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_e L E MESCHACEBE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PARISH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. VOL. 65. LUCY (PARISH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST), LOUISIANA. APRIL 13, 1918. NO. 15. THE WORLD OVER ".JTERESTING ITEMS OF PRESENT IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS. EVERY ITEM A NEWS ITEM 'ting to the Latest Happenings of Interest Just Now Throughout the World. WASHINGTON NEWS. To speed up the shipbuilding pro .am, the war industries board Thurs day issued orders to steel mills and fabricating plants to *make 100 per cent deliveries on all orders for steel ship plates from the Emergency Fleet Corporation. Death penalty for spies is proposed in a bill offered Thursday by Repre sentative Daniel E. Garrett of Texas. The bill defines the offense as lurking or entering a government building, wharf, dock, munition or other factory engaged in government work, fortifica tion, camp, etc. And the offender shall be tried by a military court mar trial with the penalty of death upon 2 conviction. -+ The legislative foundation for the third liberty loan was laid Thursday when congress completed and Presi dent Wilson signed the bill authoriz ing issuance of additional bonds at 41 per cent. Earlier in the day the treasury announced that the bonds would mature in ten years, that the loan campaign opened Saturday will continue four weeks, until May, and that after the initial payment of 5 per cent on subscription, installments of 20, 35 and 40 per cent would be due respectively on May 28, July 18 and August 15. The amount is $3,000,000 and oversubscriptions. -0 Nine billion dollars is the approxi mate cost to the United States of one year of war. More than one-half has gone in loans to allies and will be re paid eventually.' Over one-third has been spent for the army and military establishments, one-tenth for the navy and one-fifteenth for shipbuilding. -4 Regulations requiring licensed deal ers to sell wheat flour in not less than 12-pound sacks were rescinded Thurs 'day by the food" administration and a -new two-pound minimum was pre scribed The purpose of the change is to make it easier for the housewife to -buy equal quantities of wheat flour ~ and substitutes. The war department-order assigning Major General J. Franklin Bell to com mnad the Western department and to relieve Major General Arthur Murray .has been revoked. Lord Reading,.the British ambassa dor, Tuesday sent to President Wilson a message of thanks on behalf of the British government for "instant and 'comprehensive measures" which the president took in respqnse to the re -quest that American troops be used to reinforce the allied armies in France. -4- The American government has de -cided that Dutch ships en route to-the United States from Holland at the time the Dutch shipping in American ports was requisitioned, will not be taken over on arrival in America. STA-E AND DOMESTIC NEWS. Three aviators met death at -Elling ton Field, near Houston, Texas, Thurs ·day in accidents, being the first fatali ties to occur there in several days. The first to be killed was Second Lieu tenant R. F. Ives of Chicago, who was :at the wheel off a machine that crash ed to earth. Lieutenant Otto Epp was fa the rear seat and escaped serious ianury. Lieutenants Paul E. Ek.strand of Brooklyn and Russell H. Ewiggins .0! Waynetown, Ind., both lost their lives When their machine plunged to the grouad At 6:29 o'clock Friday morning in ,- a'royo behind the base hospital in . Camp Logan, Houston, Texars John B. Mann and Walter Matthews, two neo- 1 .co privates E coampamny I, 70th in Iiatry, pasM with their ivres for the uarder of Ralph a-31.·ltey, whit"', a I p rvaess ol C Eo~pG -th Ime ,rya , o Jis-.- The ,me their des h .... . . Robert P. Praeger, said to be of Ger man parentage, was hanged to a tree one mile south of Collinsville, Ill., Thursday night by a mob of 350 per sons, which dragged him from the basement of 'the city hall, where he had been in hiding. Praeger was ac cused of making disloyal remarks in a recent address to miners at Mary ville, IlL Governor Hobby Thursday signed house bill No. 138, providing that all corporations required to pay a gross receipts tax to the state of Texas must obtain a permit to operate in this state from the secretary of state. --+ Fire Thursday night at Kansas City, Mo., destroyed three city blocks of buildings in the wholesale district known as the "west bottoms." The government has taken over the entire output of the "Bull Durham" cigarette tobacco, manufactured by the American Tobacco Company at the company's factories at Durham, N. C., and will devote it to the needs of the American troops abroad, it was an nounced in New York Wednesday. It was stated that the government will pay the same price for the goods as domestic jobbers have been paying. -4 With the resumption of normal street car service Wednesday the gen eral strike at Kansas City, Mo., came to an end. -4 A number of the producers in the Brownwood, Texas, oil field are now receiving $2.25 ,er barrel for their oil. -+ Two Texas rangers Tuesday made one of, if not the richest, smuggling hauls in the history of the lower bor der of Texas. The rangers arrested three men and seized a six-cylinder auto, $1,400 in gold, $1,100 in silver and a beef. The officers state that the supplies had been loaded in a boat and were being ferried across the