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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1918)
THE NEWSPAPER YOU ALWAYS LOOK TO FOR LATEST AND MOST RELIABLE WAR NEWS RING THE LIBERTY. BELL V:" 'For ' ' ; y . The Work of. Mobilizing Patriotic Sentiment ,v The Bee is Enlisted to the ' End AH Together to Win The War THE WEATHER: For Nebraska Warmer and partly cloudy. Thermometer Readings: undAy Be . 8 m . m 7 . in a. m 9 a. m 10 a. m It a. m 13 m .. 1 p. m 2 p. m S p. m 4 p. m 5 p. m (l p. m 7 p. m 77 7S 80 80 82 83 8 ...9 ...70 ...75 ...78 ...7 ..77 vol. xlviu-no. vrrSssSAiSi omaha, Sunday morning, july 7, i9is. aw'i&u hve cents. IE OMAHA a- mm M U LTU L RIVER WRECK DEATH TOLL EXCEEDS 100 Pekin Folk, Exceed by Har rowing Experiences, Make Threats gainst Ship's Officers. By Associated Press. Peoria, 111., July 6.' With 63 bodies recovered and the Ntotal number of dead tonight estimated at 100 to 150 per sons, government, state and county officials began search ing inquiries into the cause of the wreck of the excursion steamerColumbiaFriday night. x JSurvivors have charged that the big steamer, carrying 500 passengers on a return trip from Peoria to Pekin, 111., was driven " against a sandbank scarcely 10 feet from shore and about five miles south of Peoria, during a heavy fog. First reports were that the craft had struck a snag or sub merged log. ,v While the orchestra continued ,to p!ay on the dance floor, which proved a death trap to scores of the 200 dancers, the vessel, it was said, backed into deep water, where it sud- denly broke in two and immediately settled onr the bottom of the . river , with only the pilot house-and part of the superstructure appearing above the water. Conviviality Ran to. Extreme. Harryf' Smith, chief of police of Pefcfn, said; . "Reports have come to me that the drinking on board the Columbia the night of the tragedy -was carried to - extreme. This phase of the case will receive rigid attention after we have buried our dead. , The results may be anuzhiff '' . The Columbia "was; condemned i eight years ago just before it was purchased and repaired by Captain Mehl, according to R. V, Downes, federal inspector of hulls of St. Louis, and his assistant, G. R. Bowers, who have begun ,an investigation of the accident. ": It was on the .return trip to Pekin from Peoria Friday night that a faint jar extending from stem to stern gave the first intimation of the on ,x rushing tragedy. The disaster Came without warning when the 500 merrymakers aboard," after a night's outing at Al Fresco park, in Peoria, were ending the eve ning's entertainment with dancing md concerts by the orchestra. After tlie survivors had been cared for, it 'was found impossible, because, of the darkness, to continue the search for bodies and this was halted until daylight. At sunrise scores of volun teer' workers hacked at the wreckage while twp divers began bringing out the bodies. Ship's Officers Menaced. Pekin, 111., July 6 After a day spent in collecting the dead from the wrecked excursion steamer Co lumbia, many citizens, excited by the harrowing' scenes tonight gathered in saloons and other places and threat ened to wreak vengeance on any of the-ship's 6fTicers whom they should find in any way at fault for the sink ing of the ship with the loss of a hundred .r more lives. Precautionary measures against mob violence were taken by the city police. Extra patrols, were thrown about the streets, and the closing of saloons was threatened if any un toward actions were started. , Although no official inquiry has been made to determine whether the fatal accident was due to negligence of the navigators of the .large steam er bearing some 500 persons down the Illinois river, relatives of those lost .V and others loudly condemned mem ' bers ofNthe crew as responsible for . the large -loss of life. "We have sensed trouble and made (Continued on Fane Two, Column one.) " ' Dahlman Returns ' V From East; Admits X Lightning May Strike .,-" '' ' "-7 -A group of politicians and business "men at luncheon on Saturday were discussing the story that James C. . Dahlman, formerly mayor, might be in line for a federal position which would enable "Jim?" to buy all of the gasoline1 needed for his new super six. -, - ' . ' "There Is more than im?ke in that k . story," said one of the group. "Listen; I have heard that. Post master Fanning- is getting tired of his . job and that Dahlman will get the place. That pays $6,000 iron men a year and is not so bad, not so bad," another member of the party vouch safed. '.. ' Mr: Dahlman returned Saturday Irom his trip to the east and tjje , south. He admitted that certain dem- .x fWfa T i in fliiflnceo Aria i'nit. in nr in bis behalf.' . "There is nothing certain about tliis proposition, but . thenghtning may strike me. I know that Senator Hitch cock, for one, has my name and ad dress," said the former mayor. V . , "Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!