New-York tribune. [volume], November 25, 1915, Page 8, Image 8

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
?Mttu ??ork ?ttbmu.
1 ? ? ?s Lart ? la. Truth: Ifawa?.K'Htorials
? \?l?erti??cment?..
THI KM) W . M>\ l Mlini ' ,,
? ?
j- - ?
?.Hitos u?. .
t ? j '.0
A - 4 ? ?
Ps i A s ,- :.-.,.- c ?
I - v. ? -.IM
?
I I \- ' ? ?> SUAT
t
' ? -r
- MDAY ONT*. ? !.v OXLT
1 ? ?
' ? ?
I'M!.Y OM-1 I ? ' 1
.... ?
16 ?t .- ?
. ?.u .an percha?? merchandise ?dverttaed
in THE TRIBl'NE with aheolete safety?for
It f,i??,8ti>fartion result*, in any eaae THF
TKIBI'NL guarantees t s? pay y.;iir mon??
Ii ?d. upon request. No red tape, n?i quib
b'irT. We make good promptly if th? a<l
?. ertiser ?lues not.
Dare We Give Thanks?
We thank Thc-e. Lord, that \vc arc not
il '?ther rnsj-n arc- to ?lay?
eat and driven, forced to Um wall.
Bit k? ii and ?Mind in the fray.
? as??, for wealth and peace.
W? rIv, Thee pralae. O Lord!
- 0hI ?/? aove looked ?>*? year brofrWre1
?r? . nd '
Wc thank Th?*e, Lord, that in our homes
Child-faie-r lift ?.. the Light ;
??_ ?I child-feet run in our gardene, free
From terror and death and blight
W? praiec ?Thee, Lord, for the ran and
rain.
And all our tields' incroaei ?
- Hut ye hm i omot* fair imnu ?? laul watte
.Ind held your peace I
We thank Thee, Lord, that we are not
To-day as those others are?
}? ?iihtinK the forre of ruthless hordes,
Helpless and ?scattered far!
- flut siii'-r yr hare known the <*np they
drink,
\'or nx'n to their AwttUf dettir,,
all -land one day OH the fearful brink
Of their baptttataj fir?.
-.Mari?n Couthouy Smith.
An American Who Saw.
We have received the toilowinp:
1 ? the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Certall Germans in this country are
uorrymg about th?' Rryce Keport, ?inch tells
tl I method of frightfulness employ? d in Bel
mid France in the early weeks of last
fall by the (ierrr.an army. They fear it is
inaccurate. They lament that no American
has been a aritneaa el etroCattee, I can relieve
their worry. I have witnessed German fright?
fulness. The report of what I saw. copied
under my direction, is in the Bryce Report.
1 am an American.
On September 7, 1914, with two companion?.,
I was present at the skirmish between Ger?
mans and Belgian? at Melle, a couple of miles
west of (?lient. We walked t?> the German
line, where a blue-eyed young Hussar of?
ficer, Rhinebeck. of Stramm, Hol nein, led
us into a trap by permitting us te walk
along after him and his men as they rode
lack to camp beyond Mel'.e. We walked
lor a quarter mile. At our right a barn
was burning brightly. On our left the homes ?
of the peasants of Melle were burning,
twenty-six little yellow brick houses each with
r. separate lire. U ?rai not a conflagration, by.
one house horning aad gradually lighting the!
rext. The tires wen well Itarted and at equal'
intensity in .-ach house. The walls between j
th? houses were still intact. 'Ihr twenty-six.
fires burned slowly and thoroughly through,
th? night.
These three thousand German soldi. ;
their officers were neither drunk nor riotous.
The discipline was excellent. The burning
was a clean-cut, cold-blooded piece of work.
H was a piece .>f punishment. Bel?giu soldiers
had resisted the Geimaa am ; If Belgian
soldiers it B1 non-com?
be killed. That ?mapire? terror. That
the lesson: "Do not oppose Germany. It is
death te oppe?? her ?icath to your wife and
child."
W's- ? ? .tided by ra aad four
?.es put over us. Peasants who walked too
close to the camp were brought II and added
to our group of prisoners, till, all told, we
numbered thirty. A p? asant lying Bext to me
*. ..tched his own house burr to pieces.
Another of tho peasants was an old man, of
? eak mind. He kept hehhliag ta himself. It
would have been obvious to u child that he
foolish. The German sentry ordered si?
lt nee. The old fellow muttered on in uncon
rciousness of his surroundings. The s?ntry
?irew back his bayonet to run him through.
A couple of the peasant? pulled the old man
flat to the ground" and stifled his talking.
