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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1917)
THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. CONGRESS VOTES FOR CONSCIPTION BOTH HOUSES OVERWHELMING LY PASS DRAFT MEASURE. MEN TO BE CALLED SEPT. 1 Bodies Differ On Age Limit War De. partment Heads Will Handlo Exemptions Bill to Deport Enemies Soon. Washington, D. C The Unltcil States will raise its army of 'J.OOO,' 000 by selective conscription. - The draft army bill passed both houses of congress shortly before midnight last Saturday, the house by u vote of U07 to 21, and' tlie senate, 81 to S. The vote came after the volunteer system advocates had fought llrecoly against the overwhelming current for the draft. Senators voting against tho bill were : Horah (Idaho), Gore (Okla.), Groti na (N. D.) llardwlck (Ga.), Klrby (Miss.), La Follcttc (Wis.), Thomas (Colo.), and Trammel. In tho house eight republicans, fourteen democrats and London (N. Y.), socialist, and Randall (Cnl.), prohibitionist, voted against the bill. Tlie others voting against In tho house were: Bacon (Mich.), Harnett (Ala.), Church (Cnl.), Clark (Fin.), Clay pool (Ohio), Dill (Wash.), Domlnlck (S. C), Gordon (Ohio). Hayes (Cnl.), Milliard (Colo.), Iluddleston (Ala.), Keating (Colo.), King (111.), La Fol lette (Wash.), Lunden (Minn.), Ma son (111.), Nolan (Cal.), Powers (Ky.), Hears (Fla.), Sherwood (Ohio), Sis sou (Miss). Many details of the draft bill, in cluding exemptions, are up to the war department to decide. Joint conferences must settle dif ferences between tho two measures. Tho senate bill authorizes the Roose velt division which tho house re jected. The senate voted the army and congress dry, while nrmy prohibi tion was thrown out by the house. Tlie senate bill would draft men lK!twecn 21 and 27; the house be tween 21 and 40. Other minor differences pertaining to exemption and tho like will have to he smoothed out. , Sneaker Clark, Minority Lender Kltchin, Representative .Teanctto Ran kin and others who voted ngninst tho Kahn amendment, lined up for the hill. Will Call' Men September 1. The Wnr department announced ofllclnlly that the first 500,000 men witt bo called to tho colors by con scription, about September 1 next. Should the wnr Inst another yenr, two out of every five of America's able-bodied men will bo called out. The war machine will begin forma tion with voluntary registration of men eligible. Stackers will he gone nfter later. Of the 7,000.000 who will register, between 000.000 and 800.000 will ho drawn by tho jury wheel system. After physical, industrial and oth er exemptions are allowed, It Is ex ported 500,000 will remain to be placed in training. Construct New Guns. Tlie second 1.000.000 men raised will be provided with the British En field rifles. It was announced that tho government is constructing two new foreign types of. field pieces. Chairman Webb of the house Ju dciary committee announced that In tho near future n hill will he intro duced In congress providing that all citizens of allied countries, who are of military age, shall be rounded up and turned over to their respective governments. Fear World Famine. Washington. Tho French wnr mis sion has Informed tho American gov eminent that the things France needs most from the United States aro money, food, retlllzers, coal, steel, oil and transportation equipment, especil- ly ships In which to carry goods from tho now to the old world. Ono of tho foremost purposes of tho French mission, It has become known, Is to Impress upon tho American government and people tho serious food situation In Europe. Members of tho economic section of tho mission believe there Is serious danger of a world famine and are pre pared to submit evldenco that all tho world Is seriously threatened with fnmlno because of tho withdrawal of men from ngrlculturo, the lack of fer tilizers and tho derangement of trans portntlon facilities. Russian Generals Replaced. Petrograd. As a result of the visit of War Minister Guckhoft to the southwestern front, twenty-threo gen erals, Including some generals of di visions, have been replaced. On all fronts 114 officers holding headquar ters commands havo been removed. Workmen In munitions factories, who were sent tq the front under orders Issued undor the RomanofT regime for participation in strikes, aro being re cnlled. Gorky, Andrecf nnd other -writers ore doing proDairnndn work. Rolling stock of railroads In Europo Is rapidly bolng worn out through tho lack of lubricants, it Is declared, ami moro rallwny supplies aro urgently needed, Tho growing scarcity of trans portatlon facilities on the seas makci It Imperative, the Fronchmen bellovo, that the United States carry out quickly Its plan for a large lleet of wooden ships to assist In tho