New-York tribune. [volume], May 08, 1918, Image 1

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Vol. LXXVm Nq. 26,100
First to Last?the Truth: News
[Copyright 191??
The. Tribune Ah?*!!!
Editorials
Sriimitt
Advertisements
WB'ATKVR
Showers and cooler to-day, with strong
southwest to northwest winds.
To-morrow fair
Full Report on Pace 9
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1918
* * * *
TWiirrvml'11 iireater New York and
in?iMi5)it|(|i|ii commuting <ll*tan<e
THRKE CENTS
Elsewhere
Senate in Aero Inquiry
Will Spare No One; Baker
Calls Critics Pro-German
Chamberlain Asserts
No "Whitewashing"
Will Be Tol?
erated
Gregory Confers
With President
_?
W. L. Frierson Put in
Charge of Depart?
ment of Justice
Investigation
WASHINGTON, May 7. Senator
Chamberlain announced in the Senate
to-d?y that the Military Affairs Com?
mittee, of which he was chairman, pro?
posed to investigate the aircraft situa?
tion, "to rut i*s nngcr upon those re?
sponsible for delay." He added that
the committee didn't propose "to en
nee in any whitewashing process,
either." The Senator was moved to do
this by the reading in the Senate of
the President's letter urging investiga?
tion bv the duly constituted authori?
ties of the government. As one of the
duly constituted authorities the Senate
?ill* investigate.
This, will make three investigations?
one by the Senate Military Affairs
Committee, one by the Department of
Justice and one by a military court of
inquiry, asked for by General Squier.
Presumably the Senate will not concern
itself with any possible criminal phases
of the subject, and thus it will avoid
giving immunity to persons whom the
- Department of Justice may seek to
prosecute.
House Ends Brief Inquiry
In the meantime the House Military
Committee, considering the $15,000,000,
000 army appropriation bill with
$1,000,000,000 for aviation, virtually
completed a brief aircraft inquiry of
ItlOWB.
Ja t?a hearing on the $1,000,000,000
??afias estimate before t'ne House
Military Affairs Committee the War
Department gave the committee an ac?
counting for the $640,000,000 already
appropriated for aviation, showing that
$370,000,000 actually had been spent
and that of the unexpended balance
$270,000.000 covers contracts for con?
struction already placed.
Secretary of War Baker in his testi?
mony declared that much of the criti?
cism of the aircraft production pro?
gramme had been stimulated by Ger?
man propagandists.
After hearing Secretary Baker and
his chief aids for aviation the commit
teemen were agreed that the situation
did not call for an investigation by
them. Leading members said after the
meeting they were convinced both that
there had been no criminal liability
for delays and deficiencies in the past
and that the present status of War De?
partment plans was satisfactory.
The Attorney General conferred for
an hour with the President after the
Cabinet meeting. Later he announced
that Assistant Attorney General Will?
iam L. Frierson had been assigned to
conduct a thorough inquiry, with the
assistance of other lawyers of the de?
partment and special agents of the bu?
reau of investigation.
Borglum To Be Examined
One of the first steps of Mr. Frier?
son will be to examine the report sub?
mitted to the President by Gutzon
Borglum, the sculptor, und to call upon
?r. Borglum fpr evidence to support
his sweeping charges of graft and pro
German intrigue. Attorney General
Gregory said the sculptor would be
pven the fullest opportunit? to sub
?tantiate his allegations.
In addition to the Borglum report
Mr. Frierson will have the report of
the President's special committee, head?
ed by Snowden Marshall, and such in
tormation as has been developed by
the Senate committee.
Senator Chamberlain's announcement
followed conferences of military com?
mittee members and discussion of the
?nbjpct on the floor of the Senate. The
committee expects to begin its work
within a week, and probably will dele- l
Wte it to a sub-committee to meet in
executive session.
Will Fix Responsibility
Senator Chamberlain referred to the
charges that pro-German influences !
nave inspired criticism of the aircraft i
Programme, and declared such charges j
?ould not deter any of the committee !
??m doing his duty.
