Evening star. [volume], February 20, 1915, Image 1

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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No. 19,869. . WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1915-TWENTY PAGES. * ONE CENT.
LEGISLATIVE BILL
PASSEDBYSENATE
Measure Appropriates for Expenses
of the Several Departments
of Government.
ITEM FOR LABOR INQUIRY
IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
|
Investigation to Cover Earnings Ont ide
of Departments, Forecasting
Uinimntn Wflov Taw.
The Senate today passed the legisla- I
five, executive and Judicial appropria- 1
tion bill, carrying- approximately $37,?00,000.
Just before the passage of the bill
the Senate adopted an amendment offered
by Senator Kenyon of Iowa providing
$6,000 for an investigation by
the Department of Labor into cost of
living of wage earners outside the government
employ in the District of Columbia.
This investigation is intended
by its advocates as a forerunner of
an attempt to have enacted a minimum
wage law for the District. The National
Consumers' League, which was
instrumental in bringing about the
enactment of the eight-hour law for
women in the District, has taken a
keen interest in the Kenyon amendment.
Senator Martin, chairman of the appropriations
committee, said that he
would make no objection to the adoption
of the amendment, since there
seemed to be much sympathy with it |
in the Senate, and that the matter |
could be thrashed out in conference, j
ithout opposition, tnereiore, ine |
amendment was agreed to.
Census of Agriculture Omitted.
The first item under consideration to- ;
day was that appropriating $2,286,000
for a census of agriculture. By a vote
of 47 to 12 this was stricken out of
the bill. It was bitterly criticised as an
extravagant and useless proposition by
Senator Ken yon of Iowa and others
before the vote was taken.
When the committee amendments had
been disposed of Senator Martin of
Virginia offered an amendment reducing
from $2,600,000 to $2,200,000 the appropriation
for revenue agents, gaugers.
etc. Senator Martin presented a
letter from the Secretary of the Treasury
recommending the reduction. Its
effect will be to eliminate one gauge
of rectified spirits, two now being
tnade.
An amendment was offered by Senfetor
Stone, chairman of the foreign relations
committee, increasing from
$30,000 to $75,000 an item for emer
gency clerical services, to be expended
by the Secretary of State at his discretion.
Senator 8tone also sought to have
adopted ah amendment for $15,000 to
allow the State Department to lease
h building near it for a period of live
years at an annual hental of $15,000.
Senator Martin made a point of order
against this amendment and Senator
Stone withdrew it.
Effort to Preserve Maltby Building.
An attempt was made by Senator |
Shafroth of Colorado to have a provision
inserted in the bill which would
preserve from destruction the Malby
building, which has been used as an
annex of the Capitol and -which is
doomed to be torn down under the lawproviding
for the extension of the Capitol
grounds to the Union station. He
contended that the building should be
continued in use by the government.
A point of order by Senator Martin
against the Shafroth amendment was
sustained.
Fund for Panama Canal Opening.
During the consideration of the legislative
bill in the Senate yesterday aft
ernoon a committee amendment appropriating
5160.000 to be used by the
President in connection with the formal
opening of the Panama canal was
adopted by the Senate after a sharp
debate. Senator Fall sought to establish
the basis on which the estimate of
expenditures had been made. Senator
Martin, chairman of the appropriations
committee, said a conference of democratic
and republican leaders called by
the President had agreed to ask for
f^i.OOO to defray the expenses of the
President and his party, which was to
include foreign diplomats and 20o or
800 members of Congress.
Sum Seduced by Committee.
The committee, upon being advised
pf some criticism of this last provision,
however, had reduced the appropriation
$90,000, leaving It to the President
to Invite wthom he would.
Senator Martin said he understood
the president proposed to irsvite former
freaidents Roosevelt and Taft and h
email committee from Congress to
make the trip to San Francisco with
blra.
Senator Kenyon proposed an amendment
providing that none of the money
fce expended to pay the expenses of
fnembers of Congress on the trip, but it
was laid on the table by a vote of 33
to 10.
