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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1917)
'Maha THE WEATHER Fair "VOL. XLVII. NO. 51... OMAHA, THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 16, 1917. TEN PAGES. On TrtlM, t Halilt, Ntwi SUnfc It,., tc SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. I1 WOR R WON TO CANADIAN TROOP . .AT Daily GREA OF LD 2L JLLad 21 AMERICA MUST OFFER IN INTEREST OF ALLIES IS ADMITTED BY U. S.OFFICIALS ; . Pope's Note Must Be Answered Delicately to Satisfy War Weary World, but No Hope Is Held Out for Abatement of Conflict . at 'This Time. Washington, Aug. 15. Administration officials today awaited the official text of Pope Benedict's peace proposals before giving any intimation of the nature of the reply to be given the Vatican. That the peace offer will require an answer is readily ac knowledged by officials, but it is believed that the interests of the allies will requie a rejection. It is very certain that the proposals cannot be accepted in their present form. The communication from Romey probably will be transmitted to the State department through the papal delegate here or the Spanish or Swiss legations. The answer involves a delicate task for the belligerents, be cause the proposals offer a war-weary worjd a hope for the restoration of peace., s- The -first appraisal of officials and diplomats' was that the .offer was merely another attempt by Germany to bring an end to the war. The im pression was "general . that . the im perial government used Austria be cause of the latter's close relation to the va,tican, to influence- a new peace offer. a : f - There i4 no disposition' to" ques tion the good faith of Rome; although the . Roman Catholic elements have been most prominent in the "recent peace agitation in Berlin and Vienna. America is Hope.. . London,' Aug. 14. The belief in Vhiteliall is that any proposal for a stitus quo peace will have a curler reception in the United States than in Europe. " The American position in this war perhaps has been made clearer than that of any of the other belligerents," said the informant of The Associated Press.- -The- Dnite,dJStat!ia?-TV4 'entangling alliances' in this matter and has taken a firm stand for a peace which wilt clear the world of the menace of militarism anti absolutism. From the American point of view any status quo peace obviously is impos sible. v "The suggestion for the retflrn of the German colonies is one which we will leave with perfect confidence to the consideration of the American people. Jt is unthinkable that hapless natives should, be returned to a power which has shown itself so unfit to ad minister the affairs of subject races. If anything could be worse than Ger- many's record in Europe, it is its rec ord m the coloniei es. is a permanent peace possible in Africa with Ger many there? Rely on America. "America is today the greatest hope 6f the entente allies for a stable peace. 'America is fresh and determined. It has Vigor and backbone, youth ana strength and unlimited resources. It will not let Europe halt until peace on 'a stable and permanent basis has been definitely established. That is one great reason why every one of its allies should be overwhelmingly .thankful that America now is with us." The peace pronunciamento of Pope Benedict was an entire surprise to the British public. Whether or not it was a surprise to the goveuiment cannot be learned. . , , The proposal embodies what has (Continued on Page Two, Column Onr.) The Weather For Nebraska: Generally H'hursday; not much change in fair tem- perature. For Iowa: Generally fair Tluirs Any. t , Temperatures at Omaha. Yesterday. Koukim Deft. 5 a. m 64 S a. m .j ,, . 3 7 a. m. ; 166 $ a. m 69 a. m 73 10 a. m. 7'i It a. m 77 i: m .' 79 1 p; m A 81 2 p. m ;.. s: 8 p. m 83; 4 p. m... 8 4 5 p. m. 82 .6 p. m 0 7 p. m 78 8 p. m 76 Official record of temperature and precip itation compared with the corresponding Iperlod of ths past three years: 1917 191 1915 tliehtest yesterday . . s 86 86 Towest yetterday ,.63 65 68 Mean temperature .. 74 76 77 1914 91 ; 65 80 Precrpltatlon O'l T. .11 00 Temperature and precipitation departures from the normal at Omaha since Jlarch 1, nd compared with the past two years: Normul temperature , 75 Deficiency or the day I Total deficiency since Jlarch 1 195 Normal precipitation 11 inch Deficiency for the day U inch Total rainfall alnce Jlarch 1 .... 19 . 49 Inches peflfteny alnce March 1 , 1.58 inches DefHency for cor. period. 191S 8.75 inches Excess for cor. period,. 1913 01 Inch , ' Reports From Stations at 7 P. M. ' Station and State , Trnip: High- Raln nf Weather. 