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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1917)
The Omaha Daily Bee THE WEATHER j Fair OMAHA. FRIDAY ilORNING. MAY 11, 1917 TWELVE PAGES. VOL. XLVI. NO. 280. SU'tuVdi' "!.".. SINGLE COPV TWO CENTS. NO PEACE TILL ALSACE-LORRAINE IS GIVEN BACK; ARMY BILL CONFEREES AGREE ON DRAFT PROVISIONS - TWENTY-ONE TO THIRTY THE AGE OF CONSCRIPTION Conference Eliminates Roose velt Section and Agrees On All Other Points in Contention. - Washington, May 10. Conferees on the army bill reached an agree ment today ..nd the measure will be reported to the two houses for confir mation as soon as possible. The amendment put in by the sen ate permitting Colonel Roosevelt to raise four divisions for service in France was eliminated as was another authorizing the raising of three volun teer regiments or border patrol duty. Draft Age 21 to 30. The conferees madd the age limit of those subject to the select draft 21 to 30 years inclusive in place of the 21 to 27 limits in the senate bill and 21 to 40 in the house bill. The senate amendments prohibiting the sale of liquor at army camps and otherwise safeguarding the morals of the troops were retained. Representatives Kahn and Anthony, republicans, announced they would not sign the conference report. An thony was opposed to eliminating the Roosevelt amendment and Kahn op posed the prohibition sections, main taining he could not approve provi-' sions making the United States ap pear to be either a druikcn or an im moral nation. House Must Act First. j Chairman Chamberlain of the sen-' jte military committee said he expect- :u to report tne agreement toaay, our because the house must first act the bill may not be finally agreed to un til later in the week. Elimination of the Rooscrfft amendment is expected to arouse ?ome opposition in the senate, where it Was put m by a large vote. An agreement, however, is expected. -Dry Amendment Modified. The prohibition amendment was modified so that while liquor, wine or beer cannot be sold or possessed on military reservations or camps it will not be unlawful to furnish or give them to men in uniform. One of the difficulties in reaching an agreement was over the tribunals which shall pass on exemptions from the selective tiraft. 'The provision ac cepted gives right of appeal from a first tribunal to a second. Ho mili tary men are to be on either and they are to be distinct from. the courts of the United States or the states. Volunteer System Eliminated. General staff officers were much pleased at the agreement of the con ferees and the total elimination of the volunteer system from the new armies. While they preferred the nar rower age limits of the senate bill, as it would yield on the whole a younger lot of men, they- were sat islicld with rejection of the houscpro visions, which extended the age as far as 40. Senator France of Maryland, be lieving the bill defective because of the limited range of ages, introduced Unlay a separate resolution to em power the president to enroll all men between 18 and 45 for national de fense simultaneously with the selec tive conscription registration. The enrollment would consist of a cadet corps, 18 to 20; first line, 21 to 27; second line, 27 to '35; first re serve, 36 to 45. Senate Agrees to Limit Debate On ' Espionage Bill Washington,' May 10. By unani mous consent the senate today agreed to limit debate on the espionage bill to one hour for each senator until 11 o'clock tomorrow and thereafter ten minutes on the bill or five minutes on amendments for any senator. No time was fixed for a vote, but it prob ably will come by Friday night. The Weather For Nebraska Fair; temperature. not much change In Hour. 5 a. m. 6 a. m. 7 a. m, S a. m, 9 a. m. Temp. 10 a. m,. 11 a. m. 12 noon 1 p. m 2 p. m 3 p. m 4 p. m 5 p. m 6 p. m , 7 p. m. . 60 I p. m 68 Comparative Vocal Record, 1917. 1910. 191 C. 1914. Highest yesterday.... 7 ?K 84 88 Lowest yesterday 48 . 6 4 62 Mean temperature.... 68 fifi 1 69 7G Precipitation T. .00 .00 .00 Temperature and precipitation departures from the normal: Normal temperature 81 Deficiency for the day 3 Total deficiency since March 1 102 Normal precipitation 14 Inch Deficiency for the .day 14 Inch Total rainfall since March 1 6.32 inches Excess sine March 1 64 inch Deficiency for cor. period In 1916.3.60 inches Deficiency for cor. period In 1915.3.80 Inches Report From Stations at 7 P. M. Station and State Temp. Hlffh. Rain of Weather. 7 p. m. est. fall. Cheyenne, part cloudy... 