SWINDLERS GET MILLIONS FROM WAR CHARITIES Grafters Tuke Advantage of Pa triotism of Country. EXPENSES EAT UP PROCEEDS Prey on Those Anxious to Help the Men at the Front—London and Par is Had Same Experiences in Early Days of the War—Worthy Causes Hurt by Many Fraudulent Schemes. The exponents of the "easy money" theory have not been slow to capital ize for their personal profit the pa triotic sentiment of their country. The trail of their ventures, ostensibly designed to raise money by promot ing "bazaars" and "benefits" by house to-house canvasses and Street collec tion funds for alleged worthy pur poses, is to be found in ali the cities and larger towns throughout the natlon, writes Louis Seibold in the New York World. i Millions have been diverted from the intelligently organlzed and effi ciently managed agencies operating under government auspices to pro vide comforts for the men who are actually fighting their battles. Rec ognized institutions like the Red Cross, the Y. M. 0. A. and various worthy rellgious and patriotic organizatlons have been deprived of money that they could use witL much greater advantage to the soldiers and sailors of the country than if given to volun teer ventures conducted under hap feazard circumstances. Littfe Left for Comforts. 1 Publication of the balance sheets of a recent bazaar show the cost of a ten-days' event which was de eigned to "provide eomforts for boys at the front" exceeded $70,000. The net proflts available for "providing comforts" was less than SBOO after the expenses of the enterprise had been paid. The annual report of a "league" to furnish "comforts" for the seafight ers of the country shows that out of $30,000 raised for the purpose, only a little more than S7OO ever found its way into "comforts" for anybody. But great as has been the abuse of the confldence of patriotlc citizens from movements which are organized on an ostensible public basis, even more damaging are the flagrantly fraudulent schemes of persons who re eort to house-to-house canvasses and Street collections to line their own pockets. The attentlon of the police of near ly every large city in the country, and particularly New York, has been cen tered on the operations of criminals of thls type who have obtained through misrepresentation vast sums in the ag gregate from gullible people who be lieved they were giving money to worthy causes deslgned to make llfe easier for the men who are exposing their lives to their country's enemies. It ls difficult, of course, to present any lntelligent estimate of the gross amount of money raised by volunteer collectors of these various "funds," but It undoubtedly mounts away up into the milllons. There have been frequent lnstances of msn and women utterly lacking a eense of honor and decency auda ciously and fraudulently soliciting funds In the name of the Red Cross. One such case recently carne to light on the upper West side of New York. A Woman Swindler's Methods. A well-dressed woman arouud whose arm was a white band on which was stamped a faint red cross, visited sev eral apartment houses. She carried a pasteboard box with a slot and deco rated with a big red cross. When ad mitted she inquired breezily: "Anytliiug for the Red Cross to day?" When questioned by some of her in tended victims as to the specific pur pose of the collectionshe said: "Oli. this is for a special purpose." The polite say that persons falsely representing themselves as asients of the Red Cross or.other recognized or ganizations should be immediately turned over to the first oflìcer. Inquiry of the Red Cross authori tìes reveals the fact that it does not employ agents of this sort and that Its appeals for funds are publicly made, and subscriptions should be sent to headquarters. That which is true of the Red Cross applies to the Y. M. C. A. and a few other worthy causes, including public funds started by newspapers for the purchase of tobacco, donations to which are acknowledged in the news columns. Great Britain and every other bel ligerent country was confronted by the same conditions and problems in the early stages of the war. So great was the abuse of the public confldence fcy the "easy-money men" of England that the government and newspapers opened war on them, with the result that many were seTit to prison, and the patriotlc charities regulated and or ganized on a business basis under gov ernment supervlslon. Frauds in London Exposed. In December, 1915, the London Daily Mail began a crusade against the vol unteer war charities of an indiscrim inate character. It exposed the ex orbitant proflts raked in by persons who preyed on the public through ap- peals for funds to carry on ostensible patrlotic ventures. The Mail asserted that enough money was collected In this way to pay the actual cost of the war for a week. And Great Brltain was then spending $25,000,000 for war purposes every day. The same evils recently exposed in this country were brought to light in Great Britain. Most of the reve nues of "bazaars" and "beneflts" were eaten up by ' "expenses" for press agents, advertising sollcitors and pro motions. The extent to which the indiscrim inate war grafters lmposed on the British public before the government stepped In to put a stop to their ac tivities was