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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1914)
K win V01 MY.- NO. 16,870. PORTLAND, OREGON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1914. PRICE FIVE CENTS. V RATE INCREASE GRANTED ROADS Addition of $30,000,000 to Revenues Probable. BULKY TRAFFIC EXCEPTED All Lines in Official Classifi cation Territory Enjoy Uniform Advance. NEW NECESSITY SHOWN War in Europe, Added to Al ready Existing Conditions, Sways Commission. WASHINGTON', Dec. 18. Fur ther increases in freight rates were granted today to the Eastern railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commis sion in a decision from -which Chair man Harlan and Commissioner Clem ents dissented vigorously. "With the exception of lake-and- rail traffic, coal, coke, iron ore and certain other traffic on which the commission has heretofore fixed rates adjudicated "reasonable," all the rail road systems operating between the Atlantic Seaboard and the Mississippi north or the Potomac and Ohio riv ers were allowed to make the flat 5 per cent increase for which they have been asking for the last four years. Addition of $30,000,000 Expected. The roads hoped to get increases which would add to the annual reve nue some $50,000,000. The commis sion's decision is expected to give them additional revenue . approximating $30,000,000. The roads east of a north-and-south line drawn through Buffalo, Pitts burg and Charleston, W. Va., won by today's- decision the increases, other than on the traffic expected, which were denied them in the commission's decision last August. The roads west of this line, which obtained partial advances in the August decision, re ceived further advances, so that now all the roads in what is described as "official classification territory" will eDjoy uniform advances in both class and commodity rates. Necessity Due in Part to War. In its decision the majority of the commission held that the roads had established in the latest hearings a greater need of additional net income than ever before. This was due, in part, to exigencies which arose out of the war in Europe, and in part to the already existing necessity, in the judg ment of the commission, for additional revenues to maintain the . railroad properties. ( Chairman Harlan, in his dissenting opinion, held that sufficient aid had been given the roads by the decision of August 1 last, and that the find ings of the majority were "morally wrong." Commissioner Clements based his dissent on what he regarded as the inability in law, of the commis sion to take cognizance of everything in the making of rates other than their justice and reasonableness. Denials Involve Large Volume. Traffic on which no increase was allowed by the commission represents about 55 per cent of the entire volume of freight handled by the roads. Coal, coke and iron ore, however, are bulky commodities, taking low rates, conse quently the amount of revenue de rived from them is relativelv small. In the Eastern district 10 per cent of the entire volume of freight is an thracite; 31 per cent bituminous coal; 5 per cent coke, and 5 per cent ores. The coal roads, in the opinion of the commission, already are prof itable. Formal Order Issued. . The Commission issued this order: "It is ordered that respondents herein be, and they are hereby, au thorized to publish and file, bv not less than 10 days' notice to the Inter state Commerce Commission and to the general public in the manner pre scribed m section six of the act to regulate commerce, schedules of rates which do not exceed the limits or transgress the limitations stated and prescribed in said report. "It is further ordered that the per mission hereby granted does not waive (Concluded on Pags 2.) SULTAN OF EGYPT NAMED BY BRITAIN PRIXCOB HTTSSETJT KEMAL, tTNCLE OF KHEDIVE, APPOINTED. France Recognizes British Protec torate and London Does Likewise Regarding Moroccan Treaty. LONDON, Dec. 18. A British pro tectorate over Egypt was proclaimed today. Prince Hussein Kemal has been appointed Sultan and has accepted that position. He Is an uncle of Abbas Hllmi, -until now Khedive. The French government has recognized the British protectorate over the country, in which France formerly had such important Interests, and In return the British gov ernment has given notice that it ad heres to the Franco-Moroccan treaty of 1912, which, following the Agadlr affair, gave France a protectorate over Morocco. In inviting Prince Hussein to accept the office as the "Prince of the family of Mehmet Ali most worthy to occupy the Khedival position with the title and style of Sultan of Egypt," Milne Cheet ham. the British Acting High Com missioner, announces that Great Britain accepts all responsibilities for the de fense of the territories under the new Sultan; that. all Egyptian subjects will be entitled to the protection of Great Britain; that with the disappearance of Ottoman suzerainty the restrictions