward  the  British  stormed 
and  won  long  trenches  running  up  from 
Oppy  to  Arleux,  and,  most  necessary  for 
their  further  progress,  linking  up  with 
the  Canadians,  who  made  a  great  and 
successful  attack  upon  the  village  of 
Fresnoy,  just  south  of  Acheville.  This 
was  a  very  gallant  feat,  in  the  face  of 
many  difficulties  of  ground  and  savage 
fire.  They  completely  surrounded  the 
village  and  caught  the  garrison  in  a  trap 
from  which  they  had  no  escape.  The 
prisoners  escaped  the  British  shellfire, 
but  were  nearly  done  to  death  by  their 
own  guns.  I  saw  this  incident  this  morn- 
ing. They  had  been  put  in  an  inclosure 
next  to  the  Canadian  field  dressing  sta- 
tion, flying  the  Red  Cross  flag,  when  sud- 
denly the  German  guns  began  shelling 
the  area  with  5.9s.  They  burst  again  and 
again  during  a  half  hour  with  tremen- 
dous  crashes   and  smoke   clouds. 

Deadly   Windmill  Fight 

May  4. — I  told  yesterday  of  the  wind- 
mill at  Gavrelle  and  said  it  changed 
hands  four  times.  That  figure  has  now 
doubled  since  yesterday  morning.  Eight 
times  the  Germans  recaptured  it  and 
eight '  times  lost  it  again.  While  the 
British  hold  it  and  look  above  its  chaos 
of  timbers  and  bricks  and  sandbags  and 
rusty  wire  to  those  stretches  of  shelled 
earth  where  many  hundred  forms  lie, 
^  other  field-gray  men  are  approaching 
from  Fresnes  Woods,  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der, until  the  British  guns  tear  holes  in 
their  ranks  and  they  crumble  away  under 
the  machine-gun  bullets.  So  it  is  at  Oppy 
and  Roeux,  in  this  battleground  north  of 
the  Scarpe.  Picked  troops  have  been 
chosen  to  hold  the  villages,  and,  although 
so  far  they  have  held  them  by  counter- 
attacks in  great  strength  against  the 
British  advanced  posts,  they  suffered 
losses  which  one  cannot  reckon  but  I 
know  to  be  most  bloody  under  the  British 
bombardments. 

In  this  fighting  just  north  of  Oppy  the 

British  took   many   prisoners   yesterday. 

I  saw  the  prisoners  made  around  the 

chemical  works,  whose  bricks  are  pock- 


Former  Secretary  of  State.  Who  Heads  the  Advisory  Com- 
mission Sent  to  Russia  by  the  United  States  Government. 

(Photo  Harria  4  Swing) 


■  •••••>•■■■>•••■•«>■ 


MICHAEL  V.   RODZIANKO 


President  of  the  Russian  Duma,  a  Leader  in  the  Revolution, 
and  a  Potent  Force  in  the  Provisional  Government 

(Photo  <D  Underwood  &  Underwood) 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS  DAY  BY  DAY 


411 


marked  by  the  incessant  patter  of  bul- 
lets from  machine  guns.  There  were  a 
great  many  Poles  among  them,  speak- 
ing a  queer  patois,  and  these  men,  though 
they  fought  according  to  order,  loathe 
war  and  want  to  finish  with  it.  They 
are  tall,  lean,  swarthy  fellows,  unlike 
the  blonde,  square-shouldered  Prussians' 
brought  down  with  them  from  Roeux. 
The  Prussian  machine  gunners  stood  in 
a  separate  group  and  were  a  sturdy- 
looking  crowd,  not  very  dirty,  in  spite  of 
their  fighting,  and  looking  well  fed. 
Other  prisoners,  twenty  of  them,  came 
in  like  earthmen  or  men  buried  and  dug 
up  again,  which  was  their  actual  fate, 
although  they  did  the  digging  with  their 
own  hands.  Their  dugouts  blown  in  by 
the  British  shellfire  and  all  the  stair- 
ways and  openings  closed,  they  found 
themselves  entombed.  Horrible  enough  as 
it  happens  to  the  British,  buried  in  shell 
craters  or  trenches  with  friends  above 
to  rescue  them  quickly  if  they  have  that 
luck,  but  most  horrible  for  those  men, 
cut  off  from  the  world  in  the  battle  which 
swept  over  them.  For  two  days  they 
used  their  spades,  digging  furiously  till 
they  were  drenched  with  sweat  and  weak 
and  parched  with  thirst.  At  last  they 
broke  up  to  daylight  and  surrendered  to 
British  soldiers,  who  were  surprised  to 
see  them  rise  out  of  their  tombs. 

Some  of  the  British  wounded  lying  out 
on  these  battlefields  must  have  been 
picked  up  by  the  Germans  as  the  fight- 
ing swayed  to  and  fro,  but  here  and 
there  a  man  lay  where  he  fell  and  was 
recovered  again  by  his  comrades  in  a 
new  advance  just  as  parties  of  unwounded 
men  held  out  or  hid  until  the  British 
line  reached  them  again.  One  man  had 
been  lying  out  since  April  23.  He  was 
brought  in  yesterday.  He  was  an  officer 
who  had  been  hit  in  the  stomach  by  a 
piece  of  shell  and  lay  in  a  crater  for  five 
days,  unconscious  for  a  time  and  suffer- 
ing in  his  conscious  hours  the  agony  of 
thirst,  which  is  the  greatest  torture  of 
all. 

End  of  Fourth  Week 

May  7. — The  battle  of  Arras  has  now 
lasted  for  a  month,  with  successive 
shocks  of  attack  and  counterattack,  and 


for  both  sides  the  struggle  has  been  a 
fiery  ordeal,  in  which  a  great  sum  of 
human  life  has  been  burned  and  blasted. 
On  the  great  day  of  April  9  the  British 
losses  were  very  light,  as  losses  must  be 
counted  nowadays,  and  in  comparison 
with  the  great  gains.  The  enemy  losses 
on  that  day  were  huge  in  prisoners,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  in  guns,  and  in  all 
material  of  war.  Since  then,  after  hours 
and  even  days  of  panic  lest  the  British 
tide  of  men  should  break  all  barriers  and 
overwhelm  his  Hindenburg  line,  the 
enemy  has  been  able  to  rally,  to  rush  up 
great  reserves,  and  to  replace  his  cap- 
tured and  battered  guns  by  many  new 
batteries.  That  has  saved  the  Hinden- 
burg line  for  a  time  at  least,  but  has  not 
reduced  his  daiy  toil  of  life  and  limb, 
for  he  has  only  been  able  to  defend  him- 
self by  counterattacking,  and,  although 
that  is  the  best  means  of  defense,  accord- 
ing to  the  German  textbooks,  it  has 
proved  to  be  frightful  in  cost  for  the 
German  soldiers.  They  succeeded  in 
flinging  back  the  British  here  and  there 
by  sheer  weight  of  numbers  when,  after 
hard  days'  fighting,  they  lie  exhausted 
in  their  advanced  positions,  but  every 
time  they  have  been  swept  by  machine- 
gun  fire  and  shrapnel,  so  that  they  have 
fallen  in  great  numbers.  To  pretend  that 
the  British  escaped  scot  free  would  be  a 
silly  lie.  The  casualty  lists  tell  how 
many  the  British  have  lost. 

In  the  battle  of  Arras  there  was  in- 
dividual courage,  incredible  almost  in 
human  nature,  but  what  to  me  is  more 
amazing  is  the  general  stolidity  of  all 
of  them — this  common  valor  of  shop 
boys  and  cooks  and  farmers'  lads  and 
factory  hands.  To  say  they  are  always 
without  fear  would  be  ridiculous.  They 
are  often  very  much  afraid,  as  all  men 
must  be  when  high  explosives  come  out 
of  the  blue  skies  with  frightful  noises 
for  abominable  slaughter,  but  these  lads 
are  by  some  magic,  which  is  in  expe- 
rience, steeled  against  ordinary  appre- 
hensiveness  and  against  imaginative 
terror.  A  few  days  ago  near  Oppy  I 
passed  a  group  who  had  just  been 
knocked  out  by  a  shell.  It  was  a  sight 
to  turn  one  sick  and  cold,  but  a  company 


412 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


of  boys  came  along  on  the  way  to  the 
front  line,  where  other  shells  were  fall- 
ing, and  they  paid  very  little  heed  to 
this  group  of  men. 

Night  Scenes  at  Lens 

May  8. — Last  night  and  after  daylight 
this  morning  the  enemy's  gunfire  was 
very  heavy  southward  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Loos  and  Lens,  and  he  launched 
a  violent  counterattack  against  the 
British  line  north  of  Fresnoy,  captured  a 
few  days  ago  by  the  Canadians.  Further 
south  still,  at  Bullecourt,  the  Scots  are 
fighting  at  close  quarters,  mainly  with 
bombs,  routing  the  enemy  down  trenches 
and  out  of  the  village,  regained  for  a 
while  in  the  backward  and  forward  drives 
of  this  fierce  struggle  westward  of 
Queant,  where  the  Hindenburg  line  is 
most  closely  menaced.  Elsewhere  in  the 
northern  lines  it  was  a  night  of  small 
raids  on  both  sides,  and  along  all  the 
front  a  night  of  great  artillery.  I 
watched  this  battle  of  guns  from  the 
old  trenches  looking  across  to  Lens  and 
giving  a  wide  sweep  of  the  battle  front 
from  the  field  of  Loos  to  the  ground 
below  the  sloping  shoulder  of  Vimy 
Ridge. 

This  ground  was  the  storm  centre  of 
the  world's  war  last  night  just  after 
dark,  and  before  the  coming  of  the  moon 
lights  rose  from  the  German  lines.  The 
old  devil  was  lighting  his  tapers  round 
the  witches'  caldrons  of  fire.  These 
rockets  rose  high,  flung  up  like  jugglers' 
balls,  then  falling  slowly  and  going  out. 
Some  of  them  burned  for  a  minute  or 
more  and  the  woods  and  trenches  beneath 
them  were  illuminated  with  sharp  white 
lights.  One  remained  hanging  high  over 
Lens  for  more  than  five  minutes  like  a 
great  star.  All  through  the  night  the 
battle  of  the  guns  went  on  and  the  sky 
was  filled  with  the  rush  of  the  shells 
and  the  moon  veiled  his  face  from  this 
horror  which  made  hell  on  earth.  But  in 
a  little  wood  a  nightingale  sang  all 
through  the  night.  * 

Germans    Recapture   Fresnoy 
May.  9.— The  night  bombardment  I  de- 
scribed yesterday  was  the  preliminary  of 
a    strong    morning    attack    against    the 


British  position  in  and  around  Fresnoy. 
Upon  this  village  and  the  neighboring 
ground  the  enemy  concentrated  every- 
thing he  has  in  artillery  which  can  be 
directed  on  this  sector  of  the  front,  and, 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  high  explos- 
ives and  shrapnel,  he  flung  a  storm  of 
gas  shells  wherever  he  thought  the  Brit- 
ish had  battery  positions.  Fresnoy  itself 
had  been  a  difficult  place  to  hold  since 
the  Canadians  took  it  so  gallantly  on 
May  3.  Having  Acheville  to  the  north  of 
it  and  Oppy  to  the  south,  it  jutted  like 
a  square-walled  bastion  with  exposed 
sides,  along  which  at  the  time  of  capture 
the  Canadians  had  to  form  defensive 
flanks.  The  enemy  had  marked  it  down 
for  attack,  and  for  several  days  made 
strong  counterthrusts  on  each  side  of  it 
in  order  to  prevent  British  troops  getting 
forward  to  straighten  out  the  line.  Eng- 
lish troops  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
German  concentrated  fury.  The  German 
Army  Corps  Staff  evidently  decided  to 
attack  with  the  greatest  strength  possible 
on  a  narrow  front,  which  was  already 
held  by  their  best  troops.  For  a  time  that 
village  is  lost,  but  one  day  sooner  or  later 
the  British  will  take  it  back.  These  men 
do  not  reckon  cost,  even  though  it  is  their 
own  life  that  pays. 

Australians  at  Bullecourt 

May  13. — While  the  British  were  fight- 
ing north  and  south  of  the  Scarpe  an 
attack  was  made  yesterday  morning  by 
the  English  and  Scots  at  Bullecourt, 
supported  by  the  Australians  on  their 
flank.  The  English  and  Scottish  troops 
advanced  from  the  south  and  west  and 
drove  forward  through  the  village,  estab- 
lishing themselves  first  on  the  road 
which  runs  through  the  centre  of  the 
ruins  and  then  going  forward  again  to  a 
line  at  the  extreme  north  of  the  village, 
from  which  they  have  pushed  out  posts. 
The  place  is  a  rabbit  warren  of  tunnels, 
in  which  there  may  still  be  Germans 
holding  out,  cut  off  from  all  chance  of 
escape.  When  the  British  got  through, 
the  enemy  seemed  to  run  up  these  tun- 
nels, hoping  to  get  away  to  Riencourt, 
but  by  this  time  the  Australians  had  just 
come  up  and  captured  a  crowd  of  them 
numbering    two    officers    and    over    180 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ARRAS  DAY  BY  DAY 


413 


men,  bayonetting  a  number  who  refused 
to  surrender  and  fought  like  tigers. 

The  history  of  this  fighting  at  Bulle- 
court  is,  however,  inseparably  bound  up 
with  the  Australian  troops  who  broke 
through  the  Hindenburg  line  to  the  right 
of  this  village  and  held  on  to  their  posi- 
tions with  amazing  and  splendid  courage, 
although  they  were  utterly  exposed  on 
their  left  and  subjected  to  at  least  a 
dozen  counterattacks  in  considerable  force, 
preceded  and  followed  by  severe  shelling. 

All  Australian  officers  pay  high  and 
touching  tribute  to  the  work  of  their 
stretcher  bearers,  who  were  superb  in 
courage  and  self-sacrifice.  I  have  seen 
the  ground  they  had  to  cross  and  I  know 
the  evil  and  peril  of  it,  but  they  went 
forward  with  the  infantry  and  day  after 
day  crossed  this  country  in  the  open  with 
their  heavy  burdens,  never  stopping  to 
glance  at  the  bursting  shells  on  either 
side  of  them,  regardless  of  their  own 
lives  so  that  they  could  save  their  com- 
rades. Unfortunately,  the  enemy  did  not 
respect  ambulances,  although  they  could 
clearly  see  the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross,  but 
sniped  them  continually  with  shells  and 
shrapnel  bullets,  as  well  as  stretcher 
parties  which  had  more  faith  in  German 
chivalry  and  for  that  reason  walked  de- 
liberately in  the  open,  so  that  they  could 
not  be  mistaken.  The  percentage  of  mor- 
tality among  these  men  is  rather  higher 
than  that  of  the  infantry  themselves. 

Heroic  Incidents  at  Roeux 

May  15. — The  account  I  have  already 
given  of  the  way  in  which  Roeux  was 
taken  a  few  nights  ago  left  out  some 
episodes  which  should  be  told  and  re- 
membered, for  the  winning  of  this  place 
was  the  result  of  many  weeks'  most  fierce 
and  tragic  fighting. 

After  dusk  some  British  lost  their  way 
from  the  cemetery  and  wandered  off  the 
track  into  the  ruined  streets  of  Roeux. 
There  were  some  Irishmen  among  them, 
bold  and  reckless  fellows  who  are  very 
quick  to  do  the  right  things  in  a  tight 
corner  when,  as  they  say,  they  are  on 
their  own.  They  searched  some  dugouts 
and  hauled  out,  by  good  luck,  a  group 
of  staff  officers  belonging  to  the  362d 
Regiment  and  a  doctor. 


The  doctor  found  his  position  rather 
obscure.  He  remained  in  his  dugout 
for  some  time,  attending  British  wounded 
brought  down  to  him,  and,  according  to 
these  men,  labeled  them  for  Berlin.  It 
was  quite  a  time  before  he  realized  that 
his  patients  were  not  German  prisoners, 
but  that  he  was  a  British  prisoner. 

May  16. — The  enemy  is  still  making 
violent  efforts  to  gain  back  Roeux  and 
the  part  which  he  recently  lost  of  Bulle- 
court,  two  places  where  for  four  weeks 
men  fought  on  both  sides  in  a  daily 
struggle  so  deadly  that  the  ground  there- 
about is  heaped  with  bodies. 

Yesterday,  as  I  wrote,  all  Roeux  was 
in  British  hands — the  chemical  works  be- 
yond the  station,  where  many  prisoners 
were  taken;  the  chateau,  with  its  great 
dugouts  and  machine-gun  emplacements; 
the  cemetery  from  which  a -great  tunnel 
runs  westward  to  Mount  Pleasant  Wood, 
and  the  village  of  Roeux  itself.  The 
British  established  machine-gun  posts 
in  the  edge  of  the  old  German  emplace- 
ments, dug  defensive  trenches,  and 
cleaned  out  the  dugouts  in  which  dead 
Germans  lay.  There  can  hardly  have 
been  a  patch  of  ground  between  the  shell 
craters  and  the  rubbish  heap  of  the 
houses  and  barns  on  which  there  was 
not  a  German  corpse.  Among  them  lay 
men  of  the  British  Army.  Some  day, 
when  the  nightmare  of  this  war  has 
passed  and  the  enemy  has  gone  back 
to  his  own  place,  some  of  the  men  now 
fighting  will  come  to  Roeux  as  to  a 
sepulchre  where  the  dust  of  heroes  lies; 
for  all  this  place  is  a  graveyard,  although 
no  dead  lie  quiet  there  yet.  Living  men 
are  fighting  there  again  amid  all  that 
mortality.  Today's  fighting  here  began 
this  story  of  blood  all  over  again;  it  piled 
new  dead  on  the  old  dead;  it  refilled  the 
cup  of  agony  which  has  overflowed 
around  these  heaps  of  brickwork  and 
tattered  timbers. 

While  the  artillery  protects  the 
enemy's  present  line  he  is  digging  hard 
behind  in  order  to  safeguard  any  further 
retreat  that  may  be  forced  upon  him. 
Now  that  the  old  Hindenburg  line  is 
breached  both  at  Bullecourt  and   Wan- 


414 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


court  up  north  he  is  trying  to  strengthen 
his  new  line  of  defense  running  down 
through  Montigny,  Drocourt,  and  Queant. 
To  fall  back  on  that  would  mean  the 
abandonment  of  Lens  and  of  the  Oppy- 
Mericourt  line  and  the  ground  about 
Fontaine  lez  Croiselles,  and  Cherisy, 
which  is  gravely  menaced.    His  industry 


on  this  back  line  is  helped  by  forced 
labor  and  there  is  evidence  that  he  is 
employing  British  prisoners  of  war  under 
British  shellfire  on  this  work. 

May  17. — The  British  troops  today 
completed  the  capture  of  the  village  of 
Bullecourt,  for  which  they  have  been 
fighting  since  May  3. 


French  Offensive  On  the  Aisne 

From  April  16  to  May  17,  1917 

[See   Map   on   Page   422] 


ANEW  battle  of  the  Aisne  has  been 
in  progress  since  April  16,  when 
General  Nivelle,  the  French  Com- 
mander in  Chief,  launched  a  great  of- 
fensive on  a  front  of  twenty-five  miles 
between  Soissons  and  Rheims.  This  was 
on  the  line  to  which  the  Germans  fell 
back  after  the  battle  of  the  Marne  and 
from  which  the  Allies  had  been  unable 
to  drive  them. 

In  expectation  of  a  strong  offensive  in 
this  region,  the  enemy  had  massed  large 
numbers  of  men  and  many  guns,  the 
intense  bombardment  of  the  previous  ten 
days  having  given  them  ample  warning 
that  the  French  were  preparing  an  at- 
tack. The  Germans  fought  with  great 
desperation  along  the  whole  front,  realiz- 
ing that  a  successful  French  advance 
would  isolate  the  important  city  of  Laon, 
upon  which  the  Hindenburg  line  depends, 
but,  according  to  General  Nivelle's  re- 
port at  the  end  of  the  first  day's  fight- 
ing, "  everywhere  the  valor  of  our  troops 
overcame  the  energetic  defense  of  our 
adversary." 

The  German  first-line  positions  along 
the  entire  front  were  captured,  and  at 
some  places  the  second  line  also.  Over 
10,000  prisoners  were  taken,  as  well  as 
a  large  quantity  of  war  material.  On 
the  two  succeeding  days  the  offensive 
was  continued  with  unabated  vigor.  By 
the  end  of  the  third  day  the  total  num- 
ber of  prisoners  taken  was  17,000,  with 
75  guns.  In  many  places  the  Germans 
were  forced  to  fall  back  in  disorder.  The 
French  gained  several  important  posi- 
tions, including  the  villages  of  Chavonne, 


Chivy,  Ostel,  and  Braye-en-Laonnois. 
Further  to  the  west,  where  the  old 
German  line  stood  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Aisne,  the  French  delivered  another 
attack,  no  less  successful.  The  impor- 
tant town  of  Vailly  was  captured  in  its 
entirety,  while  a  powerfully  organized 
bridgehead  between  Vailly  and  Conde- 
sur- Aisne  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
attackers.  At  the  same  time  the  French 
struck  a  strong  blow  against  the  west- 
ern leg  of  the  German  salient,  which  has 
its  apex  at  Fort  Conde  on  the  Aisne,  cap- 
turing the  village  of  Nanteuil-le-Fosse. 
East  of  Craonne,  in  the  forest  of  La  Ville- 
au-Bois,  the  French  surrounded  a  body 
of  1,300  Germans,  who  threw  down  their 
arms.  Further  to  the  east,  where  the 
French  in  their  first  onslaught  captured 
the  German  second-line  positions,  the 
Germans  delivered  a  counterattack,  em- 
ploying two  divisions,  or  about  40,000 
men.  The  attackers  met  a  hail  of  ar- 
tillery and  machine-gun  fire,  and  suf- 
fered heavy  losses.  At  no  point  were 
they  able  to  reach  the  French  lines. 
Twenty-four  guns  and  three  large  can- 
non with  their  shell  depots  were  captured 
by  the  French  in  this  region  during  the 
day's  fighting,  the  guns  being  immedi- 
ately turned  against  the  enemy. 

South  of  St.  Quentin  the  Germans 
made  two  strong  counterattacks.  The 
first  one  failed  completely,  the  second 
had  only  momentary  success,  as  a  French 
attack  immediately  afterward  retook  all 
positions,  capturing  or  killing  all  the 
enemy  who  had  penetrated  the  line. 

To  stem  the  French  advance,  Hinden- 


FRENCH  OFFENSIVE  ON  THE  AJSNE 


415 


burg  threw  twelve  new  German  divi- 
sions, approximately  240,000  men,  into 
the  lines  on  the  night  of  April  18,  but 
next  day  the  French  pushed  further 
ahead.  The  most  desperate  attempt 
made  by  the  Germans  on  April  19  was 
between  Juvincourt  and  Berry-au-Bac, 
the  weakest  point  on  the  line.  Here  30,- 
000  of  the  best  German  troops  were 
hurled  forward  in  a  furious  counterat- 
tack, but  were  beaten  off  with  heavy 
losses.  The  most  important  French  gains 
were  made  at  two  widely  separated 
points — at  the  angle  of  the  new  front 
east  of  Soissons  and  north  of  Vailly, 
where  a  sharp  salient  was  developed,  and 
just  northwest  of  Auberive,  in  the  Cham- 
pagne, where  the  town  of  Moronvillers 
was  threatened  with  capture. 

Following  up  these  successes  in  squeez- 
ing out  the  German  salient,  which  had 
its  point  at  Fort  Conde,  on  the  Oise,  the 
French  continued  to  press  back  the  enemy 
in  this  sector  on  April  20  toward  the 
Chemin  des  Dames,  the  road  running 
along  the  crest  of  the  heights  north  of 
the  river.  General  Nivelle's  troops  occu- 
pied the  village  of  Sancy,  between  Aizy 
and  Nanteuil.  They  also  made  apprecia- 
ble progress  east  of  Laffaux.  Imme- 
diately in  front  of  the  French  in  this 
sector  is  the  fort  of  Malmaison,  standing 
on  a  range  of  high  hills  and  protecting 
the  high  road  from  Soissons  to  Laon. 
West  of  Craonne  the  Germans  launched 
a  heavy  attack  in  the  region  of  Ailles 
and  Hurtebise  Farm,  employing  large 
forces  of  troops.  They  met  a  withering 
fire  from  the  French  artillery  and  ma- 
chine guns  and  fell  back  in  disorder.  In 
Champagne  the  French  also  made  prog- 
ress, capturing  several  important  points 
of  support  in  Moronvillers  Wood.  Here, 
also,  the  Germans  attempted  strong 
counterattacks,  but  without  result. 

On  April  22  and  23  the  Germans  con- 
cent rat ed*  their  energies  to  capture  Mont 
Haut,  the  dominating  position  in  West- 
ern Champagne,  but  without  result. 
Meanwhile  the  French  gained  more 
ground  at  the  western  end  of  the  Sois- 
sons-Rheims  front.  South  of  St.  Quen- 
tin  the  artillery  duel  which  had  been  in 
progress  several  days  continued  with 
vigor.     April  25  was  notable  for  strong 


German  attacks  on  the  French  positions 
at  Hurtebise  Farm,  north  of  the  Chemin 
des  Dames,  but  the  advantage  remained 
with  the  French,  who  on  April  27  gained 
further  ground. 

There  was  now  some  diminution  of  the 
intensity  of  the  fighting.  The  French 
were  in  possession  of  the  chief  heights  of 
Moronvillers.  On  April  30  they  began 
another  offensive  on  the  left  of  the  pre- 
vious advance  in  Western  Champagne. 
The  fighting  was  particularly  severe  on 
the  north  slopes  of  Mont  Haut,  to  the 
northeast  of  which  the  French  pushed  a 
salient  reaching  the  approaches  to  the 
Nauroy  -  Moronvillers  road.  Artillery 
fighting  of  considerable  violence  contin- 
ued along  the  Chemin  des  Dames,  north 
of  the  Aisne,  and  in  the  region  northwest 
of  Rheims.  By  May  1  the  French  had 
taken  well  over  21,000  prisoners  since  the 
opening  of  the  drive  on  April  16. 
Scenes  of  Awful  Combat 

"  One  of  the  most  awful  parts  of  the 
battle  line  in  France,"  wrote  G.  H.  Perris, 
The  London  Daily  Chronicle  correspond- 
ent with  the  French  Army,  on  May  14, 
"  is  the  Chemin  des  Dames  and  the  neigh- 
boring points  of  the  Aisne  heights,  where 
mutual  bombardments  never  cease  and 
infantry  fighting  goes  on  continuously. 
Before  a  resistance  of  unprecedented 
obstinacy  the  French  have  slowly  made 
good  and  slightly  extended  their  hold 
upon  the  ridge,  and  every  day  makes  its 
commanding  views  more  useful  to  them. 
I  suppose  that  in  the  whole  extent  of  the 
war  there  could  hardly  be  found  a  natural 
stronghold  put  to  better  defensive  use 
than  this  has  been.  From  the  outset  the 
German  armies  have  been  richly  provided 
with  machine  guns.  They  are  now  em- 
ployed upon  a  larger  scale  than  ever,  and 
in  this  rugged  ground,  with  its  ravines, 
cliffs,  woods,  and  stone  villages,  they  are 
peculiarly  formidable.  The  chalk  slopes 
are  honeycombed  with  caverns  and  grot- 
toes, natural  and  artificial,  which  the 
German  engineers  had  furnished,  en- 
larged and  connected  by  tunnels.  Here 
they  awaited  the  end  of  the  bombard- 
ment in  comparative  immunity,  while  the 
French  had  to  approach  from  a  valley  300 
feet  below  by  trenches  that  were  nearly 
everywhere  overlooked. 


416 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


"  It  is  true  that  when  the  barbed  wire 
was  completely  broken  and  the  chas- 
seurs, zouaves,  Moroccans,  and  other 
troops  of  assault  were  able  to  dash  over 
No  Man's  Land,  the  caves  proved  to  be 
traps  and  yielded  up  several  thousands 
of  prisoners.  On  the  crest  the  Germans 
had  pierced  a  number  of  tunnels  through 
the  chalk  from  the  front  to  the  back 
slopes  of  the  hills.  Sometimes,  as  above 
Chivy,  they  let  the  wave  of  the  assault 
pass  and  then  fired  upon  the  French 
from  behind.  Sometimes  there  were 
bloody  combats  in  the  entries  of  these 
warrens  and  the  tenants  were  shot  down 
as  they  came  out.  There  was  at  the  head 
of  the  Chivy  ravine  a  wide  hole  in  the 
earth  down  which  the  Moroccans  threw 
some  grenades  and  then  passed  on.  It 
turned  out  to  be  the  entrance  to  a  great 
tunnel  which  led  by  no  fewer  than  112 
steps  to  another  entrance  on  the  back  of 
the  hillside.  Apparently  against  the 
eventuality  of  assault  the  tunnel  had 
been  mined  with  five  large  charges.  The 
grenades  filled  the  place  with  smoke 
and  threw  the  occupants  into  panic. 
Fearing  that  they  would  be  blown  up 
with  their  own  explosives,  they  bolted 
upstairs  to  the  back  door,  but  by  that 
time  the  Moroccans  had  discovered  the 
second  entry,  and  here  they  collected 
200  frightened  Boches  as  they  emerged. 

"  Generally  the  German  resistance 
was  brave  and  determined.  In  one  day 
near  Cerny  counterattacks  were  launched 
only  to  break  like  spume  upon  the  ex- 
temporized French  positions.  They  be- 
came daily  stronger,  but  still  thousands 
of  graycoats  were  sent  to  the  assault.  In 
their  attempts  to  recover  the  Cerny 
sugar  factory  (a  heap  of  ruins,  of  course) 
they  started  from  some  specially  wide 
communication  trenches  up  which  col- 
umns of  grenadiers  came  four  abreast. 
As  soon  as  four  were  shot  down  another 
line  stepped  forward.  Thousands  and 
thousands  of  bombs  were  thrown,  but  the 
French  mitrailleuses  cduld  not  be 
passed." 

The  Capture  of  Craonne 

The  village  of  Craonne,  several  forti- 
fied points  north  and  east  of  the  village, 
and  the  German  first-line  positions  on  a 
front  of  two  and  a  half  miles  northwest 


of  Rheims  were  captured  by  the  French 
on  May  4.  Craonne,  about  nine  miles 
southeast  of  Laon,  stands  upon  an  iso- 
lated height  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
Chemin  des  Dames.  It  not  only  protects 
the  entire  plateau  north  of  the  Aisne, 
but  defends  also  the  lowlands  between 
this  height  and  Neufchatel.  The  Ger- 
mans had  been  intrenched  in  this  posi- 
tion since  the  first  battle  of  the  Aisne, 
and  many  French  attacks  had  broken 
against  the  cliffs  on  which  the  village 
stands.  Its  capture  by  the  French  gave 
them  an  open  road  up  the  valley  of  the 
Miette,  where  more  than  two  weeks  pre- 
viously they  captured  the  enemy's  second 
line  south  of  Juvincourt.  An  advance 
up  this  corridor  would  outflank  the  en- 
tire German  position  depending  on  Laon 
as  a  centre.  Such  an  advance  would  have 
been  a  hazardous  operation  so  long  as 
the  Germans  clung  to  Craonne.  The  cor- 
ridor is  protected  on  the  east  by  the 
heights  of  Brimont. 

Another  brilliant  victory  was  gained 
by  the  French  on  May  5  on  the  front 
north  of  the  Aisne  River  at  both  ends 
of  the  Chemin  des  Dames.  Over  4,300 
prisoners  were  taken.  On  both  sides  of 
the  Soissons-Laon  road  the  French  car- 
ried a  salient  in  the  Hindenburg  line 
over  a  front  of  nearly  four  miles,  ex- 
tending from  the  Moisy  farm  (southeast 
of  Vauxaillon)  to  a  point  north  of  Sancy, 
including  the  Laffaux  Mill,  which  stands 
on  a  height  at  the  intersection  of  the 
Soissons-Laon  road  with  that  running 
north  to  La  Fere.  The  French  line  north 
of  Nanteuil  la  Fosse  and  Sancy  was 
pushed  forward  to  the  immediate  vicini- 
ty of  the  Soissons  road. 

At  the  eastern  end  of  the  Chemin  des 
Dames  the  French  not  only  repulsed  all 
German  counterattacks,  but  cleared  the 
entire  plateau  from  east  of  the  Cerny  en 
Laonnois  to  a  point  east  of  Craonne,  and 
pushed  forward  to  the  hills  which  domi- 
nate the  valley  of  the  Aillette  River, 
south  of  Ailles,  and  the  Vanclerc  Forest. 
The  Germans  counterattacked  more  vio- 
lently than  at  any  time  since  the  offen- 
sive began,  throwing  fresh  troops  into  the 
battle  at  threatened  points  in  fierce  ef- 
forts to  regain  their  lost  positions.  The 
fighting   was    especially    prolonged    and 


FRENCH  OFFENSIVE  ON  THE  AISNE 


417 


violent  around  Craonne,  where  the 
French  took  prisoners  from  two  fresh 
German  divisions  and  maintained  all 
their  gains.  The  obstacles  confronting 
the  French  armies  were  in  many  cases 
natural,  and,  it  would  seem,  insurmount- 
able, and  the  French  accomplished  mag- 
nificent exploits  in  scaling  them  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy,  who  had  accumulated 
divisions  and  batteries. 

Fighting  Near  Rheims 

There  was  no  diminution  in  the  heavy 
German  onslaughts  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Rheims,  where  the  German  positions 
between  Beine  and  Sapigneul  form  a 
pronounced  salient,  which  includes  Fort 
Brimont  and  Forts  Witry,  Berru,  and 
Nogent.  After  three  days'  more  fighting 
the  French  gained  further  successes, 
capturing  first-line  trenches  over  a  front 
of  three-quarters  of  a  mile  northeast  of 
Chevreux,  near  Craonne,  and  also  a 
minor  position  northwest  of  Rheims. 

In  a  determined  effort  to  secure  the 
initiative,  the  Germans  on  May  16  deliv- 
ered a  powerful  attack  on  a  front  of  two 
and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Soissons, 
attempting  to  break  through  the  French 
lines   north   and   northwest   of    Laffaux 


Mill,  where  the  French  seriously  threat- 
ened the  whole  German  position  as  far 
north  as  La  Fere.  So  huge  were  the 
masses  of  troops  thrown  by  the  Germans 
against  the  French  lines  that  at  several 
points  the  French  were  driven  back  by 
sheer  force  of  numbers,  but  counterat- 
tacks immediately  organized  enabled 
them  to  regain  the  lost  ground. 

On  May  17  the  German  counterattacks 
still  continued  with  extraordinary  in- 
sistence, especially  on  the  Chemin  des 
Dames.  A  correspondent  on  that  day 
summed  up  the  situation  in  these  words: 
"To  the  north  of  Laffaux  village  and  the 
neighboring  crossroads  in  particular  the 
battle  has  gone  on  practically  without 
intermission  for  a  month.  This  district 
of  sharp  hills,  wooded  ravines,  and  lime- 
stone caverns  is  the  corner  at  which  the 
Siegfried  line  turns  eastward.  The 
French  advance  was  desperately  opposed 
from  the  first,  and  it  has  been  possible 
to  extend  it  only  slightly,  but  the  chief 
end  has  been  very  fully  attained.  The 
tide  of  the  German  assault  swells  up, 
splashes  over  a  piece  of  trench  here  or 
there,  is  broken,  and  in  its  ebb  leaves 
terrible  human  wreckage  to  mark  one 
more  failure." 


The  Famous  Fight  for  Vimy  Ridge 


The  story  of  the  remarkable  capture  of 
Vimy  Ridge  by  the  Canadians,  one  of  the 
outstanding  episodes  of  the  British  offen- 
sive in  France  in  April,  1917,  is  officially 
related  as  follows  by  the  Canadian  War 
Records  Office: 

A  GAIN  the  Canadians  have  "  acquired 
/\  merit."  In  the  capture  of  Vimy 
jL  JL  Ridge  on  April  9,  as  in  the 
lesser  action  of  Courcelette  in 
September  of  last  year,  they  have  shown 
the  same  high  qualities  in  victorious  ad- 
vance as  they  displayed  in  early  days  in 
desperate  resistance  on  many  stricken 
fields.  At  half -past  5  on  Easter  Monday 
morning  the  great  attack  was  launched 
with  terrible  fire  from  our  massed  artil- 
lery and  from  many  field  guns  in  hidden 
advanced  positions.    Our  "  heavies  "  bom- 


barded the  enemy  positions  on  and  be- 
yond the  ridge,  and  trenches,  dugouts, 
emplacements,  and  roads,  which  for  long 
had  been  kept  in  a  continual  state  of  dis- 
repair by  our  fire,  were  now  smashed  to 
uselessness.  An  intense  barrage  of 
shrapnel  from  our  field  guns,  strength- 
ened by  the  indirect  fire  of  hundreds  of 
machine  guns,  was  laid  along  the  front. 
At  the  same  moment  the  Canadian 
troops  advanced  in  line,  in  three  waves 
of  attack.  Flurries  of  snow  drifted  over 
the  battlefield  as  the  Canadians  left 
their  jumping-off  trenches  behind  the 
rolling  barrage.  The  light  was  sufficient 
for  manoeuvring  purposes  and  yet  obscure 
enough  to  obstruct  the  range  of  vision 
and  lessen  the  accuracy  of  fire  of  the 
German  riflemen  and  machine-gunners. 


418 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  troops  on  the  extreme  left  made  a 
start  under  conditions  as  favorable  as 
those  in  the  centre  and  right,  but  they 
were  soon  confronted  by  a  strong  and 
constantly  strengthening  opposition.  The 
advance  of  these  troops  was  soon  checked 
between  its  first  and  second  lines  of  ob- 
jectives by  heavy  fighting,  which  was 
more  formidable  against  the  centre  of  the 
line  than  against  the  flanks. 

A  dip  in  the  ground  caused  a  change  of 
direction,  which  swung  these  troops  off 
their  central  objectives.  They  reached 
their  goals  on  the  flanks,  only  to  find 
themselves  subjected  to  heavy,  close- 
range  fire  of  machine  guns  and  rifles. 
To  be  enfiladed  from  the  centre  and  the 
north  was  bad  enough,  but  to  add  to  the 
situation,  caves,  or  a  tunnel,  in  the  hostile 
line  over  which  we  had  already  advanced 
now  disgorged  Germans,  who  promptly 
reoccupied  their  old  front  and  opened  fire 
on  our  rear.  The  enemy  at  these  points 
fought  with  unusual  vigor  and  resolu- 
tion. , 

These  troops  on  the  extreme  left 
fought  all  day  against  the  Huns,  and  by 
10  o'clock  at  night  succeeded  in  dispos- 
ing of  the  enemy  in  their  rear  and  cap- 
turing the  major  portion  of  the  enemy 
trenches  in  their  centre.  "  The  Pimple," 
in  the  north,  still  remained  to  the  enemy, 
but  by  then  snow  was  falling  heavily 
and  it  was  wisely  decided  to  consolidate 
the  hard-won  gains  and  prepare  for  a 
counterattack  rather  than  to  undertake 
a  further  assault  that  night.  "  The 
Pimple  "  would  keep  for  the  morrow. 

In  the  meantime  the  other  troops 
fought  forward  to  one  line  after  another 
without  serious  check,  but  with  many 
brisk  encounters  and  not  without  casual- 
ties. Most  of  these  were  the  result  of 
shrapnel  fire,  only  a  small  percentage 
were  fatal,  and  the  majority  of  the 
wounds  were  of  a  minor  character. 

On  the  German  second  line  the  troops 
drew  breath  and  consolidated  their  gains. 
Our  barrage  was  laid  before  them  steady 
as  a  wall.  Fresh  troops  came  up  and  de- 
ployed into  position.  They  waited  for 
the  barrage  to  lift  at  the  ordained  min- 
ute and  lead  them  on.  The  enemy's  ar- 
tillery   fire — their    counterbarrage    and 


bombardment  of  our  gun  positions — was 
not  strong  as  strength  in  such  things  is 
considered  today.  Prisoners  were  al- 
ready hurrying  to  our  rear  in  hundreds, 
pathetically  and  often  ludicrously  grate- 
ful to  the  fortunes  of  war  that  had 
saved  them  alive  for  capture.  They  sur- 
rendered promptly  and  willingly. 

The  barrage  lifted,  and  the  two  divis- 
ions on  the  right  followed  it  forward  to 
the  German  third  line.  Here  again  they 
paused  for  a  time,  then  advanced  again, 
behind  the  ever-ready  and  unslackening 
barrage,  for  a  distance  of  about  1,200 
yards.  This  advance  included  the  capt- 
ure of  several  villages,  Hill  140,  a  num- 
ber of  fortified  woods,  and  several 
trenches  and  belts  of  wire.  And  still 
the  enemy  surrendered  by  hundreds  and 
scuttled  rearward  to  safety.  Their  re- 
sistance grew  feebler,  their  hands  more 
eager  to  relinquish  their  weapons  and 
ascend  high  above  their  heads,  at  each 
stage  of  our  advance. 

At  10  o'clock  snow  fell  heavily  from 
black  clouds  sweeping  low  across  the 
ridge.  Half  an  hour  later  the  snow 
ceased,  the  clouds  thinned,  and  the  sun 
shone  fitfully  over  the  shattered  and 
clamorous  battlefield.  Word  was  re- 
ceived at  the  advanced  headquarters  that 
the  British  division  on  our  immediate 
right  was  enjoying  a  degree  of  success 
in  its  operations  equal  to  the  Canadian 
success. 

Events  continued  to  develop  with  ra- 
pidity and  precision.  By  1  o'clock  every 
point  in  the  enemy's  third  line  of  our  ob- 
jectives had  been  reached  and  secured. 
By  this  time  the  troops  on  the  right  had 
consolidated  their  gains  and  advanced 
strong  patrols.  From  their  new  positions 
they  commanded  a  wide  view  of  enemy 
territory  to  the  eastward.  They  reported 
a  massing  of  Germans  on  a  road  in  the 
new  field  of  vision,  and  our  heavy  guns 
immediately  dealt  with  the  matter.  By 
noon  one  of  the  battalions  of  a  division 
had  received  and  dealt  drastically  with 
three  counterattacks.  Its  front  remained 
unshaken.  Shortly  after  this  the  Cana- 
dian Corps  was  able  to  state  that  the 
prisoners  already  to  hand  numbered  three 
battalion  commanders,  15  other  officers, 
and   more   than    2,000    noncommissioned 


THE  FAMOUS  FIGHT  FOR  VIMY  RIDGE 


419 


officers  and  men — with  plenty  more  in 
sight — making  for  our  "  cages  "  as  fast 
as  their  legs  could  carry  them. 

The  final  stage  of  the  attack  of  the 
troops  on  the  right  was  now  made.  They 
passed  through  the  wide  belts  of  enemy 
wire  which  fringed  the  plateau  by  way 
of  wide  gaps  torn  by  our  heavy  artillery 
at  fixed  intervals.  So  they  issued  on  the 
eastern  slopes  of  Vimy  Ridge — the  first 
allied  troops  to  look  down  upon  the  level 
plain  of  Douai  since  the  German  occu- 
pation in  1914.  They  saw  the  villages 
of  Farbus,  Vimy,  and  Petit  Vimy  at  their 
feet,  and  beyond  these  the  hamlets  of 
Willerval,  Bailleul,  Oppy,  and  Mericourt. 


They  pressed  on  to  Farbus  Wood  and 
Goulot  Wood,  and  possessed  themselves 
of  several  hostile  batteries  and  much 
ammunition. 

By  an  early  hour  of  the  afternoon  all 
our  objectives,  save  those  of  the  left  of 
the  attack,  were  in  our  possession,  and 
the  task  of  consolidating  and  strength- 
ening our  gains  was  well  in  hand. 
Throughout  the  day  the  most  courageous 
and  devoted  co-operation  was  rendered 
to  the  Canadian  Corps  by  a  brigade  and 
a  squadron  of  the  Royal  Flying  Corps. 

The  night  saw  all  of  Vimy  Ridge,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  trenches  on  Hill 
145,  secure  in  Canadian  hands. 


Last  Inhabitants  Driven  From  Rheims 


The  City  of  Rheims  was  evacuated  by 
its  civil  population  on  Easter  Sunday, 
when  the  last  17,000  inhabitants,  who 
had  withstood  the  German  bombardment 
for  two  and  one-half  years,  withdrew. 
Henry  Wood  describes  this  episode  as 
follows : 

BEFORE  the  German  declaration  of 
war  Rheims  was  a  prosperous  city, 
with  117,000  inhabitants,  and 
though  about  100,000  of  the  population 
left  by  degrees,  the  remainder  refused 
to  go.  They  organized  an  underground 
cellar  life,  with  schools  and  municipal, 
social,  and  business  activities. 

The  enemy  apparently  chose  Holy 
Week  for  the  final  -destruction  of  the 
city.  On  Palm  Sunday  nearly  1,000 
shells  were  thrown  into  the  city,  and  the 
local  authorities  immediately  suggested 
the  final  evacuation  of  the  city,  but  the 
faithful  17,000  said,  "  Oh !  but  we  have 
seen  much  worse  than  this  in  1914."  On 
Holy  Monday  another  thousand  shells 
came.  The  faithful  17,000  began  to  look 
a  little  dubious,  but  cheered  each  other 
upf.  heroically.  But  on  Tuesday  another 
thousand  shells  deluged  the  city,  and  the 
local  authorities  had  some  bills  printed 
begging  the  people  to  flee;  but  the  bom- 
bardment was  so  terrific  that  it  was  im- 


possible to  post  the  bills.  On  Wednesday 
there  came  still  another  thousand  shells. 
The  two  newspapers  of  Rheims,  which 
had  never  missed  a  single  issue  even 
under  the  severest  bombardment,  invited 
their  readers  at  last  to  abandon  their 
homes  as  they  were  abandoning  their 
newspapers.  Thursday  saw  another 
thousand  shells  hurled  into  Rheims  and 
the  authorities  prepared  more  posters, 
this  time  ordering  the  population  to  flee 
immediately.  The  bombardment  again 
prevented  the  posting  of  the  bills  and  the 
17,000  still  refused  to  flee. 

On  Good  Friday  not  only  was  the  num- 
ber of  shells  increased,  but  their  size  as 
well,  and  on  Saturday  were  added  shells 
filled  with  asphyxiating  gas.  It  was 
then,  and  then  only,  the  faithful  17,000 
admitted   their   defeat. 

They  still  hung  out  till  Easter  morn- 
ing, however,  and  then,  getting  together 
their  few  possessions,  and  under  a  new 
deluge  of  shells,  they  went  out,  and 
Rheims.  remained  a  city  without  life  and 
without  breath. 

The  damage  done  to  the  remains  of 
Rheims  Cathedral  during  the  bombard- 
ments of  April  and  May  was  so  serious 
that  architects  apprehend  the  complete 
collapse  of  the  building. 


Military  Review  of  the  Month 

Period  from  April  18  to  May  18,   1917 

By  J.  B.  W.  Gardiner 

Formerly  Lieutenant  Eleventh  U.  S.  Cavalry 


THE  object  of  these  reviews  is  two- 
fold— to  give  a  resume  of  recent 
fighting  in  the  various  theatres 
of  military  operations  and  to 
outline  the  general  situation  as  it  exists 
at  the  moment  of  writing.  The  second 
of  these  I  will  take  up  first,  as  it  will 
bring  into  clearer  view  the  objects  on 
either  side  of  the  fighting,  and  to  what 
extent  those  objects  are  being  attained. 

Germany  has  two  chances  of  winning 
the  war.  The  first  is  the  submarine 
campaign.  If  this  campaign  is  success- 
ful to  the  point  that  oversea  communi- 
cation between  the  New  World  and  the 
Old  is  completely  broken  up  German 
victory  is  almost  certain  to  ensue.  The 
second  is  a  separate  peace  with  Russia. 
This  will  not  necessarily  make  Germany 
the  winner,  but  it  will  greatly  enhance 
Germany's  chances  and  make  victory  a 
possibility.  As  to  the  first,  it  is  practi- 
cally impossible.  The  second  is  not  im- 
possible, but  improbable.  At  the  same 
time  a  situation  exists  in  Russia  which 
is  not  without  an  omen  of  ill  for  the 
Allies. 

Ominous  Conditions  in  Russia 
The  situation  is  one  of  chaos.  In- 
stead of  liberty  and  an  active  struggle 
to  defeat  the  most  persistent  foe  to 
republican  ideas,  there  is  almost  un- 
bridled license  and  a  complete  breaking 
down  of  discipline  in  the  military  force. 
As  one  of  the  Russian  leaders  stated  it, 
the  people  have  had  a  sip  from  the  cup 
of  liberty,  and  it  has  intoxicated  them. 
The  ablest  Generals,  the  greatest  states- 
men, have  all  left  their  posts,  either 
through  removal  or  resignation.  Nich- 
olas, Brusiloff,  Rusky  have  gone,  and 
there  is  no  one  apparently  able  to  take 
their  places.  Discipline  in  the  army  has 
disappeared,  the  control  of  the  officers 
over  the  men  has  gone  with  it,  and  no 
important  order  can  be  given  unless  ap- 


proved by  the  soldiers  themselves.  The 
Russians  and  the  Germans  are  frater- 
nizing openly  in  No  Man's  Land,  and 
there  seems  no  means  of  breaking  up 
this  ruinous  communication.  The  situ- 
ation could  not,  in  a  military  way,  be 
very  much  worse. 

It  is  not  that  Russia  will  make  a  sepa- 
rate peace.  The  probabilities  are  that 
she  will  not.  While  this  still  keeps 
Germany  away  from  the  Russian  gran- 
aries, it  nevertheless,  in  so  far  as  mili- 
tary operations  are  concerned,  gives  Ger- 
many the  same  advantages  that  such  a 
peace  would  bring.  That  is,  it  eliminates 
Russia  from  the  war,  at  least  for  the 
current  year,  and  thereby  permits  the 
Central  Powers  to  concentrate  in  other 
quarters  a  large  part  of  the  forces  which 
have  been  held  on  the  eastern  front  by 
Russia's  swift,  hard  offensive  strokes. 
This  is  an  element  that  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  fighting  in  France. 

General  Hindenburg's  Plan 
Let  us  turn  back  a  little  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  great  German  retreat  and 
outline  the  reasons  given  by  Germany,  or 
fairly  implied  as  reasons  therefor.  The 
first  was  undoubtedly  to  gain  time — to 
delay  the  attack  of  the  Allies,  which  they 
felt  sure  would  be  launched.  The  almost 
inconceivable  devastation  left  in  their 
wake  is  sufficient  proof  of  this.  The 
second  was  to  give  their  submarines  an 
opportunity  to  destroy  sufficient  tonnage 
to  give  them  the  advantage  in  the  land 
fighting.  Finally,  having  accumulated 
during  the  Winter  a  certain  reserve  of 
new  material  through  new  levies,  returns 
from  the  hospitals,  and  men  released 
from  manufacturing  duties  through  the 
enslavement  of  the  Belgians,  their  aim 
was  to  begin  an  offensive  in  a  new  field 
through  open  warfare,  using  this  reserve 
for  the  purpose. 

What  this  new  reserve  amounted  to  in 


MILITARY  REVIEW  OF  THE  MONTH 


421 


numbers  we  do  not  know.  The  normal 
yearly  increment  is  approximately  500,- 
000;  it  does  not  seem  reasonable  that  the 
number  from  other  sources  could  be 
greater.  This  would  give  the  total  re- 
serve figure  at  about  1,000,000.  It  is  ap- 
parent, however,  from  the  statement  as 
to  the  German  plan — which  statement 
comes  from  Berlin — that  Germany 
planned  to  take  the  initiative  which  the 
Allies  had  held  since  the  ending  of  the 
battle  of  Verdun.  If  she  did  not,  indeed, 
there  was  but  little  sense  in  collecting 
this  reserve  which  was  formed  largely  by 
mortgaging  the  future.  It  was  a  stake 
with  which  to  gamble,  and  therefore  must 
have  been  intended  to  be  used  in  an  ef- 
fort to  accomplish  some  result  through 
offensive  operations  initiated  by  Ger- 
many. 

Plans  That  Have  Failed 

To  what  extent,  then,  do  the  operations 
of  the  last  month  indicate  success  in  con- 
formity with  the  German  plan?  The 
first  part — to  gain  time — has  proved  a 
failure.  They  did  not  gain  time  because 
the  British  and  French,  knowing  of  the 
coming  retirement,  (I  myself  was  ad- 
vised of  it  from  an  authoritative  source 
the  first  week  in  February,)  had,  before 
it  began,  prepared  to  strike  elsewhere 
than  on  the  Somme.  The  British  prepa- 
ration for  the  attack  on  Vimy  Ridge  was 
made  in  February,  the  French  prepara- 
tion for  the  attacks  on  Craonne  and  in 
Champagne  somewhat  later. 

The  second  part  of  the  plan,  while  in 
one  sense  partially  successful,  since  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons  of  ship- 
ping have  been  sunk,  has  in  reality  been 
a  ruinous  failure,  since  it  has  thrown  the 
resources  of  America  into  the  balance 
against  Germany.  Nor  has  it  even  ap- 
proached cutting  England  off  from  the 
New  World.  Indeed,  Canada  is  sending 
troopships  across  weekly,  and  there  is  no 
record  of  any  one  of  them  ever  having 
been  sunk. 

As  for  the  third,  its  defeat  has  been 
most  complete.  Germany  has  been  ut- 
terly unable  to  take  the  initiative  or  to 
use  for  this  purpose  the  million  men  she 
had  gathered  at  serious  cost  to  her  later 
operations.  On  the  contrary,  she  has 
had  to  use  this  reserve  to  resist  the  ter- 


rific and  unrelenting  pressure  which  the 
British  and  French  have  applied  to  the 
two  most  vital  sections  of  the  German 
front.  And  even  this  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  sufficient.  Aside  from  throw- 
ing this  reserve  into  action  long  before 
it  was  expected,  she  has  had  to  call  on 
the  Russian  front  for  additional  men, 
and  is  using  many  divisions  of  them  now. 
The  Russian  situation  permits  this  to  be 
done  without  present  danger.  It  is  an- 
other case  of  mortgaging  the  future  be- 
cause of  the  exigencies  of  the  present. 
When  Russia  is  ready  to  strike  again 
the  result  will  show  how  serious  the 
damage  is.  We  see,  therefore,  that  in 
every  particular  the  German  plans  have 
met  with  defeat. 

Less  Hopeful  Elements 

To  this  extent  the  situation  is  entirely 
favorable  to  the  Allies.  But  it  is  a  nega- 
tive advantage.  In  reality  the  situation 
is  not  as  hopeful  as  might  appear  from 
what  has  already  been  said.  There  is 
reason  for  a  somewhat  dubious  feeling 
about  any  great  success  this  year.  The 
whole  thing  hinges  on  Russia,  and  we 
know  what  the  Russian  situation  is.  The 
only  way  a  group  of  nations  holding  the 
advantage  of  interior  lines  can  be  beaten 
is  by  striking  simultaneously  at  many 
points  on  the  inclosing  circle.  And  this 
cannot  happen.  Russia,  we  have  seen, 
cannot  attack.  Any  Italian  attack  will 
be  met  by  Austrian  reserves,  drawn  with 
impunity  from  the  Russian  front.  Ru- 
mania is  dependent  upon  Russian  assist- 
ance and  Russian  supplies,  and  may  con- 
sequently be  classed  with  Russia  as  inca- 
pable of  offensive  action.  The  army  in 
Saloniki,  although  spasmodically  active, 
is  really  performing  no  other  function 
than  that  of  a  holding  force,  neutralizing 
the  army  of  Bulgaria.  Only  on  the 
western  front  can  effective  fighting  be 
done,  and  the  forces  on  this  front  must 
bear  the  brunt  of  the  entire  German 
Army.  This,  then,  is  the  situation  with 
which  the  British  and  French  are  con- 
fronted, and  which  must  be  borne  in  mind 
in  following  the  western  fighting. 

French  Fighting  on  the  Aisne 
As  for  the  actual  fighting,  it  has  been 
more  severe  than  during  any  correspond- 


422 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


OUUOGNE 

Mo 

MONTREUIL 


*Jf^C~^       MAUBEUGE 
3.V>C_AMBRAI      S 

FRESNOY  *•  •-•^  ( 


BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  BATTLE  FRONTS  NEAR  ARRAS  AND  ON  THE  AISNE 


ing  period  of  the  war.  The  first  attack 
to  be  noted — it  began  as  last  month's  re- 
view was  going  to  press — was  the  French 
attack  west  of  Rheims  and  in  Cham- 
pagne. The  attack  west  of  Rheims  was 
against  the  southern  pivot  of  the  so-called 
"  Hindenburg  Line  " — against  the  Laon 
position.  It  was  leveled  principally 
against  the  heights  of  the  Aisne,  where 
the  allied  attacks  which  followed  the 
battle  of  the  Marne  broke  down.  From 
the  Aisne,  passing  north  toward  Craonne, 
there  is  an  abrupt  limestone  plateau, 
rising  in  a  very  difficult,  heavily  wooded 
country  and  terminating  sharply  at 
Craonne  itself. 

The  first  French  rush,  which  was  pre- 
ceded by  the  usual  terrific  bombardment, 
carried  Nivelle's  men  well  up  to  this 
plateau  and  accounted  for  a  great  many 
guns  and  thousands  of  prisoners,  many 
of  the  latter  being  caught  in  the  lime- 
stone-caves — some  natural,  some  created 
by  the  Germans — with  which  the  plateau 
is  honeycombed.  Following  up  this  suc- 
cess, the  French  struck  again  and  again 
until  the  plateau  was  taken  and  Craonne 
occupied.      French  lines  were  established 


about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
Aillette  River,  which  they  now  parallel 
from  Courtecon  to  Chevreux.  The  floor 
of  this  valley  is  now  under  complete 
domination  by  the  French  guns,  which 
occupy  the  ridge  that  parallels  the 
valley  throughout. 

Here  the  French  have  had  to  stop. 
The  Germans  have  thrown  into  the  fight- 
ing over  100,000  new  troops  in  their  ef- 
forts to  hold  back  the  French  thrust,  and 
have  made  the  most  furious  counterat- 
tacks, particularly  against  the  Craonne 
position.  But  the  French  have  main- 
tained their  new  positions  entirely.  In- 
deed, it  was  the  terrain  which  has  held 
the  French  back,  more  than  the  reserve 
material  which  the  Germans  have  thrown 
into  the  battle.  The  truth  of  the  matter 
is  that  both  sides  hold  positions  which  are 
exceedingly  strong  defensively.  Each 
holds  a  ridge  paralleling  the  river — one 
on  one  side,  one  on  the  other.  There  is 
no  object  in  the  French  pushing  down  to 
the  river  unless  they  can  cross  it  and 
seize  the  heights  on  the  other  side.  This 
promises  to  be  a  most  difficult  operation, 
and   one   accompanied  by  heavy  losses; 


THE  PRESENT  MILITARY  SITUATION 


423 


and  there  is  no  indication  that  any  such 
attempt  is  being  considered.  Indeed,  it 
would  seem  that  the  French  have  reached 
the  limit  of  possibilities  here,  and  that 
this  section  of  the  line  will  wait  for  an 
attack  to  be  made  from  the  east,  where 
the  terrain  is  much  more  simple  and  less 
favorable  for  defense. 

Between  Rheims  and  Berry-au-Bac  the 
country  is  open,  gently  rolling,  without 
positions  of  any  particular  dominating 
value.  The  attack  here  almost  entirely 
cleared  the  Aisne  Canal  north  of  Soivre 
and  forced  the  Germans  back  to  within 
a  mile  of  the  Suippes  River.  Here,  too, 
the  advance  has  halted  and  the  French 
have  had  to  withstand  the  heaviest  of 
countermovements.  In  the  Champagne 
country  east  of  Rheims,  to  which  the 
French  attack  extended,  there  was  also 
a  decided  gain  in  the  early  days  of  the 
fighting,  but  the  advance  stopped  at  the 
heights  of  Moronvillers.  Against  this 
section,  too,  the  Germans  have  coun- 
tered heavily,  but  everywhere  the  French 
lines  have  held.  Division  after  division 
of  the  German  reserves  has  been  used  up 
in  these  three  sections  of  the  line  and 
withdrawn  to  recuperate  and  re-form. 

On  the  British  Front 

All  the  British  fighting  of  the  month 
has  been  over  the  narrow  front  from 
Fresnoy  to  Queant.  The  ground  gained  has 
been  unimportant,  but  the  apparent  plan 
of  the  British  is  important.  It  must  be 
realized,  first,  that  the  western  fighting 
still  has  with  it  the  idea  of  attrition — of 
wearing  the   Germans   down.     This   has 


never  been  lost  sight  of  by  the  allied 
General  Staff  since  trench  warfare  de- 
veloped. And  it  is  toward  this  end  that 
the  fight  in  the  west  is  directed.  The 
idea  of  the  British,  then,  seems  to  be 
to  provoke  the  Germans  to  counter- 
attack rather  than  to  gain  ground  them- 
selves. 

The  percentage  of  men  lost  in  such  at- 
tacks is  always  greater  than  in  the  orig- 
inal attack.  There  are  several  reasons 
for  this,  chief  of  which  is  that  counter- 
attacks, whether  made  to  stop  an  ad- 
vance or  to  recover  lost  ground,  promise 
success  only  when  made  before  the  hos- 
tile infantry  can  consolidate  the  ground 
gained  and  settle  down  into  new  posi- 
tions. The  artillery,  therefore,  cannot  be 
used  to  the  same  extent  either  to  prepare 
for  or  to  protect  the  infantry  as  it  moves 
forward.  The  losses  involved  in  such 
fighting  are  always  excessive.  Such  at- 
tacks are  justified  only  when  important 
positions  are  at  stake.  Here  is  appar- 
ently the  key  to  the  fighting  at  Roeux,  at 
Oppy,  and  at  Bullecourt. 

There  are  indications  of  activity  both 
on  the  Saloniki  and  the  Italian  fronts, 
but  such  attacks  as  have  been  delivered 
are  only  in  the  preparatory  stage.  The 
Saloniki  fighting  has  been  confined  to 
the  Vardar  Valley,  on  both  sides  of 
which  the  French  and  British  have  made 
slight  advances.  On  the  Italian  front, 
about  midway  between  Tolmino  and  Go- 
rizia,  a  new  crossing  of  the  Isonzo  has 
been  forced  and  several  heights  on  the 
eastern  bank  have  been  seized.  In  gen- 
eral, however,  the  engagement  has  been 
without  definite  result. 


German  Version  of  the  Month's  Fighting 

April  18  to  May  17,  1917 


GERMAN  accounts  of  the  fighting  on 
the  western  front  during  the  month 
have  maintained  that  the  British 
and  French  attacks  have  been  failures 
attended  by  appalling  losses.  "  After  a 
week  of  incomparably  wrathful  on- 
slaught," wrote  the  correspondent  of  the 
Berlin  Lokal-Anzeiger  on  April  22,  "  the 
German  front  still  stands  unshaken,  al- 


though covered  with  bruises  and  pools 
of  blood  on  the  Aisne  and  in  Champagne, 
a  guarantee  that,  since  the  enemy  did  not 
succeed  in  the  first  two  days  of  this 
gigantic  battle,  when  their  valor  and 
vigor  were  fresh,  in  breaking  the  German 
lines,  they  will  never  succeed  hereafter." 
The  German  War  Office  report  of 
April  23,  the  day  on  which  the  British 


424, 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


launched  their  second  great  assault  since 
April  9,  said  that  on  the  battlefield  of 
Arras  the  new  offensive  had  broken  down 
without  success  under  very  heavy  enemy 
losses,  and  the  report  of  April  25,  refer- 
ring to  the  same  day's  fighting,  added 
that  the  number  of  British  dead  and 
wounded  lying  in  front  of  the  German 
lines,  according  to  aviators  and  men  in 
the  trenches,  was  unusually  high.  Only 
on  the  Cambrai-Arras  road  did  the 
British  gain  ground. 

The  Berlin  Lokal-Anzeiger  correspond- 
ent described  this  offensive  as  the  most 
gigantic  infantry  effort  ever  made  by 
the  British.  "  British  humanity  in 
khaki,"  he  wrote,  "flooded  the  whole 
country  in  front  of  the  German  trenches 
at  Loos  and  Arras.  Between  Hulluch 
and  Lens  they  formed  a  living  battering 
ram  and  thus  succeeded  in  taking  about 
a  kilometer  of  the  German  first  trench. 
But  a  German  counterattack,  following 
immediately,  not  only  ejected  them  from 
the  trench,  but  left  every  British  soldier 
on  the  battlefield.  The  troops  welcomed 
an  infantry  attack  as  relief  from  the 
rain  of  iron  that  the  British  artillery 
is  pouring  on  them  incessantly.  The  Ger- 
man soldiers  who  had  for  days  been  ex- 
posed to  the  hell  of  gunfire  never  lost 
their  nerve  one  moment  when  the  human 
sea  of  khaki  threatened  to  swamp  them. 
On  the  Aisne  and  in  Champagne,  too,  a 
sanguinary  struggle  around  the  hills 
continues  as  bitterly  as  in  the  last  eight 
days.  Evidently  the  French  have  re- 
ceived fresh  munitions  and  replaced  their 
tired  divisions  by  new  formations." 

British  Failure  Announced 

The  third  attempt  of  the  British  to 
break  through  the  German  lines  on  the 
battlefield  of  Arras  was,  according  to 
the  Berlin  official  statement  of  April  28, 
another  complete  failure,  involving  heavy 
losses,  and  followed  by  a  German 
counterattack  ending  in  "  a  heavy  de- 
feat "  for  the  British.  The  War  Office 
report  of  the  following  day  contained  this 
account  of  the  battle: 

"  A  very  heavy  drum  fire,  which  was 
begun  before  daybreak  over  the  whole 
front  from  Lens  as  far  as  Queant,  was 
the   prelude   to    a   battle   by  which   the 


British  for  the  third  time  hoped  to 
pierce  the  German  lines  near  Arras.  By 
midday  the  great  battle  was  decided  by 
a  heavy  defeat  of  the  British.  At  dawn, 
on  a  front  of  about  thirty  kilometers, 
(eighteen  miles,)  British  storming  col- 
ums  followed  curtains  of  steel,  dust,  gas, 
and  smoke,  which  had  been  advanced  by 
degrees.  The  weight  of  the  enemy  thrust 
north  of  the  Scarpe  was  directed  against 
our  positions  from  Acheville  as  far  as 
Roeux,  where  the  battle  raged  with  ex- 
traordinary violence.  The  British  forced 
their  way  into  Arleux-en-Gohelle  and 
Oppy  and  near  Gavrelle  and  Roeux,  oc- 
cupied by  us  as  advanced  positions.  They 
were  met  by  a  counterattack  by  our  in- 
fantry. In  a  severe  hand-to-hand  strug- 
gle the  enemy  was  defeated.  At  some 
points  he  was  driven  beyond  our  former 
lines,  the  whole  of  which,  with  the  excep- 
tion, of  Arleux-en-Gohelle,  is  again  in  our 
hands.  South  of  the  Scarpe,  in  the  low- 
lands, a  desperate  battle  also  raged.  In 
their  wrecked  positions  our  brave  troops 
withstood  the  British  charges,  repeated 
several  times.  Here  also  the  British  at- 
tacks failed.  On  the  wings  of  the  battle- 
field enemy  attacking  waves  broke  down 
under  destructive  fire.  The  British  losses 
were  extraordinarily  heavy.  April  28 
was  a  new  day  of  honor.  Our  infantry, 
powerfully  led  and  excellently  supported 
by  its  sister  and  auxiliary  arm,  showed 
itself  fully  equal  to  its  tasks." 

Claim  Heavy  French  Losses 

The  French  preparations  for  a  new  at- 
tack at  the  end  of  April  are  described  in 
the  following  dispatch,  dated  May  1, 
from  the  Berlin  Mittagszeitung  corre- 
spondent at  the  German  headquarters: 

"  The  great  battle  enters  upon  the 
fourth  week  and  looks  very  much  as 
though  a  new  change  of  parts  is  about 
to  take  place.  On  April  9  the  English 
began  a  great  onslaught,  on  April  16  the 
French  fell  in  line,  while  on  April  23  the 
English  carried  out  a  second  assault, 
which  they  followed  with  a  third  on  the 
28th.  Now  it  is  evidently  the  French 
turn  again.  The  country  around  Artois 
is  still  vibrating  with  the  fierce  battle  of 
the  last  eight  days,  and  the  artillery  con- 
tinues its  chaotic  noise,  especially  around 


GERMAN  VERSION  OF  THE  MONTH'S  FIGHTING 


425 


Oppy,  which  yesterday  withstood  the 
British  onslaught  four  different  times. 

"  On  the  Aisne  and  in  Champagne  the 
guns  are  roaring  worse  than  ever  today. 
As  early  as  Saturday  night  one  noticed 
at  Berry-au-Bac,  where  I  was  at  the 
time,  the  thunder  of  artillery  and  the 
flash  and  bang  of  exploding  shells  in- 
creasing in  rapidity.  Toward  Sunday 
morning,  of  course,  everything  was  pre- 
pared for  a  new  onslaught.  The  French, 
however,  did  not  think  their  artillery 
preparation  sufficient,  and  continued  the 
bombardment  with  all  the  more  ferocity, 
since  the  German  guns  gave  them  tit 
for  tat.  Toward  Monday  morning  the 
French  developed  a  regular  drumfire, 
which  was  mainly  directed  against  the 
left  wing  of  the  Aisne  front  around 
Vauxaillon  and  against  the  line  of  Braye- 
Craonne-Brimont. 

"  Observation  and  the  testimony  of 
prisoners  tell. an  awful  story  of  the  over- 
whelming losses  on  the  French  side. 
Large  detachments  ceased  to  exist  in 
the  original  form.  The  battlefields  which 
the  Germans  have  to  cross  in  their 
counterattacks  are  full  of  the  terrors  of 
slaughter.  There  are  countless  bodies 
along  the  whole  front  which  in  view  of 
the  French  inconsiderateness  for  the  life 
of  their  own  men  are  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  The  Germans,  too,  mourn  many  dead 
heroes,  but  it  is  quite  natural  that  the 
French,  who  have  been  trying  the  front 
now  for  three  weeks,  should  have 
suffered  many  more  losses.  The  Ger- 
mans know  that,  and  they  know  that, 
thanks  to  the  splendid  efficiency  of  their 
artillery  and  the  untiring  efforts  of  their 
flying  squadrons,  they  shall  have  the 
upper  hand  to  the  end." 

Gigantic  British  Effort 
Meanwhile  the  British  were  once  more 
on  the  offensive,  and  again,  according  to 
German  accounts,  with  no  real  success. 
"At,  this  last  hour,"  wrote  the  Berlin 
Lokal-Anzeiger  correspondent  on  May 
4,  "the  last  waves  of  the  hostile  flood 
against  the  German  walls  east  of  Arras 
are  receding.  Another  gigantic  effort 
has  spent  itself  without  the  desired  effect 
of  breaking  through  the  German  lines  in 
even  one  single  spot."    He  continued: 


"  Led  by  countless  tanks,  the  British  in- 
fantry rushed  on  as  often  as  five  times  in 
some  places.  About  noon  on  May  3  the 
most  powerful  of  all  the  English  on- 
slaughts that  brought  them  nearly  one 
kilometer  deep  into  the  German  lines  near 
the  village  of  Fresnoy  broke  down  com- 
pletely. At  Oppy,  where  the  field  was 
literally  covered  with  English  bodies, 
they  received  a  staggering  blow  and  re- 
tired. In  the  valley  of  the  Scarpe  to- 
ward Roeux  and  in  the  direction  of 
Pelves  their  onslaughts  met  a  like  fate 
in  the  fire  of  German  sharpshooters  and 
machine  guns. 

"  Large,  dense  masses  of  troops  ope- 
rating against  the  German  south  flank 
succeeded  in  the  first  heat  of  the  assault 
in  piercing  the  line  to  Cherisy,  which, 
however,  was  recovered  by  a  counterat- 
tack. Having  completely  failed  here,  the 
British  sought  to  gain  a  foothold  at  the 
village  of  Bullecourt,  four  kilometers 
east  of  Queant.  Again  they  were  de- 
feated, but  managed  to  occupy  a  short 
stretch  of  trenches,  where  they  are  now 
completely  shut  off  from  their  connec- 
tions. At  4:30  o'clock  this  morning 
(May  4)  the  British  sent  dense  masses 
against  Bullecourt.  As  far  as  we  know 
by  this  time  this  attack  was  also  success- 
fully repulsed.  All  the  enemy  got  for 
the  thousands  of  dead  and  wounded  sacri- 
ficed in  this  fourth  battle  is  mostly  a  pile 
of  walls  and  burned  woodwork,  where 
once  stood  a  village  of  200  inhabitants, 
and  that  after  a  bombardment  that  hard- 
ly ever  had  its  equal,  and  after  seventeen 
divisions  spent  their  breath  against  nar- 
row stretches  of  the  German  position. 

"  While  this  furor  of  attack  on  the  Ar- 
ras front  seems  subsiding,  the  valleys  of 
the  Aisne  and  Champagne  are  again 
shrouded  in  steam,  dust,  smoke,  and  the 
noise  of  battle.  Since  early  dawn  the 
French  have  been  trying  to  rush  the  Ger- 
man position  between  the  Aisne  and  Bri- 
mont.  The  night  before  their  projectiles 
were  raining  on  the  Vauxaillon-Laffaux- 
Braye-Craonne  line.  Guns  of  all  calibres 
seem  to  have  joined  in  the  hellish  concert, 
and  for  a  change  the  Germans  now  and 
then  were  treated  to  gas  shells.  Now  the 
battle  of  human  masses  is  again  raging 
in  those  valleys.  There  is  no  doubting 
what  it  will  be." 


426 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Fall  of  Craonne  Not  Announced 

The  German  reports  made  no  reference 
to  the  capture  of  Craonne.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  War  Office  report  of  May  8  an- 
nounced the  recapture  of  Fresnoy.  On 
May  11  it  was  stated  that  the  mutual  ac- 
tivity of  the  artilleries  had  increased  to 
great  violence  on  the  whole  Arras  battle 
front  and  that  local  advances  by  the  Brit- 
ish at  Fresnoy  and  Roeux  and  between 
Monchy  and  Cherisy  remained  unsuccess- 
ful. On  May  13  it  was  admitted  that  the 
British  had  succeeded  in  forcing  their 
way  through  the  German  lines  at  Roeux. 
One  report  read : 

"  The  great  attacks  of  the  English 
have  broken  down.  After  very  strong 
artillery  preparation,  which  extended 
throughout  the  whole  battlefield  of  Arras, 
from  Lens  to  Queant,  the  English  in  the 
early  morning  attacked  the  lines  between 
Gavrelle  and  the  Scarpe,  astride  the  Ar- 
ras-Cambrai  Road,  and  near  Bullecourt. 
At  Roeux  they  were  successful  in  forcing 
an  entry,  but  at  all  other  points  they 
were  repulsed  by  our  fire  and  hand-to- 
hand  fighting,  and  sustained  the  heaviest 
losses.  In  the  evening  several  fresh  at- 
tacks were  made  on  both  sides  of  Mon- 
chy. These  likewise  broke  down  with 
sanguinary  losses.  The  advantages 
which  the  English  succeeded  in  obtaining 
at  Bullepourt  were  again  wrested  from 
them  by  powerful  counterthrusts  of  a 
Guard  battalion." 


The  capture  of  La  Neuville,  on  the 
Aisne  front,  was  announced  by  the  War 
Office  on  May  16.  A  later  report  said 
that  rain  and  mist  had  rendered  the 
fighting  activity  on  the  western  front 
slight.  On  May  17  the  German  official 
statement  admitted  the  loss  of  ground  at 
Roeux,  but  announced  the  capture  of 
2,300  English  prisoners  and  2,700  French- 
men since  May  1.  The  British  capture 
of  Bullecourt  was  conceded. 

Kaiser  to  the  Crown  Prince 

Earlier  in  the  struggle — on  April  22 — 
the  German  Kaiser  sent  the  following 
telegram  to  the  Crown  Prince: 

"  The  troops  of  all  the  German  tribes 
under  your  command,  with  steel-hard  de- 
termination and  strongly  led,  have 
brought  to  failure  the  great  French  at- 
tempt to  break  through  on  the  Aisne  and 
in  Champagne.  Also  there  the  infantry 
again  had  to  bear  the  brunt,  and,  thanks 
to  the  indefatigable  assistance  of  the 
artillery  and  other  arms,  has  accom- 
plished great  things  in  death-defying 
perseverance  and  irresistible  attack.  Con- 
vey my  thanks  and  those  of  the  Father- 
land to  the  leaders  and  men.  The  battle 
on  the  Aisne  and  in  Champagne  is  not 
yet  over,  but  all  who  fight  and  bleed  there 
shall  know  that  the  whole  of  Germany 
will  remember  their  deeds,  and  is  at  one 
with  them  to  carry  through  the  fight  for 
existence  to  a  victorious  end.  God 
grant  it." 


Germany's  Peace  Discussion 

Chancellor's  Address  of  May  15,   1917 


THE  German  Chancellor  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Reichstag  on  May  15 
delivered  an  address  which  had 
been  anxiously  awaited  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  be  a  definite  proffer 
of  peace;  but  it  proved  to  be  a  disap- 
pointment in  that  regard.  Chancellor 
von  Bethmann  Hollweg  was  preceded  by 
Dr.  Roesicke,  Conservative  and  President 
of  the  German  Farmers'  Union,  who 
said: 

"  While    our    brave    troops    maintain 
with    streams    of    blood    our    territorial 


gains,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  urges 
the  Imperial  Chancellor  to  conclude  a 
peace  without  any  indemnity  and  without 
any  annexation.  The  Imperial  Govern- 
ment has  met  the  Social  Democratic  de- 
mands to  such  an  extraordinary  extent 
that  this  party  enjoys  preferential  treat- 
ment beyond  that  accorded  to  other  par- 
ties, and  the  imperial  word,  *  I  know  no 
parties/  is  rendered  valueless. 

"  In  a  statement  recently  published  in 
the  Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung  we 
see   a   far-reaching   similarity   with   the 


GENERAL  HENRI  P.  PETAIN 


Newly  Appointed  Comniander  in  Chief  of  AH  French  Armies 
Operating  on  the  Western  Front 


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— 


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; 


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INTERIOR  OF  CHURCH  AT  ROYE 


All  That  Remains  of  One  of  France's  Most  Ancient  Churches 
After  the  Passing  of  the  German  Army  of  Occupation 

(Photo  from  Pictorial  Press) 


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GERMANY'S  PEACE  DISCUSSION 


427 


declaration  of  various  party  committees 
concerning  *  our  relations  with  Russia. 
The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  has 
allowed  to  be  issued  through  the  press 
declarations  which  are  not  far  removed 
from  the  views  of  the  Social  Democratic 
Party's  resolution.  Telegrams  were  ex- 
changed between  the  Imperial  Chancellor 
and  Count  Czernin  [Austro-Hungarian 
Foreign  Minister]  emphasizing  the  mut- 
ual agreement  between  the  two  countries. 
It  can  therefore  be  assumed  that  the  Im- 
perial Government  met  also  in  this  case 
the  Social  Democratic  wishes." 

Herr  Roesicke  proceeded  to  denounce 
the  Socialist  aims  as  sinister  and  anti- 
national  and  as  tending  to  a  prolonga- 
tion,  of  the  war,  since,  he  said,  the  En- 
tente based  their  hopes  on  German  dis- 
union. 

"  President  Wilson,"  Herr  Roesicke 
continued,  "  wants  no  peace  with  the 
Hohenzollerns,  but  the  monarchy  is  too 
deeply  rooted  in  German  hearts  for  the 
malignity  of  the  Entente  or  of  President 
Wilson  to  be  capable  of  destroying  it." 

He  said  the  Germans  acknowledged 
that  Russia  was  keeping  faith  with  her 
allies,  while  from  Germany  disloyalty  to 
the  Hohenzollerns  was  expected.  Pro- 
ceeding to  denounce  the  Socialist  aims 
and  expressing  doubt  as  to  the  Govern- 
ment's "  will  to  victory,"  Herr  Roesicke 
continued: 

"  The  desire  for  renunciation  of  an- 
nexation and  indemnity  gives  our  en- 
emies a  charter  to  prolong  the  war  with- 
out risking  anything.  A  rejection  of  the 
renunciation  proposals  by  the  Reichstag 
will  be  a  manifestation  of  our  strength 
and  of  our  will  to  secure  an  enduring 
peace  which  will  safeguard  Germany's 
future.  The  nation  demands  a  clear  re- 
ply." 

Calls  Annexationists  Robbers 

Philip  Scheidemann,  in  introducing  the 
Social  Democratic  interpellation,  said: 

"  The  party's  decision  does  not  de- 
mand immediate  peace,  but  action  by  the 
Socialists  of  all  countries.  My  Breslau 
utterance  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
Chancellor  had  stated  he  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  memorial  which  had  incited 


our  enemies  to  agree  with  Herr  Roesicke, 
that  we  must  emerge  from  all  obscurity, 
and  that  the  Chancellor  must  say  what 
he  wanted. 

"  We  adhere  to  the  same  point  of  view 
as  contained  in  the  demand  of  Aug.  4 — 
the  territorial  integrity  of  Germany  and 
her  economic  independence  and  develop- 
ment; but  today  we  still  refuse  to  op- 
press foreign  peoples.  On  both  sides  the 
nations  are  being  put  off  with  the  prom- 
ise of  an  imminent  final  decision.  It  is 
our  task  to  expose  this  playing  with  the 
life  of  peoples,  and  we  cry  to  all  Govern- 
ments, 'It  is  enough!.' 

"We  are  convinced  that  the  Central 
Powers  will  stand  fast  in  repelling  in- 
tentions of  annihilation,  but  also  that  the 
wishes  of  the  French,  English,  and  Ger- 
man annexationists  shall  not  be  realized. 
Thus  think  the  Socialists,  and  millions 
are  with  us. 

"  The  supporters  of  conquest  shout  for 
increase  of  power,  increase  of  territory, 
money,  and  raw  material.  That  can  only 
be  wanted  by  a  nationally  organized 
gang  of  robbers.  [This  statement  pro- 
voked a  storm  of  indignation  on  the 
Right.]  The  drawing  of  the  Kaiser  into 
this  agitation  has  as  a  result  that  abroad 
the  Kaiser  is  made  responsible  for  Pan- 
German  madness  and  the  outbreak  of 
war,  and  that  he  is  continually  being  in- 
sulted. 

"  Peace  by  agreement  would  be  good 
fortune  for  Europe.  Ninety-nine  per 
cent,  of  all  the  peoples  look  with  hope 
and  longing  to  Stockholm.  If  France  and 
Great  Britain  renounce  annexation  and 
Germany  insists  thereon,  we  shall  have  a 
revolution  in  the  country." 

There  were  prolonged  shouts  of  indig- 
nation at  this  and  cries  of  "  Shame! 
Stand  down!  "  The  President  called  Herr 
Scheidemann  to  order,  but  Scheidemann 
continued : 

"  It  has  not  gone  so  far  as  that  yet; 
the  enemy  does  not  renounce  annexation. 
A  peace  just  to  all  parties  should  be  con- 
cluded. I  am  firmly  convinced  that  no 
peace  can  be  concluded  without  an  altera- 
tion of  frontiers,  and  that  must  be  ar- 
ranged by  mutual  understanding.  I  am 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  slaughter  of  an- 


428 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


other  million  men  simply  because  certain 
Germans  desire  peace  that  would  follow 
conquests.  Long  live  peace!  Long  live 
Europe!  " 

Bethman  Hollweg's  Speech 

The  Chancellor  replied  to  these  attacks 
in  the  following  terms: 

"  These  interpellations  demand  from 
me  a  definite  statement  on  the  question 
of  our  war  aims.  To  make  such  a  state- 
ment at  the  present  moment  would  not 
serve  the  country's  interests.  I  must 
therefore  decline  to  make  it. 

"  Since  the  Winter  of  1914-15  I  have 
been  pressed  now  from  one  side,  now 
from  the  other,  publicly  to  state  our  war 
aims,  if  possible  with  details.  Every 
day  they  were  demanded  from  me.  To 
force  me  to  speak  an  attempt  was  made 
to  construe  my  silence  regarding  the 
program  of  the  war  aims  of  individual 
parties  as  agreement.  Against  that  I 
must  resolutely  protest.  On  giving  lib- 
erty for  free  discussion  of  war  aims  I 
had  it  expressly  declared  that  the  Gov- 
ernment could  not  and  would  not  partici- 
pate in  the  conflict  of  views.  I  also  pro- 
tested against  any  positive  conclusions 
whatever  regarding  the  Government's 
attitude  being  drawn  from  the  Govern- 
ment's silence. 

"  I  now  repeat  this  protest  in  the  most 
conclusive  form.  What  I  was  ever  able 
to  say  about  our  war  aims  I  say  here 
in  the  Reichstag  publicly.  They  were 
general  principles — they  ,could  not  be 
more — but  they  were  clear  enough  to 
exclude  identification  such  as  was  at- 
tempted with  other  programs.  These 
fundamental  lines  have  been  adhered  to 
up  to  today.  They  found  further  solemn 
expression  in  the  peace  offer  made  con- 
jointly with  our  allies  on  Dec.  12,  1916. 

"  The  supposition  which  has  recently 
arisen  that  some  differences  of  opinion 
existed  on  the  peace  question  between  us 
and  our  allies  belongs  to  the  realm  of 
fable.  I  expressly  affirm  this  now  with 
certainty.  I  am  at  the  same  time  also 
expressing  the  conviction  that  the  lead- 
ing statesmen  of  the  powers  which  are 
our  allies  are  with  us. 

"I  thoroughly  and  fully  understand 
the  passionate  interest  of  the  people  in 


the  war  aims  and  peace  conditions.  I 
understand  the  call  for  clearness  which 
today  is  addressed  to  me  from  the  Right 
and  the  Left.  But  in  the  discussion  of 
our  war  aims  the  only  guiding  line  for 
me  is  the  early  and  satisfactory  conclu- 
sion of  the  war.  Beyond  that  I  cannot 
do  or  say  anything. 

Scornful  Reference   to  Socialists 

"  If  the  general  situation  forces  me  to 
reserve,  as  is  the  case  now,  I  shall  keep 
this  reserve,  and  no  pressure  either  from 
Herr  Scheidemann  or  Herr  Roesicke  will 
force  me  from  my  path.  I  shall  not  al- 
low myself  to  be  led  astray  by  utter- 
ances with  which  Scheidemann,  at  a  time 
when  drumfire  sounds  on  the  Aisne  and 
at  Arras,  believed  he  could  spread  among 
the  people  the  possibility  of  a  revolution. 
The  German  people  will  be  with  me  in 
condemning  such  utterances,  and  also 
Roesicke's  attempt  to  represent  me  as 
being  under  the  influence  of  the  Social 
Democrats. 

"I  am  reproached  for  being  in  the 
hands  of  one  party,  but  I  am  not  in  the 
hands  of  any  party,  either  the  Right  or 
the  Left.  I  am  glad  I  can  state  that  defi- 
nitely. If  I  am  in  the  hands  of  any  one, 
I  am  in  the  hands  of  my  people,  whom 
alone  I  have  to  serve,  and  all  of  whose 
sons,  fighting  for  the  existence  of  the 
nation,  are  firmly  ranged  around  the 
Kaiser,  whom  they  trust  and  who  trusts 
them.  The  Kaiser's  word  of  August  lives 
unaltered.  Roesicke,  who  sets  himself 
forward  as  a  particular  protector  of  this 
word,  has  received  in  the  Kaiser's  Easter 
message  the  assurance  of  the  unaltered 
existence  of  the  Kaiser's  word. 

