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Hundreds of Wheelinj|ites Who Can't Shoulder a Musket Ai e Volunteering to Wield the Hoe? More Food for the Nation | **** ******************** THE INTELLIGENCER Largest Morning Paper Circulation in West Virginia. I ** ********************** 8 VOL r M K J. X v.. \<>. 1 2 WHEELING, W. VA., .M OX-DA Y. A PRJL 30, 1917. ************* *******?#### j i The Weather * * . * He . jje jje Overcast Monday; Tuesday Probably ajc * Shower*. * He * I ************************ I PRICE? TWO CENTS Germany Does Not Recognize | State of War With America! / ? |! II P FLAG | 0 L i ui FOR L u I ; ? > GERMAN RAIDER ENCOUNTERED 01 VIRGINIA GQAST! SIGHTED BY STRANDED j OIL TANK STEAMER | Is a Sailing Vessel, but a! Equipped With Auxiliary | Power, and Shows Speed, j NEW YORK. April 2'.>.- The captain of a Standard Oi! tank steamship, which arrived here to-day. said he had no doubt but that a mysterious vessel which he sighted Thursday night, and Friday morning off the Virginia coast was the Herman raider Seeandler. The stranger was a four-masted bark, and had all sails, set. but in a six-knot breeze she was proceeding ten or eleven knots. The oil ship's skipper reported, and it was obvious she wasj equipped with mo^or power. The tanker was coming from Mexi co. bringing oil and towing a barge also laden with oil. Shortly before 9 o'clock Thursday night, according to the captain's log. the bark was sight ed 15 miles south of the Diamond Shoals Lightship, off Cape Hatteras. The bark steered across the tanker's, stem and disappeared. At 12:30 a. m.UTUda^- ithe- retucned,' the captain said, and .'came alongside.-' Forty-five minutes after being sighted Ahe had passed close across the tank- 1 er^s bow and. disappeared. * .Several vessels arriving at Ameri can ports recently have reported the presence of j strange vessels in the At lantic. Tor Greater Efficiency. XKU* YOlSK. April ."'.K ? The rail roads* have been risked in the interest | ? >f the "in all i:ase?:" !o "keep the cars ntuvine. and settle differences j of opinion afterwards." 'it was an- 1 nounced here today by t h <" special com mittee on national d?'f'*n'se [of the Amer- I icin Railway Association. A ii'w set ofvr-uuUvtions ? jroverninx he handliitx " <?f freight equipment has I "en sent :?> the r'>;n!s by the committee o whifh Fairfax Harrison. president ? l the Southern Kniiwny. is chairman.' The roads have bee? callej upon to make the rules effective; an essen- , (Continued on Pagre rTwelve.) LONDON. April MO. ? A de spatch t<? the Daily Mail from Athens; says the correspondent has "trustworthy information that Kiusr Cojrstant ine is considering abdicating in favor of tSie Crown Prince. The despatch adds that under the influence <>f German agents among his entourage, how ever, the decision of the kin? may he changed. BERLIN, Saturday, April 28.? Via London, April 29. ? 1 :10 P. M. ? Although the police circular ordering- Americans to report daily to the police stations and to remain indoors between 10 P. M. and 6 A. M. sets forth that Americans are to be treated henceforth as en emy foreigners, officials of the foreign office say this is true only in modified form. ' At the foreign office it is still said that Germany has not recog nized the American declaration of the existence of a state of war, and that, therefore, Americans are not enemy foreigners, but merely non neutrals. They point out the fact that the police rules with refer ence to Americans are less strict than those applied to the English, French and Russians'who are not interned. anotI Inch sra now is ; TAKEN BT THE INTREPID BRITISH! London. April 29. 