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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1918)
e Omaha Daily Bee THE WEATHER mow VOL. XLVII. NO. 210. OMAHA, MONDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 18, 1918. SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. Ul I H W o WD d BRITISH PILOT SENDS TEUTON AIR RAIDER TO HIS DEATH IN THE SEA Four Killed in London by Bombs Dropped by German Air men; Attack Repelled by Defenders; One Ma chine Reaches Capital After Desperate Battle in Clouds. London, Feb. 17. Only one of the six German airplanes which made an attack oh London last night succeeded in reach ing the capital, it is announced officially. This raider dropped one bomb on the southwest district which caused four causalties. (By Associated Treat.) Q FOUR CAUSALTIFS An aerial raid on Dover was re pelled by British pilots who engaged the Germans over the Kent coast. One large raider is reported to have crashed into the sea. The statement says that one bomb dropped in the northwest district, demolished a house and buried an invalid officer and his wife and two children. "Several other bombs were dropped by the raider in the eastern outskirts on its way in, but no causalties or damages have been reported. MachineDrops into Ocean. "Several of the pilots engaged the enemy. One of them fought in action over the Kent coast, and shortly afterwards a large enemy machine was seen to crash into the sea. "Police reports of the casualties and damage have not yet been re ceived, but apparently they were light." People Rush to Cover. With the advent f the new moon, last night's air raid was not unex pected in London. Police whistles warned the. people. Everybody had taken cover when a barrage in the outer defenses was started. That the Germans tare finding it jnore difficult each time they try to reach the capital is indicated by the fact that only one raidef succeeded last night in penetrating the defenses of London. Eat More Vegetables, Is" " The Slogan of Dr. Geddes Many arguments in favor of vege tarianism were advanced last night by Dr. L. Geddis of Syracuse, Neb., who lectured on "Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy" The speaker based his arguments on the point that the unity of all life is a fact in nature, and that man has a responsibility toward the lower forms of life that is not binding on the animal nature. Another argu ment that was used was the neces sity for personal cleanliness and for purifying the physical body so that the higher moral and intellectual life could be lived. The sneaker asserted that the consumption of meat produces a cor responding craving for alcohol and that by becoming a vegetarian, many people have observed that the craving for liquor disappeared. Criticism Always Directed At Big Men, Says Leavens In his Sunday" morning sermon Rev. Robert French Leavens of the First Unitarian church spoke of the criti cism directed at the administration hi time of war. He said that criticism is always directed at big men in big affairs, and compared the criticism now directed at President Wilson with that poured upon . Washington pjld upon Lincoln "in their greatest htours of trial when they were bear ing the burdens of a nation in their jreat hearts.' Ravenna Coming; Fast. Ravenna, Neb., Feb. 17. (Special.) Ravenna bays basket ball team de feated Broken Bow on the home floor, II to 7. Earlier in the season Ravenna de feated Grand Island, 33 to IS, trim ming both teams by a larger score than did the large Kearney High 6chool team. Ravenna has won all games this season making 150 points to its opponents 47. Ra,venna has no game this coming week as four of the boys of the team will be in Chicago to the older boys Young Men's Christian association convention. The Weather For Nebraska Snow. Temperature at Omah Yesterday. Hour. Dcg. . m 1 Comparative Loral Record. 1918 1917 1916 1915 Highest today 30 I.owest today . 0 Mean temperature .... 15 PreHnitation 00 47 47 S4 41) .00 10 .00 Temperature and precipitation departures from the normal at Omaha since March 1, and compared wmi tne past two years: Normal temperature J4 Deficiency for the day Total siflvo March 1, 1917 649 Normal precipitation 02 inch 'or the day 02 inch T.Ki.l precip. i!nc Mar. 1. 1917.. 23.34 inche: "ficienry Hince March 1, 1917.. ' !'. for corr. period in 191ii....i: I.