Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], November 05, 1914, Page 4, Image 4

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4
SITUATION IN TURKEY
BRITISH OFFICIAL VIEW
Of the Hostile Acts in the Black Sea—
Long- Patience in Face of Repeated
Breaches of Neutrality.
The British foreign office Saturday night
issued a statement dealing with the situa
tion in Turkey and the protests made by
the British embassador against what he
alleges were breaches of neutrality by
Turkey, especially in connection with the
former German cruisers Goeben and Bres
lau. The statement quotes the note ad
dressed by the sublime porte to the pow
ers, in which the Ottoman government de
clared its neutrality, and the note com
municated by the British embassador to
the porte, in which he complained of a
number of breaches of neutrality. As Tur
key shut off communication with the Brit
ish embassy on Friday, the British gov
ernment, considering this a prelude to fur
ther acts of aggression, declares its in
tention to take action to protect British
interests and British territory, and also
Egypt, from attacks that have been made
or threatened. The statement says:—
“At the beginning of th e war. the Brit
ish goverrfment gave definite assurance
that, if Turkey remained neutral, her in
dependenee and integrity would be re
spected during the war and in times of
peace. In this. France and Russia con
curred. The British government since
then has endeavored with the greatest pa
tience and forbearance to preserve friend
ly relations, in spite of increasing
breaches of neutrality on the part of the
Turkish government at <'onstautinop!e.
in the case of German vessels in the
straits.
“On Thursday, October 29, the British
government learned with the utmost re
gret that Turkish ships of war had with
out any declaration of war. without warn
ing and without provocation of any sort,
made wanton attacks upon open and un
defended towns in the b sea o
friendly country, thus committing an unpre
cedented violation of the most ordinary
rules of international law. comity and
usage.
Surprise and tnenslaeu.
"Ever since the German warships Goe
ben and Breslau took refuge in Constanti
nople, the attitude of the Turkish govern
ment toward Great Britain has caused
surprise and some uneasiness. The prom
ises made by the Turkish government to
send away the German officers and crews
of the Goeben and Breslau never have
been fulfilled.
“It was well known that the Turkish
minister of war. was decidedly pro-German
in his sympathies, but jt was confidently
hoped that the saner counsels of his col-,
leagues, who had had experience of the
friendship which Great Britain has always
shown toward the Turkish government,
would have prevailed and prevented that
government from entering upon the very
risky policy of taking part in the conflict
on the side with Germany.
“Since the war. German-officers in large
numbers have invaded Constantinople,
have usurped the authority of the govern
ment and have been aide to coerce the
sultan's ministers into taking up the policy
of aggression.
“Great Britain, as well as France and
Germany, has watched these proceedings
patiently, protesting against many acts
which have been constantly committed
contrary to neutrality, and warning the
government of the sultan against the dan
ger in which they were placing the future
of the Ottoman empire.
Assisted by Austria and Germany.
“Vigorously assisted by the embassador
of Austria and Germany, German military
men in Constantinople have been doing
their utmost to force Turkey into war,
both by their activities in the service of
the Turks and by bribes, of which they
have been lavish. The minister of war.
with his German advisers, has lately pre
pared an armed force for attack upon
Egypt. The Mosul and Damascus array
corps have, since their mobilization, been
constantly sending troops south, prepara
tory to the invasion of. Egypt and the
Suez canal. From Akahah and Gaza, a
large body of Bedouins has been called out
and armedto assist in this venture, and
some of these have crossed the Sinai fron
tier. Transport has l^r-n collected and
roads have been prepared up to the fron
tier of Egypt, Mines have been dispatched
to be laid in the Gulf Akahnh.
“The notorious shiek. Aziz Shawish. has
published and disseminated through Syria
and probably India, an inflammatory doc
ument urging the Mohammedans to fight
against Great Britain Dr Prueffer, who
was so long engaged in intrigues in Cai
ro against British occupation and who is
now attached to the German embassy in
Constantinople, has been busily occupied
in Syria trying to incite the people to take
part in this conflict.
“Aggressive action was certain to be the
result of the activity of the numerous Ger
man officers employed in the Turkish army
and acting under the orders of the Ger
man government, who thus succeeded in
forcing the hands of the advisers of the
Sultan.
“German intrigue cannot influence the
loyalty to Great Britain of the 70.000,009
Mohammedans in India and the feeling of
the Mohammedans of Egypt. They must
look with detestation on the misguided ac
tion under foreign influence at Constanti
nople. which will inevitably lead -3 the
disintegration of the Turkish empire and
which shows such forzetfulness of the
many occasions on which Great Britain
lias shown her friendship to Turkey.
“They must feel bitterly the degenera
tion of their coreligionists, who can thus
be dominated against their will' by Ger
man influences, and many of them realize
that when Turkey is pushed into war by
Germany, they must dissociate themselves
from a course of action that is prejudicial
to the position of Turkey itself.
British Government Must Take Action.
“The Turkish government, summarily
and without notice, on Friday, shut off
telegraphic communication with the Brit
ish embassy at Constantinople. This is
a prelude to further acta of aggression on
their part and the British government
must take whatever action is required
to protect British interests and British
territory and algo Egypt from attacks that
have been made and are threatened.
Brltliah Embassador's Note.
“The British embassador in a note to the
•üblime porte on October fl which did not
reach London until October 19 acknowl
edged receipt of the porte's note of Sep
tember 28 setting forth the rules laid
down by Turkey to secure respect for her
neutrality. The embassador said the rules
indicated a conception of the duties of
neutrals and ‘therefore it was a matter of
surprise that the practice of the Ottoman
government should hitherto be so at vari
ance with these principles.’ The embassa
dor points out that, despite the rule to the
contrary the Goeben and Breslau were al
lowed to enter the Dardanelles and remain
in Turkish waters for an indefinite period
'on the pretext that a sale as to the genu
ineness of which no evidence had taken
place.’