river about ten miles above Browns ville. -4 Governor Hobby Tuesday signed and filed the bill providing for major ity nominations. He also signed the bill increasing the salaries of county school superintendents in Texas. Both of these laws become effective June 26th. -4- With twBety-four carloads ,of pota toes, each car approximating 50,000 pounds, this week on the side tracks at Fort Worth, and deteriorating be ,cause the people of Texas will not 'sacrifice their bread and substitute potatoes, and twenty-six other cars on sidings at other points in Texas, Fed eral Food Administrator Peden feels that there is some slacking on the part of homes, hotels, restaurants, camps and coasumers in general -4-# FOREIGN NEWS. The British forces in the Pinjab re gion of India are successfully carrying on punitive operations against the Marri tribesmen, who have been driven back into the hills and now are carrying out only raiding exploits. -4 Several members of the former im perial Russian family, now at Tobolsk, are ill, and the Red Cross has peti tioned the bolsheviki government to allow the family of Nicholas Romanoff the ordinary rations instead of that allotted to soldiers. Italians in Italy are warned against the speech of Count Czernin by the Giornale d'Italla of Rome, as, it says, "Austria-Hungary has spoken of peace bofore every new offensive against Italy." --- The recent British aerial raids on Cologne caused 248 deaths, half of whom were soldiers, according to the latest reports received at Basel, Switz erland. 'The German soldiers were' in a railway train bomid for the Picardy front and standing at the Cologne sta tion. -4 Peter. Petroff, the Rissian emissary, who this week returned from Berlin to Moscow with the ratified peace' treaty signed by Chancellor Von Hert ling .and Emperor William, tells the Isvestia, the bolsheviki organ, that the praetaMs of the ratified treaty con firm the declaration of Foreign Secre 'tay -Vem Kuabhlan during the reich stags debate that the ptovinces of Z.tuontia . E Nstbrin-lyIg east of the new RueesMo ferqter, asre to bp ua Rs .`te soveres gnty. FPr tier le.s w "wiwiiesteel inathe treaty. l t the' e adi g Warch -3 'e= taw Boa ginsmkan t>reteean 0mi IetiaRa IA** tea. ~4 m $ ~e~ng tqeil L o - A: ·a ~ -: nineaif ··-~ ' RESULTS OF GERMAN DRIVE TO APRIL 1 'L t rtNClCS c, Tcs TRENCH~ES F m Ts APees r___ r 16 Grm nNE 29 Apr .L i THIS MAPo ytaES 01 25 .A b pipli : o ATbery "I N42 2 AMIENS PEONo Kae o . QS'QTUENTIN " - ~0 NOYV This map, prepared by the war department, shows the progress of the German drive in Prance from March 21, when it began, to April 1, wLen it was stopped by the allies. ALLIED LINE IN FRANCE IS SOLID SECOND PHASE OF GREAT BAT TLE IN FRANCE ENDS AFTER D A THREE QAYS1 FIGHT. SITUATION IN RUSSIA Germany Still Sends Troops Into Fin land-Americans With British and French on the West ern Front. The second phase of the great bat tle along the Somme in France which the Germans began on Thursday last has died down. It lasted less than three days and the fighting has re solved itself into more or less isolated engagements in which the French and British allies have more than held their own. The attention of the Germans for the present is mainly directed at the lower end of the battle zone, which apparently they are attempting to en large for the purpose of getting elbow room in which to move their masses of troops. Meanwhile, General Foch, the com mander in chief of the allies, is biding his time meeting the German assaults * with powerful resistance and here and there conforming his lines to the ne cessities of the battle. It is confident ly stated at Paris that Foch will not be drawn into any false move-where each move is of such vital importance -but will strike with his reserves at the moment chosen by him. There may be some insignificance in the report that the German em peror after a conference on the west ern front on Saturday with his chiefs, Von Hindenburg and Vor Ludendorff, intends to proceed to Roumnania. At the outset of the great German offen sive when it was sweeping the allied forces before it, notwithstanding their tenacious resistance, Emperor Wil liam, it was announced officially from Berlin, was in supreme command. This announcement was regarded at the time as evidence that the emperor expected a complete and decisive vie tory. The British on. Sunday engaged in sharp local fighting at various points and repulsed German counter attacks. They also drove off by a. tillery fire two German- attacks launched in the neighborhood of Badquoy. -NWest of Npyon a .'erman detach meet whithlad gained a foothold in the PFeach limes was forced out by a eometer attack. "Aother attack at Grivesues was repulsed, but the Ger ea aeforts along the Olse to enlarge Sagrp y ains were continued in r betw+et Chauny and Ba wi*~ JSere thenc coPtnImmence i ` i p4Sabim to wihdrawt puele*fr prepared and MeP belng hs btsgly. - to r9 iaamtprenys have been ~~~~ theit e~pei~ta ~I C q ,.