Sensational charges affecting the
aircraft programme are being received j
|*'ly by committee members/' said the i
oenator. "The whole business has
j**n camouflaged and misrepresented
w the American people. This com-1
??Uee is determined to do whatever !
? necessary to help win the war. If ?
Bg? it responsibility for lack of!
?needing "P. the committee proposes to
?ri*klt8 ^nKer on tne men responsible i
?ithout fear or favor, and it doesnt
Propose to engage in any whitewashing
Process, either."
Senator Brandegee, of Connecticut,
??publican, and others approved the
Proposal to give the public complete in
rormation. Tho Connecticut Senator
?N it was time for those "making
cB?rg?s regarding the aviation situa?
ron to "prove up or shift up.
(Sprrmi Dispatch to The Tribune)
Washington. May 7.?That ?
??arching investigation of the delays in
??craft production, charges of prof?
iteering and the part, jf any, German
P^pathizers played in retarding the
?*!u*2* with assurances that there
?? I? ?_ "no whitewashing process,"
7?1?? be made by the Senate Military
???ira Committee was announced by
Continued on Page 3, Column 5
! Capt. Norman Hall
Missing in Battle
-~-.
Noted American Flier Fails to
Return After Fight In?
side German Lines
{Uv The Associated Prvsn)
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
: FRANCE, May 7. ? Flight Captain
Jamos Norman Hall, author and one of
! the best known aviators in the Ameri
i can or Allied armies, is missing, after
a thrilling battle ten miles inside the
German lines, opposite the Toul sector.
The fight was between three Ameri?
can 'planes and four Oerman machines,
which apparently belonged to the "fly?
ing circus."
Two German machines also went to
earth during the battle in a crippled
condition.
Captain Hall's home is Colfax, Iowa.
James Norman Hall joined the Brit?
ish army in London in August, 1914.
After a year and a half in the service
he obtained bis discharge and returned
to the United States on private busi?
ness. As soon as possible he returned
to France and there enlisted in the
Lafayette Escadrille. It was shortly
after th.is that his book "Kitchener's
Mob" was published.
On February 8, 1918, he was trans?
ferred to the American army from the
Lafayette Escadrille and on March 2
he brought down two German airplanes
in a light lasting but seven minutes.
On March 13 he was awarded the Dis?
tinguished Service Cross of the United
States army and the same day that this
signal honor was reported there came
another dispatch telling of his destroy?
ing one German airplane and forcing
two others to land.
The last known exploit in which
Captain Hall 'fifrured occurred en May
2, when, with Eddie Rickenbacher, the
former automobile racing driver, he
brought down two German machines.
Captain Hall is thirty years old and
a graduate of Grinnell College.
Nicaragua Enters War ;
20th Foe of Germany
SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua,
May 7.?Nicaragua to-day declared war
on Germany and her allies.
The declaration of war was adopted
by Congress at the suggestion of Presi?
dent Chamorro, with only four dissent?
ing votes.
Congress also adopted a declaration
of solidarity with the United States
and the other American republics at
war with Germany and Austria, and
authorized the President to take steps
fcr utilization to a full measure of the
nation's forces in the war.
Nicaragua's action follows that of its
neighbor, Guatemala, which last month
declared war on Germany. Nicaragua
severed relations with Germany a year
ago.
Nicaragua is the twentieth nation
which has declared war against Ger?
many.
The country has an area of 49,200
square miles, a little more than the
State of New York, and a population
of 703,540. *The active army consists j
of only 2,000 men, but military training'
is compulsory between the ages of sev?
enteen and fifty-five. Nicaragua has no j
navy.
By the treaty of 1916 the United!
States acquired from Nicaragua a new
route for a trans-isthmian canal and ;
secured a naval base in the Bay of
Fonseca, on the Pacific Coast, and Corn j
Island, on the Atlantic Coast. Since !
1913 the United States has maintained i
a force of marines in the country, sent j
there to suppress disorder. It is un?
derstood that the size of this force of!
marines was not decreased by the send-1
ing of American forces to Europe.
