davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

face of the globe and we arr ,o,.u
to help to make it better" eS'as
I asked him one more question.
know to some extent r,..
the policy and method of the Ama may
can Federation of Labor is. Va. Z;
a time when there is so much d;sSsnMa
sion over policies of social rssus
struction, when there is so m~aS
prophecy that there will be nsa
way of living after the war, that u.
war has stimulated the social coa NV
science of the people all over ~.
world wonder if this gathering ~
events will have any effect upon ~.
method of the American labor NOW ,as
ment, or whether it believes II Az.
achieve these ends through the sam as
processes ?" '"'as
His reply, also stenographic, fo,
lows:
"The ends will be achieved throp,,
the same processes: under the im'
petus and spirit of our wartime s;tm'
alton and experiences thew win !.
auickened. The masses Of the nav ~
pie are thinking more keenly than nv y,
any other time in the history of ou n.
country or of the world, and a mnss
larger proportion of the people viii
be ready to ACCEPT the leadership ana
the purposes of the American lahos
movement in it's pressing home unon
government and employers the right.
which the workers have been too lona
denied and the wrongs abolishas
which have been too long endured
Even to-day there is a larger deers.
of democracy in the practice of onr
everyday lives, in industry as we'll as
in our national affairs and interna.
tional relations, than at any time IN
the history of the country, and Of ths
world"
Mr.. Gompers once wrote:
"The philosophy on which state
socialism is grounded-the ineyi
table development of capitalism in
every industry to the point at which
the wage system must be aban
doned'--is countered by that other
philosophy which teaches that every
one who has courage enough and in.
telligence enough may at once, in
the present state of social progress,
clear away sufficient of the hurtfu,
effects of capitalism to permit for
himself an independent course"
That was written eight years ago,
but I do not believe he has changed
since then.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
Policy of A. F. of L. Has Brought About Different Con-
ceptons of the Rights of Workers and the
Responsibility of Government

lions to present to Mr.. Gompers.
They were broad questions, rather
than specific, intended to draw from
him some indication off the future
programme of American labor. If
possible some Interpretation of la
boris stand in America today. in
contradistinction to the attitude of
labor in England and the attitude of
radicals in and out of America. Be-
fore | prepared this friendly in
QUESTION | read some of Mr.. Com
pers's own writings. l was struck
by several things in them. One of
them was the great devotion to the
interests of those who labor anc
his intense longing for "the better
day when the industrial strife and
bitter feeling engendered by our eco
romic development may be as
suaged." The others were his deep
ly seated knowledge of practical as
opposed to theoretical development
and his hostility to any doctrine that
is vague or not capable of rewarding
effort with some immediate result.
The questions as they were finally
presented to him were in this form:
Labor in the United States has
been called pragmatic and oppor-
tunist. 1t has been said that your
leadership has been response to the
nature of American civilization, its
freedom for the individual, its hun
dred paths of opportunity and its
untixed state. Does your experience
at the head of union labor in Amer.
lea affirm this Interpretation, and
does the Interpretation still hold
good?
Do the economic, social and indus
trial changes produced by the war
IN the United States warrant any re-
VISION Or reinterpretation Of the aims
OF the American Federation of Labor?
In other words, does the apparently
growing inclination of English speak
ing peoples to extend democracy to
every phase and activity of life call
for more comprehensive philosophy
of social regeneration on the part of
American labor?
What differing conditions in Eng
land and the United States have pro-
duced, on the one hand, the British
Labor party, aiming at "A New Social
Order" and, on the other hand, a
continued federation among American
trade unionists of the present COM
petitive system?
How best-rationally, evenly and
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
She Slipped Down
The River Out to Sea

