for The Journal's Big' Sunday Classified Section VOL. XIV. NO. 312. PORTLAND, OREGON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 8, 1916. SIXTEEN PAGES. PRICE TWO CENTS ON V1AIV8 AHS KEWS STANDS FIT! CENTS ider : Business for YduWrite Your Want Ads I u,, v m t:..y II . ivv gaas.?ir GERMANY 15 j i Ambassador von Bernstorff Presents Secretary of State Lansing With Memoran dum Setting Forth Position of Germany on Arming. HOPE EXPRESSED THAT PEACE MAY CONTINUE German Submarine Warfare Made Necessary by Viola tions of International Law on Part of Great Britain, Claims German Statement. ML 4fc Wot to Warn Americans. Washington. March S. (V. 4fc p.) "The American govern- merit will not warn citizens Ht against traveling on armed liriersc, regardless of what J action is taken in the pending i controversy." it was authorita Ks tlvely asserted at the state de- partment this afternoon. 4 It was explained at the state HP uciai luicith iiunviti, ....... Investigation proved certain . ships were offensively armed, ' the government would feel justified in declaring them aux- iliarv cruisers. This in itself would absolve the government t of responsibility for possible 4fr deaths of Americans aboard them. Washington. Marcti 8. (I. N. S.) icatinn nmnllfvine and ex plaining in detail tne German position In regard to armed merchant ahlps waa delivered to Secretary of '43tate Lan- StH( pert WOa.V OJ uuna juuu..- sador von Bernstorff. Lansing and the ambassador conferred for five minutes.. ; The memorandum submitted by Ger man Ambassador von Bernstorff to the state department Is understood to ex press Germany's willingness to con duct submarine warfare in accordance with international law as accepted be fore the war if Great Britain will ob serve the same laws. That an agreement Bhortly will be reached, which will preserve all the rights of the United States under in ternational law and at the same time end the so-called submarine contro versy, was broadly hinted in official circles today. It is understood that Great Britain within (ha next frw riavs will deliver tto the United States her promise that i-none of her vessels traversing the lAtlantic will be armed. Only vessels "traveling the - Mediterranean .aea will 'carry guns and these will be specific ally pledged as for defensive purposes only. It is understood that the British of fer, would have been presented before now. but was withheld until after the president had won his fight in con gress. Receipt is now expected speed iiy. although pending actual delivery , v (Concluded on Pace Four. Ooloma Three) Bids for Postoffice r At Vancouver Near Boil ding to Be Two Stories, Brick With ; -gtoas Trimmings aad Fireproof Ex cept for Boof; 943,000 Provided, Washington. March 8. (WASHING TON BUREAU OF THE JOURNAL. 1 Congressman Albert Johnson was advised today that. the Vancouver post office is to be two stories in height, faced with brick with stone trimmings and fire proof except the roof. Bids will soon be called for. Forty-five thousand dollars was provided for the beginning work by the urgent defic iency bill just enacted. Kentucky Suffrage Bill. Frankfort, Ky.. March 8. (I. N. S.) J- Th.e Combs woman's suffrage bill was passed by the state senate today. Bug Companies Making Good in I Local Industry "Gather up the fragments t "that , remain, that nothing be lost," is a scriptural charge of supremest authority. In the ages since they were first spoken, who can tell to what thrift these words have been the incitement! They might be expected to appeal especially to jt womankind in respect of all housewifely arts and devices. 4 Thence there Is great Interest and great value, for all whe 3t 'practice frugality and - love beauty, in the article that may be read today 'on the editorial 4t page of The Journal, in which 4 'are shown the processes em- X ployed and results produced by A two companies of Portland weavers, the Northwest Rug 4t company, and the Fluff Rug company. "Nothing- the Hat- 1 ter With Portland.