Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, August 11, 1917, Image 1

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    VOL.. LVII.XO. 17,697.
PORTLAND, OREGON, i .TURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1917.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
FLEET CORPORATION
LEGAL STAFF QUITS
ACTION SAID TO BE DUE TO
SYMPATHY WITH GOETHALS.
WILSON NOT BEADY
10 TALK OF PEACE
WOMEN ACCUSED OF
ANTI-DRAFT PLOT
CONFEREES FAIL TO
END LA600 TROUBLE
DUST AND HAIL HIT
TUCSON, ARIZONA
RAIN SWELLS RIVERS, TAKING
OUT HEAVY BRIDGES.
LIVES IN
AT SEA
GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATING
CHARGES OF PERJURY.
HOOVER DIRECTS
men FOOD
AMERICAN
JEOPARDY
r
Appointment Is Mads as
Bill Is Signed.
b:g stick to be in reserve
Administration Hopes to Ob
tain Co-operation of Busi
ness Men of Nation.
PEOPLE MUST ECONOMIZE
Elimination of Waste Will
Leave Plenty for America
and Allies, Says Hoover.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10. The
American Government today assumed
control of the country's food supply
with the signing by President Wilson
of the Administration's food survey
and regulatory bills.
Formal announcement of Herbert
Hoover's appointment as food admin
istrator -was made at the White House
soon after the measures were ap
proved, and tonight Mr. Hoover set
forth the aims of the food administra
tion in a statement, declaring its pur
pose vrill be to stabilize and not to dis
turb conditions.
Co-operation Is Expected.
Every effort will be made to correct
price abuses, made possible by abnor
mal times, Mr. Hoover said, but dras
tic measures will not be attempted
until it is seen the purposes of the
Administration cannot be accom
plished through, constructive co-operation
with food producing and distrib
uting industries.
The very existence of corrective
powers, Mr. Hoover declared, will tend
to check speculation and .price infla
tion. "The business men of the country, I
am convinced," says Mr. Hoover's
statement, "as a result of many hun
dreds of conferences with representa
tives of the great sources of food sup
ply, realize their own patriotic obli
gation, and the solemnity of the sit
uation, and will fairly and generously
co-operate in meeting the National
emergencies."
Government Has Wide Power.
The two measures signed today give
to the Government sweeping war-time
powers. The regulatory bill is de
signed to put food distribution under
direct Government supervision, and a
provision added as an amendment ex
tends an even more drastic Govern
ment control over coal and other fuels,
including the power to fix prices, and
authorizing Government operation of
mines.
The survey bill is intended to en
courage production, and gives the Gov
ernment authority to keep up a con
tinuous census of the amount of food
stuffs in the United States. It will be
administered by the Department of
Agriculture.
Both the Food Administration and
Agriculture departments have been
ready since long before the bills were
passed to go ahead with the work.
v.The Food Administration has assem
tled a staff and already is enlisting
the country's women in a household
saving campaign.
Wheat to Be First Concern.
Meanwhile the Federal Trade Com
mission, authorized some time ago to
conduct an investigation into food
prices with special reference to anti
trust law violations, is gathering in
formation which it will turn over to
the two agencies and to the Depart
ment of Justice.
The first move of the Food Admin
istration' will be to bring about
changes in the system of distributing
wheat and in the manufacture and
sale of flour and bread. It will take
up next the production of meat and
dairy foods. The Trade Commission
has investigators now in the flour
mills and in the meat-packing houses.
In his statement tonight Mr. Hoov
er emphasizes .the obligation the
United States owes to its allies, in
supplying an abundance of food and
, i a; l i t
urges reaucea consumption Dy we
American people,
t "We have in our abundance and in
our waste," he says, "an ample supply
to carry them as well as ourselves
over this next Win'-er without suffer
ing. If we fail, it is because individ-
(Concluded oo Pas 5. Column 1.)
