WHAT YOU NEED- The other fellow may have; what you have the other fellow may want. Come together by advertising in the Press. BARGAIN DAY Ib every day with the Merchant who advertises in the Press he has some thing to sell and says so. Buy Your Groceries From Your Home Grocer VOLUME XXVIII. ATHENA, UMATILLA COUNTY, OEEGON, FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 1916. NUMBER 15. WOP'S DOINGS OF CURRENT WEffi Brief Resume of General News From All Around the Earth. UNIVERSAL HAPPENINGS IN A NUTSHQ1 Live News Items of All Nations and Pacific Northwest Condensed for Our Busy Readers. Columbus, Ohio, residents are fleeing the lowlands because of the high water in the Scioto. ' The rainfall at Portland for March reached 10.91 inches, 1.85 inches less than March, 1873, the highest figure on record. Villa is fleeing southward hoping to reach the Sierras, where, it is claimed, it will take many months to capture him. Failure .of senate Republicans to take any action at a conference on the Mexican situation leaves the adminis tration unhampered in dealing with the problem. The senate bill designed to Increase the number of cadets at West Point was ordered favorably reported by the house military committee, with a few minor changes. ' Turkey has informed the United States it was not a submarine of the Ottoman government which sank the liner Persia in the Mediterranean last winter with loss of American life. The British infantry storms and take the first and second line German trenches along a front of 600 yards at 6t. Eloi. The British official com munication gives this information. R. C. Stoddard, of Vancouver, B. C, ' and two other passengers were seri ously injured when the Wolverine Flyer, on the Michigan Central rail way, jumped the track near Kalama zoo, Mich. The British steamer Manchester En gineer, from Philadelphia March 11 for Manchester, has been sunk, accord ing to information received by Lloyds. The members of the crew were taken aboard a tug. . Miss Catherine Prehm, editor and publisher of the Merrill, Ore., Record, was arrested in Klamath Falls on a charge of disturbing the peace by at tempting to horsewhip George Brad nack, editor and publisher of the Mer rill Times. Twelve men at Kelly's Butte, a workhouse for Portland prisoners, es caped by sawing the -bars of a cell. The exit was only 7 inches square, therefore a large number of heavy weight prisoners were detained. The break was not discovered until day light The most sensational of the Mann act cases in Chicago since the passage of that law, involving William Rufus Edwards, a wealthy St. Paul lumber man, as defendant and Miss Ada Cox as complaining witness, was begun be fore United States District Judge An derson. The literacy test, barring, with a few exceptions, all aliens over 16 years old, physically capable of reading, who cannot read the English language or some other language or dialect, was approved by the house working aa the committee of the whole, by a vote of 225 to 82. This presaged the passage of the bill by an overwhelming major ity despite the record of Presidential vetoes of several similar measures on account of the literacy test. Villa is reported to have held up a train and searched it for Americans, but found none. One of the American columns pene trated 50 miles into Mexico before it was discovered by the natives. Congress avoids any unnecessary discussion of the Mexican question, but is ready to authorize war measures at a moment's notice. A dispatch to the Balkan agency from Bucharest Bays the chief clerk of the American legation at Sofia is re ported to have been arrested by the Bulgarian authorities, accused of giv ing a present to an employe for using greater haste than ordinary in issuing passports. Men of the Hungarian landsturm born in 1868 and 1869 and also the men belonging to the classes of 1865 and 1897, who hitherto have been em ployed in making war materials, now are dismissed from this service and ordered to join the army on April 5, according to a Reuter dispatch. Yuan Shi Kai renounces the throne of China and proclaims the restoration of the republic, but his opponents say the change is too late to save him. instructions u recruit me a na tional Guard companies of Arizona to war strength immediately were trans mitted to the company commanders by order of the War department. An army aviator was found by a wagon train after being lost in the w : J . M ja 1 T r jmexicwi uenert xr o ouun, no re paired his leaking tank, received a supply of gasoline and was soon on his COUNTIES TO GET 30, STATE 20 PER CENT OfJAND GRANT SALES Washington, D. C As the Oregon & California land grant bill was final ly agreed on by the house committee on public lands Wednesday, the land grant counties will get 30 per cent of the net receipts from the timber and land sales, the state of Oregon will get 20 per cent for its school fund, 40 per cent will go to the general reclamation fund and 10 per cent to the Federal treasury. ' John Lind and other holders of out standing executory contracts are left out in the cold, the committee by a vote of seven to nine having decided to reject section 7 and other portions of the bill bearing on these contracts. A new provision was' added under which homesteaders taking cutover lands will be relieved of the payment of $2.50 an acre, and need only comply MRS. WILLIAM ALEXANDER ! ' . . ". 