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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1917)
The Omaha PART ONE. NEWS SECTION PAGES ONE TO EIGHT unday THE WEATHER Fair VOL. XLV1I NO. 10. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING. AUGUST 19, 1917 SIX SECTIONS THIRTY-EIGHT PAGES. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS. 0 DEAD IN AWFUL POWDER MILL EXPLOSION; OCIETY i fVNIZER ASKS DIVORCE otst x0i I in i. mi iiiiin-iiinnmiiirrr -'-'-"- Bee vv iuvj woo TWO HUNDRED WIDOWS GASP WHEN TOLD MRS. TURPIN WED, IS NOW SUING FOR DIVORCE Organizer of "Society of American Widows" in Omaha, Who Contracted Marriage With Arthur E. Enders Last April, Has Brought Action for Legal Separation on Ground of Cruelty. If 200 widows, "grass and "sod," members of the defunct Society of American Widows, organized in Omaha more than a year ago by Mrs. Bessie C. Turpin, gasp when they learn their organizer, leader and mentor contracted another marriage AprU 20, they will be astounded to hear that Friday she filed suit for divorce against her husband, Arthur E. Enders, charg ing cruelty. Few of the widows ever knew of Mrs. Turin's second marriage, so her divorce suit comes like a bolt from the blue. She has been at her desk as assistant bookkeeper at the Mc Graw Electrical company every day since her marriage to Enders is said to have taken plac A tale of a marriage made by a woman "for the sake of the children" is contained in the suit filed in district court by Mrs. Enders. Mrs. Enders says when she married him at Sioux City, April 20 of this year, he told her "she wouldn't have to work any more to support herself and her three small children. She alleges, however, that notwith standing the fact he was a drug sales man earning $150 a moith, he failed to contribute to the family exchequer. She says he also soon developed a quarrelsome and indifferent disposi tion. SOCIETY BRINGS HUSBAND. Mrs. Turpin-Endcrs ' first husband is now living in Kentucky, where the two elder Turpin children are pass- a iic yuuugcai iijuu ujr uic uisc mar riage is now with Mrs. Turpin's mother in St. Louis. Brief but meteoric was the career of the Society of American Widows, which brought Mrs. Turpin into the public eye and incidentally the hus band from whom she now seekfc legal separation. A former active member of the Widows' society reports that Mr. Enders first read of Mrs. Turpin while in California, that he wrote to her and correspondence followed, which resulted in his coming to Oma ha and robbing Mrs. Turpin of the right to serve as "head widow", of the organization. Although Mrs. Turpin Endcrs made several attempts to keep the society together after her marriage, asking the widows to meet Friday evenings at her home since the society could not afford to main tain its rooms iu the Crounsc block, only a handful stayed by the ship. Widows Not Surprised. Those widows who knew of her marriage to Enders expressed no sur prise that she is now suing for di vorce. "Enders never worked a day since he married Mrs. Turpin and we have reason to believe she probably was supporting him from her earnings," said one. Enders told his wife he had traveled for a California drug firm and it is said, she tried to get him a position with an Omaha drug house. Another widow related how the former Mrs. Turpin announced one day that she was married, but mem bers of the society refused to believe her. "Wc thought she was joking," she said. i "Later they arranged a wedding supper for her." Many prominent Omaha widows as sisted in organizing the widows' so ciety, which was formed to keep a w&tchful eye upon the interests of widows. Among. the plans furthered by Mrs. Turpin was the sale of stock in a building company, which was to erect a:i apartment to house only widows. A workshop for widows and a recreation center for them were to be features of the widows' domicile. Officers of Widows' Society. Stella Bedford Wilson, Omaha's first woman lawyer, was the vice president; Mrs. Florence Miller, sec ond vice president; Mrs. Ada II. Picr sall, third vice president, ana Mrs. M. May Poast, secretary-treasurer. (Continued on Vnge Two, Column One) The Weather For Nebraska Fair; nuot much change in temperature: Temperatures at Omaha Yesterday. Hour. 5 a. G a. m. 7 a. m. Comparative Loral Record. j 1917. 1916. 1915. 1914. Iliehest yesterday ss ss fig 96 Lowest yesterday.... R7 "7 60 7S Mean temperature... 78 . 