New-York tribune. [volume], March 12, 1920, Image 1

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

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LXXIX No. 26,780
Truths News** Editorials-Advertisement*
THE WEATHER
Rain to-day and to-night; probably
clearing and colder to-morrow;
increasing uoith and south?
west winds
Foil Report on I*st Pac?
^ tCopyrtrht, m?.
Now York ?rir
rlbuae Ine.J
FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1920
* * *
TWO CENTS 5In Creator New York and J TURKIC CE?VTS
Grand Jury
Begins Police
Graft Inquiry
fif0 Women and Inspec?
tors Daly and McDon-j
aid First To Be Quizzed
at John Doe Hearing
Gunson Trial Will
Open on March 19
Judge Malone Declares
He Will Permit No De?
lay in Detective's Case
The John Doe inquiry into the al?
leged vice graft conspiracy in the
Police Department was begun be?
fore the grand jury yesterday under
the direction of District Attorney
Swann.
Coincidentally Judge Malone an?
nounced that the trial of Detective
John J. Gunson, accused of bribery
and extortion in taking money from
women of the streets, has been set
for March 19 in General Sessions.
Judge Malone said that a special
panel of talesmen would be prepared
and that no postponement of the
trial would be granted.
The grand jury, it was declared,
trill make a thorough probe of con?
ditions in the 4th Inspection District,
commanded by Inspector Dominick
??enry. The district embraces the
region from Fourteenth Street to
100th Street, and from Sixth Ave?
nue to the Hudson River.
Many To Be Subp-oenacd
A large number of subpoenas will be
ijiued for habitu?s of "white light" re
sorts, for merchants and others whc
have complained to the District At?
torney's office of illegal conditions', and
for policemen whose names may be
?sined from subp?naed records, t
reass of which reached the grand jurj
room from Police Headquarters yester?
day.
The entire proceeding is before th<
March grand jury, of which Nolsoi
Robinson is foreman. It is in secret.
The first witnesses who arrived yes
terday to be questioned by the grane
jury were Chief Inspector John Dal;
and Inspector Thomas McDonald
(Hkers in the jury room were Jennw
Carello, known as Jennie Burk, ant
.Klttie Daly, the two women held it
115,000 bail at the Waverly Home a.
material witnesses.
Inspector McDonald was before tin
grand jury not mora than ten minutes
He emerged from the room smiling
He said he believed he would b
called again.
The two women were in the gran?
jury room for nearly an hour. Th
nature of their testimony could not b
learned, but Assistant District Attor
ney Smith appeared to bo quit
pleased with the progress made.
Police Records Produced
Before going into the jury room Mi
Smith made it clear that the summer
iug of Chief Inspector Daly and Ir
?pector McDonald in no way reflect
upon their official conduct. "The Dis
trict Attorney," said Mr. Smith, "ha
the greatest continence in them." A
'hat the two police officials will h
asked to do, >-uid Mr. Smith, will b
to identify for the grand jury certai
records of arrests in the Fourth Ii
spection District.
Mr. Smith added that Chief Inspe?
tor Daly had been unable to get a
his records together on such short n<
'?ice, and would be excused from a]
pearing before the grand jury unt
wrly next week, when the investig;
??on will be resumed.
"Will either Chief Inspector Dai
or Inspector McDonald be asked t
?*aive immunity?" Mr. Smith w:
asked.
"1 will gladly waive immunity," a
Wted inspector McDonald, who w?
Present in Mr. Smith's office.
? ,,W!"1 not ask you to waive.'' brol
?n Mr; Smith; "neither you nor I:
?Pector Daly. There is no reason wl
should. 1 never have heard a wo;
?milWt either of you."
in announcing that a complete i
'"tigation will be made in the Four
{??pech?n District it was stated
we office of the District Attornev th
everybody connected with the Poli
Department in that district, from tl
commanding officer down to patrolme
,.,, ,r. wil1 he questioned or eviden
. ?ought as to their activities. In adc
Ink t0 the mass of witnesses to
?uopoenucd certain documents, t
?Wer with bank accounts of certain
?e Police frjree, will be brought befo
?he grand jury.
Went Over Henry's Head
* h was understood that the recor
Mon?^ to Mr" Srnith b>' Inspect
??on.ald1 ?howed that 554 arrests we
g?? by him in the Fourth Inspect?
' "lct or* complaints direct to Hea
iniQi'o? -ve5' inspector Henry's he
IM i "?f ?he8t>* tht' records show?
?h were vice arrests, 43 handbook, 1
?* ?Ut 0f craP Pa:nos "nd n6
Un n-?msV Thp rt'st were mise
weotiB. In 1920, the records show,
vice trrests thus far number 109?
cases and G9 poolroom arrests,
ori. S understood that further r<
d?t.;?tn arrests in Inspector Henr
SCt 0Ver the head of that co
by7?nK officer will also be produc
"y thief Inspector Daly.
