vot. xvii. no; 8i : . Portland, oregon, : Tuesday KVBHmo;-jijhr.iiiiiismtm paqbsY. -price two cents! i - ' ' fiMf MP 'W PATH I1 17 PIP Mil TM i o inm i 1 . i! n .m m 0 m I . w , I . - - KS.IILL 0PE1TE ALL WIRES N ation's Telegraph arid Telephone Syitems to Be Operated Under Government Control, President Having Issued Executive Order Present. Rival Systems Will Be Combined and: Services . In- ; creased " Discharged Keymen Are to Be Reinstated, Is Word. WASHINGTON, . Julylb-rt .'V-rfe nation's communJ-' ettlon lineg will go under gov. . ernmcnt control at , midnlgh t, . President Wilson today signed n executive, order r providing ' for fhlerat; wire operation under the - "AtWWttxfVMQfUUOS. v - .r t.,, t. Postmasterj . General a Bu"rleon w 111 supervise the , work, with David J, Lewis as director. An official utemnt by Burleson s vJ . ,. "The' -operation or control of what are commonly called 'farmera' telephone ,ltn will be interfered with only for the purpose of facilitating their connec tions with tho longer lines. "There will be no change affecting- the preaa wire service except to Improve It wherever posnlble Of course, no gen eral policy has been decided upon and will not he until a most careful survey of the whole situation is had and a grasp of conditions as they now exist Is 'se cured. "1 shall freely avail myself to all as sistance and, suggestions which those in a positton to do ap may be good enough to offer me.. "Whenever It. is neceary to Inau gurate any changes of poHcy. announce- .(ContistMd on Ptse Three. Column One) Enlisted' Men in , Navy Now 503,793 ? ... i ; ; , r ' Washington. July23. (U. Pj The en listed personnel of -the navy has passed the half million mark. Secretary of the Navy Daniels announced today, the total strength of the navy's armed forces Is M)3.?93 The national volunteers, comprising nearly 15.000 men. have been 1 combined with the naval reserve forces. . Iif addition to the armed forces there are more than 80.000 mechanics and laborers employed! at n&vyyards and about 10,000 ' persona employed In navy department t bureaus. - .., - . I This makes the total strength, of the entire naval establishment approxi mately 594,006. . . i ;: Berlin;Has .Typhoid ?f Epidemic Is Eeport ' Ameterdam.' Juty;'2I. -fl. S.) A serious outbreak -of typhoid has occurred . In Berlin, said a dispatch front that city , today. "The number, o victims was not ; given. .. .. , .s -M t Belief Is prevalent in the German capl tal that the epidemic arose, through the i use of poisoned or unclean milk. - roll of; honok '- ' - . '"' ' ' ' Wilnton, Jul, Jl (t K.- a.) On has. dwd and mmmIUm In the A morion txry atUnnary f tart; were announced today k thm er op.mit. follow! , , ; Twcnty-fonr killed in wtion. thne died mn , vrauiMto. fi from eiww.. , from .ceMent and . eilxlns is action. . . ! on tadMd t Ui Amfrtcaii axpadiUonarr force wwn annonncad today at Marina Corps baad etiarUn. Sirided ai adlowt: ; .rTr, LS ?f ,, .ta ,cti,l' - died from feomnd raecired In action. 15 wounded MTcnU - Js -action and on. attains in action. ' . Tba arsiy of Horn named are: tantjUMrsa A. Blllsharrow. Mapte- Tharo wa on , aiarine officer in the Mat Lieutenant Arthur L. Elmore ot VfuhLJ The army aaoualtr . liet vaa a foUow. : .- ... .- KHta4 w Artie JU,., ..i-' , r SEBCKAWT CART. I GILBERT,' Nile" o. . lORPftRAU STEPHEN P. CRIB Chtea.! -:. CORPORAL I ST KOLA R, -Chtea to- - " ; LIrT.XRD A. BEARn. 8t LouK ,p leslh: a ciupiN, aairti;; TRtVATE JAMES P. ELLI3. Eldorado. T. Cflnd oa ' Pat Three. Column. . Fror TO OPERATE WIRE SYSTEMS BOSTMASTER GENERAL BURLESON, at the left', and David L. Lewis, former representative, from Mary land . who wQl take charge of the. telephone arid telegraph sys tems in the United States. Mr. Burleson is to be supervisor and Mr. Lewis director of the MEN! FARE GETS v HIGH COURT Oi. . ' z State's - Right to, .Regulate. Rate . Is Decision "Given : V -1 Salem, Or., July 23. The eupreme court today - upheld Portland's six. cent street ear fare. The public service com mission had authority to change terms of the franchise or contract made between the city of Portland and 'the Portland Railway; Light & Power company. , , Ignoring the existing terms of this con tract was different from Germany's no torious "scrap - of paper" attitude, as Justice Burnett, who wrote - the court's opinion, points out that the state had the inherent power to regulate