The Omaha Daily Bee THE WEATHER Fair; Warmer VOL. XLVJl NO. 272. OMAHA, WEDNESDAY MORNING, MAY 1, 1918 11 PAGES. 0 TralM. l Nottli. Nil blindl. Eto.. ! SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS.-:. CKKLDKI ALU o) o) FOCH POISES FOR OFFENSIVE STRIKE WITH FRESH ARMY Supreme Commander May Throw Vat Numbers Into Fray Against Germany While Enemy Pauses From Fatigue and to Bury Its Dead Soldiers Who Corer Ground. By Associated Press. Again there has come a pause in the battle of Flanders, where the ground everywhere is covered with the gray-clad bodies of German dead, and the British and French are holding securely to all their positions. While the present halt in the battle possibly may indicate the near approach of the throwing into the fray of the great reserve army which General Foch has gathered, that such is the intention of the supreme commander of the allied forces has not become apparent. It is not improbable, however, that j t a meeting of the inter-allied war council in Paris Wednesday j which will be attended by the American, French, British and I Italian representatives, measures having in view the turning of the tide of battle will be uppermost in the discussions. DRIVEN FROM LOCRE. O- From Saturday until well into Mon lay night General Von Amim's forces continued their efforts to break the British lne on the Ypres salient and o pre back the British and French 'rem the high (round to the south west, but everywhere their effort re fruitless. True, they gained , rwir objective and again captured Locre, but counter thrust forced; item out again and at last accounts tie French were holding the village. In the hilly region just to the north j yf Locrt the British also pushed back the enemy at several points, notably Mtwecn Kemme! and La Clytte. GERMANS LOSE SNAP. Much of tht snap o the German ttutkin force hi been absent from the maneuver thef TlaTT been ciffT" nf out in nanaers nnorr me sin coed line of the entente troop which a been apparent sinre lat Sunday. 'Jo the ou;lt near Amiens and to ;he eat around N'oyon the enemy rkwie ha fj'lrd in all hi attempts to puh further forward. The Brit f. east of Villcrt-Bretonneux. htch lie directly rant of Amiens, fltvt advanced their front and in the N'oyon sector the Trench have re published their line which the Ger mans previously had captured from hem. Allied Guns Active. The German nn various sector of it line are ti!I hurling; tons of steel iKiinst the Bntih and French posi wmis, but the allied guns are every where answering them in kind. In all the various theaters except the western the situation remains rel atively calm so far as fighting is con cerned. All along the front in Italy 'ecrfrol bombardments continue ni small maneavers by reconnoit--ripf parties are being carr"d out. In Macedonia the Serbians in the rgwm of Monastir again have entered n enemy position and annihilated the girrtson. They also have been acrefiil in repulsing an attack by Bulgarians, which had a its ob ct the recapture of positions near etretk. taken by the Serbians a week sio. Irish Home Rule Bill Is Held Up by Committee Lm1i. April JO.The introduc rin of the home rule bill in the House Common, which had been pdst ?ned by the (lrat'tins committee not vSvfg completed its task. The Weather Fo NhrSu and South Dakota t kr Wednesday; w?rmr in east por "tmt; Thwrsday fair and coob-r. M Out intrrita?. r t 4 ists mi is a t : : T. iwwtitn tt srH iHi4t . t !-1 a 1 1 .jr mt tv'tr ...... .17 Fk.mn tv ls t0imim t- um .!ui"M 9 . p.mtft It . . ,m r :";m.-v . .-w . !' it . it - M ) n i In M M t 4 - .. , , r .. ... ' - ft. I V 'It fx "i j " ! " . Hmtt l-eg. 1 i m . 4" f S. I t m 3 ifV A . It m 4, 'i-EEEii aMT I P H, tffi . m s j j m.. t mil m i ' Ml m I ; tiHHlm tal i i j - i NEBRASKA LEADS i KANSAS IN THIRD WAR BOND DRIVE! Omaha Climbs to $6,502,250, Which Is 127.9 Per Cent in Campaign Quota; Other Cities Oversubscribed. (Br Associated Press.) Kansas City, Mo., April 30. For the first time in two weeks Nebraska took the lead from Kansas in total subscriptions to the third liberty loan, according to figures announced to night. The official figures also showed the district to have subscribed 114.1 per cent of its quota with only Colorado and Wyoming not "over the top." The subscriptions by states are: Nebraska, $.15,665,450; Kansas, $35, 198.100; Oklahoma, $26,632,000; Mis souri (nineteen counties). $25,196,800; i Colorado, $19,443,450; Wyoming, $4, , 87X.350. and New Mexico. $1,395,200. Ot the larger cities only Denver r has not exceeded its official quota, the committee announced. Of the others. St. Joseph, Mo., with