jjv
Omaha
Daily
THE WEATHER
Fair "
VOL. , XLVII. NO. 58.
OMAHA. FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 24. 1917. TEN PAGES.
O TrlM. it Hqttlt,
Nawi Steedi. tie., to.
SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS.
ALLIES KNEW
CE PLANS; '
: OMAHA
EN FA
BANKRUPTCY
POPE'S
COM Mi
CE
COAL TRADE DEMORALIZED,
DEALERS FACE HEAVY LOSS,
- DECLARES OMAHA JOBBER
i ' .. .
; ""V ' -r
George M. Wallace Says Action of President Wilson and
Federal Trade Commission in Fixing Prices at Mines
Will Throw Many Merchants Into Bank
ruptcy; Famine Coming.
"There was never a time in the history of the country when
the coal trade was so completely demoralized as right now.
This applies to both the jobbers and the retailers," said George
M. Wallace, secretary and general manager of the Nebraska
Fuel company, one of the largest jobbers of coal west of the
Mississippi river.
v "This condition is brought abouty
by the action of President Wilson
and the federal trade commission in
fixing the prices at which coal shall
be' sold at the mines. i
"Omaha coal jobbers, as well as
jobbers in other cities, are loaded up
with soft c6al bought at the high
.prices and the same holds true with
a large number of the retailers in the
cities, but not to so great an extent
with the retailers in the towns and
smaller cities . With the proposed
cut of $1 or more per ton the ques
tion is: , - ,
"What is going to become of this
coal bought at high prices and what
is going to become of the dealers
if they are forced to sell at the lower
prices proposed?
Bought on $3 Basis.
"Last, July most of the jobbers
made contracts for their coal. They
did so on the supposition that Gov
ernor Fort of the trade commission
was the special representative of the
president and that he was in close
touch with the administration. The
proposition at the time and the one
that had the approval of Governor
Fort and the operators provided for
$3 per ton for eastern and $3.50 for
Illinois and Indiana coal". No price
was set for coal from the mines west
of the Mississippi. .
"With the understanding that these
were t5 be the . prices that would
maintain, jobbers rilled their yards.
There was. no gambling in futures and
we arHeit certain that the maximum
as welt as the minimum had come to
stay, at least during the season.
"Now. with that coal in our. yards
and Tfot 'much 'of it sold, if the cut
in price "is applied we stand to lose
heavily and unless some provision is
made for the government or some
body else td ateorb the loss many
of the leading dealers will face bank
ruptcy before spring.
Country Dealers Safe.
"Country dealers and those of the
larger towns supplied by Omaha job
bers, as a rule, oruered tneir siocks,
bflt to them the coal has not been
shipped. Now these orders are being
canceled on the belief that prices are
going to be lower, so you will see
that -we are not getting rid of our
coal as was expected. The same ap
plies 'here in .the' city, except in cases
where the retailers had their coal put
into the bins. - -
"Everything points to an enormous
; demand for mine run coal for the rea
son that the president has fixed its
, (Continued on Page Two, Column rive.)
- Gompers Lays Grievance
Of Labor Before Wilson
' Washington, Aug. 23. The general
strike situation throughout the country-was"
discussed today at a confer
ence between President Wilson and
President , Gompers of the American
Federation of Labor Mr. Gompers
declined to discuss it further than to
say that he had laid "labor's just
guievances" -before the president and
that'he had -been assured that tic
rights of labor would be cared for. .
IheWeather
For Nebraska -Fair, cooler.
Temperature at Omaha Yesterday.
Honr.
Dor.
8 a. m .y ... . 63
6 a, m. ... . 63
7 a. m 6
8 a. tn. ........... 6?
9 a. til...., 70
10 a. m 72
11 a. m 73
12 mi....' 73
1 p. m 74
1 p. m. ...... 78
3 p. m.., 77
4 p. m 77
6 p. m 78
6 p. m 76
- 7 p. m. 74
8 p. ra 71
Comt
nparattve Loral Beeoru.
1S1T. 191H. 1915. 1914.
