IMPORTANT NEIVS
THE WORLD OVER
IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS OF THI5
AND OTHER NATIONS FOR
8EVEN DAY8 GIVEN
IHE HEWS J)FTHE SOUTH
What It Taking Place In The 8out.
land Will Be Found In
Brief Paragraph
Domestic
President Wilson enjoyed Washing-
ton's first real snowstorm of the year,
sitting out on the south porch of the (
white house. Earlier' in the morning
ofj December 19 the president had
walked about his room and the adja
cent corridors for a short time.
Victor L. Berger, who was elected
from the Milwaukee congressional dis
trict of Michigan to the last congress,
and declared by congress ineligible to
his seat because he had said what
congress declared to .be treasonable
words, has been re-elected by an over
whelming majority over a fusion can
didate. Federal Judge C. Pollock at Kansas j
City, Mo., passed sentence on twenty-1
seven members of the Industrial Work
ers of the World, founci guilty by a
jury in- the federal district court of
Kansas City, Kans., of conspiracy
against the government.
Twenty thousand persons in the
United States now are rated as mil
lionaires. . .The American millionaire
class is increasing at a : rate of more
than two thousand individuals a year.
" One hundred and thirty-four men,
indicted in 'Michigan with Truman H.
Newberry by the federal grand jury
on charges of fraud, corruption and
conspiracy - in : ; connection with the
Newberry-Ford senatorial election last
fall. :;;
Two thousand two hundred and
eighty-nine war brides of United
States soldiers have reached the Unit
ed State a j according to the Young
Women's Christian Association of
New York City, and they represent
16 nations. '
An alleged plot to steal American
army airplanes and sell them to the
Mexican government is believed to
.,have been uncovered through the ar
mrest of a lieutenant and a former lieu
tenant in the air service. The ar
rests took place at San Antonio, Tex.
V Lieut William Saf Bailey of Worces
ter, Mass., was instantly killed and
Lieut. E. W. Brandenstein suffered a
broken arm when the airplanes in
which they were doing offensive com
bat flying at an altitude of four thou
sand feet collided, became interlock
ed and fell to the ground. It was the
last day of flying for naval officers at
Carlstrom: field, Arcadia, Fla., which
is an army field.
In a talk made in Chicago, Attorney
General Palmer pledged the full power
of the department of justice in the
prosecution of pjrofitters and food
boarders. .
A plea for the assistance of every
man and woman in the country was
made by Attorney General Palmer in
Chicago recently in his fight against
high prices. j
Fire broke out on the former North
German Lloyd liner, the Graf Walder-
see, recently a United States army
transport, and now anchored in the
Hudson river, at New York,' pending
a transfer to Great Britain. Fire
beats were rushed to the assistance of
the ship. ' '. -
The government's anti-trust action i
against the great meat packers, be
gun at President Wilson's direction
last (summer as part pf the fight on
the high cost of living, has been com
promised under an agreement by
which the packers will confine them
selves hereafter to the meat and pro
vision business. - .
Without any dfsrespect, and with
out wishing to deprive. America of
the honor of sharing in the guardian
ship! of Christian communities, the al
lies have decided to make peace with
i urxey at tne earnest possible mo-
ment. Thus declared Premier Llovd
George in the British house of com
mons, r I
The first appropriation bill for the
regular session of congress, an urg
ent deficiency .measure, carryingg $3,-
v
110,000 to meet the requirements of
the employees, compensation commis
sion and for the care of war risk
insurance patients, was passed by the
house without a record vote.
The constitutionality of the war-time
prohibition act has been sustained by
the Supreme court. The liquor inter
eate twere represented by the ablest
array of legal talent probably ever as
sembled before the Suprme court, of
"which Elihu Root, the best known con
stitutional lawyer in the world, was
leading counsel. ; , :
Formal ratification of the contract
between the United States and the
French "government covering" the pur
chase of 125,000,000 worth of machine
tools to be used in rehabilitating the
French industries has been announced
by the war department.
