INCREASED FREIGHT RATES ARE GRANTED ,\c ??t*~? EASTERN RAILROADS ARE AL- j LOWED INCREASE OF FIVE FER CENT. _i I THE PRESIDENT IS PLEASED t "jr ? Wilson Expect* Decision to Haw* Immediate Effect en business. Wilt AEM NOW. England Rises in Angar?Would Avenge Scarborough. London.?Although there aaama no donbt the Ruaslans are retreating, and that for the preaent any expectation the Allies may hare held of an early Invasion of Germany muat be dle nt iaaed. considerable mystery sur rounds the reported decisive German victory which Berlin celebrated. Vienna gives a few details of fight- ' Ing In the Bart. The claim la made that the Ruaslans have been driven ' from their positions north of the Car pathian mountains from Krosno to Snktlcyn which would Indicate that pari of the Southern line of railway ?a Galicia again ie In the hands of 1 fbe Auafrfans and that Plotrkow and another Central Poland town have been inarmed, but silence Is main tained xT to North Poland where the ' German vicotry la aald to have been ' achieved. "Avenge Scarborough! Up and at , "em now." Mexican Bullet* Still Flying. Naco?Fire Bullet* from the Mexl e*n fighting around Naco. Sonora, . ?truck near ahelters built by United sitaces troops on thd border. Many other *bota fell on United Bute* tor- , - ifitory. Intermittent Brine on the Mexican ( aide continued all day. Hill's Cairan- , an troops, defending Naco. seemed to , by doing most of tbe shooting. tA' , I Method* Still Asundsr. Atlanta.?No definite action on the , proposed amalgamation of tbe Nortb ern and Southern branches of tbe Matkodlst Church was taken by the Church Commission on Federation, which adjourned here after three days . of deliberation Three bishops from the Southern Church, four bishops ! of the Northern Church, six ministers and six laymen comprised the com mission. All sessions were strictly executive, but It was stater that more progres was made than at any time , I^jMppSlk / 2 Teach Farmers to Sell. Atlanta, Oa.?Establishment of a "marketing agent" in every state "who will Instruct farmers In the scientific marketing of their crops ' was advocated by Judge E. R. Kone, Texas commissioner of agriculture. In J an address to the final session of the . annual meeting of the Association of Agricultural Commissioners of the . Southern States here. Judge Kone said that "the most Importnat work of ' a state department of agriculture lies ; la teaching farmer* bow to profitably , market their crops." Aliee Advance at Arret. a Paris.?The French war office gave out aa official communication as fol lows: "The day of December 17 was marked, ae we said recently, by an advance on our part In Belgium, where every counter attack undertaken by tbe enemy failed. In the region of Arras a vigorous offensive made us master* of several trenches. Thesa are located _ at Auchy. La Gassee. St. Loarent and Blangy. At this last mentioned place we occupied a front more than oae kilometre long almost the first lie* trenches of Urn enemy." NISS DOROTHY DRAKE -J ? *''1 -**?& ^MHk. MIm Dorothy Drake, on# of the pratti eet of tho Washington debutantae of tho holiday season, la a sleter In-law of Commander Adalbert Alt house, U. 8. N. ADVANCE MADE BY ALLIES AUSTRO-GERMAN FORCE8 ADMIT FALLING BACK TO OLD POST TION IN WEST. -J" Replenished Suppllm From the Aus trlono Driven Back From Bordaro of tho Little Country. London.?The offensive movement of the French and the British has be come general and la being pushed with strong forces, particularly in, Flanders, the Argonne, the Woevre. and Alsace. While the French oialm success at all points except Bteinbach in Alsace, the general official reports from Berlin say the Allies' attacks have been unsuccessful at several places. On the whole, however, it would appear that the Allies, who now have a superiority In numbers as well as in artillery, have made some progress and have withstood vigorous German oouner-attacks. In the Argonne region the French say: "We have made progress and main tained our advance of the preceding days." ? The force which has been checked at Steinbach is the left wing of the army which for some time has been lighting Its way toward Muelhausen and which baa cleared a considerable part of Alsace of Germans. It is evi dent that while the Germans are pre pared to offer stubborn resistance to attempted advances in the regions mentioned in the official communica tions they expect