New-York tribune. [volume], July 30, 1917, Page 8, Image 8

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First to Last -the Truth: Newa- Editorials
Advertisements
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Equity in War Taxes
The .Senate* Finance Committee lian ap?
parently decided not to take into account!
Secretary Mc.\doo's new estimates of gov?
ernment expenditure in revising the pend-i
ing war revenue act. I* will merely in-j
crease the tax total of the amended House j
hill from ?1,070.000,000 to about $2,000,- j
000,000, leaving the House of Representa- i
lives a free hand in providing the addi-1
tional money ? about $4.600.000,000 ? I
which the Administration thinks will be
needed before the present fiscal year runs J
cut.
Since the Constitution gives the popular j
branch the right to initiate tax bills, in re- j
sponsn to detailed estimates submitted to
it by the Treasury Department, the Senate
Finance Committee's attitude is technically
ctjhrect and politically prudent. The House
? should undoubtedly act first on Mr. Me
.\doo's recommendations. It has unfortu- !
nately shown little capacity to deal with
intricate tax problems. But, theoretically,
it holds the purse seings under our sys?
tem of government. It must take the
initiative. Its work can be improved on
later by the Senate, which, to its great '
credit, has recently whipped the crude,,
haphazard and inequitable tax bill which
the House passed last May into something
presentable and intelligible. That bill,
when enacted, will take care of govern?
mental expenditures up to December 1
next, at least. There will therefore be
time enough to pass a second act, elimi?
nating the deficit for the second half of ?
. the fiscal year.
The Senate Finance Committee is said
to have decided to revise the income tax
i ates upward in order to bring the total
carried in the pending bill to about $2,000,
000,000. There is talk of increasing the
normal income tax rate to 5 or even 8 per
cent. It is at present 2 per cent. In the*
pending measure the normal rate is fixed
at 4 per cent. An increase to 5 or to .5
per cent will undoubtedly come before the
war is over. But to make it now would
obviously throw a burden on the man with
?. small income?between ? 1.000 and $r>,000
?unreasonably severe compared with the
burden put upon other classes paying
taxes on income and profits.
It should be the primary aim of war
taxation to recover for the use of the na?
tion the excess profits created by war con?
ditions. Those who are receiving a bonus
out of the war should be the first to bear
the burdens of new taxation. Until a fairly
complete adjustment is made in the field
ot war profits, the man whose earnings
are not increased by the war, or are even
lowered by it, should be treated with rela?
tive consideration. His turn would come
later under any enlightened scheme of war
finance, and then would come the turn of
the general consumer who is without taxa?
ble income.
We have not yet made very great prog?
ress in recovering war profits for the
benefit of the Treasury. The House of
Representatives voted f-*?r a ludicrously
inadequate tux of 8 per cent on -
profits. The Senate Finance Committee
????cognized the error of allowing exec.-*?
war gains to go practically untouched,
while impos?*-7 general consumption duties,
as the House did when it authorized a
horizontal increase of 10 per cent on all
tariff duties :irA the ?mpos.tior. of a flat
10 per cent duty on all imports now on
the free list The Finance Committee
wisely enlarged and graduated the taxes
on exc?s-? profits. B it :* complicated
scheme of graduation has rive**, a wrong
impression of the burden actually laid on
industry? which have profited abnormally
?om war conditions.
The hit-he?-*, rate of excess profits tax in
the Senate* committee's bill is 60 per cent.
But that don not mean that anything like
?"0 per cent is to be collected from any
concern subject to the excess profits tax.
The ?**0 per cent applies only to the amount
!*y which a concern's profits exceeded by
ore than 2f?0 per cent its profits in the
re-war period. On the first 12 per cent
f excess the tax is only 15 per cent; on
he exeev? between l.r> arid J5 por cent it is
nly 16 per cent; on the excess between
a5 and 50 per cent it is only 20 pe? cent,
tween .r.O and 75 per cent the rate is
5 per cent; between 70 and 100 per cent,
per cent; between 100 and 160 per cent,
^5 per cent; between 164 and 200 per
.ent, 40 per cent; between 200 and 260
1er cent, 46 per cent; over 250 per cent,
0 per cent.
In an article recently published, Mr.
iodfrey N. Nelson, sn expert on the in
?roie tax law, figured out, under the pro
isions of the Finance Committee's bill, the
xcess tax on a business which made
fyO.000 in the pre-war period and is now
akjr:g '-100,00''. The tax would net only
11.07?. This would be only 22 per cent
tfc-t excess profit. The Senate bill there
re allows a very generous share of war
rofits to remain in the hands of the war
profiteers. It only begins to utilize the
most obvious and most equitable source of
war revenue.
It would be better to increase the excess '
profits tax all along the line than to in- !
crease the normal income tax beyond 4 i
per cent. Those in whose pockets the war
is putting money are being favored by the
bill, as it stands, to an unreasonable ex?
tent. Their extra pains greatly overbal?
ance all the new taxes which they have to
bear. They stand unscathed, while the |
average normal income tax payer has his
tax burden doubled (tripled, if the rate t
?roes to fi per cent), and may also find his :
income actually decreased because of the
war.
