New-York tribune. [volume], November 30, 1918, Image 1

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Vol. LXXVIII No. 26,312
[Copyright, 1018.
New York Tribune Ine.J
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1918
? * ?
T.rn rmm S In tfrciter New York and I THRKK CKVTS
*"" ^^"i within commuting distance! EKrwhrr.
President Wilson Heads Peace Delegation;
Lansing, House, White and Gen. Bliss Named;
Lloyd George Says Germany Must Pav in Full
Hylan Ties Up
Plan to Greet
U. S. Fighters
Committeemen Say Mayor
Is Placing Politics Ahead
of Welcome to Soldiers
5,000 Will Arrive
In New York Monday
Official Arrangements Lag,
but Private Bodies Hope
to Stage Reception
Unless Mayor Hylan decides to untie
the hands of numerous waiting organi?
zations this morning, the entry into
New .York Monday of the first con?
tingent of the nation's victorious army
abroad -will be without official notice.
When the Mayor closed his desk and
went home last night he had announced
none of the plans for which his own
committee has been waiting for two
days. With but half a working day left
to take action, the prospects of a fitting
reception for the 5,000 aviators who
will sail up New York Harbor about
noon Monday were not bright last
night.
Voluntary action of individuals, who
expect to extend a hearty greeting to
the veterans when they get within hail?
ing distance of. the city, was assured
yesterday, no matter what the Mayor
may do. Bot tt was said that in the
iew hours remaining it was hardly
likely that an official reception cottld
be arranged. \
Mayor Looks for Votes
A hint of the underlying reasons for
this was offered by a spokesman of the
Mayor's Committee on National De?
fence, which has been nnable to take
action in the interests of such a re?
ception becanse of lack of authority
from tho Mayor.
"The Mayor is waiting to get to?
gether some busy little vote getters
and unless they are forthcoming there
will be no reception," was this man's
explanation. "This committee has been
non-partisan, and as a consequence,
fasn't made many votes for Mayor
Hylan. So he is going to get up his
own receptions or have none at all."
When it became known that the re?
turn of the 27th Division was a matter
of but a month or more it was ex?
pected that the Mayor's Committee on
National Defence, of which Henry Mc?
Donald was director general, would im?
mediately begin its long discussed
plans for a great reception. But Mayor
Hylan immediately announced that he
would place this task In the hands of a
committee of 1,000, to be named by him
at once.
As far as could be learned yesterday,
only a few of the 1,000 had accepted
places on his committee. Meanwhile
Mr. McDonald announced his resigna?
tion. Former Congressman Georgo W.
Loft assumed his duties.
"We are waiting for some word from
Mayor Hylan before we can do any?
thing," was the word sent out from Mr.
Loft's office yesterday.
At the Mayor's office in the City Hall
the executive's plans? or lack of plans,
T.'ere not revealed. His secretary was
not available to persons seeking infor?
mation concerning the proposed recep?
tion.
Plan Private Reception
But the Aero Club of America, tho
Send-Off Dinner Committee and other
organizations which have attempted to
cooperate with the Mayor, or some rep
"??sentative of the Mayor, will arrange
a reception for the men that may be
as complete, even if unofficial, as if
the city had officially extended its hand
to the returning heroes. Augustus
Post, acting for the Aero CTub, said ,
it had been planned to have big dirigi?
bles sent down the bay to escort the
transport carrying the troops up to the
docks. If the time is not too short
for the necessary arrangements, a boat
will be provided to take a reception
committee to Sandy Hook, where the
men will be greeted.
A parade up Fifth Avenue also is
contemplated. To give such a demon?
stration without assistance from the
city official?, however, will be difficult,
though it is thought reasonably cer?
tain the parade can be held.
"We can't let these boys slip in hen?
unobserved," said Mr. Post yesterday.
"The plans have not been completed,
for various reasons, but I am sure that
there will be a reception that will
hhow the first of our fighters from
over there to come home that we ap?
preciate what they have done and that
they are welcome home.
Hope for Big Banquet
"The military organization? about
New York will provide the airplanes
and dirigibles, I think, to escort th?
?oip op the harbor. After that other
organization? will take charge of them.
rbe men will have to go to cam? at
M?neo!a,( ?vh.>re they will be dismissed,
und. if Soft to their own device i, will
scatter throughout the city. We want
to prevent ;bem from scattering be
'or?- we hs/e greeted them properly."
