Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 11, 1917, Image 1
The Omaha Daily .Bee THE WEATHER Snow. VOL. XL VII. NO. 151. OMAHA, TUESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 11, 1917.-TEN PAGES. S Tralss. tl MeteU. Nm tttaih Its-, Is, SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS TO THE BRITISH NNY CA USES REVOLT; JERUSALEM SURE. ; WREST HOLY CITY FROM TURKS AFTER ALLENBY ATTACKS ON ALL SIDES Capture Delayed to Some Degree in Consequence of Great Care Taken to Avoid Damage to Sacred Relics in City; Official Occupation' Tomorrow, Announces Bonar Law. - -London, Dec. ,10. Andrew exchequer, announced in the Jerusalem, after being surrounded on all sides by British troops, had surrendered. The chancellor said British, French .and Mohammedan representatives were on the way holy places. tjptvts Sm rwn STnir.s General Allcnby reported that on Saturday he (attacked the enemy's po , sitions south and west of Jerusalem, the chancellor said. Welsh and Home , coun troops advancing from the di 1 rection of Bethlehem, drove back the enemy and, passing Jerusalem on the east, established themselves dn the Je rusalem and placed themselves astride the Jerusalem-Shechem road. The Holy City, being thus isolated, sur rendered to General- Allenby. Official Entrance Tomorrow. ;The chancellor said General Allenby expected to enter Jer-ffsalem officially tomorrows accompanied by the com manders of .the French and Italian contingents and' the heads of the Fjrench political missions British po litical officers,' together wih the Brit ish governor,: were in the party that had gone ahead on the safeguarding mission, the chancellor, stated. "The capture' of Jerusalem had been delayed to "some - degree, added , the chancellor, in" consequence of the great-J 'rare . that had been' taken to avoid damage to thetacred places in and around the city.. , ' .Apart from its connection with the campaign being waged against Tur key by the British in Mesopotamia, the fall of Jerusalem was the definite collapse of the long-protracted efforts of the,. Turks - to capture , th'e Suez canal and 'invade Egypt, hi Novem lier. 1914, a 'sTtifkih army, variously estimated at frem tf3,O0O Uf 250,qp0 "men. marchcrl?on the Suez canal and succeeded In, reaching within -striking distance of lUe' great artificial jvater way at several points. V In December. 1915, the Turks were driven back as far as El Arisli, about 85 miles casf of the canal. In; June, the Turks again advanced -as far as Katicb,- about. 15 miles east of the canal. Here they were decisively de feated.' "losing more .'than 3,000 pris wiers and a great quantity of equipr fliei't. In December, 1916, the- British stoA" scd El Atish and a few days later se.f ly defeated the Turks at Magli- dabi'iiu about' six miles to the south on' the t-aiiK front. i jvo weeks later the jfivi'iiers had been driven out of Egypt and' the British forces crossed the bonier into Palestine. t On March. 7 last the British cap tured El Khulil. (the ancient Hebron), 15 ii;i!es south of Jerusalem. ' r'.arlv iti November thev took Beer- slicha, 40 miles south of Jerusalem. Bv November 7 the city of Gaza was iif' their hands and the, British were pursuing theTurks'iorthward' after hr.ving'inflicted casualties as in excess of 10,000. v : ; ' By Noveinbc;-22 the British had pushed witiiin'five miles f Jerusalem, on the- northwest, "aiuPon December 7- General AllenbyNannotrhced that he had definite possession of 7Tebron. Jerusalem thus was; virtually cut off on alt sides but the east. '."In sentimental and romantic aspect the capture of. Jerusalem far exceeds even the fall ; of ' fable-crowned Bag- --'.,d. The modern city, of Jerusalem contains about 60,000 inhabitants and is- the. home of pestileAce, filth and fevers, bu'. in historic interest it natu rally surpasses, to the Christian ' '(Continued on; Pago two, Column Tiro.) The Weather For Nebraska Snow. ' Tfimperntures at Omaha Yesterday i:. Hot"". Dee .. ri .. 10 .. 11 .. 12 .. 10 .. 8 5 a,' m. . . ?s. m. . . a. m... 8 a. m. . t a. m. . Ill a. m. . 11 a. m 13 m....t S 1 p. m 1 2 p. m..k. 1 3 p. ni . 1 4 P. in. 2 5 p. pi.- 1 6 p. ni.; 0 7 y. m,..X 1 8 p. Ill 0 Comparative Loral Record. - - 19. 1916. 1913. 