or HE
_ object he has in mind be attained.
WILSON DEMANDS
NATIONS AT WAR
TELL WHAT THEY
ARE FIGHTING FOR
Asks All Definitely to State on
What Terms They Will Make
Lasting Peace,
ASSERTS RIGHT TO KNOW
Neutral Intrests Involved Too Vital
to Be Left Longer in Present Jeop-
ardy—War May Drag Nation In—
Continued Harassment May Force
Change in Position Taken at Star.
picions, but each is ready to consider
the formation of a league of nations
to insure peace and justice through
out the world.
“Before that final step can be taken,
however, each deems it necessary first
‘to settle the issues of the present war
upon terms which will certainly safe-
guard the independence, the territori-
al integrity and the political and com-
mercial freedom of the nations in-
volved.
“In the messures'to be taken to se-
cure the future peace of the world
the people and Government of the
{United States are as vitally and as di-
rectly interested as the Governments
mow at war. Their interest, moreover,
in the means to be adopted to relieve
the smaller and weaker peoples of the
world of the peril of wrong and vio-
lence is as quick and ardent as that
of any other people or Government.
‘They stand ready, and even eager,
to co-operate in the accomplishment
| of these ends when the war is over
| with every influence and resource at
| their command. But the war must
first be concluded. .
“The terms upon which it is to be
concluded they are not at liberty to
suggest, but the President does feel
Washington.—Following is the text that it is his right and his duty to
of the notes sent by Secretary of State fom! out their intimate interest in
Lansing to Great Britain and her al-
lies and to the Central Powers and
their allies.
The notes to the belligerents are
prefaced with this instruction by Sec-
retary Lansing to the American Am-
bassadors presenting them;
“The President directs me to send
you the following communication to
Ye presented immediately to the Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs of the Govern-
ment to iwhch you are accredited.”
The texts of the notes themselves
then run identically thus:
“The President of the United States
has instructed me to suggest to the
(here is inserted a designation of the
Government addressed) a course of ac-
tion with regard to the present war
which he hopes that the Government
will take under consideration as sug-
gested in the most friendly spirit and
as coming not only from a friend but
also as coming from the representa-
tive of a neutral nation whose con-
cern for its early conclusion arises out
of a manifest necessity to determine
how best to safeguard those interests
if the war is to continue.”
At this point the texts vary. In
the note to the Central Powers this
paragraph follows next:
“The suggestion which I am instruc-
ted to make the President has long
had it in mind to offer. He is some-
what embarrassed to offer it at this
particular time, because it may now
seem to have been prompted by a
desire to play a part in connection
with the recent overtures of the Cen-
tral Powers. It has in fact been in no
way suggested by them in its origin
and the president would have delayed
offering it until those overtures had
been independently answered but for
the fact that it also concerns the
question of peace and may best be
considered in connection with other
proposals whih have the same end in
view. The President can only beg that
his suggestion be considered entirely
on its own merits and as if it had
been made in other circumstances.”
In the mote to the Entente Allies
the following paragraph takes the
place of the one just quoted:
“The suggestion which I am in-
structed to make the President has
long had in mind to offer. He is
somewhat embarassed to offer it at
this particular time, because it may
now seem to have been prompted by
the recent overtures of the Central
Powrs. It is in fact in no way asso
ciated with them in its origin and the
President would have delayed offering
4t until those overtures had been an-
swered but for the fact that it also
concerns the question of peace and
may best be considered in connection
with other proposals whih have the
same end in view. The President can
only beg that his suggestion be con-
sidered entirely on its own merits and
as if it had been made in other cir
cumtsances.”
Then all the notes proceed identi-
cally as follows:
“The President suggests that an
early occasion be sought to call out
from all the nations now at war such
an avowal of their respective views
as to the terms upon which the war
might be concluded and the arrange-
ments which would be deemed satis-
factory as a guaranty against its re-
newal or the kindling of any similar
conflict in the future as would make
it possible frankly to compare them.
