The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume], February 10, 1917, Image 1

About The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917

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VOL. 53-NO. 36
BRIDGEPORT, CONN., SATURDAY, FEB. 10, 1917
PRICE TWO CENTS
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AfiTEL.FiRE
Hundreds Forced to Flee in
Scanty Attire As Fire
Sweeps Through Hotel
Lenox in Boston Several
-
, Hurt and Are Taken to
. Hospitals.
Former Governor Walsh
Aids In Rescue Work
Actresses ; Quartered on
- Upper Floors Have If ar-
i row Escapes Loss Esti
mated at $60,000. ' ':-V'
Boston, Feb. 10,-v-The Hotel Lenox
at Exeter and Boyjston streets, in the
Back Bay district, was damaged by
fire early today . All of the 250 guests
and" the employes were able to get
out, & jveral suffered minor injuries. .
The -elevator, wells were filled with
smoke soon after th guests were
aroused" and most of them came down
. the stairways of the 10 story structure.
A f ewv ,were taken down ladders by
; flrenien. ' 1
The loss is estimated at . $60,000. , '
'' Bandjj,C Tew of New York, H. Chi
chester Mitchell of Seattle, and Mrs.
.Mitchell' ; were taken to a hospdtal.
Mr. Tew , and Mrs. Mitchell" were
slightly burned about the f atee and
hands and Mrs. . Mitchell was affected
tiv Ahock. Frank T. Fisk of .Boston
was treated (by a physician for burns."
Edward' M- Hortdn ' of . New York, In
t whose room, on .the second ;floor the fire
Btarted, was seVerelbuwred 'trying? V
to quench the flames before, he .gare
' the alarm! He was taken to a hos
pital. - Horton said he had been smok
irtg. He went to the bath room , and
oil, his' return found a brisk Are in his
room.' After a hasty attempt to put.it
out he -notified the - telephone switch.
board , operator, - William Conlon, of
the fire arid escaped: Conlon rang the
hotel fire alarm and then ran from
floor to floor, pounding on dors . to
awaken guests. The flames, reaching
the elevator weTls, read "so rapidly
1 frotnjldor to. floor that it' was impos-
dble -j all tcnst to the street unas
' eisted.- y .y--i : '.. , . . .
" ' A' large part of the cfty fjfe appar
atus was called to the scene and the
firemen had . a hard fight in the cold
- and wind, to sniibdue the flames. .The
flre was erratic in its course, burning
out many- rooms and' leaving others
untouched." , ... ' ' .
, The guests : were given shelter ; In
the Boston Athletic association build
. . ing nearby ' aild In ' other, buildings.
Most of them, .had fled with little
clothing arid without trying' to save
their personal belongings.' - t : : '
Former Gov. David I. Walsh occu-
piei a room on tho second floor. He"
assisted in awakening other guests
beforehe left the hotel.
. Joseph; Graham of "Holyoke jumped
from a - window . of his room on -the
( fifth, floor, to the roof of a two story
'. building at the r?ar of the hotel.- Both
, his wrists were fractured, one leg was
injured and he was severely bruised.
He was taken to a hospital. .
v Former Mrfyor Samuel A. Green 1 of
Boston,' who is 8 7 years old and very
1 T ' m ...
xccuie, was rescuea irom nis room on.
the seventh floor by his nurst-, Miss
Mabel L.' Warren of Worcester, who
threw a robe over' him and wheeled
him through the smoke filled corri
x dor, where he was picked up by fire-
..meri and carried to the stieet. He
obtained' shelter, in a building nearby.
Several actresses appearing at lo
cal theatres, including Valli Valli,
' Margaret Kelly, Charlotte Ives, Mabel
Acker and Elizabeth Murray, escaped
vithout injury, but. lost their personal
-KAiAno-in iwie- Voiii
i lath floor ahd reached th etret in
'her. night clothes and a heavy coat,
With a pet dog in her arms. '
ILLUMINATING GAS
OVERCOMES WOMAN
:A$ SHSLUiyiBERS
Nearly Score of Asphyxia
tions Reported in Last
Three of Four Months.
