The Washington times. [volume], February 01, 1916, HOME EDITION, Image 1

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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WEATHER FORECAST:
Partly Cloudy and Colder
(Full Import on Pago Two.)
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HOME
EDITION
NUMBER 8797.
WASHINGTON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 1, 1916.
PBICE ONE CENT.
rogfam Wimt0
',
ft
BIG LINER, CAPTURED BY GERMANS
AFTER FIGHT, BROUGHT TO NORFOLK
CHANCE GETS
COMMITTEE'S
OIASCMAL
POSTMASTE
Nomination of Otto Praeger For
Second Assistant Postmas
ter General Is Also Reported
Favorably.
House District Body Holds
Hearings on Public Library,
, Loan Sharkn and Juvenile
Court Measures.
The Senate Postoffices Commit
tee today ordered favorable re
ports hy unanimous vote on the
nomination of Merritt O. Chance
for postmaster of Washington, and
on the nomination of Otto Praeger
for Second Assistant Postmaster
Genera. ' '" -
The action taken was a surprise
to nearly everyone who had ex
pected , the nomination of Mr.
(Chance to be held up indefinitely.
He was attacked by the Democrats
on the ground he is a Republican.
It appears, however, that friends
of Mr. Chance got busy and were
planning to make trouble for Mr.
Praeger unless Mr. Chance also
was confirmed. The result was a
compromise, whereby both names
were .reported out. It is expected
both will be confirmed by the Sen
ate. Commissioner Newman ,
Urges House Committee
. To Report Library Bill,
At a protracted cxccive session,
the Huse District Committee today
held hearings on three- important Dis
trict measures.f. the Johnson bill to al
low the Commissioners to name tho em
ployes of the Public Library; the i'age
bin to amend the loan sharp law, and
(Continued on Page Sixteen.)
Two Thousand Employes At
Washington Steel Plant to
Share in Prosperity.
A general wage Increase averaging 10
Ter cent Is to be given Its 2,000 employes
by the Washington Steel and Ordnance
Company at Glesnoro Point, during the
present month. The company has an
nounced to its machinists a general 10
per cent increase effective today. This
wljl affect approximately 1.000 men. The
other Increases will be made effective
as rapidly as the rolls at the estab
lishment can bo handled.
The steel company Is sharing the gen
eral war prosperity In steel and ord
nance products, and has determined to
share some of It with its men. The
company Is working-three shifts twenty
fqur hours a day.
It is figured that with the present In
creases in wage that tho machinists at
the local plant will be getting higher
pay than men on a similar class of work
anywhere In the I'nlted States.
Hush work at the plant Is .expected
to continue with a full complement ot
men Indefinitely.
Just what affect the raise will have on
the wage scale at .the Washington Navy
rd Is not known, though It is likely
that the Government will take cogni
zance of It In view of the fact that the
iY.'rinment BCao la based on wages
Fa 'P'" similar plants near Government
MfUtutiona, .
GIESBORQ WORKERS
GET INCREASE IN PAY
Submarine
Sighted Off Florida on
Ms Way
LIEUT. HUGH C. FRASER,
One 'of the officers in command of
the Submarine K-5.
PBENI. POSES
EFI
Mrs. Wilson Fights Shy of
"Movie" BatteryLeave for
Des Moines.
CHICAGO. Feb. 1. President Wilson
left Chicago at 10 a. m. today on his
westward Journey to spread his doctrine
of preparedness. A few .enthusiasts
succeeded in breaking through the Se
cret Service guards at tho Rock Island
station and cheered tho Executive and
his bride as the train departed.
The President posed for tho "movie"
men today, but his bride fought shy of
the camera. The most coaxing smiles
and pleading entreaties of a battery of
photographers failed to swerve Mrs.
Wilson, who tucked herself Into a cor
ner of a ymouslne and would nottgivo
the battery even a slanting shot.
Mounted police kept tho crowd back
while tho President posed in front' of
his hotel.