61! ft 2 ,00 havenport. cloudy 66 M .01 ''hicaa-o, clear 62 , 62 .00 Dec Moines, cloudy 68 ,fi Dodft City cloudy r.fl M .06 lender, clear ,, 58 fio ,00 North Platte, part cI'dy.Bft 6: .10 t Omaha, cloudy 60 67 T. f I'ueblo, cloudy fifl fid t. i Rapid CUy. clear 60 fij . fio i Salt Lake City, p't cl'dy.60 ti; .ok ' Jtux City, clear 6ft .os j valentine. clar 5H 62 .00 L. A. WELSH, Meteorologist. SAYS CHECK FOR U-BOAT HAS BEEN FOUND. WX-.S-UNDEJRS. Washington, May 10. William L. Saunders, head of the Naval Consult ing board, announced that a device had been tried out by the navy ex perts which will meet the- present submarine peril and render the under sea vessels harmless. His faith in the invention is not hared by his fellow members, who claim that if such a device has been invented thev are ignorant of the fact. They admit, however, that it is possible that Mr. Saunders is in pos session of more information on the subject than they are. CABINET MEMBER ASKED TO VISIT FOOD CONFERENCE Secretary of Treasury McAdoo ,and Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Vrooman In vited to Omaha. Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and Assistant Secretary of Agricul ture Vrooman, have been invited to attend the Nebraska Conference on Conservation of Foodstuffs in Omaha trom May 52 to 25.' " ' Governor Neville yesterday sent a telegram to Washington inviting the cabinet member and the assistant sec retary of agriculture to be present at tne conference. Governor Neville said that he was particularly desirious to having Secre tary McAdoo speak at the opening of the three days meeting at the Audi torium on the night of May 22. The purpose of the conference will be de cided upon and outlined on the night that Secretary McAdoo is invited to speak. Will Discuss Problems. "Problems Confronting Us," will be the general subject discussed on the opening night. Governor Neville is at the head of both the Conservation Conference and the newly-created State Council for Defense. Co-operation between these two great organizations is as sured. President Joyce and Secretary Richmond of the Council for Defense, have given assurance that there will be complete co-operation on their part. Ihe Council tor Defense will appoint 100 delegates to the Conser vation Conference in Omaha. Other organizations throughout the state will also appoint delegates. Both organizations have a wide range of power. The State Conserva tion and Public Welfare commission, under the auspices of which the Con servation Conference is to be held. has power to bring together the fa cilities of all the departments of the University of Nebraska and other state institutions. Has Extensive Powers. The Council for Defense has power to make use of all the facilities of the state in working out its plan of operation. Tbe conservation dele gates will point but the needs of food conservation and the many ways in which this can be accomplished. Dr. George E. Condra, secretary of the State Conservation and Public Welfare commission, and Edgar Kid doo of Omaha have established head quarters at the Auditorium. House of Commons is Holding Secret Session London, May 10. Earliamcntarv circles were greatly interested in to day's secret session of the House of Commons, at which many questions uppermost in the public mind were discussed. Colonel Winston Spencer Churchill, formerly first lord of the admiralty, was the first speaker. I he secret session probably will continue Over Friday. Two Alien Enemies Are Ar rested in Des Moines Da Moines, la., May 10. Fed eral agents today seized Herman Kirsch, local manufacturing jewel er, and A. V. Hartung, a street car conductor of this city, both Germans, on charges of being "alien enemies." Kirsch is alleged to have been associated with Captain Boy-Ed, former naval attache of the Ger man embassy at Washington.. Hartung, who went to the Mex ican border with the Third Iowa infantry, is said to have had in timate relations while there with Dr. William von Meyer Gerard, recently arrested at Cedar Rapids. I'V rf,mmi ;i I W , ..nr.rT.mli v..,,,.-...