New-York tribune. [volume], August 26, 1915, Page 6, Image 6

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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First lo Last?the Truth: Ne*??*t--?Edltoriala
?Advert Isementa.
Till MDAT, ACC.l**T tS. 1S18.
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Mill >l?i?r
*l ?m cm purchase merchandise advertlaed
in THE TRIIU'NE with absolute aafety?for
if dissatiafaction resulta in any caae THE
1R11HAE guarantees to pay your money
Lack up? n rc-uest. No red tape, no quib?
bling. W c make good promptly if Ihe ad?
vertiser dt?*-?- not.
Everything or Nothing.
The German request for delay in deal
in-- with the Arabic incident means every?
thing or nothing. There is not the small?
est evidence yet to indicato which, apart
from that supplied by the fact that the re?
quest was made and th.it the language
admits of a satisfactory interpretation as
n promise of future explanations.
There is only one issue between us and
Germany, There is only one method of
lug it. If Germany is prepared to
announce that she has instructed her sub?
marine captains to exercise the right of
search in advance of sinking passenger
ships?in a word, if she has decided to
yield to American demands?then there is
an end to all that is threatening in the
present crisis.
Hut short of this there is no end. An?
other "incident," granted that the Arabic
can be explained away, will mean another
crisis and the end of relations. Still an?
other could hardly fail to precipitate the
hostilities no one wants. Quibbling now
would mean the destruction of the last
possible chnr.ee of amicable arrangement
hereafter.
Until the German Government has made
its statement we shall do well to wait with
open minds, neither deluded by optimism
nor rendered unreceptive by pessimism.
Above all this is not the time to glorify
? [can statesmanship and rouse Ger?
man susceptibilities by claiming a great
American victory, which means a humiliat?
ing German reverse.
If Germany now understands American
?.if she has no desire to add
r:ca to her numerous enemies, nhe will
ntly give notice of a change of policy
?this will involve a disavowal of both the
. and the Arabic precedents. If
?till doubts that we are in ear
is still prepared to risk Ameri
ity to carry on a campaign of
iitfulness" against ?"ngland, then we
have a communication
nth all the cleverness German
? can give it, but destitute of all
? and pertinence in the present eriti
tion.
1? Mr. Wilson shall succeed in bringing
about a peaceful solution he will de?
serv?* all praise. Dut the very success of
?w his labors may be rendered impossible by
Mt injudicious celebration now. It is not the
.Hf humiliation of Germany that he or any
W 'her sane person desires. What we all
J ask is a final end to an intolerable situa
that can only be terminated by a
chin ige of German policy.
Talk about German "backdown" is not
only inappropriate, but it is mischievous.
It does not square with any available facts
and it builds up for the German states?
men, who may be seeking to bring about
an honorable solution of the question, ob
? ;iich may prove insuperable. It
v foT the leaders of a people a-i
triumphant as the Germans are at the
moment to persuade them to yield, how?
ever necessary or just the yielding may be.
We in the United States are in deadly
earnest. We have already envisaged a
break with Germany, diplomatically. We
have all of us had to consider recently
that this might be but the preludo to war,
and we have accepted this situation, but
without the slightest desire to make wa.
or to contribute to such an end. We may
have to fight, but the last thing in the
rican mind is to do anything to pick a
fight with Germany.
If the German statesmen have seen the
situation as it is finally?if they are try?
ing to bring about a peaceful solution,
their difficulties are great enough without
further handicaps created by America?-,
press and public statement. They are
entitled to a fair chance, and they will not
have it if Americans begin to chant the
prowess of their diplomacy or proclaim the
surrender of Germany
Until Germany has made a formal ex?
planation the best thing in the world to
do is to let the Arabic incident lie. We
know what must be done to dispose of it.
We are all of us perfectly decided on what
N'nerican course must be if it is not
disposed of. But a peaceful solution,
squaring with American rights, is the
thing desired by the whole nation.
From Bangor.
