The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume], January 05, 1916, Image 1

About The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917

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BRIDGEPORT, CONN., WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5, 1&16
VOL. 52 NO. 4
PRICE TWO CENTS
nEMIH6T0Hv
GOmOLS
B. GO
Litisration in New York
; Qotcrfe? .Discloses Lodge
Interests of Marcellas
Hartley Dodge m Another
Bridgeport Corporation.
"War Boom Has Relieved
Financial Strain of Plant,
WhicLiNow is Directed By-
Interests That Control
Big Arms Plants.
.., (Special to The Farmer.)
New. York, Jan. 5 That the
Amari6an & British Manufac
turing ; Cck ' of i Bridgeport , has
X . Jueexi xuetue it ua,i t ui me great
Remington interests and that
Marcelms Hartley Dodge, who.
controls most of the Remington
stock, has also hecome.one- of
the largest stockholders of the
American & British Co. became
known,! yesterday through re-
. cords Hied with the bupreme
The Bethlehem Steel Co., Mr.
Dodge,' Charles R. Flint, Allan
A. Ryan ancTChaiiiicey N. De
pew are. recorded as the largest
stockholders of the Bridgeport
' concern. ;; ' ,
The profits from business
stimulated by the war ha-v-e en
abled ' the American & British
Co. to pay off; a $60,000 mort
gage, add $125,000 to the value
of its real estate holdings and
to increase its assets $700,000
: further became known, , ,
Justjce , Ford directed Charles- H.
Tildder, receiver for the' International
Power Co, of -which the Bridgeport
plant is a subsidiary, to -vote the stock
of the. American & British Co,' forv tie
re-election - of the , present ;offlcersf
tie Park Qty conoern. .''.' - , ' . '
. The plant of the American & British ;
Co. la i mrpiwhing ' parts-K5. Buna send '
shells to the Bethlehem Steel Co, the
United States army and many mnni-s
tlon factories , in. this . country and
Canada.1'' t.---' A . ... '
About $5,000,000 worth of stocks of
' the American & British Co. -was pledg
ed several years ago' to the Interna
; tlonal Power Co. for. $150,000. Since
the European -war began the Bridge
port factory has been .operated night
" and -day on -war orders, and in the
v first-, few . months of the war, the
" papers filed in court show the profits
were so large that the company pros
pered. , ...
; ;i The owners of the : pledged stock
recently attempted to obtain a share
of these profits by means of an action
brought by the New J ersey receiver
. , of , the , International Power -Co.. Ed
win Sadler, of Trenton. The American
f& British Co. thereupon brought, an
action against the New York receiver
to account, but Justice Whitfatker de
nied ,the ; petition. The plaintiff then
began ah action before Justice Ford
to "instruct the receiver in regard to
. . certain stock transactions." -
In these papers, filed in the county
clerk's office, it is stated that efforts
. were being made to influence the In -,
ternational Power ; receivers to vote
the business out of the hands of the
! controlling members, and Justice Ford
was asked to direct Mr. Bidder to vote
to keep i the present management in
control. V .
- To indicate that a new" management
night upset the business, . the affida
vits recite that the company, is ne
gotiating ; for new orders embracing
hundreds- of thousands of shells for
. the- Allies, and that at the present
. time : It has .in process of manufac
ture these -orders: 100,000 3-inch
shrapnel case f orgings for the United
States army; ' 900,000 .7 high explo
sive shells I for the Bethlehem Steel
i Co., 250 breech mechanism for 3rinch
guns for the Bethlehem Steel Co., be
sides breech rings for guns, lathes,
- automobile trucks and other materials
used In war. v;
In his decision Justice Ford said: -
. "I can see no valid objection to the
present , management of the plaintiff
erganizatioiu' There are strong argu
ments why the existing board should
be continued in control of its now
flourishing business. The receiver,
" Charles It Kidder, is instructed to
vote the stock of the plaintiff cor-
- poration for the re-election of the
present directors at the next meet-
.-, ing."
:: Although Karl T. Frederick, of No.
