bought paid for. jfen* -dcnrk...
TRANSCRIPT
Jfen* -Dcnrk iTribunc*******
Firat to 1-aat.Ihe Truth: Newa.Editnrlaln.Adaertlaem-nt*.
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*ion ran pnrrhaae mrrrhandiae advertised In
THI* TKllU'M" fl ith khaalatS aafct-..for
if dflBBStlsfartlflfl *-SSfljltl in any ca«.c THK
TRIM IT IBfllfllflia tB PT \our monrv bark
upon rrqucr-t. No rrd tape, no quibhling. V*e
make flood promptly If the aih erti*er dora not.
Surrendering to the Pork Hunters.President Wilson Ifl fond of talkinp
about tho croation in this country oi ;i
nrw spirit Otf nationalism. Hfl tluentlydcscant.s on tho necessity of 'i X*V* Ameri¬
canism, of rJoBBff c'.orilination of our scat-
tercd interest* and of -frSattr clliciencyon tho part of our national povernment.
But when the time comes to transla'.e
phrnsos into action he fails us. NoPretident ever had a more inspirlng opportunity than he had, when Conpiv-him its 1*12.000*000 river aml harbor porkprab. to alipn himself triumphar.tly OB tlie
side of nationalism putting nation-wu!einterests first Bnd far above the petty, andfor the most part fictitious, inter.states and Congress districts. If Mr. Wil-son had had courape to veto the river andharbor abomination, he would hanbflrfoTC the world as an American statcs-
man resolute enouph to cut loose from thetraditions of pork-hunting parochialism.Hr would have won respect and honor byehallengmg the odious lepislative system.throuph which Representatives and Sen-atorr- rifle the Feder.il Treasury for thcsake of the whorewithal with which to an¬
swer the sordid question: "What did you
l.rinp back home with you?"The bill which the President has just
| is in some respects the most scan-
dalou- ever sent to the White House for
appro-al. Public opinion has been great-ly arou.-ed m recent years apainst the ae-
of the Conpressional pork hunters.There were successful filibustcrs in theSenate apainst the river and harbormeasures of 1M4 and 1915, and the ex¬
penditure carried ln those two bills hadtr, ba eal down from $02,000,000 to $50,000,000 before they got to the President.This year's slnple measure, loaded up inaccordance with the worst mathods of thfl
¦arries M2,-000,000. The t .¦
.,. of this money arill be spent on
projects of purely local interest. fron:
which no permanent nation.il benefit cai,
<ver raatult, or
M. of the improvements authorized are
nated with any peneral plan of
pmcr.t. The motive be¬hind then is not economic, but only seltish-
ly political.In B .-pee.-h in tlie House of Repre-
lentativei on *»pril 10 last Mr. Frear, of\VlM-, of the most cour:..
of pork barrel lepislation of a!lflortfl, thus described the eprepious failureof the policy of river improvements towhich Confress has obstinatelj" clunp:
"After appropnatinp ""0for Arnericnn waterway.-, over $*00,-000,000 ol which has been expended,
approximately half of arhich has¦-onfl into rivers, creek-. and canals,pra ti all** not one river or canal,apart fr. .rn deep w.itirways. has
proven a success commercially. TheOhio and Mononpahela. by reason of,.,,;,! .i.p.Mts at their headwaters.have prcscrved a semblance of theircommerce, but tbe Mississippi has lost
appr.xima'. !y 00 per cent of its com¬
merce whito ara have been expending000,000 on that river. The Mis-
ri ha- beCOOM practieally desertod.r an expandiU 1,000,000.
Thf Ohio ha- not held its own. Binn upenditure of over 160,000,000.Tbe '1.nr.e.i .¦ l.as lo.-t most of itslivcr trade of fifty years apo, al-
thoogh $11,.,000, in rvumi ntun-)... appropriated for lockfland dams ami other improvements.
.¦.-,. Um Hfll could be continued in-
definitely to include the Warrior. Ala¬bama. i oosa, Cumberland, Trinity,l'.ra/o-. ArhanBBS, Ouachita, Ked andi.ther nvers and canals. We arvwast-
mp BAono] on idmtoBi *i**mtur«t, andrnakinp th- effort to get any
nonnc or r-cietitilic understandinp oftbe wati rway question. dependinp en-
ra- ) ot* loeal inflifltenca in detennin-ing the appropriations w»* distribute,Ua- nuaj spend another 1400,000,000on rivers. rroeltl an.l c;it.a!s without
.il increase in a<"
.onimerce, judpinp from pasl experi-ai.ir. . . Army » ar-
niah anUtoading commercial reports >>frs a.il canals, aa ¦ basis for fut-
ura appropriations. After deducting:. gravel, govarnmeBl construction
material. logS and tirnber. which Moaton a small ibpth. the net commerce.