The membir-, <,f the Send-Off Dinner
?<omm?tU"\ who have offered the ma?
chinery of th.-ii- organization to Mayor
Mylar?, hop?- u, ytvc a (lir.r.e.r to the re
Jl?V/'? Am* ?& wi? feC?fp?o feven th*
S?_i???q"?*they ?*rvcd to th? ?*?
parting men.
Hotels to Defy
Burleson Phone
Rate Decrease
Managers Declare Ruling
Violates Terms Regulat?
ing Seizure of Wires
New York hotel manager? announced
last night that they would not comply
with the order of Postmaster General
Burleson, issued last week, to reduce
rates charged for telephone service.,
Mr. Burleson's orders were to have
gone into effect to-morrow.
The action of the hotels followed no?
tice from the Hotel Association of New
York City that, in ? the opinion of its
counsol, the Postmaster General has
no legal authority to fix telephone rates
in New York State. What their future
action will be will depend largely on
the attitude of Mr. Burleson, one hotel
man said.
In explaining the stand taken by the
hotels Charles J. Campbell, of the firm
of Campbell & Boland, attorneys for
the association, declared that the fixing
of rates belonged to the police powers
of the state. The Postmaster General, |
he declared, had taken over the tele?
phone system by virtue of a resolution I
of Congress which contained a clause i
expressly forbidding him to exercise
such police powers.
In announcing their intention of re?
sisting, for the time at least, the order
of Mr. Burleson, the hotelmen call
attention to the fact that it was issued '
without their having an opportunity to j
set forth their side of the question.
While they admit they charge in ex- I
cess of the rates fixed by the telephone j
company, they insist that they are ?
forced to do so in order to defray ex- |
pense of providing public telephone j
service.
Dentist Goes to Jail
For Socialist Speech
Alleged Remark of "Proud to
Fight in Germany"
Causes Arrest
Morris Zucker, Socialist leader in |
the 28d Assembly District, in the
Brownsville section of Brooklyn, was
committed to jail In that borough yes?
terday in default of $20,000 bail by
United States Commissioner Reif
schneider. Zucker is accused of express?
ing seditious sentiments in a speech
Thursday night at the Brownsville La?
bor Lyceum, Sackman Street and Lib?
erty Avenue. I
"In Europe the Socialist ?b not afraid
of shedding blood," he is alleged to
have said. "It is only a question _f j
shedding blood in the proper places,
and, while I confess, I claimed exemp?
tion in America, if I were in Germany !
cr Russia I would be only too proud ?
to fight in the first line trenches."
His only remark yesterday, when the
amount of his bail was announced, was,
"Don't you think that's a bit high?"
"Not in your case," replied Commis?
sioner Reifschneider.
Zucker is a dentist, twenty-four years
old, and lives at 488 Saratoga Avenue,
Brooklyn.
--?..-W- i. ... ??-.
Mme. Breshkovskaya
To Call on Wilson
"Grandmother of Russian Rev- i
olution" to Tell Needs of
Her Nation
VLADIVOSTOK, Thursday, Nov. 28
(By Tho Associated Press).? Mme.
Catherine Breshkovskaya, "Grand?
mother of tho Russian Revolution," ?
who was recently reported to have ?
been killed, has arrived here on her j
way to the United States, where she I
hopes to seo President Wilson and ex?
plain to him her conception of the
needs of the Russian people.
She declares that Admiral Kolchak
is a Czarist, whom the people will not
tolerate and that there are 100,000,000
person? outside the Bolshevik i and
imperialist elements who demand tho
formation of a constituent assembly.
Mme, Breshkovskaya says that tho
Ufa directorate was composed of pa?
triotic men, who knew they were the !
victims of a conspiracy when they en- !
tercd the all-Russian government, but, j
lacking finnnces and other means, they I
had no other recourse.
After eight months of hiding in Pe?
trograd and Moscow, Mme. Brcsh- |
kovskaya went to Ufa, disguised as a
peasant. She travelled 600 miles by
wagon through, Bolshevik country. The,
BoUhevikl, according to Mme. Bresh
?-.ov/?kaya, houiin-u ,?.. .vcr-e than the
Czar's police ever did. She will leave
Saturday for Japan.
Millions in
War Orders
Held Invalid
Controller Refuses to Agree
to Baker's Blanket Con?
tract Cancellation
Specific Ruling Will
Be Asked of Gregory
Agreements Signed Only by
Government Subordinates
Declared Void
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.?The gov?
ernment's maturing programme for
cancelling big war orders with the
minimum of disturbance to business
conditions was thrown into confusion
to-day by a decision of Controller
Warwick of the Treasury that thou?
sands of orders placed by telegram,
telephone or mail are not legally bind?
ing, and consequently they may not be
recognized through the negotiation of
terminating contracts without special
legislation by Congrass.