10:33 p. m. j I ? The British troops captured a ! German trench system south of Oppy. on a front of about a mile, after heavy fighting, this morning, says an official report from Brit l ish headquarters in France. | '? The Germans offered strong re- ! I sistance and delivered several counter-attacks, but :hese failed. ) | The number of prisoners taken by the British since Saturday ! morning is 976, including 16 off i j cers. I The three-mile stretch of territory | from Arleux-eti-Gohelle to Gavrelle is j still the scene of groat battles for su premacy between the British and the 'Germans, and in th<-mi the British con ;tinu*> to hold the advantage. i Another trench system ? a barrier to the forward march of Field Marshal j Haig's forces toward Douai ? has been {taken over a front of a mile in most 'sanguinary fighting. The new position jlies south of Oppy. and runs almost to i the outskirts of Gavrelle. | The Britishers went into the fray with their usual intrepidity. The Ger mans resisted strongly, but King George's men would not be denied and soon drove out the defenders of the position and entered it. Counter-at tacks launched by the Germans were unavailing, and at the rlose of the day the British were in full possession of their new gain, and in an appreciably better position than previously for a continuation of their offensive east jward toward Pouai. I When dawn broke over the battle field Sunday it found the Canadians holding tenaciously to Arleux-en-Go heile. whirh they had captured Satur day in a thrilling; battle. Their night had not be?n a restful one, for the Germans threw a heavy counter attack against them that required hard work to put down with rifle and machine gun fire, a ta3k which, however, the CanadiansU^uccessfully accbnipHsfced and inflicted lieavv casualties upon the Germans. ; j I Berlin has admitted the loss to the Canadians of Arleux-en-Gohelle and to | (Continued on Ptge Twelve.) I _! I I 1 ' WHEN THE DRAFT I ; BILL BECOMES LAW i : ? This Is -what will happen sh?nld the draft ,biU now before I ] congress become a law: j j 1. The president will proclaim I j day of registration, the voting i precinct being used for earoll j i m*nt. The governors of states I j will be asked to have the sheriffs | of the counties appoint registers to take the names of all males between the ages of 19 and 25. Those who refuse to enroll will be arrested. 2. The state officers will ex empt from military service "per. sons engaged in industries, in. eluding- that of agriculture, found to be necessary to the [ , maintenance of the military es ] tabllshment of the effective oper ! atlon of the military forces, or the maintenance of national in terests during the emergency." 3. Those not exempted will be reported to the war department, j which will make further ex?mp j tions. i 4. It is estimated that by An. i gust 1 the half million men de j sired will be in training camps. In tie meantime the government ! I must provide equipment for the i > recruits. i 5. Xt is estimated the registra tion will result in an enrollment ' of seven million, and about 40 per j cent of this number will be weeded out on accounty of physi | cal disabilities. The half million 1 to be selected from the remaining 60 per cent will be chosen by i ! lot. j I 1 Practically All the Raw Material in Germany is Exhausted ; I Only Factories Making War Supplies Are Running ? People Stand in Line to Buy Underwear. I . . . ' I <i ?r.\ (?y casi w. ACKEBatAw.) i Cojpyrictst. t!>l7. the Tribune association. j List January, while in Berlin. [ wanted to buy a shirt. I saw in a shop] window shirts of all kinds .ami vane- ; tfi&s. and went into one of the big de-j partment stores to purchase one.; When I. told ? ho clerk what I wanted,' ? -he asked: ? > "Do ypu have a 'bezugschein-?* " This fyas new to me. 1 asked her; <o explain. She said if was now itn-' possible for any one to buy a shirt without a special card from the city magistrate. She .<aid if would be use- 1 less for her to show me the shirts for! sale unless I had this card. r- "Because I lived in Wilmersdorf. a su-j burb of Berlin. I had to go to the city j c-hall of that. suburb. Arriving there. I| , was fold the ticket office was located! /on the fourth, floor of another building.! Arriving there, I found a long line of * men. women and children awaiting j tickets for clothinc. Finally, when li ?cached 'ho desk where the tickets fori men's clothing were issued. . I was! asked for my registration slip, which I the police, issue to all foreigner:; and others '? jehen they fake up residence in Bertie. This slip I did not have. So I informed ' (hat I could not have a ticket for a shirt until 1 brought my police registration card with mc. I went home, obtained the card and re turned to the magistrate's ticket of fice' to ftnd that It was open only from !