VOL. LY XO. 16,948. PORTLAND, OREGON, SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1915. TRICK FIVE CENTS. 3 BATTLESHIPS SDR BY TURKS Britain Loses 2, France 1 in Dardanelles. TWO KOKE ARE DISABLED Nearly All of Crew Go Down With Destroyed Frenchman. Floating Mines Blamed. FOUR FORTS ARE SILENCED '.very Warship in Attacking Fleet of Ten Is Struck. English Dead Are Few. SUMMARY OF RESILT OP AT TACK THURSDAY OJf DARDANELLES Battleships sunk Bouvet, French (crew lost). Irresistible and Ocean, British (crews saved). Cause given by British Float ing; mines. Battleships disabled by forts Gaulois, French; Inflexible, Brit ish. . Other battleships engaged Suf ren and Charlemagne, French; Queen Elizabeth. Agamemnon. Lord Nelson, Triumph, Prince George, Vengeance, Albion, Swift suro and "V-iiJestlc, British. Forts silenced .1, U, F and B. Other forts attacked L. "V, T and H. LONDON, March !. The British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and the French battleship Bouvet were blitwn up. by floating mines while en gaged with the remainder of the allied fleet in attacking the forts in The Narrows of the Dardanelles Thursday. The crews of the two British ships were virtually all saved, having been transferred to other ships under a hot fire, but an internal explosion took place on board the Bouvet after she had fouled the mine and most of her crew was lost. Bouvet Sinks Quickly. The Bouvet sank within three min utes of the time that she hit the mine. The waters in which the ships were lost had been swept of mines, but the British Admiralty asserts that the Turks and the Germans set floating containers of explosives adrift and these were carried down by the cur-, rent onto the allied ships gathered inside the entrance of the straits. All the ships that were sunk were old ones, the Bouvet having been com pleted nearly "0 years ago and the Ocean and Irresistible in 181)8. They were useful, however, for the work in which they were engaged in the Dar danelles. Lost Ships Replaced. The destroyed British ships are be ing replaced by the battleships Queen ami Implacable, vessels of a similar type. They are said to have started some time ago for near Western wa ters in anticipation of just such losses ! as have now occurred. Two other j ships engaged in the fighting, the j British battle cruiser Inflexible and : the French battleship Gaulois, were hit hy shells and damaged. x The British casualties, according to the British official report, "were not heaw, considering the scale of the operations." j Forts in Narrows Shelled. I t The damage done to tho Turkish forts by the heavy bombardment has net yet been ascertained. It is said that the operations against them are continuing. The forts attacked were thot-e on cither side of Kephex Bay and on Kcphoz Point outside The Narrows and those on Kilid Bahr and) Chanak in The Narrows. j The Kephcz forts replied strongly ! when the battleships advanced, firing, up the Dardanelles and all the ships were hit. It is asserted that these' forts finally were silenced and a bom- i bardment of those in The Narrows was under way when the three battle-, ships struck mines. The blowing up of the ships did not cause a cessation of the fighting, which continued until OREGON DEBATERS BEAT WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP IS SUE AKGtED AT EUCEXE. Unanimous Decision of Judges Is Taken After Telling Speeches for Railroad Reform. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. Eugene, Or., March 19. (Special.) University of Oregon debaters won a great vic tory over the 'Washington duo when they obtained a unanimous decision of the judges at the conclusion of their arguments here tonight. Oregon up held the affirmative. The question, ' "Resolved, That the Federal Government Own and Operate All Interstate Roads, Acting as Com mon Carriers, Including Intrastate Lines Competing With Them," was argued from every standpoint. The Oregonians. Hardesty and Jaurguy, presented strong "convincers when they cemonstrated that the uov ernment and the country at large was in need of Just this reform in the rail road system. Hardesty"s address was exceptionally convincing. Hertzog, for the losers, was an ex cellent speaker and his colleague was not far