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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1917)
:1 Forty-seventh Tear. Dally Twelfth Year. TO DRAFT LAW Grand Jury Probe in Texas Reveals Connection of German Agents lith Plots to Resist Conscription Law Eleven Indictments Returned Spo radic Efforts Made Elsewhere tHeavy Penalties Provided. ' WASHINGTON, May 29. German influence to discourage army enlist ments and the selective draft In Tex- 1 as, uncovered by a federal grand Jury investigation, has resulted in eleven indictments. Other arrests on the same charge made in various cities by agents of the department of justice apparently are not so closely linked with German influence but are being Investigated. In the Texas case, according to an official announcement by the depart ment of justice, an organization was formed some time ago ostensibly for the purpose of co-operative buying. Its members were required to take a secret oath and soon after the en actment of the army draft law, the official anouncement says, "a strong German influence succeeded in induc ing the organization to turn its efforts to combatting conscription and high powered rifles were obtained to In tlnjdate persons subject to registra tion and the officials who will be apoplnted to perform the registra tion." Efforts Mndo Klscwliere. In some western cities there are evidences of an effort afoot to defeat the registration but the department of justice, it was officially announced, Is fully prepared to deal with the of fenders under the existing law and the new espionage 'bill now nearing completion In congress which Imposes hoavy penalties for such offenses. Scattered over the country are spo radic efforts to interfere with regis tration but officials here do not be lieve they are connected. The Texas case, in which the German influence is clearly established, and the arrest of two mountaineers in southwestern Virginia, are the most conspicuous instances. The two Virginians, William Mc Coy and J. W. Phlpps, both well known characters in the fued region, are In jail at Roanoke and govern ment agents say they have complete evidence to show they plotted organ oid resistance to the draft as well as a wholesale attack upon the landed people of the vicinity whose prop erty they intended to divide between themselves. Prepared for Action. As the day of reglsthrntion draws near, the department of justice and other agencies of the government are carefully watching for evidences of resistance to the law and are prC' pared to deal with them promptly. "These arrests," said Attorney General Gregory, in an official state ment referring to the proceedings at ready under way, "should be accepted by the country generally as a warning against Interfering with the enforce ment of the provisions of the new army law." 1A section of the espionage bill dealing with interference with army rcgitsration provides penalties of 20 years' imprisonment and $10,000 fine. This section of the bll says: "Whoever, when the Cnltcd States I5it war, shall wilfully make or con vey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the op eratlon or success of the military or naval forces of the United Stales or to promoto the success of Its ono- mles and whoever, when tho United States is at war, shall wilfully cause or atcmpt to cause insubordination I disloyalty, mutiny or refusal of duty (Continued on Page Five.) ATTACKS DRAFT LAW SAN FRANCISCO. May 'JO. Fer dinand Claudius of Oakland, who re cently attempted to prevent by tcgul proceedings tho registration of citi zens under the selective dnift law nn June "th, again applied to the f-tnte Mipreme court today for a writ of prohibition. He wants Mayor John Davie and other city officials re strained from fprcin,- him to register, GERMANS BACK F RESISTENCE WEATIIER EDPOKD U-BOAT SINKS HOSPITAL DOVER CASTLE British Hospital Ship Torpedoed Twice Without Warning in Mediter ranean Patients Transferred Six of Crew Killed Armed Mer chantman Hilary Submarined. LONDON, May 29. The British hospital ship Dover Castle, has been torpedoed and sunk, it is announced officially. The British armed mer chant cruiser Hilary also has been torpedoed and sunk and a British de stroyer has been sunk after a col lision. The text of the Brltsh announce ment reads: 'His majesty's hospital ship Dover Castle was torpedoed without warn ing at 0:30 o'clock on Saturday in the Mediterranean. At 8:30 she was again torpedoed and subsequently sank. The whole number of hospital patients and tho- hospital staff were safely transferred to other ships and the crew were also saved with the ex ception of six men who are missing and are feared to have been killed by tho explosions. 