Evening star. [volume], December 08, 1917, Image 1

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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WEATHER.
8now this afternoon and tonight, fol
lowed by clearing early tomorrow
morning; colder.
Temperature for twenty-four hours
ending J p.m. today: Highest, 40, at 3
p.m. today; lowest, 28, at < a-m. today.
Full report on page S.
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WASHINGTON, D. 0., SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1917?EIGHTEEN PAGES.
ONE CENT
U. 5. Destroyer Sunk?Many of Crew Lost
JACOB JONES TORPEDOED
IN WAR ZONE THURSDAY;
37 SAVED ON LIFE RAFTS
Large Part of Officers and Men,
However; Go Down With Ship
Hit By U-Boat.
DAVID WORTH BAGLEY, BROTHER
OF MRS. DANIELS, IN COMMAND
Another Brother Was First Officer Killed in Spanish
American War?Lieut John K. Richards of
Washington Among Survivors.
Torpedoed in a night attack, the American destroyer Jacob
Jones, one of the newest and largest submarine hunters of her class,
was sunk Thursday night in the war zone and two-thirds of her
crew ware lost. The disaster brings to the American people the
first naval loss of great consequence since the country entered the
war.
v Thirty-seven of her complement were taken off in life rafts. The
remainder are not accounted for in today'sv dispatch from Vice
Admiral Sims,,who forwarded the names of ten of the survivors.
Lieut. Commander David Worth Bagley, brother of Mrs.
Josepbus Daniels, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, and whose
brother was the first American officer to give bis life in the Spanish
war, does not appear in the list of survivors.
Inasmuch as Admiral Sims mentioned other officers among the
survivors and did not name Bagley, it is feared he went down with
his ship.
The names of ten survivors have been
received here.
They are Ldent. (Junior Grade) John
K. Richards, Ensign Nelson N. Gates,
Asst. Surgeon L. L. Adamkiewicz,
Charles E. Pierce, fireman; Timothy
Edward Twomey, seaman; John C.
Johnson, seaman; Henry A. Stutzke,
chief machinist's mate; Edward F.
Grady, fireman second class; John J.
Mulvaney, seaman, and Myron Flood,
peaman.
Lieut. John K. Richards, reported
rescued, is. of this city. Mrs. Dorothy
G. Richards, wife of the lieutenant,
lives at 1840 Lamont street, according
to Navy Department records.
The complement of the Jones in peace
times was five officers, five petty officers
and eighty-seven enlisted men. Undoubt
edly this has been increased to a hundred
or more. From the first report it would
appear that the loss of life would be
upward of sixty.
The attack, which was at 8 o'clock at
night, was delivered by torpedo. In the;
rolling icy seas of north Atlantic winter j
weather the submarine probably had i
plenty of opportunity to pick her time for j
the shot. The submersible probably came
upon the destroyer patroling her course
In the dark and had all the best of the i
engagement. j
No details were contained in today's I
report, but it has been the case here- |
tofore that when a submarine gets a
hit on a destroyer it is more due to a
chance meeting and good opportunity
than fighting skill on the part of the
submarine^
Rescued 305 Persons.
The Jacob Jones was the ship which
saved 305 persons with the P. & O. \
liner Orama. which had been converted
into an auxiliary cruiser, on October)
19. The Orama had been torpedoed by j
a submarine while she was acting: as!
a part of a convoy of merchant vessels
under escort of American destroyers.
The Jacob Jones was one of the convoy.
The Jacob Jones and another de
stroyer were detailed to remain by
the Orama after the submarine had
been attacked and put out of action.
When the Orama l>egan to settle it had
grown dark and" her crew abandoned
her. The Jacob Jones picked up in the
darkness 305 of the 478 persons on I
board. j
The other vessel standing by rescued i
the remainder. All were saved.
She was one of the newest and larg- !
est of American destroyers, with a dis
placement of 1,150 tons and a length of
310 feet over all. She was completed in
1916 at the plant of the New York Ship
building Company, Camden, N. J. The
craft was an oil burner, driven by tur- i
bine engines and had a speed of '29.57!
knots an hour.