I '4 Wall street, the attorney for the
International Power receiver is con
nected with the firm which conducts
the legal business for J. P. Morgan &
Co., he has denied that - he is acting
in behalf of the munition agents of
the Allies In an effort fto obtain con
trol of the Bridgeport- works. The
attorney who represented the Amer
ican' and British .company is George
S. Graham, a representative in Con
gress from Philadelphia, who has a
law office at No. 42 Broadway. ?
SHEMPP WILL GIVE ' ,
HIS DEPUTIES DINNER
S County Sheriff Simeon Pease Will
- give a dinner to his Ceputies Saturday
afternoon at the county Jail. It has
"been an annual custom for the coun
ty sheriff to act as host to his deputies
.and this year the event will be more
elaborate than usual. There will be
informal speeches and a group picture
of the guests will be taken.
THE WEATHER
. Xl&ln tonight! Thursday rain or
Cnow and colder.
gton
FURTHER OE
J Washington, Jan. 5-President Wilson conferred with Sec
retary Lansing for an hour today over the submarine crisis. No
additional facts, beyond the definite knowledge that only two
Americans were aboard the liner Persia, had been received by
the state department over night
field at Vienna, Ambassador Gerard at Berlin or American Con
sul agents along the shores pf
Such Information as had already
been received, however, wad carefully
reviewed by both the President and
Wr. Lansing. There still was every
indication that no action would be
taken pending the receipt of fuller ad
vices. Whether the status of the Per
sia was changed - from a'n unarmed
ltner to that of a vessel which might
technically be classified . as armed by
the fact that she mounted one gun, is
a point -which United States navy ex
perts will be called upon to help de-
miv
FfOIDEMT
TO SENATE P
- Washington, Jan. ,5 Charges circu
lated during the last session of, Con
gress that administration officials act
ed in the interest of foreign business
firms in urging the passage of the
government ship purchase bill were
held to be : baseless . in majority and
minority reports filed today , by the
Senate committee appointed to investi
gate them. Both .reports also found
the shipping interests blameless, of il
legal activity in opposition to the
measure. - V
The majority derfounced Theodore
Kobsevelt for failing to appear before
the committee to testify concerning
bis published assertion that President
Wilson and Secretary. Bryan "had en
deavored in the interest of certain
foreign business firms' to secure the
United States the power to purchase
the; interned ships of one f, the beK
ligerent : .,,..,
The charge. -..fh report said, had its
origin In fthat ungenerous trait of the;
human mind which makes it prone
to promote unworthy motives to re
doubtaibte xifala and particularly po
litical, antagonists."
00S1
STRIKERS MERIDEN SILVER
SHOPS AND LEADERS OF UNION
FACE COMPANY'S DAMAGE SUIT
New Haven, Jan. 6 The petition of J
the International Silver Company for J
an injunction against former employes I
who are now on , strike restraining
them from aUeged interference with
other .employes, was heard by Judge
James Webb, of the superior court
today. . More than a hundred per
sons came down from Meriden, many
of them under subpoena, and as a
committee room assigned -for the mat
ter was not large enough, a superior
court room was used and well filled.
At the outset C. J. Danaher for
the respondents . waived he reading
of the complaint and filed in writ
ing his formal appearance for the Met
al Workers, Buffers, Polishers, Platers,
Brass and Silver Workers Interna
tional Union, the locals of that body,
the- confederation of labor, the Fed
eral Union which is made up of -women,
other organizations and the many
individuals- named in the complaint.
The International Silver Company also
brings a suit alleging damages of $6,
000. The petitioners were represented by
Ralph O. Wells and Roger H. Davis,
MUNITIONS KEY
TO VICTORY OF
BRITISH ARMS
Lloyd George, In Solemn
Speech. Reminds Work
ingmen of Their Duty
London, Jan. 5-The House x ol
Commons today passed a bill design
ed to facilitate the output of muni-
... rrv.A win 4a tw fnrm of an
UUU9. J. io pj. w ...
amendment to the munitions act. In
appealing for the passages of the
measure. David Lloyd George; minis
ter of munitions, saia:
("I hope the commons will not ren
it ti task of turning
UVl v -
out munitions- a task more serious
than I dare tell. Everything de-
ntnM uDon it. The length or tne
war depends upon it. Everything
depends upon wnetner we turn uui
munitions inx sufficient quantities to
bring the campaign ' to J an end , this
year.
wrh.t dnM not denend upon tnfe
u; havo Anna 1 their tass
BUiuici e, . - - -
heroically. It depends entirely upon
I gay it in ail solemnity i-ne w.-
men of this country doing what thji
m-nrkmen of France have done:
frankly, setting aside conditions,
throwing themselves Into" the work
and sticking to their workshops. Un
less they tio that i cannot . xeu wna
the result will be." . v
await:
TAILS OM
from either Ambassador Pen
the, Mediterranean.
termlne. They will be asked for ad
vice on how the liner's one gun' might
have been used.