Ht e ^a,8e ?gainst Detective Guns
? ?mith announced, would have b?
?elf / trial ?"?euer than March
SiSLia;.th? fa<=t that Gunson 1
tion,i ir i0 right t0 make any r
March iodeeTmed necessary up ur
March iq * ?u,d*? Mal?ne. in fi*
lidi. ' Rtated emphatically that b?
date. bt' ready for triaI bV t!
tr5S?-winir thc hearing before
heldViFy Judgc M"??ne and Mr. Sm
fttm w??i? "nferencc* but neither
m *?*dd d.scusa What was said.
Sta*c Extends Tax Retti
^^JH Limit on Personal ]
Sx5? Forward to Mar. 3
.?JBANY, March ll.-Time for fil
b?te *!*80nal inc?me tax returns !
SoL*Tt*nd*ed t0 Ma?h 81. Cor
_v'8 announced to-mght.
^fc-VWT f*,ty Central. $2.70; l?av?
m'< t?*7. Liberty St, 8:00 A. M.?A<
Catholics Oppose
Anti-Saloon Men
"The Tablet," official Catholic
paper of the Diocese of Brooklyn,
said in its issue of yesterday:
"We hereby serve notice on the
Republican and Democratic par?
ties in this state in general, and
all politicians in particular, that
we will strongly oppose any can?
didate for public office who is in?
dorsed by the Anti-Saloon League
or who indorses the league. This
is now a recognized anti-Catholic
organization in this state, and in
self-defense we shall retaliate on
any'one, any society, or any po?
litical party, that permits itself to
affiliate with this anti-American
and anti-Catholic campaign."
Used Tumulty
To Get Contract
Nugent Asserts
Democratic Boss of New?
ark Says He Landed Camp
Merritt Project by Aid of
Secretary's Introductions
James R. Nugent, Democratic boss
of Newark, testified before Vice-Chan
cellor Backes in that city yesterday
that he used his influence with Joseph
P. Tumulty, secretary to President
Wilson, and others to obtain the Camp
Merritt building contract for William
H. Fissell, who is being sued by Nugent
for an accounting.
Nugent alleges that he had a "gen?
tleman's agreement" with Fissell to
split "fifty-fifty" on the profits of the
war contracts he obtained, and that
Fissell made $146,000 on the Camp
Merrilt job. Fissell admits the agree?
ment, but asserts that he got the Camp
Merritt contract without the assistance
from Nugent.
Met "Persons on an Army Board"
"I called several times on Secretary
Tumulty,!' Nugent testified, "and was
introduced by him to several persons
on an army board with which we had
to deal. I gradually got? the firm of
Fissell & Co. in a position where it was
recognized."
John Donlin, president of the United
Building Trades International Union,
was named as having helped "land"
contracts. Nugent said Fissell was
brought to him by the Rev. Father
Cornelius, head of St. Benedict's Col?
lege, Newark, and that the priest as?
sured him the contractor would divide \
with Nugent whatever profits werf; i
forthcoming. I
Fissell testified that he had asked
Joseph A. Wright, a friend of Nugent's, I
if the latter had "patched up his differ?
ences with the President."
"Mr. Wright told me," Fissell went
on, "that Mr. Nugent and the President
had fixed up their differences anrhtliat
Mr. Nugent was going to Washington
weekly to sec the President, and tmat
Mr. Nugent had suggested and drawn
the draft, bill for the President. This
was in the latter part of 1917. T said
to Mr. Wright: 'Then Mr. Nugent
ought to be able to use his influence at
Washington to get me some of those
contracts. I'd be willing to split, fifty
fifty on the net profits,' and Wright said
he would speak to the 'big chief,' mean?
ing Nugent."
!t was reca'.led by those in court that
Provost Marshal General Crowder had
been generally credited as author of the
selective draft law.
Wright, said Fissell, told him later
that Nugent was enthusiastic about the
proposition and would go to Washing?
ton to see what he could do for him.
Wright established an office at the Na?
tional Hotel, in Washington, and was
paid $50 a week by Fissell.
Heard of Boast at Washington
Fissell related a conversation he said
he had had with Kenneth B. Murchison,
an architect of New York.
"Mr. Murchison hod asked me if Joe
Wright was in my firm, and I said ho
was not," Fissell stated. "Murchison
said: 'That's good. That's what I told
Colonel Starrett (chairman of the com?
mittee). Starrett told me that Wright
was going around tho lobbies of the
hotels in Washington boasting that he,
through his influence with Secretary
Tumulty, had been able to land a $2,
000,000 contract for Fissell, after
others had tried for a year to got such
work for him. Colonel Starrett didn't
like this at all. and I told Wright that
if he annoyed the colonel any further
I would throw him out of a window.'"
Nugent testified he previously had
obtained the Camp Hancock (Georgia')
contract for Fissell, but that Senator
Hoke Smith, of Georgia, had objected
and it was awarded to Twiggs & Co.
