The Washington herald., 1917-04-28

pcH1dlS lOf Sucn failures at sea-
Every one who Is familiar with the
shipbuilding districts Is aware" declares
the London Daily Telegraph. that. the
efforts being made to put out new tom
mage are quite inadequate. There is a
shortage Of labor and shortage Of ma
terial."
Could any confession make palmer the
immediate part which America must
play? Civilizations cry is for more ships.
and still more ships. America can fur
nish them. The plan actually to bridge
the Atlantic with boats must not for
moment be regarded as hyperbole IL our
cause is to triumph.
Gen. Goethals and his Shipping Board
are contemplating the construction of
1000 wooden merchant vessels to carry
supplies to the entente. 1t may be neces-
sary to double or triple that amount The
only tangible remedy in sight is simply
a stupendous preponderance OF ocean
craft. Our shipbuilding must reach such
point that losses OF one-third of our
commerce carriers will not seriously Grip
lie the transportation OF adequate sup
plies to Europe.
Germany once called the proposed con-
struction of the Panama Canal a sheer
impossibility. Yet we Succeeded, 1t is
Panama Canal energy, and even vigor
more intense, that we must now invoke.
graph, lit Is useless to lean on America
anticipating that she will solve our prob
lem." We may rightly interpret this SEN
timent as, being deliberately uttered as
cruel spur to British pride. But II touches
our own self-respect. We know that we
can save the day II we will.
Much of the latent might of America
must Immediately be expended in ship
building on an unprecedented scale.
There Is not moment to lose.
Black News from Russia.
tchicso Tribune1
If obstructionists in the House of Rep
resentatives have any desire for early
peace or any concern for the future se-
curity of the United states. the news
from Russia will clear them out of the
path of our military plans.
For the fate of Russia is very plainly
hanging in the balance, and with II the
Issue OF speedy peace and perhaps of
ultimate victory. 1t is of imperative
necessity that the American government
and nation should exhibit to the world
not only the appearance of absolute
unity but the reality of swift preparations
on the largest scale.
The declaration Of the Russian minis
ter of war as well as other news dis
closes the most menacing condition. He
asserts that deserters have become dan
gerously numerous and declares that "all
Russia is stricken at the sad news from
the front"
From the interior come hints of an i'm
pending jacquerie the most terrible of all
forms of revolt The need for agrarian
reforms is unquestionably very great. A
large part of the peasantry-it has been
estimated as one-half of the men and
one-third of the females-leaye their
homes each year seeking work while re-
demption and tax arrearages pile up.
Now under the revolutionary impulse i'm
parted by the fall of the Car and en-
couraged by soldiers who are home on
leave or who have deserted the peasants
are beginning to seize the land of the
proprietors
AS news of this gets to the troops II
undoubtedly makes many a soldier think
he had better get back for share in
the spolls. II the existing regime is not
able 10 check this movement it will so
deplete the forces at the front as to
leave Russia at the mercy of German
offensive.
Is such an offensive now beginning?
There are reports of the departure OF
German transports from a Baltic port.
There is said to be an exodus of civil
lians from Petrograd The Russian gov
ernment has given warning of an i'm
pending blow at Riga or the capital
Finding Billions by Spending
Billions.
(New York TimeE.)
Washington announces that the $780,
10000 asked for was obtained so easily
that another like sum OF certificates will
be offered in a sew days The first sum
already has been turned back into the
money market. As the certificates be-
come due they will be funded into bonds
which will be put away, and cause no
more trouble. 1t is an endless chain, not
for taking gold from the Treasury, but
for the stimulation of trade by expendi-
ture. As a stimulant 1t is useful. As an
intoxicant 1t is dangerous. Happily the
need of moderation is understood as never
before, and sedatives are being applied
in the way of prudence in incurring obli-
cations and OF taxation in reducing them.
There even has been some anxiety lest
there might be an overdose of the seda-
tives. For that reason IL is we'll to I'M
derstand the process now so skillfuny
begun. The true source Of the billions
which some have thought could not be
found is the expenditure of the billions
themselves. That is the source of the
profits and wages which. with thrift, will
sustain prosperity, and with waste will
cause reaction. Our 10000 100000 of
wealth are not the best source Of the
billions about to be borrowed. -"