ft
it::):
FULL LEASED
.WIRE DISPATCHES
CIRCULATION IS
OVER 4000 DAILY
THIRTY-EIGHTH YEAR
SALEM, OREGON, FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 1916
PRICE TWO CENTS - Si
411) fl fWm. A dW fl
i :innr wMliif 1 ffiMiimd
GIVES OUTLINE OF
ENGLAND'S ICY
AFTER HAP IS
President Runciman ol ,ard
of Trade Talks of Com-
mercial War
SAYS PRESENT ALLIES
WILL REMAIN UNITED
Says "Germany Will Never
Again Raise Her Helmet"
In Peaceful World
By Wilbur S. Forrest.
fl'nited Press staff correspondent "
I.oiulon, .Mar. 24. Germany will nev
or again "raKsc lienhelmet" :n a world
'leaned in peaceful pursuits, ProsiJ 'at
Walter Runciman of the boarl of trade
declared in an exclusive int-jrvie-.v giv
en the United Press today, officially
outlining for the first time the tiiiies'
commercial plans after the war.
England does not contemplate n
throttling that will leave the Gorman
people crushed in poverty, unable to
rise again he said, but peaceful prepnrn-
uons as a means to a military end will
never again bo tolerated by Kugland.
Prance, Russia and Italy, Ri'in-i man as
' sorted.
"Nor can we submit to most favored
natiun's clauses in commercial treaties
being utilized to the detriment of anv
one of the allied con,.irros. We object
M (iormnny using lier resources and
oonimtroinl relations with us for pur
pose of nggrop-sion as she did in pre
paration for this war."
' Kiiiieininn s statement is of the high
est importance in view of the fovtl
coming allied conference in Park
which he will attend. American traders
an. I manufacturers. hc indicated, n n.-t
prepare for a rigid, though "riondly
British commerciai eompetitioi in neu
tral market after the war.
Germany to Wage Economic War
"Germany has announced that at the
conclusion of this war she will attempt
to establish a customs union of the ecu
tral powers on aggressive lines," he
said. "This can only mean that she
intends to follow up the present on
tlict with nn economic: war.
"If this is the deliberate object we
and our allies will know how to meet an
aggressive war of that nature just, as
wo have met hostile action for the last
20 months. Rut we will be belter pre
pared for the threatened economic war
Me are much obliged to (iermaav for
warning us Heforehninl.
"The economic war which, she tl ront
ons would be a permanent barri-r to ",o
peaceful development of Kurnp. I have
u.ieu language hostile in char
acter in regard to Germany's trade
'lo o. believing that orn.-di.i;' the
enemy s trade was an essential st'-i- to
victory in this war.
"Germany i power of lVsi Kn as
well as ours, depends upon the extent
ol her material resources. Tl.ee we
must as an act o'f war diminis i i vr.ii-o
We must do everything in mir power to
prevent her from nccimil;'nticr vt)1.k,
or adding to her wealth abroad Wo o,,.
doing everything in our power to pre
veif this. We can't allow our i'i,.,,s
to trade with Gorman firms in Clina
Jroiii whom we are withholding s-..,pli '
l l'at is only one of mnnv Glances'
We want to make it clear to G..r.,;:.,,v
that the longer the war continues.-the
ess w, be her chance of recoupment
'it ot the profits of foreign market
e aim at shortening the war "
Said Head But Meant Helmet
"Recently." it was recalled to R
tin
eimnii, you said in the house
Of en il
jj.
2
Yon kin disperse most nay prow 1
liy n.-!iiti what Gallip.di is. l';Ti Ky
Kvrr is breakin' in a new hair cut.
(Continued on Page Nine.) J
sle!
ARE MADTIM
i
i
GERMANS DIG AGAIN
Berlin,' Mar,. 24. Subscrip
tions totaling more than $2,
0(10,1)00,01)0 have been made to
the fourth Gorman war loan,
which is a great success. Fin
ancial Secretary Von Hefferich
told the reichstag today.
NORTH PORTLAND POSTMASTER
Washington, Mar. 24. President
Wilson today nominated George U. Mo
kel as postmaster at North Portland,
Ore.