At 5 o'clock in the morning (?erman stretch?
er bearer.-, marched behind the burned houses
Out ol the house of the peasant lying next to
me three bodies were carried H? broke into
a long, slow sobbing.
At 6 o'clock a monoplane sailed overhead,
bringing orders to our detachment. The troops
headed for Ghent were turned toward Brus
sel?. Tii?; !,,tl,j artillery, which had been
rolled toward the west, was swung about to
?M east. An officer headed us toward Ghent
and let us go. If the Germans had marched
Irto Ghent we would hav?s been of value as
a cover for the troop?. But for the return to
Brussels we were only a nuisance. We hurried j
away toward Ghent. As we walked through a?
farmyard we ?aw a young farmer lying at fall
length in his dooryard W? paaeed the con?
sent ?ehool of Melle, where ?Catholle
????. Th? front yard was strewed *ith f^rni
ttir?., with bedding, with the content? of the
room?. Th? yard was about four hundr. ?I fact
*****; aad two hundred feet deep. I, Wi4.
v .th thi? intim?t? hou.ehold stuff f?.r the full
area. I made inquiry *,n? fourni that no ?,K
? ad been violate.?. or ??.yon. <?.?!. The
..er* Ami merely ransacked the place.
I ? of my eempaataat in thi? Meiie experi
* ? m ?tedelyff? Iiugmore, of the Play
? ? well.'Known naturalist,
author of book? an Mf game ?ii Africm. the
}i"??.er arid the cr r-.r i, hry years he
Doahleday, Bag? | ? .,
Hi* present eddf? . Beat! N'ut
: .. Surrey.
Oe a later Baaday
;.il H?.-;. '?ii of Ghent lo Salle
i Hail i 17 I I . Tas, a
i?'*a?afit girl ?<f It, '??.'le? (nooi Ten
Ae eh* wa* MCaeJBg by trau, from ??
' ?h<- was between Alont an?)
old rne th-?* '
? re ?it tii* train of p?a?anti
rounded by s bullet in the thigh.
on OB thi visit was William R.
ton. at one time a resident of Andover,
the Coveotri Orth
t.ll \ .
'in Sui.d.. r LIT, 1 \?.as prese
ta came
? 'nan m
In ?pile ef shell, shrapnel,
pee iiits crossed to us,
lion. The teason they
for running into lire was that the (?er
iriog their neighbor.? with the
dap, September ?i>, I visited
tenu Hospital. I went in company witl
Prince I.. de Crop, the Due DTrsol, a i
tor: the Count de Hriey, Intendant de la '.
Civile du Roy, and the Count Retr. la r
Garde d? (.entrai de Wette,
sioii.4 de Cavalerie). One or two of these
sll and as favorably kno?A
this country as in their own. With me, a!
i jrooog linguist, who was kind em
? . in-- .,, BSCrotory for me. In the hospi
found eleven peasant? with bayonet wo
upon them men, women and a child who
been marched in front of the German
ia a cover for the troops, and cut
bayonet? when they tried to dodge the Mi
A ]r;r.- was ministering to them, bed by
? ? w.-re in attendance. The priest le
to the cof of one of the men. On Sur
morning. September 27, the peasant, Leo
I? Man, of No, W, Hover.ier-Straat, Alost,
I n the house of his sister, in the re
',-rmans made a fire of the table
chairs in the upper room. Then, catel
igh! of I,conoid, they struck him with
M'tts of their guns and forced him to j
throogb the Are. Then, taking him outs
the) -Tuck him to the ground and gove
. blow over the head with B gunstock an
??? of th? bayonet, which piercetl his th
nil the waj through.
?'In spit?- of my wound," -aid he, "t
- - between their lines, giving
still mon- blow? of the gun-butt in the b
i:i order to make me march There w
-eventeen or eighteen person? with me. T
placed us In front of their lines and mena
us with their revolvers, crying out that t
will make us pay for the losses they h
suffered at Alost. So we march in front
the troe*
"When ;he battle began we threw oursel
on our faces to the ground, but they fon
us to rise again. At a certain moment, wl
the Geraana were obliged to retire, we s
aping down side street?."
The priest led the way to the cot of a pe
an?, whi hl d the spot of fever.
t. Mi uleliioeck. of No. 62, l>ne Sll
\ mi time? lo loud bur
of terror, and then folliog back into a mot
tone, he talked with u-,
"They broke open the door of my honr
he ?aid, "*hey seized me and knocked i
down. In front of my door the corpse of
German lay stretched out. The (ierma
unid to me: 'You are going to pay for th
to us.' A few moments later they gave me
tiayonet rut in my leg. They sprinkled nap
thr. in my house and set It afire. My son w
struck down in the street and I was march
in front of the German troops. I do n
know even yet the fate of my son."