I'.ar ?/or must be rather an important
place. Otherwiae it would hardly seem
capa! le <>f producing so sophisticated and
sclf-po.-s? sstd a young person as Miss
1!? en Bryer, thirteen years old, at present
a giie.-t of the Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children. "I got tired of
Bangor," Miss Bryer informed the lieu?
tenant presiding over the desk at the
Greenwich Street police station, M?**nd
helped myself to $27 of dad's money. He?
is my stepfather, you know. I guess I
ha? ?? seen all the sights and the money i.*)
gone, so 1 guts? 1 may ;:*- weil go back to
Maine "
It is a distinct shock to metropolitan
pride to have her arid, "I don't think New
York is so much." But in her gracious
way she seeks to temper the blow with
?
the remark, "Once a hick, always a hick,
I guess." though she does herself, to say
nothing of her home town, n decided in
justice in the implied reference. And cer?
tainly she fails to help matters in con?
tinuing: **I thought I would come to New
York and settle. Hut I have seen every?
thing worth while in the world and now 1
want to go home. 1 ain't huilt for the city
ways."
.My dear young ln?ly. if you will permi*
n humble hut honest editor to differ with
?you, we should say that in every respect
you were marvellously moulded for city
ways. Such ennui, such eava froid, such n
pvtirhant fcr father's money! Hut of
course it is not for a modest New Yorker
to say that Bangor will not provide you
with a broader scope for the free expres?
sion of your interesting personality.
"Big Bill" Edwards Returns to Our
Village.
Probably there are more people delighted
to see "Hig Hill" Edwards restored to
local public life than will vote for him.
Your friends have an odd way in matters
political of remembering their partisan
rather than their personal predilections.
But this is a weakness that all but the
?candidate can find joy in.
New York has many of the characteris?
tics of the village, despite its metropoli?
tan airs and pretences. There are not a
few men who are just as successful in
'claiming its att?mtion and enlisting it.?- lik?
ing as thry might have been in achieving
similar glory "back home."
"Big Bill" Edwards is one of these. Hj
pleased the paragrapher and he com?
manded the patronage of the reporter.
The photographer "pot-shotted" him anil
was satisfied. He made a good picture,
?supplied a good story, and presently by
some curious magic ho was a figure, peo?
ple about town talked of him, a few hun?
dred knew him, but thousands and thou?
sands knew about him, and in a curious im?
personally personal sort of way came to
like him.
Running for Sheriff is a serious business,
?not because the office is commanding, but
because the business of running for offico
?is a serious business. Two months from
?now ex-Commissioner Edwards may be the
?"standard bearer" of ineffable machine pol?
iticians. It may be necessary to denounce
jhim as an "enemy of the Republic," n
?"peril to the citv," the "creature of a fou!
I
'boss." You never can tell just where the
exigencies of the campaign may lead your
?vocabulary.
But this is two months in the future.
Now in August there are no politics. We
are all friends in the village, and the re
turn of an absent friend is r.n "item" of
human as well as press interest. Between j
now and the Princeton game the man who
used to clean our streets may be of real
public service to us. He may fill the cor?
ners of newspapers not infested by war
with anecdote and good humor. Certainly
there will be nothing of bad temper from
"Big Bill." Wherefore, he is welcome t?.'^
Broadway and should be tendered the free?
dom of the city?nt least until Primary,
Day ha? come.
"Prexy _" Points.
I?r. David .-?tarr Jordan was the active
head of an institution which, it is reputed,
does not have to pass the hat Possibly
for this reason he neglected to include
among the requirements of a successful
college president the ability to beg money
from wealthy and often .?elf-important
alumni. This omission, we fear, will be
considered to render of questionable value
his whole list of "mus?s" and "imi,?t nota/'
"He must be a scholar to the ?
that he knows truth from untruth." li? r?
again the chancellor would seem to be in
slight error. No scholar ever lived who
attained to the perfection so lightly set
forth as the attribute of that highly im?
perfect mortal, the successful college presi?
dent. Indeed, the scholars among college
pr?sidents may almost be counted on the
ten fingers, while a holt of these much de?
greed and begowned gentlemen go on in
'?reasing the capital and the registration
ol thcii institutions while providing them
?with ample publicity, to the great satisfac?
tion of trustees and alumni and the eternal
glory of our material civilization.
Of course the college president, to "make
good." must be a consummate diplomat,
and in that phrase one sums up the other
qualities which Chancellor Jordan empha?
