Medford mail tribune., April 12, 1917, Page 1, Image 1

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"WEATHER Maximum yesterday, 58. minimum today, 3 I; precipitation, .0-1. FORECAST Tonight" and tomoiw w, fair, warmer and light frost.
Forty-ieventh Year.
Dally Twelfth Year.
MEDFORD OREOON, TITO R SPAY, APRIL 12. 1917.
NO 18.
ii i ii ii ca ri i i m i nw7mr.
cont
NYAM
A W RIDGE
MADE IN STORM TO FOIL MATS
British Capture Two Important Po
. sitions and Take Eleven More Guns
Intensity of Fighting Increases
A' Germans Re-lnforced British
Bring Up Big Guns.
LONDON, April 12. The British
captured early this morning two im
portant positions in the enemy's lines
north of the Vimy ridge anil are now
astride of the Hiver Souchez, accord
ing to nn official statement issued tiy
the war office. A number of pris
oners were taken. The statement
says the weather conditions continue
wet and stormy.
Two German counter attacks on
Vimy ridge were broken up last night
with heavy losses to the attackers.
i
1000 Yard Gain.
LONDON, April 12. About 1000
yards of trendies south of Farbus
wood in the region southeast of Vimy
were captured by the British this
morning, Renter's correspondent tele
graphs from the front. A hill south
east of Wancourt also was captured.
The British yesterday look eleven
additional guns in the fighting be
tween Croisilles and the Scarpe.
The dispatch reads :
"Tho latest news this morning is
that we occupied about 1000 yards
jif trenches running south from the
commandant's house to the southward
of Farbus wood and have cleared the
ground to the bank of tho Cojeul
river. We nlso occupied a German
trench running southeast from Neu-ville-Vitnsse
and have taken Hill No.
90, lying southeast of Wnncourt.
"Bettween Croisilles and the River'
Scarpe our troops captured eleven
more guns in the course of yester
day's fighting.
"The enemy is shelling our new
positions beyond Vimy ridge."
Inci-easo in Intensity.
"The past 24 hours has been mark
ed by a general increase in the in
tensity , of the fighting. The Ger
mans appear to have been reinforce
in the positions upon which the Brit
ish nssuults have driven (hem back
and are offering desperate resistance
to the heavy British pressure.
"Various counter attacks were
launched, but with tho exception of
Bullecourt these met with no suc
cess. Fighting for the key positions
nt Monchy-le-Preux was very bit
ter, but with the British rotnihin" all
their gains and consolidating the po
sition. "Time now is rerpiircd to get for
ward the big guns and to make good
the communications before attempt
ing another great stroke."
PARIS, April 12. Tn nn attack
(Continued on Page Two.)
WASHINGTON, April 12. Nation
al transportation facilities of the prin
cipal railroads of tho United Stales
during the war will be merged vol
untarily and operated under the gen
eral directions of a central executive
committee of seven, co-operating
closely with the government in hand
ling troops military supplies and gen
eral commodities.
This committee consists of Fair
flax of the Southern, chairman: Ho
ward Elliott, of the New Haven; Snm
iuel Rae, of the Pennsylvania; Hale
' Holden of the Darlington and Julius
Kruttschnltt, of tho Southern Pacific
all named yesterday at a meeting
of railroad heads here, when the plan
was devised: Daniel Wlllard. presi
dent of the Baltimore and Ohio, and
chalrmon of the council of national
defense's advisory board, ex-offleio
members and one other to be appoint
ed by the inter-state commerce commission.
I
OF SHIPS BUILT
Colossal Campaign to Break Down
German Submarine Blockade and
Keep Entente Plentifully Supplied
With Food and Munitions Deter
mined Upon by President.
WASHINGTON, April 12. A col
ossal campaign to break down the
German submarine blockade and keep
the entente plentifully supplied with
food, clothing and munitions has been
determined upon by President Wilson
as America's first physical stroke
against her enemy.
Unable now to send nn army into
the trenches, the president believes
the United States can do nn even
greater service in tho common cause
against Germany by providing a great
armnda of merchantmen to invali
date the undersea campaign about
which have been rallied the fading
hopes of Prussian conquest.
Details Complete.
For weeks officials have been nt
work on such a plan but not until
today was it revealed on how great
a scale the task had been projected
or bow great importance was attach
ed to it ill the administration's gen
eral war program. Virtually every
detail now has been completed and
by fall the campaign itself will be in
full swing. Many officials believe
it may attain a supremacy over the
submarine which will prove the decis
ive victory of the great war.
Quickly built light wooden ships of
2000 tons and upwards are to make
up the fleet of merchantmen and to
insure maximum construction the
shipping board has enlisted the coun
try's entire shipbuilding facilities,
now tho greatest ill the world. Up
wards of a hundred private plants
on all the coasts will help, giving the
board's orders precedence over every
other class of work except the most
urgent naval construction. For the
first year production is expected to
reach an average of three ships a
day.
ftoctlmls to Supervise.
