Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, March 03, 1916, Image 1
®lj t MJlwI w,S cw cclvlj) Sonriittl VOLUME XVIII GORE CHARGES WILSON FAVORS KAISER IS MASSING I 90.000 TROOPS IT' BUZY FOR NEW DRIVE Fort Vaux, Part of Verdun De-, sense, Said to Have Been Destroyed by German Mor-; tars By Associated Press. WASHINGTON. March 2. —From Dutch sources come reports that the German drive is to be resumed from the northeast. 59,000 men having been con centrated near Buzy. behind Fort Vaux. which is said to have been destroyed by the German heavy mortars. Estimates of the German losses in the offensive are running high in en tente quarter*, one from Paris placing them at between 123.000 and 130,000. All accounts from German sources how ever, have declared that their casual ties were surprisingly smalt After a lull in infantry operations in the vicinity of Verdun since the early part of the week there has been a re sumption of the German offensive in th» Woevre region. A violent bombard ment was followed by a spirited attack on the French at Fresnes. ten miles southeast of Verdun. Paris reports the driving out of the Germans from the few positions which they penetrated in their assault. The new attack gives color to what seems to be the prevailing' military opinion in Faris that the German of fensive had merely halted. It also calls particular attention to the Woevre region where the Teutons nave advanc ed along a line south of Douau mont well to the base of the Meuse heights as far as Combres. twelve miles southeast of Verdun. Dispatches from both Berlin and Paris point to the difficulties of a fur their advance in this region. The Frencn ’ position*. Paris points out. stretch | along the heights from which, the ground drops abruptly to the WoeVre plain with its moist clay soil, across which the transport of the heav iest of the German artillery, on ground away from the high roads, is held to b'l almost impossible. while attacking I troops would have to deploy in the * pen under the Are of the French guns on the heights. Berlin commentators however, ad-i vance the view that the Teutons have previous*? shown that similar disad vantageous conditions couM be »'*ccee£ fully -met. the storming of the heigh lust to the south by the Germans m *l4 when St. Mihiel was captured being pointed to in this connection. German Lose 125.000 Men at Verdun, Says Paris <Bv Associated Press ) PARIS. March 2.—The exact figures jf the French losses at Verdun have been given to the committee of military -ffairs of the chamber of deputies by Ctlonel Boucabeille. chief secretary to General Gallieni. minister of war. It la rated that they were not high. The Petit Parisien says that the Ger tian losses to date in the Verdun sight ’s amount to between 125.090 and and constitute about one-third ot ;he'German effectives actively employed. Vaux, One of Verdun Forts, Destroyed by German Shells |J)ND<»N. March 2. —An Amsterdam j.i-patch to the Central News says that bort Vaux, five miles to the northeast of Verdun, has t.-ecn destroyed by heavy mortars. according to unconfirmed Ger man reports, but that the Germans can not approach the fort, as the French lave brought heavy artillery to hear on the approaches.' It is added that a ■ ter man oattcry has been destroy**. French shells and that the Germans I ate concentrated 99,990 men near Busy, j who are to resume the offensive with :»Enforcements from the Argonne. Buzy is about sixteen miles to the east of Veidun. German Official Statement Says Situation. Is Unchanged BERGIN. March 2. < *ia London.) —. The official German statement of today *ays the French sacrificed men unsuc cessfully in a counter attack on Fort ; I>oiiiuinont,*one of the outlying defenses of Verdun which was captured by the | Germans. The situation on the Franco-Belgian, front, the communication says, is un- ’ changed. Would Promote Naval Officers By Selection By Associated Press. WASHINGTON. March 2.—l*romotion nf naval officers of higher rank by se lection instead of the rule of seniority •etd a A* per rent Increase in officers of r.i grades during the next five years to meet the expansion program are recom- to congress in a bill drafted o » the personnel board of the navy | and transmitted by Secretary Dan- • •fflcers would be selected for pro- j by those of the next highest , grade. That, the board believes, will , .•ring about the elimination of politics. • officers in the three lower grades will, not be affecteij. their promotion being ■ontinued under the present system. Secretary Daniels. It is understood. | neither approves nor disapproves the bill, and submitted it to congress mere ly as the board's report. Avalanches Kill Many in Tyrol? Bt Associated P.-«s. ) LONDON. March 2.