Capture of Outer Piltar of Verdun Fortifications Claimed by Germans HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH LXXXV— No. 43 GERMANS VERDUN FORTBYSTORM Capture of Northeastern Pil lar of Permanent Defense Circling Great French Fortress in Furious As sault Claimed by Ger mans; Places Teutons An other Step Nearer Direct Route to Paris Serious Breaches Torn in French Lines; Stronghold Is Menaced From East and Southeast as Well as North and Northeast; Resistance in Woevre Is Broken; " Buckiing-up" Process on Fortress May Be Used I he tremendous German offensive aimed at Verdun is gain ing force hourly and new and serious breaches have been made in the French lines, Berlin announces to-day. The fortress is now menaced from the and southeast, as well as from the north and northeast. Xot only has Fort Douaumont, one of the outlying defenses of ilie stionghold been taken but hrench resistance on the plain of the \\ oevre to the cast has been broken, according to the German bul letin, which reports that the tiermans are pursuing their beaten loc along the \Yoevre front to a point south of the Paris-Met* highway which runs through Verdun. rile buckling-up process being carried • >itt In the Germans 011 both sides of the salient in which Verdun lies would, if continued iai enough, compel the evacuation of the fortress bv the French, even should the Germans not be able to reach it by direct assault. Paris Has Not Conceded Fall Although the substantial successes noted are officially claimed by the Germans. Paris has not conceded them. "After the last en gagement our troops retained their position in spite of the repeated assaults of the enemy, which no longer counts his sacrifices," the afternoon bulletin declares. Regarding Douaumont, the outlying fort whose capture i> announced by Merlin, the French statement only declares that in this region the battle is still raging and ha.- assumed a most sanguinary character. The presence of Emperor William with the troops on the Ger man front is confirmed by to-day's Berlin official statement. Berlin, Feb. 26, via London.—lt is iflicially announced that Fort Douau niont( one of the fortifications of Ver dun, was taken by storm yesterday •ifternoon and is now firmly held by the Germans. The official announcement is as fol lows: "The armored Fort Douaumont, the nortlieastern corner pillar of the per manent ma in line fortifications of the stronghold of Verdun wus slormed yesterday afternoon by the 24th regi ment of Brandenburg infantry mid is now lirmly in German hands." Fort Douamont lies four miles northeast of Verdun. It is onu of nearly :i score of forts circling Ver-• dun and is situated just to the north of the railroad running east from the city of Metz. « Douaumont is one of a cluster of seven forts protecting Verdun from the east. Forts De Sauville, De Ta vanes and St. Michel lie directly be tween (he position conquered by the Germans and the city of Verdun. Four Miles From Verdun The conquest of this fort was made by the right wing of the huge at tacking army, which has scored the greatest advance in the assault on the 1 French positions. Douaumont is somewhat to the east of what has hitherto been the principal line of progress, being situated four miles east of the Meuse river. The main force of the German attack, as in dicated by the previous official com munications, was being exerted south ward along the Meuse. The capture of Douaumont is the most important achievement since the inauguration of the German drive at Verdun, an onslaught which for: fury and for weight of men and guns has few precedents in the war. The French war office has expressed con {THE WEATHER li For lla rrlshurir an<l vldnlt? t Port ly cloudy t«»—»■ lit mill Sundays not much change in tcmpernture; (o-niKlil about 'IT* degrees. For llastern Pennsylvania: Over ••ast In Mouth nnd probably nikmv flurries In northern portion to nluht; Monday partly overcast; strong HfM(erly winds. River The SiiNMurliniimi river nnd its principal branches will rise "lightly, except tlie upper por tions of tlie North and Went branches will begin to tall to night or Sunday. \« material change** are likely to oeeur in lee conditions. A stage of nhout feet In Indicated for llarrlNburg Sunday morning. General Conditions The const storm has eontlnued to move iiortliwnrd with Increasing Intensity and Is now central over Southern \ew Knglnnd with low est reported barometer reeding?, IW.HS InelieN nt Roaton. It covers the eastern half off the 1 nlteil States and has caused raiu hihl snow In the Middle Atlantic and New Kngland States. Temperature: 8 n. m., 30. Sun: llise*, t1:43 a. nt.; set*, 5:53 p. m. Moon: New moon, March 3, IO:.Vt P. i*a. River Stage: 4.0 feet above low water mark. Yeaterday'a Weather Highest temperature, 37. I.owest temperature. 