North Carolina Newspapers

. .. ' i . . 7 HE advertisements in today's paper are as interesting as the news from the war fronts or from Mexico. Glance over 'em for intelligent shopping today. v Local thunder showers Saturday; wT TP Ti lk?23flKlL2flKvnV "-wjSW" n ' m probably fair; little change in I A A IIBKTlBmNm TrTV!l - m vol. xcvm-isro. 128 IMPORTANT BRODY IS CAPTURED BY RUSSIAN FORCES Taking of This Post May Lead toj Capture of City of Lemberg, Capital of Galicia TEUTONS WERE SURPRISED Czar's Men Break Through Entire Austro-German First Line to the West of Lutsk 9,000 PRISONERS CAPTURED British Meet With Success in the Battle of Somme London, July 28. Brody, .a great railway junction, in Galicia, 5S miles northeast of Lemberg, which it was expected the Aus trian troops would retain at all costs, has been captured by the Czar's forces in a new and unex pected stroke administered by the Russians. The taking of this im portant town, it is believed, may lead to the capture of Lemberg itself. News. of the fall of Brody, is coincident with reports that the Sorame battle is continuing suc cessfully for British forces under General Sir Douglas Haig. The Russians, according to a re port from Petrograd, also have broken the whole Austro-German front west of Lutsk. In this" suc cess they are reported to have captured two generals, 9,000 pris oners and 4S guns. - - . Serious Threat to Lemberg. The fall of Brody is a serious threat to Lemberg and the rapid and suc cessful advance of General Sakhar off s forces menace the whole Austro-Ger man line of communications from the nortljo the south. For the present Kovey yields in im portance to Lemberg. The position of this portion of the Russian front seems to be that General Kaledines, having driven General von Linsingen's left wing behind the Stokhod river, has sus pended his advance toward Kovel and is holding up the great Teutonic forces there, while General Sakharoff is press ing on toward Lemberg, which is de fended by the forces of General Boehm Ermolli. Overwhelming Superiority. "N Petrograd correspondents attribute the successes over the Austro-Germans almost entirely to the overwhelming superiority of the Russian artillery and Prussia's apparently endless supplies of ammunition. Tonhts official report of the Brit ish war office shows that the British are continuing the successful progress. The whole of Longueval now is in their nands as well as the Delville wood from which they drove the fifth Bran denburg division. The final capture of Delville wood is very gratifying to the British people. It was first taken July 17 but was af terward abandoned. For many days the wood and the village of Longueval has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the whole cam paign. The possession of this wood and Longueval is expected to facilitate greatly the further progress of the Franco-British forces. GERMANS ENTER FRENCH TRENCHES BUT ARE PUT OUT Paris, via London, July 28. An at tack by the Germans against French positions south of Sainte Marie Pass, in the Vosges, resulted in their gaining a lodgment in the advanced French trenches, says the official statement given out tonight. The statement adds, however, that later the Germans were driven out with the bayonet. Progress for the French on the right bank of the Meuse is reported. GERMAN AIRSHIPS ATTACK EAST COAST OF ENGLAND London, July 29. German airships raided the east coast of England early this morning, according to an official statement just issued. "The number of raiders," says the statement, "has not yet been estab lished. The reports as to the raiders crossing the coast come from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Bombs were dropped, but details are lacking." BRITISH CAPTURE GERMAN STRONGHOLDS IN LONG UE VAX London, July 28. The German strongholds in Longueval have been captured by the British troops, accord ing to the official statement gjven out tonight by the war office. Hand-to-hand fighting continued, throughout the day in the vicinity of Pozieres, the statement adds. HOKAH AGAIN MAKES THAT Would Submit Immigration Bill as Amendment to Child Labor Bill Washington, July 28. Senator Borah served notice today that he would car ry out his threat to submit the immi gration bill as an amendment to the child labor bill unless the Democratic leaders would agree to a separate vote on the former measure at this session. Tne Democratic caucus determined last Tuesday night to defer the immigra-. tion bill until December. J ' 11 " " - m . . ,. .i mm 5 TOWN OF CAPTAIN FRYATT IS PUTTO DEATH