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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1917)
i 4,400 SUBSCRIBERS TODAY'S 1' WEAHER (22,000 BEABEBS) DALLY Only Circulation In Salem Guar anteed by tha Audit Bureau of Circulations. FULL LEASED WIRE DISPATCHES SPECIAL WILLAMETTE VAX LEY NWj gEKVIOE Oregon: Tonight end Friday eloudy and prob . rain; aouth wester ly winds, FORTIETH YEAR NO. 254 SALEM, OREGON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25,-1917 BEIGE TWO CENTS ON TRAINS AND NEW RTANDR FIVE CTCNT8 'm do i wo TcT) VIS!? " PWe"!" DECISIVE BATTLE ON ITALIAN FRONT IS IN PROGRESS Austro-German Army Making Supreme Effort to Drive Italians Back ITALIANS ADMIT LINE ON LEFT IS BROKEN French Advance Further To ward Laon It Is Officially . Announced .. Washington, Oct. 25. One of the de cisive battles of the war is apparently being fought today on the Bainsizza plateau, where the Austrians, with twenty fresh divisions, containing many Gorman contingents, are on the offen sive. General Cadorna, Italian high com Jiiauder, with reinforcements of French mid British troops, is prepared to hold :the Italian positions at all costs, offi cial Kome cables reported. Italian officials declared the'Austro Oermans are willing to sacrifice thous ands of their troops for gains on the Isonzo that would bo heralded in the Teuton press to strengthen the people's morale. German aerial squadrons are strongly represented on the mountain battle ground. Ono German flyer was brought down, said the Borne cables. King Albert of Belgium, expected to visit the Italian front soon, may arrive in time to witness the great battle. Italian Left Broken. Borne, Oct. 25. Austro-German troops " broke through the Italian lines to the left of the Isonzo today's official state niciit announced. To the west of Volnik on the western slope of Mount Santo Gabriel the en-t-jiy was cheeked, the war office stated. The Teutonic gains, it was explained, were achieved by the enemy taking ad vantage of the bridgehead positions at Binaria Slucca. In violent fighting, the Austro-German troops carried the battle to the slopes of the right band of the Isonzo. Every dispatch from the frontv em phasized . the great concentration of German and Austrian forces on the whole -of the attacking front a Bector of approximately eighteen miles. The in fantry attacks were preceded by violent artillery preparation, mostly by heavy German guns. The German Version. Berlin, Oct 25 Austro-German troops successfully stormed Italian positions on the Isonzo front between Flitch and Tolmino, the war office officially an nounced this afternoon. The positions captured, the war of fice said, are situated on Bteep mountain elopes barring the roadway to the sur rounding valley. They were scaled and captured by Teuton troops, despite des perate Italian resistance. Ten thousand prisoners, including a lri$ade and a divisional staff of the Italian army, have already been cap tuied in the Austro-German drive in thn Isonzo, the war office announce! totay. 'Much rich booty" also has been lakeii, the statement asserted. This is the first timo the German war office official reference to opera J.ins against Italy. French Still Advance. . Paris, Oct. 25. General Petain's vic- ( Continued on page nine.) ABE MARTIN t ' ff1 rff poxirio- ' in. Hi -ttw ' Jt a .,. .1 One o' th' best wvs t' serve yonr country if you can 't git in th- army is t' ferget your polities. TheT's lots o' fellers walkin' aronnd that ought t' b drafted into a pressin' club. ; y , r ... : ' ' ' Q Hl, Tbi BwtwrflsM trad feu ' M ' ""CXyi.AJ " -TT- I, r FEAR OF INSANITY CAUSE OF REJECTION Of MANY RECRUITS Special Attention Paid to Mental Condition of Men In Draft Army . By George Martin (United Press staff correspondent) Washington, Oct. 25. Prom one and one half to five per cent oi' all Amer ican troops thus far examined have been dischyarged because war service abroad probably would drive them in sane. , . ' That statement is made on the au thority Major Pearce Bailey, medic al reserve corps. Disclosure of those figures today show the first concrete result of Surgeon General Gorgas' de termination to weed out the potential ly inBane from American fighting forc es before they get into action. ' Two hundred neurological brain spe cialists are carefully scrutinizing ev ery trooper for signs of mental disease which would drive him insane in ac tion, "but which ordinary medical ex aminers would overlook. Amone British troops where this forehanded weeding out .was not done, Major Bailey declared, one seventh of all discharges are due to mental or nervous disorders. . The diseases for which these sanity specialists