"  I  trust  that  the  reserve  which  I  must 
exercise — it  would  be  unscrupulous  on  my 
part  did  I  not  exercise  it — will  find  sup- 
port from  the  majority  of  the  Reichstag, 
and  also  among  the  people.  For  a  month 
past  unparalleled  battles  have  been  wag- 
ing on  the  west  front.  The  entire  people, 
with  all  its  thoughts  and  sorrows  and 
feelings,  is  with  its  sons  up  there,  who 
with  unexampled  tenacity  and  defiance  of 
death  resist  the  daily  renewed  attacks 
of  the  English  and  French. 

"  Even  today  I  see  no  readiness  for 
peace  on  the  part  of  England  or  France, 


GERMANY'S  PEACE  DISCUSSION 


429 


nothing  of  the  abandonment  of  their  ex- 
cessive aims  of  conquest  and  economic 
destruction.  Where,  then,  were  the  Gov- 
ernments who  last  Winter  openly  stood 
up  before  the  world  in  order  to  terminate 
this  insane  slaughter  of  peoples?  Were 
they  in  London  or  in  Paris?  The  most 
recent  utterances  which  I  have  heard 
from  London  declare  that  the  war  aims 
which  were  announced  two  years  ago  re- 
main unaltered. 

"  Even  Herr  Scheidemann  will  not  be- 
lieve that  I  could  meet  this  declaration 
with  a  beau  geste.  Does  any  one  believe, 
in  view  of  the  state  of  mind  of  our 
western  enemies,  that  they  could  be  in- 
duced to  conclude  peace  by  a  program  of 
renunciation  ? 

"  It  comes  to  this.  Shall  I  immediately 
give  our  western  enemies  an  assurance 
which  will  enable  them  to  prolong  the 
war  indefinitely  without  danger  of  losses 
to  themselves?  Shall  I  tell  these  en- 
emies :  '  Come  what  may,  we  shall  under 
all  circumstances  be  people  who  re- 
nounce ;  we  shall  not  touch  a  hair  of  your 
head.  But  you  want  our  lives — you  can, 
without  any  risks,  continue  to  try  your 
luck? ' 

"  Shall  I  nail  down  the  German  Em- 
pire in  all  directions  by  a  one-sided  form- 
ula which  only  comprises  one  part  of  the 
total  peace  conditions  and  which  re- 
nounces successes  won  by  the  blood  of 
our  sons  and  brothers  and  leaves  all 
other  matters  in  suspense? 

"  No,  I  will  not  pursue  such  a  policy. 
That  would  be  the  basest  ingratitude 
toward  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  people  at 
the  front  and  at  home.  It  would  per- 
manently press  down  our  people,  to  the 
smallest  worker,  in  their  entire  con- 
ditions of  life.  It  would  be  equivalent  to 
surrendering  the  future  of  the  Father- 
land. 

"  Or  ought  I,  conversely,  to  set  forth 
a  program  of  conquest.  I  decline  to  do 
that.  [Cries  from  the  Right :  "  We  are 
not  demanding  that."]  If  it  has  not 
been  demanded,  then  we  are  of  one 
opinion.  I  also  decline  to  set  forth  a 
program  of  conquest.  We  did  not  go 
forth  to  war,  and  we  stand  in  battle 
now  against  almost  the  whole  world,  not 
in    order    to    make    conquests,    but    ex- 


clusively to  secure  our  existence  and  to 
establish  firmly  the  future  of  the  nation. 
A  program  of  conquest  helps  as  little 
as  a  program  of  reconciliation  to  win 
victory  and  the  war. 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  should  thereby 
merely  play  the  game  of  hostile  rulers 
and  make  it  easier  for  them  further  to 
delude  their  war-weary  peoples  into  pro- 
longing the  war  immeasurably.  That, 
too,  would  be  base  ingratitude  toward  our 
warriors  near  Arras  and  the  Aisne. 

"  As  regards  our  eastern  neighbor, 
Russia,  I  have  already  recently  spoken. 
It  appears  as  if  new  Russia  had  declined 
for  herself  these  violent  plans  of  con- 
quest. Whether  Russia  will  or  can  act 
in  the  same  sense  on  her  allies  I  am  un- 
able to  estimate.  Doubtless  England, 
with  the  assistance  of  her  allies,  is  em- 
ploying all  her  efforts  to  keep  Russia 
harnessed  to  England's  war  chariot  and 
to  traverse  Russian  wishes  for.  the 
speedy  restoration  of  the  world's  peace. 

Proffer  of  Peace  to  Russia 

"  If,  however,  Russia  wants  to  prevent 
further  bloodshed  and  renounces  all  vio- 
lent plans  of  conquest  for  herself,  if  she 
wishes  to  restore  durable  relations  of 
peaceful  life  side  by  side  with  us,  then 
surely  it  is  a  matter  of  course  that  we, 
as  we  share  this  wish,  will  not  disturb 
the  permanent  relationship  in  the  future 
and  will  not  render  its  development  im- 
possible by  demands  which,  indeed,  do 
not  accord  with  the  freedom  of  nations 
and  would  deposit  in  the  Russian  Nation 
the  germ  of  enmity.  [Thunderous  ap- 
plause.] 

"  I  doubt  not  that  an  agreement  aim- 
ing exclusively  at  a  mutual  understand- 
ing could  be  attained  which  excludes 
every  thought  of  oppression  and  which 
would  leave  behind  no  sting  and  no  dis- 
cord. 

"  Our  military  position  has  never  been 
so  good  since  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
The  enemy  in  the  west,  despite  his  ter- 
rible losses,  cannot  break  through.  Our 
U-boats  are  operating  with  increasing 
success.  I  won't  use  any  fine  words 
about  them — the  deeds  of  our  U-boat 
men  speak  for  themselves.  I  think  even 
the  neutrals  will  recognize  that. 


430 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


"  So  far  as  compatible  with  our  duty 
toward  our  own  people,  who  come  first, 
we  take  into  account  the  interests  of 
the  neutral  States.  The  concessions  which 
we  have  made  to  them  are  not  empty 
promises.  That  is  the  case  in  regard  to 
our  frontier  neighbors.  Holland  and 
Scandinavia,  as  well  as  those  States 
which,  on  account  of  their  geographical 
position,  are  especially  greatly  exposed 
to  enemy  pressure.  I  am  thinking  in 
this  connection  especially  of  Spain, 
which,  loyal  to  her  noble  traditions,  is 
endeavoring  under  great  difficulties  to 
preserve  her  independent  policy  of  neu- 
trality. We  thankfully  recognize  this 
attitude  and  have  only  one  wish — that 
the  Spanish  people  reap  the  reward  of 
their  strong,  independent  policy  by  fur- 
ther developing  their  power. 

"  Thus,  time  is  on  our  side.  With  full 
confidence  we  can  trust  that  we  are  ap- 
proaching a  satisfactory  end.  Then  the 
time  will  come  when  we  can  negotiate 
with  our  enemies  about  our  war  aims, 
regarding  which  I  am  in  full  harmony 
with  the  supreme  army  command.  Then 
we  will  attain  a  peace  which  will  bring 
us  liberty  to  rebuild  what  the  war  has 
destroyed  in  the  unhampered  develop- 
ment of  our  strength,  so  that  from  all 
the  blood  and  all  the  sacrifices  an  em- 
pire, a  people  will  rise  again  strong,  in- 
dependent, and  unthreatened  by  its  en- 
emies, a  bulwark  of  peace  and  labor." 

A  motion  to  end  the  debate  was  lost, 
after  which  the  middle-of-the-road 
parties,  made  up  of  the  Centrists,  Na- 
tional Liberals,  Progressive  People's 
Party  and  German  fraction  presented  a 
joint  declaration  approving  the  Chan- 
cellor's attitude. 


Dr.  Peter  Spahn,  leader  of  the  Catholic 
Centre  Party,  spoke  in  behalf  of  the 
groups  just  mentioned,  approving  the 
Chancellor's  attitude  and  declaring  his 
resolute  opposition  to  all  enemy  inter- 
ference with  Germany's  domestic  affairs. 
"  If  the  enemy,"  he  said,  "  is  combating 
Prussian  militarism  and  the  Hohenzol- 
lerns  in  the  illustrious  person  of  the 
Emperor,  it  will  only  result  in  bringing 
his  Majesty  closer  to  the  hearts  of  the 
German  people." 

A  Republic  Suggested 

Georg  Ledebour,  an  Independent  So- 
cialist, created  a  distinct  stir  by  an  allu- 
sion to  a  republic  in  his  address  follow- 
ing the  Chancellor.    He  said: 

"  The  Chancellor  doubtless  desires  an- 
nexations both  in  the  east  and  west. 
With  the  exception  of  extravagant  vis- 
ionaries, nobody  believes  that  Germany 
can  win  a  war  of  subjugation.  The  Rus- 
sian Socialists  have  made  an  offer  which 
opens  up  the  possibility  of  peace.  This 
is  what  the  Chancellor  forgets.  It  is 
true  that  a  separate  peace  with  Russia 
cannot  be  achieved,  but  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment can  convert  the  Entente,  and  in 
this  direction  we  ought  to  assist  it. 

"  Herr  Scheidemann  must  take  up  the 
cudgels  against  the  Government  if  he 
does  not  want  strong  words,  which  do  not 
shrink  even  from  the  announcement  of  a 
revolution,  to  be  followed  by  deeds.  We 
are  convinced  that  events  must  happen  in 
Germany  as  they  have  happened  in  Rus- 
sia. That  is  what  those  in  power  are 
working  for.  We  must  soon  introduce  a 
republic  in  Germany,  and  we  shall  pro- 
pose that  the  Constitution  Committee 
take  preparatory  steps  in  that  direction." 


Progress  of  the  War 

Recording  Campaigns  on  All  Fronts  and  Collateral  Events 
From    April    19    Up    to   and    Including    May    18,    1917 


UNITED  STATES 

A  British  Commission  headed  by  Lord  Bal- 
four and  a  French  Commission  headed  by- 
Rene  Viviani  conferred  with  American 
officials  in  Washington  on  the  conduct  of 
the  war. 

Heavy  loans,  authorized  by  the  Bond  bill, 
were  made  to  the  Allies. 

Military  censorship  was  established  over  ca- 
bles, telegraph  lines,  and  telephone  lines. 

On  May  16  announcement  was  made  that  a 
squadron  of  American  torpedo  boats,  un- 
der the  command  of  Rear  Admiral  Sims, 
had  safely  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  was 
aiding  the  British  fleet  in  patrolling  the 
seas. 

The  first  hospital  unit  authorized  by  the 
United  States  Government  arrived  in  Eng- 
land May  18. 

The  Army  Conscription  bill  was  passed  by 
Congress  and  signed  by  President  Wilson 
May  18.  The  President  issued  a  procla- 
mation fixing  June  5  as  the  day  for  the 
registration  of  men  between  the  ages  of 
21  and  30.  Announcement  was  made  that 
an  expeditionary  force  of  regular  troops 
under  Major  Gen.  Pershing  would  be  sent 
to  France  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

SUBMARINE   BLOCKADE 

Dr.  Karl  Helfferich  informed  the  Reichstag 
that  more  than  1,600,000  tons  of  shipping 
had  been  sunk  by  the  Germans  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March. 

The  British  official  announcement  for  the 
week  ended  April  29  showed  that  thirty- 
eight  merchant  ships  of  over  1,600  tons 
each  had  been  sunk.  The  report  for  the 
week  ended  May  9  showed  sixty-two  ves- 
sels lost,  but  of  smaller  tonnage  than  in 
the  three  weeks  preceding.  In  the  week 
ended  May  16  twenty-six  vessels,  eighteen 
of  over  1,600  tons,  were  lost.  Seventy- 
five  Norwegian  ships  were  sunk  during 
April  and  more  than  100  sailors  lost  their 
lives.  Captain  Persius  estimated  that  the 
total  tonnage  of  merchant  craft  destroyed 
by  the  Germans  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war  up  to  April  1  was  6,641,000. 

The  Belgian  relief  ship  Korigsli  was  sunk, 
either  by  a  mine  or  a  torpedo. 

Two  British  hospital  ships,  the  Donegal  and 
the  Lanfranc,  were  sunk  without  warning 
and  seventy-five  men  were  killed,  includ- 
ing some  wounded  German  prisoners. 
Other  British  losses  included  the  troop- 
ship Ballarat,  the  freighter  Harpagus, 
and  the  transport  Cameronia,  on  which 
140  lives  were  lost.     Ninety  lives  were  lost 


when  the  African  steamer  Abosso  was 
torpedoed  on  April  24. 

The  list  of  American  ships  sunk  included  the 
schooners  Woodward  Abraham  and  Percy 
Birdsall,  the  oil  tanker  Vacuum,  on  which 
seventeen  lives  were  lost;  the  unarmed 
steamer  Hilonian,  on  which  four  persons 
were  lost,  and  the  Rockingham,  with  two 
persons  killed.  Germany  disclaimed  the 
sinking  of  the  American  tank  steamer 
Healdton. 

The  Dutch  fishing  fleet  was  forced  to  sus- 
pend operations  because  of  the  constant 
torpedoing  of  vessels  and  because  of  Ger- 
many's failure  to  provide  coal  as  she 
promised.  Germany,  in  reprisal,  an- 
nounced that  the  Relief  Commission  would 
not  be  allowed  to  import  fish  for  the  popu- 
lation of  Belgium  and  Northern  France. 

Argentina  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Germany  de- 
manding satisfaction  for  the  sinking  of 
the  sailing  ship  Monte  Protegido.  Ger- 
many apologized  and  offered  an  indem- 
nity. 

Guatemala  severed  diplomatic  relations  with 
Germany. 

The  President  of  Haiti  sent  a  message  to 
Congress  demanding  a  declaration  of  war 
against  Germany.  The  Congress,  acting 
in  accordance  with  the  report  of  a  special 
commission,  decided  against  war,  but  a 
strong  protest  was  sent  to  Germany 
against  the  drowning  of  five  Haitian  citi- 
zens on  the  French  steamship  Montreal, 
with  the  announcement  that  diplomatic 
relations  would  be  severed  unless  repara- 
tion was  made. 

Turkey  severed  diplomatic  relations  with  the 
United  States. 

The  Chinese  House  of  Representatives  re- 
fused to  pass  a  resolution  declaring  war 
on  Germany. 

Liberia  severed  diplomatic  relations  with 
Germany. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  EASTERN  EUROPE 

April  28— Increased  activity  of  Russian  guns 

near    Lutsk    and    the    Zlota    Lipa,    Mara- 

yuvka,  and  Putna  Rivers. 
May    5— Russian    fire    increases    from    Kovel 

to  Stanislau. 
May  6— German   offensive   beaten   back   near 

Zolotschevsk. 
May  18— Russians  beat  back  German  attacks 

in  the  region  of  Shelvov. 
CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE 
April    19— French    occupy    Aizy,    Jouy,    Laf- 

faux,    and   Fort  de   Conde,    in   the  Vailly 


432 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


district,  take  several  heights  east  of 
Moronvillers,  and  carry  trench  lines  near 
Auberive. 

April  20 — French  occupy  Sancy  and  drive 
Germans  to  heights  dominated  by  Mal- 
maison  Fort;  Germans  announce  aban- 
donment of  the  bank  of  the  River  Aisne, 
between  Conde  and  Soupir. 

April  21— French  push  forward  toward  ridge 
topped  by  the  Chemin  des  Dames  and 
make  progress  south  of  Juvincourt;  Brit- 
ish capture  Gonnelieu,  drawing  their  lines 
closer  around  Havrincourt  Wood. 

April  22— British  close  in  on  Havrincourt 
"Wood  and  take  part  of  Trescault;  Ger- 
mans repulsed  by  French  in  attack  on 
Mont  Haut. 

April  23— French  repulse  German  attacks  in 
Belgium. 

April  24— British  advance  east  of  Monchy  and 
between  Monchy  and  the  Sensee  River; 
French  improve  their  positions  south  of 
St.  Quentin, 

April  25— British  advance  south  of  the  Scarpe 
and  extend  their  lines  from  Trescault  to 
Bilhemion,  south  of  the  Bapaume-Cam- 
brai  Road. 

April  26— French  beat  off  German  counter- 
attacks near  the  Chemin  des   Dames. 

April  28— British  begin  new  attack  north  of 
the  S'carpe,  capture  German  positions  on  a 
two-mile  front  north  and  south  of  Arleux, 
push  forward  northeast  of  Gravelle,  and 
gain  ground  north  of  Monchy.  . 

April  29— British  capture  German  trenches 
south  of  Oppy  on  a  front  of  half  a  mile. 

April  30— French  make  new  attack  in  Cham- 
pagne and  capture  trenches  on  both  sides 
of  Mont  Carnillet. 

May  2— French  in  Champagne  push  forward 
south  of  Beire. 

May  3— British  penetrate  the  Hindenburg  line 
west  of  Queant,  take  Fresnoy,  and  part 
of  Bullecourt. 

May  4— French  capture  Craonne  and  German 
first  line  trenches  on  a  front  of  two  and 
a  half  miles  northwest  of  Rheims. 

May  5— French  carry  a  salient  in  the  Hin- 
denburg line  on  both  sides  of  the  Sois- 
sons-Laon  Road,  on  a  front  of  nearly  four 
miles,  clear  Craonne  Plateau  from  east  of 
Cerny-en-Laonnais  to  a  point  east  of 
Craonne,  and  push  forward  to  the  hills 
dominating  the  valley  of  theAillette  River. 

May  0— French  clear  all  but  a  small  section 
of  the  Chemin  des  Dames;  British  repulse 
strong  German  counterattacks  on  their 
new  positions  near  Bullecourt. 

May  8— Germans  retake  Fresnoy. 

May  9— British  regain  part  of  the  ground  lost 
at  Fresnoy  and  repel  attacks  near  Gav- 
relle ;  French  capture  first  line  of  German 
trenches  northeast  of  Chevreux  and  re- 
pulse attacks  on  the  plateau  of  Chemin 
des  Dames. 

May  11— Allies  repulse  German  attacks 
against  Lens  and  in  the  Cerny  section. 

May  12— British  troops  enter  Bullecourt  and 


capture  fortified  works  at  Roeux  and 
Cavalry  Farm;  French  in  Verdun  region 
penetrate  German  line  north  of  Bezon- 
vaux. 
"May  13— British  advance  their  outposts  north 
of  Bullecourt  and  take  part  of  Roeux 
Village. 

May  14— British  capture  the  whole  of  Roeux 
and  advance  toward  Oppy. 

May  15— Germans  launch  four  massed  at- 
tacks on  new  British  positions  in  Bulle- 
court and  penetrate  first  French  line 
southwest  of  Filaine. 

May  16— British  forced  back  temporarily  at 
Roeux,  but  retake  all  positions ;  Germans 
strike  hard  northeast  of  Soissons,  but  are 
driven  back,  by  French  counterattacks. 

May  17— British  complete  the  capture  of 
Bullecourt;  French  win  ground  east  of 
Craonne  and  repulse  attacks  in  Laffaux 
district ;  many  villages  near  St.  Quentin 
afire. 

May  18— Germans  repulsed  by  French  with 
grenades  near  Craonne ;  French  penetrate 
German  lines  in  Lorraine  near  Petoncourt. 

BALKAN  CAMPAIGN 

April  20 — French  recapture  trenches  lost 
April  18  near  Trsvena  Stena., 

April  22 — Fighting  renewed  in  the  bend  of 
the  Cerna  River  and  near  Lake  Doiran. 

April  23 — Russians  drive  Teutons  from  ad- 
vanced posts  in  Rumania  and  re-establish 
first  lines. 

April  26 — British  take  Bulgar  trenches  west 
of  Lake  Doiran  on  a  1,000-meter  front, 

May  5 — French  and  Venizelist  troops  in 
Macedonia  occupy  enemy  positions  in  the 
region  of  Jumnica. 

May  9 — Russian  troops  on  the  Rumanian 
front  northwest  of  Senne  break  through 
Teuton  positions  and  advance  upon 
Jenawer. 

May  10 — British  take  two  miles  of  Bulgar 
trenches. 

May  12 — Germans  and  Bulgarians  gain  a 
foothold  on  Srka  di  Legen,  west  of  the 
Vardar  heights ;  Venizelos  troops  carry 
an  enemy  work  near  Lymnitsa. 

May  16 — British  troops  in  Macedonia  capture 
Kjupri,  on  the  Struma  front,  and  advance 
trenches  on  a  wide  front  southwest  of 
Ernekeoi. 

ITALIAN  CAMPAIGN 

May  13 — Italians  begin  terrific  bombardment 

to  destroy  Austrian  defenses  on  the  Carso 

front. 
May  15 — Italians  take   the   offensive  on  the 

Isonzo    front    and    make    progress    in    the 

Plava  area,  on  the  slopes  of  Monte  Cucco, 

and    on    the    hills    east    of    Gorizia    and 

Vertobizza. 
May    16 — Italians    force    a    passage    of    the 

Isonzo  River,  capturing  Bombrez,  Zagora, 

and  Zagomila. 
May  17 — Italians  cross  the  Isonzo  River  and 

take  Mount  Kuk  ;  right  wing  takes  Duino, 

on  the  way  to  Trieste. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


433 


May  18 — British  War  Office  announces  that 
British  heavy  artillery  batteries  are  co- 
operating with  the  Italians  against  the 
Austrians  on  the  Julian  front. 

ASIA  MINOR 

April    20 — British    force    a    passage    of    the 

Shatt-el-Adhem    and    rout   Turkish   forces 

covering  the  Istabulat  station. 
April  23 — Turks  evacuate  Istabulat. 
April-  24 — British  occupy  Samara  station. 
April  30 — Turks  intrench   fifteen  miles  north 

of  Samara. 
May  2 — Russians  evacuate  Mush. 
May  12 — Russians  force  their  way  across  the 

Diala    River   at   two   points    northwest   of 

Bagdad. 

AERIAL  RECORD 

The  Germans  reported  that  362  French  and 
British  airplanes  were  brought  down  in 
April,  but  admitted  the  loss  of  only 
seventy-four  of  their  own.  In  three  days, 
April  23  to  April  25,  the  Allies  reported 
fifty-five  German  machines  brought  down 
and  thirty-nine  of  their  own  lost.  From 
May  1  to  May  7  seventy-six  German  air- 
planes were  brought  down,  according  to 
a  French  report.  A  compilation  from 
official  sources  showed  717  machines  lost 
in  April — 369  German,  201  French  and 
Belgian,  and  147  British.  The  Germans 
bombarded  Dunkirk,  Nancy,  and  Belfort. 
In  response  for  the  bombardment  of  Cha- 
lons and  Epernay  by  the  Germans,  French 
aviators  bombarded  Treves,  on  the  Saare 
River. 

The  British  steamer  Gena  was  torpedoed  and 
sunk  by  a  German  seaplane  off  the  coast 
of  Suffolk.  German  airplanes  dropped 
bombs  northeast  of  London  on  May  7, 
killing  one  person  and  injuring  two.  The 
Zeppelin  L-22  was  brought  down  in  the 
North  Sea  by  a  British  naval  battleplane. 

British  aviators  aided  the  attacking  British 
monitors  in  a  raid  off  Zeebrugge  and 
photographed  the  entire  Belgian  coast, 
mapping  the  German  defenses. 

NAVAL  RECORD 

A  Russian  destroyer  sank  ten  schooners  in 
the  Black  Sea. 

The  Germans  made  several  raids  off  the 
coast  of  England.  On  April  21  two  Ger- 
man destroyers  were  sunk  near  Dover. 
Berlin  reported  a  British  outpost  vessel 
destroyed  and  a  scouting  ship  torpedoed. 
On  April  27  German  destroyers  bombarded 
Ramsgate,  but  were  driven  off  by  land 
batteries  after  an  attack  in  which  a  man 
and  a  woman  were  killed.  British  light 
cruisers  and  destroyers  chased  eleven 
German  destroyers  between  the  English 
and  the  Dutch  coasts.  One  German  tor- 
pedo boat  was  damaged. 

German  warships  bombarded  Calais,  killing 
and  wounding  civilians.  A  French  de- 
stroyer was   sunk   in  a  raid  on   Dunkirk. 

A  British  torpedo-boat  destroyer,  hit  a  mine 
on  May  4.     One  officer  and  sixty-one  men 


were  lost.  A  British  mine  sweeper  was 
torpedoed  and  sunk  May  5,  with  the  loss 
of  two  officers  and  twenty  men. 

British  warships,  aided  by  an  air  fleet,  bom- 
barded Zeebrugge  on  May  12,  destroying 
two  submarine  sheds  and  killing  sixty- 
three  persons. 

The  armed  American  steamer  Mongolia  fired 
on  a  German  submarine  in  British  waters 
on  April  19  and  damaged  it. 

American  warships  began  operations  in  the 
North  Sea,  and  Japanese  warships  arrived 
at  Marseilles  to  combat  submarines  off 
the  coast  of  France. 

Fourteen  British  mine  sweepers  were  sunk, 
the  British  light  cruiser  Dartmouth  was 
torpedoed,  and  an  Italian  destroyer  was 
sunk  in  a  raid  by  Austrian  light  cruisers 
in  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

RUSSIA 

On  May  5  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates  adopted  a  vote  of  con- 
fidence in  the  Provisional  Government  by 
a  small  majority.  There  followed,  how- 
ever, a  period  of  bitter  conflict  between 
the  council  and  the  Government.  Gen- 
erals Korniloff,  Brusiloff,  and  Gurko  re- 
signed from  the  army,  but  the  last  two 
withdrew ^their  resignations  after  partial 
harmony  was  restored.  General  Guchkoff 
resigned  as  Minister  of  War.  He  was 
succeeded  by  A.  F.  Kerensky.  Paul  N. 
Milukoff  resigned  as  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  and  was  succeeded  by  Tere- 
schenko.  On  May  16  the  Government,  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Duma,  and 
the  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates  agreed  on  a  basic  program,  in- 
cluding continuance  of  the  war.  A  Coali- 
tion Cabinet,  containing  five  representa- 
tives of  the  Socialist  groups,  was  formed, 
with  Prince  Lvoff  retained  as  Premier. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Labor  troubles  and  riots  occurred  in  several 
cities  in  Germany  because  of  food  scarcity. 
The  Constitution  Committee  of  the  Reichs- 
tag adopted  several  proposals  to  restrict 
the  authority  of  the  Emperor.  Chancellor 
von  Bethmann  Hollweg  in  a  speech  to  the 
Reichstag  on  May  15  announced  Ger- 
many's willingness  to  make  easy  peace 
terms  with  Russia,  but  made  no  offer  to 
the  other  Entente  Allies. 

A  new  Cabinet  was  formed  in  Greece  by 
Alexander  Zaimis. 

General  Petain  was  appointed  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  French  armies  operating  on 
the  French  front. 

A  new  Cabinet  was  formed  in  Spain,  with 
Marquis  Manuel  Garcia  Prieto  as  Premier. 
Announcement  was  made  that  strict  neu- 
trality would  be  maintained. 

Brazil  issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality  in 
respect  to  the  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Germany.  Dr.  Lauro  Muller 
resigned  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
Nilo  Pecanha  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him. 


CURRENT  HISTORY  CHRONICLED 


[Period  Ended  May  20,  1917] 


Conduct  of  Enemy  Aliens 

THE  conduct  of  the  millions  of  Ger- 
mans in  the  United  States  after  the 
declaration  of  a  state  of  war  with  their 
Fatherland,  which  was  regarded  with  ap- 
prehension by  many,  proved  a  gratify- 
ing relief  during  the  first  six  weeks 
after  the  war  resolution  was  adopted. 
All  Government  officials  were  highly 
pleased  over  the  success  of  the  policy 
toward  aliens  which  the  President  advo- 
cated in  his  war  message  to  Congress, 
in  which  he  declared  that  the  generous 
spirit  with  which  America  entered  the 
war,  and  the  absence  of  vindictiveness  on 
the  part  of  the  American  people,  could 
best  be  displayed  by  their  kindly  attitude 
toward  Germans  living  in  this  country. 
According  to  a  statement  issued  by  the 
Department  of  Justice,  it  had  been  found 
necessary  to  arrest  only  125  alien 
enemies  under  the  President's  proclama- 
tion. Attorney  General  Gregory  saicf  on 
May  7: 

The  foreign-born  citizens  of  America  as  a 
class  deserve  the  highest  commendation  and 
praise  for  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
conducted  themselves  since  the  declaration 
of  war  against  Germany.  As  regards  law 
and  order,  they  have  in  almost  all  Instances 
stood  with  the  Government,  and  have  vindi- 
cated the  President's  oft-repeated  assertion 
that  he  had  no  misgivings  as  to  how  foreign- 
born  Americans  would  measure  up  to  their 
responsibilities  and  duties  in  the  event  of 
a  national  crisis. 

The  number  of  arrests  which  the  Govern- 
ment has  been  forced  to  make  has  been 
gratifyingly  small.  Agents  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  have  arrested  only  125  alien 
enemies  under  the  President's  proclamation. 
About  one-half  of  these  are  being  held  be- 
cause it  was  decided  that  they  would  be 
dangerous  to  the  Government  if  permitted  to 
remain  at  large.  The  remainder  of  the  alien 
enemies  arrested  since  the  declaration  of  war 
were  taken  into  custody  on  charges  of  espion- 
age or  attempts  to  foment  disloyalty  or  dis- 
orders. 

*      *      * 

Latin  America  and  the  War 
/^UBA   is   the   first   nation    of    Latin 
^     America   to   enter  the  war   as   the 
ally  of  the  United   States  and  the  En- 


tente Powers.  Other  Latin-American 
countries,  taken  alphabetically,  stand  as 
follows:  Argentina — which  has  between 
two  and  three  million  citizens  of  Italian 
origin  and  a  quarter  million  French, 
while  the  British  and  German  colonies 
are  about  equal,  some  70,000  each — is 
still  formally  neutral,  having  presented 
an  ultimatum  to  Germany  and  received 
an  apology.  The  next  submarine  out- 
rage may  lead  to  severed  relations  or 
war.  In  Buenos  Aires,  the  capital,  there 
have  been  enthusiastic  war  parades,  num- 
bering 100,000  men.  Bolivia  was  the 
first  South  American  country  to  indorse 
the  protest  of  the  United  States;  the 
army  is  "  German  trained,  but  French 
equipped  and  strongly  pro-ally."  Bolivia, 
which  has  no  merchant  marine,  protested 
on  principle. 

Brazil,  where  a  strong  German  ele- 
ment is  balanced  by  a  much  larger  but 
less  closely  organized  Italian  colony, 
has  severed  relations  with  Germany,  but 
is  not  yet  at  war,  although  the  new 
Foreign  Minister,  Senhor  Milo  Pecanha, 
who  succeeded  Lauro  Muller,  is  strongly 
pro-ally  and  is  said  to  be  pledged  to  go 
to  war.  In  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  German 
Club  and  the  Grande  Hotel  Schmidt  have 
been  burned  to  ashes,  German  newspa- 
pers have  stopped  publication,  and  Ger- 
man flags  have  been  hauled  down.  In 
Chile,  it  is  stated,  70  per  cent,  of  the 
population  is  strongly  pro-ally;  it  is  re- 
ported that  the  Chilean  Minister  to  Ger- 
many has  demanded  his  passports. 

Guatemala  has  broken  with  Germany 
and  has  offered  the  use  of  her  ports  and 
railroads  to  the  United  States  for  war 
purposes.  A  German  wireless  plant  has 
been  dismantled.  Dr.  Lehmann,  German 
Minister  to  Guatemala,  was  one  of  the 
leading  figures  in  the  futile  plot  to  stir 
up  revolutions  in  Central  America  to 
embarrass  the  United  States.  Nicaragua 
and  Salvador  have  offered  their  harbors 
to  the  United  States,  while  Panama  has 
declared  war,  and,  like  Cuba,  is  now  the 
ally  of  the   United   States  and  the  En- 


CURRENT  HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


435 


tente.      Mexico's    final    decision    is    still 
uncertain. 

*     *     * 

Lord  Cecil  and  German  Colonies 
T  ORD  ROBERT  CECIL,  speaking  as 
■L*  Acting  Foreign  Secretary,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Arthur  James  Balfour,  concern- 
ing the  application  of  the  non-annexation 
theory  to  Germany's  former  colonies  in 
Africa,  said  that,  while  it  was  true  that 
England  had  not  taken  these  colonies  in 
order  to  rescue  the  natives  from  German 
rule,  but  as  a  part  of  the  war  opera- 
tions, nevertheless  England,  having  res- 
cued them,  could  hardly  contemplate 
handing  them  over  again  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  their  German  tyrants.  He 
then  read  an  account  of  the  shocking 
treatment  suffered  by  the  natives  in 
both  German  East  Africa  and  German 
West  Africa,  and  said  that  if  the  En- 
tente Powers  won  any  measure  of  suc- 
cess in  the  war  /he  would  regard  with 
horror  the  idea  of  returning  natives  who 
had  been  set  free  from  a  Government  of 
that  kind. 

Corroboration  of  all  that  Lord  Robert 
Cecil  said  comes  from  several  inde- 
pendent sources — from  the  officers  of  the 
French  armies  which  co-operated  with 
the  English  in  the  capture  of  the  Came- 
roon region;  from  the  Belgian  expedi- 
tionary force  now  operating  in  German 
East  Africa  in  the  direction  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  from  the  Portuguese  contin- 
gent, which  has  entered  the  same  region 
from  the  south. 

All  evidence  indicates  that  Germany 
has  tried  to  rule  her  African  colonies  by 
the  means  which  she  applied  in  Belgium, 
in  Poland,  and  in  occupied  France — en- 
slavement, terrorism,  and  brutality.  To 
pass  over  the  habitual  abuse  of  women 
of  the  native  African  races,  who  were 
treated  as  chattel  slaves,  there  have  been 
well-substantiated  reports,  published  in 
detail  in  l'lllustration,  of  the  wholesale 
murder  and  mutilation  of  natives  sus- 
pected of  being  favorable  to  France  and 
England — or,  rather,  to  the  French  and 
English  armies  that  were  approaching 
to  liberate  them — as  well  as  the  custom- 
ary terrorism  to  compel  natives  to  fight 
in  Germany's  African  armies;  for  Ger- 


many, from  the  outset,  employed  negro 
troops  to  fight  against  the  French  and 
English. 

*  *     * 

Britain's  Vast  War  Expenses 
^IREAT  Britain's  war  budget  for  the 
^*  fiscal  year,  as  introduced  May  2  by 
Andrew  Bonar  Law,  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  carried  estimates  of  $11,451,- 
905,000  for  expenditures.  Mr.  Law  laid 
emphasis  on  the  statement  that  Great 
Britain  was  paying  a  greater  share  of 
her  war  expenses  from  her  income  than 
were  the  other  belligerents,  the  amount 
paid  out  of  the  revenue  being  26  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  war  expenditure.  He 
said  the  total  of  Treasury  bills  outstand- 
ing was  about  two  billion  dollars — in  ex- 
act figures,  £463,000,000.  He  estimated 
the  daily  expenses  of  the  war  to  Great 
Britain  at  $31,175,000.  The  excess  prof- 
its tax  was  raised  from  60  to  80  per  cent. 
Discussing  the  expenditures  of  the  last 
year,  Mr.  Bonar  Law  said  they  had  been 
£372,000,000  higher  than  the  estimate. 
The  increase  was  largely  due  to  expendi- 
tures on  munitions  and  advances  to  the 
Allies  and  dominions.  The  estimate  for 
the  Allies  and  dominions  had  been  ex- 
ceeded by  £100,000,000. 

*  *     * 

First  American  Gun  Fired 

CAPTAIN  RICE  of  the  American 
steamship  Mongolia,  which  arrived 
at  Liverpool  April  25,  reported  that  the 
first  gun  of  the  war  fired  from  an  Amer- 
ican ship  was  fired  from  the  Mongolia 
April  19  at  the  periscope  of  a  German 
submarine.  He  believed  that  the  shell 
went  true  to  the  mark  and  sank  the 
hostile  craft.  The  periscope  was  sighted 
dead  ahead  on  the  last  afternoon  of  the 
voyage.  The  Captain  gave  the  order  for 
full  speed  ahead  with  the  intention  of 
ramming  the  submarine.  The  periscope 
disappeared,  and  a  few  minutes  later  re- 
appeared on  the  ship's  broadside.  The 
gunners  fired  at  1,000  yards.  The  sub- 
marine immediately  disappeared  and  oil 
was  seen  on  the  water  when  it  sub- 
merged. It  was  later  reported  that  the 
periscope  had  been  smashed  and  the  com- 
mander killed,  but  the  submarine  was 
not  sunk. 


436 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


Portuguese  Soldiers  in  France 

A  LARGE  detachment  of  soldiers  from 
Portugal  are  serving  with  the 
Entente  Allies  in  France.  These  troops 
were  landed  at  Brest  early  in  March, 
1917,  and  went  at  once  to  the  front. 
They  consist  of  infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery,  and  occupy  an  independent 
sector  under  the  command  of  General 
Tamagnani.  Portugal  also  has  an  army 
in  East  Africa  which,  in  co-operation 
with  the  English  and  Belgian  forces,  has 
practically  occupied  all  the  German  terri- 
tory there.  Conquest  was  not  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Portuguese  Government;  tra- 
ditional friendship  with  England  and  the 
natural  sympathy  of  a  Latin  country  with 
Italy  and  France  led  her  to  antagonize 
the  Teutons.  The  Portuguese  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Senor  Soares,  recently 
issued  a  statement  which  leaves  the  im- 
pression that  Portugal  would  not  have 
declared  war,  on  its  part,  but  would  have 
maintained  the  attitude  it  took  in  the 
seizure  of  German  ships  in  its  harbors, 
if  Germany  had  not  chosen  to  force 
belligerency  upon  it.  Fifty  thousand 
Portuguese  troops  were  reported  in 
France  in  May. 

*     *     * 

Socialist  Parties  in  the  Duma 

WITH  the  Socialists  participating 
more  fully  in  the  provisional 
Russian  Government,  it  is  important 
to  distinguish  between  the  different 
Socialist  parties.  Kerensky  has  beeit 
incorrectly  described  as  the  Socialist 
leader,  whereas  he  is  only  the  leader  of 
one  of  the  three  distinct  parties  into 
which  the  Russian  working  class  move- 
ment is  divided.  His  party  is  the  Group 
of  Toil,  which  in  the  strictest  sense  is  not 
a  Socialist  party,  but  a  political  organi- 
zation of  the  mujiks,  or  peasants,  whose 
traditions  are  those  of  the  old  Russian 
communism,  and  who,  at  the  election  for 
the  first  Duma,  were  greatly  attracted 
by  the  semi-communist  program  of  the 
Group  of  Toil.  At  that  election  the 
Group  of  Toil  succeeded  in  returning  104 
Deputies  to  the  Duma,  but  its  represen- 
tation was  subsequently  cut  down  by  the 
Czar's  Government,  and  it  was  able  to 
elect   only  ten   Deputies   to   the   Fourth 


Duma.  Kerensky  was  their  leader,  and 
his  important  position  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  radical  peasant  movement  is 
much  greater  than  its  Parliamentary  rep- 
resentation indicates.  In  the  reconstruct- 
ed Cabinet  the  Group  of  Toil,  or  Social 
Populists,  as  they  are  also  called,  have 
three  Ministers,  including  Kerensky.  The 
second  Socialist  party  is  the  Social  Revo- 
lutionary Party,  which  has  been  more 
anarchistic  in  its  aims  and  methods,  and 
most  closely  connected  with  the  terrorists 
and  nihilists.  The  third  party,  the  Social 
Democratic  Labor  Party,  is  the  most  rep- 
resentative of  the  industrial  working 
class  population  and  the  counterpart  of 
the  real  Socialist  movement  in  other 
countries,  for  it  is  based  upon  the  Marx- 
ian Socialist  philosophy.  All  three  Rus- 
sian Socialist  parties,  however,  have  been 
recognized  by  the  international  con- 
gresses; and,  though  there  are  wide  dif- 
ferences between  the  Social  Democrats 
and  the  Group  of  Toil,  and  many  minor 
differences  within  each  party,  they  are 
united  in  their  opposition  to  the  property- 
owning  and  commercial  classes. 
*     *     * 

The   Personal   Wealth   op    Nicholas 
Romanoff 

HIGHLY  picturesque  and  irreconcil- 
ably divergent  accounts  of  the 
wealth  of  the  former  Emperor  of 
Russia  have  been  going  the  rounds  of 
the  press  since  the  Russian  revolution 
on  the  Ides  of  March.  They  should  all 
be  regarded  with  skepticism,  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  vast  Crown  demesne  of  Rus- 
sia has  always  been  regarded  as  the  per- 
sonal property  of  the  Emperors;  it  has 
never  been  included  in  the  general  fiscal 
statistics  of  Russia,  and  no  items  concern- 
ing it  have  ever  appeared  in  the  Russian 
budget.  It  has  been  managed  by  a  sep- 
arate minister,  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  the  ruler,  and  has  been 
treated  as  a  family  estate. 

Here  are  a  few  facts,  which  seem  to  be 
quite  authentic:  The  Crown  demesne  of  the 
Romanoffs  includes  over  a  million  square 
miles— that  is,  over  640,000,000  acres— 
of  rich  arable  land,  pasture,  and  forest, 
besides  many  mines  of  gold,  platinum, 
copper,  iron,  and  so  forth.     The  area  of 


CURRENT  HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


437 


the  Russian  Crown  demesne,  thus  stated 
by  the  Statesman's  Year  Book,  is, 
therefore,  larger  than  the  combined  areas 
of  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  and  Austria; 
larger  than  the  area  of  the  United  States 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica  makes  itself  responsi- 
ble for  the  following  details:  In  European 
Russia,  the  Crown  demesne  contains 
400,000,000  acres,  or  35  per  cent,  of  the 
cultivated  land,  while  446,000,000  acres, 
or  38  per  cent,  is  owned  by  peasants,  the 
remainder  being  held  by  landowners  and 
towns.  In  Poland,  the  Crown  demesne 
includes  1,800,000  acres,  much  of  it  made 
up   of  confiscated   estates. 

These  enormous  Crown  holdings  be- 
come more  intelligible,  if  we  remember 
that  the  old  Russia  was,  in  fact,  a 
patriarchal  family,  of  which  the  Emperor 
was  the  patriarchal  head,  the  source  of 
all  power  and  of  all  emoluments.  The 
Crown  lands  paid  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  numberless  palaces,  in  Petrograd, 
Moscow,  Tsarskoe-Selo,  Gatchina,  and 
elsewhere;  for  the  expenses  of  the  Em- 
peror and  his  Court;  for  the  numerous 
imperial  family,  of  sixty  or  seventy  mem- 
bers; and,  further,  large  lots  of  land 
were  given,  in  lieu  of  pensions,  as  a  re- 
ward for  services  to  the  State.  Between 
1871  and  1881,  1,300,000  acres  were  thus 
distributed.     *     *     * 

*     *     * 

One  Thousand  Days  op  War 
APRIL  30,  1917,  was  the  thousandth 
•^J-  day  of  the  European  war.  Two  days 
later  Herr  Joseph  Freidrich  Naumann,  a 
former  Conservative  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Reichstag,  was  reported  in  an  Am- 
sterdam dispatch  to  have  made  in  a 
lecture  the  following  statement: 

"  Until  now  the  war  has  caused  us  a 
loss   of   1,300,000   dead.     This,  together 
with  the  decrease  in  birth,  gives  a  re- 
duction of  3,800,000.    The  surplus  of  fe- 
males has  increased  from  800,000  to  fart 
^as  never  since  the  Thirty  Years'  WarX* 
Snore  than  2,000,000.  The  nation  has  bled 
It  is  stated  that  this  estimate  did  not 
include  the  losses  in  the  offensive  begun 
April  1,  1917,  which,  it  is  estimated,  will 
exceed  in  April  alone  200,000.     If  such 
is  the  case  the  total  number  of  Germans 


killed  in  the  1,000  days  of  war  will  not 
fall  far  short  of  1,500,000,  or  1,500  a 
day,  about  one  in  every  minute  of  the 
twenty-four  hours  of  each  day  in  the 
thousand. 

*  *     * 

FT1  HE  United  States  Shipping  Board  on 
•*•  May  13  awarded  to  the  Los  Angeles 
Shipbuilding  and  Dry  Dock  Company  a 
contract  to  build  eight  steel  ships  of 
8,000  tons  each,  to  cost  $10,771,200.  It 
is  the  first  of  momentous  steps  to  rush 
ahead  operations  in  all  yards  on  a  full- 
time  basis.  Other  contracts  already 
drafted  and  ready  to  be  signed  are  to 
be  awarded  within  a  short  time.  The 
Shipping  Board  intends  to  build  fully 
1,000  such  ships  in  the  quickest  time 
possible.      For   this   purpose    a   fund   of 

$750,000,000  was  provided  by  Congress. 
*       *       * 

Turkey  Breaks  Relations 

THE  Turkish  Government  on  April  20 
officially  informed  the  American 
Embassy  that  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  United  States  had  been  broken  off. 
Abram  I.  Elkus,  the  American  Ambas- 
sador, was  ill  with  typhus  fever  at  the 
time,  and  was  compelled  to  remain  at 
Constantinople  for  some  weeks  after- 
ward; his  staff  remained  with  him.  Ar- 
menian interests  in  Turkey  were  confided 
to  the  Swedish  Minister.  The  American 
State  Department  on  April  23  gave  pass- 
ports to  Abdul  Hak  Hussein  Bey,  First 
Secretary  and  Charge  d'Affaires  of  the 
Embassy,  and  other  members  of  the  staff. 
The  Turkish  Ambassador,  A.  Rustem 
Bey,  was  recalled  by  the  Government 
early  in  the  war  on  account  of  injudicious 
criticisms  of  the  President.  Robert  Col- 
lege and  the  Bible  House  and  its  branches 
were  closed,  and  Americans  left  the  Turk- 
ish capital.  On  April  27  the  Swedish  Min- 
ister cabled  that  the  American  colleges 
at  Constantinople  would  be  permitted  to 

continue  their  activities. 

*  .%     * 

France's   New   Chief   Commander 

GENERAL  PETAIN  was  appointed 
on  May  15  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  French  armies  operating  on  the 
French  front.  General  Nivelle  was  placed 
in  command  of  a  group  of  armies.  Gen- 
eral Foch,  who  played  an  important  role 


4:>s 


THE  NEW   YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


in  the  battles  of  the  Marne  and  the  Yser, 
succeeds  General  Petain  as  Chief  of  Staff 
of  the  Ministry  of  War. 

The  transfers  were  approved  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  War. 
General  Nivelle  some  time  ago  succeeded 
General  Joffre  in  chief  command  along 
the  western  front.  Recently  a  new  mili- 
tary  office  was  created,  that  of  Chief  of 
the  General  Staff,  to  which  General  Pe- 
tain was  assigned,  with  authority  to  act 
as  the  principal  adviser  to  the  Minister 
of  War  upon  all  military  movements. 
This  made  General  Petain  the  chief  con- 
sultative authority  at  the  Ministry  of 
War  in  formulating  movements,  but 
without  actual  command  of  troops  in  the 
field,  for  which  his  experience  appeared 
to  qualify  him. 

General  Petain,  in  a  statement  on  the 
day  of  his  appointment,  urged  America 
to  send  as  many  men  as  possible  as  soon 
as  they  can  be  transported  to  France,  to 
be  put  into  immediate  training  under 
French  commanders,  but  to  maintain 
their  autonomy  as  American  units. 
*     *     * 

Strikes  in  Germany 
"TvURING  the  last  days  of  April  and 
■*--'  early  in  May  a  serious  strike  situ- 
ation arose  in  Germany,  but  the  news 
censorship  was  so  strict  that  only  meagre 
reports  could  be  obtained,  and  the  facts 
were  not  fully  authenticated.  On  April 
23  it  was  stated  that  the  military  author- 
ities had  taken  control  of  the  German 
weapon  and  munition  factory  at  Berlin, 
and  the  workmen  were  ordered  to  return 
to  work  immediately;  otherwise  they 
would  be  mobilized  as  soldiers  and  com- 
pelled to  work  at  soldiers'  wages.  This 
ended  that  strike. 

Strikes  were  reported  all  over  the  em- 
pire, and  included  the  great  Krupp  works 
and  other  great  industrial  plants.  Field 
Marshal  Hindenburg  sent  a  message  to 
General  Groener,  head  of  the  munitions 
department,  urging  the  striking  working- 
men  to  resume  their  labors,  in  order  that 
the  military  forces  of  the  empire,  espe- 
cially on  the  western  front,  should  not  be 
seriously  hampered.  He  said  he  recog- 
nized that  the  population  had  been  hit 
hard  by  the  reduction  of  the  bread  ration, 
but  that  undoubtedly  the  increase  in  meat 


and  the  regular  delivery  of  potatoes 
would  compensate  therefor.  He  added: 
"  Every  strike,  however  small,  may  be 
the  means  of  an  unjustifiable  weakening 
of  our  defensive  forces  and  is  an  inex- 
cusable crime  against  the  fighting  forces, 
especially  the  men  in  the  trenches,  who 
bleed  in  consequence." 

In  reply  to  this  the  German  Labor  Fed- 
eration issued  an  address  stating  that  the 
fairer  distribution  of  food  would  allay 
the  discontent,  but  added 

The  chief  causes  for  the  prevailing  spirit  of 
unrest  are  the  inadequacy  of  the  food  policy 
and  a  desire  to  obtain  measures  for  providing 
for  the  complete  requisition  and  just  distri- 
bution of  all  available  foodstuffs.  Workers 
are  aware,  and  the  fact  is  undeniable,  that 
large  quantities  of  foodstuffs  are  still  ob- 
tainable outside  the  rationing  system,  but  at 
prices  prohibitive  to  the  workers.  These  food- 
stuffs are  consumed  mainly  by  people  who 
are  not  compelled  to  place  their  full  working 
capacities  and  service  at  the  defense  of  the 
country.  The  desire  to  bring  about  a  more 
equal  distribution  of  foodstuffs  has  been  the 
fundamental  cause  of  these  strikes. 

The  situation  at  one  time  grew  men- 
acing, according  to  all  reports,  but  the 
firmness  of  the  Government  and  the  as- 
surance of  better  food  supplies  finally 
quieted  the  workers,  and  the  trouble  sub- 
sided. 

*     *     * 

Democracy  or  Anarchy  in  Russia 

TT7HILE  Russia  appears  to  have 
'  V  passed,  for  the  moment,  some  of 
her  more  acute  troublss,  there  is  evi- 
dence that,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  criti- 
cal problems  lie  ahead  of  her.  The  re- 
cent establishment,  for  a  few  hours,  of 
*  an  independent,  autonomous  republic  " 
by  the  garrison  of  the  military  post  at 
Schluesselburg  may  be  merely  laughable, 
the  revolt  of  the  Buriats  was  more  more 
serious,  because  the  Buriats  are  only  one 
among  scores  of  smaller  and  alien  na- 
tionalities over  which  swept  the  vast, 
perpetually  expanding  Russian  Empire, 
until  it  covered  a  fifth  of  the  land  sur- 
face of  the  world. 

In  European  Russia  there  are  many  of 
these  smaller  nations,  of  whom  the 
Poles,  the  Finns,  the  Lithuanians  are  the 
most  conspicuous;  in  the  Caucasus,  a 
dozen  more,  like  the  Armenians  and 
Georgians  and  Circassians;  in  Turkestan, 


CURRENT   HISTORY   CHRONICLED 


439 


many  more;  in  Siberia,  perhaps  a  score, 
each  with  its  national  life  and  tongue. 
Among  these  the  Buriats  are  one  of  the 
most  civilized;  they  are  Mongolians,  of 
the  race  that  gave  mediaeval  history 
some  of  its  greatest  conquerors,  men 
like  Genghis  and  Kublai  Khan,  like  Bati 
and  Tamerlane,  like  Baber  and  Akbar 
the  Magnificent,  a  family  that  made  far 
wider  conquests  than  the  Caesars,  fa- 
mous also  for  high  literary  gifts  and,  in 
an  epoch  of  bigotry,  for  deep  religious 
toleration. 

The  Buriats  are  spread  out  on  both 
sides  of  Lake  Baikal,  the  great  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  the  trans-Siberian  railroad. 
They  have  their  comparatively  high  civ- 
ilization, their  books  in  Mongolian, 
largely  translated  from  the  Northern 
Buddhist  scriptures  of  Tibet,  their  chief 
Lama,  with  papal  headquarters  at  Goose 
Lake.  They  are  rich,  possessing  large 
herds  of  excellent  horses  and  cattle,  they 
are  able  to  dress  themselves  in  silks  dur- 
ing the  Summer,  and  in  rich  furs  in  Win- 
ter. They,  like  nearly  all  Mongolian 
peoples,  have  an  innate  gift  for  agricul- 
ture, giving  more  attention  to  intensive 
fertilization  than  do  the  Russian  Si- 
berians themselves,  and  being  large  pur- 
chasers of  the  newest  American  agricul- 
tural machinery.  Here,  it  would  seem, 
is  a  real  national  unit,  as  definite  as 
Serbia.  They  ask,  now,  for  national 
autonomy;  many  other  Siberian  tribes 
may  follow  their  example. 
*     *     * 

American  Destroyers  at  Work  in  Eu- 
ropean Waters 
THE  first  contribution  of  American 
military  power  to  the  Entente  Alli- 
ance against  German  aggression  consist- 
ed of  a  flotilla  of  American  torpedo-boat 
destroyers.  The  vessels  reached  Eng- 
land May  4,  but  no  announcement  was 
made  of  the  fact  until  May  16.  The 
squadron  was  placed  under  command  of 
Rear  Admiral  Sims.  Immediately  on 
their  arrival  the  American  vessels  began 
operations  in  the  submarine  zone.  The 
British  Admiralty  announced  that  these 
swift  fighting  ships  were  rendering  serv- 
ices of  the  greatest  value  to  the  allied 
cause.  Vice  Admiral  Sir  David  Beatty, 
commander  of  the  British  Grand  Fleet, 


sent  the  following  mesage  to  Admiral 
Henry  T.  Mayo,  commander  of  the  United 
States  Atlantic  Fleet: 

The  Grand  Fleet  rejoices  that  the  Atlantic 
Fleet  will  now  share  in  preserving  the  liber- 
ties of  the  world  and  in  maintaining  the  chiv- 
alry of  the  sea. 

Admiral  Mayo  replied: 
The    United    States    Atlantic    Fleet    appre- 
ciates   the    message    from    the    British    fleet 
and    welcomes    opportunities    for    work    with 
the  British  fleet  for  the  freedom  of  the  seas. 

The  fact  is  noted  by  commentators 
that  the  submarine  toll,  which  reached 
high-water  mark  in  the  last  week  in 
April,  showed  a  reduction  after  the 
American  vessels  reached  the  scene  of 
operations. 

*  *     * 

British  Navy's  General  Staff 
A  GENERAL  STAFF  for  the  British 
-L*-  Navy  was  announced  May  15.  It 
is  headed  by  Admiral  Sir  John  R.  Jelli- 
coe,  the  First  Sea  Lord,  who  will  have 
the  title  of  Chief  of  the  Naval  Staff. 
Vice  Admiral  Sir  Henry  Oliver,  Chief  of 
the  Admiralty  War  Staff,  is  an  additional 
member  of  the  Board  of  the  Admiralty, 
with  the  title  of  Deputy  Chief  of  the 
Naval  Staff.  Rear  Admiral  Alexander 
L.  Duff  also  became  an  additional  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  the  Admiralty,  with 
the  title  of  Assistant  Chief  of  the  Naval 
Staff.  Rear  Admiral  Halsey,  formerly 
Fourth  Sea  Lord,  became  Third  Sea 
Lord,  in  succession  to  Vice  Admiral 
Frederick  C.  Tudor,  who  was  appointed 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  China  sta- 
tion. Rear  Admiral  Tothill  succeeded 
Rear   Admiral   Halsey   as    Fourth    Sea 

Lord. 

*  *     * 

First  American  Red  Cross  Unit 

THE  first  of  six  fully  organized  and 
equipped  hospital  units  which  the 
American  Red  Cross  is  sending  to  France 
arrived  in  England  on  May  17.  The 
unit  comprised  about  300  persons,  in- 
cluding twenty  army  medical  officers, 
sixty  nurses,  and  more  than  200  other 
attaches.  It  is  Base  Hospital  4  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  commanded  by  Major  Harry 
L.  Gilchrist,  Medical  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  and 
is  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  George  W. 
Crile. 

This   unit  will   be  the  first   officially 


440 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


sanctioned  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  carry  the  American  flag  to  the 
battlefields  of  France  since  the  United 
States  entered  the  war.  After  a  brief 
stay  in  England  the  unit  will  be  sent  to 
the  Continent,  where  it  will  take  charge 
of  a  base  hospital  behind  the  British 
front.  The  hospital  will  have  acommo- 
dations  for  500  patients  and  be  fully 
equipped  by  the  British  Hospital  Service. 
*     *     * 

American  Engineers  in  France 

ANNOUNCEMENT  was  made  May  7 
by  the  War  Department  that  orders 
had  been  given  for  the  forming  of  nine 
regiments  of  army  engineers,  which 
were  to  be  sent  to  France  as  quickly  as 
possible  for  railroad  work  along  the  lines 
of  military  communications.  There  Will 
be  more  than  1,000  men  in  each  regi- 
ment, or  nearly  10,000  in  the  expedition. 
Two  regular  army  engineer  officers — a 
Colonel  and  a  Lieutenant  Colonel — will 
be  assigned  to  each  regiment.  The  other 
officers  will  be  chosen  from  the  Engi- 
neer Officers'  Reserve  Corps,  the  mem- 


bers of  which  have  been  commissioned, 

or  who  will  be  chosen  in  the  near  future. 

*  *     * 

DURING  the  first  three  weeks  of  May 
the  United  States  Government 
loaned  the  Entente  Allies  $670,000,000, 
divided  as  follows:  Great  Britain,  $325,- 
000,000;  France,  $100,000,000;  Italy, 
$100,000,000;  Russia,  $100,000,000;  Bel- 
gium, $45,000,000.  Loans  will  be  made  in 
regular  installments  to  the  Allies,  and  it 
is  estimated  that  the  aggregate  will  reach 

$1,000,000,000  by  June  15,  1917. 

*  *     * 

THE  United  States  Government  in- 
vited public  subscriptions  May  15 
to  $2,000,000,000  of  the  $5,000,000,000 
loan  authorized  by  Congress;  interest, 
SY2  per  cent.,  maturity  thirty  years,  re- 
deemable in  fifteen  years  at  the  option  of 
the  Government.  Denominations  of  bear- 
er bonds  are  $50,  $100,  $500,  $1,000;  reg- 
istered bonds  $100,  $500,  $1,000,  $5,000, 
$10,000,  $50,000,  $100,000.  The  bonds 
have  privilege  of  conversion  to  any  bonds 
of  higher  interest  if  issued;  they  are  ex- 
empt from  all  taxes  except  inheritance. 


The  Month's  Submarine  Depredations 

From  April  15  to  May  13,  1917 

THE  destruction  of  merchant  ships  ships  sunk  by  mine  or  submarine,  are  as 

by  German  submarines  in  the  last  follows: 

month  has   shown   a   serious  in-  1>Ci0°     Under       Un- 

crease,  followed  by  a  decrease,  ac-  _  Tons      l'600    ;u1clcesAs;  *lshin* 

,                              ...         ,   ,         .  Gross  or     TQns     fully  At- Vessels 

cording  to  the  figures  published  by  the  Weekended    Over.      Gross,    tacked.       Sunk. 

British  Admiralty.  Feb.   24 l<;  6  16  5 

The   last   weekly   report   in   the    May  March   4....  15              8              15              2 

issue  of  this  magazine  was  for  the  seven  J£S  £ ; ;  g             J              £            jj 

days   ended    April    15.      Since   then    the  March   25...  20              7              12             is 

losses    of   British   merchant    ships    have         April    1 17  14  20  8 

been  these:  APril    s 1T  2  13  * 

TT    .       _,  ,  .  April  15 17  9  12  11 

Over    Under  Fishing 

1,600      1,600      Ves-  As  the  British  Admiralty  does  not  give 

Tons.     Tons.      sels.  the  aggregate  tonnage  of  ships  sunk,  only 

week  ended  April  22 40           15            9  approximate    estimates    can    be   formed. 

Week  ended  April  29 38             13               8  „  ^    .-                                       _                    ...   .  . 

Week  ended  May  6 24             22             16  But    lf    we    can    ™<*pt    German    official 

Week  ended  May  13 18              5              3  statements,   the    destruction   of    shipping 

—            —  since  the  new  campaign  began  amounts 

Total  for  four  weeks.. 120             55             36  to  millions  of  tons>      Dr.  Karl  Helfferich, 

According  to  a   British  naval   expert,  Imperial  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  speak- 

the  corrected  figures  for  the  nine  preced-  ing  before  the  Reichstag  Main  Commit- 

ing  weeks,  including  all  British  merchant  tee  on  April  28,  said  that  the  results  of 


THE  MONTH'S  SUBMARINE  DEPREDATIONS 


441 


the  first  two  months  (February  and 
March)  of  the  unrestricted  submarine 
campaign  was  1,600,000  tons  sunk,  one 
million  tons  being  British.  In  the  Reichs- 
tag on  May  8,  Dr.  Pfleger,  naval  reporter 
of  the  Budget  Committee,  stated  that 
when  the  complete  figures  for  April  were 
available  they  would  show  that  the  Ger- 
man submarines  had  destroyed  at  least 
1,100,000  tons  of  shipping.  Vice  Ad- 
miral von  Capelle,  Minister  of  the  Navy, 
who  spoke  after  Dr.  Pfleger,  said  that 
the  results  greatly  exceeded  the  expec- 
tations of  the  German  Admiralty,  for 
during  the  three  months  of  February, 
March,  and  April  2,800,000  tons  had  been 
sunk,  the  number  of  ships  being  1,325. 
Details  are  lacking  to  show  how  Admiral 
von  Capelle's  figures  for  the  number  of 
ships  are  arrived  at,  since  the  British 
Admiralty  reports  only  275  British  ships 
of  over  1,600  tons  and  130  of  under 
1,600  tons,  a  total  of  405,  sunk  during 
the  period  between  Feb.  1  and  April  29, 
exclusive  of  fishing  vessels  and  other 
minor  craft. 

A  French  official  statement  shows  that 
the  number  of  French  merchantmen 
sunk  during  February,  March,  and  April 
was  17.  Norway  lost  64  ships  of  un- 
specified tonnage  during  March  and  75 
during  April,  a  total  of  139.  There  are, 
of  course,  the  losses  of  other  Allies  and 
neutrals  to  be  taken  into  account,  but 
some  experts  decline  to  accept  the  Ger- 
man figures. 

Nevertheless,  authoritative  statements 
in  the  allied  countries  make  it  clear  that 
the  havoc  wrought  by  the  submarines  is 
extremely  serious.  Lord  Devonport,  the 
British  food  controller,  speaking  in  the 
House  of  Lords  on  April  25,  said  that 
British  shipping  was  being  depleted 
every  day  in  large  volume,  and  that  it 
was  at  the  moment  "  a  wasting  se- 
curity." Herbert  L.  Samuel,  a  former 
Cabinet  Minister,  speaking  in  London  on 
April  27,  said  that  figures  he  had  seen 
on  the  sinking  of  vessels  showed  that  the 
situation  was  worse  than  official  reports 
indicated.  Admiral  Lord  Beresford, 
speaking  in  London  on  May  1,  complained 
of  the  incompleteness  of  the  official  re- 
turns, and  said  that  the  losses  were  ap- 
palling.    He  was  inclined,  he  added,  to 


risk  the  penalties  of  the  Defense  of  the 
Realm  act  and  tell  the  people  the  truth. 

American  official  utterances  have  been 
equally  alarming.  Franklin  K.  Lane,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior,  addressing  a  joint 
meeting  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense and  Governors  of  States  in  Wash- 
ington on  May  2,  made  the  startling 
statement  that  in  the  previous  week  Ger- 
man submarines  had  destroyed  400,000 
tons  ^  of  shipping.  Secretary  of  State 
Lansing,  without  being  so  specific,  was 
no  less  emphatic  in  declaring  that  the 
seriousness  of  the  submarine  situation 
could  not  be  exaggerated.  Reports  to 
the  State  Department  gave  a  total  of 
eighty  vessels  lost  in  one  week,  figures 
much  higher  than  any  contained  in  re- 
cent British  announcements. 

J.  Bernard  Walker,  editor  of  The 
Scientific  American,  speaking  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  National  Security 
League  in  New  York  on  May  2,  said 
that  it  was  more  than  likely  that  Ger- 
many had  on  the  ways  and  nearing  com- 
pletion not  fewer  than  500  submarines 
of  the  U-53  type  and  within  six  months 
should  have  about  700  submarines  afloat, 
and  in  twelve  months  1,200.  Evidence 
at  hand,  he  added,  indicated  that  Ger- 
man shipyards  had  room  to  keep  work 
on  530  submarines  constantly  under  way. 

According  to  an  interview  with  a  mem- 
ber of  the  crew  of  the  German  submarine 
U-58,  printed  in  the  Amsterdam  Tele- 
graaf  on  May  15,  the  Germans  have 
about  325  submarines  in  operation  and 
about  80  to  100  have  been  lost  through 
British  nets  alone.  When  at  sea  the  sub- 
marines assemble  at  a  given  point  every 
morning  and  receive  wireless  instruc- 
tions, presumably  from  Heligoland.  There 
are  about  thirty-nine  U-boats  of  the 
newest  type,  each  carrying  a  crew  of 
56  men,  and  this  fleet  is  supplemented 
by  a  secondary  squadron  marked  with 
a  C.  The  first-class  boats  have  a  speed 
calculated  as  sufficient  to  overtake  any 
cargo  boat.  Two-thirds  of  their  crews 
are  experienced  and  one-third  novices. 
The  boats  carry  a  fortnight's  stores  and 
have  a  maximum  period  of  submergence 
of  from  eight  to  ten  hours.  Each  is 
equipped  with  two  periscopes  and  some- 
times descends  to  from  30  to  50  meters. 


442 


THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  CURRENT  HISTORY 


The  two  most  important  American 
vessels  lost  have  been  the  oil  tanker 
Vacuum  and  the  steamer  Rockingham. 
The  Vacuum  was  sunk  on  April  28  off 
the  north  coast  of  Ireland.  Seventeen 
of  the  crew,  including  American  naval 
gunners,  died  from  exposure  in  the  boats 
in  which  they  left  the  sinking  steamer. 
The  loss  of  the  Rockingham  was  re- 
ported on  May  2.  The  vessel,  valued  at 
$1,300,000  and  carrying  cargo  worth 
nearly  $2,000,000,  was  sunk  just  before 
reaching  Liverpool  from  the  United 
States.  Two  members  of  the  crew  were 
killed.  The  others  on  board,  including 
an  officer  and  gunners  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  were  saved. 

Estimates  of  Captain  Persius 
Captain  L.  Persius,  a  German  naval 
critic,  writing  in  the  Berliner  Tageblatt 
in  the  last  week  of  April,  estimated  the 
total  tonnage  of  merchant  craft  de- 
stroyed by  the  German  Navy  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  up  to  April  1  at 
6,641,000.  Of  this  total,  he  said,  6,000,- 
000  tons  were  enemy  shipping,  and 
4,998,500  tons  are  said  to  have  been  sunk 
before  the  opening  of  unrestricted  sub- 
marine warfare  on  Feb.  1  this  year.  The 
total  of  1,642,500  tons  destroyed  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March  are  itemized  by  Captain 
Persius  as  follows : 

FEBRUARY 

Tons. 
SG8  ships,  including 

292  enemy  vessels  644,000 

76  neutral  vessels  ....". 137,500 

MARCH 
435  ships,  aggregating 861,000 

Total   1,642,500 


Warships  and  auxiliary  cruisers  such 
as  the  Emden,  Karlsruhe,  and  Mowe 
have  accounted,  according  to  Captain 
Persius,  for  between  400,000  and  500,000 
tons  of  enemy  and  neutral  shipping;  but 
he  explains  that  these  figures  are  put 
completely  into  the  shade  even  by  indi- 
vidual achievements  of  certain  submarine 
commanders.  Three  of  these  are  credited 
with  having  accounted  for  more  than  100 
ships  each,  aggregating  between  250,000 
and  300,000  tons. 

As  evidence  of  how  U-boat  activities 
have  developed  during  the  war,  Captain 
Persius  gives  the  following  figures  of 
tonnage  sunk  by  submarines : 

1915 

Tons. 

January  14,000 

February  27,000 

March   83,000 

April   ... 33,000 

1916 

January-February    238,000 

March-April  432,000 

May-June   \ 219,000 

July- August   273,779 

September  254,600 

October    393,500 

November   408,500 

December    415,500 

1917 
January  439,500 

Commenting  on  these  figures,  Captain 
Persius  said: 

"  Unless  countermeasures  can  be 
found,  the  shipping  losses  of  our  enemies 
will  swell  to  still  greater  proportions.  It 
remains  to  be  seen  what  will  be  the  con- 
sequences. So  much,  however,  is  already 
tolerably  certain  today — the  naval  su- 
premacy of  Great  Britain  will  emerge 
from  this  war  at  least  shattered.'* 


The  Sinking  of  Hospital  Ships 


THE  British  Admiralty  issued  a  state- 
ment on  April  23  announcing  the 
sinking  of  the  two  hospital  steam- 
ships Donegal  and  Lanfranc  without 
warning  by  submarines;  nineteen  British 
and  fifteen  wounded  German  officers 
were  drowned.  In  their  statement  the 
British  authorities  denied  the  German 
charge  that  hospital  ships  were  employed 
to  transport  troops  and  military  supplies. 


The  statement  asserts  that  Germany  was 
notified  that  under  the  rules  of  interna- 
tional law  she  had  the  right  to  visit  and 
search  any  such  suspicious  craft,  which 
she  refused  to  do.  Germany  was  noti- 
fied that,  if  her  course  was  persisted  in, 
reprisals  would  follow,  yet  the  British 
hospital  ship  Asturias  was  torpedoed 
without  warning  on  the  night  of  March 
20.      The    ship    was    steaming    with    all 


THE  SINKING  OF  HOSPITAL  SHIPS 


443 


navigation  lights  burning  and  the  proper 
Red  Cross  signs  brilliantly  illuminated. 
The  cumulative  evidence  that  she  had 
been  torpedoed  and  not  mined  was  only- 
accepted  after  it  had  been  confirmed 
beyond  all  doubt  and  after  exhaustive  in- 
vestigation. The  loss  of  life  on  this  oc- 
casion included  a  nursing  sister  and  a 
stewardess.  The  German  official  wire- 
less message  of  the  26th  finally  estab- 
lished the  guilt  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment, who,  having  boasted  of  the  deed, 
published  on  the  29th  a  further  message, 
which  said:  "It  would,  moreover,  be 
remarkable  that  the  English  in  the  case 
of  the  Asturias  should  have  abstained 
from  their  customary  procedure  of  using 
hospital  ships  for  the  transport  of  troops 
and  munitions." 

On  the  night  of  March  30-31  the  hos- 
pital ship  Gloucester  Castle  met  with  a 
similar  fate.  On  this  occasion  the  Berlin 
official  wireless  message  again  published 
a  notification  that  she  was  torpedoed  by 
a  U-boat,  thus  removing  any  possible 
doubt  in  the  matter.  The  British  Govern- 
ment thereupon  authorized  prompt  meas- 
ures of  reprisal,  and  on  April  14  a  large 
squadron  of  British  and  French  airplanes 
bombarded  the  German  town  of  Freiburg 
with  satisfactory  results. 

In  spite  of  the  warnings  conveyed  to 
Germany  that  her  barbarous  attacks  on 
hospital  ships  would  result  in  such  action 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  the  German 
Government  published  through  a  wireless 
message  of  April  16  an  abusive  protest 
which  "  categorically  contested  any  justi- 
fication "  for  this  reprisal. 

The  markings  agreed  upon  at  The 
Hague  Convention,  which  had  hitherto 
guaranteed  the  immunity  of  hospital 
ships  from  attack,  rendered  them  no 
longer  inviolable.  The  custom  of  show- 
ing all  navigating  lights  and  illuminating 
the  distinctive  markings  at  night  only 
afforded  a  better  target  for  German  sub- 
marines. It  was  therefore  decided  that 
sick  and  wounded,  together  with  medical 
personnel  and  supplies,  must  in  future  be 
transported  for  their  own  safety  in  ships 
carrying  no  distinctive  markings,  and 
proceeding  without  lights  in  the  same 
manner  as   ordinary  mercantile  traffic. 


Notice  was  accordingly  given  to  the  Ger- 
nan  Government  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment had  withdrawn  certain  vessels  from 
the  list  of  hospital  ships  published  in 
accordance  with  international  law. 

During  the  recent  fighting  on  the  west- 
ern front  a  large  number  of  wounded  Ger- 
man prisoners  have  fallen  into  British 
hands.  These  have  had  to  be  transported 
to  England  for  treatment  by  the  same 
means  as  the  British  wounded,  and  prac- 
tically all  ships  transporting  wounded 
are  bound  to  carry  a  proportion  of  Ger- 
man wounded.  These  naturally  share 
with  British  wounded  equal  risks  from 
the  attacks  of  German  submarines. 

Although  Germany  did  not  frame  any 
formal  allegation  of  the  misuse  of  hos- 
pital ships  against  the  Allies  until  the 
commencement  of  1917,  the  British  hos- 
pital ship  Asturias  was  fired  at  and 
missed  by  a  German  submarine  on  Feb. 
1,  1915,  in  broad  daylight  while  flying  the 
Red  Cross  flag.  In  the  light  of  recent 
events  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  hospital  ships  Braemar  Castle 
and  Britannic  were  also  torpedoed  in  No- 
vember, 1916,  although  the  evidence  at 
the  time  was  not  considered  conclusive. 

After  the  case  of  the  Gloucester  Castle 
the  British  authorities  made  no  further 
announcement  that  German  prisoners 
would  be  conveyed  on  hospital  ships,  but 
the  German  Government  followed  their 
hint  by  removing  a  number  of  imprisoned 
French  and  British  officers  to  camps  at 
unfortified  cities,  which  action  was  an- 
nounced to  be  in  reprisal  for  the  course 
of  the  Allies  in  bombarding  such  cities 
and  conveying  German  prisoners  on  hos- 
pital ships.  [See  also  article  on  "  Ger- 
man Reprisals,"  Page  547.] 

The  British  Government  let  it  be 
known  that,  on  account  of  the  danger  in 
transporting  the  wounded,  they  would  be 
kept  at  hospitals  in  France.  In  conse- 
quence several  thousand  new  medical  men 
were  ordered  to  the  French  front,  and 
preparations  were  made  to  send  an  in- 
creased number  of  hospital  units  from 
the  United  States.  It  was  stated  that 
the  first  American  hospital  unit  after  the 
war  declaration  sailed  from  New  York 
May  12,  headed  by  Dr.  Creel  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio. 


Home   Rule  for  Ireland 

Events  Attending  the  British  Government's  New  Proposal 

of  an  Irish  Council 


THE  question  of  the  government  of 
Ireland  became  a  prominent  issue 
in  America  after  the  entrance  of 
this  country  into  the  war.  Irish  societies 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  passed  reso- 
lutions demanding  home  rule;  a  major- 
ity of  the  House  of  Representatives 
signed  a  cablegram  to  the  British  autho- 
rities joining  in  the  appeal.  In  England 
the  demand  grew  more  insistent  for  some 
definite  proposal  of  a  settlement  of  the 
question,  and  the  issue  became  more 
acute  through  the  election  to  Parliament 
of  Joseph  McGuinness,  Sinn  Feiner,  from 
the  Cork  district,  who  was  chosen  over 
a  Nationalist  while  serving  a  three-year 
sentence  in  Lewes  Prison  for  connection 
with  the  Dublin  rebellion. 

A  Sinn  Fein  convention  was  held  at 
the  Mansion  House,  Dublin,  under  the 
Chairmanship  of  Count  Plunkett.  There 
was  a  large  attendance  of  Catholic 
priests,  and  the  lay  delegates  represented 
a  considerable  number  of  public  boards 
as  well  as  local  political  organizations. 

At  the  instance  of  the  Chairman,  votes 
of  honor  were  passed  in  memory  of  the 
men  who  "sacrificed  their  lives  for  Ire- 
land's liberty  and  to  those  at  present  in 
prison  and  in  exile  for  Ireland's  cause." 
These  resolutions  having  been  passed, 
there  was  a  loud  call  of  three  cheers  for 
the  Irish  Republic,  which  met  with  a 
ready  response. 

Count  Plunkett  said  he  wished  to  refer 
to  the  men  who  had  been  sentenced  to 
long  terms  of  imprisonment  for  the  cause 
of  Ireland.  "I  will  not,"  he  said — and 
there  was  wild  enthusiasm — "insult  the 
courage  of  these  men  by  pleading  for 
their  release.  We  ask  no  favor  of  the 
enemy,  but  I  must  refer  to  a  dishonor 
put  upon  these  men  by  the  enemy.  These 
men,  among  the  noblest  who  have  ever 
fought  for  Ireland,  are  not  only  wearing 
the  prison  garb,  but  are  treated  as  crim- 
inals, and  in  your  name  I  demand  that 
they  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war."  A 
wave  of  cheering  swept  through  the  hall 


when  Count  Plunkett  announced  that  any 
offer  England  had  to  make  short  of  com- 
plete liberty  would  be  treated  with  con- 
tempt by  a  free-souled  nation.  He  asked 
his  audience  to  stand  up  and  affirm  their 
adhesion  to  the  following  declaration: 

1.  That  we  proclaim  Ireland  to  be  a  separate 
nation. 

2.  That  we  assert  Ireland's  right  to  freedom 
from  all  foreign  control,  denying  the  author- 
ity of  any  foreign  Parliament  to  make  laws 
for  Ireland. 

3.  That  we  affirm  the  right  of  the  Irish 
people  to  declare  their  will  as  law  and  en- 
force their  decisions  in  their  own  land  with- 
out let  or  hindrance  from  any  other  country. 

4.  That  maintaining  the  status  of  Ireland 
as  a  distinct  nation,  we  demand  representa- 
tion at  the  coming  Peace  Conference. 

5.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  nations  taking  part 
in  the  Peace  Conference  to  guarantee  the 
liberty  of  the  nations  calling  for  their  inter- 
vention, releasing  the  small  nations  from 
the  control  of  the  greater  powers. 

G.  That  our  claim  for  complete  independence 
is  founded  on  human  right  and  the  law  of 
nations.  We  declare  Ireland  has  never 
yielded  to  and  has  ever  fought  against  for- 
eign rule,  and  we  hereby  bind  ourselves  to 
use  every  means  in  our  power  to  obtain  com- 
plete liberty  for  our  country. 

A  petition  to  the  Government  for  abso- 
lute home  rule  was  signed  by  three  Irish 
Protestant  Bishops. 

Americans  on  Irish  Issue 

Expressions  were  obtained  from  a 
number  of  eminent  Americans  on  the 
subject  for  publication  in  England.  For- 
mer President  Roosevelt  wrote  as  follows : 

I  most  earnestly  hope  that  full  home  rule 
will  be  given  to  Ireland ;  home  rule  relatively 
to  the  empire,  such  as  Texas  or  Maine  or 
Oregon  now  enjoys  relatively  to  the  national 
Government  at  Washington.  Of  course,  Ire- 
land should  remain  part  of  the  empire.  I 
have  no  more  sympathy  with  the  irrecon- 
cilable extremists  on  one  side  of  the  question 
than  on  the  other. 

Similar  views  were  expressed  by 
Charles  W.  Eliot,  President  Emeritus  of 
Harvard  University,  and  Judge  Alton  B. 
Parker,  former  Democratic  nominee  for 
President.  Cardinal  Gibbons  expressed 
himself  in  part  as  follows : 

Supposing  that  each  county  were  given  its 


HOME  RULE  FOR  IRELAND 


145 


choice  as  to  whether  it  would  come  under 
the  Home  Rule  Parliament  in  Dublin  or  not, 
the  counties  which  voted  themselves  out 
would  be  in  a  fearfully  anomalous  position. 
They  would  not  belong  to  England.  They 
would  not  belong  to  Ireland.  They  would 
not  be  large  enough  to  set  up  a  Home  Rule 
Parliament  of  their  own.  If  they  did  they 
could  only  construct  an  artificial  State,  and 
such  an  artificial  State  cannot  endure.    *    *    * 

I  should  like,  if  possible,  to  impress  upon 
Irishmen  in  Ulster  the  lesson  of  our  own 
civil  war  here  in  America.  The  minority  felt 
that  they  were  going  to  be  forced,  that  the 
institution  of  domestic  slavery,  upon  which 
they  contended  that  their  prosperity  de- 
pended, was  going  to  be  destroyed  by  a 
triumphant  majority,  and  that  their  rights 
and  liberties  would  be  taken  away  from  them 
at  the  bidding  of  the  Northern  States.  For 
this  reason  they  set  up  a  confederacy  apart 
from  the  Union.  Leaving  apart  the  whole 
question  of  the  long  and  bitter  War  which 
ensued,  the  commerce  of  the  South  was 
ruined  simply  because  they  had  erected  an 
artificial  barrier  between  themselves  and  the 
North  which  lasted  long  after  the  war  had 
ended,  and  which  ruined  every  great 
Southern  commercial  centre.  If  the  South 
had  won  its  independence  it  would  today  be 
a  ruined  country.  Only  because  in  the  end 
it  was  not  able  to  leave  the  Union  has  it 
revived  commercially,  now  that  it  is  looked 
upon  as  an  integral  part  of  the  country.  *  *  * 

The  American  civil  war  ought  to  teach  all 
men  a  great  lesson.  Separate  nationalities 
must  be  recognized,  but  no  nation  can  be 
permanently  divided.  Since  I  have  been 
asked,  then,  the  only  way  I  see  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  the  way  of  guarantees — a  Home 
Rule  Parliament  in  Dublin,  and  Ulstermen 
receiving  whatever  guarantees  seems  neces- 
sary to  them  for  their  protection.    *    *    * 

American  Advice  Resented 

Frederic  Harrison,  the  noted  British 
historian  and  publicist,  resented  the  ad- 
vice of  Americans  in  these  words,  in  a 
public  communication: 

Our  American  friends,  in  our  almost  des- 
perate crisis  at  home,  repeat  the  unreal, 
untrue,  and  malicious  taunts  of  our  enemies 
within  and  without  the  United  Kingdom  when 
they  tell  us  to  give  the  Irish  "  nation  " 
autonomy.  Where  is  the  Irish  nation?  Our 
very  dilemma  is  that  there  are  three  sections 
of  Irishmen,  each  repudiating,  contradicting, 
and,  if  we  let  them,  eager  to  fight  each  other. 

"  The  Home  Rule  act !  "  cries  one  group, 
though  they  and  all  men  of  sense  know  that 
the  act  of  1914  is  impracticable  as  it  stands, 
and  must  in  any  case  be  revised  under  the 
urgent  stress  of  war. 

f  No  Dublin  Parliament  for  us !  "  cries 
Ulster — Ulster,  far  the  richest,  most  civilized, 
most  vigorous  element  in  Ireland,  the  only 
element  which  joins  us  in  the  war  and  is- not 
openly  malevolent. 


And  now  a  third  factor  breaks  in  with  the 
cry:  "Away  with  Redmond  and  his  lot, 
traitors  all !  The  independent  republic ! 
Down  with  British  uniforms,  officials,  and 
laws !  " 

Our  difficulty  is,  and  has  been  for  genera- 
tions, to  know  which  of  these  three  groups 
we  ought  to  regard  as  the  strongest  and  most 
permanent.  Which  of  them  is  the  Irish 
nation?  All  three  furiously  claim  to  be  the 
real  Irish  nation.     *     *     * 

Ireland  has  already  103  representatives  in 
the  House  of  Commons — vastly  in  excess  of 
its  due  proportion.  At  Westminster  the 
Nationalist  members  occupy  as  much  time 
as  all  the  rest.  They  complain  of,  obstruct, 
and  vilify  our  Government  in  our  sore  need. 
Yet  they  still  cry  out  for  more  parliamentary 
representation,  and  they  use  the  excessive 
representation  they  have  got  in  such  treason- 
able ways  as  in  any  other  country  but  ours 
would  have  them  sent  outside  or  to  jail. 
These  are  the  men  whom  our  American 
mentors  tell  us  we  must  "placate."  They 
seem  to  think  that  if  we  only  started  the  act 
of  1914  all  would  be  smooth  in  Ireland ;  that 
250,000  Irishmen  would  enlist  the  next  day. 
It  is  far  more  likely  that  if  we  started  the 
act  and  withdrew  the  strong  hand  Ireland 
in  three  months  would  be  in  a  state  of  chaos, 
the  three  groups  at  open  war.  And  as  soon 
as  the  Sinn  Fein  recruits  got  arms  in  their 
hands  they  would  turn  them  against  us  and 
proclaim  the  republic,  as  they  did  a  year  ago. 

How  can  responsible  statesmen  abroad  re- 
peat that,  most  false  of  all  the  Potsdam  lies — 
that  Ireland  has  been  treated  as  Poland  was 
by  Russia  or  as  the  Czechs  are  by  Austria — 
Austria,  that  will  not  open  its  Parliament 
at  all,  which  has  hanged  2,000  Bohemian 
patriots,  to  say  nothing  of  the  hecatombs  of 
Serbians,   Bosnians,  and  Rumanians? 

Why,  for  two  generations  Britain  has  sac- 
rificed her  men  and  her  own  interests  to  do 
justice  to  Irish  demands.  Her  purse,  her 
policy,  her  Parliament,  her  Government  have 
all  been  strained  to  meet  Irish  claims,  to 
restore  Irish  welfare.  Ireland  has  never  been 
so  wealthy,  so  prosperous,  so  hopeful  as  she 
is  today. 

When  the  war  came  Ireland  was  treated  as 
being  outside  of  it,  as  if  it  were  a  spoiled  and 
unmanageable  son  who  must  not  be  crossed. 
It  was  allowed  to  rest  and  grow  rich  in  sullen 
scorn  of  all  that  Britons  and  true  Irishmen 
were  bearing  in  the  war — this  to  the  eternal 
shame  of  the  Irish  name,  which  Britons  and 
which  history  will  never  forget  or  excuse; 
to  the  eternal  shame  also  of  those  besotted 
politicians  who  treated  Ireland  as  a  timid  fool 
might  treat  a  dangerous  lunatic  whom  he 
was  afraid  to  touch  and  hoped  to  coax. 

The  Government's  Proposal 
Premier  Lloyd  George  on  May  16  pre- 
sented  the    Government's   proposals   re- 
garding a  settlement  of  the  Irish  ques- 
tion in  the  form  *of  a  letter    to    John 


446 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Redmond,  leader  of  the  Irish  Nationalist 
Party.  Following  are  tne  proposals  of 
the  Premier: 

Firstly,  the  immediate  application  of  the 
Home  Rule  act  to  Ireland,  but  excluding 
therefrom  the  six  counties  in  the  north  and 
east  of  Ulster,  such  exclusions  to  be  subject 
to  reconsideration  by  Parliament  at  the  end 
of  five  years,  unless  it  is  previously  termi- 
nated by  the  action  of  the  Council  of  Ireland, 
to  be  set  up  as  hereinafter  described. 