Mrs- Anna . Damon was, found un
conscious in Jh bed chahiber of her
home, 40 Pierpont street, by members
of herr family a 7 o'clock this morn
ing and removed to St. Vincent's hos
pital almost in a dying condition, over
come by illuminating gas.
Mrs. Damon retired last night with
'the gas burning in her room. During
the night the ' supply gave out and
other members of the household
placed a quarter in the meter ' early
this morning. The jet in Mrs. Damon's
room being open, she was overcome.
Physicians at the hospital stated that
her conditions is grave but they have
hopes of her recovery. ' '.
In the . last three or four months
more . than . a score of persons have
nearly lost their lives as a' result of
similar occurrences, in houses where
quarter gas meters are installed.
Washington, Feb. 10 Germany; is understood
here to have addressed to the United States a com
munication suggesting that the two 'governments
discuss ways and means of preventing actual war
between them. , ' v v ,
While jnforination regarding the channel
throughv!wfiich the communication was addressed
is lacking, it is probable that it is bein forwarded
by the government of Switzerland.
Germany is understood to have made it clear
that although diplomatic relations have been brok
en she greatly desires, that peace be maintained.
Preliminary outlines regarding the communication
do not indicate that it carries with it any sugges
tion that Germany may modify her submarine
warfare. ; "",'V'. '" , . '
h ''-' However, the whole communication is said
clearly to invite this government to make sugges
tions regarding steps it thinks might prevent war.
i lofiii turn m m Iftsi
Ireland is , starving and
needs : re
lief far more than Belgium, accord
ing to a Bridgeport traveler returned
tpova. tnere. its maie. popumuuu i
military ake has disappeared as lr oy
'magic, he says, and those who have
not gone to the front are being im
pressed by coercive measures.
Because of famine that is said to
exceed that of &47 there is not enough
potatoes; grain for the cattle, or
eyen leavings from the table to feed
pigs which are drowned surreptitious-
ly in, the rivers as soon as born to
avert starvation. " 1 '.
Even the famed .roadways, the
erstwhile pride of the nation, have
dropped intb disrepair , with hone to
care for them. Martial law has
been proclaimed ' not only in Dublin
and otitier cities of Ireland to prevent
uprisings, but the streets of Liver
pool and other English cities are sim
ilarly patrolled, while the few who
are left of . police that one paced
their be'ats are now utilized for traffic
purposes onlyi-v V
This is the first authentic report
of conditions received in Bridgeport
for many months, because none have
arrived from the shore of the Emer
ald Isle - and all attempts to report
true conditions in Ireland to America
are carefully censored by British of
ficers. : . . j -
The following account of the con
dition and treatment of the 'Irish
race, as well as the manner in which
citizens of America are ill treated and
fined without the means of redress is
detailed by Bernard Lynch, a natur
alized American carpenter, who has
llvd in Bridgeport nearly all his
life. . '
, At his home, 25 Orchard , street,
last night, Lynch recounted details of
his trip to Ireland to visit ihis aged
mother , and sisters and tha .visit in
Dublin, Liverpool and other Irish and
English cities between the time . he
left New York on the steamer Phil-
I aaeipni
a, Nov. . 4, and returned by
the same boat arriving Jan. 14, ,at
New York city. . . v
"I am glad to be back in America,
certainly glad to be ' back in Bridge
port, ' but my. heart goes out to the
poor oppressed people of Ireland for
their condition is far worse than the
reports we receive here of Belgium.
If any country needs'.help now it is
Ireland.4 Its people; are actually being
starved into submission , that its male
itopulation, once eager to help the
English cause but now apathetic, may
NORTH END COAL DEALER HELD
FOR SUPERIOR COURT TRIAL AS
RECEIVER OF THIEVES' BOOTY
Abram J. Rich, of 3 5 Frank street,'
a coal dealer with large real estate
holdings in the North End, was held
in bonds of' $2, 000 by JudgeFrederic
Bartlett this morning for trial in the
superior court charged with receiving
and purchasing stolen property,
Several tons of copper and brass
were recovered by the police from
Rich's home. The metal 'had been
stolen from freight cars lying on the
sidings in Housatonic avenue.' Three
North End youths had stolen the
metal after , breaking open the car
and carted it away. They told the
mi iWlfc. I mmm f '-' - t. V .. .
be: forced to service at the front. .
