The Statesman receives the yy ' 'jffVV - .-V : i . L f fl ' . v i
SlXTY-KHllTlt KAH xbrjY . . i SALEM. OUKUOX, THURSDAY MOKM.Mi, MAY 2. 1018 ' .... , P1UCE FIVE CEMa '
SIXTY
-SIXLOSE
WHEN FRENCH CRUISER
ISU.S;S
City of Athens Sunk off Coast
ef Delaware Panic Stam
pedes Vessel As It Rapidly
Submerges
no
ADDS TO FRIGHT. ,
F PEOPLE ON BOARD
Many Trapped in Berths-
Only
Time for One S.
0. S. Call
I , AN ATLANTIC PORT, May 1
Sixty-sit persons lost their lives when
the steamship City of Athens, bound
. from ,New York for. Savannah, was
rammed ana sunk ... by a French
cruiser off the Delaware 'coast at 1
o'clock this morning. , The missing
include ten men -and two women who
were on board, 14 out of 20 French
sailors and 33 members of the crew.
All the passengers and many of
the crew wexeln their berths when
the bow of the warship pluged Into
,the side of the 2300-ton coast wise
vessel. Tire broke out almost im
mediately afterward In hold No. 1,
Jut it had no bearing on the fate
' - of the ship for the flames were quick
ly quenched by the, rush, of water
which poured In. . .. ;
Unable To Avert Panic.
'Captain J. Forward, one of the
veteran commanders in the ' service
of. the Ocean Steamship, company,
owners of the vessel, did his best to
avert a panic and man the lifeboats.
So quickly, did the doomed vessel
Ink, however, that there was no
time to get the boats away and many
of Jbose who perished were trapped
la their berths. - .,. A '
Those of the passengers and crew
who were able to reach the deck, all
of them thinly clad and many with
out life preservers, plunged Into the
tea. ... ;, ...
. The cruiser launched' lifeboats im
mediately after the crash and turn
ed its- searchlights upon the waters
la which men and women were strug
gling for their Jives, ,, Sixty-eight per
sons were picked up and brought
back to this port by ' the warship,
'which was not seriously damaged.
. Fog Is Blamed. !
Both ships were carrying running
lights because of. the heavy fog which
hangover the sea. " 1
E. J. Doherty, the wireless opera
tor, was able to send out only one
"S, O. S." call after the warship's
bow plunged Into the City of Athens'
FIRE
Elvin Tells French Audience of Salem's Most Noted
Advertising Coup, and Recites Exploits of Cherrian
; Bunch Predicts Long War and Advises Preparation
Through James Elvln, pastor of
the First Congregational church who
is now In France, the people of that
country have heard of the Salem
Commercial club, the Cfcjerrlans and
of ihe advertlPins idea which caused
the city of Salem to make bold and
all the other Salem ites in the
United States to change their names.
, In a letter to F. W. Steuloff, presi
dent of the Commercial club. Mr.
Elrln says when he told a French
audience of Salem's most memorable
-sdvertlsJng coup his listeners laughed
, until they cried.
Mr. Elvin commends the thrift that
Is shown by the French people, and
declares that when the Willamette
alley is cultivated as thoroughly as
the soil of France the people here
will all be millionaires.,
Prepare for a long war, is the ad
v'ce of ,Mr. Elvln to the people at
.orne. if- writes as follows: 1
"By thfe time I am pretty well
f customed to army IKe and army
aJ"s L'fJe Sam has surely taken
on a blg jpb and I never realized
bow Immense the task is until I came
over here to see for myself. :
J haTe; been over a considerable
Portion, of, France and it Is indeed
very beautiful country. It i of
course a very old country and is nat
om,y iilifklr populated. When the
Ulamette valley is cultivated as
weruny as some of the districts
, nere I anv now, we ehall all be mil
lionaires. Y The French are a very
TlnZ DeOnl . TJnthlnr lo w.aot
, tvery; little twig, and cutting, form
grape fine is saved for kindling.
uere are no modern buildings of
h ftj a' The Prench are great
h?'M ,n 8ton and everything they
is consiructea to last Tor cen
turies. Everything is saved and they
iitTT fruKal- It very wonder-
w me io watch the women work
I hey work at nnvthlnir nnA
tWn&-oa cars, in shops, jdean
nduct business, and farms
with th?err phrre one 18 impressed
viih larr rnat iha vnmen nra
the job. v , ,
.T """raUty Not Rampants
m regard to immorally I am of
inr; opinion that it is no worse than
m.0"1' 1 have e,"n "worse things
the streets of Boston than I have
fv "een in France. Silly little fools
rr are lu the larger centers eager
LIVES
TEA1SHIP
side near the bow. There was no re
sponse to the appeal for aid and the
vessel sank so quickly: JJoheity had
opportunity to repeatwthe call
He is believed to have "been drown
ed at his post.
