New-York tribune. [volume], March 17, 1921, Page 10, Image 10

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?few gork tribune
First to Last?the Truth: News?Edi?
torials?Advertisements
of the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1921
Oamad. by New Tor* Trlhun? Inc. a New York
Oonxwmtion. Published daily. 0?de.n. Tteld, P^-eat
denti O. Vem? llo?ro, Vloe-PrenliVaH; Helen
Rocen Read. Srvr?-t?ry: R. K MnM.I. Treaaurer.
AddrsM. Tribune BuHdtaa, 1.14 Nassau 8tr*?t, New
Ycrk. Telephone, p.*ekman Sf*0.
PTBSnuVTION RATT.H?Ry ron.ll, Including
*V?ta?e. IN THE VSITED STATES.
Ouo St? One
By Matt, Few paid, Tear Mom!;? Month
Daily arui Sunday.Sil!.00 16.00 $1.00
On? we?*, SSo
IHlly mil?. 1?.00 ?5.0? .85
Or.? wee*. 80?.
Sunday only. 4*0 ? C5 .??
Sunday ?wily. Canada_ ?00 S.?5 .8*
Ko UM ON KATES
Dafty an? Sunday.$?? 00 I1S.S? $3.4?
pally only. IT 40 8.?0 L43
Sunday only. 9 T5 5 13 ???
Eatared at Ui? PontoCio* a? New Tart m Second
Cias? Mall Matter.
(?UARANTY
fan ean ?urrhasi merctiandlto advertised In THE
TRIBUNE with abnelu.e sulrty?(or It dissatisfac?
tion results In any case 1HE TRIBUNE filaran
tre? to pay your money back upon request. No rid
Us?. No quibbling. We make aood promptly if
tho advertlsor dues net
MEMBKR OF THK ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tes A?s<vlatnl Presa lu Biclualeely entitled to
tba use for republlrailun of ?H rte?? dlapatobe?
cmllted to It or not otherwise, cmllted In this
paper, and aleo the local uow* at ?ponUneoua
?rtgtn puhlUhod herein.
All right? of ceputi?catloa oT all other matter
Herein also are named.
Support the Charges
"/ say," declares Governor Miller
in hi9 blasting excoriation of Hylan
13m, "that the State of New York
cannot leave the 6,000,000 of its citi?
zens who live in New York City to
the tender mercies of an administra?
tion from whose incompetence all of
the people of the State of New York
are now sitffcring."
The Governor knows this. All those
whose interest or curiosity has
brought them face to face with Hy
lanisra know this. Out of polluted
fountains of Hearst and Tammany
run flow nothing pure or desirable.
But do the 2,500,000 voters of the
city adequately know the facts?
They do not. Engrossed in their
own affairs and confused by rival
shoutings, they are conscious of a
bad smeH but have not fully traced
it to its source.
Why is this so? Partly because
Governor Miller and his associates,
yielding in this instance to home
rule as represento J by the stupidities
and timidities of men in the local
Republican organization, have shown
no active interest in a legislative in?
vestigation of city affairs. They
make general chai*ges, file a blister?
ing indictment, but do nothing else.
When asked to assemble and present
supporting evidence that is easily ac?
cessible they are inert.
The Governor should be alive to
the responsibility laid on him?a re?
sponsibility whose existence he
abundantly recognized when he de?
scribed the Hyian administration as
he did.
A legislative investigation of the
city admbiis trat ion should have been
in progress weeks ago.
Can't it, be seen at Albany that
thus far the proceedings have helped
rather than harmed Hylanism?
There is more danger than there was
that the city, in an outbreak of folly
such as brought Hylan to office, will
continue him there.
By denying an investigation the
Legislature contributes to this. Is
there a person at the State Capitol
so ignorant as to be unaware of this
fact?
Not a shred of sincerity can be al?
lowed to the contention that an in?
vestigating committee would find
nothing to expose. The limited
grand jury inquiry has resulted in
eighteen indictments.
Former Governor Whitman knows
something of city affairs and history,
and he does not hesitate to declare
that the indexes of general rotten?
ness are moro apparent than in
Becker days or when the Lexow
committee was appointed.
