Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, February 28, 1916, Image 1

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    Many English. Ships Am Sent to
77 77
oUom
Omaha Bail
AV
n
HFX AWAY riWM HOME
The Bee is the Paper
THE WEATHER.
Unsettled
t foi it yr m
kMil ort tka a few ears,
have Tea Bee Bila to yew.
me M
Bee.
vol. xlv xo.
ENGLISH LINERS
SUNK BY MINES
OUTSIDE DOVER
Oriental Steamship Maloja Goes
Down and Empress of Fort Wil
liam, Coming to Rescue,
Meets Same Fate.
MANY LIVXS REPORTED LOST
Several Other Vessels Under Union
Jack Lost During; Dis
astrous Day.
TWENTY-FIVE BODIES FOUND
LONDON'. Feb. 27. The Penlnsu
lar and Oriental line steamship Ma
loja, 12,431 tons gross, carrying ap
pruxmiaieiy iu passengers, a crew
,of about 200, mostly Lascars, was
sunk in the straits of Dover at 11:20
o'clock this morning, presumably by
striking a mine.
A majority of the passengers, ac
cording to an official announcement
made this evening, was saved. An
unofficial report says that about
twenty-five bodies were landed at
Dover.
Another Liner Hank.
The steamship Empress of Port
William, 2,181 tons gross, while at
tempting to rescue the survivors of
the Maloja struck another mine and
sunk in less than half an hour. The
crew of the Empress was saved by
other boats in the vicinity.
The scene of the disaster was two
miles oft the port of Dover and the
explosion was so violent that houses
along the water front were shaken.
Relief boats quickly put out from the
harbor of Dover and succeeded In pick
lnj up a. number of the Maloja's crew
and passengers when the liner went down.
The Maloja carried In the first class cabin
twenty-si men, twenty-three women and
even children. Among- the passengers
waa Justice Oldfleld of the India high
courts.
Steamer Btra-tt tank.
The steamship Blrglt has been sunk.
seventeen survivors hnva been landed.
The British steamship Beutver,, from
New . York February 11 for Havre, ha
been abandoned afire at sea, aocordlng to
a dispatch WToyd f rem- Inishtrahull,
Ireland. Alt the members of the crew
re reported to have been taken off by
another steamer..'
Ship Loat Off Flnafclatav
FLUSHING, Holland (Via London).
Feb. "27. The mail steamer Mecklenburg
or the Zeeland line ran on a mine while
on a Voyage from Tilbury to Flushing.
The vessel was lost. Officials of the line
state that the passengers and craw and
the malls were saved.
, -
There are three small steamers of the
name of Birgit, aocordlng to shipping"
re cords, two Swedish and one Norwegian.
The largest of the three la 130 feet long
and of l.UT gross tonnage. The Teasel
riles the Swedish flag.
The Peninsular and Oriental line steam
ship Maloja was an Australian mail boat
and a sister boat of the Perwia. whlrh -
torpedoed and sunk off the Island of
Crete December 30 lust, with the loss of
sis lives.
The Maloja was last reported as having
n-ivea at Marseilles January 11 bound
for London from Sydney, New South
Walea.
V Bnllt at Belfast.
The steamship was 360 feet long, S3 feet
beam and 34 feet deep, , It was built at
Belfast In 1811.
In February of 1913 It was reported that
the Maloja on entering the English chan
nel with 400 passengers on ho.rrf ...
ordered to slop by an unknown armed
.neroaaniman. The mall boat la said to
have Ignored the order and made for
Plymouth. whereuDnn th .
fired five sheila at it. but all fell short.
The Empree. of Knrt William was for
merly the Mount Stephen and w. built
at New Castle In 1 S. It was X0 feet long
4J feet beam and 22 feet deep. The vessel
was owned by the Empress Transporta
tion Company of Midland, Ltd.
SALMON ENOUGH TO FEED
TEN MILLION OFF EAST
train of fifty carload, of Puget sound and
AlaaHa salmon, with banners on the
ocs, departed for New York tort.w
union pacific railroad system. There
are 1.400.000 can. of salmon In the .hip.
mt1tL?r enouh furnish one meal for
N.OOO.Ono persons. Much of the fUh will be
hipped to Europe.