rates, and the public service commission was acting as the agent of the state. He points out that wtiea the city was given the power to Tlx the rates in the franchises the city ".was then acting merely as the agent of the state, and since then by the law passed by the legis lature that authority was taken from the city and placed in the public service com mission. So, in effect, the same parties which made the contract for a five cent fare changed it to a six cent fare, holds the court, as. in both cases the deal was made through an "agent" 6f the state. In the first instance, the "agent" was the city, 1n the second Instance the "agent" was the public service commission. Justice Burnett prepared a synopsis f the court's opinion, which is as fol lows : . ' " s "The contention of the city in the main is thai the franchise granted by its ordinance tothe Portland Railway, Light Power- company constituted a contract between it and the company, the obligation of which could not be im paired by the action of the public serv ice commission. "The court holds in substance that the city could not have granted suob a franchise unless the power to do so had been delegated to it by the states that in granting the right? to maintain the railway in the city the municipaUty acted aa a governmental agency of the State and really entered into the ar rangement on behalf of the state r that (Continued oa Pat Two. Column Four) Divers Eeported to ' 'S vgayeShelled Tugs Baltimore, July 23. (I. N. S.)An of ficial of a local towing and lightering company reported to a representative ot an afternoon newspaper here late1 this afternoon that he had Just been In formed that a tug and two barges had been sunk by a German submarine near Norfolk, Va. ; The report says that another tug had been, hit by a shell from the U-boat but managed to escape, r No confirmation of the report had been received here from other sources up to a late hour. "Kill It" ' s- This letter is typical of many. Journal" "Want" ads sure get -results, -r . ."'-- Advertising iManager -Want Ad Dept. , Journal 7-10-18: Kill ' the ; Want Ad, Tent for Sale. ; I "had 43 phone calls., . "How do they do It?" -' Send bill to P. M. MacCoIHs .ter. City. Phone Sellwood 2882. v 62 4; Clinton st. - , , . ; They will get Just as good re " salts for : you. Phone Main 7l73'orvA-603l v - 1RmmmmWmm1mmmwmwmtmmwmWmWm rWWw.wwMcs)wsjiMrit; m 11 : y - , V f v t SMMMSSMseiSSsBWaasMa ...... ' i 1 1 ' .1- systems. ? E TAKE OVER BRIDGE Free Passage for Soldiers Be- ; r" Insureri'by Action.- :V After what seemed to be an unbreak able deadlock between the county com missions of Clarke, county, Washington, and Multnomah county in the matter of granting free bridge tolls for soldiers In uniform stationed at Vancouver bar racks, a , solution of the problem came as a result of the meeting of the Inter state bridge commission Monday after noon at the Mu,ltnomah county . court house. . The ; solution came . after a lengthy discussion in which the members of the commission from both counties wanted it made known positively that they were all in favor-of granting free passage to the soldiers, . it possible, and still to comply with the law. Major C. P. Stearns, adjutant of the spruce produc tion division of the signal corps, repre-' sfentfng Colonel Disque, commanding of ficer of, the spruce, division, strongly urged the commission to take action. Attorneys, - commissioners - and all agreed that the government could settle the legal question-by practically com mandeering the bridge for the duration of the.ywar. tor the use of the soldiers and government war work. With this idea in view Chairman Hol man of the ". commission asked Major Stearns if he would be willing "to com municate with the secretary of war, ex plaining the situation and requesting the war department to direct the com mission to grant free tolls over the hridge. Major Stearns complied 'with this suggestion and a telegram was sent to the war department from Colonel Dlsque's office yesterday afternoon ask ing for such action by the war depart ment. ' .:. The following. is the telegram as sent by Colonel Disque to the secretary of war: ; ; "Request instructions be sent Inter state bridge commission, Multnomah county courthouse, Portland, Or., that you direct free tolls for men in govern ment uniform and government trans portation over Interstate bridge be tween , Portland, Or., and Vancouver, Wash. ! This matter held up by county commissioners Clarke county for reason that .the attorney general, state of Washington, has stated that they have no authority: toremove tollp. .Commis sioners from both' counties agree that order from you win toe all sufficient for them to comply with our request for free toJls Turkey Agrees to Do Duty to Satisfy IT. S. ,v - , if".