THE FULTON COUNTY NEWS, McCONNELLSBURG, PA.
THRILLING STORY
DFHAIG RETREAT
Illinois Officer Relates Experience
of Hun Attack on the
British.
TEN DIVISIONS AGAINST ONE
DetplU Overwhelming Number of En
emy, Hit Lotset Were Great
Miraculous Escape From Bap
tism of Shell Fire.
First Lloutennnt Roswell T. Pettlt,
M. O.-Il. C. of Ottawa, III., In a letter
to his fnthcr, Pr. J. W. Pettlt of the
Ottawa tuberculosis colony, and pub
lished In the Chicago Tribune, relates
the thrilling story of the great buttle
In Tlcnrdy. The American officer was
In the thickest of the fighting for nine
days, during the retreat f the British
Fifth army from before St. Quentln.
Lieutenant Pettlt's account of the bat
tle thrills with the stress of the con
flict, as It wns written Immediately
after he had passed through the tre
mendous experiences and before his
Impressions had been In any way dulled
by time. His letter follows:
Lieutenant Pettife Letter.
March 30.
Dear Father: Now that the show Is
over for me for the time being, and I
have time to breathe and sleep and eat
and write, Til try and tell you about
the battle. Before you receive this
you will have had the whole story from
the papers, but I know you will be
Interested In knowing what I did In the
affair.
Of course, the tilings I saw were but
an Infinitesimal part of a gigantic
whole and It would be Impossible for
me to give a correct description of the
battle. And as I write this, I do It
with no knowledge whatever of what
has been going on even a few miles
from me.
I have not seen a paper In eight days ',
I have received no mail, and the only
Information we hnve received has been
by word of mouth! and most of what
we hear must be wild rumors. For ex
ample: The French hnve advanced
20 miles at Verdun, the Ameri
cans have tnken Ostend, and lire on
their way to Zeehrugge, and a great
naval battle has been fought In the
North sea.
All I know Is thnt on this pnrt of the
front the Germans attacked us In over
whelming numbers, In places ten divi
sions to our one; thnt they suffered
terrible losses, but finally broke
through our lines of defense, one after
another, and fighting for the most pnrt.
rear guard action, we have retired
about 15 miles In a straight line.
For a week before the bnttle started
we had been expecting It: we were
ready to move on 30 minutes' no
tice. I had been out with combatant
as well as medlcnl officers on tours of
reconnaissance, definite methods of
evacuation of the wounded had been
worked out, nnd our plnns of counter
attack been mnde. After four or five
days of waiting, the storm finally
broke.
The Boche opened np on us at 5 a. m.,
March 21, with the heaviest barrage I
have ever henrd. "Stand to," wns
ounded, we turned out dressed, and
had nil our equlnnent 'pneked In 30
minutes. Then we sat down and
waited for orders to move. The bar
rage kept up continuously, sometimes
heavier and then of less Intensity,
sometimes It seemed to be to the north
of us and then suddenly it switched to
the south.
Our balloons were up as soon as It
was light and the airplanes were bul
ling over our heads. The ground mist
gradually cleared nnd the Germans
put a hull of shrapnel on our camp
and we all took cover, but three men
were hit. Why It Is a fellow always
feels safer with a roof over his head,
even If he knows bullets and shrapnel
and pieces of shell will go through
boards nnd corrugated Iron Just like
paper.
Ordered to Move.
fc Our orders to move finally came and
we marched off to the brigade assem
bly point several miles away. This as
sembly point was In a little bunch of
trees about the size of Allen pnrk nnd
behind nnd separated from a larger
wood In front. In the Inrger wood
there wns a battery of heavy artillery
and shells were dropping In there two
or three to a minute, and It wns henvy
stuff, too.
Sometimes they overshot the big
wood and shells were landing In the
pen around the little wood where my
brigade had Its assembly point. As
we approached our little copse we
could make all this out from some dis
tance awny nnd It wasn't a pleasant
sensation to feel that we were march
lag strulght Into It.
