davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
Keep Congress in Session
or of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: ! am one of those who, earnestly
supporting our President, believe that a
great mistake will be made if Congress is
not kept in session during these critical
times 1t is no time for US to take chances
or to allow Germany COR the Kaiser) to infer
that any act on the part of the United States
leaves the way open for other acts of intimi-
dation on the part Of Germany to 9ppease
the wrath of those at home who are restless
under the Kaisers autocratic rule. True,
the President is in position TO know more
of the true situation than any of our people,
but is it wise to leave the way open when
so many of our people are conveying the i'm
preston that Americans are divided in senti-
ment on the war question, and in the end may
turn against their President?
The Tribune is right. Let us not leave
any foreign power to infer that our people
are unwilling to enter upon war to protect
our citizens or to defend our country.
c. AUGUSTUS HAVILAND.
Brooklyn, n. Y, Feb. %, 1917.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28

unanimous vote. It's passage by the Sen
ate seems assured, so that without doubt
the question will again be submitted 10
the voters this fall.
Equal suffrage is making progress last
these DAYS and is rapidly moving East
Gains of Importance, at least of slgnih-
canoe, have been recorded in Ohio, lndl-
ana and in Maine, the furthest east. New
York should not be permitted to lag be-
hind. Two years ago, though the amend
ment was defeated, splendid vote was
recorded for it. With thorough organ
ization and as good work in the rural
counties as has been done in recent tunes
in the cities, the suffragists have every
right to look forward to victory mere
If they do not carry the state this time
it will be to the discredit of the commu-
nifty reactionary enough to refuse twice
the help Of these women who seek 10 10
their share in the work Of government
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
A Vital Line of Defence

How vitality important TO the defence OF
the country is a mosquito fleet OIL small
volunteer craft was made eloquently clear
by Franklin d. Roosevelt, Assistant Sec
rotary of the Navy, in his address at the
New York Yacht Club. At least $50 such
vessels, manned by 10000 men, are needed
for the New York district alone. In urg-
ing owners of motor boats and steam
yachts to put their craft overheard al
once Mr.. Roosevelt made clear the navy
view Of the extreme and immediate dan
ger which we face.
The submarine has changed utterly the
weapons of coast defence. The feat OF the
U-53 in making Newport Harbor after
VOYAGE of 1000 miles should bring home
TO us the truth with which England has
been made all too familiar in the last two
wears and a half. The major ships OF a
navy are no line of defence against the
submarine. 1t is the destroyers and fast
shoal-draft motor boats-too shallow OF
body to be victims of torpedoes-that must
be relied upon to fight this new menace
AS the naval expert "Nauticus" pointed
out in The Tribune recently, the menace to
us involves the possible use of secret bases
in Labrador, in the West Indies, in Mex
leo. When Germany assails our coast, we
can count upon her attacking US with her
favorite sea weapon in the most effective
and carefully planned fashion.
Against such attack We shall need
every small vessel that can be obtained
The patrol of our extended coast and nu-
merous harbors will be gigantic task that
will require all the resources and seafar-
ing ability we can muster. Here is where
the appeal to our amateur sailormen is
particularly strong. They have special
knowledge. gained through years of small
boat sailing. which makes them inval-
liable. They enter the service not I'M
skilled militiamen, like the rockies of the
army, but experts possessing a unique
equipment. These are the men to whom
Mr.. Roosevelt especially appealed. If they
have boats they should list them for I'M
mediate service. Wherever possible they
should volunteer their services at once
without waiting for a declaration OF war
In no branch of our national defence IS
the need as urgent as here. In no other
way can Americans more vitality aid
their country.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
Fish Farming