-, V ... . ."V ' t Washington, July 23. (TJ.- P.) Tur key iias promised to do her "full duty" toward the United States, should It de velop that her , troops are responsible for anti-American outrages against Tabrls. 1 - ' - - . , This' means she would attempt to avoid war through the pledge of repara-' tion damages. . The Swedish foreikm of fice notified the state .department todayH inai liiraey is buu investigating, but is haVing difficulties with poor com munications. Aviators Picked ' : ; Up at Sea by Ships Washington, July 3. X, N. 8.) En signs Briscoe and O riff in and Chief Ma chinists' Mate Upton. U. a N.,,. flying corps, arrived in pOrt yesterday aboard a Swedish vessel that had picked thn up at "sea, -the navyt department an-j nounced this afternoon. No other detail! 'were maopuoiic, . - - . J GOV RNMENT WILL mm m bx, lanaFREU to on in General Downfall in Western Oregon of Great Benefit to Willamette Valley Crops; Rec ord Drouth' Broken by Storm. Rain, general along the coast of Ore gon and Northern California, insuring millions of doyaraln additional crops, fell Monday night and today, breaking one of the longest drouths Western Ore gon has known. At 9 o'clock this morn ing .37 of an inch precipitation had been recorded at the weather bureau and heavy showers fell since that time. The precipitation ' Is not general throughout the Northwest, however, the Oregon-Washington line marking the extent of the rainfall to the north and precipitation extended only about 10ff miles inland up to early this morning. Fair weather for Portland and for Ore gon and Washington, both east and west. Is predicted for tonight and Wednesday. With the .03 of an Inch rain of July 9, the precipitation for July totaled .40. the showers of Tuesday night and. this morning being recorded at .37. ' The normal for July up to the present tjate -60- ' . t- .f..,. .... - ,. ; The spring and sarry summer of 191 Will go down In the weather Human roHtf nrtrr 4rteeVowr slheerecords were . avept la-'Fprtland. -47 k years. . The driest Previous- sm-inir and KiurirrisVs from Aprfl',.1 te July 23. was in 1909. when 4.34 inches of rain felL This year, how ever, from April 1 to 9 o'clock this morn ing, but 3.03 inches had fallen, establish ing a. new mark for drouth in Portland. Last year the rainfall from April 1 to August 23 was 3.85. At 5 o'clock this morning, when weather bureau reports were received. Marsh field had .14 of an inch rain, Rose burg .16; while Baker, on the east side of the mountains, had precipitation. Eureka, Cal.,-reported .06 of an inch. On the interior in the Northwest, no rahvwas reported from Spokane. Walla Walla or Yakima, in Washington, nor had any fallen in Seattle. Up and down the Willamette valley i Concluded on Pag fifteen. Column Seren) CONTRACT ONLY SCRAP OF PAPER District Attorney Gives Opinion on Employment of School Superintendent. The superintendent, of schools In Mult nomah county may be discharged sum marily by the school board at any time, regardless of previous contract, accord ing to an opinion given Monday by Dis trict Attorney Evans. A contract of em ployment for a fixed period is only a scrap of paper and no legal obligation to observe it . rests upon the school di rectors. This remarkable condition results from the enactment of the "teachers tenure law" by the legislature of 1917. If the district attorney's interpretation of the law is correct, the school board has been vested with absolute power to dismiss the school superintendent at any time with no more notice and with scarcely any more ceremony than would be used in discharging a day laborer. . The fact that Superintendent Alder man was formally employed by written contract for a period of two years from July. 1917, is. In the opinion of the dis trict attorney, entirely immaterial. "The board," says Mr. Evarw. "has the power to dispense with the services of Mr. Alderman whenever It sees fit." If this is the meaning of the law, it' is obvious that In future any skilled and competent educator - who is invited to com to Portland and accept the office of, superintendent of schools will not be tOomlodwl m Pair Two. Ctaa M French Ste v Give Signal for Own Guns to Fire , , "-: .' . 1 ' " ' r "- , ', WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES IN -THE FIELD,' July 23. (U.P.) -The first day of the Germaa. offensive. Commandant Georges Mellerai, holding Baslieux (two miles northeast of Chatillon) with two companies, was encircled by the Germans.' Darin the afternoon he sent a message back by carrier pigeon, telling of his plight and giving the artillery val uable information. - V-- : . ,-. . The little body of French held;; off J the Germans for ' seven hours. Then, knowing he was lost, Mellerai sent la final message, asking that the French artillery be turned on the village; which the Germans entered. r. .-. "Les Boches. soot sw nous, v Nous sommes perdus mais nous avoni -fait de belle besogne.. 'A Fait feu r sur la villel"- w . . v - - .j , J ; "The Boches are upon us. r Wf.are lost, but we have done goodiwork; Fire upoft the .village."- v--r--; .- : . : j. . ... Handwriting Expert Reports Sig-1 nature to 16,000 Acres of Pa cific Livestock Holding Are Either Forged or Doubtful. Salem. Or., July 23. Attorney Gen eral Brown today Received from T. Kytka, widely known writing expert of San Francisco, a report showing that signatures to deeds to more than 16,000 acres of land now held by the Pacific Livestock company in .Harney county are either forged, faked, or very doubt ful as to their genuineness. This report will be submitted to the state land board by the attorney general for the board's consideration In deciding what shall be done with suits brought by the state against the Pacific Live stock company to recover thousands of acres which it is alleged were obtained from the state by fraudulent means. Ready to Try Cases With this report in hand, the attor ney ' general is now ready to proceed to trial with these 'land fraud cases, which hae played an- Important part in the politics of this slate in the .last few years. lfforts were made in the last legislature to namstrtng we prosecution ar- refusing; to- make needed appropria tions, -while" Governor Wlthyconibe and State Treasurer Kay have endeavored to have the adits dismissed, but former Governor West "and Attorney General Brown Insisted on the state making an effort to recover . the lands, which had been taken from the heritage of the school children of the state by. fraud. In light of the report from Mr. Kytka, who is almost continuously employed in the service of the government as hand writing expert, it is not considered pos sible that the state land board can do anything else than direct the attorney general to proceed with the prosecution. In proceeding, the attorney general will seek to amend the complaint which has been filed inithe circuit court for Har ney county, and failing In that, the pres ent suit will be dismissed and a new actio will be instituted, as the pres ent complaint is based on a wrong theory as to how the lands were fraudu lently acquired. Many Forgeries Claimed "In many instances," says Mr. Kytka's report, "the evidence submitted has con vinced me that the signatures were forged, and in many other cases, due to the limited material available, I have been unable to say positively that the signatures were forged, or that the transactions were fraudulent. These I have classified aa doubtful, for the rea son t cannot pass "he signatures as genuine because of so many circum stances connected with the transaction and because of their close relationship to other transactions clearly shown to be fraudulent. Assistant Attorney General J. O. Bai ley, who has done much work on the case,' said that in many cases it was found that names or cowboys and other employes of the cattle company were forged in acquiring the land, and in other cases fictitious names were used. The Pacific Livestock company ob jected to turning over the deeds to a handwriting expert for study, of. the signatures until after the attorney gen eral had filed a motion In court de manding opportunity to see the deeds. Then the - company turned them over without waiting- for the order of the court.' The papers Involved were turned over- to Mr. Kytka in August. 1917, so practically a year has been -taken In making the study. Wholesale Fraud in Army Coats, Charge New Tork. July 23. (U. P.) Charged with wholesale fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud In connection with the manufacture of raincoats for the army, 17 men were under arrest here today. Civilian Inspectors of the quartermaster's department, it was declared, will be taken next In the net spread by the de partment of justice. Americans Go Into Hun Lines United Press Man Gathers Some More Thrilling Stories From Battle Front ' By Fred 8. Fergatea With the American Armies In Franca, July 23. fU. P.) Despite stiffening re sistance, the allied advance continues generally In the Souwons-Rhelma salient. American troops are pusrlng forward on a five mile front between Brisolles and Besu-St. Germain, north of Cha teau-Thierry. French and Americans are making some progress farther east ward, north of the Marn. French. Brit ish and Italians are advancing slowly on wide sectors between the Marne and Rheims. Between Oulchy-le-Chateau and Solssons. the Germans are making a desperate stand, and the fighting, fol lowing unsuccessful counter attacks, has temporarily resolved Itself Into an ar tillery duel as this Is cabled. As I went among officers and men fresh from the ' fight early today, I heard some of the most thrilling stories of the war. A certain brigadier general personally led his men In a charge, going over the top with the first wave of infantry. One unit fought 36 hours without water be cause of lack of transportation. Quanti ties of canned tomatoes were hurried up. The men opened the tins with their bayonets and quenched their thirst with canned tomatoes. Fight After Long March. The same unit arrived at . the . front line just' five minutes before the time set for the attack on the . morning of the eighteenth, They, had marched at double quJclt. through ,mljes of woods and roads that erere ankle deep in mud to" get there. 'When the advance was ordered they outstripped .the units ' on either side ot them. At the end of the first day they had taken 2600 prisoners and captured 13 batteries, including six batteries of 77's, two of .210's and four of .ISO's. In ad dition to an uncounted number of ma chine guns. Their prisoners Included 66 officers, one of them a colonel ot artillery. ' The first day this unit advanced IVi kilometers (more than 64 miles). Tho second day they had totalled nearly 13 kilometers (more than S 1-3 miles). Finds Owa Brother Prisoner The engineers jumped Into the fight ing at Vleray, south of Solssons, taking the town toy storm. All fighting was through wheat fields, with packs thrown aside.-the men going to it In old style bayonet charges. At one place the Americans charged a hill, repeatedly without success. They kept right at It and finally swept over the Boehes' positions,, despite a murder ous rifle and machine gun fire. As they swept down upon one group, all .- the Boches yelled -"Ka.nerad 1" A German-ArrMrican among the dough boys advanced to take charge of the pris oners and found that one of them a was his own brother. The advance was so rapid that head quarters in two automobiles moved from place to place, telling the couriers where the new location wouid toe each time. Dodges Under Ammaaltlos Damp A staff officer was in a farm yard not far from the advance line when a Boche airplane came over. The officer dodged under an ammunition pile to escape the airman's machine gun fire. The airplane continued to circle above him and he wrote out orders for the next advance while still under the ammunition pile. The Infantry in this unit brought down two airplanes with rifles when a flock of Boches came over and tried to strafe them. Returning from a part; of the line occupied by these fighters, I saw their SI captured German guns in a village. . All bore feminine names, such as Hedwlg, Anna. Dora. Margot and Ena. Portland BoyHero At Chateau-Thierry Edward Stewart Smith, formerly of Portland, enlisted In the . United 8tates Mae Corps August, 1917, and received his training at Mare Island, was one of the members of the party of 10 marines .who charged across the Ger maa lines at Chateau-Thierry sweeping along with machine guns, and returned with 20 captured guns and 170 prisoners, according to. word received at the local Marine. Corps recruiting ; station in the Panama building. Mr. Smith was formerly employed by one of the milling companies in Port land. , Dr. Jacob Anderson .. V Is Dead hi Salem Salem, Or- July .23. Dr. Jacob