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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1918)
a Daily Be PART ONE NEWS SECTION PAGES 1 TO 12 HE THE WEATHER ran H VOL. XLVII NO. 239. OMAHA, SATURDAY MORNING, MARCH 23, 1918 TWENTY-FOUR PAGES JJiwi miK tte., t. Oi Trains, ( Hottli. SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. nn An UWUIAiUVJ & Omah 1HI (a 16,000 PRISONERS AND 200 BE GERMAN SPOILS Berlin Official StatemenJ Says Successes of Great Of fensive Between Arras and La Fere Extended; Ar tillery Duel Before Verdun Continues With Ter rific Intensity; Other War Theatres Quiet. (British Admiralty Per Wireless Press.) -London, March 22. Sixteen thousand prisoners and 200 guns have been captured by the Germans, according to a Ger man" official communication received by wireless tonight. The text of the communication follows:. "The successes of yesterday in the fighting between Arras and La Fere were extended in the continuation of our attack. "Sixteen thousand prisoners and 200 guns so f aV have been reported captured. Before Verdun the artillery duel con tinued. From other theaters of the war there is nothing new to report." k - FORTY DIVISIONS INVOLVED.0 British Army Headquarters in" France, March 22. The Germans to day continued their assault against the positions in the Cambrai sector, notably in the region of Croiselles and Hargicourt. At least 40 divisions have been identified on the battle front. No such concentration of artillery lias been seen since the war began. On the southern battle field a bitter struggle was waged today. The enemy had 1,000 guns in one small sector one for every 12 yards. Severe fight ing was proceeding this morning in St. Ledger, southwest of Croiselles. , The hardest fighting yesterday in the northern battle was between the Canal Du Nord and Cro'seHes. Doignies was retaken in the evening in a brillant counter attack. A bright sun at midday today rendered obser vation possible. Joe Ihm is Name of Boys' - And Girls' war Gardener JEtoja'-JLsirls war gardener lsJoe." -' ' ' . His full name is Jos Ihm and he has arrived to help the young folks of Omaha this season with their gar dens. , He was.sent here by the extension department of the, University of Ne braska, will maintain an office at school headquarters on the fifth floor of the city hall, and will work through and with all of the schools of the city. "Joe" has been in the service of the horticulture department of , the state university. ' One of the features of his work will be the distribution of 22 practical lessons on gardening to the boys and girls whom-he will guide in, the "how, when and what" of war gardening. He will help them to conserve their energies, to get the best results fronr their efforts and to do something worth while in garden ing in Omaha this.season. Garden clubs will be promoted and encour aged. The Board of Public Welfare has assigned 800 lots to persons who have agreed to cultivate them. Those wishing, lots are requested to call Aid register, and those having lots or F tracts to loan or rent are urged to. make themselves known at the wel-" fare office. Omaha Boys to Jail. Norfolk Neb.,' March 22. Special Telegram.) Art Humphrey and , Ralph Spellman, twe Omaha boys arrested at the point of a gun by the marshal at Pilger when they were at tempting to escape with an automo bile stolen from Norfolk, were bound over to the district court in justice court liere. lheir bonds were fixed at $1,000 each, Being unable to fur nish bail the nien were taken to the. Madison county jail by Sheriff Smith Friday evening. ' , ' - The Weather . For Nebraska Fair: warmer. Temperatures at Omaha yesterday. Hour. Deg. 6 a. m.. 6 a. m.. 7 a, m., 8 a. m. . 36 35 S4 36 40 a. m. I 10 a. m 44 11 a. m 47 "12 ra 61 1 p. m J p. m . 63 . 55 . 57 . 67 . 68 . 65 . 63 . 60 3 p. m 4 p. m...... 5 p. m..... 6 p. m 7 p. m S p. m Comnarative Local Record. , 1918. 1817. 1111. 1915 . Highest -yesterday .. 67 75v .47 43 Lowest yesterday . . 34 38 31 2 'Mean temperature ... 48 68 39 38 I'reoipUatlon ,..... .00 .00 .01 .00 -Temperature and precipitation departures from the normal: -' Normal temperature 3 Kcess (or the day 7 Total HCfra fines March 1....' S3 Normal precipitation , .05 Inch jH-tiriency for the day .06 Inch TotV. rainfall sinr March 1. ....... .11 Inch Deficiency since March 1 76 Inch Excess for cor. period. 