Fair Hit Indicated.
The large loss of life would indicate {
that the torpedo, with its deadly!
charsre of hlsrh explosive, made a fair
hit plump on the destroyer's thin hull, j
and that the submarine hunter prob
ably was blown fairly in two.
That she probably went down al- i
most like a rock is evidenced by the j
fact that nothing is said of survivors!
getting off in lifeboats. Those saved ]
got off in life rafts which probably
floated off the sinking ship as she
plunged down in the icy darkness.
COMMANDED DESTROYER SUNK BY GERMAN
SUBMARINE.
OUTLOOK IS GOOD
FOR INCREASED PAY
I
Congress May Give More Than
Now Is Asked for Fed
eral Clerks.
INQUIRY TO BE THOROUGH
RAISE FOR CLERKS
NOW IN THE HANDS
OF SUBCOMMITTEE
The first definite step toward
Increasing the salaries of govern
ment employes was taken today
with the appointment by Chair
man Moan of the House commit
tee on post offices and post roads
of a subcommittee to consider
this question.
This subcommittee Is composed
of Representatives Thomaa M.
Bell of Qeorgia, chairman; Wil
liam EL Cox of Indiana, Fred I*
Blackmon -of Alabama. Halvor
Steenerson of Minnesota and Mar
tin E. Madden of Illinois.
Representative Bell called a
meeting of the subcommittee for
Tuesday. He feels that there Is
no question that the 6 and 10 per
cent Increase will be continued,
and If an Increase can be pro
cured for the rural carriers and
the fourth-class postmasters a
substantial Increase will also be
put through for the employes of
the Post Office Department In
Washington.
Not only are the government clerks
going to get a continuation of the 5 per
cent and 10 per cent graded increase in
salaries; not only do they stand a good
chance of getting a higher rate of in
crease, but there are good prospects that
a joint subcommittee from the commit
tee* OH reforms in civil service from
both Senate and House may go into the
aubjAet more thoroughly than ever be
fore.
This was learned today in talk* with
members of the committee on reforms
In the civil service, who spoke their
minds freely that the government
workers should receive Jlist compensa
tion, salaries more nearly balanced with
the increased cost of living, and that
the question should be settled after
careful consideration and not through
I any hap-hasard methods. Such careful
consideration would be for the inter
ests of the clerks, in order that there
might be a more Just grading of sala
ries to fit the individual efficiency and
to come to the relief of those of small
salaries, who are feeling the pinch of
poverty pretty severely.
Committee Members Favor Increase.
The members of the House committee
on reforms in the civil service who
could be seen today were unanimously
in favor of increased salaries for the
government workers and for the very
careful consideration of the question
by a joint committee which would go
thoroughly into the matter and hold
hearings.
Due to the fact that the appropri
ation bill for expenditures in the Post
Office Department, calling for more
than 333 millions of dollars, did not
contain any provision for continuing
the 5 and 10 per cent increases to clerks,
there has been a great deal of worry
by the thousands of employes In that
department. Leaders in Congress said
today that when the salary question
is considered the employes of the Post
Office Department may feel assured
that their interests and Just claims
will be given sympathetic consideration !
and that they will be Included with the
workers of other departments in a gen*r
eral graded increase.
Newcomers in Different Class.
It should be called to the attention
of the many thousands of clerks and
stenographers who have recently en
tered the government service for war
work that they are not likely to be in
cluded in any appropriation that may
be made for a graded increase. In the
last session $4,000.000 in two deficiency
bills for the employment of this addi
tional help did not consider any graded
increase for the War and Navy De
partment emergency help
The attitude of members of the appro
priations committee is that these new
comers to Washington, many of whom are
receiving much higher salaries than they
ever received before, should be considered
in a different class from the permanent
employes, who have established their
homes here.
Proposal for the appointment of a Joint
congressional subcommittee on civil serv
ice reforms, to devote its earnest and Im
mediate attention to the question of In
creased salaries for government workers,
has already been made to other members
of the House committee on reforms In the
civil service by Representative CSiarles D.
Carter of Oklahoma.