aided bj expenaive improvement:ordinarilji slighl and of little value,-ompared arith the mont*y spent."Thii is a moderate f thfl out
rsageoua reaulta of the preaenl outwornrr. ei and harbor improvi rmr.: policy,which enlightened **eonosnk epinioi-jflfljji ,t which thi spoUerstill eagerly pursue, Ne Prwident arith
ioristructi\. I, with a propeiof his duty t<> the nation a*- a whole, arouldhesitate to repmlrate this obnOXlOUl policyami to tiainple it under foot. Yet Mi.
Wilson hna hcsitated. and then wenklysurrendered to tho spoilsmen. He ha*nol cxci, issued n bulletin of apolopy, aa
I. did OB Other OCCBttOfH whon hr yieldcdt<> CoilglSBS in fact hut still tried to dem
ito lo tho public thnt hr was not
yielding to it ln principle.Why did he forepo so strikinp nn op
poitunity to d.monstrate his breadth OI
character, his politkal courape. his dis-
BpprOfBl Of patoehialism and pork cha«
Ing in Congresa? We cannot gaesa. nnlessit WBS beCBUSS the river nnd harbor hill
lt the pet measure of Senntor James P.i larke, ol Ai kansas, the chairman of tl.eSenate Committee Ofl Rivers nnd Harbor-.Mr. Wilson has hnd one or two rnn-inswith Mr. (larke, and he still remcmher«them. He probably isn't looking fof any
more trouble with the Arknnsas Senator.for thouph the latter recently stepped for¬
ward in *he Hemocratic shipping hill cau¬
cus nnd shook hands with Senator Wiliiam
ifle, a veto of the river and harborbill at this juncture mipht nu'.lify all the
happy political effects of that spectacularreunion.
Mr. Clarke killed the shippinp hill OI
1915. Mti*-t the Administration get itidenatored, disflgnrod shipping bill of 19Hthrouph at any cost'.' Must the countrv
I ay for that fantastic whim of Mr. Mc-
Adoo'l not alone the *M,000,000 which id.'.iverted from the Panama Canai
fund bul the 142,000,000 which Congreaftted in the Great Divide of 1916 to
satisfy the rapacity of our pork-huntin*.pat riot s'.'
The Car Strike.The proposal of the Association of Rail¬
way Employes to call a eity-wids twe*tion stnke adds another threat to a
situation already packed with serious in-
convenience and danger to the peneralWhat The Bronx has been fannp
for the past days may confront the whole
City Such ¦ eontest ceases to he a privateeconomic strupple. It assails the wel¬
fare of all N'ew* York and must be re-
garded ns of vital public conrern.
The first point to be made clear is thrat
violence on the part of the strikers is m-
tolerable and certain to defeat its OWn
ends. We hope that the leaders of the,strikers nre awake to this fact and,poaaess the courape and ability to enfOTCOtheir view. Nothinp could be as fatal to the
demands of the men ns a brutal disrepar 1
Of the public's safety. We have no doubtthat Commissioner Woods will see that
order is tnforced Bul enforeement shouldnot be necessary. It should be the first
Ktivity of the strike leaders to hold theirmen within the bounds of lawful picket-inp and public order.With that condition fulfilled. it is the
duty of th<* railway companies to meet
the men in a spirit of fairness and im- .
partiality. The disputed points are not
yet dearly stated. But it seems a late
day for resort to any such obsolete lweapon as a city-wide strike. The traffi.7service so vitally affects the health, conrt-^forl and prospenty of the entire city thaV
no wanton disapreement can be endured.Arbitration has avoidod countless strikes.
Why can it not solve the present dispute?A heavy burden of blame will rest on the
railways concerned if they do not extend,every effort to meet the demands of their!employes by negotiations if possible. bySUbmissiOIl to an impartial court, if need
be.
Captain Fryatt's Execution.The master of the steam-paeket Brussels
has been shot by order of a (Ierman court-:
martial because he "attempted on March
28, 1915, while near the Maas Liphtship,to ram the (ierman submarine U-88.H Hisfate is evidently intended as a warninpto the oftcers of the Hritish mercantile.marine of the prave danper of attemptinpto defend themselves.