LEFT TO REFERENDUM.
Montana Senate Passes Bill on
State-Wide Prohibition.
HELENA. Mont., February 20.?The
s?ate senate has passed the state-wide
prohibition bill offered as a substitute
to the senate bill providing for a cont-tltutional
amendment. The substitute
provides that the question be left to a
referendum vote of the people in 1916
to ratify or reject the legislative enactpient.
The senate amended the bill tc
make prohibition effective December 31.
1918, the house bill making it effective
December 31. 1919. The bill now goes
to conference.
FRANK JAMES' FUNERAL.
Former Outlaw's Body Taken to St.
Louis for Cremation.
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS. Mo., Februarj
JO.?Funeral services for Frank James
the former outlaw, who died Thursday
were held today on his farm, near here
John F. Phillips, a former federal
fudge, who defended James when h<
iraB tried for murder and acquitted ir
Gallatin, delivered the funeral address
pallbearers were old-time friends o]
the ex-bandit.
After the services the body was taker
to St. Louis, where it will be crernatec
and the ashes returned to a safe deposii
vault In this city, according to James
* last wish. The one-time outlaw sale
he did not wish his grave to be a mec;
(a tor sightseers.
VITAL ISSUES |
OF LOCALCONCERN
For the Impartial Judgment of
an Unbiased Congressional
Commission.
BROWNE'S WILD GUESS
AT D. C. REALTY VALUES
Citv TTnvj Valued bv Asse?snr TTii?b
er Than Detroit?Grossly Overrained
by Browne at Twice as
Hnch as Baltimore.
NO. I.
BY THEODOBE W. NOYES.
Editorial Correspondence of The Star.
The repeal of the half-agd-half
law, without previous investigation
by an unbiased commission,
is urged on the ground that the
pertinent and controlling facts are
of record and have already received
full consideration by Congress.
and that a commission is
therefore unnecessary.
The essential facts are not of
record. Statements made in good
faith in the recent Senate discussion,
echoing similar statements
in the House, show conclusively
that grossly misleading allegations
are accepted in Congress as
gospel truth to the vital injury of
the capital community.
1. The allegation (without
any assessment by the committee
itself) of the so-called George
report that in 1912 realty values
for assessment in the District
were $744,000,000, or $414,000,000
more than the actual assessment
of that year, is found on the
slightest examination to be grossly
and preposterously false; and
the inferences of underassessment
and undertaxation derived
from it are untrue, unjust and injurious
in the extreme to the people
of the capital.
2. The method of measuring
the comparative tax burdens of
cities, adopted by the enemies of
Washington in the House and
treated as sound by some senators,
which accepts as accurate the
census-reported relations of assessed
to true value, and on this
assumption declares that the
Washingtonian's tax burden is
about one-half that of the resident
of the average American city, is
based on a false premise and leads
to a false conclusion. It is discredited
as unreliable by the census
authorities, and is reduced
to a logical absurdity when the attempt
is made to apply it practically.
Yet these two untruths are put
forward as truths, without vigorous
challenge in House or Senate,
and furnish today the strongest
propulsive force to the movement
for the repeal of the half-and-half
law.
An unbiased commission, from
membership in which the congressional
proponents of these challenged
statements should in fair
IIC^S UC UdllCU, tuuiu ICUUCl \diuable
service, both to the nation
and to the capital, by carefully
considering the evidence on these
issues and rendering an impartial
decision. For at the root of the
Johnson amendment and the
other assaults, direct and indirect,
upon the half-and-half law is the
assertion that Washington has
taxable values which if fairly assessed
would provide without national
participation the revenue
necessary for capital maintenance
and development.
False Charge of Underassessment.
The I'forgr taxation report off 1912
allege* that "real property in the Di*triet
off < olumbia la aaaeaaed *414,000,OOO
Itelon ita true value* the true value
betas *744,000.000, while the assessment
la only *?:i0,000,000.*'
It la to be remembered that the
. George committee did not pretend to
> undertake to make an assessment for
. itself, and that no local expert was allnu?d
to aivA testimony before it that
! covered any section thoroughly.
