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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1917)
IF YOU READ IT IN THE BEE YOU MAY BE SUM ITS TRUE; NQ FAKE NEWS OR PICTURES he Omaha Daily TV I PART ONE NEWS SECTION THE WEATHER Fair PAGES 1 TO 10 aM i OMAHA, SATURDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 8, 1917. TWENTY-TWO PAGES. 5L iTSrA-:1 10- SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS VOL. XLVII.-NO. 149. OMTiM Bee muPM nornm stums c AT WAR " ' - ' ' PRESIDENT SIGNS BILL DECLARING GERMANY'S ILLY AMERICA'S ENEMY -t- Congress, 'With One Dissenting Vote, Adopt Resolution in Response to Epochal Speech of Tuesday; Effec tive at 5:03 P. M. Friday When Chief Execu-' tive Affixed Signature to Document, (By Associate Press.) , f j c't j Washington, Dec. 7. War between the United States and Austria-Hungary was formally declared today. Congress, with one dissenting vote in the house, adopted, and President Wilson approved, a resolution declaring ex istence of a state of war between the "Imperial and Royal Aus tr Hungarian government and the government and people of thl United States," and authorizing the president to employ the nation's armed forces and pledging its resources to victory. F.WFF.r.TTVE AT 5:03 P. MT O The resolution, the response of con gress to the president's request in his , ddress Tuesday, is similar to that passed April 6, declaring war on Ger many. It became effective at 5:03 p. m. today, when it was signed by the executive without formality. An executive proclamation will follow shortly. SENATE'S VOTE UNANIMOUS. After but one hour's debate the resolution was unanimously adopted by the senate with an affirmative vote of 74. It was approved by the house, 363 to 1, Representative London, the New York socialist casting the only dtVstenting vote. " few minutes later Vice President Marshall .and Speaker Clark had sighed the document and sent it to the White House, where President Wilson attached his signature with Secretary Tumulty, and Assistant Sec-, retary Forster as hc only witnesses. The"" resolution' follows:, v Joint resolution. - j "Declaring that a state of war ex ists betweenUhe Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarianp. ttoverrttnnl -aird -the government and the people of the United States and making .provision 'to pspsecute the same, ' Acts of War Against U. S. "Whereas the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian government has committed .- repeated acts of war against the government and the peo ple of the United States of America; therefore be it, - . '. , "Resolved by the senate and house oft representatives of the United V of America in congress assem OT:i that a state of war is hereby de clared to exist between the United States of America and the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian govern ment and that" the president be and he is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire' naval and mili tary forces of the United States and the resources of the government to carry on war against the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian' govern ment; and to bring the conflict to a .successful termination. All the re sources of the country are hereby pledged by the congress of the United States. "CHAMP. CLARK, ."Speaker of .the house of repre sentatives.. '- ., ' . . ' "THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Vice President of the i United SfUt and president of the. senate. "ApproVei-7th December, 1917. "WQODROW WILSON. Turkey and Bulgaria Deferred. In accord with President Wilson's suggestion, action in respect to Tur key and Bulgaria, Sermanys other left -to the future. Wide spread demand in congress for their inclusion iti the declaration was mdi- f ontlniwd on f a Two, qplamn one. The Weather - j For Nebraska Fair; TenPtnre at Omalia Testerday. Hour. Der- 5 a. m i 6 a. m 18 7 a. m.. 1 8 a. m 11 9 a. m 13 10 a. m...... 11 a. m...... 12 m 1 p. m...... S p. m "rJ p. m. 4 p. m. ,( p. m...... ', ( p. m 7 p. m 8 p. m IS 0 ComparatlTe Local Record. 1917. 1916. 1913. im Highest yeHterday .. IS SO 65 36 Lowest yesterday . . 