Resistance apainst submarine attacks hasalways been regajded by the Ormans as
Bfl unpardonable crime. About. the same:
time as Captain Fryatt turned on U-88,lUMther Bntish offlcer, Captain Bell of the
Thordis, was officially conpratulated for a
similar feat. This incident was repardedin (iermany as most shockinp. "There can-;nol be the least doubt," said the "Lokal-anxeiger," "that by this official action ofths King Knpland has lost any claim tofurther observance by onr submarines oflthe ordinary rules of naval warfare".as!if those rules had ever been observed! Andmuch indignation was expressed at "the
of Kti|_lish merehant ships" and theessential wickedness of refusmp to submit
DBSSively U) destruction at the hands of
Germany's gallant aubmarine warriors.The German way of thinkinp in this
matter is as peculiar as in many other?*.
It may be recalled that in the memorandumOf Kebruary 10 the (ierman povernmentCOmplained bitterly of the manner in whichHritish merehantmen attempt to escape.
capture. Fifteen instances were cited inwhich they had actually BBVed themselves,and in several CBSCS the nttackinp subma¬rines had been foreed to suhmerpe in order
to avoid destruction. Now. accordinp to
ths Germans, these merehantmen had no
right whatever to make the task of thesubmarines so difficult. If the commandersui re properly of ths armed forces of their;COUntiy II would be different. Thus when
a German submarine officer torpedoed the
paasenger steamer Arabk he was withinhis riphts, beCBUSS he WBS "foreed by the
eircumstances of the situation to the con¬
viction that the steamer was on the pointof ramming his vessel." That was "justiti-abls self-defenee." But a similar convic¬tion on the part of a merchantman can by!.,. means ba sxcuaed because sslf-defencsin his case is never justitiable. Hence when
Captain Fryatt nttempted to run down the,C-.'.r. he committed or tried to eoounit a
crime, for arhieh be has paid the penaltyBixteen months later.
ln the year in which Captain Fryattmade the fatal mistnke of attemptinp to-ave his ship from destruction licrmany's
d submarine assassins torpedoed andBBnk forty unarmed Bntish vessels with-.out the sliphtest warmng of any sort.|
Thoae adored heroes of the Fathrrlnndaucceeded in a single year in elaughteringmore than two thousand helplrss men.
women aml children. Bnt their victimswere non-romhntnnts; hence what they didwas fair play. and in no sense compnrnbleto the criminal attempt of Captain Kryaltto defend himself. The revenge of Ihe
German povernment is whnl mighl be ex¬
pected. The cowardly method of wnrfnrcthat has made tbe (ierman navy distinrtfrom all others has been worthily up
held. (hivnlry in this case would havebeen grossly inconsistent.
Blood, Iron and Humor.A certain amount of delicate civility tow¬
ard thinps Teutonic we have prown to
expect from those few, favored corre
Spondentfl who are praciously permitted to
write under the awe-inspiring trumpetcall of a date line bepinninp, "'ireat
Headrpiarters of (ienernl von l.insinpen'sArmies in Volhynia." Some price must be
paid for a ruflle of ('erman drums. Hyfll means let it be tact and courtesy.asof one world fipure to another.
Put we really think tact bows a littletoo low, soft ndjectives oozinp admirationbecome a bit too soft, in the cables of Mr.( yril Rrown, staff correspondent of the"New York Times" (by courier to Rerlin),now on duty at the Kastern front. It was
the "tremendous personality" of his host,(Jeneral von I.insmpen, that first un-
buttoned the eloquence of this sympatheti.-puest. Thereafter he seems tO have takenhis cue from the soft, oozinp slush of thefamous Volhynian marshes Krom a
"closc-cropped battle coiffure" to a "super-Rooseveltian vitality," the preat generalis pain ted in adjectives calculatcd to makealmost any cheek (with thc possible ex-
ception of the identical cheek in rpiestion,to wit, a Prussian general's) blush andblush again.Krom the "compclling, powerful per¬
sonality" of the commander. the adjectivesnaturally spiil over upon the battle coif-fures of the "Linsingen brood" of staffofficers, "Iean, keon-cyed, determuied-jawed, saturnine, nithless fiphters." Nnwonder courteous Mr. Cyril Hrown felt"almost sorry for Rrussiloff and his Cofl-Isacks." One trembles for the safety of
Pelrograd as one reads of the "familyblow-out" whereat the staff pathered about"a twenty-foot-long table decorated arithflowers and clinking hric-a-brac," sinpinp"Deutschland ubcr Alles" and soundinpapain and apain "the Maeper' cheer andhuntsman's ery a triple 'horrido' whichthe whole pack pave with a lusty will."Poor Brussiloff, indeed!We see only one spot in which Mr.
Rrown's foot, pressinp affectionately intothe Volhynian slush, seems to have stuckfast. That is in the rather tactle.-s ref-erence to a huntsman's ery. We are notfamiliar with the "triple 'horrido.' " Hulthere was a pnek that hunted in Belgiumnme; and for it "horrido" would havemade a perfect call. Echoos thereof haveI ecome bad form, even in far off;Volhynia.
