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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1917)
TIIE MORXIXa OREGONIAN, TUESDAY. DECEMBER 25. 1917. o GOD IS STILL OUR ALLY, SAYS KAISER "Without Him" Great Battles of 1917 "Would Have Been in Vain." WILLIAM LAUDS SOLDIERS On cabinet, it was learned today, will guide the Secretary in the decisions he must make on questions vital to the welfare of the Army and the prosecution of the war. Organization of the war council has not been completed. The five general officers now constituting its member ship are meeting every day, however, to go over with Mr. Baker the large problems before him that are pressing for solution. No statement has been Issued covering any point so far taken up by the officers of the council. There are many questions of supply and equipment which the Sscretary must decide, and heretofore he has had only the individual and often conflict ing views of the staff and bureau chiefs to guide him. The council provides a means for co-ordinating these opinions and for the threshing out of any con flict of views. 'If Enemy Does Xot Want Peace We Must Bring Peace to World by Battering With Iron Fist and Shining; Sword." AMSTERDAM, Dec. 24. Emperor William visited the front north of Ver dun on Friday, according to a Berlin dispatch, and in an address to the troops thanked them warmly for their efforts. "But for the calm and heroic war riors on the western front," he said, "the enormous employment of German forces in the east and in Italy never would have been possible. The fighter In the west has exposed heroically his body, so that his brothers on the Dvina and the Isonzo might storm from vic tory to victory. The fearful battles on iho bloody hills around Verdun were t in vain; they created new founda- 10ns for the conduct of the war." In a speech to the second army on Saturday, Emperor William said: "It has been a year full of events for the German army and the German fatherland. Powerful blows have been delivered and your comrades in the east have been able to bring about greater decisions. Western Fighter Praised. "There has been no man, no officer and no General on the whole eastern front, wherever I have spoken to them, who has not frankly admitted that they could not have accomplished what they have if their comrades in - the west had not stood to a man. "The tactical and strategical connec tion between .the battles of the Aisne. in the Champagne, Artois and Flanders and at Cambrai and the events In the east and Italy is so manifest that It is useless to waste words on it. "With a centralized direction, the German army works In a centralized manner. In order that we should be ble to deliver these offensive blows e portion of the army had to remain the defensive, hard as this is for the German soldier. Such a defensive battle, however, as has been fought in 1917 is without parallel. A fraction of the German army accepted the heavy task, covering its comrades in the east unconditionally, and it had the entire Anglo-French army against itself." Allies' Advance Belittled. "By long preparation the enemy has collected unheard-of technical means and masses of ammunition and guns in order to make his entry into Brussels over your front, as he proudly an nounced. The enemy has achieved nothing. "The most gjgantic feat ever accom plished by an army and one without parallel in history was accomplished by the German army. I do not boast. It is a fact, and nothing else. The ad miration' you have earned shall be your reward and at the same time your pride. Nothing can in any way place in the shade or surpass what you have accomplished, however great and over whelming it may be. Cod la Still With ITs. "The year 1917, with its great battles, ' has proved that the German people have in the Lord of creation above an unconditional and avowed ally on whom It can absolutely rely. Without him all would have been in vain. "Every one of you had to exert every nerve to the utmost. I know that every one of you in the unparalleled drumfire did superhuman deeds. The feeling may have been frequently with you: If we only had something behind us; if we only had some relief.' It came as the result of the blow In the east,, where It Is seen that the storms of war are at present silenced. God grant that it may be forever. "Yesterday I saw and spoke to your comrades near Verdun, and there, pass ing through all minds like the scent of the morning breeze, was the thought: You are no longer alone." Offensive Spirit Holds. "The great successes and victories of the recent past the great days of bat tle in Flanders and before Cambrai, where the first