—A dispatch to the Central News from Amsterdam «ays that twenty persons have been killed and many injured by avalanches in the Southern Tjrol . \Congress Smarts Under Lash of President Wilson BT BAL PH SMITH. WASHINGTON. March 2. —The situ lation in congress respecting America's international relations appeared more confused today, and there is no escaping I the conclusion that the president’s un compromising attitude has aroused a | threatening resentment in the house that was not apparent yesterday. The I Page substitute for the McLemore reso lution warning Americans off armed merchantmen is unsatisfactory to Mr. Wiison. He is unwilling to compromise on a vote of confidence, or even an in dorsement of his exercise of a constitu tional prerogative: he demands a show down on the warning resolution. Congress met this noon with the members smarting under the president’s lash; the rank and file of the house membership as well as leaders were wholly undecided as to what form of resolution will be adopted, or defeated, to give President Wilson the indorse ment he demands. It is the well considered belief here, that in the long run. the president will get some form of indorsement. The Page substitute would have had compar atively easy sailing, it is thought, but the president s determination, which is denounced as "obstinacy" by his critics and opponents, makes its adoption very much in doubt, if not entirely out of the question. Democrats and Republicans who as sert stoutly that they want to vote for a warning resolution admit that in a grave international situation such as now confronts the nation they cannot flout the nation’s head. Patriotism in spires this sacrificial view, tbev say. HOUSE MARKING TIME. Today the house leaders are marking time and seeking delay, and this atti tude is accompanied by confusion mak ing it the chief feature of the situation. The foreign affairs committee wherein action must originate, is without a pro gramme of procedure. A meeting that was to have been held this morning at 10 o’clock was deferred until 3 o'clock, 1 to afford Chairman Flood opportunity , for conference with the president, but instead there was a telephone con versa i tion. The positions of the president and the foreign affairs committee respectfully, have been reversed entirely within the week. When clamor for the passage of i a warning resolution originated in con gress last week, the committee was dis posed to act favorably on the resolution, ■ the president opposed action and , squelched it. Now Mr. Wilson is de -1 manding action and the committee hesi tates. The "White House is applying every pressure at its command to force action in" congress, and there would be com paratively small difficulty in securing action if the president was not so in sistent on a particular form of action. He wants a resolution of warning de feated. and a warning, it may be re peated, is the pet idea of a great number of congress. To flatly defeat such a resolution means stultification for many of them, and means, moreover, all sorts of political difficulties. This applies alike to Democrats and Republi cans who number among their constitu ents thousands of Ger man-Americans. Talk in the house turned to the adop tion of a double-barrellel resolutiog, somewhat after the fashion of the com promise suggested by Judge Adamson of Georgia; that is, a resolution, one half of which would contain an expres sion of confidence in the president and a recognition of his constitutional pre rogative: the other half warning Ameri cans against sailing on armed merchant men as a means of minimizing the diplo matic difficulties of the president. NO COMPROMISE. President Wilson will not be satisfied with any sort of resolution, unless he changes his position. The strength of the president in his present fight wiU congress not only lies in the fact that it is inconceivable that the lerislative branch shall upset his whole foreign policy, but in the • further fact that the president knows exactly what he wants, while congress is all at sea concerning what it wants Mr. Wilson has a definite program and congress has none. No better illustration of this can be found than in the existence of four dif ferent propositions in the house, each ' calling for a distinct form of legisla tive action. They all bear on the armed merchant ship issue. One is a simple bill, requiring executive action if it should pass. Another is a joint resolu tion also requiring executive action. A j third is a concurrant resolution requir ■ ing action by both houses, but none by the president. The fourth is merely a ! house resolution, which does not even go to the senate. The latter is the Mc- Lemore production. The three resolutions all express a warning to Americans not to travel on armed merchant vessels, while the bill prohibits the issuance of passports to < Americans intending to make such voy ages. The diversity of method by which members of the house seek to accomplish one thing greatly weakens them in their fight with the presi dent. who has a special plan for acoom plishing anothet thing. PARTY POLITICS. Party politics enter into the situa tion from various angles. For instance, eleven of the thirteen representatives from Indiana are Democrats and they ail want to stand by the president, if ‘it comes to a showdown. But they want to postpone the showdown* because on j Tuesday next the Indiana primaries are held and they do not want