Torreon.A Mexican Boom Town.{Prewt Tk* vi'i.n.ii Qeerrwgmla Snc.i. Motwataa.)
In thr midst of onr of thr most fertilflagricultural diatrieti nf Mexieo, nr,.i enjoyingthr advantage of railroad connections nortl..south, rast and wrst, Torrron lia. rn.:-phenomrnal growth during tho larat twentyyears.With exceptional railroad facilitiefl and
with an rnormnusly rich mining diatrietfrom which to drnw, as well a-a n liijrhhprodurtivp farflliag section, it 11 not surprniflg tluit Torreon hflfl crown from an in-
anl Indian village in ls'."'. to onr ofthr most progressive ccntrcs of pop<ilatm-iin iN'orthrrn Mexieo, As recently a* 1**"thr site of thc rrrsrnt town wa* thr KICojrotfl ranch. Tho r.anir Torrron wa*
taken from a watch'owcr whleh thr ranchowBer areetod ka ¦ prccautionary maaanreagninst maraudrng IndlaBfl, who infeated thprrgion.To-day Torreon has suhstanti.il brick and
cemont basiaeaa hoaaes, electrie lights andtelcphonrs, several hig rr.C.ri fartorip*, thfllartgoal soap factory in thp aouthrrn r.pti1.lic, important flour mills and fl/igBBfsmrltrrs, which reduce orcs srnt from mineshundreds of milrs distant.Thc cotton factories arr supplird with raw
material from thfl great J.nguna district,whrch produces ninc-tentlra. flf all the cottonraiaed in Mexiea. Th? size ..f thc rn.p de-ppnds largelv ench year on thfl anionr.t ui
rninfal! during thc Wfli flflflflaa, whieh begin*in .lunr and flOBtiBBflfl untrl October Purini*the fall months, following tlie rarn, thestream* of thp I.nguna district overflaw thi r
banks, covrting the rallejrfl with water *
¦ depth af leveral faat, Aft.-r tlus im-alOakad int.) the land thc farmers pb.ugh thedrifld crust of soil and IflBTfl 1' aatil Pabruary or March, when the cotton is plant. ..Thc less progressive natives, who arp con
tent with a smaller "field, do not tind itnecessary to plant thrir crops oftOBOl thanovrry eigbt or ten years, for eottOll 1- "Mennial in this region. Thr plant was foundin Mexico by th* Spaniard-, CelfUBBBIrecognizing it ofT the mainland of YuchIh*.in 1502. Thr A-.tecs and Toltccs knew itluses*. and not only did thry Wflflffl beautifulgarments of it but they used it in qailtedform to make breastplates which were proofagainst arrows.
To Diana.Khi Mndinon Sqiiorc Carden.)
What are the spoils of the huntrflflPoised there with bended bow?
The roar of the thick-grown jungleRises up blurred from below.
The eyes of the beasts are a thousand.They pleam in the canyons at night;
Their sparkle and stealthy winkir.pReflect a hot wonder-lipht.
No long leaves make cool their dwellings,No green leaves spread overhead;
The flowers that speckle their lairsAre crimson and sky-red.
Full armed they are for the chasr,With close-hid sting and fang;
Their claws are set ia iron,And their law is the law of the gang.
Huntress, thy bent bow loose,Let the pold-tipped arrow fly;
Strike the beasts of the wildernessSpare not to strike till they die.
Hamilto.n Fish Armstrong.
WARNING FOR THE DEUTSCHLANDHer Sinkinf, Refardlesa of Law, Would
Incalculabl-/ Harm Great Britain.To thr Kditor of Thfl Tribunr.
Sir: ll Thr Tribunr flf to day I noticr Iflthe sixth paragraph of thr tifth column, "I"
II..at Will Not Sa;l for a Week," the follow
ing: "To night there is no morr srcrrcy con
crrning the clahorntr pl.ms ..f the Dmtschland's enemies to raink her rrthrr in neutralwater* or on thp high sras, no maltrr what
the cost. . .