Secondly,  with  a  view  to  securing"  the  larg- 
est possible  measure  of  common  action  for  the 
whole  of  Ireland,  the  bill  would  provide  for 
a  Council  of  Ireland,  to  be  composed  of  two 
delegations  consisting,  on  the  one  hand,  of 
all  members  returning  to  Westminster  from 
the  excluded  area,  and,  on  the  other,  of  a 
delegation  equal  in  numbers  from  the  Irish 
Parliament,  this  council  to  be  summoned  on 
the  initiative  of  any  six  members.  It  would 
be  empowered  by  a  majority  of  the  votes  of 
each  of  the  delegations  to  pass  private  bill 
legislation  affecting  both  the  included  and 
excluded  areas ;  to  recommend  to  the  Crown 
the  extension  to  the  included  area,  by  an 
Order  in  Council,  of  any  act  of  the  Irish  Par- 
liament; to  agree  to  the  inclusion  under  the 
Home  Rule  act  of  the  whole  of  Ireland,  sub- 
ject to  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  the  voters 
in  the  excluded  areas,  the  powers  to  be  vested 
in  the  Crown  in  that  case  to  extend  the  act 
to  all  of  Ireland  by  an  Order  in  Council ;  to 
make  recommendations  on  its  own  initiative 
upon  the  Irish  question,  including  the  amend- 
ment of  the  Home  Rule  act  as  finally  passed. 
The  President  of  this  Council  of  Ireland  would 
be  elected  by  agreement  between  the  delega- 
tions, or,  in  default  of  agreement,  would  be 
nominated  by  the  Crown. 

Thirdly,  the  letter  says  that  the  finan- 
cial proposals  of  the  Home  Rule  bill  are 
unsatisfactory  and  should  be  reconsid- 
ered. Important  objects,  such  as  the  de- 
velopment of  Irish  industries,  improve- 
ment in  town  housing,  and  the  further- 
ance of  education,  with  increased  pay 
for  teachers,  owing  to  the  war  condi- 
tions, it  declares,  cannot  be  dealt  with 
under  the  bill  without  undue  burden  on 
the  Irish  taxpayers.     It  continues: 

Fourthly,  the  Government  would  recommend 
that  after  the  second  reading  of  the  bill  em- 
bodying the  above  proposals,  together  with 
the  Home  Rule  act,  it  should  forthwith  be 
considered  by  a  conference  to  be  constituted 
on  the  lines  of  the  Speaker's  Conference  on 
Electoral  Reform,  though  not  consisting  ex- 
clusively of  members  of  Parliament,  and 
meeting  under  the  Chairmanship  of  some  one 
commanding  the  same  general  confidence  in 


his  impartiality  and  judgment  as  Mr.  Sp< 
himself. 

The  Government  feel  that  a  proposal  which 
provides  for  immediate  home  rule  for  the 
greater  part  of  Ireland,  while  excluding  that 
part  of  Ireland  which  objects  to  coming  under 
the  Home  Rule  act  for  a  definite  period,  when 
Parliament  will  consider  the  matter  afresh ; 
which  recognizes  the  profound  sentiment  ex- 
isting in  Ireland  for  the  unity  of  the  country 
by  creating  a  common  council  to  consider 
Irish  affairs  ae  a  whole,  and  which,  finally, 
sets  up  a  representative  conference  to  attempt 
to  adjust  the  most  difficult  questions  involved 
is  as  far  as  they  can  possibly  go  toward  ef- 
fecting a  legislative  settlement  in  the  crisis 
of  a  great  war.  They  are  prepared  to  intro- 
duce a  bill  on  these  lines. 

An  Alternative  Plan 

In  his  letter  the  Premier  writes  that  if 
the  preceding  proposition  proves  unac- 
ceptable there  remains  an  alternative 
plan,  which,  though  it  has  been  some- 
times seriously  discussed,  has  never  been 
authoritatively  proposed — that  of  assem- 
bling a  convention  of  Irishmen  of  all 
parties  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a 
scheme  of  Irish  self-government. 

"  As  you  will  remember,"  he  continues, 
"  the  Constitution  of  the  Union  of  South 
Africa  was  framed,  despite  most  formid- 
able difficulties  and  obstacles,  by  a  con- 
vention representative  of  all  the  interests 
and  parties  in  the  country,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment believes  that  a  similar  expedient 
might  in  the  last  resort  be  found  effec- 
tual in  Ireland.  Would  it  be  too  much 
to  hope  that  Irishmen  of  all  creeds  and 
parties  might  meet  together  in  conven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a  Con- 
stitution for  their  country  which  would 
secure  a  just  balance  of  all  the  opposing 
interests  and  finally  compose  the  unhap- 
py discords  which  have  so  long  distracted 
Ireland  and  imped  jd  its  harmonious  de- 
velopment? The  Government  are  ready, 
in  default  of  the  adoption  of  the  present 
proposals  for  home  rule,  to  take  the 
necessary  steps  for  assembling  such  a 
convention." 

It  was  announced  by  Mr.  Redmond  on 
May  17  that  the  Irish  Nationalists  reject- 
ed the  first  proposal  of  the  Premier,  but 
accepted  the  alternative  proposition  for 
the  immediate  calling  of  a  convention  to 
decide  on  a  Government  for  Ireland. 


The  Background  of  Home  Rule 


11  HE  situation  that  evoked  the  agita- 
~  tion  for  home  rule  was  created  by 
the  Act  of  Union,  signed  by  King 
George  III.  on  Aug.  1,  1800,  and  which 
came  into  force  on  Jan.  1,  1801,  the  first 
day  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Ireland 
had  had  a  Parliament  since  the  thirteenth 
century,  but  it  was  the  Parliament  of  the 
Anglo-Norman  colony  about  Dublin. 
Twice,  the  powers  of  this  Irish  Parlia- 
ment had  been  limited: 

In  1494,  by  Poynings's  law,  (so-called 
from  Sir  Edward  Poynings,  then  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  who  secured  its 
passage,)  which  enacted  that  "All  acts 
intended  to  be  passed  by  the  Irish  Par- 
liament must  first  be  submitted  to  the 
King  of  England  and  his  Privy  Council  "; 
and  in  1720,  when  an  English  act  af- 
firmed the  right  of  the  English  Parlia- 
ment to  pass  laws  for  Ireland,  and  de- 
prived the  Irish  House  of  Lords  of  the 
right  to  hear  appeals. 

These  limitations  were  removed  in 
1782,  and  from  this  time  until  the  Act  of 
Union  the  Irish  Parliament  had  its  period 
of  largest  activity.  This  Irish  Parlia- 
ment, often  called,  from  its  most  distin- 
guished member,  "  Grattan's  Parlia- 
ment," consisted  of  a  House  of  Lords  and 
a  House  of  Commons  of  300  members,  all 
of  whom  were  Protestants.  The  laws 
barring  Roman  Catholics  from  Parlia- 
ment, and  from  many  civil  and  military 
activities,  dated  from  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  from  the  reigns  of  Henry 
VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  and  Queen  Elizabeth. 
They  were  not  directed  against  Irishmen, 
but  against  all  Roman  Catholics  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland;  and,  in  fact,  through 
acts  passed  by  the  exclusively  Protestant 
Irish  Parliament,  Roman  Catholics  had 
larger  rights  in  Ireland  than  in  England, 
including  the  franchise.  The  resolution 
enlarging  these  rights  declared  that  "  as 
men  and  Irishmen,  as  Christians  and 
Protestants,  we  rejoice  in  the  relaxation 
of  the  penal  laws  against  our  Roman 
Catholic  fellow-subjects." 

Pitt,  then  Prime  Minister  of  England, 
decided  that  a  legislative  union  between 
England  and  Ireland  was  expedient,  as 


an  earlier  Act  of  Union  had  united  the 
Parliaments  of  England  and  Scotland  in 
1707.  It  was  necessary  to  pass  this  Act 
of  Union  through  the  Irish  Parliament. 
This  was  done  by  means  of  rewards  in 
cash  and  preferment,  new  peers  being 
created  to  secure  a  majority  in  the  Irish 
House  of  Lords.  These  were  ordinary 
political  expedients  of  the  period;  Guizot, 
by  similar  methods,  governed  France 
from  1840  to  1848. 

Ireland  Under  the  Union 

In  the  combined  Parliament  at  West- 
minster, which  met  on  Jan.  22,  1801,  Ire- 
land was  represented  by  100  members, 
later  increased  to  103;  4  Bishops  and  28 
peers,  elected  from  the  body  of  the  Irish 
peerage,  represented  Ireland  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  No  Roman  Catholic 
could  at  that  time  sit  in  Parliament. 

This  system  left  at  least  two-thirds  of 
Ireland  unrepresented.  A  movement  for 
"  Catholic  emancipation  "  was  begun  in 
Ireland,  under  the  leadership  of  Daniel 
O'Connell,  in  1823;  this  movement  at- 
tained complete  success  in  1829,  when  a 
law  was  carried  through  Parliament  by 
Sir  Robert  Peel  and  signed  by  George 
IV.,  which  extended  political  equality  to 
all  Roman  Catholics  within  the  British 
Isles. 

In  1785  the  population  of  Ireland  was 
about  2,850,000;  by  1845,  it  had  risen  to 
about  8,300,000,  this  rapidly  increasing 
population  pressing  dangerously  upon  the 
means  of  subsistence.  Ireland  relied  too 
largely  on  the  potato,  and  widespread 
potato  disease  caused  a  series  of  famines, 
culminating  in  1847,  still  remembered  in 
Ireland  as  "  the  black  forty  seven."  Eng- 
land made  extensive  efforts  to  stem  the 
famine,  using  the  same  means  which  have 
often  been  employed  in  India.  In  March, 
1847,  734,000  persons  were  employed  on 
relief  works;  later  3,000,000  cooked  ra- 
tions were  distributed  daily.  But  large 
numbers  nevertheless  died  of  starvation; 
much  larger  numbers  emigrated,  chiefly 
to  the  United  States. 

Ireland  was  originally  divided  into 
tribal  areas,  the  land  being  held  by  mem- 


448 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


bers  of  the  tribes  in  communal  tenure. 
But  the  chieftains  gradually  made  them- 
selves feudal  owners,  turning  the  tribes- 
men into  tenants.  Under  the  Stuart 
Kings  numbers  of  these  Irish  chieftains 
were  dispossessed;  their  lands,  which 
were  really  tribal  lands,  passed,  by  pur- 
chase from  the  King,  into  the  hands  of 
English  landlords.  Further,  large  areas, 
chiefly  in  Ulster,  were  colonized  by  Eng- 
lish and  Scottish  tenants,  Protestants  or 
Presbyterians;  this  applied  especially  to 
the  lands  of  the  O'Donnells  and  O'Neills, 
the  Earldoms  of  Tyrconnell  and  Tyrone. 

The  tenure  under  which  the  Irish  ten- 
ants held  their  land  was,  over  large 
areas,  a  bad  one;  their  leases  ran  for  one 
year  only.  If  they  made  improvements, 
draining,  clearing,  or  building,  these  be- 
longed, at  the  end  of  the  year,  to  the 
landlord,  who  had  the  power  to  raise  the 
rent  to  cover  the  enhanced  value  of  the 
land,  and  generally  used  it.  This  sys- 
tem put  a  premium  on  improvidence  and 
discouraged  all  improvements.  Largely 
because  of  this,  Irish  tenants  generally 
limited  their  farming  to  a  single  crop — 
potatoes — and,  when  this  crop  failed 
through  disease,  they  were  reduced  to 
starvation. 

Therefore  "  land  agitation  "  in  Ireland 
had  two  purposes:  First,  to  improve  the 
land  tenure  and  the  status  of  the  tenant; 
second,  to  undo,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
land  confiscations  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
to  restore  the  land  to  Irish  owners.  This 
double  objective  constituted  the  "land 
question  "  in  Ireland. 

Beginning  of  Land  Purchase 
One  result  of  the  three  years'  famine, 
which  stopped  the  payment  of  all  land 
rents  over  large  areas,  was  to  ruin  many 
landlords,  and  so  to  curtail  the  resources 
of  others  that  they  were  unable  to  im- 
prove their  lands.  English  statesmen 
devised  a  plan  which  they  hoped  would 
introduce  capital.  This  plan  was  em- 
bodied in  the  Encumbered  Estates  act  of 
1849,  two  years  after  the  famine,  pro- 
viding for  the  establishment  of  a  court 
to  examine  the  affairs  of  heavily  indebt- 
ed Irish  landlords.  The  courts  were  em- 
powered to  order  the  sale  of  such  estates 


to  the  value  of  £20,000,000,  ($100,000,- 
000.)  The  estates  thus  sold  were  bought 
up  by  Irishmen  who  had  made  money  in 
trade,  who  considered  their  new  land 
merely  as  an  investment,  and  tried  to  get 
the  largest  possible  profit  from  it.  The 
tenants  were  thus  worse  off  than  before. 
The  new  owners  immediately  increased 
all  rents,  sometimes  two  and  three  fold. 

This  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Ten- 
ants' League  in  the  following  year,  1850. 
It  drew  up  a  very  moderate  program, 
which  included  the  following  demands: 

1.  A  fair  valuation  of  the  rent. 

2.  Security  from  eviction  while  rents 
were  paid. 

3.  The  right  of  a  tenant  to  sell  his  in- 
terest in  the  land,  representing  the  im- 
provements he  had  made,  to  the  incoming 
tenant. 

4.  A  settlement  of  arrears  of  rent. 
But  this  movement  had  little  practical 

result.  The  first  real  relief  was  gained 
as  a  by-product  of  the  Disestablishment 
of  the  Anglican  Church  in  Ireland  in 
1869.  It  had  until  then  been  the  State 
Church,  supported  by  tithes  paid  by  all 
Ireland,  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
alike.  This  palpable  injustice  Gladstone 
determined  to  remove.  All  tithes  were 
remitted,  and  a  sustentation  fund  was 
established  to  provide  the  income  pre- 
viously drawn  from  tithes. 

Even  more  important  was  the  disposal 
of  extensive  Church  lands.  The  tenants 
of  these  were  allowed  to  become  owners 
of  them,  by  making  a  series  of  payments 
extending  over  a  number  of  years,  on  the 
installment  plan.  More  than  six  thou- 
sand tenants  were  thus  able  to  buy  their 
farms,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  failures 
to  pay  the  installments  were  practically 
nonexistent. 

This  principle  of  land  purchase  was 
destined  to  have  a  large  and  highly 
beneficent  development  in  the  following 
years. 

Parnell  and  the  Land  League 

The  example  of  tenants  thus  becoming 
owners  of  their  holdings,  which  were 
scattered  throughout  Ireland,  was  a 
strong  stimulus  to  their  neighbors  to 
work  for  a  like  happy  consummation. 
This  widespread  desire  made  possible  the 


THE  BACKGROUND  OF  HOME  RULE 


449 


foundation  of  the  Land  League,  by 
Michael  Davitt,  in  1879.  But  it  owed  its 
success  to  the  organizing  genius  of 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell.  Its  aims,  prac- 
tically the  same  as  those  of  the  earlier 
Tenants'  League,  were  embodied  in  three 
catchwords:  Fair  Rent,  Fixed  Hold,  Free 
Sale,  which  came  to  be  known  as  "  the 
three  F's." 

A  fair  rent  was  to  be  fixed  by  an  im- 
partial court;  the  tenant  was  to  have 
security  of  tenure  so  long  as  he  paid  this 
rent;  he  was  to  have  the  right  to  sell  to 
the  incoming  tenant  his  interest  in  the 
land,  represented  by  the  improvements 
he  had  made. 

Parnell  was  a  well-to-do  landlord  of 
English  descent,  a  Protestant;  the  woes 
of  the  tenants  therefore  formed  no  part 
of  his  own  experience.  His  object  was 
not  so  much  to  relieve  the  tenants  as  to 
weaken  the  power  of  England  and  to 
work  for  complete  independence.  Speak- 
ing at  Cincinnati  on  Feb.  23,  1880,  he  de- 
clared that  the  first  thing  necessary  was 
to  undermine  England's  power  in  Ireland 
by  destroying  the  Irish  landlords.  Ire- 
land might  then  work  for  independence. 
"And  let  us  not  forget  that  that  is  the 
ultimate  goal  at  which  all  we  Irishmen 
aim.  None  of  us,  whether  we  be  in 
America  or  in  Ireland,  or  wherever  we 
may  be,  will  be  satisfied  until  we  have 
destroyed  the  last  link  which  keeps  Ire- 
land bound  to  England." 

In  this  way  the  purely  economic  land 
question  was  bound  up  with  political 
aims.  And,  for  Parnell,  the  land  ques- 
tion was  merely  the  lever  for  his  political 
purpose,  which  was  to  make  Ireland  a 
separate  nation. 

Daniel  O'Connell  had  developed  a  new 
political  instrument,  which  came  to  be 
called  "constitutional  agitation."  He 
held  mass  meetings,  and  in  this  way 
brought  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Govern- 
ment, but  carefully  avoided  the  slightest 
infraction  of  law.  He  was  arrested  in 
October,  1843,  and  imprisoned,  but  three 
months  later  he  was  released  by  a  decis- 
ion of  the  House  of  Lords,  which  de- 
clared that  his  sentence  was  illegal;  that 
he  had  broken  no  law. 

Parnell  heartily  despised  the  moderate 
methods  of  O'Connell.     He  did  not  at- 


tempt an  armed  rising,  like  that  of  1798, 
not  from  any  moral  objection  to  rebel- 
lion, but  for  a  purely  practical  reason: 
he  said  that  Ireland,  having  no  regular 
army,  would  be  reduced  to  guerrilla  war- 
fare; but  guerrilla  warfare  was  impos- 
sible in  Ireland,  because  Ireland  has  a 
wide  central  plain,  with  mountains  along 
the  rims,  whereas  guerrilla  warfare  re- 
quires a  back  country  of  hills.  He  was 
firmly  convinced  that  an  armed  move- 
ment in  Ireland  was  an  impossibility  for 
this  reason. 

Creation  of  the  Boycott 
With  these  views,  he  developed  a  prac- 
tical method  for  the  Land  League,  in 
which  legal  and  illegal  means  were  com- 
bined as  expediency  dictated.  One  of  the 
most  famous  means,  not  strictly  illegal, 
was  the  creation  of  the  "  boycott."  In  an 
attack  on  a  Protestant  landlord,  a  Cap- 
tain Boycott,  which  Parnell  made  at 
Ennis  on  Sept.  18,  1880,  Parnell  urged 
the  people  of  the  neighborhood  to  punish 
him  "  by  isolating  him  from  his  kind  as 
if  he  were  a  leper  of  old."  The  boycott 
created  by  that  phrase  instantly  became 
a  powerful  instrument,  which  was  merci- 
lessly used,  both  against  landlords  and 
against  tenants  who  rented  farms  from 
which  their  former  occupants  had  been 
evicted  for  non-payment  of  rent.  By  this 
means,  and  by  agrarian  outrages,  which 
generally  took  the  form  of  maiming  cat- 
tle, the  Land  League  established  a  reign 
of  terror.  In  1881,  there  were  4,439 
agrarian  outrages;  in  the  first  half  of 
1882,  there  were  2,597.  On  Jan.  28,  1882, 
Gladstone  told  the  House  of  Commons 
that  "with  fatal  and  painful  precision 
the  steps  of  crime  dogged  the  steps  of  the 
Land  League."  In  the  previous  October, 
Gladstone  had  imprisoned  Parnell  and 
his  chief  lieutenants  in  Kilmainham  Jail, 
at  Dublin. 

Gladstone  tried  to  meet  the  Land 
League  agitation  in  two  ways — first,  by 
removing  real  grievances;  second,  by 
endeavoring  to  stop  outrages  through  the 
operation  of  a  Coercion  act,  which  gave 
him  extraordinary  authority  to  deal  with 
agrarian  crimes,  such  as  cattle  maiming. 

His  first  object  he  sought  to  achieve 
by  passing  the  Land  act  of  1881,  which 
gave  the  Irish  tenants  "  the  three  F's  "— 


450 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


a  fair  rent,  settled  by  an  impartial  court; 
a  fixed  hold  of  the  land,  so  long  as  this 
legal  rent  was  paid;  free  sale,  or  the 
right,  on  leaving  a  farm,  to  receive  from 
the  incoming  tenant  the  cash  value  of  all 
improvements  made,  such  as  clearings, 
draining,  and  buildings. 

Parnell  opposed  this  law,  refused  to 
vote  for  it,  walking  out  of  the  House  of 
Commons  with  thirty-five  of  his  follow- 
ers, and  did  all  in  his  power  to  keep  the 
tenants  from  taking  advantage  of  its 
remedies.  But  they  ignored  his  advice, 
flocked  to  the  land  courts,  and  had  their 
rents  very  generally  lowered  and  fixed 
by  law. 

By  May,  1882,  Gladstone  had  tired  of 
the  task  of  meeting  outrage  by  coercion. 
On  May  2, 1882,  he  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment with  Parnell,  then  in  Kilmainham 
Jail;  this  was  called  the  Kilmainham 
treaty,  and  marks  an  important  stage  in 
Gladstone's  conversion  to  home  rule.  As 
an  immediate  result  of  this  agreement, 
agrarian  outrages  almost  ceased;  in  the 
second  six  months  of  1882  they  were  only 
836,  as  against  2,597  in  the  first  six 
months  of  that  year,  thus  practically  es- 
tablishing the  fact  that  they  had  been,  or- 
ganized by  the  Land  League,  which  was 
able  to  easily  to  stop  them. 

But  another  event  occurred  in  Ireland, 
four  days  after  the  Kilmainham  treaty, 
which  for  the  time  made  home  rule  an 
impossibility.  This  was  the  assassination 
of  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  whom 
Gladstone  had  sent  to  Ireland  as  the 
agent  of  his  policy  of  conciliation,  and  of 
Thomas  Burke,  in  Phoenix  Park,  near 
Dublin,  on  May  6,  1882.  This  murder  so 
profoundly  shocked  England  that  to 
bring  forward  a  home  rule  measure  at 
that  time  was  out  of  the  question.  It 
was  postponed  for  four  years. 

Advocates  of  "  Physical  Force  " 

O'Connell  believed  in  using  means  that 
were  completely  legal.  Parnell  used 
means  both  legal  and  illegal,  but  thought 
any  armed  effort  to  destroy  English  pow- 
er in  Ireland  impracticable,  because  of 
the  geographical  character  of  the 
country. 

But  there  have  always  been,  in  Ire- 
land, men  who  have  not  agreed  with 
either   O'Connell   or   Parnell;    who   have 


advocated  illegal  means,  and  have  be- 
lieved in  the  possibility  of  armed  re- 
bellion. These  advocates  of  "  physical 
force "  have  generally  chosen  a  time 
when  England  was  at  war  with  one  or 
another  Continental  power,  and  have 
tried  not  only  to  organize  armed  force 
in  Ireland,  but  also  to  bring  into  Ireland 
the  armies  of  England's  Continental 
enemies. 

Early  instances  are:  The  bringing  of 
Spanish  ships  and  soldiers  to  Ireland  by 
James  Fitzgerald  in  1579,  when  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  at  war  with  Philip  II.  of 
Spain;  the  landing  at  Kinsale  of  4,000 
Spaniards,  as  allies  of  the  O'Neills  and 
O'Donnells,  in  1600;  the  sending  of  a 
French  contingent  by  Louis  XIV.  to  Ire- 
land in  1689;  a  further  force  of  3,000 
Frenchmen  being  sent  in  1691;  the  land- 
ing of  General  Humbert  with  1,000 
Frenchmen  at  Killala,  during  the  Irish 
rebellion  of  1798. 

These  attempts  at  armed  rebellion  were 
prepared  by  secret  societies,  of  which 
there  has  been  a  long  series  in  Ireland, 
such  as  the  "  Whiteboys "  of  1762,  so 
called  because  they  wore  white  shirts  over 
their  coats  like  the  French  Camisards; 
the  "  Right  Boys "  twenty-five  years 
later;  the  "United  Irishmen"  who 
brought  about  the  rebellion  of  1798;  the 
"  Young  Ireland  "  movement  of  1848;  the 
"  Fenian  "  movement,  from  1863  to  1868; 
the  Sinn  Feiners  of  1916.  They  all  had 
the  same  purpose,  the  establishment  of  a 
separate  Irish  nation,  by  open  rebellion, 
leading  to  terrorism;  they  have  all  open- 
ly and  frankly  expressed  their  contempt 
for  the  advocates  of  "constitutional  agita- 
tion," like  Daniel  O'Connell,  or  his  suc- 
cessors, the  Constitutionalist  followers  of 
John  Redmond — the  Irish  Parliamentary 
Nationalists. 

One  of  the  gravest  difficulties  which 
beset  the  solution  of  the  Irish  problem  is 
the  existence  of  these  two  rival  schools — 
the  Constitutionalists,  and  the  advocates 
of  "  physical  force,"  for  the  reason  that 
the  physical  force  men,  open  enemies  of 
the  Constitutionalists,  will  flatly  refuse 
to  recognize  any  settlement  made  with 
,he  Constitutionalists,  or  will  use  any  con- 
cessions made  to  the  Constitutionalists 
simply  as  a  stepping  stone  to  their  own 


THE  BACKGROUND  OF  HOME  RULE 


451 


ulterior  ends:  complete  separation  and 
the  establishment  of  "  the  Irish  Repub- 
lic." In  this  sense,  a  settlement  of  the 
Irish  question  made  with  the  Constitu- 
tionalists is  no  settlement,  unless  the 
physical  force  party  can  in  some  way  be 
compelled  to  respect  it. 

Gladstone  s  First  Bill 

Gladstone's  impulse  toward  home  rule 
was  cut  short  by  one  expression  o£  the 
"  physical  force  "  movement :  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders.  In  October  he  suppressed 
the  Land  League,  whose  place  was  taken 
by  the  National  League,  which  is  still  in 
existence.  In  the  Summer  of  1885,  Lord 
Salisbury  and  the  Conservatives  came 
into  power,  and  introduced  a  second  and 
much  larger  measure  of  land  purchase, 
devoting  $25,000,000  to  the  work  of  turn- 
ing Irish  tenants  into  peasant  proprie- 
tors. The  general  election  of  1885  gave 
the  following  result:  Liberals,  331;  Con- 
servatives, 249;  Irish  Nationalists,  86. 
If  the  Conservatives  joined  forces  with 
the  Nationalists,  they  would  have  335 
against  Gladstone's  331.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, Gladstone  determined  to 
form  a  working  alliance  with  Parnell,  and 
frame  a  Home  Rule  bill. 

Gladstone's  first  "  Government  of  Ire- 
land bill "  was  launched  in  April,  1886. 
It  proposed  to  form  an  Irish  Parliament 
of  two  houses;  the  upper  house  was  to 
consist  of  28  Peers  and  75  members 
elected  for  ten  years;  the  lower  house  of 
204  members,  about  double  the  existing 
number  of  Irish  Members  of  Parliament. 
Irish  Members  of  Parliament  were  to  be 
excluded  from  the  British  Parliament  at 
Westminster.  On  June  7,  1886,  93  Liberal 
Unionists  joined  with  the  Conservatives 
in  voting  against  this  bill,  which  was  de- 
feated in  the  House  of  Commons  by  30 
votes. 

More  Land  Purchase 

Gladstone  had  previously  made  a  fur- 
ther effort  to  settle  the  land  question  by 
introducing  a  bill  which  further  extended 
the  operation  of  land  purchase — the  pur- 
chase of  their  farms  by  tenants,  who  re- 
paid the  Government  by  installments. 

Lord  Salisbury  and  the  Conservatives 
returned  to  power  in  August,  1886;  Lord 


Salisbury's  nephew,  Mr.  Arthur  James 
Balfour,  was  appointed  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland.  He  suppressed  the  National 
League;  and,  by  his  steady  administra- 
tion of  the  Crimes  act,  gradually  quiet- 
ed Ireland.  In  1891  he  carried  through 
Parliament  a  further  Land  Purchase  act, 
which  applied  $150,000,000  to  the  work 
of  turning  tenants  into  owners.  These 
successive  Land  Purchase  acts,  culminat- 
ing in  Wyndham's  (Conservative)  Land 
Purchase  act  of  1903,  have  gone  far  to 
solve  the  Irish  land  question;  once  more 
it  may  be  put  on  record  that  failures  to 
pay  the  installments  are  practically  un- 
known. The  result  of  these  measures 
throughout  Ireland  has  been  admirable. 

Gladstone's  Second  Bill 

Gladstone  returned  to  power  in  August, 
1892.  In  February,  1893,  he  introduced 
a  second  Home  Rule  bill,  which  proposed 
that  eighty  Irish  members  should  be  re- 
tained in  the  Imperial  Parliament  at 
Westminster,  though  they  were  not  to 
vote  on  measures  expressly  confined  to 
Great  Britain.  Two  main  objections  were 
made  to  this  second  home  rule  measure. 
The  first,  by  the  Conservatives,  was  that 
it  not  only  gave  Ireland  the  right  to  gov- 
ern herself,  but  also  the  right  to  govern 
England  and  Scotland.  The  second,  by 
the  Irish  Nationalists,  that  the  financial 
provisions  of  the  bill  were  such  as  "to 
keep  Ireland  in  bondage."  This  meant, 
in  practice,  that  Ireland  might  not  build 
a  separate  tariff  wall. 

On  Sept.  1,  the  bill  passed  the  House  of 
Commons  by  a  majority  of  34;  but  it  was 
thrown  out  by  the  House  of  Lords  by  a 
vote  of  419  to  41.  A  few  months  later 
Gladstone  resigned,  his  place  being  taken 
by  Lord  Rosebery,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Lord  Salisbury  in  June,  1895.  Ten  years 
of  Conservative  Government  followed, 
which  were  marked  by  the  establishment 
of  County  Councils — small  local  Parlia- 
ments for  each  of  the  thirty-two  counties 
of  Ireland— in  1898,. and  by  Wyndham's 
Land  Purchase  act,  already  mentioned,  in 
1903. 

AsquitKs  Home  Rule  Act 

The  Liberals  returned  to  power  in  1905, 
Mr.  Asquith  becoming  Prime  Minister  in 
1908.    He  secured  his  parliamentary  posi- 


452 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


tion  by  making  a  working  agreement  with 
the  Labor  and  Nationalist  members.  The 
Nationalists  were  to  support  his  plan  to 
disestablish  the  Anglican  Church  in 
Wales  as  Gladstone  had  disestablished  it 
in  Ireland  in  1869,  while  he  was  to  bring 
in  a  Home  Rule  bill.  To  insure  its  pas- 
sage, it  was  necessary  to  destroy  the 
practical  veto  power  of  the  House  of 
Lords.  Asquith  did  this  by  means  of  the 
Parliament  act  of  1911,  under  which  bills 
(other  than  money  bills  or  a  bill  extend- 
ing the  maximum  duration  of  Parlia- 
ment) if  passed  by  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  three  successive  sessions,  wheth- 
er of  the  same  Parliament  or  not,  and 
rejected  each  time  (or  not  passed)  by  the 
House  of  Lords,  may  become  law  with- 
out their  concurrence  on  the  royal  assent 
being  signified,  provided  that  two  years 
have  elapsed  between  the  second  reading 
in  the  first  session  of  the  House  of 
Commons  and  the  third  reading  in  the 
third  session. 

The  passage  of  this  act  cleared  the 
way  for  the  new  Home  Rule  bill  which 
was  introduced  in  1912. 

Proposed  Dublin  Parliament    . 

Gladstone's  first  Home  Rule  bill  pro- 
posed to  exclude  the  Irish  members  from 
Westminster.  His  second  Home  Rule  bill 
proposed  to  retain  80  Irish  members  at 
Westminster,  besides  establishing  a  sep- 
arate Irish  Parliament  at  Dublin.  Asquith 
made  a  compromise  between  these  two 
plans,  and  proposed  to  retain  only  42  Irish 
members  at  Westminster,  the  ground  for 
their  retention  being  that  many  Irish 
questions  were  reserved  to  be  dealt  with  by 
the  Imperial  Parliament.  These  42  Irish 
members  at  Westminster  were  to  repre- 
sent Belfast  (4),  Dublin  (3),  Cork  (1), 
counties  in  Ulster  (11),  in  Leinster  (8), 
Munster  (9),  and  Connaught  (6). 

The  Dublin  Parliament  was  to  consist 
of  two  houses — a  Senate  of  40  members 
and  a  House  of  Commons  of  164  mem- 
bers, who  were  to  represent  the  following 
constituencies:  Boroughs,  Belfast  (14), 
Dublin  (11),  Cork  (4),  Londonderry  (2), 
Limerick  (2),  Waterford  (1),  and  Dub- 
lin University  (2);  counties  in  Ulster 
(43),  in  Leinster  (30),  in  Munster  (30), 
and  in  Connaught  (25). 


Senators  were  to  be  drawn  from  the 
four  provinces  in  the  following  numbers: 
Ulster  (14),  Leinster  (11),  Munster  (9), 
and*  Connaught  (6). 

Under  this  third  Home  Rule  bill,  Eng- 
land would  be  able  to  exercise  control 
over  Ireland  in  three  ways:  First, 
through  the  Executive,  the  Lord  Lieuten- 
ant being  appointed  by  the  Crown,  which 
means  in  practice  the  Prime  Minister  of 
England,  and  in  his  turn  selecting  the 
members  of  the  Dublin  Cabinet,  who 
must,  however,  either  be  members  of  the 
Dublin  Parliament,  or  become  members; 
secondly,  through  financial  arrange- 
ments, chief  of  which  is  the  provision 
that  all  Irish  taxes  are  to  be  paid  into 
the  Exchequer  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
which  shall  pay  to  the  Irish  Exchequer  a 
sum  of  $2,500,000  yearly,  to  diminish  to 
$1,000,000  yearly,  as  an  imperial  contri- 
bution to  Irish  finances;  and  a  sum  equal 
to  the  proceeds  of  Irish  taxes  laid  by  the 
Dublin  Parliament.  Thirdly,  through  the 
reservation  of  a  number  of  departments 
or  subjects  for  decision  by  the  Imperial 
Parliament.  For  example,  the  Dublin 
Parliament  is  expressly  forbidden  to 
transfer  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
the  Protestant  Cathedrals,  which  were 
Catholic  until  the  Reformation,  such  as 
the  cathedral  at  Armagh,  Christchurch 
Cathedral,  (founded  by  the  Danes,)  and 
St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  (founded  by  the 
Anglo-Normans,)  in  Dublin. 

The  arrangement  proposed  by  As- 
quith's  Home  Rule  bill  is,  therefore,  com- 
parable, not  so  much  to  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  or 
the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  as  to 
that  which  exists,  let  us  say,  in  New 
York  State,  which  sends  43  members  to 
Congress,  (as  compared  with  the  42  Irish 
members  to  be  sent  to  Westminster,)  with 
a  Legislature  at  Albany  consisting  of  a 
Senate  of  51  members  (compared  with 
the  40  members  of  the  Dublin  Senate) 
and  a  lower  house  of  150  members,  (com- 
pared with  the  164  members  of  the  lower 
house  in  the  Dublin  Parliament.)  The 
restrictions  as  to  taxation  and  reserved 
federal  authority  are  comparable  to  those 
reserved  to  the  Imperial  Parliament  at 
Westminster. 

There    are    three    sharply    contrasted 


THE  BACKGROUND  OF  HOME  RUI^E 


453 


parties  in  Ireland:  (1)  the  Ulster  Union- 
ists; (2)  the  Constitutionalist  National- 
ists; (3)  the  successors  and  heirs  of  the 
"  physical  force  "  movements.  Inevitably 
Asquith's  plans  for  the  government  of 
Ireland  make  a  different  impression  on 
each  of  these  three  parties. 

To  begin  with,  this  third  Home  Rule 
bill  is  only  moderately  satisfactory  to  the 
Irish  Constitutional  Nationalists  led  by 
John  Redmond,  a  former  lieutenant  of 
Parnell,  who  would  like  much  larger 
powers. 

It  is  denounced  as  wholly  inadequate 
by  the  extremists,  who  do  not  try  to  con- 
ceal the  fact  that  what  they  want  is  not 
this  moderate  home  rule  scheme,  but 
complete  independence,  a  separate  Irish 
Republic.  This  view  is  strongly  repre- 
sented among  Irish- Americans,  who  have, 
within  the  last  few  weeks,  given  very 
clear  expression  to  their  views. 

The  Unionists  of  Ulster,  of  whom  Sir 
Edward  Carson  is  the  leader,  strongly 
desire  to  remain  in  their  present  relation 
to  the  Imperial  Parliament  and  as  strong- 
ly object  to  being  governed  by  a  Dublin 
Parliament. 

The  objections  of  Protestant  and  indus- 
trial Ulster  (including  six  out  of  the  nine 
counties  of  Ulster)  to  the  home  rule 
plan  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

First,  they  say  openly  that  this  sup- 
posed settlement  will  be  no  settlement, 
but  will  simply  be  used  by  the  extremists 
as  a  basis  of  further  operations  against 
England,  in  furtherance  of  their  avowed 
plan  to  form  a  completely  independent 
Irish  Republic — a  plan  openly  announced 
even  by  Parnell  when  he  was  leader  of 
the  parliamentary  party.  The  people  of 
Ulster  say  that  they  will  be  sacrificed, 
not  to  a  genuinely  loyal  plan  of  Irish  Na- 
tionalism, but  to  this  strategic  outpost  of 
armed  rebellion.  They  say  that  Irish 
agitators  have  always  had  "  two  voices," 
one  for  England  and  another,  more  gen- 
uine, for  extremists.  This  is  their  polit- 
ical objection. 

Second,  they  object  to  the  probable  in- 
fluence of  the  Vatican  in  Irish  affairs. 
They  have  always  held  this  objection;  it 


has  been  greatly  strengthened  by  the  pro- 
German,  anti-French  action  and  attitude 
of  the  Vatican  in  the  world  war.  They 
assert  that,  lured  by  the  bribe  of  "  tem- 
poral power,"  which  would  mean  the  dis- 
ruption of  free  Italy,  the  Vatican  has 
secretly  used  its  influence  through  the 
hierarchy  and  the  religious  orders  in 
favor  of  Germany,  for  example,  in  Roman 
Catholic  Canada,  which  has  contributed 
only  a  corporal's  guard  to  the  allied  ar- 
mies, French  Canada  being  notably 
priest-ridden.  This  illustrates  the  kind 
of  political  intrigue  which  Ulster  Protes- 
tants have  always  apprehended. 

Third,  they  object  to  the  progressive 
Northeast  being  taxed  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciencies of  the  backward  South  and  West. 
Belfast  has  a  population  of  386,947,  (as 
against  304,802  for  Dublin,)  with  large 
industries;  her  shipyards  employed,  even 
before  the  war,  22,000  men,  with  a  week- 
ly payroll  of  $175,194;  the  same  district 
produces  four-fifths  of  the  world's  linen. 
The  people  of  Ulster  say  that  the  South 
and  West  desire  to  include  Ulster  in  the 
home  rule  plan,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
tax  Ulster. 

Fourth,  they  object  on  principle.  Home 
rule  is  based  on  the  principle  of  "gov- 
ernment by  consent  of  the  governed." 
Ulster  claims  for  herself  the  application 
of  the  same  principle.  Ulster  has  always 
been  loyal  to  the  Union,  loyal  to  all  im- 
perial aims.  She  has  resented,  and  pre- 
pared to  resist,  one  thing  only:  the  at- 
tempt to  give  her  over  into  the  hands  of 
a  hostile  majority,  who  wish  to  coerce 
her.  Ulster  earnestly  protests  against 
all  plans  to  force  her  out  of  the  Union, 
which  expresses  her  ideals  of  government 
and  political  justice.  As  an  example  of 
the  separate  treatment  which  she  claims 
for  herself,  she  cites  such  a  precedent  as 
that  of  West  Virginia,  which,  refusing  to 
leave  the  Union  in  1861,  separated  from 
Virginia,  and,  in  1862,  was  made  a  sepa- 
rate State  loyal  to  the  Union,  and  has 
since  greatly  prospered  under  this  ar- 
rangement. 

These  are,  in  part,  the  grounds  of  the 
claim  that  Ulster  should  be  excluded 
from  the  operation  of  the  Home  Rule  act. 


The  Entente's  Greetings  to  America 

Memorable  Utterances  of  European  Leaders 
on  Entry  of  United  States  Into  the  War 


THE  entry  of  the  United  States  into 
the  war  was  formally  celebrated 
in  England  on  April  20.  For  the 
first  time  in  history  a  flag  other 
than  the  union  jack  was  hoisted  at  the 
top  of  Victoria  Tower  at  Westminster, 
where  during  the  entire  day  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  fluttered  fraternally  with 
the  English  flag  above  the  Houses  of 
Parliament.  A  solemn  and  stately  serv- 
ice took  place  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
attended  by  the  King  and  Queen,  and 
the  most  notable  representatives  of  the 
British  realm.  Bishop  Brent,  an  Amer- 
ican Bishop,  delivered  the  sermon,  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  pro- 
nounced the  benediction.  In  his  sermon 
Bishop  Brent  said: 

This,  I  venture  to  say,  is  not  merely  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  but  of  a  new  epoch. 
At  this  moment  a  great  nation,  well  skilled 
in  self-sacrifice,  is  standing  by  with  deep 
sympathy  and  bidding  godspeed  to  another 
great  nation  that  is  making  its  act  of  self- 
dedication  to  God.  *  *  *  This  act  of  Amer- 
ica has  enabled  her  to  find  her  soul.  Amer- 
ica, which  stands  for  democracy,  the  cause 
of  the  plain  people,  must  fight,  must  cham- 
pion this  cause  at  all  costs. 

Hall  Caines  Winged  Words 

Hall  Caine,  the  British  novelist,  wrote 
as  follows  regarding  the  celebration: 

American  Day  in  London  was  a  great  and 
memorable  event.  It  was  another  sentinel 
on  the  hilltop  of  time,  another  beacon  fire  in 
the  history  of  humanity.  The  two  nations  of 
Great  Britain  and  America  can  never  be  di- 
vided again.  There  has  been  a  national  mar- 
riage between  them,  which  only  one  judge 
can  dissolve,  and  the  name  of  that  judge  is 
Death.    *    *    * 

Two  lessons,  at  least,  must  be  learned  from 
the  service  of  Friday  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 
The  first  is  that  the  accepted  idea  of  the 
American  Nation  as  one  that  weighs  and 
measures  all  conduct  by  material  values  In 
dollars  and  cents  must  henceforth  be  ban- 
ished forever.  Thrice  already  in  its  short 
history  has  it  put  that  hoary  old  slander  to 
shame,  and  now  once  again  has  it  given  the 
He  to  it.  The  history  of  nations  has  perhaps 
no  parallel  to  {he  high  humanity,  the  splen- 
did self-sacrifice,   the  complete  disinterested- 


ness that  brought  America  into  this  war,  with 
nothing  to  gain  and  everything  to  lose.  It 
has  broken  forever  with  the  triple  mon- 
archies of  murder.  To  live  at  peace  with 
crime  was  to  be  the  accomplice  of  the  crim- 
inal. Therefore,  in  the  name  of  justice,  of 
mercy,  of  religion,  of  human  dignity,  of  all 
that  makes  man's  life  worth  living  and  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  the  life  of  the  brute, 
America,  for  all  she  is  or  ever  can  be,  has 
drawn  the  sword  and  thrown  away  the  scab- 
bard. God  helping  her,  #  she  could  do  no 
other. 

The  second  of  the  lessons  we  have  to  learn 
from  the  services  of  Friday  is  that,  having 
made  war  in  defense  of  the  right,  America 
will  make  peace  the  moment  the  wrong  has 
been  righted.  No  national  bargains  will 
weigh  with  her,  no  questions  of  territory, 
no  problems  of  the  balance  of  power,  no 
calculations  of  profit  and  loss,  no  ancient 
treaties,  no  material  covenants,  no  pledges 
that  are  the  legacy  of  past  European  con- 
flicts. Has  justice  been  done?  Is  the  safety 
of  civilization  assured?  Has  reparation  been 
made,  as  far  as  reparation  is  possible,  for 
the  outrages  that  have  disgraced  the  name 
of  man,  and  for  the  sufferings  that  have 
knocked  at  the  door  of  every  heart  in 
Christendom?  These  will  be  her  only  ques- 
tions. Let  us  take  heart  and  hope  from  them. 
They  bring  peace  nearer. 

It  was  not  for  nothing  that  the  flags  of 
Great  Britain  and  America  hung  side  by  side 
under  the  chancel  arch  on  Friday  morning. 
At  one  moment  the  sun  shot  through  the 
windows  of  the  dome  and  lit  them  up  with 
heavenly  radiance.  "Was  it  only  the  exalta- 
tion of  the  moment  that  made  us  think  in- 
visible powers  were  giving  us  a  sign  that  in 
the  union  of  the  nations  which  those  em- 
blems stood  for  lay  the  surest  hope  of  the 
day  when  men  will  beat  their  swords  into 
plowshares  and  know  war  no  more?  The 
United  States  of  Great  Britain  and  America ! 
God  grant  the  union  celebrated  in  our  old 
sanctuary  may  never  be  dissolved  until  that 
great  day  has  dawned. 

Jubilation  in  London 

One  of  the  unique  events  of  the  day 
was  a  luncheon  for  American  wounded 
men  who,  after  attending  the  services  at 
St.  Paul's,  were  guests  of  one  of  the 
American  women's  organizations.  There 
were  present  seventy  privates  and  thirty 
officers,  all  Americans,  who  were  con- 
valescent patients  of  hospitals  near  Lon- 


THE  ENTENTE'S  GREETINGS  TO  AMERICA 


4»5 


don.  They  were  accompanied  by  thirty 
nurses  connected  with  the  British  and 
Canadian  forces,  all  of  whom  were 
Americans.  Ambassador  Page  presided. 
The  roll  of  the  men  and  women  present 
showed  that  nearly  forty  States  were 
represented,  including  every  section  of 
the  Union. 

Celebrations  were  held  in  many  of  the 
large  cities  of  Great  Britain  in  honor  of 
America,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
were  generously  displayed  from  public 
and  private  buildings.  At  Manchester  a 
special  service  was  held  at  the  Cathe- 
dral at  noon.  The  Lord  Mayor,  who  at- 
tended in  state,  was  accompanied  by 
members  of  the  Council. 

April  30  was  "  America  Day "  in 
Liverpool.  A  special  town  meeting  of 
citizens  was  held  at  noon  to  celebrate  the 
entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war.  It  was  preceded  by  a  service  of 
thanksgiving  at  St.  Nicholas  Church,  at- 
tended by  the  Lord  Mayor,  city  officials, 
the  United  States  Consul,  Consular  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  allied  powers,  and 
leading  citizens.  The  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Bishop  of  Liverpool. 
Celebration  in  France 

Paris  celebrated  "  United  States  Day  " 
on  April  20  with  exercises  in  the  great 
hall  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  on  April  21 
with  a  reception  to  Ambassador  Sharp,  a 
procession  to  Lafayette's  statue,  and 
exercises  in  the  City  Hall.  The  Stars 
and  Stripes  were  unfurled  from  the  Eiffel 
Tower,  the  City  Hall,  and  other  municipal 
buildings. 

The  celebration  on  the  20th  was  or- 
ganized by  the  French  Maritime  League 
and  was  an  imposing  testimonial  in  honor 
of  the  United  States.  On  the  platform 
were  Admiral  Lacaze,  Minister  of  Ma- 
rine; Alexandre  Millerand,  President  of 
the  league;  Mr.  Sharp,  American  Ambas- 
sador; J.  de  Mello  Machado,  Brazilian 
Senator;  M.  Nail,  Under  Secretary  of 
the  French  Merchant  Marine;  Ernest 
Lavisse,  M.  Lacour-Gayet,  Jean  Richepin, 
Admiral  Fournier,  and  others.  Raymond 
Poincare,  President  of  France,  who  pre- 
sided over  the  ceremonies,  was  greeted 
on  his  entrance  with  the  "  Marseillaise  " 
and  the  American  national  hymn.  M. 
Millerand  made  an  address  saluting  the 


co-operation  of  the  American  fleet.     He 
said  in  part: 

Washington,  Lincoln.  Wilson— these  are  im- 
mortal types  of  the  Presidency  of  a  democ- 
racy—men who,  conscious  of  their  responsi- 
bilities, assume  the  duty  of  guiding  the  peo- 
ple at  whose  head  they  have  the  honor  to  be 
placed,  thus  realizing  the  indispensable  har- 
mony in  human  affairs  between  the  principle 
of  authority  and  the  principle  of  liberty.  Yes, 
history  will  assign  to  Mr.  Wilson  a  place 
among  the  great  statesmen  of  all  time,  for  he 
has  been  able,  in  a  memorable  document,  to 
make  clear  the  ideal  reasons  why  honor  con- 
demned neutrality  and  commanded  war  in 
order  to  assure  to  humanity  the  definitive 
blessing  of  peace.  Near  him  appear  the 
shadows  of  the  victims  whose  sacrifice,  by 
arousing  the  indignation  of  the  civilized 
world,  has  rendered  inevitable  the  explosion 
which  we  are  today  witnessing. 

A  unique  feature  of  the  ceremonies  was 
furnished  by  Jean  Richepin,  member  of 
the  French  Academy.  Surrounded  by 
armed  sailors,  the  American  and  French 
flags  were  presented,  and,  in  a  voice 
vibrant  with  emotion,  the  poet  recited 
"  Le  Baiser  des  Drapeaux,"  ("  The  Kiss 
of  the  Flags,")  which  he  had  composed 
for  the  occasion.  While  the  audience 
was  applauding  the  last  stanzas  the  color 
bearers  dipped  the  starry  banner  and 
the  tricolor  in  a  movement  that  stirred 
deep  enthusiasm. 

Mr.  Sharp,,  the  American  Ambassador,      \ 
presented  the  formal  salute  of  the  great        \ 
Republic  to  France  and  her  allies,  add- 
ing: 

As  a  man  who  feels  himself  to  be  American 
to  the  very  roots  'of  his  being,  who  is  filled 
with  pride  by  the  magnificent  traditions  of 
his  country,  and  who  has  so  often  heard,  the 
heart  of  America  beating,  I  know,  with  a  cer- 
tainty born  of  profound  conviction,  that  in 
this  great  conflict  France  has  been  the  lode- 
stone  that  has  drawn  to  itself  the  complete 
devotion  and  unqualified  admiration  of  the 
American  people. 

Admiral  Lacaze  paid  a  stirring  tribute 
to  the  sailors  of  the  allied  nations,  espe- 
cially to  those  obscure  heroes,  the  sailors 
of  the  merchant  fleet,  who,  exposed  daily 
to  the  perils  of  German  piracy,  bring  to 
their  arduous  task  the  highest  courage 
and  patriotic  devotion. 

Previous  London  Celebration 
The  first  celebration  of  this  kind  oc- 
curred in  London  April  12;  it  was  at  a 
luncheon  given  by  the   American   Club, 
at  which  important  speeches  were  made 


456 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


by  Ambassador  Walter  H.  Page  and 
Premier  Lloyd  George.  The  keynote  of 
the  Ambassador's  speech  was  in  these 
words : 

These  are  great  days  for  the  Republic. 
We  have  set  out  to  help  in  an  enterprise  of 
saving  the  earth  as  a  place  worth  living  in. 
.The  clear,  solemn  call  of  the  President  and 
the  voice  of  Congress,  which  is  the  voice  of 
the  people,  are  to  us  the  high  call  of  duty. 

We  come  in  answer  only  to  the  high  call 
of  duty,  and  not  for  any  material  reward, 
not  for  territory,  not  for  indemnity  or  con- 
quest, not  for  anything  save  the  high  duty  to 
succor  democracy  when  it  is  desperately  as- 


sailed.    We  come  only  for  the  ideal,  that  is, 
the  republic. 

Why  else  have  we  drawn  into  this  grim 
Old  World  bloody  struggle  against  our  tradi- 
tions and  wishes?  Why  except  that  our 
standard  of  honor  and  our  judgment  of 
safety  are  the  same  as  yours?  Some  of  our 
differences  are  historical  and  fundamental, 
but  most  of  them  are  superficial  or  manu- 
factured by  agitation.  None  of  them  need  or 
can  separate  us  in  the  further  development  of 
our  national  freedom. 

The  Premier's  speech  was  at  consider- 
able length.  The  full  text  is  given  below 
under  a  separate  subhead. 


Lloyd  George  on  America's  Entrance 
Into  the  War 

[The  British  Premier's  Address  at  the  American  Club  in  London,  April  12,  1917] 


I  AM  in  the  happy  position  of  being, 
I  think,  the  first  British  Minister 
of  the  Crown  who,  speaking  on 
behalf  of  the  people  of  this  country, 
can  salute  the  American  Nation  as 
comrades  in  arms.  I  am  glad;  I  am 
proud.  I  am  glad  not  merely  because  of 
the  stupendous  resources  which  this 
great  nation  will  bring  to  the  succor  of 
the  alliance,  but  I  rejoice  as  a  democrat 
that  the  advent  of  the  United  States 
into  this  war  gives  the  final  stamp  and 
seal  to  the  character  of  the  conflict  as 
a  struggle  against  military  autocracy 
throughout  the  world. 

That  was  the  note  that  ran  through 
the  great  deliverance  of  President  Wil- 
son. It  was  echoed,  Sir,  in  your  resound- 
ing words  today.  The  United  States  of 
America  have  the  noble  tradition,  never 
broken,  of  having  never  engaged  in  war 
except  for  liberty.  And  this  is  the  great- 
est struggle  for  liberty  that  they  have 
ever  embarked  upon.  I  am  not  at  all 
surprised,  when  one  recalls  the  wars  of 
the  past,  that  America  took  its  time  to 
make  up  its  mind  about  the  character  of 
this  struggle.  In  Europe  most  of  the 
great  wars  of  the  past  were  waged  for 
dynastic  aggrandizement  and  conquest. 
No  wonder  when  this  great  war  started 
that  there  were  some  elements  of  suspi- 
cion  still   lurking   in   the   minds   of  the 


people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
There  were  those  who  thought  perhaps 
that  Kings  were  at  their  old  tricks — 
and  although  they  saw  the  gallant  Re- 
public of  France  fighting,  they  some  of 
them  perhaps  regarded  it  as  the  poor 
victim  of  a  conspiracy  of  monarchical 
swashbucklers.  The  fact  that  the  United 
States  of  America  has  made  up  its  mind 
finally  makes  it  abundantly  clear  to  the 
world  that  this  is  no  struggle  of  that 
character,  but  a  great  fight  for  human 
liberty. 

The  Prussian  Menace 

They  naturally  did  not  know  at  first 
what  we  had  endured  in  Europe  for  years 
from  this  military  caste  in  Prussia.  It 
never  has  reached  the  United  States 
of  America.  Prussia  was  not  a  democ- 
racy. The  Kaiser  promises  that  it  will 
be  a  democracy  after  the  war.  I  think 
he  is  right.  But  Prussia  not  merely  was 
not  a  democracy.  Prussia  was  not  a 
State;  Prussia  was  an  army.  It  had 
great  industries  that  had  been  highly 
developed;  a  great  educational  system;  it 
had  its  universities,  it  had  developed  its 
science. 

All  these  were  subordinate  to  the  one 
great  predominant  purpose,  the  purpose 
of  all — a  conquering  army  which  was  to 
intimidate  the  world.    The  army  was  the 


LLOYD  GEORGE  ON  AMERICA'S  ENTRY  INTO  THE  WAR 


457 


spear-point  of  Prussia;  the  rest  was 
merely  the  haft.  That  was  what  we  had 
to  deal  with  in  these  old  countries.  It 
got  on  the  nerves  of  Europe.  They 
knew  what  it  all  meant.  It  was  an 
army  that  in  recent  times,  had  waged 
three  wars,  all  of  conquest,  and  the  un- 
ceasing tramp  of  its  legions  through  the 
streets  of  Prussia,  on  the  parade  grounds 
of  Prussia,  had  got  into  the  Prussian 
head.  The  Kaiser,  when  he  witnessed 
on  a  grand  scale  his  reviews,  got  drunk 
with  the  sound  of  it.  He  delivered  the 
law  to  the  world  as  if  Potsdam  was  an- 
other Sinai,  and  he  was  uttering  the  law 
from  the  thunder  clouds. 

But  make  no  mistake.  Europe  was 
uneasy.  Europe  was  half  intimidated. 
Europe  was  anxious.  Europe  was  ap- 
prehensive. We  knew  the  whole  time 
what  it  meant.  What  we  did  not  know 
was  the  moment  it  would  come. 

This  is  the  menace,  this  is  the  appre- 
hension from  which  Europe  has  suffered 
for  over  fifty  years.  It  paralyzed  the 
beneficent  activity  of  all  States,  which 
ought  to  be  devoted  to  concentrating  on 
the  well-being  of  their  peoples.  They 
•had  to  think  about  this  menace,  which 
was  there  constantly  as  a  cloud  ready 
to  burst  over  the  land.  No  one  can  tell 
except  Frenchmen  what  they  endured 
from  this  tyranny,  patiently,  gallantly, 
with  dignity,  till  the  hour  of  deliverance 
came.  The  best  energies  of  domestic 
science  had  been  devoted  to  defending  it- 
self against  the  impending  blow.  France 
was  like  a  nation  which  put  up  its  right 
arm  to  ward  off  a  blow,  and  could  not 
give  the  whole  of  her  strength  to  the 
great  things  which  she  was  capable  of. 
That  great,  bold,  imaginative,  fertile 
mind,  which  would  otherwise  have  been 
clearing  new  paths  for  progress,  was 
paralyzed. 

That  is  the  state  of  things  we  had  to 
encounter.  The  most  characteristic  of 
Prussian  institutions  is  the  Hindenburg 
line.  What  is  the  Hindenburg  line?  The 
Hindenburg  line  is  a  line  drawn  in  the 
territories  of  other  people,  with  a  warn- 
ing that  the  inhabitants  of  those  terri- 
tories shall  not  cross  it  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives.  That  line  has  been  drawn 
in  Europe  for  fifty  years. 


You  recollect  what  happened  some 
years  ago  in  France,  when  the  French 
Foreign  Minister  was  practically  driven 
out  of  office  by  Prussian  interference. 
Why?  What  had  he  done?  He  had  done 
nothing  which  a  Minister  of  an  inde- 
pendent State  had  not  the  most  absolute 
right  to  do.  He  had  crossed  the  imagi- 
nary line  drawn  in  French  territory  by 
Prussian  despotism,  and  he  had  to  leave. 
Europe,  after  enduring  this  for  genera- 
tions, made  up  its  mind  at  last  that  the 
Hindenburg  line  must  be  drawn  along 
the  legitimate  frontiers  of  Germany  her- 
self. There  could  be  no  other  attitude 
than  that  for  the  emancipation  of  Europe 
and  the  world. 

Hindenburg  Line  at  Sea 
It  was  hard  at  first  for  the  people  of 
America  quite  to  appreciate  that  Ger- 
many had  not  interfered  to  the  same  ex- 
tent with  their  freedom,  if  at  all.  But 
at  last  they  endured  the  same  experience 
as  Europe  had  been  subjected  to.  Ameri- 
cans were  told  that  they  were  not  to  be 
allowed  to  cross  and  recross  the  Atlantic 
except  at  their  peril.  American  ships 
were  sunk  without  warning.  American 
citizens  were  drowned,  hardly  with  an 
apology — in  fact,  as  a  matter  of  German 
right.  At  first  America  could  hardly 
believe  it.  They  could  not  think  it  pos- 
sible that  any  sane  people  should  behave 
in  that  manner.  And  they  tolerated  it 
once,  and  they  tolerated  it  twice,  until  it 
became  clear  that  the  Germans  really 
meant  it.  Then  America  acted,  and  acted 
promptly. 

The  Hindenburg  line  was  drawn  along 
the  shores  of  America,  and  the  Ameri- 
cans were  told  they  must  not  cross  it. 
America  said,  "  What  is  this?"  Germany 
said,  "  This  is  our  line,  beyond  which  you 
must  not  go,"  and  America  said,  "  The 
place  for  that  line  is  not  the  Atlantic, 
but  on  the  Rhine — and  we  mean  to  help 
you  to  roll  it  up." 

There  are  two  great  facts  which  clinch 
the  argument  that  this  is  a  great  strug- 
gle for  freedom.  The  first  is  the  fact 
that  America  has  come  in.  She  would  not 
have  come  in  otherwise.  The  second  is 
the  Russian  revolution.  When  France  in 
the  eighteenth  century  sent  her  soldiers 


458 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


to  America  to  fight  for  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  that  land,  France  also 
was  an  autocracy  in  those  days.  But 
Frenchmen  in  America,  once  they  were 
there — their  aim  was  freedom,  their  at- 
mosphere was  freedom,  their  inspiration 
was  freedom.  They  acquired  a  taste  for 
freedom,  and  they  took  it  home,  and 
France  became  free.  That  is  the  story  of 
Russia.  Russia  engaged  in  this  great 
war  for  the  freedom  of  Serbia,  of  Monte- 
negro, of  Bulgaria,  and  has  fought  for 
the  freedom  of  Europe.  They  wanted  to 
make  their  own  country  free,  and  they 
have  done  it.  The  Russian  revolution  is 
not  merely  the  outcome  of  the  struggle 
for  freedom.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  struggle  for  liberty,  and  if  the 
Russian  people  realize,  as  there  is  every 
evidence  they  are  doing,  that  national 
discipline  is  not  incompatible  with  na- 
tional freedom — nay,  that  national  disci- 
pline is  essential  to  the  security  of  na- 
tional freedom — they  will,  indeed,  become 
a  free  people. 

I  have  been  asking  myself  the  ques- 
tion, Why  did  Germany,  deliberately,  in 
the  third  year  of  the  war,  provoke  Amer- 
ica to  this  declaration  and  to  this  action 
— deliberately,  resolutely  ?  It  has  been 
suggested  that  the  reason  was  that  there 
were  certain  elements  in  American  life, 
and  they  were  under  the  impression  that 
they  would  make  it  impossible  for  the 
United  States  to  declare  war.  That  I 
can  hardly  believe.  But  the  answer  has 
been  afforded  by  Marshal  von  Hinden- 
burg  himself,  in  the  very  remarkable  in- 
terview which  appeared  in  the  press,  I 
think,  only  this  morning. 

He  depended  clearly  on  one  of  two 
things.  First,  that  the  submarine  cam- 
paign would  have  destroyed  international 
shipping  to  such  an  extent  that  England 
would  have  been  put  out  of  business  be- 
fore America  was  ready.  According  to 
his  computation,  America  cannot  be 
ready  for  twelve  months.  He  does  not 
know  America.  In  the  alternative,  that 
when  America  is  ready,  at  the  end  of 
twelve  months,  with  her  army,  she  will 
have  no  ships  to  transport  that  army  to 
the  field  of  battle.  In  von  Hindenburg's 
words,  "  America  carries  no  weight."  I 
suppose  he  means  she  has  no  ships  to 


carry  weight.    On  that,  undoubtedly  they 
are  reckoning. 

Well,  it  is  not  wise  always  to  assume 
that  even  when  the  German  General 
Staff,  which  has  miscalculated  so  often, 
makes  a  calculation  it  has  no  ground 
for  it.  It  therefore  behooves  the  whole 
of  the  Allies,  Great  Britain  and  America 
in  particular,  to  see  that  that  reckoning 
of  von  Hindenburg  is  as  false  as  the  one 
he  made  about  his  famous  line,  which  we 
have  broken  already. 

The  Road  to   Victory 

The  road  to  victory,  the  guarantee  of' 
victory,  the  absolute  assurance  of  vic- 
tory is  to  be  found  in  one  word — ships; 
and  a  second  word — ships;  and  a  third 
word — ships.  And  with  that  quickness 
of  apprehension  which  characterizes  your 
nation,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  see  that  they 
fully  realize  that,  and  today  I  observe 
that  they  have  already  made  arrange- 
ments to  build  one  thousand  3,000-ton- 
ners  for  the  Atlantic.  I  think  that  the 
German  military  advisers  must  already 
begin  to  realize  that  this  is  another  of 
the  tragic  miscalculations  which  are 
going  to  lead  them  to  disaster  and  to 
ruin.  But  you  will  pardon  me  for  em- 
phasizing that.  We  are  a  slow  people 
in  these  islands — slow  and  blundering — 
but  we  get  there.  You  get  there  sooner, 
and  that  is  why  I  am  glad  to  see  you  in. 

But  may  I  say  that  we  have  been  in 
this  business  for  three  years?  We  have, 
as  we  generally  do,  tried  every  blunder. 
In  golfing  phraseology,  we  have  got  into 
every  bunker.  But  we  have  got  a  good 
niblick.  We  are  right  out  on  the  course. 
But  may  I  respectfully  suggest  that  it 
is  worth  America's  while  to  study  our 
blunders,  so  as  to  begin  just  where  we 
are  now  and  not  where  we  were  three 
years  ago?  That  is  an  advantage.  In 
war,  time  has  as  tragic  a  significance 
as  it  has  in  sickness.  A  step  which, 
taken  today,  may  lead  to  assured  vic- 
tory, taken  tomorrow  may  barely  avert 
disaster.  All  the  Allies  have  discovered 
that.  It  was  a  new  country  for  us  all. 
It  was  trackless,  mapless.  We  had  to 
go  by  instinct.  But  we  found  the  way, 
and  I  am  so  glad  that  you  are.  sending 
your   great   naval   and   military   experts 


l^^^^^My^^ 


LLOYD  GEORGE  ON  AMERICA'S  ENTRY  INTO  THE  WAR        459 


here,  just  to  exchange  experiences  with 
men  who  have  been  through  all  the 
dreary,  anxious  crises  of  the  last  three 
years. 

America  has  helped  us  even  to  win 
the  battle  of  Arras.  Do  you  know  that 
these  guns  which  destroyed  the  German 
trenches,  shattered  the  barbed  wire — I 
remember,  with  some  friends  of  mine 
whom  I  see  here,  arranging  to  order  the 
machines  to  make  those  guns  from 
America.  Not  all  of  them — you  got  your 
share,  but  only  a  share,  a  glorious  share. 
So  that  America  has  also  had  her  train- 
ing. She  has  been  making  guns,  making 
ammunition,  giving  us, machinery  to  pre- 
pare both;  she  has  supplied  us  with 
steel,  and  she  has  got  all  that  organiza- 
tion and  she  has  got  that  wonderful  fa- 
cility, adaptability,  and  resourcefulness 
of  the  great  people  which  inhabits  that 
great  continent.  Ah!  It  was  a  bad  day 
for  military  autocracy  .in  Prussia  when 
it  challenged  the  great  Republic  of  the 
West.  We  know  what  America  can  do, 
and  we  also  know  that  now  she  is  in  it 
she  will  do  it.  She  will  wage  an  effective 
and  successful  war. 

Establishing  a  Real  Peace 
There  is  something  more  important. 
She  will  insure  a  beneficent  peace.  I 
attach  great  importance — and  I  am  the 
last  man  in  the  world,  knowing  for  three 
years  what  our  difficulties  have  been, 
what  our  anxieties  have  been,  and  what 
our  fears  have  been — I  am  the  last  man 
to  say  that  the  succor  which  is  given 
to  us  from  America  is  not  something  in 
itself  to  rejoice  in,  and  to  rejoice  in 
greatly.  But  I  don't  mind  saying  that 
I  rejoice  even  more  in  the  knowledge 
that  America  is  going  to  win  the  right 
to  be  at  the  conference  table  when  the 
terms  of  peace  are  being  discussed.  That 
conference  will  settle  the  destiny  of  na- 
tions— the  course  of  human  life — for  God 
knows  how  many  ages.  It  would  have 
been  tragic  for  mankind  if  America  had 
not  been  there,  and  there  with  all  the 
influence,  all  the  power,  and  the  right 
which  she  has  now  won  by  flinging  her- 
self into  this  great  struggle. 

I  can  see  peace  coming  now — not  a 
peace  which  will  be  the  beginning  of 
war;  not  a  peace  which  will  be  an  endless 


preparation  for  strife  and  bloodshed;  but 
a  real  peace.  The  world  is  an  old  world. 
It  has  never  had  peace.  It  has  been 
rocking  and  swaying  like  an  ocean,  and 
Europe — poor  Europe ! — has  always  lived 
under  the  menace  of  the  sword.  When 
this  war  began  two-thirds  of  Europe 
were  under  autocratic  rule.  It  is  the 
other  way  about  now,  and  democracy 
means  peace.  The  democracy  of  France 
did  not  want  war;  the  democracy  of  Italy 
hesitated  long  before  they  entered  the 
war;  the  democracy  of  this  country 
shrank  from  it — shrank  and  shuddered — 
and  never  would  have  entered  the  cal- 
dron had  it  not  been  for  the  invasion  of 
Belgium.  The  democracies  sought  peace; 
strove  for  peace.  If  Prussia  had  been  a 
democracy  there  would  have  been  no 
war.  Strange  things  have  happened  in 
this  war.  There  are  stranger  things  to 
come,  and  they  are  coming  rapidly. 

There  are  times  in  history  when  this 
world  spins  so  leisurely  along  its  destined 
course  that  it  seems  for  centuries  to  be 
at  a  standstill;  but  there  are  also  times 
when  it  rushes  along  at  a  giddy  pace, 
covering  the  track  of  centuries  in  a  year. 
Those  are  the  times  we  are  living  in  now. 
Six  weeks  ago  Russia  was  an  autocracy; 
she  is  now  one  of  the  most  advanced  de- 
mocracies in  the  world.  Today  we  are 
waging  the  most  devastating  war  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen;  tomorrow — per- 
haps not  a  distant  tomorrow — war  may 
be  abolished  forever  from  the  category 
of  human  crimes.  This  may  be  some- 
thing like  the  fierce  outburst  of  Winter 
which  we  are  now  witnessing  before  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  sun.  It  is  writ- 
ten of  those  gallant  men  who  won  that 
victory  on  Monday — men  from  Canada, 
from  Australia,  and  from  this  old  coun- 
try, which  has  proved  that  in  spite  of  its 
age  it  is  not  decrepit — it  is  written 
of  those  gallant  men  that  they  attacked 
with  the  dawn — fit  work  for  the  dawn ! — 
to  drive  out  of  forty  miles  of  French  soil 
those  miscreants  who  had  defiled  it  for 
three  years.  "  They  attacked  with  the 
dawn."    Significant  phrase! 

The  breaking  up  of  the  dark  rule  of  the 
Turk,  which  for  centuries  has  clouded 
the  sunniest  land  in  the  world,  the  free- 
ing of  Russia  from  an  oppression  which 


400 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


has  covered  it  like  a  shroud  for  so  long, 
the  great  declaration  of  President  Wilson 
coming  with  the  might  of  the  great  na- 
tion which  he  represents  into  the  strug- 
gle for  liberty  are  heralds  of  the  dawn. 
"  They   attacked   with    the    dawn,"    and 


these  men  are  marching  forward  in  the 
full  radiance  of  that  dawn,  and  soon 
Frenchmen  and  Americans,  British, 
Italians,  Russians,  yea,  and  Serbians, 
Belgians,  Montenegrins,  will  march  into 
the  full  light  of  a  perfect  day. 


Eloquent  Welcome  From  Lords  and  Commons 

Lord  Curzon's   Speech  and  Others 


Both  Houses  of  Parliament  passed 
resolutions  on  April  18,  1917,  express- 
ing profound  appreciation  of  the  ac- 
tion of  the  United  States  in  joining 
the  allied  powers  "  and  thus  defend- 
ing the  high  cause  of  freedom  and  the 
rights  of  humanity  against  the  grav- 
est menace  by  which  they  have  ever  been 
imperiled.'*  Earl  Curzon,  in  moving 
this  resolution  before  the  House  of  Lords, 
said : 

SINCE  the  beginning  of  the  war  one 
by  one  the  independent  nations 
of  the  earth  have  been  drawn  into 
its  terrific  and  devastating  orbit.  The 
great  powers  who  met  the  first  shock 
of  conflict  on  one  side  were  France,  Rus- 
sia, and  Great  Britain,  or,  rather,  I  would 
prefer  to  substitute  the  phrase,  British 
Empire,  because  from  the  first  hour  of 
war  it  was  the  whole  of  that  empire  that 
leaped  to  arms.  It  is  the  whole  Brit- 
ish Empire  that  on  our  side  has  been 
engaged,  and  will  remain  engaged  to  the 
end.  Alongside  of  these  allied  powers 
were  the  minor  but  heroic  and  suffering 
States  of  Belgium,  Serbia,  and  Monte- 
negro. At  the  other  end  of  the  world 
we  received,  and  we  continue  to  receive, 
loyal  and  valuable  assistance  from 
Japan.  At  a  later  date  Italy  was  driven 
by  considerations  partly  of  honor,  partly 
of  political  necessity,  to  enter  this  strug- 
gle. Again,  a  little  later  Rumania  fol- 
lowed suit.  Portugal,  the  most  ancient 
of  our  allies,  could  not  stand  aloof,  and 
at  the  present  moment  her  soldiers  are 
fighting  alongside  of  our  own  in  France 
and  Flanders.  In  Greece  many  of  the 
most  patriotic  sons  of  that  country,  un- 
der the  leadership  of  the  brave  M.  Veni- 
zelos,  are  also  engaged  in  conjunction 
with  our  own  troops  in  the  trenches  out- 


side Saloniki.  Elsewhere  large  parts  of 
Arabia  have  arisen  to  throw  off  the  de- 
tested yoke  of  the  Turk. 

Such  has  been  the  accumulation  of 
forces  that  have  gathered  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies.  In  the  same  period  I  cannot  re- 
call any  accretion  that  has  been  made 
to  the  forces  of  the  powers  of  the  Ger- 
man and  Austrian  Empires,  except  the 
inglorious  and  unnatural  partnership  of 
the  Bulgarian  and  the  Turk.  But  in  the 
last  fortnight,  in  the  short  time  that  has 
elapsed  since  we  last  met  in  this  House, 
another  and  graver  portent  has  occurred. 
There  has  entered  into  the  war  the 
greatest  democracy  in  the  world,  whose 
twice-elected  President,  representing 
100,000,000  of  the  most  liberty-loving, 
the  most  peace-loving,  the  least  aggres- 
sive of  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  has  sum- 
moned his  people  to  arms  with  a  trum- 
pet call  that  will  ring  through  the  ages, 
and  will  always  be  accounted  one  of  the 
historic  declarations  of  mankind. 

The  case  of  America  in  entering  the 
war  is  widely  differentiated  from  that 
of  any  of  the  other  allied  countries.  All 
the  other  States  whom  I  have  mentioned 
were  drawn  into  the  war  either  at  the 
beginning  or  at  no  very  long  date  after- 
ward. The  great  majority  of  them  cer- 
tainly have  been  engaged  now  for  two 
years,  if  not  for  longer.  But  the  case 
of  America  was  different.  For  nearly 
three  years  that  nation  and  her  official 
head  scrupulously  and  sedulously  ab- 
stained from  entering  the  war,  exhibit- 
ing a  patience  and  a  forbearance  which 
were  perhaps  not  always  quite  under- 
stood, and  which  did  not  even  excite  uni- 
versal satisfaction  among  some  sections 
of  her  own  people.     But  there  are  other 


ELOQUENT  WELCOME  FROM  LORDS  AND  COMMONS 


4(>1 


differences  between  the  position  of 
America  and  that  of  the  other  allied 
powers.  All  of  them  have  had  a  direct 
and  personal  interest.  The  interest  of 
the  United  States  is  secondary  and  re- 
mote. The  majority  of  them  were  either 
inured  to  war  by  previous  experience,  or 
were  not  indisposed  to  war  by  political 
ambition.  America  during  the  last  half 
century  has  had  little  experience  of  war 
and  has  no  ambitions  to  gratify  in  the 
present  case.  We  know  how  it  has  been 
expressed  over  and  over  again  by  the 
foremost  statesman  of  America  that  her 
people  have  a  constitutional  aversion  to 
war,  and  that  they  have  a  rooted  dislike 
to  be  in  any  degree  involved  in  the  secu- 
lar ambitions  or  quarrels  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Some  of  the  nations  who  were  fighting 
are,    like    ourselves,    fighting    for    their 
continued  national  existence.    No  one  can 
say  that  the  national  existence  of  Ameri- 
ca  has   been   imperiled.      Others,   again, 
have  entered  the  struggle,  alas!  because 
their  territories  have  been  overrun  by  the 
brutal  foe.     Not  a  single  enemy  has  set 
foot,  or  is  likely  to  set  foot,  on  the  soil 
of  America.     Some  of  them  are  fighting 
either  to  extend  their  boundaries  or  to 
recover  possessions  which  they  have  lost 
or  to  satisfy  claims  of  nationality.  Amer- 
ica requires  no  territory.     She  has  noth- 
ing to  recover  because  there  is  nothing 
of  which  she  has  been  deprived.    She  has 
no  lost  tribes  to  gather  again  into  her 
fold.     If  a  nation  so  placed  with  those 
hereditary   instincts    and    others   that   I 
have  described,  and  after  this  long  period 
of  hesitation  to  which  I  have  referred,  is 
yet  compelled  to  join  the  Allies,  there 
must  be  some  great  and  overwhelming 
reason   for  that  fact.     Yes,  my   Lords, 
there  is.     America  has  tardily  but  defi- 
nitely entered  the  struggle  because  she 
sees  that  there  is  at  stake  a  cause  great- 
er than  the  rights  or  liberty  or  the  honor 
of  any  individual  people.    It  is  the  rights 
of  humanity  that  have  been  and  are  be- 
ing cruelly  outraged  from  day  to   day. 
It  is  the  liberty  of  the  whole  world  that 
is  threatened.    It  is  the  honor  of  civiliza- 
tion that  is  at  stake. 

My  Lords,  the  best  part  of  half  a  cent- 
ury  ago   an   American   poet   in   circum- 


stances of  war  thus  gave  expression  to 
the  sentiments  of  his  fellow-countrymen: 

Hark!   I  hear  the  tramp  of  thousands, 

And  of  arm6d  men  the  hum ; 
Lo  !   a  nation's  hosts  have  gathered 
Round  the  quick  alarming  drum— 
Saying!   "  Come, 
Freemen,   come  ! 
Ere  your  heritage  be  wasted,"  said  the  quick 
alarming   drum. 

That  is  the  call  that  has  again  sounded 
in  the  ears  of  Americans,  and  the  call  to 
which   they  have  responded.      It  is   the 
voice  of  freedom  calling  upon  the  freest 
people  in  the  world.     The  entry  of  the 
United   States  into  this  war  is  a  great 
event,  not  merely  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
war  or  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
people,  but  in  the  moral  history  of  the 
human  race.     Not  merely  does  this  act 
invest  the  figure  of  America  with  a  glory 
that  will  never  fade,  but  it  stamps  the 
character  of  the   struggle  in   which  we 
are  engaged  as  an  uprising  of  the  con- 
science of  the  world,  as  a  combined  effort 
to  put  an  end  to  the  rule  of  Satan  on 
this   earth,   an    effort   which   cannot   be 
slackened  or  abated  until  that  peril  has 
been  entirely  and  finally  subdued.     Each 
one  of  us  may  be  proud  to  have  lived  in 
these  times  and  to  have  witnessed  this 
great  landmark  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind. 

As  to  the  consequences  of  the  entry  of 
America  into  the  war  it  is  too  early  to 
speak.  Its  practical  concrete  effects  may 
not  be  immediate,  but  that  they  must 
in  the  long  run  be  tremendous  and  far- 
reaching  no  man  can  doubt.  We  may 
rest  assured  that,  having  drawn  the 
sword,  America  will  put  the  whole  of  her 
strength  into  the  struggle.  She  is  a  na- 
tion that  does  nothing  by  halves;  there 
is  nothing  small  about  the  character  and 
purpose  of  America,  any  more  than  there 
is  about  her  territories  and  population. 
We  may  rest  confident  that  she  will  spare 
nothing,  either  the  splendid  resources 
with  which  she  has  been  endowed  by  na- 
ture, and  which  she  has  developed  with 
the  genius  of  her  own  people,  or  the 
vigorous  energies  of  that  people.  She 
will  not  pause  or  stay  until  the  peace  of 
the  world  has  again  been  built  up  on  se- 
cure  foundations    and   guarantees    have 


462 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


been    secured    for    its    maintenance    in 
future. 

There  is  only  one  other  reflection  that 
must  occur  to  every  one  of  us  who  has 
British  blood  in  his  veins;  it  is  a  great 
thought  to  us  that  at  length,  whatever 
there  has  been  of  pain  in  the  association 
of  America  with  ourselves  has  been 
finally  obliterated  and  the  two  great 
English-speaking  nations  of  the  world 
stand  side  by  side  in  this  historic  strug- 
gle. We  rejoice  that  America  is  at  last 
at  our  side,  or  shall  I  put  it  the  other 
way  and  say  that  we  rejoice  we  are  at 
the  side  of  America?  We  rejoice  that  the 
three  flags — the  Stars  and  Stripes,  the 
tricolor,  and  the  union  jack — will  float 
side  by  side  both  on  the  seas  and  in  the 
trenches  on  the  Continent.  I  shall  only 
be  expressing  the  wishes  of  your  Lord- 
ships' House  if  I  ask  you  this  afternoon 
to  join  the  House  of  Commons  in  sending 
to  the  American  Government  and  the 
American  people  this  message  of  con- 
gratulation and  pride  that  we  are,  to- 
gether with  them,  united  at  last  in  the 
greatest  cause  for  which  nations  have 
ever  suffered  or  individual  human  beings 
have  willingly  laid  down  their  lives. 

Lord  Crewe  s  Tribute 

Lord  Curzon  was  followed  by  Lord 
Crewe,  Lord  Bryce,  and  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  in  speeches  of  similar 
quality.  The  most  significant  portion  of 
Lord  Crewe* s  address  is  here  reproduced: 

We  ourselves  have  never  doubted  from 
the  first  the  Tightness  of  our  cause.  If  I 
may  be  allowed  to  conceive  for  a  moment 
what  is  inconceivable,  if  it  had  been  the 
fact  that  an  attack  had  been  made  upon 
the  two  Central  Powers,  I  am  quite  cer- 
tain that  no  Government  here  would  have 
involved  us  against  them  in  war,  even 
though  it  might  have  been  argued  that 
the  most  deep-seated  cause  of  such  an 
attack  was  to  be  found  in  the  military 
aims  and  the  general  ambitions  of  Ger- 
many. The  case  of  France  and  of  Rus- 
sia is,  as  we  know,  clear.  But  the  origin 
of  the  issues  of  the  war  could  not  be, 
and  could  not  be  expected  to  be,  so  visible 
across  the  Atlantic  as  they  were  at  home. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  there  were 
millions  in  America  whose  original  pre- 


possessions and  sympathy  were  rather  on 
the  side  of  our  enemies  than  of  ourselves. 
It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  unlim- 
ited .  money  and  some  ingenuity — 
although  it  was  in  effect  sometimes 
clumsy  ingenuity — were  exercised  in 
America  to  distort  the  facts  by  enemy 
agents  against  us  and  our  cause. 

It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  from 
quite  an  early  stage  in  the  war  much  ma- 
terial loss  and  a  great  deal  more  incon- 
venience was  necessarily  inflicted  upon 
innocent  citizens  of  the  United  States  by 
our  necessary  action  in  the  stoppage  of 
cargoes  not  only  to  Germany  but  also 
to  some  neutral  countries  contiguous  to 
Germany,  and  I  cannot  help  saying  in 
passing  that  if  at  the  earlier  stages  of 
the  war  the  Government  of  the  day  had 
followed  some  of  the  advice  which  has 
been  given  here — I  am  certain  with  the 
utmost  feeling  of  patriotism — those 
measures  that  we  took  would  have 
pressed  harder  still  upon  America  and 
the  other  neutrals.  The  effect  would 
have  been  not  that  America  would  have 
joined  Germany,  because  that,  I  am  con- 
vinced, she  never  would  have  done,  but 
she  might  have  been  frozen,  so  to  speak, 
into  a  position  of  permanent  neutrality 
not  too  friendly  to  us  from  which  she 
might  never  have  parted  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  I  say  this  as  a  tribute  to 
the  action  of  Lord  Grey  of  Fallodon, 
Lord  Robert  Cecil,  and  Mr.  Balfour  in 
their  conduct  of  the  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  United  States  which  have  now 
had  so  happy  a  result. 

As  the  noble  Earl  pointed  out,  there 
was  evidence  both  here  and  in  the  United 
States  from  time  to  time  of  some  im- 
patience that  the  merits  of  our  cause 
were  not  more  fully  recognized  there. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  right 
opinion  had  to  permeate  the  vast  masses 
of  the  population  in  no  way  directly  in- 
terested; that  in  America  the  famous 
phrase  is  the  government  of  the  people 
by  the  people,  and  that  it  was  necessary 
that  President  Wilson  must  remain  silent 
so  far  as  joining  the  Allies  was  concerned 
until  he  was  able  to  speak,  as  he  has  now 
spoken,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Union. 

I  question  if  there  ever  has  been  a  com- 


ELOQUENT  WELCOME  FROM  LORDS  AND  COMMONS 


463 


munity   which   has   so    steadily   pursued 
high  ideals,  which  has  so  conscientiously 
been    swayed    by   serious    impulses,   and 
which  has  been  so  uniformly  dependent 
on  moral  sanctions  as  the  United  States 
of    America.      It   has   therefore   been    a 
positive  attraction  to  America  in  reach- 
ing her  resolution  to  join  us  in  the  war 
that  she  has  nothing  substantial  to  gain 
from    the    victory    which    we    foresee — 
nothing  to  gain  in  the  way  of  annexation, 
absorption,  the  establishment  of  a  pro- 
tectorate,    or     even     penetration,     that 
finest  nuance  of  national  acquisition.   As 
the  months  went  on  not  only  were  the 
horrors  of  war  multiplied  and  the  sac- 
rifice of  life  became  greater  and  greater, 
but  the  slender  restraints  which  human- 
ity and  the  custom  of  nations  have  in  the 
past  imposed  on  the  conduct  of  the  war 
were  more  and'  more  defied  and  derided 
by  Germany;  and  the  moment  came  when 
America  had   to   decide.     Her  clear   de- 
cision has  now  been  given.     We  can  all 
rejoice  with  pride  in  the  large  measure 
of  common  ancestry  we  share,  pride  in 
the  great  traditions  of  free  government 
of  which  we  are  the  joint  inheritors,  that 
now  the  seal  has  been  set  of  the  detached 
and  impartial  judgment  of  America  upon 
our  original  declaration  that  we  and  our 
allies  are  in  this  way  obeying  the  call 
of   honor,   and   that  we   stand   for   that 
civilization  which  is  bound  up  with  the 
maintenance  and  extension  of  the  liber- 
ties of  the  world. 

Asquiitis  Memorable  Words 

An  identical  resolution  was  introduced 
in  the  House  of  Commons  by  Bonar  Law, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  His  speech 
and  others  were  summarized  in  the  May 
issue  of  this  magazine.  The  full  text  of 
Mr.  Asquith's  is  as  follows: 

It  is  natural  and  fitting  that  this 
House,  the  chief  representative  body  of 
the  British  Empire,  should  at  the  earliest 
possible  opportunity  give  definite  and 
emphatic  expression  to  the  feelings  which 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
empire  have  grown  day  by  day  in  volume 
and  in  fervor  since  the  memorable  deci- 
sion of  the  President  and  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  I  doubt  whether  even 
now  the  world  realizes  the  full  signifi- 


cance of  the  step  which  America  has 
taken.  I  do  not  use  the  language  of  flat- 
tery or  of  exaggeration  when  I  say  that 
it  is  one  of  the  most  disinterested  acts  in 
history.  An  inveterate  tradition  of  more 
than  100  years  has  made  it  a  cardinal 
principle  of  American  policy  to  keep 
clear  of  European  entanglements.  A 
war  on  such  a  scale  as  this  must  of  ne- 
cessity dislocate  international  commerce 
and  finance,  but  on  balance  it  was,  I 
think,  doing  little  appreciable  harm  to  the 
material  fortunes  and  prosperity  of  the 
American  people.  Nor  were  distinctively 
American  interests,  at  home  or  abroad, 
and  least  of  all  what  is  the  greatest  of  all 
interests  in  a  democratic  community — the 
maintenance  of  domestic  independence 
and  liberty— directly  imperiled  by  the 
ambitions  and  designs  of  the  Central 
Powers. 

