Evening Star Newspaper, June 1, 1930, Page 32

Ny 4 ABYSSINIA’S RULER : MODERNIZING REALM His Feat One of Incongruity and Plotting Descendants of Solomon and Sheba. Among 3 = (Continued From First Page.) Secelved from the hand of his majesty, surrounded by the dignitaries of church and state, the Order of Menelik and a gift of 50,000 francs. Then, and not until then, did Maillet make a dis- eovery. He had brought with him a| souvenir of the battle—a bullet from the enemy had shattered the revolver on his hip. The simple ceremony ended, the King crossed the field in his car at a snail's pace, the red parasol held over him seeming to float over the heads of the crowd. Not a shout or a cheer came from the tens of thousands assembled. Only the muffled rustie of their “shammas,” the patter of their bare feet and the occasional rattle of their weapons. thout the ceremony the Em- ‘ess Zauditu remained in her palace. he had been the center of the re- actionary religious element since her enthronement. The Ethiopian clergy | bad always been her advisors. And, as their power will be at an end when their subjects become more enlightened, it was to their advantage to stand against Taffari’s progressive measures. Their standard bearer was the Empress, who spent much of her time in prayer and fasting. Steadily since her coronation, Ras Taffarl had shorn her of her power. One by one he replaced the ministers and councilors of the Empress with men of his own following. Only a few ‘were left to her imperial majesty, and the most powerful of these had been Ras Guksa. Empress Aids Rebellion. ‘The fact that Zauditu was backing QGuksa in his rebellion had been known o the King for some time. Arms from the empress’ palace armory had been sent, and money as well. So now, on the evening of April 1, the whole of Addis Ababa was asking itself: “What will the King do with the Empress? He has all the cards in his hand; how will he them?” Night came and the crowds faded Into houses and courtyards, for every injan in Addis Ababa must be oors by an hour after sunset. And next day, April 2, the startling, unbelievable news leaked out—the ress was dead! looked like suicide or worse. But again the truth sifted itself out of a hundred rumors. During the previous ‘week, as disaster had hovered over her forlorn hope in Gondar, Zauditu had i1l and despondent. She took cold, yet insisted upon praying all night in her cold, damp chapel. The news of Guksa’s death and the annihilation of the rebel troops e as a bombshell. Heaped upon this hér religious adviser advised her to bring about a good omen by bathing in holy water. This re- sulted in the rapid development of from which she died during night. Empress Zauditu was between 50 and 0 ©0ld—no one seems to know ex- . Bhe had seen many of the cus- toms and habits of the Abyssinia of her father, , and with blind devotion she had held on to those that Peared:thio greatect ohetacie 15 propress great e to progress her country. Now Taffari has a clear fleld to put igh his cherished am- bition to lead his people out of the Shroes of medievalism. “Long Live the Emperor!” dead. Long live the ‘The Empress is Emperor! On the following day Taf- fari himself “Ne ‘Ne- 3 of Kings of Abyssinia.” He supreme, and he the most now intelligent and progresst: Bl ; i 43 it slavery within its bor- good. Taffari, while he actually free the slaves, would ture buying and selling of illegal, so that in time o T gue, an yss became a member in good standing. 1927 the regent drew his next He sent to W i 2 ; to American leg:gn at Addis Ababa. As & result the ident appointed a Min- , Addison E. Southard, a career Wl uCtuammied with ‘the sepent sn acq: w e regent an who knew the country and its le intimately, e Negotiates for Dam Construction. Dr. Martin followed up this move by starting negotiations with a construc- tion company of Neww York for the construction of the Lake Tsana Dam. The Blue Nile, which has its source in this lake and which flows for 500 miles Abyssinia before enters the Anglo - Egyptian Sudan, furnishes the water, laden with the rich red silt of the northern Ethiopian highlands, that irrigateas the thousands of acres of cotton land in the Sudan end !flepm Without this life-giving ‘water QGezira, that island triangle *® south of Khartum and between the White and Blue Niles, would be a bar- ren waste. A dam built at the south- ern extremity of Tsana, where the river flows out of it, would hold its waters in reserve for use during the proper seasons and would supplement the ef- fective work now being done by the Sennar_and Assuan Dams. The British have planned for the last 20 or more years to construct this dam, as these waters mean life or death to the Sudan and to a lesser extent to Egypt. A treaty signed with the Ital- ians two decades ago stated that the latter would have no objections to the British building this dam and con- structing & highway from the Sudan border to it, a distance of about 100 miles. On the other hand, the British were to give their support and consent to the Italians in building a railroad across Abyssinia to connect their colo- nies of Eritrea and Somaliland, a stretch of well over 1,000 miles. Both countries began building rail- ways, the immediate objectives of which were the frontiers of Abyssinia. The British opened a new line last year from Port Sudan, the nearest point of which, at Gedaref, passes within 100 miles of Gallabat, on the border. The Ttalian railway is now pushing down into the southwest corner of Eritrea. Taffari Claims a Better Plan. But Taffari had a better plan, one calculated to be more to the interests and welfare of his own country. The British are very good builders of dams, but so are the Americans. Why not have the latter erect the Tsana Dam on a cost-plus basis? Why, as this water, this revenue to be paid by Abys- sinia, should not the Sudan pay his country, upon the completion of the project, a fixed sum for the use of