He is eager to give his service in
any way possible to get justice done
for the thousands of. federal employes.
He says: "There should be a general
rearrangement of the salaries of the
government workers. Doubtless under
the present conditions, with the cost
of everything they need increasing rap
idly, a way will be found to give sub
stantial increases to many who need
the increase most. We may find that
some of the larger salaries are suf
ficient, but in general I favor a decent
increase and particularly for all sal
aries under $2,000, and perhaps a few
even higher.
"I am strongly in favor of appointing
a Joint subcommittee from the committees
on reform in the civil service from both
the House and the Senate wh?-will con
fer, who will study this matter closely,
put a lot of work into It, grant hearings,
consider the particular cases in which
suffering or hardship has resulted from
the parsimony of the government and
correct it
Question Too Big for Haste.
"This is a big question. We must not
settle It haphazard. It ought to he set
tled onos and for all on the grounds of
Justice. It means a lot of hard work,
but I feel sure that the committee mem
bers win be glad to give It their utmost
oars an account of how much it nnsns
In the lives of mot fliniisnd* of
MEDICAL WAREHOUSE OF
U. S. BURNS IN CHICAGO
Two Hen Acting Suspiciously Near
Scene Arrested?Loss Esti
mated at $200,000.
By the Associated Preai.
CHICAGO, December ?.?A -warehouse
recently leased by the government tor the
medical division of the Army wae
destroyed by lire of mysterious origin to
day.
Chemicals among the stores caused a
number of small explosions.
The flames burned so fiercely that only
the walls of the flve-story structure were
standing when firemen arrived. The
building stood at South Dearborn and
West 40th streets. MaJ< W. S. Shields
and thirty-five employes fled from the
flames.
Maj. Shields said he had no comment
to make on suspicions of firemen that
,incendiaries started the fire.
Two men acting suspiciously near the
ruins were arrested by federal operatives.
The loss was estimated at $200,000.
FIGHT OVER SWITZERLAND.
German and Allied Airmen Driven
Off Toward Alsace, Still Firing.
GENEVA. Switzerland, December 8.?
The first aerial battle between allied
and German airmen over Swiss terri
tory occurred aound Basle yesterday.
It appears that the Germans, hard
pressed by their opponents, intention
ally entered Switzerland. The fight
took place at a great height and the
number of the airplanes Is not known.
The encounter lasted twenty minutes.
Seven bombs were dropped on Swiss
territory, but only immaterial damage
resulted. Eventually the airmen sped
toward Alsace, still fighting, while
Swiss soldiers bombarded both parties
with shells from anti-aircraft guns.
The residents of Basle and the neigh
boring territory are indignant over the
violation of Switzerland's neutrality.
Luxburg on His Way Home.
LONDON. December S.?A dispatch to
the Exchange Telegraph from Copen
hagen says Count von Luxburg, for
merly German minister to Argentina,
has arrived In Bergen on board the
oteamer Bergensfjord and proceeded to
Germany.'
PORTUGAL'S CAPITAL
IS SCENE OF REVOLT
MADRID. December 8.?A revolution
has broken out In Lisbon, the capital of
Portugal, according* to a dispatch re
ceived here by way of Oporto and Tuy.
Outbreaks &bpo are eaid to have oc
curred at Oporto.
Hostile to Government.
An OpOrto dispatch, forwarded here
from the frontier, says the demonstra
tion at Lisbon was hostile to the gov
ernment^ while at Oporto the troubles
were provoked by the high cost of ne
cessaries, bakeries and other shops be
ing pillaged. J
In Oporto seventy-eight arrests were
made and sixty persons were treated
in hospitals. One woman and one man
were killed. The governor ordered the
closing of all public places and issued
a decree clearing the streets at 9 p.m.
The town is now said to be quiet.
News Is Censored.
Recent dispatches cabled from Lon
don to the United 8tates have said that
telegraphic communication between
Spain and Portugal had been shut off,
it being intimated that news of the sit
uation in Portugal was being rigidly
censored by the authorities of the re
publics
In September last a general strike of
workmen resulted in rioting at Lisbon, and
in consequence of those disorders the en
tire republic was declared to be in a
state of siege. Several persons, includ
ing a number of soldiers, at that time
were said to have been wounded by the
explosion of bombs. The strike lasted two
weeks.
