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V.' ' . . THE OREGON j SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY, MORNING. ; NOVEMBER 18. 1917. CHIEF CONCERN OF Italy's, smwnON IS MORAL ASPECT Military Side of Question,' (.veil oiiuuiu iiaij Crushed, of Less Moment Than Mental Effect. Italian Disaster Is Direct Re sult of Russia's Collapse, , Releasing German Troops From East Front. v By Frank H. Simondg (Copyright. 1917. tf the Tribune Auoctatkm The New York Tribe n) Sine I closed my last article events In Italy have moved very rapidly. In the present article, written November , I nhull endeavor simply to fore shadow what may happen, and there are three different sets of circum stances to te considered: First, a com plete German victory, carrying with It a decisive victory over Italy, which will break the moral power of the Italian people; second, the successful rallying: of the Italians at some se lected line covering Northern Italy; third, the resumption of the offensive by the Italians after a strategic re treat, following an initial disaster which might repeat the familiar his tory of the Marne campaign. Now.' to take up the first considera tion, namely, a complete Italian dis aster, the situation in this: At the out set of the present German .operation the Italians occupied a long front covering more than half the circum ference of a circle, one end resting on the Adriatic, just east of the mouth of the Isonzo, and the other upon the Adige and La go dl Garcia, just north of Verona. On a front of something like 300 miles less than 60 miles was active, and only in the 30 miles be tween the head of the: Adriatic and , the bend of the Isonzo north of the Balnelzza plateau was there any seri ous operation going forward. The Italians had concentrated all their ef fort on this restricted front and had been endeavoring to push ahead, with Lalbach as their ultimate objective. Where 0rmui Broke Through The German attack on the Upper Isonzo broke through the Italian lines north of the front on which they had concentrated most of their guns and all their best troops. Owing to the configuration of the front, the Ger man troops which penetrated the Ital ian line were nearer to the vital lines of Italian communication than t'adorna's main force about Gorizla. The immediate problem then was whe ther Cadorna's main force about Go rlzia could get west before the Ger man assaulting columns came south and cut their line of retreat. Could the Italians accomr- sh this, "the next natural rallying line was at the Tag llamento river, which comes down out of the Alps, runs straight south across the Italian Plain and enters the Adri atic west of the mouth of the Isonzo. . Cadorna did not get all his troops bark, lie seems to have lost some thing like 200,000 men and an enor 'mous number of guns. The Germans, on the other hand, did not succeed in enveloping the main Italian force, ana by Saturday or Sunday at the latest that Is. by November 4 the Italians were back behind the Tagllamento river. 1 MAP OF THE ITALIAN BATTLE FRONT m$MWr-ii. j&ESJftiVI : ' will reduce Uhe red - tape, -and. also place the reins mors firmly la .the hands of Chairman Hurley arid bis col league of the shipping board. t - Cabinet Members Xead XTame' Seven members' of the president's cabinet and eight women who preside over cabinet households have accented the Invitation of the National Won Suffrage association to act as Honor ary officials during the annual con vention of the association in Wash ington next month. , The only name missing from the cabinet list are those of Secretary of State and Mrs. Lansm and Postmaster General Burleson. Mrs. 1 Lansing has been actively identified with the anti-suffragists. Secretary and Mrs. McAaoo head the cabinet list of those who will act as honorary officers, . followed by Sec retary and Mrs. Baker, , Secretary and Mrs. Daniels and Secretary'' and Mrs. Lane. Speaker and Mrs. Clark occupy places on the list, and so do a. num ber of prominent senators and con gressmen. Abstracts Beset Conventions Among . the western . members of congress who thus give prominent in- i dorsement to the -suffrage cause are Senator and Mrs. Chamberlain of Ore gon, Senator and Mrs. Jones and Sena tor and Mrs. Poindexter of Washlng- I trmr nf Orffn .nrl R.nrsent.tlT and Mrs. Raker of California. Another family team not to be overlooked Is composed 'of J, P. Tumulty.'