> o'clock in the morning until 1 o'clock in, the afternoon. This was just- one of the means of discouraging people from doing anything except, the most neces sary buying. The next morning at 9 o'clock I was standing in line. In due course of time 1 was ushered into the little room where iho tickets were is sued. When I again informed the wo man that I desired a shirt, she asked whether 1 had purchased any other clothing recently. After my reply in the negative, she handed me a card .to fill out with my name, address, age, religion, business, wife's name,, the number in my family, and my nation ality. I returned this card. She (Continued on Tea.) ? FRANCIS The Amcncan Ambassador! Addresses Anti-Pacifist Russian Crowd. PETROGRAD. via London. April 29. p. m. ? An anti-pacifist, procession j comprised of some one thousand of j maimed, bandaged and convalescent: j soldiers, on foot or In motor lorries, i [assembled this morning outside the ca-j jthedrai, despite the keen frost, and | paraded the streets to the strains of j the ".Marseillaise." Scores of one- ! legged men hearing military decora-; tions bravely hobbled along on their, crutches, while many others were glad j to accept the helping arms of nurses.* The banners carled in the procession j bore the inscriptions inviting "Lenine i and Company" to "get back to Wil liam.' The procession augmented quickly: on its way to the duma building atul by the time it had reached the Ameri- j can embassy there wero tens of ihou-i sands of persons in line. David 11. Francis, the American ambassador, de livered severai addresses from the balcony. Mr. Francis said the joy of one hun dred million American freemen in the attainment of Russian liberty was only second to the joy of the Russians themselves. Russia and the United States, he added, were fighting shoul der to shoulder for the vindication of human rights. The ambassador dwelt 'on the imperativeness" bf Tietory for ! I the consolidation of the freedom won I by the revolution. He said he could! | not imagine the possibility of a seya i rate peace by Russia which would in 'volvo the loss of all the Russian peo : pie had gained. > M. Rodzianko, president of the; j Dutha, who was in the crowd, was in-; : vited into the embassy, where he stood I j beside Ambassador Francis and led in j I the cheering for the ambassador of the [United States. Nikolai Lenine. the radical Socialist) [leader, who recently has been inti mately connectcd with the attempts i to bring about a separate peace for Russia, and to whom the inscriptions on the banners in tie parade referred, was 'o have attended a great meeting! of troops in the drill hall of the grena-j dier guards yesterday evening, but did | not appear. IIIIII1 w w w ? ? ? w ENTER THE ill GOVERNORS RECEIVED AT THE U. S. EMBASSY Declare United States Their! Best Friend ? WarDeclara- I tion Within Fortnight. PBK1NG, April 20. ? A declaration ofi war agair*t Germany by China is ex-; pectocl within ? fortnight. The special commission for intern;*- i tionnl affairs designated by the gov-! crnment has advised that China enr^i-j the war. The question will go before' parliament shortly. The American i minister, Dr. Paul Reinsch. held a re-j ceptlon at the legation today to twenty I provisional military governors com- 1 posing the military conference which | recommended recently that China -.le-i ciare war. The governors were re- 1 oeived with full military honors by ' the legation guard and were welcomed by Dr. Refensch and prominent mem bers of the American volony. Th? , minister made an address, congratulai- j lng the governors on evidences of ;-o- j operation in all parts of China, and as- ? BUred them that they had the best, wishes of the United States. General Hsu-Shu-Chang respond".! ' for the governors, saying they, realized j the United States was China's best friend. I Foreign-born Americans At Gary Show Loyalty GARY. TV. Va? April "ft. ? Gary was the scene to-day of a patriotic demon stration in which several thousand j persons are reported to have partici pated. Nineteen fraternal organiza tions were .Resented in l he parade. [Among these were several composed altogether of foreigners. In the pro cession were Hungarians. Croatian*. Serbians, Slavs and Russians. Theyj