?si7.es as necessary: "H>- must not tell all
he knows about those around him"; "he
must not do anything he can hire some on.'
else to do"; "he must be neither too
'dubby1 nor too convivial"; "he must 'fix
it' so that his board of trustees can onlv
indorse cr reject his recommendations":
"he must not 'pass the hick' to the trus
tecs"; "he must not smoke."
Still, there are a good many of US who
would no. object to his smoking if ho
would promise not to crowd his slang.
Westchester Versus Wenatchee.
This is strange news that comes from
th" Northwest It ?i to the effect that in
Washington and Oregon apple orchard**
are bemg uprooted, the business that they
represent having become unprofitable
utnler ? somewhat inflated system of han?
dling th?. crop. It is also suggested that
the high cos? of apple land in that sec?
tion, necessitating a large return on the
crop in order to pay interest on
prices at* 11,000 an acre, has something to
do with the chill which has come ove: the
Northwestern apple busini
As the Par Northwest has in en ace. i>'- i
as the eternally pre-ordained home of th?
ree! apple, it seems surprising at first that
anything should go wrong with the busi
? fruit producing there. Yet it wn >
rather evident to old-fashioned New York
State orchsrdists thai their Northwi
brethren were rather too fast in sweeping
up the fruit markets of the world. The
Northwest seemed to be devoting its ef?
forts to the production of an apple which
had appearance only, and not flavor, to
recommend it. Apples may sell for i
while on then lookb, can they do so for '
ever? It does not nppenr likely. And it
is certain that a powerful reaction in the
Eastern market arose against beautiful
but flavorless Northwestern fruit.
In tho meantime the new orchards of
New York State are making steady and
very encouraging progress. There are
some people who would rather have n per
f.rtly accidental Westchester Baldwin,
picked up by the roadsido and lightly
i touched by frost, than a bushel of Western
apples. Its winey flavor, its aroma of im?
memorial delight, seem to be things that
Washington or Oregon cannot duplicate.
Imagine, now, tho Baldwin by the roadside
no longer accidental, but produced in
higher perfection as the result of the most
careful horticulture. Will not Westches
ter be able to compete with Wenatchee,
even in the capricious market of New
York City, under an improved system of
cultivating and marketing the crop?
Let us by no means say that the North
western apple is always going to be infe
jrior in quality to tho New York apple
i The earth is kindly, the sun is keen, the
air is sweet in Wenatchee as well as in
I Westchester. Time and prudence will yer
?triumph there over the temptation to
?make money out of a thing which strongly
?resembles an apple and yet is not one.
The Northwest will do very well in the
apple business. But so will Westchester.
?so will Dutchess, so will Steuben, and so,
above all, will the sunny valleys of Colum?
bia County. In the long run an apple's
'good name is to be preferred to sudden
?riches with Dead Sea fruit.
The Amended Home Rule Proposal.
Th" amended home rule proposal which
?the Constitutional Convention has ad
jvanced to the order of final passage is a
better and more mature treatment of tha?
subject than the committee's original draft.
It is a compromise between those who be?
lieve the city should b? its own sovereign
and those who demand that the state con?
tinue to be recognized as the sovereign
j power. Obviously, any home rule amend
?ment can't meet both points of view ex?
actly. The present one does, however
grant pretty thoroughgoing powers to the
municipality. It gives the city exclusive
jiower to manage and control its own af?
fairs, to regulate the hiring, firing and
payment of its employes and the right to
adopt or amend its own charter. Charter
amendments relating to the incurring of
debts through bond issues or the alteration
of the structure of the city's government
must be submitted to the Legislature for
approval.
Under such a constitutional provision
New York City would be better off than it
is now. It would be able better to handle1
its municipal business and its municipal i
finances. With this provision in operation
there could be no question of court at |
tendants or school teachers imposing on
the city thtouph mandatory legislation j
questionable salary raises which the bud?
get is in no condition to stand; or of the
reinstatement on technicalities of dis
charged public servants whose records had
been ample warrant for their dismissal.
If the metropolis had in the Iaegislature
the representation it is entitled to no rea
t> .nable person could ask for anything much !