OR. If IE ARRESTED
SE
Suspected of Poisoning His
Father-in-Law and Mrs.
Ring Who Died Tuesday
DOCTOR ADMITS IT
New York, Mar. 21. District
Attorney Swnnii announced to
day that Dr. Arthur Warren
Waite admitted to detectives
guarding him that he gave
arsenic to his father-in-law,
John E.' Peck, Grand Rapids
millionaire, because Peck -said
he wanted to die.
New York, Mar. 24 Dr. Arthur AVar
reu Waite, suspected of poisoning John
Y., Peck, of Grand Rapids, Mich., his
father-in-law, will be moved from his
palatial Riverside Drive apartments to
a cell in the Tombs today.
Guards who wntoheij by his bedside
during the night, while hewas too ill to
be jailed, declared that Im was slowly
recovering from the effects of an .opi
ate which seat him into ;i state of coma
when detectives call-id for him venter
day. Before tonight Dr. Waito .nay
be arraigned on a eluirga o mind jr.
District Attorney Swann is prepar
ing to submit his eviu-nre to the grand
jury. Besides testimony ponceming the
death of. Peck, the I'.istricl attorney
also plana to prce-it evidence beari'ig
on the death of Mm;. Pcik, who cid
at Dr. Wnite's aparraieut Jinaniy :',0,
last, and the death of Mi-s. f.mina li'ng.
aged 00, who expired Tusl'iv, 'caving
ft j.-VO.OOO estate.
The police are sc 'iii.i.; r. myste-b-.is
woman who was reported to have dis
appeared from the Plaza hotel while de
tectives were on her trail, seeking an
explanation of her relations with Dr.
Waite. '
Suspicion was first, directed against
Dr. Waite by the statement of a negro
made, who alleged she saw him pour
something in Peek's ten. and ugain in
his soup. Peck, -said the maid, com
plained about the taste wheivupci! Dr,
Waite blamed it on the cook. '
M. O. Evans, slate assistant leader of
county agriculturists, of the O. A. C.
is in the city, the guest of I.. J. C'hapin.
COMMITTEE READY TO
REPOR T ON FORFEITED
RAILROAD LAND GRANT
(By t'nited Press.) .Hers are expected to be liberal because"
Washington, D. (.!., Mar. 24. The ' of the difficulty of bringing the cleared
house public lauds committee hopes to!,:"'1"'1' ,ani1 in, c'ltivatinn.
decide i a few days the problem pre-! J.
sooted to it by the supreme court, of : not realize all ol' this, though; for the
wnat to do witu, certain lauds in Ore-i government plans to deduct from it the
gon. allied anywhere from .t,miO,O00 ' unpaid taxes on the land and the am-
to -"o.;hki.(mio. lltlts re,.,.ivcil ,V ,e r0!U, flir Kn(H in
I he Southern J'acitic riilway once ex, ess of the $2.."0 an acre it was il
hold title as a gift from the 1'nited lowed bv law to charge.
Slates, but the r-iilrofiil fniln.t in ,.,..f : V.. :i . i. .. . i .
, r ...
the terms ot the gitt, namely, tint the;
Hand should be sold at tL'.-in nn acre to '
-'-iiictrai seuieis, ami tne to, or i court 1
,,-..,,-,, iiiiiiis icniciicu. i oe pn. I iiv the government.
The supreme court, upholding the A bill now is pending to provide for
lower courts in part, loft it to con- ad( aaciag monev to pav three years'
gross to determine just wiiat should be ! taxes on the land. Tho railroad has re
done with the laud. The house public fused to pay these taxes and the gov
lands committee, after hearing evidence ! eminent advance of tax monev will be
am! arguments from all sorts uf inter-'Move the Orgon land grint" counties
ested parties, including the inilroid, the from serious embarrassment,
government and representatives of sot-1 Out of the maze of conflicting ron
tlers. is now working on a bill to meet tcntions it has been decided that actual
the situation. (settlers are to keep title to the land
The committee basvihout decided not 'sold so far. But the date by which set
to sell the valuable timber land in-! tiers must have been on tiie land has
eluded in the tract at 2..1 an n-re. but ; not been determined. Those settlors
to sell it separitelv to the highest bid-; who choose the purelv igriciiltural laud
dor. Secretary of the Interior I.ane is are to be allots, Uio' acres. Those who
expected to imve actual charje of the cet Jieavilv timbered In ml will tin ,il-
-work and to decide 'the time of the' lowed 40 "acres with tho privilege of
"a- jbiiyiiigup to 1 ISO acres bv paving market
The basis for nny legislation by the prices tor the timber,
committee will be the bill introduced by Claims of Portland. Corvallis and ot'.i
Hepieseatalive Kerris. This bill, ex- or cities who fear their witor sniii.lv
IV.- i I... l.- .... . .... . .... .... 11 -.
