davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

the determination Of that result. Very
well--wc shall win that decision"
"The menace Of a German peace" was
recognized by "The Toronto Globe" which
quoted President Wilson's statement upon
the declaration of war that German power
must be crushed"
Analysing the true meaning of the
offer "The New York Times" pointed out
that
"The German peace terms aro that the
status quo ante be restored to Europe The
status quo ante is the thing that caused the
present war and will cause more unless it
be utterly destroyed. But the status quo
ante Will never be restored exactly as it was:
tor under that status there were some ma
tons that did not enjoy the blessings of
permanent conscription. England was one
and the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argcn-
tina and Australia were among the others
These nations will not be caught mapping
again."
"Thc Teutonic menace to civilization
must be eliminated" was the answer of
"The Indianapolis News .The Denver
Rocky Mountain News" stigmatzed favor
able discussion of it as "pcacc chatter
that softens nation" $50 far as the
Allies are concerned" "The Daily Okla
homan" thought, "it is hardly likely the
so-called peace terms will even provoke
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

utterly destroyed the whole terrible war will
sooner or later have to be fought over
again."
"The detestable German system" said
"The Hartford Courant," "must be wiped
out before there can be real peace"
1t would be possible to fill many columns
with similar extracts from the country's
editorial pages and from expression Of
popular opinion in letters from readers.
The answer is wellnigh unanimous
PRUSSIA must be destroyed" before the
nations can talk Of peace.
The only notable exceptions were found
in "The New York Evening Post" and a
few papers inclined toward pacifism,
which correspond, measurably, to "The
Manchester Guardian" in England. "The
Post" saw in Count Czernin's offer some
thing (which the Allies are bound to en-
tertain."
"The San Francisco Chronicle" thought
that the peace proposals make "a founda-
ton, if not for negotiations, at least for
talking about them.'' 1t demanded that
all militarism, including British naval
ism" and "our own" must be abolished
along with German militarism. And "The
New York American" saw in the Russian
events justification of Lord Lansdowne's
proposal and called for further defini-
tion Of Allied "war aims" adding:
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

is the member who ranks next to Smith,
and there has been some talk Of con-
test for the Craftsmanship, but the Demo
cratic steering committee will be slow to
change the seniority rule. If, as was once
suggested by former steering committee,
the election Of q chairman were left to the
members of the committee neither Smith
nor Pomerene would be considered when
il was possible to elect Robinson, of
Arkansas, or Underwood, Of Alabama.
1t was perhaps in view Of the Smith in
cumbency that McAdoo sent for Cummins,
ranking minority member, to consult with
him about the necessary legislation. The
lines are already being drawn in the Sen
ate over the question whether the average
net revenue Of the three last years is not
too high a sum for the government to
guarantee the railroads.
But the President can paraphrase the
remark Of one Of his predecessors concern
ing the Panama Canal: II have taken
over the railroads and Congress can de-
bate the accomplished fact"
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

survive separately. The most remarkable
case is the union Of two Middesex weeklies
Of opposite political opinions and traditions.
Many journals-esDecia!ly trade papers. de-
nominational organs and publications of So
cieties-have collapsed altogether While
there has been this heavy mortality rate
among papers already in existence, few nev
papers have been started and have gained
an enormous circulation. Some clever ex-
ploiters Of the public mind were acute enough
to notice that the war had killed Sabbatarian-
ism. .s. :,
"Wiaen Sunday school teachers, with tie
approval of their ecclesiastical supcriors.
were spending the day of rest in making
munitions, and when everybody was as keen
to get war news on Sunday mornings as on
other days, it was clear that the religious
objection to Sunday papers had been greatly
weakened. At least three new Sunday papers
have been started to take advantage of this
change Of feeling. One of them began with
million copies and has since gone beyond
two and half millions.
''These newcomers began their operations
before there were any restrictions on the
supply of raw material, and they were able
to procure a good deal of paper by buying
up licenses from persons who did not happen
to require all the material to which they
were entitled. In April last, however, new
regulation was issued prohibiting the pub
ljcation OF any new newspaper without spc-
cial permission, so there will be no oppor-
tunity for any further ventures of this
kind"
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
War Has Done All Sorts of Things to British Newspaper