placed by Ottoman firmans under organization of the army will disap pear; that the relations with foreign powers will be conducted by a. British representative in Cairo, and that the religious convictions of the Egyptian subjects will be respected scrupulously. In connection with his letter the Commissioner, In a statement tonight, says that in declaring Egypt free from obedience to Constantinople, Great Britain has been animated by no hos tility toward the caliphate and that in any movement to strengthen and. Im prove the Mohammedan institution the new Sultan will have the support of the government. The promise is made that after the war the treaties will be revised and that "In such measure as the degree of enlightenment of public opinion may permit" the governed will be associ ated with the task of government. LOSS OF SHIPS IS DENIED British Admiralty Says German Raid Cost Ko War Vessels. LONDON. Dec 19. The Admiralty has issued a statement denying that any British warships were lost during the recent raid by a German squadron on the east ooast of England. The statement adds that all German assertions to the contrary are untrue. That the British destroyer Hardy was among the warships which en gaged the German squadron that made a raid on the east coast of England last Wednesday was disclosed by an Ad miralty casualty list issued tonight. The list shows that two men were killed and 15 were wounded aboard the Hardy. SCANDINAVIANKINGS MEET Alliance for Protection During War Expected as Result. MALMOE, Sweden, Dec. 18. via Lon don. King Gustave, of Sweden: King Haakon, of Norway, and King Christian, of Denmark, arrived here today for their conference, at which they are to formulate an agreement designed to combine their respective interests dur ing the period of the war. The meeting of King Haakon and King Gustave was of unusual interest, since it was the first time that the rulers of these countries had met since Norway severed her connection with Sweden In 1905. The conference is ex pected to establish closer relations be tween these countries. BELGIAN EDITORS DEFIANT Resumption of Publication at Ger man Request Is Refused. AMSTERDAM, via London, Dec 18. Efforts of General von Bissing. the Governor' of Belgium, to Induce the leading newspapers of Brussels and Antwerp to resume publication have proved to be futile. The editors of these newspapers in formed the Governor that so long as Belgium's King was absent from Brus sels and the German censorship con tinued, the papers would not be pub lished. CHEAP TURKEYS PROMISED Christmas Poultry Prices to Hold at Those of Thanksgiving. Christmas poultry prices promise to be reasonable. From present indica tions, turkeys and other fowls will sell at the same quotations that prevailed prior to Thanksgiving. So far as can be seen, there will be no scarcity. Receipts of dressed turkeys today and tomorrow will be large. The store price probably will not be more than 25 cents. Dressed ducks and geese probably will sell at 18 or 20 cents and chickens from 15 to 20 cents. HEARSE DRIVER FINED $10 Newspaper Man, Hit In. Face, During Chinese Funeral Ceremony. Walter Miller, driver of a hearse for the Hoiman Undertaking Company, was fined $10 yesterday in Municipal Court for assaulting M. C Blaine, a newspaper man. Blaine was "covering" a funeral at a Chinese cemetery, and Miller in try ing to keep the crowd from the altar became angered at Blaine and struck him in the face. FILLING SHIP IS IN RACE FOR SAFETY Isthmian Is Staggering Off West Mexico. DIVE IS LIKELY ANY MOMENT Million in Wines Is Aboard; Warships Act as Convoy. VESSEL GRINDS ON ISLE Wireless Brings Aid "S. O. S." Is Heard In Every Part of Pacific and Also at Arlington Sta tion on Atlantic Side. SAN DIEGO, Cal., Dec 18. With her bow submerged, considerable water in her No. 1 hold and her hull racked from stem to stern as the result of grinding twice on the northwestern end of San Benito Island, 300 miles, south of San Diego, the American - Hawaiian freighter Isthmian, laden with a 91,000,- 000 cargo of California wines and fruits and canned salmon, is staggering to wards San Diego, in imminent danger of sinking at any moment. At 10:05 o'clock tonight radiograms from the Isthmian reported the vessel in an exceedingly dangerous condition and liable to founder at any time. Firemen Stay at Put, When soundings were taken in No. 1 tank the sounding rod went clear through- the ship's bottom and the water was pouring in at a terrific rate. All the ship's pumps were out of order but the firemen remained at their posts and were succeeding In keeping suffi cient steam up to drive the vessl for ward in her desperate race for San Diego. To lighten the vessel still further Captain Ryer ordered more fuel oil jettisoned and at 10:25 o'clock the freighter, listing heavily and wallow ing In the heavy seas, rose about 28 Inches from the PUmsoll mark. The cruiser West Virginia, destroyer Perry and tug