Tho statement, above quoted, is based
solely upon the testimony and argument
before the subcommittee of Witness H. J.
Browne. Mr Browne's evidence is not direct
expert appraisement of the value of
Washington realty, but is the deduction
of an ex-Journalist from what
persons questioned by him have said
concerning local values and from what
r he has read and studied in the news,
papers, or official reports, or record
books of business men of Washington
on that subject. Generalizing from
the statements, sworn and unsworn, of
I individuals in respect to particular
; cases in selected spots in the different
, sections of the city, Mr. Browne developed
an infallible formula for as
certaintng true values In all parts of
f Washington. For the large suburban
areas he multiplied the actual assess,
ment In every case by live; for the
i business and line residence areas of
t the northwest he multiplied the actual
assessment in every case by three and
I one-third; for middle-class house sites
he multiplied in every case by two.
tContlnued on Kightb Page.)
EXPOSITION OPENED
AT SANFRANCISCO
City Awakened by Joyous Din
of Whistles and Bells
Lasting an Hour.
INAUGURATION IS MARKED
BY ARTILLERY SALUTES
President Sends Electric Spark
? * ? ? *? _ 6
inrougn ait to upen uoon ox
Exhibit Palaces.
SAX FRANCISCO, February 20?The
gates of the Panama-Pacific international
exposition flew open to the world
today.
"This is the world in epitome," said
Dr. Frederick J. V. Skiff, the director
in chief, in a brief dedicatory address.
"Within the inclosure of these exposition
grounds there are no foreigners.
All may stand and stop upon this soil
as if it were their native land."
Salvos of artillery salutes, shrieking
whistles and sirens, pealing bells, rolling
drums and piercing fifes had
awakened the city at dawn. The day
had been declared a legal holiday and
nearly all the business houses and factories
were closed to permit their em
ployes to march in the gigantic parade
which early took possession of the
ground.
In the great parade were Secretary
Lane of the Department of the Interior,
representing President Wilson; Gov.
Johnson, the senate and assembly of
California; the governor and entire legislature
of Nevada, Mayor Rolph of
San Francisco, Mayor Rose of Los Angeles,
and the mayors of many other
California cities.
The formal aspect of the dedication
was made as short and simple as possible.
United States soldiers and marines
escorted Secretary Lane, Gov. Johnson
and the other officials to a stand facing
the main entrance to the exposition,
where they were welcomed by
President Charles C. Moore and the
other executive officers.
At an early hour the skies were overcast.
but the threat of showers did not
diminish apparently the city's enthusiasm
which broke forth at daybreak
in a cacophony of sound the like of
which had never before been heard in
Con Wro nrl spa
For an hour, beginning at 6:30 o'clock,
steam whistles, automobile sirens,
church bells, street car gongs and hubbub-making
instruments of all kinds
joined in a joyous din, awakening the
city and sending its thousands toward
the exposition.
Citizens March to Grounds.
The day's program called for citizens,
clubs and various societies and organizations
to assemble along Van Ness
avenue to march to the fair grounds.
The actual opening of the exposition
gates was to be signalized by a series
of artillery salutes from the army posts
on San Francisco bay, and at noon (3
o'clock Washington, D. C., time) the
program called for President Wilson
to send an electric spark through the
air from Washington to be received on
the radio antennae swung on the exposition's
tower of Jewels, and which
was to cause the doors of the exhibit
palaces to open and the machinery in
machinery hall to start.
Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the
Interior, representing President Wilson;
Gov. Hiram W. Johnson and C. C.
Moore, president of the exposition,
were to be the principal speakers of
the day. President vn iison was expected
to forward a message of congratulation
to the directors, to be read to the
crowd.
Forty-one foreign nations and fortythree
states and three territories of the
American Union are represented at the
exposition.
Original Plans Here Changed.
President Wilson touched a button at
3 o'clock this afternoon giving an electric
signal for the opening of the Panama-Pacific
exposition, at San Francisco,
at noon. Pacific coast time.