1914. Highest yenterday. .. 2 3 5 18 Lowest yesterday.... 18 S3 28 13 Mean tempearture. ..' 5 29 33 16 Precipitation-...... .00 .02 .07 .02 Temperature and precipitation departure! from the normal: Normal temperature 2 deficiency for the day 34 Total deficiency since March 1... 339 Normal precipitation 03 Inch Deficiency for' the day 03 Inch Total rainfall since March 1 : 1.68 Inches Jlofielency since March 1. ...... 6.98 Inches JJeflelency for eor. period, 1916.. 12.56 Inches Deficiency for cor. period, 1916.. 1.83 Inches .V R'porte from Stations at 7 P. M. Station and State Temp. High- Raln- of weather. :. 7 p. m, est. 22 4 26 6 14 24 10 fall. .46 .04 . ' .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Cheyenne, snowing .. 18 lnvenport, clear ' 0 wnvfr, snowing; 20 2 10 10 6 1 : 0 Vch Moines, cloudy . . Ho Jod-e City, clear tander, cart cloudy. North Platte, clear . Omaha, cloudy...... pueblo, pyt cloudy.. Hapld C.. clear. 0 tilt Lake City, cloudy.. 34 42 Snta Fe. part cloudy.. 42 4 Sheridan, clear - 4 10 .02 Sioux City, part cloudy I 2 .00 Valentine, clear.'. 6 4 .01 Indicates below xero. Ik U Ju WELSH, MeteorologliU r ... :.,v- t Bonar Law,' chancellor of the House of Commons today that to Jerusalem to safeguard the O ITALIANS TAKE BACK TRENCHES LOST TO GERMANS Observation Points ' East-of Caposile on Lower Piave Retaken by the Roman ; ' .Forces. . BULLETIN. Washington, , Dec. , 10. Rome dis patches today, conforming earlier re ports of a lull after the fierce fight ing in which ' the,. Teutons failed to break through the Italian lines, say the Austro-German .contmandersac rificed hundreds of thousands of his best men without improving his posi tion. . -; It may be stated that the central powers have failed to obtain their general objective, namely, to break through the Italians' lines into the plains of .Italy, where they expected to find comfortable shelter during the winter months. ;""'' ;; - Rome, Dec." ' 10. Observation f trenches which had been lost by the Italian's east of Caposile, on the lower Piave line, have been retaken by the Italian forces,- - -the war office an nounced today. ' (By Associated Press.) In northern Italy the Austro-German efforts to penetrate the Ital ian mountain barrier have, been sus- pended, but apparently the attempt, to break the Italian dine is beinge- newed along-the Piave. , Berlin re ports a success near the mouth of the river, m which the bridgehead ot Sile.'at the edge of the inundated dis trict about eight miles from the Adri atic and three miles west of the main river bed, was'captured. , Reports-from the Italian front have jiiininiized the danger ,of any move ment by the Austro-German invaders along this section' of the river, and apparently the Itafian force, at this point was not an important! one, as the capture of only 200 prisoners is claimed by the 6erman staff. ' " ' "Official anouncement is made by Berlin of the signing of an armistice with the Russo-Roumanian armies on the Roumanian front, the agreement embracing the line from the Dniester to the mouth of the Danube. ANOTHER SHIP CATCHES FIRE IN HAUFAXHARB0R Halifax, N. Dec. 10. The deck cargo of the British steamer Picton, laden with munitions, caught fire last night and only the quick and courageous work of the Halifax company of riflemen prevented an other big explosion in the harbor. The men boarded the ship, threw the burning cargo overboard and checked the flames before they could spread to the holds. The ves sel' was taken to sea today and -sunk. After the Picton had gone to the bottom, it was officially announced 1 that , there was absolutely no dan ger now of other explosions in the harbor. Chief Dunn is Better. ' Chief Dunn continues to improve'. Latest reports from his bedside indi cate that he will be able to eat his Christmasyplum pudding. Food Adminisfration "Spanks" Farmers9-Co-Operative Union A mild "rebuke has been adminis tered to Farmers' Co-operative union by the federal fodd administration-on account of the way Jthe union has sought to deal with the sugar situa tion. Recently the Farmers' union, it is said, emi loyed an attorney to make a trip to Washington to use his in fluence to bring about a' change in the rules governing the shipping of sugar. ; The rules 6f the food administra tion had been made with a view to serving sugar consumers in any given territory from the sugar mills in clos est proximity to consumers' territory to avoid useless hauls of the commod ity back and forth. 