General Goethals, builder of the
Panama canal, has been selected to
supervise the construction program
which is expected to involve within
the next year a total tonnage of
three million tons, or more than now
is building in nil the shipyards of
the world.
The ships will cost about $.'100,000
each, be equipped with oil burning en
gines and carry a crew of about 35
nun. They will also be armed.
The first of the vessels are to be
ready in about six mouths and dur
ing the year following the number
afloat is expected to pass 1,0000.
In their calculations the president
anil the shipping board have had the
advice of allied naval authorities and
have computed carefully the ability
of the German U-boats to cope with
large numbers of merchantmen. They
are convinced that by building ships
of only two thousand or three thous
and tons and forcing Gennnny to pav
with a torpedo for each one sent to
the bottom, the United States soon
can exhaust the resources of the suh-
(Conttnued on Page Two.)
AT SAN F
SA'X FRANCISCO, April 12. A
ferryboat strike, long threatened, tied
up half the trans-bay facilities here
today. Some 25,000 commuters
found their usual collections out of
business.
Engineers and officers on the
boats of the San Francisco-Oakland
Terminal Railways company (Key
Route) operating to Oakland and Ala
meda, failed to appear for work,
pending a settlement of a demand for
different hours of labor. The men
left work as individuals, not as a
unit. Southern Pacific ferryboats
were not affected.
GREA
ARMADA
GUNS RUSHED TO COAST FORTIFICATIONS, "SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA."
This picture shows tho method of moving great const defense cannon from tho stool foundries to tho coast
forts where they are to to placed to defend tho country from the German fleet, . Not teh construction of
the special make of cm on which this gun is moved. Knrh truck consists of ' I I wheels, and the cannon is
mounted on . supei-triicH: Mvung a'Jove tho smaller curs. This photograph was taken somewhero in lcniiyl-vania.
AMERICAN SHiP
WASHINGTON, April 12 The
American schooner Marguerite of
New York, was captured and presum
ably sunk by a submarine 35 miles
southwest of Sardinia on April 4,
and her crew, including one Ameri
enn, exposed for forty-six hours, in
open boats. A dispatch to the state
department today from Ambassador
Sharp at Paris, forwarded the infor
mation from the American consul nt
Tunis. The ship made no attempt to
escape or resist and. was refused all
aid by the submarine.
Ambassador Sharp's dispatch fol
lows : a
"Consul at Tunis on the tenth re
norts schooner Marguerite, New
York, 1553 tons Cngleri to Algeri in
ballast, Charles W. Willard, South
Portland, Maine, master, only Ameri
can on board, reported captured and
probuhly sunk by submarine, un
known nationality, 35 miles south
west Sardinia, April 4, 8 p. m. No
resistance or attempt to escape. No
ships in sight. Ten minutes notice.
Strong wind. Tow refused. Forty
six hours in open boats, picked up
by French torpedo boat, landed
Byzorto. No casualties. Papers he'd
by submarine. Total crew of 12
shipped Marseilles."
JOFFRE COM
10 UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON, April 12. Official
dispatches on tho coming of the
French and Ilrltlsh commissions to
discuss the conduct of the war only
mention the possibility that General
.lolfio may accompany former Pre
mier Vlvlanl of France but do not
give any definite announcement.
An Impression conveyed In some
quarters that the entente commis
sioners would seek to bind the United
StatPB to the general arrangement not
to negotiate a separate peace Is gener
ally discounted here. It has been
stutod that the United States will not
enter Into an alliance In the old world
sense of the term but will commit It
self to unlimited participation In the
war until the alms which President
Wilson announced are achieved.
An Impression has been created
that the United States will feel Itself
free to Judge when that moment has
arrived and will not commit Itself
over and above Its own nirns in the
war to an unlimited participation.
RATI TO BE CUT
LONDON, April 12. The food sit
uation is. dominating all other con
siderations in Germany, according to
the Dorlln Vorwaerts as Quoted In an
Amsterdam dispatch to the Central
Nows.
The Vorwaerts says:
'Notwithstanding all the big events
the new food regulations which are
to be introduced on April 15 from
the exclusive subject of discussion in
the most considerable circles of the
people. The nearer the fateful day
approaches the greater becomes the
tension. A diminution in tho bread
ration forms serious difficulty for tho
entire population and causes great
preoccupation."