After a while everybody must pay. But'
let us start with a tax scheme which does ?
its best to wipe out discriminations in
favor of war beneliciaries and puts all ',
contributors to the cost of the war as
nearly as may be on an equitable basis.
Patriotism by the Yard
The flagmakers, if we can believe the
Federal Trade Commission, have taken ad-1
vantage of a patriotic cris:?- to practise
extortion. It would be hard to cite a more
unpleasant example of the triumph of
greed. A dealer in the starry emblem of
Amerita would share, one might suppose,
?n the emotions which the sight of the flag
? - in the rest of us. Surrounded
daily by th?- Stars and Stripes, he might,
even be expected to lack a little of the
average Mrdidnesi of human nature. In?
stead, it i> charged, lie bai been among the
foremott of th?j cormorants who fatten at
a time like this on the idealism of their
countrymen.
His appean to be another example of
the familiarity which breeds contempt. In
daily contact with the flag as an article of
commerce one may become blind, it seems,
to the red, white and blue, to the stars
and stripes, to the ardors and visions of a ?
people which sleep in it*? folds. The flag
dealer comes to see merely a square of
bunting, whose colors are fast or not, ac?
cording to grade, and whose size multiplies
its price. Patriotism he measures in th?
scales o? supply and demand. He knows
it, he encourages it, he lives on it. Hut he
gauges it in yard? of cloth.
The government may be trusted, we
hope, to curb his price agreements, to con?
fiscate his excess profits and possibly to
regulate his entire industry. But even
should he continue his gorging of thi
i ament, one can only pity him. Who wou]?jd
care to be a swine, however full the trough,
could he be a man?
Tonnage Losses
The recent rise in the number of British
vessels sunk by I.-boat * has lad, as usual,,
to a renewal of the demand for further
information about the losr.es in tonnage.
Lord Beresford, who has constantly pro?
tested against the Admiralty's method of
tabulating the weekly returns, speaks of
the shortage as "very dangerous," an 1
again urges the government to let the
whole truth be known, the question of ton?
nage being of far more importance than
the number of vessels sunk.
His own estimate seems to conform pret?
ty nearly with the calculations of some
other observers, and though it is conceiv?
ably exaggerated there is no way of de?
termining the tonnage with certainty. At
the most favorable reckoning the British i
losses alone can hardly amount to less than
2,000,000 tons since the beginning of 1917,
and the losses of the allied countries and
of neutrals must be added to these. L?ord
Beresford believes that in all about 4,000,
000 tons of shipping were destroyed in the
first six months of the year, and as there
is not the slightest hope of securing new
shipping at the rate of 8,000,000 a ye.'?r, or
anything approaching it, the state of af?
fairs by next spring nay be extremely
grave.
It is unfortunate that in too many dis
?u? i-ms of this matter arguments are
based on the German prediction of a mill
ion tons a month. The prediction has cer?
tainly proved false; yet nothing could be
more foolish than to conclude that the
campaign must be a failure because an ;
? itst is still unfulfilled. Another error
lies in counting too much on numbers, as
if a falling off fn vessels sunk necessarily
implied improvement, whereas in many in?
stances the difference in tonnage lost may
be relatively insignificant.
"Confidential Information"
A newspaper correspondent at Wash
, ington imparts what is supposed to be the
true explanation of the British Admiralty's
tardinesa in accepting the advice of BOOM
thoughtful strategists in the matter of
Zeebrugge. It is said to come from "a
military source" possessed of "confidential
information," showing "that the water off
Zeebrugge is extremely shallow" and "that
the -real base is not at Zeebrugge itself,
lut about thirty miles up the Bruges
Canal, near Bruges," where bomb-proof
shelters have been constructed for the pro?
tection of the troublesome submarines
which it is so desirable to destroy.
What is true in this "confidential in?
formation" has been pretty generally
known for a long time. It would indeed
, be wonderful if no one had hitherto dis?
covered that there were sandbanks in the
. neighl?>r?K><.d ?if that port, for it is only
necessary to look at a chart of the coast to
be convinced of the fact. As to Bruges, it
is a pood way off, but thirty miles is
stretching it much too far. It is there, no
doubt, that the Germans have many of
their destroyers and submarines, and they
can hardly be reached from the sea, though
the distance from Zeebrugge is not thirty
miles, but much less than ten.
In reality, however, Zeebrugge has re?
peatedly 1er? n bombarded, notwithstanding
the supposed "hesitation" of the rintish
' Admiralty, but it is apparently only under
| exceptional conditions that such attacks
can be carried out with any prospect of
success?. The destruction of the harbor .?f
Bruges would obviously be a most desirable
achievement, but perhaps im|x-ssible with?
out the cooperation of land forces. Short
of that, it would doubtless be well to break |
up the nest and force the flotillas to sea;
and this seems to have been attempted
more than once by combined attacks from
air and sea, though hitherto only with
limited success. But, at all events, there
is nothing new in the "confidential infor?
mation" from Washing-ton.
