I
OUTSIDE PALE
OF HUMANITY
Frightfulness Taught by German
Leaders Belongs to Age of
Barbarism.
SOLEMN PLEDGE MERE WORDS
Kaiser's Statesmen Had No Intention
of Keeping Faith With Their
Agreement on International Law
Horrors Told by Diaries.
In giving to the American people
the knowledge of German inhuman
ity in bclgium, says a pamphlet is
sued by the committee on public in
formation, the evidence is drawn
mainly from German and American
sources. The German sources in
clude official proclamations and
ether official utterances, letters and
diaries of German soldiers, and quo
tations from German newspapers.
The "Rules for Field Service" of the
German army advises each soldier
to keep such a diary while on active
tervice.
In the wars waged In ancient times
It was taken for granted that con
quered peoples might bo cither killed,
tortured, or held ns slaves; that their
property would be tnken and that their
lands would bo devastated, "Vno vie
tlB I woo to the conquered l" For two
centuries or moro there has been a
steady advance In Introducing Idens of
humanity and especially In confining
the evils of warfare to the combatants.
The Ideal seemed to havo becomo so
thoroughly established as n part of In
ternationa) law that tho powers at The
Hague thought It sulllclent merely to
state the general principles In Article
XLVI of tho regulations: "Family hon
ors and rights, tho lives of persons
and private property, as well as re
ligious convictions and practice, must
be respected. Prlvnto property cannot
bo confiscated." Germany, In common
with tho other powers, solemnly
pledged her faith to keep this article,
but her military leaders had no Inten
tion of doing so. They had been
trained In tho Ideas, voiced by Gen. von
Hartmann 40 years ago: "Terrorism
Is seen to bo a relatively gcntlo pro
cedure, useful to keep the masses of
the people In a state of obedience."
This had bccn Bismarck's policy, too.
According to Morltz Busch, Blsmurk's
biographer, Bismarck, exasperated by
the French resistance, which was still
continuing In Junuury, 1871, said:
"If In the territory which wo occupy,
we cannot snpply everything for our
troops, from time to tlmo wo shall send
a flying column Into tho localities
which nro recalcitrant. Wo shall shoot,
hang and burn. After that has hap
pened a few times, the Inhabitants will
finally come to their senses."
Horrors Told In 8oldlers' Diaries,
The frightfulness taught by tho Ger
man leaders held full sway In Belgium.
This Is best seen In tho entries in tho
diaries of tho Individual German sol
dlers.
"During tho night of August 15-10
Engineer Gr gave tho alarm In tho
town of Vise. Every ono was shot or
taken prisoner, and tho houses were
burnt. Tho prisoners vero made to
march and keep up with tho troops."
(From tho dlnry of noncommissioned
ofllcer Iletnhold Kochn of tho Second
battalion of engineers, Third army
corps.)
v. "A horrlblo bath of blood. The whole
Tillage burnt, tho French thrown Into
the blaring houses, civilians with the
rest." (From tho' diary of Private
Hasscmcr of tho Eighth army corps.)
"In tho nlcht of Auinist lR.ln Mm vii
Inge of Salnt-Maurlco was punished
for having fired on German snlillnrit tv
being burnt to tho ground by the Ger-
nan troops (two regiments, the
Twelfth lnndwchr nnd tho Seven
tecnth.) Tho village was surrounded,
teen posted about a yard from ono tin
ather, so that no ono could get out.
Then tho Uhlans set fire to It. houso
ky bouse. Neither man, woman, nor
child could cacotio: onlv Mm
part of tho llvo stock wo carried off,
a that could bo used. Anyone who
ventured to como out wns shot down.
All the inhabitants left In the village
wero burnt with the houses." (From
the diary qf Private Karl Schoufcle of
tne xnira uayunan regiment and land
wehr infantry.)
"At ten o'clock In the evening the
Crat battalion of tho Onn
mrntv-elchth mnrcherl rinwn
laclln Into tho burning village to tho
Burning village io me north of Dlnant
terrific spectacle of chastlv tmnntv
At the entrance to the vlllago Jay about
Jtfty dead civilians, shot for having
rol rinnn our troons from nmlmal, T
the course of the night many others
were also shot, so that we counted over
nn Wonen and children, lnmn in
hand, were forced to look on nt tho
berrlble iiceae. We ate our rice later
la the midst of the corpses, for wo had
bad nothing since morning. When we
arched the howtee we found plenty
at wIm and spirit, but no eatables.