“He is indifferent as to the means
taken to accomplish this. He would
be happy himself to serve or even to
take the initiative in its accomplish-
ment in any way that might prove ac-
ceptable, but he has no desire to de-
termine the method or the instrumen-
tality. One way will be as acceptable
to him as another, if only the great
“He takes the liberty of calling at-
tention to the fact that the objects
which the statesmen of the bellig-
erents on both sides have in mind in
this war are virtually the same, as
stated in general terms to their own
people and to the world. Each side
desires to make the rights and privi-
leges of weak people and small States
as secure against aggression or denial
in the future as the rights and privi-
1eges of the great and powerful States
mow at war.
“Bach wishes itself to be made se-
cure in the future, along with all other
nations and people, against the re-
currence of wars like this and against
mggression of selfish interference of
any kind. Each would be jealous of
the formation of any more rival
feagues to preserve an uncertain bal-
its conclusion lest it should presently
be too late to accomplish the greater
things which lie beyond its conclusion,
lest the situation of neutral nations,
now exceedingly hard to endure, be
rendered altogether intolerable, and
lest. more than all, an injury be done
civilization itself which can never be
atoned for or repaired.
“The President, therefore, feels al-
together justified in suggesting an ime
mediate opportunity for a comparison
of views as to the terms which must
precede those ultimate arrangements
for the peace of the world, which all
desire and in which the neutral na:
tions as well as those at war are rea-
dy to play their full responsible part.
“If the contest must continue to
proceed toward undefined ends by
slow attrition until the one group of
belligerents or the other is exhausted,
if million after mil'ion of human lives
must continue to be offered up until
on the one side or the oth2. there are
no more to offer, if resentments must
be kindled that can never cool and
despairs engendered from which there
can be no recovery hopes of peace and
of the willing concert of free peoples
will be rendered vain and idle.
“The life of the entire world has
been profoundly affected. Every part
of the great family of mankind has
felt the burden and terror of this un-
precedentéd contest of arms. No na-
tion in the civilied world can be said
in truth to stand outside its influence
or to be safe against its disturbing ef-
fects, and yet the concrete objects for
which it is being waged have never
been definitely stated.
“The leaders of the several bellig
erents have, as has been said, stated
those phjects in general terms. But,
stated in general terms, they seem
the same on both sides. Never yet
have the authoritative spokesmen of
either side avowed the precise objects
which would if attained satisfy them
and their people that the war had
been fought out. The world has been
left to conjecture what definitive re-
sults, what actual exchange of guar-
mntees, what political .or territorial
changes or readjustments, what stage
of military success, even, would bring
‘the war to an end.
“Tt may be that peace is nearer than
we know, that the terms which the
belligerents on the one side and on
the other would deem it necessary to
insist upon are not so irreconcilable
as some have feared, that an inter-
change of views wou'd clear the way
at least for conference and make the
permanent concord of the nations a
hope of the immediate future, a concert
of nations immediately practicable.
«rhe President is not proposing
peace; he is not even offering media-
tion. He is merely proposing that
soundings be taken in order that we
may learn, the neutral nations with
the belligerent, how near the haven
of peace may be for which all man-
kind longs with an intens= and increas-
ing longing. He believes that the
spirit in which he speaks and the ob-
jects which he seeks will be under-
stood by all concerned. and he confi-
dently hopes for a response which
will bring a new light into the affairs
of the world. “LANSING.”
The note to the Entente group will
be delivered to Great Britain, France,
Italy, Japan, Russia, Belgium, Monte-
negro. Portugal, Rumania and Serbia.
That to the Central Allies will be de-
livered to Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Turkey and Bulgaria.
It is being delivered to all neutral
Governments for their information.
ee ee ee.
SEES END OF WAR.
Berlin Hears That The Peace Moves
ment Is Growing.
Berlin (via Tuckerton). —A dispatch
from the Stockholm correspondent of
the Neu Wiener Journal quotes a re-
liable diplomatic source for the as-
sertion that news reaching London
from ; Entente countries confirms the
general suspicion here that the peaca
movement is jnereasin: in Russia,
France and Italy since the launching
of the peace offer.
— eee
SCANDINAVIAN MEDIATION.
Berlin Gets Dutch Report of a Serious
Peace Movement.