-secretary to the president and. Mrs. Tumulty'. ' Lack of hotel accommodation' is in terfering with some of the. plans for conventions In Washington during the winter, although this la not apparently bothering the suffragists. Officers of the national r I vers and harbors con Tress which was -also to meet here during the first weUt of congress, are considering postponement until a later date when one or two large new- hotels wll be ready to receive guests. listener z mestlve ! Senator Duncan If- Fletcher of Flor ida, who has beenV Interested in the problem of direct marketing between producer' and consumer. Is of the opin ion, that the department of agriculture, as represented by the bureau of mar kets, is not disposed to take hold of; the subjects as it might. Some time ago Senator Fletcher se cured the adoption of an item in one Of the supply bills for experiments to be conducted at three selected places for extensions - of the parcel post to determine what could be done by op eration of special trucks for the col lection of garden and orchard products and . quick delivery to the consumer. Arrangements were practically com pleted, he says, for making these ex periments at Philadelphia, St. Louis and Jacksonville, Fla. Then the matter was referred to the bureau of mar kets, and nothing has clnce been beard of it. The experiments were Intended to demonstrate the best methods In the use of containers, the rates that'would have to be charged, and the machinery necessary to bring toe producer and consumer into closer, communication. Bureau of Markets Criticised "For. some reason,' says, the Florida senator, "the department seems hostile to efforts along. these lines. "The ten dency of. government : bureaus is to frown upon innovations which may de crease their control. While the bureau of markets has - no doubt dons good work it has failed to 'come down to brass . tacks on the solution of the most practical problems." Senator Fletcher believes the next session of congress should give seri ous consideration to the marketing plan proposed by David Lubln, the noted economist and publicist, who fa vors the organization of a national chamber of agriculture, whereby the farmers could organise themselves In small units, with county, state and national organlatlons above, believing this would lead to complete information as to market conditions and better dis tribution of foodstuffs. French electricians have built a dyn amo that also can be usd as a motor that weighs scarcely one fifth of an ounce. Meat Prices Will - Decrease, Promise Head of Special Committee of Tood - Administration Declares BeguUtlojt Will Have Xffect. . Chicago. Nov. 17. IU. P.) Meat price's will' come down." Joseph, P. Cot- t ton, head of the meat committee of th . fcod administration, -today declared. U the result of federal regulation- of the profits of the packing industry. ; - After weeks of conferences the regu- , lations for profits have .been - deter- t ' mined, he said. They are-now await.1 lng the approval of Food Admlris- . trator Hoover and probably will be ' made early next week. ' ' ! ; "Prices of meats will be slightly-' cheaper," Cotton said. "I think It will i -be accepted In two ways: By putting ' the market on a stable bais, where we will know what the price to the j producer is, and by limiting tho pack ers so we know what margins-they , make. ... . ' AVe do not intend to destroy f competition but eliminate those who, sell at less than coat to secure prof Its at further date by keeping the trade." .,.- . ALWAYS 100 PLAYS K Before the Teuton attack came Italians occupied a 300 mile front from the Adriatic to Lago dl Garda, north of Verona, of which less than 50 miles was active. the Carnic Alps, receiving many streams from the Dolomites. If one. may hazard a guess, my judg ment is that the Italian army will make a desperate effort to stand at the Piave river. We come finally to the possibility that the Italians will endeavor to repeat the exploit of Joffre, retreating until their armies are concentrated and reinforced by their French and British allies, and then, when the Aiustrians and the Germans have been drawn a long way from their lines of communication and supplies, strike back in the hope of transforming a disaster into a victory. The chances of this seem slight. The Italian army has suffered a disaster far in excess of that which "the French army suf fered in the various battles during the third week of August, 1914. Significance Interpreted No one should attempt to disguise the gravity of the military situation so far as it affects Italy. We shall have for many days now to face the possibility that Italy will be put out of the war. It Is unlikely. It ia im probable. But It will remain a possi bility until the situation has reached an equilibrium again. But once more it is essential to recognize that even the total collapse of Italy would not, on the military side, greaty endanger the allied prospects, because no considera ble portion of Austrian troops could be brought to the. western field owing to the exhaustion of Austria. Besult of Xnssian collapse The Italian disaster ts the direct result of the Russian military situa tion. The Russian armies have quit fighting and quit working. They have "walked out," and the result has been that the Germans have been able to Penrose No Longer Regular Republican, Asserts Vare Opposition to Vare Faction Jn Pennsylvania Brings Wrath Upon Head ,of Senator Policy of Shipping Board to iRemain Unchanged. take troops from the Kastern front This stream supplied a front 1 and - throw them against Italy. The which offered advantages for a de-fwar henceforth is a war between the fence, provided the Italian army could ! western allies and Germany. It will be reconcentratcd and