All the battalions arrived nnd In that
little copse there must have been ut
least two thousand men. What n
chance If the Germans only knew I Hut
the sheils continued to drop In front of
us and on either side, but none landed
among us, nnd after wnltlng there for
"three hours, expecting to lie blown to
bits nny second, we finally moved for
ward. Just as we left the copse, from
behind us. up over n ridge, came a
at ream of galloping horses.
"It's the cavalry," someone shouted,
but soon I made out limbers and field
guns.
They galloped past us, going like
nind. took up a position to our right,
swung Into position, unliiubered, and
Tree Within a Tree.
One of the giant redwoods In Men
docino county, California, has shown
that In spite of Its combined foes the
wind ind the forest fire, It has made
up Its mind to keep right on living In
the same spot where It has stood for
dozens of years. I luring a terrible
ntorm on the mountain the to;t of this
big tree was broken o!T. and later the
trunk was nearly destroyed by a for
est fire; yet enough vitality remained
for a young tree to rise from the roots
pf the older one uuU to grow up wltlilu
in two ndnutes were blazing away. It
was a thrilling sfght.
Torn by Shells.
In going forward we went around
the end of the larger wood In front of
us, over ground thnt was torn to bits
by the heavy shell fire that had Just
preceded, over another edge, across a
valley, and under tho crest of a hill.
And here we found the tanks going
over the top of the hill to take up
their position. At this point we were
still about a mile from the front line.
At this place I opened up an aid post
under the crest of the hill to take cure
of what wounded camo In while we
were getting Into position.
Shrapnel was bursting In the air,
shells were whizzing overhead, and our
guns behind me were belching forth
the fire. The noise wns deafening.
A railroad run through the valley
and an engine pulling a couple of flat
cars wns going by. A couple of sol
diers were sitting on the rear truck
swinging their feet. A shell burst on
the track and only missed the last car
about fifteen yards. Neither man was
hit and the train went blithely on.
By this time It was getting along
townrd evening, the sun was sinking
In the west, and finally went down a
great ball of fire. At the time, I re
member, I noticed Its color. It was
blood red and had a sinister look. Wns
It my Imagination, or might It have
been a premonition? At any rate, I
shnll never forget the color of the sun
as It set that night at the end of the
first day of probably one of the great
est battles In history. It certainly
didn't look good to me.
The drumming of the guns contin
ued, twilight gradually deepened Into
night, the signalers stopped (heir wig
wagging and took up their flash sig
nals, a fog dropped down on us and
put the lights out of business, and
when we left to go forwurd under the
cover of darkness they were busy put
ting out their telephone lines signal
ers and runners don't have an ensy
time.
Shell Dump Goes Up.
Behind us a shell landed In an am
munition dump and It went up with a
roar; then the rifle ammunition stnrted
going off like n great bunch of fire
crackers, and great tongues of flume
lit up the sky.
It Is reported that the Germans had
broken through our line and we were
to counter-attack In the morning. We
got Into positions without a Blngle
casualty. I opened an aid post In an
old dugout and settled down to sleep
until morning. You may think It fun
ny that one could sleep under such
conditions, but I had been up since
5:30, hnd tramped about six or seven
miles, hud had a rather trying day
and was dog tired.
Just like some of the warm dnys we
get the last of March at home. In
going forward It wns necessary
for us to march seventy-five yards In
front of three bntterles of field guns.
There are six guns to a battery. They
shoot an eighteen-pound shell and
while we were there each gun was
shooting twice to the minute. Tou
can imagine me rncuei vm-n i u-u
you that the dlschnrge of one gun can
be henrd about four miles. In addi
tion the Roche wus trying to knock
out this battery and he was dropping
his six Inch shells a little too close for
comfort.
Nearly In a Trap.
Then I made a lovely mistake. 1
was to establish an nld post near bat
talion hendqunrters nnd went blithely
on when I met a company commander
and asked hlra where to go.