-f for corr. period in 191i.... 09 inches 01 inches inch State of weather, "imh&, cicar. tempera t'ire. 7 p. in.. 50: htuhest today, 30; prccipi tution last M hours, nous. I p. n!;; !!m 1 p. ra ;o CONGRESS WILL HAVE BUSY WEEK WITH WAR BILLS Urgent Measures Will Come Up forConsi. '.ion; Railroads and Finance Have the Right-of-Way. (By Associated Tress.) Washington, Feb. 17. Urgent measures the administration railroad legislation, the war finance corpora tion measure and the billion dollar urgent deficiency appropriation bill have the right of way in congress this week. A. lull in the controversy over war efficiency is in prospect while congress devotes itself to the legislation desired at once by the government and also while further strategic moves are made with respect to bills for re organization of war making ma chinery. Disposal of the railroad bill, to govern operation of the carriers while indef' federal control, is expected in the senate. . Daylight Saving Bill. Prompt senate passage of the ad ministration bill creating a war finance corporation to supervise se curity issues is expected once life rail road legislation is out of the way. Final action also is scheduled in both bodies of congress thi week on the bill authorizing the shipping board to spend $50,000,000 in the emergency to house ship workers. Hie American people, beginning this spring, probably will be required by law to turn their time nieces an hour forward in the daylight saving moving, favorable action on the pending bill is expected in the house this week. The senate already has passed a similar bill. ROUMANIA WILL FIGHT TO BITTER END, SAYS ENVOY Chicago, Feb. 17. Cut off from every friendly country except by wireless, Roumania will fight to the end, Dr. C. Angelescu, head of the Roumanian mission which reached here today, declared. 1 he Bolsheviki are making war on us, so Roumania now must fight two enemies the Bolsheviki and Ger many," said Dr. Angelescu. "We are cut off from every country there are enemies on every, side oKus, but we will never give in. Roumania will fight to the end no matter what the cost. "We entered this war because 4,000,000 of our kinsmen are arbitra rily submitted to Austro-Hungarian domination and we will light until they are free. The traitorous action of the Bolsheviki has made our task harder, but has not lessened our determination." The mission, the first of its kind in this country will, remain here tomorrow. Bulgaria ar.J Russia Have Resumed Diplomatic Relations Amsterdam, Feb. 17. Bulgaria hzs resumed diplomatic relations with Russia, according to a Sofia telegram published in German newspapers. AUSTRIA IN TURMOIL OVER GERMANY-UKRAINE PEACE Amsterdam, Feb. 17. When the details of the Ukraine peace were made known in European capitals by Germany, the Austrian military governor, Count Szeptycki, resigned, as did his civil associate, Made jeski, and Councillor Rosner, representative of the imperial foreign ministry at Warsaw. Then the Polish government resigned. The members of the regency council are contemplating the same action. The intention exists in leading Polish circles, a dispatch says, to prevent the regency council from retiring, because in this event all the political institutions created might disappear and the upper hand might be gained by ultra radical elements which are. now' seeking an attach ment with Russia, with a republican form of government. The dispatch indicates that the Kucharzewski cabinet is likely to be succeeded by one under Jan Stecki, who was minister of the interior in the first Polish cabinet and is a prominent figure in the Russophile national democratic party. The elections arranged for February 27 will not be held, because elections also had been arranged for the dis tricts which are to be turned over to Ukraine. The conviction prevails generally, the dispatch continues, that the independence of Poland is endangered seriously, and that it has once more become an occupied state rather than an independent kingdom. The position of the Austrian cabinet is greatly shaken, according to the Frankfurter Zeitung, but no other cabinet would change the situa tion inasmuch as it is a state rather than a cabinet crisis. American anaiench Troops Now. Fight Side by Side Against Their Common Foe on Field Made Famous by . Great Battle Units Confront:. Germans in First Line Trenches Are En joying Experience; Few Men in Hospitals. Illy Associated Tress.) Grand Army Headquarters of the French Army, Feb. 16. American and French troops for several days have been holding the front line trenches on one of the most famous battlefields of the war, the name of which is known throug'iout the world. The immediate impression gained in conversation with both French and Americans facing the enemy side by side is that the union is not only of tight forces but of firm purpose to win victory by mutual aid. Men Are Too Anxious. "There is only one criticism to be made in connection with the Ameri cans," said a