"I-' mi iiiiii-niciinic, n.l me iiiiuriii-.i
general, is like the one introduced by
Skii llur ( ion. ....U.ii Inn
enilor I uaiiiborlaiu. In accptiiiL' t he
1'orris bill as a Keynote, the committee i
decided its power to reinvest title to
the I'nitisl Slates in the 2,:!oo.00o acres
ol' land involved.
When the timber on the land is sold,
i. e i.imi wim oe oitero.i to einrv Dy tot-1
nt - " " ',pr- lerms to
COLD N EL BEBTAN1
SENOIHLA
IS SURROUNDED
Consul Garcia to Whom Re
port Was Sent Is Optimis
tic and Says:
"VILLA CANNOT ESCAPE
HIS CAPTURE IMMINENT"
' Another Report Places Him
109 Miles From Where He
Is "Surrounded"
By E. T. congle.
(I'nited Press stuff correspondent.)
El Paso, Texas, Mar. 24. Francisco
f I V ilia is reported surrounded, lie may
I be engaged in battle by American
forces today.
According to a message from Colonel
J j Bortani, CnrraTiyistas routed Villa east
'of Xamiquipa, and the bandit chief war
-Is i then pnvelonorl hv Tll.rfnni'o tlnnru Bil l
....... -.. . . ,v ........... ..V,,,,.,
the Americans under Brigadier General
John J. Pershing.
Consul Garcia made public Bcrtaai's
report, -stating that u was impossible
for Villa to escape the trap, and that
his capture was imminently expected.
Villa will fight to the death to avoid
rapture, it is believed here. Garcia-
said the bandit might try to escape
during the night.
In his report, Bcrtani said Villa re
treated toward El Oso, five mih's south
of Xamiquipa, after a fight in which
he lost several and killed 100 horses.
The Americans co-operating with the
Carranzistas against Villa aro believ.'d
to be either Colonel Dodd's or General
Pershing's men who were sent south
ward from I asas - Grandes in troop
trains over tne .Mexico Southwestern
railroad.
Went Through Train.
Jose Flores, arriving at El Paso, de
clared Villa boarded- a railroad train
near Moctczuma and stalked through
the cars, declaring ho would kill all
Americans aboard. No Americans were
found. Villa also informed the passen
gers that. General Luis Herrern had
joined him. The preponderance of opin
ion, however, is that Herrera is loyal
to Carraaza. Arrivals from Chihuahua
City saw him Tuesday. Telograais from
Chihuahua City officials quote Herrera
as vigorously asserting his loyalty.
Other re porta was Herrera was angry
because hc had been deposed as Chi1
huahiia garrison commander. He was
considered anti-American and wis said
to have made an auti-Americin speech
at Parral recently. Bines fhn lumor
of his defection Herrera is said to have
declared Americana have no rilit to
enter Mexico in pursuit of Villa, but
that ia spite of his belief on that sub-
(Continued on Page Nine.)
-wi iiiurii cuiisiucrniMlll lias UCCI1 gn -
en tiie rnilroad's offer to compromise
the affair for .f 10,000,000, with the
n.l, , si i.n ut;,, tlmt ii, .,r,i.i )...-,..
sources win ne polluted, will lie met
either by putting the watershed land I
. r r . . . . ... .
in reserve or offrinir it tn the .;ii,.. al
t."io an acre.