Skipper of the Captured British Steamer Brussels Condemned by German Court Martial TRIED TO RAM SUBMARINE Causes Deep Impression at British For eign Office and Ambassador Ger ard is Asked, to Gather Complete Details Berlin, July 28. Capt. Charles Fry att, of the Great Eastern Railway steamship Brussels, convicted yester day by a German court martial at Bru ges, Brussells, of attempting on March 28th, 1915, to rafja a German subma rine near the Maas lightship, when he did not belong to an armed force, has been executed by shooting. The Brus sels was captured by German destroy ers last month and brought into Zee brugge. Captain Fryatt and the first officer and the first engineer of the Brussels received from the British admiralty gold watches for "brave conduct," and were mentioned in the House of Com mons. " The submarine U-33, according to the official account of the trial, had sig nartd to the British .steamer to show her flag and to stop, but Captain Fryatt did not heed and it is. alleged, turned at high speed toward the submarine, which escaped only by diving imme diately several yards below the sur face. Captain Fryatt, the official statement says, admitted that he had followed the instructions of the British admiralty. Sentence was confirmed and the captain was convicted and .shot for a "franc tireur crime against armed German sea forces." , .. . , ' When captured by German torpedo boats on June 24, Captain Fryatt Was piloting the steamship Brussels from Rotterdam to Tilbury. Several Ger man warships dashed out of the naval base at Zeebrugge and escorted the Brussels back to the Belgian harbor. On board the Brussels was an unusually large number of Belgian women and children refugees and she carried an all-British crew of 44 men. Dutch newspapers said it was gener ally believed that the capture of the Brussels was brought about by a pas senger who said he was. an American, but who was believed to be a German. This man remained on deck throughout the voyage and was said to have made signals with lights with the result that the German warships steamed up and halted the vessel. MAKES PAINFUL. IMPRESSION , AT BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE London, July 28. News of the execu tion of Captain Fryatt, of the British steamer Brussels, caused a painful im pression at the British foreign office. Under the instructions of Viscount Grey, the foreign secretary, a note was dispatched immediately to the Ameri can embassy requesting that James W. Gerard procure complete details of the affair. The first intimation of the trial of Captain Fryatt was called to the at tention of the foreign office by press reports on July 18 to the effect that he was to be tried as the result of finding on him a watch containing an inscrip tion reciting his efforts to ram a Ger man submarine. i From inquiries made of the owners of the steamship Wrexham, which Cap tain Fryatt commanded when the al leged incident took place, the foreign office learned the captain had with him neither a watch nor a letter to the effect that he had attempted to ram a submarine when he was captured. Therefore, officials here state, the charge must have be.cn based on press reports. When the news that Captain Fryatt was to be tried was received the foreign office immediately .sent a n6te to the American ambassador, Walter H. Page, requesting that American diploma He representatives take all necessary steps to provide for his defense, call ing attention to the fact that the Wrexham's act in steering toward the submarine and forcing her to dive was essentially defensive and precisely, he says, as if she had used the defenses arm which the United States and Great Britain hold to be an undoubted right. No reply was received from Ambas sador Gerard, but the foreign office is convinced he acted with his usual prom titude. Therefore it is their theory that the trial and execution of Captain Fry att was hurried even more than in the case of Miss Edith CaVell. ' Besides the original inquiry the for eign office sent two other notes to American Ambassador ueraru. Discussing the case with the Asso ciated Press, Baron Newton, under sec retary for foreign affairs, who during the conversation was summoned to Foreign Secretary Grey's office for a conference on the subject, said: "On the face of the details of the report as received by us, the explana tion of Captain Fryatt seems to be worse than the Cavell case. It is an extremely grave incident, importance of which it would be impossible to ex aggerate. It must De Dome in minu that when the alleged