THE WEATHER.
10 Pages Today
ONE SECTION
Local rains Friday or Friday night
and probably Saturday. Colder Satur
tiay, much colder interior. ,
II - ' I'll - A lX r-zr rta i -Ltctvx ...... jr. , n . 11
VUL. AO V 11 JW J. JLISt JT
PRESIDENT W
HIS APPEAL FOR jfe
GIVES WARNING AGAINST DEL A Y
Considers the Liberty and the
Honor of the Country
Even More Than Peace.
NATION EXPECTS ACTION
Ueclares Men Who are Cloud
ing the Preparedness Issue
Are Provincial.
Also Defends Mexican Policy
in Speech at Banquet.
New York, Jan. 27. President
Wilson tonight opened his person
al appeal to the country for Na-
tional defense. He gave "warning
that plans for the readjustment
of the army must be formulated
and carried out without delay, and
solemnly declared he could not
predict that the outlook for the
United States would be as bright
tomorrow as today. Speaking at
banquets of the Railway Business
Association and the Motion Pict
ure Board of Trade, he sounded
the keynote of addresses that he
will deliver during the next ten
days in the Middle "West.
In Fighting Mood. '
3Ir. Wilson was in a" fighting mood
throughout his address. ,' In a speech
delivered early in the day, he declared
he always anticipate ftoHnvtteti0nvr$,
fight. Tonight he . told ;' the,jraHroaDrta'in - behalf Of peace was. passed
men he was an advocate of peace and
had struggled to keep the United
States at peace, but he considered the
liberty and honor of the nation even
more than peace. . , .
"Woe to any man who plays marplot
or who seeks to make party politics
or personal ambition take precedence
over candor, honor and unselfish, un
partisan service," said the President, in
speaking of his 'defense plan be
fore th railroad men. He declar
ed that the country expects ac
tion; this is a year of accounting, .and
the accounting must be definite on the
part of parties and on the part of
every individual who wishes to enjoy
the public confidence. , ' -
"For my part, I hope every man in
public life will get what's ' coming to
him," said Mr. "Wilson amid laughter
and applause.
The President at both banquets and
all during his day's visit to New York,
was greeted with enthusiasm. On his
ride between the hotels where the
banquets were held tonight, he was es
corted by a band and the Ninth com
mand of coast artillery of the New
York National Guard. Thousands of
persons thronged the streets and cheer
ed him as he went by.
During his speech before nearly
1,500 business men . at the . railway?
banquet where he cast aside almost
entirely the text of the address he had
previously prepared for delivery there,
be was frequently interrupted by ap
plause. '
Admits Changein Attitude. ;
The President admitted, that in a
message to the last Congress he had
said the need for preparedness was
not pressing. He declared that he had
learned something in the meantime.
He cited his recent support of a tar
iff commission as another instance of
a change on his part but declared that
Previously there was no need for sufift
a commission. The business men en
thusiastically cheered his ' support ' of
the commission. .
Mr. Wilson spoke of men olf high
character who were clouding the' pre
paredness issue. He declared they
" ere provincial and that - the United
States could no longer cut herself off
from the rest of the w6rld. '
The President vigorously defended
hit; Mexican policy. He asserted that
'o invade Mexico would mean the los-
J of the confidence of the rest of the j
rn Hemisphere. 'He cited the
feeing of Cuba as an instance of good
done by the United States. '
"If we are drawn into the maelstrom
nich now surges in Europe," the Pres
ent declared, "we shall not be per
mitted to do the high things we would
Prefer." ...
w W ill Not -Turn to Militarism.
ihe President defended the continen
tal army pian drawn up by Secretary
-.arnson and said that he did not care
nnUt details f any plan as long as
3)u,ooo trained men were provided as
serves under the Federal govern
me"t. He advocated strengthening the
Rational Guard, but said the consti
tution itself put the government under
"e state. He added that the .United
ates win not turn in the direction
01 militarism.