distinguished French officer to the correspondent who spent a day among the Americans holding the lines. "They arc too anxious to get at grips with the enemy." American officers confirmed this, declaring that their chief trouble was to restrain the men. It is advisable to designate the units confronting the Germans, but all the men are bending their task and they are anxious to have the peo ple at home know they are well satis fied and determined to perform to their utmost the duties before them. "Tell the home folks that we are happy to be in the fighting. The work is hard and trying, but that is why we are here. "Nothing could induce us to leave it until the job is finished and the Germans arc beaten." Few Hospital Cases. Such in substance are the expres sions of dozens of the American troops now on the actual fighting line. As to the health of the men, to day's record showed that there were only three sick among the entire fouC; comprising s.eycral thousands, and these arc cases of minor -importance. Every care is taken to provide ample rations, hot when possible. The men are fully content witli this and certainly Appear, fit and well. They have taken to trench and dugout life as if born to it. The corresdonpent passed again over ground which had been the scene of many fearful battles in the last year. Wild vegetation hides some of the wounds which have been in flicted on the earth, but ruined vil lages, disfigured and enormous pit like holes still testify graphically to the violence of the long drawn out struggle which resulted in driving the Germans back. In the American fighting zone were to be seen khaki-clad working parties and messengers intermingled with French soldiers in blue uniforms. The Americans were busily occu pied immediately near the fighting line in improving the wire entangle ments and the trench systems. Names of Four-Soldiers Added To Tuscania Death Record Washington, Feb. 17. A list of 27 of the known Tuscania dead made known tonight contained four names not previously reported in the Asso ciated Press list of American soldiers buried on the Scottish, coast. They were: Chauncey A. Davidson, Anaconda, Mont. , Thomas A. Lewellyn, Scottdale, Pa. Clifford Norris, New London, Wis. Leigh A. Wright, Hillsdale. Mich. NEW JERSEY TO Governor Edge Signs Bill That Will Conscript Hoboes MAKEBUMS TOIL Trenton, N. J., Feb. 17. Loafers, tramps and other male idlers will now have to go to work in New Jersey. This was settled yesterday when Gov ernor Edge signed a bill recently nrpccpH hv flip leaislntiirp nrrwirlincr i" j .-d-- i - - O I that such persons would be conscript- , . t , i i j ea to some useiui employment aurjng the war. Persons temporarily out of employ ment through differences with their employers are not affected. U. S. AVIATORS MUST LEARN British Expert Outlines Necessity for Oaring Fea?s by American Cadets. AIR 'STUNTS' FOR OWN GOOD WILSON REFUSES TO CONFER WITH STRIKE: LEADER Declares Ship Yard Carpenters Are Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy by Quitting Work. (By Associated I'ress.l Washington, Feb. 17. President Wilson has telegraphed William L. Hutcheson, general president of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Join ers, that he can see nothing to be gained by conferring with him person ally about the strike of ship yard car penters until Hutcheson has accepted and acted -upon the principle that in the present circumstances of the na tion no body of men has the right to strike until every other method of adjustment has been tried to the limit. "If vnn rln not act tinon this orin- ciplc," said the president's message, "vnn are linrlntihtedlv civincr aid and comfort to the cnemv, whatever may it be your own conscious purpose. President's Letter to Hutcheson. The president's message was sent in reply to one received yesterday from Hutcheson saying he had been unable to reach an understanding with officials of the shipping board but felt that if given an opportunity to lay the matter before the president a solution could be arrived at quickly. ' ft was made public' tonight as follows: ! "I have received your telegram of vesterrla'v and am verv clad to note the expression of your desire as a patriotic citizen to assist in carrying on the work by which we are trying to save America and men everywhere who worked and are free. "Taking advantage of that assur ance, I feel it to be my duty to call your attention to the fact that the strike of the carpenters in the ship yards is in marked and painful con trast to the action of labor in other trades and places. Ships Necessary to Nation. "Ships are absolutely necessary for the winning of the war. "No one can