Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1917)
- ft Omaj ID .Bee THE WEATHER Fair VOL.. XLVII NO. 129. OMAHA, THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 15, 1917. FOURTEEN PAGES. '7r H&i..4- - SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. KERENSKY CONT Wit CAfil 70 tfZU II If -1 I II II 1 I II II II M - Lf U H Ufc Vs 11 U iJ VI, o i2 HOLS PETROGMOi. ul iab o tf ; u i v is?' h iff m PRESIDENT WILL REQUEST PATRIOTIC RAIL CHIEFS TO POSTPONE ALL DEMANDS In Conference Will Show Brotherhood Heads Great Dan ger to Nation if Transportation Systems, Whose Con tinued Operation is Vital to America's Winning the War, Should Be Paralyzed. When Jthe Kaiser Remembers His Friends Iff- tAe ttexi dtiieibuttou of Jfac eaffes and red eagles and ctlier earfes te JZcu'sep sotd ztcf oirerlocdc Ats Jeiexds itt te United SaJes cSenae " diaries Cdward 2?ussett pevxe we omha commixcac club WAR DECLARED ON RETAIL COAL MEN FOR HIGH PRICES Statement Issued by Kennedy Says Excessive Profits Be Cut to Minimum. Washington, Nov. 14. Aroused by the plans of the rail way men's brotherhoods to demand wage increases, President Wilson has set the machinery of the federal government in mo tion to avert, if possible, the danger of a paralysis of the coun try's transportation1 systems so vital to the war. At a conference with the heads of the "big four" brotherhoods at the White House on November 26 President Wilson will appeal to the labor leaders to defer any struggle until after the country has passed through the period where its transportation systems are so vital to the conduct of the war. Tn PPTP.V1TMT TTVTTP O ' With the announcement of this con ference, it was- disclosed that Presi dent Wilson, while entertaining every hope for a complete agreement, does not intend to permit the country's transportation systems to be tied up by a strike at this critical time in the nation's history, even if it be comes "necesrary for the government to operate the roads. It was disclosed today that Judge William L. Chambers, head of the federal board of mediation-and con ciliation, already has been holding conferences with the heads of .the "biff four" brotherhoods. The status of the proceedings so far shows a disinclination of the brotherhood heads to commit themselves to a plan of arbitrating the differences and the hope of the government negotiators is for an agreement which will post fone any disruption of the transporta tion systems until after the war. The President's Letter. The following letter from President Wilson to Judge Chambers expresses the president's attitude toward the . situation: "My Dear Judge Clumbers: "May I tiot express my very deep and serious interest in your efforts to bring the railroad executives and the brotherhoods engaged, in train opera tion to an agreement that there shall be no interruption in the relations on either side until ample opportunity shall, have been afforded the United Stales board of mediation and con ciliation to bring about, if possible, an amicable agreement, and that in the event of a failure to bring about such an . agreement any controversy that mav have arisen will be submitted to aribtration in accordance with the provisions of the Newlands law? "I take it for granted that your ef forts will succeed, because it is in conceivable to me that patriotic men should now for a moment contemplate the interruption of transportation, which is so absolutely necessary to the safety of the nation and to its suc cess in arms, as well as to its whole industrial life; but I wanted, never theless, to express my deep personal interest in the matter and to wish you Godspeed. ..... "The last thing I should wish to contemplate would be-the possibility of being obliged to take any unusual (Continued on Tgi Two, Column One.) Drive of Young Men's. Christian Association To Raise Fund Booms The Young -Men's Christian asso ciation drive to raise a war fund of $25O,00ff in Nebraska is going on rapidly and reports received last night brought the information that $170,000 had been subscribed, with three of the districts to hear from. Yesterday Lincoln reported sub scriptions of $11,451. In this, total there was one $1,000 subscription, that of Miller & Paine; eight $500 sub scriptions; one $400, one $380 and 15 of $250 each. v .. . The Nebraska City district came in with $7,786, making a total of $20, 278. With this boost, Otoe county leads all the counties in the state, leaving out the Omaha and Lincoln subscriptions. ... The largest city subscriptions, aside from those of Omaha and Lincoln, comes from Beatrice. It is $4,900. The Grand Island district ireports $6,645 as the aggregate to date. Hooker county, the most sparcely ettled county in the state, gave half its quota of $1,009 the first aternoon- Frank Shay of Iowa Elected By Comptrollers' Meeting Boston, Nov. 14. Charles L. Bur rill, treasurer and receiver general of this state, was elected president of the National Association of Auditors and Comptrollers -at the annual