1917 42 inch Deficiency for cor. period, H18 78 Inch Reports from Stations at 7 P. M. Station and State Temp. High- Bain- i of Weather. 7 p. ra est. fall. L . . I., ii R4 El AA Davenport, clear i4 60 .00 Den -r. clear 58 E8 .00 Dei Mutitws. pt. cloudy.. 60 54 .00 Dodgo City, cloudy .... 44 4G .12 lender, pt. cloudy..... 56 CJ .00 .Ninth Platte, clear .... 52 5S .00 irialia, clear 63 57 .(TO I'ueblq. clear .' 66 (in .02 Rapid City, clear 1. 80 64 .00 .Salt Lake City, clear .. 60 62 .00 Santa Fe. clear 46 48 .82 r-hertdaii. clear 68 62 .00 Sioux City, clear 60 6S .00 Valentine, clear ..; 62 58 .00 L. A. WELSH. Meteorologist $f A F GUNS MAY GERMAN RAIDER IN PACIFIC PREY OF U. S. CRUISER Reported to Have Been Out- - fitted From Mexican Coast; Now Toweerto Pacific Port. A- Pacific Port, March, 22.t-A Ger man raider operating in the Picific o6ean' has been captured by a United States cruiser and is now being toired to this port, according to a report re ceived here today. " The raider is said to be a com paratively srfrall vessel, but capable of sinking- any -merchant shiptm the Pacific. It is alleged to have keen outfitted from the west coast of Mex ico and was manned by an all-German crew; I, The, mariner in which it obtained clearance papers is not yet known to the United States .officials, and it is said that alieady an investigation into this aspect is being conducted by Department vof Justice agen'i, , Germans Start Active, Commerce in Seized Towns Moscow," Tuesday, March 1. Germans have already established through railway connections between the districts they have occupied and Berlin, and are flooding the occupied towns with German goods, especially clothing and hosiery. Russians who had managed to leave Kiev, Mohilev, Reval and other oc cupied cities all tell the same story. At Narva the Germans . established clothing, chemical and photographic supply factories. At Reval they are reopening the woolen mills and forc ing the Russians to work. At Narva the prices of clothing and other manufactured articles dropped 50 per cent after the German occupa tion.' Russian soldiers are being fed to clean out the railway stations. The general sanitary conditfbns are being improved everywhere and idlers are being forced to work. Princess Cinderella Will Be at Brandeis Stores The little Princess Cinderella will receive all of her small friends at the Brandeis Stores Saturday. It will be -children's day in the store and the princess will be seated on her throne in the millinery department from 10 to 12 o'clock in the morning and from 2 to 4 in the 'afternoon, when she will snow all the tiny iplk the cunning hats she has made. for them. The princess makes a semi-annual visit to her little Omaha friends and crowds of, them come to Brandeis Stores on these days to visit the dainty princess and to see the pretty frocks and coats especially designed for them in the spring display of wearing apparel. . , Niobrara Masons Unfurl ' Twelve-Star Service "Flag Niobrara. Neb., March 22. (Spe cial.) On Tuesday night the Masoftic lodge of this place gave a patrjdtic program and., lunch in honor of Mosoriic brothers in the army and nevy. T service fla$ with 12 -Stars was unraveiled. . m. Central High School to Honor Memory of Lad Killed in Battle Russell G. Hughes, first Omaha boy in the American army to die in battle in France, was popular as a student at Central High school. He .is de scribed by 'his former teachers as bright, cheerful and studious. During his junior year his mother died. This caused a great change in the boy, who soon lost interest in his school worl. After dropping out for. a while, he returned to school, but never regained his former interest in his work. At the end of the year he left .school. Central High school flags were at WCANS WIPE OUT rl f imfc ill ninm rue a Linca in iuriu DASH STAGED AT NIGHT Take German Positions After Artillery Bombardment; Enter Trenches to Find Enemy Fled; Teuton Sol diers Desert to United States Forces; Obtain Valuable Information from Prisoners. With the American Army in France, Thursday,' March, 21. Enemy first and second line positions on a part of the sector east of Luneville have been destroyed by American ar tillery fire. After the raid ino the German lines last night the Ameriran gunners shelled the positions, heavily all night and this morning. Today a patrol without assistance from the artillery