" 'll'; n rnsr of thr fightrrs sinking her and
letting thr diplomats settlr thp affair at thrir|fl| .nre.' was the way one old sailor put llTha Britiah followed thnt policy in Chili,an.l therr i* no doubt but that th<*y aill dothe same thing here.'"*
Nal only as nn American, but as a friendof (ireat Britain nnd of thr Allirs in grnrral.I dSSire to poiat out the very gravr signifi-eaaefl of any Miccessful or iinsurcessful at¬
tempt could the l.-Utrr br proved. to sink thrDeutschland "without wnrnmg." Thr Deutsrhland. by officinl drcision duly announcrd, Is a
mrrrhantman, construrted as n freight car¬
rier, nnd not as a mnn-of-war; sent herr on a
peacrful mercantilr rrrand, and rvidrntly,bryond cavil, planning to rrturn pracrfully to
(Iermany. (ireat Hritain, hrr Allirs and thr
I'nited Statrra, as well ns certain othrr non-
l.clligcrrnt nntions, together with thr nrnti-
mrnt of rnankind, irrespectivr of nations andthrir govrrnmrnts, m«st of the civilurdworld, in a word, has rrird out against thr
HflBdifla (ierman fnghtfulnrss of sinkingmerchantmrn without warning. With thr ex
ception of thc violntion of Belgium, thr mainbasis for the unpopulnrrty of (iermany, if not
thfl hatrc.l rngcndrrrd against her, has brrn
hpr Mibmarinr campnign, hrr sinking withoutwarning of many peacful merchant vrssrls,of which the I.usitania is thr typr and ex
ample that will nrvrr bp forgottrn in history.The entirrly new problems presrntrd by the
fr it but dradly submarine havr brrn thor¬
oughly diseussed. (.rrmany's side of the
argument has brrn flouted and bitterlyscorned.After all this storm and travail, if a Brlt
iflh riuisor sinks thp Deutschland withoutwarning (iermany will be in a position to
laugh hor opponents to icorn. Why not?A Hritish or Frrnch cruiser lying off thr
(npes of thr Chesaprake has no more rightto sink the Deutschland without warningthan the (ierman submarine off the Head ofKinsal.a had a right to sink thr I.usitaniawithout warning. Whrn that massacrr was
disCBBBfld. thc American and thr Britishclaim was this: "If the German submarine,
owing fo Ita limitations. cannot halt a mer¬
chantman and givo hrr Mmr to savr hrr crrw
ar.d passrngrrs, thrn t re (ierman submarineis simply unfortunate. and humanity dictatrsthat shp must allow thr mrrcliantman to pro-(CPed."
Thfl snme claim, prpcisrly, may br ma.Irroneerning the Deutschland. though in thisrasr it Ifl the enemv's cruisrr whieh haslimitations, not the h'ibmarine. "If thr Brit-iah eraiafll cannot hnlt thr (irrman mrrchant-man for that ifl what she isi and cannot giveher timp tfl save hrr crrw, thrn the British,cruiser is simply unfortunnte, and humanitydictates that she must allow thr merchant¬man (whether submarine or not to proceed."You ennnot, in fnirnrss or in logic, you
cannot in terms of humanity, law or taetful,flriafl pelifljr, make any distinction herr. If(iermany did far more hnrm than gooH to her'cause hy sinking the I.usitania and it is¦aid to have been worth many army corps to
her enemies then it follows that (ireat Hrit¬ain by sinking the Deutschland without warn¬
ing arill do her rati'-e and that of thc Allirsfar morr harm than good.
I hope the commander of thr Hritishcruiser off the Capes. as well ns thr govern-
of (ireat Hritain. thoroughly undrrBtaadfl 'his. I hope The Tribunr will trrat
the matter editorially. while there is yettime, in no unccrtnin fa«h*on. It would he a
moral diaaatar for Eaglaad and Franer tosink the Deutschland without warning. Irwould dfl (iermany but little harm and verymuch good. It would virtually wipr out thestigma on thr (irrman nation and brand fllllthc belligereatfl ns barbariaai nnd eutthroats.,
lt aroald he better for (ireat Hritain to losrthfl battle af the Somme and for France tojlose Verdun than for a cruisrr of rither na-
t...n >o «rnk thr Dootflehlflfld "without warn¬
ing.- AMERICAN CITIZEN.N'ew Vork, .Tuly 27, 1916.
The Danish Islands.To thr F.ditor of The Tribune.