this water, the revenue to be paid by Abys- sinia to the American engineers until the dam is paid for? And why, at the same time, would it not be a better plan if the Americans built a motor transport highway from Addis Ababa to the dam, a distance of some 250 miles, so that materials for the dam could go h Abyssinia in- stead of the Sudan? part of the country could be opened up to traffic, and the Abyssinian government could rush its troops from the capital to the dam in case of trouble from the turbu- lenAL l;-nounulfr;:;r:‘,;buuz the lake. nd so, af ee years of 1 between the officials of B\‘lhlll’l,p‘A‘.li;l’t sinia and the United States and nego- tiations among their engineers, Meg:l been agreed that Taffari's plan will pre- vail and that the Americans will do the Jjob.. Preliminary details have been worked out and this Fall the American company will send out en 'rs who will survey the highway and the site of the dam. And so this clever negotiator, this shrewd master of the wiles of diplo~ macy, again has gained his objective. However, there is still one fly in ‘Taffari’s imperial ointment. The Em- press Zauditu has left a will in which, rumor has it, she ordained that she was to be succeeded by the deposed and imprisoned Yaser, who, she claimed, is rightful to the throne. Outside of Lij Yaser, who still has a following, the two most powerful pretenders to the throne are Ras Hailu and Ras Kassa. The former is the wealthy chieftain of the Province of Goojam, bordering Lake Tsana. Ras Kassa, a second cousin of Taffari and having’ equal ts to the throne, is governor of the vinice of Selasse on the northern eonnnu‘:‘f.'.he capital. He now seems to be & ted advisor of his majesty, but there is no telling when he may be induced to assert his rights, And now court ‘Taffari will handle situation in a eharacteristic manner. As Emperor he will make kings of these two pow- erful Rases. He is going to give his daughter in to the son of Ras Hailu, who, it is said, will soon visit his sovereign, surrounded by an imposing array of 10,000 warriors, has it that Coronation Program After an appropriate pem mourning for the death of the Em- press Zauditu plans will be laid for an imperial coronation, to which will be invited the representatives of the world’s powers and which will rival in barbaric pomp and splendor those of the golden age of Imperial Rome. ‘Then, with his power absolute and unquestioned, this “King of Kings” will open up the fabled riches of his empire to the capital of the world. If the Emperor's plans are permitted to have full scope the hignways and motor trucks of which he dreams will soon be an actuality. Not only will this rapid transportation bring moderniza- tion and a greater measure of prosper- ity to his country, it will also keep in line the turbulent chiefs of his distant B At Abae aba is strategically located, both from a military and ’oconomic viewpoint, In the exact center of the country. of communication with the outside world is by a railway 500 miles long, from Addis Ababa to Jibuti, the port. of French Somaliland. It takes three days to make this trip each way, as the trains do not run at night. Taffari’s planes fly it in four hours. When commercial - travelers and tourists can fly from the sea to the capital in four or five hours on a regular service they will come in hun- dreds to exploit the wealth and to see the wonders of this interesting and little known country. And the swash- buckling, pre-Renaissance era of Abys- sinia will come to an end. France Preparing for War Believed Certain, Says Simonds (Continued Prom First Page.) who, by closing the Strait of Gibraltar! and the Suez Canal, could interrupt the | food and raw material essential for! Italian life. Prance at Bizerta, Ajaccio and Toulon could do the same thing. Jugoslav submarines, bullt by Frane but now established at Cattaro, ch: lenge Itallan control of the Adriatic. In case of war with France or Jugoslavia | the two allies would be sure to act to-| her, and Genoa and Trieste would equally threatened. i But the economic problem perhaps outweighs the political. All the Musso- lini organization has not availed to bring economic independence, high mflp«lly. industrial pre-eminence, for simple reason that Italy is a poor eou.mrz. 1t lacks coal, iron and oil; it must buy wheat abroad. It has only two great assets—vast water power and ‘well nigh unlimited cheap human labor. In the long run, despite all Fascist endeavor, Italy, unless she can change her circumstances, is doomed to fall be- hind—or, more exactly, condemned to remain behind—Britain, Germany and Already economic and financial diffi- culties have been felt in Italy. Fascism, which was so successful at the outset, is faced with problems of unemployment and lack of capital, which must lessen its domestic prestige. Assuming, as is elaimed erally, that Mussolini has made a r Italy economically, he has not created a nd Roman empire. the sun is not ive in 1930 than matertal in 1914, But Mussolini himself is now con- fronted by a rising generation whose mind he has formed, whose ambitio s Sl i e e uenc nation: - #3 15 as general in Italy today as ll was in Germany in 1914. Manifestly the Duce is today threatened from the rear if he does not press forward to the doubtful and dangerous adventures through which alone empires are con- ;l!r:cled and national aspirations real- ed. But what does it all foreshadow? France has as allies today Poland and the states of the Little Entente—Jugo- slavia. Czechoslovakia and Rumania. Italy has sought alllances with Hun- gary, with Austria, with Bulgaria. She holds Albania as an occupled_province. But if she attacked France, Jugoslavia would attack her; if Hungary attacked | Jugoslavia, she would in turn at- tacked by Czechoslovakia and Rumania, and if Bulgaria moved, she, too, would face Rumanian assault. As for Aus- tria, she would hardly move, since at | bottom Austria hates Italy because of the