Letter than this proposal. Unfortunately i
there seems to be no disposition in the
Constitutional Convention to make a votai
cast on Washington Heights equal in value,
to one cast in Sehuyler County. Notwith?
standing this, New York must take what it
can get. This home rule proposal is a
genuine advance over existing conditions
m the theory of relations between the city
and the state. Entirely on its merits it
ires favorable consideration from Um
.?invention and the voters.
"I would sooner be s lamp post on Park
Row than the Governor of California,*1 de?
clares Assemblyman "Al" Smith. And Nev. ]
York would rather have him. In any capacity!
he would firs pood service, even if planted
by a Tammany administration.
Kvcn at ?7,.r>00 fY,r pach American life the
quotation named by one of the hyphenated
v would owe a considerable debt to
i thin country.
Swift rath for Ttl-? I.iner. Headline.
How the dust must gather along those
transatlantic lanes!
Obviously th? new knee watches for ladies
are to take the place of the clock at the]
ankle.
Cool Wave Coming Here -Headline
Steamer or tidal ?
British Films from the Front.
' I /"i he -,'? ertlxer i
An important announcement by .Mr. Asquith
ply t" ;i question from Sir H. Norman,
1 shows that the government are following the
? i'.* th?- French Government
in al!"" matograph records to betaken
?if suitable scenes at the front and along the
lines of communication. These films will be
available for exhibition in the picture halls
. throughout the country, and an they will be
produced under official supervision, the public
will h.-.ve the satisfaction of seeing for them?
selves some of the real phases ?.f the war.
The experiment, in which the French Govern?
took the initiative, will stimulate public
t m the campaign la the west to a
much greater degree than the best word piet
hat can be drawn, and will for the time
being at least bring us face to face with
..dualities and all that they may portend. It
li a irise eonceaaiea to public opinion and
will be highly p.
Good Champagne Prospects.
, / rom i '"? Pi trttaor i
Nature, as though to make amends for the
free-handed acquisition of its stores of cham
pagne l'y ti i .\,?h in its prom?
ises to France of a bountiful vintage this
year. In all the principal vine growing
centris of the Champagne district free from
the ravages of war the outlook for this sea?
son's yield is exceptionally good. The vines
came through last winter's frosts practi?
cally unscathed, and with favorable growing
- r since the beginning of .May the fruit
has set i?o well and developed so quickly that
the crops are now from seven tu fourteen
dayi ahead of normal years. This is a provi?
dential dispensation for the growers, because,
-: of the work is done by women, in the
? of men on the fighting fields, it ha?
rot been necessary to resort to the usual
[close cultivation requiring so much manual
labor to overcome the effects of bad weather.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IT
An Unfriendly Discussion of the
Developments of the Hour.
To the Fditor of The Tribune.
Sir: I believe that the present attitude
of the army and navy enthusiasts is, by a
rather simple psychological process, produc?
ing national hatred against the Hermans on
a very Urce -cale. Those who are everlast?
ingly haranguing, advertising nn?l boosting
for greater preparedness al?vays have, and to
be effective always must have, some foreign
power to which to point. The spontaneous
query arising in the mind of a person when
told to prepare for war is, "What war?
Who is going to attack us?" The answer
two years ago was, "The Japs, the terrible
yellow peril." Now It Is "the Germnns.**
If you admit that we should be prepared
you must look for a measure or stamlard with
which to compare your "preparedness." What
does that mean? .?"imply looking up the sta?
tistics of Japan or Germany and automati?
cally contemplating the chances of "wiping
them off the map." If one thinks a little
deeper he will realize that nations do not
fight singly any more. So to be really pre?
pared we must arm sufficiently to "lick" Ger?
many and Austria-Hungary, or Japan and her
ally England, or, if diplomatic complicatlonB
change the present grouping, we must pre?
pare to beat any nation, or any combination
of nations. If other nations apply the same
argument where do we stop?
One learned gentleman, honorably dis?
charged from the army, so he said, was en
gaped in this "hate manufacture" at Wall
and Broad Streets the other day. He in.'ule
with shame the allegation that we could not
beat Switzerland to-day. Possibly we could
not, if we wanted to, and certainly no one
in this freedom-loving and liberty-respecting
land would have any desire to attack a coun?
try with such a glorious record for freedom.