'This regulation prevented the Farmers' union of Nebraska from get nipninm ntiio nr? UAo DAIl DLUl- INBIIilikoUf . HOUSE AT FORT Corporal Leonard . Pracy Seri ously Burned-in Terrific Explosion That Rocks v v Army Post. Lives and property weto endan gered yesterday wnen an army balloon exploded in the huge balloon shed at Fort Omaha. The explosion1 occurred at 11 o'clock. Houses were shaken and win dow' glass broken by the ' terrific de tonation, which could be heard all over the north end of the city. Lives Endangered. Had the balloon shed . caught 'fire and the flames spread to the bijj gas manufacturing plant nearby, all build ings and the lives of thousands of peo ple in that part of Omaha would have been m danger. . ' Corporal Leonard Pracy was tfie only soldier seriously injured. He was burned about the face and hands. His injuries were treated at the post hos pital. ' . Lieutenant Colonel Hersey, com manding officer at the fort, issued, a statement that the explosion, was caused by friction creating a spark in side an old army balloon that was be in inflated. , j. here were two explosions, the first a juinor,one. Immediately following the iirstlast 4he second explosion came. ' . t ' All the windows in the big balloon shed were blown out. " Two Balloons Escape. . .Two big army balloons; each fully inflated with 7,000 cubic feet of gas, weres alongside the gas bag that blew up. " . Neither was damaged, although it is considered a miracle that they too did" not explode. ' Both the Omaha city fire depart ment and the army post tire brigade) had apparatusat the scene of the ex plosions a few minutes after they oc curred. t. . Owing to the heavy smoke and gas which followed, the explosion of the gas bag, .army men were unable to gain entrance to the balloon house to The entire north side of OUnaha was thrown into a furor of excite ment over the explosion, which, could be distinctly heard over a radius of many blocks. - V The huge balloon house is constantly guarded. At night great searchlights play upon the building and not even a rat could cross the open ground near the shed without being detected Immediately adjacent to the bal loon shed is the large gas plant. Had the fire extended to the gas plant an explosion which would have rocked the north end of Omaha might have occurred. Beet Sugar Due for Raise Says National Food Man Salt Lake City, Dec. 10. That beet sugar and Honolulu cane sugar will be advanced to $7.50 a hundred bounds Within the next few days was the prediction made today by Stephen If. Love, member of the su gar distributing committee of the na tional food administration. LATE WAR BULLETINS BIG GUNS ACTIVE ON MEUSE. Parts, Dec. 10. Violent . artillery fighting occurred last night on the Verdun front east of the Meuse. "The-artillery fighting was violent for a time in Alsace and also on the right bank of the Meuse, in the region of Chambrettes." says today's official report. "Ah enemy raid against our small posts south of Corbeny was re pulsed." . HUNGARIANS IN ITALY, " Berlin, Dec. 10. Hungarian in fantry in the Piave delta yesterday stormed the Italian bridgehead on the Sile river, east of Caposile, and took prisoner more than 200 Italians, it was announced officially today by the German war office. - i . ARMISTICE SIGNED. Berlin, Dec, 10. Military officials of the central powers have signed an armistice with the Russian and Rou manian armies on the Roumanian front between the Dniester river and the mouth of the Danube, the war of fice officially announced today . ting its sugar from Xew Orleans, as heretofore. It could not get the same terms with the Nebraska sugar mills it had been getting from the cane mills of New Orleans, hence the prfetest and the request to change the shipping rules. In a letter to Food Administratar Wattles of Nebraska the federal food administration says: "It is to be re gretted that any organization should have employed a paid attorne to rep resent them. "It is also to be regret ted that any organization has been selling sugar for less than cost or in quantities larger that, those permitted by the regulations of the administra tion. We regret also the useof sugar as an advertising commodity in these times."