Many heroic deeds were recounted
tonight by the Burvivors. One of the
heroes of the sea tragedy was Harry
A. Kelley of New York, an oiler, who
swam to. an overturned lifeboat and
dragged utkm the bottom of it four
persons who were struggling in the
sea. He held them there until they
were taken off by a boat from the
French cruiser.
Captain Forward Injured.
Captain Forward, who was one of
those saved, was painfully injured
and was grief -Btricken at the loss of
his ship; He said he was proceed
ing at half speed about 20 miles off
shore sounding the usual fog signals.
when the dim bulk- of the cruiser
loomed up through themist and the
crash followed. Fortunately the sea
was calm or many more lives might
have been lost. " ;
- Captain Forward refused to make
a statement concerning the length of
time his vessel remained afloat after
the collision. Member of the crew
declared however, that Tthe City of
Athens sank within' four minutes. A
great hole was torn in her side below
the water line,' near the bow and she
was carried down by her own mo
mentum as the water inshed in.
i The loss on the ship ana cargo was
estimated by the Ocean Steamship
company to exceed J2.000.000. The
major part of the cargo was, made
up of cement, rope, foodstuffs, gen
eral merchandise and parts for ma
chine guns., ; .
Marines Drowned.
The following United States ma
rines were reported drowned: -
F. R. Dixon
If. Van Hanegen.
S. H. Tynge.
i H. Rosenfeld.
W. J, Mack.
S. Ginsberg. ,..
H. E. Wetmore.
. Among the members of the crew
believed to have been lost are:
Claude Lewis, second officer.
Charles Cooke, assistant engineer.
.. James Poole, oiler. .
Nich Salraos.' water-tender.
Part Of Passengers listed.
i The following passengers are be
lieved to have been lost:
M. GreenrAsoria, N. Y. ,"
James J. Kastl, , Morristown. N." J.
Richard Bonzeiner, Mobile, Ala.
. Miss E. G. Stiles, New York City.
Jean Cadron, New York City.
Rev. J. P. Reynolds, New York
City.
Isaac Darzell, Paterson, N. J.
Mrs. F. D. Holthan, Hyde Park,
Mass. , - .
Edward Clug, Savannah, Ga.
, Gaw Donk, Brooklyn. N. Y.
R. A. Young. Brooklyn, N. Y.
for the soldiers' money. I have met
some splendid French people and the
only difference between them and
ourselves is the language. Jt is
just as easy and far more profitable
to look for the good as it is to look
for the bad. A Frenchman would not
feel at home in Oiegon. They surely
love their wine. A-French home
poor or rich without wine would be
like an American home without funi-
ture. Usually the members of the
family at luncheon and dinner take
about half a glass, sip it very, very
slowly and this is the custom in every
home. Two Frenchmen, were my
guests at the officers' mess the other
evening and it was the first wine
less meal that they had ever eaten.
The wine Is the backbone of the pros
perity of France.
. Attend ComnK'rcial CluD.
"I had an interesting experience
several evenings ago. One of my
friends here Is quite progressive and
has publishedNiuite a little literature
about the commercial opportunities
of this town. He Invited me to at
tend a meeting of the Commercial
club. The . meeting was held in a
room, over a cafe and, about thirty
five men, most of them quite old, at
tended. - They invited; me to speak
and my friend Interpreted the speech
Into French. I told them all about
our valley and our products, about
our commercial club, the number of
members, the dues, the work of co
operation, the Cherrians and the priz
es they had Captured and all about
our publicity!, work. When I relat
ed to then the story of asking the
other Saleros in " America to change
their names so that our Salem might
fee? the only Salem in America they
laughed till they cried. When I fin
ished my speech they asked me ques
tions about Oregon and' the Pacific
coast till nearly midnight. Some of
them were acquainted with Portland
. ' . . . ft 14 1-
naviQK aone some irauiuK wiui
Iritv - r llnv our fellows would have
laughed to se3 a room full of French
business men standing, noiaing meir
glasses high In the air and shouting
"Vive la Salem. Oregon," while I yell
ed" In retorn TVive la France." the
president, at the close made a grac
ious speech-in. which he thanked me
heartily tr coming and bringing to
(Continued on page 2)
. - - -.. v . ; r . ' ! . '
BRITISH ARMY
TAKES MEZRAH
Operations in Palestine Suc
jcessful Lines Arc Stead
""' ily AdYancing
LONDON, May 1. An official
communication Issued this evening
regardlngthe operations in Palestine
says that the British have advanced
along a line of one mile in the vicin
ity of Mezrah and occupied that vil
lage.