An derson of Portland, widely known base ball fan. died her today, at the state hospital for tuberculosis. " He came to the hospital two weeks ago. when la the , last, stages of the disease. He was Ct years old and leaves two sons and two daughters. One daughter, Mrs. Nel lie Kane, ' lives in Salem and another lives In Portland. - The sons 11 ve at Condon and Carlton. .The body will be seat to Portland this afternoon for- In terment under the auspices of the Moose lodg. . -. ; - : . inns AST OF SOISS Buzancyand Oulchy-le-Chateau Are Re taken as Germans Are Pressed Back vvard Toward Vesle River; Tons' of Bombs Dropped on Junction Points - - Germans Believed to Be Retiring From the Salient With Heavy Artillery and Increasing Resistance at Flanks as Al lies Advance; French Make Gains T ONDON, July 23U. L and American troops have resumed the initiative be tween the Ourcq and Solssons and are attacking fiercely along-the enure front (about 15 miles), it was : learned from an authoritative source ihis afternoon. f British troops capturjcd.pietitschamps wood, near Mar- faux (KtWten' the Marne arid Rheiim), taJdnr some pris oners and guns.'"' '"V:-,' V ; . London, July 23, 4:30 P. M. (L N. S.) The Franco-American forces on the, Aisne-Marne front have ' advanced from one half to two miles between Oulchy-le-Chateau and Bezu-St Germain (north and northeast of ' Chateau-Thierry). , ?- Bois de Chatelet was recaptured from the Germans. ; Part of Prince Rupprecht's reserves from Flanders have been used in the fighting. By John De Gandt Paris, July 23. (U. P.) (4:30 P. M.) Allied aviators' have :." set fire to Fere-en-Tardenois and Fismes, the points of enemy con centration within the Soissons-Rheims salient, i More than 32,000 pounds of bombs were dropped on the two cities. ' . v 1 The allies still are progressing at several points on the front ' and the Germans continue to withdraw toward the Vesle. The operation north of Montdidier this morning is regarded as an effort to improve the French positions in that region. - ONDON, July 23.--(U. P.) (1:10 P. M.) American troom I M are reported to have captured Buzancy (four miles south of Soissons and east of the Soissons-Chateau-Thierry highway). The French are said to have taken Oulchy-le-Chatcau. The'' reports are unofficial. . . ' London, July 23. (U. P.) (2:15 P. M.) The Americans have captured Jaulgonne (one the north bank of the Marne) and are continuing their advance, it was learned authoritatively this afternoon. They took 300 prisoners. A German counter attack at Vandiers (10 miles east of Jaul gonne) was repulsed. ' The French hold the entire Marne bend from Chassins to Prelop. -. . v , Between the Aisne and Ourcq, Franco-American troops i are : progressing. The French are reported to have regained, all the' ground they lost yesterday at Grisolles, (An official report said yesterday the French were driven back ' half ; a" mile north of ;-; Chateau-Thierry by a counter attack.) . Along the Marne valley the French are experiencing difficulty in crossijig near Verneuil, owing to artillery and machine gun fire. They crossed at Port-a-Binson late yesterday. i ' , Paris, July 23. (U. P.) As at result: of the allies' bombard ment from both sides of the Rheims"- Soissons pocket, the German crown prince has only a seven mile passage or withdrawal of his" troops, it was reported from the front today.- : . The width of the salient on the Fere'-en-Tardenois line is about -25 miles. - ' London, July 23. (U, P.) -i The German artillery in the Rheims and Soissons regions is comparatively inactive, indicating a withdrawal of the guns, according to authoritative information received here today. . ; ; With the American Array at he -Marne, -'July 23, 8:40 a. m. (L N. S.) American troops advancing east of Epieds have formed a contact with the Americans that struck, northward from the Monte St. Pere sector. ,. . - ' .' r i". The Germans are being cleared from the Barbillon wood and' the tip of the Chateau-Thierry salient is being wiped out:. ' , German- resistance's getting stiffen: . , - : v Low clouds" that threaten rain are hampering aVial ion work;1 ' '-:-y . .- . r . -- -.;... .. ' : By Wehh XetUer 1 ' ' - Paris. July tt-y. P.) l:l a. m Oulchy-le-ChaUau, the domlnatlAC point 11111!! ons P.)(4:20 P. M.) French on -the line between SUeaons and have Chateatt-Thterrr.' la -reported to" Coach ar Fill Two, Cola Two) f '