I suppose, however, that if he, and others like
him, lacking moral backbone, were to talk
"preparedness" against our friends the
Swiss they would be able to convince us that
the Swiss were lying in ambu?h for us.
He also used the slogan, "Talk peace, but
prepare for war." Of all the directions to
give an honest, truthful, moral people! Ap?
pear peaceful, but on the q. t_ preparo to
murder your brothers, for such they are,
whether they reside on the east or on the
west of the English Channel. A simple or?
der for the "man In the street" to live the
lie and be the worst kind of a hypocrite.
Pardon my warmth, but I hate evil propa?
ganda. E. TALBOT SMITH
New York, Aug. 21, 1915.
The Substance of Militarism.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I have been noticing an interesting
progression of ideas In the letters you have
recently printed on the subject of "militar?
ism" and "preparedness." About a week ago
Mr. Bewtei observed that militarism did not
exist in this country, that the present move?
ment was understood to be merely for pro?
tection, and that nowhere in the United
States had it generated any bloodthirsty
eagerness for a fight.
At the time many of us would have an?
swered Mr. Sowtcr by explaining that eager?
ness for a fight was not what we feared as a
?esult of the "preparedness" agitation. There
are, however, certain corollaries to such a
propaganda which the average citizen inevi?
tably seises upon. One is that war is not
to he avoided by treaties or international
obligations or arbitration; and that since
these things are weak, and war is inevitable,
we must dopend on armies alone. This is a
fatalistic attitude, which would make it im?
possible for us ever to work for or even
contemplate any change of conditions. An?
other corollary of the "preparedness'' agi?
tation is the thought, "Against whom are we
preparing?" with all the suspicion, distrust,
prejudice and belief in imaginary danger
which that question raises. In other words,
military Ideals and a dependence upon inili
'iirv strategy and prowess tend to take the
place of a wholesome desire to make arbi?
tration and diplomacy more and more ef?
fective. And this attitude of mind is mili?
tarism.
Hut it needed only the two letters which
followed Mr. Bowter*S to prove our point.
In Mr. Anderson's, the foe was already at
our door demanding indemnity for our con?
quered cities given over into his hands by
mollycoddles who believed in something be?
sides pieparedness. And in the recent let?
ter on the subject of a citizen soldiery the
danger was conceived to be so imminent that
an extra session of Congress was demanded
to pass a law for a "new military system" -
meaning conscription. A!rca?ly Prnsaianisn
wa? upon us! H. F. WHICHES.
New York, Aug. 19, 1915.
Why Argue?
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: It is beyond all bounds of intelligence
why you should publish such an asinine
letter as that signed by (.'hartes C. Rhodes,
jr. One can only regard it in the light of
your impartiality to give space to the pros
and cons of the great calamity which is hap?
pening in Europe to-day. Undoubtedly when
the German history of the war is written th??
world will be given to understand that Great
Hritain destroyed Louvain, ravished Belgium
and the North of France; was the author of
the "scrap of paper" incident; sank the
Lusitania, and gave orders for the mobiliza?
tion of the Teuton armies. Hut why argue
with people whose minds are obsessed with
madness? Far better to go to Egypt and tell
it to the Sphinx! Hernhardi says (?rrnmiiy
will win , mark the word Germany); nothing
is said of Austria or their illustrious ally
the Turk. If the Turks and Teutons are pre?
pared to last out the war for another ten
years then they may glin a few more harren
victories in Russia. History does not record
a parallel, where three nations preparing for
war for twenty years, with 1*1,000,000 of
men, 80.000 guns of all calibre, both marine
and land, have met with such dismal failure,
and none realize it more than the German
General Staff. Poisoned gas, liquid fire, air?
ships of the tottering old Zeppelin, sub?
marines of that bloodthirsty bewhiskere?!
von Tirpitz, are only millstones on the neck
of the Kaiser's empire, which will drag it to
an abyss from which there will no no resur?
rection. <i "II IB HUT H. HAWDON.
New York, Aug. 12, 1015.
