Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1917)
Daily Bee Want-ad Night Service to 10 p. m. Tyler 1000 THE WEATHER Rain or Snow VOL. XLVL NO." 273. OMAHA, THURSDAY MORNING. MAY 3, 1917 FOURTEEN PAGES. t,rj.. SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. HOLLWEG PUTS OFF PEACE TALK; DIVERS SINK 59 SHIPS IN A WEEK The Omaha GERMANY WILL NOT SUBMIT ITS PROPOSALS ROW Address by Imperial Chancel lor Von Bethmann-Hollweg Slated for Thursday is ' Postponed. REGARDED AS A FEELER British Mission Says Number of Attempts to Sound Senti ,ment of Entente Expected. MANY UNDER CURRENTS Copenhagen, May 2 (Via London) The speech which was to have been made in the Reichstag by Dr. von Eethmann-Hollweg, the German im national relations has been postponed to a more fitting occasion, according to word received here. The situation, as reported in a dis patch from Berlin, appears to be as follows : At a caucus of the majority social' jsts in the Reichstag, the group that supports the policy of not embarrass ing the chancellor and the govern ment, it was decided to defer an in terpellation that had been proposed regarding Uernianys peace plans un til a more suitable occasior. Series of Feelers Expected. Washington, May 2. Reports of fresh peace offers from Berlin brought! forth the statement from the British mission today that a series of feelers were expected during the next few months as an immense amount of quiet peace efforts has been under way by Teutonic emissaries, but no credence is being placed in their ac ceptability. Germany was stated to have made - advances proposing surrendering its conquests in the east and west on con dition of retaining its Balkan way to tiagdad and Mesopotamia, but jhe al lies have been more united against that plan than against any other pro posal. : German System a Failure. Xmsterdam"?Via London). Mav 2. The Hamburger Jremdenblaft 1ias come to the conclusion that the Ger man political system is a failure and must be changed. The paper says: "There is no use theorizing. There is something wrong-with our governmental system, as is clearly proved by Germany's political failures and in fact by the whole war. Fresh blood must be infused in the government." v Thc-i'''cmdenblait advocates the re moval ti tlic bureaucratic barriers in oracr :u allow the parliament and government to work in harmony. Reports to Denmark Tell of A Quiet May Day in Berlin Copenhagen (Via London), May 2. All accounts of May day in Berlin, which have reached here, say that al though the day was marked by a demonstrative strike of certain em ployes, it passed in an orderly man ner. According to these accounts, work was stopped in only one factory, but in view of the character of previous censored reports on the labor situa tion it is impossible to tell how near f this is to the truth. The military authorities in Berlin in order to stamp the movement as un patriotic posted offers of rewards for the capture of agents in the service of the enemy who were seeking to ' awaken dissension among the people. The Weather For Nebraska Rain, last; rain or snow west portion; continued cold. Temperature at Omaha Yesterday. Hours, Dee. y. 6 am 42 JfO 1 I; triy 70 111 45 tylA II a. m l 4fi Wi 1 p. m 49 2 P. 49 : p. m.M 48' 4 P. m... .. 4T f p. m 46 &S2&zser P- m 45 . -c- P. ni 44 8 p. m 43 Comparative I-oenJ Record, 1917. 1915, 1914. Flintiest j fHterilay . . . . 49 fil 73 t3 Lowest yslrtrday i 44 H 52 M ?u ii temperature. .. . 45 62 64 &8 Prnclpitatton 13 T .03 .02 Temperature and precipitation doparturea from the normal: Normal temperature. 68 ppflcteiiry fur the day , 13 Total deficiency enco March 1 27 Vnrnial precipitation 12 Inch KscesB for the day .01 inch Total rain fa! I nine March 1 6.44 Irishes Kxcoptt Mince March 1 79 Inch Deficient for cor. period, 1910.. 3.68 Inches Deficiency for cor. period, 115. . l.7 invhea , Reports from Stations at 7 p. m. Station and State Temp. High- .Rain of Weather. 7 p. m. est, fall. Chsyenne. cltf'jBy 42 f,i .36 Davenport, cloudy 62 DS ,00 Denver. Vain 41 40 .T JK' Molm-8. cloudy E3 &6 G0 Dodge Vi(y. elouily...., 64 64 .00 Lander, snow SH 4ft .26 North -Piatt", rain 21 34 ,28 Omaha, rain 44 40 .13 Pueblo, t:lar.- , rB 6 .T Tlapld City. snow. .14 jr, .ss HalbvLakt. City. clear... & 62 .34 Mantu-Ke, (cloudy ...... . 