'j ' y' s Mrs. William Alexander of New York Is taking an active part In the eampalgn for national preparedness. with the requirements of the home stead law. In all other particulars the bill agreed upon was the bill completed by the sub-committee. Representative Ferris introduced in the house the bill on which the com mittee has agreed, and as soon a print ed this bill will be referred to the at torney general, secretary of the Inter oir and secretary of Agriculture for comment and suggestions. . It is not expected they will now pro pose material changes of policy, but the committee before reporting the bill to the house want it to have the approval of the three departments. U. S. Navy for Second Place Advocated by Assistant Secretary Washington, D. C. Assistant Sec retary Roosevelt recommended to the house naval committee that the United States navy be restored as soon as pos sible to Becond place among the world powers on the sea. Answering hypothetical questions by members of the committee, who were interested in comparing the German and American navies, he said the United States could outstrip Germany in a race for naval supremacy. He personally favored a building program this year larger than recommended in the administration's five-year proposals. While the assistant secretary de clined to discuss naval policies, which, he said, were within Secretary Daniels' province, he gave his personal views in advocacy of large and immediate naval upbuilding. In case of war, he said, the United States would need 225,000 men for its navy, judging from England's experience in trebling her naval forces since the war began. Big Guns Held Up. London The Parliamentary under secretary for munitions revealed to the house of commons a condition of strike promotion and what he described as a deliberate, organized policy of holding up munitions of war, which, in the opinion of Sir Edward Carson, who followed him in the debate, might justify the men involved being charged with nigh treason for assisting -the king's enemies. James Henry Thom as, labor member and union leader, al so spoke, demanding that the men should be put on trial. 3000 Acres to Be Opened. La Grande. Or Mnra than soon acres iying north and west of Elgin, bordering on the Promise (Wallowa county) territory, will ha nmuwyl tn entry and settlement May 10, accord ing to miormation issued by the and office. Persons having prior valid set tlement rights or preferences will be allowed to make entry in conformity wito existing taw and regulations. Intending settlers are also warned to ascertain the status of the lands. ALLIES DECLINE TO DISARM VESSELS Secretary Lansing's Proposal to Dismantle Guns Refused. ENTENTE POWERS POLITE BUT FIRM Alleged Disregard of Germany for Treaties Basis of Rejection Case of Belgium Is Cited. Washington, D. C All of the en tente powers through their embassies here have handed to Secretary Lansing formal responses rejecting the propos al made by the State department in itB circular memorandum that they en ter into a modus' Vivendi and disarm all of their merchant ships with the understanding that the United States government would endeavor to secure from the central powers a pledge not to attack such unarmed ships without warning and without providing for the safety of the passengers and crew. ' Soon after the proposition was broached, through interviews in the press and otherwise, responsible offi cials of the entente powers indicated their decided opposition to such a plan. It was generally believed here that the unanimous expression of disapprov al inspired the German government to promulgate the new order which now is in force for attackB without warning by submarine commanders on any armed belligerent merchantman. While Secretary Lansing said he had not had any opportunity as yet to con sider the formal replies, it is known that, though based on different lines of reasoning, - each of the enetente powers has with polite expressions of regret declined to accept the proposal. The nature of their objections was in dicated in the unofficial statements of various officials when the American