THE WEATHER FAIR TO-WIOHT AND TO MORROW n«»«H Report. !>■(• « ABOUT TO SWING AROUND TUB LOOP WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS MEN BEGIN 2-DAY TOUR Chamber of Commerce Trade Excursion to Take in Central Pennsylvania Cities LOOP THE LOOP IN SPECIAL CARS Big Commercial Advantages Expected to Result From Annual Trip to Mart the Representatives of Many Easiness Organizations BY EOEEBT R. FREE Sunbury, Pa., Feb. 17.—Seventy-five Harrisburg businftss men, members of the Chamber of Commerce, having thrown dull care away for two days to spread the message of "Buy in Harris tnirg through Central Pennsylvania, arrived here at noon to-day happy and contented, with two stops and as many royal receptions behind them. Before night the whole Susquehanna alley will know that Harrisburg is on the commercial map. The eities not lneky enough to have the Harrisburg men stop learn of the passage of the business men when the special of two oars passes through. Both ears are 1 elaborately tagged with "Harrisburg."! The men also are tagged. Each is wearing a badge, heart-shaped, bearing the Chamber of Commerce slogan,! "Harrismirg, the Heart of Distribu tion.',' Across the face of each tag is a space for the name and the business of the member and there is none so modest that he is not advertising him self among his friends. Five committees are already formed. Richard M. 11. Wharton neads the i vigilai*oo. He had examined the ba£- Jfape of the various members and no I contraband has been taken. Howard """• - v ***'}* the cheering section and ! sees to it that no town goes bv with out a proper salutation. A. E. Bilchanan personally looks after the train to see I that no one steals it. Musser Leads the "Choir" John S. Musser assumed the leader-! ship of the choir, and song sheets pre-! pared by tht Chamber of Commerce! are a great help to him. The souvenirs appeared soon after the party embarked in the special.' there being books in which to keep "score," with pencils, openers for poo' bottles, eourt plasters for use in case of injury and matches to light cigars. J. Win Bowman is the boss of the ci-' gar concession. A bit of factory discipline was shown to the visitors in Millersburg the first stop on the trade expansion trip The employes of the Johnson- Bauee shoe factory marched in fire drill 1 as the visitors looked on. W. H. Bowman, president of the Millersburg Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the visitors, speaking from the bandstand in Market squared Oth ers on the reception committee were: J Hay Bowman, W. L. Brubaker, A. I Dowden, Ned Thornton, A. J. Polk. L. B. Bowman, 11. M. Pairchilds, Frank 1 L. Payne, Frank Campbell. Howard E.' Fredericks and T. F. Braidenbaugh. representing practically every manu , facturing plant in that busy town. Short Stop at Herndon A short stop was made at Herndon. I but the party could not leave the sta- ' tion. There Gus M. Steinmetz made a i short address. The officers of the Merchants' and, Business Men's Association met the. wayfarers at Sunbury and conducted the party to the City hotel, where luncheon was ready. *F. L. Wright, a Harrisburg insurance man, spoke dur ing the luncheon. Stops will be made this afternoon C«lUm4 m Seteath Pace. 8k Star- Ink^enknl POWELL WITHHOLD? PAY ON BIG ROAD CONTRACTS Auditor General Unwilling to Kecognize Charges Alleged to be in Excess of Contract Prices Unless Compelled to T>o So by Legislature Auditor General Powell is viewing with a good ieal of complacency the I clause to compel him to par bills ''as D<w bill rendered," which was insert ed in the deficiency appropriation i measure to apply to payment for adver tising the Constitutional amendment and lost in that bill, but which has been revived in another measure relat ! to payment of other state bills. is alleged to be a feeler and fore ' runner of some very large bills that | are in excess of the contract prices for : paving, in which certain material ivi< iused. and which the Audit'r General Ha.