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About The Maupin times. (Maupin, Or.) 1914-1930 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1918)
WORLD HAPPENINGS OF CURRENT WEEK Brief Resume Most Important Daily News Items. COMPILED FOR YOU Events of Noted People, Governments and Pacific Northwest and Other Things Worth Knowing. A record delivery by a single plant of 7,000 army rifles In one day last week was announced by the war de partment. An official dispatch from France Tuesday says German newspapers re port King Ferdinand ot Bulgaria gone to "foreign lands" for some time on account of his health, An official communication received In Amsterdam from German main headquarters denies recent rumors concerning Field Marshal Von Hlnden burg's death. The communication says Hlndenburg's health Is excellent. Books and periodicals can be sent to American prisoners of war in Germany only when they are ordered through the publishers and are dis patched from the offices of the pub lishers, the war department announces. Two trainmen are reported to have been killed and 20 or more soldiers injured, some seriously, when a south bound Missouri, Kansas & Texas freight train collided with a troop train near Clifton City, Mo., Monday afternoon. To aid wheat growers of the west, who have suffered severe losses through winter killing of their crops and through drought, President Wilson has placed $5,000,000 at the disposal of the treasury and agricultural de partments, it is announced. "Airplanes carrying 100 men and equipped with engines equal In power to those In a medium sized steamship will be developed within three years," said Gianni Caproni, Inventor ot the Capronl bombing planes, in an inter view In Paris Tuesday. A record airpost flight from Phila delphia to New York was made Mon day by Lieutenant Bonsai, who cov ered the distance in 42 minutes, fly ing at the rate of more than 120 miles an hour, most of the way through a shower. He carried 175 pounds of mall. Audrey Best, daughter of Isaac Best, prominent real estate dealer of Grants Pass, died Sunday night. Death is thought to have been caused by yellow jacket stings received Monday. Her brother Noble, assistant fire chief of the city, is dangerously 111 from the same cause. A receiver for the property of Nat C. Goodwin, actor, was appointed In the city court In New York Monday. The receivership Is the outcome of a judg ment for $1896 recently recovered against Goodwin in suits based upon notes given In payment for land near Hemet, Cal,, where the actor has a ranch. French and American troops have discovered a second emplacement for a German super-cannon at Nanteuil Notre Dame, according to the Paris Herald. The emplacement was five meters deep and 14 meters square. The first super-cannon emplacement discovered by the allies was at Brecy, a little more than three miles south of Nnnteull-Notre Dame. Richard Brenne, editor of the Waochter Und Anzelger, Cleveland (Ohio) Dally German, was arrested Monday by federal officers charged with violating the espionage act. The arrest is based on a news story pub lished Wednesday under an American date, which is said to have led to the conclusion that "hundreds of thou sands of Americans were sacrificed by the French." The main hangar and a dirigible balloon were destroyed and more than a dozen airplanes and seyeral build ings were damaged by fire Friday at the naval air station at Norfolk, Va. The "Pershing trot" and the "Rain bow," lively military dances, will hold sway next winter, according to the decree of the "inner circle" of the American College ot Dancing, at a meeting in San Francisco Thursday. Five children ranging in age from 2 to 2 years, were burned to death, one other received fatal Injuries and seven were less seriously hurt in a fire which destroyed the Kent county, Michigan, Juvenile Home early Thurs day. ' Washington's state superintendent of schools, Mrs. Josephine Preston, has been asked In a resolution adopt ed by the state council of defense to use her influence in having the teach ing of German eliminated In all public schools of the state. Mrs. Myrtle Neal, 25 years old, of Cheyenne, Wyo., arrested In Omaha In men's clothing Thursday night, said she ' rode the rods" of a freight train, holding her 3-year-old baby In one arm, part of the way to Omaha. She said her husband mlstroated her. The losses to British and allied shipping due to enemy action or ma rine risk for the month of June to taled 275,629 gross tons. This was the lowest record for any month since September, 1916. The British losses totaled 161,062 tons and allied and neutral losses 114,567 tons. On account of the scarcity of Class 1 men, Seattle draft officials, It was announced, have been authorized by the war department to cease giving deferred classification to Bhlpyard em ployes on account of their work and also to discontinue releasing men to enlist In the navy and marines. BATTLES TO SHIFT TO SKIES Cloud Flight Across Atlantic Likely Before October. Paris. Slgnor Capronl, speaking of the projected airplane that Is expected to have a passenger capacity of 100, says: "The quick development of larger machines is Inevitable. At the begin ning of the war the largest bombing machine was of 100 horsepower. Now the largest bomber Is of 1000 horse power. "The Liberty motor will do. We want them in large quantities. I have seen them work and they are satisfac tory for bombing machines. Finer en gines with much intricate and special ized parts, like a watch, cannot be made In large quantities, but the Lib erty motor can, which is a big advan tage. "War of the future lies In the air, for when the big commercial planes are developed, they can easily be turned Into fighting machines with powerful offensive propensities. Eng land was able to defend herself with a large navy, but It will be necessary in the future for nations to have large aerial forces. "Battleships will be no match for the new aerial machines, which will revolutionize warfare, both on land and sea. The activities ot the fighting forces will be transferred to the air. Armies and navies will be unable to battle with the Immense bombing ma chines of the future. "The world will look to America for great developments In aviation, be cause she has unlimited resources, while European countries are impov erished by long years of despoliation and destruction. America will manu facture large commercial machines. They will be speedy and able to carry 100 tons instead of 1000 pounds, as now. "A trip across the Atlantic will, It Is believed, be accomplished with the prespnt-day machines during August and September, and probably October. The weather situation would be un favorable during the other months of the year. Heavy fogs make aerial navigation impossible. Aviators are unable to guide themselves in a fog, as it makes everything black. A trip across the ocean at this time would have to be made by way of New York, the Azores and Portugal. "The development of an aerial code similar to the maritime code will be necessary before there can be general aerial navigation. There must be in ternational signals like those at sea, aerial laws and a whole volume of regulations for aerial transportation." Slgnor Capronl is in Paris on gov ernment business. He expects to visit America, probably after the war. His whole time is now devoted to war pur poses. He is not developing commer cial machines. Aerial Photographer Falls Far. Portland. Al Tice, photographer, of the Angelus Studio, went up 2700 feet Into the air Monday to obtain a pano ramic view of the yards of the North west Steel company and the Columbia River Shipbuilding corporation. The return trip was a hurried, sudden one, but Tice came back with his picture, a thrill and some scratches. At the elevation named the balloon with which he made the ascent jerked queerly and then started suddenly downward. Later the cable holding the gasbag captive came Into contact with a "live" wire carrying 11,000 volts, and burned In two. Ten men who were holding the cable let go just In time to escape possible electrocu tion, as the cable the next few seconds swerved to the high-voltage wire. The balloon landed In a tree-top, and there Tice made his exit from the basket and his way to the ground, practically unhurt. The desired view was taken on the way down. Sugar Price May Go Up. New York. The price to he paid In the United States for Cuban sugar next year has been referred to repre sentatives of the two governments for determination at a conference In Washington next week. The international sugar committee recognizes the need of meeting the increased cost of production In Cuba, shown In a brief filed with the com mittee by Cuban representatives to amount to more than half a cent a pound. The prospective Increased cost, as outlined by the Cuban mission, would mean the addition to the price of sugar in the United States of a full cent a pouud. Tanker Fights Off Diver. An Atlantic Port. A tanker arrived here Wednesday after a five-hour fight with a German submarine 600 miles off the New Jersey coast, last Friday. The Bhip's cook was wounded in one leg by shrapnel during the en gagement. The U-boat, Blghted when eight miles away, tried to head off the tanker from the land and then opened fire, discharging about 200 shots. The tanker replied with 40 shots from her four-inch guns as she raced away, sending out S. O. S. calls by wireless. The submarine was outdistanced. Night Turned Into Day. Washington, D. C Perfection of an airplane flare for use In night bomb ing expeditions over enemy territory was announced Wednesday by the Ord nance department. The flare Is re leased from the plane In a parachute and is set off by air friction. At a height of 2000 feet, It was an nounced, It will cast a light of more than 400,000 candlepower over an area 1 miles in diameter. The glare pre vents detection of the plane from the ground, It was explained. Yanka to Control Air. Somewhere In England. American aviators Wednesday took over from the British one of the most Important seaplane stations on the English coast, from which they will do continuous patrol duty over a large area of the sea. The American aviators stationed on the English coast have heretofore been