'A ';v .v tfiffr ,pnl, 'H ,' In fcC r . 1L. O W -"' . j 4,J f 1. ." If ,:, EVENING- PUBLIC LEDGER HIIiABELPHlA, FRIDAY, MARCH fci, 19i lr tfl" ? Di0 ' '- " , "ti 'iii ft far 5WW4 BOTCHKAREVA GOES OVER THE TOP ' t nAccompttniqd by a Number fj. .m; uniccrs ana men uis- : ," -Il.l'II. IF i.i.Mt. MMi.LIKI.tMi . ... 'flactics, 1 hey Advance Sn l CT Army Into rH3? ana onamc wk' t?17.;,: B. Soldiers Hold Debate on Whether tQ Obey Orders and Advance at a Time XT ! flti?clii Jtifiritstitt B ,"""" ..,,,..., Wf.i. .. . r. s -ce uniirv riuni (ChurteM, 191), lu 1 rtdirtcl A. Stots Co.) (Till itory. told by Mirl Ilotchlarev fid trnlitd and tranacrlbfl by Isaac Jon I.vln, Is publlihed by Frederick A Cftokni Company under the tttlo of "Tihl a.") THIS STARTS THE STOKY In tho summer of 1917 Maria Botchkarcva formed the Battalion of Death, a woman's fighting unit in tho Hussion army, and a peasant Klrl thus stepped Into the Interna tional hall of fame. In earlier In stsilrnents sho told of the hardships of her childhood, tho brutalities of her married life and tho realiza tion of her dcslro to become a sol dier, Sho told of battles fought and won and of the demoralization ot the army after the overthrow of tho Czar. It was to shame tho mer Into action that bhe formed the bat talion. Sho poos to the front with 1 her women toldlers to find condi tions oven worse than when sho left. THE sun crept out In the east, only to caBt its rays on tho extraordi nary spectacle of an entire corps de bating their commander'! order to ad vance. It was four. Tho drbate still raged. The sun rose hlghei Tho morn ingr mist had almost anlshed The ar tillery flro was slackening. Tho debate continued. It was five. The German were wondering what In tho world those Russians were going to do with their offensive. All the spirit accumu lated in the battalion during the night was waning, giving way to tho ph st eal strain under which wo labored. And tho soldiers wero ttill diseasing the advisability ot attacking! Every second was precious. "If they would only decide In the affirmative, even now it might not bo too late to strike," I thought. But minutes rolled into hours, and there was no sign ot a decision. It struck si, and then seven. The day was surely lost. Per haps all was lost. One's blood boiled with indignation at tho absurdity, the X futility of tho procedure Tho weak- "i kneed hypocrites! They feigned lntcr- ,tS est In the prudence of starting an of fensive on general principles, as ii IIIUJT, JU1UI1 I milieu iUl nvciw u.tsvw v lo meir nearis coiuunu .in--y no s plain cowaros, concealing ineir iear in l jt UUBUCIQ vt, iuiu lain. ffi Orders were given to the artillery to continue tno oomoaromeni. jii uuj tha cannon boomed while the men de bated. The shame, the humiliation of ill jLnese very men nuu bivph men words of honor to attack' Now the fear for the tafety of their hides had overwhelmed their minds and souls The hour of noon till found them in the midst of the debate! There were meetings and speeches In the immedi ate rear. Nothing more stupid, more empty of meaning could Le Imagined than the arguments of tho men. They were repeating in halting tones those old, vague phrases that had been proved false again and again; to the complete satisfaction of their own minds. And jet they lingered, drawn by their faint souls toward doubt and vacillation, The day declined The men had ar rived at no final resolution Then, about seventy-five officers, led by Lieu tenant Colonel Ianov, came to mo to ask permission to enter the ranks of the battalion for a joint advance They were followed by about 300 ot the most Intelligent and gallant sol diers in the regiment. Altogether, the battalion's ranks had swollen to about 1000. I offered the command to Lieu v enant Colonel Ivanov as to a superior, V)t he declined. ,ti isvery oincer was prowoea wim a Ffl rifle. The line was so arranged that men and women alternated, a girl feelne flanked by two men The officer"). t-tiow numborlng about 100, were sta tioned at cqiial distances throughout the line. V7e decided to advance In order to ahame the men, having arrived at the ti conclusion Hint tnev wnuld not let us Kp V perish in No Man's Land. We all felt nothing to guide us in the belief that the boys would not abandon us to our fate, except a feeling that such a mon strosity could not happen. Besides, something had to be done. An offen sive had to be launched ,soon. The ifront was rapidly deteriorating to a , state of impotence. Ssi'tlhe commander by telephone the de- clslon oi tne battalion, it was a des 5f' erate