Morning Oregonian., December 21, 1908, Page 5, Image 5

TIIJB MORM"tr OKEGOMAN. MODAI, DECE3IBEK 21, 190
VIEWS QFPOWEHSS
MAKE BULKY TOME
United States, Great Britain
and Japan Agree on Laws
for Prize Courts.
3ERMANY SUBMITS DRAFT
t Lat T.jrne Conference Ten Pow
ers Were to Draw l"p Code of
Laws Governing Nations In
Regard to Neutrality.
LONTON. Drc. y Thf views of the
tern pom-era. the deletfi from which are
assembled here to decide upon a code of
laws for the International prize courts
provided for at the last Haue. confer
ence, make a decidedly bulky volume.
Some of the power, like Japan, have
submitted their proposals In brief form,
while others, notably Great Britain, sup
port their views with arguments and
references to decisions which British na
val courts have given In historical naval
capes.
The l'nited S'ates, too. has (tone Into
detail on the various subjects which she
thinks should receive consideration,
while Germany has submitted a draft
for a cod" of laws. Th 1'nltad States.
Great Britain and Japan are afrreed on
the majority of points. T!te American
views Include the following suggestions:
Points l'nited States Recommends.
A neutral ship found within the limits
of belligerent powers may be seized, de
stroyed or used for warlike purposes, but
the proprietors must be indemnified.
In cases where the enemy has not ob
served the usaires of war. and the de
linquent cannot be captured, there may
be recourse to reprisals, but always In
accordance with the dictates of human
ity. The reprisals should not exceed In se
' verity the offense committed and should
not be. repeated after reparation has been
made for the injury complained of.
All ships in the public service of the
enemy are subject to capture except
i those employed In purely charitable or
scientific work, voyages of discovery and
1 as hospital ships. All private vessels be
. longing to the enemy, except bona fide
coast Ashing boats, are subject to cap-
tral port, which cargo is intended ulti
mately for the enemy, the British ad
miral says:
"Right to eize Neutral Ships.
Great Bratlan never tiss raised any objec
tion to the condemnation of goods on a
"British ship seized while en the way to a
neutral port, where It haa been proved tliAt
the god were to be transshipped at the
neutral port to 'an enemy's territory.
Great Britain strongly holds to her
contention raised during the Russo-Japanese
war that It is the duty of a bel
ligerent captor to "bring In for adjudi
cation by a prize court any merchant
vessel which has been seized. Where this
is impossible, the captured vessel, if she
is an enemy's ship, may be destrqj-ed
after the removal of the crew and pa
pers, but if her nationality is neutral,
or if there be any doubt of her nation
ality, she should be dismissed, for her
destruction cannot be Justified as between
neutral owner and captor by any neces
sity on the part of the belligerent.
Conversion to- "Warships.
The conversion of merchant vessels Into
? warships on the high seas is a question
to oe decided. Great Britain thinks, by
reference to the rights of neutrals.
Japan differs from Great Britain on
only one question. This is in respect to
the right to search a neutral vessel un
der convoy of a warship of her own
nationality. On this Japan holds:
A neutral vessel under convoy of a ves
sel of war of her own nationality is ex
empt. In esses of grave suspicion, from a
belliperent visit or search If trie commander
of th convoy makes a declaration in writ
ing to the effect thai the vessel under con
voy has no contraband on board, is not'
ENGLAND'S FEAR
IS UNWARRANTED
Invasion of Great Britain by
Germany Causes Expert
to Smile. .
CRITICISES LORD ROBERTS
Military Writer Accuses English
General of Attempting to
Strengthen Army by Speech
In Upper House.
BERLIN, Dec. lit. (Special.) "Great
Britain's fear of German invasion of Eng
land must make every man who knows
r
MILTON COUPLE CELEBRATE GOLDEN WEDDING
' ture. unless exempt under treaty. In
. cases of military or other necessity prl
' vate ships of the enemy can he de
; stroyed or retained for Fervice of the
Government.
Ships Subject to Capture.
Neutral ships employed in naval or
: military service of the enemy or placed
.' under control of the enemy for naval or
military service are subject to capture
I and destruction.
Warships of the l'nited Slates or Amer
ica can seek asylum during war in a
neutral fort pubject to the limitations
'prescribed by the. port authorities. Such
ships must conform , to the regulations
; of the port authorities, regarding length
' of stay and interval to be observed be
, fere going tq sea In pursuit of an enemy,
' or after departure of enemies.
