New-York tribune. [volume], October 23, 1920, Page 8, Image 8

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

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fei ?lotli ?Tr?iimu
First to Lsst?ttic Truth: News?Edi?
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1920.
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ste for republlratlrn of all news dlfpa'ehe? emitted
to It or no: otherwise credited in this i?aper. and
?l*o trie lo-'al new? of spontaneous origin published
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A Campaign of Fraud
Said Mr. Harding at Des Moines:
"I do not wish to clarify these ob?
ligations. I want to turn my back
on them. It is not interpretation
but rejection that I am seeking."
When this utterance was reported
The Tribune said it feared a door
had been opened to plausible misrep?
resentation, and suggested that Mr.
Harding make a supplementary
statement. He did so. To a direct
question from The Weekly Review
he replied that he had not altered
his attitude that "if the existing
league [Wilson's] has been so en?
twined and interwoven with the
peace of Europe that its good must
be preserve ?i to stabilize the peace of
the Continent, then it must be
amended or revised," etc. He thus
not only recognized that good was in
the covenant, but that we might
join the league.
What the Senator meant to con?
vey in his Des Moines response to
the interrogatory heckler is now en?
tirely clear. He was not "scrap?
ping" the league. Indeed, his con?
tention was that if there had been
any "scrapping" the President had
done it. He was not even saying
the covenant, properly safeguarded,
should not be ratified. He recog?
nized the good in the covenant and
wishetl to pr?serve it.
When he spoke of "obligations"
on which he wished to turn his back
he had in mind Article X and its
pledge that this country shall be a
party to practically every war of the
future. He had not in mind as
worthy of rejection all the obliga?
tions of the treaty, many of which
he approved.
Yet, since, a persistent effort has
been made to make the public believe
that because. Senator Harding de?
nied the wisdom of one set of obliga?
tions he denied the wisdom of all
obligations. Mr. Cox has energeti?
cally spread this untruth. So also,
we regret to say, has our neighbor
'.[he World. It has plainly put its
brains in cold storage until after
Election Day, or else is endeavoring
to deceive.
The Wilson-Cox campaign has
notably been one of fraud. Its
conductors have devoted their en?
ergies I i dodging. Chased from be
? ?die of underbrush, they
have, like Brer Rabbit, scampered
?'i ,-.. ither. American political his?
tory records no equal example of
twisting and hiding. Under the
President s ?cadi rship the discussion
has ore r.'," of the barren and profit?
less kind associated with theology
and the Scotch temperament. The
intellectuals of the exhibit have
been as pitiable as its morals have
been low.
Dead Hand Appointments
Presid nt Wilson s nomination - tc
tli" new Shipping Board are highlj
disappointing. The long delay in
making them has been costly. Ad?
miral Benson has been doing what
he c< uld to organize the new mer?
chant marine and to get as mar?:,
American vessels as possible into the
deep sea carrying trade. He was
hampei ?1 because he wa working
as a hold-over, with only one associ?
ate. His commission as president
of the board ! is now been renewed.
But the other appointees seem more
likely to be a hindrance to him than
a he:;?, since none lias any apparent
qualifications as a practical shipping
man o?. as an out: ide shipping stu
oiTt ant! expert.
Mr. Gillen was a special assistant
to John Barb n Payne when the lat
ter was chairman of the board. He
I was nominated recently for mem?
bership in the old board, but the
Senate failed to confirm him. But
his genen . qualifications are not im?
pressive. Mr, McNab is a lawyer
und an activo Democratic politician
in San Francisco. He took part in
the settlement of seme of the ship
huiiding wage controversies on the
Vat :? ? t '???.? '. His a] pointment
savors of po'i.i! patronage.
Mr. Thompson is a Mobile news?
paper publisher, and was a delegate
to the Democratic National Conven?
tion of 1912. Mr. Marburg is an
estimable citizen of Baltimore, for?
merly a tobacco manufacturer and
moro recently a diplomat and pub?
licist. He was appointed as a Re?
publican, although he Is supporting
Governor Cox for President,
Th? law provides that only four
of the seven members of the new
board shall be named from one po?
litical party. Mr. Marburg can be,
classified at present only as a Wil?
son-Cox Republican. But Mr. Wil?
son has many times before shown
his contempt for laws regulating the
party character if appointments.
