Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/151

UNITED STATES  over in United States naval convoys, escorted by American cruisers and detroyers. Not one eastbound American transport was torpedoed or damaged by enemy submarines, and only three were sunk on the return voyage. In 10 months, the transportation service grew from 10 ships to a fleet of 321 cargo carrying vessels, with a dead-weight tonnage of 2,800,000.

A mine barrage had been laid in the North Sea for which 85,000 mines had been shipped abroad. The work of the destroyers in curbing the submarine menace was declared by the Secretary to have been without a precedent in Allied warfare and had received the most enthusiastic commendation of the Allied naval authorities. The work of the marines in the fighting at Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and many other battle fields has already been described in the foregoing pages.

Statistics of the main accomplishments of America in the two years between April 6, 1917, when war was declared, and April 6, 1919, are here subjoined:

Political Happenings During and After the World War. Congress passed, in 1915, another immigration bill with a literacy test. This was vetoed by the President. The Supreme Court, in June, 1915, decided against the Government in the dissolution suit against the steel trust and declared that the “grandfather clauses” of the Oklahoma and Maryland constitutions were void. The United States in September, 1915, undertook the supervision of the revenues of Haiti. A conference was called in October of that year of South American diplomats to consider the Mexican question. It was decided that Carranza should be recognized, and, on October 19, President Wilson recognized Carranza as heading the de facto Government of Mexico. In February, 1916, as a result of the failure to agree with the President's policy on national defense, Lindley M. Garrison, Secretary of War, resigned, and was succeeded by Newton D. Baker of Ohio. In January, 1915, Francisco Villa, the most powerful of the Mexican revolutionary leaders, killed several American miners and on March 9, with 500 followers, invaded the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing seven troopers and 