“The note goes on to point out that the
two ships were not interned; that they
were allowed to search British ships in
the Dardanelles, were repaired in Turkish
waters, have put to sea under Turkish
command and were revictualed at German
*SpeMe on their return from cruises in
the Black sea, and were generally al-
1 lowed to use the Turkish port as a base.
“Finally, says the note, the status of
; the Dardanelles has been violated by Tur
-1 key itself in violation of the series of in
ternational acts and she has interfered
with the passage of British merchant ships
■ through the straits. The embassador's
[ note concludes; ‘ln the presence of the
I facts set forth above, it is impossible for
‘ the imperial Ottoman government to mato
; tain that they hare hitherto observed the
I duty as neutrals, in the performance of
which the imperia! minister for foreign
affairs declares them to have had in view
when drawing up the rules embodied in
the circular note of September 26.'
“ ‘lf after consecrating their recognition
of these duties by an official communication
the imperial government should continue
[ to tolerate the use of Turkish territory
I by German ships and agents Tor purposes
I connected with the war his majesty's em
bassy will feel itself constrained to pro
। test with renewed vigor against what it
। cannot but consider the partial and the
• unnentral attitude on the part of the im
perial Ottoman government and must it
' serve to his majesty's government eoui-
I plete liberty of action. If. on the other
; hand the object of the communication is
to prove that ihe imperial government arc
prepared to embark on a new line of ac
tion. the embassv will have the utmost
satisfaction is taking the act of assurance
in that sense and bringing it to the knowl
edge of the British government.’ ”
TURKEY AS MILITARY FACTOR
NOT LIKELY TO GIVE TROUBLE
Poli Heal Effects of Her Entrance Into
War Hard to Estimate.
Turkey's entrance into the field of war
like operations, though not unexpected,
has caused a sensation in official circles
in Washington because of the probable
far-reaching effect of this action. Prob
ably no one factor in the great European
struggle is regarded so uncertain in
quantity and quality as the Turkish em
pire.
The probability that by last week s act
of war against Russia the Balkan states
may be drawn into the vortex of the
great conflict, thereby cutting off a vast
quantity of food supplies, which, it had
been expected would go to the main
tenance of the northern European coun
tries during the war, has brought home
to the officials in Washington a realiza
tion of the very close and intense interest
of the Vnited States in the latest develop
ment. The result of Turkey's action as
viewed by the military experts there from
a purely technical point of view, will be
to greatly embarrass Russia at the outset.
Diplomatic representatives in Washing
ton of the allied powers have believed
from the outset that as soon as Turkey
had fully prepared her army and navy for
the conflict she would cast the die for
war. Great Britain, Russia and France
have, through their embassadors, made it
plain to Turkey, it is understood, what
the consequences of her entry might be.
The Anglo-French fleet which has been
comparatively unoccupied iu the Mediter
ranean, would bombard the ports of Asia
Minor, Greece would probably join the
allies against Turkey and the Balkan
states drawn into the genera! imbroglio
with the pr-spect that Italy might he
found fighting Turkey as well. That the
conflict might: extend to Egypt, Persia
or Arabic, with the possibility of the
Japanese fleet supporting operations of
the allies, has been discussed in Wash
ington in quarters friendly to the allies.
The Greek navy, with its two American
built battleships, formerly the Idaho and
the Mississippi, which must be reckoned
with, is superior to the Turkish Cruisers
in armor and armament. The general
opinion in Washington is that at least in
the beginning and for sometime thereafter
Turkey would be greatly circumscribed in
her activities.
One of the uncertain elements in t
political side of the problem is the effect
upon the great Moslem population of In
dia. It is pointed out, too, that there are
probabilities that Egypt would be drawn
in through her political and religious affili
ations, with Turkey, thus affecting British
suzerainty over Egypt and the control of .
the Suez canal; a very necessary link in I
the British chain of communications be- I
tween England and the great Indian em- j
pire.
From a purely military point of view it
is believed that Russia would have little
to fear from an attack by the Turkish
army. It is regarded as certain that such
action would doubtless be followed by dec
laration of war against Turkey by several
of the Balkan states, and the experience
of the Ottoman government in the last con
flict is held to have demonstrated the abili
ty of Servia. Greece, Montenegro and Bul
garia to cheek a northern movement of the
Turkish army if not indeed to drive it
across the straits into Asia Minor.
From a naval viewpoint, Turkey cannot
work much mischief, in the opinion of the
experts in Washington. Her navy has
been increased by the addition of two Ger
man ships, the big dreadnought cruiser
Goeben of 23.900 tons and the small but
very fast protected cruiser Breslau of 28
knots and 4550 tons, which is closely sim
ilar to the now famous Karlsruhe, hut the
Russian Black sea fleet is regarded as more
than a match for these two-vessels.
The full war strength of Turkey's army
is 300,000 trained men, according to sta
tistics in Washington, but in addition it
is believed that there are about 400,000
irregulars, some of whom actually have
joined the army, while the rest are ready
to do so. The regular army is Composed
of 13 army corps, most of whom arc in
Turkey in Asia. The infantry is said now
to be the strongest branch. The artillery
lost many of its guns during the recent
Balkan war.
Turkey's naval strength consists of three
battleships, four cruisers, three torpedo
gunboats. 10 destroyers, 10 torpedo boats.