Prominent Lawyers - Leave Rear
Admiral Capps Free to Se
lect Own Associates.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 10. The en
tire legal staff of the Emergency Fleet
Corporation has quit In a body, be
cause of sympathy, it is said, with
Major-General George "W. Goethals,
whose resignation as general manager
of the corporation was accepted re
cently by President Wilson.
On the staff are some of the coun
try's best known lawyers. They are
George Rublee, a former member of
the Federal Trade Commission; Joseph
P. Cotton, George H. Savage and
Charles P. Howland, of New York, and
Edward B. Burling, of Chicago.
All except Mr." Savage were serving
without pay. i
The attorneys resigned several days
ago but their action became known
only today. It was learned the lawyers
felt they should go out with General
Goethals and that Rear-Admiral Capps,
now general manager, should be left
free to choose his own associates.
When the places of the attorneys are
filled and one more member is named
for the Shipping Board the reorganiza
tion of the board and the corporation
will have been completed.
MR. B1GEL0W MAYOR TODAY
Four Members of City Council Are
Absent From Town.
City Commissioner BIgelow was
Mayor of Portland yesterday and will
be again today. As president of the
City Council he becomes Mayor when
Ma or Baker leaves the-Ity. Mr. Ba
ker went to Aberdeen yesterday to at
tend the real estate convention. He
will return probably tonight.
Commissioner Bigelow will be the
only member of the Council in the city
today. Commissioner Mann went witn
the realtors. Commissioner Barbur Is
at Seaside and Commissioner Kellaher
will be absent.
NATIONAL HOLIDAY LIKELY
Celebration of Entrainment of Draft
Levies Is Considered.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10. A Na
tional holiday may be declared Sep
tember 3 in celebration of the entrain
ment of the draft levies for the train
ing cantonments. No tep to this end
has been made as yet, but officials at
the Provost Marshal-General's office
regard it as probable.
Conferences were had today with
railway officials on mobilization de
tails. Transportation lines face the
problem of collecting the first 230,000
men from 4570 districts.
BURIED TREASURE SOUGHT
Permit Issued to Dig Hole in Los
Angeles Street.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10. A treasure,
said to have been buried centuries ago,
was the object of search of a gang
of men who began digging up the
street here today directly in front of
the County Jail.
The men were directed by J. P.
Boatman, who had a permit from the
street department to dig a hole as
deep as he desired. He claimed to
have an old map showing the location
of the treasure.
COTTON TO GIVE U. S. BREAD
Flour Made From Abundant South
ern Seed Urged on Public.
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 10. Members
of the Louisiana Cottonseed Crushers'
Association at their annual meeting
here late yesterday adopted a resolu
tion asking that the Federal food a4
ministration make the substitution of
cottonseed flour for wheat a National
recommendation and that he urge all
states to set aside two days each week
for special use of bread made from the
substitute flour.
SHIP AND BOAT GALVANIC
Submarine Alongside Battle Cruiser
in Sanger of Destruction.
FERROT, Spain. Aug. 10. It has
been found necessary to move the Ger
man submarine U-23, which was in
terned recently, from its present an
chorage alongside the cruiser Ville de
Bilbao, because the cruiser Is rein
forced with copper, while the subma
rine is constructed of Iron, establish
ing a galvanic current which would
have eventually destroyed the U-boat-
AERIAL BOARD IN FAVOR
Administration Bill Is Reported in
Amended Form.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10. The Ad
ministration bill by Senator Sheppard
for an expert board to develop the
war air service was reported favorably
today by the Senate military com
mittee. Control by the Secretaries of War
and Navy was stricken out and pro
vision to permit the board itself to
make contracts was inserted.
Clarke Potatoes Sprouting.
VANCOUVER Wash., Aug. 10. (Spe
claL) In several parts of this county
the new potatoes are already sprouting.
The potatoes an not large. In some
other parts- the frost nipped them.
Pro- German Propa.
ganda is Unavailing.
EXECUTIVE IS OBSTINATE
Determination Is to Rush War
to Right Conclusion.