3 -7 Si 33 Mean temperature ... Precipitation ....... .16 .00 .00 .07 Temperature and precipitation departures from the normaU , Normal temperature' .,...... SO Deficiency for the day....... 24 Total deficiency since March 1 Normal precipitation r.03 inch Kxcess for the day 13 Inch Total rainfall since March 1....2V52 inches Deficiency since March 1... 7.02 inches Deficiency for cor. period 1916.. 12.47 inches Deficiency for cor. period, 1915.. 1.80 Inches Reports From Station at 1 P. St. Kt.n r,A State Temp. Hlgn- Kain . of Weather. " T p. m. est. tall. rhavanna. clear ........ 10 IS IS 1 .IS It 8 1 24 i .04 T .04 .03 .18 '.10 Davenport,, anowtng Denver, snowing? ... Des Moines, cloudy Dodge City, clear .. X.ander. clear ..... North Platte, clear Omaha, clear ...... ..1 .. 13 .. 4 .. 10 .. .. 1 .. 24 Chi '. clouoy TU. 4 City. - clear Salt iako City, ciouay. fiRitta Fe, clear SliCTidan, part cloudy.. Sioux Cltyr clear Valentine, clear ...... . 39 . 26 . 4 .4 12 14 Tvlndlcalea trace of pTedpltatlon. L -4 indicates below ioro. ' t - i. A. WELSH, Meteorolorlst . Y GERMANS FOOLED BY BRITISH: TAKE ABANDONED WOOD Reforming of Line Done So Quietly That Enemy Was v ' Misled for Several Hours. By Associated Press.) German wedges, driven in'to the salient before Cambrai, have com pelled the British to evacuate ex posed points,- and they have given up to the Germans several villages west of Carhbrai as well. As the Bourlon wood. - The retirement "waj carried lined to "isfieirthV empty positions for several hours, not knowing the British had left them, "'. . .The -British line , has? beetshort ened and made, more capable of 6trong defense by the retirement! Attacks Repulsed. . . Berlin in its latest report . claims the occupation of -Marcoihg, -about four; miles southwest . of Cambrai. Minor GeVtnan attacks south of Bour lon wood and near. La Vacquerie have beeen repulsed by the British. Violent fighting - continues on the northern Italian front between Asiago and the Brenta river, where the Aus-tro-Germans ntade gains Wednesday, but have not yet been able to. break the Italian line. The Italians, inflict ing heavy losses on the attackers,' re tired gradually to prepared positions up Monte Fior and Monte Castelgom berto. ' . . . " ' On the western end of the. line the Austro-German . attempts to encircle the . Meletta position - and cut it off were defeated. Along the Brenta east of. Monte Badenecche and Mont .Tondarecar, lost Wednesday to the enemy, the Italians repulsed with heavy loss, a determined effort to break through. Grocery Stores and Meat - Markets to Close Sunday Beginning next Sunday,- December 9, all grocery stores, meat markets and bakeries must close by city ordi nance. ' The Sunday closing ordi nance goes into effect that day. The fine for not obeying this ordinance is $25 for the first oifense and $100 for the second. The Grocers' and Butch ers' association of-Omaha will watch the situation closejy Sunday for vio lations. Secretary T. T. Cameron of rthe association says in all probabil ity any wno keep their stores open Sunday will be arrested. He says he has heard rumors of a few who in tend to open for business in order to test the validity of the ordinance. PREACHER WHO -W0ULDN0T FIGHT HELD FOR TRIAL Hastings, Neb., Dec. 7. (Special Telegram.) W. L. Crowe, an itin erant preacher,from Chanute, Kan., who is so strong a pacifist that he says he would not defend his own home, because Christ taught men not to resist evil, was bound over by U. S. Commissioner Addie to day for trial in February court. Bond was fixed at $5,000, which he was titrable to supply. The com plaint charges Crowe with convey ing false reports with intent to in terfere with the operation and suc cess of the armed forces ofthe United States. ( Crowe had addressed a number of meetings at Holstein and Ayr and' was arrested at the latter place at the instigation of the council of defense. Crowe says' he told his audience that, he . would not take a combat ant position in war and advised those drafted to seek non-combatant positions. He denies making pro-German statements and plead ed not guilty wheri arraigned. Crowe was called to Ayr by Hen ry Druecker, but he says Druecker did not know his sentiments on the war. "ffT' Sammy's Christmas