* so far declined to pay. The story on Capitol Hill to-day was ,to the effect that bids were made for i the construction of certain reads in the state, one of the component parts of which whs Warrenite. The parties who obtained the contracts were un able t-o use Warrenite, it being a pat ented paving material, unless they paid a royalty to the owner of the patent, and in order to meet the demand (or the royalty it is said they submitted bills above the contract price and aro now demanding their pay '-as per bill rendered." Auditor General Powell says he has thus far declined to be a putfv to anv such transaction because he Joes not think it is fair to the State, and he will not pay until compelled to do so. If the bill providing that the Auditor General shall pav bills "as per bill ren dered" goes through, then, it is appre hended, the bijj road bills with their in crease because of the jwyment of royal ties to the owners of Warrenite will be submitted, and the Auditor General may, like conditions being presented, have to pay out the money "as per bills rendered.'' HEACY AND CIB6 ARE HELD Men Accused Here of Robbing Ex- Sheriff of Potter County Are Put Under Bail To-day Albert Heagy and John E. Gibb, Jr., Steelton men. this morning were heard before Alderman C. E. Murray, in this city, on a charge of attacking and rob bing J. F. Higgins, former Sheriff of Potter county, and each was held for court under $1,500 bail. Tom Xellev. proprietor of the Half-Wav house, a Steelton hotel, went Gibb - s security anl Heagy was released on a bond fur nished by his father, who is a mute. Higgins was on hand and positively identified Heagy and Gibb as the men who, he said, struck him and then took ail his valuables—jewelry and cash— totaling more than SSOO. The crime was committed in the White House lane below Highspire, on the evening of January 19, while Hoggins was a vis itor in this city to attend the inaugura tion of Governor Brumbaugh. Higgins said he accompanied the men on a trolley trip to the lane upon their representation that he would be entertained at an Elks club house. He said Gibb made the first attack and ordered him to throw up his hands. Heagy then finished the job while Giblg riffled his pockets, the former Sheriff said. lliggine denied that his unconscious body had been rolled onto the trolley track and left there with the idea he would be run over by a car. However he said he hail been beaten into uncon sciousness and was in a dazed condition when picked up by a trolley crow. SARAH BERNHART TO LOSE LEG Famous Actress Awaits Knife That Will Deprive Her of Limb By Associated Press, Bordeaux, Paris, Feb. 17, 5.40 A. M. —Sarah Bernhardt, who is in a hospital here awaiting the amputation of her lefc, necessitated by an injury to her knee, continues to maintain her strength and spirits. Tn answer to one at hundreds of in quiries, regarding her condition, the telegraphed that her leg would be am putated next Monday and after that she should be quite-happy. IIARRISBURG, PA., WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1915—12 PAGES. NUTE BIVES FRESH CLUE TU MURDER Anonymous Letter Causes Authorities toStart Entirely New Line of Investigation BRINGS ANOTHER GIRL INTO CASE Information Secretly Given to District Attorney May Lead to Identiflca i tion of Bones round in Cellar—Still Hunt for Bessie Guyer y\ An anonymous letter received this morning by District Attorney M. E. Stroup gave the authorities an entirely new lead in their investigation to de termine the identity of the murdered girl whose bones last Friday were found buried in the cellar of the house at 133 South Fourteenth street. The authorities regard the note, which is written on a piece of scrap j paper, as well worthy of their atten j tion and, although the investigators i have not entirely abandoned the theory that the victim may have been Bessie Guyer, the Mechanicsburg nurse girl i who was employed by Dr. Charles E. Avers, a dentist, while he occupied the Fourteenth street home, the new clue , points to tiie probability that it was another girl who was murdered. The detectives' efforts to locate the! Guyer girl have thus far been in vain,: but they propose to continue the search ' for her, but at the same time to fol j low up tihe new clue which points in an entirely different direction The writer of an unsigned note was particularly careful to conceal his or her identity, notwithstanding the fact that some intimltion is made that the writer's name will be given to the proper authorities sooner or later. The District Attorney, for the pres ent, declines to publish the contents: of the note, which, it is understood, > contains the name of a girl other than Bessie Guyer, and additional specific information which the sleuths on the case regard as of sufficient importance at least to warrant full inquiry. There is some evidence that the per son sending the note attempted to dis guise the penmanship. The brief note i is written on a piece of scrap paper not more than three inches square. It hail been folded in a large piece of heavy brown paper and carefully sealed, pre sumably to prevent its contents being j read by any one holding it to the light ! before it reached the District Attor ney. The brown paper was fastened together with a gummed paper seal. County Detective James T. Walters, who has been detailed on the case, to day had detectives in other cities and towns working on a clue which, it is believed, will unearth certain missing details of the case and -he now is await ing developments from those sources. Villages Disappear Under Snowfall Rome, Fe-b. 17.