To Senator Chamberlain's clnssifica-
tion of the land timber, agricultural
ind mineral Secretaries Lane and l
Houston would add power sites. The I
coninnltee is expected to praiit with
set-J.lrawal of power sites for development. 1
HALF OF VOTERS
REGISTERED
About one-half of tie voters
of Slariou county have register- -
ed for the primaries and onlv 21
morc days remain to place their
names on the books before April
IS. Up to .March IS a total of
8.73.1 had registered in thU
county of which 5,711 were
males and 3,002 were 'females.
During the last week 580 males
and 471) females or a total of
l.OiiS had registered which is
abont the largest week's busi-
ness since the books have been
opened. An unprecedented rush
is expected during the last few
days at the county cleric j of-
fice and those who wait ,-i.til
the eleventh- hour are umWit-
edly due for a long wait io line
before the registration clerks.
OF CARRANZISTAS
3,000' Mexican Cavalry and
40 Pieces of Artillery Only
Half Mile Away
Washington. Mar. 24--Mexicans have
40 cannon ami .'l.ono cavalrymen very
close to the center of Doughs, Arizona,
according to n telegram received by
.Senator Ashurst today from D. A. Rich
ards, an attorney of that city. "The
Mexican general iias 40 pieces of artil
lery and .1,000 cavalry stttioned 10
blocks from tile center of Douglas,"
said the message, "lie has 7,000 cav
alry stationed six miles south of Doug
las. We have only bSOO infantry, :!00
cavalry and four pieces of artillery.
Our troops are stationed two miles
oast o. Douglas. 1 am reliably in
formed it would require an hour for
them to- reach Douglas in case of at
tach. "Our army his been forbidden by
the administration to make any active
defense preparations for fear the Mexi
cans might misconstrue them. The
Mexica is are eutreuehed against the
1'nited Slates side. They have birbed
wire entanglements iu place.
"We have no .entrenchments. The
Mexicans could easily repeat the Col
umbus massacre here on a much larger
scale, and return to Mexico with a
smaller loss. All these statements may
be verified by our army officers here.
Help us if you can before it is too
late."
Odds and Ends of
"Mexican Affairs
Douglas, Ariz., Mar. 24. All was
quiet in Douglas and Agua Prieta today
following reports that 2,000. de facto
troops were ea route to the town from
the south. Those forces failed to ap
peart Cantu Stands by Carranza.
San Diego, Cab, Mar. 24. Governor
(.a nt ii, of Lower California, today tele
graphed the local Mexican consul denv
ing reports that ho (Cantu) would es
tablish an independent territory in
i.ower i a u torn ia in case of troub e be
tweon the l'nilod Stntes and Mexico.
Cantu affirmed that he would remain
loyal to tarranza.
Wireless StatW But Out.
San Antonio, Texas, Mar. 24. Twenty-five
small stations netir here have
been dismantled by the government to
day. If amateur operators interfere
with General I'ershing 's wireless com
miniications, the order are. to immedi
ately dismantle the offending equti
ments.
Herrera Still on Job.
Washington, Mar. 24. General l.uis
tlerrera is still military commnnder of
Chihuahua City. He is not heading a
revolt against Carranza, according to
state department messages from Consul
l.atchcr todav.
Report From Pershing,
San Antonio, Texas, Mar. tit. Two
columns of American troops, have
reached Xaniiqiiipa, according to a wire
less report from Brigadier General John
J. I'ershing, filed at Casus Grandes to
day. The message was not decoded un
til this afternoon. It mentioned no
fighting, but stated Francisco Villa
hnd recently been reported in that re
tfion.
General Pershing has established an
advanced base nt El Vnllc, according to
his wireless report. Wind and dust
storms prevented the army aeroplanes
from leaving Casus Grande.
Headquarters this afternoon noxious
ly awaited the decoding of another im
portant drpatih from Perilling.
BROKE MILK RECORD
Woodl imi, Cal., Mar. 21. If Tilly Al
cartra. a member of the llolsteiu fam
ily of the A. W. Morris stock farm, near
here, were possessed of human intellect
she would probablv be afflicted today
. . 1 .. . . ...
h a "swelled head. '
lly. it was announced todav broke
a world's milk record. During the pist
two years she has yielded 00,278 pounds
of milk from which 2.H70 47 t.numln nf
butter wore produced. This is a now
two vear record.
Till v nl-o holds tne
one record
J.
TURNED TURTLE
A. G. Crossan With Mercer
Not Badly Hurt, Being
Thrown Clear of Car
BUT IT STRUCK MERCER
CRUSHING HIS SKULL
Accident Happened This
Morning As They Were
Going to McMinnville
I.loyd J. Mercer, an employe of the
Oregon Hop Growers' association, re
siding at .133Q, Marion street, in this
city, was instantly killed at 8::J0 this
morning when his ear turned turtle on
the McMinnville road about four miles
on this sido of McMinnville. Mercrir
nnd A. G. Crossman, also in employe
of the association, were go.u to Mc
Minnville on business and wer-j liavel
ing along the macadam road a, a mod
erate rate of speed v.heu the left hand
side of tho car p.Up, d int.- the dihii
along tho side . ,li loiuio Mmicr,
v ho was driviai; attempted ul. ( in.
the car back -nlo t'.e road w.th n.t
slackening his i-poo. 1 and Ins tun. wi
too abrupt for the slippery condition
of the road.
Suddenly the car turned over on its
top, tossing both of tne occupants clear
of the machine. The car continued t
roll and righted itself, stnnding on its
wheels ready to run and directly ovei
Mr. Crossan, who escaped wilh a dis
located thuaib and a few minor scratch
es. As soon as Mr. Crossan could i rawl
out from under the machine o. made- his
way to where .Mr, Moreer lay whom lie
found already dead. Mercer's lead hi
been crushed like an egg shell and it is
not known what part of the car hit him.
though it is probable that the back of
the seat struck his head as it lay o-i
the macadam road. The force oil hi"
fall from the machine, was not -Suf
ficient to crush his skull in tin marne
ir. which it was disclosed utii" t lie a"
cident.
Crossan called for assistance and a
faraier who lived near came up and
finding Crossan practically unhurt and
Mercer dead hastened to telephone for
aid from McMinnville. When the doctor
and the coroner arrived they cranked
up the car which had been in the ac
cident and it was found that it was
not injured in any particular and ti ls
d'iven back to town without repii-s.
Mr. Mercer was u young man who
had heea recently married and is sur
vived by a wulow. Ilia parents rc-sidi
at Donald where they conduct a hotel
He had been employed by the Hoi
Growers' association for about four
months and was highly recommended
by tho officers of the association .is a
steady reliable young man of good halt-
its. No funeral arrangements have
been announced. The Pojk county cor
oner took charge of the remains.
tsan I-'rancisco, Mar. 21. How would
you like to be a sailor and wake up in
the night to find a beaut iful brunette
beseeching you to desert tho ship and
elope with hort
That's what happened to the prow of
the steamer Mhohalis when it touched
at, the island of Tahiti, according to
Walter Hall, of Phoenix, Ariz., who ar
rived here today from the trop'cs on
the liner Moana.
Hall declared that practically all the
men of Tahiti have gone to tho Euro
pean war, leaving the girls home all
alone with several million dollars worth
of plantations to manage. On this ac
count Tahiti has come to be known as
an "Adiimlcss Eden."
When the Cliehalis steamed iu with a
cargo of "Adams" aboard, said Had.
iiitiny of the Talntian munleni ( rept oul
from their bosky dolls nud alinohl. kid
napped some of the seamen,
Waite Confesses and
Expects to be Executed
N'cw Vork: March 'H Dr Arllior
W'rirren Wuitc. hiihiiccIii,I nf liillimr hi
wealthy father-in-law. John H. Pock, ol
Grand liapids, told District Attorney
Swnnn this afternoon that Pock win
lonely after the death of his wife and
asked Waite to buy him poison.
Waite denied, however, that ho hai.'
administered the poison personally.
