u
JL
Bee
More store news
in
THE BEE,
than other papers.
"The great market place"
VOL. XLVI. NO. 165.
OMAHA, WEDNESDAY V". . , DECEMBER 27, ' 1916 TWELVE PAGES.
On TnlM. n Halili.
Ntwl SUnta, I
SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS.
minimi n in Inii iimiii m " .. T ,. ' , , , , . . ; v . ,
7W FoU-er, We
Conference
THE
THE WEATHER
SNOW '
- -: .y ' -"
fir?-
SCORES PERISH
WHEN TORNADO
HITS ARKANSAS
From Seventeen to Seventy
Persons Are Killed as Cy
clone Sweeps South
Central Portion.
COMES IN THE AFTERNOON
r
Number Dead at England, at
Keo and at State Convict
Farm at Tucker.
REPORT IS VERY MEAGER
Little Rock, Ark, Dec. 26. From
seventeen to seventy persons were
. killed in; a tornado that struck south
centrai Arkansas at 3 o'clock tliij ai
ternoon. according to reports received
here tonight.
Four are kndwri to be dead at Eng
land, seventeen reported killed at
Keo and several are reported killed
at the stati. convict farm at Tucker.
Reports from the storm area are
meager owing to 'interruption pf wire
service. - - r"
Al! wires into the storm-swepted
district are down and duly meagre
details are available. ,
The known dead are: Albert L.
S warts, a farmer, living near Eng
land, and three negroes, one of
whom lived two miles north of Eng
land, and two who lived two miles
i south. The Swats home was picked
up and carried about 100 yards. Mrs.
lSwarts was believed fatally injured,
and, an 18-year-old daughter was
badly hurt.
The storm is said to have cwept a
path four miles wide and it is reported
that several fires broke out in the
l wreckage. Kverv nhvstcian in the
little town of England has been called !
to the country to care tor the injured.
Considerable alarm is felt here over
the situation, at the state convict farm
at Tucker, where there is said to have
been a heavy death list. There are
about 325 prisoners at the farm and
i: is feared that if the place was struck
that some of the convicts might have
, escaped. Captain J. R. Burkett. war-
. , den of :the.,stata- pentetitiary, -'lertj
here tonight with reinforcements for
the guard at Tucker "
i i i ii , --' -'j.
War-Time Problems .
v ; ; To Be, Considered
t Washington,' Dec. 26. War-time
problems will be among those con
sidered at the United Mates Cham
ber of Commerces annual meeting
Here, beginning January Jl. It is ex-
' peeled that the attendance will be
the largest in the history of the or
ganization.
The railroad situation, national de
fense, daylight saving and other im
portant questions will bediscussed.
Results of a referendum now being
taken by the chamber among its
affiliated organizations on the rail
road problem, particularly the pre
vention of strikes and lockouts, also
will be announced.
Los Angeles Gets
Touch of Winter
Los Angeles, Cal., Dec. 26. Snow
fell today over part of the city for the
sixth time in the forty years the
weather bureau has been established
here. It melted almost as rapidly as
it tell.
Foot hills in this section were tip.
ped with snow. '
The Weather
For Nebraska Probably, snow east por
lion; fair went portion. ,
Tmpmtiirw at Omaha l'miterta?. ,
Hour. , De.
6 a. m 88
f a. m 38
7 a, m 41
I a. m
a. m
27
11 a.
512 m
Highest' yesterday,
Lowest yenterday. ,
Mean temperature..
Precipitation ......
Temperature and precipitation depart urea
from ten normal at Omaha since March 1,
and compared with the laat two years:
Normal temperature 33
Kxcesa tor the day , (
Total exceiw since March 1 306
Normal precipitation , . , . . .OA Inch
Kxt?en for the day. , . .ii Inch '
Total rainfall vine March 1. ,. .10.62 Inches
Deficiency nine March 1. .... .1! .6 inches
Deficiency for cor. period, II S. 2.08 Inches
Ueficlency for cor. period, '1914. S. 20 Inches
Reports From Stations at 1 P. M.