Meagre despatches have failed to
Indicate whether the gun was mounted
for defense or offense.
Official despatches received, today
established that only one American
is - among the missing ' passengers,
Robert N. McNeely, newly appointed
American consul at Aden. Charles H.
Grant, the American passenger, was
rescued; -' -
i
" "The writer," added the report,
"whose eminence was. naturally calcu
lated to give weight to his utterance,
finding himself . without any - -basis,
even of - a hearsay character, for his
slanderous attack upon -the highest
officer of his government, . simply re
sorted to a palpable sophistry to es
cape the responsibility for the asser
tion he had made."
While the committee found no evi
dence to indicate that the President
or Secretary Bryan harbored any
purpose to bjiy interned ships the ma
jority held that It was' not difficult to
conceive of ' reasons - consistent with
the most exalted motives that might
induce the 'declaration that .the.- bel
ligerents -ships would not 'be bought.
. "Such" an action," said the report,
"would " rightly ; be construed as an
abandonment of our right, which our
nation, has vigorously maintained to
acquire merchant ships by 'bona 'fide
purchase, though -a state of war ex
ists Involving the. natlonxuridW .whose
Sag they previously : sailed." :
.Senator Sutherland signed the min
ority report for himself and Senator
Penrose. , :
of Hartford. -
After entering his appearance,
w;hicli he! explained to the court Was
to protect the rights of all those
named in the complaint, Mr. Danaher
entered a general denial to all the
allegation. Judge Webb I said that
the case was' not In court at this
time, this belng simply a . hearing
upon a petition for an Injunction, the
burden of proof beirlg upon the peti
tioners, I
However, he said that Mr. Danalier
could file his papers with the record
in the clerk's hands.
Mr. Wells " asked permission to
amend the complaint as some names
in it were not complete-and some of
those named had not yet been served
with notice.
John Fitzgerald, a vice president of
the metal polishers' union, was called.
He said the international union was a
voluntary association of men in the
trades mentioned. The first knowl
edge of these proceedings he had was
(Continued, on Pag 7.)
TIDE UNUSUALLY
HIGH, SUBMARINE
G-3 IS LAUNCHED
Leaves Ways at Lake Co.'s
Yards in Tow of Tug Rob
ert McAllister.
The submarine ' G-3 was launched
at the Lake Torpedo Boat Co. ship
yards this morning. The undersea
boat went off the ways and into the
water without a mishap.
Lieut. Fred Xerxes Gygax, officer
in command of the ship,' was in charge
of the launching. Officials of the
Lake Co. and others witnessed the
sliding of the ship into tle harbor.
The tug Robert McAllister towed
the submersible. The launching was
made easy by an unusually high tide
that prevailed at the time.
The G-8 now lies in the Bridgeport
harbor and the offioer in command
is awaiting orders from Washington. .
VETERAIf KILLED BY GAS
Hartford, Jan.' 5..- Edward- O'Reilly,
78, was found dead in- his room at No.
113 Pearl street today and gas was es
caping from an- open fixture. He
was a native of Ireland and came to
Hartford from Wallingford- ie was
a Civil war Teteran, A
S ATTACIi OK
g DEiJOUiyGED
JUROR'S LETTER
CAUSES ABRUPT
ENDING OF TRIAL
Suit Against Manufacturer
For $10,000 Must Be
Heard Aneyr. v
MISTRIAL DECLARED
AND COURT ADJOURNS
William H. Wessels of
Greenwich Unwittingly
Violated Juror's Oath.
The writing of a letter by a Juror to
a lawyer in the case resulted in Judge
Gager this morning declaring a mis
trial In the $10,000 action brought by
Benjamin ,Feinman, administrator,
against Casper D. Wallace of this city.