This was the lightest day of tho tour.
Although four additional stops wore
added at tho last mln.itc to tha nehed
ule, it was a day or rest compared with
the more strenuous trip In the Bast.
First Stop At Joliet.
The President's first step today was
to be nt Joliot, III., where an addrcsu of
considerable length was planned.
Other addresses en route to Des Moines
were to be biief.
The President coemed thoroughly
rested today.
State Department Thinks By
Saturday Definite Action Will
Be Reached.
Washington expects to know bv Trl
day or Snturdav whether Germany lws
seen. fit to agree In full to America's
Luiltitnia 6mandi r.r whether tho irrt
erlal government intends furt.'er to da
lay 8ettlpment through Infomnl con-
eisntlritiR btwnfn ?prtflrv T.nn.lnr
and AmbiCHadnr nonietorff. That ulti-!
mate aoUlt!renro by Herman? la In
evitable continued lodav to be the f.itn,
belief In ofPcldl c'ri-l., despite the
"giave bit not foiiou" s'tuatlon which
Secretary Ijinslne and President Wil
son liavii sail cxlKts.
Coincidental with ih President's
tatcmci;t yisU'iilR.v nt Milwaukee that
"there Is no ni'lclc-ii crlMs" and that
"nothing nfw has happened." the ex
planation by n high Stale Department
official of uso of the term. "trra e situation-'
was recalled today. This official
said the LuMtanlu situation could well
be illustrated by an individual's Illness.
BI'mBsB
H $
" If Vfe. JiL - 7 AV
BEFOR
ILM MEN
.
Brans
LIISiTANIA
H
IK
K-5 Safe,
to Key West
Missing Craft Was Making Ten
Knots an Hour When Locat
ed By Destroyer Sterrett.
NOT IN NlEED OF ANY- HELP
Gaptain Simpson, of Missing
Vessel, Sends Wireless An
nouncing Find.
The Navy Department announced
this morning that the K-5 Is safe.
Cnptaln Simpson, of the U. 8. de
stroyer Bterrott, one of the searching
boat;), reported to the wireless sta-
tlon at Arlington that the submarine .... ....... .
hri , im,.h -i.ee mi, .1.1. ' ANNAPOLI8. Feb, 1 Notwtthstand
had been sighted at 8:55 o clock this . lnp tw partlcu,arlv BtTlovn nM(J of
morplng. five miles cast of Fowey Hock. I naval offCera Rt tha tme, 220 mld.hlp
a lighthouse station ten miles from 1 wen, about one-quarter of1 the whola
Miami, Fla. number at the Naval Academy will In
The K-5 was. seen beaming south at th regular course, be asked to resign
ten knots an hour and needed no as- within the next few days owing to thnlr
slstance. She should arrlvo In Keyjfttl'"re to PaM certain subjects at the
West today. I 8eml-annual examinations Just conclud-
.- . . . ... .,., .,,.,...... AB lno vcaaenuc ooara nas noi pass
to have tbeen sighted off Jupiter Inlet, ' cd upon these cases as ynt. Academy
in a dispatch received at the Navy
Department at 10 o'clock last night.
rimo-. sui.. -n.wu it,. .i,i
omccrfl familiar with the working
of submarines find no cause for sur-
prlso in the fact that' no wjrlcss mea-
Hnfrpft hnVA hAAtl rnAlvrt trnm tfiA TvA.
The stntle conditions of th utimianhere
In a fog such as that 'now hanging
over the coast, they say, often Iriter-
mmh n tlmf -niim hnnfHncr
fero with a wireless of the limited
radius used on a submarine, which can
send only scventy-flvo miles.
Nevertheless the Navy Department
took every precaution to find the ves
sel. Destroyers and naval tugs wero
sent out from Charleston and Key West
and coast guard cutters also patrolled
the coast.