'His majesty's armed mercantile cruiser Hilary, acting Captain F. W. Dean, has been torpedoed and sunk In the North Sea. Four men were killed by the explosion. "One of his majesty's torpedo boat destroyers has been in collision and sunk. There were no casualties." The Dover Castle, 8271 tons gross, and 4 76 feet long, was built In 1904, and was owned by the Union Castle Mall Steamer company. The Hilary, a Booth liner of 6329 tons gross, 418 feet long, built in 1903. KAISER DECLARES AMSTERDAM, May 29. Emperor William, during his recent visit to tho Arras front, says the correspond ent of the Cologne Gazette, delivered an address to his troops In which he said: "Tho enemy, relying on his experi ence In the So in me buttle and on his unprecedented supplies of munitions. has been trying to break the German, resistance. "Tho French flatter themselves with the hopo of liberating their country a good enough motive but tho British have no such justification. They fight only to increase their power and don't Inquire whero the right may be. "Our peoplo an.1 our army Bland firmly together. How long this may last must depend upon God's will, but meanwhile we must keep firm and the people In the fatherland will give us their gratitude "In the meantime our comrades in submarines are doing everything pos sible to cut oft the enemy's source of living." MISSOURI PACIFIC NF.W YORK, May 2!). The rc-nr- gnnizntinn committee of the Missouri Pacific railroad company today nn nouueed the following new board of directors : It. F. Hush, Nicholas F. Ilraily, Harry Hronner, Carl It. Gray, Alex ander J. Hemphill, Charles I. Ingcr- soll, William H. I.ce, .John H. M Clement, Edgar I. Marston, John Mil- likcn, I'inloy J. Shcppard. K. C. Sim mens, Cornelius Vnndcrbilt, C. Minot Weld. EH.crt, If. Wiguins, H. Lancas tcr Williams ami William II. Wil liams. Mr. Hush has been elected pres dent and (ho officers of the new companj will probably he the f-ame as those who served under the rcceiverMilp, It is cxiM-i tcd flint the Missouri Pa ulio s-y. tcro will aoon be formal!', re stored hv the courts to the stock holders. SHIP Maximum Yesterday 79; Minimum Today' 40. FORECAST Partly Cloudy Tonight MEDFORD FIRST PICTURES OF DESOLATION WROUGHT BY$3,000,000 ATLANTA FIRE GERMAN DRIVE I 1 - -This picture shows destruction wrought by flits whit'h swept AlUtiita, doing iniH-ity LuiuiKe tvstimatod at $;l ,000,01)0. Fmmo houses in tho sec tion of tlie city shown hero were burned completely, leaving only a forest of bleitk chtiimryN. Ten thousand persons are homeless. MILITIA QUELLS RACE RIOTING IN EAST ST. LOUIS EAST ST. LUIOS, 1IL, May 20 With two companies o national guardsmen patrolling the streets ouiet was restored in this city today nfter Inst night's rioting caused by atlncks of a mob upon negroes. Many ne groes wero beaten. The trouble was caused, it is said, by the importation of negro laborers. Mayor Molhnnn today said six thousand negroes had come inlo East St. Louis in the last six weeks mid he said ho would ask railroads to discontinue hauling negroes hero from the south. A review of tho results of the riot showed that two negroes were shot and nine were beaten so severely that they wero taken to hospitals. The property damage is heavy. In answer to nn appeal of the city authorities who fear the rioting will break out ngnin today, six more troops of national guardsmen were ordered hero today. MITCHELL CHALLENGES MILWAUKEE, May 2!). Ritchie Mitchell, .Milwaukee lightweight boxer, thru his munager last night issued a challcngo to Kenny Leonard, new lightweight champion of the world, for n 20-round bout. Leonard re cently scored a knockout over Mitch ell in this city, the end coming in the seventh round. FOR LIBERTY BONDS CHICAGO, May 29. Liberty bond salesmen, 640 strong, accompanied by a military escore paraded thru the city today. Later tho salesmen under squad commanders broke up Into detach ments of ten men each and mado a systematic canvass of office buildings', hotels and factories. 