entered into the spirit of the occasion earnestly and with full appreciation of , its significance. More than two hours Iwere occupied with speech-making. THE WEATHER. ?WASHINGTON, April 30.? Forecast : "West Virginia ? Overcast Monday ; Tuesday probably showers. Western Pennsylvania and Ohio ? -Un settled Monday; showers Monday nlg-ht and Tuesday, American Aviators Put Down Germans [; PARIS, A |?ril "9. ? Am?'rican ' 1 aviators again haw emerged vic torious from a battle in ih?? clouds wii h German airmen. it was learn- t or I hero to-ilay. Tin- heroes of the em-outer' wore Willis llavilanil. of Minneapolis. ami Charles John son, of Si. Louis, who are under the command of Lieutenant Will iam Thaw. Flying together in separate ma- j chinos. I ho two Americans en countered a group of Gorman air- | planes. Havilaml forced one e m> my craft to an :tlf ii n<l?* of 1,000 foot, where he engaged it in com hat. After a spirited fight, the iJorman machine, riddled by ma- . chine sun lire, collapsed and fell. Almost at the same t.ime John son had a desperate battle with another German machine, which he put to flight, evidently in dis- i WASHINGTON, April T'noffi- ; cial accounts of the work of the house ways and means sub-committee fratn-, ins the war tax bill have aroused, something of a storm among both! Democrats and Republicans. Demo-| crats are understood to be divided cn ? the proposed income taxes, particular-! l.v the rate on incomes of more than . $100,000. while Republicans threaten' trouble over the sub-committee's plans' for taxes on excess profits and in-,' comes. They also promise to maRe aj fight for tariff legislation to raise part j of the $l.ritHi,ooo,000 or more to be' provided during the coming year. The objections of many Republican and Democratic members are based on I unofficial statements of the tentative! draft on which the sub-committee has1 worked more than a week, always with I an effort to avoid publicity, in order :o: evade protests of those on whom ta.v.-s | would be levied. Reports that the income exemption | for single1 persons had been lowered i by the sulvcowmlU.ee to $1 .000 came1 as a surprise, to other committeemen. I The understanding reached at an eariy j that this exemption should be $1,500, | and objection to the .$1,000 proposal I probably will bo non-partisan and . strong. The tentative understanding: that the tariff will not be disturbed is an noying certain Republican members, who argue that If the Democrats are going to lay down the rules for the revenue bill the minority might as well withdraw from the meetings and force the majority to take full respon-j slbilitv for the completed measure. I Liquor and beer taxes will be fixed* bv the full committee to bring in the f niost revenue. The general belief apJ pears to be that a moderate increasnl will produce more revenue than a! high one, which might discourage pro. j duction. Prohibition I Determined Effort to Bring Itj About as a War Measure j Now to Be Launched. WASH I NO TO nTa pril 20.? A de'er-' mined effort lo bring about national prohibition for the duration of the war1 will bo launched here tomorrow at a '? meeting of representatives of various! political parties and of fanners' organ-! izations. including several state gov-' ernors, who will seek to influence! President Wilson and members of con- 1 gress. Leaders in the movement have sent, out word that an interview with Presi- ? dent Wilson on the question will be' held tomorrow, but it was said at the .White House tonight that no engage- J ment. had been made. .War time pro hibition has been taken up by mem bets of the Council of National Oe- 1 fense as a possible way of conserving1 the erain supply of the' nation, but no; conclusion has been reached. .MARTIXSHU KG. W. Ya.. April 20.? t Resolutions urging President Wilson! and congress to pass a national pro- [ liibition law operative during the w^r j as a means of conserving Inod supply' were adopted at ;t mass meeting at-j tended by hundreds of people here to- , ATLANTA. a.. April L'f).