The ceremony took place in the east
room of the White House, and was
witnessed by members of the cabinet
and the California delegation in Congress.
Assistant Secretary Itoosevelt
of the Navy Department also was present,
as the representative of the government
exposition board.
Arrangements had been made so that
at the President's touch one signal was
flashed by telegraph to San Francisco
and another to the wireless station at
Tuckerton, N. X, from where it was
relayed to San Francisco by radio. It
was first planned to send the wireless
flash through the government station
at Arlington, but that detail was
changed.
It was decided not to have the President
talk by long-distance telephone tc
Sari Francisco, as Secretary Lane is attending
the opening of the exposition
as his official representative.
The Panama Canal.
Hail, men of brain! Hail, inon of brawn!
Your mighty deeds hare brought the dawn
Of faith triumphant in our day,
Completing our great waterway.
That faith sublime was loug foretold.
Fulfilling prophecy of old.
That mountains from their base could be
Removed and cast into the sea.
Behold the ships that proudly sail
Above the Jungles of the valeThrough
canyons carved by human skill,
With peaceful mls.-iou and good will.
O ships, in golden sunset glow,
Sail on while Uhagre*' waters flow;
1'roni coast to coast, from shore to shore,
Sail on till time shall be no more.
B. SAUXDKKS ROCKWELL.
WASHINGTON'S
BIRTHDAY
The regular edition
of The Star will be
issued Monday at J
o'clock and delivered
at once throughout the
city.
Qassified Advertisements
must be in The
Star office by 10:30
aan. to insure insertion
in Monday's Star.
t
f
A THIRD NORWE<
IS SUNK IN
Two Steamers Belie
Mines, While 1
Totdc
m
NAKSKOV, Denmark, via Lo
Norwegian steamer Bjarka struck
and sank. Her crew was saved,
wegian vessels since the German b
The Bjarka, laden with coal,
Nakskov. She was a small vessel
Nordkyn Sunk by Mine.
LONDON, February 20.?The Norwegian
steamer Nordkyn has been
sunk through striking a mine near
Bornholm Island, in the Baltic sea, according
to a dispatch from Copenhagen
to the Central News. All of the crew
were drowned.
There are two Norwegian vessels
listed in marine records under the
name of Nordkyn. It la believed that
the Nordkyn sunk was the small ship
of 268 tons, owned by Kolsen of Bergen.
As the other Nordykn was reported as
sailing from Genoa February 15 for
New York it could not have been this
ship which met disaster.
Victim of a Submarine.
The tank steamer Belridge, the first
Norwegian vessel to meet with disaster
in the war zone established by
' Germany after the German decree went
into effect, was torpedoed yesterday by
a submarine near Folkestone and was
beached, badly damaged.
An official statement issued by the
admiralty says pieces of the torpedo have
been found on the ship.
Meet The Hague Requirements.
CHRISTIANI, February 20, via London.?The
conferences of representatives
of Norway, Sweden and Denmark,
held here from the 13th to the
15th of February, established the fact
that all mines hitherto found in the
Skagerack and in the northern part of
the Kattegat satisfied conditions of the
convention of The Hague, namely,
being disarmed when disengaged from
their anchors.
The conference agreed upon mutual
co-operation In the giving of speedy
notification of the presence of mines
and torpedoes in these waters and in
searching for and discharging mines,
etc.
Official View in France.
PARIS, February 20.?"The Kinking
by Germany of merchant ships is simply
an extension to the sea of her war
2,500 MEN LOSE JOBS.
Steel Mills at Granite City, 111.,
Close for Indefinite Period.
GRANITE CITY, 111., February 20.?
The steel mills here will close today
for an indefinite period. The order
closing the plants will throw more
than 2,500 men out of work.
Several days ago a majority. of the
members of the Amalgamated Association
of Steel, Iron and Tin Workers in
Granite City voted to accept a cut in
wages rather than have the plants
closed down. The reduction, however,
was not approved by the national organization
and the men were ordered
to demand their regular wage. This
the general manager of the company
announced he was not able to pay and
issued the closing order.