described by James M. Touhy, London correspondent of the World, ki a dispatch printed in 1916. Mr. Touhy said: "One woman was arrested who turned out to be the wife of a soldier to whom the war department was making an allowance of $6 a week, this in addition to the $7 a week which her husband gave her from his pay. She was begging for a Belgian fund which did not exist. A well known woman of society whose suc cess in organizing entertainments for charity has produced many thou sands of dollars has, it is said, paid herself, under the item of expenses, at the rate which the big theater managers of the West end receive. "Scotland Yard blames the most prominent people who allow their names to be put upon committees for war charities without investigating the reliability of those who collect the funds. "Early in Aprii the citizens of Glas gow denounced the prince of Wales' fund, to Tvhlch Scotland had contrib uted generously wlthout belng able to obtain a penny to pay rents for the familles of soldiers at the front. Stopped by Scotland Yard. "The French relief fund and the Belgian soldiers' fund occupy the most conspicuous places just now in the public investigation of charity money scandals. In France the minlster of the Interior ls responsible for the col lection and distributlon of ali such funds, and the committee, self-appolnt ed In London, to collect money for the French relief fund, had no difflculty in securing the patronage of President Poincaré and different members of the French cabinet. "It was then an easy matter to get the patronage of members of the Brit ish cabinet, and this fund was largely advertised as being under the spon sorship of Sir John Simon, the home secretary, and Winston Churchill, be fore the latter's withdrawal from the government. Mr. Asqulth, the prime minister also allowed liis name to be used in connection with the fund. "When no balance sheet was pub llshed after nearly a year of activity in gathering in the shillings, and when, moreover, the London committee be gan seeking government aid to pre vent the duchess of Somerset from having a French Flag day July 7 in London for the benefit of the French Red Cross, an investigation was be gun which seems to have finally been taken in hand by Scotland Yard. "Sir John Simon, Churchill, Lloyd George and others withdrew from the sponsorship of the fund. The secre tary of the fund then tried to place before the public a statement of the condition of the fund, which amounted to $230,000, and $500,000 was wanted. The London papers refused to print the advertisement. It was said the newspapers had been told by Scotland Yard not to allow the affairs of the French relief fund to figure in their columns." Paris had very much the same ex perience as the British metropolis with war grafters. Out of 147 war chari ties organized in the French capital in 1915, 75 were found to be the most barefaced swindles by the police, ac cording to the Matin, which inaugu rated a crusade against the evil. In FAMOUS PAINTER IS INTERNED IN ENGLAND Philip A. Laszlo, the famous Aus trian painter, has been interned In England because of his suspicious ac tivities. Professor Laszle is known throughout the art world. He paint 'ed portraits of many notables, ex- President Roosevelt. King Edward Vii, Kaiser Wilhelm, being a few of his best known subjects. He was enno bled In 1912 by the emperor of Aus tria. He has been a resident of Eng land for many years. reporting the result of its investiga tions the Matin said : Many of the Promoters Criminals. "Thirty-five of the 'phllanthropic so cieties' were found to be conducted by men who had been released from pris on just before or just after the mobili zation at the start of the war. Sev eral others, it is said, are conducted by Germans and Austrians who had succeeded on one pretext or another, In gaining their release from the con ceniration camps. "Two of the most brilliant and suc cessful 'philanthropists,' it is said, be gan business without enough money to open offices, but soon were able to rent handsome quarters in town and purchase automobiles. They are now, It is declared, in the habit of enter taining their friends at sumptuous din ners in the most expensive restaurants on the proceeds of the contributions of their victims. These two, it is said, ha ve never made less than 2,000 francs (.$400) a day since they began opera tions last September." The expenses of administering char itable funds in this country even be fore the war have always been very high, though not of such a magnitude as indicated by the figures reported by the promoters of ventures ostensi bly patriotic. An investigation of the charity or ganization society of this city in 1915 showed that it cost $1.50 to administer every $1 donated or raised by collec tion. An even more glaring case of bad management (or worse) was revealed by an investigation of the United Charities of Chicago in 1913. One item developed was that it had cost $5,000 to assist a family to the extent of S3OO. The opinion prevails in Washington that the government will be forced to adopt radicai measures to end the in discriminate and illegal war charities organized for selfish reasons by pros ecuting some of the most outrageous cases coming to the attention of the Red Cross