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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1918)
X." Omaha Daily- Bee THC WEATHER Showers vol;-XLvn no. 286. OMAHA, FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 17, 1918. 16 PAGES SINGLE . COPY ' TWO CENTS.- JV JV !ZlU THE m mm GREAT BRITAIN WOULD CONSIDER PEACE PROPOSAL British Government Desirous of Honorable Termination ' of War, Says Foreign Secretary, But Moves of Central Powers Not In Interest of Fair and - , Honorable Terms. t , '' "..;( By Associated Press.) - London, May 16. The British secretary for foreign af airs Arthur J. Balfour, in giving explanations in the House of Commons today in connection with Emperor Charles' letter to Prince Sixtus of Bourbon, recently made public by the president of the French republic, declared that no effort at conversations had ever -been made by the central powers in the interest of a fair and honorable peace and he adged: "If any representative of any belligerent country desires seriously to lay before us any proposals, we are ready to listen to them." The letter in question had been examined by a committee of the French chamber, said Mr. Balfour, and the conclusion was that it was not an adequate basis for an honorable peace. - rrrT v rn nTrcCTTriwc. . O Mr. Balfour, in his explanations, was replying to questions submitted by the Right Hon. Walter Runciman, former president of the Board of 11 Trade, who asked whether when Em oeror Charles letter was commum- cated to the French government and ' by the French government to the British prime minister, it was com municated to any other ot the allies; had the American government any m- " formation as to what was passing; did the prime minister inform the foreign - office at the time of the fact that the communication Tiad been shown to him; why were the negotiations dropped; was it on purely territorial sxounds: was it because a demand " wasmade by France, . not only for Alsace-Lorraine, but for the 1814 line, . or even the 1790 line? Had No Secrets. Mr. Balfour explained that he had no secrets from President. Wilson. He ' was in America at the time and had not gone very thoroughly into- (he matter. The letter, however, had been conveyed by Prince Sixtus to rresi dent Poincare and the French premier under seal of the strictest secrecy. - Orily the British sovereign and pre mier were to see It. Therefore, it was not communicated to the president of the United States and the American arovernment was no better informed of the facts regarding the letter than ' he was himselr. Referring to the Stockholm confer- " ence. the secretary expressed the opinion that it would not have paved the way to settlement of . the war. "The course taken by the British ' government with regard to the .Stockholm conference," he continued, ' had no connection, near or remote, with Emperor Charles' letter to Prince Sixtus or with the negotia tions or conversations resulting therefrom. They were treated as wholly separate and absolutely un sonnected subjects. t . I - Falsehood Exposed. , "We do not" know, and will only when the secrets of the archives of Europe are opened to the world, and perhaps not even then, exactly what were the motives which influenced - Emperor Charles and the German emperor in these various transactions. Perhaps we will never know vHrat the motives were which actuated Count Czernin, Charles and the German em . peror, I am inclined to think that it was part of a peace offensive, by which I mean peace proposals initiat ed by one party which did not desire . peace, but which desired to divide its opponents, "The falsehood exposed by Pre mier Clemenceau was that the whole war was being conducted in order that France might obtain Alsace Lorraine and Italy should have noth ing. When we are dealing with peo ple so cynical as the central powers, some kind of counter attack is .almost obligatory. Therefore, the counter at tack delivered by M, Clemenceau ap pearsto have been thoroughly effec tive, in the sense that it exposed in the cleverest manner the motives ani mating central European diplomacy." Des Moines to Get "lew Ford Branch Plant Des . Moines, May 16. (Special . reIegram.)-TCommencement on June 1 of operations at' the new million dollar, Ford branch plant, at West Eighteenth street and production of 400 automobiles a day is forecast by the announcement today that Omaha has been made headquarters for gov- ernment supply purchases jn the dis trict containing Camp Dodge.' ' .Wilson Suggests Usual '';-, Memorial Day Exercises Washington, , May 16. President Wilson asked today that Memorial Day? be observed as usual and an nounced that in proclaiming May 30 t day of prayer he did not intend to suggest a modification of the .usual memorial exercises held under the auspices of the patriotic organizations, KLEFFNER GETS $2,500 JOB WITH HITCHCOCK'S AID Superintendent of Omaha's City Mail Delivery Appointed Director of Employment Service. Washington Bureau of Tli Omaha Bee, 