a sub scription of $2,573,800 leads, being over-subscribed 50.4 per cent. Kan sas City, Mo., has subscribed 126.1 per cent; its total being $14,234,150. Others totals and percentages are: Denver, $5,248,550; Kansas City, Kan., SI .036,1 101 13.9 per cent; Wichita, Kan., $1,480,000140.4 per cent; Topeka, Kan., $1,647,800141.6 per cent; Omaha $6,502,250127.9 per cent; Oklahoma City, Okla., $2,644,850 116.5 per cent. ine town ot .ntiocn, .eD., nasi oversubscribed its quota eight times WILLIAM M. HUNT OF OMAHA WINS U1C ffJUI1UI1CCIl' illO LUMMlOijlUn i The names oi men from middle west and eastern states who finished he course given at the third ofiicers i '.""""'V "c "C,SCQ :,a lamP grand army encampments from Sec Lewis Taconia W ash., April 20, and ' retary McAdoo. "If I hadn't, that now are eliaiible for commissions as i t, u hi.-rln ; i,;. k,. second lieutenants as announced yes terday, include the name of William M. Hunt of Omaha, and the following from Iowa: Harry L. Craig, Clarinda; Mott T. Felt. Jesup; Stanley Hull, Lake Mills: Robert E. Kfan, Bernard; Frl H. Ofjden. Des Moines, and Harry L. Patterson. Rolfe. GERMAN SPY RELATES HOW HE Wilhelm Von Linder, Deserter, Admits Pilfering Valuable Military Secrets. FOOLED U. S. ARMY OFFICERS (By AwHM-Utted Kansas City, April ."iO. Fred Roh 'rtion. federal district attorney for Kan. announced tonight thaf Wil helm von Linder. held in the mili tary pmon at Fort Leavenworth as a deserter from the American armv, ha contend that while working as a German spy prior to America's en trance into the war, he obtained val-ita. uahle military secrets m the vicinity ft Aonoifc. a, where he nnoto- spiled the naval works. ennteswm ".tatd that von I.ittder served in the German army w1"" coming; to the United States h-n. he met (apt. von Khlsruhue, i ..' itiche of the German emhassv .h .ng? ii. in Chtladelphia iii f thirn until !u's arrest a a r at Laredo. l'exa, vyu Lin- NATION NOW LEARNS WAR, SAYSSOMERS Commander - in Chief Grand Army of Republic Says Coun try Must Stand United in Hour of Peril. General 0. A. Somers, commander in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, scored pacifism and en dorsed American militarism in a speech before the Omaha posts of war veterans in the court house last nignt. "For 50 years we have been fed on pacifism. We have heard 16-to-l. tongued orators win over this country. I'm not so sure but at the last elec tion we voted pacifism in the slogan, 'He kept us out of war!' "Then came a time when we had to fight or see our flag insulted and drag ged in the dirt. And we entered the war. And we are not ready for it. We are just now preparing. It will cost thousands of American lives to repay for our orgy of pacifism. Learning War Now. "If we had been prepared, we would be ready to go to it. What does the president, or the secretary of war or any of his cabinet know about war? They have to learn it. They realize this now and are making rapid prog ress as a result. "I spoke recently on a grand army program in Washington at which Secretary of War Baker was present. And I offered up an invocation that we might have another president, now, like Abraham Lincoln, and an other iron secretary of war like Stan- i ton. Must Stand Toeether. ! "We are waking up. For years the I grand army was the only spark of patriotism left in this country. When : war was declared we remembered I England's many intrigues against us j and we didn't care very much whether Germany took a slap at her or not. B,,t we are alIies nw. and we must fight hard and fight together." i Keternng to grand army affairs, j General Somer said . that while in I Washington, he had obtained a one cent rate on the raiIroads to national and getting louder as election time comes around, would have been dead." The general urged recruiting the ranks of the Grand Army, saying that two of evry three veterans still were outside the order. lohn C. Cowin ! presided. Prun.) der worked under von Ehlsruhue, spreading propaganda in German communities and his activities were reported to the German government through Captain Boy Ed. In 1916, he was arrested in Nor folk, but released in three months on promise to become an American citi zen and then was ordered to Augus Ga.. to enlist in the American army. As a member of the First Georgia in reia intantry, ne obtained mfor- mation for the German embassy in Wa'hiiiston. Mr. Robertson said. After five months lie was ordered to desert and report at Juarez, Mex., where he was to gather military in formation. He was arrested March 29, 1917, and haj iee;i ordered interned at Fort Douglas