Berlin (by Wireless to Sayville) .—
According to telegrams from Rotter-
dam, Deputy Schaper of the Dutch
Parliament, in a speech made at Dalf-
the Scandivanian countries were
mnce of power amidst multiplying sus:
THE MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, MEYERSDALE, PA.
AIR hea TERI
DEFICIENCY GAUSED
BY BORDER GUARD
Baker Asks $28,400,000 to Pay Bills
and $11,250,000 to Clothe and
Garrison the Force.
Washington. — A deficiency appre-
priation of $28,400,006 for the army
on account of Mexican border service
was submitted to the house by Sec
retary Baker.
In addition Secretary Baker sub- |
mitted a supplemental estimate of
$11,250,000 to clothe and garrison
150,000 men of the National Guard
for a year beginning July 1. It was
considered significant in connection
with the plans for retaining the
guardsmen in the federal service.
Testifying before the house military
committee recently Quartermaster
General Sharpe said that if the Na-
tional Guard were retained on the
border. at a strength of 75,000 men
until June 30, 1917, the deficit would
reach a total of $50,000,000. It was
more than $25,000,000 on October 1
and has increased in excess of $3,
000,000 since that time.
PARLIAMENT PROROGUED
King Expresses Thanks for Loyalty
of His Peoples.
London. — Proroguing parliament
until February 7, King George added
the weight of his words to the allies’
stern rejection of a German-made
peace.
“The vigorous prosecution of the
war must be our single endeavor,”
he declared “until we have establish-
ed the rights so ruthlessly violated
by our enemies and established the
security of Europe on a sure founda
tion.”
commons for its “unstinted liberal-
ity” in providing funds to cover the
burdens of the war.
“In this sacred cause,” the king de-
clared, “I am assured of the united
support of all my peoples. 1 pray
God may give us His blessing.”
Minister May Lose His Post.
Washington.—state department of-
ficials learned that Minister Perdomo
from the Dominican Republic had ad-
dressed a protest to the other mem-
bers of the diplomatic corps against
the recent military control on the
island by the American naval forces.
Such a step, according to TS cat.
is sufficient to cause the minister's
removal.
Peace Meetings To Be Held.
New York.—Monster peace demon-
strations at which will be read a
manifesto “from the American peo-
ple to the world in the cause of
peace” will be held at midnight on
New Year’s eve in Chicago, Denver,
San Francisco and this city, it was
announced by the American Neutral
Conference Committee.
W. B. Gunnison, Educator, dies.
New Yorx.—Walter Balfour Gunni-
son, educator, author of Latin text-
books and principal of Erasmus Hall
High school of Brooklyn, one of the
oldest schools in the country, died
here, aged 64.
LATEST MARKETS
Pittsburgh
Cattle — Good to choice, %9.75@
10.50; medium to good, $8.50@9.00;
tidy, $8.60@9.15; common to good fat
bulls, $4.75@7.75; common to good
fat cows, $4.00@7.00; fresh cows and
springers, $25.00@85.00.
Hogs—Prime heavy, $10.90@10.95;
medium, $10.75@10.80; heavy York-
ers, $10.65@10.75; light Yorkers,
$9.90@10.25; pigs, $95.00@9.75;
roughs, $9.50@10.00; stags, $8.00@
8.75.
Sheep—Prime wethers, $9.00@9.25;
good mixed, $8.25@8.85; fair mixed,
$7.00@8.00; culls and common, $4.00
@5.50; lambs, $8.00@13.50.
Wheat—May, $1.68%.
Corn—May, 9134c.
Oats—May, 53%ec.
Butter — Prints, 41% @42c; tubs,
29% ¢40c.
©ts — Extra fancy, 45@46; stor-
of 22@36cC.
Chfcago.
Cattle — Western steers, $7.26@
10.00; stockers and feeders, $5.20@
8.15; cows, $4.20@10.00.
Hogs — Bulk, $10.10@10.50; light,
$9.60@10.35; mixed, $9.90@10.55;
heavy, $10.00@10.60; roughs, $10.00@
10.15.
Sheep—Wethers, $9.10@10.25; ewes,
$6.25@9.65; mixed $9.20@10.10;
lambs, $11.25@13.40.
Buffalo.