Bisbee Deportations
Violated Federal Law
WASHINGTON, May 7.?Investiga-?
tion by the Department of Justice of
the deportation of 1,186 copper mine
workers from Bisbee and the Warren
district of Arizona last July has devel?
oped apparent violations of the law, it
was disclosed to-day, and Assistant At?
torney General William C. Fitts and
Oliver E. Pagan, special attorney for
indictment cases, have gone to Tucson,
Ariz., where a United States Grand Jury
is in session.
The investigators reported that, in
their opinion, a number of the citizens
of Bisbee and other towns responsible
for the forced deportations violated
Federal laws forbidding conspiracy to
deprive citizens of their constitutional
rights. The penalty provided by law is
a fine of not more than $5,000 and im?
prisonment not more than ten years.
The Department of Justice has been
investigating the deportations since
last fall, when a labor commission,
headed by Secretary Wilson, reported
to the President on the deportations
and suggested prosecution of those re?
sponsible.
i ?
Ku Klux Klan Warns
Idlers in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 7?One
hundred and fifty white-robed men, in
Ku Klux Klan uniform, carrying an
American flag and a fiery cross at the
head of the procession, rode through
Birmingham last night, warning idlers
to find work to do.
The riders distributed cards saying
i the' United States is at war; that every
man is needed?except those whose at?
titude is hostile to the government?
and that the klan intends to see that
there is ho idleness. The cards say, in
part:
"If you would be justly entitled to
the toleration and protection you aro
enjoying, find work to do and do it.
No able-bodied man, rich or poor, hag
a right to consume without producing.
Take heed and go to work. The eye
of scrutiny is upon you.
"Be respectful to the flag of our
country and loyal to the government.
Aid by every means at your command
the suppression of disloyalty by either
speech or action. The Ku Klux Klan
?r pledged to the enforcement of the
above tenets."
Sedition Bill
Passed; Goes
To President
London, Socialist, Casts
Only Opposition Vote
in House
Body Blow for
Whispering Traitors
Printed or Spoken Disloy?
alty Made Punishable
by 20-Year Term
WASHINGTON, May 7.?Final legis?
lative action was taken to-day on the
sedition bill, giving the trovernnient
broad new powers to punish disloyal
acts and utterances. Adopting a con?
ference report already approved by the
Senate, the House sent to the Presi?
dent for his signature the measure,
which has been before Congress for
weeks, assailed on one hand as a men?
ace to free speech and championed on
the other as essential to order at
home during trie war.
The President is expected to sign
the bill promptly, and through vigor?
ous enforcement bf its provisions offi?
cials of the Department of Justice say
they will be able to do much toward
checking the wave of mob outbreaks
for which unpunished disloyalty and
? enemy activity are blamed.
Penalties of twenty years' imprison?
ment or a fine of $10,000, or both, are
provided in the bill for those convict?
ed of uttering or printing disloyal,
abusive, profane, scurrilous, contempt?
uous or abusive language about the
United States or. the government or
the form of government, or the flag,
and for those who are convicted of
of favoring Germany or her allies in
the present war.
Socialist Voted Against It
The debate in the House was noth?
ing like so extended as in the Senate,
and while some opposition developed
there, only Representative London, of
New York, Socialist, voted against the
conference report on the final test.
Representatives Lundeen. of Minne?
sota, Republican, and Church, of Cali
ornia, Democrat, voted present.
Representative London sought vain?
ly to send the report back to confer?
ence because of the elimination of the
Senate amendment exempting from
penalty those who, in criticism of the j
government, speak the truth with good j
motives and for justifiable ends. Rep?
resentative Gordon, of Ohio, Democrat,
declared the Senate placed language in
the bill "which plainly is in violation
of the Federal Constitution guarantee?
ing free speech."
Others opposed the bill largely be?
cause of their objection to conferring
new censorship powers on the Post?
master General, who is authorized to <
refuse the service of the mails to any
person or concern using the mails in
violation of the proposed act.
London Defends I. W. W.