and other authorized agen cies for collectlng war funds. George E. Scott, director of the bu reau of division of the American Red Cross, has prepared the foilowing gen eral rules as a guide to locai chapters of that organization in considering of fers of assistance through the medium of entertainments : General Rules for Chapters. "No offers should be accepted con templating a division of profits be tween the promoters and the Red Cross. This rule applies to the man ufacture and sale of merchamlise or articles of any kind or as to entertain ments. "No one should be permitted to pro mote or advertlse an entertainment or like function as a Red Cross enter tainment or benefit unless the manage ment or control is entirely in the hands of the Red Cross chapter. "If, after due investigation, those of fering to conduct entertainments for the benefit of the Red Cross are found to be entirely reliable and acting in good faith they may be permitted to make announcement in the press or otherwise of their intention to donate the proceeds of the entertainment to the Red Cross, but the entertainment should not be advertised as a Red Cross benefit or Red Cross entertain ment, nor any wording used in the announcements that would lead the public to believe that it is belng given under the auspices of the Red Cross or that the Red Cross is in any way connected with or responsible for its management. "In ,no instance should the use of the Red Cross emblem in announcing or advertising an entertainment be au thorized except in the case of such en tertainments as are actually managed and controlied by the Red Cross chap ter." ' EMÉÌÌSTS. FOR ANILINE DYES Industry Has Grown Rapidly in This Country, jnce Outbreak of War. The American woman's clothing is now dyed with colors produced by American manufacturers, and the Eng lish are turning to the United States t'or their aniline dyes, according to re ports made to the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce. So rapidly lias the American dye in dustry grown since the outbreak of the war that capital invested has ln creased from about $3,000,000 to $250,- 000.000. British representatives are now in this country to co-operate with Ameri can manufacturers in supplying Eng lish and other foreign markets. Synthetic indigo, one of the most important tinctorial produets, was not manufactured in this country before the war, the bulk of our market re quirements being filled from Germany. The "blue jeans" of the American farm hand were ali colored by dyes made in Germany. Today American manufacturers are booking contraets for 1918 delivery, according to state ments of trade journals. The production of aniline dyes is now equal to the domestic demands, and the United States has already en tered the field of world trade as an exporter of dyestuffs. For the month of July the shlp ments of American-made aniline dyes to foreign countries amounted in value to $497,106. Away Goes Boston's Free Lunch. The Bostcn license board, at the sug gestion of the national food adminis tration, has notified saloon proprietors to eliminate free lunches. GREETS GERMAN'. SHEIL AS JOKE How Pershing Men Conduct Themselves in Trenches. JUST MISS GENERALA AUTO Chauffeur Ducks Head, Dons "Tin Hat" and Sticks to Wheel—Laby rinth of Trenches Is Just Llke Main Street to American Soldiers—Gun Forces Huns to Lose Laundry. "The Boche just carne dose enough," was the way a certain American colo nel smllingly described the visit of a German shell which recently struck his headquarters. The colonel at that time was work ing in his "office" at headquarters, a chateau trenches. Orderlies were coming and going. A dozen offi cers were working in various rooms. Suddenly the German shell crashed into the roof and exploded half way down the second floor. The explosion smashed Windows ev erywhere and scattered a rain of plas ter over the colonel's bed. Two minutes later we found the colonel standing on his steps looking the building over and gingerly han dling some hot fragments of the shell. One hour before the German shell struck home an American general had left his automobile near the chateau and walked 100 yards away, when a shell struck near the car. The auto mobile was showered with mud and stones. The American army chauffeur ducked his head, donned his "tin hat" and stuck to his wheel. A zig-zagging ditch, walled in with hand-woven twigs, khakl-clad Sam mies standing on the firing step—this is America's first line. Know Trench Labyrinth. It winds like a brown scar across the face of the hill. Sammles, peer ing cautiously over the parapet, have an unobstructed view across a valley to where the Boche is sulking in his own front line trenches. America's front line in the land branch of the battle for democracy isn't just a plain ditch. To the un initiated it is a labyrinth of twists and turns and holes and mounds. But to Sammy, it is as simple as Main Street, back home. He knows every dugout, every traverse, every listening post. Standing on the flre-step at one place in the trench beside a Nebraska soldier, I strained by eyes across death valley to where the enemy holds forth. It was a dank, tangled tarn. Weeds run wild for three years, luxuriated there. A battered village stands mid way, awaitlng the day of