The Juror, William H. Wessel3 of
Greenwich, ; violated his oath in writ-,
ing the note and Judge Gager ruled
that there was nothing else to do but
discharge the Jury and order a new
trial.' As no other cases were ready
for trial it was necessary to adjourn
court until mext Tuesday.
On the jury which was chosen yes
terday to hear the evidence were for
mer Director of Public Works John H.
Colgan and Isaac P. Turney of this
city. Juror 'Wessels learned after the
trial was almost over that these two
men were Bridgeport residents. The
automobile aecldent, which was- the
cause of the present suit, happened in
this city and Wessels had an idea that
( Juror was disqualified from acting in
a case which concerned an affair in his
own city.
He therefore wrote a note to Judge
A.- B. v Beers, counsel for Wallace, in
which he stated that, although Judge
Beers might not be afarare of the fact,
there were two Bridgeporters on the
jury. . Wessels" said he thought Judge
Beers should know this. Judge Beers
was aware that Colgan and Turney
live in this city. The mere fact that
they are Bridgeporters would not dis
emality them from acting in a local
trial. '
Nevertheless Judge Beers felt it his
duty to inform Judge Gager that he
had received the note from Juror Wes
sels. The court remarked that the
Juror had made an . innocent mistake
by , writing: the ;note. He had un
wittingly violated his oathby talking
about the case with a person outside
the Jury during the progress of the
trial, .. Julge. Gager was not disposed
to censure Jurolr Wessels but said Tie-
hiust declare a mistflah ?
Fein was suing for $10,000 , as ad
ministration f6t his son Samuel who
was fatally injured by Wallace's auto
mobile In Congress . street in April,
1914.' - - ' : V;:
Mr. Wallace," Whd-lives at 178 Arc
tic . street, haa- been connected in an
executive capacity wth the Lake Tor
pedo Boat Co. He was for many
years superintendent or tne xost
Typewriter works in the West End.
-He has several times occupied posi
tions of - national prominence in the
Grand Army of the Republic.
TWEIIlY Pf R CENT
OF POLICE FORCE
UNABLE TO WORK
Nearly 20 per cent, of the local po
lice f orce are' absent from duty today,
the larger proportion of the absentees
being on the sick list. Spencer R.
Gordon, head of the charities depart
ment also is severely ill at his home,
with the grip.
Among the local policemen afflicted
iwth colds and grip are : Detective
Sergeant Peter Hall, Charles Lush,
John 'McPadden, Jr., and -John Mc
Padden, Sr., Dennis Keboe, John
Glennon, John MoGlrr, Daniel Poland,
Christopher Finne'gan,. J. T. Coughlin,
Simon ?McCuIlough. Michael Quilty,
John Dwyer, ; Patrick Corrigan, Pat
rick Sheen ( and John Kelly. Others
granted absence for various personal
reasons are Patrick Boland, Andrew
Mraiik, John Fox, John Smallwood.
and J. J. Lavln. ' .
Widow Appeals When
Court Denies Share
In ilusband's Estate
Claiming that she received-no no
tice of her husband's death or of the
probating of his estate, and therefore
was denied her rightful share, Mae
Butler, of Minneapolis, Minn., filed a
petition In the probate court for a
redistribution of the estate. Judge
Miller today denied the petition on
the ground that every ; legal require
ment had been compiled with and the
only heir at law to make claim for the
estate was Luch Washington, mother
of Mr, Butler. She lives at Roxbury,
Conn. - '
AH the parties In interest are col
ored people and Mrs. Butler was rep
resented - by a colored lawyer, George
Branford, of New Haven. Mrs. Butler,
who was Mae J. Seames, presented
evidence that she was married to
Butler in Minneapolis on Dec. 15,
1909. He afterward left her and
came to Bridgeport, where he, died In
1913. Whether the couple saw each
other or communicated with each oth
er from the time Butler left until is
death does hot appear In the papers
at the probate court.
Henry E. Bishop was the adminis
trator of the estate which consisted
of $500 equity in a piece of real es
tate and $508.63 in cash in banks.,
After Mr. Butler's bills, the cost of
settlement of the estate, funeral ex
penses, etc., had been paid, there was
left $154.61, which his mother inher
ited as sole heir at law.
