eee
ee
JECLARES U-B0AT
MENACE DOOMED
Chairman Saunders Reaffirms
Personal Belief Only
EDISON SAYS NEWS TO HIM
Naval Consulting Board Leader Says
He Is Sure That American Inventive
Genius Has Solved Problem.
William L. Saunders, chairman of
statement that%a plan of aggressive
operation against U-boats that could
break the menace had been developed,
) the naval consulting board, whose |
caused differences of opinion to ‘be
expressed by other members of the
poard, explained his position more
exactly and cleared up a misunder-
standing that had resulted from his
interview.
He said he simply had stated his
personal belief in the ability of re-
cent invenfions used in conjunction
with known agencies to put an end
to the activity of German submiarines,
and he reaffirmed this belief.
Other members of the board con-
tinued to disagree with Mr. Saunders’
opinion, but some of them admitted
that new inventions that promised to
be effective against submarines had |!
been tested by committees of the
board and, while they were not as op-
timistic as Mr. Saunders, several of |
them agreed that he might be justi-
fied in his opinion, and that their own
hopes had been raised by what had
been accomplished through their ex-
periments.
Basing his opinion on his own
knowledge, Mr. Saunders firmly be-
lieves that inventions reported by
members of the board to Washington
after experimentation are sufficient, if
used in connection with destroyers
and other known agencies, to close |
the northern exit of the North sea to
submarines and bring to bear against
U-boats an aggressive campaign that
will exterminate them.
Concerning operations against cen-
ters of enemy strength located on
land he also believes that the means
for their destruction has been devel-
‘oped by American inventors .and
scientists. ;
For many weeks Thomas A. Edison,
a member of the board, has denied
himself to all interviewers. He has
virtually locked himself in his iab-
oratory, where he has. been studying
a problem of which he has steadfast-
ly refused to speak. It is known to
be in connection, with the submarine
question. However, he gave out the
following statement to th® public:
“The statement that the submarine
question has been solved was news to
Mr. Edison. He did not know that any
such statement was to be issued, nor
does he know how the question was
to be settled, as there has not been
a meeting of the board.”
From this it is evident Mr. Edison
is working independently on a device
intended to combat the ‘subsea men-
ace. It was recalled that on occasions
when Mr. Edison has denied himself
practically to the outer world such as
lately that he has brought forth an
astounding invention.
Lawrence C. Addicks, who has
charge of experiments with under-
water devices to detect submarines,
gave out this statement:
«J fear some of the statements re-
garding the naval consulting board
may unwittingly give the wrong im-
pression regarding progress made in
combatting the submarine menace, and
conclusions are likely to be drawn
that the problem has been fully solved
or given up as hopeless.
seywhile it is evident specific infor:
thation as to progress made would be
contrary to public policy at this time.
as chairman of the committee Of the
board dealing specifically with the
submarine menace, 1 feel justified in
saying good and satisfactory progress
has been made and that we have now
under practical trial some novel de-
vices of great promise.”
SEEDS HELD FROM MARKET
Speculators Said to Be Holding Great
Quantities.
Seed speculators in the United
States are holding from the market
enough seed to solve the food prob-
lem confronting the allied nations at
war against Germany.
“he food situation in Great Britain
and France is serious and growing in-
creasingly serious,” said a government
official. “Enough seeds are now being
held up by speculators to turn the
scale in the situation if the depart-
gnent can get hold of them so that they
may be planted at once. There are
now in private holdings 200,000 bush-
els of soy beans seed which if plant-
ed now would grow a normal crop of
5,000,000 bushels of soy: beans.”
HAITI PLANS WAR
President of Republic Demands That
Congress Make Hostile Declaration.
President Artiguenave of Haiti has
sent a message tO congress demand-
ing a declaration of war against Ger-
many and a commission has been
appointed to consider the question.
This action was taken in conse-
quence of the fact that among the
victims of the torpedoed French
steamer Montreal were flve Haitien
members of the crew and three Hal
tien passengers.
NEW COMMANDER OF
DEPARTMENT OF EAST
Photo by American Press Association.
GENERAL J. FRANKLIN BELL.