32, Mean tempernture. 341. Normal tempernture, 32. IIV C\ nit IKK n CENTS A. WEEK. SINGLE COPIES 2 CENTS. 48f i; C£*f. OE CASTL EMJtlk Hen. ilf Curlers de Castlenau, the I'rench Ohief-of-Staflf who is directing the defense of Verdun against the gigantic attack of the Germans. I lldence that notwithstanding the ad mitted great strength of the German drive, Verdun and its protecting fort resses would be able to hold out. These positions form what has been regarded as one of the greatest strong holds ot Europe. It is the strongest fortress of France and is of particular importance from the fact that it of fers direct communication with Paris which is 150 miles to the west. I'illar of Outer Kim V erdun marks the northerly point of tlie great Prench defenses against direct attacks from German territory, the most southerly being Belfort, as between these two points lies the i stretch of frontier on which Germany touches France. France has other fort Hied points further north, though in minor importance, as they were along the line of contact with Belgium and Luxenburg. The mos important probably of these latter was Mau beuge which was taken by the Ger mans with sacrifices to them estimated at the time, in September 19H as be tween SO,OOO ami 1 10,000. Since that date no Important fortress has fallen to the <icrmans 011 the western front At the same period a.desperate effort was made to reduce Verdun and some 01 the incidents of the lighting which then ocurred were of a memorable I character. During the siege of Kort Troyon, near Verdun, in September 1914, the I commander of the fort ceased to reply to the bombardment. The Germans it was said, believing that the fort had been evacuated and approached in order to destroy a redoubt. The com mander of the fort then set fire to two carloads of straw inside the structure and the Germans convinced that their shells had started the lire and that they could easily take, the place, ad vanced in close formation. The rrench suddenly brought their ma chine guns to bear with a deadly fire 1 and the bodies of 7.000 Germans 'were said to have been abandoned on the | slopes below Fort Troyon. liloyd Fearful of Result A dispatch from London of yester 2®y's dute sai 'l that Major General sir Francis Lloyd, gecnral officer, commanding the London district, in a speech at the opening of a military building declared that the battle be fore Verdun was of momentous im portance to Great Britain as well as to France. "Do you realize?" he asked, "that a fight is now going 011 for a passage to Paris. The result will hang in the balance until the Teutons are driven back, as 1 have great confidence he will be. But if our allies' line is pierced the way will be open to the j French capital and if that capital is reached a new complexion would be put on the whole face of the war and on our lives and being. A German success on the .French front would not merely mean the loss of Paris but would endanger London." I«os.s N'ot Admitted The loss of Fort Douaumont, four miles to the northeast of Verdun, how- I ever, is not admitted in to-day's French official statement, which de clares that despite the desperate Ger man assaults the French have main tained their'positions. While the German wing on the east j lias been driven at Fort Douaumont and its protecting trenches the center of the Crown Prince's forces has worked down (he Meuse valley until it is hammering at the ridge" of I„a Cote Dn Poivre, just south of Louve | i,Continued on l'uge 6.J HARRISBURG, PA., SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26, 1916. SCHWAB TO BUILD FOUR BLAST FURNACES HERE IMMEDIATELY CHARLES M. SCHWAB K. G. GRACE Chairman Board of Directors Bethlehem Steel Corporation. President Bethlehem Steel Corporation. That it is the plan of Charles M. Schwab and his associates to make the big plant of the Pennsylvania Steel Com : pany, at Steeltori, recently purchased, one of the busiest industries in the State, is evident from recent Interviews wlti | E. G. Grace, the energetic young president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and one of the men closest to Mr Schwab. In the course of a personal letter to the editor of the ilarrisburg Telegraph to-day. President Grace says: " Vs I snill to your repr«'MciilHti\4' last WedueNtlay, the first ami