reclamation. It was stili. Not a sign of move ment showed anywhere. Nothing moved over where the German trenches were. Suddenly an American gun cracked twlce. Shells shuffled instantaneous ly over us and detonated "over there" in wriggly puflìball fashion. Perhaps unseen Boches were sent scurrying underground by its wicked fragments. A crow wheeling in midair was struck by a bit of this shrapnel. He dropped to the earth like a plummet. "There ain't any use writing about that to the home folks," said the tali Nebraska soldier. "They wouldn't be lieve me if I told it to 'em." We passed on down the trench. A Memphis (Tenn.) machine gunner was our next acquaintance. "There are plenty of ducks in Death valley," he voluntered, after someone had mentioned the crow incident. "There's a small lake midway over No Man's Land, and they gather around there." From somewhere an American snip er's rifle cracked the deep stillness and then quiet settled down again. In growing shadows we passed on down the trench. As we stopped, there carne abruptly the unmistakable whistling of shells, then instantly three bangs as the three shots struck a hundred yards away, near the first line. There were no casualties. Immediately the American guns took up the challenge, measure for measure. Then it was quiet again. That brief interchange suggested in quiry as to what took %place in the first lines when shells caihe over. A Wyoming boy proudly showed his dug out. Huns Lose Their Laundry. "It accommodates thirty-eight of us, also a million rats," he remarked with a grin. "And I forgot the dozen or so eats." We passed stili farther along —and got by a machine-gun post just in time to see the little death-dealer rattle a lively baprage over against a German village where the Boches were seen to be hanging out their shirts on a clothes-line. The Huns fled —leaving their laundry. Reaching the end of the American sector, we turned to the rear. A tomb like stillness reigned at that moment. It was so quiet that the loudest sound was the water splashing and swishing under the "duck-boards" (lattice work pavements) beneath our feet. Half an hour later the lull was broken. The Boches started a sud den spasm of artillerying. They hurled 50 shrapnel shells with a drum-fire speed—2s a minute, perhaps. Distant thumps and red flashes near us showed the American gun volley sent painstak ingly in reply. Then it was stili again, g QUITS GOOD POSITION T 0 G0 T 0 THE FRONT ùùòif'trCrirtrirùiririrCrirùrtriHririrCrirtrù^i Miss Jessie L. Simpson, secretary of the foreign relations committee, who has resigned in order to "go to the front." She has accepted a posltioq as clerk to the auditor of the Pershing expeditlon in France. Miss Simpson was the first woman to be appointed In this responsible committee posltion in the house. She was formerly sec retary to Senator Stone, and has act ed in other confldential capaclties. She relinquishes a good salary to "do her bit" In France. She will go abroad as soon as arrangements have been made for her transportation. CUTTING OUT CANDY WOULD SAVE SUGAR Enough Confectionery Used in the United States to Keep Europe Easiiy. According to information reaching the food administration the sugar used in making candy in the United States is sufflcient to meet ali the sugar re quirements of Great Brltain under the rationing standard adopted there. If the people of the United States would cut out candy the sugar so saved would be more than sufflcient to meet ali the sugar requirements of France. If one half the sugar used in the making of candy in this country in 1917 could have been saved, it would have been suflìcient to meet the sugar requirements of Italy for a year under that country'a present sugar standard. The money spent for candy in this country the past year is nearly doublé the amount of money needed to keep Belgium supplied with food for a year. Of the total consumption of the Unit ed States about one-third goes into the manufacture of various foodstuffs, In cluding confectionery, while the re mainder is consumed as sugar. The amount of sugar employed In the mak ing of is varlously estl mated from 150,C0 :to 500,000 tons a year. The confectionery business of the country is about two-thirds as large as the butter business, a little less than one-third as large as the wheat flour business, sllghtly larger thnn the can nlng and preserving of frults and about two-fifths as large as the bakery busi ness. TEXAS IN THE LEAD Highest Percentage of Acceptance» for Air Service. Out of tests of applicants for aerial service in the army, from twenty dif ferent states, Texans lead in the per centage of acceptances. The observ ers' tests are similar to those for the pilots for airplanes, except the equili brium test is not included in the exam ination for observers. Officers in charge' of this branch of the aviation corps say the reason Texans lead in the tests is that they are clear-eyed, keen of observation and their outdoor life has trained them to quick decislon and action. While the army is always in need of pilots for airplanes and warplanes, the great need right now is for ob servers —the men who note the lay of the land and map out the country as the piane moves at a great height in the air. MULE IS A SUICIDE She Was