--" British Experts Din in Ears of Americans By Associated Press. With the British Army in France, July 6. All the tradi tions of the United States army for valor were brilliantly sus tained yesterday in the successful attack made against the Germans south of the river Somme, when for the first time American infantry men took, their stand beside their British cousins and fought shoulder to shoulder with them against the common foe. It was a baptism of fire for the Yankee soldiers on this front, staged on Independence day, and they came through with flying colors fitting comrades for the famous Australian warriors, whom they were assisting. The Airiericans went over the top with the Australians, be hind big tanks, as though they had been doing the same thing all their lives. Then came the clash with the enemy infantry among the shell hole defenses and trenches under the gray light of the early dawn. . ' There, was no hesitation. For a week past the British ex perts had been dinning into the ears of the Americans the words "kill, kill, kill." It is the cardinal slogan of the fighting man, and while it is not pleasant to dwell upon, yet that is what war is. The Americans had learned their lesson well. The British officers spoke of this after the affair was over. No drillmaster ever got better returns for his talks than the one who taught these Ameicans this hardest lesson of all. A great number of Germans paid the supreme price yesterday and the men from the United States exacted a very The Americans were naturally happy last night over the success of the operation in which they had played a creditable part, and the Australians were no less pleased with their new found pals. ( MEN FOR BALLOON SERVICE WANTED AT, FORT OMAHA Permission Given for Those From Eighteen to Forty Years Jo Enlist; To. ' - Enlarge School. Nebraskans- and Iowans from 18 to 40 years old, who are desirous of en tering ojie of the preferred branches of army service, will be permitted to enlist in the balloon service at Fort Omaha, the largest school of instruc tion in aeronautics in the world. Men of draft age, who are reg istered, and who have not yet been called also are privileged to enlist in this service. i Authority has just been received to enlist in the balloon service a lim ited number of men having special qualifications for this branch of the service. During the next tew days, (Continued on Page Two, Column Four.) Thirty-Four Dollars for The Milk and Ice Fund Thirty-four dollars and 50 cents was given to The Bee's milk and ice fund in volunteer donations at the Pesek-Peters wrestling match at the Auditorium last .night. Between, falls of the wrestling match Mogy Bernstein mounted the stage of the wrestling ring and made an unsolicited plea for the fund. The wrestling fans were spontane ous in their response. Nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and even dollars began to fall into the ring in a shower. .- -' ! Mogy carefully recovered the money and turned it over to The Bee last night. This brings the total of The Bee fund to $264.25. , THE BEE LEADS at HALF YEAR MARK IN AUTOMOBILE DISPLAY ADVERTISING ' and is the only Omaha paper showing a gain ' for the first six months of 1918 in this classification Here Are the Figures in Inches (Warfield Adv. Agency Measurements for 1917) (HaynesAdv; Company Measurements for 1918) 1917. 1918. BEE 25,442 25,511 World-Herald ; 24,584 24,570 Newsv ...22,025 - 18,448 BEE GAIN - 69 Inches World-Herald Loss...... 14 Inches News Loss The Automobile Dealers have learned from ex perience that The Bee is the Omaha paper which reaches the real buying power of the community. That's why The Bee heads their advertising lists. KEEP YOUR EY ON THE' BEE Improving heavy toll, WILSON TO VETO WHEAT PRICE OF $2.40AMSHEL Rate Fixed by Compromise Be tween House and Senate i..Woukk$ais&-CGst of - " "Flour :$2 Barrel. 