Sunday Base Ball Bill Beaten.
LITTLE BOCK, Ark., February 20.?
The Arkansas house of representatives
by a vote of 56 to 26 has defeated a
bill which would have allowed Little
Rock voters to decide whether base
ball games should b. permitted bunday
afternoons.
jIAN vessel
THE "WAR ZONE"
ved to Have Struck
the Third Was
idoed.
ndon, February 20, 1155 p.m.?The
a mine at 8 o'clock this morning
This is the third disaster to Nor1
.. .1 J .. * 1,
'lucivduc iuuk cacti.
was on her way from Leith to
of 286 tons gross.
against non-combatants on land," said
Victor Augagneur. the French minister
of marine, to the Associated Press.
"The French government has absolute
confidence in the naval situation," continued
M. Augagneur, "and is not intimidated
by the German blockade.
When the steamer Admiral Ganteaume,
bearing woman and child refugees,
was torpedoed and twenty lives were
lost great indignation was felt
throughout the civilized world, but we
now regard the sinking of merchant
vessels with a certain calm. Germany
did not wait until February 18 to begin
torpedoing."
With regard to Germany's alleged
reason for her announced sea blockade,
M. Augagneur said:
"Germany evidently felt the great
efficiency of the allies' blockade of
German ports, and the proclamation of
I a counter blockade is the result. We
expect merchant vessels to be sunk, j
j Not, however, as many as Germany ex- :
j pects. The torpedo is not an infallible !
I weapon, as is shown in the <;ase of the !
steamer Dinorah, which, alter she was
torpedoed, was towed into port.
Protective Measures Planned.
"Measures for protection will be
taken the nature of which T am not
at liberty to disclose. Ultimately German
submarines themselves will be
sunk, perhaps even sooner than they
expect.
"The Germans cannot justly complain
of the allies' blockade of Germany, as
the right of an army to invest a town
and starve it into surrender hitherto
has-been recognized as legitimate. The
present method, although largely exercised
through pressure brought to
bear on the civil population, shows no
essential difference from the investment
of a town.
"Dealing with the right of merchant
vessels of belligerent countries to fly
neutral flags, M. Augagneur said:
"This practice has always been recognized
as a legitimate ruse of war and
even has been resorted to by men of
war provided they hoisted their true
colors before entering Into action. The
Germans have no cause for complaint
on this score, as tliey used it themselves
when the cruiser Emden entered
the belligerent, port of Penang not
only flying false colors, but disguised
with a false smokestack."
1
ADMIRAL DEWA IN NEW YORK.
Japanese Envoy to Visit West Point
and Navy Yard.
NEW YORK, February 20.?Admiral
Baron Rhigeto Dewa, naval counselor
to the Japanese emperor, who came to
this country to represent the emperor
at the opening of the Panama canal and
of the Panama-Pacific exposition, has
come to New York from Washington.
Admiral Dewa expects to spend a
week here. He will visit West Point
and the New York navy yard. Thursday
he will be the guest of the Japanese
Society of New York.
Reach London From Paris for IT. S.
LONDON, February 20, 2 p.m.?Americans
to the number of about 100, who
were temporarily marooned in Paris
as a result ot the cancellation of sailings
between English channel ports because
of the- German submarine blockade,
arrived in London today. They immediately
left for Liverpool to board
the American liner New York, whose
sailing was postponed at the request
of Ambassador Page until the Americans
could arrive.
#
i'r
| A Washington's I
f s
1 Birthday Number |
IS "PRESERVING THE PERSONAL ?
5. APPEARANCE OP GEORGE ?
51 WASHINGTON" explains how ?
SB portraits and marbles of the S
? Father of His Country have jg
been handed down through the
? years. ?
~i! Resident-superintendent of Mount jj|
J.' Vernon tells of the restoration
- mid maintenance of that famous iS
Sjj estate. ^
? CHARLES H. PEPPER writes in
about George Washington and *x
Si his South American compeers. ?j|
^ A Washington woman has a rare ?
