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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1918)
RIEF RIGHT REEZY BITS, OF NEWS ALL RESTRICTIONS ON SUGAR REMOVED. Washington, Dec. 3. Restrictions on the- purchase of sugar for con sumption in homes and public eat ing places were removed tonight by the fod administration. In crease in the supply of Louisiana cane and western beet sugar and ex pectation that the new Cuban crop will begin to arrive soon permit abandonment of the sugar ration system, the administration said. - Since the cessation of hostilities the food administration has relaxed existing rationing gradually, until the ration had reached four pounds. GUARANTEE STANDS FOR 1919 WHEAT CROP. Washington, Dec. 3. The guar anteed price for the 1919 wheat fixed at 2.26 a bushel, Chicago basis, will stand even though the Lever act, under which the. price was fixed, should become inoperative through conclusion of peace, in the opinion of the food administration. The administration tonight is sued a statement interpreting the Lever act and pointing out that the law provides that "all rights or lia bilities under this act arising before its termination shall continue and may be enforced in the same man ner as if the act had not .termi nated." Wheat growers in many parts of the country, it was said, have be come apprehensive that the guar anteed price for the 1919 crop might be rescinded through conclu sion of peace. FARMERS MAY MARKET HOGS WHEN THEY PLEASE. r Chicago, Dec. 3'. The permit sys tem of hog shipments , from the country to the loading markets will be removed tomorrow night, it was decided at a meeting of the pack ers, producers, food administration and stockyards men today. In re moving the permits, farmers are warned by the food administration not to rush their hogs in at an ab normal rate as it would defeat their best interests. EVERYTHING THAT'S BEST IN THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS WEST THAT'S OMAHAV The Omaha Daily, Bee VnT. 48 NO 145 t,tw, ""''" " 2S.IMM.at ju. io. yJ. i'io. 0Blhi p. o. ntt ut much a, i7 OMAHA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1918. B Mali (I mar). Dally. KM; Sanaa, I2.M: Dally aa 8ua SS.SO; aattlaa Nik aottai antra. TWO CENTS. THE WEATHER t Fair Wednesday Thursday; . moderate perature. Thermometer Rtadlnga! S m 41 . ra. 40 1 a. m 41 a. m 41 8 a. m 43 I and tern- 10 asim 44 11 a. m 44 II m. 48 1 p. m, t p. ni, S p. m, 4 p. m, 5 p. m, p. m, 1 v. ni, p. m. . 4t .. ,.M (fn nn M m m SOUSA'S GREAT NAVAL BAND TO B,E DISBANDED. Chicago., Dec. 3. The Great Lakes naval training station band, now the largest in the world, con sisting of 1,700 pieces, will be dis banded as the result of orders re reived froai the bureau of naviga tion at Washington, it was announ ced today. The band, under direc tion of Lieut. John Philip Sousa, has appeared in all parts of the country during Liberty loai cam paigns to arouse patriotic sentiment. Under the order a new band of 150 pieces will replace the present or ganization. EX-EMPRESS SEEN WALKING WITH SPOUSE. Amerongen, Holland, Dec. 3. The former German empress has apparently almost recovered from' her recent indisposition and is seen ! occasionally with, the former Ger man emperdr " walking in the grounds of the castle here. The tx-empress, according 16 good au thority, contributed largely to the decision of her husband to sign his act of abdication. Her confidential informants gave a gloomy account of the internal situation in Ger many relative to the throne. v Commissioners to Go Over Books of - Street Car Company a The city commissioners, held v special session in the council cham ber litesday evening, extending to all citizens the privilege of entering complaints against the "skip stop" system or to hear any other com plaiuts on the car service. ATiout 100 citizens were present, vthe larger portion representing the West Leavenworth Booster club. Their complaints directed at the company was the skip stop, insuf ficient cars, the near side stop, and - other grievances. President Wat tles of the company was present and v said the "skip stop" was a , war " measure, and the nearside stop an order of the railway commission. He made this statement, and then repeated it: "If the people of Oma ha will pay the company the money they have put into it, plus the legal rate of interest, they can deduct the dividends and have the property." A resolution to abolish the "skip stop" order was defeated by the commissioners five to one. The commissioners then passed a , resolution, appointing. Commission; er Ure and City Attorney Lambert to audit the books of the company and investigate its financial condi tions as regard the profits or losses