50 PLOWS ALL GOING AT This pliture thou how tho tractor P coming Into iim as a food producer. The pl I urn nns taken tin North Dakota farm. There are 60 plows In a row, all ill ciwratlon at tho tunc tuuo. Three traitor pull Ulo pious and four men are uaod to operate the outfit. MAIL T OREflON", TUESDAY, MAY 29, 1917 r GENERAL. TARIFF T OF REVENUE BILL WASHINGTON, May 2!1. Anoth er fundamental change in the war tax bill was agreed upon unanimously to day by the senate finance committee, which decided to strike out the whole section levying $200,000,000 by n general tariff increase of.ten per cent on nn ndvalorcm basis. As n sub stitute the committee proposes direct excise, or consumption taxes on sugar, lea, coffee and cocoa. Tlie sugar, coffee, tea and cocoa probably will bo the only articles upon which excise taxes, in lieu of the general ten per cent tariff increases will he laid was stated by several committee members. The committee's action on the tar iff section is to leave tho tariff low as it now stands. Reductions in the house tnxes on soft drinks also were decided upon. For the ten percent house tax on syrim used in soft drinks, tho com mittee tentatively decided to substi tute a smaller specific tax based upon gallons of syrup. Reduction of the house tax of 2 cents to 1 cent n gallon on grape .juice mid other soft drinks was tentatively decided upon. Reduc tion of the tax on carbonic acid gas also was temporarily agreed to, other soft drinks taxes being referred to n sub-comnvittec. SAFE IN GREENLAND NEW YORK, May 29. Donald MncMillnn, the explorer and other members of the Crocker Land expedi tion which went into the Arctic in lill.'l, are safe at Elab on the north west coast of Greenland, according to a cablegram received today by the American Museum of Natural His tory. WASHINGTON, May 29. Tho na vnl armed guard and Its commander of tho American liner Mongolia are absolved from all responsibility for tho uniquo gun practice accident that resulted in the dentil of two Itcd Cross nurses aboard tho vessel re cently in a report mado public today by tho navy department. ONCE PREPARING THE NORTHWEST TO FEED THE WORLD. LAST TO E rORTLANP, .May 29. Military and coivil honors wero to bo paid hero today at tho funeral of the lato United States Senator Harry Lano of Oregon who died In San Francisco May 23. Thlrteon senators nnd representatives- arrived from Washing ton early today to roprosent congress and plans have been made to have the Oregon National Guard provldo an es cort of 700 men, similar to that ac corded a brlgadler-genoral. Funeral services were to bo held at 3:30 p. in. In tho Masonic temple nnd city and stato officials aro expected to attend. Music will bo furnished by tho Third Oregon regiment band. Tho menibers of tho congressional party named as pall-bearers aro Sen ators H. P. Aahursb, Arizona; W. II King, Utah; George Norrls obras- ka; A. J. Gronna, North Dakltn, and Representatives Albert Johnson, Washington; .1. V. McCUntock, Okla hoina; Charles Kearns, Ohio, and James II. Mays, Utah. Tho congress men wero taken over tho Columbia highway on their arrival today. SAN FRANCISCO, May 29. Kstl mates by commission bouses hero to day placed size of California's prob- alilo barley crop this season at more than 900,000 tons, as compared with 500,000 tons last year. Record-breaking wheat crop of 400,000 tons Is also expected owing to favoralilo weather tho last threo months. AI NEWPORT STRIKE 'NKWI'OHT NKWH Va., May 29. About four hundred union machinists at tho Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock company's yard struck today for an lncrcaso In wages. Two battle cruisers, two dreadnaiights and six destroyers havo been allotted to tho yard as part of tho new naval building program. and Tomorrow. MBUNE T NEW YORK, May 29. The Amer ican schooner Margaret B. Rouse which loft St. Andrews bay, Florida, February 4, with lumber for Genoa, was sunk by a submarine April 27 noar tho French-Italian coast and the crew robbed by tho Germans, accord ing to Captain Fred L. Root, mastor of tho Bchooner, who arrived today from Franco. Captain Foot said tho Germnns stripped his vosscl of foodstuffs, navi gating Instruments and even tho ex tra clothing of himself and his six nion. ' They wero Bet adrift in an open boat and wero picked up by a patrol boat. Tho schooner was sunk by bombs. LONDON, May 29. A Router's dis patch from nn unnamed port says that nil hope has beon abandoned of tho ruscuo of tho missing from tho siinlicii Spanish liner C. Do Elsa- gulrro. The victims Include twelve women and five small children. CIIKISTIANSANI), Norway, May 29. Tho Norwegian steamer Norwny 1477 tons, was sunk by gunfire Sat urday. Tho crew was rescued. NEW YORK, May 29. Tho Fronch lino steamship Mease, 4075 tons, was torneyocd and sunk last Thursday ac- cording to word received today. Tho Meuso left New York May 2 for Ilavro with a war cargo. WASHINGTON, May 2!!.