Officials estimated that hundreds of
millions of dollars in contracts are in?
volved.
At the same time,. Secretary Baker
announced that the ?War Department
will direct its own cancelling of con?
tracts "in a spirit of fairness and help?
fulness to all concerned."
Gregory's Opinion Sought
Attorney General Gregory will be
asked to pass on this apparent conflict
between tho law, as strictly interpreted
by Controller Warwick, whose au?
thority grows out of his supervision of
payments from the Treasury, and the
desire of the War Department to ter-i
minate contracts?both those backed up I
by formally signed documente and
those undertaken or. informal agree?
ments?by making some ?ort of a lump
sum payment to the -ontractors.
If legislation is found to be neces?
sary, it is said, an attempt will be made
to rush it through Congress immedi-?
ately to avoid holding up the govern?
ment's great industrial demobilization
and readjustment plans.
Planned to Keep Plants Going
Secretary Baker had proposed a form
of terminating contracts?a supple?
mental agreement?by which the gov?
ernment would be released by the con?
tractor from the original contract and
in return would pay the contractor fon
"expenses incurred" ?n carrying out the
agreement, and an additional allowance
for profit limited to 10 per cent of the
cost of the unfinished articles on hand.
The War Department had further
proposed to pay the manufacturer im-,
mediately 75 per cent of the minimum
due on this basis, as determined by a
contracting officer of the government
and the balance after time had been
allowed for careful determination of
the final amount due.
This method, Secretary Baker said,;
would give plants which had devoted
themselves heartily to government
work some capital to finance their re?
conversion to peacetime production
and prevent "a break in their continu?
ous operation and employment of
labor."
No Profits Are Assumed
Controller Warwick's decision de?
clared "it cannot be assumed, as the
proposed contract form does, that tho
contractor anticipates profits from
completing his contracta."
The controller also said that "the
making of the supplement, agreement
and the simple certifying to a minimum
amount by the contracting officer upon
the statement and estimate of the con?
tractor will not bo sufficient nor con?
clusive upon the accounting officers."
This referred to the checking of pay?
ments made by accountants working un?
der the direction of the controller of
the Treasury. Ho adored: "The supple?
mental agreement cannot be permitted
to impose a liability upon the govern?
ment where none theretofore existed."
The controller then explained that a
contract, to be legal, must "be reduced
to writing, with tho names of the
parties signed at the end," and that "a
signing by proxy is considered by this
office as not permissible."
Thousands of contracts have been
Igtied [n this manner by proxies of
th<' army officers duly authorized by the
?Seeretury of War.
Kaiser Can
Be Indicted,
Says Premier
British Premier Calls for
Just and Stern Penalties
to Prevent Warfare
Atrocity Authors
Shall Not Escape
If Emperors Who Started
War Go Free, There Is No
Justice, Says Statesman
LONDON, Nov. 29.?Germany must
pay the cost of tho war to the limit
of her capacity. Those guilty of atroc?
ities in the war and of inhumane
treatment of Allied war prisoners
should likewise be brought to the bar
of justice, and an investigation to
prove the culpability of the authors of ;
the war should be undertaken andi
proper punishment exacted. j
These were some of the statements
mado by Premier Lloyd George in ad?
dresses delivered at Newcastle to-day.
Dealing with the question of the re?
sponsibility for the invasion of Bel- ,
gium, he said the British government !
had consulted some of the greatest
jurists of the kingdom and that they |
unanimously and definitely had arrived :
at the conclusion that, in their judg- !
ment, the former German Emperor was :
guilty of an indictable offence for
which he ought to be held responsible. ;
"We have got so to act," said the;
Premier, "that men in the future who
feel tempted to follow the example of
the rulers who plunged the wo. Id into^
war will know what is waiting for?
them at the end."
The Prime Minister said the victory j
of the Entente Allies had been due to
the ceaseless valor of their men and
that it would be a lesson to anybody
who in the future thought that they,
as the Prussian war lords hoped,
"could overlook this little islsnd in
their reckoning."
"We are now approaching the Peuce
Conference," the Premier continued.
"The price of victory is not vengeance
nor retribution. It is prevention.
First of all, what about those people
whom we have received without ques?
tion for years to our shores; to whom
we give equal rights with our own
sons and daughters, and who abused
that hospitality to betray the land, to
plot against security, to spy upon it
and to gain such information as en?
abled the Prussian war lords to in?
flict not punishment but damage and
injury upon the land that had received
them as guests? Never again.