Highest yesterday.... 78 87 . SS 85
Lowest yesterday.... 63 59 61 63
Mean temperature.... 70 73 , 72 74
Precipitation ,00 .00 .02 .28
,Tamperature and precipitation departures
from the normal at Omaha yesterday:
Normal temparatue. ,( 73
Deficiency for the day 3
Total deficiency sines March 1 .18b
.-'" Normal pn ipitation. .13 inch
' Deficiency for the day.. . .13 inch
Total rainfall since March 1... .19. 64 Inches
Deficiency since March 1...-..,. 1.47 inches
Deficiency for cor. -period, 1316. 9.66 Inches
Excess for cor.-period, 1915..., .85 Inch
' '. Reports 'From Stations at 7 P. M.
Station and state' Temp. Hlrh- Rain-
of WeatheiT 7 p. m.
Cheyenne, clear 73
eet,
73 I
76 '
fall.
.00
.00
.00
.14
.00
,0
.00
.06
.00
.30
.Oil
.4?
: oo
.00
.00
Davenport, cloudy ..... . 73
rarer, clear 78
'78
7
82
' 0
Den Moines, clear. ..j... 76
Dodge City, clear 78
ljtnder. clear. 78
North Platte, clear...,. 78
Umaha, elear 74
Ipi:nblo. cloudy......... 76
t:ici so. .rlear. ... T 72
ft It Lull ?it--. clrar... SO
'sain re, rain i
Sher:f.:ij Wear......... Ts
."'onx-'Vit'; 76
Valentine, clear 76
T tndlcttee trace of precipitation.-
4s" .1 X WELSH, Meteorologist,
OMAHA MEN WILL
HELP INCREASE
STOCK ON FARMS
W.'B. Tagg, E. Z. Russell and
E. L Burke Chosen by Gov
ernment to Aid Increase
of Production.
Three Omaha men have been
chosen by Herbert Hoover and Sec
retary of Agriculture Houston as
part of the general committee to
stimulate the increase in the produc
tion of cattle, sheep, hogs and other
live stock. -These Omaha members
are W. B. Tagg? president of the
' E. Z. RUSSELL,
Editor Twentieth .Cenlui-y Farmer. , '
South Omaha Live Stock exchange,
and president of the National Live
Stock exchange; E. L, Burke, secre
tary of the National Live Stock Pr6T
ducers association, and E. Z. Rus
sell, editor of the Twentieth Century
Farmer. '
The immediate supplying of meat
for the soldiers and civilians is a seri
ous one, and the problem of keeping
this meat supply coming for years is
still more serious.
Secretary Houston and Food Ad
ministrator Hoover signed a publicj
statement in whicli they said: ihis
campaign should not be considered
to have terminated successfully until
the great majority of our farms hive
their flocks of sheep and a sufficient
stock of cattle to consume all rough
age now largely wasted.'? .
To Assist Mobilization.
It is arranged that the county
agents in various sectjons . of the
.country- may take orders for lanibs,
ewes or cattle among the smaller
farmers. If has been arranged with
the live stock exchanges , that the
commission men will aid ;iru the mo-
(Continued on .Pace Two, Coluirtn Five.)
J
Pomp and 'Ceremony A ttend
Military We
To the strains of martial music by
the regimental band of the Fourth
Nebraska, with the khaki-clad forms
of the fellow troopers -of - trie bride
groom lined up in a hollow square,
the first military wedding ever per
formed in Omaha took place at 6:30
o'clock Thursday night at Fort
Crook.
Grace Dodge Longnecker, a niece
of the late General GrenvOle M.
Dodge of Council Bluffs, and Cor
poral H. A. Oviatt of the machine
gun company of the Fouoth Nebraska
infantry were the principals in this
little drama of military life, staged on
the green parade- grounds of the fort.
- The ceremony was impressive In its
simplicity. Companies D and K and
the machine gun company of the
Fourth regiment, the supply company,
the headquarters company and the
sanitary detachment were lined up in
front-of the headquarters building.
Sergeant Herbert Gunnard and.Mrs.