"Back there about a quarter of a
mile," he replied. "This is the front
center company. If you keep on In
the direction you are going you are
going up over thnt ridge and Kritr. will
be waiting for you with a machine
gun."
So my sergeant and orderly and
myself didn't wnste any time In clenr
ing. On the way back I found a gallon
can full of water, got Into n corrugated
Iron shelter and had a wash and a
shave. It certainly felt good. I don't
believe I had washed for thirty-six
hours. It wns warm and bright. I
could look out of my shelter and see
our support lines digging themselves
In several hundred yards away. The
cannon fire ceased, the machine guns
settled down to an occasional fitful
burst and It was midday of a beautiful
spring day.
A couple of partridge flew over me.
What did they know or care about all
this noise and racket and men getting
up In line and killing each other?
Along about three o'clock things be
gan to liven up ngnln. In the mean
time headquarters had been establish
ed In a sunken road with banks about
fifteen feet high on either side (later
this cut was half filled with dead).
My nld post was In a dugout near by
and gradually things got hotter and
hotter.
Our men hnd dug themselves In
nnd were popping away with their
rllles. The field bntterles behind us
were putting up a bnrrnge, airplanes
were circling overhead, both ours and
the Germans'. The Germnns put up a
counter-barrage, the machine guns
were going like mad. I was standing
with the colonel on a little rise of
ground above the sunken road when
the Germans broke through about a
mile to the north of us. They could
be plainly seen pouring over the ridge
In close formation.
Tanks Get Into Action.
Then the tanks came up, nnd you
should have seen them run! Just like
rabbits! The tanks retired; the
Bodies reformed nnd enme at It
again. They tell me thnt at certain
places our men withstood fifteen suc
cessive attacks and that the Germnns
went down In thousands. One Welsh
man told me that his gun accounted
for 75 In three minutes during one
wave.
Mndilne-gun bullets were nipping
around me, the shell Ore wns getting
the wide trunk, which serves ns a
protection ngnlnst the wind. The orlg
Innl tree was n magnificent specimen
more than eleven feet In diameter,
towering high In the air, nnd Its youth
ful successor should be of goodly sire
when the old stump Is ready to fall
away. George F. Taut In St. Nicholas.
,
Deserved a Happier Fate.
The remarkable career of Sir Sam
uel Romllly. the British statesman,
came to a tragic end ninety-nine years
ago. lie was the first influential man
hotter, and even though It was a won
derful sight to watch I decided "dis
cretion wns the better pnrt of valor,"
or something like that, and got down
In my dugout.
I went back to the advanced dress
ing station through the hottest shell
(Ire I ever experienced. More than
once I went down on my face when a
shell burst and the pieces went whiz
zing over my head. I spent the night
In a mined vlllnge where the ndvnnced
dressing stntlon was located, nnd all
night they shelled It to blazes. It was
remarkable how few casualties we
had.
Abont eleven o'clock the morning of
the third day a shell blew in the side
of our post, but luckily no one was
hurt. We stuck to It until about four
In the afternoon, when we snw our
men retiring over a ridge In front of
us, keeping up a continuous machine
gun and rifle fire, and we bent it bnck
to another vllluge and opened anoth
er post.
The Begrimed Lord. .
About ten o'clock on the morning of
tho fourth day Lord Thyme, my col
onel when I wns with the battalion,
stumbled Into the shack where I was
sitting. He looked like a ghost. He
hnd lost his hat, his face was covered
with a four days' beard, the sweat
hnd traced trncks In the dust from his
forehead to his chin. His sleeve was
torn and bloody nnd he had a gash In
his arm where he had been struck by
a piece of flying shell case,
"My God, doc, are you here?" he
said. "You got out Just In time. The
battalion Is all gone. The sunken road
Is filled with dead mostly Huns,
damn 'em. The line broke on the
right; we were mrrounded, and at
tho last we were fighting back and
back. Only thirty of us got away."