- Neither need there be anything the' mat- in ter with any floor, in Portland- - ' ;? GERMAN FLEET UNDER STEAM Twenty German dreadnayghts have disappeared from their refuge at Kiel, where they have been bottled up since the war began,' and all England is roused at the expectation of a clash at sea between this fleet and vessels of the British navy. HANDS OF PRESIDENT ARE UNTIED BY VOTE House Yesterday Tabled Mc Lemore. Resolution by De cisive Vote, 276 to 142, Washington. March . TJ. P.) With his hands unleashed by the ac tion of congress in refusing to warn Americans off armed liners. President Wilson today prepared to resume his submarine negotiations with Germany. Prompt action in both the Germanand the British controversies is expected. All adherents of the administration expressed keen satisfaction at the house vote tabling McLemore's warn ing resolution. The final ballot of 276 to 142 demon strated to the satisfaction of adminis tration Bupportefs that congress stands behind the president In his feel ings toward Europe. Another Debate Expected. Congress still seethed today on the armed liner issue. It was believed an other debate might break out at any time, and continue indefinitely. Sev eral representatives are expected to seire the first opportunity of explain ing their votes on the warning resolu tion. Senator Stone has indefinitely postponed his explanation, but many others contemplate explaining speeches. Bickering, with regard to the effect of the house vote also promises to (Conctaded. oa Face Four. Column One.) Portland May Secure Trade Bureau Office Government Official Arrives Here Today and Takes Matter Up With Chamber of Commerce. W. B. Henderson, commercial agent of the northwest bureau of the de partment of commerce, is in Portland conferring with chamber of commerce officials relative to establishing in this oity a cooperative branch of the bureau of foreign and domestic com merce. Under the organization of the gov ernment bureau, commercial agents rre placed , lu charge of districts within the United States to study the problems local . to those districts or important as contributing to trade relations either at home or abroad. If the branch is opened in Portland in connection with the chamber, the departments confidential reports and resources will be made available di rectly to the chamber. . Bakers Nomination Approved by Senate w War Becrstary Expected la Wash' i&rtoa to Take Up Duties; Aati- rrepaxedness Committee Indorse. 'Washington, March 8. (I. N. 8.) Newton D. Baker, former mayor of Cleveland, is now secretary of war. his nomination, .which waa sent to the senate shortly after noon by Pres ident Wilson, being confirmed In the afternoon. Mr. Baker is expected to arrive , here tomorrow to take up his a u ties. The anti-preparedness committee to day strongly Indorsed the selection of Mr. Baker for secretary of war. . Boys' Fun Fatal. North Yakima, Wash March 8. (P, N. 8.) Accidentally hot whUe playing -wua west- with his chum, William Dulln, 15 years old, is dead. He was a son of. Dr. Charles T. Dulin. The boys thought that the .22-caliber rifle they, were playing with was not loaded,- v" . ' . SJ',;) 't: V;Y 'V J 'A a&535te-:..': si Js TO TABLE RESOLUTION ENGLAND IS ALARMED DISAPPEARANCE OF GERMANY'S FLEET Lord Fisher Attends War Council and May Be Re called to Cabinet, , London, March 8 (U. P.) Twenty-nine German battleships were encountered off Ymulden Monday by a Dutch lugger, accord ing to the , newspaper Vtiderland, Baid Rotterdam dispatches today. They inquired the whereabouts of the English fleet, then steered north by northeast. A flotilla of destroyers accompanied them. The main fleet was composed of dread naughts. Tmuiden Is on the western coa-t of Holland. In order to reach it the 29 battleships reported at sea must have cruised several hundred miles from their base. London. March 8. (I. N. S.) The anticipated clash in the North eea be tween the British and German fleets was the subject of a spirited discus sion by the war council today. All England is alarmed over the disap pearance of 20 German dreadnaughts from Kiel, and the consensus of opin ion is that the kaiser has completed his naval program and is now ready to strike. Lord Fisher, former first sea lord of the admiralty, attended today's meeting. It Is understood that Fisher in to be recalled, but it was impos sible to confirm the report. Churchill Bounds Warning. The following warning was sounded in the house of commons yesterday by Colonel Winston Churchill, former first lord of the admiralty: "ve must not assume that Ger many will be content to - allow her fleet to lie impotent and derided . in the Kiel canal. We must assume that something has happened in German naval yards, and that Germany has completed all her program." Biitish Admiralty Criticised. . In a sensational speech Mr. Churchill