-''-1 ENTENTE GAIN? IN ARhitf ARENA Furious Battle for Fresnoy, Vital Point in Triangle De fending Lens, Also ., Continues. BULLETIN. London, May 10. The German official report tonight said a Brit ish attack at Bullecourt and a French attack near Prosnes failed. British headquaters reporta progress on the Scarpe and re pulse of German attacks east of Bullecourt and near Fresnoy. The French war office an nounces great artillery action northeast of Soissons and French successes north of Sancy. (By AfiHoclntrd PreM.) While today's official reports throw little additional light on the situation around Fresnoy,-where the heaviest fighting in the Arras battle occurred this week, they reveal important gains for the British and French at other points on the front in northern France. London's announcement of British progress south of the Souchez river means a further pushing back of the German linOT immediately south of Lens, tightening the hold of the nip pers which the British are applying to this important industrial town and coal district. Thrust Near Bullecourt. Further inroads also have been made upon the Gentian positions near Bullecourt, on the Hindenburg line, just west of its point of junction with the yucant-Drocourt switcn, where the Germans, although reported near ly surrounded, are stubbornly clinging to the town. Far to the south on the British front, two miles north of St. Quentin General Haig's troops have pushed eastward from C-ricourt. ihey are right atop the St. Quentin-Cambrai road at this point. The French, like the British, have made no new general attack, but they likewise are delivering a thrust here and there and making valuable head way in preparing the ground lor tne next push. Furious Fight at Fresnoy. The battle of Fresnoy continues to rage wivltr jr fnry which recalls the bloody struggles for Forts Douamont and Vaux in the days of the battle of Verdun. Thousands of lives are being poured cut for the mastery of the little heap of ruins that was once' a village, and the blackened, blasted stumps that were once a wood, until Fresnoy threatens to rank with Vimy in the price paid for its possesssion. Vital Point in Triangle. The grett importance of the posi tion is due to the fact that it forms the last important defense to the northern end of the Drocourt-Queant line, and also covers the only remain ing railroa.l to Lens, connecting the coal city with the main German line to the south. The Drocourt-Queant line traverses' one side of a railroad triangle, which has Lens, Arras and Vitry at its respective angles. All of one side of this roughly equilateral triangle is in the hands of the British and about one-half of its base. Fresnoy must be held if the whole triangle is not to be evacuated and the fall of Lens rendered certain. Germans from Russ Front. The enormous concentration of Ger man divisions on the British front and the marked increase in gun power give added significance to the reports that Field Marshal von Hindenburg is withdrawing both men and artillery from the eastern area. The disorganization of the Russian army has apparently had a serious ef fect on the whole allied situation and has materially increased the burdens imposed on the British and French. The news from Russia is far from reassuring in any respect and appar ently the provisional government is still in a precarious position. German With Maps of San Francisco Forts Arrested San Francisco, Cal., May 10. Lieu tenant Frank F. Wolf, alias Frank Fels, a deserter from the United States aviation corps at San Diego, and said to be a lieutenant in the German army, was arrested and in terned here today by federal authori ties. In his effects, federal officers said, were found maps of roadways and highways of San Francisco and the bay cities and complete plans of for tifications on San Francisco bay. Tower of New York City Hall Is Badly Damaged by Fire New York, May 10. New York's historic city hall, built more than 100 vears ago and considered architec turally one of the most beautiful buildings in the country, was threat ened with destruction today, when fire broke out in its wooden clock tower. After an hour's work by fire men, however, the flames were under control. , Many .priceless relics were saved. although some damage was done to the interior ot the building by water. Sinn Feiner is Elected To the House of Comons London, May 10. Joseph McGuin- ness, a Sinn renter, has been elected to the House of Commons at the spe cial election held to fill the vacancy for the southern division of Longford county. Ireland. His majority was thirty-seven over Patrick McKcmia. nationalist. si iON BOARD FRENCH CRUISER AT NEW YORK A deck acene on board the French cruiaer Amiral Aube, which put into brought General Joffre and of the allies to put in at New BECK SCENE. AMIJ2AI WORKMEN FAIL TO AGREE UPON RATE SCHEDULE Insurgents Unable to Muster Majority Necessary to Adopt After Stevens Throws Bomb Into Ranks. Insurgents of the grand lodge of the Ancient Order of United Work men failed (p rally the two-thitds vote necessary to adopt a new compromise schedule of rates, after a bitter ses sion Thursday afternoon. , When