This is General Bell's latest photo.
It shows him at his desk on Gover:
nors island, N. Y., the day he took
command.
AR ENVOYS IN WRECK
No One Injured When Special Train
Leaves Track.
The special train carrying the
French war commission left the
tracks at Arcola, Ill, a small station
on the Terre Haute and Peoria rail-
road, about twenty miles beyond
Terre Haute, Ind.
The envoys were considerably shak-
en up but no one was injured.
The cause of the wreck is not yet
known. Pennsylvania railway employ-
ees who made an examination of the
wreck expressed the opinion that the
cars were derailed accidentally.
Secret service men, headed by Wil
liam Nye, began an immediate investi
gation. The train was speeding east-
ward forty miles an hour.
General Joffre and M. Viviani were
at dinner when the crash came. The
dishes on the table before them were
hurled into their laps.
Tribute Paid to Lincoln.
Marshal Joffre, hero of the Marne,
paid tribute to the memory of Lincoln
at the emancipator’s tcmb in Spring
field, Ill, and with others of the
French commission received an
enthusiastic welcome to the capital of
Illinois. Marshal Joffre silently placed
a wreath upon the Lincoln sar-
cophagus. With bowed heads and
doffed caps the French hero, Rene
Viviani, vice president of the French
council of ministers; and the military
and civil officials who accompanied
them, filed into the tomb, paid honor
to the war president and left without
a spoken word.
Balfour Addresses House.
Arthur J. Balfour, head of the war
commission, addressed the house of
representatives on Saturday. He
spoke of the bond of sympathy be-
tween the “greatest and the oldest of
the free assemblies now governing
great nations in the world,” the Amer-
jcan congress and the British house
of commons, of which he is a meln-
per, and told his audience that in the
common cause of the future peace of
the world “we shall
quer.”
To the surprise of the house and
the galleries, President Wilson ap-
peared in the executive gallery to
join in the demonstration accorded Mr.
Balfour. Two precedents of a century
and a half were broken. It was the
first time in American history that a
British official has been invited to
address the house of representatives
and the first time that a president of
the United States has sat in the gal-
lery.
SLAVS SAY “FORCE PEACE”
Belligerents’ Peoples Told They Can
Do I1t—No Annexations on Program.
A call to the people of all belliger-
ents to force their nations to make
peace has been issued by the Counci!
of the Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Dele-
gates in Petrograd. Peace should be
made without annexation or the pay-
ment of indemnities, declares the res-
olution.
The council also passed a resolution
declaring that the government's ex-
planatory note to the allies of Rus-
sia’s note of May 1 will clearly out
line the provisions under which the
nation will accept peace. The ex-
planatory note declares that Russia
does not aim at the domination of
other nations, but only seeks to es-
tablish a lasting peace on the basis
of the right of all nations to determine
their destiny. '
The council passed a vote of con-
fidence in the government by a ma-
jority of 35. About 2,600 delegates
voted.
Austrians Advised to “Honor” U. S.
Count von Tarnow, the wunre-
ceived Austrian ambassador to the
United States, ‘before sailing for his
home land, issued farewell greetings
to his countrymen here and advised
to “honor the land whose hospitality
they enjoy and in which they earn
their livelihood.”
since arta, —
surely con-
CONSCRIPTION
PLAN GIVEN OU)
First Force to Have 18,538
Officers, 528,659 Men
BE
NATIGN SPLIT IN DISTRICTS
Pennsylvania Divided Between Third
and Fourth While Ohio and West
‘ Virginia Makes Up Eighth.
The war department for the first
time announced the composition of the
forthcoming army of 500,000 men,
which is to be raised by conscription.
The army will be composed of 126
commands. The composition follows:
Sixteen infantry divisions of 913 ofe
ficers and 27,245 men each.
Sixteen divisional hospitals of 24 of-
ficers and 238 men each.
Seventy camp infirmaries, of two
men each.
Two cavalry divisions of 607 officers
and 16,021 men each.
Two divisional hospitals of 24 offi-
cers and 238 men each.
Coast artillery corps of 666 officers
and 20,000 men.
