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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1917)
THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. PRESDENT SIG DRAFF MEASURE; I Division Under Command of Major General Pershing. REGULARS FIRST TO FRANCE Executive Sets June 5 as the Date of Registration for All Men Between the Ages of 21 and 31 Re jects Roosevelt Volunteer ' Army Declares It Would Interfere With Present , Planz. Washington, May 21. Flatly reject ing that section of the measure which would permit Colonel Roosevelt to or gnulzo volunteer divisions, President Wilson signed the conscription hill. The president signed the army hill Just after dinner at 8 p. in. on Friday, without formality, and set June fi as the date of registration for all men be tween the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one for military service. President Issues Proclamation. President Wilson's proclamation, put ting Into effect the selective draft pro vision of the war army bill, signed last Sight, followH In part: "A proclamation by the president of the United States: "Whereas, Congress has enacted and the president has on the 18th day of May, one thousand nine hundred and fioventeeen, approved a law which con tains the following provisions: "Section C. That all male persons be tween the ages of twenty-ono and thirty, both Inclusive, shall be subject to registration In accordance with reg ulations to bo prescribed by the presi dent; and upon proclamation by the president or other public notice given by 1dm or by his direction, stating the tltno and placo of such registration, It shall ho tlio duty of all persons of the designated ages, except olllcers and en listed men of the regtdar army, the nnvy and the National Guard and naval militia whllo In the service of the United States, to present themselves for and submit to registration under the provisions of this act, nnd every such person shall bo deemed to have notice of the requirements of this act upon tho publication of said proclama tion or other notice as aforesaid given by the president or by Ids direction; nnd any person who shall willfully fall or refuse to present himself for regis tration or to submit thereto as herein provided, shall bo guilty of a misde meanor and shall, upon conviction in tho district court of the United States having Jurisdiction thereof, lie pun ished by Imprisonment for not moro than one yenr, and shall thereupon bo duly registered; provided, that In tho call of tho docket precedence shall bo given, In courts trying the samo, to tho trial of criminal proceedings under this net: Provided further, tlmt per sons shall bo subject to registration as herein provided who shall have at tained their twenty-first birthday and who Rhnll not have attained their thlry flrst birthday on or before tho day set for registration, and all persons so reg istered shall bo and remain subject to draft Into tho forces hereby authorized, unless exempted or excused therefrom as In this act provided. Registration on Juno 6. "Now, thurefore, I Woodrow Wilson, president of tho United States, do call upon tho governor of ench of tho sev eral states and territories, the board of commissioners of tho District of Columbia and all olllcers and agents of the sevoral states and territories, of tho District of Columbia and of tho counties and municipalities there in to ncrform certain duties in tho execution of tho foregoing law, which duties will be communicated to them directly In regulations of uved date herewith, "And 1 do further proclaim and glvo notice to all persons subject to regis trntlou In tho several states and In tho District of Columbia In accord mice with the above law that the time and place of such registration shall he betwoeu 7 a. m. and 0 p. m. on the fith day of June, 11)17, ut the regis tratlon place In the precinct wherein they have their permanent homes. Those who shall have attained their twenty-first birthday and who shall not have uttalned their thirty-first birthday on or before the day here named aro required to register, ox ceptlng only olllcers ami enlisted men of the regular army, the navy, tho marine corps and tho National Guard and naval mllltla while In the service1 of tho United States, and olllcers In tho olllcers' roservo corps and enlisted men In the enlisted reserve corps whllo In active service In tho terrl torles of Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Ulco a day for registration will bo named in u later proclamation. All Must Co-Operate. "Tho power against which wo ure arrayed has sought to Imposo its will upon tho world by force. To this end It nns Increased armament until It lias changed the face of war, In tho nenso In which we hnvo been wont to think of armies there ure no armies In this struggle. There are entire nn Hons armed. Thus, the men who re main to till the soil and man the fac' torles are no less u part of the nrmy ROOPS TO FRONT i lint Is In France than the men benenth the battle lings. It must be so with i. It Is not nn army that we must hape and train for war; It Is a nn Ion. To this end our people must Irnw close In one compact front gainst n common foe. Hut this can not be If each man pursues a private impose. All must pursue one pur pose. "The nntlon needs all men. but It needs each man, not In the field that will