struggle ngninst Germnny. Tho mission bellovcs It n fallacy to assume that oven penco would greatly alter food conditions, for thoso now on tho verge of starvation will need great quantities of food before they can produco It themselves. It Is felt that tho seriousness of tho situation Is Increased by the almost universal crop failure. It Is said that the Germans rocently have made extraordinary efforts to send to tho bottom vessels carrying grain to tho allies. Second choice for sinking Is said to bo boats carrying steel and after them the Germans have tried to sink coal-laden ships. U. Boats' Success Alarms. Evidence of growing success for tho ruthless German submarine block- ade has forced the problem of sup plying the entente quickly with food and other necessities sharply Into tho forefront of the wnr program. Aroused by Information brought to this country by the British and French war missions, tho administra tion has set about to launch with Its full force as speedily as possible their campaign to break down tho blocknde. Although detnlls of the steps to bo taken have not been made public. In dications nre that more energetic measures might be expected soon to speed up the work of relieving tho food situation In the entente coun tries. These measures, It wns pre dicted, would be the first to take form ns n result of the international war conferences here. Acceleration of the shipping board's program for n grent fleet of wooden ships to carry foodstuffs Is regarded as certain. Officials nre convinced thnt It Is imperative xc get the ships into the water much sooner thnn had been planned. To Increase the Trans-Atlantic ton nage the board nlso is striving to put tho Gorman nnd Austrlnn ships Into service as quickly as possible, and to transfer to foreign trade many coast wise and Great Lakes steamers. Early aetlon on food control legis lation Is forecasted. Think War Will Last Long. While definite ascendancy over tho German war machine has been estab lished by tho allied forces In Franco. both In personnel and equipment, and eventual victory Is In sight, mnny months of bitter fighting still nre nhend. This Is the view of mllltnry ex perts nttnehed to Franco's war com mission, as gathered by officers of tho American general staff, during In formal conversations nt the wnr de partment. May Need Half Billion Monthly. Preliminary reports to the Treas ury department, upon which Secretnry McAdoo will base his recommenda tions to tho president ns to tho size of tho first bond Issue under tho .$7,000,000,000 wnr flnnnce lnw. Indi cate that tho United States will bo called upon to flnnnce the allies to tho extent of nt least $-100,000,000 and possibly $500,000,000 a month. The tentative program nlso cnlls for the expenditure of virtually every dollar of tho borrowed money In this country for foodstuffs, clothing, rail way equipment nnd other supplies. Government to Aid Farmers. To aid tho farmers of tho nntlon In meeting the food sltuntlon, the gov ernment hns taken steps to throw re sources approximating $100,000,000 Into tho breach. The action was announced by the treasury department that all postal savincs departments would be made available for loans to farmers. No Hope for Entombed Miners. Hastings, Colo. Hope of saving any of the 120 miners entombed In tho Ilnstlngs mine of tho Victor American Fuel Co. hero has been abandoned. Sixty hours after tho explosion only eighteen bodies had been brought out nnd only three moro hnd been located in the mine. One huudred and forty-one orphans and sixty-two wid ows Is ono result of the explosion. In some families ns mnny ns ten children wore left fatherless. Representatives of the state indsutrlul commission and of tho insurance company In which tho company carried employers' lia bility Insurance, have began a sur- vey of tho needs of the dead men's families. Definite figures on tho amount that will be distributed aro not available, but unofficial estimates place It nt between $150,000 nnd $175,000. Tho mine Is badly damaged beyond tho fourth north entry and consider able rock has fallen. Advocates Industrial Army. Sioux City. Ia. Organization of an Industrial nrmy to Increase tho food production of tho United Stntos, which would receive the same recog nition from tho government ns Its ar my forces, wns advocated In a reso. Iiltlon adopted hero nt a conference of food producers from Iowa, South Dakota ryid Nebraska. A n result of the conference the Interstate In creased Production Association of Iowa, Nobraska and South Dakota wns formed. 1 Count Julius Andrassv, former tion of the cabinet. 