proceeded to criticise the admiralty for its "pure strategic passivity" since he (Concluded on Pge Nine. Column Three) Detectives Arrest Man on Suspicion &eoasrd and X,a Salle Believe 9. C. Bartholomew May Be George Bar tholomew, Wanted for Uad Murder. Detectives Leonard and La Salle ar rested D. C. Bartholomew in a soft drink emporium at' Second and Burn side streets this afternoon and are hold ing him on suspicion that he may be the Barthlomew believed to have mur dered John Llnd the first week In No vember. The man said he had former ly conducted a restaurant at Eugene and otherwise answers the description of Bartholomew, fairly well. The man, he said, had been cooking in a restaurant at Fossil, Or., and had arrived here last night. He Is the first man arrested here on suspicion of connection with the unsolved "trunk mystery." Chief of Police Clark sent detectives out with the man this afternoon to show Bartholomew to those persons who had seen the slayer. Some dis crepancies in the description made this advisable. Maud Allan Is Better. New York, March". (I. N. S.) The condition of Maud Allan of San Fran cisco, the famous dancer, who submit ted to an operation for appendicitis Monday, was - improved today. Miss Allan was' born in Sacramento, CaL, in 1871, . - - a-. ' - CHEMICAL PLANT AT NIAGARA IS BURNING EXPLOSION IS CAUSE Bigger Blast Feared; Com pany Had Numerous War Orders on Hand. Niagara Falls, N. T.. March 8. (U. P.) With one man known to be dead and a score missing, the. entire fire department of Niagara Falls fought today to save the Niagara Electro chemical company's plant, where fire started with a terrific explosion short ly before midnight The chemical company manufac tures nitrate as a by-product for sev eral powder companies. It was also understood to have on hand an im mense number of direct war orders. The fire started with an explosion in the peroxide building, and 12 or 15 even more violent blasts followed In quick succession. The city was rocked as by an earthquake, while the Per oxide plant was blown to p'.eccs. Storage House Threatened. Just before 9 .o'clock today a new series of eight explosions shook the plane They developed a new fire, which rapidly approached the storage house. Should the blaze reach this storehouse more explosions demolish ing the entire plant and possibly dam aging adjoining portions of the city are feared Officials are unable to estimate the number of men in the peroxide build ing when the first blast occurred. Sev eral guards asserted there were be tween 76 and 160. Their escape through Dolsonous gases was considered mlrac ulous. The peroxide plant contained apparatus for manufacture of a large percentage of all chloroform ub'ed in the country. Seat Prevents Bescue, Firemen and police were helpless to aid any men' who may have been trap ped inside, on account of the preat danger of explosions and terrific heat, which extended lor lour hours. The peroxide building was xt brick and steel 300 feet long and 7o wide The first explosion shot the roof with its massive girders 100 feet high, it landed several hundred feet away. Steel tanks 20 feet high and 15 feet wide were shot through a three foot brick wall like projectiles. . One sank in the Niagara river 100 yards distant. A string of freight cars two blocks away were bowled over and a huge electric hauling locomotive demolished. Machinery or every description was heaped around the yard in tangled, twisted masses. Water Brings Mors Explosions. Firemen were unable to' turn streams on the ruins because fresh explosions occurred when the water struck the burning debris. . The plant has been closely guarded since the recent dynamite explosion in another part of It. Dr. H. R. Carvath, general head of the company, said the concern had been making sodium peroxide for years, lie concluded tnat the explo sions and fire were not accidental. Carvath Delievea all in sthe bulldng juumai t i . had been accounted for, with one deaJT "f iV enVLw5 f".a Carvath believed all in vthe buildn and one fatally hurt, The .room in which explosives are stored is separated from the burning building by a thick fire wall, but the doors have burned through and an ex plosion dwarfing the earlier blasts is expected. Officials and ' firemen crouched waiting behind other build ings, powerless. H. 0. Levens Elected Mayor of Burns Burns, Or., March 8. The city elec tion held here Tuesday resulted, as follows: H. C. Levens, mayor; George Fry nd H. M.