- ;- - Winter Idyll ' MOTHER OF ENSIGN WHO PERISHED ON U. S. SHIP BEARS LOSS BRAVELY it IVlfst Flofa "Ft KAilciiiitmg When She Learns Only Son Gave His Life In Cause of Democracy; fie and She Were Comrades. v As the brave mothers of brave men should mourn, so Mrs. Flora F. Kalk mourns the death of her son, Ensign Stanton F. Kalk, who was lost when the United States- destroyer Jacob Jones was sunk Ibry a submarine. Mrs. Kalk, who formerly lived in Omaha with her son,' is visiting here at the home of her sister, Mrs. T. JF. Kennedy, 127 North Forty-second street. 1 REAL AMERICAN WOMAN. 0 , ' A woman of medium height, still young-looking in spite of her graying hair, she is dressed in black, with a bit of white at the throat. She might well stand for the type of "American motherhood." Only a few hours ago she had received word that her son, her only son, had lost his life out on the bleak waters of the North Sea- had lost hisjifc in the service of his country. Only two days ago she had received a letter from the boy, as she had received (them nearly every day, tor the motner an$ son were al ways comrades. -... . , . Suddenly the one remaining mem ber of her family hid been taken from her.Tt is .the hardest conceivable blow. But this American mother does not give way utterly to. grief. Her eyes are swollen and red, telling of a night spent m weeping. Her voice trembles as she talks. But she does not give way to her sorrow not in public. Widow of Soldier. . Such mothers make America what it is, ah irresistible intelligent, self controlling force. Mrs. Kalk is the daughter, the widow and the mother of men who spent their, lives in the Service of their country. Her father was General T. H. Stanton; her hus band was Lieutenant hrank G. Kalk; ner son. ensign Stanton' t. Kalk. This s not the first time tracedv has entered the life of this brave, gen tle woman in black. Seventeen years ago her husband was killed in a rail road accident at Burlington, la. Classmate of Pershing. "It was a dreadful thing," shesaid. "At that time my husband was mili tary instructor in Iowa Weslevan uni versity t Burlington. He belonged to the 1' .h infantry and graduated (Continued on Pane Two, Column Three.) NEBRASKA BOY KILLED ON BOARD U. S. SUBMARINE Washington Dec, 10. News of an explosion on . board the submarine A-2, -resulting, in the death of Joseph Schaeffer, chief electrician of the boat, was received today by the' Navy de partment.. Xvo details were given by the de partment's announcement. Schaeffer died from injuries after the accident. He was 25 years old and enlisted in the navy March 6, 1912, at Omaha, as an apprentice seaman. After being honorably dischawged .March 4, 1916, 'rom the U. S. J. Iris, he re-enlisted May 19, 1916, as an electrician. His sister, Mrs. Clara Amen, lives at Hastings, Neb, . jn Omaha, Acts Like Spartan PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS ON . RAIL QUESTION Wilson Will Seek Special Legis lation to Bring About .Uni fication of Roads Dur ing JheWar. (llf Associated Press.) Washington, Dec' 10. President Wilson will go to congress for spe cial legislation to bring about unifica tion of railroads during the war. ' The fact that the president has de cided definitely on such a move be came known tonight after he had gone over the whole transportation situation with Senator vNewIands chairman of the senate interstate commerce .committee. He probably will ask for the legislation in an ad dress to be delivered before the Christmas holidays' Indications tonight were that the president has confided to none of his associates his full intention and offi cials were doubtful as to just what he may ask. : m The persident's advisers - are di vided in their views as to what is nec (Contlnued on Pane Two, Column Five) Petition in Boots" Council to Get "You've got to make a noise in this world if you expect to get any where," is the policy of residents of Benson when seeking public improve ments. Benson wants a park. This former village, which