13 Die in Tornado;
Pair Blown Away
Eight Missing After Mis?
souri Storm; Man, Wife
and House Disappear
SPRINGFIELD, Mo., March 11.?-Ten
persons are known to be dead, one is
reported dead, and eight injured as the
result of a tornado which swept through
the valley of Turkey Creek, near Bran?
son and Hollister, in Taney County,
to-day.
Seven of the dead are minor children
of Ran and William Box, brothers, liv?
ing at Melva, a small town five miles
south of Branson.
John Gross and his wife, living on a
farm near Oasis, north of Branson,
were blown away with their house and
no trace has been found of the home or
its occupants.
Ridgeway Manky was carried 1,000
feet from his home at ?Melva, and when
he regained consciousness on the oppo?
site bank of Turkey Creek he saw his
young brother, William, struggling in
ihe water. He was too weak to give
aid. Later the body of the brother was
recovered downstream.
NEVADA, Mo., March 11.?Three men
were killed and property damage esti?
mated at 5100,000, involving every
building in the business section of the
city, was sustained when a tornado
struck Nevada to-day. The three men
were crushed when the upper walls and
roof of the Nevada Trust Company
Building were blown over upon a small
building housing a shoe-shining stand.
Coal Board
Quits; Split
Over Wages
Majority Report Granting
25 Per Cent Increase
Filed With President;
Miners' Man Dissents
Wilson Ignored
In Dissolution
125 Indicted in Indiana
on Conspiracy Charges
Under the Lever Act
By Theodore M. Knappen
WASHINGTON, March 11.?The coal
commission, ignoring President Wil?
son's earnest request that its decision
be unanimous, has split, turned in a
majority and a minority report and
dissolved.
Chairman H. R. Robinson and Rem?
brandt Peale sent the majority report
to the President at midnight last night.
John P. White, former president of the
United Mine Workers of America and
the miners' representative on the com?
mission, still is working on his minor?
ity report, and probably will hand it to
the President to-morrow.
Officially there has not yet been any
announcement of the contents of either
; report, but it became known to-day and
j has since been confirmed that the ma?
jority report grants the miners an in?
crease of approximately 25 per cent, for
day as well as tonnage men, over the
old agreement, including the 14 per
cent they were granted when they re?
turned to work in December, after the
great strike ot the bituminous men
which began on November 1. ,,
125 Coal Men Indicted
While the news of the commission's
report was being discussed here, dis?
patches from Indianapolis announced
that 125 coal operators and miners had
been indicted there in Federal Judge
Anderson's court on charges of having
violated the Lever act during the coal
strike.
The majority report of the coal
'? commission's findings makes no rocom
I mendations as to the increase in the
| price of coal to cover the net advance
| of 11 per cent over present wages, but
j such an increase is inevitable, and it is
I known that members of the commis
I sion calculate that it will cost the pub
; lie $100,000,000 a year. The commis
i sion evidently intends to leave that
j mater to the fuel administration, as it
j does not ask for any of the fuel ad?
ministration powers.
The wage increase is not to be re?
troactive and presumably will be ef?
fective at the beginning of the new
coal year. April 1. The check-off sys?
tem, by which the operators deduct for
tlie unions the union dues of thei?'
mint :?, is to be continued.
Tht* question of differentials is to
| be left to a special commission ap?
pointed by tho miners and operators,
which is to prepare its report during !
1 the next, two years, for which the com- j
; mission's decision is to govern, and it ?
i is then to be incorporated in the agree-I
i ment to be made then for the next two 1
j years.
Six-Hour Day Denied
The demand of the miners for a six
hour day and five days a week is
denied and the working day is fixed at j
eight hours.
The division of the commission was j
caused by the pendency of the con- \
ference between the anthracite coal ?
miners and operators now in progress, 1
the former making the identical de- |
mands which brought on the bitumi- j
nous strike.
Mr. White did not dare to prejudice !
the contention of his fellow workers
and members by subscribing his name
to a report that will be invoked as the
i basis of the agreement covering the
i new scale for the anthracite fields. It
Continued on page four
I Move to Make Pershing
Chief of Staff Defeated
Section of Army Reorganization
Bil? Permitting Secretary to
Make Selection Approved
WASHINGTON, March 11.?Without
a record vote the House to-day refused
to amend the army reorganization bill
so as to make General Pershing the
permanent chief of staff. In doing so
it approved the section permitting the
j Secretary of War to make the
i selection.
Represcntive Strong, Republican, of
: Kansas, offering the amendment, de
: clared that "without it Pershing's
war experience in the management of
the army will be lost." But Represen?
tative Greene, Republican, of Vermont,
and Representative Caldwell, Democrat,
of New York, contended that the Secre?
tary of War should be fr?e to choose
"the chief military adviser." General
Pershing's assignment as chief of
staff, Mr. Caldwell said, "would be a
step down."
