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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1918)
10 THE BEE: OMAHA, SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 1918. COMEDIAN MAKES SOME HIT WITH FUNSTON COLONEL . Officer, at Army Post Is Played , Up as Hero of-One of Big Riotous Comedies Pre sented to Soldiers. ' Camp Funston, Kan., March 22. '(Special.) A deter young comedian in a theatrical company at Army City scored a hit and convulsed the can tonment when he conceived the idea of making Lieutenant Colonel Crim mins the hero of a riotous musical comedy, presented before a soldier audience. Colonel Crimmins is commander of the detention camp and a notable fig ure at Funston. When "The Devil i and Tom Walker," opened at the 'Army City showshop, camouflaged as "The Devil and Colonel Crimmins," set to music and plentifully decorated with pretty girls, dressed as for the (climate suggested by the title, even the victim himself shared the .laugh. ' The first scene showed the deten tion camp, but such a camp as was never dreamed of on this womanless reservation, A beautiful blonde was the stage colonel's orderly. A won- derful brunette drilled an awkward sauad of little cuttes just outside his tent The comedian was -the soldier whom the colonel sentences to do kitchen-police for writing mash notes to the shapely auburn haired ad fttUnt, And They All Laugh. The scene in the nether " regions, in which that worthy, evidently pro moted from kitchen police, is . the prince of darkness, rocked the house. When the actor impersonating Colonel Crimmins appeared and was sentenced to peel 1,000,000 asbestos . spuds with a knife made of butter, the audience went into spasms. One rookie, with the tell-tale marks of the spud peeling squad on his hands nearly required treatment for hys terics. - In the close of the burlesque, Colonel Crimmins' men followed the man to hell. There they played; a dirty trick perhaps, in rescuing bim from the clutches of the . flock of - captivating little red-tighted chorus devils, but the travesty had put across one hit that told, for many say that the colonel's men would follow him farther than that, ' Colonel Crimmins' friends left the theater holding their aching sides and. suggesting : that perhaps the drinks well, yoo know. Behind the scenes the young comedian's pals were patting him on toe back and congratulating him on scoring 1 the laugh of the season. Accepts the Plaudits. 1 He accepted the plaudits mechani cally, but his thoughts were on a let ter he had. just opened. It brought him to his mind the sage old saving, and unfolded' the possibilities of the later laugh. .. ....... .-. It .told him that' he would shortly be called in the draft, sent to Funs ton and landed as a rookie in the very detention camp over which Colonel Crimmins , presides. And then I Oh boyl '.. .-. ... ' Warm spring weather has brought an exceptionally large crowd of visi tors to the camp, the rush of eager relatives and sweethearts com mencing early in the morning and taxed the . capacity of the pass . is suing places, whose records show ar rivals "from all of the 'nearby states, as well as many farther ones. As no women are allowed in he camp excepting on the firsjt Satur day of each month, the Young Wom en s Christian association hostess house was the mecca for them, while little brother or father or a mes senger, as the occasion might be, hustled through the camp' in search of the boy in the case. Nothing in the army -regulation! prevents women from climbing the hill bordering Funston, however, and the elevation provided grandstand seats for hundreds wJio spent hours pi&ing out "the place where Johnny sleeps and "the barracks where " Jimmy lives," from among the hun dreds of buildings spread out below. V Depot Busy Place. The headquarters information bu reau, in charge of Orderly Hirshmart, took .care of the majority of the crpwtf, which arrived on the interur ban ears. However, the camp receiv ing station; near the depot to which visitors arriving from a distance via train go first, was also a busy point. There a long line formed with the arrival of the . first early morning train,: Some of the visitors had come from as far away as Arizona, and a few affecting reunions were mingled with the many happy scenes. Every tone carried bundles. It is estimated that a ton of good things to eat were brought in by to day's visitors for the boys. Many , carried a huge armload of the duly appreciated delicacies and