28 small gunboats, a coast defense ship and
some auxiliary craft. The battleships are
old and none has guns larger than 11
inches. The 10 destroyers range from 286
to 610 tons and from 25 to 35 knots, four
being of this highest speed. The 10 tor
pedo boats range from 124 to 167 tons and
are of 26 and 27 knots in speed The old
est was laid in 1901. The 28 small gun
lioats range from 185 to 502 tons. The per
sonnel of the navy, according to latest
available information in Washington, con
sists of six vice and 11 rear-admirals, 208
captains, 289 commanders. 228 lieutenants,
181 ensigns, 30,000 sailors and 9000 ma
rines.
Concerning American missionaries in
Turkey, Acting Secretary Lansing said last
week the attitude of the Ottoman govern
ment had been very friendly and he felt no
apprehension about them. Although Great
Britain several weeks ago asked the Unit
ed States to care for her diplomatic inter
ests in Constantinople in the event of the
outbreak of war. state department officials
said no reouest of a similar nature had
come from Russia or any of the other bel
ligerents.
SUMMER WHITE HOUSE CLOSED.
Family of President Wilson Depart*
From Cornish, N. H.
AU probabilities of President Wilson
going again this year to the summer
White House at Cornish. N. H., were
practically removed Saturday when mm
beta of his family who have been staying
there departed and the house was closed
for the season. Misses Lucy and Mary
Smith of New Orleans, his cousins, re
turned to Washington, and Miss Margaret
Wilson went to New York.
THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 191?.
RELIEF FOR BELGIANS
BY ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
Millions, if Need Be. Will Be Spent for
War Sufferers—Steamer Chartered
to Carry Provisions.
The Rockefeller foundation has deter
mined to employ its immense resources
for the relief of the noncombatants in the
countries afflicted by the war, and stands
ready to give "millions of dollars, if neces
sary," for the purpose. This was an
nounced in New York Sunday night by Jolin
D. Rockefeller. Jr., president of the foun
dation. Mr Rockefeller, in announcing
the plain, said :—
“This action is taken as a natural step
in fulfilling the chartered purposes of
the foundation, namely, 'to promote the
well-being of mankind throughout the
world.' I have written the American em
bassador in London that 'we foresee the
probability that large resources will be
very much needed for rehabilitation at a
time when the resources now being drawn
upon for immediate relief will be perhaps
very nearly exhausted. Under the cir
cumstances, we feel the need of further
advice.'
“In order to obtain expert opinion as to
the time, place and means of rendering
aid most effectively, the foundation has
arranged to send to Europe within the
next few days a commission which shall
visit the countries affected and advise us
first hand. The chairman of the commis
sion will be Wickliffe Rose, director-gen
eral of the international health commis
sion. whose successful experience in or
ganizing the campaign against hookworm
disease in various parts of the world pe
culiarly fits him for the task. The send
ing of such a mission will not render
unnecessary the efforts of other agencies
of relief, for the need is widespread and
millions of people are suffering. All steps
which the Rockefeller foundation takes
will, of course, be absolutely neutral.
“To avoid delay and to provide relief
at the earliest possible moment for the
suffering people of Belgium, the founda
tion has chartered the largest neutral ship
available in New Y'ork harbor, and bought
a full cargo of supplies, to be dispatched
immediately. This action will hut supple
ment the public-spirited efforts of the Bel
gian relief committee, of which Robert
W. DeForest is chairman. That the
necessity is vital and worthy of the heart
iest support is indicated by the following
cablegrams which, in reply to inquiries,
we have received from Mr Page, the
American embassador at London
Belgians on verge of starvation. I eni
rhatieally regard It most opportune to help,
h.-ve uever known such a case of need.
Committee to distrbute food consists of prom
inent Americans here and influential Belgians
in Belgium and American minister and con
suls in Belgium, all under my direction. Brit
ish government forbids export of food, and
no food can be boucht on continent. Help
needed is food and nothing for women and
children.
It will require $1,000,000 a month for seven
or eight mouths to prevent starvation. In
fact, many will starve now before food can
reach them. No food can be bought and ex
ported from any country in Europe. Every
dollar you choose to give will save or pro
lone a human life if you give it quickly
enough. No other time will come in any land
when there can be greater need. Do not
send money. Buy six parts wheat, two parts
rice, two parts beans, and ship in neutral
ships consigned to American consul nt Rot
terdam. Inform me when you ship and I will
arrange nil dinlomotic requirements for land
ing, for transit to Belgium and tor distribu
tion in small quantities by the commission
of relief which as a means of reaching all
the. people bay.’ taken over all grocery stores
“lmmediately upon receiving these mes
sages the Rockefeller foundation enlisted
the co-operation of the shipping depart
ment of the Standard oil company of New
York in securing the vessel, and at the same
time gladly availed itself of the voluntary
services of Lionel Hagenaers a Belgian
now resident in New York and member of
the Belgian relief committee, in purchas
ing the cargo. The foundation encountered
considerable difficulty in finding a capa
cious vessel, and the pressure upon the
market for foodstuffs was such that it was
impossible to comply exactly with Embas
«ndor Page's suggestions as to proportions.
To fill and dispatch the ship called for an
expenditure of about $275,000.
“On next Tuesday morning, therefore,
the Massapequa of the New York and
Porto Rico steamship company will sail
direct to Rotterdam. Holland, laden with
4000 tona of supplies consigned to the
American consul. The cargo will consist
of 28.500 barrels of flour. 14.000 packets
(100 pounds each', of rice. 3000 bags (200
pounds each) of beans. 1000 boxes (100
pounds each, of bacon.