ramming took niace, German submarines were at tacking merchant ships without any warning whatsoever." ' The British foreign office has been (Continued on Page Eight.) W1LMIKOTOK, WAS WITHIN m i v Commander Shan ; Collier Nep tune, Corroborates Statements of Louisiana's Officers MAKES OFFICIAL REPORT Declares He Saw the Vessel Fritting to Sea, and, Although Unidentified, ' Is ' Sw"'- rak''yI$Wa a Foreign Warship. Norfolk, Va., July 28. Lieutenant Commander Shane, of the United States collier Neptune, has forwarded an offi cial report ito Washington corroborat ing the statement of officers of the United States warship Louisiana that an unidentified warship was within the Virginia capes last Tuesday morning and further declaring that he saw it moving outward to sea. Officers of the Louisiana had only re ported that they saw a cruiser leave the capes. The report of Commander Shane contains the first official declar ation that a warship was seen leaving. Certain It Was Warship. "I am confident that I saw the same vessel that the Louisiana reported," Commander Shane said today, "and while I cannot say that it was a Brit ish cruiser, I do know that it was a warship. "I saw her leaving the capes about 3 o'clock in the morning. That was after she had exchanged signals with the Louisiana. I witnessed' those signals but I do not know what they were, as my signal men could not read them. Nothing can convince me that a strange warship was not in Hampton Roads on that morning." Commander Shane declined to discuss the details of his report as he believes that information should be in the hands of the Navy Department officials be fore becoming public. Others, howev er, gave some of the details of the Nep tune's reported sighting of the mys tery ship as follows: Some of the Details, The Neptune came into the capes about four miles behind the Louisiana, instead of some 500 yards, as previous ly declared by men on other ships. She was just inside the capes when she first saw signalling between the Louis iana and another ship carrying man-of-war lights. After ths exchange the unidentified-ship passed further up the channel toward Hampton Roads. Almost half an hour later persons aboard the Neptune next saw the mys tery ship. She was heading outward, carrying the regular running lights and in addition two white lights aft, signifying ttyaV she.-wMk a man-of-war. The Neptune' signalled her and she did not reply, but put out her white lights. Continuing her outward journey, she passed within two hundred yards of the Neptune, made toward the Cape Henry lighthouse side of the capes and disappeared in the darkness. No Possibility of Mistake. Commander Shane declared today that there was no possibility of the Louisiana having mistaken either nis ship or the Brazilian steamer Tibagy,' for a warship, both of which sugges tions have been -made the subject of official inquiry. His ship did not signal the Louisiana, he declared, and he is positive that it was not the Tibagy, which he has seen since the incident of the mystery ship arose, which he saw signalling the Louisiana. Today passed without incident for the neutrality patrol outside the three mile limit. Only the cruiser North Carolina now is remaining on guard outside at night. The torpedo boat destroyers are spending the nights near Lynn Haven inlet, two miles inside the capes. COMMANDER PHELPS MAKES A SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT Washington. July 28. Commander Phelps, of the battleship Louisiana, sent a further report to the Navy De partment today regarding the myste rious vessel which signalled "English cruiser" to him in lower Chesapeake bay early last Tuesday morning. In view of the report of the British (Continued on Page Eight.) WILKES SUFFERED TO EXTENT OF $3,000,000 Inhabitants Cut Off From Outside World Eleven Days j. w. Church Writes That Unless Re lief Is Soon Given the People Will Experience a Little Famine. Washington, July 28. The recent flood in Wilkes county, North Carolina, cut the, inhabitants off from the out side world eleven days and caused a damage of $3,000,000, J. W. Church, of Summit, N. C, wrote Representative Church, Of California, here today, Mr, Church, who lives 20 miles from the home of Representative Doughton, of North. Carolina, said the flood was the "first calamity to visit the people of Western North Carolina," and that "small creeks became rivers and swept away.dwellings and stores." A little famine will be experienced among, the people, if relief is not "for warded soon, he wrote. Representative Dolighton, who re