The Sun and the New York herald. [volume], February 15, 1920, Section 7 Magazine Section, Page 10, Image 92

About The Sun and the New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1920-1920

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THE SUN AND NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1'920.
Sentiment Favors Our Dead Remaining in France
Government Ready to Keep Its ' Pledge x to
Heroes' Kindred, but Against Wholesale
Return of Bodies
. s
lENTIMENT opposing tlio general re
turn of tlio 74,770 Amcricnu military
dead to the United States from ovor-f-eas
is rapidly being crystallized by the
frank expressions of Government officials
in Washington and by evidences of inter
ested persons' intent to work upon the
feelings of the soldiers' relatives.
With the Government taking steps to ful
fil its pledge to the American people to
bring back the bodies of their martyred
sons whenever such action is desired, offi
cials have been reluctant about expressing
views about tlio advisability of the step.
But in view of certain propaganda being
brought to light several are willing to talk
now.
Perhaps the most significant to relatives
of the soldier dead with whom the desire to
have the bodies returned is a matter of
deepest sentiment is the opinion expressed
by Paul Kaufman, director of the Bureau
of Communication of the American Red
Cross. He has been closer than any other
person not connected with the War Depart
ment to the work of registration of Ameri
can soldiers' graves abroad and hail charge
of the reporting of casualties to families.
Mr. Kaufman is opposed to the return of
the military dead for both practical and
sentimental reasons.
"While I am not speaking in an official
capacity, I think the majority of Red Cross
officials feel as I do," Mr. Kaufman slid.
"Men connected with the government work
in any way have not wanted to air their
views on this subject for fear their attitude
might be construed to be that of the War
Department. But I think the time has
come when the bereaved families that al
ready have suffered so much should be
made to realize that they are storing up for
themselves unutterable sorrow and horror."
Close to Gold Star Mothers.
Mr. Kaufman pointed out that no one is
in a better position than he to understand
the feeling of the gold star mothers who
want their sons' bodies brought home.
"In the records of my department there
is more of the suffering of the grcaj war in
Old Timer Amid
Arizona "Varmints"
J tXTESIREE," said the old campaigner,
X in answer to a question about the
undesirables he hail encountered in
Arizona and Mexico while in the Geron
irao campaign of '85-86, "lots of 'em; two
kinds of rattlesnakes, black and yellow,
scorpions, centipedes, vinegarroos, turun-
tulas and Gila monsters, to say nothing of
,red and black ants, either kind of which
will sure make you hump if you make camp
on top of one of their nests. But barring
the time that Jake Stouer lay down on a
rattlesnake en route from the old corner in
Tucson to Fort Lowell, and Jake having a
mescal jag at the time, I never knew of any
one being bothered much by the varmints.
"Jake! Oh! we found him near tlie Half
Way House deadern' a door nail and the
rattler asleep near by. I went out in the
fall of '85 and my troop was in the field,
so with a party of rookies we joined our
outfits via wagon route from Fort Hua
chuca. My troop was the furthest away
from the Fort and camped in Guadaloupe
Canon about 150 miles east, fl Troop,
across the creek, was living in Sibley tents,
but my outfit had built a lot of dugouts
holding four men. I was booked up to an
eld timer named Brown, nicknamed
"Brocky."
"I had read a lot about the poisonous
insects and snakes of Arizona and a rust
ling in the roof at night kept me crazy for
three nights. I got some sleep in the open
in the day time, but the fourth night I had
reached my limit. The rustling started
again in the shack, I commenced to twitch
and squirm, wllile shivers and chills chased
each other all over me. The three others in
the shack were sleeping as though nothing
ever could happen" to them, and I was deter
mined to do the same or else keep them
awake, so I stuck my elbow in the ribs of
my bunkie.
" 'What in hell ails you, kid t' he yelled,
'Turantulas, hear 'em in the rooff I an
swered. Brocky reached up in the straw
and dirt that made the roof, scratched about
a bit, pulled his hand down, told me to light
a match and showed me a field mouse. The
roof of the dugout was built of poles on
which was piled buffalo grass and dirt to
a thickness of about two feet, so the little
stub-tailed mice foregathered, built nests
and raised families right in the roof.