“The extraordinary need in Belgium is
further indicated by the following cable
gram received from H. C. Hoover of the
American relief committee in London:—•
Have received reports from members of
our commission. from the American minister
in Brussels, and from local officials that
within three weeks the last vestige of food
stuff- In Belgium will have been exhausted
and the entire population of over 7.000,000
people will be faced with starvation. The
minimum supply of foodstuffs required
amounts to about 90.000 tons of cereals nm
iqonth, together with bacon or lard. The
minimum monthly expenditure required is
from $4,000,000 to $5.000.000, of which some
part returnable through sales. It. therefore,
appears that the problem of feeding the peo
ole of Belgium transcends other Belgian re
lief. The one function of Americans in Bel
gian relief is the purchase and disnatch of
food. We have expended every dollar that
we have received In the purchase and dis
patch of foodstuffs already, and It will take
all the funds we can raise hero to take care
of emergency pending arrival of stuffs from
America.
BOSTON MAN’S RELIEF SYSTEM
William Firth Receive* Good* and
Money—Ship* to Hi* Daughter in
England.
William Firth of 200*Devonshire street,
Boston, is conducting an efficient system
of relief work for the Belgian refugees
in England. The Boston Transcript re
cently printed a detailed account of Mr
Firth and his work. It is reprinted below
for the assurance of any readers of The
Republican who may have seen Mr Firth’s
advertisements and hesitated about re
sponding because of a lack of informa
tion regarding him personally. The
Transcript account follows:—
Mr Firth, although a native of Hudders
field, Eng., is an American citizen, and
pictures in his office of Kitchener and
Abraham Lincoln show his appreciation
of the land of his birth and the land of
his adoption. He has been in England re
cently and lie had hardly returned when
his daughter. Mrs Richard Haworth of
Manchester, Eng., wrote him of the
destitution of the Belgian refugees, who
were daily landing in England. This was
five weeks ago, and in a small way, in his
familv and among his friends. Mr Firth
set out to help the Belgians. His work
has increased so rapidly that now he is
using part of a loft at 15 Columbia street
as a sorting-room and packing-room, with
a force of clerks to take care of the ship
ments; and Mrs Firth, her servants, chauf
feur and gardener take a hand daily in re
ceiving and sorting the goods.
The gifts are of three kinds—money,
which is expended judiciously, fresh goods
given by manufacturers, and partly-used
clothing, underwear and shoes. The Shaw
stocking company, for example, has given
1060 pairs of stockings for men. women
and children: the Otis company of Ware
has given stockings and underwear, the
Amoskeag company has sent many holts
of eotton flannel, and the Algonquin print
[ tog company of Fall Elver a quantity of
calico. With the money given him and
with his own money. Mr Firth buys under
wear, stockings, blankets and sweaters
for people of all ages.
The partly-worn supplies, which nre in
fact practically new. cover about every
kind of garment and accessory for men.
women and children—first-ciass suits of
clothes, clean, fresh, wooly dresses for
women and children, warm petticoats and
other underwear, shoes of all sorts, some
of them of white canvas, picture hats for
the women, hoods for the girls, and Al
pines and caps for the men and boys, old
fashioned comforters, side by side with
modern puffs for the bed. hot-water bot
tles, abdominal belts, absorbent cotton and
tolls of linen for the wounded, pipes and
tobacco for the men.
Mrs Firth, at her home, has established
a miniature factory, where three sewing
machines are kept running by her. her
maids or her friends. Miss Flint of the
museum of fine arts, is one of these women
volunteers, and has notified Mr Firth that
she will ask her girl students to make
rag dolls for the Belgian girls, and her
boys -to make fret-work toys for the Bel
gian boys, that they may have a touch at
least of Christmas. A poor Belgian wom
an in thia country, who is using every ef
fort to find her relatives in Belgium, has
asked that a card of inquiry fie put in
articles of clothing, in the hope that some
of the recipients may know of the wherea
bouts of the missing relatives, and this is
being done.
The White Star line and the Cunard
line are transnorting the goods collected
by Mr Firth free of charge, and one lo
cal express company. Chase’s of Brookline,
carries the goods free to the Firth loft in
Columbia street. Bundles, boxes and oth
er packages are pouring into the loft so
steadily that Mr Firth may have to get
another packingroom, for which hi will
personally pay rent, unless some benefac
tor in the vicinity is willing to help. When
the goods get to England they are re
ceived by Mrs Haworth and are reshipped
from the rest-room in one of her husband’s
mills in Manchester, and his employes do
whatever repacking is necessary.
When Mr Firth took upon himself the
task of doing his best as an individual to
help the suffering and unfortunate Bel
gians. because of what his daughter was
doing for their cause abroad (his daugh
ter is remembered locally as Miss Pauline
Firth, who was becoming an excellent
golfer before she married and went
abroad), he did not dream that his efforts
were to have such enthusiastic support.
Mr Firth has been obliged to employ a
manager for the relief work, while be
himself nets ns supervisor and purchasing
agent. Mr Firth hns been impressed by
the excellent condition in which articles
have arrived. Of the hundreds of pairs
of shoes which have been received only
one pair have been put aside as worth
less. Just one woman's skirt was found
to be moth-eaten. Men's and boys’ suits
have arrived cleaned and neatly pressed.
The same has been true of women's skirts
•and Other wear. Underclothing has come
neatly laundered. Many articles have
come’ apparently fresh from the store
counter.
Every day finds an increase in thenum
ber of friends of Mr Firth who are becom
ing interested in the good work he is
doing, and every friend thus added means
an enlarged circle from which money and
supplies arc coming. He and Mrs Firth
recently were guests of friends on the
North shore, and in the course of the
evening Mr Firth related to his host some
of the incidents in connection with the
relief work. Before retiring this friend
made out a check to Mr Firth for SSO.
In the morning he asked to have the check
returned, and upon receiving it passed in
exchange a cheek of his own for SSOO and
an equal sum from his wife, That was
what really started Mr Firth in the work.