"A year of wet weather, believed to
have been caused by 'the continuous
firing of big guns Hn France, spoiled
all the crops of potatoes, oats,, hay
and other grains in Ireland. There
was little to harvest. "
"In 'consequence of this fact and
also that ' flour is almost unobtainable
unless sent from . England after ship
ments from America, the rations for
Ireland have been cut down almost t4
nothing. ( ' - s
"But when I left Dublin and other
cities five weeks ago coarsely bolted
corn meal ' was worth $5' a hundred
weight, eggs' $1 a dozen, ham was 50
cents a pound, potatoes 25 cents a
stone f (14 pounds a bushel contains 0
pounds! American ' standard weight),
oats $6.25 abarrei and flour Belling in
small," quantities at about $17 per bar
rel with oft-repeated rumors that no
more woujd come from America. It
costs $2 to get a pair' of shoes soled.
"With practically no , hay, grain or
optatoes left from the poor crops of
last year, even the suckling pig3 are
drowned to prevent economic waste in
the household and pork is prohibitive
in price. ' ? ' ; . -
"In the cities of Ireland I walked for
hours without "seeing the ( face of a
man of military age unless he wore
the uniform of; a policeman or a sol
dier. , The country seems destitute of
men, yet the Irish people tell me they
are not fighting for England. Where
they are I do not know.
"The Dublin riots had the effect of
greatly changing the loyalty of Irish
men towards England. , Even in Dub
lin a man in uniform does not dare
to. depart from the. lighted streets at
night. If he does he is seldom seen
alive again, yet nobody can isay what
happened to him. , -VIn
return for this spirit England
Jias - bgun a, system of persecution
aimed to drive the able-bodied Irish
man to the ranks by starvation oi as
an-alternative to jaU sentence. They
are arrested upon all pretexts. If
they have money they are fined and
released.' . If they are destitute it is
suggested that enlistment will result
in a parole. . ' - , ' "'
"Even as an American I was sub
jected to the grossest indignity in
Liverpool, being haled to jail, com
pelled to spend , three night in a cell
and finally fined $55 simply because
an officer on the boat between Ireland
and Liverpool had- failed to ask me
for my passport. I have taken steps
v ( Continued on Page 2.)
police Rich paid j them $60 for the
first load of metal.
For several weeks the. police tried
in vain to find who was responsible
for the looting of the freight cars.
Thousands of dollars of metal .was
being missed daily. They finally dis
covered one ' Saturday night that a
team had backed up to one of . the
cars and left the scene with a load of
copper and brass.
On their return for another load,
the youths were apprehended and the
arrest of Rich by Detective Lieuten
ant John Barton followed.
U S WON'T
TAKE FIRST
.WAR STEP
Overt Act by German Naval
Forces Will Be Met With
President's Request For
7 Use of Battleships to Pro-
tect Rights of United
States.
Opening of Actual Hostili-
ties Will Be Left With
Germany, Plan of Admin
istration Brazil Refuses
To Recognize U-Boat
Blockade. '
(Washington, Feb. 10 Late reports
of ships sunk by German submarines
were scanned closely today by govern
ment officials for a double reason.
First, there was the ever present
fear that any hour might bring a dis
patch saying an American ship had
been sunk without warning or Ameri
can lives lost, thus driving the United
States to use force to protect I its
rights.