Otrtala Hantaan was drank." (This
hut pferaM la ahorthand.) (From the
nary r itiykib iniui'i' we uuu
Wrltla from Belgium la 1918 Irvla
a' rsotib aaid:
"BrfMftr Pbat I mw was thl: I aaw
wide areas of Belgium and France In
which not n penny's worth of wanton
destruction had bfcon permitted to oc
cur, In which the ripe pears hung un
touched upon the garden walls; and I
snw other wide areas where scarcely
one stone had been left to stand upon
another; where the fields were rav
aged; where the male villagers had
been shot In squads; where the miser
able survivors hnd been left to den In
holes, like wild beasts."
Even Soldiers Horrified.
Some German soldiers, we are glad
to see, showed their horror at the foul i
deeds committed In Belgium.
"The Inhabitants hnve fled In the vil
lage. It wns horrible. There was clot
ted blond on all the beards, and what
faces one saw, terrible to behold i The
dead, CO In all, were at once burled.
Among them were many old women,
some old men, arid a half-delivered
woman, awful to see; three children
had clasped each other, and died thus.
The nltnr and the vaults of the church
arc shattered. They had a telephono
there to communicate with tho enemy.
This morning, September 2, nil tho sur
vivors were expelled, and I saw four
little boys carrying a cradle, with n
haby five or six months old In It, on
two sticks. All this wns terrible to
see. Shot after shot! Thunderbolt
nftcr thunderbolt I Everything Is given
over to pillage; fowls and tho rest nil
killed. I saw a mother, too, with her
two children; one had a great wound
on the head and hnd lost an eye."
(From the diary of Lanco Corporal
Paul Splclmnn of the Ersatz, first brl-
gudo of Infantry of tho Guard.)
. . In the night tho inhabitants
of Liege became mutinous. Forty per
sons were shot and 115 houses demol
ished, 10 soldiers shot. The sights here
make you cry.
"On the 23rd of August everything
quiet. The Inhabitants have so far
given In. Seventy students were shot,
200 kept prisoners. Inhabitants re
turning to Liege.
"August 24. At noon with 30 men on
sentry duty. Sentry duty Is A 1, no post
allocated to me. Our occupation, apart
from bathing, Is eating and drinking.
We live like God In Belgium." (From
the dlnry of Job. van dcr Sqhoot, re
servist of tho Tenth compnny, Thirty
ninth reserve Infantry regiment, Sev
enth reserve army corps.)
"Behaved Like Vandals."
"August 17, In tho nftcrnoon I had
n look at tho little chntcau belonging
to one of tho king's secretaries (not at
home). Our men had behaved like
regular vandnls. They had looted tho
cellar first, and then thoy had turned
their attention to tho bedrooms and
thrown things about nil over tho place.
They had oven mado fruitless efforts
to smash the safe open. Everything
was topsy-turvy mngnlllccnt furni
ture, silk, nnd even chlnn. That's what
happens when tho men aro allowed to
requisition for themselves. I am suro
they must have taken nwuy a heap of
useless stuff Hlmply for the pleasure of
looting."
"August 0th crossed frontier. Inhab
itants on border very good to us and
give us many things. There Is no dif
ference noticeable.
"August 23rd, Sunday (between Blr-
nnl and Dlnant, village of Dlsonge).
At 11 o'clock tho order comes to ad
vance after the artillery has thorough-
up prepared the ground ahead. Tho
Pioneers and Infantry regiment' 178
were marching In front of us. Near
n small village the latter were, llred on
by tho Inhabitants. About 220 Inhab
itants wcro shot and tho village was
burnt artillery is continuously shoot
ing tho village lies In a largo ravluo.
Just now, six o'clock In the afternoon,
tho crossing of the Mnus begins near
Dlnant . . . All villages, chateaux,
and houses are burnt down during this
night. It was a beautiful sight to see
the fires all round us In tho dlstauce.
"August 24. In every village ono
finds only heaps of ruins and many
dead." From tho diary of Matbcrn,
Fourth company, Eleventh Jagcr bat
talion, Marburg.)
