New York Times 100 years ago today, May 31, 1913:
The Naval Aid bill which Premier Borden was able to carry through the Dominion Commons only by a reduced majority he cannot carry through the Senate at all. By a vote of 51 to 27 the Senate has resolved that it is not justified in giving its assent to the bill until after it has been submitted to the judgment of the country. The prospect of a popular mandate being asked may be judged by the following extract from The Ottawa Journal, whose editor is an intimate of the Premier:
If the Borden proposition were to be submitted to a plebiscite, the mass of the liberals, and all the Nationalists, all the voters arrived more or less recently from the Continent of Europe and the United States, all "peace-at-any-price" people, all the Socialists, would vote against it. Defeat would be more than probable.
The Naval Aid bill, therefore, may be considered dead because people and Parliament are against it. This is the result of an attempt to give the Mother Country a pledge of loyalty as a substitute for the commercial agreement with the United States, which was represented as treason to the Empire. Instead of a Naval Aid bill approved without distinction of party, including both Laurier and Borden. England was flattered by a proposal which Parliament has rejected, and on which the risk of a vote of the electorate cannot be taken.
The proposition which is so unpleasing to the Dominion was urged under a plea of an imperial emergency which had no real existence, and was thanklessly received on its own merits in the Motherland, although it received a certain support from Germanophobes and British protectionists, who were in the last ditch themselves. The proposal simply was that Canada should bear the interest charge on $35,000,000 of money to be borrowed in England, to be spent in British shipyards, for the mere shells of ships, which were to be manned and maintained by the home country, and were to be attached to Gibraltar as a base, for use at the will of the British Admiralty in wars not of Canada's seeking. Clearly, there was nothing in that for Canada. The Dominion would rather have spent that considerable sum in its own shipyards, and have had the use of the ships in Canadian waters, on Canadian issues. On the other hand, the upkeep of the ships was so much more than the interest on their cost that one thankless London journal on Wednesday declared "Great Britain would be relieved if Canada were to go back to forming a navy instead of planting the maintenance of £7,000,000 worth of battleships on our estimates."
The United States will, as it should, preserve an attitude of detachment and observation regarding this family quarrel. It is not necessary for us to point out to our cousins above the border that it is idle for them to protest that their primary interests lie across the ocean. It is rather lip service than loyalty to pretend that they will sacrifice their interests to those of England. They will not do so in such a matter of politics as Asiatic immigration. They will not do so in such commercial matters as the enactment of a tariff. They will give England a preference up to the point where Canadian interests are threatened, and then the British preference becomes a Canadian preference. There is not the slightest doubt that they will sell to us all that our lowered tariff will allow, and count it gain. But the same party whose naval policy is discredited deceives itself, and deceives the country, into the belief that it would be treason to lower the Canadian tariff to enable Canadians to buy in this country, and make another profit on the other half of the bargain.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Ships Vainly Shell Airship.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 31, 1913:
Aviator Masson Sails Over Mexican Fleet — Ready for Battle.
NOGALES, Ariz., May 30.— Didier Masson, the aviator, sailed his big biplane over the gunboat Guerrero in Guaymas Bay yesterday. The ships gunners attempted to shell the aeroplane, which remained at a height of 5,000 feet. None of the shells took effect, nor did Masson attempt to drop any bombs. To show his defiance of the Federal gunners he made five flights over the bay.
In the meantime the State troops were driving the Federals back toward Guaymas. It is declared by the State officials that all is ready for a concentrated attack on Guaymas with Masson assisting from overhead, while the insurgents attack from three sides.
Aviator Masson Sails Over Mexican Fleet — Ready for Battle.
NOGALES, Ariz., May 30.— Didier Masson, the aviator, sailed his big biplane over the gunboat Guerrero in Guaymas Bay yesterday. The ships gunners attempted to shell the aeroplane, which remained at a height of 5,000 feet. None of the shells took effect, nor did Masson attempt to drop any bombs. To show his defiance of the Federal gunners he made five flights over the bay.
In the meantime the State troops were driving the Federals back toward Guaymas. It is declared by the State officials that all is ready for a concentrated attack on Guaymas with Masson assisting from overhead, while the insurgents attack from three sides.
Carnegie Seeks The Kaiser.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 31, 1913:
On Way to Urge "War Lord" to Abolish War.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
LONDON, May 30.— Andrew Carnegie arrived in London at 10 o'clock tonight and went to the Coburg Hotel.
He said his chief mission in Europe was to present an address from more than forty peace societies in America to the Kaiser, who, Mr. Carnegie thinks, is the one personality in Europe to abolish war.
On Way to Urge "War Lord" to Abolish War.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
LONDON, May 30.— Andrew Carnegie arrived in London at 10 o'clock tonight and went to the Coburg Hotel.
He said his chief mission in Europe was to present an address from more than forty peace societies in America to the Kaiser, who, Mr. Carnegie thinks, is the one personality in Europe to abolish war.
How The War Was Fought.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 31, 1913:
Turks' Power Crushed at Kirk Kilisseh, Salonika, and Adrianople.
The Balkan war was expected by those who studied European affairs closely as soon as the Turco-Italian war began, but it was not till Sept. 30 last year that it was learned that the forces of Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, and Greece were actually mobilizing.
It was the occurrence of a series of massacres in Macedonia and Thessaly, almost on the frontiers of the Balkan States, which gave the final impetus to the alliance between them, which had for so long been regarded as an impossibility. At Otchana in August the Turks had massacred a number of Bulgarians, and at Philipopolis the people held large gatherings to demand the liberation of Macedonia. The Montenegrins were stirred by the news of other atrocities at Berane, and a mutiny occurred at Monastir.
The great powers, which always watch the Balkans with the keenest anxiety, and were conscious that their own subjects might force them to observe the responsibilities they had assumed for decent government in European Turkey, became seriously alarmed and addressed many exhortations to the Balkan States on the danger and folly of upsetting the status quo.
Mr. Venizelos, the Premier of Greece, however, was at work, and through his ability Bulgaria, Greece, Servia, and Montenegro agreed to forget their mutual hatreds and to advance together against the common foe. On Oct. 13 Bulgaria, Servia, and Greece sent Turkey a note demanding an autonomous Macedonia, and four days later Turkey handed the Balkan Ministers at Constantinople their passports.
Considering the interior position, which Turkey occupied, the military strength of that empire and of the allies was not unequally matched. Turkey could muster, it was estimated, 500,000 men, Bulgaria 300,000, Servia 200,000, Greece 80,000, and Montenegro 50,000. Montenegro struck the first blow and carried on independent operations which led her to Scutari, but the decisive operations of the war were conducted by Bulgaria, with Servia acting as an invaluable ally on her right.
The Servians were making for Durazzo, which they actually reached on Nov. 28, and the Greeks were pressing forward to both Janina and Salonika. These operations hampered the Turks by distracting their attention, but the mistake which cost them their European dominions was committed in not appreciating the strategy of Bulgaria. The army of this kingdom, as expected, moved at once upon Adrianople and invested it; but instead of stopping there it threw forward one army corps on the left, and in rapid succession drove the Turks back from the Kirk Kilisseh and Lule Burgas positions in disastrous retreat upon Constantinople.
The Bulgarians had, however, outrun their strength and supplies, and seem also to have been infected to some extent by the cholera, which had appeared in the Turkish ranks. So, when they reached the lines of Tchatalja, they were unable to force them, and on Dec. 3 an armistice was signed between the Turks and the Allies.
Though operations were still carried on by the Greeks, the negotiations for peace were undertaken in London. Nothing was accomplished, as the demand of the Allies for a large indemnity was refused by the Turks. The result was that the war was renewed on Feb. 4. and on March 27 Adrianople at last fell before the Bulgarians and Servians. Still the Allies were held back by the lines of Tchatalja, and the result was a second armistice.
On the western frontier of the Turkish Empire, however. King Nicholas of Montenegro, fearing for his throne, refused to lay down his arms, and on April 24 in spite of the protest of the Great Powers and the presence of their fleets in demonstration against him, conquered Scutari. A few days later, however, he was forced to evacuate it in the face of the enormous diplomatic pressure put upon him.
Turks' Power Crushed at Kirk Kilisseh, Salonika, and Adrianople.
The Balkan war was expected by those who studied European affairs closely as soon as the Turco-Italian war began, but it was not till Sept. 30 last year that it was learned that the forces of Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, and Greece were actually mobilizing.
It was the occurrence of a series of massacres in Macedonia and Thessaly, almost on the frontiers of the Balkan States, which gave the final impetus to the alliance between them, which had for so long been regarded as an impossibility. At Otchana in August the Turks had massacred a number of Bulgarians, and at Philipopolis the people held large gatherings to demand the liberation of Macedonia. The Montenegrins were stirred by the news of other atrocities at Berane, and a mutiny occurred at Monastir.
The great powers, which always watch the Balkans with the keenest anxiety, and were conscious that their own subjects might force them to observe the responsibilities they had assumed for decent government in European Turkey, became seriously alarmed and addressed many exhortations to the Balkan States on the danger and folly of upsetting the status quo.
Mr. Venizelos, the Premier of Greece, however, was at work, and through his ability Bulgaria, Greece, Servia, and Montenegro agreed to forget their mutual hatreds and to advance together against the common foe. On Oct. 13 Bulgaria, Servia, and Greece sent Turkey a note demanding an autonomous Macedonia, and four days later Turkey handed the Balkan Ministers at Constantinople their passports.
Considering the interior position, which Turkey occupied, the military strength of that empire and of the allies was not unequally matched. Turkey could muster, it was estimated, 500,000 men, Bulgaria 300,000, Servia 200,000, Greece 80,000, and Montenegro 50,000. Montenegro struck the first blow and carried on independent operations which led her to Scutari, but the decisive operations of the war were conducted by Bulgaria, with Servia acting as an invaluable ally on her right.
The Servians were making for Durazzo, which they actually reached on Nov. 28, and the Greeks were pressing forward to both Janina and Salonika. These operations hampered the Turks by distracting their attention, but the mistake which cost them their European dominions was committed in not appreciating the strategy of Bulgaria. The army of this kingdom, as expected, moved at once upon Adrianople and invested it; but instead of stopping there it threw forward one army corps on the left, and in rapid succession drove the Turks back from the Kirk Kilisseh and Lule Burgas positions in disastrous retreat upon Constantinople.
The Bulgarians had, however, outrun their strength and supplies, and seem also to have been infected to some extent by the cholera, which had appeared in the Turkish ranks. So, when they reached the lines of Tchatalja, they were unable to force them, and on Dec. 3 an armistice was signed between the Turks and the Allies.
Though operations were still carried on by the Greeks, the negotiations for peace were undertaken in London. Nothing was accomplished, as the demand of the Allies for a large indemnity was refused by the Turks. The result was that the war was renewed on Feb. 4. and on March 27 Adrianople at last fell before the Bulgarians and Servians. Still the Allies were held back by the lines of Tchatalja, and the result was a second armistice.
On the western frontier of the Turkish Empire, however. King Nicholas of Montenegro, fearing for his throne, refused to lay down his arms, and on April 24 in spite of the protest of the Great Powers and the presence of their fleets in demonstration against him, conquered Scutari. A few days later, however, he was forced to evacuate it in the face of the enormous diplomatic pressure put upon him.
Balkan Foes Sign Treaty Of Peace.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 31, 1913:
Proceedings in London Concluded Quietly in an Hour's Time.
SIR EDWARD GREY PRAISED
Bulgarian Delegate Expresses Gratitude to Him — Montenegro Signs, but Accuses Britain.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
LONDON, May 30.— The treaty of peace between Turkey and the Balkan allies was signed at St. James's Palace at 12:40 P.M. to-day. Thanks to the firm action of Sir Edward Grey, the trusted and respected spokesman of the European concert, the Balkan war, after a duration of nearly eight months, was definitely terminated by a ceremony lasting exactly one hour.
Five copies of the treaty, one for each of the belligerent States, on plain printed sheets, with blanks left for signatures, lay on the polished mahogany table when Sir Edward opened the proceedings by inviting the delegates to sign the treaty. Thereupon the copies of the treaty were passed from hand to hand by the different delegates for signature as they sat around a long table.
The proceedings were businesslike and brisk. The only jarring note, from the point of view of the Servians and Greeks, was the discovery of an annexe to the treaty, believed to have been drafted by the Bulgarians, proposing that the treaty should come in force without further ratification. This annexe was not signed.
LONDON, May 30.— Dr. S. Daneff, the Bulgarian peace delegate, in the course of an interview after the signature of the preliminary treaty of peace, said:
"I am rejoiced. It means not only Balkan peace, but general peace, for Europe is saved from one of the most thorny problems of the Near East. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Sir Edward Grey, whose enduring and untiring mastery in treating diplomatic problems has brought about peace much sooner than some of us had expected."
The first meeting of the peace conference has been fixed for Monday, June 2.
M. Popovitch, the Montenegrin chief delegate, after signing the preliminary treaty on behalf of Montenegro, delivered a short speech, in which he said:
"We have signed the preliminary treaty because nothing else remained for us to do. We are glad to have peace, but are profoundly dissatisfied with the terms we have been obliged to accept. We have been despoiled of the fruits of our victories. We have been made the whipping boy of Europe. Great Britain took the leading part in depriving us of Scutari. We look here to secure a modification of the Albanian frontier, so as to give us lands for cultivation and a natural route between Podgoritza and Ipek."
The Bulgarian and Turkish peace delegates also signed a protocol providing for the immediate removal of their respective armies from the scene of operations.
After informing the Ambassadorial Conference of the signing of the peace draft Sir Edward Grey suggested that the conference limit its discussions to three questions — a Constitution for Albania, the delimitation of the southern frontier of Albania, and the status of the Aegean Islands. The Ambassadors are now awaiting further instructions from their Governments regarding a Constitution for Albania, but the conference is working in greater harmony and expects to conclude its labors by the end of June.
The relations between the Balkan Allies show a distinct improvement. The postponed meeting between the Servian and Bulgarian Premiers is now definitely fixed to take place on the frontier to-morrow evening. The latest suggestion for a settlement of the quarrel between the two countries is that Servia and Bulgaria denounce the old treaties and conclude a new alliance providing for a joint administration of Macedonia.
ROME, May 30.— The signing in London to-day of the preliminary peace treaty between the Balkan Allies and Turkey caused great satisfaction both at the Quirinal and the Vatican, and the hope was expressed that further complications between the Balkan States might be avoided. In Government circles it was said that Greece should understand that Italy held no hostile feelings against her, but was merely desirous of protecting her own interests in the Adriatic.
ATHENS, May 30.— Artillery fire was opened on the Greek positions in the direction of Eleuthora yesterday by the Bulgarian troops stationed at Prawa, to the east of Salonika. The Bulgarian commander refused to enter into negotiations with the Greek commander for the purpose of stopping the firing. Details of the engagement have not yet been received.
Owing to this aggression by the Bulgarians a portion of the Greek fleet has been sent to Eleuthora.
BELGRADE, May 30,— The Pravda says that Bulgaria is ready to negotiate with Servia for a revision, of the treaty of alliance on condition that all the Balkan Governments order a demobilization of their forces.
Proceedings in London Concluded Quietly in an Hour's Time.
SIR EDWARD GREY PRAISED
Bulgarian Delegate Expresses Gratitude to Him — Montenegro Signs, but Accuses Britain.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
LONDON, May 30.— The treaty of peace between Turkey and the Balkan allies was signed at St. James's Palace at 12:40 P.M. to-day. Thanks to the firm action of Sir Edward Grey, the trusted and respected spokesman of the European concert, the Balkan war, after a duration of nearly eight months, was definitely terminated by a ceremony lasting exactly one hour.
Five copies of the treaty, one for each of the belligerent States, on plain printed sheets, with blanks left for signatures, lay on the polished mahogany table when Sir Edward opened the proceedings by inviting the delegates to sign the treaty. Thereupon the copies of the treaty were passed from hand to hand by the different delegates for signature as they sat around a long table.
The proceedings were businesslike and brisk. The only jarring note, from the point of view of the Servians and Greeks, was the discovery of an annexe to the treaty, believed to have been drafted by the Bulgarians, proposing that the treaty should come in force without further ratification. This annexe was not signed.
LONDON, May 30.— Dr. S. Daneff, the Bulgarian peace delegate, in the course of an interview after the signature of the preliminary treaty of peace, said:
"I am rejoiced. It means not only Balkan peace, but general peace, for Europe is saved from one of the most thorny problems of the Near East. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Sir Edward Grey, whose enduring and untiring mastery in treating diplomatic problems has brought about peace much sooner than some of us had expected."
The first meeting of the peace conference has been fixed for Monday, June 2.
M. Popovitch, the Montenegrin chief delegate, after signing the preliminary treaty on behalf of Montenegro, delivered a short speech, in which he said:
"We have signed the preliminary treaty because nothing else remained for us to do. We are glad to have peace, but are profoundly dissatisfied with the terms we have been obliged to accept. We have been despoiled of the fruits of our victories. We have been made the whipping boy of Europe. Great Britain took the leading part in depriving us of Scutari. We look here to secure a modification of the Albanian frontier, so as to give us lands for cultivation and a natural route between Podgoritza and Ipek."
The Bulgarian and Turkish peace delegates also signed a protocol providing for the immediate removal of their respective armies from the scene of operations.
After informing the Ambassadorial Conference of the signing of the peace draft Sir Edward Grey suggested that the conference limit its discussions to three questions — a Constitution for Albania, the delimitation of the southern frontier of Albania, and the status of the Aegean Islands. The Ambassadors are now awaiting further instructions from their Governments regarding a Constitution for Albania, but the conference is working in greater harmony and expects to conclude its labors by the end of June.