2 Cannon In Lafayette park, Washington, near the White House, plugged to prevent any chance of their being tired. -Portuguese expeditionary force arriving atllrest, France, to help light the Ger mans. 1- Mrs. Waldo Pierce enlisting Port Washington, L. I. THE PAST WEEK First American Shot in the Great War Destroys a German U-Boat. FIRED BY LINER MONGOLIA Destruction of Shipping by Subma rines Now Threatens England With Food Shortage Great Britain Gets Money From Uncle Sam. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Amerlcu's llrst shot In the war with Germany was tired on April 11). It scored a direct hit and destroyed a German submarine. The shot was llred by the gun crew on tho American liner Mongolia when a U-boat attempt ed to attack that vessel In tho Irish sea. Tho llrst shell smashed tho periscope and after other shells were sent there was an explosion and tho submarine did not rise again. Capt. Emery ltlco of the Mongolia told of tho Incident on arrival In an English port. It Is Interesting to note that the gun that got the U-boat had been named Theo dore Roosevelt by the gunners. Tho destructive work of tho sub marines is causing Increasing anxiety in Great Britain. The latest weekly report of the admiralty shows a much larger number of ships sunk than did any previous report, and on Wednes day Lord Davenport, the British fond controller, solemnly warned the Brit ish public that severe privations Menaced the nation before the next harvest was reached. This aroused the London press to gloomy comment, the burden of which was that tho sub marine blockade was the most serious feature of the war now and that If Great Britain was to be saved from starvation and possible defeat some thing must bo done mighty soon to counteract it. This something, ob viously, Is the turning out from tho shipyards of a vast and continuous stream of tonnage, but though many ships are being built, tho shortngo of skilled labor renders It Impossible to construct anywhere near the number required. The great British navy Is powerless to relieve the sltuntlon. No one over there seems nblo to suggest any solution of the problem except to be careful of the food supply und pre pare for the worst. The food question Is serious else where. It was responsible In largo part for tho strikes In Germany and Is the chief cause of demonstrations that are alarming the Swedish gov ernment. In Franco mentless dinners except Sundays and holidays began Wednesday, and already in the United States tho hotels and clubs aro cut ting down their menus. j Plans for larger crops and moro farm labor In Amcrlcn were carried nearer to completion during tho pnst week. Ono notable Incident was tho departure of 000 students of tho agri cultural college of the University o"f Illinois to help raise Canada's wheat crop. They are to be well paid and the Dominion government will give to each of them a homestead of 1C0 acres. On a moment's thought such a move ment ns this must win npprnvnl, for n bumper crop In Cannda will do tho civilized world as much good as ono In the United States, and the Do minion has been depleted of labor. Great Britain Gets First Loan. Speedy work Is being done In tho way of supplying the Immedlato needs of the allies of tho United States. In the first conferences with the commis sioners from England and France the government was told that tho most urgent of theso needs were money, ships and food. It was agreed that tho llrst allotment of the $.,00(),0OO.0O0 loan would go to Great Britain, ami on Wednesdny Secretnry of the Treasury McAdoo handed to tho British umlms sudor a treasury warrant for $200,000,- 000. ArrnngoinontH for disposing of the immense bond Issue are practical Hungarian premier, who organized a students of Columbia college In the ly completed and France and Italy nnd Russia will get their share soon. Most f the money, It Is understood, will be expended in the United States. The commissioners agreed that, next to supplying money, America could give tho best help by continuing to furnish food and by llndlng tho ves sels for Its transport to Europe, and they were pleased with tho plans for building a great lleet of wooden ships. General JolTre, however, expressed the hope that In tho near future a largo contingent of American troops would be on the lighting line under the Stars and Stripes, holding that tho moral ofTect of that would bo tremendous. All of tho commissioners concurred In tho statement that they were hero not to attempt to dictate to our gov ernment, but to advise nnd usslst It to the best of their ability and with their wealth of experience. President Wilson, in n conference with Mr. Bnlfour, voluntnrlly gavo as surances thnt the United Stntes will light until It achieves victory, and thereupon tho head of the British mis sion declared that the entente allies would seek no treaty of alliance, no signature of the entente pledge not to make a separate pence with Germnny. Germans Resist Desperately. "This Is. the last and