Let US call her the Ramapo, because
that isn't her name. Let US say still
further that she was formerly, before
they hauled down the Red, White and
Black and hoisted the Stars and Stripes
the Fuerst Adolph, which she wasn't,
and one of the crack liners in the Ger
man merchant marine, which she was.
In the dusk of a winter afternoon she
slipped down the river and out to sea.
unobtrusive in her gray war paint.
Several thousand troops were in the
troop spaces" below decks. These are
formed by ripping out costly woodwork,
silken fittings, wondrous decorations,
once used in the first class cabins Of
the Fuerst Adolph, and setting in, in
their place, barracklike chambers Of
raw, heavy wood. In these dolorous
dungeons the men in khaki are to sleep.
If the weather be stormy there they are
elso to live until the storm abates.
Landlubbers must be below when the
wind blows high, which Is wise for
their safety, but hard on their stom-
achs.
The troops were all kept below while
the transport slowly slipped down the
stream and the shores grew blurred be-
hind her. Then her engines quickened.
Her bow made it's first curtsey to the
cminous Atlantic swell. and she was on
Ter way across. From now on, for day
on day, a torpedo rightly placed might
cause a greater loss than the attack of
an army corps ashore.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

waves were rolling at their worst,
twenty barrels of oil that had been
made fast on the we'll deck, broke loose,
and began to roll back and forth in
their narrow space like so many terri
Bile dice. Each of them weighed 200
pounds and they Numbered about con-
tnualy as the sea swung the boat.
Several of them had come up hard
against capstans and stanchons, and
had burst like bombshells before the
section on watch was ordered down to
make them fast. A dozen men were de-
tailed to the job. For an hour they
fought on the we'll deck, where a mis-
step meant death, lodging the barrels
when they charged like so many mad
dened cattle, swearing .joyfully when
they were able to close in on one and
make it fast.
At last they Finished drenched with
oil, bruised and tired. The ten barrels,
remaining whole, were all corralled
and they turned to the upper deck. A
moment later, the grinding rumble be-
low told that the rolling of the ship had
shaken them loose again.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
The Transport Starts
Out and Arrives

-, To the average American mind the
those OF France, and that is all there
is to it.
- There is much, much more. Most Of
this probably will never be told The
endless chain OF ships, many Of them
built in Germany, that carry men and
supplies to the immediate rear of the
war and then return for more have no
history.
Yet the history is there, latent and
waiting for birth. The fate of Amer
ica's part in the war, perhaps the fate
of the war itself, rests on the blue
jumpered shoulders of the transport
men. Their business is not to fight. un-
less cornered. Their task is not to de-
Tend so much as to evadc They are
responsible for the lives of thousands
Of temporarily helpless soldiers. They
and their ship drop down the bay and
out across the tracklcss sea to play a
desperate game Of tag, in which every
U-boat the Kaiser owns is at" and they
and their vessel the lone and unhappy
tagec.
Day by day they come and day BY
day they 90, and OF their doings only
the high lords Of the navy know. Peril
of storm and torpedo are theirs. I'm
relaxed vigilance and eternal warinegs
are their duty. And they are doing
their wprk. They are getting the men
acroSs. Up 10 the time thia vas writ
ten. no transport flying the Stars and
Gtripes and carrying her precious load
OF men and munitions to France has
lost in her deadly game Of tag. The
Juscania, it should be remembered, vas
= British ship.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
the Mute ngorious Transports That Garry the Nations Des

That is what the men of the trans
port service. most Of whom enlisted to
fight and we're chosen to run, are doing
How they are doing it is only partly
told tale, caught here and there from
letters sent home from French ports
by sailors; from descriptions of the
trip over "Over There" recounted by
soldiers, recovered from the terrible
qualms Of seasickness and filled with
new found gratitude and admiration
for their brothers in the navy blue who
brought them safely across.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

through what evolutionary paths
can We arrive at industrial democ-
racy in the United States?
arrived for the interview some
minutes before Mr.. Gompers ap-
peared. I sat in a fine airy cor
ner room on the top floor Of the i'm
pressive Federation Building at
Massachusetts Avenue, awaiting his
arrival. On the walls we're auto
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

graphed photographs of the last
three Presidents. A sectional book
case was full of books, among them
"Russia's Message" by William
English Walling, Bliss's Anew En-
cyclopadia of Social Reform" Met
calf's "The Real Bryan" and in a
corner, copy of Mr.. Gompers's
own Labor in Europe and Amer
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
A Wicked Looking
Barrel Spied Him