1311 G Street. (From a Staff Correspondent.) Washington, May 16. (Special Tel egram.) George J. Kleffner, superin tendent of Omaha's city mail delivery, who has been the subject of investiga tion by postal officials on several ac casions, by reason of charges filed against him, but who has been able through political friends to withstand the adverse reports of inspectors, has been appointed state director of the federal employment service under the Department of Labor, at a salary of $2,500. This plum was plucked by Senator Hitchcock. , Dedicated to Kenneth Hatch. The congressman took this poem as a text to recall a number of incidents in which the boys of '61 figured on returning home from the civil war. He declared himself an advocate of liberal pensions, not only for the defenders of the flag, but for those dependent on them. . Manley Gets Encouragement. Commissioner Manley of the Cham ber of Commerce, left for Nebraska feeling satisfied that his visit to Wash ington in the interest -of the city would be productive of good. Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Colvirk of Omaha are in the capital on their way to New York and Montreal. Mrs. A. V. Kinsler of Omaha, is visiting friends in the capital on her way home from New York. . DOCUMENT FOUND IN TRENCH STATES GERMAN PEACE TERMS . '..,.: ' ' Retention of Flanders Coast and Baltic Provinces, Return of Colonies, Readjustment of Frontiers, Commercial Supremacy and Enormous Indemnities De clared to Be Conditions of Peace. ' (By Associated Press.) With the French Army in France," May 16. Germany's conditions of peace are clearly stated in a document found in a German trench that was recently recaptured by entente allied troops. ..; A resume of the principal conditions, as given in an official translation, reads: , :,v "After the enormous sacrifices we have made of our blood and property, we exact as a necessary minimum to the preserva tion and development of Germany the following: , WOULD HOLD BELGIUM. CR.1iT.iim il T71 1 coast with Antwerp, is to remain un der German military, economic and political dependence. uvkiuui, cauckiauy me nanucra Liberty of the seas shall be oroo- erly established for all nations, the central powers being allowed a com mercial neet totaling 17,800,000 tons, while that of the allies should amount of 10,900,000 tons. "Our colonies shall be returned with augmentation. " www i MOVE MINES. "We are to have more numerous and stronger naval stations. "The Lonewv and Briev mini? fields which furnish France its weapons for attack, shall become German-. Readjustment of the frontier. particularly in the Vosges, are to be Six Huns to. Yard On Western Front, Estimate of Allies Paris, May 16. There are six Germans to the yard on the greater ?art of the Franco-Belgian front rom the North Sea to the Oise, ac cording to the Gaulois, which bases the statement on the information it reports having reached the general staff that 150 German divisions are situated in this area. .... HEROES OF AIR TELL HOW THEY CONQUERED FOE V " Two American Aviators Who Downed Three German Planes Wednesday Relate Their Experiences in Battle. (By Associated Press.) With the American Army in France, May 16. Captain David Peterson of Honesdale, Pa., and Captain Ken netn Marr, California, the heroes in the aerial battle Wednesday in which Captain Peterson brought down two German monoplanes and Captain Marr destroyed an enemy biplane in the Toul sector, related their stories of the battle today. I was flying near Thiaucourt at an altitude of 5,000 meters," said Cap tain Peterson, "when I saw two Ger man Albatross scouts going away at right angles in the distance. One was ahead of the other. I ascended 200 meters higher, circled and stopped my engine and darted after them. I finally got close to the last plane. At a distance of .100 yards I opened fire with incendiary bullets and the German machine almost immediately burst into flames and fell. Saw Wing Crumple. "I continued straight on my course," he contiued, "and within two minutes had the other enemy machine before me. He started a quick dive, but. I am certain that some of. the bullets went home. One of the wings of his machine crumpled at the same mo ment. As I circled about I saw one machine burning on the ground and the other smoking in its downward plunge, crash to the earth. That is all there is to it. It was a cinch." Captain Marr was flying at an al titude of 2,000 meters when he saw an enemy machine over the American lines. - ' !'As I sailed out I saw him far away circling out from our line amid a cloud of puff balls from our (Continued on Pace Two, Column Two.) ' GERMANS PROMISE TO STOP ADVANCE ON RUSSIAN SOIL '"'' ' i' Washington, May 16. A- Moscow dispatch today to the State depart ment said Germany had given assur ance to the Russian soviet govern ment that German armies would ad vance no further into Russian terri tory. Stockholm, May 16. A Helsinfors dispatch says, the Russians have be gun evacuation of territory