The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1916-05-09
JAS. B DUKE THINKS
AMERICA SHOULD
JOIN ALLIES

That America should join hands on
the side of the Allies, that such
step ought to have been taken 10
months ago; indeed that this coun-
| try should have been shoulder to
shoulder with Great Britain when the
| Belgian frontier was crossed in the
| late summer of 1914 were convictions
expressed by Mr.. James B. Duke,
president of the Southern Power Com
pany, when seen in his private car
'Signet'' in Charlotte by an Observer
/ reporter Friday afternoon just before
he left that city for the North after
spending 10 days in Piedmont Caro-
: lima.
when Germany broke the treaty
with Belgium, she broke it equally
! with America as with Great Britain
| and there is no escape from the con-
| cluS1On that the present war is our
war;" said he. cit is indeed the fight
| OF civilization for those things that
mean advancement or for those things
| that mean retrOgression and when
| the issues are so vital there is no
[ standing back. The fight is our fight
and mark the word, the outcome will
! be our outcome"
A Strong Pro-AlIy.
Mr.. Duke is "a strong pro-Ally as
the foregoing will attest. He looks
at the crisis with world view and
sees in it the travail of a new and
a greater civilization. In the elab-
Grafton of a most interesting chat, he
| referred to the great eruption as com
parable to a black thunderstorm that
convulses the horizon for brief sea-
| son, only to pass away and leave
i the atmosphere clearer and the earth
more fruitful as a result. He does
not think of the present Suffering
and the immediate havoc and ruin
i i'll his consideration of the larger and
more lasting benefits to accrue to
! coming generations.
There is talk of the vast expend1-
lures, continued Mr.. Duke, his tongue
speaking the thoughts that flashed in
! his mind, in answer to unspo!Zen ques-
| lions that arose in the discussion, but
we must pay our part; we must car
ry our share Of the load, altho that
| part and that share may be indirect-
! ly levied. Nations are just as mutual
| ~ related and as mutually depend
! ent as individuals and the fact that
expense is Indirectly assessed and
indirectly paid does not change the
| consideration in the last analysis at
! all. America is bound up with other
| Nations and what affects one bene-
ficially affects all the same way and
what hurts one in like measure hurts
I all. Such is the case in the world
war today The issue then is that
of how we are to pay our sharSs,1ow
we are to carry our part of to III
direct load
What If 1t costs Billions?
What if it does cost billions? Amer
i lea after the war will be accruing
benefits. But the issues are greater
and broader than that. This coan-
try should have joined the war long
ago. The fight of the Allies is our
fight, their victory will be our victory
and their defeat will be our defeat.
And it will be even more than that.
1t will be the defeat of all that is
best in civilization.
Some History.
Mr.. Duke was making his home
temporarily in London when the Var
broke out. He therefore has a vivid
to and following the outbreak of hos
tilities. This is doubtless also one Of
his reasons for being such a prO-Ally.
| 1t was told of him some months ago
that he and Mr.. Paul Warburg, a
noted authority on finance and OF
course of German birth, happened to
get in the same car when journey
ing South, both being EN- route to
Charlotte, and the discussion that fol-
lowed was something to remember.
! Mr.. Duke was arguing for the Allies
while Mr.. Warburg was standing true
TO his native land with all the strength
hi he IC
famed. There was no advantage eth
er way, both standing firm and CIV
ing as well as receiving powerful
blows.
AS to Future Armaments.
What do you think of the arma-
ment question in the light of the
world war and it's outcome? Mr..
Duke was next asked.
That depends, replied he, on the
question of how decisively Germany
is defeated If it is draw or an
| inconclusive peace is negotiated, then
the mad rush for ornaments will
continue and we will have to join
hands. That will mean of course
another war, similar to the one now
being fought. On the other hand,
if Germany is decisively defeated and
the Allies remain in absolute posses
sion of the field, then an opportunity
will be afforded for a solution of the
armament question on a basis that
may bring about a lasting peace.
That Southern Home.
Mr. Duke was next asked about
the ru1nors current that he was con-
templating building winter or sum
mer home in the South. His reply
was characteristic and was evidently
subject about which he had thought
a good deal.
That depends, said he, on where I
am. While I am in the South, I want
to build but when l get away, my ar
dor cools. That is about the size of
it.
Bit what are Mrs Dukes ideas