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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1918)
THE BEE: OMAHA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1918. RAILROADS ARE BLAMED FOR BIG CAR SHORTAGE Private Ownership of Carriers Held Responsible for Conges tion by Interstate Commerce Commissioner. Two Omaha Men and Whist Millionaire Who Are Officers of Big Tournament Washington, Feb. IS. Thousands of crippled freight cars, accumulated through the winter because of gross neglect of railroads in mak:ng repairs, occupy miles of tracks in eastern rail centers and are largely responsible for car shortage and traffic conges tion, it was shown today by reports of Interstate Commerce Commission er McChord to Director General Mc Adoo. These reports cover the six weeks period since the government assumed operation of the railroads, and indi cate that one of the most critical ills of rail transportation under private management was the sidetracking of cars needing repairs. Cars Block Tracks. The transportation division of the railroad administration will undertake to solve the problem of car repair at once in the light of Commissioner McChord's disclosures. Conditions are worst at Philadel phia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Altoona, Cleveland and Buffalo, it was shown. The Pennsylvania railroad, early this week, had 6,603 so-called bad order cars, which occupied 55 miles of tracks The Philadelphia & Reading had 2,052 bad-order cars in its principal switching yards, covering 16 miles of tracks. The Erie had more than 1,000, mak ing eighty miles of track covered by defective rolling stock. Railroads Make No Preparations. 1 These cars could have been re paired quickly during the winter if railroads had made proper prepara tions for covered repair tracks in ad vance, according to railroad admin istration officials. Freight train movement throughout the cast has been at the rate of about eight miles an hour, or two-thirds normal. Representatives of railroad em ployes recently charged that railroad managements encouraged this lax ad ministration to discredit the Adamson law. Commissioner McChord's report cites the facts discovered withouc comment. Today's reports of inspectors indL cated a slow clearing up of conges tion on several eastern trunk lines. Liberty Bonds Jump In Price at Peace News New York. Feb. 15. Peace talk furnished the basis for considerable activity in Liberty bonds on the stock exchange today. In place of the re cent low records all three issues dis played unusual strength, completely dominating the bond list. The second 4s were the most prom inent, rising from their early quota tion of 95.12 to 96.08 just before noon. Only yesterday this issue made the new minimum of 94.70. The first, or unconverted 4s. sold from 96.22 at the opening to 96.60 against the minimum of 96.04 re corded yesterday. - The 3lis, ot first issue, rose from 97.50 at the outset to 98.14, yesterday falling as low at 97.56. The minimum of 97.20 for the 3y2s was made on January 31. Murder Witness Is Arrested On Old Charge of Killing El Paso, Tex., Feb-. 15. W. B. Clark, principal witness for the state in the murder trial of Felix Jones, was arrested this afternoon on a war rant issued in Cottle county, Texas, charging him with murder. Clark, on the stand yesterday, testi fied Jones told him he had killed Thomas Lyons in El Paso May 17. Clark was placed in the county jail. He is to be taken to Paducah, Tex., for trial. Clark was arrested on a warrant charging him with the murder of Gin Spelker at Paducah, Tex., in 1904. The warrant was based on a com plaint and not an indictment, accord ing to the record. " Swift Lawyer Is Given Order to Enter Vault . Chicago, Feb. 15. An order was 1 issued by Judge Baker in the United States circuit court of appeals today permitting Henry Veeder, counsel for Swift & Co., to consult certain papers iiv his vault. This vault is being guarded by fed eral agents pending appeal from Judge Landis' decision permitting At torney Francis J. Heney, repfesjnt ing the federal trade commission, to examine the files therein in connec tion with the packing house inquiry. The letters desired by Mr. Veeder were to assist in fixing up the income tax schedule of Louis F. Swift. Term in Jail for Stealing Liberty Bonds Dallas, Tex., Feb. 15. W. F. Drum mond, a clerk in the Federal Reserve bank here, who was captured in Den ver while fleeing with $65,000 in Lib erty loan bonds he had stolen from the local bank, today was sentenced to two years in the federal peniten tiary at Leavenworth. Drummond was arrested after of fering a $1,000 bond in payment of jewelry he had purchased. The bonds were recovered. : Central High Debaters Lose in St. Joseph Contest St. Joseph, Mo., Feb. 15. (Special Telegram.) Omaha Central high de bating team lost here this morning to the St. Joseph Central high school team. The decision was 3 to 0. The Omaha team, composed of Barton Kuhn, Ralph Cohn and Harold De lano, opposed compulsory arbitration of labor disputes as advocated by John Hall, Earl Whitsel and Marie Houck of St. Joseph. Two Killed When Wind ' Destroys Big Tenements Louisville, Ky., Feb. 15. A woman and a child were killed and seven other persons were injured in the collapse of two old tenement build ings in Third street near the Ohio river