The excuses for inaction are slip?
pery and worthless. Hearst knows,
Murphy knows, even the dull Hylan
knows why they shiver when the
word "investigation" is heard.
The Governor and the Legislature
should act, an<i at once!
The Continuation Schools
To maim the public schools at a
time when expansion ia a crying
need seems the sheerest folly. Yet
that is what the Fearon-Hutchinson
bill, in calling for the repeal of the
part-time continuation law, aims
9 do.
The continuation school provides
for the continued education of young
people between the ages of fourteen
and eighteen who have been obliged
to leave school to go to work. It has
justified its existence. It reaches
boys and girls whose education would
otherwise be cut short. It meets the
special necessities of the irregular
student not met by evening schools.
Not less than four hours a weefc
must be spent in the continuation
school if the pupil is employed regu?
larly. If temporarily out of employ?
ment he must attend the school every
?day of the school week. The in?
struction is practically individual,
*n4 tbtfe is, besides, definite train
ing to fit the particular line of work
in which the pupil Is engaged.
The law has been in operation
since last September, and there are
five such schools in this city. In
other cities and towns of the state
the plan has also met with success.
As an economy measure the
Fearon-Hutchinson bill is not only
ill advised, but the saving is so
small as to make it absurd. Only
about $200,000 would be 6aved by
abolishing the continuation schools.
There are many legitimate methods
by which the state's money may be
saved, but curtailing already insuf?
ficient school facilities is not one of
them.
A Unified Port
The City of New York and the
Port of Now York are not coter?
minous. The port is a geographical
area, extending into New Jersey. In
a political sense the port is bi-state.
In an economic sense it is national.
And in this unit New York City is
by no means the economically domi?
nant factor.
If these things are kept in mind
it is easy to see what nonsen3e
Mayor Hylan and Comptroller Craig
are talking at Albany when they say
that the port problem is purely a
city problem. It isn't, and cannot
be, a problem of "home rule." New
Jersey is in the port, as recognized
by the Federal customs service and
by the Interstate Commerce Com?
mission. The heart of the terminal
section is west of the Hudson. Why
insist, then, that the city is the solo
proprietor of the port as it exists to?
day or will exist to-morrow?
The port is a colossal gift of
nature, not singly belonging either
to the city or to the two adjacent
states, but more nearly to the na?
tion. Should a fatuous city govern?
ment succeed in challenging the
unity of the larger port and resolv?
ing it into parts this splendid natu?
ral endowment may go to waste. If \
the Interstate Commerce Commis-:
sion should be persuaded that there
are really two separate ports here,
and should grant a logical freight
differential to the one across the
Hudson, the seat of the export and
import trade would pas's for good
from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Our spacious rivers and harbor
have served us badly in creating a I
barrier against us which we haven't '
yet broken. Lighterage charges are !
a crushing burden on our trade. To ;
circumvent them and maintain the
unity of the port so that the eastern
portions may not be discriminated
against in favor of the western is
the only big and sound policy for the
city. Are we more concerned in sus?
taining the antiquated lighterage
system than we are in getting in
food and merchandise more economi?
cally and keeping our grip on the
import, export and transshipment
business?
The attitude of the Board of Esti?
mate and Apportionment is indefen?
sible. The only monopoly that New
York City may aspire to in the port
is the ferriage monopoly. But that
grinds our population even more
than it does the outside shipper. A
unified, modernized port, under a bi
state commission, or, better still, a
national commission, is needed for
the protection of the city's interests.
Giving away "home rule" in this
matter is to give away nothing of
value. The people of-New York City
have vastly more to gain than to lose
by going into a joint enterprise in?
tended to get much more out of the
port than it yields to-day to those
who own it and use it.
The Most Worthy
In honor of former President Wil?
son it is proposed to raise a fund
whose income of $25,000 shall be be?
stowed annually on the person ad?
judged to have "performed the
greatest service for humanity."
When the committee in charge has
completed its labors it might take up
the business of providing a like re?
ward for the person or group of
persons competent to write a defini?
tion of what constitutes the greatest
service to humanity and to say at
?ny particular time who measures
up to it.
To declare who ig a prescribed
period has made the most notewor?
thy contribution in a specified field
is not an easy task. But he would
be bold indeed who would attempt to
decide who in the whole area of
human activity has been mankind'^
best friend.