Preaching Love for the Enemy
These are trying days for the divines of
all nations, but especially for those who
hold that at all costs they must continue to
love their enemies and contrive somehow
to find a fitting place for war in the gospel
of peace. For the German pastors the dif
ficulties are inconsiderable, because from
the beginning their leviers made it plain
that Germany Wll not on the same footing
with ordinary nations and could not there?
fore be governed by the common standards
of conduct. If they hated it was with a
German hate and if they committed mur?
der it was in a divine cause. Even in their
excursions against halpless civilians the
airmen were blessed, for were not the Zep?
pelins formally* promoted to the celt tial
hierarchy, a little below the S?raphin.?
In other countries the compromise is not
so easily worked, and the inability of the
clergy to adapt their doctrine to the de?
mand for reprisals has of late been s
cause of offence to many hot-headed and
revengeful people in England. The Arch?
bishop of Canterbury himself expresseil
rpen disapproval of the project, and since
he set the example some minor prelates
and many priests of the Church of Eng?
land have berra ?iffning petitions against It.
The effect on those who hold the opposite
view has been most unfortunate. "Let the
bishops stick to their belfries!" crie ' I
Duke of Argyll in a towering rage, and,
indeed, he finds not a few who agree with
him in wishing for the old TadOT days
when bishops "were but dumb dog?."
But not all laymen agree with the duke.
Some ate seriously alarmed at the growing
dislike displayed on all sides against the
Germans, whom they ought as good Chris-'
t:ans to love, even though they be obliged
to kill them. Thus Lord Hugh Cecil at a
recent meeting of the House of Laymen of
the Province of Canterbury warned his fe!-1
lew-churchman that, whatever any one
might say, they "were not entitled to hate
Germans," but, on the contrary, "were
bound to love them and to defeat them i*i
this war for the good of the whole of!
Christendom." It was | hard doctrine,
and it is greatly to be feared that some of
his hearers found it beyond their powers.
But what has enraged the revengeful
above all else of late is the attempt of the
Lower House of Canterbury Convocation
to abolish the 58th Psalm from the Prayer
Book. It is singular that impreca'
which have been tolerated cheerfully for
hundreds of year ? I suddenly prove
distasteful to-day, but to it seems to be,
for in answer to one who defends the
psalm the Archdeacon of Gloucester asks
plaintively*. "Hoes he really wi-h to sec
the teeth of the ungodly broken in their
m n:ths'.'" There is no doubt that many
will answer cheerfully that they rio and
that when they pray in church on Sundays
foi victory the hreaking of teeth and the
smiting of jawbones are among the very
least of the evils implied. They will even
go so far with the Psalmist as to rejoice at
tho sight of vengeance, and the Duke of
Argyll for one would doubtless be willing
even to wash his footsteps in the blood of
the ungodly. The bishops and archdeacons
do not seem as ye*, to have made many
?otable converts.
A Resolution
. /?>
I'll tell you wh.it I mean to do
When these our war? ?hall erase to rage;
I'll go where summer ski?-- are hlue
And spring
I shall not work for fame or Wage,
Rut wear a larg. black silk cravat,
A velvet coat that's pray with
Beneath a high-crowned broad-brimmed hat.
I'll jourruy to some Tuscan town
And rent a palace for a song,
And all the walls I'll whitewash down
Some day when I am feeling strong;
And there I'll pass my ?lays among
My books and, when my reading palls
And summer days are ovi-rlong,
I'll daub up frescos on the walls.
The world may go her diver? ways
The while I draw or write or smoke,
Happy to live laborious days
There among simple pan.ter folk;
To wed the olive ar.rt the oak,
Most patiently to woo the Musi'.
And weal h great big Tuscan cloak
To guard against the heavy dews.
Between the olive and the vine
I'll make heroic mock o? Mars,
Anal drink at even golden wine
K"pt cool in terra cotta jai<;
And afterward hnrangi.a- the stars
In little gems of fervid sp.-rch,
And smoke impossible cigars
Which eoet at leas, three soldi each.
Let mote ambitious spirits ?pin
The web of life for weal or woe,
WhiKt I above my violin
Shall sit and watch the vale below,
All crimson in the afterglow;
And when the patient stars grow bright
I'll draw arraa^? the strings my bow
Till Chopin ushers in the night.
Such things as these I mean t0 do
When Peace ease mon. rem?mes her sway;
To walk barefooted through the dew
And while the sunlit hours away,
If haply I nay t'.nd some gay
?Conceit to light a sombre mind.
A- graciaaus as a sumnur ?lay.
As wayward as an April wird. ?
New Form for Newspapers
Tn the Kditor of The Tribune.
Sir: Mr. Briggs's cartoon showing a man
struggling with a newspaper to turn a new
page is so trua' to life that it ought to sug
|fjS* an improvement in the physical features
of the ordinary newspaper.
Probably the most of newspaper reading is
don?? in crowded cars. It is next to im?
possible to turn the leaves without flopping
?one's arms at full length and in other peo?
ple's faces.
If the ?heels were cut into halves and
printed crosswise, like "The Times" maga?
zine section, the leaves could be easily
turned and the paper r<ad in comfort.