Upper Adige persecutions. As it stands, then, Italy, Hungary and perha) Bulgaria—although one must doubt the latter—would hardly have much chance of victory against France, Jugoslavia, Cazecl and Rumania. All would then turn upon Germany, but German entrance into the fray on the Italian side would bring Poland in on the PFrench side and might well enlist both Soviet Rus- sia and Lithuania against Poland and Rumania. ‘That Germany would enlist is, how- ever, very unlikely, Germany has no love for her former ally, who, to the German mind, betrayed her 1 Nor has she any desire for & new wi a fresh collision not only with France, but with Britain, which remains through the Locarno pact bound to maintain the status quo on the Rhine. | Germany. to be sure, might exploit the t that while Its present modern means | wr GREAT merchant of my acquaintance who is a friend of Gene Tunney told me what occurred after the final Dempsey-Tunney fight. Gene, who never loved the crowds.or was greatly loved by them, wanted to get away im- mediately. His idea of the way to spend the evening of victory was to hide himself with a few companions in a hotel bed- room. His friend said: “Gene, you could have done that if you had lost. But you won. You are champion of the world. Whether you like it or not you must pay the price of the championship. And part of the price is to be seen by the crowd.” In telling the story the merchant enlarged upon the theme. “When I became manager of one of our stores I had to do a lot of things I did not like to do,” he said. “When I became head of all the stores my un- leasant duties increased. Now get to the office before 9 o'clock every morning, and a large part of my day is con- sumed in duties that are more or less distasteful. The only man who can do as he pleases is the failure. Every step up that you take means that you belong less to yourself and more to other people.” As he spoke I thought of some examples that have come under my own observation. The partners of Morgan & Co. are the princes of the mod- ern business world. If you stand outside their building on almost any Winter’s evening you will see the lights burning in at least a part of the private offices. The lower floors may be dark. The clerks and ac- countants have gone home, But almost always some of the partners are still on the job. I spent a day with Coolidge while he was still President. He was supposed to be on va- cation. He fished a little in the morning, but it was the least relaxing job of fishing that I have ever witnessed. A secret service man stood at his elbow and another kept watch from behind the bushes on the bank. Once, for a week, I traveled in a private car with the presi- (Copyright, 1090.) Authors of Today Meet Trouble From Those Claiming Plagiarism (Continued From Third Page.) other, it is & little difficult to see why the Messrs. Oursler and Brentano should have been charged with the theft of “Triple Crossed” any more than the authors of “Triple Crossed” should have been charged with the theft of “The Radio Murder,” or vice versa, or how the authors of “The Radio Murder” can have escaped the charge of copying “Eye Witnessed,” or vice versa. But the notorious profitability of ‘“The Bpider” may have had something to do with it. ‘The net result was a verdict for Oursler and Brentano, whose appre- ciation of the joke may be affected by the fact that Arthur Garfield Hays of their counsel estimated its cost at $20,- 000 to $25,000. Eugene O'Neill and the Theater Guild are now preparing their defense against a lady who declares that “Strange In- terlude” was stolen from “The Temple of Pallas-Athenae,” which she wrote at the age of 19 and “privately published.” This privacy did not prevent & copy being sent to the guild, and that is how Mr. O'Neill saw it. The alleged “ac- cess” usually is of this sort. Sherriff Acoused of “Pilfering.” R. C. Sherriff is accused of having pllfered “Journey’s End,” the interna- m“H successful war play, from “Flags and Flowers,” by Katharine M. Burke who feels that W. Somerset Maugham also helped himself to this opus in writing “The Sacred Flame.” It will be seen that these litigants are no “plkers” in selecting the plays they claim to have originated and not too modest in their ideas of recompense. Plagiarism suits, like other actions of their kind, usually cost the plaintiffs little or nothing, and involve little or no responsibility. Many attorneys un- dertake them on a “contingency fee” basis, for hope springs eternal in the legal breast, and at.worst there is al- ways the advertising. The best the defendant can hope for is the retention of what is left of his earnings, and so out of these he must pay his lawyers and dozens of other costs. ‘With his reputation and every dollar he possesses at stake, naturally he is not inclined to be niggardly. Recently there has been rumors of a firm of solicitors that keeps an agent in the Copyright Bureau to summarize unpro- duced yhy-, ‘These are said to be card indexed, and when some one achieves success with a story more or less like one of them the unproduced author is invited to walk in and collect, Needless to say, not all of the suits mentioned in this article—perhaps not even half of them—or of those not mentioned here were brought with any ul intent. No doubt some of the plaintiffs and their Jawyers sincerely would probably cover her activity. In addition, she might also realize Ansch- luss, for Austria would almost inevi- tably look to Germany to protect her. But this would not interfere with her neutrality in the larger conflict. Probable Results of Clash. If this possible Italo-French war ended in Italian victory it would mean the extension of Italian frontiers in Europe to include Nice, the annexation of Corsica and Tunis, as well as Syria; it would mean Italian domination in the Mediterranean. French victory, by contrast, would certainly mean the overthrow of the Fascist e and the validation of