-HortoB, council men; W. Y. King, recorder; R. L.. Haines, marshal; Henry Daltoo.. treasurer. " -' - ' Postal Clerk Makes Record in Distribution Postmaster Willing to Put Tarrant Up Against Any Man in the Country. Employed In the Portland postoffice is the best letter distributor in the United States. At least Postmaster Myers nd other officials in the local office be lieve he is and challenge every other postal clerk in the country to equal his record. His name is Frank A. Tarrant and in a case examination held this morn ing he is believed to have set a stand ard for the entire national postal serv ice. Tarrant handled 1500 cards, distrib uting them In 45 different pigeon holes in 20 minutes without a single error. He averaged 75 cards, distributed correctly, per minute. The rules of the department require only 16 cards per minute, 95 per cent correct. In the Portland postoffice a higher efficiency is asked, however, and the requirement Is 30 cards p;r minute, 99 per cent correct. And so it is believed that Tarrant's mark of 73 cards per minute, 100 per cent correct, will stand for some time to come. STEEL IN OHIO AS RESULT OF T 114 Persons and Corpora tions Charged With Con spiracy Against Laborers, Toungstown, Ohio, March 8. (U. P.) The Mahoning county grand Jury to day Indicted Judge Elbert H. Gary and officers of six large steel com panles on a charge of violating the Valentine anti-trust law, an Ohio stat ute. Charges of conspiring to. keep down the wages of . common laborers were also made. The indictments were an outgrowth of the strike riots of East Toungs town. There are 62 counts. The grand Jury found no foreign government was responsible for the trouble. The indictments allege guards of the Toungstown Sheet & Tube company. precipitated the riots. They report that evidence from 662 witnesses. taken during hearings lasting a month. showed a "lawless condition of affairs in the steel Industry, indicating dis regard by the Indicted individuals and corporations of either the rights of Justice to the laboring class or the public generally. One hundred and fourteen persons and corporations were indicted. "Xot Justified," Says Gary. New York, March 8. (U. P.) Judge Elbert H. Gary, steel magnate, today termed an "outrage" the indictment against him in ths grand Jury investi gation of the East Toungstown strike riots. "There are no acts to Justify indict ment against the United States Steel corporation, the Carnegie Steel com pany or any of their officers," declared Gary. "As far as I know, there are no grounds for indictments against any other steel corporations. This is an outrage and a travesty on Justice." Stone Finds Wilson Is Peace Advocate Senator, After Talking- With President, Bays He Must Bevlse His Opinion of Him and Will Support His Policies. Washington, March 8, (P. N. S.) Speaking from the floor of the senate here today Senator Stone of Missouri said: "President Wilson's supreme wish, far from involving the United States In war, is to avoid that calamity." "I may not be in accord with some of the president's views," said Senator Stone, "but it is Impossible for any senator to believe that the president has so changed his attitude so long, maintained as an advocate of peace as to wish now to make this country a party in the conflict. "In view of this situation I have determined I could better serve the cause maintenance of peace by with holding my opinions so long as the questions at issue were the legitimate subject of diplomatic negotiations. In the meantime, I shall give the presi dent whatever support I can." Hats Trimmed, 25c Kodak for Phonograph E. W. White, at 144 Twelfth street, had a motorcycle for sale. w r . . . T .. TI'. a a a. customer at St. Johns immedi ately. See pages 13 and 14- Horses, Vehicles. Btev 1 DELIVERY wagon and horse; will sell cheap for cash. Dressmaking M EASTERN milliner and dress maker, all the latest styles; makes and remodels suits 83 up; hats trimmed 25 cents. Swap Column 35 EX-POLICE kodak and enlarging apparatus for graphaphone and records. The daily circulation of The Journal in Portland and its trade radius exceeds that of the morn ing paper by several thousands -and is practically 60 per cent greater than its nearest afternoon contemporary. , MEN MDK1 YOUNGS 1 RIOTING GERmANS MAKE BIGGEST GAIN YET RECORDED Capture French Positions at Verdun Over Width of Three and Half