The British troops east of the Jor
dan river attacked the enemy hold
ing the foothills south of Ec-Salt on
Tuesday and the; mounted troops
were within two miles of Ec-Salt by
nightfall, says a British official com
munication tonight dealing with the
fighting in Palestine and Iledjaz.
The communication adds that 260
prisoners had been taken.
Information from the Arab force
operating in , the Moab area showt
that 550 prisoners were taken in the
course of the recent attacks along
the Iledjez railway! West of the
Jordan our line advanced to a max
imum depth of one mile in the vi
cinity of Mezrah. The village and
high ground to the west were occu
pied after slight enemy resistance.
SUSPECT MOTIVE
OF PEACE TALK
' c ' ... -
Statements Quoted From Co
logne Papers Considered
Hun Propaganda f
WASHINGTON. May 1. Wireless
dispatches, dated The Hague, and
ing Pope Benedict intends to issue a
new peace otfer on May 19 were ac
cepted in official circles here today
as' another bit of German propagan
da. Heretofore, the state depart
ment has been able to gather an in
timation of the purpose of the pon
tiff to initiate peace proposals, but
not a suggestion of such an inten
tion has come from any source re
cently. A. - ''
The statement in the. dispatch that
the -news .of. the. pope's purpose had
reached Berlin "where it had been
received sympathetically, was taken
hero tte Indicate that German . influ
ence is being brought to bear on the
bontlff to InterVefle Assuming such
to be the case, officials feel that there
might be1 come grounds for believing
that the Germans now recognize that
their efforts to obtain a military de
cision In the west this summer are
doomed to failure.
BOHEMIANS ARE
LEAVING ARMY
TO JOIN ITALY
Detachments Already Wear
ing Unform of Ailed Troops
1 oni South Front
OFFER PEACE TO FRANCE
Sends Representative to Con
fer With King Alfonzo
of Spain
LONDON', May 2. The Daily
Mail's correspondent at Italian head
quarters says that Bohemian troops
are joining tho Italian troops against
Austria-and that the first detach
ments are. already on the Italian
fighting line wearing Italian uni
forms.
Mnke Peace Offer,
LONDON, May 1. Pfince Sixtus
of Bourbon-Parma, to whom the fa
mous letetr written by Emperor
Charles offering peace to France was
addressed.,' the Times says, visited
King Alfonso of Spain on Monday;
according to the Madrid Sol. The
Spanish newspaper understands that
he gave to King Alfonso explanations
concerning his correspondence with
his Hapsburg relatives, (His sister,
Zita, is empress of Austria-Hungary.)
Simultaneously a report reached
Stockholm that Emperor Charles was
making a fresh peace attempt and
that he was appealing to Italy to
consider it in her own interests.
. All that can be said abont these
rumors, the Tlmesdds. Is that they
are not inherently incredible.
The dual monarchy and Its ruler
are unqmpstionably in a highly criti
cal, position, the newspaper contin
ues, and it may well be that the
youthful emperor is trying to tempt
Italy,, possibly also Belgium, as he
tried to tempt France.
The detachments belonged to a
Czecho-Slovak army which is being
formed in many centers from former
subjects of Emperor Charles. They
already occupy positions at various
(Continued on page 6.)
' - 1 .. I .
BAKER WILL
SUBMIT PLAN
TO CONGRESS
Secretary of War Expected to
Ask That All Restriction on
Number of Troops to Be
Raised Be Removed
NEW CLASSIFICATION
SCHEME IS PROPOSED
Chairman Dent, Introduces
Bill Authorizing Mobiliza
tion of 4,000,000
WASHINGTON, May 1. Secretary
Baker will carry to congress tomor-'
.
row me array increase program map
ped out, by President Wilson and his
advisers and based on the determina
tion to win the war, if it takes the
wholeman power of 'the nation to do
it. There are indications that he
will ask that all restrictions on the
number of troops to.be raised be re
moved and the government authoriz
ed to mobilize as many men as it can
equip, train and send to the battle
front in France.