the Ji v claims to the Adriatie shore from the mouth of the Isonzo to Piume, with Trieste included. It would probably mean the division of the Al- banian state between Greece and Jugo- slavia. For Hungary, Italian victory might mean recovery of much lost ter- ritory, but defeat would mean further prostrations and partitions. But aside from all consideration of the possibilities of future post-war set- tlements, the fact that must be grasped is that henceforth, for an indefinite riod of time, Europe has to face the ikelthood of a new war. The danger is ever present; it may be precipitated by an accident which will fire Italian spirit beyond restraint; it may be postponed over long years, as was the disaster of 1914; but the speech of Mussolini at Florence puts Europe and the rest of the world on notice that peace henceforth precarious. And it is an ironic detail that the outburst of Florence is a consequence of the intensification of Franco-Italian bitterness at a naval conference sum- moned by two Anglo-Saxon statesmen in the name of and disarma- ment. From the Rapidan to the Arno is certainly a long step; but it is at least worth recalling that the Washing- ton conference bhemhimrln‘ All{ll:;‘ Prench_relations to the occupal of the Ruhr. Once more, then, through iences of the London con- demonstrated how danger« ous for European tranquillity is the attempt of the Anglo-Saxon to adjust their naval matters. (Copyrisht, 1930.) cal ference it Individuality in From the Port Worth Record- Individuality is that thing which causes the bluebirds, wrens and mar- believed there was piracy. Broadly speaking, there are five causes of those actions: (1) Actual grievance; (2) ig- norance—of law and literature; (3) co- incidence; (4) common source; (5) common fraud. As indicated by the in- frequency of verdicts for the plaintiff, “actual grievance” is very rare. No Reason for Piracy. There is no earthly reason why a writer of proved inventiveness and ex- rience should pilfer material. If he felt any such desire, it is certainly more K:ob.h le that he would go to the inex- ustible and unprotected treasures of the past rather the unmarketable scribblings of some novice, Such stuff, even in the exceptional cases where it has the least value, can be purchased so cheaply that there seems little reason for theft, with the attendant risk of far greater xpitve, “Coincidence” and “common source” are so very common that failure to rec- ognize them really brings these two causes of action under my second head- ing of “ignorance.” man who knows that the whole stupendous the- ory of evolution was worked out inde- pendently by two different theorists— that there is no possible theme, story, character or situation some element of which has not been used again and 18 not llkel{ to run amuck be- cause ‘‘women e cigarettes in both the charge made against Rol Megrue in the case of “Under Cover,” or because “both plays have scenes on a seacoast” or “both plays make mention of Lillian Russell,” which was urged against Rennold Wolf and myself when we were accused of having stolen “The Beauty Shop.” Likenesses of this sort, piled up and a little twist- ed, can look very imposing in a bill of particulars, but any one who knows writing is aware that they can be em- ployed to prove the identity of the De- cameron with Holy Writ. ‘Where Danger Lies. most dangerous plagiarism charger is the man or woman who relll; believes that by writing “I love you,” he or she acquires perpetual and retroactive proprietorship of the words, “I love you.” allow this proprietor- ship of one-tenth of the ideas claimed as property in these suits would be to stop further literary production utterly, immediately and forever. There are examples of coincidence so interesting and remarkable that one chafes at the impossibility of including them in an article of this length. “Com- mon source” consist of one of the innumerable rubber stamps of literature or of an item of news, or of an anecdote that has been related to two or more persons. It is a risk to the writer and also & saf for, as Arthur Gar- fleld Hays points out, if ever an author should hit upon an idea that never has been used before he would be deprived of what most judges seem to consider the greatest of exculpations—the fact that the same idea occurs in a sufficient number of other works to be regarded as “common property.” Ideas, of course, are not Irop-ny at all and their iden- tity and value depend entirely upon the use made of them. ‘Will there be any check to the long continued flood of these actions? Prob- ably not, while human ignorance, vanity ‘The Y POPULAR DEMAND The CHAMPION IN A CONTINVOUS' PERFORMANCE dent of a great corporation. Every morning we left the car at 8 o'clock and called on dealers' in their stores. We lunched with a group of them at noon, and had another group with us until midnight. At midnight we went to bed, to wake up the next morning in another city and do the whole thing all over again. It was a tougher week than any laborer ever spent. The big jobs look attractive from a distance, but when you get closer to them you find a large price tag pinned on each one. Some of us who have been close enough to read the fig- ures on the tags find it quite easy to reconcile ourselves to remaining quietly and con- tentedly below. King, Law and Liberty, Won by Hard Battle, Are Respected by Belgians (Continued From Third Page.) treated them with the worst appella- tions of ds, drunkards, etc. advised King Willlam dismissed the deputation without yielding to their de- mands. At the same time his two sons arrived with a troup of 6,000 men be- fore Brussels and opened negotiations with the leaders of the bourgeois guard and of the municipality of Brussels. These negotiations did not come to any sound understanding. Prince Wil- liam considered the citizens of Brussels as rebels and wanted to treat them as such, demanding in the first place the lowering of the