Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1918)
STAR TS IN NEXT SVNP "8EhJ. The Omaha Daily- Bee Vol. xlvii no. 26i. OMAHA, THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 18, 1918-12 PAGES. 0"K.Twr."S!i,;lHiT.. 1 SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS: fU JV rr i 1 n m n n TDM 7 o " BIRKNER TARRED AND FEATHERED BY FELLOW PRISONERS Convicts in New Mexico Penitentiary Hoot and Maltreat Nebraska Army Officer Who Was Arrested at Camp Cody for Alleged Disloyalty and Held in Default of Bail. " (By Associated Press.) Santa Fe, N. M., April 17 Four hundred convicts in the state penitentary this afternoon tarred and feathered and led around with a rope about his neck Major John M. Birkner, of Camp Cody, Deming, N. M., held in the penitentary as a federal prisoner in default of $5,000 bail. He is charged with violation of the espionage act. Major Birkner, who was born in Nuremberg, Germany, but who had been in the American military forces for more than 30 years, was arrested last Friday at Camp Cody, where he was an officer in the 127th field artillery. His home is in Lin coln, Neb. , LET OUT FOR EXERCISE. Major Birkner was allowed out in the prison yard for exercise with the convicts. The warden knew nothing of what was going on until he heard loud cheering and rushed out in the yard to find Birkner stripped and V covered with tar and feathers. The prisoners with loud hoots were lead- - ing him about the yard by a rope tround his neck. v, Assistant Superintendent Dugan rescued him. The prisoners, evident ly m accordance with a pre-arranged plot, had obtained the feathers from their pillows, but where the tar came from is a mystery. Birkner is alleged to have made disloyal uttrances such as vYou can t beat the Dutch," and "The Germans will sink American transports as fast as ' they are sent over." Birkner claimed the charges were made in spite by subordinate officers whom he had disciplined. ';Birkiier Loyal, Wife AmfQfu&tt Lincoln. Neb.K April 17. Major John M. Birkner, who was tarred and feathered by convicts ai mc Mexico state prison today, was prom ' inent in the Nebraska national guard for more than 30 years. At one tune he acted as assistant adjant general Major Birkner's wife, who resides in Lincoln, said today that she recent ly received a letter from the major in which were statements that he was loyal. She declined, however, to make the letter public. Fairbury Man Is Mobbed; Applauds in Wrong Place Trompt action "on the part of a government secret service man and a city detective undoubtedly saved K. H. Barnes, Fairbury, from the hands of an infuriated crowd last ngbt Barnes fitting in the balcoriy of the 1 Sun theater applauded at the presen tation of the kaiser's picture in one ot the 'scenes of "An Alien Enemy. "We'll dine in Paris, have wine in London and spend a night with Uncle Sam," when shown in the course of the picture is alleged to have brought forth loud applause from Barnes. The patrons of the movie house as one started far. the affender and he was thrown bodily down the stairway. He was immediately arrested and taken to the police station. . Barnes alleges that he is loyal and has been called in the next draft. He explains his action by saying that he misinterpreted the picture. He was charged with being drunk. The Weather Nebraska Rain Thursday, colder in west and south portions': Friday fair and cool; fresh to strong -shifting winds. Temperature at Omaha Yesterday. Hour. wb- 5 a. m 6 a. in 47 7 a. m 4 8 a. m 44 9 a. m 46 10 a. m 49 11 a. m 62 12 m 5.". I p. in S I 2 p. in 61 3 p. m 5S 1 p. in a 46 S p. m 58 ti p. m. . . 67 7 p. Hi 64 8 p. ni 4 , ComparatiTe Local Record. , 1918. 1917. 1916. 1915. Highest yesterday .. 59 78 65 82 Lowest yesterday .. 44 47 43 66 , Mean temperaUire .. 62 62 54 69 Precipitation 02 T .0 .00 Temperature and precipitation departures From the norma): N'ormal temperature St Excels for thd day 1 Total excess since March 1 354 Normal precipitation 10 inch Deficiency for the day 08 inch Total rainfall since March 1 1.21 Inches Deficiency since March 1 1.71 inches Deficiency for cor. period, 1917.. .S5 inch Deficiency for cor. period, 19(6. .2.24 inches Reports From Stations at 1 P. SI. Station and Stats Temp. High- Rain of Weather. 7 p. m. Cheyenne, part cloudy.. 38 est 42 62 58 62 i:2 IG r t 53 5 40 fall, .00 .32 Davenport, cloudy 44 Denver, part cloudy.... 48 Oes Moines, cloudy 64 Dodge City, clear 60 ." Zander, cloudy 30 "forth Platte, cloudy... 00 3inha, cloudy 34 , ?ucblo, cloudy 50 .Rapid Clty,iBnow....'T. 3S Chicago, rain. 48 Santa Fe. cloudjr.. Sheridan, snow. . 