behind in his arguments. The Washington men attempted to show that there was no need in this country for railroad reform and mentioned many reasons why they considered it unnecessary. Washington constantly referred to Europe and some of the state-owned railroads of those countries. The judges were Professor H. G. Merriam, Professor M. P. Ewer, both from Reed College, and Professor Ralph Hetzel. from the Oregon Agricultural College. STANFORD UNIVERSITY. Cal.. March 19. (Special.) Stanford tonight won from Oregon by a vote of two of the Judges, the third holding that the Ore gonians ha-d presented the best argu ments. SEATTLE, Wash.. March 19. Lelana Stanford, Jr., University debating team defeated the University of Washington 2 to 1 tonight in the 'trl-state debate. KARLSRUHE RUMOR GROWS British Admiralty Believes German Cruiser Sank ar West Indies. LONDON, March 20 The secretary of the British Admiralty announces that there is every reason to believe that the German cruiser Karlsrulie was sunk in the neighborhood of the West Indies at the beginning of November. Those of her crew who were rescued. he says, reached Germany early in De cember on the steamer Rio Grande, which had been acting in concert with the Karlsruhe. AMERICA IS CHIEF GIVER Country Far in Lead in Work of Re lief of Belgium. HAVRE, March' 19. Statistics con cerning the relief afforded the inhabit ants of Belgium up to the end of Janu ary give the total of contributions of money and provisions as follows: From the United States, 1 6.200.000: from Great Britain. $920,000; from New Zealand. $500,000; from Australia, $300, 000; from Canada, $800,000, and from Spain and Italy $20,000 each. WARSHIPS OF ALLIES -EE TOP aEI-n-BlimitH BATT..KS,.,.. STBUlIiD. BliLOW feces ;;v ; ALLIES' BLOCKADE VIEWED AS LEGAL Washington's Official Opinion Shifts., DIPLOMATS CONSULT NAVY MEN United States Keeps Possible Future Wars in Mind. OLD SYSTEM IS AT END That Submarines Have Changed Radius or Activity Is "Vow Admit ted "European Waters" May Be Accepted as Definition. WASHINGTON. March 19. While the United States Government does not know officially as yet whether Great Britain and her allies Intend to main tain a legal blockade or propose to ap ply general rules of contraband and non-contraband in enforcing their em bargo on commercial intercourse be tween Germany and neutral countries, American Naval officers and officials expressed the opinion today that the in definite limit prescribed "European waters, including the Mediterranean" might be construed as a. legal area of operations for a blockading fleet. In the formulation of the policy of the United States relative to the treatment of neutral shipping by the allied fleets, Naval officers of high rank have con stantly been consulted, so that in none of the diplomatic communications sent abroad might there be anything said which could compromise the activities of the American fleet itself in possible future wars. Naval Officer Consulted. Rear-Admiral Fiske, aide for opera tions in the Navy Department, con ferred with Counsellor Lansing at the State Department daily and on the neu trality board of three, which acts in an advisory capacity to the counsellor, there are two Naval officers Captains Oliver and Knapp. authorities is mari time law. Much consideration has been given at the conferences to the newly-developed activity of submarines. It is frankly admitted by the naval officers that the old form of blockade by warships close Uo an enemy coast passed with the investment of Santiago in the Spanish. American war. Accordingly. In the, message of inquiry to Great Britain and France asking for an explanation of their recent declaration of an em bargo, theMJnited States conceded that the activity of submarines might make physically impossible a close blockade of an enemy coast, and suggested that if the declaration of the allies were to be construed as a legal . blockade. some "activity" be announced. This principle of a "radius of action," or area of operations tor a blockading (Concluded on Page 3.) DESTROYED OR DAMAGED IN ' :...v. . - . f is ni .XP. EX.BI.K. WHICH IS 'oAMAHBD. CKSTER-VICADMlim IKmIMW JSG"lmTKo7tuSUlr L.1FT) URll'I Sit BATTLESHIP IRRESISTIBLE, WUIVll JLS DISSTROiKD. BIOflr-lKW tU UAlTLWHIr BOHEI, UtSfRUlbU. INDEX OF TODAY'S NEWS Tho Weather. YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature, 6T.4 degrees; minimum temperature, 40.