there were picnic parties by the score up on vthe hill, while the Young Women's Christian association cafeteria fed hundreds. . ' . . f One of Freaks of Wan - A recent reunion at Camp Funston illustrated another of the many co incidences of war. Years ago Alfred pouchet and Fernand Reich were schoolmates in Frarfce, , Afterward Bpuchet went to London where he entered business, while Reich remain, ed in Paris. When the war broke out both entered the French army in dif ferent branches, but never saw each other. It was one of the freaks of war, that the old friends, now lieu tenants in the service of the tricolor, should both be assigned to the French military mission to this country, and they , met recently i at Funston for the first time, both going there for duty as instructors.. . .The importance of the salute in the making of, a well disciplined soldier has again been impressed upon Funs ton in a bulletin from Major General Ballon, ordering all commanders- to make, it a fixed part of their drill until the men re proficient. "This phase of the soldiers' training-must be considered vital instead of casual," the bulletin reads, "and the individual should not be classed as proficient un- ; till he can perform the act of saluting i with1 the bearing and look of pride (that are so vitally necessary to the accomplishment of the real salute." N T7ar Finance Passes House. '.Washington, March, 22. The ad ministration bill to establish a war finance corporation was passed by the towe today. 369. to 2 , v , V , GOVERNOR WHITMAN SAYS WILL SEEK THIRD TERM, i J 1 si r ! Governor Charles S. Whitman of New York has announced his candi dacy for a third term. It was while elated with the news that he had been nominated by the farmers' coun- cil that Governor Whitman defiantly proclaimed he was ready to meet anybody who would dispute Ins title to a third term. Tht governor said: "I am ready to meet all comers at the primaries for the republican gu bernatorial nomination. Federal Appointments , And Transferrin West WuhlBftoa Bnreaa of Th Omh Bm, 1311 O Street. Washington, March " 22. (Special Telegram.) Sue V. Wolfe, Sheridan, Wyo., and Margaret K. Vandiest, Lincoln, Neb., were appointed clerks in the War department. Captain Frank 5s ireadway, quar termaster reserve corps, is relieved from. duty as assistant to Quarter master at Fort D. A. Russell, and will proceed to St. Louis, Mo. rrank I Melvin, appointed post master at Murdock, , Cass county, Neb vice Emma Davis, resigned, and Paul. E. Bellamey, at Hardin Grove, Haakon county, b. v., vice Eawm 11. Spurling, resigned. . ; Rural letter carriers appointed for Nebraska: John Nelson, jr., Nebraska -uy; wmiam j.- uougneny, ixew Castle; Glenn H. Williams, St. Ed ward; Harry S. Haynes, Sterling; Harry J. Bright, Venus: Eugene' L, Zimmerfnan.Buffalo.' South Dakota:' Herbert V. Hunt- ev. -Avon: Clarence. W. Peterson. Burke r William W. Wood, Gayville; Ray E. Bridge, Ward; Grove 11. Flindt, Frederick; John . R. Udseth, Summit.- ' ' ; ," - '- - ' '. - . . " ' 1 Boy Scouts Preparing - For Spring Cleaning Day Spring housecteaning day for Oma ha is close at hand. ? "Get ready to clean .up those ash piles, tin cans and other' litter early" says John W. Welch, scout commis sioner! "The Boy Scouts will get you if you lont watch out." These lads did their bit last spring. They -were asked to make a . survey of the entire town, ' take notes on sanitary condition! in yards, hand out circulars urging the , necessity for cleaning up for summer, and urge on the people the importance of making Omaha'a city beautiful. ' "I am for the Boy Scouts all the time," says Mayor Dahlman,' in com menting on the work of the boys. "The training a boy receives as a result of being a scout is, to, my mind, thevgreatest man builder the world has ever known" is- the tribute paid to the boys fcy President ,W. H. Clarke of the Rotary club. , Crack Shat Liberate Elk. Taking a ihot at tin elk to liberate him without alaylng' him 1 an unusual thins to do, but It haa happened. Elk are protected In Utah, and the ani mals are the cpeclal care of the atata ftah and g-ame, department. R. H. Slddoway, atata tlah and (ama eom mlaaloner, recently received word from Ted Beeholzer, deputy - (am warden at Logan, that he wa obliged to coma to the reacue of a big- male elk by using hla ritla on the animal. Aa a reault the elk la mlnua a portion of one horn and a burden of chicken wire by which ha waa hampered. Mr. Seeholzer aaya In hla letter that ai