A neutral ship carrying an enemy's
. trispatcho Is subject to seizure when
. acting as courier In the service of the
enemy. Mail steamers under a neutral
flag, carrying dispatches. whether as
, part of general mall or separately for
convenient reasons, and without special
! contention of remuneration, are not sub
ject to seizure and should not be de
tained, unless there Is a well-grounded
! cause to suspect a violation of the laws
-of war.
Hospital Ships Kxempt.
In the section relating to the exemption
'from capture of hospital ships It is sug
gested that such ships should give succor
. and assistance to the wounded, sick and
shipwrecked of the belligerents without
'distinction of nationality. Belligerents
should have the right to control tjie move
ments of hospital ships. They could re
jfusa their help, order them away in any
direction wished, put a commander aboard
and even detain the ships if the gravity
of the situation requires it.
Merchant ships, yachts or neutral ves
Kels carrying or picking up belligerent
.wounded, sick or shipwrecked, should not
I be captured on account of such acts but
fhould still be subject to capture for any
violation of neutrality.
Merchant ships under escort of warships
of their -own nationality, should be ex
empt frrom the right of search on proper
assurances elng given by the commander
of the convoy.
The American views also contain ptt
posals as to contraband and the methods
of blockading which are similar to those
put forth by Great Britain in a more
'extensive manner.
British Follow Decisions.
The British case follows on decisions of
British prize courts, and describes as con
traband neutral property on board ship
on the high seas, or in the territorial
waters of either belligerent (1) which by
nature is capable of being used to assist
in and (2) on the way to assist in naval
or military operations. In deciding
"whether the second of these conditions
has been fulfilled. It is contended that
the court must distinguish between goods
. primarily used In war and goods used in
'either peace or war.
The destination of the cargo should be
presumed to be that of the ship, and if
,a ship calls at more than one port, unless
iproof to the contrary la produced, the
port least favorable to the neutral should
be presumed to he the destination of the
cargo, which would then be contraband.
If it is proved that contraband cargo has
an ulterior and hostile destination dif
ferent from that of the ship, the desti
nation of the ship should not protect it.
Contraband May Re Seized.
It Is also held that a ship carrying
contraband should he liable to seizure
at any moment throughout the whole
course of her voyace so long as she is
on t.'ie high ceas or in belligerent waters
and her liability to seizure should not
be affected by the fact that she Intended
to touch at some neutral port before
reaching her dt-s'lnatinn. When contra
band has been dtscanred. however, lla
Wlity to seizure should be at an end.
The right to search a merchant ship
when under convoy of a neutral war
ship is pressed In the British statement. I
It is held that a neutral ship should )
not oe entuiea to r.'sist search ry a
belligerent warship on the ground that
she is under convoy of a warship of h?T
own nationality. Forcible resistance by
her or the neutral warship should be
sround for condemnation of both ship
and cargo. x
In regard to blockade, the British, as
opposed to the continental view, holds
that the blockading force may b? dis
posed at any distance from the ports
or coasts of the enemy that the naval
commanders think necessary, provided
It ts not so placed as to obstruct access
to a neutral seaboard.
On the question of the riirht to seize
a neutral tt'.p carrying 04150 j0 ncu-
f.. .yaw"- V1 ' a jdSfr S
K . W m
J9 . 1
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V-,.. I- -oj
MR. AXD JIHS. AARON MILLER.
MILTON'. Or., Dec. 19. (Special.) Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Mil'er,
pioneers of Milton, who celebrated their golden wedding; at their home
in Milton, December 12. were married in Clark County, Missouri, in
1S58. and came to Milton from California in 1871. In 1875 Mr. Miller
established the Milton nurseries, and has been at the head of the busi
ness ever since. Seven children were born to them, five of whom are
living. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are at the head of four generations. They
are unusually active for their years, and enjoy the best of health,
bidding fair to see many other anniversaries of their wedding day.
ens-aired In an attempt to violate a blockade.
18 not perrorminK unneuirai per ice ir ine
otr.er belllrerent and that the ship's papers
are In order and complete.
PORTLAND GETS SNOW BATH
jiorvr hood's mantle side
tracked TO VALLEY.
What Would Be Thought in East
Mild Weather Makes Ore
gtans Shiver.
Enow began falling last evening short
ly after 6 o'clock and for an hour there
was a prospect for several Inches of a
white mantle. The temperature went
up rapidly and by 7 o'clock the snow
wan of the slush order and mixed with
rain. For this all good Oregonians were
thankful, but their hopes for a good rain
were doomed. The rain turrsed to sleet
and by 9:W another freeze was In order
and the sk ywas clear.
