Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, July 25, 1918, Image 1

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    "The Stars and Stripes
v '. Forever." ,
JAW
MP ARE
Massed Reserves Struggling
, Franticallflo' Save HalfN
Million German Soldiers
Pocketed in Salient.'
By Associated Press.
... Washington, D. C, July 24.
Massed German reserves are
holding open the jaws of the
trap General Foch has sprung
Nm the Aisne-Marne region, m a
desperate effort to stabilize
their lines without the crushing
of the forces withdrawing from
the Chateau Thierry and
Marne salients.
; Official reports to the War
M)W W itlOTM uw& LfULyJuv! Mb 11
- wm iiii ffl mmm
CL0SN.G
department show the enemy
has but a single railway to get
material out of the pocket into
tfhich he has been forced..
. The situation was graphically ex
plained today by General March.
chief of staff, in a mid-week confer
ence with newspaper men. For the
last two days, General March said,
the employment of probably IS di
. visions of fresh German serves on
. the Soissous jaw of the -trap has
practically steadied the line there.
On the eastern jaw front the enemy
- has been crushed back more than a
- mile and a-harf- on-a10-mile front.
further; imperiling his whole position
in the "salient from which he is en
deavoring to extrieate his troops.
? -; Railroad Under Fire.
"The railroad running from Sois
sons to Chateau Thierry now is either
in our hands or under our fire," Gen
eral March said. "The only way in
which the enemy can get out now,
or get supplies over a railroad, is by
the remaining line from Nanteuil on
the Ourcq to Bazocheson the River
Vesle.
"It was necessary for him, if he
did not intend to be caught abso
lutely in a pocket, to keep troops
trom advancing and cutting off this
road, which would put him entirely
at the mercy of the allied forces." .
Some officers here are of the opin
ion General Foch was rushing tor
ward masses of heavy artillery,
which , vith airplanes would pound
the interior of the German positions
from three sides.
They say the very, strength of (lie
German lines now established will
. make his losses great from the con
.. centrated fire. The enemy forces oc
cupy a wedge the center of which is
less than 15 miles distant from the
hard pressing lines of the allies at
any point All hrs communication
lines are within gun range, once the
"heavies" get up behind the allied
lines. - ;
Lacking railway lines on which to
maneuver, the enemy probably is
- making desperate efforts to get his
biggest guns' away safely. The at
tacking fines are backed by circling
T railways on which long range weap
' ons on railway mounts can be shut
- tied back and forth at will. It is re
called that the German attack on
(Continued oon Pace Two, Column Two.)
Liberty Loan Campaign
Begins September 28;
Continues Three Weeks
' Washington, July 24. The treas
' ury virtually has. decided to hold the
fourth Liberty loan campaign in the
. three weeks' period between Saturday,
September 28, and Saturday, October
19. '
The length of the drive will be re
duced from the usual four weeks with
the hope of avoiding the usual slump
- of interest in the middle of the cam
paign. "
Nebraska Boy Among , ':
, Saved Aboard San Diego
Aurora, Neb., July 24. (Special
Telegram.) Mrs.' S. Isakson of Mar
quette today received a letter from liy
son, Leon Dahlsteadt, who was re
ported lost with the cruiser San Diego.
Dahlsteadt wrote from Hoboken, N.
J., saying he lost everything but his
life. . ' - -
k Army Officers Cleared
Washington, July 24. A formal
statement from the War department
today denounced as entirely unfound
ed any inferences tending to involve
f crmy officers in accusations of wrong
doing in connection with the con
tracts for army raincoats. v
l ' Called in Air craft Work. f
t, Washington, July 24. Provost
Marshal General Crowder today is-
sued a call for 624 registrants for
bureau.
SPORT LOVERS
I
voi48-No.32. ,rrrVr;:StOMAHA, Thursday morning, july
German Troops Throw Ot I Shackles of
SUPPOSED RAIDER SEEN
IN OCEAN TRAVEL LANE
Nameless Steamer Flying No Flag and Having Unusually
High Wireless Masjts Encountered Off Nantucket
Before Attack on Tugboat and Its Tow
of Barges on Sunday Last.
Bv Associated Press.
Gloucester. Mass., July 24.
fishing schooner Elizabeth King, which arrived here tonight,
reported an encounter Sunday with what he believes was a
German raider, off Nantucket.
Captain Price said the
feet of the Elizabeth King,
trained on the schooner.
"I expected he would hail us," said Captain Price, "but
he did not. so I asked him through a megaphone if he had seen
anv fishinar vessels in that vicinity. An officer shouted back
something in a foreign language that none of us understood.