The relations between the Balkan Allies show a distinct improvement. The postponed meeting between the Servian and Bulgarian Premiers is now definitely fixed to take place on the frontier to-morrow evening. The latest suggestion for a settlement of the quarrel between the two countries is that Servia and Bulgaria denounce the old treaties and conclude a new alliance providing for a joint administration of Macedonia.
ROME, May 30.— The signing in London to-day of the preliminary peace treaty between the Balkan Allies and Turkey caused great satisfaction both at the Quirinal and the Vatican, and the hope was expressed that further complications between the Balkan States might be avoided. In Government circles it was said that Greece should understand that Italy held no hostile feelings against her, but was merely desirous of protecting her own interests in the Adriatic.
ATHENS, May 30.— Artillery fire was opened on the Greek positions in the direction of Eleuthora yesterday by the Bulgarian troops stationed at Prawa, to the east of Salonika. The Bulgarian commander refused to enter into negotiations with the Greek commander for the purpose of stopping the firing. Details of the engagement have not yet been received.
Owing to this aggression by the Bulgarians a portion of the Greek fleet has been sent to Eleuthora.
BELGRADE, May 30,— The Pravda says that Bulgaria is ready to negotiate with Servia for a revision, of the treaty of alliance on condition that all the Balkan Governments order a demobilization of their forces.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
World Peace And Suffrage.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 30, 1913:
Women Urged to Seek Vote as a Weapon Against War.
To the Editor of The New York Times:
I am very much of an "anti" myself, and the "Votes for Women" never appealed to me. But I should be glad to compromise with myself if I could know that the main object of the woman suffrage movement is to bring about international peace and good-will among nations. It strikes me that the whole suffrage movement would gain in favor and popularity among thinking men if it possessed the criterion of peace rather than militancy. If the suffragettes would say that they want to vote in order to stop warfare, to influence manhood in general to stop killing each other, they would get all the sympathy they want for their cause.
I venture to say that the suffragettes could do more to bring about international disarmament than all the men combined. Suppose we grant the "Votes for Women." Suppose women vote and send their representatives to Congress. Is it not natural that they will employ every effort to preach international peace? It is their womanly instinct to do so. We argue, among others, against the suffrage because we say if women get the vote they should also he able to defend the country in case of war. It is evident that we cannot send women to war. It is against common sense, and it is physically impossible. We would not want to sacrifice their lives, the lives of those whom we want to raise good, healthy children. The suffragettes, no doubt, know these facts, and as a consequence they should argue in such a way that they do not want to go to war, for if they do get the vote war will be altogether eliminated through their great influence.
Let the peace advocates work together with the suffragettes and help each other's cause. I am positive that if these two movements join forces the two most vital questions of the twentieth century will be realized.
EUGENE S. LUCAS.
New York, May 28, 1913.
Women Urged to Seek Vote as a Weapon Against War.
To the Editor of The New York Times:
I am very much of an "anti" myself, and the "Votes for Women" never appealed to me. But I should be glad to compromise with myself if I could know that the main object of the woman suffrage movement is to bring about international peace and good-will among nations. It strikes me that the whole suffrage movement would gain in favor and popularity among thinking men if it possessed the criterion of peace rather than militancy. If the suffragettes would say that they want to vote in order to stop warfare, to influence manhood in general to stop killing each other, they would get all the sympathy they want for their cause.
I venture to say that the suffragettes could do more to bring about international disarmament than all the men combined. Suppose we grant the "Votes for Women." Suppose women vote and send their representatives to Congress. Is it not natural that they will employ every effort to preach international peace? It is their womanly instinct to do so. We argue, among others, against the suffrage because we say if women get the vote they should also he able to defend the country in case of war. It is evident that we cannot send women to war. It is against common sense, and it is physically impossible. We would not want to sacrifice their lives, the lives of those whom we want to raise good, healthy children. The suffragettes, no doubt, know these facts, and as a consequence they should argue in such a way that they do not want to go to war, for if they do get the vote war will be altogether eliminated through their great influence.
Let the peace advocates work together with the suffragettes and help each other's cause. I am positive that if these two movements join forces the two most vital questions of the twentieth century will be realized.
EUGENE S. LUCAS.
New York, May 28, 1913.
Memorial Day.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 30, 1913:
This year the occurrence of Memorial Day on Friday will insure to many persons three days of rest and recreation. There is, at last, a promise of good weather, and many thousands will spend their holidays out of town. The programme of sports and pastimes is unusually rich and varied, too, and, the rain having ceased, even before the end of Quaker meeting week, historically associated with the open umbrella, there is likely to be little disappointment.
Memorial Day, however, was instituted for neither sport nor rural recreation. Its true significance, one likes to think, is realized by increasing numbers this year. The elaborate ceremonies in memory of National heroes will assuredly keep many away from the playing fields and the country resorts. In the morning the Grand Army veterans will have their customary parade; in the afternoon the dedication of the Maine Monument will be preceded by a more splendid, if not more significant, military pageant. In many homes the spirit of the day, set apart to honor the dead who served their country well, inevitably associates itself with the remembrance of private bereavements. Not all of the graves upon which flowers will be reverently placed to-day will be those of soldiers and sailors. But Memorial Day is of a truly National character, in some respects the noblest of all our days of ceremony, and the variety of its observance does not indicate any lack of appreciation of its solemn meaning, or of comprehension of the reverence and gratitude which belong to it.
This year the occurrence of Memorial Day on Friday will insure to many persons three days of rest and recreation. There is, at last, a promise of good weather, and many thousands will spend their holidays out of town. The programme of sports and pastimes is unusually rich and varied, too, and, the rain having ceased, even before the end of Quaker meeting week, historically associated with the open umbrella, there is likely to be little disappointment.
Memorial Day, however, was instituted for neither sport nor rural recreation. Its true significance, one likes to think, is realized by increasing numbers this year. The elaborate ceremonies in memory of National heroes will assuredly keep many away from the playing fields and the country resorts. In the morning the Grand Army veterans will have their customary parade; in the afternoon the dedication of the Maine Monument will be preceded by a more splendid, if not more significant, military pageant. In many homes the spirit of the day, set apart to honor the dead who served their country well, inevitably associates itself with the remembrance of private bereavements. Not all of the graves upon which flowers will be reverently placed to-day will be those of soldiers and sailors. But Memorial Day is of a truly National character, in some respects the noblest of all our days of ceremony, and the variety of its observance does not indicate any lack of appreciation of its solemn meaning, or of comprehension of the reverence and gratitude which belong to it.
Expect War's End To-day.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 30, 1913:
All the States but Montenegro Have Promised to Sign Peace Treaty.
LONDON, May 20.— The treaty of peace between the Balkan Allies and Turkey, which will be known as the Peace of London, will be signed at noon to-morrow at St. James's Palace, unless some unexpected hitch occurs. Servia, has followed Greece in reluctant orders to her delegates to sign. Turkey and Bulgaria indicated their willingness some time ago, and it is assumed that Montenegro will oppose no obstacles.
Greece held out for the addition of a protocol until the last moment, when she was assured by Turkey that all conventions prevailing before the war would resume their effectiveness until an opportunity was given to discuss the points at issue.
The protocol which Greece wanted appended to the treaty embodied reservations by the allies on points yet to be discussed with the powers, such as the financial post-bellum settlement, the fate of the Aegean Islands, and the frontiers of Albania. Bulgaria and Turkey refused absolutely to have anything to do with a protocol, the former regarding it as too likely to open fresh and undesirable discussions, the latter as betraying a lack of deference to the powers.
While the Peace of London may end the war with Turkey, it may be the signal for strife among the allies. The speech of the Servian Premier in the Parliament at Belgrade on Wednesday, when he explained that Servia desired a modification of the treaty with Bulgaria regarding the division of territory, instead of allaying irritation has increased it to such an extent that it is not likely now that his meeting with Premier Guechoff of Bulgaria, on the frontier will take place.
All the efforts of Russia to bring about peace between Bulgaria and Servia have apparently failed, and the worst is feared. Meanwhile, the quarrelsome allies are throwing enormous bodies of troops into Macedonia for the purpose of occupying disputed territory.
The relations between Bulgaria and Greece are still extremely strained. The Bulgars thus far have refused to create a neutral zone at Salonika, where the Greek Premier, M. Venizelos, is waiting to meet the Bulgarian Gen. Ivanoff. This conference is expected to check the Bulgarian militarists, who, apparently, are acting in defiance of the home Government.
SALONIKA, May 29.— A dispatch from a trustworthy source says that the Bulgarian troops have destroyed the village of Hadji, between Salonika and Serres, and have massacred the Mussulman population.
All the States but Montenegro Have Promised to Sign Peace Treaty.
LONDON, May 20.— The treaty of peace between the Balkan Allies and Turkey, which will be known as the Peace of London, will be signed at noon to-morrow at St. James's Palace, unless some unexpected hitch occurs. Servia, has followed Greece in reluctant orders to her delegates to sign. Turkey and Bulgaria indicated their willingness some time ago, and it is assumed that Montenegro will oppose no obstacles.
Greece held out for the addition of a protocol until the last moment, when she was assured by Turkey that all conventions prevailing before the war would resume their effectiveness until an opportunity was given to discuss the points at issue.
The protocol which Greece wanted appended to the treaty embodied reservations by the allies on points yet to be discussed with the powers, such as the financial post-bellum settlement, the fate of the Aegean Islands, and the frontiers of Albania. Bulgaria and Turkey refused absolutely to have anything to do with a protocol, the former regarding it as too likely to open fresh and undesirable discussions, the latter as betraying a lack of deference to the powers.
While the Peace of London may end the war with Turkey, it may be the signal for strife among the allies. The speech of the Servian Premier in the Parliament at Belgrade on Wednesday, when he explained that Servia desired a modification of the treaty with Bulgaria regarding the division of territory, instead of allaying irritation has increased it to such an extent that it is not likely now that his meeting with Premier Guechoff of Bulgaria, on the frontier will take place.
All the efforts of Russia to bring about peace between Bulgaria and Servia have apparently failed, and the worst is feared. Meanwhile, the quarrelsome allies are throwing enormous bodies of troops into Macedonia for the purpose of occupying disputed territory.
The relations between Bulgaria and Greece are still extremely strained. The Bulgars thus far have refused to create a neutral zone at Salonika, where the Greek Premier, M. Venizelos, is waiting to meet the Bulgarian Gen. Ivanoff. This conference is expected to check the Bulgarian militarists, who, apparently, are acting in defiance of the home Government.
SALONIKA, May 29.— A dispatch from a trustworthy source says that the Bulgarian troops have destroyed the village of Hadji, between Salonika and Serres, and have massacred the Mussulman population.
Japanese Leaders Told Of Our Reply.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 30, 1913:
Premier Takes Rivals Into His Confidence on Land Law Protest.
NEWS PLEASES WASHINGTON
It Is Believed to Indicate the Sincerity of Japan's Efforts to Allay Hostility.
TOKIO, May 29.— As the result of the growing attacks by the Opposition the Japanese Government to-day took the Elder Statesmen and other Leaders, among them Prince Tare Katsura, the former Premier, into its confidence on the Californian question and submitted to them the text of America's reply to Japan's protest against the Californian alien land ownership legislation.
The text of the reply sent by Washington emphasizes the point that the question at issue is an economic and not a political one. It points out that the State of California insists that there has been no violation of the American-Japanese treaty. After dwelling upon the friendship of the United States for Japan, the reply concludes that the courts of law are open and expresses the hope that the question may be solved in a manner satisfactory to Japan.
Special to The New York Times. WASHINGTON, May 29.— That the real importance of the Japanese contention against the California alien land law was the intimate connection of the matter with domestic politics in Japan, which was recently explained in The New York Times, was confirmed in advices received by the State Department to-day. Premier Yamamoto to-day invited Prince Katsura and Count Okum and other leaders of the Opposition parties to a conference and submitted to them the Japanese protest made to this Government and the reply of Secretary Bryan.
Mr. Bryan declined to discuss the incident, but it is believed that he regarded it as of the greatest importance as indicating the real character of the attitude assumed by Japan during the month the California alien land law occupied the attention of the people of the United States. It serves to clear the atmosphere of many misunderstandings and to relieve the alarm of those who thought the two countries might at almost any moment be plunged into war. Secretary Bryan would make no comment on the fact that the Japanese protest and his own reply had practically been made public in Japan further man to say that it was his understanding that the two documents were still held to be confidential, and had been shown to the Opposition loaders in a patriotic effort to satisfy them of the good faith of the present Government of Japan in the situation.
Mr. Bryan said that he had no intention of making the protest or reply public hero because of the action taken by Premier Yamamoto. The documents are not likely to be given out for publication until all the excitement over the California, land law has subsided in Japan.
It is thus clear that the two Governments are working in accord to allay all feeling of hostility.
WASHINGTON, May 29.— Although the American reply to the Japanese protest against California land legislation was made ten days ago, there has as yet been no rejoinder, formal or informal. The Japanese Ambassador did not appear at the State Department today — "diplomatic Thursday" — because he had not received from Tokio the instructions necessary for the preparation of his note.
This delay, however, is not construed as an indication of any purpose on the part of the Japanese Government to drop the negotiations. As a matter of fact, it is known that extraordinary pains have been taken to prepare a diplomatic communication to cover every point set out in the last note of Secretary Bryan. It is believed that there will be a polite dissent from the California declaration, drafted into the State Department's reply, that the Webb act is not in violation of the existing treaties. This will apply particularly to the Japanese claim that the California provision that Japanese may not inherit real property conflicts with older treaties than that of 1911.
Tokio advices regarding the conference of the Japanese Cabinet with the Opposition leaders is understood here to forecast the presentation by the Japanese of a united front in all of the subsequent stages of the negotiations. This, while adding to the weight of the Japanese note, is expected to make easier the task of negotiation.
Premier Takes Rivals Into His Confidence on Land Law Protest.
NEWS PLEASES WASHINGTON
It Is Believed to Indicate the Sincerity of Japan's Efforts to Allay Hostility.
TOKIO, May 29.— As the result of the growing attacks by the Opposition the Japanese Government to-day took the Elder Statesmen and other Leaders, among them Prince Tare Katsura, the former Premier, into its confidence on the Californian question and submitted to them the text of America's reply to Japan's protest against the Californian alien land ownership legislation.
The text of the reply sent by Washington emphasizes the point that the question at issue is an economic and not a political one. It points out that the State of California insists that there has been no violation of the American-Japanese treaty. After dwelling upon the friendship of the United States for Japan, the reply concludes that the courts of law are open and expresses the hope that the question may be solved in a manner satisfactory to Japan.
Special to The New York Times. WASHINGTON, May 29.— That the real importance of the Japanese contention against the California alien land law was the intimate connection of the matter with domestic politics in Japan, which was recently explained in The New York Times, was confirmed in advices received by the State Department to-day. Premier Yamamoto to-day invited Prince Katsura and Count Okum and other leaders of the Opposition parties to a conference and submitted to them the Japanese protest made to this Government and the reply of Secretary Bryan.
Mr. Bryan declined to discuss the incident, but it is believed that he regarded it as of the greatest importance as indicating the real character of the attitude assumed by Japan during the month the California alien land law occupied the attention of the people of the United States. It serves to clear the atmosphere of many misunderstandings and to relieve the alarm of those who thought the two countries might at almost any moment be plunged into war. Secretary Bryan would make no comment on the fact that the Japanese protest and his own reply had practically been made public in Japan further man to say that it was his understanding that the two documents were still held to be confidential, and had been shown to the Opposition loaders in a patriotic effort to satisfy them of the good faith of the present Government of Japan in the situation.
Mr. Bryan said that he had no intention of making the protest or reply public hero because of the action taken by Premier Yamamoto. The documents are not likely to be given out for publication until all the excitement over the California, land law has subsided in Japan.
It is thus clear that the two Governments are working in accord to allay all feeling of hostility.
WASHINGTON, May 29.— Although the American reply to the Japanese protest against California land legislation was made ten days ago, there has as yet been no rejoinder, formal or informal. The Japanese Ambassador did not appear at the State Department today — "diplomatic Thursday" — because he had not received from Tokio the instructions necessary for the preparation of his note.
This delay, however, is not construed as an indication of any purpose on the part of the Japanese Government to drop the negotiations. As a matter of fact, it is known that extraordinary pains have been taken to prepare a diplomatic communication to cover every point set out in the last note of Secretary Bryan. It is believed that there will be a polite dissent from the California declaration, drafted into the State Department's reply, that the Webb act is not in violation of the existing treaties. This will apply particularly to the Japanese claim that the California provision that Japanese may not inherit real property conflicts with older treaties than that of 1911.
Tokio advices regarding the conference of the Japanese Cabinet with the Opposition leaders is understood here to forecast the presentation by the Japanese of a united front in all of the subsequent stages of the negotiations. This, while adding to the weight of the Japanese note, is expected to make easier the task of negotiation.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Troops To Stay On Border.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
Second Division to Remain All Summer — Manoeuvres Planned.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 28.— The second division of troops mobilized at Galveston last February, when the troubled conditions in Mexico caused apprehensions for the safety of American citizens in that country, is to be kept in camp at Texas City during the Summer. There has been some expectation that they would be returned to their various stations, but Secretary Garrison has decided that with the improvement of camp conditions and the continued necessity apparently for troops on the border, the division shall remain where it is.
