New-York tribune. [volume], November 19, 1915, Page 8, Image 8

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Firit to Last?the Truth: News?Editorial?
?Ailvertiiement*.
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?on can ourriiase merchandise advertised
in Till". TRIBUNE with absolute Rafety?far
it iiissatisfaclinn results in any case TUL
TRIBUNE guarantee? la pay >our money
back upon request. No red tapa, no quib?
bling. We make good promptly if the ad?
vertiser does not.
Taking a Chance with Life.
Mr. Harrunitt, the hsaad of tits Firs Pre?
vention B i stifles that there are
15.000 faetones Lo Ihl citj which lack
interior Are alarm systems, Are buckets.
Are drills and other protection and pre
cautions against such occurrences as the
WUliarnsburg disaster. That is. there are
l.'.ouo buildings where lirai would be in
danger if s fire started. Moreover, this
officia, that it arouW take four
I fere th? city eoald be aasured, by
its yste... oi inspection and supervision,
that all factories wati properly protected,
(?ven if the Board of Estirante sllowsd the
full amouiit lequeaytsd 1 y the lire Com
? for inspection work.
Fifteen thousand property owners, on
that shotting, arc taking a chance with
hitman life by defying the law or delay?
tag in complying with it. Their tenants
and the workers in these buildings srs
g, a chance. The city authorities
are taking a cha-ice. Every*
I willing to take a chance?
with the other person's life. And w'nen
lives are lost, as In this most recent out-:
every person implicated?tenant,
i.win -, offleil i points to somebody else as
the one responsible. Human life is so
lamentably cheap, human Suffering so
soon forgotten; dollars seem so important
by comparison.
What is at fault in this situation is the
seeneration's scale of values. I'nfortu
nateiy even the naost sealoos prosecutor
can't e invict a social system. The dead of
the Triangle and WiUismsbnrg fires indict
the sy tern-?and everybody joes on, tak?
ing a chance.
Easing the Cow's Burden.
Indulgent treatment pays. Mrs. Ada F.
Howie, a member of the Wisconsin State
Board of Agriculture, believes this a<
firmly when it concerns cows as docs Mr.
Tilomas Mutt Osborne when applied to
convicts. Mrs. Howie has commanded her
farm employes to speak cheerily to the
cows when they approach them at milking
time in the morning) she has installed a
music ir.achine to accompany the milking,
and she would like to add porcelain feed
boxes and cream colored walls. Indeed,
she has requested the state board to put
lace curtains on the windows of the stables
to be built for the School of Agriculture
of the University of Wisconsin. Cows
have temperament, she contends, a concep?
tion of orderly dwellings and a faculty
for appreciating courtesy. "Cows are sen?
sitive to their surroundings. Make the
stable cheery and beautiful and the eoWl
will respond with wonderful milk produc?
tion."
All of which has a vaguely familiar
ring, has it not! If, with a plight emenda?
tion, ?t should appear under an Ossining
date line, who would there be to express
surprise.' Evan the wholly utilitarian ob?
ject professa*! suggests the Osborne propa?
ganda. As if Mrs. Howie did not indulge
her com?, as Mr. Osborne his convicts?
well, just in transe.
But if Mr. Osborne is not careful, Mrs.
Howie will outstrip him. If she should
add to her list of stable improvement-:
moving pictures and a swimming pool, the
lot of the cow would become more fortu?
nate even than that of the convict.
The Motorist's Responsibility.
Officials of the Automobile Club of
America; promising cooperation in any
movement to reduce the number of street
accident.-, insist that more than his lair
share of the burden of responsibility is
being; placed on the motorist. Children
playing in the streets and pedestrians who
cross streets regardless of traffic condi?
tions and regulation? create situations
which even law-abiding automobile driv
1 rs cannot prevent from producing acci?
dents. And, declare these officiais, the
Automobile owners are a? law-abiding aa
any other class of citizei
It is quite posible t.hat there are a?,
many careles? or ?tupid pedestrians as
there are careless or criminal drivers of
motor car?; ,t ?, possible that there are a
?Treat many more, since pedestrians still
outnumber those who go awheel. That
does not alter the fact that our Ameri?
can ideas exact of the man in the machine
a consideration, a responsibility, for th?
life of ffie individual afoot which too fre'
?Ta???! -ly foreign to the mind of
lb- driver. That is the payment for the
privilege of using the ?streets with these
tremendo . assers dangerous than
locomotive- si tM-itears, since they are
confined to no right of way or tracks.