Although the fog had not lifted, as
far as the department was informed,
the commandant of the Charleston yard
reported that the other boats of the
subnmrine flotilla, the K-l, K-3, and
K-6, under convoy of the submarine
tender Tallahassee, had put out from
Charleston to continue their cruise to
Key West. Tho flotilla left New York
Friday for winter maneuvers off the
Florida coast.
Tho boats of the K class are among
the latest submarines put in commis
sion, and are regarded as being among
the beat now In service It was in con-;
nectlon with the acceptance of the K-2.
another vessel of .this same class, how
ever, that Rear Admiral Little, retired,
was recently corut-martlaled and ac
(Contlnued on Page Sixteen.)
WOULD END TIE-UPS
Citizens, in Resolutions, Urge
Utilities Commission to
Favor Union of Car Lines.
Consolidation of the street railways
of the District under one head Is sug
gested as a means of relieving con
gestion, by the Federation of Citizens'
Associations In resolutions sent to the
.Public Utilities Commission.
Directing attention to congested
street railway conditions In the down
town .sections, "especially the conditions
prevailing In and about Ninth and F
streets. Fourteenth to F and H streets.
Fifteenth and Q streets and New York
and Pennsylvania avenues," the reso
lution states that "It Is In the Interest
of the general public to have tho street
railways In the District of Columbia
operated as ono company."
The committee which drafted the res
olution. Mates that after giving careful
consideration to the subject of reliev
ing congestion. It reports that there
must be co-operation on the part of the
competing companies in the matter of
rerouting the cars, thus mnklnir huh.
Ulal the Joint uso of certain tracks or
mo cuuBirucuon ot -a suDway where the
congestion Is greatest,
no mc.ua lur ueiernuning a fair
ba?,8 for bringing the companies to
gether under one management, it is
stated, can best be obtain ihv m.
speedy completion of the valuation of
their properties. The resolutions call
upon Congress to pass an act author
izing all the street railways, imme
diately upon the completion of the'
valuations, to conslldate and operate'
as one company, and to issue free;
transfers at all connecting or inter
secting points.
Officials of the Public Utilities Com
mission said today that the valua
Mon..ofJhe Btret railways has prac
tically been completed, but that some
time will be required by the com
mission to consider the information
obtained.
m wsmm
220 MIDDIESAPPAM BRINGS
MUST QUIT IN LAW PROBLEM
PITE OF NEED
Failure to Make Required Mark
in Examinations Will De
crease Ranks One-Third.
FIGURES NOT YET PUBLIC
President and Secretary of the
Navy Could Reinstate Stu
dents. i oinciais are not ready to maKe a, deii-
nlt? ann0UJc?,?,cn.t1 0.uthe. J!u.n,b.cr
and class distribution of the deficient,
bt ,t , 8tated on ab,olut0 authority
that the number Is not grearer than 2S0,
and that thtt number In each claa4s
JltSoUt HI follows: , . j .
.irV--r ITral5IBWn clntfc, ; second.
7 " " w " " ' -C
Constitutes a Deficiency.
' Failure, to sscure a mark of 2.5 .au,t ot
fti possible -4 constitutes a "deficiency"
At tho Academy, and, in tho usual
course, a deficiency in any branch is
sufficient to bring a request for a resig
nation. However, the Academic board
considers each Individual case, and It la
i this fuct which gives hope to some of
tho young men and their friends that
they will be afforded a further oppor
tunity of remaining In tho naval service.
In somo cosch whero the marl: Is not
much hclow the rtandard. another ex
amination is given, and It Is quite tlie
frequent course Jo continue a mlmfhip
nmu, sometimes In tin next lower class,
who has lest limb through Hlne&a or
other causes for which he is not re
sponsible. The academic benrd, the Secret-try of
iu'j i-tuvy ur uie jrt'mrm, lire jnissimo
sources of heir to the deficient mld-
Isavy and the President, not the present
incumbents, have been Known to tako
action which resulted In the retention
of midshipmen vlio had failed tc reach
thx required standards. Instances have
been Known or these otticiaia issuing nil
order that! 4 or S.3, instead of 2.3.
should be tho nauing mirk in certain
branches In which the usjal numbAr 0f
fnllures hod Indented that tho subject
was specially difficult.
