The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-30
AMERICANS NOT .I so MUCH SAYS
 LESLIE.M. SHAW Wilson and Taft Are Even Less, and Teddy Has
 Been Known to Nod. FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
 IS A JUST JOKE Don't Talk About League of Nations, It Cracks the shavian Lip.

Leslie M. Shaw, one-tfme governor of Iowa, secretary of the treasury under Roosevelt, galvanized the United. Church Forum out of it's scholastic calm last night, when he gave clear oratoricaI title to "dear old England' as the original and only simon pure friend of the United States.
 In the War of Revolution it seems America would have been whipped but England didn't care to whip us; and in the war of 1872. England would have whipped us again, but John Bull was too busy. A little later Japan might have whipped us, but John Bull wouldn't permit. There was the time in the Philippines when the British admiral let the Ger man know what was what, just be- fore %Dewey fired. While the audience waited breathlessly, Shaw forgot 10 say whether the Spanish fleet might otherwise have despatched Admiral Dewey to the bottom of the deep, deep ocean.
 Mir. Shaw's interpretations disturb ed a fair haired ingenious boS. He said: If what you say about the Americans is true, why have tEcy been teaching us American history the way they have in the scnoolsc"
 The forum easily gathered from r.I1 aP dent Wilson is rather a stupid fellow | and President Taft not much better Even the Jovian Roosevelt mods Shaw caught him at it once, though he didn't say anything about 1t al | tIle time.
 DpoE the same Shavian authority the league of peace can happen. Ii won't do at all. Mir. Taft has a plan but 1t is heavier than water MT Wilson has a plan, but it is lighter than air.
 MT. Wilson has the idea, accordirs to Shaw, that the moral force ot mankind can be organized.
 Nonsense; ridiculous" said Shaw
 The rendering is verbally inaccur ate, but spiritually correct
 Somebody inquired, questioning be ing not only permitted but encourag ed in The Forum, whether Chris tianity is organized physical force, 0 l organized moral force." MT. Shay replied in several hundred perfectl a6od words, but made no answer.
 MT. Shaw's chief purpose, the req object of his speech, was to prov that there never can be such a thin as freedom of the seas, according t the definitions and versions of Wood row Wilson.
 Freedom of the Seas, Shavian doc Urine, is more chimerical even than league of nations. Even protectiv tariff might disappear in such a ca tastrophe, which Divine Providenc never will permit.
 Dear old England" has the larges fleet. MT. Shaw, for one would b very sorry to have 1t otherwise, an would deeply regret the day whe the merry people who could hay licked America in 1776 and didn' want to, and could have spanke Uncle Sam again in 1912. but wer . too busy, are deprived of the rigt of blockade in times of war.
 To this and other phrases of Mi Shaw's, in which the term Dear .ol England" appeared, gentleman, az parently a subject of King Georg,
 arose to beg that the speaker migt hereafter refer to Dear old Gres ! Britain" which he said would hay the effect of shedding some glor
 upon the Irish, Welsh and Scotcl
 upon the Anzacs, New Zealanders an
 Australians, South Africans, Indian
 and other peoples of the Empire.
 Mir. Shaw diminished American con tribution to victory in the presen
 war as much as he had diminishe American prestige in former wars , they didn't have any cannon whe - they did get in. Perhaps the victor Twas actually won on the Marne: pei
 haps at Werdun This was the idea (
 Colonel Harvey. Some person unippressed suggeste , that General Pershing has official reported the victory won at the tim = when the American soldiers, fightin
 through the Argonne Forest, cut tf , main line of communications of tI 3 German forces. That mighe be S
 but MT. Shaw leaned a little to Co I Harvey's version. America must n, 6 speak boastfully. If the eAmerica f boys shed their blood in the Argonn let us be nice and quiet about = Somebody over there may hear u o and be offended.
 IL MT. Shaw made an interesting tai r. It was like a visit to a museum o The forum had one of it's best evel ings. There was a large house TT = music was enthusiastic. The congr
 gational singing was hearty. The
 was solos, well sung. Dr. William ] e Day was in his seat. Attorney Sar f uel c. Shaw. president of the Forul |" had the qualification of knowing tn
 his preliminary announcement w
 Justified
 l, At the Forum next Sunday evenil l. N2Iter B. Lashar, Mayor Clifford
 Wilson and others will speak abo r things good for Bridgeport to have
 to do.
 - MINERS FIGHT WITH sOIDIEF
 Amsterdam, Dec. 30-Striki