He has chosen for many bipartisan
boards Republicans who cither in
1912 or 1016 were Wilsonites.
This is an incident merely illustra?
tive of the President's sense of offi?
cial propriety. It is of more conse?
quence that the new members of the
board do not measure up to the re?
quirements of our great nationalized
shipping experiment. The Senate
isn't very likely to confirm them.
i Refusal to confirm will lead to more
delay and confusion. The dead hand
of obstruction will be laid on our
shipping development until a new
Administration comes in. That is
i only one more melancholy conse
j quence of the governmental break?
down in Washington.
America's Gift to Belgium
Of the $500,000 needed for the
Louvain restoration fund more than
! $140,000 has been collected. The re
j mainder should be promptly raised.
! That a complete library building for
the sacked and burned university
, should be the gift of the American
: people to Belgium is eminently fit
: ting. The destruction of a great in?
stitution of learning was one of the
{ first of the barbaric acts by which
; the Germans shocked the conscience
, of the world.
The library itself, with its priee
! less collections, cannot, alas! be re?
stored. But it can be replaced bv a
perpetual reminder of American ad
' miration and sympathy. Cardinal
Mercier has said that the University
of Louvain is "the strongest bulwark
of social order and Christianity in
Belgium," and that "its revival is
essential to the moral reconstruc?
tion" of the country. We shall not
pay all our debt to Belgium by
; undertaking this task. For had not
i the little kingdom during those fate?
ful two weeks held back the German
hordes the Allies could harily have
; survived the attack; and with Eu?
rope overrun the next goal of Ger?
man aggression would have been
America.
It was not the fault of the Ameri?
can people that ;hey did not act
sooner. The responsibility for that
rests with those who urged America
to be "neutral even in thought."
But we can set up a monument that
may perhaps be a warning even to
us to be more careful in the future
where we place leadership.
The Right Sort of Congressman
New York City sadly needs com?
petent Representatives in Congress.
? The city's interests have been notor?
iously neglected by the average local
! ? ?ongressman of the last two decades.
New York has been always strong
in the lists of those "not voting" on
roll calls. She is too seldom strong
in floor work or committee service.
The voters of Manhattan have an
opportunity to elect this year a Rop
resentative far beyond the average
?in qualifications. This is Ogden L.
j Mills, Republican candidate in the
i 17th District. Mr. Mills has had a
Hong training in politics and pre?
pared himself to go to Washington
by first seeking legislative experi?
ence in Albany. He: was elected to
the State Senate in 1914 and re?
flected in 1916. He went to the
front at once. These indorsements
were given him by the Citizens
Union committee on legislation:
"1915- Developed conspicuous legis?
lative ability." "191 <? -Exceptional?
ly forceful and effective legislator."
? "1917?Easily the best equipped and
'ablest of the city Senators." In 1917
?Senator Mills resigned to enter the
United States Army, in which he
(served for nineteen months, most of
| the time in France.
Last winter Chairman Hays ap?
pointed him chairman of the special
committee on policies and platform,
charged with collecting through con
sultation with Republicans every?
where material to be embodied in
.the national platform. This work
; was thoroughly done and was of
great assistance in clarifying Re?
publican opinion and formulating the
: platform adopted at Chicago. At
Albany Mr. Mills gave special atten?
tion to taxation problems, and his
i familiarity with tax legislation
(would be of peculiar use to New
| York in the readjustment of the
1 Federal tax system which must be
made by the next Congress.
Mr. Mills has something substan?
tial to give in return for the votes
i he asks. That is an unusual circum?
stance hereabouts in a Congress cam
| paign. If New York wants to apply
' the doctrine of self-help, one of the
best things she can do is to make a
habit of sending men of Mr. Mills's
! stamp to Congres?.