Second, yesterday's reported falling
oft of aggregate tonnage sunk pro
duced wonder as to whether the fail
ure was only temporary or whether
Great Britain has already done some
thing to lessen the force of the sub
marine attacks.
j In reference to the chances of a
more prpnounced break with Ger
many, it is disclosed that the precise
course of the United States had been
'determined. President - Wilson '.-will
not ask Congress for a declaration, of
war but only for authority - to take
necessary measures to protect neutral
rights.. This would still leave the
first act of open hostilities to Ger
many's choosing, ane convoying oi
merchant vessels by American war
craft might be ordered. "
Practical interest in the progressive
success of the submarine campaign
was based on Lloyd's reports reaching
here, indicating that not much more
than 10,000 tons total shipping was
sunk yesterday,, although about 21,
000 tons was reported sunk on Thurs
day and about 28,000 tons on each of
the two preceding days. A daily dej
struction of 33,000 tons would be
necessary to maintain the rate that
the German admiralty believes to be
sufficient to isolate . Great Britain.
Reports that Great Britain is ar
ranging to convoy great fleets -of
shipping through the war zone gained
credence here.
Rio Janeiro, Feb. 10 Foreign Min
istpr Lniirn Muller. in renlving to
"President Wilson, suggestion that
other .neutral nations take the same
position as f the "Sjfhited States in re
spect to the German submarine cam
paign will inform Washington " that
Brazil has declared to Germany that
she does not recognize the submarine
blockade, as effective. The note will
further say that Brazil leaves with
Germany the responsibility for all acts
from which Brazilian merchantmen
may suffer-in violation - of interna
tional law. I
(The text of Brazil's note will be
found elsewhere in The Farmer to
day.)
I
. SWISS REPLY READY. .
Paris, Feb. 10: A Bertie dispatch
to the Havas agency says that the
Swiss government's replies to the
American and German notes will be
sent to Washington and Berlin today.
C. OF C. VOTING
2 TO 1 IN FAVOR
OF REFERENDUM
Eighty Eeplies Favoring
Consulting People to 35
Against Received. .
,
The postal card referendum, ad
dressed by the Chamber of Commerce
to its members, is meeting with a
liberal response, although the bulk of
replies is not expected before Mon
day. The vote will not be announced un
til the full coun is ready, but it was
said today, that the balloting thus far
is oyerwhelmingly in favor of putting
the bonds to a referendum.
In fact it was unofficially said that
there are 80 votes in favor of a refer
endum, and only 35 against it.
There is said to be a large feeling
among the members that bonding in
Bridgeport is getting to threatening
dimensions. The referendum is felt
to be the surest and fairest way of
keeping the debt within limits.
THE WEATHER
Fair tonight; Sunday
slightly warmer.
fair and
MLSfl
ig O a tin Pi)
IYIM AUG
WUi LIPS
TO gMW
New York, Feb. 10 American
shipping circles were stirred today by
the announcement that two freighters
flying the Stars and Stripes would sail
immediately for the war zone. They
will be the first American vessels to
start from New York for the prescrib
ed area since the beginning of Ger
many's unrestricted submarine war
fare. , ' ' "
These ships are the Orleans, owned
by the Oriental Navigation Co., xand
the Rochester, of the Kerr Steamship
Co. Both are
bound for Bordeaux,
France,
The two ships have received
their clearance papers and loaded all
their , cargoes, awaiting final word
from their owners.
The Orleans has an American cap
tain, Allan Tucjcer, and a crew of 35,
of whom 32 are citizens of the United
States. , .
The Rochester has 33 officers "and
meri, of whom two-thirds are Americans.-
Both vessels have their names
and "U. S. A." in large letters on their
black sides, but are not striped or
marked in the manner prescribed fqr
American vessels by the German,
blockade regulations. - Neither is
armed. -
"After, taking the - matter up at
Washington we have decided to allow
the steamer to proceed without
mounting guns of any kind," said an
officer of the Kerr Jine. "Any ship
flying the American' flag as the Ro
chester does, has the right to trade
with a foreign country and we do not
Anticipate thaf the- steamer will be
interfered with."
- H. S. Quick, general freight agent
of the Kerr line, announced that the
COURT RELEASES
GUARD ARRESTED
AS FOREIGN SPY
No Evidence Against Henry
Wentland,' Alias Castro,
and He Departs.
