Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, May 08, 1917, Image 1

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Atlanta semi-weekly journal., May 08, 1917, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text2Mofa»ia £5 emi-Wccldjj 3onml VOLUME NIX BULLECOURT ENTERED BY THE BRITISH GERMAN PEACE MOVE ONLY PLOT TO GAIN TIME HAIG S TROOPS WIDEN RENT THEY UWE TORN - IN HINDENBURG'S LINE Violent German Counter At tacks Fail to Shake British Grip or to Prevent Drive Into Builecourt PETROGRAD. May 7.—" Keep <ool; Jon’ icet excited: I'm sure the present Russian crisis will pass off of itself. ’ was the advice to English-speaking peo ples given today by former Foreign Min ister Serge Sazanoff NSW YORK. May <By Foreign Cables from European Capitals.' Builecourt. directly on the Hindenburg tine, has been entered by British troops, who this morning were fighting the Germans within the town for its pos session. Giving the Germans no time to bring up reserves from the hard-pressed Aisne front, .where the French are driv ing through the Siegfried line for l-*on by the hack way to that strongnold. ■General Haig’s troops began today to widen the breach they have made in * the Hindenburg line in the Builecourt region. Counter attacks of extreme violence rapidly repeated failed to shake the British grip on the line here and have not prevented them from striking again when they were ready. Builecourt had ■•sen hemmed in on all sides except on the north, the British having worked well to the east of the village Driving back toward it, they have fought their way into the place, press ing bark desperately-resisting Ger mans. On the French front northeast of Soissons and along the Chemin-des- Dames the Germans have been forced to employ fresh troops in an effort to stem the French advance. Last night they drove masses of men against the lines all along this front, but were unable to shake General Xivelle's hold upon the valuable and hard-won ground on the nlateau overlooking the Ailette river, the outlying defense of Laon. Everywhere the French hold fast, mow ing down the Germans with their fire. Tn the nevr battles which developed late last week the French have taken; more than 6.200 prisoners, bringing their Yotal since April 16 up to ap proximately 29.000. A minor military incident was a Ger man airplane raid on London early to day. the first visitation the capital has had for months. A lone machine was involved. It dropped four bombs on the outskirts of northeast London killing one man and injuring a man and a wom an. and causing slight damage to build ing*. The developments on the battlefield are chiefly important for the possibili ties they open up and the same may be -aid lo he true o fevents tiehind firing line In ilermsny theie Is much talk of political reform and several proposals have been put forward in the reichstag io curtail ih» tower of the enijeror and mike the ministry responsible t<j par liament. - - Xppareotly Ihr putting forward of the mooted reforms has served to check the rising tide of popular discontent, but the extraordinary measures adopted by the government to prevent the outside world learning the true situation made adequate judgment impossible. Startling reports come from Austria in regard to conditions in the dual mon arch- and apparently Count Tisza and His fellow reactionaries have the upper hand and are determined to crush the party of the democracy with the same ruthlessness as heretofore. There are rumors of martial law in Hungary and Bohemia, and the «upppression of news papers,but for a month or more no re liable news has reached the outer world as to conditions in the Austrian em pire. The Russian riddle remains unsolved, but for the time being at leart the provisional authorities seem to be safe. Reports of demoralization in the Rus sian army receive uncomfortable confir mation by a proclamation of General Gurko, commander on the eastern front, ordering the soldiers to stop fraterniz ing with the German troops. General Gurko declares tha’. such fraternizing 1 has become a common practice and that ihe lull on the Russian front has per mitted the Germans to concentrate troops against the English and French. Tn spite of the »eaceable ending to the May day demonstration in Sweden the internal troubles in that country seem to be rising rather than ebbing. • Riots and food demonstrations are re ported front various points and. from -uch partial reports as are received, the authorities are confronting an ugly sit uation. Australians Gain Mile •n Drive Upon Germans '..ILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS. WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN THE FIELD. May 7.