- CifTor-l I Pitu'hot. former head of the .National ; Forestry Service, told a church audi-i ettce here to-night that if the war last-; ed more than a year "It would be won! by the men who plow the soil of thei Southland." "If the South is- made self-sustain ing," he said-, "so that the $700,000,000 | worth of foodstuffs which yearly have j to be sent here for your people can be sent, to the Allies who are actually fighting abroad, Ihe war will be set tled." TWENTY-EIGHT RACE HORSES CREMATED \ !?: \Y YrtKK. April 3. ? The stabliof Scliuylrr L. llrrsons and If. Jv. Knupp Belmont park was burned tonight ami the t w'enty-eishi rnco' horses fjuar tered there died In the .flames. Tlif fire Is believed to hnve been of incendiary origin. On April 7 si\ incen diary Ores 'w?ri> rot at tlie park and 51,000,000 damage was done. U FOLLETTE IS AGAIN BACK OF DELAYS 01 THE SRI MEASURE WANTS REFERENDUM VOTE BY THE PEOPLE Administration Leaders Seek to Have Final Action on the Draft Bill. WASHINGTON. I>. C*..- April 2?. ? ] Congress will no lu work to-morrow toi smooth away differences between ihej drafts of the war army bill as passed ! last niglii l?y i he Senate and House.! With ili*' administ ration's plan of i raising the country's millions of fight ing men by selective draft accepted in hoih houses by overwhelming majori ties. it is regarded as eertain that the] points in dispute ean be disposed of in conference so that the measure may j cr> to the President for his signature ( before the end of the week. The parliamentary tangle result ing from the almost simultaneous action, by the two houses requires the ncxti move to be innib' on the Senate side. The bill must be re-passed there, with unlimited'! opportunity. under strict in terpretation of the rules, for further debate and amendment. It will then go to conference, with the principal task that of harmonizing the two houses on the maximum conscription age. fixed by the Senate at 27 and by the house at 40 years. Up in the Senate. After preliminary business to-mor row, probably including some action on resolutions regarding the rail roads' application for increased freight rates, the Senate will take up the bill anew, with a motion to substitute the draft section as passed by the Senate for that which cante from the House. Technically the hill will be subject to unrestricted discussion: practically, leaders hope it can be re-passed with out protracted debate by to-morrow night or Tuesday. Senators La Kollette. Gronna and others who failed to have amendments considered Saturday night, being shut off bv the agreement to vote before midnight, present the uncertain fac tor regarding speeding the measure to conference. Senator La Foiled 0 threatens to block future unanimous consent voting agreements and to| press bis amendment for a popular ref- : ereiidum on conscription. Senator! Gronna has an amendment to prohibit the manufacture of grains into liquor during the war. Senator Chamberlain, chairman of the military committee,; expressed hope to-nluht. however.1 that the Senate's further consideration will be brief. He said lie was confi dent. that th? anti-conscription advo cki' s would not renew their fight, and that the Senate would have little pa tience for an extensive re-opening of general discussion. j Clark in Conference. | In conference the chief clashes will j arise over the maximum conscription j age. the Senate's decisive approval | and' the House's rejection of the provi- 1 sion designed to permit Colonel] Roosevelt to recruit a volunteer force] for immediate service abroad, and the Senate clause prohibiting liquor sales j near training camps and to uniformed j soldiers. Sentiment in the Senate is ( overwhelming against conscripting j men over 30 years. House members; are regarded as equally determined to. accept nothing less than a 10-yearj maximum. , . ? Upon disposing of the army bill (Continued on. Fkjto Twelve.) PEACE STRIKE i BY AUSTINS! THOUSANDS ARE TO WALK OUT ON MAY DAYj General Groener's Appeal to J the Munition Workers j Criticised. ( "OPEXH AfiKN, via London, April j 2!", |t. m. ? Reports that a May iliiy strike is u> take place in Aus- I tria arc confirmed hv the Arbeiter I Zeitung of Vienna, which an- ' nounces thai a general strike has hern ordered by Hip Austrian So- i ( ial Democratic party for May 1. On that day will !)?