|TNHE war has made a great difference
to newspapers. This is, in fact, a
truism. Of course war makes a
Inference in every department Of life
And its effects upon newspapers would
seem, in many respects, most patent of ALL
However, the matter invites careful analy-
sis, and such analysis, so far as it applies
o British journalism, is made in the De-
ember 27 issue of "The Nation" by Her
ert W. Horwill, writing from London.
qr Horwill says;
There used to be a popular delusion that
|a war was q good thing for the papers. 1t
solved what was commonly supposed to be
ian editors CHIEF problem-thc difficulty of
finding enough matter to fill its columns.
This strange notion of the assistance given
|sy state of war to the prosperity Of the
Newspaper press Will scarcely survive the
eperiencc OF the last three years. The most
1rclsss rcadcr must have noticed the sore
st~its to which journalism has lately been
|put Last week ".rhe Daily Chronicle" Joined
the long list of papers that have doubled
their price, leaving US in London with no
ohe-cent morning papers except The Daily
News and The Daily Express
"When the war broke out the first sufferers
la the journalistic world were not the pro-
|pretors or editors, but the general contribu-
tors. Unless he could switch on his inter-
est; to military matters, the free lance or
space writer found no market for his wares.
Regular members Of the staff who were re-
sponsible for sections relating to literature
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

distinct from paper making materials, it was
afterward reduced to onc-haf and, later still,
to one-third. These limitations have been
severely felt. At the last annual meeting
of the Newspaper Press Fund Lord Burn
ham, the proprietor of The Daily Telegraph.
went so far as to say that the newspapers
lad been the biggest sufferers from govern
mcnt reguIations--lnorc than any other trade
in the country. The growing scarcity of
paper has been accompanied by u marked
decline in it's quality. Not only newspaper
printers Dut book printers have TO be con-
tent in these days with whatever kind of
stu.F 'sAey can get. You will notice that in
the current issues of even some of the
standard books of reference the ink runs If
you try to make a note an interlineation.
1t has not smoothed matters TO discover that
the government itself has been one Of the
chief offenders as regards the waste of good
material.
"Not long ago .herc lay wharf at
nermondsoy Wall huge stack of more than
fifty tons Of printed matter-posters, hand
bills, official forms, ctc.-which had been
discarded by the abortive National Service
Propaganda. There were even dumped there,
ready for pulping, massive quarto calf bound
ledgers of the finest quality paper, for which
an ordinary firm would pay from SIS to $50,
and in which not more than twenty thirty
pages had been used. 1t is fair to say that
at last the authorities seem to have awakened
to the necessities of economy. The Con-
troller of the Stationery Office has decided
to discontinue the use of foolscap for Off
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

a serious handicap to the government in
keeping the nation informed Of the consider
atons that had guided their policy.
"The expcdient of q rise in price has been
widely adopted. 1t was stated last June that
since the beginning of the war 70 dailies
and 145 weeklies had made this change. The
Times raised its price first from cents
to 3 cents, and later to 4 cents. The Morn
ing Post 'Tho Daily Mall The Daily Mir
ror,' The Daily Sketch and several of the
leading provincial dailles have gone up 100
per cent. Some Of the higher priced papers
have encouraged Ahe f4rmation .of reading
circles in order that their influence might
not suffer although their circulation might
decline. THE Queen the leading weekly
paper devoted to women's interests, accom-
panied the raising of its price from sixpence
to shilling by devising linked subscrip-
tons scheme. A copy is sent out in double
postal wrepper with two addresses and two
stamps. 1t is posted on Friday to one ad-
dress and is transmitted by the first reader
the next Tuesday to the other. The trouble
is that most people prefer to be the second
member Of such pair, in order that they
may be able to keep the paper. There have
consequently been many moro applications
for the second subscription than for the first.
In Il great many camps, Of course, papers
have both reduced their size and raised their
price. They have all pronised-and they
all doubtless intend-to resume the old size
and price after the war, but one may rea-
sonably doubt whether circumstances will
not be too strong for them, in view Of the
general scarcity Of all kinds Of raw material
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