most Important pliast- of (lie steel plant requiring our iiuiiieillntt- attention. weeniN to li«> Mm* HI:o.I l-'lll'llncT anil Power Ui-pHrtmi-ntN. We liopc to proeeeri promptly with Hit- upbuilding' of tht'ise two Important department!!, anil have In miuil eoiiMtriietliK four ailtlltloiiHl blast furnaces iin <|iiiekly lis the layout can tie determined." U. E. CONFERENCE HAS MEMBERSHIP OF 25 THOUSAND ' Church Property Worth Nearly Two Million and Quarter Report Shows - Reports submitted at the session of 1 the Kaat Pennsylvania ('"on Terence of j the United Evangelical Church in Har i lis Street. Church, Susquehanna and I Harris streets, this morning showed j substantial increases along all lines of j the church's activities, with a total of | 25.718 communicant members, a Sun | day school enrollment of 44,634 and j property holdings throughout the Har j risburg, Alientown and Reading dis | tricls totaling $2,150,235, The conference wn<- opened this morning with singing; led by Assist ant Chorister M. M. Jones.' The Rev. George ott, editor of the Evangelische Zeitschrift, conducted the opening de- I votions. The Rev. G. C. Gabriel, of Central [Continued 011 I'Hgc C.] MANY CHANGES IN RULES GOVERNING CITY'S TRAFFIC Will Become Effective March 1; Pedestrians Get Their Orders, Too i i The new city traffic regulations, ef fective March 1, contain complete! rules for pedestrians, together with ! several important changes in the sys tem in use now. Each officer of the traffic squad has j been furnished with a copy of the regulations and Instructed in his duties. In the new code vehicles turn ing from one side of the street to the 1 other must make a complete semi i circle and may not cross diagonally. in the rules for pedestrians are warn [Continued on Page 5.] Hickok Co. Will Not Make Munitions Says President of Firm W. Orville Hickok. 111, president of. the W. O. Hickok Manufacturing Com ; puny, to-day declared that there was 1 ; not the slightest foundation for the \ j report that the Hickok Company, ; which is just occupying a fine new plant, is about to engage in the manu j faeture of munitions. "1 am at a loss to understand how that rumor started," said Mr. Hickok. • "Wo have no intention whatever of engaging in the manufacture of mu nitions. We propose to stick to Our old line of book-binding machinery, in which we have been engaged for | years." benxinukr a c.\ni>ii>atk Representative' William M. Ben ninger, one of the mainstays of the Northampton delegation in the last House of Representatives, to-day filed 1 papers to run again. J. W. Rieltel, of Cowansvllle, filed papers to be a can- ! diihite for the House from Armstrong i county. Joseph D. Weaver, New Ox- Iford, filed a petition to run for Dem ocratic State committeeman from Ad ams county, 1 EDWARD L.KEARNS APPOINTED HEAD OF 18TH REGIMENT Former Harrisburgcr Advanc ed to Command Crack Pitls burgh Organization Edward E. K earn a, Pittsburgh law- ; yer ami former resident of Harris-! burg, was to-ilay appointed by Gov ernor Brumbaugh to be colonel of the Eighteenth Regiment of the National Guard, with headquarters in Pitts burgh. Colonel Kearns was lieutenant colonel of the regiment and is one of the lie*! known National Guard oMi - cers in the State, while the Eighteenth is near the top of the list, having been commanded for years by General A. J. Eogan, now c ommanding the Second Brigade, and in line for command of the National Guard of the State. Mr. Kearns is a nephew of .Tunics i [Continued on I'agc 13.] HOTELS MAY BE REQUIRED TO GO 'DRY' WEDNESDAY Bars Musi Be Closed March 1 in Hostelries Not Licensed by That Date Will certain of the hotels and | saloons in cit.v and county be com pelled for a time, at least, to go "dry" | after March 1? That this is possible was the gen eral opinion expressed by members of the. Dauphin county bar this morning when President Judge Kun kel announced a postponement of February Common Pleas court from next week until the week of March 6 in order that the hearings on ! remonstrances against the score or [Continued on Page 5.] Hold Ex-Convict, Hoping to Run Down Firebug Clues Lewis Blouch, an ex-convict of 1427 * Vernon street, whom the police be lieve, may aid them in solving the series of incendiary tires on Allison Hill, was held under S6OO bail for court by Alderman Edward J. Hilton, after a hearing last evening. Blouch plead guilty to this charge. Earlier in the day he was brought be fore the alderman, accused of at tempting to force an entry into the 001 l Manufacturing Plant, but was re leased because