What is the standard? In the
domain of truth we have the pure
scientist and in applied science the
great inventors. In eociology, eco?
nomics and politics are not only
theorists but the organizers and
mediators that by a new method,
perhaps selfishly born, teach by
showing that cooperation can be
made to work. In the world of the
artists, who of all men come nearest
to displaying pure creative power,
we havo the picture, or the statue,
or the building or the book whose
mere existence attests that the world
is still in the making. Then there
pre the gifta of the thinkers who
hold men are to be saved through
their perfected intellects, and of the
moralists who put perfected conduct
first
Time gives soma perspective, and
looking back it is perhaps possible to
make guesses as to who have been
the real Abou Ben Adhems, but in
the hurly-burly of the present who
can properly distribute halos? If
there is not to be ? lapse into sheer
wntimentalism, it the? la to ba
moro than a mere parado of the
prejudices of the hour, it may be
well to define a little more modestly
who may be candidates for the Wil?
son prize. ________._?__
Income Tax Vagaries
The framers of the state income
tax law intended to mako it conform
in details to the Federal law as far
as was practicable. It was a sensible
plan, since it sought to avoid pre?
senting two widely different sets of
accounting problems to the harassed
taxpayers. The purpose of the
framers was emphasized by the re?
quirement that each state return
ahall note the particulars in which it
departs from the same maker's Fed?
eral return.
The Federal Department of Jus?
tice has Just announced that it in?
tends te abundon the ruling by which
an arbitrary purchase standard of
value for real property or securities
sold was established as of March 1,
1913. Under this ruling a taxpayer
was frequently compelled to pay in?
come tax on a fictitious profit. He
sometimes was allowed to charge a
fictitious loss. The Federal courts
f.re inclined to insist that income, to
be taxable, must be actual, not
imaginary.
The state income tax bureau like?
wise erected an arbitrary purchase
price, as of January 1, 1919. This
price penalized security owners more
than the Federal price did, for there
has been a marked decline in secur?
ity values since 1913. If ihe Federal
government is now willing to recog?
nize its error the state governmenl
ought also to be, both tes, a matter oi
equitable administration and for th<
reasons of convenience to the public
which led it originally to follow th<
Federal practice. But the Incom?
Tax Board at Albany seems to resen'
the idea of eliminating imaginarj
loss and profit. It appears to thin!
that if a citizen didn't take his losse:
and balance his books as of Decem
ber 31, 1918, he was guilty of a sor
of disrespect for the state inconv
tax law and the regulations mad?
under it.
Another thing: The Federal lav
allows the taxpayer to deduct al
taxes paid except Federal incomi
and inheritance taxes. The stat
law doesn't permit deduction of al
taxes paid except state income am
inheritance taxes. Federal incom
taxes may not be subtracted. Thi
is a flat contradiction of the princi
pie of uniformity It is also a viola
tion of the theory of mutual comit
as between state and Federal taxin
agencies. States do not tax Feden
salaries; nor does the Federal go^
ernment tax state salaries.
All unnecessary variations betwee
the two systems should be elim
nated. Even without these adde
perplexities tho income tax retur
season is nightmarish enough.
The Golden Age of Garbage
Flowers have a way of blossomir
in the most impossible places. It
therefore with nose averted but n
with any just surprise that we con
upon a delicate and delectable pie
of writing headed "Barren Islam
in the current issue of The Surve
That estimable magazine is apt
be thought of as sociological to t
point of frowning upon the light
touch. But not in this case. Mi
Marion Clinch Calkins has taken h
pen in hand as if it were a fai
wand, and amid the shacks and sai
j dunes of this God-forsaken blot up
the landscape of Jamaica Bay s
has conjured up a sure enou
I fairy tale.