60 51 34 . 42 Sioux City, cloudy 50 54 Valentine, rain 38 44 ill T" Indicates trace of precipitation I A. WELSH, Mcteorolb.ut. HITCHCOCK FAILS IN LOYALTY TEST, IIKPAIRf IIT A IIIA i fflUULMMTd White House Opposes Promo tion of Nebraska Senatorto Chairman of Foreign Re lations Committee. By C. W. GILBERT. (Washington Correspondent N. T. Tribune.) Washington, April 17. (Special Telegram.) The prospective succes sion tf , Senate!-. Hitehcack - ii the chairmanship of the senate commit tee 6n foreign relations raises the loyalty question which the democrats have promised to make the issue of the coming national campaign. Senator Hitchcock does not pass one of .the tests proposed by Presi dent Wilson in his letter to Mr. Davies. The senator introduced an embargo resolution forbidding the exports of goods of all kinds to belligerent na tions. Unless the administration makes a fight on Mr. Hitchcock, how can it raise the issue it proposes to raise in the coming election? The administration has another rea son why it would incline to make a tight on the ranking democratic mem ber of the foreign relations commit tee, a much more potent reason than Mr. Hitchcock's course before this country entered the war. And that is Mr. Hitchcock's courage and inde pendence. He does not obey orders. Seeks His Defeat. If he should be chosen, the chair manship of two of the most important committees would be in the-hands of the two most independent democrats in the body military affairs, of which Mr. Chamberlain is chairman, and for eign relations, of which Mr. Hitchcock would be chairman. The administration would unques tionably like to defeat Mr. Hitch cock, but to defeat him in favor of any other democrat is practically im possible, so strong a hold has the rule if promotion by seniorifyupon the senators. This situation has given rise to the report the admin istration would take a radical step and urge the election of Senator Lodge, the ranking republican, as ciiairman ot tne committee ot toreign relations. Mr. Lodge passes all tests. He was one of the original war men. If (Continued, on Page Two, Colnmn One.) SEVENTEEN N. Y. CITIES VOTE DRY; - 16 REMAIN WET Albany, X. Y., April 17. Returns received up to a late hour tonight from 33 of the 39 cities holding local option elections show that 17 cities voted against the saloon and 16 in favor of licensing the sale of intoxi cants. The cities voting dry were: Auburn, Batavia, Binghamton. Canandaiagua, Corning, Cortland, Elmira, Fulton, Gloversville, hforncll. Ithaca, James town, Johnstown, Middletown, Nor wich, Salamana and Watertown. Those voting to license the sale of liquor were: Amsterdam, Beacon, Glen Falls, Kingston, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Newburg, Little Falls, Lockport, Ogdensburg, Olean, Port Jervis, Rome, Syracuse, Schenectady and Tonawanda. The vote was the largest ever cast in any of the municipalities, due imieiiy to inc laci mat u was "lie nrst election in which the enfranchisement women of the state had been given an opportunity to exercise the suffrage and the first time any voters in the cities had had a chance to exprels their views on the liquor question. In cities voting "dry" the sale of liquor must cease October 1 next Old People and Little Folk of Flanders Flee from" Homes in Despair as German Blight Spreads Across Their Fair Land Countryside Peaceful Under Guard of British Soldiers Until Week Ago Trans formed Into Living Hell. (By Associated IreM.) With the British Armv in France. j April 17. It is difficult for one in the British war zone to adjust himself to the new conditions here. It all seems like a horrid dream this spreading German blight across the cultivated plains of Flanders, with their ancient, picturesque villages. It is but little more than a week since one was free to motor quietly along highways leading through Merville, Bailleul and a score of other nearby places which never lost their charm. Then peaceful farm lands lay freshly turned ready for the spring crops. DEATH SEEMED REMOTE. The battle lines were not far to the eastward, but death and destruction seemed remote with walls of khaki clad men guarding the land. Little lads stood at attention-by the road side and saluted as the motors passed and old men and women beamed wel come with the doors of their cottages open. Within a few days all this has been changed. The plague of war has de- GERMAN DRIVE FAILURE, v -ALiV-IVAMnK T)fCl APR Q No Objectives Attained, De' fending Armies Intact and Attacking Legion Reduced by Casualties. (By Associated Press.) With the French Army it. i' ranee, April 