Since she received the money nearly
two years ago and after every leeral
requirement had been complied with,
Judge Miller denied the petition. At
torney Branford served notice at once
of ' Intention to appeal.
CHOATE ASSERTS
RAILROAD TRIAL
HAS BEEN UNFAIR
Counsel For Directors of
New Haven Declares New
England Repudiates Case
WOULD PROTECT NAME
OF OUR GOVERNORS
Says Government didn't
Dare Try Case in Any of
New England States.
New York, Jan. ' 5. Charles F.
Choate, of Boston, told the jury today
while summing up the case for the de
fense at . the trial of the 11 former di
rectors of the New Haven road on
charges of violating the Sherman law,
that the people of Nev England , were
opposed to the prosecution and had re
pudiated it. , ' '
"New England repudiates this pros
ecution," he asserted. "They will have
none of it. The government put these
men on trial where they were not
known. Tu probably heard of none
of them before they were brought into
this , court. The government did not
dare' to try them in the courts of New
England.
' "And I say that the men . who would
dare 'to insinuate in New England, as
has ' been done here, against the fair
name of Governor Draper well, I
daren't tell you what would happen to
him. And the man who would, say
that Robert Winsor is n'ot an honest
man would receive the contempt he
justly deserves. , ,
Mr. . Cnoate said that the govern
ment, with all its experts and its se
cret service had not been able "to
produce one witness from New Eng
land who would testify to a single act
of oppression on the part of the New,
Haven." '-.
The lawyer dwelt at length upon the
improvements in service which the
New Haven had furnished to New
England, citing in particular the ter
minals at Boston. .
Speaking of the New Haven's fights
with,-.rival steamboat lines, Mr. Choate
asked: . ,
"Are you to sit defenseless and let
others tsfke your property from you?
."What is the logical outcome of
competition ? There is a weaker and
a stronger. And the govFnment says
If you- fight your competitor till he
succumbs then you are violating the
law. And if you give him chance to
live and Work along with him then
you are also violating he law."
WON'T ALLOW
PERSONALITIES
IN BIG DEBATE
Suffragists and, "Antis"
Must Be Ladies When
They battle (Tonight
Special precautions have been tak
en to keep the big suffrage battle
scheduled for tonight within . the
bounds of logical argument. The com
mittee in charge of the affair have
issued Instructions to Referee Ernest
Berger, appointed by the Bridgeport
Philosophical society, that in the open
debate only, written questions may be
proposed to the chairman." This meth
od has been taken in order to assure
that personalities and irrelevancies
may be avoided in the heated argu
ments between suffragists and "an
tis." Another feature of the affair which
is open to all women interested in
either cause is a newly formed wom
en's orchestra. Under the leadership
of Mrs. John J. Llndholm, Mrs. Cora
Van Yorx, Miss Carrie Whitney, Miss
Elizabeth Spelcer and Miss Margaret
Casey will combine to offer orches
tral selections. Miss Vida Stearns
will be heard .in vocal solos. i
Another novel feature that has been
ordered is the taking of secret ballots
both before and after the debate to
see what effect the 'speaking has up
on the audience present and wheth
er, suffrage or anti-suffrage gains-'by
the argument.
The affair will be held in Knights
of Pythias hall, 102 5. Main, street the
atfirmative forces arguing "Woman's
Suffrage is Desirable" will be led by
Mrs.. Katherine Houghton Hepburn,
chairman of the Connecticut Worn
ens' Suffrage association, of Hart
ford. The negative will be led by
Mrs. Grace Duffiels Goodwin, of the
Anti-Suffrage association, Hartford.
Noble Estate Heirs
Claim More Damages
Than Allowed Them
Henrietta M. Noble and Fanny S.
Dupuy, heirs of the John F. Noble es
tate on the north side .of Stratford
avenue, have notified the city clerk of
their intention to sue for greater land
damages in connection with the wid
ening of Stratford avenue. The Noble
estate heirs claim that their property
will be damaged to the extent of
$16,000. They reside in Jenkinstown,
Pa. They were awarded $317 in dam
ages for the property, which it is pro
posed to take from them in widening
the street for the approach to the pro
posed,, new Stratford avenue bridge.