$ de gree. TODAY'S Fair; northeasterly winds. War Will Irwin descrites how British turned seaming defeat into victory at -crucial battle of Yprea. Pace 1. TuJ Vienna s demand that Italy fulfill neutrality agreement before cession or iren xarded with, suspicion, pace : Russian occupation of German seaport changes situation in east. Page 2. Frederick 'Palmer savs Canadians are at home in trenches in France. Page 2. Two British and one French battleships are sunk In Dardanelles. Pace l. . Xalloaal. Washinirton more inclined to accept "Euro- pea.1 waters" as legal blockade area. P&se 1. Domestic definition of Physician testifies women on tenant farms of Southwest are overwortiea. r-age Sports. Portland baseball team begins secret signal drill. Pace 6. Fans to meet today to plan opening ceremonies and to have crowd of .0,000 out. Page & 'Pacific Northwest. Mitchell Point road assured, say members of Hlc-hwav Board. Page . Needs of State University under discussion by Regents, page o. Oregon debaters beat Washington at .u gene. Page l. Commercial and Marine. Scarcity of tonnage stops wheat selling in local marKei. .rage io. Chicago wheat breaks on rumors of Austro- Italian crisis, page 15. Stocks recover most of ground lost early in week, page 15. Trd imnrovement reported, irora. eTery art of country. Page 10. Deal - with Puget Sound Towing uompauy likely to be closed or aroppea Page 12. Portland and Vicinity. Enthusiasm grips business men at two great rallies, page a. Arson trial halted to investigate cnargw against Glenn Hoover, seauie auume. Pa.ee ll. Garden work is begun formally at Brooklyn mrhnol Paee 7. Ruin of civil service in postoffice predicted. Page 11. BUMPAS HELLHOLE ERUPTS Lassen Volcano ' Again Active and Three Craters Emit Smoke. REDDING,' Cal., March 19. Lassen peak and two smaller craters emitted clouds of sulphurous smoke and steam today that were visible within a radius of 10 miles. The first of the series of eruptions which began at daybreak and continued all day came from a vent behind Broke Off Mountain, probably from Bumpas Hellhole. Broke Off Mountain is three miles south of the main crater, which is 52 miles from Redding. An eruption from near Mananila Lake, on the north slope, three miles from the main crater. is the second one recently observed. POKER LEGAL IN NEVADA Kitty,"- However, Outlawed; Farl Mutnel Racing Betting Permitted. CARSON .CITY, Nev, March 19. After rushing through a gambling law the Nevada Legislature adjourned early today. The gambling law makes all gambling a felony except poker, whist, solo and five hundred. When no per centage is taken these are lawful games. Otherwise they are felonies. Puri-mutuel betting on tracks of licensed asoclations is permitted. Russian General Wounded. PETROGRAD. March 19. Lieutenant General Liszovski was wounded yester day, while directing the operations of his division in Poland. DARDANELLES THURSDAY AND FLEET COMMANDER WHO RELINQUISHES COMMAND. v- ENTHUSIASM GRIPS Al I AT RANffllFTQ I ILL 111 UllllUUki - Spirit of 'ft1- operation Pervades Big Rallies. FUSION OF CLUBS PRAISED Speakers Dwell on Greater Opportunities Now Open. CONGRATULATIONS COME IN Commercial Bodies Send Greetings to Diners, Commending Plans and Mentioning Better Work That May Be Done. Such a manifestation of enthusiasm as few cities have seen in recent years was shown in the get-together meet ing held by the business men of Fort- land last night at the Commercial' Club and the Multnomah Hotel, to prepare for the launching of the membership campaign which is to begin next week and crown the completion of the con solidation of the old Commercial Club of Portland and the Chamber of Com merce into the New Chamber of Com merce. "Never before in my experience in this line of work," declared H. V. Chase, at the Multnomah Hotel, "have I worked In a community where the interest was so great that one room was not sufficient to accommodate all of the business men who turned out to participate In such meetings as these that we have been holding tonight." Three Purposes Outlined. 