The weather man predicts snow or rain
for today, with continued cold. West of
the Cascades "the temperature is from
9 to 11 degrees lower than normal and
indications do not point to any imme
diate change. The lowest temperature in
Portland yesterday was 23 degrees.
There were during the early evening
some wears expressed that a repetition of
the famous "silver thaw" of two years
ago was to bs experienced in this part
of the country, but at a late hour last
night conditions were not similar to
those preceding . that unusual and unde
sirable freak of nature.
WOMAN ACTIVE MANAGER
Mrs. R. A. Alley in Clinrgeof Trans
Pacific Steamship Company.
VICTORIA. B. C. Dec. 20. (Special.)
The only woman manager of a steam
ship line in the world Mrs. Richard A.
Alley was a passenger reaching here to
day by the Canadian-Australian liner
Makura. Mrs. Alley took over the man
agement of the Alley liners running be
tween this coast and Australia, on the
death of her husband about a year ago.
Prior to his death she had acted as his
secretary, and thereby gained an insight
Into the duties pertaining to the office
which she is now putting to the very
best use.
Mrs. Alley, some months ago. inter
viewed the governments of Canada and
Australia with the object of securing an.
increase in the subsidy now paid to the
steamers of her line. She asked for Kh.
OfiO from each government, and at the
same time gave an understanding that
in the event of her securing this sub
sidy that she would build an up-to-date
steamer on the Clyde In order to augment
the present sendee. The Canadian gov
ernment expressed its wllliness to grant
the amount asked provided the New Zea
land authorities would do the same, but
the latter balked and for the time be
ing the matter Is In abeyance.
When negotiating for this subsidy. Mrs.
Alley carried out all the plans herself,
interviewing the Ministers of both Can
ada and New Zealand, and. it is said,
displayed a wide knowledge of shipping
affairs. Her home is in the latter coun
try, and her present visit to Canada Is
for the purpose of again Interviewing the
authorities at Ottawa In connection with
the proposed grant to the Alley line.
ROYAL DULCET DAINTIES
Toothsome tidbits of haunting flavor;
order for jamas. Al3o Pearce's delicious
home-made candies. Royal Bakery and
Confeaiouery.
anything about modern strategy smile."
says Colonel Gaedke. the Berlin Tare
hlatt's famous military expert, "and Lord
Roberta- speech in the House of Lords
some three weeks ago was a very Binart
piece of work, which may lead to the
strengthening of the British army, which
the Jingoes desire, but It cannot possibly
be looked at as a real expression of the
eminent General's opinion."
"Lord Roberts underestimates the dif
ficulties of assembling a German force
of 200.XV troops and transporting them to
Kngland without arousing attention.
Such a thing is absolutely impossible In
our military organization without moboli
zation: that is. without recalling the men
on furlough, and requisitioning horses
even if we were willing to disorganize our
regular standing army for such an ad
venture. For the proper equipment of
such an expedition the field artillery
would require to be aui?mented, while
ammunition and provision columns, a tel
egraph corps, and numerous wagons and
horses for the infantry and cavalry would
have to be provided.
Army Could Not Live.
"Does Lord Roberts believe an army
could live on foreign coasts, even for a
few days, without such equipment? Let
us suppose that a fleet of transports for
an army of 200,000 were constantly at
hand 'in the German ports. The ships
would require to be assembled and made
ready for the embarkation of troops. I
draw attention to the slowness with
which the transport of the Japanese
troops to the Asiatic mainland was car
ried out, despite the overwhelming mari
time supsriorlty which JaDan enjoyed
from the start a slowness which enabled
Russia to assemble an equally large army
under Incomparably more difficult circum
stances. "The completeness of modern methods
of news communication makes It Impos
sible to keep such preparations secret
longer than 24 hours. Before the enemy's
entire forces could be assembled on Eng
lish soil. England would have time for
counter measures- In other words, under
the best conceivable circumstances, the
possibility of which can hardly be admit
ted, England would have at least eight
full days.
"Where during all this time would the
English fleet, with its preponderance of
more than two to one. remain? An army
of 200,000 men comprises at the utmost
140.000 combatants. No French or Ger
man General will hold it possible with so
small an army, of which at most only
100,000 men would reach the front to over
throw a country like Great Britain. Even
now Great Britain would be able to as
semble forces sufficient, at least, to pro
lore the struggle. The army of invasion,
however, must .remain in unbroken com
munication with the home country If it is
not to drift into a most perilous position.
and finally be compelled to capitulate. It
will at the start not have ammunition for
more than two battles."