front here today. The buildings crumbled under pres sure of a Iiigh Wj'V t I VJ i VvN' IN biMwiwMMMWWliaHMWrf Umtm mm m ' C. W. MARTIN. "The Whist Millionaire" is the title whist enthusiasts have affixed to H. F. Fry of Chicago, former president of the national association. Mr. Fry H. F. FRY. is worth almost a million dollars and whist is his greatest recreation. He is in Omaha for the twenty-fourth annual tournament of the Central J. H. ABBOTT. Whist association now being held at the Hotel Rome. C W Martin of Omaha is presi dent of the Central Whist association and J. A. Abbott is secretary. INDUSTRIES MUST USE COMPETENT MEN Mediation Commission Reports on Dispute Affecting Twin City Street Car Lines. Army Deserter and Holdup Man Taken in South Des Moines, la., 'Feb. 15. (Special Telegram.) Police officials here re ceived word from New Orleans tha Private Charles Singleton, wanted as a deserter from United States army and charged with holding up Cottage Grove Avenue bank, has been ar rested in. New Orleans after killing two policemen. STOCK FEEDERS MUST GET RELIEF OR QUITBUSINESS Washington, Feb. 15. Although as sured by the food administration that efforts to stimulate war time meat production would be rewarded by "reasonable" profits, stock raisers of the country now are experiencing and facing tremendous financial losses be cause the government has neglected their interests, the senate food in quiry was told today by T. W. Tom linson of Denver, secretary of the American National Live Stock asso ciation. The president, the food adminis trator and the states have appealed for increased beef production to meet extraordinary demands at home and overseas, said the witness, but ap parently, no attempt has been made to safeguard the stockman's financial interests. The threatened meat shortage is no myth, Tomlinson declared, as 25 per cent of stock feeders will be com pelled to go out of business unless the government comes to their relief. Patriotic Societies Observe Anniversary ot Maine Sinking Washington, Feb. 15. The 20th an niversary of the destruction of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor was made the occasion of several not able patriotic demonstrations here to day. Patriotic and military organizations and representatives of all branches of the regular military service partici pated in the exercises at Arlington Given Term in Federal Jail For Selling Diseased Cattle Chicago, Feb. 15. James Dorsey, a cattle raiser of Gilberts, 111., was sentenced to serve eight years in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., and fined $3,000 by Federal Judge Landis today for using the mails to defraud. Dorsey was charged with having sold tubercular cattle to dealers throughout the northwest on repre sentation that they were free from disease. Pending appeal, Dorsey was re leased in bond of $15,000. Federal Arbitrator Will Inspect Packing Plants Chicago, Feb. 15. Seeking first hand information as to working con ditions in the packing plants at the stock yards, Judge Samuel Alschuler planned to devote today to a tour of the yards. The judge, appointed by Secretary of Labor Wilson to arbitrate the dif ferences between the packers and their cniplovcs, has been hearing the testimony of the employes for the last four days and the following four sec ular days will be given over to the employers. Germany to Hold Peace Conference With Roumania Amsterdam, Feb. 15. Berlin newspapers of Thursday evening intimate that peace negotiations with Roumania are about to be opened. f They say, although no official communication has been issued, it may be assumed that Roumanian negotiators who will first discuss a prolongation of the armistice have arrived at a place agreed upon. J National cemetery, where many of the sailors and marines who perished in the disaster are buried. Floral tributes for President Wil son and the president of Cuba were placed on the Maine anchor and mast in the cemetery. ?'his afternoon the memory of the Maine dead was fur ther honored with impressive exer cises held in the riding hall at Fort Mycr undei the auspices of the Dis trict of Columbia branch of the Span ish war veterans. The blowing up of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana Feb ruary 15, 1898, resulted in the loss of 266 officers and men of the United States navy and suggested the cry of "Remember the Maine," which be came the slogan of the Spanish American war. The battleship had been in Havana three weeks at the time of the disas ter, having ieen sent there on a friendly visit and at the same time to protect American interests and resi dents at a time when the Cuban re volt against Spain had reached a criti cal stage. The Maine was in com mand of Captain Charles D. Sigsbee. r Forced to Sell On account of extensive alterations our entire stock must go. Everything at cut price. J. HELPIIAND 314 N. 16TH ST. Washington, 'Feb. 15. Necessity for full use of the nation's man power demands that industries give prefer ence in employment to competent men out of work over those already employed concludes the president's mediation commission in special re port made public today on the labor disputes affecting the St. Paul and Minneapolis street car lines. "While competent former employes are available," says the report, which is submitted to Secretary Baker as