crossed No Man's land and found that the first and sec ond lines had been' wiped out. NO U S. CASUALTIES. The patrol also obtained addi'irnal information and returned without cas ualties, the Germans apparently hav ing decided not to molest them. Ar tillery firing by both sides on this rec tor continued all day. On. the sector northwest of Toul a number . of Germans deserted last night and surrendered to an Ameri can patrol in a certain wood. The Germans approached .the Americans shouting "Don't shoot." The pris oners were turned over to the Frerch. "Fed Up" with War. Much information of value was. ob tained from the deserters, who said they were ''fed up" with the war and decided they would rather be pris oners. Included in the information ob tained from the men was the state ment that during the gas projector SIBERIAN ROAD NOT HELD BY FOE, SAYS TROTZKY Characterizes as Falsehood Ru mors That German and Aus trian Prisoners Occupy . Communications. (By Associated Press.) Moscow, March 22. Rumors that Austrian and German prisoners of war have occupied the trans-Siberian railway ae characterized as an abso lute falsehood in a dispatch received by LeonTrotzky, the bolshevik for eign minister, vin response to inquiries made of the representatives of the bolshevik commissaries at Irkatsk. , Under M. Trotzky's instructions, di rect telegraphic communication has been established with M. Stremberg, commissioner of military affairs, and M. Jansen,, president of the central executive council of the All-Russian soviet, both of whorii are at Irkutsk. Protest Against Lies. Replying to questions concerning reports relative to pnsonersthey said "Rumors about the occupation of Siberian railways by German and Austrian prisoners of war are abso lute falsehoods. Prisoners of war, not armed, are grouped -all along the Si berian railway line and guarded by armed patrols. We protest against the spreading of deliberately false ru mors by foreign representatives, who further complicate the Russian situa tion." - , It is reported from Blagovieshtch ensjc that during an uprising of the white guards there the members of this force fired upon Chinese in the city and attempted to create dissen sion between the bolsheviki and the Chinese, but fled when thj Red Cross entered the city. The Chinese popu lation is friendly to the bolsheviki. Manufacturers Asked to Shut Down During Parade . The Omaha Manufacturers' asso ciation seeks to have all manufactur ing plants in Omaha to shut down April 6, while the Liberty loan parade commemorating the first anniversary of America's entrance into the world war, is in progress. A special committee has been ap pointed to call on every manufac turer in the city to induce him to close if it is at all possible. The com mittee consists of Howard M. Gould ing, W. J. Monaghan, Fred S. Knapp, Ross B. Towl, Arthur Metz. W. H. Clarke, R. L. Wilder, E. W. Cornell, W. M, Devitt, T. B. Tholl, J. M. Hard ing and W. AEIlis. half mast -Thursday in his honor. A regimental parade of the cadet regi ment will be held next week to mark the death of the first Central High boy at the hands of the Germans. Two other Central High boys have also given their lives. Stanley Mack ay died recently in a camp in this country, and Peyton C. March, son of General, March, wis killed at an avia tion schM. March attended Central High in 1911 and 1912. He was then a sophomore. The Central' High service flag now has about 560 stars. attack against the American lines on February 27 9Q0 projectors were em ployed. One-half the projectiles fired fell within the German lines and the gas overcame many of the Germans. Th- next day, according to the de serters, 11 Germans were killed and 30 wounded while taking out the dead. American intelligence officers are inclined to doubt the story regarding 900 projectors. American informa tion is that only 75 were used. New Concrete Trenches. An American patrol last night en tered the enemy first line and re mained there six hours, but did not see any of the enemy. ' It is reported that the Germans recently had con structed trenches that are concrete half way up the side. Great activity continues behind the enemy lines. Wrfhin the last four days a number of rock crushers and concrete mixers have. been brought up and there; are signs that the Ger mans intend to construct a number of new pill boxes opposite the American fronts