Station and stats Temp. High- Rain-
-of Weather.
1 p. in.
eat.
fall.
Cheyenne, clear. , .
Davenport, cloudy
14
40
R
40
4
.02
.42
.w 40 ,
Denver, clear
Des Moines, clear..;
Doda-o City, clear...
Lamler, cloudy
North Platte, clear.
Omaha, clear , .
Pueblo, clear........
Rapid City. snow...
-2
; 14
.
, 1
42
It
2
22
1(
. a
Halt Lake City, cloudy,
Hants Ke, clear
Mhertdan, snow
is
Hioux City, clear
Valentine, clear.
"T" Indicates trace of
of pr.clpitatlon.
Indicates below aero.
, . L. A. WBL8U, MeteorologUL
7BaiiMHaawaavar t p. m.... .13
Comparative Local Records.
Illf. 1B1B. 1914. Mil
42 38 If 28
.,-'.13 .,. 18 .,: 'io
.. 28 2 10 18
.. .IT .00 T .00
INDIAN OFFICER DECORATED FOR BRAVERY This is
Captain Abkar, an Indian officer of the British army, leaving
Buckingham Palace, after being decorated by King George
for, heroism. - The captain was seriously injured and after
leaving a hospital was summoned by the King.
J"P CAP'TAiX
tfr-.t-.V ( AKBAR 1
o.ill
lv) hm
v. ' t"' n
Man Who Branded Wild Hofses in
Photograph Faces Perjury Charge
Charles N. Archer of Minneap
' olis Came Here to Testify .
as Witness for Defense. '
IS RELEASED ON BONDS
Claiming that he came here to testi
fy as a witness for the defense in
the celebrated "Arizona wild horse"
case, without being subpoenaed and
upon the advise of his wife, Qiarlcs
N. Acker, adjuster, of Minneapolis,
who testified last week regarding
some brands on a photograph, was
arrested yesterday on a federal war
rant charging him with perjury. He
was taken before United States Com
misisoner McLaughlin, where he was1
released on bonds of $750.
Ackei's testimony was that he
placed certain brands on horses in a
photograph for J. Brauer, a farmer of
Fargo, N. D., who had -traded some
of his property for a number of the
wild animals-
"I could make a lot of money," he
testified, the farmer told him, if he
had a certain picture, which was
hanging in the office of V. C. Gulick
son, Minneapolis, where the trade
was made. Upon the advise of the
farmer, he said, he took a soft pencil
and scratched different brands on the
horses yi the photograph.
' Couldn't Explain Brands.
- J. T. Brauer testified that he had
not asked Acker to brand the horses
and that he could not explain, unless
the brands were on the original pic
ture, how they happened to he pres
ent on the four copies he had made.
Louis Bostwick, an Omaha photo
grapher, a witness for the govern
ment, testified that he did not think
it possible that the brands were made
by a pencil, but that they must have
been made by a sharp instrument
on the negative, "
- Jack Wirt z, photographer of the
Minneapolis Tribune, who made the
copies, testified that he did not see
any pencil marks on the copy he had.
Just, how the horses in the photo
graph came to be branded is still as
great a mystery as ever and upon its
outcome will depend whether Charles
N. Acker is convicted of perjury.
Charges Jury Move.
Following the arrest. Attorney Fle
harty, chief counsel for the defense,
said that the move in arresting Acker
was only to influence the jury and
that if Acker is tried. Brauer should
also be arrested for perjury.
t. rollock, president ot the Ari
zona Central bank of Flagstaff, Ariz.,
reputed to be one of the wealthiest
men in his state, testified that he did
everything possible to discourage per
sons, from dealing with the United
States Live Stock company.
"Mr. Thompson was objecting
strenuously to the letters I had writ
ten over the country in answer to in
quiries to horses in Coconino county,
and advised me that I was laying my
self open to damage suits."