con vention today. , Auditdr J. "A. O. Preuss of Minnesota was.elected vice president and Auditor Frank S. Shay 0f Iowa secretary and treasurer. Stephens and Hammond Meet President Poincare Paris. Nov. 14. The American con cessional delegation which is visit ing France was received this morning by President Poincare in the palace of the Elvsees. The Americans were nresented bv Henry Franklin-Bouil lon, minister;! : missions abroad. War has been declared by the United States fuel administration upon retail coal dealers who charge exorbitant prices. John L. Kennedy, fuel administra tor for Nebraska, this morning issued a statement announcing steps the ad ministration will take to prevent ex cessive prices by retail dealers. Price fixing power? have been gjven tq.th estate, administrator to stop this practice. Instructions have been ,. issued to state administrators to order local committees to investigate the cost of doing business in their localities. If, in his investigation, a local committee finds a retail dealer who makes more than a reasonable profit, the commit tee is given power torrive at what it believes is a reasonable profit. The committee then is to report its finding to the state administrator, who is given the" power to put the suggested price in force, subject to appeal to the national administrator. One Price for Coal. Prices in a community may be averaged if the local committee so decides. The average price plan would make one price in a given community, for a particular kind of coal. In Nebraska, Mr. Kennedy an nounces, a local committee will be ap pointed for each county and so far as possible, these committees will be named this week. The award of price fixing powers to the state administrators is the result of complaints that retail dealers are charging excessive prices. This may even happen, it has been found, al though the dealer in question is com plying with the orders of the presi dent, because many dealers enjoyed large margins of profit in 1915, which period was made the basis of retail prices for this year. Jobbers' Regulations. The administration also announces its policy with regard to coal pur chased prior to the president's price fixing order. (Continued cn Paso Two, Column Four.) BRITISH DEFEAT GERMAN TROOPS AND HOLD GAIN Victory Is tompIe"antf "Coun ter Attacks . Made by Kaiser's Armies Fail Utterly. London, Nov, 14. The Germans met with a complete defeat at the hands of the: British yesterday in Flanders, the war office reports. An attempt to recapture the ground re cently won by the British near Pas schandaele was repulsed. The official communication follows: "Following upon the increased ac tivity of their artillery already noted, the Germans yesterday afternoon at tacked the positions held by our troops on the high ground north of Passchendaele. The attack was re pulsed completely. "There is nothing further to report." Seven Tons Meat Saved By One Restaurant Chain Washington, Nov. 14. Introduc tion of "meatless Tuesday" in hotels and restaurants has resulted in the saving by one great chain of res taurants of seven tons of meat week ly, reports today to the food ad ministration show. This includes about 3,500 pounds of hog meat and 8,300 pounds of beef. '' One New York hotel reports that during October it curtailed its con sumption of flour by 14 barrels as the result of "wheatless Wednesday." T. W. McCullough of Bee Staff One of Excess Profits Advisers (By Associated Pren.) Washington, Nov. 14. Nine leaders in the business and economic world were appointed tonight by Secretary McAdoo to act -as "excess profits ad visers" to Internal Revenue Commis sioner Roper in knotty executive prob lems arising out of collection of war taxes on big profits. Creation of the committee was in line with the secretary's announced policy of "constructive co-operation between the department and the tax payers of the country in the proper collection of the full amount of all revenue authorized by congress." The advisers are: Representative Cordell Hull, members of the ways and means committee; T. S. Adams, economist of Yale; Wallace D. Sim mons, president Simmons Hardware company, St. Louis and Philadelphia; J. E. Sterrett c' the accounting firm of Price, Waterhouse & Co., New York; S. R. Bertron of Bertron, Gris com & Co., bankers, New York; E.'T. Meredith, agricultural editor, Des Moines; T. W. McCullough, associate editor of The Omaha Bee, Omaha;g Stewart W. Cramer or the National Council of Cotton Manufacturers, Charlotte, N. C, and Henry Walters, chairman of the Atlantic Coast Line and Louisville & Nashville railway boards. The advisory committee will be in session in Washington much of th time during the next few months, working out details for the most effi cient tax collection methods, !!?fo (Hi i ;i : T. W. M'CULLOUGH. "This evidence of the readiness of business to do its full share in the sup port of the government war policies," said Secretary McAdoo tonight, "has been recognized by the administra tion and every