The State College of Agriculture at
Cornell makes the suggestion, distinctly IN
teresting in view Of the present foodstutts
situation, that fish farming can be made
to paw in this state There is no reason
WHY it should not. In fact, it is paying
some enterprising individuals possessed Of
mountain land with springfield ponds on 1t,
who have established trout hatcheries and
market their product to hotels and res
taurants at nice, fat figures. What can be
done on this small scale can be done on
! larger scale, and what can be done with
trout should not prove impossible with
other excellent food fish, notably the bass
end the succulent perch. AS for the hardy
and ugly carp, once introduced into the
streams and lakes OF this state-much to
the disgust of sportsmen then and since
with the especial view of adding to the
food resources, there is no trouble IN rals-
ing him anywhere, and there is steady
sale for carp as carp on the East Side In
this city, without regard to all the carp
which finds it way TO consumers as smoked
sturgeon.
Another suggestion for increasing the
available food supply by utilizing the
states waters comes from Deputy Attor-
new General Lewis. He thinks the waters
Of the barge canal should be planted with
such fish az are native to the lakes and
the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, which the
canal traverses. Under the direction OF
the Conservation Department valuable
source of food supply could thus be built
IN. he believes. Undoubtedly it could be. 1t
would be desirable for the state TO under
take it. Just as it would be desirable for
the state TO follow the suggestion so often
made-that it adopt legislation and en-
force il against the pollution of the Hud-
son. so that that ancient and honorable
source of much valuable food fish, notably
the Hudson River shad, noblest Of them ali,
and the sturgeon, might once more yield
plentiful takes.
The present high prices of foodstuffs arc
not due entirely TO grasping middlemen,
yoracious producers, extortionate storage
men and SPECTATORS and conscienceless
retailers. They are due in part to the fact
that food production is lamentably unsys-
tcmatized, 10 that the rewards OF II are
not steady and sure enough 70 tempt tho
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28

An E.n. View of the Proposed Electrical Drive Involving Exposure OF
One-EIaN of the Ships Boilers
By NAUTICUS.

coming on. the German fleet broke and fed
for its home ports.
But II these ships of ours are built accord
ing to the department plans, they VIII lose
early in a fight that very excess OF speed
which constitutes them battle cruisers. FOR
of what avail would be the hull plating or
the necessarily thin cruiser armor TO stop
the l6-inch shells of the enemy as they come
crashing through her topsides, to purs'
omono her unprotected boilers? With these
boilers gone. the ships would lose half OF
their horsepower, or 10000 in all, and SIX
knots of their speed. With their speed cu'
down from thirty-fve to twenty-nine knots
these superb vessels, the very flower OF our
new navy, would cease TO be battle cruisers
They would become nondescript-too SLOW 10
keen mace with the enemy's battle cruisers
too lightly armored to stand up against MS
battleshps.
But why, it will be asked, did the depart
ment put these boilers in this exposed posi-
ton? The answer is that the huge electric
power station which IL was necessary 70 IN
stall in these ships to develop 10000 horse
power took up so much space that there was
room for only half the boilers below the pro-
tective deck, and the other half had, perforce
10 be placed above it,
ships is to be found in what might be called
lin automobile phraseologyj their transmits
sion gear. In the automobile the transmits
sion gear serves to reduce the high speed OF
the engine to the relatively low speed of the
rear axle; in the warship the transmission
or reduction gear" as 1t is called, serves the
same purpose. 1t brings down the high speed
OF the turbine to the low speed of the pro
peller.
There are two we'll established types-the
eeared drive, in which pinion on the tur-
bine shaft meshes with large spur wheel
on the propeller shaft, and the eletcric drive
in which generator on the turbine shaft de-
velops electrical energy which is utilized In
motor on the propeller shaft. Both types
have given good service, but the electrical
drive is inherently heavier, more costly end
demands more space for its installation. II
was the bulkness of this form of drive that
forced the boiler plant above the protective
deck. If the more compact geared drive is
used there will be a saving on each battle
cruiser of one thousand tons of weight and
81 100000 in cost
Mr.. Daniels and his advisers, against the
opinion of the private shipbuilders, have
adopted the geared drive They are doing
this, although it involves a defect in the
+ fighting value of these ships, against which
every line officer (the man who would have
to fight the ship in the navy would cry out
in the strongest protest if the Secretary
would permit him to speak his mind. 1t is
| for the taxpayers of the country, speaking
through their great mouthpiece, the public
press, to see to it that these great ships are
rot wrecked even before they leave the build
ing ways.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28

toiers to constant maximum output Ihey
are due in part TO the fact that this coun-
try, so rich in food resources that 1t has
been wasteful, has neglected or spoiled
sources of supply. 1t will be long time
before meat prices come down, if they ever
do. Dealers in sea fish, realizing that,
have raised their prices so that most salt
water fish represent comparatively small
saving in expenditure compared with
meats. This state might well undertake
&c encourage the commercial raising OF
fish by fish farmers" and ought to use
every possible means to protect the purity
of the waters of its lakes and rivers, so
that what commercial fishing is done IN
them may not cease, as it practically has
in the Hudson.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
No Need for Investigation
EDITOR of the Tribune.