Shopping mmMmwrnjiyp " . : KiETfll- , ' fJ;'N METHlV G!W TOUCH n. 15,1M TOOCH Vou"l As Visioned.by One of TERRIFIC ONSLAUGHTS FAIL Takes Advauitage of Unusually Mild Weather and Attacks With Unprecedented Ferocity,' Meeting Determined and Bloody Resistance-From Bersaglien and ( Alplni, . Which Preserve Italian Line. - Italian Headquarters in Northern Italy, Thursday. Dec. 6. The big operation which the enemy is attempting in the north ia virtually a repetition of the turning movement he ex ecuted six weeks ago in the great offensive above Gorizia. At that time he broke (through the upper end of the line and thus endangered the lower end. This is exactly the situation which is being repeated today. .v..;v;i.;ri ..v"- STRONG CO-OPERATION. ' 1 -It has been established that while Field Marshal Conrad von Hoetzen dorff is directing the movement Gen eral von Krobatin's forces also are co-operating. In addtion to the su periority, in numbers the Austro-Ger-mans! are taking advantage of the backward season and are striking be fore the mountain snows impede oper ations. . v y The weather this year happens to be favorable' to the enemy. The sno is only a few inches deep, whereas in December the snow usu ally reaches a depth of from four to 10 feet. One such snowfall now would be worth divisions. Gray skies today indicated snow, but the fall was light. . , Russian(Prisoners Released. Austrian prisoners taken in the last few days say that the release of Rus; sian prisoners held in Austria began 10 days ago. Austria took the intia tivc in this without waiting for Rus sia to release Austrian prisoners. Each Russian prisoner was schooled carefully in Austria's desire to end the war and the whole body of these Russian prisoners was returned . to Russia as a sort of a propaganda for terminating the struggle. The importance of - the lighting around Asiago is not underestimated, but it is-believed the line of resist ance on which the Italians ' have re tired is capable of holding the Fran zclla and Gadena passes leading into the Brenta valley and the open plain some miles below. The fighting has been of the most desperate charac ter and while the enemy has . paid dearly for its success the Italian losses also have been very heavy. An eye-witness from the scene of operations gave the correspondent de tails of the extent and bloody nature of the carnage. Enemy reserves were poured in until the Italians were far outnumbered. They continued to struggle desperately, however, and in one case a small detachment of Ber sazlieri met the shock of an entire Austrian regiment Austrian kaiserf jaegers displayed unprecedented fe rocity, using stilettoes - as well as bayonets in fierce hand to hand fighting-Bravery of Bersaglieri. But thexgreatest single instance of heroism and loss was in the case of several detachments of Alpini, which held Monte Castelgomberto . against overwhelming odds until surrounded. Thus" encircled, they made repeated charges, but the heavy mr rounding the Fort Cropk Boys lines held and the entire party was still on the mountain when the Re mainder of the Italian line fell back. In, another-case one brigade of Ber saglieri lost a. number of officers and men in. the same proportion. The extent of the enemy reserves is shown by their concentration in the average amount of a division for every kilometer. The artillery , fire also has been the heaviest since the new Italian line was formed. ''Conditions this morning were ir tually unchanged. Much depends upon the ability of the Italians to hold the passes to which . they , now have' re tired, commanding the Brenta valley and the plains. LATEWAR BULLETINS . MONTE SISEMOL TAKEN. Berlin, Dec. 7. Four thousand more Italians have been captured in the new Austro-German offensive on the northern front, bringing up the total to 15,000, according to today's official communication. Monte Sise mol was captured by storm, the state ment adds. NEW CHIEF-OF-STAFF. Petrograd, Dec. 7. General Bouch Bruyovitch, former commander-in-chief, has been appointed chief-of-staff. ' NO REPORT TO TROTZKV London, Dec. 7- The Russian am bassador at London has decided not to reply to ths telegram of Leon Trotzky, the Bolsheviki