-? held a series of meetings intended a? peace demonstrations. Work will be re- I sinned on May 2. AMSTERDAM. April 23. via Ism- ; don. INT p. m. ? The appeal issued | to fJerman munitions workers hy (!"ncr:ii Groener, head of the de partment of munitions, in which lie denounced strikers as political traitors and . said they would be suppressed with the full force of the law, has resulted i?n sharp criticism in ihe reirhslag main committee. Merlin dispatches say. tJusiav lioch. Socialist deputy, said : "This appeal is not made in a tone in which free-thinking work-, men should b<- addressed. As lone as grievances exisi strikes cannot be avoided." LONDON', April 23. 1:M p. m.? fit-eat apprehension in regard to possible disturbanr-'-s on May day exists in Sweden, says an Ex change Telegraph dispatch from Stockholm. The Conservative pat ties announced on Friday ;t hat they had organized ~*rps of' stu dents and other young men to as sist ihe police Jn- preserving order in case of labor disturbances. The Socialists quickly countered by organizing similar protect ion corps lo safeguard the workmen. ? PRINCESS RADZIWILL DETAINED AT "ISLAND" NKW YORK. April ? A woman, de scribed .'is Prinr. s Radziwill. I>ui whose name did not appear on the passenger list of a Norwegian ship on which she arrived here today, was detained by th? iinm iteration authorities. It was said she probably would bo taken to Ellis Island for examination before a. board of inquiry tomorrow. No further de. fail? regarding her detention were learned. Captain of First American Steamer to Sink U-Boat Captain Emery Rice, of the liner! Mongolia, which fired the first shot for the United States in the war with Germany, sinking a hostile U-boat in self-defense. Words That Thrill From the Lips of M. Vivianii SOUL-STIRRING" scene at WASHINGTON'S TOMB Americans, French and British Join in Pledge Against Autocracy. EMOTIONAL POWER OF SPEAKER ENTHRALLS Magnificent Tribute to Untold Thousands Who Have Fallen. MOUNT VERNON, Vn., April 20. The flags of Cireat Britain, I'ranec and the United States floated proudly together today over the tomb of (Icorge "Washing ton. Beneath them, spokesmen of 1 he three great democracies paid homage to America's soldier and statesman, and pledged them selves, eaeh to the otjier in rne name of the dead, to prosecute the present in i g h t y struggle against autocracy on llie lines lie j himself had followed in bringing America, into being. Nature was in her most, boun teous garb. The evergreen, eter nal. sentinels before the tomb, stood out boldly in the new life just blossoming. The only sign, uf human change since Washing-; ton was laid to rest so long agoi was the flags of the throe Allies, over the arched entrance to the] tomb itself. Stood With Bared Head?. In groups of two and threes, an eminent gathering, including the mem bers of congress, had strolled up from (he river bank until perhaps half a hundred people stood with bared beads in a semi-circle before the tomb, j The dav. which had been heavy and threatening as the party approached on the Ma vf lower, suddenly burst into sunlight which played through the trees' on the uniforms and faces of those assembled. Without formality, Secretary Daniels motioned, to -VI. Vivlani, minister of ( Continued on Pape Eler?n) U. S. PARTICIPATION TO HASTEN WAR'S END Will Tighten the Links of Affection of America and France. . WASI i I N'GTON, April ^.?Marshal J off it told the people of America to-, day ihrough Washington newspaper correspondents who called upon hint that. Franco cherishes rho confident hope that the flag of the I'nited Staies soon will be flying on her battle lines. Victories sure to be won by the sol diers of the two republics, once more fighting shoulder to shoulder for lib erty, declared the hero of the Marne, will "hasten the end of the war and tighten the links of affection and es teem which have ever united France and the I'nited States." It was just before the marshal and \ other members of the French war mission started for a visit to the tomb of George Washington at. Mount Vei non that the correspondents gathere'K at the home, of Henry White, wher?V the chiefs of the mission are being en- 1 tertained as l he guests of the nation. - " Emile Hovelaque, general counselor | of the mission, addressed them briefly, concluding by saying: "And now, gentlemen, you