3 Washington, July 6. -President Wilson will veto the annual agricul tural appropriation bill because of the rider agreed to by both senate and house today fixing the government minimum guaranteed wheat price at $2.40 a bushel. This information was transmitted to Chairman Lever of the house agricultural committee today, through Postmaster General Burleson just before Speaker Clark had signed the bill preliminary to sending it to the White house. Officials estimated that if the $2.40 price for wheat is approximated, the price of flour would be increased by approximately $2 a barrel, with an in crease of from 2 to 3 cents in the price of a loaf of bread. With $2.50 as the basic price, wheat probably would sell in New York at $2.75 a bushel, it was said. Should the president veto -the bill the $28,000,000 annual appropriation for the Department of Agriculture would be tied up until congress re convenes. The department, however, would not be without funds as con gress today adopted a resolution con tinuing last year's appropriation until the appropriation bill finally is en acted. Agreement Reached by Compromise . Representative Sloan, in explaining the position of the house, said: "The senate, price of $2.50 at local markets, which has been in conference between house and senate for several weeks, (Continued on Fare Two, Column Three.) the .3,577 Inches Every Doj : . . HOUSE STOPS SENATE PLAN OF VACATION Upper Body of Congress Adopts Resolution for Recess With out Acting on Wire Cpn c : - trot Propol. By Associated Press.' Washington, July 6.' Plans for an immediate recess of congress were upset late today when the house ad journed until Monday without acting upon a concurrent resolution adopted by the senate, providing for an. ad journment until August 12, subject to an earlier call by the president. lhe senate also adjourned until Mondav. , In spite of President Wilson's re quest, emphatically reiterated today, that the resolution authorizing him to take over and operate during the war telegraph, telephone, cable and radio systems bq passed before the recess, the senate was ready to begin its vacation, when the house suddenly blocked the plans of the leaders. . Senate Leaders Iraie. Senate leaders, indignant over Mr. Kitchin's action, said congress would be held indefinitely and that vaca tions, even for a brief time, would not be taken. Arrangements were made for .consideration in the senate of die telegraph-telephone resolution, with extensive hearings, not later than July IS. This means, said Representative Kitchin, after the house adjourned, "that the recess program is off for good unless the senate passes imme diately the resolution giving the pres ident authority to take over the tele graph and telephone resolution." Martin Urges Recess. Senator Martin of Virginia, ma jority leader, announced today in the enate that the consensus of opinion in both houses g;as to have congress recess .tonight, until August without action by the senate on the house resolution authorizing the president to take over telegraph, telephone, caDie and radio lines. Cards Ready Monday For Alien Enem Women Julius Mansfield, who has been reg istering the alien enemy women in the city council chamber, under the direction of the United- States De partment of Justice, states that reg istrants may call any time beginning Monday for their cards. These are official cards which must be carried for identification purposes. X Struck by Motorcycle. Miss Josephine Kelly, saleswoman for Orkins Brothers, who lives at the Colonnade, Twenty-sixth and Doug las streets, was struck by a motor cycle ridden by John Merten. of 2215 South Fifteenth street, at Seventeenth and Jackson streets at 12:30 p. m. Saturday. Her left leg and hip were badly bruised and she may have sus tained internal injuries. Benet Succeeds Tillman. Columbus; S. C, Christie Benet, an attorney of Columbus, was appointed by Governor Manning today to serve the next six months pf the unexpired term cH the late Senator Tillman. . Nominations Confirmed. Washington, July 6. Nominations of eight brigadier generals to be major generals in the national army and of 41 colonels to' be brigadier generals were confirmed tonight by the senate. Balloonacy BAN PLACED ON DISLOYALTY OF NONPARTISANS Literature Condemned by Council of Defense to Be Withdrawn and Outside sOrganizers Prohibited. MTom a Start Correspondent. Lincoln, July (5. (Special Tele gram.) Tht hearing of the Nonpar-' tisan league suit against the Council of Defense came to a sudden end late this afternoon when after a five-minute recess an agreement was reached in which the league dismissed the suit against the council and agreed to the following: Withdrawal