When the war secretary appears
before the house military commit
tee with supplemental estimates for
the army he is expected to disclose
that the department has reason to be
lieve it can handle during the pres
ent year at least double the existing
force under arms of approximate
1,600,000 men. ;
That would mean a wiai oi a.zuu,-
oon soldiers for whom clothing, equip
ment and transportation-Are now in
sight. Should additional lacmues
become available, however, it is in
dicated that President Wilson wish-
to be able to call out more men
without delaying to seek authority.
inMiiilnt sleets CADinec - .
TiiA n resident's war cabinet met
wltlThim today at the White House
onH -wont nver the erountt inorougn-
ly. Secretary Baker remained more
than an hour with the president af
ter the other members oi me - war
cabinet "had left. -
i. tho hnim Chairman Dent or
n.nitnrv committee. Introduced a
bill that would authorize the mobili
zation and organization oi .uvu.vv
-iH,r, rvlce men. instead of tne
1,000.000 to which, the government
Is limlted-uy tne exisims yy
rflT, id the measure was his own
and he had not consuueu. iu
-"-" ...J v . n
depaitment on it. . t
xr tLrtiomM Ontlinetl.
vtj- h new classification
Mheme. there are V.ffihl!
. onn nAA mm immediately avaiiaDie
for active military 8e"rlceJiCla1?f
1. That estimate is based on the
returns of numerous states
law of averages. It ludM
rated as fit only for limited special
"rvice and-all delinquents, slated
5:!, rj;Lii.u infliction into Class
i wk unorehended. and all of the
j vomiial cases, the men
. "k" f.t for active service
after operations or ""'V6;!.
ment to correct minor Physical de
fects. Behind tnai. jJ
- t. roarhpd 21 years since
nWBUHW Ji.ii'v - - y-n
the draft act W P4 wh
.7. in tinder pending
amendments. Probably the total of
HfecUves in Class 1 will prove to
? koo oofTmen when the definite ng
ures are available.
This Is the first reserve! r r rom
. . . in lu drawn to fill np
7he new armies: It 1. concfiv.ble
that Class 1 will be "JS
but not that it would faU to (
-ii the men who can be shipped to
France before congress, meets again
thin reason U 1 resa'""
as
probable that the ae5tion of J Increas-
.1 it- i va draft act or oi
KwTng upo'n ClasH can be deferred
until congress again cm.cu.
m im Irerarea.
Military precautions forbid dis
closure of the rate at which the army
r: Sii- .ot in the front, but Mr.
Baker will be able to give the house
committee tomorrow som interest
ing figures in this regard.
In pressing forward the troops, the
war department., it is learned, has
rbiidonPed it. Previous policy of
JoTpletlng organization of a unit be
fore it goes over. Under the new
nlan regiments or larger units go
forward In schedule
6hort a considerable part f their full
enlisted strength. They will be fill
ed p on the other side. . .
.The number of men rKcduled to
be called to the colors this monih
under the selective service act has
W-en raised to 250.000. Last month
unnnn wer mobilized. At this rate
half of the 00.000 which the depart,
befor the eeiman drive was
launched, had planned to call dur-
In the present year, will nave neen
called out In two -montns lime.
ITALIANS lftSK ONE SHIP.
ROME. May 1. Only one sailing
vessel over 1600 tons was sunk by
submarine or mine in the week rna
Ing April 27. '
BABES ARE KEPT
SAFE IN TRENCH
French Soldiers Counter-Attacking
Find Children in
German Front Line
BRITISH ARMY IN FLANDERS,
May 1. Prisoners say that the 1920
class of Germans are being mustered
in at Krels Offenbach and they have
been mustered in at Kreisnimptsch.
Some of this class already are in the
field, but they are not to be used in
the fighting unless their aid is ab
solutely necessary. . ' ' "
The recent fighting in Flanders
has furnished many unusual and
trying 'experiences for civilians liv
ing near the. front, but none of these
was more amazing than that of two
tiny French children who are In a
British military hospital. .These tots
were among the few unfortunate
persons in Neuve Egllse when the
Germans $ overran that place. The
town immediately . oecame a storm
center which was continually chang
Ing hands and German soldiers took
these two babies into trenches for
their nrotection.
-Durinr a
During a counter-attack the
British .stormed and captured the
trench. They found the little ones
safe and sound and brought them
back.a The children had been living
under terrific gun fire, and 'how
they escaped death cannot be ac
counted for.'