gamble, and every one of us V reauzea tne grimness or tne moment. jvfThe men on our flanks were joking suJ'.R'pd. deriding us. R',1 "Ha. ha! Women and officer will v--.."r... .. : .. ugiur uiey raiiea. "They are faking. Who ever saw officers go over the top like soldiers, with rifles in hand.'" "Just watch those women run!" Tv,t joKed a reuow to the merriment of a , Wo gritted our teeth in fury but did -V Jifib tcpijr WUi uupo WHS Bllll III U1CSB " men. "We stuck to the belief that thev a, would follow us and, therefore, avoided iP"i At last the signal was given. We K,V19fossed ourselves and, hugging our rT'' " rifles, leaped out of the trenches, ev ery li,-) try and freedom." We moved forward ZVCiffatalnst a withering Are of machine KUns and artillery, my brave drls. en. fa ,"lourffed by the presence of men on tu tnetr eiaes. marcning steauny against rfstljeaU of bullets. iffsKStery particle of time carried death wiin it. -j.nere was out one tnougnt la- every mind: "Will they follow?" HAQh .fleeting Instant seemed like an Jhat lurid morning. Already sev tat of us were struck down, and yet erne came alter us. we turned our every now and then, niercine Vtdarkness in vain for support. heads were sticking out from trenches'in our rear, The laggards .wondering ir we were in earnest. 'It "was all a ruse to them. How oftuM'a bare thousand of women and omeers attack after a two days' bom- ' Mrament on a iront or seyeiai versts; it smed incredible, impossible. ..! ..m.L. . li..H ...! M.. . rVH1-) ,uuivco ui iicaii, unu mm ufc we may. torwaro. uur tosses lncreaahw,"but our line was un- kn Aa wo advanced more end i it.No Man's JLand, the shadows wallewlnt us RowMetely. with .' r t itii.3. ' L-u ju.t;wv:'r Plgi ( W jushtkM. . WITH HER HANDFUL OF HEROIC GIRLS l i- iBflHHBBL 4t m a' .aaBaaalslBnBlBalaaaaalkfSaH ''llDMInMBliBiiiiiiiiHaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I HHaSHflilHBSBBBBBBBBBBBBlsSBBBBBBkfBSBBBBBBvTS I XPlaalaBsisHaaaaaKaEaaDaiaHF i Women soldiers at play wrestling Lojs in the back, their hearts moved Through tho din and cras.li ot tho bombardment wo suddenly caught tho sound ot a great commotion In the rear. Was it a feeling or muiho thai stirred them from their lethargy? Or Mai it the sight of this handful of Intrepid souls that aroused their spirit" Anvhow, thev were awnko at last. Bounding forward with shouts, numberless bodies llmbod over the top, and In a few moments the front to tho right and left of us brcame a swav lng mass of soldiers Tirst our regiment poured out and then, on both sides, the contiglon Hpreiid and unit after unit joined In the odvante, so that almost the entire corps was on the move We swept forward and overwhelmed the first Germ-in line, anil then tho second. Our regiment alone captured 2000 prisoners. But there was poison awaiting us In that second line of trenches Vodka and beer wero In abundance Half of our force got drunk right there, throwing them selves ravenously on the alcohol My girls did splendid work here, destroy ing the stores of liquor at my orders If not for that the whole regiment would havo been drunk. I rushed about appealing to tho men to stop drinking. "Are jou going Insane"'' T pleaded "Wo must take tho third line jet. and then tho Ninth Corps will come to re lieve us and keep up tho drive" I realized that tho opportunity was too precious. "We must take the third lino and rip their defenses open," I thought, "so as to turn this blow into a general offensive." But the men were succumbing one by one to the bitter scourge And there wero the wounded to bo taken caro of; Some of my girls wero killed outright, manv were wounded. The latter almost all behaved like htolcs I can see, even now, the face of Kll patskaya. one of my soldiers, lying In a pool of blood I ran up to her and sought to aid her, but it was too late She had twelvo wounds from bullets FAVOR RATING OF LABOR Stimulates Ambition Among Men, Industrial Conference Hears New lork, March 21 Application to Industry of a card-rating system for emplojes, similar to that used In the armj', was urged as a step toward solu tion of labor problems bj speakers at a round table conference here jesterday of the Society of Industrial Engineer W. S McArthur of Armour & Co , Chicago, explained the personnel J stem1 now emplojed in the Armour Industry asserting that its rating had proved of great value in the placing of men, had proved a valuable check on promotions through favoritism and had stimulated ambition among the workers rr-u- -.,. 