to commit * themselves before that date. There is i a large pro-German element in their : state and they are fearful of its po ' litical line-up. The position of the Republicans In . the house is an unknown quantity. It •is very evident that there is a large proportion of Republicans who are ■ against the president. Last week they would have rallied behind Minority Leader Mann*and helped to defeat the proposal to warn Americans off ships Rut they now believe that the presi dent should have let sleeping dogs lie, and not have stirred them up again by demanding action. Most of the Republicans, if the ques tion were a simple one of expressing confidence In the president would not hesitate to do so. But It is evident that a big blo«-k of them also believe Amer icans ought not to place themselves in danger on armed ships. BRITISH BATTLESHIPS CAPTURE A GERMAN RW IN ATLANTIC z Wireless Intercepts Message Telling of Capture, but It Is Not Clear Whether It Is Moewe or Roon ißy Associated Press.) BUENOS AIRES, March 2.—Press dispatches from Montevideo say that a steamer arriving from Europe inter cepted near the coast of Brazil a wire less message stating that British cruis ers had captured the German axillary cruiser Moewe. The Moewe it is said was taken by the British cruisers to the island of Trinidad. The American steamer Santa Barbara has arrived at Montevideo, her captain making the announcement that a French cruiser which put out from Dakar, on the west coast of Africa, encountered a German raider, name not given, and opened fire on her. Under cover of dark ness the German ship got away. She was, however, damaged on her upper works by the French fire. There is some doubt, however, as to the identity of the German vessel cap tured. Another version of the account is that the vessel is the German cruiser Roon. The Moewe first came into prominence with the arrival at Hampton Roads on February 1 of the British liner Appani, in charge of a German prize crew. She brought word of a mysterious German commerce raider, the Moewe, which was roaming the seas and had captured and sunk seven British merchantmen and admiralty transport, in addition to cap turing .the Appam. Masters of some of the captured merchantmen declared the raider’s real name was the Ponga. Dispatches from the Canary Islands late last month reported the arrival of the British steamer Western with a Ger man prize crew on board, said to be from the Moewe. According to these reports, the Moewe, continuing her activ ities after the capture of the Appam and the seven other British vessels, between January 16 and February 9 sank five British steaingrs off the coast of Brazil. A vigorous search for the supposed Moewe was begun by the British admir alty. She was reported to be a tramp steamship fitted with guns for preying on. commerce of the allies. .The German cruiser Roon was said to have escorted the Moewe when the latter captured the Appam. A report that the Roon had been captured by the British cruiser Drake off Bermuda was published last month, but subsequently was denied. The island of Trinidad is one of the j British West Indies, lying off the coast of Venezuela. Four British Vessels Sunk in North Sea (By Associated Press.) LONDON, March 2. —The sinking of ■ four more vessels was reported today. The crews of three British smacks landed at Lowestoft. Their vessels are said to have been sunk in the North sea. The Italian sailing ship Elisa also is reported to have been sunk. Gen. Gorringe, of British Army, Is Wounded in Fight (By Associated Press.) LONDON, March 2.—Major General George Frederick Gorringe is mentioned in a casualty list just made public here as having been wounded in the fight ing In Mesopotamia. General Gorringe for several years .preceding the present war had been in ; command of a brigade in India. We Think This Combination Is the BEST We Have Ever Offered The Atlanta Semi=Weekly Jotirnal==l2 Months The Semi-Weekly Journal carries complete news reports of the happenings of the world, as reported by the great news-gathering service of the Associated Press. It has a staff of distinguished contributor*:, whose articles are absolutely the best of their kind. No home can be complete without The Semi-Weekly Journal. HOME AND FARM, 12 Months. HOUSEHOLD JOURNAL, 12 Months. Published at Louisville, Ky., especially a magazine for ladies: devoted to house- for Southern farmers. No better farm hold affairs paper can be had. HOME FRIEND, 12 Months. GENTLEWOMAN, 12 Months. A high-class home magazine. A woman s magazine of the best class. Five Big Papers, One Year, for SI.OO ‘ THE RED CIRCLE,” a most re- THE gEMI.WEEKLy JOURNAL, markable story*of romance, heredity, Atlanta, Ga. and philanthropic crime, starts in the Enclosed find $14)0, lor which send me next issue of Ihe Semi-Weekly Jour nal. Send your order for this combi nation today and start reading this story. We honestly believe that you () will derive more than a dollar's worth of pleasure from this storv alone, if J j-. ’ K. F. D state you will read it. ATLANTA. GA., FRIDAY, MARCH 3. 