I'tah, for the period of the tsar. Wanted-5,000 More Doctors for Immediate Erilistment in Army (By Afttioriated Trraa.) Chicago, April 30. Fifty physicians, representing the state medical societies of the nation, with an enrollment of 150,000 practicing physicians and surgeons, met today at the headquarters of the American Medical society to plan to meet the call of the army and navy for the immediate enrollment of 5,000 doctors in the medical reserve corps. A total of 21,851 physicians have enlisted already. A survey of the medical men of the country is planned and a questionnaire will be sent to all members of the as sociation, which will give the officers the data necessary for arranging for a voluntary enlistment. The surgeon general's call is for 2,500 additional enlistments each year throughout the war of men between the ages of 22 to 55 years who can be spared by their communities Dr. Thomas McDavitt of St. Paul, Minn., president of the trustees of the American Medical association, presided. LUDEND0RFFS MASTER DASH TO REACH ENGLISH CHANNEL COMES TO DISASTROUS HALT By ARTHUR S. DRAPER. (Special Cablegram to the Omaha Bee and New York Tribune.) London, April 30. Ludendorffs campaign to gain the channel ports and crush the British army has come to a sudden halt on the front at Ypres. After a long series of successes the Germans have suffered a heavy reverse just when it seemed that they were about to grab the big prize of Ypres, with its setimental associations and tacti cal advantages. The French and General Plummer's battle-tried vet ' erans fell back, but rallied, and for a moment at least they form a barrier which Ludendorff cannot surmount. GERMANY'S DISMAL FAILURE. The enemy's gigantic effort to take Ypres and to pierce Mount Rouge and Scherpenberg, the eastern buttresses of the Flanders heights, tailed dismally, and if the kaiser from Wytschaete looked down on the later stage of his battle he saw his hosts cut up and thrown out of the posi tions they had reached in their first great onrush. With the exception of the reverse on the front at Arras in the first phase of the battle of Picardy, -Ludendorff has met no failure comparable to that which he suffered o Monday-sonth of Ypres. From the allied point ol. view,'"'"' the 'situation ia highly encouraging, because it is known that the enemy employed big forces and that his howitzers and machine guns were working in perfect unison. GERMAN LOSSES RUN HIGH. The enemy's blow proved to be abortive because the allied defense worked better than it has done hitherto in the northern campaign. The German losses ran exceedingly high and today the fighting slowed down materially. The village of Locre, at the foot of Mount Rouge, changed hands four times, but now the French hold it en tirely. At one moment Von Quast's troops swarmed through Locre and up the southern slopes of Mount Rouge, but the French veterans came back with a rebound that swept the enemy back to his former position. The situation seemed decidedly gloomy in the morn ing, but as the day advanced it improved and the enemy could not hold the wedge he had driven in south of Zille beke lake. However, it would be unwise to build hopes too high on the developments of a single day. The Germans are deeply involved in the Ypres campaign and the check is hardly likely to discourage them. MICHIGAN BOARDS F0CH ON BLOODY WATER WAGON FOR FIELDS URGES U. S. AN EXTENDED TRIP , Detroit, April 30. Michigan joined the ranks of the "dry" states at mid night tonight. At that hour the con stitutional amendment adopted by the voters 18 months ago, became opera tive and affected 3,285 saloons in the state. The prohibition law is retarded as one of the most rigid ever drafted, its i terms permitting the manufacture, sale or importation ot alcohol beverages only for medicinal, mechanical and sacramental purposes and even limit ing to a very small quantity the amount that may be purchased on a physician's prescription. Concord, N. H., April 30. More than 500 bars went out of business tonight and the state became "dry" for the first time in fifteen years. Dakota Banker Taken; Said to 3e Wanted Here Ogden, Utah. April 30.