ANOTHER WAR NOT WANTED
Pacifists in Washington Give In
spiration to Premature Peace
Talk in Halls of Amer
ican Congress.
BT EDWARD B. CLARK.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 10. (Special.)
It must not be taken for granted that
Senators and Representatives who per
sist in talking about premature peace
get all the inspiration from the maund
erings from the pro-German element in
their constituencies. There are peace
talkers and peace writers in Washing
ton, and propinquity' helps the Con
gressional peace propaganda.
. Straight up -to the present time there
has been a strong hope among men who
want to help Germany that some kind
of a peace parley might be arranged
between the allies and the central pow
ers, even while hostilities are in prog
ress. Wilson Not Peace Advocate.
Great Britain, France and the other
across-the-- -ter allies have snubbed
this proposition short a dozen times,
but the early peace preachers here in
Washington seem to have held on to
the hope that this country might be in
duced 1 get its allies to change their
mirCi and thereby give Germany its
chance to obtain what really would
amount to a peace with victory for the
central powers.
There is no chance that the Presi
dent will yield in the slightest to the
importunities of the men, who say that
they want peace simply for the sake of
peace, but who in truth want it for
the sake of Germany.
President Is Obstinate.
Mr. Wilson is Just about as obstinate
in his determination to push this war
to a right conclusion as he was in his
determination to keep us out of war.
He went beyond the limit of patience
of thousands of Americans in an at
tempt to avoid war and now with ap
parent Scotch determination is set in
his plan to finish the war right.
In the possession of the President is
everything the Germans have put out
in the shape of peace feelers. No soon
er does one set of suggestions come
from Germany to be frosted quickly
than another set is promised. It is
altogether likely that by ripe-corn
time the Germans will be at it again
with a proposition to quit, providing
they can hold the heavy share of the
spoils.
As near as one can determine, it
(Concluded on Page 2. Column 4.)
................................ ...........................
SERVING ONE'S COUNTRY. '
I A Mam jrrJi it I
: ScrJ7,Ar - Vr ? we'll havb I t
t -T FROM THK ' 14' to er w t- I
: 3 ; . 7
Erfort Is Declared to Have Been
Made to Gain Exemption for
Husbands and Sons.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10. Sweep
ing investigation into chprges of per
jury committed in filing selective draft
exemption claims was launched here
today by United Statees Secret Service
operatives coincident with the arrest
i three more person on charges of
conspiring to obstruct the draft, and
the indictment by the Federal grand
Jury of one man on charges of evad
ing service. ...
The Investigation, under the direc
tion of Don S. Rathbun, special agent
of the Department .of Justice, drew
out of Information -furnish-jd by Secre
tary Thomas S. Mulvey, of the County
Council of Defense. He charged that
a meeting of women in a downtown ho
tel recently, ostensibly a gathering of
a woman's democratic league, was the
scene of an alleged movement to ob
tain exemptions by false affidavits for
their husbands and sons.
Three perrons charged in tt: warrant
on which Daniel O'Connell, a lawyer,
was arrested Wednesday, were taken
into custody. Mrs. Mary Mulloy Kraus,
v-hen arraigned before United States
Commissioner Francis Krull, said she
had resigned her position as secretary
of the "American Patriots," an organi
zation corporated here.
Thomas G. Frawley and E. A- Bene
dict were arrested at Lodi, Cal., by
Deputy United Statese Marshal Otis
Bohn.
Michael Gulney was arrested for fall
ing to submit to a physical examina
tion. George Kriff was indicted here late
today by the Federal grand Jury for
falling to register for the draft.
CHURCHES SHORT OF WINE
Several Denominations in Trouble
Because of Bone-Dry Laws,
SPOKANE. Wash., Aug. 10. Wash
ington clergymen of the denominations
which use fermented wine at com
munion are having difficulty in re
plenishing their supplies, according to
statements made here today.
Catholic priests meeting with Bishop
Augustln F. Scheinner. of the Spokane
diocese, today appointed a committee
to confer with the authorities with
view to overcoming the difficulty.