the watchman, J. H. Lowery, failed to identify Blouch as one of the two men he saw trying to 1 enter the place. With Blouch in jail waiting a court 1 hearing, the police believe, that they have a start in running down the flre | bugs. According to the police, bow ery identified Blouch's picture and •said he was almost positive that Blouch was one of the two he saw at the 801 l plant early Monday morning. At the hearing, however. Lowery failed to identify Blouch. The police, instead of letting Blouch go, brought a second charge against him—furnlsh -1 ing liquor to 19-year-oIU Leonard GIRL WITNESS IS TAKEN OFF TRAIN BY MULVIHILL Stenographer "Kidnaped" at Station in Pittsburgh Suburb Special to the Telegraph Pittsburgh, Feb. 26. Miss Kath-I erine Gallagher may be the innocent cause of paving the way for the gov- ! ernmenl's first drastic step against { James P. Mulvihill, of Pittsburgh, j State leader of the liquor forces, as a' result of "Jim's" step yesterday in 1 virtually "kidnaping" Miss Gallagher from the Philadelphia train at East j Liberty station, here. Mulvihill took Miss Gallagher, who ' i is only IT years old. and her father, j Charles F. Gallagher, to the office of Attorney George E. Shaw, of brewery I counsel, before she appeared in answer | | to the suhpena served at the office of I | Continued 011 Paso 12.] More Silk Stockings Remedy For Martial Woes Special to the Telegraph South Bend, Tnd., Feb. 26. —"If there were more silk stockings worn . 1 and women gave more time to better ; grooming, there would be fewer di vorces and, I am very sure, fewer af ! Unities," was the statement of George Burns Lacour, who is delivering a! series of lectures. The speaker stated that so-called reformers had attacked the modern i manner of dress, the short sleeves, i the healthful low neck, the sensible, ! sanitary short skirt, and the much mooted silk stockings as the cause ! of divorces and the social evil gener ! ally, when it is, in reality, but. the , 1 awakening of the modern woman to j demand comfort, fashion and health • in dress. ; One union suit, a well-fitted corset, ! a brassiere, silk stockings and one silk 1 petticoat are the only essentials for a ! well-gowned woman, the speaker said. Any added garments detract from the I lines of the gown and even more im- ! portant, keep the air from circulating next to the skin. The skin must breathe fresh, pure air, as well as the lungs. IS, 13. 13, IS—IS, IS Special to tlic Telegraph Sunbury, Pa„ Feb. 26. E. L. Un gard, a freight conductor on the .Sus quehanna. Hloomsburg and Berwick I railroad, at Watsontown, has as much confidence in the figure 1:! as lias 1 ; President Wilson. Ungard carries pass No. 13 on his railroad, running out of Watsontown. He was conductor on a freight train pulled by locomo tive No. 13, which was wrecked on the 13th day o fthe month, causing the . crew to make 13 hours and 13 minutes overtime. The accident occurred on his thirteenth wedding anniversary. | He has never been hurt. IIERRICK IN SENATORIAL RACE i Special to the Telegraph Columbus, 0., Feb. 26.—Myron T. i Herrick, of Cleveland, ex-United I States Ambassador to France, yester- 1 | day filed his declaration of candidacy ! | for the Republican nomination for I United States Senator. j SHOOTS WOMAN WHO REJECTED HIM Scranton, Pa., Feb, 26. Angered I because his marriage proposal was, I continually rejected by Mrs. Tony Costa, Frank Aposilo to-day fired four shots at her from across the street land when ho saw her fall turned the I weapon on himself, putting a bullet lin his brain. Mre. Costa was slightly 1 iujured. J, CONGRESS QUIETS DOWN IN ARMED VESSEL CRISIS Submarine Situation Shifts Back to Negotiations Be tween I'. S. and Germany 1 " WILSON STILL FIRM Believed Allies Will Accept Proposal to Disarm Mer chant Ships Washington. Feb. 26. With llie apparent quieting; down of tlie situa tion in Congress, the submarine crisis shifts back to the negotiations between Secretary Lansing and ('ount Von Bernstorff. Mr. Lansing said to-day there was no intention of transferring the negotiations to Berlin to be conducted between Ambassador Gerard and the Berlii/ Foreign Office, as was inti mated .n dispatches published abroad, and reiterated that the State Depart ment had heard nothing more from Germany on its request for a declara tion that the new submarines cam paign would not be conducted in viola tion of previous assurances for the safety of Americans traveling on un | resisting liners. While the situation in Congress ap j pat ently is being held in check by the administration leaders, the State De partment continues to await receipt of certain appendices to the Austro j German notice which are intended to j demonstrate that British armed mev ! chantships have used their guns of ] t'ensively against submarines. They ! are coming by mail. On the situation as it now stands, [Continued on Page 5.] VIL-XIAGE IJGCKUI' STOLEN Beaver Falls, Pa., Feb. 26.