Some weeks ago the German news
papers announced that tho bread ra
tion would bo reduced by one-fourth
beginning April 15 owing to the
scarcity of wheat. It was stated that
the potato ration would' be continued
at five pounds weekly and that 2,10
grammes weekly would be added to
the meat ration. Surprise and con
sternation were expressed by the press
over tho prospect and the Uerlln
Volks Zettung declared that It would
mean that for many the limits of the
bearable be exceeded. The bread re
duction was ordered, It was stated, as
a necessary step to ensure the lasting
of the present stockB until tho next
harvest.
FOR REPLYING TO
IIAVKK, sApril 12. A well an
thenticatcd incidi-iit which occurred
i recently during a German courtmnr-
lial in Belgium lias become known
here. M. Paul Ti i'lindcn, Hiirgomas
lor of HivciiMtil, appeared before the
court charged Willi shielding a wound
ed Frenchman for which be was con
demned lo twelve months imprison
ment. His daughter, linroness dc Coninek,
n young married woman, whose hus
band is nt the front, was pi'i'j-eiit at
the heariiu:. A German officer sat
down behind her, saying: " I be
lieve mudumc I have met you be
fore." Haroness.de Coninek replied :"You
are mistaken, "but you greatly re
semble nn Kngli-h Woman whom I
knew well," replied Hie officer.
"Kvidfiitlv vol mean Miss Cnve!!,"
retorted tiie bur'iiesH.
For Ibis answer she was sentenced
to one month in prison.
E
WASHINGTON, April 12. Ef
forts of tho American government
nre being directed toward assisting
the newly democratized government in
Kussia to strengthen its position, les
sen internal troubles and quickly
bring Russia's latent forces to bear
against Germany.
Iteports to the government say the
difficulties of Kussia are many and
that Germany's principal object is
cither to bring about a separate peace
with that nn I ion, or, failing in that,
to stir up internal troubles and ex
ert unusual military pressure from
without.
One of the principal objects of the
administration's desire for expedition
in getting iiuthority from congress
for n large bond issue is to extend n
Joan to the now Russian government.
Other ways of helping Russia nre
being studied, Charles R. Crane of
Chicago, (dose pcrsonnl friend of
President Wilson, long interested in
developments in Russia, is now on
his way to that country.
The needs uf France, Great Britain
and the other members of the entente
alliance nre not being forgotten and
everything possible will be done for
them, but Ihey are understood to
agree Unit Russia should get assis
tance first.
NAVY TO PATROL
U
WASHINGTON, April 12. Vice,
Admiriii Ilrowning of the Hritish
navy and Id-ar Admiral Oe Gra.sse of
the l Veiled navy, conferred today
with Secretary I'uiiiels and Admiral
licnsoii, chief of operations on co
operation between the allied navies
fur the euiiduet of war. ISoth for
eign commanders eiime to the United
States on their f la (.'ships.
The first Htep b' tin; United States
navy in taking up its part of (he war
0'ra(ioriH will be lo taku over tho
Athmtie and Camhcnn path pntrols
hitherto maintained by f'-nh.-li and
Kremdi ships. No announcement of
the results of the conference was
made.
Kventually American ships prob
ably will relievo Uiom nf the allies
in all north and south Atlantic wat
ers on this side of the world.
It, is assumed the vi-dtiny officers
furnished nmeh first hand informa
tion as to the steps the entente pow
ers have found most effective in
dealing with the submit l ino, peril.
ARRAS BATTLE
E
I
General Maurice, Chief Director of
British Army, Declares Present
Offensive Conducted According to
Plans Made in February and
Gains Already Greatest Recorded.
LONDON, April 12. That tfie Ar
ras conflict will devctop shortly into
the greatest buttle of tho war was
the prediction made by Major Gen
eral F, B. Maurice, chief director of
military operations nt the war office,
in his weekly interview with the As
sociated Press today.
General Maurice declared the pres
ent Itritish offensive was being con
ducted according to plans completed
in February, thereby controverting
the claims of tho Germans tbut their
retreat hud upset tho Hritish sched
ule and that tho Teutonic military
authorities control the situation.
The British losses during the first
two ilia's of the in tensive were only
hulf what they had been in tho cor
responding tinio in the Sommo offen
sive, General Maurice declared.
Planned in February,
"Wo hnvo heard a great deal about
tho .Von llindenburg retreat," said
General Mnu'ice, "it has been claimed
the retirement was according to
plan and that as a result the British
calculations had been upset and the
Gurimins were in n ptaitiiki to give
battle whenever they desired.
"Lot mo tell you how much the
British plans were upset. On Feb
ruary 20 I was in France and nt the
time saw on paper tho plans for the
very offensive which the British lire
now carrying out, including the as
sault on Vimy ridge. Arrangements
had been made at that time to begin
tho attack on April 8, but this was
postponed until the ninth on account
of the weather. This shows that we
uro conducting our affairs according
to schedule. Things arc going well
and tho prospoels look bright.
Uno Not Weakened.