The opportunity will be used for Summer manoeuvres, and some changes may be made temporarily which will relieve the monotony of camp life. A plan is under consideration for cavalry manoeuvres in the Shenandoah Valley by a brigade made up of regiments in the Eastern Division, and also manoeuvres for the troops on patrol duty along the Mexican border. Secretary Garrison is planning to attend the cavalry manoeuvres.
Second Division to Remain All Summer — Manoeuvres Planned.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 28.— The second division of troops mobilized at Galveston last February, when the troubled conditions in Mexico caused apprehensions for the safety of American citizens in that country, is to be kept in camp at Texas City during the Summer. There has been some expectation that they would be returned to their various stations, but Secretary Garrison has decided that with the improvement of camp conditions and the continued necessity apparently for troops on the border, the division shall remain where it is.
The opportunity will be used for Summer manoeuvres, and some changes may be made temporarily which will relieve the monotony of camp life. A plan is under consideration for cavalry manoeuvres in the Shenandoah Valley by a brigade made up of regiments in the Eastern Division, and also manoeuvres for the troops on patrol duty along the Mexican border. Secretary Garrison is planning to attend the cavalry manoeuvres.
Our Relations With Mexico.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
The critical situation in Mexico is largely due to the Provisional Government's lack of funds. As they firmly believe that Gen. Huerta's difficulty in placing a foreign loan is due to the refusal of the United States Government to recognize their own present Government, which, they feel, is well supported, and the best they are likely to get, many Mexicans who have not hitherto been inimical to Americans now feel resentful. The feeling of Americans who are established in business in Mexico or have large investments there is that their financial future is imperiled by their Government's position. But there is no reason why President Wilson's Administration should take account of private business enterprises in dealing with a grave international situation. If the growing Mexican ill-feeling is to be considered a more serious matter, the reason is that our Government has no intention whatever to hurt the feelings of honest and law-abiding citizens of our sister republic; on the contrary, it is the desire of this Administration, as it has been of all its predecessors, to maintain the friendliest relations with its neighbors compatible with justice and fair dealing.
The approaching crisis in Mexico seems to demand, if not immediate action, at least a close and impartial consideration of the question of recognition or non-recognition from every point of view. Those persons who are now arguing in favor of quick recognition insist that the fact that Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain have recognized the Huerta Government justifies similar action by the United States. That does not necessarily follow, if the President's reasons for withholding recognition are sufficient. The advocates of recognition declare that the hostility caused in Mexico by non-recognition will lead to serious complications, and that if Gen. Huerta is able, on any terms at all, to secure a foreign loan without our aid the standing of American business men in Mexico will be ruined and they will suffer from discrimination in favor of their foreign rivals.
On the other hand, it is not customary to extend formal recognition to Provisional Governments. Mr. de la Barra, when he was Provisional President of Mexico, did not ask for recognition. But he took office when there was no lack of public funds and the election of Madero was in sight. Clearly the case of de la Barra cannot be fairly cited as a precedent. Our Government, however, has lately recognized the Provisional Government of China, and its action in that instance has received general approval. It seems not unlikely that, in spite of the international mischief-makers, the recognition of the Huerta Government would be as favorably regarded in this country if the President could see his way clear to take that course. But the idea is quite general that he must have other reasons than any yet made public for withholding recognition.
The critical situation in Mexico is largely due to the Provisional Government's lack of funds. As they firmly believe that Gen. Huerta's difficulty in placing a foreign loan is due to the refusal of the United States Government to recognize their own present Government, which, they feel, is well supported, and the best they are likely to get, many Mexicans who have not hitherto been inimical to Americans now feel resentful. The feeling of Americans who are established in business in Mexico or have large investments there is that their financial future is imperiled by their Government's position. But there is no reason why President Wilson's Administration should take account of private business enterprises in dealing with a grave international situation. If the growing Mexican ill-feeling is to be considered a more serious matter, the reason is that our Government has no intention whatever to hurt the feelings of honest and law-abiding citizens of our sister republic; on the contrary, it is the desire of this Administration, as it has been of all its predecessors, to maintain the friendliest relations with its neighbors compatible with justice and fair dealing.
The approaching crisis in Mexico seems to demand, if not immediate action, at least a close and impartial consideration of the question of recognition or non-recognition from every point of view. Those persons who are now arguing in favor of quick recognition insist that the fact that Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain have recognized the Huerta Government justifies similar action by the United States. That does not necessarily follow, if the President's reasons for withholding recognition are sufficient. The advocates of recognition declare that the hostility caused in Mexico by non-recognition will lead to serious complications, and that if Gen. Huerta is able, on any terms at all, to secure a foreign loan without our aid the standing of American business men in Mexico will be ruined and they will suffer from discrimination in favor of their foreign rivals.
On the other hand, it is not customary to extend formal recognition to Provisional Governments. Mr. de la Barra, when he was Provisional President of Mexico, did not ask for recognition. But he took office when there was no lack of public funds and the election of Madero was in sight. Clearly the case of de la Barra cannot be fairly cited as a precedent. Our Government, however, has lately recognized the Provisional Government of China, and its action in that instance has received general approval. It seems not unlikely that, in spite of the international mischief-makers, the recognition of the Huerta Government would be as favorably regarded in this country if the President could see his way clear to take that course. But the idea is quite general that he must have other reasons than any yet made public for withholding recognition.
Will Get Line On Mexico.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
President Expects to Avail Himself of Dr. Hale's Observations.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 28.— While officials at the White House and the State Department are exceedingly, reticent on the subject, there is reason to believe that President Wilson expects to avail himself of whatever knowledge of conditions in Mexico are obtained by Dr. William Bayard Hale, the writer, who is now in Mexico City.
The President has said repeatedly that he had not sent and did not contemplate sending any special Commissioner or other official investigator to Mexico to get first-hand information to enable the President to determine what the situation actually was in that country, with a view to helping him make up his mind as to what his course should be in dealing with the Mexican situation.
It was understood by those who talked with the President on the subject that he had no thought of displacing Henry Lane Wilson as Ambassador until after the Constitutional elections ordered by President Huerta had been held and a Constitutional President installed. These elections are to take place in October.
President Expects to Avail Himself of Dr. Hale's Observations.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 28.— While officials at the White House and the State Department are exceedingly, reticent on the subject, there is reason to believe that President Wilson expects to avail himself of whatever knowledge of conditions in Mexico are obtained by Dr. William Bayard Hale, the writer, who is now in Mexico City.
The President has said repeatedly that he had not sent and did not contemplate sending any special Commissioner or other official investigator to Mexico to get first-hand information to enable the President to determine what the situation actually was in that country, with a view to helping him make up his mind as to what his course should be in dealing with the Mexican situation.
It was understood by those who talked with the President on the subject that he had no thought of displacing Henry Lane Wilson as Ambassador until after the Constitutional elections ordered by President Huerta had been held and a Constitutional President installed. These elections are to take place in October.
Bulgarians Expect New War At Once.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
Believe Hostilities with Servia Imminent — Tension with Greece Still Acute.
BUT PREMIERS WILL CONFER
Bulgar and Servian Ministers to Meet on Frontier — Peace with Turkey May Be Signed To-morrow.
SOFIA, May 28.— Military circles in this capital expect an almost immediate outbreak of hostilities between Bulgaria and Servia.
SALONIKA, May 28.— Most serious tension still exists between the Greek and Bulgarian Armies facing each other some distance to the north of this city. Several clashes, in which shots have been exchanged, occurred yesterday and to-day, and the Greeks accuse the Bulgarians of assuming the aggressive.
In spite of the declaration made at the Bulgarian capital that the Bulgarian troops have been ordered to observe a moderate attitude and to avoid conflicts with the Greeks, the Bulgarians commanders are apparently preparing to attack Eleftheria with a view to gaining complete occupation of the dominant position of Mount Panghaion. They have already placed guns on the crests of the hills to the southeast of Prava, commanding Eleftheria. Bulgarian troops have also occupied the heights commanding the village of Bujukta, to the south of Lake Doiran, and the town of the same name, which is occupied by the Greeks.
It is the belief of the Greek Generals that the Bulgarians are systematically creating "incidents" and endeavoring to drive the Greeks toward the sea and seize the positions vacated by them.
VIENNA, May 28.— Bulgaria has addressed a note to the powers offering to submit to their decision the question of the future allocation of Salonika, according to the Reichpost.
LONDON, Thursday, May 29.— It is generally believed that the Servian and Greek delegates will sign the draft peace treaty under compulsion.
The only hopeful new development in the quarrel between the allies is an arrangement whereby the Servian and Bulgarian Premiers will meet on Saturday on the frontier to confer on the situation.
Speaking before the Skupshtina yesterday, the Servian Premier explained that Servia desired a modification of the treaty with Bulgaria regarding the division of territory, because the results of war, combined with the actions of the powers, had created a situation not foreseen when the treaty was signed.
An Athens dispatch to The Daily Telegraph says that instructions have been sent to the Greek delegates to sign the peace draft without alterations, but embodying a separate protocol respecting the right reserved by Greece to discuss with the powers the point raised.
The Servian Council of State is considering the virtual ultimatum presented on Tuesday by Sir Edward Grey, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and will probably follow the lead of Greece.
Peace may be signed by noon on Friday.
Believe Hostilities with Servia Imminent — Tension with Greece Still Acute.
BUT PREMIERS WILL CONFER
Bulgar and Servian Ministers to Meet on Frontier — Peace with Turkey May Be Signed To-morrow.
SOFIA, May 28.— Military circles in this capital expect an almost immediate outbreak of hostilities between Bulgaria and Servia.
SALONIKA, May 28.— Most serious tension still exists between the Greek and Bulgarian Armies facing each other some distance to the north of this city. Several clashes, in which shots have been exchanged, occurred yesterday and to-day, and the Greeks accuse the Bulgarians of assuming the aggressive.
In spite of the declaration made at the Bulgarian capital that the Bulgarian troops have been ordered to observe a moderate attitude and to avoid conflicts with the Greeks, the Bulgarians commanders are apparently preparing to attack Eleftheria with a view to gaining complete occupation of the dominant position of Mount Panghaion. They have already placed guns on the crests of the hills to the southeast of Prava, commanding Eleftheria. Bulgarian troops have also occupied the heights commanding the village of Bujukta, to the south of Lake Doiran, and the town of the same name, which is occupied by the Greeks.
It is the belief of the Greek Generals that the Bulgarians are systematically creating "incidents" and endeavoring to drive the Greeks toward the sea and seize the positions vacated by them.
VIENNA, May 28.— Bulgaria has addressed a note to the powers offering to submit to their decision the question of the future allocation of Salonika, according to the Reichpost.
LONDON, Thursday, May 29.— It is generally believed that the Servian and Greek delegates will sign the draft peace treaty under compulsion.
The only hopeful new development in the quarrel between the allies is an arrangement whereby the Servian and Bulgarian Premiers will meet on Saturday on the frontier to confer on the situation.
Speaking before the Skupshtina yesterday, the Servian Premier explained that Servia desired a modification of the treaty with Bulgaria regarding the division of territory, because the results of war, combined with the actions of the powers, had created a situation not foreseen when the treaty was signed.
An Athens dispatch to The Daily Telegraph says that instructions have been sent to the Greek delegates to sign the peace draft without alterations, but embodying a separate protocol respecting the right reserved by Greece to discuss with the powers the point raised.
The Servian Council of State is considering the virtual ultimatum presented on Tuesday by Sir Edward Grey, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and will probably follow the lead of Greece.
Peace may be signed by noon on Friday.
Spain To Increase Navy.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
Large Sum Also to be Spent on Improving the Army.
MADRID, May 28.— The construction of a second naval squadron and a considerable outlay for army improvements were the features of the budget which was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies to-day by Minister of Finance Incian.
The Minister estimated the expenditures at $231,000.000 and the revenues at $240,000,000. His great object, he explained, had been to obtain a better distribution of the burden of taxation without increasing it.
Large Sum Also to be Spent on Improving the Army.
MADRID, May 28.— The construction of a second naval squadron and a considerable outlay for army improvements were the features of the budget which was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies to-day by Minister of Finance Incian.
The Minister estimated the expenditures at $231,000.000 and the revenues at $240,000,000. His great object, he explained, had been to obtain a better distribution of the burden of taxation without increasing it.
British Warning To Japan's Jingoes.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
London Paper Tells Them They May Face a United Western World.
YAMAMOTO IS UNDER FIRE
Opposition Uses Land Law to Weaken the Premier's Strong Position.
LONDON, Thursday May 29.— In an editorial on the California situation the Standard advises Japan to deal with the question as a purely business matter rather than to import into it sentiments of offended racial and National pride.
"As the allies of Japan and the firm friends of the United States, the British people would deem it a misfortune of the first magnitude if the negotiations left behind feelings of exasperation on either side."
The Standard proceeds to show that the Occidental world is interested in the larger aspects of the question raised by the Californian land law. In British Columbia no less than in California the feeling against the settlement of Japanese and Chinese is strong. Australian democracy has its own very decided views on the subject, even if the danger of a Japanese invasion is not great. But, the paper adds, the precedent of unrestricted admission would be dangerous should awakening China demand the same privileges, because a Chinese is a most efficient machine and has learned through a grimy struggle for existence, in his own over-populated country, the secret of subsisting on a minimum,
"These considerations," continues the editorial, "should be borne in mind when the Japanese talk indignantly of the California attitude as an insult to their nation. The Japanese, if they have undergone a self-examination, must be conscious that race feeling plays no small part in their own attitude toward the foreigner.
"The desire 'to take it out of the foreigner' in matters of business is confined to no one class in Japan. In no country are the Judges and Magistrates less inclined to show partiality, and sometimes even bare justice, to foreign claims. No people aim more successfully to squeeze out foreigners who are striving to make a living among them."
The Japanese, therefore, are advised to go slow in making an issue of the race question, which, if allowed to develop, would oblige Japan eventually to face the united Western world.
"It is unthinkable," says The Standard in conclusion, "that Great Britain could view with indifference any disposition on the part of her present allies to attack America. Between the people of the great republic and ourselves there are ties of blood and common interests which could under no circumstances be disregarded."
TOKIO, May 28.— The Executive Committee of ex-Premier Count Katsura's party to-day passed a resolution, in which it was asserted that the Cabinet headed by Count Gombei Yamamoto could not be relied upon to settle the Californian alien land ownership question, and it was declared that, after a conference with Count Katsura, now convalescing from his recent illness, the party must adopt its own propaganda with regard to the dispute.
There are indications that the opposition parties in Japan are utilizing the Californian alien land ownership legislation in attempts to discredit the Yamamoto Ministry, and to further their own interests. The Cabinet, however, is generally conceded to be in a strong position with the public, chiefly because of the extensive economies and administrative reforms which it has brought about since taking office.
The Japanese Foreign Office has given out a statement that the efforts of the Foreign Office in the California question have not been as successful as might be wished, but that the negotiations with the United States Government are proceeding.
London Paper Tells Them They May Face a United Western World.
YAMAMOTO IS UNDER FIRE
Opposition Uses Land Law to Weaken the Premier's Strong Position.
LONDON, Thursday May 29.— In an editorial on the California situation the Standard advises Japan to deal with the question as a purely business matter rather than to import into it sentiments of offended racial and National pride.
"As the allies of Japan and the firm friends of the United States, the British people would deem it a misfortune of the first magnitude if the negotiations left behind feelings of exasperation on either side."
The Standard proceeds to show that the Occidental world is interested in the larger aspects of the question raised by the Californian land law. In British Columbia no less than in California the feeling against the settlement of Japanese and Chinese is strong. Australian democracy has its own very decided views on the subject, even if the danger of a Japanese invasion is not great. But, the paper adds, the precedent of unrestricted admission would be dangerous should awakening China demand the same privileges, because a Chinese is a most efficient machine and has learned through a grimy struggle for existence, in his own over-populated country, the secret of subsisting on a minimum,
"These considerations," continues the editorial, "should be borne in mind when the Japanese talk indignantly of the California attitude as an insult to their nation. The Japanese, if they have undergone a self-examination, must be conscious that race feeling plays no small part in their own attitude toward the foreigner.
"The desire 'to take it out of the foreigner' in matters of business is confined to no one class in Japan. In no country are the Judges and Magistrates less inclined to show partiality, and sometimes even bare justice, to foreign claims. No people aim more successfully to squeeze out foreigners who are striving to make a living among them."
The Japanese, therefore, are advised to go slow in making an issue of the race question, which, if allowed to develop, would oblige Japan eventually to face the united Western world.
"It is unthinkable," says The Standard in conclusion, "that Great Britain could view with indifference any disposition on the part of her present allies to attack America. Between the people of the great republic and ourselves there are ties of blood and common interests which could under no circumstances be disregarded."
TOKIO, May 28.— The Executive Committee of ex-Premier Count Katsura's party to-day passed a resolution, in which it was asserted that the Cabinet headed by Count Gombei Yamamoto could not be relied upon to settle the Californian alien land ownership question, and it was declared that, after a conference with Count Katsura, now convalescing from his recent illness, the party must adopt its own propaganda with regard to the dispute.
There are indications that the opposition parties in Japan are utilizing the Californian alien land ownership legislation in attempts to discredit the Yamamoto Ministry, and to further their own interests. The Cabinet, however, is generally conceded to be in a strong position with the public, chiefly because of the extensive economies and administrative reforms which it has brought about since taking office.
The Japanese Foreign Office has given out a statement that the efforts of the Foreign Office in the California question have not been as successful as might be wished, but that the negotiations with the United States Government are proceeding.