look include mental defects, epilepsy, psychopathic personality, po tential insanity and vencrally diseased condition of the central nervous sys tem. Many ofthese borderland cases, Bailev said, were caught by examina tions just before the men sailed for France. ' ' By such precautionary methods, ' ' said Major jpailey, "the army is now developing men of the highest profes sional training, who, alter tne war, will go back to their civil employments far mere compotent than when they left them." General Gorgas was led to establish these examinations, Major Bailey said, because statistics showed three out of every thousand soldiers go insane at home in peace time; six to seven of every thousand in war service at home and an undetermined, though larger, number among troops serving in for eign lands Gorman insanity on the Boxer cam paign, Major Bailey said, reached fifty men er thousand. There were, he add: ed, more than 1700 eases of insanity among the Japanese troops at the siege of Port Arthur. "There is a large class of people," said Major Bailey, ' who will break under the strain, anxiety and horror of modern warfare. By keeping them out, the army's strength is greater, few er men fall ill, smaller personnel is re quired and much expense and trouble is saved. . News that the - horseshoe rs hare managed to get a boost in their stipend will gladden the horseshoe pitchers of America, who) have long contemplated the antomobile as the menace of their favorite pastime. "UNEASY LIES THE HEAD NEW CHANCELLOR NOT YET SELECTED BY KAISER WILHELH Berlin Press Discusses Situa tion Freely, Showing x Political Discord By John Grandena (Unied Press staff correspondent) Berlin, via London, Oct. 25. Kais er William has not yet made his decis ion as to the chancellorship. The Berlin press today was filled with exhaustive discussion of the wHiolo cabinet 'crisis !?rith varying guesses at the outcome. The kaiser, it was stated, is studying the situation in detail and doe not desire to continue the friction between Chancellor Mich aelis and various political groups long er than necessary. The newspaper Taeglische Rund schau today asserted that Chancellor Michaelis does not regard his resigna tion as required by present conditions. United Press dispatches yesterday from London quoted a wireless press dispatch from Amsterdam as stating that Chancellor Michaelis had tender ed his portfolio to the kaiser. The above dispatch, direct from Berlin, would seem to confirm this report. Sinn Fein Convention Cause of Apprehension London, Oct. 25. Opening of the Sinn Fein convention in Dublin today aroused anxioty here in view of the disquieting conditions now reported in Ireland. Ie was not known here wheth er the convention was secret; who would be the delegates or what would bo the purpose of the gathering. In flammatory action at this time, how ever, was regarded as distinctly men acing the smooth adjustment of the ever turbulent Irish situation, which, seemingly, is in sight, through deliber ations of the general Irish parliamen tary convention. i London newspapers devoted consid erable attention today to the American arrests of Sinn rein plotters. They were regarded as of extreme import- ance, tending to frustrate a carefully. planned revolt. Many arrests, is was stated, are being mads by the British authorities, presumably on evidence obtained by the American secret ser vice.' - - "- VILLA COMES TO LIFE. El Paso, Tex., Oct. 25. Franeiseo Villa, with 700 bandit followers, raided a number of small towns south of Par-, ral yesterday, according to reports re ceived today at mining companies' , headquarters hire. The bandit leader permitted his men to carry off a number j or women, tne reports saia. viua loreea are now encamped along the Bio Flor ida river. Threats to attack Parrel and Chihuahua City have been made by Villa. Japanese Steamer Possibly . Lost In Indian Ocean (By Balph . XL Turner) (United Press Staff Correspondent) Tokio, Oct. 25. The Japanese steam er Hitachi Mara, dm at Durban, Natal, from Colombo, Ceylon, on October 7, has not been heard from since Septem ber 24, and it is feared she has been lost in the Indian ocean. She carried 27 sa loon passengers, one of whom was an American. Tokio, Oct. 25. A Japanese steamer bound from London to Capetown was at tacked twice off Land 's End, September 29, by German submarines, according to advices today from "Capetown. The Japanese steamer gave fight to theU-boats and one of her shots, des troyed the perioscope of one submar ine. The first attack was by a single submarine, but two U-boats participated in the second. FOOD ADMINISTRATION TELL OF BRITISH BREAD Explain Why Bread Is Sold . Cheaper ia England Than Over Here Washington, Oct. 25. The English consumer buys bread made from Ameri can wheat at nearly half the price Am ericans pay here because a British gov ernment subsidy keeps the prices down. Also the English bread is only sixty five per cent Jia. pure as American. No American food product is being sold in England as cheaply as in the United States unless under government sub sidy. This explanation was made, today by the food administration. It was mads after attention had been called to Un ited Press figures from London which showed the English housewife is actual ly paying lower prices for many staples than the American housewife is obligod to pay. England fixed maximum wholesale and retail prices in a manner impossible under American law, the food adminis tration pointed out. Its statemont, ex clusively to the United Press, flayed certain American retail dealers. "The price asked for sugar by some merchants is without justification," it said. "Many retailers are conducting their business on proper lines and the whole trade must not be condemned for a few pirates." The reasons for England's lower food prices on many necessities of lit were given thus: The prices of praetically alt esientials foods in England are now under gov ernment control, with profits for hand ling fixed very closely upon a pre-war basis. While it is true that England is sell ing bread cheaper than in the United States, it is only because the govern ment is making up the difference by subsidy. The government- makes good an absolute loss on every loaf of bread that passes over the counter at the English regulafed price. The bread, com- THREE BILLIONS ID A HALE NOW TOTAL OF LOAN Flood of Gold Fkws Into United States Treasury From All Sources PRESIDENT CF PANAMA AND CABINET SUBSCRIBE Oregon Passes Minimum Mark Set and Is Still Going Onward Strongly Washington, Oct. 25. AU indications at noon today wore that the liborty loan had passed the $3,500,000,000 mark. Bo- ports to the treasury department Btate that the entire nation is roused to the! highest fervor and if the same spirit continues, the five billion dollar goal will be reached by Saturday night. . v "New mines of currency throughout the country were tapped today, " the treasury department announced today. "Bricks came out of the fireplace and the old yarn sox containing the family savings followed it. The farmers came to town and bought, though it must be admitted some of them did not come until a ride was provided." Banks and local committees through out the country have been swept off their feet by the bond rush. Thousands telegraphed "ruus" of bond purchasers Were taking place. From Panama, Hawaii and the Phil ippines reports of brisk sales were re ceived. Convicts in prisons offered up their savings for bonds, ' The president of the Panama repub lic and all his cabinet subscribed. Lagging districts in the middle west and south are "coming through with flying colors" H: was officially au- nounouu. . , . ij j. , Blazing ahead m spite of some pro-' Germanism and apathy, the St. Louis district has already passed its mini mum quota of 120,000,000. Beporta by Districts. Today 'a Previously Subscriptions Boported Chicago .. 3,450,000 $152,000,000 New York 25,000,000 13,961,900 1,000,000 430,000 12,000,000 1,066,900 1,139,150 812,850 935,000,000 Cleveland () .. S. 'Frisco .......... Oklahoma City Dallas, Tex Columbus, O. .. Indianapolis ...... Milwaukee ' 48,063,100 45,000,000 2,637,000 29,000,000 4,540,150 8,746,350 21,809,350 11,140,850 Portland, O. . 3,450,800 () Quota passed; goal now $80,000,000 Minimum iaPassed. Washington, Oct. 25. The Now York, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis fed eral reserve districts passed their mini mum Quotas in the liberty loan drivo, the treasury department announced this afternoon. The Chicago, Kansas City, Cleveland and Richmond districts are also thought to have passed their low marks, but their returns are not yet complete. A flood of reports sweeping into na tional headquarters indicated that the triumphant momentum started on hd ertv dav. if continued, will carry the campaign to the five billion mark. New York's Big Boost. New York, Oct. 25. Now York's do fnvraH lilmrtv dav celebration bid fair to go through without a hitch today. The principal events are' a "raid" on the city by the Italian Caproni war plane; a parade up Fifth avenue, with a veteran British tank in line, and a celebration around' the captured Gorman submarine in Central Park. Secretary Daniels will review the Fifth avenue parade, afterward going to the park to christen the submarine U-buy-a-bond. Captain Besnati was scheduled to ..to Irnm finonla in hia iriant Carj- roni, carrying eight men, shortly before noon. He planned to soar over the sky scrapers, hurling down liberty loan "bombs." These events were postponed yester day on account of rain, but despite the storm, New York gathered $120,000,000 in subscriptions, making its total $935, 000,000. Oregon to The Front. Portland, Or., Oct. 25. With a whoop Oregon pacvd its minimum liberty loan (Continued on page eight.) pared with American requirements, is less than 65 per cent pure. The first appropriation to meet the deficit caus ed by this program amounted to $200, 000,000. All meats in England are under gov ernmental regulation with maximum pri ces fixed and profits allowed retaiers very small. . Some wholesale prices not so favor able from the English standpoint were given. English cheese is declared to be 38 eents per pound, as compared with 26 eents in this eountry; butter 54 eents against 43 1-2 in the United States and the regulation priee of milk in England is sixteen eents per quart. Soldier Says Camp Charlotte All Right , Nothing to Worry Over A lotter has been received by Mrs. Walter L. Spaulding from Will G. Ms Bae of Camp Greene, Charlotte, tell ing of conditions with the boys in the army. He says that the stories in the pa pers about conditions at Charlotte should not give the women anything to worry about.. He thinks the people must have more confidence in Col. May who is devoting his every minute to the care of the boys. - Mr. MadKae also says that the army sanitny authorities, with the help of Charlotte offisials are cleaning house. Although there is occasional reports of sickness, he suggests that with 15,000 troops campod, there would naturally be some, sickness, just as there would be with 15,000 men in civil life. He writes: "I venture to say that if one took a survey of an Oregon town with a population of 15,000, they would not think because there was a daily death, the whole town was striekon. In regard to the accident of Lieuten ant Spaulding he writes:: "Lieut. Spaulding had an accident with tho littlo black horse shortly after his ar rival. He was shook up a bit but not seriously injured. He limped around for a day or two but now he is moving about as spry as any one. With the vast amount of work he has on hand, I venture to say that he hasn't had time to give Charlotte the once over, or even up or. down."' PROPERTY OF CENTRAL ALLIES TO BE SEIZED -!',. t . .1 Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria On Same Basis As Germany Says Mitchell . Washington, Oct. 25. All holdings of subjects of Bulgaria, Turkey and Aus tria in the United States will be seized togothor .with Germans' property. A. Miteholl Palmer, alien property cus todian, announced today, ' ' Palmer's decision regards Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria as enemies, although the United 'States has never formally declared war. against these three al- lios of. Germany. -His Ruling followed' a- series of conferences with treasury de partment officials, at which the scope of trading with the enemy act wa9 care fully studied.1 .... Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria have vast stores of war supplies in the Un ited States. These, as in the case of tho German property, will be affected by Palmer's new ruling. The dividends from their investments also will be turn ed over to the treasury department for investment in future liberty loans. Announcement is expected shortly of local officers who enforced the act in all the principal industrial and shipping centers of the country. Any sort of property belonging to agents or citizens of these countries is subject to seizure. If it apparently is (Continued on page two.) EDISON SPENDS WEEKS A T SEA IN HIS EFFOR T TO DEFEA T U-BOA TS Orange, N. J., Oct. 25--Thomas A. Edison, the veteran inventor, has spent the last ten weeks on the high seas, striving to perfect some means of de feating the submarine, his laboratories announced today. He is now back "anmewhnrrt -in lAnmrica" with the (results of his studies and experiments. First news that the electrical wiz ard had carried his search to the seas was made in a brief statement by Wil liam Maxwell, vice president of Thom as A. Jidison, incorporated, anu gener al manager (if the musical phonograph department, today. It was in connec tion with a stirring appeal to the Am erican peoplo, written by Edison him self, that they buy liborty bonds. . Pleads for Liberty Bonds Edison's liberty bond appeal, receiv ed at his plant from "somewhere in America," where Edison is now work ing, read: "One hundred and forty one years ago our forefathers fought for loss than we are