working as part ot the British squad rons and this la the first purely Amer ican station in England. GERMANS RUSH UP RESERVE FORCES Frantic Efforts Are Made to Evade Allied Trap. OUTLOOK IS CHEERING GeneralMarch Points Out Danger to Enemy Positions if Entente Continue Gains, Washington, D. C Massed German reserves are keeping open the Jaws of the trap General Foch has sprung In the Alsne-Marne region, In a desperate effort to stabilize their lines without the crushing of the forces withdraw ing from the Chateau Thierry and Marne salients. Official reports to the war depart ment show tthe enemy has but a sin gle railway to get material out of the pocket into which he has been forced. The situation was graphically ex plained Thursday by General March, chief of staff, In a mid-week confer ence with newspapermen. For the last two days, General March said, the em ployment of probably 15 divisions of fresh German reserves on the Sols sons jaw of the trap has practically steadied the line there. On the east ern jaw front the enemy has been crushed back more than a mile and a half on a ten-mile front, further Im periling his whole position In the sali ent from which he is endeavoring to extricate his troops. "The railroad running from Sols sons to Chateau Thierry now is either In our hands or under our fire," Gen eral March Bald. "The only way in which the enemy can get out now or get supplies over a railroad Is by the remaining line from Nanteuil on the Ourcq to Basoches on the Vesle 'river. "It was necessary for him, If he did not intend to be caught absolutely In a pocket, to keep troops from advanc ing and cutting off this road, which would put him entirely at the mercy of the allied forces." Some officers here are of the opin ion that General Foch was rushing for ward masses of heavy artillery which, with airplanes, would pound the In terior of the German positions from three sides. They say the very strength of the German lines now established will make his losses great from the con centrated fire. The enemy forces oc cupy a wedge, the center of which is less than 15 miles distant from the hard pressing lines of the allies at any point. All his communication lines are within gun range, once the "heavies" get up behind the allied lines. Lacking railway lines on which to maneuver, the enemy probably Is mak ing desperate efforts to get his biggest guns away safely. The attacking Hues are backed by circling railways on which long-range weapons on railway mounts can be shuttled back and forth at will. It Is recalled that the German attack on Chateau Thierry little more than a week ago was accompanied by the fire of big naval guns, shells from which fell 10 and 15 miles behind the lines. The bitterness of the battle around Chateau Thierry and along that por tion of the north bank of the Marne where the enemy still retains a foot ing probably is largely due to his de termination tqf stave off Franco-American attacks from the south, at least, until big weapons have been dragged back to safety. The American ad vance reported through Chatelet for est and to the northeast of Epieds Is beginning to menace seriously enemy positions further eastward on the Marne, which are covering his with drawal within the salient. It has been estimated that the Ger mans now have as many as 600,000 men In the limited salient they still hold. About 40 divisions are under stood to have been identified there. The irregularly-shaped pocket Is about 30 miles broad at its base, between Solssons and Rheims, while Its great est depth is around 20 miles., Should the final rail connection northward come under direct gunfire, It is regarded as possible a veritable rout would result, as the massed forces of the enemy could not all be gotten away. Lightning Bolt Kills Three. Ephrata, Wash. Lightning killed Don Williamson, J. Higgins and Al fred Powers Thursday while the men were driving teams on their way home about six miles northwest of Ephrata. It Is considered remarkable that the drivers, each some distance from the other, should have been hit by light ning. Roy Billinsley, a boy who had been riding on the seat with Powers, had jumped to the roadside and was walk ing alongside the Powers team when the bolt came. Billinsley was thrown about 15 feet, but was not badly hurt Much Wheat It Stored. Washington, D. C Nearly 300,000, 000 bushels of wheat Is stored in Aus tralia, the food administration is in formed. Details of the guarantees sur rounding the 1918-1919 wheat harvest In Australia also were transmitted. The Australian government has guar anteed 83 cents a bushel and to this the commonwealth has added 12 cents, making the price 95 cents to the pro ducer. In Buenos Aires the cash price for wheat Is J1.44 a bushel. ' iS1? mmMCMMM.ii U WIIOWENT : V W MACHINE OTER,BYING IN fRAWCE" ' &. I 1917 BY EMPEY JOINS PICK AND TRENCHES IN Synopsis. Fired by the sinking of the Lusltanla, with the loss of American Uvea, Arthur Guy Empey, an American living In Jersey City, goes to England and enlists as a private la the British army. After a short experience as a recruiting officer In London, he Is sent to