Naval Writer Shares View.
Count Revantlow, one of the foremost
naval writers in the world, shares Colonel
Gaedke's opinions. In a recent article ha
, wrote:
"It strikes us Germans as comical that
In England we should be accused of pre
paring war "against Great Britain. This
has been said In England for the last 10
years, although English naval officers
never cease to argue that Germany would
gain little joy from su.i an event.
"It seems to us even more comical
that today a man of the Importance of
Lord Roberta should rise up and say that
England is unprotected against German
lnvaaion, and urge the organization of an
army of a million men.
"Lord Roberts' arguments are based
upon the supposition that the English
fleet would not be present to prevent a
German lading and destroy the German
fleet. It might Just as well be said thai
Germany would be helpless to prevent a
French invasion. If all her army corps
were assembled along the North Sea or
the Austrian frontier. In these days of
wireless telegraphy. SO-knot ships and
perfect espionage, it is absolutely lmpos- ,
slble to concentrate German troops in
the seaport and keep their embarkation
secret from England."
OPERATORS ROB COMPANY
(Continued from First Paze.)
erator at the receiving office. Neither
operator, it is charged, kept any rec
ord of the message, so the company had
no way of checking such transactions.
It is alleged the discovery of the
conspiracy came about through greed
iness of certain of the operators, who
Anally became so bold that they would
receive a message, take payment and
then destroy the copy, without trans
mitting it, in order to avoid dividing
the spoil with receiving operators. This
course led to so many complaints that
suspicion became aroused and an in
vestigation was started.
Secret service men were sent to
about 100 smalj railroad stations to
send paid messages to other similar
points. It is alleged that of the mes
sages given and paid for by these de
tectives, 8S per cent were sent and de
livered without record being made or
accounting returned, and several were
withheld and not sent at all.
Wide Extent of Stealings.
"When the Investigation commenced It
was known to the company that the num
ber of operators Involved in the petty
graft was large, but the officials had no
Idea of the extent of the organization,
nor did they realize that the understand
ing prevailed over such an extensive ter
ritory. The arrest or arrests in tlus State
of Washington brought the entire scheme
to light.
Some time before the development of
the telegraphers" strike a year ago last
Summer a similar graft was unearthed
by the company, but with its discovery
and the summary discharge of the opera
tors involved it came to an end. How
ever, the present system discovered Is
alleged to have been one of the most gi
gantic schemes ever formed by employes
to swindle a corporation.
Such an extensive system of graft could
not have occurred .in a regular Western
Union Telegraph office because of the
checking system Involved in these offices,
as well as the fact that In most instances
the messages when received are handled
by clerks and not by the op?rators.
RITZVILLE OPERATOR CAUGHT
0
Accused of Stealing Form Company
He Makes Confession.
SAX FRANCISCO. Dee. 20. I. N. Mil
ler. Jr.. general superintendent of the
Western division of the Western Union
Telegraph Company, stated tonight that
the alleged peculations of railroad oper
ators In the northern district of his divi
sion had been under investigation for
some time, but appeared to be confined
to a few men on the Northern Pacific
railroad.
"Only one arrest has been made so far,
that of an operator at Ritzville. Wash.,
who has been held to answer for trial
in the Superior Court for appropriating
to his own use money he had received
for telegrams."' said Mr. Miller. "This
man has confessed and Implicated half
a dozen other operators. Just how far
the conspiracy extends we have not yet
ascertained, but I -think that the loss
to the company Is small and the pecula
tions seem to bs confined to the Northern
Pacific line.
"The operators transmitted the mes
sages given them all" right, hut failed to
account to the telegraph company for
the money received for the telegrams.
This was done through an understanding
or conspiracy between certain operators
by which the office receiving a telegram
failed to 'check' the amount against the
sending office, neither office taking any
account of the messages in their book
keeping and reports for the company,
thereby destroying all records of the
business and dividing the amounts re
ceived, although the telegrams were gen
erally properly transmitted and deliv
ered. The legal department of the com
pany has taken charge of the matter."
RICH COAL VEIN IS FOUND
A. E. Reames Says Southern Oregon
Has line Deposits.
"Southern Oregon has won a name for
itself with its gold, copper and fruits."
said A. E. Reames. ex-District Attorney
A VERY USEFUL AND NOVEL
PRESENT FOR THE HOME
OR OFFICE AT A TRIFLING
COST.
DENNISON'S
HANDY BOX
Regular price $1.25; NOW only
Box Contains Glue, twine, ad
hesive tape, shipping tags, ring
clips, key tags, gummed labels,
rubber bands, string tags and jar
labels.