We are not quite certain what
signifies. But that is surely a po
in its favor. The best fairy ta
either have no moral, or have a doa
morals, all mutually contradictt
and each gloriously satisfying. *1
more sordid interpretation of t
philosophy of "Barren Island" mij
be summed up in the view that "
is not gold that does not smell." I
it is the tale that counts. And h'
is the way it begins:
"There aro now on Barren IsL
Borne four hundred people. Once th
were a thousand more. They ca
Italians, Polea and Germans, fi
Ellis Ibland and found In the dm
le paya et lo. patrie. And through all
i vicissitudes of storms, epidemics, 1
and garbagelessness, they have Y
a love of country. When you tall
the people of the island about be'
times, they look backward, not ahi
Back to the days of prosperity; b
to the days of garbage. Barren
and is their Ultima Thule. The <
disaster Is to have to go away f
it. Miss Shaw tells the story of
fairy wish of the little Barren Isli
era. It was Christmas. She drew
children about hpr. 'Now,' said
'if you had a fjilry godmother ?
would give you anything you wan
what would yon ask?' The an?
came in nnlsonj 'The garbage b
We'd wish the garbage back.' "
Miss Jane Shaw is the presiii
genius of the one clean, sunny sh
upon the island; she is the seh
teacher. Over her building wav<
flag. To her classes troop wil
children?when the tide does not
rear and cut off part of the ish
For long the school was the "edi
tional ash-can of New York," 1
Calkins notes. Now it Is the w
community, the one spot of ga;
r.nd color and light
It was, of course, a noble ste
end the smell at Barren Island. 1
estaters accomplished the marve!
the good of many neighborhc
The tragedy is, as the children i
cate, that without its smell the
is only a ghoulish hulk, offering
visible means of support. "Barren
island is the best place to live," as?
serted the little girl who showed the :
visitor about. "You can spear fish
and swim and pick up your wood.
It's wonderful?when there's gar?
bage."
So feel the parents as well. In
short, Barren Island has been re?
formed out of all livableness. In tak?
ing this dingy dump and advancing
it at n stroke far up the heights of
life, liberty, smell-lessncss and tho|
pursuit of happiness our lawmakers
hare wiped out its sole excuse for ex?
istence. It has been purified off the
map. Its pioneers are fading away
in pursuit of gold-?gold that glitters,
whether it smells or not.
Colonel Alexander
Is the 77th's Commander To Be
Brigadier General? If Not, Why?
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Iriso to ask how the former
commanding general of the 77th
Division?"New York's Own"?In ex?
pected to fare In the forthcoming se?
lection of officers to be brigadier gen?
erals in the regular armyT It seems
that the former commanding general
of tho 26th Division Is not without
honor In Massachusetts, and Its rep?
resentatives in the United States Scn
ato will Insist that the services of
Edwards bo given due recognition.
One of New York's representatives in
tho United States Senate happens to
be chairman of the Committee on
Military Affairs, and I have been won?
dering whether or not it has been
brought home to him that his constitu?
ents have not forgotten the services of
Alexander.
If he Is not fairly entitled to pro?
motion at this time, why not? Though
the former officers of the 77th Division,
being still for the greater part reserve
' officers, are not able to make any for?
mal organized recommendation because
i it would be' an unmilitary act and ao
might only embarrass Colonel Alexan?
der, their interest is deep, and it is
their feeling that justice has not yet
been done.
Is it true that the 77th Division
made the farthest fighting advance of
all our divisions? Is it true that
it was the one division that operat3d
entirely in the forest in the Meuse
Argonne advance? And that it reached
the heights south and southeast of
Sedan on November 6 and completely ;
cut the westward line of communica
| tlon from that city? If so, are not :
| its achievements to be in part credited
j to the spirit and skill of its command?
ing officer?
Colonel Alexander, as I understand,
Is not a West Point man, but he has
i served In the United States Army for
thirty-five vears with distinction, tak
? ing part in five or six campaigns be
| fore the World War. He was jumped
| some ninety-three numbers when
. created major general and given the
' command of the 77th Division, and
I after the armistice all three of his
! corps commanders are supposed to have
j ??commended him for promotion to the
[ permanent grade of brigadier general.
His native state of Maryland has re?
cently hung his portrait in the State
I House. Can New York better express
I *
its gratitude and affection than to take
pains that no discrimination is made
against him in selections for brigadier
generals, always bearing in mind that
it will soon be too late because of his
I imminent retirement? It is well known
that in the efficient discharge of duties
I it is often neces.iary for a commander
to offend some subordinates who may
I later be in a strategic position on tho
I General Staff. Is this such a case?
DAVID V. BENNETT,
New York, March 16, 1921.
