Ol O
1J-7 f VTkP-vl
IS
DAILY EDITION
VOL. VIII., No. Ml.
GRAJTTI FAM, JOMTHIKB OCWrnr, OKiCOO.1, Wr'.ONKHDAY', JANUARY S, JVIH.
WHOI J! NIMBER tS47.
v.
ITALY TAKES
OFFENSIVE ON
NORTH FRONT
IIHII.I.IANT MIKNOI VHTOHV
POLIiOWFII HV HltTKrWrTL.
IlKlYK OF ITALIA
WEATHER IS AGAINST INVADERS
DMM-mliMHl Teutonic KTorls to Oiw
IHav River UmiImn1 by latin,
Karmy's lir Krnere
London. Jan. I. Italians have
won the flrtt riorjr of tht new
year on the defensive line from take
Oarda to the Adriatic. These lines
were strengthened by the Italian
urreM Iq driving the enemy from
Seen son bridge head, which the Aus-tro-Oermana
have held aver alnre
the middle of November. Tbe enemy
replied only with artillery, to the
French stroks In Monte Tombs re
flnn.
The magnitude of the achieve.
ment of the French tronia In the
Monte Tomha region grows aa full
details are received. In addition to
1.14s men. Including 44 Austrian
officer, several of high rank, made
prisoner and seven large guns cap
tured, the booty Inclines 60 machine
funs, several trench qulckflrera and
great amount of miscellaneous war
material.
It-it th chief jlrnlflcane of the
etroke la the change from defensive
to offensive tactics, and tbe stirring
enthusiasm and sureness with
wlitih tt.e French delivered their In
itial blow against the enemy lines.
Thus far the enemy haa been on the
offensive with Italian delivering
telling defensive blows.
Now, however, the French have
turned the scale, and the enemy Is
being attacked In this sector for the
flntt time since he reached the
Plave.
The weather I coming to the Ital
ian relief in the way of heavy snows.
The food supply of the enemy on the
northern front Is temporarily cut off
by snow.
Rome,, Jan. 2. The Anstro-Ger-man
made a determined attempt
today to cross the Plave but were
beaten hack by the Italians. A score
of boats attempted to cross at Intes
tadura, but were dispersed. .
u
tandnn, Jan. 2. Cecil Spring
Bice, British ambassador to the
United States will retire from his
pots. Ixird Bertie, ambaHsador to
Pafls and Sir George Buchanan, am
bfeaador to Petrograd, will also re
tire. Newspapers Insist on bringing
new blood Into service.
GREGORY ASKS OEUY ,
SI
Washington, Jan. . 2, Attorney
Genernl Gregory has asked the su
preme court to defer arguments on
even large anti-trust suits which
are pending before It, Including thnt
against the International Harvester
Company, United Show Machinery
Co., Steel corporation, until the next
term of court.
TWKNTV FIVK HlNIHlKlr
M)HT IX KARTIIQUAKK
8ai Salvador, Jan. 2. Newspa
pers here deplore that 2.r00 people
"lost tholr Uvea In Ouatomaln earth-.a'.tc
X
A-
m
Phot by American Prese Aoltla.
Rear Admiral Albert W. Grant Cam
mender tubmerln Ferae, Atlantis
Fleet
Mill DEBT
HIKES FAST
Hlupriidoa Figure Nerriisl to I mil
rate Coantry's ProbaMe Indebted'
neae I hie to War Needs
Washington, Jan. I. Tbe United
Stales eotera tbe new year with a
national debt Of 15,611,000.000,
more tban five time greater than
when It entered the war, 9 months
ago, but only one-third of the debt
which promise to develop by the
first of next year. The debt per
capita Is about 131 and the percent
illT (' debt to estimated - narluual
wealth Is JH.
The treasury financial summary
Issued todsy for the first time since
June SO, shows that actual disburse
ments In the Arst half of the fiscal
year have fallen far below the esti
mates, particularly for the military
establishment. An enormous pros
pective Increase In war department
expense for munitions and materials
contracts to be filled In the spring
will raise the government outlays at
that time, but ofllelala feel some
doubt that orJlnury disbursements
will reach the f 12.S16.O0O.O00 esti
mated for the fiscal year - ending
next June SO.
