davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28

be abandoned. Strikes, still forbidden In
theory, are In fact not only tolerated, but
rewarded.
Whether this policy Is consistent with
the successful prosecution OF the war IS
question which remains TO be examined.
Meanwhile 1t seems plain that the Labor
Nation has emancipated itself from the
control of the national authority. 1t may
be the case, as the Premier has announced,
that IL Is for the "nation" as represented
in Parliament to determine the conditions
of peace; it is quite clear that at present
the "nation" of which the Premier speaks
has no voice in determining the conditions
upon which the burden Of war is divided
between its two sections. Labor may be
the ally, It is no longer the subject Of the
government.
In thus casting off the authority Of the
state. the revolutionary movement has won
its first great triumph. It is true that the
state is not yet destroyed; it can still
count on the allegiance of one-half of the
people. and Of much voluntary assistance
from the ranks Of labor itself. The next
blow which the movement purposes to
deal to the state is the exaction OF
Clearly all that can be obtained from
the labor section Of the nation Is the rel
atively small amount which they will pay
in increased taxation. From the individ-
ualist section no amount can justly be
obtained from those whose present In
comes are below the average OF the wage
earning class. There remain the wealthy
individualists, say, those whose incomes
exceed $3.50 per annum. But the total
amount of these incomes comes to only
81 ,000, 100000 per annum, Of which a
large proportion is already paid away IN
direct taxation and in subscription to war
loans. It follows that the amount can
only be obtained in the future, as it has
been mainly obtained in the past, by an
expansion Of the currency, which is equiv
alent to a depreciation Of its purchasing
value. Thus we are caught in the vicious
circle of increased wages to meet high
prices, and a further rise in prices to pay
the increased wages One half of the ma
ton raises its standard of living; the other
half has to bear the burden Of this rise,
as we'll as the greater part of all the other
burdens imposed by this war, and even GO
we are hurrying on to the time when the
machinery of money will entirely fail of
its purpose.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
Tor a Time 1t Seemed That
/ the Breach Was Healed

At the beginning Of the war the breach
between the two divisions Of the British
nation seemed for a time to be healed. Tho
Justice of the British cause was universal
ly admitted, voluntary military service
was accepted by individuals drawn In large
numbers from both sections of the people;
a truce was proclaimed to industrial strife,
and an epoch of self-sacrifice upon the
altar of the Motherland seemed begun.
The principles Of democracy and nation
atty were recognized as natural allies;
and coalition government essayed to give
expression to these principles In form OF
law. The military service and munitions
acts, taken together, represent an at
tempted organization Of the nation as a
whole for the tasks Of the war. The mil
itary service acts do not in theory exempt
any large body of men from recruitment;
the treatment prescribed for ministers Of
religion and conscientious objectors is
marked as exceptional; and it rests with
the national authority to determine from
time TO time what particular classes o.
men are to be protected from recruitment
on the ground that they can render greater
services to the nation in civil employment
The munitions acts assert the general
principle that civilian worlmen are under
the obligation of rendering regular and
efficient service, according TO their skill
They may not strike, nor may they change
their employment without permission.
These acts were opposed in Parliament
and in the Trade Union Congress; but
in neither was the opposition irreconcil-
able, and according to all the accepted
principles of the British Constitution
they represent the voice Of the nation as
whole.
But the general enthusiasm of war
service was quickly sullied by the greed
Of those who sought to make profit out
of the war. To this temptation members
of the Individualst Nation were particu-
larly susceptible from their habits as well
as from their theories. This is not ;he
place TO measure the responsibility CT
those who succumbed TO the temptation; ;
their difficulties were great, their failure
to follow the right path was disastrous.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
THE Labor Problem Is
/ Peculiarly Battling