—Australian troops forged ahead a mile into the German lines early this morning At the moment of cabling this greot hole in the German line l« being suc cessfuly maintained against ail enemy ••oontei* attacks. The penetration of the German front thus achieved is around RieiiQOurt. The Australians began their drive at •■awn. Their whole salient was pushed forward, yard after yard, to the mile depth.- in the.face of violent resistance. The thrust ca.ried them to the east of a village lying in a northern direction from Rigncourt. Riencourt it-elf is thus hemmed in by British troops to the west, east and south. The R'encbUrt ’attack was a pan of a generaLnrogresslng movement achiev ed on thr right flank early today. More ti»m » handled prKoners were taken. Elsewhere on the British front there were no maior actions of infantry, but All along the line artillery on both at da* was violently active. Full Associated Press Service. WAR COMMISSIONS HERE AND IN LONDON TO POOL RESDDRCES English Board Would Receive and Decide on Apportion ment of Sea-Borne Traffic Which America Would Send I WASHINGTON. May 7.—Two war) allied commissions sitting continuously; —one in London and the other here — ; appeared today as one- of the first ac-; tual steps to co-ordinate the powerful resources of the United States brings, into the war with those of the allies ; across the sea. The commission in Ixmdon. with rep- i resentatives of all the allied nations, j including the United States, would re-1 ceive and decide upon the apportionment of sea-borne traffic. The commission• here would then charge itself with get ting such supplies to the seaboard, either by direct purchase or through present agencies While the inroads of the submarine menace continue it is absolutely es sential to conserve every ship for the! most needed freight, and the only way I that this can be done is to have the; all'es submit their needs to a central ( body in London, which shall have power »o give priority to the most pressing. At the same time the commission in this country, knowing exactly how much was wanted, would buy it ju diciously and keep the railroad lines open to the-seaboard. So far the allies have confused their own situations to i a certain extent in this country, "both by competitive buying and by congest ing the railroads and terminals with supplies for which there was absolute ly no tonnage available. The plan now being worked out sprang from the general meeting on trade question* at Secretary Lansing’s office last week. It has not been de cided as yet and may receive modification. With the great bulk of the detailed work now distributed among various subcommittees. British Foreign Minis ter Balfour now is awaiting reports. Today he was officially received at the supreme court. Later the new Belgian I jpinister to the United States paid a visit to Mr. Balfour. Samuel Gompers. president of the American Federation of I-abor. called with the British labor leaders, who haxe just arrived in this country, upon his invitation. lU, S. to Lend England $100,000,000 During May WASHINGTON. May 7.—The govern ment has decided to lend Great Britain $400,000,000 to meet her needs in this country during May. A second install ment of $25,000,000 was transferred to the Rritish'embassy today, making with the $25,000,000 loaned her Saturday, a total of one-half of the May loan. Parley Putting Nation On Solid War Basis WASHINGTON. May 7.—The third j week of the visit of the British mission began today with conferences of eight sub-committees, among which the va rious questions of America’s participa tion in the war against Germany have been divided. During the week some i of the committees probahly will report back to the main conferees who in turn may make announcement of the dicl sions reached. As the conferences develop, it be comes more evident that all questions , are extremely complicated in their va j rious interrelations to other questions and that the most difficult part of the work consists in harmonizing the va rious conflicting needs. For instance, the sending of an American expedition ary force, desired by both French and British missions, involves not only mil itary considerations, but also the ques tion of whether it Is wise to divert the . tonnage necessary for troop transpor tation from its present work of car rying food and munitions. Likewise. . it is essential to restrict exports to the I materials most vital to the allies. Every day the British mission stays ; shows an Increasing centralization of I power and more* marked change of the • ; government from a peace to a war bas | is. Much proposed new legislation has i been inspired by England’s experience , I under similar circumstances and Amer ' ican officials are taking advantage of , , every minute of th* stay of the Brit , j ishers to develop America s central war - organization. It Is along this line that i new bodies such as a munitions board, ' i a railroad executive, a centralized !n --, telligence office and an expert supervi , slon board have been or will be formed. Marry if You Must, but ; Don’t Use Slacker’s Ring i NEW YORK. May 7.