- Secro tary Lansing, toti lying today before the house committee, in support of the trading with the enemy bill, said til government bad evidence that (lor many, while the I'nitcd Stall's still was neutral, hail sent an agent here who organized a steamship company and loaned Americans the money lo buy the grain aboard a. ship in or dcr lo raise nn issue with Great P.ri ain and France over her seizure. "There are many cases," he Hiirf "doubtless inspired by Gcrmaiiv while we were neutral, of orgamza tions effected in Ibis country fo. Ill sole purpose of creating fi-ielion with Great llrilain and l-'rauee.'' Transactions in this country several large Herman insurance com panics, Secretary Lansing said, ar protected in most states by bonds. "How about tlie American lite in suranec companies that do a large business with the central powers? asked Representative l-'.seh. "That would depend on the action of those governments," replied Mr Lansing, The committee asked about III f!IO, 00(1 a year pen-ion money paid fo people livin-r in Get-tunny. It wit .-tilted Unit the eomtni -sioti ol pen tions hud .su.pindcd the payment nnd tho money can be paid after the war if congress so directs. NO. 58 Intense Aerial Activity Indicates Ger man Offensive Sharp Attacks Against French Repelled Verdun Post Seized by French Italians Continue Drive Naval Raid. An impending German of tensive along the French-lirilisli front Is in dicated today by tho intense nerial activity. Tho Hritish report of Inst night emphasized this in its account of twelve German machines destroyed and ten others driven out of con trol, while today Paris announces the bringing down of seven Gennnn nir- plnncs nnd the serious damage of twelve others. Tho German infantry facing tho Hritish armies is apparently being; held ill check but sharp attacks con tinuo on tho French lines, notably in tho Champagne region. Two of these wero launched last night in tho Hur tebisc district, but wero repulsed, Italians Advancing;. The French mado n minor thrust on their own account in. tho Verdun region, where tho uc.tivity is becom ing more marked of lato on both sides. A small German post north of Vuch erauvillu was captured in this oper ation . Meanwhile on tho Austro-Italinn front, General Cudorim is steadily pushing hack the Austrian linos upon Trieste. IiOMK,, May 20. Tho Italians in tho l'lava sector yesterday drovo tho Aiistro-llungarian forces lo the end of the valley east of Globniv, says tho official statement issued today. &inco May 1-1, the statement ndds, Austro Hitiigarian prisoners taken on Din Ju lian front number 2:i,(iffl. ' The Ital ians also captured 110 guns, includ ing of tho henviest calibre. French Capture Post. PARIS, May 20. Tho French havo captured a Gennnn post north of Vashcrauville ill tho Verdun re gion, according to an official an nouncement issued by tho war offico this morning. Two German attacks in the region of Hiirtebisc, on tho Champagne front, wero repulsed. The Germans attacked after a violent bombardment. LONDON, May 2!). "Hostile luid ing parties were driven off during tho night southwest of tons and west of Messinos," says today's official state-. incut. "Wo made successful raids north of Hocgslcert wood. Tho en emy's artillery was active last, night in the neighborhood of Itullccourt and on both banks of the Scarpc.M IIKULIN, May 20. An ntlnck by ifussian and Iliiimininii troops is ex pected, today's official report &uys. The repulse of French attacks in the Aisne and Champagne regions nnd of advance of hostile reeonnoitering parlies along the front occupied by the Hritish is announced by army headquarters today. Itiisslun Naval Hold, I'KTI.'OGIiAl), May 211. Russian sailors of the Itnssian (Hack Rea fleet yesterday made a landing nt Chivi, lo the cast of Samson, on tho Anii loliau coast, de-1 roved the Turkish post there and burned a store of grain and two large sail boats, the wn of fice announced today. GETS PHILIPPINE JOB WASHINGTON, May 20.-Clin lies Kmmelt Yealcr of Missouri was today nominated to be vice-governor of tho Philippine islands. Thomas A. Street, of Aliibiitnn, anil Gearge A. Malcolm of Michi gan, were today nominated til he as sociate justices of the supremo court of the Philippine islands. CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SUBSCRIBES FOR MILLION SAN FRANCISCO, May 20. One million dollars of liberty loan bonds were to be subscribed for by the city nnd county of San Francu-co today, following n resolution to that effect passed by the board of supervisors. EXPECTEDALONG FRENCH FRONT