—JMany villages in the Friuli region of the Italian Alps have disappeared from sight under a snow fall of almost unprecedented ex tent for fhat locality. | LUTE WARJOfS SUMMARY The German war office announced to- I day that in the recent defeat of the Russians in the Mazurian lakes region of East Prussia, more than 30,000 pris oners were taken. The invaders, it is said, were '' utterly defeated at most points,'' only remnants of the Russian! army escaping after a battle of nine : days. An earlier official German state ment said that 20,000 Russians had > been captured. The Russian army at the other end | of the eastern front also is in danger, : according to the correspondent of a Berlin newspaper who states that the force which penetrated Buckowina has been enveloped by Austro-Hungarian troops. Another battle is believed to be pending near Czernowit*. Germany's reply to the American note concerning the rights of American vessels in the war zone which the Ber lin government announced will be estab- Contlmirrt on Muth P»*f. MURDEREII STILL AT LARGE i Whereabout* of Accused Italian Slayer Continue to Baffle Police | HarrUtburg police authorities are still seeking for Carlo Conte, the Ital ian who is accused of the nrurder off John Poluux'h wring a tight Monday ! night at 22S Cherry street. A mail who answered to the ! tion of Conte, with the exception of a missing finger, was arrestee yesterday 1 in York. Word was received at the Jo ; cal station of his arrest, but Detective White later learned from Mrs. Laudi ! that Conte was not minus any fingers# l The foreigner told the York police he came from Philadelphia and that he left Harrisburg Friday night. He was later release.!. jSBSSs; Raiser's Submarine Torpedoes Dulwich and Latter Vessel Goes Down Quickly NEARLY ALL OF j CREW ARE SAVED ——_ Twenty-two Members of the Crew of j' Thirty-one Are Picked Up By a 1 French Destroyer and Taken to Havre i I Havre, via Paris, Feb. 17, 1.45 A. ; M.—The British steam collier Dulwich, ( fvound from Hull to Bouen, wan torpe- i > doed by a German submarine twenty j' miles northfast of Cape De La Heve 1 at 6 o'clock last night. The torpedo J struck the middle starboard side. As the j • ! crew took to the boats the submarine ! 1 which torpedoed the ship was seen f ' I speeding, awaiy. The Dulwich sank in;' twenty minutes. Twenty-two members;' of the crew of thirty-one men were ( picked up by the French destroyer 1 Arqucbuse and brought to Havre. Sev- ' en others rowed to Facamp. The fate of ' the other two is unknown. The weather was clear but a heavy < sea was running when the Dulwich was 1 blown up. The torpedo struck under the ' water line and the explosion which fol- , lowed was terrific. While pulling to- \ ward the French coast seeking a ship < which might rescue them, the crew of ' the Dulwich saw the submarine rise to j the surface several times as if watch ing them and then disappear again. A dispatch from London last night 4 stated that Lloyds had received infor- j mation from Focajiip, France, that the ( Dulwich had been blown up. This in- i formation was brought ashore by seven > men of the crew who rowed to land. ' The Dulwich was a vessel of 3,289 tons ' owned by the British Steamship Com- , pany. ] BRITISH ISLE BLOCKADE IS PROCLAIMED Waters Surrounding Coajstof United King dom Under Ban of Germans at Midnight NO PROSPECT OF TRUCE IN SIGHT Apparently Great Britain Has Made Up Her Mind Not to Deviate Prom Pro posed Plan to Shut Off Germany's Foodstuffs London, Feb. 17, 12.47 P. M.