The Shadow of Sam Parks
The Tribune has no desire to pre?
judge the results of the Lockwood
inquiry. All whose conduct is under I
examination are entitled to their clay
; in court.
But enough has been brought out,;
it would seem, to reveal one cause of
the high cost of building. Greedy
material men?the makers of brick,
lumber, cement and the like?have I
doubtless neglected few opportuni- ;
ties to satisfy their appetites; but!
right at home they have had apt imi- J
tators among contractors and labor [
leaders who degrade the great cause
they represent.
It took many years to convince the
honest, pavement-pounding police?
man that his worst enemy was not
the "reformer," but was the crooked
"higher-dp" who talked smoothly of
his devotion to the common interests
of the "force." Let us hope it will
not take as long to persuade the
mass of contractors that their most
malignant foes are within their
ranks, or as long to convince labor
unionists that their most dangerous
adversaries carry union cards. It is
a strange quality of human nature
that leads men, themselves true and
decent, to he loyal to the treacherous
and the dirty.
The shadow of Sam Parks falls
once more on the building trades.
This time will the contractors have
sense enough to scourge out vicious
associates? Will the unions, on the
other hand, protect honest con?
tractors? Not by investigations, or
even by prosecutions, will the build?
ing trades on either side be cleansed.
The organizations of employers and
the organizations of employees must
I in the main do the work.
A Bui! on America
An agreeable note of optimism
i uns through Elbert II. Gary's ad?
dress before the American Iron and
j Steel Institute. As far as this coun
I try is concerned he seems to think
I business skies are practically with
I out clouds. Here or there a shower
may develop, but nothing like a de?
structive storm. "If there should
be a serious reaction and depression,
which now seems improbable," he
! adds, "it will be the fault of those
i who are connected with business
?operations, or others who by reason
j of official positions improperly in
j terfere, and not because of any
fundamental deficiencies in our re?
sources and opportunities."
Judge Gary reminds the business
! community that the Comptroller of
the Currency reports resources of the
banks of the United States as break
! ?ng all records, exceeding the com
j bined bank assets of all the other
; leading nations in the world, and
that they now amount to approxi
? mately $53,079,108,000, not including
I Federal Reserve banks. We may ex
! pect unpleasant vicissitudes now and
then, he thinks, while the nervous
'continue to spread a feeling of ap
! prehension whenever they can; but
j "the earth is still regularly turning
on its axis, the seasons come and go,
the fields laugh with harvests, mines
?and wells yield their riches, and the
morals of the people in general are
? improving."
This view of the outlook for Ameri?
can business, coining from a man of
|Judge Gary's knowledge, is espe?
cially welcome just, now. And those
: who entertain it will doubtless find
it to their profit. It pays to be a
bull on America.
Neighborly Cruelty
Great cities are heartless, as every
rural melodrama has indicated; but
for cold, concentrated cruelty give us
the small town every time. What
has been happening at Newcastle,
Pa., in the .steel district, might hap?
pen, we fear, in most spots of simi?
lar size, neighborliness and sup?
posedly Christian sentiments.
There may be additional, not print?
ed, reasons why the good folk of New?
castle turned their thumbs down in
the case of young Mrs. Ada Mcln
tyre, who fell from grace by going on
a joy ride. There always are plenty of
reasons for damning any one if you
are in the damning business. The
difficulty is in comprehending why
any one, especially a Christian min?
ister, should have continued the de?
nunciation and ordered the damna?
tion made permanent (in so far as
the community of Newcastle was
concerned) after Mrs. Mclntyre had
publicly pleaded for mercy and for?
giveness and a chance to start anew.
The spectacle of Mrs. Mclntyre at
her own church, denounced from the
pulpit by her own pastor, is ore of
those ugly human episodes that make
one wonder why the human race con?
siders itself civilized.
We think our missionaries to tho
heathen might find it advantageous
to the faith to spare a little time for
Newcastle?and this clergyman in
particular. (There is the best of
authority for regarding the tortur?
ing of a woman, however sinful, as
an un-Christian sport.) And all the
rest of us might find it advantageous
to be a little less cocksure of our na?
tional preeminence and virtue?in
comparison with the Spaniards, for
example, who to our profound horror
art; actually guilty of torturing bulls
and horses.