German Warship's Peril.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
Battleship Koenig Albert, Ashore at Danzig, May Be Sandlocked.
DANZIG, May 28.— There is rather serious danger that the German battleship König Albert, which ran aground at the entrance of the harbor here on Monday, will become sandlocked.
As the battleship is lying partly in the channel, the harbor entrance is effectually blocked for large vessels.
Battleship Koenig Albert, Ashore at Danzig, May Be Sandlocked.
DANZIG, May 28.— There is rather serious danger that the German battleship König Albert, which ran aground at the entrance of the harbor here on Monday, will become sandlocked.
As the battleship is lying partly in the channel, the harbor entrance is effectually blocked for large vessels.
375-Mile Wireless Talk.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 29, 1913:
Telephonic Conversation Between Berlin and Vienna Is Easy.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
BERLIN, May 28.— Successful wireless telephonic communication has just been effected between Berlin and Vienna, a distance of about 375 miles. The trials have been so promising that a foreign station 750 miles distant from Berlin is now being sought.
Communication was established between the great German central wireless station tower at Nauen, west of Potsdam, and the receiving station on the roof of the Technological and Industrial Museum in Vienna. The sounds transmitted consisted of both speech and music, which could be heard with great distinctness. High frequency apparatus was employed in conjunction with microphones. The waves were caught up in Vienna, and the messages they bore were conveyed to the ear by means of a regular telephone receiving apparatus.
Nauen also talked by wireless with a number of German military stations at remote frontier points.
Telephonic Conversation Between Berlin and Vienna Is Easy.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
BERLIN, May 28.— Successful wireless telephonic communication has just been effected between Berlin and Vienna, a distance of about 375 miles. The trials have been so promising that a foreign station 750 miles distant from Berlin is now being sought.
Communication was established between the great German central wireless station tower at Nauen, west of Potsdam, and the receiving station on the roof of the Technological and Industrial Museum in Vienna. The sounds transmitted consisted of both speech and music, which could be heard with great distinctness. High frequency apparatus was employed in conjunction with microphones. The waves were caught up in Vienna, and the messages they bore were conveyed to the ear by means of a regular telephone receiving apparatus.
Nauen also talked by wireless with a number of German military stations at remote frontier points.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
English Monarchs Leave Germany.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 28, 1913:
BERLIN, May 27.— King George and Queen Mary of England ended their visit to-day with a review of the Guards Army Corps, followed by a gala luncheon in the Potsdam Palace. Their Majesties left here for England late in the afternoon. No confirmation is obtainable of a report from London that Emperor William is to visit Portsmouth in August, escorted by a squadron of German warships.
BERLIN, May 27.— King George and Queen Mary of England ended their visit to-day with a review of the Guards Army Corps, followed by a gala luncheon in the Potsdam Palace. Their Majesties left here for England late in the afternoon. No confirmation is obtainable of a report from London that Emperor William is to visit Portsmouth in August, escorted by a squadron of German warships.
An Intra-Balkan War?
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 28, 1913:
The Balkan Allies are suffering from too great success. Had they won from Turkey no more than they planned and hoped for at the outset they would have had no trouble in dividing and digesting the spoils. In their wildest dreams they did not expect that Turkey would be reduced to the insignificance in which it is now sunk. Their original demands on the Porte showed this plainly. Now that they have conquered and occupied practically all the Peninsula, now that Turkey is hemmed in at Constantinople, with but a narrow strip of Europe to protect her, and now that the Allies are sure of a naval base on the Aegean and on the Black Sea, commanding the flanks of the Tchatalja lines, the division of the territory arouses new appetites and creates unexpected jealousies.
Naturally, Bulgaria is the centre of these. The Bulgars have, with aid from the Servians, the extent of which is disputed, conquered pretty much all of Macedonia, and occupy the richest portion of the east and southeast of the Balkan Peninsula. With Adrianople as a strategic centre, King Ferdinand can look forward to the time when it will be practicable for his army to advance on Constantinople, from which it would take a united effort of all the Powers to bar or to dislodge him. That, of itself, in the eyes of his allies, constitutes an immense advantage, for which, after the fashion of modern European diplomacy, they urgently demand "compensation." Toward the southwest the Bulgarians aspire to the possession of Salonika also, and this is hotly, even with arms, opposed by Greece. West and northwest lies the undefined territory of Albania, in the delimitation of which not only the Greeks and the Servians and the Montenegrins are deeply interested, but Austria and Italy as well. In this situation Servia is reported to have demanded a revision of the original alliance, and Greece has actually come to blows with Bulgaria.
It seems pathetically foolish that the Allies, having accomplished so much, should put their future in peril by a desperate quarrel among themselves. Such a proceeding throws the immediate plans of the Powers into confusion, and, of course, opens anew the possibilities of division among them. The concert of Europe, such as it is, has been the outcome of the existence of a strong Balkan Alliance, with which no one Power, or group of Powers, was ready or able to deal. If the Allies insist on getting into a fight among themselves, it will be almost inevitable that the Powers will be tempted to seek their selfish aims by the aid of one or the other side.
Fortunately the machinery that was devised to secure the adjustment of the varying interests of the Powers while the Allies were still united and formidable continues. The group of Ambassadors at London has not and is not likely to be broken up. Its members have had much valuable experience. They have worked out vexatious and complex problems suddenly sprung upon them with surprising success. They have carried on the business of an international clearing house with patience, candor, and, apparently, with growing mutual good will. They have been able to discover methods of disposing of dangers that it seemed impossible to escape. In the new situation all this will be of immense help. The dissensions of the Allies make the Balkan question more than ever a European question. We have a right to infer that the forces that have made for peace in the perilous months since the war broke out will be adequate to the new task.
The Balkan Allies are suffering from too great success. Had they won from Turkey no more than they planned and hoped for at the outset they would have had no trouble in dividing and digesting the spoils. In their wildest dreams they did not expect that Turkey would be reduced to the insignificance in which it is now sunk. Their original demands on the Porte showed this plainly. Now that they have conquered and occupied practically all the Peninsula, now that Turkey is hemmed in at Constantinople, with but a narrow strip of Europe to protect her, and now that the Allies are sure of a naval base on the Aegean and on the Black Sea, commanding the flanks of the Tchatalja lines, the division of the territory arouses new appetites and creates unexpected jealousies.
Naturally, Bulgaria is the centre of these. The Bulgars have, with aid from the Servians, the extent of which is disputed, conquered pretty much all of Macedonia, and occupy the richest portion of the east and southeast of the Balkan Peninsula. With Adrianople as a strategic centre, King Ferdinand can look forward to the time when it will be practicable for his army to advance on Constantinople, from which it would take a united effort of all the Powers to bar or to dislodge him. That, of itself, in the eyes of his allies, constitutes an immense advantage, for which, after the fashion of modern European diplomacy, they urgently demand "compensation." Toward the southwest the Bulgarians aspire to the possession of Salonika also, and this is hotly, even with arms, opposed by Greece. West and northwest lies the undefined territory of Albania, in the delimitation of which not only the Greeks and the Servians and the Montenegrins are deeply interested, but Austria and Italy as well. In this situation Servia is reported to have demanded a revision of the original alliance, and Greece has actually come to blows with Bulgaria.
It seems pathetically foolish that the Allies, having accomplished so much, should put their future in peril by a desperate quarrel among themselves. Such a proceeding throws the immediate plans of the Powers into confusion, and, of course, opens anew the possibilities of division among them. The concert of Europe, such as it is, has been the outcome of the existence of a strong Balkan Alliance, with which no one Power, or group of Powers, was ready or able to deal. If the Allies insist on getting into a fight among themselves, it will be almost inevitable that the Powers will be tempted to seek their selfish aims by the aid of one or the other side.
Fortunately the machinery that was devised to secure the adjustment of the varying interests of the Powers while the Allies were still united and formidable continues. The group of Ambassadors at London has not and is not likely to be broken up. Its members have had much valuable experience. They have worked out vexatious and complex problems suddenly sprung upon them with surprising success. They have carried on the business of an international clearing house with patience, candor, and, apparently, with growing mutual good will. They have been able to discover methods of disposing of dangers that it seemed impossible to escape. In the new situation all this will be of immense help. The dissensions of the Allies make the Balkan question more than ever a European question. We have a right to infer that the forces that have made for peace in the perilous months since the war broke out will be adequate to the new task.
Assures Japan War Talk Is False.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 28, 1913:
State Department Authorizes Tokio Embassy to Deny Rumors.
JOHNSON PRAISES LAND LAW
Says It Is Among the Most Drastic Ever Introduced, and Challenges a Referendum.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 27.— The State Department has received from Mr. Bailly-Blanchard, Chargé 'd'Affaires of the American Embassy at Tokio, by cable, copies of dispatches from the United States in Tokio papers, giving excited accounts of preparations in this country for war with Japan. The greater number of these dispatches were sent from San Francisco, and consisted of details of the movements of United States troops to the Philippines and Hawaii. Secretary Bryan to-day authorized Mr. Bailly-Blanchard to deny the statements made in these dispatches emphatically. This formal statement was issued:
"The State Department has authorized the American Embassy at Tokio to deny a San Francisco telegram which appeared in Japanese papers to the effect that preparations were being made for war. The report was to the effect that troops of artillery were being sent to Hawaii, and that the Philippine garrison was to be increased.
"A few artillerymen have been sent to Hawaii in pursuance of plans adopted before this Administration began, but no increase is contemplated in the Philippine garrison. The changes that have taken place are only the customary exchange of regiments.
"The department regrets that any newspaper or newspaper representative should send so misleading a telegram, from the United States."
At the War Department Secretary Garrison and Major Gen. Wood, Chief of the Army General Staff, emphasized the denial of the misleading reports, and deplored the fact that any one should send such statements, the obvious effect of which must be to feed and stimulate war feeling in Japan.
SAN JOSE, Cal., May 27.— In a letter received to-day by Walter G. Mathewson. Secretary of the San José Labor Council, Gov. Haram W. Johnson says that the anti-alien law enacted recently is one of the most drastic laws upon the subject that has ever been introduced in the California Legislature," and asserts that "any man who claims to favor an alien land law that will sign a referendum against this law is either an idiot or is bought."
"Every other bill that has been before the Legislature for the last eight years," says the Governor's letter, "provided in one fashion or another for leasing, and the only two bills that were seriously discussed, during Mr. Bryan's stay here provided not only for leasing of land but for the right to purchase and hold for a limited period as well."
Commenting upon labor opposition to the alien land law because it was regarded as less drastic than desired, the Governor says:
"I have been shocked and horrified at the attitude of some of the labor people of San Francisco, but I am proud to say that those labor leaders whom we respect have taken the same position that your people in Santa Clara County have taken. We have done the big thing in this alien land legislation. We have laid the ghost that has been with us for so many years, and we have gone ahead and legislated on a subject that it was our legal and moral right to legislate upon.
State Department Authorizes Tokio Embassy to Deny Rumors.
JOHNSON PRAISES LAND LAW
Says It Is Among the Most Drastic Ever Introduced, and Challenges a Referendum.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 27.— The State Department has received from Mr. Bailly-Blanchard, Chargé 'd'Affaires of the American Embassy at Tokio, by cable, copies of dispatches from the United States in Tokio papers, giving excited accounts of preparations in this country for war with Japan. The greater number of these dispatches were sent from San Francisco, and consisted of details of the movements of United States troops to the Philippines and Hawaii. Secretary Bryan to-day authorized Mr. Bailly-Blanchard to deny the statements made in these dispatches emphatically. This formal statement was issued:
"The State Department has authorized the American Embassy at Tokio to deny a San Francisco telegram which appeared in Japanese papers to the effect that preparations were being made for war. The report was to the effect that troops of artillery were being sent to Hawaii, and that the Philippine garrison was to be increased.
"A few artillerymen have been sent to Hawaii in pursuance of plans adopted before this Administration began, but no increase is contemplated in the Philippine garrison. The changes that have taken place are only the customary exchange of regiments.
"The department regrets that any newspaper or newspaper representative should send so misleading a telegram, from the United States."
At the War Department Secretary Garrison and Major Gen. Wood, Chief of the Army General Staff, emphasized the denial of the misleading reports, and deplored the fact that any one should send such statements, the obvious effect of which must be to feed and stimulate war feeling in Japan.
SAN JOSE, Cal., May 27.— In a letter received to-day by Walter G. Mathewson. Secretary of the San José Labor Council, Gov. Haram W. Johnson says that the anti-alien law enacted recently is one of the most drastic laws upon the subject that has ever been introduced in the California Legislature," and asserts that "any man who claims to favor an alien land law that will sign a referendum against this law is either an idiot or is bought."
"Every other bill that has been before the Legislature for the last eight years," says the Governor's letter, "provided in one fashion or another for leasing, and the only two bills that were seriously discussed, during Mr. Bryan's stay here provided not only for leasing of land but for the right to purchase and hold for a limited period as well."
Commenting upon labor opposition to the alien land law because it was regarded as less drastic than desired, the Governor says:
"I have been shocked and horrified at the attitude of some of the labor people of San Francisco, but I am proud to say that those labor leaders whom we respect have taken the same position that your people in Santa Clara County have taken. We have done the big thing in this alien land legislation. We have laid the ghost that has been with us for so many years, and we have gone ahead and legislated on a subject that it was our legal and moral right to legislate upon.
Fly from Milan to Rome in 6 Hours.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 28, 1913:
ROME, May 27.— A flight from Milan to Rome, a distance of 410 miles, was made in a monoplane this morning in six hours and seven minutes by the Italian aviators Deroy and Cevasco. When they were passing near Piza the King and Queen and the royal princes saw the aviators from their hunting lodges at San Rossore and followed their flight with field glasses.
ROME, May 27.— A flight from Milan to Rome, a distance of 410 miles, was made in a monoplane this morning in six hours and seven minutes by the Italian aviators Deroy and Cevasco. When they were passing near Piza the King and Queen and the royal princes saw the aviators from their hunting lodges at San Rossore and followed their flight with field glasses.
Ultimatum To Allies.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 28, 1913:
They Are Told That the Time Has Come to Sign the Draft Peace Treaty
LONDON, Wednesday, May 28.— The growing displeasure in diplomatic circles of the great powers at the attitude of Greece and Servia found expression yesterday in what practically amounted to an ultimatum, which Sir Edward Grey, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, delivered to the delegates of the belligerents.
The communication, which was couched in strong phrases without ambiguity, made it perfectly clear that enough time had been spent in futile discussions of the peace settlement and that the moment had arrived for the signing of the draft treaty.
Despite assertions to the contrary, the Ambassadors were from the first averse to any modification of the draft, not because of the character of the proposed changes so much as because of the delay which would attend fresh discussions.
Furthermore, it was pointed out that the proposed modifications were useless in those cases which had been left in the hands of the powers. Consequently the delegates were informed that a decision had been reached that peace should be signed forthwith without modification.
It was also intimated that those States which were prepared to sign should do so, and that it would serve no purpose for the delegates not prepared to sign to remain here longer.
The Servians and Greeks have notified their home Governments of this decision, and are now awaiting instructions. The Turks and Bulgars are ready to sign, and it is not expected that the Montenegrins will raise any objection.
Some of the Balkan delegates express the opinion that the communication of the powers savors more of intervention than of mediation. But the real reason behind the ultimatum lies in the determination of the diplomats to get the draft signed, so as to be in a position to take up the big questions remaining for settlement after the preliminaries of peace are adopted.
A Constantinople dispatch says that the Council of Ministers has decided to reject all modifications of the peace draft suggested by the allies.
They Are Told That the Time Has Come to Sign the Draft Peace Treaty
LONDON, Wednesday, May 28.— The growing displeasure in diplomatic circles of the great powers at the attitude of Greece and Servia found expression yesterday in what practically amounted to an ultimatum, which Sir Edward Grey, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, delivered to the delegates of the belligerents.
The communication, which was couched in strong phrases without ambiguity, made it perfectly clear that enough time had been spent in futile discussions of the peace settlement and that the moment had arrived for the signing of the draft treaty.
Despite assertions to the contrary, the Ambassadors were from the first averse to any modification of the draft, not because of the character of the proposed changes so much as because of the delay which would attend fresh discussions.
Furthermore, it was pointed out that the proposed modifications were useless in those cases which had been left in the hands of the powers. Consequently the delegates were informed that a decision had been reached that peace should be signed forthwith without modification.
It was also intimated that those States which were prepared to sign should do so, and that it would serve no purpose for the delegates not prepared to sign to remain here longer.
The Servians and Greeks have notified their home Governments of this decision, and are now awaiting instructions. The Turks and Bulgars are ready to sign, and it is not expected that the Montenegrins will raise any objection.
Some of the Balkan delegates express the opinion that the communication of the powers savors more of intervention than of mediation. But the real reason behind the ultimatum lies in the determination of the diplomats to get the draft signed, so as to be in a position to take up the big questions remaining for settlement after the preliminaries of peace are adopted.
A Constantinople dispatch says that the Council of Ministers has decided to reject all modifications of the peace draft suggested by the allies.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Gomez Reports Venezuela Quiet.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
President Cables to Gen. Perez Denial of Recent Alarmist Rumors.
PEREZ BUYS MACHINERY
Says His Country's Greatest Need Is Peace, and People Want No Revolution.
Gen. Mariano Perez, a business man of Maracaibo, Venezuela, who is in this city purchasing machinery for a cotton mill, received a cable message yesterday from Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez, President of Venezuela, assuring him that peace prevailed at home. The following is a translation of the cable from President Gomez:
Caracas, May 26. Mariano Perez, New York:
Your cable received. Complete peace reigns throughout the republic. No fear of order being disturbed.