"The steamer was about 2,500 tonsO
and looked as if it had been at sea a
long time. Two unusually high wire
less masts rose from its decks. It
bore no name or home port, and flew
no flag.
It had been camouflaged, apparent
ly, but the paint was nearly washed
off, and the sides were covered with
iron rust. There was a large crew
aboard.
The incident occurred between 6
and 9 o'clock in the morning. This
was three hours before a German
submarine appeared off Orleans on
the Cape Cod shore and attacked a
tugboat and its tow of barges The
position given by Captain Price places
the steamer in the lane of trans
Atlantic travel '
The sinking of the schooner. Rob
ert and Richard of the Gloucester fish
ing fleet Monday by a German sub
marine has not intimidated fishermen
here. Schooners have gone to sea
since the news was received and the
captains declare they will keep on
fishing in spite of the enemy sub
marines. Report of Signals Unverified.
Boston, July 24. An official investi
gation today of the report that a Brit
ish steamship off the north Atlantic
coast was sending S. O. S. signals
had only negative reesults as far as
the first and second naval districts
which cover the New England coast
line was concerned. Intelligence of
ficer reported no distress signals had
been picked up.
Germans Exaggerate
Losses of American
x Troops in Of fensive
-Washington, July 24. The Wolff
bureau dispatch purporting to picture
tremendous sacrifices among the
American troops in the great offen
sive is'characterized by officials here
as pure propaganda.
Amsterdam, July 24. This after
noon the Wolff bureau telegraphed a
correction to the report relative to
losses in the battle.' Instead of "some
hundred thousands of killed negroes
and Americans," the bureau says that
the correspondent reports some "tens
of thousands killed."
Brown Shades Restricted.
Washington, July 24. Shoe manu
facturers were asked today by the
war industries board to confine
shades of brown shoes to two colrfrs,
medium and dark.
Submarines In Long Fight
Finally Sink Transport
.London, July 24. The White Star
liner, Justicia, 'says a Belfast dis
patch today, was sunk off the north
Irish coast on Saturday afternoon.
The Justicia carried a crew of be
tween 600 and 700. Eleven members
of the crew are dead.
The Justicia had a troop-carrying
capacity of between 7,000 and 8,000
men. , .
. From three to eight submarines are
said to, have been concerned in the
attack on 'the Justicia,' according to
the Daily Mail, which says the fight
bean at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon
and lasted intermittently until Satur
day morning. The ship sank about
1 o'clock in the afternoon after nine
torpedoes had been fired.
When the liner was first struck the
torpedo boat destroyers which accom
panied her raced to attack the enemy
and dropped many depth charges,
while patrol boats stood by the ship
and a tug took her in tow.
The second and third torpedoes
were fired about S o'clok in the after
noon. Both missed their marks, one
going ahead of the steamer and the
READ THE BEE BECAUSE OF! THE CRISP,. UP-TO-DATE SPORTING NEWS
1 A II II I 1 II
Capt. William Price, of the
steamer approached within 100
keeping forward and alt guns
M'ADOO GRANTS
RAIL SHOPMEN
RAISE IN WAGES
Addition to Aggregate Annual
Payroll of Half Million Men,
Estimated as Nearly-One
Hundred Million Dollars.
Washington, July 24. Wages of
railroad .shopmen were increased to
68 cents an hour today by Director
General McAdoo, with proportionate
advances for assistants and miscel
laneous classes in mechanical de
partments. The new rates, which
are retroactive to last January 1, are
from five to 13 cents an hour higher
than wages paid these men in most
shops under the general wage ad
vance allowed two months ago by the
director general, rmt are somewhat
less than the labor organizations
sought..
Beginning August 1, eight, hours
will be recognized as a standard work
ing day, and overtime, Sundays and
holiday work will be paid at the rate
of one and one-half times the usual
rate. Back pay will be given the
men as soon as it can be calculated.
The advances apply to about 500,000
men and apply flatly to all sections of
the country, despite local differences
prevailing heretofore. The addition
to the aggregate annual payroll is es
timated at nearly $100,000,000.
The advance is the first extensive
modification of the new wage scale
and was made on recommendation
of tlie commission on railroad wages
and working conditions following rep
resentations of shop crafts that high
wages paid machinists and other me
chanical workers in shipyards result
ed in discrimination against railroad
shop employes. -
The new scale of wages was an
nounced as follows
Machinists, boiler makers, black
smiths, sheet metal workers, moulders
and first class ejectriqal workers, 68
cents per hour. "' v
Carmen and second class electrical
workers, 58 cents per hour.
Helpers, 45 cents per hour.