Herbert Gunnard. Sergeant Jess Alex
ander and Miss Ida Shute, attendants
of the bridal pair, together with the
bridegroom quietly took their places
rSunk
r
Merman Submarine
Boston. Mass- Aug;. 23. The
Leyland. liner Devonian, which left
an Atlantic port on July 28, has
been sunk, presumably by a Ger
man submarine. Officers of the line
today confirmed the report that the
v vessel was lost, but stated that they
had received no word as to the safe
ty of the crew.
PRICE OF HARD
COAL IS FIXED
BY WILSON
Effective" September First
Range From Four to Five Dol-.
lars; Dealers Protest; Gar:
field Is Administrator.
(By Associated Press.)
Washington, Aug. 23. Prices of
anthracite coal were fixed in a state
ment issued tonight by President Wil
son, and Harry A. Garfield, president
of Williams college, was named coal
administrator. '
The anthracite prices, effective Sep
tember 1, range from $4 to $5 per ton
'(2,240 pounds) f. o. b, mines. Jobbers
are allowed to add a profit of not
more than 20 cents per ton for deliv
eries east of Buffalo and of not more
than 30 cents west of Buffalo.
The jobbers"profit on bituminous is
limited to IS cents per ton of 2,000
pounds, wherever delivered.
Allow for Re-Screening.
Producers who incur the expense of
re-screening anthracite at Atlantic or
lake ports for reshipmcnt by water
are permitted to add not more than 5
cents per ton to the price.
Anthracite' prices are fixed as fol
lows: fVhite Ash, brkn,IH.B5 Chestnut S4.SO
Efrs; $4.45 Pea- S4.10
Stove .... , 4. 70 Xykenn Valley
Chestnut ..X4.8IJ broken S.VOO
Pea $4.00 Egg , S4.WO
Red Ash, brkn. ..M.7.VS(ovo US. 80
Kg ,....4.W Chest not SN.30
Store ,....4.IKjPe S4.33
Coal Operators Protest.
Denver, Aug. 23. The Colorado
Coal Operators' association, repre
senting sixty operators of the state,
at a meeting today protested the ac
tion of President Wilson in fixing the
prices at the mine of bituminous coal
on the ground that the prices were
fixed without investigation of mining
and marketing conditions by the fed
eral trade commission or any other
government agency. A telegram was
drafted to be sent to President Wil
son. Its contents were not divulged.
The Colorado Fuel & Iron company
is not a member of the association,
but representatives of that company
were present as guests and took part
in the action of the association.
The association decided to prepare
a schedule of cost of production at
the Colorado mines to be sent to the
government administrator.
Reichstag Committee Gives
Way to More Wieldy Body
Copenhagen, Aug. 23. -The com?
mittee jon ways and means, or the
"Little Reichstag," has proved too
large and ponderous for maintaining
a quick and constant touch between
the German government and the
Reichstag parties when the Reichstag
is not sitting. It has now been de
cided to establish a small committee,
which will immediately be available
for conferences with government
representatives on any question that
may afise. ,
Dr. Michaelis, the German imperial
chancellor, has accepted the idea. The
first work of the subcommittee may
be to pass upon the reply of Germany
to Popeu Benedict's peace note.
- fr-
25,000 Prisoners Are Taken
By Allies ifi Three Days
London, Aug, 23.-"In the past
three days the entente allies "on the
western front have -taken 25,000. pris
oners and Since-July 31 they have
taken 32,000. prisoners," said . Major
General - Frederick,. B; Mauri,; chief
director of the war intelligence office,
in his weekly talk with the Associated
Press.
on the
building.
stps of the headquarters
The bride, accompanied by Lieu
tenant Colonel FJsasser,. who wore
regulation full ' dress uniform, ap
peared immediately after.
The marriage vows were adminis
tered by the regimental chaplain.
The solemnity and perfect stillness
which reigned impressed all witnesses
as the young couple took their vows
and plighted their troth. Several hun
dred persons witnessed the ceremony.