—The j lockup of the little village of Hoine | wood, five miles north of here, is mys i terlously missing. The building, which j had a steel cage for two prisoners, was a wooden structure with iron | gratings over ihe windows. Yesterday i Constable Ei ltman, of Homewood, brought a prisoner to the county jail i here and the disappearance of the ! lockup became known. It is said that a farmer, whose name is unknown, j passing the lockup late one evening. placed it on his wagon and carted it 1 away. Constable Ecltman believes it is being used for a chicken coop or 1 kennel. HELD HIGHWAYMAN ? Harrisburg.—Marion Churchman, charged with holding I A 1 held for court under #I,OOO bail by Alderman Nicholas at ft polite co, •. ic"lay. L "BJL T *V ' MA" AND REST OF PARTY HERE (| b J 1 more where a campaign will be started to-morrow, | £ "M . the rest < $ J ped oil here between trains this afternoon. | i DI JNK; TWO DEAD; SEVEN MISSING f | 5.- Lloyds announces the sinking of the f 1 P T members of the crews are missing. Of five I X s, who were picked up two died. I EVACUATE DURAZZO I The report that Durazzo, an Albanian L I J & troops s< d there is confirmed. X i NINE KILLED IN ITALIAN WRECK 1 * T Cortona, Italy Feb. 26.—A military train was derailed j ; I and the locomotive, baggage car and four * * T . wrecked. Nine persons were killed and more ; ' f than lift) :cd. I * | PENETRATE GERMAN LINES IN CHAMPAGNE 1 t Berlin, Feb. 26, via London.—The French forces in the g » 9 Champagne district have made an attack on the German po- 1 I sitions south of St. Marie-a-Py. The war office statement JL 3 day s iys the French penetrated the first German trenches j 1 over a -distance of about 250 yards. ONE ARMED SHIP LETTER HERE [ « I bin {ton, Feb. 26.—Secretary Lansing announced V ! to-day that one of the entente allies had replied to his sug-' ! ; , gestion f r the disarmament of merchantships. He declined I 'he reply or to tell from which govern | ' ing he probably would make all the teplies | > ' public h.n tl-w vci; rtieiycJ . : j, MARRIAGE ■ I .loci Hnrrnan and Sophia Hay Ahrlnon, Philadelphia. I John Haptlat Knott aud \ono Alena Griffith, Mtooun. L C Hoy took, city, and Ada May Wclkcr, ItlllNhurK. ? Qi ii W» mV|)ii ii Vijii' ii CITY EDITION 18 PAGES DAILY WAGE RULE IN COMPENSATION FOR 2,000,000 MEN Compensation Board Deter mines Upon Plan Which Will Affect All Employes QUESTION LONG AGITATED Miners and Organized Kail road Men Vitally Affected by the New Ruling The State Workmen's Compensation Board settled ujion a plan for deter mining what shall constitute a daily wage in compensation affairs after having had the matter under discus sion for two months. The decision was reached after a consultation with Attorney General Brown and Commis sioner of Labor Jackson and the State officials say that they are prepared to stand u lest of it even in the courts. The ruling on this question which will affect over 2.000.000 wage-earners in the State and which vitally concerns miners, railroad men and iron and steel workers is a:i follows: "Wages is the amount in money \alue agreed upon in the contract of employment, written or oral, in force [Continued on Page 12.] Five-Year-Old Roosters Stolen; Halifax Cops Seek Dislocated Jaw j [From Our Halifax Correspondent.] Halifax, Pa., Feb. 26.—During the week some, dirty scoundrel has been visiting the henneries about town owned by some of our well-known citi zens and lias been helping himself L> some of the chickens. The thief is suspected by the towns i people and will get a warm reception of hot lead if he visits these parU again. On one of his midnight toun he stopped to look over J, S. Gember ling's coop and the next morning fin> I specimens of five-year-old rooster: 1 were not present for their breakfast I M. W. Etter and Mrs. Jane Millet 'also reported serious losses in the raid. We are really surprised that w< have people in this peaceful and law abiding town who are compelled to i steal to make a living—but sometime. I wolves ARE found among sheep. p. S.—The police of Halifax, it i reported, are looking for a man with a dislocated jaw.
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