The Weather
Tcm perm tare at Omatta Yesterday.
- Hours.
Deg
11,1 M
i m. in
10 s. m
11 a. fu,
l ' in....
I p. in
! P. ni
3 p. m
4 p. in....
t p. in
p. ni
7 D. i.i
' tontnaratlv, L,oeal Hriorf.
, H 1915. 1914. 181J
lliithe.t yesterday .... :-s a 4S S
Ixiwest yesterday i; ; . m 4
Mean temperature .... 31 ;i 4
Te-lpitaUon T .ii T ..05
Temperature and precipitatloa depar
tures from the normal:
Normal temperature ....1.. XI
veficieney for the day 1
ntal deflolencv eln.'e March 1 ' "lg
ormal precipitation '.Of' Inch
ericiency ror me aay 02
Totnl rainfall aince March 1...JS tw inh.. ,
H-fK-ienry since JiHliri , inl.
l 'l-l l.ir-ll. J . vv.. bt-i :-. .a? ini:ii
liefu-i. m'v for ir ptrrio.1, lull S U ln he.
"T" inrfw-aies 're.-e of ore li,i.in
1 A. WEIIl. Jv.cal r'ore. anier.
"4 '
f ii
U-BOAT TORPEDOES
MERCHANT CRAFT
IN MEDITERRANEAN
British Steamship Fastnet Sent to
Bottom by German Submarine,
but Its Crew is
Rescued.
PARIS SEA OFFICE REPORTS
Captain of Lost Craft Says He Saw
Swedish Vessel Also Suffer
like Fate.
TOWS BOATS OF LATTER AWAY
PARIS, Feb. 26 (Via London),
Feb. 27. An official announcement
made by the French ministry of
marine today regarding the sinking
of the British steamship Fastnet,
says the vessel was sent to the bot
tom by a submarine In the western
Mediterranean. The crew of the
steamship was rescued by a French
cruiser.
The captain of the Fastnet reports
that he saw the same submarine sink
the Swedish steamer Tornborg, the
boats of which the undersea vessel
towed away.
The Fastnet waa of 2,227 tons
gross and built in 1S87. It was 290
feet long, thirty-eight feet beam and
nineteen feet deep.
Breach Between the
Packers and Striking
Workers is Widening
Piorx CITT, la., Feb. ST.-The bread
in settlement negotiations bctwen of
ficials of the Cudahy and Armour Pack
ing companies and the 2,330 strikers at
the Sioux City plants was widened today,
when at a mass meeting of strikers it
was decided to demsnd the original scale
of 22'4 cents an hour for all common
laborers, Instead of accepting the It-cent
an hour offer, which Saturday was prac
tii-ally decided upon.
- Unleas - the packers grant a written
agreement setting forth that there shall
be no deviation from wage scaloa for one,
year, or shifting of men from ens d
prtmi5ntinoter with Jees .wage. It
was unanimously decided there will, be no
settlement.
Officials of both companies have re
fused to grant these .demands. . Packets
believed today that, the strike would be
settled by the granting of another con
cession of 1 cent to the strikers. This
was unanimously rejected when no writ
ten agreement was advanced.
Both pecking plant will continue
cloned. Meantime strike leaders are en
deavorlng to Instigate sympathetic strikes
at the Armour and Cudahy plants in
South Omaha, Chicago, St. Joseph and
Kansas City.
Hangs from Limb of
Tree in River Where
Boats Cannot Come
OSKALOOSA, . la.. Feb. VI. Charles
Thomas is probably the most uncomfort
able man in the United States tonight
He is perched on the limb of a tree in
the Des Moines river seven miles south
west of this city and boats cannot reach
him because of floating ice. Thomas not
only is marooned in the dark, but his
clothing is ' wet and he has not eaten
since noon.'
The adventure which landed Thomas
In the tree cost the life of A. K. Rom-
mell, offlolal engineer of Mahaska county.
The two men started out In a skiff to
dynamite an ice gorge. The boat was
capslsed by a big cake of ice and Rom-
mell was drowned. The rlvsr Is out of
Its banks ss a result of the gorge.