the main attack of the AlBes to be made in another di rection or themselves are preparing for an offensive, for they have gath ered considerable forces at CourtraJ-,, from where they could be transferred quickly either to Flanders or south ward across the French frontier. The Austrlans again have crossed the Carpathians, and, according to their own account, are driving the Russian left back toward the River San. This Austrian army assisted by German reinforoements, has under taken to force the Russians to with Iraw from in front of Cracow and also Uso to relieve Pnemysl. The Aus trlans apparently have met with at least partial success in the drat pro tect. 8END WARSHIPS TO CANAL. r? Enforce Regulations of Radio Sta tions of- United States. Washington.?President Wilson and tils cabinet decided to send American warships to the Canal Zone to guard ' ?gainst neutrality violations by bel ligerent sblps. Just how many ships 1 *111 be dispatched will, be determined > ifter a full report has been received 1 From Governor Goethals, of the Canal Zone and Captain Rodman, naval offl- 1 ser at the canal. 1 Both Secretary Garrison and Secre- 1 tary Daniels made It dear that the 1 lelay la acting on Colonel Goethals 1 request for destroyers was due to a 1 ark of Information. Mr. Garrison ex plained that the colonel had asked for lestroyers without specifying the pur pose of their use. In reply to a mes- I ?age of Inquiry, Colonel Goethals ex- < plained that wireless regulations were < >elng violated In canal waters and re- I 'erred to the misuse of the Canal Zone I is a base of supplies. l Moore Troops to Naco. Washington.?Further demonstra tion was made by the United States 1 government of Its determination not to tolerate continued ftclng by the Mexican factions at Naco. President Wilson, after a. brief discussion with his cabinet. Instructed Secretary Gar rison to comply with the request of Brig .Gen. Tasker H. Bliss at Naco. Aria, tor reinforcements to handle a 1 possible emergency situation. Three i regiments of Infantry and three bat- 1 (eries of artillery were ordered to Naco. Send Ship to Belgium. Now York.?The commission for re lief In Belgium announced that In fu ture It would aeslitn ahlp* to each state aaklng for them, and that wben srer donation! of the states were not : quite sufficient to All the ahlpa the commission would bur la that state to far as practicable foodstuffs to complete the cargo South Carolina. North Carolina and i Oeorgla are co-operating to load an < satire ship thet will sail from Char I as ton early la January. Llndon W. Bates Is rice chairman. MEXICAN ARMIES ? STILL ON BORDER h ?V 'r ?: ," l , GENERAL BLISS REPORTS THE I RESULT OF HIS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. NO ULTIMATUM ISSUED YET Denies to Socrotary Garrison That Ho - Has Mads Doflnlto, Final Domands on Grnorol Maytorona. Washington. ? Secretary Oarrlaon gave President Wilson the latest re ports from Brig. Sen. Bliss on the sit uation at Naco, where the Mexican generals have not yet moved their forces to avoid firing Into American territory. The reports showed that the situa tion had undergone no apparent change, although little firing was In evidence. While the United States Is determined, it necessary, to open fire on the two Mexican forces to com- ( pel them to stop shooting Into the State of Aiisona, It was feared that no decisive action was planned, pend ing efforts to Naco to Influence the two factions to adjust the situation. The general belief In official quar- J tors was that some satisfactory un derstanding would be reached. Agents here of the Gqtlerres Gov ernment to which General Maytorena Is loyal, claims that he Is preparing to move his force down the railroad south of Naco, so that he can con tinue to besiege the Carransa force under General Hill with the Ameri can border out of the range of fire. ' While reports from General Bliss to the War Daprtpment were not made public It Is believed they Indi cated that he thought he had persuad ed General Maytorena to stop firing t across the line. Until there Is a dell- t nite understanding on the whole situ- B atlon, It it thought General Bliss has- t warned General Hill not to take the f offensive, which would draw the fire e of the Maytorena troops. , a RUSSIAN ARMY RETREATING. 