All Mala Inhabitants Shot
"A shell burst near tho Eleventh
company, nnd wounded seven men,
threo very severely. At flvo o'clock we
wero ordered by tho ofllcer In com
mand of tho regiment to shoot nil tho
male Inhabitants of Nomeny, becauso
tho population wns foolishly attempt
ing to stay tho advance of the German
troops by forco of arms. We broko Into
tho houses, and seised all who resisted,
In order to oxecuto them according to
martial law. Tho nouses which had
not been already destroyed by tho
French artillery nnd our own were set
on fire by us, so that nearly tho whole
town was reduced to nsho3. It Is a tcr
rlblo sight when helpless women and
children, utterly destitute, nre herded
together and driven Into France.",
(From the dlnry of Private Fischer,
Eighth Bnvarlan regiment of infantry,
Thirty-third reserve division.)
Too Many Servants tn Britain.
Duncan Miller asked tho minister of
national service, says the London
Times, whether his attention bus been
called to tho number of advertisements
for servants In households of oue, two
or threo persons, where seven to ten
Indoor servants nre already kept, and
whether he proposes to limit tho uunv
ber of Indoor servants employed In
each household. Tho minister of na
tional service replied that ho bad ul-
ready pointed out how essential It ts,
In tho national Interest, that no per
son should employ nioro servants than
nre absolutely necessary. Tho min
ister trusts that the uwakened con
sciences of those who havo In this
respect failed to appreciate their duty
will provide an Immediate and fiufll
clent remedy. If not, ho will tell his
plau In the general statement on man
unwer.
...ul hi i.k ii oi iitt' I lilted slucm navy, lauing h,,,i ioium .
ler motor which 1h used on submarine chasers. 2 -Anti-aircraft battery on u British monitor blocked olt from tho
rest of the ship by n snnd hag barricade. 3 Scene In a coal yard In Brooklyn where police were culled to quell
riotous people who demanded coal anil came for It with all sorts of vehicles.
NEWS REVIEW OF
THE PAST WEEK
Premier Lloyd George Declares
Germany Must Give Up Con
quests and Pay.
NO PEACE WITH JUNKERS
Reports to President Wilson Call for
More Speed by America War' De
partment Has Shakeup Pol
shevlkl Continue Negotia
tions With Germany
While Civil War
In Russia
Spreads.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD.
Fully agreeing with the stand taken
by President Wilson, Premier Lloyd
George told the house of commons
Thursday that peace cannot bo made
with tho present rulers of Gerranny
and thnt the war must go on until the
militarist caste In Prussia has been
completely broken. Germany, he de
clared, must bo forced to give up the
lands she has invaded and compensate
for losses, and the disposition of her
former colonial possessions must bo
settled In tho peace conference and
with regnrd to thcTleslres of their In
habitants. Mesopotamia, Armenia and
Jerusalem can never be given buck to
Turkey, he said, but Great Britain did
not enter tho war for the territorial
aggrandizement of any nation.
Reviewing the military situation, Mr.
Lloyd George admitted that It was
serious, mainly because of the defec
tion of Russia, and he warned Britain
thnt Its mnn power would hnve to bo
Increased to the limit and that the
pledges given to labor In 1010 regard
ing men exempted must bo altered or
canceled. The results of the British
campaign, ho admitted, had not come
up to expectations, but, looking at the
brighter side, Germany has had but
ono victory, tho surprise attack south
of Gamhrnl, German workers have de
teriorated about 33 per cent because
of poor food, tho permanent losses of
the German nrmy have been four or
llvo times ns great ns those sustained
by tho British, the losses of the Ital
ians are not to bo compared with those
of tho Austrluns, and the submarine
campaign Is gradually helhg overcome.
America Urged to Get Up Speed.
President Wilson and his adminis
tration received several Impressive
warnings last week (hat America must
get up moro speed. These came from
delegates to the recent Interallied con
ference In Paris. First to report was
Colonel House, tho chalrmun of the
delegation, and though tho details of
his statement were not made public, It
Is known that ho laid before air. Wil
son facts and figures that proved tho
allies must exert their mnxlmum
strength In the quickest possible time,
and- that their war activities must be
co-ordinated and waste and delay re
duced to a minimum.
Next, Balnbrldge Colby of the ship
ping board and Vance McConnlck of
tho war trade board went to tho White
House and presented to the president
the Information on shipping they had
obtained nhroad. This embraced tho
fact that the submarine cnmpalgn has
Interfered with allied wnr activities to
a greater exteut than England nnd
France have admitted. Mr. Wilson Is
reported to have been greatly Im
pressed with tho Information given and
It became evident to him that the ship
building program must bo enlarged and
Its carrying out hastened.