"Dope" System Killed.
One explanation of the largo number
of failures is that the Instructors have
been forbidden to do anything to Indi
cate to the midshipmen tho character of
the examination. The court of Inquiry
which investigated the scholastic meth
ods of the Academy, advised that the
"dope" Bystem, as it was called, be
abolished, and an order forbidding the
use of this kind of special help fol
lowed. Many midshipmen claim that the av
erage youth needs these to pass the ex
amination. Others claim the midship
men felt they would be treated more
leniently than usual. Midshipmen claim
tho examinations were much harder
than usual, but this Is denied by the in
structors. CASE WITH THE JURY
I
Defense of Widow Concluded
and That of Negroes Is
Taken Up.
PROVIDENCE, R. I Feb. 1. The
defense In the trial of Mrs. Elizabeth
F. Mohr, charged with Instigating
the murder of her husband, closed at
10:39 today.
The trial sessions will now be de
voted to the defenso of the two ne
KroeB charged with having carried
out Mrs. Mohr's orders to shoot the
physician.
The action of Mrs. Mohr's attorneys
came as a distinct surprise. Several
witnesses. Including Emily Burber, the
"other woman." who had been sum
moned, remained to be called.
Kev. William McNamara and James
J. Cronln gave testimony today favor
able to Mrs. Mohr in that It cast doubt
upon the story of George Ilealis, negro
chauffeur, who turned State's evidence
and declared the accused women ar
ranged for him to stop Dr. Mohr's car
while the negroes Brown and Spellman
abot bim to death.
IS
MOR
RESTS
FOR OFFICIALS
Government Experts In Quan
dary What to Do With Ship
and Prize Crew. '
HELD UNTIL STATUS DECT&Sa
Hague Convention Clauses Con
flict, But Old Precedents
Favor Release of Ship.
British Ambassador Spring'
Rice called upon Secretary Lan
sing shortly after noon today, In .
search of facts concerning the
capture of the Appam. The am
bassador will take no action, aa
he is not empowered to do so,
but will transmit details of the
capture to his thome gorern
ment. Astounded, over the; information
reachinsr Washington from Norfolk
regarding; the arrival'' thvre 'oFthr
(JtrlUcif tennvr ADRrt,.vih ihe hairi
J of a German prize -crew, International
law experts of tho State Department
are -in a quandary as ta wller.e tie
dtittes of the American Government
lie.
Whether the Prltsh vessel la to be
released and the German' prlr.e crew
aboard her Interned or whether the
prize crew .is to be set at liberty and
the ship lntorned, or whether the ship
and tho prize crew are to be Interned,
are Questions consrnlng which inter
national law is In conflict, and tho
determination of which cannot 'be
made until the minutest details 'con
cerning this latest achievement of
German strategy over British tactics
are learned.
Up to State Department.
The whole problem has been put up
to tho State Department by the Treas
ury authorities, who were first in
I -, ... .. -, . TI ,..
Collector of the Tort Hamilton, at
orfplk. who asked for instructions,
According to the collector's report, the
Anoam. which had not been heard from
since January u. when she was
ported off the coast of Morocco, outs
ide
the Straits of Gibraltar, came ouletly
into Hampton noada at 6:45 o'clock this
morning and dropped anchor. From
her stem fluttered a German flag, the
first seen on the high seas In this part
(Continued on Page Sixteen.)
ERZERUM HALTED
Turks Also Report Failure of
British Attempts to Relieve
Kut-el-Amara.
BERLIN, Feb. 1. The Turks have
halted the Russlun advance upon the
fortress of Erzerum and hav checked
all attempts of the British relief force
to reach tho garrison surrounded at
Kut-EI-Amara. Constantinople reported
today.
No Russian force has approached
within several miles- of the Erzerum
fort on tho cast. Constantinople re
ported. Both armies are suffering in
tenselv from the sovere cold.
In Mesopotamia, the situation of the
British force surrounded In Kut-El-Amara
for more than two weeks. Is
becoming desperate. Since British. troops
attempting to relieve Kut-Kl-Amara
were driven back a week ago, they have
not renewed their attempt to reach the
city.
DRIVE IN FLANDERS
AMSTERDAM. Feb. 1. Large bodies
of German cavalry and several land
strum divisions have passed through
Liege, en route to the Vser front, in
the last few days.
Travelers arriving h'ere today report
ed that the Germans expect an allied I
offensive within a fortnight, and are!
strengthening their lines In Flanders.
M ADVANCE ON
GERMANS MASS FOR
COMMERCE RAIQER
SENDS BIG VESSEL
INTO U. S. HARBOR
Story of Battle Aboard Ship With Supposed
Pirate Crew Told by Passengers Thrill
ing Story of Eluding British Patrols Is
Hinted May Be Interned By U. S.
CHICAGO, Feb, 1. President Wilson appeared
greatly interested when informed today that the Brit
ish liner Appam, thought sunk, had put into Norfolk
in charge of a German crew and flying the German
flag.
Secretary Tumulty said the President would
await official advices before considering this Govern
ment's position regarding possible internment of the
vessel.
NORFOLK, Feb. 1. Captured after a hand to hand
fight on her decks by the, crew of a German commerce
raider off the Canary. .Islands on vJansiafv IS. the British
Nlteer Ap$BV flying; theSerrhaii flaput jn here today in
charge of a prize crev of .twenty-two men.
CapU Oscar erg is in charge of the prize with 453
British prisoners and twenty German passengers who were
on the Appam being transferred to English detention
camps.
"We know we accomplished a great feat in bringing
this vessel safely through the lines of the enemy. The
ship is not hurt and she is a good prize. We -waited for
several days,- and had given up hope of getting her. We
thought sneJiad heard of us and gone to another port," said
Captain Berg.
"We treated the passengers as best we could. We
gave them every comfort and had the doctor's care for the
injure dmen taken from another ship.
"We had intended going to New York, but were ad
vised that the enemy's ships were cruising near that point
and we changed our course for Norfolk. We expected to
arrive here on Sunday, but we had to be cautious and went
in a roundabout way to reach the Virginia capes. We
sighted no British cruisers, but met several merchant
ships."
The Appam was boarded by the Norfolk customs
officials and is expected to go to Newport News tonight.
She will probably be allowed twenty-four hours to make
necessary repairs and depart or be interned until the end
of the war.
, Out of the mass of conflicting stories of passengers
and the few admissions of Captain Berg, a remarkable and
thrilling sea tale is disclosed.
As thrilling 'as the story of the battle with the,, sup
posed pirate off the Canaries is the story of how Captain
Berg piloted his charge, undermanned and with .limited
supplies, across the Atlantic, eluding the British-patrols
scattered along the sea lanes and brought the big vessel
within the twin capes and under the protection of Amer
ican officials.
Captain Harrison; who commanded the Appam when
she was under the British flag, .said that he left the port of
Calibar, Wes Africa, bound for Plymouth, and that off the
Canary Islandson January 15, he was overhauled by the
commerce raider and surrendered when he saw .the futility
of flight or fight.
Many of his passengers assert that the officers of the
Appam, believing the mysterious stranger was a pirate,
brought the 3-inch gun into play after severa lshots had
been fired across her bows. The vessels were so close that
whe nthe Appam was finally brought to a stop the raider
was lying across her bows.
Life boats were owered fromeach vessel at the same
moment, but one was crushed between the vessels.
Boarders from the raider clambered aboard the Ap-
t