Russia Orders Oil
Engines for Front
PHILADELPHIA. Feb. 27. An order
for S.V) gasoline locomotives to be used
In the trenches on the eastern battle
front, has been placed with the Baldwin
Locomotive company by the Ku.alan
government. These engines will travel
on rails two feet apart. They will vir
tually be automobiles on rails and will
weigh seven tons each. The narrow
track requirements will permit their pas
sage bark and forth through almost any
part of the earthworks on the firing
ine. .
Bonding Clause
. Omitted from Bill
(from a Staff Correapondent.)
WASHINGTON. Feb. Z!. (Special Tele
gram.) It will be of Interest to a number
of employes of the pontoffice at Omaha
to know that the rules committee of the
house ha. failed to Include that section
of the pontoffice appropriation hill rela
tive to the bonding of employes up to 78
per cent of their salaries, and conse
quently the point of order that will be
made against the section will be sus
tained. American Nurses Go
to the British Front
LONDON. Feb. 7. Thirty-three Amer
ican nur.es. most of them from Mercy
hospital, Chicago, left I-ondon today for
me urillsn front. They have been de-
tailed to service lor six months In field
hospitsls. The nurses had been in London
for nearly two week, gathering thtlr
equipment.
WILLIAM ORPET Latest
picture of the University of
Wisconsin student charged
with poisoning his sweet
heart, Miss Marian Lambert,
an Oak Park High school
girl, made as he appeared
before the grand jury which
indicted him.
J.
' ; I
j
itDB
ANSWERS GERARD'S
PRISONjCRITICISlfS
Prussian War Minister Replies to
Statements Made About Camps
by Envoys.
DISTORTED BY ENGLISH PRESS
BERLIN (Via London). Feb. 27.
The Prussian war minister today
handed to James W. Gerard, the
American ambassador to Germany, a
loos communication, in which courte
ous, reply la made to the ambassa
dor's fejport of November 8,. regard
ing the Wittenberg prison carrip,
German high military authorities
were astonished, the reply says, when
they aaw portions of the ambassa
dor'a report printed In distorted form
ir the English papers'. ' It declares
that Mr. Gerard had communicated
his criticisms to the Prussian war
ministry through John B. Jackson,
who investigated prison camp condi
tions for the embassy.
Mr. Gerard, It is said, received as
surance that the conditions criticised
would be remedied, whereupon Mr.
Jackson said he was convinced the
ambassador would be satisfied with
this promise.
Not Received by Commander.
The communication refers to Mr.
Gerard's statement, which wss "obvt
oualy made in a reproachful sense," that
when he visited the Wtttenburg camp be
was not received by the camp com
mander.
The ueriran military authorities are
fully aware of the consideration due the
ambassr.dor because of his position," the
reply says, adding the explanation that
the commander of the camp was com'
pelled by military duties to be absent on
the day of the visit of the ambassador.
The communication points out that Mr.
Gerard reported the accommodations snd
fare of the prisoners were the same as
those In other camps. Rnglish press re
ports, based on the ambassador's alleged
statements, reported conditions st Wit
tenberg as extraordinarily unsatisfac
tory. It Is admitted that police dogs are used
at Wittenberg, but it is said they are
employed for guard duty at night and
also to prevent theft, among prisoners.
As to the ambassador's report that In
certain cases prisoner, complained their
clothes had been torn b l)e dogs, the
ministry says that if tls be trus the
victims themselves were leeponsible since
they were surprised at night at forbidden
games, ran when challenged by the sen
try snd climbed the barbed wire fence.
Refers t Report.
Reply Is made to Mr. Gerard's criticism
of sanitary conditions by referring to the
report of a commission of American phy
sk'lsns under Dr. Caldwell which Investi
gated the camp on November 20 and
praised Its sanitary and hygienic equip,
ment.
Ambassador Gerard's statement that a
British army surgeon had been beaten
by a German noncommissioned of flier
was Investigated by the ministry of war,
wnUh discovered that a regrettable mis
understanding bad occurred, the Gorman
officer having exceeded his power. The
English surgeon in question has declared
that the matter has been adjusted satis
factorily. In reference to Mr. Gerard's statement
that prisoners had complained that pay
due them for work was unpaid. It Is uo
dei.tood tho ambatsador told the offUwr
who Is conducting him through the r.mo
of this complaint.
