THE WEATHER RAIN TO-NIGHT AND TO-MORBOW Detailed Report, Page 6 g£ A ? L i'« S T H a EP VOL. 77 —NO. 32. PLAN FIGHT INTHESI,OOO CHECK CASE Pair Accused of Trying to Defraud Banks Will Make Vigorous Defense To-morrow MERCER SAID TO HAVE A RECORD New York Detective Asserts He Is Man Who Got Thousands by "Ambu lance Chasing"—Known to District Attorney Jerome No case scheduled for trial in the Dauphin county court this week has at tracted more outside attention than that of H. R. Mercer and Fred Ijc- Bnui, accused of false pretense, who will be called to-morrow to face charges brought by the Harrisburg police de partment. The prosecution has gone to excep tional lengths in an endeavor to es tablish an unbroken chain of evidence aioun l the men who, the police say, are as clever as any defendants who have ever been taken into custody here. A witness from Jacksonville, ria., will be placed on the stand, City Detective .Ibach, having gone to Jack sonville to subpoenaed him last Friday. This witness is an official of one of the two Jacksonville banks on which, the police say, a check for SI,OOO was drawn and later deposited in a Harris burg bank. This and another similar check were deposited in Harrisburg banks on Saturday morning, November 11. After banking hours on Saturday cheek* were drawn on those deposits by the two men. according to the po lice. Advices received from Jackson ville by the local banks on that day were to the effect that the SI,OOO • hecks were worthier. This informa tion was given to the police and later the men were arrested in the Metropoli tan Hotel, where they were stopping. The defense will seek to prove, it was learned to toy, that the checks were deposited in good faith, the men not knowing that they were worthless. Two checks had been passed on Harris burg merchants before the men were arrested, according to the police. Both men were subsequently field under $:!, 000 bail by Mayor Roval. They were unable to obtain that amount of bail and have since been in the Dauphin county ianl awaiting trial. Look Into Mercer's History Mercer, who gave his home as Wil mington, Del., has been active in his own behalf since he has been in jail, while his companion, Leßrun, a native Frenchman, on the contrary, has been morose and uncommunicative. A de tainer and a bench warrant charging grand larceny have been forwarded Continued on Fifth PnKe, 1915 AI'TO TA(iS NET $583,103 Left to the Police Whether to Arrest Persons Who Delay Getting Them It rests with the city [>olice authori ties whether those persons who have not yet been supplied with State auto mobile licenses and tags shall be halted and placed under arrest, according to statements made at the Capitol to-day. The Auto License Bureau of the State Highway Department has been working night and day to meet all applications and has cleanc l its work up to date. Inquiry was made as to whether, in the event of the license not being re ceived an auto owner could use the old tag pending the arrival of a new one, and all such inquiries have been re ferral to the police authorities. It is thought that an extension of ten days will be granted in most cities. ( p to date there have been gTanted 45,313 permits for pneumatic tired atitos; 4,568 for solid tires; 21 trac tors; 60 trailers: 1,485 motorcycles; 14,067 drivers; 2,219 dealers; 8,873 operators and 69 transfers. There has been collected and paid into the State Treasury $583,103, aJI of whicih will be applied to the good road fund. "FORCE BAG" MAN ACCUSED Seiferd, Who Figured in Will Fight Charged With Fortune Telling On a criminal charge of practicing fortune telling and elairviancy Harrison Seiferd. 1301 South Cameron street, al leged to be a spiritualist, to-day was heard bv Alderman Murrav. Thf suit is being prosecuted by J •lames G. Hatz, an attorney, who, in a civil action, is representing certain of the heirs of the late Martna At lams who ; charged the defendant with having in duced Mrs. Adams to give him the j bulk of her estate. During a recent argument regarding Mrs. Adams' will, before Register Danner, witnesses said' that Seiferd sold "force bugs," for which he claimed mysterious powers. 