Cattle — Shipping steers, $8.00@
11.25; butcher grades, $8.50@9.25;
cows, $4.00@7.50. Calves—Culls to
choice, $4.50@14.50.
Hogs— Yorkers, $10.75@10.80; pigs,
$9.75@10.00; roughs, $9.50@9.75;
stags, $7.50@8.25.
Sheep — Yearlings, $7.00@11.50;
wethers, $9.26@9.50; ewes, $4.50@
8.50.
Head of Chinese Colleges Dies.
Mew York.~—The Rev. Dr. William
Alexander Parsons Martin, former
president of Tung Wen College of Pe-
king and of the Imperial University
of China, died at the American Pres-
byterian Mission in Peking, aged 89.
Patrick to Wed.
Tulsa, Okla. — Albert T. Patrick,
zel, announced that Switzerland and
inclined to act as peace mediators, and!
that they wish ‘the co-operation of
Holland. : A
King George thanked the house of |
i
KEYSTONE BRIEFS
Turkey raffles were banned in
Somset.
Joseph E. Infield, a barber, has been
appointed postmaster at Fredonia.
Claims are made that Pittsburgh is
| the fourth largest city in the country.
The Sixteenth Regiment is sche-
duled to leave the border for home
January 3.
The soldiers of the Eighteenth
Pennsylvania Regiment left El Paso
i for home. :
| The heaviest man in Greensburg
| died. He was Lloyd F. Findley, who
| weighed 420 pounds.
| Zoologist J. W. Sanders has been
' named on a national committee to in-
| vestigate the white pine disease.
| State employment agencies were
the means of 2,199 persons securing
places during the month of November.
| One man is dead and another fa-
| tally hurt as the result of a $50,000
fire which swept the Erie Forge Com-
| pany. ‘
A shortage of water exists at Mill-
! heim since the pipe line that carries
| water from a reservoir two miles
| away froze.
Dr. J. George Becht, secretary of
| the State Board of Education, has
| been making addresses at teachers’
| institutes.
Commissioner Dixon was congratu-
"lated on his re-election as president
of the Academy of Natural Sciences
‘in Philadelphia.
| The Methodist Episcopal Church of
! Harrisville was almost destroyed by
fire, supposed to have been caused by
a defective heater.
The transmission line supplying
electric current to Corry and Union
City, parted during a stormy leaving
those places without light or power.
A census estimate in Washington
places the population of Pittsburgh
| at 579,090, and makes Philadelphia the
third city in the country with 1,709,518
Thomas Blaine Donaldson of. Phila-
delphia, was named as special deputy
| to take charge of the Pension Mutual
Life Insurance Company at Pitts-
burgh. :
The 600 employes of the Hamilton
Watch factory at Lancaster were
: given Christmas week as a holiday
with full pay. It means a gift of about
$20,000.
Four firemen were injured and dam-
‘age estimated at $240,000 was caused
by a fire which started in the J. N.
Buwer’s Sons’ department store in
New Castle.
Benjamin F. Garver, a new Cumber-
land business man and strong Repub-
lican supporter, has been appointed
.mercantile appraiser of Cumberland
county for 1917.
Wood's knitting mills in Hawley
were burned causing a loss of $50,000
and making 100 operatives idle. The
fire destroyed 50 machines made in
Germany, which cannot now be re-
placed.
Pennsylvania National Guardsmen
to the number of 8,977 spent Christ-
mas on the Mexican border the first
time since 1898 that Pennsylvania
troops have spent Christmas in active
service. yo
Considerable interest is being shown
in the plans for the conference on the
state game laws to be held in the
week of the organization of the legis-
lature. A general plan will likely be
agreed upon.
Burgess Fred Hummel of Worm-
leysburg, announced that he will go
before borough council and ask an
appropriation of $200 yearly, to be
used in the maintenance of a public
playground.
Christmas spirit was battered out
of the hearts of Pennsylvania Militia-
men by sand spirals that swept the
desert during the most terrific and
prolonged wind storm in the history
of Camp Stewart.
Charles M. Schwab has purchased
the Lackawanna Steel Company’s in-
terests in the Cornwall ore mines and
also the Freeman interests in the
Cornwall railroad and ore m ues and
furnaces at Cornwall.