Sir: Whrn I read in yrstrrday's Tribunrthnt the I'niteil States was to pay $2*,000,0nftf,.r the Danish West Indie* I thought it must
|..* a typofjraphleal error, but when thr even¬
ing papers gnvr thr same fignrrs I was rrr-
'ainly nmazrd. Thr newspapers nf PortoHico. last spring. nnnounced that the I'nitrdS'n'cs was offering r*",ooo,000 and Denmark
king romething over IT.OOO.uOO for the
i-!ands. lf thr flgures have jumped $1S,000,--, .^ few months, I should like to know
Arho g.'ts the commission for putting throughthis deal *
<'n account of their gpographic nnd stra¬
tegie position I believe the I'nited Statesshould ..wn these islands, but why pay a fabu-loaa snm for them? Denmark knows tliat
.¦ -.....n1.1 l.(. well nd of the islands if shegave them away. They are simply a burdpn.pxpt flflfl and constant source of trouble to hrr
In taking them over we get something more
than small pioeoi of rocky land. We assumelabor trouhles that make thosre wr havr intho States srrm small by comparison. Dur¬ing the past year conditions in St. Croix havebeen such that I have henrd natives (whttOfl),high class intelligent peopie, express the
>n that, much as they b.ve.l the island,they bflliflVfld it was ruined forever. Theyhflia aaid to me, "Eren ,f the States take overthe islands there is no hope for St. Croix."
I have faith that the States can do wondersf..r St. Croix. but the doing of it will not besimple or aaa**. A TOI'RIST.naahiaf, N. V.. July 27, 1916.
Periih the Thought of "Pork."To the Kditor of The Tribune.
S.r. Having heard (.ome time ago a lecturein ( ooper I'nion in which was shown thewasteful, not scientitic. manner in whichriver and harbor appropriations are expended,
araa th.- niora iaeliaod to writo to Senatorof New loraojr, aayroaaiag regrrt at
not finding his namr in tbe "Koll of Honor"a* given in The Tribune of those who votedngainst the recent appropriation. I received'ia- foliowmg reply"I regret that you have not weighed more
llaself the discugsions you have heard, for*>our view would not then be go readily m-fluenced. The ery of 'pork' is too empty and¦aensaless to control thinklng men. The Im-|.ro\ement of the great rivers and harbor*given BS by the Almighty is, I feel, a dutyincumhent upon every national legislator. Sofar as I am personnlly concerned, I assure**Ofl that I have yet to vote one cent of 'pork'for the State of New Jersey."
All this sounds very pious, Mr. Editor, hutwhat do you think of it?
JOH*- K JONES.Metuehen, N. J., July 26. 1918.
BOUGHT AND PAID FOR.
THE SHIPPING BILL
Some Observstions from a PronouncedMcAdooite.
To the Kditor of Ihe Tribune.Sir: Before indulging in a column long
editorial nttack on the rov. rntncnt shippingbill It would have been well if you had firstfamiliarized yourself with the provisions ofthe bill. N'o limit of time is set for the con¬
struction or purchase of vessels by the ship¬ping board Bnd the selling or chartering ofsuch vessels to I'nited States citizens. Thetime limit of five years applies only to theoperation of the vessels by corporations inwhich the I'nited States is a stockholder.You characterize as "pork" the $50,000,000
to be appropnated by the act. This money isto he used sole ly "to construet and equip. or
to purchase, vessels suitnhle, as far as theeommereial requiremprit of the marine tradeof thi* I'nited States may permit. for use as
naval SBX_l_ai.es or army traasportS, or forother r.aval or military purposes."
If this one appropriation of f.,0,000,000 fornaval aml military auxiharies, which can be
usefully and profitably employed in time ofpeace, is "squandcring on BSelesS, pork-barrel,**evernn_ent*owned ships," as you term it,what shall we call the expenditure of tentimes $50,000,000 every year for warships, forwhich The Tribune has heen shouting itselfblue in the face?You may depend upon it that the shipping
board will get full value in useful ships forthe money which it will expend, and the pri¬vate interests for whom The Tribune is so
solicitous will have the fullest opportunityto huy or charter these ships. This arrange-ment may not suit certain Wall Street inter¬ests who wish to hog and control the steam¬
ship business for themselves, but what honestobjeetion enn The Tribune have to it ?You say, "$50,000,000 spent (by the govern¬
ment on ships would not relieve the situa¬tion for a day or an hour." This is, of cour-e,an exaggeration which your advertising man-
rxger would not permit an advertiser in TheTribune to indulge in. It is, however, ehar-acteristic of the whole editorial. Permit me
to set you right as to the $50,000,000 pro-vided for in the act. The act speciricallyprovides that the government shall sell or
charter the ressels which it acquires; there¬fore, with the proceeds from the sale or char¬ter of the vessels acouired hy the board underthe act. additional vessels can be built andsold without end.Do not permit your chagrin at the fact that
a Democratic Administration is about to passlegislation which will give us an effectivemerehant marine to blind you to the truth.It ia, I admit, a bitter pill to swallow in viewof the fact thnt the Republican party, thoughit waa in power, almost uninterruptedly, formore than half a century, during all of thattime did not do anything toward giving theeountry a merehant marine.
PHILIP KAN80N.New York, July 25, 1916.
