7
A ' "iV ' -"
unirnr theory
nr Villejean, French Expert,
Barry Pain Says It Involves! m
EXPLAINS REGENT j
EXPLOSIONS BY j
FORCED MpHli
WRITER DECLARES I ;
. - -mmi
it T I 1
Believes m ueronauon
by Influence. '
. ' 1
(Special Dispatch.)
PARIS. Saturday.
Vast Expense, Fraud, For-: .-"'jji
gery and Other Troubles.
nr vflIeJea1i-4nsPector the Explosives
Department -
as a pupi1 of ?reat cfiemist Berthelot.
was iniciv.v- - . : i
respondent concerning the origin of
the CP1U - v.
Aoth and destruction in the rear of
, p armies ;ji o i.m ucina" .i-n.
Villejean appears to have a very plausible
theory, namely, that the stupendous forces
bottled up. so to speak, in the receptacles
nade for them by modern hands exercise
1 h.oi ottracfion. the. vehicle of whirh
a mum44 -
is the "emanation from the substances em
ployed." In the case of the Halifax dis-
more effective and more angercms me- j
dlum-petrol. . J
I do not Deiieve m sporaaneous expio-;
do believe in detonation or explosion
'brought about by inflr.ence." This remark
Tvas made by Dr. Villejean when asked for
his opinion on the frequent explosions that
have occurred in munitions and chemical
factories, m America, d ranee, ningiand,
Germany and Austria, as -well as m the
formidable explosion of the munitions ship
that wrecked Halifax.
Explosion by Shock.
"Most high explosives are detonated by
shock." said Dr. Villejean. "The shock
of collision between the two steamships in
Halifax Harbor was not the cause of the
explosion, as that occurred twenty-five
minutes later. The petrol that was carried
on deck appears, however, to have been a
contributory cause. It is probable that
among the cargo of high explosive shells
there "was also a certain amount of
amorce' or percussion material; this being
the case, when the petrol caught fire some
of it filtered into the holds and the heat
disengaged produced a gas, which combin
ing with the oxygen of the atmosphere ex
oloded with sufficient violence to detonate
the percussion materiaTTwhich in turn de
tonated the rest of the cargo of munitions.
I put this forward as a hypothesis, for to
reach a more exact opinion It would be
necessary to have a detailed description of
the ingredients of the explosives used in
the manufacture of the munitions in ques
tion. One conclusion may safely be drawn:
that is. that it is most imprudent to carry
any inflammable liquid on munitions ships.
It is true that under other circumstances
the petrol could have caught ,fire and no
explosion have followed. But as it is im
possible to foresee circumstances too- many
precautions cannot be taken where ex-
nlosives and such explosives as are now
employed are concerned."
The Swpe of Knowled?.-;
"Have you any hypothesis to advance.
Dr. Villejean, to account for the explosions
that have occurred in so many munitions
and chemical factories within the last two
years? Do you think the chemists are
combining different products, the effects
of which are clearly known up to a certain
point, but that beyond this their knowledge
may sun te deficient?
-No; i do not think so. I believe the
greatest care is taken in the develoDmenti
of these explosives. Every step is tried
and tested before another is taken, as well
as every precaution that certain ingre-'
dients are not brought into close proxim
ity. But what does happen, I fear, is
!mprudence a momentary imprudence, if
vou will, but one which is often attended
with disastrous results.
"The destruction of the great -German
chemical factory at Griesheim could
easily have been brought about by the
imprudence of a member of the staff in
bringing two substances into too close
proximity, causing a local explosion which
could be sufficiently intense to detonate
all the other explosives in the place by
'influence.' , .
Another Theory. . :
"There is also another hypothesis that
is worthy of consideration and study by
experts tbat is, the action of 'les ondes
flectriques,' or emanations from, sub
stances employed in the manufacture of
explosives. Such action might also be
he cause of local explosions under cer
tain conditions which might or might not
be the influencing cause of others of a
more serious nature. That many ' of the
explosions during the last two or three
years Tv-ere due to malevolence is certain
inere have been others, however, in
which malevolence had no part, but where
imprudence was the contributory cause of
ueionation by sympathy 'detonation par
miluence.' To guard -against this latest
uanger too much care cannot be exer
cised."