—ls you must i marry and run the chance of being called slacker, don't give your wife a t “slacker ring." ia the advice of mem- - j bers of the American Chemical society, r The "slacker rine" is the platinum ring. If your sweetheart demands a t diamond ring, see to it that even the prongs bear no platinum, and above t all. beware of the platinum wedding 1 ring. • Platinum is a necessary metal in many industries connected with the i war. It is now five times more valu i able than gold. Allen Rogers, speak’ng for the Amer i I ican Chemical society. declared today t it is "shameful that personal vanity should frove such a handicap to the r government, and that a mere frivo.lous - fa<l should deprive chemists and man » ufacturera of the proper materials to meet the demands placed upon them ” ■> ' Fifty per cent of the platinum use! I in the United States is on fine jewelry, i according to a • report of the United . State* department of the Interior. PICKING THE CHOICEST PEACHES • Ew * WOw hi *> 1 ■ 'I v V,.«■ ! { YeuSHWT'W I wt'Wr ' J CSSS — ——— i JUDGE MLL KUNST . HOME RAIDS FDD LQUDR Tells Grand Jury to Remember the “Personal Liberties’’ of Georgians Although under the new 'bone-dry" law for a citizen to have a bottle of spirits in his home Is a direct violation of the law. the sanctity of his home is of far greater importance than the discovering of that bottle by an inva sion of his house, was the opinion of Judge Ben 11. Hill in his charge to the incoming grand jury Monday morning, when he charged them at length upon the enforcement of “personal liberties" in relation to the law. Judge Hill told the grand jury that the state of Georgia now had a wall about it which forbade the importation of liquor within its gates, but that the law was designed more to break up in temperance and tippling than to curb th® people too closely. * “You must remember. gentlemen,” Judge Hill said, "in what way laws have been passed and what the spirit of them was intended to be. 1 am not in favor of invading the privacy of a man’s home simply because he might keep a small bottle of spirits there. The law is designed to break up tippling in houses and resorts, and to keep com ing generations from growing up into habits of intemperance. Os course, un der the letter of the law a man is, guilty of a violation if he has whisky on hand, but some degree of conserva tism should be used in enforcing such a law." Judge Hill said the new “bone-dry" law was enacted in the same spirit that gambling laws were enacted, to break up promiscuous gambling and “joints." but not aimed directly at a quiet game of bridge within a private home. The court stated that it had no tolerance of the more rabid type of reformers who classed a game of cards with a i prize for the winner in the same cate gory with a Decatur street “crap" game. -Judge Hill said that the legis lature. in enacting a law. could not draw fine shades of distinction in the statutes, and that it was in the province of those entrusted with the enforce ment of laws to make those distinc tions. fie warned the grand jury against returning frivolous indictments. Edward H. Inman was elected fore man of the grand jury for the May term. Kaiser Says All Fronts Will Remain “Invincible” AMSTERDAM. May 7.—Confidence that all perman battle fronts will “continue invincible" was expressed by the kaiser today in a congratulatory i birthday inM*i«e to the crown prince, according to Berlin advices. The mes i sage said; “In grateful spirit and with full con- I fidence. 1 look upon your battle front and our other battle fronts imperturb- I bly resisting all attacks. They will continue invincible." ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1017. Sim SEEKS TO WE CHAS. E. VAWTER SINE Case Probably Will Go to Jury Thursday Scene of Trial Moved • HRISTJANSBVRG, Va, May 7.—Aft er having devoted practically all of Saturday afternoon to inspecting the home at Blacksburg of Charles E. Vaw ter. on trial for the murder of Stockton Heth. Jr., and spending Sunday in restful quiet after ap exacting week, the' jury this morning was prepared to hear closing evidence. Indications are mat the taking of testimony will end late today or early tomorrow. Argument probably will not begin until some time Wednesday, and It is confidently predicted by those who have followed the trial that it may last at least until Thursday and perhaps longer. 