Obviously the carelessness or reck].
SB* pedestrians complicates the traffic
problem", and, of course, the individual
crossing s crowded, ; ?-i-t has his
own N ility f'>r safety of life and
flfaaaV, / - ' -,? thi*, will
??lease motorists from their own re
?nonafhillty. After all, it takes two to
make an accident, and the burden of proof
will rwutin, and ought to, on the driver
of Uto fear.
A National Budget Needed.
The Domocratk House caucus did a
prudent thing la.-t winter when it ap
pointed ? committee of member, -elect of
the 1,1'W CoofTMS to formulate I Federal
budget plan. Necoaaity overrode coneist
ney. It whs the Democratic majority in
the House in the last two years of the
Taft administration that practically nulli?
fied Mr. 'liit';'.- praiseworthy efforts to
establiafa a real budgel system. Coniiag
Into power, the Democratic leaders in'the
? wan i'-i! to have a free hand in deal?
ing with expenditures, and they succeeded
in fastening a rider on the legislative,
executive and judicial appropriation bill
approved A . 1912, which repealed
previou legislation requiring effective co?
operation on the President's part, in regu?
lating national expenditure.
It was all :ivrlit for a Democratic House
to deny the administration any nal re?
sponsibility for controlling appropriations
while there was a Republican in the White
House The blame for extravagance could
be passed along to the party in power,
which :nt(?ally spent the money. Bui when
? Democratic Presiden! came in the situ
nanged. R< ponsibilHy (<><? extrava?
gance could no longer be divided. Al
i. Mr. John 3. Fitzgerald, the con
scientious chairman of the House Appro?
priation! Committee, tore his hair and
: :i sipnately excoriated his spendthrift
?ates, the appropriations of the 63d
.?Tided those of the tust?the
last Republican Congress?by $177,000.?
non. Even di regarding new rfational de?
fence demand (absolutely legitimate in
themselves), the tilth Congress would in?
evitably have continued to boost the level'
of national outlay. It could not be other-!
wise under a system which allow.-? every'
"pork barrel" group to play its own hand
and provide.-- no central authority with
(lower to check vicious raids on the j
Treasui y.
Two plans are now proposed to hold the
raiders back. The one involves the crea?
tion of a new House budget committee.
with supervision over all expenditure, and
the other involves vesting complete super?
visory power in the present Appropria?
tions Committee. To the public it cannot
much which committee is pre?
ferred, so long as absolute control is con
eeded to it.
But centralisation In Congress must,
iilso be accompanied by clearer responsi?
bility on the part of the Executive. Under
the Taft budget law the President was
reiiuired to make expenditure and income
balance when the annual estimates were
sent to Congress. If he asked for larger
appropriations he had to indicate new
sources of revenue. The Wilson adminis?
tration submitted estimates to the last)
Congress calling for even more money!
than the easy spenders at the Capitol
ware willing to grant. Hut it ran away;
from the unpleasant problem of raising
new revenue with which to meet increases
in expenditure. The result was a big d?f?
icit in the Treasury.
It would be wise to recnact the Taft
budget scheme and put on the Executive,
the duty of squaring income with outlay,
in the estimate.- for any fiscal year. Then !
the country would know in advance what
to expect of Congress), and those who
wanted to spend more or less than the
Treasury thought it could afford to spend
would have to make a fight on the facts
and make that fight in the open. Now,
there are no standards of judgment and
no weight of authority which can fix
standards.
This Congress is going to spend a great
deal more money than any other Congress
ha -pent?more than two or three Con?
gresses together would have dreamed of
spending twenty years ago. It is all the
more important, therefore, to have some
brake put on reckless individual and group
action?to create a powerful central body
which will assume entire responsibility
for combating old-fashioned mismanage?
ment and waste.
Sidelights on Neutrality.