Objections by both Republicans ind
I Democrats that the General Staff
? would be permitted to rule the War
I Department and the army under the
j reorganization bill resulted in adoption
of an amendment which would prevent
assumption of administrativo functions
| by the staff._
Japan Closes U. S.
Schools in Corea
TOKIO, March G (By The As?
sociated Press) (Delayed).?-Two
American Methodist Mission
schools in Corea have been or?
dered closed by the Governor Gen?
eral, according to dispatches re?
ceived by the local newspapers
to-day.
The edict closing the schools,
which were presided over by H.
D. Appenzeller and Miss B. A.
Smith, says that they failed to
prevent the students from cele?
brating Corean Independence Day
despite the government's strict
prohibition against such celebra?
tion.
Student Dies in
Boxing Bout;
Chum Is Held
Milton Sternfeld Suc?
cumbs Following Blow
to Jaw While Entertain?
ing Columbia Engineers
Milton Sternfcld, who was graduated
from Columbia University last month
and was taking a post-graduate course
in the law school, died last night at
St. Luke's Hospital, apparently from a
blow he had received a short time be?
fore in a friendly boxing bout at the
university. Andrew Lockett, who is
in his second year in the architectural
school of the university and was Stern
fold's opponent, was locked up at the ?
West 125th Street police station on a j
formal charge of homicide.
The young men were fast friends j
and were members of a boxing class, i
Last night after finishing their studies i
they met and went to the gymnasium \
in Earl Hall, where they got into their ?
trunks and jerseys and put on the
gloves. Allai* Leeberger, a brother
of Lockett's roommate, was with them
and several students were, watching,
for though neither of the pair was an
expert boxer they were tall, rangy fel?
lows and well matched.
Asked to Entertain "Smoker"
In another part of Earl Hall under?
graduate engineers were having a
"smoker," for which they had engaged
fencers and other entertainers. Some I
of the entertainers failed to show up, ?
and one of the engineers, entering the :
gymnasium, saw the tw'o six-footers,
sparring. He asked them if they!
wouldn't come to the "smoker" and "go
three rounds," explaining that their en-;
tertainment waon't coming off accord-j
ing to program.
?Sternfeld and Lockett agreed smiling-i
ly, although protesting that they were
new at the game and might provide i
more amusement than entertainment.;
Overruling their protests, the engineer;
student bundled them off, Allan Leebei*? j
ger accompanying them'.
Chairs and tables were shoved back j
in the room where the "smoker" was ?
being held, but there was no other pre- !
tense at making a ring. The two men I
squared off, feinted once, or twice af.? |
then 'Lockett's left shot out, appar- j
ently with little steam behind it, and |
caught Sternfeld on the jaw. Although
a heavier man than Lockett, Stern
feld dropped at the blow.
Thought He Was Joking
His body twitched one or twice and,
then he lay still. Lockett stood back
amazed, but decided quickly that the
spectators who thought Sternfeld jok?
ing and were counting him out in
burlesque accents must be right.
There was a smile on his face until he
caught a glimpse of Sternfeld's dis?
torted features. Then in a jiffy
Lockett was at his side, calling for
water.
Artificial Respiration Fails
Neither water nor artificial respiration
served to revive Sternfeld. For twenty
five minutes the students worked over
him without bringing him back to con?
sciousness. Then an ambulance was
summoned from St. Luke's Hospital and
he was taken there. A few minutes later
he died.
The police were notified and Lockett,
dazed and overcome by grief, was taken
to the station house. He said that he
and Sternfeld were the best of friends
and that the accident was utterly inex?
plicable to him. The bout hadn't been
on thirty seconds, he said, when Stern
feld dropped. He had noticed that de?
spite the brief period they had been at
it, his opponent was breathing heavily
and with apparent difficulty.
'Why, I just tapped him on the jaw,"
he said. "It couldn't have killed him."
No Ill-Feeling Between Men
Many representatives of tho uni?
versity called at the police station to
condole with Lockett and to assure the
police that there never had been the
slightest ill-feeline between him and
Sternfeld.
Sternfeld was twenty-three years
old and lived at 2?1 Hawke Street, Al- j
bany. During the war he held the !
rank of lieutenant in the field artil
tery and was an instructor at Camp j
Zachary Taylor in Kentucky. He ;
roomed* in Livingston Hall, in West !
116th Street. He had a position in a j
law office downtown.
Lockett is twenty-three years old and '
came from Georgia. He lives at 502
West 114th Street.
Sheffield Co. Urges Farmers
To Cut New York Milk Supply
Dr. Royal S. Copeland, Commissioner
of Health, said yesterday that James
B. Stafford, of Buffalo, Federal Fair
Price Commissioner for New York
State, had sent him a copy of a no?
tice posted on the receiving room door
of the Sheffield Farms Company, of
Franklinville, N. Y., urging all dairy?
men not to increase their production
of miik and if possible to decrease it.