strike a deadlier blow at the safety of the nation and of its forces on the other side than by interfering with or obstructing the shipbuilding programme. t "All other unions engaged in this indispeiisible work have agreed to abide by the decisions of the ship building wage adjustment board. "This board has dealt fairly and liberally with all who have reported to it. , "I must say to you very frankly that it is your duty to leave to it the solution of your present difficulties with your employers and to advise the men whom you represent to re turn at once to work pending the decision. No Right to Strike Now. ""No body of men has the moral right in the present circumstances of the nation to strike until eveVy method of adjustment has been tried to the limit. If you do not act upon this principle you undoubtedly are giving aid and comfort to the enemy, what ever may be your own conscious nurnnee "I do not see that anything will be gained by my seeing you person acted upon that principle. It is the duty of the government to see that the best possible conditions of labor are maintained, as it also is its duty to see that there is no lawless and conscienceless profiteering and that duty the government has accepted and will perform. " Will you co-operate oi will you obstruct?" TROTZKY'S MOVE PUJS GERMANY IN PREDi CAMENT Washington, Feb. 17. Official Washington's opinion of Bolshevik Foreign Minister Trotzky's decision for no war and still no peace with Germany is that Trotzky, whether knowing it or not, has placed Ger many in a military and diplomatic predicament. 1 Movements of German troops from the Russian front have been stopped, and it is believed by military men here that no further withdrawal of forces can be made until Berlin has decided on a policy toward the Bol sheviki. 'inch riffirial rennrte ns have lieen I received do not say clearly whether the demobilization of Russian troops has been continued, but they do indi rate a reorganization of the red euard. Germany, by repudiating the no- j annexation policy, officials here think, i lias widened the breach with the i socialists who cry for peace. They j also think Gcrr.isvy will be forced to ; j?o to the aid of the Ukrainians if rhe ; Bolsheviki attack them. I (Br Associated rre. Washington. D. C, Feb. 17. Hair raising stunts by student aviators may seem foolhardy to the casual observ er, but they are a vital part of the army fliers' training. Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Lee of the British Royal Flying Corps, declared here to day. "To forbid student aviators to at tempt these stunts may save a few fatalities at training camps on this side," said Colonel Lee, "but will cer lainly be the cause of hundreds erf them at the front." Knr the 1af Hire itnv f"n!nnM T .ee I head of the British aviation mission ' ' . , TT..'. t t-.-i , t . - ' in uic unneu aiaies, nas ocen uomg war tricks in the air over the na tional capital to show officials what the American air fighter must prepare to do when he flies over the German lines. Question Necessity of Stunts. ' Doing the "Immelmann turn," the "loop the loop," the "falling leaf" and other breath-taking feats has caused many to turn their faces and gasp. This demonstration of what a fight ing man must do in the i it, coming at a time when several student aviators have been killed at American camps, raised a question as to whether they were really necessary or were only stunts. Most emphatically, said Colonel Lee, they are necessary when the air man goes into battle, if he expects to outmanetiver his adversary, slip out of tight places and become an efficient fighting flyer. Moreover, said Colonel Lee, they are not dangerous provided the pilot has been trained and knows his ma chine. The ability to perform them is indispeiisible, the colonel declajred.f the aviator lg.io ue an cnecuvc ngin ing factor. riintera at Flvinff. "The so-called danger of flying lies not with those who do stunts in the air, but with those who cannot do them. "Unless a pilot can turn his ma chine any way and every way at any -time in order to maneuver tor posi tion, all the straight flying in the world will not help him when he has to tight. . . f , "Formation flying is one ot the most important things of modern day flying, but it must be borne in mind that as soon as a formation of ap proximately your own strength is met and general action ensues, it is indi viduality and capability of individual flyers that will win." RUSS'ARMISTICE WITH GERMANY EXPIRES MONDAY (Mrltidh Admiralty per Wlrelnni rre.) Berlin, Feb. 17. The armistice be tween the Russian and German forces which has been in existenc for sever al weeks on the