The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-10-14

! North American Reviews war
Weekly: Mr.. Francis loal-nerman of
New York is 10 years OF ace. The
fires of his American patriotism burn
as holly as those in the ranks at the
front. His fa.her was a solder In the
union army during the civil war and
was one of the thousands of other
American PATRIOTS who died in that
tstruggle that the country they loved
i SO well might live.
| Given these antecedents plus his
own ardent American loyalty, it is
not surprising that the outbreak OF
the Hun war to impose a,lto-ra.y on
| all the world stirred Mr., Bannerman
intensely. He was one of the thous-
ands of Americans who felt from the
moment the Iuns fell upon Belgium
that our place was side by side with
the civilized nations of the world In
the defense of all that Esakes life
worth the living of free men. He vas
one of the hundreds of thousands who
boiled with indignation during our
underwriting era, when our American
men, women, and children were icing
murdered on the high seas and we
we're meeting those shameful insults
with "tuti tut" remonstrances. In
that era he offered, at his own cost
Of $40, 900, to equip an American line
ship with guns, for he is a heavy deal
er In military equipment with rather
"a formidable arsenal on an island he
owns in the Hudson near Cornwall,
and which he makes his summer
home This offer OF the American line
company could not see way to &C
cept in view of the governments at
titude as to arming merchant vessels.
When, at last, we entered the war,
Mr.. Bannerman placed the entire con-
tents of his establishment at the gov
ernment's disposition. The list In
cluded thirty large guns, some OF them
sold to him in 1912 as obsolete by our
own navy. The only purchase the gov
eminent made of him was of 100000
haversacks which he sold at one-third
the cost of their manufacture. He
was ready to meet the government on
equally liberal terms in any other pur-
chases it might elect to make. The
war department discovered, after in
vestigation that the "obsolete" guns
the navy department has sold to Mr..
were not obsolete. 1t was
to purchase number of
them. The price suggested was pre-
cisely the price the little republic of
Cuba felt itself able to pay and was Of |
fering ~
And right there Mr. Bannerman's i
began. Assuming that he had
demanded price for the guns which
he had not demanded and with
the entire correspondence on the |
subject matter of record open to every !
Mr.. Bannermann was as
sailed in congress with a savagery of |
Inyective that would almost have !
been excessive if applied to the rank |
est traitor that ever lived. He was |
published abroad as constituencies I
profiteer trying to extort money from !
the government under the stress and /
duress Of war.
But that was not all. Mr. Banner i
mans little island summer home and
storage place in Hudson-Polopel's is !
Iand-was raiaed and invaded by the I
armed forces of the United States. I
Several months before the declaration !
Of war there had been disturbing ru-
nors afloat Mr. Bannerman applied (
20 the government at Washington. I
Ee. was referred to the governor of I
New York. The governor suggested !,
hat he and his guards be sworn in as
deputies by the sheriff of Duchess /
county. They were sworn in On the /
over Of his island arsenal he mount
I'd four machine guns to repel any pro. 4
Hun enterprise of seizure that might
De undertaken. 1t did not for an in
slant occur to this stanchly loyal
American that the forces of his own |,
government would be invaders. But he
lid not know all the intricate re-
sources in official asinity then avail
lble On the LIST day of April last, at
.2:30 D. M, submarine chaser IS.
?. S99) with an armed guard OF auOut
fifteen men in command Of four Off
GERS wearing insignia of the United /,
States navy. landed on the island.
they demanded entrance to the arse +;
lal. Mr.. Bannerman was in the office
n New York within an instant's reach 1
w telephone. The officers were so in
ormed and informed also that Mr.. Ban
herman alone could tell where to find |
he arsenal keys. Their reply was to I
'atter down the arsenal door and {
mash open boxes containing powder
nd explosives shells. When the depu- {,
y sheriff caretakers approached they {
Tere driven off at the muZzles OF re-
.ilvers The invaders entered every ]
rsena1 building Mr.. Bannerman, in {
lis statement printed in the Congress !
ional Record, said that some OF |
he men helped themselves to cart
idge belts and took away equipment" /
hen they invaded his private resi- I
ence They even ransacked Mrs. I
bedrooms. Then they i
IOWA PRESS COMMENT. Il