With the cash received Mr Firth goes
"bargain hunting.” He does not ask goods
for nothing from anybody, on these pur
chasing quests. In fact. Mr Firth’s atti
tude is that, in helping the Belgians, he
also has the opportunity to help home in
dustries. He brieves that supplies can be
bought nt qomc to much better effect than
by sending tHi? money abroad, where the
market on supplies most needed is more
or less curtailed, and where prices prob
ably are higher. By buying here, more
over, the money is kept in home chan
nels of circulation. Mr Firth’s ideas are of
special value in cleaning out stocks which
so far as their serviceability for the Bel
gians is concerned are just as good as the
most up-to-date patterns on the market,
but are not readily salable in home mar
kets because of not being in style.
Mrs Firth’s activity for the Belgians is
being supplemented enthusiastically by her
friends. One women's society in Brookline
which meets once a month, at which the
members contribute $3 apiece for the pur
pose of hiring a lecturer or providing mu
sic. has voted to turn its fund over to Bel
gian relief purposes. Then, instead of hav
ing its customary entertainment, the mem
bers will meet as usual and utilize the
time for making garments for the refu
gees.
PROF NORTON'S CHILDREN.
Promoting: Volunteer Ambnlance*—A
Chance to Help.
To the Editor of The Republican:—
Among those sons of Massachusetts
whose names will long be cherished for the
good they have done, that of Charles Eliot
Norton, late professor of fine arts at Har
vard, stands foremost. His life was spent
in doing kindly deeds for others, and it is
a pleasure to note that his son Richard
hns organized a volunteer corps of motor
ambulances and has gone to the front in
the European war to aid the wounded and
carry them quickly to a place where they
will receive prompt attention.
Prof Norton’s daughter. Miss Elizabeth
Gaskell Norton, whose address is 83 Mt
Vernon street, Boston, has undertaken to
raise funds for the equipment, and main
tenance of additional ambulances. For
this service each machine costs $750, and
already 10 ambulances have been put in
service. Mr Norton's ambulance corps has
received the approbation of the British war
office and is under the direction of Sir
Claude MacDonald and the St John am
bulance association. Gasoline is supplied
by the French government free of charge.
There is something pitiful that should
appeal to the hearts of this great and
peaceful nation, in the fact of young men
giving their lives for their ideals of duty.
Thousands of these die for want of prompt
hospital service and the need of motor
ambulances seems to be growing every
hour.
Miss Norton has already secured sub
scriptions sufficient to equip three ambu
lances, and there must be many of your
readers who will gladly contribute toward
this most worthy service to the wounded
and dying on the field of battle.
Any of your readers who would like to
assist in this work may send their sub
scriptions direct to Miss Norton, with the
fullest confidence that all amounts con
tributed will be most effectively used for
the above purpose. Miss Norton will per
sonally acknowledge all subscriptions
John Hail Jones.
New York City, October 28, 1914.
THE NEW SOUTH AMERICA.
[Robert Bacon In the Outlook.)
The day has gone by when a majority
of these South American countries, labo
riously building up a governmental struc
ture under tremendous difficulties, were in
constant fear of the danger of instability.
Now all the more important republics are
firmly established and no longer live In
the shadow of dictatorships or unconstitu
tional rule. They “have passed.” to use
the words of Mr Root, “out of the condi
tion of militarism, out of the condition of
revolution, irfto the condition of industrial
ism. into the paths of successful com
merce and are becoming great, and power
ful nations.’’ With this development has
come material progress and prosperity
which attract the attention of the world
to South America and assure ite increasing
greatness to the future.
GENLAND A WAR WORKSHOP
RUSH WORK ON WAR MATERIAL
THE EFFECT ON HER INDUSTRIES
Great Rush in Boot and Clothing
Trades Turning Out Supplies for
Armies of Britain and Her Al
lies — Shipbuilding Yards
Crowded and Armament
Trades Going at High
Pressure — Cotton a
Black Patch.
[Copyright, 1914, by Curtis Brown.]
Correspondence of The Republican.
London, Eng.. October 22, 1914.
Many so-called experts confidently pre
dicted that within a month of the outbreak
of war British trade would be ruined, Brit
ish banks would have collapsed and mobs
would be demanding food in British towns.
Like the theory of revolt in India, re
bellion in Ireland and the brushing away
of the British colonies, this, too, has been
found a delusion. After two months of
war, while it would hardly be correct to
say that British trade is normal, it is
amazing how little disturbance has been
caused by the war and how little distress
there is.
As a matter of fact, the government
trade returns show only a slight decrease
in the normal figures of unemployment, but
this is rather misleading, as it takes no
account of the lost time that is being
worked, especially in the cotton trade,
which is the blackest spot in British in
dustry. It must also be borne in mind
that, what with the calling up of the reg
ular army reservists, the mobilization of
the territorials and the recruiting of Lord
Kitchener’s new army more than 1,000.090
men have joined the colors and are thus
withdrawn from the labor market. Still
bearing all these facts in mind, trade is
amazingly good, and in a great part is
due to England’s unique position ns an
island state and to the power of her fleet,
which has kept the sea routes fairly dear.
England to-day is the war workshop of
Europe. Certain trades are working night
and day. turning out the supplies needed
not only by England and her allies, but
for the neutral states which arc feverishly
putting themselves into a state of pre
paredness for the day when they iuay be
dragged into the giant conflict.
The boot trade is a case in point. With
in the last three weeks orders for over
4,000,000 pairs of army boots have been
received in Nottingham, the great center
of the British boot trade. About 1.500,-
QOO of these are wanted by Lord Kitch
ener for his men nt the front and for
his new troops. He has also served notice
on the manufacturers that he will want a
constant and steady supply of boots while
the war lasts. Six weeks under campaign
conditions, during which they seldom,
leave the wearer's fedt, and are often im
mersed in water for days in the trenches,
doesn't leave much of a pair of boots.