Gradually as the peasant talked the time
his suffering came on him. His eyes beg;
to see it again in front of him. They I
came fixed and wild, the white of them v;
ible. His voice was shrill and broken wi
sobs.
"My boy," he said, "I haven't seen him
His body ?hook with sobbing.
At my request the young man with r
took down the statements of these two pea
? truing them into French from tl
Flemish, with the aid of the priest. In tl
presence of the priest and one of the Siste
the two peasants signed, each man, his stat
ment, making hi? mark.
Our group passed into the next root
where the wounded women were gathered.
Sister letl us to the bedside of a very o
woman, perhaps eighty years old. She hi
thin white hair, that straggled across the pi
low. There was no motion to the hotly, e:
eepl for faint breathing. She was cut throu?!
the thigh with a bayonet.
1 went across the room and found a litt
Kill, twelve years old. She was propped i:
In I'd and half bent over, as if she had bee
broken at the breast bone. Her body whistle
with each breath. One of our ambulant
ciiips vent out next day to the hospital
I?r. Donald Rt lie writes me:
"I WOO! OUl with Davidson, the America
sculptor, aod Yates, the cinema man, an
th? re had been brought into the hospital th
; previous day the little girl you speak o
j She had a ??aping wound on, I think, the rig!
I side of her back, and died the next day."
Dr. Renton's address is 110 Hill Stree
Carnet Hill, Glasgow.
The contents of the notebook, containin
this report and these statements which I ha
? led, were turned in to Lord Rryce, ar.
the--?- cases, which I witnessed, appear in th
Btpee Report, under the heading of "Alost."
Of such is the Rryce Report made,
hend witness by men like myself, who kno'
what they know, who are ready for any tes
to be applied, who made careful notes, wh
had witnesses.
"Why do the Germans do these things? I
is not war. It Is cruel and wrong," that is
?remark I heard from noblemen and commo
'soldiers alike. Such acts are beyond the un
idersUtndmg of the Helgian people. Their sol
tilers are kindly, gocd-humored, fearlesi
M.en women and children would be safe i:
their hands. They do not ?ee why the Ger
mans bring suffering to the innocent.
A few understand. They know that it is ,
scientific panic which the German army wa
seeking to cultivate. They see that thesi
acta are not done in the wilful abandon of i
few drunken soldiers, beyond discipline, bu
that they belong to a cool, careful method, b;
means of which the German staff hoped t<
reduce a population to non-resistance. Thi
Germans renard these mutilations as piece!
of necessary surgery. The young blond bar
maid of the Quatrecht Inn told us on Octo
l?r 4 that a German captain came and crier
like a baby in the taproom on the evening ol
? anbot 7, after he had laid wa?te (Jua
, trecht and Melle. To her fanciful, untraincii
?mind he was thinking of his own wife ant)
thildrao. So, at least, she thought as she
|\atched birn. after serving him in his thirst.
*"' of the ?.entries patted the shoulder of
tie pe?a".ui?. ht Melle when he learned that the
rr-n had had the three member? of his fam?
ily done to death. Personally, be was sorry
f' i the man, but orders v.it^ orders.
' I ?pent Se,,?,.:,her || hu<\ September 2.1 in
Termor.de. ?lei, days before my first visit
iTerOkOnde was a pretty town of 11.000 la
hoMtOUftS tin their fir.t visit the Germans
turned eleven hundred of the fifteen hun?
dred I .-V burned the Church of St.
? ?)..- ( hurch of St. Rocu?, thr.,
i h?isp:tal ?.ru! .m orphanage. They
! ?hat town not by accident of shell tire
logratioo, but methodicallj^
house by house. In the mid?t of charred
ruins I came on ?ingle houses standing, mi
of them, and on their door* wa? German w
ing in chalk "Niet Verbrennen. Gute Le
wohnen liier." Sometimes it w-ould be s
ply "Nicht Verbrennen," sometime? 0
"Gute Leute," but always that piece of G
man script was eoOOgh to lave 'hat hot.
though to the right Bad left ?1 11 -'ere ru.
era! of the saved houses the name
;. ' Genuas oilier wa scribbled who g:
the order to spar?. About one hundred bou
were chalked in the way I have descrih
All these were unscathed by the Bra, thot
they stood in streets otherwise d?vast?t
The remaining three hundred houses had
good luck to stand at the ouskirts and
street- unvisited by the house-to-house
cendiaries.
Four days after my first visit the Germi
burned again the already wrecked towm, tu
ing their attention to the neglected th:
hundred houses. I went in as ?oon a? I coi
siifely enter the town, and that was on 1
Wednesday after.