along the harder of Finland. They still hold the frontier fortress of Ino, but otherwise are withdrawing as far as Kronstadt. The railway from Valkeassare . to Petrograd is being deserted by the Russians, the dispatch reports. Qfixed according to the military situa- tion and the appreciation of the com mandant. Our frontiers must be such that their defense is made easier. "The former German Baltic province shall be incorporated, their rich soil furnishing new fields for German peasant emigrants, thus pro tecting the empire against the danger of famine. "Courland, Lithuania, Livonia and Esthonia are to be colonized. "One million, eight hundred thous and tens of Roumania petrol will be at the disposition of Germany. "Those nations who attacked peace ful Germany must pay all war charges in raw material, ships, ready money and . territorial concessions, leaving Germany with only five bil lions national debt." MUMS WAGE OFFENSIVE OF TERROR Towns Bombed to Destroy Civilians' Morale -and Create Peace Demand, Says Red Cross Leader. v New York, May 16. A German of fensive of terror against the civilian population of France and Italy was described today by Henry P. Davison, on his return from a 12,000-mile tour of inspection of Red ' Cross work abroad. , "The outstanding . feature of Ger man methods' at the present time," he said, "is the effort to terrorise women, children and old men at home. While the German troops are making their drive on the front, airplanes are bombing, nearly every night, towns behind the lines, with the deliberate and ' declared purpose of terrorising s . ErRf p. XXAVMOHj civilians, and breaking down the mor ale to such a point that they will im portune their governments lor peace. It is the most dastardly, unrighteous, cruel, devilish plan which could be conceived." ' " 1 WAR ON WOMEN. "It is based upon theory that the killing of four children out of five will induce the mother to implore her government to have the war stopped that her fifth child may, live. It is carried on from the English channel to the Swiss border and from the Swiss border to the Adriatic and has resulted in the maiming of thousands of women and children and the driv ing of hundreds of thousands terror stricken from their homes. "All of this is accomplished by the most active possible propaganda, es pecially in Italy." , ' Mr. Davidson described the attempt to uphold civilian morale a "one of the great missions of the Red Cross," adding: "You need have no concern for German propaganda where the Red Cross is working. We have workers all over Italy and France." He regards the bombing of Paris by big guns as part of the offensive of terror , and says , that the damage to buildings . is - so .. slight that one might drive about the city a week without noticing it. ' ?,,: ; ',,' . - Relief Activities Summarized. ' . A. summary of some of the Red Cross war relief, described by Mr. Davidson, follows: "In France relief is being extended in 121 cities and towns; in Italy in 45 cities and towns with branches in 218 other places. "There are 3,000 Americans abroad working for the Red Cross. In France the organization has 37 storehouses, containing more than $7,000,000 worth of goods. "In France the Red Cross operates 15 hospitals, in England five, in Italy two. In addition supplies are fur nished to 4,361 hospitals in 1,509 cities and towns in France and to 465 hos pitals in Italy. Ninety-nine Red Cross ambulances on the Italian front are operated by 129 American boys. Fourteen rolling canteens at the French front have supplied 3,240.000 hot drinks to French soldiers. Can teens in the Paris district have sup plied millions of meals and drinks to soldiers. ' ; A factory has ben established for the manufacture of artificial limbs and five splint factories are operating under Red Cross supervision. Wilson to Open Red Cross Relief Fund Drive Washington, May 16. President Wilson will go to New York to morrow to remain until Saturday when he is to open the hundred million dollar war relief fund cam paign of the American Red Cross by addressing a mass meeting. 1 Vy ) Proposes to Convert Frederickjhe Great Into War Munitions Washington, May 16. A resolu tion proposing that the statue of Frederick the Great, recently re moved from the war college grounds, be melted up and convert ed into munitions of war, was intro duced today by Senator Gallinger, republican leader. The senate mili tary committee would dispose of it. MISS LUSH'S LOVE STORY TOLD JURY IN MURDER TRIAL Dr. Roberts Sits With Bowed Head While He Is Assailed as Deceiver of Two Women. Waukesha; : Wis.; 4 May ' 16.