An amusing incident of the little
drama consisted in the bridegroom's
absentmindeditess, which bridegrooms
are supposed proverb;ily tc possess.
After the troops were all lined up,
and the chaplain was waiting to read
the ceremony, a small sensation was
caused by the discovery that the mar
riage license was missing. The best
knan came to the rescue.
It developed that the bride groom
had left the important document at
the office of the staff photographer of
the Omaha Bee, and Sergeant Jess
Alexander jumped on Lis motorcycle
and post haste flew to the Bee build-
(Continued to Page Tiro, Column Four.).
i .v
Right :
' V fxX Sometimes isahes
GERMANY CUTS
OFF HOLLAND S
COALSUPPLY
Dutch Shipyards May Be Shut
Down if Steel and Fuel
Requirements Are In
sisted On.
(By Associated Fress.)
Washington, Aug. 23. Germany is
increasing us economic pressure on
Holland and now refuses to let steel
go into The Netherlands for ship
building purposes unless the Dutch
agree to devote the ships to German
uses for a period of five years after
the war.
Secretary Lansing said today he
had received -unofficial advices to that
effect; also that Germany has refused
to let Holland have more coal unless
Dutch miners are sent to get it out.
The State department's information is
that Holland has replied that if the
terms regarding the steel are in
sisted upon the Dutch shipyards will
be shut down. The allotment of coal
by Germany to Holland is exhausted
and Dutch industries arc said to be in
need of ftiel. It is not known what
Holland will do regarding the Ger
man coal. 1
German pressure on all the Enuo-
pean neutrals, latest advices say, is
increasing, but it is being' manifested
mainly on Holland, Denmark and
Switzerland, although it is understood
that Norway is feeling it more and
more. $
Subseas Sink Nine
French Ships in ,
Week of August 12
Paris, Aug. 23. In the week which
ended August 19, five French steam
ships of 1,600 tons or more were
sunk-by mines or submarines, accord
ing to the weekly official report. Four
vessels under 1,600 tons were sunk.
No fishing shios s were destroyed.
Three attacks by submarines failed.
Orlando A. Somers Heads
v, A. Civil War Veterans
Boston, Mass.,' Aug. '23. Orlando
A; Somers of ' Kokomo, Ind.. was
elected commander-in-chief of the
Grand Army of the Republic at the
closing session of the annual encamp
ment today.
Brigadier General John V. Clem,
U. S. A., retired, of Washington, was
selected senior vice cpmmander-in-chiefl
The committee formally ratified thej
selection of Portland, Ore., as the :
encampment city tor next year.
476 Bisbee Refugees Are
Drafted Into Service
Tucson, Ariz., Aug. 23. Approxi
mately 476 of the men deported from
Bisbee, Ariz., July 12 last, now camped
at Columbus, N. M., were drafted into
the national army today, the district
exemption board here announced,
action being taken on the certificate
of the Cochise county board that the
men had failed to appear before it.
British Warships Shell
Zeebruggo U-Boat Base i
Amsterdam, Aug. 23. British war-,
ships last night bombarded the Ger- j
man submarine bae at the Belgian 1
port of Zeebrugge, according to the j
frontier correspondent rf the. Tele-'
graaf, .
i
: 1 I
INTERN GERMAN
PASTOR AS ALIEN
ENEMY OF THE U.S.
t
William G. Krauleidis, Luth
eran Minister at Riverdale.
Ordered Incarcerated at Ft.
Riley for. Period of War.
Rev. William G. Krauleidis, the Ger
man Lutheran minister at Riverdale,
Neb., who was arrested several weeks
ago on the charge of .being an alien
enemy of the United States wis or
dered interned at Fort Riley for the
period of the war.
The order came from the United
States attorney general at Washing
ton. Krauleidis will be taken to Fort
Riley in a few days. He has been
in the county jail at Grand Island
since his arrest.
The little church of which Rev. fr.
Krauleidis was pastor was split in
two because of the minister's pro
German utterances. The trouble
reached a climax when it was pro
posed to take a vote on whether to
offer prayers for the kaiser. When
the argument was at its height one
woman rose and shouted,, "Hoch der
Kaiser."