Outlining why the United States
nuld prepare, Mr. Wilson said we
uust protect our rights as a nation
na the rights of our citizens in Amer-
- and outsode of it as the consensus
'iviiized peoples has defined them;
nuht ensure the unembarrassed real
ign!0'1 f our Political development
thin our own borders, and must pro
of , J he Peace and political autonomy
' u": Americas. :
He added that a national defense
.eans the protection of the country
m invasion, and also the prevention
a flank assault upon the things
n "i. h we believe to underlie our life."
mtiVt tnal PreParedness, with the
ntary training of students in indus
(Continucd on rare Ten.) "
WILSON HAS BUSY
DAY IN NEW YORK
Speaks ' Twice During ' Day
and Twice at Night
ADDRESSES MINISTERS
They Extend the r President Vote of
Thanks for Efforts in Behalf of
Peace Many Praise His At
titude During War.
New York, Jan. 27. President Wil
son was busy from the time he arrived
here early this morning until he left at
midnight for a brief period in Wash
ington, before departing on. a tour in
the Middle West to speaK for prepared
ness. In addition to attending two ban
quets tonight, the President spoke
twice during the day, shook hands
with a group of suffragists and took
two automobile rides.
Insistence that the American people
love peace, but must be treated justly
and must harmonize international, rac
ial and religious differences, marked his
address at noon before a conference of
1,500 New York clergymen of all de
nominations. The President did not repeat his now
famous phrase "Too proud to fight." But
he asserted belligerently that "I al
ways . accept, perhaps, by some impulse
of my native blood, the invitation to a
fight."..
He added that he had always fought
in "knightly fashion,'.' that he did not
"traduce his antagonists." and that he
fought wHh the Intention ot converting
them-- - V " " ,
fiiivote -of jthante
unanimously bar the clergymen, end ire
reply he declared that in his efforts for
peace he had always been conscious of
representing the spirit of America.
"It is hard to hold the .balance even
when so many passions are involved,"
he said,-"but I have known that in
their hearts, and by their purpose, the
people of America have been trying to
hold the balance even. The neutrality
of the United States has not been mere
ly a formal matter. It has been a
matter of conviction and of the heart."
The President said he had been very
deeply disturbed by evidence recently
of religious antagonism in this coun
try. " "Live and let live' is a, very home
ly expression," he asserted, "yet it is
at the basis of social existence."
The rooting out of narrow and parti
san feeling was urged by Mr. Wilson,
who was very warmly applauded. Min
isters of several denominations praised
his attitude during the present war.
During the morning, the President
repeated his opposition to action by the
Federal government on the woman suf
frage question when speaking to a del
egation of 200 members of the Con
gressional Union of Woman Suffrage,
who called at his hotel and would not
leave until; he saw them. He reiterated
his position - that he would help the
cause in individual states whenever
possible, but politely turned aside ef
forts to cross examine him.
Every time the President appeared
on the streets he was warmly applaud
ed by large crowds. He was met at the
station this morning by a committee
of the Railroad Business Association,
and before the banquet tonight shook
hands with the guests at the banquet.
(Ctmtinued on Page Ten.)
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
FOR PRESIDENT WHITE
Miners Reject Criticisms of
Strike Management.
E. I. Doyle Creates Sensation by ' At-
tacking Leadership in Colorado
Coal Miners' Strike H
Speaks for Two Hours. ,
Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 27. After
a bitter attack by E.' l. Doyle,- secretary
of ; the Colorado miners, in which he as
sailed the management of the strike in
that state, the United Mine Workers of
America in convention gave a sweep
ing vote of confidence to John P. White,
president, and" Frank J. Hayes, vice
president, today, approving all, that the
international officers had done to win
that labor struggle.
- For more than two hours Doyle, with
a" mass of letters, documents and pho
tographs, attacked some of the things
done by' the leaders in conducting the
strike - After the convention had ap
proved the acts of the international of
ficers, a motion to xpunge - from the
records all the remarks uj.
ed an overwhelming vote. '
Doyle's attack was one of the sensa
tions of the convention. The delegates
appeared to be so eager to prove on the
auestion of approving acts of interna
tional v officers that Vice-President
Hayes was unable . to gain the floor to
(Continued onPage Two.); - : ;
WILMINGTON,
MINISTER'S NAME
NOW IN IRE CASE
Mrs. Mohr Told Husband
of McDougall's Friendship
INCENSED THE DOCTOR
That Was in 1013 and Was at Time of
First Serious Break With Hus
band, She Said Reviews
Marriage at Lynn, Mass.