"Four winters and summers I slept
wherever troop orders took me on the
ground, in the barracks or on homemade
bunks b teut and dugout, but never again
a sleepiftM night for any reason.
"I've, seen men bitter and stung, but all
this talk about Gila monsters and turan
tula bites being fatal, to say nothing of
centipedes, is nonsense. We had a fellow
named Mooney bitten by a tarantula while
he wus asleep; found the dead spider
the form of letters than in any other
archives' in the world," Mr. Kaufman, said.
"I have been reading and endeavoring to
answer the letters of the gold star mothers
during tlio war. It is becauso I want to
spare theifi further grief that I warn them
not to remove the dead from the soil where
they fell. To make them understand some
very plain talk is necessary.
"People of this country must realize that
tile bodies of our dead are in no condition
to be removed. Is it right to raise these
poo- remains from the places where they
now lie in peace and transfer them rudely
to other soil? To me it is unthinkable, as
I am sure it will be to every mother when
she considers.
"Then tliink what the exhuming of 50,000
decomposed bodies will cause France to
suffer. Has she not already experienced
enough horror T"
Mr.. Kaufman said that despite the pains
taking efforts of the Government more thau
6,500 graves' had not been registered on
December 1, 1919, due to the impossibility
of identification.
Mr. Kaufman recalled the opinion ex
pressed by the Secretary of War that "there
will undoubtedly be distressing' mistakes
and the inevitable destructivenes of war will
make unavoidable the fresh wounding of
many relatives who request the return of
their loVed ones from overse- '
peaking in his official capacity, Secre
tary Baker said three weeks ago that he
had no authority to interfere with any
propaganda which might bo conducted in
favor of legislation to have the dead
brought back. He said that the decision
must rest with the next of kin and that
their desires alone would be considered.
Ideas 'of Cardinal Gibbons.
An opinion which cannot fail to have
weight with relatives of the dead soldiers
is that of Cardinal Gibbons, who recently
expressed his views in a letter to Bishop
C. H. Brent, of Buffalo, also an incorpo
rator of the American Field of Honor As
sociation. Cardinal Gibbons's letter read:
"I read carefully your esteemed letter of
December 9, and heartily indorse the gen
eral plan of the Committee of the Field
of Honor.
"I agree with you that the experiment of
cx'mniing the bodies of the soldiers would
V
smashed between his shirt and skin; it made
him sick and there were two little holes
where he had been bitten. I got stung .by
a soorpion once; some sting, about like ten
hornets landing on you at the same fyue on
the same spot.
"I'll take my hat off to a scorpion any
time for the champion stinger of the world
and the yell I let out nfter he bad registered
brought the Indiap scouts up to me, and it
lakes some noise to exeite their curiosity.
"The ugliest bite I ever witnessed was
the deal handed out to a cargadore of a
park train, who is next in command to, the
bi-ss packer. One day the cargadore started
taking the saddles off in order to find one
or two to restuff ; he had barely begun when
a big centipede ran straight across the back
of his hand. He smacked the centipede
with the other hand but not before the two
jaws and every claw had been sunk. IThe
wounds were cauterized, were a long while
in healing and left the ugliest scar a man
ever carried. He was mighty sick for a
time, too.
"I have seen rookies climb trees to sleep
in. The rattlesnakes were so thick. and we
had to fire and beat the ground before we
could make down for, the night. I have
killed them by the hundreds, and have seen
Indians walking through the grass and
scrub day after day with no foot covering,
except sandals, but I never saw or heard of
any one being bitten by a snake only Jake
Stone. '
"As for Gila monsters, no one was ever
hurt by them, and I'm strong for believing
that no wild thing, on this continent at
least, will bother man if let alone. But
don't run away with the idea that a gila
monster is the slowest thing on earth by
looking at them in captivity. I have seen
them jump four feet at n tormentor and be
about as quick as chain lightning lit it,
too."