Iroquois, called by. the Isthmian's wireless early today, are convoying the vessel to this port. - Head Is Down Badly. Her head is reported down badly and her progress is being made at the rate of five miles an hour. The freighter was south bound for New York via the canal and carried 40 men in her crew. She had no passengers. The marvelous efficiency of wireless telegraphy was again strikingly ex emplified in the grounding of the Isth mian on Sah Benito Island. The freighter struck about 4:18 A. M.. and within two minutes the plight of the freighter, through the ship's radio ap paratus, had been conveyed to the ut termost parts of the Pacific Ocean. When the operator at Point Loma had (Concluded on Page 12.) trSHOftrv fifta- ( vow S , . ('SMITH S IwArcHYH' WETHEfZ. Ijjj ''J ) 1 I tlLZZ Hg-etJLlji T-V JS -VJ yg YOE foZ CAVA YOT INDEX OF TODAY'S NEWS The Weather. YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature, 31.S degress; minimum. S3.2 decrees. TODAY'S Fair, not much change In tem perature ; easterly wind. War. Loo's reported evacuated by Germans and Berlin critic questions defeat ot Russians. Fug 1. Prince Hussein Kemal appointed Sultan of Egypt by Great Britain. Page 1. Allies continue gains in Flanders and North ern France. Page 5. Kate Increase. Five per cent rate increase granted to rail roads in official classification territory. Page 1. Two members of Commission dissent and give reasons. Page 2. Commerce Commission holds rate situation has been changed by European war. Page 2. Northwest expected to derive great benefit from rate ruling. Page 2. Mexico. Maytorena tentatively accepts Invitation to confer with General Scott. Page 4. National. Members clash sharply at House hearing as to. Naval preparedness. . Page 5. Domestic. Isthmian, with Portland cargo, hits rocks 200 miles south of San Diego; vessel fill In rapidly. Suspect in Ludke murder case under arrest at Vancouver. Page 4. Sports. Baum and Berry may set out for Salt Lake today. Page 10. t Salt Lake, to pay, must charge 50 cents to bleachers, say veteran baseball players. Page 10. Pacific Northwest. Seattle's Mayor refuses food to Idle who . will not work. Page 11. Commercial and Marine. Renewed inquiry from Europe for Oregon wheat, flour and oats. Page 13. Chicago wheat prices weakened by peace talk. Page 15. Rally in stocks following announcement of freight rate caae decision, page 15. River steamer Stranger hits rock, sinks; all saved. Page 12. Portland and Vicinity. Cry of homeless little waif opens many doors. Face 11. Many firms share profits to aid work ot Muts. Page 7. School report shows students fewer and tax payers more numerous than last year. Page 11. Rev. W. B. Hlnaon makes stirring appeal for sufferlnir Belgium. Page 9. Commissioner Daly blames United Railways Company for franchise disagreement. faze IS. Falls on Columbia Highway locked in Ice. Page 10. - . Crook bounty seeks to overthrow Legisla ture's economy programme. Pugo 12. Two unmasked robbers hold up saloon. shoot proprietor and rob till. Page 4. Weather report, data and forecast. Page 15. EM DEN'S MEN CAPTURED Cocos Island Party Rounded Vp by British Auxiliary. PARIS, Dec. 18. The Ministry of Ma rine announced today that - the British auxiliary' cruiser Empress of Japan had captured the collier Exford, having on board three officers and 40 men from the German cruiser Kmden. sunk November- 10 by the Australian cruiser Sydney. These are the 40 men who escaped to Cocos Island and subsequently sailed away In a commandeered schooner. ALLIES BREAK THROUGH German Line Reported Broken . in Vicinity of Diimudc. LONDON. Dec. ID. A Times corre spondent in Northern France, writing under date of Thursday, says: "The allies have advanced. Their troops are reported to have passed Middelkerke and to have broken through the German line Just below Dixmude." LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE WINTER, EH? BROTHER AVENGES SISTER WITH GUN Lents Girl Suffering from Chloroform. SUITOR SHOT AFTER EPISODE John H. Killman, 19, Fells Claude Rinehart in Battle. LASS ATTEMPTS SUICIDE Father and Son Suspect Boarder of Dragging Sylvia Killman and Give PursuitMother Tells of Older Man's Threats. As a result, it is . said, of Claude Rinehart's attentions, 16-year-old Syl via Killman, of Lents, is in a serious condition from an attempt at suicide; Rinehart is under guard at a hospital with- two bullet wounds, and John H. Killman, Sylvia's 19-year-old brother, is under arrest, charged with shooting him in Lents last night. The Killman family is also known under the name of Smith, the maiden name of Young Killman's grandmother. Sylvia Killman attempted suicide, ac cording to her mother, by drinking chloroform last night, after Rinehart had forced his attention upon her dur ing the day while her parents were absent. Mrs. Killman says Rinehart had threatened her daughter, and that the girl feared he would kill her. Discovery Leads to Shooting;. John Killman