France has placed an order for over
500,000 pairs of boots in Nottingham and
750,000 in Kettering. Russia has ordered
500,000 pairs of boots from Bristol, and
Italy is inquiring for 250.000. Greece,
Bulgaria and Rumania have all ordered
boots, their aggregate demand coming to
about 200,000 pairs. All these boots are
high-class goods of the British army pat
tern. which cost $4 a pair wholesale.
Clothing Tor the Army.
Then there is the item of clothing the
army. Over 1,000,000 uniforms are want
ed at once for the new troops. Another
600,000 are wanted for the old troops and
the territorials to replace those which are
being worn out under war and war train
ing conditions. There is no need for any
tailor in England to-day to be idle. Cloth
ing manufacturers are welcoming with
open arms anyone who can sew, and every
factory in the United Kingdom is working
overtime. The doth mills, too, are get
ting their share, and are in many cases
working double shifts. About seven yards
of cloth are required to make a uniform,
so that 2,000,000 uniforms required at
once represent 14.000.000 yards of goods.
In addition to this there are a couple of
million overcoats to be made, each taking
nearly as much cloth as a suit. AH the
khaki in the country has been exhausted,
and the government is now clothing the
new recruits in uniforms of blue serge,
which will be replaced by khaki when
they are ready to go to the front. There
is no unemployment in the woolen or
tailoring trades. England's blanket stocks
have been exhausted. The government
bought every blanket it could hear of. and
then had to appeal to the people to send
in their spare blankets to keep the new
recruits warm at night. Orders have been
placed at' Witney for 1.090,000 pairs, and
more still will be wanted when these are
delivered. The blanket mills are working
night and day.
The war demand for goods manifests
itself in all sorts of unexpected places
Sheffield, for instance, is rushed with or
ders for razors because most soldiers must
be supplied with razors at the front. In
addition to this demand there is a fairly
large amount of trade coming from abroad
which formerly went to Solingen, the Ger
man Sheffield. In Birmingham a number
of sword and bayonet factories which had
been closed for years have been reopened.
Leicester, the home of the underwear
trade, is humming with activity again
with orders from France and Russia, as
well as for the British troops, and all
the harness, saddlery, glove and other
leather centers are similarly busy.
Of course, it is hardly necessary to say
that the trades making war material
proper, such as ammunition, explosives,
rifles, artillery, etc. are working at the
highest pressure. The same applies to
shipbuilding. Every yard in the country is
full of work. All those capable of ad
miralty work are busy building and re
pairing, while the yards building mer
chant ships are already at work repairing
the wastage caused by mines, hostile
cruisers, etc.
Now for a glance at the other side of
the picture. There is no doubt that ordi
nary retail trade, especially that in ar
ticles of luxury, suffered severely at first,
although that is improving now with more
settled conditions. The declaration of war
was the signal for a wave of economy,
for people did not know whether there
was going to be a commercial and finan
cial panic or not. Now that the fear of
that is disappearing people are beginning
to spend again, but not as freely as be
fore, especially among the comfortable
classes, for most of them are looking for
ward with apprehension to the heavy war
bill which must be paid out of income tax
and are saving accordingly. Against this,
however, is the increased prosperity of a
large section of the working class, which
again is balanced by the proportion who
are on short time or whose wages have
been reduced. A curious feature of the
war is the increased prosperity and con
sequently the increased spending power of
the poorest eiaas, the charwomen and
casual female workers. Nearly all of
these had a husband or son often de-
Sendent to some oxtent on their earnings.
[any of these men have enlisted, and
their women are now drawing separation
allowance and a proportion of the main
nay, amounting to a minimum of about
$4 a week, and iu cases where there are
children going up as high as $7.50 a week.
How many of these women there are it is
impossible to say, but their number is
very large and practically all the money
they receive goes into circulation at once.
England’s Foreign Trade.
Ordinary foreign trade also has suf
fered. The August returns showed a re-
I duction of over $68,000,000. or about 24
| per cent, in imports, and of about $99,-
| <IOO,OOO, or about 45 per cent, in exports.
The returns for September show a loss of
$81,000,000 in imports and $78,000,000
in exports. The improvement in the lat
ter item began with the clearing of the
seas by the British fleet. Of course they
are still down heavily, for Germany and
Austria were important customers of En
gland, and it is too soon yet for the, efforts
which are being made to capture German
trade to have borne much fruit.
A satisfactory feature of the trade re
turns from the British point of view is
that the imports of grain and flour show
an increase of nearly $4,000,000. while
meat, including livestock, has only de
creased $150,000 compared with August,
1913. In the imports the class of manu
factured articles has suffered most se
verely. falling to $33,000,090 from a total
of $76,000,000. Food, drink and tobacco
have only fallen off about 10 per cent,
and raw materials about 16 per cent. In
exports the biggest decline also has been
in manufactured articles, amounting to
$78,000,000 in a total of $174,000,090.
The exports of food, drink and tobacco
dropped about 50 per cent, and of raw
materials about 50 per cent. Much of this
import and export trade will probably be
recovered, as it was Jost in the early days
of the war before the government under
took the insurance of ships and cargoes
and before the seas were clear.
In the home trade, of course, in addition
to the cotton trade, which has already
been mentioned, there is a good deal of
slackness in the branches devoted to the
manufacture of articles of luxury and of
articles for women’s use.