6U tit .no Hiuridan, rain 38 4fi ,2 Sioux City, cloudy 61 ."0 Valentine', miuw 32 42 .36 T Indicates true of precipitation. 1,.A .Welsh, MtteorolOKlst. SENATOR THOMAS. SAYS HANG EVERY FOOD SPECULATOR Borah Declares the Best Way to Deal With Offenders is to Put Them in Prison. NO SHORTAGE OF STAPLES Members Prom Farming States Insist No Reason to Fear a Scarcity. packers Are attacked Washington, May 2. Rising senti ment in congress for legislation to meet the nation's food problems broke out in the senate today in a de bate that started over the high price of seeds, but developed into denunci ations of food speculators with asser tions that the best way to deal with them was. to string them to lamp posts or put them behind prison bars. Senators from farming states de nied that there is any real shortage of staple foods in the United States, Senator Williams declared there had been a hysteria throughout the coun--try and that the cause of high prices was largely psychological. He said he believed the German corruption fund recently unearthed in a federal court in New York may have been responsible. Word should go from the senate, Senator Williams said, that there is no shortage of food. senators Nelson and McCuniber agreed that there is no reason to fear a shortage. Thomas and Borah Lead Attack. The attack on the speculators was led by Senators Thomas and Boarh. The Colorado senator declared they were the real enemies of the nation, expressed th hop that congress would not adjourn without legislation that would remedy the evil, and said the lamp post is the thing to cure such speculation. . - He introduced an amendment to the espionage bill empowering the presi dent by proclamation to susDend dur ing the war the operation of boards of trad and chambers of commerce which deal in futures. Senator Borah predicted a world famine if the war lasts two vears and if extraordinary and sustained efforts are not made here to meet the food problem. He I attacked the packers, declaring theymade enormous profits, and said speculation and monopoly in foodstuffs made millions for those who were responsible and made "peons of the people." He favored conscription of food and government possession of the packing companies. Food speculation, he said, would not be ended until the specula tors "are put in stripes behind the bars." Farmers Profit Also. Senator Kenyon said: "These speeches will be used by food specula tors as an excuse for raising prices still higher. The packers are getting big profits, but we farmers and stock raisers, too, are getting them. I sold an old, superannuated, toothless cow for $50 or $60. for which I would have been glad to have gotten $10." senator Kenyon introduced a bill today to make it a prison offense to buy futures on any article "pertaining to the necessities bf life," or storing them, cornering the market or affect- ing the market price.' Shorthill Asserts Roads Must Move Stocks on Hanoi (From a1 Staff Correspondent.) Washington, May 2. (Special Tele gram.) J. W. Shorthill, scretary terasurer ef the National Council of Farmers' Co-Operative Associations, with headquar'Jrs at York, 'Neb., with other representatives of grain associa tions, had an important hearing today before a subcommittc: of the Council for National Defense in charge of transportation. Mr. Shorthill said that in view of the government making strenuous efforts to get the farmers to grow additional crops it was im peratively necessary that the railroads should move the crops now in ele vators or in othr storage in order that the crop coming on might be taken care of. ' 1 "The grain on the farm is in the hands of people who have facilities to hold it," said Mr. Shorthill. "If that grain is not moved off the farm before the new crop comes on,hose farmers who have facilities to hold will have to dump the grain on the market with those who tack holding facilities. That would obviously result in a greater congestion than exists at present." Mr. Shorthill was assured that every effort would be .made to give the farmers and grain dealers throughout the cquntry the sought for relief. First Bond Offering Two Billio'n Dollars Washington, May 2. Tonight Secretary McAdoo announced that the first offering of bonds under the Liberty loan would amount to $2,000,000,000. WILSON TELLfe r.rirH , t IX ECUTI VES NATION MUST CO-ORDINATE ALL ITS ENERGIES FOR SUPREME TEST WASHINGTON, May 