Tardy Operagoers
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: 1 fail to see how Mrs. J. West
Roosevelt logically arrives at her con?
clusion that if concerts began punc?
tually the audience would be there on
time. To quote her letter of March
14: "The opera begins punctually as
announced, whereas concerts are any?
where from ten to twenty-five minutes
late. . . . Our audiences are not to
blame for arriving late. . . . Once
they understood that the music would
begin as scheduled (they) would very
soon make their arrangements to ar?
rive punctually."
lias Mrs. Roosevelt ever noticed the
ecorea, possibly hundreds, of lato ar?
rivals at the opera? The prompt ris?
ing of the Metropolitan curtain has
never reformed these discourteous per?
sons, ROSALIE DAY.
CateWH, N. YH March 14, 1921.
Too Soon to Stage Wilson
To the Editor of The Tribuno.
Sir: On the question "Will Drink
water Stage Wilson?" propounded by
0. Ralph Bennett, of Ithaca, I would
remark upon what appears to mo as a
?'distinction with a diff?rence." Lin?
coln was "staged" by Drinkwater many
years after his death, when time had
mellowed memories; whereas to stage
Wilson now would probably be provoc?
ative of a "free-for-all," hardly pro
motive of the amenities.
No; to ?tage a public personage dur?
ing his lifetime ?trikes me &a just
about as Inadvisable as naming a
favorite child for one whose career
has not been rounded out. Let his?
tory take precedence over histrionics.
J. W. E.
New York, March 15, 1921.
j_
Business Women Not Drug Users
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: It is a strange thing that when?
ever any "uplift" movement is launched,
such as a refuge for drug addicts,
which it is reported In to-day's Trib?
uns Is to be started in Brooklyn, im?
mediately the business woman Is cited
as a subject. As a business woman of
fifteen years' experience in hiring and
firing other business women I have
only once encountered in business a
womas who could be suspected of being
one of those unfortunates. Ordinarily
the business woman has a level head
and is quite well accustomed to look?
ing after herself. ONE OF THEM.
New York, March 18, 1921.
The Conning Tower \
wm?Wtm?mtmmo^?^?^^smsm?m???t?Wsmmsstamsomsmo^o*mmomt?mtmmtammammmmm?wmsm?mm?tW
Silver Threads Among the Gold
Horace: Book I, Ode 25
"Paroiuo iunotaa ?itattunfc /<jne?tnur"
Insistent lads no longer shako
Thy shutters, keeping thee awake,
And no one ever now knocks at
The once willing door into thy flat
Less frequently the lover cries
"Sleep not, my Lydia 1 Come,
arise!"
The time will come when, old, for?
lorn,
Thou'lt weep about thy lovers
scorn.
On moonless nights the flames will
rage
About thy heart; and, bent with
ag?,
Thou'lt fret that lads delight in
myrtle
And ivy more than in thy kirtle.
It is only when one reads no word
of all the verbiage printed from the
baseball training camps that one
knows, beyond all possible shadow of
doubt whatever, that senescence has
marked him for her own.
On Lyrics, and the Sacredneas of
Pseudonymity
Sir: You love poetry and you're
always generoua. in demanding honor
where honor in due, to the poets them?
selves; and it was pleasant to read
"0, Inexpressible as Sweet"; but now
that we're on the the subject of lovely
lyrics, don't you know that you printed
in The Conning Tower a few weeks
ago one of the most supremely lovely
lyrics ever written in the English lan?
guage? And you printed it without
giving the name of the author, al?
though you knew It. He had told you
to disguise him, which you did, under
the fanciful name of "Adul Tima."
It's an amusing name, but you know
too much about poetry to let a poet, in
an impish mood, play hide and seek
with his fame like that. Perhaps
-? t* impish because he
doesn't think it matters whether he is
acclaimed or not by a dull world; how?
ever, it was very careless of YOU not
to.see that "Wild Plum" was, beyond
all comparison, the most precious
thing that, in all probability, had ever
been given into your care. You
shouldn't have let it go Into print so
modestly?with an eighteenth rate
piece of journalistic verse *by Walter
Prichard Eaton sitting above It in the
day's place of honor. (It was good
verse at that?but probably he'd be
the first to tell you how unimportant
it was compared to-'s
lyric.) No?poetry Is all we have for
our ultimate moods?poetry la the one
thing that "can give the highest quality
to our moments ae they pass"?the
very highest quality, I mean. And we
owe a great deal for a great poem. The
lftast we can give is full and grateful
recognition. ... So I wish you'd
print "Wild Plum" again?and see if
you can find even half a dozen lyrics
to go'with It. "I Shall Not Care," by
Sara Teasdale, Is the only one ap?
proaching it of which I ihink Instantly.