'Tragic and sensational features of ’ the case have ended, so far as evidence is concerned. All that remains that may arouse public interest are the speeches of the attorneys and the ver dict. John L. l»ee is expected to close for the prosecution and Attorney Cal houn for the defense, and their argu ments are expected to be of a dramatic character. Because of the late arrival of a train on which Judge Moffett was returning from his home, in Rbanoke, where he spent Sunday, the trial did not open •until 11:30 this morning. Immediately after court met it was announced that the strain on the court house from the unusual crowds throughout the week had weakened the structure and the session adjourned to a moving picture t heater. Tile commonwealth had announced its intention of introducing as its first witness today Dr. J. C. King, former sntwrintendent of the Southwestern i State Hospital for the Insane a.t Mar- I ion. Va.. and Dr. J. S. Dejarnette. su-1 I perintendent of the Western State hos-i pltal at Staunton. To rebut testimony I of these experts, the defense expected to present Dr. J. K. Hall, superintend-1 ent of Westbrook Sanitarium for the Insane at Richmond, and Dr. E. G.j Pedieo. of Roanoke. It was learned also t»t tentative| instructions i/i the case were submit ted Sunday considering them. This, it j spent Sunday considering them. This, it is believed, may mean that only a few; hours will be required to reach an agreement on instructions when that 1 period of the trial is reached, Instead of probably a day as had been feared. Labor Demands Action On the Irish Question I.ONDON. May 7.—Labor members in i the British house of commons may withdraw their support from the Lloyd- George government unless a settlement of the Irish question is effected, ac cording to the Pall Mall Gazette today. The laborites. it is understood, in tend to urge an immediate Irish settle ment. threatening withdrawal of their ’ support unless it comes. ; FULL OFFICERS' IM IS ASSURED FOR CAMP Approximately 2 ( 400 Applica tions on Hand Monday. Time Extended With approximately 3,400 applications in Monday, it was certain that Georgia Florida and Alabama had furnished its full quota of officers for the officers’ re serve corps training camp, which begins instruction Tuesday. May 15. As res ervation is made for 159 men, who will be in the engineers’ corps, this is al ready some fifty men over the required number. However, Captain C. I* Corbin was authority Monday for the statement that men of very exceptional qualifications could still obtain admission to the camp by applying at once to Fort McPherson. The reason for holding open the list for several days more, as advanced by Cap tain Corbin, is to assure for the camp the best quality of men. Since there are more than 2,500 applicants those who are least qualified wijl be eliminated from the list. The offices for receiv ing applicants in the Empire building close Monday night at 6 o'clock. There will be but 2,500 men desig nated to take the training. Captain Corbin is planning to mail out Tues day morning notification to 1,500 appli cants ©f their acceptance into the. < camp. On Wednesday morning Cap tain Corbin expects to mail notifica tions of acceptance to 500 applicants, and on Thursday morning, to mail to the remaining 600 applicants notices that they have been accepted. The men who are rejected will be notified later in the week. The applicants have been divided into three classifications by the examining at the fort. These classes are excellent, very good and "just accept able.” Just how many of the applicants who have been classified as “Jus4t accepta- I hie,” who will be accepted, depends, | according to Captain Corbin, on the 1 number of applicants received in the i next few days. Captain Corbin Is hopeful of getting several hundred applicants within the ] next few days who possess exceptional I qualities for officers The examining ! force at Fort McPherson was influenced ‘ in its decision to hold open the list i by a number of requests from exam ining officers in all parts of the state who reported that there were prospects of recruiting a large number of desir able applicants providing the lists were held open for several days. Captain Corbin announced Monday morning the names of the regular army officers and the reserve corps officers who will act as executive officers and instructors in the camp. Some of the regular army officers are in the Seven teenth, while have been assign ed here from various About fif ty reserve officers, who have been or dered here, will be arriving during the next few days. So far arrangements have been made for six companies with 168 men in each, in charge of regular army offi cers as follows; Company A (engi neers). Major Brown; Company B. Cap tain Sutherland; Company <’. Captain I Wagner; poiupany L>, Captain Wright; URGENT DEMANDS DE U. S. ■ SPEED DP WORK DE CONFEDEES Age Limit, Army Prohibition and Roosevelt Division .Are Points Yet to Be Agreed Upon WASHINGTON. May 7.