Several trains of material have arrived at towns in the German lines during the last 24 hours. Today's reports say that three German airplanes flew over various parts of the American front line at daybreak and fired their machine guns on our positions. Their efforts; how ever, were without result. ( RUSS SOVIETS DISARM ARMY; FLEE CAPITAL Remove From Executive Com mittees All Soldier Represen tatives; Would Eliminate Influence. (By Associated Tress.) Moscow, March .22. The soviet government is rapidly disarming and disbanding the old army, and eliminat ing its influence from public affairs. ' The ' Moscow v soviet ' has removed from its executive committee all sol dier representatives and similar action is taking place throughout Russia. The new voluntary army will se lect representatives in the various Soviets. The old soldiers are unwill ing at many places to surrender their arms and return to work. At Petro grad three -regiments declined to be demotl'ized The Petrograd soviet has issued 'a statement, saying that these regiments were under influences contrary to the revolutionary move ment. All Leave Petrograd. In explanation of the government's evacuation ot retrograd; the soviet has issued a statement saying the commissioners went to Moscow for the purpose of saving Petrograd from destruction. All available rolling stock is being used for the evacuation of Petrograd along the Trans-Siberian railroad to ward the Ural mountains. Tfre Putt loff munition works, and the Shulssel- burg Powder factory near Petrograd, employing from 30,000 to 40.000 work men, are being. moved to Omsk and Tobolsk. -The entire western end of the Trans-Siberian railroad is congested with trains of machinery, guns, am munition and automobiles. All sorts of war material and factory equip ment were stacked on flat cars and government employes, factory work ers and thousands' of German and Austrian prisoners are being sent to Omsk and other Siberian cities tot industrial work in reretablishino; piants. s Prisoners Disinterested. Many prisoners when interviewed by the Associated Press correspondent show little interest in the war, es pecially the Austrians, who apparently have no desire to return home. Some of them sought medicines from the American Red Cross unit for sick comrades, and did not know that the United States had entered the war, Vologda, where the American em bassy is now located, has. suddenly developed from a provincial city with a population of 60.000 to a congested transfer point with a large floating population. Military missions of many nations leaving Roumania and "Uk raine have gathered there awaiting transportation toSiberia or Kola and Petrograd.' Every inch of space in side of cars, on platforms nd on the bumpers is occupied by refugees. All the stations are crowded with men, women and children, fighting for space in the. cars. - 1 Big Rise in Land Value. Beatrice. Neb.. March 22. (Special Telegram.) H. P. Crocker today sold liis 320-acre farm north or Filley to his son. C. F. Crocker, for $48,000. The land was purchased 40 years ago for 7 an acre. BRITISH LATELY Documents Captured Show Germans "Have; Failed Utterly in Execution of Original " Bloody Program; Nineteen Enemy Divisions Are Engaged. ' 1 ' ' ' BULLETIN. British Army Headquarters in France, March 22. The fighting is still con tinuing, but the first stage of the offensive has passed. The enemy has failed badly in the execution of his program, as is attested by captured documents showing what he planned to do' in the early hours of his offensive. : x Vigorous counter-attacks late yesterday restored some of the positions which the British had abandoned temporarily. ATTORNEY SUES LAW PARTNER FOR ALLEGED FRAUD Anson Bigelow Accuses Charles Shrempp of Misappropria tion of Funds; Testifies Before Grand Jury. Anson II. Bigelow, attorney, wio has filed suit hi ijistrict court charg ing Charles Schrempp, his : law partner, with misappropriation of funds belonging to ' the partnership, appeared before the grand jury for more than an hour Friday morning. Schrempp has collected anT spp'ri priated for his own use certain sums of money belonging to the ! firm. inese sums, higelow .says, are "greatly in excess of, the amount to which he i entitled. A break in the partnership, the pe tition says, occurred February 19. On that day Bigelow says he, demanded an accounting, but that Schrempp