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5 Bis EU1*, 5! si &-* 5 &•-' h. it $w« 1 £K I I1' y? I 1 fc 1 iv-v t- ts 1 I fvM-' fe a :5av1 kr & &* -, '-v-V ftsh. W 1 NEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Government Is Trying to Solve the Mystery of the Twenty Missing Ships. MAY BE WORK OF PIRATES Admiral Sims, Home, Tells Secretary Oenby He Was Misquoted—Britain Determined to Crush Irish Re volt—Dawes Made Direc tor of National Budget. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. The interest of the world was excit ed and its imagination stimulated last week by the remarkable story of the 20 lost merchant ships, the mystery of whose disappearance our government Is trying to solve. Not sijice the days of the German U-boats has there been any such a series of maritime disas ters, nor was there any such before the war. A number of these 20 ves sels which have disappeared within a few months were American or sailing from American ports. The most mys tifying of the instances was that of the American schooner Carroll A. Deering, which ran ashore off the North Caro lina coast last January with all sails set and every member of the crew missing, as were Its small boats. More than two months later the following message in a bottle was picked up near Cape Hatteras: "Deering captured by oil-burning boat, something like chaser taking off everything, handcuffing crew. Crew hiding all over ship. No chance to taake escape. Finder please notify headquarters of Deering." Naturally the favorite theory con cerning these events Is that a pirate craft Is operating In the Atlantic. Rear Admiral Nulton, commandant of the Philadelphia navy yard, Inclines to this view. He says: "It would be possible for an outlaw craft to run wild for a short time, and it could do considerable damage to shipping. If there Is a pirate craft, it was or is operating with forged ship's papers. It is always necessary, when a ship enters a port, to have Its papers examined, and this craft could operate for a short time with forged papers, but in the end it would disclose its Identity. "It is true, also, that by stripping vessels of provisions and fuel the out law could continue operations a long time, but eventually It would have to put Into some port for repairs. Machin ery, you know, cannot run forever without being overhauled and repaired. "If such a craft Is operating it will have to return to port at some time, and when it does, I assume there will be interesting developments." Another theory is based upon the fact that about a year and a half ago the New York police seized documents which revealed a plot which the Uni ted Russian Workers of the United States and Canada were forming to get their members to Russia. Those members who were out of work were being instructed to ship on vessels in sufficient numbers to seize the vessels at sea and steer them into soviet Rus sian ports. The Departments of State and Com merce, however, hold to the plain pi rate theory and a world-wide lookout for the missing ships and their crews has been ordered. Admiral Sims, recalled from Eng land by an order from Secretary Den by that sounded especially severe, ar rived in Washington Wednesday and reported to the head of the navy Thursday. In reply to Mr. Denby, he asserted that he had been misquoted in the reports of his London speech, and the secretary called on him for a correct text of what he said. Mr. Den by said to the correspondents: "Admiral Sims has denied the ac curacy of the statements attributed to liiin. He stated that he was incorrect ly quoted/ I gave him a written mem orandum setting forth those sttte inents and asking him to inform me 1—Organized dugout village founded t»y unemployed uegi-oss close to Illinois Central tracus 111 Chicago, which authorities said must break up. 2—British forces from Cologne detraining at Oppeln to help settle the Upper Silesia trouble. 3—Feli^j Davila, commissioner of Porto Rico, and E. Mont Riley of Kansas City, newly appointed governor of the island, photographed in Washington. in writing where he was misquoted and to tell me, if he could, what he did say in that speech." At this writing the outcome' the affair, so far as the admiral is con cerned, is not toown. What is known, however, is that the incident of his speech, the attack on him by some of the Irish-Americans and the possibility of his being disciplined for what he said has aroused a general feeling against hyphenates in America com parable to that that existed during the war. Senators, representatives, Secretary Denby and even President Harding were almost swamped with letters and telegrams protesting against any punishment of the admi ral and indorsing the sentiments he had expressed. The pro-Irish were not silent, by any means, but the com munications from admirers of Sims were largely in the majority. Neither side was permitted to make a demon stration in New York when the ad miral landed, fully a thousand police being massed to prevent such action. The Ulster parliament, which was organized recently, was formally opened