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f DEAD I XV »0»M U« thé *oh Thé Mis-\ soutian. for it I oidrtfiabhy DAILY r , ALL tht n*» 1 I day frété* \eC eCeryWhert. VOL.XLIV. NO. 328. MISSOULA, MONTANA, MONDAY MOffcN INC, MARCH 25, 1918. PRICE FIVSE CENTS,. BRmSH HUNS MILLIONS STORM LINE THINK OFFENSIVE MADE TO DECEIVE PEOPLE AT HOME Washington Sees Camouflage in Display of Strength on West Front. MILITARIST CONTROL DEPENDED ON ACTION Political Maneuvers Could No Longer Be Made to Appease Unrest. Washington, Mardi 24.—The Ger man offensive, says the war depart ment's weekly communique issued to day, proves that the German militar ists, no longer able to control the German people by political maneuver, have been forced to attempt a gigantic feat of arms to maintain their domina tion. Wiille the great attack lias been able to make*headway, no definite en veloping movement lias been outlined, the communique says, and it would be premature to express opinions on the tactical phases with a ciynhut situation inevitably changing in a buttle of such magnitude. "The assault launched by the Ger mans against the British front lias re opened the fighting seVson in Die west," says the communique. To Hold Domination. "This operation confirms to us that the German higher command, unable to control the strategic situation through political agencies, us has been unceasingly attempted during the past four months, has been forced to engage in a desperate military ven ture to retain its domination over the peoples of the central empires and, if possible, to force a Victorious peace by the fortune of arms. "The German attack begun with a brief but overwhelming artillery bom bardment with high explosive and gas shells, at dawn on March 21, in the rolling country north of the Oise, t>4 miles northeast of Paris. Austrian Division, Present. "From Crolselles, south of Vendeuil, a distance of 47 miles, the Germans concentrated this preliminary barrage in #hich a number of Austrian bat teries participated. "At the same time hostile artillery was active in the Ypres-La liassee region. "The German infantry divisions thereupon advanced to the attack along the flanks of the salient in front of Cambrai, furious . fighting con tinues on the northern flank between Croisilles, Uullecourt and Lagnicourt; on the southern, along the line Gouz eaucourt-Hargicourt-Leverguicr, and extending ucross the Croza t canal to beyond La Fere. No Enveloping Movement. "The Hritish forces arc heavily en gaged. and while the Germans have fContinued on Pace Three.) Captured Hun Declares Yankees Good Fighters Prisoner Taken by American Patrol in No Man's Land Says Germans Underfed and Morale at Low Ebb. With the American Arm; ir. France. . Saturday, March 23.—By the Assoct ated Press.—The experience of a pa trol of four Americans who, alter : crawling nearly a mile, surprised a ! German listening post and brought j back a prisoner, were told today. The ! patrol was In command of a lieuten ant. The lieutenant jumped on the ! German, who was so deeply engrossed in his duties of listening that he had not heard the Approach of the Ameri cans, while the others of the patrol went into the post. , U. 8. Corporal Usos Bayonet. The lieutenant and the German rolled into a trench filled with three feet of water. A second German at tempted to shoot the lieutenant, but an American corporal drove his bayo net through him. The patrol brought their prisoner back over the route they had taken to the post and when he came to de scribe his capture, the German said wonderlngly : "The first thing I knew a big Amer ican was on top of me and had me by tbo throat and naxt I was being hauled across No Man's land." Sammons Goad Soldiers. The intelUsgoce officers gleaned from the prisoner that his comrades is arm» wore tgettaed to regard the Huns Claim British Are Using Torch Berlin, via London, March 24.— Paris has bssn bombarded by Gor man long-diotanoo guns, accord ing to the Gorman official commu nication iosuod tonight. MUCH BOOTY CAPTURED. Enormous quantities of booty have boon token by the Germans, according to the statement, which follows: "Between the Somme and the'Oise, our corps ere fighting their way forward. Chauny hat been taken. ' "Our booty in war material is enormous. The English in their retirement are burning French towns and villages. FIGHT FOR BAPAUME. "We have bombarded the fortress of Paris with long distance guns. "A gigantic struggle is taking place for Bapaume. A battle is in progress on the Transloy -Com bles- Maurepas line. "The Somme has been crossed at many points in our attack be tween Peronne and Ham." NEWS DEPRESSES BRITISH PEOPLE Day in ixvndon On»» of Most Afixious Since Retreat. From Mons. London, March 24.