1 -I.J 1- u. ImmediatV 'super to of the me, but aS '"' ? .1"' T 'f carefully studied by tho men higher upTar wages and the thrift engendered by in the organization Thus far tho em-. : ployes have not been permitted to know their ratings, but this privilege will be granted soon, he added Tred II Kludge, secretary of the In dustrial department of the Young Men's Christian Association, said his experi ence had shown that emplojes wero hi favor of the rating sjstem and asserted It tended to stimulate "every employe from the bottom of the list up " REDS SEEK U.S. TRADE Ready t Put $200,000,000 in Hanks to Cover Deals New YorU, March 21. As the first step toward obtaining recognition bj the United States the Russian Soviet Gov ernment Is prepared to deposit J200.000,- 000 In gold with American and European banks for the purchase of Bundles needed In reconstruction work, accord ing to a formal statement Issued last night by I C. A. IC Martens, Ameri can representative of the Demldoft Iron and Steel "Works In Moscow, through the Bureau of Representatives of the Russian Soclallit Federal Soviet Repub. lie Asserting lis had received this week his appointment as official representative of the Soviet government In tho United States, Mr, Martens said he had for warded his credentials to the State De partment and meanwhile had onened temporary headquarters In this city. With the credentials, he said, he had sent a report on conditions In Russia and an expression of his government's desire to' re-establish normal relations between the two countries." GOES TO DEATH IN IRONS Bloodthirsty Murderer Handcuffed on Way to Chair Oulnlnr, X. T March 21. Giovanni Ferraro was executed last night for the murder of William Dunbar, of Farmers vllle, N. Y., over a year ago. He was the first man who ever went to the el ec trio chair at Sing Sing prison hand cuffed to a keeper. The manacles were still attached to his right wrist when he was pronounced dead. Ferraro's attempt to kill hla keepers in the death house yesterday led to elaborate precautions to prevent a sec ond outbreak. He was handlcuffed In his cell and extra guards were stationed at the cell door, Not until ho was triH)f4 la the ohlr.,w the liaalouft and shrapnel Smiling faintlv her last when the Mnlh Coins would come up ,"' she said Mllava, nitchevo!" deal, it's nothing ) Tho Germans oiganized a counter attack at this moment It was n criti cal Instant, but we met the shock ot tho attack with our bayonets. As UFital In huch cases, the encnij turned and fled Wo pursued them and swept them out of their third line, ililvlng them Into the woods ahead of us Wo had hardly occupied the enemv's thhrl line when oiders came l field elephone fiont the rommindtr to keep up the chuse m as not to allow tho Gernnns to cnticnch tlicmsilvcs with a promise that the suppoitlng corps would htart out immediately. We cautiously hent homo patiols Into the woods to find out the strength of tho foe I led one such bcoutlng partv and was ablo to detect that the German force was being slowly but hteadlly augmented It was thou decided that we immediately advance into the for est and hold positions thero till re enforcements arrived enabling us to resume tho movement. It was the half light hour of morn ing The Germans, being In the thick of the woods, had the advantage of observing every movement we made, while wo could not see them at all We were met by such a violent and effective fire that our soldiers lost heart and took to their heels by tho hundreds, reducing our force to about 800, 21)0 of whom wero those of my girls who had escaped death or Injury. Our situation rapidly grew perilous The line running through tho forest was. long Our numerical strength was wholly inadequate for it Our flanks wcie in the air. Our ammuni tion was running low Tortunatclv , wo turned on the enemy several of his own abandoned midline guns Wo stripped the dead of rifles and bullets And wo reported to the commnndei that we had been deserted under flro by the men und were In danger of Imminent capture. The commander begged us to hold out till 3 o'clock. NEW LOAN MUST BE BASED ON PATRIOTISM Glass Says It Cannot Be Pushed 011 Commercial Interest Alone Minnrnpolla, Mirch Jl Vppculmg confidentlj to the patriotism of the American people to make a success of tho coming Victory Loan, Carter Glass, Secretarj- of tho Treasurj-, in two speeches In the Twin Cities yesterday, declared the loan could not be floated on a strictly commercial basis The people have ample resources, he .uccia.cu, uuiiwiio fu.uuv.uuu.uuu w uue Ponce de Leon years ago came here in quest of the Fountain of Youth