effort will be made to have this great burden, advocated by those who will bear the greater part of it, fall with as little hardship as possible consistent with a just and thorough administration of the law." BLOODY FIGHT ON PIAVE RIVER LINE IN ITALY i Italians Withstand Heavy and Continuous Artillery Fire PREMIER DEFEATS THE BOLSHEVIK! IN STREET FIGHT and Check German At- j Radical Forces Completely Routed By Kerensky Forces at tempts to Build Bridges. Tsarskoe-Selo and Cossack. Cut Red Guard to Lim MAY BE INTERNED UNTIL CLOSE OF THEYAR Liberty of 64 Men Arrested by Government Depends Upon Finding of Treasonable or Seditious Documents. Government officials say they are authorized to intern the 64 men ar rested Tuesday in a raid on the Indus trial Workers of the World head quarters, until the end of the war, if the letters and otKer documents, which were seized, denote anything treasonable' or seditious. Under the direction of Marshals Eberstein and Flynn, every pamphlet and letter is Being examined. Police and deputy marshals who raided the place while the convention was in progress, confiscated several suitcases and trunks full of books, circulars and personal letters. Seize Torn Letters. Instructions were given for the po lice to tear the wallpaper off the wall if there was writing on it. Several bits of letters, which were hurriedly torn when the officers made the raid, are in the hands of government offi cials and will be examined. The safe at the Industrial Wrorkers of the World headquarters was opened yesterday afternoon by the federal authorities after the arrested chair man of the convention had asserted he didn't know the combination. Books, papers and a little money were found. The Industrial Workers of the World arrested in the raid are being held at the county jail, pending the examination of the letters and docu ments. About two tons of Industrial Work ers of the World "literature," office records, files, etc., were taken in the aid and are now stored in the fed eral building. A great variety of pamphlets of in flammatory nature were found. One of these deals with the gentle art of sabotage. Says one quotation, "If you are an engineer you can with 2 cents worth of powdered stoneor a pinch of sand stall your machine, cause a loss of time or make expen sive repairs necessary. A torment worker can easily spoil a suit or a bolt of cloth. If you are a wood worker, what is simpler than to ruin furniture without your boss noticing it and thereby drive his customers away?" Several pages are given to the sug gestion of a number of forms in which this form of sneaky activity can be practiced. A large number of "Industrial Workers of the World Song Books, to Fan the Flames of Discontent" were among the stuff taken by the officers of the law. Lease 230,000 Acres To Feed Hungry Cattle Eagle Pass, Tex., Nov. 14. Mors than 230,000 acres embraced in the Soledad pasture, on the Sabinas river in Mexico, has been leased by south Texas cattlemen to graze cat tle from the drought districts of Texas, it was announced today. Cattle shipments south of the Rio1 Grande are now proceeding. BULLETIN. London, Nov. 14. "The Italian situation," said General Maurice, spokesman for the British war of fice, today, "is extremely critical and will remain so for the next few days. If the Italians fail to hold the Piave line, it is almost certain Venice will fall. Holding the Piave depends on the Italians themselves, as not for some days yet can Franco-British troops be in the fighting line." "The Turkish force confronting General Allenby, the British com mander, has now lost half of its en tire effectiveness, General Maurice continued. He said the number of prisoners and the booty taken in yesterday's attack had not yet Been reported, but that one cavalry divi sion, which was only a small part of the force engaged, took 1.100 prisoners, two guns and 14 machine guns. PIAVE LINE HOLDS. (Br Aaiorlntcd Treat.) Italian Headquarters in Italy, Tues day, Nov. 13. The Piave line still holds in the main against heavy and continuous artillery fire from the east ern bank and the efforts of the Austro-Germans to cross the stream. These efforts have not taken the proportions of a general movement, but several battalions crossed the river on pontoons near Zenson. The Italian artillery concentrated its fire on the raiding parties, either destroying them in midstream or pushing them back on the river bank. The fighting here was des perate and sanguinary. Men who have returned from the batteries along the Piave say the German fire is extremely heavy, but from middle caliber guns.. ... v . .... . Interest in East. -.