Bio ting in Lisbon.
Five months earlier serious rioting took
place in Lisbon as the result of a scarcity j
of bread, an increase in the cost of pota- i
toes and the high prices of food generally. ,
Anarchist agitators, taking advantage of'
the situation, organized disturbances inj
various parts of Lisbon and the crowds
attacked the bakeries, groceries and pro- !
vision stores.
They shattered the Iron doors and
steel shuttered windows and sacked
numerous places, among them one of
the large establishments in the center
of the capital.
Martial law was proclaimed and the
military governor by taking energetic
measures restored order. Twenty
seven persons were killed in the riot
ing. Hundreds of persons were ar
rested and taken on board Portuguese
warships in the harbor. While the dis
turbances were in progress the Ameri
can flag was raised above the build
ings of an establishment at the Poco
do Bispo and the place was respected
by the rioters. j
PHOTOS OF YOUR OWN HOME TOWN
AND OF THE WORLD WIDE WAR.
An unusually attractive array of photographs will be
found tomorrow in the Planogravure Section. Here is a
partial list of subjects to look for:
A striking photograph of President and Mrs. Wilson
at graduation exercises, Fort Myer training camp.
Making typhoid vaccine in Washington for United
States fighting men.
Manufacturing cartridge cases for our shells.
America's new ambassador to Japan received by the
emperor at Tokio.
Mme. Llna Cavalier! washing dishes in her Chicago
apartment.
New hospital car for Uncle Sam's wounded soldiers,
Marine barracks auxiliary of the American Red Cross.
A "sugar line" in Washington.
A full page of Washington's police officials.
A page of war photographs. Including a remarkable
picture of cavalry In action, and one showing how Ger
many tattoos the hands of her prisoners for identification.
A page of splendid pictures of the National Training
School for Boys on the Bladensburg road. ?
Fair womeft from filmland, a page of especially plus.
InS photograph* of movie stars.
And, remember, these are but a few of the photographs
?? will find tomorrow In the PUnogravure Section of
e Sunday Star.
MYSTERIOUS GRAFT
NOTED OFF HALIFAX
Submarine in Tow of Steam Vessel
Sighted on Night Before Great
Explosion,
By the Associated Press.
AN ATLANTIC PORT, December 8?
Two mysterious craft, apparently a
large submarine in tow of a steam ves
sel, were sighted off the Nova Scotia
coast in the vicinity of Halifax on the
night before the Halifax explosion, ac
cording to the captain of a steamship
which arrived here from a St. Lawrence
river port today. V
He said his steamship nearly ran into
the two strange craft, neither of which
displayed any lights. At first he be
lieved the vessel in tow was a buoy,
but later became convinced it was a
large submarine. The towing vessel,
he said, appeared to be signaling
either some other ship or a point on
the shore.
BEHOVE FROM JERUSALEM.
Americans, Principally Jews, Go to
Points South and East.
LONDON. December 8.?All American
citizens resident in Jerusalem have
been removed to the south and east,
according to a Reuter dispatch from
British army headquarters in Palestine.
Most of the American citizens in Je
rusalem ate American Jews, of whom
there are about six hundred in Pales
tine. Last fall the American govern
ment brought out from Palestine one
hundred Jews, principally the wives
and children of men naturalized in the
United States. They reported that
about 600 others had been left behind
and that there was. much misery in
Palestine when they departed.
DID NOT WANT TO FIGHT.
"Sudden Reversion to Type" of Sol
dier Having Austrian Ancestry.
Cablegram to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily \ews. Copyright, 1917.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
PRANCE. December 7.?A young Na
tional Army soldier of Austrian ances
try experienced a sudden reversion to
type amid his surroundings in France,
and decided to seek his home land. He
was missed from his company one night,
and search through the countryside the
next morning revealed him plodding
along a road and headed for the coun
try of his parents.