Papers are always folded and handle.) in
this form, so that virtually the lower half
ot the front page becomes the back page anal
thus defeats the idea of a large front page
OIOBGE M BEERBOWER.
New York, July .15, 1917.
Erzberger, Wit and Prophet
Recalling the Amazing Foresight of
an Eminent German Centrist
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Apropos of Herr Eriberger's sally on
the military question in the German Reichs?
tag yesterday i July I), the following may
amuse you if you have not happened to sec it.
In August, l'.'M, when the war broke out, I
was caught in Germany, and in a Munich
paper I read the effusion, which I clipped
from the paper, pasted in my diary and
translate now as literally as possible:
"Erzberger writes in the 'Germania':
" 'The new English Minister of War, Kitch?
ener, he who so well understood swinging the
whip over the Viceroy in Ca'ro and who has
B8 brtaken the office of dictator in Paris,
begins his new career as Minister of War in
London famously. He has aa'.ed to be given,
with one stroke, half a million soldiers, and
Parliament has consented. Bravo!! If this
performance does not impress the French and
the Russians nothing ever will! So the great
secret which it was whispered in Paris as all
important is now out!
"'Here in Germany we coolly ask: Why
only half u million? Why not an entire
million at once? That would have been much
wiser. Every child in a military family here
will know that Util new English law is one
of the most wholesale swindles of the twenti?
eth century, and it is only the stupidity of
the Allies which permits them to be so
tricked, (iermany will be enchanted when
this half a million advance*? against us. We
w.ll put some old military man, so decrepit
that he can barely ?;t his horse, in command
of a squadron <jf lemi-invalids, .'ind he will
soon capture all these English and turn them
Over to a Harnuni to be shown at the fairs BS
tas latest aroader of th? world! Those of
our men who are first badly wounded in this
"ar mu t be put in this squadron?given the
fust chance!
' '1' is with undisguised merriment that
every one in Germany rea;U of this new
English concession of Parliament. And we
have the rieht to be amused! Half a million
?oldiersll Do they realize in London the'
absurdity of this grant? Is it possible there '
i: nobody thiTe who know? what an enor?
mous preparation is needed to equip and train
500,.i men? I>o the English imagine that
all that i** required is to borrow boots in
Paria, gunpowder in France, clothes in Rus
lia Bad Offleera in Serbia? Has England, then,
Fallen M lot? that she can jest in this serious
hour? For with the best will in the world
ws can consider anything else Incredible.
Half a million midiera rc?rjire fully half a
million rifles, fifty times that many cartridges
lit a million coats. trous?*rs, knapsacks.
is Enjrland to got all these? And the
Si ana*/ demands at the very least
? barracks, rifl? ranges, drill grounds,
te. And were it possible to conjure up
all th.- overnight, where could the
? ' in.-tructors be found? Wiiere are
SO, "" non-commis
- - . i y ?
"'"A",, could hang a It gion of questions on
v English statute, did we not know it
is not worth the paper on which it is written.
sddri IS one mor- -?iir
*.. Kitchener: Herr Kri-tgsminister,
nombered to mobilize the firemen
hi the frontier hamlets?"*
It is hard to say which is most preeminent
in H'rr Erzbergcr's writing?his delicate,
witty irony; nil extraordinary prophetic
bis understanding of the English pay?
v or his correct knowledge of English
! ?Ogrnphieal conditions as revealed in his
climax.
I ?rish to repeat, if this delicious bit of Ger?
m?n humor has up to the present escaped you,
-.. in view of events up to the present,
combine.1 with Herr Erzberger's expressions
of ones ? iterdny, a fine article might
be written with his prognostications M
JOSEPHINE TOZIEft.
Versailles, France, July 'J, HUT.
'*A Time for Courage"
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I am writing to thank you for your
: tonal in this morning's paper,
: "A Time ior Courage." If it has the
same effect upon other roa?l<-rs that it had
rill serve to jut row courage into
number of people. You ara right in
. "it is lime for the people ?if the
. i ?.. acqnire something
? hing of the detormi?
? i ;, who said at
V, rdun, 'They shall not passl"*
? undertaking i-s a far
we havi. eve? engaged in,
remember SB Am.-ncans that what we
liave set out lo do in the past we have done.
It it a time tor sober thought, but also a ?
time for confidence and a resolute purpose.
JOHN H. FIELD.
New York. July 2?, 1917.
Thanks
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: You deserve the country's thanks for
your eloquent editorial of yesterday, entitled
"A Time for Courage." It is as sane and as
true as it is eloquent. It should be printed
rculated extensively.
CHARLES K41RIX.SON SMITH.
Onteora, N. Y., July 2'J, ?17.
No Stigma in Conscription
To th?' Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I have argu?d very strongly since
the declaration of war that the selective draft
would be the most sensible and
practical method of obtaining an army. Re?
cently I have noted with great displeasure
the attitude of some of our well-meaning
American citizens in respect to the young
m? n who are now about to be drafted under
the conscription act.