-··;r this sector and have pushed down south from Chauny and Barisis, cap turing the villages of Pierremande and Folembray, the latter lying on the southern outskirts of the lower Coucy wood. They report also the capture of 1,400 prisoners and heavy French losses. German troops still are being pour ed into Finlana and although the Rus sian authorities have made no formal protest, they have notified the Ger man government that exception is taken to the violation by Germany of provisions of the Brest-Litovsk treaty. Polish soldiers have been interned in Hungary, their legions having been dissolved by the Teutonic military au thorities because of "wholesale trea son in the ranks." President Wilson's acceptance of the challenge of the central powers and his declaration of "force, force to the utmost, force without stint or limit, the righteous and triumphant force which shall make right the law of the world and cast every selfish dominion down in the dust," has had a responsive echo from the capitals of the entente allied powers, where the press gives high praise to the presi dent for "putting his actions into agreement with his words." The masses in Austria are showing signs that they consider that their war aims have been attained through the signing of peace with Ukraine and with Roumania. Not only the labor element, but also the bourgeois, have exprelsed their desire for immediate peace. Austria-Hungary was recently "al most on the point of beginning peace negotiations with the entente," Count Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister, declared Tuesday in an ad dress to the Vienna municipal council. The wind "suddenly veered," he add ed, the entente deciding to "await de velopments in his country, which caused it to hope that the dual mon archy "would soon be defenseless." The foreign minister's words were: "Recently we were almost on the point of entering into negotiations with the western powers, when the wind suddenly veered around, and, as we know with certainty, the entente decided it had better wait, as parlia mentary and political events in our country justified the hope that the monarchy would soon be defenseless."' "I do not intend to go begging for peace or to obtain it by entreatied and lamentations, but to enforce it by our moral right and physicaI strength," Count Zsernin declared.. "Any other tactics I consider will contribute to the prolongation of the war." There was g-sudden and marked de crease in the losses to British ship ring through mine or submarine in the _ast week. The admiralty reports that only six British merchantmen of 1,600 tons or over and seven under that tonnage were sunk in the week ending March 30. Five fshing vessels also were seat to the bottom. The admiralty statement continues: "iPfteea British merchant vessels were unsuecesstflly attacked by- sub BUY LIBERTY BONDS Democracy and Liberty Under going the Supreme Test. Americans Face Great Duties in Pro viding Food Products and Aiding Our Soldiers and Our Allies in War. (By HAPSBURG LIEBE of the Vigi lantes.) Democracy and Liberty are not al ways synonymous, perhaps, but they mean the same to us now, certainly. A military autocracy, after more than forty years of thorough and cunning preparation, a great part of it by means of weapons of our own invention, has thrust our Democracy and our Liberty into the crucible to test it out, to see whether it wouldt hold good. They did not believe it would hIold good, those Prussian ntilitarists; they (ido not be lieve it yet. We believe it will, but our Ihlief has been itadle up hereti fore la:t eiy of eg'otistl and blindness. Democracy and Liberty, the witid's with olur own, is now under.roinz the suplrteiae test. (Of course there is driss, and it is coming to the top rapidly. Tiw-re is inelliciency, inlisalltanllelllet. grave mtistakes that even our nIationial leaders have lllade; there has been somle graft, no doubt; there has been somie playing of politics; there has beetn profiteering, but all this is only th"- dross floating to the top of the crucible. We were never a military nation, you know. The biggest of our mistakes. I think, was in our shipbuild ing program, but we were never a ship building nation, either. However, this .dross is all being cleared away. Fully 60 per cent of the winning of this war depends upon us here at home. We have three great duties upon us now as we never had them upon us before-those of us who can grow food products must grow more than ever; we must all aid in the saving of foods, and especially wheat, meats, and sugar; and all of us who can, though it may necessitate some sacrifice, must buy these new Liberty bonds. Proper ly carried through, these three great duties will prove the overbalancing power in the winning of the war, be yond a doubt. The growing of great crops and the conservation of food, and the buying of Liberty bonds, quick ly mean enough food for our soldiers and our allies, and enough ships to carry it. If we fail in this the die of destiny is quite likely to fall with its skull-and-crossbones upward for us; if we do not fail, then Democracy and Liberty will come out of the crucible covered with glory. The result is Inviltable. ,WHO FIGHTS AT HOME? SAY I! (By ROLAND G. USHER, of the Vig ilantes.) We cannot fight a war and still do business as usual. This means you and not other people. You might as well come to it first as last. The war is unusual and we shall have to have unusual business to deal with it. The gist of it is this: The nation has just so many hands and just so much energy-just so much raw mate rial and labor. 