South Africans Rout
Column of the Turks
IXNIKN. Feb. r.-A TurM.h column
wss attacked and roi ted ty fcoitth African
troops yenterday at Agagu. Kgypt ac
cording to a PrltUh offUlal statement
Imued tonight wl.loh addi tl.at the flee
ing Turkr are being p ,r rd
OMAHA, MONDAY MOKXIXO, FKUKUAKY 2S, loui"
PARIS MAINTAINS ITS
SANG-FROID AS GUNS
OF TEUTONS MENACE
Inhabitants of City on the Seine
Extraordinarily Calm in Pres
ence of Great Battle Raging
Around Verdun.
CONFIDENCE IN THE RESULT
People Believe Germans Will Wear
Themselves Out Attacking
Positions.
WHOLE FRONT ON THE ALERT
PAItlS. Feb. 27. Paris Is extra
ordinarily calm in the prespnre of
the great battle now In progress
around Verdun. There are no indi
cations of tension or nervousness, but
only sober confidence in the result
prevails.
The desire among those who know
the defensive strength of the lines
seems to be that the attacks should
continue, for, thry argue, the losses
on the German side would be in pro
portion to their efforts.
There were few persona around
the newspaper bulletin boards today,
and no crowds at the ministry of war
and other public offices. The whole
front from the North Bea to Switzer
land is on the alert, and all leaves of
absence hare been recalled.
Mulmna Kffort Made.
The French maximum effort has not
yet been msde. The total French losses
In killed, wounded, and prisoners, since
the Verdun battle, it was authoritatively
st r ted this evening, has been lees than
the German official communication
claims In prisoners.
The Temps military reivlew, which Is
u.uslly written by General de la Croix,
sums up the situation thus:
"The battle being fought Is sxtremely
serious. Even should the heights of
Polvre and the Vauche be taken, the
enemy would find us perhaps stronger
on the Froldeterre-Dousumont line, from
which begins the defenses, properly
speaking, of the fortress, covered with
trenches snd batteries. Tl.ls la a siege
by the Germans; It is a battle against
one of our armies In the garrison at Ver
dun, and Its forts do not figure In these
eomhata ss a support. Tha big guns of
ths enemy might destroy the fort of
pousamont VTtlNjuV. destroying Anything
more than an inert block of Cement.".
. . Caaaat Be Sn.nended,
The snow has not caused any diminu
tion uf the attacks because they cannot
be suspended. ' They must be continued
to the end. The t ror pa engsged would
be unable to remain Idle long In the terri
tory captured while awaiting better
weather conditions. A thaw would ren-
der their situation worse and It must al
ready be painful."
The Temps refers tn the possibility of
the attacks continuing for two weeks
and adds:
"Lt us continue to have complete and
unahakeable confidence In the final Is
sue."
Censor Apparently
Has Been Busy with
Following Dispatch
PARIS, Feb. 17. The defense of Ver
dun is believed to be under the direction
of General , who Is commanding
the group of armies of the east. see.
onded by General -. one of ths
youngest and most active French gen
erals, who took an important part In the
battles In Lorraine before and during
me oauie or the Marne.
Another of the commanding officers
before the battle of Verdun, General
'. during tha battle was In charge
of the artillery of the Sixth corps while
the army of the Gorman crown prince
was making the first attsck on the fort-
res., on this oocsslon a rumor was cir
culated In Berlin that Verdun bad been
taken. The general placed three groups
of three-Inch guns In the Boss woods,
and permitted the German troopa. who
were overwhelming the French Infantry,
to advance until they reached a distance
seven-eighths of a mile. Then the three
groups of field guns opened fire snd
checked the advance. The losses of tha
crown prince's army on that day were
estimated at 20,000.
The names of the three French sen-
erals referred to apparently have been
stricken out by the French censor.
Republican Party in
California Uniting
BAN FRANCISCO. Feb. r.-Two sets
of republicans met here today, the 'old"
and the "new," and waved olive branches
at each other. An agreement under whli-h
a united and uncontested republican dele
gation might be sent from California to
ths national convention at Chicago was
sajd to be the end sought, and hour after
hour seemed to bring it closer. Just be
fore nightfall committees sppolnted from
both factions met to see what could be
done. The party has been split since 1910,
and a further digression of s majority
into the progressive party further com
plicated matters.