Medical corps of 288 officers and
1,000 men.
Sixteen brigades of field artillery
(heavy), 48 officers and 1,319 men
each.
Eight aeroplane squadrons of 10 offi
cers and 154 men each.
Right balloon companies of 19 offi-
cers and 1f nen each.
Ten field hospitals of 6 officers and
3 men each.
Ten ambulance companies of 5 offi-
cers and 150 men each.
Twenty-two field bakeries of 1 offi-
cer and 67 men each.
Six telephone battalions of 10 offi-
cers and 215 men each.
Sixteen pack companies of 14 men
each.
Six ammunition trains of 4 officers
and 852 men each.
Six supply -trains (number of men
not given). :
Grand total, 18,638 officers and 528,
659 men.
The 28,669 men in excess of the
500,000 represent the number of non-
commissioned officers to be in the
army. These, as well as the 18,538 of-
ficers, are to be obtained from the
regular army, the national guard and
the officers’ reserve corps, and are to
be in addition to the 500,000 enlisted.
The departn:ent also announced that
the nation had been divided into six-
teen military districts, each of which
will have to bear its share of the bur-
den of raising the army under the con-
scription measure. ~The separate dis- |g
tricts will thereafter be required to
furnish sufficient men from time to
time to keep the divisions from each
at full war strength.
The Tenth, Eleventh, Fourteenth,
Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-first,
Twenty-fifth and Twenty-eighth con-
gressional districts of Pennsylvania
are in the Third district,. while the
rest of Pennsylvania is in the Fourth.
Ohio and West Virginia make up
the Eighth district.
EVERYBODY FARM
Governor ‘Brumbaugh Declares Food
Crisis Is Before Us.
Governor Brumbaugh of Pennsyl-
vania issued a proclamation ad-
dressed to the public safety commit-
tee calling on the people of the state
to take steps to meet the food crisis
and to mobilize workers on the farms.
The governor says:
“That we are facing a food crisis
in this commonwealth and in the
world cannot be disputed. That in
the next thirty days the quantity of
food possible for our people and for
the nations of the world will be de-
termined by the amount of soil plowed
and seed planted, is apparent.
“I therefore call upon you as a mem-
ber of the state of local public safety
committee to use your utmost en-
deavors to mobilize upon the soil of
Pennsylvania the largest possible
army of industrial workers.
“Let Pennsylvania answer the call
of our government not only with its
quota of troops, but with a full quota
of food. This is our patriotic duty
and these our days of opportunity.”
The Land of the Kurds.
Kurdistan appeals to the archaeol-
ogist. It was ruled successively by the
Persians, Macedonians, Parthians, Sas
ganians and Romans and is exceeding-
ly rich in antiquarian remains, most of
which are still unexamined. The Kurds
are a wild, pastoral, partly nomadic
people, are mostly Mohammedans and
are very hostile to Christians, their
cruel massacre of the Armenians being
only too well known. Kurdistan be-
longs to both the Turkish and the Per-
sian monarchies, though chiefly to the
former.— London Chronicle.
OkLject of the Visit.
“Did the titled foreigner call on you
to ask your consent to his marrige with
your daughter?’
“I don’t think so,” replied Mr. Cum-
rox. “My impression is that he came to
look me over and decide whether I was
sufficiently good form to be invited te
the wedding.”—Washington Star.
He Got the Job.
«1 understand that you told my elerk
were seeking employment?’
“Your clerk misinformed you. I told
him I was looking for work.”
spake off your coat.”—Houston Post
BRITISH NAVY EXPERT
HERE WITH WAR MISSION
Photo by American Press Association.
ADMIRAL DE CHAIR.
Britain’s naval envoy, whose {full
name and title is Sir Dudley R. S. de
Chair, is fleet paymaster and is held
in high esteem by the British ad-
miralty as an authority on naval mat-
ters. He is already popular with
American navy officers with whom he
has come in contact at Washington.
A GENERAL SURVEY OF
THE WAR
The French have scored another
brilliant gain northeast of Soissons.