1 Falling Back From Poland to Get ? Better Baae of Operations. f London.?"The Rnaalana are retir- ? lng along the entire front In Oallcla 0 and Poland." This statement officially Issued at b Vienna la the outstanding feature of j news from the battle fronts. While h there Is no confirmation from other 0 sources, such a move on the part of n the Russians would be in line with the ? announcements In Petrrograd dis- c patches that the Russians threatened ? on both flanks had decided to take up a new positions where they could better 0 meet the Austro-German onslaughts u from the Carpathians to the East Prussian frontier. The Russian delay In fulfilling ax- , pectatlons that they would prove a t serious menace to German territory c is dlappolntlng the peoples of the Al- t lied countries, but military men ex press the view that It Is better for c Russia to fight In her own territory, where means of communcatlon would he more on an equality. " K Admlral Fisher Talks of Efficiency. * Washington.?Five years would be G required to put the United States f cotton must be carried over until iext year. It as estimated that about 159,000,000 would be needed to take are of this cotton, and It was the :eneral opinion that unleas there la natural expansion of credit through ?ut the South the loan fund will be aed to aid cotton producers. There was evidence that many of he state committeemen agreed with he Idea adjvanced by officials here hat cotton producers next year must ut their cotton production. The cot on loan committee will .use every leans to convince growers of the ne essity of curtailment. *> The representatives from 10 states icluded: Moorhead Wright, Arkansas; R. F. faddox, Georgia; Sol Wexler, Loulsl na; Z. D. Davit, Mississippi; Joseph 1. Brown, North Carolina; A. C. 'rumbo, Oklahoma; R. G. Rhett, oath Carolina; Henry D. Ltndsley, 'exas; E. L. Rice, Tennessee; and tate Senator MIRon, Florida. The cotton loan committee was spresented by W. P. G. Harding and aul M. Warburg, of the Federal Re erve Board; J. P. Forgan of Chlca 0, Festus J. Wade of St. Louis, A. 1. Wlggln, New York, and Levi Rue, hljadelphla '? ?;> ? DANIELS FAVOR8 NORFOLK. ? 1 C I Plaes for Dry Dock?Recommends- , tlon to tho Committee. , Washington ? Formal announce- i lent of successful naval tests of coal 1 ?om government-owned fields In 1 laska was mad# by Secretary Dan- t sis before the naval committee of the t ouse. Trials by the cruiser Mary ind about 10 days ago, Mr. Daniels l kid. had demonstrated that the Mat nuska coal was as good as any to be innd. Three recommendations were made , y Secretary Daniels. They were: , Appointment of all second lteuten nts In the navy hereafter as "act- ( IS second lieutenant!" so that those r ho do not measure up to require- c lents after appointment may be c ropped. 8 The secretary said the navy was < ?ying to put Its yards on a business t asis with Industrial managers, trying d >e plan at New York. Norfolk and c erhaps some other plants. v Turkish Cruiser Torpedoed. London ?A communication Issued y the official bureau announced the urktsh battleship Messudleh had sen torpedoed h7 a British sub- 1 isrtne. 4 The Messudleh aa a very old boat, I living been built at Blackwell, Eng- 1 ind, In 1874 and reconstructed In a enoa In 1804. In the war with Greece t Is was reported badly damaged In a t aval battle in the Dardanelles. She 7 srrled a crew of 600 men. "When 1 ist seen thp Messudleh was sinking c r the stern." I - Austria Admits Defeat. London.?The most striking feature 1 the day's official news Is the candid ? imiatlon by the Austrian Govern- r ent of the defeat of the Austrian t rmy In Servth and apparently the t bandonmept of Its third attempt to c va'derits Smalt Slay neighbor. t While attrlbntlng the failure to the t lemy's superior force, as all Gov- t ?nment bulletins explain failures, the It ustrlan War Office announces plain- 4: an attended retirement and heavy 1 sses. ?' x 6ERMHNS BOMBARD THE ENGLISH COAST I -? WHITBY, SCARBOROUGH AND HARTLEPOOL ATTRACTED BY J? SWIFT CRUISERS . ESCAPE UNDER COVER OF F06 Caauilty Llat Total* 110, Doad SI; Big Pro party Lota?Unuaua! ExeltomanL London.?For the flrat time In centuries England hat been atrook by a foreign foe. A squadron of swift German crnisers crept through the fog to the eastern roast and turned their guns against the Britons. When day broke they began bom bardment of three important towns? Hartlepool at the mouth of tha Teea, Whitby, noted as a pleasure resort. 