801 l Stockholders Elect At a meetinj. of the stockholders of the Boil Manufacturing Company held this morning, officers were elected as follows: President, Charles 8. Boll; vice 1 residents, Samuel Gardner and J. P. Melich; secretary, C. D. Rudy, and treasurer, W. A." 8011. These officers, including J. M. Peters, make up the board of directors. £l)c Star- Jntepenfrent CHIEF REPORTS SEVERAL DISORDERLY HOUSES HERE Hutchison Says He Is Investigating Them—Liquor Sold in Clubs on Sundays, He Declares—Licensed Saloons Observe the Sunday Lawß Declariug he has information show ing the existence of several disorderly houses in the city and that he now is conducting an inquiry regarding them. Joseph B. Hutchison, Chief of Police, in his quarterly report to the court, tiled this morning, announced that he will expose the owners and lessees of these houses at the March term of crim inal sessions. The Chief refers to the houses as "places where couples can get rooms without question." IHe further report ed that a number of hotels have "side rooms" where women are permitted to gather and obtain liquor and. he added, "this practice will tend to draw dis reputable females and sooner or later will put such hotels in the class of disorderly houses.'' Continuing, the Chief said that clubs furnish liquor to their members on Sunday, that liquor is furnished to vot ers on election days, but that those re ceiving it will not testify. He added: "I believe the licensed saloonkeepers all observe the Sunday laws." George \Y. Charters, constable of the Second ward, complained in a report to the court that the contractors con structing tiie subway at Second and Mulberry streets hnve not provided a foot patli rit the point of the improve ment, compelling pedestrians to walk in a roundabout way. The Gratz constable reported that a road one mile west of Gratz is not pass able and its width is not sufficient to permit one team to pass another. The road between Oberlin and At ticks avenue, in Swatara township, is in "bad shape," so the township con stable reported SENATOR'S TEMPERATURE 104 Beidleman's Condition Causes Alarm- Precautions to Prevent Belapse The condition of Senator E. E. Beidleman, of this city, who is suffer ing from a severe attack of grip, was ropofted this morning to be slightly improved. Hani work he did at the opening sessions of the Legislature re sulted in his developing a severe cold and the grip attack followed, but noth ing serious was anticipated until yes terday when a high fever set in and his temperature went up to 104, alarm ing those in attendance. His phy sicians have, ordered him to remain in bed until thero is absolutely no danger of a relapse. • Senator Beidleman is chairmau of the Legislature committee arranging for the inauguration of l>r. Brumbaugh as Governor on January 19, but lie hail matters so well in hand before being taken ill that the arrangements are be ing worked out satisfactorily. Federal Probe of High Wheat Prices Chicago, Jan. 11. —Federal investiga tion into the present high price of wheat was to begin here to-day to de termine whether speculation or attempt ed "food cornering" has had anything to do with the recent sensational rise in the market. DPII QUI' IS SEUPOUCE Woman Taken From Her £>tate Room as the Vessel Docks in New York To-day GUIDING GENIUS OF SMUGGLERS Wife of Chinaman Is Charged With Being American Agent of Group of Opium Smugglers With Its Head quarters in Liverpool By .4»socia(cd Press. New York, Jan. 11.—Mrs. Sophia Ghee, known to the police as "the opium queen'' was taken from her state room on the steamer Philadelphia, when the vessel docked here to-day, and placed under arrest as the guiding genius of a baud of alleged opium smugglers of whom eleven men had previously been locked up in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. The war rant under which she was arre>. charges. conspiracy to smujjjjle opium into the United States. Mrs. Ghee is of English birth and Austrian |>arentage and the wife of Chow Ghee, a Chinese living in Liver pool. She sailed from New York on De cember 23, for Liverpool. A day later evidence was found ujion which the warrant was issued. The federal au thorities notified Scotland Yard and when Mrs. Ghee reached Liverpool she was sent back to this city on the technical grounds that she was an un desirable alien. Bilwin M. Stauton, Assistant United States District Attorney, who arrested her said she was charged with being the American aig Mechanicsburg, Pa., Jan. 11.—Fire starting near the furnace in the cellar in the home of Dr. \i. M. Dougherty. Keller and Frederick streets, at 1 o'clock this afternoon did considerable damage to the lower part of the house before the firemen subdued it. Smoke going through the upper floors of the dwelling added to the damage, which may reach |4OO. The blaze was confined to the cellar. L)r Dougherty was nonunateif last week bv President Wilson as postmaster for Mechanicsburg. Major Hart Again a Director The Great Southern Lumber Com pany, a concern which has offices in this city and in which Harriaburg capi tal is invested but which operates in Louisanna and Mississippi, this morning re-elected all the old directors, one of whom is Major bane S. Hart, o>f Har risburg. G. M. Whitney, of this city, is secretary of the company. The late Congressman Marlin E. Olmsted, it is understood, was largely interested in the corporation. v. A~Rrf- r » _ . . N. I. llwmid. 