foreign min ister, ordering him to resign unless he was wiling to follow, the Bolshe viki peace policy. RZFULSE AT VERDUN. .Paris. Dec 7. Two attempts were made by ths Germans to attack the French lines east of the Meuse in the Verdun region last night, after a heavy bombardment. The attacking forces, the war office announced to day, were driven off by the French re. BATTLE STILL RAGES. Rome, Dec. 7. "On the Asiago pla teau the battle is continuing without interruption,'' says today's official re port. V WAR'S CARNAGE PALES BESIDE HALIFAX HORROR Persons Under Debris Battered Beyond Recognition; Parents in Mad Frenzy Rush to Find Little Ones. (Or Avaoclaied Proaa.) St. John, N. B., Dec. 7. Every pub lic school student in' the city was asked to bring o his school today a bit oj clothing for some destitute child of Halifax. Tonight 10,000 pieces of clothing wercicounted as representing the response of the city's youth. A St. John distribating depot has been opened in the devastated city and frequent trains will keep it sup plied with donations collected here. RECOVER 1,600 BODIES. Persons arriving here , on steam ships (from Halifax added to the story of death and sufferingii Thomas Trainor, a pilot, said that 1,600 bodies had been recovered. He had seen several steamers in the harbor that had been damaged and said that the number of seamen killed was large. C. P. Frizzihreported having seen 50 charred bodies in Campbell road. While walking from Halifax to Need hani, he counted 6') bodies scattered inUhe fields. . ' Another arrival said that in a school at Richmond 200 children had met, death. The battlefields of Europe do not provide, parallel to the scenes ."wit nessed "at Halifax, in the opinion of Duncan Grey, who arrived today. This is his story: Worse Than War's Carnage. ' "I have been in the .trenches in France. . I have gone 'over the top.' Friends and comrades have been shot in'' ray presence. I have seen scores of dead men lying upon the battlefield, but the sight that greeted me yesterdaV was a thousands times . worsfr -and JaKmore. jatthatie.ir,W "I saw people lying around under debris: some battered oeyond recog nitioit- and others: groaning ft . their last agonies. "Rushing .here and there I struggled to assist them-and as near as 1 can remember, pulled 22 men and children from under the Vreckage., As I was riarht in the affected district, I wit nessed the full horror of the situa tion. Partlv blinded bv the smoke from" burning dwellings, 1 1 groped around, assisting some of, the poor mothers and' little ones who were running about screaming and search ing vainly for lost ones. Death was everywhere. - A Living Hell. "Flames were sweeping a wide pathway for themselves. Doomed structures were belching forth- great volumes of smoke from doors and windows. The district was a living hell. Some of the bodies were with out clothing. Many were so mutil ated that it was difficult to realize that they were human. Some men were virtually demented. "Thinking only of their wives and children they; flashed about in the burning debris hazarding their lives with the single thought of rescuing their own. ' Parents in Frenzy. ' "I shall never forget how I felt in that hour. I saw little ' child rm run ning along, some with blood stream ing from" them. All were crying for their parents while lathers and moth ers raced abbut in frenzy. I have never seen anything so pathetic even on the battlefield." Right Rev. E. A. Lcblaiic, the Catholic bishop here, today received word that all the children of the Sacred Heart convent and at St. Mary's school in Halifax escaped. Most of Actaeon Crew Reach Shore Safely New York, Dec. 7. All but four or five of the entire crew of the American steamship ., Actaeon, sunk by a submarine on.Novembcr 25, have reached European ports safely, ac cording to authentic reports received here today. " The crew of the Actaeon, formerly the German merchantman Adam strum, included 26 American citizens and five naturalized Americans. Madrid, Dec. 7. Twenty-one sur vivors of the American steamer Actaeon, which was torpedoed and sunk on November 25, have arrived here. They are suffering severely from exporsurc. This dispatch probably refers to the survivors reported , on November 27 to have landed at Cape Finistcrre. Sixty three others in three boats were re ported missing. " Count Czernin Says Peace ' Will Follow Armistice Amsterdam, Dec. 7. The Vienna correspondent of the Berlin Lokal Anzeiger says that Count Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian foreign minis ter, alluding to' a newspaper report that the delegations would adjourn owing' to the peace negotiations, told a committee of the Hungarian delega tion that the government desired that peace negotiations should follow the Jrmistice. and in that case "my de parture to participate ih thv" would be necessary and nobody will deny that it is my dutf to be there." The correspondent adds that the question whether the delegations will adjourn is still undecided, , , SNOWFALL COOLS BURNING RUINS IN STRICKEN CITY Havoc Wrought by Great Explosion Not Fully Estimated; - Dead Number Thousand; Property Loss Runs Into Millions; American Sailors Patrol Streets; Red Cross Dispatches Relief Train. (By AMorlnteil Trons.) v.Sy Halifax, N. S., Dec. 7. Five thousand casualties2,000 dead, 3,000,others injured. This is tonight's official estimate of the toll exacted m hu- . man lives and suffering by the WOMEN CRAZED BY SHOCK OF SHIP EXPLOSION Arrive at Relief Stations, In jured and Destitute, and Un able to Tell Own Names; Orphans Perish. (By AmwUtcd PrM.) Halifax, N. S., Dec. 7. The matron and all but two of the children at the Protestant orphauago- are believed to have perished. Of the two who es caped, one child was not in the build ing at the lime of 'the explosion, . Thought' It a Bomb. ' The chjld jwho.wak t the building said that 'when 4h- explosion" came Miss Ktiaut, th matron,' called to the chiidreiilJo take refuge with her in the basement. It is . supposed liat she thought a bomb had: falleii. ; Thirty girls employed at the Rich mond Printing company are reported dead.' ' ' " , Women Are Crazy. St. John, N. B., Dec. 7. A simple statement that came over the tele phone from Truro today reveals more of the horror of the tragedy at Hali fax. It was that many women, in- C' rV' l tJ f Mt-01 lcfitMr rtr rwt n i ln1 had beaii so crazed by, the'shock that . V:. .: ! t UpUIl ailiYUlg HI IMC IXI1CI SIclllUllH they-were unable to even tell their own names. All direct telegraph wires between St. John and Halifax were down today, i ' - ' ''...' A ftedvy sleet storm added to the delay in restoring Jl hem. Three local tclegrapli wires bween St. John and 'Kruro were, working spasmodically. The onlyfyommunication out of Hali fax was by cable south and the Ca nadian Pacific virc, wliiclr is occupied entirely with government and railway business. Some Soldiers Killed. A message from Truro brings the story of E'eanor Tapley of St. John, a student at Mt. Vincent academy, at Halifax. Miss Tapley says the armory was destroyed and some soldics killed, 'flic academy was converted into a hospital, to. which as many as could be found places for were brought and cared for. The .convent was badly damaged and some of the S"!"6 seriousIy injurcd hyFind German Clique "We first received word of the dis aster," 'said Miss Tapley. "from an engine which came hurrying up from the city rocking from side to side un der its terrific speed. The engineer, the only man aboardcricd out, 'Give me anything you have. Blankets, food, bandages, or anything. The whole city is wrecked and for the mercy of God be quick!' Bandages from Everything'. "Wc girls immediately rushed to get anything that we could lay our hands on. Sweaters, coats and other clothing were torn in strips for band ages. Everything was piled into the locomotive, which then tore"away again at top speed for the scene of the disaster. "No one1 at the convent was killed, but some of the sisters wcre.ierribly cut by flying glass, which inj our sec tion of the city did most of the dam age. Every window of the academy was broken and some of the pillars in the chapel fell." Officers of Imo Missing. New York, Dec. 7. Captain H. C. From, the first, second and third of ficers and three members of the crew of the Imo, the Belgian relief ship which collided with the Mont Blanc, were