Japanese Ships
for World Trade
In order to compete for the world'sf trade
auer the war Japan is actively engaged
n building shins. According to JaDanese
newspapers, she now has 113 shipbuilding
f ,. owned by forty-two different ship
building firms. In each a ship of 1.000
ions can be built Sixty-seyen ships have
been completed and nineteen now are, in
urse of construction. It ds estimated
hat within a short time Japan will have
inree times as many shiysras she owned
"mre the war.
The Japanese Steamship Company, Ja
nan s largest maritime corporation, which
now has
nonS' has increasedTts capital to $50,000.
0. which is S23.P"0.000 more than three
years a!?0- Fiftv lare-p steamships will be
built
without delay, adding ;.400";000 more
wnnage to the fleet. All .this is to prepare
trade after the war.
Direct service between .Tanan and Ger
jnany by way of Italy is suggested, as a
j-usAiDinty after peace is declared. Fur
tnermore. the. enrntwriv Vina ri(oiri(f1 to ran
1 the line operating to Europe by the
pe or Good Hope and to start a new
-rvice to Europe through the Panama
Ihe first eto'irviesV.lr i-n "Wfa nA-nr Mlltfl
.'uuiotu - ,11 111 w iivi. i
e Tatsuno Maru, already has started on
pe voyage. The ships will stop at San
urar153sco or some other American port on
Pacific coast for coal. They will take
argo anrl Passengers direct to an English
YrV The steamships may call at New
ork fof further ioa(iing before starting
across tho
bpuie line through the Panama Canal will
wni,rate(i during the coming year and
m bring New York into' direct steamship
ecuon with Japan.
- CS t Mg1" 4 1 QNE of these little trench mortars can do
B & S& - ' tremendous damage to an enemy position,
g ! $ z- JiliSli- ' ne pieces are so light one. man can easily
i ; - ,v -tl - H - - handle them, and battle tactics now make
m ,p Iggg5 ! them a -part of the equipment of troops in
1 an advance. They come up;' with the support
1 ?m M fv'-- r Une. - ' ' "
I ABOVE is a long II ; "M -V: H '
I range French gun 1 1 k 1 ' f Wh - "V I 1
1 on arailroadcarwhich CU lM WRik M h" A4 F
J carries its camouflage Ig U V f ft) WuSQfW ffi CuSsSK IllV J0$p "S-rf
Itioned at many points fii S
of" the western front I Sf Jl If jSfY VL '".t 14
and can be shifted rap- J f$H klfl Jf -If fel
p, idly wherever rails are .; l; fcS f S v'r
!laThe picture at the ? f ' fW A : ; V
right was taken seventy Jr V, 4' " : LUt i V XW I
-et .below ground in a II k AifflA'ii
dugout used as a tele- , . 11 PSP SI I
1 first Une. Some of the II 1 I J LV -fc fil?-f' ?;: :Vf5? I
I creature comforts have 1 ft - 7 ft' ' g t 2 1
I found their way to the -l! iJhV,, l!!5?, I
1 subterranean shelter. II 14- . (1 1
P j jp - s . P
TEUTONS IN GREAT GAMBLE TO BEAT ALLIES IN
(Special Dispatch
LONDON, Saturday.
Lovat Fraser, writing in the Daily Mail
on. the German threat on tne wesieni
front, says:
"The Germans are declaring that they
mean to try to break the allied line in the
west. . The elimination or the Russian
army has restored the waning military
strength of both Germany and Austria,
It has also confounded those of our experts
who present war to us as a page of sums
rather than a contest of brains as well as
muscle.
"We need not.be prematurely alarmed'
by. the threats of the. enemy,, but it Is not
wise to ignore them.. If the. Germans and
the Austrians propose to engage in the
most colossal gamble in history, we had
better consider our prospects of success.