-H. C. Hookstra, said to be a foimer bank cashier of Herrick, S. D., and wanted in Omaha on a charge of defrauding a bank there of $1,000, was arrested here today by operatives of a de tective agency. The detectives said they have trailed Hookstra from South Dakota, north and south from Canada to Mexico, and inland from the Pacific coast to this city. He will be taken to Omaha to face the charge. Hookstra claims he is a vitcim of wrong identity. Local police last night said they had no information of any charge against Hookstra in Omaha. Teacher Held as Enemy Alien. Poughkeepsie, X. Y., April 30. Miss Agathe Wilhehnina Kichrath, instructor of German at Vassar col lege, was tonight taken into custody by federal agents charged with cir culating pro-German propaganda. "SHELLPROOF MACK'S" Gripping Story of Trench Fighting is continued on Page Seven of The Bee Today. TO "BUY BONDS" New York, April 30. A cablegram from General Foch, commanding the allied armies on the western front, was received here today by Benjamin Strong, chairman of the Liberty loan committee of the New York federal reserve district. It reads: "With magnificent ardor Americal has thrown itself into the war. Its soldiers are fighting valiantly on our front, but, above all, money is the sinew of war. "I am convinced that American thrift will respond to the call of the country and will contrib ute to it the help so important in this combat." A subscription of $10,000,000 was made today by J. P. Morgan & Co. Sheep on White House Lawn. Washington, April 30. Sheep will be grazing on the White House lawn within a few days. President Wil son today purchased 12 thoroughbred Shropshires. One Year Since Nebraska Hung Crepe on Old John Barleycorn 'Tis a quiet night, Sarg," a veteran taxi driver greeted a passing police sergeant. "Nothing like a year ago," mused the sergeant, hailing from li is nightly vigil. "Seltzer and chocolate sundae can not put the pep into night life that we had vhen the gin mills were in opera tion," he continued. "One year ao tonight we had 10 patrols and three doctors on hand to take care of drunks and fighters and tonight it is quiet as a graveyard. And we had an extremely quiet night, due to the saloons selling out early." The two veterans of Omaha in its olden days chatted on, relating inci dents of revelry that passed when FRENCH HURL BACK ENEMY IN SMASH AGAINST FLANDERS Germany Throws Thirty Fresh Battalions of Reserves Into Battle Without Avail In Most Critical Moment On Western Front; Lost Ground Isv Retaken By Allies. V By Associated Press. British Headquarters in France, April 30. French forces this morning held the whole of the town of Locre, west of Kern mel, including the hotly contested hospice. The allied line also made some progress, slightly improving the position around Villiers-Bretonneux. Yesterdays' attack was the biggest effort the Germans have yet made in the Flanders offensive, the enemy employing about 30 fresh battalions of reserves, in addition to the large number of divisions in position at the beginning of the battle. OMAHA BECOMES HEADQUARTERS OF V.U. DIVISION Seven States and Hundreds of Cities Now Under Jurisdic tion of Office in This -City. Omaha today becomes headquar ters for the new central division of the Western Union Telegraph com tfrftyV ; ' 7 The new division, which embrace! three districts, makes Omaha" head quarters of seven states, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Da kota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul and Minneapolis will be under the jurisdiction of the Omaha Westeri Union offices. Enlarge Present Headquarters. Two more floors and probably three will be added to the big Western Union headquarters in the Woodmen of the World building. Among the new officials with offices in Omaha division headquarters are a general auditor, superintendent of traffic, superintendent of plants and commercial superintendent. A. D. Bradley has been appointed general manager of the central divi sion, with headquarters in Omaha, which makes him ranking official of the Western Union in the seven states and th$ hundreds of cities in this part of the country. Former District Hesdquarters. Heretofore Omaha was a district headquarters, taking its orders from the western division, of which Chicago was headquarters. Effective today Chicago becomes headquarters of the Lake division, which comprises th states of Michi gan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wis consin. A. C. Cronkhite has been ap pointed general manager of the Lake division, with headquarters at Chi cago. The central division has been dis tricted as follows: First District Minnesota, North Dakota and 3outh Dakota; J. C. Nel son, superintendent, Minneapolis. Second District Iowa and Nebras ka; W. T. Davis, superintendent, Omaha. Third District Missouri and Kan sas C. W. Mitchell, superintendent, St. Louis. C. H. Gaunt Resigns. The resignation of C. H. Gaunt as general manager of the former west ern division takes effect today. The announcement of the new divi sion plan