7 p. m est. fall. Pheyenrw,' rain . . i-.. ., . 70 78 T. bavenport. clear 8 8r. .00 Denver, clear 80 82 .00 Des Moines, clear 8n 84 ,00 Dodge City, cloudy .... 78- Si .; Lander, cloudy 7 4 S4 ,00 Vr.-tK PII.H. ,.!,... C- t. nn Omaha, Wear 7 81 PueMo. cloudy 3 K-tpiil CI) y. pr. h.u.l.v . : I m ChWvuo.: i-:-n.r 1 ' ? w I ' Santa K. cloudy 7tl Shriii; n. .cloudy .. VI' n Siouif t it y. .;h-ar 84 A al'iifini. !,! r l ii - ."X" indicates Irate of precipitaliuti. oi i i. a, welsh, iieteorotoEiat. J r SPURN PEACE GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL YEAR'S WHEAT CROPS Corporation Will Handle- All Purchases for Allies; VV Also Act as Broker for Flour Mills. , (By Associated Press.) Washington, Aug. IS. The . food administration prepared today to take over the entire 1917 wheat crop if necessary to stabilize prices through out the year. It formed a $50,000,000 crporation, with all of the . stock held by the federal government, to buy and sell wheat at the principal terminals. , - ', ' ; '- The move was1 the first of a series t?. betaken .to, xeduce-vthe.,, price . f bread. Millers already have agreed to put.-themselves under voluntary regulations and are working out with the food administration a differential f profits. Distribution of flour by wholesalers andithe baking- of bread will be taken up next. , The hope of the food administra tion is to establish a scale of prices from the farm to the grocery store, eliminating undue profits, and ending speculation. The , maintenance f a standard price for wheat, its officials believe, is the first and most neces sary step. Will Fix Wheat Prices. ' In announcing formation' of the wheat corporation the food adminis tration als made known the per sonnel of a committed which will fix a price fo be paid for this year's wheat yield and the names of thir teen men 'who will act as purchasing agents for the corporation at ter minals. ' The wheat-corporation will be put under the administration's grain di vision. Its chairman will be Herbert Hoover and .Its president Julius Barnes, a Duluth exporter, now serv ing as a voluntary aide in the food administration. The price-fixing committee will be headed by Presi dent Garfield of Williams college and will comprise twelve members, representing producers and. consum ers. . The wheat corporation will handle all allied grain purchases and will do the buying for the American govern ment. If found advisable, it also will serve as broker for the milling inter ests, purchasing wheat for the flour mills to keep the market steady. The allies will be required to purchase flour instead of wheat, on the theory that manufacturing costs will be re duced and American industry ericour- i aged. All of the grain men who are taken into the food administration's grain (Continued on Page Two, Column One.) Leader of Hospital Training Corps Transferred toDes Moines Sergeant Hermann Pysbylski, for six years in charge of the post, hos pital at Fort Crook, has been trans ferred to Fort Dodge camp. He will take up the -same work at the hospi- . tal there. Sergeant Pvbylski has been giv ing intensive training for several months io- an ambulance company of thearmy at the Fort Crook hospital. The men have been taught stretcher carrying, ambulance work and first aid to the injured. This company is composed of medical students and pharmacists who have entered for this branch of army vork and ex pect to be xalled to France, at any' time. . ' , . Sergeant Pyzbylski was offered a commission, but has refused it, pre ferring to continue in the line of work with which he is familiar. (The men -jf the hospital corps presented ; him ,wtih a gold watch on nis depar ture. A number have asked for trans fers toFort Dodee to continue their work with him. . , Soldiers Fire On Strikers ; In Clash in Spain Tuesday i Paris.' -Aug. 15. Six persons were kilkd and nine were wounded in a clash between soldiers and strikers. RIIXMflifT TRANSFERRED TO UNKNOWN PLACE Supposed That Royal Family Is Being Taken to Siberian Town, But Nothing Definite Known. Petrograd, Aug. IS. Nicholas Ro manoff, the deposed Russian emperor, and the members of his family were spirited away under circumstances of extreme mystery' early yesterday morning frotn Tsarskoe-Selo to an unknown destination, which the pro visional government firmly refuses to reveal. It is rumored that the former em peror will be set to work on some government, preserve. No one except the local military and officials especially .sent from Petro grad witnessed the, departure and, ac cording to a statement made to the Associated Press by N. V. Nckrasoff, vice president of the. council of min isters, the