2. President Wilson this afternoon received the governors who are here attending a con ference with the Defense Council, and told them it was the supreme duty of the United States to co-ordinate ils energies so' demo cracy shall be vindicated and the world shown that the American government does not live in vain. "He declared that every force in the United States should -turn to a supreme ef fort of winning thd war. ' "I have no homily to deliver to you," said President Wilson, "because I know you are as intensely interested as I am in drawing all our efforts and energies to gether in a common action. "My function has not of recent days been to give advice, but to get things co ordinated so that there will not be any 'or at any rate too much lost motion and in order that things should not be done twice by different bodies or done in conflict. y' "It is for that reason that I particularly welcome a conference such as this you are holding, the conference which will ac-' quaint you with exactly the task as it is conceived here in Washington and with the ways in which co-operation can be best NO EXCUSE FOR IDLE MEN IN THE STATE TODAY War Situation Being Reflected Stronger in Omaha Each Day in Demand for Laborers. HOTELS ARE HARDEST HIT More Women Than Men Are Daily Being Provided With Jobs. FARMER NEEDS HELP, TOO "The war situation is being reflected in the continually increasing calls for workers, particularly from the rural districts and qu'te generally from other fields of industry. The situation is shifting so rapidly that it is growing complex. For illus tration: In the hotel business many employes are finding more remunera tive places. Manager Letton of the Fontenelle said: "We lose from ten to fifteen a day, some going to better positions and others entering military service. It is impossible for us to keep our staff filled. Hotels lost near ly 50 pc cent of employes at the be ginning of the war because most American hotel workers arc foreign bom. "A national meeting of hotel men is being held today in Muncie. Ind., to establish a training school for hotel employes. The labor question in hotels is nation-wide and is a seri ous problem." fio Excuse for Idle Men. "There is no excuse for in able bodied man to plead lack of employ ment at this time," said City Com missioner Jardine, who is in close touch' with labor affairs. Secretary Stryker of the Live Stock exchange maintains a farm employ ment bureau in connection with his office. He is sending five to ten men to the farms every day and has more calls for farm workers than he can fill. Local dairy men are experiencing the greatest difficulty in keeping men to drive their wagons. . "I will not be surprised to see women serving as conductors on the street cars and taking other places usually filled by .men," was a com ment by Superintendent Schreiber of the Board ot I'ublic Weltare. Prof. Pugsley offered this state ment: "The most important single limit ingfactor in increasing production is the farm labor supply. Six million men have already, been killed in the Euronean war and there are now 4,- 500,000 men in prison camps. Fifteen million men have been wounded, of which number 1.5011,000 have been permanently incapacitated, and there are yet 5.000,000 in the hospitals, a portion of whom will not recover and a norlion will be incapacitated for life. There are now under arms approxi mately 39,000,000 men and the num ber is being increased daily. This makes 56,000,000 of the ablest bodied men in the world withdrawn from the ranks of producers. . To this depletion of farm labor in other countries we are now adding out bit." South Bend Minister . Will Marry Ohio Girl Cincinnati, O., May 2. (Special Tciegram.) Announcement was made here yesterday., of the coining marriage of Rev. C. G. Lunan of South Bend, Neb., to Miss Nina Bull of Xcnia, O. Rev. C. G. I.iinan will graduate May 9 from the Xenia Theological seminary and the wed ding will take place the day follow ing his graduation. Famous Monument Recast Into Shells New York. May 2. The famous monument erected in Petrograd in honor of Catherine II of Russia, has been demolished and recast into shells at the request of the committee ef soldiers, according to a dispatch received here today from Petrograd by the Jewish Daily Forward. AMERICAN SHIP ROCKINGHAM SUNK Former Steamship Nebraskan Sent to Bottom of Sea by German Submarine. -THIRTEEN MEN MISSING London, May 2. The American steamer Rockingham has been sunk by a German submarine. Thirteen men are missing. Two boats containing' thirty-three men were picked up yesterday by a patrol vessel. One boat containing thirteen men is missing. 