train ing quarters in France, where he first hears the sound of big guns and makes the acquaintance of "cooties." After a brief period of training Einpey's company is sent Into the front-line trenches, where he takes his first turn on the fire step while the bullets whiz overhead. Erapey learns, as comrade falls, that death lurks always in the trenches. Chaplain distinguishes himself by rescuing wounded men under hot fire. With pick and shovel Empey has experience as a trench digger in No Man's Land. 1 CHAPTER XIII Continued. : , -9- ! We lined up In front of the baths, soaked with perspiration, and piled onr rifles into stacks. A sergeant of the R. A. M. O. with a yellow band around his left arm on which was "S. P." (sanitary police) In black let ters, took charge, ordering us to take off our equipment, unroll our puttees and unlace boots. Then, starting from the right of the line, he divided us Into squads of fifteen. I happened to be In the first squad. I We entered a small room, where we were given five minutes to undress, then filed into the bathroom. In here tlfere were fifteen tubs (barrels sawed in two) half full of water. Each tub contained a piece of laundry soap. The sergeant Informed us that we had Just twelve minutes in which to take our baths. Soaping ourselves all over, we took turns in rubbing each other's backs, then by means of a garden hose, washed the soap off. The water was Ice cold, but felt fine. Pretty soon a bell rang and the wa ter was turned off. Some of the slower ones were covered with soap, but this made no difference to the sergeant, who chased us into another room, where we lined up in front of a little window, resembling the box office in a theater, and received clean underwear and towels. From here we went Into the room where we had first undressed. Ten minutes were allowed in which to get Into our "clabber." My pair of drawers came up to my chin and the shirt barely reached my diaphragm, but they were clean no strangers on them, bo I was satisfied. At the expiration of the time allot ted we were turned out and finished onr dressing on the grass. When all of the company had bathed It was a case of march back to billets. That march was the most uncongenial A Bathroom at the Front one Imagined, Just cussing and blind ing all the way. We were covered with white dust and felt greasy from sweet The woolen underwear Issued was itching like the mischief. After eating our dinner of stew, which had been kept for us It was now four o'clock we went into the creek and had another bath. If "Holy Joe" could have heard our remarks about the divisional baths and army red tape he would have fainted at our wickedness. But Tom my Is only human after all. I Just mentioned "Holy Joe" or the chaplain in an irreverent sort of way, bat no offense was meant, as there were some very brave men among IL - j r-J - . 1 4 kssiwisv. M J r r 1$ A SHOVEL SQUAD AND DIG6 NO MAN'S LAND. There are so many instances of he roic deeds performed under fire In res cuing the wounded that it would take several books to chronicle them, but I have to mention one instance per formed by a chaplain, Captain Hall by name, In the brigade on our left, be cause it particularly appealed to me. A chaplain Is not a fighting man ; he Is recognized as a noncombatant and carries no arms. In a charge or trench raid the soldier gets a feeling of con fidence from contact with his rifle, re volver, or bomb he Is carrying. He has something to protect himself with, sotnethlng with which he can inflict harm on the enemy in other words, he is able to get his own back. But the chaplain is empty-handed, and Is at the mercy of the enemy if he encounters them, so it is doubly brave for him to go over the top, under fire, and bring In wounded. Also a chaplain Is not required by the king's regulations to go over in a charge, but this one did, made three trips under the hottest kind of fire, each time re turning with a wounded man on his back. On the third trip he received a bullet through his left arm, but never reported the matter to the doctor until late that night Just spent his time ad ministering to the wants of the wound ed lying on stretchers. The chaplains of the British army are a fine, manly set of men, and aro greatly respected by Tommy. CHAPTER XIV. Picks and Shovels. I had not slept long before the sweel voice of the sergeant informed that "No. 1 section had clicked for another blinking digging party." I smiled to myself with deep satisfaction. I had been promoted from a mere digger to a member of the Suicide club, and was exempt from all fatigues. Then came an awful shock. The sergeant looked over In my direction and suld: "Don't you bomb throwers think you are wearing top hats out here. 