- : Chief attention is now directed to wards the eastern sector of the Tren tino front, where it runs across the Asiago plateau to the upper Piave river. The enemy is making demon strations there which are either a di vcrsi6n of a prelude to a heavy attack with the evident purpose of getting down into the valley toward Bassano and the plains below, thus separat ing the Italian army on the Trcntino from that on the Piave. Reports indicate the enemy is operating, on four main fronts. Gen eral Boroevio is on the lower Piave, General von Beulow is on the upper Piave, General Krobatin is in the eastern Trentino and General Conrad in the western Trcntino. This gives Von Beulow the' task of trying to force the center while Boroevio and Conrad press in the Piave and Trcn tino wings. The number of troops under the Austro-Gernian com manders is not knq,wn. Finds Little Damage. An Italian aviator who made one of the fast flights over Udinc after it was evacuated, says the city was damaged only little. He saw several large fires at separated points and the hope is expressed that one of them was not the city hall of Udine, which is a handsome monument of Venetian architecture resembling the Doges palace. The inter-allied council is consider ing measures for the adequate pro tection of Venice. Pieces; Lenine'a Regime Totters to Its Fall. Big Flour Mill Burned. Erie, Pa., Nov. 14. Fire early to day destroyed the flour milling plant of the Blaine, McKay & Lee company at Northeast, near here, with an esti mated loss of $100,000. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Stockholm, -Nov. 14. Premier Kerensky has entered Petrograd, according to a dispatch received from the corre spondent of the Swedish Newt agency at Haparanda, on the Russian border. The majority, or Maximalist, 'troops have joined the premier, the correspondent adds. O TAlflTS P.NTTPP. fTTV London, Nov. 14. The Finnish tel egram bureau says the whole of Rus sia except a small part of Petrograd is now in the hands of the provisional government. Premier Kerensky is now in Petro. grad and has taken virtually the en tire city ,the announcement of the Finnish telegram bureau says. Kerensky Forces Win. According' to these advices, which were received in a cablegram filed at Stockholm at 4 o'clock yesterday aft ernoon. Premier Kerensky defeated the P.olsheviki at Tsarskoe-Selo. The Cossacks are reported to have de stroyed the red guard. The tele graph lines are now in M. Kerensky's hands, the telegram bureau reports. The Finnish telegram bureau's ad vices so closely parallel the dispatches received on Sunday and Monday as serting that Premier Kerensky had overthrown the Bolsheviki as to sug gest that they fnay be a delayed ver sion of the same reports, which were contradicted by the announcement re ceived yesterday from Petrograd thaj; Kerensky forces had been defeated in a battle near Tsarskoe-Selo. For the last three days reports have been . coming in from Scandinavian sources of the defeat of the Bolshe viki, but they have been contradicted by wireless dispatches from Petro- grad.,1 This is the third timdThat an account has been received of a battle at Tsarskoe-Selo, a Kerensky victory having been reported twice and a Bol sheviki success on one occasion. " Orders from Moscow. The Finnish telegram bureau says Moscow is the headquarters of the provisional government and that Premier Kerensky has issued orders from Moscow which have appeared in the Petrograd papers. The anti-BoIshevikl papers of Petrograd, as well as the Helsingfors 1 papers, have headlines announcing that the Bolsheviki government . is nearing its downfall. General Kaledines, the Cossack leader, is said to be dictator of south ern Russia. The orders of the provi sional government are signed by M. Kerensky, General Kaledines and General Korniloff. , Fight in Streets. Travelers arriving from Petrograd. the Finnish telegram bureau reports, says that when they left the capital there was fighting in the streets be-' tween the Bolsheviki and the popu lace. The Petrograd garrison was reported to be deserting the Bolshe viki. and the' allied embassies were said to. have got in touch with Pre mier Kerensky. The people of Petro grad, the travelers said, were turning down the . Bolsheviki proclamations and hooting tneir leaders on the streets. The arrival of Premier Kerensky in Petrograd, accompanied by troops, is reported by the Russian legation at Stockholm, according to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Copenhagen. M. Kerensky is reported to have de feated the Bolsheviki. GERMAN U-BOAT SPOILS SLUMP; AT LOWEST MARK Sinkings for Last Week Total Seven Vessels; Smallest Num ber Since Beginning of Submarine- Campaign. (Br Amorlatod Prtwi.) London, Nov. 14. Only one Brit ish merchant vessel of more than 1,600 tons-was sunk by mine or sub marine last week, according to the weekly statement of shipping losses issued this evening. This is the low record since Germany began her sub marine campaign. Five vessels of less than 1,600 tons and one fishing boat were sunk dur ing the week. Italy's Loss One Ship.' Rome, Nov. 14. Only one small sailing vessel of Italian nationality durlifg the week of November 11; it was officially announced today, went down by the operations of hostile submarines, " The statement reads: "During the week ending. Novem ber kj. vessels, to the number of 384 entered ports and 333 left. The loss due to submarines was one sailing vessel of more than 100 tons. Lose Two in East. London, Nov. 14 A British de stroyer and a small monitor which were operating in conjunction with the British army in Palestine, have been sunk, it was officiallyannounced this morning. A total of 33 ren from the two vessels are missing.. A hos tile submarine sank the two warships v Arrest Senator Pettigrew On Espionage Charge Aberdeen, S. D., Nov. 14. Robert P. Stewart, United States district at torney for South Dakota, announced here late today that a warrant for the arrest of former United States Senator R.