Huge Mould for Guns
ONE of the great Pennsylvania steel
companies not long ago manufac
tured the largest ingot mould ever
seen. It is octagonal in shape, 15 feet 7
inches high, with an average inside diame5
ter of 91 inches. Thel thickness varies
from 15 to 20 inches. Tie mould will be
used in casting the 300,000-pound steel in
gots frouf which our 16-inch and 18-inch
guns are forged.
The Bessemer iron for 'the mould was
melted in three large open-hearth steel fur
naces, and suspended in three ladles over
the mould at one time. The molten eon
tents then mingled in a trough or rnnner so
that the iron was thoroughly mixed before
it entered the mould. It took 340,000
pounds of iron to pour the easting. After
the mould was thoroughly cooled two 100
ton cranes lifted it fruin the tumd pit
(A. 1 v.v ! ,,,.v ti '
tiro
OISTPJBUTIOH of AMERICAN
be a useless one, to say nothing of the dis
tress and pain caused to relatives and
those most interested. In this matter the
example of Mr. Roosevelt might be imi
tated, who would have his son buried on
the field where he feI. If the stddiers
themselves could be consulted I feel 'they
would say what St Monica said to her son.
St. Augustine: 'It matters not where you
place my body; only remember me at the
nltar of God.' "
This inward belief of both Government
officials and prominent national figures that
the dead should rest where they died was
expressed by Gen. John J. Pershing in an
address delivered in the Argonne Forest
Cemetery in France shortly before his re
turn to the United States.
It was with the idea of making American
cemeteries in France everlasting memorials
that the American Field of Hqnor Associa
tion was founded. Its purpose is to co
operate with the Government in the selec
tion and beautification of one central and
several other cemeteries, each to be known
as part of the American Field of Jlonor.
The plan is to insure perpetual preserva
tion of these cemeteries as beautiful parks
and to erect on the central field a hand
some memorial building or monument.
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WflMVB J ... S C K
SIGNALLING MARS
Continued from Seventh Page.
its surface, . . . The distant astron
omer would never be able to compre
hend the whole of our earth's features in
a birdscyc glance, as we are able to do
with those features on that hemisphere of
Mars which happens to be turned toward
us on a clear night."
Favors the Light Idea.
"Accordingly," says De Forest, "if the
Martians are as wise as I think they should
be they have already sent signals to planets
more favorably disposed to them than we
are, and ten to one they have found light
best fitted for that purpose. When they
decide to have a try at us we shall prob
ably get notice of it by flashes despatched
from that planet's dark side by way of an
emphasizing background. And inasmuch
as Mars is supposed to be our senior in
the possession of animate life, it might be
just as well for us as the celestial junior to
wait until we are spoken to.
"With our present tremendous problems
of readjustment to absorb our time and.
treasure, we need not feel under any obli
gation to cultivate Mars merely because
Marconi is unable to identify the source of
some troublesome 'strays.' When we are
justified in answering Mars, or whatever
other planet calls to us, the easiest and
cheapest way to bring this about will prob
ably bejjirough the agency of powerful
electric lights adopting the plan suggested
by Elmer A. Sperry. As is well known,
the wonderful Sperry searchlight is, capable
of producing a beam having the illuminat
ing intensity of 1,280,000,000 candle power.
"According to Mr. Sperry he would form
a group of 150 to 200 of his searchlights
and direct their combined beams, in the di
rection of Mars. An aggregation of that
sort would 'possess the liminous equivalent
of a star of the seventh magnitude such as
our telescopes are able to pick up readily.
Therefore assuming that the Martians had
glasses of equal power, they should have no
trouble in catching that dot of light from a v,
distance of 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 miles.
"It would be possible, no doubt, to oper
ate, these lights so that they could give slow
signals which would fill all of the require
ments of a system of communication. How
ever, an array of lights of this character and
the needful energizing plant would cost a
very pretty sum. The outlay might be war
ranted some day, but certainly not nntil the
other fallow 'far, far away has seen fit fo
call us first."
Professor Einstein's Idea- Too.