So we knew the Boche hnd broken
through to our right and our left, nnd
It was a question of how long It would
be before we, too, were surrounded,
but we wanted to stick It out as long
ns we could.
But not more than an hour later a
medical officer rushed In from one of
the battalions nnd between gasps for
breath told us the Germans were on
the edge of the vlllnge, hnd shot him
through the sleeve with a machine
gun bullet (luckily thnt was all), and
for us to beat It.
Let me tell you we did. I threw
my knapsack and mnde the first hun
dred yards In nothing flnt nnd then
settled down to a walk because I was
so out of breath I couldn't run auy
more.
The incessant scream and crash and
bang of the shells kept up and the
rat-tat-tat of the machine guns never
censed. The vlllnge Immediately be
hind us was a seething mass of brick
dust, smoke, flame, and bursting
shells. We were told on our way
back that a stand was to be made
behind this village, so we circled
around It and took up a position
about a half mile behind It at a cross
roads. Unfortunately for us, a six Inch bat
tery came Into action about fifty ynrds
from us nnd, aside from the harassing
effect of 'the terrific noise, batteries
are always unpleasant neighbors, as
they Invite shell fire. We sfpped
here until about 10 o'clock at night,
when we were ordered to retire.
There wns no wny of getting out
the wounded that we had collected, so
the stretcher bearers carried them on
their stretchers for six or seven miles.
In fact, we all helped, and when we
arrived at our destination at 4 o'clock
In the morning of the fifth day we
were all In.
I could hardly move, but after two
big bowls of hot tea and some hurd
tack I turned In on the floor nnd slept
like a log for four hours, when we
moved to another pluce and opened a
dressing station.
Hun Plane Crashes.
On the way a German airplane came
down and crashed near the rond, but
neither the pilot nor observer were
hurt. They were a couple of rather
neat looking lads about 19 years old.
And so It went for three duys more,
open a dressing station, retire (some
times on the run), long marches, very
little to eat except what we foraged
from abandoned camps and dumps,
dog tired, sleeping when and where we
could, and finally the division was re
lieved. We now saw our first civilians,
and last night I slept In a bed. It
wasn't much of a bed, and the mattress
was full of humps, but to get my
boots off my sore and aching feet, to
stretch out, and know I wouldn't be
routed out In fifteen minutes well,
you couldn't have bought that bed
from me for $100.
Did you ever read Robert W. Serv
ice's description of the retreat from
Mons? Well, that's the way I felt:
Tramp, tramp, the Rrlm road the road
from Mom to Wipers;
I've 'ammered out this ditty with me
bruised and bleeding- feet;
Tramp, tramp, the dim road
We didn't 'ave no pipers
All hi'lllrs that were 'oiler was the
drums we 'ad to beat.
The ninth day, sitting around the
fire In our mess after the best dinner
we hnd hnd In days, the commanding
officer handed me some papers and
said, "Here Is something thnt will In
terest you, 1'ettit. I wnnt to say we
shnll be sorry to lose you."
And this Is what It wns: "Lieut.
Ro: ell T. I'ettlt, M. It. C, is relieved
from duty with the British army and
will -proceed to the A. K. F w here he
will report for duty."
I leave for I'nris In the morning.
This hns been a long tale, but the half
of it hasn't been told. I hope I haveu't
strung It out too much.
I hnve Just been Informed thnt all
my kit had to be burned to prevent It
falling Into the hands of the enemy.
I shnll probably wnnt you to send nie
some tilings from home, but will see
what I can get here first. Your son,
It OS WELL.
In Englnnd to nttempt to bring about
the abolition of capital puiilslmient.
When he entered public life the Eng
lish statutes punished with death
nearly 3(H) crimes, ranging from mur
der nnd treason down to keeping com
pany with gypsies.- Itomllly, who was
of French descent, secured the repeal
of these codes. Romllly wns devoted
to his wife, and when she died, Octo
ber 20, ISIS, the phllnnthroplst fell
Into a delirium of grief. Four dnys
luter his crt hnd so preyed on his
oilud that he killed himself.