this edition of The Bee went to press, late Thursday night, the grand lodge appeared to be locked on the rate -queMKWf with little-hope-of getting together. . The insurgents cast 256 votes in fa-, vor of adopting the majority com mittee report for the compromise rates, out of 405 votes cast, but they needed 270 to make it law. Consid eration was not given to two minor ity reports from the rate committee. Bomb By Stevens. John Stevens of Beaver City, new ly elected grand master workman, but not yet installed in that office, threw a bomb into the afternoon ses sion, after failure of adoption of the proposed compromise rate schedule. rie declared the so-called repeal ot the scientific National Fraternal Con gress rates at Tuesday's session- was illegal in his opinion, and that the state insurance board would so hold. Much as he was opposed to that schedule, he said he would positively enforce it in collection of future as sessments, unless the grand lodge legally adopted some other schedule. Ihe delegates had not done so up to a latf hour Thursday, and threat ened to install officers and go home without settling the rate fight. State Board May Act. Final adjustment of the affairs of the order in the courts, or by the state insurance board, which would put the order out of business, loomed as a possibility. A second election ballot on disputed offices resulted as follows: Grand Recorder H. B. Rousey, Edgar. Grand Guide E. . Bruecklander, Valentine. Finance Committeeman Rob ert N. Gillan, Auburn; to serve six years, succeeding Joseph Oberfelder. Next Grand Lodge Session Lincoln, 1919. Change the Rates. Everv member of the order would he rated according to his attained age May 1, 1917, and will be assessed monthly, under it. Following is the proposed rate schedule, compared with the rejected N. F. C. rates, based on monthly assessments at various ages: Age. . . neccimmiTirted N P. C. Rat. I .90 1 .04 1 .22 Hi 1.70 2.H 2.71 III 4.47 6.9:1 - S.06 10.81 1 5 . 4Ii o.... 2S.... 30 Compromise Schedule. The compromise rate schedule recommended is from 1 5 to 20 per cent lower for various ages than the scientific N. F. C. rates repealed by a two-thirds vote Tuesday. Yet it is considerably higher than former low schedules, or those de manded by ultra-radicals. Tin Can Distribution Will Be Supervised Washington, May 10. Distribution of the tin can output will be put wi der direct supervision of the govern ment under plans prepared by a com mittee representing government de partments and can interests. Packers of nonpcrishable products will be re quired to use .paper or liber contain ers. Several government bureaus will co-operate with the committee ill ad ministration of the program. 1 crj - - - ' :'. . v. i l New York after escorting to American shores the ship that the French war miasion. The Amiral Aube is the first warship York since the outbreak of the war. """" '''oas r ATJBE Indianola Farmers Get First Federal Loan Indianola, Neb., farmers yes terday borrowed $83,600 from the Federal Land bank of Omaha. I t was the first loan made by the bank. Indianola is in Red Willow county. Most of the money went to take up old mortgages on which the farmer were paying from 7 to 8 per cent. Loan com panies held the mortgages. John H. Hopkins, members of the state legislature from Doug las county, and E. F. Dougherty have been appointed assistant at torneys ot Ihe bank. , RETAIL SHOP NOW CLEARING HOUSE FOR PAY CHECKS Workingmen Turn to Mercan tije Establishments When " Cash Register of Saloon Ceases to Ring. , Pay checks formerly cashed in the saloons are now cashed in the cloth ing stores, shoe stores, grocery stores and other mercantile establishments. This has been noticed by several of the leading retail houses in Omaha. Pay checks have been received in greater volume than ever before on Saturdays and Mondays. E. M. Rey nolds, manager of Benson & Thome Co., said: "An employer of over 100 men called me up to ask if Benson & Thome would cash checks for his men. 1 told hiin we would. He thanked me and told me his men had been in the habit of cashing their checks in saloons and that he wanted some place to direct them to. More Shoes for Kiddies. Mr. Reynolds also noticed another effect of prohibition, at least he was inclined to attribute it to that. It was the increased sale of children's shoes. "In all the history of the store," he said, "we never had such a volume of sales in children's shoes as we had last Saturday, which was the first Saturday after prohibition went into effect. We didn't have chairs enough to accommodate the people, and we have