"The commander was pretty sore
and he showed it. He went down with
us this time to see we did the Job
right. The barrels were bouncing and
charging about. The deck was slippery
with oil and every once in so often
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
She Broke Out
The Flag at the Stern

Their flagship hung for a moment
on wave, then there was a squirt of
white at her stern and she came flying
down on us. There was no foam by
tho bow There was no smoke from,
the short raking tunnels, only the
CULVER of heat from her oil fires. She
slipped through the water like fish,
and as she passed us, slim, high bred,
with her razor bow and her lean curv-
ing tanks, driving through the water
like an express train, with no visible
effort and as smoothly as a canoe She
broke out the American flag on her
stern. We broke out ours and that was
our greeting-that and the yells of the
soldiers who were acting like madmcn.
AS she flashed by we caught a GLIMPSE
of her guns, all cleared for action and
the depth bombs ready at her stern
one OF her men, his feet braced to Mar
roll. looked IN at us, grinned and then
yawned. We knew that was only show.
,ng of, He couldn't shame the troops
bunch of kids" ''"'
The worst of the war zone was ahead
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

MAY have told Of the deeds Of
w the destroyer men, for the ex-
PLOTS of those who drive the
swift war boats to their double task
of Staying and saving make fine and
joyous telling. To the credit of the
killers of the U-boats and guardians Of
the convoy let it be said that half
of the splendid tale has not yet been
told.
The men of the lean hunter craft
are the pick of the navy and their ships
come close to being the best in the
world. They know it, their countrymen
know it and Fritz of the submarine is
learning it to his own sorrow.
Much honor is also paid to the men
of the Grand Fleet-the bluejackets who
are waiting at some unnamed sea rem
devious for chance to loose the de-
struction Of their great guns upon the
ships of Wilhelm, sea lord of the Kiel
Canal.
These are our buckler and our
shield. They man the first line Of the
nations defence. They are fighters
skilled in their appointed tasks and
eager for that battle that they believe
cannot be so far off now.
No one tells of their brethren of the
transport service. Only the brief Of
fetal announcement gives their history
and this comes but rarely. Occasionally
the powers at Washington lift the cur.
tain of secrecy that hangs between Oh,
coast line and the Atlantic to announce
that troops have been landed to an un.
mentioned number at an unnamed port
in France. Only once so far has il
pamed the ships that carried those
troops.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
There Was a Sudden
Gasp of Relief

"She hove to, only few hundred
yards away. All OF our guns were on
her. You could see their gray muzzles
rise and dip as the ship rolled and the
gun pointers held them true on their
mark. All at once | realized | loved
those guns and the men who were
handling them. 1t was funny I'd never
thought of them at all before. Now
they seemed to be the biggest thing in
the world to me-"
There was sudden gasp of relief
all over the ship. The tramp had
broken out the British flag. On her
bridge some one was semaphoring fran
tically. The Ramapo men picked up
the hysterical little message.
"Submarine encountered one hour di-
rectly east. Believe it is pursuing. Ad-
wise caution"
Then the smoke came bursting from
her funnel again and she went blum
dering on her way over the sea, like a
frightened duck.
''lf we had been steering into a fight
we would have cheered and have been
pretty happy, because we knew we
would have an even break. But this
was like expecting man in Jail to be
eXuItant over the fact that he might be
electrocuted in the morning. There
wasn't anything to do. We just kept
on ahead and kept on waiting-watch-
full waiting"
Then, all at once, a whisper ran
through the ship. 1t was repeated as
those on the walls of Lucknow must
have told of the advancing British
column. The destroyers were coming.
Somewhere out over that gray, cruel
sea the American war boats were
sweeping down on the convoy. Our
destroyers, our men, they were coming
to see their brethren safe through the
war zone.
Il shall never forget the way they
came. 1t was a gray afternoon, when
the maintop reported the flicker of a
blinker signalling far out over the
waves. We didn't see them when they
came. They seemed to materialize sud
denly out of nothing.
All at once, we saw the first one.
She was only few hundred yards off
our bows, and we had to watch her
closely to see her at all. That sounds
foolish; but it is literal fact. She was
camoufage and dotted and
splashed in a dozen colors, and she
melted away into the background of
the sea as though she weren't made of
steel, but of mist.
"Then we realized that they were all
around us. Eight of them. All dappled
and harlequin patterned, all practically
invisible at half mile.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

white bursts Of foam along ahead Of
her. The cruiser charged toward her.
The gun crews on the Ramapo were
fighting to bring their pieces to bear.
cts a German raider" the whisper
ran about the ship.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10
The Sick Prayed
The Ship Might Sink