While ;t is true that every credit in the
world should be given to the man who vol?
unteers, still, an' we to look upon the young
man who is now being drafted as a '?slack?
er" or are we to consider him as good a
patriot as the man who volunteers? Per-:
*-?.r.;?i:;,. I have among my acquaintances
BUM** goad Americans who.??? nanv-s appear
nmnni* the t;r?? to he called and who I know
are inspired with the same ideals and love
for their country as the average American.
I of volunteering at this late hour to !
BVOld that "much-feared" stigma that is ap- ?
plied to the conscript, they are proudly
awaiting their turn to be called to enlist
in the army that is to make this world safe
for democracy. SAMUEL HAGAN*.
New York, July 21, 1?MT.
"A Splendid Poster"
To ?he E?ntor of The Tribune.
Sir: In to-days Tribune "Not to make
wir, but to destroy it" "And if there were
any other honorable way, IM take it" and
the expression on I'ncle Sam's face the
entire sketch a picture!
Excellent! Excellent! One of the finest
Hid strongest sentiments yet brought out
a;..I . ?cellently portrayed. What a splendid
I: ikould be ?ubmitted for that pur
What food for reflection in those few
for doubter and pacifist! What a'
powerful base for argument against those,
of the V boat.?, wh-i "go to murder, not to 1
hfht." A. M.
New York, July 23, 1917. ,
How the West Reacts to War
By Felix Or man
"What is the West doing?" "What is
West thinking?" "A-e they sound asleep
there?" "Do they know the country is
war?" "It's all crops and no ser.time
or national feeling with the Western?
isn't it?"
These questions art typical of many tl
have been ad?ires*?e? to mo by intellig
men and women in and about New Y?
?1 ?t ir.; r<'.."--*. from a recent tour
Wester:? t?*-?!.. and cities. Now, these qu
tions und the statements with which I i
swered them, which I shall summarize he
are strikingly signiricant of the differ?
states of mind, the different chai-acterist
and personalities that exist in the two s
tions of these United States known au t
Last and the West. And they are ind
ative, too, of different evolutions and for
of progress.
For we see here just another instance
but this time a really remarkable and di
matic one?of the failure of the Ehstern
to understand the Westerner, and I it m
SI veil he admitted' the not infrequ..'
tendency of the Easterner to underestima
the value of the Westerner as an intellige
and worth-while citizen and human heir
V? | also see illustrated here the jovial ai
wholesome attitude of the Westerner to th
patronizing paternalism of the Eastern?
with perhaps a shade, though ever so sligl
of cynicism.
I had settled quite to my own satisfa
tion this discussion of the point of diffe
ence between these two peoples of our cou
try by stressing the idea a which I really b
?ieve to be entirely accurate) that the
aa!' individuell approach this busine:
of life from altogether different angles ,
thought. They have ilifferent nersonalitie
because they have different mental attitude
different philosophies. The mental perspei
tivc of the average Kasterner is quite DI
like that of the average Westerner. I b<
lleve the man-in-the-street in the West is
good deal more reflective, more analytici
than a man of like position and intelligenc
in the East. And he is less self-cor.sciou
and cocksure.
Eastern Insularity
.Vow, in this matter of the war we BSV
come to think here that the West is not in
terested; that in its security the West i
selfish and unpatriotic. We actually hav
been Matting missionaries among the goo
people out there to stir up a national spirit
I had decided after a stay of two weeks il
Western communities land the longer
stayed the stronger this conviction grew
that the main difference in the present in
stance is that we are talking a lot of wha
wo do, while the West is silently doing iti
work, ?if course, we are doing things; bu
v.e in* a'.v'ully proud of the fact and verj
fond of telling about it; and v.*e SI
pleased in imagining that we lire quite su
perior in our way of doing things, and. iritl
an insularity that is getting to be equal!}
a; famous as that traditional quality of the
English, we insist upon believing that
America is right here in New York. And
all the time the people in the great stretches
of America laughingly refer to New York
as an island lying somewhere off the EustaTn
a'": It
Va-, the difference between the East and
the West on the Rubjeet of war is by r.o
means a difference in sentiment or loyalty,
but in the manner of evidencing these feel?
ings. We look at the war here in rather
an emotional way; in the West ti.cy are
seeing it in perspective and doing some hard
thinking.
This conviction had been settled upon
ami the above words written when I chanced
upon a weekly journal containing an ar?
ticle written by Henry J. Allen, a K
editor, who writes with a chame*
Western pungency and buoyancy; indeed,
Mr. Allen's article puts the whiff of corn?
stalks into ona-'s DaOttrils. And thll justi?
fiably proud Kansan, looking at this subject
of war from the viewpoint of a native and
resident Westerner, echoes the sentiment
which I, a visitor from the East i though
once a resident in the West!, had ovi
Consider these lines from Mr. Allen's state
ment: "They i the Easterners) did not un-;
aiar-*?ii.aj that people who live as we do in
the Middle West need very little artificial
stimulation. When a real crisis appears we
have generally made up our mind what we
are going to do before the band arrives. ?
Those who live near to Nature have more
time for self-examination than those who I
spend their lives dodging the things that
have to be caught, in a high-speed, 'extra- i
extra-extra' every half hour communuy. tt
have more time for subjective thinking."