now put in a rush order for more chairs in preparation for next Saturday. Most of these shoes were sold in the evening after working hours, when the working men had time to bring their checks to their families," C. L. Vance of Hayden Brothers said: "Last Monday when we made up our list of checks cashed Saturday afternoon and evening to be taken to the bank, we found we had the largest list of checks we have ever had since I have been in the place. Of course, we always have a big list of checks, but I can say truthfully that the list was twice as long as I have ever seen it before. They were not all checks to Hayden Brothers. They were pay checks which work men had endorsed to their wives, who brought them into our store." Jewels Instead of Booze. C. B. Brown, the jeweler at Six teenth and Fariiam, has expressed the belief, that the jewelry business will pick up with the advent of prohi bition. "I believe they will tend to buy diamonds instead of liquor," he said. The room in which the Merchants bar was located in the Merchants hotel is being remodeled and has been rented to H. Goldstein of lower Douglas street for his jewelry store. Goldstein is paying the owner $50 a month more rent for the place that it ever brought when it was occupied by a saloon. Remodeling work is be ing rushed and Goldstein is to occupy the location about June 10. Unfilled Orders for Steel Make New Record New York, May 10. The unfilled tonnage of the United States Steel corporation on April 30 last was 12, 183,083 tons, as announced by the cor. poration today an increase of 471,439 tons over the previous month and again breaking all previous records. ALLEGED SLAYER TRIES TO BREAK FROMCITY JAIL Saws His Way to Freedorm but Police Capture Him Be fore He Can ' Make ' His Escape. ". J. McCool, alias Curtis, held here on the charge of murdering Police man George Connery in Minneapolis, sawed his way out of his cell in the city jail at 4:30 o'clock Thursday morning and was sawing the bars in a window at the southeast corner of the jail when police officers found -hiiiu- . . , Curtis meekly followed his captors, Policemen Troby and Coffey, to the ohice 01 the police station. 1 here he attacked four policemen with a razor and made a dash for liberty through an iron gate. Detective Holden and Sergeant Samuelson grappled .with him and, with the help of the two other policemen, subdued him. Wears Ball and Chain Now. Curtis is now in solitary confine ment with a ball and chain attached to each foot. Two hours after the alleged mur derer made his light for freedom De tective Brunskill of Minneapolis ar rived from Lincoln with requisition papers authorizing him to bring Cur tis back to Minneapolis. A grand jury there has already indicted him for murder. ' "I had everything to gain and noth ing to lose." was Curtis' only com ment after his desperate attempt was foiled. The saw lie used to cut away the bars he always carried with him. It was sewed in the lining of his vest, near the rear seam, and was of finely tempered steel. It had escaped the attention of officers who searched him. The tiny teeth of the saw were as sharp as filing could make them. His Superhuman Strength. The great strength of the prisoner is shown in the manner in which he bent hack the bars of his cell after he had sawed them through. By sheer force of muscle he had twisted the half-inch steel bars outward until they allowed a space of more than a foot for him to squirm throufh. Captain Heitfcld and .Detective Holden tried to bend the bars back into place and couldn't budge them. It required the combined strength of five men to move them back half the distance which Curtis alone had pushed them. . . t It was the squeaking of a rusty win dow weight which betrayed Curtis. Patrolman Troby and Coffey investi gated and. saw Curtis perched on the window ledge, sawing silently at the bars. In the cell with Curtis at the time of his escape were Harold Desmond, dope licnd and confessed burglar in thirty-seven jobs; William Mifber, a fugitive from justice: Frank Moore, held for investigation, and J. F. I'ierce, alleged army deserter. Others to Follow. None of the prisoners made an at tempt to escape. Desmond, however, had planned with Curtis that when the latter had sawed away the bars on the outer window, to give a low whistle which would he the signal for a conceited dash for liberty by the lour men. Curtis had slept in the same place in his cell everv night since his in carceration. W'ith his saw he had nibbled constantly at the bars while his cellmates slept. At dawn he brushed up the metal dust which