Russial front will expire at noon Monday, according to the official statement issued today at the German army headquarters. Goethals Request for More Coal Is Turned Down Boston, Feb. 17. In replying to night to a message from Major Gen eral Gothals, quartermaster general asking that coal be furnished to mills working on rush orders for army blankets and overcoats, JameslJ. Stor row, New Fngland fuel administrator, said the request could not be com plied with. Kvery nound of the scan ty coal supply on hand, Mr. Storrow said, was necessary to keep the people alive. Twenty Soldiers III From Eating Ground Glass Chattanooga, Tenn., Feb. 17. Twen ty enlisted men of the 52nd infantry at Camp Forest are confined to the base hospital as a result of eating candy containing particles of ground glass. At the camp it was said to r.igbj that the condition of some of the men is serious. The candy was secured at the camp canteen and was said to have been shipped there from Knoxville, Tenn. SIX AMERICAN OFFICERS DECORATED FOR BRAVERY (By Andoolated Prr.) Paris, Feb. 17. Six Americans in the automobile convoy section have been decorated by the French government with the war cross for their courage and devotion to duty at Verdun. They are commended in army orders as follows: "Sub-Lieutenant Gaston Raviss has made his section a unit of the first order, from which he obtains the maximum of results. Always ready for active duty, he collaborated in the evacuation of wounded from the front in a different section Hill 304 in the Verdun sector in December, 1917, and January, 1918. "Lieutenant Alan Kinsley (American army) is a brave and distin guished officer, who, by the example he set, obtained the maximum results from his men at Hill 344. "Arthur Crosby, Robert Graf, John Fitzpatrick and Louis Timson, all drivers (American army), volunteered for perilous missions. They have given proof of courage and coolness in actively collaborating in the evacuation of. wounded in a zone subject to repeated bombardments, on the Verdun front in December, 1917." GERMAN PLANES RAID AMERICAN BASE IN FRANCE t 1 t Explosion of Bombs Dropped by Airmen Shake Base Hos pital Occupied by Wounded Yankee Officers and Privates; Patrol Cut Off by Client of Electricity Returns in Safety. (By Associated Press.) . With the American Army in France, Saturday, Feb. 16. An American field hospital at a town within our line, apparently was the target for the German airplane raiders which flew; over it last night and dropped several unusually heavy bombs. O NO VICTIMS. POLISH CABINET RESIGNS; BERLIN FEARSJJPRISING Poland Raises Large Army and Suddenly Becomes Menacing Military Factor Against Central Powers. (Bt AMorUieil rress. London, Feb. 17. A general strike in Warsaw is reported by Rcuter' Amsterdam correspondent. The Ger man papers print only brief and un satisfactory dispatches regarding the situation there. An Amsterdam dispatch forwarded by the Central News reports that great excitement prevails in Warsaw. Students and workmen are planning a great demonstration. Y Military detechmcnts, mounted and afoot, are patrolling the streets. The tiparr have been closed. Repre sentatives of the Austro-IIuugarian foreign l office have departed irom tlis citv. ,. , , the resignation of the Folish cab inet and other indications of dissatis faction in Poland over the peace agreement between Ukraine and the central powers, providing for the an nexation of Polish territory to Uk raine, are causing anger and alarm in a section of the German press. Many newspapers are attacking the Poles sharply. Form Polish Army. Reports in Warsaw that Polish regi ments of the Russian army have of fered to place themselves at the dis posal of the Warsaw government arc ransiiic sprious anxiety in political ' circles in Germany. At the moment when the whole Polish nation, in to land. Austria and elsewhere, is oppos ing the peace with Ukraine, the forma tion of a Polish army is especially sig nificant. The reports thus mentioned seem to suggest that the Poles have sud denly appeared as an important mili tary factor. The Tolish legion have stiffened their discipline and increased their , strength under General Mus nicki, who offered their services to the Polish regency council. The importance of the movemen: in Poland is shown in a Warsaw dis patch which appears in the Vossische Zeitung of Berlin. This dispatch says that the feeling in Polish gov ernmental circles became critical as soon as the bare news of the Ukrain ian peace agreement was received. The Frankfurter Zeitung points out that there has been a revulsion of feeling among the Poles. Incidentally it mentions violent demonstrations at