Whilt the world is watching the be?
wildering game of what remains of neu?
trality in the Balkans, it is not unprofit?
able to turn for the moment to the other
?end of Europe, to the little nation that, it
seemed in the beginning, would almost un?
avoidably be drawn into the conflict.' The
Dutch government is maintaining its neu?
trality with a reaoloto hand, notwithstand?
ing the pro-Ally sympathies ?if the coun?
try's populace. The court, the aristocra. y
and the commercial classes are strongly
pro-German; the intellectuals are divided,
with a majority favoring the Allies; the
common people are outspoken in their
enmity against their eastern neighbors,
except on the frontier, where business is
ever so much better than usual.
.Serious charges are being made in some
of the Dutch tWWapapOM concerning the
nature of the government's official neutral?
ity. There are more than whispers of n
secret treaty with the Empire, based op
the fact that the army is kept on a war
footing, notwithstanding promises, soni-s
time ago, of a partial demobilization.
Still stronger proof of the. existence of
such a treaty is sought in the assertion
that the ?Hatch military censorship delays
for hours all telegrams concerning th'
westward passage of Zeppelins] over the
Dutch North Sea islands, thereby prevent?
ing, it is claimed, timely warning of their
coming from reaching the British govern?
ment. It is interesting to learn that Hol?
land heran some time ago to prohibit the
emigration of skilled ammunition makers,
for the moment one of the most flourish?
ing of Dutch industries. ?ut tm. armv
lis still deflelssrt in laid gun?, and thees
are to be. bought in this country.
It is m the field of contraband that
Holland yields the noel pletUMMojoe, if -sol
Um sao I m.poitant, news. PaaaiwiallJ
I there is a tragedy-a bmuggler is bhot by
?a frontier guard?but then, again, turns
of sentry-go are worth |6, CM .-ward 01
convenient temporary blfadneea running
sometime- m high as $150. Occaefcmally
something goes wrong with the orders of
!;. eemplaisanl local comiTmnder, and
(barges; have to be made. It is certain.
bowevet, that the Dutch government is
serious in its attempts to stop smuggling,
as the cost of living In the country is rap?
idly rising owing to the purchases of the
jCerman and Austrian governments. And
prices are driven still higher by specula?
tors from these countries, who recklessly
! bid against each other, sure of their profit
if they are not caught.
Evesr"M*German trawlers and merchant
vessel- enter Swedish ports with iron
anchors and return with others made of
?copper, SO is the rolling stock ?irdered by
the Empire from Dutch manufacturers
provided with copper floors below the
? wooden ones. Hollow bricks convey petrol
| the tricks of the old and picturesque
trade are endless. There are villages or.
the eastern frontier that are half on
Dutch and half on German territory
even individual houses and gardens. What
is brought In at the Dutch front door b.
broad daylight is taken out by the Cer?
n?an back door in the dark of night. Bun?
.11? - o? contraband are brought to the
frontier wire, laid down just this side of
it and kicked across like footballs into
waiting hands, to the bewilderment of the
guards. Germani tired of eating war
bread can satisfy then craving for cake
in the kitchens on Dutch territory of
I'arin.iteads whose front parlors ere in
Germany. To make confusion worse con?
founded occasionally'a Dutch guard firing
at a Dutch smuggler breaks a German
window pane?an international incident.
Mr. Astor's Loss.
What a whispering of excited admira?
tion must be winging its sibilant course!
through the underworld now that Mr. Vin
cent Astor's pocket has been picked. The'
"haul"? A tidy sum, to be sure, but as
nothing to the prestige, (?lory must sim-:
ply dog the perpetrator of such a showy
crime, involving the most excessively
gilded of young men and a patron of the
''cops." Fancy the subdued exultation?
and the frank jealousy- expressed over
half empty glasses in the room behind the
bar; the soft glances from pencilled eyes
to greet the hero's entrance, to be fol?
lowed ere long, it may be, by a shifting of
sweethearts. And then
Let Mr. Astor take hearts?detectives
know when to expect the "squeal." It will
come, if it comes at all. when the hero's
affections have designated their new choice
and the wronged one unburdens a heart
of pain. Though his wallet be gone, the
victim may yet have the satisfaction of
seeing the exceedingly apologetic young
man whom he encountered in the Belasco
lobby behind tl?S bars, a martyr to
success.