"We have many appropriate
CHRISTMAS
GIFTS
FINE STATIONERY IN H0LI
DAY BOXES
DESK AND OFFICE FURNISH
INGS
CUT-GLASS INK WELLS
PAPERWEIGHTS '
WRITING SETS
DESK PADS
CALENDARS
IN AND OUT CARDS
ADDRESS BOOKS
FINE MEMO. BOOKS
DIARIES
BILL BOOKS
CARD CASES
PICTURE AND PASS CASES
WALLETS, PURSES
CARD SETS AND
FANCY PLAYING CARDS
To accommodate late shoppers we
will keep open evenings dur
ing Christmas week.
KILHAM
STATIONERY
6 PRINTING CO.
Fifth and Oak Streets,
Our Monday
From 1 1 A. M. to 3 P. M.
Children's
Rockers
$1.50 Values
for Only
75c "Each
These little Rockers to the number of 500
will be on sale for this low special price
from 11 A. M. Monday till 3 o'clock P. M.
They are made of hardwood, with golden
finish, and look just like cut. They are
not a toy, but full size child's Rocker.
Will make an ideal Christmas gift for the
little girl.
'.T?1 "WW 'J r'WliC
Silverware for Xmas
We are offering special prices on all our Silverware this week and offer you
the additional advantage of easy payments. Make a small deposit on any of
these goods, then pay $1.00 a Week. All transactions strictly confidential.
SPECIAL Set of ''1847" Rogers Bros. Knives and Forks, $4.50.
Morris Chairs $1 a Week
The finest line of Morris Chairs in the city sacrificed this week.
$18-00 Morris Chairs for $12.50. Pay $1 and have it delivered
to any address then pay $1 a week.
Fine Heating Stoves $1 Down, $1 a Week
$5.50 Golden Oak Rockers for $3.75
This is positively the finest assortment of Rockers ever brought to
this city for Christmas selling. Over 200 models.
mm
First and Yamhill 3ON0 Second and Yamhi 1
for Jackson arid Joseohlne Counties, at
the Portland Hotel yeAerday. "Recent y
we have discovered a very rich coal vein
within six miles of Medford and unless
all favorable stuns fail, the wealth of
its coal will surpass every thing else
in that section of the state. Not much
has been said as yei aouui ...
deposits that have been found, but before
th new year is many months old, you
will hear all about It. .
"Already we have uncovered a 12-inch
vein of very high-grade coal. Between
12 and IB openings have been made,
without the discovery of a break in the
vein. We have had prominent Eastern
coal" experts at work for some time and
the reports they have made so far are
highly pleasing.
"Of course, you heard about the sale of
Dr Fickles orchard, for which he re
ceived Jlin.oon? Well, that was a fancy
price, but when you understand that this
12-tnch vein of coal runs across this or-
chard, you will understand that the
price was not at all fancy. In addition
to raising the fruits on this orchard, its
owners can mine i.ie coal. You just watch
Southern Oregon during 1909 and the de
velopments of its coal deposits.
Aftermath of Buried Currency.
Pathfinder.
Pon't inhume your greenbacks lest
you have the trouble that O. D. Earl,
of Morrilton. Ark., had recently. Four
years ago be buried $1.0.000 in bills in a
tin pall and when he tried to find it,
had great difficulty in locating the
treasure. ' At last he dug up a moldy
lump of stuff that he finally recognized
as his money. The earth had trans
formed his crisp bills Into a gummy
mass. He brought the mess to the
treasury at Washington: It was turned
over to the expert in the department,
who was able to Identify of It
and the man received a check for that
amount. All the treasury has to show
for the check Is a cluster of i..msy
objects that look like dried leaves.
Clyde Fitch's Auto Car, "JAzzie."
Kansas City Journal.
Clyde Fitch has Introduced a new
Idea to the motoring class. It is nam
ing the car. whlrh If Is to be hoped will
safely carry the owner on his way. Mr.
Fitch calls one of his automobiles
"Pauline" and another "Lizcle." The lat
ter diminutive is a favorite name with
him for inanimate objects which are
not quite up to the mark. It has been
suggested if people must travel at the
rate of 125 miles in three hours, that
"The Conqueror" or "The Annlhilator"
might be picturesque names for the
car's christening.
"In the matter of drirtklr!," mued h
philosopher with the imprwr.Mlonlntie no(w.
"be iire you are riprht and you woa't fft
a Philadelphia R--ord.
i M!
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1908 EDITION
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