Representative Johnson, of Wash?
ington, attacked Representative Lon?
don's criticism of the provision against
using abusive language against the
Constitution of the United States, and
wanted to know whether the Socialist
member approved the activities of the
I. W. W.
"When a group of conscienceless
employers refuse to recognize the right
Continued on Page 4, Cohimn 4
Trip to Front Makes
Baker's Aid a Soldier
(Special r>0>patrh In The Tribune)
WASHINGTON, May 7.?A visit
to the trenches and American train?
ing camps in France has convinced
Ralph Hayes, private secretary to
Secretary of War Newton D. Baker,
that he must get into the fight to
crush Hunism without further de?
lay.
On their return, Hayes informed
the Secrctnry of his decision, and
obtained Mr. Baker's aid in getting
his place in the draft ndvanced so
he would be called at once. He took
the physical examination to-day and
soon will be in uniform.
Hayes came here from Cleveland,
where he was associated with Mr.
Baker. His position as private sec?
retary to the Secretary of War is
' by far the most important in Wash?
ington held by so young a man. Al?
though only about twenty-five years
old, Hayes kno.ws and keeps to him?
self the military secrets possessed
by the War Department.
$260,000,000
Raise Is Urged
For R. R. Labor
Wage Commission Said to
Have Recommended 20
Per Cent Advance
WASHINGTON, May 7.-Director I
General McAdoo will announce soon
his decision on recommendations of I
the Railroad Wage Commission, which
were said in well informed quarters
to-day to propose an average of 20 per
cent advance in pay for all classes
of railroad employes. If Mr. McAdoo
follows the suggestions of the com?
mission approximately $260,000,000 will
be added to the payroll of the nation's
railroads.
Strong pressure is said to have been
brought to bear on the Director Gen?
eral to modify some of the commis?
sion's recommendations, especially
those affecting the four great brother-1
hoods. Mr. McAdoo is not bound to
follow the advice of the commission
and can increase or' reduce their rec?
ommendations as he sees fit. The com?
mission has followed its announced pol?
icy of giving the highest paid unions
the lowest rate of advance, holding |
that relief is needed most by the men j
who have been barely making ends j
meet or perhaps going in debt on the j
wages they received.
Apparently none of tne commission's
recommendations has met the requests |
of the union, which ranged as high as
40, 60 and 60 per cent.'
Aside from the wage question, the
commission has made little effort to
take up the grievances presented to it.
The eight-hour day, however, involving
large sums, was given close atention,
because of the fact that some classes
of employes now work on such a basis,
while most of them do not.
A majority of the commission is
said to have felt that the eight-hour
day should not be made universal for
railroad employes while the war is in
progress, fearing to upset transporta- '<
tion and necessiiate the expenditure |
of large sums i/*. addition to the in?
creases suggested. It said the com- ;
mission has urged that after the war ;
the eight-hour day be extended and
made the basis of employment of all ',
classes of railroad workers. 1
SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE AEROPLANE FACTORY
Maurice Charges Lloyd George
Misled Nation; Britain Stirred
! British and
French Both
Gain in Raids
Enemies' Communications
on Arras Front Under
Constant Fire
More Americans
Entering Trenches
Clemenceau Reports That
Weight of U. S. Is Being
Felt on Battle Line
Hindered by heavy weather, the Ger?
man armies in Flanders and
Picardy yesterday passed another
day without undertaking major
operations. Their harassing artil?
lery fire has kept the British and
French expectant and ready for
the blow which must fall as soon
as Ludendorff thinks the condi?
tions favorable.
While the enemy is building concrete
roads and drawing up his guns
the Allies are reinforcing their
lines at every point. American
troops are going into the trenchJ?s
in increasing numbers, Premier
Clemenceau reported yesterday on
his return from the front line.
Confidence in the invincibility of the
Allied troops and their ability to
break down any Teuton assault is
expressed by the Allied leaders.
Time is working against the Ger?
man aim to split the Anglo-French
armies.
The intense hammering of the guns
near Arras and south of Ypres
had slackened somewhat yester
ady. But the Germans continued
to hurl destruction on the Allied (
back areas around Ypres, while ;
the British and French bombarded
the German roads and concentra?
tions. North and south of the
Avre and along the Lys the great
guns roared furiously all day.