Ah, the raw triumphs of the under?
world, and its: heartaches! These are the
real partners of the police, the best "<-tool
pigeena" in the business.
Senator Boies Penrose ?ays that ho ?rill
be n candidate for the Republican Presi?
dential nomination. His idea of a Republican
candidate seems still to be a BBSfl who COU
probably carry I'tah and Vermont.
Sorry as we arc for Mr. Astor, we take
fort in the thought that ho will ?til! be sbli
to get through the winter without surTerinjr.
?
A Serbian Soldier's Eravery.
'/'/?....// i lit XHtodet idrtrtiatr.)
The bravery of the Sorb?an soldier and th ?
manner la which ho lights for his beloved!
country arc Illustrated in the following Btory.
for the truth of which a well known and
ardent Berbophile ronches. Before the so?
perior forces of the enemy on one occasion ?
? Serbias, regiment had t" retiro, (if th
men ,sor\ing the machina guns all but oiu
wore killed and wounded, but this mnii, In?
stesd of withdrawing with his comrades,
continued to work his gun with such flood
Ish energy that at last the advancing enemy,
not realizing that he ?too?! alone, and fear
log s trap, retired In their turn. An?! ? ?? ti
situation was saved by the courage of one
man. His exploit was duly reported to th'
general, who sent for him next day an!
laid* fiercely: "You're a terrible follow.
What's this I hoar of you? They toll mo if
WR? a regular massacre. How many moi
did you kill?" The gunner, much perturbe.'
stammered out his belief that certainly well
over a hundred men must have fallen vi .-? j
tims to hi? machine gun. "Well," said the
general, frowning, "there'?, nothing for it but
to make you a corporal." "Oh, g.'iii r.il."
exclaimed the man, who had expected some
kind of punishment. "And now, Corpora]
?, I make you a sergeant." "iili, general,"
gasped the mr.n, BpOOChloSB with astonish?
ment. "And now, ?c:- ," t].,? ;-,-,
eral went on, "I make you a lioutcrfii'it."
The new officer burst into tears. "And now,"
cried the general, "embrace me!"
Entente Interests in Sal?nica.
(Trom The Mom ' '??'? ' Bossrwsm* )
It would be difficult to find a city more
cosmopolitan than Sal?nica. Almost every
nation is represented both in population and
in material interests. As regar.l? population,
as large ? proportion a-; fiO per cent is, or
?ras before the Balkan wars, Jewish. Th?'
Jew.? have in Sal?nica, a? elsewhere, com?
to the top ifi#the commercial life of the port,
and many of the most important firms are
in Jewish hands. Both Great Britain and
France are represented by powerful com
marcial interests. It is estimated that over
?':'0,000,000 of French capital i? invested in
Sal?nica, or in enterprises which have their
headquarters there. The Bank of Sal?nica,
the harbor, and even the all-important
Pedeagatih railway, were financed by
Preach money. There were in pre-war days
as many a? thirty-five Frerch schools in the
city. Britain'-1 interests in the port before
the war were hardly less valuable. British
shipping prndOBBlaatod even over Aiiitrian,
and up to the time of the Balkan war?,
at any rate, British import? were higher in
aggregate value than those from any other
source. In this respect Austria-Hungary
ran us very close, with Germany third and
Frunce fourth. Chief among tbo gosda that
in recent years entered Salofnni from iJreat
Britain WOT* jut". rip", Oilcloth and
lin deuin. coal. IrOaaWOrS, carp'ts, tniirbiner.,
and, by far the most important of all, cot?
ton goods, which comprised nearly half of
our export trade, to Sal?nica.
PITILESS PUBLICITY"
Also Further Comment on "Re?
member the Lusitania."
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorial "Pitiless Publicity"
is a masterpiece. It truly is a correct and
' precise representation of the attitude of the
administration at Washington during the
? months.
Surely the real American has been aroused
iu a righteous indignation at the manner in
which our "representative!" have cowered be?
fore German insults and insolence, crowned
time after time by fresh murders and out
rapes, of not only peaceful non-combatants
of other countries, but of defenceless wumc-n
end children, citizens of America.