He testfied that he, couldn't be
scared or bluffed that easy and that
he was only - doing as he thought
right. , .
' "Boost, Don't Knock."
"Smith came into my office once
and told me that if I couldn't boost
the business, not to knock it.
"We don't do business that way in
Arizona," the banker said. "We be
lieve in giving , everybody a square
deal. I told Thompson and Smith not
to refer to -the bank any more.
Others who testified 'were: R. F.
Beebee, manager of the Vendome
hotel, Minneapolis, who said that J. S.
Smith, Jack Shircliff and B. F. Bur
winkle, three of the indicted men now
facing, the mails for the alleged use
to defraud, registered at the hotel
just previous to the time that a deal
was made with J. Brauer of Fargo,
N. D.; Mrs. Mary Steward of Iowa
City, la., and her daughter, Mrs. Mary
Becker of Lincoln, Neb.,' who earlier
testified that they traded their home
and a $1,000 diamond for some of the
animals. . '
Contrary to expectationsTthe case
did not come to a close yesterday, as
had been expected, attorneys for both
sides introduced a number of new
witnesses and recalled 'some of the
old ones. It is expected, however,
that today will be taken up with the
closing arguments of both sides and
that the case will go to the jury
Thursday.
Admiral Dewey Seventy-Nine
Years Old and is Felicitated
Washington, Dec. 26. Admiral
Dewey as 79 years old today and
Secretary 1 Daniels and his council
and most of the high ranking officers
of the navy extended their congratu
lations in person at his office.
Secretary Daniels read to the ad
miral part of ft diary kept by an offi
cer of the United States steamship
Colorado, dated December 26, 1866,
which told how First Lieutenant
George Dewey had tried to make the
Christmas season on that old steam
frigate happy by giving each blue
jacket a bottle of wine.
BUREAS LOOSED,
SWEEPS EAST AND
SOUTH WITH FURY
Cold Wave, With Snowstorm,
Covers Paoifio States and
Sends Icy Breath Over
the Rockies. '
ZERO COLO PREDICTED
Salt Lake City Has Record
Snow Fall and the Storm
Moves Eastward.-. -
FAST TRAINS RUN LATE
Below Zero-. Weather, with
Wind and.. Snow, Prevails in
Wyoming and Dakota.
WIRES DOWN, TRAINS LATE
Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 26.
More than tfvelve inches of snow has
fallen in Utah within the last twenty
four hours, breaking all previous
storm records. Branch railroads have
suspended schedules and only the
main lines are open to traffic. Over
land trains are many hours behind
chedules.
Street car traffic in Salt Lake City
is at a standstill, save for a stub ser
vice in the downtown district.
In the southern part of the state
low temperatures prevail withfModcna
registering 24 degrees below z(QAll
suburban towns are isolated. ,
'Kat a severe storm which may be
come a blttza.-d is headed toward
Omaha -is advice received the local
railroad headquarters. . "
! ti . c.....!. rv, .. -a u'.,
1 liruufgnuui juuim wuuui u njir
ming and points north and west of
there storms are raging and indica
tions are that th'ey are traveling rap
idly in this direction. Low tempera
tures with badly driftii.g snows were
reported in the northwestern part of
Nebraska.
At Longi.Pine lie mercury had
dropped to 10 below ' zero Tuesday
morning. A heavy snow which drifted
badly was reported falling- At Dallas,
4. U just across the line from Ne
braska, it was 10 below and at Winner,
SvD -it was lero. ";';VV" 'L': '
Northwestern trair.s along the line
between Chadron and Long Pine are
running about two hour, late because
of the bad wind and driftinp snow.
Wires into the Black Hills country
are. down and repirts are meager, .
The Burlington reports that tem
peratures along the Alliance division
are about 8 degrees below zero. Snow
I is reported along this division, but it
has not started to drift yet. wires are
down and the weather conditions may
be even more severe than reportedrj
. Limiteds Run Late. ..