Shakeup In War Department
Meanwhile senate and house commit
tees continued their Inquiry Into our
wnr preparations, with results that
wero moro to tho credit of tho nnvy
than of tho army department. Reveln
tlons nuulo concerning the delays in
procuring nnd distributing supplies and
arms for the army, together with tho
president's talks with Colonel House,
whoso Influcnco Is front probably
Justly ro may bo said to have led to
tho changes In the war department
whlrli nut Gpneral Goethals at the
I head of the quartermaster general's
I bureau and Gen. C, B. Wheeler in
charge of the ordnance bureau. The
energy nnd ability of these two men
lead to the confident belief that here
after war supplies will come forward
more rapidly. The soldiers they have
temporarily replaced, Generals Sharpe
und Crozler, have been ousted upward
Into the superior wnr council.
Much of the testimony of red tnpe
delays and mistaken Judgments of
war department officials heard by the
senate committee is not pleasant read
ing and It Is needless to rehearse It.
The remedy for the conditions revenled
Is being applied, though rather late.
Surgeon General Gorgas added to the
uncomfortable fueling by a frunk re
port showing health conditions in
some of the training camps aro very
bad, due in part to shortage of warm
clothing and tents, nnd to poor heat
ing plants. For the delay in supply
lug winter clothing the war depart
ment snid the natlonul council of de
fense must be blamed.
As for tho nnvy, the first day of the
house committee's Inquiry showed that
It was In full fighting trim and that in
tho matter of supplies little attention
was being paid to red tape. After Ad
miral McGownn hud been heard, Rep
resentative Britten remarked: "I
thought wo might find some soft spots
In this bureau of supplies and nccounts,
but we don't seem to get nt them."
Secretary Daniels told the committee
he wns rather proud of tho way the
navy has met the actual test of wnr.
Russo-German Peace Plans.
The spotlight was centered on Rus
sia again last week and every develop
ment of the complicated situation
there was watched with the greatest
interest. The negotiations between
Germnny nnd the bolshevik! govern
ment went" forward and It wns evident
the kaiser was hurrying mntters so
as to have n peace treaty signed be
fore the Lenlne crowd should fall.
Trotzky still Insisted thnt they sought
u general nnd not a separate peace,
and In pursuntice of that he Invited
tho entente allies to take part In the
negotiations. Meanwhile trade rela
tions between the Germans and the
Russians were reopened nnd the for
mer began getting fats, vegetables and
other tilings for which they have been
suffering.
Ono obstacle to the 'separate peace
plan has sprung up In the central
powers, where the Socialists havo de
clared their opposition to it, fenring
that it will strengthen German imper
ialists nnd forcibly wipe out German
socialism, The Hungurlan .socialists
at a great meeting declared the plan
presented the greatest possible danger
to democracy. The Russian, govern
ment wus said to have been notified
by Germnny thnt It Intended to make,
peace proposals to all the allies.
Civil War Continues.
Fighting between the bolshevlkl
nnd the Cossacks continued through
the week and the most reliable ad
vices lndlcnte tho latter generally
wero victors. Ensign Kreylenko, the
bolshevlkl commander In chief, wns
enabled by tho Armistice to withdraw
largo forces from the front but his ef
forts to send them after the Cossncks
were blocked by the Ukrainians. The
Ukraine radn refused to permit mnx
Imnllst troops to cross Its territory nnd
when bolshevlkl troops attacked the
rada as It was sitting In Odessa thoy
wero defeuted by Ukrainian forces.
Tho Orenburg Cossncks occupied
Tchellublnsk, a Junction point on tho
Trans-Siberian railway, and the Don
Cossncks under Kaledlnes were re
ported to have taken Rostov. Exas
perated by the persistence or their op
ponents, the bolshevlkl nro ndopting
drastic methods against them, includ
ing tho reinstatement of tho death
pennlty. The disorders In Petrogrnd
were so serious mat n sinio or siege
i
was prueiiiinit:".
Tho latest Information concerning
Keren8ky was a dispatch from Hnpa
randa saying that he wns marching
against Moscow nt the hend of an nr
my, and from tho same source came
the statement that Grand Duke Nich
olas hud gathered a great army of roy
alists In the Caucasus. One Petrogrnd
correspondent says thero are signs of
tin attempt Inspired by Germany to re
place the former czur on the throne;
another thinks the bolshevlkl hnve
such n plan, nnd tiro Siberians hnve
been said to favor Nlcholns. It may
well be the widespread belief that the
Russian monarchy will be restored
will be Justified.