Wednesday by King George, who, with Queen Mary, journeyed to Belfast for the purpose. No least part of the elaborate ceremonies usual 011 such occasions was omitted, the Irish republicans created no disturbance and everything passed off In orderly manner. The king in his speech from the throne said he spoke "from a full heart," but he uttered nofhlng but platitudes, to the disappointment of those who had expected some sensa tional pronouncement on the Irish question. In the parliament In London more important statements concerning the Irish troubles were made. For the first time the government admitted that there is real war in Ireland, and Worthington Evans, secretary of war, more than intimated that it would be a war to the finish. He said the gov ernment was sending troops continu ally to the Island and would continue to send them as quickly as possible, and that these troops would be given every support. Lord Chancellor Bir kenhead spoke to the same effect, and even more emphatically, making it plain that unless a settlement Is reached and the southern parliament functions,' there- will be a military domination campaign much like that employed against the tioers in South Africa. The most spectacular exploit of the Sinn Feiners last week was the kid naping of Earl Bandon, for many years the king's lieutenant of County Cork, and the burning of his castle in Bantry. Colonel Lambert of the crown forces was killed near Knockroghery, and in reprisal the entire village was burned. The allies, while still determined that the Turkish nationalists shall not get possession of Constantinople, have now requested, or ordered, the Greeks to defer their' offensive against Ke mal's forces until an attempt has been made to mediate between the two na tions. King Constantlne, it is said, consented to wait until some time in July. Lord Curzon, Premier Briand and representatives of Italy arranged for this postponement and promised that If Greece were amenable the three big powers would lift the financial em bargo and permit Greece to arrange its fiscal affairs. The French under took to persuade Kemal Pasha to make concessions leading to an amicable settlement. The Japanese and Bolslievlki in Si beria, who have been on the point of hostilities for some time, are reported to have Jiad a fight near Nlkolalevosk. The government of the Far Eastern re public at Chityi has mobilized Its forces and has been promised active aid by the Moscow government. It reports the complete defeat of a body of troops personally commanded by G*n. Baron von Ungern-Sternberg, anti-Bol shevik leader. This is denied by dis patches from Harbin, which credit Un gern-Sternberg with repeated success es. Japan has presented to the Chita government eiglit rigorous conditions as a basis for recognition—so harsh that they will be hardly acceptable. Three anchored submarines were destroyed by the United States forces last week—but the layman will not 1 easily perceive the value of the exploit, except that it proved our aerial bomb ers and destroyer gunners are pretty good marksmen, at least when the tar get is stationary and helpless. The first test was made by a bombing squadron of the air forces, and the submarine was speedily sunk. Then a bunch of destroyers charged on two U-boats, at full speed, and filled them full of shells in quick time. Othei tests are to follow. Of course, the tar gets were submarines that once be longed to Germany. Gen. Charles G. Dawes of Chicago has been persuaded by President Hard ing to take the place of director of the new federal budget system and is al ready on the job. He had an inter view with the President and then an nounced that he would ask a number of experienced business men to serve in the budget bureau without pay. The first of these is William T. Abbott of Chicago, whom General Dawes Invited to serve as assistant director. He also requested that Brig. Gen. George Moseley and Col. Henry Smither be detailed to help him. Both of them distinguished themselves in organiza tion work during the war. Mr. Dawes made some cutting re marks about the Inadequacy of the budget legislation, adding: "One might as well be handed a toothpick with which to tunnel Pike's peak. j||t ls evi dent that If this, the greateggjpUsiness crisis which our governmenHjiias ,ever confronted, is to be properly met, chief reliance will have to be placed upon something else than the pitiful machin ery provided ty law with which to ex ercise the wide powers extended to the budget bureau. I am, therefore, ac cepting the position of director of the budget only with the idea that the pa triotism of the bureau chiefs and the country as a whole can be aroused in this emergency that it will be met as was the emergency of war four years ago." With its mind set more firmly 011 present economy than on adequate na tional defense, congress last, week about made up its mind that the Uni ted States could get along safely with a very small army and navy person nel. Despite the utmost efforts of the advocates of preparedness and con trary to the known wishes of the ad