moat pleasure him, but In the en leavor that will best serve thu com mon good. "It is In no sense a conscription of the unwilling It Is rather selection from a nation which hns volunteered In mass. "The day here named Is the time ipon which all shall present them selves for alignment to their tasks. "It Is essential that the day be ap proached In thoughtful apprehension f Its significance and that we accord to It the honor and tin1 meaning that It deserves. Our Industrial need pre scribes that It be not made a tcehnl cal holiday, but the stern sacrifice that Is before us urges that It be carried In all our hearts as a great lay of patriotic devotion and obliga tion when the duty shall He upon ev- ry man, whether he Is himself to be registered or not, to see to It that the name of every male person of tho leslgnated ages Is written on these lists of honor. "By the president: "ROBERT LANSING, "Secretary of State." President Wilson directed that an expeditionary force of approximately a division of regular troops, under command of MaJ. Gen. John .1. Persh ing, proceed to France at as early a date as practicable. General Pershing and staff will precede tho troops. A division contains approximately 28,000 men. It Is understood that at least 20,000 will be Infantry. The war bill was carefully gone over during the day by Brigadier General Crowder, Judge advocate general nnd provost marshal general. It was announced that nil existing regiments of the guard will bo called Into service by August G, nnd officials estimate that with from n month to six weeks' Intensive trnlnlng these troops will bo ready to go forward for final preparation behind the fighting lines In Europe for the fighting that Is before them. After the army bill had been per fected In both houses of congress nnd sent to President Wilson for signa ture the senate adopted an amendment to tho war budget bill to put conscrlp tlou out of forco four months ufter tho end of tho war. President's Statement. Tho president Issued the following statement at the White House: "I shall not avail myself, at any rate, at tho present stage of tho war, of tho authorization conferred by the net to orgnnlzo volunteer divisions. "To do so would seriously Interfere with the carrying out of tho chief nnd most Immediately important purposo contemplated by tills legislation: 'The prompt creation and early uso of an effectlyo army would contribute practically nothing to the effective strength of the armies now engaged against Germany. "I understand that the section of this act which authorizes the creation of volunteer divisions In addition to tho draft was added with a view to providing an Independent command for Mr. Hoosevelt nnd giving the military authorities an opportunity to uso Ids fine vigor and enthusiasm recruiting tho forces now at the western front. "It would bo very agreeable to mo to pay Mr. Hoosevelt this compliment and the allies the compliment of sending to tholr aid one of our most distin guished public men, an ox-prcsldent, who has rendered many conspicuous public services nnd proved his gallant try In many striking ways. "Politically, too, It would no doubt hnvo a very Hno effect and make a profound Impression. Hut this la not tho time or the occasion for compli ments or for any action not calculated to contribute to tho Immediate success of tho war. Seeks Advtco From Both Sides. "Tho business now in hand Is un- dramatic, .practical and of scientific dctlnltcness and precision. "I shall act with regard to It at overy step and In every particular un der expert nnd profession advice, from both sides of the water. Says He Is Responsible. . "He named many of those whom ho desired to have designated for tho Borvlco und they were men who cannot possibly bo spared from tho too small foreo of olllcers at our command for the much more pressing and necessary duties of training regular troops to be put Into tho field In Franco and Bel glum as fast as thoy can be got ready. "Tho first troops sent to Franco will be taken from the present force of tho regular army and will bo under tho command of trained soldiers only. "Tho responsibility for tho success ful conduct of our pnrt In thin greut war rests upon me. I could not escapo It If I would, I am too much Inter ested In tho cause we aro lighting for to bo interested In anything but suc cess. "Tho Issues Involved are too Ini mouse for me to tako into consldcra tlou anything whatever except tho best, most effective, most Immedlnto means of mllltnry action. What theso means are I know from tho mouths of men who have seen war ns it is con ducted, who have no Illusions and to whom the wholo grim matter Is a mat ter of business. 1 shall center my attention upon those matters and let everything elso wait. I should bo deep ly to blame should I do otherwise, whatever the argument of policy or of personal gratification of advantage." 1 Elmer A. Sperry, noted Inventor, submarines. 2 The military port of sent to France, a One of the new rafts taken from the seized Germnn steamer Cincinnati about to be put on the NEWS REVIEW OF THE PAST WEEK American Destroyers Already Are Taking Part in the War on German Submarines. FIRST TROOPS GOING SOON President Orders Division Under Pershing Sent to France at Once Draft Registration Set for June 5 Hollweg Refuses to Discuss Terms Russian Crisis Over. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Tho American navy Is represented In the war zone, and nn American war ship has had a fight with a German submarine. So much wns revealed on Wednes day by tho Hrltlsh admiralty, which announced tho presenco In British wa ters of n squadron of American de stroyers. It mentioned the "brush" with tho submarine, but did not tell the result. Both the Hrltlsh and the American naval authorities maintain n policy of sllenco concerning the enp turo or destruction of U-bonts. The destroyers, which nro under the general command of Hear Admiral W. Sims, arrived at Queenstown und wcro inspected by n British ofilcer, who asked tho American commander when ho could bo ready for business. "Wo can start at once," replied the American, and they did. Thcro Is reason to believe some of theso destroyers took part In tho re cent big raid on the German subma rine base at Zcebrugge. Tho American vessels and their crows were given tin enthusiastic wel como at Queenstown, nnd Vice Admiral Beatty and Admiral Mayo exchanged congratulatory cablegrams. Pershing to Lead First Force. Friday evening. President Wilson Is sued orders for tho dispatch to France ti tho first American expeditionary force. It will be nbout one division of 28,000 men, nil veterans of the n'gu lar army, and will be commanded by MaJ. Gen. .T. J. Pershing. This force will bo sent across ns soon ns is pruc tlcable, In responso to the nppenls of tho Hrltlsh and French war missions. The army conscription bill, having been accopted by both houso and sen ate, was signed by the president, hut he announced that for tho present, nt least, he would not accept the Hoose velt volunteer divisions. In a public statement he handed some bouquets to Colonel Hoosevelt, but said that "the business now in hand Is undramatlc, practical and of scientific detlnitencss and precision," he was acting under ex pert and professional advice from both sides of tho water. The president nlso Issued a proclamation calling on nil men subject to selectlvo conscription to register on Juno 5. .In pun also began inning an active pnrt In the warfare in Europe last week. A number of Japanese gun boats arrived at Marseille to aid In tho fight on submarines and to convoy French merchantmen, nnd It was un ofilclally stated that a contingent of Japanoso troops was landed nt the sumo port and would fight on the west front alongside the Husslnn division that has boon thero for somo time. Building Up Our Armies. With no Illusions ns to tho serious ncss of tho task confronting It, tho administration is proceeding steadily In Its preparation for tho part tho United Stntes Is to piny In the war. President Wilson has ordered tho roc ulnr army brought up to full war strength, nnd nil tho machinery for raising tno great selective draft army Is ready. All owr tho country the training camps for olllcers were opeued at the beginning of tho week mm umuMmuiM oi emcient young Americans nro iiclng drilled In tho du tlos of commanding olllcers. The snlo of "Liberty" bonds In denominations ns low as $50 Is in full swing. To pro vide for the country's own expenses as u belligerent, tho impropriations com who has submitted to the naval authorities n device calculated to destroy Hrest, which Is likely to be the port of entry for tho American troops that are policemen of Petrograd about to examine tho papers of a pedestrian. 4 Life mittee submitted to the senate the greatest war budget In the history of the nation, the total being nearly 100.000.000. All the week the house debated the war revenue bill. Aggravated by criticisms or con rcss for Its alleged dllatorlness In the mutter of war legislation, many sena tors on Wednesday bitterly nttneked the war policies of the government. Their especlnl targets were Secretary of War Baker, the advisory commis sion of the Council qf National De fense, the car efficiency committee of tho Amerlcnn Railway association, pro posal of n food dictatorship and plans for fixing maximum und minimum prices. The outbursts of the senators showed they wore speaking In large measure In behalf of the business con cerns of their respective localities who. they nsserted, had had no chance to get government contracts. Trading In Futures Stopped. Food supply mutters in America moved rapidly toward n crisis last week. Actuated presumably by the Investigations of the government Into gambling In foodstuffs, and by the tre mendous rise In tho price of wheat, the Chicago board of trade and the grain exchanges of sovcrnl other mid dle West cities put a stop to trading In futures. Wheat and Hour prices fell promptly nnd decisively. Tho gov ernment gathered tho necessary data for prosecution of the wheat gamblers, and then got nfter the butter nnd egg men. Tho government iilso came to tho conclusion Hint the exorbitant prices of wheat and flour were due In pnrt to the gigantic wheat buying op erations of Great Britain and France, und asked them to dispose of their im mense holdings of grain for future de livery. This tho allies agreed to do. nnd they nlso agreed to co-operate with tho United Stntes In n pooling system to npportlonnto exports. All In a position to know scout the Idea that thero will be an insufficiency of food In tills country. Tho problem is to regulate the distribution nnd tho exports. Hollweg Won't