sufficient artil lery could be massed to "maintain it. Tagllamento Position Forced But by Monday. November 6, it was plain that th( Tagllamento position could not be held, and within 24 hours Rome and Uerlin agreed that German troop's were across this river and the Italian armies- were retreating. Now, . the German strategy must consist in a rapid pursuit of the armies which were defeated and have retired across the Italian plain. Hav ing won his victories at Jena and Auer stadt. Napoleon transformed these vic tories into one of the most complete routs in military history by his pur suit of the beaten Prussians. Within a few days after these battles all Prussian military power ceased -to ex ist. Germany, with her own history in mind, is likely to make a deter mined effort to prevent an Italian stand and to transform the defeat into a rout. So much for the first consideration. Now as to the second: The Italians have lost the line of the Isonzo In their first disaster and either through weakness or in accordance with Ca dorna's plans have surrendered the Tagllamento. They may now retire behind the Livenza river, about a dozen miles west of the Tagllamento. or behind the Piave, a similar distance west of the Livenza, or behind the Brenta, an equal distance from the Piave, or behind the Adire. Rut it to be recognized that If they retire be won by the western allies if they are not now conauered morally by German successes in Italy. These successes have a limited value on the military side, but on the moral side they may have a fatal effect, unless the American, French and British peoples now display their spirit the spirit of the north in 1864, the spirit of the French at the Marne fifty years later. Washington, Nov. 17. (WASHING TON BUREAU OF THE JOURNAL.) Senator Boies Penrose, standpatter un matched and boss incomparable, now stands accused of being a reformer and a traitor to the Republican party.' The indictment has been framed by the regulars of Pennsylvania, and was for mally stated In Washington a few days ago by Congressman William S.; Vare of Philadelphia, who announced that Penrose no longer can be considered ) a Republican. 1 i The Pennsylvania pot is boiling fast but it remains to be seen whether Penrose will suffer seriously from the support he gave In the recent i local campaign to the rebellion against the regular party organization. A new precedent wa set, however, when Pen rose joined with leading Democrats of Philadelphia in fighting the Republi can organization ticket. are Faction Heads Penrose Out The Vare faction,' which was in the majority, asserts that Penrose has for feited his right to appear in Republi can councils. Penrose has talked the same way in the pest concerning oth ers who .supported reform tickets, so why should not the same measure he applied to him? The friends qf the big boss, however, point out that the November election was local, and no penalty can be inflicted for refulsal to support the regular nominees. The latest reorganization of "forces in the shipping board is In the fdirec tion of more centralized control with the shipping board itself given closer supervision over the construction of positon of general manager of the emergency fleet corporation, but he is shorn of much of the responsibility. Capps Believed of Worry As a matter of fact Admiral Capps was not in condition to bear the strain ! thrown upon him in looking after the affairs of the fleet corporation. He is well along in years, and his health ia not robust. His navy training as a construction officer did not help in cutting red tape. Differences with the shipping board developed and became a source of worry. Instead of producing greater speed in construction. Admiral Capps seemed to have unwittingly become a means of delay, and his retirement became a question of time. In the method adopted, care was taken not to wound the -pride of an excellent officer who has .been doing his best but whose strength was. not equal to the task. Policy Remains Unchanged. The changes just made do not fore cast any particular change of policy in the construction of ships. There is the same attitude toward wooden ships they are not wanted. The shipping board officials have reached the con clusion that construction of wooden ships merely draws labor away from the steel ship yards, where the need is greater, because steel ships are more speedy and of greater capacity. The effort in the new organization has been to subdivide the construction work under engineers who are speci ally qualified and of business men who are 'accustomed to having things ships. Admiral Capps remains In the done in the most direct way. This Sr m If You Wake Up oenina tne fiave thev will hav. tn surrender Venice, and that if they re tire behind the Brenta. Vicenza and and Panda would come under the range of Austro-German guns, while if they go back as fir as Adige, then Verona will be equally exposed to bombard ment and destruction. The Piave river is larger than the Tagllamento and comes down from I Look at This! 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