ot the past tour years. NEW ULTIMATUM SENT TO ARMISTICE DELEGATES BY FOCH Demand Made for Locomotives Which Have Not Been Delivered as Agreed; Steps to Bring Ex-Kaiser to Justice Await Wilson's Arrival; Solf's Ten ure of Office Near End. BULLETIN. London, Dec. 3. It is, understood that the represen tatives of the allies in conference at the foreign ministry today were unanimously in favor ' of demanding that Holland hand over to the allies the former German em peror and former crown prince. No official report of the conference was issued beyond a mere recital of the names of those attending it and a statement to the effect that Col. E. M. House of the American peace delegation was prevented by illness from attending. London, Dec. 3. Marshal Foch has sent a new ulti matum to the German armistice delegates demanding that Germany give up the rest of the locomotives agreed to, ac cording to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Copen hagen transmitting advices from Berlin. Mathias Erzberger, leader of the German armistice commission, protested that it was impossible and asked for a respite. The ultimatum expired Monday forenoon, with what result it has not been learned. T A Reuter dispatch from Berlin today confirms the delivery of the ultimatum, the same limit of which is 24 hours. It says Mathias Erz berger (of the German armistice commission), offered to deliver all the locomotives as soon as they were repaired. The German news papers, adds the dispatch, point out that there As no hope of prolonging the armistice and that it is likely the allies will occupy Germany. Agree to Punishment The British war cabinet and the French and Italian representatives in London are in agreement as to the proposed punishment of Wil liam Hohenzollern, the former Ger man emperor, but have decided to take no action until President Wil son arrives in Europe, the Evening New9 says it learns. 'The allies are not willing to allow a technicality to prevent bringing William Hohenzollern to trial. If Holland refuses his extradition with out the consent of Germany, the newspaper adds, pressure will be brought to secure consent. The session of the inter-allied con ference, assembled to discuss the preliminaries of the peace confer ence, were resumed in Downing street this morning. A huge crowd again assembled to greet the dele gates, who were heartily cheered. Marshal Foch, especially, was again greeted with tremendous enthusiasm. Before the inter-allied body began its sessions an imperial council was held. Demand Solf's Resignation. Copenhagen, Dec. 3. It is an nounced officially in Berlin that the executive committee for Greater Berlin has reached an understanding with the Bavarian executive com mittee to demand that the resigna tion of Dr. Solf, the foreign secre tary, be fulfilled immediately. The committees will also demand that Dr. Solf be replaced by a con sistent opponent of the old system and the war policy. They will ask, also, that Mathias Erzberger, who was a member of the German armistice delegation, be not permitted to participate in the peace negotiations. GROWN PRINCE CLAIMS TITLE STILUS HIS 'Frederick W. Hohenzollern Denies Having Renounced Throne; Says Germany Lost War in 1914. Holland in Reprisal to Stop All Exports into Germany London, Dec. 3. The Dutch gov ernment has decided to stop all ex ports to Germany iii reprisal for the stoppage of the export of German coal into Holland, according to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Amsterdam. Hun "Higher Ups" Blamed For Terrorist ,0perati6ns London, Dec. 3. (British Wireless Service) Condem nation of the "terrorist" service organized by the Germans in Switzerland is voicedjby the Frankfort Gazette in its issue of November 23. 'The trials in connection with the discovery of bombs at Zurich,'' says this German newspaper, "have led to the dis closure of a 'terrorist' service of the German general staff in Switzerland. With the support of diplomatic and consular couriers, explosives and bacilli cultures were supplied, espe cially to Italian and French anarchists, in order that they might practice sabotage in their countries and spread disease among the army horses. - "This terrorist service was not the mere work of subor dinates. Quite definite accusations are made against even the former imperial chancellor, Prince yon Buelow. Hitherto in similar cases, the German public has been permitted to learn only half the truth. Now, when the barriers have fallen und speech is free, we can give. Switzerland the assurance that this incendiary diplomacy is not countenanced in Ger " many any more than it is in the countries that have to bear its evil consequences." s I ' By Associated