ministration, the army is to be reduced to 150,000 men by October 1, and the enlisted personnel of the navy is to be cut to 106,000. At least 50,000 men must be discharged from the army, re gardless of their enlistment terms, in addition to the normal discharges, which are estimated at 20,000. Senator New of Indiana declared the 50,000 can sue the government for their sal aries if the terms of their enlistment contracts are thus ignored. The senate in this yielded complete ly to the demands of the house, and in return received assurance that the Borah disarmament amendment would be adopted by the house In substitute for the Porter resolution. This, too, will be distasteful to the administra tion. It may be President Harding can and will, do something to prevent this return to a state of unprepared ness by interposing his veto. Secretary of the Navy Denty has taken steps to check the tendency to introduce soviet methods into the navy, believing them to be subversive of discipline. There have been two known Instances of this so far,, and in both cases Mr. Denby has removed from command the chief officer respon sible. In the first, Capt. C. D. Stearns has been detached from command of the battleship Michigan for permitting the enlisted men to form a committee to pass upon disciplinary measures among members of the crew. In the other case, the crew of an unnamed vessel was permitted to express Its preference by vote as to where, the ship should be taken to go Into dry dock the commander, also unnamed, was detached from his command. In disapproving the sentence of dis missal imposed by a naval court-mar tial on Lieut. Commander Athol H. George, United »States naval reserve force, convicted of disobeying an order of the commanding officer of his ship, who is a medical officer of the navy, Secretary Denby has established the rule that no line officer Is subject to the command of a staff officer of su perlor rank. THE HOPE PIONEER N G. 0. P. AGREES ON PEACE PUN Compromise Reso'utlon Is to Get Congress Approval Soon Is Prediction OPPOSITION IS BALKED Big Republican Majorities Said to Assure Passage of Compromise Bill to Declare War State With Central Empires Ended. Washington.—Establishment of peace by congressional resolution reached its final stage when senate and house Re publican conferees agreed upon a com promise resolutoln which they hope to have in President Harding's hands in a few days. The compromise embodies the house plan of declaring the state of war with Germany, and Austria at an end, and adds the senate provisions reserving American property and other rights. Big Majorities Seen. The Democratic conferees, Senators Hitchcock of Nebraska and Represen tative Flood of Virginia, called in for the final conference after the Repub licans had previously arranged their compromise resolution, refused to sign the report, and said that with other Democratic colleagues they would op pose the Republican plan to that end. Overwhelming Republican majorities in both senate and house, however, were said to leave no doubt of adop tion of the conference draft. Satisfaction over the compromise wai expressed by both senate and house Republican leaders. Chairman Porter of the house foreign affairs committee, was pleased that his plan for declaring the war at an end had been accepted instead of the Knox resolution repeal ing the war declarations. Senator Khox, however, gave out a statement that both plans accomplished the same result. Text of Agreement. The text of the conference agree ment In part follows: Section 1—That the statp of war declared to exist between the imperial German government and the United States of America by the joint resolu tion of congress approved April 6, 1917, is hereby declared at an end. Section 2—That in making this declaration, and as a part of it, there are expressly reserved to the United States of America and its nationals, any and all rights, 'privileges, indem nities, reparations of advantages, to gether with the right to enforce the same, to wlilch it or they have become entitled until the terms of the armis tice signed November 11, 1918, or any extensions or modifications thereof or which were acquired by or are in the possession of the United States of America by reason ef Its participation in the war or to which its nationals have thereby become rlghtfuly entitled or which under the treaty of Versailles have been stipulated for its or their benefit, ol- to which it is entitled as one of the principal allied and associ ated powers or to which it is entitled by virtue of an act or acts of congress or otherwise. Section 3—That the state of war de clared to exist between the imperial and royal Austro-Hungarian govern ment and the United States of America.! by the joint resolution of congress ap proved, is hereby declared at an end. TRACTOR MEN AT BANQUET Delegates and Bankers Get-Together at Fargo Auditorium. Fargo.