16 miles beyond. Hartlepool suffer ed most There two battle cruisers were engaged. The British war oSloe Uses the number ot dead at Hartle pool sb seven soldiers and 21 civilians. At Scrabroogh, shelled by a battle cruiser and an armored cruiser, 11 casualties are reported while at Whitby two were killed and two were wounded. Men, women and children of the civilian population were left dead or wounded struck without warning whHe at work. In all the casualty list totals 114, according to the of ficial estimates, of whom 21 are known to be dead. At Hartlepool, churches were dam aged and the gas works and lumber yards were set afire, while the ab bey at Whitby was struck. The Bal moral Hotel at Scarborough received the full effect of a shell. A number of houses and shops were shattered and partly burned in each of the towns. The hostile squadron escaped In the mist after an encounter with coast guard vessels. CARRANZA AND VILLA CRASH. Armies in First Big Battle Cast of Torreon. El Paso.?The first Important battle between the Carransa and Villa arm ies la in progress near San Pedro de las Colonies, east of Torreon. Several columns of Carransa troops from doe hulla Statet, aggregating about 5.000 men under Colonel Illfonse Vasquez, are engaged by a slightly larfier force under General VIUs. Both sides have ample artillery and the fighting Is described as desperate. The Carranzs forces made a threat ening movement to take Torreon and to shut off* Villa's communication ?rith the North. Villa garrison in Northern Mexico have been depleted by the movement into Mexico City tnd troops from the National Capital probably will be aent to the northern theater of war. It appears that Carransa, from Item Cruz, has ordered a general movement Into the North. Four hun Ired men from General Hill's forces In the extreme eaat of Sonora are moving on Joans, held by a small Fills garrison. Five hundred Car -anza troops from Cbahnila recently passed below Sierra Blanc a, Texas, on their way toward Juarez. U. 8. Navy Bhort of Plana. Washington.?Th? navy la "from 10,000 to 50,000 men abort of Ita needs is laid down In tt^e confidential war riana of the war college." according :o Franklin D. Roosevelt^ assistant lecretary of the navy, who testified at he' house naval committee's hearings >n the naval appropriation hill- Mr. Xoosevelt explained that many addl JonaJ men would be needed for pnr toses other than manning ships now a commission. Asked why service able vessels were laid up In reserve, le said no nation kept all of Its ships constantly In commission. Mr. Roose relt explained a table worked out lome months ago by the navy de partment. according to an established ormnla. showing the strength In levies In "points." It placed the trmored fighting craft of various hree leading powers as follows: England, 7.T68: Germany, 3,818; Jnlted States, 3.562. Goethals Again Asks for Fleet. Panama.?Governor Goethals has igain cabled to Secretary' Garrison etting forth need for destroyers In anal ports to preserve neutrality. Colonel Goethals says he has no neans of preventing the use of canal ir Panaman ports as i a means of communication and that these porta ipparently are being used to that end. "olonei Goethals expressed opinion hat there was as much necessity for lestroyers at canal ports as at any ither American ports where they rere stationed to prevent breaches. Right Side of Balance. Washington. ? November foreign rade statistics show a balance In fa 'or of the United States of 379,299, >17. For October the balance was 56,630.650, for September 816.3*1,722, rhlle in August it was 319,400,406 gainst ths United States. Novem ter's exports announced by the De partment of Commerce totalled 3205, 66.424 and Imports *126,467.007. There, as a decrease of 371.000,000 In cotton exports compared with Novem ier, 1912. Ratified Safety Convention. ? Washington. ? Tho International onventlon tor eafety of life at tea, lgned at London Janaary 2, 1*14. by a any world powers was ratified by be Senate after a resolution had >een adopted reserving the right to mact higher standards than the restj- prescribed for health and safe y on American vessels and to Impose hem upon all foreign vessels within ts territorial waters. Champions of ha {Medina gasman's bUI Insisted that rtthoat tbe reservations the treaty sight nullify Immigrant bill. TTTw . ? ? "HANSI," ALSATIAN ARTIST ? ? " . ; " - " r " ? ? " ' -1 Mn? Inn. ..n . ?