Washington, Jan. S. One of Her
bert Hoover' first acta In handling
the food situation was an effort to
settle the strikes In the Cuban cane
field so that the supply of sugar to
this country might be protected, ac
cording to his testimony before the
senate Investigation committee. -
Mr. Hoover said that he sent a
representative to Cuba and that
shortly thereafter the trouble was
cleared up.
NIX GKRMAN PLANKS , ','?
nROl'GHT DOWN ONE lAY
Paris, Jan. 2. Six German aero
planes were put out of commlslon by
the French In yesterday' engage
ments.
Paris, Jan. 2. The minister of
provisions, Victor Boret, has deter
mined d, drastlo measures for the
conservation. All shops of ronfeo
' loners and pastry are .to be closed
-.ml restrictions are to be placed on
eatuurants which charge high prices
In order to prevent tholr outbidding
the more popular plncos In bidding
tor supplies.. The private use of nu
'jr.ioMlM 'ia9 been prohibited.
HOUSE BRINGS
ALLIES' PACT
I'liKHlhK.NT'H KKI'IIKHKNTATIVK
TO A I.I.I Kit OM'KIIKNt K ltr
roHTM on viuxuwm
IS
A (Iimmt nMiperallon Among the
Enemies of Ctarmanjr Will llreult
From IHdlberationa
Washington, Jan. I. The Ameri
can delegatea, headed by Colonel
House, who recently returned from
an Inter-allled war council In Paris
have reported to the state depart
ment nrglng a constant apeedy dis
patch of American troop to France,
a material speeding up In shipbuild
ing and a closer cooperation with
co-tielllgerenU.
Definite plana for devoting ton
nage to troop transportation and
active utilization of American naval
force have been made. It baa also
been agreed with the British adml
rallty (o effect certain plana for antl
submarine warfare. The United
States contribution to the pooling of
war resource ha been agreed upon,
to permit the United State to visu
alise problems of food control at
home.
England, France and Italy hare
Mgreed to nut Into effect legalised
end compulsory control of foodstuffs
In thoee eoonttiea.
STARS AfiD STRiPES
RAISED Oil P YEARS
The beautiful new flag recently
purchased by citizens of this city
by popular subscription, was un
furled New Years morning , with
simple but appropriate ceremonies
Captain aud Former Mayor Truax
was an Interested participant.
. As Fred Carpenter, a former but
ler in the regular army, sounded the;
reveille, the great flag, which had
been run to tbe top of the mast by
J. C. Caldwell, a veteran of the
Spanish American war, was swung
to tho breeze and the big crowd gave
a hearty cheer. .
' In the evening a short band con
cert of popular , and patriotic, selec
tions waa enjoyed by a fair alxed audience.
ON WAR PLANS
HEWS IIOTES OF INTEREST FflOD
IHPIE COUNTY SOLDIER BOYS
' The "Red Headed Gunner"
A tew weeks ago the Courier men
tioned the possibility that Osborne
W. deVarila, grandson of Mrs. J. 3.
Pool, who enlisted from Grants Pass
In April, was the gunner who tired
the first U. S. shot In the war with
Germany. A recent San Francisco
paper states that "young de Varlla
was a member of the gun crew that
fired the first U. S. shot at the
kaiser's army." .
. In a letter to his mother, who
lives In San Francisco, he says: "1
am back from the front now for a
time but . I am feeling scared yet.
Well mother, I was one of the gun
crew who fired the first shot Into
the German lines from an American
battery, and I cut the fuse on tbe
first schrapnel fired.
, "I am In good health, only water
logged and very muddy. , France Is
one great big bog. We had a pretty
hard time for a while up there, but
it was a hundred per cent better af
ter we got settled down and got
used to the work.
"The climate In the United States
resembles this climate," writes the
boy, "Is thnt of southern Oregon In
February."
FdlMGR SAYS
BIlSS REEF
mm
IIHKAK IIY ItOtXHKVIKI KK
HUlTKI) III K TO TKITO.MC AT
TITl'DK ON POLAND
tleooial KalMllnea Iteportetl at Head
of Trained Army of onitlJoreble
', Hlae, Fighting netiiia
I'etrograd, Jsa. X (Ute IM(-
patch) u otu aanuunrMl here to
day In soml-ofllclal quarter that the
Hobthevlkl government ta far from
satisfied with the tura peace effort"
hare taken and that the chance of
a aurceaafnl eonaqmation now aeeea
remote due to Germaay' aareaeon-
able dewiaada. ; Forelga Minister
Trotsky rlaJma that the Baltic pro-
rlBeee are In reality ander military
prrasare while being oompled by
(Germans.
uonaon, Jan. z. According to a
telegram from the Petrograd Dally
New correspondent, peace negotia
tlons ave been broken off by tbe Bol
hevlkl, owing to the German atti
tude regarding Poland, Lithuania
and the enemy's proposal that gar
rlsona be retained at Llbau. Riga and
elsewhere.
London. Jan. S. All of the terri
tory over which the Cossacks hare
domination Is reported to be arous
ed vffalnat the Bolshevik!. Oeaoral
Kaledlnes, leader of the Cossacks of
the Don, according to these reports.
Is advancing with a considerable
body of troops, against Moscow.
The Bolsherlkl force are said to
be engaged In shsrp fighting near
Kurt s, a city about 200 miles south
of Moscow. Reports reaching here
telling, of these movements describe
Kaledlnes' troops as composing
mostly of the regular Russian army
divisions. Including approximately
20.000 officers.
RAILROADS TACKLK JOB
OF FHF.IGHT tTNUKSTION
Washington,' Jan. 2. All eastern
railroads went rapidly to work to
day to clear freight congestion and
effect a freer movement of food and
coal, regardless of passenger sched
ules and previous government prior
ity regulations.
"Cliub" Harvey In Virginia .
E. R. (Chub) Harvey, now with
the U. 3. marines at Quantlco. Va.,
In a letter to his parents. Mrv and
Mrs. O. P, Harvey says:
"I am now attached to the head
quarters staff training battalion, 6th.
regiment, and am driving a motor
cycle" for the, battalion commander,
Major Ka.vsor, and have a three
speed Indian with side car. The ma
jor la one of tbe finest men I have
ever met. . He treats me royally.
"I waa up to Washington o .see
Ora Wlllson and had a fine time. It
was almost , like seeing one of the
family.
"We are lielng trained In the use
of the gas mask by a Canadian and
a French officer, both of whom are
right from the front In France. We
expect to leave In a short time for
"Somewhere In France."
Hill him Kxcltement
A letter recently received by Sam
Williams from Vern . L. Hill, a
Grants Pass boy, contains much of
interest, and we muote from the let
ter: , " ; ; . ,
"We just got back from England
(Continued on page 2.)
m
G. '
" c-
Rear Admiral R. 8. Qrifrlii, ChWf ef the
uru ef Steam Engineering.
i. i
, i '
SPl.BK.SEB
Two Million Loss at Naval Btatkm
City Probably Doe to the Activ
ity of tJerman Aarents
Norfolk, Va., Jan. 2. Nearly two
blocka In the heart of Norfolk's bus
iness district, including the Monti
cello hotel, were destroyed, three
men were killed end a score more
Injured In a aeries of explosions snd
Area yesterday, which both the police
and naval anthorltre he?teve -weru
Incendiary. The fire had been check
ed last night, hut still was burning
fiercely In the ruins. The loss Is
roughly estlmsted at more than $2,-
000.000. -
Three distinct explosions In ss
many' buildings, one after the fire
once had virtually been brought un
der -control, led to the general be
lief that enemy ' agents were at
work. Mayor Mayo practically plac
ed the city under martial law by
turning the situation over to naval
officers, and 2.R00 marines and blu
Jackets from nearby naval stations
assisted the police and home guards
In maintaining order and prevent
ing vandalism.