A Doubtful Truant Law
That the new school continuation
law permits a prison sentence for
failure to attend school is thrust on
public attention. Two young girls
were sentenced the other day to
serve a day in jail because of their
inability to pay tines imposed. The
fact that the day was limited to fif?
teen minutes did not soften the shock.
A term i:1 jail, of course, ordin?r- ;
iiy follows inability or refusal to
lay a fine, and the fact that the
court was logical indicates that the j
law as it stands is a doubtful one.
Children of school age are not sup?
posed to have funds of their own,
even though they may have stopped
school to go to work.
In the case in point the truants
were treated as though they were of
responsible age. Their parents were
evidently not proceeded against, for
the judge admitted that he did not
know whether they were in court or
not. Nor was attempt made to
?earn why these girls did not attend
the continuation school the four
hours a week the law demands. But,
whatever the reason, neither a fine
?or a term in jail could possibly
solve their problem.
The establishment of continuation
schools is recognition of the fact that
many young people are obliged to go
to work before their elementary edu?
cation is completed. It might be
well to go a little further and find
out why some of them are not wil?
ling to give up four hours a week
to go on with their interrupted
education. Incorrigibility may not
be the only reason. Even where it
is, peremptory punishment i_ more
likely to make them hard and defiant
than to dissuade them from their
short-sighted course. Certainly the
contamination of the prison has no
place in the training of the young.
Calvin Coolidge Says
(From his address at the University
of Vermont, June 2S, 19SO)
Must it not be thnt those years have
been a prelude to a great advance in
which America is to lead? Have we
not seen her institutions justified, her
faith vindicated? In the early months
und years of the war, what wonder
'men doubted? Did it not soem that
! despotism was victorious and freedom
| vanquished? Belgium was devasted,
j northern France overrun, Russia de
? /oated, Serbia crushed, Italy humbled,
Rumania ruined. The suffering, the
slaughter, the, deportations, the un?
speakable outrages perpetrated upon
i the inhabitants of conquered areas
; seemed to testify to tho supremacy
! of evil.
Tho first battle of the Marne was
I the one great obstacle to this conclu
, sion. In the light of revealed facts
! we know now that evil did not tri
' umph over right. It was not the su
' premacy of Prussian arms but
i treachery in the ranks of her foes that
? brought her victories. Honor did not
! lose, the good was not overcome. The
! might of despotism never won a real
? victory over the hosts of freedom.
: After the American army was moved
' into the lino it never retreated and
? never failed to advance. The might
i of kings could not stand before the
| might of democracy.
Hut if America is to lead, her people
! must he true to her ancient ideals,
j The world has rejected a leadership
sought to be imposed by force. It has
. broken it down and trampled it under
foot. The day of Alexander, of Caesar,
j ?f Napoleon 1ms passed. The day of
Washington and of Lincoln has come.
Leadership will henceforth not be by
j force, but by service.
Let's Be Fair
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: In your editorial "Article X's
Funeral'' you say: "The world is to be
frozen into the form that four gentle?
men, sitting in secret conclave in Paris
\n 1010, had adjudged proper." Let's be
j fair. Mr. Paul D. Cravath, speaking at
) the Symphony Hall here, in lioston, de?
clared that France did not want Ar
: tide X, neither did England. Both
? were coerced or cajoled into accepting
' it.
Article X, as Mr. Cravath showed, is
i purely a Wilson measure. To quote
: t!io speaker's own words, "Mr. Wilson
did not tiring Article X from Paris; he
I took it there." The speaker then traced
| Article X to its source and showed
j how, almost in its exact Wording it
; was embodied in Mr. Wilson's speech
i at the opening of the Panama Canal.
To repeat, France did not want it;
I England did not want it; America,
?through its representatives in the Sen?
ate, declared against it; so that, wc have
the spectacle of one man Betting himself
against the best brains and wisdom of
tho world. Could egotism, autocracy,
I megalomania go further?
george h. westley.