—President Wilson has completed his proclama tk>n calling for the selective draft of j’Snerica’s young men and awaits only action by congress on the conscription bill. The urgent demands for an army— accentuated by appeals from the French and British commissions -for troops .In France—led conferees on the (traft measure to speed up their work to day. Senator Chamberlain hoped to %e able to agree on the bill before night and report it out tomorrow. . There are wide 'differences on the three important features of the bill covering age for draft, army prohi bition and the itoosevelt division amendment A compromise will be reached on the age question—probably fixing the age for draft between 21 and 30 years. Undoubtedly, however, there will be a big fight on the pro hibition and Roosevelt division amend ments. WHAT PROCLAMATION IS. President Wilson’s proclamation will detail fully what is expected of the young men of America under the selec tive draft bill. All men between the ages agreed upon by the conferees and appproved by congress. Will be required to regis ter giving their age, whether married or not, and if married, whether their families are dependent upon them. There will be other information re quired also covering occupation, edu cation, training along particular lines, etc. Exemptions will be determined after the registration has been completed. All single..men tvill be _takap first, to-, gether with fnafriecTnien whose fam ilies are not dependent upon them for i livelihood. Most men trained along mechanical, medical and such lines will be exempt- I ed in order to be of use in other wofks ' to which they will be called. Three months will be required to | complete the work of registration. • ■ ROOSEVELT DIVISION DOOMED. That the so-called Roosevelt division amendment to the conscription army ! bill will not be favorably reported by house and senate conferees on the meas- I ure seemed certain this afternoon. One member of the committee declar ed the house conferees would not ac cept the amendment and a majority of the senate conferees are opposed to it. If the bill is reported out without the amendment there will be a lively fight on the floor of the senate. Senators Harding and Johnson, however, are prepared to continue their struggle on the floor lo get Colonel Roosevelt into France with an army, and he appears to ha ve many of the senate with him. At a two-hour session this morning the conferees adjusted most of the mi nor differences, passing over the Roose velt amendment, age question and pro hibition. They met again at 2 o’clock to re sume work and expected to reach de cisions-on the important differences be fore night*. There was some talk that senate.con ferees might give up the Roosevelt amendment in return for the house con ferees’ accepting the age stipulation for draft approved by the senate. REGIMENT Os ENGINEERS TO RE RECRUITED HERE Givil Engineers and Railroad • Workers Wanted for Build ing Supply Lines in France To recruit a regiment of civil en gineers and railroad workers. Major J. S. Sewell, an officer in the engineer offi cers' reserve corps, who has just been assigned to active servic, arrivd in At lanta Monday and opened headquarters. Other officers of the regiment will probably be drawn, as was Major Sew ell. from the engineer reserve corps, and for enlisted men Major Sewell wants the following: Mechanics, blacksmiths, axrr.en, car penters. railroad section men. laborers experienced in railroad building, and all other kinds of workmen who have had experience in building or maintaining railroads. The regiment, as soon as formed, will, in Major Sewell’s opinion, be sent im mediately to France to build, repair and maintain the lines of communication up to the trenches. This will give the men opportunity to do the kind of work they are best fitted for. to serve right up at the fighting front, and probably to find lucrative em ployment after the war in the rejuvena tion of France. Men who enlist In the regiment will be exempt from conscription. The pay will range from that of a private sol dier to $75 a month for non-commis sioned officers Major Sewell is espe cially anxious to get foremen for non commissioned officers Major Sewell’s headquarters for the present are in the office of the South eastern Underwriters, Trust Company of Georgia building —————— Company E. First Lieutenant Hines: Company F, Captain Price Each company will occupy an entire unit of nine wooden houses in a row. NUMBER 62 WARN ING IS SODNDED TD UNITED STATES BY MINISTER M. E. EGAN U. S. Official at Copenhagen Asserts Any German Peace Feeler at This Time Is Sim ply to Gain Time t > COPENHAGEN, May 7.