shot Rinehart twice aoout 6 o'clock after he came home and discovered that his sister was un conscious from the effects of chloro form. He told the police that he be lieved Rinehart had drugged her and made an attack upon her. The shoot ing occurred, he says, when Rinehart attacked him and his father. Rinehart was a boarder at the home of A. L. Killman, father of the girl and boy. Mr. Killman is a carpenter, who lives near Main and Campbell "streets. Lento. He says that Rinehart had been too attentive to the girl for some time. He permitted the man to stay at his home, he says, because of a $22 bill which he hoped to collect from his wages. Rinehart has been working as a carpenter under Killman. He Is about 33 years old. Mr. Killman says that yesterday morning he and Rinehart went up town together.' Killman went to a barber shop to get shaved. Rinehart, he says, promised to wait for him in a poolroom. Rinehart Ordered to Move. Later he was unable to find Rine hart, he says, and returned home alone shortly before noon. Opening the door suddenly, he found his daughter sitting (Concluded on Page 5.) Friday's War Moves ALTHOUGH there seems no doubt that the Russians are retreating and that for the present any anticipa tions the allies may have held of an early invasion of Germany may be dis missed, considerable mystery surrounds the reported decisive victory by the Germans which Berlin celebrated Thursday night. Vienna gives a few details of the fighting in the east. The assertion Is made that, the Russians have been driven out of the positions north of the Carpathian Mountains from Krosno to Zakliczyn, ' which would indicate that part of the southern line of railway in Galicla again is in the hands of the Austrlans and that Piotrkow and an other Central Poland town have been stormed, but silence is maintained as regards North Poland, where the Ger man victory is said to have been achieved. The German official report dismisses this battle with the statement that "In Poland we are utill pursuing the enemy. wno continue to give way." Amsterdam dispatches serve to heighten the tion by quoting Berlin papers received mere looay as expressing disappoint ment at the fact that no names of bat tlefields are mentioned; that no tangi ble results of the fighting are disclosed and that no lists are given of the num ber Of -captured tuns n nrlsntim Some disappointment is expressed in London at the silence of the Russians ana advices from Petrograd are await ed eagerly. The allies' offensive In the west con. tlnues to progress slowly, according to the Paris eommunlr.atlrtn- nTtlimiErti t o aggregate gains claimed during the last week indicate -a considerable ad vance in Flandera and in th vli-lnltv of Arras, where the allies seemingly are making their greatest efforts In the belief that penetration of the German lines would compel a general German retirement. It Is still, however, a mat. ter of siege warfare in Belgium and France. Berlin says many of the at tacks of the allies are being repulsed with heavy casualties, which are In creased when the Germans mine trenches which they are compelled to evacuate. The Admiralty denies the German re port that the German ahlna whli-h r,u ed the east coast Wednesday sank two eriusn destroyers, saying no British ships were lost. In reply to a request from the cor porations of Hartlepool and West Har tlepool to make an investlc-m Inn rf .- raid, the Admiralty has replied that this will not be necessary, as the gov ernment is now in possession of all the facts. - The coroners of the three towns wmcn were bombarded still are busy holding inquests over the hor?1 r vic tims, the numbers of whom continue to grow as injured persons succumb to their wounds. - As a result of the bombardment the kingdom has been flooded with posters reading: "Avenge Scarborough! Up and at 'em now. TWO BURIED IN WELL Winona Cave-In Engulfs Workers and Rescuers Think Them Dead. COLFAX. Wash., Dec. 18. (Special.) Arthur Chappell, aged 20, and a la borer named Long, address unknown, were entombed bv a cavn-ln rf - well at Winona, In Western Whitman County, today. Fifty citizens of Wi nona are digging them out. but h.nv hopes of finding them alive. Chappell and Long had taken a con tract to fill the 35-font wil an w.r. trying to save the lumber used for curb- ing. wnappei uvea witn ni3 widowed mother near Winona. TREASON VERDICT VOIDED London Court Annuls Conviction of Naturalized German. LONDON, Dec. 18. The Court of Criminal Appeals, consisting of the Lord Chief Justice Reading, and four other Justices, today annulled the conviction of Nicholas Ahlers, who on December 10, was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Ahlers, a naturalized Englishman, formerly was German consul In Sunder land Borough. He was accused of having aided German reservists to reach their country after the outbreak of the war. CHRISTMAS MAIL MOVING Burleson Promises Successful Dis patch and Delivery of