GOMEZ.
This message was received by Gen. Perez at the quarters of the Pan-American States Association, 102 West Thirty-second Street, in reply to the following cable sent on Saturday to President Gomez:
News published here indicates that peace has been disturbed and prominent men imprisoned. Would be obliged to you for news regarding this report.
MARIANO PEREZ.
Gen. Perez said yesterday, through an interpreter, that he was convinced that there was a great deal of exaggeration in reports sent out from Willemstad, Curaçao, to the effect that Gen. Gomez had imprisoned some members of the Venezuelan Council and driven others from the country.
"The cable I have received from President Gomez," he said, "shows that there is no reason to be alarmed about Venezuela. It stamps as false most of the rumors which have been sent abroad about political conditions there. No mention is made in the cable of a plot against the life of President Gomez, and I do not believe that the report of such a plot ever emanated from the Venezuelan authorities.
"Venezuela's greatest need is peace. There are mischief makers, persons interested in bringing about a revolution, who are seeking to give out the impression that the Government is tyrannical, and that the people of Venezuela are ready for an uprising, but this is not the case. The country was quiet and peaceful when I left, little over a month ago, and all good patriots want it to remain that way.
"I think there is some mistake in the report that a censorship has been established by the Government over all dispatches. The following cable message in code was received in this city to-day by a Venezuelan whose name I am not at liberty to give:
Your Information is not correct. Country quiet. There is no reason to fear.
"That was in reply to a cable sent in code on May 23, and it makes it evident that the Government is not endeavoring to break off communication with the outside world.
"One of the reports from Venezuela was that President Gomez had persecuted Gen. Romana Ayala, one of the Vice Presidents. Manuel Ayala, a New York merchant and a son of Gen. Ayala. has received a cable from Venezuela assuring him that this is false."
Gen. Perez is a native of Colombia and won his military title in the Colombian Army, but has been interested in recent years in cotton raising in Venezuela. On his visit here he has purchased machinery to equip a cotton cloth mill at Maracaibo with 100 looms. The only other cotton mills in Venezuela, he says, are at Caracas, Valencia, and Cumana.
President Cables to Gen. Perez Denial of Recent Alarmist Rumors.
PEREZ BUYS MACHINERY
Says His Country's Greatest Need Is Peace, and People Want No Revolution.
Gen. Mariano Perez, a business man of Maracaibo, Venezuela, who is in this city purchasing machinery for a cotton mill, received a cable message yesterday from Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez, President of Venezuela, assuring him that peace prevailed at home. The following is a translation of the cable from President Gomez:
Caracas, May 26. Mariano Perez, New York:
Your cable received. Complete peace reigns throughout the republic. No fear of order being disturbed.
GOMEZ.
This message was received by Gen. Perez at the quarters of the Pan-American States Association, 102 West Thirty-second Street, in reply to the following cable sent on Saturday to President Gomez:
News published here indicates that peace has been disturbed and prominent men imprisoned. Would be obliged to you for news regarding this report.
MARIANO PEREZ.
Gen. Perez said yesterday, through an interpreter, that he was convinced that there was a great deal of exaggeration in reports sent out from Willemstad, Curaçao, to the effect that Gen. Gomez had imprisoned some members of the Venezuelan Council and driven others from the country.
"The cable I have received from President Gomez," he said, "shows that there is no reason to be alarmed about Venezuela. It stamps as false most of the rumors which have been sent abroad about political conditions there. No mention is made in the cable of a plot against the life of President Gomez, and I do not believe that the report of such a plot ever emanated from the Venezuelan authorities.
"Venezuela's greatest need is peace. There are mischief makers, persons interested in bringing about a revolution, who are seeking to give out the impression that the Government is tyrannical, and that the people of Venezuela are ready for an uprising, but this is not the case. The country was quiet and peaceful when I left, little over a month ago, and all good patriots want it to remain that way.
"I think there is some mistake in the report that a censorship has been established by the Government over all dispatches. The following cable message in code was received in this city to-day by a Venezuelan whose name I am not at liberty to give:
Your Information is not correct. Country quiet. There is no reason to fear.
"That was in reply to a cable sent in code on May 23, and it makes it evident that the Government is not endeavoring to break off communication with the outside world.
"One of the reports from Venezuela was that President Gomez had persecuted Gen. Romana Ayala, one of the Vice Presidents. Manuel Ayala, a New York merchant and a son of Gen. Ayala. has received a cable from Venezuela assuring him that this is false."
Gen. Perez is a native of Colombia and won his military title in the Colombian Army, but has been interested in recent years in cotton raising in Venezuela. On his visit here he has purchased machinery to equip a cotton cloth mill at Maracaibo with 100 looms. The only other cotton mills in Venezuela, he says, are at Caracas, Valencia, and Cumana.
Leading Japanese Advocate Calmness.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
Settlement of Strained Situation with America Needs Patience, Peace Diners Told.
RACE ANTAGONISM BLAMED
Exists in Canada, Australia, and Elsewhere, as Well as In California, Baron Shimada Asserts.
TOKIO, May 26.— Prominent Japanese at a dinner to-night urged calm and patient efforts for a friendly solution of the difficulty between Japan and the United States, especially abstention from inflammatory and misleading utterances. It was admitted that the United States was confronted with a difficult problem.
The speakers included Baron Shibusawa, President of the American-Japanese Association; Buei Nakano, Presi-
merce; Baron Shimada, and Jokichi Ta-kamine.
Baron Shimada insisted that racial prejudice was one of the causes of the present trouble, and that there was agitation against the Japanese in Canada, Australia and other places, as well as in California. Should the Japanese fail to struggle against the attitude of the white race, he said, it would adversely affect the future of all Asiatics. He added that a strong reason why the Japanese were disliked was found in the fact that they were regarded as an aggressive nation, this opinion arising from reckless and irresponsible utterances by some of the Japanese.
At the organization of the Japanese Peace Society at Yokohama, to-day, Count Okuma, former Foreign Minister, and Baron Sakatani, Mayor of Tokio, dwelt on the friendliness of the bulk of the American people and the efficacy of international peace societies as a means of making an amicable settlement.
Emperor Yoshihito is making most satisfactory progress, according to the attending physicians. He is now believed to be out of danger.
Settlement of Strained Situation with America Needs Patience, Peace Diners Told.
RACE ANTAGONISM BLAMED
Exists in Canada, Australia, and Elsewhere, as Well as In California, Baron Shimada Asserts.
TOKIO, May 26.— Prominent Japanese at a dinner to-night urged calm and patient efforts for a friendly solution of the difficulty between Japan and the United States, especially abstention from inflammatory and misleading utterances. It was admitted that the United States was confronted with a difficult problem.
The speakers included Baron Shibusawa, President of the American-Japanese Association; Buei Nakano, Presi-
merce; Baron Shimada, and Jokichi Ta-kamine.
Baron Shimada insisted that racial prejudice was one of the causes of the present trouble, and that there was agitation against the Japanese in Canada, Australia and other places, as well as in California. Should the Japanese fail to struggle against the attitude of the white race, he said, it would adversely affect the future of all Asiatics. He added that a strong reason why the Japanese were disliked was found in the fact that they were regarded as an aggressive nation, this opinion arising from reckless and irresponsible utterances by some of the Japanese.
At the organization of the Japanese Peace Society at Yokohama, to-day, Count Okuma, former Foreign Minister, and Baron Sakatani, Mayor of Tokio, dwelt on the friendliness of the bulk of the American people and the efficacy of international peace societies as a means of making an amicable settlement.
Emperor Yoshihito is making most satisfactory progress, according to the attending physicians. He is now believed to be out of danger.
Turkey Has Not Ceded Cyprus.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
LONDON, May 26.— Nothing is known in official circles here of the formal cession to Great Britain by Turkey of the Island of Cyprus, reported in a Constantinople dispatch to The Daily Express.
LONDON, May 26.— Nothing is known in official circles here of the formal cession to Great Britain by Turkey of the Island of Cyprus, reported in a Constantinople dispatch to The Daily Express.
New Balkan War Thought Imminent.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
Servia's Demand for Revision of Treaty of Alliance Regarded as Ultimatum.
BULGARS KILLED 59 GREEKS
Fighting Has Now Ceased — Bulgaria Protests to the Powers Against Servia and Greece.
VIENNA, Tuesday, May 27.— Bulgaria regards war as inevitable, according to dispatches from Sofia.
Servia's demand for a revision of the Alliance treaty is regarded as an ultimatum, and it is expected that the Bulgarian Cabinet will flatly refuse the demand and insist upon strict compliance with the treaty.
Eighty thousand troops are massed near Sofia, and other troops are being hurried forward in Macedonia.
* * * *
A correspondent of The Daily Chronicle is informed on high authority that Bulgaria will have the support of Great Britain, but at the present moment it is uncertain what course France and Russia will take. Russia objects to the breaking up of the Balkan League, but unless asked to do so by both Servia and Bulgaria is not likely to act as mediator.
It is believed that Servia, relying on the support of Greece, intends to keep all the districts she has occupied in Macedonia.
A Daily Telegraph correspondent says that the fighting between the Bulgars and the Greeks was due to an attempt of the Bulgars to drive back the Greek outposts from the railway which serves as the only means of Bulgarian communication with Serres. Three regiments selected for the task exceeded their orders, and as a result came into conflict with the main body of the Greeks.
ATHENS, May 26.— The seriousness of the fighting between the Greeks and Bulgars in the vicinity of Salonika is indicated by the official figures of the Greek losses. Those report three officers and fifty-six, men killed, and three officers and 134 men wounded.
The fighting has now ceased, the arrival of King Constantine having had a beneficial effect on both sides.
Greece proposes the demarcation of a wide neutral zone between the two armies, and the Bulgarian Premier has promised to issue stringent orders to the military commanders to prevent further conflicts.
SOFIA, May 26.— The Servians' demand for a revision of the treaty of alliance in its essential features amounts to abrogation, according to the semi-official Mir.
Russia, continues the paper, knowing the stipulations of the treaty, would be closely involved in the dispute, as she would be obliged to make an impartial ruling as official arbiter. Apart from arbitration, however, Russia has no cause to intervene.
It is understood that Russia, supported by the other Powers, will do everything possible to prevent a conflict between the Allies.
LONDON, Tuesday, May 27. — Dr. Daneff, head of the Bulgarian delegates to the Peace Conference, in a series of diplomatic calls, ending in a visit to the Foreign Office, is understood to have made emphatically worded representations to the Powers regarding the attitude of Greece and Servia.
The representations are said to be almost an ultimatum, Dr. Daneff in effect declaring that the present situation, as far as Bulgaria was concerned was absolutely intolerable.
It is reported that at a meeting of the delegates representing all the allies except Bulgaria it was suggested that, since the allies and Turks were ready with their modifications of the treaty of peace, the moment was opportune to summon a regular conference of the belligerents, and that Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, should be informed of this desire. Later the Bulgar delegates were notified of the decision.
It is understood, however, that the Ambassadorial Conference has expressed the wish that the peace draft be signed quickly, without modifications.
Servia's Demand for Revision of Treaty of Alliance Regarded as Ultimatum.
BULGARS KILLED 59 GREEKS
Fighting Has Now Ceased — Bulgaria Protests to the Powers Against Servia and Greece.
VIENNA, Tuesday, May 27.— Bulgaria regards war as inevitable, according to dispatches from Sofia.
Servia's demand for a revision of the Alliance treaty is regarded as an ultimatum, and it is expected that the Bulgarian Cabinet will flatly refuse the demand and insist upon strict compliance with the treaty.
Eighty thousand troops are massed near Sofia, and other troops are being hurried forward in Macedonia.
* * * *
A correspondent of The Daily Chronicle is informed on high authority that Bulgaria will have the support of Great Britain, but at the present moment it is uncertain what course France and Russia will take. Russia objects to the breaking up of the Balkan League, but unless asked to do so by both Servia and Bulgaria is not likely to act as mediator.
It is believed that Servia, relying on the support of Greece, intends to keep all the districts she has occupied in Macedonia.
A Daily Telegraph correspondent says that the fighting between the Bulgars and the Greeks was due to an attempt of the Bulgars to drive back the Greek outposts from the railway which serves as the only means of Bulgarian communication with Serres. Three regiments selected for the task exceeded their orders, and as a result came into conflict with the main body of the Greeks.
ATHENS, May 26.— The seriousness of the fighting between the Greeks and Bulgars in the vicinity of Salonika is indicated by the official figures of the Greek losses. Those report three officers and fifty-six, men killed, and three officers and 134 men wounded.
The fighting has now ceased, the arrival of King Constantine having had a beneficial effect on both sides.
Greece proposes the demarcation of a wide neutral zone between the two armies, and the Bulgarian Premier has promised to issue stringent orders to the military commanders to prevent further conflicts.
SOFIA, May 26.— The Servians' demand for a revision of the treaty of alliance in its essential features amounts to abrogation, according to the semi-official Mir.
Russia, continues the paper, knowing the stipulations of the treaty, would be closely involved in the dispute, as she would be obliged to make an impartial ruling as official arbiter. Apart from arbitration, however, Russia has no cause to intervene.
It is understood that Russia, supported by the other Powers, will do everything possible to prevent a conflict between the Allies.
LONDON, Tuesday, May 27. — Dr. Daneff, head of the Bulgarian delegates to the Peace Conference, in a series of diplomatic calls, ending in a visit to the Foreign Office, is understood to have made emphatically worded representations to the Powers regarding the attitude of Greece and Servia.
The representations are said to be almost an ultimatum, Dr. Daneff in effect declaring that the present situation, as far as Bulgaria was concerned was absolutely intolerable.
It is reported that at a meeting of the delegates representing all the allies except Bulgaria it was suggested that, since the allies and Turks were ready with their modifications of the treaty of peace, the moment was opportune to summon a regular conference of the belligerents, and that Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, should be informed of this desire. Later the Bulgar delegates were notified of the decision.
It is understood, however, that the Ambassadorial Conference has expressed the wish that the peace draft be signed quickly, without modifications.
Taft's Warning On War.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
We Are "Ludicrously Unprepared," He Says in Lecture at Yale.
Special in The New York Times.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 26.— Ex-President Taft declared to-day that the United States was ludicrously unprepared for war, and urged additions to the army. His subject was "The Military Power Given Under the Constitution," and closed his series of lectures on questions of government. He said in part:
"The Americans are a shrewd, wise people, usually gifted with foresight, but they have not shown it in their attitude toward the army and navy policy. Congress continues to be reluctant to maintain an adequate army. It's easy to get money for a militia, for a militia has votes and friends, but a regular army is far different. There is a saying that the Lord looks after children and drunken men. This certainly ought to be extended to the United States.
"Of course, our separation from foreign countries by oceans is cause for not assuming too heavy a burden, but we are very, very much nearer Europe and Asia, many, many times nearer, than we were in Washington's time. Occasionally we get a jar and notice our position, but luck has been with us in the past and we cannot assume that it will always continue thus.
"Many writers have written of a possible invasion by Japanese and its results and have assumed that Japan could do a lot of impossible things and that in the meantime we would do nothing, but really our coast fortifications are only designed against a sea attack and not on the possibility of a land force.
"Perhaps you think this a military and warlike address coming from a man supposed to be an advocate of international peace, but I am unwilling to see our country put at a disadvantage by assuming a condition that does not exist."
In discussing the Panama Canal, Prof. Taft said:
"The canal was built as a great international waterway, but it was also built for our own National profit to afford a strategic position for our navy where it might operate in either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We have a right to fortify the canal against hostile nations. We are foolish in the extreme if we do not. Such a course is not inconsistent with arbitration."
We Are "Ludicrously Unprepared," He Says in Lecture at Yale.
Special in The New York Times.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 26.— Ex-President Taft declared to-day that the United States was ludicrously unprepared for war, and urged additions to the army. His subject was "The Military Power Given Under the Constitution," and closed his series of lectures on questions of government. He said in part:
"The Americans are a shrewd, wise people, usually gifted with foresight, but they have not shown it in their attitude toward the army and navy policy. Congress continues to be reluctant to maintain an adequate army. It's easy to get money for a militia, for a militia has votes and friends, but a regular army is far different. There is a saying that the Lord looks after children and drunken men. This certainly ought to be extended to the United States.
"Of course, our separation from foreign countries by oceans is cause for not assuming too heavy a burden, but we are very, very much nearer Europe and Asia, many, many times nearer, than we were in Washington's time. Occasionally we get a jar and notice our position, but luck has been with us in the past and we cannot assume that it will always continue thus.
"Many writers have written of a possible invasion by Japanese and its results and have assumed that Japan could do a lot of impossible things and that in the meantime we would do nothing, but really our coast fortifications are only designed against a sea attack and not on the possibility of a land force.
"Perhaps you think this a military and warlike address coming from a man supposed to be an advocate of international peace, but I am unwilling to see our country put at a disadvantage by assuming a condition that does not exist."
In discussing the Panama Canal, Prof. Taft said:
"The canal was built as a great international waterway, but it was also built for our own National profit to afford a strategic position for our navy where it might operate in either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We have a right to fortify the canal against hostile nations. We are foolish in the extreme if we do not. Such a course is not inconsistent with arbitration."
Agitation Alarms France.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 27, 1913:
Government Reported in Panic Over Anti-Militarist Campaign.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Tuesday, May 27.— Telegraphic and telephonic messages from Paris, received in London last night, depict the conditions in France arising out of the opposition to the three-year military service plan as very serious. Most of the London papers take the same view.