—At ' the stroke oi midnight the waters sur rounding the coasts of the United King | dom will become, so far as lies within the power of Gerauinv to make tbern, a war zone which all vessels, neutral or otherwise, will penetrate at their peril. Some of the services across the chan nel probably will be curtailed but a ma jority of the neutral shipping lines will accept the risk and continue their sail ings. The names and nationality of tho vessels and the flags of their nations will be painted on their sites in the hope that German submarines will not sink them by mistake. Will Not Accept Germany's Proposal England's announcement of the de tails of her proposed retaliatory policy, by which she plans to shut off the Ger man food supply from the outside, is expected momentarily and apparently there is not the slightest prospect that this country will accept the German proposal to call off the blockade if Eng- j land will retain naval pressure on ship- : ping. . I It is not expected that there will be any immediate and widespread activity by" the German submarines but the de-j velopments regarding neutral ship*' should bring to a head one of the m ct | interesting and threatening situations of the war. England was noticeably cheered by the second big air raid upon the German bases ou the Belgian coast but, as was I the case at the time of the previous raid, the official report does not indicate the extent of the damage. Rejoicing Over Hindenburg Berlin is again celebrating the suc cess of Field Marshal Von Hindenburg, as further details of tlve East Prussian operations are received. It is officially claimed in Berlin that 50,000 Russian prisoners were taken while all dis patches agree that the Russians are still being pressed further eastward, fighting a rear guard action in an en deavor to prevent the Germans from surrounding their wings. In the Car pathians the fighting is yet to reach a decision. The western end and the center of the Russian line is holding out notwithstanding repeated amd violent attacks, but in Bukowina the Austri ans have pressed on to within 12 miles of Czernowitz. It is believed that a recurrence of the general German offensive in the western theatre depends largely upon the outcome of the present eastern sit uation. Opinion here is divided wheth er the Germans are planning a great in vasion of Russians or whether their chief desire is simply to free Austrian territory of hostile forces and make se cure their lines in central and northern Poland. 910.900 Paid on City Contract The Stucker Brothers Construction Company to-day was paid sl6,9<H> as an installment on the contract price for building the intercepting sewer protec tive wall along the river. This pay ment is made in accordance with the agreement entered into yesterday be tween the city and the contractors un der which the contractors waive the right to aippeal from the decisions of the engineers on the question of paying for extras on the wail job. BRUBAKER IS ELECTED HEAD OF THRESHERMN Eohrerstown Man Honored To-day by the Convention in Chestnut Street Hall—J. A. Hose, of Harrisburg, Is Ohosen as Secretary-Treasurer Officers for the ensuing year, elected unanimously this morning by the Penn sylvania Threshermen's and Farmers' Protective Association in convention at the Chestnut street hall, are as follows: President, A. 11. Brubaker, Rohrers town; vice president, \Y. B. Crawford, Saltsburg; secretary-treasurer, J. A. Rose, this city, and executive com mittee, Frank George, Indiana; George F. Sellers, Gap; P. M. Spangler, Cum berland; George A. Dechant, this city; W. F. Hoover, this city, and Ira M. Hart, Mechanicsburg. Mr. Hart is the retiring president. The roll call at the opening of the morning meeting showed delegates pres ent from practically all counties in the State, one to six from each. Almost four hundred farmers and threshermen were present. The treasurer reported the finances of tho organization in good condition. A rising vote of thanks was given to tho retiring officers. Following the installation of the new Officers the closing meeting this after noon, insurance questions wore taken up, including a discussion of tho sub ject-, "Shall We Have a 'Mutual Insur ance Company to Insure Threshing Ma- By the time last night's session of the convention was called to order there were 300 threshermen in the . hall, half of whom were delegates from I various locals of the association 1 throughout tihe State. Mayor Royal i made an address of welcome, to which i George A. Dechant, of the Case Manu- I factoring Company, responded. "Farmer" William T. Creasy, for ! mer master of the State Grange* advo- Continued on Mnth I'nice. ALLEGED SCHEMERSON RON Wheat Dealers Disappear When Probe Into High Cost of Wheat and Bread Is Resumed By Associated Press. Xew York, Feb. 17. —Upon the re | sumption to-day of the State Investiga tion into the increase in the cost of wheat and bread it was announced that j two of the Chicago wheat dealers who luait expressed a willingness to appear |at the hearing had disappeared from Chicago, and that the direction in which | they were traveling was not eastward. An attache o<f the Attorney General's | offico said that .Tames A. Paten was not t one of the men. Among the Chicago grain dealers expected to appear at tho hearin gare J. Ogden Armour, Georgo Marcy, president of the Armour Grain Company, and C. H. Canlby, president of the Chicago Board of Traidie. The first witness to-day was Henry Heinzer, chief statistician of tho New York Produce Exchange. W'heu tho hearing began several of the witnesses called- for to-day were aibsent and process servers were sent after them. Big Fall in Price of Wheat Chicago, Feb. 17.