Both sides carried out raids on the
opposing trenches. South of Bri
mont German raiders crossed- the
Aisne Canal and captured a few
prisoners in the British positions
Continued on next page, Column 5
300 Italians Stand Siege 6 Months
WASHINGTON, May 7.?One of the most remarkable incidents
of the war was related to-day in this communication from the Italian
Supreme Command:
"One of our prisoners, who escaped from an Austrian camp and
succeeded in reaching the Italian lines after a series of thrilling ex?
periences, narrates that at Cimolai, east of Longarone, three hundred
Italian soldiers are still fortified in a strong position in the moun?
tains and present the most stubborn resistance to the Austrians,
who thus far have been unable to dislodge them."
Cimolai is in the invaded Italian territory, and the Italian
soldiers holding the position have successfully resisted siege and as?
saults for more than six months, as it was last October that the
Italian retirement took place.
The incident recalls several of a similar nature reported for
weeks after the Italian retirement, and is believed to represent one
of the groups of soldiers who held out, obedient to order to stand
or die, and whose fate was never learned.
N. Y. District
Passes Billion
Mark in Loan
Total of $1,002,900,000 Is
Tabulated, With Returns
Still Incomplete
For their effect on Germany the drab
tabulating machines in the Federal Re?
serve Bank here might have been bark?
ing machine guns yesterday. They
hardly could have annoyed the foe
more, for they showed the New York
district had far surpassed the $1,000,
000,000 mark. Incomplete returns
placed the subscriptions of the Second
Federal Reserve District in the third
Liberty Loan at $1,002,900,000.
This latest spurt, placed every sub
district in the New York area safely
over the minimum. The gain through?
out the district for the two closing
days of the drive was far in excess of
$229,400,000. The figures already avail?
able show that the twenty-fifth day of
the push for the dollars of. Liberty
was more successful even than the
first, when $106,000,000 of bonds found
purchasers. ????.>-, ^
Work of School Children
Further evidence that the official
estimate of 4,000,000 persons in the New
York district bought bonds was brought
foBth yesterday in the tentative report
.on the work of the 700,000 school chil?
dren of the city. They received 524,205
subscriptions for a total of $52.756,609.
Manhattan, which leads, has 227,594
subscriptions, reaching $23,847,150.
Following is the report by boroughs:
Total No. of Amount of
subscriptions, subscriptions.
Manhattan .227,694 $23.847,150
Bronx. 91,852 8,413,800
Brooklyn . 109,350 17,360.400
Queens . 32,175 2,703,000
Richmond. 3.23 4 432,250
Totals .524,205 $52,756,600
The Julia Richman High School, of
which Michael H. Lucey is principal,
earned first honors by getting 11,870
subscriptions.
Amounts to $1,909,150
~ Arthur L. Janes, the principal
of Boys' High School, would not
let a $1,000,000 application re?
ceived by one of the students at the
beginning of the campaign count in his
school's grand total. De Witt Clinton,
of which Francis H. J. Paul is prin?
cipal, and Wadleigh High School, of
which Stuart EL Rowe is principal, have
passed the million-dollar mark. Morris
High School is near this figure and fif?
teen high schools amassed sums in ex?
cess of $200,000. The New York Even?
ing High School for Women and the
Brooklyn Evening High School for Men
lead the evening schools.
How the Schools Rank
Public School 93, Manhattan, stood
first among the elementary schools in
the total amount subscribed with $802,
450. Public School 39, Bronx, however,
which only reached $631,250, led the
field in the number of subscribers with
6,424. M?S3 Laura Carlton is principal
of the former school and Miss Anna V.
McCarthy of the latter. Public School
24, Manhattan, and Public School 48,
Bronx, are still tussling for third place
Only the complete returns will decide
the issue.
Against subscriptions of $7,000,000
in the second loan the Theatrical Allied
Interests yesterday reported $32,358,
800 in third loan subscriptions. The
vaudeville theatres led with a total of
511,751,950, and of this amount the
keith theatres are credited with $8,
622,750. The Shubert theatres led the
dramatic houses with a total of $4,
298,525, and the Astor Theatre took
highest honors in this group with a
record of $2,014,500.