the ports Of Libau and Riga, in the new state
she is seeking to erect, Germany would con-
troll all Russian roads to the sea in tho
north, and through her mastery OF the Turk
al Corstantinople she would dominate the
Russian road to the Mediterranean. TIE
slightest examination Of the German proposal
reveals its full purpose"
His conclusion was this:
"As for the German peace proposal, it is
colossal fraud. To be deceived by it is to
permit Germany to win the war, and to win
more than any German expected to win at
any time between the Marne and the hour
when Russia fell into chaos. We have, all Of
us, the Western nations, pledged ourselves
to fight for the liberation of the subject
nations. For US to listen to the present Ger
man proposals would be to betray 10000, 900
Of Savs, to turn them over 70 the German
and the Austrian, to their present and our
future RUM
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

cial spondencc, and civil servants have
use narrow spacing when they employ the
typewriter and to be sparing in their con-
sumption Of envelopes.
"Thcre were two obvious means by which
the newspapers could meet the situation.
They could provide against the increased
cost of material either by decreasing
their size or by raising their price. Many
eight-page daily papers we're cut down to
four pages. Unnecessary portraits and illus
trations omitted. Special articles,
which used to occupy whole column, were
compressed into half that length. One of
the most awkward problems was how to carry
much Of the income derived from ADVERTISE
ments, and the task Of allotting space in a
satisfactory proportion must have caused
anxious consultations in many Offices. The
Spectator solved the problem by decreasing
it's total number of pages, allowing the same
amount Of reading matter as before, and re-
ducing tho space allotted to advertisements,
but with q rise in it's scale Of advertising
charges.
"Thc reduction in size of SO many papers
is generally recognized as misfortune.
Nowadays, for instance, there is only one
paper that can find room to give the casualty
mentary Secretary to the Ministry of NUM-
tions publicly regretted that the shortage of
paper had limited the space tho press could
give to the consideration of labor questions
e. g., The problem of dilution-and had becen
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
From The Philadelphia Public Ledger
discussion" In the words Of 'The Colo
RADIO Springs Gazette":

discussion" In the words Of "The Colo
RADIO Springs Gazette":
Germany cannot buy peace from her al
lied foes to-day by material compensation for
the damage they have sustained at her hands,
nor by the evacuation Of the territory she
has invaded. There must como with the
cessation of battle sense of security over
Europe that the carnage will not be re-
ncwed."
"The Houston Chronicle" found "the
patronizing effrontery Of the German
proposition intolerable." "The Baltimore
Sun" considered that "there is nothing
chastencd about the Prussian temper" ="
THE Salem (Oregon) Capital Journal"
under the caption, Carthage Must Be De-
stroyed," saw in the situation the old
battle over again, Rome or Carthage,'
concluding that
mo matter what it costs in lives and
treasure the world owes it to itself and to
the generations to come to fight the present
contest to a finish. Unless Prussanism is
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

that is likely to persist for many years after
peace returns
IA minor saving in paper has been effected
by many papers by means Of their refusal
to accept returns any longer from the news
agents. Among the weekly papers, espe-
cially, the practice of an annual postal sub
scription has been much less usual in Eng
land than in America. large proportion
of the circulation is made through news
agents, copies being sent out by the publish
ers sfor sale or return In order to lessen
the waste of unsold copies, the publishers
are now limiting their output to the number
news agents. with a few ceptions-manl
the railway bookstalls-are accordingly ceas-
ing to cater for the casual purchaser. The
government has compelled further econ
omy by prohibiting the contents bills which
were previously so prominent q feature Of
the English newspaper business. 1t so hap
pened that in the very first week in which
this prohibition was in force there occurred
the fall Of Bagdad and the Russian revolu-
tion--even+s that would have given an excep-
tional opportunity to the specialists who used
to prepare these placards. The news ven-
ders who ply their trade at the street cor
ners have had to devise methods of their
own to supply the gap. Some Of them have
used states and others have announced the
events of the day by writing notices in chalk
on boards or OH the sidewalk.
"There have been few instances--very
fcw-of tho amalgamation of two local week
ly papers that would have been unable to
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
The Commerce Committee