'Cord In' to orders you've been taken up on the strength of this section, and will have to do your bit with the pick and shovel, same as the rest of us." I put up a howl on my way to get my shovel, but the only thing that re sulted was a loss of good humor on my part We fell in at eight o'clock, outside of our billets, a sort of masquerade party. I was disguised as a common laborer, had a pick and shovel, and about one hundred empty sandbags. The rest, about two hundred In all, were equipped likewise : picks, ghovels, sandbags, rifles and ammunition. The party moved out in column of fours, taking the road leading to the trenches. Several times we had to string out in the ditch to let long col umns of limbers, artillery and supplies get past The marching, under these condi tions, was necessarily slow. Upon ar rival at the entrance to the communi cation trench, I looked at my illumi nated wrist watch it was eleven o'clock. Before entering this trench, word was passed down the line, "no talking or smoking, lead off In single file, cov ering party first" This covering party consisted of 80 men, armed with rifles, bayonets, bombs, and two Lewis machine guns. They were to protect os and guard against a surprise attack while dig ging in No Man's Land. The communication trench was about half a mile long, a zigzagging ditch, eight feet deep and three feet wide. Now and again, German shrapnel would whistle overhead and burst In onr vicinity. We would crouch against the earthen walls while the shell frag ments "slapped" the ground above us. Once Frits turned loose with a ma chine gun, the bullets from which "cracked" through the air and kicked np the dirt on the top, scattering sand and pebbles, which, hitting our steel helmets, sounded like hailstones. Upon arrival in the fire trench an officer of the Royal Engineers gave us onr instructions and acted as guide. We were to dig an advanced trench two hundred yurds from the German (the trenches' at tills -point were six hundred yards apart), i'wo winding latu-H, five. feet wide, had been cut through our barbed wire, for the passage of the diggers. From these lines white tape hud been laid on the ground to the point where we were to commence work. This In or der that we would not get lost In the darkness. The proposed trench wus also laid out with tape. The covering party went out first After a short wait, two scouts came back with information that the work ing party was to follow and "carry on" with their work. In extended order, two yards apart, we noiselessly crept across No Man's Land. It was nervous work; every minute we expected a machine gun to open fire on us. Stray bullets "cracked" around us, or a ricochet sang over head. Arriving at the taped diagram of the trench, rifles slung around our shoulders, we lost no time in getting to work. We dug as quietly as pos sible but every now and then the noise of a pick or shovel striking a stone would send the cold shivers down our backs. Under our breaths we heartily cursed the offending Tommy. At Intervals a star shell would go up from the German lines and we would remain motionless until the glare of Its white light died out When the trench had reached a depth of two feet we felt safer, be cause It would afford us cover In case we were discovered and fired on. The digging had been in progress about two hours, when suddenly hell seemed to break loose In the form of ninchlne-gun and rifle Are. We dropped down on our bellies In the shallow trench, bullets knocking k d A I Trench Digging. up the ground and snapping In the air. Then shrapnel butted In. The music was hot and Tommy danced. The covering party was having a rough time of It; they had no cover; Just had to take their medicine. Word was passed down the line to beat It for our trenches. We needed no urging; grabbing our tools and stoop ing low, we legged It across No Man's Land. The covering party got away to a poor start but beat us in. They must have had wings because we low ered the record. ranting and out of breath, we tum bled Into our front-line trench. I tore my hands getting through our wire, but, at the time, didn't notice It; my Journey was too urgent. When the roll was called we found thnt we had gotten It in the nose for 63 casualties. Our artillery put a barrage on Fritz' front-line and communication trenches and their machine-gun and rifle fire suddenly ceased. Upon the cessation of this fire, stretcher bearers went out to look for killed and wounded. Next day we learned thnt 21 of our men had been killed and 87 wounded. Five men were missing; lost in the darkness, they must have wandered over Into the Ger man lines, , where they were either killed or enpturcd. Speaking of stretcher bearers and wounded, It is very hard for the aver age civilian to comprehend the enor mous cost of taking care of wounded and the war In general. He or she gets so accustomed to seeing billions of dol lars In print that the significance of the amount is passed over without thought. From an official statement published in one of the London papers. It is stated that it costs between six and seven thousand pounds ($30,000 to $35, 000) to kill or wound a soldier. This result was attained by taking the cost of the war to date and dividing It by the killed and wounded. It may sound heartless and Inhuman, but It is a fact, nevertheless, that from a military standpoint It Is better for B man to be killed than wounded. Empey tellt of many way the soldiers have of amusing them selves, in the next Installment. TO BE CONTINUED.!