64 S7 Treclpitatlon 00 (10 .17 .110 Temperature anil precipitation departures! from the normal: i Normal temperature 74 Kx'cesi for the. day 4 Total eefirl.y since March 1. 1917 191 J Normal pruipitatlon 11 Inch , fiefli leney for the day 11 Inch Total rainfall since March 1 IK. 49 Inches Ueflilenty since March 1 1.91 Inches I'efitieni y for cor, period 1916.. 9.08 inches ; &xcrjs for cor. period 1915 .76 inch L. X. WE1,5H, Meteorologist. Dep. I S a. m tils j fi SlflB A a. m 73 i 557 in a. m sj ; fUlJtK A I 11 a. m 83 1 'XfPtm 13 m JrJil r D i p. m 8b! s n 2 p. m ss ' 3 p. m 87 I 2S 4 p. m 85 j SgSfe 6 P. m SSI I 7 p. m 8a I SOUTH SIDE BABY BURNED TO DEATH WHILE IN CRADLE Four-Year-Old Brother Obtains Matches, from Which Sad Tragedy is a Result. While lying asleep in its cradle, Mary Milan, two years old, was burned to death Friday afternoon at the home of the child's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Milan, 4005 South Thirty-sixth street. The baby's parents were away . from the home for a few minutes, leavinc ""WJ'ic miant in cnargc or a lour-year old brother. The boy in some man ner obtained matches from which a curtain hanging in the Milan home caught fire, and fell down over the infant's cradle. Neighbors were aroused by the screams of the two children, but bc fotc they could extinguish the fuy the " infant was burned beyond recogniiion. Dr. Hugo Chalouptka was immediately called and took the child to the South Omaha hospital, where it died yesterday. Burial of the infant took place at the Gennrn Catholic cemetery yes terday. British Engineers and Firemen May Go qji Strike London, Aug. 18. There is consid erable danger of an immediate strike involving about half the engineers and firemen employed on British railroads. The main point at issue is the recog nition of the principle of an eight hour day, although the demand does not necessarily include making the principle effective during the war. The men concerned number about 40,000. East St. Louis Rioter Pleads Guilty; Given Five-Year Term Belleville, 111., Aug. 18.-S. L. Schulz, who was one of the 105 per sons indicted in connection with the East St. Louis riots, walked into the circuit court here this afternoon and pleaded guilty to a chearge of riot ing. He was sentenced to live years' imprisonment. . More Suffragists Given Choice of Fine or Jail Washington, Aug. 18. The six women arrested yesterday in front of the White House charged with un lawful assembly were sentenced in police court today to fines of $10 or thirty days in the workhouse at Oc coquan, Va. They said they would not pay the fines. Lieutenant 'Zimmerer Knows Game When it Comes to Machine Guns Lieutenant Edwin Zimmerer, Ne braska City, of the machine gun com pany. Fifth Nebraska, is said to have the best tactical knowledge of ma chine gun warfare of any National Guardsman in the United States. Last spring at Fort Sill, Okla homa, was held the first school for training members of "the National Guard of the country. Officers and enlisted men attended and here in struction was given by skilled regu lar army officers in this method of warfare. Lieutenant' Zimmerer led this class. Members of this class are the only National Guardsmen in the country with such training. So few soldiers know anything of machine gun work that the men from the Fort Sill school are going to be in great -demand. It is probable, it is asserted, that the officers who at tended will be put in charge of train ing schools, teaching other National Guardsmen, as well as those of the National Army. Lieutenant Zimmerer will probably be the first one choScn. He is a graduate of the Arts de partment of Nebraska university and of the law school of Northwestern university. He was, -previous to last year, when he went to the border with the Fifth, a practicing attor ney jn Nebraska City. ' WILSON WILL ACT 0? COAL PROBLEM E ARLYNEXT WEEK After Conference With Federal Trade Commission Presi dent Prepares to Set tle Question. Washington, Aug. 18. President Wilson will take some action in be coal situation earjy next week. He carried back to the White House from a conference with the trade commission a mass of statistics on coal production costs and will go over them tomorrow. His decision probably will be announced Monday. The president's intention, it was learned authoritatively, is to reduce the present price not only at the mines, but of jobbers and retailers. The trade commission's report indi cates that operators