Boys fresh from training school
looked on in establishment to see men
grown gray in the service rush to the
rail and surrender all at the call Of the
sea. These unfortunates had dwelt
heretofore in the heavy ironclads
that plough through the waves or else
pc yielded gayly to the touch of the
pillows Down in the troop spaces,
sellers grew white Tipped and prayed
that tho ship might sink. Tho regi-
ment of negroes had hong since counted
themselves as lost and lay in their
hunks moaning fcebly.
There was little timc free Of hard
work and no leisure for the seamcn.
To sleep one had TO clutch the sides of
his bunk, and usually when he relaxed
as slumbcr overlook him, he fell out
with dismal crash
Day and night, they fought the seas,
max ing fast, repairing, defending their
vesfeI against the unendng assault of
the waves. Suddenly, one day when tho
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-03-10

thought. They progressed puss-in-t
corner fashion across the heaving decks
in the inky darkness, making fast
davits that were wrenching free with
the rolling, securing a hundred diff
ferent objects that strove to burst
away.
The phosphorescence Of the wave
tops was the only light they saw. Save
for two OR three exceptions there was
absolutely no illumination on the boat.
In the stern carefully shaded lamp
shone directly astern so that the others
in the convoy could keep their distance.
Over the instruments on the bridge
were other dim lamps as carefully OBJ
scured. Down far below, behind shad-
ed portfolios, tiny blue electric bulbs
were set in the floor where an unwise
step might send one crashing down
stairs. Except for the engine room all
other light was forbidden. Smoking
after sunset was absolutely taboo.
Even radcliffe watches were discarded
before the trip began.
Far up on the two masts, switching
back and forth across the sky in great
"crows nests" In each of these four
men were stationed-the eyes of the
vessel. In pent house at the foot of
each mast dwelt the commanders of
the fore and aft guns, in constant COM
munlcation with the lookouts above.
you would think that it would be
worse in the tops than on deck when
the old Ramapo was rolling so hard.
They say it isn't. Men have gone up
the ratlnes sick unto death. Their
stomachs get back to where they should
be up there. The motion is easier
somehow"
Dawn broke over thousand ranges
of gray, rolling mountains. Behind
the Ramapo, two other transports
ducked and crashed through the waves
Before her the bulk of an armored
cruiser showed now and again through
the foam. Waves were breaking over
her all the time. She ploughed
straight through. Sometimes to the
men on the Ramapo it seemed as
though only her tunnels and masts
were above the sea.
The first night, when the Ramapo
behaved more like a drunken acrobat
than stately ship, was merely the
forerunner of worse things to come
All this winter. storms have ranged
up and down the sea lanes of the
Atlantic. Calm days on the trip
across are always rarity in Deccm-
Der, January and February. This
year they have ben unique.
There were wind storms, when the
vessel rolled in an arc Of 50 degrees.
There were days of ice when the spray
froze wherever it struck and men came
off watch, cased in mail There were
days of snow that dashed the lookouts'
faces like whips. There were DAYS Of
tremendous seas that reached up sixty
feet from the water line to rip life
boats from their davits.
New-York tribune., 1918-03-03
Other Oil Stocks
| n d u S tria al
Cotton