The Woman's War Relief Committee,
which conducted the Liberty Theatre
in front of the New York Public
Library, turned in 5,261 subscriptions
for a total of $1,465,050. The subscrip?
tions from the theatres from the entire
Second Federal Reserve District are
estimated at $50,000,000.
Incomplete returns received yester?
day from Cuba show that 10,500 per?
sons on the island subscribed for $5,
150,000 of bonds. Ten times as mary
subscribers as in the second loan a'id
three times the amount of the sub?
scriptions are recorded in these tot**B.
The banks are required to send their
complete returns to the Federal Re?
serve Bank to-morrow.
German Gas Drifts
To Towns on Rhine
GENEVA, May 7. -The municipal
authorities at Mulhausen, Alsace,
have ordered all inhabitants to pro?
cure gas masks before May 10, as
protection "against aerial gas at?
tacks," the Lausanne "Gazette" says
it learns.
' The truth of the matter is, the
newspaper adds, thai, owing to con?
trary winds large quantities of
poison gas employed by the Ger?
mans are now drifting gradually to?
ward towns along the Rhine, which
already are feeling the effects of the
gu,
Americans
Helped British
At Zeebrugge
Returning Officer Asserts
U. S. Fighters Landed
on the Mole
AN ATLANTIC PORT. May 7.?
American forcei took part in the sim
! ultaneous land, sea and air attacks
j which bottled up the U-boat base at
i Zeebrugg3, according to an American
I naval officer who reached this port
I to-day on a French liner. This officer,
I whose name cannot be divulged, de?
clared that, as the result of the raids.
the destructive power of the German
| submarine had been curtailed to a sur?
prising extent?so much so, in fact,
| that certain precautions heretofore
employed in convoys had been done
away with recently.
"The part of the Americans in the
attacks on Zeebrugge has not been
made public, and I can only hint at it,"
the officer said. "It has been reported
that American motor boats were used
in taking off the landing party after
the successful attack.
"What has not been told is that
. Americans were on the attacking
i ships, working with the British, and
? in the land force that did such great
i work. American naval aviators," using
j British 'planes, flew over the U-boat
! base at the same time, and dropped
j bombs on the most vital points. Their
I work, if known, would make history."
The French liner bringing this officer
i arrived here on her first trip in a
! year, during which time she has been
? refitted completely. Among the pas
? sengers was Professor Albert van
i Hecke, of the University of Louvain,
| Belgium, and secretary of the Belgian
I Ministry of Public Works.
Professor van Hecke is here as a mem
? ber of a mission looking to the indus
? trial and commercial rehabilitation of
j Belgium, after the war, on lines pat
! terned after American "big business."
j He will remain here probably six
i months, studying large manufacturing
plants throughout the country. Pro?
fessor van Hecke, who was in Louvain
when it was sacked, and who lived
five days in a cellar while the Ger?
mans were bombarding the town, de?
clared that Germany's defeat was now
reasonably certain^
"When the Germans made their big
drive for Ypres and were unable to
succeed even in the first rush, after
months of preparation, any one could
read the signs," he said. "The Ger?
mans are not what they were four
years ago, when I met them in their
might. Now they cannot even succeed
in capturing the small portion of Bel?
gium held by the shattered Belgian
army."
Drug Stills Hunger
Pangs in Germany
Advertisement Praises Prepara?
tion to Enable One "to Hold
Out to Next Meal"
AMSTERDAM, May 7. "To bear
i hunger without, at the same time, suf
| fering from headache or other indis
! position, is very difficult for most peo?
ple," reads the opening sentence of ?
significant advertisement inserted in
I Sunday's "Taaglische Rundschau," of
? Berlin, by a Berlin chemical firm,
i praising a newly invented drug, which
j "though not forming a substitute for
i the minimum daily sustenance, is an
! excellent preparation for stilling pre
? mature hunger, and enables one to
! hold out until the next meal time."