for everlasting health and life. We are still searching, but in the realms of science. Elusive as health rrxiy be, we now know that food and water are its furu amentals ; whereas the former nourishes, water cleanses and eliminates the waste, according to its purity and freeness from organic and mineral substances. The clearest of all natural drinking waters being laden with these substances, science has given us PUROCK. Purock Water is delivered to offices and homes in tterillsed, scaled glass bottles. Six large bottles or a five-gallon demijohn, 50 centi. Order . ew, ui tuttU. If tk filli U in . m will, it mir riKDrt tlu cut tad raakt at WARNER "The Trailer I the Mm I CHARLES E, HIRES CO., jP IXTATFR I 210 S. 24th St., Philadelphia " E,IV XOTK PKONEfl ' B"B K. F. Houghton & Co. use Warner Trailers, saving time, mopey and r. See ulblt at the Shew. N labor, JOHN W. XnAMfi: V hJrli j - -- - -rr-TT " to our succor. Had the Germans any idea nt first of the sUc of our foice wc would not have remained theio more than a few minutes. We dieaded momentarily being outflanked and surrounded. Our lino was stretched out so that each soldier held a considerable number of feet, our force altogether covering ft distance of three verstH. The Germans organised an attack on the left flank Aid was dispatched from tno rignt flank, whit h was left almost without machhie gunn, and the nttack was re pulsed In this scrap Lieutenant Colo nel Ivanov was wounded Theie were many other officers and men ljlng about disabled We could not spare tho hands necessary to carrv them to the first aid dressing btations far away in our rear. Three o'clock came and tho expected re cnfoi cements were not yet In sight. The Germans made an attack on the right flank My adjutant. Lieutenant , FIllppov, was now commanding there. As our line was curved he ordered the I machino guns on tho left flank to ' iliiect a slanting fire at tho advancing enemy. At tho tame time our artillery was instructed to let down a barrage In tho same section, and tho attack was repulsed At my request the commander sent out about 100 stretcher-bearers to col lect tho dead and wounded scattered between our former lino and the cap tured German third line. About fifty of my girls wero dead or wounded. Meanwhile the sun had risen and tlmo was fnst passing. Our condition grew desperate We sent an urgent appeal for help to headquarters This shocking answer came from the other end of the who: "Tho Ninth Corps has been holding a meeting It arrived from the reseive billets and went forwurd till it came to tho trenches we had held before the nttack. Theie it stopped, wavered and began to deliberate whether to ad vance or not " (CONTINUED TOMOnnOW) tho war and Its savings campaigns "Wo are not going to upproach the last Liberty Loan in a strictly com mercial spirit," said Mr. Glass tonight, ot tho close of the tno-daj' Better Busi ness Convention of the Northwest. "A little thought will tench tho wisest among the financiers of the country that It Is impossible to float, purely for In vestment purposes, a loan of $8,000,000, 000 or $C,000 000 000 Wc hrfve got to ippeal to tho patriotism of the Ameri can peoplo and It would not bo done in vain ' .Secretary GlaM and "William C Ited fleld Secretary of Commerce, met sev eral Liberty Loan telling organizations jesterday, showing tho new details of the coming loan U. S. Fleet Quits Brazil for Hoem Itlo Janeiro, March 21. The American squadron, under Rear Admiral Caper ton, which for some tlmo has been pay ing visits to South American countries, sailed for the United States jesterdaj DRINK wttr muut. okarxi TRAILERS Without a Swing" 1427 Me!o Streac ,V ..' .!.... -7- -1 -t ------- 4 I -" - .;. .-.r.ri in -a . 1 iilnltlHiiwBMMirii 1! , . 'vnfilSftlttmtomnMMuBrmlin .iMf', .Uh DISTILLERS WILL ATTACK DRY LAW Industry Prepares an As sault on Amendment and "War Time" Act LOOK TO REFERENDUM Counsel Believes Popular Vote May Upset That of the Legislature ew lork, March 21. The committee of distillers of the United States, repre senting tho cntlro distilling industry, announced last night steps were being tnken to attack the federal prohibition amendment and tho war-ltme prohibi tion act, Lovy Major, of Chicago, counsel for the organization, was Instructed to ar range for a flult to test the emergency prohibition law after tho treaty of peace has been signed Action to bring about a judicial review of the eighteenth amendment. It was stated, would await the outcomo of referendum elections In thirteen states where petitions catling for a popular voto on