Press. Oosterland, Holland, Dec. 3. "I have not renounced anything and I have not signed any document whatever." Frederick William Hohenzollern. who still claims the title oVcrown prince of Germany, thus answered the question of The Associated Press in the course of a lengthy conversation today, whirh took place in the small cottage of the village pastor on the island of Wie ringen, where he is interned. "Howeverl he continued, "should the German government decide to form a republic similar to the United States, I shall be perfectly content to return to Germany as a simple citizen ready to do anything to assist my country. I should even be happy to work as a laborer in a factory. . . "At present everything appears chaos in Germany, but I hope things will right themselves." Beaten in 1914. Asked what in his opinion was the turning point of the war, he said: "I was convinced early in Octo ber, 1914, that we had lost the war. I considered our position hopeless after the battle of the Marne, which we would not have lost if the chiefs of our general staff had not suffered a case of nerves. "I tried to persuade the general staff to seek peace then, even at a great sacrifice, going so far as to give up Alsace-Lorraine. But I was told to rhind my own business and confine my activities to command ing my armies. I have proof of this." What finally brought about the downfall of the German military power, he declared, was revolution induced by four years of hunger among the civilians and the troops in the rear, together with the over whelming superiority in numbers attained by the entente powers since America's entry into the war which had undermined the confidence of the German fighting forces. Odds Too Great "My soldiers, whom I loved and with whom I lived continuously, and who, if I may say so, loved me, fought with the utmost courage to the end, even when the odds were impossible to withstand " the refugee prince went on. "They had no rest, and sometimes an en tire division numbered only 600 rifles. These were opposed by fresh allied troops, among whom (Cmitinm-d on Tage Two, Column Five.) Syracuse Rules Out All Red and Black Banners Syracuse, N. Y Dec. 3.-The common council last night adopted an amendment to the city charter prohibiting the display of red or black flags at all public assemblies. Violation is punishable by fine of $100 or 10 days in jail or both. Convention Transferred. St Louis, Dec. 3. Because of the influenza epidemic, the annual con vention of the Investment Bankers' association of America, scheduled to be held here, has been transferred to Atlantic City, N. J., to be held December 9, 10 and 11 inclusive, it was announced tonight v ? Battleship Pennsylvania to Escort Steamer Carrying President Wilson to France JCur" T" I . r nffirmiM n n r m . -ex l! '1 V S.S. PENNSYLVANIA. DURAI llsyo. Tt.r,usfxvKC. Paris, Dec. 3. The fleet which will meet President Wilson on his way to Europe is being assembled at the American naval bases at Brest, France, and Portland, England. The dreadnoughts in the fleet comprise the largest ships on this side of the water, including the New York, the Oklahoma and the Nevada, under Ad miral Rodgers. The destroyer contingent will number 24 vessels. The fleet will proceed 1,500 miles out to sea, where the meeting with the steamship bearing the president, with its escort, will take place. Admiral Mayo, on board the escorting battleship Pennsylvania, will then take command of the combined fleet of 10 battleships and 28 destroyers, the latter including the four proceeding with the Pennsylvania. A stop will be made at the Azores, principally to ensure a supply of oil for the destroyers. Col. E. M. House will go to Brest to greet the president on his arrival. PRESIDENT BEGINS TRIP TO LANDS ACROSS SEAS No Announcement Made of Itinerary, But Transport George Washington, With Peace Delegates Aboard, Is Expected to Steam From JNew; York : With Convoy Some Time Today. Washington, Dec. 3. President Wilson began tonight his trip to Europe to attend the peace conference. The president left Washington on a special train for New York, where tomorrow he and his party, which includes Mrs. Wilson and her mother, Mrs. William H. Boiling, will board the transport George Washington on which the voyage across the Atlantic will be made. No announcement was made as to the president's itinerary, but it was understood that the George Wash ington would steam from New York with its naval convoy sometime to morrow, probably in the morning. About seven days will be required for the trip and the ship will dock at a French port, presumably Brest. Plans Six Weeks' Absence. The president does not expect to be abroad for more than six weeks, which would