Commissi?jncr Copeland made that
notice the subject of an attack on the
Sheffield company. The notice as quoted
in his statement follows:
"The export market of milk products
has entirely stopped. It is therefore
necessary that we restrict our purchase
of milk. Under no circumstances can
any creamery take on an additional
dairy without first getting permission
from this office, and permission will
not bo granted for new dairies until
conditions change. All dairymen are
urged not to increase their production
of milk and if possible to decrease it.
"SHEFFIELD FARMS CO., INC."
Commissioner Copeland's comment
follows:
"Needless to say, this action on the
part ofj the Sheffield Farms Company
! harmonizes with their entire policy
1 of dealing with the public. Just at
! the moment when conditions in the
? dairy market are such that if "the nor?
mal supply of milk were permitted to
flow into the city, under the law of
supply and demand, of which the milk
distributors have so much to say, our
citizens, for the first time in two or
three years, would be able to buy milk
at a low price. Immediately this great
corporation takes advantage of its
power over the farmer and says to him
'We will not permit you to increase
your number of cows,' and in effect
says, 'If you do sot find some way of
reducing the amount of milk we, our
C*MUti*M>4 ?? asms ?ihr*?
Ships Denied
To Sims for
Vigil at Kiel
Plea Ignored for Dread?
noughts to Keep Ger?
man Fleet 'Bottled,' He
Says; Tugs Withheld
Admiral Requests
Hoover as Witness
Declares Sea War Plans
Rejected at First Were
Accepted Later by Navy
From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, March 11.?Urgent
appeals by the British Admiralty for a
division of American dreadnoughts to
reinforce the British fleet in its task
of keeping the? German high seas fleet
bottled up in Kiel harbor were refused
by the Navy Department at Washing?
ton for a period of four months in the
summer and fall of 1917, Rear Admiral
William S. Sima testified before the
Hale sub-committee of the Senate
Naval Affairs Committee to-day.
In the same way, the admiral testi?
fied, the department ignored or failed
to act for six months on urgent re?
quests for American submarines. For
almost a year it failed to respond, he
said, to appeals for tugs to help ? in
salvaging merchant vessels, attacked by
submarines, which might have been
saved if they could have been towed
into port.
All of these asertions Admiral Sims
backed up with extracts from the of?
ficial correspondence passing back and
forth between him and the department
in the early months of the war, and de?
clared his purpose was to prove by
this means how lack of cooperation
and incompetence and on the part of the
department during this period almost
resulted in a German victory.
Sims Calls for Hoover
As forcease in The Tribune this
morning, the admiral requested the
committee to summon Herbert Hoover,
formerly United States Food Adminis?
trator, to corroborate the admiral's
statement that the Allies during these
months, and because of the ravages of
the submarine campaign, were on the
brink of defeat.
"Mr. Hoover," the witness told the
committee, "has assured me of his en?
tire willingness to testify."
"Of the many men who could speak
with intimate knowledge of the situa?
tion in Europe in 1917," Admiral Sims
said in making the request, "there is
one present in Washington who gave
me, when I arrived in London, my first
realization of the possible defeat of the
Allies in a short time. He pointed out
to me then this very fact which I am
emphasizing, that is, that the shipping
situation was such that it soon would
be impossible for the Allies to obtain
the essential military supplies and the !
food to keep them going until Ameri- j
can effort could become effective."
Before proceeding to detail "the de
lays and "vacillating policies" of the j
department with respect to the requests
for the dreadnoughts, submarines and
tugs. Admiral Sims insisted that his
testimony up to this point bad clearly
established the following contentions:
"The Allies were losing the war
at the time the United States en?
tered, as a result of mercantile ton?
nage losses, as this practically
amounted to cutting the Allied lines
of communication.
Department Knew of Crisis
"The Navy Department was fully
informed of the fact that the one
vital issue to be faced was this sub?
marine campaign.
"Whatever plans the department or
the government in general may have
had in mind for future operations,
it was pointed out at the time, and
Continuod on paga four
"Dry" Agent Kills
Man in Struggle
Revenue Officials Try to
Arrest Pair After Al-\
leged Sale of Liquor
Harry Carlton, of 527 East Eighty
third Street, was shot dead last night
by Stewart McMullin, an Internal Rev?
enue agent, who lives at the Hotel
Claridge. The shooting took place atv
234 East Seventy-sixth Street, where
McMullin and two other Federal detec?
tives were attempting to arrest Carlton
and Carlo Carine on a charge of vio?
lating the prohibition law. McMullin
was locked up at tho East Sixty-sev- ;
enth Street police station.
According to the police, the three i
Federal agents fell in with Carine and ,
Carlton in front of the Claridge. !
Carine and Carlton are said to have :
told the detectives that if they would
come to Carine's home, at 234 East !