They are now masters of the ridge
crowned by the Chemin-des-Dames,
having smashed the Germans back
over a front of eighteen miles. Pris-
oners taken in this new offensive num-
. ber 6,100. The battle is going on with
great ferocity and the casualties are
tremendous. -
The British troops have reached
Chaisy, crossed the Hindenburg line
toward Reincourt and are reported to
have taken Bullecourt, says Reuter’s
correspondent at British headquarters.
Canadian troops have captured Fres-
‘noy.
“Righting was of terrible intensity
throughout the day at the main points
of the British attack,” says the corre-
spondent. “The battling has been in
1 (places of ding-dong order, which
rs it extremely difficult to define
funtion, but-I-think it may cer-
tainly be claimed as a successful day
| for our gallant troops. The most con-
spicuous gains have been on the flanks
of the long front, while toward the
center, up the valley of the Scarpe, we
have made less progress owing to the
intensity of concealed machine gun
fire.
“Despite the opposition of massed
German forces the Canadian troops
took Fresnoy. Oppy, however, still
proved too strongly held to attempt
to carry it by direct frontal. attack
without courting a heavier casualty
list than the enterprise warranted.
The wood in front of the ruined vil-
lage literally was infested with ma-
chine guns.” :
The taking of Fresnoy and the re-
ported capture of Bullecourt indicates
that the British troops have smashed
their way through the Hindenburg
line at two points twelve miles apart
on the Arras battle front. Fresnoy is
near the northern end and Bullecourt
near the southern end of the Arras
section of the Hindenburg line.
The new British attack takes in vir-
tually the entire front on which the
battle of Arras was begun on Easter
Monday and evidently is a major ope
ation. It is the fourth great attack
which the British have made along
this line.
General Gurka, Russian commander
in the west, has issued an order de-
claring that the fraternizing of Rus-
sians with the enemy troops must be
stopped. He declares that such fra-
ternizing, which has become a com-
mon practice, enables the enemy to
learn Russian military dispositions
and also, by causing a lull on the Rus-
sian front, leaves the Germans free to
concentrate forces against the British
and French.
General Gurka warns the troops
that if the fighting comes to a stand-
still in France the Germans will throw
all their forces against the Russians,
who, lulled by promises of peace, will
not be in readiness to repel the at-
tack.
The transport Arcadian was sunk in
the Mediterranean April 15 with a loss
of 279 lives, according to an admiralty
statement.
The Arcadian was hit by a torpedo
from a Teutonic U-boat and sank in
five minutes.
Socialist Against Root.
Maurice Reinstein, member of the
Socialist Labor party, is declared to
be now on his way to Russia to
offer protest to the people of that
country against the acceptance of
Elihu Root as head of a commission
from the United States.
300 Americans Lost.
Incomplete statistics show Ger-
many had sunk or attempted to sink
at least twenty-two American ships
and has sacrificed over 300 American
lives, including women and children,
during the war.
i
ENGINEERS T0
FRONT AT ONCE!
Force Is Ordered Recruited For
Duty In France
e———
NINE REGIMENTS ARE CALLED
Preliminary Training Is Believed Un-
necessary—Technical Men Wanted.
Not Part of Army to Be Raised.
The war department announced that
orders had been sent out for the rais-
ing of nine regiments of engineers for
duty at the earliest possible moment
on the communication lines in France.
These troops will be in addition to the
| forces contemplated in the administra-
| tion’s army plans.
Recruiting points will be New York
city, St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, Pitts-
burgh, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco
and Philadelphia.
The department’s
lows:
«The war department has sent out
orders for the raising as rapidly as
possible of nine additional regiments
of engineers, which are destined to
proceed to France at the earliest pos-
sible moment for work on the lines
of communication. It is requested of
the press that no speculation or Tu-
mors regarding this force be carried,
other than that given out. All details
regarding the force will be given out
as fast as compatible with the best
public interests.”
It was explained that these en
gineer forces were not in any way
connected with the army organization
planned by the war department and
already made known. They represent
an addition to the total military pre-
paredness program upon which the
country is now engaged. In effect the
regiments will be additional technical
units of the army which the adminis-
tration bill authorizes the president to
organize in whatever numbers and on
whatever plans he deems best. The
strength of an engineer regiment is
approximately 2,000 men, which would
make a total of 18,000 men to be as-
sembled in the new force.