-Dr. David Roberts, 1 present only as a witness while Grace Lusk' faces the jury charged with the murder of Mrs. Mary Newman Roberts, sat with bowed head today, as he heard him self assailed by witnesses and counsel as the deceiver of two women one his dead wife and the other on trial as her slayer. v . Dr. R. E. Davies, the star witness for the state, testified that he was called to the home of Bianca Mills, where Miss Lusk was rooming, on the afternoon of June 21, 1917, by a telephone message from Dr. Roberts. There he found Mrs. Roberts dead in the parlor, with two bullet wounds in her body. Going to a rear stairway, he started to ascend, but was halted by a voice declaring sharply: "Stop, you must not come up here." Statement Dictated by Slayer. Looking up, he testified, he saw Miss Lusk standing at the head of the stairs with a pistol in her right hand and her left hand covering a, widening stain on her white waist from a wound near her heart. Refusing to al low him to come up to treat her, she dictated the following statement: "Dr. Roberts told me again and again that he loved me and only me. He said that he and. his wife never cared for each otherv He swore that he would telpher before June 15, and swore on a Bible, I told htm that if he did not care for me, we would end it all. Last night he told me again that he loved me. I told him that he must tell her, as it was the only honorable way. This morning, I, called him on the telephone and he told hie he had told his wife that I had been chasing him and that I was the darndest fool that ever lived. She called me every name every name. I loved him so dearly."'. Shot Herself Second Time. v Later, Dr. Davis said, she asked him if the wound she had inflicted on herself was through the heart. He replied that it was not and she then felt for the beating of her heart, with her left hand, and, raising the pistol, fired again. When Dr. Davies reached her side, he asked her why she had shot Mrs. Roberts and believing she was' dying, she replied: "She drove me to it. She called me such awful names." ,', , 1 And then, after a pause, she mur mured: ' ' "The strangest thing is that I love him still." L. D. Blott, a business associate of Dr. Roberts, testified that on the day of the tragedy, Mrs. Roberts called at her husband's office and that the doctor attempted to get her to post pone a proposed visit to Miss Lusk. He quoted Mrs. Roberts as saying that she heard of "the doctor's carryings-on with the school teacher and wanted to settle the matter at once." Walter D. Corrigan, in his opening statement to the jury ior the state declared that "Miss Lusk had been living on terms of intimacy with Dr. Roberts for about two years and they were together at several distant points, including Chicago." , - India to Recruit More Than 500,000 Men at Once for War Simila, India, May 16. The gov ernment of India has decided to re cruit at once more than 509,000 men for war service. COMPLETE U. S. AIR SQUADRON American Soldiers Show Dash and Nerve In All Enterprises ' They Undertake. JN OPERATION ON WEST FRONT Washington, May 16. Designation in the American communique today of the flight for which Major Ralph Royce was decorated by the French army corps commander, as the "first American flight over the enemy's lines," has been taken here as an an nouncement that a complete Ameri can air squadron is now in operation at the front. A second section of the commun ique, issued later said , "In Lorraine May 12, three snipers, scouts of intelligence service, went out in camouflage sniping suits to find German snipers and encountered 18 BATTLE RAGING AMONG PEAKS OF y ASIAGO PLATEAU Aiutro-German Forces, Instead of Beginning Long ' Threatened Drive, Compelled to Fight Hard to " Maintain Their Positions; American Gunners . Share in Bombardment on Western Front - (By Associated Press.) ! . . Among the rugged peaks of the Asiago plateau, east of the Brenta river, the Italian front has again flamed into violent ao tion. The aggressive has been taken by the Italians, however, and the Austro-German forces instead of launching their long expected assault on the Italian lines, have been compelled to fight hard to maintain the positions where they have stood since last November. The fighting seems to have centered on the comparatively short section of the battle line between Monte Asolone and Monte Pertica. These two heights, about three miles apart, rise to an altitude of about 5,000 feet, while between them there is a sort of "saddle" on which the Teutonic forces have taken up strong positions. POLICE, RENEW DRIVE TO CLEAR OMAH VICE Chief Dempsey Warns Pool Hall Idlers and Restaurant Loungers to Leave City or Go to Work. Police continued their campaign against vagrants Thursday under or ders from Chief of Police M. F. Dempsey. Sergeant McDonald, in charee of the morals squad, emphati cally stated that there would be no letup, in the jcampaign against idlers "Pool hall and restaurant loungers and Other idlers had better leave r U- .f .1. ... ...ill .... (A ....!, said Sergeant McDonald. "I have in structed my squad to continue to bring in all idlers as fast as they find them. It is then up to the court. , I am heartily in sympathy with the move and will give Omaha a real cleaning as long as the administration will stay behind me. Change Sedition Charge. A sedition charge was first filed against five