Providence, R, I., Jan. 27. The first
serious break in the marital relations
of the late Dr. C. Franklin Mohr and
his wife, Elizabeth F. Mohr, who is
charged with having hired two negroes
to kill him, occurred at the time she
told her husband of her friendship for
a man named Samuel A. McDougall,
who Is now a minister of Pictou, Nova
Scotia. This statement was elicited
from Mrs. Mohr during a severe ex
amination this afternoon by Attorney
General Rice. Step by step the prose
cuting attorney brought out the de
tails ot-Mrs. Mohrs life. Occasion
ally during the examination she seem
ed confused as to date and facts given
in her direct testimony and several
times broke down and sobbed.
It was in 1912, she said, that she first
told Dr, Mohr afcout McDougall. The
doetor, she admitted, was incensed and
went to Nova Scotia to try to have
the minister unfrocked. The attorney
general then reminded her that in her
direct testimony she said that hei
husband had gone "to the provinces to
see a friend." ,
-. ".The doctor was' under the influence
of. drugs," said Mrs,-- Mohr. "He asked
m if I preferred ; McDougall to - him,
"and I toloT him .that "the Way' he -was'
acting I thought McDougall would have
been better as he didn't touch liquor."
At the time she met McDougall, Mrs.
Mohr said, she was known as Elizabeth
Blair. She denied that she told the
doctor that she had left Providence to
go to Boston because of notoriety caus
ed by her friendship with McDougall.
She could not keep company with Mc
Dougall, she said, because the dif
ferences in their religious beliefs made
it impossible for her to become a min
ister's wife.
It was at about the time she told
the doctor about McDougall, the. at
torney general brought out, that Mrs.
Mohr and her husband had a falling
out, and that he began to correspond
with Miss Emily Burger, who later be
came his secretary, and who was se
riously wounded at the time the doc
tor was shot down in their stalled au
tomobile. Mrs. Mohr admitted that she was
"fooled" about her first marriage with
the doctor in Brooklyn but that she
relied on the word of the doctor and
took no other precautions.
She denied that she had lived with
the doctor a year and half before their
marriage. When the doctor told her,
she said, that she would have trouble
in proving they were legally married,
as she could not produce the certifi
cate and that the man who performed
the ceremony was dead, she decided
not to live with him another day un
til there was another ceremony.
Her family had objected to her go
ing with Dr. Mohr, she said, because
he was a divorced man, but she had
supposed that his first wife had died
13 years ago. .
"After your experience in Brook
lyn and later when the doctor told you
he was not married to you, it made
(Continued ony Page Two.)
BRITISH LABOR VOTES
T
Also Declares Opposition to
Military Service Bill.
However, a Proposal to Agitate for Re
peal of the Measure is Voted
Down Arthur Henderson
Defends Government.
Bristol, ; Eng., Jan. 27. A resolution
protesting in the name of the National
Labor party against the adoption of
conscrijjtionin any form was passed by
the LaCor" Co? ress today by a card
vote of l.VvJ.oOO against 219,000. The
Congress also adopted, by a vote of
1,716,000 against 360,000, a declaration
opposing the military service bill which
has been -r passed by parliament. A
proposal to agitate for its repeal was
defeated to 649,000. against 614,000.
The apparently contradictory votes
at the conference condemning con
scription and declining to agitate for
the - repeal of the ; measure, were
brought about ,by the labor men's de
termination to display their unflinch
ing opposition to militarism and their
desire at the same time riot to .em
barrass the government in the prosecu
tion of the war. "
These views ' were given expression
In the various speeches of the leaders,
even those supporting the goverri
ment'scojnpulsion.seheme, such, as Ar
. (Continued on .Page' Ten.) - - - '
AGAINS
COMPULSION
3. C, FRIDAY MORNING,
TWO U. S. SOLDIERS
Found Early Yesterday by Par
ty of Carranza Men.
DECOYED ACROSS RIVER
Say Mexican Soldier Who Got Them to
Cross River 'Appeared as Civilian.
Three Officer Arrested for
Crossing Border.
BrownsvillelftTexas, Jan. 27. Charges
of disobedience of orders and violation
of international law were formally
made tonight-'against Lieut. John E.
Mort, commander of Battery D, Fourth
United States' artillery, and two other
officers of the.;,battery who with 14 pri
vates made an incursion into Mexico
yesterday to rescue two artillerymen
who had been captured by Mexican
civilians opposite Progreso, Texas.