Parcels. WASHINGTON. Dec. 18. Postmaster General Burleson, in a statement Issued tonight, promised the public "success ful dispatch and delivery" of Christmas parcels and letters. The vast' bulk of mails, he said, already has begun to move and is being handled promptly and well. The "mail-your-parcels-early" sug gestion, recently made by the depart ment, had good effect. Traflic began in large volume earlier than last year. BRITISH BOMBARD TURKS Barracks North of Dardanelles De stroyed, Fortifications Damaged. PARIS, Dec. IS. The Havas Agency has given out a dispatch from its cor respondent at Athens, who quotes a message from the Island of Tenedos to the effect that the recent bombard ment by a British fleet in the Gulf of Saros, immedilately north of the Dardanelles, completely destroyed the Turkish barracks on shore and seri ously damaged tbe fortifications. The Turks, panic stricken, fled to the interior. GERMANS EVACUATE LODZ, SAYS ENEMY Invasion of South Prus sia Is Danger Yet. CZAR REINFORCES IN POLAND Move From Carpathians Halts; Official Reports Conflict. , TEUTONS SAY FOE BEATEN Berlin Military Critic Questions Re port of Great Victory for His Own People, Saying Rumor Is t Senseless Exaggeration. f PETROGRAD, Dec. 18. (Special.) 4 A newspaper here quotes a high author ity as saying the Germans have evaeu-t ated Lodz, having found that the town would not serve as a base of opera tions. tt Is believed the German plan to capture the right bank of the Vistula and then advance from Mlawa and ex ert pressure on the left bank has com- pletely failed. LONDON, Dec. 18. At the same time that the Germans are cau tioned by a Berlin military critic that talk of a destructive defeat of tho less and misleading exaggeration," t'aa Petrograd War Office announces an al most complete lull on the left bank of the Vistula following tho attacks of the enemy, saying "all of these attacks were repulsed." Teutons Checked in nallcia. The Petrograd correspondent of the Times sends the following: "The enemy's third incursion into Galicla has been arrested on the very borders of the province. Some maneu vering on the part of General Radko Pimltrleff's corps sufficed to'"check the invading column, although they crossed tho Carpathians on a wide front, ex tending between Wiellczka and tha headquarters of the San River. "No' definite information haa been, forthcoming as yet regarding the new point of attack in Field Marshal von Hindcnburg's invasion of Poland. After his fruitless efforts to break through the Russian lines on the Bzura River it is probable that he will seek to deliver a blow further south, but it is not known whether this will be to ward Warsaw or Kieloc. Russlass Menace Sllcsla. "The Russian army is within .a, stone's throw ot the Silesian border north of Cracow, which 13 tho real pivot of all the operations now de veloping. "The desperate flanking movement on the Bzura River and from the Car pathians only serve to indicate that the Russians hold the pivot firmly, whence, in good time, they will sweep the flanking columns off the road and ad vance into tho heart of Germany." The Daily Mail's correspondent saysj "Russian reinforcements are pour ing to the front in Poland, and the ls sue in the fighting west of Warsaw depends upon which side can fling the largest weight in numbers into the battle line." Kualan Attack In Carpathians. The Austrian official communication says the "beaten Russian main forces are being pursued on the entire front" of 250 miles, while the German War Olllce makes the same assertion. Vienna now also says the Russians are still the aggressors in the Carpa- tConcluded on Pago 5.) PLANS TO BUILD GREAT PLANT TANGIBLE KV I- DE.NCK OK PROGIIKSS. Jason C. Moore, head of a New York syndicate, announced in Portland yesterday that he had retained J. G. Kellcy, of Port land, aa consulting engineer for the $6,000,000 manufacturing plant his syndicate proposes to build at the Junction of the Deschutes and Columbia rivers to develop the rich deposits of salts con tained In the Summer and Abert lakes. The State Land Board last Tuesday leased the property to Mr. Moore for 45 years and he says that unless the coming Legislature refuses to ratify the action of the State Board, as seems unlikely, active construc tion of the plant will be put for ward within 30 days from tho ratification. Mr. Moore has already deposited $10,000 with the state guaranteeing annual royalties from the project of not less than $25,000. Mr. Moore said yesterday that his company would employ be tween 3000 and 5000 men on the plant steadily and would bring vast sums of money to the state every year. The plants will manufacture nitrates, potassium, sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, and sodium chloride and generate electrical power. Mr. Moore be lieves the plant will mean that Oregon Is to be the leading paper market of the United States. The plant will bo one of the largest of its kind in the world. f