3,0111
II
PUUU
T
Baker Asks That Powers to
Raise Army Be Unlimited!
PROBLEM OF DRAFT BASIS
Administration Bill Giving Authority
To President, To Call All
Men Needed, To Meet
Opposition,
Washington. Blanket authority for
(he President to increase the army to
whatever size may be nooessary to
(f'n the war was proposed to the House
Military Committee In executive ses
sion by Secretary Baker, Major-General
March, acting Chief of Staff, and
Provost Marshal General Crowder. An
Administration measure amending the
selective draft act, to provide for the
grant of power, will be prepared Imme
diately and prompt action on it will be
asked.
Secretary Baker told the committee
It would be unwise to set any limit on
the number of men who could be called
to the colors, and that the granting
of complete discretionary authority to
the President to Increase the size of
the army as rapidly as transportation
and equipmt.it facilities may warrant
would have a great psychological ef
fect on the enemy by showing how
thoroughly the nation !b throwing all
Its resources Into the conflict.
The Army Appropriation bill this
year, Mr. Baker said, should provide
for approximately 3,000,000 men, In
cluding the nearly 2,000,000 now under
arms, but this should not be accepted
as any fixed limit to the number of
men to be called within the year. Sup
plemental appropriations, he said, will
be submitted as the army Is Increased.
Action on the Army, Appropriation
bill had been deferred by the commit
tee pending the return of the War
Secretary from Europe, when It could
secure from him Information as to the
army's needs, based upon the knowl
edge he gained during his Inspection
of the American Expeditionary Forces
and his conferences with British,
French and Italian officials.
Secretary Baker also outlined to the
committee the reasons why he op
poses House amendments to the Sen
ate 'resolution to change the basis of
draft quota from state population to
the, number of men in Class 1, under
which states would be given credit for
men who have volunteered for service
In the army and navy. He said such
credits would be fair if the basis was
to be state populations, but that they
would not be fair with the basis the
number of men in Class 1, because
then some states would have to fur
nish no draft men, while others would
have to furnish a very high per
centage. BOND SLACKER FIRED.
Munition Workers First Threatened
Lynching.
Wheeling, W. Va. John Knight, a
moulder at the plant of the Wheeling
Mould and Foundry Company, where
shrapnel shell are being manufac
tured lor the United States Govern
ment, narrowly missed lynching be
cause of his refusal to buy a Liberty
Bond. Cooler heads prevailed, how
ever, and the workmen notified the
management they would strike unless
Knight was discharged. The manage
ment of the plant commended the
patriotic spirit of its employes and
discharged Knight. A rope had been
secured and preparations had been
made for the lynching.
KILLED WHEN PLANE FALLS.
Cadet Healy Loses Life And Com
panion Sustains Broken Ankle.
San Diego, Cal. Flying Cadet
Nicholas Healy was Instantly killed
and Cadet O'Hanley sustained a
broken ankle as a result of an airplane
accident at La Jolla, near here. Ac
cording to reports from La Jolla the
airplane fell in a spinning nose dive
from an altitude of about 500 feet
after the cadets had made a forced
landing for some unknown reason and
started up again. OUanley's home is
In Garden City, L. I.
UNCLE SAM TAKES BAKERIES.
Steps In When Bakers Go On Strike
In Buffalo.
Buffalo, N. Y. Uncle Sam went Into
the baking business here to meet a
situation caused by a strike or 200
bakers in twenty shops. Although
wage demands had been granted by
the master bakers, the strike was
called on the Issue of hours, the men
demanding a reduction of sixty min
utes a week and refusing to arbitrate
the question.
HELMET FACTORY DESTROYED.
Long Island V"r Material Plant Is
Burned.
New York. The plant of the Meurer
Steel Barrel Company, covering an
entire block at Hunters Tolnt, L. I.,
and engaged in the manufacture of
war material, mostly' steel helmets,
for the Government, was destroyed by
fire.