In the unenviable position of this countr*.
just t:o-r it M,ould ?eem that if it were not
for Britain's mighty and cffici'-tit navy and
the grim ?vail of Allied bayonets in Europj
(jod only knows v.hat v.-ould become of the
great nation which ?3 "too proud to fight."
Verily th? government of the inited States
: is falsely representing the nature and char?
acter of her people, making them out before
ail Kuropi tu Be shirkers and cowards, in
itead of defender.! of the right, of her women
and children and of her honor. C. K. S.
Ni B Volk. Nov. la, l'J15.
The Other Side.
To the Edite* of The Tribune.
Bin Do ;. ou *'or ii lOBUfll imagine that
the mas- of yuur readers are so blind as to
in- taken in by the letters following- your
highly unpatriotic editorials? According to
Th.- Tribune there remains no longer in this
country ;n; adh?rent of our President. Did
one j'jii.T of popular sentiment by the let
10 careful!;.- selected from your daily
-tail., one woald imagine the I'nited States a
nation of Wilson haters and misunderstood
..?It -.
But fortunately every one remembers The
Tribuae'l luffragS campaign, which made of
this paper the laughing stock of the news?
paper world in New York, and proved once
again the ease with which statistic! may be
made to serve any purpose and prove any
fact.
Why not make of your editorial page a
real debating ground, on which more than
one side of a question can be brought forth?
For you know, as well as all your readers,
that the mu^h discussed editorial "Remem?
ber the I.usitania!" evoked comment other
?han faVSTsbls, SI well as that which you
print day after day in your own praiso and
?.(??.-crti.-cmetit. You know, too, that many of
paar steadiest readers have turned in dis?
gust from your inflaming, backbiting stand
on the subject of the present administra?
tion's policy.
Thank Cod there still are men and it
would serve you well to discover how legion
their number- -who are following with lov?
ing appreciation the splendid course Mr.
Wilson ha* steered through the troubled
waters of his term.
We are not of the kind that follows blind?
ly. We would not support our President did
we find him unworthy of all honor. But
while we see him choosing as best he can
the path of safety and peace for his coun?
try, ws consider his service greater by far
than that of those leader.-; who are attempt- :
ing to hurl us, too, into the maelstrom of de- !
? traction.
What? Have you learned no lesson from j
the smitten nations abroad? Have they sup-j
plied no warning -merely a desire to repeat
in our fair land that tragedy of death? Let
B Be grateful that Mr. Wilson has a vision'
elesrer and truer than the false patriotism,
displayed in your editorials.
And give us a chance to be heard, too ]
Wilson lovers though we are. C. F. R.
New York, Nov. 17, lfls*.
Support the President!
To the Editor of The Tribune.
S.r: It strikes me that In your editorials,
condemning President Wilson you are work?
ing toward stirring up that same de
I lorable condition that ws all read exists in
Bflglsad namely, discontent and opposition
to recognized authority, to say nothing of
arousing racial prejudices, which when fully
aflame are the most dangerous and most diffi?
cult to control of any disorders.
Da you not think that there may be a rea?
son or reasons for our administration's atti?
tude other than that which you ascribe to it -
namely, cowardice? Washington must cer
tainly hi in closer touch and TTave a better
und) : t.ir.ding of things than ?ve, the general
Oublie and you, too, come under that head
tu a y have.
But disregarding all this, you will perhaps
remember that you ?Aere at one time very
fond of the phrase "Our country-, right or,
v. long." and does not "our country" mean
our government and its recogni/.ed head?
Why, then, don't you live up to this motto
and support our President, instead of doing
everything in your power to create an ud
rsi ?? feoliag toward him?
I believe that we should show the nations
of the world that we can stand by our gov?
ernment, not that we are continuously heck?
ling and thereby making harder the task
that that government and its. officials have
to bear in these troublous times.
Please note that, though I may have a
German name, I and both my parents are
Americans and owe our allegiance to the
Inited States and its President ONLY.
A. G CRI MM.
Ml-.v York. Nov. 17, 1915.
Now and '98.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sii: How different the attitude of the
American government now from that of 1898!
Then the Spaniards were supposed to have
sunk one armored cruiser. Now the Germans
sink many of our ships merchant and pas?
senger vessels. In 1898 the government went
to war; now all we have is an endless stream
of notes.