Talk of Terms. The Imperlnl rulers of Germany aro not yet holding out an nvallablo perch upon which tho dovo of pence might alight. Stubbornly resisting the prod ding of both tho pan-Germans nnd tho Soclnllsts, the chancellor, Doctor Uoll wcg, on Tuesdny told the relchstag and tho world thnt tho time was not fitting for a statement of Germnny's war alms or peace terms. Tho mill tary situation of the central powers, ho declared, wns satisfactory, nnd ho Intlmuted tiint they were ready to grunt liberal terms to Hussln, If that strug gling nntlon desired to get out of tho conflict. But ho asserted thero was no reiiBon to bellevo England and Frnnco would at present listen to any proposi tions from Germany, and to make any would bo construed by them ns an evi dence of weakening. On tho whole, the chancellor's speech wns bold and defiant, and his position docs not seem to be weakened, despite the continued attacks on him. The most startling of theso attacks last week was mndo by Georg Ledcbour, Socialist leader, who warned the relchstag that events must happen In Germany ns thoy havo In Russia and that the people must soon Introduce n republic In Germany. Though such sentiments nro support ed by mnny, It Is likely the mass of opinion In the empire Is better repre sented by Herr Roeslcke, president of tho German Fnrmers union, who de nounced the Socialist alms ns sinister and antl-nntlonnl, and as tending to n prolongation of tho war since, as he declared, tho entonto based their hopes on German disunion. "President Wilson," Herr Roeslcke continued, "wants no pence with the Ilohenzollcms, but the monarchy Is too deeply rooted In German hearts for the malignity of the ontento or of President Wilson to be capable of de stroying It" Developments In Russia. After much travail tho Russians niannged to settle the crisis In that country by the formntlon of a coalition cabinet In which nil elements, Includ ing the workmen, tho soldiers nnd even tho peasants, aro represented. Prince Lvoff, tho premier, then announced that for the first time they had a gov ernment that would combine both moral authority nnd matcrlnl power. The peace - wltliout - nnnoxntlons - or - ln - demnltles factions still ndhere to that toiicy, uui an seem agreeu mat tlio U. S. destroyer Jenklni. war must bo cnrrlcd on vigorously und faith kept with the country's allies. Professor Mllukoff was forced to quit the cabinet and wns succeeded as for eign minister by Tereschtenko, whllo Kerensky. who was minister of justice, beenmo minister of war and mnrlne. Generals Brusslloff and Gurko and other commanders who had resigned, were persuaded to withdraw their res ignations, and turned tholr energies to ward stopping the disintegration of tho armies. All this sounds encouraging, and It may be Hussln can be held firm to her pledges. If not, It means merely tho prolongation of tho war aud the de ferring of the certain ultimate result the defeat of the central powers. Tho United States began giving con crete nld to Russia on Wednesday, when Secretnry McAdoo gave to Its charge d'affaires $100,000,000 of the allied loan, with the specification that the money bo spent In this country under tho supervision of the treasury department. The American mission to Russia, headed by Mr. Root, was given Its Instructions, but It cannot reach Petrograd for about two months. Belgium got n share of the loan when Mr. McAdoo handed Its repre sentatives n credit for $45,000,000. Italian Offensive Begun. With the passing of winter condi tions Italy began a vigorous offensive on Monday, attacking tho Austrlnns along the entire Isonzo front. Tho enemy fought back sturdily, but wus forced to give ground In the region of Plava, north of Gorltz. In this Italy Is only anticipating a grand nssnult which the Austrlans had been prepar ing to make. The fighting continued throughout the week with varying for tunes, the Italians slowly pushing their way toward Trieste, their ob jective. Released temporarily from the ne cessity of gunrdlng strongly tho enst ern front, Germany brought from thero to Franco a lnrge number of comparatively fresh troops and threw them Into the struggle against the British and French. General nalg's men nro now confronting grenter en emy forces thnn ut any time In tho pnst, but before the week ended they were in full possession of Bullecourt, tho village for which the Germnns fought so desperntely because it pro tected Quennt, the southern end of un Important lino of defenses. On tho French front the most violent fighting wns about Laffaux mill, a posi tion even more Important than Bulle court. Again and ngnln tho Germans mndo desperate attempts to regain this ground, but the French repulsed them with terrific losses. Mnny burning villages behind tho German front north and south of St. Quentln Indicated nn Intention of tho Germans to carry out a further re tirement. St. Quentln Itself hns been burning for somo time. General Petaln on Tuesdny was ap pointed conimnndor In chief of the French nrmles in Frnnco, General Nl vello was given command of a group of nrmles, nnd General Foch became chief of staff of the wnr ministry. Pc tnln gained fume und high popularity by his defense of Verdun. In Great Britain, too. there wns n shnko-up, a general staff for tho navy being formed In response to the at tacks on tho ndmlrnlty. Admiral