U BOAT PERIL LESSENS.
Reduction Of Government Insurance
Considered.
Washington. The Treasury Is con
sidering reducing from 3 to 2 per cent,
the Coirernment marine Insurance rie
on steamers and cargoes passing
through the war zone. TUs would be
proportionately the greatest decrease
made since organization of the Gov
ernment marine Insurance system and
represents the lessening danger from
submarine
YEAR
A Scouting Expedition
E
CALLED 10 COLORS
Men to Start Moving to Camps
May 25.
BEYOND 860,000 THIS YEAR
Existing Cantonments To Be Enlarged
And More To Be Built More
Divisions To Be Formed As
New Selects Flow In,
Washington. Slmultaneoulsy with
the announcement that 233,000 men,
from 15 States, had been called to Join
the colors in May, Secretary Baker
Indicated the scope of the govern
ment's plans for Increasing Its fight
ing strength, by stating that Congress
had been asked to appropriate ap
proximately 115,000,000,000 for the
Army for the next fiscal year.
That amount is exclusive of funds
provided In the fortifications bill,
which not only covers coast defenses,
but, as a rule, provides the bulk of
heavy field ordnance.
Last year the army estimates ag
gregated six billion and six hundred
millions to pay for a force of 1,500,
000 men, which has already been ex
ceeded. The call for a quarter of a million
men during May goes to all States
except California, Oregon and Ne
vada, which with the District of Co
lumbia, already have supplied so large
a part of their quotas thnt it was de
cided not to include them this time.
The movement 1n most States will
be(:in May 23 and will be completed
in five duys.
This brings the total number of
men called for the month of May, In
cluding special classes, approximate
ly 305,000,
The apportionment among the
States include:
Maryland 2.389, to Camp Meade.
Delaware 460, to Camp DIx, N. J.
Pennsylvania, 7,700 Camp Meade,
Md.; 4.000 Camp Lee, Va.; 3,000
Camp Humphreys, Va.; 2,923 Camp
Greenleaf. S. C.
South Carolina, 1,900 Camp Jack
son, S. C; 288 Camp Wadsworth,
S. C.
Tennessee. 4.130 Camp Pike, Ark.
Virginia, 6,135 Camp Lee, Va.
West Virginia, 4.797 Camp Lee, Va.
By this order the War Department
abandons its plan of assembling men
In even monthly increments of approx
imately 100,000. Under the original
program it was Intended to call out
not to exceed 860,000 additional men
during 191S. The call for 150,000 In
April and 233.000 this month will
bring out in two months half the num
ber originally contemplated for the
year. Officials made it clear that
It is now the purpose to mobilize
all the men for whom equipment and
training facilities can be provided.
"Let us avoid specific figures," Sec
retary Baker again said. "They im
ply limits. There Is no limit. We
will call out enough men to make
lctory certnin. We will call them
as rapidly as they can be trained and
sent forward."
NO WAR ON TURKEY.
Secretary Lansing Tells Why It Is Not
Necessary.
Washington. Reasons why the
State Department does not consider
war declarations against Turkey and
Bulgaria necessary at this time were
given the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee in executive session by
Secretary Lansing. He is understood
to have stated that the soldiers of
neither of these Allies of Germany
have come Into action against Ameri
cans, and that American life is being
protected in both countries.
MORE PEACE TALK.
Charles Of Austria Reported To Be
Making Overtures To Italy.
Stockholm. The Catholic Interna
tional Press Agency announces, a dis
patch from Basel says, that Emperor
Charles of Austria is making a fresh
peace offer, appealing to Italy to con
sider It In her own interests.
KILLED FIGHTING IN FRANCE.
Former Cumberland Boy Falls On
Field Of Plcardy.
Cumberland, Md. James J. Larkin,
agod 21 years, formerly or this city,
was fatally wounded during one of the
battles on the plains of Plcardy, ac
cording to Information received from
the War Department. Shortly before
enlisting in the' service Larkin was
employed In the cashier's department
of the .WeHs-Fargo Company, at
Braddock, Pa.