Great Britain's plans for establish
ing a constitutional form of govern
ment in Egypt are set forth in an
official statement made by Earl. Cur-
i ?S ...
ODject Ot tne mission IS
"
not to impose a constitution on Egypt.
but to study the situation and make
report to the British government
1 A billion dauar cut muse oe made
in fcoveiZiiutiuu toAiieutiitmd mis year
uepuuiicau i-eauer .viunueu vvaiucu iu
LQdi.es ul Lue iiaccu year euumg June
30, toiaieu libcti-iy five uuuon
aollars. Tiiese, he says, xautic be
Hiu-saeU to lead than four oiu.un aoi
lars. ,. . r
impressions seemed to point toward
a reopening of tne peace treaty tigut
witnin a tew weexs. buch sentiments
were voiced on tne senate tioor wnea
the suDjecc booueu up in tne image of
consideration oi the railroad bill.
Secretary Lansing has transmitted
to Presment Wilson tne reply of the
Mexican government to tne American
demand tor tne release of Consular
Agent William O. Jenkins at Puebla.
Tne official text was received and
made public by the state department.
The crux of it is believed to
be the
declaration by the Mexican foreign
office that Jenkins, having been re
leased, under bail deposited by . an
American, "it believes that all reason
for misunderstanding between the
two. countries has disappeared.""
The house bill increasing war risk
insurance allowances of American sol-;
diers disabled in the war has been re
ported unanimously to the senate by
the finance committee with amend-f
ments asked by the American Legion.
The increase would be included in the
December checks of the war risk bu
reau. Permission to institute original pro
ceedings to have the national prohibi
tion amendment declared unconstitu
tional and New Jersey and federal au
thorities enjoined from enforcing it
has been asked of the supreme court
by the Retail Liquor Dealers' Associa
tion of New Jersey!
By a vote of 256 to 34, the house
passed the senate bill continuing the
sugar equalization board through 1920.
Amendments retaining in force the
wr-time powers of the. government
for controlling prices and movements
of sugar were approved, necessitating
the sending of the measure to con
ference committee of the two houses.
President Wilson intervened in the
peace treaty dilercqna with an an
nouncement that he had "no compro
mise or concession of any kind in
mind," would make no move toward
the treaty's disposition and would con
tinue to hold the Republican mem-
bers senate responsible fonre-
suits and conditions attending delay. I
Foreign
Capt. Sir John Alcock, the first avia
tor to make a non-stop airplane flight
across the Atlanttic, died in Rouen.
France as a result of injuries received
wnen nia plane crashed near Cotte-
vard, department of Seine-Inferieure,
Wormandy.
a aeterminea but unsuccessful at
tempt was made to . assassinate Vis
count v French lord lieutenan? of Ire
land The attackj. Evidently .had been
most . careiuiy planned at a spot in
a narrow winding road with high walls
ana neages affording the assassins
good hiding places. One of the at
tacking party was killed and a detec
tive seated with the chauffeur of the
viceregal car .was slightly wounded in
the hand. Viscount French waa not
iujureu. oome aistance away, a po
liceman, patrolling his I beat, was shot
in the ankle.
Four hundred and ninety-three Chi
namen were drowned when the Brit
ish steamer Lien Shing, bound from
Hong Kong to Saigon, Indo China,
sank at sea. v
Reports of a fresh wave of pogroms
lni tne districts of the Ukraine occu
pied by General Denekine's forces are
printed by a Lehberg newspaper. The
newspaper declares that about five
thousand Jews were killed in Yekateri-
noslav alone.
Montfaucon Hill, in the Argonne,
France, on which are hundreds of
graves of American soldiers who fell
in battle in September and Oetoher.
1918, may be made i a historical , mon
ument by the French government.
Five persons were killed and num.