17.While the cannon continue to roar along the; battle, UoeJJiere. ha for some days been a virtual cessation of infantry combats, especially on the French part of the front. Despite their terrific losses and the exhaustion of many of their divisions, it is considered probable that the Ger man staff is merely pausing to gather force for another effort and will try to go yet farther in the hope of even tually breaking through. Wait in Confidence. Any sucli effort is awaited confi dently by the allies, whose command ers kt certain that it will meet a similar lack of sufcCss. The correspondent has been able to glean 'he prevalent views ot tne allied side as to the situation. Almost without exception it is thought the present battle will have a decisive in fluence on the result of the war, but it would be an error to regard it as the last battle. There has been a cam paign on the German side to proclaim that this immense ettort woum result in the allies demanding peace, but they had not counted on the tenacity of either the allied armies or nations. No Objectives Attained. As far as it has gone, the German offensivelmay be looked on'as a fail ure, sipce none of its Objectives have been attained and the allied armies are still intact, while the Germans, owing to the diminution of their forces through casualties, are in an inferior position to that which they occupied before the battle began. The only result they can show is the recapture of a large tract of coun try they themselves devastated, wJiere thev may be compelled to ditf them selves in. They are engaged in doing this in some part of their new front, but under continual harrying by the allied cannon which' are most active dav and night. The Germans may de cide, or be allowed, to remain there until all is in favor of the allies, who are awaiting constant increase of their strength through the arrival of Ameri can contingents. . Announcements of the accelerations of their departure from the other side of the Atlantic are received with enthusiasm by all the other allied armies in the field. They may, it is nomted out. be called noon to play an important part in the final phases ot the struggle and no greater mistake could ' c made than to allow the be lief to spread in America that the bat tle now in progress is a final one. On the contrary, every influential allied authority expresses he opinion that America should not only continue but augment her efforts both from a mili tarly and industriat viewpoint, be cause it is absolute essential to face all possible eventualities and meet a further gigantic blow from the enemy, who is still strong. Lincoln's Telescope to Be Used by V, S. Navy Honolulu, T. H., April 17. From the far distant Marquesas islands, in the heart of the South seas, a telescope formerly owned by President Lincoln in the days of the civil war is being sent to Washington for the "eyes-of-the-navy movement." Colonel J. W. Jones, Honolulu, who is collecting eyes" in Ha waii, has received word that an aged American resident of the South sea group is forwarding the telescope and a gold watch given to him-by Mr. Lincoln. Both are engraved with the martyred presi dent's name. scended on the countryside. Now one meets his civilian friends the little folk of the age from many hamlets making their way sadly back along the broad highway leading westward from the tide of invasion which is driving them from all they hold dear. HUNDREDS OF HOMES BURNED By day grim, gray smoke from burning hamlets and from myraid belching guns marks the zone along which are struggling the splendid British soldiers in their efforts to block further inroads of the Hun. By night the skyline is sometimes a lurid blaze, as consuming flames leap, up from a hundred homes and great can non vomit volcanic fire. It is a living hell. It is a part of heretofore un touched Flanders going the way of the devastated regions of the Somme, and so the gentle peasant folk stand and look or wander on. As they go they cannot comprehend it. Its awful ness has numbed their brains. The correspondent found a little family group crouching beneath huge British howitzers held in reserve. Their eyes were fastened on the mounting columns of smoke which rose from the village whence they came. There were no tears and no words, but the expression on their faces was like that of one just con demned to die. Many of the refugees know only in British Line Stronger Now Than It Has Been Since Armies First Settled Down to Trench Warfare. - By ARTHUR S. DRAPER. (Special Telefram to New York Tribune and uinana, not.) London. Aoril 17.