4,000 Tone Gross. New York, May 2. The American steamship Rockingham, formerly the steamship Nebraskan, was of 4,408 tons gross. It was built at Camden, N. J, in 1902 and was owned by the Garland Steamship corporation. It was announced by officers of the corporation here that the Rocking ham left Baltimore April !'J for Liverpool under command of Captain Charles Edwards of Brooklyn. Cap tain Edwards is a naturalized Ameri can of English birth. The Rockingham carried guns and a United States naval crew when it left Baltimore, its owners said. Carried Forty-nine Men. The Bcckingham carried forty-nine men, including many Americans. The crew numbered thirty-six and the naval contingent consisted of a lieu tenant and twelve men. The value of the ship and its general cargo was $3,250,000. The vessel was due in Liverpoc! today. ' Hit by Torpedo in 1915. When under the name Nebraskan the Rockinghamx was torpedoed off the British coast less than one month after the Lusitania was sunk, but reached port safely. The vessel at the time had just been relieved from charter by the White Star line and was returning to America intending to carry coal from Newport News to California for the navy. Aged Couple "Run Away" To Omaha for Wedding Eli Vickery, 77, and Mrs. Sara H. Scott, '34, "ran away" from their re spective homes, in Council Bluffs late Tuesday afternoon and were married in Omaha. "Sure, we're running away," chucked the old couple, when they obtained a marriage license at the court house. Judge Crawford of county court performed the cere mony. The old people will make their home in the Iowa city. The Monthly Score Display Advertising IN THE BEE Only Omaha Paper to Make Gain (Warfield Aeency Measurements) Inches. Total Display April, 1917. .32,225 Total Display April, 1916. .29,710 Display GAIN 2,515 Keep Your Eye on The Bee organized.' For after all the task is com paratively simple. "The means of accomplishing the task are complicated, -because we must draw many pieces of machinery together and we must see that they act not only to a com mon object, but at the same time and in a common spirit. "My function therefore today ia the pleasant function of saying how much ob liged to you I am for having come here and associated yourself with us i nth great task of making good what the nation has promised to do go to the defense of the rights of people everywhere to live as they have a right to live under the very prin ciples of our nation. "It is a thing one does not dare to talk about because a certain passion comes into one's thought and one's thought and one's feelings as one thinks of the nature of the task, the ideal nature of it, of the oppor tunity that America has now to show to all the world what it means to, have been a democracy for 145 years and to mean every bit; of the creed which we have so long professed. And in this thing it ought to be easy to act and delightful to cooperate." EVERY FAMILY SHOULD GARDEN ITS BACK LOTS Prof. 0. W. Pugsley, AgrjLcuW tural Expert of State Uni- versity, Tells of Serious Food Conditions. TALKS BEFORE ROTARIANS Says Entire World Faces Dan ger of Food Famine and it " is Up to Farmer. - - ' LABOR PROBLEM LOOMS BIG A most important increase fn Nebraska will come as a result of the effort of each' individual family to become as nearly self supporting as possible. If every family in the state of Nebraska would grow all the po tatoes and beans needed they would have for themselves a bal anced ration and would relieve for use elsewhere the potatoes and beans they usually buy on the market. . In this time of emergency it seems to me that we should make the very greatest use of the back yards, vacant lots, and waste places within the city limits. Each town dweller can help in this espect and if we are not do ing our bit in this direction let us resolve to start at once. From Prof. C. W. Pugseley's talk to the Rotarians. "We are in danger of a world's food famine and if the world is fed the American farmer must feed it; also if llie war is won the American farmer must win