As it is specified that the troops are
for use on communication lines, pre-
sumably on railways, highways and
statement fol-
telephone and telegraph lines, it is as-
sumed that the men will be drawn as
far as possible from railway employ-
ees and the forces of the telegraph
and telephone companies. Additional
officers to supplement those detailed
from the “active list of the army, or
from the officers’ reserve corps, prob-
ably would be sought among the en-
gineers now engaged with work of the
same character as that which the
troops will be called upon to do in
France.
Rochambeau Just Missed.
The liner Rochambeau, recently ar-
rived at a French port, narrowly es-
caped a torpedo fired by a submarine,
according to one of her passengers.
The torpedo passed a bare ten yards
astern. The Rochambeau immediately
fired a dozen shells at the submarine.
Whether they found their mark is
not known.
LIVE STOCK AND GRAIN
Pittsburgh, May 8.
Butter—Prints, 43@43%ec; tubs, 42
@42%c. Eggs—Fresh, 38c.
Cattle — Prime, $12@12.60; good,
$11.25@11.75; tidy butchers, $10.50@
11.25; fair, $9.50@10.25; common, $8
@9; heifers, $7@11; common to good
fat bulls, $7@11; common to good fat
cows, $5@9.50; fresh cows and spring:
ers, $40@86.
Sheep and Lambs—Prime wethers,
$11@11.50; good mixed, $10@10.75;
fair mixed, $9@9.75; culls and com-
mon, $4.50@7; lambs, $14@17; veal
calves, $13@13.50; heavy and thin
calves, $6@10.
Hogs—Prime heavy and heavy
mixed, $15.75@15.80; mediums, $15.70
@15.75; heavy Yorkers, $156@15.65;
light Yorkers, $14@14.25; pigs, $13@
13.25; roughs, $14@14.75; stags, $12.50
@13.
Cleveland, May 8.
Hogs—Choice heavies, $15.90; good
mixed, $15.75; Yorkers, $15.65; pigs,
$13.25; roughs, $14; stags, $13.
Cattle—Choice fat steers, $11.50@
12; choice to fat steers, $10@10.50;
good to choice butcher steers, $9.50@
10; fair to good butcher steers, $8.26
@9.50; common to light steers, $7.50
@8.50; choice heifers, $9@10; light
heifers, $6.50@8.50; good to choice
butcher bulls, $8.50@10; bologna bulls,
$7@8; good to choice cows, $8@9.60;
common cows, $5@6; milch cows and
springers, $60@90.
Calves—Fair to good, $11.50@12;
choice, $12.50@13; heavy and com-
mon, $8@11.
Clipped Sheep and Lambs—Good to
choice lambs, $13@13.75; fair to good, |
$12@13; culls and common, $9@11.50;
good to choice wethers, $9@10; good
to choice ewes, $8.50@9.50; culls and
common, $7@8.
Chicago, May 8.
Hogs — Bulk, $15.40@15.70; light,
$14.50@15.65; mixed, $15.156@15.70;
heavy, $15.10@15.80; roughs, $15.10@
15.30; pigs, $9.756@13.70.
Cattle—Native beef cattle, $3.90@
13.30; stockers and feeders, $7.15@10;
cows and heifers, $6.26@11.10; calves,
$8.76@13.26.
Sheep and Lambs—Wethers, $11.25
@13.75; lambs, $13.560@17.65.
Wheat—May, $2.83. Corn—May,
$1.63%. Oats—May, 67%¢.
KEYSTONE Pililiirns
sasssw assil IEW i
The Fayette county public safety
committee announced in Uniontown
that a carload of seed potatoes will
be placed on sale at cost within a
few days. A feature of the announce-
ment is an order prohibiting the sale
of the potatoes to farmers who have
cash to pay for them. .Ici.ooTs of
the committee say thai Lirmers who
have the money can buy po t,
the top price, while those who have
no money will be able to get seed po
tatoes from the commitiee on tac
notes.