'Co-operation, economy and efficiency are the main objects to be accomplished through the formation of this new or ganization," said A. L.. Mills, president of the First National Bank, who was the principal speaker at the Commer cial Club meeting, and who spoke also at the Multnomah Hotel. Mr. Mills compared the past and present efforts of Portland's numerous commercial organizations to the dis jointed struggles of ' the 'American colonies previous to the Revolution. He insisted that there is just as much need for joint effort here in Port land as there was for union among the colonies. 'We have keen, aggressive, civic competition." he asserted, "that calls for the best brain and talent that we have if we are to forge ahead." He added that Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest applies equally to cities as it does to animals. He gave his emphatic approval to the consolidation plan. All Called F rom Bleachers. 'No one," he continued, "can -fight Portland's battle alone while the rest of the citizens sit on the bleachers and criticise. After tonight let it not be said that there is anyone on the bleach- (Concluded on I'age 12.) -. jj-x-. ' ;-"-.. ; ' A1 4 Jl Friday's War Moves THE most striking dovelopment of the war news yesterday was the -ja nnouncement of the destruction In the Dardanelles of two British battle ships, the Irresistible and the Ocean, and the French battleship Bouvet. while engaged in operations against the Turkish forts. In addition, two other vessels, the Inflexible and the Gaulois, British and French battleships, were put out of action. All the crew of the Bouvet probably were lost. The Brit ish report attributes the loss of the vessels to drifting mines. Beyond the operations in tbe Dar danelles, the most Important news of the day concerns the reported occupa tion by the Russians of Memel, a Ger man port on the Baltic, as announced in the German official communication. Memel is a town of considerable im portance In Northeast Prussia and the presence there of Russian forces is taken by military observers here to indicate that tbe Russian generals have decided to attempt a big sweep down through East Prussia in an ep deavor to compel the Germans to f.'l back from Northern Polaud. Again North Poland has been trar.s formed into an immense bog by the thaw which has set in Just as Field Marshal von Hindenburg has started his offensive against Przasnysz. It is declared that It is Impossible, except at widely separated high places, to move, let alone fight. The Germans, however, have started an offensive in Central Poland, where they have commenced an attack on the Russians in the region of tbe Pilica River. There is also heavy fighting in Gallcla, the Carpathians and Bukowlna, despite the heavy snow. On the western front no operations of great importance have taken place, although the French continue their ef forts to work their way forward in the Champagne and Argonne regions and the Belgians still are active in the little bit of their territory remain ing in their hands. The political situation as regards Austria and Italy remains obscure, but there are persistent reports in circu lation in London that the negotiations for the cession of Austrian territory to Italy have broken down, Italy's de mands having been considered ex cessive. BREAD RULE IS RELAXED Berlin Withdraws Restrictions as to Use or Wheat Plour. LONDON, March -'0. German news papers reaching here contain the an nouncement by the Berlin City Council withdrawing its . restrictions regard ing the use of wheat flour in bread, which formerly could not contain more than 70 per cent of wheat flour. According to the announcement, all wheat bread may now be baked with out penalty. RUSSIANS NEARBOSPHORUS Constantinople Thrown Into Panic by Approach of Fleet. LONDON. March 28. "It is officially confirmed that a Russian squadron has approached the northern part of the Bosphorus," says Reuter's Fetrograd correspondent. "The appearance of the squadron caused a great panic in Constanti nople." f VICTORY SNATCHED I Everything Risked at Battle of Ypres. LAST RESERVES IN ACTION Tide Turned by Violation of Accepted Strategy. OCTOBER 31 CRUCIAL DAY Will lm in DcM-ribcs How DifaMcr Followed Difastcr JukI Bi'foro British General Brought Knomy to Standstill. BY WILL, IRWIN. (Following ! th -ronclu.ion of Mr. Irwin's account of tho British action. In North..