It is. interesting to note that Prof. .Ein
stein, who has lately set the scientific world
agog by reason of his theory about tho ef
fect of gravitation upon rays of light, also
believes that if Mors be inhabited by intel
ligent creatures bent upon communicating
with tha earth they might bo expected to
try to do so by means of rays of light, whirh
STATISTICS OKNHCH- GEHERWJ
DEPM3.TMEHT
GRAVES IH FRANCE-
Incorporators of the American Field of
Honor Association include many prominent
men and women, including William Howard
Taft, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, Maj. Gen.
John F. O'Ryan, Samuel Gompers, Gen.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Agnes Repplier,
Violet Oakley, Mrs. Finley J. Shepard,
Commander Evangeline Booth, Henry Mor
ganthau, Bishop Luther Wilson, Owen
Wister, Col. Frederick Palmer and many
others.
The plan of the Field of Honor Asso
ciation is to include in its membership the
people in every State who desire to make
the Field of Honor the country's greatest
monument to America.1 The association
does not purpose to block legislation to
provide an appropriation to bring back the
bodies of those whose next of kin so desire.
But it feels that the American public should
realize the sorrow in store for them when
the funeral trains of 50.000 soldiers begin
to arrive in this country. Headquarters of
the association have been established in
the Munsey Building, Washington, with
Stephen T. Early, ex-captain of U. S. In
fantry, as secretary.
"Almost without exception," Mr. Early
said last week, "men who fought overseas
and who know' the conditions' of burial
Apparently he does not believe that the
Marconi signals originated beyond the lim
its of our own sphere.
The fact that the French Academy of
Sciences offers a reward of .f20,000 for the
oest plan by which to make a sign to a
heavenly body merely brings to light that
twenty-nine years ago Mine. Guzmann
made a bequest of 100,000 francs to be
awarded as a prize to "the first person who
shall be successful in communicating with
another world other than the planet Mars."
It seems that the Academy in 1891 hesi
tated to accept the bequest, but finally did
so, influenced by the proviso that if the
prize was not claimed within succeeding
periods of five years then the accumulated
interest at each half decade should go to
ward helping serious work in astronomical
progress.
Academy Accepts.
The Academy, in accepting the trust, de
clared that the intentions of the founder
should be scrupulously executed, and then
proceeded to quote Montaigne to this effect:
"It is a stupid presumption to condemn as
false all that which may not appear likely
to us. There is no greater madness in the
world than to reduce everything to the
measure of our capacity and competence."
Remembering how Nikola'" Tesla in 1899,
cut in Colorado, picked up signals which he
believed came from Mars the signals vary
ing in intensity as Mars reached opposi
tion and then swept further away upon its
orbit the singularity of Mme. Guzmann's
Ijoquest becomes suggestive.
Why did she eliminate Mars from the
possible planets to be reached f Had she
any reason to believe that that had al
ready been done and therefore cftnstituted
a warrant for effort elsewhere; or was that
patron of interstellar communication con
vinced that there were no Martians left to
respond to such a call f
One way or another Mr. Tesln was not
rewarded and certainly $20,000 would not
make a kindred effort worth while now.
A sum of that sort would be only a drop
in the bucket that would have to be filled
to make success possible.-
Ice a Popular Dainty
AMERICANS eat more ice cream and
similar frozen desserts than the peo
ple of anv other nation, but the Jap
anese have us surpassed as eaters of ice.
One of their favorite dishes is small cakes
of ice broken into tiny, pebbly pieces and
eaten with sugar and lemon. The com
monest way of eating ice in Japan, how
ever, is to shave it into snowy flakes and to
swallow it with sweetened water into which
fruit juice or sweetmeats have been thrown.
Ice cream, milk and eggs shaken with
ice and other kinds of cooling beverages are
wild' in an over increasing quantity, but tho
old style of eating raw ice, in what the Jap
anese rail the korimiiu fashion, is still in
the greatest vogue.
Truth About Agitation in This Country Shows
That Undertakers Hoped to
Increase Business
want to see their comrades left in the fields
where they felK"
Into tho hands of Mr. Early have come
concrete evidences of tho intentions of cer
tain undertakers now working in this coun
try to make profit on the transportation of
America't load. Most startling in its sig
nificance is a form letter sent out by a
prominent French undertaker to various
undertakers in this country. That, the let
ter has been sent at large to undertakers
in widely different localities is indicated
by tho various copies of tho same form
which have been uncovered.