had fallen to the floor and on the next night continued at his task. So cunningly did Curtis work that he did not arouse the suspicions of (Cnntlaufll an Pule Five, Column One.) Railroad Tunnel Near Saugus, Cal., Caves In Los Angeles, May 10. A Southern Pacific railroad tunnel at Saugus, near here, caved in at 2 a. m. today, blocking all trains. Railway officials denied a rumor that the tunnel had been blown up vfVIANl SAYS ALL ;RANCt MUST 8E FREEDjOF D ESP.0T Head of Gallic Commission De clare: War Will Continue Until "Lost Provinces" Are Restored. Xcw York, May 10. At the Mer chants' association luncheon, Rene Viviani, head of the French mission, declared there would be no peace be tween the allies and the central pow ers until Alsace and Lorraine arc completely restored to France and l' ren.cn territory cleared ot the der man invaders. "We will not make peace." said M. Viviani, "we will never make peace until we have had given back to us that which is ours Alsace and Lor raine. We arc not fighting a selfish battle we are not fighting to tri umph for ourselves we who did not seek war we are lighting lor civili zation and for deTnocracy." Joffre Unveils Statue. France, through Marshal Joffre, hero of the Manic, unveiled a statue of an earlier hero of French national life Lafayette at Prospect park, in Brooklyn today. M. Viviani was presented with 10.- 000 francs by the Society for French War Orphans, for distribution in France, and received as a personal gift a silver loving cup. Marshal joffre was given a silver dress sabre and other members of the war com mission received appropriate memo rials. Present From Children. When Marshal Joffre arrived on the north meadow of Central park to receive the gold miniature statue of Liberty, the gift of the people of New York through popular subscrip tion raised by the New York World, 5,000 school children, waving the tri color and the Stars and Stripes, greeted the hero with a great shout. An enormous crowd joined in the demonstration. A little girl, "dressed in a Zouave uniform, standing close to Joffre, shouted "Vive France." The hero of the Marne heard her salutation, took her in his arm and kissed her on both checks. General Makes Address, "Then tiir'n in g'fo "Mayor 'firclicT'he ' said in French: , . "I am p.-ofoundly touched by the remarkable souvenir Which with such delicate attention- you offer me. I am profoundly touched, abov all, and 1 feel the value of this emblem that tomes to me from the common peo- , pie of America, from the people as a whole. I thank you. I thank vou from the bottom of my heart and I ask you to thank the people for this gift, which I shall keep all my life, which I shall carry to my home, which 1 shall have under my eyes every day to remind me of my trip to America and of whrt lAnierica has. done for France. I shall treasure it for what it stands for and for what it means for us." 1 ' j , , Hospital Ships Are Sunk ; Despite British Reprisals London, May 10. Two more hos pital ships have been torpedoed by German submarines since British air planes raided the town of Freiberg as a reprisal for-previous sinking of hos pital ships, Andrew Bonar Law, mem ber of the British war council, an nounced today in the House of Com mons.. . Berlin, May 10. (Via ' Amsterdam to London.) An official statement to day says: "In reprisal for the placing of a German general and fifteen staff offi cers on French hospital ships in the Mediterranean the German authorities have placed thrice this number of French officers of corresponding rank it points in the western industrial districts which are especially subject to aerial attack." British Push Forward Over 2-Mile Front in Macedonia London, May 10. Attacking on a front of about four miles in the Lake Doiran region of Macedonia, British troops on one wing took Teutonic trenches on a front of two miles and on the other flank advanced on a front of about a mile, according to a British offic'al communication issued today. A Serbian official statement dated May 9 reports violent artilllry duels along the whole Serbian front. The Bulgarians bombarded Monastir with asphyxiating gas shells, the statement adds. A number of civilians were killed. The Month of April Advertising in, The Bee ' (Warfield Agency Meaturementl.) FIRST IN GAINS APRIL, 1917. f IN INCHES Local Display.' 20,1 67 H Foreign Display 6,966 Automobile 6,163ft Classified 9,973 Total,... ..42,270 APRIL, 1916. IN INCHES Local Display 19,570 Foreign Display...... 6,758 Automobile 3,008 Classified 10,416 Total...... 39,758 ' GAIN 2,518 INCHES Keep Your Eye On The Bee.