--The situation on the northern battle front causes ex ceeding anxiety, nut mere is conn- dence the future will become increas ingly bright. Looking at the battle trom a uroaa viewpoint, the Hntisli line running northeast trom north ot Hainan to Ypres is much stronger than it has been since the armies settled down to trench warfare more than three years a8- " . To prevent misunderstanding, J must add that the Germans still hold the initiative, that they -are fighting for a finish, that the battle is likely to continue desperately for some days before the allies are out ot the woods. Stronger Line Taken. On the other hand, the British have shown a readiness to adjust them selves to the military exigencies with out regard to the moral effect. After holding the Ypres salient lor sentimental reasons since the spring of 1915, the British attacked July 31, last, and continued the campaign until November: Atrainst tremendous ob stacles and at a heavy cost Haig's men obtained a fairly strong hold on Pass- chendaelc ridge. It was a campaign which many times was on the eve of a great victory, only to be balked the ne.: day. Now the British have fallen back to a position easier to defend and easier to supply from the Poperinghc region. Territory counts not at all now; po sition means everything. The British have a shorter front and can now de fend the channel ports with increased hope of success. Retirement Orderly. Their retirement was conducted in order and skillfully, and the German claims in this region must be real in the light of the facts stated above. The tired, battered, lion-hearted British defenders have not sacrificed themselves in vain, for they have served as a wall against which the Germans slowly but surely are ex hausting themselves. Ludendorff has abandoned the tac tics of 1914, which called for a good deal of energy in crossing the Vser, and has adopted the plan of 1915. The blood-soaked country of Flinders is' being drenched afresh and the British, with the French, arc now making a stand along a line stronger than that which they held in 1915. The famous General Bernhardi, wj8 prides himself on his resourcefuJ;j)fss and adaptability to circumstan'' :'2 has been slowed down the last days. MISSING COLl JR SAFE, SAYS' WIFE OF COMMANDER Norfolk, Va., April 17. Mrs. Wor ley, wife of Lieutenant Commander George Wichman Worley, commander of the missing naval collier Cyclops, came to a local newspaper office to night and declared that the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the ship and its passengers y crew will be cleared within the next 24 hours. In one statement' Mrs. Worley i'i quoted as saying the Cyclops was safe in a South Anireican port and an official announcement regarding the vessel would be made shortly. Navy officials, it was announced to day, had become convinced that the missing collier was destroyed or cap tured bv the enemv. a general way whither they go thty are following the lead of military storm. A few cherished belongings are all they carry with them and they cling to these desperately as their last remaining possessions. Hundreds of Flemish homes have been shorn of their protectors, who have been called to the French colors and for these this has been a time of double terror. Some of the peasants, indeed, cling to their cottages amidst the crashing ,of the shells until the British soldiers led them away. Some have died by their own hearths be cause they could not be removed. MANY LEFT IN HOMES. Many people must'-have refused to be dragged from the homes which thev had been keeping so patiently. awaiting the return of husband m brothers from the war. homes in which there were bedridaejj invalids, whom their friends had no means of removing without help from the sol diers. Sometimes there is no way of sav ing valuables of bulk in towns which come first under the fire of the Ger man troops. Relics and treasures, representing the savings of years, have been abandoned to the flames and plunderers. Many things have been deliberately destroyed by their own ers in order that the Germans might not get them. SAY TREASURER ENDRES TURNED DOWN BANDMEN Union Pacific Leader Declares Officiai Refused to Release Clerk for Liberty Loan Drive. v -Joseph St. Lucas, IrtdeT of the Union Pacific hand, accompanied by Joseph Sesto, Fred EJias and Bert Polley, yesterday complained that County and City Treasurer Endres refused to release Frank Elias, clerk, who was wanted as drummer for the band in a Liberty bond drive over the Union Pacific to Cheyenne. "We told Mr. Endres that the Union Pacific had arranged the drive from Omaha to Cheyenne