^ collection of relics of George f5
Vj and Martha Washington. 35
f? tf
sg Our revolution, in which Washing- 3|
ton played so vital a part, was 35
but a mere skirmish compared
to the war now waging in Europe.
g
There are three churches in Vir- jjt
S ginia with which George Wash- g
j; ington was identified; they are ?
^ historic spots. fx.
^ Washington, D. Cis fortunate in #5
vi possessing rare paintings and ?|
Si sculptures of the man after g
Si whom it was named. 25
si ?
? 'THE WEDDING OF COL. S
g GEORGE WASHINGTON AND 2:
# MRS. MARTHA C EST IS." ?
fj* The Father of His Country found ?
the Continental army an inef- ?
ficient one: indeed, his vivid g
Si written record of the shortSf
comings of his forces may be a ?
S* surprise to many readers. ?x
it* Hundreds of Russian and German
S* women are fighting in the i?
<5; trenehes, for they are no longer g
Si willing to stop at home while tx
Si their men folks give battle to the
Si enemy. $?
Vf ?
? .. r rcrt' rxr irxmr s< aATU'd TfMV he
iff Ajl r rj u ti uu u.nu u < i .> ?
Sf WARRIORK OF THE DEEP." g
V* describes the life of officers and $
(.Tews in our submarines. g
it? g
JJ? STERLING HEILiG tells of the g
wax fashion models, which jj?
far is dressmakers are sending ^
to t/ir exposition at San Fran- j?
c: risco. ?
? J*
The New Spring Fashions Give
Women a Wide Choice of ih
Colors. Jit
i? ?
32 The first installment of LOUIE ?5
S TRACY'S new serial, "FLOWER in.
v? OF THE GO USE." offers ac?t?
tion and thrills in the very first g
Iff chapter. g
it? g
Vf <EMBARRASSING MOMENTS;' g
ij? by JOHN KENDRICK BANGS, g
yt is the thirteenth of the leaves g
V? from a lecturer's notebook.
? THE MIRACLE," by MAUDE 5?
RADFORD WARREN, is the Jg
^ story of the love affair of the
richest man in the world. JJt
"THE IDLE RICH." by EMMET ?
fr. UAttin, us a rate iota oy ox.
a cowboy, and one full of humor ?
v# and unexpected things. *5
If
| Tomorrow, in The i
Sunday Star
its
S s?
DAY IN CONGRESS.
Senate.
Met at 11 a.m.
Work was resumed on the legislative
appropriation bill and provisions for
an agricultural census was eliminated.
The committee investigating charges
of a lobby against the ship bill resumed
taking testimony.
House.
Met at 11 a.m.
Debate was continued on the diplomatic
appropriation bill. _
WILSON RECEIVES
GERMANY'S REPLY
Official Text Will Be Considered
by President and His
Advisers.
TONE OF DOCUMENT
REGARDED FRIENDLY
Great Britain's Answer in Flag and
Wilhelmina Cases Before State
Department.
Official texts of Germany's reply to
the American note on the naval war
zone, and Great Britain's replies to the
American notes on the use of the
American flag and the Wilhelmina case,
all arrived today at the State Department.
The German reply, delivered by the
Berlin foreign office three days ago to
Ambassador Gerard, had been delayed
in transmission. It was at once con|
verted from the diplomatic code and
I sent to the White House to be laid be:
fore the President, who, however, had
already been informed of its contents
I by Mr. Gerard and the unofficial text
published two days ago.
Will Consider Beply.
With the official text at hand, liowI
ever, the President and his advisers
| will begin formal consideration of Ger*many's
reply to the warning of the
| United States against destruction of
American ships or lives in the naval
war zone about the British Isles. GenI
erally, the tone of the German note has
been regarded as friendly.
| Great Britain's reply to the representations
on the use of the American
flag bears upon the American view of
the German reply and the next step in
the negotiations with Berlin, for in expecting
Germany to identify American
ships before attacking them by submarines
the United States is anxious
there shall be no general use of the
American flag by foreign vessels.