Perhaps He Knew No Better.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I would like to draw your attention
to a little incident that happened to me to?
day. Seated in my store and attending to
some private work of mine, I aras visited
by the head of a German band playing in
,the streets, who solicited the usual com?
pensation for his jargon of brass noises.
I suggested to the man that I would pay
him 10 cents if he would play the Italian
national hymn. He accepted the idea, and
I paid him the 10 cents, trusting to his honor
and integrity of purpose.
He goes outside, consults bis brother mu?
sicians and strikes up "Die Wacht am Rhein."
The point I wish to emphasize is that hon?
esty of purpose cannot even withstand the
magnetic attraction of 10 cents.
A REAPER OF THE TRIBUNE.
New York. Aug. 20, 1915.
i i
AM
! THE YELLOW PERIL OR A WHITE HOPE?"
WHY MURDERERS SHOULD LIV
A Summary of Evils Attendant o
Capital Punishment.
To the Editor o? t*hi I : bone.
Sir: Noticing an article headed "Wh
Capital Punishment Should Not Be Abo
i.hed," in The Tribune this morning, I von!
respectfully make reply. Being a memlx
both of the Manhattan Association of Congr?
gational Ministers and of the Massachusetl
bar, although not in active practice of th
law since entering the ministry, I woul
answer first from the Biblical side and ne>
from that of the practical business man.
In the Mosaic code, not only crimes bi
minor offences were punished by deatl
Among these were the cursing of one'? pal
ents, Sabbath breaking and blasphem;
Should the argument advance?! in the lettc
to which I am making reply be accepted an
carried out, it should also include the mino
cffences for which capital punishment WS
prescribed in those olden days, anil necessi
t?te the confiscating of some third-rail ?ft
tem to furni*h sufficient power to electrocut
all of our Sunday crowds who "break th
Sabbath" and the unwi?e individuals wh
habitually "swear."
But to deal with real facts: In Michiga
the death penally was abolished in 1?*?4.
From reports of the Michigan state prison
found that between that date und 1*.7* Michi
gan had sixty-eight murders. Dividing thi
period of time into two periods of thirtcei
and one-half years each, I found that durini
the drat of these there were thirty-sevei
murders. Puring the second, the murder
amounted to thirty-one. This itself showed i
decrease, but also I discovered that the popu
lation of that state had nearly doubled.
Rome, under the Porcian law, flourished fo
EM years without the death penalty, an?
boasted of the Infrequency of crime ("Nortl
American Review," Vol. US, p. MS). In Hoi
land, during the decade following the aboli
tion of capital punishment, murders de
crease?! nearly one-third, as was found bi
the late General Newton -M. Curtis, of Ogdens
burg, after his investigation of the workint
of life imprisonment in Holland. The lat?
Judge Sanford If. Greene, in his book, "Crime
Its Nature, Treatment, Causes and Preven
tion," states that Portugal did away with th?
death penalty in 1867, anil that her annua
list of murders was greatly reduced. In th?
populous province of Bombay, India, life im
prisonment was substituted for capital pun
ishmetit several generations ago, and as earlj
as 1888 Robert Rantoul, In "The Boston Dailj
Atlas," reported that during the seven year:
following the abolition of capital punishment
r.iur.l.rrs in the proTincc of Bombay wore bul
one-third as frequent as during the saves
>tars immediately preceding :t.
Sound reasons underlie these results. Thi
State of New York has ever taken human life
in order to impress the public with *
credness of human life. A Rev. William
Roberts, chaplain, of Bristol, Kngland, dur?
ing his experience conversed with 167 men
convicted of murder ami found that all but
three had been eye-witnesses to executions,
as the Hon. Henry W. Lord said before the
National Board of Corrections and Chi
in 1880. Executions, far from restraining
criminal tendencies, create the very germs of
murder. If dime-novel accounts of crime
have a bad influence on the public, how much
n.ore brutalizing must be the effect of these
legalized killings, emphasized as they are by
reality! Is it not the certainty, rather than
the -.-verity, of any penalty which constitutes
the real deterrent from crime !