And first, why does the alleged intention
of the enemy amount to a gamble? Be
cause they are like a gambler who after
heavy losses comes into a big legacy and
risk's9 the whole of it on a single throw
It is aamble because up to now the chief
military lesson of the war in the west has
been that on the whole, and until new de
vices and methp'ds are found, modern arms
confer an advantage on the defence. Both
sides have proved two things at great cost
to themselves. '
Strength of the Defensive,
The first thing -is that the initial stages
of an attack almost lnvanaDiy succeed.
The second thing is that hitherto it hasp
been impossible to develop on a sufficient
scale the advantages won in the first rush.
The Germans demonstrated this at "Ver
dun, the French in Champagne in 1915. We
need not multiply examples. There is no
reason to suppose that the enemy will now
succeed in rebutting these conclusions,
and that i3 why their attempt, should they
now make it," will be a gamble on an un
precedented scale.
Next, it' may. be noted that the great
amount of drum-fire in the enemy press
is very unusual. The German newspapers
have not as -a rule announced military
plans in advance. Perhaps the enemy are
trying to frighten nervous people into join
ing the ranxs of our wobblers. Perhaps
they have some entirely different object
in view. Perhaps they are telling the truth
for once, and calculate that they may not
be believed.
The only possible course for us Is to look
at the probabilities. . The Germans and
Austrians cannot entirely strip the Rus
sian front, but .they can leave it very
thinly held. Here ISrnay say that I Can see
no present prospect of an improvement in
Russian conditions, I can find nothing in
history to show that the Cossacks have
ever exercised a determining influence
upon the destinies of Russia. They arc
only a drop in the ocean of Russian hu
manity. Advises Against Traitors.
1 And may I add that I do not understand
the suggestion that we should talk benev
olently to the people- who have seized
power in Russia?. Treaty breakers look
alike to mejwhether they-are "friends" or
foes. I can see no moral difference be
tweeh violating the treaty about Belgium
and breaking the Pact of London. The
one act has enslaved a nation, the other
has betrayed the Western Allies, who are
fighting alone to-day for the cause upon
which Russia's future depends. We can
not fight because one treaty has been
broken and then condone the breaking of
another. I know all the specious argu
ments about throwing Russia into the
arms of Germany, but depend upon it. the
simple rule for nations as well as indi
viduals is to have nothing to do with
traitors. That way lies the ruin of our
cause.
To return to our main theme. It Is prob
able that the enemy "will do the obvious
thing, which is to concentrate in the west.
They can only do so gradually, and though
they already have drawn upon their East
ern front for heavy drafts and many guns
it seems extremely unlikely that they will
attack, so to speak, to-morrow morning.
This is the biggest thing they have ever
undertaken, and they will not launch their
blow' until they are fully ready. I shall
not attempt to quote from the many esti
mates of their strength which are being
published. It Is enough for us to know
that by the spring at the latest they can
count upon a sufficiently formidable addi
tion to their numbers.
Austrians of Less Moment.
The bulk of their reinforcements cannot
be of the first quality. We. need not be
disturbed about the statement that Aus
trian divisions may be put into the line in
France. The Austrian army seems to be
like the widow's cruse, for it never runs
dry; but the Austrian troops to-day are
believed to be very . much . below what
they were in 1914. In this war they nave
never yet had to face British, and French
artillery and British and French infantry
in the mass, and whatever may happen to
our line we need not worry about the
sectors where Austrians attack. As for
the enemy's guns, it has to be remem
bered that although they will have more
guns in the west than ever, it is by no
means clear that "they possess shells in
sufficient quantity. The available evi
dence seems to suggest that the enemy
are probably rather short of matter for
making shells. v
I am not belittling the menace which
may confront us, but am trying to reduce
it to its correct proportions. I believe the
line in France and Flanders should re
sist any attack which may now be directed
against us. It i3 true that the Germans
broke our Une at Gouzeaucourt the other
day. and that they have since seized two
small sections of trench near Riencourt
and at Polderhoek, as we have done times
without number. But when all is said It
would seem that at Gouzeaucourt the
enemy did pretty badly. We talk of a
surprise, but nobody seems to have been
more surprised than the Germans, who
failed to reap the full profit from their
stroke. I suspect tnat some searching in
quiries are In "progress on the other side
of No Mali's Land as well as on our own.