What,  then,  is  it  that  has  enabled  the 
President,  after  waiting  with  the  pa- 
tience which  Pitt  once  described  as  "  the 
first  virtue  of  statesmanship  "  for  the. 
right  moment,  to  carry  with  him  a  united 
nation  into  the  hazards  and  the  horrors 
of  the  greatest  war  in  history?  It  is 
not,  as  my  right  honorable  friend  [Bonar 
Law]  has  well  said,  a  calculation  of  ma- 
terial gain ;  it  is  not  in  the  hope  of  terri- 
torial aggrandizement,  it  is  not  even  the 
pricking  of  one  of  those  so-called  points 
of  honor  which  in  days  gone  by  have 
driven  nations,  as  they  used  to  drive  in- 
dividuals, into  the  dueling  ground.  No, 
it  is  none  of  these  things.  It  is  the  con- 
straining force  of  conscience  and  hu- 
manity growing  in  strength  and  in  com- 
pulsive authority  month  by  month  with 
the  gradual  unfolding  before  the  eyes  of 
the  world  of  the  real  character  of  Ger- 
man aims  and  German  methods. 

It  is  that  force,  and  that  force  alone, 
which  has  brought  home  to  the  judgment 
of  the  great  democracy  over  the  seas  the 
momentous  truth  that  they  were  standing 
at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  and  that  they 
had  to  take  one  of  those  decisions  which 
in  the  lives  both  of  men  and  of  com- 
munities determine  for  good  or  for  evil 
their  whole  future.  What  was  it  that 
our  kinsmen  in  America  realized  was  at 
issue  in  this  unexampled  conflict?  The 
very  things  which  they  and  we,  if  we  are 


464 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


to  be  worthy  of  what  is  noblest  in 
our  common  history,  are  bound  to  indi- 
cate as  the  essential  conditions  of  a  free 
and  honorable  development  of  nations 
of  the  world — justice,  humanity,  respect 
for  law,  consideration  for  the  weak  and 
the  unprotected,  chivalry  toward  ene- 
mies, the  observance  of  good  faith — 
these,  which  we  all  used  to  regard  as  the 
commonplaces  of  international  decency, 
have  one  after  another  been  flouted;  men- 
aced, trodden  under  foot  as  though  they 
were  the  effete  superstitions  of  some 
bygone  creed. 

America  has  seen  that  there  was  here 
at  issue  something  of  wider  import  than 
the  vicissitudes '  of  battlefields  or  even 
the  rearrangement  of  the  map  of  Eu- 
rope on  the  basis  of  nationality.  The 
whole    future    of    civilized    government 


and  intercourse,  in  particular  the  for- 
tunes and  the  fate  of  democracy,  are 
brought  into  peril. 

In  such  a  situation  aloofness  is  seen 
to  be  not  only  a  blunder,  but  a  crime. 
To  stand  aside  with  stopped  ears,  with 
folded  armr,  with  an  averted  gaze,  when 
you  have  the  power  to  intervene  is  to 
become  not  a  mere  spectator,  but  an  ac- 
complice. There  was  never  in  the  minds 
of  any  of  us  any  fear  that  the  moment 
the  issue  became  apparent  and  unmis- 
takable the  voice  of  America  would  utter 
an  uncertain  note.  She  has  now  dedi- 
cated herself,  without  hesitation  or  re- 
serve, heart  and  soul  and  strength,  to 
the  greatest  of  causes.  To  that  cause, 
stimulated  and  fortified  by  her  com- 
radeship, we  here  renew  our  own  fealty 
and  devotion. 


America  and  the  League  of  Honor 


The   editor   of  The  London   Telegraph  published   this   memorable    "  leader 
President  Wilson's  historic  address  of  April  2,   1917 


two  days   after 


THE  world  is  at  a  new  birth.  The  old 
order  of  things  is  passing  away. 
Less  than  three  weeks  ago  Russia 
dealt  her  heaviest  blow  at  the  Central 
Powers  by  breaking  the  shackles  that 
bound  her.  President  Wilson's  speech  to 
Congress  on  Monday  carried  that  revolu- 
tion a  stage  further  in  its  dynamic  course. 
It  was  a  proclamation  of  war  by  the 
United  States  against  Germany;  but  it 
was  much  more  than  that.  It  constituted 
a  reasoned  indictment  not  of  a  people,  but 
of  a  system  of  government  which  plunged 
Europe  into  war  in  the  Summer  of  1914, 
has  now  dragged  the  great  American 
people  into  the  maelstrom,  and  may  yet 
involve  even  the  remote  Republic  of 
China  in  actual  belligerency,  as  well  as, 
possibly,  the  other  democracies  of  South 
and  Latin  America.  "  Our  object,"  Mr. 
Wilson  declared  in  one  of  his  eloquent 
sentences  full  of  deep  significance,  "  is  to 
vindicate  the  principles  of  peace  and  jus- 
tice in  the  life  of  the  world  as  against 
selfish  autocratic  power,  and  to  set  up 
among  really  free  and  self-governed 
peoples  of  the  world  such  a  concert  of 
purpose    and    action   as   will   henceforth 


insure  the  observance  of  those  princi- 
ples." That  sentence  constitutes  a  new 
Declaration  of  Rights;  the  Allies  will 
gladly  and  proudly  subscribe  to  it. 

This  struggle  has  been  described  as 
a  war  of  nations.  In  a  sense  that  may 
be  true,  for  the  German  people  have 
been  hoodwinked  and  deceived;  but  deep 
down  it  is  being  revealed  more  and  more 
as  a  conflict  of  principles  on  which  civ- 
ilization rests.  The  nations  have  time 
and  again  been  drenched  in  blood  by 
ambitious  and  vain,  if  not  sometimes  in- 
sane, despots.  President  Wilson  has  now 
uttered  a  decree,  not  against  the  Ger- 
mans, for  he  was  at  pains  to  state  that 
"  we  have  not  quarreled  with  the  Ger- 
man people,"  but  against  the  autocracy 
over  them,  with  its  narrow  cliques  of 
intriguers  and  desperadoes  who  willed 
this  war,  and  in  waging  it  have  endeav- 
ored to  drag  the  world  into  the  morass 
of  moral  ruin  in  which  they  are  being 
buried.  Unless  we  mistake  President 
Wilson's  words,  they  mean  that  the 
United  States  will  make  war  against  the 
Emperor  William  II.,  but  will  conclude 
peace    with    the    German    people,    unfet- 


AMERICA  AND  THE  LEAGUE  OF  HONOR 


465 


tered  and  vocal,  whenever  they  decide 
to  abandon  the  inhumanities  and  illegal- 
ities practiced  by  the  present  regime. 

Several  months  ago  Mr.  Wilson  urged 
the  formation  of  a  League  of  Peace; 
today,  in  taking  up  Germany's  challenge 
of  war,  he  stands  forth  as  the  prophet 
of  a  League  of  Honor — a  confederation 
of  democracies  determined,  at  all  cost, 
to  achieve  the  salvation  of  the  human 
race  from  serfdom.  His  speech  is  the 
sequel  to  the  Russian  Revolution,  it 
forms  the  evangel  of  the  transformation 
which  must  come  in  Central  Europe  be- 
fore the  universe  can  breathe  freely 
again.  There  is  no  hope  for  the  future 
but  in  a  partnership  of  the  democratic 
nations;  "  no  autocratic  Government 
could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith  within  it 
or  observe  its  covenants."  The  war  has 
been  placed  on  a  new  level  by  this  states- 
manlike pronouncement  from  Washing- 
ton. A  new  era  has  dawned.  Germany 
is  proclaimed  as  an  outlaw — that  and 
nothing  less — by  the  one  great  State 
which  has  hitherto  remained  neutral. 

Canning  once  looked  to  the  New  World 
to  redress  the  balance  of  the  Old;  his 
faith  was  not  misplaced,  though  the  foot- 
steps of  Time  have  seemed  sometimes 
to  lag.  In  our  own  islands  we  long  since, 
in  characteristic  fashion,  cast  off  the  old 
shackles;  we  have  gradually  built  up  a 
Constitution  unique  in  its  attributes.  The 
Crown  remains,  the  fountain  of  national 
honor,  the  guardian  of  the  people's  liber- 
ties, the  emblem  of  a  worldwide  rule 
which  seeks  not  dominion  but  kinship. 
King  George  reigns  not  from  an  auto- 
cratic throne,  but  in  the  hearts  of  a  peo- 
ple never  more  united  in  loyalty  than  in 
these  days  of  storm  and  crisis.  Our 
allies  are  one  with  us  in  facing  the  new 
day.  With  all  sincerity,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest,  the  words  of  President 
Wilson  will  be  echoed  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic;  the  Allies,  moving  forward  in 
company  with  the  American  people,  will 
constitute  henceforth  a  League  of  Honor, 
pledged  to  free  civilization  from  a  men- 
ace which  would  otherwise  have  corroded 
the  foundations  on  which  we  and  the 
other  democracies  of  the  world  have  built 
in  faith,  courage,  and  endurance.  The 
war  is  the  same  war,  but  it  has  gained 


a  fresh  significance  by  the  declaration 
of  the  President  of  a  Republic  remote 
from  the  main  theatres  of  conflict,  and 
yet  stretching  its  hands  across  the  waste 
of  waters  in  token  of  fealty  to  the  cause 
of  humanity. 

In  anticipating  the  action  of  the 
United  States  confronted  by  a  conspiracy 
threatening  its  life,  we  prophesied  that 
the  Americans,  when  they  took  the  de- 
cisive step,  would  be  satisfied  with  no 
half  measures.  That  anticipation  finds 
its  fulfillment  in  the  historic  scene 
enacted  in  Congress  on  Monday.  Never 
did  the  ruler  of  a  State  speak  with 
greater  dignity.  We  have  been  proud  of 
the  sacrifices  we  have  made,  but  this 
nation,  and  those  associated  with  it,  will 
be  prouder  today  in  the  knowledge  of  this 
latest  noble  vindication  of  the  purpose  of 
the  Allies.  Occasionally  some  irritation 
has  been  exhibited  at  the  hesitation 
shown  at  the  White  House;  the  scene  in 
Congress  was  an  overwhelming  answer 
to  criticism.  The  Germany  which  forged 
a  new  British  Empire  in  the  fiery  furnace 
of  her  hatred,  has  created  out  of  the 
United  States  one  self-conscious,  self- 
respecting  nation.  President  Wilson  has 
watched  in  magnificent  patience  the 
process  of  cohesion.  He  has  his  reward 
in  the  enthusiastic  reception  given  to  his 
speech.  He  needs  no  apologist  as  he 
confronts  the  world  today,  encompassed 
by  a  great  people,  drawn  from  all  the 
nations  of  the  world,  and  divided  by 
racial  and  religious  differences,  but 
united  on  a  supreme  issue  which  has 
brought  the  successor  of  Washington, 
Monroe,  and  Lincoln  into  the  arena  of 
the  world  war. 

What  will  the  United  States  do  when 
the  Presidential  policy  has  been  formally 
approved?  More  than  half  a  century 
ago,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  was  faced 
by  the  stern  call  to  action,  he  declared: 
"  Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes 
might,  and  in  that  faith  let  us  to  the  end 
dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it." 
In  that  spirit,  we  confidently  apprehend, 
the  Americans  will  take  the  decision  that 
must  bring  them  into  conflict  with  a 
power  which  for  forty  years  devoted  it- 
self to  the  preparation  of  force  to  enable 
it  to  impose  its  unbending  and  cruel  will 


466 


THE   NEW   YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


on  other  nations.  A  hundred  million  peo- 
ple, virile,  courageous,  and  determined, 
are  entering  the  furnace  to  be  tested  by 
the  great  ordeal;  they  have  only  a  small 
army,  it  is  true;  their  navy  may  not  be 
able  to  exercise  much  immediate  influ- 
ence on  the  course  of  events;  but  they 
have  moral  force,  vast  wealth,  and 
splendid  industrial  resources.  They  are 
embarking  on  a  new  crusade  in  intimate, 
helpful  association  with  the  other  great 
democracies  in  no  grudging  spirit.  The 
very  intensity  of  their  love  of  peace  will 
decide  the  extent  of  their  participation  in 
this  universal  uprising  in  defense  of  all 
that  is  fairest  and  brightest  in  civilization. 
President  Wilson  is  the  chosen  oracle 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
he  has  proclaimed  that  "  To  such  a  task 


we  can  dedicate  our  lives,  our  fortunes — 
everything  we  are,  everything  we  have — 
with  the  pride  of  those  who  know  the  day 
has  come  when  America  is  privileged 
to  spend  her  blood  and  might  for  the 
principles  that  gave  her  birth  and  the 
happiness  and  peace  which  she  has 
treasured."  A  new  page  in  American 
history  is  being  turned,  but  the  new 
chapter  to  be  written  in  blood  will  be 
the  fitting  sequel  to  a  volume  in  which 
the  people  of  the  United  States  take  a 
worthy  pride.  America  joins  "  the  con- 
cert of  free  poeples  "  which  has  resolved 
to  "  make  the  world  itself  free."  When 
Germany  willed  this  war,  she  willed,  un- 
knowingly, the  close  of  one  era  and  the 
opening  of  a  new  and  happier  phase  in 
human  experience. 


French  Praise  for  America's  Action 


Paul  Deschanel,  President  of  the 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  greeted  the 
entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war 
with  this  address: 

WITH  enthusiasm  the  French  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  salutes  the  de- 
cision of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  which  is  the  very  voice 
of  justice,  and  the  energetic  declaration 
of  the  Federal  Senate,  accepting  the  war 
imposed  by  Germany.  In  the  "  Persae," 
Aeschylus  has  said,  "  Let  insolence 
germinate;  that  which  springs  up  is  the 
stalk  of  crime;  a  harvest  of  sorrows  will 
be  reaped."  And  we  may  say,  "  The 
stalk  of  crime  bears  justice;  after  the 
harvest  of  sorrows,  behold  the  harvest 
of  justice!  " 

The  cry  of  children  and  of  women, 
from  the  depths  of  the  abyss  into  which 
they  have  been  hurled  by  an  abominable 
crime,  has  echoed  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  The  ashes  of  Washington  and 
Lincoln  have  stirred;  their  mighty  souls 
inspire   America. 

Is  it  a  question  only  of  avenging 
Americans?  Is  it  a  question  only  of 
punishing  the  violation  of  the  treaties 
to  which  the  United  States  had  put  its 
signature?  No;  the  eternal  verities 
proclaimed  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence of  1776,  the  holy  cause  which 


Lafayette  and  Rochambeau  defended, 
the  ideal  of  the  pure  spirits  from  which 
the  great  Republic  sprang — honor,  moral- 
ity, liberty — these  are  the  supreme 
treasures  which  gleam  in  the  folds  of  the 
Star-Spangled  Banner! 

Descendants  of  the  New  England  Pu- 
ritans, men  fed  on  the  precepts  of  the 
Gospel,  men  who,  under  the  eye  of  God, 
will  punish  the  fiendish  deeds  of  the 
Spirit  of  Evil,  lying,  perjury,  assassi- 
nation, desecration,  rape,  enslavement, 
martyrdoms,  and  cataclysms  of  every 
kind;  Catholics  cut  to  the  heart  by  ana- 
themas against  their  religion,  by  out- 
rages against  their  cathedrals,  their 
statues,  culminating  in  the  destruction 
of  Louvain,  of  Rheims;  professors  of  uni- 
versities, faithful  guardians  of  the  idea 
of  justice;  workers  of  the  East  and  of 
the  Central  States,  farmers  and  cattle 
raisers  of  the  West,  workmen  and  arti- 
sans threatened  in  their  toil  by  the  tor- 
pedoing of  ships,  by  the  stoppage  of 
commerce,  outraged  by  insults  to  the 
national  flag,  behold  them  all  in  turn 
aroused  against  the  mad  arrogance  which 
seeks  to  enslave  the  world,  the  sea,  the 
sky,  the  souls  of  men! 

At  the  hour  when,  as  in  the  heroic 
hours  of  the  war  of  independence,  Amer- 
icans are  getting  ready  to  fight  at  our 


FRENCH  PRAISE  FOR  AMERICA'S  ACTION 


467 


side,  let  us  once  more  repeat  it:  we  do 
not  seek  to  keep  any  one  from  living,  from 
working,  from  toiling  freely;  but  the 
tyranny  of  Prussia  has  become  a  peril 
for  the  New  World  as  for  the  Old,  for 
England,  for  Russia,  for  Italy,  not  less 
than  for  Austria,  for  Germany  herself. 
To  free  the  world,  through  the  common 
effort  of  the  democratic  peoples,  from 
the  yoke  of  the  military  and  feudal  caste 
of  Prussia,  in  order  to  establish  peace  on 
justice,  is  a  work  of  human  liberation 
and  of  universal  salvation. 

In  accomplishing,  under  a  Presidency 
henceforth  immortal,  the  greatest  act  of 
her  history  since  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
the  glorious  nation  whose  whole  history 
has  been  the  development  of  the  idea  of 
liberty  remains  faithful  to  her  origin 
and  is  creating  for  herself  yet  another 
title  to  the  gratitude  of  the  human  race. 
The  French  Republic,  across  the  ruins 
of  her  cities  and  her  monuments  devas- 
tated without  motive  and  without  excuse, 
by  disgraceful  savagery,  sends  to  her  el- 
der sister,  the  American  Republic,  the 
palms  of  the  Marne,  of  the  Yser,  of  Ver- 
dun, and  of  the  Somme,  to  which  new 
victories  will  soon  be  added! 

Antonin  Dubost,  President  of  the 
French  Senate,  expressed  the  sentiments 
of  that  body  in  these  words: 

The  Senate  receives  with  an  intense 
patriotic  and  republican  emotion  the  com- 
munication in  which  the  Government  an- 
nounces that  the  United  States  is  hence- 
forth at  war  in  solidarity  with  ourselves. 
Thus  the  initial  crime  of  Germany  un- 
rolls one  after  the  other  all  its  fatal  con- 
sequences. It  is  unchaining -the  greatest 
insurrection  of  free  peoples  the  world  has 
ever  seen  against  the  ultimate  tyranny — 
the  militarism  of  Prussia.  It  is  associat- 
ing them  in  succession  in  a  magnificent 
democratic  solidarity,  and  behold  the 
sword  of  Washington,  answering  the 
sword  of  Lafayette,  in  its  turn  cast  into 
the  scales! 

The  great  Republic  had  already  as- 
sumed spontaneously  a  sublime  mission 
to  save  Belgium  from  dying  of  starva- 
tion! At  the  solemn  moment,  when  it 
yields  to  a  more  imperious  summons,  that 
of   outraged   honor,   the   French   Senate 


addresses  to  it  at  once  our  gratitude  and 
our  fraternal  greeting ! 

Honor  to  the  new  soldiers  of  Liberty 
who,  knowing  all  the  frightful  power  of 
Germany  to  work  evil,  yet  resolutely  face 
it!  Honor  to  the  new  judge  who  tomor- 
row will  take  his  place  in  the  High  Court 
of  Justice  of  Humanity,  and  who  will 
pronounce  with  us  the  collective  and  in- 
dividual penalties  earned  by  the  Ger- 
manic coalition,  its  leaders,  its  accom- 
plices ! 

President  Wilson's  manifesto  called 
forth  from  Le  Temps  of  Paris  a  note- 
worthy editorial  article,  which  said  in 
part  : 

President  Wilson,  from  the  first  day, 
guided  his  policy  as  a  man  of  law.  His 
very  impassibility,  his  refusal  to  judge, 
his  fear  of  emotion,  have  sometimes  sur- 
prised us.  But  that  very  attitude  gives 
to  his  present  decision  the  value  of  a 
verdict.  Neither  greed  of  territory  nor 
national  passion  has  carried  the  United 
States  into  the  war  but  the.  systematic- 
ally established  certitude  that  Germany 
methodically  violates  the  laws  of  war 
and  peace  and  that  only  the  defeat  of 
Germany  can  assure  the  peace  and  dig- 
nity of  the  nations. 

The  Germans,  against  all  truth,  were 
capable  of  accusing  us,  contrary  to  the 
evidence  of  the  facts,  of  desiring  a  war 
of  "  revanche."  History  showed,  in 
truth,  in  the  side  of  France  a  grievous 
wound,  opened  by  old  aggression.  The 
Germans  have  been  able,  in  spite  of 
documents  and  certainties  of  the  strong- 
est kind,  to  impute  to  Russia,  so  deeply 
saturated  with  their  influence,  designs 
which  were  nonsensical.  They  have  been 
capable  of  attributing  to  England,  which 
was  unprepared,  which  had  provided  only 
six  divisions  for  her  defense,  the  absurd 
plan  of  crushing  their  military  power, 
which  had  been  heaped  up  in  a  formidable 
structure  during  half  a  century.  They 
have  been  able  to  do  this,  because  the 
cross-fire  of  European  interests  aroused 
hereditary  rivalries  in  which  lies  had 
free  play.  What  will  they  be  able  to 
say  of  America? 

M.  Gauvain,  in  Le  Journal  des  Debats, 
wrote: 


468 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


The  great  Republic  beyond  the  At- 
lantic, peopled  by  millions  of  German 
race  and  descendants  of  Germans,  refuge 
of  the  persecuted  of  all  lands,  land  of 
freedom,  of  science,  and  of  liberty,  has 
denounced  the  policy  of  Germany  as  the 
scourge  of  the  human  race.  No  news- 
paper or  magazine  article,  no  communi- 
que, no  proclamation  will  avail  against 
that. 

All  the  Hindenburgs  and  Ludendorfs 
will  not  be  able  to  change  it.  In  meas- 
ure as  the  men  of  Berlin  unlock  new  ef- 
forts, imagine  new  atrocities,  bring  into 
operation  new  and  more  perfect  instru- 
ments of  destruction,  the  peoples  of  the 
world  rise  one  by  one  against  the  New 
Barbarians.  Does  Wilhem  II.  really  be- 
lieve that  he  will  be  able  to  reduce  to 
subjection  these  new  foes?  Does  he 
imagine  that  his  chemists  and  mechanic- 
ians will  end  by  putting  the  world  be- 
neath his  feet?  He  has  against  him 
something  he  did  not  believe  in,  some- 
thing he  treated  as  a  phantom,  and 
which  is  stronger  than  his  16-inch  guns — 
the  conscience  of  the  human  race.  That 
conscience  has  taken  time  to  find  itself, 
to  liberate  itself,  for  it  was  enmeshed 
in  a  network  of  lies,  of  sophistries,  and 
of    treacheries.     But    behold    it   at   last 


arise,  free,  resolute,  active,  on  both 
hemispheres;  it  will  lay  low  the  powers 
that  prey. 

Gustave  Herve,  in  La  Victoire : 

Hurrah!  for  the  great  American  Re- 
public ! 

Hurrah!  for  the  sublime  fathers  who 
went  thither  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
fleeing  tyranny,  to  found  the  first  re- 
publican hearth  which  was  lit  in  modern 
times ! 

Hurrah!  for  old  Washington  and  his 
glorious  rebels,  who  would  not  allow  the 
noble  tradition  of  revolt  against  oppres- 
sion and  injustice  to  perish! 

Hurrah!  for  the  great  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, liberator  of  the  slaves,  who  kept  the 
American  Republic  in  the  high  road  of 
the  ideal  and  of  human  brotherhood! 

Hurrah!  for  President  Wilson,  the 
founder  of  the  international  police, 
which  will,  in  the  future,  cure  predatory 
Governments  of  the  wish  to  begin  again 
the  exploits  of  the  grand  assassin  of  Ber- 
lin! 

Hurrah!  for  the  grand  republican  idea 
which,  for  a  century  now,  has  brought 
low  all  autocracies,  all  oppressions,  all 
tyrannies ! 

Hurrah!  for  the  future  United  States 
of  the  World! 


German  Opinion  on  America's  Intervention 


GERMAN  opinion  on  America's  entry 
into  the  war  was  a  mixture  of  de- 
fiance and  discomfort.  On  the  one 
hand  there  was  the  attitude  of  those  Ger- 
mans who  believed  that  they  could  fight 
the  whole  world ;  on  the  other  that  of  the 
cooler  heads  who  perceived  that  both 
morally  and  materially  America's  adhe- 
sion to  the  cause  of  the  Allies  was  the 
most  damaging  thing  that  had  happened 
to  Germany  since  the  war  began.  Natu- 
rally, President  Wilson's  war  message 
was  taken  as  a  text  and  every  line  of  it 
subjected  to  criticism. 

Many  newspapers  attacked  the  distinc- 
tion made  by  the  President  between  the 
German  people  and  the  German  Govern- 
ment. The  North  German  Gazette,  for 
example,  said: 


"  President  Wilson  presumes  to  pre- 
sent himself  as  the  messiah  of  true  lib- 
erty to  our  people  engaged  in  a  severe 
struggle  for  their  existence.  What  sort 
of  slavish  soul  does  he  suppose  that  the 
German  people  have,  to  believe  that  they 
could  permit  any  outside  intervention 
whatever?  The  German  people  see  in 
the  President's  words  of  peace  only  an 
attempt  to  loosen  the  firm  bond  which 
unites  the  people  to  the  German  Princes, 
so  that  we  may  become  the  easy  prey  of 
our  enemies." 

The  Cologne  Gazette,  commenting  upon 
the  same  passage  in  the  President's  mes- 
sage, said:  "What  President  Wilson 
wanted  was  only  a  peace  which  would 
put  us  in  the  hands  of  our  enemies.  The 
German      people      indignantly      protest 


GERMAN  OPINION  ON  AMERICA'S  INTERVENTION 


4G9 


against  this  subtle  distinction  between 
them  and  their  Government,  for  they 
stand  united  behind  the  Government  and 
know  that  the  declared  enemy  cannot  do 
it  more  injury  than  the  hidden  adversary, 
whom  the  German  people  feel  it  a  relief 
to  be  able  at  last  to  treat  as  an  open 
enemy." 

The  Munich  Nachrichten  tried  to  esti- 
mate the  situation  in  a  more  level- 
headed manner.  "  Although  we  can  face 
our  new  adversary  without  too  much 
anxiety,"  it  said,  "  it  would  .nevertheless 
be  a  mistake  not  to  realize  fully  the 
worldwide  effect  of  President  Wilson's 
war  message.  By  joining  the  league  of 
our  enemies  the  United  States  and  per- 
haps also  China  complete  the  ring  of 
powers  sworn  to  our  downfall.  All  round 
the  earth  there  stretches  the  chain  of 
countries  which  English  policy  has 
thrown  against  Germany  and  her  allies. 
For  us  it  is  now  really  a  matter  of  life 
or  death." 

The  Frankfort  Gazette  bewailed  the 
fact  that  German  culture  had  had  little 
influence  in  the  United  States.  "  It  is 
still  more  sad,"  that  journal  added,  "  to 
have  to  tell  ourselves  that  this  war  was 
necessary  to  cure  us  of  our  illusions  on 
this  point.  The  events  of  the  European 
war  have  never  been  approached  in  the 
United  States  in  a  spirit  of  true  neutral- 
ity^ 

The  Berliner  Tageblatt,  after  admit- 
ting that  rarely  had  a  political  document 
produced  such  a  "  depressing  "  effect  as 
the  President's  war  message,  went  on  to 
say :  "  This  message  is  based  partly  on 
ignorance  of  the  mistakes  which  Mr. 
Wilson  has  made  by  becoming  respon- 
sible for  supplying  the  Entente  with  war 
material,  partly  on  accusations  without 
truth.  It  was  through  submitting  to  the 
American  spirit  of  gain  that  the  Presi- 
dent permitted  the  trade  in  munitions  to 
continue.  When  now  he  speaks  of  right 
and  humanity,  his  voice  is  full  of  dis- 
cords and  his  words  are  calculated  to 
create  the  impression  that  the  war 
psychosis  obliterates  judgment.  *  *  * 
We  do  not  think  that  America's  inter- 
vention will  have  an  essential  effect  on 
the  results  of  the  war.  The  Entente  is 
going  to  have  a  momentary  advantage, 


but  it  will  soon  be  aware  that  America 
is  like  a  stick  that  breaks  when  one 
wants  to  lean  on  it." 

Altogether  different  was  the  standpoint 
of  Maximilian  Harden,  the  outspoken 
editor  of  Die  Zukunft.  He  boldly  denied 
that  America  was  actuated  by  any  mer- 
cenary or  material  motive  whatever,  but 
that  the  issue  everywhere  was  democracy 
against  despotism.  "  Our  fate  depends," 
he  said,  "  not  on  bits  of  territory  which 
European  States  can  no  longer  take 
away  from  one  another  and  can  no  longer 
hold  to  their  own  permanent  advantage, 
but  upon  the  acquisition  of  higher 
spiritual  values.  Elevate  the  conscience 
of  mankind  and  light  up  the  German 
house  also!  Then  what  the  enemy  de- 
mands too  loudly,  but  what  we  in  secret 
feel  to  be  a  necessity,  will  come  to  pass. 
The  will  of  the  people  will  be  free  and 
Germany  will  know  for  what  the  dearest 
children  of  her  bosom  are  dying  and 
suffering!  " 

When  the  Reichstag  resumed  its  ses- 
sion on  May  2,  the  President,  Dr. 
Johannes  Kaempf ,  in  his  opening  address, 
said  that  President  Wilson  had  lost  his 
senses  in  asserting  that  America  was 
waging  war  against  Germany  in  the 
interests  of  mankind  and  on  the  ground 
of  justice.    Continuing,  Dr.  Kaempf  said: 

"  President  Wilson  represents  the  Ger- 
man people  as  without  will  of  their  own 
and  as  having  been  driven  into  the  war 
by  a  group  of  ambitious  people,  but  he 
tells  nothing  of  the  long  years  of  en- 
circlement and  machinations  against 
them;  nothing  of  the  enemies'  recently 
strongly  expressed  will  to  destroy  Ger- 
many. 

"  The  German  people  rose  Aug.  4,  1914, 
as  one  man  and  still  fight  today  to  defend 
their  freedom,  independence,  and  life. 
President  Wilson  says  he  has  no  quarrel 
with  the  German  people,  for  whom  he 
entertains  only  sympathy  and  friendship. 

"  President  Wilson  desired  by  his  mes- 
sage to  sow  discord  in  Germany.  As  Pres- 
ident of  the  German  Reichstag,  which  is 
elected  on  the  freest  franchise  in  the 
world,  I  declare  that  this  effort  will  come 
to  naught;  that  it  will  have  no  influence 
on  the  common  sense  of  our  people  and 
that  President  Wilson  will  bite  granite. 


470 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


"  With  our  truest  heart's  blood  we  es- 
tablished the  German  Kaiserdom,  and 
with  our  truest  heart's  blood  we  shall 
fight  for  the  Kaiser  and  the  empire. 
What  our  forefathers  fought  for  and 
longed  for,  what  we  have  achieved  on  the 
battlefield,  will  not  perish,  even  at  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  word  of  command. 

"  We  decline  all  interference  by  a  for- 
eign Government  in  our  internal  affairs. 
If  all  signs  are  not  misleading  the  deci- 
sive point  of  the  world's  war  is  approach- 
ing. We  see  our  death-defying  troops 
withstanding  the  enemy's  assaults.  Our 
U-boats  will  show  England  how  Germans 
can  avenge  her  nefarious  starvation  war. 
We  proved  recently  our  financial  strength 
by  a  sixth  war  loan.  We  adhere  to  our 
firm  belief  in  Germany's  star  and  in  a 
peace  which  will  secure  for  all  time  the 
Fatherland's  happy  development." 


The  Frankfort  Gazette,  commenting 
on  May  4  upon  the  British  and  French 
missions  to  the  United  States,  pointed 
out  that  America's  entry  into  the  war 
had  already  had  an  effect  that  even  her 
peace  friends  would  never  have  dreamed 
of.  It  admitted  that  the  effect  which 
America  had  had  on  the  Russian  revolu- 
tion and  on  the  latest  peace  desires  of  the 
Entente  Allies  was  to  be  lamented  from 
the  German  standpoint.  Summing  up 
President  Wilson's  motives  in  joining  the 
belligerents,-  the  Frankfort  Gazette 
enumerated  them  as  these:  First,  Amer- 
ica's desire  to  partake  actively  in  the 
peace  conference;  second,  America's  wish 
to  stifle  forever  the  nationality  feelings 
awakened  by  the  war;  third,  the  wish 
to  realize  her  armament  plans  in  order 
to  be  prepared  later;  fourth,  the  wish  to 
build  up  an  American  merchant  fleet. 


Americans  Who  Have  Fought  for  France 

By  Paul  Louis  Hervier 

French  Author  and  Journalist 

M.  Hervier,  author  of  a  history  of  "  American  Volunteers  in  the  Ranks  of  the  Allies," 
recently  contributed  to  the  Bulletin  des  Armees  a  brief  article  telling  the  French  soldiers 
in  the  trenches  what  Americans  had  done  to  help  them.  Portions  of  it  are  here  translated  for 
Current  History  Magazine. 


THE  Americans  who  offered  their 
services  to  France  after  the  out- 
break of  war  in  1914  were  re- 
cruited without  solicitation  in  all  classes 
of  society:  Millionaires,  writers,  law- 
yers, engineers,  former  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors, boxers,  butchers,  explorers,  and  espe- 
cially university  students.  I  have  tried 
to  bring  together  the  data  and  documents 
regarding  these  ardent  volunteers,  and 
again  and  again  I  have  been  thrilled  by 
simple  anecdotes  as  by  those  deeds  of 
ancient  history  which  we  love  to  repeat 
in  all  our  manuals  for  the  lessons  they 
convey. 

There  is  the  case  of  Norman  Prince, 
who,  after  a  period  in  the  Foreign  Le- 
gion, became  an  aviator,  achieved  re- 
markable exploits,  and  was  killed  in  ac- 
tion. Will  his  place  remain  empty  ?  Not 
at  all!    His  brother  is  coming. 

Then  there  is  Dr.  David  D.  Wheeler, 


who  left  his  fine  practice  in  Buffalo  to 
come  and  care  for  our  wounded.  The 
stories  told  him  by  the  injured  men 
made  such  an  impression  on  him  that  he 
wished  to  share  their  dangers.  He  aban- 
doned his  surgical  instruments  and  took 
up  arms.  He  was  wounded  by  a  dumdum 
bullet,  and,  though  exhausted  by  the 
loss  of  blood,  dragged  himself  over  the 
battlefield  and  used  his  waning  strength 
in  comforting  other  wounded  men  who 
lay  without  aid. 

These  anecdotes  and  many  others  will 
later  be  jewels  in  American  history.  At 
this  moment  they  are  the  sacred  heri- 
tage of  all  civilization  fighting  against 
aggressive  barbarism. 

The  American  volunteers,  who  wished, 
in  August,  1914,  to  join  their  French 
brothers  in  defending  the  ideal  repre- 
sented by  the  word  "  liberty,"  almost 
all  entered  the  Foreign  Legion.     One  of 


AMERICANS  WHO  HAVE  FOUGHT  IN  FRANCE 


471 


them,  Paul  Rockwell,  grievously  wounded 
in  Champagne,  sent  to  a  New  York  edi- 
tor this  response,  which  is  sweet  to  our 
hearts: 

"  In  the  Foreign  Legion  about  200 
Americans  are  serving  or  have  served. 
The  bitterest  regret  of  my  life  is  that  so 
few  Americans  have  come  to  aid  France. 
When  we  Americans  were  in  need  of 
aid,  Lafayette  and  his  followers  were  a 
hundred  times  more  numerous  than  we 
are  in  this  war,  and  they  came  from  a 
total  French  population  scarcely  larger 
than  that  of  two  cities  in  America  to- 
day. But  we  have  one  reason  to  feel  a 
little  pride.  With  the  exception  of,  say, 
six  or  eight,  all  the  men  who  came  to 
pay  our  debt  to  France  have  proved  to 
be  good  fighters.  None  came  for  money. 
Some  came  for  the  simple  love  of  ad- 
venture, but  I  believe  that  the  motive  of 
most  of  them  was  an  ideal." 

A  dangerous  but  attractive  arm,  that 
of  aviation,  especially  appealed  to  the 
daring  of  these  young  Americans,  anx- 
ious as  they  were  to  prove  their  courage 
and  devotion.  Men  will  long  continue 
to  speak  of  the  services  rendered  to  the 
French  Army  by  the  American  Esca- 
drille;  they  will  long  recount  the  exploits 
of  Norman  Prince,  who  died  for  France 
on  Oct.  15,  1916;  of  Victor  Chapman,  who 
died  for  France  in  June,  1916;  of  Kiffin 
Rockwell,  who  died  for  France  on  Sept. 
23,  1916;  of  Denis  Dowd,  the  skilled  pilot, 
who  died  in  an  airplane  accident  at  the 
Buc  airdrome  in  the  beginning  of  Au- 
gust, 1916;  of  William  Thaw,  the  Pitts- 
burgh millionaire;  of  Elliott  Christopher 
Cowdin,  of  Lufbery,  of  Bert  Hall,  of  Paul 
Pavelka,  James  R.  MacConnell,  and  all 
the  rest. 

The  American  Escadrille  gets  many 
new  recruits.  The  American  legionaries 
love  danger  and  have  the  heart  to  con- 
tinue the  work  begun  by  audacious  prede- 
cessors shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  Walter  Appleton  of  New  York, 
after  a  long  stay  in  the  Legion,  is  at 
the  aviation  school,  as  is  Marius  Rocle 
of  New  York,  who  was  not  yet  17  years 
old  when  he  arrived  in  France  in  1914. 
Decorated  with  the  Croix  de  Guerre, 
wounded  at  Verdun,  he  will  soon  have  his 
brevet  as  pilot.     William  Dugan  of  Roch- 


ester, decorated  with  the  Croix  de  Guerre, 
wounded  at  Verdun,  likewise  is  in  the 
aviation  school.  As  for  Lincoln  Chat- 
koff  of  Brooklyn,  after  twenty-two 
months  in  the  ranks  of  the  Legion,  and 
after  having  obtained  his  brevet  as  pilot, 
he  chose  to  return  to  the  Legion. 

A  brief  article  such  as  this  cannot  give 
the  names  of  all  the  brave  men  who  have 
come  to  fight  for  us,  but  must  be  devoted 
rather  to  the  significance  of  their  gen- 
erous and  fruitful  service.  This  is  what 
has  stirred  and  touched  us.  Young 
Americans  who  had  careers  awaiting 
them  in  their  own  country,  who  in  many 
cases  possessed  fortunes  that  would  have 
given  them  all  the  material  joys  of  life, 
and  in  other  cases  felt  within  themselves 
the  rare  forces  of  talent  or  creative 
genius,  have  by  their  coming  proclaimed 
the  justice  of  our  cause  to  all  the  world. 
It  is  not  a  matter,  then,  of  giving  here 
a  list  of  these  who  have  achieved  the 
supreme  heights  of  the  moral  task  which 
they  voluntarily  took  up;  the  eulogy  de- 
served by  each  is  swallowed  up  in  one 
great  common  glory. 

Nevertheless,  let  us  glance  at  the 
golden  book  of  American  volunteers.  We 
shall  find  there  the  names  of  Edward 
Mandell  Stone,  a  graduate  of  Harvard, 
the  first  American  volunteer  killed;  of 
Henry  W.  Farnsworth,  killed  in  Cham- 
pagne; of  the  poet,  Alan  Seeger,  an 
idealist,  dead  for  France;  of  John  Earle 
Fike,  a  former  American  soldier,  killed 
June  16,  1915;  of  Russell  A.  Kelly,  killed 
the  same  way;  of  Nelson  Larson,  a  for- 
mer American  sailor,  killed  on  the  anni- 
versary day  of  American  independence, 
1916;  of  Frank  Clair  of  Columbus,  dead 
of  wounds;  of  Rene  Phelizot  of  Chicago, 
a  daring  hunter  of  big  game,  killed  at 
Craouelle  in  February,  1915;  of  Harman 
Edwin  Hall  of  Chicago,  killed  June  16, 
1916,  &c.  We  shall  not  forget  their 
acts  of  devotion. 

Here  we  find  also  the  names  of  Frank 
Musgrave  of  San  Antonio,  lawyer,  today 
a  prisoner  in  Germany;  of  John  Bowe  of 
Minneapolis,  wounded  and  cited  in  the 
Order  of  the  Day;  of  Charles  Sweeney, 
decorated  with  the  Legion  of  Honor  and 
promoted  Lieutenant;  of  Edgar  Bouligny 
of   New   Orleans,   four   times   wounded; 


472 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


of  Brook  B.  Bonnell  of  Brooklyn,  deco- 
rated with  the  War  Cross  and  the  Mili- 
tary Medal;  of  Andrew  Walbron  of 
Peterson,  wounded  three  times;  of  his 
brother,  Ernest  Walbron,  who  had  a  leg 
carried  away  by  a  shell  on  the  Somme; 
of  George  Delpeuche,  decorated  with  the 
War  Cross  for  having  taken  five  prison- 
ers alone  and  unaided;  of  Frederick  Cap- 
deville  of  New  York,  Charlie  Christopher 
Charles  of  Brooklyn,  Charles  Trinkard, 
Jack  Janz  of  Kentucky,  David  King  of 
Providence,  Jack  Cordonnier,  Frederick 
Mulhauser,  (three  citations;)  Michael 
Steinfels  of  Chicago,  Eugene  Jacobs, 
Bob  Scanlon,  the  negro  boxer;  Achille 
Clinger,  Jack  Moyet,  and  the  rest. 

This  is  only  a  short  summary  of  the 
heroic  chapter.  A  great  number  of 
Americans  enlisted  in  the  English  Army, 
others  in  the  Canadian  Army,  and  still 
others  came  to  France  to  serve  in  auto- 
mobile ambulances.  They  have  saved 
and  cared  for  our  wounded  with  cease- 
less zeal,  risking  their  lives,  and  often 
losing  them.  At  the  end  of  January, 
1917,  seventy  citations  in  official  orders 
had  been  merited  and  bestowed  upon 
these  brave  men.    A  beautiful  history! 

On  March  19  a  number  of  aviators  of 


the  Lafayette  Escadrille  were  protecting 
aerial  observers  who  were  watching  the 
movements  of  the  German  Army.  One 
of  them  was  attacked  by  three  enemy  air- 
planes. He  courageously  accepted  battle 
with  them,  but  after  prodigies  of  valor 
he  was  killed;  his  name  was  James 
Rogers  MacConnell.  The  Paris  Figaro, 
in  announcing  his  glorious  end,  gave  a 
sketch  of  his  career.  He  was  30  years 
old,  a  native  of  Carthage,  N.  C,  and  had 
left  a  lucrative  business  position  to  join 
the  French  Army  in  the  first  days  of  the 
war. 

In  April,  1916,  he  had  organized  the 
American  Escadrille  with  his  brothers  in 
heroism,  Victor  Chapman,  Kiffin  Rock- 
well, Norman  Prince,  and  others,  now 
active  or  fallen.  He  fought  in  Artois,  in 
Alsace,  at  Verdun,  and  on  the.  Somme. 
In  moments  of  the  most  deadly  peril  he 
was  always  calm  and  cheerful.  He  was 
decorated  with  the  War  Cross  and  was 
twice  cited  in  terms  of  highest  praise  in 
the  military  Order  of  the  Day.  Mr.  Mac- 
Connell was  an  author,  having  recently 
published  a  book  entitled  "  Flying  in 
France,"  which  ended  with  the  words: 
"  The  war  may  kill  me,  but  I  have  it  to 
thank  for  much." 


Value  of   Helmets  in    Saving  Life 

Discussing  the  value  of  the  steel  helmet  in  battle,  a  French  medical  writer  in 
La  Nature  says  that  out  of  55  cases  of  head  injury  it  was  found  that  42  occurred 
in  soldiers  who  wore  no  helmet.  Among  the  42  there  were  23  fractured  skulls. 
The  remaining  19  cases  suffered  from  severe  scalp  wounds.  Among  the  13 
cases  which  wore  helmets  there  was  not  a  single  fracture  of  the  skull;  8  showed 
some  concussion  effects  and  5  had  slight  wounds.  A  considerable  number  of  the 
unprotected  cases  died;  none  of  the  protected  died. 

The  most  significant  fact  which  has  emerged  since  the  helmet  was  introduced 
was  emphasized  by  Dr.  Roussy  at  the  Academy  of  Medicine.  He  said  that  the 
percentage  of  cases  showing  wounds  in  the  head  had  increased.  The  reason 
was,  of  course,  that  the  number  of  sudden  deaths  from  the  cause  had  markedly 
decreased. 

A  French  writer  points  out  that  of  479  abdominal  wounds  332  were  caused 
by  shrapnel  and  pieces  of  shell  having  a  low  velocity.  An  abdominal  protection 
would  save  these  cases. 

Again,  among  15  penetrating  wounds  of  the  lung  2  only  showed  exit  orifices 
for  the  bullet  or  piece  of  shell,  i.  e.,  in  13  cases  out  of  15  the  projectile  had  not 
enough  force  behind  it  to  drive  it  through  the  body  tissues.  A  breastplate  would 
have  saved  these  wounds. 

The  mortality  from  these  low-velocity  shrapnel  wounds  is  said  to  be  about 
ten  times  greater  than  from  bullet  wounds  which  penetrate.  The  conclusions 
are  arrived  at  in  La  Nature  that -as  three-fourths  of  war  wounds  which  are  re- 
ceived for  treatment  are  now  due  to  shrapnel  and  pieces  of  shell  at  low  velocity, 
and  as  these  wounds  are  very  fatal  on  account  of  the  infection  and  blood  poison- 
ing following  them,  it  will  be  worth  while  to  consider  the  question  of  protection 
for  all  those  parts. 


Factors  in  the  Russian  Revolution 


By  A.  J.  Sack 


[Mr.  Sack  is  American  staff  correspondent  for  the  official  publications  of  the  Russian 
Ministry  of  Finance ;  also  American  correspondent  of  the  Petrograd  Telegraph  Agency,  the 
Retch,  Petrograd ;  Birjewiya  Viedomosti,  Petrograd,  and  Russkiya  Viedomosti,  Moscow.] 


THE  great  revolution  in  Russia  is 
only  the  epilogue  to  the  great 
drama  played  in  Russia,  one  act 
after  another,  for  the  last  twelve 
years.  The  first  act  of  this  drama  was 
the  revolution  of  1905,  which  came  at  the 
conclusion  of  peace  with  Japan.  As  the 
result  of  the  revolutionary  movement 
which  in  October,  1905,  culminated  in  a 
general  political  strike,  when  all  indus- 
trial life  and  railroad  transportation  was 
stopped  in  Russia,  came  the  famous 
Czar's  manifesto  of  Oct.  17,  (30.) 

In  this  manifesto  the  Czar  promised, 
in  the  most  categorical  form,  that  the 
people  of  Russia  would  enjoy  the  highest 
form  of  political  freedom,  that  the  suf- 
frage law  governing  election  to  the  Duma 
would  be  changed  so  that  voting  would 
become  universal,  that  the  legislative 
power  of  the  empire  would  be  vested 
from  then  on  in  the  Imperial  Duma,  the 
Imperial  Council  and  the  Czar,  and  that 
without  the  consent  of  the  Duma  no  new 
law  could  be  introduced  nor  any  existing 
law  be  changed. 

On  April  27  (May  10)  the  First  Duma 
was  convened.  The  entire  country  showed 
its  opposition  to  the  old  regime  by  choos- 
ing as  Deputies  people  most  prominent 
in  the  liberal  movement.  The  Socialists 
did  not  participate  in  the  campaign  for 
the,  First  Duma,  declaring  a  boycott  be- 
cause of  their1  disapproval  of-  the  un- 
democratic suffrage  lawe.  The  majority 
in  the  First  Duma  was  held  by  the  Con- 
stitutional Democrats.  This  fact,  in  view 
of  the  undemocratic  suffrage  system  and 
the  refusal  of  the  Socialists  to  participate 
in  the  election,  shows  that,  although  the 
First  Duma  was  in  strong  opposition  to 
the  old  regime,  the  country  was  even 
more  radically  opposed  to  the  Czar's 
Government  than  the  Duma. 

The  first  act  of  the  First  Duma  was  a 


demand  for  general  amnesty  for  all  politi- 
cal offenders  in  Russia.  The  first  Rus- 
sian Parliament  solemnly  recognized  the 
revolt  against  the  old  Government  as  a 
legitimate  fight  for  the  rights  of  the 
nation,  pronouncing  every  participant 
a  hero.  The  main  political  demand  of 
the  First  Duma  was  the  demand  for  the 
responsibility  of  the  Ministers  to  the 
legislative  bodies.  "  The  executive  power 
should  be  subordinate  to  the  legislative 
power  " ;  this  was  the  conclusion  of  the 
famous  speech  made  by  Deputy  V.  D. 
Nabokoff,  who  gave  perfect  expression  to 
the  fundamental  political  desires  of  the 
first  Russian  Parliament. 

First  Dumas  Reform  Plans 
In  an  address  presented  to  the  Czar  the 
First  Duma  outlined  a  full  program  of  re- 
forms urgently  needed  for  the  country. 
The  Parliament  demanded  full  political 
freedom,  responsibility  of  the  Cabinet  of 
Ministers  to  the  legislative  bodies,  auton- 
omy for  Poland  and  Finland,  democrati- 
zation of  the  suffrage  law  governing  elec- 
tion of  members  to  the  Imperial  Duma, 
democratization  of  the  local  self-govern- 
ing bodies,  (municipalities  and  zemstvos,) 
radical  changes  in  the  social  legislation 
referring  to  the  workers,  increased  land 
holdings  for  the  peasants,  &c.  If  the 
program  of  the  Furst  Duma  had  been 
carried  out  Russia  would  have  become 
a  constitutional  monarchy  of  the  English 
type,  with  very  progressive  social  legis- 
lation. 

The  First  Duma  was  dismissed,  al- 
though its  demands  were  quite  moderate 
in  view  of  the  spirit  of  the  country.  The 
Second  Duma  was  called,  and  in  this  cam- 
paign the  Socialist  factions  in  Russia  par- 
ticipated in  full.  As  a  result  the  coun- 
try, angered  by  the  opposition  of  the  old 
regime,  sent  to  Parliament  about  120  So- 
cialists.    The    Constitutional    Democrats 


474 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


came  into  the  Second  Duma  again  as  a 
very  strong  faction,  although  this  time 
they  did  not  hold  the  majority. 

The  Second  Duma,  which  gathered  in 
the  Fall  of  1906,  was  the  culminating 
point  in  the  first  Russian  revolution.  The 
revolutionary  forces  of  the  country 
seemed  to  be  at  their  fullest  strength 
at  that  time,  and,  nevertheless,  certain 
symptoms  of  the  coming  reaction  were 
already  visible.  The  demands  of  the 
Socialists  had  been  terrorizing  the  moder- 
ate liberal  elements  so  that  these  finally 
gave  their  support  to  the  Czar's  Govern- 
ment, which  began  to  fight  the  revolution 
openly. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Summer  of 
1907  the  Second  Duma  was  dismissed; 
part  of  the  Socialist  Deputies  were  sen- 
tenced to  Siberia,  and  the  suffrage  laws 
were  changed  by  the  Czar,  so  that  Rus- 
sian democracy  was  practically  deprived 
of  representation,  although  in  the  mani- 
festo of  Oct.  17  (30)  it  had  been  solemnly 
promised  that  no  law  would  be  changed 
or  introduced  in  the  empire  without  the 
consent  of  the  legislative  bodies  repre- 
sented by  the  Duma  and  Imperial  Coun- 
cil. 

Failure  of  the  Movement 

The  principal  revolutionary  forces  dur- 
ing the  first  uprising  in  Russia  were  the 
workers,  who  demanded  political  free- 
dom, the  right  to  organize,  and  progres- 
sive measures  in  social  legislation;  the 
peasants,  whose  chief  demand  was  land 
and  equality  of  rights  with  all  other 
classes  in  Russia;  the  different  nationali- 
ties, the  Polish,  Finnish,  Jewish,  and 
other  elements,  who  demanded  autonomy 
or  equal  rights;  and  the  capitalistic  class, 
the  bourgeoisie,  who  had  become  an  in- 
fluential factor  in  Russia's  economic  life 
with  the  development  of  capitalism. 
None  of  these  groups  was  satisfied  with 
the  results  of  the  revolution.  The  coun- 
try did  not  receive  even  elementary 
political  rights,  the  workers  did  not  re- 
ceive the  right  to  organize,  the  peasants 
received  no  land,  Finland  was  deprived 
of  her  Constitution,  Poland  was  as  op- 
pressed as  before,  the  sufferings  of  the 
Jews  daily  became  more  and  more  un- 
bearable. 


The  first  Russian  revolution  brought 
the  country  no  gains,  and  the  reaction 
which  came  at  the  beginning  of  1907  was 
a  reaction  more  of  psychological  than  of 
sociological  nature.  The  great  country 
quieted  down  almost  completely,  not  be- 
cause the  great  tasks  of  the  first  revolu- 
tion were  accomplished,  but  because  the 
country  was  exhausted  from  the  battle 
with  the  old  regime.  The  demands  made 
by  the  First  Duma,  very  much  more 
moderate  than  the  country  it  represented, 
showed  that  the  entire  nation  was  op- 
posed to  the  Czar's  Government.  But 
the  nobility  was  still  with  the  Czar,  and 
the  Government  had  at  its  service  the 
powerful  machinery  of  the  police  and 
almost  the  entire  army,  officered  mostly 
by  Russian  noblemen,  blindly  devoted  to 
the  throne. 

The  reaction,  the  darkest  reaction  in 
Russia's  national  history,  began  at  the 
beginning  of  1906.  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  that  the  culminating  point  of  this 
reaction  was  the  Fall  of  1907,  when,  in 
October,  Professor  S.  A.  Mouromtzeff,  the 
President  of  the  First  Duma,  the  most 
respected  citizen  of  Russia,  the  symbol 
of  the  longing  for  freedom  in  Russia, 
died,  and  in  November,  Leo  Tolstoy,  the 
greatest  genius  Russia  has  contributed 
to  the  world's  culture.  These  deaths 
seemed  to  awaken  the  great  country.  The 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  on  the 
streets  of  Moscow  at  the  funeral  of  Pro- 
fessor Mouromtzeff,  the  thousands  of 
people  and  delegates  coming  from  all 
parts  of  Russia  on  special  trains  to  the 
little  village  where  Tolstoy  was  to  be 
buried,  the  public  speeches  made  in  these 
days,  significant  for  Russia's  culture — all 
these  showed  that  the  country  was 
awakening  from  its  deep  sleep  to  new 
political  and  cultural  activities. 

The  New  Reform  Movement 

The  Fall  of  1910  may  be  marked  as  the 
beginning  of  the  new  movement  against 
the  Czar's  Government.  It  had  taken 
four  years  for  the  reaction  to  reach  its 
lowest  mark — from  the  beginning  of  1906 
to  the  end  of  1910 — and  it  took  another 
four  years  for  the  country,  awakened  to 
political  activities,  to  reach  again  the 
boiling    point    of    revolution.     In    July, 


[^5>ag?3gag2gEr 


[j^T 


-^c<2ss»^^:>lS 


F^iii. 


£S*bLj&'±'roJd 


FACTORS  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  REVOLUTION 


475 


1914,  just  before  the  war,  400,000  Petro- 
grad  workers  went  out  on  political  strike 
and  the  streets  of  Petrograd  were  cov- 
ered with  barricades. 

This  time  the  united  country  again 
faced  the  Government  as  an  enemy.  The 
same  elements  that  had  participated  in 
the  first  revolution  faced  the  Czar's  Gov- 
ernment, ready  to  fight,  only  now  they 
were  more  educated  and  the  moderate 
elements  among  them  more  determined 
than  during  the  first  revolution.  The 
cruel  policy  of  the  Government  during 
the  time  of  reaction  and  the  illuminating 
speeches  in  the  Duma,  from  day  to  day, 
explaining  to  the  people  the  dramatic  po- 
litical situation  in  the  country,  bore  great 
results.  The  moderate  elements,  who, 
terrified  at  the  Socialists'  demands  dur- 
ing the  first  revolution,  had  given  their 
support  to  the  Government,  now  aban- 
doned it.  In  July,  1914,  the  Government 
again  faced  a  united  front  of  all  the  pro- 
gressive forces  of  the  country,  a  power- 
ful coalition  led,  as  in  1905,  by  the  fight- 
ing vanguard  of  the  revolution,  the  Petro- 
grad workers. 

Policy  of  Russian  Democracy 
Then  suddenly  came  the  war,  which 
was  immediately  recognized  by  all  the 
revolutionary  forces  in  Russia  as  the 
war  of  justice  on  the  side  of  the  Allies, 
as  the  war  for  freedom  and  civilization 
in  Europe.  The  revolutionary  elements 
decided  temporarily  to  abandon  the  in- 
ternal conflict  and  to  concentrate  all  the 
attention  of  the  democratic  forces  on 
carrying  on  the  war  till  German  militar- 
ism should  be  broken.  This  was  an  in- 
valuable service  rendered  in  this  critical 
moment  by  Russian  radical  and  Socialist 
leaders  to  their  country  and  to  all  human- 
ity. Such  prominent  leaders  as  the  old 
Prince  Kropotkin,  as  George  Plechanov, 
the  founder  of  Russian  Social-Democracy, 
as  Vladimir  Bourtzeff,  indorsed  the  war 
on  the  side  of  the  Allies  from  the  very 
beginning  and  helped  the  Allies'  cause 
with  their  powerful  influence  on  the 
democratic  masses  of  Russia.  For  the 
same  end  was  that  famous  Socialist  ap- 
peal made  to  the  country,  the  appeal 
signed  by  Plechanov,  Deutsch,  Alexinsky, 
and  Arkseniew. 

Russian  democracy  stopped  the  revolu- 


tion in  July,  1914,  because  of  the  war. 
Russian  democracy  again  started  the 
revolution  and  gloriously  accomplished 
it,  also  for  the  sake  of  the  war.  The 
Czar's  Government  showed  itself  inca- 
pable not  only  of  governing  but  also  of 
defending  the  country.  Inefficiency, 
grave  and  in  many  cases  direct  treach- 
ery, marked  the  activities  of  the  Czar's 
Government,  which  was  not  very  enthu- 
siastic in  the  war  for  democracy  and 
justice  in  Europe.  When  it  became  evi- 
dent that  under  the  old  Government  the 
defeat  of  Russia  was  inevitable,  Russian 
democracy  raised  its  hands  and  took  in- 
to them  the  fate  of  the  country. 

Among  the  events  occurring  in  Russia 
immediately  after  the  revolution,  one 
Of  the  most  important  was  the  National 
Conference  of  the  Constitutional-Demo- 
cratic Party,  the  leader  of  which,  Pro- 
fessor Paul  MilukofF,  became  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs  after  the  revolution. 
As  I  have  said  before,  the  Constitutional- 
Democratic  Party  held  the  majority  in 
the  First  Duma,  and  had  strong,  influen- 
tial factions  in  the  Second,  Third  and 
Fourth  Dumas. 

This,  party,  led  by  such  prominent  men 
as  the  late  Professor  S.  A.  Mouromtzeff, 
Professor  Paul  Milukoff,  A.  I.  Shingareff, 
Prince  Paul  Dolgoroukoff,  Prince  D. 
Shakhovskoy,  M.  M.  Vinaver,  and  others, 
rendered  invaluable  service  to  the  cause 
of  Russian  liberty.  It  would  surprise  no 
one  in  Russia  if,  out  of  the  about  600 
proposed  seats  in  the  future  Constitu- 
ent Assembly,  the  Constitutional  Dem- 
ocratic Party  hold  from  300  to  350. 

About  1,500  delegates  from  all  parts 
of  Russia  came  to  the  National  Confer- 
ence of  the  Constitutional-Democratic 
Party.  Prince  Paul  Dolgoroukoff,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Central  Committee  of 
the  party,  opened  the  conference,  pre- 
sided over  by  M.  M.  Vinaver,  the  newly 
appointed  Jewish  Senator. 

Two  Important  Reports 

There  were  two  important  events  at 
this  conference.  The  first  was  the  re- 
port by  Professor  F.  F.  Kokoshkin,  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Duma  and  one  of  the 
greatest  authorities  on  constitutional  law, 
who  insisted  that  the  party  abandon  the 
principle  of  constitutional  monarchy  and 


476 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


proclaim  for  a  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment. Professor  Kokoshkin  declared 
himself  in  favor  of  Presidential  election 
by  direct  vote  and  responsibility  of  the 
Cabinet  to  the  Parliament,  as  in  France. 

Professor  Kokoshkin's  report  was 
eagerly  supported  by  Prince  Eugene 
Troubetzkoy,  one  of  Russia's  leading  men, 
former  Professor  of  the  University  of 
Moscow  and  member  of  the  Imperial 
Council,  who,  as  a  big  landowner  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  conditions  in  the 
Russian  villages,  reflected  the  spirit  of 
the  Russian  peasantry  toward  the  revolu- 
tion. Prince  Troubetzkoy  reported  that 
under  the  terrible  experiences  of  the  war 
the  peasants  had,  during  the  last  two  and 
a  half  years,  lost  entirely  their  former 
almost  religious  belief  in  the  Czar.  Ac- 
cording to  Prince  Troubetzkoy 's  report, 
"  the  Czar  is  now  for  the  peasants  only  a 
symbol  of  police,  graft,  and  all  kinds  of 
vice."  The  convention  accepted  unani- 
mously the  recommendations  of  Professor 
Kokoshkin  and  Prince  Eugene  Troubetz- 
koy, proclaiming  for  a  republican  form  of 
government. 

It  may  be  expected  that,  aside  from 
the  Constitutional-Democrats,  with  their 
300  or  350  seats  in  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  150  to  200  seats  will  belong 
to  different  Socialist  factions.  The  de- 
cision of  the  Constitutional-Democratic 
Party  practically  decides  the  question  of 
the  form  of  the  future  Government  of 
Russia.  If  not  unanimously,  then  by  an 
overwhelming  majority  the  Constituent 
Assembly  will  proclaim  a  republican 
Government  for  Russia. 

The  other  significant  moment  in  this 
National  Conference  occurred  when  Pro- 
fessor Paul  Milukoff,  the  leader  of  the 
party  and  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
made  his  speech.  Probably,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  political  career,  Professor 
Milukoff  paid  tribute  to  his  political  ad- 
versaries, the  Russian  Socialists.  In  a 
speech  enthusiastically  greeted  by  the 
entire  conference,  Professor  Milukoff 
pointed  out  the  invaluable  service  ren- 
dered the  country  by  the  Socialists  during 
these  critical  days.  The  Socialists  were 
the  fighting  power  of  the  revolution; 
they  bravely  faced  the  police  and  the 
troops,   and    paid   with   their   blood   for 


Russian  freedom.  In  addition,  it  was 
Socialist  organization  that  kept  order  in 
Russia  after  the  revolution  and  saved 
the  country  from  the  worst  kind  of 
anarchy.  In  the  same  spirit  as  Professor 
Milukoff's  speech  was  the  speech  of  Mr. 
Nekrasov,  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Con- 
stitutional-Democratic Party  and  the  new 
Secretary  of  Means  of  Transportation. 

Result  of  a  Coalition 

The  revolution  in  Russia  was  ac- 
complished by  a  coalition  of  liberal  and 
Socialist  forces.  And  this  coalition  will 
build  the  new  Russia.  To  understand 
Russian  political  life  at  the  present  time 
means  to  understand  the  real  nature  of 
liberalism  and  socialism  in  Russia.  Rus- 
sian liberalism,  as  represented  by  the 
Constitutional-Democratic  Party,  is  quite 
well  known  in  this  country.  As  for  Rus- 
sian socialism,  until  now  it  has  been  terra 
incognita  for  the  American  public. 

First  of  all,  socialism  is  one  of  the 
most  powerful  factors  in  Russian  political 
life.  In  the  United  States  the  labor 
movement  and  socialism  are  two  distinct 
forces,  whereas  in  Russia  these  two 
forces  are  united  in  one.  In  the  United 
States  the  Federation  of  Labor,  repre- 
senting over  2,000,000  workers,  has  no 
relation  to  the  socialist  movement  of  the 
country,  whereas  in  Russia  every  organ- 
ized worker  is  a  Socialist  and  all  the  labor 
unions  are  socialistic. 

The  Socialist  Party  of  the  United 
States  has  only  one  representative  in 
Congress,  whereas  Russian  socialist  fac- 
tions had  120  representatives  in  the  Sec- 
ond Duma  and  about  thirty  in  the  Third 
and  Fourth  Dumas,  chosen  during  the 
time  of  darkest  reaction  under  the  most 
undemocratic  suffrage  system. 

Hence,  we  have  the  difference  in  the 
nature  of  the  Russian  and  American  so- 
cialism. Socialism  in  the  United  States 
is  a  small  movement,  without  any  real  in- 
fluence on  the  political  life,  and  therefore 
I  would  venture  to  say  without  any  sense 
of  responsibility  for  its  actions.  If  it 
were  an  influential  factor  it  would  prob- 
ably not  have  accepted  resolutions  of  the 
kind  passed  by  the  last  conference  of  the 
American  Socialist  Party  at  St.  Louis. 

Russian  socialism  is  more  like  Belgian 
and  French  socialism.     As  Belgian  and 


FACTORS  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  REVOLUTION 


477 


French  Socialists  from  the  very  begin- 
ning indorsed  the  war  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies,  so  did  the  Russian  Socialists.  As 
the  Belgian  and  French  Socialists,  who, 
understanding  their  responsibility  toward 
their  countries  and  humanity,  delegated 
Vandervelde,  Guede,  Semba,  and  Toma  as 
their  representatives  in  the  Cabinets,  so 
did  the  Russian  Socialists,  sending  as 
their  representative  the  new  Secretary  of 
Justice,  Deputy  Kerensky. 

Authority  of  Present  Cabinet 

Several  facts  in  connection  with  the 
recent  revolution  really  illumine  the 
present  political  situation  in  Russia.  The 
first  fact  is  that  the  present  Russian 
Cabinet  was  appointed  at  a  joint  session 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Duma 
and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Petrograd  Council  of  Workingmen  and 
Soldiers.  It  was  at  the  moment  when 
all  Petrograd  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
revolutionists,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
at  that  moment  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee of  the  Council  of  Workingmen  and 
Soldiers  had  sufficient  power  to  take  all 
the  political  machinery  in  its  own  hands. 
At  this  critical  moment  the  Russian 
Socialists  showed  real  statesmanship. 
They  agreed  to  a  Coalition  Cabinet  and 
to  the  appointment  of  A.  I.  Gouchkoff  as 
Secretary  of  War  and  Navy.  This  ap- 
pointment was  very  significant.  Mr. 
Gouchkoff  until  the  revolution  was  a 
very  conservative  man,  very  unpopular 
in  Russia  for  his  political  views,  but 
everybody  in  Russia  respected  his  sincere 
patriotism  and  his  organizing  ability.* 

Russian  Socialists  consenting  to  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Gouchkoff  indorsed 
thereby,  once  more,  the  war  against 
Germany,  and  the  necessity  of  strong 
discipline  on  the  fighting  lines.  Con- 
senting further  to  the  appointment  of 
Professor  Paul  Milukoff  as  Foreign  Sec- 
retary, Russian  Socialists  consented  to 
the  principle  that  no  separate  peace  is 
possible  for  Russia,  that  the  only  peace 
she  will  conclude  will  be  a  general  peace 
in  full  accordance  with  her  allies. 

The  latest  events  in  Petrograd  do  not 
contradict  this  statement.     We  may  dis- 

*Mr.  Gouchkoff,  Secretary  of  War,  resigned 
from  the  Cabinet  on  May  14,   1917. 


agree  with  this  movement  entirely,  or  we 
may  see  certain  weak  points  in  it,  but  it 
is  only  fair  to  recognize  that  this  is  a 
movement  not  for  a  separate  but  for  a 
general  peace.  One  of  the  leaders  of 
this  movement  is  Prince  Tzeretelli,  the 
former  leader  of  the  Social-Democratic 
faction  in  the  Second  Duma.  Prince 
Tzeretelli  is  one  of  the  most  noble  figures 
in  Russian  life.  A  brilliant  speaker,  al- 
ways enthusiastic,  always  idealistic,  he  is 
respected  in  Russia  by  all  factions. 

Career  of  Tzeretelli 

When  the  Second  Duma  was  dismissed 
and  it  became  known  that  the  Socialist 
Deputies  would  be  arrested  and  tried, 
some  of  the  influential  friends  of  Prince 
Tzeretelli  prepared  everything  for  his  es- 
cape abroad,  but  Tzeretelli  flatly  refused 
to  go.  "I  am  a  representative  of  the 
people,"  he  answered  his  friend  in  a 
quiet  but  determined  tone.  "  I  work  for 
the  people  and  do  not  see  why  I  should 
escape  if  the  police  want  me."  He  was 
arrested,  tried,  and  sentenced  to  hard 
labor.  He  was  sent  to  Siberia,  and  then 
from  time  to  time  news  came  to  Petro- 
grad that  he  was  dying  of  tuberculosis 
in  his  prison  cell.  In  spite  of  many  peti- 
tions the  Czar's  Government  refused  to 
do  anything  to  ease  Tzeretelli's  fate,  and 
nobody  in  Russia  expected  to  see  him 
again  leading  the  democratic  masses. 

Being  liberated  after  the  revolution, 
Tzeretelli  went  directly  to  Petrograd. 
Knowing  from  dispatches  that  the  Coun- 
cil of  Workingmen  and  Soldiers  in  Petro- 
grad was  engaged  at  a  special  meeting 
preparing  a  resolution  which  would  show 
the  council's  position  toward  the  Provi- 
sional Government  and  the  war,  Tzere- 
telli sent  a  telegram  to  the  meeting  intro- 
ducing his  own  resolution.  The  resolu- 
tion insisted  on  support  for  the  Provi- 
sional Government  and  the  war  until 
German  militarism  be  entirely  broken, 
and  it  was  enthusiastically  accepted  by 
the  council. 

Tzeretelli's  name  is  almost  holy  for 
the  Petrograd  workers  and  for  the  Rus- 
sian workers  in  general.  He  is,  together 
with  his  friends,  Chkheidze  and  Skobe- 
leff,  practically  the  ruling  spirit  of  the 
movement  in  Petrograd.  Neither  Tzere- 
telli nor  Chkheidze  or  Skobeleff  is  for  a 


478 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


separate  peace.  According  to  their  views 
the  allied  democracy  must  fight  until 
not  a  single  German  soldier  is  left  in 
Belgium,  in  the  northern  provinces  of 
France,  in  Serbia,  or  in  Russian  Poland. 
Peace  is  impossible  for  them  without  the 
full  restoration  of  all  parts  of  the  Allies' 
territories  occupied  by  the  Central 
Powers. 

The  future  peace  for  Russian  Socialists 
is  a  general  peace  that  will  bring  peace 
for    all    Europe    and    bring    it    forever. 


Their  peace  program  is  quite  misun- 
derstood in  this  country,  although  prob- 
ably it  possesses  all  the  qualities  which 
should  make  it  meet  with  approval  here. 
The  allied  countries  need  not  fear.  The 
Russian  democracy  is  not  thinking  of 
and  would  never  consider  a  separate 
peace.  As  for  a  general  peace,  Russian 
democracy  desires  the  kind  of  peace  out- 
lined by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  his  famous  address  to  Con- 
gress. 


The   Critical   Situation  in  Russia 

Conflict  Between  Radicals  and  the  Provisional 
Government  Regarding  the  Nation's  War  Policy 


EVENTS  in  Russia  in  the  month 
ended  May  15  followed  each  other 
with  such  startling  swiftness, 
and  the  reports  were  so  conflict- 
ing, that  it  was  difficult  to  arrive  at  the 
truth.  The  one  fact  clear  at  this  writing 
(May  15)  is  the  existence  of  a  wide 
breach  between  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment set  up  by  the  revolution  and  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates. This  breach  seriously  menaces 
stable  government,  seeming  to  portend 
either  civil  war,  with  consequent  chaos, 
or  the  disintegration  of  the  country  into 
fragmentary  republics,  an  easy  prey  to 
Germany. 

The  first  intimation  given  the  outside 
world  of  the  conflict  between  the  Pro- 
visional Government  and  the  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  was 
the  vigorous  protest  of  the  latter  against 
a  joint  note  sent  to  the  Allies  by  the  Pro- 
visional Government  on  May  1,  wherein 
the  word  of  Russia  was  pledged  against 
a  separate  peace  and  for  a  renewal  of 
cordial  co-operation  with  the  Entente 
Allies.  The  note  was  signed  by  Foreign 
Secretary  Milukoff  and  instructed  the 
various  diplomatic  representatives  to  the 
allied  countries  to  transmit  the  following 
communication : 

The  Provisional  Government  of  Russia  pub- 
lished on  April  27  a  manifesto  to  Russian 
citizens  wherein  it  ..explained  the  views  of  the 
Government  of  Russia  as  regards  the  objects 
to  be  attained  in  the  war.     The  Minister  of 


Foreign  Affairs  instructs  me  to  communicate 
to  you  the  contents  of  the  document  referred 
to  and  to  add  the  following  considerations : 

Our  enemies  have  striven  lately  to  sow 
discord  among  our  allies  by  propagating  ab- 
surd reports  regarding  the  alleged  intention 
of  Russia  to  conclude  a  separate  peace  with 
the  Central  Powers.  The  text  of  the  docu- 
ment annexed  will  form  the  best  refutation 
of  such  intentions.  The  general  principles 
therein  enunciated  by  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment are  in  entire  agreement  with  the 
ideas  which  have  been  expressed  repeatedly 
up  to  quite  recently  by  eminent  statesmen  of 
the  allied  countries. 

These  principles  were  expressed  lucidly  also 
in  the  words  of  the  President  of  our  ally,  the 
great  overseas  Republic.  The  Russian  Gov- 
ernment under  the  old  regime  certainly  was 
not  prepared  to  appreciate  and  share  these 
ideas  as  to  the  liberating  character  of  the 
war,  the  establishment  of  a  stable  basis  for 
pacific  co-operation  of  nations,  the  freedom 
of  oppressed  peoples,  &c,  but  emancipated 
Russia  can  now  use  language  which  will  be 
understood  by  modern  democracies  and  hasten 
to  add  her  voice  to  that  of  her  allies. 

The  declaration  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, being  imbued  with  the  new  spirit  of 
free  democracy,  naturally  cannot  afford  the 
least  pretext  for  assumption  that  the  demoli- 
tion of  the  old  structure  has  entailed  any 
slackening  on  the  part  of  Russia  in  the  com- 
mon struggle  of  all  the  Allies.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  nation's  determination  to  bring  the 
world  war  to  a  decisive  victory  has  been  ac- 
centuated, owing  to  the  sense  of  responsibil- 
ity which  is  shared  by  all  in  general  and  each 
one  of  us  in  particular. 

This  spirit  has  become  still  more  active  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  concentrated  on  the  imme- 
diate task,  which  touches  everybody  so  close- 
ly,  of  driving  back  the   enemy  who  invaded 


THE   CRITICAL  SITUATION  IN  RUSSIA 


479 


our  territory.  It  is  understood,  and  the  an- 
nexed document  so  expressly  states,  that  the 
Provisional  Government  in  safeguarding  the 
right  acquired  for  our  country  will  maintain 
a  strict  regard  for  its  engagements  with  the 
allies  of  Russia. 

Firmly  convinced  of  the  victorious  issue  of 
the  present  war,  and  in  perfect  agreement 
with  our  allies,  the  Provisional  Government 
is  likewise  confident  that  the  problems  which 
were  created  by  this  war  will  be  solved  by 
the  creation  on  a  firm  basis  of  a  lasting 
peace,  and  that,  inspired  by  identical  senti- 
ments, the  allied  democracies  will  find  means 
of  establishing  the  guarantees  and  penalties 
necessary  to  prevent  any  recourse  to  san- 
guinary war  in  the  future. 

This  note  was  sent  in  response  to  a 
demand  of  the  council  that  the  Govern- 
ment express  itself.  It  followed  a  series 
of  turbulent  outbreaks  in  Petrograd  in 
consequence  of  the  agitation  of  Radical 
Socialists  under  the  leadership  of  one 
Nikolai  Lenine.  In  fact,  Lenine  was 
suspected  of  anarchistic  tendencies  and 
was  assailed  as  in  the  pay  of  Germany. 
His  inflammatory  speeches  against  the 
Provisional  Government  and  the  Allies 
precipitated  one  riot  in  Petrograd,  but 
he  was  finally  suppressed  and  quiet  was 
restored.  The  slumbering  unrest  of  the 
extremists,  however,  soon  was  again 
manifest,  and  at  length  forced  the  Gov- 
ernment to  express  itself  in  this  letter  of 
May  1,  which  subsequent  events  have 
brought  into  prominence. 

The  document  aroused  strong  disap- 
proval among  members  of  the  council, 
and  serious  anti-Government  demonstra- 
tions occurred  in  Petrograd  on  May  3  and 
4.  The  Executive  Committee  of  the 
council  had  discussed  the  note  through- 
out May  2  and  3,  holding  all-night  ses- 
sions. It  adjourned  at  daybreak  of  May 
4  without  reaching  a  decision,  but  every 
speaker  at  the  meeting  emphasized  the 
contention  that  the  power  in  Russia 
rested  in  the  hands  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  workmen  and  soldiers,  and 
that  they  were  determined  to  enforce 
their  views  upon  the  temporary  Govern- 
ment or  immediately  dispossess  it  and 
construct  a  Government  of  their  own 
liking. 

Most  of  the  leaders  advocated  a  com- 
promise by  the  removal  of  Milukoff,  per- 
mitting the  rest  of  the  Government  to  re- 
main in  power.  M.  Tcheidse,  President 
of  the  body,  after  reading  the  Govern- 


ment note,  declared  that  he  found  it 
quite  nullified  the  effect  of  the  previous 
declaration  of  April  9,  and  added: 

The  form  of  this  note  and  its  vague  allu- 
sions to  a  victorious  end  of  the  war  are  so 
ambiguous  that  one  can  deduce  anything  he 
wants  to  from  it,  even  the  ideas  of  the  old 
Government.  Steps  must  be  immediately 
taken  to  clarify  this  so  that  the  country  will 
know  that  the  Government  does  not  intend 
to  agree  to  annexations,  expropriations,  and 
contributions.  After  this  explanation  is  pub- 
lished and  the  Allies  are  informed  of  its  con- 
tents the  proletariat  classes  of  the  allied 
countries  must  take  similar  steps  to  make 
their  Governments  repudiate  such  intentions. 
M.  Stankevich,  Social  Democrat,  who 
followed  M.  Tcheidse,  said: 

This  note  has  struck  a  serious  blow  to  our 
unity  with  the  Government.  The  Government 
today  feels  the  discord  which  exists  and 
which  is  so  evident  in  the  street  demonstra- 
tions. 

Fear  of  Allies  Expressed 
The  speaker  then  hinted  that  the  En- 
tente  Allies   might  not   approve   of  the 
stand  taken  by  the  Russian  proletariat, 
and  declared  in  this  connection: 

It  is  necessary  to  mobilize  all  the  forces  of 
the  democracy,  because  we  may  be  menaced 
from  the  outside.  We  will  riot  allow  any  one 
to  attack  us.  If  the  Government  continues 
to  follow  their  line  of  conduct  we  will  go 
further— we  can  arrest  the  Government.  It 
must  fulfill  our  program,  for  we  have  the 
power,  and  we  can  telephone  tonight  express- 
ing our  distrust  of  the  Government,  and  it 
will  be  compelled  to  resign. 

If  the  action  of  the  Government  was  dic- 
tated by  wrong  intentions  we  will  immediate- 
ly vote  our  distrust,  and  the  present  Cabinet 
will  be  replaced  by  one  of  our  own  choosing. 
I  tell  this  to  you  to  show  you  the  power  that 
is  in  our  hands. 

But  we  must  be  careful.  The  finances  of 
the  country  are  in  bad  condition,  the  supply 
question  is  critical,  and  we  must  seriously 
consider  before  adopting  extreme  measures. 
Only  after  mature  deliberation  can  we  decide 
that  the  temporary  Government  must  be  re- 
moved. Then  we  can  take  the  power  in  our 
hands  and  bear  all  the  responsibility.  On 
account  of  the  complicated  nature  of  the 
problems  confronting  the  country  we  must 
take  the  mildest  means. 

M.  Chernoff,  who  spoke  next,  said: 
The  present  situation  is  more  serious  than 
when  the  trouble  occurred  between  the  old 
regime  and  the  revolutionists.  In  the  first 
days  of  the  revolution  it  was  a  fight  between 
two  hostile  camps ;  now  it  is  a  fight  between 
conquerors.  The  situation  can  have  danger- 
our  results,  and  the  principal  thing  we  need 
at  the  present  is  quiet  and  order.  But  we  must 
cast    away    the    imperialistic    influence    from 


480 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


our  foreign  policy  as  well  as  from  our  in- 
ternal life.  Our  program  must  have  brought 
knowledge  to  all  Governments,  and  we  must 
request  from  our  allies  that  they  reconsider 
their  aims  in  the  war. 

M.  Bonin,  another  speaker,  recom- 
mended a  Coalition  Ministry.  He  reiter- 
ated the  same  warning  against  extreme 
measures  as  had  the  previous  speakers. 

Anarchist  Members  for  Action 

The  opinions  ranged  through  every 
shade  of  political  belief.  The  speakers 
included  anarchist  members  who  flatly 
proposed  the  overthrowing  of  the  present 
Government  immediately.  One  of  the  an- 
archists said: 

The  temporary  Government  has  thrown  off 
its  mask,  and  we  see  that  it  is  not  much  bet- 
ter than  the  old.  We  are  naive  and  simple. 
M.  Milukoff  is  a  sly  person  and  can  find  any 
way  to  deceive  us.  Down  with  him  !  Throw 
off   the   temporary    Government ! 

Another  speaker  declared  that  the  note 
of  May  1  showed  a  policy  of  world  im- 
perialism. He  added  that  it  was  a  mis- 
take to  send  recruits  to  fill  the  gaps  in 
the  ranks  at  the  front,  because  these  men 
were  needed  in  Petrograd.  The  speaker 
proposed  the  formation  of  a  coalition 
committee  to  exert  the  same  influence  on 
foreign  policy  that  the  present  council 
wields  over  home  politics. 

M.  Voytinsky,  the  last  speaker,  said: 

Every  soldier  must  know  he  is  not  fight- 
ing for  the  ideas  of  Milukoff,  or  for  Con- 
stantinople and  the  Dardanelles,  but  for  the 
new  freedom. 

Late  in  the  day  the  committee  sat  in 
special  session  with  the  council  of  the 
Provisional  Government  for  a  discussion 
of  the  Government's  motives  in  issuing 
the  note.  The  upshot  of  it  was  that  the 
Executive  Committee  decided  that  it 
would  be  inexpedient  to  demand  the 
resignation  of  the  Government  at  the 
moment,  and  it  persuaded  the  soldiers 
engaged  in  the  demonstrations  to  return 
to  their  barracks.  It  was  reported  that 
the  Executive  Committee's  decision  was 
by  a  vcte  of  34  to  19. 

Hostility  to  Milukoff 

On  May  4  the  demonstrations  were 
distinctly  against  Foreign  Minister  Milu- 
koff. Many  soldiers  participated  in  them, 
but    there    were    also    countermanifesta- 


tions  in  behalf  of  the  Government.  De- 
tachments of  soldiers  and  workmen 
gathered  in  front  of  the  headquarters  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  carrying  red 
flags  and  banners,  with  inscriptions 
"  Down  With  Milukoff!  "  "  Down  With 
Guchkoff,  Minister  of  War!"  and  "  Down 
With  the  Provisional  Government!  " 

When  Milukoff  saw  the  banners  he 
came  out  on  the  balcony  of  the  palace, 
with  M.  Shingaroff  and  M.  Neckrasoff, 
and  soon  had  turned  the  hostility  of  the 
crowd  into  enthusiastic  Support.  He  be- 
gan by  saying  that  he  was  fearful  not 
for  Milukoff  but  for  Russia.  If  the  in- 
scriptions interpreted  the  feelings  of  a 
majority  of  the  citizens,  he  asked,  what 
must  be  the  condition  of  Russia?  The 
Entente  Allies  would  say  Russia  had 
betrayed  her  allies,  and  had  struck  her 
name  from  the  list  of  the  allied  powers. 

"  The  Provisional  Government  cannot 
accept  that  view  of  things,"  continued 
M.  Milukoff.  "  I  declare  to  you  that  the 
Provisional  Government  and  myself,  as 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  will  defend 
a  position  in  which-  no  one  will  dare  to 
charge  Russia  with  treason.  Never  shall 
Russia  consent  to  a  separate  peace! 
The  Provisional  Government  is  a  sailing 
vessel  which  can  only  move  with  the 
help  of  the  wind.  We  look,  then,  for  your 
trust,  which  is  the  wind  that  is  to  make 
our  ship  go  forward.  I  hope  you  will 
supply  us  with  that  breeze,  and  that 
your  confidence  will  aid  us  in  propelling 
Russia  toward  liberty  and  prosperity  and 
in  upholding  the  dignity  of  our  great, 
free  country." 

The  words  of  the  Foreign  Minister 
evoked  hearty  cheering. 

A  Precarious   Truce 

A  truce  was  patched  up  on  May  4 
when  the  council  gave  a  vote  of  confi- 
dence in  the  Government  by  a  narrow 
margin  of  35  in  a  total  of  2,500.  In  an- 
nouncing its  action  tne  council  declared 
that  it  had  received  from  the  Govern- 
ment the  following  explanation  of  the 
meaning  of  the  note  to  the  Allies: 

The  note  was  subjected  to  long  and  detailed 
examination  by  the  Provisional  Government, 
and  was  unanimously  approved.  It  was  ob- 
vious   that    this    note,    in    speaking   of   a   de- 


THE   CRITICAL  SITUATION  IN  RUSSIA 


481 


cisive  victory,  had  in  view  a  solution  of  the 
problems  which  were  mentioned  in  the  com- 
munication of  April  9  and  which  was  thus 
specified : 

"  The  Government  deems  it  to  be  its  right 
and  duty  to  declare  now  that  free  Russia 
does  not  aim  at  the  domination  of  other  na- 
tions or  at  depriving  them  of  their  national 
patrimony,  or  at  occupying  by  force  foreign 
territores,  but  that  its  object  is  to  establish 
a  durable  peace  on  the  basis  of  the  rights  of 
nations  to  decide  their  own  destiny. 

"  The  Russian  Nation  does  not  lust  after 
the  strengthening  of  its  power  abroad  at  the 
expense  of  other  nations.  Its  aim  is  not  to 
subjugate  or  humiliate  any  one.  In  the  name 
of  the  higher  principles  of  equity,  the  Rus- 
sian people  have  broken  the  chains  which 
fettered  the  Polish  Nation,  but  it  will  not 
suffer  that,  its  own  country  shall  emerge  from 
the  great  struggle  humiliated  or  weakened  in 
its  vital  forces." 

In  referring  to  the  "  penalties  and  guaran- 
tees "  essential  to  a  durable  peace  the  Pro- 
visional Government  had  in  view  the  reduc- 
tion of  armaments,  the  establishment  of  in- 
ternational tribunals,   &c. 

This  explanation  will  be  communicated  by 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Am- 
bassadors of  the  allied  powers. 

Would  Not  Modify  Note 

The  Provisional  Government,  through 
Premier  Lvoff,  declined  to  modify  the 
note  sent  to  the  Allies,  stating  that  the 
Ministers  were  prepared  to  resign  their 
posts  if  necessary.     The  Premier  said: 

It  is  impossible  to  send  another  note.  The 
temporary  Government  will  comply  with  its 
duty,  and  leave  its  post  rather  than  take 
such  a  step,  which  would  menace  the  country 
with  very-  serious  consequences.  The  Gov- 
ernment understands  fully  the  responsibility 
it  has  assumed  in  behalf  of  the  country,  and 
in  the  view  of  that  responsibility  is  ready  to 
resign  if  it  becomes  necessary. 