When put under arrest he said he had
started to walk to Austria and did not
want to fight. It is the first instance
of the kind that has occurred in the
American Army here. With this ex
ception those of Teutonic blood have
been fully as valiant as those of Puri
tan ancestry.
German and Austrian names on the
first American casualty lists have sur
prised and favorably impressed the
French.
Make This An
Unusual Xmas
Do all of your Christ
mas shopping before De
cember 1.
It will be an unusual
experience for you?
doubtless the most
agreeable experience
you have ever enjoyed.
Try it and know that
while helping yourself
you are easing the bur
den for others, ,._r
j
1,500 DEAD IS NEAREST
ESTIMATE AT HALIFAX;
20,000 ARE DESTITUTE
%
j
Throngs Visit Morgues in Hopes of Identifying
Victims?Relief Train Arrives
From Boston.
BLIZZARD HALTS COMMUNICATION BY *
TRAIN OR WIRE FOR MANY HOURS
Fury of Cold Wave Vies With Flames Which Preceded It in Teiiifjhg
Effects Upon Homeless of Halifax?Sir Robert Borden Expresses ;
Gratitude for Aid From die United States.
From a Staff Correspondent of Associated Press. *
HALIFAX, N. S., December 8.?The Massachusetts relief twin
that left Boston Thursday night arrived here today.
There is absolutely no way of estimating with any degree of
accuracy the number of dead as a result of the explosion on Thurn
day. Fifteen hundred dead is the generally accepted figure by thtf
authorities. In one morgue there are 300 bodies. . >
The latter were viewed by a multitude today, but only a few
were identified. There are probably 200 other bodies on view await*
ing identification. In the greater number of cases this will fee im
possible.
A citizens' committee issued a statement saying that between
3,000 and 4,000 dwellings occupied by the poorer classes had been
destroyed, affecting approximately 35,000 persons. Investigation
shows that almost 20,000 persons are destitute.
Snow to the depth of two feet covers the devastated area. Tho
district is under strict guard, Canadian soldiers being assisted by
American bluejackets.
The mayor today issued an order suspending the Sabbath holM
day and directing that all stores remaining safe for occupancy
kept open and all labor continued.
Search of the ruins is greatly delayed by the heavy snow, though
many injured had been removed to nearby towns before the storm
set in.
Sir Robert Borden, the premier, who has arrived here, conferred
with local committees and this afternoon issued a statement express*
ing thanks to the people of the United States for their generous aid.
The premier referred gratefully to the arrival of the Massachusetts
relief train.
ST. JOHNS, N. B., December 8.?Halifax is isolated in her deso*
lation today. Stormbound, the devastated city has been cut off from
virtually all communication with the outside.
Intermittent communication by telegraph, uncertain and hesU
tating, in the early hours of the day, was followed by complete su*
pension, so far as could be learned here.
The fate of the sufferers from the
explosion of Thursday is causing: the
greatest concern, as temporary quar
ters for the homeles are limited and
supplies of window glass and roofing
paper that might make damaged build
ings again habitable, are still lacking
in sufficient quantity to meet the need.
Reports from Truro, sixty miles from
Halifax, say the whole section is
storm-swept and the fury of the bliz
zard is hardly less cruel than the de
stroying flames that preceded it. ? The
relief trains that raced with the storm
in the hope of getting their supplies
into Halifax before their paths were
blocked by the fast falling enow failed
and today the relief parties were them
selves in need of succor.
Belief I?ook for Suceor,
This was looked for from Truro,
I whence snow plows had been sent to
I the west. The tie-up is between Truro
and Amherst and the first train it was
; hoped to release was the Massachusetts
relief special. The latter was reported
'at 10 o'clock this morning to be still
stalled in a draft at Meraramcook, near
the Nova Scotia border.
Trains from Halifax and other points
east were reported as "hours .behind" |
and there were no promises made re
garding them. i
These trains are loaded with injured J
persons and deaths upon them are alto- j
gether probable, as scarcely a trainload
of injured has arrived heretofore with- f
out bringing the bodies of some who
died after the journey to the hospitals
at Truro was begun.