1 SHOULD WORRY. CHIEFISTHE B'WANO TUWBO Hutchison Ditpatches 'Possum With One Shot After Coppers Fail to Bag Animal Chief of Police Hutchison is tho champion '|iossum hunter on the Har risburg police force. His men having tried repeatedly to land one which was feasting on the chickens in the coop of Augustus Beck, Bons and Myrtle streets, the chief decided to try his hand. For seventeen years the chief has qualified as a marksman in the National Guard an.l now that he is a colonel he has not fallen away any in his mark mauship, so what chance had the poor little 'possum when the Colonel decided to go hunting f The 'possum ilitl not know what mighty hunter was 011 its trail yester day morning anil continued to munch a stolen foul, all unmindful of the bead the B'wauo Tumbo of Harrisburg was taking 011 him. The end was quick and painless, one shot from a shiny thirty eight directed by the steady hand of the Colonel of Eighth, dispatched the marauder to 'possum heaven. VILLA ATTACKS^ MONTEREY? Believed to Have Begun at Noon To i day After Operators Desert Tele graph Office in That City I By Associated Press. Laredo, Tex., .lan. 11. —An attack i by Villa troops upon i.Monteroy is be lieved to have begun about noon to day. At 11 o 'clock the operators at Monterey deserted the telegraph office : there. Since the defeat of the constitution alists numbering 13,000 under General Villareal before Saltillo early yester day, Villa troi»;s have been reported to :be making a rapid advance toward ! Monterey. MRS. UOUERS TO BE INDICTED Case of Woman Who Killed Children to Go Before Grand Jury By Associated Press, New York, .lan. 11. —District Attor ney Francis Martin, of Bronx county, announced last night that he will go be ! fore the Grand Jury to-day with a de ' mand for indictment of murder against ' Mrs. Ida Sniffen Walters, who called herself Mrs. Kogers, after leaving he»- ! husband /or Lorlys Elton Rogers, the 1 ; I'ark Kow lawyer, and who gave poison 1 to their 8-month-old daughter, Ijornla. | and their two-and-a-half-year-old sou, | John. Mrs. Walters is confined in a private room in Lebanon hog; ital, where she is held pending complete recovery from the poison she swallowed after giving doses of it to her baibies. Wheat Comes Down With a Crash By Associated Press. Chicago, Jan. 11. —Wheat came down ; to-day with a chash. Prices broke 0% cents a bushel under general selling due to rumors t'hat one of the forts guard , ing t'he Dardanelles" had been demolisth -1 ed 'by tfoe warships of the allies. May 1 wheat here sold as low as $1.33% after i having been up to $1.39% earlier in the session. STEELION EXHIBIT Off FOTFRISCO 176 Large Packing Cases, Filling 2 Cars, Contain Products of Penna. Steel Co. HATCHETS THAT I CUT INTO IRON Racks, Such as Are Used in Panama Canal, Are Among Features to Ap pear in Local Plant's Booth at Big Exposition * I One hundred ami seventy-six large packing eases, which till two 'arge freight cars, contain the material to be used by the Pennsylvania Steel Com pany, of Steelton, in making an ex hibition of its products at the Panama- Pacific. Exposition, and are now speed ing across the continent to San i'rau-' cisco. This exhibit, in connection with that to be made by the Maryland Steel and the Cambria Steel Companies, will be housed in block 19 of the Transpor tation Building, which consists of two long wings, and forms part of the square facing the Court of Honor. The local company anil the Maryland Steel |>onents. German successes are claimed in the Argonne region and the statement also reports that French attacks at I>aßois selle and at a point north of Soissons were repulsed. Unfavorable weather continues to hinder the military opera tions in Russian Poland though the Germans claim to be making progress slowly in the direction of Warsaw. The text of the communication follows: "In the western theatre: At Nieu port and a.t Ypres ami south the only artillery combats have taken place. A French attack at La.Boisselle, to the northeast of Albert, failed completely. "North of Soissons the French, who had estaft>lished themselves in a small section of pur outer trenches, attacked afresh but so far they have gained no successes. The imttie continues. In the neighborhood of Soupir (east of Vailly) no