Omaha Daily, Be
s
THE WEATHER
Fair
VOL. XLVII. NO. 172
OMAHA, FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 4, 1918. TEN PAGES.
SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS
THE
TElJTlvfS
9 f-
KAISER SEES HIS PEACE
TERMS REJECTED AND HAS
fW OFFER TO BOLSHEVIKI
Crisis Near at Hand in Peace Negotiations; Reichstag May
Be Convened; Russian Workmen Starting for
Trenches Stop German Movement of Troops
to Western Front fbr Big Offensive.
(By Associated FrM.) '
A crisis is near in g in the Riuso-German peace negotiations
and indications are that a definite break is not far off.
The Russian government has demanded that the confer
ence, which was to have reconvened on January 4, be trans
ferred to Stockholm, and has protested against the German at
titude regarding occupied territory.
A resumption of hostilities is not improbable should 'the
Germans decline to meet the Russian demands.
VATSTTP MOW WORRTF.n. O
Emperor William and the rulers
of Germany apparently are aroused
over the sudden change in the situa
tion and the German and Austrian
foreign secretaries are reported hur
rying back to Brest-Litovsk with new
instructions.
German military and political lead
ers conferred yesterday with the em
peror and there is a widespread de
mand throughout Germany that the
Reichstag be convened immediately:
Reichstag leaders at a conference
with Foreign Secretary von Kuehl
mann discussed the situation and the
leaders of the regular and independent
socialists are reported to have ex
pressed dissatisfaction with the Ger
man attitude concerning occupied
territory.
TO RELIEVE WESTERN FRONT.
A breaking off in Reaee negotiations
probably will upset all German plans
to press a formidable attack on the
western front. Confidence is ex
pressed in Petrograd that the Rus
sian government might put an army
of 3,000,0(10 men in the field and the
Bolsheviki Red Guard made up of
armed Russian workme already has
staited toward the fighjyig front.
A complete break undoubtedly
would compel the Germans to return
to the eastern- front the troops" they
have taken away within the past six
weeks and would make it impossible
for the Germans to renew trade re
lations with Russia in order to ob
tain much needed foodstuffs.
Serious Dispute at First Meeting.
London,' Jan. 3. Petrograd dis
patches indicate that differences de
veloped at the first meeting there of
the Russian and German commis
sioners for the discussion of economic
relations. The Germans desired to
reach an understanding with the Rus
sians regarding regulation of railroad
transit between the two countries.
The Russian delegates strongly em
phasized their unwillingness to go be
yond the lines indicated in the armis
tice, and .refused to fix regulations
vi;thout precise definition as to what
classes of persons and goods the rail
roads were to carry.
Prisoners Likely to Remain.
A Petrograd dispatch to the Post
says a very large proportion of the
German war prisoners and still larger
proportion of the Austrians will re
turn to their fighting fronts only
under compulsion, lhey have not
been confined in prison camps but
have lived among the people and
everywhere have proved their woth
in agricultural, industrial, (commercial
and even artistic pursuits. Many of
them are getting on better than they
did at home and are more than con
tented to remain in Russia.
Furthermore, it is improbable, thS
dispatch says, that Germany desires
the return from Russia of a majority
of her war prisoners. She tfill get
back the officers and non-commissioned
officers in any case, and many
of them already have returned. But
(Continued on Yuge Two, Column One.)
The Weather
i'or Nebraska Fair; warmer.
Temperatures at Omaha Yesterday.
Hour.
Desr.
...19
...20
...20
...20
...20
...22
...25
6 a. m.
6 a. m.
7 a. m.
8 a. m.
9 a. m.
li) a. m.
11 a. m.
12 in 27
1 Ffni....
2 p. m....
3 p. m . . . .
4 p. m . . . .
f. p. m..,.
6 p. m. , . . ,
7 p. m.....
8 p. m....
Loral Record.
...36
...35
...34
...82
...31
Compare Uto
1918. 1917. 191.
1315.
Kfcrtest yesterday.. 36 46 44 zd
38 46 44
18 23 20
27 34 32
Lofcest yesterday... 18 ZJ z "
Mean temperature.. 27 34 32 24
Precipitation 00 .00 .00 .00
Temperature and precipitation departures
from the normal:
Normal temperature
Excess for the day.....