ha waa making hla Inspection rounds In Logan canyon on day recently he amy a big mala elk, -apparently entrapped by on horn. Going closer, he found that a web of chicken wire about three fret wide and 20 feet loac waa caught on th animal'a horn and waa being laboriously trailed along, meantime the elk fighting bravely to get rid of hla entanglement. Mr. Seeholxer aaw that th only freedom for the elk lay in ahootlng off the wire burdened horn. Th deputy warden ap proached to within a few yards and in a lull In the strangling of the elk he ahot about a foot of th horn off the outer xtenilty and th animal raced away, apparently glad of Ita audden freedom from the undesirable burden. It la thought that the chicken wire be. came attached to the horn either in brows ing or In. a fight with another male elk. Salt Lake Tribune. In Justice to Ounclf. Tt takea a hustler for the newspaper business In this locality Just now, bui th Bug! la equal to th emergency. W can write a poem, d Incurs, the tariff, umpli a ball game, report a wedding, aaw wood, beat a lawyer, deecrlbe a fire ao thr.t the reader will ahed their wrapa, make a dollar do the work of 10, shine at a Soiree, addreaa a horticultural society, measure calico, abuse the liquor habit, teat whisky, aubac-tbe to charily; go without meals, attack th) free liver, defend blmentalism. sneer at snob bery, wear diamonds. Invent advertiaemer.ts, overlook scandal, praise babies, delight pumpklnrajsers, minister to the afflicted, heal the disgruntled, fight to a finish, act type, mold opinion,' aweep the office, praise the widows, run for office, apeak at prayer meeting and atand in with everybody and everything. Tamarora, Idaho, Bugle., Peanut Bread. A baking company in Qalnavllle, Fla working In co-operation with B. F. Wil liamson, a . chemist of that city,' has put peanut bread upon the market and Is se curing wlda, distribution toe It in that lo cality. The peVnut flour used is made from- peanut cake left after oil extraction. It contalna a eattxfoctory percentage of fat and I said to have almost twice the nitro genous food value of dried beef 44 per cent for peanut flour, against Si per cent for dried beef. - . , One-fifth peanut flour " to four-fifths wheat flouf-. producea a balanced ration, supplying - necessary Ingredient furnished by bread and meat In human diet. PeaSut flour I aald to be readily digestible, whole some and palatable, and the Florida con cern believes it will be able to market It at a price below that of wheat flour, pound for pound. New York World. Department - Order. - ' Washington. March tt. (Special Tele gram.) Bertha M. Death. Lincoln,- Neb.; Mabel U. Oormley Florence, Neb.; Harry B. Davis, Independence. la.; Alva W. Buxta Lincoln, Neb.; Lydla Edwards ad Mac C. Bahrenfusa. Webster City, la.; Ira M. Mc Cauley, Clinton, la., have all been appointed clerka, and Guy W. SearT Orlnnell.k la.; Frank C Bowman, Cheyenne, Wyo.,. have been appointed accountanta in the War department. - Contract Surgeon Herbert B. Whlteledge, United State army. Is relieved from duty at Camp Dvif and will proceed to his borne. i - ... a . -- GERMANS TIRE OF BATTLE; WAR'S END AWAITSVICTORY Staff Correspondent of London Times Declares Berlin Merry Despite Conflict; Food Conditions Good! (London Timet Special Correspondence.) Amsterdam, Feb. 21. A traveler who had just arrived from Berlin told me today that he reached Berlin at the moment of the outbreak of the strikes, but saw little of them as he kept away from the quarters princi pally" affected. He arrived in Berlin at the. Pots dam station, and was struck iiy the large reinforcements of police visible everywhere. In the royal castle there were, it was said, two companies of machine gun soldiers; he was in formed that they had 24 machine guns altogether. Although the strike caused alarm it did not paralyze the activities of tlLe citVi as traffic was interrupted only in some localities. My informant declared that the population of the towns were suffer ing severely from underfeeding, but the country folk experience less hard- 6m privation. His view is that and Apr.il will be the time of greatest difficulty from the food point of view, but if this critical period is passed, Germany will be able to go on again for another year, apart from any possible supplies from the Uk raine. Germany, he affirmed, is suf fering terribly from the effects of the war, but will never give way from privation alone. Victory Will End War. "If the Germans Ret a good