Belgian national colors, which were those of the province of Brabant, and the restitution of the Royal Dutch insignia wherever they had been taken down. Movement Was Misinterpreted. It was obvious that the Dutch mis- interpreted the movement. As these negotiations fell flat, Willlam left Brus- sels on September 3, taking the garri- son with him. st Belgian people did not demand com- plete independence. What they wanted 'was only administrative sepa: 1! Holland. But the mistakes and blun- ders committed by the King and his government opened wider and wider the gulf of misunderstanding and mis- trust until finally there was no more chance left for a peaceful settlement of the confiict. During the month of September the example of Brussels was followed by a number of cities in Belgian provinees. Volunteers flocked from all points of the country to the capital. Their ar- rival was wildly acclaimed by the citi- 2ens of Brussels, who now f tha they had gone too far and that they would have to fight for their lives. The old city of Liege sent a great number of her sons under the leadership of Charles Rogier, who took an active part in the defense of Brussels when, on September 23, the troops of the King, under the command of his second son, Frederick, entered the capite]l and took refuge in the Royal Park, a square of green trees and green grass, which the red of blood was soon to discolor. A four days' battle ensued. and eupidity persist; while most persons believe authorship to be a “gift” be- stowed by the gods on almost anybody; and while hundreds of lawyers are in- terested chiefly in bigger and better lawsuits. There is a-legal practice in England that has practically disposed of frivolous and unjustified claims of this kin, but there is little chance of its adoption in America. As chairman of a committee on plagiarism in the Authors’ League, I worked hard to secure in- dorsement of this practice, but found that, chiefly because of “the movies” there .are still more authors afraid of being robbed than of being accused of robbery. One plagiarism suit changes the most apathetic author into a mili- tant c ler, but until & real majority of the league's several thousand mem- bers have learned that even an un- burned child has reason to dread a fire | of 80 universally threatening, the danger, like most of our dangers, will continue to be written about and talked about and left about where it is. Don Quixote, Champion of Youth of Nation, Enters Battle for Free Spain (Continued From Third Page.) hours in which to make ready and leave under guard for the Island of Fuerteventura, one of the Canaries. He reniained in exile until amnesty was granted in July of the same year. Ostracism Brought Attention. Ostracism had suddenly made him more than ever an international figure; the powerful voices of European intel- lectuals shouted in his defense. Ro- main Rolland dubbed him “the intel- lectual hero, tragic and passionate thinke: Max Scheler called him “One of the noblest and most truthful spirits”; the voices of D’Annunzio, Andre Gide, Elle Faure and Valery Larbaud acclaimed him great and wronged. Every one recalled the encomiastio words that Unamuno had received in the past from such men as Havelock Ellls, Remy de Gourmont, Benedetto Croce and Maurice Barres. Protest against the exile of one of Spain’s most glorious sons rolled in like waves to topple over the prejudice and malice of the central powers of Spain; to make them realize that in the eyes of the Wwise and clever le of all countries they‘ mn;d); u;:mu vuel- m}_llcuullamh.hy mari where they sho ve honored. ‘They did what they could to retrieve their dismal and ludicrous error. They granted him an amnesty. But Unamuno was too independent to accept this amnesty, which he guessed was not an offer of liberty of the kind he wanted to enjoy in Spain. He pre- ferred to turn his steps toward France, to wait there until the ripe time should come for his return to his own country. He remained in France, a voluntary tins to e t houses with built-in fea- e tures while the s multiply pro- diglously uv:-%u and drain exile, waiting. Primo de Rivers died. The mon- tottered and grew weak and im- potent. The students gave public dem- onstrations of their desire to save Spain, to help establish a firm de- mocracy. Always Unamuno's name re- sounded through the land as that of gha future President of the Republic of The old warrior heard the cry of battle. The wise, shrewd eyes that had been watching the shifting weathers through more than six years of exile, read in the skies and the earth portents of a new time coming, & time of change, a time of storm, when a shrewd, wise mind would be needed. ‘The sensitive artist apprehended that the spirit of Spain was in a state of fluid plasticity, waiting for the hand to fix;ma to model it to a new form and s On May 1 Unamuno stepped from the train to the platform of the station of Madrid. ‘The platform and streets about the station were packed with the best young swashbuckling gallants of B{Mn. vigorous adventurers in life and letters come to welcome the old warrior, the philosopher-patriarch, the artist-pa- triot. They jostled and pushed each other in their attempts to be near him; they cheered his leonine white head as he "descended from the train, their frank faces shining with candid wel- come, with joy. ‘Unamuno young Spain, In- spired by the pulsations of the young blood in his veins, he proclaimed his message: “The time has come!” From then on restlessness has fol- lowed restlessness. The fluid plasticity of Spain is a swirling vortex of creative emotionalism. Out of this chaos, what will come? Possibly Unamuno, with his clear, directive mind, his hands tha know 80 ‘well how to create form, and his splirit) that knows purpose and dreams—pémsibly Unamuno could fore- tell. * whole population of the city fought for its freedom. At one of entrances to the town, when the Dutch cavalry ventured within