Thus at the end of three years Of war
tire national authority finds itself baffled
In its relations to the Labor Nation. 1t
cannot obtain from It's members their due
contribution either In military service, in
creased industrial exertion, or personal
economy. Far from organizing the whole
nation for war under the military service
and Munitions Acts, the War Cabinet has
been driven to repeal parts Of these and
leave the remainder imperative. The whole
scheme Of national service, by which other
laborers were to take the place (by way
of dlution) of munition workers thus set
free from military service, has been jetti-
soned. Restraints on the wage-earnei 8
freedom to work in his own way are to
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28

TINE full report Of the British 1nsti-
tute of Bankers on the adoption of
a decimal coinage and the metric
system of weights and measures has been
made public. The committee that prepared
ae report believes that the adoption of the
metric system will be of great advantage,
specially. in the extension of foreign
trade. As a prelude TO the adoption Of that
system it believes that a decimal system Of
coinage should be adopted, and therefore
ecommends such system.
For many reasons. among which IS its
Ieheral acceptance as a standard in for
(tign as well as domestic trading, the pound
Sterling must be retained as the unit, and
the system recommended by the committee
Is based upon the pound sterling. A
Standard unit Of so high value as the
pound involves the division into 1000 in
ssad of 100 parts. The present pound con-
stns 24O pence, or $50 farthings, so that
Ne smallest division-one-thousandth-
sould be very nearly the value Of
hrthing. This division the committee
sould call mil" The coinage proposed
4 as follows: Gold, pound or sovereign
l'aa half-soyereign. Silver, double form,
10 nils; forin, 100 mills; half-hOrin, so
als; quarter-forin, 25 mills The half
'onn would correspond very nearly to the
rssent shilling. Nickel, 10-mil piece; cop
ks, mil, 2 mil and ! mil pieces. A mil
sstead Of a mil piece is recommended be-
suse its value would be almost exactly
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
Captai-Either Pm the captain of this ship Pm blankey
blank fool!
"Snotty"-Yessr! -Fro he Bysonder
From The Bystander

of an invitation from so high a potentate
that it must Of necessity be accepted by
some one. Accordingly, they repaired to
the theatre, and two Of them sat stif1y on
the chairs, graciously applauded the efforts
of the stout soprano, while the other two
spread their boat cloaks on the deck Of the
box and enjoyed their hard-earned slum-
her. At half-time the latter were called by
their friends to take watch on deck" and
give up their beds to the two who were
coming off watch.
There l wake up and find | have been
reminiscencing, but it is only a fragment
Of the memories one has. One can't write
in cold blood Of these youngsters. That
mixture Of man and super-boy Is too
illusiys TO write Of. but not to love,
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
The New French Cabinet Crisis

T HE activities of the French Social
lists are behind last weeks new
storm on the horizon Of French
politics. This storm threatened to bring
about the retirement of the French Cab
met, which is only about month old. But
full maneuvre on the part Of Premier Pain
leve, who saved the ministry and restored
the friendly relations between the French
Socialists and the government. The
maneuvre consisted in the dropping Of
former Premier Ribot from the Foreign
Ministry and his replacement in Office by
the Minister of State, NJ. Barthou.
The main cause behind the crisis and
change in the French ministry was the
dissatisfaction of French Socialists with
the present Cabinet, in which none of the
Socialist parties is represented. What dis
pleased them most, however, was the fact
that the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs was
filled by Ribot, who is disliked by the
radicals for his refusal to give passports
to the French Socialist delegates to the
Stockholm conference.
"We cannot agree to form part OF p
Cabinet which includes NJ. Ribot," said
Albert Thomas, former Minister of NUM-
tions and one of the leading Socialists Of
France, when asked by the Paris 'Matin"
why the Socialists had refused to join the
present Painleve ministry. Gas we refused
our support to NJ. Ribot as Premier and
Foreign Minister on account Of his home
policy, which we considered ineffective, we
could not, Of course, collaborate with him
while he continued to hold that same port
folio of Foreign Affairs"
Gustave Herve, editor Of la Victoire," !"
places the entire guilt of having kept out
the Socialists from the present Cabinet
on Ribot. He wrote recently:
"The Socialist party has twice refused to
accept portfolios in the Painleve ministry
because Ribot, the man who refused to grant
permission to the Socialists to 20 to the
Stockholm conference had not been excluded
from the list Of ministers. And Ribot, taking
revenge for the attitude Of the Socialists.
refused to allow the Socialists to be included
in the present ministry and even dismissed ID
from the War Council Albert Thomas, who
during the last two years has played con-
siderable role"
Another explanation Of the reason why
the Socialists have refused to Join the
present Cabinet has been given to the
Gazette de Lausanne" by Gompere- Morel,
one Of the leaders Of the French Majority
Socialists, who said:
"The Socialist party has never been unani.
mousI Socialists have always disagreed on
the question Of national defence. There has
always been 4 CONFLICT between those who
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28