Huston, Mass., Oct. 21. 1020.
A Poor Standard Bearer
To the Kditor of The Tribune.
Sir: To-day I received an invitation :
from the Pro-League Independents to
enroll as an independent who will sup- '
port Cox and the League of Nations.
May I answer through your letter
columns that, although I am an inde?
pendent Maryland Democrat and al?
though I believe in the League of Na?
tions, I shall not support Cox if wo
; rever have a League of Nations or a
j President. Those so-called friends of
| the League of Nations can serve their
cause far better by demanding that
j Cox resign from his candidacy and al?
low a man to lead the cause whom I
can conscientiously follow. If this pro
| league of independent voters ia really
; sincere, why do they not get a different
standard bearer? W. C. POOLE.
Methodist Episcopal Church, Parson
, burg, Md., Oct. 1. 1920.
The Coolidge Speeches
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I wish to congratulate you on
your column or rather daily space
given, under the heading "Calvin
Coolidge Says." I believe it has done
, much t?i convince people of Mr.
I Coolidge's mental superiority and has
! materially helped toward strengthen- I
? ing public opinion in the beJ?_f that
i the Republicans have a wonderful pair
; cf candidates. Mr. Harding has re
' vealed his character through his own
: iterances. A former reader of The
New York Times, I have transfered ?
my allegiance to The New York Trib?
une absolutely.
EMILY B. EARNED
Ulster Park, N. Y., Oct. IT, 1920.
_._.
Where Are the Democrats?
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I am a reader of your most val- !
uable paper, and I am a traveling sales- ?
man, covering New England. It is I
nothing but Harding. The Democrats!
are dead. I work the whole state of ;
Connecticut, and it is going to go at i
least 50,000 for the G. O. P.
J. B. SIMON. I
New Haven, Oct. 21, 1920. !
The ConningTower
The Passionate Advertiser to His Love
Dullest of poetaster? I
And weakest of elegiasts;
Give, me your lips! They satisfy.
Kiss me again! The flavor lasts.
'Tie love that makes?you know the rest.
Our love shall kodak as it goes,
With pictures better than the best,
Geared to tho road. Ask Dad?he
knows.
Our home shall be of softest stuff,
Wooltcx and Satin-O and such; you
Shall never find the going rough,
No metal, 0 my love, can touch you,
i / am the. Better Sort you need;
I'm glad as a Contented Cow.
My love endures. It's guaranteed.
. . . Eventually! Why not now?
There are five places in town where
copies of tho complete text of the
League of Nations Covenant may bo
cbtained. Most of us will go to the
rolls thinking that if there had been
six places we'd surely have got a copy.
Housing Shortage Hit? Briarcliff
[From The Osslnlng Citizen-Sentinel.]
WANTED?A Kitchen maid, not colored,
to live in. For particulars, Tel. Briar
cliff 6;!.
If that Victor Victor-Valli Valli wed?
ding should ever be solemnized, the best
. time, we imagine, would be 10:10.
I _
"The bride's papa," Lisbeth offers,
! "must have said 'Oui, oui' long ago.
. . . If on the honeymoon choo-choo
she felt only so-so, the groom might
murmur 'There, there!' and offer her
a bonbon."
"Their pet," adds S. R. R., "would
be a tse-tso fly, their favorite steak
tartar, and their favorite book 'Noa
Noa.' "
The Brookalyn Sopranner Continues
Hut Ice truck one caw dove musi
' Klike the soun dove-a gray Tan men.
' H. E. K.
And, according to P. S. L., a Brook?
lyn trolley conductor yesterday an?
nounced Flabba Shavna, Punna Mavna,
1 and Sem Thavna.
The Diary of Our Own Samuel Pepys
October 20?-At my stint all the day,
and so with my wife and Mistress
Viola to dinner, very good, except a
"cover" charge of 25c for each of us.