Seventy-sixth Street, they could buy a j
supply of whisky.
The revenue men said that they ac?
cepted the invitation and paid $730 for
the whisky. McMullin said that when
he revealed his identity and tried to
arrest Carlton the latter resisted, and
he fired in self-defense. Patrolman
Reynolds who heard the shot and en
tered the house said that Carine then ;
was struggling with the pther two rev
enue agents. Carine was arrested and ;
his wife, Anna, was detained as a wit- ?
ness.
6-Story Fall, Boy Unhurt
Tommy Burke, six years old, of 3(54
West Seventeenth ?Street, fell from the |
roof of a six story building across the
street, late yesterday afternoon. A pa- ;
trolman, summoned by half a dozen hys- !
terical women who had seen the acci- i
dent, arrived in time to find Tommy i
walking out of the areaway, rubbing his .
elbow.
"Le'me be," he advised the patrolman, ?
sulkily, "I'miate now, an' ma'll be sore." !
The patrolman followed the advice i
only after an ambulance surgeon had
looked Tommy over and pronounced him
whole. Clotheslines had broken his fall
and he had landed in a snowbank.
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Bryan on W
Revolting
In Final
ay to Lead
; Democrats
Treaty Fight
Syria Proclaims Independence;
Arabs Seek to Force Recognition
BEIRUT, Syria, March 8 (Delayed).?The Syrian Congress at
Damascus to-day declared Syria to be an independent state. There
were fireworks to-night, and Beirut celebrated its independence. It is
reported that Prince Feisal, son of the King of the Medjaz, will be
crowned King of Syria to-morrow.
Palestine, Lebanon and northern Mesopotamia are included in the
districts where the Arabs are voting freely, apparently with the purpose
of forcing the peace conference to recognize Syria, under a threat of
cooperation with the Turkish nationalists if independence is refused
them.
The Arabs claim to have 100,000 troops ready to cooperate with
the Turks in Cilicia and Anatolia. Apparently, they are willing to
accept French advisers.
British Labor
Votes Against
Direct Action
i -
Decides, 3,870,000 to
1,050,000, Not to Call
General Strike to Force
Nationalization of Mines
By Arthur S. Draper
From The Tribune's European Bureau
Copyright, 1920, The New York Tribune Inc.
LONDON, March 11.?The moderate
forces in British labor won a decisive
and highly important victory to-day
when the Trades Union Congress de?
cided by a vote of 3,870,000 to 1,050,000
against the use of direct action or a
general strike to force the nationaliza?
tion of the coal mines.
Few labor organizations outside of
the miners themselves supported the
proposition to use force as a. means of
compelling the government to take.over
the mines.
After the congress the leaders of the
different unions said they were sure
the minority would accept the decision
and that there would be no break in
the ranks of organized labor.
The decision ?3 considered of pro?
found importance because it means
there will be no decrease in production
in the British Isles through the cessa?
tion of work.
Two arguments against direct action
which carried weight with the delegates
were developed by .T. R. Clynes, former
Food Controller. ?le said that a gen?
eral strike would be welcomed by
Premier Lloyd George because he
would then call a general election and
the country would support the Premier.
His other point was that nirect action
would be unconstitutional and political
labor couldn't afford to take any un?
constitutional action if it hoped to gov?
ern the country later.
Clvnes thought the abandonment of
direct action might mean delay in at?
taining the political objective of the
Labo/ oarty, but it was much wiser, he
thought, to progress along orderly, con?
stitutional lines.
The decision means that the Labor
politicians are in control of the sit?
uation, and that henceforth labor will
fight at the polls and in Parliament.
A moderate labor policy is bound to
win many recruits here, they believe,
because of, the widespread dissatisfac?
tion with both the Liberal and Coalition
parties. ?
The supporters of direct action,
notably Tom Mann, contended that it
was merely industrial organization
under a new name, and that everything
labor had won had been through the
use of the strike weapon or a threat to
use it. He upheld political action, but
paid it was only supplementary to in?
dustrial organization.
Intensified political propaganda,!
therefore, will be labor's substitute for
force. The organization of the Labor '
party is to be strengthened financially !
and plans developed for contesting the ]
majority of the seats in Parliament at j
the next general election.
As there are nearly 6,000,000 or- j
ganized workers?the largest number ?
in any country except Germany?what- !
ever they decide carries great weight !
with labor all over Europe. The de- !
cisi?n emphasizes the point that there !
is little Bolshevism in the British labor
movement, and that it is fundamentally !
moderate in spirit. Had the congress j
accepted the principle of direct action !
the whole country would have been i
thrown into confusion, but now there is !
a feeling of relief and optimism.
Two Dead, 5 Blinded by
Strange Prison Malady;
Twenty-five Other Inmates at
Clinton institution Suffer
Impairment of Sight
From a ?Staff Correspondent
ALBANY, March 11.?Two Clinton ?