—About 200 tractor men and bankers attended a banquet given in the auditorium by the Fargo Commer cial club. About half the crowd there, were tractor men here for the national tractor demonstration and the balance were bankers enroute to the state bankers' convention at Grand Forks. Thirty-nine tractors of the various nfflkes and sizes participated in the field demonstrations, which involved the plowing and preparation for seed bed of 10-acre plots by each machine. Twelve horse teams were also "en tered to do the same work on similar plots. The Intense heat made it almost impossible for the horsemen to make good time. One of the animals was overcome by the heat and had to be taken out of the demonstration. This was virtually the only mishap of the whole day as far as the demon stration were concerned. Fail to Subpoena Stillman. New York.—Efforts by counsel for Mrs. Anne U. Stillman to subpoena James A. Stillman to appear for a crossexamlnatlon this week in the divorce suit he instituted have so far met with failure, it has been learned. Mrs. Stillman's investigators visited the banker's home, several clubs and other places he was known to frequent, but found him absent. To Cut Congress Red Tape. Washington. Represen tatl ve An sorge of New York has issued a state ment asserting that the new Republi can members of the house are dissatis fied with the progress made by con gress at the present special session and disclosing that, he and 10 others ha5 joined in a call for a conference oi approximately 100 new Republican members. "We are not meeting In any spirit of revolt," said Mr. Ansorge. adding, "the new members wunted tc cut the red tape and substitute action." HOUSE PASSES NOJEER BILL Votes Overwhelmningly for Measure to Bar Use of Beverage as Medicine KAHN CRITICIZES DRYS Attributes Wave of Crime to Drastlo Enforcement of Prohibition Meas ures—Stormy Debate Precedes 290 to 93 Ballot on Proposal. Washington.—By a vote of 250 to 93, the'liouse has'passed the Willis-Camp bell bill to prevent the sale of beer to the sick, and sent it to the senate with the expectation of its final enactment before the end of the week. The vote, which was 21 more than the necessary two-thirds, was taken after four hours of stormy debate, interrupted frequently with shouts to stop the talk and pass the bill. Wheeler Drafted Bill? In closing debate for the opponents, Representative Hill, Republican, Mary land,' threw the house Into considerable disorder by charging that Wayne B. Wheeler, general counsel for the Anti Saloon league, had drafted the bill. Pointing to the league lawyer in the gallery and calling him by name, Mr. Hill brought a wild shout from the prohibition element, some of whom stood until quiet was restored. There was another dry outburst a moment later when Representative Foster, Republican of Ohio, declared there was no truth In the statement about Wheeler's part in the prepara tion of the measure. Says Drys Drink. Warning the house against the con stant spread of law breaking since enactment of drastic prohibition laws, Representative Kahn, Republican- of California, turning sharply upon ad vocates of the anti-beer bill, declared "there are members here who voted for prohibition and who drink more liquor in a week than I do in a year." Mr. Kalin asserted the Volstead law was being broken every hour of the day and that congress ought to handle the problem in a rational way. ELEVEN SLAIN AND BURNED Authorities Believe Kentucky Tragedy to Be the Work of Madman. Mayfleld, Ky.—Mystery continues to envelop the tragedy in the farm home Of Ernest Lawrence, near here, when eleven persons were slain and their bodies burned in the dwelling which apparently had been saturated with oil. Only fragments of their bodies wft-e found in the ruins. The sheriff and coroner were unable to find bullet or other wounds that would determine the cause of death. An axe and fire arms were found in the embers of the dwelling, which led the officers to believe that some of them might have been killed w*th the axe and others shot. Sheriff McCain announced that he had not changed his theory that Law rence had developed a fit of insanity and had killed his wife, their three children and their guests, Otis Drew, Mrs. Drew, their three children, and Drew's brother, Delmer. The indica tions are. the sheriff said, that Law rence saturated the room in which the bodies were found with oil, touched a match to it and killed himself. FARMER KILLS WIFE, SELF Five-Year-Old Son Awakes to Find Parents Dead —Calls Aid. Linton, N. D.—Thor Thorson, 30, a farmer, has shot and killed his wife and then killed himself at their home in -Emmons county, on the Missouri river. Their five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, asleep in the house at the time, were undisturbed by the tragedy. The boy, finding the bodies in the morning, notified his grandmother, living nearby. "Mamma and papa are dead and blood Is all over," the little fellow told his grandmother. Thorson is believed to have become temporarily deranged following a re cent attack of Influenza. Bather Drowns in River. Thief River Falls, Minn.—Carl Died rich Isaacson, 21, stepped into a deep hole while bathing in Thief river and was drowned. He was unable to swim and companions failed in attempts to save him. Lutherans Meet in Fargo. Fargo.