- Henry Wentland, alias Castro, who
was arrested (a week ago the( police
suspecting that he was a spy, was re
leased from custody by Judge Fred
eric Bartlett this morning, in the city
court. When told that the technical
charge of breach of the peace against
him had been nolled and that he was
at liberty,' Wentland with the gal
lantry and grace of a courtier bowed
very law, swept out" in .his arm and
fervently exclaimed, "Your Honor, I
thank you.' I thank you."
Wentland had been employed as
watchman about the Bridgeport Gas
Co. tanks in the West End and his
manner of asking questions about the
public waterworks, the Remington
Arms Co., and other factories aroused
the suspicion of his fellow workers
with the result that he was discharg
ed, i. . . . . "
An investigation, showed that he
was livingat the Arcade hotel, al
though he earned only $2 a day as
watchman. He was arrested as he
stepped from the office of the Hy
draulic Co.; "where he was ' inquiring
about the city's water system.
AIRSHIP FLEET
MAKES RAID ON
DELGlAN COAST
Amsterdam .Feb. io. The Telegraaf
says that a fleet of airships at dusk
yesterday attacked the Belgian coast
town of Zeebrugge. The Germans
fired 300 shells from anti-aircraft guns
in an attempt to drive off the at
tackers. GERMANS FOIL ATTACK.
L Berlin, Feb. 10 By wireless to
Sayville The German artillery on
fhf VprHun frnnt hrnkfi lin in its in-
cipiency an attempted attack by the j
French on hill 304 yesterday, army
headquarters announced today. " A
minor attack by the French on Pep'
per ridge, north ofWerdun, was re
T1BFF M
fit' Pfl
STARTS
N FLAG.
IAT PERIL
sailings of the line will continue until
forcibly stopped. '
The arrival of the , Baltic of the
White Star line in Liverpool removes
from the danger zone and other British
vessel carrying American citiens. .
The post office authorities are con
sidering the advisability of transfer
ring 5,000 sacks of mail from, the
American liner St.' Louis, which has
been held up here all week by the
blockade, to the British steamer Ced
ric, whiclj sails tomorrow for Liverpool
without passengers.
. Bankers and manufacturers and rail
road men said today that the reduced .
number of sailings from American
ports was begining to be felt, although
as yet thsre was no serious conges
tion of cargoes at the railroad termi
nals. It was said' that many shipped
were withholding their goods from the
railroads att.t6e point of production
because they could not obtain the nec
essary ooean tonnage. . x .
The situation is a source of annoy
ance to banks doing business in for
eign exchange spldlS and negotiated
against ex boiij -tlwvrTReUupi .; To guard
against loss "of interest arising from
any prolonged delay sjpme of the larg
est banks ..here have 'sent out letters
calling attention to te fact that ow
ing to the delay of mails an adjust
metn of interest must be made qh '"all
items negotiated prior to the date of
the steamer sailing.
Safe arrival in Genoa last Thursday
of the 'Italian steamer Dante Alighieri,
which . left this port Jan. 24, was an
nounced here today in a cablegram
received by . the ship's agents. She
carried between 400 and 500 passengers.-
- .
MAYOR TO TAKE
CENSUS OF MEN
OF FIGHTING AGE
Work Probably Will Begin
ih Factories of Bridgeport
Monday.
Mayor Wilson today began to make
plans to take the military census of
Bridgeport vas ordered by Gov. Kol
comb. He has not packed his corps
of volunteer workers, but expects to
later. " Lists of every male resident
of Bridgeport between 16 and 60
yfrs", whether citizens of the United
States or not, vwiir be made. The
purpose is to show the name, ad
dress ,age, condition, occupation, etc.,
of each individual between those
ages. What each citizen is particu
larly fitted to do and whether or not
he has ever had any military service,
will be made part of the census. '
The mayor said he hoped to start
the work by Monday. Each factory
head will be asked to take the cen
sus of his factory arid lists of em
ployes will also be obtained from
the heads of department stores and'!
business enterprises of all kinds. The
city directory, voting -.lists and" per
sonal tax lists will be consulted and
volunteer workers, by personal calls,
will get statistics which cannot be
obtained in any other way.