Stringent Washington dry laws are
blamed for the trouble. Although they
provide for a supply of wine for sacra
mental use, druggists and police au
thorities are reluctant to allow its sale
because of misinterpretation of the
law, it is said.
CIGARETTE STARTS FIRE
St. Helens Hotel Damaged $1000;
Lumber Yard Endangered.
ST. HELENS, Or., Aug. 10. (Special.)
The careless throwing of a cigarette
into the basement of the St. Helens
Hotel Friday evening caused a fire
which damaged building to extent of
about $1000. m
The Fire Department, aided by many
volunteers, subdued the flames before
the fire spread to adjoining building
and the lumber yard of the St. Helens
Lumber Company.
Defense Council's Ef.
forts Dropped.
ALL PROPOSALS ARE REJECTED
Eight-Hour Day Is Issue Be
fore Lumber Operators.
COMPETITORS' SCALE CITED
Suggestions of Compromise and Set
tlement Weighed, but Situation
Remains Unchanged After
Week's Deliberation.
SEATTLE, Wash., Aug. 10. A final
conference between the Washington
State Council of Defense, represent
atives of the lumber operators, the
striking shingleweavers and timber
workers and the neutral committee
representing the general public in an
effort to settle thl labor differences
and reopen the mills, ended late today.
It was a failure, according to the ad
mission of the State Council of De
fense. Dr. Henry Suzzallo, chairman of the
Council of Defense, announced that the
council's efforts to bring the factions
together had been dropped. The con
ferences began last Tuesday morning
and continued through the week. Sev
eral times it was thought an agree
ment was near, but none of the propo
sitions offered met with the complete
satisfaction of both sides.
Statement .Is Issued.
Late tonight Dr. Suzzallo issued the
following statement in behalf of the
Council of Defense:
"The conferences of the represent
atives of employers and employes of
the lumber industry with a committee
of neutral parties, and the State Coun
cil of Defense, - terminated this after
noon without effecting any settlement
of the existing strike in th lumber in
dustry of Washington, which had been
called chiefly on the issue of a reduc
tion of the 10-hour working day to
eight hours with no diminution of pay.
"The lumber operators presented
figures to show that they could not
grant an eight-hour day on the present
pay so long as their competitors op
erated on a 10 or 11-hour day.
Men Seek Eight-Hoar Day.
"Various suggestions of compromise
and settlement were considered by the
different parties, frankly and patiently
weighed, with the evidently sincere
desire on the part of both lumber oper
ators and employes to terminate ' the
present difficulty.
"Amongst these was a proposal of
the representatives of labor for an
eight-hour day at eight hours' pay, the
men to return to work at once. The
men asserted that a trial of an eight
hour day would demonstrate in a rea
sonably short period that labor could
(Concluded on Page 2, Column 4 )
Wind, at Velocity of 7 5 Miles an
Hour, Tears Roofs From Houses
aud Uproots Many Trees.
TUCSON. Ariz.. Aug. 10. Wind trav
eling faster than 75 miles an hour,
hurling from the northeast in an im
penetrable cloud of dust and debris,
tore through the city this afternoon
at 4:30 and was followed by a hall
storm which showered lumps of ice an
inch in diameter throughout the sec
tion. A whipping rain followed, last
ing until a late hour, when it fell stead
ily, swelling already swollen rivers and
arroyos. Substantial bridges over the
Santa Cruz River In this section are
threatened, but are holding at an early
hour tonight.
The wind tore the roofs from houses
of substantial construction, whirled
huge timbers distances of a hundred
feet or more, tore off limbs and up
rooted trees, dropped power lines on the
streets and from the north to the
south entirely covered the ground with
debris of fences, outhouses, shattered
glass from windows and tore down tele
graph and telephone wires and poles.
The hail storm, which lasted about
half an hour, beat down gardens and
wrenched limbs from trees and caused
thousands of dollars' worth of damage
to growing crops in the. outlying districts.