Austrians Occupy
City of Durazzo
VIENNA. Fob. 17. la London.)-Austrian-Hungarian
troops occupied the Al
rlan port of Iurra.so this morning.
according to an oiflcial announcement
l4Ued today at the Austrian war department.
WILSON SAYS HONOR
DEARER THAN PEACE
President Asserts America Will
Sacrifice All Bat Sense of
Justice to Avoid War.
ONE THING IT MUST INSIST ON
WASHINGTON. Feb. 27. Presi
dent Wilson lold members and guest
at a Gridiron club dinner last night
lhat America ought to keep out of
the Kuropean war. "At the sacrifice
of everything except this single thing
upon which its character and its
history are founded its sense of
humanity and Justice."
The address waa'confldenttal, aince
the speeches at the dinners of the
Gridiron club, comported of newa
paper correspondents, are not re
ported. It was not made public to
night, however, becauio many of
those who heard it urged that it
should go to the country.
Speaks rrlth Gravity.
The president spoke of the nation's
affairs with unusual gravity. His
hearers, including several hundred
members of congress, government of
ficials and correspondents were
brought to their feet cheering when
h concluded with these words:
"I would be Just as much ashamed
to be rash as I would to be a coward.
Valor Is self-respecting. Valor is
circumspect. Valor strike only
when it is right to strike. Vr.'or
withholds Itself from all. small im
plications and entanglements, and
waits for the great opportunity when
the sword will flash as if it carried
the light of heaven on its blade."
Not a ew Ke.ellna.
T!ie address tn part follows: ,
"Tour talk. Mr. Tosstmssler, ha. been
a treat deal about candidacy for the
preMdtncy. It Is not a new ftellng on my
fart, but one which I entertain with ,a
Rreater Intensity than formerly, this at
a man who seeks the presidency of th
t'nlted Blate. for anything that It will
rring to him Is an audacious fool. Thn
responsibilities of the office ought to
sober a man even before he approach -a
It. One of the difficulties of the off lea
seldom spprw l.ted, t dare say, is lhat it
Is Very difficult to think while so many
peoplo are talking, and particularly while
so many people are talking In a way that
obsecure consul and la .jsnkieely offline
point. ... ' ,V' - , ,. -...... ; .-.
"The. point In national affairs, gen t li
me n, never lies along the lines of expedi
ency. It always rests in , the field Of
principle. The , United States , was. not
founded upon any people of expediency;
it Is founded on a profounded peopln of
humanity, and liberty, and whenever It
bases Its policy upon any other founda
tions than those It builds on the sand and
not upon the solid rock.
Mast Keep Oat of War.
"America ought to keep out of this
war. It ought to keep out of this war at
the sacrifice of everything except the
single thing upon which Its character and
history are founded, its sense of human
ity and Justloe. If it sacrifices that, It has
cessed to be America; it hss ceased to
entertsln to love the traditions which
have made us proud to be Americana,
and when we go about seeking safety at
the expense of humanity, then I for on
will believe that I have always been mis
taken in what I have conceived to be the
spirit of American history.
"You never can tell your direction ex
cept by long measurements. You can
not establish a lino by two posts; you
have to have three at least to know
whether they are straight with anything
and the longer your line, the mors cer
tain your measurements. There is only
one way in which to determine how the
future of the United States Is going to
be projected and that la by looking back
and seeing which was the lines ran whloti
led up to the presenf moment of power
and of opportunity. There Js no doubt
bout that. There la no question what
the roll of honor In America is.
' Tat Roll of Honor.
"The roll of honor consists of the
names of the' men who have squared
their conduct by Ideals of duty. There
Is no one else upon the roster, there Is no
one else whose name we care to re
(Contlnued on I age To. Column Tnree.j
Scores Perish as
Steamers Collide
SEATTLE. Wash., Feb. STT.-Tha Nippon
xusea Kalaha liner Awa Maru arrived
from Yokohama today, and brought de
tails of the loss of the Oeeka Shown
Kalaha liner TalJIn Mavru by collision
reoently with the Butterfleld and Swire
steamer IJnan, already briefly cabled.