of all literature from the state declared by the Statd Coun cil of Defense as disloyal. Withdrawal of all paid organizers from outside the state, including State Manager O. S. Evans and the conducting of the affairs of the league by local men. Raps League Literature. Mr. Metcalfe insisted in the heav ing today that the league was wrong jn attempting to strengthen its organization by the use of literature which showed it was not in harmony with the council's ideas of standing behind the government. .He told the court, after reading many extracts from the literature of the league, that it was wrong at this time for men to come into the state and carry on any kind of work which was antagonistic to the ivar program as carried out by the people of Nebraska or the nation. Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Manahan could not agree on distinguishing be tween the profiteers and the wealthy men of the country. The former in sisted that a large number of wealthy men were doing big things in war work and in financial assistance ren dered the government, while the latter appeared to place them all in the profiteer class. It was on this point that Mr. Metcalfe attempted to con vince Mr. Manahaji that he was wrong and that at this time especially there should bV no attempts made to array one class against another. Marines in Forced March One Hundred Miles to Get in Chateau By CASPAR WHITNEY. (Copyright 1918 by Tha Trlbuna Association.) Paris, July 6. (Special cablegram to New York Tribune and Omaha Bee.') That in" America our people shall further and more fully apprehend the rapidly developing competency of their army in France, a chapter con cerning thefficient work of the ser vice, of supplies, and of the .trans portation should be written describ ing the fine, showing of our. soldiers in the battleground around Chateau Thierry, and -the particulars , which I have been privileged to acquire but not to report in detail. I can say, however, that the Amer ican division which made such a per sistently gallant and successful at tack in capture of Belleau, had not been expected to be wanted in that direction. They were camped 100 miles dis tant, where another campaign was planning and where all supplies . of munitions and food had been sent and installed. On a few hours' notice they were called to Chateau Thierry and in " ' " ' 300,000 MEN TO BE CALLED IN AUGUST American Program Rushed to Meet German Menace of , New and Heavy Blows in France. , , ; By Associated Press. Washington. July 6. The present delay of the Germans in pressing at tacks in France means niy that they are preparing new and heavy blows, General March, thief of staff, said to day in his weeklyconference with the newspapermen. "It is perfectly evident," he said, "that this delay is preparatory to a heavy assault in force by the German high command. The present condi tion of affairs does not mean any thing but that. They are reorganizing their troops, filling up losses, and pre paring to try it again. "With reference to the American program, we have embarked 1,000,000 men and now we are going after the second million." Another indication of the pressure under which the American program is being rushed to meet the Germau menace came from the provost mar shal general's office today when or ders were issued to local boards to f peed up physical examination of the new class one men and have them ready for call in August. Statements of the draft program made, public in congress indicated the purpose of calling out at .least 300,000 men during August, although subse quent calls during the year were not expected to exceed one half of that figure monthly. Wage Increase Granted. Manchester, N. H., July 6. The strike of operatives in the Amoskeag and Stark cotton mills was settled today on terms similar to those ar ranged in the case of the Lowell strike yesterday, the manufacturers agreeing to pay the increase of IS per. cent in wages demanded by the strikers. The increase will be paid from June 17. Union leaders guar anteed not to call another strike dur ing the war. Thierry Fray an equally short period they had re sponded not only by reaching the menaced ground in season to help thwart the boche intent to drive west through this important point, but by bringing up ample provisions of mu nitions and rations notwithstanding the difficulty of transportation which was rendered doubly embarrasing by the big movement on the road. This, important,, cheering, significant addition to. that battle is