Ders oi otners wounded at Pondi-
cherry, capital of the French posses-
sions in India, in connection, with, a
riot in the course of an election held
to choose a French demitv. PnHr
officers fired upon the crowd.
mi . .
xne passengers and crew of the
coastal steamer Ethie, numbering 9.
persons, were brought ashore on a
life-line, which was run to land from
, . y J ,"cwluuuuiana aog aiter
I tn a onlrv rKir a M-a... J1. J ji .
i t ri oi -n -tr nrtri r m - - .
tucu vcooci uiicu ud on iviarrin'o
on
point.
Thirteen hundred British troops in
Persia have been wiped out by the
hostile population, it is claimed in a
Moscow wireless messaee reachi'mr
L.onaon.
An unsuccessful attempt has been
made to assassinate the Egyptian pre
mier. While he was driving to the
ministry, he was assaulted by a school
uujf. iuo iJiemier escapea unhurt
and the boy was arrested and incarce
rated, ,
Approximately sixty-eight thousand
young gins have disanneared f.
their homes during the past vmi
TVlta atofantA.t . -
owiciucui emanates irom thm
iraveiers Aia bocietv. Mot,
these girls are from the
It is stated by the clearing h.
oi is ew York City that desnit th-
.m -k.v - CJ WU3d
great gain of the United States in
1 6 ;weat Britain sUll leads
me wunu.
James W. m Gerard of New York has
thrown his hat into the ring" for tha
" Ui democratic party
for president. . - 7
Eagle Pass, Texas, newspapers hare
received information of th ri0-.
I Fred , G. Hugo. American ro-h
I iteer. whn via i ... . .
-ht- ' ... r J?J a-
loweW ' withmTt 711 7. l01'
" 1? S tt tea
thousand . dollars ransom demanded,
hut details are still lacking.
ON ITS WAY TO
4
j-u,. i. f y..'d..j. .
Hi
i it
A truinioud of sugar cane on u uunuw uuge Cuban railroad on its way
growing district. . . . - ' '! "
LITMUS : PAPE
TO TEST DEATH
Or
French Scientist Discovers Meth
od to Prove if Life Is
Extinct.
PRECLUDES BURIAL ALiVE
Test Is Phystco-Chmlcal and Has to
Do With Alkalinity of the Body in
- Life Litmus Paper Applied to
Serum Taken From Body.
-'-. ',-',
' 4
Peris. The fear of being burled
alive Is perhaps an elemental fear-
one of the horrors that have haunted
mankind through the ages. Not only
the simple, and ignorant have suffered
because of It but wise men as well,
and some of our most gifted writers
nave employed tne tneme or suspenaeu
animation for the basis of weird and
terrible tales and of poems of Dan-
tesque horror.
There has been some speculation
among medical men during the war
just over as to the possibility of a
considerable number of ante-mortem
burials of soldiers who received their
last attentions in villages where the
facilities for caring for desperately
wounded men were of the most primi
tive kind V-: ; a
Precedents at Hand.
Occasionally a newspaper carries a
story of a victim of catalepsy prhys
teria undergoing a narrow escape from
premature burial, and recently an
English daily told of a nurse who was
found in a forest between Berlin and
Potsdam, apparently dead from an
overdose of veronal, and who was
placed in a coffin ready for burial.
Just before closing the coffin the un
dertaker discovered to his horror that
her heart was beating and removed
her at once to a hospital, where she
was given electrical treatment, under
which she finally opened her eyes and
uttered a few Incoherent words. Such
authenticated incidents cause the
reader to ask if there Is not some in
fallible test of death known to the
medical profession.