-n France, which culminated In tho battlo of Yprea, regarded ss perhap tho turning point ot tho campaign.) LONDON, March 4. Rawllnson. stretching his lines beyond all se curity, was fighting a desperate battle to hold Vpres and to main- -Haln touch run mo Belgian r.nd their " ' kronen reiniorve- ! ments to his left. I I!y the 20th that '" Vjl-ne had grown scr- ously thin; by h 20th, too. the Ger man masses were coming on faster Meantime, General Will Irnln. French, even be fore the whole army was detrained, had swung hla main forces through a series of maneuvers which, I suspect, tho soldier of the futuro will study for their brilliance and for their de fiance of military tradition. Visitors returning to London in October de scribed general headquarters and the town which surrounded it as "the quietest spot In Europe." "Thinking Machine" at Work. Though the guns sounded everywhere In the distance, peasants were plowing, boys going fishing, housewives scrub bing the doorstep.". Just as usual. Heart of tho' town and hope ot the eniplro was that house, where this small, compact, blue-eyed man with his mixture of French and Irish blood, which means genius; his overlay of English blood, which means stability: this old beau sabreur transformed by tho change of warfare to a thinking machine, i solving . situation which waa like 20 cli.-sa problems at once. Of mornings he worked at his desk: of afternoons he held council or visited tho lines; al luncheon, at tea and at dinner ne thrashed it out itn hi officer. "Ho violated." says a friendly critic, every rule of warfare and succeeded." They were Judicious violations. This is a new warfare: .ome of the oiu rules do not hold. Ho was making the traditions of a now warfare. tlany Separate llattle Fouabl. So complex is this new warfare that a layman cannot follow the scparute actions which made the great result. Indeed, French's own dispatches, writ ten at a time when he must concoal much from the enemy, fall to describe these actions in any detail. Every day he let loose a separate hell against the increasing German hordes at his front. A spectator, sweeping the terrain from an aeroplane, could have made little of l those lines crawling through tho mud. those streaks of smoke and flame alonn the hills, those masses of troops ln tho towns. But l'rcncli wan bending all these complex thlnjts to one end to make untenable any German pobitlon below tho line drawn across llanuuts and Northern France by tho strategists of the allies. In all this torn, bleeding province ot fire and doat.li, the action rooo to ep. arate battles, which would havn been I anions In old wars. The solxantti qulnne guns of tho French artillery support, the rifles and yoncls of the linglish third corps, took the hill of Mont des Cats; did It, too. acalnst odd. That same third corps always the at tacking lorco and almoat always HKaliift odds went forward In a week to Armentlores, a gain of 20 miles or more. The sreond corps, fighting on the rislit of the third, made a narrower t'irn. It pivoted on La Basanc; Its left went, forward ten miles, to a point where It was In touch with the third, tirnnia ItenlMaaee Mlffcna. So, as the critical 20th approached, tho main forco under Oenoral French extended for some 20 miles front before La Hanco to a point beyoml Vpres; and now the tierinan ri."tance stlff- 1 cued and held. Neither the Kngllvh nor the French could drive much fur- I tlier. Hut tho line was establlslifd. And it was a straight line. Half-formed. ! iiifecure, it still reached out anl I touched that Franco-BelKlan defame ; which ran from the Foreat of Houlhou lct to the wca. That extreme left of the T'.rltlsh link the point whero It Joined th lino tC It nllirH was held by Ran Union's hnrui'scd, overstretched division. And ' '. J im then more Germans and still more Oermans were rushed uoil the J.cl Sian railioadN. "They seemed to ruin down on us everywhere," a t-pcclMlur ILuucluaid on Vi !. FROlVl SEEmlNG RDU 47 - j " . v J land faster, and tho w '' 'tk. Jwero beginning to E strike at his weak- I t ( jest spot his totuh I . tV I 1 with the French and LA ""5a. Bclcians to his left