memorandum was submitted, and it is understood that they have simply been elaborated in the communications be fore the State department. It was contended in the unofficial discussions that Germany's contempt for treaties and other formal stipula tions as evinced by her treatment of Belgium had made it unsafe to rely on any German pledge. The fundamental object urged, however, was that there should be no change in the principles of international law during the prog ress of hostilities such as would be in volved in the acceptance of the modus Vivendi at this time. Three Americans Killed on Border. Douglas, Ariz. Three Americans, two women and one man. were killed near Gibson's line ranch on the New Mexico-Mexico boundary, eight miles west of Columbus, N. M., between 4 and 5 o'clock Wednesday, presumably by Mexicans, according to the story brought here by a party of five Doug las people, who said they arrived on the scene Bhortly after the bodies had, been removed by soldiers. A command of United States sol diers stationed at the Gibson ranch was said to have crossed the line in pursuit of tfce slayers. The automobilists were on a pleas ure trip. Near the ranch they were stopped by a Twelfth Cavalry man, who advised them to go to the ranch house immediately so that the detach ment there could afford them protec tion. They were guarded at the house all night by seven troopers who had arrived there from Hachita, N. M., in response to the alarm given when the three bodies had been found. The five civilians passed a sleepless night, sit ting in the car, while the soldiers crouched around them in the pouring rain on guard. Peals of thunder and intermittent flashes of lightning in creased the apprehension of the wom en. The soldiers told them that the bod ies of the two women and a man had been found in an automobile near the ranch, but they did not know what dis position had been made of them. Af ter daylight they were allowed to pro ceed toward Hachita. They did not stop there, they said, to make inquiry about the affair. German Loan Is Success.. Berlin (Via wireless to Sayville) Dr. Karl Helfferich, secretary of the im perial treasury, told the reichstag Sat urday that the fourth German war loan had been a brilliant success, the sub scriptions having reached more than 10,000,000,000 marks, not including subscriptions abroad and at the front It was pointed out that the German war loans have now reached total of 36,000,000,000 marks, while the Brit ish loans have only totaled 19,000,000, 000 marks, and those of France 11, 944,000,000 marks. Steamer Englishman Sunk. London The steamer Englishman, of the Dominion line, has been sunk, according to Lloyd's.' It is said that thus far 68 survivors have been ac counted for. The last record of the steamer Englishman shows that she sailed from Portland, Me., February 17, for St. Nazaire and Avonmoath. The Englishman was a vessel of 6257 tons and was owned by the Mississippi & Dominion Steamship company, of Liverpool. She was built in 1892. NEWS ITEMS Of General Interest About Oregon Farmers' Week Is Plan at McMinnville June 21 to 24 McMinnville. A West Side Farm ers' week and picnic is to be held In McMinnville June 21 to 24, under the auspices of the McMinnville Grange. Other granges and farmers' unions as well as all other farmers' organiza tions are invited to participate. Speakers ot national standing as well as leading educators of the north west will be invited. The agricultural college will be asked to hold a farm ers' Institute In connection with the week's program. The committee has been assured of the assistance of County Agriculturist M. S. Shrock, whose work is along similar lines. Following are some of the speakers Who will be invited: Secretary of Ag riculture David F. Houston, Governor Withycombe, President W. J. Kerr and R. D. Hetzel, of the agricultural col lege; President P. L. Campbell, of the University of Oregon; J. Frederick Thorne, of the same institution; Dr. C. H. Chapman, ot Portland; J. A. Churchill, superintendent of publio in struction; L. K. Alderman, superin tendent of Portland schools ; "Farmer" Smith, of the O.