place the fatherand above the Internatonalo
and those who place the lnternationale above
the fatherland. When the war broke out, all
Socialists, shocked BY the German crime.
seemed to be united. But in 1915 the break
in the Socialist party began. This break be-
came more marked when the question Of the
Stockholm conference and of the PainlevS
ministry came up. Two groups were formed:
one was favorng the immediate conclusion
Of peace based on concessions, and the other
was determined TO continue the war till VIC
tory is obtained. At the head Of the first
group stand Mistral and Longuet, and at the
head of the second group are Geusde, Va.
rennes, Constant Bracke and l.
Like all majority Socialists, I was in favof
Of complete cooperation with the national
ministry. But the minority Socialists de-
clared themselves absolutely opposed to any
form Of cooperation. And when Albert
Thomas (who is with the majority Socialists)
refused to accept portfolio, the whole party
did not want 70 be more Catholic than the
Pope himself and unanimously voted not 10
join the Cabinet and thus lined up at the side
Of the minority Socialists.
"As to Thomas, ! can only repeat what
others are saying: he hoped to obtain the
portfolio Of Minister of Foreign Affairs"
de Temps" ascribes the failure Of the
Socialists TO join the Cabinet to the infiu-
ence of Albert Thomas. It writes:
"As we have ALREADY said, Il IS ". Albert
Thomas who influenced the Socialists. And
the determination Of Albert Thomas not 20
cooperate with the Paineye ministry tends
to show that he wanted 70 obtain in the new
ministry a more important portfolio than that
Ct Minister Of Munitions, which he Rad
preyiOuslv held. he fba fnf, -
Foreign Affairs or of War. Having learned
about Premier Panleye's opposition 70 his
plans, he (Thomas) preferred TO walt for
another Cabinet that should satisfy his
hopes"
This charge against Thomas Is abso.
lutely denied by Deputy Pierre Renaudel,
leader of the Socialist majority in the
Chamber, who declared that Albert
Thomas refused to colaborate with
Premier Painleve in forming a Cabinet
not because of personalities involved, but
because Of the question of the govern
ment programme, and especially of the
will to carry 1t out
N. Albert Thomas also denies the
charges that It was merely because Of
former Premier Ribot that he did not want
to cooperate with the Painleve Cabinet.
What he criticised and what led to his
withdrawal, according to NJ. Thomas's
own statement, was the general compost
ton of the Cabinet and the lack Of a pro-
gramme for reorganization, as well as the
formation of a war committee which
lacked youth, vigor and power. This atti-
tude, he declared, represented not merely
his personal views. but also those Of his
parN !,
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
British Organized Labor Is Demanding for the Proetaat
Sef.Drection and Enjoyment of the Whole Product OF
Industry Regardless of the War and Its Conduct