head of the National Council of De fense, "the Twin City Rapid Transit company should not engage men who are at the time employed or can be used in farming pursuits cr war in dustries." History of Strike. The report, which gives a history of the strike, shows that several hundred former employes of the Twin City company remain unemployed. In January, however, the commis sion asserts, the company advertised in Minnesota country newspapers and employed 28 from the country dis tricts to fill vacancies on the street cars. The strike, the report continues, virtually had been settled by an order issued by the Minnesota state public safety commission, concurred in by the company and the men, providing for no discriminate against the men because of union affiliations. A misunderstanding later arose about the wearing of union buttons by the men and several hundred con sidered themselves locked out, where as the company believed it followed the safety commission's order. The report urges the men to offer themselves for reinstatement and recommends that the company rein state the men as to wages and former status. U-BOAT SUNK IN BATTLE WITHTWO FRENCH PLANES ParU FpS. 15. An encounter be tween two French hydro-aeroplanes and a German submarine m tne Jtng lisji channel recently probably re sulted in the sinking ot tne U-Doat affr it harl heen bombed bv the planes, according to an official an nouncement by the French admiralty. The aeroplanes were on patrol duty ovpf the channel when thev discOV- CICli LUC VII niv. iiui.avb. ; They attacked it after maneuvering i so tnat the sun was at tneir nacks, anrl thp snhmarine nlunsred. but it did not disappear before the aviators had succeeded in dropping several bomDs on or near the periscope. While one aeroplane returned to the base for more bombs, the other kept watch and saw the submarine emerge after a few second with a list to port of 45 degrees. Aftpr attpmntinor in rtarVit itfiplf the submarine again disappeared, only to reappear a tnira time, its insta bility, however, increased, and sud denly the observer saw the submarine list still further and sink, so that even tne periscope could not be seen. American Is Murdered At Juarez Ranch Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 15. The body of John D. Blunt, an American man ager for a ranch in the Juarez val ley, was found late yesterday in an irrigation ditch with a deep wound on the top of the head. He had been missing since February 5. His mother and father live some where in Georgia, but the address has not yet been learned. Efforts to dislodge Mexican squat ters was believed to have been respon sible for the murder. Mb V Wv W W pi 9 p m m M i 1 p m if m U m W pi m 7; Swedes Seize Big Quantity of Munitions Bound for Finland London, Feb. 15. Great quanti ties of arms and munitions bound for Finland have been seized in the harbor of Stockholm, the Social Demokraten of Stockholm says, ac cording to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Copenhagen. Half a million cartridges, it is said, were delivered there to the order of an alleged private individ ual. The workmen at the Vesteras fac tory have informed the government that they will stop work if expor tation of munitions is permitted. . THIS SALE- Brings to Omaha, women the su preme coat-buying opportunity of the year. The values are with out exception the most sensa tional ever attempted by any Omaha store. Mil Tl m il o 1508-1510 Douglas St BUY NOW- An investment in a coat now at these prices will afford almost un believable savings when com pared with prices bound to be ef fective next winter. Commencing Saturday at 9 a. m. sharp our M NAL am GREATEST CLEARANCE EVENT Centered on the Absolute Disposal of Y FT PLUSHVLy1 Assembled for Saturday Into Three Sensational Groups WE'VE grouped our entire coat stock into 3 wonderful lots. Former values have been forgotten in determining these prices our only gauge was the necessity for the quickest pos sible riddance of every coat in our stock. RF AITTIFIII styled coats of plush Velour DLiU 1 IT UL Pom poni( Br0adcloth Kerseys and Meltons, in all the wanted colors richly trimmed in fur, plush and KeramI take full ad vantage of this great sale Saturday. . v Here's Coat Prices Which Will Startle All Omaha Saturday GROUP 1 NUMBER l" GROUP NUMBER 57 COATS that actually have sold from $19.50 ' $29.50 Your Unrestricted Choice Saturday 'V jj 2m m 91 COATS GROUP NUMBER 3- 77 COATS formerly priced and sold from $35 to $49.50 Your Unrestricted Choice Saturday if 1 i ' ' -mm" featured during season from $55 to $75 Your Unrestricted Choice Saturday TWO WONDERFUL SPECIALS SATURDAY IN SILK, SERGE, SATIN nprCCrC AND GEORGETTE UE,OOE.O Almost 300 strikingly attractive new Spring dresses are offered in this unusual Bale smart coat style dresses, new jacket effects, models for street, business and afternoon wear Positive savings of i3, V and in many cases even more. Men's wear Serges, Satins, Taffetas, Crepe de Chines in Rose, Copen, Navy, Black, Plum, Green, Silver, Taupe, Champagne clever new spring styles. 100 DRESSES Actually Worth to $32.50 Choice of the Lot Saturday Fine Men's wear Serges, Satins, Georgettes, Crepe de Chines, Novelty Taffetas in a world of new spring colors Styles enough to satisfy every taste. 190 DRESSES Worth Up to $45 Choice of the Lot Saturday 11 n