Miles; Now Within 4 Miles of Verdun. VERDUN IS PRACTICALLY SURROUNDED BY ENEMY Germans Claim Capture of 3277 Men in Battle of Cumieres. Berlin, March, 8. fl. N. S.) French positions in the Verdun district fdr a width of more than three and a half niflcs were stormed by the Germans, according to today's official bulletin. The statement said: "in order to improve our new lines, which have been pushed forward on tne right bank of the Meuse, across the southern slopes of Cote De Talou, Cote De Poivre and Douaumont, enemy rosiUons on the left bank of the Meuse t.nd on both bonks of Forges brook, btlov Bethincourt, were stormed over a width of 3.6 miles. "Last night the French delivered counter attacks east .of Maisons De C'1-an.pagne. Grenading continues. Oth erwise the enemy was completely re pulsed. "We have now captured the villages of Forges and Regneville and the heights of Rabon and Cumieres." Cumieres is less than four miles northwest of Verdun. Capture of 58 French officers and 3277 men during the battle of Cumieres is claimed. "in the Woevre district," the state ment adds, "the French have been driven out entirely from Fresnes. "Taubes bombarded the French serves westward of Verdun." re- LIEUT. GEN. V0N GRAF AND. 20,000 TROOPS KILLED, SAY FRENCH Paris, March 8. (I. N. S.) German troops today have surrounded nearly two thirds of Verdun, but the trench say this fact is insignificant. A fur ther encircling movement is impos- ible, the military experts say. FTencn battery reinforcements are offsetting the work done by the in cessant fire from German howl tiers. Capture of Hill No. 265 cost the Ger mans zo.ooo men and many officers. according to announcement here today. An entire division was decimated. lieutenant uenerai von Graf was killed while leading a charge of Bavar ian troops. ' Yesterday's advance by the Germans was believed to be the prelude to an immense offensive. A trench section In the Champagne district, east of Maizons De Cham pagne, captured by the Germans March 6. has been retaken by the French. according . to today's communique. Three German officers, 82. men and a machine gun also were captured. A counter attack launched by the Ger mans shortly after the French took possession was repulsed. Other operations as reported by the communique zouow: "In the Argonne district our artil lery shelled roads in the vicinity of Montfaucon, which the enemy was re ported utilizing for automobile trans ports. "Northward of Verdun, the situation remains unchanged. The Germans con tinued bombardment of our positions west of the Meuse without attempting miantry attacKS. uur batteries re sponded energetically. Eastward of the Meuse the bombardment on both sides was intermittent. "In the Woevre district, violent artil lery bombardment raged. We bombard ed Blanze, Grimaucoiirt and tne out skirts or Fresnes. A German attack on our railways and on the Manheulles road was shattered by our curtains of fir ana infantry fire." Oregon Senators Lose Power Fight "baas Amendment to Shields Bill J fasted Chamber Iain's Objectionable Amendments to Mayers Bill Ignored. Washington, March 8. (U. P.! Sen ator Lane of Oregon told the eer.ate today that the Shields waterpower bill proposes to give the nation's last great resource practically free to a few'priv lleged citizens. "w nave given away our coal, our timber has passed into the hands it a few. our petroleum is alt but gon the prices of all three commodities are constantly rising," he said. "Now we are asked for the sake of development to give away our waterpower resources for . almost nothing. The people will pay ten times over for any advantage they get out or tms development. Lanes amendment to tne bill was defeated. Over the objection of Senator Cham be rial n, the public lands committee ap proved amendments to the Myers bill, which conservationists charge para lyxed the sections designed to protect tne public. Determined effort to dispose of the Shields dam question, whkrh has been deadlocked for a month, . wilt be made today in the senate. Although the conservationists are welding the op position passage of the measure appar enuy is a certainty. Canvass of the house indicates either ueieat or raaicai amendment. . Enver Pasha Is Reported Dead From Wounds Turkish Minister of War Said to Be a Victim of Mob Violence. Indon, March 8.