But I should have known better than
to go to so pretentious a place. So
with my wife to see "Tho First Year,"
which amused me more than anything
I have seen since "Too Many Hus?
bands," and well acted, too, in especial!
by Mr. Craven and Mr. Will Sampson
and Miss Roberta Arnold. Saw Janet
at the play and had an earnest talk
with her.
21?Met Mr. F. Wilson the playactor
and so to the office, and in the eve?
ning with my wife in my petrol-vyag
i?on to Mistress Jane Murfin's for din?
ner, and coming out to go home I
noted that my new tyre liad been
stolen from the rack, the straps cut
and the lock broken. But it made me
less angry than it would have made
me ten years ago, my capacity for in
1 dignation, alas, appearing to decrease
' as 1 near the grave. Home, and played
with the cat, and so to bid.
22 Up very betimes, and to the of- .
fice, and there hard at my stint till
rear 7, and home, weary, to dinner,
of fish. So with my wife to Mistress I
Neysa's where till late.
. _
We cannot help wondering whether
the same thief who got away with one
Howe cord tire, 33x4, stole also our two
volumes of Lieutenant Colonel Reping
ton's The First World War.
"Mrs. William E. Williams, wife of
the congenial postoiTice window clerk," .
begins a news bit in The Wilkesbarre
Record. Congenital may have been :
meant.
Doubtless there is a good reason for
The Metropolitan Magazine's spelling, |
etherial, on its cover and in the Lodge
story, but it eludes us.
RONDEAU
II i^i not love if blinding tear
Has never coursed the ehe?;?:; If fear,
The mate of absence, never swells
'['he heart where she in spirit dwells
The (?u.-'-n und faithful, true compeer.
Ii" she l>" not the pioneer
lu capture that fast throbbing sphere
With her iwi'ei chartn3 am! mystic spells.
It is net love.
If when her lightest step you hear.
You tremble not, nor it revere ;
If her pure ]?> .<? in ? never tells
Yen how unworthy you, nor quells
The boasting man. proud and austere,
It is not love.
Elmo P. Abbiati.
As Mr. Charles Pike Sawyer, in The
Evening Post, reflects, "Kingdom
Comin'" is a good tune.' But it has not
been neglected. In "She's a Good Fel?
low" Mr. Jerome D. Kern used it with
credit, to extremely melodious effect.
If it isn't -me thing ir?, u newspaper
office it's another. Miss Underhill, the
! ifted soprano, was humming something
yesterday afternoon, "^inir low, sweet
Harrictte," whispered the assistant city
editor.
"And the Only Tune"
R. A. S., the old hyena,
Made us a present of an ocarina
And the only place that we can play
I-! out of the office and far away.
Hesitating to become involved in
political discussion, we ask the Hon.
A. S. Burleson why a letter addressed
to Mr. George Ado. Brook, Ind., should
be "Returned to Writer from Pitts
burgh, Pa., for better address." We
are returning it to Mr. Bcrleson's de- .
partment for a better rebuke.
"I believe," credos Senator Harding,
"in an Americanism that recognizes no :
class." There's no class to a lot of us,
Senator.
Any edifico to any contractor: Build ;
mo straight, O worthy master.
F. P. A.
AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, THE FIELD FOR INSURANCE HAS
ONLY BEEN SCRATCHED
Copyright, 1920. J\>w Tor* Ti'bun? Xa?-.
Vilna?The F tame of the North
B\) Frank H. Simcnds
The resemblance of the Vilna epi
?srde to that of the Fiume coup natu?
rally directs attention at once to the
?similarity of conditions which invited
the ventures of d'Annunzio and of
I Zellgouski. More than this, it calls
\ attention to the extreme difficulty of ap?
plying that doctrine of. self-determina?
tion, so glibly cited by the sentimental
in recent months.
Vilna is a Polish city in a Lithu?
anian countryside, exactly as Fiume is
a Latin town in a Slav region. If one
apply to Vilna the principle employed
in the case of Danzig, Vilna would un?
mistakably be permitted to become a
separate entity, whatever its relation
to surrounding states. Precisely as
there is no question as to the fact that
a majority of the inhabitants of Fiume
are Italian, and a majority o? the in?
habitants of Danzig German, there is
no dispute as to the essential Polish
character of an overwhelming majority
of the people of the City of Vilna.