As companions in Termond? I had Ten:
son Jesse, Radclyffe Dugmore and William
Renton. Mr. Dugmore took photographs
the chalked houses.
"Build a fence around Termonde," si
(rested a Ghent manufacturer, "leave the rui
untouched. Let the place stand there, w
its burned houses, churches, orphanage, hi
p'te.l, factories, to show the world what G<
man culture is. It will be a monument
their methods of conducting war. There w
be no need of saying anything. That is
the proof we need. Then throw open t
place to visitors from nil the world, wio
as this war is over. Let them draw their o\
conclusions."
Veep troly yours,
ARTHUR H OLEARON.
New York. Nov. 24, IMt,
[The writer of the foregoing rommur
cation was for several years a member
The Tribune staff. For the utter trui
worthiness of any statement matle by M
Gleason.this newspaper is willing to votic
For a year Mr. Glea.-on was at the froi
caring for the Belgian wounded. I
speaks with full knowledge and complc
authority and The Tribune is glad to 1
able to submit to its readers a first-lnui
eyewitne.-s account of atrocities writtc
by an American. It calls attention ngni
to the fact, cited by Mr. Gleason. that h
testimony is included in the Hryce Bopoi
which should give Americans new inaigi
into the value of this document.? Ed.]
Moslems Under Constitutional Gov
crnment.
i / .-d Crmmtr, t* Tht .?'.
The Young Turkish movement, in spite t
the fair hope? which it excited, end ir. ?pit
of the Rood intentions which enabled Si
Edwin Pears to record that, in its iriiti;
stage-, it created "the best government whlci
Turkey has ever had." WOI from the An
foretloomed to failure. The country was no
prepared to aseimilotS such dfOSl
as were effected. The idea of constitutiona
government could not be grasped op tl
mass of the population. What did the en
stitution mean? "Was it a person? Wn? i
? new caliph?" The soldier interpret d th
word "liberty" as according him the right t
"obey or disobey efl he liked." Such is th
testimony of Sir Edwin Pears. That of Mis
Durham, who was staying in an Albanian v.]
l?ge when the constitution was proclnimci
is no less decisive. "All nsked if the new
had not come when they were to begin ex
pelling the Giaours. Constitution was no
going to tolerate Gii.ours any more; tho Ian
was to be swept clean of them They wer
only waiting orders to kill the lot, an
hoped it would be soon. That wa-- what th
new rule was made for."
Moslem patriots, in whatsoever part of tl.
world they may reside, will do well, il
of aiming at the Imm?diate achievement o
an unrealizable itle.il. to recogolse that, b
doing so, they are certain to bring about ;
reaction, end that their eo-religionlsts Wll
be both wiser and more potriotic if, bef<
eodeovoring to introduce a full meosurs o
liberal reform, they ?rill submit te th?
cessity of passing through S t ransitionsr;
period when the bssl goveromefll for thei
respective countries will be that of a tern
perad and benevolent despotism. But il
to carry out thi? programme it I i
BOOtisl to Sud B suitable despot.
Photography in Air Raids.
.// Um '.' ' . Ike J ?-!? - Ver-Hae r ?
Photography, of course, is playintr an ever
increasing part in aerial rOCOUnoissonOS I
is now one of the prime means of ascertain
ing the aceuracv with which burnh dropping
is attended. Contrary te the general idea
when a place is to be bombed the proc?s
does not consist merely of a few plucky air
men piloting their machines to th?- neighbor
hood and tubing big risks 1
lucky shot before returning. The tire tha
follows the dropping of each bomb is pho?
tographed by aircraft from above, so that :
permanent record it. made concerning th(
places actually damaged. Nothing la 1<
guesswork.
Ingratitude to England.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: There was a time when the Amer et
; people were not too proud to fight and da
fend the lives of their own count rwc
There tvas a time when the great Americr.r
people did not resort to theoretical threats
and lofty but empty notes begging any
foreign power to respect them and to sp.tr.
j their citicens. Yet, to the regret of this
! noble and brave Republic, the foreign polity
of the present administration is the WOOkeet
\ in the history of the country.
In the face of the molt gigantic war the
world has ever seen a few of our greedy
dollar-mad ?peculators have raised ?hen
voices through the administration, Indig?
nantly protesting to England against not?
ing some of our ships, and thus natuiaily
depriving these patriotic money lords of
more coin for then treasuries. Technically
their elolms are legal and just, but a.
they nre very cruel and unfair, Ins
M England is lighting for her very axifl
tence and for the establishment o!" a pen
ful, democratic and eivilixed Europe.