I know this to be a characterist Westen
sentiment and expression, becaus I hear
many like it on my recent Western trip.
The West is far from being asleep; it i
very much awake and alive! Of this I be
came convinced in every place I visited i
Mi-ssouri, Illinois and Michigan; and I me
many men from other Western states. Watcl
the chuckle and the sly smile of the West
crner as he reminds you that "with al
her talkin'. the East is 'way low in recruit
in'"; and then, if he is a perfectly goo.
Westerner he will draw forth a memoran
dum book and give you the statistics, stat
by state, until the cornered Easterner i
entirely willing to let the argument res
at that. And Mr. Allen's article has re
minded me of a statement I heard frequentl;
in the West?"We made a mighty good show
in' in the Liberty Loan, a better showin
per capita than you made in the East!" Am
again the Eastern visitor, abashed by figure
and the merry chuckle of the Westen
apostle of Nationalism, rests his case.
Western Thoroughness
But with all their quiet, the West is pre
paring and is doing really remarkable worl
along innumerable lines of endeavor. The;
fee! this war, even though they don't tall
much about it. The Easterner who visits i
Western naval or military training statioi
is struck by the decided earnestness of th?
men. At the Great Lakes Naval Train inf.
Station, a short distance north of Chicago
? 1?.-autiful spot on the bank of Lake Michi
gan, I saw 17.000 splendid young Westerner:
in training for various positions in the
naval service. The work here ?s carra?
on on a wry large scale, but in a thor
ougiily systematic, onterly and efficient man
ner. I went to this station as the guest oi
Lieutenant J. Alien Haines and was sur
prised to find so remarkable a system oi
training and handling the men as has beer
worked out by Commandant W. E. Moffett
A few miles away is historic Fort Sheridan
a permanent military post. The regular sol
diers have some time since gone from here
but there are nearly six thousand young men
representing the best families of Chicagc
and its environs, going through their train
ing. They are very eager to get to th?.
front, too. The love of adventure runs high
in them a Western characteristic, by the
way, which is partly responsible for th?
great recruiting); they are longing to fight
?'r.e young college man who was graduated
just in time to begin training said to me
with a plaintive touch: "I'm afraid the whole
mess '11 be over before we get there. That'd
be hard luck."
Other Differences
There is another difference out there. The
"a-onscientious objector" does not rant about
his views; he goes on and does his duty.
Hut if he is drawn into a discussion he will
tell you, with almost a suggestion of pathos,
how much he regret? it all. And he will tell
you of his views and give reasons that
sound very plausible and conscientious. One
i. ?'.?? of feeling 1 regretted to find in the
West, anal that is that many out there ap
p'-ar to regard this war as a war of capital?
ism, just a? tiny regard the European war
as a struggle precipitated by the capitalist
elase; arid I found young men ready, in
fact, eager, to stat? that after this war
Socialism will make a great headway?a view
expressed by Alfonso of Spain in his re?
cent interview with a newspaper correspond?
ent. "I'm going to vote the Socialist ticket
after this war," a young man said to me,
"and I know a lot of other men who are
going to do th?> same thing."
Ati.l another thing: In the West they are
strongly pro-Ami riean and pro-Allies, and,
except in the (ierman-American communi
a-ongly anti-German but they tell you
that they have no love to waste on the Eng?
lish. They have a feeling out there at least.
a number of men I talked with had it?that
we have been drawn into this war by Eng?
land, and are being u?e| as a pawn by
British statesmen. My stating this view does
not carry my agreement with 'he idea, which
I bring forward here because I should like
to ?<?(? it corrected. The correspondent of
"The Chicago Tribune'" wrote: "We love
America and France, but we don't love Eng
Isnd."
The man who lives in the East finds much
to appreciate in the W.*st at all times much
that is stimulating and heartening; in this
time of war the man from the East finds
genuine inspiration in the West. The West?
ern people remind me of a keen-eyed watch?
dog, intently, qui.'tly keeping guard, ready
to spring at the moment's necessity.
Germans Forehanded in Prayer
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Will you permit me to answer as fol?
low?, through your columns, your corre?
spondent, Mr. Louis Tracy? In The Tribune
of this morning he suggests '.hat the people
of all the countries allied against the Cen?
tral Umpires unite on a a certain ?lay in
prayer for victory.
I call his attention to Dr. J. P, Hang's
"Hurrah and Hallelujah" and Mr. William
Archer's "Gems of German Thoflght." These
books are compilations of sermons and lect?
ures by German clergymen and pro!".
From '.hem we learn that the Deity to whom
he wants players offered in behalf of the
Allied cause is "the German God."
As in ot?ler Holds, the Germans here went
ahead and made lull pr.'paration long be?
fore we got reaily or thought of getting
ready. Incidentally, in this matter of part?
nership with super-mundane power?, the
Germans, from Emperor William down or
up, have made themselves the laughing stock
of the rest of the world. Let us not try
to emulate them in presumptuous folly.