crushing offensive blow delivered upon the arrogant British showed that, despite three years of war and suffering, our troops still retained their old offensive spirit have their effect on the entire fatherland and on the enemy. "We do not know what is still in store for us, but you have seen how in this last of the four years of war God's hand has visibly prevailed, punished treach ery and rewarded heroic persistence. From this we can gain firm confidence that the Lord will be with us in the future also. "If th enemy does not want peace, then we must bring peace to the world by battering in with the iron fist and shining sword the doors of those who will not nave peace." THE DALLES Ml SHOT MCHT WATCH MAX ATTACKED OX WAV TO WORK. Ballet Gianni Oft Rib and Assailant Flees When Victim Re tarns Fire. THE DALLES. Or., Dec. 24. (Spe cial.) G.. C. Banta, - night watchman for the O.-W. R. & N. shop here, was held up and seriously injured by being shot. The holdup occurred in East Dalles last night as the man was on his way to work near 7 o'clock. The robbei demanded that he throw r his hands, and thinking it some friend joking Banta did not do so. The holdup repeat ed his request in stronger language and the watchman reached for his revolver. The robber commenced to fire and the first shot hit the watchman over the heart and glanced off a rib, coming out on the side. Mr. Banta drew his own revolver and opened fire, and the robber began to run. Mr. Banta is not certain whether he winged the robber or not, as he had on a pair of gloves and could not shoot accurately. He was taken to his home and given sugi cal attention. So far no clew has been found that would lead to arrests, but a close search is being made by the county and city officers. PEACE TALK AIDS BONDS RUMORS IX FINANCIAL UISTIUCT ARE PERSISTENT. 11 W. IS MY SOUL AND MY COUNTRY" Dynamite Suspect Prefaces Examination With Most Startling Statement. BAIL PLACED AT $10,000 Mass of Documents. Literature and Letters Referring to Kxploslons in Other Parts of United Stales Taken From I.W.W. Quarters. completed for training a large number of mechanics this Winter in England and that many repair units already have been sent there. They will recross the English Channel as needed when trained. Arrangements also have been made for . the establishment in the United States of flying schools for Italian aviators. Demand for International War Seenri tlea Reported to Have Come From Abroad, to Large Extent. NEW YORK, Dec. 24. The recent advances in international war bonds on the Stock Exchange, which continued Saturday, were the subject of comment in connection with the persistence of peace rumors in the financial district. While the extremely low prices made by the bonds last week are deemed to have made the issues attractive to in vestors, some observers thought the de mand, reported to have come to a con siderable extent from abroad, was of more than usual significance. Paris 6s rose 4 per cent over Satur day's close of about 11 per cent from their last week's minimum. The group of French municipal 6 per cent notes. Issued by the cities of Bordeaux, Lyons and Marseilles, were up 2!j to 3 per cent, or from 10 to 12 per cent above last week's close. . The United Kingdom issues made further fractional gains, as did the French government 5', is. Anglo- French 5s, while they reactc'. slightly, were today five or six points above last week's minimum. NEW PEACE MOVE EXPECTED Report Current Emperor William to Make Christmas Proposals. ROME, Dec 23. The report that new German peace move is at hand is supported by apparently reliable in formation which has reached high quarters here. It te said that on Christmas day. Em peror William will issue a declaration containing peace proposals. Whether explicit conditions of peace may be expected or merely another maneuver intended to throw on the al .lies responsibility for continuance of the war cannot be ascertained. PIONEER RANCHER DEAD J. R. Steele, Stricken in Portland, Succumbs in Hospital. HOOD RIVER, Or., Dee. 24. (Spe cial.) The family and the friends ol J. R. Steele, a pioneer rancher, learned this morning of his sudden death at a Portland hospital- He had been in Port , land for the past two weeks attending to business. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon in this city. Mr. Steele, who was SS- years of age and a native of' Scotland, is survived by his widow, a son, James Steele, and a daughter, Mrs. Stanley Walters. NEW COUNCIL IS CREATED Military Cabinet to Aid Secretary of J" War In Important Matters. WASHINGTON, Dec 24. The newly created council of high officers in the War Department will become one of the most Important of the wr agencies of the Government if Secretary Baker's plans are carried out. This military ABERDEEN LEVY ATTACKED Legality of City and County Tax to Be Tested. ABERDEEN, Wash.. Dec. 24. (Spe cial.) Papers in a suit brought by E. B. Benn against the city of Aberdeen and Grays Harbor County were filed today and is the beginning of a plan to test the legality of the recent tax levy made by the Council. The suit is brought, Mr. Benn says. in his own behalf, but will affect all taxpayers. The complaint alleges that the City Council has made a levy of 24.19 mills to pay off warrant indebtedness when the law allows only 6 mills for the purpose and that the excess levy of 18.19 mills and an excess tax of $105.- 257.82 are unlawfully enacted. The com plaint asks that the alleged excessive levy be stricken from the tax rolls. Mr. Benn's attorneys in the case are L.. B. Deponte and C. A. Murray, of xacoma. BRITISH TROOPS ADVANCE Four More Towns in Palestine Occu pied by Allenby'e Soldiers. LONDON. Dec. 23. General Allenby's troops in Palestine continue their ad vance on the plain of Sharon, north of Jaffa, and have occupied four more towns. . The official statement on the operations issued tonight says: "On Saturday morning, with naval co-operation, our left continued the ad vance north of the Nahr El Auja, reach ing the line of Sheikh El Ballutahei Jelil, about four miles north of the river. Pushing eastward and south of the river, we occupied Fejja and Mel obbis. This was followed by the cap ture of Rantieh, on the Turkish rail way to the north, and Kbelbeida-Khel-bireh, four miles southeast of Rantieh. Effective aerial work was carried out on enemy transports and infantry." INTERNED GERMANS ESCAPE With Gnnnysacks Around Them, Prisoners Creep to Liberty. SALT LAKE CITT. Dec. 24. With gunny sacks wound around them, Fer dinand Kube, miner, and Kurtz Wil klns, laborer, Gernfan civilian prisoners interned at Fort Douglas, near here, crawled to liberty today, according to a statement made by the military au thorities. Latest reports were that the men were still at large. SACRAMENTO, Cal., Dec. 24. "The I. W.' W. is my country and my soul. I don't give a damn who knows it and I am proud of it!" Violently abusing the investigating officers and shouting the above state ment in the beginning of his examina tion in the office of United States Com missioner Martin I. ' Welsh this after noon, William Hood practically admit ted that dynamite found in his posses sion when arrested here Saturday had been stolen Ty himself from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company at Pmart, Cal. He Fald ho chipped it by Wells Fargo under the name' of George Messing ham. 'Captain , of Detectives Ryan states that there Is no longer any doubt that the explosive was intended for- the destruction of the local plant of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Hood Anxious to Clear Vomer. During his examination by the Fed eral authorities. Hood, alias William Reilly, appeared anxious to clear his companion, George F. Voetter, from all suspicion, and absolutely denied that Voetter had accompanied him with any knowledge of the dynamite Hood had in his possession. Hood and Voetter were arrested by the police a few days ago following an explosion last Mon day night which wrecked the laundry and kitchen of Governor w. v. Ste phens' residence here. At police headquarters it was stated that evidence is being accumulated which will connect Voetter with the plot to destroy, the Governor's mansion. In the meantime more than 40 other alleged I. W. W. are being held by the police for investigation by a ederai authorities. Hearing Set for January S. Federal investigation of alleged con spiracy was formally begu . here today when William Hood, alias Frank S. Dougherty, alias William Reilly, and G. F. Voetter were arraigned before United States Commissioner Martin I. Welsh and remanded to the County Jail in default of $10,000 bail. Their hearing has been set for January 5. The two men are charged with un lawfully transporting dynamite on a train engaged in interstate commerce. Forty-three other men, arrested in raids on the Industrial Workers of the World headquarters, or who were taken into custody subsequent to the capture Saturday of Hood and Voetter, shortly after they had received from an express office a box which contained dynamite, are being detained by the police for in vestigation. The Federal authorities are attempting to ascertain their con nection with the alleged conspiracy and the dynamiting of the residence of Governor William D. Stephens. L W. W. Literature Taken. The