MOBILIZATION MAY WAIT
Delay Because of Holiday Traffic
Declared to Be Possible.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 10. The date
for calling the first increment of 200,-
000 men into the ranks of the National
Army may be changed from September
1 to 4.
September 1 is followed by Sunday
and Labor Day, and because of the
heavy railroad traffic at that time, due
to holiday excursions, draft officials
fear the work of transporting the men
to cantonments might be interfered
with seriously.
Provost Marshal-General Crowder
said tonight, however, that if
assurances can be had that troop
transportation can be handled without
delay during the holiday period, a
change in the dates will not be re
quired. MESSENGER SALUTES FLAG
Lad Is Only One Visiting City Hall
Who Removes Hat.
To a small uniformed messenger boy
has fallen the lot of setting an ex
ample of patriotism at the City HalL
A large American flag floats in the
corridor near the Fifth-street entrance
to the building in such position that
persons entering the building pass
under it. Telephone operators in the
building have noted that with the sin
gle exception of this one messenger
boy nobody has saluted the flap Every
time he passes under it he removes
his hat. -
INDEX OF TODAY'S NEWS
The Weather.
YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature. 79
degrees ; minimum. 51 degrreea.
TODAY'S Fair; moderate northwesterly
winds.
War.
British and French advance positions.
Page 2.
Foreign.
British Labor party favors Stockholm con
ference. Page 2
National.
Rewritten war tax measure defended In
Senate. Page 4.
Peru expected to break with Germany.
Page 3.
Army insurance bills provide aid for fam
ilies. Page 4.
Graduates of training camps to be com
missioned later. Page 3. .
Gerard reviews Germany's ruthless sub
marine warfare. Page 1.
H. C. Hoover outlines plan of food conserva
tion. Page 1.
Wilson not ready to talk peace. Page 1.
Legal staff of Emergency Fleet Corporation
quits in sympathy with Goethals. Page 1.
Domestic
Ex-President Taft better and eats toast
and egg. Page 2.
Dust and hall storm hit Tucson. Page L
Women accused of anti-draft plot. Page X.
Sports,
Pacific Coast League results: Portland 13,
Salt Lake 3; Oakland 5. Los Angeles 4;
' Vernon 5, San Francisco 1. Page 6.
Two races at Columbus meet are thrillers.
Page 8.
Entry list for state golf play at Gearhart
big. Page 8.
Beauty parades In bathing costume at Co
lumbia Beach today. Page 8.
Pacific Northwest.
Josephine County man fatally shot. Page 6.
Mazama advance guara scales Mount Jef
ferson. Page IX
Portland business men and realtors take
star parts In Interstate Realty Conven
tion. Page 7. '
Commissioner Corey suggests more economy
by railroads. Page 14.
Conferees fall to end labor troubles In lum
ber industry. Page 1.
Commercial and Marine.
Less competition for wheat and lower bids
at interior points. Page 17.
Wheat lower at Chicago as result of food
bilL Page 17.
Stocs: market under pressure most of day.
Page 17.
Ship designer confers with Portland build
ers. Page 14.
Portland and Vicinity.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Griffith, of JToff, Or.,
hurt when auto Is struck by train.
Page 4.
Coast hotel managers to aid Army to get
cooks. Page 5.
Exemption ratio high everywhere. Page 6.
Great crowds of buyers entertained at double
banquet. Page 7.
Dairymen decide to organize to regulate
prices. Page 14.
M. J. Kinney, prominent lumberman, re
sists arrest of daughter charged with
threats against President. Page 12.
Attorney prepares to file suit to set aside
will of Xarifa J. Faling. Page 13.
Dr. C. H. Schultz, of Seattle, reports cattle
dying In Klamath County not poisoned
by criminals. Page 11.
City Is building dam to increase depth of
Bull Run Lake, source of water supply.
page IS.
Governors arrive for conference. Page 4.
Estimates of oar shortage vary. Page 6.
Ruthless U-Boat War
Reviewed by Gerard.
DEEDS OFFSET PROMISES
Offer to Pay Indemnities Is
Promptly Rejected.