Jel Uco heads tho staff. A gratifying decrease In the number of vessels sunk by submarines, wns reported by the British admiralty. Whether this Is duo to the Increasing uttneks on Zcebrugge by sea and air, or to the recent destructive fire nt the Wllhelnishnven wharves, or to tho largo number of U-boats caught In tho British nets reported to bo between SO nnd 100 Is not known outside of Germnny. One more nation was added to tho long list of tho knlser's declnrod ene mies Inst week, when Honduras sev. ered diplomatic relations with Ger mnny. Spain remained neutral, but barely so. Premier Lloyd Gcorgo offered John Redmond Immedlnto homo rule for Ireland, excluding northwest Ulster, or n plan for nn Irish convention to arrango a plan. Redmond nccepted tno inner suggestion. Tho United Stntos lost ono of Its most distinguished nnd honorod cltl- 1 zens In the sudden dentil of Joseph II. Chontc. eminent lawyer nnd former ambassador to Great Britain. OF NATION'S BREADSTUFFS TO BE HANDLED BY HOOVER. WILSON URGES GQ-OPERATIQH Both Producer and Consumer Directly Appealed to. Commission to Servo Without Compensation. Washington. President Wilson has appointed Herbert Hoover "food ad ministrator" of the gooriiment. Mr. Hoover nccepted the nosltlon, "on condition that he Is to receive no payment for his services und that tlio force under him, exclusive of clerical assistance, shall bo employed so fur as possible upon tho same volunteer bnslK." "The proposed food administration,' tho president says, "Is intended only to meet u manifest emergency and to contlnuo only while the wur lasts. "blnco it will be composed for tho most part of volunteers, there need be no fear of the posslbntty of a per manent bureaucracy nrlsing out of ti. "All control of consumption wilt disappear when the emergency lias passed." Tho president urges that nil asso ciations of producers and distributers of foodstuffs mobilize and volunteer In tho work of co-operntlon necessary. With Hoover's appointment as de finite policy of food conservutlon Is expected to take form Inimcdlntely. Tho president has urged prompt ac tion by congress on the food control legislation ho has drawn. Tho nttltudo of tho government on the embargo question is coming to light. Steps will be tnken to prevent supplying food to Germany through tho Scandinavian countries and Hol land. T. R. Releases Recruits. Oyster Bay, N.- Y. Colonel Thco doro Roosevelt Issued a statement de claring that all men who had volun teered to serve with him under tho American Hag In France had been ab solved from nil further connection with tho movement nnd that the only courso open to them now Is to enter tho military service in some other way if they arc able to do so, nnd, If not, to serve the country In civil life. Revolt Nipped in the Bud. Dallus, Texas. An united uprising ngainst selective nnny service in west Texas has been halted by United States authorities. As u result of tho MANAGER FOODS unveiling of tlio conspiracy believed 4 to havo been financed bv Germans a number of arrests have been made. 40,000 in Overseas Force. Wnshlngton. All three nrms of America's fighting forces, the nrmy, navy and murine corps, soon will bo represented in tlio wnr zones. A reg iment of marines hns been ordered to join tho expeditionary force and round out the nation's representation In the field. The mnrines will be nttached to the army division under General Pershing, which is under orders to proceed nbroad as soon ns practi cable. Although details are not being made public, It was calculated that with the marine regiment, the total American force now designated for land service In Europe Is close to-40,000 Scheme to Divide Europe. Washington Germany's next pence declaration, expected to suggest 11 program of territorial renunelntion on the enst nnd tho west. Is regarded r here as largely answered beforehand: by Information revenllng for the first time the full scope of the Imperial government's nsplrntlons for con quest In tho south. This Information discloses as one of tho primnry alms of tho war n plnn for consolldatlna of nn lmpregnnblo mllltnry and eco nomic unit stretching from the North Sea to tho Mediterranean, cutting Europe permanently In hnlf. con trolling the Dardanelles, the Aegean nnd the Baltic, nnd eventunlly form ing tho bnckbono of n Prussian world empire. In tho light of Germnn his tory the plan shows how Implicitly the kaiser has followed out the blood nnd Iron politico-economic methods of Blsmnrck for development of Prussian world-power. How minutely defined Is tho Gorman plan and how A nccurntely it Is being carried out hnvo become fully apparent only with the opening up. during the Inst few weeks, of several new nvenuos of In formation, which havo supplied tho explanation to the American govern ment of more than one hitherto ob scured feature of tlio Germnn policy. Japan to Aid Allies. Wnshlngton. Probably the most Important news from Europe is tho nnnouncement that Japan Is going to tnko nn active part In the gnat struggle. A Japanese naval forco hns arrived at Marseilles to join the campaign ngainst tho German sub marines, ospeclully. nccordlng to dls patches, with the purposo of protect ing French shipping. Tills unhernid-' ed action by tho allies' Orlontnl part nor raised both political ami nillitnii questions of supremo Interest.