deciding push, for we soon shall bo able to hold out no longer" rends the dlury of a Ger man officer who was captured last Monday, and that seems to be the opinion of the German commander in chief, judging by tho desperate opposl tlon he Is putting up against the drlyo of the allies In northern France. Re sumlng their part of the offcnslvo at the beginning of tho week, the British have ninde considerable progress, es peclally along tho roads from Arras und Bapaunio to Cnmhrni. In the semi open lighting their heavy howitzers were of little use, but their Held guns nnd machine guns were handled with wonderful skill and rapidity and tho Germans suffered enormously. Von Illndenburg threw his reserves Into the battle with n prodigality that as tonlshed his adversaries, and the Teu tons gave ground slowly and made re peated and fierce counter-attacks which, however, were of little avail and left the ground covered with their slain. The German line, thanks to the astounding numbers of men Von Illndenburg has been able to bring up, is still unbroken, but it Is badly bat tered and Is being pushed back fur ther and further toward the frontier, The superiority of tho British In tho air was demonstrated on Monday In tlie most spectacular manner. Tho mon of the Royal Flying corps met tho nlr squadrons of the Germans at an altitude of 15,000 feet and put them to rout, destroying -10 of their air planes, with the loss of hut two of their own machines. Tho young Brit lsh pilots then carried out a series of daring bombing raids. The French devoted much of tho week to destructive artillery fire In preparation fpr their next part In the "see-saw" that Is being carried on with such skillful co-operation by Hnlg ant Mvclle, and by Thursday their infan try was again In action. On the Italian, Macedonian nnd Rou manian fronts little of moment has taken plnce. In Mesopotamia tho British nre still ndvnnclng, but the ex pedition from Egypt thnt Is moving up through Palestine has found the re enforced Turkish forces holding a strongly Intrenched position extending from Gaza toward Beersheba. Portu gal, having decided to tako a moro active part In the conflict In Europe, has sent a largo contingent of troops to northern France. There hns been some stirring activ ity recently In tho neighborhood of tho Straits of Dover. Two British de stroyers encountered a flotilla of six German destroyers and after a furious combat put tho foe to rout. Tho Gcr- mnn bonts were rammed and torpe doed and ruked by gunfire nnd at least two of them were sunk. Tho British vessels suffered severely but were ublo to return to port. Wednesday morning a German de stroyer flotilla bombarded Dunkirk but was driven off by tho coast bat terlos and tho allied patrol bonts. Ono French torpedo bont wns sunk. Russian Situation Dangerous, Tho courso of events In Russia Is being wntched with renewed anxiety. ' ' coalition party and caused the resigna aviation corps sue is organizing at I Die Gerninu und Austrian Socialist peace propagandists have tnken from one of President Wilson's addresses tho phrnse of "a pence without vic tory" and aro using It with some ef fect. The (Ilium and the delegates rcp- cscntlng thu various classes in tho councils are us linn as ever against oucludlng a separate peace, intt they do not' Hud the masses of uniformed people easy to control. Germany Is reported to have started the expected movement to cut off Petrograd from the army, a large naval and military expedition having left Lilian, presum ably for Permit! or Reval, and at such an inopportune time a groat many Russian soldiers are deserting. These deserters are peasant soldiers who aro hastening to their homes In fear that there will be a distribution of lands of which, In their absence, they will not get their share. The old agrarian trouble is coming to a head and despite the assurances of the authorities that It cannot be settled until the const! tuent assembly acts, the nensnnts aro In many localities taking the matter Into their own hands. As for the threutcned German of fensive, the lenders of the new Rus shin government assert that It will bo a good thing for Russia oven if tho enemy should occupy Potrogrnd, for It will unite the nation In determlnn tlon to fight the war to the finish and nullify the efforts of the Teuton So cialists. The Russian Baltic lleet and army sent n wireless messngo to ths allied lteets saying tney were in com pleto readiness to defend free Russia President Wilson has selected tho Members of u commission that will visit Russia to pay this nation's re spects to the now government, and Ellhu Root has consented to bo Its chairman. The other members will bo Edwnrd T. Hurley, Dunlei Wlllnrd and Oscar S. Straus. Spain Warns the Kaiser. On Tuesday Spain sent to Germany u note concerning submarine warfare, with the warning that Spanish pa tience was nearly exhausted. The Imperial government consented to n parley for the "mitigation of the dtlll cultles which have arisen In Spain.' King Alfonso has tried diligently to preserve ifeutrallty, hut It seems as If his efforts wcro doomed to failure. 