account published in the only newspaper which reported the departure was imaginary. In ordeij to keep the departure sec ret as long as possible the train was kept on a sidetrack to which Nicho las and his iparty went. The public was unaware of the transfer until late last night. Many rumors are current in regard to the motives for the re moval of the imperial family and as to its destination. . The semi-official news agency says the demands for Nicholas' transfer were due to fears of the authorities that attempts would be made to lib erate him in connection with a count er revolutionary move. 1 A prevalent theory is the discovery of the letter in whiqh General Gur ko, former commander of the south western front, ., expressed ,. loyalty to the former emperor and 'of plots' to effect the escape of Nicholas caused the council of deputies to demand his removal jo a safer place either Tob olsk, Siberia or Kostroma, which was the original seat of the Romanoff family. : It appears that the plan was to re move Nicholas befpre (lawn,, but the train arrived at Tsarskoe-Selo several hours late. I.nstead of the gorgeous imperial train in which Nicholas was take:i to-Tsarskoe-Slo from Moshilev i.i jyiarcn, an ordinary train composed of three sleeping poaches, a- dining car and several third claes coaches was sent. ' A second train was assigned to take the baggage and servants, fifty of whom accompanied . the ex-emperor and his family into exile. Nicholas wa9 very depressed in ap pearance, but Ex-Empress Alexandra, who was, seen walking for the first time in months, seemed lively and pleased at the prospect. of a change in surroundings. " ' Tobolsk is an out . of the way town of western Siberia, far from the rail road and visited 'only '.by steamers which ply the Irtysh river. In former times it was an administrative center for exiles banished to Siberia by the Russian rulers. It is a city of some thing more than 20,000 inhabitants. The climate is extremely severe in wintef. 4 .Impeachment of Governor Of Texds Stopped Till Today Austin, Tex., Aug. 13. With the conclusion of testimony by Adjutant General Henry Hukhings about the keeping of sate rangers at the capi tol to guard Governor James E. Fer guson and the executive mansion, the taking of direct testimony against the governor on charges preferred by Speaker F. C. Fuller, looking, to im peachment of the governor, adjourn ment was taken until tomorrow. Hogs Jump Half Dollar Over Last Quotatfons Kansas. City, Mo., Aug. 15. Hogs reached a new high level here today by selling; at $18, a jump of 50 cents over yesterday's orice. J Jt mi lllltllH -" ..I t '"'www 1 ' ' 1 i ifi ' s mi- . B ; TROOPS BREAK itir i u n ONTlTDEMING Company B of the Fourth to Take Twelve Dogs and Seven Cats Along as Mascots." All was excitement and bustle at the little tent city just across the Union Pacific bridge, where Company B of the Fourth has been so long guard ing this entrance into Omaha. It was a subdued excitement, but one felt even by a casual visitor. Out wardly the men seemed to be pursu ing their usual occupations. It was nearly mess time and they passed along the road with their mess kits to where the big serving kettles stood. But they went hurriedly, as if there were other more important things to be done once supper was over. Passing along the road .one could hear unwonted noises inside, a sound of closing trunk lids and the hammering of nail6. Snatches of conversation reached the ears "Where are those pictures?" "Think we'll get off. in twelve hours?" Officers Most Calm. - .1. f . . t .1 . . in uieir tents Dy tne laKe were. wpiam Hamilton, anij lieutenant Wyman, outwardly calm and holding themselves in reserve for the disturb- ing events soon to come. 'Ve can. start in an hour if nec essary!" exclaimed Captain Hamilton when questioned. "No trouble at all to take down these tents yes, we can do h at highf we have -electric lights. We can roll things up in a' jiffy and load them right into the cars over there." ' "Over there" were the railroad tricks, the Burlington and .Union Pa cific. It would indeed be easy to Company B to "fold their tents like the Arabs and silently steal away." ".What route ar,e you going to take to Deming?" was asked the captain Take Mascots Along. , "That I do not know. Did you know we have twelve does and seven cats for our mascots? We expect to take thenr with us, too." "How nice. But at just what hour do you think you'll get off?" the in quisitor pursued. I really have no idea. Don't vou think pur camp ideally situated? Ex cept for the mosquitoes , we could ask noining Detter. The motor that took visitors across the bridge to Omaha