If he hope- to Stimulate men and women
to united action by getting them all to?
gether in asking for victory, the psychology
is understandable; but then, why place the
suggestion on another and unrelated ground?
?Vhy, say, as he does, in effect, that he
expects to change the purpose of the "Un?
changeable," to turn into uncontemplated
channels the energies of a beinr; that he
holds to be "the same yesterday, to-day and
forever"? Which does he hope to do, add
to the knowledge of the "All-wise" or fillip
the moral sense of the "All-good"?
EDWIN C. WALKER.
New York, July 27, 1917.
For Transatlantic Airplanes
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Two years ago to-day through the
columns, of your paper 1 called attention to
the availability of the land gran?, colleges
as tuiation schools and of some of them as
submarine schools. To-day five of the eight
I mentioned have been made national avia?
tion schools, with the addition of a sixth at
the University of Texas.
May I venture on another suggestion which
I have not seen broached as yet? We are to
build, we are told, strong burden-earryinf*
aeroplanes to go on raids with tons of ex?
plosives. In these days of difficult trans?
oceanic transportation, in the design of those
machines may not some consideration be
given to having them, replacing their load of
bombs with fuel, able to proceed to the other
lido under their own motive powers? They
must be built to stand almost anything.
Cannot this also be accomplished?
GEOBOl N. COLE.
New York, July 26, 1917.
To the Boys Who Fight
| To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: May I be allowed to write a line on
; the subject of the American soldier? All
! day yesterday a battalion drilled in front of
my house, and I, who. I am proud to say,
i come of a race of gallant soldiers, am more
than happy to salute the American boys with
' my unqualified admiration. In general de
; portment, drill and marching they are as fit
; and trim as the lighting men of any other
, allied nationality who are to-day lighting
women's battles all over the earth. Plebeian,
avaricious, atrocious old Fritz, who looks
' (as one hears from his descendants) down
', from the Happy Fields??one would think
; from historic accounts of his many eecen
! tricities tb.At he looked up from the flames
'of Gehenna--must swear like the army in i
Flanders as he views the splendid appear?
ance and general equipment of these men.
However, we women for whom these gal
Ian* men are fighting all have shrines in
our heart? where we on occasions hold
silent sanctuary. Let us set apart a day in
? ach week for fasting. Let us neither eat
, nor drink from sundown to sundown. Let
u? have in our souls only high thoughts,
and amiable deeds and all that makes a
woman. And as there is something more
in Promethean fire than we dream of in
, our work-a-day philosophy, let us burn !
candles in church, chapel or on sacred
hearth for love of the brave boys all over
the world who are fighting for our sake.?
the beast of the Apocalypse and his litter
of decadent sons in the trenches in France.
; Let us burn a candle for the sake of the
i brave boys of all lands who are gallantly
i and cheerfully going into hell fire in be- ?
i loved France for our sakes. Let us do more.
? Let us put money into a coffer, the money
we save by fasting, to be given to the "Girl
I Left Behind Me." MARIE STUART.
New York. July 27. 1917.
Mr. White Upheld
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The great dailies of this city are so
full of war news and other matter appertain?
ing to this stupendous world war that the
1 average reader finds time to read but a small
part of it and only glance at the headlines 1
, of the rest of it.
Under such circumstances it was highly
refreshing to read imultum in parvo) wh.?t
the Hon. A. D. White had to say in to-day's;
Tribune.
In my opinion there it good hard horse ;
1 sense?common sense, that most uncommon
thing in all this world in every liae .?f
what Mr. White said. And I heartily com?
mend its careful reading by everybody.
JAMES C, JENKINS.
New York, July 26, 1917.
Exorcising an Evil Spirit '
The Real Purpose of the Struggl-, U
Europe Now Manifest
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The struggle in Europe is enteifc?
now upon a new phase; it is taking on &*
condition and aspect of a crusade.
The query so often heard in the pa?t,"WM
are we fighting for?" has been aniwt-*?*
clearly and unmistakably by the Ceatnl
Powers.
The gradual awakening of the world to its
peril has been evolutionary in it? chara?4-?,
step by step the ultimate purposes and p-ja,
ciples of these predatory powers hi-r? u^
come clear, and it is jrenerally recognized \sat
the war is not one involving a certain a-.?,?
of powers in defence of certain specific rifta?
but has been demonstrated to be a -a-?,. ?.
mairtain civilization.
Prussian militarism in the course of tia
last forty-odd years has evoked ? spirit that
is obsessing the German peoples, a spirit u i
evil, so malignant in ail its tendencies ,ti I
ruthless disregard for even the most eierr.ea.
tary principles of right or justice, that wit?
the world's awakening to the terribl? danm
and grave responsibility is also impressedtH?
need of using with all possible speed ever*
means to overcome and destroy thia apirit
whia-.i threatens the future of humanity.
Issues at Stake
The issues at stake lie deeper than thorn
involved in the principles of autocracy, 14
against democracy in comparison; thev' itva
volve the basic principles of the moral lita
The total abandonment on the part of Gar?
man peoples of the spiritual and moral lavs
upon which modern civilization is found*?!
has brought the German Empire to the ver*
verge of the abyss from which there can at
n.a ?scape until the Caiman nation, volun.
tarily or involuntarily, abandons th? apiril
of militarism which has corrupted it ?j ?
people and has wrought such woe in th?
world.