it," C. W. Pugsley, director of the agricultural extension service of the University of Ne braska, told members of the Rotary club of Omaha at the weekly' meeting and luncheon at the Hotel Fonte nelle. Mr. Pugsley said that all forecasts indicate short crops this year. He said that breeding herds are being de picted, lorecasting a shortage of meat. He quoted the first statement of the St. Luus conference called by the secretary of agriculture on April 10. Upon the farmer rests in large measure the final responsibility of winning the war in which we are now involved. Therefore, the man who tills the soli and supports the soldier in the field and the family at home is rendering as noble and patriotic a service as the man who bears the brunt of battle. The university man impressed upon Rotarians the fact that w who live in- town can helji by furnishing labor, seed, machinery, and by growing and preserving cur own vegetable supply. "We in this great central west do not realize that we owe obligations as world citizens," he said. "Our farms we found ready for our plows without the use of the axe or the re moval of stones. They are sufficient ly limed to keep them sweet, and so abundant in fertility that we can main. (Continued on 1'nge lUeven, Column Five.) Slayer Pleads He Saw His Victim Kissing Wife Christianshurg, Va., May 2. Prof. C. L. Vawlcr, on trial here on u charge of murdering Stockton Heth, jr., today took the stand and pleaded the unwritten law and self-detcnse as his justification. He told of seeing Heth kissing Mrs. Vawter and de clared he only shot Heth after the latter attacked him. The tragedy took place at night hi the Vawter home, where Heth was a guest. LANE PREDICTS WAR WILL LAST SEVERAL YEARS Secretary of Interior Tells Governors' Conference the United States Has Gi gantic Task. MUST BUILD VESSELS Four Hundred Thousand Tons of Shipping Destroyed Last Week. SAYS GERMANY HAS FOOD BULLETIN. Washington, May 2. Secretary of State Lansing, in response to inquiries about the submarine situation, said: "It may as well be recognized that the submarine situation is , very serious." Washington, May 2. Secretary Lane told the governors conferring here today with, the Council ot Na tional: Defense on tne part state gov ernments will take in the war, that the federal government had heard 400,000 tons of shipping had been sunk in the last week by German submarines. Secretary Lane declared he believed the wa. would last several years and that every rcsourcu of the country must be brought into place to bring it to a successful conclusion. The destruction of tonnage, Secre tary Lanv said, was not only threaten ing the existence of England and France, but was alarming the United States. Study of inventions to combat inc. suumarine menace is neing oc ligently pursued in the Interior de partment, he said. Must Build Ships. The United States must build ships as rapidly as possible, he told the dele gates. "H we don't fight the war on the other side," he laid, "we shall have to tight it oh this side of the Atlantic " "Many persons thought," said Sec retary Lane, "that all we had to do was to issue bonds and that Germany would bow its .head-"iti . submission. Nothing could be farther from the truth.' We do not know when this war will end. It may be a one-year war. Personally, I believe It will last several years. "Herbert C. 'Hoover has informed this government that Germany has food enough to last two years, per haps longer. "Germany has put up the greatest fight of history and it has the advan tage of now fighting a defensive war fare. Don't go back home and in spire your people with the thought that immediate action can brinsr this war Ul an immediate end. Your peo-J pie must iook to this year s crop and next year's crop and the next after that. "We can't afford to fail in this war. Every man in this country is involved in this work and every man in the country is a soldier." Marshal Joff re. Has Long Talk ' With President Washington, May 2. Marshal Joffre held a long conference with President Wilson late today on the question ff sending American troops to France. He was accompanied only by Colonel Spencer Cosby of the American army, who acted as inter preter. Utah Mines Ask Lower Rates Into Nebraska Washington, May 2. Coal opera tors of'the Helper, Utah, mining dis trict, one of the chief sources of pro duction in the west today, petitioned the Interstate Commerce commission for a reduction in freight rates on coal from their mines to California. Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington. Present rales, they charged, discrimi nate against the Utah operators and favor operators in New Mexico and Wyoming. Joffre-Viviani Party Leave for the West Today Washington, May 2. Vice Premier Viviani, Marshal Joffre and other members of France s war mission will leave Washington for their western trip tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 o'clock. They go direct to Chicago, where they are due at noon Friday. Chinese Minister Leaves Germany for Denmark Peking, May 2. The foreign office has received information that the Chinese minister to Germany has left Berlin for Denmark. WEDNESDAY'S MUSTER ROLL FOR OMAHA Wednesday. Total Army 50 -v 1,594 Navy 19 666 National Guard 10 338 Marine Corps 3 50 'Totals 82 2,648 NEWEST COUNT SHOWS U-BOATS CONTINUE PACE Admiralty Report for 7 -Day Period Ending Sunday Says 38 Craft of More Than 1,600 Tons Destroyed. PREVIOUS RECORD FORT? Thirteen Vessels of Less Than That Weight Also Sent to Bottom. EIGHT FISHER BOATS LOST London, May 2. The British of ficial annoancemcnt of the number vessels sunk in the week ending on Sunday Inst shows that thirty-eight vessels of over 1,600 tons each were sunk. Those of less than 1,600 tons num bercd thirteen, and eight fishing ves sels were sent to the bottom by sub marines or minrs, fifty-nine vessels of all descriptions. j The previous week's statement showed that forty vessels of over 1, 000 tons each were sent to the bottom by minrs or submorines. Norse Heavy Losers. Christiania, Norway, May 2, (Via ' London ) Seventy-five Norwegian vessels were sunk by German subma rines in April and more than 100 sailors lost their , lives. If such a monthly loss was maintained Nor way's merchant navy would be de stroyed in a year and a half. ' London, May 2. According to the Central News the Norwegian foreign office has announced the sinking of the Norwegian steamers Hectoria and Langland by German submarines. ' The crews were saved. Strike of Chicago Bakers Probably , , -WillM SpoH .4 Chicago, May 2. But one apparent vital difference today stood in the " " way of the settlement of the Chicago bakers' strike and hope was expressed that the strikers and the bread man ufacturers would reach an agreement shortly. The new contract submitted by the Strikers, whose walkout last Saturday night has closed nearly 100 bakeries, : among thein the largest in the city, . specified that the bakers be permitted to approve or dismiss the shop fore- ' men. The employers have refused to grant this demand, but have conceded a two-dollar weekly increase in wages and are reported as being willing to agree on other questions. The smaller bakers, unaffected by ' the strike, are working at increased -capacity and doing much toward sup plying the daily shortage of 1,500,000 loaves and preventing a real bread f-mine. However, the strike caused excitement in many sections of the ; city and the run on the smaller con cerns continued, some dealers in creasing their prices in proportion to . ( the increased demand. The situation has been relieved by the large num bers of housewives who are baking their own bread. Accused as Bootlegger, Fugitive Leaps Off Train Fremont, Neb., May 2. (Special Telegram.) William Roberts, col ored, accused at Valentine of boot legging, opened the vestibule door of a sleeper and leaped from a North western train near Hooper as it was traveling at high speed. He was caught two hours later by Marshal Bryant of Hooper in a strawstack near Hooper and brought to Fremont by Sheriff Condit. He will be taken to Valentine. Roberts was recognized ' by former County Attorney J. C. Quigley. Thirteenth Turkish Army Corps Is Put to Flight London, May 2. The Thirteenth Turkish army corps has been driven by the British from its position in Mesopotamia on both banks of the Miatt-El-Adhcm, General Maude re ported today. The British cavalry is pursuing the Turks into the Jebel x Ilamrin hills and making many cap-tures. Enjoy the warm days coming soon by get ting out into the coun try for a ride. To the man who can not afford a new car, THE USED AUTO MOBILE COLUMNS of today's paper of fers' many fine bar gains. Find yours there now. - V