Prison inmates, at Dannemora, hav? l
died, five have gone totally blind, and |
twenty-five have partially lost their
sight from a mysterious malady that is
baffling state prison officials and high
medical authorities.
Charles F. Rattigan, State Superin?
tendent of Prisons, returned to Albany I
last night after a week's stay at Danne- ?
mora, where he has personally con?
ducted an inquiry into the cause of the j
illness and deaths. The opinion has |
been expressed that it possibly may \
have been caused through wood alcohol |
poisoning, but this belief is contra- j
dicated by the act that the reaction
from wood alcohol poisoning is very
rapid. The men who are? now blind
lost their sight only after a lapse of
five days.
Another theory advanced is that the
illness may have been caused by bac?
teria from canned salmon fed to the
men February 20. If this latter is the
cause, the germ is one hitherto un?
known, as neither Dr. Ransom, the.
Dannemora prison physician; State
Health Department doctors, or eminent
physicians hurriedly called have been
able to determine the cause of the two
drMhs or the illness in the other eases.
Curzon Blames
U.S. for Muddle
Over Turkey
Tells Lords Treaty Dif?
ficulties Are Largely Due
to Delay for Which
America Is Responsible
LONDON, March 11.?Blame for the
troubles that are being experienced in
settling the Turklish problem was laid
at the door of the United States by
| Earl Curzon, British Foreign Secretary,
I in explaining the peace conference's
negotiations to the House of Lords
to-day.' y
"The difficulty in framing the treaty
is largely due to delay, and America is
responsible for the delay," Lord Curzon
said. ?
The Foreign Secretary added that the
peace conference hoped when the new
states were set up in Asia Minor, how?
ever, the United States "would help
materially in assisting the new Ar?
menia."
Earl Curzon's Statement
Earl Curzon's statement follows:
"The difficulties with which we are
confronted result from tho fact that
the treaty with Turkey ought to have
been taken up a year ago if it had been
possible. The circumstances which
prevented that or rendered it difficult
i at Paris are well-known, and th*e :
I House knows that the additional delay ;
j that ensued later in the year was due
I to no action or inaction on our part, |
I but solely to our waiting for the United j
! States of America.
"That was the necessary cause of the ?
I delay. It was in its consequences ex
I ceedingly regrettable.
Situation Due to Delay
"I do not attribute the blame to any?
body, but it is a fact, which he who
I runs can read, that the situation that
! has been growing up is due to the fact
I that twelve months have been lost in j
I dealing with this question."
Earl Curzon spoke in answer to Vis
'? count Bryce, who declared that the i
i Turk had been directly or indirectly ?
responsible for all the European wars ,
in the last century, and maintained that
he should be driven out of Europe and !
even behind tJjje Taurus Mountains.
Earl Curzon said the peace confer- j
ence believed the only way,to expect a j
| quiet Near East was so to arrange i
things that the new states could be on
terms of friendship in some measure
with their neighbor?. To take Con?
stantinople from the Turk and ?other- {
wise lay down too hard a peace, he j
declared, would only aggravate, hia j
hatred and result in unending turmoli. !
A plan for immediately impressing-!
Turkey that she must conform with the
armistice has been completed, the For?
eign Secretary said, and the Allies
had sent instructions to their high
commissioners at Constantinople to ex?
ecute it. It was inadvisable to make
this plan public at the present time,
as publication might defeat the Allies'
aims, he said.
With that matter settled the con?
ference will attempt to decide upon the
disposition of Cilicia and Armenia. As
many questions must be submitted to
the Allied governments, the procedure
will be slow, hence Earl Curzon did not
hope for the completion of the treaty
before April 1.
Zeitun, Humit and various other
Armenian villages in Cilicia have been
besieged by Turkish bands for the last
ten days, according to dispatches re?
ceived from diplomatic sources to-day. <
The dispatches say the Armenians thus ;
far have been able to defend them- \
selves.
;Zi itun is in the Vilayet of Aleppo,
twenty miles northwest of Marash,
where the recent Armenian massacres
are reported to have occurred.]
Curzon's Charge Denied
From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, March 11.?The ?
United States government has not yet
been ini'o>rmed officially of any deci- i
sions reached by the Allied govern-!
intents on the Turkish treaty, it was)
said to-day at the State Department,'
where surprise was expressed at the?
cabled report from London attributing!
to Lord Curzon the statement that the i
opinion of the United States was!
awaited on the Turkish situation.
The failure of the Allied powers to;
keep this government properly in?
formed on the step's taken to arrange
for tho treaty with the Turkish Empire,
it is believed, has resulted in a definite
decision by President Wilson not to
have the United ?States participate .in
the treaty.
This government has been prepared:;
for some time to inform the Allied
premiers fully of the. American position
on the settlement of the Turkish ques?
tion, but, of course, a statement of this
position would not be furnished until
sought by th Allied premiers.