is now a part of Greater Omaha, did not send a for mal letter to the city council with these words, "Please give us a park. Thanking you for early considera tion, we are." They did not write a letter. . They sent to the city council cham ber a formidable array "of declama tory talent. . "A petition in boots," remarked the Careful Observer. The following publicists of Benson appeared before the city commission ers and voiced in eloquent terms the present needs of their community: James Walsh, Colonel Lew Mather, SIBERIAN "REDS" SEEK TO KEEP ALL FOOD SUPPLIES OUT OF REACH OF TEUTONS I. ..A. I. ... i 1 ' Provisional Government Orders Stoppage of Shipments to 'European Russia, Particularly Petrograd; Counter Revolt Under Kalendines Aims to Seize Authority; Troops Besiege Impor tant Railway Center. V Petrograd, Sunday, Dec. 9. The provisional government of Siberia hat ordered the stoppage of food supplies4 for Euro pean Russia, particularly Petrograd, on the ground that they may reach Germany. IMO CREW BLAMES FRENCH VESSEL FOR EXPLOSION v 1 1 1 Seamen on Belgian Steamer GiveVersion of Tragedy; Men Stuck to Their . ; Posts. Latest Figures on - Halifax Disaster Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dec 10. Revised figures were issued today regarding casualties resulting from the explosion as follows: Known dead, 1,200. Unaccounted for, 2,000, , Dead which have been identified, 900. , ' Wounded,' 8,000.. . Homeless,' 25,000 Halifax, N. S., Dec. lO.-Memberj of the crew of the ' Belgian 'steamer Imo assert that the French munitions steamer Mont' Blauc was ' to' blame for the1-collision which caused the terrible explosion last Thursday. ! The crew's, version of the tragedy follows:', . i The Imo was proceeding down the harbor toward the. sea when the Mont Blanc was seen coming toward it, apparently, tor, tne ucaiora ,iasiu. The French vessel was on the Dart mouth side of the narrows. It blew two blasts of the whistle, indicating that it was going to starboard. The Imo replied with two blasts. The Mont Blanc turned and the crew of the Imo thought that they could, pass in safety,, but the distance between the two vessels was too short and the Imo rammed the Mont Blade on tho starboad side. , s Saw Chemical Flames. Neither vessel appeared to be se riously damaged" by the' collision. After they separated the Mont' Blanc headed for one of the city piers. The Imo went on,-the skipper's intention being, .the crew believe, to get into shallow water in order to find out ex actly what damage had been done to his ship. The seamen received their first warning of danger when they saw chemical , flames leaping from the decks of the Mont Blanc. Then came the explosion. The Imo was caught in the tidal wave and, riding on its crest, was hurled on the rocky beach. The sailors declare that no attempt was made to leave the ship until it struck and that every man was in his place. ' Head Blown OfT. , ' The capU.in was standing on the bridge and his head was blown off. The wheelsman was at his post and his body was found in that os tion when the steamer was examined later. The body f the pilot, Willia-Ulayes,Lernnin't dissolving the Tctrograd mu- was found along the shore near the hulk, and it is thought he was blown from the deck. Every man above uec.K was kiiicu. When the vessel struck the beach the survivors rushed up from beneath decks. 'and scrambled ashore. Thirtv- one men escaped. Naval relief parties found them wandering about in the brush. " All those on board the Mo (ft Blanc escaped from the ship, but three men were subsequently wounded, by pro (t'ontlnued on Pat Two, Column Two.) Appears Before Park for Benson G. R. Williams, Ed Sorenson, E. C Hodder, Jonas Fry, A. E. Dunn, G. W. Wright and George' McArdle. . "Honorable geptlement of the city commission," began James Walsh. The city commissioners turned their heads as one "mam. "We are here today as citizens of Greater Omaha, reprjsenting particu larly the commonwealth of that ter ritory formerly known as i-enson," continued Mr. Walsh. "We are ask ing for a public park and we know that such fair-minded gentlemen as yourselves' could not if you would, nor would not if you could, deny us that privilege." ; " " 1 Eight