turned from the flooded istriets of his states today, told his colleagues whole sides of inountains wore washed away by the floods and that the situation is deplorable.' O, SATURDAY MOBBING, JULY 29, 1916 i BATTLE CRUISER IS ESSENTIAL TO NAVY Captain Sims Points Out That This Type of Ship Bore the Brunt in Jutland Fight . BATTLESHIP ALSO NEEDED Says His Opinion in Regard to Battle Cruisers and Battleships Has Not Been Changed by North Sea Encounter. Washington, July 28. Both battle cruisers and battleships are essential types to round out the American "navy is the opinibn of Captain W. S. Sims, of the U. S. battleship Nevada, in a state ment made to Secretary Daniels, in re sponse to the latter's request for the naval officer's views in regard to these types of war vessels since the battle between the Germans and British off Jutland fight, he says, justifies and ar tle cruisers bore the brunt of the Ger man Are. Captain Sims, who testified before the congressional naval committees dur ing the preparation of the naval bill, says his opinion in regard to the battle cruisers and battleships has not been changed by the North Sea fight. Noth ing in the available accounts of the Jutlant fight, .he says, justifies any ar gument against the necessity of the battle cruiser. Captain Sims' report, dated July 9th, never has been given out by the Navy Department, Secretaray Daniels took exception to some passage in it as open to criticism on grounds of neu trality and requested that another be submitted in its place. It was made public tonight as originally submit ted. The captain reported that the only surprise regarding the North Sea fight to naval critics was the extraordinary resistance of the battle cruiser vessel when pitted against battleships. The report says in part; "It may be quite possible that cer tain essential features of this battle are being suppressed the reasons be ing both military and political. "In view of this possible, and even probable condition, any opinions re garding tbve action should be considered only with extreme reservation. This rsejrvattm being olearty under stood, the follbtn comments are submitted, based only, upon the known essential- facts: ' "Referringto an article, by Mr.-Pollen in "Land apd Water," and particularly to the disgram illustrated the rela tive positions of the British main body and battle cruisers and . the German main body and their battle cruisers at the time sight contact was first made between the battle cruisers of the two sides, it will be noted that the situa-r tion was typical of that considered' most probable, in our war games an the sea and on the game board, in the opening phases of a sea battle between large forces. "Assuming the above forces in the relative positions indicated and considering the great superiority of the British, both in numbers and in power, one of two things must have happen ed: "(1) Either the German fleet would have been decisively defeated, or "(2) It would have declined decisive action by retreating behind its de fenses and even the latter would have inflicted upon the Germans a humilia tion impossible tq conceal, much less to claim as a victory for the encour agement of their people, "There is no reason to believe that the Germans have ever Intended to risk their fleet in a decisive action against the greatly superior British fleet. They are not in the habit of pitting any military force against twice its num bers of at least equally powerful units. There is, on the contrary, every reason to believe that the Germans knew ex actly what they intended to do during this last sortie of the grand fleet and it is a reasonable presumption that they accomplished what they intended namely, the traping and pounding of the British battle cruisers before they could be supported by the Britain main body. "The surprise to naval critics and doubtless to the Germans was the ex traordinaryuresistence battle cruisers can sustain and the extraordinary amount of damage they can inflicf even against battleships. This indicates a greatly enhanced value when they are employed in their role in a general nav al engagement. y KING UHKIS'ItAn KMUWliK ESCAPES BEING DROWNED Was Out Sailing When Puff of Wind Capsized his Boat. London, July 28. King Christian, of Denmark, had a narrow escape from Drowning this, afternoon through the capsizing of a boat in which he was sailing near' Aarhuus, says a Reuter dispatch from Copenhagen. The king went out alone in a small sail boat and a sudden puff of wind, capsized the craft, throwing the king into the wa ter. The