lick ing, he continued, collapse will come very quickly, and will be terrific, for u - r :t...i: . u' r the German people, including the of ficers.' are heartily sick of fighting. Soldiers and officers will do anything to get excused from serving at the front. "When I was in Berlin I rroticed incessant troop transports from east to west Train? were continually ar riving at, the terminal of the east ern lines with troops going to the west front. In Berlin itself I only noticed one machine-gun battalion passing through the streets. It was about 500 strong. The troops were very smart, and the officers well mounted. Their horses' hair was long, indicat ing that they were from the East front. There is an enormous amount of dishonesty in connection . with food in Berlin, where bread and meat cards are easily purchasable. I bought a bread card for five marks (shillings.) It is said that millions of forged-cards are in circulation. People with money can get anything in the food way. Plenty to Eat. I lunched at one of ther first wine restaurants in Berlin, and paid one mark for a plate of very decenW vegetable soup, and 6m. SOpf. for a good, portion of goose with a few potatoes. In . the boarding house where I stayed, meat was served with lunch every day. The pro prietress obtained it surreptitously. She charged 10 marks for a simple luncheon. Still there is no question that a food shortage exists, the absence of fat particularly causing great'hardship to the population as a whole. . Berlin, although dark, only one street-lamp in about three being lighted, is still gay in some respects. Officers on leave are very numerous, and spend money freely. As-a natural consequence, fast life wijh the female hangers-on forces itself the more strongly on the attention. The theaters also are packed every night. All soldiers returning home on leave, bring food from the front to their relatives and their friends. When they return to the front they carry.medicines and bther necessities, thus acting as commission agents. In Berlin I heard that about ten policemen were killed during the strikes, but when a state of seige was proclaimed the strikers' enthusiasm cooled. They were told that they would be sent to the front if they did not resume work. Upon this they asked if being sent to the front was & punishment, where did the honor come in for the soldiers in such glowing terms. However, they gave way before the threat of the military authority. , At the end of January" and begin ning of February there was greaH interference with the railway traffic while the Germans were completing their concentration of troops in the west. I experienced no difficulty in travelling, however, when I left sub sequent to this date. British Bombard Helgoland And Cstend; Airmen Retijrn London, March 22. Ostend was bombarded by British monitors today and Helgoland was attacked by sea planes, according to the official an nouncement tonight. Prior to the bombardment four .en emy aircraft wre destroyed by the British naval air squadron. Enemy aircraft attacked the British machines, while spotting for t,he bombardment with the result that another enemy machine was destroyed. - v British seaplanes engaged in recon naissance in Helgoland Bight, at tacked enemy mine sweepers with machine gun fire. There were no casualties on the British side. All our machines returned safely. Fred Feakins Returns to : Omaha in New Position Effective- t immediately, Fred L. Feakins becomes assistant general freight agent of the Missouri Pacific, with headquarters in Omaha, succeed ing R. M.. Dozier, recently trans ferred to Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Feak ins has arrived and has taken up his new duties. , - - He conies from Boston, where for the last three years he has been New England agent of the Missouri Pacific freight and passenger department. Prior to going east he was the com pany's Omaha commercial agent, coming to the Missouri Pacific from the Denver & Rio Grande. J. O. Phillippi, who has been act ing assistant general freight agent sin.ee the transfer of Mr. Dozierr re turns to his former'duties as commer cial agent, - English People Reserve Calm During World's Greatest Clash (By Associated Trees.) London, March 22. Although a battle is beir.g fought which is likely to develop into the greatest struggle of modern history, and perhaps settle the result of the war, the English peo ple preserve the same quiet calm they have worn for the last four years. There are no