Dr. Flexner and Mr. McCann.To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorial referenee to Alfred Mc-Tann, who has actually done more in the in¬terests of public health than the RockefellerInstitute ia theoretically credited with, in-
gpircs me to remind you that the germ andserum theory was devised by a chemist I'as-teuri, to whom is also indirectly due the en-!tire system of nntiseptic surgi-ry.
Dr. Simon Klexner's frank assertion thatthere exists at present no safe method ofpreventive inoculation or vaccination, as re¬
ferred to in The Tribune, is indeed true with'regard to infantile paralysis, and it can besafely said to be true in connection with allother diaeaaea with the pogaible exception of.sn.allpox, against which the only true vacci-ination now known to the medical profession1is in uae.
.lie only other example of true vaccinationwas the famous turtle aerum, which so greatlydisturbed the peace and poise of the seientitieworld a few years ago, when Freedman madehia famous assault upon human intelligence.Serum therapy haa died a natural death.
It is atrange indeed that it should be talkedof with such enthusiasm in connection withthe treatment of infantile paralysis despitethe fact that Dr. Simon Flexner himself ad-mits its failure.
Familiarity with the properties of iodine is
not displayed by the writer of the editorialcriticising Mr. McCann. You are. perhaps,familiar with the fact that there was an emi¬
nent M. D. who not so long ago wrote "iodmeis a substance entirely foreign to the econ-
omy of the body and a deadl"/ poison." It isnow beginning to dawn upon the medical pro*fession that lodine is not a poison at all andthat all attempts at suicide via the iodmeroute result in failure.
I have kept account of eighty such cases. tr.one of whieh the would-be suicide swallowedsix ounces of iodine and lives. It is true thnt
potassium iodide is a deadl.* poison, but po-tassium iodide is not iodine. Iodine is not
only not a poison, but it possesses a remarKa-ble record of eures in searlet tever and hu-bonic plague. In a series of fourteen cases
of tetanus trcated with iodine as against fourteen cases treated with serum the iodineyielded eleven recoveries against five with theserum. Whereaa serum has been responsiblefor deatha, iodine has never been responsiblefor death, although from 50 to 400 minimsdaily have heen given and are now beinggiven.
Surely if Dr. Flexner wore to claim that in¬fantile paralysis might be cured by moon¬
shine rmannting frum the nedleal treatlee towhich you refor ns published about ninetyyears ago hy the learned Hr. Fechner. entitledI"Proof That thc Moon Is llade ef Iodme," he'.vo'ild be nearer the truth than he now sus-
pects.As for Dr. Fease just a word. Dr Pease.
nnd Dr. Flexner are both extremists. Which;of them is right ?
T. A. WAI.I.ACK. M. D.N'ew York, .Tuly 2C., 1 IM.[The reference to Fechner is misundor-
stood. Dr. Wallaee had better read thetreatise in question..Ed.]
Insanity in Kansas.To the Kditor of The Tribune.
Sir: Mr. Rollin <>. Kverhart offers as proofof his assertion that the increase of '.14 percent in the rate of insanity in Kansas is due,to the fact that inebriates i-f'that state are
classed as insane a statement by Mr. EL Bow-!man that inebriates are sent to thlums. This is true, if by "inebrintes" we
mean persons suffering from aleohobcpsychosis. It is not true of inebrintes in tbesense that the word is generally asedi that
is, to deseribe persons who drink to exces...
The official records of the two principalKansas asylums for the four years I910-14show that. 2,47* pcrsnn-i w. re ftdssitted dui-
ing that period. Of thii naaiber only.'..7 per cent. were suffering from a'.coholic
psychosis. No patien.s w.*re -ted as "in¬ebriates."Kven though we nllow the misuse or tne
term "inebriatc" ns applied to victims offtlcoholic psychosis, fnr which there ll no
authority in the dictionary or in BSedlcalscience, what do these figures prove? Thatless than 4 per cent of all the insane in Kn*isas are "inebriates.*' Yet Mr Kverhart de-liberately tried to deceive your readers by theasaertion that the 94 per cent increase in thenumber of insane persons in Kansas underprohihition was due to the classification ofinebriates aa insane.As to his claim that I misquoted the I'nited
States Census in regard to murders in Kansas, I would state that the figures quoted by;me in my letter of May lf! referred to "mur¬derers," and not murders. Hy either a type-1writer's or printer's error the wo <* appearedIn The Tribune as "merders."
WIIIDDKN QRAHAM.New York, July M. Itl6.