1916. ROOSEVELT BUS USE OF NIME IN ILLINOIS Emphasizes Purpose Not to Be Candidate in Spring Pri mary Elections (By Associated Press ) NEW YORK, March 2. —Theodore Roosevelt’s determination not to al low the use of his name as a candidate for t|ie presidential nomination in the spring nrimary elections was empha sized today by the announcement that his secretary, John W. McGrath, has directed the withdrawal of Mr. Roose velt'*s name from Illinois primaries. On receipt of the information from the Illinois secretary of state that Mr. Roosevelt was named in the petitions of candidates for election as district delegates. Mr. McGrath informed Mr. Roosevelt by cable, and acting upon his instructions, yesterday notified the Il linois official. This is the fourth state in which Mr. Roosevelt has refused to allow the uss of his name. The others are Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan. Mr. Roosevelt Is now on a trip to the West Indies. CAUGHT! '\\ \\ /■ r SOT X- " Ti ’■ ■•'aSkx 1 fe- ' 1 i ■ r fcMi t ' . , K’Jl l Ts: Ji . I v ■' ■■■ OEMJNDS OF HARD COAL MINERS TO COMMITTEE Wage Conference Affects 350,000 Workers in Bitumi nous and Anthracite Region (By Associated Press ) NEW YORK. March 2.—Conferences affecting the wages and working con ditions of nearly 350.000 mine workers ’n the bituminous and anthracite coal regions of the country were held here today to negotiate working contracts to go into effect at the end of the present month. The bituminous wage confer ence affecting more than 170,000 mine workers in western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, has been in session for about three weeks endeavoring to agree cn a new scale. The anthracite miners and operators have held one preliminary meeting at which the hard coal work ers presented demands which were re ferred to a subcommittee that began I negotiations today. IM DEFENSE BILL TO SOON OFFICII COFICOESS Military Committees Begin Final Review of National Defense Legislation WASHINGTON, March 1. —National defense legislation has made such rapid progress in committee that it was pre dicted today i.he army part of the pre paredness program would be before the house and senate next week. The house military committee began today its final review of the measure tentatively agreed upon. The final com mittee vote will be taken tomorrow, but it will require several days for Chair man Hay to prepare a report to accom pany the bill, By agreeing to insert only a general provision for federalizing the national guard in its regular army reorganization bill, leaving the task of putting this legislation in final shape to a joint con ference committee, the senate military committee has made it possible to bring the measure out next week. The platform prepared for adoption contains strong indorsement of Uresi dent Wilson and recommendation for his renomination. "We heartily indorse Woodrow Wil son as a president who has caused to be fulfilled the promise of his party,” the platform begins. “He has asserted the rights of our citizens and preserved the honor and dignity of our country and we believe that the best interests of all the people demand his continu ance in his high office.” • The platform then discusses banking and currency, tariff reform, “America first,” Mexico, and preparedness. It con cludes: "With these views of achievement of present conditions and of future possi bilities, we unhesitatingly recommend the renomination of Woodrow Wilson for president of the United States, as the best assurance of the maintenance of the principles upon which our gov ernment was founded, of future busi ness prosperity, of peace, peace with the fullest protection of the rights of American citizens, and of the honest dignity of our country, and with ample preparedness to protect and enforce those rights and that honor both at home and abroad.” Veteran to Get ■ His Wish to See Panama Canal WASHINGTON. March 2.—President Lincoln’s promise made more than a half century ago to John Driscoll, *of Hampton, Va., said to be the oldest liv ing survivor of the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac during the Civil war, is about to be carried out by the navy department. After the naval engagement President Lincoln summoned the of the Mon itor, of which Driscoll was a member, to Washington, fie thanked them for their valor and said if any of them ever want ed a favor it would only be necessary to ask it. It was not until recently, however, that Driscoll decided to ask the proffer ed favor. He requested to be taken aboard a battleship going through the Panama canal which, he said, he longed to see before he died. Arrangements for the trip have just been completed and the next warship that passs through the great waterway will carry the aged leteran as a passenger. NUMBER 44. WAR SENATE STIRREO BV MOST SENSATIONAL REBATE OF SESSION Stone and Others Deny Wiison Said War With Germany Might Not Be “Undesirable and Would Hasten End” : (By Associated Press.) WASHINGTON, March 2. —The armed ship issue suddenly blazed up in the senate today with the most sensational debate of the