-W. R. & N. Co.; Dr, Hector McPherson, of the bureau of markets and rural organizations of the Oregon agricultural college. It Is the intention of the committee to ask the candidates for president on the republican, democratic and prohi bition parties to participate in the program. Opposes Inviting Laborers to Oregon University, of Oregon, Eugene Let ters that invite laboring men to come and settle in Oregon should not be sent by Oregonians to Eastern friends or Eastern newspapers. This admonition was given by O. P. Hoff, state labor commissioner, to students in the Uni versity school of commerce. "Oregon offers less opportunity for the laboring man than any state in the Union. A city the size of Portand has five times as hard work taking care of a surplus of 10,000 men as a city of the same size in Massachusetts has,' because Portland does not have the great man ufacturing establishments of the East," said Mr. HofL The state labor commissioner thinks that as a partial remedy for winter un employment the state should arrange to get needy men onto small tracts of stump land. "No man can make a profitable investment by buying such land and putting all his time on it," said Mr. Hoff, "but by using his idle time any man could build up a good home in a few years." , Mr. Hoff said compulsory safeguards would put an end to 60 per cent of all accidents in industrial plants in Ore gon. - - V Electric Line Proposed. Pendleton. An electric road from Pendleton to Walla Walla and from Cold Springs Landing through Pendle ton to Bingham Springs is an under taking projected by an association of capitalists represented by C. W. Let ter, formerly a farmer in the Cold Springs country. It is understood B. W. McComas. of Pendleton, is connect ed with the undetaklng. , Mr. Lefler said there was plenty of money back of the venture.- The plan is to lay the rails on concrete ties to reduce the cost of maintenance. The route has been selected with an idea of tapping much of the freight producing area of the countryas well as the area of passenger traffic. The line from here to Cold Springs Land ing would be a feeder to the open river. Mining Property Bought. Baker. One of the most important mining deals in the Sumpter district in many years has been consummated in the purchase of the Bald Mountain property by the Ibex Mining company. The Ibex mine has been idle several years because It was deemed unwise to run It until the Bald Mountain mine could be secured, and the acquisition of the latter will insure the operation of both properties within a short time. A tunnel between the two has al ready been started, and with the use of a gravity system both mines can be operated in an economical manner. Re ports say that the mine's equipment will be greatly augmented, and that both will be operated extensively this season. The price paid for the Bald Mountain mine has been kept secret. ; Sack Offer Guaranteed. Pendleton. The first guaranteed sack delivery offer of the season was made this week to the Inland Empire grain-growers at their meeting in Pen dleton by the Balfour-Guthrie com pany at 14 cents. Heretofore war clauses have been attached. Although no action was taken, it is probable the cotton sack Investigated by H. W. Col lins will receive a tryout in Umatilla county. The sentiment seems to be that a carload of 60,000 cotton sacks be purchased at 11 and 12. cents each. Wesley Harrah, John Mumm, Henry Hudeman and other farmers are build ing portable elevators to take care of the 1916 crop. The grain can be taken by the elevator from the field to the cars for loading. $50,000 Hotel Deal Made. , Dallas. One of the most important deals in this city for the past several years was consummated on Saturday when, for a consideration approaching $50,000, Lew A. Cates, publisher of the Polk County Observer, and K. N. Wood, until recently one of the own ers of the Dallas steam laundry, took over the Hotel Gail property, one of the leading hostel ries of the Willam ette valley, purchasing the furniture and fixtures and taking a lease upon the building for a term of 10 years. The new owners take charge at once. ENTENTE ALLIES CONFERENCE IN PARIS OF GREAT IMPORT Paris The most important confer ence of the entente allies since the out break of the war begun in Paris Mon day under the presidency of Premier Briand. The premiers of Great Bri tain, Italy, Belgium and Serbia par ticipating. The British foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey; secretary of war, Field Marshal Earl Kitchener, and commas der of the continental forces, General Sir Douglas Haigh; the French com mander in chief, General Joffre, and the Italian general, Cadorna, also have seats at the council table. Russia is represented by the foreign minister, M. Iswolsky, and General Gilensky, aide-de-camp to the emperor; Japan by the Japanese ambassador at Paris, and Serbia by Prince Alexander. Probably nothing will be disclosed concerning the questions under discus sion or the decision reached, but it is expected that the allied powers will come to an agreement concerning com mon military and political actions. Property Destroyed and Traffic Blocked by Middle West Flood Chicago Blizzards, abnormally warm weather, rain and snow much colder weather, all crowded into a few days, have combined to cause much sickness and distress in Middle West ern states. Floods also are