The Washington herald., 1916-01-29
The Neutral Clothes Baskets.

: A score of clothes baskets stuffed with paper,
deposited on the floor of the historic Senate cham
Der on Thursday, was the stage setting for stupid
farce that some Of the actors attempted unsue-
lcessfully to present as powerful emotional
drama to wiring nations heart. The paper bur-
den was hauled from Baltimore to the doors OF
the Capitol by dray and was described petition,
signed by more than 100000 men and women,
for embargo the expectation of munitions
of war from the United States. One of the Sena-
tors who stood sponsor for the exhibit suggestive
| of wash day, delivered the information intended
to be impressive, that the petition "if joined to-
gether by its various parts would reach some
fifteen and one-half miles" 1t is not apparent why
the farce promoters should stop at 100000 names
and fifteen and one-half miles of paper, when a
months output of the ticker tape" used in Wall
Street inscribed in characters equally significant
would span the globe. The petition was of course
neither examined measured, though it was as
serted by that casual inspection revealed
yards of Teutonic names in the same handwriting,
names of men, women and children, manservants
and maidservants no doubt, and possibly OF house
hold pets. The details are unimportant, though
the Of the Senate Chamber, where in the past
the country's great have fought for great policies,
for such a childish exhibition is deporabe. Times
have changed in the score of years that have
elapsed since the way OF Coxey's army was barred
at the boundaries of the Capitol grounds.
What is most important is the origin of the So
called petition to the highest legislative body to
violate the country's neutrality and the agency
through which it presented Senator Kenyon
was responsible for the statement that it pre-
scnted by "a band OF women who are denomnatcd
Organization of American Women for Strict Neu-
trality'" Senator Kenyon may know, but all Of
his colleagues may not that this is the organization
which, very soon after the war broke out, pro-
ceeded at large expense to cover the bboards
lin several large cities with enormous posters pro-
testing against the expectation of arms. At that
time the munitions industries in this country
had scarcely started and much public curiosity
was manifested in the meaning of the posters and
as to the source of the money that paid for the
propaganda In New York there was discussion
of measures to Danish the posters but real in
terest was aroused in what appears to have
been premature campaign, and it was abandoned.
Not long afterwards the Lustania atrocity inflamcd
public sentiment against Germany and nothing
more was heard of the Organization OF American
Women for Strict Neutrality until the recent
clothes basket invasion of the United States SEN
ate
Senator Kenyon, having assumed the RESPONSE
bility OF presenting the petition, perhaps knows the
names OF some OF the American women who direct
the organization and he may be in posses
sion of information to where the money they
have been spending came from; but the public is
completely in the dark and would doubtless be
grateful for enlightenment. 1t would seem. too,
that the Senate is entitled to the information.
Obviously the object OF the organization is not
Strict neutrality" any more than Labor's National
Peace Council represented movement for peace
on the part OF organized labor. Its real object is
to aid Germany, to disarm the allies in their
ware for civilization. 1t will not be effective, be-
cause its success would mean not only the aban-
donment of neutrality by the United States, but the
establishment OF precedent that might bring dis
aster when its own day OF extremity comes, if it
ever does. The presentation of this petition in
behalf OF the German has simply given a
few statesmen with German constituents an oppor-
tunity to prove their greatness in speech. 1t is
we'll for the country to view the foundation upon
which they build.