I should-say that at the moment the
real danger spot is Italy rather than
France. Our turn may come, but the
highly efficient Germans have an awk
ward habit of cleaning up jobs as they
go, which is also our own practice on oc
casion. Having got Russia and Roumania
out of the way for the time being,, it; is
natural that they should turn next to
Italy and endeavor to overwhelm, her
while she is still reeling under a sore
blow. The Italian army has fought one
of the most magnificent fights of the
THE WEST
whole war and has stemmed the tide of
invasion with marvellous fortitud-. but
the issue still hangs in the balanc and
we must not deceive ourselves.. Th- Ions
pause was dictated by military necessity.
Italian OntloolE Uncertain.
All those masses of Austro-Garman men
and guns on the Sette Comuni Plateau tail
between the Brenta and the Piave are not
there for nothing. They do not mean to
winter amid the hills if they can help it.
Valstagna appears to be the vital point'
through which they hope to debouch into
the plains, and if they dispose of Italy
while rehearsing Armageddon in the .west
it will suit them very well. The outlook
on the Italian front is hopeful for the
Allies, but by no means certain.
.The best experts assure me that there
is no likelihood of a thrust at Salonica
until the spring. "When the trees bud"
is an old war motto in the Balkans. The
surrender of Jerusalem is a great political
and historical event, but from the broad
military point of view our forces in Pal
estine cannot now materially affectf the
main course of the war unless they can
reach Aleppo, vhich is more than three
hundred miles farther north. Falkenhayn
is the mystery of the moment. I think
he is. in Mesopotamia, and should he heard
of soon with his two German divisions;
but with the bulk of the Germans and
Austrians streaming westward Bagdad
has become a side issue.
;We have, a tough time ahead, yet If
yre face the facts, abstain from adven
tures, and Intern our bell ringers, we
ought to pull through. The fate of the
Empire may depend upon the decisions to
be taken this week regarding the" allo-i
cation of the balance of our man power;
but this is a contest of brains as well as
men, and both on land and sea we must
not let ourselves be beaten in brain power. 1
(Special Dispatch.) ' r:W; ;
LONDON. Satnrtf.ivl;:
Barry Pain, writing on the psychology pt &f:
the food problem and the ration table, j i,;;
says In the Daily Chronicle: '..' "r." '..
Many years ago public opinion put an end f - i
to intoxication as a national habit." To-Uty ;
the formation of the necessary public opto-. ,.
ion the control ,of the general mental attt-,l
tude would settle the food mestion. - !-C
We have, enough, but nothing to spare,
and we wish to prevent people from taldn -
too much. On-the face of it it might seemt ;
that this should be easy. But our attempts -in
this direction have failed, and have de
served to fail; the psychological factor, trat ,
for some crude advertisements, seems '10
utLve uccu . .
Will Involve Vast -Expe? 'ji
Continued failure will result in-AoinpuU'
sory rationing. Compulsory rationing IH:
i .ita Vi a f visva heenfre
quently mentioned it will involve -Yart'exji.j
Dense, the . employment of labortnat;U .-1; j
wanted for other purposes, difficulties :,5Qi;' 'J
organization, fraud ana lorgery. u o
t win tiavA another result it wiu wond s . v ;
the just pride of every decent man, wpmatti ; '
What .has psychology to do with fOOdT.,f
The brain is the director general of func-..
tion. Through the brain appetite may ba- ;
stimulated or lessened and. digestion may
be promoted or Inhibited. XThe brain laf
influenced by suggestion. The quack knbwac?
this, and in consequence sometimes euecwft',
cures. It is not his pill which cures; it;iti
the suggestion in the advertisement of tbal
pill. It is not only in the hypnotic state, f
that suggesUon Is effective. It Is alwaw ;
at work on people in a perfectly normal -M
condition.