Any statement, therefore, that car?
ries the implication the United States
government was delaying the negotia?
tions by withholding knowledge of the
\ -
GfeUrUd m satt ass?
? -
Expected to Urge Upon
Recalcitrant Senators
Peril of Making Pack
an Issue in Campaign
Compromise Moves
Further Delay Vote
! Twenty-eight Memners of
Minority Expected to
Vote With Republicans
From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, March 11.?Will?
iam J. Bryan is expected in Wash?
ington within a few days, probably
Saturday, to personally urge the
passage of the peace treaty with
reservations. The Nebraskan has
notified Democratic members who
have revolted against the Presi?
dent's insistence upon rejection of
the Lodge reservations of his inten?
tion. He is expected to urge upon
the recalcitrant Senators the dan
I ger to the party of making the
j treaty a campaign issue.
Democratic revolters to-day oi>?med
| that between twenty-five and twen
i ty-eight Democratic members would
vote for ratification with the Lodge
reservations on the final roll call, to
pi"event the treaty from being an
issue in the Presidential campaign.
They expressed confidence that
Bryan's influence would swing the
recalcitrant minority members
around to the point of accepting the
modifications proposed by the major?
ity 3nembers and dispose of the pact
by ratification.
Deadlocked on Article X
After another day of political man?
euvering and futile negotiations tho
Senate to-day further delayed a final
vote on the treaty. Every effort to
procure a compromise on a reserva?
tion to Article X that has been con?
sidered has failed to muster the sixty
four votes required for ratification, and
the final vote on the treaty has been
postponed until next week so that
negotiations can be continued.
Proposals and counter proposals for
a compromise and for modification to
the Lodge reservation to Article X were
made throughout the day. Canvasse?
of the Republicans and Democrats
showed, however, that none of the sug?
gested compromises could receive sixty
four ?.otes, and the situation in tho
Senate remains chaotic.
Republican Senate leaders said to?
night that ratification is as remote as
it was when compromise negotiations
began, and they "held out little hopo
of getting the pact, i-atified unless tho
revolt of Democratic Senators against
President Wilson becomes general.
Seek to Force Modifications
The Democratic revolters. who are
prepared to vote for ratification on
any basis, joined with the Administra?
tion Democrats to-day in making a con?
certed Democratic effort to force modi?
fications of the Lodge reservation to
Article X that the President could ac?
cept.
Senator Simmons, of North Carolina,
who has conducted compromise nego?
tiations for the Democrats, took :;p tho
compromise ' reservation submitted to
him by Senator Watson, of Indiana, n
few days ago and which was later with?
drawn by the Republicans, and obtained
the pledges of thirty Democrats to
vote for its adoption provided the Re?
publicans would accept further modi?
fications of it.
This the Republicans refused to do.
The Republicans then drafted various
forms of reservations stronger than
the Watson-Simmons reservation, ami
the Democrats declined to accept any
of them.
Republican Leader's View
"The. situation is this." said one Re?
publican leader to-night. "We have
not secured sixty-four votes.for any
compromise that has been suggested.
As fast as we gain a Democratic voto
through offering modifications, we losa
a Republican vote, and we are not dis?
posed to lose Republican votes simply
to gain Democratic votes."
Despite the failure of the negotia?
tions that have been conducted during
the last two days, efforts to brins
about a compromise will be continued
for two or three days before they aro
abandoned. Both Republicans and
Democrats are under the strongest
pressure from business and the coun?
try they have as yet had to bear to
get the treaty ratified in any possible
way. The leaders of both sides ?aid
to-day tha* they arc disposed to enter
tain every suggestion that is advanced
for a compromise before abandon.?;;
all hope.
Opposed to Any Changes
Repeated efforts of the Democrats tc
have compromise suggestions modified
still further, after they have beer
offered by the Republicans, have caused
the "middle ground" Republicans, whe
want ratification with strong reserva?
tions, to stiffen in their opposition tc
any modifications being made in the
original Lodge reservation.
Senators Wadsworth, Sutherland anc
Bail have notified Senator Lodge tha'
they will vote against ratification if an*,
change is made in the Article X res *r
vation adopted last November. Othei
Republicans have joined them in 013
no.,tr.g any modification in the prtncs
pic of the Lodge r?servation.
The Democratic leaders further con
i fused the situation to-day by ret usin|
i to arrange pairs for the absent Repub
j lican Senators. There are six or ?eve?
i Republicans who cannot be present whei
ratification is voted ^on. and the refusa
of the Democrats to arrange the cus
tomary pairs would reduce the Lodg
forces in the final battle Dy six or sew?.
votes. ?
Denounced by "Irreconcilable*"
The Watson-Simmons r?serv?t ioi
which declares that the United Stat?
assumes no obligation "to use its mil
tary or naval forces, its resources, c
?ny form of economic discrimination