Total deficiency since March 1 454 degrees
Normal precipitation 02 inch
Deficiency for the day 0! Inch
Total precipitation since Mar. 1 21.84 Inches
Deficiency since Mr. 1 747 inches
Deficiency for cor. period In 'IS 12.69 inches
Deficiency for cor. period in 1915 1.90 Inches
Ronnrts irom Bunions i r. ax.
station and State Temp. High-
Rain
of Weather. IP. n.
Cheyenne, cloudy 51
Davenport, cloudy 18
Denver, cloudy 58
Dea Moines, clear 26
Dodgre City, clear 42
Lander, clear 4
North Platte, claar 42
Omaha, clear .....32
Pueblo, cloudy ..-...... 58
Rapid City, part cloudy 46
Salt Lake, cloudy 42
Santa Fe, part cloudy... 44
Sheridan, clear 26
Sioux City City, clear.. 33
Valentine, clear 44
est.
fall.
.00
T.
,00
.00
.10
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.oo
.00
.00
.00
.00
58
20
66
28
50
54
66
36
7"
0
53
54
44
34
(0
inaicaiea iraco i ijrpwpiwuun,
4T" - lu A. WELSH, Meteorologist.
FRENCH CAPTURE
MORE MEN THAN
THEY HAD IN FIGHT
Small Force Takes Large Num
ber of Prisoners and Counts
Many Dead Left on
the Field.
BULLETIN.
Headquarters of the Italian Army
in
Northern Italy, Wednesday, Jan
uary 2. The enemy today attempted
to gain the west bank of the Piave
river, to offset the loss of Zenson, but
met with a quick repulse and the en
tire west bank now is definitely clea
and held by the Italians. A landing
party on flat boats attempted to cross
near Intestadura, but an intense ar
tillery and machine gun fire concen
trated on the boats led to the
abandonment -of the attempt before
the west bank was reached.
Record Making Fight.
(By Associated Frees.)
Italian Headquarters in Northern
Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 2. The
French in their recent successful op
eration on Monte Tomba captured
more prisoners than . they had men
engaged, according to a veteran of
ficer who witnessed the fight.
"It was a record making fight in
many respects," he declared. "Just
think, the French took more prison
ers than they had men engaged. They
also captured their first Austrian pris
oners; which is another milestone for
them, as heretofore they had cap
tured only Germans. "
"In addition to the 1,400 prisoners
we counted 560 dead on the ground
and no one knows how many more
were in the caverns and underbrush.
The perfect French military system
enabled them to accomplish tltis with
insignificant loss less than 50 men.
"The SOth Austrian division, which
was the one attacked, is considered a
good fighting organization. But the
Austrians were accustomed to fight
ing Russians and Roumanians, and
this was the; first time they had met
the highly-trained French troops. The
result was that rawness and indisci
pline were swept away before disci
pline and training.
"When the' prisoners were brought
in I never saw a more miserable, piti
ful, starved lot of soldiers. They
looked like the riff-raff from the slums
of some big city. Even the officers
appeared underfed and underclothed
and I saw only one with a whole pair
of breeches." '
Twenty Men of Draft Age
Enlist Under Navy Colors
Twenty men of draft age enlisted in
the navy Wednesday. "The number
of enlistments , would have been
larger," said Ensign Condjct, "had
the boys known tnat it was necessary
to get a certificate from their local
exemption boards. As a result of
their failure to do so we were forced
to turn them down. The more de
termined ones telegraphed their
boards for the certificates and were
compelled to remain in Omaha pend
ing the action of the exemption of
ficials." With the exception of about
five, most of the enlisted men were
from the rural precincts of South Dakota,
Fish Commissioner Wants to Go
Into Fish business in Omaha
"Can the state take out a license
and become fish peddler in Omaha?"
W. J. O'Brien, superintendent of state
fisheries of Nebraska, wants to know.
He Has 700 pounds of good fish he
wants to sell in Omaha. He has
written to State Food Administrator
Wattles to ask about the license. The
legal phase of the situation i being
looked up.
Mr. O'Brien, acting for the state,
is seining the lakes of the state to take
out the coarse fish to help the food
supply at present, and at the same
time to prepare the lakes for a stock
of a better grade of young fish next
spring.
A few days ago he took 700 pounds
of fish out of Lake Quinnebaugh, near
- -r aft. Th
HOCK ISLAND .
TURNS FREIGHT
TO OTHER LINES
Gives Way to Burlington and
' Missouri Pacific to Speed
Hauls Over More Direct
Routes.
Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 3. Volun
tary pooling of rails, terminals and
equipment of the 14 railroads en
tering Kansas City and the terminal
company, was announced today, fol
lowing meetins of the local commit
tee of the railway car service com
mission. The agreement went into
effect at nooa today.
Officials of the Rock Island rail
road announced that the company
had surrendered its freight business
between Kansas City and Leaven
worth and South Omaha and Coun
cil Bluffs, giving way to the Burling
ton and Missouri Pacific, more direct
lines.
Take Care of Employes.
Chicago, Jart. 3. In accordance
with governmental instructions, rail
road executives in Chicago, as in other
parts of the country, were busy today
adjusting their working forces to care
for the hundreds of business solicitors
and similar employes whose services
in their particular lines are not re
quired under government operation';
It was said that there would be
little difficulty in each line placing its
own men, as approximately 70,000
railroad men have joined the colors,
which intensified an already acute la
bor situation.
Reports that advertising depart
ments were to be wiped out were said
by Gerrit Fort, passenger traffic man
ager of the Union Pacific, to have
only a small foundation.
"Existing advertising contracts will
(Contlnned on' Pace Two, Colnmii One.)
FIRE DESTROYS
MUNITION DEPOT
IN PETROGRAD
Petrograd, Wednesday, . Jan. 3.-
Eleven hundred airplane machine
guns and a quantity of ammunition
were destroyed and approximately 20
persons killed as the result of a mys
terious fire and explosion today in a
military depot in the Gutuyevsky
basin in Petrograd.
Decatur, the lake upon whose shady
shores the Boy Scouts of Omaha
camped for weeks lastummer. In the
lot he got catfish, carp, buffalo, and
many other varieties which are not
considered most desirable in the lakes
of Nebraska. Some of these will have
to be marketed in Omaha, according
to Mr. O'Brien, and it is for this rea
son that he wants to know immediate
ly what wiir be the status of the
commonwealth of Nebraska as a fish
peddler. '
Before going to Lake Quinnebaugh,
O'-Brien and his assistants -took be
tween eight and nine tons of fish out
of Jackson lake in Dakota county.
That was during the month of No-
vemt
day,
ember. These fish, taken out day by
were largely marketed locally.
J TheOmahaBeefaineJ v-z
'A '''K '
prp'a n. Rpasnn
CROVDER SAYS
ONLY CLASS ONE
WILL j CALLED
Provost- Marshal - Tells Con
gress Only Men Now Listed
Will Be Used in Draft
Army.
Washington, Jan, 3. Provost MarJ
shall General Crowder, reporting to
congress today on the progress of the
draft, expresses for the firs time a
definite promise and aim of the gov
ernment .not to take for army duty
any other men than those listed in
class one of the new draft question
naire. -
This classification excludes married
men entirely whose wives or families
are dependent on them for support,
and other men with dependents.
General Crowder does this on the
estimate that 1,000,000 men physically
fit for army duty will be available
from class one. This number he
thinks sufficient for the present mili
tary needs of the nation, but to as
sure the future supply for those needs
he recommends that men who have
become 21 years since June 5, 1917,
(the first draft), and who become of
age hereafter shall be added to class
one as they come available. This
will insure, the general estimates, a
supply of 700,000 men a year.
General Crowder outlines tJhc new
policy in this language:
"Whether this guess (1,000,000
available men) be justified in prac
tice or not,lt can be announced now
as the policy and belief of this of
fice that in all probability it will be
possible to fill our military needs
without Invading any class more de
ferred than class one; and this is the
promise, the standard, and the goal,
here for the first time announced, to
ward which every administrative ef
fort of this office shall be directed."
Also, in the interest of fair distribu
tion of the military burden, General
Crowder proposes that the quotas of
states or districts be determined here
after on the basis of the number of
men in class one and not upon popu
lation. Class one comprises:
Single men without dependent rela
tives, married men who have habitual
ly failed to support their families, who
are dependent upon wives for support
or not usefully engaged, and whose
families are supported by incomes in
dependent of their labor; unskilled
farm 'laborers, unskilled industrial
laborers, registrants by or in respect
of.whom no deferred classification is
claimed or made, registrants who fail
to submit questionaire and in respect
of whom no deferred classification is
claimed or made, and all registrants
not included in any other division of
the schedule.
The plan places upon unattached
single men and married men with in
dependent incomes most of the weight
of military duty, for the number of
men in the other divisions of class
one are very small.