"The Squanderers," by George O'Neil
?which you published, by tho way?is
beautiful, too?but it is always dim
cult for me to say which poem of
George 0'Neil's I like best. There is
one by Edna St. Vincent M;'lay?the
name of which I've forgotten but In
which occur these two lines: "Your
voice Is a string of colored beads,
Or steps leading into the sea"
which is among her best ... Of
course, of all brief lyrics nothing
is more beautiful than the one by A. E.
] Housman?beginning "With me my
heart is laden?For many a friend I
had; For many a rose-lipt maiden, And
many a light-foot lad ... By
streams too wide for leaping, The
light-foot boys are laid; The rose-lipt
girls are sleeping, In fields where roses
fade." There, I've quoted it all, be?
cause 1 couldn't stop! But that's all.
ZOE AKINS.
It Is approbation from Lady Hubert
to have as richly endowed and sensi?
tive a poot as Miss Akins single out
a lyric for praise. And it was our opin?
ion also, Miss Akins, that "Wild Plum"
was charged with loveliness. But when
a contributor signs a pseudonym or
asks, specifically, that his name be not
used, he issues a sacred and confiden?
tial command. To disregard it Is not
thinkable.
We should have been prond to ap?
pend his name to the poems signed
Abdul Tima, and if,?and only !f,?per?
mission is granted, we shall divulge it.
But, as most contribs know by this
time, their secrets are safe with as.
Song ?f the Night Editor
These are the grandest of possible
storiesj
Stillman and Hamas and Stokes.
Filled to the brim with conspicuous
glories?
Stillman and Ha mon and Stokes.
Crowded with nastiness, reeking with
rot;
Zippy and peppy and snappy and hot;
Why should wo worry as long as we've
got
Stillman and llam?n and Stokes?
"It's all Greek to me," said Dulcinea
(so Willie says), as she paid her 1. t.,
"but if 1 didn'i, pay it, it'd be just my
luck to be investigated. Of course, I
had an income, but it's all outgo by
now. But 1 want to be a l?O per cent
American? a real live daughter of your
Uncle Sam, bo I just made it out ai
simply as possible and let it go at that.
Heavt'ft knows where I'm going to get
the money from. . . Ne.it year I
hope I'll have to pay $10,000 "tas?I
won't complain."
"Later," says the Monroe, N. Y., Ga?
zette's candid reporter who covered the
surprise party at the De Graws, "the
party broke up and all present had a
wonderful time." What little reader
among you has not attended such a
party?
New York City Is to have Daylight
Saving, and all -rooks resident In the
families of coif and tennis players
hereby are warned to look for new jobs.
The Duvia Cup has arrived in this
country.
Hiw ?boot naturalization papers?
LOOK OUT! LAURELS WON IN THAT KIND OF VICTORY
WILL ONLY LEAD TO A NEW CHALLENGE
Copyrl*ht, 1821. New York Tribune Inc.
S"
fe^OJp*^^ -?^^Ml
j//?*^rTt\
Naval h
_
By Qua
?t is not too much to say that a
; battle fleet cannot be ready for war,
nor can it hope to win in battle against
a fleet that is properly trained, unless
it Is kept Busy month after month
and year after year In up-to-dato ma?
neuvers .and tactical exercises at sea
in time of peace. The.? should be no
let-up to this work if victory is to be
assured. Every emergency should be
anticipated, if possible, and every cap?
tain and division commander should be
so "indoctrinated"?so completely fa?
miliar with the general battle ideas of
the commander in chief?that all will
cuickly adjust themselves to unexpected
situations, and never fail to cooperate
in carrying out his plans of attack and
defense. It is a wonderful school of
organization and discipline, in which
the safety of a nation may be at stake.