—Increasing appre hension as to vessel risks in the war zone largely brought about a serious fall to-day in the value of wheat. As much as five cents a bushel was cut from the price of the July delivery, in which tradiiig chiefly centered. That month dropped to 131% as against 136% and 136% last night. ONE YEAR FOR HARDSCRABBLE Front Street Settlement Will Be Per mitted to Stand at Least 1£ Months Formal court action, incident to th® opening of North Front street, between Herr and Carter streets, and the abol ition otf the " Hardscraibble" district, will be taken on next Monday morning when City Solicitor D. S. Seitz will ask the Judges to appoint a board of three viewers to assess damages and benefits incident to the razing of the buildings. With the court rests the power of appointing these viewers who must be selected from the standing board of nine Dauphin county viewers. The viewers, it is predicted, will not be able to complete their work for five or six months, and the tenants in the " Hards'rabtile" homes will not be re quired to vacate for at least a year. Beading Declares Usual Dividend By Associated Press. Philadelphia,. Feb. 17.—The directors of the Reading Company to-day declar ed the regular quarterly dividend of 1 per cent, on the second preferred stock. POSTSCRIPT PRICE, ONE CENT A RUSSIAN ARMY CUT TD PIECES Berlin Reports Com plete Rout of Enemy After 9-Day Battle in East Prussia 50.000 TAKEN AS PRISONERS Emperor William Present Curing the Decisive Fighting—Much of the Credit for Victory in Lake District Is Given to Young Troops Berlin, by Wireless to London, Feb. 17, 9.10 A. M.—Fifty thousand pris- I Oners, besides many cannon and ma chine guns, were captured by the tier mans when the Russian Tenth army was defeated in the Mazurian lake dis trict, East Prussia, according to a state ment issued at general headquarters here to-day. The text of the communi cation follows: "In a nine days' battle in the Mazurian lake district, the Russian Tenth army, consisting of at least eleven infantry and several cavalry di visions, not only was driven out of strongly entrenched positions east of the Mazurian lake plateau but was forced back across the frontier. Only Remnants of Army Escape "Utterly defeated at almost every point only the remnants of the army managed to reacth the woods east of Suwalki and Augustowe, where they are being pursued. The number of pris oners taken has not been ascertained but certainly exceeded 50,000. More than fifty cannon and sixty machine guns besides an unknown quantity of war material were captured. "Emperor William was present dur ing the decisive fighting in the centir of our line. The victory was won by veteran East Prussian troops, assisted by other troops who were young for such work but proved their worth. "The achievements of these troops under fearful weakness, inarching by day and night and fighting against such a stubborn enemy are beyond all praise." Russian Army In Tight Quarters Berlin, via London, Fob. 17, 10.30 A. M —The Russian army in Bukowina has been enveloped by the Austrian- Hungarians between tho Pruth and Sereth rivers, a correspondent of the "Tageblatt" says in a dispatch from Bistritz. One Austrian army pushing the Rus sians from the south now has reached Storozhinetz, while another Austrian force having advanced eastward from Marames against Wisnicz, now stand in bhe vicinity of Czernowitz. A general l>attle may be expected, therefore, south and east of Czerno witz. The Russian army has halted twelve miles from that point, the "Tageblatt" is informed, having met reinforcements. WALL STREET CLOSING New York, Feb. 17.—Final opera tions again reflected pressure upon lead ing stocks, some of which went to low est quotations of the day. The closing was heavy. Heaviness prevailed for the greater part of to-day's stock market session. Foreign conditions were against an adverse factor.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers