;K HIT
7 FIRE AND
EXPLOSIONS
t -:3 cf $2,000,000 Sustained
Dsfcxc Flames Are Checked
-Incendiarism Laid I to
Germany Agents
FIVE HEN ARRESTED !
BY NAVAL PATROLS
f:ccsd Virginia FireiThreat-
cns Camp Stuart and
Aid Is Rushed :
NORFOLK," W. Va.. Jan. 1.
.' parly two blocks In the- heart of
r.'orfolk's , business district," Includ
ing the Monticello hotel.! were de
(troyed, one man was killed and a
E-cre more" Injured In a series of -
t ' isions sod fires today which both
e policy and naval authorities .be-
2 vo was: Incendiary. ? tub fire had
! en checked tonight but still - was
I arning ' riercely in the .ruins. The
l ls rouRly estimated at i more than
Three, distnict, explosijons in as
r any buildings, one artenrthe fire
r -e had virtually, bee. brought un
(':r control, led to the general belief
Cat enemy - agents werej at work.
? ' yor -Jtfayo plaeed practically the
c:ty under martial law by i turning
t'.e situation over tothej naval of
f ?rs, and some 2500 marines and
1 luejackets from nearby in aval sta
t as assisted the police jand home
TJirds in maintaining . order an I
preventing vandalism. f ; "
Suspicions Persons Held. ;:"..
Naval patrols rounded j up suspi
cions persons throughout the after
r on. Five men' were arrested as
i pects. Two ? of these, e Hugo
: ' midt and H. K. Leasing, sid to
I Germans,! were turned over to
Ttment of justice agents. To
i it there were ; reports t that two
( -mans bad been hot py. sailors
( i las' the , day-, but ; neither the po
: j nor the naval authorities would
( firm them. .... J
The flr. started before dawn In
1 ) Granby theater and . gained rap
i : Leadway as the firemen jwere ban
f spped byi frozen hytirants, low
, -ler' pressure and near zero tern
! ratnre. It j qnickly spread to the
: ntlcello hotel and other nearby
I Mings in the blockj It -was
I ought under; control late in tho
.i r. but broke ont' anew j early to
r it and levelled half of the bloc
t re before being checked. 1 '?
railing floors and wall's fok toll
cf firemen and naval guards. One
fireman, Charles McCoy, was killed
r - i seven pothers - hurt tnj the col
! se of ant upper floor of! the Mon-i
l - l!o hotel in the day and tonight
tiro firemen and several ' sailors
v re caught In a falling rall of the?
I -TTior.' building. Three ',wer
I I ought out badly hurt, but two oth
t 3 were leftln the debris.! ;
Firemen Fight Heroically,
n Firemen of Norfolk, Portsmouth
snd Suffolk with organised sailor
tire brigades fought heroically ami!
Ice and blinding smoke and blue
Jackets led the rescue work, whan
the fighters were trapped, f Several
or the firemen eaught in ' the hotel
mere brought out alive through the
datlag of a score of- the Jck tars
Reports as i to the number of ex
t!osions aryJ! It was first said that
tha fire in the Granby theater had
iollowed an. explosion, but Fire Chief
McLaughlin and naval Investigators
announced tonight that this was not
the case. They said, however, there
tad been three-separate and distinct
explosions. The first was in a-coak
and ' hat shop near the MontlceUp.
the second was ont the sixth floor of
that hotel after; the first! fire was
practically under control I and the
tilrd in the pLenox building, which
liter was destroyed.?, j j y v-U:
Scores Made Homeless. .
Guests from the Monticello who
ere forced to flee In the biting cold
1 the daws after they had watched
' iv9 theater burn, were taken care of
I"! homes and hotels. As building
r building went ddwn, with them
a apartment house, scopes" were
iaade homeless.' and the! national
tward armory on City Hall , avenue
as thrown pen to them. ! ;
There ' dutjng, tho late, , day lied
Cross workers and other o:unteers
looked after; them and 'also supplied
coffee and sandwiches for the naval
r atrcils and" firemen who 'were foiced
to seek rest from their gruelling
rk. against the lames. When the
' re men responded to the alaroo, of
t a theater fire, they found alt
J yd rants in the vicinity froizen. Fires
V ' to built to thaw them out. In
L cieajitlme, the firemen looked on
r t'iloss while the-big theater build
tag burned, j Wheny water ffnally
came the pressure , was so low that
' ftreams would not reach to the upper
Jtories of the. burning building and
me nre soon was beyond (control. .t
l (control. . :
i ' ; -"'
Jan."!.
NEWPORT NEWS. Va
iuree dwellings near Camp Stuart
the outskirts of the city, irhere
1 .000 soldiers are quartered, were
otroyed by j fire tonight. Soldiers
! firemen i prevented the flames
TRAINS GO
FORWARD EASING
FUE SHORTAGE
;,'.-". , :": v.? :
McAdbo Rushes Supplies
Over Restricted Lines
to New York City,
SHIPS TO BE USED, TOO
Government Power to be Ful
ly Effective ur Reliev
ing Situation -
WASHINGTON.- Jan. 1. Coal
trains went forward today under
new government orders based n the
belief of Director General McAdoo
that railway congestion rather than
actual shortage Is responsibls for the
fuel .famine in, maay districts,
f Upon receipt of reports that hun
dreds of floaded' eoal cars, were
stalled on -sidings, all efxMting prior
ity orders 'for . the entire country
were suspended by Robert S-'Lovett.
priority director of the war Indus
tries board, on . recommendation ' cf
the director general. This is ex
pected to result In quicker movement
of the entire ! jnass of congested
freight. , r
-J - . 6Mration fc Tie Kf fectlre. ,
President Wilsonj it was learned
tonight, will go before congret Fri
day to present bis recommendations
for legislation to make government
operation 'fully effective and to pro
vide for: compensation of the car
riers and I legislation which has al
ready been drawn will be Introduced
Jmniedlate.lv after his address. Some
officials think there wiU-be a vig
orous flfht over the' question of
whether tbe legislation, should be
effective only for the period of the
war' and a United t'me thereafter.
or should remain in force until spe
cifically . repealed or modified by
congress. . ; .
Representatives of the railroads
were to have appeared tomorrow be
fore; the senate iat-irstate commerce
committee! but when word came that
the president desired : to address
congress Friday ithey, asked permis
sion to .withhold their ! statements.
The; committee Instead will bear
Commissioner Altchlson of'the in
terstate commerce commission and
then probably postpone further hear
ing until Ithe president's message
has been received. ;
Neir York Cfrt Coal. '
Director' General McAdoo ordered
that the Pennsylvania company's
tunnel under the Hudson river, here
tofore restricted , exclusively to pas
senger trains, be used to hasten coal
snnplies Into the hear of isew Yorst
cltv. That action was consldere!
significant by railroad men because
It indicated how determined the gov
ernment is to use all facilities to
their utmost regardless of previous
practices, to promote efficiency.
At the first conference of, Mr. Mc-
Adoo in the new. year with his ad-
vlsers and executives. It was aeeiaea
to put additional ships now ; con
trolled, byi the shipping board Into
service carrying coal from Hampton
Roads to New England.. The num
ber of vessels which can be spared
will be determined tomorrow.
. Wundreda of -telegrams) ? pouring
Into the railroad administration told
nf cnal trains or individual cars ap-
parentlyi 'lost Jin yayd .confusion.
Tbese reports ;wer referred to rail
way executives with instruction to
clear out the stanea ireigm as
as possible. ' 1 '
Early aetlon to divide the country
Into operating districts,. with a gov
ernment supervisor,! oer each, and
possibly a federal railroad agent for
each state has been urged strongly
upon Director General McAdoo ani
he Js said to be considering this pol
icy. , j," "n. .i- :
f.IARlNES BEAT
Mare Island Weight Over
comes ? Opponent's Speed !
. Score 19 to
PASADENA. CaU T Jan. 1. --The
weight and strength of the Mare Isl
and marines football team conquered
the daMling speed and crart of the
Camp Lewis sold'ers In their game
played at .Tournament Park bere to
dav as a Prt of the annual Tourna
ment of Roses. Tbo final score was
15 to 7 in favor of the marines. '
- The game was refereed by officials
in white, and witnessed by a crowd
which taxed the rapacity of the
stands, said to be 42,000 In the
throng thatt surged t rom, the route
taken by the floral parade, to the
athletic field four persons were over
come bv heat. ' "
f The profits from the game will go
to the American Red Cross.
Despite the summer temperature,
play was fast and furious from th
first kick Joff ito; tho final gm.
Though several players on each side
were carried from the field because
of 1neresJ there was an abandance
of material to fill the saps.
The marines were especially strong
COM
SOLDIER BOYS
Continued on page 6.)
WAVE RIGHT
BANK CLEAR
OF GERMANS
Italians Make Sharp Attack
in Famous Zenson Loop-
Enemy Suffers Heavy Casu
alties Crossing River
DEFENSIVE LINES AT
MONTE GRAPPA FIRM
Thousand Turks Killed and
750 Prisoner in Pales
tine Fighting
- (WAR SUMMARY)
Another reverse for the Teutonic
allied arms, following that, effected
by the French troops In their" initial
drive on the northern front in It air.
has been brought abodt by the Ital
ians in a sharp attack in the famous
Zenson. loop on the lower reaches of
the Plave river."
! Here, the enemy has been driven
to the 'eastern bank of the stream
from positfons he had held since, the
Italians in their retrograde move
ment from . the Isonzo made the'r
stand, along the wester snore of the
Plave. , Thus the entire right bank
of the Piave has been cleared of the
invaders, except" far to the north,
where the battle line, runs westward
from the stream through the hill re
gion. -,; . . -.
Menace to Venice Cleared.
I- The, fighting' for tha Zenson
bridgehead ' :! had" been ' In progress
since last .Thursday, the Italians
keeping energetically after the. foe
In order to 1 regain. the position,
which alwavs has been considered a
menace to Venice. Heavy casualties
were inflicted on the enemy by the
artillery and rifle fire of the Italians
before he was forced to re-cross the
stream. On the northern front the
Infantry- again- is idle for the mo
ment but the bly guns of both sides
ar keeping- up intensive dueU on
various sectors, particularly around
Monte Tomba and. on the Asiago
plates it. : The enemy Is continuing
his alrTalds over Important towns
on the plain, his latest attack having
been directed against Vicensa, Bas
f no. Cast el Franco and Treviao.
Thirteen persons were killed, and
forty-four others wounded,-the ma
jority of them civilians. Only small
material damage resulted from the
Lnew raids. : j
Hi he oners Mens on. the
fronts in France and Belgium aro
being confined almest exclusively Jto
bombardmenti, although the Ger
man war office claims a further gain
of ground by the armr- of Crown
Prince Rupprecht of j Ravaria over
the British south of Marcoingjn the
Cambral sector. ;.-', "rJr ' ' i
. 10OO Turks Killed.
I There are persistent reports that
heavy fighting Is In progress be
tween Kaledines' Cossacks and Bol
shevik! troops In Southwestern Rus
sia and that the casualties have been
heavy.? No details of an. authentic
nature have yet come through bot
the reports say the Bolshevikl havo
been : defeated on the southwestern
front -wth numerous losses of men
and guns, but that they have occu
pied the Important town of Poltava,
-; Still further progress has-been
made by the British troops operating
ocnintt the Turks in Palestine, north
of - Jerusalem. The .Turks In the
fighting of the last several ays
have lost more ,than- 1000 men
killed and 750 made prisoner.
Monte Grappa Holds Finn.
: IXKDOX. Jan. 1. -The following
official communication dealing, with
operations of the British forces on
the Italian front wasMsstied tonight:
S i'The British commander In chief
in Italy reports that the-Italians at
the end of the year remainltfn po&
session of I their defensiveJnes on
the Monte Grappa and Asiayo sec
tors, which they have worked! untir
ingly to strengthen. Little snow has
fallen. . The -. success of the French
yesterday In the Monte Tomba re
gion has given much satisfaction.
f "Some small .raids has been sue
cessfullv made across the Plave t!
er by the British. The crossing of
the river Is difficult at this season
of the year. British artillery and
aircraft . continue their efforts dalty.
to destroy the enemy's batteries.
"In retaliation for , December 26,
when they lost eleven, machines, th3
enemy aircraft has been very active
lately In bombing, raids. The damage
thus. Inflicted has been slight.
i. "All the allied troops are confi
dent of future success of their uni
ted efforts and look forward to the
new year," '. .- , ( ' .
t TONIOX, Jan . . 1 .The f ollowin g
official communication dealing with
aviation was'issued this evening:
't V Very little . flying -was possible
Monday owing to the mist. s During
tho nisht. although the Improvement
was only ; slight, our machines
dropped over a hundred bombs on
hostile billets , In the neighborhood
of -Roulers and Menin. .
"Several direct . hits; were ob
tained. . A moving train also was
bombed and hit. -.
"All of our macnines t returned.
ALUES MEETING
HARDEST PERIOD
OF WHOLE WAR
German Attack to Be Second
' Verdun, Forecasts French
;
commissioner
ECONOMIES ; ARE URGED
Mission Is Tell America
.What Entente! Expects
of New Ally
AN ATLANTIC PORT. Jan. 1.
The entente allies are entering the
hardest 4erlod of the war, but a' pe
riod which will prove richest in de
cisive results,; "if we know how to
play a good game, and its ssues will
be decided in the next six; months,"
according to Captain Andre Tardieu,
French- high commissioner to the
United States, who returned t? this
tountry today. He will go to Wash
ington tomorrow, j
The commissioner first arrived a
this country last May. He returned
to France in November and his gov
ernment: decided to continjue his of
ficial title for a period of six months.
3 While Captain Tardieu hoi n ted to
the possibility of a strong German
attack on the western front during
this winter, he Is "absolutely confi
dent that it will be another Verdun."
he declared In a statement.
. The urgency of an- enormous eco
nomic effort was emphasised by the
French representative in this state'
ment: ..i ''!!'
"The battle Is not only on the bat
tlefield. I have told the French,
with ; complete frankness, , what
America expects from; them In the
way of restrictions and new sacri
fices I am coming back to explain
here' the necessary sacrifices,, that
France and bet allies are expecting
from America for Tictory
. Men, wheat, oil. ships and locomo
tives are the things most needed and
which America Is able to give, Cap
tain Tardieu said.
By way of tribute to Colonel E.- M.
House, ; who hea4ed the ilAmerican
m isslpn to the , inter-allied 1 waif con
ference in Paris, Captain Tardieu
said:" " I -''.-? v -
"Thanks to the presence pf Colonell
House and his associates the Inter
allied conference has done! excellent
work. It was necessary thait the gov
ernment of .the United States should
assert its will and its capacity to take
in Europe the part which belongs to
America In thte direction of jthe war."
"The French army Aas never been
nfore magnificent, the British army
is' equally superb and the iAmerican
army Is Increasing day by day,' Cap
tain Tardieasald in speaking of the
morale of the allied forces
That he might retain hi commls
slcvrship to the United States Cap
tain Tardieu declined to i accept a
portfolio In Premier Clemeneeau's
cabinet. ' He did this, he said, be
cause he believed "nothing is more
urgent and more necessary'1 than the
work to' be done through' this com
missionershlp. i ;i
REAL COAL RIOT
Hundreds of Men and .Women
, Seize Fuel on Tracks
Temperature Low
NfiW YORK, Jan. ti With an
other day of bitter cold arid intens
ive suffering from the general fuel
shortage. New York had today its
first real coal riot. (The disorder
began when several hundred men,
women and children, who had lined
up outside a large coat yard at One
Hundred and Nineteenth street and
the East river, discovered several
loaded trucks .lesvingWhe I yard af
ter announcement had been made
that there was no coal fori sale.
Some of those who had Heeti wait
ing patiently r with pal (C birs, rmall
wagons and baby carriages!, at once
began to stone the office windows.
Others ; followed : the tracks, un
hooked, the rear chafes and seized
the coal that streamed r Into the
street. Police reserves were called
and i succeeded. In t restoring order
when" a representative of the coal
company announced that coal wotild
be 'sold In small lots arte certain
hospitals had been served.
Navigation from New Jersey ter
minals across the Hudson to Man
hattan Island Is greatly impeded by
ice floes and' the Harlem rive and
Brooklyn's water approaches are In
the same condition, , j
The temperature today ranged
from xero to six above at 10 o'clock
tonight Land, a .slowly rising temper
ature was predicted by the weather
bureau.
Cabbages and Frtnl Trees
' Sent to Replant I France
' LONDON, Jan. 1- Eight jthousand
fruit trees and 50.000 cabbage plants
were sent to France during the wech
of December 2-8 for the Tillages that
have . been wrested, from' the
NEW YORK HAS
Germans.
HUNS BEATEN
BACK AFTER
Heavy Bombardment Pre-
cedes Enemy Assault Near
La Vacquerie Doncentrated
Under Fire of (Liquid
BRITISH REGAIN ALL
OF TRENCHES LOST
".-"').: . ' -
Grass Shells Give. Germans
"Happy New Year" Cav
alryman Successful
OTTAWA, Ont, Jan. 1, The fol
lowing dispatch from London ba3
been received here by the Renter's
Limited agency: -
"A dispatch from : British head
quarters states 'that the enemy "at
tacks yesterday northwest of La
Vacquerie were carried out after a
fierce ! : bombardment. The attack
.was concentrated on a half mile
front and the enemy wares advanced
under cover of liquod fire. Parties
swarmed Into a short length of
trenches on the tight, but elsewhere
they were nnable to ru3h the parapet
In face of heavy machine gas and
; v1rltish Captnre Trenches "
"While our supports were orga
nixing for the counter-attack , our
gunners put ; up a fierce r barrage
against the Invaders, dilving them to
cover with the result that when we
crossed ;the snow-clad i ! ground, 5 we
took thewwhole of the trenches - the
Germans . had carried. It was a very
straggly - remnant of the original
storming enemy parties." that got
back across Xo Man's land. -..
i "The new year was ushered- In ac-
eordinr to custom. At - midnight
groups of batteries pnt over salvos
of high explosives In bursts or a
dozen - at a time,7 thus ; Indicating
that it was 12 o'clock. Then other
gunners joined In punctually i with
fixing, indicating the numeral 1918,
after which boquets of grass Shells
were sent speeding to the Germans a
bappynew year. Naturally this form
of -greeting was resented at some
places,! notably near Arleux - and
Fresnoy, where a regular quarrel be
tween the parties blasted up the
party. ' . " .
Aairmen Rills , Cavalrymen. .
1 "A wonderful story. Is told of the
adventre of a young airman, who,
in thick weather, landed and asked
a peasant his whereabouts. At that
moment he beheld a troop of German
eavalrv galloping toward him; He
immediately opened his engine full;
and- skimming the ground, charged
with the advancing Germans. ;
"The leading officer fired an auto
matic pistol and the airman began
cperating his, machine; gun. The
enemy's casualties included the offi
cer and numerous men and horses.
Ihe remainder bolted, j i
'The- airman intended leaving
nothing to. chance,Tio he, flew a great
distance westward to insure land-
Ing on the British ' side. When bo
next landed it was needless to sak
his whereabouts.' because he recog
nized Paris only a few kilometers
away." .
I : Snow Falls In Italy. . '
f GEXETVA, Monday, Dec. ZV.
Snow continues to fall heavily along
the Swiss-Italian and Swiss-Austrian
fron ties and In the TyroL A tele
gram from Ch lasso which Is con
firmed by Swiss soldiers on duty on
the Italian frontier, states that Aus-tro-Gsrman
troops are held up on
the Tyrol frontier. Many Red Crocs
and food convoys are stalled in the
mountain passes and regiments of
central emprie troops have been iso
lated without food supplies for cev
era! days."
! Military trains from Trent which
are depended upon to provision the
Austrian frqnt are blockaded. A
large army under General Conrad la
trying to clear the, railway but un
less it succeeds serious difficulties
will hamper the' operations against
the Italians, li
Wealthy Officers Forbidden
j Distinction in U. S. Army
WRIGHSTON, N. J.w Jan. , 1.
Wealthy officers at Camp Dlx, ,the
national army I cantonment . here,
were forbidden to wear tailor made
uniforms which gave the appear
ance of a higher rank than that to
which, they are entitled. In orders
issued today by Brigadier General
Dean, camp ) commander.". Many of
the officers had been wearing cloth
ing of a quality that gave lieuten
ants and 'captains the appearance of
majors or generals.