The Lesson of Tsushima
From tho study of recent naval wars
we find ample proof of the vital neces?
sity of drilling a fleet in practical sea
tactics in time of peace?years before
the battle begins.
When Japan precipitated the war
against Russia tho Russian fleet in the
East was caught napping. It was not
united, as It should have been, during
the months when hostilities were plain?
ly threatening. The main force was
at Port Arthur, a squadron was at
Vladivostok, and a division was in
Corean waters. These three fragments
had never been properly mobilized and
drilled as a unit in anticipation of war.
Thcro was no battle plan. The Rus?
sian forces, had they been united and
properly drilled, would have been equal
or superior to the Japanese fleet, and
they would have had a fair chance in
battle. But they were divided and un?
trained as a fighting machine, and tho
Japanese destroyed them in detail.
Following the destruction or block?
ude of their Far East fleet, the Rus?
sian Admiralty sent Admiral Rodjest
vensky with another untrained fleel
from the Baltic to meet the united and
veteran naval forces of Japan. Tht
fleets met at Tsushima and the seconc
Russian fleet was destroyed. Its doon
was sealed before tho battle began
The story was* told and the result pre
dieted by two Russian officers durinj
the cruise of Rodjestvensky's flee
from the Baltic to Tsushima. One o
these officers declared that chao:
reigned In the Russian navy; tha
there was no cooperation; that th<
Navy Department was incompetent
that their fleet had had no war ma
aeuvers whatever and that tho appear
anee of the Japanese fleet found th
Runsian so unprepared in tactical exer
cisea and their initial deployment fo
battle was so clumsily performed tha
the result of the engagement was fore
told. On the other hand the Japar.es
fleet had been continuously under Ad
mirai Togo's command for years an
was drilled to the minute. As a logic?
result Togo advanced to the attac!
with perfect confidence and calmly mi
neuvered his fleet across the head c
tho Russian column with such deadl
skill that Rodjestvensky's force wa
soon disorganized, disrupted and it
fragments beaten In detail. Organist
tlon, concentration of force and sklllfi
training for months before tho battl
gave overwhelming victory to the Jaj
anese when the two fleets met. Th
result was inevitable.
From the pathetic story of tho Rut
sian officer pilotovski, written bofor
the battle, we can picture the utter lac
of morale and the complete hopeleai
aoss that prevailed among the offloei
?aneuvers
rterdeck
of Rodjestvensky's fleet upon signal for
battle. He declares, despairingly, that
a fleet, however strong in tonnage, if
undrilled and unorganized in anticipa?
tion of all the strategic and tactical
phases of actual battle, is "a mere
chance collection of vessels," doomed
to humiliating defeat. Filotovski lost
his life at Tsushima!
Jutland an Example
Another striking example of the im?
portance of fieet exercises in anticipa?
tion of battle is found in the success
with which Admiral von Scheer exe?
cuted two difficult maneuvers while
under fire from Jellicoe's battle line.
Upon two different occasions Von Scheer
was caught in the most dangerous posi?
tion to which a battle fleet can be sub?
jected. .He suddenly found himself, in
the mist and smoke that prevailed dur?
ing the battle, advancing in column di?
rectly toward the center of Jellicoe's
overwhelming force, the condition be?
ing such that his fleet was subjected to
a disastrous raking fire. The quickest
way out of this trap was to reverse his
course by swinging his ships indi?
vidually through 180 degrees. He ac?
cordingly made signal "Ships right?
about." Under ordinary circumstances
even on dres3 parade, where the ships
are following directly behind the leader,
this maneuver is by no means easy, es?
pecially if the ships are slightly out
of position. But at Jutland, when Von
Scheer made this signal, his force was
in a curved or crescent-shaped forma?
tion, which made the maneuver doubly
dangerous. Nevertheless, it was per?
formed with precision and safety, and
by this means Von Scheer, under cover
of a smoke screen and torpedo attack
i which was also skillfully executed by
his destroyer flotilla, extricated his
fleet from a perilous tactical predica
! ment?in fact, the success of this
maneuver doubtless saved him from
destruction.