signs of unusual excite ment or nervousness in London, no crowds outside the newspaper offices or elsewhere. The statement made by Andrew Bonar Law in the House of Commons was circulated in the hotels and other public placei. That is the last news the majority of the people will have of the great struggle before they see the morning papers, but Bonar Law's words have ;arried much assurance. U. S. WILL CURTAIL RAIL EXPENSES f First Act of Director General Prescribes Basis of Compen sation to Owners During Federal Operation (By AsHfclated Freaa.) Washington, March 23. The first act of Director General, McAdoo, after President Wilson signed the railroad Dill which provides $500,000, 000 revolving fund, and prescribes a basis of compensation to the owners during federal operation, was 'to is sue an order restricting railroads' capital expenditures to; extension and betterments absolutely essential un der war conditions. Inasmuch as the government has now undertaken largely the financ ing of improvements and purchase of new equipment the order will serve as a , safeguard to the big 'working fund. The signing of the bill opens the way for the railroad administration to proceed with necessary extensions, with the ' negotiation of agreements on compensation, arid with -other forms of financial assistance to the companies. - ' ' Lovett at Head. v Without waiting for the railroad bill to pass the final stage of the presi dent's approval, Mr. McAdoo had created in the railroad administration a division of capital expenditures, headed by Robert S. Lovett, former director of priorities for the war in dustries board, ' to supervise the regulation . of additions and better ments. , - ' . This division will "scan all requests for the building of new terminals, ex tensions of lines,' purchase 1 of loco motives, cars and other equipment. and all other enterprises requiring expenditure of capital. ' . Engineers, of fclie railroad 'ad'-i ministration will report on the ohvsi- cal necessity of proposed betterments betore these are considered by higher officials. After being approved by Mr. ' Lovett and tlje director general, pro posals involving capital expenditures will go to the division of finance and purchases, headed by John Skelton Williams, for execution. Charles F. Feemster Dies At Brother's Home In York York, Neb., March ,22-(Specia!.) Frank Record of Stromsburg and Addie A. McDuffie of Netica were married by Judge Hopkins Monday. Charles F. Feemster died at home of his brother, H. C. Feemster, 936 Florida avenue, aftdr an illness of one week of erysipelas. Prof. Feemster hadharge of the manual training- department of the Stroms burg High school. Funeral . services were held -Wednesday afternoon. the Board of Education opened bids tor furniture to be placed in the new $135,000 school building. The Oma ha School Supply, company obtained the contract. ' . Holdrege Second Auto Show Opens With Fine Prospects Holdrege; Neb... March 22.-(Spe- cial.) The- second annual Holdrege auto show opened with a bang yes terday. The affair would do credit to any city and in most every way but size, it outclasses any show m the middle west. The displaySare first class, the decorations extra ordinary in every detail and the en tertainments of the highest order. Wednesday afternoon Swanberg's orchestra gave a splendid concert. The Holdrege Automobile Dealers' association, which is behind the show, is a permanent organization, com posed of the eight local auto dealers, all of whom are keen business men. C. Engstrom, senior member of the Engstrom Motor company, is presi dent of the organization and R. W. Kiplinger of the Kingsbury & Kip linger firm is secretary and treasurer. Noonday Club Now Sponsors For Foreign-Born Sailor The members of the Noonday club are sponsers of a navy recruit.- Erail Ella, of Sioux City, la., Austrian born enemy of the kaiser, who was presented to them by Ensign Con dict of the navy at the monthly meeting held in the Chamber of Commerce last night. The sailor boy was sworn into service and the oath of allegiance was given at the meeting in 'the presence of the club members." The boy's father and mother are still in Austria and the son, who has heard no word from them for some time, is worried about them. Has Nine Relatives in France, Visits Dr. Callfas TUmi. WAVirA ,nl HIV. WMKsrJ IIVIIIU j iilliaiu aalaVft aUlt .