ranks. Industrial effort Is difficult 70
measure. and great numbers Of individuals
in both camps have doubtless made heroic
and even excessive exertons. But it re-
mains the fact that the general standard
of discipline and exertion in the Labor
Nation has not risen since the war began,
and that the praise so freely distributed
by Cabinet ministers has on the whole not
been earned. This may be clamorously
denied, but II the denial is to have any
value it can only be by adducing statistics
Of increased output per man In coal min
ing and shipbuilding, and Of greater speed
In the handling of goods in the docks;
such statistics, unfortunately, are not
available.
Lastly, we come to personal thrift, mos.
easily measured by subscriptions to the
war loans.e That the mass of these sub
scriptions come from the individualist Sec
tion of society, and rightly so, has never
been questioned; that very considerable
sums have come from individual members
of the great trade unions no one would
wish to question. But, again, it Is an
obvious fact that the sacrifices made by
the individualists, in proportion to their
means, are much the greater; that the
vage-earners as a body are consuming
each year more both in the way Of neces-
saries and of luxuries; that no great trade
union has exerted itself to promote per-
sonal economy among its members, and
that the revolutionists have conducted an
active campaign of ridicule against every
effort made by individuals or the state
in this direction.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
evolutionary Currents in England Run Omin0usly f119h

of the remaining half Of the nation, 'ne
amount expended in perishable commooi'
ties very considerably greater.
Economically It means that the amount
Of currency In circulation has greatly IN
creased, an that It's value Is rapidly
diminishing.
As regards the material resources OF the
country, it means that they are disap-
nearing. Production is less, consumption IS
greater. All stores are being depleted.
This movement cannot last indefinitely,
because it is based upon an impossibility.
There cannot be permanently increased
consumption and diminished production.
u by maximum prices the commercial
safety-valve Is closed, we shall only hurry
on to the time when money becomes value
less and rations unobtainable.
That we are moving In this direction is
rot matter Of conjecture. Figures are
available from which dates may be calcu-
lated, but this is not our present concern.
The point is that we are moving on with
Increasing acceleration toward financial
disaster. For government has higher
duty than that Of dispensing high wages;
it has to maintain the conditions under
which alone wages have a value. If these
conditions fail, disaster abroad and con-
fusion at home follow automatically.
These results are seen to-day in Russia.
Unless we are wise in time, they will 90
seen here tomorrow.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28

ness fell, we discovered we had brought no
lamp, that we had no money, that the island
we were encamped on was semi-barbarous.
This, however, did not disturb my frienos
cne whit, for three Of them, striding off
into the darkness Of the unknown night,
traded an old sweater for candle-lamp at
a village emporium two miles away. Yet
people wonder at the coolness with which
our midshipmen ran their picket boats at
Gallipoli,
Their inventiveness does not, however,
shine forth only in desoate places. call
to mind the case Of the four tired midship-
men at M who were chosen by lot, to
their infinite disgust to accept the box at
the opera offered by the commander in
chief to the gun room Such Ia the nature
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28

thirds to 100000, 900. As measured In
commodities the advance has been much
less; nevertheless, IL we take into account
the increased number of persons employed,
the steady employment, and the working
Of overtime, it is still considerable.
This nation has paid its tribute to the
demands of war; it has contributed men
(chiefly through voluntary recruiting), ef-
fort Through overtime working), and
money Through taxatios and contribu-
tions to war loans). But as compared
with the rest Of the community its burden
has been light, and as measured by TIE
of commodities it has actual
ly raised its standard Of living. It's po-
litical achievements have been remarkable.
1t has thrown off the control of the indi-
yidual employer and of the joint stock COM
pany; and its members, whether engaged
in coal mining or in shipbuilding, on rail-
ways or in the dockyards, or in the
many engineering and building activities
summed up in the word munitions" are
directly. or under thin disguises the en-
ploves of the state while the former
employers or capitalists have become re-
spectively officials and pensioners of the
state.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
Attention! It's "Snotty," Not "Middy"
From The London Spectotor)