Reports of further rains in the South
west increased tendency to take
profits for over the week end and in
spired scattered selling in the cotton
market yesterday. Declines of 12 to %
points from Fridays closing figures
were followed by rallies on a continued
demand from trade sources, however,
and the market closed steady, net un-
changed to l points lower. Nav con-
tracts sold off from 3l25c to 81. .OSc
and closed at 31.20c or net unchanged
while new crop months were relatively
easy, showing losses of 7 to II points
The market was Irregular at the open
ing, first prices being points higher
to points lower with old crop months
influenced by the bulish average of
news from the goods market, while
later deliveries reflected the improved
weather reported in Texas. Part OF the
selling came from houses with South
western connections, which strength
encd the more optimistic view of pre-
liminary crop conditions in that sec
tion and October led the decline, sell
ing off to 29.62c, or about 81 points
below Fridays high level. There was
enough trade buying to absorb offer
lngs on a scale down, however. and the
market lirmcd up as soon as the sell
ing slackcncd, with foreign buying a
factor on the late rally Last prices
showed recovcries of 10 or 5 points
from the lowest
1t was rumored that the purchases of
cotton IN this country by the French
Commission during Deccmbcy and Jan
uary had totaled between $4,000 and
$4,000 bales. This probably accounted IN
some measure for the talk of increased
exports In the near future. with the re-
ports of foreign buying here in the late
trading furnishing additional ground for
such opinions. There were reports that
manufacturers we're receiving bids for
goods for winter delivery at the same
prices as those prevailing for summer
delivery, and that they, in turn, were
IN tne market for carly new crop snip
nents. Trade buying noted during the
day, however, was in The old cron
months. One Of the weekly reviews re-
ported that crop preparations were un-
der way IN Texas. and that Indications
pointed to increased acreage in Ala
bama. Opinions AS to probable acre
age are conflicting. The incentive FOR
planting a large area in cotton is evi-
dent in the high range Of prices. but
there arc modifying factors in the
neces,;slty l',,;y for food crops, scarcity Of
tainty Of cotton crops in boil wcevil
sections.
New-York tribune., 1918-03-03
Market Averages
Bonds
tBy The Associated Pressl

By The Associated Press
For lack of a more definite reason,
the heavy tone of yesterdays stock mar
ket was ascribed to developments in
connection with the next Liberty Loan.
Traders seemed to proceed on the
theory that speculation would be dis
couraged pending the consummation Of
that project, and sold freely of lead
ers as we'll as less representative is
sues.
Extreme recessions in special stocks
ranged from 2 to points, pressure
being most marked in Baldwin Locomo-
tive, Crucible Steel, Texas Company,
New York Air Brake, Marine preferred
and AtlanticGulf.
United States Steel, Bethlehem Steel
and investment rails forfeited to l y
points, and metals were under the ad-
verse influence created by Fridays
reduced dividends for Utah and Chino
coppers. Rallies extending from large
fractions to II points set in at the
close.
Bonds were again disposed to recede
on nominal dealings, Liberty issues,
however. holding steady. United States
IS lost Il per cent on call during the
week.
New-York tribune., 1918-03-03
both white and black, to be employed
at some useful occupation"
Optimists See
Bumper Crops

Scores of letters expressing opinions
the same as or similar to the abova
have been received but those which
have been quoted suffice to present the
majority opinion as to the food ONT
look for 1918. Not all of the REPLIES
received are pcssimistic. however. a
minority holding that measures now
being taken will enable the farmers to
produce and harvest full crops, in spite
of labor shortage. Among those, TAX
ing this view is r. l.. Rutter, president
panv. of Spokane. Wash, who made
thorough investigation and consulted
agricultural authorities before reply.
ing. Mr.. Rutter writes:
THE present prospects indicate that
the 1918 crop will be the largest in the
history of this country, and, unless
some unforeseen situation develops to.
unnecessarily draw from our local sup
ply of labor, we do not believe there
will be any serious trouble in harvest
ing the crop.
"a definite plan is being worked out
to organize the available farm labor in
every community of the inland empire.
This calls for the organization of the
farmers IN every community, the list
ing Of all possible farm help in these
communities, the opening and opera
tion Of a labor Office under the control
and direction Of the United States De-
partment of Labor in each community.
It also contemplates the establishing
as near as possible of uniform scale
of farm wages, SO that the competition
between farmers can BE eliminated as
far as possible.
"The use of tractors is becoming
greater each year, and will be an im-
portant factor in the labor situation
throughout our territory this year"