Another French baby was found
by two British signal men at another
place. As the child Jiad no protec
tion the soldiers took It with them
to their billet in a barn.' That night
the signal men went to sleep with
the baby between them so that no
harm might come to it. German air
men bombed the barn, both the
Tommies being killed. The child
escaped injury and later was rescued
by other soldiers. :
Seattle Farmer Pats t
. Bullet in Own Heart
SPOKANE, May 1. Lyman F.
Williams, a resident! of this city for
twenty-five years and proprietor of
the Steno farms near Trent, east of
here, was found dead in a hotel room
here this afternoon with a bullet
through his heart. A note addressed
to the public stated his intention of
committing suicide.
Mr. Williams, was one of the orig
inal owners of the Le Roi mine at
Rossland, B. C, and twenty .years
ago was part owner of the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. Friends believe
business worries were . responsible
for ills death. , '
FRUIT CROPS
WILL REQUIRE
MANY WORKERS
Indications Point to Great In
crease of Products in Wil
lamette Valley -
PRUNES WILL BE TRUMPS
i -
Local Plants Will Employ
Hundreds of People Dur
ing Season
Repeated allusions have been
made In the press with regard to the
influences thdt are pulling people
away from Salem and vicinity. Over
against these should be placed some
of the factors that are not only go
ing to hold people in this vicinity but
attract a large number from the out
side. Not the least of these is the
fruit. industry in all its phases, from
the field to the tin can.
i A recent visit to the Hunt cannery
showed a squad or men at work put
ting on a fresh coat of paint on
woodwork, cleaning up"" machinery
and making preparations for the run
of business .which Is scheduled to
begin on the first Of June., It is the
expectation of the management to
make a 40 or-50 per cent increase
over theiiUfut of last year, and
the plant is. being lined up wTtn that
in view. The management has stow
ed away something over a million
tin cans of. all sizes; hundreds of
thousands of berry boxes and thou
sands of crates. Not less than 300
people will be employed- about, the
plant throughout ,the season, and at
a greatly increased rate of wages.
Price Not Fixed.
, No estimate can be made at this
time as to the amount that will be
paid for the various fruits and veg
etables, but it is assumed that the
tendency will be toward a better rate
than was paid last year, owing. to
the increased cost of. labor. The
Hunt plant alone will consume thou
sands of tons of produce during the
season, and this means the employ
ment of thousands of hands In the
production and harvesting. of crop
(Continued on page 2)
I - . I
BRIMS HOLD
AGAINST ATTACK
Bombardment at Villers-Bretonneux Followed' by Onrush
of Germans Many of Ene my Killed and Left on Field
Remarkable Bravery Displayed Throughout : Battle
Hand-to-Hand Fighting 0c curf Along l&tire Line
"... -.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY -IN TTJANCEMay 1 A heavy
German attack launched yesterday against the Americans. in the vi
cinity of Villers-Bretonneux was repulsed with heavy losses for the
enemy. The German preliminary bombardment lasted two hours and
then the'infantry rushed forward, only 'to be driven back leaving
large numbers of dead on the ground in front of the American lines.
The German bombardment opened at 5 o'clock in the afternoon
and was directed especially against the Americans, who were support
ed on the north and s?uth by the Frenth. The fire was intense, and
at the end of two hours the German commander sent forward three
battalions of -infantry. There was hand to hand fighting ail-along
the line, as a result of which the enemy"was thrust back, his dead
and woundejl lying on the ground in all directions. Five prisoners ie
ained in American hands. , . ,
These Men Will Shave
When Berlin Is Taken
Theoaore Rowland, Fred Klein,
and M, S. Farwell, all employed In
the 'state engineering department,
have announced their intentions to
allow their .moustaches to grow un
til the American troops occupy Ber
lin. Dating from yesterday no razor
will be allowed to touch their upper
lips until Old Glory waves over the
palace of the kaiser. Heretofore th
faces of the three men have been
unadorned with beard or moustache.
Democrats in Wyoming
Endorse Prohibition
CHEYENNE, Wyo May 1. Wy
oming . Democrats endorsed state
wide prohibition here -tonight by
resolutions adopted " by the state
Demor ratio committee, in session
here. '
' The committee also adopted reso
lutions endorsing the national ad
ministration's War program.
Traps Laid for Yankee
Souvenir Collectors
WIT-THE AMERICAN AftMY IN
FRANCE, May l.-o-Knowing that the
Americans are persistent 'souvenir
hunters, the German in the Toul
sectors have been atrewing No Man's
Land with all sorts of Infernal de
vices. These consist of ..electric
wires attached to bells, helmets,
rifles and other paraphernalia con
necting with concealed bombs.