men will be turned ever to the Federal authorities some time this week, according to .Caspar Ornbaum. Assistant United States District Attor ney. A mass of documents. Industrial Workers of the World literature, let ters, some of which are said to have contained references to explosions in various parts of the United States, and about 50 suitcases are being held as evidence by the police. These were seized in raids on the headquarters of the organization here after the arrest of Hood and Voetter. Hood, when arraigned today before Commissioner Welsh, said that he shipped the dynamite. He said he made the statement to exonerate Voetter. The explosive was to be used. Hood said, on a prospecting trip in Mono County. He explained the presence of the soap packed in the box with the dynamite by saying the dynamite was less likely to explode If it was packed with soap. Men Are Identified. The complaint against the two men was signed by James Richards, de tective, sergeant, who, with Chief Con ran and Captain of Detectives Arthur Ryan, arrested them Saturday. Efforts to trace the movements of the men have resulted in their being identified, the police said, by R. A. I Goff, an inspeotor of the city health department, as the two men he saw Friday night and Saturday on the Cap itol grounds here. Hood also was identified b-y A. E. Hullin, superintendent of the street railway system of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, as a man who had been employed at one time in a con struction camp of the company. The dynamite found in the box Hood and Voetter carried was similar to that used by the company in its construc tion work. The box was shipped from Smart. Cal., near the Lake Spaulding dam of the company. ALL ASSURED PRESENTS Artillerymen Organize and Enforce Equal Distribution. TACOMA. Dec.' 24. (Special.) There are a crowd of San Franciscans here who refuse to-allow any man to go without a Christmas present if they can prevent it. Members of the 47th Field Artillery, all from San Francisco, have formed the Cassabees, a new organization. This order has for its purposes the cor ralling of all Christmas packages and the like and distributing them among worthy members of the order. Spies are sent yit in the day time to locate any new. packages. The re cipients are then notified to distribute a share of them. If they refuse the prizes are commandeered and' dis tributed. On the roll of the Cassabees are the following titles: Grand Knight. To night, Tomorrow Knight, Foggy Knight, "fuff Knight, Helluva Knight. Rainy Knight, Uta.ll King Knight and Last Knight. WARPREPARATIONS 1ST IJOT SLACKEN "Our Armies Constitute Re serves of Victory," War Secretary Declares. K)-nn()4an()B&on'() MO ITALY SCENE OF ACTIVITY OREGON FIRMS ARE READY Colonel Deeds Gratified With Re sponse Regarding Airplane Parts. OREGONIAN NEWS BUREAU. Wash ington, Dec 24. Senator McNary to day laid before Colonel Deeds, of the aircraft board, a. telegram from Sec retary Dodson, of the Portland Cham ber of Commerce, giving the names of several Oregon firms that are prepared and anxious to take contracts for building airplane parts. Colonel Deeds expressed gratification at the information and will lay the matter before the aircraft board for action after Christmas. The aircraft programme of the Gov ernment .is way behind schedule, be cause of delays, both on spruce and on engines, and it is desired to place as many contracts as possible with reliable firms in order to make up for lost time. CHRISTMAS GIFT UNIQUE Office of Governor Turned Over to George Wr. P. Runt, of Arizona. PHOENIX, Ariz., Dec. 24. Governor Campbell announced at noon that he would turn over the office of Governor of Arizona to George W. P. Hunt at 10 o'clock Christmas morning. The remarkable Christmas present will be transmitted without formal- ceremony. Both Governor Hunt and Governor Campbell took the oath of office last January. Practically all of Governor Campbell's appointees have resigned and it is said most of the incumbents holding office when Hunt was deposed last January will be reinstated. Under the Supreme court decision. Governor Campbell will receive no pay for his year's service as Governor, and must, besides, pay most of the costs. It it is probable that he will be given relief by legislative enactment. Fighting Morale of Italian People to Be Depended On Enemy Again Is Preparing for Peace -Before Victory. WASHINGTON, Dec 24. Germany's newest propaganda, viewed as a fore runner to an offensive in the west un less a German-made peace Is accepted by the allies and the United States, "should' not for a moment induce us to slacken our preparation for