r INVESTIGATION of shipping problems
l. continues before this committee, curl
osity being stimulated by Bainbridge
Coby's testimony, behind closed doors, con-
cerning tho submarine peril and the sue
cess in meeting it. Another witness, Ray
mond B. Stevens, Of the Shipping Board,
refuted an attempt to connect his name
with a favored contractor by producing a
letter from General Goethals showing that
Goethals was solely responsible for the
contract. The incident served to bring out
the fact that Stevens always sided with
Goethals in the unfortunate controversy
with Denman, whose appointment to the
board and subsequent selection as chair
man was the main cause of the confusion
and delay that have done SO much injury
to ourselves and our allies. The appoint
ment of Goethals by Secretary Baker
virtually to succeed Sharpe in the Quar-
termaster Generals Department restores
q great man to the service of his country.
His taking over of the Bush Terminals in
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

or social questions or the fashions were con-
fronted by the sudden failure of any demand
for what they could supply. Reporters dis
covered that nobody wanted any accounts of
lectures or meetings. After time these
difficulties rghted themselves in large meas
ure. The public attention could not be
wholly and continuously absorbed in fighting,
and the mere desire for some relief from
the pressure of military concerns brought
about restoration in the usual paragraphs
about the affairs of everyday life, though
not by any means to their previous scale Of
Importance.
"As The war went on its burden fell more
and more heavily upon newspaper publishers
and editors. They we're hnmpered by the in
creasinC scarcity and cost of raw material
by the difficulty IF transport and distrbu-
ticn through the depleted train services, and
by the reduction of their editorial and me
chanica stats through enlistment and con-
scription. The rise in the price OF print
paper has proved the most serious handicap
OF all. In announcing its proposed change
The Chronicle reported the other day that
paper had gone up SO per cent since August
1914. Early in 1916 the government found
it necessary to control the supply. In order
to save tonnage, the importation of paper
wood pulp and other paper-making materials
was prohibited except under special licenses
to be issued by paper commission, and pur-
chasers Of these various kinds of material
were ratoned on the basis of their 1914 con-
sumption.
"At first the ratio permitted was two
thirds, but in the case of paper itself, as
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

ut is unbelievable that the German gov
eminent would find tho hardihood to reject
fair and just offers of peace, for the simple
reason that 1t is unbelievable that the Ger
man people would back up their government
in rejecting such offers-and, contrary to
much ignorant assertion and to much i'll
informed belief, the German government
could not carry on war single week against
the will Of the German people,"
The German American press, for the
most part, maintained discreet silence or
made colorless comment. "The New York
Call" (Socialist) saw confession Of
weakness for either side to offer peace
terms, or even to Estate its aims" as a
peace preliminary, concluding:
George Bernard Shaw couched all this in
homely phrase when he stated that IL Ger
many gets US down she will skin US alive; if
we get Germany down we shall skin her alive
And no pretence that this is otherwise will
go with any Of the European belligcrents.
They know each other too WE'LL"
The most widely quoted and most gen.
orally accepted expression of American
opinion was that given by Mr.. Frank H.
Simonds in The Tribune, holding that the
proposed terms were wholly "inadmissi-
ble," and that with the Germany Of the
lying tongue and the brutal sword this
world cannot make peace" Nothing short
of complete military victory, as a pre-
requisite, will do. After that is gained, at
whatever cost, "the beginning of just
peace is reparation, restitution, restora-
ton" His conclusion was that "the civil
lied worlds not yet prepared to play Little
Red Riding Hood to the German wolf
not even at Bolsheviki invitation-and
that is the sum total Of what is now pro-
posed"
Mr.. Simonds, later discussing the ques-
tion Of the Baltic provinces, declared:
"At no time since the World War began
1 has there heen- any greater peril to the future
peace Of Europe than that which is inherent
in the present peace proposals Of the Ger
mans to the Russians. Under the cover of
Russian formula. purrortng to give small
races the right to choose their own political
allegiance, the Germans are deliberately un-
| dertakng to create q barrier between the
Slavs and the Baltic Sea and erect German
controlled state which shall contain all the
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