This was answered by a man from
Continued on Tnge Two, Column Three.)
CAMEL EIGHT DA YS;N0 WATER
Blondes Bathe in White Wine; Brunette
Turn Other Faucet and Use Only Pure Red.
PARISIAN HAS CAMEL PICKLED
By RING W. LARDNER.
v (Special cable to the Chicago Tribune and Omaha Bee, Copyright by
Tribune company, 1917.)
Paris, Aug. 23. A bas la eu! It is said of a camel that he can go eight
days without water.
The Parisian has the camel pickled to death.
Back in the states we acauired an atrocious habit of drinking the vile
stuff and sometimes even washing our hands and face in it. I know people
whar employ Hor washing dishes, and I must confess that I have often
used it to work up a lather before shaving.
No true Parisian ever drinks it. ,
No true Parisian ever bathes in it.
The vine is piped right into all Parisian homes. Each bathtub and
wash basin has two faucets, the rear one marked "E" and the olher "E,"
meaning Blanc and Rouge. -
RED FOR BRUNETTES. WHITE FOR BLONDES.
The brunette washes in red wine and he blonde in white. It is the
same way with drinks. 1
For the benefit of visitors from the states some hotels have water for
bathing purposes, but in order to conserve the fuel supply they give you
hot water only on Saturday and .Sunday, so that you can be clean on
Monday.
My hotel sprang a new one today when I got up. I occasionally wash
my hands and face and shave. I didn't yesterday. The reason was there
was no waier, either Chaude O Froid. I rang for the sbell hop.
"There's no water at all I said. ,
"Impossible," the hop replied.
I showed him that his statement was ridiculous by turning and twist
ing the faucets round and round and then some more.
He departed convinced He promised faithfully to find out what was
the matter. He returned two or three hours later.
OTHER CUSTOMS PECULIAR TO PAREE.;
""The water is shut off," he said most respectfully and tip expectantly.
"Impossible," 1 replied.
"It will only be for ten minutes," he said. .."They're making repara
tions downstairs." ' . ' v
. I waited another hour and then summoned said bell nop again. This
time he gave me real solace.
"It isn't only in your room," he said. ''It's all over the house."
Thereupon I gave up the idea of shaving and abluted with a towel.
Fortunately it the towel was not quite dry. French towels never are.
At the hour of going to press they have made no reparations down
stairs at least not to me.
On my way to Maximjs, where they have running water for out-of-towiT
guests, I observed an old cocher getting ready tor the day's trade.
With a felt brush he gave his horse the once over, and then with the same
brush he cleaned off the seats of his carriage. He did this, no doubt, that
his patrons might be assured of horse hair upholstery. .
ENTENTE COUNCIL PRECEDED
PUBLICATION OF PEACE NOTE,
STATES JAPANESE DIPLOMAT
Viscount Okuchi Tells How Allied Representatives Met
in Rome Before Pope's Proposals Were Made
Public; United States, However, Had No.
Part in Conference. ,
High Lights of Viscount OkuchVs
Statement of Peace Conference
Here are some significant paragraphs in Viscount Okuchi's interview:
"When the United States declared war agaiiut ouf common enemy the
first thing that suggested itself in the upper house of Japan was the
probability of a more genuine entente between the United States, and
ourselves." v
"I am afraid that the peace proposals will not achieve the' object
hoped for by the pope." .
"I have no objection to being quoted as saying that England appeared
adverse to a peace settlement at the present time."
"I see no objection to saying that France had very much the same
objection that England expressed."
"After leaving Rome we visited the front in France. We were over,
whelmed by the enormity of the action. We bring with us a firm con
viction that the Germans canhot hold out much longer."
San Francisco, Cal.t Aug. 23. The San Francisco Exam
iner today says Viscounts Y. Kawai and M. Okuchi of Japan
passed through here last night on their way to the orient from
Rome, where they attended, at the suggestion'of Pope Benedict
XV and a high United States official, secret conferences be
tween the representatives of the allied entente nations previous
to the publication of the pope's recent peace plea.