Named Maude, and Hanged Herself Rather Than Be Shot. Rather than be shot to death because a veterinarian had pronounced her crazy, Maude, a mule valued at $250, belonging to George Hays, a Lawrence port, Ind., farmer, committed suicide. The animai had become so crazy that it had become necessary to tie her with a strong rope to keep her from beating herself to death against the side of a barn. As there was no Jmown cure for a crazy mule, Doctor Sanders, a veteri narian, who was called to attend her, decreed she should be shot. Her ex ecutioner went for a revolver, but be fore he returned the mule had flipped the rope around her neck, and lunging backward, choked herself to death. MODESTY MARKS BBITISH FLYER Achievements of the Airmen Are Not Advertised. DROPS 125 TONS OF QOMBS Royal Corp» In One Month Downt 152 German Machines and Disablet 122 David Henderson, Head of Air Board, Holds M lt Does Not Pay to Adver tise" Air Warfare. The royal flylng corps ls the least advertised branch of the British army. As the preface to a long interview on the work and achievements of that service. Maj. Gen. Sir David Hender son, head of the air board, explained the reason for this studied raodesty. "Other air services," he said, "adver tise individuai flghters and thus adver tise the service. We don't because the fighting alrman is but a small part of the air personnel and not the most Irn portant at that. In many ways he has the best of the work. His part is the most spectacular and he gets the best machines. "But a flghter is only sent up to pro tect the bombing, reconnaissance and range-flnding machines, whose work is the most valuable. We believe that by advertising individuai flghters we would kill the spirit of the other flyera. Our system gives us a higher average standard. With a week's notice we could transfer the personnel of a fight ing squadron to a reconnaissance squadron, or vice versa, with perfectly satisfactory resulta. Develops Spirit of Airmen. "But what is much better, we have developed the spirit of the squadron. If you ask an airman back from the front how many Boche he downed he won't teli you. But he wlll say with pride: 'Our squadron got sixteen last week,' or whatever the number might be. That ls the proper spirit for the service. "And another thing, we don't go in for 'peace' or propaganda flylng. We are too busy killing lluus. General Henderson then turned to the work of the flying corps. "The corps has multiplied between 70 and 100 times in men and material since the war began. We have had the heaviest air work of any of the al lies and just now are experiencing the toughest bit of the war. "One reason for our large losses ls that our policy has always been to «et the jump pn the enemy. It ls cosfiy, but the only policy if one has the means to pursue it. Some time ago the Germana realized this, as we es tablished by orders found. But be yond short, spasmodlc attempts, they have never succeeded In getting the offensive. Carry Fighting to Germana. "The result has been that most of the air fighting ls on the German side of the line and few are downed on our side. Even as far back as the battle of the Somme we had the Jump on the Boche. There was not a German ma chine within ten miles of the battle line. "An idea of the actual work of the service at the front may be gained from September's statistics. During that month we downed 139 German planes in air fighting and 13 by antl aircraft gunflre; downed 122 out of control, dropped 125 tons of bomba, took 16,000 photographs, directed ar tillery fire agalnst 1,372 batteries and flew the equivalent of four and three fourths years." General Henderson partly exploded the popular idea that the youngest men make the best flyers. "For flghters, perhaps yes," said he, "but for the other branches of the service the older men, up to thirty-five, are steadier, more persistent and exer cise better judgment." He was very doubtful about the prac ticability of extensive standardization of airplane construction. "You may standardize your engine," he said, "but piane construction changes so rapidly that if you stand ardize for large scale production you are apt to find yourself with a number of antiquated machines on your hands." FAR WEST IS UNAFFECTED Electric Sign Rute Does Not Apply on the Coast. Western cities, as a rule, are not af fected by the recent order of the na tional fuel administratlon limiting the use of electric signs to certain hours. Fuel Administrator Holmes of Oregon declares where electric energy ls pro duced by water power the order does not apply. Very little eoa! or oli ls used for making electricity for the big cities of the Pacific Northwest In some of the smaller towns waste from sawmllla la used to produce electricity and this fuel does not come under the adminls tration's order. RELATIVES IN THE WAR A Census Shows That Mrs. Sullivan Ha# Twenty-Three of Them. Mrs. J. A. Sullivan of Moundsvllle, W. Va., has completed a census of her relatives in the present war, and «he finds that twenty-three have been en listed into the armies of the allies. The number enlisted includes grandsons and nephews. Twenty-one are on the firing line in Europe, five brothers from Wales and the others from 1
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