lighting has taken place dur ing the last few days. "To the east of Perthes our troops have reca|>tured tho portion of our trenches which the enemy had taken. In this engagement, heavy losses were inflicted on the French. In the Argonne forest our attacks have made further progress. In U]>per Alsace the situa tion is tranquil. "In the eastern war arena: In Bast Prussia and in North Poland, the situa tion remains the same. On account oE unfavorable weather our attacks in Po land, to the west of the Vistula river, are making slow progress." POSTSCRIPT PRICE, ONE CENT. RUMANIA IS READY WITH 60O,000MEN Increasing Indications of Her Early Partici pation in the Great European War DIFFICULTIES ARE OVERCOME Requisite Supplies for the Equipment and Provisioning of the Rumanian Army Have Been Forwarded to That Country by the Allies By Associated Press, London, Jau. 11, 1.27 P. M.—There are increasing indications of tho early participation of Rumania in the war, thus bringing into play another party to the combination against the Teutonic powers contemplated by Great Britain, France and Russia. Difficulties confronted the allies in t'he earlier stages of the war in furnish ing munitions, equipment and other ne cessities of war beyond those required lor their own immediate needs. These difficulties now have beon surmounted, and tho obstacle which hitherto has •bit eked full Rumanian mobiliatiou has iie-'n removed with the arrival in that '•ountiv of the requisite supplies for the equipment and provisioning of the GOO.Oi'O men which she is able to put liito tlie field. Arrangements have been completed also for tihe financing of | these operations. Lack of Stirring Battles The lack of stirring battles at the | present stage is attributed by British ! commentators largely to the determi j nation of the allied commanders to cou | ttnt themselves with holding their pres ent positions until the projected ring ,of armies is considered sufficiently j strong to strike a blow which they hope | will prove decisive. The British idea that operations up ! to the present are ouly preparatory to | big events fits in with a bit of gossip | now heard here. It is to the effect that 1 I>ord Kitchener, when asked concerning | the probable duration of the war said: "I don't know when it will end, but 1 do know when it will begin, and that j is in t'he month of .May." Real Crisis Next Summer The opinion is expressed in some quarters, however, that the inaugura ! tion of more general movements will jbe on ;in earlier date than is generally | expected, although persons in close tough with tiic army believe that the ; real crisis will not be reached l ntil summer. Russia is still sending enormous Continue!: on Klfth I'ntc. HEAVY LOSSES PEPORTED IN EAST AFRICAN BATTLE Berlin, Jan. 11. —The official press bureau publishes the following: "The ' Morgen Post' prints details of a recent British attack on Tanga, German East Africa, which apparently ! emanated from the German Colonial of fice. The first landing of S,OOO British land Hindus was repuJsed\ by the Ger mans, who numbered about 200, tho 1 British losing ti,ooo killed or wounded, j The British attacked the next day with | reinforcements, but ayain were defeat -1 ed with a loss of 3,000. They then re embarked and sailed for Mombasa." Tanga is a seaport' town of 8,000 population, of whom 100 are Euro peans. It is a starting [K>int. for cam vans to the interior of German East j Africa. GERMAN FLEET HELD READY FOR DASH TO SEA, REPORT Pa lis, Jan. 1 1. —According to the Copenhagen correspondent of the "Temps," tho entire German high sea fleet is massed at Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven ready to sally forth and meet the British dreadnoughts. Kiel port is absolutely denuded of first class ships, and only a few obso lete vessels remain in the harbor, says the corresjiondent. DOZEN HERMAN AEROPLANES DROP BOMBS ON DUNKIRK Paris, Jan. 11.—A dispatch to the llavas agency from Dunkirk says that i a dozen German aeroplanes bombarded Dunkirk and its vicinity yesterday. Thirty bombs were thrown by the airmen, but owing to the precautions ! that had been taken there were few i victims. The material damage was un- I important. WALL STREET CLOSING New York, Jan. ll.—Speculation showed increasing breadth in the final hour and the inquiry for standard stocks became more general. Maxwell Motors first pfd. and International Har vester gained five points each. The closing was strong. With little inter ruption to-day's stock market moved steadily forward. Gains ranged from 1 to 2 points in the leaders, to con siderably more in the specialties.