of the Western Union comes from J. C. Willevcr, vice president in charge of the commercial department, and is approved by Newcomb Carlton, president. crepi was hung on the door of John Barleycorn. An old bartender en route home stopped i.nd aftertjoining in the conversation foi a short time in a choked voice said: "Come on in boys, and have a drink on me." With an ice crcm soda in hand the old timers solemnly drank to, "The first birthday of prohibition, and may we have many mor; of them." "A year ago tonight," said the ser geant, "wc made 39 arrests, 10 of which were for drunkenness and most of the rest were for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct We were lenient. Tonight we were called upon to arrest only 13 which included two for drunkenness. Business is rot ten, thank you " O SMALL FORCES WIN. A satisfactory feature of the strug- gle is that the British and French em ployed relatively small forces to de feat the enemy. At one point the French were forced to yield a little ground, but support promptly arrived and drove back thi Germans. -' By 11:30 o'clock in the morning th Germans had forced their ' way through near Locre as far as Hyd Park corner, between Scherpenbers and Mont T.ouge. This was one of the critical moments of the day, but the French counter attacked fiercely and an hour later had pressed back th! . .U. il.-u .J L.I .3 Ll 1- center. RETAKE LOST GROUND. . By 3 o'clock the French were holdf ine the ground east of Kenderhet farm a and Locre chateau, and TScTBaft' ol v Locre village on the southern slope of Scherpenberg. , . " Thenceforth, the position becam steadily more satisfactory and by 5:30 the French had retaken all the lost . ground except a narrow strip at Hyde Park corner. Further desperate smashes by von Amim's army against the allied lines on the Flanders battle field yesterday afternoon and evening met with ne more success than the enemy's futile and costly attempts earlier in the day to break through and capture tho hill positions west of Kemmel. Allies Hold Firm. Not only did the British and French maintain their positions at virtually all; ., parts in the face of furious onslaughts' but during the night they reclaimed, several bits of territory on which the enemy had succeeded in getting a hold, Locre had again fallen into Ger man hands late yesterday, but the ' French once more made a dashing counter drive, and thrust the enemy , out of this important place. The allies lines in Flanders this morning were to all intents the same as when the Germans surged forward yesterday and in front of the defend ing positions gray uniformed men lay in great numbers, representing the awful price paid by the Germans. German Wedge Fails. North- of Kemmel, the British and French, countering in conjunction also pushed forward somewhat during the night and bettered their positions. At one time yesterday the Germans actually had some men on the lower slopes of both Mont Rouge and the Scherpenberg, after they succeeded in driving a small wedge into the French line between these two elevations. , - ' Fierce fighting continued about Locre all day, and the enemy sacri ficed great numbers of men in an at tempt to push through here. In the meantime the flanks were holding brilliantly against successive shocks. A particularly bitter battle was ' waged astride the Kemmel-La Clytte highway, near the junction of the i French and British. ,Here the enemy tnea nis tavontc trie or . trying to divide the two forces. ' Germans Lose Heavily. At Ridgewood, west of Voorme- i- l. :u.: t j throughout the day, the Germans los- v ing great numbers of men, both killed and wounded. It is impossible to say how-many attacks the enemy made at this point during the course of theJ day; they came forward in waves I throughout long hours. I I - 1. r j ; face ot such onslaughts py superior numbers. The German artillery which ' had -been greatly augmented for this at tack pounded the back areas inces- santly, and the duel between the op posing guns of all calibers from Sat-; urday evening until last night was ap-' palling. . The British improved their position slightly before Villers-Bretonneux. TIia 4aiAm cf 111 apm t4 m 'mfr cfli in - this region and the enemy guns were increasingly busy from Vimy north- . ward. ', Thus far the German capture of Kemmel has done them little good, ' for the allied artillery has kept the v crest of the hill so smothered , th shell fire that it has been impossible . tor the enemy to occupy it in force. xncrc wdi no ixssaiiuu 01 inc icrri ble battle. The wonder is that the ?. allied troops were abte to hold in the