The Paris correspondent of The Times quotes an article by Clemenceau, asserting that the Government must act or die. The Cabinet, according to Clemenceau, is a Ministry of weakness. The Government, he says, must grapple resolutely with the frankly anti-militarist character of much of the opposition to the three years' bill. The anti-militarist campaign has grown with the spread of the syndicalist movement, and its machinery is now really formidable. A different but even more alarming line is taken by the Paris correspondent of The Daily Citizen, a London labor journal, who sends by telephone a dispatch which the telegraph authorities refused to transmit.
The attempt to exercise censorship over telegrams, says the correspondent, shows that the Government is losing its head. The raid upon the anti-militarists in all parts of France is described as a measure of sheer panic.
"The agitation against the three years' service," the correspondent adds, "is growing. Soldiers in all parts of the country are confined to the barracks, and all leave has been stopped. The usual Summer manoeuvres have been countermanded as dangerous. The private letters of soldiers are being intercepted.
"The military Authorities have lost their heads to such an extent that they give orders and counter-orders several times a day."
Conditions which prevail in the Russian Army have been created in the French, according to The Citizen's correspondent.
Government Reported in Panic Over Anti-Militarist Campaign.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Tuesday, May 27.— Telegraphic and telephonic messages from Paris, received in London last night, depict the conditions in France arising out of the opposition to the three-year military service plan as very serious. Most of the London papers take the same view.
The Paris correspondent of The Times quotes an article by Clemenceau, asserting that the Government must act or die. The Cabinet, according to Clemenceau, is a Ministry of weakness. The Government, he says, must grapple resolutely with the frankly anti-militarist character of much of the opposition to the three years' bill. The anti-militarist campaign has grown with the spread of the syndicalist movement, and its machinery is now really formidable. A different but even more alarming line is taken by the Paris correspondent of The Daily Citizen, a London labor journal, who sends by telephone a dispatch which the telegraph authorities refused to transmit.
The attempt to exercise censorship over telegrams, says the correspondent, shows that the Government is losing its head. The raid upon the anti-militarists in all parts of France is described as a measure of sheer panic.
"The agitation against the three years' service," the correspondent adds, "is growing. Soldiers in all parts of the country are confined to the barracks, and all leave has been stopped. The usual Summer manoeuvres have been countermanded as dangerous. The private letters of soldiers are being intercepted.
"The military Authorities have lost their heads to such an extent that they give orders and counter-orders several times a day."
Conditions which prevail in the Russian Army have been created in the French, according to The Citizen's correspondent.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Colored Men In Navy.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
Secretary Daniels Denies Any Discrimination Against Them.
Secretary of the Navy Daniels and Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, now in command of the Atlantic fleet, have completed an investigation of the charge of discrimination in the navy against colored enlisted men, and find that the charge is unwarranted, as there is no evidence of discrimination.
When 6,000 men of the navy paraded here last Fall and no colored men were seen in line, some of the negro leaders here concluded that the negro enlisted men were not permitted to parade. Cleveland G. Allen of 252 West Fifty-third Street, representing the various complainants, wrote to Secretary Daniels in April, calling his attention to the alleged discrimination, and suggesting that a way to avoid similar conditions in future might be in having some warships manned entirely by colored men, commanded by white officers.
To have ships manned by colored men, the Secretary and Admiral agree, would be "inadvisable and impracticable." Secretary Daniels has sent a letter to Allen, inclosing with it a report from Admiral Badger. The letter says:
My Dear Sir: Referring further to your letter of April 12, complaining of alleged discrimination against colored enlisted men in the naval service, I inclose for your information a copy of a communication received from the commander in chief of the Atlantic fleet, to whom your letter was referred. The department believes with Admiral Badger that you are misinformed as to the conditions of colored men in the navy, and further concurs with him as to the inadvisability and impracticability of having ships of the navy manned entirely by colored enlisted men commanded by white officers.
Rear Admiral Badger's investigation covers a report of two typewritten pages. He says the only colored men in the navy are those employed as "messmen," and while there are also some white men in that department, none are permitted to parade. The men who parade are those composing the deck and gun crews. The Admiral denies that the colored men are forbidden to use the reading room aboard ship.
Secretary Daniels Denies Any Discrimination Against Them.
Secretary of the Navy Daniels and Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, now in command of the Atlantic fleet, have completed an investigation of the charge of discrimination in the navy against colored enlisted men, and find that the charge is unwarranted, as there is no evidence of discrimination.
When 6,000 men of the navy paraded here last Fall and no colored men were seen in line, some of the negro leaders here concluded that the negro enlisted men were not permitted to parade. Cleveland G. Allen of 252 West Fifty-third Street, representing the various complainants, wrote to Secretary Daniels in April, calling his attention to the alleged discrimination, and suggesting that a way to avoid similar conditions in future might be in having some warships manned entirely by colored men, commanded by white officers.
To have ships manned by colored men, the Secretary and Admiral agree, would be "inadvisable and impracticable." Secretary Daniels has sent a letter to Allen, inclosing with it a report from Admiral Badger. The letter says:
My Dear Sir: Referring further to your letter of April 12, complaining of alleged discrimination against colored enlisted men in the naval service, I inclose for your information a copy of a communication received from the commander in chief of the Atlantic fleet, to whom your letter was referred. The department believes with Admiral Badger that you are misinformed as to the conditions of colored men in the navy, and further concurs with him as to the inadvisability and impracticability of having ships of the navy manned entirely by colored enlisted men commanded by white officers.
Rear Admiral Badger's investigation covers a report of two typewritten pages. He says the only colored men in the navy are those employed as "messmen," and while there are also some white men in that department, none are permitted to parade. The men who parade are those composing the deck and gun crews. The Admiral denies that the colored men are forbidden to use the reading room aboard ship.
Needs Of The Army.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
Secretary Garrison in his speech at the banquet given in his honor by the bench of New Jersey Saturday night said that if our present active military force, apart from the troops detailed for coast defense, was equally distributed among the 157 army posts there would be 222 soldiers at each post. Every American citizen knows, or ought to know, that many of these army posts are kept up needlessly for various political reasons. Secretary Garrison is as strongly in favor of abolishing the useless posts as his predecessor was.
The Secretary has great faith in the efficiency of the army, in the high quality of its officers and men, and he needs it all if he is to pursue his arduous labors cheerfully and reach any good results. He has undertaken a big job to look after the army, the Panama Canal, the river and harbor improvements all over the country, and the Government of the Philippine Islands. Probably the problem of how to keep 90,000 men and 5,000 officers, scattered all over this country and its island possessions, in such a state of efficiency as to get from them prompt and good service in an emergency is the one that troubles him most. The concentration of troops on the Mexican border has been an excellent thing for the army. Many defects in the system have been discovered and corrected, and the men have had excellent training. Training as good could only be obtained for the whole mobile continental force by concentrating the soldiers at a few well-chosen posts. This obvious fact has been urged in Congress many times and to no avail. Abolition of useless posts is made impossible through the exertion of political influences. As long as the people permit the politicians to meddle with their army there is no chance of getting it on a firm foundation.
Secretary Garrison in his speech at the banquet given in his honor by the bench of New Jersey Saturday night said that if our present active military force, apart from the troops detailed for coast defense, was equally distributed among the 157 army posts there would be 222 soldiers at each post. Every American citizen knows, or ought to know, that many of these army posts are kept up needlessly for various political reasons. Secretary Garrison is as strongly in favor of abolishing the useless posts as his predecessor was.
The Secretary has great faith in the efficiency of the army, in the high quality of its officers and men, and he needs it all if he is to pursue his arduous labors cheerfully and reach any good results. He has undertaken a big job to look after the army, the Panama Canal, the river and harbor improvements all over the country, and the Government of the Philippine Islands. Probably the problem of how to keep 90,000 men and 5,000 officers, scattered all over this country and its island possessions, in such a state of efficiency as to get from them prompt and good service in an emergency is the one that troubles him most. The concentration of troops on the Mexican border has been an excellent thing for the army. Many defects in the system have been discovered and corrected, and the men have had excellent training. Training as good could only be obtained for the whole mobile continental force by concentrating the soldiers at a few well-chosen posts. This obvious fact has been urged in Congress many times and to no avail. Abolition of useless posts is made impossible through the exertion of political influences. As long as the people permit the politicians to meddle with their army there is no chance of getting it on a firm foundation.
War With America Would Ruin Japan.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
English Writer Says the Tokio Government Won't Force a Conflict.
WHITE RACES AGAINST HER
While We Would Soon Eject Her from the Pacific if She Took Hawaii and the Philippines.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— Lovat Fraser, an authority on Eastern affairs, contributes an article to The Daily Mail in which he declares emphatically that Japan will not fight over the treatment of Japanese in California.
"A conflict between Japan and the United States at this juncture," he says, "would mean ruin to Japan, who could not run the risk of invading the Pacific slope, because she would soon be ejected. She might take Hawaii and the Philippines, but how long could she hold them? The United
States would press forward the completion of the Panama Canal, spend its vast resources in building an invincible armada of dreadnoughts, and devote all its incomparable energies to winning back its lost possessions.
"The ultimate outcome of the struggle would never be in doubt, as far as the near future is concerned, for Japan could get no more ships and no more money. A temporary success would be of no avail in such a mighty conflict. Japan fought herself to a standstill in her war with Russia, and had the fighting continued a few months longer the result might have been reversed.
"She knows full well that the United States would never accept a transient defeat. She is equally well aware that the Western world would not give her more ships and money to prosecute a war based upon such an issue as the Californian Land bill.
"It would he a war deliberately fought to challenge the world supremacy of the white races, and in such a cause the white races would instantly unite. They would not all fight, but would not help Japan.
"The welfare of America means more to the white races than the welfare of Asia. We may take it for granted then that the present differences between Japan and the United States of America will in some way or other be composed."
English Writer Says the Tokio Government Won't Force a Conflict.
WHITE RACES AGAINST HER
While We Would Soon Eject Her from the Pacific if She Took Hawaii and the Philippines.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— Lovat Fraser, an authority on Eastern affairs, contributes an article to The Daily Mail in which he declares emphatically that Japan will not fight over the treatment of Japanese in California.
"A conflict between Japan and the United States at this juncture," he says, "would mean ruin to Japan, who could not run the risk of invading the Pacific slope, because she would soon be ejected. She might take Hawaii and the Philippines, but how long could she hold them? The United
States would press forward the completion of the Panama Canal, spend its vast resources in building an invincible armada of dreadnoughts, and devote all its incomparable energies to winning back its lost possessions.
"The ultimate outcome of the struggle would never be in doubt, as far as the near future is concerned, for Japan could get no more ships and no more money. A temporary success would be of no avail in such a mighty conflict. Japan fought herself to a standstill in her war with Russia, and had the fighting continued a few months longer the result might have been reversed.
"She knows full well that the United States would never accept a transient defeat. She is equally well aware that the Western world would not give her more ships and money to prosecute a war based upon such an issue as the Californian Land bill.
"It would he a war deliberately fought to challenge the world supremacy of the white races, and in such a cause the white races would instantly unite. They would not all fight, but would not help Japan.
"The welfare of America means more to the white races than the welfare of Asia. We may take it for granted then that the present differences between Japan and the United States of America will in some way or other be composed."
Arab Ruse Duped Italians.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
False Reports of "Escaped" Prisoner Cost Ganbretti 1,000 Men.
CHIASSO, Switzerland, May 25.— The strict censorship which the Italian Government has imposed upon all news relating to the state of affairs in Tripoli, and particularly with regard to the defeat of the Italian forces at Sidi Garba on May 16, has made it difficult to obtain exact information as to the recent reverses in that territory. It has been learned, however, that the disaster at Sidi Garba was due to a well-laid plan of the Arabs.
An Italian workman named Machiavelli, who had been taken prisoner by the Arabs, was allowed to escape, after having been carefully primed with false information, which he carried to Gen. Ganbretti. Instead of waiting to carry out a scheme of co-operation with Gen. Tassoni, who was on his way from Benghazi with a strong force, Gen. Ganbretti, on the strength of Machiavelli's report that the number of the enemy was small, decided to attack alone. Accordingly, he divided his 3,000 men into three columns, which were supported by four guns and a battery of howitzers.
After the first flush of victory the Italian soldiers were resting, when suddenly each column was set upon from front and rear and cut off from the others. At the same time they were subjected to a heavy shell fire.
The Italians showed admirable courage and endurance. Some of the companies lost all their officers. One advance detachment lost thirty-six out of forty men, and it was soon apparent that retreat alone would save the attacking force from annihilation. Col. Magdalena was shot, and as he lay dying wrote a report praising his men and recommending for promotion his Major, who, although twice wounded, took command. Gen. Ganbretti on his return to Derna said:
"It was the bloodiest day of the whole Italo-Turkish war."
The Italian losses are estimated at 1,000.
False Reports of "Escaped" Prisoner Cost Ganbretti 1,000 Men.
CHIASSO, Switzerland, May 25.— The strict censorship which the Italian Government has imposed upon all news relating to the state of affairs in Tripoli, and particularly with regard to the defeat of the Italian forces at Sidi Garba on May 16, has made it difficult to obtain exact information as to the recent reverses in that territory. It has been learned, however, that the disaster at Sidi Garba was due to a well-laid plan of the Arabs.
An Italian workman named Machiavelli, who had been taken prisoner by the Arabs, was allowed to escape, after having been carefully primed with false information, which he carried to Gen. Ganbretti. Instead of waiting to carry out a scheme of co-operation with Gen. Tassoni, who was on his way from Benghazi with a strong force, Gen. Ganbretti, on the strength of Machiavelli's report that the number of the enemy was small, decided to attack alone. Accordingly, he divided his 3,000 men into three columns, which were supported by four guns and a battery of howitzers.
After the first flush of victory the Italian soldiers were resting, when suddenly each column was set upon from front and rear and cut off from the others. At the same time they were subjected to a heavy shell fire.
The Italians showed admirable courage and endurance. Some of the companies lost all their officers. One advance detachment lost thirty-six out of forty men, and it was soon apparent that retreat alone would save the attacking force from annihilation. Col. Magdalena was shot, and as he lay dying wrote a report praising his men and recommending for promotion his Major, who, although twice wounded, took command. Gen. Ganbretti on his return to Derna said:
"It was the bloodiest day of the whole Italo-Turkish war."
The Italian losses are estimated at 1,000.
Cyprus Ceded To Britain.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
Turkey Said to Have Legalized Occupation of Long Standing.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— The Constantinople correspondent of The Daily Express says he has received a formal statement from the best-informed source that, according to clauses of the Anglo-Turkish entente, Turkey has definitely ceded Cyprus to Great Britain.
Turkey Said to Have Legalized Occupation of Long Standing.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— The Constantinople correspondent of The Daily Express says he has received a formal statement from the best-informed source that, according to clauses of the Anglo-Turkish entente, Turkey has definitely ceded Cyprus to Great Britain.
Washington May Protest.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
The Hague Convention Prohibits the Use of Automatic Contact Mines.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 25.— As a result of the sinking of the Turkish-American steamship Nevada yesterday in the Gulf of Smyrna through contact with a mine Turkey is likely to hear from the powers signatory to the conventions signed at the third Peace Conference, held at The Hague in 1907. This conference concluded a special convention relative to the laying of automatic submarine contact mines. It was signed by the representatives of forty-four powers, including Turkey, and the question has already been informally raised here as to whether the sinking of foreign commercial vessels by Turkish mines has involved a violation of this convention. The Nevada was flying the American flag, although owned by a Turkish company. She belonged to a fleet of eight vessels, of which seven were renamed in 1910 and transferred to American register. Since she was flying the American flag, the United States Government is in position to institute inquiries into the circumstances under which the steamship was lost, and it may be able to file a protest with Turkey in the event of a violation of The Hague convention.
By the first article of this convention it is forbidden:
"First— To lay unanchored automatic contact mines except when they are so constructed as to become harmless one hour, at most, after the person who laid them ceases to control them.
"Second— To lay anchored automatic contact mines which do not become harmless as soon as they have broken loose from their moorings.
"Third— To use torpedoes which do not become harmless when they have missed their mark."
Should it be shown that the steamship Nevada was sunk through contact with an anchored mine which had broken loose from its moorings and had not become harmless after becoming detached, a violation of The Hague convention would be involved. So also would it prove to be a violation of the international agreement if it should develop that the mine was one of the unanchored type which failed to become harmless within an hour after it had been placed in the water and left beyond control.
The Hague Convention Prohibits the Use of Automatic Contact Mines.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 25.— As a result of the sinking of the Turkish-American steamship Nevada yesterday in the Gulf of Smyrna through contact with a mine Turkey is likely to hear from the powers signatory to the conventions signed at the third Peace Conference, held at The Hague in 1907. This conference concluded a special convention relative to the laying of automatic submarine contact mines. It was signed by the representatives of forty-four powers, including Turkey, and the question has already been informally raised here as to whether the sinking of foreign commercial vessels by Turkish mines has involved a violation of this convention. The Nevada was flying the American flag, although owned by a Turkish company. She belonged to a fleet of eight vessels, of which seven were renamed in 1910 and transferred to American register. Since she was flying the American flag, the United States Government is in position to institute inquiries into the circumstances under which the steamship was lost, and it may be able to file a protest with Turkey in the event of a violation of The Hague convention.
By the first article of this convention it is forbidden:
"First— To lay unanchored automatic contact mines except when they are so constructed as to become harmless one hour, at most, after the person who laid them ceases to control them.