Representative John Morin intro-
duced in the House a bill appropriat-
ing $50,000 for improvements in the
| Pittsburgh postoffice building. Sen
ator Oliver’s bill for the same purpose
has passed the Senate.
| Announcement was made that
| Washington and Jefferson College De-
| bating Society, known as the James
| David Moffat Debating Forum, has ar-
| ranged two debates with other insti-
tutions and had several others pend-
1 ing.
| vr W. W. Porter, wife of former
| Judze Porter of the State Superior
| Cotirt; her mother, Mrs. E. M. Ho-
| bart and aunt, Miss S. H. Hobart, were
| struck by an automobile while waiting
| for a trolley car. Mrs. Porter’s moth-
ler, 76 years old, suffered a fractured
{ skull.
The Public Service Commission has
| approved the application of the Penn-
| sylvania railroad for the abolition of
| a grade crossing over its tracks above
| Speeceville, where a new state high-
| way is being built on the bed of the
lold canal. A bridge will take the
i place of the crossing. |
Probably the most unique present |
| given by a corporation of this section |
| to its employes was that of the Kings-
! ton Coal Company to its breaker boys.
| When the boys were paid they were
| led to the various barber .shops of
| Kingston and Edwardsville, where
| their hair was cut at the expense of
! the company.
The Public Service Commission ap-
{ proved the so-called Panhandle merger
wealthy oil man, who was sentenced | of the Pennsylvania Lines West of
three times to die in Sing Sing on a | pittsburgh under the name of the
| murder charge, announced his engage-
ment to Miss Mildred West, daughter
of ¢ Tulsa oil operator.
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St.
Louis Railroad Company. Objection
to the merger was withdrawn.
INTERESTING ITEMS
T
er 2
‘ 4 [OD
3 gy Fv 0g
v er y
S =3 ‘ rey
v iv er one Trt NY ir
pli ihe Apa ifr 3 Jini ir 2h]
Ay SOT en 5 acd
New Yorker Builds Bungalow on Skyscrapers Roof
EW YORK.—Life in a bungalow in the New York theater district is the
experiment which is to be tried out by Earl Carroll, composer of “So
Long, Letty,” and his bride, who was Miss Marcelle Hontabat, a young French
actress who has been four years in
this country.
The bungalow is not only in the
theater district, but is 20 stories up
in the air, having been built on the
roof of the Godfrey building, at Sev-
enth avenue and Forty-ninth street.
The cornerstone was laid at midnight
recently with appropriate ceremonies.
The bungalow will be large in or-
der to permit the young couple to en-
tertain. A Chinese dining room is to
be decorated with a series of painted
silk panels by Witold Gordon. Italian gardens, with waterfalls and foun-
tains, will surround the bungalow. The gardens are to include a little grape
arbor, where Mr. Carroll will cultivate this fruit in soil brought from Cali-
fornia. It is his theory that grapes grown on vines 20 floors above the rock
surface of Manhattan will have a flavor more delicate than Amontillado wine.
California soil will be spread over the gravel roof, and besides grapes, plants
of many kinds will bloom in the gardens. A tennis and handball court are to
complete the conveniences of the aerial home.
When his new home is ready, Mr. Carroll can write and sell operas with-
out the delay of coming downtown. Mrs. Carroll may also shop with the
same ease, thus spending her devoted husband’s royalties without the least
delay. If Mr. and Mrs. Carroll like their new home—and home was never
like this—the roofs of Broadway are expected to blossom into numerous
other aerial estates, whose ample gardens may reduce the cost of living.
Boston Tree Waits Long for Its: Child Planter
OSTON:—Like the toy dog and the tin soldier of Eugene Field's “Little
Boy Blue,” there stands beside the office of the trolley car starter at Oak
square, Brighton, a sturdy tree which, the car men say, has been looking many
years for'a child who, when the tree
was a mere twig, thrust it into the
ground and told it she would return
and take it away.
The story that has been handed
down like a tradition among, the car
men, is to the effect that 15 years ago,
when the office of starter was held by
a man named Mallard, a pretty ang
daintily clad little girl, holding a
small paper bag, approached him.