give- him just a month on European soil. Before the peace conference meets he will confer with Premier Lloyd George, of Great Britain, Clemenceau of France with King Albert of Belgium, to dis cuss the salient points of the peace treaty. ' While in Europe, Mr. Wilson plans to visit England and Italy as well as France, and he may go to Brussels. He also is understood to intend to make a pilgrimage to some of the battlefields in France. Great preparations have been made in London, Paris and Rome for the president's reception. Joseph P. Tumulty, the presi dent's secretary, accompanied Mr. Wilson to New York, but will not go abroad. He will return to Wash ington to conduct the business of the White House and will be the eyes and ears of the president in ,this country. Mr. Tumulty will be in frequent communication with the president by; cable 'and will keep him fully advised of events at home. President Wilson did not go to the Union station until a short while before the time for his train to de part. As he and Mrs. Wilson entered the station, the crowd there cheered and soldiers and sailors who were waiting for trains formed a human lane through which the president and Mrs. Wilson walked to the train shed. j - When some of the crowd wished the president "good luck" and "pleasant voyage," Mr. Wilson smil ingly called back "Thank you." Personnel of Party. Just before the train pulled out of the station, the personnel of the party aboard was announced as fol lows: In the president's immediate party: The president and Mrs. Wil son, Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson, the president's physician, George Creel; chairman of the committee on public information; Gilbert T. Close, confidential clerk to the president; E. I. Hoover, head usher at the White House and Miss Edith Ben ham, secretary to Mrs. Wilson. Others on the train were: The secretary of state and Mrs. Lansing; Secretary Baker, who was to leave the party at Hoboken; John W. Davis, ambassador to Great Britain and Mrs. Davis: Henry White, a and Orlando of Italy and probabfyJ mber 'of ' peace deiegation; McAdoo' 8 Successor as Secretary of Treasury I Will Be Named Today Washington, Dec. 3. Just be fore President Wilson left Wash ington tonight enroute to Europe announcement was made that the appointment ol a secretary of the treasury to succeed William G. McAdoo, will be made public to morrow in New York. There was no reference to a director general of railroads and the inference was that this official has. not been de termined upon, Mrs. Benson, wife of Rear Admiral W. S.-Benson; Major and Mrs. Scott; Lieutenant Commander Hatch; Mr. Harris, Mr. McNeir, Mr. Welch, Sidney Smith; the French ambassador i and Mrs. Jusserand; Count de Cellere, the Italian 'am bassador and Countess De Cellere and two children and Colonel R. H. Jordan, of the general staff, trans portation officer. Only three of the five American representatives to the peace con ference as announced at the White House last week will cross on the former North German-Lloyd liner. They are the president himself, Sec retary of State Robert Lansing, and Henry White,' former ambassador to France and Italy. Col. E. H. House and Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, the other two members, are in" France and will join the president there. Rear Admiral H. S. Knapp and Capt. William V. Pratt are accom panying the-presidential party and will report to Admiral Benson, naval representative with Col. House on the peace mission, as his assistants. Admiral Knapp has been in com mand of the naval forces in Haiti and San Domingo and Captain Pratt, who is assistant chief of naval opera tions, has been acting head of the bureau of operations during the absence abroad of Admiral Benson. Officers of Delegation. Seretaries of the peace delegation will be Josepji C. Drew, former sec retary of embassy at Berlin, and later charge at Vienna, and who now (Continued on Page Two, Column Two.) Nebraskan and Two I o wans in List: of WarPrisoners Washington, Dec. 3. A list of prisoners made public tonight by the War department gave the name of Lt. Edwin F. Albertson, Hills dale, N-J.. -at Rastattf and included the following enlisted men: At Camp Giessen, John W. Scott, Scranton, la. ' At Camp Rastatt, Fred C. Jordan, Bennington, Neb., and Elmer M. Thorsheim, Thompson, la. ENTIRE CHILEAN ARMY ORDERED INTOJERVICE Mobilization Necessary to Keep Down Labor Trou bles, Ministry Explains; Peru Takes No Steps. Santiago, Chile, Dec. 3. The United States, in agreement with the Chilean government, it is per sistently rumored here, will pro-i pose to Peru and Bolivia that Chile cede the province of Tacna toJPeru and turn over the province or Arica