fighting for today. "We have made heroes of the men who fought to make this country free and have branded as cowards and trai tors the men who" refused to fight. Posfcrity will grant similar judgment on the men and women who do not see their duty now and are creating a heart of shame for their children and their children's children. "Germany's place in the sun means nthiilg sliort M wtorld Idomination. Every liberty bond you buy this week is a message from you to the kaiser that his ambition to conquer the world cannot be realized. (Signed) "EDISON." Prior to reading the Edison message Maxwell said: "If there is any man in this eonntry today who tyrrtfies the spirit of 1776, that man in Thomas A. Edison, 70 years old last February. He has been ieivine every moment of his time to W,a crnvArnment. Ha has been on the high seas, working day and night for GERMANS STRIP EAST OF TROOPS TO ATTACK ITALY Line Along Russian Border Cannot Resist Determined Offensive IN THIS WAY LONDON EXPLAINS RUSSIAN GAM Germans Retire From Ad vanced Line After Slight Resistance of Attack London, Oct. 25. Direct eonnectioa between the German retirement on tho Biga front' and the German-waged Aus trian offensive on the Italian front waa scon by observers here today. Germany has now stripped her lines facing the llussians to the thinnest point of which they are capable in order to answer the frantie appeals of .her ally and grant aid against Italy. ' Borliu 's customary sweeping claims of the success of the Austro-German drive on the Bainsizza plateau were not borne out by Italian dispatches. The latter admitted the strength of the- drivo and added that it was under German di rection with German troops and Gorman guns and munitions at the head, but added nothing supporting the German claim of "thousands of prisoners." Complete confidence was expressed in the Italian defense In this connection recent dispatches were recalled detail ing how British and French reinforce ments in men, guns and material wera on their way to the Italian f.ont. For two months, Vienna has beon cla moring for German aid to ease the un yielding Italian menace toward Triebte and Laibach. In the face of successive blows against Austria's military pro- . stige inflicted by Cadorna 's offensive, the peace sentiment has grown to. stead ily in the dual empire as to alarm Em peror Carl and the German military ma chine Evidently it was felt the only way this eould be combatted was to produce news showing Teutonic strength, Therefore, Germany is diverting soma of her precious manpower and munitions to the aid of her ally. Civilians Evacuate Kronstadt. Petrograd, Oct. 25. Civil evacuation of Kronstadt, the main naval fortress guarding Potrograd, was begun today, according to official announcement. ' Kronstadt 's civil evacuation is evi dently in anticipation of a German na val drive toward Petrograd. The fort ress is located twenty miles west of thi Kussian capital on the island of ( Continued an page nine.) America, wherever his duty takes him tirelessly, under all conditions. Soma times his assistants in the laboratory or on the seas with him have com plained, but he has replied to them 'you can stand it if I can.' "Think of it. A man 70 years old noting the pace for young men, Edi son has been so busy on special gov ernment work that until now he hasn't had time ta urge purchase of liberty bonds, although be nas purchased v ery dollar's worth he can afford." Maxwell would nut further discuss Edison's absence, "on tho high sea's" or whether the inventor has perfected an anti-submarine device. He did say, however, that during the ten weeks Edison was at sea be never was sea sick, although frequently bis assist ants were so overcome that they want ed to get aBhore. It waa believed from tne ;act tnas Edison's sea voyage was announced a endod and from strictest reticence at the Edison plant today as to his where abouts, that the inventor had probably found the anti-submarine weapon tor which he has been searching. It was understood that Edison's experiments included duplication as far as possi ble of Germany's submarine warfare methods. Edison spent several weeks on a yacht which had been converted into a submarine chaser- It was equipped on the electrical wizard's own orders with every necessity for working oet his U-boat problems. - His sleepless habits while on inven tion '"jags" ere reported to i have been in evidence for the water trip. But since coming to Washington's most fashionable hotel, he has rested, week ends at his daughter's apart ments, and observed regular hours at his laboratory in the naval annex, where the experiments are receiving their finishing touch.