Innocent men have often b.-en legally exe?
cuted. Since the death penalty was abolished
in Michigan I know of nine different cases of
innocent men having been set at liberty be?
cause their innocence had subsequently been
established. In the law library of Cornell
University I found in one small volume writ?
ten by Phillippe, the great authority, entitled
"'Famous Case? of Circumstantial Evidence,"
no fewer than twenty-nine cases given in out?
line wherein innocent personas had been con?
victed and put to ?leath. Some were New
Yf.rk cases. Besides these, I found a long list
wherein executive clemency had saved inno?
cent lives. Sir James Macintosh, after a long
study of the subject, asserted that in Kngland
alone one innocent man had been executed,
va an average, for every three years of time.
His statement was reprinted in "The Albany
Law Journal." Vol. XL?II. p. 2>M. I quote the
following from s paper of Minot, South Da?
kota, September 11, 1305: "Dear Mr. Beyer
In the early 70's Charles Sterling, supposed
] tramp, was tried for the murder of Lizzie
Grombacker, a beautiful young woman re?
siding near Youngstown, Ohio. He was con?
victed on circumstantial evidence and was
?hanged for the crime in the county jail in
I Youngs'own. Charles Sterling was an inno?
cent man. I am guilty of the murder of that
young girl. Charles Herzig." In a pocket of
this wretehed suicide's clothing the above
letter was found. The records at Youngs?
town show that Charles Sterling was hange?l
for the murder of the above named girl in
1877, but maintained his innocence to the last.
An irrevocable judgment requires an in
I fallible tribunal. 6. LEO PATTERSON.
North Stamford, Conn., Aug. 18, 1915.
"Kind Words."
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Th*re recently appeared in vouv paper
an editorial, entitled "Kind Words," relative
to the superfluity or u ?elessnes.-i of the latest
attempt by the 1'nited States, allied with the
;A B. C. group, to restore peace and order in
Mexico. Permit me to congratulate you on
the saneness and clear understanding de
! picted therein.
An appeal such as the latest American note
?to Mexico can accomplish little. It may be
"calculated to touch the heart of every Mexi?
can patriot," as your Washington correspond?
ent suggests, but true Mexican patriots ap?
pear to be decidedly in the minority in that
troubled country.
Men who are daily shooting down helpless
captiv?e, dishonoring women and laying waste
'their own country in order to enrich them
! -elves can be counted upon to pay not the
'-lightest attention to a note composed of
"kind words" purported to appeal to a finer
!s(nse of which they have not the least knowl
?
.edge. Recent disclosures have clearly shown
that both Villa and Carranza are heartless
I desperadoes men who have the interest of
?their country least at heart and are waging
S wild, disorganized form of guerilla war?
fare simpljf for personal aggrandizement.
It Is said on good authority by those who
are thoroughly familiar with the present
chaotic state of affairs in Mexico that Villa
t is systematically banking his huge gains in
! savings banks in this country, and Carranza,
i well educated and possessed of a higher de?
gree of cunning begotten therefrom, is only
awaiting a favorable opportunity to flee with
his equally ill gotten gains.
It is evident that patriotism plays not the
?lightest part in the thoughts and actions of
?these rival leaders. They are merely com?
mitting murder and robbery under the guise
of civil warfare, and the only way to treat
with them and their wretched followers is
by force. They cannot and will not recognize
an; other means.
H. RUSSELL PHILLIPS.
New York, Aug. 20, 1915.
Not Canned Food.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: In your issue of August 3 there ap?
peared an article stating that the family of
William Johnson, of 479"-? Pacific Street,
Brooklyn, were made ill as a result of eating
canned green peas. This article has been
?ailed to the attention of the Bureau of Pub?
licity of the National Canners Association
and has been fully investigated.
We learn that this family have never used
canned foods of any kind, and on the da\
' they were taken sick fresh peas were used.
, it was also learned that the culinary depart
I ment of the Johnsons' home was in a very
insanitary condition.
I'r. Chapman, the family physician,
: tatcd that he had not been called at the
Johnson home for pt-maine poisoning and
that he knew of no real ptomaine poisoning
, . during the past year some doctors
calling sickness from heat or bilious attack
: ptomaine poisoning.