233.000
Oil
A t the Home Barracks J
in
GREAT BATTLE
Heavy Attack Launched Against
U. S. Troops.
HURL THE ENEMY BACK
Huns Leave Many Dead Losses On
American Side Also Reported
To Be Rather
Large.
France. A heavy German attack
launched against the Americans In
the vicinity of Vlllers-Brotonneux was
repulsed with heavy losses for the
enemy. The German preliminary
bombardment lasted two hours, and
then the infantry rushed forward, only
to be driven back, leaving large num
bers of dead on the ground in front
of the American lines.
The German bombardment opened
at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and was
directed especially against the Amer
icans, who were supported on the
north and south by the French. The
fire was intense, and at the end of
two hours the German commander
sent forward three battalions of in
fantry. There was hand-to-hand fight
ing all along the line, as a result of
which the enemy was thrust back,
his dead and wounded lying on the
ground in all directions. Five prison
ers remained In American hands.
The struggle, which lasted a con
siderable time, was extremely violent
and the Americans displayed marked
bravery throughout It was the first
occasion in which the Americans were
engaged In the big battle, which has
been raging since March 21, and their
French comrades are full of praise for
the manner in which they conducted
themselves under trying circum
stances, especially In view of the faot
that they are fighting at one of the
most difficult points on the battle
front.
ROUMANIANS TO FIGHT AUSTRIA.
Captured By Italians, They Ask To
Change Flag.
Paris. Eighteen thousand soldiers
of Roumanian origin, captured by the
Italians while fighting under the Aus
trian flag, have asked permission to
go to the front against Austria. The
request has been granted, and organ
ization of these troops Is under way.
With the entrance of this force Into
the field, three armies, composed of
former subjects of the Central Em
pires,, will be fighting on the side of
the Allies.
THE COUNTRY AT LARGE
Flat refusal by J. J. Stanley, presi
dent of the Cleveland Railway Com
pany, to accept government mediation
of the controversy between car em
ployes and the company further com
plicated the street car situation.
A federal mediator arrived In
Schenectady to ottempt to settle dif
ferences over wage demands, which
caused a walkout of more than 500
cranemen, employed by the General
Electric Company.
Patrolman James Cucla, of New
castle, Pa., and Capt. A. L. Jenkins, of
the Youngstown police, were wounded,
the former probably fatally, while tvo
of their assailants, members of a
bandit gang, were killed during gun
battles in both cities.
The effect of war upon art and music
was the principal subject discussed at
the session of the 14th biennial con
vention of the General Federation of
Women's Clubs.
Henry L. Haines, cashier of the
Farmers' National Bank, of Mulllca
Hill, N. J., was arrested charged with
embezzling $19,000 from the bank.
Resolutions urging Federal legisla
tion designed to support the Intelli
gence service and providing for swift
Justice and adequate punishment for
spies and dangerous enemy aliens were
adopted by the Chamber of Commerce
of the State of New York.
The extent to wiiich nervous and
mental diseases have to be combatted
In the medical department of the army
under war conditions was outlined in
a further installment of the review of
the work of the Rockefeller Founda
tion. Mayor Oscar A. Brindley and Colonel
Danun, two expert aviators, were killed
In an airplane accident at the Lorraine
City Aviation Field, Ohio.
Chairman Taussig, of the Tariff Com
mission, In an address to the Cotton
Manufacturers' Association, opposed
trade discrimination after the war.
AMERICANS
STEAMER RAIEO
66 LIVES ARE LOSI
City of Athens Sunk off Dela
ware Coast.
33 .PASSENGERS MISSING
Attempt Made To Lower Lifeboab
Abandoned Because Of Rapidity
With Which Vessel Was
Sinking.