And not only destruction of our ships.
Think of the plots and forgeries, the burn?
ings and killings of our citizens by the Ger?
mans and their paid agents! And the Ameri?
can government merely continues its notes
sad more notes. Surely we have been at war
for a year, and the Washington authorities
don't know it, or don't want to acknowledge
?t- C F. BOWLAND.
New York. Nov. 11. 1915.
Careless Americans.
To th* Fditor of The Tribune.
Sir: Now that the Austrian defence has
been cabled to the Austro-Hungarian Em
BSSSy in Washington, with reference'to the'
?inking of the Aneona, we may anticipate
anothsr apologetic communication from the
administration to the Teutonic governments.
It is deplorable that American citizens
should be so careless of their lives.
Further comment in unnecessary. Your
editorial of November 13 seems to cover the
situation more adequately than anything
that has as yet been written.
HOWARD GREENLEY.
New York, Nov. 15, 1915.
Almost Persuaded.
T.. the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorials Bre the fruit of in
?piration. I have been a dyed-in-thr-Aool
V? il-itiian. Almost thou persuadest me to be
a itepublican. At any rate, you gave guined ?
new subscriber. J. H. PROCTER. I
New York, Nov. 15, 1916.
THE COLOSSUS.
ZEPPELIN NIGHTS
A Special Constable's Experiences and Observations During and After
the Bombardments of London from the Sky?Some
Remarks on Prices.
To the Editor of Tho Tribune.
Sir: The inclosed letter, describing
rent conditions in London, may interest ?
of your readers.
New York, Nov. 15, 1915.
?It will interest you to know of son?
the alterations of conditions the war
brought about. Principally, the price?
practically everything have gone up, anr
regards necessities 'foodstuffs) there i
rise all around of about 25 per cent; ol
necessities a somewhat less rise. But i
in so many other things that the effects
the war are brought home.
Women aro increasing at a great rate
all sorts of trades, to replace the great di
in men who have gone to the front. Tir
Inspectors on the S. E. R. and many ot
lines. Nearly all bookstalls. Many won
police have been taken on, and a great ni
her of offices in all towns teem with worn
At Klectra House the men of military i
aro there on condition that they will be
placed bv women should tho companies c
sider their work could be efficiently carr
on by them, and these are the conditii
which obtain in many other houses.
After dark in London It Is very easy
lose one's way, owing to the (?smense ?
crease of lighting of the streets. I went
West B few ?lays ago, and in the thefOOJ
faro? whore formerly all the shops w<
brilliantly ablaze there are no lights visil
from the street at all they are screened
such a way that no beam is thrown on t
pavement or road. I was SB duty B slu
time ago at Shooter's. Hill, where they ha
erected many hundred house? for the wor
men in the arsenal, and we were told off
call at the house? whero bare lights or i
sufficiently screened ones wore visible, ai
we knocked up quite forty people and o
dered them to put up curtains. The Ze
pelins did a great deal of damag?! to tl
West End, around Chancery Lane; nearly h
the Lyceum, where a performance was on, at
the people came tearing out of the theatr
and cne poor man received a piece of ant
aircraft shell in his tummy, which flatten?
him to pulp against a wall. I could tell yc
of man;,- horrors perpetrated hy those Ge
man swine with their airships, but tho Anu
ican press have nu doubt recounted then
with a few frills, perhaps. One 'bus wa
completely blown to bit?, killing slsvei
Within -00 yards of F.lectra House, on th
Bank side, many bombs fell, one, which di
not explode, being the biggest the polio
have ever seen. Some nights after mor
bombs fell about the same distance on th
north side of the house, tearing a huge hoi
in the road. About this time, at New Ctos?