now tak ing a toll in human life and destroying property. Northern Illinois cities report many streets submerged and light and power stations out of commission. Warnings are issued in Chicago and all the Northern Illinois territory of immi nent peril of typhoid. Eastern Iowa and Southern Michigan, Northern In diana and Ohio are also facing typhoid conditions. Dispatches from Southwestern Wis consin accentuate recent reports of flood damage. Beven have been drowned, with many districts entirely inaccessible. Almost one-eighth of the state is affected. Reports tell of one drowned in Rock county, one in Richland county, and one in Grant county. Two perished when a bridge gave way. Others were drowned try ing to get through flooded streams by fording. a One in Grant county died trying to lead his cattle from the stable to the hills, when they became so freightened that they trampled hinvto death President Wilson Warns Public Against Mexican War Rumors Washintgon, D. C. President Wil son has issued a warning that "sinis ter and unscrupulous influences" are spreading alarmist reports about the Mexican situation with the object of forcing intervention by the United States "in the interests of certain American owners of Mexican proper ties." In a formal statement the President told the people of the United States to be on their guard and not credit such stories. He urged those who dissem inate news to test the source and au thenticity of every report from the border, and called attention again to the government's announcement that the sole object of the punitive expedi tion now in Mexico was to punish Villa and his followers. The news services supplying news papers had been asked, the President said, to assifit in keeping this view constantly before the Mexican and American people, to the end that the expedition should take on the color of war. Steamer Hits Log; Sinks. Portland After striking a 30-foot sunken log, which tore a huge hole in her hull at the port bow, the steamer Twin Cities, of The Dalles-Columbia line, began to sink near the mouth of North Portland harbor Saturday nieht. She was successfully beached after a struggle. Quick work on the part of the officers in charge, and the coolness of the members of the crew, prevented loss of life. The 10 passengers aboard, and tho livestock which formed part of the cargo, were landed in safety before the vessel settled in the shallower water near the bank. The steamer lay partially submerged at the south bank, near the mouth of the North Portland harbor. A portion of the rail around the upper deck was awash and the water, which was rising rapidly, was expected to flood the passenger cabins. Shackleton Ship Is Safe. London Reports received here Mon day stated that the auxiliary ship Au rora, of the Shackleton Antarctic ex pedition, which was damaged in the ice, is now proceeding to New Zealand for repairs and is not in distress or in need of assistance. The latest message indicates that the Aurora is procceed ing under her own steam. A New Zealand wireless station is in commun ication with her. Sir Douglas Mawson, the Antarctic explorer, expresses the opinion that there is no cause for alarm. Fires Worst In Oregon. Washington, D. C More than 72 per cent of all the damage done by forest fires in government forest re serves during 1916 was in Oregon, ac cording to a bulletin just issued by the Forest service. During the past year forest fires burned over 300,000 acres of forest reserve lands, and destroyed 156,000,000 feet of timber, valued at $190,000. The report says that 87 per cent of the total loss was confined to Oregon, Washington and Idaho. SPORTING GOODS Our stock of Baseball Equipment is superior to any we have carried heretofore. . . . FISHING TACKLE The Fishing Season is here and we are pre pared to please you in any of the best makes of Rods, Creels, Flies, Lines, Etc. , Foss-Winship Hardware Co. Barrett Building, Athena. ESTABLISHED 1865 Preston-Shaffer Milling Co. I', r u "I1 v.... : i l i 1 1 1 , I i 11 : : "; "j-,'"T 111 : t r; rsr" ran , , . , 1 , "ii, ," ; .i u , ui., -j AMERICAN BEAUTY FLOUR Is made in Athena, by Athena Labor, in one of the very best equipped Mills in the Northwest, of the best selected Bluestem wheat grown anywhere. Patronize home industry. Your grocer sells the famous American Beauty Flour. The Flour Your Mother Uses Merchant Millers and Grain Buyers Athena, Oregon. Waitsburg, Washington. i jHf j Home of QUALITY Groceries Good Groceries go to the Right Spot Every Time This is the Right Spot To go to Every Time for Groceries. Try These They'll Please! ONE BEST THE MONOPOLE Monopole Vegetables Monopole Fruits Monopole Salmon Monopole Oysters DELL BROS., Athena, Or. Caterers to the Public in Good Things to Eat