other Bensonites followed with cogent reasons why. Benson should have a public park. ' . The city commissioners will take the matter under careful ; considera tion. - ) CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT. Civil war has broken out In Russia and the Bolshevik! regime apparently will be put to the tet. The Petro grad government has issued a proc lamation announcing that Generals Kaledines, Korniloff and Dutoff have begun a revolt in southeastern Euro pean Russia. ' ' The Bolsheviki announcement . de clares that the constitutional demo crats are assisting the hetman of the Don Cossacks, and his fellow military; leaders, who are said to aim at cut-' ting off food supplies and in seizing power from the Black Sea to the Ural " mountains, as well as in the . Cauca sus. Bolsheviki troops have been or dered to take the held against the counter revolutionists. COLLECTING FORCES. General Katedinc- is said to: be collecting his forces and it is inferred that their objectives' include Moscow. General Dutoff is leading the revolt in the . province of Orenburg and 1 is endeavoring to cut the trans-S'berian railway at Tcheliabinsk.. , Two: towns . in the Caucasus arc. besieged by forces ' under General KarauloJf. . . In Orenburg the' Bolsheviki leaders have been arrested and: the soldiers under them disarmed. In tfie )ey Ukranian republic the middle class is " reported to be a'siisiin'g .General Kal edines nS opposition to the workmen's and soldiers cotiiwils. The, pfdclatha; ' tidn of the iiolsheviki denounce s the ; constitutional' democratic-party and its leaders, -.including. Michael Rod-' rianko, the jormer president of the Duma,; and Paul .N. ' MilukolT, ... (the former foreign minister, ' .. Arrest Election Committee. The central election cortimittee of ' the constituent assembly, which in- eludes minimalists and constitutional!' democrats, "have been arrested by the Bolsheviki red guard and the members taken to the Smolny .institute,' the headquarter.s of the Bolsheviki, where they protested against their arrest. ', Returns from the elections in Mos cow show that five Bolsheviki, four ' constitutional democrats and 'one so-' cial revolutionist were elected to the constituent assembly,, Scattering re turns from the provinces indicate that " the Bolsheviki will have the largest vote of any single faction, probably equaling tha,t of all the others com bined.. The garrisons were largely for the Bolsheviki; thesocial revolution ists carried the villages and the con stitutional ;democrats the town. ' The entral duma committee, though it has been dispersed, issued a statement that it is still contihuingits work, v ' , ' The workmen have taken over the control of factories in the Petrograd district under a decree issued by;the Bolsheviki. The' Petrograd banks have decided to issue notes aggregat ing 100,000,000 rubles to relieve. the, financial, situation. . . i Former Premier : Kerensky, . in' a communication addressed to the pro visional government, announces that although ,he has resigned as premier, he still considers himself a member of the cabinet. , ' a NuIItfy. Bolsheviki Decree., . The decree of the Bolsheviki gov- nnicipa council has aroused; strong opposition on dart vf social revolu-v ; tionary members of the central execu tive coinmitfee of the soldier's'-'lnd, workmen's delegates; who at tonight's session characterized the act as unau thorized and illegal. A resolution 'de claring the decree void was carried by a bare majority. . ' The Bolsheviki rallied their sup porters, 'demanded a roll call and de feated the resolution by. a'small ma jority. As a concession to the dis- (Contlnoed on Page 'Two, Column -on )ne.) RESULTS! ! The following Room 'to ; Rent advertisement ; ; , NICE light housekeeping rooms suitable' for family; adults preferred; i walking , dis ' tanee. Douglas St Phone Red, , appeared in one issue of The Bee (Sunday, Decem ber 10th) ; Monday morn- " ing the advertiser phoned . Tyler 1000 . - . saying she had secured la.' reliable roomer as a direct . result of the ad. -..u Take advantage' of , the : : ' splendid results to be ob-' tined by using Bee ; . V . '. .Want Ad$.::)'j; A competent want ad; taker will -word your - ad 'foryou.' r .1 o