"I expected to go to the electric
chair as the result of this Attrition, ' he
said, "and that nobody will IioIm .i
LLOYD
KILLED
If CAR
my -story, I can't prove it and I ar-i
sorry that I did not Jie. '
This iiidicutes that thu opiite hi
ENGLAND REf 0S.;ES
Washington, Mar. 24. The al
lies joint reply to the state de
partment's proposal that mer
chantmen be disarmed was re
ceived today. It ia understood
4m the highest authority that
tiie proposition was not accept
ed. The reply, it is said, rtat-is
that the present situation ar.l
conditions of naval warfare
would, not warrant the sub-,
jeetion of peaceful tradin ves
sels to the risks which might
follow disarmament.
.
His
Ragamuffin "Army"
Is
Afraid of Villa, Join the
Army to Eat
By H. C, Boelime.
(Tinted Press staff correspondent.)
Douirla's. Ariz.. Mm- Ol " VI,
haven't Carranza forces captured Vil
lut" This (lliestioil whic.i luis bemt mount.
ed all over the United States, today was
asked hv a former Villa b-ndur nl th
time when the now hunted bandit was
the chief figure in JicxFco.
This Villi-sta. livilio- Incorrnito horn
ill Dourflas. us are hundreds nf other.
ponited across the international line,
a mile nwny nnd said:
"Go there! Ask to be shown the ol.
diers of the facto government and you
win see the answer. They're nfraidl"
In Airun Prietn acros tlm linn :tnfi
Carranzi.'ltn troous worn drilling Tlinir
colonel, a large man in white duck suit
was tne only individual of the assemb
lage who from appearances might be
ranked as a soldier, One of the of
ficers, a captain, wore gold braid, while
the remainder of his "slaff" wcro
indistinguishable from tho "column "
The trooners mostlv tnvo Tndinnu in
the tattered gray-green uniforms pro-
viuoit mem, tne pictu.o or poverty, look
ed afraid. The worldlw vvcnltl, f tli,,n
soldiers is the bandolier of hulletr
which girdles their waists or crosses
their breast. Three-fourths of the coun
tenances which faced about at the com
mand "front" were pitted with the
marks of smallpox while the teeth, and
eyes, nnd limbs of the -soldiers showed
tho blight of other diseases which have
ravaged Mexico since the Madero revo
lution five years ngo.
Few wore anything more than trous
ers and jumpers. Most of the troopers
arc barefoot and wear primitive sand
als. Lately many of the saadals have
been made from dis, urdod automobile
tires.
"Why do you fight?" tho inter
preter asked several,
"Acomer!" (to eat) was the answer
in each case.
The most energetic and spirited or
the "soldiers" Were the " miiohnelios '
(boys'!. More than a scorn not more
than 1.1 years of age. were counted.
Psuallv these children-soldiers were
inches shorter than the heavy rustc-'
rifles they toted about.
These are the soldiers, wlil. l, v;ii;.t.
claim are afraid of their hunted chief
Paris Exchange Slumps
Berlin Rises, Market Dull
N'cw Vork, Mar. 21, The New Voih
Evening Sun's financial review todav
said:
The only feature that attracted mori
Hum passing attention was the further
sharp decline of exchange on Paris io
incident with firmer Merlin rates ','he
decline reached the mark of 5.II-S Iranct
to the dollar against a normal fig-ir.
of Ji.lH I U. This is the lowest since
September.
Thero was no explanation, but the
event recalled rumors of Franc.' desir
ing to negotiate another loan ot i;ei
further credit from America. While
enjoying as high credit ns Engjim!
Franco is ut u disndvantaL'e tlir.i'i - u, i
having a lurge available supo!' of our
securities. .
Herlin exchange w'ent ' to 71 11-10
cents for four marks as against Wed
nesday low record of 77 1H
War stocks and specialties d-velopod
a reactionary tendein-. Central Pacific
.New ork Centra . Southern P.icil'ie
and I'll ion Pacific were strong icut.rcii
in I up lorenuoii interval but the market
was narrow and attracted little, att -n-tioa
from the outside having, ixusihlv
because foreign selling developed up
on every recent turn upward.
Stool was inactive. Lackawanna
steel broke sharply on the directors'
'failure to act with 'regard to dividends.