The American Purple Cross Association,
formed at tho beginning of the war, offered
the Government assistance in returning the
bodies of the dead to the United States.
It was composed of undertakers of this
country. According to the statement of
Alfred B. Gawler, secretary of the Wash
ington branch of the National Funeral Di
rectors' Association, which is tho represent
ative in the capital of the national body, the
undertakers and einbalmcra of the country
as a whole are not behind the Purple Cross
movement. He recently said that the Pur
ple Cross plan, considered not feasible from
a military standpoint, was not approved at
the annual (1918) meeting of the National
Funeral Directors' Association.
Asks for $50,000,000.
Considerable publicity was given to an
article in the September 1, 1919, issue of
The Casket, the organ of American under
takers, which was signed "S. G. Q.," and
which urged the undertakers of the United
States to promote legislation to bring tho
dead back from France as a business prop
osition.. The mercenary tone of the article
was deplored in a pamphlet issued by Mabel
Fonda Gareisscn, a gold star mother,
whose ouly son lies in France and who, her
self, served overseas with the Y. M. C. A.
The Stars and Stripes, the veterans' weekly
published in- Washington, excoriated "S.
G. Q." in an editorial in the issue of No
vember 28, 1919.
The legislation referred to in The Casket
was the bill which was introduced last July
by Congressman T. II. Caraway of Ar
kansas providing for an appropriation of
.50,000,000 to return the bodies to America.
Of the fourteen bills on the matter intro
duced in Congress the latest is that of Mr.
Crago, providing for an appropriation of
Vitamines Helpful
To Anaemic Babies
FOR lack of a substance in their food
known as vitamines concerning
whoso mysteries science is not yet fully
informed many children die in infancy
from rickets and from forms of the wast
ing sickness which doctors cla-sify as
marasmus. Just ns a person might fade
away upon food entirely wholesome in it
self but lacking fat or starch or some other
necessary, part, so it has been discovered
that vitamines are needed to make food
complete.
Vitamines are usually classed as types
A, B or C, according lo their effects. The
presence of the A and B types seems neces
sary to growth and the absence of the C
type produces scurvy These substances
are found in animal and vegetable sub
stances and it would be difficult for an
adult on a. mixed diet to avoid getting his
quota. In the case of the infant and his
restricted diet, however, the matter is quite
different and science is just beginning to
give attention to tliis danger of vitamine
lack in baby diets.
Teachers College, which for years has
had an extensive department for studying
questions of diet in relation to health, .is
going to'know more about vitamines. Prof.
Walter H. Eddy, who as n Major was chief
of the food and nutrition section of the
chief surgeon's office, hopes that by the
introduction of vitamine solutions into the
diets of marasmie babies it will' be possible
to reduce infant mortulity.
He has. collaborated with Dr. Joseph G.
Roper in the study of sixteen cases of
babies under a year old at the New York
Hospital and in cooperation with Drs.
Schloss and Sannnis at the New York
Nursery and Children's Hospital has begun
further studies. The sixteen cases at the
New York Hospital have nil been dis
charged fully restored to health.
Prof. Eddy and Dr. Roper said in a
recent article in the American Journal of
Diseases of Children: "While the number
of cases at present reported is small the
results are suggestive and are reported here
more for stimulation of collateral investi
gation than because of the conclusiveness
of the evidence."
One of the most, interesting cases re
ported in this article is that of an infant
identified as "John G." The baby was six
months old on admission to the hospital.
He was a typical marasmie in appearance,
weighing only seven pounds and uine
ounces, although at birth he had been a
normal child of twelve pounds. In the
first twenty-two days various diets were
tried on John. Sometimes there was a
trifling gain, at others a loss, and tie net
result was a loss of two ounces. ' It was at
this point that Prof. Eddy and Dr. Roper
began the experiments with vitamine dos
age. Prof. Eddy had demonstrated the
.5,000,000. This amount will be only a
beginning, in tho opinion of Congressmen
opppsing the bill.