In the "Review of Comparative
Pathology" Dr. Severin Icard of Mar
seilles givvv. the results of his investi
gations in progress during a long
period into this subject. His test Is
physico-chemical and has to do with
the alkalinity of the body in life. In
other words, as long as life is present
in the human organism the fluids (with
the exception of the urine, the gastric
juices and the sweat) are alkaline. On
the other hand, the tissues after death
are acid. ;
For a; short period after death the
tissues are both alkaline and acid, and
the litmus paper test shows both blue
and red: But seven or eight hours af
ter death is supposed to have taken
place the test is positive ; if life is ex-
tfnet the acid test is unmistakable and
I .l. LI... i V. An J
uie uiue payer uclulucs u ueep wine
i rea.
j
(This passage from alkalinity to acid
ity is found in all the animal series,
and as far back as 1870 it was urged
TO MAKE MAPS FROM AIR
Airplanes tO Be 'Used to Chart
Amazon A-ea.
french Experts Plan to Survey Route
of River From Flying
Machines.
Para, Brazil. Airplanes-may be em
ployed to map the valley of the great
Amazon river. If the French are suc
cessful in their effort to use aircraft
for surveying the routes of the rivers
of French Guiana, it Is understood
the Brazilian government will apply
the same method to the survey of the
Amazon and its affluents.
A French company Is said to have
been formed n Cayenne, with hangars
on the Maroni river, and French ala-
I tors with flying experience gainel in
Ho . helnc, -mriinxoA tn m,n
25 hydro-airplanes eaid to have fceen
furnished by the government.
In addition to making maps, the ma-
THE EAGER AMERICAN
l-HiA 4 fit.:
vwtva sirs. yt,7
as a test for death by a French physi
cian, Doctor Delagree, 'who proposed
in cases where death was doubtful to
introduce litmus paper into small in
cisions in the muscular mass. But this
method Is likely, to be repugnant to the
family ofj the subject an objection
which Doctor Icard has overcome in
his experiments. .
Litmus Paper Test.
The latter practitioner has made use
of a very simple method for procuring
a few drops of serous matter from
the tissues - without mutilating
the body. He attaches a small pair of
forceps: to a fold of skin and clamps
them in place, leaving them In position
for five or six minutes. At the end of
this time the forceps are removed and
In the depressions on each side of the
"pleat" of flesh made by the confining
Instrument j are seen to -ooze several
drops of serum.- The blue litmus Is
placed In contact with this fluid, and
If it turns red there is no doubt thnt
the patient no longer lives, for the acid
test is established. Sometimes it is
necessary to wait as long as ten min
utes for the change from blue to red
to take place, but once apparent It is
Indisputable. It must be remembered
that this test is useless before the
3 lVS-i4
ft
RS
TAKING MEN'S POSITIONS
Finnish Women Take Up
Kinds of Employment
All
Even Serve i as Porters on Sleeping
Cars Do Office and Manual
Work. '
Helslngfors. An astonishing sight
for the stranger in Finland is the num
ber of women engaged in almost every
field of employment. In England dur
ing the war , one became accustomed
to the sight of women performing var
ious kinds of work In which previous
ly only men were engaged. But .In
Finland the visitor gets the Impres
sion that the women are doing every
thing. Not only are they at heavy manual
work In fields and factories but they
have become skilled as mechanics and
have Invaded business offices to an ex
tent that is probably undreamed of In
any other country. 1
In banks the proportion of women
employees to men. appears to be about
ten to .one. In the biggest financial
institutions in Helslngfors women hold
positions involving great responsibili
ty and calling for exceptional ability.
, At the Finnish foreign office the As
sociated Press correspondent npticed
that, women rwere holding offices that
would be entirely . beyond the aspira
tions of their sisters In the state de
partment at 'Washington , or the Brit
ish foreign office.
This change has come about almost
overnight. Finland's man power has
been greatly depleted, and a large part
chines will , be employed for carrying
valuable freight, mails and passengers. ,
There are immense rivers In French
Guiana, which, because of the presence
of many rapids, are now only navi
gable in canoes, which take weeks to.
transport freight over distances which
the hydro-airplanes can cover In as
many hours, with always large
stretches of smooth water offering a
suitable surface for landing and take-'
offs." 'y:: r ! ':
The freight charges are said to . be
high, and the traffic is expected to con
sist mainly of gold, balato and essence
.of rosewood, which are the principal
exports of the colony. The pasfenger
business is not expected to be heavy.