“Do you take care of lost ar-
ticles?’ she asked him. When he asked
her what she had found she opened the bag and drew out what appeared to
be the slip of a plant. She explained that she had found this on a seat in the
car, and that, having a garden, she would like to plant the slip in it if the
owner could not be found.
Mallard told her she had better keep it, but she replied that such an
act would be wrong if it were possible to find the owner. She forced the bag
aud slip into the starter’s hands, and left him. She had taken only a few
steps, however, when she returned.
“The plant will die if it is not put into the ground,” she told Mallard.
“Well, you can plant it right in there,” said Mallard, indicating a spot
nexr the corner of the office.
Talking to the plant as if it were a child, the little girl thrust one end of
it into the ground. Then, telling it she would come for it, she departed.
As the years passed Mallard continued to look for her in vain. When he
died, several years agd, the plant had become a sturdy young tree. It leans
toward the fence in such a manner that its branches overhang the side-
walk. This position, the car men say, is due to its constant watching for the
child that planted it.
ee JL
T
[]
c
r
rf
r
’
¢
r
o
r
Battle With Timber Wolf in Chicago’s Wilds
HICAGO.—Bang! And another timber wolf bit the dust. It was in the
wilds of North Hamlin avenue. Among the precipitous flat buildings the
December chill was sweeping. Hardy West ‘siders, despite an ominous gray
sky, hit the trail for the corner drug
"(HOLD STILL
store and bought a good five-cent
cigar to trim off the noon repast.
Hark! A low growl. J. H. Fen-
nell, who lives at 720 North Hamlin
avenue, looked in the fence corner. A
shaggy form loitered there. In a mo-
ment Frank Fennell, a brother, arrived
on the scene.
“That's a funny dog,” said J. H.
“Dog your great-uncle’s off hind
foot!” said Frank. “That's a wolf.”
Frank bore a blanket and a rope.
He threw the blanket over the wolf’s head. The wolf dodged and sank its
teeth three times in the forearm of J. H. before Frank could hogtie the brute.
A thousand neighbors and 9,000 children hurried to view the spectacle.
Presently came two detectives. Lupo meanwhile had been tossed into
the barn for safekeeping. The detectives leaned their trusty weapons on a
window sill and squinted becomingly. The crowd tensed up like a man
way for the other shoe to hit the floor. The women held their ears.
ar<!
An. another timber wolf bit the dust.
Science Routs Third-Degree Methods in New York
EW YORK.—Science has routed the old “third-degree” method of solving
murder mysteries in this city. With the arraignment of two Italians
charged with the murder of an eleven-year-old girl two scientists have accom-
plished what the detective force failed
to do—secured the necessary evidence
to convict.
Under the old regime when the
two men were arrested on suspicion
they would have been taken to police
headquarters and questioned for hours
by detectives in relays, and if they
stood up under the inquiry they would
have been released. In this instance,
however, few questions were asked.
Instead their finger nails were clipped
and the clippings and their clothes
were sent to the laboratory for examination. The chemist at once made tests
and discovered blood spots both in the nails ang clothing.
About the neck of the girl was a strap with which she had been strangled
The detectives noted the strap had been partly cut an§ partly torn from ah
other piece. On the body was a light-colored substance. They searched all
the cellars in the neighborhood and found in an areaway next to the cellar
occupied by the two,men another piece of strap. Both pieces were sent to
the scientists. In the cellar occupied by the men the detectives found a yel-
low writing pad such as is used by schoolchildren. Sweepings from the floor
were sent to the laboratory with the girl’s clothing, some of her hair and a
piece of cloth. cut from the top of a mattress. Up to that time the only evi-
dence was a statement of the son of one of the men that his father had a belt
like the strap, and evidence that the girl owned a pad like that found in the
cellar. The microscopical examination showed that the two pieces of strap
had been one piece; that the girl’s clothing and hair contained dust identical
with that taken from the cellar floor; that the substance on her body was
identical with the substance found on the mattress. This was identified as
panana. The autopsy showed that the girl had eaten that fruit. Upon get-
ting this report the entire case was placed before the grand jury which, after
returning the indictments, highly commended the work of the scientists and
police.