To the Editor of the Tribune.
Sir: AS a farmer I believe that there
should be an end to the appropriations when
are now coming before the public for the
Investigations By committees into the hign
cost of the necessaries Of life.
think our President in error when he ad-
vocates the appropriation of 100000 Tor q
Federal investigation into the aonormaiy
high prices of food products. Different In
vestigations of these subjects have taken
place in the past, and who Of us ever nesro
of an arrest, an indictment or fre being
imposed upon any one as result OF 81 en- ln'
vestipation? No. The result is that the IN
vestigators draw large salaries, create isrgs
expense, and the taxpayers pay the blls'
The agricultural population OF the onl'ea
States has diminished from 80 per ceht ~
1890 TO 32.4 per cent in 1910, while IN tne isss
fifteen wears the population of the Unlteo
States has increased over 23,OOO,0OO. Inc
great industrial and commercial centres hs's
been built I'D, trying to outriysl the won''
al. the EXPENSE and to the detTiment Oh 'h'
rural communities. Capitalization ideas nav
dominated the country. Rural schools ns'
been discarded and the buildings pe''n's
10 20 to decay in New England. Inc yvS.s
men of the farms rush U the N''' :.
they have shorter hours Of labor ana pes
tern after the manners of their CITY s,'s
ciates in sports and entertainments, ana ns,'
become consumers instead Of producers
illustrate, take the agricultural stae Of n
HAMPSHIRE. That produces only 20 per c.n7
or one-quarter, of the products she corsum...
While the American farmer indyldusiy ~,
duces from two to seven, or an aveisN v
four and one-half, times as much as me 49,
petitors, he has failed to produce suH''''''
to feed the world.
The great law of supply and demaho III :,
comes in, establishing the high prices
the Investigators on these eommt'eea -.
the operators in the muniton plants N ~. -.
United States to-day would come 49,
farms in New England and help GUIDE .ss
plough and other agricultural TOOLS p's.~
would be spread upon their tables ana -,
Mayors of Boston and New York "oula n, =
be called upon to feed the starving nom
and their children. ARTHUR b. "H"''
East Poultney, VT, Feb. %, 1914
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
"Open Doors to Laboratories
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune .,n,
Sir: May say word in regard "
recent editorial, "0pen Doors to Lacora'n. =,
This is a subject so frequently agltsNa
any one can see il is of immense impo's -,
Secrecy always creates suspicion anu in.
who practise il as persistently as W.
sectors do are their own worst enemies -
II is a significant fact that IN n'% q. In.
states. New York being one of them, vi, a
name law which makes cruelty TO a"'sb Ia.
crime punishable by fine or imprlsonm.4 .ro.
been amended to the effect that w
visions shall not apply to scientific res,
There is only one conclusion to DC 4.
from this-namely, that vivisection' DsAs a.
itself cruel and causing suherins he
fence against this law and therefore s.,,r
exempted TO save those who practlse u
the penalty. ..,;ns fact;
And here is another lhtefes'"e "A 70
Physicians who are known to be oppv,ih .,,s
vivisection find il difficult TO gam aa"'',,dx<t
IN witness il, except to see only us lie
for,s William X. d. Blsckwood, NJ y, n
oIdcst living graduate Of the UniVe,''. A.
PENNSYLVANIA and a physician OF goOa "A.
inc and large practice, has been reiu''.
,rarcc four times 10 the Laboratories ~!
, rom;nent medical institution an, .rosl-
pecause he had not sufficient teennies' ~,
10. 90 enable him to understand the III.
NJ .;mnIv because he is known 20 be a. !,
viyisectionist. Is not the puph'
drawing its own conclusions! ,,o, CON.
KATHARINE S. NiCno''
Philadelphia, Penn, Feb. "a i'i"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
THOSE TIMID SHIPS