shall aoe General Joff re. He will read you 'a statement and then you may ask him questions." Received by Joffre. A door at the end of the room far thest from the correspondents opened and the marshal walked in, accompa nied by Lieutenant Colonel Jean Fa brv, "the blue devil of France," his chief of staff and other officers of the commission. The famous soldier, wearing his uniform ? a blue jacket, brilliant red trousers and leather put tees ? took a position at. the head of the council table, while his caller# crowded nearer and began to file by. As each approached he spoke his name and the name of the newspaper he rep resented. it was repeated *to the mar shal in French, there was a claspins of hands and in the case of those cor-\ respondents who spoke. French a word v or two of greeting. Reads Interrview. Then the marshal took from the - pocket of his jacket two typewritten sheets of paper and began to read in French. , , , , When the marshal concluded the correspondents applauded and , he smiled. Then a military aide read ?a?. English version, which he explained was hurriedly made and imperfect. As the last word was read and the non-French speaking correpondent* realized the importance of the mar shal's remarks there was a burst of. applause, then cheers. A translation of Marshal Joffre s formal statement, issued through the State Department, was expur gated and did not contain vital passages relating to. the Marshal's previously known desire for the presence of an American force in France. The translation follows: The Translation. ?'The verv cordial welcome given me by the city of Washington, and the expressions of sympathy which reached me from States and rities throughout the united States have moved me deeply _ since they are a homage paid to (Continued on RUTHLESS Submarine Fires UponFfench ' Crews in the Rigging Killing All. PARIS, April 29.? Twenty-on? members of the crews of the two French fishing boats who took refuse in the ringing after their craft had been attacked by a sub marine off Audiernle were shot to the last man, according to a Nan tes despatch to Gaulois. The French maritime league imme diately opened an emergency sub scription for the "63 children, who were left orphans. Fact That Thousands of the Strikers Are of Teutonic Origin is Declared to Be Without Significance. CHICAGO, April 29.? The strike of master bakers in Chicago which was called in fifteen of ihe largest bakeries; yesterday afternoon assumed serious j proportions today in the opinion of I city officials. The walkout by thej strikers who art* demanding increased; pay. shorter hours and improved; working condition* has lessened' the daily bread supply by one; million loaves. it is estimated, and itj i'j feared additional smaller bakeries j will he forced, to close immediately.! Owners of the plants and members of; the bakers' union held separate meer-j IngK today and each side declared its' intention of standing Arm. and it was' reported there was little likelihood ofj an immediate settlement of the dis pute. Members of the state board of! arbitration arrived today to offer their j services in th? interest of a settle ment. At the same time city officials prepared to call a meeting "of repre sentatives of both sides. tomorrow in the hope of settling the controversy. If the etriXo .is not settled within a reasonable1 time, it is possible that the federal government may take action in relieving the filiation either by commandeering a number of the plants and (operating them tn supply the neod-< of i he 1,500 boys at the Great Lakes navaj training station at Lake Bluff. 111., and the thousands of army recrui's now in Chicago and the sev eral hundred patients at the marine hospital or by seizing all the bakeries and operating them under govern mental control as a war measure. Representatives of the bakers' union declared they would welcome any action that, wili result in the operation of the closed plants under govern mental control. Agents of the federal government are closely observing the effect of the strike and have noted that a larf* ma jority of the. strikers were #itber born in Germany or have Teutonic antecedents. Both sides, however, de clare that this fact has'nothing to do with the strike.