LEYLAND LINER
RUNS BLOCKADE ,
OF SUBMARINES
Boston, Feb. 10. The arrival In
Livrpool of the Leyland liner Devon
Ian, for whose safety some fear had
been expressed in local shipping cir
cles, was- announced in a cablegram
received by agents here today. The
Devonian sailed from this port Jan.
29 with munitions and 1,000 horses.
Eighty tenders, most of them Ameri
cans, were aboard.
The steamer Canadian, of the Ley
land line, which was ready to sail last
night for Liverpool, wis at her dock
today and no information was avail
able regarding the expected time of
her departure.
Te British steamer Bay Cross, -22
days out from Havre, arrived at quar
antine early today.
WENBMT;
INK 117
Former German Ambassa
dor and Suite Will Leave
Washington on Tuesday
Night and Sail the Next
Day Aboard Scandinavian
Steamer. k
American Envoy With
Large Party of Assistants
ano Fellow-Countrymen
Go To Switzerland To
night and May Sail' From
Barcelona.
Washington, Feb. 10Ar
r angements were completed to
day for the departure on Wed
nesday of Count Von Bern
storff and his staff aboard the
steamship Frederick VIII for
Christiania, Norway. The for
mer ambassador and he per
sonnel of the embassy vill "
leave Washington Tuesday
night, f s '
GOES OX NEUTRAL SHIP
New Yok. Fefe. 10. The-steamship
Frederick" "VIII bf 'the -fccandinatla'n-American
line, was given permission
by its owners in Copenhagen today to
convey Ambassadqr Vori Bernstorff
and his suite to a Scandinavian port, a
cablegram to the line's offices ' here
said. '
In addition to the ' ambassador's
suite, provision has ben made for car
rying about 200 German consuls.
It was announced that the Frederick
VIII will sail on Wednesday afternoon
at 2 o'clock. ,
GERARD'S PARTY LEAVES
' BERLIN TONIGHT
Washington, Feb. 10. American
Ambassador Gerard will leave Berlin '
this evening for Zurich, , Switzerland,
with his entire staff and 50 American
citizens, according, to a dispatch re
ceived today at the Swiss legation here
from Berne.
The message said: "The American
ambassador, Mr. Gerard, with all his
personnel and 50 American citizens,
will leave Berlin Feb. 10 in the even
ing, by special train for-Zurich: The
ambassador will be received' at the
Swiss frontier with' all consideration
due him." ;
AMERICANS ARE DELAYED.
Berlin, Feb. 10 Although Am
bassador Gerard, his suite and a fairr
ly large "number of Americans" with
more or less official standing, have
received assurances that they may
leave Berlin on Saturday night, the
bulk of Americans in Berlin are still
somewhat in the dark as to when,
they will be able to get away. Most
"of those who want to. leave have v al
ready applied to the police for for
mal permission, but few, if any, have
yet received it.
The rule V generally enforced,' but
sometimes relaxed, that at least a
fortnight must elapse between, the
date of application and the granting t
of permission to leave is apparently
rigidly adhered to. . The authorities
presumably intend to thoroughly in
vestigate every case so as to estab
lish t that no cause exists why the
applicant should not depart from
Germany. ' v
CHANCELLOR SAYS. FAREWELL.
London, Feb. 10 A dispatch to the
Exchange Telegraph Co. from the
Hague says it is reported there from
Berlin that Chancellor Von Beth-mann-Hollweg
sent his adjutant to
Ambassador Gerard on Friday to bid
him farewell.
London, Feb. 10 Lloyds says that
the British steamer Lullington, 2,816
tons, has been sunk. Her crew was
landed yesterday. '
The British steamer Mantola has'
been sunk, Lloyds announced today.
The Norwegian vessel Solbakkon is
believed to have been sunk, the agen
cy says, two or her crtv wx
FALL VICTIMS
TO BLOCKADE
A