to Boliva, the latter republic deliver ing to Chile a frontier province. The mobilization of the Chilean army, already begun in the northern provinces has been ordered through out the republic. The war ministry explains that this,step was necessary to keep down threatened labor troubles. El Mercurio announces the classes of 1917 and 1918 comprising 9,000 men, have been called to the colors. Four hundred officers also have been summoned for active duty. Buenos Aires, Dec. 3. The Peru vian legation here declared today that Peru was not mobilizing its army. The minister has beei in formed by the foreign office that Peru intends to take no military step, despite Chilean mobilization. Washington, Dec. 3. The Ameri can government has made no sug gestions whatever to Chile and Peru as to the disposition of the disputed provinces of Tacna and Arica. This was announced officially tonight at the State department. STREET RAILWAY OPERATIVES STRIKE AT 3 THIS MORNING Declare Working Conditions Unjust and on Refusal of Company to Recognize Union, Give Orders to. Cease Work When Cars Are Taken . -to Barn Early Today. The executive committee of the carmen's union cf the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway employes decided a a meeting late last night to order a strike, calling off all union employes at 3:00 this morning. This, it was expected, would tie up all street cars in the two cities pending settlement of demands. The employes gave out A lenghty statement setting forth their grievences and stating that they are "suspending work until such time as the company will sit down at a table with us and discuss our grievences with us.'' J. W. McMillan of the executive committee said that the strike would affect 900 men, or 95 per cent of the total number of motormen and conductors employed by the com pany. 1 ' Will Continue to Ooerate. yVattle8 Says Never , Refused to TalkjOver Conditions With Men President G. W. Wattles of the street railway company, ,when told of the decision of the em ployes gave out the following statement: - "The company has never re fused to meet and talk with the men, and arrange to correct any existing complaints that they may have to make regarding hours of service or runs or anything of the kind. We have always had the door open to our employes and have never refused to make any concessions that would make their work easier. "But we have refused to enter in to a contract -with their union, and thereby place union men on a different basis than non-Union' men, and we told them that they did not have to belong to the union to hold their job. "We do not propose to operate under a union contract, favoring the union men by putting them on a different basis than the non union men. "We find agreements with the union do not amount to anything. We made an agreement with them last June in writing to take our troubles to the war labor board. Both agreed to abide by their de cision. We have kept our agree ment and they have violated theirs when they went on this strike." President Wattles states that the company will continue to operate to the best of its ability. Mayor Smith, who has been active in trying to avert a strike and has been active in arranging meetings between the company officials una employes, said last night that he had no statement to give out at this time. A meeting had been arranged for 10 o'clock Wednesday morning be tween the officials and the company Denmark is Not Able to Give Much Food to Huns, Reports Say Washington, Dec. 3. Denmark has made no arrangements to fur nish large monthly shipments of food to Germany, as reported re cently by the Berlin correspondent of the Berlingske Tidende, accord ing to an official dispatch today to the Danish legation from the for eign office at Copenhagen. The Tidende report said as a result of negotiations between Denmark and Germany the latter would receive each month 75,000 tons of fats, 150, 000 tons of meat and 230,000 tons of wheat. This, the Copenhagen foreign office cabled, was due to a misunderstanding. WHAT LEADERS SAY.' J. W. McMillan, chairman of the Employes' Executive com mittee, Carmen's union No. 807 "We have offered to meet the company at any. hour, at any time or place if theyVould only sit dpwn at the table, and talk -with us. We have been refused." G. W. Wattles, president of the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway company "We have al ways had the door open to our employes and have never refused to make any concessions that would make their work easier. "But we refuse to enter irlto a contract with their union and thereby place union men on a different basis than non-union men." . ; Mayor Ed P. SmithVl have Nothing to say tonight." and