Whai is our grlevonee sgoinal England .-.
compared with on- grieVUI I G? :
manji ? W:
ted again--t. us in comp?rison with ?h- oui
rat??'- ' ? . liosl u .
and all eivilised nations? England is a
of holding Mini" few "f our ?hipa, vhili
Germany is stained with the i.
men. women and ' ' I ?-- . Bl
?n apology or 'i
treachery in this COUntl
their conspiracies to blow : istri. .
and shops, their folsohood aoeft)
directed against thi land they
allegionee i". In the face ef this govern
?OUt'l inability or H I puni
them (I do not know which -, make ever*
inn- and loyal Ami-ri.i- id with
shame and disgust. \!KM Ml SI.EH.
I New York. Nov. I.'., I'.-l ?
SELF-INTERESTEDNEUTT.AT '
Aro Human Rights Unimport.T.
Compared with Commerce^
To the Editor of The Tr.bv.ne.
Sir: The attitude of Pr?s; >:?:
?.??ward the warring rations of Etu
very much the attitude of a truck
toward a couple of brawlers lighting in t!
street. "G? ? eat of ? ihonta :
ruck-driver. "Go into some all
it out, but don't block up the traffic er ['
Out of m.) ? iy! Gel
I?amn you both!"
1* i.-i becoming increasingly apparer* tl
this attitude of the administration d< I
represent the attitude of the America
pie. There is a growing demand tl. I tl
administration shall represent the peopis
One may be a peace-dictator q?iite as an '
as a War-di?rtator. What we wart i- repr?
aaapMtien, DOt dictation, whether the dema*.
of the people is for peace or for war.
This is not saying that the demand of th?
American people is for war. But if our r.i
tion is to remain neutral we demand a ner
trality which we can respect. We do BO?,
resppo? n purely commercial and self-inter
e?ted neutra
In the note recently addressed to Or
Britain the I'nited States is made to declar
that '"he task of championing the integ
rity of neutra! rights, which have received
the sanction of the civilized world, |
?
out of the bitterness of the gr?
vhirh is now \vns?ing the countries of Fu
rope the United State?, unhesitatingly as
?times, and to the nrcom;.! I I I I of that
? will derate i,s energlee."
In what instance has th? Unit?
-??ni' .i if cha m I
gril of ni itral rigl * -." I
th? "unii.-.-itatingly"? Did tl State?
"assume the taat? of ehampionii .
of neutral rights" when the i
? ?
the aeatral rights of the n engei oa the
Lnaftania were violated? 1 h< ?
two of a number of incidents in which neu?
tral lights have been openly flouted and
ruthlessly riolated What hai b<
of the American people in regard to thee?
mutters? Has the will of th? peopl? beei
- anted la governmental action?
It will be laid that th?. United State? i
not in a position to enforce demand? it
;?-g the humane rights of neutrall Thai
?honld not prevent our country from rai?ing
it - voice in ?? ' ?..! denunciation.
? T || . ?
equally to the demands which the U
rding the com? ?
:' aade I
ht of ?
mand?, thai they art mad? lolely f<<r the
support they will give tl I ITl '? S< '
arar la aver
ntid thaat prat? tad violations of our com?
mercial rights r.? aeutrali arc ?ettled by
international law. But will no.
?iier matter, ef th? human? rlghl
neutrals, be i ?ubjeei liheu ?
by Intarnational law when th? war is overt
Beery argument which Justifie? our pi
?gainst the violation of the commercial
right? of neutrals Justifies also our protest
against the violation of their humane i
Is there nothing of the heroic in our blood,
nothing of the chivalrous? Hot? w? he
come a nation ?if hucksters and truck
drivers?
If our action ns a neutral nation is t.. he
confined to the sen?ling of note te th? bel?
ligerent nations, let I '. least one
little no?e to Germany with "in1 lit?!,, ward
of protest agninst her lawlessness an?! in?
humanity. I'ntil we do tli.it, let u
utter another syllable of pro*.. -? against the
violation of our commercial rich's. -]'0 ,]0
tliis, however? the nice, academic balance ol
our neutrality correspondence wouM have
to he disturbed a bit. for 'i?*1' a I ??' '
protest coul.l be sent te on? group of the
belli?.-. in? only. K. M. S
Worcester, Muse., Nov. 21, 1916.
If tho Dead Could Speak.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir! We ses-ni t'? hi : -lition
as the North Wai before Bumter unpre
pared. It looks now ns if It were i eeessary
to have several more Lusitai veil as
to !'?? actually attached on tea aad land?
before we wake up. It is no uncommon
thing to hear people ?ay, "Walt until we
are attack?- S few thousand
German Spies, I . StC. We
er de an army read,?