Attorney Samuel C.Shaw appeared at
a hearing before the common council
a short time ago and said that his
clients will claim large land damages
if their property is disturbed. The
common council at its meeting Mon
day night acceted the report of the
board of appraisal of benefits and
damages on he awards made e.xch
property oner.
- Maior-General Nicholas Bosboom,
Dutch minister of war, has resigned. '
COMPULSORY
BILL
BRITISH SAmi
Many Members Get Permission to Return From Battle ;
Front to Vote On Measure Earl of Derby, Who Con
ducted Campaign for Recruits, in Gallery Tells of
Handicaps Met With In His Work.
London, Jan. 5 The bill providing for compulsory military ;
service was introduced in the House of Commons today by Pre-1
mier Asquith.
The largest assemblage of members since the war began;
faced the Premier. "Many members had obtained leave to re-1
turn from the (front so that they might be able to vote on theT
compulsion bill. .
The Ear of Derby, who conducted the recruiting campaign, ,
was in the peers' gallery.
Under the terms of he bill all males between the ages of 18 j
and 41 who-are bachelors or widowers without children depend
ent on them are liable for military service.
Ireland is excluded from the terms of the measure.
Loqs Battle
Cost British
60,000 Lives
London, Jan. 6 rThe British casu
alties in the battle of Loos, France,
last September, totalled 2,378- officers
and 57,288 men, .according to an an
nouncement , made in the House of
Commons this afternoon by Harold
Ji Tennant. parliamentary under sec
retary for war.
Berlin, Jan.. 5 -Fighting with artil
lery and mines at several points on
the Franco-Belgian front is reported
in the war office statement of today.
London, Jan. 5 The sinking of the
White Star liner Arabic, the destruc
tion of a British submarine by a Ger
man destroyer ' on the Danish'" coast
arid the submarine attack on the Brit
ish steamer Ruel- are. .-the--three inci
dents that Sir- Edward, Grey;- the Brit
ish foreign secretary, suggests for sub
mission to some impartial tribunal for
investigation, together with the case
of the- Borelong. , - !
PUTS REVOLVER
IN MOUTH AND
PULLS TRIGGER
Unknown Man Found With
Head Shattered in West
End Circus Lot.
An unknowns manj. evidently a pros
perous foreigner, was found dead to
day in the. circus lot at Fairfield avenue,-'
and Auburn ., street - of a pistol
wound in the roof of his mouth. From
the position of the body It would ap
pear the man committed suicide. Be
side the body .was .a 32-calibre five-
shot .revolver with one of the shell
empty. " ....... .
The body was found at 1:10 "this
afternoon by John Magra of 118 Pine
street, who was ' crossing the -- lot.
From ' the appearance ' of the corpse
it is believed that the man had been
dead only a short time.
Young Magra at once notified Ser
geant Sanger at the Third precinct
station. Sergeant O'Oonnell and a po
liceman went to the scene and the
body was taken to, Cullinan & Mullins"
morgue. , The man Was well built, of
about five feet five inches in height
and , weighed in the neighborhood .of
155 pounds. He had darK Drown nair
and mustache.
He wore a brown -mixed cap, light
brown trousers and -a- black overcoat
over . a dark coat, new red sweater
and starched stiff shirt with collar
and a black necktie. He wore black
congress gaiters.
From the condition of the man s
hands and his body it Is believed he
had. formerly been engaged in some
kind of clerical employment. No
money was found on his person.
Medical Examiner Garlick took
charge 'of the revolver and some let
ters written In Hungarian, which were
fonud In his pockets. The police at
press hour were endeavoring to find
some resident of the West End who
could identify the man. ' ,
HE LIGHTED A BOMB,
INSURANCE HELD UP,
ADMINISTRATOR SUES
Hartford, Jan. 5 President Morgan
G. Bulkeley; of the Aetna Life Insur
ance Co., as administrator of the es
tate of Oscar Johnson, his late gar
dener, has brought a suit for" $809
damages against the Brqtherhood Ac
cident Insurance Co. of Boston. The
suit has been returned to the superior
court In this city. Johnson had a pol
icy with the company. It is the con
tention that Johnson was told to cart
away some bombs which were on the
Bulkeley premises at Fenwick but ha
voluntarily lit the fuse of one of them
and that it exploded and blew off
part of the chin, producing a fatal
wound. -The company takes theJ
ground that Johnson voluntarily j ex
posed himself to danger and that the
company is therefore not liable.