the town's walls, the patriotic women of Brussels threw at them such an avalanche of pots and pans, filled with boiling soup and burn- ing stakes, accompanied by the red-hot stoves themselves, that the Dutch fled in panic. Severe fighting took place in the park, where the main body of the Dutch troops was entrenched. A hero of Napoleonic wars with & wooden leg fired the only artillery gun in the session of the patriots and occabioned heavy casualties in the ranks of the Dutch. Then after the fourth day the Dutch retreated and were pursued by the patriots to Antwerp, Formed Provisional Government. In the meantime a &rovmonal 8ov- ernment was formed Brussels, in- cluding such men as Rogler, Felix de Merode, Gendebien, Vom de Weyer and later De Potter, whose names remain in Belgian history as a glory of the na- tion. This provisional government pro- claimed the national ing 'ndence of Belgium on October 4 and summoned the election of a congress in order to draw up a constitution for the country. This congréss met on November 10 and in a historical session on November 24 proclaimed the perpetual exclusion of &a House of Orange from the Belgian ne. o At this period the powers intervened. A conference of ambassadors met in London and under the influence of France and Great Britain abandoned the principle of legitimacy and pro- claimed Belgium to be an independent and perpetually neutral state, Austria, Prussia and Russia_had to give their consent, although Russia did it only because Emperor Nicholas I had to sup- g:ul at this time the first Polish re- llion and could not take any steps that might have endangered his posi- tion in Russia itself. Nevertheless, as we know, Nicholas I waited for 22 years before recognizing Belgium's independ- ence and instituting diplomatic rel: tions between the two countries. This attitude can be explained, of course, by his sl‘ld interpretation of the principles gl‘oc laimed at the congress of Vienna, ut there was perhaps also a personal reason in it, as his sister, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, was the wife of Crown Prince Willlam of Orange and was deprived as future Queen of Hol- land of a large wealthy possession through the desire of the Belgian people to be free and independent. On February 3, 1831, the congress elected Louis Charles Philippe, Duke of Nemours, the son of King Louis-Philippe of France, to the throne of Belgium. But this candidacy was not acceptable to Great Britain and Louis-Philippe wisely declined to give his consent. The congress then set up a regency and looked for better candidates. It is very little known that at this time a national candidate presented himself to the at- tention of the people of Belgium. It was Frederic IV, Ernest-Othon Prince De Salm-Kybourg. His father, Frederic-Othon, was created Prince Hornes and Overisque in the Low Countries in 1763 by Empress Maria-Theresa. He possessed also in Belglum the county of Renneberg and the seigneuries of Leuze and Pecg. His proclamation to the Belgians, widely circulated, had little results although some of its contents might have found sympathy with the people. He put him- self forward as a national Prince of Belgium as against the candidates of foreigners. He adhered in advance to the terms of the constitution as elabo- rated by the congress. He told the peo- Ef that he was a Catholic as against e Protestant faith of the Prince of Orange, still very much backed by Great Britain. ‘Then he continug “I was instructed in the profession of arms by Napoleon; the great man honored me with quite paternal consideration; I was at his side at Priedland and at Wagram. I will know therefore now to shed my blood In defense of the independence and in- tegrity of your territory . . . Born a ruler of principality, I marched as an equal of kings; I lived in their midst. But I have never been touched by the external brilliancy of thrones; I have always seen in the royalty only the faculty given to one man in order to make the happiness of a whole nation; under this aspect it is one of the most sacred of missions . Belgians, if you will honor me with your suffrage, you will not crown myself, but the law, of which I will glorify myself to be the first subject.” Orange Sought Return. But as eloquent as this appeal had been, it did not prove its most natural effects, probably due to the fact that the country was threatened once more with the possible return of the House of Orange. Two serious mpts were !Victory in AMERICA’S FIRST FIGHT AT CANTIGNY VITAL First Battle of the War Greatly Cheered Allies and Discouraged Germans. (Continued From First Page) pering of ahnrml from cannon behind the éermln ront. Crossroads every- where in the sector were under a con- stant bombardment, more violent at night. This was designed to keep American transport with ammunition and supplies for troops off the roads. Faced Gas Shells at Night. ‘The division had simply to sit still and take it. Floods of gas shells at night were not infrequent. The Ger- mans spotted and persistently shot at an ammunition dump in one village until they blew it up. Those who saw the start for the Cantigny battle 12 years ago will never forget, it. The troops started off and walked unmolested across flelds to the village of Cantigny. One lone German 77- millimeter cannon was operating some- where beyond. No one paid any atten- tion to it. A few machine guns were doing some-long-range firing, but with little precision. The 28th Infantry Regiment, assigned to make the attack, advanced almost without casualties and without opposi- tion, outflanked the town and occu- pled it. ‘The infantry operating began at 5:45 am. and was completed at 7:20 am. on schedule time. Real Work Done in Advance. ‘Why, one may ask, was it as easy as that? Because the real battle of Ca- tigny had secretly begun many days before. Airplane observation and coun- ter battery work had been carefully and expertly used to locate every