? ? ta "
!'??.? ? that waiting
at that ?n ? .Is of live?
before a gun wai flred. It nay b? that,
;? from such s bitter expert*
i >? really :,. td lever I re 1 taaias,
the burnir.'.' of ??? War P1
ihmentt and ten thousand G?
sp:es before we get rat like a brave
and loyal people. It look ? so now.
Why not print all of ?/OUI editorial? for
?listributi? ." Tl them
where only a comparative few ?es- them
BOW Y'.'i n for these
I con II " ? ? who tliink
lo, bul ? ? t write i | oa bave dodo,
sited souls, by the eoi
of a .... n!li ,-jJ.? a ,
thank you for the editorial on "A BoCOnd
! ? :::ia."
Perhaps it's a good thing that the ?lead
c.-.nnot make themselves heard? or we might
hear from the dust of the soldiers arfa?
that We might have peace, and who probably
?lose who ! t? 'i
woul'I be ready at any time to riefend Ameri?
can di| honor. Did they dream I
we should become a nation to be d<
and sneered at as we are BOW by all people?
friends as well as enemies?
T. II. BABTLETT.
Chocaran, N H., Nov. l?, 1MB,
A Thanksgiving Sermon.
i Dedicated to the IV.
To the K.litor of The Tribune.
Sir: The text is the story in the tenth
chapter of St. Luke'-. Gospel of a man who
"fell among thieves, which stripped hii
his raiment, anil ?rounded him, aad ?lenarted.
leaving him half ?had." and one came who
? ?1 on him and pa on the other
?id?."'
It can he whale
record, tated 1
only h rh led
hii'i t?? avoid the daageroui and disagreeabl?
? ? ife.
To day 1 ? ? ?. i|o,.5 not
hide ii o? the
callous ind Ben to i
?
?- te ata* thai fell amoi
loudlj ?ammon I
' ' him !',,r th?
immunity i ? ired I Itralit] "'
Hi vim; WINSLOW,
. Nov. Zt, Mil
The Pin in Truth.
T.. th? Editor of The Tribu?
Bin Your great editarla! "Remember th?
latee the i'lii; and humiliating
truth. The qu-^'inn is, Is out ?,.,'.,| -pin'
?itts-rly dead m ..nly short-circuit.-.1 *
A. s DAGG1
Narwalh, ? ?ana . Nov. 14, lili,
NEUTRALITY.
THE GREEK DILEMMA
The Entire Nation, Including the King, h Pro-Ally, but to F.nter th?
War Might Prove a Military Mistake?The Near Eastern
Situation in Hellenic Eyes.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sll : May I impose upon the hospitality I
your columns and present before your e:
lightened renders s few facts concernir
Greece's Sttltude in the European conff
? >n? The impression that one must d
by reading the news sod leader? in tl
American ;??? thof <onstantine, tl
hu?? of Oraeee, is decidedly pro-Germa
\. . ,; tl '.-? ? ? only declines to thro
in her lot with that of the Allies, but pe
?istent rumors circulate and opinions ther
foro are formed and expressed that si
..in the Teutons.
To a Greek, who has his country's we
fare at beert, who knows his countrymen
ideas, their idool I and aspirations, BOthifl
ciild anp . volting than such a si
nous misrepresentation of th?- bots.
Our King ifl not pro-German. He could ni
he pro-German. He is more Greek tha
most of my countrymen. ?I.- feels like on
He thinks like one. As a soldier he migl
have n great admiration foi Germany
Wonderful organization and coordinated mil
turj eHeieney. Gorasoop*i achievements u
?o dat.- hove mad,, him no! pro-lierman, a
pn || proclaims, but a (iermsr
ophobe. li 'I'-imany. He fears th
?tl militarism, its power for conques
thirst for domination. Tine must neve
? ?' ?? tie K : ?.?. iti spite of having mai
itcr, has never bee.i
? Germon Kultur.
(o?. ? shove all a Greek, thorough
? in fact. With the qualities ami defect
whiel I ehoracterisl le of ou
race. He loves hit country. He loves hi
BOldier, he loves his arm?,
He bos the interests of Greece so much a
rt thai ? ? I aeen could not influence- hin
to thi I plunging his country int'
an enterprise full of risk- and surprises
Till now the Allies have tailed to convine
him of their systematic, coordinated uni ef
ticient collaboration. Their word? and i.rom
he discard?; he ?roots fact?. What havi
tille? don- for invaded lielgium? Wha
have they done for poor Serbia, winch whet
!.?.." ere printed may be no more
. ? come te h.-r help und rescue: bu
Con our King lake the ri.sl
ing his eoontrj meet a similor fate?