. In a number of instances .Ameri
can soldiers have tripped over theseJ
and escaped. . .
ACCIDENFSIMS
STEAMER FJELL
Crew Saved by Ljvingstonia,
Other Vessel Involved in
Collision
AN ATLANTIC PORT. May 1.
.The Norwegian steamer FJeli was
sunk off the Virginia coast at mid
night last night when she collided
with the British steamer Llvlngsto-
nia. The Fjell'-a crew was aaved by
the Livingstonia and landed here to
day. . . : ..
The collision occurred In a heavy
fog.: The Livingstonia, outward
bound from this port, crashed bow
on amidships of the Fjell. which was
coming down the coast. With a great
hole in her hull the Norwegian ves
sel sank soon after the crew had
taken to the boats. .
- Captain Johannesen of the Fjell
and his crew lost all their effects,
many of the men reaching the boats
half clothed. The captain said his
ship was sounding her fog signal reg
ularly and taking all proper precau
tions, . and that the Livingstonia
stonia would be libeled for damages,
. The British captain would not dis
cuss the collision further than . to
say that he would make a full report
at the proper time.
-The Fjell was a little vessel ot
591 net tons. The Livlngstonla's net
tonnage Is 2799.
. Struggle Is Violent
, The struggle, which lasted a con
siderable time, was extremely vio
lent and the Americans displayed re
markable bravery- throughout. .
, It was the first occasion in wDch.
the Americans were engaged In the '
battle which has been raging sinc
March 21 and their French comrades
are full of praise for the manner- in
which they conducted themselves
under trying conditions, especially la
view of the fact that they are fight
ing at one . of the most difficult
points on the battle front. '
-The American losses wert rather
severe.-- . ':
BOHEMLUtS rPESERTv "
. LONDON. May 1. The Bohemian
troops are. Joining the Italians '
against Austria, according to the
London Mail's correspondent Vt Ital
ian, headquarters. Even now some
of the Bohemians are on the Italian
line, clad fn Italian uniforms.
This information has passed
through the hands of N both Italian
and British censors and would
therefore appear to be authentlc
The - defection, . of the Bohemians
would in a measure explain the. de
lay in the proposed great offensive,
long-heralded,, of the,. Austrians
against the, Italians: , . . -i
IUotteg In Prague. V
' Prague,, capital of the Crowland
of Bohemia,, recently has 'been the
center- -of . riotous - demonstrations
against Germany and the ' Germans. -The
Austro-Hungarian foreign rnin- '
ister, - Count - Cxernin, has , been
strongly ; denounced, and . Presided
Wilson and the entente allies have
been cheered. The Csech members ,
of . parliament together with. the.
Slovene and Serbo-Croat," delegates,
have . been leaders in the opposition
to German rnle. - "
American troops around VUlers-
Bretonneux engaged for the first
time in the reat battle on the
French front, have reputoed a strong
German attack, preceded by. a heavy
bombardment and cart Vrd ont by
three battalions of infantry.. The
Germans left many dead and wound
ed before the American lines. The
American - losses are reported as
rather severe. v r ? v.
. ' I-oies EnoJrrKrmw . ,
Having been defeated with enor
mous losses - In every' phase of the-
fighting around Yores, -the Germans
have attempted no further on
slaughts. Inaction prevailed Wet
nesday before the positions held by
the British and French troops, espe
cially those In the hands of the Brit
ish, which it has been the ambition
of the Germans to capture.. Is
Since Monday what activity there
has been In this region was carried
ont by the British and French, both
of whom - have materially bettered
their positions- the' French near
Locre nad the British at Meteren.
On; both sectors ground was 'cap
tured and prisoners taken.
Meanwhile, British and French ar-.
tillerists are sending a veritable rata
of shells on Mont KemmeL - Thaa
far the allied gnns have held back
all attempts by the enemy 'to rein
force his men on the hill and If the
good work is kept Tip the hilltop is
likely soon to prove a death trap for
its cantors. - ... J '
No News on CodnciL -Nothing
as yet has been vouch
safed regarding the inter-allied war
council which, is holding sessions at
Versailles, which are . expected to
bring forth decisions of great
moment.
Great faith In the ability of Gen-
( Continued on page 8.)
THE WEATHER.
, Cloudy west, fair east portion;
moderate northwesterly winds.