The collision ancurred 1()W miles from
Hong Kong, and the TalJIn sank In
three minutes. Only seven Oiineae pas
sengers of 111, and fourteen members
of a crew of seventy. Including the cap
tain and eleven Chinese deck hands were
saved, owing to the fart that all the
paasengera had been sleeping soundly
in their berths. So fsr ss known there
were no Furopesn passengers on the
ship.
Whitman Advocates
Universal Service
BfFFALO. N. Y., Feb. CT.-Oovernor
Whitman in a speech delivered hire to
night advocated compulsory military
training for the American youth, holding
It to be the one true base of the citizen
soldiery idea. . .
"The battltfleldk of Rurope demon
strate to sll the world," said ths gov
ernor, "that rWht mu.t still be hacked
up by might lrt u. hold to our ane'ent
faith es steadfastly as in the pa.t. but
let us not re blind to the bitter faeta of
the present that mud. adtqrtte prepsied
nekS s necelty."
Om Train, at Xotel
Wwe Stands, ato, Bo
SERGEANT SLAVIKA TO
MITCH This 17 . year . old
girl was promoted from the
rank of private in the Ser
bian army for heroic conduct
in action. She served two
years in the comitajes, under
Major Tankositch.
WAR PROFITS HARD
i . - i
HIT BY TEUTON TAX
Those Who Make Money Out of War
Must Come Across with it
for Fatherland.
NO ESTIMATES ABE YET MADE
BERLIN, Feb 26 (Via London),
Feb. 37. Germany "a next expected
taxation measures were announced
by the government today. They In
clude taxes upon the war profits of
Individuals and corporations; also in
direct measures of taxation.
No estimated yield on the taxation
of war proflta ia given. Tha govern'
ment, in fact, is unable to estimate
the sum to be derived because a large
number of corporations liave not yet
sent In their reports, and only the
roughest guesses regarding the
financial statug of' Individuals are
possible. ' .
The war profits measure is divided
Into two sections. The section for
Individuals takes the form of a
graduated tax on property Increment
between January 1, 1914 and 1917.
The tax commences with 5 per cent
upon the first 20,000 marks, 6 per
cent upon the next 30,000 marks,
and then rising In successive stages
to 25 per cent on increases over
(00,000 marks.
A direct tai upon Increased Incomes is
avoided largely owing to objections. It la
said, made by Individual atatea of the
emjlre, in which tha Income tax Is re
served, but by tn Incenlous subterfuge
when sn Increase In the smount of prop
erty is sccompanied by a correnpondtngly
'ncrtased Income, mainly, when property
Increment represents hoardings from an
Increased Income, the rate of taxation is
doubled.
It is admitted that this will rebound to
the advantage of lavUh spenders who
live up to the'r war proflta, but It la
aid that this Is unavoidable. In order
to checkmate various devices of tlx
dodgeis, it is provided that gifts to chil
dren and others, and money invested
abroad during the war must be reported
to the authorities.
Individuals who have been putting
away their profits In Jewelry, paintings
snd other articles of art or luxury, which
as personal property heretofore have
escaped taxation, must return them at
t elr purchnee value. As a further mea-
t're against tax dodging., persons movlnj
out In the country or attempting to send
property a tread before the date of tho
col ectlon, may be forced to deposit with
the authorities enough to cover the tax.
A Jail penalty Is provided for offenders.
TLie corporation tsx on wartime profits
starts w'th JO p r cent on the yearly
profit, mad during the war ss compare 1
with the ier,e ante-be. lum profits
when this addition.! profit doe. not ex
ceed I per cent of the corporation's capi
tal stock. It rLaes to 30 per rent when
tl.e sddltionsl profits exceed 39 per cent
of the cupltel.
I
SINGLE COVY TWO CENTS.
GERMANS INSIST
VERDUN FORT IS
STILL RETAINED
Official Report Says Fire Attempts
of the French to Retake Fort
Douaumont Have Been
Repulsed.
CLAIM MANY PRISONERS TAKEN
Teutons Also Tell of Storming- Forti
fied Works of Hardamount, as
Well as Cote de Talou.
PARIS DENIES LOSS OF LATTER
PARIS, Feb. 27. Except around
Kort Douaumont the French office
reports some abatement of the Her
man attacks to the north of Verdun.