Holds Punishment Merited
Mr. Lloyd George said the interests
of security and fair play demanded
that it should be made perfectly clear:
that the people who acted in this way ;
merited punishment for the damage <
they had inflicted.
The second question was the ques?
tion of indemnities, the Premier added, i
In every court of justice throughout
the world the party which lost has had \
to bear the cost of the litigation. When '
irfjrmany defeated France she estab-:
lished the principle, and there was no
doubt that the principle was the right
one. Germany must pay the cost of
the war up to the limit of her capacity.
"But I must use one word of warn?
ing," added Mr. Lloyd George. "We
have to consider the question of Ger?
many's capacity. Whatever happens,
Germany is not to be allowed to pay
her indemnity by dumping chea;j goods
upon us. That is the only limit in
principle we are laying down. She
must not be allowed to pay for her
wanton damage and devastation by
dumping cheap goods and wrecking our
industries.
"There is a third and last point. Is
no one to be made responsible for the
war? Something has been responsible
for a war that has taken the lives of
millions of the best young men of
Europe. Is not any one to be made re?
sponsible for that? If not, all I can
any is that if that is the case there is
one justice for the poor, wretched
criminal and another for kings and
??mpcrors."
Two Crimes Charged
Mr. Lloyd George declared that there
were two offence? ?gainst the law of
nations that had bee i committod.
"One," he ?aid, "is the orime against
humanity In the deliberate plotting of
the great war. The other is the out?
rage upon international law. it is *
Continued on next page
The Disconnected Telephone
Berlin Tells
Ex-Kaiser He
Must Abdicate
Demands He and Crown
Prince Formally Renounce
Claims to Throne
LONDON, Nov. 29. ? The Berlin
government, according to a news dis?
patch received from Copenhagen by
the Exchange Telegraph Company, has
sent a telegram to the former German
Emperor, now in Holland, demanding
the formal abdication of himself and
the former Crown Prince.
The actual procedure to b?: followed
by the Allies in demanding the sur?
render of the former Emperor to
them will be discussed in London, ac?
cording to "The Daily Express."
The British and French govern?
ments, the newspaper adds, have
reached a decision regarding their
right to make the demand on Holland.
The Amsterdam "Telegraaf" says it
understands the members of the for?
mer German Emperor's suite, who have
been at Maarn, Holland, will return
to Germany to-day.
The former German Emperor con?
templates an early return to Ger?
many to reclaim his throne, accord?
ing to news received in London
through a neutral source of high
standing, sftys "The Daily Mail."
The newspaper adds that the revolu?
tion in Germany is being managed by
officers of the German High Command
with a view to eventually causing its
collapse and the triumphant return of
the former Emperor to Berlin. Some
of these officers in civilian clothes
have been recognized in the streots of
Berlin. Many of them are reported
to be dressed as workmen.
These officers harangue the crowds
as comrades and in every way en?
courage the revolutionary movement.
It is added, however, that if oppor?
tunity offers they will abandon this
disguise, contend that the revolution
is a failure and begin a counter
revolution.
Troops Will Be
Ten Months in
Coming Home
Last Division of U. S. Army
Probably Will Not Arrive
Before October
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.?Boston,
New York, Newport News, and Charles?
ton, S. C, are the ports the War De?
partment plans to use for the return
of the army from overseas. Even with
this wide distribution of the strain on:
port facilities and transportation, and;
with German ships now idle in German!
harbors employed on the task, esti- ?
mates show that the last of the army
could not possibly reach the United
States in less than eight months.
Calculations upon which preparations
by the department probably will be
based fix ten months as the minimum.
These estimates have been made
wholly on the basis of the physical
difficulties to be overcome, and do not
take into consideration the question o?
the retention in Europe for some time
of an American force.
In estimating transport tonnage
available for the movement, officials
have not only looked ahead to the new
ships which will be delivered during
tho demobilization period by the Ship-i
ping Board, but also upon idle German
ships, including two new and very
large liners reported to have been com?
pleted, except for some details of
equipment. Among the known Ger?
man steamers is the Imperator, almost
as large as the Vaterland, now the Le?
viathan. The two new German liners are
of approximately the same size as
these craft. Each of these four carries
nearly 10,000 men a trip.
PARIS, Nov. 29. -Plans or Ameri?
can troops to return home are being
worked out here by Edward N. Hur?
ley, chairman o the American Shipping
Board. It is not certain that British
shipping can be spared to the extent
it was in bringing the troops over.