The Povrer or. snsrste-cio- . j,
' Now let us suppose that a man Bees oa j
a hoarding the appeal, "Eat less bread.':: J j
Tjn daoo it fnAntlv on other hoardings1 -1
and-In many newspapers. This should in-,1-; (:
fluence him, more or less according to nw s
n,..Tfihiifir toward moderation ., to..- t
susc e p u uin i,y , wniuu w .w-. .,, .. .
bread eating. But ft does not inflaencer
him. How should it? A suggestion cannot f
work when a stronger, suggestion is op--4
posed to it For every once that he has;t';
seen that advertisement he has -i'Meni
twenty times or more a lavish display
the windows of bakers' shops or teashops. r .
The suggestion of plenty Is stronger no- f
mericaUy than the suggestion that econ-H
omy is needed. It also is stronger in j
nnfliitv. for the , real thing is more .op-JJ
nruiM than the name of it. The t actr-f
- " ' ' i- "
. . i.x ..i HnAtUii 3 i tfmm It
that It IS UnCOUSCiUUO augscswu w -r?
an
additional power. And, lastly,
sight of good food is to the normal -aan;;
directly provocative of appetite. The- ex-
hibition ef any kind of food In .a saopi
window should be forbidden. The "sug
gestion that it makes is dangerous' and"
erroneous. The shopkeeper no longer., rh
quires that kind of lure. . . '
Then there is the suggestion of the tasn-' I
lonable restaurant. The restannt;Prp-ii j
prietors have been vexed with rescinded r j j
orders, and every rescinded order weakens 7f 1
..i. . ... '
authority. They are willing ana'ii no;;
they can be compelled to fall in wtth'aSay,
nf economy, but their boslness'ls
to sell as much as possible for a much aV
tney can gci, wiu is uu muoihv,
The atmosphere of luxury creates luxuri-
ousness. , - - r
Ch61ce el Viands Too Wide.
The cooking Is too good. The choice- of inj
viands is too wide. It is useless for them fj,
to plead that by some conjuring trick'thelrjfq
chefs keep a man within his rations while V
giving him the impression that he has fed " I
without stint.' The whole point isthaj
they have given the man that topressibn '
and sent him away with a disposition . j
toward extravagance. They are out 'of M
tune with the conditions that prevail to-
day- . 'iS-wi'
It would probably surprise the Food Con- J
trol to find how many people could not jC;
repeat their ration table correctly, c An : I .
official statement is always so dull that it
makes a small mental Impression. A;news
paper is read quickly and then discarded. 2
Careful people may cut out a passage to
which they will want to refer., but more
content themsei. with' intending to cut - ,
it out The table of rations should . be v
nrinted in bold type in every daily -paper
three times a week. The remafadef-should
be constant. . . A'.-t'-.-.'i':' ' ..
Too much has been made of the diffl-'J
rultyxnnd consequently of the virtue. 6fv"
keeping within rations.' All the talk of. rr
"srivin:; uo" and "self denial" is dispropor- A
tionate. What is asked of us 1 not self '
denial in the war meaning of the tenn..'.A- '
man leading a sedentary life does . not i
really need as much as he Is allowed. There
may be a little trouble at first from, thi as
sociation of ideas. ' J.'
Associate Heat with Brea&T '' s.'iH
We must from habit associate taieat with'f j
bread, for instance, or porridge with mllk:.'
but meat without bread Is fairly easy., and "1
p-en porridge without milk can be attained nJ
And as a rule it is no hardship to a man to '
leave sugar for women and children; - Food'""
economy is a matter for interesting experi--"
ment, and should .have' been so expounded 15 "j
"from the first .V;.- .
And now we are to join the Leasrue .of il
National. Safety, sign the declaration and
wear the badge, described u af imall
anchor. Perhaps. But in this connection
certain thoughts occur to one. - - . t
The first thought is that the food bog
(who. one may mention incidentally, should -.v
have his mouth sewn up) will probably
wear that badge. -He will think a lying'
declaration an attractive price for a"e0n ?.
slderatfcn to which he Is not entitled. . .
The second thought is that some people '
who have observed the voluntary rations i
would just as, soon wear a badge to show
The third thought Is that these civilian
badges are just a little frequent. Cannot
we think of some ether way of rtt v i
soldiers' laugh? "
1
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775
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