I heard from the polico that great damag
WS dono at New Cross, so I went down ther
on my cycle and saw two houses complete);
pulverized only one or two beams left Stead
hag. One poor woman was groping about th
remains lor some one she missed. It was a
5:30 a. m. that I was there, having just com.
off early morning duty
Another time I was called out to attend a
Eltham police station at 9:110 p. m. The lirs
thing I saw in the sky when I left the hous<
was a Zeppelin high up in the direction ol
London, some eight miles off. A very fas
ciiuiting sight, with many searchlight.; or
it and n t( rri'ic number of bursting bo;nb>
around it. It ilodged and twisted an.l t.nally
belched forth an immense volume of snioki
amidst which she disappeared, a well known
dodge of theirs. We all witnessed this from
tl.?1 house at Nottingham, then I donned my
armlet and trunchion, and, turning to ad
dress the neighbors around us, told them to
keep to their houses if the "Zep" came over,
a? the falling shrapnel from our own gun?
is best avoided this way, but it is not ad
bored to, as nearly everybody wants to see
what's going on and forgets the danger.
I fh-n cycled to Kltham, to find a crowd of
?portals there, and wo wuited some time.
Thou, at lltft, a policeman cycled up to sav
thai an airship srs eemiag *>p from the
south. We looked up, und licaiing B rouriug
aound beheld a clgsr-ahaped thing stealthily
coming up and appeared to be pretty low.
I but not knowing their length it is very diffi?
cult to gauge the hei-'ht. The thing came
clean over our heads a weird feeling took
possession of me. If the thing had dropped
a bomb! However, it didn't just then. The
police were telephoning to the Admiralty,
and v?ry soon the first searchlight was on
her. It appeared perfectly distinct ?black
against the starlit sky before this. Then a
host of searchlights hit it, and then the guns
began to roar all around us. As you know,
Eltham is some two miles only from Wool?
wich, and you may bet your boots they had
a hot time, but whether they reserved some
guns for the next raid, not wanting this par?
ticular "Zep" to gather too much informa?
tion, or not, there appeared a great lack of
something-guns in particular. She was not
hit, and I watched her drop bombs on the
officers' barracks you know them, facing
Woolwich Common and on to the arsenal.
We did not hear, of course, what damage
was done at the latter place, but a few days
afterward I saw huge holes and a stone pil?
lar nearly split In two at the officers' quar?
ters. . . . We are near a large barracks,
where the Army Service Corps are and where
they inspect all the lorries and ambulances
which go to the front. I understand they
jare having s flying ground, also, close by, so
if the "Zens" know of it they may drop a
card near by, so we have to be on the qui
vive. When they come I try to get them
all to keep right inside the middle of the
house somewhere, and you may bet it is an
anxious time, and unfortunately the very
time I want to be at home I am called on
duty. It seems I would be In the right place
guaiding my own family, and not muddling
about at the police station, for there are no
instructions issued as to what to do, but
preMimably ?ve should be expected to render
first aid. I am now qualified in this, as I
got my certificate a short time ago.
A. .T. S.
London. Nov. 1. 1915.
, A Vote for the Cat.
To the Editor of The Tribune:
Sir: I have been much interested in the
controversy about the cat as contained In
your valuable paper. I should like to go on
record us a votor for the cat. This wise and
graceful animal, in spite of much scorn and
abuse, will always continue to be a valuable
and loved house pet, as well as a necessity
in warehouses, barns, stores, etc. A good
cat deserves to be taken good care of, as
nu-.ch a3 a horse or a cow, and will repay
this care by being reliable and useful.
People who neglect their cata, and then
complain that they steal and upset garbage
cans, deserve to be put on short rations them?
selves. My cat is always well fed and seldom
catches birds, and keeps not only my house
und possessions free from rats and mice, but
the neighbors' as well. As for being cruel
and treacherous, why more so than the dog"
To one person bitten by the cat, hundreds
aie bitten by the dog, and with the dog as
veil as with the cat it is often done through
, fear of ill treatment or as a consequence of
i ill treatment. When you see a snapping
horse, be sure that that fine animal has been
teased by ugly men or boys.
As for lacking in affection, those who have
trade companions of their cuts will tell you
l that they are capable of strong attachments
to persons as well as to places. The birds
should be protected from men and boys as
well as from dogs and cats. For my part, I
think the cat compares favorably with the
rations of Europe now tearing each other to
I lece?. LOUISE HALE MARVIN.
Jamaica, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1915.
Where Delay Is an Art.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
| Sir: If the official totals of the vote for
and agains* the barge canal bond issue, voted
on at the last general election, are available
for publication will you kindly cause the fig?
ures to be printed on your editorial page?