The military oligarchy that -ules German**
will never concede a peac? which involvea tha
destruction of militarism and which will
hurl them from place and power. Aa maturs
stand they have everything to gain aid notha
ing to lose in continuing the war unless th****
can enforce a German j
The awakening of the German people to th*?
fact and the abandoning their present rulan?
or until the military powtr of th* German,
Empire is broken and crushed by the Allie*-,
are the only paths which lie open to a per?
manent peace. The Allied nat.ons do not de?
. sire the destruction of the Germen Empira,
but of the obsessing spirit which holda th?
people in thrall.
V? S are too close to current events to paa?
judgment, but this much can safely be stattdi
The Central Powers haw bj their pait acti
achieved immortal infamy. The historian of
tho future ?rill el rulers of Germany
respon.-ibie for th? ten bl< psgei <>? (-.??tory
now in the making, each one in his own p?a?,
State-men. politicians end executive officers
of the Allied nations now at war are con?
fronted with the gravest rtsponsibilitiei in
this hour of the greatest peril the worlii hai
ever seen. Immortal infamy may a!?,, b?
achieved by those politicians who, m the hour
of their country's tu block,
delay and endeavor to fr 1 ?
ection of Imperativ? -, con?
serving, increa-?ig ami itrengthening the ees?
ncmic, naval and military forces of the na?
tion. Th . j?T!l of s
?eckoning from the people with fathers, mm
and brothers on the
may be endangered by their acts. Better to
stand ?n the path oi tbt than to
have to face the wrath of the American peo?
ple should occasion be give* to them.
C. AUBREY VAUGHaUf.
New York, July It, ItM.
Testimony, Dry and Wet
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I'mier date of July 11 "Moderst?-"
has a letter to The Tribune giving MW? verjr
wet figures to prove that iiriuor is not a
cause of crime, poverty or Insanity Som?
of us cannot be thus convinced, as we hava
quantities of material, to us just as official,
to prove quite the contrary'.
I have before me a long list of extract!
from litters from Governors, Itajrori an^
police heads in states and cities which havs
become dry, showing the contrast between
the old and the new regime. Alth? I
believe it would be permissible to publish
the names. y?'t, nor having had that permis?
sion, I copy a few quotations vithont namei,
and ref.ir any one interested in getting the
originals to Sebastian S. Kresge, Detroit,
or to the American Issue Publishing Com>
pany i copy of July 141, Westerville, Ohio.
From Governors:
*'We have lost the liquor traie and art
are glad. Crime reduced; bank deposits
enormously increased; public morals on a
higher plane."
"Twenty-one per cent more children at
ten ling school; bank deposits increased K'O
per cent; building and loan iissoeiation
stock Innres sot ISO per cent."
"Two thousand new savings accounts
opened in one month; collections in <:??
incut stores brokoAall records; eredil men
report many overifue accounts deemed un?
collectible paid up; crime r<
"Marked decrease in commitments to pr:*on
and state hospital; needy families percepti?
bly decreased."
"Wealth per c-apita greater than ar.v
state; fewest tenants, most home owners of
any state."
"Never such beneficial results from any
measure in so short a time; B chief of
police and four policemen dismissed because
no longer needed; city and counts
empty; saving! bank deposits ?ncreasea!; ac
eidonto decreased."
"I'usini's.s has improved; arrests decreased;
insane commitments less; savings t.a'
posits swelled."
"Arrests reduced 40 to 50 per cer.*;
mitments to state hospitals greatly docn
demands on poor fund much rod
From Police Chiefs, Commissioner.?, Otfel
"Drunkenness and other crimes N '?
50 to 75 per cent."
"Old soaks going to work; public market
receipts increasea! M per Cent.
"Crimes reduced 50 to T5 per cent."
"Retail clothing, wall paper, hat stores,
etc.. have taken rooms of saloons; R
Brewery changeai into packing ha'use."
From Mayors of dry cities:
"(lambling, "red light' districts prac'irallr
gone; we would not return to wet conditions."
"New store business In vacated saloon?.;
thousands who voted wet now convinced of
?success of dry policy."
"We have saved enough by reduction in
Police I?ej artment am! poor fund to o'"set
loss of $51.000 revnue, besides big savings
in the courts and prisons."
"New buildings replacing shacks where sa?
loons were; men buying necessities for homo
with drink money."
"Collections better; bank deposits in?
creased million dollars a month; builuiig
50 per cent more; 1,500 more tn schools;
prisoners reduced nearly 100 per cent. I
voted wet, but was much mistaken."
Many other officials testify similarly.
ttom, either thOM statements are true -tt
they are untrue. If true, many of us will
accept them as convincing -not to be thrown
aside a.? vague general it'es. If untrue, then
. lornment officials either dial not know
what they were talking about, or they pr?
varicated. Which will we have it?
INTERESTED.
Princeton, N. J., July 17, 1917. A