In a fire that destroyed th~ir home
at a hamlet near Berwick, two ¢! If ''n
—Cora, aged six, and Ray, aged 1our-
teen—of John Spinor were burned (Oo
death. The father and five other chil
dren were saved by jumps. 2.2
father is in the Berwick hospital, suf-
fering from burns from which he can-
not recover. The mother, who had
been called to the bedside of her
mother there, tollapsed when told of
her children’s death, and is also in a
serious condition at the Berwick hos-
pital.
Conductor William H. Collier, aged
fifty, of Altoona, was killed and
Brakeman William J. Waite, aged
thirty-five, of Tyrone, miraculously es-
caped death when their train, which
was parted to examine the coupling
knuckler of two cars in the yards,
came together without warning, due
to a misunderstanding of signs. Collier
was squeezed to death. Waite was
pushed aside when his conductor was
caught.
The fourth voluntary increase
gra nted by the H ( Wriek Onl com-
pany in the Conhelicvine wou aid
fifteen months is in eficct today. It is
a 10 per cent increase. The last in-
crease given by the company was last
December. The independent com-
panies, who have always paid the
scale, will also grant an increase of
10 per cent. About 40,000 coke work-
ers are affected.
The Pennsylvania state department
of agriculture announced this week
that from present indications the
wheat production in Pennsylvania for
1917 will be 23,751,000 bushels, with
the possibility of a greater total. Fig-
ures show that the rye crop will at
least equal the 4,495,400 bushels of
1916.
Governor Brumbaugh of Pennsyl-
vania has issued a stay of execution of
Henry Ward Mottern and Ernest
Haines, Jeffersén county, from the
week of May 7 to the week of Sept.
10. It is stated that this action was
taken because the supreme court au-
thorized new trials.
Facing a labor scarcity and realizing
that conscription will further deplete
their force the transit company, OD-
erating electric lines between Blooms-
burg, Berwick, Catawissa and Dan-
ville, is advertising for women to be
used as extra conductors. 5
The H. C. Frick Coke company an-
nounced that thousands of vacant lots
owned by the Frick works in Alle-
gheny, Westmoreland and Fayette
counties will be turned over to the
general public for cultivation free of
charge.
Mayor Smith of Philadelphia is-
sued a proclamation non tha
sale of fireworks in Philadelphia. ne
proclamation contained an order for
the arrest of any persons discharging
a firearm of any sort within the city
limits.
Harmon M. Kephart of Connellsville
became state treasurer of Pennsyl-
vania Monday, succeeding Robert K.
Young of Wellsboro. The new state
treasurer announced he will retain the
entire office force for the present.
Mayor C. E. Rhodes of Altoona has
received $1,000 from a local business
man, to be used for thé purchase of
seed potatoes for those who are cul-
tivating gardens but who cannot af-
ford to pay the prevailing prices.
Sale of fireworks for July 4 is to be
prohibited in New Castle. This action
is being taken as a safety first meas-
ure in order that no explosions that
might appear of an accidental char-
acter may take place here.
The Trades and Labor assembly of
New Castle has notified the officers of
the American Federation of Labor that
it desires an effort to be made to have
congress fix a maximum price at which
all foodstuffs is to be sold.
The Pennsylvania supreme court re-
versed the Fayette county court, which
some time ago appointed receivers
for Josiah V. Thompson, and the case
stands the same as prior to the re-
ceivership proceedings.
The Pittsburgh Steel company an-
nounces a voluntary wage increase of
10 per cent. The increase affects all
employees of the company, both in the
general offices and the Monessen and
Glassport plants.
An order for twenty-uve cars uve ue
all-steel F-25 type, especially adapted
for gun truck service and moving
armor plate, has been placed with the
Pennsylvania railroad shops in Al-
toona.
Howard Heinz of Pittsburgh has
been appointed director of the depart-
ment of food supplies of the commit-
tee on public safety for the co
| wealth of Pennsylvania.
|
In a special order hauded down by
Judge J. W. King, retail liquor deal-
ers in Armstrong couniy were dis
| zected not to sell any bottle goods.
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