Preparations .; were being made to
night for immediate organization of a
court martial .to 'try Lieutenant Mort,
and other officers, Lieutenant Bernard
R. Peyton and Lieutenant Albert W.
Waldron.
Announcement also was made to
night that . Col. J. R. Quintanilla; in
command of.: the Mexican garrison at
Matamoros, had ordered the arrest of
the sergeant In command of the de
tachment of ' Mexican troops which
took the American soldiers in charge
after they had been captured by civ
ilians. Brownsville, Texas, Jan. 27. Pri
vates William C. Wheeler and Viggo
Pederson, of Battery D, Fourth Field
Artillery, who were kidnaped late yes
terday by Mexicans and taken south
from the border, were rescued by Car
ranza soldiers and brought to Matarao
ras today. They were turned over to
American authorities dressed in Mexi
can clothes.
No word had been heard from the
men since their - crossing- the river.
They wore no clothes; A searching
party-was sent out from Itfatamoras by
Col. B. R. Quantanella, commander of the
border.in the absence of Gen. Alfredo
Ricaut,'". and &t : some early morning
hour the" AmfnTietEns werfo-und.
p;Wheeler SiiQlrortattr they Ver a
decoyed to the Mexican side of the riv
er by the promise of a drink of mescal
by a Mexican, who appeared op the
bank while they were swimming.
Wheeler said the Mexican -did not ap
pear to be a soldier but - when sur
rounded by eight Mexicans later some
distance from the bank they found
their captors were all soldiers.
The men were taken to Rio Brado
last night by their captors and held in
jail until after midnight when they
were put. on a train for Maamoras.
There they were taken before Colonel
Quantanilla where they were told that
Mexican civilians were not authorized
to arrest them and that the Mexican
soldiers also were at fault. Both men
were turned over to United States Con
sul Johnson, of Matamoras, who deliv
ered them to Fort Brown, where they
are held in the guard house.
Lieut. John E. Mort, commanding
Battery D of the Fourth Field Artil
lery, with 2nd Lieut. Bernard R. Pey
ton and Albert W- Waldron, were
(Continued on Page Ten.)
F
OF $15,000 IN OHICAGO
Bandits Make Good Their Es
cape in Automobile.
Officers, Employes and Patrons of the
Bank Made to Face Wall With
Hands in Air While Teller's
Cage im Looted.
Chicago, Jan. 27. Four youths, all
believed to be under twenty years of
age, today entered the Washington
Park National Bank, forced the twenty
officers, - employes and patrons to face
the wall with their hands in the air,
scouped up $15,000 from the teller's
cage, and escaped in an automobile.
Although every available policeman
and detective was placed on their trail
immediately, no clue had been found
tonight as to the identity of the ban
dits. While the four1 robbers entered the
bank with masks over their faces and
each carrying two revolvers, a fifth
remained outside in the automobile.
Three of the bandits forced the offi
cers and ten patrons to hold up their
hands, while one rifled the cashier's
cage. None of the patrons was
searched.
A. W. McCauley, assistant cashier,
jumped into his automobile and at
tempted to follow the robbers, but they
quickly outdistanced him.
J. Garland (Jake) Stahl, former man
ager of the Boston American League
team, is vice president of the bank.
The robbers kept a revolver pointed
at his head: He stated that none of
the robbers appeared to be more than
20 years old, and that they obtained
$15,000.
The bank Is in one of the busiest
parts of the city outside of the, down
town section.
Bank officers said tonight that am
ple insurance against robbery . was
carried and that the loss would not
affect the bank.
Police Lieutenant John Hogan
caught sight of the fleeing-automobile
later, and pursued it in his own ma
chine. . As he was approaching Kls
quarry, an automobile truck collided
with his car. wrecking it. and injuring
Hogan. - -
KIDNAPED RESCUED
OUR YOUTHS
ROB
BANK
JANUARY 28, 1916
ENGLAND HAS BEEN
Dispatches Treated in Manner
Considered "Vexatious-
ly Inquisitorial.1
SAYS AMERICAN NOTE
Protests "Unwarranted Inter
ferences" and Requests a
Prompt Reply.
Washington, Jan. 27. The text of
the American protest: to Great Britain
against interference with V neutral
mails, made public tonight, reveals
uipiumaiic ana consular dispatch
es have been treated, in a manner the
United States considered "vexAtiously.
inquisitorial." The note describes the
practice of British officials as "unwar
ranted interferences" and in urgently
requesting a prompt reply, points out
that "a strong feeling is being arous
ed" in -this country by the loss of valu
able letters, while foreign banks are
refusing to cash American drafts be
cause they have no assurances' that
drafts are secure in the mails.
The United States declares that par
cel post articles are entitled to the
exemptions of neutral trade and de
nies the right of Great Britain to take
neutral mail ships into British juris
diction for purposes of search and then
submit them to local censorship regu
lations. It also denies that the Brit
ish government has any authority over
neutral sealed mails on ships which
merely touch at British ports.
; With the text of the American note
was made public . between Great . Brit
ain's ad interim reply saying that ques
tions of principle raised by the United
States have made it necessary for Great
Brt tai:onst$wil!te:. wefore? aoi
swering finally, and" indicating that
there will be no unnecessary delay in
the negotiations. 5 ....
The American note is in the -form of
a memorandum to Ambassador Page
at London instructing him to file a
"formal and vigorous protest." It is
dated January- 4 and tecturaHy is as
follows: . ,t v ...
Text of tne Note. "
"Department advised that ' British
customs authorities removed from Dan
ish steamer Oscar II, 734 bags parcel
mail en route from United States to
Norway, Sweden and Denmark; that
British port authorities have removed
from Swedish steamer Stockholm 58
bags parcel mail en route Gothenburg,
Sweden, to New York; that 5,000' pack
ages of merchandise, American proper
ty, has been seized by British author
ities on the Danish steamer United
States on her last trip to the United
States; that 'customs authorities at
Kirkwall, on December 18, seized 597
bags of parcel mail from steamer Fred
erich VIII, manifested for Norway,
Sweden and Denmark. Other similar
cases might be mentioned, such as that
of the steamer Hellgolav.
"Department is inclined to regard
parcel post articles as subject to the
same treatment as articles sent as ex
press or freight in respect to belliger
ent search, seizure and condemnation.
"On the other hand parcel post ar
ticles are entitled to the usual exemp
tion of neutral trade and the protests
of the government of the United States
in regard to what constitutes the un
lawful bringing in of ships for search
in port, the illegality of so-called
blockade by Great Britain and the im
proper assumption of jurisdiction of
vessels and cargoes apply to commerce
using parcel post service for the trans
mission of commodities. Please bring
this matter of parcel post formally to
the attention of the British govern
ment. -
"The Department is further informed
that on December 23 the entire mails,
including sealed mails in the American
diplomatic and consular pouches from
the United States to The , Netherlands
were1 removed by British aufhorities
from the Dutch steamer New Amster
dam; that on December 20 the Dutch
vessel Noorder Dyke was deprived at
the Downs of American mail from the
United States to Rotterdam, and that
these mails are still held by British
authorities. Other similar instances
could be mentioned, as the cases of the
steamers Rotterdam and Noordam.
"The Department cannot admit the
right of British authorities -to seize
neutral vessels plying directly between
American and neutral European ports
without touching at British ports, to
bring them into port, and, while there,
to remove or censor mails carried by
(Continued on Page Ten.)
THE DAY IN CONGRESS
SENATE
Met at noon.
Petitions bearing a million names
and protesting against war munition
shipments presented and resulted in
vigorous debate.
Debate on Philippine Independence
bill- resumed.
Military committee continued its
hearing on army. bills.
Adjourned at 4:50 p. m., to noon Fri
day.-
-: HOUSE
Met at noon.
Admiral Griffin,, chief of navy en
gineering bureau, testifled . before Na
val committee.
General Wood told Military commit
tee army should le. recruited to full
strength . before, af'feserve ;t-enrolled.
Postal committee favorably reported
Postoffice Appropriation .bill providing
that railroads be paid for mall trans
portation" by space.' ,1 2 -v.
. Adjourned at 4:32 p. in.; to noon Fri-
day. - - ' - ;T '
IN TE ppj gj jl
ENEMY GOULD LAND
E
v
Would Require Less Than 30
Days to Invade America.