king immediately swam to the overturned craft," and, pulling himself upon it, sat astride the keel where his plight was observed from the shore. Boats immediately hastened to assis tance and rescued him. THE DAY !N CONGRESS SENATE Met at 10 A. M. Resumed debate on District of Co lumbia Appropriation bill. Conference began on Naval Appro priation biH. " Adjourned at 6:30 P. M. until 10 A. M. Saturday. . HOUSE . Not in session; meets Saturday." WOULD TAKE ISS WITH MR. Representative Carter Glass Beady to Defend the New System of Check Clearances HE MAKES SHARP COMMENT Practice of Certain Banks in Collect ting . Cheeks Described as a . " S can. daions System of Finan-" 'rial LeaeherV Lynchburg, Va., July 2S. Represen tative Carter Glass, chairman of the Banking and Currency committee of the House, today commented sharply on the published statement of Con gressman Kitchin, the Democratic House leader, concerning exchange and check collection charges by certain banks throughout the country. "I have Nn6 knowledge," said Mr. Glass,, "of any. order issued by the Postmaster General which affects check clearances, ' and hence I will not com ment on something I know nothing about. But if Congressman Kitchin in tends to make a plea for the old sys tem of extortion practiced by certain banks, under the .guise of check collec tion charges, I take direct issue with him. The Federal Reserve Act seeks to abolish .that .scandalous system of fi nancial, .leachany,- and it is. amazing to find the JJemocratic leader of the House of Representatives, who voted for the act, apparently. . seeking to justify an abritracy. .tax. on the commerce and in dustry of the United States which sim ply amounts to taking the property of American . business men without com pensation. The Statement . Condemned. "To assert, as Mr. Kitchin is quoted as having done, that four-fifths of the State banks . derive fifty per cent, of their net income from check collection charges, .is to furnish a startling illus tration of the necessity of putting an end to such extortion. Think of it! Thousands of banks existing for no bet ter purpose than to discount, and to that extent to burden the checks given by the merchants, farmers and dusi ness men on deposits kept by them with these banks. The very statement of the proposition carries its own condem nation. Money Sharks. "Banks that exist only ;to get some thing to which they have no defensibte title are not banks, they are money sharks; and to put a stop to their ex actions will not hurt any community. If there are eight thousand such banks, as Mr. Kitchin asserts, it may be replied that there are considerably over eight million ReppJ jCf t . Ignit ed States who do business by -checks and who should no have their deposit accounts preyed upon. It is said that 92 per cent, of the business of the Unit ed States is transacted through the system of check and drafts, rather than by use of currency. It is this great volume of business that Mr. Kit chin seems willing to have taxed by extortionate check circulations. A Tax on Business. "I doesn't help the matter to say that banks doing this business are state banks. A tax on business is a tax on business, whether levied by a state or National bank; and accepting Mr. Kitchin's own figures, this tax has been applied with such severity as to have furnished fifty per cent, of the net income of eight thousand banks! A bank which admits that fifty per cent, of its net income is derived from tax ing checks on the constructive interest theory has no excuse for its existence. It should be put out of business, and the quicker the better. Public senti ment has compelled an abandonment of the system in larger business commun ities of the country and the Federal Reserve Act was intended to force it out of existence everywhere." London, July 29. A Turkish army, estimated at 70,000 strong, now is con centrated on the Hungarian plains for the defense of Hungary, says a dispatch to the Exchange Telegraph Company from Lausanne, Switzerland. DEFENSE NOT MERELY A BIG ARMY AND NAVY Resources, Transportation and In dustry Must be Mobilized White House Makes Public a Statement in Acknowledging Receipt of Re port of Natlbnal Research Council. Washington, July 28. In making public today a letter from President Wilson, acknowledging receipt of a preliminary report of the new National Research Council, the White House is sued a statement calling attention to the fact that preparedness does not consist merely of enlargement of the attmy and navy and that the President has given his support