—“ Any Ger man peace proposal at this time sitn-< ply indicates the determination of a tremendously organized and still pow erful nation to gain its own end,” de-<( dared American ' Minister Maurice Francis Egan today in a warning to his fellow countrymen not to be de ceived by German peace duplicity and not to slacken their war preparations under the mistaken impresston that the Germans are really ready to quit. No American official is mor* con- , versant with German conditions than Minister Egan. A veteran diplomat, long and briliantly serving the United States at Copenhagen, he has made an especial study of Germany and the Ger mane no less than the ramifications of Teutonic Chicanery and propaganda. How strongly he feels the insincerity of Germany’s peace “feelers” which have been flooding Europe recently is indicated in the fact that he decided to violate diplomatic precedent which forbids an envoy expressing personal views or granting interviews. But Egan decided the exigencies of the sit uation justified It. "Relaxation of American prepared ness would increase the contempt of powerful Germans toward the United States,” Egan declared. "Advices from Hamburg, Stettin and elsewhere ini Germany that although food con-H ditions are bad everywhere, still the people are sanguine of victory and are willing to make further sacrifice. "Any peace suggestions by Germany at this time merely .aim to eliminate Russia as a military force, and to ob ’ Tain the Russian larder.’ —especially those in Berlin—regard American military pretensions as bluff, z "There is no danger of dethronement of the Hohenzollerns in Germany. "Let me emphasize—peaca talk in America will only prolong the war. "Germany will have constitutional re forms —perhaps in the near future. But there isn't the slightest reason for be lieving. that such reforms will impose • the czar’s fate on the kaiser and his line. "The German reptile preas has Im hued the German populace with the be lief that victory is simply a question of time. The German populace Is will- . j ing to fight and to wait. "Every American, here who knows j German conditions is eager that the ; people of the United States be warned in advance of the hollowness of Ger man professions for peace. They hold peace proposals are part of the whole German plot to gain time—and in the ‘ meanwhile Germany still hopes to win by her submarine warfare. They pre dict careful dissection of any formal peace plans or war aims which may be announced will reveal them utterly ' insincere, although on their face they may hint at great concession”. The best brains of Germany are now believed to be working on the list of war ainfS which Imperial Chancellor von Beth mann-Hollweg is announced as about! to state to the reichstag.” Congressmen Squirm as Battery of Machine Guns Is Brought Into House WASHINGTON. May 7.—Members oft I the house today learned how it feels to look into the muzzles of a battery of ma chine guns. While debate on the ship bill was sus pended for an hour. Representative Til lotson, Connecticut, gave an ocular 1 demonstration of. merchant ship arma-s ment. A veritable arsenal of grim "ail-’ tomatics” was carted out to support him and ranged before the speaker’s ros trum —trained on the members. Long strips of cartridges all set for action, caused uneasy squirmings. U. S. Will Assist in Provisioning Belgium HAVRE. France. May s.—The Bel gian government has been advised that j the United States will devote $150,000,- 000 for provisioning the population of the occupied districts of Belgium and France. Os this sum $90,000,000 will * be devoted to Belgium and $60,000,000 to the occupied districts of France. It is estimated that the cost of feed ing the population of the occupied dis tricts at the present time is approxi mately $7,000,000 monthly, so that the reported American relief assures their feeding for a long time. 2 Reserve Corps Airmen Instantly Killed m Flight HEMPSTEAD. N. Y.. May 7.—Two ; student aviators who hal never piloted ■ an airplane before, and who were said to have begun a flight without permis sion at the government aviation school at Mineola today, v.gre killed after a fall of 1.000 feet. They were Ransom Merritt, twenty-three years old, of Lock port, N. Y., formerly a Cornell student, and Anthony Stileno. of Roosevelt. N. V. 1 The skull of both occupants were frac tured and the machine, worth was destroyed.