Foremen paid on hourly iasis, 5
cents per hqur more than respective
crafts. i .
other aft. . Two' hours later, another
torpedo was seen coming,' but when,
it got close a gunner on the Justicia,
with extraordinary aim, hit it clean
and exploded it.
All was quiet unlrt 8 o'clock in the
evening when the fifth torpedo was
siglited. The gunners on the Jus
ticia placed their j shots so near it
that the torpedd was deflected and
missed its target.
Most of the crew by this time had
been transferred to other ships which
had remained near the liner all night.
The Justicia--was well on her way
to port Saturday morning when to
ward 8 o'clock . the gunners again
were hard at work as the sixth and
seventh torpedoes went past Two
hours later a submarine, fired the
eighth and ninth torpedoes" and one
of them struck forward and the other
aft. . . - , .
The Justicia was ' formerly the
Dutch steamer Statendam, whieh was
taken over by, the British government
on the stocks at Belfast when it was
nearing completion. It was a vessel
of 32,234 tons gross.
II If I II II II u
II II f .11 .11
II II
Whisky Sold at Shilling
A Sniff at English Fair
London, July 24. High grade
whisky is becoming scarce in Eng
land. At a country fair the other
dayt a tidy sum was realized by
charging one shilling a snitf at a
bottle of pre-war Scotch.
EPIEDS PASSED
BY AMERICANS
DRIVING ENEMY
i
German Commander Moves
Large Part of Guns and
Stores; American Flyers
Down Five Machines.
BULLETINS.
Paris, July 24. Highly Important
gains by the French and American
forces on the Aisne-Marne front
are reported in the official state
ment of the war office tonight. In
the center of the line an advance of
nearly two miles wag made. '
Desperate engagements were,
fought in the direction of Epieds
and Trugny-Epieds, which villages
the. Americans recaptured from the
Germans To the north of Epieds,
the Franco-American line is now
beyond Courpoil.
North of Montdidier, the total
number of prisoners taken July 23
in the region of Mailly-Raineval
and Aubvillers is 1,850, including 52
officers, among them four battalion
"litis, nmgng uie supplies Gap-,
tured were four cannon of 77, 45
trench cannon and 300 machine
guns.
London, July 24. The British to
day gained important ground in
Vrigny wood, southwest of Rheims.
By Associated Press.
With the American Army on the
Aisne-Marne front, July 24 No great
artillery activity characterized fighting
today. Yesterday, the Americans
fouglu three times for the possession
of Epieds, the Germans countering
every time. The Americansj passed
Epieds today with comparatively little
resistance. The French on their part
of the line also found the enemy will
ing to move.
Hot rear guard actions are contin
uing. The losses among the Germans
have been lighter than usual on ac
count of their failure to resist stren.r
uously the advanfe of the allies. North
(Continued on Page Two, Column Four.)
Czecho-Slovak Army
Of 80,000 Keen fcr
Service in France
San Francisco, July 24. An army
of 80,000 Czecho-Slovaks has seized
5,000 miles of the trans-Siberian rail
road and is training to drain Russia of
all Czecho-Slovak nationals for ser
vice with the allies in France, Capt.
Vladimir S. Hurban. member of these
forces, and a special emissary to Presi
dent Wilson, said here today, j
" Captain Hurban has credentials to
show that he has been delegated to
secure ships from America, if possi
ble, to transport this entire force
from Vladivostok to the United States
and Canada for ultimate service in
France. . .
"We want to get into the very first
trenches and punish the vandals who
are upholding the hand of Austria,"
Captain Hurban said. We cannot
fight Austria, as we are practically
unarmed. But we can get equipment
in America and France, and then our
force of 80,000 will be at the service of
the allies and humanity."
August Specht Injured
When Hit by Automobile
August F. Specht of the city health
department suffered a sprained wrist
and bruiscswhen struck by an auto
mobile luesdav nieht at lwenty-
sixth street and St Mary's avenue.
J une Shipping Losses
Lowest Months Record
Since September, 1916
; London, July 24. The losses to
British and allied shipping dot- to
enemy action or marine risk for the
month of June totalled 275,629 gross
tons, this being the lowest-record
for any month since September,
1916. .
The British losses totalled 161,062'
tons, and neutral losses 114,567.
Edward A. Rumely
Life Story of Man Who Bought
New York Mail for the Kaiser
on Page Ten of This Issue
iW ' II II XV
25, ii--rterttttJS?& two cents.
STORES OF PROVISIONS
PILLAGED BY SOLDIERS
Claim of High Command That Retirement on Marne
It Part of Set Program Refuted by y Order of
General Von'Boehm Concerning Use Made 1
of Booty by His ' Disorderly Horde.