It now transpires that Von Scheer had
carefully and repeatedly drilled the
Gtrman fleet in this exact maneuver,
anticipating, as he did the possible
necessity for withdrawal his forces
in case he should be caught at a dis?
advantage by a superior fleet. Thus
his division commanders and captains
had been so "indoctrinated" before tho
battle that they were prepared for this
emergency and their "preparedness"
saved tho Germans from crushing de?
feat.
V? S. Navy Maneuvers
The necessity for good organization,
cencentration of force and skill in
fieet maneuvers has always been fully
realized in the United States Navy.
No naval officer could be unmindful of
such a truism. It is astonishing,
therefore, to note the fact that there
have bee? no maneuvers worthy of the
name in the United States fleet since
the armistice. In the beginning of this
period, during demobilization, there
was perhaps aome excuse. But this
excuse has not justified the failure
properly to drill our fcattle fleet during
the last eighteen months. The only
explanation is to be found in the rule
of politics and personal ignorance, or
Indifference, for which naval officers
are not responsible.
In the autumn of 1919 tfys battle
fleet of the United States was divided
for the first time in its history and in
defiance of tho primer principles of
strategy. Half of the force was sent
to the Pacific, and the Atlantic and
Pacific fleets, bo called, were padded by
retaining la commission many useless
! ships in order to increase the tonnage
i of the two "armadas"
There were, in truth, only seven or
I eight fighting ships In each of these
j misnamed "fleets." There were two
i commanders in chief instead of one.
The fleet may be likened to a football
i team divided Into two squads 5, WO
? miles apart, each part with its own
! trainer using methods differing from
i the other. Imagine the two sjarts mob?
ilizing a few days or hours before
! the game and attempting to coordinate
j under one captain with one set of sig?
nals! What would be nhe result, other
things being equal, if such a teaas
should meet another that had never
been divided?which had been trained
as a unit under one captain?
Such is the condition of the United
States fleet to-day. Such is the chaotl?
situation to which politics and igno?
rance have consigned it. The navy is
unprepared for war. The fleet is un?
prepared for battle. Not ?ess than sis
months will be required, aiter the
fleet ?3 reunited, to make it ready to
meet a united, well drilled fleet. Out
predicament ?3 similar to that which
brought disaster to Russia in the war
with Japan. Shades of the departed
Ma hanI
Wotan's Farewell in German
To the Editor of Tho Tribune.
Sir: I was very glad to read In this
morning's Tribune the letter of a
"Mother of Ex-Service Men" upon the
subject of Wotan's Farewell, ?unp il
the German language at last Sunday's
Philharmonic concert.
I attended that concert and must
say that after enjoying the earlier
numbers on the program I came away
with anything but pleasant feedings
after having the language of our pres?
ent enemies forced upon us.
In the program the title and the
words of tho song were given in Eng?
lish, indicating, it would seem, that the
number was to bo sung in that lan?
guage.
On Monday evening "The Po'ish
Jew" was given at the Metropolitan
Opera House in English, to the evident
satisfaction and delight of the audi?
ence. If Mr. Stransky is not sensitive
to the feelings of the American publie
upon this subject, the matter should
be promptly brought to his attention.
There aro strong psychological rea?
sons, through association of ideas, why
those who have not forgotten cannot
yet hear tho German language with?
out a shudder.
HERBERT B. SMITH.
New York. March 18, 192L
Allies' Alliance Best
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your leading editorial et
j March 12, "The Viviani Mission," is
j an excellent example of your method
j of carrying out your declared poAcf
| of disseminating troth and sense.
A league of all nations would be <
glorious thing, but is it practical? I?
there not too much difference in thelf
I planes of advancement in civilization^
Why not, therefore, a purely defen?
sive alliance on the part of the present
I Allies against any nation or nations at'
I tacking them, severally or individual'
ly, on heir home territory?
A world league is possible. Is it eiv
pedient? JOB.
Englewood, N. J., March 14, 192L
j Secretary Mellon, Pittsburgh *74
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Mr. A- W. Mellon, Secretary of
the Treasury, was spoken of recently
in The Tribune as an alumnus of the
University of Pennsylvania. Mr. M?*
lon attended the University of We?t
! ern Pennsylvania, now the University
of Pittsburgh. He was graduated il
1874. F. H. RAMSEY, j
Weatfield, N. J, March 14, 132L J