DECLARES GEN. WOOD
Says Army of 220000 Regulars and at
Least 2,000,000 Reserves Nec
essary to Meet Sitnatlon
-Before Committees.
Washington, Jan. 27. The position
of the United, States in a war-torn
world was described to the House Mil
itary committee today by Major Gen
eral Leonard Wood as like that of "a
ship at sea, with typhoon signals com
ing from many directions." "We are
living in an era of war," he said, "and
gradually are accumulating most of
the troubles of .the world."
General WoofT who appeared at the
committee's hearings on the. army in- I
crease bills, repeated in the main the
testimony he previously had given be
fore the Senate Military committee. He
said it would take an army of a mil
lion and a half to hold a line from
Boston south. Should conditions at the
close of the war in Europe invite at
tack, he declared, any of the more pow
erful of the belligerents could land
500,000 men on American soil in less
than thirty days.
A regular army of 220,000 men fully
trained and always under arms, with
at least two million reserves behind
them should be provided, he urged, to
meet this situation. The United States
Navy, he classed as fourth in fighting
efficiency, and declared it could not
maintain control of the sea nor de
fend the coasts.
While General Wood and Colonel
Edwin F. Glenn, chief of staff of the
Department of the East, were testify
ing before .the House and Senate Mili
tary committee, respectively, Rear Ad
miral E. S. Griffin, chief engineer
of the navy, told the House Naval com
mittee, considering navy increases, of
the mechanical ills to which the sub
marines' are heir and of the problems of
finding suitable engines; for battleships
and destroyers. :
Naval Design Equal to Any.
y Adrrl?-4f6MWHei :eJeltevefe;;'.tto
foreign power was .- outstripping the
United States in naval design, and tha,t
type for .type,- American craft ' were as
efficient -as 'any afloat. v '
, To sh0wa the " condition of American
submarines he read a report stating
that they each' had done from 1,000 to
7,000 miles- of surface cruising and
several hundred miles submerged last
year. Their engines were available for
duty approximately 308 days out of
the year, he added.
Members of the committee asked for
detailed information about the Neff
system of submarine, propulsion which
does away with electric storage bat
teries and their dangers, by use of oil
engines both on the-surface and sub
merged. The Department has asked for
$300,000 to test the system. Admiral
Griffin said two objections urged
against it were that the noise of the
motor might reveal a submersible to
enemy ships equipped for underwater
signalling and that the engine ex
haust might create a wake of bubbles
(Continued on Page Two.)
TRADE CONVENTION AI
Measures to Aid American
Trade Abroad Considered.
All Parts of Country Represented in
Gathering at New Orleans Meet
ing Will Last Three Days.
Many Speeches.
New Orleans, Jan. 27. Consideration
of the United States tariff system as
related to foreign trade and discussion
of measures, proposed to aid American
commerce to meet the competition of
other nations in the world's markets
after the European war, occupied the
timje of delegates to the third National
Foreign Trade Convention, which be
gan a three days' meeting here today.
Three general sessions and two group
meetings were held today and tonight,
and were participated in by more than
500 delegates from all parts of the
country. ,
The opening session was devoted to
addresses by Alba B. Johnson, who was
elected president of the convention;
James A. Farrell, and others.
"Unfair Discrimination Against
American Exports," was the theme of
an address late today by J. J. Culbert
son, of Paris, Texas, and a paper pre
pared by Willard Straight, of New
York, on "Relation of the Tariff to
World Trade Conditions After the
War," was read in Mr. Straight's ab
sence by Dr. Richard P. Strong, of the
American .International Corporation,
New York.
The report of the committee on com
mercial education for foreign trade of
the National Foreign Trade Council,
was read at, tonight's meeting by W.
D. Simmons, of St. Louis, and the even
ing was given over to discussion of the
report by Mr. Farrell, J. Rogers Flan
nery, chairman of ( the foreign trade
commission, Pittsburg;. C. L. Chandler,
of Chattanooga'; Ferdinand Schwedt
man. New York ; Stanley H. Rose, of
the Department of "Commerce, and oth-
FORC
OF 500,000
NEW
ORLEANS
BEGINS
WflOtE NUMBER 39,457
FIGHTING IN THE
WESTERN THEATRE
NOW VERY ACTIVE
French Claim to Have Driven!