'There are only 24 hours in the day and 365 days in the year. We can make only so many things in a given time with a given supply of time and material. If we make some things we cannot make others. If we put sugar into candy to stuff idle women we cannot have jam to feed the soldiers. If we make au tos for pleasure only, we cannot use that material, labor and energy for tanks and airplanes. If we burn the gasoline on Sundays, the boys in France cannot use it in battle. The whole truth is that we must stop business as usual. And-this is where you come in-you must stop spending as usual. Do it now. Put your money Into gunpowder and not face powder: into tanks and not limou sines; into food for the trenches In stead of spending it in hotels and res taurants. But you cannot buy directly for the army. The government must do it. Give the government the money and BUY A LIBERTY BOND. Your Bond Buys Explosives. Many-.armers here In America have used giant powder or dynamite in blasting out stumbs and rocks and in preparing a hillside for an orchard. Explosives are dangerous to handle and we all duck our heads and run when the charge is to be set off. Over In France today our sons are having the stuff hurled at them every minute of the day and night with an occasion al volley of gas shells that choke and strangle to death and they don't dare run. With the boys looking death in the face over there, we can do no more than look the issue squarely fi the face here at home and buy Liberty Bonds and see that they are provided with ammunition to return the kalser just as good as be is sending aereas to our trenches. THE PRESIDENT'S LIBERTY ADDRESS IN LIBERTY DAY ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE HE TELLS OF GER MAN PEACE PROPOSALS. BANISH SELFISH RULE Declares He Accepts Teutons' Chal lenge and It Shall Appear in Utter Sacrifice of People to Re deem the World. Baltimore, Md.-President Wilson, at a great liberty loan celebration in Baltimore Saturday night, gave Amer ica's answer to the German drive on the western battle front; to the re newed propaganda for a German-made peace, to all proposals to end the war before Germany is awakened from her dream of world dominion. The president's answer was: "Force, force to the utmost, force without stint or limit, the righteous and triumphant force which shall make right the law of the world and cast every selfish dominion down in the dust." A few hours before the president spoke he had reviewed a division of citizen soldiers, called only a few months ago from the pursuits of peace, now transformed into fighting men to carry the ideals of America to the battlefields of Europe. At the mo ment a million more of their kind all over the land were celebrating the opening of the third liberty loan; and. the orders for mobilizing the first of the great army of a second division were going out to the country. Those were some of the physical facts which backed his words, when, after reviewing briefly the evidence that Germany seeks a peace for her world dominion, the president de clared: "I accept challenge. I know that you accept it. All the world shall know you accept it. It shall appear in the utter sacrifice and self-forgetful i.,s with which we shall give all that we love and all that we have to re deeth the world and make it fit for free men like ourselves "V live in. This now is the meaning of what we do. Let everything that we say, my fellow-countrymen, everything that we. henceforth plan and accomplish ring true to this response till the majesty and might of our concerted power shall fill the thought and utterly de feat the force of those who flout and misprize what we honor and hold dear. "Germany has once more said that force and force alone saall decide whether justice and peace shall reign in the affairs of men; whether right as America conceives it, or dominion as she conceives it, shall determine the destinies of mankind. "There is, therefore, but one re sponse possible for us-force, force to the utmost, force without stint or limit, the righteous force which shall make right the law cf the world, and cast every selfish dominion in the dust." Wa'ning anew that a triumph of arms for Germany means ruin for all the ideals America has won and lives for, the president reiterated he was willing to discuss at any time a fair, just and honest peace sincerely pro posed-" a peace in which the strong and weak shall fare alike." "But the answer," he said, "when I proposed such a peace came from the German commanders in Russia and I can not mistake the meaning of the answer. "They are enjoying in Russia," the president declared, "a cheap triumph, in which no brave or gallant nation can long take pride. A great people, helpless by their own act, lies for the time at their mercy. Their fair pro fessions are forgotten. They nowhere set up justice, but everywhere impose their power and exploit everything for their own use and aggrandizement; and the peoples of conquered prov inces are invited to be free under their dominion. "Are we not justified in believing that they would do the same things at their western front if they were not there face to face with armies which their countless d. isions can not over come?" Russian Ships Requisitioned. New York.-The United States has requisltioned' for use in entente' serv ice a number of Russian steamships formerly engaged in transporting sup plies between America and Russia, ac cording to autifritatlre Information received in shipping circles in New York Priday. The vessels are those which were detained, in American fouts when the prer.en t , iar ~-v ernment came-into power. Tiu~,y . ..I continue to fly the Russian flag. It is understood thefwill ye operated by the Rusesfa volunteer fleet, which rep resentatives of the former Russian government in the Unit States say is still itact. s