Temperatures in Wyoming range
from 5 to 20 degrees below iero and
trains from that state are running far
behind schedule. Lauder, Wyo., re
ported 22 below ze.o and Cheyenne
20. The Overland Limited on the
Union Pacific coming from the west
is running one hour ?-.d fifty minutes
late. The Portland train on the Union
Pacific is five hours late. Other
Union Pacific trains from the west are
from one to three hours late, with
one exception, No. 12 is running on
time. , ' i
Low temperatures prevail all over
the Rocky mountain regior. and wires
are down in many places. The Union
Pacific this morning had no wires
open to Chicago, New York or San
Francisco on account of- the storms-
The weather bureau in Omaha was
getting such meager reports on ac
. iunt of the lack of telegrat r ic com
munications that Meteorologist Welsh
was unable to make his forecast be
fore noon. Wires east, north and
west are jdown. '
Coldest of Year in West.
San Francisco, Cal., Dec. 26. Far
western states were in the grip today
of the coldest weather of the winter,
In Helena, Mont, thermometers reg
istered twenty-nine degrees below
zero. There was more than a foot
of snow in eastern Washington and
Montana and transcontinental trains
were running behind schedule.
- One young man was found frozen
to death in . Washington,, having
separated from companions, while on
a trapping expedition. In Oregon, a
rural free delivery mail carrier and
two farmers in different sections of
the state have been missing since Fri
day. Because of additional snow fall
searching parties have returned and
reported they found no trace of the
men.
Zero in Nevada. v
Southwestern Nevada is also ex
periencing zero weather. Searchers
who started Sunday to seek breaks
in lines carrying power from the
mountains to Tonopah and other
towns, have not been heard from and
more snow caused anxiety lest search
ing parties may be lost.
The storm reached southern Cali
fornia and parts of Los Angeles wit
nessed today a flurry of snow which
melted as it fell, but which capped
the nearby foothills, with streamers of
white.
In the mountains of Fresno county,
California, the snow fall yesterday
was four feet. A local train stalled
several days at 'luntington Lake fin
ally plowed itself out today.
Mount Tamalpais. and Mount Dia
blo, overlooking San Francisco Bay,
were tipped with snow today, the
first of the season.
. Foot of Snow in Aberdeen.
Siouk Falls, S. D., Dec 26. The
worst storm in years is raging over
(CoBUnMd w Fx Two, Colnaui !.)
German Allies Ready to
Talk Peace Plans; Ask
Delegates for a Council
Note from Berlin to Washington in Which the
Central Powers Unite, Requests Immediate
Conference of Warring Nations to Discuss
ProposaU Contained in Wilson Note to the
Belligerents, Suggesting That They State the
Terms on Which They Will Consider Peace
Berlin, Dec. 26 (By Wireless to Sayville) Germany
and its allies, Austria-Hungary,
replied to the note of President
the belligerent nations state the
ing. The proposal is made by the central powers that a con
ference of the delegates of all the belligerents be held imme
diately in a neutral city.v " , : '
The task of preventing future wars, the official statement
says, can be begun only after
The answer, which also
Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey,
"The high-minded suggestion made by the president of
the United States of America in
establishment of a lasting peace has been received and consid
ered by the imperial government in the friendly spirit which
was expressed in the president's communication.
: "The president points out
and leaves open the choice of
"To the imperial government an immediate exchange of
views seems to be the most appropriate road in order to reach
the desired result.
"It begs, therefore, in the
Pecember 12, which offered a
to propose an, immediate meeting
states, at a neutral place.
. ''The imperial government
great work of preventing further
the end of the present struggle
; "It will, when this moment shall have come, be ready, with
pleasure, to collaborate entirely with the United States in this
exalted task." ' '
The answer of the central
diplomatic terms of politeness.
: Washington Feels Hopeful.