An Atlantic Port Sixty-six person,
lost their lives When the steamshij
City of Athena, bound from New yorj
for Savannah, was rammed and su
by a French cruiser off tho pelanari
Coast. The miedng include 10 mn
and two women who were passensera
seven out of 21 United States marir.t!
who were on board, 14 out of
French sailors and 33 members o!
the crew.
All the passengers and many of
the crew were In their berths wh
the bow of the warship plunged Into
the side of the 2,300-ton ooasUii,
vessel. Fire broke out almost ininif
dfately afterwards In hold No. 1, bm
It had no bearing on the fate of the
ship, for the flames were quickly
quenched by the rush of water which
poured in.
Capt J. Forward, one of the veteran
commanders In the service of ttt
Ocean Steamship Company, owners of
the vessel, did his beat to avert a
panic and man the life boats. So
quickly did the doomed vessel sink,
however, that there was no time to
get the boats away, and many of
those who perished were trapped j
their bertha.
Those of the passengers and crew
who were able to reach the deck, all
of them thinly clad and many without
life preservers, plunged Into the tn
The cruiser launched lifeboats Im
mediately after the crash and turned
its searchlights upon the waters It
which men and women- were strug
gling for their lives. Sixty-eight per
sons were picked up and brought bad
to this port by the warship, which wai
not seriously damaged. '
THREE BILLS TO RAISE ARMY.
Smith, Of Georgia, Would Have It
Number 5,000,000.
Washington. Three bills to In
crease America's manpower in the war
were introduced in the Senate. Sen
ator Poindexter, of Washington, of
fered one authorizing the President to
call 1,500,000 men under the Selective
Draft law; Senator Reed, of Missouri,
offered one to add 3,000,000 men to
the army, and Senator Smith, o!
Georgia, Introduced a resolution pro
posing to raise the army to 6,000,OM
win.
Immediate action to increase the
army, Senator Poindexter said, In I
brief address, Is necessary.
VILLA SLAYS ALL IN TOWN.
Orders Band To Massacre When Girls
Are Refused Him.
El Paso, Texas. Thirty old men,
women and children were killed by
Villa's men at Santa Cruz de Rosalei,
40 miles southeast of Chihuahua City,
lost Friday, according to a report
brought to the border by railroad men.
Villa demanded that three young girl
be delivered to him. When this wii
refused his men were ordered to Ml
everyone living in the little settle
ment, according to the report from
Chihuahua City.
BRITISH AIRMEN BOMB TROOPS.
Huns East Of Locre Offer Good Tar
gets To Pilots.
London. An official report on
aerial operations Just Issued say:
"East of Locre the enemy's troops on
Monday offered good targets to our
pilots, who dropped 275 bombs on
them and engaged them with machine
gun fire. "Seven hostile machine
were brought down In air flgnting awl
one was shot down by our Infantry.
Two of our machines are missing.
NO ADS FOR GERMAN PAPERS.
Mayor Smith Of Philadelphia Puts UP
City Bars.
Philadelphia. Heads of all depig
ments of the city government were di
rected by Mayor Smith to cease fur
nishing public advertisements to Ger
man language newspapers in Phil
delphia. The Mayor took this action
in accordance with a resolution pa." (i
by City Councils after the City So
licitor had declared the resolution W
be legal.
BAGS HIS 4TH HUN PLANE.
Lieutenant Melssner Brings Down Al
batross Scout.
American Army in France. At
American aviator has brought do"
the fourth German airplane along tl
American front, northwest of Toul
Lieutenant James A. Melssner, who!
home is In Brooklyn, after a thrillM
aerial battle at about 15,000 feet, sMj
down an Albatross scout, which N
in flames.
THE WORLD WAR.
While the present halt in the batt"
possibly may Indicate the near f"
proach of the throwing Into the W
of the great reserve army which Gen
eral Foch has gathered,. that such"
the intention of the supreme com
mander of the Allied forces has t01
become apparent
In the hilly region Just to the nort
of Locre the British also pushed
the enemy at several points, not'11'
between Kemmel and La Clytte. .