Germans From Mine Cra
ters They Had Occupied.
ATTACKS ON TRENCHES
British Report the Evacuation
by Turks of Trenches
Around Kut El Amara.
Considerable fighting has bene tak
ing place along the French fronts,
Berlin asserts that between 500 and
600 yards of French trenches were
stormed by the Germans in the vicin
ity of Neuville .and that French coun
ter attacks .were without result. In
this region, the French assert, the
Germans were driven from mine craters
they had occupied and were repulsed
in trying to re-capture them; while
the British report the progressive oc
cupation by their men of the mine
craters and German listening posts in
the Neuville region.
Paris - announces also that German
trenches in Belgium and to the north
of Aisne have been badly hammered
by the French guns and that the
Germans suffered seious losses In a
fight for a mine crater in the Argonne
forest.
While considerable fighting has been
goving On along the Russian front at
various places from the region of Riga ,
down into east Galicia, no important
results have been attained by either
side. The same is true as to the Aus-tro-Italian
front, the Caucasus region,
and the Balkans.
The British report that the Turks
have evacuated their trenches-on tne
land side, of the Kut El Amara defenses
to about a mile from the entrench
ments occupied by the besieged British
force.! The- xepot-yjS thee' is n -change
in . the situation of the "British
force marching up the Tigris river to
the relief of ;Kut ' El Amara.
"Vexatiously inquisitorial," "unwar
ranted interference," and "impress upon
Sir Edward Grey the necessity foi
prompt action in this matter," are
terms employed in the protest of the
American government against Greai
Britain's interference with neutral
mails, the text of which has been
made public by Washington .
The tentative reply of Great Brit
ain promises "before long" to state the
result of a consultation between Great
Britain and her allies w'th respect to
the policy to be pursued.
Denunciation of the exportation ol
arms and ammunition to the belliger
ents in the world war has been voiced
in the United States Senate by a dozen
Senators Democrats and Republicans,
The debate which followed presentation
to the Senate of a huge petition, of
the organization of . American Women
for Strict Neutrality, calling for the
enactment of embargo legislation,
seemed to presage that a vote may b4
forced upon the embargo issue.
. The British labor congress, whil
opposing by a large majority the pro
visions of the military service bill, ha
defeated a 'proposal that the working1
men should agitate for its repeal. Wal
ter Runciman, president of- the board
of trade in the British cabinet, ha
informed parliament that in order tor
relieve the pressure on shipping and
make room in vessels for additional
imports of foodstuffs, fuel, munitions
and other essentials, restriction
against importations of certain goods
will be put Into effect by the gov
ernment. In an address read at he proroga
tion of parliament until February 15,
King George expressed the determina
tion of the Entente Allies to continuo
the war until victory is achieved.
SOUTH CAROLINA BANK ROBBED
Cashier Locked In Vault and 500 Ta
ken at Smoaki,
Smoaks. S. C., Jan. . 27. Two uni
late today entered the
Bank of Smoaks, a state institution,
overpowered C. A. Thomas, the cashier,
and escaped with approximately $2,500t
after locking Thomas in me vsuiu ins
cashier waB found unconscious, and
said one of the men had thrown soma
liquid in his face which had overcome
him.
Bloodhounds were put on the trail
of the robbers.
CHINA DENIES REPORTS.
Declares That Japan Has Made No De
mand of Any Character.
Washington, Jan. 27. American Min
ister Relnsch, at Peking, cabled the
State Department late today that the
Chinese foreign office had notified him
that reports of a renewal by Japan of
the demands upon China, contained in
the famous Group Five, were without
foundation. No demands of any charac
ter, It was said, had been presented.
Washington. Jan. 27. President Wil
son has commuted to expire at once a
six month's sentence imposed at Fort
Smith, Ark., on C. M. Hawklns who
pleaded guilty last October to oper
ating a distillery without paying the
government tax.
Washington, Jan. 27. Twelve hundred-Mississippi
Choctaw Indians lost
a point today In their fight to share in
the distribution of $7,500,000 from ths
sale of Indian lands when the House
Indian Affairs committee disapproved
their claims.
Rome, via London, Jan. 27. It la
reported in Vatican circles that the con
dition of Emperor Francis-Joseph, ot
Austria, , who. has been ill ,for severaj
days, is rapidly growing wors.
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