"Second— To lay anchored automatic contact mines which do not become harmless as soon as they have broken loose from their moorings.
"Third— To use torpedoes which do not become harmless when they have missed their mark."
Should it be shown that the steamship Nevada was sunk through contact with an anchored mine which had broken loose from its moorings and had not become harmless after becoming detached, a violation of The Hague convention would be involved. So also would it prove to be a violation of the international agreement if it should develop that the mine was one of the unanchored type which failed to become harmless within an hour after it had been placed in the water and left beyond control.
245 Lost At Smyrna, Rescuers Blown Up.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
Crews of Two Boats, Picking Up the Nevada's Victims, Destroyed by Another Mine.
CONSUL GOES TO THE SCENE
This Government May Protest to Turkey Against a Violation of the Hague Convention.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— The Daily Mail's Smyrna correspondent says it is feared that 245 persons perished when the steamship Nevada was blown up on striking a Turkish mine Saturday morning. Among the passengers were several English and French.
The steamer Esterel sent two boats to the assistance of the passengers, but the rescuers struck another mine and perished.
Most of those saved owe their lives to the prompt assistance rendered by the crew of the French cruiser Bruix. Some naked bodies have been taken from the water.
The American Consul has gone to the scene of the disaster to organize relief.
SMYRNA, May 25.— Shipping is completely paralyzed in these waters on account of the recent accidents due to mines. The companies have warned incoming steamers to remain away, and outward-bound vessels are afraid to leave port.
Crews of Two Boats, Picking Up the Nevada's Victims, Destroyed by Another Mine.
CONSUL GOES TO THE SCENE
This Government May Protest to Turkey Against a Violation of the Hague Convention.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
LONDON, Monday, May 26.— The Daily Mail's Smyrna correspondent says it is feared that 245 persons perished when the steamship Nevada was blown up on striking a Turkish mine Saturday morning. Among the passengers were several English and French.
The steamer Esterel sent two boats to the assistance of the passengers, but the rescuers struck another mine and perished.
Most of those saved owe their lives to the prompt assistance rendered by the crew of the French cruiser Bruix. Some naked bodies have been taken from the water.
The American Consul has gone to the scene of the disaster to organize relief.
SMYRNA, May 25.— Shipping is completely paralyzed in these waters on account of the recent accidents due to mines. The companies have warned incoming steamers to remain away, and outward-bound vessels are afraid to leave port.
Peace Terms Suit Allies.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
They Will Not Ask for Further Modifications — Turks Are Encouraged.
LONDON. May 25.— The allies informed Osman Nizami Pasha at a joint meeting of the Balkan and Ottoman peace delegates to-day that they had no intention of asking for further modification of the peace terms already put forward.
This announcement is regarded as an important step in the direction of peace, as the Ottomans anticipated that if any modifications were suggested it would leave the door open for further demands on the part of the allies.
They Will Not Ask for Further Modifications — Turks Are Encouraged.
LONDON. May 25.— The allies informed Osman Nizami Pasha at a joint meeting of the Balkan and Ottoman peace delegates to-day that they had no intention of asking for further modification of the peace terms already put forward.
This announcement is regarded as an important step in the direction of peace, as the Ottomans anticipated that if any modifications were suggested it would leave the door open for further demands on the part of the allies.
Against French Army Bill.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 26, 1913:
20,000 in Paris Meeting Denounce Three-Year Service Measure.
PARIS, May 25.— Twenty thousand Socialists, laborites, and revolutionaries of various groups attended a meeting at Pré St. Gervais, outside the fortifications, to-day in protest against the three years' army service.
Eighty orators — among them M. Jaurés, the Socialist leader — harangued the assemblage from wagons. Large forces of police patrolled the neighborhood but were not called upon to intervene, as the meeting was very orderly.
20,000 in Paris Meeting Denounce Three-Year Service Measure.
PARIS, May 25.— Twenty thousand Socialists, laborites, and revolutionaries of various groups attended a meeting at Pré St. Gervais, outside the fortifications, to-day in protest against the three years' army service.
Eighty orators — among them M. Jaurés, the Socialist leader — harangued the assemblage from wagons. Large forces of police patrolled the neighborhood but were not called upon to intervene, as the meeting was very orderly.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Fears Crisis Soon In Vexed Venezuela.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 25, 1913:
Hernandez Is Ready to Lead a Revolt Against Gen. Gomez.
HE TELLS OF PERSECUTION
Seven Members of the Council Targets for the President's Attacks — Censorship Now In Force.
Gen. Jose Manuel Hernandez, known as El Mocha, a Venezuelan exile, who seeks to succeed Gen. Gomez as President of that country, thinks that the reason the Venezuelan Government has established a strict censorship is that the political affairs of the nation have reached a crisis. Before the censorship was made absolute, word was received that Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez, President of the country, had driven several members of the Council of Government from Venezuela and had placed others in prison. No later telegrams regarding the political situation have been received, which, according to Gen. Hernandez, indicates either that the administration has taken violent measures against its enemies or that the Venezuelans have arisen in rebellion.
Gen. Hernandez, who is staying at the Hotel Empire, received word on Friday that two of the ten members of the Council of Government had been imprisoned by Gen. Gomez. These were Gen. Alejandro Ybarra and Gen. Ramon Ayala, ex-Vice President of Venezuela.
Gen. Hernandez is the leader of the Nationalist Party in Venezuela. He has been away from the country for four years and practically is a refugee. He is planning to start for Venezuela as soon as the time is ripe for leading a revolt against Gen. Gomez.
"The cause of the present trouble," he said yesterday, "was the act of Gen. Gomez in signing a treaty with France without first submitting it, as required by the constitution, to the Council of Government. Gen. Castro in 1905 broke off the relations of Venezuela with all other nations. Treaties resuming friendly terms have since been arranged with all countries except France. The French claims were excessive and have been opposed almost unanimously by Venezuelans. In February, however, Gomez and the French Ambassador framed a treaty and Gomez signed it. This did not become known until a month and a half later, when Gomez presented it to the Council of Government.
"The constitution forbids the President to sign a treaty until it has been approved by the Council. His act aroused great excitement. Seven of the ten members of the Council voted against the treaty. Gen. Gomez at once began a persecution of the seven, and now all are either in prison or have left the country. Scores of men of prominence who have opposed the treaty have been imprisoned on false charges. So much is known. It looks even blacker now that the strict censorship has been established. Either the Government is waging bitter warfare on the opposition or a revolt to free the country from tyranny has begun.
"The treaty with France has been submitted to Congress for ratification. The upper chamber has approved it and the lower one will do so. Congress is completely servile to the President.
"Of course, there is much discontent over other matters. The deep-seated trouble wt the Government is graft. Every business man who starts any great enterprise in Venezuela must take some politician as a partner. Tobacco, for instance, is a Government monopoly, but the supply from the Government factories is handled by a private company controlled by a politician.
"A great cause of dissatisfaction with Gomez is the belief that he will attempt to set aside the Constitution, which limits the President to a single term of four years. The next election will occur on April 19, 1914. It is apparent that an effort will be made to amend the Constitution, so as to give Gomez another election, or possibly to make him a ruler for life.
"The Presidents of the ten Venezuelan States have recently sent letters of congratulation to Gomez and to the official newspaper, felicitating the country upon its prosperity under Gomez, and intimating that it will be a cause of rejoicing if he should continue in office.
"The President of Venezuela now nominates the members of Congress. He also names the Governors of the States, the Judges, and other officers. Although these men are all practically his own appointees, Gomes has found it almost impossible to find men who will support him in his high-handed and tyrannical course. In the last few months he has repeatedly removed members of his Cabinet, Judges, and other officers in order to name men more servile.
"There is a standing army of about 5,000 men. The President has power to draft practically all able-bodied men for his army in time of need. The use of this power to suppress popular movements has been one of the bitterest causes of complaint."
Gen. Hernandez has been in communication with the Venezuelan political exiles in this country and in other South American States, and is corresponding secretly with friends in Venezuela. He seeks support by promises to establish free elections and a representative government patterned after that of the United States. There is no prospect, he says, for accomplishing reforms in his native country by peaceful revolution.
Hernandez is 59 years old, and has been concerned in the political tumults of his country since he was seventeen years old. At that age, he was an insurgent against President Bianco, and lost two fingers of his right hand by the slash of a machette in one of the battles. This wound has given him the name of "El Mocha," or "the maimed." Since then he has taken part in more wars than he can count, and has been wounded seven more times. He describes himself as a conservative and an advocate of peace.
Hernandez Is Ready to Lead a Revolt Against Gen. Gomez.
HE TELLS OF PERSECUTION
Seven Members of the Council Targets for the President's Attacks — Censorship Now In Force.
Gen. Jose Manuel Hernandez, known as El Mocha, a Venezuelan exile, who seeks to succeed Gen. Gomez as President of that country, thinks that the reason the Venezuelan Government has established a strict censorship is that the political affairs of the nation have reached a crisis. Before the censorship was made absolute, word was received that Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez, President of the country, had driven several members of the Council of Government from Venezuela and had placed others in prison. No later telegrams regarding the political situation have been received, which, according to Gen. Hernandez, indicates either that the administration has taken violent measures against its enemies or that the Venezuelans have arisen in rebellion.
Gen. Hernandez, who is staying at the Hotel Empire, received word on Friday that two of the ten members of the Council of Government had been imprisoned by Gen. Gomez. These were Gen. Alejandro Ybarra and Gen. Ramon Ayala, ex-Vice President of Venezuela.
Gen. Hernandez is the leader of the Nationalist Party in Venezuela. He has been away from the country for four years and practically is a refugee. He is planning to start for Venezuela as soon as the time is ripe for leading a revolt against Gen. Gomez.
"The cause of the present trouble," he said yesterday, "was the act of Gen. Gomez in signing a treaty with France without first submitting it, as required by the constitution, to the Council of Government. Gen. Castro in 1905 broke off the relations of Venezuela with all other nations. Treaties resuming friendly terms have since been arranged with all countries except France. The French claims were excessive and have been opposed almost unanimously by Venezuelans. In February, however, Gomez and the French Ambassador framed a treaty and Gomez signed it. This did not become known until a month and a half later, when Gomez presented it to the Council of Government.
"The constitution forbids the President to sign a treaty until it has been approved by the Council. His act aroused great excitement. Seven of the ten members of the Council voted against the treaty. Gen. Gomez at once began a persecution of the seven, and now all are either in prison or have left the country. Scores of men of prominence who have opposed the treaty have been imprisoned on false charges. So much is known. It looks even blacker now that the strict censorship has been established. Either the Government is waging bitter warfare on the opposition or a revolt to free the country from tyranny has begun.
"The treaty with France has been submitted to Congress for ratification. The upper chamber has approved it and the lower one will do so. Congress is completely servile to the President.
"Of course, there is much discontent over other matters. The deep-seated trouble wt the Government is graft. Every business man who starts any great enterprise in Venezuela must take some politician as a partner. Tobacco, for instance, is a Government monopoly, but the supply from the Government factories is handled by a private company controlled by a politician.
"A great cause of dissatisfaction with Gomez is the belief that he will attempt to set aside the Constitution, which limits the President to a single term of four years. The next election will occur on April 19, 1914. It is apparent that an effort will be made to amend the Constitution, so as to give Gomez another election, or possibly to make him a ruler for life.
"The Presidents of the ten Venezuelan States have recently sent letters of congratulation to Gomez and to the official newspaper, felicitating the country upon its prosperity under Gomez, and intimating that it will be a cause of rejoicing if he should continue in office.
"The President of Venezuela now nominates the members of Congress. He also names the Governors of the States, the Judges, and other officers. Although these men are all practically his own appointees, Gomes has found it almost impossible to find men who will support him in his high-handed and tyrannical course. In the last few months he has repeatedly removed members of his Cabinet, Judges, and other officers in order to name men more servile.
"There is a standing army of about 5,000 men. The President has power to draft practically all able-bodied men for his army in time of need. The use of this power to suppress popular movements has been one of the bitterest causes of complaint."
Gen. Hernandez has been in communication with the Venezuelan political exiles in this country and in other South American States, and is corresponding secretly with friends in Venezuela. He seeks support by promises to establish free elections and a representative government patterned after that of the United States. There is no prospect, he says, for accomplishing reforms in his native country by peaceful revolution.
Hernandez is 59 years old, and has been concerned in the political tumults of his country since he was seventeen years old. At that age, he was an insurgent against President Bianco, and lost two fingers of his right hand by the slash of a machette in one of the battles. This wound has given him the name of "El Mocha," or "the maimed." Since then he has taken part in more wars than he can count, and has been wounded seven more times. He describes himself as a conservative and an advocate of peace.
Bulgars And Greeks Resume Fighting.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 25, 1913:
Artillery and Infantry Hotly Engaged at Salonika, According to Dispatches to Athens.
GREEK CASUALTIES 250
King Constantine Has Reached Former Turkish Stronghold and Plans a Neutral Zone.
LONDON, May 24.— Severe fighting has been resumed between the Greek and the Bulgarian troops in the vicinity of Salonika, and the infantry and artillery of both forces are hotly engaged near that city, according to dispatches received from Athens, which refer to the situation as having become extremely grave.
When the last dispatch was sent off King Constantine of Greece, who had just arrived at Salonika with the general staff of the Greek Army, was endeavoring to arrange a neutral zone between the two armies.
SALONIKA, May 24.— The losses of the Greek troops during the fighting with the Bulgarians are given to-day as one Captain killed and 2,50 men killed or wounded. Hostilities have been suspended.
A mutiny is reported to have broken out among the Bulgarian troops at Serres, the men demanding to be disbanded. When their commanding officer found that he was unable to quell the disturbance he committed suicide.
Artillery and Infantry Hotly Engaged at Salonika, According to Dispatches to Athens.
GREEK CASUALTIES 250
King Constantine Has Reached Former Turkish Stronghold and Plans a Neutral Zone.
LONDON, May 24.— Severe fighting has been resumed between the Greek and the Bulgarian troops in the vicinity of Salonika, and the infantry and artillery of both forces are hotly engaged near that city, according to dispatches received from Athens, which refer to the situation as having become extremely grave.
When the last dispatch was sent off King Constantine of Greece, who had just arrived at Salonika with the general staff of the Greek Army, was endeavoring to arrange a neutral zone between the two armies.
SALONIKA, May 24.— The losses of the Greek troops during the fighting with the Bulgarians are given to-day as one Captain killed and 2,50 men killed or wounded. Hostilities have been suspended.
A mutiny is reported to have broken out among the Bulgarian troops at Serres, the men demanding to be disbanded. When their commanding officer found that he was unable to quell the disturbance he committed suicide.
Army Disaffection Frightens France.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 25, 1913:
Mutinies at Important Barracks Due to Campaign of General Confederation of Labor.
SUPPRESSION IS DEMANDED
But the Government Subsidizes It — Revolt in Every Barracks Predicted by M. Herve.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
PARIS, May 24.— A striking contribution to the impassioned discussion of the week's mutinies at important barracks is the following, which Georges Clemenceau wrote in his new daily paper, L'Homme Libre: "All Europe knows that we are on the defensive, and Germany cannot have any doubt on that score. Under the pretext of protecting herself against French aggression she continues to pile up armaments till the day which she judges suitable to finish with us. For one must be voluntarily blind not to see her madness for predominance, of which the explosion will shake the whole continent and involve her in a policy of extermination against France.
"If the catastrophe be inevitable, we must prepare to meet it with all our strength. That is why I am disposed to support all the Government's defensive measures. Those who saw 1870 cannot allow the slightest loophole for a return to the events of those frightful days, of which the horror nowadays would be increased a hundredfold. If my destiny is to inflict me again with that nameless Calvary which still haunts me, I have at least resolved not to incur the slightest responsibility for anything that might weaken my country in her supreme struggle for existence."
A deep impression has been caused by this grave statement, and all Paris is discussing it. That a statesman who has so often held office, and even the Premiership, should think fit to use such language is a convincing argument to many Deputies who have hitherto wavered as to the necessity that the country make the sacrifices which M. Barthou is asking by giving a third year to the army's service.
It is felt that every effort should be made to combat the demoralizing influence of this week's serious barracks disturbances resulting from the Government's action in deciding to maintain for a third year with the colors the conscripts who in the ordinary way would have been liberated next October.
Every one is wondering whether the Socialist, Gustave Hervé, who was recently converted from anti-militarism, is right in predicting a revolt in every barracks in France and wholesale desertions of soldiers to foreign countries next October.
The question is, How far has the insidious propaganda of the General Confederation of Labor gone in undermining the patriotism of the troops ?
Public opinion is seething with indignation at the freedom with which the Confederation is allowed to pursue its devastating policy of breeding disaffection in the army, and people are clamoring for the instant dissolution of the Confederation, which, although subsidized by the Government, is allowed to placard towns with flaring posters denouncing the three-year law and to distribute seditious circulars in barracks.
The War Office inquiry has shown that the Toul mutiny was the direct result of a political plot. The Confederation was bitterly disappointed at the large majority by which the Chamber supported the Government's action decreeing a third year for men already under the colors, and immediately dispatched heavy bundles of circulars to important garrison towns, particularly in the neighborhood of the eastern frontier, calling on the men to rise and protest against the "odious slavery" inflicted on them, and promising, if repressive measures were employed by the Government that the proletariat would assist them. At the same time the Government is criticised for not acting with greater rapidity. It is contended that if as was possible, the War Ministry had severely punished the Toul demonstrators within twelve hours the riot of anti-militarism would not have raised its head at Belfort, Macon, and certain Paris garrisons.
