The Washington herald., 1914-08-10
VAR MENACING
n. Y. commerce.
Worlds Greatest Port May Be
Deserted as Result Of Eu- !.
ropes Embroglio.
ONLY SIX LINERS SAFE
Situation Is More Serious in Regards
to Cargo Steamer; Which
Ply Atlantic.
ONLY SIX LINERS SAFE

New York Aug. 6-The elimination of
nearly all OF her great transatlantic
commerce Is probably the most striking
possibility as the result OF a general Eu-
ropean warfare which New York has yet
had to consider.
As the greatest port in the world this
commerce Is. of course. enormous, but Il
can easily be demonstrated that practi-
cally all OF this would be lost and New
York have little more commerce Of this
class than Nashville. as the result OF q
general European embodiment As a
matter OF fact. OF all the great liners
which ply between Europe and this port
only six would be safe from attacks at
sea, that being the number which fly
the American nag.
Because they belong to a neutral coun-
try they are safe from seizure. All the
other great liners, whether English. Ger
man. French, or Italian, might expect
capture at any moment In the case OF
cargo steamers. which do not cater to
passenger trade, the situation is even
more serious, and the question OF moving
the country's great exports assumes
staggering proportions. ....
Officials Of all steamship lines with Of
nces at this port admit feeling OF nery.
BUSINESS as TO the future condition Of
commerce. IL is believed that wireless
telegraphy will be tested as never before
dnC lnat possibly Ine NnOle system may
be revolutionized.
It is pointed out that IL Greek battle
ship. for instance. Is ordered TO make
prizes OF whstever merchantmen she
might run across the wireless operators
of Austrian liners at sea will In all prob
ability make IL difficult or impossible for
the battleship to receive or send mes ,
sages. Should this become the case, the
wireless would thus play q very impor-
g. L.. - -
course. this situation could not affect
ships In this. q neutral, port The spec
tacle OF New York harbor populated only |
by ferryboats. tugs. and carfioats. with |
out any d the great liners which are |
regular visitors here, affords a striking |
possibility. /
The old familiar chalk-marks which |
members of the hobd fraternity have
been wont to place on gate-postI and i
water-tanks for years have been abol- |
ished and In their place there Is an cr- /
tirely new system OF signals. This. a.
least, Is the information given to a city
oficial here who was formerly an anna. |
teur hobo" for SOCIOLOGICAL purposes. J
While IL may take Some time for the new |
system OF chalk-marks to spread over the |
country. the house owner by chalking up
some OF these himself can undoubtedly /
secure some protection: that is. II he be-
lieves in signs.
The first of the lot and the simplest.
which seems also to afford the best pro-
lection, consists merely Of a circle with a
Small crescent inside. This means no !
use" A circle containing two 7crescents
with cross such as Is made on a ballot |
means that food. can be obtained That
a hobo will have to work before he re-
csives food or assistance ls Indicated by
an "X," followed by a horizontal line
errfN ltVn ~ fukN zNNk 4
rectangular oblong containing four up
rights with a bar across them. will indi-
cate the presence OF dog. while a circle
crossed by two arrows pointing to the
right means get out Of Llhis town as
quickly as possible" 1t is suggested that
It Is not a bad idea for the suburbanlte
TO make note Of these signs for future
USE
That New York may eventually become
a dogless city is the possibility suggested
by the deputy commissioner Of health, as
the result of a regulation which the
board OF health has passed. making Il
compulsory for all dogs in the city to
be muzzled throughout the year when
not kept at their owners home. This is
said to be an important step In the d.
rection OF eliminating dogs from the city
entirely. Formerly the ordinance dealing
with dogs ordered that they be muzzied
Or leashed only during June July,
August and September. and all dogs not
conforming to the ordinance were sup
posed to be turned over to the city
pound.
The humor of this ordinance, however,
s indicated by the fact that there is no
,ity pound except on paper. The new or
ilnance will go into effect as soon as the
health authorities deem that the dog
owners have had suficient notice. There
IS no intention of confiscating prize dogs
Without giving their owners a chance to
redeem them, but all owners who claim
heir dogs after the dogs have been
,aught unmuzzled will lay themselves
,pen TO prosecution as violators Of the
anitary code
Dreams of Heaven.
pickaninny who probably came closer
% realizing his dreams of heaven than
most mortals do arrived here recently
ocked in a freight car.
The fact that he was in a freight car
= not the essential point. but the fact !
hat the freight car was filled with wa
ermelons Is. Fred Mitchell is the name
4 the thirteen-year-old negro who was
ound BY a yard hand on opening the
Ioor Of the freight car in a Train which
Iad arrived from the South. f.
Fred says that the trip lasted three
lays. which apparently was not long