cabled not only that some folks during this anx. ious time may-know that their fight ing fathers, sonsl and brojjjers are making good, but also to give assur ance that the organization for active support at the rear, so to speak, is also making good. As the actions around Chateau Thierry, in Belleau wood, at Vaux and in the Forest de la Roche, were the first in which this organization was giyen a real test, it is worth thus recording that in the line, and in the service behind the lines, without which the effectiveness of the troops is im possible, the American effort is en titled to confidence and praise. invaders ROUTED IP! HOT FIGHT Austrian Resistance Broken in Area Close to Adriatic; Aus tralians Advance on Amiens Front. By Associated Press. The Italians have succeeded in clearing the Austrians out of . a very considerable part of the " terrain the enemy had been clinging to near the mouth .of the- Piave, between the new and old beds of the river. In hard fightinir the Aus trian resistance was broken in the area close to the Adriatic. General Diaz's troobs'movinir the invaders agyoss the new oed from Unsolera to the sea, approximately live miles. Four hundred were taken prisoner. Vienna admits a loss of ground here. In the northern part of this low lying sector northeast of Capo Sile, v,here the Austrians are still west of the new stream, they rallied their forces and counter attacked. General Diaz's troops stood their ground and repulsed the enemy. The Australian troops advanced their line on the Amiens front north east of Villers-Bretanneux on a front" ' of 2,000 yards, according to" Field Marshal Haig's report from British ; headquarters in France. A successful raid was carried out by Lancashire ., troops near Hinges, in which several prisoners were captured, the state- . ment adds. - x. , , Americana Win Praise. There are nothing but compliment for the Americans unon th of their first appearance in an at tack side by side with British To the' Australians who formed , the ' major portion of the force which car ried out the brilliant Fourth of July attack on the Amiens front, northeast of Villers-Bretonneux, is conceded the larger part ot the glory. The hitherto untried American troops are coming in for the highest praise for the part they took in the fighting through . Hamel. Details of the Americans' behavior indicated that in lighting spirit and effectiveness in pushing back the en emy they were not excelled even by. the traditionally gallant, seasoned vet erans in whose company they re ceived their baptism of fire. Their losses are reported to have been ex tremely light. Noted Bohemian Woman Is to Visit Friends in Omaha Miss Olga Masaryk. daughter of " Professor Masaryk, president of the revolutidnary republic of Bohemia, will be in Omaha on July 23, accom panied by Charles Pergler, secretary ; of her father. Vaclav Buresh. who received the information Saturday, states that Miss Masaryk is one of the best informed women on present-day affairs in Bo-, hernia. She has been in this country since last May and is a fluent speaker in English. A series of meetings will be ar- ranged in Omaha for the distinguished visitors. ' Professor Masaryk is now in Wash ington, D. C, in a diplomatic ca pacity. He visited Omaha 10 years ago when he was a guest of Mr. Buresh. Alice Masaryk, Olga's sister, suf fered a year's imprisonment in Prague on account of her father's at titude toward the central powers. She was rescued by the intervention of American women. ' ' ' 1 . British Royalties Celebrate 25th Wedding Anniversary London, July 6. Today is the 25th anniversary of the marriage of -JCinpf GeVge and Queen Mary. The popu lar rejoicing with which such an event ordinarily would' be celebrated was re- .. frained from in consequence of the war and the only public ceremony commemorating itf in which the royal party participated took, the form . of a special thanksgiving service in St. Paul's cathedral. This was followed by a visit to the Guild hall where a congratulatory address and a. gift ., from the city of . London were . re ceived. . . , -. " . Roosevelt Asks Returr- of , Nobel Peace Prize Fund Washington, July 6. Theodore Roosevelt today asked congress to return to him the Nobel peacc'prize fund which he donated to assist in promoting industrial peace and which has . never been used., - He said he proposed to expend Urn war1 relief work- through the Red. Cross, 'YM. C. A.,' Knights' of Columbus, Jcwisa. war fund and other, relief orgauiQa j lions. . " -