M.  Milukoff,  confirming  the  stand 
taken  by  Premier  Lvoff,  said: 

The  note  expressed  the  view  of  the  tem- 
porary Government.  It  has  no  other  aim. 
The  recent  note  repeats  and  develops  the  idea 
expressed  in  the  first  note,  which  was  worked 
out  in  conjunction  with  the  Council  of  Depu- 
ties. If  we  compare  the  notes  it  is  clear  that 
the  information  they  contain  constitutes  a 
step  forward.  The  events  of  yesterday  will 
make  the  Allies  very  sad  while  pleasing  our 
enemies. 

The  Government's  Statement 

The  lack  of  harmony  between  the  Gov- 
enrment  and  the  council  continued,  how- 
ever, notwithstanding  the  settlement  of 
the  May  1  note  matter.     On  May  8  the 


Government  issued  an  announcement  as 
follows: 

The  attempts  by  separate  groups  of  the 
population  to  realize  their  desires  by  expro- 
priations or  launching  declarations  when 
made  by  the  less  organized  classes  threaten 
to  ruin  interior  discipline  and  unity  and 
create  favorable  ground,  on  the  one  hand,  for 
acts  of  violence  against  the  new  regime,  and, 
en  the  other  hand,  for  the  development  of 
private  interests  to  the  detriment  of  the  gen- 
eral  welfare. 

The  temporary  Government  considers  it  its 
duty  to  declare  frankly  and  definitely  that 
such  conditions  render  the  administration  of 
the  country  extremely  difficult  and  menace 
it  with  interior  ruin  and  defeat  at  the  front. 

The  frightful  spectre  of  civil  war  and 
anarchy  hovers  over  Russia,  threatening  its 
freedom.  There  is  a  dark,  sad  path  leading 
through  civil  war  and  anarchy  to  the  return 
of  despotism.  This  must  not  be  the  path  of 
the   Russian  people. 

Then  follows  an  appeal  for  unity  in 
support  of  the  Government  created  by  the 
revolution,  and  the  declaration  continues: 

The  temporary  Government  will  renew  with 
stronger  persistence  its  efforts  to  attract  into 
the  staff  of  representatives  those  active  pro- 
tective forces  of  the  country  which  up  to  the 
present  have  not  taken  any  part  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  country. 

Simultaneously  with  the  declaration 
appears  a  note  addressed  by  M.  Kerensky 
to  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates  in  which  he  says: 

I  consider  the  condition  of  affairs  now 
greatly  changed.  The  situation  is  much  more 
serious  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other 
the  power  of  the  organized  labor  democracy 
has  grown.  That  power  no  longer  has  a  right 
to  remain  aloof  from  the  participation  in  re- 
sponsibility for  government  when  their  par- 
ticipation will  bring  strength  to  the  power 
born  of  the  revolution.  Under  these  condi- 
tions the  representatives  of  the  labor  democ- 
racy must  take  the  burden  of  power,  but 
only  after  being  formally  elected  and  vested 
with  power  by  the  organizations  to  which 
they  belong. 

The  suggestion  of  a  Coalition  Govern- 
ment was  not  accepted  by  the  council. 
May  10  a  celebration  of  the  First  Duma 
occurred,  when  an  extraordinary  session 
of  the  sitting  Duma  was  held,  also 
attended  by  ex-members  besides  the 
members  of  the  Government. 

Addressed   fcp   Rodzianko 
President  Rodzianko  on  this  occasion, 
in  the  course  of  an  address,  said: 
The  war  which  was  forced  upon  us,  which 


4S2 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


we  did  not  desire,  and  for  which  we  are  in 
no  way  responsible,  must  be  brought  to  a 
successful  termination,  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  integrity  of  the  country  and  the  national 
honor  of  Russia  shall  be  "entirely  maintained. 
The  innumerable  sacrifices  we  have  laid  upon 
the  altar  of  this  war  demand  that  the  peace 
should  correspond  with  the  immensity  of  our 
efforts  and  that  the  aim  for  which  we  are 
struggling,  the  triumph  of  the  ideals  of  justice 
and  liberty,  be  assured  us. 

The  Germans  oppose  to  these  splendid 
Ideals  their  own  program,  which  is  totally 
different— the  hegemony  of  the  world  and 
the  enslavement  of  the  nations.  The  struggle 
for  principles  so  mutually  contradictory  can- 
not terminate  in  a  draw,  but  only  by  a  de- 
cisive victory  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  ad- 
versaries. Only  the  complete  defeat  of  Ger- 
man militarism  will  assure  the  happiness  of 
the  world. 

The  gulf  separating  the  Germans— the 
devastators  and  destroyers  of  civilization — 
from  the  Allies  is  too  deep  for  the  war  to  be 
concluded  without  the  realization  of  the  ideals 
I  have  mentioned.  Peace  in  the  present  con- 
ditions would  only  be  an  armistice  of  greater 
or  less  duration.  Do  not  forget  that  the 
working  classes  of  Germany,  however  social- 
istic they  be,  ardently  desire  victory,  for  Ger- 
many cannot  reduce  her  vast  industry,  and 
her  defeat  by  the  Allies  would  be  like  the 
blow  of  a  club  for  the  workers  of  Germany, 
who  naturally  support  the  imperialistic  aspi- 
rations of  their  Government. 

That  is  why  I  declare  emphatically  that  the 
Russian  people  must  make  every  sacrifice  to 
bring  this  war,  in  concert  with  their  allies, 
to  a  complete  victory,  all  the  more  because 
such  a  victory  would  consolidate  forever  the 
liberties  we  have  just  won. 

Russia  cannot  betray  the  allies  by  whose 
side  she  has  been  fighting  for  three  years, 
and  she  will  remain  faithful  to  them. 

Cuchkoff  Exposes  Conditions 

M.  Guchkoff ,  whose  speech  was  re- 
ceived with  loud  and  prolonged  applause 
from  all  parts  of  the  house,  said: 

Unfortunately  the  first  feeling  of  radiant 
joy  evoked  by  the  revolution  soon  gave  place 
to  one  of  pain  and  anxiety.  Tne  Provisional 
Government  explained  the  cause  of  this  in  its 
recent  declaration,  in  which  it  was  pointed 
out  that  the  destruction  of  the  old  forms 
of  public  life,  to  which  an  end  had  been  put 
by  the  revolution,  had  been  effected  more 
rapidly  than  had  the  creation  of  new  forms 
to  replace  them. 

It  is  especially  regrettable  that  the  destruc- 
tion has  touched  the  political  and  social  or- 
ganization of  the  country  before  any  life 
centre  has  had  time  to  establish  itself  and 
to  carry  out  the  great  creative  work  of  re- 
generation. 

How  will  the  State  emerge  from  this  crisis? 
That  is  the  question  for  solution  and  on  which 
will  depend  not  only  the  consolidation  of  the 


liberties  won,  but  the  issue  of  the  war  and 
the  destinies  of  the  country.  In  any  case  the 
duality  of  power — and  even  polyarchy — and 
the  consequent  anarchy  now  prevailing  in  the 
country  make   its   normal   existence  difficult. 

Our  poor  country  is  fighting  at  an  extra- 
ordinary hard  conjuncture  of  an  unparalleled 
war  and  internal  troubles  such  as  we  never 
have  seen  before,  and  only  a  strong  Govern- 
mental power  able  to  rely  on  the  confidence 
of  the  nation  can  save  it. 

We  received  a  terrible  legacy  from  the  old 
regime,  which  was  incapable  of  governing 
in  time  of  peace  and  still  less  was  able  to  do 
so  while  waging  war. 

We  all  know  the  conditions  in  which  our 
valiant  army  defended  every  foot  of  Russian 
territory  and  how  it  still  is  carrying  on  a 
truly  heroic  but  not  hopeless  struggle.  One 
more  effort  and  an  effort  by  the  whole  coun- 
try and  the  enemy  will  be  beaten,  but  we 
have  got  to  know  first  of  all  whether  we  can 
make  this  effort. 

The  coup  d'Stat  found  echoes  in  the  army 
and  navy  which,  believing  in  their  creative 
strength,  unanimously  adhered  to  the  new 
regime  and  set  to  work  on  a  radical  reform 
of  the  armed  forces  of  the  country. 

For  the  moment  we  hoped  our  military 
powers  would  emerge  from  the  salutary  proc- 
ess regenerated  and  renewed  in  strength  and 
that  a  new  reasonable  discipline  would  weld 
the  army  together,  but  that  has  not  been  the 
case,  and  we  must  frankly  face  the  fact  that 
our  military  might  is  weakened  and  disin- 
tegrated, being  affected  by  the  same  disease 
as  the  country,  namely,  duality  of  power, 
polyarchy,  and  anarchy,  only  the  malady  is 
more  acute.  » 

It  is  not  too  late  to  cure  it,  but  not  a  mo- 
ment must  be  lost.  Those  who,  either  delib- 
erately or  not  realizing  what  they  were  do- 
ing, have  cast  into  our  midst  the  subversive 
mot  d'ordre  "  peace  at  the  front  and  war  in 
the  country,"  those  people,  I  say,  are  carry- 
ing on  a  propaganda  of  peace  at  any  price 
and  civil  war,  cost  what  it  may. 

That  mot  d'ordre  must  be  smothered  by  an- 
other, that  being  "  war  at  the  front  and 
peace  within  the  country." 

Gentlemen,  some  time  ago  the  country  re- 
alized that  our  mother  land  was  in  danger. 
Since  then  we  have  gone  a  step  further,  for 
our  mother  land  is  on  the  edge  of  an  abyss. 

Two  Strong  Men  Resign 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates 
decided  on  May  9  to  issue  an  appeal  to 
the  peoples  of  the  world  in  behalf  of  the 
calling  of  a  peace  conference  in  a  neu- 
tral country,  to  consist  of  an  assemblage 
of  the   Socialist  Internationale. 

Events  now  moved  rapidly.  General 
Korniloff,  commander  of  the  Petrograd 
garrison,  resigned  on  May  13  on  account 


THE  CRITICAL  SITUATION  IN  RUSSIA 


483 


of  the  interference  by  the  council  with 
his  orders,  and  in  consequence  of  their 
demand  that  all  his  orders  should  be  sub- 
ject to  their  indorsement.  This  resigna- 
tion was  followed  on  May  13  by  that  of 
Guchkoff,  the  Minister  of  War,  who  sent 
the  following  letter  to  the  Premier: 

In  view  of  the  condition  in  which  the  power 
of  the  Government  has  been  placed,  especially 
the  authority  of  the  Minister  of  War,  in  re- 
lation to  the  army  and  the  navy,  a  condition 
which  I  am  powerless  to  alter  and  which 
threatens  to  have  consequences  fatal  to  the 
defense,  the  liberty,  and  even  the  existence 
of  Russia,  I  can  no  longer  exercise  the  func- 
tions of  Minister  of  War  and  Marine  and 
share  responsibility  for  the  grave  sin  being 
committed  against  the  country. 

The  same  day  the  council  issued  an 
appeal  to  the  army,  in  which  it  stated 
that  German  imperialism  was  seeking  to 
destroy  revolutionary  Russia  and  en- 
slave the  Russian  people.  It  appealed  to 
the  soldiers  to  defend  Russia  with  all 
their  power,  and  asserted  that  a  separate 
peace  was  impossible.  The  appeal  said 
the  only  solution  of  the  war  must  be  a 
general  peace  among  all  nations  by  agree- 
ment. It  said  the  council  was  aiming  at 
peace  by  calling  for  a  revolution  among 
the  workmen  of  the  Central  Powers,  but 
that  peace  could  not  be  achieved  unless 
the  enemy  at  the  front  was  checked.  The 
manifesto  begged  the  soldiers  not  to  re- 
nounce their  offensive  and  warned  against 
fraternizing  with  the  enemy. 

Kerensktfs  Solemn  Warning 

The  situation  was  hourly  growing  more 
critical.  On  the  14th  the  Minister  of 
Justice,  Kerensky,  who  heretofore  was 
regarded  as  the  lukewarm  member  of  the 
Government  and  at  heart  a  Socialist 
leader,  expressed  himself  as  follows  to  a 
deputation  of  delegates  from  the  front: 

I  pame  to  you  because  my  strength  is  at  an 
end.  I  no  longer  feel  my  former  courage,  nor 
have  my  former  conviction  that  we  are  con- 
scientious citizens,  not  slaves  in  revolt.  I  am 
sorry  I  did  not  die  two  months  ago,  when 
the  dream  of  a  new  life  was  growing  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Russian  people,  when  I  was 
sure  the  country  could  govern  itself  without 
the  whip. 

As  affairs  are  going  now,  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  save  the  country.  Perhaps  the  time 
is  near  when  we  will  have  to  tell  you  that 
we  can  no  longer  give  you  the  amount  of 
bread  you  expect  or  other  supplies  on  which 
you  have  a  right  to  count.  The  process  of 
the   change  from  slavery  to  freedom  Is  not 


going  on  properly.  We  have  tasted  freedom 
and  are  slightly  intoxicated.  What  we  need 
is  sobriety  and  discipline. 

You  could  suffer  and  be  silent  for  ten 
years,  and  obey  the  orders  of  a  hated  Gov- 
ernment. You  could  even  fire  upon  your  own 
people  when  commanded  to  do  so.  Can  you 
now  suffer  no  longer? 

We  hear  it  said  that  we  no  longer  need  the 
front  because  they  are  fraternizing  there.  But 
are  they  fraternizing  on  all  the  fronts?  Are 
they  fraternizing  on  the  French  front?  No, 
comrades,  if  you  are  going  to  fraternize,  then 
fraternize  everywhere.  Are  not  enemy  forces 
being  thrown  over  on  to  the  Anglo-French 
front,  and  is  not  the  Anglo-French  advance 
already  stopped?  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
a  "  Russian  front,"  there  is  only  one  general 
allied  front. 

Tremendous  applause  greeted  this,  and 
Kerensky  continued: 

We  are  marching  toward  peace  and  I  should 
not  be  in  the  ranks  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment if  the  ending  of  the  war  were  not 
the  aim  of  the  whole  Provisional  Government ; 
but  if  we  are  going  to  propose  new  war  aims 
we  must  see  we  are  respected  by  friend  as 
well  as  by  foe.  If  the  tragedy  and  desperate- 
ness  of  the  situation  are  not  realized  by  all 
in  our  State,  if  our  organization  does  not 
work  like  a  machine,  then  all  our  dreams  of 
liberty,  all  our  ideals,  will  be  thrown  back 
for  decades  and  maybe  will  be  drowned  in 
blood. 

Beware !  The  time  has  now  come  when 
every  one  in  the  depth  of  his  conscience  must 
reflect  where  he  is  going  and  where  he  is 
leading  others  who  were  held  in  ignorance  by 
the  old  regime  and  still  regard  every  printed 
word  as  law.  The  fate  of  the  country  is  in 
your  hands,  and  it  is  in  most  extreme  dan- 
ger. History  must  be  able  to  say  of  us, 
"  They  died*  but  they  were  never  slaves." 

Milukoff  Answers  Questions 
To     the     same     delegation     Minister 
Milukoff  answered  various  questions  put 
to  him  as  follows: 

Q.— How  do  the  Allies  regard  our  re- 
nunciation of  annexation  and  contribu- 
tion and  the  right  of  all  nationalities  to 
determine  their  own  fate? 

A. — The  latter  demand  has  been  ac- 
ceded to  by  the  Allies,  while  the  question 
of  annexation  is  so  bound  up  with  the 
question  of  the  right  of  nations  to  de- 
termine their  own  fate  that  nothing 
definite  can  be  said  on  this  subject.  As 
regards  contribution,  the  Allies  hold  that 
the  nation  which  suffered  must  be  re- 
habilitated by  the  power  which  ruined  it. 
Uniting  all  three  Polands  in  one  whole 
is  not  annexation,  nor  is  the  return  of 


484 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


Alsace-Lorraine  to  France.  As  regards 
the  Dardanelles,  we  have  relinquished  all 
claims  to  conquest,  and  the  fate  of  Con- 
stantinople depends  upon  the  views  of 
the  Allies. 

Q. — What  do  the  Allies  think  of  the 
Russian  revolution? 

A. — At  first  they  were  glad,  but  now 
they  are  concerned  about  the  fall  of 
discipline  in  the  army  and  are  beginning 
to  fear  the  desire  for  immediate  peace 
may  gain  the  upper  hand.  I  declare  that 
not  a  single  Russian  party  entertains  the 
idea  of  a  separate  peace. 

Q. — Is  it  true  Japan  is  preparing  to 
bring  an  army  into  Russia? 

A. — No,  because  Japan's  interests  lie 
further  to  the  east  than  in  the  region  of 
Baikal. 

Q. — What  advantage  does  America 
bring  the  Allies? 

A. — Russia  receives  a  loan  on  the  very 
favorable  terms  of  3  per  cent,  and  also 
technical  aid.  America  has  offered  to 
put  the  Siberian  Railway  in  order,  and  is 
supplying  Russia  with  vast  quantities  of 
ammunition. 

American  Workers*  Appeal 

Samuel  Gompers,  President  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  on  May  7 
sent  the  following  appeal  by  cable  to  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  at 
Petrograd: 

Executive  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates,  Petrograd, 
Russia : 

The  gravest  crisis  in  the  world's  history  is 
now  hanging  in  tls-e  balance  and  the  course 
which  Russia  will  pursue  may  have  a  de- 
termining influence  whether  democracy  or 
autocracy  shall  prevail.  That  democracy  and 
freedom  will  finally  prevail  there  can  be  no 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  men  who  know,  but 
the  cost,  the  time  lost,  and  the  sacrifices 
which  would  ensue  from  lack  of  united  ac- 
tion may  be  appalling.  It  is  to  avoid  this 
that  I  address  you. 

In  view  of  the  grave  crisis  through  which 
the  Russian  people  are  passing,  we  assure 
you  that  you  can  rely  absolutely  upon  the 
whole-hearted  support  and  co-operation  of 
the  American  people  in  the  great  war  against 
our  common  enemy,  Kaiserism.  In  the  ful- 
fillment of  that  cause  the  present  American 
Government  has  the  support  of  90  per  cent, 
of  the  American  people,  including  the  work- 
ing classes  of  both  the  cities  and  the  agricul- 
tural sections. 


In  free  America,  as  in  free  Russia,  the 
agitators  for  a  peace  favorable  to  Prussian 
militarism  have  been  allowed  to  express 
their  opinions,  so  that  the  conscious  and  un- 
conscious tools  of  the  Kaiser  appear  more  in- 
fluential than  they  really  are.  You  should 
realize  the  truth  of  the  situation.  There  are 
but  few  in  America  willing  to  allow  Kaiser- 
ism and  its  allies  to  continue  their  rule  over 
those  non-German  peoples  who  wish  to  be 
free  from  their  domination.  Should  we  not 
protest  against  the  pro-Kaiser  Socialist  in- 
terpretation of  the  demand  for  no  annexa- 
tion, namely,  that  all  oppressed  non-German 
peoples  shall  be  compelled  to  remain  under 
the  domination  of  Prussia  and  her  lackeys, 
Austria  and  Turkey?  Should  we  not  rather 
accept  the  better  interpretation  that  there 
must  be  no  forcible  annexations,  but  that 
every  people  must  be  free  to  choose  any  al- 
legiance it  desires,  as  demanded  by  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates? 

Like  yourselves,  we  are  opposed  to  all  pu- 
nitive and'  improper  indemnities.  We  de- 
nounce the  onerous  punitive  indemnities  al- 
ready imposed  by  the  Kaiser  upon  the  people 
of  Serbia,   Belgium,   and  Poland. 

America's  workers  share  the  view  of  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Dele- 
gates that  the  only  way  in  which  the  German 
people  can  bring  the  war  to  an  early  end  is 
by  imitating  the  glorious  example  of  the  Rus- 
sian people,  compelling  the  abdication  of  the 
Hohenzollerns  and  the  Hapsburgs  and  driv- 
ing the  tyrannous  nobility,  bureaucracy,  and 
the  military  caste  from  power. 

Let  the  German  Socialists  attend  to  this,  and 
cease  their  false  pretenses  and  underground 
plotting  to  bring  about  an  abortive  peace  in 
the  interest  of  Kaiserism  and  the  ruling  class. 
Let  them  cease  calling  pretended  "  interna- 
tional "  conferences  at  the  instigation  or 
connivance  of  the  Kaiser.  Let  them  cease 
their  intrigues  to  cajole  the  Russian  and 
American  working  people  to  interpret  your 
demand,  "  no  annexation,  no  indemnities,"  in 
a  way  to  leave  undiminished  the  prestige  and 
the  power  of  the  German  military  caste. 

Now  that  Russian  autocracy  is  overthrown, 
neither  the  American  Government  nor  the 
American  people  apprehend  that  the  wisdom 
and  experience  of  Russia  in  the  coming  Con- 
stitutional Assembly  will  adopt  any  form  of 
government  other  than  the  one  best  suited  to 
your  needs.  We  feel  confident  that  no  mes- 
sage, no  individual  emissary,  and  no  com- 
mission has  been  sent  or  will  be  sent  with 
authority  to  offer  any  advice  whatever  to 
Russia  as  to  the  conduct  of  her  internal  af- 
fairs. Any  commission  that  may  be  sent  will 
help  Russia  in  any  way  that  she  desires  to 
combat  Kaiserism  wherever  it  exists  or  may 
manifest  itself. 

Word  has  reached  us  that  false  reports  of 
an  American  purpose  and  of  American  opin- 
ions contrary  to  the  above  statement  have 
gained  some  circulation  in  Russia.  We  de- 
nounce these  reports  as  the  criminal  work  of 


THE  CRITICAL  SITUATION  IN  RUSSIA 


485 


desperate  pro-Kaiser  propagandists,  circu- 
lated with  the  intent  to  deceive  and  to  arouse 
hostile  feelings  between  the  two  great  democ- 
racies of  the  world.  The  Russian  people 
should  know  that  these  activities  are  only 
additional  manifestations  of  the  "  dark 
forces,"  with  which  Russia  has  been  only 
too  familiar  in  the  unhappy  past. 

The  American  Government,  the  American 
people,  the  American  labor  movement,  are 
whole-heartedly  with  the  Russian  workers, 
the  Russian  masses,  in  the  great  effort  to 
maintain  the  freedom  you  have  already 
achieved,  and  to  solve  the  grave  problems  yet 
before  you.  We  earnestly  appeal  to  you  to 
make  common  cause  with  us  to  abolish  all 
forms  of  autocracy  and  despotism  and  to  es- 
tablish and  maintain  for  generations  yet  un- 
born the  priceless  treasures  of  justice,  free- 
dom,  democracy,   and  humanity. 

AMERICAN  FEDERATION  OP  LABOR, 
SAMUEL  GOMPERS,  President. 

Manifesto  by  Labor  Council 

A  sudden  change  in  the  entire  situa- 
tion occurred  on  May  15,  when  the  Exe- 
cutive Committee  of  the  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates  reversed 
its  former  action,  and  by  a  vote  of  41 
to  19  decided  to  participate  in  the  Gov- 
ernment and  form  a  coalition  with  the 
Provisional  Administration.  It  also  de- 
clared definitely  against  a  separate 
peace.  The  following  manifesto  was 
issued  by  the  council: 

Soldiers  and  comrades  at  the  front,  we 
speak  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  Russian 
revolutionary  democracy.  The  people  did 
not  wish  the  war,  which  was  begun  by  the 
Emperors  and  capitalists  of  all  countries, 
and,  therefore,  after  the  abdication  of  the 
Czar,  the  people  considered  it  urgent  to  end 
the  war  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Do  not  for- 
get, soldiers  and  comrades,  that  the  regi- 
ments of  William  are  destroying  revolution- 
ary Russia.  Do  not  forget  that  the  loss  of 
free  Russia  would  be  a  catastrophe,  not  only 
to  us  but  to  the  working  classes  of  the  entire 
world.  Defend,  therefore,  revolutionary 
Russia  with  all  your  power. 

The  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Delegates  leads  you  toward  peace  in  another 
way.  By  calling  for  a  revolution  of  the  work- 
men and  peasants  of  Germany  and  Austria- 
Hungary  we  will  lead  you  to  peace  after 
having  obtained  from  our  Government  a  re- 
nunciation of  the  policy  of  conquest  and  after 
demanding  a  similar  renunciation  from  the 
allied  powers.  But  do  not  forget,  soldiers 
and  comrades,  that  peace  cannot  be  achieved 
if  you  do  not  check  the  enemy's  pressure  at 
the  front,  if  your  ranks  are  pierced  and  the 
Russian  revolution  lies  like  an  inanimate 
body  at  William's  feet.  Do  not  forget,  you 
in  the   trenches,   that  you  are   defending  the 


liberty  of  the  Russian  revolution  and  your 
brother  workmen  and  peasants. 

Now,  how  are  you  to  accomplish  this  de- 
fense if  you  remain  inactive  in  your  trenches? 
Frequently  only  an  offensive  can  repel  or 
check  a  hostile  offensive,  frequently  those 
who  await  an  attack  perish.  Soldiers  and 
comrades,  having  sworn  to  defend  Russian 
liberty,  do  not  renounce  the  offensive.  Fight 
and  struggle  for  this  liberty,  and  while  fight- 
ing and  struggling  fear  the  enemy's  traps. 
The  fraternizing  which  is  taking  place  at 
present  at  the  front  can  easily  become  a  trap. 
Do  not  forget  that  revolutionary  troops  have 
only  the  right  to  fraternize  with  troops  who 
are  also  revolutionary  and  who  are  also 
ready  to  die  for  peace  and  liberty. 

The  German  Army  is  not  a  revolutionary 
army  if  it  is  still  blindly  following  William 
and  Charles,  Emperors  and  capitalists.  You 
are  fraternizing  openly,  not  with  enemy 
soldiers  but  with  officers  of  the  enemy's  Gen- 
eral Staff,  disguised  as  common  soldiers. 
Peace  will  not  be  obtained  by  separate  treat- 
ies or  by  the  fraternizing  of  isolated  regi- 
ments and  battalions.  This  will  only  lead 
to  the  loss  of  the  Russian  revolution,  the 
safety  of  which  does  not  lie  in  a  separate 
peace  or  armistice. 

Reject,  therefore,  everything  which  weak- 
ens your  military  power,  which  distracts  the 
army  and  lowers  its  morale.  Soldiers,  be 
.worthy  of  the  trust  that  revolutionary  Russia 
puts  in  you. 

Appeal  to  Socialists 

An  appeal  was  also  issued  by  the  coun- 
cil to  the  Socialists  of  Germany  and 
Austria.  Thi^  appeal  concludes  as  fol- 
lows : 

The  democracy  of  the  revolution  of  Russia 
appeals  to  the  Socialists  of  Austria  and  Ger- 
many. You  eanot  allow  your  Governments  to 
be  the  executioners  of  Russian  liberty.  You 
cannot  allow  your  Governments,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  joy  evoked  in  the  Russian 
Army  by  liberty  and  fraternity,  to  hurl  their 
troops  on  to  the  western  front,  in  the  first 
place  in  order  to  crush  France,  and  then  to 
dash  on  Russia  and  finally  crush  you  as  well 
as  the  international  proletariat  in  the  grip 
of  imperialism. 

The  democracy  of  revolutionary  Russia 
appeals  to  the  Socialists  of  neutral  and  bel- 
ligerent countries  not  to  allow  the  triumph  of 
imperialism.  May  the  cause  of  peace  pro- 
claimed by  the  Russian  revolution  be  brought 
to  a  happy  conclusion  by  the  efforts  of  the. 
international  proletariat. 

In  order  to  unite  these  efforts  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  de- 
cided to  take  the  initiative  in  convoking  an 
international  conference  of  all  Socialist 
parties  and  factions  in  all  countries.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  dissensions  which 
rent  socialism  during  the  three  years  of  war, 
no    section    of    the    proletariat    ought    to    re- 


480 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


nounce  participation  in  the  common  struggle 
for  peace  by  the  Russian  revolution. 

We  are  convinced  that  we  shall  see  the 
representatives  of  all  Socialist  groups  at  the 
conference  we  are  convoking.  A  unanimous 
decision  of  the  international  proletariat  will 
be  the  first  victory  of  the  workers  over  the 
international  imperialists.  The  proletariat  of 
all  countries  should  unite. 

The  following  are  passages  from  the 

appeal : 

The  revolutionary  democracy  of  Russia 
does  not  desire  a  separate  peace  which  would 
loose  the  hands  of  the  Austro-German 
alliance.  It  is  well  aware  that  such  a  peace 
would  be  a  betrayal  of  the  cause  of  de- 
mocracy and  of  labor  in  all  countries.  This 
cause  would  by  such  an  action  be  paralyzed 
in  the  face  of  a  triumphant  imperialism.  It 
knows  that  such  a  peace  may  lead  to  the 
ruin  of  other  countries  and  the  triumph  of 
the  ideals  of  Chauvinism  and  revenge  in 
Europe,  which  would  leave  the  Continent  in 
a  state  where  it  would  inevitably  prepare 
in  the  near  future  for  a  fresh  and  sanguin- 
ary  collision. 

The  Russian  revolutionary  democracy  ad- 
dresses itself  in  the  first  place  to  you,  Social- 
ists of  the  allied  countries.  You  must  not 
allow  the  voice  of  the  Russian  Provisional 
Government  to  remain  isolated  from  the 
union  of  the  allied  powers.  You  must  force 
your  Governments  to  proclaim  resolutely  the 
platform  of  peace  without  annexations  or 
indemnities  and  the  right  of  the  people  to 
settle  their  destinies. 

You  will  thus  afford  our  revolutionary 
army,  which  desires  peace  between  the  peo- 
ples, the  assurance  that  its  bloody  sacri- 
fices will  not  be  utilized  in  an  evil  manner. 
You  will  give  it  strength  to  carry  out  with 
all  its  revolutionary  enthusiasm  the  military 
operations  which  fall  to  its  lot.  You  will 
fortify  its  mind  in  the  belief  that  in  defend- 
ing the  liberty  conquered  by  the  revolution 
the  army  also  is  struggling  in  the  interests 
of  an  international  democracy. 

You  will  force  the  Governments  of  enemy 
countries  to  renounce  forever  their  policy  of 
usurpation,  pillage,  and  violence,  and  openly 
to  recognize  their  crimes,  thus  calling  upon 
their  heads  the  just  anger  of  their  peoples. 

Resignation  of  Milukoff 

Paul  N.  Milukoff,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  and  the  most  conspicuous  leader 
of  the  Social  Democrats,  tendered  his 
resignation  and  withdrew  from  the  Gov- 
ernment altogether  on  May  16,  on  ac- 
count of  a  difference  between  himself  and 
the  other  members  of  the  Provisional 
Government  on  the  question  of  the  coali- 
tion. The  Cabinet  was  entirely  reorgan- 
ized, with  M.  .Tereschtenko,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  replacing  Milukoff.     It 


was  decided  to  take  into  the  Cabinet  five 
representatives  of  different  Socialist 
groups,  which,  with  A.  F.  Kerensky,  who 
became  Minister  of  War,  made  a  total  of 
six  of  these  groups  sharing  in  the  Gov- 
ernment. Three  of  the  appointees  were 
Social  Democrats  and  three,  including  M. 
Kerensky,  Socialist  Populists. 

Of  the  former,  M.  Skobeleff,  Vice  Pres- 
ident of  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates,  was  appointed  Min- 
ister of  Labor.  M.  Malantovitch,  an 
Odessa  lawyer,  also  has  been  chosen. 
Two  of  the  Socialist  Populist  Ministers 
were  M.  Tchernoff  and  M.  Pechekonoff. 
Professor  Manuiloff,  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  and  A.  I.  Shingaroff,  Minister 
of  Agriculture,  remain  in  office.  It  was 
also  decided  to  be  desirable  to  include  in 
the  Government  Feodor  Kokoshkine,  Con- 
stitutional Democrat  and  a  professor  at 
the  University  of  Moscow,  and  M.  Tzere- 
telli,  member  of  the  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates.  The  duty 
of  these  men  will  be  to  prepare  for  the 
Constituent  Assembly. 

The  new  Foreign  Secretary  is  thirty- 
three  years  old  and  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  ablest  men  of  Russia.  Originally 
a  member  of  one  of  the  richest  families 
and  a  so-called  "beet  sugar  king,"  he 
came  into  prominence  at  the  outset  of 
the  war  as  a  member  of  Guchkoff's  War 
Industries  Board.  Soon  he  was  put  in 
charge  of  foreign  exchange  and  achieved 
such  success  that  he  was  made  Minister 
of  Finance  by  the  new  Government. 

Ex-Minister  of  Justice  Kerensky,  the 
new  Minister  of  War,  was  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  revolution  the  most  popular 
man  in  Petrograd,  as  he  was  the  link  be- 
tween the  constructive  moderates  then  in 
power  and  the  radical  Socialists,  who 
were  demanding  excessive  reforms.  Ke- 
rensky, who  is  a  social  revolutionary  and 
about  forty  years  old,  realized  that  the 
four  million  Socialists  in  Russia  could 
dominate  a  population  of  180,000,000  peo- 
ple, and  his  great  aim  was  so  to  moder- 
ate the  Socialist  program  as  to  make 
it  immediately  practical  and  acceptable. 
Throughout  he  has  helped  restrain  the 
radical  elements  by  his  great  personal 
influence  as  one  of  them. 


THE   CRITICAL  SITUATION  IN  RUSSIA 


487 


American  Mission  to  Russia 
The  personnel  of  a  special  mission  to 
Russia  was  announced  on  May  15  by  the 
State  Department  at  Washington.  Mr. 
Root,  the  head  of  the  mission,  was  given 
the  rank  of  Ambassador,  while  six  of  his 
associates  were  commissioned  as  Minis- 
ters.   The  members  are  as  follows: 

Elihu  Root,  former  Secretary  of  State,  to 
be  Ambassador  Extraordinary  of  the  United 
States  on  Special  Mission. 

John  R.  Mott,  New  York,  Envoy  Extraordi- 
nary on  Special  Mission. 

Charles  P.  Crane,  Illinois,  Envoy  Extraor- 
dinary. 

Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  Illinois,  Envoy  Ex- 
traordinary. 

Samuel  R.  Bertron,  New  York,  Envoy  Ex- 
traordinary. 

James  Duncan,  Massachusetts,  Envoy  Ex- 
traordinary. 

Charles  Edward  Russell,  New  York,  Envoy 
Extraordinary. 

Major  Gen.  Hugh  L.  Scott,  Chief  of  Staff 
of  the  Army,  to  be  military  representative 
of  the  President. 

Rear  Admiral  James  H.  Glennon,  naval 
representative  of  the  President. 

Colonel  R.  E.  L.  Michie,  Colonel  William 
V.  Judson,  Lieut.  Col.  T.  Bentley  Mott,  Sur- 
geon Holton  C.  Curl,  Lieutenant  Alva  D. 
Bernhard,  Secretary  Basil  Miles,  Major  Stan- 
ley Washburn,  and  Interpreter  F.  Eugene 
Prince. 

It  was  announced  semi-officially  on 
the  same  day  that  the  mission  was  for 
the  express  purpose  of  meeting  sinister 
misrepresentations  by  Germany  in  Rus- 
sia, which  are  calculated  to  provoke  some 
of  the  Russian  factions  into  making  a 
separate  peace  with  Germany  before  the 
American  Commissioners  can  arrive  in 
Petrograd. 

Aid  to  the  new  republic  from  the 
United  States  will  take  other  forms  than 
the  loaning  of  money.  American  ability, 
business  methods,  powers  of  organiza- 
tion, and  facility  all  will  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  new  Government  by  the 
commission. 

The  same  day  the  United  States  Gov- 


ernment gave  evidence  of  its  good  faith 
in  the  new  Government  of  Russia  by 
making  its  first  loan  to  that  country  in 
the  sum  of  $100,000,000.  The  money  was 
made  available  for  purchases  of  sup- 
plies in  this  country  and  was  deposited 
to  Russia's  credit  in  the  Federal  Reserve 
Banks.  By  that  arrangement  Russia  will 
be  enabled  to  draw  against  the  amount 
as  money  is  needed  to  meet  obligations 
here. 

The  President  heJd  a  conference  with 
the  mission  May  14  and  gave  them  broad 
authority  to  confer  with  any  existing 
Government  in  Russia  with  a  view  to  in- 
suring that  Russia  shall  continue  in  the 
Entente  Alliance. 

The    Railroad    Commission 

A  collateral  American  commission  to 
aid  Russia  in  rehabilitating  and  develop- 
ing the  railroads  of  the  country  left  for 
Petrograd  on  May  9.  The  personnel  of 
this  commission  was  as  follows : 

John  F.  Stevens  of  New  York,  former  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Panama  Canal,  Chairman;  W. 
L.  Darling  of  St.  Paul,  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway ;  Henry  Miller  of 
St.  Louis,  former  Operating  Vice  President  of 
the  Wabash  Railroad  ;  George  Gibbs  of  Phila- 
delphia, former  Chief  Mechanical  Engineer  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  J.  P.  Griner 
of  Baltimore,  Chief  Consulting  Engineer  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 

Mr.  Stevens  has  been  appointed  to  the 
rank  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  and  ac- 
credited to  the  Russian  Government  as 
such. 

Before  leaving  Washington  the  com- 
mission made  arrangements  to  furnish 
the  Russian  Government  with  a  large 
amount  of  material  and  rolling  stock,  and 
will  be  able  to  promise  that  these  will  be 
ready  at  the  call  of  Russia.  The  fullest 
and  most  complete  co-operation  in  fur- 
nishing locomotives,  cars,  and  rails  will 
be  guaranteed  by  the  commission  in  the 
name  of  the  United  States  Government, 
which  is  receiving  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  American  railroad  interests. 


Poland's  Share  in  Russian  Freedom 

A  Noteworthy  Proclamation 


THE  Russian  revolution  has  brought, 
not  only  liberation  to  the  Russians 
themselves,  but  to  all  peoples 
formerly  held  in  bondage  under 
the  Czar.  If  the  Poles  are  not  able  to 
participate  in  the  new  freedom  while 
their  country  is  still  occupied  by  the 
Teutonic  invaders,  the  outlook  for  them 
is  far  more  hopeful  than  it  has  been 
since  the  last  partition.  In  contrast  to 
the  "  made  in  Germany  "  plan  for  Polish 
autonomy,  which  was  hemmed  in  by  many 
limitations,  the  new  Russian  Government 
has  come  out  with  a  proclamation  out- 
lining a  democratic  plan  that  is  free  from 
outside  pressure. 

A  couple  of  weeks  after  the  revolution 
had  taken  place  a  deputation  of  Poles, 
consisting  of  Count  Wielopolski  and 
Messrs.  Shebako,  Karpinski,  Garouse- 
vitch,  Jaronski,  and  Goscicki,  was  re- 
ceived by  Prince  Lvoff,  President  of  the 
Russian  Provisional  Government,  and 
asked  him  to  proclaim  the  independence 
and  unification  of  the  three  Polands — 
Russian,  German,  and  Austrian — as  well 
as  the  rights  of  the  Poles  to  be  repre- 
sented in  the  Constituent  Assembly. 
Prince  Lvoff  replied  that  the  standpoint 
of  the  Provisional  Government  was 
exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the  Poles 
themselves,  and  that  the  desired  procla- 
mation was  about  to  be  published.  Almost 
immediately  all  the  members  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  signed  the  procla- 
mation, which  was  issued  in  the  following 
terms: 

Poles,  the  old  political  order  in  Russia,  the 
source  of  your  bondage  and  ours,  and  the 
cause  of  disunion,  has  been  forever  over- 
thrown. 

Liberated  Russia,  personified  in  its  Pro- 
visional Government,  invested  with  the  full- 
ness of  power,  hastens  to  address  to  you  its 
fraternal  greetings  and  to  call  you  to  the 
new  life  of  liberty. 

The  old  order  gave  you  hypocritical  prom- 
ises which  it  could  but  would  not  carry 
out.  The  Central  Powers  have  profited  by 
its  mistakes  to  occupy  and  devastate  your 
country,  and,  w^th  the  object  of  fighting 
against  Russia  and  her  allies,  have  given  you 
illusory  political  rights,  which  are  extended, 


not  to  all  the  Polish  people,  but  only  to  a 
part  of  Poland  temporarily  occupied  by  the 
enemy.  This  is  the  price  for  which  the 
Central  Powers  wanted  to  buy  the  blood  of 
a  people  who  have  never  fought  on  the  side 
of  despotism.  But  now  no  Polish  Army  is 
going  to  fight  for  the  suppression  of  liberty 
and  the  dismemberment  of  its  country  under 
the  command  of  the  hereditary  foe. 

Brother  Poles,  for  you  also  the  hour  of 
the  great  decision  has  struck.  Free  Russia 
calls  you  into  the  ranks  of  the  combatants 
for  the  people's  liberty.  The  Russian  people, 
who  have  borne  the  yoke,  acknowledge  that 
the  fraternal  Polish  people  also  have  the 
fullest  rights  as  defined  of  their  own  free  will. 

Fafthful  to  the  agreement  with  the  Allies 
and  to  the  common  cause  against  militant 
Germanism,  the  Provisional  Government  con- 
siders that  the  creation  of  an  independent 
Polish  State,  the  stronghold  of  all  the  terri- 
tories, the  greater  part  of  whose  populations 
constitute  the  Polish  people,  will  be  a  cer- 
tain guarantee  of  lasting  peace  in  the  reno- 
vated Europe  of  the  future. 

Attached  to  Russia  by  a  free  military  union, 
the  Polish  State  will  be  a  solid  rampart 
against  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  the 
Central  Powers  on  the  Slav  nations.  The 
Polish  people,  freed  and  united,  will  of  itself 
determine  its  system  of  government  by  ex- 
pressing its  will  through  a  Constituent  As- 
sembly convoked  in  the  ancient  capital  of 
Poland.  Through  a  common  life  the  Polish 
people  will  thus  receive  a  solid  guarantee  of 
its  civic  and  national  existence. 

The  Russian  Constituent  Assembly  will 
have  to  consolidate  definitely  the  new  fra- 
ternal union  and  give  its  consent  to  the 
territorial  changes  in  the  Russian  State  which 
are  indispensable  to  the  formation  of  a  free 
Poland  from  all  the  three  parts  into  which  it 
was  cruelly  separated. 

Brother  Poles,  take  the  fraternal  hand 
which  free  Russia  holds  out  to  you.  Faithful 
guardians  of  great  traditions,  move  forward 
from  now  on  to  the  opening  of  the  new  and 
brilliant  era  of  your  history,  the  era  of  the 
resurrection   of  Poland. 

Let  the  union  of  our  hearts  and  minds  an- 
ticipate the  future  union  of  our  States 
and  let  the  glorious  appeal  of  ancient  days 
made  by  the  forerunners  of  your  liberation 
re-echo  with  renewed  force. 

Onward  in  the  struggle,  side  by  side,  hand 
in  hand,  for  our  liberty  and  yours! 

The  Austro-German  proclamation  in 
November,  1916,  of  an  independent  Po- 
land was  received  by  the  people  with 
little  enthusiasm.  The  demonstrations  of 
that  time  were  meagre  as  compared  with 


POLAND'S  SHARE  IN  RUSSIAN  FREEDOM 


489 


the  striking  reception  accorded  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  reference  to  the  freedom 
of  Poland  in  his  address  to  the  Senate  on 
Jan.  19,  1917.  When  the  text  of  the 
President's  address  was  published  in 
Warsaw,  says  a  dispatch  recently  re- 
ceived by  the  State  Department  at  Wash- 
ington, the  students  of  the  University  and 
Technical  High  School  held  a  meeting  at 
which  they  passed  a  resolution  of  grati- 
tude and  admiration  of  President  Wil- 
son's work.  The  students  then  marched 
in  a  body  of  several  thousand  strong  to 
the  American  Consulate,  cheering  for  the 
United  States  and  the  President.  Similar 
demonstrations  were  held  by  the  United 
Sporting  Clubs  of  Warsaw. 

Delegations  from  all  the  political,  so- 
cial, commercial,  scientific,  and  educa- 
tional organizations  and  institutions  of 


Warsaw  called  at  the  consulate  and  pre- 
sented addresses  of  thanks  to  the  Presi- 
dent, with  the  request  that  they  be  sent 
to  Washington.  Thousands  of  people 
representing  all  classes  of  Polish  society 
also  called  to  express  their  gratitude  and 
admiration.  A  special  committee  under- 
took to  prepare  an  address  with  1,000,000 
signatures  for  presentation  to  the  Presi- 
dent, but  the  German  authorities  pre- 
vented the  execution  of  this  plan  by  or- 
dering the  removal  of  all  notices  and  lists 
concerning  the  address,  although  at  that 
time  diplomatic  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  Germany  had  not  yet 
been  broken  off.  The  German  authori- 
ties did  not  conceal  their  annoyance  over 
the  demonstrations,  which  were  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  reception  of  the  Teutonic 
proclamation  in  the  previous  November. 


Russian  Troops    in   France    Take   New    Oath    of   Allegiance 

General  Palitzine,  commanding  the  Russian  troops  in  France,  issued  the 
following  Order  of  the  Day — published  in  the  Journal  Militaire  pour  les  Troupes 
Russes  en  France,  April  12,  1917 — directing  the  soldiers  to  take  a  new  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Russian  Provisional  Government: 

In  accordance  with  a  telegram  from  the  Adjutant  to  the  Chief  of  Staff  at  the 
General  Russian  Headquarters,  received  on  March  18,  1917,  I  order  that  oath 
be  administered  to  soldiers  of  every  rank  now  stationed  in  France,  in  conformity 
with  a  formula  which  has  been  addressed  to  me  by  telegraph : 

"  Soldiers,  you  take  oath  to  your  country;  you  swear  to  serve  it  faithfully 
and  honestly,  and  to  execute  the  orders  of  the  Provisional  Government  which  now 
rules  the  Russian  State.  You  are  sent  here  to  fight  against  the  common  enemy, 
with  the  allied  armies,  to  defend  the  common  cause  with  them. 

"  The  hour  is  approaching  when,  under  the  force  of  our  combined  efforts,  the 
enemy  will  be  broken.  Remember  that  a  good  soldier  is  brave,  obedient,  and 
always  faithful  to  his  cause.  Be  strong  in  your  oath  and  in  your  valor,  in  order 
that  the  land  of  Russia,  which  has  sent  you  here,  may  be  proud  of  you.  Russia 
has  decided  to  prosecute  this  war  to  a  victorious  end,  and  we,  her  sons,  must 
loyally  execute  her  will.     May  Almighty  God  help  us  in  our  task. 

"  This  Order  of  the  Day  will  be  read  to  all  the  soldiers  before  they  take 
the  oath."  ,     GENERAL  PALITZINE. 


Naval  Power  in  the  Present  War 

By  Lieutenant  Charles  C.  Gill 

United  States  Navy 

VI. — Naval    Lessons    of   the   War 

This  article  is  the  sixth  in  a  series  contributed  to  Current  History  Magazine  by  Lieu- 
tenant Gill  of  the  superdreadnought  Oklahoma— under  the  sanction  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Department— with  a  special  view  to  the  lessons  to  be  derived  from  past  naval  events  of 
the  war. 


rT"l  HE  advancement  of  naval  science, 
increasing     the     complexities     of 


1 


ships  and  guns  with  a  consequent 
greater  perplexity  and  intricacy 
of  the  problems  to  be  solved,  both  in  pre- 
paring material  and  in  the  development 
of  skill  to  operate  the  material,  has  em- 
phasized the  need  of  wise  naval  manage- 
ment. The  importance  of  good  plans, 
well  understood  and  well  carried  out,  is  a 
lesson  of  the  war  which  this  country  has 
been  quick  to  grasp  and  act  upon.  The 
nation's  naval  policy  is  the  fountain 
head  of  all  naval  plans,  and  it  may  be 
mentioned  as  a  step  toward  the  adoption 
of  a  wise  policy  that  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Naval  General  Board  on  this 
particular  question  are  now  published  in 
full. 

The  Naval  General  Board  consists  at 
present  of  five  Admirals,  three  Captains, 
and  two  Commanders.  Assignments  to 
this  duty  are  for  about  two  years,  ar- 
ranged in  overlapping  terms  so  as  to  per- 
mit a  changing  personnel  with  a  conse- 
quent influx  of  ideas  from  the  active  fleet 
without  breaking  up  the  continuity  of  the 
work.  The  duties  are  deliberative,  to  draw 
knowledge  from  past  and  current  events, 
to  study  strategy  and  tactics  as  prac- 
ticed now  and  in  the  past,  at  home  and 
abroad;  to  advise  respecting  navy  yards, 
bases,  and  stations;  to  make  recommen- 
dations as  to  the  size,  composition,  and 
disposition  of  fleets;  to  determine  the 
characteristics  of  speed,  armor,  and  ar- 
mament for  new  ships ;  in  short,  to  make 
plans  both  for  naval  preparations  in 
time  of  peace  and  for  employment  of  the 
fleets  in  time  of  war. 

This  board  was  created  in  1903  and  has 
established  a  >  reputation  for  painstaking 
and  disinterested  service.     In   determin- 


ing our  naval  policy  it  would  seem  well 
to  give  the  General  Board's  recommenda- 
tions great  weight  as  expressing  the  best 
technical  opinion  in  our  country.  The 
following  extracts  are  quoted  from  the 
board's  report,  dated  July  30,  1915: 

The  navy  of  the  United  States  should  ulti- 
mately be  equal  to  the  most  powerful  main- 
tained by  any  other  nation  of  the  world. 
It  should  be  gradually  increased  to  this  point 
by  such  a  rate  of  development,  year  by  year, 
as  may  be  permitted  by  the  facilities  of  the 
country,  but  the  limit  above  defined  should 
be  attained  not  later  than  1925. 

Strength  of  American  Navy 
The  present  war  has  taught  that  an 
effective  navy  is  the  logical  defense  for 
a  country  situated  like  the  United  States. 
And  by  an  effective  navy  is  meant,  not 
an  impotent  navy  like  that  of  Spain  in 
1898,  nor  a  semi-effective  navy  like  the 
one  now  protecting  Germany's  immediate 
shores,  but  one  adequate  to  seek  and  de- 
feat enemy  ships  long  before  they  can 
approach  our  coasts,  thus  protecting  out- 
lying possessions  and  the  sea-borne  trade 
so  necessary  to  our  national  life;  in  other 
words,  by  an  effective  navy  is  meant  one 
which  stands  for  worldwide  respect  for 
legitimate  American  interests;  one  which 
is  ready,  if  need  be,  to  defend  these  in- 
terests in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

To  determine  what  should  be  the  com- 
position of  such  a  fleet  is  a  difficult  prob- 
lem, to  understand  the  details  of  which 
requires  expert  technical  knowledge. 
These  technical  details  are  the  province 
of  the  Naval  General  Board.  The  prin- 
ciples, however,  from  which  these  details 
are  deduced  are  not  hard  to  understand, 
and  they  are  of  first  importance  as  the 
foundation  on  which  the  entire  fabric 
of  naval  defense  rests.     As  these  prin- 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


491 


ciples  of  sea  power  become  better  under- 
stood by  the  general  public,  wiser  legis- 
lation to  safeguard  national  interests  will 
follow.  The  recent  three-year  building 
program  is  a  noteworthy  step  in  the  right 
direction. 

Three-Year  Building  Program 

The  following  table  shows  the  vessels 
authorized  in  the  three-year  building  pro- 
gram— those  for  which  the  first  appro- 
priations have  already  been  made,  those 
for  which  estimates  for  the  fiscal  year 
1918  have  been  submitted  to  cover  the 
first  year's  work,  and  those  which  will 
remain  to  be  covered  in  the  Naval  bill  for 
the  fiscal  year  1919: 


Types. 


p  Ef 

"2  Si- 


Battleships     10 

Battle   cruisers 6 

Scout   cruisers 10 

Destroyers 50 

Fleet  submarines 9 

Coast  submarines 58 

Fuel  ships 3 

Repair  ships 1 

Transports   1 

Hospital   ships 1 

Destroyer    tenders....  2 

Submarine  tenders. ...  1 

Ammunition  ships....  2 

Gunboats    2 


£5 


"•O 

4 

4 

4 

20 

30 
1 


IS*  8 
op  3 

<x<  p  *-" 

:  Z7S 

3 


W 

2«2 

2  Is. 


Total    156  66  42  48 

This  program  is  a  step  toward  the 
adoption  of  a  policy  aiming  to  make 
good  the  deficiencies  of  the  past;  but  it 
is  only  a  preliminary  step,  and  if  an 
adequate  navy  is  to  be  provided  this 
program  will  have  to  be  both  pushed  and 
enlarged  to  the  full  extent  of  the  na- 
tion's facilities. 

Best  Types  of  Warships 

A  fairly  definite  idea  of  the  work 
which  has  to  be  done  in  order  to  make 
the  sea  power  of  the  United  States  an 
effective  guarantor  of  national  security 
may  be  arrived  at  through  a  discussion 
of  the  various  types  of  warships,  noting 
briefly  their  characteristics,  their  uses, 
and  the  proportionate  numerical  strength 
of  each  class  required  in  building  up  a 


well-balanced  United  States  Navy.  The 
estimates  which  follow  have  to  be  made 
in  the  light  of  the  best  obtainable  infor- 
mation. They  are  approximate  and  sub- 
ject to  modification  from  time  to  timev^ 
to  meet  new  conditions  resulting  from 
unforeseen  developments.  It  is  always 
to  be  remembered  that  the  struggle  for 
control  of  the  seas  is  an  ever-present 
spur  to  invention  and  progress  in  the 
development  of  the  weapons  used.  Old 
ships  are  constantly  being  replaced  by 
new  models.  Hence  the  relative  value 
of  the  respective  units  may  vary  some- 
what from  year  to  year. 

It  is  like  a  race  for  the  largest  stakes 
that  the  world  has  to  offer.  Control  of 
the  seas  is  the  objective,  and  the  nation 
which  gains  this  control  is  the  one  that 
maintains  a  fleet  powerful  enough  to 
overcome  the  strongest  enemy  fleet  that 
it  may  encounter,  and  able  to  take  and 
keep  the  seas  in  all  weathers.  Although 
the  particular  kinds  of  ships  and  guns 
used  in  answering  the  demands  of  naval 
strength  come  and  go  in  continual  evolu- 
tion, still,  these  broad  general  demands 
of  sea  power  remain  the  same.  It  is 
better,  therefore,  to  study  the  abstract 
requirements  of  sea  power  and  to  note 
the  trend  of  naval  development  in  meet- 
ing these  requirements  than  to  rivet  at- 
tention on  the  particular  types  of  ships 
now  in  use  as  though  they  were  immu- 
table and  incapable  of  being  deposed. 

The  Question  of  Guns 

The  cornerstone  of  naval  power  is  the 
gun;  and  the  measure  of  a  nation's  sea 
power  is  the  strength  of  her  battleship 
fleet.  In  spite  of  the  development  of  the 
mine  and  torpedo  into  important  factors, 
the  high-power  naval  gun  is  still  su- 
preme; so  it  has  been  in  the  past;  so  it 
is  now;  and  so  it  probably  will  continue 
to  be  in  the  future. 

As  has  previously  been  pointed  out  the 
only  effective  naval  defense  is  a  fleet 
strong  enough  to  keep  the  enemy  at  a 
distance.  Germany's  fleet,  although 
strong  enough  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
landing  on  German  shores,  has  not  been 
powerful  enough  to  dispute  the  control 
of  the  high  seas,  and  has,  therefore, 
proved  non-effective.     A  navy  adequate 


492 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


to  defend  must  be  powerful  enough  either 
to  defeat  the  enemy  fleet  on  the  high 
seas  or  to  contain  it  in  enemy  home 
ports.  The  main  reliance  of  such  an 
effective  navy  is  the  long-range  gun. 

There  is  general  agreement  among  ex- 
perts as  to  this  principle,  that  the  gun  is 
the  prime  consideration  in  naval  war- 
fare; but  the  different  types  installed  in 
the  newest  ships  of  the  various  coun- 
tries indicate  somewhat  divergent  views 
as  to  what  is  the  best  design  of  naval 
gun.  It  is  obvious  that  the  heavier  the 
projectile  and  the  harder  it  hits  the  more 
will  be  the  damage  done.  In  a  general 
way  the  principal  considerations  are: 
First,  accuracy;  second,  high  velocity; 
third,  weight  of  projectile;  fourth,  dura- 
bility of  the  gun  to  sustain  continuous 
fire,  and  fifth,  rapidity,  or  volume  of 
fire.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  size  of  the 
projectile  is  limited  by  the  efficiency  of 
the  propelling  power  and  by  the  struc- 
tural capacities  of  the  gun  and  mount. 
In  other  words,  the  heavier  the  shell, 
consistent  with  high  velocity,  long  range, 
and  accuracy,  the  better;  but  if  the 
structural  durability  of  the  gun  is  threat- 
ened, or  if  velocity  and  accuracy  are 
sacrificed  in  order  to  throw  a  heavier 
projectile,  a  point  is  soon  reached  where 
damaging  power  is  lost  instead  of 
gained. 

The  varying  conditions  of  sea  and 
visibility  under  which  naval  actions  may 
be  fought  also  tend  to  modify  the  effect- 
iveness of  the  different  sizes  and  designs 
of  guns  according  to  the  circumstances 
which  may  exist  at  the  time  of  any  par- 
ticular engagement.  The  gun  which 
would  win  a  fight  at  close  range  in  misty 
weather  might  be  defeated  by  the  same 
enemy  gun  on  a  clear  day  at  long  range. 
At  the  shorter  ranges  the  gun  of  mode- 
rate size  might  dominate  a  larger  and 
more  powerful  enemy  gun  by  greater 
rapidity  and  volume  of  fire.  Although 
this  is  a  contingency  to  be  reckoned  with, 
still,  the  present  tendency  is  to  increase 
the  size  of  the  projectile  as  fast  as  im- 
provements in  the  powder  and  gun  struc- 
ture permit;  and  this  tendency  appears 
to  be  one  likely  to  continue  in  the  future. 
We  may  expect,  therefore,  that  the  size 
of  naval  guns  will  increase  step  by  step 


with  scientific  improvements  in  gun  con- 
struction and  powder. 

Requirements  of  Battleships 
Since  the  gun  is  the  prime  considera- 
tion, the  other  characteristics  of  a  battle- 
ship depend  upon  what  design  of  ship  is 
considered  most  serviceable  to  the  pur- 
pose of  the  gun.  Some  idea  of  the  re- 
quirements of  a  battleship  may  be  had 
by  keeping  in  mind  that  it  is  desirable  to 
mount  as  many  guns  in  one  ship  as  is 
consistent  with  having  a  homogeneous 
fleet  possessing  tactical  mobility,  mode- 
rate speed,  long  cruising  radius,  sea- 
worthiness, habitability,  and  protection 
from  the  blows  of  the  enemy  whether 
delivered  from  above  or  below  the  wa- 
ter. It  requires  careful  weighing  of  pro- 
portionate advantages  and  disadvantages 
to  harmonize  these  characteristics  into 
the  combination  which  will  produce  the 
best  possible  type  of  battleship. 

The  advantages  of  ships  of  large  ton- 
nage over  smaller  vessels  are  many; 
more  heavy  guns  can  be  carried,  the 
platform  is  steadier,  the  cruising  radius 
is  larger,  the  habitability  and  seaworthi- 
ness are  better,  and  more  effective  means 
of  protection  can  be  installed.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  a  limit  of  size  beyond 
which  the  advantages  are  outweighed 
by  the  disadvantages ;  the  question  of  ex- 
pense enters,  and  any  very  large  increase 
in  the  size  of  warships  might  be  argued 
against  on  the  grounds  that  it  would  be 
like  putting  "two  many  eggs  in  one 
basket."  Manoeuvring  abilities  are  ad- 
versely affected  by  very  large  displace- 
ments, and  the  depths  of  the  various 
waterways  as  well  as  the  accommodations 
of  canals  and  dry  docks  impose  definite 
limits  to  the  size  of  ships. 

On  the  whole  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  tendency  to  increase  the  tonnage  of 
battleships  will  continue  for  quite  some 
time.  It  would  also  appear  an  improvi- 
dent policy  for  any  country  to  increase 
the  size  of  its  battleships  by  radical 
changes  of  large  increments,  because  this 
would  entail  expense  and  a  bad  effect 
upon  the  homogeneity  of  the  fleet.  These 
objections  might  easily  outweigh  the  ad- 
vantages gained.  It  may  be  assumed, 
therefore,  that  future  increase  in  the  size 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


493 


of  warships  will  be  a  gradual  growth 
with  a  very  likely  decreasing  accelera- 
tion. 

The  influence  of  new  inventions  and 
new  ideas  in  the  development  of  the 
lesser  units  of  the  navy  have  caused  the 
Naval  General  Board  to  modify  its 
original  recommendations  respecting  the 
proportions  of  these  lesser  units,  but 
"the  fundamental  fact  that  the  power  of 
a  navy  is  to  be  measured  by  the  number 
and  efficiency  of  its  heavy  fighting 
units — battleships — has  remained  un- 
changed,"* and  since  1903  the  board 
has  consistently  recommended  a  program 
aiming  at  an  adequate  navy,  with  a 
basic  strength  of  forty-eight  battleships 
by  1919. 

Necessary  Auxiliary  Units 

Battleships  alone,  however,  do  not  con- 
stitute a  complete  and  well-balanced 
navy.  In  order  that  the  heavy  guns  may. 
work  to  their  best  advantage,  the  battle- 
ships carrying  them  call  for  powerful 
fast  scouts  to  break  through  and  get 
information,  and  also  to  drive  back 
enemy  scouts  seeking  information.  De- 
stroyers are  needed  to  attack  and  con- 
fuse the  enemy  ships,  and  at  the  same 
time  guard  their  own  large  ships  from 
similar  attacks.  Submarines  are  neces- 
sary to  help  defend  the  coasts  and  also 
to  operate  as  a  tactical  sub-division  of 
the  fleet.  Mine  layers  are  needed  to 
harass  and  menace  enemy  ships,  while 
mine  sweepers  and  patrols  are  required 
to  search  for  enemy  mines  and  sub- 
marines. In  addition  to  these  combatant 
units,  auxiliaries,  including  transports, 
repair  ships,  hospital  ships,  and  supply 
ships,  are  essential  to  the  life  and  vigor 
of  a  fighting  navy. 

The  floating  instruments  of  sea  power, 
moreover,  must  be  backed  by  suitably 
situated  and  properly  defended  perma- 
nent bases  and  navy  yards  in  which  ships 
may  seek  rest  and  rehabilitation.  Stra- 
tegically situated  island  possessions  are 
also  needed  for  naval  bases,  by  which 
lines  of  communication  may*be  kept  open 
to  such  temporary  advance  bases  as  the 

♦See  report  of  Naval  General  Board  for 
1916  program. 


requirements   of  a   particular   campaign 
may  demand. 

It  is  thus  seen  that,  while  relative 
naval  power  is  primarily  measured  by 
the  strength  of  the  respective  battleship 
fleets  of  the  various  naval  powers,  the 
battleships  should  be  attended  by  the 
necessary  auxiliaries  in  order  to  exert 
their  maximum  effectiveness. 

Battle  Cruisers  as  Scouts 

The  battle  cruiser  is  the  most  power- 
ful type  of  scout,  and  in  addition  to  high 
speed  has  great  offensive  powers,  to- 
gether with  endurance  and  a  moderate 
protection  of  armor.  While  the  chief 
function  of  this  type  is  to  get  informa- 
tion, it  has,  because  of  these  offensive 
and  defensive  characteristics,  additional 
uses.  The  battle  cruiser  may  fight  for 
information  and  break  through  a  hostile 
screen ;  she  may  support  the  lighter  craft 
of  her  own  fleet,  beat  back  enemy  scouts 
and  guard  the  main  body  from  surprise; 
she  may  be  used  to  protect  national  sea 
routes  and  attack  those  of  the  enemy; 
and  in  battle  she  may  operate  as  a  fast 
Wing  and  take  a  position  favorable  for 
using  both  guns  and  torpedoes. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  battle  cruiser 
can  do  all  that*  the  lighter  scout  can  do 
and  more,  but  these  greater  powers 
entail  greater  cost.  The  essential  charac- 
teristic of  a  scout  is  speed  in  conjunction 
with  a  large  cruising  radius.  If  heavy 
guns  and  armor  protection  can  be  added 
without  compromising  the  speed,  so  much 
the  better,  and  all  scouts  would  be  battle 
cruisers  were  it  not  for  the  perplexities 
in  construction  and  great  expense  in- 
volved. 

The  information  service  of  a  fleet  re- 
quires a  large  number  of  scouts,  and  in 
order  to  produce  them  without  undue  cost 
the  light  cruiser  has  been  developed, 
small  in  size  and  lightly  armored,  but 
with  adequate  speed  and  cruising  radius 
for  scout  duty.  The  unarmored  light 
cruiser,  carrying  torpedoes  and  inter- 
mediate guns,  may  be  regarded  as  a  de- 
velopment of  the  destroyer;  it  is  larger, 
more  habitable,  carries  larger  guns,  and 
is  more  useful  as  a  scout.  The  ultimate 
development  of  the  light  cruiser  would 
appear  to  be  a  larger  unarmored  ship 


494 


THE  NEW   YORK   TIMES   CURRENT  HISTORY 


with  great  speed,  carrying  torpedoes  and 
a  few  of  the  most  powerful  naval  guns. 
Such  a  ship  could  outrun  anything  it 
could  not  fight,  and  it  would  take  almost 
an  equal  number  of  battle  cruisers  to 
deny  information  sought  by  a  group  of 
these  big-gun  fast  scouts  making  deter- 
mined efforts  to  break  through  or  to  gu 
around  the  opposing  battle  cruisers.  The 
thin  armor  of  the  battle  cruiser  would 
afford  protection  against  the  small  guns 
of  light  cruisers,  but  would  be  of  no  avail 
against  the  heavy  guns  of  this  new  type 
of  scout. 

Unarmored  Battle  Scouts 

At  present  there  is  talk  of  a  ship  to  be 
developed  by  this  country  which  might 
be  called  the  "  battle  scout,"  its  charac- 
teristics being  extreme  speed  and  maxi- 
mum gun  power  without  armor  protec- 
tion. Those  that  favor  this  type  hold 
that  just  as  the  armored  cruiser  fell  into 
discredit  so  will  the  battle  cruiser  fall 
into  discredit  upon  the  advent  of  the 
"  battle  scout."  The  idea  is  that  the  bat- 
tleship is  for  the  main  strength  of  the 
fighting  line,  having  extreme  gun  power 
and  extreme  endurance  and  armor  pro- 
tection ;  that  the  logical  auxiliary  of  such 
a  battle  fleet  is  a  class  of  ships  having 
extreme  speed  and  extreme  gun  power 
without  armor  protection;  that  any  com- 
promise between  these  two,  such  as  a  bat- 
tle cruiser,  is  unsound  from  the  stand- 
point of  economy — that  is,  getting  best 
results  from  money  expended. 

In  the  present  emergency  the  lack  of 
suitable  scouts  is  particularly  conspic- 
uous. One  of  the  reasons  why  more 
scouts  have  not  been  built  is  that  the  need 
of  battleships  and  destroyers  has  been 
considered  more  urgent.  It  has  always 
been  argued  that  scouts  could  be  pro- 
vided much  more  easily  and  quickly  than 
could  the  more  distinctively  fighting  types 
of  naval  vessels.  The  plan,  however,  to 
requisition  and  buy  fast  mail  and  passen- 
ger steamers  for  use  in  the  information 
service  has  been  somewhat  upset  by  the 
submarine  warfare  of  Germany,  and  the 
present  need  of  scouts  is  keenly  felt. 
That  the  Naval  General  Board  is  alive  to 
this  need  may  be  inferred  from  the  fol- 
lowing excerpts  taken  from  the  recom- 


mendations submitted  for  the  1916  pro- 
gram: 

In  the  struggle  to  build  up  the  purely  dis- 
tinctive fighting  ships  of  the  navy— battle- 
ships, destroyers,  and  submarines— the  cruis- 
ing and  scouting  element  of  the  fleet  has 
been  neglected  in  recent  years,  and  no  cruis- 
ers or  scouts  have  been  provided  for  since 
1904.  This  leaves  the  fleet  peculiarly  lacking 
in  this  element  so  necessary  for  information 
in  a  naval  campaign,  and  of  such  great  value 
in  clearing  the  sea  of  torpedo  and  mining 
craft,  in  opening  and  protecting  routes  of 
trade  for  our  commerce,  and  in  closing  and 
prohibiting  such  routes  to  the  commerce  of 
the  enemy.  The  General  Board  believes  that 
this  branch  of  the  fleet  has  been  too  long 
neglected,  and  recommends  that  the  construc- 
tion of  this  important  and  necessary  type  be 
resumed. 

The  1916  program  did  not  provide  for 
any  scouts,  but  since  then  in  the  three- 
year  program,  beginning  in  1917,  pro- 
vision has  been  made  for  six  battle 
cruisers  and  ten  scout  cruisers. 

Value  of  Destroyers 

The  destroyer,  a  familiar  and  popular 
fighting  ship,  the  usefulness  of  which 
the  experience  of  the  present  war  has 
clearly  demonstrated,  displaces  about 
1,000  tons,  has  no  armor  protection,  car- 
ries torpedoes  and  small-calibre  guns, 
and  possesses  high  speed,  quick  ma- 
noeuvring qualities,  and  sufficient  radius 
to  permit  cruising  with  the  fleet.  De- 
stroyers have  a  wide  range  of  employ- 
ment, including  scouting,  patrolling,  con- 
voying, and  fighting.  They  are  almost 
indispensable  to  the  battleship  fleet. 
While  cruising  both  during  the  day  and 
at  night  the  destroyers  help  screen  the 
capital  ships  and  are  ready  for  any  kind 
of  emergency  duty. 

When  the  time  of  battle  comes  it  would 
be  hard  to  overestimate  the  value  of 
dstroyers  in  making  attack  on  the  enemy 
capital  ships,  in  breaking  up  the  pro- 
jected attacks  of  enemy  destroyers,  in 
delivering  the  deathblow  to  crippled 
enemy  ships,  and  making  smoke  screens 
for  tactical  purposes,  either  to  confuse 
the  enemy  or  to  envelop  and  protect 
any  of  their  own  ships  which  may  happen 
to  be  hard  pressed. 

An  excerpt  from  the  report  of  the 
Naval  General  Board  dated  Nov.  17, 1914, 
reads  as  follows:     "After  mature  con- 


NAVAL  POWER  IN  THE  PRESENT  WAR 


495 


sideration  of  all  the  elements  involved 
the  General  Board  concluded  that  a  well- 
balanced  fighting  fleet  for  all  purposes 
of  offense  or  defense  calls  for  a  relative 
proportion  of  four  destroyers  to  one  bat- 
tleship." 

Submarines  of  Limited  Value 

The  outstanding  characteristic  of  the 
submarine,  as  the  name  indicates,  is  its 
ability  to  navigate  below  the  surface  of 
the  water.  This  enables  it  to  evade  the 
enemy,  to  make  a  surprise  attack,  and  to 
escape  by  hiding.  These  faculties  are 
manifestly  suitable  for  the  weaker  bellig- 
erent to  use  against- the  stronger  enemy. 
Navies  that  dominate,  that  have  power 
to  seek  and  destroy  in  the  open,  are  not 
dependent  upon  abilities  to  evade  and 
to  hide. 

In  making  a  brief  survey  of  the  naval 
activities  of  the  war,  it  is  seen  that  the 
submarine  has  been  of  no  great  value 
to  the  superior  navies  controlling  the 
seas,  but  has  been  practically  the  only 
effective  naval  weapon  of  the  inferior 
fleets.  When  used  against  the  enemy 
battle  squadrons  it  has  influenced  strat- 
egy and  tactics  and  scored  a  few  minor 
successes  in  sinking  some  of  the  older 
men-of-war,  but  generally  speaking  has 
produced  no  very  important  results. 
When  used  against  merchant  ships  the 
submarine  has  been  unable  to  attain 
effectiveness  while  complying  with  the 
rules  and  usages  of  international  law,  but 
by  resorting  to  unscrupulous  methods  it 
has  become  a  dangerous  commerce 
destroyer. 

The  war  has  shown  that  the  chief 
tactical  value  of  the  submarine  is  for 
defense,  to  hold  the  enemy  at  a  distance. 
The  fleet  submarine  has  also  demon- 
strated an  offensive  value  which  may  be 
useful  in  attaining  a  tactical  advantage. 
It  may  be  inferred,  therefore,  that  the 
United  States  needs  submarines  both  to 
help  defend  her  coasts  and  to  operate  as 
a  tactical  subdivision  of  the  fleet. 

The  General  Board  recommends  that, 
in  addition  to  the  submarines  for  guard- 
ing our  coasts,  a  division  of  larger  fleet 
submarines  be  built  as  the  beginning  of 
a  powerful  underwater  contingent  cap- 
able of  cruising  with  a  fleet  in  distant 
operations. 


The  United  States  Navy  is  also  de- 
ficient in  the  types  of  auxiliaries  less  dis- 
tinctively combative,  but  still  necessary  to 
the  maintenance  of  a  fighting  navy. 
These  include  colliers,  oil-fuel  ships,  re- 
pair ships,  mother  ships  for  submarines 
and  aircraft,  transports,  and  hospital 
ships.  The  characteristics  and  uses  of 
these  vessels  are  obvious,  and  the  respec- 
tive number  needed  may  be  determined 
by  logistical  calculations.  Lesser  naval 
units,  including  mine  layers,  mine  sweep- 
ers, patrol  ships,  and  submarine  chasers, 
also  have  work  to  do  in  modern  warfare 
and  must  be  provided  for  in  adequate 
numbers. 

American  Navy's  Present  Role 

In  the  present  war,  since  the  combined 
allied  fleets  are  overwhelmingly  superior 
to  the  battle  fleets  of  our  enemies,  the 
immediate  mission  of  the  American  Navy 
is  to  combat  the  submarine  menace.  In 
giving  priority  to  building  the  lesser 
units  employed  in  this  phase  of  naval 
warfare,  and  in  urging  the  shipyards  to 
greater  effort  in  building  traders  to  re- 
place the  merchant  tonnage  sunk  by  mine 
and  torpedo,  there  is  grave  danger  that 
the  people  may  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
the  battleship  fleet  still  remains  the  chief 
guarantor  of  national  security.  Battle- 
ships cannot  be  improvised ;  it  takes 
years  to  construct  them;  hence,  prudence 
demands  that  our  capital  ships  receive 
continual  attention  in  order  that  national 
security  in  future  years  may  not  be 
jeopardized. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States  Navy  a  building  program 
covering  a  period  of  years  has  been 
adopted;  though  it  falls  short  of  the 
recommendations  of  the  General  Board, 
it  indicates  an  awakening  to  our  naval 
shortcomings  and  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  correct  them.  The  fleet  we 
already  have,  though  behind  the  British 
and  German  Navies  in  size,  still  affords 
cause  for  gratification  as  to  quality.  It 
may  be  fairly  claimed  in  no  boastful 
temper  that  our  individual  first-line  ships, 
in  construction,  in  guns,  in  ammunition, 
and  in  gunnery,  acknowledge  no  superior. 
This  is  encouraging,  but  not  satisfying. 
So  much  remains  to  be  done  that  more 
cannot  be  said  than  that  a  fair  start  has 
been  made. 


Dramatic  Naval  Fight  Off  Dover 


Night  of  April  20,  1917 

A  FLOTILLA  of  six  German  de- 
stroyers, under  Captain  Gautier, 
crept  out  from  the  German  naval 
base  at  Zeebrugge,  Belgium, 
early  in  the  evening  of  April  20,  1917, 
and  crossed  the  English  Channel,  with  the 
object  of  attacking  Dover.  After  firing 
650  shots  at  the  Dover  fortifications — 
said  by  the  British  report  to  have  landed 
harmlessly  in  a  plowed  field — they 
cruised  about  with  the  object  of  encoun- 
tering enemy  merchantmen,  or  possibly 
of  intercepting  Premier  Lloyd  George, 
who  was  expected  to  cross  the  Channel 
that  night. 

The  night  was  intensely  dark  but  calm. 
Suddenly  the  raiders  sighted  two  British 
destroyers  on  patrol  duty,  and  instantly 
fired  upon  them  at  a  range  of  600  yards. 
The  British  responded  by  closing  in  swift- 
ly upon  them  and  trying  to  ram  the  lead- 
ing German  destroyer.  In  the  eventful 
five  minutes  that  followed  there  was  a 
boarding  encounter  with  cutlasses  and 
bayonets,  recalling  the  days  of  wooden 
warships,  and  it  ended  with  the  sinking 
of  two  of  Germany's  newest  and  largest 
destroyers,  the  G-85  and  G-42,  and  the 
damaging  of  two  others,  as  the  raiders 
disappeared  at  full  speed  in  the  darkness. 

"  Our  vessels,"  said  the  British  Admi- 
ralty report  the  next  morning,  "  suffered 
no  material  damage,  and  our  casualties 
were  exceedingly  slight  in  comparison 
with  the  result  obtained.  Our  patrol  ves- 
sels were  handled  with  remarkable  gal- 
lantry and  dash,  and  the  tactics  pursued 
were  a  very  fine  example  of  destroyer 
work.  We  were  fortunate  in  being  able 
to  save  the  lives  of  ten  German  officers 
and  108  men  from  the  vessels  sunk." 

The  day  after  the  battle  twenty-eight 
German  bodies  were  washed  ashore  at 
Dover,  and  these,  with  twenty-two  Brit- 
ish dead,  were  buried  there  with  full  mili- 
tary honors.  The  German  dead  each  bore 
a  floral  wreath  from  the  Vice  Admiral 
at  Dover,  inscribed  "  To  a  Brave  and 
Gallant  Enemy." 

The   story   of   this   engagement,   com- 


piled by  ;he  British  Admiralty  from 
accounts  of  officers  and  men  who  par- 
ticipated, is  one  of  the  most  stirring  in 
the  naval  annals  of  the  war.  The  British 
destroyers  Swift  and  Broke,  on  patrol 
duty,  were  steaming  on  a  westerly  course 
in  the  darkness  when  they  sighted  the 
Germans,  who  instantly  opened  fire.  The 
Swift  replied  and  tried  to  ram  the  lead- 
ing enemy  destroyer.  She  missed  ram- 
ming, but  shot  through  the  German  line 
unscathed,  and,  in  turning,  neatly  tor- 
pedoed another  boat  in  the  enemy  line. 
Again  the  Swift  dashed  at  the  leader, 
which  again  eluded  her  and  fled,  with 
the  Swift  in  pursuit. 

In  the  meantime  the  Broke  had 
launched  a  torpedo  at  the  second  boat 
in  the  line,  which  hit  the  mark,  and 
then  opened  fire  with  every  possibfe  gun. 
The  remaining  German  boats  were  stok- 
ing furiously  for  full  speed. 

The  Broke's  commander  swung  around 
to  port  and  rammed  the  third  boat  fair 
and  square  abreast  the  after  funnel. 
Locked  together  thus,  the  two  boats 
fought  a  desperate  hand-to-hand  conflict. 
The  Broke  swept  the  enemy's  decks  at 
pointblank  range  with  every  gun,  from 
main  armament  to  pompom,  maxim,  rifle, 
and  pistol. 

Two  other  German  destroyers  attacked 
and  poured  a  devastating  fire  on  the 
Broke,  whose  foremost  gun  crews  were 
reduced  from  eighteen  to  six  men.  Mid- 
shipman Donald  Gyles,  although  wounded 
in  the  eye,  kept  all  the  foremost 
guns  in  action,  he  himself  assisting  the 
depleted  crews  to  load.  While  he  was 
thus  employed,  a  number  of  frenzied 
Germans  swarmed  up  over  the  Broke's 
forecastle  out  of  the  rammed  destroyer 
and,  finding  themselves  amid  the  blind- 
ing flashes  of  the  forecastle  guns,  swept 
aft  in  a  shouting  mob. 

The  midshipman,  amid  the  dead  and 
wounded  of  his  own  gun  crews,  and  half 
blinded  himself  by  blood,  met  the  onset 
single-handed  with  an  automatic  re- 
volver. He  was  grappled  by  a  German, 
who  tried   to   wrest  the  revolver  away. 


DRAMATIC  NAVAL  FIGHT  OFF  DOVER 


497 


Cutlasses  and  bayonets  being  among  the 
British  equipment  in  anticipation  of  such 
an  event,  the  German  was  promptly  bay- 
onetted  by  Seaman  Ingleson.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  invaders,  except  two  who 
feigned  death,  were  driven  over  the  side, 
the  two  being  taken  prisoner. 

Meanwhile,  the  Swift  continued  her 
pursuit,  but  slight  injuries  which  she  re- 
ceived earlier  in  the  action  prevented  her 
from  maintaining  full  speed,  so  she  aban- 
doned the  chase  and  sought  fresh  quarry. 
Sighting  the  outline  of  a  stationary  de- 
stroyer, from  which  shouts  were  heard, 
the  Swift  approached  warily,  with  her 
guns  trained,  to  find  that  it  was  the  de- 
stroyer which  had  already  been  rammed 
by  the  Broke.  The  Germans  were  bellow- 
ing:   "  We  surrender." 

Fearing  treachery,  the  Swift  waited, 
and  presently  the  destroyer  keeled  over 
and  sank  stern  first,  the  crew  jumping 
into  the  water. 

As  no  other  enemy  was  visible,  and  the 
action,  which  had  lasted  approximately 
five  minutes,  appeared  to  be  over,  the 
Swift  switched  on  her  searchlights  and 
lowered  boats  to  rescue  the  swimmers. 
Those  who  remained  of  the  crews  of  the 
Swift  and  the  Broke,  after  exchanging  de- 
tails of  the  action,  cheered  each  other  un- 
til they  were  hoarse. 

The  British  casualties  are  set  down  as 
comparatively  slight,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  wounded  is  illustrated  by  the  conduct 
of  the  Broke's  helmsman,  Seaman  Will- 
iam Rowles,  who,  though  hit  four  times 
by  shell  fragments,  remained  at  the 
wheel  throughout  the  action,  and  finally 
only  betrayed  the  fact  that  he  was 
wounded  by  reporting  to  his  Captain,  "  I 
am  going  off  now,  Sir,"  and  fainted. 

Two  minutes  after  ramming,  the 
Broke  wrenched  herself  free  from  her 
sinking  adversary  and  turned  to  ram 
the  last  of  the  three  remaining  German 
boats.  She  failed  in  this  object,  but  in 
swinging  around  succeeded  in  hitting  the 
boat's  consort  on  the  stem  with  a  tor- 
pedo. Hotly  engaged  with  these  twc 
fleeing  destroyers,  the  Broke  attempted 


to  follow  the. Swift  in  the  direction  she 
was  last  seen,  but  a  shell  struck  the 
Broke's  boiler  room,  disabling  her  main 
engines. 

The  enemy  then  disappeared  in  the 
darkness.  The  Broke,  altering  her 
course,  headed  in  the  direction  of  a  de- 
stroyer, which  a  few  minutes  later  was 
seen  to  be  heavily  afire,  and  whose  crew, 
on  sighting  the  British  destroyer,  sent 
up  shouts  for  mercy.  The  Broke  steered 
slowly  toward  the  German,  regardless  of 
the  danger  from  a  possible  explosion  of 
the  magazines,  and  the  German  seamen 
redoubled  their  shouts  of  "  Save !  Save !  " 
and  then  unexpectedly  opened  fire. 

The  Broke,  being  out  of  control,  was 
unable  to  manoeuvre  or  extricate  herself, 
but  silenced  the  treachery  with  four 
rounds;  then,  to  insure  her  own  safety, 
torpedoed  the  German  amidships. 

A  number  of  the  wounded  only  present- 
ed themselves  in  the  sick  bay  the  fol- 
lowing day,  one  stoker  giving  the  sur- 
geon the  ingenious  excuse:  "I  was  too 
busy,  Sir,  clearing  up  the  rubbish  on  the 
stokers'  mess  deck." 

Captain  Evans,  commander  of  the  de- 
stroyer Broke,  is  the  well-known  ant- 
arctic explorer  and  was  the  last  man  to 
see  Scott  when  they  parted  145  miles 
from  the  south  pole. 

The  German  Government  reported  the 
sinking  of  a  British  destroyer  in  this 
fight,  asserting  that  it  was  hit  by  a  tor- 
pedo amidships  and  was  seen  to  sink 
stern  foremost  within  five  minutes.  It 
also  stated  that  a  heavy  explosion  was 
heard  in  another  British  destroyer,  while 
a  third  was  seen  to  have  a  large  hole  in 
the  side.  The  British  Admiralty  twice 
issued  formal  denials,  asserting  flatly, 
"  There  was  no  loss  on  our  side." 

Dunkirk,  on  the  French  side  of  the 
Channel,  was  the  scene  of  a  similar  Ger- 
man destroyer  raid  on  the  night  of  April 
24-25.  The  coast  batteries  replied  to  the 
gunfire,  and  British  and  French  patrol 
ships  engaged  the  enemy,  who  retreated 
in  the  direction  of  Ostend.  One  French 
torpedo  boat  was  sunk  in  the  brief  action. 


The  Death  Agony  of  a  Submarine 

Story  of  a  Survivor 


THE  Monge,  a  French  submarine,  was 
rammed  by  an  Austrian  warship  and 
sunk  in  the  Adriatic  on  Dec.  29, 1915, 
and  as  its  crew  was  taken  prisoner  the 
details  of  its  destruction  remained  un- 
known for  more  than  a  year.  Then  the 
following  vivid  letter  from  one  of  the 
imprisoned  members  of  the  crew  found 
its  way  into  print.  After  describing  the 
impact  of  the  surface  ship,  the  writer 
continues: 

"  The  water  enters  in  torrents.  The 
safety  hatch  is  closed,  but  the  Monge 
descends  very  swiftly;  it  reaches  a  depth 
of  200  feet,  and  the  plates  crack  under 
the  pressure  of  the  water.  We  give  our- 
selves up  as  forever  lost.  Our  vessel  is 
being  crushed;  we  feel  it  flattening  in 
upon  us.  No  one  says  a  word,  but  every- 
body works.  Orders  are  executed  as  in 
ordinary  times;  no  panic,  not  a  cry. 

"  We  are  facing  the  most  certain  and 
perhaps  the  most  hideous  death,  yet  our 
commander  is  superb  in  his  coolness,  and 
he  has  a  crew  that  is  worthy  of  him. 
The  steel  braces  supporting  the  hull — 
bars  as  thick  as  my  fist — are  twisted 
like  so  many  wires.  The  accumulators 
fall  down  on  each  other;  the  electric 
current  is  intensified,  the  fuses  burn  out, 
the  acid  decomposes — it  is  the  second 
phase;  after  the  crushing  comes  asphyx- 
iation. 

"  *  Courage!  Courage!  We  are  rising! ' 
That  is  the  cry  of  the  second  torpedo 
master,  for  to  him  belongs  the  most  deli- 
cate and  certain  of  all  our  remedies.  In 
fact,  we  feel  that  we  are  rising,  and  in  a 
minute  or  two  we  have  gone  from  a  depth 
of  200  feet  to  the  surface.     We  are  saved! 