Now, in the case of Fiume, the Italian
argument was primarily that supplied
by the appeal to the ethnic circum?
stance. The second was based upon
the menace for Italy of a Slav state
established on the eastern shore of the
Adriatic, a state manifestly hostile
which in the recent war had supplied
through the Austrian and Magyar prov?
inces of the old Hapsburg monarchy
the bulk of the troops who ha,I foughl
Italian armies at the Carso and along
the Isonzo. What are the circum?
stances of Vilna ?
A Most Important Rail Center
A glance at the map shows tha
Vilna is tho most important railway
center in the northeast of Europe
Through it pass the main lines of rail
way connecting Warsaw with Petrogra<
and Berlin with Moscow, while from i
diverges southward that lateral rail
way which is the main d? tail in Po
hsh frontier defense. All of this rail
way has been turned over to the Pole
by the Russians, who have retire?! cast
ward of a line drawn from the Dvin:
at Drissa to the Zbrucz, at the oh
Austro-Russian frontier. In any late
Russo-Polish wars Vilna must neces
sarily be the point of departure for a
invasion of Poland, exactly as it wa
the basis for the last. Moreover, s
long as the Poles hold Vilna the
cut direct rail communication be twee
the Russians and the Germans, thei
hereditary enemies.
Were Lithuania f . idly to Polan
the situation would b? modified, but a
the present moment the Lithuanian
are in arm- against the Poles. The
permitted the Russians, in their n
cent advance to the gates of Warsav
tc make use of Lithuanian territor
end they assisted them both in the;
advance and in their retreat. Furthc
than this, they took advantage of tr
Russian advance, which ousted tl
Poles from Vilna, to plunder and abu;
the Polish majority in the populatio
of this city.
The Threefold Polish Claim
Now, the Polish claim to Vilna
threefold. Hif*orically Vilna was P
l;sh until the Chai partition of Polai
in i 70C>, and it had been a part
Polish monarchy for many centurie
Ethnically it is Polish, since the m
jcrity of its inhabitants are and ha'
been Polish as far back as the-memo
of man runneth. Finally, strategical!
it is the key to Polish defense and,
Lithuanian hands, it has recently be?
used by the Russian enemy with ve
disastrous effocts for the Polos.
Against this threefold argume
I there is advanced the line of reasoning
which has so far failed to win accept?
ance, except academically, in the case
of Fiume. Conceding the Polish char?
acter of the city itself, the champions
of the Lithuanian cause assert, with
i correctness, that the countryside is
Lithuanian. But the countryside of
i Danzig is Polish and the status of
Danzig has been determined in a fash?
ion unfriendly to the Poles. The coun?
tryside of Fiume is Slav, yet Fiume is
now a free Latin state and to-morrow
is (iestined to become a part of the
Italian kingdom.
The Irish Parallel
To take a familiar illustration, un?
derlying all the argument of the most
liberal of the British statesmen in the
case of Ireland, notably that of Sir Ed?
ward Grey, is th?? solicitude for the
safety of Britain, which would be
jeopardized were Ireland to obtain com?
plete independence and thus be free
to make alliances with Britain's ene?
mies and lend Irish ports for subma?
rine bases. But precisely the argu?
ment which has so far controlled Brit?
ish policy with respect to Ireland, even
in the case of the most liberal minded
statesmen, explains the Polish view of
the Vilna question. And for the Poles
j there is no later barrier, as in the
case of Ireland.
It is true that tne Poles have dis?
owned the action of General Zellgou
ski. It is even possible that the govern?
ment is innocent of all complicity, that
it is controlled at the moment by lead?
ers who recognize the need of dis
1 playing moderation and preserving
the good will of the Western world
Put this government cannot contro
Polish patriotism. The natural instinct
for security and for solidarity has go'
beyond control, just as it did in th<
case of Fiume, and it is obvious thai
the mass of the Poles must, for mani
fold reasons, sympathize with Zeil
go u ski.