war," says Secretary Baker in his weekly re view of the military situation. "The Germans realize." continues the statement, "that within a short time our armies will form the principal body of fresh strategic reserves remaining available on the battlefields of Europe. "Our armies constitute the reserves of victory." The review points out that the fight ing morale of Italy may be relied upon, no matter how intensive the German peace campaign becomes, and says: -. Italy Scene of Activity. "The Italian theater once again is the scene of important military activity. . "The enemy, impatient of the delays which have occurred in bringing about the successful penetration of the Italian plain and the overthrow of the Italian armies, has dispatched further forces to the Italian front, with a view to achieving a decisive result. "Before proceeding with an opera tion in the west the Germans hope to drive the Italians back to the Adige, anticipating that such a reverse would have a very disintegrating influence throughout Italy. "It is apparent that the Germans have not given up all hope of bringing about a social upheaval in Italy, as they did in Russia after their vic torious campaigns of 1915. Italians Are Dependable. "No matter how intensive this new subversive propaganda may be, never theless, we can confidently rely on the fighting morale of the Italian people. "It would appear that as a forerun ner to the German offensive heralded to be launched in the west an Intensive peace propaganda is to be initiated. "Careful examination of the situation reveals that the enemy is again pre paring f6r 'peace before victory." "Information from various sources confirms the reports that the Germans would have the world believe that the military situation is such that they are able to dictate the terms of peace. They, therefore, threaten, unless this dictated peace is accepted by the allied powers and ourselves, the German forces now being concentrated on the TRADE RESTRAINT DENIED Itasca Paper Company to Eight Dis solution Suit. NEW TORK. Dec. 24. The Itasca Paper Company, of Grand Rapids, Mich., one of the defendants in the Sherman law dissolution suit recently ! brought by the Government against the News Print Manufacturers' Associ ation and other defendants in the. Fed eral District Court, today entered a denial of complicity in the charge. The answer asserts that the Itasca Company is not engaged in any com bination in restraint of trade; that it does not sell news print paper and that nearly all its output ih used by the Dispatch Printing Company, pub lisher of the Pioneer Press and othet newspapers In St Paul, Minn. The Itasca Paper Company was pur chased by the Dispatch Printing Com pany in September, 1916. AMERICAN PRO-HUN OUSTED Editor of Pekln Post Deported at Request of Chinese Government. PEKIN. Dec. 24. Gilbert Reid. an American, accused of being a pro-German propagandist and sympathizer, has been deported to Manila at the re quest of- the Chinese government. Dr. Gilbert Reld, editor of the Pekin Post, was released from prison at Shanghai on July 23, 1917, when he promised to refrain from criticism of the American Government or its Officials. DANGEROUS SPY CORNERED (Continued From First Page. ) CANADIAN TROOPS HONORED Seven Thousand Decorations Con ferred on Dominion Soldiers. OTTAWA, Dec. 24 London dis patches to the Reuter agency here to day said 7000 decorations have been conferred during the war on members of the Canadian expeditionary forces for valor in the field and for outstand ing war service. Seven officers and 13 men have gained the coveted Victoria Cross. Phone your want ads to The Orego nian. Main 7070, A 095. POPE SENDS0UT MESSAGE Cordial Christmas Greetings Con veyed to American People. ROME, Dec. 24. Pope Benedict has given- to the Associated Press this Christmas message for the American people: "The Holy Father sends to the peo ple of America his cordial greetings and prays that they may take to heart, in this time of strife and suffering, the true lesson of Christmastide the les son of God's unceasing love for man kind, the lesson of unfaltering courage and sacrifice of self. "More especially he calls upon the little children, to whom this day be longs, to pray with all their hearts to the Babe of Bethlehem that be may protect their loved ones and give back to the world the peace which he came to bring upon earth." AIR MECHANICS ARE READY Xceds of American Aviators in France Are Provided For. WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE, Dec. 24. (By the Associated Press.) When the American air fight ers begin arriving in France in large numbers they will find a corps