To the east and west of the Douau
mont position, the French troopa are
closely pressing the German detach
ments, which were able to gain a
footing in thoee sections, and which,
the wsr office further reports, are
maintaining themselves with diffi
culty. The French deny that the eGr
mans have occupied the chief Cote
de Talou. '
Oermaas (lain Advaataare.
BERLIN, Feb. 27.-(Vla Lon
don.) Five determined attempts
made by French troops to recapture
from tho Germans Fort DuaumOnt,
one of the outlying Verdun fortifi
cations, were repulsed yesterday
with sanguinary loasee, aocordlng
to the official statement issued' to
day by the German headquarters
staff. German rtoops, it wag as
serted, had stormed the fortified
works of Hardamount, as well as the
town of Champneuvllte and the Cota
de Talou.' The number of un
wounded Frenchmen taken prison
ers, it was added, totalled 15,000.
Uermaa Official ((meat.
Tho text of the German official atste
ment follows: . ,
M'estern theater: On various portions
of the front there were Incense artillery
and. mine h.uUa u - .
'South 'of Tprea m. British aitack wis
repulsed
. "On the heights to ths . right ef the
Meuse, tl JTreneli . sttompted by at
tacks, repested fiva times with fresh
troops to reconquer the armored fort
ress of Douaumont. They were repulsed
with sanguinary losses.
To the west of the fort our troops
have taken CampneuvUls, the chief oCte
de Talou and have advanced as far aa
Nave on the southern border of the wood
northwest of Brss.
"To the east of the fort we took by
storm the extended fortified works of
Kardaumont
"in the Wovre plain vigorous fighting
Is taxing place on the uerman frontier,
the battles extending as far as the Cotes
Lor rains.
Tak Maar Prisons.
"Aocordlng to Information at present
at b.nd the number of unwounded pris
oners amounts to nearly 10,000.
"In Flinders our aeroplan squadrons
repeated their attacks on tho camp of
the enemy troops.
"A bomb attack on Mats by enemy
aviators resulted m the injury or death
of sight civilians and seven soldiers.
Several houses were damaged.
"In tha neighborhood of tha fortress a
French aeroplane waa brought down tn
the aarlal battle and by tha bombard
ment by antl-alroraft gun. Tha ooou
pants of the machine included two cap
s'", who were captured.
"Ka.tern and Balkan theaters: Thsra
Is nothing of Importance to report,"
Freaek Official K.ltBist.
PARI a. Feb. V. Ths offlolal oommuni.
cation lx.ued late today reads as fol
low.:
"Bet wren Pola.ons and Rhicms. destruc
tive (lie. have ben carried out on the
enemy works in front of Yenisei and to
me east or Troyon.
In the region to ths north of Verdun
following the violent actions of tha Bra
ced ng- dsys, there has besn coma abate
ment In the efforts of the enemy In the
course of ths day, except between th
heights of Douaumont and tha plateau
to the north of tha vll'axe of Vaux, whare
a strong attack carried out against our
positions was rept-.lssd.
PreulBgr tierawai C'losejy.
'To the east and west of the position
of Douaumont the slopes of which are
covered with German bodies, our troupe
are pressing closely ths enemy detach
ments which were able to gain a foot
hold there and who are maintaining
themselves with difficulty.
According to the latest reoorta tha
Cote de Talou, rendered untensable aa
well for i s as for the enemy by the bom
tsrdment of the two artilleries is oc
cupied by any of the advisary forces.
in the Woevre the enemy hss come
In contact with our advsnce posts in th
direction of ""Hlancee and Moranville.
where their efforts to debouch toward
Hill iSA failed.
"In ths Voegea there waa an artiHerv
duel, at Usrtmanswelierkopf. We took
under our fire and dispersed an enemy
cetathment in the region of Senones."
The Belgian official communication re
ports quietude along the Belgian front.
The British Statement.
LONDON. Feb. 7.-The British offlolal
taUnient on the campaign in Flander
reads:
' I.i.t nKlil we repulsed a avnaTI at
tack on our tienches north of ths Tpres
Comities canal.
"Today the artillery on both, aides bag
been active about Hulluoh and-Tgewe,
V