evsr, the return of Germany's lost colo
ris called for a Poland nominally "in-
DEPENDENT" bur under Austrian supervi-
sion: and also contemplated the main
finance of German garrisons and large
bodies of troops in Russian territory now
occupied. 1t also developed later that in
vayment for the evacuation Of Belgium
and France Germany demanded the return
Of Palestine, Mesopotamia and Arabia,
and even the restoration of Tripoli to Tur-
key. "Germany's fundamental aim," a
Russian delegate, NJ. Pavlivich, is quoted
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

as saying, "is to establish an economic
union from Hamburg to the Persian Gulf"
At first the Bolsheviki seemed content.
but at this writing there is evidence that
even they have begun to realize the actual
meaning of these peace terms, which were
essentially a return to the "status quo
ante" with certain German advantages
added.
Outside of Russia the offer was regard
ed as an attempt to inveiglc the Allies into
discussion of terms and also as con-
fession of fundamental German weakness,
despite the turbulence Of it's tone. 1t was
not greeted enthusiastically in Germany.
either.
The response Of the press Of the United
States and Canada to the German peace
offer as presented to the Russians is al
most unanimous. 1t is also unusually en-
phatic as an expression of popular opin-
ion. The verdict is that the offer is not
one worthy of serious consideration, that
it is fundamentally fraudulent, and that
any peace built upon such a foundation
would leave the whole war to be fought
over again when Germany had regained
her strength to try once moro for world
domination.
'The Allies" said "The WASHINGTON
Post" speaking of the peace deluson," /"
"are anything but deluded.s They see with
eyes sharpened by the terrible danger
| They are keenly alive to the nature and
magnitude of their task. They realize the
costly nature of the blunders they have
made. Necessity drives them to new and
untried cxpedients, but they are throwing
away old preiudices and are quick to seize
upon the advantage of timelness. Every
day brings the allied nations nearer to-
gether; every day widens the gulf be-
tween civilization and a dshonorable and
unsafe peace. The German ruler and the
German plotters boast and rave, but the
allied forces of civilization work inexora-
bly, toward the. doom of the system that
strikes at freedom"
"We are in the war;" said "Thc Boston
Transcript" "and we shall! stick to it
until the war has the right result No
! doubt military decision is essential to
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
January Peace Talk

TT IS only natural, in the month sue
ceeding the Christmas festivities. one
which by its name looks backward and
forward, named for the old Roman deity,
the doors of whose temple were closed
only when there was peace throughout
the Roman empire, tlau raere snouIc pe
much thought and the expression Of many
ideas concerning peace. This would be
the case, independent, Of the peace gest-
ures the Kaiser Is making toward the
Bolsheviki and OF the announced confer
ence on the subject between Lloyd George
and Clemenceau.
In Administration circles at Washington
one is reminded of the determination. ex-
pressed in more than one Of the Presidents
utterances, not to make terms Of peace with
the present war-lords of Germany, whose
word cannot be trusted, whose honor can
not be appealed to, the violators Of treat
les and the breakers Of covenants. Until
the situation in Germany is changed to
one in which conditions Of peace may be
discussed with officials not already con-
victed OF treachery and mendacity, to say
nothing Of beastliness and barbarism,
there can be no peace. This is the Wash
ington view.
Those VINO want restaternent Of peace
terms every other day. py the United
States or Great Britain or France, are
invited to consider first with whom cove
nants Of peace can be made or terms
Of peace discussed. For President vii.
son, the present rulers Of Germany ara
beyond the pale.