City Council Will Apply
Pruning Knife to Salaries
City council will sit at 9 o'clock
Safurday morning as a budget board
to apportion the 1918 general fund
of $1,750,000. Total of what the de
partments want amounts to more
than the general fund. The pruning
knife will be applied. Undercurrent
of talk indicates the probability of the
salary lists of several of the boards
being reduced.
TROTZKY NOW SPURNS
KAISER PEACE TERMS.
TO DEFEND COUNTRY
Bolsheviki Government Prepares to Resume Fighting With An Army of Three Million
Men; Break Comes When Germans Refuse to Remove Conference to Stock
holm or Other Neutral Ground; Russian Factions Reunit- '
ing for Supreme Struggle.
Petrograd, an. 3.-The Bolsheviki foreign minister, Leon Trotzky, declared to
day that the government of the Russian workers would not consent to the Ger
man peace proposals. ,
M. Trotzky's declaration was made before the central committee of the councO
of soldiers' and workmen's delegates, during an address in which he denounced in
scathing terms "Germany's hypocritical peace proposals."
He asserted that the government of Russian workers would not consent to such
conditions, and that if the central powers did not agree to free disposal of the des
tiny of the Polish and Lettish nations it would be urgently necessary to defend the
Russian revolution.
M; Trotzky said the needs at the front would be satisfied, whatever efforts might
be necessary, '
BOLSHEVIKI
NAME EXILES
AS MINISTERS
Ambassador to London and
Ministers to Sweden and
Switzerland Appointed by
New Republic,
Petrograd, Wednesday, January 2.
Three appointments of Russian rep
resentatives abroad were announced
today by the Bolsheviki government.
The appointees are:
Ambassador at London, M. juuvin-
off.
Minister to Switzerland, M. Kar-
pinski. v
Minister to Sweden. M. Borovsky-
trlovsky.
All three appointees were exiles un
der the imperial government.
TURN OVER PRISONERS.
The Bolsheviki government has
turned over to revolutionary tribunals
on charges of resistance to the Bol
sheviki authorities the following:
Colonel L. De Maier, Russian mili
tary attache at The Hague; M. Yac
hontoff, in Japan; Colonel O. Enkel,
Russian military attache at Rome;
Major' General Yermotcff, Russian
military-attache at London.
England. France and the United
States have asked of the Bolsheviki
authorities what disposition will be
made of the foreign property in the
banks when the banks have become
entirely nationalized.
Ihere is no mistaking the meaning
of the telegrams sent by Chairman
Joffe of the Russian peace delega
tion to the chairman of the German,
Austrian, Bulgarian and Turkish dele
gations. He declares the Russian re
public deems it necessary to conduct
further peace negotiations on neutral
soil and suggests 1 a transfer of the
conference to Stockholm, The tele
grams declare that replies to the mes
sage are expected by Russian in
Petrograd. N
Objects tcTerms.
Objections are raised to specific
paragraphs in the German proposals.
They are:
Articles 1 and 2 of the Austro-Ger-man
terms submitted December 12
(December 25 new style), the mes
sage says, are in .direct conflict with
the principles of self-definition of na
tions insisted upon by the Russian
peace delegation and supported by the
Russian republic, atod the central ex
ecutive committee of the congress of
workmen and soldiers' delegates.
Flower Merchant, Aged 7 Years,.
Is Main Support of Large Family
Jackie Stock, 7 years old, is the
youngest street flower merchant in
Omaha. He starts in the morning
with a capital of 1 cent and before the
day's work is done nctsfrom $2 to
$3.
Jackie knows nothing about eco
nomics, but he knows how to invest
in a business which. will bring him
profits at the, rate of 300 to 1,000 per
cent, ibis is the way he does it In
the morning he goes straight to one
of the flower shops and buys one of
. i i La
the short stemmed carnations
v Then he is ready to be a salesman.
The next scene takes place in the
lobby of some hotel or on a street
corner where the little flower urchin
is telling some young man .about the
beauty of flowers. Finally after he
has quoted the Biblical reference to
Solomon and the lily of the desert
he convinces the customer aai col
lects a nicKei piece, '
WILL DEFEND RUSSIA.
Representatives from all the fronts who attended the meet
ing declared the troops would defend the revolution, but said
bread and boots were necessary.
The halt in the negotiations and indications of a German
refusal to remove the conference to Stockholm have revived
universal discussion in Petrograd of a resumption of fighting -with
a greatly reduced army, probably 3,000,000 men. I
Even the most radical Bolsheviki and the most ardent
peace advocates have been aroused by the German position.