not only has delayed this accounting, but has collected and. appropriated fur ther sums. On March 20, he alleges. Schrempp collected $400 and de posited it to his own account. Bigelow seeks to have the partner ship 'dissolved and the bank re strained from paying to Schrempp the $400 in dispute. Bad Mat) Called. David Billings, alleged negro had man, was another summoned before the grand jury Friday morning. Billings was arrested following the theft of a diamond pin and watch from C. R. Prawitis, Sanford hotel. Billings was a porter at the Sanford. Police declare Billings is a "bad man." He carried a revolver when ar rested. His defense was that he car ried the gun for protection from an other negro who, be said, was hunt ing him. I he other negro s wife. Billings confessed, was the point of issue between himself and his pursuer. A short time ago, Billings escaped from police officers by jumping from a fire escape in the Carleton hotel. He also is said to have served three years in the Missouri state peniten tiary for a cutting affray at Sedalia. I. W: W.'s Hold Bond Selling Drive All Their Own in U. S. Chicago, Marth 22. A bond issue and a campaign for the sale of "gen eral defense stamps" lfave been started by the Industrial Workers of the World to combat the Liberty loan and War Savings stamps campaign, according to literature seized by Fed eral officials in, recent raids on Indus trial Workers of the World headquar ters. Thousands of dollars already have been realized from the sale of the bonds and stamps, according to the literature. The money is to be used in defense uf members now in jail, and in the furtherance of sabotage, according to one pamphlet. Another circular declares that al though the work of the Industrial Workers of the World has been greatly handicapped by the activities of government officials, it is now "gradually getting back to normal" Another document declares that "many money contributions have been received from Canada." The Industrial .Workers of the World bonds are called "freedom cer tificates." Large Class of Masons To Be Initiated Next Week Gothenburg! Neb., March 22(,5pe cial.) eBtween 35 and 40 'Maons will be initiated into the Scottish Rite by a team from Hastings here next Wednesday. This is the largest rlass that lias ever been obtained at s.ny town in the state outside of Omaha, Lincoln and Hastings, where the teg ular'reunions have been observed. The degrees from fourth to 14th will be conferred by the Hastings team. At the conclusion of the 14th degree, a banquet will be serv:d in the dining room of the Presbyte'ian church. REGAIN WON BY 1 NINETEEN ENEMY DIVISIONS ENGAGED. London, March 22. Nineteen enemy divisions were iden tified in yesterday' fighting:, Reuter's correspondent at British headquarters wires. He adds: "The whole ting is too big to be able even to sketch or visualize easily. Thus far the enemy has paid a colossal price for such small gains as represent the (ruits of his mighty effort." CLASH ON WIDE FRONT. The great battle on the western front continued until last night, the war office reports. The British are holding the enemy. " ; - , The statement from the War department says: "Fighting continued until a late hour last night on "the' whole front between the River Oise and the River Sensee. Our troops continue to hold the enemy in the battle positions. "During the enemy's attacks yesterday his massed infantry ottered remarkable targets to H J- 1 I r 11 . uiiery, or wnicn run advantage 1 1 . ' Lie.. . - i ' the reports testify to, the 'excessively heavy losses suffered by the enemy. - ' -- . HEAVY FIGHTING AHEAD. .?wgr-N serious attack has yet developed this morning; buV heavy fighting is still to be expected." v "Battle positions" are defenses directly behind the first line trenches. Haig's statement would indicate that the Ger mans' penetration has been limited. It is not yet possible to give more than a very general and vague idea of the fighting Thursday on' the front between the Oise and the Sensee, which continues with swaying fortunes, according to the accounts of correspondents at the British front in the morning papers. ' ' The German attack made on the British, front west and southwest of Cambrai evidently aims at recapturing all the Hin denburg line, says a dispatch to the Morning Post from British headquarters in France, which adds: "O wTha Curman rtMs