-F. Pettigrew of South Dakota, on an indictment charging violation of the espionage act, would be served immediately upon Petti- Among some of Senator Pettigrew's statements on the war is one that Belgium deserves no sympathy. Cadorna Changes Mind and . Decides to Act for Italy Paris. Nov. 14. According to the .correspondent of the Temps, on the .Italian front, it is now stated that General Cadorna, who was said to have declined the offer to represent Italy on the inter-allied military com mittee, has yielded to pressure and consented to act as Italy's representa Italian Armored Motors "Hold to the Death" Orders Are Obeyed Until All Troops Pass. Have Hair Raising Moments Italian Headquarters in Northern Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 14. A section of Italian armored motor cars, each of which mounts three quick firers in the turrets, is just back from one of the most thrilling experiences of thewar. The duty to which these carwere assigned was to hold the bridges from the Tagliamento to the Piave rivers until the cavalry rear guards had passed across, and then burn the bridges behind them. The commander and a number of his men were seen by the correspondent at their camp, where they recounted their experi ences as though they were every day occurrences. Huge cars resembling tanks stood about at the camp, showing the scars received in the recent ordeal. They have heavily armored bodies. There is a steel door, and for observation purposes two small openings are pro vided. The two turrets above revolve, the upper one having one quick firer; the lower two. "Hold to the Death." The orders were "to hold to the death" the bridges at Sacile, Polcen igo. Santa Lucia and San Giovanni until the bersaglicri and cavalry had crossed. That thy succeeded is shown by the fact that all the rear guards, made their way over the bridges, that all the bridges were burned and that the section returned leaving only one damaged machine with the enemy, although 18 of the 40 cars were in such crippled condition that it was necessary to abandon them after the bridges were burned. The machines were divided, 10 be ing stationed at each of the four bridgeheads. After seeing their own rear guards ' safely across, they awaited the approach of the enemy ad vance guards, even staying in some cases until the cars were surrounded by hostile patrols, which were then mowed down by the batteries of quick firers. Capture German Officers. At the San Giovanni bridge one car look its station during the night, mid way across the bridge. Early in the morning it was ordered to surrender by a German car which bore the im perial crest and carried1 a German cap tain and two lieutenants. Instead of surrendering, two Italian captains and four gunners suddenly opened the steel door and sprang out with carbines. The German captain and one lieutenant were killed. The other (Contiouea en Pf Two, Colama Out.) - Fifty Million Tons Coal Shortage for Year 191T, . Washington, Nov. 14. The 1917 coal shortage is put at 50,000,000 tons in estimates completed today by the fuel administration. Although pro duction of bituminous and anthracite together has jumped 50,000,000 tons, consumption has increased at least 100,0qp,000 tons. Immediate measures t meet the sit uation planned by Fuel Administra tor Garfield include curtailment of shipments to non-essential industries, priority orders designed to increase the car supply and a campaign for coal conservation , in manufacturing and households. . .. , Liberty Loan Subscribers Pay for Bonds in Full . Washington, Nov. 14. A large pro portion of subscribers to the second Liberty loan today paid in full for theTr bonds at banks throughout the country, although only 18 per cent will be due tomorrow at the latest. Many banks urged subscribers to make the payments today to facilitate the immense work of tabulations necessary before the treasury may know full returns from the first in stallment, v The payments are due at the treasury tomorrow. Representative Hull Heads V Excess. Profits Committee Washington, Nov. 14, Representa tive Cordell Hull of Tennessee, mem ber of the ways and means committee and a recognized expert on taxation problems, has been elected chairman of the excess profits advisory commit tee of the iaternai revenue bureau. J. C. Peacock, formerly- of Columbia university, is secretary y -""gj-.,y . J . i Si 4 1