To Believe at Truro.
It is thought likely that the Massa
chusetts relief train, if it gets through
to Truro today, will be held up there
and the physicians and nurses, as well
as its supplies, devoted to the sufferers
who have been brought to Truro and
whose number already has taxed the
local resources, both professionally and
in the matter of sustenance.
The telegraph and telephone com
panies were in a fair way to restore
ready wire communication with Hali
fax yesterday when the storm set in
and not only undid all their repairs,
but made matters worse than they
were immediately following the explo
sion. Great numbers of telegraph
operators are on the relief trains and
there will at least be no dearth of
experts to man the wires once they are
set up. The offices of the companies
west of Halifax are deluged with mes
sages, including thousands of anxious
inquiries regarding relatives or other
acquaintances in Halifax.
Blinding Snowstorm
Handicaps Rescue Work
in Stricken Halifax
HALIFAX, N. S., December 8 A
blinding: "north country" snowstorm,
accompanying' a gals that at times at?
talned a velocity of mora than' forty
miles an hour, has held this city of
desolation in Its grasp for the past
twenty-four hoars, adding new terrors
to tjie awe-stricken sufTlvora of
Thursday's disaster, and greatly Im
peding the progre? of relief
and Dominion cities with their urgent*
ly needed supplies.
The Massachusetts relief train, which
was due to arrive early this mornings
was stalled in great snow drifts near '
Amherst late last night, and snow '
plows were pressed into service to clear
the tracks. Other rescue trains also am
reported snowbound.
With every building* in Halifax and
Dartmouth more or less damaged by
the explosion and fire, men, women and
children huddled together as best they
could and passed a night of suffering. .
The chilling wind whistled through,
smashed windows; there were scarcely
blankets enough to cover wounded
bodies, and many were unable to ob
tain food. Fires were almost out of
the question, and the only light* ob- .
tainable were from oil lamps of
candles.
Out of the chaotic conditions rich
and poor have rallied gallantly to thstr
ctai? ot ceding for the injured and
homeless and accounting for the dead.
The citizens* finance committee, headed
by Justice Harris, estimates that there
are 20.000 destitute people in the dev-*
astated area, the majority of them from
the poorer classes. Nearly 4,000 dwell*
ings were destroyed, the committee dd*
clares. and the actual losses and thd
estimated cost of temporary malntO*
nance will approximate $30,000,000*
Food Situation Serious. I*'
Perhaps the most serious of the znaaj) -
problems to be met is the food sitma*
tion. There is enough food in the city
for immediate needs, but unless com*
munication is opened soon the city
faces the possibility of famine. Thll
energies of local relief committee?
have been centered on the conservation
of food and merchants have surren^
dered all their available supplies to0
the common need. Milk is almost un*
obtainable and fears are expressed fa#
the lives of babies in arms unless an
adequate supply is assured from out*
side sources.
In the greater task of caring for tfcd
living no concerted effort is bein#
made at present to compile a list of
the dead, but hundreds of soldiers, sail*
ors. American "jackies** and volunteer*
are groping under the mass of
age searching for bodies. The morg
are choked with mangled bodies, many
of whom probably never will be ldentl*
fled. Police officials still estimate tho
dead at 2.000 and the injured at 3,009
or more.
At all hospitals, regular and improvised,
every available spot is occupied by tho
wounded. In addition to the Nova Scotia
General and Camp Hill hospitals and tho
infirmary, the Y. M. C. A., Knights of.
Columbus building. St. Paul's Hall mat
public places have been converted Into
temporary hospitals. Doctors and nurseo
have worked unceasingly since the first
hours of the explosion with little or VMI
sleep.
Theaters House Homeless.
The Academy of Music, tho theaters and
halls of fraternal organizations have \
thrown open to care for the ho
Private citizens have opened their
and given their extra clothing to tho i
fortunate*
The newspaper ofltaee are tho
houses for information, and they
been besieged all during tho stonn toy
throngs of persons anxloos for news cf ;
relatives. Tho city cImIl's office tstho
official headquarters for lists of tho i
mi wring
gcsmsx