The home office, through its inspectors
of factories, has been taking a sort of
informal census and has received reports
from 10,046 factories employing normally
1.335,845 men and 660.653 women. Busi
ness is reported normal in 3206 of these
factories, slack in 5842. and unusually
g^od in 998. Full time is being worked in
53.4 per cent of these factories, short time
in 42.3 per cent, and only 2.2 per cent
have closed or are preparing to close. A
large proportion of the short time is in tho
Lancashire cotton area, and the census
was taken only up to the end of the sec
ond week in September, before work had
really begun on the war orders. The
causes assigned for pressure of work in
the 998 busy factories are war orders in
654 cases, diversion of trade from other
countries in 176 eases, and other causes in
208 eases. In 4976 eases out of the 5842
cases of slackness the reason given is the
cancelation of orders, especially for lux
uries due to the war. Other reasons given
are shortage or high price of raw mate
rials. overproduction following a pe.riod of
good trade and trade disputes.
Some idea of the condition of trade in
London can be gleaned from an interview
with Harry Gosling, secretary of the
transport workers’ union, a member of
the London county council, and of the
special committee for the relief and pre
vention of distress, of which John Burns
is chairman.
“With regard to London as a whole,”
Gosling said. “I should say that trade is
good, but there are patches of extreme
distress. The conditions of thousands of
female employes is very serious. Much
of this unemployment is probably due to
panic among their employers at the out
break of the war, and will likely prove to
be only temporary in character. People
seem to have written off clothes and fur
niture as unnecessary items of expendi
ture for the time being."
As a whole the percentage of unemploy
ment is falling at the moment. For the
week ending September 4 it was 6.3 in
the insured trales. of which accurate
statistics are kept. The next week it had
fallen to 6, and by September 18, which
is the last week for which the figures are
available, it was down to 5.7. Of course
one must still bear in mind the effect of
recruiting on the labor market.
The government is preparing to deal
with the dislocation of trade caused by
the crisis. It is working out a scheme for
the advance of money at a low rate of
interest to business firms who find them
selves in temporary difficulties owing to
the disruption of commerce. They will
have to satisfy a committee of experts of
their essential soundness. Several millions
of dollars have been earmarked for this
purpose.
Those who have suffered most of all by
the war are the holders of securities and
the stock brokers, etc. The Bankers' mag
azine states that 387 representative se
curities show a loss compared with Jan
uary. 1907. of no less than $3,302,500,000.
In ‘British and Indian funds the loss has
been $790.000,000. foreign government
, stocks $560,000,000. and American rail
wav securities $600,000,000. Of course the
loss is not all British and is not all due
to the war, and no one can tell hoyv the
prices now quoted will change when the
stock exchanges reopen.
IRELAND IN THE GREAT WAR.
How She Support* the Empire—Home
Rule Ha* Made Her Loyal.
[Copyright, 1914. by Curtis Brown ]
Correspondence of The Republican.
Dublin, Ire., October 22, 1914.
For the first time since the conquest of
Ireland by Strongbow, England is engaged
in a war in which she has the hearty and
undivided sympathy Of Ireland, and the
empire is looking for great things from the
Irish troops, whether they be drawn from
the North or from the South.
In spite of the political estrangement
between Ireland and her sister country,—
now happily wiped away forever by the
grant, of home rule,—lreland has always
borne more than her share in Great Brit
ain's battles. The Irish are a martial na
tion and not even the debp sense of their
country's wrongs could keep them out of
the army of England, the only army winch
tn recent years was open to most of them.
I have just been going through the army
lists and find that iu the regular army
there are 15 Irish regiments. Each regi
ment consists of two regular battalions of
1000 men each, and one or two reserve
battalions which may or may not be
brought up to full strength on mobiliza
tion. At any rate the regular army is
made up of the two battalions of each reg
iment so that Ireland contributes to the
regular standing army of Great Britain at
least 30.000 men. As the regular forces
consist in peace time of only 160.000 men
a very simple calculation will show what
proportion of the military burden of the
empire Ireland, with her population of
4,000 000 is bearing compared with En
gland. Wales and Scotland, with their imp
utation of over 40,000,000.
The Irish forces include such famous
regiments as the Connaught rangers, the
Dublin fusiliers, the Inniskilling fusiliers
and tho Iniskilling dragoons, the Munster
fusilers. whp were cut up at Mons, and the
Irish guards, of which Lord Roberts, the
great soldier who warned England for
years of what was in store for her. is
eolonel-iu-chief.
In former wars in which Great Britain
was engaged. Irishmen were to be found
lighting on both sides. When the Stuart
kings fell, thousands of Irish gentlemi’n
who had fought in their armies emigrated
rather than submit to the Hanoverian
Y^e followed by tens of
°£- t ? e,r soldiers and the Irish
?’S ,ch . «tered the service of
mrrt'i-.™ “' of . Ans tria. and of al
ether nation on the continent
-^ e fame of the Irish as
w f r d "ide. Everyone has heard
' famous Irish brigade which
pnsUsh »t Fontenoy,
there w?s »„ ? s the Beer war
aXt Jh „V nsh bri K a .de to the field
against the old enemy, who has now be
come a friend.