session in which Senator- Gore, Democrat, and author of a res olution to warn Americans off bellig erent vessels, repeated what he char acterized as a report that President Wilson had told certain congress lead ers that war between the United States and Germany “might not be undesirable and might result in advancing civili zation by bringing about the end of the European war by mid-summer.” Chairman Stone, of the foreign re, lations committee, denied that the pfes* ident ever had expressed any such sen timent in his hearing and Senator James, another administration leader, demanded to know why Senator Gore had not sought to confirm the report from the president himself. •*- Senator Gore responded that he bad hoped the report was untrue, that* he had repeated it only as a report sur rounded by circumstance which gave it credence, in his opinion, but that'lU was glad to hear it denied. JJ.* The storm broke in the senate unex pectedly when Senator Stone, announc ing that he was not in accord with the president’s demand for a defeat of 'the armed ship resolutions, proposed a means to let the Gore resolution come to a vote, and Senator James annedneed the administration forces had the votes to defeat it. PRESIDENT DEFENDED. _* Senator Williams, of Mississippi, spoke vigoro.usly in support Os the president, as did Senator Lodge, the ranking Re publican of the foreign relations edm mittee. The debate ended without action and the senate passed to other business WUh the prospect of taking up the Gore reso lution at an early hour tomorrow. - -v Administration forces’ faced by de- w lay in the house, turned today to the senate to carry out President Wilson’s demand for the defeat of resolutions warning American off armed ships-‘Of European belligerents. Chairman Stone, of the foreign rela tions committee, announcing openly from the floor that he was not in cord with the president on the issue, proposed, however, that the senate take an adjournment instead of another re cess and thereby get into a new legisla tive day, relieving the parliamentary situation which thus far has held Sen ator Gore’s resolution from coming to a vote. His action was taken after a confer ence of administration leaders who were satisfied they had the votes to defeat the Gore resolution and demonstrate to Germany that the dissensions against the president's foreign policy do not have the support of congress. “It has been decided to bring the question up for action as soon as possi ble, but probably not today*” said Sena tor James, of Kentucky, one of the ad*- ministration supporters. “We have got| the votes in the senate to smash it.” Senator Stone, at the outset of his proposal, made a statement of the inter national situation as he understood it.' Senator Stone declared it was hoped something could be done at once to bring the president and congress more closely in accord, and that he was fram ing a substitute for all pending resolu tions. LODGE WITH STONE. Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, ranking Republican member of the for eign relations committee, declared he was in accord with Senator Stone’s desire for prompt action, and he agreed lhat the issue was more important anything else before congress. President Wilson and Republican* Leader Mann, of the house, will discuss the attitude of Republicans on the armed ship issue at 5 o'clock this afternoon at the president s request. The president intends to place the issue squarely be fore the Republicans in an effort to gain their support. “A sharp issue has been defined be tween Germany and Great Britain as to the status of armed merchantmen.” said Senator Stone. "Germany contends that armed merchant vessels are the equivalent of auxiliary war vessels and has announced her policy to be, that af ter March 1, armed merchantmen would be regarded as warships and subject to the rules of war. "On the other hand Great Britain con tends that under international law, merchantmen have the right to be armed for defensive pui pejses and that armed merchantmen are entitled under the law to the same immunity as un armed ships, without rega.-a to cargo. She has announced her intention to car ry out that policy. "That is the issue between these ta;o governments. “Nov where does the United States come in? In this way. In both persiat in these courses, neither yielding each other, ncr to the importunities of neutral nations, and if Germany at tacks an armed merchantman and £riy American citizen is injured the ques ; tion, is presented to this government, what our attitude would be. If *no American citizens were on board we would have no cause to interfere, unless we proceeded on the altruistic theory of obligations of humanity. “To my mind this emergency is r# of high importance The president, sena tors and representatives should speSR with each other and with the country, free from political bias. HEARTS ON SLEEVES. “We should wear our hearts on pßr sleeves so we may know our positions exactly. . "The president s attitude is this: .He supports the contention that belligerent (Continued on Page 3, Column 3.)