unreservedly to measures looking to the co-ordination of prouction, transportation and in dustry. The. statement follbws: "The President has' given his unre served endorsement to certain meas ures, not directly related to army and navy expansion, which are being taken in behalf of National preparedness. Preparedness does not consist merely in the enlargement of the army and navy, but necessitates co-ordination in pro duction, tranportation and industry. A provision of the - Army Appropriation (Continued on Page Eight.) :arranza informed THAT HIS COMMISSION PLAN IS ACCEPTABLE BRITISH HOW HOLD ALL OF L They Also Reoccupy Delville Wood, Which. Aids in Their March Toward Bapaume FRENCH REPORT PROGRESS While Their . Forces In Somme Have Been Inactive, a Gain Is Made in the Verdun Region West ot Thianmont Work. Driving forward at two points less than 60 miles apart, Russian forces have captured Brody in Galicia and have broken the Austro-German first lines west of Lusk, in Volhynia, ac cording to the latest Russian official communication. The succc3 in Volhynia, while also a menace to Lemberg, should General Von Linsingen be able to withstand the Russian attacks which Petrograd reports are continuing, threatens the stronghold of Vladimir-Volynski and makes more insecure the Austro-German hold on Kovel. British troops north of the Somme in France have succeeded in occupy ing the whole of Longueval against a stubborn defense by the Germans. The march toward Bapaume has also has .been aided by the re-occupation of the Delville Wood. On the front held by the French no fighting in the Somme region is report ed by Paris. In the Vosges, however, the Germans have attempted to' break the French line. In one attack south of Sainte Marie Pass the Germans gained a foothold in .French positions, but were driven out, Paris says. A second attack was broken" up. The French have made some prog ress to the west of the Thlamont work on the right bank of the Meuse. In a naval battle , between several German submarines . ind Jiiree British patrol) boats off the coast of Soot land Berlin reports the sinking of one of the British vessels. . It adds that the other two patrol boats. are supposed to have been sunk. London says that in a raid by ja; German submarine on a -fleet of British fishing vessels, eight of the vessels were sunk. NOTHING KNWN REGARDING REPORTED CAPTURE OF BREMEN Submarine Deutschland Still at Her Dock at Baltimore. I Halifax. N. S.. Julv 28. Nothing is known here of the report from New York that the German submarine sea liner Bremen had been captured by British warships and brought to this harbor. t i , Baltimore, July 28. An extra crew today went aboard the tug Thomas F. Timmins which is to tow the subma rine Deutschland to the capes. After ward a conference was held on the tug by Captaift Paul. Koenig, the Deutsch land's commander, captain Frederick Hinsch of the North German Lloyd steamer Neckar and Captain Zach Cul lison of the tug boat. A pilot boat was reported to have arrived at the Deutschland's pier about the time the extra men went on the Timmins but officers of the Maryland Pilots Association said no pilot had been supplies the submarine "as yet" and that none so far had been requi sitioned. Testing of the submersible's engines continued today. . LAWYERS AWAIT RULING IN APPAM CASE WITH INTEREST Judge Waddtll's Opinion Said to Be Document of 10,000 Words. Norfolk, Va., July 28. Admiralty lawyers throughout the country, it was declared here today, are waiting with interest the decision of Judge Edmund Waddill, in the Appam libel cases, to be rendered in Federal Circuit Court to morrow morning at 10:30. It is also recognized that this decision, no mat ter which side it favors, will be but the beginning of the flght for the possession of the Elder-Dempster lin er brought into Nowport News Feb ruary 1, by a German prize crew, as an appeal to the United States Supreme court is a foregone conclusion. Judge Waddill has in no way inti mated as to the contents of the de cision, sai dto be a voluminous docu ment of fully ten thousand words, and covering every phase of the case. MAY TABLE RESOLUTIONS Hearing is Had as to Conditions at Ellis Island. Station. , Washington, July S. Frederick C. Howe, .immigration commissioner At New York; Solicitor Densmore, of the T oKav flana f"ri- or a nrl Ponrooanta ft va ! Bennet, who recently introduced a res olution asking the Secretary of Labor to report ' on conditions at the Ellis Island station, were given a hearing to day at an executive session of the House immigration committee, and as a result there were indications that the resolutions Would be tabled. 