"Alas!  A  third  ordeal.  The  Austrians 
have  seen  us  and  begin  shelling  us  at 
short  range.  A  single  shell  pierces  our 
hull.  The  commandant  orders  for  the 
third  time:  *  To  your  posts  for  the  dive! ' 
This  time  all  is  indeed  ended;  the  motors 
no  longer  act,  none  of  the  machinery 
runs,  and  the  water  keeps  pouring  in. 
Everybody  goes  to  his  post  without  a 
murmur,  and  yet  we  all  know  that  this 
time  death  awaits  us — and  what  a  death! 
The  commandant  changes  his  mind.  Our 
vessel  is  lost;  why  sacrifice  the  crew? 
He  lets  his  arms  drop,  and  two  big  tears 
roll  down  his  cheeks,  tears  of  pride  and 
of  impotence. 

In  a  calm  voice,  however,  he  tells  us 
to  save  ourselves.  The  impossible  had 
been  attempted;  we  could  give  up  with 
a  light  heart. 

"  Before  rising  to  the  surface  the  com- 
mandant   asks    us    to    cry    three    times, 

*  Vive  la  France ! '  and  to  sing  the  '  Mar- 
seillaise.' Such  were  the  last  words  and 
orders  of  the  man  who  was  and  remained 
the  commandant  of  the  Monge,  for  he 
chose  not  to  leave  his  beloved  boat.  As 
soon  as  we  reached  the  deck  we  complied 
with  his  request  and  thrice  shouted  '  Vive 
la  France ! '  and  sang  the  refrain  of  the 

*  Marseillaise.'  When  the  water  rose  to 
our  waists  we  had  only  time  to  throw 
ourselves  into  the  sea.  The  Monge  sank 
on  Dec.  29,  1915,  at  2:30  in  the  morning. 
There  were  three  deaths — the  command- 
ant and  two  mechanician  quartermas- 
ters." 

The  French  Government  has  honored 
the  memory  of  Lieutenant  Morillot,  com- 
mandant of  the  Monge,  by  giving  his 
name  to  a  ship  captured  from  the  enemy. 


Military  Operations  of  the  War 

By  Major  Edwin  W.  Dayton 

Inspector  General,  National  Guard,  State  of  New  York;  Secretary,  New 
York  Army  and  Navy  Club 

Major  Dayton  has  long  had  the  official  recognition  of  the  United  States  War  Depart- 
ment as  an  authority  on  strategy  and  tactics.  The  article  here  presented  is  the  fourth  in 
a  series  which  he  is  writing  for  Current  Histort  Magazine,  covering  in  a  rapid  and  authorita- 
tive narrative  all  the  military  events  of  importance  since  the  beginning  of  the  great  European 
conflict. 

IV. — The  Tragic  Story  of  the  Dardanelles 


A  S  the  year  1915  opened,  the  long 
/\  intrenched  western  front  pre- 
JL  JL  sented  the  condition  which  it  soon 
became  the  fashion  to  describe  as 
a  "stalemate."  Indeed,  on  this  front 
the  contest  did  resemble  a  chessboard 
contest  in  which  master  players  had 
fought  each  other  to  a  standstill.  The 
Germans  held  practically  all  of  Belgium 
and  a  very  valuable  slice  of  Northern 
France,  but,  although  their  defense  of 
the  invaded  territories  seemed  well-nigh 
impregnable,  it  was  evident  that  they 
could  not  hope  to  renew  the  effort  of 
the  past  Summer  to  reach  either  Paris 
or  the  Channel  ports. 

On  the  other  hand,  England's  small 
professional  army  had  been  almost 
annihilated  in  the  hard  battles  in  North- 
ern France,  and  Lord  Kitchener's  opti- 
mistic prediction  that  huge  new  armies 
would  be  ready  for  service  by  May,  1915, 
suggested  that  a  great  allied  offensive 
would  not  be  possible  before  that  time. 
France  held  by  far  the  larger  part  of 
the  long  battle  line,  and  Joffre  was  busy 
eliminating  the  unfit  from  high  com- 
mands and  installing  in  their  places  sol- 
diers whose  virtues  had  been  discovered 
under  fire.  Both  France  and  England 
began  to  realize  what  was  needful  in 
artillery  and  munitions,  and  in  addition 
to  enormous  orders  placed  in  America 
the  home  production  of  shells  and  guns 
was  multiplied  many  times  over. 

In  the  comparative  pause  which  dis- 
tinguished the  early  part  of  the  year  the 
whole  administrative  system  tried  to  tone 
itself  up  to  the  strenuous  requirements 
of  the  time — much  confusion  had  been 
caused  by  accepting  for  service  on  the 


firing  line  skilled  mechanics  whose  serv- 
ices were  more  needed  in  the  munition 
works.  While  these  errors  were  being 
corrected  both  London  and  Paris  began 
to  smoke  out  the  host  of  slackers  who 
had  found  safe  berths  at  home.  On  the 
eastern  front  all  the  world  felt  that, 
aside  from  the  crushing  defeat  at  Tan- 
nenberg,  the  Russians  had  done  remark- 
ably well.  Their  problem  would  never 
be  a  lack  of  men,  but  the  scarcity  of 
munitions  was  serious.  The  northern 
seaport  at  Archangel  was  sealed  by  the 
arctic  ice,  and  the  Japanese  shipments 
had  a  long  journey  across  Asia  by  the 
Trans-Siberian  Railway. 

Situation  of  Central  Powers 
Germany  had  failed  to  make  the  war 
a  short  one  by  overwhelming  and  elimi- 
nating either  of  her  opponents  in  the  first 
rush  of  the  fighting.  The  prodigal  use 
of  artillery  necessitated  economy  for  the 
Winter  months  while  new  supplies  were 
manufactured.  Much,  too,  was  needful 
to  help  Austria  to  build  up  a  more  ef- 
ficient fighting  force.  The  armies  of 
the  Dual  Monarchy  had  crumbled  utterly 
in  Poland,  Galicia,  and  Serbia.  It  seemed 
at  that  time  as  though  Austria  might 
even  prove  an  easy  road  for  an  allied 
army  aiming  at  the  heart  of  Germany 
from  the  south.  Serbia's  triumph  on  the 
ridges  had  fired  Italy  with  an  ambition 
to  win  Trent  in  the  Alps  and  Trieste  on 
the  Adriatic. 

The  astonishing  failure  of  the  Aus- 
trian armies  in  the  first  six  months  of 
the  war  not  only  embarrassed  the  Ger- 
man General  Staff  by  compelling  the 
dispatch  of  reinforcements  to  the  south- 


500 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


east,  but  added  materially  to  political 
difficulties.  Italy,  benevolently  neutral 
and  remembering  the  ties  of  the  late 
alliance,  could  be  a  great  help  in  reach- 
ing the  markets  of  the  outside  world — 
Italy  joined  to  the  Allies  would  be  a 
new  and  serious  danger  along  the  weak 
Austrian  frontier.  Rumania,  too,  was 
likely  to  be  dangerously  influenced  by 
the  apparent  impotence  of  Austrian 
arms. 

It  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  the 
real  historians  who  write  of  this  war  a 
generation  hence  may  see  that  the  best 
time  for  the  war  to  have  ended  was  in 
the  beginning  of  1915.  The  combatants 
as  yet  included  only  the  original  groups. 
The  savage  fighting  and  enormous  de- 
struction of  property,  while  already 
serious,  had  nowhere  reached  the  deadly 
development  of  the  later  periods.  It 
then  began  to  be  evident  that  the  war 
could  not  be  a  short  one,  and  that  its 
cost  in  blood  and  treasure  would  im- 
pose heavy  burdens  on  mankind  for 
many  generations.  Really  determined 
action  on  the  part  of  the  leading  powers 
not  then  involved  in  the  war  might  pos- 
sibly have  halted  the  carnage.  It  was 
nearly  two  years  later  when  Germany 
suggested  peace,  and  the  suggestion  fell 
on  ears  deafened  by  what  happened  in 
1915  and  1916. 

What  had  been  done  in  1914  could 
never  be  forgotten,  nor  perhaps  forgiven, 
but  this  period  was  one  in  which  the  dark 
future  began  to  be  correctly  estimated. 
England  still  shuddered  at  the  prospect 
of  compulsory  service,  and  the  best  blood 
of  France  was  being  drained.  Germany 
must  have  been  aware  that  succeeding 
years  would  be  certain  to  roll  up  a  great 
preponderance  of  man  power  on  the  allied 
side.  Possibly  it  was  the  Prussian  sys- 
tem which  closed  the  mouths  of  those 
who  might  wisely  have  proposed  to  end 
the  war  then  on  the  best  terms  possible. 

British  in  Mesopotamia 

England  had  declared  war  on  Turkey 
in  November,  and  on  the  7th  of  that 
month  a  brigade  of  regular  infantry 
from  India  (mostly  native  troops)  cap- 
tured a  Turkish  fort  at  Fao,  a  little 
town  at  the  head  of  the  Persian.  Gulf. 


The  British  troops  sailed  on  up  the 
Schatt-el-Arab,  which  receives  above 
Basra  the  combined  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates and  the  Tigris.  An  intrenched 
camp  was  established  at  Sanijeh,  and 
here  presently  two  more  brigades  arrived 
from  India.  After  winning  a  battle  at 
Sahil  the  combined  military  and  naval 
forces  advanced  upon  the  important  city 
of  Basra,  which  was  easily  captured  on 
Nov.  23.  Early  in  December  the  forti- 
fied town  of  Kurna,  fifty  miles  above 
Basra,  was  captured,  and  since  then  the 
British  have  remained  in  undisputed  con- 
trol of  the  whole  delta.  Bagdad,  Tur- 
key's main  military  station  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, is  more  than  300  miles  to  the 
north  on  the  Tigris.  This  short  and  suc- 
cessful campaign  gave  Britain  control 
of  the  region  from  which  a  Turkish  force 
under  German  direction  might  have 
threatened  India. 

Defeat  of  Enver  Pasha 
In  January,  1915,  both  Turkey  and 
Russia  had  armies  in  Northern  Persia, 
where  on  the  30th  of  the  month,  after 
a  severe  defeat,  the  Turks  lost  Tabriz, 
which  they  had  occupied  some  time  be- 
fore. Several  small  Russian  columns  in- 
vaded Kurdistan,  but  were  held  close  to 
the  frontier  by  the  vigorous  resistance 
of  Turkish  regulars  moved  up  from  the 
interior. 

Meanwhile  a  Russian  army  numbering 
about  100,000  under  General  Woronzov 
began  an  advance  toward  Erzerum,  the 
strongly  fortified  Turkish  base  in  Ar- 
menia. Enver  Pasha,  with  a  Turkish 
army  considerably  stronger,  defeated  the 
Russians  between  Kaprikeui  and  Khora- 
san  just  before  Christmas.  Enver 
attempted  an  elaborate  enveloping 
manoeuvre,  which  involved  well-nigh 
impossible  marches  by  separate  corps 
through  high  mountain  passes  choked 
with  snow  and  impassable  for  either  ar- 
tillery or  supply  trains.  One  after  the 
other  the  separated  Turkish  corps  were 
defeated,  although  they  all  fought  well, 
and  by  the  middle  of  January  the  re- 
mains of  Enver's  army  were  in  full  re- 
treat upon  Erzerum,  having  lost  prob- 
ably one-third  of  their  strength. 

This   dlisaster  denied  to   Austria   the 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


help  that  a  successful  Turkish  diversion 
against  Southeastern  Russia  would  have 
provided.  A  successful  Turkish  cam- 
paign would  certainly  have  diverted  some 
of  the  Russian  forces  which  were  then 
threatening  to  pierce  the  Carpathians 
and  invade  the  Plains  of  Hungary. 

Egypt  and  the  Suez  Canal 
On  Dec.  17,  1915,  England  proclaimed 
Egypt  to  be  a  British  protectorate,  and 
a    strong    British    force    was    organized 
under  Major  Gen.  Sir  John  Maxwell  to 
meet  the  attack  which  it  was  expected 
would   be   made    upon   the    Suez    Canal. 
Late  in  November  there  was  a  skirmish 
on  the  east  side  of  the  canal,  at  Katiyeh, 
between  Bedouins  and  the  British  Camel 
Corps,  and  late. in  January  skirmishing 
was  renewed  with  small  Turkish  detach- 
ments which  had  crossed  the  130  miles 
of  desert  east  of  the  canal.    In  the  first 
week   of   February   a   Turkish   force   of 
somewhat  under  a  division  attempted  to 
cross    the    canal.      The    British    troops 
were  greatly  helped  by  the  gunfire  of  a 
number  of  British  and  French  warships 
in   the    Canal,    and   by   the    end    of   the 
week    the    Turks    were    in   full    retreat 
across  the  desert.     The  lack   of  water 
had   made   it   impossible   for  the   Turks 
to  move  over  the  desert  an  army  strong 
enough   to   cross   the   canal   and   invade 
Egypt,  and  the  difficulty  of  the  terrain 
kept  the  victorious  British  from  pursuing 
the  defeated  enemy,  who  were  able  to 
carry  off  their  guns  and  transport. 

Attack  on  the  Dardanelles 

Gallipoli  Peninsula  is  a  hilly,  irregu- 
lar tongue  of  land  something  more  than 
fifty  miles  in  length  and  varying  from 
three  to  ten  miles  in  width.  On  the  west 
the  Aegean  Sea  breaks  on  a  rugged 
shore,  with  a  few  stretches  of  sandy 
beach  where  boats  may  land.  The 
eastern  side  of  the  peninsula  guards  the 
strait  of  the  Dardanelles,  through  which 
all  sea  traffic  must  pass  to  Constantino- 
ple and  the  Black  Sea  beyond.  This 
strait,  from  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to 
five  miles  in  width,  but  averaging  be- 
tween two  and  three  miles,  is  the  most 
important  waterway  in  the  world,  be- 
cause it  forms  the  only  outlet  by  water 


501 


for  the  whole  vast  region  of  Southern 
Russia,  Bulgaria,  Rumania,  Syria,  and 
Turkey,  which  have  coasts  touching  the 
Black  Sea. 

The  military  importance  of  this  sea 
channel  in  the  present  war  was  tremen- 
dous, for  if  the  Allies  could  sieze  tho 
Dardanelles    they    would    cut    off    the 


ADMIRAL    DE    ROBECK, 
Naval   Commander   at   Dardanelles 

Asiatic  Turks  and  miminize  the  danger 
of  German  attacks  upon  Egypt  or  India. 
Even  more  important  would  be  the  open- 
ing of  an  all-the-year  route  by  which 
Russian  grain  could  come  out  to  Eng- 
land and  France  in  ships  which  should 
carry  back  guns  and  munitions  so  great- 
ly needed  in  Russia.  In  addition,  and 
perhaps  paramount  to  all  other  incen- 
tives for  a  campaign  against  Constan- 
tinople, was  the  fact  that  the  ancient 
city  on  the  Golden  Horn  was  the  one 
great  prize  in  Europe  that  might  enrich 
the  spoils  of  the  victors.  Berlin  and 
Vienna  would  remain  German  and  Aus- 
trian, after  the  final  treaty  should  be 
signed,  but  the  Turk's  capital  might  be 
expected  to  change  hands  and  fly  a  new 
flag. 

Russia  seemed  likely  to  force  a  way 
through  the  Balkans  from  the  north. 
England  determined  with  French  help  to 
reach  the  goal  first — by  naval  means  if 


502 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


possible,  but  by  a  combined  military 
and  naval  force  in  case  the  strait 
should  prove  too  strong  for  the  marine 
attack  alone.  There  was  a  precedent  in 
British  naval  annals  for  the  belief  that 
a  fleet  might  force  its  way  through,  for 
in  February,  1807,  seven  ships  of  the  line 
under   Sir   John    Duckworth   forced   the 


STR    IAN    HAMILTON, 
British   Commander  at   Gallipoli 


passage,  silencing  forts  and  sinking 
Turkish  ships.  The  Turks  then  fired 
stone  shot  two  feet  in  diameter,  but  when 
the  Italians  attempted  to  rush  a  fleet  of 
torpedo  boats  through  in  a  night  at- 
tack in  1910  they  were  defeated  by 
modern  guns  and  searchlights  installed 
by  German  engineers.  The  fortifications 
were  greatly  strengthened  and  the  artil- 
lery increased  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  in  August,  1914.  The  Turkish 
coasts  were  difficult  for  attack,  and  the 
swift  current  of  the  strait  made  the  use 
of  floating  mines  a  dangerous  adjunct 
to  the  shore  line  defenses.  The  forts 
on  both  sides  of  the  Dardanelles  were 
strongly  garrisoned,  and  a  large  mobile 
force  of  Turkish  infantry  was  intrenched 
in  the  very  difficult  hill  country  of  the 
peninsula.  A  number  of  German  offi- 
cers were  on^  duty  with  these  Turkish 
forces. 


Operations  at  Gallipoli 

England  seized  the  excellent  harbor  of 
Mudros  in  the  Greek  Island  of  Lemnos  and 
made  that  the  base  of  the  naval  forces 
operating  against  Gallipoli.  On  Feb.  18 
the  British  and  French  fleets  attacked 
and  soon  silenced  the  old-fashioned  stone 
forts  at  the  entrance  to  the  Dardanelles, 
but  beyond  these  antiquated  forts  lay  a 
series  of  mine  fields-  blocking  the  channel. 
Mine  sweepers  under  cover  of  a  heavy 
fire  from  the  fleet  endeavored  to  clear 
the  channel  and  open  a  way  for  the  fight- 
ing units  of  the  fleets.  The  operations 
of  the  mine  sweepers  were  made  very  dif- 
ficult by  the  fire  of  field  batteries  and 
heavy  howitzers  concealed  among  the 
hills  and  shifted  cleverly  whenever  lo- 
cated by  the  attacking  forces.  In  the 
middle  of  March,  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy 
gun  fire,  the  Turks  skillfully  directed 
some  large  mines,  which  sank  three  bat- 
tleships, two  British  and  one  French. 

After  a  month  of  fruitless  and  costly 
fighting  it  was  decided  that  the  strait 
could  not  be  forced  by  naval  attack  alone, 
and  a  combined  British  and  French  army 
was  mobilized  to  land  and  attack  the 
Turks  in  co-operation  with  the  fleets. 
The  French  Division  of  Territorials  and 
Senegalese  was  commanded  by  General 
d'Amade.  General  Ian  Hamilton  had  the 
Twenty-ninth  Division  of  British  regu- 
lars with  the  Royal  Naval  Division  and 
the  Australian  and  New  Zealand  Army 
Corps.  These  forces  were  concentrated 
in  Mudros  Harbor  and  held  until  the 
Spring  gales  had  blown  themselves  out 
and  there  was  promise  of  a  quiet  sea  for 
the  very  difficult  operation  of  landing 
the  expeditions  through  the  surf. 

On  April  25,  at  daybreak,  the  French 
and  British  fleets  bombarded  all  the 
Turkish  positions  and  the  transports  sent 
their  human  freight  ashore.  The  French 
landed  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  strait 
to  attack  the  powerful  fortifications  on 
that  side.  The  British  effected  a  number 
of  landings  on  the  southern  end  of  Galli- 
poli, but  the  main  attacks  were  intended 
to  be  those  near  Gaba  Tepe  and  Cape 
Helles. 

The  forces  attacking  in  the  Cape 
Helles    region    landed    at    three    small 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


503 


beaches,  where  great  difficulties  were 
overcome  by  extreme  bravery,  but  the 
losses  involved  in  these  landing  opera- 
tions were  appalling.  The  Turkish  ar- 
tillery and  machine  gunners  were  firing 
at  ranges  from  100  to  300  yards.  Barbed 
wire  entanglements  had  been  set  in  the 
surf  off  shore,  and  the  little  beaches 
were  mined.  Strong  detachments  of 
Turkish  infantry  were  well  concealed  on 
the  rough,  scrub-covered  hillside,  and 
were  dislodged  in  savage  bayonet  fight- 
ing by  the  survivors  of  the  landing 
parties.  Large  numbers  of  British 
soldiers  were  killed  in  the  boats  by  ma- 
chine gun  and  rifle  fire. 

Christening  of  the  "Anzacs  " 
The  Australians  won  imperishable 
fame  at  the  beach  about  fifteen  miles 
north  of  Cape  Helles,  near  Gaba  Tepe, 
where  they  fought  all  day  and  all  night 
singing  their  song,  "  Australia  Will  Be 
There."  The  Turks  attacked  constantly 
with  heavy  infantry  detachments,  but 
the  fleet  moved  in  and  rained  projectiles 
upon  them.  Finally,  after  a  terrific 
ninety-six-hour  battle,  the  Australian 
and  New  Zealand  Army  Corps  won  and 
fortified  their  position.  In  commemo- 
ration of  their  heroism  this  hitherto  un- 
named beach  became  famous  under  the 
name  A-N-Z-A-C. 

The  British  won  a  footing  along  the 
southwestern  shores  of  Gallipoli  at  a 
cost  to  the  battalions  engaged  of  from 
one-third  to  one-half  of  their  strength. 
The  survivors  were  too  exhausted  to 
drive  the  attack  into  the  hills,  and  the 
Turks  were  given  a  breathing  spell  in 
which  they  brought  up  reinforcements  of 
men  and  munitions. 

The  French  Corps  landed  on  April  26, 
at  Y.  Beach,  below  Sedd-el-Bahr,  and, 
not  encountering  very  great  opposition, 
fought  their  way  inland  for  a  mile  on  the 
following  day  and  joined  hands  with  the 
British  on  their  left.  The  united  forces 
attacked  the  Turkish  town  of  Krithia  on 
April  28,  but  when  within  about  1,300 
yards  of  the  objective  were  forced  back 
by  powerful  Turkish  attacks.  They  dug 
themselves  in  finally  and  held  their  lines 
until  the  Turks  delivered  terrific  new 
attacks  on  May  1.   The  first  lines  of  the 


Turkish  infantry  had  been  deprived  of 
cartridges  and  attacked  with  the  bayonet 
only.  They  carried  the  front  of  the 
position,  broke  through  to  the  second  line 
and  in  the  darkness  of  a  moonless  night 
cut  their  way  through  both  French  and 
British  until  stopped  by  the  British  sup- 
ports. This  battle  lasted  five  days,  and 
night  after  night  the  Turks  attacked 
with  the  bayonet. 

By  May  5  the  British  Twenty-ninth 
Division  had  lost  one-half  its  men  and 
nearly  70  per  cent,  of  its  officers.  Nev- 
ertheless, on  May  6  the  Allied  forces 
mustered  strength  and  courage  to  attack 
the  hill  of  Achi  Baba,  which  dominated 
the  lower  ground  toward  the  water  held 
by  the  French  and  British.  After  an 
all-day  battle,  in  which  the  losses  were 
extreme,  the  line  had  won  an  advance  of 
200  yards.  This  battle  continued  for 
days  and  culminated  in  a  further  ad- 
vance of  some  600  to  700  yards  on  the 
evening  of  May  8,  when  some  of  the 
brave  Australians  and  New  Zealanders 
had  been  brought  down  from  Anzac  to 
help.  There  were  no  other  great  battles, 
but  there  was  constant  fighting  through 
the  remaining  weeks  of  May. 

Achi  Baba  Almost  Taf^en 

On  June  4  the  Allies  made  another 
grand  attack,  having  meanwhile  been  re- 
inforced by  the  newly  arrived  Forty- 
second  Division.  After  a  prolonged  bom- 
bardment an  advance  of  600  to  -700  yards 
was  won  and  the  summit  of  Achi  Baba 
almost  taken.  The  Turks  rallied,  and  in 
a  brave  counterattack  recaptured  a  field 
work  called  the  Haricot,  which  the 
French  infantry  had  stormed  and  gar- 
risoned with  Senegalese  troops.  From 
this  position  the  Turks  enfiladed  the  Brit- 
ish lines  and  forced  both  the  British 
Royal  Naval  Division  and  the  Manches- 
ter Brigade  to  abandon  the  lines  which 
they  had  won  at  a  terrible  cost. 

On  June  21  the  French  won  again  the 
Haricot  work,  and  on  the  28th  the  Brit- 
ish, in  a  brilliant  attack,  advanced  a 
thousand  yards.  This  success  was  es- 
pecially notable  because  the  10,000 
British  soldiers  were  all  new  men  of  not 
over  six  months'  training,  who  charged 
up  hill  in   an  attack  perfectly  co-ordi- 


504 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


nated  and  carried  fortified  lines  with  the 
bayonet.  When  the  first  attacking  line 
had  settled  into  the  captured  position 
another  10,000  fresh  troops  charged  and 
captured  three  more  Turkish  lines. 
These  20,000  men  were  not  enough,  how- 
ever, to  push  the  attack  further.  At 
midnight,  June  29-30,  a  Turkish  attack 
by  a  force  of  30,000  men  at  Anzac  was 
repulsed  with  great  loss. 

While  the  allied  forces  awaited  the  ar- 
rival of  heavy  reinforcements  promised 
for  midsummer  a  plan  was  matured  for 
a  great  attack.  This  intended  that  the 
troops  near  Cape  Helles  should  fight  a 
holding  battle  while  a  powerful  attack  to 
the  north  at  Anzac  should  aim  to  win  the 
dominating  heights  midway  of  the  penin- 
sula from  which  infantry  might  gain  con- 
trol of  the  highway  to  Constantinople  and 
artillery  could  shell  by  direct  fire  the 
Turkish  fortifications  along  the  strait. 
In  addition  the  new  forces  were  to  be 
landed  still  further  north  at  Suvla  Bay, 
three  miles  above  Anzac,  and  attempt  to 
turn  the  Turkish  right  flank.  While  these 
attacks  were  to  be  concerted,  the  actions 
must  necessarily  be  separate  battles 
fought  by  armies  separated  from  each 
other.  The  plan  was  for  the  attack  at 
Anzac  to  be  made  on  Aug.  6  and  on  the 
night  of  the  6th-7th  (moonless)  the  new 
army  was  to  be  landed  at  Suvla. 

The  splendid  Australian  troops  at 
Anzac  in  July  dug  and  hid  under  cover 
twenty-five  miles  of  dugouts  for  the  con- 
cealment of  the  30,000  men  who  were  to 
reinforce  them  preparatory  to  the  great 
attack.  The  new  troops  were  landed  with 
great  caution  at  night  to  hide  the  ar- 
rangements from  the  watchful  Turks, 
always  ready  to  hurry  reinforcements  to 
any  threatened  part  of  the  line.  In  addi- 
tion to  providing  a  hiding  place  for  the 
30,000  newcomers  the  Australians  car- 
ried ashore  and  hid  hundreds  of  draft 
animals  and  hundreds  of  tons  of  supplies. 
The  navy  brought  over  a  distance  of  500 
miles  the  eighty  tons  of  fresh  water  re- 
quired by  this  army  daily,  and  this,  too, 
was  stored  in  hidden  tanks  ashore. 
Battle  of  Suvla  Bay 

The  battle  in  the  Cape  Helles  sector 
opened  promptly  and  raged  with  great 


ferocity  from  Aug.  6  to  Aug.  13.  Its 
object  was  achieved,  for  not  only  was  the 
large  original  force  of  Turks  held  there, 
but  strong  reinforcements  were  brought 
down  from  the  north. 

For  several  days  the  warships  bom- 
barded the  Turkish  positions  on  the 
Lonesome  Pine  plateau,  which  was  the 
immediate  objective  in  the  Anzac  sector. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  of  Aug.  6,  after 
a  whirlwind  of  shells  had  brought  the 
bombardment  to  its  culmination,  the 
Australians  leaped  from  their  trenches 
and  charged  the  Turkish  lines.  They 
won  the  covered  trenches  and  in  five 
days  and  nights  of  constant  counterat- 
tacks succeeded  in  holding  them.  This 
long  struggle  was  almost  all  the  time  a 
hand-to-hand  duel  with  bayonets  and 
bombs. 

As  the  battle  at  Lonesome  Pine  de- 
veloped, the  troops  destined  for  the  at- 
tack to  the  north  left  Anzac  and  marched 
along  shore  to  the  scene  of  their  effort. 
Several  strong  outposts  were  rushed 
most  gallantly,  but  the  Turks  held  the 
main  hill  crests  valiantly,  and  all  efforts 
to  dislodge  them  failed.  As  this  night 
battle  was  in  progress  transports  crowd- 
ed into  Suvla  Bay  and  the  new  30,000 
men  were  landed.  The  beach  was  mined, 
and  defended  by  riflemen  as  well,  so  that 
the  new  army  began  to  lose  men  as  it 
stepped  ashore.  The  mission  of  this 
army  was  to  seize  the  high  hills  inclos- 
ing the  low-lying  basin  back  of  the  bay, 
but  they  suffered  vital  hours  to  slip 
through  their  fingers  for  one  reason  or 
another,  and  meanwhile  the  Turks,  at 
midnight  on  the  8th-9th,  got  strong 
forces  into  the  critical  positions  and 
thereby  wrote  failure  at  the  bottom  of 
this  gory  page  in  English  military  his- 
tory. 

On  the  morning  of  Aug.  8  the  British 
and  Australian  regiments  renewed  the 
battle  north  of  Anzac  and  gained  some 
promising  successes,  although  at  appall- 
ing cost.  The  delayed  advance  on  their 
left  from  Suvla  nullified  these  successes 
and  made  the  battle  a  useless  waste  of 
life.  British  regiments  which  had  won 
one  of  the  most  vital  hill  crests  were 
shelled  and  decimated  by  their  own  war- 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


505 


ships,  after  which  a  huge  force  of  Turk- 
ish infantry  counterattacked  and  prac- 
tically annihilated  several  British  regi- 
ments. 

The  great  battle  of  Aug.  6-10  was  a 
British  defeat  and  practically  ended  the 
fighting  on  Gallipoli,  although  some 
minor  successes  were  achieved  later  in 
August  among  the  hills  back  of  Anzac. 
In  November  a  violent  blizzard  raged 
for  several  days  and  hundreds  of  British 
soldiers  were  frozen  to  death,  while  many 
thousands  were  invalided  home  as  the  re- 
sult of  extreme  exposure.  In  December 
the  Anzac  and  Suvla  positions  were 
evacuated,  and  early  in  January,  1916, 
the  last  British  soldiers  left  Gallipoli 
from  the  Cape  Helles  sector. 

The  failure  of  the  Turks  to  attack  the 
British  while  evacuating  their  positions 
remains  one  of  the  unsolved  riddles  of 
the  war.  The  British  losses  in  the  Gal- 
lipoli campaign  were  115,000  men  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  with  about  100,000 
more  sick.  While  the  attempt  toward 
Constantinople  persisted  it  kept  a  large 
army  of  several  hundred  thousand  Turks 
away  from  other  fields.  Meanwhile,  the 
German  successes  in  1915  against  Rus- 
sia relieved  the  Turk  from  the  threat  of 
a  Russian  attack  from  the  north. 

"When  the  allied  forces  were  with- 
drawn from  the  peninsula  practically  all 
the  veteran  Turkish  troops  were  freed 
for  use  in  Rumania  or  Asia  Minor. 
Throughout  the  terrific  fighting  in  April, 
June,  and  August  the  Turks  fought  with 
magnificent  courage  and  proved  them- 
selves equally  valiant  in  both  attack  and 
defense.  They  treated  captured  and 
wounded  prisoners  with  real  kindness. 
The  British  Twenty-ninth  Division 
(regulars)  and  the  Australian  and  New 
Zealand  Corps  won  imperishable  fame. 
Russian  Front  in  19/5 
In  January,  1915,  the  Russian  armies 
were  making  a  determined  stand  on  a 
long  front  running  from  the  Masurian 
Lakes  south  inside  the  Prussian  frontier 
until  above  the  Narev  it  curved  out  into 
Russia  and  continued  west  of  Mlawa, 
east  of  Plock,  and  over  the  Vistula,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Bzura.  Thence  running 
southeast   to    Bukowina,    below    Czerno- 


witz,  this  long  battle  line  reaped  the 
Rumanian  frontier,  having  attained  a  to- 
tal length  of  nearly  900  miles,  the 
greatest  embattled  line  in  the  world's 
history. 

The  Germans  faced  the  Czar's  troops 
down  as  far  as  the  Nida,  where  they 
joined  the  left  flank  of  the  Austrian 
armies,  which  had  been  stiffened  by  the 
introduction  of  several  complete  German 
corps.  Przemysl  was  still  resisting  the 
Russians,  but  was  surrounded  and  close- 
ly invested. 

In  January  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
undertook  several  advances  on  the  flanks 
— Russian  cavalry  cut  the  railway'  in 
East  Prussia,  and  in  the  Carpathians  the 
Pass  of  Kirlibaba  was  stormed.  Early  in 
February  von  Mackensen  launched  an- 
other attack  upon  Warsaw,  having  con- 
centrated nearly  150,000  men  along  the 
Rawka  for  a  new  frontal  attack  upon 
the  great  Polish  city.  Under  cover  of  a 
heavy  bombardment  and  a  blinding  snow- 
storm the  battle  began,  and  the  Germans 
pushed  a  wide  wedge  some  five  miles 
into  the  Russian  line  before  they  were 
checked  by  Feb.  4.  The  German  losses 
are  estimated  to  have  been  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  20,000  men,  and  much  of  the 
ground  was  readily  yielded  to  Russian 
counterattacks. 

Following  this  reverse  the  great  Ger- 
man strategist  launched  two  major  oper- 
ations directed  against  the  Russian  right 
and  left  flanks.  In  the  first  week  of 
February  the  Russian  thrust  in  East 
Prussia  had  very  nearly  reached  Tilsit, 
with  the  left  flank  of  the  expedition  at 
Johannisburg.  Then  Hindenburg  struck, 
and  with  a  much  superior  force  succeed- 
ed in  enveloping  the  Russian  right  at  Pil- 
kallen  and  Gumbinnen.  This  part  of  the 
Russian  Army  was  driven  into  the  forest 
region  above  Suwalki  and  completely 
broken  up.  Such  units  as  escaped  back 
into  Russia  made  their  way  separately, 
and  quite  without  further  tactical  con- 
nection with  their  comrades  heavily  en- 
gaged between  Lotzen  and  Johannisburg. 
The  Russians  here  fought  a  stubborn 
rear  guard  action  with  much  "success,  and 
although  defeated  they  succeeded  in  re- 
treating over  their  own  frontier  without 
suffering  very  great  loss.     The  Germans 


506 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


captured  80  guns  and  something  over 
30,000  prisoners,  besides  carrying  the 
war  out  of  Prussian  and  into  Russian 
territory,  where  it  has  remained  ever 
since. 

Von  Hindenburg  undoubtedly  planned 
to  renew  the  attack  upon  Warsaw  by  a 
flank  movement  which  should  cut  the 
railway  communications  to  the  north,  but 
the  Russians  resisted  successfully  efforts 
aimed  at  Grodno  and  Ossowietz,  and  by 
the  middle  of  March  vigorous  counter- 
attacks drove  the  Germans  back  to  with- 
in ten  miles  of  the  frontier.  Meanwhile 
another  German  army  on  a  front  of 
twenty-five  miles  between  Mlawa  and 
Chorzele  struck  hard  toward  the  south, 
and  on  Feb.  24  captured  Przasnysz,  tak- 
ing a  number  of  guns  and  half  a  brigade. 
Strong  Russian  reinforcements  came  up, 
and  although  many  of  the  men  were 
armed  only  with  bayonets  and  bombs, 
Przasnysz  was  recaptured  on  Feb.  26. 

Winter  in  the  Carpathians 
In  the  south  General  Brusiloff  re- 
newed his  efforts  to  win  the  Carpathian 
passes  and  open  a  door  for  the  Russian 
invasion  of  Hungary.  While  he  attacked 
from  Dukla  to  the  Uzsok  another  column 
struck  close  along  the  Rumanian  fron- 
tier, and  on  Jan.  6  took  Kimpolung  and 
on  the  17th  captured  the  Pass  of  Kir- 
libaba.  About  this  time  the  Austrians 
bejan  to  show  a  greater  determination 
to  drive  the  menace  of  invasion  out  of 
the  Carpathians,  and  General  von  Lin- 
singen,  having  taken  the  passes  east  of 
the  Lupkow,  began  to  invade  Galicia. 

At  the  ridge  of  Koziowa  Brusiloff 
withstood  the  Austrian  rush  and  stopped 
the  advance  of  the  Austrian  left  wing. 
The  right  wing,  however,  pushed  up 
through  Bukowina  and  took  both  Czerno- 
witz  and  Kolomea.  On  March  3  Stanis- 
lau  was  taken,  which  brought  the  Aus- 
trians within  seventy  miles  of  Lemberg. 
Soon  Russian  reinforcements  arrived, 
and  Stanislau  was  retaken.  The  latter 
part  of  March  saw  the  Russians  still 
holding  the  Dukla,  while  the  passes  east 
of  the  Uzsok  were  firmly  held  by  Austria. 
On  March  22,  after  a  siege  of  almost 
seven    months,    the    fortified    city     of 


Przemysl  was  taken  by  the  Russians. 
Accounts  of  the  military  conditions 
prevalent  among  the  large  forces  which 
had  been  shut  up  in  this  strongly  for- 
tified position  for  so  long  a  time  indi- 
cated quite  clearly  what  was  the  mat- 
ter with  the  Austrian  army.  While  the 
soldiers  were  reduced  to  almost  starva- 
tion rations,  general  officers  and  their 
staffs  continued  to  live  openly  a  life  of 
luxurious  extravagance.  The  selfishness 
and  incompetence  of  the  superiors  were 
naturally  destructive  of  that  morale 
among  the  troops  without  which  no 
amount  of  training  will  secure  the  best 
results. 

Attrition  in  the   West 

As  1915  dawned  the  battle  lines  in 
Belgium  and  France  were  about  500  miles 
long,  and  of  that  long  line  little  more 
than  10  per  cent,  was  held  by  the  British 
and  Belgians — the  French  defended  near- 
ly 90  per  cent.,  and  in  addition  to  the 
battle  casualties  they  lost  many  men  from 
sickness  caused  by  exposure  in  the 
trenches.  Toward  the  north  there  was 
constant  rain  and  sleet,  while  the  posi- 
tions in  the  Vosges  and  Argonne  were 
buried  deep  in  heavy  snows.  The  fight- 
ing in  the  Winter  and  early  Spring  was 
confined  to  local  attacks  and  counterat- 
tacks, usually  favorable  to  the  Allies. 

The  German  artillery  was  decidedly 
less  effective  than  it  had  been  in  the 
early  months  of  the  war.  Large  numbers 
of  guns  had  been  returned  to  German 
armories  for  repair,  and  it  was  said  that 
more  than  60  per  cent,  of  the  German 
shells  fired  at  this  time .  failed  to  ex- 
plode. The  German  troops  on  the  west- 
ern front  probably  numbered  2,000,000 
men. 

Late  in  January  the  Allies  made  a 
spirited  attack  upon  German  positions 
east  of  Nieuport,  among  the  sandy  dunes 
of  the  Belgian  coast,  where  they  won 
part  of  an  intrenched  position,  which 
enabled  them  to  threaten  the  German 
trenches  on  the  east  side  of  the  Yser. 
After  this  local  success  that  part  of  the 
line  lapsed  into  a  dormant  state  for 
months. 

In  February  the  Germans  blew  up  a 
British  trench  near  Ypres,  and  there  was 


MILITARY  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  WAR 


507 


a  seesaw  battle  near  St.  Eloi.  The  Prin- 
cess Patricia's  Regiment  of  Canadian 
Light  Infantry  in  a  sortie  captured  a 
German  trench  and  many  prisoners. 

A  severe  battle  raged  near  La  Bassee 
on  Jan.  25-26,  when  the  Germans  broke 
through  part  of  the  British  lines  and  in- 
flicted heavy  losses  upon  the  brigade  of 
Guards  regiments  holding  that  part  of 
the  intrenchments.  The  Black  Watch 
lost  a  great  many  officers  and  men,  and 
the  regiments  engaged  included  such 
famous  units  as  the  First  Scots  Guards, 
First  Coldstreams,  First  Cameron  High- 
landers, King's  Royal  Rifles,  Second 
Sussex  and  London  Scottish.  The  driv- 
ing back  of  the  British  line  caused  the 
French  left  under  Maud'huy  to  be  dan- 
gerously exposed,  but  the  Germans  failed 
to  seize  their  opportunity  to  turn  this 
flank.  On  the  same  day  the  Germans 
fought  their  way  into  Givenchy,  but  were 
ejected  after  a  hard  hand-to-hand  strug- 
gle. 

In  the  last  days  of  January  and  the 
first  of  February  a  severe  battle  raged 
about  the  brickfield  west  of  La  Bassee, 
and  it  was  here  that  Lance  Corporal 
Michael  O'Leary  of  the  Irish  Guards 
won  the  Victoria  Cross  by  killing  eight 
Germans  and  capturing  two.  In  Janu- 
ary and  February  there  were  local  bat- 
tles at  Lens,  Arras,  and  Roye,  and  an 
important  battle  followed  a  French  at- 
tack above  Soissons.  At  first  consider- 
able success  attended  this  effort,  but 
heavy  German  reinforcements  were 
brought  up  and  the  French  were  driven 
back  across  the  Aisne  with  the  loss  of 
several  thousand  men  and  about  twenty 
guns.  General  von  Kluck,  the  German 
commander,  made  a  great  effort  to  cap- 
ture Soissons,  but  Maunoury  blocked  the 
effort  by  the  skillful  use  of  French  ar- 
tillery and  infantry  reserves. 

In  February  and  March  the  French 
carried  on  an  almost  constant  series  of 
attacks  in  Champagne,  which  compelled 
the  Germans  to  bring  heavy  reinforce- 
ments from  the  north.  Not  a  great  deal 
of  ground  was  won,  but  nearly  10,000 
German  dead  were  buried  by  the  French 
and  2,000  prisoners  were  captured. 
Meanwhile  in, the  Verdun  region  further 
toward    the    south    fierce    battles    were 


fought  near  Les  Eparges  and  Pont-a- 
Mousson.  In  the  Vosges  the  French  and 
then  the  Germans  won  successes  in  the 
region  of  Mulhousen,  Cernay,  and  Hart- 
manns-Weilerkopf. 

Neuve  Chapelle 

In  March,  1915,  the  British  forces  in 
France  numbered  half  a  million  men, 
with  General  Sir  John  French  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief  and  Sir  Douglas  Haig 
commanding  the  First  Army,  from  La 
Bassee  to  Estaires.  General  Sir  Horace 
Smith-Dorrien  commanded  the  Second 
Army,  which  held  the  lines  up  to  the 
Ypres  salient.  On  March  10  at  7:30 
A.  M.  the  British  guns  began  to  hurl  a 
hurricane  of  shells  upon  the  German 
trenches  about  Neuve  Chapelle.  Field 
guns,  field  howitzers,  sixty-pounders, 
coast-defense  guns,  and  fifteen-inch  how- 
itzers had  all  been  crowded  together  for 
this  bombardment,  which  flung  four  shells 
to  every  yard  in  the  sector  attacked  dur- 
ing the  thirty-five  -minutes  before  the 
range  was  increased  and  the  storm  of 
explosives  broke  over  the  town  itself. 
When  the  British  infantry  advanced  they 
readily  won  the  positions,  which  had 
been  pounded  into  dust  heaps  by  the  ar- 
tillery, and  the  town  fell  into  fheir  hands. 

The  moment  appeared  ripe  for  the  cap- 
ture of  the  ridge  east  of  the  town,  which 
dominates  the  great  highway  from  Lille 
to  the  south,  but  in  certain  places  some 
of  the  units  had  failed  to  carry  out  their 
part  of  the  great  plan.  The  battle  con- 
tinued with  the  utmost  intensity  through 
the  11th  and  12th,  but  the  Germans  pre- 
vented any  further  advance,  and  the  net 
result  of  the  great  effort  was  the  capture 
of  Neuve  Chapelle.  On  the  14th  and 
15th  the  Germans  developed  a  great  of- 
fensive at  St.  Eloi,  a  village  fifteen  miles 
north  of  Neuve  Chapelle.  They  won  the 
village,  but  lost  it  later  when  General 
Haig's  men  attacked  in  great  force. 

The  battle  at  Neuve  Chapelle  was  a 
bitter  disappointment  to  the  British. 
The  casualties  were  very  heavy  and 
were  in  part  caused  by  the  faulty  rang- 
ing of  their  own  artillery.  The  staff 
plans  were  in  part  imperfect,  and  alto- 
gether this  effort  was  looked  upon  as  a 
costly  failure,  with  much  of  the  fault  in 
high  places. 


Final  Official  Reports  on  Gallipoli 

Vice  Admirals  de  Robeck  and  Wemyss  Tell  of 
the    Navy's    Part  in  the  Withdrawal  of  Troops 


THE  British  Admiralty  published, 
on  April  11,  1917,  the  dispatches 
from  Vice  Admiral  Sir  John  M.  de 
Robeck,  late  Vice  Admiral  Com- 
manding the  Eastern  Mediterranean 
Squadron,  and  Vice  Admiral  Sir  Rosslyn 
E.  Wemyss,  late  Senior  Naval  Officer, 
Mudros,  describing  the  naval  operations 
in  connection  with  the  withdrawal  of  the 
army  from  the  Gallipoli  Peninsula  in  De- 
cember, 1915,  and  January,  1916.  These 
communications  furnish  details  of  the  all- 
important  part  played  by  the  British 
Navy  in  what  was  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult operations  of  the  war. 

Vice  Admiral  Wemyss,  whose  dispatch 
is  dated  Dec.  22,  1915,  deals  with  the 
withdrawal  from  Suvla  Bay  and  Anzac, 
which  occurred  eighteen  days  before  the 
final  evacuation  of  the  peninsula.  This 
preliminary  operation  was  carried  out 
in  three  stages.  The  principle  decided 
upon  for  all  three  stages  was  secrecy 
and  the  attempt  to  take  the  enemy 
entirely  by  surprise.  Every  effort  was 
therefore  made  during  the  whole  of  the 
operations  to  maintain  the  beaches, 
offing,  &c,  in  their  usual  appearance, 
and  all  embarkations  were  carried  out 
during  the  dark  hours.  The  increase  in 
the  number  of  motor  lighters,  boats,  &c, 
in  use  at  the  beaches  was  hidden  as  far 
as  possible  during  the  daytime.  The 
preliminary  stage  was  completed  satis- 
factorily by  Dec.  10,  when  the  definite 
orders  to  evacuate  were  received. 

It  had  been  computed  that  ten  nights 
would  be  required  for  the  intermediate 
stage,  on  each  of  which  3,000  personnel 
and  a  proportion  of  guns  and  animals 
would  be  embarked  from  each  beach. 
The  estimate  was  eventually  reduced, 
special  efforts  being  made  in  order  to 
take  advantage  of  the  fine  weather.  The 
intermediate  stage  was  completed  on  the 
night  of  Dec.  3.7-18,  and  from  the  absence 
of  any  unusual  shelling  of  the  beaches 
during  these  nights  it  was  apparent  that 


the  enemy  had  no  idea  of  the  movement 
in  progress.  Some  44,000  personnel, 
nearly  200  guns,  numerous  wagons,  and 
3,000  animals  were  evacuated  during  this 
period,  together  with  a  large  amount 
of  stores  and  ammunition. 

A  Risky  Operation 

The  final  stage  commenced  on  the 
night  of  Dec.  18-19,  and  was  completed 
on  the  night  of  Dec.  19-20.  The  weather 
conditions,  however,  proved  to  be  ideal. 
On  each  of  the  two  nights  it  was  neces- 
sary to  evacuate  rather  more  than  10,000 
personnel  from  each  beach,  and  for  this 
special  arrangements  were  necessary. 
The  chief  possible  difficulties  to  contend 
with  were  two — first,  the  bad  weather  to 
be  expected  at  this  season,  second,  in- 
terference by  the  enemy. 

After  some  heavy  winds,  fine  weather 
set  in  with  December,  and,  except  for  a 
strong  northeasterly  wind  on  the  15th, 
continued  until  twenty-four  hours  after 
the  completion  of  the  evacuation.  This 
prolonged  period  of  fine  weather  alone 
made  possible  the  success  which  attended 
the  operation. 

The  final  concentration  of  the  ships 
and  craft  required  at  Kephalo  was  com- 
pleted on  Dec.  17,  and  in  order  to  prevent 
enemy's  aircraft  observing  the  unusual 
quantity  of  shipping  a  constant  air  patrol 
was  maintained  to  keep  these  at  a  dis- 
tance. Reports  of  the  presence  of  enemy 
submarines  were  also  received  during 
these  two  days;  patrols  were  strength- 
ened, but  no  attacks  by  these  craft  were 
made.  The  evacuation  was  carried  out 
in  accordance  with  orders.  No  delays 
occurred,  and  there  were  no  accidents  to 
ships  or  boats. 

Destruction  of  Stores 

On  the  night  of  Dec.  18-19  the  em- 
barkation was  finished  at  Suvla  by  3  A. 
M.,  and  at  Anzac  by  5:30  A.  M.,  and  by 
daylight  the  beaches  and  anchorages  at 


FINAL  REPORTS  ON  GALLIPOLI 


509 


these  places  had  resumed  their  normal 
aspect.  The  second  night's  operation,  so 
far  as  the  navy  was  concerned,  differed 
in  no  wise  from  the  first,  precisely  the 
same  routine  being  adhered  to.  The 
last  troops  left  the  front  trenches  at  1:30 
A.  M.,  and  the  signal  that  the  evacua- 
tion was  complete  was  received  at  4:15 
A.  M.  at  Anzac  and  5:39  A.  M.  at  Suvla. 
A  large  mine  was  exploded  at  about 
3:15  A.  M.  by  the  Australians,  and  at 
Suvla  all  perishable  stores  which  had 
not  been  taken  off  and  which  were 
heaped  up  in  large  mounds  with  petrol 
poured  over  them  were  fired  at  4  A.  M., 
making  a  vast  bonfire,  which  lighted 
everything  round  for  a  very  long  distance- 
In  spite  of  all  this,  the  enemy  seemed 
perfectly  unaware  of  what  had  taken 
place.  As  day  dawned,  soon  after  6:30, 
the  anchorages  of  both  places  were  clear 
of  all  craft,  except  the  covering  squad- 
rons, which  had  been  ordered  up  during 
the  night,  and  when  the  sun  had  suf- 
ficiently risen  for  objects  to  be  made 
out,  the  bombardment  of  the  beaches 
commenced  with  the  object  of  destroying 
everything  that  remained.  At  Suvla  this 
consisted  only  of  some  water  tanks  and 
four  motor  lighters,  which  had  been 
washed  ashore  in  the  gale  of  Nov.  28 
and  never  recovered,  owing  principally 
to  lack  of  time.  At  Anzac  it  had  been 
deemed  inadvisable  to  set  a  light  to  the 
stores  which  it  had  been  found  impossible 
to  embark,  so  that  here  the  bombardment 
was  more  severe,  and  large  fires  were 
started  by  the  bursting  shell.  Admiral 
Wemyss  continues: 

A  curious  spectacle  now  presented  itself, 
certain  areas  absolutely  clear  of  troops  being 
subjected  to  a  heavy  shell  fire  from  our  own 
and  the  enemy's  guns.  It  seems  incredible 
that  all  this  work  had  taken  place  without 
the  enemy  becoming  aware  of  our  object,  for, 
although  the  utmost  care  was  taken  to  pre- 
serve the  beaches  and  offing  as  near  as  pos- 
sible normal,  yet  it  proved  quite  impracti- 
cable to  get  up  boats  and  troop  carriers  in 
sufficient  time  to  carry  out  the  night's  work, 
and  yet  for  them  not  to  have  been  visible 
from  some  parts  of  the  peninsula.  At  7 :25 
A.  M.  I  ordered  the  squadron  to  return  to 
Kephalo,  leaving  two  specially  protected 
cruisers  to  watch  the  area.  These  subse- 
quently reported  that  they  had  caused  a  good 
deal  of  damage  among  the  enemy  when  they 
eventually  swarmed  down  to  take  possession 
of  the  loot,  the  realization  of  which,  I  trust, 


was  a  great  disappointment  to  them.  All  the 
arrangements  were  most  admirably  carried 
out,  and  the  time  table  previously  laid  down 
was  adhered  to  exactly.     *     *     * 

Before  closing  this  dispatch  I  would  like 
to  emphasize  the  fact  that  what  made  this 
operation  so  successful,  apart  from  the  kind- 
ness of  the  weather  and  of  the  enemy,  was 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  both  services. 
The  evacuation  forms  an  excellent  example 
of  the  cordial  manner  in  which  the  navy  and 
army  have  worked  together  during  these  last 
eight  months.  Nothing  could  have  exceeded 
the  courtesy  of  Generals  Sir  William  Bird- 
wood,  Sir  Julian  Byng,  and  Sir  Alexander 
Godley,  and  their  respective  staffs,  and  this 
attitude  was  typical  of  the  whole  army.  The 
traditions  of  the  navy  were  fully  maintained, 
the  seamanship  and  resource  displayed  reach- 
ing a  very  high  standard.  Prom  the  com- 
manding officers  of  men-of-war,  transports, 
and  large  supply  ships  to  the  midshipmen  in 
charge  of  steamboats  and  pulling  boats  off 
the  beaches,  all  did  well. 

Admiral  de  Roheck's  Report 
In  the  final  operations,  described  by 
Vice  Admiral  de  Robeck,  the  weather  was 
not  so  uniformly  favorable.  Moreover, 
the  difficulties  were  increased  by  the  at- 
tentions of  the  enemy,  who,  however, 
thanks  to  the  care  and  skill  of  our  com- 
manders, remained  in  entire  ignorance  of 
what  was  afoot. 

Forty-eight  hours  before  the  evacua- 
tion was  completed  the  number  of  men 
remaining  on  the  peninsula  was  to  be  cut 
down  to  22,000.  Of  these  7,000  were  to 
embark  on  the  last  night  but  one,  leav- 
ing 15,000  for  the  final  night.  At  the  re- 
quest of  the  military  the  latter  number 
was  increased  to  17,000.  As  few  guns  as 
possible  were  to  be  left  to  the  final  night, 
and  arrangements  were  made  to  destroy 
any  of  these  which  it  might  be  found  im- 
possible to  remove,  or  which,  by  reason  of 
their  condition,  were  considered  not  worth 
removing. 

The  preliminary  stage  commenced  on 
the  night  of  Dec.  30-31,  and  terminated 
on  the  night  of  Jan.  7-8.  During  this 
stage  all  personnel  except  17,000  were  re- 
moved, as  well  as  the  majority  of  the 
guns  and  a  great  quantity  of  animals, 
stores,  &c.  The  amount  of  stores  remain- 
ing on  shore  after  the  preliminary  stage 
was  greater  than  was  anticipated  or  in- 
tended; this  was  almost  entirely  due  to 
the  unfavorable  weather  conditions,  and, 
as  men  were  evacuated,  to  a  shortage  in 
working  parties. 


510 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


On  Jan.  2  and  3  strong  northeasterly- 
winds  blew  all  day;  the  morning  of  the 
4th  was  calm,  but  the  weather  broke  at 
7  P.  M.,  and  by  11  P.  M.  it  was  blowing  a 
gale.  The  transfer  of  guns,  animals,  and 
stores,  &c,  from  motor  lighters  to  trans- 
ports and  supply  ships  lying  off  the 
beaches  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty 
under  such  conditions  of  weather. 
Working  Under  Heavy  Fire 

During  the  whole  of  this  period  "  V  " 
and  "  W  "  beaches  were  subjected  to  a 
heavy  and  accurate  shell  fire  from  the 
enemy's  batteries  mounted  on  the  Asiatic 
shore,  and  also  from  guns  firing  from 
positions  to  north  of  Achi  Baba.  All 
these  guns  were  accurately  registered  on 
to  the  beaches,  and  the  shelling  continued 
day  and  night  at  frequent  and  uncertain 
intervals;  that  the  actual  loss  of  life 
from  this  fire  was  very  small  borders  on 
the  miraculous;  the  beach  parties  were 
completely  exposed,  and  piers  and  fore- 
shore constantly  hit  by  shells  while  offi- 
cers and  men  were  working  on  them; 
even  when  resting  in  the  dugouts  security 
from  enemy's  fire  could  not  be  assured, 
and  several  casualties  occurred  under 
these  conditions.  The  work  on  the 
beaches  was  practically  continuous;  dur- 
ing the  daytime  motor  lighters',  &c,  were 
loaded  up  with  stores,  &c,  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  storeships  at  night;  by  night  the 
work  was  most  strenuous. 

During  the  whole  time  there  remained 
the  paramount  necessity  of  preventing 
the  enemy  gaining  intelligence  of  what 
was  in  progress;  this  added  greatly  to 
the  difficulties  of  work  during  daylight. 
Enemy  aircraft  paid  frequent  visits  to 
the  peninsula;  on  these  occasions,  while 
the  "  Taube  "  was  in  evidence,  animals 
and  transports  approaching  the  beaches 
were  turned  and  marched  in  the  opposite 
direction,  and  stores  and  horses  already 
in  lighters  were  even  unloaded  on  to  the 
beaches  to  give  the  appearance  of  a  dis- 
embarkation. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  the  enemy 
delivered  a  very  heavy  artillery  attack 
against  certain  portions  of  our  advanced 
position,  probably  the  most  intense  bom- 
bardment our  trenches  in  the  Helles  area 
have  ever  been  subjected  to.  Attempts 
were  made  by  the  enemy  to  follow  up 


this  bombardment  by  an  infantry  attack, 
but  the  few  Turks  who  could  be  per- 
suaded to  quit  their  trenches  were  in- 
slantly  shot  down,  and  the  infantry  ad- 
vance was  a  complete  failure.  This  bom- 
bardment and  attack  most  fortunately 
took  place  at  a  time  when  our  forward 
position  was  fully  manned,  and  when 
there  were  still  about  sixty  guns  in  posi- 
tion on  the  peninsula,  with  a  very  large 
supply  of  ammunition. 

Embarkation  Difficulties 
The  enemy  was  certainly  deceived  as 
to  the  date  of  our  final  departure  from 
his  shores,  and  his  artillery  fore  on  the 
final  night  of  the  evacuation  was  negligi- 
ble. 

The  decision  arrived  at  on  Jan.  6  to 
evacuate  practically  all  the  personnel  of 
the  final  night  from  "W"  and  "V" 
beaches  necessitated  some  rearrangement 
of  plans,  as  some  5,000  additional  troops 
had  to  be  embarked  from  these  beaches. 
To  use  motor  lighters  from  the  already 
crowded  piers  would  have  lengthened  the 
operation  very  considerably,  and  it  was 
therefore  decided  to  employ  destroyers 
to  embark  5,200  men  from  the  blockships, 
which  were  fitted  with  stagings  and  con- 
nected to  the  shore;  thus  existing  ar- 
rangements would  be  interfered  with  as 
little  as  possible.  The  result  was  excel- 
lent. The  destroyers,  which  were  laid 
alongside  the  blockships,  in  spite  of  a 
nasty  sea,  being  handled  with  great  skill 
by  their  commanding  officers,  once  more 
showing  their  powers  of  adaptability. 

The  necessary  amendments  to  orders 
were  issued  on  the  morning  of  the  7th, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  short  notice  given, 
the  naval  operations  on  the  night  of  Jan. 
8-9  were  carried  out  without  confusion  or 
delay,  a  fact  which  reflects  great  credit 
on  all  concerned,  especially  on  the  beach 
personnel,  who  were  chiefly  affected  by 
the  change  of  plan.  On  the  8th  the 
weather  was  favorable,  except  that  the 
wind  was  from  the  south;  this  showed  no 
signs  of  freshening  at  5  P.  M.,  and  orders 
were  given  to  carry  out  the  final  stage. 
The  actual  embarkation  on  the  8th  com- 
menced at  8  P.  M.,  and  the  last  section 
were  to  commence  embarking  at  6:30 
A.  M.     By  9  P.  M.  the  wind  had  fresh- 


FINAL  REPORTS  ON  GALL1P0LI 


511 


ened  considerably,  still  blowing  from  the 
south;  a  slight  sea  got  up,  and  caused 
much  inconvenience  on  the  beaches. 

A  floating  bridge  at  "  W  "  beach  com- 
menced to  break  up,  necessitating  ar- 
rangements being  made  to  ferry  the  last 
section  of  the  personnel  to  the  waiting 
destroyers.  At  Gully  beach  matters  were 
worse,  and,  after  a  portion  of  the  700 
troops  had  been  embarked  in  motor  light- 
ers and  sent  off  to  his  Majesty's  ship 
Talbot,  it  was  found  impossible  to  con- 
tinue using  this  beach,  (one  motor  lighter 
was  already  badly  on  shore — she  was 
subsequently  destroyed  by  gunfire,)  and 
orders  were  given  for  the  remainder  of 
the  Gully  beach  party  to  embark  from 
"  W  "  beach;  this  was  done  without  con- 
fusion, special  steps  having  been  taken 
by  the  beachmaster  to  cope  with  such  an 
eventuality.  After  a  temporary  lull  the 
wind  again  increased,  and  by  3  A.  M.  a 
very  nasty  sea  was  running  into  "  W  " 
beach. 

It  was  only  by  the  great  skill  and  determi- 
nation displayed  by  the  beach  personnel  that 
the  embarkation  was  brought  to  a  successful 
conclusion  and  all  the  small  craft  except  one 
steamboat  (damaged  in  collision)  got  away 
in  safety.  The  last  troops  were  leaving  at 
3 :45  A.  M.,  after  which  the  beach  personnel 
embarked.  Great  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  getting  the  last  motor  lighters  away,  owing 
to  the  heavy  seas  running  into  the  harbor. 

This  was  unfortunate,  as  the  piles  of  stores 
which  it  had  been  found  impossible  to  take 
off,  and  which  were  prepared  for  burning, 
were  lit  perhaps  rather  sooner  than  was 
necessary,  as  were  also  the  fuses  leading  to 
the  magazine.  The  latter  blew  up  before  all 
the  boats  were  clear,  and  I  regret  to  report 
caused  the  death  of  one  of  the  crew  of  the 
hospital  barge,  which  was  among  the  last 
boats  to  leave.  It  was  fortunate  that  more 
casualties  were  not  caused  by  the  explosion, 
debris  from  which  fell  over  and  around  a 
great  many  boats. 

Operations   a    Complete   Success 

Admiral  de  Robeck  attributes  the  suc- 
cess of  the  operations  principally  to: 

(a)  Excellent  staff  work. 

(b)  The  untiring  energy  and  skill  displayed 


by  officers  and   men,   both   army   and   navy, 
comprising  the  beach  parties. 

(c)  The  good  seamanship  and  zeal  of  the 
officers  and  crews  of  the  various  craft  em- 
ployed in  the  evacuation  of  the  troops. 

(d)  The  excellent  punctuality  of  the  army 
in  the  arrival  of  the  troops  for  embarkation 
at  the  different  beaches. 

The  navy  [he  continues]  has  especially  to 
thank  Generals  Sir  William  Birdwood  and  Sir 
Francis  Davies  for  their  forethought  and 
hearty  co-operation  in  all  matters.  The  staff 
work  was  above  reproach  and  I  hope  I  may 
be  permitted  to  mention  some  of  those  mil- 
itary officers  who  rendered  special  assistance 
to  the  navy.  They  are  :  Major  Gen.  the  Hon. 
H.  A.  Lawrence,  Brig.  Gen.  H.  E.  Street, 
and  Colonel  A.  B.  Carey,  R.  E.,  the  latter  of 
whom  performed  work  of  inestimable  value 
in  the  last  few  days  by  improving  piers  and 
preparing  means  of  rapid  embarkation  from 
the  blockships. 

The  program  and  plans  as  regards  the  naval 
portion  of  the  operations  were  due  to  the 
work  of  my  chief  of  staff,  Commodore 
Roger  J.  B.  Keyes,  to  whom  too  great 
credit  cannot  be  given ;  to  Captain  Francis 
H.  Mitchell,  R.  N.,  attached  to  General  Head- 
quarters ;  Major  William  W.  Godfrey,  R.  M. 
L.  I.,  of  my  staff;  Captain  Cecil  M.  Staveley, 
(principal  beach  master  at  Cape  Helles ;) 
Captain  F.  G.  Talbot,  in  charge  of  the  vessels 
taking  part,  and  Acting  Commander  George 
F.  A.  Mulock,  chief  assistant  to  Captain 
Staveley.)  The  organization  of  the  communi- 
cations, on  which  so  much  depended,  was  very 
ably  carried  out  by  my  fleet  wireless  officer 
(Commander  James  F.  Somerville)  and  my 
signal  officer,   (Lieutenant  Hugh  S.  Bowlby.) 

The  naval  covering  squadron  was  under  the 
command  of  Rear  Admiral  Sydney  R.  Fre- 
mantle  in  his  Majesty's  ship  Hibernia,  who 
had  a  most  able  colleague  in  Captain  Douglas 
L.  Dent  of  his  Majesty's  ship  Edgar,  whose 
ability  had  done  so  much  to  improve  the  nava 
gun  support  to  the  Helles  army.  The  work  of 
this  squadron  was  conducted  with  great  en- 
ergy and  was  in  every  way  satisfactory.  It 
controlled  to  a  great  extent  the  enemy's  guns 
firing  on  to  the  beaches.  Whenever  the  en- 
emy opened  fire,  whether  by  day  or  night, 
there  were  always  ships  in  position  to  reply, 
a  result  which  reflects  much  credit  on  the 
officer  named.  The  Army  Headquarters  gave 
us  again  the  invaluable  assistance  and  ex- 
perience of  Lieut.  Col.  C.  F.  Aspinall  in  ar- 
ranging details,  and  I  cannot  help  laying 
special  stress  on  this  officer's  excellent  co- 
operation with  my  staff  oh  all  occasions. 


■ 

if  yJPli/^ 

ffj^ 

• 

A  Wonderful   French  War   Museum 

The  Val-de-Grace  and  Its  Record  of  What 
Science  Has  Done  to  the  Soldiers  of  France 

J.  Ernest  Charles,  writing  for  Les  Annates,  Paris,  has  told  this  interesting  story  of  the 
Musee  du  Val-de-Grace,  founded  at  the  suggestion  of  Justin  Godart,  French  Under  Secretary 
of  Mate,  and  established  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Jacob,  Professor  in  Val-de-Grace  College, 
with  the  co-operation  of  Drs.  Pascal,  Perret,  Lefort,  Latarget,  Andre,  and  Rothschild.  The 
article  is  specially  translated  for  Current  History  Magazine. 


M 


ONUMENTS  also  have  their 
destiny.  The  Val-de-Grace, 
founded  or  developed  by  Anne 
of  Austria  as  a  thank  offering 
to  God  for  the  tardy  birth  of  the  young 
Prince  who  was  to  become  one  of  the 
most  bellicose  Kings  of  Europe,  has  long 
been  the  structure  in  Paris  devoted  es- 
pecially to  curing  the  ills  caused  by  war. 
A  hospital  for  soldiers,  an  advanced 
school  for  doctors  and  military  surgeons, 
the  Val-de-Grace  is  now  the  museum 
where  all  the  most  wonderful  achieve- 
ments of  science  against  the  murderous 
weapons  of  war  are  exhibited. 

Go  to  the  Val-de-Grace  Museum  of  the 
Military  Health  Service,  which  Justin 
Godart,  Under  Secretary  of  State,  took 
the  lead  in  founding  for  the  instruction 
of  future  generations.  It  will  be  a  visit 
both  stirring  and  sad,  and  yet  comforting 
withal.  You  will  be  able  there  to  follow 
the  whole  history  of  the  war  by  the  suf- 
ferings it  inflicts  and  by  the  remedies, 
daily  growing  more  efficient,  which  men 
of  heart  and  of  genius  are  creating  to 
cure  them.  Science  is  fighting  desper- 
ately to  diminish  the  wickedness  of  men, 
and  science  is  often  victorious — espe- 
cially French  science.  By  its  extraordi- 
nary activity  and  generosity  it  has  done 
marvels. 

Professor  Fernand  Widal,  speaking  of 
the  vast  strides  of  preventive  medicine, 
the  results  of  vaccination  against  small- 
pox, typhoid,  cholera,  which  have  abol- 
ished in  this  war  those  terrible  epidemics 
of  other  wars,  said :  "  Jenner's  vaccina- 
tion: English!  Pasteur's  vaccination: 
French !  "  The  great  life  protecting  dis- 
coveries have  been  made  on  this  side  of 
the  trench  line.  Others  have  tried  to 
dishonor  science.     Our  learned  men  have 


saved  its  good  name.  They  have  per- 
suaded us  that,  despite  all  this  methodi- 
cal carnage,  one  could  and  should  still 
have  faith  in  a  truly  humanitarian 
science.  And  it  is  here,  in  these  grave 
and  somewhat  melancholy  rooms,  that  the 
elements  of  the  story  have  been  assem- 
bled. 

Let  it  no  longer  be  said  that  history 
is  only  for  the  entertainment  of  curious 
men.  These  archives  gathered  here, 
these  reports  of  Health  Service  Direc- 
tors, which  intrepid  seekers  for  truth  will 
some  day  read;  these  memoirs  of  army 
surgeons  imprisoned  in  Germany,  these 
scientific  announcements,  these  photo- 
graphic documents,  in  short,  this  history 
of  the  war  as  seen  from  within,  of  war 
as  it  really  is — in  all  these  we  have  the 
materials  for  volumes  yet  to  be  written, 
and  for  many  future  discoveries. 
Scientists  and  students,  standing  before 
the  varied  wealth  of  this  anatomical- 
pathological  museum,  which  exhibits  the 
infinite  diversity  of  lesions  produced  in 
the  human  body  by  modern  engines  of 
war,  will  hold   fruitful   discussions. 

Marvels  of  Surgery 

But  the  great  masses  of  .the  people 
themselves  will  be  overwhelmed  with  ad- 
miration in  the  presence  of  the  results 
already  achieved,  whether  by  surgical 
operations  of  prodigious  daring,  or  by 
other  still  bolder  operations  through 
which  the  surgeons  not  only  repair  the 
broken  body,  but  seem  to  rebuild  it  en- 
tirely, making  of  a  ruined  man  a  new  be- 
ing, sound,  solid,  a  man  with  the  desire 
and  possibility  of  action,  filled  afresh 
with  the  love  of  life.  For  these  savants 
recreate  youth,  force,  almost  happiness. 
They  accomplish  resurrections — physical 
and  moral  resurrections. 


A    WONDERFUL  FRENCH   WAR  MUSEUM 


513 


Consider  these  plaster  casts  that 
record  the  successive  stages  of  the  plas- 
tic reparations  made  especially  by  Pro- 
fessor Morestin.  Young  men  are  brought 
in  with  faces  mutilated,  plowed  open, 
ravaged;  they  no  longer  look  like  human 
beings.  They  have  become  objects*  of 
horror.  They  feel  themselves  consigned 
to  solitude,  to  distress,  to  daily  martyr- 
dom. This  one  has  the  jaw  torn  away, 
the  chin  gone,  and  the  upper  lip  hangs 
in  shreds  over  a  bloody  abyss.  That  one 
no  longer  has  a  nose.  A  third  has  a  chin 
and  cheek  that  look  as  if  they  had  been 
gnawed  away.  They  are  all  hideous  to 
look  at,  spectacles  to  frighten  children 
and  make  even  compassionate  women 
turn  from  them  forever. 

Now,  the  surgeons  take  these  ruined 
faces  and  rebuild  them — actually  recon- 
struct them.  Professor  Morestin  're- 
moves a  bit  of  rib  from  the  unfortunate 
who  has  lost  a  nose,  inserts  it  under  the 
skin  of  the  forehead,  lets  it  gradually 
regain  vitality,  slips  it  down  to  the  po- 
sition of  the  nose,  covers  it  with  skin — 
and  of  that  frightful  wound  there  re- 
main scarcely  perceptible  traces.  An- 
other cartilaginous  graft  makes  a  new 
chin  for  the  soldier  whose  lower  jaw  was 
shattered,  and  there  remain  only  light 
ridges  and  the  regular  lines  of  a  scar  to 
tell  of  what  had  been  a  terrible  mutila- 
tion. 

Sculptors  in  Living  Flesh 

What  shall  be  done  with  this  soldier 
whose  eye  socket  and  cheek  bone  have 
been  crushed  deep  into  the  face?  Is  it 
possible  to  lessen  the  horror  of  such  a 
wound?  The  surgeon,  little  by  little, 
fills  in  and  carpets  the  excavation  for  the 
eye  with  shreds  of  skin  which  grow  to- 
gether; and  in  like  manner  he  treats  the 
bared  surface  of  the  maxillary  bone.  An 
artificial  eye  is  inserted,  absolutely  like 
the  one  that  is  intact,  and  it  seems  to 
look  with  the  same  look,  to  live  with  the 
same  life.  The  wounded  man  now  can 
return  to  a  useful  place  in  society. 

And  the  wonderful  modelings  of  these 
sculptors  in  human  flesh  have  names 
hard  to  retain:  Engraftment,  rhino- 
plasty, cheiloplasty,  refection  of  the  lips, 


ocui^pulperial  prothesia,  refection  of 
the  eye  and  eyelid.  And  this  strange  yet 
simple  vocabulary  is  growing  every  day, 
for  names  must  be  given  to  the  metic- 
ulous and  patient  miracles  of  surgical 
science,  and  these  miracles  are  multiply- 
ing incessantly.  The  plaster  casts  and 
photographs  of  the  Val-de-Grace  show 
the  phases  of  each.  Surgeons  are  pres- 
tidigitators who  do  not  desire  to  keep 
their  secrets  to  themselves.     *     *     * 

In  the  Val-de-Grace  Museum  a  mani- 
kin that  seems  almost  alive  has  under- 
gone all  the  wounds,  the  fractures,  the 
perforations,  the  mutilations  developed 
by  the  war  in  such  abominable  variety; 
and  this  manikin  bears  all  the  appa- 
ratus invented  to  remedy  them.  Here 
is  an  artificial  leg,  supple  and  easily 
controlled;  there  is  an  apparatus  with 
springs  and  metallic  rings  which  enables 
a  man  to  move  the  fingers  of  a  hand 
which  a  wounded  radial  nerve  has  para- 
lyzed. And  here  is  the  apparatus  that 
supplies  the  place  of  a  paralyzed  muscle 
for  shoulder  articulation — the  deltoid 
muscle,  to  call  it  by  its  name.  Yonder  is 
a  similar  apparatus  to  supply  the  loss  of 
the  bony  substance  of  the  humerus.  If 
the  wounded  man  has  paralysis  of  the 
sciatic  nerve  his  foot  is  inert;  a  shoe  sole 
mounted  on  springs  and  articulated  with 
steel  rods  enables  him  to  use  it.  Gloves 
with  springs  in  the  back  give  a  man  the 
use  of  his  hand  when  wounded  nerves 
paralyze  the  fingers.  Other  contrivances 
permit  him  to  dress  himself  without  aid. 
Still  others  act  as  substitutes  for  stif- 
fened, wasted,  or  absent  members,  so 
that  the  mutilated  man  can  be  a  me- 
chanic, a  farmer,  or  can  perform  the 
most  diverse  professional  tasks;  in  short, 
can  again  live  in  the  workaday  world  of 
men  and  women. 

Engines  of  Destruction 
In  this  museum  also  are  grouped  all 
the  engines  of  destruction  created  by 
the  perverse  imagination  of  those  who 
champion  the  unlimited  spread  of  sorrow 
and  death:  Zeppelin  bombs,  airplane 
bombs,  incendiary  shells,  shrapnel,  as- 
phyxiating gas  or  explosive  shells,  aerial 
torpedoes,  grenades,  simple  balls,  little 
projectiles  almost  denuded  yet  whose  in- 


51-1 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


credible  swiftness  multiplies  their  mur- 
derous force.  Here  they  are,  these  bul- 
lets, twisted,  flattened,  shattered,  them- 
selves mutilated;  they  seem  to  bear  wit- 
ness that  evil  canont  be  done  with  im- 
punity. 

Near  this  destructive  paraphernalia  is 
the  protective  apparatus.  Against  the 
lachrymal,  suffocating,  asphyxiating  gas 
we  have  the  original  hyposulphite  plug, 
modest  but  useful ;  then  the  different  im- 
provements on  this,  each  marking  a  step 
of  progress,  until  we  reach  the  present 
mask,  which  guarantees  safety.  But  it 
may  be  thought  that  warriors  with  head3 
muffled  in  steel  furnish  blind  targets  for 
projectiles.  It  is  true,  alas!  that  defen- 
sive arms  are  not  as  perfect  as  the  of- 
fensive. But  at  least  some  of  them  re- 
duce the  destructive  power  of  modern 
weapons.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
steel  helmet,  that  masterpiece  invented 
by  Adrian;  and  when  one  examines  all 
these  helmets,  which  have  been  dented, 
scarred,  smashed,  pierced,  and  which  yet 
have  resisted,  one  begins  to  glimpse  still 
further  improvements.  One  wishes  our 
soldiers  might  have  fine  armor  like  that 
of  mediaeval  times,  yet  lightened  and 
adapted.  From  looking  at  these  helmets, 
battered,  yet  sound  after  so  many  battles, 
may  not  some  inventor  get  the  inspira- 
tion for  an  effective  protection  that  will 
shield  our  fighters? 

The  Fight  Against  Disease 
If  there  is  no  absolute  protection 
against  wounds,  there  is  such  against 
epidemic  disease,  and  this  is  something 
new.  In  former  wars  epidemics  were 
more  fatal  than  battles.  Typhoid  fever 
spread  inevitable  death,  and  cholera  was 
always  present.  "  Not  all  died  of  it,  but 
all  were  stricken."  Marshal  St.  Arnaud 
owed  his  death — and  his  glory — to 
cholera.  Was  it  not  this  disease  which, 
raging  in  its  deadly  way  during  the  re- 
cent Balkan  wars,  stopped  the  Bulgarian 
Army  in  its  march  on  Constantinople? 
History  of  recent  wars  in  this  regard 
has  become  merely  history  of  evils  de- 
finitively abolished.  Science  here  is 
truly  victorious.  Let  inventors  of  rival 
serums  prove  each  other's  methods 
without  virtue  if  not  actually  pernicious; 
we    must,    nevertheless,    look    with    re- 


spect upon  the  exhibit  of  vaccines  fur- 
nished by  army  laboratories,  these 
graphic  charts  which  bear  irrefutable 
witness  to  the  progressive  disappear- 
ance of  contagious  diseases  from  our 
armies,  and  must  perceive  that  one  of 
the  most  dreaded  causes  of  death  has 
disappeared. 

Medicine  has  shown  as  great  genius 
as  surgery  in  diminishing  the  ill-effects 
of  wounds.  No  one  can  stand  indifferent 
before  the  molds  and  models  that  depict 
the  irrigation  and  disinfection  of  wounds 
by  the  Carrel  process  and  the  Dakin 
fluid.  Carrel's  method  has  aroused  al- 
most universal  enthusiasm;  only  a  few 
remain  unconvinced.  The  Carrel  method 
for  the  treatment  of  infected  wounds 
has  furnished  its  own  proofs,  and  what 
proofs!  It  regenerates  the  tissues,  it 
makes  the  flesh  live  again,  it  saves  men, 
it  makes  physicians  and  surgeons  cry  in 
professional  exaltation,  "  Wounds  treated 
by  the  Carrel  method  are  splendid  to 
see!  " 

Work  of  the  Ambulances 
But  the  creative  activities  of  physicians 
and  surgeons  recorded  in  this  museum 
would  be  in  vain  if  the  wounded  reached 
the  hospital  too  late.  Now  the  dressing- 
stations  have  been  brought  close  to  the 
wounded,  and  the  transport  of  the 
wounded  to  these  stations  has  been  ac- 
celerated. Herein  lies  the  secret  of  the 
wonderful  improvement  brought  about 
in  the  last  eighteen  months  by  a  Military 
Health  Service  that  is  truly  active,  bold, 
methodical,  vigilant,  foreseeing,  practical 
— modern ! 

The  singularly  expressive  bas-reliefs 
of  the  sculptor  Larrive  here  represent 
these  profoundly  tragic  scenes  in  their 
utmost  simplicity.  First  we  see  men 
mount  guard  in  the  embrasure  of  a 
trench.  One  of  them  is  wounded.  On 
the  spot  immediately  he  receives  first 
aid.  Then  another  soldier,  grievously 
wounded,  is  carried  on  a  litter  along  the 
trenches  and  boyaux,  the  stretcher-bear- 
ers negotiating  the  difficult  turnings 
with  practiced  skill.  Now  it  is  a  first- 
line  aid  post.  Near  the  door  are  ranged 
the  guns  and  sacks  of  the  wounded,  and 
you  see  the  protected  shelter,  with  the 


A    WONDERFUL  FRENCH   WAR  MUSEUM 


515 


surgeons  working  calmty  under  a  roof 
reinforced  with  sacks  of  earth  and  logs 
of  wood.  At  length  we  are  in  the  interior 
of  the  "  poste  de  secours  "  itself.  There 
is  a  bed  of  straw,  a  table  for  giving  the 
wounded  immediate  treatment.  Stretched 
on  the  table,  under  the  brutal  light  of 
an  acetylene  lamp,  lies  a  wounded  man 
whom  the  busy  Major  is  examining.  Al- 
ready a  stretcher  bearer  is  crossing  the 
threshold  with  another  victim.  And  to 
think  that  many  of  these  posts,  where 
the'  very  speed  of  the  operation  assures 
the  recovery  of  the  patient,  are  situated 
200  yards  from  the  German  lines,  forty 
yards  from  the  French  lines — six  yards 
underground ! 

Many  of  the  wounded  can  be  trans- 
ported without  delay  to  the  ambulances 
at  the  front  and  the  hospitals  at  the  rear. 
Everything  has  been  done  to  perfect  this 
service.  Mark  the  documentary  collec- 
tions of  the  Val-de-Grace — ambulance 
models,  tents,  sanitary  barracks,  wagons, 
automobiles,  &c. ;  one  is  soon  convinced 
that  the  past  has  bequeathed  scarcely 
anything  to  the  present  sanitary  service. 
There  are  celebrated  names — Larrey, 
Percy — but  only  names.  The  Health 
Service  up  to  our  time  remained  subor- 
dinate, rudimentary,  insufficient — crimi- 
nally insufficient.  The  soldier  counted 
only  as  long  as  he  could  fight;  after  lie 
had  become  useless  as  a  warrior  he 
ceased  to  be  "  interesting."  Little  at- 
tention was  paid  to  him.  Now  every- 
thing is  organized  to  preserve  the  sons 
of  France. 

A  Great  Hospital  System 

At  Val-de-Grace  there  is  a  relief  plan 
of  a  vast  evacuation  station.  Thither 
are  gathered  the  wounded  from  all  direc- 
tions, at  high  speed,  with  care  and  order. 
In  immense  barracks  they  are  sorted  and 
classified.  The*  empty  spaces  are 
adorned  with  gardens.  And  the  hospital 
trains   follow   each   other,   carrying  the 


wounded  more  and  more  swiftly  toward 
the  distant  distributing  stations,  whence 
they  are  sent  promptly  to  the  various 
hospitals  of  the  district.  A  great  si- 
lence, solemn  and  calm,  rests  upon  this 
vast  evacuating  station.  It  is  no  longer 
the  silence  of  death.  One  feels  that 
the  wounded  are  going  away  toward 
health,  recovery,  life. 

Another  stroll  through  the  pensive 
quiet  of  these  instructive  halls  will  give 
you  still  other  impressions,  for  here 
each  document  marks  the  moments  of 
the  struggle  of  nature  against  the  hos- 
tile powers  of  wounds  and  disease,  the 
mysteries  of  advancing  science  reveal 
themselves  one  by  one,  and  the  whole  is 
one  large,  clear  synthesis  of  efforts 
and  results.  The  Museum  of  the  Val- 
de-Grace  will  be  useful  not  only  to  his- 
torians but  to  those  who  are  destined 
to  make  new  discoveries. 

Frenchmen  originated,  the  idea  and 
set  the  example,  but  the  Germans  did  not 
let  it  go  to  waste.  They  imitated  it,  and 
established  a  museum  like  ours  almost 
immediately.  We  at  least  have  the  certi- 
tude that  the  Museum  of  the  Val-de- 
Grace  will  be  in  no  danger  of  perishing. 
The  whole  world  will  come  here  later 
to  pay  homage  to  the  disciplined  ardor 
of  the  French  scientific  spirit.  In  a 
minute  study  devoted  to  the  health 
service,  Professor  Pierre  Delbet  records 
the  astonishment  and  delight  of  French 
physicians  who  had  long  been  held  prison- 
ers in  Germany.  They  had  seen  nothing 
like  our  new  methods,  nothing  compar- 
able to  the  progress  achieved  in  France 
in  the  art  of  curing  the  wounded  of  this 
war.  The  Museum  of  the  Val-de-Grace 
preserves  that  astonishment  in  tangible 
form.  In  the  midst  of  catastrophes 
French  science  has  kept  all  its  virtue, 
and,  when  peace  returns,  will  spread  its 
benefits  abroad  through  the  world  more 
widely  than  ever. 


Germany's    Form    of    Government 

The  Constitutional  Fabric  Which  President 
Wilson  Says  Must  Be  Altered 

By  Walter  S.  Smoot 

The  war  message  of  President  Wilson  indicated  that  the  United  States  would  make  no 
peace  with  Germany  until  its  present  system  of  autocracy  was  overthrown.  What  constitutes 
that  system  is  explained  herewith  by  Mr.  Smoot.  in  an  analysis  of  the  German  Constitution 
prepared  for  Current  History  Magazine. 


THE  present  German  Empire  dates 
its  existence  from  the  proclama- 
tion of  King  William  I.  of  Prussia 
as  German  Emperor  (Deutscher 
Kaiser)  at  Versailles,  Jan.  18,  1871,  near 
the  close  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  Its 
Constitution  is  little  changed,  however, 
from  that  adopted  in  1866  after  the 
Prussian  victory  of  Koniggratz  had  ex- 
pelled Austrian  dominance  from  Ger- 
many and  replaced  it  by  Prussian  guid- 
ance in  so  far  as  the  German  States  of 
the  north  were  concerned,  but  had  failed 
to  so  affect  the  southern  States — Ba- 
varia, Wiirttemberg,  Baden,  and  South 
Hesse.  Bismarck,  with  masterly  fore- 
sight, made  this  Constitution  of  the 
North  German  Federation  flexible  enough 
to  admit  the  South  German  States  when 
the  time  came,  but  rigid  enough  to  secure 
the  union's  complete  domination  by  Prus- 
sia. 

As  in  the  federation,  the  imperial  sov- 
ereignty of  Germany  is  not  vested,  theo- 
retically, in  the  person  of  the  ruler,  but 
in  the  Bundesrat,  or  Federal  Council, 
whose  members  are  German  lords  sent  as 
representatives  of  the  twenty-two  mon- 
archies and  three  free  city  republics, 
whose  union  forms  the  empire.  Actually, 
however,  despite  the  Kaiser's  being, 
strictly  speaking,  mere  President  of  the 
German  Federation,  and  forbidden  to 
veto  laws  passed  by  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment, his  will  is  law  in  every  root  and 
branch  of  the  German  Government.  The 
imperial  dignity  is  hereditary  in  the  line 
of  Hohenzollern ;  he  possesses  17  votes 
out  of  61  in  the  Bundesrat  and  236  out 
of  397  in  the  Reichstag,  and  so  can  or- 
der the  passage  or  killing  of  any  meas- 
ure he  wishes;  he  appoints  and  dismisses 


without  regard  to  the  political  complex- 
ion of  the  legislative  bodies  the  Imperial 
Chancellor,  who  stands  second  only  to 
himself  in  the  Government;  lastly,  while 
he  may  not  declare  an  offensive  war 
without  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrat, 
he  is  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  navy 
and  actively  so  of  the  army,  in  both  of 
which  fighting  arms  he  appoints  the 
chief  officers  and  exacts  the  fullest  and 
blindest  obedience  and  allegiance. 