young men arrested Thursday night. Police later changed the charge to investigation M order to allow the county attorney to use his discretion as to the proper charge. Bail was fixed at $2,500 for the ap pearance of the arrested men in police court. Those arrested were: A. Williams, Drexel hotel; S. J. Dunn, 1840 North Eighteenth street; Fred Compton, 2417 Poppelton avenue; Harry Bern stein, 1410 North Twentieth Ptreet, and Frank Kane, 3106 Marcy street AMERICAN CARGO SHIP TORPEDOED; NO LIVES LOST can steamer Neche, a cargo carrier of 7.175 tons, was torpedoed and sunk on the night of May 14 without losJ of life, the Navy department, today an nounced. The vessel was returning home lieht and with no soldiers on board. It is believed! it carried a crew of about 125 men. ' Charged With Selling Liquor to Enlisted Men Al Naggar, 505 North Sixteenth street, and Edgar Jones, 2519 Parker street, were arrested Thursday night by military police. They are charged with selling intoxicating liquor to soldiers. - EiS-J of the enemy at a strong point near a dugout. They shot four, of whom one appeared to be an officer, ob tained valuable papers and retired urt der heavy fire. One failed to reach our lines, and the major commanding the sector sent three officers and four men to find him." Officers saw in the official reports of the raiding and scouting operations signs ot the dash and initiative which they have expected the American troops to show in action. They are supremely confident that the average American will olay the game at the front just as well as Americans have played all games. Q TRENCHES CAPTURED. Both the Vienna and Rome official statement tell of bitter fighting on this particular front, the latter stating that the Italian soldiers have entered Austrian trenches on Monte Asolone, in two places. The fact that the Italian armies have taken the initiative in the fight ing would seem to indicate that they have sought to carry the fight to the enemy in suca a way as to break up any arrangements for the launching of a strong Teutonic assault This has many precedents in the present war, a strong offensive at a threat ened point being considered the best defense under certain circumstances. , While the nnhtin has been very fierce east of the Brenta, the whole Italian line from Lake Garda to the . Piave and thence to the sea has been marked by . patrol engagements, which appear to be isolated actions, but which may' be component parti of a plan of campaign in that theater of the war.- Nowhere have the Ital ian lines been reached by atticking parties of Austrians. . . f v . " ' American Gunners Busy. ' In Flanders and Picardy. only heavy 'artillery fire has marked the fighting during the last day, Ameri can gunners have been at work in the general bombardment that has been going on and have again set buildings in Montdidier in flames. There have been many patrol en gagements. A daring raid on the Austrian na val base at Pola has. been made by Italian units,-and an Austrian battle ship of the 20,000 ton type has been destroyed. The Italian naval forces were aided by an aerial squadron. It has been announced from Wash ington that an official order has been issued by the soviet government ot Russia calling for the formation of an armv that will fight for the se curity of the Russian republic, which has been menaced by the aggression of the Germans. DISBANDMENT OF ROUMANIAN . ARMY ORDERED Amsterdam. May 16. An order for the demobilization of the Roumanian army was published in the official gaxette at Jassy May 14. s Alexander Marghiloman, the Rou manian premier, while conversing . with !. Roumanian newspaper repre sentative, said,, that Bessarabia, with the exception of a slight rectificaton of its northern frontier, would be joined to Roumania. Senate Passes Postal Bill With Increase in Salaries Washington, May 16. The postof fice appropriation bill, granting wage increases to postal employes and au- ,-, thorizing federal acquisition of the'' pneumatic mail tube systems in six , cities, was passed by the senate late today without a record vote. The bill provides for appropriations of $381,- 000. 000, an increase of $47,300,000 over : the house bill. Efforts to attach an amendment to the measure suspending for at least a year operation of the act effective July . 1, increasing second class postal rates, were abandoned late ioday after sup- ' porters of the amendment became convinced that it would be defeated. : Tagg Presides at Session of National Live Stock Exchange New York, May 16. One hundred, and twenty-five delegates, represent ing the leading live stock markets of the United States, attended the open ' ing here today of a three days' con vention of the National Live Stock ex- , change. Today's proceedings included -a' luncheon and a business session at, , which W. B. Tagg of Omaha, the na tional president of the exchange, pre sided. The delegates heard five-minute talks by representatives of live ' stock markets. Details Tomorrow i