The activity diminished in the ni'tcr
noon. This was attributed to oonl'iiN;nir
and unfavorable reports from Mexi.io
American zinc, reacted on the announce
ment of tho company's pnrpimo nf iss-i-ing
new preferred stock for 50 per cent
dividend common,
swallowed was taken with the intention
of ending his life.
When Waite purchased the arsei-ic,
he explained to the d"ig.iist, that he
wanted it 'for a distur i.ng cat
"I gave tho poison i P-ck iu tie
original package,'' It-? mid.
District Attorney Swnnn expressed
the opinion that WaiiM s st.iti-i.ient is
tantamount to a confi-ni in of first de
gree murder.
RUSSIANS TRYING
minis
AFID LIQUID FIRE
Kuropatkin Making Desperate
Attempt to Force Germans
to Fall Back
FIERCE ATTACKS MADE
AROUND DEAD MAN'S HILL
Paris Believes Final Decisive
Action Has Been Begun
In Verdun Section
Fetrograd, Mar. 2t. Poison una
bombs and liquid fire, tho Germaas own
weipona are being used by the Russians
against Germans holding the salient
nenr Jaeobstadt, messages from tho
front said today.
Savage fighting was reported at this)
point, which is eighty miles southeast of
Higa. Simultaneously with their gas
bomb nnd liquid fire artacks on Teuton
trenches there, the Russians are vin
lontlly attacking Fricdricjstadt and II
luxt. General Kuropatkin 's aim is appar
ently to -sqiicezo out Field Marshal Von
Hindonburg's troops by threatening tn
envelop them, thus forcing a retreat on
tho-lierman line from Riga to Dvinsk.
a front of 111) miles. Success thera
would remove the German threat
against Riga and Dvrtisk, and handicap
any offensive Von Iliiideiiburg may un
dertake later.
According to the best information.
this smash ia not the beginning of a.
great Russian offensive. Houth of tli
Dvinsk tho Germans aro making coun
ter moves, and have halted tho Hlavs.
Genornl Ivanoff is not meeting serious
resistance in clearing Austrian troops
from tho north bank of tho Dneistcr.
Trench Position Provarions,
London, Mar. 2-1. Germans have re
sumed their attacks northwest of Ver
dun according to Pnhis dispatches to
day, the Teutons started hurling ahells
lit trench, trenches south of .Mu!an-
court and Dead Man's hill. French guns
replied.
Paris believes the decisive action in
that section has begun. Germans aru
battering the French in Avoc.ourt wood,
Tho crown prince has aiinecneded io
bonding tho trench front until it form-
a dangerous loop. Herlin messages as
sorted the French position was-precarious.
Great ArtiLary Duel.
Paris, Mar. 24. French nrtillery kept.
up a bombardment, of Germans in wood
south of Malaiic.ourt during tho night,
snid today's official communique. The
German infantry failed to appear.
Tho rest of the front northwest of
Verdun was reported calm. West of th"
Meuso an intermittent bombardment
was directed against Dounumont nnd
Dnmlnup. The artillery firing on Wopv
ro Plain wns the most violent since tbo
fighting around Monlainvillo and Sp
urges. A shell crntcr in the Argonne forest
wns occupied by Frcncn after a sharp
fight. Flsewhere there were no in -portiyit
actions last night.
May Have Boon Sea Fight.
Amsterdam, Mar. 2 1. Flushing cor
respondents of Amsterdam newspapers
reported sounds of heavy firing in th"
Knglish channel today. The noise seem
ed to come from the directions of ()s
tend ami Westende.
Incoming skippers today reported
that gunfire flashes wcro visible on
tho horizon during tho night. They
believe an iniportnnt naval engagement
is being fought.
Capture Two Trenches,
Berlin, Mnr. 21. Advancing to force
evacuation of French positions north
west of Verdun, Germans enptured two
more trenches in the llaiicourt region, it
was officially amiouiiced today.
Violent Russian attacks all day yes
terday and during the night, southeast
of Riga, near Dvinsk were broken
down by German fire.
)tsC!E3C3C!(tC)C5Cl4tlS)l!.(fi.(l'l'
Oregon- To
night raiu went,
inroasing c'oudi
ness east por
tion; Saturday
rain west, rain
or snow cast por
tion; southerly
winds.
it