—The Hritish peo ple have experienced no other period of anxiety comparable with this week j eDd since the days of the retreat from | -'Tons, in August, 1914, when the fate ' of the small British army was unde cided. There was perfect spring weather today and all the streets and parks crowded, but solemnity and gravity prevailed everywhere, which even a stranger must have noticed. Men and women, and even children, were reading the newspapers and special editions, which printed the afternoon official reports, wero bought as fast as the newspapers could supply them. The churches were filled and the day was one of anxious waiting. _ The British people had not expected any marked retirement by the British army, although they had boeu warned that this would be a natural develop ment of a great battle. Hence, the bulletins caused general depression. Toward night, it became known that the official view of the situation did not warrant such despondency. The loss of guns was regarded ns Inevitable, but the British casualties are understood to be relatively small, considering «he magnitude of «the oper ation. so far as the report gave them. The participation of American soldiers In the battle was one of the most dis cuss«! features. officials of the American embassy were asked for de tails, but they have none as. yet. Americans a* good soldiers, who w ere fighting enthusiastically, as they had entered the war later. The fias! sap. plied to the Germans w ts poor, he said, and th< ir morale was for the most part bad. His divudop came to this front from Bukowinr Airplanes, with Americans at the guns, took I art in a number of en gagements today and numerous Ger man machines were driven !>ack to their own lines. No Offensive Against Americans. With the American Army in France, Saturday. March 23.—By the Associ ated Press.—A prisoner taken in the American sector when questioned #«* day, said that no offensive was planned by the Germans in this sector. "All we want is to be left alone,'' he declared. Every man of the American front is anxiously awaiting new« regarding the German offensive and momentarily ex pecting to he-ar that the British have won a victory. The American sniper* have been exceedingly active during the day. They picked off a consider able number of the enemy, some of whom were seen to whirl and pitch from the parapet into their own trenches. Others were seen to drop .in their tracks as the American sharp shooters* bullets hit them STRANGE CANNON SHELLS FAIL TO FRIGHTEN PARIS Populace Soon Accustomed to Regular Explosion of New Bombs. MONSTER 76 MILES FROM CITY'S CENTER Newspapers Speculate as to Mechanism of Aerial Projectiles. j | ' Paris, March 24.—Tim German "monster cannon" which lias beep bombarding Paris has been locotch in the forest of St. Gnbuin, west of Leon and exactly 122 kilometers tuppruxi^ »lately 76 miles) from the Palis cits hull. The gun bombarded Paris during the greater part et Sunday. The day wits ushered in by loud explosions from the 10-inch shells and imme diately the alarm to take to cover was sounded. This occurred at 6:55 o'clock and many persons sought shelter, hut greater numbers of them appeared in the streets on their way to the churches, which wi re almost as well filled us usual. The women who sell palm leaves on Palm Sundays did their usual thriving business. Fail to Frighten. At first the shells begun arriving at intervals of 20 minutes and the de tonations, considering the Sunday seemed louder than those of ■Saturduy. Their power to distunb the equurgimlt y u£ the populace, how ever, seemed less, the people refusing to be distracted from their Sunday habits to any great extent. For the benefit of that portion of the populace which had been led to believe the Germans had broken through tfto line and were bombarding Paris from nearby positions, a semi official note was issued during the day. This warned the people against believ ing pessimistic reports. "The French front is Intact," said the note. "Any assertion to the con trary is a He." Firing Ceases. The bombardment of the capita! ended