of sev eral thousand American air mechanics trained on this side of the Atlantic waiting to assemble, repair and care for their machines. The Associated Press is able to an nounce that arrangements have been said to have sent Schulenberg to New York to report to Von Papen. . Von Papen told him he had nothing for him and advised him to go to his hotel in Hoboken, N. J. That night three men in the employ of Von Papen entered Schulenberg's room, searched him, took away his papers and bundled him on a train, first giving him a ticket to San Francisco. Supplies Contracted For. In January, 1917, Schulenberg and another agent, it is said, were in Los Angeles waiting for the new head of the German secret service in the United States. The men were awaiting in structions from German agents in Washington to carry supplies for wire less stations across the border to the west coast of Mexico. Supplies valued at $35,000 were contracted for, but the money to pay for them did not arrive. Shortly .after this, according to Fed eral officials. Schulenberg. under his old Russian passport, went to Germany and reported to the head of the Ger man secret service in Wilhelmstrasse. He was in Germany for three weeks. Returning, he landed in Galveston and made his way across country to South ern California. Teuton Armed , When Arrested. After July he disappeared again, and it is believed he was in Mexico. De cember 1 the authorities learned he had gone from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, where he was staying with Karl Beck, a saloonkeeper. Four days later he was arrested and now is held under a Presidential warrant. In an automobile in which Schulen berg was arrested the authorities found a German Luger pistol, and a high power rifle, both loaded. Further in vestigation disclosed a cache contain ing 46 pounds of dynamite, three alarm clocks and attachments for detonating explosives, said to be the property of the prisoner. Schulenberg deserted from the Ger man army in 1904. He was arrested in Sydney and turned over to the German naval attache there. He was enlisted in the Navy and deserted six weeks later in Shanghai. He ia . a . cabinet maker by trade. 'Ski iw r i sunups i - i ioall rotn J MorchanJia of C Merit Only" i i 0-ann-0-aVn( O western front will break through the allied line into the west. Deeided Change Coming. "In considering the general military situation in its true light, it must be understood that the Germans realize that within a short time Our armies will form the principal body of fresh strategic reserves remaining available for action on the battlefields of Europe. Thus, no matter what superiority in men and guns the enemy may for the time be able to bring to bear on the west, and even admitting an eventual modification of the allied line in his favor, nevertheless, he knows that insofar as it is humanly . possible to foresee, his effort will inevitably result in merely a local success, which can have no determining influence on the final outcome of the war. "For the first two years of the war France lore the brunt of battle while Great Britain was preparing. America's Plain Duty. "Since the defeat of the German forces in front of Verdun, England and the British dominions have taken over an increasingly large share of the buMen of the war. "Italy has, to the limit of her forces. also assumed a considerable share of this burden. "When, as a result of the defection of the Russian forces, the weight of Austro-German pressure was directed against Italy. France and England united in coming to the rescue of their allly and arc today aiding the Italian armies. "It is our duty, therefore, in looking to the future, to realize that if we are to fulfill the pledge we made on enter ing the war, if we are to fight this war to a successful conclusion, we must assume the full responsibility which rests upon us. We are the freshest in the struggle; we have the reserve man power and the reserve mechanical power." . Pasco Attorneys to Assist. PASCO. Wash., Dec. 24. (Special.) Attorney M. L. Driscoll, as chairman of the legal advisory board for Frank lin County under the selective draft regulations, has appointed six attor neys to assist. The Pasco members will each spend one day of the week at the Courthouse and assist regis trants i answering their questionnaires. THIS WEEK A JOY SHOW THE NEW YORK DAILY SAID: HE "OUT-FAIRBANKS" FAIRBANKS ASK YOUR NEIGHBOR --m jot . 9. 1 -A Is- f X FUN Ak J FUN lVv :, ?r fun -r . - v I fun f'MACISTE i IN THE WARRIOR A riot of fun and action. 7000 feet of pun chx laughs and hair-raising thrills. Also the latest and most complete pictures of the HALIFAX DISASTER