The Hopelessness of Things as They Are.To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Kindly allow me a worl of applauselor your editorial of July 22 entitled "iiur
llopeless Manners." lt ls epoch marking.It is a point of departure. It ls the noon-
day attitude toward "f.tness for the presentl.fa." It is the 20th century stahvart standfaelag "things ns they are," and with Kip-ling's apotheosis. It is the 20th centuryforward look. On the same platform alee"The Telephone Kater'' eraa written. andall in the spirit of thi newly awakeningAmerieanism. As a conciliatuin to ,.¦
hiwever, let us court the SSortesy ,.
r-ataral to the reeogBitien of worth, re*membering Hoffding's axioni that "R. .
is the conservation of value."ALBERT WAI.I.Ai k TERRY.
Stamford, N. Y July 2b, U16.
A MORAL ISSUE INVOLVED
Great Britain Deserves Support Regardlmof Business Considerations.
To the Kditor of The Tnhsir: After reading Mr. Quigg*. letter is
fear issue this morning I spent a little tira.in reflection thereupo::. H |
time of the War ef the Rehel oa, ¦____.I was a travelling salesman ireii .7 is tht
'eounties of I.anca«hire nnd Cheel) re, is Enj.land. There I fevad the cotton mills of thewhole d strict <h'it down for want of cotton.Workingmen who had saved a few pomui.had to draw oai their savings, «ell th«irkit_of furniture and live on eharity as beit tli.**could. others who had had no chance to .»-«were from the f.rst dependent upon e'*ar'.yfor subsistence. It is said something Hflthreo millions of men, women ar.d chi!_r_iwere in want for no fault of th. - own. b_tsimply hec-iuse the blockade of the fnnfe*..
kept cotton from thi Kt.g! ifc r
It was not to be wnndered ..'. thal *u'To wils cry raised ic. faver ef ee rlta. th.Fren.-h Kmperor to raise the bleehadl Now,what was it that restrained the !'. lh _.*'.ernment fron*. such action" Creat Hritiinwns making nothing eat ef s srar, SS thiacountry ia now doiag ' ;rop.»swar. If wai nn* fear, for there is r
tion at all but such reeoglfederaej* would have resulted in thrlishment of the South ns an indepen.leti* go**ernment. Tfcere might have been lomireasons for her reatra nt. but the ,-r tt *~"t
was « moral and religious coi . v
slavery was af thi »f the controver.*.ron this, i.. ¦
mto eflf ll oi. Ir wns nnt "EefUnd se. "eafetjF ,;r^t." .
-uch motive. It iras .
Paople, with the Queen at their I I, that I.nke the course referred to would r>
the eetablisha.eat f S llave power am.ngfhe Chrletlaa peopll .. The ibi 'ah< abaM*rent to all the (deali ofthe Britieh pr pieNow, if you please. compare thii a" tudl
with thal repreeented by Mr. Qnlgg sad thoae1 in the public press of the dav ('»«
it not be said with absolute tl ".ni'rr:'.l questiOB. BOt to say mr.' BBreligious, has r.,t place at all in tr **,on the subject ¦* The con*i lt ".
Hritish government nr.
een lideratioae. N i takesnf the imiii. has OBher kaade. Ke aeeovwith her Allies, sf ci»*ilization, Jual Ne ta
tron ef the faet tha. 'ry hsib«en made i*o Republicaae, thereby eaeed from ihi dieSPful rcsulti ef the 1 ff law.
All the cry is: "0 .r rigl S ****nicd us"; sr «'.' isei *-'''"¦
pri .. nteii from helping the der". I "*
nf our lettei beea delayed iwet**first"surTering to complain of, t 0 te bodyor mind. no lives taken, no propert) takH
ll payment, ro homr- H"simply a matter IHow ditfi reat sll thii from tt.
England erhen three millioi r v*°t-'arere star.ing nr kept by eharity, ar.ii t>diipeteh ef her fleet would havi opened .portl af the Confedernev | ^'.1 .*cotton mill the empf.the arorklngmen ef the tw< »sl ****wns reetrained by moral and religious con*'**'
saIn nll the historv of Kngland theri ls ******
ing more notile than her ection il 'f**P;s»..¦...ii Pranee snd Belgian snd \.et *****
lienss*militarism, with its erj ef "Genaesf *****all."
I received word frrrm en eld tagn that *tW
phews at ".
bmther in-law. the leader in three m M ''
tells of all the young nn*n gone and a Pf*£mg list of thees kept M) . ¦levan minister, report- tin
SAMUEL H HCraaferd, n. j JbIj ti,
First or Second?To the Kditor of The
Sir: As your paper '. ' ^ticularly in ..ur °*n *'
¦ your editoi J* ,.
itead 2the inonaoui se.. co. *** JJ:
and the kii r ** Awe might bett. ***** mi
New York, Julj lt