The expected ffrcat offensive by the
Germnns on tho west front did not de
velop, but Von Hlndenburg's concen
tration of troops and heavy cannonad
ing of the entente lines continued.
The British and Frencli made all pos
sible preparations to withstand the ex
pected attack and their commnnders
seemed quite confident that it would
be repulsed. At the same time, the
seriousness of the situation Is not de
nied. Though the allies are numer
ically superior to the enemy there,
since they do not know In what sector
the blow will be struck they cannot
concentrate their strength In thnt re
gion until the offensive has begun.
With the withdrawals from the Rus
sian front and the calling out of the
younger classes of reservists, the
kaiser Is ofllclnlly reported to have 154
divisions In France, only one division
short of the force he massed there
last July for the great operations
ngalnst the French.
Italians Give Way Slightly.
Bloody fighting was kept up In Italy
and the Austro-Germans made further
desperate attempts to break through
Into the Venetian plain between the
Plnve and the Brentn, In tho direction
of Bnssano. They succeeded, nt great
expense, In taking some positions nnd
2,000 prisoners at Mont Asoleone, but
Mont Grappa, the key to the defense
In that region, wns held tennclously
by the Italians. The French und Brit
ish troops sent to thnt front got into
action and proved of valuable assist
ance. On the lower Plave the enemy
renewed his nttempts to force a cross
ing, without mnrked success. 'The de
fensive system of the Italians In this
Hooded region is said to be very clever
and the pontoon bridges of the Aus
trlans nre destroyed as fast as built.
For months there has been "noth
ing doing" on tho Macedonian front,
but the recall of General Sarratl, com
mander of the allied nrmles at Solon
Ikl, nnd the appointment of General
Gulllnumat, who led the French In
their brllllnnt operations In the Ver
dun sector last summer, may mean
that some interesting news from
Macedonln enn bo expected soon. The
Bulgarians, despite extravagant peace
claims recently sent out, nre about
ready to quit the war, and Austria
Hungnry wns tired of It long ago,
though somewhat heartened by tho
drive Into Itnly. The Turks were hard
hit by the loss of Jerusalem, and al
together It would 'seem that n good
time Is npproachlng for nn offensive
In the Balkans.
British Public Angry.
Two events aroused the Indignation
of the British press nnd public. The
first was- nnother successful German
ntUick ton shipping In the North sen,
In which one British nnd five neutral
merchantmen, a British destroyer and
four mine sweepers wero sunk. The
convoy wns on Its way from Scotland
to Norway. The success of the raid
has given rifle to shnrp criticism of
the naval authorities. The second
thlwr to exnsperato the English wns
nnother air raid Tuesday night. About
twenty Germnn planes crossed to the
Kent und Essex coasts, In six groups,
nnd five of them succeeded In reach
Ing London nnd dropping bombs. Ten
persons were killed and 70 Injured.
Several of the raiders were shot down.
The Amerlcnn nnvy met with a pain
ful loss when the submnrlne F-l was
rammed nnd sunk by the submarine
F-a In home waters during n fog.
Nineteen members of the ,crew lost
their lives.
Secretary of State Lansing, In con
Junction with the Argentine govern
ment, gave out translations of a lot
more of the secret correspondence be
tween Count Luxhurg. former Germnn
minister nt Buenos Aires, and the Ger
mnn foreign ofllce. It shows conclus
ively thnt Germany wns Intriguing to
set Latin America against tho United
State. It was expected In Washing
ton that this disclosure would result
quickly In a declaration of wnr against
Germany by Argentina, the congress
nnd people of the latter country being
not likely to put up much longer with
the pro-Germanism of President Irl
goyen. The antl-llquor forces of Americn
won their grentest victory on Monday
when the house adopted the Webb
resolution submitting to the stntes a
constitutional amendment provldlnp
for the suppression of the liquor trnflle
one year after the ratification of the
nmendment by 3d stnte legislatures
The senate nlready had adopted a sim
ilar resolution.
IN well cure
SUPPLIES FOR ARMY ADEQUATE,.
SAYS SHARPE IN PROBE.
ONLY FEW LACK OVERCOATS
Garments Ordered for Regulars antf;
Guardsmen too Small for Na
tional Army Soldiers.