- liere from Canada, are visiting the home of Dr. William F. Callfas. Mr. Hilliard is prominent in - insurance circles in the north. , , " ' He has two sons, two grandsons, one son-in-law, three nephews and one niece in the service in France. Three of the boys are commissioned officers in the British army. One, Lieutenant Harry Hilliard, was severely .wounded, but he is still in the service. , Omaha Food Prices Compare . Favorably With Other Cities Comparison . of Omaha's retail prices of fundamental foods : with prices maintaining in 35 other cities of the United States shows that con sumers are setting lowest prices. Omaha is below thw average on all but iwo article . ' ' The Germans had talked so freely about their great offensive that many people thought they were making a feint to conceal some other policy; some looked for a campaign against Saloniki, instead of a big attack in France. Repcrts have been circulated that the Germans have built a large number of tanks and super-tanks, but the British, who first. launched this weapon, are not likely to be stopped by the, nor is it conceivable that they would be behind in numbers of tanks or improvements. Extensive preparations have been made by the English hospitals to re ceive the trains of wounded from the channel porU which follow every bat tle. The first of them is expected tomorrow. Publicity Posters for Third Liberty Loan Throughout Ihe United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Porto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines and "somewhere in France," 9,000,000 postes are being sent various committees-for distribu tion in anticipation of the coming campaign for the third Liberty loan. The 'drawings are contributions of artists ranging from a night school student to, the most widely known illustrators, and are issued by the di vision of pictorial publicity, commit tee on public information. Work on the posters was begun early in Janu ary. All. the designs used were fur nished without charge. One of tlie most powerful posters, by Joseph Pennell, .shows a bat tleship in dock. Airplanes circle over head.5 Sydney Riesenberg's painting is entitled"Over the Top for You," and "Halt the Hun," in red lettering is -the title of the poster by Henry Raleigh. The contribution of Howard Chandler Christy pictures a modern ized spirit of Victory bearing an American flag. An attractively executed design and a tlever caption are combined in "Are you 100 per cent American? by Syd ney S. Stern. The artist is a young man who writes that hejittended vari ous evening schools of art. Exact re productions of the famous Liberty bell and Independence hall in Phila delphia are shown in the "Ring It Again" poster. i . In addition to the 9.1)00.000 posters. 5,000,000 window stickers, 50,000,000 poster stamps and 16,000,000 third Loan buttons have been prepared. New York Times. Buildings and Grain Burn. 1 York, Neb., March 22. Special Telegram.) Fire destroyed several buildings on the farm owned ' by Dennis Mahan and occupied by Dan Keef a few miles north of this city Wednesday. Fifteen hundred bushels of ; oats, 1,600 bushels of corn, two autos, two wagons and a lot of farm implements were destroyed. 1 r- Cariosity. A dashing lieutenant colonel, former mem ber of the general staff, was approached by a recently drafted man. "What might your name be? Co you be long; to this bunch?" Tm the colonel in charge." f "Wal, I aea the balance of 'em busy around here, and I don't see you doln' any thing. How 'does a fellow go about gittln' your Job." Everybody's Magazine.. Spram .; ' ifce S arid the call is "Own Your Home" Probably one-half the adult population of Omaha was born in the country. A healthy man of rural birth rarely takes kindly to confinement. For this' reason there is a latent desire widely prevalent to "Own a Home" . in the Suburbs of this city. This de sire is particularly urgent in. the spring. ' . - ' In choosing a location for a permanent suburban home or summer residence accessibility to . business and social . privileges should be well considered. Omaha Is rich in choice suburban areas. Advertisements of good property in all of Omaha's suburbs will be found ' in The Bee's Classified Columns. Look -there NOW and ; - "Keep Your Eye on The Bee" GERMAN ATTACK NOT BIG DRIVE, SAY OFFICIALS Believe Tumult of ; German - Artillery Cloaks Some Other Purpose; Supremely Confi dent Line Will Hold. (Br Associated Freaa.) Washington, March 22. Even word from London that the drive launched by the Germans on the west front is on a larger scale than any undertaken there since the war began has failed