Seven Persons Killed
, in Explosion of Eline
LONDON, Jan. 1.- Seven persons
were killed and twenty-four injure.1
by the explosion of a mine that was
washed ashore today between Rams
gate, and Deal. The explosion oc
curred while an attempt was being
made to haul it out on UndV
FIERCE FIGHT
U. S. RAILROAD
MEN ARRESTED
BY BOLSHEVIKI
Washington Oofficiah Think
Report from Petrograd
May, Be True
AMERICA GETS NO WORD
State Department Says Com-
sioners Shall be Kept
at Posts
LONDON, Jan. I.-rdt is reported
th4t the Bolshevik! have arrested
the members of the American rail
way mission at Irkutsk, Siberia, says
a, dispatch to the Exchange Tele
graph company from Petrograd.
The personnel of the Unned States
railroad commission, which was not
officially announced, follows:
John F. Stevens of New York, for
mer chief engineer of the Panama
canal, chairman; W. L. Darling of
St. Pa ul, chief engineer of the
Northern Pacific railway; Henry
Miller of 'St. Louis, former operating
vice- president 1 of the .Wabash rail
road; George Gibbs of Philadelphia,
former chief mechanical engineer of
the Pennsylvania railroad, and J? P.
Griner of Baltimore, chief consulting
engineer of the. Baltimore & Ohio
railroad.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1. No word
from official sources had reached
the state department, tonight regard
ing the reported, arrest of members
of the American railway mission at
Irkutsk. The department s com
municatlon with Russia has been
very irregular, , however, and offl
cials would not be surprised , if the
report were true. An inquiry will
be sent to Ambassador Francis at
Petrograd at once.
Although several railway units.
each comprising several hundred
men. are in Siberia to assist in im
proving tho trans-Siberian railway,
it is thought that, only a few could
have been- at Irkutsk. v - i -
There have been frequent rnmors
that the railway mission was about
to withdraw and return to this coun
try but the state department has In
dlcated that the men would be kept
at their posts , and that there Is, no
disposition to curtail the work of
railway rehabilitation. :
Seattle Company Wants To
Have Women Operate Cars
; SEATTLE, Jan. 1. Stating tlfat it
is Impossible ; to obtain the men
necessary to move its cars because of
high wages paid in the shipyards and
other war Industries,! the " Pudget
Sound Traction, Light and Power
company has applied to the state pub
lic service commission for permission
to employ women operatives. Lack of
men, the company sets forth, is crip
pling its service. A public hearing on
the application will be held here
Monday. '
Williams Ackers, Oldest
t': Oregon Man, Dies at 103
ROSEBURG, Or., Jan. 1 William
Ackers, 103 years old, believed to
have been the oldest man in Oregon,
Is dead here at the county hospital.
He did not use spectacles to read
with until three years ago. He was
born In Kentucky in 1814, and for
many years operated . a Mississippi
ferry boat. i - . : . j
HYLAN NOW IN
MAYOR'S OFFICE
Inaugural i Address, Contains
Pledge to Place City on
War Basis
NEW YORK, Jan. l.-Mn P.
Hylan was inaugurated as mayor
New York today, succeeding John
Purroy . Mitchel. In his inaugural
address he announced the determin
ation of placing New York city on a
"war basis." .This would be brought
about, he declared, by aTolicy o
strict economy,; conservation of pub
lic funds and elimination of useless
officers, .. : - -. . .'" , ' -'
Cantatn Frederick A. Buaher. who
succeeds Arthur Woods as commis
sioner of police, is a nephew of Ad
miral Dewey's widow.' He served as
a captain of -New York volunteers in
the Spanish-American war and 'later
in the Philippines. In recent years
he has lived much of the time in
Washington.' i
. In a statement Issued after he was
appointed commissioner, Bugher de
clared emphatically there would b.e
no relaxation In the oolice vigilance
which has kept New York a closed"
city for the last four years."