Washington, Dec. 25 Without wait
lug for congressional appropriations,
tho War department authorized or
ders for supplies for 1,000,000 troop
before t. United States went to war.
It wus brought out lust Saturday In.
tho testimony of Quartermaster Gen
oral Henry G. Sharpo beforo tho sen
ate military committee.
Except for overcoats und a few
other winter garments, of which, In
stated, complete stocks would be In.
cuiup by tho first of the your, the geu
erul declared thero Is no clothing-,
shortage.
Shoes, also, General Sharpe said,,
have been provided In ample qunntl
tlse per capita, but tho nvcruge draft
ed mnn of the natlonul army bus
proved to be so much larger physical
ly than the regulars and Guardsmen,
with whom the department has had to
deal In the past that many of the
shoes nnd overcoats us well have
proved useless. Manufacture of the
smaller sizes has been been stopped,,
but the situation resulted In soma
hardships for the drafted soldiers be
foro It could be corrected.
Of food, General Shurpe stated oniL
the committeemen assented, It hm
l'een ample and of fine quality. No
complaints regarding food, ho said,,
had been received.
Reports reaching the committee of"
men freezing their ears at Camp Cus
ter, Mich., and of shortage of winter
overcoats, other clothing nnd shoes at
both Camp Custer and Camp Lee, Va.F.
caused the general to say ho wouhti
Inquire Into conditions Immediately.
German-Argentine War Looms.
Washington, Dec. 25. Declaration,
of war against Germany by Argentina,
was. regarded as utmost certain Ian
Latin-Amcrlcun displomatlc circles ns
the result of new evidences of Ger
man trickery disclosed simultane
ously In Washington and Buenos.
Aires by publication of nnother serlc
of telegrams between tho notorious
Count Luxburg of "spurlos versnnkt""
fame nnd the Berlin foreign office..
Luxburg, former charge in Buenos
Aires, in a messnge dated August 1
last, Informed his foreign ofllce that
Presldent Irlgoyen of Argentina had
at last made up his mind to negotiate
n secret agreement with Chile and Bo
livia for protection ngalnst North
America. Another telegram intimated1
on attempt would bo mado to lnclude
Peru, and the plnn was to bo per
fected, according to Luxburg's com
munication of August 1, "before th-.
conference Idea Is taken up again."
Sunday Mixes With Pro-German.
Atlanta, Dec. 25. Before a scream
ing, yelling audience of men and wom
en nt the tabernacle one night last
week, Billy Sunday, who Is nenring;
the closo of his revival here, fought a.
fast and furious fist fight with n Gor
man sympathizer on the plntform.
The evangelist had Jnst said that:
ho "didn't believe God would be on
the side of n dirty bunch that would:
stand aside and see n Turk outrnge
a woman."
W. H. Beuterbnugh, a carpenter,,
thereupon advanced threntonlngly od
the evangelist, and the tight followed..
Mr. Sunday handled his opponent
quite roughly und had docldodly tho
botter of the argument.
Huge Sum for Army.
Washington, Dec. 25 Tho army ap
propriation bill for the next fiscal
year, on which the house military
committee Is to resume hearings
January 8, probably "will carry closo
to $5,000,000,000 for tho whole mili
tary establishment, exclusive of forti
fications nnd field nrtlllcry guns,,
which will bo provided for by the ap
propriations committee. The bill Is ex
pected to bo rendy nbout February 1
Tho total army appropriation estl
mates sent to congress by the Wur
depnrtment aggregates .50,010,000,000.
Ground Glass In Food.
Chicago, 111., Dec. 25. Mujor Gen
cral William II. Carter, commander'
of the central department of the ur
iny, sent telegrams to commanders of
every cantonment In his division
warning that ground glass has been
found in consignments of canned
shipments to army cantonments.
Mr. Clubnugh said tho glass wns
ground very fine.
Building 125 Merchant Ships.
Newurk, N.-J., Dec. 24. Construc
tion of the fleet of 150 standardized1
merchantmen, to be built tit the new
ship yurds here, started, when Inspec
tor Huntur of the shipping board"
drove tho first rivet In tho keel of tin
first vessel on the ways.
Create Czecho-Slovak Army.
Paris, Dec. 24. Tho French gov
ernment has authorized creutlon of ui
Czccho-Slovnk nrmy under national'
control. Already n force of 80,000!
men has been organized.