By Associated Press.
With the British army in France, Tuesday, July 23. The
claim of the German high command that the retirement on the
Marne is part of a set program is given the lie by an order of
General von Boehm, commander of the Seventh army. .
The Seventh army has borne the full weight of the Foch
counter offensive on the west and its divisions around Soissons
suffered heavily at the hands of the Americans, while those
east of Chateau Thierry were thrown back across the Marne
by the pressure of the French.
COL. HAYVARD AND
HIS MEN IN THICK
OF MARNE BATTLE
Information From France and
Press Dispatches Together
Indicate Nebraskan Mas
. Proved His Mettle .1.
Col. William Hayward, formerly of
Nebraska City, commanding a New
York regiment on the firing line, has
bee"n in the recent big fighting. Al
though in a hospital recovering from
a double operation for an old trouble,
he would not be restrained when he
heard his men were to help punish the
Huns, but led them to victory along
the Marne- rver, in the middle of
July. :
About the middle of June his regi
ment was retired from active service
and Colonel Hayward was sent to
the hospital for an operation on his
ankle and upon his abdomen. A few
days later he was able to write let
ters. July 18 press dispatches spoke
of a negro regiment, resting at the
time of the Rheims drive, which re
quested to be sent in. The colonel
is said to have broken away from
the hospital and cpme to the front
in an auto. There see"ms little doubt
tp those who investigated the cir
cumstances that the brave colonel was
Hayward. Although suffering from
the operation on his ankle and from
mustard gas, the Nebraska boy put
the Huns to flight.
The regiment was in the vicinity of
Rheims late in June. It is known that
it participated n the fight there.
Dan Smith, jr., another Nebraska
City boy, a member of the 15th New
York regiment whkh Colonel Hay-
ward commanded, was in the big fight.
He attended the Nebraska City high
school and was prominent in athletics
there.
The regiment and one of the cap
tains, Capt. "Ham" Fish, is mentioned
in last week's number of the Satur
day Evening Post in 'Trench Es
sence," by Irvin Cobb.
Episcopal Priest Gives Up
' Parish to Enter U. S. Army
Rev. Joseph J. Dixon, rector of the
Episcopal .church at Callaway, Neb,
has resigned his parish and volun
teered as a private in the army. He
was inducted into service with the
last draft from Nebraska and was
appointed to command the contin
gent, from Custer county, numbering
70 men.
A goodly number of his parisluor
ers. of draft age, but given deferred
classification, rallied around him,
waived exemption and were inducted
into the army with ' their "fighting
pastor." He has lived in Callaway
tor thjast three years and won the
respectand love of the entire com
munity. , He is essentially a man's man and
upon the declaration of this country
that a state of war existed he volun
teered his services as a chaplain. He
could not wait action by the War de
partment and when the draft came
waived exemption.:
Bishop George Allen Beecher went
to Callaway last Sunday and preached-
pastor. He arranged that the) family
of the soldier-priest should remain in
Bee
Mscvpliw
V For this reason, the order nf (Inn-
era! Boehm, written a month l.rior to
the beginning of the battle, is of un
usual significance. He deplores the
lack of discipline which resulted in the
pillaging of stores in the back areas
during the advance in May, when all
edible booty found in the t wake of
the retiring French speedily vanished,
instead of being distributed arricng
the Hungry troops in due
tions.
v v
Gorge on Captured Food.
The order continue .
"It is necessary to depart from the
beaten track which has been followed
in the utilization of material and pro
visions and stores from' the occupied
territorjVi Hopes of frjex ntilizr.tion of
captured food as rations and oft' "i
distribution of a fixed portion of th
provisions to the fighting troops
have proved to be fallacious, owing to
the fact troops have taken these pro
visions themselves and eaten them,
without treating them as a part of
the authorized stale of rations.
"Jn this way some of the units,
which have chanced to have the op
portunity to capture booty of this
description have lived in abundance,
while others are suffering privations.
Further, it has not even been the
troops in the front line to whom
this more abundant supply of 'food
has fallen, but second line troops,
train echelons and., especially, strag
glers who are roaming about behind
the army.
Food Taken Without Authority.
"It has even happened that men
have taken food without authority
and by force from the stores in the
military occupation and administra
tion, and I regret to say some officers
have not been ashamed to interfere
with the guard in the execution of
their duty and to insult the officials
to whose charge the provisions were
entrusted. It appears to be neces
sary for the supply officials to follow
the first line troops as closely as
possible and to be accompanied by
escorts of cavalry or police, so that
important stores and depots may at
least be administered by them with
as little delay as possible.