Power  of  the  Bundesrat 
The  Bundesrat,  or  Federal  Council, 
representative  of  the  imperial  sover- 
eignty vested  in  the  whole  body  of  Ger- 
man rulers,  in  complexion  is  like  that 
of  the  British  House  of  Lords,  being  the 
stronghold  of  the  Junkers  or  conservative 
militarists  of  Germany,  and  in  repre- 
sentative character  is  like  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  representing  the 
various  States  of  the  Union.  Unlike  the 
situation  in  the  American  upper  house, 
however,  the  German  States  are  not 
equally  represented  in  the  Council.  Prus- 
sia, comprising  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
empire  both  in  area  and  population,  is 
officially  given  seventeen  votes  and 
actually  controls  one  more,  that  of  the 
principality  of  Waldeck;  Bavaria,  Sax- 
ony, Wiirttemberg,  Baden,  Hesse,  Meck- 
lenburg-Schwerin,  Brunswick,  and  *  the 
imperial  territory  of  Alsace-Lorraine 
send  delegations  varying  from  six  to  two 
members  each;  all  the  other  States,  in- 
cluding the  free  cities  of  Liibeck, 
Bremen,  and  Hamburg,  have  one  repre- 
sentative— sixty-one  lords  in  all. 

The  Bundesrat  is  a  non-deliberative 
body,  the  members  voting  immediately 
by  States  upon  the  measures  called  up,  in 


GERMANY'S  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT 


517 


strict  accordance  with  instructions  re- 
ceived from  their  home  Governments; 
consequently,  only  the  results,  not  the 
proceedings,  of  its  sessions  are  published, 
leaving  free  consideration  and  discussion 
of  German  legislation  to  the  Reichstag. 
The  functions  of  the  Bundesrat  are  legis- 
lative, executive,  and  judicial.  First,  bills 
must  have  its  approval  before  they  may 
become  laws;  second,  it  supervises,  sub- 
ject to  the  Emperor's  will,  the  imperial 
administration;  third,  it  acts  as  a  Su- 
preme Court  of  Appeals  in  case  any  one 
of  the  State  courts  is  accused  of  a  denial 
of  justice. 

The  Reichstag  a  Forum 

The  great  German  forum  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  public  questions  and  the  hope 
of  the  democratic  element  in  Germany  to- 
day is  the  Reichstag,  or  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment, corresponding  to  our  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. The  membership  numbers 
397  Delegates,  chosen  today  throughout 
the  empire,  exactly  as  in  1867,  on  the 
basis  of  one  member  to  each  100,000  of 
the  population.  The  elective  system  for 
the  Reichstag  is  rigidly  uniform  through- 
out Germany,  though  Prussia  and  many 
other  States  have  different  systems  for 
the  election  of  the  members  of  their 
State  Legislatures.  Every  German  citi- 
zen over  25  years  of  age,  not  mentally 
deficient  or  a  criminal  and  not  in  active 
service  with  the  colors,  may  vote  in  the 
general  elections  for  the  Reichstag;  the 
Delegates  are  chosen  for  a  term  of  five 
years — unless  the  House  is  sooner  dis- 
solved by  the  Emperor — and  are  paid  for 
their  services.  The  Reichstag  enjoys 
neither  executive  nor  judicial  powers,  but 
acts  as  the  great  deliberative  body  of 
the  empire,  the  only  forum  in  Germany 
where  public  opinion  may  be  heard  upon 
current  legislation  with  any  semblance 
whatever  of  fullness  and  freedom. 

The  Imperial  Chancellor 

The  Kaiser  selects  and  appoints  from 
among  the  Prussian  Delegates  to  the 
Bundesrat  his  Imperial  Chancellor,  who 
is  the  chief  Minister  of  the  empire  and 
may  be  dismissed  at  the  imperial  pleas- 
ure without  the  slightest  regard  to  the 
attitude  of  the  parties  in  either  the  Bun- 


desrat or  Reichstag.  The  Chancellor, 
therefore,  is  responsible  solely  to  the  Em- 
peror, %from  whose  favor  he  derives  his 
authority,  and  is  not  in  the  least  affected 
by  legislative  praise  or  censure.  He  is 
the  Emperor's  closest  confidant  and  ad- 
viser, and  as  such  acts  as  intermediary 
between  the  Kaiser  and  the  Parliament, 
particularly  the  Reichstag.  He  is  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  Bundesrat;  must 
countersign  all  newly  approved  laws 
with  his  signature;  appoints  the  German 
officers  in  the  Emperor's  name,  and 
oversees  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 

The  control  which  the  Emperor  exer- 
cises over  the  Chancellor  extends  also 
to  the  other  Imperial  Ministers,  who  are 
consulted  by  the  Kaiser  individually  as 
their  advice  or  aid  is  especially  required. 
We  have,  therefore,  in  Germany  no 
cabinet  system,  the  executive  powers 
vested  in  a  group  of  popular  leaders  who 
retain  their  portfolios  only  so  long  as 
their  every  important  act  is  approved 
by  Parliament,  as  in  England  and  the 
other  European  countries.  Instead,  we 
have  the  German  Kaiser,  his  functions 
and  authority  as  Emperor  supplemented 
by  those  as  King  of  Prussia,  enjoying  an 
incalculable  range  of  power,  and  the 
popular  legislative  body,  the  Reichstag, 
subjecting  the  Government  to  criticism 
and  check  rather  than  to  direction. 

The  Social-Democratic  Party 

We  may  date  the  rise  of  the  German 
workingman  from  the  mid-Napoleonic 
period,  when  Prussia,  as  a  war  measure, 
extended  liberty  to  her  serfs,  men  bound 
for  life  to  toil  for  their  lords  on  the 
great  rural  estates.  However,  we  do 
not  find  him  asserting  himself  until  the 
introduction  of  machinery  and  the  forma- 
tion of  great  factory  communities  in 
Germany,  well  along  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  had  divided  the  population  into 
two  distinct  classes — capital  and  labor. 

In  1873  there  was  a  great  panic;  the 
Government  gave  little  or  no  relief  to 
the  want  and  misery  which  followed,  and 
the  workingmen  by  thousands  joined  a 
new  political  organization,  the  Social- 
Democratic  Party,  formed  to  secure 
recognition  of  the  rights  and  needs  of 
German  workingmen.     In  1876  the  first 


518 


THti  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


detailed  party  program  of  the  Social- 
Democrats  was  published;  since  all  the 
suffering  endured  by  the  working*  classes 
was  attributable  to  the  concentration  of 
the  country's  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a 
few,  the  gradual  abolition  of  private 
ownership  of  sources  and  means  of  pro- 
duction, like  railways,  canals,  and  mines, 
was  proposed,  and  in  its  place  was  to 
be  substituted  the  establishment,  by  the 
aid  of  the  State,  of  co-operative  pro- 
ductive associations  owned,  worked,  and 
controlled  by  and  in  the  interests  of  the 
people  themselves. 

So  much  the  party  as  a  socialistic  or- 
ganization proposed.  For  the  interest  of 
democracy  it  urged  that  the  ballot  be 
made  secret  and  obligatory  upon  all 
Germans  over  twenty  years  old  of  both 
sexes;  that  legislation  and  trial  be  by 
citizens  chosen  directly  by  the  people 
themselves;  that  decision  of  war  or  peace 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  people;  that  a 
system  of  militia  be  substituted  for  a 
paid  standing  army;  that  no  abridgement 
whatever  be  made  of  freedom  of  the 
press,  of  assembly,  and  of  conscience; 
that  the  period  of  daily  toil  be  restricted 
and  enforced  work  on  Sunday  be  pro- 
hibited; that  the  labor  of  children  be  pro- 
hibited and  that  of  women  protected; 
that  the  formation  of  labor  unions  be 
allowed,  and  a  graduated  income  tax  es- 
tablished. 

Bismarck's  Harsh  Law 

The  Iron  Chancellor,  Otto  von  Bis- 
marck, who  had  made  a  united  Germany 
"not  through  fine  speeches  and  major- 
ity votes,  but  by  Blood  and  Iron,"  was 
then  at  the  height  of  his  power  as  active 
head  of  the  German  Government;  to  him 
many  of  the  demands  of  the  Social- 
Democrats  seemed  just  and  reasonable, 
but  more  he  classed  as  red  revolution. 
In  1878,  after  two  attempts  had  been 
made  upon  the  life  of  the  Emperor  by 
fanatics  who  happened  to  hold  Social- 
Democratic  beliefs,  he  put  through  the 
Reichstag  the  "  Law  of  Exceptions,"  de- 
signed to  suppress  popular  agitation  alto- 
gether and  providing  that  all  meetings, 
publications,  and  societies  purposing 
"  the  subversion  of  the  social  order  "  and 
promoting   socialistic   tenets   and   ideala 


were  to  be  forcibly  suppressed,  and  that 
martial  law  was  to  be  proclaimed  in  any 
city  threatened  with  riot  or  other  labor 
disturbance. 

Under  this  harsh  law,  which  remained 
in  effect  twelve  years,  scores  of  agita-; 
tors  were  expelled  from  the  country, 
over  200  labor  unions  were  disbanded, 
and  hundreds  of  publications  were  sup- 
pressed, but  its  lasting  result  was  to 
throw  the  whole  number  of  Social-Demo- 
crats into  a  compact  body,  whose  repre- 
sentation in  the  Reichstag  doubled  from 
1877  to  1884.  Bismarck,  having  incurred 
the  enmity  of  nearly  every  political  party 
in  Germany  except  the  National  Liberals, 
was  by  this  time  in  great  straits  for 
popular  support;  therefore,  to  conciliate 
and  enlist  the  aid  of  the  Social-Democrats 
he  advocated  a  number  of  reforms  for 
the  benefit  of  the  working  classes  and 
carried  out  a  few  of  them. 

In  1883  the  Government  enacted  a  law 
insuring  the  workingman  against  sick- 
ness, and  the  next  year  a  supplementary 
one  insuring  him  against  accident.  By 
1887  child  and  female  labor  had  been 
limited  by  legislative  enactment  and 
Sunday  set  apart  as  a  day  of  rest.  In 
1889  the  final  measure  was  passed,  in- 
suring workingmen  against  poverty  from 
permanent  disablement  or  old  age.  The 
Social-Democratic  Party  in  the  Reichs- 
tag opposed  these  laws  as  an  attempt  to 
steal  their  thunder,  and  the  party  lost 
ground  in  consequence,  but  gradually 
more  than  recovered  it.  The  party  lead- 
ers pointed  out  that  the  provision  direct- 
ing the  workingman  to  pay  an  appreciable 
portion  of  his  wages  into  the  several 
workingmen's  insurance  funds  for 
emergencies  which  oftentimes  never 
arose  robbed  him  of  his  independence 
and  freedom  of  choice  in  disposing  of 
his  wages. 

The   Crorvn  and  the  People 

The  only  hope  for  free  government 
in  Germany,  therefore,  lies  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  above-detailed  program  of 
the  Social-Democratic  Party;  for  as  it 
stands  the  Government,  though  it  is 
founded  on  a  written  Constitution  and 
the  Reichstag  is  elected  by  popular  vote, 
is     the     least     democratic     in     Western 


GERMANY'S  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT 


519 


Europe.  In  the  first  place,  the  Constitu- 
tion makes  essential  the  approval  of 
each  and  every  law  by  the  Military  Im- 
perialists who  compose  the  Bundesrat, 
which  may  thus  veto  a  law  passed  by 
the  popular  assembly,  the  Reichstag.  In 
the  second  place,  the  representatives  of 
the  people  in  the  Reichstag  have  abso- 
lutely no  voice  or  control  in  the  inner 
councils  of  the  Government.  The  Em- 
peror rules  by  right  of  birth  and  is  sub- 
ject to  none — "  I  take  my  crown  from 
God  alone! "  His  Ministers,  far  from 
bearing  the  mandate  of  the  dominant 
party  in  Parliament,  are  responsible  to 
the  Emperor  alone,  since  it  is  he  who 
at  will  appoints  and  dismisses  them.  His 
immense  bloc  of  votes  in  both  houses  of 
Parliament,  combined  with  the  additional 
support  he  usually  receives,  is  sufficient 
for  him  to  pass  or  block  any  measure  he 
wishes;  and,  furthermore,  he  may  vote 
down  any  constitutional  measure  to 
which  he  is  opposed,  since  fourteen  votes 
in  the  Bundesrat  are  sufficient  to  defeat 
any  proposed  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution. 

i 

German  Liberal  Movement 

Public  criticism  of  the  Government  is 
liable  to  cause  the  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  the  offender.  The  complete  sub- 
jection of  the  popular  will  to  the  dictates 
of  the  Government  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
four  times  in  the  past  the  Reichstag  has 
been  dissolved  for  presuming  to  use  its 
only  weapon  against  the  Government — 
rejection  of  the  Ministry's  measures — 
and  in  all  four  cases  a  new  election  has 
provided  an  assembly  which  passed  the 
measure  upon  which  its  predecessor  was 
wrecked. 

So  it  is  that  in  Germany  the  will  of 
the  people  is  directed  by  the  masterful, 
all-powerful  few,  who  compose  the  Gov- 
ernment, along  the  path  which  has  been 
prescribed  and  marked  out  for  it;  and 
the  Hohenzollern  dynasty  has  succeeded 
in  preserving  to  a  remarkable  degree  its 
ideal  of  a  Government  imposed  from 
above  and  being  of  and  for  the  people 
only  to  a  limited  degree. 

Under  the  influence  of  liberal  move- 
ments coming  to  a  head  in  other  States 
of  Europe  and  in  America,  the  Social- 


Democratic  Party  came  less  and  less  to 
radically  condemn  the  existing  order  and 
more  and  more  to  appear  as  the  cham- 
pion of  reform  confronting  the  intolerably 
despotic  imperial  system.  German 
politics  possesses  no  large  liberal  party 
advocating  the  democratic  principles  of 
responsible  Ministers,  equal  electoral  dis- 
tricts, and  retrenchment  in  military  ex- 
penditures; consequently  it  has  devolved 
upon  the  Social-Democrats  to  be  the  chief 
promoters  of  German  democracy,  resist- 
ing sturdily  the  ambitious  and  warlike 
projects  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II.,  advocat- 
ing a  decrease  in  expenditures  for 
colonial  purposes,  striving  for  the  pro- 
motion of  international  peace,  and  scorn- 
ing the  divine  right  theories  of  the 
Emperor. 

In  their  efforts  toward  reform  the 
Social- Democrats  have  been  supported  by 
the  other  parties  of  the  democratic  Left 
in  the  Reichstag,  and  by  many  adherents 
from  the  Catholic  Centre  and  the  Con- 
servative Right,  showing  that  the  liberal 
movement,  though  subject  to  suppressive 
measures,  has  been  rising  in  Germany,  as 
well  as  in  other  countries. 

German  exponents  of  this  liberal  move- 
ment see  the  first  step  in  its  success 
in  the  projected  redivision  of  the  empire 
into  new  and  more  equitable  electoral 
districts. 

In  1867,  under  the  Confederation, 
a  law  was  passed  dividing  the  coun- 
try roughly  into  electoral  districts  of 
100,000  voters  each  and  assigning  one 
member  in  the  Reichstag  to  each  elec- 
toral district.  Since  then  the  population 
of  Germany  has  increased  from  40,000,- 
000  to  65,000,000,  hundreds  of  thousands 
have  removed  from  the  country  to  the 
city,  rural  districts  of  formerly  100,000 
inhabitants  have  dwindled,  while  great 
manufacturing  centres  have  increased 
three  and  four  fold  in  population,  and 
still  this  law  has  never  been  changed. 

As  a  result,  Berlin,  for  instance,  al- 
though its  population  would  entitle  it 
to  twenty  representatives  in  the  Reichs- 
tag, actually  possesses  only  six.  Then, 
too,  this  condition  has  been  responsible 
for  the  dominance  of  the  relatively  small 
Socialist  minority  in  the  Reichstag  by 
the  large  Conservative  majority;  in  1907 


520 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


the  Socialists,  though  polling  over 
3,250,000  votes,  elected  only  forty-three 
members  to  the  Reichstag,  while  the  Con- 
servative Junkers,  militarists  living  on 
great  country  estates,  cast  only  1,500,000 
votes  and  returned  eighty-three  delegates 
to  the  Reichstag.  Despite  these  disad- 
vantages at  the  polls,  the  Socialists  made 
large  gains  in  the  elections  of  1912. 

The  Imperial  German  Government  has 
always  opposed  both  a  redivision  of  elec- 
toral districts  and  the  institution  of  par- 
liamentary government  by  two  parties — 
the  "  party  in  power  "  and  the  opposition 
— which  such  a  change  would  inevitably 
bring  about.  It  knows  that  increase  of 
representation  would  mean  such  an  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  delegates  from 
the  towns  and  their  industrial  elements 
as  to  shift  the  dominant  power  in  the 
Government  from  the  Conservative  Right 
to  the  Liberal  Left.  It  knows  that  the 
rise  of  a  great  Liberal  Party  in  the 
Reichstag  would  put  an  end  to  its  present 
independence  of  the  various  small  parties 
which  divide  the  lower  house  against 
itself.  It  still  holds  that  the  Ministry 
should  be  held  responsible  only  to  one 
man,  the  Emperor,  and  subject  to  no  let 
or  hindrance  on  the  part  of  the  people. 
This  stand  it  will  adhere  to  and  maintain 
as  long  as  it  can. 

The  Kaiser  a  Reactionary 

Conspicuous  among  the  opponents  of 
German  liberalism  and  reform  is  the 
figure  of  the  present  Kaiser,  William  II. 
His  ideal  of  a  reigning  Prince,  which  he 
has  constantly  striven  to  realize,  is  that 
of  one  who  watches  over  and  guards  and 
regulates  with  beneficient  paternalism 
every  interest  in  his  people's  life.  William 
I.  had  no  more  devout  belief  in  monarchy 
and  the  mission  of  the  Hohenzollerns; 
Frederick  the  Great  had  no  smaller  belief 
in  government  of  the  people  by  the  peo- 
ple, than  William  II.  Throughout  his- 
tory the  Hohenzollerns  have  been  re- 
markable for  their  adherence  to  the 
theory  of  the  divine  right  of  Kings,  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  peerless  army,  and 
for  the  swift  addition  of  more  territory 
to  their  dominions.  Emperor  William  has 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  fathers 
in  fulfilling  the  first  of  these  two,  and 


it  is  not  his  fault  that  he  will  not  be 
able  to  fulfill  the  third. 

In  his  speeches  he  has  endeavored  to 
secure  blind  acceptance  by  the  people  of 
the  god-like  character  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lern  rule  by  repeatedly  exalting  the 
memory  of  his  ancestors  and  admonish- 
ing his  auditors  to  follow  him  cheerfully 
and  unquestioningly  as  their  divinely  ap- 
pointed ruler: 

"  It  is  a  tradition  in  our  House  to  con- 
sider ourselves  as  designed  by  God  to 
govern  the  peoples  over  which  it  is  given 
us  to  reign.  My  grandfather  placed,  by 
his  own  right,  the  crown  of  the  Kings  of 
Prussia  on  his  head,  once  more  laying 
stress  upon  the  fact  that  it  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  Grace  of  God  alone,  not 
by  Parliament,  by  meetings  of  the  peo- 
ple, or  by  popular  decision;  and  that  he 
considered  himself  as  the  chosen  instru- 
ment of  Heaven,  and  as  such  performed 
his  duties  as  regent  and  ruler.  Consider- 
ing myself  as  the  instrument  %f  the  Lord, 
without  heeding  the  views  or  opinions  of 
the  day,  I  go  my  way,  which  is  devoted 
solely  and  alone  to  the  prosperity  and 
peaceful  development  of  our  Father- 
land." 

Standing  on  False  Ideals 

The  worldwide  democratic  movement 
of  recent  years  has  awakened  only 
enmity  in  the  Emperor's  breast,  and  he 
does  not  seem  to  be  able  to  realize  that 
a  new  era  of  democracy  has  at  last 
dawned  in  the  German  Empire  in  which 
the  people  are  to  control  their  own  polit- 
ical life.  Rather,  he  has  tried  to  force 
the  old  despotic  order  upon  an  age  of 
far  better  and  different  ideals.  One 
speech  of  his  in  particular,  made  to  re- 
cruits at  Potsdam,  Nov.  23,  1891,  at  a 
time  of  disorder  and  reform  agitation, 
the  world  will  never  forgive  or  forget: 
"  More  than  ever,  unbelief  and  discontent 
raise  their  head.  It  may  happen,  though 
God  forbid,  that  you  may  have  to  fire  on 
your  own  varents  and  brothers.  Prove 
your  fidelity,  then,  by  your  sacrifice." 

In  the  light  of  the  conditions  in  Ger- 
man politics  outlined  in  this  article,  and 
of  recent  events,  this  paragraph  from 
Dr.  John  Clark  Ridpath's  "  History  of  the 
World"    (1911    edition)    sounds    almost 


GERMANY'S  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT 


like  a  prophecy  and  shines  like  a  beacon 
of  hope  for  the  future: 

"  It  is  the  misfortune  of  the  Germany 
of  today  that  her  greatness  still  rests 
upon  the  foundations  of  military  force. 
To  the  extent  that  this  is  so,  her  strength 
is  weakness  and  the  imperial  system  en- 
dangered. It  remains  for  the  present 
and  the  future  to  demonstrate  whether 


521 


Germany  shall  be  able,  with  her  power- 
ful intellect  and  splendid  moods  of  men- 
tal action,  to  eliminate  from  her  political 
and  social  system  the  elements  of  force, 
of  personal  will,  of  feudal  antecedence, 
of  remaining  absolutism,  and  to  leave 
behind  in  her  tremendous  crucible  only 
the  beauty  of  her  genius  and  the  liquid 
gold  of  liberty." 


Painful  Charges  of  Brutality  to  Prisoners 


THE  London  Times  of  April  11  printed 
a  dispatch  from  a  special  corre- 
spondent at  Berne,  Switzerland, 
which  contained  a  distressing  indictment 
of  the  cruelty  practiced  by  German  wo- 
men toward  English  prisoners.  The  cor- 
respondent says  that  the  accounts  from 
1,500  English  soldiers  released,  from  Ger- 
man prison  camps  now  in  Switzerland 
give  testimony  which  "will  make  a 
monument  of  German  shame  that  will 
stand  as  a  warning  to  the  world  for  gen- 
erations."    He  continues: 

"  One  has  heard  before  how  German 
women  refused  to  give  British  wounded 
any  food  or  drink  on  their  long  journey 
through  Germany,  so  that  they  suffered 
unutterable  anguish  for  days  together; 
but  it  is  only  when  one  hears  the  stories 
in  mass — a  hundred,  one  after  another — 
that  one  gets  any  idea  of  the  universality 
and  the  horror  of  it  all.  There  are  in 
Switzerland  today  scores  and  scores  of 
men  of  all  ranks  who  had  the  same  ex- 
periences. Food  and  drink  were  denied 
them,  (by  women  wearing  the  Red 
Cross,)  and  the  denial  was  accompanied 
with  the  filthiest  abuse. 

"  It  was  the  common  amusement  of 
these  Red  Cross  women  to  tempt  our 
men,  who  were  in  the  last  extremity  of 
hunger  and  thirst,  by  holding  food  and 
drink  out  to  them  to  try  to  make  them 
snatch  at  it,  and  then  drawing  it  away. 
Many  scores  of  our  men,  begging  for  a 
drink,  had  coffee,  or  water,  or  soup  ten- 
dered to  them;  and  then  at  the  last  mo- 
ment the  gentle  nurse  would  spit  in  the 
cup  or  glass.  Not  seldom  our  men,  in 
their  suffering,  had  to  drink  the  defiled 
stuff,   while   the   women   looked   on  and 


laughed.  An  equally  common  entertain- 
ment with  these  women  was  to  offer  a 
wounded  man  a  glass,  perhaps,  of  water; 
then,  standing  just  outside  his  reach,  pour 
it  slowly  on  to  the  ground  or  down  be- 
tween the  station  platform  and  the  rail- 
way carriage. 

"  The  French  prisoners,  we  know,  were 
not  regarded  with  the  same  hatred  as  the 
British.  One  of  our  officers  was  wearing 
a  pair  of  blue  French  trousers.  Putting 
off  his  tunic,  he  appealed  to  a  Red  Cross 
nurse  for  food,  and  she,  taking  him  to  be 
French,  gave  it  him.  In  his  excitement 
he  inadvertently  said,  '  Oh,  thank  you ! ' 
Thereupon,  seeing  his  nationality,  she 
snatched  the  food  away  again.  Some- 
times French  officers  were  able  to  get 
food,  which  they  generously  shared  in  se- 
cret with  British  comrades.  In  at  least 
one  case  the  behavior  of  the  Red  Cross 
women  was  too  much  even  for  the  Ger- 
man soldiers. 

"  Two  of  our  officers  were  in  a  railway 
carriage  with  nine  wounded  German  pri- 
vates. The  latter  at  every  station  were 
plied  with  food  and  drink  and  cigarettes, 
but  the  British  officers  were  merely 
called  ' English  swine/  and  given  nothing. 
This  went  on  for  over  twenty-four  hours, 
until  the  German  soldiers  could  stand  it 
no  longer.  Then  two  of  them  pretended 
to  have  finished  their  own  portions  hur- 
riedly, and  asked  for  more.  Keeping 
what  they  then  received  out  of  sight  till 
the  train  was  in  motion,  they  gave  it  to 
the  British  officers. 

"  Cases  of  physical  maltreatment  of 
our  wounded  by  the  German  nurses  were 
just  as  common,  as  systematic,  as  was 
the  refusal  to  give  them  nourishment." 


The  Hand  of  God  in  Prussianism 

A  Study  of  the  German  War  Spirit 


DR.  J.  P.  BANG,  Professor  of 
Theology,  at  the  University  of 
Copenhagen,  has  written  a  book, 
entitled  u  Hurrah  and  Hallelu- 
jah," which  consists  largely  of  ex- 
cerpts from  the  works  of  Pan-German 
poets  and  from  the  sermons  of  clergy- 
men who  see  in  Germanism  the  hand  of 
God.  The  title  is  taken  from  a  col- 
lection of  poems  published  by  a  Ger- 
man pastor,  Konsistorialrat  Dietrich 
Vorwerk,  under  the  title,  "  Hurrah  and 
Hallelujah,"  which  Dr.  Bang  considers  so 
significant  that  he  has  adopted  it  for  this 
"  documentation "  of  the  teachings  of 
Germany's  religious  and  intellectual  lead- 
ers. A  translation  has  just  been  pub- 
lished by  the  George  H.  Doran  Company. 

"The  Allies,"  says  Dr.  Bang,  "have 
denounced  the  Germans  as  barbarians. 
If  this  were  meant  to  imply  that  Ger- 
many was  not  a  civilized  nation  such  an 
accusation  would,  of  course,  be  absurd. 
Germany  is  unquestionably  a  civilized 
nation  and  none  of  the  spokesmen  of  the 
allied  powers  would  think  of  denying  that 
she  has  produced  rich  treasures  of 
1  kultur.'  Wherever  the  German  mind 
has  labored,  wonderful  riches  have  been 
the  outcome. 

"  But  the  charge  of  barbarism  points 
in  an  entirely  different  direction.  It 
points  to  a  development  within  Germany 
which  has  been  going  on  with  headlong 
rapidity,  especially  during  the  past  fifty 
years.  Even  the  highest  kultur  can  turn 
to  barbarism  when  it  becomes  subservient 
to  utterly  false  and  immoral  ideas. 

"  In  Germany  such  a  craving  for  power, 
such  a  worship  for  mere  strength,  has 
taken  root  and  grown,  that  the  claim  of 
right  to  be  a  determining  factor  in  in- 
ternational relations  has  been  entirely 
pushed  aside.  A  colossal  and  ever-in- 
creasing self-admiration,  a  belief  in  the 
glory  of  all  things  German,  the  surpass- 
ing merits  sof  the  German  nature,  which 
alone  has  the  right  to  rule  the  world,  a 
cynical,  brutal  assertion  that  in  relation 


to  this  claim  all  existing  treaties,  all  ap- 
peals to  international  law,  all  considera- 
tion for  weaker  peoples,  are  of  no  signfi- 
cance  whatever — all  this  we  have  wit- 
nessed with  shuddering  astonishment. 

"  The  greatest  and  most  popular  of  all 
the  new  German  prophets  is  the  poet 
Emanuel  Geibel,  whose  centenary  has  re- 
cently been  celebrated,  (born  1815,  died 
1884,)"  says  Dr.  Bang.  "It  is  he  who 
has  given  the  classic  expression  to  the 
new  German  hope  of  Germany's  victori- 
ous march  through  the  world.  This  has 
been  achieved  in  the  lines  which  are 
quoted  times  without  number  in  the  new- 
est German  war  literature: 

"  Und  es  mag  am  deutschen  "Wesen 
•    Einmal  noch  die  "Welt  genesen  ! 

"  '  The  world  may  yet  again  be  healed 
by  Germanism.'  The  hope  here  expressed 
has  become  a  certainty  for  modern  Ger- 
many, and  the  Germans  see  in  this  the 
moral  basis  for  all  their  demands.  Why 
must  Germany  be  victorious,  why  must 
she  have  her  place  in  the  sun,  why  must 
her  frontiers  be  extended,  why  is  all  op- 
position to  Germany  shameful,  not  to  say 
devilish,  why  must  Germany  become  a 
world  empire,  why  ought  Germany,  and 
not  England,  to  become  the  great  colonial 
power?  Why,  because  it  is  through  the 
medium  of  Germanism  that  the  world  is 
to  be  healed;  it  is  upon  Germanism  that 
the  salvation  of  the  world  depends.  That 
is  why  all  attacks  upon  Germanism  are 
an  offense  against  God's  plans,  and  oppo- 
sition to  His  designs  for  the  world;  in 
short,  a  sin  against  God. 

"  In  the  first  edition  of  Pastor  Vor- 
werk's  poems  there  occurred  a  para- 
phrase of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  of  which  I 
will  cite  the  last  three  petitions  and  the 
close : 

"  Though  the  warrior's  bread  be  scanty,  do 
Thou  work  daily  death  and  tenfold  woe  unto 
the  enemy.  Forgive  in  merciful  long-suffer- 
ing each  bullet  and  each  blow  which  misses 
its  mark !  Lead  us  not  into  the  temptation  of 
letting  our  wrath  be  too  tame  in  carrying  out 
Thy  divine  judgment!  Deliver  us  and  our 
ally  from  the  infernal  enemy  and  his  servants 


[y«.^^saa: 


^COUCY-LE-CHATEAUAFTERTHE  GERMAN  RETREAT 


All  That  Is  Left  of  the  Massive  Donjon  Tower 
Shown  on  Preceding  Page 

(Photo  ©  Underwood  A  Underwood) 


■Mr/1** 


< 


View  of  the  Devastated  Park  of  the  Castle 
As  the  Invaders  Left  It 

(Photo  ©  Underwood  d  Underwood) 


ES^jyteferafc^   


-.'Jfec 


THE  HAND  OF  GOD  IN  PRUSSIANISM 


523 


on  earth.  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  the  German 
land ;  may  we,  by  aid  of  Thy  steel-clad  hand, 
achieve  the  power  and  the  glory. 

"  Here,  however,  the  Germans  them- 
selves thought  the  poet  had  gone  too 
far;  the  poem  was  denounced  as  blas- 
phemous in  a  religious  paper,  and  it  did 
not  appear  in  later  editions  of  the  book. 
"Another  poet,  Fritz  Philippi,  has 
written  the  following  poem,  entitled 
1  World-Germany ' : 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  world  war  Germany 
lies  like  a  peaceful  garden  of  God  behind  the 
wall  of  her  armies.  Then  the  poet  hears  the 
giant  strides  of  the  new  armor-clad  Ger- 
many; the  earth  trembles,  the  nations  shriek, 
the  old  era  sinks  into  ruin.  Formerly  Ger- 
man thought  was  shut  up  in  her  corner,  but 
now  the  world  shall  have  its  coat  cut  accord- 
ing to  German  measure  and  as  far  as  our 
swords  flash  and  German  blood  flows,  the 
circle  of  the  earth  shall  come  under  the  tute- 
lage of  German  activity. 

"  We  have  become  a  nation  of  wrath ;  we 
think  only  of  the  war.  We  execute  God's 
almighty  will  and  the  edicts  of  his  justice  we 
will  fulfill,  imbued  with  holy  rage." 

Dr.  Bang  quotes  long  passages  from 
published  war  sermons,  most  of  which 
proclaim  the  identity  of  Germanism  and 
Christianity.  This  is  from  a  volume  of 
sermons  published  by  Pastor  H.  Francke, 
Liegnitz : 

They  envy  us  our  freedom,  our  power  to  do 
our  work  in  peace,  to  excel  in  virtue  of 
ability,  to  fulfill  our  appointed  task  for  the 
good  of  the  world  and  humanity,  to  heal  the 
world  by  the  German  nature,  to  become  a 
blessing  to  the  people  of  the  earth.  Wher- 
ever the  German  spirit  obtains  supremacy, 
there  freedom  also  prevails.     *     *     * 

Here  we  come  upon  the  old,  intimate  kin- 
ship between  the  essence  of  Christianity  and 
of  Germanism.  Because  of  their  close  spir- 
itual relationship,  therefore,  Christianity 
must  find  its  fairest  flower  in  the  German 
mind.  Therefore,  we  have  a  right  to  say : 
"  Our  German  Christianity — the  most  per- 
fect, the  most  pure."     *    *    * 

German  craving  for  truth  and  German 
strength  of  faith,  working  along  Biblical 
paths,  have  attained  to  the  true  faith,  the 
pure  religiousness,  whose  first  and  greatest 
spokesman  is  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  the  Ger- 
mans are  the  very  nearest  to  the  Lord,  and 
may  claim  for  themselves  that  they  have 
"  continued  in  His  Word."    *    *    * 

We  fight,  then,  not  only  for  our  land  and 
our  people ;  no,  for  humanity  in  its  most 
mature  form  of  development;  in  a  word,  for 
Christianity  as  against  degeneration  and.  bar- 
barism. Therefore,  as  surely  as  the  history 
of  mankind  moves  onward  and  not  backward, 
and  truth  is  higher  than  lies  and  hypocrisy, 
God  must  be  with  us,  and  victory  ours. 


"  The  German  Cod  " 
In  the  report  of  an  address  by  a  Ger- 
man  theological   professor,   in   the   Ber- 
liner Lokal-Anzeiger  for  Nov.  13,  1914, 
we  read  as  follows: 

But  the  deepest  and  most  thought-inspiring 
result  of  the  war  is  "  the  German  God."  Not 
the  national  God,  such  as  the  lower  nations 
worship,  but  "  our  God,"  who  is  not  ashamed 
of  belonging  to  us,  the  peculiar  acquirement 
of  our  heart.  Max  Lenz  has  already  testified 
to  the  revelation  of  the  "  German  God,"  and 
Luther's  hymn,  "  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser 
Gott,"  merely  expresses  the  same  idea  in 
other  words. 

In  a  sermon  preached  Sept.  6,  1914, 
Pastor  Karl  Koenig  said: 

Not  fear,  but  strength!  Since  the  days  of 
the  Morocco  affair,  the  most  painful  thing 
for  us  who  hold  Germany's  strength  and 
greatness  to  be  a  neccessity  for  the  history 
of  mankind,  was  the  fact  that  the  inevitable 
weakening  in  oar  policy  at  that  time— in- 
evitable because  our  fleet  was  not  yet  ready, 
because  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  canal  was  not 
yet  completed,  because  Heligoland  was  not 
yet  fully  fortified,  and  because  the  whole 
Morocco  business  was  not  a  matter  for  the 
sake  of  which  the  conscience  of  our  people 
would  have  approved  a  war— the  fact  that 
this  weakness  of  our  policy,  to  which  neces- 
sity compelled  us,  led  foreign  nations  to  sus- 
pect our  Kaiser  of  timidity.  William  the 
Timid !  Thus  they  mocked  in  France,  thus 
they  hissed  in  England,  and  the  Muscovites 
rubbed  their  hands  in  glee.    *    *    * 

Must  we  not,  even  now,  be  thankful  that 
Russian  thirst  for  power,  and  French  ambi- 
tion, fostered  and  encouraged  by  English 
egoism,  did  not  let  the  shots  fired  at  Serajevo 
lead  to  a  stern  chastisement  of  Serbia,  as 
moral  earnestness  demanded,  but  allowed 
them  to  swell  into  the  thunder  rolling  through 
this,  the  greatest  war  which  has  ever  shaken 
the  world.  Two  years  too  early  for  our  ene- 
mies, but  an  act  of  grace  from  God  for  our- 
selves and  our  allies  !  For  now  we  have  the 
lead  in  the  iron  game  of  war;  and  though 
England  may  lurk  in  the  background,  wait- 
ing for  her  turn  in  the  game— so  be  it,  Eng- 
land— we  know  exactly  what  trumps  you 
hold,  but  whether  you  know  ours,  coming 
days  will  show.    *    *    * 

Our  German  power  shows  its  nature  pre- 
cisely ip  this,  that  it  can  wait  until  God, 
through  its  conscience,  commands :  "  Now  Is 
the  time  to  strike  and  defend  thyself."  The 
time  had  not  come  in  the  days  of  the  Mo- 
rocco episode.  But  it  has  come  now,  and 
German  power,  deliberate  and  calm,  now 
faces  a  world  of  foes.  Conscience  commands, 
and  then  there  is  neither  wavering  nor  polit- 
ical wrangling,  no  ambiguous  Anglicizing,  no 
ambiguous  Muscovitizing,  but  one  thing  only : 
Yes  or  no,  and  "  German  blows,  German 
power." 


524 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


In  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  War  Devo- 
tions," which  has  run  through  several 
editions,  Pastor  J.  Rump,  Berlin,  thus 
outlines  Germany's  mission: 

We  stand  facing  the  decisive  hour  for 
Europe ;  nay,  we  must  even  say,  for  Asia 
and  Africa.  On  Germany,  which,  contrary 
to  all  human  calculation,  has  in  this  war 
been  guided  to  victory,  the  Lord  will  confer 
the  duty  of  heralding  the  progress  of  His 
Kingdom  throughout  humanity.  On  the  paths 
of  commerce  and  intercourse  we  shall  go 
forth  to  all  nations,  and,  after  the  fierce 
fight  is  over,  carry  Jesus  to  them,  in  the 
quiet,  peaceful  work  of  a  true  Kultur.  Eng- 
land, in  these  paths,  has  lowered  herself  to 
become  a  nation  of  hucksters,  who  have  long 
abandoned  the  service  of  God  for  that  of 
Mammon.  Let  England's  doings  be  a  warn- 
ing to  us,   Christians  ! 

Pastor  Goesch  of  Bustrow  delivered  a 
discourse  on  war  and  Kultur,  which  con- 
cludes with  these  words: 

We  Germans,  reviled  as  Huns  and  bar- 
barians, having  through  the  war  been  taught 
the  value  and  benignant  power  of  our  Chris- 
tian-German Kultur,  will  become  the  mis- 
sionaries of  Kultur  to  the  people  of  the  earth. 
As  a  nation  which  knows  and  wills,  which 
strives  and  achieves,  we  will  conquer  that 
place  in  the  sun  which  is  due  to  us,  and  will 
become  bearers  of  light  to  the  other  nations, 
so  that  their  eyes  may  be  opened  to  the  deed 
of  infamy,  the  Kultur-murder,  to  which  they 
have  stooped,  blinded  by  hatred  and  envy. 
This  German  war  against  the  whole  world 
shall  break  the  way  for  German  Kultur  to 
the  whole  world ! 

Dr.  Bang,  in  conclusion,  points  out 
that  a  systematic  campaign  of  chauv- 
inism and  incitement  to  war  had  long 
been  carried  on  in  Germany.  He  quotes 
from  "  a  remarkable  book,"  published  in 
1913  by  a  German- American,  Professor 
O.  Nippold: 

Chauvinism  has  grown  enormously  in  Ger- 
many during  the  last  decade.  This  fact 
makes  the  strongest  impression  on  those  who 
have  returned  to  Germany  after  living  a  long 
time  abroad.  I,  myself,  can  say  from 
experience  how  astonished  I  was,  on  return- 
ing   to    Germany    after    a    long    absence,    to 


see  this  psychological  transformation.  *  *  * 
Hand  in  hand  with  this  outspoken  hostility 
to  foreign  countries  there  goes  a  one-sided 
.war  enthusiasm  and  war  mania  such  as 
would  have  been  thought  impossible  a  few 
years  ago.  One  can  only  deplore  the  fact 
that  today  there  is  so  much  irresponsible 
agitation  against  other  States  and  so  much 
frivolous  incitement  to  war.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  this  agitation  is  part  of  a  de- 
liberate scheme,  the  object  of  which  is  gradu- 
ally to  win  over  the  population,  and  if  possi- 
ble the  Government,  no  matter  by  what 
means— even  by  the  distortion  of  fact  and 
malicious  slander— to  the  program  of  the 
chauvinists. 

These  people  not  only  incite  the  nation  to 
war,  but  systematically  stimulate  the  desire 
for  war.  War  is  pictured  not  as  a  possi- 
bility that  may  occur,  but  as  a  necessity  that 
must  come,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  The 
sum  and  substance  of  the  teaching  of  the 
chauvinistic  organizations,  such  as  the  Pan- 
German  League  and  the  German  Defense  As- 
sociation, is  always  the  same ;  a  European 
war  is  not  merely  an  eventuality  for  which 
we  must  be  prepared,  but  a  necessity  at 
which,  in  the  interest  of  the  German  Nation, 
we  should  rejoice. 

One  of  the  leaders  of  the  association 
known  as  Young  Germany  wrote  in  its 
official  organ  for  October,  1913,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Bang: 

War  Is  the  noblest  and  holiest  expression 
of  hum?.n  activity.  For  us,  too,  the  glad, 
great  hour  of  battle  will  strike.  Still  and 
deep  in  the  German  heart  must  live  the  joy 
of  battle  and  the  longing  for  it.  Let  us  ridi- 
cule to  the  utmost  the  old  women  in  breeches 
who  fear  war  and  deplore  it  as  cruel  or 
revolting.  No,  war  is  beautiful.  Its  august 
sublimity  elevates  the  human  heart  beyond 
the  earthly  and  the  common.  In  the  cloud 
palace  above  sit  the  heroes  Frederick  the 
Great  and  Bliicher,  and  all  the  men  of 
action — the  Great  Emperor,  Moltke,  Roon, 
Bismarck  are  there  as  well,  but  not  the  old 
women  who  would  take  away  our  joy  in  war. 
When  here  on  earth  a  battle  is  won  by 
German  arms,  and  the  faithful  dead  ascend 
to  heaven — a  Potsdam  Lance  Corporal  will 
call  the  guard  to  the  door,  and  *'  Old  Fritz," 
springing  from  his  golden  throne,  will  give 
the  command  to  present  arms.  That  is  the 
heaven  of  Young  Germany. 


• 

ySES 

1«!K 

1 1(1 

1  ■ 

Under  German  Rule  in  France 
and  Belgium 

A  Young  Englishman's  Experience 


J.  P.  Whitaker,  a  young  Englishman, 
was  at  Roubaix  in  Northern  France  on 
business  when  the  Germans  unexpect- 
edly invaded  that  region  in  September, 
191b.  After  passing  two  and  a  half 
years  there  under  German  military  rule, 
he  escaped  in  March,  1917,  by  way  of 
Belgium  and  Holland,  and  wrote  an  in- 
teresting account  of  his  experiences  for 
The  London  Times.  His  observations 
regarding  the  changed  policy  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  Belgium  revealed  some  things 
hitherto  unknown  io  the  outside  viorld. 
Mr.  Whitaker  found  the  rule  of  the  in- 
vaders in  Roubaix  and  Lille  comparative- 
ly humane  at  first,  but  he  continues: 

TOWARD  the  end  of  March,  1915, 
a  distinct  change  became  notice- 
able in  the  policy  of  the  German 
military  authorities,  and  for  the 
first  time  the  people  of  Roubaix  began  to 
feel  the  iron  heel.  The  allied  Govern- 
ments had  formally  declared  their  inten- 
tion of  blockading  Germany,  and  the  Ger- 
man Army  had  been  given  a  sharp  lesson 
at  Neuve  Chapelle.  Whether  these  two 
events  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
change,  or  whether  it  was  merely  a  coin- 
cidence, I  do  not  know;  the  fact  remains 
that  our  German  governors  who  had  hith- 
erto treated  us  with  tolerable  leniency 
chose  about  this  time  to  initiate  a  regime 
of  stringent  regulation  and  repression. 
The  first  sign  of  the  new  policy  was 
the  issue  of  posters  calling  on  all  men, 
women,  and  children  over  the  age  of  14  to 
go  to  the  Town  Hall  and  take  out  identi- 
fication papers,  while  all  men  between  17 
and  50  were  required  also  to  obtain  a  con- 
trol card. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  escaped  any  in- 
terference from  the  Germans,  perhaps 
because  I  scarcely  ventured  into  the 
streets  for  the  first  two  months  of  the 
German  occupation,  and  possibly  also  be- 
cause, from  a  previous  long  residence  in 


Roubaix,  I  spoke  French  fluently. 
Strangely  enough,  though  I  went  to  the 
Town  Hall  with  the  rest  and  supplied 
true  particulars  of  my  age  and  nation- 
ality, papers  were  issued  to  me  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  never  during  the 
whole  two  years  and  more  of  my  pres- 
ence in  their  midst  did  the  enemy  molest 
me  in  any  way. 

Methods  of  the  Invaders 

The  only  incident  which  throws  any 
light  on  this  curious  immunity  occurred 
about  the  middle  of  1915.  Like  all  other 
men  of  military  age,  I  was  required  to 
present  myself  once  a  month  at  a  public 
hall,  in  order  to  have  my  control  card, 
which  was  divided  into  squares  for  the 
months  of  the  year,  marked  in  the  proper 
space  with  an  official  stamp  "  Kontrol, 
July,"  or  "August,"  or  whatever  the 
month  might  be.  We  Were  summoned  for 
this  process  by  groups,  first  those  from 
17  to  25,  then  those  from  25  to  35,  and 
so  on.  Hundreds  of  young  fellows 
would  gather  in  a  room,  and  one  by  one, 
as  their  names  were  called,  would  take 
their  cards  to  be  stamped  by  a  noncom- 
missioned officer  sitting  at  a  table  on 
the  far  side  of  the  room.  On  the  occa- 
sion I  have  in  mind  the  noncommissioned 
officer  said  to  me,  "  You  are  French, 
aren't  you?"  I  answered,  "  No."  "Are 
you  Belgian?  "  "  No,"  again.  "  You  are 
Dutch,  then?  "  A  third  time  I  replied 
"  No." 

At  this  stage  an  officer  who  had  been 
sauntering  up  and  down  the  room  smok- 
ing a  cigarette  came  to  the  table,  took 
up  my  card,  and  turning  to  the  man  be- 
hind the  table  remarked,  "  It's  all  right. 
He's  an  American."  I  did  not  trouble  to 
enlighten  him.  That  is  probably  why  I 
enjoyed  comparative  liberty. 

Enslavement  is  part  of  the  deliberate 
policy   of   the    Germans   in    France.      It 


526 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


began  by  the  taking  of  hostages  at  the 
very  outset  of  their  possession  of  Rou- 
baix.  A.  number  of  the  leading  men 
in  the  civic  and  business  life  of  the  town 
were  marked  out  and  compelled  to  attend 
by  turns  at  the  Town  Hall,  to  be  shot  on 
the  spot  at  the  least  sign  of  revolt  among 
the  townspeople. 

Not  a  few  of  the  mill  owners  were  or- 
dered to  weave  cloth  for  the  invaders, 
and  on  their  refusal  were  sent  to  Ger- 
many and  held  to  ransom.  Many  of  the 
mill  operatives,  quite  young  girls,  were 
directed  to  sew  sandbags  for  the  German 
trenches.  They,  too,  refused,  but  the 
Germans  had  their  own  ways  of  dealing 
with  what  they  regarded  as  juvenile  ob- 
stinacy. They  dragged  the  girls  to  a 
disused  cinema  hall,  and  kept  them  there 
without  food  or  water  until  their  will 
was  broken. 

Barbarity  reached  its  climax  in  the 
so-called  "deportations."  They  were 
just  slave  raids,  brutal  and  undisguised. 

The  procedure  was  this:  The  town  was 
divided  into  districts.  At  3  o'clock  in 
the  morning  a  cordon  of  troops  would 
be  drawn  round  a  district — the  Prussian 
Guard  and  especially,  I  believe,  the 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment,  played  a  great 
part  in  this  diabolical  crime — and  officers 
and  noncommissioned  officers  would 
knock  at  every  door  until  the  household 
was  roused.  A  handbill,  about  octavo 
size,  was  handed  in,  and  the  officer 
passed  on  to  the  next  house.  The  hand- 
bill contained  printed  orders  that  every 
member  of  the  household  must  rise  and 
dress  immediately,  pack  up  a  couple  of 
blankets,  a  change  of  linen,  a  pair  of 
stout  boots,  a  spoon  and  fork,  and  a  few 
other  small  articles,  and  be  ready  for  the 
second  visit  in  half  an  hour.  When  the 
officer  returned,  the  family  were  mar- 
shaled before  him,  and  he  picked  out 
those  whom  he  wanted  with  a  curt  "  You 
will  come,"  "  And  you,"  "  And  you." 
Without  even  time  for  leave-taking,  the 
selected  victims  were  paraded  in  the 
street  and  marched  to  a  mill  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town.  There  they  were 
imprisoned  for  three  days,  without  any 
means  of  Communication  with  friends  or 
relatives,  all  herded  together  indiscrim- 


inately and  given  but  the  barest  modicum 
of  food.  Then,  like  so  many  cattle,  they 
were  sent  away  to  an  unknown  fate. 

Months  afterward  some  of  them  came 
back,  emaciated  and  utterly  worn  out, 
ragged  and  verminous,  broken  in  all  but 
spirit.  I  spoke  with  numbers  of  the  men. 
They  had  been  told  by  the  Germans,  they 
said,  that  they  were  going  to  work  on  the 
land.  They  found  that  only  the  women 
and  girls  were  put  to  farm  labor. 

The  men  were  taken  to  the  French 
Ardennes  and  compelled  to  mend  roads, 
man  sawmills  and  forges,  build  masonry, 
and  toil  at  other  manual  tasks.  Rough 
hutments  formed  their  barracks.  They 
were  under  constant  guard  both  there 
and  at  their  work,  and  they  were  marched 
under  escort  from  the  huts  to  work  and 
from  work  to  the  huts.  For  food  each 
man  was  given  a  two-pound  loaf  of  Ger- 
man bread  every  five  days,  a  little  boiled 
rice,  and  a  pint  of  coffee  a  day.  At  8 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  a  breakfast 
consisting  of  a  slice  of  bread  and  a  cup 
of  coffee,  they  went  to  work.  At  4  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  they  returned  for  the 
night  and  took  their  second  meal — din- 
ner, tea,  and  supper  all  in  one.  Often 
they  were  buffeted  and  generally  ill-used 
by  their  taskmasters.  If  they  fell  ill, 
cold  water,  internally  or  externally,  was 
the  invariable  remedy.  Once  a  commis- 
sion came  to  see  them  at  work,  but  they 
had  been  warned  beforehand  that  any 
man  who  complained  of  his  treatment 
would  suffer  for  it.  One  of  them  was 
bold  enough  to  protest  to  the  visitors 
against  a  particularly  flagrant  case  of 
ill-usage.  That  man  disappeared  a  few 
days  later. 

Saved  by  American  Food 
Long  before  this  the  food  problem 
had  become  acute  in  Roubaix.  Simul- 
taneously with  the  establishment  of  the 
system  of  personal  control  over  the  in- 
habitants the  Germans  closed  the  fron- 
tier between  France  and  Belgium  and 
forbade  us  to  approach  within  half  a 
mile  of  the  border  line.  The  immediate 
effect  of  this  isolation  was  to  reduce  to 
an  insignificant  trickle  the  copious 
stream  of  foodstuffs  which  until  then 
poured  in  from  Belgium — not  the  starv- 


UNDER  GERMAN  RULE  IN  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM  527 


ing  Belgium  of  fiction,  but  the  well  sup- 
plied Belgium  of  fact. 

Butchers  and  bakers  and  provision 
dealers  had  to  shut  their  shops,  and  the 
town  became  almost  wholly  dependent  on 
supplies  brought  in  by  the  American  Re- 
lief Commission.  Fresh  meat  was  soon 
unobtainable,  except  by  those  few  people 
who  could  afford  to  pay  fabulous  prices 
for  joints  smuggled  across  the  frontier. 
Months  ago  meat  cost  32  francs  a  kilo- 
gram (about  13  shillings  a  pound)  and 
an  egg  cost  1  franc  25,  (a  shilling.)  Ob- 
viously such  things  were  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  bulk  of  the  people,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  the  efforts  of  the  Relief 
Commission  we  should  all  have  starved. 

The  commission  opened  a  food  depot,  a 
local  committee  issued  tickets  for  the  va- 
rious articles,  and  rich  and  poor  alike 
had  to  wait  their  turn  at  the  depot  to 
procure  the  allotted  rations.  The  chief 
foodstuffs  supplied  were:  Rice,  flaked 
maize,  bacon,  lard,  coffee,  bread,  con- 
densed milk,  (occasionally,)  haricot 
beans,  lentils,  and  a  very  small  allowance 
of  sugar.  Potatoes  could  not  be  bought 
at  any  price. 

Hungry  German  Soldiers 

Unfortunately,  though  I  regret  that  I 
should  have  to  record  it,  there  is  evidence 
that  by  some  means  or  other  the  German 
Army  contrived  to  intercept  for  itself  a 
part  of  the  food  sent  by  the  American 
Commission.  One  who  had  good  reason 
to  know  told  me  that  more  than  once 
trainloads  which,  according  to  a  notifica- 
tion sent  to  him,  had  left  Brussels  for 
Roubaix  failed  to  arrive.  I  know  also 
that  analysis  of  the  bread  showed  that 
in  some  cases  German  rye  flour,  includ- 
ing 30,  per  cent,  of  sawdust,  had  been 
substituted  for  the,  white  American  flour, 
producing  an  indigestible  putty-like  sub- 
stance which  brought  illness  and  death 
to  many.  Indeed,  the  mortality  from  this 
cause  was  so  heavy  at  one  period  that 
all  the  grave  diggers  in  the  town  could 
not  keep  pace  with  it. 

One  could  easily  understand  how  great 
must  have  been  the  temptation  to  the 
Germans  to  tap  for  themselves  the  food 
which  friends  abroad  had  sent  for  their 
victims.    It  is  a  significant  fact  that  sol- 


diers in  Roubaix  were  eager  to  buy  rice 
from  those  who  had  obtained  it  at  the 
depot  at  four  francs  (3s  4d)  the  pound 
in  order,  as  they  said,  "  to  send  it  home." 
I  shall  describe  later  how  utterly  differ- 
ent were  the  conditions  in  Belgium  as 
I  saw  them. 

Meagre  as  were  the  food  supplies  for 
the  civilians  in  Roubaix,  those  issued  to 
the  German  soldiers  toward  the  end  of 
my  stay  were  little  better. 

At  first  the  householders,  on  whom 
the  soldiers  were  billeted,  were  required 
to  feed  them  and  to  recover  the  cost 
from  the  municipal  authorities. 

Collection  of  Metals 

In  passing,  I  may  mention  that  all 
ordinary  money,  gold,  silver,  and  bronze, 
disappeared  from  circulation  long  ago. 
Some  of  it  possibly  was  hidden  by  the 
townsfolk,  but  much  more  was  collected 
by  the  Germans  and  sent  out  of  the  coun- 
try. It  was  replaced  by  paper  money  of 
all  denominations,  even  to  cardboard 
sous.  After  some  months  the  billeting 
system  was  altered,  and  the  German  mili- 
tary authorities  undertook  the  feeding  of 
their  men.  From  that  time  onward  there 
was  a  progressive  fall  in  the  quantity  and 
deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the  sol- 
diers' daily  rations.  To  the  end  they 
seemed  to  have  no  lack  of  jam,  not  plum 
and  apple,  but  something  red,  which 
looked  rather  like  raspberry.  Often  I 
have  seen  them  walking  along  the  street 
munching  a  thick  slice  of  rye  bread 
covered  with  a  generous  layer  of  this 
jam. 

Just  before  I  left,  I  was  shown  one 
day's  menu  provided  for  the  troops. 
Breakfast  consisted  of  dry  bread  and 
coffee,  dinner  of  boiled  barley,  and  sup- 
per of  cooked  beet  root.  It  was  some 
comfort  to  us  to  know  that,  while  we  could 
barely  subsist,  the  Germans  were  evi- 
dently not  much  better  off. 

Conditions  in  Germany  were  reflected 
also  in  the  systematic  plundering  of 
workshops  and  houses  of  everything  made 
of  brass,  copper,  pewter,  or  German  sil- 
ver. The  Germans  began  by  taking  all 
stocks  of  raw  and  combed  wool,  raw  cot- 
ton, and  raw  silk  from  the  warehouses, 
and   followed  this  up  by  appropriating 


528 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


all  woolen  piece  goods.  They  next  requi- 
sitioned all  oil.  Late  last  year  they  issued 
a  proclamation  calling  upon  the  residents 
to  declare  to  the  military  authorities 
what  brass  was  in  their  possession.  Of 
course,  nobody  paid  any  attention  to  the 
order. 

A  few  days  later  parties  of  German 
soldiers  went  through  the  town,  street  by 
street,  and  seized  every  article  of  brass, 
bronze,  or  copper  on  which  they  could  set 
eyes.  Without  ceremony  they  entered 
private  houses,  helped  themselves  to  stair 
rods,  brass  or  copper  kettles  and  other 
cooking  utensils,  gas  fittings,  fittings 
from  fireplaces,  door  plates,  clothes 
hooks,  and  knickknacks  of  every  kind. 
Nothing  was  overlooked.  They  took  up 
brass-headed  carpet  pins;  they  even  tore 
the  candlesticks  from  pianos.  The  things 
were  bundled  into  a  cart,  on  the  tail  of 
which  were  scales,  like  those  carried  on 
coalmen's  trolleys.  Everything  was 
weighed,  and  a  receipt  was  given  at  the 
rate  of  2  francs  per  kilogram,  or  10  pence 
per  pound.  Bronze  statuettes  worth  at 
least  500  francs  were  taken  at  the  in- 
trinsic cost  of  the  metal. 

The  process  was  not  confined  to  pri- 
vate houses  or  workshops.  One  day  the 
Germans  made  a  tour  of  the  cafes  and 
ripped  off  the  pewter  tops  of  the  coun- 
ters. They  also  went  from  shop  to  shop 
and  carried  away  the  brass  trays  from 
the  scales.  I  saw  one  cart  go  along  the 
street  piled  high  with  gramophone  horns. 

Hope  of  Conquest  Cone 

Of  all  the  things  I  saw  and  heard  in 
Roubaix  and  Lille  none  impressed  me 
more  than  the  wonderful  change  which 
came  over  the  outlook  and  demeanor  of 
the  German  soldiery  between  October, 
1914,  and  October,  1915. 

I  had  many  opportunities  of  mingling 
with  them,  more,  in  fact,  than  I  cared 
to  have,  for  now  and  again  during  this 
period  two  or  three  of  them  were  actual- 
ly billeted  on  the  good  folk  with  whom  I 
lodged. 

I  knew  just  sufficient  of  the  German 
language  to  be  able  to  chat  with  them, 
and  they  made  no  attempt  to  conceal 
from  me  their  real  feelings.  I  am  mere- 
ly repeating  the  statement  made  to  me 


over  and  over  again  by  many  German 
soldiers  when  I  say  that  the  men  in  the 
ranks  are  thoroughly  tired  of  the  war, 
that  they  have  abandoned  all  thought  of 
conquest,  and  that  they  fight  on  only 
because  they  believe  that  their  homes 
and  families  are  at  stake. 

On  that  Autumn  morning  when  the 
first  German  troops  came  into  Roubaix 
they  came  flushed  with  victory,  full  of 
confidence  in  their  strength,  marching 
with  their  eyes  fixed  on  Paris  and  Lon- 
don. They  sang  aloud  as  they  swung 
through  our  streets.  They  sing  no  more. 
Instead,  as  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes, 
many  of  them  show  in  their  faces  the 
abject  misery  which  is  in  their  hearts. 

Last  year  scores  of  them  told  me, 
quite  independently,  that  the  war  would 
come  to  an  end  on  Nov.  17,  1916. 
How  that  date  came  to  be  fixed  by  the 
prophets  nobody  knew,  but  the  belief  in 
the  prophecy  was  universal  among  the 
soldiers. 

The  Cuns  on  the  Somme 

That  was  before  the  battle  of  the 
Somme.  For  days  we  in  Roubaix  heard 
the  distant  roaring  of  the  guns  in  that 
great  encounter.  Night  and  day  without 
ceasing  their  rumble  sounded.  We  had 
grown  accustomed  to  the  sound  of  the 
guns  about  Ypres  and  Armentieres;  we 
had  sat  at  our  windows  in  the  evening 
and  watched  the  flashes  in  the  darkness; 
we  had  even  heard  at  night-time  the 
rattle  of  machine  guns.  But  we  had 
never  heard  so  continuous  or  so  heavy  a 
thunder  as  that  which  came  to  us  from 
the  Somme. 

We  were  used,  too,  to  the  sight  of 
wounded  Germans  brought  in  from  the 
front;  but  Roubaix,  and,  still  more,  Lille, 
never  witnessed  such  a  constant  stream 
of  broken  men  as  that  which  poured  in 
last  July  and  August. 

In  Roubaix  alone,  in  addition  to  the 
town  hospitals,  the  Germans  had  sud- 
denly to  improvise  hospitals  in  the  work- 
house, the  boys'  college,  and  the  girls' 
college.  Every  bed  was  filled,  and  to 
the  rest  of  the  wounded  the  doctors  in 
Roubaix  could  give  only  such  attention 
as  is  possible  in  a  dressing  station,  pend- 
ing their  conveyance  into  Belgium. 


UNDER  GERMAN  RULE  IN  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM  529 


I  found  among  the  soldiers  a  general 
agreement  that  they  would  infinitely 
rather  face  the  French  troops  than  the 
British.  They  attributed  their  greater 
fear  of  our  men  to  the  idea,  probably 
mistaken,  that  our  men  were  less  ready 
than  the  French  to  make  them  prisoners 
as  soon  as  they  raised  their  hands  and 
cried  "  Kamerad."  I  suspect,  however, 
that  the  unnerving  effect  on  the  Ger- 
mans of  the  Sir  Douglas  Haig  system 
of  trench  raiding  is  the  real  explanation. 

This  is  how  a  German  soldier  gave  me 
his  impression  of  the  British  raids: 
"  They  are  the  worst  horror  we  have  to 
contend  with.  The  English  seem  to  do 
it  for  sport,  not  for  war.  A  bombard- 
ment is  bad  enough;  but  you  know  it  is 
coming.  You  do  not  know  when  or  where 
a  raid  is  coming.  These  Englishmen 
daub  their  faces  with  clay,  come  along 
the  ground  on  all  fours,  smother  our 
advance  posts,  and  are  in  our  trenches 
before  we  know  where  we  are.  They 
come  not  with  rifles  and  revolvers,  but 
with  knives  and  sledge-hammers  and 
bombs.  We  cannot  use  our  rifles  against 
them.  They  are  too  near,  and  perhaps 
we  have  not  fixed  our  bayone*.  We 
must  either  run  or  be  killed.  The  Eng- 
lish will  clear  a  trench  on  a  stretch  of 
150  yards  and  get  away  again  without 
losing  a  man." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate 
the  genuine  terror  with  which  the  raids 
have  filled  the  German  soldiers  of  all 
ranks  and  regiments. 

Lawless  Acts  of  Officers 
As  a  rule,  the  soldiers  did  not  maltreat 
the  civilians  in  Roubaix,  except  when 
they  were  acting  under  the  orders  of 
their  officers;  when,  for  example,  they 
were  tearing  people  from  their  homes 
to  work  as  slaves.  They  had,  however, 
the  right  of  traveling  without  payment 
on  the  tramcars,  and  they  frequently  ex- 
ercised this  right  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
preclude  the  townsfolk  from  the  use  of 
the  cars. 

Apart  from  that  annoyance,  there  was 
little  ground  for  complaint  of  the  gen- 
eral behavior  of  the  soldiers.  The  con- 
duct of  the  officers  was  very  different. 
For  a  long  time  they  made  a  habit  of 


requisitioning  from  shopkeepers  and 
others  supplies  of  food  for  which  they 
had  no  intention  of  paying.  One  day  an 
officer  drove  up  in  a  trap  to  a  shop  kept 
by  an  acquaintance  of  mine  and 
"bought"  sardines,  chocolate,  bread, 
and  fancy  cakes  to  the  value  of  about 
200  francs,  (about  $40.)  He  produced  a 
piece  of  paper  and  borrowed  a  pair  of 
scissors  with  which  to  cut.  off  a  slip. 
On  this  slip  he  wrote  a  few  words  in 
German,  and  then,  handing  it  to  the 
shopkeeper,  he  went  off  with  his  pur- 
chases. The  shopkeeper,  on  presenting 
the  paper  at  the  Kommandantur,  was  in- 
formed that  the  inscription  ran,  "  For 
the  loan  of  scissors,  200  francs,"  and 
that  the  signature  was  unknown.  Pay- 
ment was  therefore  refused.  This  case, 
I  believe,  was  by  no  means  an  isolated 
one. 

Brutal  Methods  of  Officers 

When  an  officer  was  billeted  on  a 
house,  he  would  insist  on  turning  the 
family  out  of  the  dining  room  and  draw- 
ing room  and  sleeping  in  the  best  bed- 
room; sometimes  he  would  eject  people 
v  entirely  from  their  home. 

By  contrast  the  docile  private  soldier 
was  almost  a  welcome  guest.  I  remem- 
ber well  one  quite  friendly  fellow  who 
was  lodged  for  some  time  in  the  same 
house  as  myself  and  some  English  over 
military  age  in  the  suburb  of  Croix.  He 
came  to  me  in  great  glee  one  day  with  a 
letter  from  his  wife  in  which  she  warned 
him  to  beware  of  "the  English  cut- 
throats." She  went  on  to  give  him  a 
long  series  of  instructions  for  his  safety. 
He  was  to  barricade  his  bedroom  door 
every  night,  to  sleep  always  with  his 
knife  under  his  pillow,  and  never  to  take 
anything  we  offered  him  to  eat  or  drink. 

Despite  the  temptations  to  crime  and 
insubordination  which  naturally  attend 
an  idle  manufacturing  population  of 
some  125,000  people,  there  were  very 
few  civilian  offenses  against  the  law, 
German  or  French,  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Roubaix. 

Time  hung  heavily  on  our  hands.  Cut 
off  from  the  outer  world  except  by  the 
occasional  arrival  of  smuggled  French 
and  English  newspapers,  we  spent  our 


530 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


time  reading  and  playing  cards,  and  at 
the  last  I  hoped  I  might  never  be  reduced 
to  this  form  of  amusement  again.  In 
the  two  and  a  half  years  cut  out  of  my 
life  and  completely  wasted  I  played  as 
many  games  of  cards  as  will  satisfy 
me  for  the  rest  of  my  existence. 

But  even  if  the  inhabitants,  in  their 
enforced  idleness,  had  any  temptation  to 
be  insubordinate,  they  had  a  far  greater 
inducement  to  keep  the  law  in  the  bridled 
savagery  of  the  German  gendarmerie. 
These  creatures,  who  from  the  color  of 
their  uniform  and  the  brutality  of  their 
conduct  were  known  as  the  "  green  dev- 
ils," seemed  to  revel  in  sheer  cruelty. 
They  scour  the  towns  on  bicycles  and  the 
outlying  districts  on  horseback,  always 
accompanied  by  a  dog  as  savage  as  his 
master,  and  at  the  slightest  provocation 
or  without  even  the  slenderest  pretext 
they  fall  upon  civilians  with  brutish  vio- 
lence. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  one  of  these 
men  to  chase  a  woman  on  his  bicycle, 
and  when  he  had  caught  her,  batter  her 
head  and  body  with  the  machine.  Many 
times  they  would  strike  women  with  the 
flat  of  their  sabres.  One  of  them  was 
seen  to  unleash  his  dog  against  an  old 
woman,  and  laugh  when  the  savage  beast 
tore  open  the  woman's  flesh  from  thigh 
to  knee. 

No  Starvation  in  Belgium 

In  January  Mr.  Whitaker  crossed  the 
line  into  Belgium  with  the  aid  of  smug- 
gler friends,  traversed  that  country, 
chiefly  on  foot,  and  two  months  later 
escaped  into  Holland  and  so  to  England. 
In  Belgium  he  was  astonished  to  find 
what  looked  like  prosperity  when  com- 
pared with  conditions  in  the  occupied 
provinces  of  France.  After  expressing 
gratitude  to  Belgian  friends  and  a  desire 
to  tell  only  what  is  truth,  he  proceeds: 

The  first  fact  I  have  to  declare  is  that 
nowhere  in  my  wanderings  did  I  see  any 
sign  of  starvation.  Nowhere  did  I  notice 
such  privation  of  food  as  I  had  known  in 
Northern  France.  Near  the  French 
frontier,  it  is  true,  the  meals  I  took  in 
inns  and  private  cottages  were  far  from 
sumptuous,  but  as  I  drew  nearer  to  the 
Dutch  frontier  the  amount  and  variety 


of  the  food  to  be  obtained  changed  in  an 
ascending  scale,  until  at  Antwerp  one 
could  almost  forget,  so  far  as  the  table 
was  concerned,  that  the  world  was  at  war. 

Let  me  give  a  few  comparisons.  At 
Roubaix,  in  France,  at  the  time  when  I 
left  in  the  first  week  of  this  year,  my 
daily  diet  was  as  follows:  Breakfast — 
coffee,  bread  and  butter  (butter  was  a 
luxury  beyond  the  reach  of  the  working 
people,  who  had  to  be  content  with  lard) ; 
midday  meal — vegetable  soup,  bread, 
boiled  rice,  and  at  rare  intervals  an  egg 
or  a  tiny  piece  of  fresh  meat;  supper — 
boiled  rice  and  bread.  Just  over  the 
border,  in  Belgium,  the  food  conditions 
were  a  little  better.  The  ticket  system 
prevailed,  and  the  villagers  were  depend- 
ent on  the  depots  of  the  American  Re- 
lief Commission,  supplemented  by  local 
produce. 

A  little  further,  and  one  passed  the 
line  of  demarkation  between  the  etape 
— the  part  of  Belgium  which  is  governed 
by  General  von  Denk,  formerly  command- 
ing the  troops  at  Valenciennes — and  the 
gouvernement  general,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  von  Bissing. 

Here  a  distinct  change  was  noticeable. 
My  first  meal  in  this  area  included  fillet 
of  beef,  the  first  fresh  meat  I  had  tasted 
for  weeks.  Tickets  were  still  needed  to 
buy  bread  and  other  things  supplied  by 
the  Relief  Commission,  but  other  food- 
stuffs could  be  bought  without  restriction. 

At  Brussels  the  food  supply  seems  to 
be  nearly  normal.  My  Sunday  dinner 
there  consisted  of  excellent  soup,  a  gen- 
erous helping  of  roast  leg  of  mutton, 
potatoes,  haricot  beans,  white  bread, 
cheese,  and  jam,  and  wine  or  beer,  as 
preferred;  while  for  supper  I  had  cold 
meat,  fried  potatoes,  and  bread. 

At  Antwerp,  with  two  French  friends 
who  accompanied  me  on  my  journey 
through  Belgium,  I  walked  into  a  middle- 
class  cafe  at  midday.  I  ordered  a  steak 
with  fried  potatoes  and  my  friends  or- 
dered pork  chops.  Without  any  question 
about  tickets  we  were  served.  We  added 
bread,  cheese,  and  butter  to  complete  the 
meal  and  washed  it  down  with  draft 
light  beer.  Later  in  the  day  we  took 
supper  in  the  same  cafe — an  egg  omelette, 
fried  potatoes,  bread,  cheese,  and  butter. 


UNDER  GERMAN  RULE  IN  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM  531 


And  the  cost  of  both  meals  together  was 
less  than  the  cost  of  the  steak  alone  in 
Roubaix. 

Thriving  in  Rural  Belgium 

Even  in  the  little  village  where  I  hid 
myself  there  was  no  dearth  of  good  food. 
Sugar  was  scarce,  and  the  bread  was 
made  of  brown  wholemeal  flour.  But 
meat  was  plentiful,  especially  cold  home- 
bred pork.  A  typical  midday  meal  here 
included  soup,  steak  or  chops,  potatoes, 
and  little  sweetcakes;  supper  was  the 
usual  Belgian  meal  of  fried  potatoes  and 
bread  soaked  in  boiled  milk.  So  far  from 
starving  during  my  enforced  self-con- 
cealment, I  actually  found  myself  gain- 
ing in  flesh. 

When  I  add  that  in  Brussels,  Antwerp, 
and  other  towns  the  retail  shops  dis- 
played an  abundance  of  foodstuffs  of 
every  sort,  and  that,  according  to  com- 
mon knowledge,  the  German  soldiers  buy 
a  great  deal  of  food  for  transmission  to 
their  homes,  it  will  be  realized  that  some 
parts,  at  any  rate,  of  Belgium  are  not 
suffering  so  severely  as  most  people  in 
England  suppose  from  want  of  nourish- 
ment. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  explain  these 
things.  I  cannot  fathom  the  reasons 
which  may  have  induced  the  Germans 
to  refrain  from  commandeering  the  Bel- 
gian supplies  of  home-produced  food. 
Belgium,  of  course,  has  been  for  years 
the  best  exponent  of  intensive  agricul- 
ture in  Europe.  Her  food  exports  to 
England  and  France  alone  before  the 
war  were  considerable.  Just  as  much 
food  is  being  produced  now  as  before  the 
war,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  discover,  the 
people  have  plenty  to  eat. 

It  is  in  the  invaded  territory  of  France 
that  the  spectre  of  famine  walks.  It  is 
not  sufficiently  understood  that  the  Ger- 
man gentleness  to  the  Belgians  is  only 
equaled  by  their  bitterness  toward  the 
French. 

It  is  not  only  in  respect  of  food  that 
Belgium  is  happier  than  her  neighbor 
I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  civil- 
ians of  Roubaix  were  denied  the  use  of 
the  railways.  The  Belgians  are  under  no 
such  disability.     They  find  some  diffi- 


culty in  moving  from  one  to  the  other 
of  the  two  areas  into  which,  as  I  indi- 
cated above,  Belgium  has  been  parti- 
tioned, unless  they  are  armed  with  spe- 
cial passports.  But  within  either  of 
those  zones  the  natives  are  allowed  to 
travel  without  hindrance. 

Again,  while  the  occupied  portion  of 
France  is  entirely  without  postal  services, 
the  Belgians  have  the  ordinary  facilities 
for  internal  communication.  They  are 
required  to  use  German  stamps  heavily 
marked  in  black  letters  with  the  words 
"Belgian  Post";  and  they  are  required 
to  pay  8  centimes  (three  more  than 
usual)  for  the  transmission  of  a  post- 
card, and  15  centimes  (an  extra  charge 
of  5  centimes)  for  a  letter.  The  collec- 
tions and  deliveries,  however,  are  made 
by  the  regular  Belgian  postmen. 

Busy  Shops  and  Theatres 
The  policy  of  the  Germans,  in  short, 
appears  to  be  to  interfere  as  little  as 
possible  with  the  everyday  life  of  the 
country.  The  fruits  of  this  policy  are 
seen  in  a  remarkable  degree  in  Brussels. 
All  day  long  the  main  streets  of  the 
city  are  full  of  bustle  and  all  the  out- 
ward manifestations  of  prosperity. 

Women  in  short,  fashionable  skirts, 
with  high-topped  fancy  boots,  stroll  com- 
pletely at  their  ease  along  the  pavement, 
studying  the  smart  things  with  which 
the  drapers'  shop  windows  are  dressed. 
Jewelers'  shops,  provision  stores,  tobac- 
conists, and  the  rest  show  every  sign  of 
"  business  as  usual."  I  bought  at  quite 
a  reasonable  price  a  packet  of  Egyptian 
cigarettes,  bearing  the  name  of  a  well- 
known  brand  of  English  manufacture, 
and  I  recalled  how,  not  many  miles  away 
in  harassed  France,  I  had  seen  rhubarb 
leaves  hanging  from  upper  windows  to 
dry,  so  that  the  French  smoker  might  use 
them  instead  of  the  tobacco  which  he 
could  not  buy.  Even  the  sweetstuff 
shops  had  well-stocked  windows. 

The  theatres,  music  halls,  cinema  pal- 
aces, and  cafes  of  Brussels  were  open  and 
crowded.  On  the  second  night  of  my 
visit  I  went  with  my  two  French  com- 
panions to  the  Theatre  Moliere  and  heard 
a   Belgian   company   in   Paul   Hervieu's 


532 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


play,  "  La  Course  du  Flambeau."  The 
whole  building  was  packed  with  Belgians, 
thoroughly  enjoying  the  performance. 
So  far  as  I  could  tell,  the  only  reminder 
that  we  were  in  the  fallen  capital  of  an 
occupied  country  was  the  presence  in  the 
front  row  of  the  stalls  of  two  German 
soldiers,  whose  business,  so  I  learned, 
was  to  see  that  nothing  disrespectful  to 
Germany  and  her  armies  was  allowed  to 
creep  into  the  play. 

At  another  theatre,  according  to  the 
posters,  "  Veronique  "  was  produced,  and 
a  third  bill  announced  "  The  Merry 
Widow."  At  the  Theatre  de  la  Monnaie, 
which  has  been  taken  over  by  the  Ger- 
mans, operas  and  plays  are  given  for  the 
benefit  of  the  soldiers  and  German  civil- 
ians. One  afternoon  I  spent  a  couple  of 
hours  in  a  cinema  hall.  A  continuous 
performance  was  provided,  and  people 
came  and  went  as  they  chose,  but 
throughout  the  program  the  place  was 
well  filled.  The  films  shown  had  no 
relation  to  the  war.  They  were  of  the 
ordinary  dramatic  or  comic  types,  and 
I  fancy  they  were  of  pre-war  manu- 
facture. Nothing  of  topical  interest  was 
exhibited. 

The  Appearance  of  Plenty 

All  the  scenes  which  I  have  described 
in  Brussels  were  reproduced  in  Antwerp. 
There  was  a  slightly  closer  supervision 
over  the  comings  and  goings  of  the  in- 
habitants, but  there  was  the  same  unreal 
atmosphere  of  contentment  and  real  ap- 
pearance of  plenty.  Though  a  good 
number  of  officers  were  in  evidence,  the 
military  arm  of  Germany  was  not  suf- 
ficiently displayed  to  produce  any  in- 
timidation. Perhaps  the  most  obvious 
mark,  here  and  in  the  capital,  that  all 
was  not  normal  was  the  complete  absence 
of  private  motor  cars  and  cabs  from  the 
streets. 

In  the  country  districts  two  things 
struck  me  as  unfamiliar  after  my  long 
months  in  France.  About  Roubaix  not  a 
single  head  of  cattle  was  to  be  seen;  in 
Belgium  every  farm  had  its  cows.  In 
Belgium  the  mounted  German  gendarm- 
erie— the  "  green  devils  "  whose  infamous 
conduct  in  the   Roubaix  district  I  have 


described — were  unknown.  Their  place 
was  filled  by  military  police,  who,  by 
comparison  with  the  gendarmes,  were 
gentleness  itself. 

I  do  not  profess  to  know  the  state  of 
affairs  in  parts  of  Belgium  which  I  did 
not  visit,  but  I  do  know  that  my  narra- 
tive of  the  conditions  of  life  that  came 
under  my  personal  inspection  has  come 
as  a  great  surprise  to  many  people  who 
imagine  that  the  whole  of  Belgium  is 
starving. 

We  in  hungry  Roubaix  looked  out  on 
Belgium  as  the  land  of  promise.  The 
Flemish  workers  who  came  into  the  town 
from  time  to  time  from  Belgium  were 
well  fed  and  prosperous  looking,  a  great 
contrast  to  the  French  of  Roubaix  and 
Lille.  The  Belgian  children  that  I  saw 
were  healthy  and  of  good  appearance, 
quite  unlike  the  wasted  little  ones  of 
France,  with  hollow  blue  rings  round 
their  eyes. 

The  people  of  Roubaix,  knowing  these 
facts,  are  convinced  that  the  Germans 
are  endeavoring  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  a  vassal  State  in  Belgium.  Foiled  in 
their  attempts  to  capture  Calais,  the 
Germans  believe  that  Zeebrugge  and 
Ostend  are  capable  of  development  as 
harbors  for  aggressive  action  against 
England.  The  French  do  not  doubt  that 
the  enemy  will  make  a  desperate  strug- 
gle before  giving  up  Antwerp. 

The  picture  I  have  presented  of  Bel- 
gium as  I  saw  it  is,  of  course,  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  the  outraged  Belgium  of  the 
first  stage  of  the  war. 

Lest  there  should  arise  any  misunder- 
standing, I  complete  the  picture  by 
stating  my  conviction,  based  on  intimate 
talks  with  Belgian  men  and  women,  that 
the  population  as  a  whole  are  keeping 
a  firm  upper  lip,  and  that  attempts  by 
the  Germans  to  seduce  them  from  their 
allegiance  by  blandishment  and  bribery 
will  fail  as  surely  as  the  efforts  of 
frightfulness. 

Escaping  Into  Holland. 

Mr.  Whitaker's  account  of  his  escape 
into  Holland  closes  thus: 

When  we  drew  near  to  the  wires,  just 
before  midnight,  we  lay  on  the  ground 


UNDER  GERMAN  RULE  IN  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM 


553 


and  wriggled  along  until  we  were  within 
fifty  yards  of  Holland.  There  we  lay 
for  what  seemed  to  be  an  interminable 
time.  We  saw  patrols  passing.  An 
officer  came  along  and  inspected  the 
sentries.  Everything  was  oppressively 
quiet. 

Each  sentry  moved  to  and  fro  over  a 
distance  of  a  couple  of  hundred  yards. 
Opposite  the  place  where  we  lay  two  of 
them  met.  Choosing  his  opportunity, 
one  of  my  comrades,  who  had  provided 
himself  with  rubber  gloves  some  weeks 
before  for  this  critical  moment,  rushed 
forward  to  the  spot  where  the  two  sen- 
tries had  just  met.  Scrambling  through 
barbed  wire  and  over  an  unelectrified 
wire,  he  grasped  the  electrified  wires  and 
wriggled  between  them.  We  came  close 
on  his  heels.  He  held  the  deadly  elec- 
trified wires  apart  with  lengths  of  thick 
plate  glass  with  which  he  had  come  pro- 
vided while  first  my  other  companions 
and  then  I  crawled  through.  Before  the 
sentries  returned  we  had  run  some  hun- 
dreds of  yards  into  No  Man's  Land  be- 
tween the  electrified  wires  and  the  real 
Dutch  frontier. 

Only  one  danger  remained.     We  had 


no  certainty  that  the  Dutch  frontier 
guards  would  not  hand  us  back  to  the 
Germans.  We  took  no  risks,  though  it 
meant  wading  through  a  stream  waist 
deep.  Our  troubles  were  now  practically 
over.  By  rapid  stages  we  proceeded  to 
Rotterdam. 

I  was  without  money.  My  watch  I 
had  given  to  the  Belgian  villager  in 
whose  cottage  I  had  found  refuge.  My 
clothes  were  shabby  from  frequent  soak- 
ings  and  hard  wear.  I  had  shaved  only 
once  in  Belgium,  and  a  stubby  growth  of 
beard  did  not  improve  my  general  ap- 
pearance. 

At  Rotterdam  I  reported  myself  to 
the  British  Consul.  I  was  treated  with 
the  utmost  kindness.  My  expenses  dur- 
ing the  next  four  or  five  days,  while  I 
waited  for  a  boat,  were  paid  and  I  was 
given  my  fare  to  Hull.  There  I  was 
searched  by  two  military  police  and 
questioned  closely  by  an  examining 
board.  My  papers  were  taken  and  I  was 
told  to  go  to  London  and  apply  for  them 
at  the  Home  Office.  As  I  was  again 
practically  without  means  I  was  given 
permission  to  go  to  my  home  in  Brad- 
ford before  proceeding  to  London. 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

The  All- America  Team  Off  for  the  War 


-From  Campana  de  Gracia,  Barcelona. 


German  Crimes  in  the  Somme  Retreat 

Official    Report,    Summarized    by    Henry    Cheron 
Before    the  French  Senate 


[Translated  for  Current  History  Magazine 
from  the  French  text  of  the  Journal  Officiel 
and  the  Bulletin  des  Armees.] 

ON  the  morrow  of  the  very  day 
when  the  tenacious  courage  of 
the  French  and  British  soldiers 
compelled  the  enemy  to  retreat 
on  the  Somme — a  worthy  pendant  to  his 
defeat  on  the  Marne — your  Commission 
on  War  Damages  sent  a  number  of  its 
members  to  visit  the  reconquered  regions 
and  get  at  the  truth  of  the  conditions 
which  you  had  ordered  it  to  investigate. 
Perhaps  the  commission  would  have 
been  content  simply  to  file  a  report  of 
the  facts  if  these  had  not  revealed  such 
violations  of  the  laws  and  customs  of 
war,  such  crimes  committed  by  the  occu- 
pying forces,  so  profound  a  contempt 
for  the  most  elementary  rules  of  public 
conscience,  that  it  has  believed  it  to  be 
its  duty  to  denounce  the  outrages  with- 
out delay.  The  report,  incomplete  though 
it  must  be,  will  be  a  first  tribute  to  truth, 
right,  and  justice,  realities  which  no  na- 
tion, however  powerful  it  may  think 
itself,  can  violate  in  our  epoch  with  im- 
punity. 

In  the  beginning  we  may  recall  that 
Germany  solemnly  indorsed  the  interna- 
tional convention,  passed  at  The  Hague 
on  Oct.  18,  1907,  in  which  the  high  con- 
tracting parties,  facing  the  eventuality 
of  war  and  animated,  as  they  expressely 
stated,  "  by  the  desire  to  serve,  in  that 
extreme  case,  the  interests  of  humanity 
and  the  increasing  exigencies  of  civiliza- 
tion," imposed  upon  any  military  au- 
thority occupying  territory  in  an  invaded 
State  certain  rules  which  it  is  well  now 
to  read  over  again: 

Article  46— The  honor  and  the  rights  of  the 
family,  the  lives  of  individuals,  and  private 
property,  as  well  as  religious  convictions  and 
the  exercise  of  the  right  of  worship,  must  be 
respected.  Private  property  cannot  be  con- 
fiscated. 

Article  47— PJllage  is  formally  interdicted. 

Article  50— No  collective  punishment,  pecu- 
niary or  other,  can  be  inflicted  on  populations 


by  reason  of  individual  acts  for  which  the 
community  cannot  be  considered  collectively 
responsible. 

Article  55— The  occupying  power  shall  con- 
sider itself  only  the  administrator  and  con- 
troller of  the  usufruct  of  public  buildings, 
real  estate,  forests,  and  agricultural  enter- 
prises belonging  to  the  enemy  State  and  lo- 
cated in  the  occupied  territory;  it  must  safe- 
guard the  funds  of  these  properties  and  ad- 
minister them  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of 
usufruct. 

Article  56— Property  belonging  to  munici- 
palities, to  religious,  charitable  and  educa- 
tional institutions,  or  to  institutions  devoted 
to  the  arts  and  sciences,  even  though  con- 
nected with  the  State,  shall  be  treated  as 
private  property.  All  seizure,  destruction,  or 
intentional  injury  of  such  establishments,  of 
historic  monuments,  of  works  of  art  and  sci- 
ence is  forbidden  and  shall  be  cause  for  legal 
redress. 