Cracow, in western Galicia, where windows were broken at the head miarters of the supreme Polish na- tinnn t rnminittpp which is endeavor ing to establish a coe relationship between the new Polish kingdom and the central powers. Diplomat; at Wits' End. Referring to submission of the peace treaty with Ukraine Iq the Reichstag, the newspaper observes tli.it a crt.it inaioritv mav support it, but that the government should give thorough enlightenment regarding the final aims of its eastern pol'cy. "For assuredly it is not permissi ble," the Zeitung continues, "that de cisions wh'ch upset everything which went before shall be taken without a fixed plan or without being in accord (Continued on Page Two, Column Three.) The hospital, in which were a num ber of sick and wounded officers and men, was the building nearest thet places where the German airmen dropped bornbs. Fortunately none of the missiles reached their mark, although the hos- pital patients and the residents of the town were severely shaken up by the explosions. American anti-aircraft guns engaged the enemy, but without success. The hospital probably will be moved to a less dangerous spot. Patrol Cut Off. An American patrol, which passed the first -line of German entangle ments and approached the second line last night, was suddenly cut off by a. current of electricity along trie tirst wire line. Instead of attempting an immediate return to their trenches, which would have meant certain death by electro cution or machine gun fire, the Ameri cans clung close to the earth and later, when the electricity was cut off, re turned in safety to their positions. I. S. ARRESTS SON OF WEALTHY MAN ON FRAVDCHARGE, San Francisco, Feb 17. A warrant charging the forging of a government stamp used to signitv tn that billets of cteel have heen adiudced suitable for government work, and charging that this forged stamp had been placed on defective steel sold to the United States was issued yesterday by a United States commissioner against Prosper J. Forrest, son of the owner of Edwin Forrest Foundry company. Forrest already is in tne cusioay of the San Francisco police. His actions, according to a gov ernment official here, "endangered the lives of thousands of United States soldiers who have been ordered to Europe." The defective steel, it was cnargcu. was sold lor use in crann mmus other parts of the machinery of gov ernment vessels. . The specific charge against forrest is rictrauaing ine uniifuwi" ernment. , . , The evidence was gatiierea Dy me Naval Intelligence bureau, in conjunc ,;!, nthor federal authorities. who say Forrest has been in charge ot tne tounary wnuc ms the east. , . . . ii- l Umn mtrcninor nm allCCta lie uaa uvi.ii -- - - illegal practice since last December, the federal authorities charge. Some of this steel has been utilized already in the construction ot government vessels which are now at a. Immense profits accrued to tor rest through his alleged il'tgal prac tices, the federal authorities said. Four Salvation Army Lasses on Duty at Front New York, Feb. 17. Four Salva tion Army lassies, equipped like sol diers with gas masks, steel helmets and revolvers, have been admitted' to the actual battle front of the Ameri can army in France and carry on re lief work under fire. , The young women are Ensign Helen Purviance, Gladys Mclntire, Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Hickey.and, so far as known here, they are the first of their sex to go to the Ameri can firing line. For some months they have been quartered in a village where the American troops arc billeted on re turning from the trenches, their work being the mending of clothing, prepa ration of hot foods and drinks and similar service. They left for the front lines at night, January 24, the. message said. British Forces Cross Piave; Battle on Scarpe Rome, Feb. 17. The official state ment issued by the war office Joday says: "Owing to the bad weather yes terday there was very little fighting in the mountainous areas. Only in the region of Astico was there any .fighting, there being a brisk artillery engagement and patrol encounters along the front. "Opposite Montcllo, British recon noitering parties crossed the Piave and reached the enemy lines. There were the usual artillery actions in the lower reaches of the battle front. One of our patrols, starting from the bridgehead at Capo Sile. surprised a small post of the enemy, inflicted cas ualties and returned without losses." London, Feb. 16. Strong German raids against the British forces re sulted in considerable fighting m "i of the Scarpc. accod:ng to 'lie - or- rt iioni Field Marshal rfn;g"b hta.'.otr-u-rs in France tonight. I i