the "bone dry" enactment have been filed or are In circulation Conltl Itniime nlntllUllon Mr. Mayer aflv lscd the committee tr-at In states having referendum laws and In thoso whose Legislatures have ratified tho amendment, the ratification would have no effect unless a majority of tho volts cast In the elections favoted the amendment. lie also gave an opinion that. If the war-time prohibition act Is unconstitu tional, manufacture of distilled spirits, forbidden by the President undor tho food conservation laws, could be law m M it-j.V ti t .V, llll . J fully resumed as soon as the was is ended. , In their discussion of measures to nul lify tho federal amendment, tho distillers named California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho Utah New Mexico Colora do, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, MRino mm Nebraska as states where referendum petitions havo been circulated, The distillers' attack on tho wartime prohibition act alleges that tho law, having been enacted after tho signing of tho armistice, went bcj'ond the power of Congress to adopt measures for tho national security and defense. Members of the distillers' commltteo declared the doclslon to withhold litiga tion until the completion of peace nego tiations was based on a deslro to pro ceed only after tho war emergency was formally declared a matter of history. It was said that the suit would be brought against the Collectorrt Inter nal Ilevenuo and the Federal District Attorney 'In some appropriate district." HAITORGSAnMSBAR SAILING OF FOOD SHIPS Refuse to Operate Two Ves sels Demanded by Entente Under Agreement By the Associated Press Uerlln, March 21 (via Copenhagen) The German steamships Burgermelstcr von MelleC and Burgermclster Hchroeder, which were scheduled to sail on March 18 In accordance with the agreement reached at Brussels between German and nter-AUIod food commissions, have been prevented from leaving Hamburg owing o a resolution passed by seamen there refusing to operate ships demanded by the Entente nations. Some newspapers protest against the resolution and say It represents the will of a "hmall communistic section" and has met strong disfavor from other seamen's associations Tho, Hamburg section of the Transport Workers' Union has lodged a protest against the action of tho seamen What thing can yon do best? "Are you a misfit?" asks Walt Mason m in the April American Magazine. Then he bursts out with this char acteristic bit of Walt Masonry : "The down-and-outer looms in view, the symbol of distress; there's doubtless something he could do, and score a big success. What if he failed at making cheese.jor keeping lawns in trim? What if he failed at herding bees, and teaching hens to swim? I would not say that bone or wood was used to build his head; I would not say he is no good, until I see him dead. He may have failed at winding clocks, at spreading sealing Wax; he may have failed 'at darning socks, at pulling carpet tacks. But somewhere there's the proper hole where this square peg would fit; so help him reach his little goal4 that he may make a hit. He muy be built for baking beans or brewing boneset tea, perchance for drilling horse marines, or teaching Cherokee. Perhaps, to make the fellow win, a kind word would suffice ; I'd never say a man's all in until he's placed on ice." In April "Are Von a Misfit?" by Walt Mason. This is the first of a set of talks by poet and humorist coming in the American Magazine. flk vine o American mm The Crowell Publishing Company Woman's Home Companion The American Magazine Farm antjf Fireside At a mass-meeting of seamen held to day Uio following rtsolution w;ns passed! 'Todays mass-meeting oi seamen or ali descriptions refund to participate In tho delivery of German merchant ships demanded by the Kntento, and de clared It to bo the duty to all seamen "ESCEPCIONALES" IS THE POPULAR 15 CENT SHAPE "SSm 4zxZZyf2xyffffii vfiss9WMmf KIP'ESCEPCTONALES' Ifmp S THE POPULAR g a PR0DUCI0 Sim Magazine , Kir-HWft?- A-q iwrt dm&ti'i and laborers to reiuso to carry out irorlc on those ships." The resolution , was passed on -th . ground thero was no 'guarantee that Germany would rerelvo any food except the first delivery. A Mild, mellow, fra grant, comfortable 8 moke -proof of how subtle blend ing and skilled workmanship can make choice Havana tobacco so enjoyable. Shape antf tisti to aU yoar tcutm, beginning with the Puritano Fino $hop at 10c wtratght. G. H. P. CIGAR CO. rhlla. : ' . u the Emporii w J I m m,4 w.i . t.v?
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers