The Washington times., 1920-09-20
VIII Th6y TAXI
Torture, the Old Way.
Better silk Than None.
What California Says.
ARTHUR BRIsBAl
,cspyr,sA, s,sJ

torture Of witnesses. the first step
following crime was to gather sus-
pected persons and put them to
the torture. Witnesses supposed
to have information had their feet
squeezed in ''the boot" their mus
cles and nerves stretched and torn
on the rack, hot irons applied to
the soles of their fest.
Torture was applied not only to
those suspected Of crime, but u
men and women known to be in
nocent in the "hope" that they
might yield information worth
while. II q nobleman was sus--
pected Of crime, the first step OF
Justice was to torture his servants
to make them tell all they knew.
Torturing days have gone by, and
modern justice will have to rely
on the talkativeness of criminals
and the intelligence OF detectives.
Even the peasants of France
ara wearing silk stockings" says
Blssco Ibanez, worried by the
"orgy Of spending in Europe" To
one who knows French peasants
the statement seems exaggerated.
OF all sensible, saving creatures.
French peasants stand at the head.
Bolshevism has confiscated six bill
lions of their savings. That's one
cause of trouble in Europe.
However, il the peasants are
wearing silk stockings, that Is
better for France than the old
days when peasants had no stock
inRs and no shoes, slept on reeds
or dry leaves on the bare dirt
floor, were forbidden to kill ani-
mails destroying crops, and were
sometimes compelled to stay up
all night beating stagnant ponds
with poles to keep croaking frogs
from disturbing their masters
sleep in the castle.
Whether French peasants wear
silk stockings or the old-fashioned
bas de laine, the French govern
ment keeps it's head. II has put q
price limit Of $32 ton on coal
from America. A shameful price,
explained partly, let us hope. by
the rate Of exchange. The French
recognize what this country will
have to recognize eventually. that
the only way to deal with profit
eering is through price-Axing in
necessities Of life. a.
Pro4tsers will tell you that
price-Axing is ..socialtsm," It NAV
be, but unlimited pronteerinE
means in tha and -something worss
than socialism.
There ara sub-cellars below co.,
cialism: s1fT
The explosion in Wall Street ex-
plains why European governments
released political prisoners 10
soon as war was over. Europe
has learned by experience that
moderation is best in dealing with
unreasoning violence. To keep
locked in jail men that have hun
dreds Of desperate and reckless
friends outside Is considered not
wise in Europe, especially when
the prisoners crime consists of
talk or opinion.
1t is possible that the recent
Wall Street calamity, with dozens
Of innocent men and women killed
and wounded, might have been
avoided by acting with political
prisoners as was done by Eng
land, France and other civilized
countries when war ended.
In 1914, when the war was start
ing. an officer Of the German i'm
perial guard wrote a prophecy as
to how it would end. His prophecy,
which may or may not have been
written in 1914, outlined every
thing exactly as it has happened,
and predicted for later date "a
tremendous struggle between Rus
sia and America"
There need not be any ''tremen-
dous struggle" if the United States
through its Administration will at
tend to it's own American business
and allow Russia and other coun-
tries to attend to theiy business.
Every man, and every woman
especially, should read the posi-
tive statement made by Mr..
Hughes. lately Judge of the Su-
preme Court, and one of the best
informed men Of the country in
regard to law and the meaning of
contracts. ..-.
Mr.. Hughes says that Article X
in the League Of Nations. the par
ticular article that Mr.. Wilson calls
"the heart OF the League" and
that Mr.. Cox has sworn. vowed,
promised, and declared that he
would enforce, IL worded in such
a way as to force this country into
war on Europe's order.
Article X, according to Mr..
Hughes, and everybody else that
understands plain English, would
compel the United States, once in
the League, ito preserve the terri
torial integrity and political indie
pendencc Of any member Of the
1eague'-thst Is to say, Of all the
other nations in the League, and
the method by which this agree
ment by thc Urited States would
be carried out Is to be decided BY
the council OF the League, n for
cign council with bcadouarters in