7 + EVER youngster has been misrep-
resented in literature and popular
imagination, it is the midshipmar Of
to-day, alias "The Snotty," never "The
Mildly" please note A howl of mingled
pain and derision went round the gun room
only the other day when, blazoned on the
top Of a popular daily paper, appeared
these heart-breaking words "The Heroic
MILDLY" Call him anything you like, from
the senior subs chat young swine Jones"
TO the captains formal "Mr. Jones, one Of
our midshipmen"; but if you value the
feelings of the senior service, don't call
him MILDLY This term Is used only in
musical comedy, and generally applies to
lady with an overfowing figure, pseudo
naval uniform and an enormous head OF
auburn hair crowned by cap.
I've lived in close companionship with
the midshipman for many years, and know
him pretty well, and love him, but he's not
the nidshipman of fiction. He's not the
willowy six foot of fashion plate beloved
Of short story magazines. He's all sizes,
but whatever size he is he is always grow
ing out of his trousers, for hard work,
plentiful exercise, and good food don't give
them a chance to fit for very long, and the
rest Of his clothes nowadays would not be
acceptable by the vicar for the village
rummage sale. He looks pirate and
tough this war time, but he does the work
of a man sometimes two) and does it un-
commonly well. Perennially cheerful even
in the most depressing surroundings, he'll
smile as he takes you in the picket boat
across three miles of lumpy sea and deposit
YOU on the beach while he adds for your
information that he has two more trips Of
that nature to do that night and hopes
still with smile-that you'll have good
+ forty-eight hours leave. He's tonic now
when the monotony Of the waiting life of
the navy eats into ones bones. >.
MY FRIEND the Snotty is never at
I'VE loss; it takes a lot to beat him. He's
brought up in school where he's trained
to think for himself, and it's very tight
corner that he can't get out Of. | have
been away in desolate places for two or
three days in the cutter picnicking with
him, but | was young then. Neve' was
there a dull minute, for one never knew
what the next turn would be. Out sight
of the ship, on one memorable picnic, | was
curtly informed that the boat was under
pirate law, and flag decorated with the
pirates insignia, laboriously fashioned in
the gun room with a sailmaker's needle,
was hauled from under the thwarts and
hoisted Alas l only too truly knew what
the next turn would be, for as we neared
the cove where we were to spend our first
night plank was pushed out over the bow
and a moment later l, sadder and a
wetter man, was slowly swimming to shore,
having been the first sentenced under the
new law to walk the plank. Later. Is dark
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
Tho Government Has Lost
/ Control of the Situation

Our main contentious may be true or
false, but they do not admit of exaggera-
ton, and they are not affected by any in
accuracies in the details by which they are
supported. Our reading Of the facts Is
that the government has no longer control
of the situation, and Is drifting in the di-
rection Of disaster. So that very man
must, surely, say yes or no. II he an
swers ir. the affirmative he must grant that
a great crisis exists. If in the negative,
he should read no further, but content
himself with giving his individual support
to the government when called upon.
If labor accepts the guidance Of the rev.
olutionists and Is victorious, it will be
faced with the problem Of rebuilding tho
nation from its foundations, a task which
will be undertaken under the same condi-
tions and with the same prospects of sue
cess in London as in Petrograd. IL tho
government wins, the affairs Of the nation
will be restored to the effective control Of
g. Parliament which has freed itself from
intimidation. It is not well to minimize
the danger; such a struggle may develop
into sort of civil war, though il need not
involve loss of life or limb Unhappily, the
longer this struggle is postponed the greater
this danger becomes. At the worst it is
small risk compared TO those undertaken
by our armies In Flanders or Mesopo-
tamia; it is a risk which has had 10 be
faced in turn by each one Of our dominions,
and from which they have in turn emerged
stronger and more united. Most impor-
tant of all, it is a risk which may disap-
pear quickly if it is faced with resolution.
New-York tribune., 1917-10-28
XVIhat the Wages Movement
w Really Meant

We may in fact sum up the history Of
he wages movement as follows:
In its first stage it meant the removal of
poverty and unemployment, the better
feeding and clothing Of the poorer classes,
and generally what was known as "war
prosperity"
In its second stage II has meant that
the wages Of well-paid artisans have
been raised from 60 to 100 per cent and
that their STANDARD Of living" has been
raised, though by no means in this pro-
portion. The gross annual income Of this
class is probably now nearly equal to that