Punish Coal Company
? For Violating Order
Exposed Belgian Relief Steamer
to Submarine Menace by
Its Action
WASHINGTON, May 7.- For supply
| ing a Belgian relief steamer and
j other ships with a grade of coal that
exposed them tu the submarine men
; ace, instead of a smokeless coal, the
j New York and Philadelphia Coal and
: Coke Company was ordered by the
fuel administration to-day to contr,ib
I ute $1,000 to the Belgian Relief Cora
mission and suspend operation for five
i days beginning May 9. It will also re
; fund $1.35 for each short ton of the
j low-grade fuel delivered.
Under a regulation issued April 1
I the fuel administration directed that
j only low volatile or smokeless coal he
j furnished naval and other ships leaving
| Atlantic ports likely to pass through
I the submarine zone. The administra
| lion announced that the company had
! violated this order in furnishing coal
[to the Belgian relief steamer Presi
I dent Bunge and other unnamed ahina.
? _? _'
Government
Calls For a
Test by Vote
In Commons
Truth Was Distorted
by the Premier, Says
General in Letter
to Press
British Public
Stirred by Charge
Full Inquiry Demand
ed by Both Sides;
Accuser May Be
Disciplined
By Arthur S. Draper
LONDON, May 8.?Major Ger
eral F. B. Maurice, recently remove
from the post of Chief Director <
Military Operations, attacked tr
veracity of the Premier and tr
leader of the House of Commor
yesterday.
In a letter published in the mon
ing papers he charged Andre
Bonar Law and Lloyd George wil
misstating military facts in tl
House of Commons.
The accusation produced a sens
tion equal to the moral effect of
reverse to British arms. It has i
ready resulted in a decision to t?
the government's strength. T
Cabinet late^la-tli?' night issued a a
to all its supporters ^o" attend t
House Thursday tor a divisic
The apparent result will be the aba
donment of previous plans to ref
the matter to a court of honor or
military tribunal, and to leave t
decision entirely to the House.
Charges Unprecedented
Giving the lie direct by a disti
guished military leader is sorr
thing unprecedented in Engli
public affairs, and no great
bombshell has been thrown in pol
ical circles during the war. T
gravity of the issues involved h
raised the letter of the late Ch
of Military Operations to interr
tional proportions.
The subject was raised in Pari:
ment in the afternoon during qu
tion time, when, in reply to Asqui
Bonar Law said that the govei
ment intended to appoint two judj
to hear secretly the facts of t
case.
To Court Martial Accuser
It was also announced that a day
for debate on the subject would be
named. The expectation that Lloyd
George would seize the opportunity
for makng an Immediate reply was
not realized. General Maurice, it
was then said, would come before a
court martial immediately, as he is
still an officer in the .army. ?
Sir Edward Carson, who was for?
merly a member of the Lloyd George
government, filed questions with
Bonar Law, as did Asquith, the
leader of the Liberals. The Irish
Nationalists are certain to return to
Westminster for the debate, it was
said this evening.
That it is not a party issue was
proven by the fact that the Conserva?
tive "Morning Post" and "Globe" de?
mand a promut inquiry, as do the Lib?
eral "Daily Chronicle," "Daily News,"
"Star" and "Westminster Gazette."
Reputed ministerial papers like "The
Times," "The Daily Mail," "The Daily
Express," "The Daily Telegraph," ex?
press no editorial comment. In fact,
"The Times" is the only one of them
that gives publicity to the remarkable
letter.
Predicts Government Fall
Th/ Conservative "Globe" says:
"The downfall of the government is
now inevitable," while the Liberal
"Westminster Gazette" says: "There
must be a drastic change and if it in?
volves a change of government that
must come, too."
"The Globe" says: "We an? anxious
that our allies and our dominions
should realize that a change in Down
in" Street is inevitable and we would
caution them against the belief that
the fall of Lloyd George involves col?
lapse, defeat or pacifism, which were
never at such discount in Britain ai
they are to-day."
General Maurice, who through hii
weekly conferences with well known
American correspondents interpret??
military situations, was the Chief o1
Military Operations from 1915 until th?
middle of last month and as such, en
joyed an unsurpassed ?pportuaity |qi