reported missing in a telegram received hefe by Norton, Lilly & Co. from their, agents at Halifax today. The company has no'record available showing the names of the six men re ported missing, except the captain. The general accepted estimate of the casualties up to this afternoon is 2,000 dead and about an equal number injured. There is nothing to justify the in evitable rumors that the collision in thi harbor was other than accidental. Nor were there exolosions of ammu nition on ihcre so far at ia known explosion and firea of yesterday. O CONDITIONS APPALLING. Exact conditions in stricken Hali fax are more appalling than was indi cated by last night's reports. This message was dtspatcneo to Governor McCall this morning by A. C. Ratshesky, manager of the Massa chusetts special relief train,' after a night spent in gathering bits of infor mation from trainmen and others as the train sped eastward. - The dead are everywhere, -said these reports. There is immediate need of a great staff of surgeons and scores of nurses. , Supplies and help of every kind will be welcome. It has . not been hu manly possible to take care of the hundreds of injured and many per ished during the night. In improvised morgues the dead are piled high an! - unidentified. Scores oi these bodies never will be claimed. . . Stunned by the magnitude of the disaster which has .overwhelmed the "garrison. city by the sea," the people of Halifax today bent all their ener gies to relieving the injured, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and gathering their dead. A heavy snowstorm set in today, and while this in a measure impeded the work of relief and rescue, it served to aid the firemen in fighting the flames which still burned fiercely in many places among the ruins in the devastated district. Estimate Two Thousand Lives. Lost. Reports from the improvised morgues and from hospitals, churches, schools and private resi dences seemed to bear out last night's estimate that at least 2,000 lives were lost when the Belgian relief steam ship Imo collided with the French munitions steamer Mortt Blanc, caus ing the detonation of . 4,000 tons or I n - Uriuitrotuluol. one of the most pow- VI i II I CA)'iiaii.D iiianui ayiui vu Help from outside began to. reach the stricken city today. Qoctors. nurses and medical and food cupplics arrived on special trains from Truro and Windsor, N. S., and from Monc ton, N. B. Other trains were ex pected, to reach here during the day. The special train sent from Boston by direction ;bf Governor McCall of Massachusetts will arrive this eve ning. . . irtually all business is suspended and the schools are closed, while the inhabitants generally are' turning their attention to relief work Soldiers and sailors,- including seamen from an American warship, which rushed to the port when it received word of the disaster, are patrolling the stricken district and aiding in therescue work.' Fire Still Burning. . The 'snowfall, however, comes as an aid to the fircnieu in quenching the flames in the ruins ; ' Special trains, bringing doctors, (Continue! nn Pure Three, Column One.) v Here for Defense New York, Dec. 7. Letters in dicating the existence in this coun try of a "German military , organi zation for defense" were seized by agents of the naval intelligence bu reau today when they examined the effects of Otto Julius Merkel, a German writer and lecturer, who was arrested last night and interned on Ellis island on orders from the government authorities. According to these communications, Merkel was at the head of this German body. The Road To Wealth Economy is the , road , to Wealth. Particularly true in War Times. All things that are ; not absolutely essential to your welfare should be sacrificed. If you have any articles, of r furniture, clothing, office fix tures, musical instruments . or personal effects that have ceased to be '6t value to you Trade Them kor something you actually need by putting a small ad m , i The) Swappers Column, ! of The Bee. You can count on " a rapid 'exchange. Swappers' column rates are ; 25c for a 3 line advertisement ' 3 times, and 3c for each aniwer yutecciy . 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