That repressive measures are clearly justified is the opinion almost everywhere. Even Deputies little disposed to support the three years' proposal readily agree that, once the army is allowed to act as its own judge of the actions of legislators, there will be the end of all discipline, and the joyous cry of Yvetot, one of the principal labor leaders, in a syndicalist organ this week. "France, your army is in the melting-pot," would quickly find justification.
All the newspapers, with the exception of those closely allied to labor interests are profoundly dismayed at the turn events have taken, and display extreme touchiness over the rejoicings of the pan-German organs, but much greater irritation at the jubilant tone of the French revolutionary organs circulating among workingmen.
It is urged by all except the extreme Socialist elements that the Chamber now rally around the Government and show the nation a Parliament determined to push forward the military proposals by energetic, unanimous action. These lines, it is held, would effectively counterbalance this week's barracks events.
Mutinies at Important Barracks Due to Campaign of General Confederation of Labor.
SUPPRESSION IS DEMANDED
But the Government Subsidizes It — Revolt in Every Barracks Predicted by M. Herve.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
PARIS, May 24.— A striking contribution to the impassioned discussion of the week's mutinies at important barracks is the following, which Georges Clemenceau wrote in his new daily paper, L'Homme Libre: "All Europe knows that we are on the defensive, and Germany cannot have any doubt on that score. Under the pretext of protecting herself against French aggression she continues to pile up armaments till the day which she judges suitable to finish with us. For one must be voluntarily blind not to see her madness for predominance, of which the explosion will shake the whole continent and involve her in a policy of extermination against France.
"If the catastrophe be inevitable, we must prepare to meet it with all our strength. That is why I am disposed to support all the Government's defensive measures. Those who saw 1870 cannot allow the slightest loophole for a return to the events of those frightful days, of which the horror nowadays would be increased a hundredfold. If my destiny is to inflict me again with that nameless Calvary which still haunts me, I have at least resolved not to incur the slightest responsibility for anything that might weaken my country in her supreme struggle for existence."
A deep impression has been caused by this grave statement, and all Paris is discussing it. That a statesman who has so often held office, and even the Premiership, should think fit to use such language is a convincing argument to many Deputies who have hitherto wavered as to the necessity that the country make the sacrifices which M. Barthou is asking by giving a third year to the army's service.
It is felt that every effort should be made to combat the demoralizing influence of this week's serious barracks disturbances resulting from the Government's action in deciding to maintain for a third year with the colors the conscripts who in the ordinary way would have been liberated next October.
Every one is wondering whether the Socialist, Gustave Hervé, who was recently converted from anti-militarism, is right in predicting a revolt in every barracks in France and wholesale desertions of soldiers to foreign countries next October.
The question is, How far has the insidious propaganda of the General Confederation of Labor gone in undermining the patriotism of the troops ?
Public opinion is seething with indignation at the freedom with which the Confederation is allowed to pursue its devastating policy of breeding disaffection in the army, and people are clamoring for the instant dissolution of the Confederation, which, although subsidized by the Government, is allowed to placard towns with flaring posters denouncing the three-year law and to distribute seditious circulars in barracks.
The War Office inquiry has shown that the Toul mutiny was the direct result of a political plot. The Confederation was bitterly disappointed at the large majority by which the Chamber supported the Government's action decreeing a third year for men already under the colors, and immediately dispatched heavy bundles of circulars to important garrison towns, particularly in the neighborhood of the eastern frontier, calling on the men to rise and protest against the "odious slavery" inflicted on them, and promising, if repressive measures were employed by the Government that the proletariat would assist them. At the same time the Government is criticised for not acting with greater rapidity. It is contended that if as was possible, the War Ministry had severely punished the Toul demonstrators within twelve hours the riot of anti-militarism would not have raised its head at Belfort, Macon, and certain Paris garrisons.
That repressive measures are clearly justified is the opinion almost everywhere. Even Deputies little disposed to support the three years' proposal readily agree that, once the army is allowed to act as its own judge of the actions of legislators, there will be the end of all discipline, and the joyous cry of Yvetot, one of the principal labor leaders, in a syndicalist organ this week. "France, your army is in the melting-pot," would quickly find justification.
All the newspapers, with the exception of those closely allied to labor interests are profoundly dismayed at the turn events have taken, and display extreme touchiness over the rejoicings of the pan-German organs, but much greater irritation at the jubilant tone of the French revolutionary organs circulating among workingmen.
It is urged by all except the extreme Socialist elements that the Chamber now rally around the Government and show the nation a Parliament determined to push forward the military proposals by energetic, unanimous action. These lines, it is held, would effectively counterbalance this week's barracks events.
Seeks Peace With 48 Great Ships.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 25, 1913:
Capt. Hood's Naval Policy Calls for Fleet Worth $500,000,000.
48,000 MEN IN CREWS
Member of General Board Points to Our Unreadiness — Policies Which May Be Challenged.
Capt. John Hood, U.S.N., until recently one of the Dreadnought Commanders of the Atlantic Fleet, now a member of the General Board of the Navy, has prepared for the United States Navy League a plan of naval policy which he calls a "Practical Guarantee of Peace." He offers his plan to the American people through the Navy League. Here is the policy, which if adopted, in the opinion of Capt. Hood, would guarantee peace in so far as foreign conflict is concerned.
First— The completion of a fleet of forty-eight first line battleships by 1925.
Second— The building of the proportionate number of destroyers, submarines, aeroplanes, and auxiliaries that go with this main fleet.
Third— The providing and training of enough officers and men on the active list, and in the reserve, fully to man this fleet or war.
Fourth— The provision of the necessary bases and arsenals for the maintenance of this fleet in peace and in war.
Fifth— The education of the people by bringing into the full light of publicity the truth, and all the truth, about our needs and about what we now have; calling on their intelligence, patriotism, and even self-interest.
"What is a policy?" asks Capt. Hood in the course of his article, written for the Navy League. "In general terms a policy is a reasoned course of action laid down to be pursued in order to attain a definite end. In the naval sense of policy, the end to be attained is to maintain and support the Nation's foreign policy, and to preserve a continued peace with all the world, that the country may continue to grow and prosper along the lines that destiny has laid out for it, maintaining the ideals and doctrines that we have inherited from our forefathers, and in the full enjoyment of all our privileges as American citizens in every spot of the globe.
"These two — naval policy and foreign policy — are bound up the one with the other, and are, in fact only different aspects of the same question; and the power of the one is the measure of the force of the other. To quote Rear Admiral Mahan, the necessary strength of our navy depends not so much on what we desire to accomplish, as on what we are willing or unwilling to concede of those National doctrines and beliefs that we hold up before the world.
"Are we at the present time, or have we ever been at any time since the foundation of the Government, in the state of strength and readiness that would save us the cost and burdens of war, or, should war ever come, minimize its loss and sufferings? The hundreds of thousands of lives that were lost, the untold misery of the many more hundreds of thousands, the waste of billions of money in an unnecessarily prolonged civil war, the waste of hundreds of millions in the Spanish war, the payment of $180,000,000 war pensions per annum to-day all cry out loudly 'No!'
"We have inherited from our forefathers the doctrine of 'no entangling alliances.' This, while not in itself leading to war, places us in a state of splendid isolation against any combination of powers, should war come, which demands a strength on our part sufficient to meet probable combinations.
"We have with us the Monroe Doctrine, which has almost become a part of our religion, and which has never been recognized by any country other than, tacitly, by England, with whose Government in truth originated the famous doctrine that bears President Monroe's name. As the nations of Europe and Asia become overcrowded with their ever-increasing populations this doctrine promises to be a fruitful source of contention and challenge, and as so aptly put by the late Secretary of the Navy, this doctrine is just as strong as and no stronger than the American fleet.
"I challenge directly the statement of the member of Congress who favored a lesser navy, who, in the recent debates in the House on the Naval Appropriation bill, argued that we had maintained the Monroe Doctrine against the Holy Alliance in 1823 without any navy, and hence needed none now. We had then — and we have not now — back of the doctrine what was at that time practically the entire sea power of the world — the British fleet. Without the support of the sea power then as without the support of adequate sea power now the Monroe Doctrine, our best-beloved and most deeply cherished National principle, never was nor will be worth more than the paper it is written on.
adopted two other principles, and possibly a third, which have taken or are taking their place in the consciences and beliefs of the people side by side with the Monroe Doctrine and which bring us into direct contact with other nations and provide more than fair grounds for challenge and contention.
"These are, first, the principle of Asiatic exclusion; second, what has come to be popularly known as the 'open door,' and possibly third, our determination to assume exclusive military control of the Panama Canal territory and its contiguous waters.
"I do not believe that the Nation stands ready to abandon or modify any of those principles, and only a lack of understanding and knowledge of the questions involved by the people at large is responsible for keeping the country in the state of unpreparedness that exists now, and has always existed to maintain them with reasonable surety of continued peace and honor.
"Now, and primarily, the responsibility for any war that may arise from our relative naval weakness or for any disaster in war that may arise from the same cause rests with us of the Executive branch of the Government, who know the Nation's needs and have failed to inform the people of them in a way they can understand. When the people are fully-informed by giving the widest publicity to the proposed policy with its meaning and reasons, then the responsibility is with them if they fail to instruct their representatives to carry out the policy and provide the adequate navy called for in the platform of both the great political parties. Should the people instruct their representatives, and these should fail to act, then the responsibility is with Congress."
Capt. Hood then outlines the policy which, in his opinion — and his opinion is shared by his fellow-members of the General Navy Board — calls for a great fleet of forty-eight battleships of the most powerful type, a ship for every State in the Union. This fleet to be ready by 1925.
Such a fleet would have a total tonnage of about 1,250,000 tons. It could fire a broadside of half a million pounds from its main batteries of 12 and 14 inch guns. At least 48,000 officers and men would be needed to man such a fleet. Its value in money would be more than $500,000,000.
Capt. Hood's Naval Policy Calls for Fleet Worth $500,000,000.
48,000 MEN IN CREWS
Member of General Board Points to Our Unreadiness — Policies Which May Be Challenged.
Capt. John Hood, U.S.N., until recently one of the Dreadnought Commanders of the Atlantic Fleet, now a member of the General Board of the Navy, has prepared for the United States Navy League a plan of naval policy which he calls a "Practical Guarantee of Peace." He offers his plan to the American people through the Navy League. Here is the policy, which if adopted, in the opinion of Capt. Hood, would guarantee peace in so far as foreign conflict is concerned.
First— The completion of a fleet of forty-eight first line battleships by 1925.
Second— The building of the proportionate number of destroyers, submarines, aeroplanes, and auxiliaries that go with this main fleet.
Third— The providing and training of enough officers and men on the active list, and in the reserve, fully to man this fleet or war.
Fourth— The provision of the necessary bases and arsenals for the maintenance of this fleet in peace and in war.
Fifth— The education of the people by bringing into the full light of publicity the truth, and all the truth, about our needs and about what we now have; calling on their intelligence, patriotism, and even self-interest.
"What is a policy?" asks Capt. Hood in the course of his article, written for the Navy League. "In general terms a policy is a reasoned course of action laid down to be pursued in order to attain a definite end. In the naval sense of policy, the end to be attained is to maintain and support the Nation's foreign policy, and to preserve a continued peace with all the world, that the country may continue to grow and prosper along the lines that destiny has laid out for it, maintaining the ideals and doctrines that we have inherited from our forefathers, and in the full enjoyment of all our privileges as American citizens in every spot of the globe.
"These two — naval policy and foreign policy — are bound up the one with the other, and are, in fact only different aspects of the same question; and the power of the one is the measure of the force of the other. To quote Rear Admiral Mahan, the necessary strength of our navy depends not so much on what we desire to accomplish, as on what we are willing or unwilling to concede of those National doctrines and beliefs that we hold up before the world.
"Are we at the present time, or have we ever been at any time since the foundation of the Government, in the state of strength and readiness that would save us the cost and burdens of war, or, should war ever come, minimize its loss and sufferings? The hundreds of thousands of lives that were lost, the untold misery of the many more hundreds of thousands, the waste of billions of money in an unnecessarily prolonged civil war, the waste of hundreds of millions in the Spanish war, the payment of $180,000,000 war pensions per annum to-day all cry out loudly 'No!'
"We have inherited from our forefathers the doctrine of 'no entangling alliances.' This, while not in itself leading to war, places us in a state of splendid isolation against any combination of powers, should war come, which demands a strength on our part sufficient to meet probable combinations.
"We have with us the Monroe Doctrine, which has almost become a part of our religion, and which has never been recognized by any country other than, tacitly, by England, with whose Government in truth originated the famous doctrine that bears President Monroe's name. As the nations of Europe and Asia become overcrowded with their ever-increasing populations this doctrine promises to be a fruitful source of contention and challenge, and as so aptly put by the late Secretary of the Navy, this doctrine is just as strong as and no stronger than the American fleet.
"I challenge directly the statement of the member of Congress who favored a lesser navy, who, in the recent debates in the House on the Naval Appropriation bill, argued that we had maintained the Monroe Doctrine against the Holy Alliance in 1823 without any navy, and hence needed none now. We had then — and we have not now — back of the doctrine what was at that time practically the entire sea power of the world — the British fleet. Without the support of the sea power then as without the support of adequate sea power now the Monroe Doctrine, our best-beloved and most deeply cherished National principle, never was nor will be worth more than the paper it is written on.
adopted two other principles, and possibly a third, which have taken or are taking their place in the consciences and beliefs of the people side by side with the Monroe Doctrine and which bring us into direct contact with other nations and provide more than fair grounds for challenge and contention.
"These are, first, the principle of Asiatic exclusion; second, what has come to be popularly known as the 'open door,' and possibly third, our determination to assume exclusive military control of the Panama Canal territory and its contiguous waters.
"I do not believe that the Nation stands ready to abandon or modify any of those principles, and only a lack of understanding and knowledge of the questions involved by the people at large is responsible for keeping the country in the state of unpreparedness that exists now, and has always existed to maintain them with reasonable surety of continued peace and honor.
"Now, and primarily, the responsibility for any war that may arise from our relative naval weakness or for any disaster in war that may arise from the same cause rests with us of the Executive branch of the Government, who know the Nation's needs and have failed to inform the people of them in a way they can understand. When the people are fully-informed by giving the widest publicity to the proposed policy with its meaning and reasons, then the responsibility is with them if they fail to instruct their representatives to carry out the policy and provide the adequate navy called for in the platform of both the great political parties. Should the people instruct their representatives, and these should fail to act, then the responsibility is with Congress."
Capt. Hood then outlines the policy which, in his opinion — and his opinion is shared by his fellow-members of the General Navy Board — calls for a great fleet of forty-eight battleships of the most powerful type, a ship for every State in the Union. This fleet to be ready by 1925.
Such a fleet would have a total tonnage of about 1,250,000 tons. It could fire a broadside of half a million pounds from its main batteries of 12 and 14 inch guns. At least 48,000 officers and men would be needed to man such a fleet. Its value in money would be more than $500,000,000.
Must Divide Mexican Land.
New York Times 100 years ago today, May 25, 1913:
Senor Braniff Believes That Is the Solution of the Country's Problem.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 23.— Senor Oscar J. Braniff of Mexico City, who is in Washington on a business trip, has seized the opportunity to size up conditions in the United States as affecting Mexico, and has sounded Government and public opinion. Senor Braniff, who is a director of a bank in Mexico, and was one of the envoys who arranged peace with Madero two years ago, believes his country's ills are curable and that he knows the remedy.
"A grievous economic condition is the basis of all the unrest in troubled Mexico," said he. "Correction of this condition must be the keynote of any movement that will bring to pass a stable reform for permanent progress.
"The land must be rapidly subdivided and redistributed, and a large farming class assisted to become self-supporting. With accumulation of property, and the more general distribution of national wealth, the peace-loving attribute of industry will be developed, and brigandage no longer will be an attractive occupation because of the easy living it affords. To enable the plan for the general distribution of land to be put into effect Mexico needs an army strong enough to suppress disorders until the readjustment shall have been accomplished."
Senor Braniff thinks the pacification of Mexico should be intrusted to President Huerta, and his hands supported by all who have that purpose at heart. If the United States would recognize the Huerta government Senor Braniff would welcome it as tending to strengthen the arm of Huerta.
Senor Braniff Believes That Is the Solution of the Country's Problem.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, May 23.— Senor Oscar J. Braniff of Mexico City, who is in Washington on a business trip, has seized the opportunity to size up conditions in the United States as affecting Mexico, and has sounded Government and public opinion. Senor Braniff, who is a director of a bank in Mexico, and was one of the envoys who arranged peace with Madero two years ago, believes his country's ills are curable and that he knows the remedy.
"A grievous economic condition is the basis of all the unrest in troubled Mexico," said he. "Correction of this condition must be the keynote of any movement that will bring to pass a stable reform for permanent progress.
"The land must be rapidly subdivided and redistributed, and a large farming class assisted to become self-supporting. With accumulation of property, and the more general distribution of national wealth, the peace-loving attribute of industry will be developed, and brigandage no longer will be an attractive occupation because of the easy living it affords. To enable the plan for the general distribution of land to be put into effect Mexico needs an army strong enough to suppress disorders until the readjustment shall have been accomplished."
Senor Braniff thinks the pacification of Mexico should be intrusted to President Huerta, and his hands supported by all who have that purpose at heart. If the United States would recognize the Huerta government Senor Braniff would welcome it as tending to strengthen the arm of Huerta.
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