New-York tribune., 1918-12-12

of slaughter while England has men
enough to fight her own battles for many
months ahead"
On June 20, 1917-after the passage
Of the espionage dct--Hearst, with his
long record in favor of universal mill
tary service, came out for sending only
volunteers to Europe, saying:
Further service in the war should be
matter of choice for Americans
"These papers have said consistently,
and will continue to maintain, that the
American soldiers who 60 to Europe
should go as volunteers, and not as con-
scripted men sent by the will of the gov
ernment
eve believe that in the magnificent
contribution country has already
made to the battlefcds of the Western
front of Europe, it has given ALL THAT
THE NECESSITIES OF OUR ALLIES OR
THE SAFETY OF OUR OWN COUNTRY
AT THIS TIME JUSTIFIES IT IN CIV
ING"
Hearst used the bogie of Japan stead
lily from the beginning of war till as
late as March, 1918. On June 26, 1917,
after the passage of the espionage act,
he used it as a deliberate reason for
going easy on the Western front. The
American of that date indorsed edito-
rally the following remarks of writer
called "Americanus"
may have to wage the war
alone against Germany, or against Ger
many and Russia, against such trs-
mendous combination Germany and
Russia and Japan the United
States should be PREPARED to fight
alone and to make effective war agains.
one or any number of enemies. We
not be prepared at home if we send all
our food and all our men and all our
money and all our munitions abroad"
Hearst's attitude toward Japan touched
the issue of loyalty in two ways. 1t not
alone tended to obstruct complete. and
effective action against Germany, but
it came also within the category of writ
ings banned by Burleson and prosecuted
by the Department of Justice, namely,
attacks on our allies.
The attacks are many Here are
three as late as the present year, since
the passage Of the espionage act:
January s, 1918: ave do not know
whether there is danger of the japanese
joining with Germany, which makes our
government considerate of Japan"
March q, 1918: eve are marked for attack
because we are in conflict with the Japa-
nese financially and commercially and in
contrast with them politically and So
cially. Any day the opening gun
of the only important, the only vital war
of the world may be fred
March s, 1918: "If Great Britain can
not restrain her special ally from acts
of aggression inimcal to our interest, we
can remove troops from Europe and
transfer them to ASIA
Similarly Hearst attacked England af-
ter the passage of the espionage act. By
misrepresentation he pictured England
as using the United States to pull the
chestnuts Of world dominion out of the
fire and as attempting to confne our
shipbuilding energies to short-lived wood
en- ships while she built only steel.
A noteworthy example of the first oc-
Cured on July 5, 1917-after the passage
Of the espionage act-when The Ameri-
can falsely represented Lloyd George as
having declared for English dominion in
Mesopotamia and Palestine, as we'll as
the German colonies, as follows:
"Her colonial empire, already too vast
for the safety of other nations is to be
hugely increased. 1t is intoer
able that England, after having been
saved from defeat ard imminent disaster
by the sacrifices of Russia and France
and of the United States. should presume
to dictate the duration of the war, to COB
Bile up in her own interests all the terri
tory lost to Germany, to seize the com
mercal domination of the seas, and in
every quarter of the globe to take to
herself the fruits of victory which she
could not achieve for herself"
The attack on England over the wood
en- ship question ran into many edtori-
ais, but these passages from June 49,,
1917-after the passage of the espiom-
age act--cover the case:
"The English government and the Eng
lish press were enthusiastically in favor
of America building a great and costly
feet of small wooden ships for England's
benefit during the war; but you must have
noticed that England was not building
any wooden ships herself.
eve were to feed and supply England
by constructing WOODEN SHIPS that
could only 60 to the scrapheap after the
war, while England uses our American
yards to build STEEL SHIPS with which
to keep US out of our fair share of the
worlds trade after we had won the war
for England and saved her from defeat at
the hands of Germany"
The misrepresentation is as plain as
the animus. For England never asked
us to build wooden vessels. Instead she
built wooden vessels herself. and even re-