58 DEATHS IN CHICAGO Believed to Have Been Caused by the Excessive Heat. Chicago, July 28. Excess heat is be lieved to have caused the deaths of 56 persons in Chicago during the last 24 liours, according to reports made to night by the police and coroner. ONGUEVAL WHOLE UTTMBEB 39,656 Is Suggested, However, That Mem bers be Given Broader Pow ers Than First Proposed EXPECT TO AGREE ON THIS ; Commissioners to be Named and the Commission Assembled in United States Soon TEXT OF AMERICAN NOTE Peaceful Solution of Border Prob lems to Be Sought. Washington, July 28. General Carranza was informed tonight in a note handed to his ambassadox here that the Washington govern ment is prepared to submit to a joint international commission the task of seeking a solutior. of the border problems. The proposal of the de facto government for a commission is accepted, however, with the suggestion that the pow ers of the commissioners be en larged beyond the limits proposed in the Mexican note of July 12 Agreement to this suggestion is expected and it was stated official ly tonight that the American mem bers would be appointed and the commission be assembled at-some point in the United States at an eariy date. Full Text of Note. Following is the full text of Acting Secretary Polk's note -delivered to Bli- seo Arredondp, Mexican . ambassador designate, after it had been approved today by President Wilson and his cab inet: "Sir: I have the honor to acknowl edge the receipt of your communica tion of July 12th, last, in Which you transcribe a note addressed to me by the secretary of foreign relations of your government, and to -request that you will be good enough to transmit to him the following reply: "Mr. Secretary: "I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your excellency's note trans mitted under the date of July 12th by Eliseo Arredondo, your government's confidential agent in Washington, in forming me that your excellency has received instructions from the citizen first chief of the constitutionalist army charged with the executive power of the union, to propose that each of our governments name three commissioners who shall hold conferences at some place to be mutually agreed upon and decide forthwith the question relating to the evacuation of the American forc es now in Mexico and to dra" up and conclude a protocol or agreement re garding the reciprocal crossing of the frontier by the forces of both countries, also to determine the origin of the in cursions to date, in order to fix the re sponsibility therefor and definitely to settle the difficulties now pending or those which may arise between the two countries on account of the same or a similar reason; all of which shall be subject to the approval of both govern ments. ' Broader Powers Suggested. "In reply I have the honor to state that I have laid your excellency's note before the President and have received his instructions to inform your excel lency that the government of the Unit ed States is disposed to accept the pro posal of the Mexican government in the same spirit of frank cordiality In which it is made. This government be lieves, and suggests, however, that the powers of the proposed commission should be enlarged- so that, if happily a solution satisfactory to both govern ments of the question set forth in your excellency's communication may be reached, the commission may also con sider such dther matters the friendly arrangement of which would tend to improve the relations of the two coun tries, it being understood that such recommendations as the commission may make shall not be binding upon the respective governments until for mally accepted by them. "Should this proposal be accepted by your excellency's government, I have the honor to state that this govern ment will proceed immediately to ap point its commissioners, and fix, after consultation with your excellency's gov ernment, the time and place and other details of the proposed conferences. "Accept, Mr. Secretary, the assur ances of my highest consideration "FRANK L. POLK, "Acting Secretary of. State. WILL MAKE NO REPORT - UNTIL, FINAL AGREEMENT Conferees on Naval Bill to Keep De liberation Secret. Washington, July 28. At their first meeting today House and Senate con ferees on the naval bill adopted a reso lution to make public no reports on their deliberations until final agree ment .is reached. "This is one of the most important legislative measures ever before the Congress," aaid Senator .Tillman.