" These hydro-airplanes will also be
used for prospecting the forests for
balato trees, which grow in groups,
so that the foliage can, it is said, be
readily distinguished by aviators' flying
low over the tops of the forest trees.
In the past the securing of fresh
sources of balato has been a work of
HOUSEWIFE
'.V
to Uie uiiiis!
in uie nt'Uii ot uie sugar-
Sthool Gardens Produce
$48,0ou,lU0 in Food value
Washington. Children enlist
ed in home gardening: under
seh ool supervision In the United
States school garden army have
produced, in the little rhore than
a year the work has been in
operation, foodstuffs valued at
$48,000,000, the bureau of edu
cation of the departwect of .the
Interior announced. 1
lapse of six hours, as acidity does not
thoroughly establish Itself in a dead
body under this time. ;
It Is Interesting to recall in connec
tion with Doctor Icard's test that bne
of the tests commonly employed under
such circumstances has long been that
of grasping a fold of flesh with the
forceps and retaining it there for sev
eral moments. In the case of a living
body the "pleat" gradually returns, to
normal, but when life is extinct the
compression of the flesh persists. Doc
tor Icard's test (which has been
adopted In the Marseilles hospitals)
has a double value In that It includes
the physical test of the compression of
the skin and the chemical test which
establishes . a state of acidity, thus
"making, assurance doubly sure" and
removing from the realm of chance
the establishment of death in cases
where doubt exists.
of what Is left Is required for military
service.
The Finnish business woman Is re
markably keen and Intelligent, She
has a kind of masculine interest and
absorption In her work that seems to
admit of no margin for sentiment , or
frivolity. She dresses simply and
smartly, as do the majority Xf the city
bred women of this country. An
American walking through the prin
cipal streets of Helslngfors might well
believe, judging from the costumes
and brisk walk of the Finnish! women,
that he was Iq the heart of Chicago.
GAVE A BOOK; GOT A HUSBAND
New
Yorkv Girl Evidently Was
Sweet as Poetry Volume
She Donated.
As
New York. When the "Books for
Soldiers" campaign was at its height
early last year. Miss Hazel Bell Gil
bert of Sheepshead Bay, a ' daughter
of Detective Sergeant George P. Gil
bert" of the bomb squad, turned in a
volume of poems. 1
The book, with her name on the fly
leaf, found, its way to a rest station
behind the firing .lines, and. there fell
Into the hands of Lieut William J.
Edwards of the marine corps, who
wrote her a letter asking her if Vshe
were as sweet. as the vtrses. ;
When he came home he called, and
apparently found her so, for they
were married the other daj at the
Gravesend Reformed church. After a
honeymoon in Bermuda, f Lieutenant
Edwards and his bride will ! live in
Washington. v. . - - -
j much danger and dlificulty. Specially
liuuiru uuiulu WOrKerS. WP nrmoH
traveling in bands of 15 or 20. have
been employed to explore ttie forests.
ana tney naa to carry with them sup
plies to cover many months.!
Numbers for Fong Sings.
San Francisco, Cal. So many Fong
Sings appeared to charges of violation
of the federal narcotic laws that Fed
eral Judge William Van Fleet of the
federal court here was forced to place
them In numbered chairs, - such . as
"Fong Sing No. 1, Fong Sing No. 2,"
etc., down the line. Each was tread
ing on the other's toes,, so 'to speak,
and all the attorneys and all the king's
men had a terrible time parting them
again. Forty-two Chinese faced the
charge' or selling narcotics without 'a
license. " - ' - . ;:r '
Hit by Train, Carried to Safety on Pilot.
Tuscaloosa, la. Hit by a fast pas
senger train," carried eight : miles on
the pilot nnconsdous. and then falling
off by side of the track, was the ex
perience of: Louis Ebunmett, who lives
to tell the tale, u
Awww - - - - . . .