Even i this shipping is again used, it
probably would take at least as long
as for the brining of the troops over,
which was a year and a half, unless
, tonnage now in German jiorts is used.
Hungry Teuton
Army in Wild
Rush for Home
Shooting Its Officers and
Writing Discharges in
Stampede for Food
By Wilbur Forrest
(,Copyrt*ht. lftia. N?w York Tribune Inc.)
LUXEMBURG, Nov. 24 (by courier tc
the French border).?That German
troops have been running amuck, due tc
the breakdown of the army food sup?
plies, and in many cases eating cat!
and dogs was the news from across th<
Moselle to-day.
A German deserter, whose wife is o
Luxemburg nationality and who crosse?
the line and surrendered to-day, cor
roborated several of the foregoing re
ports.
He declared that some army unit
are splitting up, the men going horn
regardless of orders, similar to th
manner in which the Russian army dis
integrated.
Prisoners arriving here from Offei
burg reported to-day that a mutin
swept a regiment of Germans at tr
Offenburg railway station, the soldi?]
shooting the officers and electing the
own comrades in their places. This a
complished, the new officers wrote 01
discharge papers for every man.
Virtually all enemy troops left tl
German border opposite the Americi
forces to-day. Some deserters co
atantly filtering back into Luxembu
bring strange stories. In ore villa
an enemy company is reported to h.
gathered all cats, slaughtering a
quartering them and then dividing t
portions among the members of t
company.
Marshall Says He'll Not
Be "Bolshevik Presiden
WASHINGTON, Nov. 291 ? V i
President Marshall, despite the f
that he will stay In Washington wh
the President is in Europe, at the
quest of the President, will not ti
over any of the executive functions.
"I am not g-oing to be a fj-.lshe
president," he retorted to-night, wl
asked if ho would sign or veto b
in th? Freeident'? absence.
Wilson Picks
Envoys After
Waiting for
Allies to Act
Chief Surprise I? the
i Choice of Bliss; All
Except White Are in
Official "Family"
_
?Republicans Are
In High Anger
World Control of Pan
' ama- Gibraltar, Suez,
Dardanelles, Said
To Be U. S. Aim
Tribune Wanb"Wton Bureau
WAfiWT>,-oriON, Nov. 29.? Pres?
ident Wilson will head the American
delegation to the peace conference.
The other members of the delegation
will be:
ROBERT LANSING, Secretary
of State.
EDWARD M. HOUSE.
HENRY WHITE, former Ambas?
sador to France and Italy.
General TASKER H. ?LISS,
former chief of staff of the artny,
and now American military repre?
sentative on the Supreme War
Council at Versailles.
Wilson Leads Envoys
The following announcement was
made at the White House to-night:
"It was announced at the execu?
tive offices to-nig-ht that the rep?
resentatives of the United States
at the peace conferences would be
the President himself, the Secre?
tary of State, the Hon. Henry
White, recently Ambassador to
France, Mr. Edward M. House
and General Tasker H. Bliss.
"It was explained that it had
not been possible to announce
these appointments before because
the number of representatives
each of the chief belligerents was
to send had until a day or two
ago been under discussion."
The only surprise in the list is
General Bliss, who has been repre?
senting the War Department abroad
and who has been the American
military adviser to the Supreme
War Council at Versailles. Henry
White is the Republican member of
the mission, though Senators said
to-night that he had not voted for
many years and actually had lost
his former voting residence in Bal
t'more.
Ignores McKinley Precedent
To-night's announcement con?
firms the conviction felt by Sena?
tors for some days that no mem?
ber of the Senate would be ap?
pointed on the peace mission. Presi?
dent Wilson has ignored the prece?
dent set by President McKinley in
the Spanish-American War. Mc?
Kinley appointed three Senators on
the Foreign Relations Committee,
one of whom was a Democrat.
Judge George Gray, of Delaware.
Two of the peace commissioners,
Colonel House and General Bliss,
are already in France, so that the
President will be accompanied to
Europe by Secretary Lansing and
Mr. White, as well as the French
and Italian ambassadors and tha
Belgian Minister. The George Wash?
ington, carrying the official party,
is expected now to sail on Tuesday.
No word as to the President's
ideas about the peace treaty was
given out to-day. It is now believed
that the President will address Con
?..it-ss on Monday and set forth his
views.
This will break another precedent,
for the address of the President at
the beginning of a session of Con?
gress is usually made on the second
day. However, no objection to this
is contemplated on Capitol Hill,
where leaders say they will be gla I
to hear the President on Mond?_fc,