Much bos been said and written concern
ing Greece's treachery toward Serbia. Lei
us analyze the facts. At the beginning ol
the war. when Serbia wa? attacked and rirsl
invaded by Austria. Greece w-illingly anc
through no treaty ebligUtions had ceased in
reality to be neutral. Every help within hei
power was handed to her neighbor and
1 Sal?nica became the base for Serb
Si rbian soldiers w? re circul?t
Sal?nica and in many other Grass
withoot being disarmed and interned
Greet to her. An al?
liance existed between the two.
That alliance still exists. Hut what are it?
llations*. In cuse of BulgorioB aggres
? lori Se. !na and Greece should juin forces
? i.? r. rhl ? pact WUS 'he inevitable
re<ul? ef the BUC .. the muin
?: imonie :.l -?? ? a .1 party.
Now thol Bolgorie ha.? . poosed 'he r.-uton
euUSC, and by so doing attacked Serbia.
? ', de. i tiofl i-i bo) defending her is
press oe on In*
famous treachery.
In the braol If up ..i" tie Ht'lati status
quo oti-.er countries besides Bolgorie ate
Be " ?? I ;?'-...-? t t.ian alliance pro
rided f?>r such an ensorgoospl The Teotooi
the real aggressors. In BOeh S ease must
? nrraig-, ...nst the Austro
GerflBOUel What ahool lurkey, where mili
f On Who would guoraotae
ifety from the Turk |
Let the Allie? and the civilized world knov
tlly. Many might
.? then i.ti-tal ,- I I ice?, bn:
!.. no' believe la unthonkfulneee. "n<
must be a poor student of psychology I
deny to the Greeks their love for trus ind
pendence- in thoughts, feeling? and dead
No man who gets acquainted with our pe
pie could help noticing our lovs' for Frani
and for everything which is French, and 01
respect and admiration for the Knglis
Greece cannot forgi^t what she owes as a m
tion to the Allies. It is unjust to think thi
the King would be an exception to that rul
The Greeks, a.? an ethical group, are for tt
Allies. The Allied cause is theirs and wi
continue to be theirs.
Greece might not participate in this wi
Ion the side of the Allies. She might remai
j neutral benevolently toward the Allies) ti
the end of the war. But she will never sic
vith the Germans, for the following reason:
What are the inducements that the Austr?
Germans can offer her to side with them
Some territorial compensations at the ei
pense of Serbia, a portion of Albania, an
this With the Kaiser's plesige that Hulgari;
once nil powerful in the Balkans, will n<
I threat?-n the Greek interests. Are thes
[advantages ef such a nature as to tempt ou
King and politicians to turn themsclve
! against the Allies, when their very heart i
' threatened hy the Allied, fleets, and whe
they can be starved out in less than a mont
by the mildest of blockailes ? Boaid?
could follow the King and his immediate ad
visers upon a venture of nuch a kind? Non
but traitors to the Greek can---.
The (?reeks do not dislike the German?
hut as for sympathy in this war they hav
none for them. No Greek could embrhc
the Teutonic cause when Geniany ha
the Turk and the Bulgar, the most morta
and dreaded enemies of Greek aspiration?
her allies. No Greek statesman of to-da;
"oui.i tolerate a Bulgarian aggrandiaemoa
i in the Balkans. No Greek patriot could view
v'.ith indiff?rence Ferdinand's hegemony ove
the Balkans. It is an undisputed fact tha
the greatest patriot, that Greece possesses il
her most beloved King, who has the most in
tense hatred for the Bulgarians and wh<
rightly was surnames! by his subjects "Th.
Bulgarian Killer."
Pro-Germanism in Greece, of which ?<
much is ppoken of late, is an illusion. Ii
such a movement has been attempted b]
Germany*! agents or the infinitesimal num
ber of German sympathizers among my coup.
, trymen this movement must be at its very
infancy and will never acquire a seriou.
growth.
As a Greek I deprecate the tone of ?he
Allied press, especially thnt of Fngland,
threatening our country and people with re?
prisals |f we slo not tight for their cause.
I'oercive measures, as advised by a yellow
press in Kngland, will be fruitless. They
. are doomed to failure. They might be dis?
astrous. The Fnglish must nev? r forge
[that ?he (?reeks, in spite of being very noble
! are easily excitable an?! susceptible. A
, blockaile of the Gri'ek coa-;- might make
? pro-Germanism there a reality.
Venizelo.s ami the King aie both ard? ni
patriota, hut their patriotiam differ- m form
Our ex-Premier is convinced of the final vic
'...., ,,i 'In- MHOS. I?" II"' the (?reeks as a
?hols .-hare thi- -ame opinion? Their wish
baa become practically then- conviction.