to convince American military ob servers that the long-heralded Ger man offensive is at hand. They are waiting for the usual scope of the enemy action against both Brit ish and French' fronts to be made clear, and still believe that the logic of the situation points away from a German offensive in the west at this time. : There was a distinct feeling tonight that the tumult of the German guns might cloak some other purpose than to commit the issue of the war to des perate onslaughts against the all but it ,i i ... .i. . lmpregnaDie aiuea lines in ine west. Supreme confidence in the power of those lines to resist the shock char acterized the expressions of all offi cials. - . May Hasten End. Some high army officers, heretofore confident that the German position on all fronts made a defensive atti tude in the west almost mandatory, viewed with eagerness the possibility that a great thrust, at Paris or the channel ports had been actually set in motion. They believed only some internal pressure that ' would not brook wise counsel could force the general staff to risk such a venture. They believed, too, that a German assault in the west now would bring the ultimate triumph of the allied cause close, because the resisting power of the allied armies is unshak able. . "If this is in fact a German drive," said one general officer, "I will look upon it as the most hopeful sign in the war thus farTDefeat of the movement is certain, "But I cannot believe that it is a real drive. Every requirement of rea son would direct the Germans to press their exploitation of Russia's re sources and Russia'sman power to tlffe limit while they held the west front locked against our efforts." Holland Involved. Reports from Holland that a peace offer had been made semi-officially to the entente by , Germany caught immediate . attention. There was nothing at the State department to confirm this report,' but some observ ers saw the possibility that the menace of the "German guns had been turned loose to play a thundering prelude to such an offer for the effect upon the French and British peoples. Others saw possible significance in the. fact that the German onslaught .Improving .Every '-Day comes quickly on the heels of the ac quisition of Dutch shipping by the United States and the allies. There was speculation as to whether that incident might have cre ated a motive for the drive, in view of the strategic situation. The purpose might be, it was said, to over-awe European neutrals, or it might be that realization that the sub marine campaign had failed to block the movement of American troops to France led td resort to a desperate effort to reach the channel ports. Poor Military Strategy. From a purely military standpoint the launching of an offensive this early in the year is an innovation Ex perience would indicate that the ground is as yet too - soft with the winter rains for extensive troop and transport movements necessitated in pressing home a great thrust. The spring appears to be early in Europe, however, and the German experts have certainly gauged every factor before undeitaking extensive opera tions. It may well he that prolonged bombardment, covering many days of constant gunfire, "will follow the ini tial rush in the Cambrai sector, pav ing the way to greater efforts by the infantry later. The situation at Cambrai has menaced the security of the German lines ever since the surprise assault by the allies last year gave them cer tain strategic advantages. It was thought here early today that the Germans were seeking to restore their old lines in preparatiow for pos sible more extensive operations, later. As reports indicated a movement of wide scope today, however, this view was abandoned. J. G. Masters Elected to Schools Executive Board Chicago, March 22. Standards for accredited schools will be greatly low ered and the lowlier schools and col leges will become more prominent as a result of the war, delegates to the convention of the North Central As sociation of Colleges and Secondary Schools declared today. ' A.A. Reed of the University of Nebraska was elected president of the commission on accredited schools and colleges. J. G. Masters, Omaha, was elected a Bombs Found on Ship. Mobile, Ala., March 22. Five bombs with fuses attached were taken from , the Danish schooner Edske Smith here today before the ship sailed for the West Indies. No arrests were made. '. , ' -J Ws .-: - -WHY- NOT ?'8VisLnflM Is CroodTnaYou'l ILVi. t.e'l I LVJBmmOtCmim Is to