The State Department is willing to
let the Wilhelmina case be adjudicated
by a prize court and thus lay the legal
foundation for other proceedings of a
like character.
Says Germany Is Not to Blame.
Count Bernstorff. the German ambassador.
conferred at the State Department
with Secretary Bryan and Counselor
Lansing. Although neither the
ambassador nor the American officials
Indicated the exact subject of their
talk, the ambassador said he desired to
emphasize the view of his government
that Germany was not to blame for the
present situation around the British
Isles, causing difficulty to neutral
shipping. He reiterated his contention
that Great Britain was responsible,
It was said the ambassador presented
no new communications.
Next Step Up to United States.
The comparatively prompt replies
of the London and Berlin foreign offices
again places upon the State Department
responsibility for the next
step in the negotiations. The impression
prevails in many quarters that the
British reply regarding use of the
American flag will be regarded as completely
responsive. The opinion is
based upon the fact that the American
note dealt with general use of the flag
by British merchantmen, and the British
reply explicitly states that the admiralty
had not advised any general
use of the flag and had not suggested
its use by the Lusitania.
Wilhelmina Situation.
The British reply on the Wilhelmina
case probably will stop further exchanges
until a prize court has acted.
The American note was based upon th?
right of a neutarl to ship food to the
civil population of a belligerent. The
British reply does not deny that, but
by making the point that all German
males are practically part of the German
army, has complexed the issues
and promises protracted negotiations
No official would today predict the
nature of the rejoinder the American
government might make to the German
reply on the war zone.
Possible Reply to Germany.
Some expect the State Department
will content itself with the warning in
the original note to Germany giving
"notice she will be held responsible for
injury to an American ship or American
lives. Others, however, believe the
Berlin government will be informed
that the United States must insist that
vessels under its flag- must be identified,
and boarded and searched if need
be, before any attempt is made to destroy
them.
SAY UlTpING FOE
Germany and Austria Complain to
State Department That Submarines
Are Built Here.
Germany and Austria, through their
ambassadors here, complained to the
State Department today that submarines
were being built in the i'jiir.cit
States for Great Britain and shipped
in parts to Canada.
In a statement on the subject the
German embassy said:
"The plants of - Bethlehem and the
Union iron works at San Francisco are,
according to reliable information,
sending the component parts of submarines,
ordered by .the British government,
to Canada. Submarines for
England are also being built at Boston
and Seattle.
"The attention of the United States
Department of State has been drawn to
these facts by the German and AustroHungarian
embassies as being in contradiction
with the laws of neutrality."
Some time ago the German embassy
filed complaint with the State Department
against the manufacture of submarines
in the United States which i*
was said were intended for Great Britain.
The matter was taken up by the
State Department with the company
which had the contract, and after
conferences here between Secretary
Bryan and Charles M. Schwab, president
of the Bethlehem Steel Company,
I it was announced that the American
j builders had withdrawn from their contracts.
British Bark Is Floated.
FIHE ISLAND. N. Y.. February 20.?
The British bark Bougomonnt, which
went aground here February 6. during
a dense fog, was floated last night after
discharging a third of her cargo of
| chalk and will be towed to Nov York.
BIG RUSSIAN GUNS
BEGIN NEW AHACK
AGAINSTPRZEMYSI!
Austrians Reported Driven
Back Along the Krosno-JasloGorlice
Line.
iUMDPiui 111v nr nniror
IVHnOHTV IflH I DC UDJLli I
OF PRESENT GERMAN MOVE
Critics Declare World's Strongest
Fortress Blocks Path of Gen.
Von Hindenborg.
LINE UP FOE NEW BATTLE
Decisive Engagement Expected to Be
Fought on Banks of Biver
Pruth. in Crownland of
Bukowtna.
GENEVA, via Paris, lebruarv
20.?A dispatch from Cracowsays
the Russians have begun to
bombard Przemysl with newheavy
'artillery, and that they
. have driven the Austrians back
along the line Krosno-Jaslo-Gor
lice.