affarlriner Aut-t HOLLAND TALKS BREAK WITH U. S.; TO RECALL ENVOY Duty of Allies to Maintain In ternational Traffic for Na tions That Cannot Exist Without It. Amsterdam, March 22. A dispatch from The Hague to the Handelsblad says one of the most prominent mem bers of Parliament intends to'askjhe government .whether it is not time to recall the Dutch minister at Wash ington and hand passports to the American minister at The Hague. Commenting upon President Wil son's proclamation regarding Dutch shipping! the Algcmcn Handelsblad says it consider? that' there ndw de volves upon the allied powers the moral duty of maintaining interna tional traffic for states which cannot exist without it. Continued refusal to permit Holland to obtain grain from Argentina, it says, would be a serious matter for both parties. 1 he Jelegraaf says it is wrong to speak of rejection of the allies ulti matum by Holland. It asserts that the Dutch government acceded to the proposals of the allies as far as was compatible with its position as a non-belligerent and adds: Maintains Holland's Rights. "The ultimatum was thus accepted in principle, but in such a form' as to maintain Holland's rights as against America's unlimited power. The Dutch government thereby acted iq accordance with the principles set forth by President Wilson in consid ering a future peace based upon right above might" The Nieuws Van Den Dag says it is a singular fact that both Dutch and the allied governments seem to have little knowledge of the course of events. It adds: "One would be inclined to ask whether there is someone in between who is holding up reports." New Commandant at Scott. Rockford, 111., March 22. Appoint ment of Colonel Frank E. Harris, U. S. A., to be commandant at Fort Winfield Scott. San Francisco, was announced here today. Colonel Har ris has been acting adjutant of the Central department. POSTS k TEUTONS our rifles, machine guns and ar . . ... was taken by our troops. i . i All wvtHii mitt Bvvuwniii j ovmim of the Scarpe seems to have delivered its first blow principally in ' the tri anale of the Arras-Cambrai and Bapaume-Cambrai roads, while' the German army south of CambraJis striking against our trench system in the region west of the Scheldt canal. "Ho doubt the enemy hopes that the attacking forces of these two armies may. succeed in forming a junction and thus cutting off a con siderable slice of the British front snd taking back all the Hindenburg trenches lost exactly four months ago. , - Struggles for villages and ruined farm houses continued throughout -thursday, according to the corre spondent of the Daily Mail. "The enemy bombardment," he. says, "began at 5 o'clock in the morn ing and at 7 o'clock some of the Ger man units left their trenches and at tacked the B'itish with heavy and light machine guns. Between 9 and 10 the engagement became general on a front of some 25 miles. ' Strike at'Three Towns. "The right of the German attack was aimed at Croisilles, Bullecourt and Lagnicourt and there was hard fighting in a brick field near the first of these villages. "Along the Bapaume-Camhjai road .1, . i . . i i . uic enemy uo auacKcu ana men 10-. wards Gouzeaucouft, while his left: wing was' pushed in the direct of Ronssoy and Hargicourt. "The British front in the area of at tack forms a rather sharp salient. If the enemy could pinch off this salient! and run his line straight in a north-l westerly slant instead of having ' it run ab an angle first north and then west, he would be able to hold it with fewer troops. Would Take Britishers. "Also, in pinching it off he would hope to surround and capture a good number of British troops. These, 'it seems plain, are his aims in the first stage of the offensive. "The enemy is trying to repeat on a larger scale the operation by which he won back some of the ground we gained in the battle of Cambrai. Then he pushed in on an angle of our front both from the north aad the east. His two bodies of troops did their best .to join hands, but. could not make it, though they had at first considerable . success. . " "Much the same design is beitijr followed now. We have good reason to hope that it will be checked as wis the previous one. J : : British Miners Give la. $ London, March ,22. It is u;k'?. stood that the Miners' Fctlerri:c:' cepted the government's prc;'.o.:3: garding the combing cut m;n :V military service. J Y