the employes say in their state ment that "they will be there." The principal grievance set forth by the employes in their statement is the refusal of the company to sign is "closed shop" agreement, thereby agreeing to employ only union men.' j Attitude of Company. President Wattles, when told thjt a strike had been declared, said that the company refused' to sign to agreement placing union men on a different basis than non-union men; and that the company rrad been will ing to meet with the men at any and all times. " Position of Carmen. J. H. McMillan, member of the cal carmen s executive committee, ave out tne tollowing statement at 11 o'clock last night representing the position of the men in striking: The following statement was dic tated by the executive committee of (Continued on rate Two, Column TbrM.) Wilson's Duty at Peace Meeting to Stand By Our-Allies, Not Act as Umpire, Says T. R. &ew York, Dec. 3. Asserting that the United States had not done nearly as much as the British navy and the British, French and Italian armies to'' bring about downfall of Germany, Theodore Roosevelt de clared in a statement here tonight that it is "our business to stand by our allies at the peace conference." He declared it "sheer nonsense" to say the American army was fight ing for President Wilson's famous ''fourteen points." He made the as sertion that "there was not one American soldier in every thousand who ever heard of them'" "The British empire imperatively needs the greatest navy in the world and this we should instantly con cede," said the colonel. "Our need for a great navy comes next to hers and we should have the second navy in the world. Similiarly France needs greater military strength than we do. but we should have all our young men trained to arms, on the genera! lines of the Swiss system. Must Support British Navy. "The 'freedom of the seas' is a phrase that may mean anything or nothing. If it is to be interpreted as Germany interprets it, it is thoroughly mischievous. There must be no interpretation of the phrase that would prevent the English navy in the event of any future war from repeating the tremendous serv ice it has rendered in this war. "The British must of course keep the colonies they have conquered. "As for this nation, it must keep its absolute economic independence and raise or lower its economic bar riers as its interests demand, for we have to look after the welfare of our own workig man. We must insist on the preservation of the Monroe doctrine. We must keep the right to close the Panama canal to our en emies in wartime and we must not undertake to interfere in European, Asiatic or African matters, with which we ought to have properly no concern." Wilson's Points Rejected. Declaring that "President Wilson has not given the slightest explana tion of what his views are or why he is going abroad," the colonel as serted "he is himself responsible for any division among the American people as regards the peace confer ence at this time." "He has never permitted the American people to pass on his peace proposals, nor has he ever made those proposals- clear and straightforward. As for the 14 points, so far as the American people have expressed any opinion upon them, it was on November 5, when they rejected them," he continued, adding that "the-American army was fighting to smash ' Germany" and "the American people wanted Ger many smashed." ' "The allies have never accepted the fourteen points," he continued, "the United Statej has never ac cepted them. Germany and Austria enthusiastically accepted them. Here certain individuals, including President Wilson, Mr. Hearst, Mr. Viereck, and, as I understand it, a number of prq-Germans and pacifists and international socialists have ac cepted them, but neither the Ameri can people nor the American con gress has accepted them." The colonel declared that "Mr. Wilson himself has rejected at least one of the 14 outright and has inter, preted another in the directly oppo site sense to its plain and obvious meaning" and added that "some-of the. 14 points are thoroughly mis chievous under any interpretation," and most of the others are vague and ambiguous. . "Inasmuch as Mr. Wilson is going over, it is earnestly to be hoped that it is his business not to try and be an umpire between our allies and our enemies, but to act loyally as one of the allies," said the colonel. "We have not suffered anything like as much and we have not rendered as much service as the leading allies. It is the British navy and the' French, British and Italian armies that have done the most to bring about the downfall of Germany and therefore, the safety of the United States. It is our business to'stao4 by our allies.'