-Fxi-hanue Telegraph -(1. N. S.) An dispatch from Athens nays: "Rumors are In circulation here that Enver Pasha, who was wounded in an attempted assassination at Constanti nople, has died of hta wounds." A News dispatch from Rome says that revolution is. raging in Con stantinople. Enver Pasha was wound id and many Germans were killed whcii a mob fired on them. The mob has pillaged the army stores, barricaded the streets and dam aged the railroads. The Germans are repressing the rioting with gun fire. The Turkish army Is not opposing the Russian advance from Erzeru.n, tut is retreating westward, setting fire to villages and cities, including 81vas and Mosul. Fleet Attacks Dardanelles. Constantinople, March 8. (I. N. 8.) Repulse of an attack by warshtpe in the Dardanelles wag claimed In an of ficial statement Issued here today. Two cruisers of the attacking fleet weie hit. "The enemy," the fctatement added, "failed In efforts to approach Telassee. The situation at Kut-el-Amara is un changed." WILL FIGHT ALL LAWS WHICH HANDICAP THE Jason Rogers, Publisher of in New York Globe, Here Interest of Campaign, Jason Rogers, publisher of the New York Globe, is in Portland today in the interest or tne manonai iraae as sociation, an organization of business men of the nation banded together pri marily for the purpose of opposing the enactment of legislation inimical 10 business Interests. Plans and purposes of the associa tion were outlined by Mr. Rogers to a number of Portland business wen at a luncheon today noon at the Portland hotel. He nointed out a number laws that have been enacted in recent years by congress to the injury or business. Among them he mentioned the Cummins bill which requires com pulsory insurance on all express pack sees. Another was the present post office law, which he said went through without the business men of the coun try knowing anything about It. To Establish Bureau. TI emphasized the point that legis lation affecting business is being con tinually enacted without the business men of the country knowing what is eolne on. He said Senator Cummins admitted that his bill was passed with amendments attached about which ,;he knew nothing. "Five hundred bills arrecting Pus! ness are now pending uciuio con- i gress, he saia, ana most oi intra are not understood even by the mem bers of congress- Many such laws are enacted without ever being explained.' The National Trade association is to establish a bureau at Washington, he said, to keep in touch with all such proposed legislation. "One Dill wmcr. -ve are opposing. said Mr. Rogers, "is the so-called Stephens bill, which has been intro duced by perrons Interested in price maintenance. This bill seriously af fects the relations of the manufac turer with the retailer, and if enacted would prove a drawback to those manufacturers who now seek protec tion through its enactment. Dictation of Prices. "This bill would arbitrarily enable manufacturers to dictate tne wnoie sale and retail prices, and would ma terially increase the cost or living. "If. for Instance, a trade marked article, such as pills, must be sold at 25 cents a box instead of 10 or 11 ccntc as now, it Is obvious that the other puis would go up propor tionately. "Entirely aside rrom ine mailer or price maintenance, tnis Dili would place an increased premium on me practice of suDSUiuuon iot an stan dard goods and Increase the difficul ties of the manufacturers in securing ciistribution." Officers of the association are: President, George B. Caldwell, presi dnt the Sperry & Hutchinson Co., New York; vice president, Percy S. Straus of It.' H. Macy & Co., New York ; treas urer. Harry B. Haines or Mews Print- ing CO., favcrson, r. J- up ox io 11 directors is A. Meier of Meier & FianK Portland. Mr. Rogers is also a director. ' Mr. Rogers will co- xrom Portland to $an Francisco and Los Angeles and return' east over the southern route. Tfro Keply Notes to TJ. S. Protests Sent Anglo-French Bote em BtaQ SsUtbe Torwarded to Brttisa Ambassador, aad, Blockade Hots Mailed. London, torch t (V. P.)The Anglo-French Joint reply to the American note protesting against selsure of United States mail wa sent' today to Ambassador Spring-Rice in Washington. The British -reply to the American note on blockade con troversies has been completed and is to go forward to Washington by the next ma iL ' The latter contains 8000 words, but no hint as to its contents is giveiu . . - ; Fort Gibbon Barracks Born Washington Marrh TT V - j Captain -'Mclntyre reported today the I Fourteenth infantry barracks at Fort j Gibbon. Alaska,' bad been burned. The cause of the fire was not gUttd. BUSINESS NMSTS S. P. DEMANDS $10,000,000 FOR D.