They declare that a resumption of hostilities is imminent and
express the belief that it is possible to organize and make effec
tive a small army. V
Indications are that the German attitude is harmonizing
domestic differences and is convincing Russians that they must
fight to save their revolutionary principles.
r ; JOFFE WIRES RUSS ULTIMATUM.
Chairman Joffe of the Russian peace delegation today sent
an official telegram to the chairman of the German, Austrian,
Bulgarian and Turkish delegations, saying the Russian republic
deems it necessary to conduct further peace negotiations on
neutral soil and suggesting a transfer 'of the conference to
Stockholm. The telegram declares that replies to the message
are expected by Russia in Petrograd.
The Germans are reported to have transferred 300,000
civilian Poles and Lithuanians forcibly to Germany.
General Korniloff, former commander-in-chief and one of
the leaders in the movement against he Bolsheviki, has arrived
in the district of the Don Cossacks. (The death of General1
Korniloff was reported unofficially on Tuesday).
The members of former Russian governments who are un
der arrest in the fortress of St Peter and St. Paul have aban
doned their hunger strike. x
N DENOUNCED AS LIES. '
The Izvestia today gives the text of a pamphlet which the Bolsheviki
are circulating in the German lines, in which it is declared that the peace con
ditions submitted by the central powers show the Austro-German promises of
a democratic peace to be "unconscionable lies," and describes the actions of
the Germans in Poland and Lithuania in recruiting forced labor and shoot-'
ing hunger strikers. i
UKRAINIANS ISSUE ULTIMATUM.
A dispatch from' Kiev reports that the Ukranian government has sent
an ultimatum to the Bolsheviki demanding that they withdraw their troops
within 24 hours and state whether they, consider themselves at war or at
peace with Ukraine.. Shipments of sugar and grain to northern Russia have
been cut off. i
A small party of delegates frorm the Ukraine elected to the constituent
assembly arrived here today and demanded an answer from the council of
people's commissioners as to when the constitutent assembly would open.
A conference of all parties, except the Bolsheviki, from which the mem
bers of the Left of the social revolutionists withdrew, decided that the con
stituent assembly could be opened upon the arrival in Petrograd of one-third
of tho membership.
TWO AMERICANS
KILLED IN YAQVI
RAID ON TRAIN
Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 3. H. J. Poe
of Los igeles and Miguel Martinez
ofNogales, Ariz., Amerkans, were
among the 36 persons killed yester
day when Yaqui Indians attacked a
Southern Pacific . of Mexico train
south of Empalme, Sonora, accord
ing to messages reaching the rail
road's offices here today. Poe pre
viously was reported among the dead.
Now he is ready ta.buy five carna
tions, but he does not do that. He
gets two carnations, a red one and a
white one, and one rose.
To make $2 by selling short
stemmed flowers requires skill and
ingenuity and Jackie has discovered
the secret. He also seems to know
by intuition that love is blind.
' Next he sets out to canvass the
office buildings. He not only inter
ests the office boy and telephone girl
but also enters the private offices. He
. ... , r
caters to all in a democratic way, for
money is money to him.
Jackie attends Cass school and
lives at 1809 Burt street. When he
can't work all day he works after
school and in the evenings. He give9
all his money to his mother, as he is
the main support of the family con
sisting of father, mother, sisters and
brothers. The father is incapacitated
or work,
BOLSHEVIKI
SEIZE ANOTHER
AMERICAN BANK
Moscow Branch of National
City Bank of New York
Closed, But Manager Not
Arrested.
Petrograd, Wednesday, Jan. 2. The
Moscow branch of the National City
bank of New York, which for several
days escaped the general order for the
confiscation of all banks there, was
seized by the Bolsheviki Saturday
night. H. J. Dreher, the manager, was
not arrested.
The Petrograd branch of the Na
tional City bank, which was seized by
the Bolsheviki a week ago, expects
to arrange to take care of the financial
needs of American residents in a few
days. The currency shortage in Rus
sia is becoming increasingly serious.
Not Reported to Washington.
Washington, Jan. 3. News of the
Bolsheviki seizure of banks in Mos
cow reached the State department to
day i.i diplomatic dispatches which,
however, wade no specific mention
of the National City bank's branch.
Madrid Palace Burns.
Paris, Jan. 3. A Havas dispatch
from Madrid says that the royal pal,
ace at La Granja, near Madrid, is oaj
fire. Details of the fire are . not
JLknOWD- n. i I I