German battery within the area. Machiné gun nests and every enemy position which housed weapons of any caliber had been spotted. In the meantime a mass of nch artillery almost unparalleled in volume for a single regimental front had been massed under cover of dark- ness and perfectly camouflaged. Am- munition had been brought up and like- wise hidden. The troops assigned to make the assault had been carefully trained and lectured on the vital char- acter of the occasion. At 5:45 am. everything was ready. Everywhere back of the line there were guns ready to fire and heaps of ammu- nition to feed them. Many of the guns gl.dht been moved into position that ght. To refer to War Department data at this date, there were 132 of the famous little “75s” (3-inch) capable of rapid- fire action. There were 36 of the larger “155s” (6-inch). There were 178 more heavy guns and howitzers of various types and 40 trench mortars—a total of 386 cannon of all calibers ready to cut loose at the signal. All Fired Simultaneously. All these guns opened up at about the same moment. The little “75s,” firing as fast as their crews could pop shells into them and extract the cases lined up & neat barrage ahead of the moving infantry. ‘The other guns had their firing positions. One battery was devoting its atten- tion to & German battery previously spotted and others had similar ments. Virtually every battery and every weapon the Germans had in the entire area was under a rain of steel and gas. These were fired at intervals, according to orders, alternated with the high explosive. German gun crews could do little more than p on their gas masks and stay in the d outs. Any effort to man the guns would have been for them a form of suicide. astounding drumfire which opened suddenly on the Germans ac- counted for the absence of artillery fire against the Americans of the 28th In- fantry as they left their positions and walked fanwise toward Cantigny. During & brief period the infantry and German artillery sat under a hail of 200,000 shells, which were “handed” them by the French guns as the American troops were on their way. Hold Position Four Days. But if the “assault” on Cantigny was a walkover, consolidating the position and holding it for the next four days was the real period which tested the mettle of untried American troops. Once the Germans were able to come out of their dugouts, there Was trouble. German artillery poured torrents of steel into Cantigny and enemy made one assault after another without regaining any part of the new Ameri- can line. It was during this period that American casualties began to mount up. American troops, which the French command had looked upon as an un- known quantity, became a very thor- oughly known quantity. Due to inex- perience in avoiding casualties and by taking chances which French veterans had long been taught to avoid, the American losses during the consolida- companics of the 20ih Iniemiey” 1o les o e nfan lost half their men. A . In all, 45 officers and 1,022 men of the regiment were on the casualty list before the Germans gave up hope of re- gaining Cantigny and lted thér costly efforts to break down the psy- chological effect which the American acquisition of the village had created in all the allied countries. Among the officer casualties was Col. Theodore Roosevelt, now Governor of Porto Rico and then a battalion commander. Lighter Side of Battle. ‘The Battle of Cant; had its light- er side. It mlfih!l'gzve cau.sed'ml casualty in the ranks of the war cor- :slm;nu. “t.lhe u’:rregpondents were over the fronf rdin Lh;}; own desires. st o e writer was accompanied that early May morning by James Hopper, correspondent for Colller's Weekly. Hopper is an American of French ex- traction and subject to Latin enthusi- With" the basrege. s peck e e ing uj the ground in front of tmou'mg the big guns thundering all around, it was Hopper's sudden desire to get into the spirit of the thing and to keep right on going with the troops into the village of Cantigny. He urged the writer to do this, but the writer, being the correspondent of the New York Tribune, argued that a dead, wounded or captured correspondent for s daily newspaper was of no great help to his paper. Hopper disappeared Consequently, with the doughboys in the direction of Cantigny. The writer waited until it was evident that the objective had been gained and then made his way back over the countryside through sprinklings of artillery, to Chepoix, & village lo- cated a short distance in the rear, where a typewriter and facilities for writing were available. Here it was possible to place an account of the dom and personal courage, who made his military career in the Russian army fighting with Emperor Alexander I against Napoleon. From the day of entrance of King Leopold I into his capital on July 21, 1831, which day has set aside as the National Feast of Belgium, the lit- made: One in Ghent on February 2, and one in Brussels on March 26, 1831. ‘Those attempts to bring about the rest- oration of the excluded members of the Royal Dutch family were sponsored by Lord Ponsonby, one of the members of | the the London conference of ambassadors. Well organized and well financed as they were, they failed, however, due to the true patriotic spirit of the Belgian people, who were unanimous in quench- ing these flames of restoration. Pinally the crisis opened by the refusal of the King of France to grant permission to his son to ascend the throne of Belgium was closed by the election of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg, a man of wis- tle new independent country has stead- ily grown in importance and interna- tional prestige until the fatal days of August, 1914, when the whole world this country has suffered during those four years of agony. But like in 1830, it stood in 1914-1918—a united nation and commemorates at present the first centenary of its independencg with l‘nve lllnwd- ldrallrltlon bod\u