PROFITABLE Sill I
OF
ACTUAL AMOUNT REPORTED
SAID TO BE AROUND Sur
OF $700,000,000.
MANY CLAIMS ALSO H
Tn Months nnl H. 13-.. r .
j m --. ugcii VonsL
by Commission IniDisposmg of )
Our War Stocks In Europe.!
New York. A total of $700,004
was realized by the sale of Amer
war mateiial in England, France,
1
ITEFl
rs
r ,1'
glum. Italy and Germany, Edw
Parker, of Houston, Texas, chah
of the United States liquidation ,
mission stated. ;
He said the commission aTso c!
ed up claims due and against
United States for as much more,
report will be ready in a few day
1
ii
Mr. Parker asserted that, whii
7
had taken the commission only
months to dispose of all of, this
try's war stocks abroad, the otlie!,
lied countries had not yet been
to make an inventory.
- Trucks in Germany were sold
syndicate for $15,000,000 he said, i
a British syndicate bought autq
biles for $1,000,000. One lot of a
mobiles was, sold in "France for $
000. ' He asserted the articles
sold for more than 50 per cent;
what they cost.
EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE TC
TOUR COUNTRY IN JANUA
Washington. -Congressman Graii
of Illinois and : a subcommittee fc
the cominittee on expenditures in.
war department of the house bill n
make a tour of the country begins
January 10 with Charleston or Bia
wick as their first stop. The purps
of their visit to various places wilh
to make an investigation into expei
tures of the war department.
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY CF
STATE RETURNS FROM FRAK
New York. Frank L. Polk, asl
ant secretary of state; Gen. TaskerE
Bliss and- Henry White, mem2rsi
the American delegation to the her
national peace, conference, am
here from France on the transrt
America.'
WAR-TIME RESTRICTIONS ON.
LIQUOR IN CANADA REMOVED
Ottawa. An order granting am
ty to military offenders has been p
ed by the federal cabinet. It stops il
prosecutions and releases prisons
under the military service-act.
With regard to liquors It is unds
stood that a bill in council is be:?
passed rescinding all the war time :
strlctions with a few exceptions
from January 1.
PRESIDENT AGAIN NOMINATES
WILLIAMS TO BE COMPTROLLE3
Washington. John Skelton
Hams was again nominated by Presi
dent Wilson to be . comptroller of tl 4
currency. , j
PRICES ARE STILL RISING
DESPITE GOVERNMENT EFFORT
Washington. Despite efforts of ti;
government to reduce the cost of Vf'
ing, retail cost of 28 staple food ai ,
cles showed an average increase of'
per cent in November as compart
with October, the bureau of labor
tistlcs announced.
MISSING NC-4 IS REPORTED
SAFE IN. HARBOR. OF MOBIL&
Mobile, Ala. The trans-Atlantic ni
val seaplane NC-4, missing for severe
hours recently after ; leaving Gait
ton, Texas, on a non-stop flight ioHty
bile, arrived here. Because jf the i&
the plane was forced to descend t&
spend 12 hours at Grand Isle, La.,
miles south of New Orleans.
SENATE MAKES NO PROGRESS
ON TREATY OR RESERVATION
Washington. The peace treaty cj
troversy was revived in its full vig
just before the senate recessed f;
Christinas.
Two new moves for the formal
tablishment of peace, one by ratifi.
tion of the treaty, one with and
other without . reservations, were t;
agencies . which opened - the fiV
among the divergent 'elements of sen
ate memberehap. . Neither ropos1
got anywhere. -
DANIELS URGES LANSING TO
TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION
Washington ' Secretary Dante1
wrote Secretary Lansing urging
the atate department -take approPrJ
tU action" to secure , the release o.
prompt trial of the two Americax
bluejackets, who have been held ir ;
jaU at .MazaUan, Mexico, since thel
arrest there' November 12. .
A report from the commander of tl
scout patrol -boat Pocomoke : to whic
the" two men were attached also
transmitted to Secretary Laasi&l