Venizelo.s views tile situation affecting ou'
country as a diplomat, a- an Idealist also
?The King, u-s a soliii-r. considers the mill
tiiry situation.
No country in the WO I nun criti
i cal hour in its national history than Gr.ecc
i The slightest miscalculation on tha part i
our King or our -,
the whole of our aal dur lope
and wish is that the ??reek people v?. , i 1 not
i.i-sd isi rs-min.1 ths-ir King and I ta tes men of
their duties atul of their moral obligation?
to ailhere to those principles and ideal- ?ha?
nia.le the Greek Batioa and *h?' Greek kir.g
, slsim of to-day a possibility.
\n OLAS IOANNOU8.
N'eu York, Nev, -?o. lili,
AN UNTHINKABLE PEACE
Prussia Has Disposed of the Onl;
Chance of Earlv Negotiations.
To the Editor of The TribuDO.
Sir: There i, an important leader on th
! Great War in The Tribune of Oet* ber 21
England's greatest interest in which can h
| summed up in two of Its paragraphs. Yo
write:
"What Americans cannot now know i
whether the spirit that ruled in Washingto
in 18*54 dominates in London, Paris an
Petrotrrad in 191B. ... It was alway
possible that the North might lose courag.
; heart, will-power and abandon the s'ruggW
It is equally possible that ono or all th
: Allies may fail now. But this remains th
I single chnnce of German success."
Hut it is Prussia herself that has utterl;
deprived herself of that "single chance.
When we in England started upon the af
fair, "War" was by tradition with us a thin,
I of glory and of self-sacr:lice. Nations am
the world, we sold, were better for it. Out oi
even the poorer clajs there was formed Ifl
that crucible a chivalrous idealism and the
higher patriotism. Thus peace with a gen
: erou.i foe was easy for victor and vanquishea
?and left no sting. Why after 1MI did you
' continue to hammer the South? The Con
: federacy never poisoned your water well?,
nor "ga.?:-ed" your soldiers till they spat out
, their lungs; nor raped your nun?, nor mur
' tiered your hospital nurses the while tho?e
, nurses were engaged in tending the Con
j federate wounded. Nor did the Confederac>
'murder our women and children on your
'peaceful merchant ships on the high sea?
And when an er.? my, because of thes? ln
? leovoe four great European nations ut?
terly determined that any war whatever i?
preferable to any peace whatever, ?hort of
th-? unconditional surrender of Prussia, you
can appreciate why our mood in London.
Pans and Petrograd may be less heroic than
wa? "the spirit in Washington In 1864," but
most be and will remati. Infinitely more de?
termined. The South fought the ideologues
of the North and lost, and I have never me.
S Southerner who, looking brick, EOS
rejoice for the defeat. Rut think of what We
are lighting the IdoologJ ef p-ychopaths and
thugs! Can we afford to lose? Can th"
world afford that u-e ?hotkU l***t
The end is cl.-ar, but la not near. Lord
Kitch'ni-r leid la>t week that in two years
the British Empire will have more trained
?oldieri with the colors than Germany. No
much later than that peace will be agree.:
After that between our empire and OotUMU)
there is likely to ensue a centui
but certainly of entire?non-intercourve, com
tmrdial, social, political.
In the nu-an t-.tne, Bl the Ir;?h leader ?aid
finely in the House of Commons la-t week
any peace proposals dishonor equally our
dead and our li\
MORET?N PEEWEM
London, Nov. '?. l'.'i:..
How About the Subway Exits?
To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: I have roed ui*h c inter?
est the numerous sii torial
of late r. garding the un..
tion property own? rs ere giving l
?quipaient! In order te previ
of the recent Brooklyn tir?-, and
a?k If you knou If any on.- ha> attended te
the duty of equipping the subway srith more
exits to preven: n ropotitiea of that terrible
subway Are et I ftj '?-rd Street on Janu
af lael winter.
The suffering that existed under ground
!h:t' hour was many times greater than that
d on board the
thol hif.e bees terpodeod tl i lasl \oar. I
have repeotodlj looked for some Improvt
? ? u.'uld. help eul *?ch ?
BitUOtion, :-'ii un to to day. to the best of
Itieo tro** the trams, I can find
? at ail:.I le betw. SCOOd
and i''.'h Streets, sod this i> fertonotely the
on.- that mode it poseible fOI some two hun?
dred or m.n.- liti- te :- weed lost 4? inter.
I b-dteve the psoper suthoritiss should be
lovi rely censurad to* n<'t doing more to re?
lut.- tins condition E K M.
Victim of Januury ?>. Ifitla
New York, NOV. !?'. Ltll,