GERMAN CENSQRS ACTIVE
Dutcli Papers Reproduce ex-Ainbas
sador's Revelations, but Papers
of Berlin Hate Nothing
and Omit Comment.
LO.DO, Aug. 10. (Special.) A
dispatch from Rotterdam to the Dally
Telegraph sayai
The German preis Baa not yet been
allowed to publish anything; on Gerard's
revelations.
"In addition to the Kaiser's letter to
President Wilson, which Is reproduced
In extenso, the Dutch press has pub
lished copious extracts from Mr. Ger.
ard's book. These newspapers, in tha
original of course, have been forwarded
to Germany. Not a line appears, how
ever. In the German papers to hand at
the moment of cabling."
An Exchange Telegraph Company
message from Amsterdam says the Ger
man censorship will not, for the time
being, allow ' publication of Gerard's
memoirs' of events that happened while;
he was In Germany.
BT JAMES W. GERARD,
American Ambassador to the German Im
perial Court. July 28. 1913. to February
4. 191T. Copyright. 1917. by the Fublla
Ledger Company.
I do not intend to go In great detail
into the exchange of notes and the
public history of the submarine con
troversy, as all that properly belongs
to the history of the war rather than
to an account of my personal experi
ences, and besides, as Victor Hugo said,
"History is not written with a micro
scope." All will remember the answer
of Germany to the American Lusitanla
note, which answer, delivered on May
20, contained the charge that the Lu
sitania was armed and carried muni
tions and had been used in the trans
port of Canadian troops. In the mean
time, however, the American ship Ne
braskan had been torpedoed off the
coast of Ireland on the 26th and on
May 28 Germany stated that the Ameri
can steamer Gulfllght had been tor
pedoed by mistake and apologized for
this act.
Von Jagow gave me, about the same
time, a note requesting that Americas,
vessels should be more plainly marked
and should illuminate their marking at
night.
The second American Lusitanla note
was published on July 11, 1915, and its
delivery was coincident with the resig
nation of Mr. Bryan as Secretary of
State. In this last note President Wil
son (for, of course, it is an open secret
that he was the author of these notes)
made the Issue perfectly plain, refer
ring to the torpedoing of enemy pas
senger ships:
Only her actual resistance to capture or
refusal to stop when ordered to do so for tha
purpose of visit could have afforded tha
commander of the submarine any Justifi
cation for putting the lives of those on
board the ship in Jeopardy.
Retaliation Is German Flea.
The German answer to this American
Lusitanla note was delivered on July 8
and again stated that "we have been
obliged to adopt a submarine war to
meet the declared Intentions of our
enemies and the method of warfare
adopted by them in contravention of
International law."
Again referring to the alleged fact
of the Lusitanla's carrying munitions,
the German answer said: "That if the
Lusitanla had been spared, thousands
of cases of munitions would have been
sent to Germany's enemies and thereby
thousands of German mothers and chil-,
dren robbed of breadwinners."
The note contained, also, some of
Zlmmermann's favorite proposals to the
effect that German submarine com
manders would be instructed to permit
the passage of American steamers
marked in a special way and whose
sailing had been notified in advance.
provided that the American Government
guaranteed that these vessels did not
carry contraband of war. It was also
suggested that a number of neutral ves
sels should be added to those sailing
under tha American flag to give greater
opportunity for those Americans who
were compelled to travel abroad. The
note's most important part continued:
"In particular, the Imperial Govern
ment is unable to admit that the Ameri
can citizens can protect an enemy ship
by :nere fact of their presence on
board."
U-Boat Proposals Rejected.
July 21 the American Government re
jected the proposals of Germany, say
ing, "that -he lives of noncombatants
may In no case be put in Jeopardy un
less the vessel resists or seeks to es
cape after being summoned to submit
to examination." It disposed of the
claim that the acts of England gave
Germany the right to retaliate even
though American citizens should be
deprived of their lives in the course
Concluded on Faff ft. Coluraa 2.)