Irei*„d and
This time the Irishmen will all fight on
the one side. Ireland has become passion
ately loyal to the British empire with
the exception of a very small and entire'-
uninfluential group of doctrinaire poli
ticians who are still preaching that "I'9-
g J?n d I s the enen >y.” But if England wmi
still the enemy. Ireland would have e
strong inducement to fight against Ger
many and on the side of Belgium for th
relation between these two small nations
have always been very close. Nowhere in
the world was there such a thrill of ho"
ror at the destruction of Louvain as in
Ireland, for•Louvain is almost a sacred
ground to the Irish. The bones of the
four masters, the authors of the Annals
ot Ireland, he under the ruins of the chapel
of Louvain university. Louvain gave its
hospitality to the Irish clergy who w«re
compefled to seek refuge from the rigor of
P r“?l 'a"?, and for centuries
T a,-— —S— rm. 9 n ( -’■l were
educated at Louvain. The flags of Nano
n^he r ?v brigade are deposited
in the convent of Ypres, and there is hard
ly an ancient town in Belgium that has
not some Irish association. Ireland has
even suffered a material loss by the de
struction of the Diuvain library for it
contained the finest collection of Celtic
manuscripts m the world, many of them
the work of famous Irish scholars who
had found a home, m the hospitable uni
versity The associations between France
and Ireland, also, have always been close
and sympathetic, so that Ireland feels
that she is entering on a holy war for her
self and her allies.
Now what is Ireland doing to contribute
her share to Kitchener's new army? We
have seen that she has done more than
her share in building up the old army and
has contributed some of the finest fighting
material that it contains. John Redmond,
the leader of the Irish party and. if ho
lives another year, the first prime minister
of Ireland, has said publicly that he hopes
to supply not only an Irish brigade but an
Irish army corps of 200,090 men. Some
optimists go so far as to talk about doub
ling that number, but that I am afraid is
hardly to be hoped for. unless the young
Irishmen who have sought their fortunes
overseas return to strike a blow for the
honor of Ireland in the great war.
It has been suggested that the two vol
unteer forces. Sir Edward Carson’s Ulster
army of 1.00,000 partially trained men,
and Redmond’s national volunteer force of
nearly 200,000 men. rather less trained
than the Ulstermen, might be taken over
as a body, but anyone who is familiar
wish Irish conditions knows that this is
impossible. Many of the men in both bod
ies joined the volunteer forces iu perfect
readiness to fight for wha t they' believed
to be the best interests of Ireland within
the four seas of Ireland. That is a very
different thing from going abroad to serve
for an indefinite period, and requires quite
a different sort of patriotism. Moreover, it
requires quite a different economic arrange
ment. Both Sir Edward Carson and John
Redmond are urging their volunteers to
join, and there is -no doubt that a large
proportion will do so. To balance those
who for personal and business reasons are
unable to volunteer for foreign service,
there will undoubtedly be a large number
of young men who joined neither volun
teer force because they were opposed to
the idea of civil war and felt sure that
the home rule question would be settled
without fighting.
A good many people have asked why
Ireland has not taken part so far in the
great rush to join Kitchener’s army winch
has taken place in England. There are
several reasons. The first is that until
the home rule act was passed neither Sir
Edward Carson nor Redmond was willing
to release his volunteers. Another and
more important reason is that Ireland is
an agricultural country. Most of the early
volunteering was done in the English
towns. The countrymen are just begin
ning to come in. now that the harvest is
in The Irish harvest has now been saved
and the rush of young men to the colors
mav be expected to begin. There is one
other reason why Ireland has been slow.
Ireland is now a country of small holders.
4 great, proportion of the people work
their own land. Most of the unattached
young men have emigrated, and a man
who owns and works his own farm does a
bit of thinking before going in .for the
greatest war in the history of civilization.
All these factors, however. I am sure,
will be discounted by the appeal from the
two leaders that Ireland should prove her
self worthy of the trust that has been
placed in her. Sir Edward Carson so far
has been the more successful, as he has
the industrial north to draw on. He ; has
been able to give Kitchener about 2a.000
men for his new army. Of these, about
11009 come from Belfast, and they have
been taken over in practically the regi
ments in which they were organized in the
Ulster volunteers. Many of the volunteer
officers have received the king s commis
sion and will accompany their old units.
So far Redmond, with a larger population
but an agricultural one to draw on. has
supplied about an equal number. The
Dublin district has given about 8000 .of
these and Cork about 4000. sb that here,
too it is seen that the towns are ahead
of the country. All this is the work of
one week, and is nothing to be ashamed of.
If Ireland can keep up recruiting 50.000
men a week it will not be long before she
supplies that Irish army.
There is no doubt, however, that Red
mond would have done much better if he
had not been compelled to reorganize the
governing committee of the national volun
teers. A small group in this committee—
about half a dozen in all headed by Prof
Mac Neill of the national university—took
it on themselves to oppose the proposal
that Ireland should not send her soldiers
abroad to fight. They based their position,
not so much on enmity to England, al
though that undoubtedly had something to
do with it. as on the argument that the,
duty of volunteers was to defend tho
shores of Ireland. Redmond's reply to
that was that the most effective way to
defend the shores of Ireland was to seek
out the enemy before he reached those
shores, and defeat him before he bad an
opportunity to turn Galway into a second
Louvain and Dublin into another Brus
sels. The malcontents were joined by
the small, hut noisy Sinn Fein party,
which includes a number of doctrinaire
pacifists, and what is left of the old ir
reconcilable physical force party whose
hatred of England will last as long as
they draw breath.
Small Opposition to Redmond.
When it came to a show down, however,
the weakness of this group was exposed.
The whole committee consists of 50 mem
bers and only six of them voted against
Redmond. When the news of the reor
ganization went through the country ev
ery local committee, with two exceptions,
voted to support Redmond, and the two
who' did not, voted to remain neutral. So
far. there is no news of any difference of
opinion among the rank and file of the
volunteers. They are only waiting the
word from their leaders when and how
to join.
One question that remains to bo settled
is the form of organization. The men are
anxious to be entoled in territorial regi
ments so that they will be fighting side by
side with their friends and neighbors.
There is ipore difficulty about this in tho
south and west than to the. ease of the
Ulster volunteers, for the latter are more
fully trained and organized.