—Six hundred and fifty North Dakota churches are represented at the annual convention of the North Dakota district of the Norwegian Luth eran Church of America, being held at the First Lutheran church. Crop Outlook Favorable. Minneapolis.—The May crop And business summary of John H. Rich, agent for the Ninth Federal Reserve bank district, says, in part: "Agricultural prospects continue very favorable. Spring wheat production is expected to be 36,000,000 bushels greater than last year in spite of a reduction in acreage. North Dakota has better prospects than in any year since 1915, and northern Montana bet ter than in any one of the last four years. Range conditions for livestock are excellent. 1 VJ MISERIES OF AGE JjfJ^HE paper tells of an man who fell out of bed antf broke an arm and three ribs," announced the landlady. "It doesn't seem possible, unless the bed was as high as an ordi nary, old-fashioned walnut bookcase." "I have no doubt that the bed was entirely normal," said fhe star boarder. "The fact that the vic tim was an old man explains ev erything. When I was young I fre quently fell out of bed. It was a favorite pastime of mine, so. to speak. And JL n%ver was injured. In the least Of course it roused me from my sleep,, and I used to consider it funny, and would sit on the floor and laugh with demoniac glee. But if I fell out of bed now it would be necessary to ring up the Red Cross headquarters for an am bulance and a few nurses. "It is that sort of thing which makes age tragic. Every little mishap means puffering to the elderly individual. Go think of'It, in silence and alone, Mrs. Jiggers. "I remember when I first learned to skate. I was a young man, just grow ing my maiden sideboards. I stttuld have learned the noble art when I was a boy, but my education 1q honest sports had been sadly neg^cted.It'a better late than never, as the old ad age has It, and so I took tip the study of skating wheh I waA at the voting age. It wa^ on a brilliant winter day, and all the beauty and chivalry of the neighborhood had gathered at the pond to see me do my devoir. "An expert skater., who was present assured me that there was no trick to it. All I needed was confidence? he said, and I Believed him It 1'ribked passing easy, as I watched the others, gliding over the. ice with ease and grace. So I fastened on my skates and stood erect, with the help of a ^couple of innocent bystanders, and then I went forward boldly, on my own initi ative. Immediately I lost control of my feet,, which previously had been docile and obedient organs. -They wouldn't 60 anjrthing' I wanted therrif, to, and the result was that I came lown on- the back of my head with such emphasis that I shook the whole {pond, which was several miles long. The crack in the ice that I made with my head was there until the ice melted in the spring, and then you could see It in the water. "I lay there in a comatose condition for a minute or two, and then scram bled to my feet and smiled. Yes, my dear Mrs. Jiggers, I actually smiled. The smile may have been a pallid, sickly thing, but It was true to type and couldn't have been mistaken for anything else. I was so little injif&d by that cataclysmic fall that I, could smile. Not a bone was broken, not a joint dislocated. In a few hours I was as good as new, with the exception of a lump on the back of my head about the size of a baked turnip. "Outwardly I look much as I did Chen. People often say to me that I haven't aged any in a.quarter 3 a century. My. hair is like the raven's wing,, my alabaster brow has few wrinkles, I have the stately and com manding port of a man half my age. But it is all a delusion, Mrs. Jiggers. I am a whited sepulcher. Inwardly I am as old as any "man, and my bone» are brittle as pipe stems, and my mus cles are all dried up, and if I stumble over a pincushion I dislocate an ankle or break a leg. "The other day I stepped on an or ange peel and came down on the 'side walk. I didn't fall violently. In fact, it took me ten minutes to-fall. I strug gled so hard to save myiself, grasping at the atmosphere and trying to bal ance myself like a tight rppe walker. But when I did eventually reach (he pavement I felt as though the end had come to my mUspent life. My head ached for three days, and all my bo&es felt out of place, and my teeth were loose in their sockets. This thing of being old, Mrs. Jiggers, isn't what, it's cracked up to be." Very Likely. Church: ."Do you remember when they used to put a calliope at the end of a circus procession?" Gotham: "Sure, I do?" "Why did they do that do yon sup pose?" "To show that the worst was yet to come, I reckon." Made No Rash Promise* "Who was the smooth talker?", "A promoter." "I dare say he wanted to make yon rich in six months?" "No. He was very conservative. He said he thought it would take at least a year." The Reason. "I see in a new production of 'Othello' they use electric -lights In the murder scene." *•, "Probably that is to make Dade na'a death more shocking." i* 1 S /i if