urouiul one o'clock and as late as 3 o'clock no explosions had been heard for more than an hour. The "clear" signal was sounded at 3:3d o'clock. Although during the earlier hours of the bombardment the shells arrived on 20-minute Intervals, later in the day they began arriving every 13 minutes on the average, and some of them even foil 12 minutes apart. In military circles the belief was ex pressed that the Germans were »Hin* two long distance guns. The Matin say# .the position of one of the guns was established in the st. Gobain for est, which would place it somewhat further south than had been believed tu Ol" wooded area. This position would be about 7.0 miles from Paris. Will Warn Populsca. The government has decided that In the future the bombardment, of Paris by long distance guns shall not In terrupt the normal life of the capital, but that the population shall be warned of a bombardment by distinctive means, differing from the usual warn ings sent out In cases of air raids. Brums will be beaten and the polie* will sound whistles. The newspapers do not conceal their admiration for th* tmchanica! ?*•«» of the Germans in constructing their new weapon, but speak passionately of tin useless barbarity of the bombardment The Matin says it is consoling to note that the number of victims is small, but it asks for reprisals on German cities. Tungsten for Steel. Professor Paul Pain love, form* r premier and presklent of the Academy of Sciences, told the Excelsior that by using tungsten in the fabrication of the m projectile the tungsten shells would be of about half the diameter of steel shells of an even weight, and that therefore the atmospheric r« - sistar.ee would be less, this accounting for. the extremely long range. He also touched upon the possibility of a propeller being employed on the pro jectile. H000 Par Shot. The newspaper Le Journal in its article regarding the gun. says it is of 240 millimeters caliber and of Aus trian manufacture. It is a very deli cate piece of machinery, which must be handled by expert mathematicians and gunners, the newspaper adds, as (Continued From Paie tVej i Facts' to Date of Huns'Drive on West Front More than 1,000,000 Gorman soldiers are engaged in the g re as offensive • e • The British main army has nqft yot boon involved; chosen •hook troops have gallantly re sisted the Hun attack, inflict ing fearful casualtias upon the masaed enemy. * * * Berlin claims the capture of 30,000 man and 600 guns since the offensive was started. German ooaualtias have not been estimated, but undoubted ly reech six figures. German reports that Ameri can troops have been met end defeated are discredited by Washington. No American unite have been involved in the attack. The offensive extends along a 50-mile front, and has pene trated the British line to a depth ranging from two or three to a dozen mites. German prisoner declares that this attack is the kaiser's last "do or dia" effort, and harder fighting is expected in tHb Huns' desperate attempt to achieve their mm of breaking the line. Field Marshal Haig planned a withdrawal months in advance, choosing to yield ground in ex change for the frightful damage inflicted upon the enemy. Fifty-four German airplanes participating in the attack have been brought down. Hill Mi STRIKES «mil IU HMD LOST London, March 24.—Finlander, arriving at Stockholm on the gun boat Svenakund, lay that the Ger man transport Frankland struck a mine and tank at Moorland, ac cording to an Exchanga Telegraph dispatch from Stockholm. The transport waa crowded with sol diers, cannon and munition,, and according to the dispatch, the en tire crew, all of the soldiers and Admiral von Meyrar, were lost. A Stockholm diepatch dated March 22, ea*d that another Ger man transport had been blown up by a mine near the Aland ieland and that the transport Frankland, which came to it, rescue, we, damaged severely by another ex plosion. The Weather Forecast—Partly cloudy Monday with probable showers west of the divide; Tuesday generally fair and cooler. LOCAL OBSERVATIONS. Maximum 68 Minimum _. 31 At 6 a. ni . 34 At 6 p. m. ... 61 The year'«, most nearly perfect ex - ample *of syrinsr weather filled high ways and byway* yesterday, and Inci dentally gave io Bann Hqrnluy an un uHiially festive appearance. It was a glorious day. FROM OTHER City — Bismarck Huron Moorhead St. Paul Denver Havre Helena Spokane Calgary Bdmontoi Medicine Winnipeg POINTS. Min. Max. ............... ft •,* .. ............................... « ; ia ................ &o .............. 53 56 ............... «0 70 ____________ M 66 ..1_______ 4<> .......... 04 fit ..........a,... Uh 1 .......... . ..... 4 J 48 Hat ________ 62 68 . u; Kansas City's Sympathetic Strike Postponed 48 Hours Kansas City. Mo., March ji.—The general sympathetic «Ink« called for all union labor in Xansaa City for o'clock this, morning has been post poned 44 hour», it was announced by union leaders early today, Haig Carries Out Plan of Retreat; Attack Continues London, Matyh 24.—In the face of slaughtering fire hurled from artillery, mtdiillft|tuia and rifles behind the carefully prepared British defenses, the German hordes «re still des perately storming the 50-mile front chosen for their supreme offensive. Covered by chosen shock troops, whose resistance has been one of the mod ralktftt events in the whole war, the main British army has been withdrawing in good order, ac cording to preconceived plans, letting the vast German armies shatter themselves against ft senes of strong defenses. , The kaiser and the crown prince, under whose eyes the desperate German venture b fjè mg made, are hurling their men against the British line witnout regard for •lives, and ine slaughter has been .frightful. In close formation the Germans, more than a million of whom are engaged in this battle, the greatest in the world's history, have surged forwards gaining slowly at a staggering cost in blood. Along most, of the front tonight the British lines arc holding firm, the enemy having spent his strength. At salient points where the advance is still powerful, the British have given ground slowly, exacting a fearful price in lives from a foe whose line of commÜiÜ cation becomes more tenuous as his strength ebbs under the Tommies' withering fire. The withdrawal was planned long ago in event of a great attack. Field MMitf Hiig*f strategy has been to retire while shock troops in comparatively small numbers m the oncoming Germans. NO CONFIRMATION THATÜ.S. TROOPS WERE IN BATTLE Washington Not Advised of Sammees' Participation in Great Struggle. Washington, Mar li 21.—No confir mation of German reports that Ameil een troop» have* participated in the fight on the BiitlHli front hud reached tin war depurtrneut up to a late hour tonight. Major Ornerai March, acting chief of »taff, who remained at Ida of •fi** much of the dH y and night, »aid that =ew. advice« to this effect hud I icon received. May Be Engineers. I' wuH recalled that American ni 11 - v a y engineers in training at the IJilt i-li front wore Involved in tin*. German (»unter attack on the t'timbrai front borne month» ago, hut there has he«» i.i tiling to indicate thut any other u an englm <}»H O nth •r special units hr ve been ■ rnployed at any time with t) e British lore ci» Officie Is Keenly Interested. Officials goner ally displayed the m <Ht eager Inter« •St ill every it* 111 6f in w a as to the ' term an drive. Tin* government may have received SOI»« c< nfldentlu ! adv Ice from G< ueral Pershing on th*- situation, hut General | March »aid nothing was to out when he left Ida office, fi** !» pointed out tha! any Information :ui to British or French operations rnu»t In* mini* publie by th** official* of those c< until*-« anil that whatever General Pershing may have transmitted would be regarded as confidential I» the ex treme. The Intense Interest In press reports displayed bv President Wilson himself Indicates that official information was meagre. The associated Press ijis pi ti he* w re transmitted to him during the evening. Second Phase of Battle. The offieiu! British and German re - ports w«-r<- taken here as showing that u ond phase of tin* great haltl* hud In mm and was eontinued throughout the day with no deel-lve results. It was evident that the British second d* fenelvc system was being severely tested by German attacks, though no U« iails were transmitted which would P« milt military officials to estimate th« scope of hois;« »»cs claimed by the ; German* and to some extent admitted I I*., the British. It appeared, however, j that the British line In general wu a , still intact at the close of day. ' j ; ix.* given j Other ol- I OPEN OREGON LAND3. ~r Washington. March 2 4.—Opining tu entry of about SOô.