SERVICE
IS PRESENTED 111
The House of Commons reassembled
today in an anxious mood, uncertain
as to how far the injection of compul
sion Into the British, military system
might have jbroken or weakened the
cabinet. This point presumably was
settled definitely at the cabinet which
sat prior- tp the opening of parliament
and adopted in its final form the com- :
pulsion bill. '-. . !
The only absentee from the cabinet
meeting today was Sir John Simon,
home secretary, .who has resigned. :
As Reginald McKenna, chancellor of j
the exchequer, was present and an
swered as usual, the members con-
eluded there had been no further with- .
drawals from the cabinet.'
LACK OF CLERKS
DELAYS DERBY'S!
RECRUITING PLAfj'
LORD DERBY TELLS I
OF HANDICAPS TO
RECRUIJTIN'G PLANS
London, Jan.' 5.
the. government's
-The operating of
plan was hand!- :
capped and ' delayed by the impossi
bility of obtaining a sufficient number ;
of medical examiners and experienced
clerks, says . Lord Derby today in a :
report answering criticism of inade-
quate arrangements during the abnor- -mal
flow of . recruits at - the eleventh
hour. Hence- wh'le gross numbers aro J
available up to the end of the period.
Dec. 11, details of groups are forth- ,
coming only up to 'Nov. 30 before the 1
tremendous rush began.
. In the latter days of the canvass, j
says Lord Derby, especially in country i
districts, the starred - lists proved un
satisfactory . and recruits were incor- j
rectiy aescnoea.- - this win - can ; ior ,
further Investigation. - v '
. Lord Derby declares - the canvass i
shows that-it is not lack- of "courage
which keeps men from" enlisting. Many i
who are willing to go. find themselvea j
barred by domestic, financial and bus- i
iness' obligation and by- the lnade-,-quacy
of the separation "allowances. J
This applies especially to professional.!
and commercial men. - ' '
The total' number of men ready to j
bear arms obtained from enlistments
for the period between October 23 and.
(Dec. 15 is -estimated .in- Lord- Derby's t
report at 1,046,493. - After deductions
from the total number of attested men j
of the various classes indispensable fori i
civil occupations, the numbers - avails j
able for military service - are' 343,383 ;
single men and 487,765. married. :
Adding those who enlisted for Jm- ;
mediate service gives a total ready to
bear arms of 446,386 single and 600,107: ',
married. ; " : -
"An obstacle -to recruiting," says the
report, '"has been the unequal treat-
lent o Individuals. Parents and re-! ,
lations, especially, cannot understand '
why their sons, husbands or brothers
should Join while ' other young men :
hold back and secure lucrative, em- ',
ployment at home. ' Apart from the j
number of men who have, actually en
listed and attested there are many )
who have promised to enlist when "so ,
and so" has also promised to go.' ;
There may, of course, be a number of
men who make this answer as an ex-
cuse. But that it is genuine in very ;
large number of cases Is accentuated I
by bad starring there is no reason to
doubt. . ,. -
"The canvass shows very distinctly
that it is not want of courage that Is
keeping men back, but that the coun-
try as a whole is determined to sup- j
port the prime minister in his pledga
made at the Guild Hall on November . i
9, 1914 (regarding the calling out of i
married men) as it was when the '
pledge was made. There is an abund- '
ance of evidence of determination to
see the war through to a successful'
conclusion." .
This report was made on - Dec. 12.
In a supplementary report made on
Dec. 20, the E;arl of Derby says: '
"Large as are the figures, I am '
afraid that on analysis do not prove '
as satisfactory as I could have wished.
Owing to the great rush of recruits it
was impossible in many cases to have '
more than the most perfunctory med- j
leal examination, and the number of '
men who will be rejected when the
various groups are called up and sub- ;
Jected to proper examination must be i
very large; the number of men ac
tually examined both starred and un-
tsarred, being 925,455."
The Earl points out also that many ;
must be reduced as the sole support of j
dependent . relatives. He says there i
are 651,160 unstarred single men un
accounted for.
"This is far from being' a pegligibla
quantity," the report contiaike--.