VICTORY FOR
ITALIAN ARMS
ALONG ISONZO
Both .."Northern and -Southern
Wings Advance; Fighting .
Along Verdun Front
Dies Down.
BULLETIN.
London, Aug. 23. The Auscriana
are removing everything of value
from Triest to Vienna and other
inland places, according to a Rome
dispatch to the Exchange Tele
graph company. ,
(By Aftftoclated Fress.)
Italy's great effort on the Isonzo
front is meeting wi$h continued suc
cess, Rome reports officially, andxits
troops are proceeding toward reali
zation of their objectives. y
Further ground has been gained on
both the northern and southern wings.
Austrian counter attack of great se
verity are being repulsed. The Aus
trian losses in the first two days of
the battle are computed unofficially in
Italy at 30,000.
The Italian offensive has resulted
(Continued on l'nce Two, Column Three.)
V PROPOSALS QTITOMCn.
Viscount Okuchi, who is a graduate
of Corpus Christt college," Cambridge,
England, according to the Exam- 1
iner, admitted that he and Viscount
Kawai had attended the conferences
with representatives of other allied
nations, at which the peace proposals
of the pope were outlined.
FIRMER FRIENDSHIP.
He was said to have Issued this
statement i .
"When the United State's declared
war against our common enemy, the
first thing that suggested itself fit the
upper house of Japan was thi proba
bility of a more L, genuine entente
between the United States and our
selves. It was while this matter was
under discussion that a message "
was received from Rome asking that
accredited delegates be sent to con-
fer with the other allies.
Suggested by United States. v ,
"To tell you the truth, we. did nor
think much of this suggestion until
a request came from the United States
signed by a man who is revered in
Japan. Viscount Kawai arid; tnyself
were then appointed to attend the
meeting. '
"All the allies wefe represented, I
am unable to give the names of those ,
who attended, as it was understood
that full secrecy was to surround the
meeting.
Matter of Diplomacy.
"But, since the pope has made pub
lic his proposal, which was outlined
at our conclave, I presume it is a
mere matter of diplomacy that kept ,
the European papers front publishing
the news of our progress before ,
the proposals were formulated.
"I have no objection to being quot
ed as saying that England appeared
adverse to a peace settlement at the '
present time. 1
"I am afraid that the peace propos- '
aU will not achieve the object hoped
for by the pope, t see no objection
to saying that France had very much
the same .altitude as England as far
as the conference was concerned.
"As to what Japan would require in
case of peace, I can hardly say any
thing under present conditions:
Germans Are Weakening.
"After leaving Kome we visited the
front in France. We were overwhelm-"
ed by the enormity of the action. We
bring with us a firm conviction that
the Germans cannot hold out much
longer. '
"Being on a secret mission we
have not stopped in the United
States nor attended any public func
tions. But we feel, with all the. edu
cated class in Japan, that there must t
be close and cordial relationship be
tween Japan and the United States."
Viscounts Kawai and Okuchi were
in San Francisco only a short time.
The Japanese consul general here, M. '
Haniharas in Washington in con
nection with the visit to the United
(Continued on I'axe Two, Column Two.)
Skull Fractured When '
He is Hit by an Autc
Frank Nitchelj, a laborer living at ,
3811 Madison street, was struck by
an automobile driven by Joseph Mv
thalls, 3601 Harrison 6treet, shortly
before 7 o'clock yesterday morning.
He died about noon.
Witnesses of the accident say
Mithalls was; driving rapjdly south ,
on Thirty-sixth street when he ran
into Nitchell walking north. Dr.
Shanahan was called and the injured
man taken to the South Omaha hos
pital, where it was found that his '
skull had been fractured.
Nitchell was employed by the
Cudahy Packing company and was
on his way to workv when killed. He
is survived by a wife and six children.
He has one soft now serving in the
army in Cuba. ...
Mithalls is being held in jail on the
South Side for investigation. His
bond was fixed at $5,000. He is an
Armour employe and was returning
from work when the accident hap
pened. ' '