'I'lit-lrnv linvltm uovor.ut ,1ll,,.,.Ho ... ....... ....... relations with the United States, the representatives of the two nations started for home. Reports that came from Europe dur ing the week told of n revival of thu attempts to oust Bethninnu-llollweg from power because of his support of tho plans of thu Socialist Scheldcmann for a penco without annexation and Indemnities. Thu pan-Germans, con servatives and liberals all aro oppos ing the chancellor In this. But Ger many's foes should not count too much on such demonstrations, any more than on the strikes there, for there Is no reason to believe any of them por tend the overthrow of Prussian autoc racy the one thing, probably, that can bring tho war to an early con clusion. Mayor Thompson of Chicago suc ceeded on Thursday in attracting some attention to himself. He Issued n printed statement on tho food short age In which he attacked conscription, argued for a ban on food exports and assailed the wur policies of the admin istration. Tho same day ho evinced a disinclination to extend to Marshal .Toffre and the French mission an in vitation to visit Chicago, saying he thought some of tho people "might not be wildly enthusiastic about It." Mayor Thompson Is overly careful about tho stability of his Teutonic political fences, for Chicago is decidedly en thusiastic over tho proposed visit by the French commissioners and will glvo them n splendid welcome. Plans for the event are being made, tho mayor being Ignored. The Wisconsin senate gavo a lesson to disloyal citizens by expelling from membership Senator Frank Raguso of Milwaukee, u Socialist, for refusal to retract alleged disloyal statements made by him on the floor of the senate. , At tho hour of writing It appears ccrtuln that tho government selectlvo couscrlptlou bill will bo passed by both bonnes of congress. Agreements were secured in both senate and houso thnt assured n voto not later thun midnight Saturday. LECTURE ON JOURNALISM. "See here," snapped the city editor jto the cub reporter, "you've crammed ,thls obituary notlco full of llowery ,coniplInients." "But I thought" "This man didn't die in Jail, did ho?' "No, sir." "lie was not killed while trying to rob a safe?" "No, nlr." "Ami ho wasn't shot down In a run ning battle with the police?" "Of courso not, sir." "Well, when a citizen dies a natural ilenth In bed, surrounded by his weep ing relatives, the public takes It for granted that ho had his good points." Nothing But the Truth. "Yes," said Stormlngton Barnes, "wq did well In the West. At a one-night stand in Arizona we played to a $10 000 house." "Say, what are you giving mo?" queried Walker Tlea. "Facts," answered the grent and Jfoot-soro tragedian. "The ono mnn who comprised the uudlenco wns said to he worth fully that amount." How She Felt. Mrs. lllgglns And so you hnvo bo- .cured your divorce, I hear? Mrs. Wiggins Yes, I'm glnd to Baj that I have. Mrs. lllgglns How did you feel when you heard tho Judge's decision? Mrs. Wiggins Well, I felt sort o unmanned, as It were. BIRD, BEAST OR FI8H? "He's a beast." "Ho certainly la a bird." "Well, at least ho is a queer Ash." Ah, Yes. friio wtucHt man nomotlmos robels , At Strict COnvOIIllon-nnu BOIS pilUBIIl, ,,, , font ah fnnnv ilwnllH Behind a cumsio ttomo of thought. Heartless Hortense. "Yes, I've had a dozen men at my cot during tho seastvi Just past." "Chiropodists and shoo clerks, I sup pose." Strict Thrift "Did that taciturn old miser do any thing nt the chnrlty bnzar?" "No, ho spoilt nothing; not even his; lircnth." As the Wind Blows. Heinle Breezely has retired from Uie prize ring for keeps. Omar So? witnt's no doing now Heinle Filling nutomobllo tires. Ohl "He Is very loose In his hnblts." "Whnddye mean, loose in his hub ts?" "He gets tight." The Condition. "I wonder If 1 could touch Guy foif a fiver?" "Not If bo's a wlso Guy." Easily Answered. "Pa, what Is Easy street?" "It leads off Hard Work avenue, inyi Bon." At the Club. "lias old Millions much of a famlly?"i "Numerous but not much 1" ReallBtlc Story. "Havo you revlowed that now book entitled 'The Editor's Purse'?" usked the critic's other hnlf. "I merely glnnced through It," re-, piled the masculine end of tho sketch, "There's absolutely nothing In It." Fitness of Things. "i suppose,' reiiiariieu me incuu ot 4lm tmtttli, .i-iw,t.ifl Imuliiiiifl ''Mid tiaiinl jHhower of rlco fell ns you entered tho nrrlnge." "No, It rained beans," ho replied. "I married n Boston girl, you know." ' ' 4