Washington, Dec. 26. Indications
accumulated in officjal' quarters here
today that the action of Switzerland
in supporting the recent peace move
of the United States may be followed
by similar action on the part of uther
European neutrals. Holland, Spain,
the Scandanavian countries and the
pope, it was said, are expected to take
some action in the near future.
p Dr. Paul'Ritter, the Swiss minister,
will see President Wilson within a few
days to discuss the peace situation.
He called at -the White House today
to gather information on how the
Swiss peace note had been received
in this country in order to send a re
port to his government.
Dr. Ritter was concerned over
newspaper reports that the action of
the Swiss government was construed
as support for the cause of the cen
tral powers. He told Secretary
Tumulty the action of his government
was solely in the interest of peace.
Messages From Europe.
Messages from individuals and or
ganizations in Holland and other neu
tral European nations continued to
arrive at the White House today in
large numbers. All commended the
presidenr-for- his recent note and in
dicated that strong pressure was be
ing brought on the governments ot
European neutrals to take action.
While the United States will con
tinue to act alone supporting action
bv other neutral nations, it is said,
well be welcomed by President Wil
son. -
Revision of Proposals.
'In some quarters the note was re
garded more as a revision of the
president's proposals than an accept
ance, in that instead of bringing for
ward, as suggested, Germany's terms,
it proposes a conference. Allied
statesmen have indicated opposition
to that plan,The reference to the
American note in connection with the
original German proposals of Decem
ber 12 is one which the American
government' has taken the greatest
pains to avoid. Such a connection
has been declared officially to have
been a. source of the areatest em
barrassment to the administration and
is known to have occasioned hostijity
in the entente countries. Gcrmanv's
purpose in emphasizing it is not clear.
J Ms felt that Uermany is in an era-
barrasing position in replying to the
uresident's note as the allies have not
yet put themselves on record neither
toward that one nor as to tnc original
German proposals. This is the ex
planation advanced for the shortness
of the reply and of its lack of detail. ,
Whether Germany s immediate pub
lication of the reply was due to in
ternal consideration or to a desire to
disclose it before the allies had made I
Bulgaria and Turkey, today
Wilson in which he asked that
aims for which they were fight
the end of the present struggle
contains the reply of Austria-
says:
order to create a basis for the
that which he has at heart
road. ' "
V
sense of the declaration made
hand for peace negotiations,
of delegates of the belligerent
- 1
is also of the opinion that the
wars can be begun only after
of the nations. w
; ., . f " 1
powers concludes with the usual
1
public either of their two expected
answers isnot known here.
; Comment Withheld.
Washington, ' Dec. 26. Officials
here are surprised that Germany's an
swer to President Wilson s peace note
was given out in Berlin before it
reached this country in official form,
They pointed out that in sending his
note, President Wilson allowed two
davs between the tune of its dispatch
Land making it public, that it might
nrst reacn tne uerman government.
In the absence of an official reply,
formal comment was withheld at the
White House and the State depart
ment. The dnect proposal for s con
ference of delegates at a neutral place
was regarded as a further step in
Germany's proposal, although officials
considered it as having been definitely
forecast in the first proffer. Such a
formal offer has repeatedly been men
tioned in authorized statements at the
German embassy , here, where the
opinion freely has been expressed that
if delegates once could be gathered
around a table for the purpose of
discussing peace, -the result surely
would be an arrangement of terms.
Hie Berlin dispatches containing
the uerman reply were read by fres-
ident Wilson and Secretary Lansing
with the greatest interest. Some of
ficials, who compared the reply with
President Wilson's note, professed to
see some conflict between the Uer
man statement that the work of se
curinB the future peace of the world
should be delayed until the end of
the present struggle, while others
were of the opinion that it was not
entirely out of harmony.
Count Bernstorff
1 Will Not Comment
New York, Dec. 26. Count von
Bernstorff, the German ambassador,
declined tonight on his arrival here
from Washington, to comment in any
way on the text of Germany's answer
to President Wilson's note.
The ambassador said he had left
Washington a few minutes before the
text of the reply' had been received,
but he had read a copy of it on the
trip to New York.