King, respect for and profo hme: ottty und attachment wl e W, _|battle in the hands of a motor cycle ty | Pinchot, Gifford. To the South Seas! | the troops to the edge of the village | of Cantigny. The troops had not at- messenger who would carry it 20 back to the city of Beauvaix, the near- est telegraph station. Told Movement of Troops. Late that afternoon when the story had been written and dispatched, Hopy per appeared at Chepoix. His narra- tive was a “knockout.” It picked up where the writer had left it and car- ried on straight across the flelds with tempted to carry by frontal assault the scattered buildings at the edge of the village, but had worked around on either side in an encircling maneuver. Hopper was left alone standing on the edge of the village wondering what to do next. He had not long to wonder. German soldiers in the houses and barns, shaken by the bombardment and waiting to surrender, began to flood out of the village in the general di- rection of Hopper. They were un- armed, having left their weapons be; hind. War correspondents with the A. E. I, wore the officers’ uniform with the Sam Browne belt. It being & warm May morning, “trench coats had been left in the rear, and there stood Hope r, looking every inch an officer, on Bie edge of Cantlgny, and right there also were 40 German soldiers, hands slightly elevated above their thoulders m"&ek};n of surrender, trotting toward Hopper. p: correspondent had no difficulty in recognizing the oncoming squad as of the enemy, but he wholly misin- terpreted thelr intent. He thought they were about to attack him and he trotted some more. This, however, was not for long. The enemy soon caught up and surrounded him. Foe Surrenders to Reporter. In the midst of the group and in & quandry as to what to do, Hopper's at- tention was directed toward the village. An American squad a( moppers-up were gny. from The Ameris chareing fo Candey, e At diers, who by i ) it surrounded the correspondent ant scured him from view. An American officer cut loose with an automatic, not once, but several times. When the Ger- mans realized they were under closes range fire they lifted their hands in earnest. The Germans were taken prisoners and the correspondent was_ extricated from his dilemma. Neither he nor the Germans were armed, so the danger had never been very real except from ex- terior sources. Hopper was again left to his own re- sources, and he sought a convenient shell hole. In this shallow pit he found two privates from the Medical Corps assisting & wounded man. They had unlimbered a stretcher and Hopper was assigned to carry one end of it toward a dressing station, some distance across the fleld, thus releasing one of the Medical Corps men to remain and serve other wounded men. On the way back Hopper and companion set down their burden Wy to the drcssing station. | wa, station. “yAre you hit?” he was asked. He pulled out his shirt tail and ex- hibited a tiny blue hole in his abdomen. “He was a walking dead man,” said Hopper, “and he did not know it.” Ely Commanded Troops. Gen. Ely and others participating di-. rectly probably saw the Cantigny bat- tle through other glass. Much was on their shoulders. The then Col. Ely, commander in that im it battle, was able to add it to other laurels to come. The War De- tment has summed up this in'laconic fashion as follows: “At Cantigny the 28th was com- manded by Hanson E. Ely, then colonel, his to now major general, U. 8. 8. “Born_in_Independence, Iowa, No- vember 23, 1867, Gen. Ely has a most distinguished service record. “He saw service on our Western frons tier and in the Philippines before the World War. For his brilliant leadership and gallantry at Cantigny, Gen. Ely rea celved the Croix de Guerre with Later, while commanding the gade, 2d Division, Gen. Ely was a1 the Distinguished Service Cross for traordinary heroism under fire the capture of Vierzey, near Soissons. “Gen. Ely led | Aisne-Marne, St. hem:l(xliel, ghno-.hx and Meuse-Argonne offensives. “On October 1, 1918, Gen. Ely appointed major general and command of the 5th Division. his leadership the 5th Division achie what is hailed as one of the ou ing exploits of the whole war when succeeded in crossing the Meuse ( sur-Meuse) November 2, 3 and 8.” Recent accessions to the Public Lie brary and lists of recommended read- ing will appear in column every Sunday. A Varied Collection. \ Carhart, A. H, and Young, P. The Last Stand of the Pack. PQ-C19. Chapman, F. M. My Tropical Air ‘astle. M961-C36. . __Insomnia; How to QFN-C69. . “Ten Years of Prize Win« . 1925, ZA-D2ot. Eskew, G. L. The Pageant of the Pac~ kets. SOF-Es43p. Jacobson, Edmund. Progressive Re- laaxtion. QN-J 156. Marmer, H. A, The Sea. MJ-M34s. May, H. L., and Petgen, Dorothy. Lel« sure and Its Use. BMT-M45. » Powgl. J. C’i ‘The Meaning of Culture. . V. The Philosophic Way of . BGA-Smé8sp. Thorp, P. H. Stamp Collecting. JVP- H. L. The Romance of Your tone. BUB-Sw46. Essays. Essays in Honor of John Dewey. B-Es77. Hellems, F. B R. The Kings Market and Other Btudies. Y-H36k. Mann, Thomas. Three Essays. ¥4T- Robinson, K. A. and others, comps. Essays Toward Truth. Second series, Y-9R566ea. Shepard, Odell, and Hillyer, R. 8§., eds, Essays of Today. 1926-27. Y-98h43, Books and Reading. Jones, Llewellyn. How to Read Books, 2X-J725. Orage, A. R. The Art of Reading. BY- Or 12, Rogers, R. E. The Fine Art of Read: Bl wengel, Births ing. ZY-R632. Sanford, A. P, and Schauffier, R. H, eds. The Magic of Books. ZX-| Travel. Akeley, Mrs. D. J. D. Jungle Portraits, G70-Ak35. Portrait of a Chinese p. E. L. Early American Inna and Tn:rn‘u‘. G83-L344. tond ik ewman, E, M. Scotland. BAS'W oe - N G16-P65t. Schoonmaker, Frank. Come With M¢' Through German; G47-Sché6. Schroeder, H. A, and Peters, L. A Shirt-tail and Pigtail. G64-Sch76. Taylor, T. G. Antarctic Adventure and Research. G149-T216a. w"'zhs' Alec. Hot Countries. A133- W33, 3 Wilson, B. L. Lady. The Memories. G¥osTwesz o0 o