With these facts before you, we know that
B paper of such large standing and circula?
tion as your own would not wish to have this
! misstatement go uncorrected. The canning
industry' is a large and honest one, and is
carried on to a great extent in your own
state. We feel that you will not want to do
the direct injury to this industry which
your article does.
Our Bureau of Publicity during the last
few years has investigated several hundred
alleged ptomaine poisoning cases from
: canned foods, and in no instance have we
found a genuine case.
FRANK E. GORRELL, Secretary.
Washington, D. C, Aug. 17, 1916.
A BREAK INEVITABLE
Now Is the Time for Americans to
Stand Together.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: In a crisis such as now confronts the
United States it would seem eminently
proper and fitting that every American citi?
zen enter the arena of public ?lebate and,
through the medium of the pr?s?, cr.'rib-Jtc
his views upon the mom., .es at
?-take. It is quite probable that the la*H?
vidual contributions to the discussion may
be of little value in themselves, y"
should amount to something, and the I
total should be an important factor is
fying the surcharged atmosphere of doub.,
fear and hesitation that now characterize?
the attitude of this country* concerning its
future conduct at home and abroad.
It has been demonstrated beyond a rea?
sonable doubt, especially within the last
two weeks, that a powerful and unscrupulous
propaganda of incitement to violence, and
arorse, is being stealthily spread in America.
How deeply it has penetrated, how manifol'i
its ramifications, can only be guesie t at; *.*.
will require the shock of a crisis that will
rock this country to its foundation? to on
cover this fomentation in all its |
That such a crisis is fast approa:nnf* i?
practically certain. We may not realize it
as we should, though we are begil r.ir.g to
have a dim perception of the truth, but it
is a fact that the element of di-mi?? of thoie
about us has reached a serious itags wl
have a sub-conscious feeling that to-morro?
we may find active and vindictive enemie?
among those we have believed to be friend?.
It behooves every American citizen, there?
fore, to combat to the uttermost extent o!
his power, however humble he ma> believe
that power to be, this insidious ?
Adverting to the present tense ?*uation
with Germany: At the outbreak of the Wttii
War last August the writer was firmly con?
vinced that if the conflict lasted a twelve?
month the Cnited States must inevitably be?
come Involved. He has had no reason to
change that conviction.
We may not at the present moment be
on the verge of entering actively into th?
European situation as a billigerer.*.; that w?>
shall be eventually compelled to do N
scarcely admits of argument. Every nat.on
not already engaged is a potential enemy of
every other nation, fighting or neutral. In
view of the complex inter-relations, eco?
nomic, commercial and social, existng be?
tween the nations of the earth, it neo
follow? that the majority of them cannot
be engaged in a death struggle '" l
premacy, for very existence even, withou".
sooner or later, and more or II
and completely, involving the others, how?
ever earnestly the latter | ' ? re*
main aloof, either from motives of self
interest or the higher humanity.
A break with Germany is, the writer be?
lieves, a foregone conclusion, as it ha? been
for th? last year. The severance of .Jip>
matic relations with the imperial Teutonic
government is the logical :
a rupture. Having recalled our ambassades
from Berlin snd given the German Ambassa?
dor to the Cnited States his passports, we
-hall probably remain passi
waiting, having done all that ean be
.maintain our national dignity and honor.
?Germany will then, the
either declare war upon the United States
within a few months, or ??
perpetuate an act of such ruthless at
against us that we shall h? -.-.ativ?
i but to take our stand with the A
That President Wil-on will transmit a no'?
to (iermany protesting against that country i
latest outrage m linking the Arabic Is only
to be expected. As a logical sequence to hi?
so far admirable handling of probably th?
most serious international crisis with which
the United States has ever been confronted
he can do nothing else. It is due to both
this country and to Germany that la*
Kaiser be given the opportunity to interpose
a defence of his action ?n slaking th?
Arabic in the teeth of Pr. - ? ? il son's
?calm but firm warning Bgainat a repet?tleS
of the Lusitania catastrophe Of coatee, **?
one can doubt for a moment that the di**"
patch of auch a note will be a waste o
itim.', yet strict justice demand- it
HOMER DLNNE.
Yonkers, Aug. M, 1915.