üûO acre» of land classified as agricultural In Jackson and Josephine counties, Ore., has been approved by Secretary Lane. The»« lands are a part of what are known as the Oregon and California railroad grant lands. 1 I I j I ! | ALLIES VIEW SITUATION HOPEFULLY. With the (British Army in Prance, March 24.—By the As sociated Press.—The British and French, who co-operate it the junction of the two armies, are viewing the trend of the German offensive with optimistic eyes Hard fighting wit in progress, but the latest reports showed little or no change in the situation in favor of the enemy since yesterday, while on the other hand the defenders had pushed the at tacking forces back after a bitter struggle and were hold ing strongly along the whole new front to which they hid withdrawn. Fighting of a most desperate nature has been continuous since the initial attack, but so far the British have used fe# troops other than those which are holding the front lines. More than 50 German divisions already have been iden tified by actual contact and many of these men were simply given two days iron rations and. sent over the top into the frightful maelstrom made by the allied guns. The British losses have been within the bounds expected, due to the tactics of the commanders. The allies have lost a considerable number of men in prisoners and a certain number of guns. But very few pieces of artillery have been taken by the Germans since the first day. In fact, the whole withdrawal has been executed in a masterly man ner, showing how thoroughly the British had planned for the very events which have occurred. There is every reason to believe that harder fighting that! has yet taken place will develop shortly. 1 he Germans in the British view, cannot now hesitate in carrying out their attack, and it is a case of break through or admit defeat. In this circumstance it is interesting to note a statement made yesterday by a German officer, a prisoner, who de clared that the German offensive was an act of desperation, brought on by the fact that the fatherland must have peace. However, the British take such assertions at their lace j value and are proceeding accordingly. , MAIN BRITISH ARMY INTACT l is (!*•' lar Tin- main British arm lias been conarrv«-d, und up to ilic * present very few counter alia' ! • l av* j a-«-» made axalrint tin- German«. \vl i ! the: British have stormed th« Ger mans' newly acquired positions they have driven them buck. But «*< * j mile Of ail van«*: mukr-s lie- liringlng up of supplie» to the German rrîllb-ry j i,n<l infantry mon ami irmr* difficult I ar.d unquestionably tie- British Hlrat- j « j*y. as demonstrated since tie I" gin ning of tlic /treat attack, is to bt the , enemy, ho far ua ho may, war him« - self out against a pow* rtul d* lens* . On the battle lino in Fram e the * sanguinary struggle still in Koine on j With the BritiHh troop, on most - ; tr rs apparently holding their ow e, but j will: the Germans at salient points el HI pressing forward. The town of Chauny. southwest of St. Quentin, situated on the road to Compiogne, the gateway to Pans, has been occupied by the Germans and. according to tho Berlin official communications, everywhere between the Somme and tha Oiaa rivers the Germans are pressing their advantage. Throughout Sunday, along the entire jö-iuile buttle front the fighting never «.eased and where Field Marshal Haig's men were unable to withstand the terrific onslaught» delivered by greatly supeilor forces, ground waa given, but always In orderly fashion. Mer# Than Million Germant. It has been definitely ascertained j I 54 AIRPLANES LOST BT HUNS London, March 24^-—Accord ing to an official report an nounced ♦his evening on the aerial operation» since the start of the German offentiva against the British in France, 54 hos tile airplanes have been brought to earth by the allie«. I hat *-onsidembly mere than a mtt' iprt Germans have I ecu brought to Ukp vv* .stern front in an endeavor to crufh the British jimiy holding the line frbi&l tii region bt Arras to the south of St. vpi* »tin, but it dally becomes increo?« indy evident that the enemy id ^1* drive ha« tuet with opposition, hpt counted upon, and been uirabtc U) realize to the full hie objective*. ____ In addition to Chap*?* are claiming ' tha capture <ffi Peronno and Hanv'Mid to creased the number of pr tc mure than 30,000, in odd guns and large stores of 1 i as Hun» Say Yankees.W4 It ia clai med also by, ______ {Continued on Fill