four own commerce Is suffering rather be-
,,,so 90 many of our ships tmidly keeping
IN their home ports than because American ships
have been suuk.-President wilson,
What's that? The Kaiser's order sweeps our
commerce from the main,
Our factories are idle and our cargoes line
the shores?
Well, where are all the sailors, facing danger
with disdain,
Who'd sail to hell and back to sell their
closely boarded stores?
II cannot be because our ships are sunk
beneath the foam,
But msrely that they're all remaining
timidly at home.
What matter if the seawccd grows on twenty
liners bones?
We have a tidy number to replace the ones
we lose.
What matter if hundred men go down TO
Davy Jones?
A hundred million wait behind to step into
their shoes.
II cannot be because our ships arc sunk
beneath the foam,
But merely that they're all remaining
timidly at home.
II VIC should arm our merchantmen, then
Germany could prove
We wanted war, and in that war the flower
Of youth would fall.
II women want 70 travel and IL cargoes have
10 move,
Why, let them take chance and go-the
seas are free to all.
Il cannot be because our ships arc sunk
beneath the foam,
But merely that they're all remaining
timidly at home.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28

Unouestionaby the most important ships
~ the new naval programme are the six great
battle cruisers, s75 feet in length and de-
signed to be driven by engines OF loo'ooo
horsepower at a speed Of thirty-hve KNOTS
which is five knots greater than that OF any
existing battle cruiser.
Every one who takes an intelligent inter
est in the navy land who in these perlious
DAYS does not7) will have noticed that these
fine ships are the storm centre OF a bitter
controversy among the experts. The ques-
tons involved are technical, and there has
: been so much personal feeling injected into
the discussion by the engineers of the Navy
Department t.:at the lay reader may well De
wondering what all the trouble is about.
It frequently happens that in complicated
question there is one outstanding TACT wnlch'
if it be firmly grasped, will resolve at once
the whole puzzle and relegate to their proper
subordinate place the many collateral ques-
tons with which the main issue has been be-
clouded.
II is so in this battle cruiser discussion, in
which the very serious fact that one-half of
the boilers of these ships are placed above
the waterline, where they would quickly be
shot away, has been lost sight of in the dis
cussion of what kind of motive power electric
drive or geared drive) should be used to OBJ
tain the desired high speed. For these mag
nifcent ships are designed to fght-that is
the be-all and end-all of their existence.
And the question whether the use of electric
power will make them more economical when
they are cruising in times of peace should
| be altogether subordinated to the question
as to whether they can take the hard knocks
of a modern sea fight and maintain their high
speed unimpaired throughout an engagement.
What renders the placing of these boilers
! above the waterline so suicidal is that they
form part of the "vitals" of the ship, IN
which are included the boilers, engines,
steering gear and magazines. So important
are these that they have always been
placed below the waterline water being i'm
| penetrable by shell fire., and to make assur-
! ance doubly sure, the naval architect has COW
| cred the ship from side to side and from
stem to stern with heavy steel deck, the
protective deck" Secure within this shelter,
the motive power will drive the ship and the
steering gear control her movements, even
though storm of shells is piercing her above
water hull and tearing the upper structure
! to pieces.
The security of the boilers, the need for
giving them all possible protection, Is par
ticularly urgent in these battle cruisers, for
the excess speed of five knots which they pos
sess over foreign battle cruisers is their most
valuable fighting asset. They have this high
speed TO enable them to overtake the enemy,
cross the head of his line and concentrate
upon his leading ships an overwhelming fire,
| crushing in the head of his column, ship by
ship. This was what Admiral Jellicoe was
doing to the German line when, darkness
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
Village Vaporings in Congress
tor of The Tribune.