CENTRAL POINT MAfJ
Monday evening Mr. - and Mrs.
Austin Myers, of Central Point, were
run down by an automobile at Cen
tral Point and badly Injured. They
were immediately moved to the Sa
cred Heart hospital of Med ford,
where everything possible Is being
done for them. Mr. Myers suffered
severe Injuries, including a fractur
ed skull, but Mrs. Myers was more
fortunate, unless Internal Injuries
develop. 1 .
A. Conro Flero was driving north
and another machine was coming
south, when Mr. and 'Mrs. Myers
stepped from the darkness directly
In front of Flero's auto. It is sup
posed they were blinded by the light
or tne other machine and conse
quently did not see the one that
struck them. . -
London, Jan. 2. It Is reported
that members of the American rail
way commission to Russia have been
arrested by Bolshevlkl In Irkutsk
Chairman Stevens and some other
members, were recently reported as
being at Toklo.,
NORFOLK FIRES
OHIGOES
OVER TIE TOP
III RED CROSS
PORTLAND fXKS A SHUT IN LAST
ItlUVK WHICH IIROIGH REAL
. SICTEM
Oidy Oate Coaaty la the Bute Haa
FaUea Dowa; la the Work fur
Hamanlty
N. F. Macduff, manager of the
Josephine county campaign for Red
Cross members, reported this morn
ing that the county has secured
about 1,850 new members' during
the week, on a quota which tbe local
officers had considered 2,160 and
state headquarters called 3,000. The
local ' campaign ' has practically
ended.
Portland, Jan. 1. Oregon haa
gone "over the top" with 240.000
new members of the Americas Red
Cross. 'This Is more thaa 10 per
cent of the entire population of Ore
gon. It Is probable that final re
turns will bring this figure to IS0,-
000 members. '
Unofficial reports from division
headquarters at Seattle Indicate
that Oregon's record In the member
ship drive Is ahead of that attained
by any other atate Ja the Union. . ,
The final showing made by Ore
gon ran be attributed to the outside
counties and to the patrlotie drive
OrrJett out laAnlght br. .Vortlan
Lodge. No. 142, B. P. O. Elks.
With 15.000,000 Red Cross mem
bers enrolled throughout the nation,
the average for each state Is IS per
cent of Its population. Oregon has
thus made twice as good a showing
aa that of the average state.
Morrow county leads tbe state of
Oregon with 175 per cent of Its quo
ta, based on 30 per cent of its pop
ulation, z.629 members over a qn
ta of 1.500, or S3 per cent of its
population of 5.000.
Twenty Oregon counties out of
36 made or mrre tban made their
quotas, as represented by 30 per
rent of the population, bnt on the
basis of the 15 per cent quota,
which seems to have been general In
the. United States, every county in
Oregon save Jefferson, which Is se
verely handicapped by had crops and
other hardships, had made, or more
than made, the quota.
FfE filE IJEGtvOE SL
CDMTED OF COT
San Antonio, Tex., Jan. , 2. The.
trial here by court martial of Ave
more negroes, for participating In
the Houston . riots, has closed and
resulted in their conviction and they
were sentenced to be hanged.
t".!!-v) TT
BISHOP SO WAS
Chicago. Jan. 2. Walter T. Sum
ner, Episcopal bishop of . Oregon,
and Miss Myrtle Mltchel, of Negau-'
nee, , Mlch. were married, here yes
terday at the cathedral of Saints
Peter and Paul, of ' which ' Bishop
Sumner was at one time dean. The
ceremony Was performed-by Bishop
C. P. Anderson, of Chicago, assisted
by the Very Rev. W. S. Pond, dean
of the cathedral, where Bishop Sum
ner was ordained, and where ' he
lr-ter was consecrated bishop. '.
In eeenring the marriage license
Bishop Sumner gave his age as 44
and that of Miss Mitchell as S3.