can sell their bitumiuous at a price far . below the maximum of $3 fixed at a recent con ference between mine managers and government officials and still make a handsome profit. Agreement is Broken. Evidence was given the president that operators have failed to abide by the $3 a ton agreement and that they have been selling their product for any amount they could get. Short ages in some parts of the country have made it possible, it is said, for them to obtain extortionate prices. The trade commission gave to the president specific recommendations as to its ideas of handling the situa tion. It was suggested, it is under stood, that the president immediately put into operation provisions of the food control bill, which give the gov ernment authority to take over and resell to the public all coal mined. Italian Press Deplores Pope's Attempt at Peace Rome, Italy, Friday, Aug. 17. With the exception of tne Catholic ' press, the Italian newspapers agree that a discussion of the question of peace at present would favor Austro-German' plans. The newspapers deplore the attempt of Pope Benedict, even if made in good faith, saying it may weaken the resistance of the popula tion at a moment when all the en ergy of Italians is necessary to bring about a victorious end to the war. LUT. . ZIMMERER UMEPi: PHOTO. f ' ' 1 He Should Worry Germany Favors Peace Says Berne Dispatch Rome, Aug. 18. Dispatches re ceived here from Berne, Switzer land and published in the Idea Na zionales state that Germany is will ing to follow the lead of its ally, Austria, and accept the proposals laid down by the pope in his peace message. COUNCIL REBUKES THE PRO-GERMAN PRESS OF STATE Declares that Public Sentiment Must Deal With Foreign Language Press to As sist America. The Nebraska State Council of De fense, in a sharp rebuke to editors of the German press issued in the form of a statement, declares that, until congress can enact laws to deal with these foreign language papers, public sentiment must take the mat ter in hand. Continuous misleading statements, cleverly covered under the guise of news matter, is the principal form of pro-German sentiment, declares the council. Council's Statement. The, statement is as follows: "The Nebraska State Council of Defense hereby protests against the insidious methods of the German language press in America. Reports received by the state council show that in communities where German language papers are widely circulated hostility toward the American cause is pronounced. "It is difficult to handle some of these German language newspapers under the law, but their offense, while cleverly covered, is so plain that they must be dealt with by public senti ment until congress shall provide a remedy. "The German language press is constantly misrepresenting America's allies and presenting a line of propa ganda that is clearly meant to mis lead its readers. The fact that these German language editors are clever enough .to avoid laying themselves open to prosecution under the law does not mean that their very ap parent efforts to misrepresent the great enterprise for humanity and democracy upon which America has entered should be tamely submitted to by men having the interests of the country at heart. Urges Federal Legislation. "The State Council of Defense earnestly urges senators and con gressmen to pass laws that will ade quately meet this situation, protect ing America from the insidious wiles of these newspapers if present laws are inadequate. In the meantime awakening on the part of Americans, regardless of birth or ancestry, to the seriousness of the practices of the German language press will ac complish much good. "It is the solemn judgment of the State Council of Defense that sooner or later the German language press must undergo a strict censorship if not actual suppression during the duration of the war. "The State Council of Defense takes' the position that in America there is only one side to America's war, and that those who do any thing to hinder or embarrass the gov ernment in the conduct of that war should be held strictly to account, through the force of public senti ment. "In this view the state council re spectfully suggests to the editors of German language papers that they call a halt upon their cleverly ar ranged propaganda and cither stand up for the country which provides them protection and prosperity, or suspend publication until America has completed the important task it