With the organization of the new
administration today the affairs of
the city passed Into ' the bands of
the Democrats. : Charles F. Murphy,
leader of Tammany Hall, did not at
tend the Inauguration. -
RUSSIA 'HAY i
I0JN AtTMS '
Attempt to Enforce Gerrr.-n
Peace on' Allies Held L:!:c!
and England
s Warned to
Be Ready
POWERFUL IIAIID III
CONFERENCE URGED
Terms Similar to
, May Bt Published to
! Aid Difficulty
LONDqN, Jan. l.-r-Tbe Petrocrra I
correspondent of the Daily News
.wonders whether the danger of a
separate peace is. realized la In
land. He says It would be a defeat
for German democracy in addition
to insuring the virtual enblavemc.it
of Russia, as it would be a victory
for the military caste In Cermany.
"It may mean," he adds. "mii .
more than Russia's neutrality. If v .
make a move, it seems that the fir
mans will ask the Russians to h:.
them in enforcing I Russia's pr.v '
terms on the entente allies. Trntr.'
is 'Veil aware of the danger, thou
faced with the necessity of cone!.
Ing peace, and is doing his utiru
to stimulate a revolution In c
many. Fraternization at the f rc . .
already has passed beyond the c -trol
of enemy officers and enornr
quantities of revolutionary new. -pera
printed in German are tel. -distributed.
j
Hand In Conference t"rei.
Im am confident. our only cfca-r
In defeating German designs la t
publish terms as near the Ru?
terms as possible and by taki-
powerful hand In' the proposed c -ference
help the democratic . movt
ment In Germany while helping t'
Russians to force the German rr -ernment
in tho direction it ha i.
to take.
"WTiatever party might be In -er
In Russia It would bo compti:
to conclude peace and Trotzky
method Is more likely to dar -Germany
than the method of sr.
more polite persons In his place. Th
nationalization of the banks put a
weapon more powerful than t:
gulllotoine In the hands of the gov
ernment and probably will end mur .
of the present satotase."
. " Reichstag Gives Approval
ROTTERDAM, Jan. 1. Mattl.h ;
Erzberger, of the Clerical partv;
Friederlch Ebert, of the Sociali i
party, and : Herr. Fischbeck. of V ;
Progressives, have informed the i:cr
lin correspondent of the Nieuw i:-t-terdamsche
Courant that the V, r
man declaration at 'Brest-Litosk I;
approved unreservedly by the mem
bers of the reUhstag main comrr,'.
tee. The members of this commit
tee - represent . the niajority of t!
parties responsible jfor the Reich
stag peace resolulionj of July IP.
Trade. Relations,1 DisciisMxI,
PETROGItAD.-Monday," Dec. 31.
The German .political delegates wl.
are visiting Petrograd, headed t y
Count von Mirbach,. are devotir -
much of their time to preliminar
discussions Of the question of tra
relations. Baron Admiral Keys- r -
ling declared today that no time wa s
more suitable than the 'present fcr
making peace, as he considered th; t
it probably) would be difficult t?
reach terms with the constituent i
sembly.
The Germans and also the A'
trlans who are In Petrogra I ;
making themselves thorou?sl!y
home, visiting1 theaters, amor.- t.
the French - theater, and als-'o t
cafes and taking possession cf t
reading and loung rooms in two ;
joining hotels in which some er.t
allied officers are quartered,
delegates expect to return to. I ;
Litovsk within two -week3. j
Bulgarian and Turkish !:
are due to arrive here tomori - .
Assembly Slay Oimti Tc '
PETROGRAD, Monday, I .
The evening ' newsy: crs t
ciare that it Is llkrly that t
stituent-assembly will r - r t
row,, and quote Nikolai Lc r;;;
Bolshevikl premier, as t! : r t
ty for the statement. It ii .
that the assembly will hH
that the assembly will .
brief session and then tat" a t
until after the Russian CI .i .
(January 7.)
Reports, concerning th r;:
members w elected to t' : ;
rary from 410 to 616. ':: .
at the Eraolny insTltute,- t:
quarters of the Bolshevik!, .
pected to demand that -
shall not take upon ittrlf t
tiOn of. deciding tho author::
workmen's and soldiers' C: -
Germans Report 1 ?
LONDON. Jan. 1 .
Petrograd dlsrt-r
of the Atistro-(I r (
the Ttuselan rr ; '
Monday, t' rn
Lftovsk iffr--. i
The djspu?!.'-; :j t r;
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