New York. Nov. 1.'., Iftf, rj, s> (;
Inder the dilatory and inefficient >>stein
of canvassing which this ?tatc still tolerates
?these totals will not be available ontil shortly!
?before Christmas.?Kd.1 |
WHAT WASHINGTON WROTE
His Letter Shows the Cost of Un
preparedness in the Revolution.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I desire to add my voice to the chorus
of approval of your remarkable editorisli on
? the great questions of the war and the defence
; of this nation. I wish that the whole series
i could be read and reread by every American.
;"Thc Sham" and "Remember the Lusitanig"
were particularly good, but the whole s?riel
j is so excellent that selection of editorisli that
! I'tand above the rest is difficult.
I would like also to comment on a letter
I from a correspondent, Francis X. Erringt??,
appearing in your issue of the 141It. He taktt
?to task The Tribune and others of ui who
?believe la really adequate preparation tnd
i intimates that a lack of historical knowledge
111 responsible for our failure to realize thtt
wonders were accomplished in the R?-yolu
itionary War without preparation. Mr. Krring?
| ton speaks with the cocksureness of one who
| has absorbed his historical information en?
tirely from those charming little works of
I nction that masquerade under the general
i characterization of "school histories," with
Ipissibly a little extra learning gathered from
(the utterances of campaign and Fourth of
July orators when "warming up" a crowd to
the proper enthusiasm. Let me give Mr hr
1 rington a little advice. If he is really inter
j ested in the matter, I can recommend that h?
I read carefully General Upton's "Military
j Policy of the United States." If the statistic*,
I etc., make that valuable work too dry reading,
I he could employ a/ell his time in perusing
?General F. V. Greene's admirable little work,
"The Revolutionary War." And let his. not
! forget to consider the words of the principal
actor In the War of Independence, General
?Washington, in a letter to the President of
?Congress, dated August 20, I7M. which I will
I take the liberty of quoting in part:
"Had we formed a permanent army in th?
beginning, which by the continuance of the
I same men in servies had been capable of dis?
cipline, we should never have had to retreat
across the Delaware in 177o, trembling for
'the fate of America, which no'hing but thi
infatuation of the enemy could have laved;
I we should not have remained all the succeed?
ing winter at their mercy, with sometimes
' scarcely a sufficient body of men to mount
?the ordinary guards, liable at every moment
to be dissipated, if they had or.'.y thought
proper to march against us; we should not
have been under the necessity of fighting
Brandywine, with an unequal number of raw
troops, and afterward of seeing Philadelphia
fall a prey to a victorious army; we should
not have been at Valley Forge with less than
half the force of the enemy, destitute m
everything, in a situation neither to resist
nor to retire; we should not have seen N**
York left with a handful of men. yet an over?
match for the main army of these .?tat??.
while the principal part of their force BBjf
detached for the reduction of two of them;
we should not have found ourselves thi!
spring so weak as to be insulted by 5,000
men, unable to protect our baggage snd ot*r
magazines, their security depending on a g0*?
countenance and a want of enterprise m S*S
enemy,; we should not have been the great*??
part of the war inferior to the enemy, in?
debted for our safety to their inactivity, en
during frequently the mortification of seeing
inviting opportunities of ruining them pas?
unimproved for want of a force which ?"?
country was completely able to afford, ?nd SS
seeing the country ravaged, our towns burnt,
the inhabitants plundered, abused, murdered
with impunity from the same cause."
The above quotation from one who should
be unimpeachable authority in the country
which owes so much to him is one of I
strongest presentations of our failure to rue
to the situation in the Revolution and oui ?'?
'the ablest arguments in favor of ad?quat?
preparation that I have ever seen. Prepara?
tion for the wars of the present day meant
far more than the preparation of 133 y*ar
ago, and the destructive results and da meg?
11 om a lack of preparation have incraaied ?
proportion. I-hope that The Tribune will con?
tinue the fight that it has begun for a defoiica
which will be sufficient to stand any teit ??
which it may be submitted.
FRANKLAND BRIGGS.
New York, Nov. 15, 1916.
Appreciation.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: A word of appreciation f?r >ouf
splendid editorial on Booker T. Washington.
M. P. GBAY.
Cambridge, N. Y.. Nov. If, 1?1&. J