has in hand." STATE CROPS ARE BETTER AS FALL HARVEST HEARS Northwestern's Report for the Week Gives Indications of a Bumper Corn Yield. The Northwestern's Nebraska crop report for the week ending Friday night, the data of which is gathered by the agent$rwho make personal ob servations and talk with farmers, ele ctor and mill men, has been compiled and indicates pretty close to a bumper yield. Wherever the Northwestern oper ates in Nebraska, and that is in prac tically ;.ll portions of the grain beltj as well as out in the range country, there was an abundance of rain dur ing the last week. This has b,ren ac companied by the most favorable growing weather, such as warm days and generally warm nights. The cli matic conditions have pushed the corn crop along to the extent that if the fall is reasonably late, considering the increased acreage, the yield will be greater than last year and probably the largest in the history of the state. Corn Only Slightly Damaged. As time passes it becomes apparent that there was only slight damage done to the corn by the hot weather of three weeks ago. Indications are that this little damage was in a few of the counties of the southern por tion of the state and there only in spots. Threshing of small grain is well along. While the acreage of wheat was far below the normal, the yield of both the spring and winter varieties is heavy and the quality excellent. The oats crop is a bumper, both as to acreage and yield. Reports from the fields and from the elevators in dicate that the yield is anywhere from thirty to sixty bushels an acre. Many of the fields run as high as seventy five and some up to eighty bushels an acre. Alfalfa Tonnage Heavy. The third cutting of alfalfa is being gathered and on account of the recent rains, which were general, the ton nage of the crop is unusually heavy, nearly as great as the first and second. Potatoes promise an average crop in most sections of the state. In the southern section the yield will be a little below the normal, but in the central and northern portions, where are found the immense fields of the tubers, the yield promises to be greater than last year, though the harvest will be a little late. Pasturage has improved greatly during the last week and the reports are to the effect that the range was never in better condition. Throckmorton and Alexander Win Tennis Championship Boston, Aug. 18. Frederick B. Al exander and Harold Throckmorton of New York today won the final match of the national patriotic dou bles lawn tennis tournament, which t'.is year took the place of the na tional doubles championship. They defeated Irving C. Wright and II. C. Johnson of this city in straight sets, 11-9, 6-4, 6-4. on the courts of the Longwood Cricket club. Federal Officers in Texas Hold Austrian Army Men Laredo, Vex., Aug. 18. Four Aus trian army officers, alleged to be ac complices of Captain Irving Schneider, recently arrested' at San Francisco on a charge of being a Ger man spy, were arrested by Department of Justice agents here todayand placed in jail. It is said they Cine from San Francisco and were en route ,to Mexico. FIFTEEN BLASTS DESTROY MONSTER MUNITION PLANT Hundreds Killed and Entire Village Destroyed at Riguad, Quebec, When Explosions Wreck Powder Mill Cover ing Five Square Miles; Bodies Buried in Smoulder ing Ruins; No Death List Until Embers Cool. Rigaud, Quebec, Aug. 18. The great plant here of Curtis & Harvey, Ltd., explosive manufacturers, was wrecked today by a series, of terrific explosions and buried beneath the ruins of a dozen or so structures that comprised the factory are an unknown number of dead. Several thousand male and female workers employed at the plant were in the danger zone for Ik 3. An early estimate TEUTONS HURL HEAVY BLOWS AT CANADIANS Concentrate on British Posi tion Recently Taken in Vi cinity of Lens; French Retake Wood. (By ftnorlatod rrw.) Crown Prince Rupprecht of Ha vana continues to hurl counter at tacks against the new positions cap tured by the Canadians in their re cent offensive in the, region of Lens. Saturday morning the Gennnas forced their way into the Canadian trenches northwest of the French; mining cen ter, but after furious hand to hand fighting they were ejected, leaving a considerable number of dead on the battlefield. French Penetrate Steenbeke Region. On the Belgian front from the North Soa coast to the Ypres sector, where the British and French in their offensive begun iu the