appeared in the distance and the captain drew a mighty sigh of relief. It's pretty hard keeping military news secret when one gets cornered by a determined reporter in the corner of a tent house and the reporter is in front, between you and the door. From the window of the car as it sped on could be seen a last glimpse of the pretty tent city. The flag waved bravely in the breeze between the tents and the lake. The boys were having supper and passing along the road with their mess kits. It was a sight to haunt the mem ory. And soon so soon it would be a thing of the pastl niun-Tfl iiniir iUVt Cz&r Nicholas ' and Son Prisoners of the Hew Republic BOARDS DIFFER ON GROUNDS FdR DRAFTMMPTION First and FourA Discharge All Men Married Before War, but Third Takes Op posite Viewpoint. "Men who have been married since the declaration of war will not be exempted," members of the First and -Fourth district boards declare. "We are exempting all married men whether they have children or not if they were married before April 6 when war was declared," said a member of the Fourth hoard. "There are enough single men to fill our quota without taking the men with wives, but if a man has only been married since April we think he should go." In the first fifty-eight claims filed in the Fourth district thirty-four were exempted from the army, seven chosen for service, eight held for fur ther proof and nine asked to appear before the board in person. Most of the thirty-four claims that were al lowed were for support of wife, or wife and children. The claims rejected "were for de pendents in the old country, the board deciding .they could be sent money from the war pay. X'"ety-five in the First district were exempted when their claims were taken up and twenty-five chosen for service. Large numbers of the claims in this district are for dependent wives and families, more"" so than at any other in the city. Call Additional Men. So many exemptions have made it impossible to fill their first quota with the men examined so 400 more have been notified to appear for examina tion. .Monday morning the men with numbers from 297 to 531 are asked to come for exams, Tuesday numbers from 532 to 666 and on Wednesday all numbers from 667 to 800. This will make four times the necessary quota that have been examined in the First, district. Strict in Third.. The Third district isnot going to be as lenient with its. men as the others, however. All married men that have only a wife dependent on them will be taken if the wife is able to work at all and earn her own living." said C. C. Red wood, member of the board. "We have to raise an army and if (Continued on Puce Two, Column One.) When the Soldiers Go What they will most want is news from home. Subscribe for The Bee for your boy and it will be mailed to him daily. It will keep him. constantly posted and save lots of letter-writing. A subscription to The Bee for the Boy is the Best Present for the money you can give -him. Special Price to January 1, 1918 (Including Sunday), $1.50 Send the order now and we'll start the paper as soon as the troops leave for destination. HILL 70 CAPTURED BY CANADIANS IN VICTOR Y OF YEAR m ' 1 Fall of French Mining City of Lens Is Now Imminent, as General Haig's Men Close in on Teuton Forces; British Advance Made on 4,000-Yard Front. (Associated Press War Summary.) Hill 70, the famous German stronghold northwest of th French mining: city of Lens, which dominates the city and the Loos salient, was captured this morning by the Canadian forces.' The "British also pushed their lines into the northwestern environs of Lens, in a semi-circle around the eastern side ol Hill 70. The British attack was made on a 4,000-yard front, which had an extreme depth of 1,500 yards. The British guns have been pounding for days at Hill 70, which the Ger. mans considered impregnable. The infantry attack began t 4:25 "o'clock this morning. BIGGEST PRIZE OF WAR. The capture of Hill 70 ranks in importance with the biggest military op erations of this year. It was the last dominating position in this.sectioi which remained in the hands of the Germans and from it'a wide territory caa be controlled. Beginning at a point just above Hugo Wood, the new British position! now run southeast and beyond Hill 70 toward Lens. The line bends south west and encircles the suburbs of St. Laurent and St..Emilie. Since the beginning of the attack on the northern end of the Franco Belgian line the Canadians have been miking steady progress around Lens, ' driving slowly1 into the outskirts of this important and bitterly disputed mining center. ' " The new attack, on the front immediately north of