And in this situation one comes t(
the chief difficulty underlying th?
League of Nations conception. Zeil
gouski is in Vilna as d'Annunzio is il
Fiume. Who is to put him out? Polisl
troops are unavailable, because no Po
lish government could live if it at
tempted to shoot down ' the Poles o
Zellgouski in order to force tho sur
render of a Polish city to a hostil
state. An attack by Lithuanians wouh
instantly arouse Poland as any attac
by the Jugo-Slavs would arouse th
Italians in the case of Fiume.
Leatiue Ineffective
There remains the League of N's
tions, but is it conceivable that th
British or the French, the Italians o
the Belgians would send an arm;
would contribute divisions to an ir
ternational army to be used to coerc
Zellgouski? Obviously not, and this i
the more impossible, because th
French openly sympathize with th
Poles and the Italians cannot fail 1
note the resemblance between the Vi
nan and Fiuman episodes and hope thi
fresh failure by the League of Natior
in the north will add vitality to the
own claims in the -outh. Thus, a
though representatives of the Leagi
cf Nations a-e on the spot and prepare
t?i render decision, what value a
their decision have, since all autho
?ty is lacking to enforce the decisior
And can the America .'people, for e
ample, imagine any combination ?
circumstances under which they wou
be prepared to send their sons to E
rope for the precise purpose of enfor
ing exactly such a decision aa will no
come from the League of Nations or
'guarantee the permanei
cisi?n once it has been re? .
I cepted under duress
lish people? Fiume and
I landmarks in the pathwaj ,
tional re{
illustrative of the fae" thai
situations abstract prin k
down. There is no a' - lute
' absolute wrong; there is ;l (
principle; injustice must be
, Poles in Vilna or the Lithuanians in
the countryside; tho ethnic prli
supports both sides and, out I
ethnic principle, the other arg irnenti
are all with the Pole?.
j For the peace of Europe, f^r th? fn
; ture of Poland, one must 1 | '' if a
compromiso will be reached vh I
bot h Poles and Lithu
that eil her the one ? > r
will make painf .
of voluntary sai
possible, and Bhort of ?.
, cepted by both a new pr?
I added to all the othir i
staclos to g? ?
?what Americans mu I
| w'e are not in the prese
] chauvinism, French in
? Lithuanian megalomai ia,
I nessinp on?? more exai
i ion in which th?> inexti
' ghng of European ti
I less mute.?
' bined to make peace mi
, even more difficult I
(Copj right, i . I ?P?
The High Cost of Stril s
To the Editor ?
Sir: I have acq ?
tion for 'Hie i i
other rea
editorials "Coo idg
series of articles
Strikes," by Mar
i a 11 e r I w : - |
We have km
in a general V : ?
eise and inci *'
put the wh ill .
it all more
We see wl it tl
propaganda h ?
better propagai ?
exists at the pri -
an earnest workei wi . .
the right from thi
whole Bubjecl is
with that he has not th
knowing, and this series
would be like a riy
There is nothing 1 ?-?.
scale than the grafter; (
robber who carries
phy-ical force is 01
grafter, the sneak who R "
fidence and thei
despicable; too manj ..
ers are of the '. tl
men and women who
unions wake up to I
they themselves are the
ferers many times, as c
Mr. OLis's articles, indirect
the less surely, then will th?
begin to purge themselves a: 1
a fairer position in their re ations to
the community.
And it tukci Just such a*-* leles ??
Mr. Olds has written to wake "-hem
up. Nothing hurts a :
respect, in a seni
realizing that he hu
a sucker, anil labor i .
just that way by their i
men they have put their trust i>na
confidence in. With '?'
climbing fuster thnn the ?
creases, due to their owl : olic>'i
fostered by their own ?entiers, of
ing "all th?a traffic will bear,
ought to begin to realue, and would if
properly shown, that they are on the
wrong track. JOHN FRASER.
New York, Oet. 16, 1520.