and that we. would start early Thursday morning and that wc needed Elias as drummer. We also told him' that Elias would be away only for the remainder of the week. Endres told us h could not spare Elias and he added that one of his clerks was ill. Wc took the position that inasmuch as this was a Liberty bond drive, we thought he might have stretched a point. We were hard up for a drum mer." Mr. St. Lucas said. Corroborate Statements. Sesto, Fred Elias and Polley cor roborated the statements of St. Lucas. These men sought the influence of Acting Mayor Butler and City Solici tor Fleharty. but stated that even those efforts did not succeed. "I put the proposition up to Otto Bauman, deputy treasurer, and urged that Elias be released, but received little encouragement, Bauman said he would take the case up with Endres, but I have not heard from them yet," stated, the acting mayor. Bandmen Wrought Up. ThcNnembers of the band were wrought up over the refusal of the treasure to let his clerk off for a few day for a patriotic drive. Mr, Endres said: "1 told the men when tljey called that I had only two men In the special tax department and that one of them was sick. 1 Would like to have helped them out, but did not see how I could spare Elias at this time. We helped out with several men with the exemption board work and want to do what we can, but sometimes it is impossible to do these things." Peace Movement Again Developing in Austria London, April 17. The Cologne Gazette, according to a dispatch from Copenhagen to the Exchange Tele graph company, prints a report that a stftmg peace movement is develop ing in Austro-Hungarian circles in consequence of the resignation of Count Czefnin, the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister. Many influential Austrian politicians, the dispatch adds, hold that the removal of Count Czernin affords an opportunity for peace tugctiatious which had been impossible, while the count was min ister for foreign affairs. Fifteen British Ships U-Boat Toll Past Week London, April 17. The losses to British shipping by mine or sub marine in the past week totalled 15, according to the admiralty report tonight. Eleven of the merchantmen sunk, were 1,600 tons or over and four under that tonnage. One fishing vessel also was sunk. Twelve vessels were unsuccessfully attacked. The arrivals number ed 2,211: sailings 2,456. 1 In the previous week only si:; British merchantmen were sunk by mine or submarine, four of them of more than 1,600 tons. IT " RESULT OF GREAT LYS RIVER BATTLE HANGS IN BALANCE British in Powerful Counter Attack Retake Meteren and Part of Wy tschaete, But Retire Again Under Heavy 4 Fire ; Germans Claim Capture of Two Posi tions North of Ypre. (By Associated Press. ( Out of the chaos of the tremendous battle along the Lya river south and southwest of Ypre, the thunder of which may be heard 40 or 50 miles away, there have come during the past day reports which are encouraging to the allied powers. The British not only have held all the ground which they" were defending Tuesday, but have struck back so powerfully that Meteren and part of Wytsc!'-cte were retaken and held for a time. Only after heavy atta:.:s did the British retire again from the villages. s : 1 OMAHA OVER THE TOP ON THIRD LIBERTY LOAN Announcement of Total Sub scriptions to Be Made To day, But the Work Is Not to Stop. "The Liberty loan drive will not stop when the quota is reached," says T. C. Byrne, chairman of the state committee. "We will continue the work until evcryerson, in. Omaha who' can afford to buy a bond lias been reached. We lost sight of our quota before we began. It is not the amount of money we are after, but a wide distribution of the bonds. Per sonally I expect to see the total sub scription go to $8,000,000 or $9, 000,000. In its Liberty loan drive today, Omaha is going over the top with its subscription and the'fact vill be an nounced at noon, when a meeting will be held at the Chamber of Commerce. Solicitors Are Invited. The Chamber of Commerce meeting will be presided over by Mr. Byrne, flanked by W.'E. Rhoades, chairman of the citv committee, and Franklin Mann, chairman qf the city sales or ganization. In close attendance win be E. F. Folda and O. T. Eastman, secretary smd treasurer, respectively, of the state committee, and scores of other prominent 'citizens who have been giving their time to the cause. More than "1.000 of the men solicitors in the campaign have been invited to attend and the dining room of the chamber will be taxed to its capacity. The first detailed report of the progress of the various