In  the  preamble  of  this  convention  of 
1907,  which  was  solemnly  ratified  a  sec- 
ond time  by  the  German  Empire,  it  was 
provided  that — 

In  cases  not  included  in  the  rules  adopted 
by  the  powers  the  people  remain  under  the 
safeguard  and  dominion  of  the  principles  of 
international  law  derived  from  the  estab- 
lished usages  of  civilized  nations,  from  the 
laws  of  humanity,  and  from  the  demands  of 
the  public  conscience. 

Finally,  Article  1  of  Convention  4, 
adopted  Oct.  18,  1907,  said: 

The  contracting  powers  will  give  to  their 
armed  land  forces  instructions  that  will  con- 
form with  the  regulations  in  regard  to  the 
laws  and  customs  of  war  on  land,  annexed  to 
the  present  convention. 

Another  Scrap  of  Paper 

To  this  the  German  Empire  affixed  its 
signature.  The  principle  underlying  this 
convention  was  that  war  should  be  car- 
ried on  between  armies  and  not  between 
noncombatants,  and  that  everything 
should  be  done  to  save  the  inhabitants 
from  horrors  whose  indirect  effects  in 
any  case  would  bear  down  upon  them  all 
too  cruelly. 

What  account  did  the  Germans  take  of 
this  international  treaty?  For  them  it 
was  nothing  but  a  scrap  of  paper,  like 
all  the  others.    They  have  trampled  upon 


GERMAN  CRIMES  IN  THE  SOMME  RETREAT 


535 


it  to  such  a  degree  that  one  must  go  back 
to  primitive  times,  to  the  most  savage 
epochs  of  ancient  history,  to  find  acts 
of  vandalism  and  bestial  savagery  worse 
than  those  of  which  we  have  obtained 
proofs. 

The  commission  visited  all  the  recon- 
quered districts.  While  Paul  Doumer 
and  a  certain  number  of  colleagues  went 
to  Chauny  and  the  region  northeast  of 
Soissons,  we,  with  Messrs.  Hervey,  Rey- 
nald,  Eugene  Mir,  Mougeot,  Galup,  Ser- 
vant, and  Magny,  traversed  the  regions 
of  Noyon,  Guiscard,  Ham,  Lassigny, 
Roye,  Nesle,  and  Peronne. 

We  visited  in  detail  these  cities  and 
about  fifty  villages.  We  wished  to  com- 
pare our  facts  with  the  earlier  reports 
that  had  been  made  in  the  name  of  the 
Government,  whether  by  the  commission 
headed  by  George  Payelle,  first  President 
of  the  Court  of  Accounts,  or  by  the  Di- 
rector of  Military  Justice,  who  was  sent 
out  by  the  Minister  of  War.  Today  we 
bring  you  the  first  elements  of  a  report 
which  is  as  exact  as  possible,  and  from 
which,  whatever  our  legitimate  anger 
against  the  Germans,  we  have  carefully 
excluded  all  passion  susceptible  of  alter- 
ing the  truth.  Besides,  the  truth  is  so 
horrible  that  it  needed  no  amplification. 
■Everywhere  we  were  the  anguished  wit- 
nesses of  the  same  spectacle :  pillage, 
systematic  destruction,  acts  of  barbar- 
ism committed  without  the  least  excuse 
of  military  necessity. 

We  have  made  a  clear  distinction,  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say,  between  dam- 
ages due  to  war  and  damages  voluntarily 
inflicted  by  the  enemy.  We  have  set 
aside  all  the  effects  of  battle — of  a  battle 
at  times  so  fierce,  so  terrible,  that  it  has 
demolished,  destroyed,  effaced  every- 
thing, even  to  the  smallest  stone  in  the 
smallest  house.  What  we  have  retained 
are  the  acts  of  violence  committed  in  cold 
blood  among  unarmed  civilians;  the  evil 
done  for  the  sake  of  evil,  the  pillage  and 
destruction  of  private  property  and  pub- 
lic edifices;  the  attacks  on  the  life,  liber- 
ty, and  honor  of  private  individuals;  all 
those  acts  which  call  for  denunciation  be- 
fore the  whole  world,  if  only  to  blast  and 
dishonor  forever  the  cursed  Government 


and  race  that  undertook  to  saddle  their 
domination  upon  other  peoples,  and  im- 
pose on  them  a  culture  already  practiced 
in  all  countries  by  notorious  highway- 
men. 

Banks  in  Noyon  Plundered 

Let  us  come  to  the  facts.  From  Ribe- 
court  to  Noyon  the  farms  are  everywhere 
destroyed.  Noyon  appears  to  be  little 
damaged  externally,  although  the  bar- 
barians blew  up  a  certain  number  of 
houses  and  destroyed  some  factories. 
But,  on  closer  examination,  what  odious 
pillage!  Everywhere  the  furniture  has 
been  carried  off.  What  has  not  been  car- 
ried away  has  been  smashed;  the  mirrors 
have  been  shattered  by  revolver  shots. 
In  a  room  of  the  Hotel  du  Nord  we  found, 
amid  all  sorts  of  debris,  a  steel  safe  gut- 
ted with  a  crowbar.  It  was  in  this  hotel 
that  the  Kommafidantur  had  been  located. 

They  robbed  the  stores  from  the  be- 
ginning. On  March  6,  7,  and  8,  1915,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Deputy  Mayor  of 
Noyon,  and  despite  his  energetic  protests, 
they  broke  open  the  door  of  the  safe  be- 
longing to  the  Societe  Generate.  For  this 
purpose  they  use  blowpipes.  The  chief  of- 
ficer of  the  Kommandantur  directed  this 
brigandage  in  person.  The  safe  was  then 
closed  with  a  seal,  but  later  they  broke 
the  seal.  Before  leaving  Noyon  they 
carried  off  everything  from  the  safes. 

On  Feb.  24,  1917,  an  officer  calling 
himself  a  representative  of  the  Treasury 
at  Berlin  presented  himself  at  the  house 
of  M.  Briere,  a  Noyon  banker,  72  years 
old.  He  ordered  the  banker  to  open  his 
safety  deposit  vaults.  M.  Briere  refused. 
Then,  with  the  aid  of  a  blowpipe,  the  sol- 
diers proceeded  to  force  open  the  safe 
doors.  The  depositors  were  present. 
Their  protests  were  in- vain.  The  Ger- 
mans carried  away  everything  that  was 
in  the  bank — cash,  deeds,  bonds,  business 
and  official  papers,  jewels,  silverware, 
negotiable  papers,  and  archives.  When 
the  banker  observed  to  the  German  offi- 
cer that  the  archives  would  be  of  no  use 
to  him,  he  replied,  drily:  "I  have  been 
ordered  to  empty  the  boxes,  and  I  am 
emptying  them." 

The  same  thing  was  done  on  Feb.  27, 
1917,  at  the  Cheneau   &   Barbier  Bank, 


536 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


where  two  officers  and  two  German  sol- 
diers entered  the  basement,  broke  open 
the  safes  with  the  aid  of  a  blowpipe,  and 
carried  away  the  valuables.  Finally,  on 
March  16,  having  mined  a  number  of  resi- 
dences and  public  buildings,  the  Germans 
blew  up  twenty  or  more  of  them. 

Brutal  Acts  at  Sampigny 

The  villages  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Noyon  fared  no  better.  At  Sampigny  the 
pillage  was  conducted  with  unusual  sav- 
agery. In  all  the  houses  there  is  manure 
to  a  depth  of  twelve  inches.  A  porcelain 
merchant  was  treated  with  special  bru- 
tality. On  the  eve  of  departure  the  Ger- 
mans drove  him  out  into  the  street,  and, 
while  he  stood  there  looking  on,  smashed 
all  the  porcelains  in  his  house  with  ham- 
mers. A  business  man  at  Sampigny,  M. 
Cabrol,  had  left  his  safe  open  in  order  to 
show  that  it  was  empty,  and  thus  save  it 
from  destruction:  the  Germans  neverthe- 
less blew  it  up. 

At  Guiscard  the  soldiers  were  prepar- 
ing to  burn  the  whole  village  when  the 
French  arrived;  there  was  no  time  to 
put  their  plans  into  execution,  but  they 
had  already  carried  off  everything  of 
value — furniture,  linen,  cooking  stoves — 
and  had  broken  the  mirrors.  The  soldiers 
had  stolen  mattresses  under  the  eyes  of 
their  officers. 

We  entered  what  had  been  a  pharmacy; 
we  found,  amid  debris  of  every  sort,  fam- 
ily portraits  slashed  with  a  knife.  Or- 
dure was  everywhere.  They  had  taken 
all  the  waterpipes  from  the  houses,  the 
bells  from  the  church,  and  even  the  works 
of  the  clock. 

At  Ham  there  is  general  chaos  at  the 
canal  entrance.  Pillage  and  willful  de- 
struction are  in  evidence  on  all  sides. 
Two  of  the  most  beautiful  residences  in 
the  city  were  used  by  the  enemy;  one  as 
the  officers'  casino,  the  other  as  the  abode 
of  General  von  Fleck.  Here  again  the 
Germans  carried  away  everything  of 
value  and  smashed  the  rest.  They  even 
went  to  the  length  of  sawing  through 
the  doorframes,  destroying  the  windows 
with  hammer  blows,  pulling  out  the  chan- 
deliers and  trampling  on  them.  To  com- 
plete the  Work,  they  deposited  filth  in 
the  pianos. 


In  the  region  between  Ham  and  the 
canal  they  destroyed  everything  by  fire. 
This  is  true  of  Esmery-Hamel,  where 
they  burned  the  bell  tower  of  the  church; 
likewise  of  Eppeville  and  Verlaine. 
Everything  is  destroyed  at  Erchen  and 
Solente.  At  Champien,  amid  the  ruins 
one  finds  a  German  cemetery,  in  the 
heart  of  which  rises  an  allegorical  monu- 
ment representing  peace!  The  barba- 
rians did  not  hesitate  to  write  on  this 
monument  the  following  formula:  "  To 
the  memory  of  friend  and  enemy  com- 
rades united  in  death."  What  hypocrisy! 
An  officer  has  informed  us  that  in  the 
same  community  a  coffin  was  exhumed 
and  the  remains  of  the  dead  replaced  by 
vile  ordure. 

Used  Battering  Rams 
The  destruction  is  general  and  method- 
ical at  Roiglise,  at  Avricourt,  at  Amy,  at 
Margny-aux-Cerises,  where  we  found  one 
of  the  battering  rams  with  which  the 
barbarians  batter  down  houses.  It  is  the 
old  Roman  battering  ram  adapted  to  this 
base  use.  A  particularly  odious  regiment 
of  Saxons  committed  these  acts  in  the 
region  of  Margny.  In  this  town  the 
Germans  violated  graves  in  the  cemetery 
in  order  to  bury  their  dead  there.  The 
rest  they  blew  up. 

At  Plessis-Cacheleux  the  destruction 
was  equally  systematic.  From  Plessis  to 
Roye  the  country  is  a  desert.  Magnifi- 
cent farms,  such  as  the  Bourresse  farm, 
are  nothing  but  pitiful  ruins.  At  Roye 
there  was  organized  pillage  of  all  the 
houses.  The  home  of  the  notary,  espe- 
cially, was  sacked  of  everything.  The 
bell  tower  was  wantonly  pulled  down;  the 
bell  is  still  in  it.  From  Roye  to  Nesle  all 
the  villages,  such  as  Carrepuis,  Ballatre, 
Marche,  Rethonviller,  Billancourt,  were 
systematically  destroyed. 

At  Nesle  the  Germans  committed  the 
worst  violences  from  the  first  day  of  the 
city's  occupation.  They  laid  hands  upon 
every  movable  object  in  the  houses,  from 
cellar  to  garret,  especially  upon  wines; 
they  carried  away  all  articles  of  taste: 
pictures,  mirrors,  clocks,  candelabra,  and 
objects  of  art.  When  the  furnishings  of 
a  house  were  of  considerable  value  they 
arrested    the    owner   for    espionage    and 


GERMAN  CRIMES  IN  THE  SOMME  RETREAT 


537 


robbed  him  during  his  absence.  Some 
days  before  their  departure  they  pre- 
tended that  by  order  of  their  Emperor 
they  had  to  pillage,  sack,  and  destroy 
everything.  This  order  was  punctually 
executed  by  the  Twentieth  Regiment  of 
Heavy  Artillery,  the  Thirty-eighth  In- 
fantry, and  the  Sixth  Foot  Chasseurs,  on 
orders  from  General  Hahn,  commanding 
the  Thirty-fifth  Division. 

The  officer  just  named,  setting  the  ex- 
ample, had  the  men  carry  away  every- 
thing movable  from  a  room  which  he  had 
occupied  for  four  months.  The  bells  were 
thrown  from  the  steeples  and  the  frag- 
ments were  shipped  to  Germany.  Final- 
ly, in  the  last  week — that  is  to  say,  from 
March  10  to  17 — the  invaders  gave  them- 
selves up  to  an  orgy  of  unqualifiable 
acts — incendiarisms,  total  destruction  of 
many  houses,  the  poisoning  of  wells, 
springs,  and  fountains. 

From  Nesle  to  Peronne  they  left  a  des- 
ert; Herly  was  systematically  sacked,  the 
houses  reduced  to  ruins,  the  chateau 
burned.  At  Manicourt  and  Curchy  every- 
thing is  destroyed  and  burned,  and  it  is 
the  same  at  Arrancourt-le-Petit,  Puzeaux, 
Homiecourt,  Marchelepot,  Barleux,  Flau- 
court.  We  will  not  describe  the  scene  at 
Villers-Carbonnel  and  Peronne,  now  a 
heap  of  tragic  and  grandiose  ruins;  nor 
at  Lassigny,  where,  indeed,  the  destruc- 
tion was  caused  by  the  battle. 

Chauny  a  Mass  of  Ruins 

The  same  aspects  of  destruction  were 
encountered  by  our  colleagues,  especially 
at  Chauny  and  to  the  northeast  of  Sois- 
sons.  At  Chauny,  after  having  taken  the 
measurement  of  all  the  cellars  and  houses 
for  two  months,  and  calculated  the 
amount  of  explosives  necessary  to  blow 
up  each  building;  after  giving  themselves 
up  to  unbridled  plunder,  carrying  away 
furniture,  smashing  safes,  robbing 
churches,  they  devoted  two  weeks  to  de- 
stroying the  whole  city  by  flame  and 
mine  with  an  inflexible  and  pitiless 
method.  Nothing  remains  of  the  city  ex- 
cept one  suburb  where  they  had  massed 
the  inhabitants— and  then  bombarded 
them.  They  directed  their  shells  partic- 
ularly at  the  Institution  St.  Charles,  a 
refuge    for    old    men,    where    they    had 


grouped  the  persons  who  were  ill.  The 
City  of  Chauny,  which  had  counted  more 
than  10,000  inhabitants,  is  now  only  a 
mass  of  ruins. 

The  inhabitants  driven  from  the  vil- 
lages near  St.  Quentin  testify  to  the  same 
acts  of  vandalism.  All  their  furniture 
was  stolen  or  broken.  Houses  were  de- 
stroyed by  explosion  or  fire.  At  Vaux- 
Roupy  the  Germans  blew  up  the  chapel 
of  the  chateau  and  the  tombs.  At  Sera- 
court-le-Grand  they  learned  of  the  exist- 
ence of  a  mortuary  chapel  belonging  to 
the  family  of  one  of  our  most  venerated 
colleagues.  Wishing  to  add  to  the  suf- 
ferings of  their  glorious  hostage,  they 
blew  up  that  chapel  and  the  tombs.  Eye- 
witnesses told  us  that  to  accomplish  this 
sorry  business  the  Germans  had  to  re- 
trace their  steps  three  times. 

Massacre  of  Fruit  Trees 

By  the  side  of  this  first  series  of  facts 
there  is  another.  If  they  destroyed  and 
pillaged  private  property  and  public  edi- 
fices, mark  how  they  behaved  in  regard 
to  those  farming  enterprises  of  which 
The  Hague  Convention  said  that  the  ene- 
my in  an  invaded  country  should  con- 
sider himself  the  administrator,  entitled 
only  to  the  usufruct. 

Here  they  committed  an  act  more  vile, 
more  wicked,  more  odious  than  all  the 
others.  They  sawed  down  all  the  fruit 
trees!  And  when  they  had  no  time  to 
saw  them  down  they  tore  off  the  bark  to 
kill  them. 

No  words  can  describe  the  pitiful 
scene  in  what  were  formerly  the  orchards 
of  that  rich  farming  region,  where  apple 
trees,  pear  trees,  cherry  trees,  sawed 
off  two  feet  from  the  ground,  lie  as  so 
many  fragments  of  a  property  deliber- 
ately destroyed.  Along  the  roads  is  a 
veritable  cemetery  of  trees,  trees  cut 
down  by  thousands.  What  strategic  use 
can  be  assigned  to  such  vandalism?  They 
went  so  far  as  to  blow  up  some  trees 
with  dynamite.  It  was  destruction  for 
destruction's  sake,  or,  rather,  it  was  the 
impotent  rage  of  a  people  jealous  of 
France,  a  people  which,  not  having  been 
able  to  win  by  courage,  attempted  on  re- 
tiring to  annihilate  all  the  sources  of- 
wealth. 


538 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


In  certain  localities,  such  as  Ham,  the 
farm  laborers  themselves  were  compelled 
to  saw  down  the  trees  to  which  they  had 
given  years  of  care.  The  effect  of  this 
abominable  destruction  upon  the  minds 
of  the  inhabitants  should  also  be  noted. 
Members  of  the  old  reserve  regiments, 
mostly  farmers,  who  are  repairing  the 
roads  with  marvelous  rapidity,  were  par- 
ticularly exasperated  by  the  massacre  of 
trees.  They  gave  vent  to  deep  curses 
against  the  perpetrators,  longing  to  in- 
flict upon  them  the  punishment  merited 
by  such  a  crime. 

That  is  how  the  Germans  have  respect- 
ed The  Hague  conventions  in  regard  to 
private  property,  public  monuments,  and 
farming  interests  in  the  occupied  terri- 
tory. Let  us  see  now  what  they  have 
done  regarding  the  honor,  liberty,  and 
life  of  the  inhabitants. 

Crimes   Against   Noncombatants 

We  will  not  dwell  upon  the  thousand 
vexations  which  our  heroic  people  had  to 
endure  at  the  hands  of  their  oppressors 
for  nearly  three  years — quarrels  over 
food,  threats  to  the  inhabitants  if  they 
did  not  give  the  soldiers  a  part  of  the 
American  supplies,  the  seizure  of  the 
most  necessary  tools  and  possessions. 

At  Rove  they  took  away  by  degrees  all 
the  bedding  of  an  honored  woman  at  the 
head  of  a  boarding  school  which  dates 
from  1870.  Under  the  pretense  of  in- 
stalling her  in  a  neighboring  house  they 
pillaged  her  home  and  took  away  even 
her  mattress  and  pillow.  At  Margny- 
aux-Cerises  a  German  soldier  threatened 
to  strike  a  young  girl  who  was  nobly 
caring  for  her  paralyzed  mother,  her  sick 
grandmother,  and  a  blind  neighbor  whom 
she  had  added  to  her  burdens  out  of  the 
largeness  of  her  heart  if  she  did  not  give 
up  the  bread  and  potatoes  in  her  posses- 
sion. At  the  peril  of  her  life  this  brave 
little  French  girl  defended  the  food  of 
the  three  invalids  for  whom  she  was  act- 
ing as  guardian  angel. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  evacuated  vil- 
lages say  that  nothing  was  left  them  to 
eat;  that  they  had  to  hide  potatoes;  that 
requisitions  were  made  upon  them  at  any 
moment;  that  fines  and  imprisonments 
rained  upon  them.     A  cultivator  at  At- 


tilly  told  us  that  one  day  about  noon — 
at  the  time  of  their  departure — German 
soldiers  arrived  and  said:  "  We  are  going 
to  blow  up  your  house  at  1  o'clock."  And 
they  kept  their  word.  At  Guiscard  we 
were  told  that  in  the  middle  of  Winter 
they  compelled  young  girls  to  work  out- 
doors at  the  heaviest  tasks — for  example, 
at  sewer  cleaning — without  any  regard 
for  their  physical  strength.  The  only 
alternative  was  prison. 

When  they  were  about  to  blow  up  the 
citadel  at  Ham  they  warned  the  inhab- 
itants by  fixing  the  hour  when  the  oper- 
ation was  to  take  place.  A  bugle  call  was 
to  be  the  signal.  The  population  was  to 
assemble  in  the  church,  with  two  days' 
provisions.  Then,  suddenly  moving  the 
hour  forward — and  that  at  2  o'clock  in 
the  morning — when  the  inhabitants  were 
still  in  bed  they  touched  off  the  explosion 
without  warning  anybody.  It  made  vic- 
tims. 

On  account  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  there  have  been  many  deaths  of 
children  in  all  the  occupied  communities. 

At  Noyon,  upon  their  arrival,  Aug.  30, 
1914,  the  German  officers  sought  out 
the  members  of  the  Municipal  Govern- 
ment, at  the  head  of  which  was  our 
heroic  colleague,  Noel,  who  recently  re- 
ceived the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
They  compelled  these  men  to  go  at  the 
head  of  the  column  which  was  about  to 
occupy  the  city.  They  made  them  walk 
beside  the  commandant's  horse,  and,  as 
they  could  not  keep  up,  they  were  brutal- 
ly treated.  The  Deputy  Mayor,  M.  Jouve, 
having  fallen,  was  beaten  with  lance 
butts.  A  citizen,  M.  Devaux,  who  had 
been  seized  as  a  hostage,  was  shot  with- 
out cause  behind  the  Mayor's  house.  An 
officer  fired  his  revolver  in  cold  blood  at 
the  doorkeeper  of  the  City  Hall;  he 
missed  him,  but  the  unfortunate  man 
died  shortly  afterward  as  a  result  of  the 
nervous  shock. 

A  baker,  M.  Richard,  who  was  simply 
looking  out  of  his  door  at  French  prison- 
ers passing  along  the  street,  was  killed 
by  a  rifle  bullet  in  the  abdomen.  Mme. 
Delbecq,  a  woman  who  refused  a  drink 
to  a  drunken  German  soldier,  was  killed 
by  a  rifle  shot. 


GERMAN  CRIMES  IN  THE  SOMME  RETREAT 


539 


Captives  From  Noyon 
On  Feb.  18,  after  having  compelled  all 
the  inhabitants  of  15  to  60  years  to  pass 
the  night  in  the  college,  they  took  them 
away  into  captivity.  More  than  eighty 
innocent  young  girls  were  thus  torn  away 
from  their  families,  in  spite  of  tears  and 
sobs. 

Sister  Saint  Romuald,  lady  superior, 
made  some  particularly  moving  state- 
ments. She  said  that  when  the  Germans 
began  their  operations  for  retreat  they 
evacuated  250  to  500  sick  cases  from  the 
region  of  St.  Quentin  into  the  civil  hos- 
pital at  Noyon.  These  arrived  in  such 
frightful  condition  that  seven  or  eight 
of  them  died  every  day.  They  were  peo- 
ple who  had  been  torn  from  their  beds 
without  time  to  take  anything  with  them; 
paralytics,  dying  men,  nonagenarians; 
there  was  even  a  woman  of  102  years. 
Many  of  those  who  died  had  to  be  buried 
without  any  means  of  verifying  their 
identity. 

Mme.  Deprez,  owner  of  the  Gibercourt 
Chateau,  was  suffering  from  serious 
heart  trouble,  which  compelled  her  to 
keep  her  bed.  A  German  officer  arrived 
and  ordered  her  to  get  up.  The  poor 
woman  said  she  would  obey  in  spite  of 
her  sufferings,  and  begged  the  officer 
to  withdraw  while  she  dressed.  He  re- 
fused and  compelled  her  to  dress  before 
him.  Mme.  Begue  of  Flavy-le-Martel 
also  had  heart  disease.  They  removed 
her.  Her  children  of  10  and  7  years 
wished  to  follow,  but  the  German  officer 
refused.  The  little  ones  clung  to  the 
wheels  of  the  carriage  begging  not  to  be 
separated  from  their  mamma.  Without 
regard  for  their  tears  and  cries  the  offi- 
cer brutally  thrust  them  aside  and  left 
them  in  the  road. 

Everywhere  they  carried  into  captivity 
the  inhabitants  of  15  to  60  years,  even 
the  young  girls,  except  women  who  had 
very  small  children.  A  woman  in  Holnor 
told  us  that  they  had  taken  away  her 
little  boy  of  14  years.  A  high  officer  in 
the  French  Army  reported  to  us,  on  the 
word  of  eyewitnesses,  a  significant  re- 
mark of  the  German  commandant  at 
Ham.  Having  pointed  out  a  young  girl  of 
16  years  he  said:  "That  one  is  for  me." 


A  woman  from  Ham  related  that  on 
Feb.  10  she  learned  that  600  inhabitants 
were  about  to  be  taken  away.  Distracted 
— for  she  had  three  daughters — she  ran 
to  the  Kommandantur  and  found  that 
the  rumor  was  true.  The  victims  were 
ordered  to  meet  in  the  court  of  the  cha- 
teau with  not  more  than  sixty  pounds  of 
baggage  apiece.  At  the  same  time  all 
the  people  were  ordered  to  bring  their 
valuables,  but  this  they  did  not  do.  The 
three  daughters  of  the  witness,  aged  18, 
20,  and  26  years,  went  to  the  appointed 
place.  From  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  till 
3  in  the  afternoon  the  captives  waited  in 
the  glacial  cold.  Parents  rushed  to  them  to 
say  good-bye,  and  there  were  heart-break- 
ing scenes.  They  were  driven  away  with 
rifle  butts,  and  at  3  o'clock  the  captives 
were  forced  to  go  to  the  railway  station. 
The  Germans  had  the  cruelty  to  set  up  a 
camera  to  preserve  a  picture  of  this  sad 
procession.  A  week  or  two  afterward  the 
mother  of  whom  I  have  spoken  learned 
that  her  daughters  were  not  working,  but 
were  quartered  in  empty  houses.  Since 
then  she  has  heard  nothing  from  them. 

A  person  driven  from  Seraucourt-le- 
Grand  told  us  that  on  June  29,  1916,  at 
the  moment  of  a  French  offensive,  the 
Germans  gathered  the  men  of  17  to  55 
years  in  the  public  square  to  take  them 
into  captivity.  When  relatives  ap- 
proached to  say  farewell  they  were 
stopped  by  bars  and  machine  guns.  One 
woman  had  to  brave  the  guns  to  go  to 
the  aid  of  her  sick  husband. 

Life    Under   German  Rule 

The  martyrdom  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Chauny  was  particularly  terrible.  For 
nearly  thirty  months  they  lived  under 
the  most  intolerable  and  humiliating  re- 
gime. Obliged  not  to  leave  their  homes 
before  8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  return 
by  7  in  the  evening,  to  live  without  lights 
at  night,  they  had  to  salute  the  German 
officers,  hat  in  hand,  under  pain  of  im- 
prisonment. On  Feb.  18  the  Germans  be- 
gan sending  northward  all  the  inhabitants 
of  15  to  60  years.  On  the  23d  they  or- 
dered the  rest  of  the  population — about 
2,000  persons — to  assemble  in  the  square 
before  the  City  Hall.  They  herded  these 
with  3,000  inhabitants  of  neighboring  vil- 


to 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


lages  in  a  suburb  called  Brouage.  On 
March  3  there  was  a  new  gathering  of 
these  unfortunates,  including  the  ill  and 
infirm.  They  were  compelled  to  pass  six 
hours  in  review,  enduring  such  sufferings 
from  the  cold  .that  twenty-seven  persons 
died  the  next  day  and  others  in  the  suc- 
ceeding days.  Then  the  unfortunates  were 
packed  into  cellars,  where  for  the  next 
two  weeks  they  heard  the  explosions  in 
their  houses,  which  were  blown  up  over 
their  heads! 

Sufferings  of  Refugees 
The  evacuation  of  certain  villages  was 
carried  out  with  equal  cruelty.  A  wo- 
man from  Gricourt,  whom  we  met  at 
Noyon,  told  us  that  her  sick  husband  was 
driven  out  of  his  home  without  regard 
for  his  condition.  He  died,  and  she  is  left 
with  seven  children.  Other  inhabitants 
of  that  and  neighboring  villages  told  us 
that  they  had  been  driven  out  of  their 
homes  in  the  night.  They  had  been  com- 
pelled to  travel  a  part  of  the  way  in 
wagons  half  full  of  manure.  Then,  from 
Babeuf  to  Noyon,  they  went  on  foot  in 
the  mud,  with  their  little  children  suffer- 
ing from  cold  and  hunger.  Some  of  these 
unfortunates  died  of  exhaustion  after 
reaching  our  lines.  Everywhere  the  in- 
habitants were  evacuated  in  this  way, 
without  enough  to  eat,  and  without  re- 
gard to  the  weakness  of  children  and  in- 
valids. Seventeen  old  men  coming  from 
Roisel  arrived  in  such  a  state  of  exhaus- 
tion that  they  died  within  a  few  days. 

These  are  atrocious  facts,  but  however 
agonizing  the  story,  however  frightful 
the  sight  of  heaped  up  ruins,  we  never- 
theless brought  back  from  our  visit  a 
profound  impression  of  comfort;  for, 
after  having  verified  and  denounced  the 
cowardly  acts  of  the  German  execution- 
ers, we  have  had  to  bow  our  heads  before 
the  nobility  of  the  victims.  Not  for  an 
instant  during  their  long  captivity  did 
our  compatriots  despair  of  France.  Not 
for  an  instant  did  they  doubt  our  ulti- 
mate victory.  They  said  so,  they  pro- 
claimed it  before  our  enemies,  upon  whom 
they  imposed  silence  by  their  dignity, 
their  pride,  and  their  courage. 

It  is  also  my  duty — I  will  speak  with 
discretion,  for  it  is  not  well  to  give  up  to 


an  excessive  optimism — to  report  another 
matter  which  all  these  people  have  de- 
clared.    After  having  seen  the  German 

•  Army  arrive  in  August,  1914,  so  strong, 
so  well  equipped,  so  admirably  victualed, 
that  they  wept  with  rage,  they  saw  that, 
little  by  little,  annoyance  crept  into  the 
ranks  of  our  enemies.  The  refugees  de- 
clare that  during  the  later  months  the 
Germans  suffered  from  increasing  lack 
of  food.  On  this  point  they  are  unani- 
mous. The  bread  given  to  the  German 
soldiers  was  almost  uneatable.  Some- 
times they  threw  it  away,  and  not  even 

,  the  dogs  would  eat  it.  Nettle  soup,  tur- 
nip-cabbage, and  the  black  broth  which 
they  call  glue,  constituted  their  main  diet. 
Their  coffee  was  made  of  parched  barley. 
They  tried  constantly  to  get  food  from 
the  inhabitants  when  these  received  relief 
supplies.  Meagre  as  was  their  own  fare, 
they  sent  a  part  of  it  to  their  families  in 
Germany,  who,  they  said,  were  in  abso- 
lute want. 

We  do  not  mean  to  draw  any  excessive 
conclusions  from  these  facts.  It  would 
be  puerile  to  deny  that  our  enemies  can 
still  oppose  a  great  resistance  to  us — let 
us  not  deceive  ourselves — but  we  place 
the  truth  on  record  when  we  state,  on  the 
testimony  of  our  compatriots  from  the  in- 
vaded districts,  that  a  great  physical  and 
moral  weakening  is  noticeable  in  all  the 
German  soldiers. 

Condign  Punishment 
As  for  their  own  sufferings,  so  great 
that  in  many  places  our  army  surgeons 
found  a  dangerous  condition  of  exhaus- 
tion, our  heroic  compatriots  applied  to 
it  this  admirable  formula:  "We  forgot 
everything  when  we  saw  French  soldiers 
again."  They  were  filled  with  joy  at 
finding  France  again,  that  sweet  France 
which  is  more  beloved  the  more  it  suf- 
fers. They  brought  out  the  tricolor  flag, 
carefully  hidden  for  thirty  months,  and 
hoisted  it  immediately  on  the  ruins  of 
the  Mayoralty  or  church.  The  children 
waved  little  flags.  At  the  gates  of  Roye 
a  triumphal  arch  was  raised  for  the  en- 
trance of  the  French  Army. 

Our  duty  is  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of 
which  our  compatriots  have  been  the 
victims.  There  would  no  longer  be  jus- 
tice  in   the   world   if   such   crimes,   sys- 


GERMAN  CRIMES  IN  THE  SOMME  RETREAT 


541 


tematically  committed  by  a  nation  which 
prides  itself  on  having  all  the  progress 
of  science  at  its  service,  could  be  commit- 
ted with  impunity.  For  these  crimes  there 
should  be  the  triple  punishment  of  inter- 
national law,  of  penal  law,  and  of  the  vic- 
tory of  the  civilized  world. 

First,  the  judgment  of  international 
law:  There  is  an  article  of  the  Conven- 
tion of  Oct.  18,  1907,  which  I  have  not 
yet  cited.  I  even  believe  that  this  arti- 
cle was  inserted  at  the  demand  of  Ger- 
many. I  refer  to  Article  3  of  Conven- 
tion IV.,  which  says:  "The  belligerent 
who  shall  violate  the  provisions  of  said 
rule  shall  be  held  liable  to  indemnity  if 
there  is  cause,  and  shall  be  responsible 
for  all  acts  committed  by  persons  be- 
longing to  its  armed  forces."  Conse- 
quently, they  are  responsible  materially, 
financially — they  must  pay!     *     *     * 

Do  you  know  how  they  regret  their 
crimes?  One  of  our  colleagues,  M.  Ordi- 
naire, just  now  read  this  sentence  from 
the  Vossische  Zeitung:  "  Our  troops  are 
full  of  joy,  the  joy  of  having  inflicted 
harm  on  some  one  else."  The  whole  Ger- 
man mentality  is  in  that  remark.  Not 
only  do  they  not  repent  the  crimes  they 
have  committed,  but  they  still  boast  of 
them.  They  must  be  reached  by  the  penal 
law.  The  first  punishment  that  is  nec- 
essary, the  one  without  which  the  others 
will  be  impossible,  is  victory.     *     *     * 

The  martyrdom  of  our  fellow-country- 
men has  stirred  in  all  our  souls  a  new 
resolve  of  pitiless  justice.  We  will  go  to 
the  end,  to  the  furthest  point  to  which 
our  strength  will  carry  us,  over  the  ruins 


of  German  imperialism  and  militarism, 
to  establish  the  triumph  of  peace,  of  lib- 
erty, and  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  the 
human  conscience. 

The    Senate    Resolution 

At  the  end  of  M.  Cheron's  address  the 
Senate  by  a  unanimous  vote  passed  the 
following  resolution: 
The  Senate: 

Denouncing  before  the  civilized  world 
the  criminal  acts  committed  by  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  regions  of  France  occupied 
by  them,  crimes  against  private  property, 
against  public  edifices,  against  the  honor, 
the  liberty,  the  life  of  individuals; 

Asserting  that  these  acts  of  unheard- 
of  violence  were  perpetrated  without  the 
excuse  of  any  military  necessity  and  in 
systematic  contempt  of  the  international 
convention  of  Oct.  18,  1907,  ratified  by 
the  representatives  of  the  German  Em- 
pire; 

Holds  up  to  universal  execration  the 
authors  of  these  crimes,  whose  perma- 
nent repression  is  demanded  by  justice; 

Salutes  with  respect  those  who  have 
been  their  victims,  and  to  whom  the  na- 
tion solemnly  promises,  here  placing  the 
vow  on  record,  that  they  shall  have  full 
reparation  from  the  enemy; 

Affirms  more  than  ever  the  will  of 
France,  sustained  by  her  admirable  sol- 
diers— and  in  accord  with  the  allied  na- 
tions— to  pursue  the  struggle  which  has 
been  imposed  on  her  until  German  im- 
perialism and  militarism  are  definitely 
crushed,  responsible  as  they  are  for  all 
the  miseries,  all  the  ruins,  and  all  the 
griefs  heaped  upon  the  world! 


Pitiful  Tales  From  Ruined  Homes 


Philip  Gibbs,  the  war  correspondent, 
sent  to  The  London  Telegraph  of  April  1, 
1917,  this  moving  account  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  French  civilians  in  the  region  lib- 
erated by  the  German  retreat  on  the 
Somme : 

I  AM  moved  to  write  again  of  the  old 
men  and  women  and  of  the  young 
women  and  children  who  have  been 
liberated  by  our  advance.     I  am  moved 
because  day  by  day  I  have  been  visiting 
the   places  that  were  once  their  homes 


and  are  now  the  rubbish  heaps  which  lie 
about  that  great  stretch  of  country  laid 
waste  by  the  enemy  in  the  wake  of  his 
retreat  where  there  is  only  silence  and 
black  ruin;  because,  also,  I  have  just  been 
among  these  people,  seeing  their  tears, 
hearing  their  pitiful  tales,  touched  by 
hands  which  plucked  my  sleeve  so  that  I 
should  listen  to  another  story  of  outrage 
and  misery.  All  they  told  me,  and  all  I 
have  seen,  builds  up  into  a  great  tragedy. 
These  young  girls,  who  wept  before  me, 


542 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


shaken  by  the  terror  of  their  remem- 
brance, these  brave  old  men,  who  cried 
like  children,  these  old  women,  who  did 
not  weep,  but  spoke  with  strange,  smiling 
eyes  as  to  life's  great  ironies,  revealed  to 
me  in  a  fuller  way  the  enormous  agony 
of  life  behind  the  German  lines  now 
shifted  back  a  little,  so  that  these  people 
have  escaped. 

It  is  an  agony  which  includes  the 
German  soldiers,  themselves  enslaved, 
wretched,  disillusioned  men,  under  the 
great  doom  which  has  killed  so  many  of 
their  brothers,  ordered  to  do  the  things' 
many  of  them  loathe  to  do,  brutal  by  or- 
der even  when  they  have  gentle  instincts, 
doing  kind  things  by  stealth,  afraid  of 
punishment  for  charity,  stricken  both  by 
fear  and  hunger.  "  Why  do  you  go?  " 
they  were  asked  by  one  of  the  women  who 
have  been  speaking  to  me.  "  Because  we 
hope  to  escape  the  new  British  attacks," 
they  answered.  "  The  English  gunfire 
smashed  us  to  death  on  the  Somme.  The 
officers  know  we  cannot  stand  that  hor- 
ror a  second  time."  They  spoke  as  men 
horribly  afraid.  Of  their  hunger  there 
seems  no  doubt.  They  begged  food 
of  these  civilians,  who  would  have  starved 
to  death  but  for  the  American  relief  sup- 
plies. They  killed  cats  and  dogs  to  pro- 
vide themselves  with  a  taste  of  meat 
which  otherwise  they  do  not  taste.  This, 
although  the  German  Kommandantur 
seized  all  the  cattle  and  foodstuffs  of  the 
French  inhabitants,  and  requisitioned  all 
their  hens  and  took  the  eggs  the  hens  had 
laid. 

"I  was  the  bailiff  of  Mme.  la  Mar- 
quise de  Caulincourt,"  said  an  elderly 
man,  taking  off  his  peaked  cap  to  show 
me  a  coronet  on  the  badge.  "  When  the 
Germans  came  first  to  our  village  they 
seized  all  the  tools,  and  all  the  farm 
carts,  and  all  the  harvesting,  and  then 
they  forced  us  all  to  work  for  them,  the 
men  at  3  sous  an  hour,  the  women  at  2 
sous  an  hour,  and  prison  for  any  who 
refused  to  work.  From  the  chateau  they 
sent  back  the  tapestries,  the  pictures,  and 
anything  which  pleased  this  command- 
ant or  that,  until  there  was  nothing  left. 
Then  in  the  last  days  they  burned  the 
chateau  to  the  ground,  and  all  the  village 
and  all  the  orchards."  "  It  was  the  same 
always,"  said    a    woman.     "  There    were 


processions  of  carts  covered  with  linen, 
and  underneath  the  linen  was  the  fur- 
niture stolen  from  good  houses." 

"  Fourteen  days  ago,"  said  an  old  man, 
who  had  tears  in  his  eyes  as  he  spoke, 
"  I  passed  the  night  in  the  cemetery  of 
Vraignes.  There  were  1,015  of  us  people 
from  neighboring  villages,  some  in  the 
church  and  some  in  the  cemetery.  They 
searched  us  there  and  took  all  our  money. 
Some  of  the  women  were  stripped  and 
searched.  In  the  cemetery  it  was  a  cold 
night  and  dark,  but  all  around  the  sky 
was  flaming  with  the  fire  of  our  villages 
— Poeuilly,  Bouvincourt,  Marteville,  Tre- 
feon,  Monchy,  Bernes,  Hancourt,  and 
many  more.  The  people  with  me  wept 
and  cried  out  loud  to  see  their  dear 
places  burning,  and  all  this  hell.  Terri- 
ble explosions  came  to  our  ears.  There 
were  mines  everywhere  under  the  roads. 
Then  Vraignes  was  set  on  fire  and  burned 
around  us,  and  we  were  stricken  with  a 
great  terror.  Next  day  the  English  came, 
when  the  last  Uhlans  had  left.  'The 
English! '  we  shouted,  and  ran  forward 
to  meet  them,  stumbling,  with  out- 
stretched hands.  Soon  shells  began  to  fall 
in  Vraignes.  The  enemy  was  firing  upon 
us,  and  some  of  the  shells  fell  very  close 
to  a  barn  quite  full  of  women  and  chil- 
dren. '  Come  away/  said  your  English 
soldiers,  and  we  fled  further." 

Russian  prisoners  were  brought  to 
work  behind  the  lines,  and  some  French 
prisoners.  They  were  so  badly  fed  that 
they  were  too  weak  to  work.  "  Poor 
devils !  "  said  a  young  Frenchwoman,  "  it 
made  my  heart  ache  to  see  them."  She 
watched  a  French  prisoner  one  day 
through  her  window.  He  was  so  faint 
that  he  staggered  and  dropped  his  pick. 
A  German  sentry  knocked  him  down  with 
a  violent  blow  on  the  ear.  The  young 
Frenchwoman  opened  the  window,  and 
the  blood  rushed  to  her  head.  "  Sale 
bete!  "  she  cried  to  the  German  sentry. 
He  spoke  French  and  understood,  and 
came  under  the  window.  "  '  Sale  bete  '  ? 
For  those  words  you  shall  go  to  prison, 
Madame."  She  repeated  the  words  and 
called  him  a  monster,  and  at  last  the 
man  spoke  in  a  shamed  way  and  said: 
"  Que  voulez-vous  ?  C'est  la  guerre. 
C'est  cruelle,  la  guerre!  "    This  man  had 


PITIFUL  TALES  FROM  RUINED  HOMES 


kinder  comrades.  Stealthily  pitying  the 
Russian  prisoners,  they  gave  them  a  lit- 
tle brandy  and  cigarettes,  and  some  who 
were  caught  did  two  hours'  extra  drill 
each  day  for  a  fortnight. 

"  My   three    sisters   were   taken   away 
when  the   Germans  left,"   said  a  young 
girl.      She    spoke    her    sisters'    names, 
Yvonne,  Juliette,  and  Madeleine,  and  said 
they  were  18  and  22  and  27,  and  then, 
turning  away  from  me,  wept  very  bitter- 
ly,    "  They  are   my  daughters,"   said  a 
middle-aged  woman.    "  When  they  were 
taken   away   I   went  a   little   mad.      My 
pretty    girls!     And    all    our    neighbors' 
daughters  have  gone,  up  from  16  years  of 
age,  and  all  the  men  folk  up  to  50.    They 
have  gone  to  slavery,  and  for  the  girls 
it  is  a  great  peril.     How  can  they  es- 
cape? "      How   can    one   write    of   these 
things?     For  the  women  it  was  always 
a  test.      Many   of   them   had   surprising 
courage,  but  some  were  weak  and  some 
were  bad.    The  bad  women  forced  on  the 
others  in  a  way  so  vile  that  it  seems  in- 
credible.     They    entered    into    relations 
with     German     officers,     and     flaunted 
viciously    under    their    protection,    and 
robbed  women  of  quality  of  their  dresses 
and   linen,  and   demanded   jewelry  from 
houses    looted    by    their    officers,    and 
laughed  as  they  drove  in   German  cars 
past  Frenchwomen  of  gentle  birth  who 
were  forced  to  work  in  the  fields.    They 
are  stories  such  as  Guy  de  Maupassant 
might  have  written,  but  worse  than  he 
imagined. 

There  was  no  distinction  of  class  or  sex 
in  the  forced  labor  of  the  harvest  fields, 
and  delicate  women  of  good  families  were 
compelled  to  labor  on  the  soil  with  girls 
strong  and  used  to  this  toil.    There  were 


543 


many  who  died  of  weakness  and  pneu- 
monia and  underfeeding.  "Are  you  not 
afraid  of  being  called  barbarians  for- 
ever? "  asked  a  woman  of  a  German 
officer,  who  had  not  been  brutal  but,  like 
others,  had  tried  to  soften  the  hardships 
of  the  people.  "  Madame,"  he  said,  very 
gravely,  "we  act  under  the  orders  of 
people  greater  than  ourselves,  and  we  are 
bound  to  obey,  because  otherwise  we 
should  be  shot.  But  we  hate  the  cruelty 
of  war,  and  we  hate  those  who  have  made 
it.  One  day  we  will  make  them  pay  for 
the  vile  things  we  have  had  to  do." 

"  Sir,"  said  a  Sister  of  Charity,  "  these 
people  whom  you  see  here  were  brave, 
but  tortured  in  spirit  and  in  body.  Be- 
yond the  German  lines  they  have  lived  in 
continual  fear  and  servitude.  The  tales 
which  they  have  told  us  must  make  the 
good  God  weep  at  the  wickedness  of  his 
creatures.  There  will  be  a  special  place 
in  hell,  perhaps,  for  the  Emperor  William 
and  his  gang  of  bandits."  She  spoke  the 
words  as  a  pious  conviction,  this  little 
pale  woman  with  bright  and  kindly  eyes, 
in  her  nun's  dress. 

Roughly  and  hurriedly  I  have  put  these 
things  down.  It  is  only  later  that  one 
may  strike  the  balance  of  them  all,  and 
draw  the  right  lesson  of  all  this  tragedy 
which  is  the  nature  of  war.  An  old  lady 
whom  I  met  today  drew  perhaps  the 
great  lesson  in  its  strict  truth.  "  I  am  77 
years  old,"  she  said.  "  I  saw  the  war  of 
1870,  and  was  a  prisoner  of  the  Ger- 
mans. Now  I  have  seen  this  war,  a  thou- 
sand times  worse  than  that  other  one. 
Two  such  wars  in  a  lifetime  are  too 
much.  But  one  such  war  in  all  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  is  still  too  much.  Can 
we  not  finish  with  it  forever?  " 


Brand  Whitlock  On  Belgian  Deportations 

"One  of  the  Foulest  Deeds  in  History" 


The  State  Department  made  public  on 
April  21,  1917,  a  report  from  Brand 
Whitlock,  American  Minister  to  Belgium, 
written  in  January,  when  he  was  still 
holding  his  difficult  position  at  Brussels 
under  German  occupation.  Of  all  his 
reports  since  the  beginning  of  the  war 


this  is  the  only  one  thus  far  given  to  the 
public.     It  reads  as  follows: 

IN  order  to  fully  understand  the  situa- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
Autumn  of  1914.  At  the  time  we  were 
organizing  the  relief  work,  the  Comite 
National — the    Belgian    relief    organiza- 


544 


THE  NEW   YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


tion  that  collaborates  with  the  Commis- 
sion for  Relief  in  Belgium — proposed  an 
arrangement  by  which  the  Belgian  Gov- 
ernment should  pay  to  its  own  employes 
left  in  Belgium,  and  other  unemployed 
men  besides,  the  wages  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  receive. 

The  Belgians  wished  to  do  this  for  hu- 
manitarian and  patriotic  purposes;  they 
wished  to  provide  the  unemployed  with 
the  means  of  livelihood,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  prevent  their  working  for  the 
Germans. 

The  policy  was  adopted  and  has  been 
continued  in  practice,  and  on  the  rolls  of 
the  Comite  National  have  been  borne  the 
names  of  hundreds  of  thousands — some 
700,000,  I  believe — of  idle  men  receiving 
this  dole,  distributed  through  the  com- 
munes. 

The  presence  of  these  unemployed, 
however,  was  a  constant  temptation  to 
German  cupidity.  Many  times  they 
sought  to  obtain  the  lists  of  the  cho- 
meurs,  [unemployed,]  but  were  always 
foiled  by  the  claim  that  under  the  guar- 
antees covering  the  relief  work  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Comite  National  and  its 
various  sub-organizations  were  immune. 
Rather  than  risk  any  interruptions  of  the 
ravitaillement,  for  which,  while  loath  to 
own  any  obligation  to  America,  the  Ger- 
mans have  always  been  grateful,  since  it 
has  had  the  effect  of  keeping  the  popu- 
lation calm,  the  authorities  never  pressed 
the  point  other  than  with  the  Burgomas- 
ters of  the  communes.  Finally,  however, 
the  military  party,  always  brutal  and 
with  an  astounding  ignorance  of  public 
opinion  and  of  moral  sentiment,  deter- 
mined to  put  these  idle  men  to  work. 

In  August  von  Hindenburg  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  supreme  command.  He  is 
said  to  have  criticised  von  Bissing's  policy 
as  too  mild;  there  was  a  quarrel;  von 
Bissing  went  to  Berlin  to  protest,  threat- 
ened to  resign,  but  did  not.  He  returned, 
and  a  German  official  here  said  that  Bel- 
gium would  now  be  subjected  to  a  more 
terrible  regime,  would  learn  what  war 
was.    The  prophecy  has  been  vindicated. 

The  deportations  began  in  October  in 
the  etape,  at  Ghent  and  at  Bruges.  The 
policy  spread;  the  rich  industrial  dis- 
tricts of   Hainaut,  the  mines   and   steel 


works  about  Charleroi  were  next  at- 
tacked; now  they  are  seizing  men  in  Bra- 
bant, even  in  Brussels,  despite  some  indi- 
•  cations,  and  even  predictions  of  the  civil 
authorities,  that  the  policy  was  about  to 
be  abandoned. 

During  the  last  fortnight  men  have 
been  impressed  here  in  Brussels,  but  their 
seizures  here  are  made  evidently  with 
much  greater  care  than  in  the  provinces, 
with  more  regard  for  the  appearances. 
There  was  no  public  announcement  of  the 
intention  to  deport,  but  suddenly,  about 
ten  days  ago,  certain  men  in  towns  whose 
names  are  on  the  list  of  chomeurs  re- 
ceived summonses  notifying  them  to  re- 
port at  one  of  the  railway  stations  on  a 
given  day  and  penalties  were  fixed  for 
failure  to  respond  to  the  summons,  and 
there  was  printed  on  the  card  an  offer  of 
employment  by  the  German  Government, 
either  in  Germany  or  Belgium. 

On  the  first  day,  out  of  about  1,500 
men  ordered  to  present  themselves  at  the 
Gare  du  Midi,  about  750  responded. 
These  were  examined  by  German  physi- 
cians and  300  were  taken.  There  was  no 
disorder,  a  large  force  of  mounted  Uhlans 
keeping  back  the  crowds  and  barring  ac- 
cess to  the  station  to  all  but  those  who 
had  been  summoned  to  appear.  The  Com- 
mission for  Relief  in  Belgium  had  se- 
cured permission  to  give  to  each  deported 
man  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  some  of  the 
communes  provided  warm  clothing  for 
those  who  had  none,  and  in  addition  a 
small  financial  allowance. 

As  by  one  of  the  ironies  of  life  the 
Winter  has  been  more  excessively  cold 
than  Belgium  has  ever  known  it,  and 
while  many  of  those  who  presented  them- 
selves were  adequately  protected  against 
the  cold,  many  of  them  were  without 
overcoats.  The  men  shivering  from  cold 
and  fear,  the  parting  from  weeping  wives 
and  children,  the  barriers  of  brutal  Uh- 
lans, all  this  made  the  scene  a  pitiable 
and  distressing  one. 

It  was  understood  that  the  seizures 
would  continue  here  in  Brussels,  but  on 
Thursday  last,  a  bitter  cold  day,  those 
that  had  been  convoked  were  sent  home 
without  examination.  It  is  supposed  that 
the  severe  weather  has  moved  the  Ger- 
mans to  postpone  the  deportations. 


BRAND   WHITLOCK  ON  BELGIAN  DEPORTATIONS 


545 


The  rage,  the  terror,  and  despair  ex- 
cited by  this  measure  all  over  Belgium 
were  beyond  anything  we  had  witnessed 
since  the  day  the  Germans  poured  into 
Brussels.  The  delegates  of  the  Commis- 
sion for  Relief  in  Belgium,  returning  to 
Brussels,  told  the  most  distressing  stories 
of  the  scenes  of  cruelty  and  sorrow  at- 
tending the  seizures.  And  daily,  hourly, 
almost,  since  that  time,  appalling  stories 
have  been  related  by  Belgians  coming  to 
the  legation.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to 
verify  them,  first  because  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  exercise  all  possible  tact  in  deal- 
ing with  the  subject  at  all,  and,  secondly, 
because  there  is  no  means  of  communi- 
cation between  the  Occupations  Gebiet 
and  the  Etappen  Gebiet. 

Transportation  everywhere  in  Belgium 
is  difficult,  the  vicinal  railways  scarcely 
operating  any  more  because  of  the  lack 
of  oil,  while  all  the  horses  have  been 
taken.  The  people  who  are  forced  to  go 
from  one  village  to  another  must  do  so 
on  foot  or  in  vans  drawn  by  the  few  mis- 
erable horses  that  are  left.  The  wagons 
of  the  breweries,  the  one  institution  that 
the  Germans  have  scrupulously  respect- 
ed, are  hauled  by  oxen. 

The  well-known  tendency  of  sensa- 
tional reports  to  exaggerate  themselves, 
especially  in  time  of  war,  and  in  a  situa- 
tion like  that  existing  here,  with  no  news- 
papers to  serve  as  a  daily  clearing  house 
for  all  the  rumors  that  are  as  avidly  be- 
lieved as  they  are  eagerly  repeated, 
should,  of  course,  be  considered,  but  even 
if  a  modicum  of  all  that  is  told  is  true, 
there  still  remains  enough  to  stamp  this 
deed  as  one  of  the  foulest  that  history 
records. 

I  am  constantly  in  receipt  of  reports 
from  all  over  Belgium  that  tend  to  bear 
out  the  stories  one  constantly  hears  of 
brutality  and  cruelty.  A  number  of  men 
sent  back  to  Mons  are  said  to  be  in  a 
dying  condition,  many  of  them  tubercu- 
lar. At  Malines  and  at  Antwerp  returned 
men  have  died,  their  friends  asserting 
that  they  have  been  victims  of  neglect 
and  cruelty,  of  cold,  of  exposure,  of  hun- 
ger. 

I  have  had  requests  from  the  Burgo- 
masters of  ten  communes  from  La  Lou- 
viere,  asking  that  permission  be  obtained 


to  send  to  the  deported  men  in  Germany 
packages  of  food  similar  to  those  that 
are  being  sent  to  prisoners  of  war.  Thus 
far  the  German  authorities  have  refused 
to  permit  this  except  in  special  instances, 
and  returning  Belgians  claim  that  even 
when  such  packages  are  received  they 
are  used  by  the  camp  authorities  only  as 
another  means  of  coercing  them  to  sign 
the  agreements  to  work. 

It  is  said  that  in  spite  of  the  liberal 
salary  promised  those  who  would  sign 
voluntarily  no  money  has  as  yet  been  re- 
ceived in  Belgium  from  workmen  in  Ger- 
many. 

One  interesting  result  of  the  deporta- 
tions remains  to  be  noted,  a  result  that 
once  more  .places  in  relief  the  German 
capacity  for  blundering  almost  as  great 
as  the  German  capacity  for  cruelty. 

They  have  dealt  a  mortal  blow  to  any 
prospect  they  may  ever  have  had  of  being 
tolerated  by  the  population  of  Flanders; 
in  tearing  away  from  nearly  every  hum- 
ble home  in  the  land  a  husband  and  a 
father  or  a  son  and  brother,  they  have 
lighted  a  fire  of  hatred  that  will  never  go 
out;  they  have  brought  home  to  every 
heart  in  the  land,  in  a  way  that  will  im- 
press its  horror  indelibly  on  the  memory 
of  three  generations,  a  realization  of 
what  German  methods  mean,  not,  as  with 
the  early  atrocities  in  the  heat  of  passion 
and  the  first  lust  of  war,  but  by  one  of 
those  deeds  that  make  one  despair  of  the 
future  of  the  human  race,  a  deed  coldly 
planned,  studiously  matured,  and  deliber- 
ately and  systematically  executed,  a  deed 
so  cruel  that  German  soldiers  are  said  to 
have  wept  in  its  execution  and  so  mon- 
strous that  even  German  officers  are  now 
said  to  be  ashamed. 

Illegal  Property  Seizures 

Minister  Havenith  of  Belgium  on  April 
20  delivered  to  the  State  Department  at 
Washington  a  memorandum  warning  the 
world  that  any  dealings  in  Belgian  prop- 
erty or  credits  seized  by  German  agents 
would  be  contested  in  the  courts  after  the 
var.    The  memorandum  says  : 

An  order  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment, dated  Aug.  29,  1916,  disregarding 
the  principles  of  international  law,  or- 


546 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


ganizes  forced  liquidation  of  certain  busi- 
ness concerns  in  Belgian  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  enemy. 

According  to  trustworthy  information- 
the  German  Government  has  further  or- 
dered certain  establishments  to  turn  into 
the  bank  of  the  German  Empire  the 
amount  of  the  accounts  of  French  and 
English  citizens. 

The  law  of  Belgium,  of  which  the 
Hague  Convention  forms  part,  does  not 
recognize  as  valid  the  powers  granted 
for  purposes  of  liquidation  to  receivers 
appointed  by  the  occupant  nor  the  liqui- 
dating operation.  Therefore  when  the 
territory  is  liberated  parties  injured  by 
the  abuse  of  de  facto  power  that  may 
have  been  exercised  by  receivers  or  other 
liquidating  agents  will  have  a  remedy 


at  law  against  the  said  receivers  or 
agents. 

All  contracts  or  other  legal  instru- 
ments going  beyond  the  mere  custody  or 
conservation  of  property  will  be  voida- 
ble. This  will  in  particular  apply  to 
alienations  of  real  or  personal  property, 
conveyances  of  debt;  in  a  word,  all  acts 
of  disposal. 

The  representatives  in  places  out  of 
the  occupied  Belgian  territory  of  Bel- 
gian or  foreign  firms  or  corporations 
that  have  been  sequestered  by  the  Ger- 
man authorities  would  make  themselves 
liable  to  the  penalties  provided  by  the 
law  decree  of  Dec.  10,  1916,  besides  dam- 
ages through  civil  action,  if  they  should 
carry  out  the  instructions  given  them  by 
the  receivers  or  liquidating  agents. 


Liberty  Enlightening  the  World 


By   HENRY   VAN   DYKE 


Thou  warden  of  the  western  gate,  above  Manhattan  Bay, 
The  fogs  of  doubt  that  hid  thy  face  are  driven  clean  away : 
Thine  eyes  at  last  look  far  and  clear,  thou  liftest  high  thy  hand 
To  spread  the  light  of  liberty  world  wide  for  every  land. 

No  more  thou  dreamest  of  a  peace  reserved  alone  for  thee, 
While  friends  are  fighting  for  thy  cause  beyond  the  guardian  sea : 
The  battle  that  they  wage  is  thine ;  thou  f allest  if  they  fall ; 
The  swollen  flood  of  Prussian  pride  will  sweep  unchecked  o'er  all. 

O  cruel  is  the  conquer-lust  in  Hohenzollern  brains : 
The  paths  they  plot  to  gain  their  goal  are  dark  with  shameful  stains 
No  faith  they  keep,  no  law  revere,  no  god  but  naked  Might; 
They  are  the  f oemen  of  mankind.     Up,  Liberty,  and  smite ! 

Britain,  and  France,  and  Italy,  and  Russia  newly  born, 

Have  waited  for  thee  in  the  night.     Oh,  come  as  comes  the  morn, 

Serene  and  strong  and  full  of  faith,  America,  arise, 

With  steady  hope  and  mighty  help  to  join  thy  brave  Allies. 

0  dearest  country  of  my  heart,  home  of  the  high  desire, 
Make  clean  thy  soul  for  sacrifice  on  Freedom's  altar-fire : 
For  thou  must  suffer,  thou  must  fight,  until  the  war  lords  cease, 
And  all  the  peoples  lift  their  heads  in  liberty  and  peace. 


German  Reprisals   on  Prisoners 

French  Captives  Placed  in  Range  of 
French  Guns  by  Orders  From  Berlin 


GENERAL  VON  STEIN,  the  Ger- 
,  man  Minister  of  War,  delivered 
an  address  before  the  Reichstag 
on  March  3,  1917,  in  which  he 
announced  that,  owing  to  French  mis- 
treatment of  German  prisoners,  counter- 
measures  had  been  adopted  under  which, 
beginning  on  that  date,  French  prisoners 
would  be  placed  in  the  zone  of  fire  until 
the  alleged  abuses  of  the  enemy  were 
discontinued.  In  the  course  of  his  speech 
he  said: 

The  situation  is  worse  in  France.  Un- 
fortunately things  do  not  grow  better  there, 
but  worse.  The  enemy  endeavors  to  oppress 
our  unfortunate  comrades,  body  and  soul. 
The  liberties  which-  we  granted  to  prisoners 
in  our  camps,  by  allowing  them  occupation 
with  art  and  science,  as  much  as  they  like 
and  were  used  to,  are  unknown  in  France. 
We  therefore  abolished  these  liberties  in  our 
prisoner  camps.  The  time  of  warning  which 
had  been  fixed  at  four  weeks,  after  which 
countermeasures  would  be  taken,  only  bene- 
fited the  enemies.  During  that  time  we 
treated  our  prisoners  decently,  and  our  pris- 
oners in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  had  to  suffer 
four  more  weeks  of  torture.  I  asked  that 
the  time  be  cut  short,  and  this  has  been 
granted  today.  Countermeasures  will  be 
taken  immediately  and  continued  until  we 
receive  from  hostile  Governments  news  that 
the  hostile  measures  have  been  abolished. 

Thousands  of  prisoners  were  discovered 
working  close  behind  the  French  front,  in 
range  of  the  fire  of  our  own  guns.  If  these 
unfortunate  people  seek  cover  against  our 
fire  the  French  officers  prevent  this  with 
arms.  We  have  taken  countermeasures,  and 
brought  French  prisoners  into  the  same  sit- 
uation behind  our  front.  This  will  be  con- 
tinued until  the  enemy  has  decided  to  ful- 
fill our  demands  and  withdraw  his  prisoners 
fifty  kilometers  [about  32%  miles]  behind 
the  front.  The  lowest  act  which  they  com- 
mit is  that,  especially  during  recent  times, 
they  have  tortured  German  prisoners  im- 
mediately after  capturing  them  with  all 
means  in  order  to  make,  them  speak  about 
military  facts.  This  ghastly  fate  is  especially 
reserved  for  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers.  They  are  locked  up  for  days  in  re- 
ceptacles resembling  cages.  They  are  made 
to  suffer  hunger  for  days  in  order  to  break 
their  spirits.  We  do  not  meditate  for  one 
moment  following  the  enemy  on  this  road, 
but  the  front  has  been  ordered  to  hold  back 


prisoners  taken  there  for  some  time,  and  to 
bring  them  into  a  similar  situation.  Low 
actions  will  not,  however,  be  committed  by 
us.  I  saw  in  France  numberless  crowds  of 
French  prisoners  pass  by.  Our  field-gray 
soldiers  curiously  crowded  around,  but  I 
never  heard  one  insulting  word,  and  still  less 
saw  any  action  against  them.  That  was 
done  by  us   "  barbarians." 

The  War  Minister  said  he  was  sure 
the  measures  of  reprisal  would  not  al- 
ways be  executed  with  sufficient  strict- 
ness, as  the  German  people  were  always 
good  natured  and  even  oversentimental 
in  such  cases.  He  turned  next  to  the 
case  of  German  prisoners  in  England, 
saying: 

In  England  things  are  different.  Although 
the  English  usually  deny  atrocities,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  in  many  cases  they  re- 
dressed grievances,  and  that  generally  the 
treatment  in  England  is  better.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  exclude  that  also  the  English 
employ  many  prisoners  close  behind  the 
front,  and  therefore  adequate  measures 
have  been  taken  as  reprisals.  We  further 
know  that  captured  Germans  in  the  French 
ports  are  made  to  work  under  unfavorable 
conditions  in  excessive  fashion  by  the  Eng- 
lish. For  this  reason  also  English  prisoners 
have  been  put  in  the  same  position  on  cer- 
tain places  of  the  front.  Immediately  after 
the  declaration  of  the  submarine  war  we 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  English  Gov- 
ernment that  eventual  special  treatment  of 
our  brave  submarine  crews  would  be  an- 
swered immediately  with  similar  measures. 

About  the  Russians  not  much  is  to  be 
said.  Many  things  are  obscure.  It  is  not 
yet  certain  whether  the  sad  conditions  on 
the  Murman  Railway  have  been  completely 
cleared  up.  Some  of  our  airplane  officers 
are  still  chained  in  dungeons.  But  it  ought 
not  to  be  passed  in  silence  that,  in  spite  of 
everything  else,  in  Russia  conditions  in  many 
places  have  become  rather  better  than  worse. 
For  this  thanks  are  due  to  the  devoted  ac- 
tivities of  the  Swedish  and  Danish  Red  Cross. 
Since  Sweden  took  charge  of  our  representa- 
tion in  Russia  very  energetic  work  has  been 
done  there  in  order  to  better  the  fate  of  our 
comrades.  Denmark  magnanimously  fol- 
lowed Switzerland's  example  and  agreed  that 
institutions  for  exchange  of  prisoners  be 
established.  Also  the  King  of  Spain  offered 
help  in  the  same~direction.  We  welcome  all 
these  warm-hearted  endeavors  with  sincere 
gratitude. 


548 


THE   NEW    YORK    TIMES    CURRENT   HISTORY 


I  cannot  speak  about  the  fate  of  our  cap- 
tured countrymen  without  mentioning  the 
people  dragged  from  East  Prussia  and 
Alsace-Lorraine.  There,  perhaps,  greater 
tragedies  happened  than  among  our  prison- 
ers. In  my  corps  we  had  a  young  Alsatian 
clergyman  who  had  been  forced  to  leave  his 
wife  with  a  new-born  child.  The  woman 
had  to  sit  for  weeks  in  a  cellar,  and  was 
then  dragged  away  by  the  French,  and  the 
unfortunate  husband  up  to  today  has  heard 
nothing   of   his   family. 

When  a  short  while  ago,  in  Belgium,  work- 
men and  inhabitants  were  sent  to  Germany 
for  work  a  storm  of  indignation  arose 
abroad  and  also  at  home.  We  did  not  re- 
main silent.  The  Belgians  are  our  enemies, 
and  many  of  them,  probably  from  a  safe 
hiding  place,  fired  against  our  troops.  My 
East  Prussian  and  Alsatian  countrymen  are 
much  nearer  to  my  heart.  Unfortunately 
we  could  not  obtain  the  least  justice  for 
these  unhappy  ones.  France  hides  behind 
all  sorts  of  pretexts,  and  pretends  that  these 
people  do  not  want  to  return.  In  fact,  very 
few,  some  thirty,  have  come  back.  During 
these  days  a  sister  was  said  to  return  with 
fifty  children,  but  she  came  with  empty 
hands.  Whether  a  second  sister,  who  comes 
in  the  next  few  daj^s,  will  be  more  success- 
ful is  not  yet  known.  The  Russian  Gov- 
ernment alleges  national  auxiliary  service, 
and  therefore  refuses  to  release  these  peo- 
ple. I  am  always  ready  to  defend  the  princi- 
ple that  we  can  do  without  the  co-operation 
of  these  unfortunate  ones  if  they  are  given 
back  to  us. 

Official  Reply   of  France 

The  French  Government  took  imme- 
diate cognizance  of  the  foregoing  charges 
and  issued  the  following  official  denial: 

In  his  recent  speech  to  the  Reichstag,  the 
German  War  Minister  gives  an  official  char- 
acter to  the  allegations  already  published  by 
the  German  "  Wireless,"  and  tries  to  per- 
suade public  opinion  all  over  the  world  that 
German  prisoners  in  France  are  subject  to 
ill-treatment.  He  states  that  the  period 
granted  for  the  negotiations  regarding  the 
treatment  of  prisoners  is  now  over,  and  that 
reprisals  will  be  adopted.  As  a  fact,  the 
German  Government  has  made  a  complaint 
to  the  French  Government  through  the 
American  Ambassador  on  the  following 
points : 

According  to  the  German  statements,  at 
the  time  of  their  capture  and  interrogation, 
German  prisoners  have  been  ill-treated  ;  they 
have  been  robbed  and  insulted ;  have  been 
badly  housed  in  the  camps,  and  have  been 
used  as  laborers  in  the  area  swept  by  shell 
fire.     The  Note,   therefore,   required : 

(a)  That  the  German  prisoners  should  be 
taken  away  from  the  dangerous  areas  and 
put  into  camps  at  a  distance  of  at  least 
thirty  kilometer^  [about  twenty  miles]  from 
the  front  line: 


(b)  that  they  should  not  work  within  that 
distance  from   the   front   line ; 

(c)  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  use 
the  postal  service  with  Germany ; 

(d)  that  delegates  of  the  United  States  Em- 
bassy should  be  authorized  to  visit  the  camps 
in  the  zone  of  operations. 

A  reply  had  to  be  given  before  Jan.  15.  On 
the  precise  date  the  French  Government  pre- 
sented to  the  United  States  Embassy  a  reply : 

(a)  Formally  refuting  the  accusations  of 
ill-treatment ; 

(b)  showing  that  no  check  had  been  placed 
upon  postal  correspondence ; 

(c)  agreeing,  in  return  for  reciprocal  treat- 
ment, to  allow  delegates  from  the  United 
States  Embassy  to  visit  the  prisoner  camps ; 

(d)  The  French  Government  further  de- 
clared itself  formally  ready  to  employ — on 
a  reciprocal  basis — no  prisoner  of  war  in 
the  zone  of  fire,  nor  within  twenty  kilo- 
meters  [12V6  miles]   of  the  front. 

Up  to  the  present  the  French  Government 
has  received  no  answer  to  this  note. 

The  German  Government  talks  of  reprisals, 
and  thereby  pretends  to  ignore  the  fact  that 
there  is  documentary  evidence  to  show  that 
many  months  before  German  prisoners  were 
employed  on  the  French  front  in  the  zone 
of  operations  the  Germans  themselves  were 
employing  French  prisoners  under  the  fire 
of  French  guns ;  and  it  can  truly  be  said 
that  if  they  are  attacking  now  it  is  to  de- 
fend  themselves. 

This  is  clearly  proved  by  irrefutable  docu- 
ments which  are  also  corroborated  by  the 
confessions  of  their  own  prisoners  showing 
that  a  prisoner  camp  was  established  at  a 
point  particularly  beaten  by  the  French 
artillery,  where  our  miserable  countrymen 
were  kept  without  shelter  or  cover  of  any 
sort  until  evacuation  was  necessary  for  sani- 
tary reasons. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  sufficient  to  read 
the  correspondence  of  German  prisoners  ad- 
dressed to  their  families  to  be  convinced  of 
the  feeling  of  humanity  which  has  been  dis- 
played toward  them.  No  better  conclusion 
could  be  given  than  the  following  words  said 
on  Nov.  3,  1916,  in  a  camp  near  Verdun  by 
a  German  officer:  "  I  am  greatly  pleased  to 
be  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  but 
I  must  tell  you  that  these  people  are  too 
kind  and  too  foolish.  It  is  quite  natural 
that  prisoners  should  work,  and  they  are 
not  overworked,  as  I  can  tell  you  from  all 
I  have  seen." 

A  Swiss  newspaper,  the  Journal  de 
Geneve,  stated  on  March  4  that  Germany 
was  already  executing  her  threats 
against  French  prisoners  of  war;  that 
they  were  being  placed  in  barracks  with- 
out food  or  water  and  without  heating 
arrangements,  notwithstanding  the  ex- 
treme cold.  It  declared  also  that  French 
prisoners  were  being  compelled  to  work 


GERMAN  REPRISALS  ON  PRISONERS 


549 


in  German  trenches  within  reach  of  the 
French  artillery. 

Another  German  Statement 
Under  date  of  March  9  the  Overseas 
News  Agency  of  Berlin  sent  out  a  semi- 
official statement  saying  in  part : 

The  measures  taken  by  the  Germans  were 
adopted  because  about  30,000  German  pris- 
oners of  war  have  for  months  been  living 
under  miserable  conditions  and  forced  to  do 
the  hardest  kind  of  work  close  behind  the 
French  lines,  in  a  majority  of  cases  within 
the  range  of  German  artillery  fire. 

The  French  wireless  service  stated  that 
Gustave  Ador  of  Geneva,  President  of  the 
International  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross, 
had  visited  the  German  prisoners  of  war  in 
the  district  of  operations  and  had  gained  a 
most  favorable  impression  regarding  their 
treatment.  There  is  no  doubt  the  French 
authorities  carefully  selected  a  special  dis- 
trict in  which  the  conditions  were  favorable 
in  order  to  deceive  M.  Ador  and  neutral 
countries.  The  French  report  regarding  the 
German  and  French  negotiations  relating  to 
prisoners  of  war  in  the  district  of  military 
operations  is  not  correct.  Here  are  the 
facts : 

The  French  Government  in  a  note  dated 
Dec.  21,  191G,  was  requested  to  assemble 
German  prisoners  of  war  in  good  camps  sit- 
uated at  least  eighteen  miles  behind  the 
front,  and  to  refrain  from  putting  them  to 
work  at  places  nearer  the  firing  lines.  In 
case  of  refusal,  or  if  no  answer  was  given, 
it  was  announced  that  on.  Jan.  15  French 
prisoners  of  war  would  be  sent  into  the 
German  district  of  operations  under  similar 
conditions.  The  note  as  is  known  with  cer- 
tainty was  immediately  sent  by  telegraph 
to  the  French  Government  at  Paris  and  it 
arrived  there  prior  to  Jan.  5,  1917. 

The  French  answer,  dated  Jan.  15,  reached 
Berlin  only  after  the  announced  counter- 
measures  had  been  put  into  effect.  Besides, 
the  contents  of  the  answer  in  a  great  part 
were  unsatisfactory.  The  French  Govern- 
ment had  not  fulfilled  the  German  request. 
It  had  merely  declared  it  was  ready  to  place 
the  German  prisoners  of  war  twelve  miles 
behind  the  front,  where  they  were  not  suf- 
ficiently secure  against  the  fire  of  long- 
range  cannon,  and  where  they  were  especial- 
ly exposed  to  airplane  attacks. 

This  declaration,  of  course,  did  not  suffice 
for  the  abolishment  of  our  countermeasures, 
especially  since  the  experiences  we  had  had 
with  promises  of  the  French  Government  re- 
lating to  questions  of  war  prisoners  were 
very   discouraging. 

On  the  contrary,  the  French  Government 
had  to  be  asked  to  fulfill  completely  the  Ger- 
man request.  A  communication  to  this  ef- 
fect was  sent  to  the  French  Government  in 
the  beginning  of  February.  On  this  occasion 
it  was  suggested  to  the  French  authorities 
•  that     the    whole    district    of    operations    on 


both  sides  be  completely  cleared  of  war  pris- 
oners. This  offer  in  itself  proved  that  the 
German  Government  does  not  make  French 
prisoners  of  war  work  in  the  districts  of 
operations  because  of  "  lack  of  hands." 

Since  that  time  the  French  Government  has 
not  replied  and  prefers  to  expose  French- 
men to  the  fire  of  their  own  countrymen  in 
order  to  be  able  to  continue  to  torture  Ger- 
man prisoners  of  war  and  to  use  them  for 
labor  contrary  to  international  law. 

The  French.  Government  complains  that 
even  in  the  middle  of  December  French  pris- 
oners of  war  were  singled  out  to  be  sent  to 
the  district  of  operations.  This  assertion 
is  untrue.  The  prisoners  of  war  in  question 
were  marked  only  a  short  while  prior  to  the 
final  day  announced  in  the  German  offer.  If 
they  had  to  be  sent  there  the  guilt  was 
solely   with   the   French   Government. 

Denial  by  an  American 

Philip  0.  Mills,  an  American  ambu- 
lance .driver,  denied  General  von  Stein's 
charges  against  France  in  a  communica- 
tion to  The  New  York  Times,  dated 
March  6,  declaring  that  the  German  War 
Minister's  speech  was  due  to  Germany's 
determination  to  make  French  prisoners 
perform  the  dangerous  work  behind  the 
lines,  and  that  the  charges  were  an  ex- 
cuse to  justify  that  measure.    He  wrote: 

"  I  can  and  do  brand  as  a  falsehood 
any  statement  that  German  prisoners  are 
tortured  or  compelled  to  work  behind  the 
French  lies  under  fire. 

"  Over  six  months'  service  on  the  French 
fronts  as  an  ambulance  driver  of  the 
American  Red  Cross,  attached  to  a  French 
division  in  the  sector  through  which  the 
largest  number  of  German  prisoners  have 
been  passed,  (about  15,000,)  thousands 
of  whom  I  have  seen  and  hundreds  of 
whom  I  have  talked  to,  gives  me  au- 
thority for  what  I  say.  The  French  use 
only  their  older  men  for  work  close  be- 
hind the  lines,  and  I  have  never  seen  a 
German  prisoner  in  the  fire  zone  doing 
anything  but  traveling  toward  the  rear. 
Night  and  day  I  have  been  on  the  roads 
in  the  fire  zone,  and  there  isn't  a  prison 
camp  or  citadel  that  cannot  be  and  has 
not  been  visited  by  our  ambulance  driv- 
ers. We  have  had  eighty  men  in  service 
with  forty  cars  at  Verdun  during  Decem- 
ber, and  never  a  tale  from  any  man  of 
any  such  atrocity  as  is  quoted  in  this 
speech. 

"  The  first  assembling  camp  for  prison- 


550 


THE  NEW    YORK    TIMES   CURRENT   HISTORY 


ers  of  war  is  well  out  of  gun  range,  well 
kept,  and  comfortable,  and  I  have  been 
through  it  often.  The  prisoners  are  im- 
mediately fed  on  arrival,  with  the  regular 
French  army  ration  and  all  the  bread 
they  can  eat.  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  a 
Frenchman  abusing  or  ill-treating  a  Ger- 
man prisoner,  but,  on  the  contrary,  have 
seen  hundreds  of  little  acts  of  kindness 
shown  them.  Everything  is  open  to  us 
foreign  ambulance  drivers,  and  we  are 
treated  as  part  of  the  French  Army.  It 
is  absolutely  false  that  German  officers 
are  locked  in  cages,  &c,  for  I  have  seen 
them  confined  in  comfortable  houses  and 
allowed  exercise  and  good  food. 

"  The  whole  speech  is  merely  to  try  to 
justify  an  improper  use  of  prisoners  of 
war  and  to  prevent  the  ever-increasing 
number  of  voluntary  German  surrenders. 

"  The  French  do  not  need  to  stoop  to 
deny  such  lies,  for  there  are  now  hun- 
dreds of  good  American  citizens  who 
have  been  to  France  and  have  seen  how 
everything  is  conducted  behind  the 
French  lines,  and  so  can  disprove  for 
them  all  such  slanders." 

Employment    of   Prisoners 

Germany  holds  approximately  2,000,- 
000  prisoners,  most  of  whom  are  Rus- 
sians. General  Groener,  Chief  of  the 
War  Emergency  Office,  reported  in 
February,  1917.  that  750,000  of  these 
prisoners  were  employed  as  farm  labor- 
ers, and  that  more  were  soon  to  be  put 
to    work    in    the    agricultural    districts. 


An  official  report  published  in  Berlin 
on  Dec.  1,  1916,  stated  that  there  were 
1,663,794  military  prisoners  in  Germany 
on  Aug.  1,  1916.  In  the  two  years  of 
war  to  that  date  29,297  prisoners  had 
died.  Of  these,  6,032  died  from  tubercu- 
losis, 4,201  from  spotted  fever,  6,270 
from  wounds,  and  the  rest  from  other 
illnesses. 

Russia  has  more  than  1,000,000  mili- 
tary prisoners,  of  whom  428,000  were 
captured  in  1916,  mainly  by  General 
Brusiloff's  armies.  Besides  these  there 
are  200,000  Germans  and  Austrians  in- 
terned as  civil  prisoners.  At  the  end 
of  1915  the  prisoners  employed  in  State 
and  agricultural  work  in  Russia  num- 
bered 1,138,000,  according  to  a  Reuter 
dispatch  from  Petrograd.  Of  these  575,- 
000  were  under  „the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  294,000  under 
the  Department  of  Mines  and  Factories, 
and  169,000  under  that  of  Ways  and 
Communications.  In  the  year  1916  the 
French  captured  78,500  Germans  and  the 
British  40,800  on  the  western  front, 
while  in  the  Balkans  the  Entente  armies 
took  11,173  Bulgarians  and  Turks.  Dur- 
ing the  same  period  the  Italians  made 
prisoners  of  52,250  Austrians.  This 
gives  the  Entente  Allies  a  total  of  more 
than  610,000  prisoners  for  the  year  1916. 

Great  Britain  has  thus  far  made  very 
little  agricultural  or  industrial  use  of 
war  prisoners,  partly  owing  to  the  ob- 
jections of  labor  unions  and  partly  to 
fear  of  hostile  acts. 


THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AS 
SEEN  BY  CARTOONISTS 

NoTE-Owing  to  the  existing  blockade  Current  History  Magazine  has  been  unable  to  obtain 
a  proportional  number  of  German  cartoons  for  this  issue. 


[Italian  Cartoon] 

The  Modern  Sea  Monster 


—From  II  420,  Florence, 
It  lurks  in  ocean  depths  and  seeks  to  drag  down  all  the  ships  in  the  world. 


551 


[English  Cartoon] 


Changing  Guard  at  Washington 


mm 


•  —From  London  Opinion. 

The  soldier  President  relieves  the  note-writing  President. 


552 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

The   American  Eagle 


—From  Campana  de  Gracia,  Barcelona. 
"Remember,  Germania,  I  am  an  eagle  and  not  a  crow!" 


553 


[English  Cartoon] 

Welcoming    the  Newcomers 


-f.N 


—From  The  Passing  Show,  London. 

Impresario  Mars  (to  Columbia)  :  "  I've  been  waiting  to  present  you  with  this 
bouquet  for,  nearly  a  thousand  nights.  Still,  I'm  glad  to  see  you  in  time  for  our 
thrilling  last  act!  " 


554 


[Polish  Cartoon] 


Germany  and  America 


—From  MucJia,  formerly  of  Warsaw, 

Germania  :  "  Take  your  flag  off  the  water,  or  I  will  take  it  off  myself." 
Uncle  Samuel:  "  Don't!    You'll  find  it  very  prickly!  " 


555 


[American  Cartoon] 

A  Problem  for  Science 


—From  The  New  York  Times. 
"  You  are  responsible  for  that  stain !    You  must  find  a  way  to  take  it  out !  " 


556 


[French  Cartoon] 

Advancing  Backward 


—From  La  Baionnette,  Paris. 

The  Devil  to  Germania  :  "  I  believe  you  are  beginning  to  go  a  little  too  fast." 

[English  Cartoon] 

A  Considerate  Captor 


—From    The   Passing    Show,   London. 

Tommy  (who  has  been  blown  into  a  shell  hole) :  "  Hurry  up,  mate.    I  don't 
want  to  lose  my  prisoner!  " 

Rescuer:  "  Prisoner!    Why,  where  is  'e?" 

Tommy:    "I'm  standing  on  'im!  "    

557 


[Italian  Cartoon] 


The  Kaiser's  Prop:  Czarism 


—From  L'Asino,  Rome. 
Wilhelm:  "Democracy  in  Russia!     Heavens!     What  shall  I  do  now?" 


558 


[Dutch  Cartoon] 


The  Dawn  in  Russia 


ViW£M 


—From  Be  Nieuwe  Amsterdammer,  Amsterdam. 

Wilhelm  (to  Little  Wilhelm) :  "  That  light,  my  son,  will  do  our  house  more 
harm  than  all  the  Russian  artillery!  " 


559 


[Italian  Cartoon] 


The  ^Strafing"  Expedition  in  Italy 


—From  II  Numero,   Turin. 

Germany  :  "  Go  on .  w 
Austria:  "  I  can't.     I'm  wedged  in." 

Germany:  "  Well,  heaven  knows,  you  are  thin  enough  to  get  through  any- 
where! " 


560 


[Spanish  Cartoon] 

Arrival  of  Uncle  Sam 


Hello,  nephews !  "  —From  Campana  de  Gracia,  Barcelo 

Welcome,  uncle !    You  are  late,  but  you  can  have  a,  front  seat." 

[French   Cartoon] 

The  Crown  Prince's  Surprise 

[April  Fool's  Day] 


■qkfcr     vr,$. 


"  A  present  from  his  Majesty?  Why, 
it  must  be  my  baton  as  Marshal !  " 


-From  La  Baionnette,  Paris. 
"  Just  heaven ! !  " 


561 


[English  Cartoon] 

That  "Strategic"  Withdrawal 


—From  London  Opinion. 
Hinde^burg  :  "  I  positively  refuse  to  stop  in  that  house  another  moment !  " 


562 


[American  Cartoon] 

He  Also  Serves 


—From  Th&  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 
The  soldier  of  the  home  trenches. 


563 


[English  Cartoon] 


Germany's  Fetich 


—From  The  Passing  Show,  London. 

Astonished  Enthusiast    (who  has  climbed  to  the  top  to  hammer  in  his 
nail) :  "  Mein  Gott!     His  head  is  empty  except  for  a  gramophone!  " 


564 


[French  Cartoon] 


The  Happy  Family 


— ©    Le  Rire,  Paris. 

The  Kaiser  (to  His  Six  Sons):  "Hurrah  for  'fresh  and  joyous '  war! 
Hurrah  for  the  docile  folk  who  send  their  sons  to  butchery  to  keep  mine  intact! 
Hurrah  for  the  last  slaves  in  the  civilized  world!  " 


565 


[French  Cartoon] 


War  Finances  in  Germany 


—From  La  Baionnette.  Paris. 


"  Mein  Gott !  Fritz,  you're  losing  your  money !  " 

"  What  else  can  you  expect,  Bertha?    It's  the  fall  of  the  mark! 


566 


[American  Cartoons] 

Unter  den  Hinden"  The  Price  of  Peace 


—From  The  Cleveland  Leader. 


—From  The  Dayton  News. 


A  Fatal  Sunrise  for  Him  The  Party  Who  Will  Decide  How 


-:'■-'' 


Long  the  War  Will  Last 


—From  The  Portland  Oregonian. 


—From  The  Duluth  Herald. 


567 


[American  Cartoons] 


German  Retreat  On  the  Somme 


—From     The    Baltimore    American. 
Our  aim  is  to  keep  moving." — German  Military  Critic. 


To  the  Front 


Moving  Day  in  Europe 


—From  The  Spokane  Spokesman-Review. 


■From  The  Duluth  Herald. 


>68 


[American  Cartoons] 
One  Down  Luring  Them  On 


~fU 


Poor  Old  World 


The  Melting  Pot 


-From  The  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 


569 


[German  Cartoon] 


The  Well-Trained  Bulldog 


— ©    Lustige  Blaetter,  Berlin. 

British  Bulldog:  "It  must  not  be  seen  how  gladly  I  would  swallow  that 
peace  sausage." 


570 


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