Tho War Department and Government
officials recognize that tho preponderance
of sentiment favoring the return of the,
bodies comes naturally from the nearest of
kin of those who gave their lives overseas.
Some estimate of the percentage of rela
tives who want tho bodies returned may be
made from figures issued by the War De
partment on queries Bent to nearest of kin.
Many Want the Return.
Eurly in the discussion of the plan the
War Department sent out a total of 74,770
cards to relatives. Of this number 03,708
ilnswcrs were received. Of these, 43,909
requested tho return of the bodies to the
United States, 19,499 requested retention in
Europe, and 300 asked for reburials in
other countries than the United States.
Considering that those relatives who have
not been heard from do not desire tho
bodies returned, totalling 11,002, and ad
ding to this number the 19,499 who request
retention in Europe and the 300 who want
reburials in other European countries, it
is found that 30,801 families' out of a total
of 74,770 do not want their dead brought
back to America. Of tho original 43,909
answers in favor of transfer to this country
betweeli 500 and 000 recently have sent in
letters changing their attitude on the mat
ter and requesting retention in France.
The Graves Registration Service of the
Government now has offices in both Wash
ington and Paris. Cooperating with the
Government is the American Red Cross,
which is engaged in photographing the in
dividual graves. These photographs are
being collected at Red Cross headquarters
in the capital where they will be sorted
and mailed, three copies of the photograph
of the grave of every American soldier be
ing sent to his family.
From more than 15,000 isolated and in
accessibly located single graves and from
17,000 burial places of American dead the
bodies of the men overseas now have been
concentrated in somewhat less than 600 lo
cations. The Red Cross has no share in tho regis
tering or care of the graves or the final
disposition of the bodies. These matters
rest with tho Government.
presence of the B vitamine in sheep pan
ereas, and in this experimert that source
was used, the extracted vitamine being
added to a diet complete in every respect as
to nutricuts and calories, &o., but on which
the baby had failed to grow.
These experiments continued -for eighty
days. In this time the following striking
results were observed: In the first eight
days after the administration of the vita
mine the baby not only tolerated his diet
but gained eight ounces in weight, although
the consumption of food was the lowest yet
given. Increasing the food to meet the
new appetite and continuing the vitamine
dosage, the child gained in twenty-one days'
twenty-one ounces.
When the vitamine was discontinued for
a short time the amount already consumed
appeared to continue in effect for a few
days, an increase in six ounces in weight
being recorded in the next five days. Then,
though the food intake remained" the same,
there was. no further growth. Without
changing the food the vitamine dosage was
resumed with an immediate response which
continued for twenty-three days. At that
time the appearance of the baby was so
improved that it was decided to determine
whether the child could now get along on
a whole milk diet. Apparently at this
point the impulse toward normal growth
and assimilation had been established and
the child was discharged as a cured case
four months after admission, having in
creased in weight from seven pounds nine
ounces on ndmission to thirteen pounds at
date of discharge. .
The authors are careful to state in their
publication that the work is in a purely
experimental stage and to deprecate pre
mature conclusions. Itits in the develop
ment of such work, however, that progress
lies in the reduction of infant mortality and
it is from such work that Teachers College
transforms its teaching from mere routine
to progressive instruction.
. The subject of vitamines has taken great
strides since Casimir Fund named the sub
stance in 1911. To no one man can be
ascribed the whole credit of their discovery
and importance. Osborne and Mendel at
Yale and E. J.McCollumof Johns Hopkins,
perhaps, have done most in this country,
through feeding experiments with rats, to
sliow the principles that must guide feeding
and diet. The beginnings of the applica
tion of tho principles to baby diets may
perhaps be credited to Dr. Alfred Hess of
New York city, and the experiments of
Prof. Eddy nnd Dr. Roper arc the first that
hive been directly applied to the problem
of marasmus.
"Better Babies'' is a slogan that interest
every mother and father in the world. Bet
ter education and better facilities for scien
tific investigation are the factors that made
the slogan vital.