"If our progress results in the oc
cupation of a new area, this must be
placed under a regular system of ex-,
ploitation as soon as possible. Order
must be maintained in, the villages
by sentries and patrols. The troops
must be - restricted and prohibited
from making requisitions in the fields
and taking the crops. The people at
home are so short of all provisions
necessary to life that enough can
(Continued on Pago Two, Column Fire.)
REV. JOSEPH J. DIXON.
the rectory during the; absence
their fighting husband and father.
of
THE WEATHER
For Nebraska Showers and
much cooler Thursday.
a. m....'..V....1t
1 a. m 71
a. m 74
a. m. 77
IS a. m.. ....... ..go
1 p. m... ....... .8
S s. m.... M
4 p. m .....90
5 p. m... tl
p. m S3
11 a. m K
7 p. m .......ft
IS noon ,.M8 p. m to
Important Gains Made on Three
Sides of U-Shaped Battle
Front Despite Violent
Counter Attacks.
By Associated Press. .
Violent German counter at
tacks and rear guard actions
in great, strength still fail to
serve as barriers to the ad
vance on the Soissons-Rheims
salient.
They have aided in slowing
down the fast pace, but on the
three, sides of the noy U
shaped battle front, important
gains have been made.
Driving slowly, but surely, south
of Soissons, the American and French
troops have pushed their fronts far
ther eastward toward that part of
the Soissons-Chateau Thierry railway
tin ttiat i'o lit in iUik UzrtAm f (,a
Henemy, and further south, along both
sides ot the Ourcq river and the road
leading to Fere-En-Tardenois, Ger- ,
many's great storehouse for the sup
ply of her troops to the south, im
portant penetrations into enemy-held .'
territory have been made until the
maximum point where the allies are
fighting pear Coincy. is '..about ,J0
miles from their point of departure
last Thursday. ' ; .
Fierce Resistance Met. .
In , the Marne region north of Cha
teau Thierry , the Americans and
French have met with the fiercest
kind of resistance, for. the Germans
are striving hard to extricate large
numbers of the German forces and
save part of the great number of
guns and quantities of war materials.
The advantage in the fighting has
rested with the allied troops, who,
have pushed on northward past the
village of Epieds and ousted the Ger-
Sans from the greater part of the
latclet forest. The allies now hold
the villages of Epieds and Trugny
Epieds, which were captured by the
Germans and were . recaptured
Wednesday in a 'counter attack by
the, Americans. Pressing on' north
ward the allies have driven their
front beyond Courpoil, which lies
about six and a half miles northeast
of Chateau Thierry,'; -
Along the. Marne at several points,
notably in the region of Charteves
and . Jaulgonne and further .east of
Treloup, the allies have put the north
ern bank of the Marne further, behind '
them in advance and captured a large
numbervof cannon and machine guns
and considerable war materials.
British Give Valuable Aid.
In the region between the Marne
and Rheims, where , the : German
crown prince . has brought forward
large numbers "of picked reinforce
tneats, his warriors are meeting with
hard usage. Following up the ad
vances of the French and Italians of
Tuesday the British immediately to i
the southwest of. RhefThs apparently
have begun a movement which pqssi--V
bly portends good results.
Here the British have overcome a
strong counter attack and violent
bombardment and itruck the German
line at Vrigny for a goodly gain.
This maneuver, if it js pressed to fur
ther advantage, will seriously menace
the Rheims-Fismes railway, a scant
three miles toht north,' and also
will tend materially to lessen the
width of the mouth ' of the pocket
through which the Germans are en
deavoring to retreat from the Sois--sons-Rfceims
salient.
I Gauged by the war maps, the new
inroaas or the allied troops into the
German-held territory necessarily add.
further to the extreme gravity of the
situation of-the Germans inside the -'
huge pocket and with the long range
guns on both sides of the U heavilv
shelling them far behind the actua'l
fighting fronts, with airmen bombing
them assiduously, and with the in
fantry attacking them on , all 'sides
with rifle and light gun fire, their sit-
uation seemingly is a hazardous one.
Fifty Per Cent Increase -in
Estate. Taxes Proposed
Washington, July 24. A 50 , per
cent increase in the, present gradu
ated tax on estates,, up to and includ
ing $8,000,000 estates, with greater in- .
creases from larger estates, was ten
tatively agreed upon today by the
house ways and means committee. '
It is expected the new system of
estate tax rates will yield a revenue,
of $100,000,000 when in full workinr
operation, against the present S&a
000,000.
ADVANCE
OF ALLIES
, KEPT UP
V
V
II, K
- If