"Tbut tho Germans had not only
not weakened their line in this sec
tion, but had strengthened it, they
call attention to the fact that we took
10.000 prisoners in the first 24
hours, which is tho greatest number
we have taken in n corresponding
timo and is indicative of the strength
of the Germans here."
General Maurice's attention was
attention was called to the fact that
the Gortmm military experts wero
claiming the buttle of Arras to be
the decisive conflict of the war.
"I suppose the experts have got
to have something to write nbout,"
said the general with a laugh, "but
it is impossible to say at this lime
that the battle will be the decisive
one. It may be slated with certain
ty, however, that the battle of Arrns
will have n I'lir-reiicbing effect."
niKSTKll, I'll., April 12. Kxpertu
today are analyzing powder In tho
shrapnel shells at the works of the
Kddystonn Ammunition corporation,
Kddystono, l'a., with I ho hopo of es
tablishing beyond doubt tho cause of
the series of explosion which killed
122 persons at tho plant Tuesday.
There Is a theory that If a plot ex
isted, as official of tho plant main
tain, nn acid capsule might have boon
dropped Into a shell In tho charging
room. An Investigation by the au
thorities Includes n probo Into tho
theory of defect Ivo materials.
f!o far there Is no definite ovldenco
that tho disaster was the work of
alien poltteis. Tho authorities have
boen told however, of an anonymous
warning said to have been sent work
ers In the plant and of other notes
and letters said to have forecast tho
tragedy,
SUPREM
OFTHECONFLIC
1$ ANALYZE POWDER
U. S. WELCOMED
AS BELLIGERENT
BYLLOYDGEORGE
Luncheon Held to Celebrate Entrance
of America Into War Three Years
of Blunders to Profit by Abso
lute Assurance of Victory Found
In Word "Ships."
LONDON, April 12. Addressing
the American Luncheon club today,
Premier Lloyd-Qeorgo said the ad
vent of tho United States into the
war had given the final stamp and
seal to tho character of the conflict,
which was a struggle against mili
tary autocracy.
The premior said ho was not sur
prised that America had taken time
lg make up her mind as to the char
acter of tho struggle, having regard
to the fact that most of the great
wars in Europe in the past had been
waged for dynasty aggrandizement
and conquest.
Early in the war, Mr. Lloyd-George
continued, the United States did not
comprehend what had been endured
in Europe for years from the military
casta in Prussia. Saying that Prus
sia, was not a democracy, but that
Emperor William hnd promised it
would he after tho war, lie added:
"I think tho kaiser is right,"
Celebrates U. S. Entrance. " ,
The lunchefin, held to celebrate
tho entrance of tho United States into
the war brought together tho most
distinguished gathering in tho history
of the club. Tho guests included '
Chancellor Bonnr Lnw, Colonel Wins
ton. Spencer Churchill, Lord Head
ing, General Smuts, Lord Derby,
Lord Bryce, Walter Hume Long, the
Italian ambassador, Marquis Im
periali di Francnvilln, Hie Cuban
minister, Garcia y Velez, and Herbert
C. Hoover, chniminn of the American
commission for reliof in Belgium.
Premier Lloyd-George, the guest
f honor, delivered the principal
speech, after a brief introduction by
Ambassador Page. Tho premier re
ceived a tremendous bvntion when
he entered the room. Tonsts were
drunk 'to President Wilson and King
George. ...
Tho premier said ho was linppy in
the position of being tho first British
ninister of tho crown speaking on
behalf of the people of tho country
to salute the American nation as
comrades in nrms. lie was glad and
proud, he rejoiced, as a democrat, he
declared, at the advent of the United
States in this conflict.
Thro Years of JUunders.
"In three years wero tried every
kind of blunder," said Mr. Lloyd
George. "Wo got into every bunker. But
now we hnvo got n, good niblick
stroke and we uro right out into the
course.
"It is worlh Amcricn's while to
study our blunders and begin whoro
wo are now. I niu so glad tho Unit
ed Stales is sending naval and mili
tary experts to this country to ox
chaiige views with men who have been
through three anxious years of war."
Absolute assurance of victory, the
premier said, was to bo found in the
word "ships," Ho saw that the Unit
ed States realized this fully nnd bad
ipi-i'iinrcd to build a thousand ships
for the Atlantic,
Field .Marshal von llindenburg, tho
premier went on, had declared that
t'e'Diaii submarines would put Eng-
(Contlnucd on i age Two.)
RUSSIA SEIZES ALL
LONDON, April 12. A Petrograd
dispatch to Renter's says that the pro
visional government has ordered til
reserves of tho 1916 harvest or corn
and cereals whlrhnre fit for fodder to
he placed at the disposal of the state.
The entire reserves of the 1817 har
vest, except what Is required for seed
nnd tho needs of families of the peas
ants, has also teen appropriated.
7