-CGRANTLAND General Counsel Blair for Railroad Offers Compro mise That Amounts to About $4.40 Per Acre. PUTER'S TESTIMONY EXCITES LAUGHTER Declares Hawley's Bill Chi nese Puzzle, With Joker In It. Washington. March 8. (WASHING. ': TON BUREAU OK T11K JOURNAL.). For a consideration of $10,000,000 the Southern Pacific today offered to re linquish all claim to the Oregon Si California grant lands. J. P. Blair, general counsel of the railroad, made the offer to the- house public lands committee. He pointed out the railroad now claim the right to remove all timber, which Is wortft from $30,000,000 to $50,00U,000, but W willing to compromise to avoid fur their litigation. The southern Pacific proposition amounts to about $4.40 an acre. Attorney General Gregory advised the committee the railroad Is not en titled to over 12.60 an acre, with ledue tlons for past excess sales. This would make the amount to be received hy the road less than $6,000,000. Pnter's Frankness Amuses. S. A. IX Puter, noted In Oregon land . fraud history, appeared In behalf of 1300 settlerK he has located'' on the , property, and for whom he desire preference rights. Facing a running fire of questions, Puter admitted his contracts wiih set. tiers Kave him a right to repun hns a large share of their lands at a nomi nal price If tbey once gain tit lu. Puter's testimony container large elements of comedy, and the committee was kept in a roar of laughter. He was entirely frank In telling of his operationsexcept that he deutlncd to rive the name of the Portland attor neys Who advised him there wa noth ing illegal In his contracts with the applicants. He said one formerly was "United States prosecuting attorney," Asked If lie had gny eonnertl'ir, with Lafferty, he replied: -,I should ssy not." Joker in Kawley Bill. "The Hawley bill Is a Chinese pux sle," lie declared. "There's a Joker In (Conrludrd on Page Two. Column rle) S, P. IS. TRAIN HITS SLIDE AND 10 MEN BADLY INJURED Engineer Decker and Fireman Ball Taken to Hospital Af ter Accident. Striking a slide in a cut near. Fall- bridge, Wash., across the Columbia. river from The Lallea. Or., about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the enarlne of North Bank train No. 1, due in Port land from Hpokane at 7:45 last nishL Jumped ihe track and turned over on Its side, pinning J ii.:ner Fred Decker nd Fireman William Ball beneath the wreckage. A special train hurriedly made n at Kallbridge arrived in Portland last night with . the injured - trainman In care of Dr. E. B. McDuniel. chl'f surgeon of the company, who left Portland on No. 4 at 6 o'clock tn-l transferred to the special when the two trains met.; Znriassr-g Skull rractured. Ball was not badly injured but wd taken to St. Vincent's hospital as a precautionary measure. He has an injured knee. - Engineer Deckr waa In a semi-conscious condition. Dr. McDaniel said 'that a cursory ex amination indicated, that the en gineer had a i fractured skull. He held out hope for recovery, however. Injuries are confined to the head. The track was cleared of rock and debris at 8 o'clock this morning and I"o. l was brought into Portland. It r.s found that : -ne of the cars ex cept the mail snd baggage cars was lAtnaged - at all and no passengers were hurt. It was t -.id at St. Vincent's hospi tal this mornlns tha; Decker's condW tion appeared to be critical. In so much of a hurry were the railway men to get started with Decker that they did not wait to transfer passengers around the slide. - Oaly Two Trainmen Injured. According to he dlspstcher's office of the North Bank in Portland, no one tutside the two trainmen was hurt in the slightest degree. As far as . is kr.cn, only the three front cars, probably the baggage, mail and ex- press cars, left the track with the en gine. "It was idt exactly a elide but a big rock that 'the engine struck." was the answer given from the dispatcher's of flee In response to a request for infor mation as to the extent of ths slid,!"; . The engine drawing the train was No. 60S, one of the largest and newest on the North Bank system. ' Engineer Decker is married and re sides at' IMZ i East Twenty-fourth street north. M. Decker left on No, 4, eastbound, ar7:l last night. This train met the ;spclr carrying- her husband, . T f ? - ' - - -