Lens, evidently it designed to close around the city from the north. If successful, this opera tion may compel the Germans to evacuate the town without a direct attack on it, and without the heavy sacrifices such a move probably would involve. LENS, OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. Hill 70 is to Lens and the Loos salient what Messines is to Ypres and in some ways it is even a more enviable position than the Messines rjdge, be . cause even after the fall of Messines the Germans still retained Filkem ridge, from which they could sweep the country surrounding Ypres. Hill 70. was bombarded with guns, of all calibers, which workeVl havoc, among1 the German defenses on the crest of this eminence. The Germans un ddubtedly prepared for the attack as fully as possibly, for there is no ques-, tion that they were aware it was impending. v It was just twenty-five minutes past 4 o'clock when the British guns dropped a protecting barrage before the Canadian trenches and the troops leaped over the parapet for the charge. Details f the fighting are not yet available, but the troops swept forward with the invincible precision which has characterized the latest work of the great British fighting machine. French Progress. The French attack was made near the coast, in the -vicinity of Dixmude. The official communication from Paris reports good progress west of th Dixmude road. London also announces gains by entente troops northwest of Bixschoote, in the sector north of Ypres. ' Active operations continue on the A'isne front. Tlje French positions between Hurtebise and Craonne were bombarded heavily during the night, but the Germans did not renew the infantry actions which have cost them such heavy losses in the last few weeks, in their vein efforts to expel the French from commanding positions. Emperor Nicholas Secretly Removed. ' Former Emperor Nichblas of Russia and his family are being removed from Tsarskoe-Selo to a secret destination. The decision to transfer them was reached ty the council of ministers last month for "military and politi cal" reasons. For the present further information is withheld. Two Norway Vessels Sunk. Two more steamers of Norway's diminishing merchant fleet have been sunk. They were the Falkland, 4,877 tons gross, and the Capella, 877 tons. Two men were lost on the Falkland, which was sunk in the North sea. Defense Council Says Haller Must Quit Because of Letters Lincoln, Aug. 15. (Special Tel egram.) The State Council of De fense, in a statement issued this aft ernoon, demands the resignation of chairman Frank Haller of the State Board of Regents for authorship alleged letters written under the name of "Patricia Newcomb." Either Mr. Haller must resign, the board must fire him, or he him self must clear himself of the charge made by the board as being the author of the letters. Railroad Strike in Spain Now Under Troop Control Madrid, Aug. 15. Interior, Minister Guerra said that the strike agitation had increased in several quarters of the capital, but that the troops acted I vigorously and quelled the disturb ances. The government has taken steps to restore order. Stores are closed today and soldiers are patrol ling the streets. Switzerland Minister Arrives at Atlantic Port An Atlantic Port, Aug. 15. Dr. Jean Adolphe Sulzer, recently ap pointed as minister to the United States from Switzerland, arrived here today on a Spanish steamship. Liquor and Income Taxes Discussed by the Senate Washington, Aug. 15. The liquor and income tax sections of the war tax bill were taken up whenvthe sen ate resumed debate on the measure today. The latter section? together with the war profits and the publish-, ers' tax sections, are problems of most difficulty. ahead of the senate. The leaders now hope to dispose of the bill before the end of next week. The house ways and means committee will meet August 25 to consider the question of raising part of an ad ditional $9,000,000,000 asked for by the 3 administration to meet war expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year ending July 1, 1918, including further loans to the allies. Lumber for U. S. Air Fleet v Now Being Cut in the West Seattle, Wash.. Aug. 15. The cut ting vof spruce lumber in the forests of Washington and Oregon, which ultimately will be used in the con struction of the nation's huge fleet of airplanes, began today when two camps in southwestern Washington, closed by strikes, and one in northern Oregon, resumed operations, accord ing to Robert B. Allen, secretary of the West Coast Lumberman's asso ciation. Each of the three camps is capable of cutting 100,000 feet of timber daily, Mr. Allen says. 4 f