!
The Austnans are reported to
have suffered heavy losses in the
past three days at Wyszkow, near
Dukla Pass.
Trying to Flank Warsaw.
LONDON, February 26.?German
movements on the northern extremity
of the western battlefront hold first
place in the military situation, particularly
so as Petrograd believes that
Field Marshal von Hindenburg is trying
to flank Warsaw from the north, a
task which the Russians think is rather
daring and fraught with great risk*
unless the German commander's
forces are overwhelming.
The first rush of the Germans over
the East Prussian frontier seems to
have spent itself. The Germans now
are reported to be locked with Russian
1 reinforcements at many points* from
luc nvci uciuw ivwyuu uvf tt |>
\ the right bank of the Lower Vistula.
I and military experts in London say it
is difficult to visualize this position.
[ Decisive Battle Near.
The campaign in the Austrian crown
land of Bukowina continues with pros(
pects of developing into a decisive battle
on the banks of the River I'ruth.
In Galicia the repeated violent Aua>
trian attacks against the Russian positions
in the Carpathian passes have been
costly to both sides, but they have left
the alignment little changed.
In the west the Germans are hammer;
ing away in an eftdeavor to recover lost
l ground, and are reported to be keeping
' the British troops especially busy to the
southeast of Ypres, in Belgium and else;
where along their comparatively extended
[ front, but, according to French and
British claims .without making appreciable
gains.
L Difficult Road to Warsaw.
The Times Petrograd correspondent
says that if. as believed in the Rus;
sian capital. Field Marshal von Hinden
. burg is trying to reach Warsaw by an
advance on the north bank of the Visi
tula he caji hardly succeed unless he
has enormous forces at his disposal.
' The route, the correspondent asserts.
J "is protected by the Russian fortress
of Nowo Georgievsk, reputed to he tlir
strongest in the world, while further
north the Germans must deal with
Ossowetz, which stayed their advance
from East Prussia.
' j "Military circles consider that the
withdrawal of the Russians from
1 I Bukowina was dictated by necessity.
j as when the ice melted in the river the
, i Russians would have been cut off from
, i the opposite hank of the Pruth and
' faced by superior forces of the enemy,
j "It is reported from- Warsaw that
i Sochaczew. thirty miles west of that
city, has been almost deserted by its
inhabitants. Those remaining are cut
off from the outside world. They have
been for forty days between the German
and Russian Are and dare not
' leave the town. They are compelled
to live in the cellars. There 1s no
food in the town and the people are
suffering severely."
Pursuit of the Russians.
BERLIN, via London. February 20.?
Explaining the situation in the ea*t.
Maj. Moraht, military expert of the
! Tageblatt, points out that reports from
.r/in. rul dnii- i rtprs slmu' tlif nnmnil
' of the Russians is proceeding in throe
: directions.
; The northernmost has resulted in the
' capture of Taurogen, but not without
! fighting along the line from Tilsit to
j Taurogen. The Russians, nowever,
! soon were forced to retreat again, Maj.
! Moraiit says, and it appears that no
i reiniorceinents have been sent them
from Kovno. He continues: "There
also has been fighting northwest of
Grodno, probably against the fortress
garrison sent ahead against the Germans.
The situation is just as l'avor
able in the district of the Narew river,
i near Loinza. where th** Germans are
I still contending with apparently fresh
| Russian troops from the fortress at
Lomza.
"This whole movement is the result of
the Mazurian lake victory. It was well
prepared and splendidly carried out to
cover the right flank of the fortified
line north of Tarsam."
Maj. Moraht declares the western situation
shows daily the hopelessness of
the allies' offensive, and adds:
"Our procedure there stands in a
certain degree under the pressure of
general conditions. We must, like Gen.
Lee, abandon for the time our bold
warfare and restrain ourselves to a
steady holding on."
Former Hnstian Minister Dead.
PETROGRAD, February 19. via Loudon,
February 20.?Admiral Birtleff.
former Russian minister of marine,
died here today. He was born Max oh
It XSM.
f