teams will 1 . made. Woodmen Subscription Comes. The cucst of honor will be W. A. Fraser of the Woodmen of the World, whose subscription will put the tank over the line. By special dispensation the guest has been given permission to be tardy because he will be busy on the street in engineer ing the Woodmen celebration at the tank. The size of the Woodmen subscrip tion wijl be kept secret until the cere monies at the tank, following which Mr. Eraser will hurry to the Chamber of Commerce to announce it per sonally to his fellow members there. It will be the largest subscription so far made in the Omaha campaign, and perhaps in the Missouri valley. Are? - . Q , GERMANS GAIN GROUND. The most disturbing news has' been a report from Berlin that Poelcapelle and Langemarck. north of Ypres, have been taken by the Germans and the the admission from London that the British have retired from certain of their lines in the Ypres salient. The ' retirement here was expected for the advance of the Germans at Nenvt Eglise and Bailleul left the positions in front of Ypres open to a flank at-, tack. ';. . It is officially stated, that the re tirement was orderly and It is prob. able that it will have more of a aenti. ' jnental than a strategic, effect Just now tar the British lines have been withdrawn is not known. It may be, however, that the German claim o taking Poelcapelle and Langemarck . was the result of the British retire ment. GROWS IN INTENSITY. . The battle now in its ninth day has deepened in intensity at many points along theettrv4-front frCM- Messtnes r-r-ridge to Meteren. There have been- r reports that the Germans have occu- fiied the village 6fSt Eloi, which lies, ess than three miles south of Ypres, -, but these have not been tonfirmed.lt . also was said that they have taken po- ' sitions on the south slope of Mount ' Kemmel, about two and a half miles ivorth of Wulverghem. This also has not been confirmed. . . Onfall the rest of the front froinV Messmes ridge south westward the Germans have flung themselves' against the granite wall of the British defense. Official and semi-official dis patches have told of the frightful losses inflicted on the attacking masses of troops by the British rifle and machine, gun fire. On the southern side of the salient there have been engagements of some magnitude, especially east of Robecq, five miles northwest of s Bethunc, where the Germans were caught by' the British artillery fire and pattered. Teutons Beaten in Front otArras. , "The line in front of (rras hat again been the scene of fighting. Here the British took the offensive and drove the Germans out of Brit ish trenches which had been carried by the enemy. In' Picardy there have been lively artillery engagements between tJ.ic Somme and Oise rivers, but only pa 'trol encounters are reported officially. Farther south qnly raidingoperationj have been going on., The Turks announce tnat they have taken the city of Batum, on the east ern shore of the Black sea. They report strenuqus fighting before the Russian defenders of the city were driven out. - The Macedonian front has again become active. Greek and British troops have advanced and driven the Teutonic allies from seven towns along the Struma river, on the eastern end of the line. French forces also have been active in this theater of the war. Mayo. Held on $200,000 Bond . For Failure to Pay Alimony, New York, April 17. Virginius St.' Julian Mayo, a wealthy manufacturer, , formerly of New Haven, Conn., was arrested here today in default of pay- i ment of a $100,0(30 court judgment re cently obtained against - him 'fur breach of promise by Wiliielmfna , Meyer. - ' For many years she resided with Mayo as his Vife at New Have. In March, 1915, Miss Lillian Cook, his stenographer, committed suicide in that city. Publication of the pic tures of Mayo and Miss Cook led to disclosures that Mayo maintained a family in Brooklyn Lois Waterbor? and their children and that in 18S.'G he married Florence Weeks,' who lived at Scranton, Pa., with their children, and who has obtained a divorce. Mavo today was released under . $200,000 bail and fe prohibited from leaving King's county. Aviation Instructor Injured When Airplane Falls in Spur Houston, Tex., April 17. Earl R. SouthcQ of Binghamton, N. Y.. civ- iliau instructor at Ellington field, -was .. seriously injured and an aviation cadet slightly hurt at the aviation ' camp here today, when their airplane -fell about 100 feet in a spin. Instructor' Southee is in the. field hospital, ).;;t his injuries may not prove fatal, phjv sicians said .- v. . , , ' ''-.. ..'' 1