middle of the week took 1,800 prisoners and twenty-four guns, the French again have pushed forward, capturing a strong German pouit of support east of the Steenbeke. river. The British have organized their newly conquered ter rain and the artillery bombardment on this front again has assumed a degree of drum tire intensity, presag ing another vicious blow at the Ger man lines. The Berlin war office now admits the loss, after severe fighting, of the Belgian village of Langcmarck, northeast of Ypres, and says the Ger man troops have occupied lines in front of the positions conquered by the British. . Aisne Attacks Repulsed. On the River Aisne front the Ger man crown prince directed a number of attacks on the French trenches, notably in the vicinity of Froidmont farm, but all were repulsed. Prepa rations for a German assault in the Massiges sector of the Champagne region were broken up iby French fire. On the Verdun front a spirited attack swept over the German posi tions in Caurieres wood, enabling the French to Tetake all the trenches which had been wrested from them on August 16 and 17. Aviators of all the belligerents on the western front were active as the week closed. German Planes Fall. French aviators shot down seven German machines and forced eight others to land in a badly damaged condition. On the night of August 17-18 French aerial squadrons dropped fourteen tons of explosives on German aviation grounds, railway stations and encampments. British airmen destroyed twenty-three Teu tons' airplanes and forced thirteen others to land. Eleven British planes and two French machines, according (Contlniird on I'M Two, Column Thrm.) The Bee 77 SttXy, o " a . 4-. a?.-.z iLrA. CLJ Obascd on first reports placed the num ber ot killed at about 250. RELIEF TRAIN ARRIVES. A relict train arrived from Mon treal at noon bringing doctors and nurses, but owing to the fierce heat from the burning ruins of the plant they were unable to approach. No death list can be obtained until the ruins cool. The loss in the value of buildings and stock will reach well up into mil lions. The first explosion was caused by the overheating of the machinery iu the nitric acid building. The flames leaped along through the building and another explosion occurred. Most of the workers, however, are believed to have had ample time to escape. Other Explosions. -1 Other exolosions occurred everv five minutes or so, shaking the sur rounding country like a scries of earthquakes. Altogether fifteen deto nations were counted. One of the explosions blew down a number of houses in Dragon, where most of the workers lived, and farm houses in the vicinity also caught fire. Provision was made by tne people or Rigaud for accommodating the home less workers. Arrest of Ficke May . Stop Leak to Germany New York, Aug. 18. The arrest of Heiilrfch S. Ficke, the auditor in this city of the North German Lloyd Steamship company, as an alien en emy, was expected to be followed today by the detention of nu merous other men, all of whom prob-i ably will be interned until the end of the war. Ficke was arrested last night by United . States Marshal Power, who said today that "through his arrest and others to be made soon the leak to Germany will be stopped." New Bond Issue Before Ways and Means Members Washington, Aug. 18. The house ways and means committee had be fore it today Secrttary McAdoo's pro posal for a bond issue of $7,538,945, 000, to bear 4 per cent interest and subject only to income supertaxes, war profits and excess profit taxes. The proposed legislation is intended to provide $4,000,000,000 for additionat loans to the allicj and for retirement of the $3,000,000,000 nontaxable 3i per cent bond issue now authorized to meet allied loans. Austria Considers China's War Declaration Illegal Peking, Thursday, " Aug. -16. Austria-Hungary considers that China's declaration of war on the central powers proclaimed August 14 isjllegal and unconstitutional, according'to Dr.. Arthur von Rosthorn, the Austro Hungarian minister at Peking, in a note replying to a notification from the Chinese foreign office announcing the existence of a state of war. Webb Export Bill Reported By Commerce commission Washington, Aug. 18. Webb export Din, permuting comoiations oi dusi ness interests to engage in foreign trade, was reported today with mi nor amendments to the senate by the interstate commerce committee. It already has passed the house. Suits Best M " c. . - 1