San Luis Potosi Is
Captured by Villa
- i "
El Paso, Tex., Dec. 26. A report
was received late today by sources
known to be close to irancisco Villa,
and by government agents, saying
that Villa a forces captured San Luis
Potosi yesterday. Many foreigners
who left Torrcon before Villa at
tacked that town, recently went to
San Luis Potosi. - No details were
available.
FLEET OF ALLIES
OFF AMERICA TO
GUARDJHIPPIIIG
Disguised War Vessels in
Western WaMrs for Proteo- "
tion of Merchantmen From ,
German Submarines.
THE7 RUN VAGRANT COURSE
Graft Declared to Be Large
and Powerful, But Oapa
: , ble of Fair Speed.
WILL ACT AS - CONVOYS
Boston, Dec- 26, For some days
skippers of transatlantic and coast
wise steamers have been bringing to
New England ports reports of strange
appearing craft that were making
their way westward. They made no
reply )o signals and could not be ap
proached. They steered a vagrant
course and were described variously
ss of the fashion of merchant men,
transports, light cruisers and even of
'submarines. Pieced together these re
ports fitted in with the suspicion now
apparently confirmed of shipping
men.
It is said the fleet arrived safely at
Halifax, Nova Scotia, a few days ago,
but nothing then became generally
known about it because of the strict
censorship maintained. These ves
sels, commerce protectors, are de
scribed as large and powerful, but
capable of fair speed.
They were designed, it is said, to
meet the German U-boat danger and
in anticipation of an attempted raid
off the Canadian coast similar to that
made by the U-53 off Nantucket, Oc
tober 8. At that time shipping men .
figured that there was not an allied
warship within 500 miles of the spot
that Captain Hans Rose deliberately
selected in which to operate. The
British admiralty, it is said, deter
mined to make impossible another
such raid and the fleet of commerce
protectors was the fruition of the plan
then formulated.' The arrival of the
disguised warships was- followed al
most immediately with the announce
ment by the British premier, Lloyd
George, of the plan for the nationali
sation of British shipping. - g
It is understood that the commerce
protectors will not only lie in wait
for submarines at strategic points, but
that they have been provided in suffi
cient number to act as convoys for
merchant vessels through the zones
in - which undersea boats would be
mostly likely to operate. ; ; .
More Children Must ,
Be Born if Population
Is to Be Increased
New York, Dec. 26. Every married ,
woman capable of bearing children (
must, on an average bring three chil
dren to maturity if the population it ,
to be kept up, it was asserted here
today at a meeting of the American
Genetic association by Dr. Robert J.
Sprague of the Massachusetts Agricul
tural college. . i
"Of the graduates of our womenTs
colleges," he said, "only one-half ever
marry and the average number of
children per graduate is less) than
one." "
The meeting is being held by the
association as one of the affiliated or
ganizations taking part in the sixty
ninth convention of the American As
sociation for the Advancement , of
Science. ' '
The present convention of the as
sociation is said to represent the larg
est aggregation of scientists ever as
enibled at one time. It is estimated
that from 7,000 to 10,000 scientific men
and women are here to attend fifty
meetings in various-parts of the city.
Bad Weather for
Soldiers On Border
?' . ! . f
El Paso, Tex,, Dec. 26. A sudden
drop in temperature accompanied by "
sleet and snow last night followed
the wind and dust storm which
spoiled Christmas celebrations for El
Pasp and the army camps near here
Tents which were blown down by
the high wind were put up after dark'
last night and bands of officers and
enlisted men who were relieved from
duty at the camps spent the night air
the hotels in the city. . ' .
All drills and routine camp duties
have been suspended for the Christ
mas week.
At the Rate of , .
; lc per word
One day's rent from that
room now vacant would . '
pay for an attractive ad
for several days. "n. . .
You are as close to
Ttw Bm Want Ad
. Dept. as your phone is
to you. , -s i
Mr. Addison will help you 'R
write your ad. t
Phone Tyler 1000
Today