o the EullOI VI lht ii'NN'N'
Sir: The divine right of kings to rule is
an exploded idea However, for nation to
continue in the delusion is no worse than to
be led by the mediocre and the commonplace.
The type of legislation that emanates, or IS
attempted at least, was illustrated last week
when a United States Senator entered
resolution to prohibit cigarette advertise
ments from the mails. To post yesterdays
newspaper without clipping out all such ad-
vertising would have made your innocent
sender sort of felon had it passed. In
stead of big themes requiring thought we
get the vaporings Of the village. Every OPP
portunity is offered to the eccentric to i'm
pose his personal opinions on the public.
Free silver, the seamen's bill, bone dry pro-
hibiton, paatial postoffices in poky little
towns, appropriations to dam up the creek
all in turn are vociferated over, and now
comes the attempt to suppress about the only
solace left.
Such incidents as these constitute a severe
indictment of our political system-a sys-
TEN that enables almost any wearer of cap
and bells with prolix vocabulary to occupy
high places. The first requisite of a legis-
lator should be an understanding of the we'll
springs of human nature and the thought
that flows therefrom. The legislator with a
president mind, even if not superior mind,
would not advance legislation in a matter
of personal concern such as whether the fol-
lowing of tobacco advertisements is good or
bad advice. As a matter of fact, it is none
of his business to interfere with matters
that do not affect the common veal.
Doubtless, the times will right themselves
and again men with message" will mould
public opinion as they did in the old
New England lyceum days of Emerson,
Wendell Phillips, Theodore Parker, Charles
Sumner, thinkers and scholars, men with a
mental equipment that penetrated the minds
of other men with enduring thoughts. As
it is, the infections of Billy Bryan, Billy
Sunday and thousand of their ilk OF lesser
note are upon US.
1t floats so naturally to mind that 20
quote Ralph Waldo cannot be resisted: "The
day is darkened when the golden river runs
down into mud"
CHARLES CLIFFORD TINCKLER.
Mapewood, n. j., Feb. "a, 1917.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
FROM A DISHEARTENED CITIZEN
Is This Nation of Ours to Die Of Dry Rot,
Incompetency and lmbecility!
To the Editor of The Tribune.


Sir: | am in the fifth month of my SD
year, but am so wrought up, so anxious, so
discouraged that | must say little some
thing in the shape of query to the editor of
the greatest newspaper which, according 10
my mind, is printed on this globe.
What is the use, my dear editor, in dis
guising, or attempting to disguise, or at
tempting to pass over with light thought, the
awful, unspeakable, dangerous, critical condi-
tions which this government is passing
through to-day, with not living being in the
Administration at Washington who seems to
be able to do one single thing to save the life
of the nation and stop the spilling OF the
blood of American citizens when they are
going about their proper and necessary
duties?
Ny dear sir, ! must cry out. Do you see
any possibility of anything being done? Are
we to go on, and is this great nation with
forty-eight sovereign states-some of them
larger than Germany with all her pretensons
to die with dry rot, with incompetency, I'M
becility, inactivity, except in the line OF
notes?
Is there no redemption for what we have
lost in national spirit, in patriotism, which
saved US in the. several wars that we have
had and has brought US to this great and
noble position of one hundred and ten mill
ions of people and resources unlimited, indie
scribable?
Is there no help for this, Mr. Editor?
Are there not young men in this country
who pretty soon will cry out and throw them
selves in the arms of the government asking
to be used as instruments to save the life OF
our splendid homeland?
| am almost beside myself with disappoint-
ment grief and worry. because of the terri
bic vortex of destruction over which. we are
suspended by the inability, naction, supine-
ness of the government at Washington.
Is there no remedy for the monumental
supineness and negligence which seem to
permeate the government at Washington, and
particularly the Congress?
Are we going to continue to lie still and
see the German government wipe every ship
in the mercantile service, in the naval re-
quirements, from the ocean, and leave 1T
easily possible for the monumental beasts to
come to our shores and burn our cities and
we absolutely unable to do one single effect
ual thing in defence? w. W. KlMBALL.
Boston, Mass, Feb 26, 1917.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-28
Iitor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: have just read in this mornings
Tribune the statement made by Dudley Field
Malone that America has twenty million
critics of President Wilson's foreign policy,
one million of whom are men who are not
earning s25 week for the support of their
families"
This jibc of Mr. Malone's may be true, but
when we consider the ability of the average
politician, holding political Office, may it not
also be true that large proportion of the
one million so sneeringly referred to may be
better qualified to criticise Mr.. Wilson's for
eign policy than the average politician to as
sist in directing and shaping Il?
CHAS. T.. DAL2YMPLE.
New Brunswick, N. j., Feb. 26, 1917.