The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, June 9, 1917, Page 1

BISMAROK, NORTH DAKOTA, SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1917. FIVE CENTS edIn Butte Mine eS 3 150 Dead; Tra ARE Dense Smoke Belching From Shaft Make Rescue Work Extremely Difficult TWO MEN SUCK AIR TUBES AND ARE SAVED Plames Started Early Today: in 2,400 Foot Level—Twelve Bodies Found Butte, Mont., June 9.—One hundred and: fitty mel 3 éported' dead and no hope fg:held outfor the recovery of 200 others caught underground by a fire in the Speculator Mine near here early today. Out of 425 men in the mife at the time the fire broke out, more than two-thirds are un- accounted for. Twelve bodies have been recovered. * With 25, dead and 167 men missing, as the result of a fire which broke out in the: Speculator. mine-Jast night, Butte today faced the worst mining disaster in its history. Officials said if the 167 missing miners are not found to have made their way to the high ore mine workings they are doomed. es Cuts Off Escape. : The fire, which started on the 2,400 foot level, spread quickly, cutting off the escape of men on lower levels. Dense smoke retarded rescue work. Miners from adjoining properties or- dered up from underground as a pre- caution went to work as rescuing gangs, aiding national guards who had been called to the scene. They. were able to do littde. Form Rescue Parties. Warning of their danger came soon enough to permit men on the upper levels: to escape. They immediately formed rescue parties and attempted to go down the shaft to the men en- tombed below. Their efforts were fruitless, and little could be done un- til the arrival of the Bureau of Mines safety first cat which carried gas.and smoke proof helmets fram Red Lodge and Colorado Springs.:,-Oné hour after the outbreak-of the fire mine’ officials declared they’ could account for 213 out of 415 men who were in the shaft when the fire started. eA Cheated Death. John C. Coffeyment and John Boyce, who were the first two men taken from the shaft alive, told how they cheated death by cutting the air hose and sucking the air by turns until the rescue party arrived. They were on the 700 foot level at the outbreak of the fire. According to miners who escaped, the fire started from the flames from a carbide lamp. Two men who were working on the 700 foot level reported that 48 men had perished where they started. They alone were saved. 200 Experts at Work All ambulances in Butte, and all physicians in the city, were summoned to cooperate with the rescue party. Every safety first expert in the dis- trict also has been summoned, and it is estimated that within.a few. howe 220 safety first men traigéd to Fie ie rescue work, will be gt the shaft. Rescuers equipped with ‘4afety: hel- mets, who tried to enter the Specu- lator shaft, were driven back by the flames. HOLD WILL CITY PHYSTCIARY FOR CLIENT'S MURDER Minneapolis, June 9.—Dr. M. A. Hatch is being held by the police to- day pending an investibation of the death in his office last night of Miss Esther Peterson, twenty-three years old, whose body was found in his of- fice, the head wrapped in a sheet, and saturated with chloroform. According to the police, there was evidence of a struggle, and body bruises about the arms and shoulders. Sometime ago Mr. Hatch was con- victed of manslaughter in connection with the death of a woman patient, and his appeal to the Supreme Court is now pending. Marks which were found on the girl’s arms and chest, the coroner said, indicated that the girl might have struggled with some assailant before her death, Ata recent trial in which Dr. Hatch was found guilty of manslaughter in connection with an illegal operation, Miss Peterson was the principal wit- * ness for the defense. Dr. Hatch ap- pealed to the state supreme court and the case is now pending. When ar- rested tonight Dr. Hatch reiterated his statement that the girl had com- mitted suicide and that his arrest was a continuance of the prosecution started in the recent trial. Miss Peterson's friends say she had been despondent for some time. Dr. Hatch was released today on & writ of habeas corpus which was not defended by the county attorney, when Coroner Seashore said an au- topsy_indicatéd the "girl, had ended her own life. bi Birth Rate Decline in Germany Causes Unrest _ Over Future of Empire BY J. W. T. New York, June 9—If the great war lasts two and one-half years longer, babies will disappear almost completely in German id ment devises measures to check ‘the Prokertionste: fall in birth rates dur- ing the first ‘two years. of war, Germany is facing the — greatest catastrophe that ever. threatened a modern nation. An alarming decline of childhood is hovering over the Jand | at home, while, the obliteration of Ger; many’s. youth and mahhood is ‘oceur- ring on the battlefields. Not a Fantastic Dream Deeay of the German race, because of insufficient. replenishment from sousces inside the country, is not a fantastic dream of ‘Germany’s ene- mies, but is a disquieting possibility of the future, which German scien- tists have been ordered by the gov- ernment, to investigate. During 1915, German births fell by 20 ‘per cent below the record for 1914, the year the war began, and according to figures which have just succeeded in passing the German censor, the decline .in 1916 was about 40 per cent under the 1914 figures. Thé same steady fall in births, at the rate of 20 per cent additional perycent at the end of 1919, with the from Germany. Tt is not certain, as a matter of absolute fact, whether this blight up- on future German humanity would be wholly complete, for German statis- tics refer not to small country vil- lages, but to cities of 15,000 or over. Rate Falls Off It is possible the birthrate has not fallen so extensively in the agricul- tural districts;' but if not, this is due to a large excess of illegitimate births. Russian prisoners of war are being extensively used to supply the war’s deficit of agricultural laborers in Germany, and these are understood to have usurped the places of hus- bands of German peasant women, who in many cases actually assisted in the capture of the Russians. The German governing class realizes there is no future for Germany ii it has to depend for its coming man power upon such unions as these. Ways must be devised to keep the cities - well supplied with lusty youngsters if Germany is to play even a sec ondary part in the world. Germany has lost 1,200,000 in dead since the beginning of the war, and 500,000 in man so. badly injured as to-he useless for serious work -when the. war ends. ‘About 800,000 German youths reach military age yearly. Decline by 20 per cent of German births in 1915, means that 20 years thereafter, there will be only 640,000 Germans of military age; and decline of 40 per cent of births in 1916, means that in 1936 no more than 480,000 Ger- mans will be ready for’ the ‘army. To the 1,700,000 Germans killed or permanently injured since the be- ginning of the war, must be added 480,000 potential soldiers, who dis- appeared from the future army rolls in 1915 and 1916 through NOT HAV- ING BEEN BORN. Militarism can- not exist without manpower; and there can be no adequate manpower for Germany with births declining in anything like the present propor- tion. The birth decline, in fact, Is the third great movement working to overthrow the Prussian militarist rulers—the two others being the growth of democracy within Ger- many, and pressure of the allied armies outside. German sociologists mep fal professors are holding confer- enges throughout the empire, trying to devise ways of restoring a normal number of births—but, to the present, without success. The government is ready to offer financial rewards to parents of large families, but German scientists are not convinced this is the way td meet the problem. To encourage large families among the few who are willing to undertake the necessary sacrifice and responsi- bility is far less important than to persuade the great middle class fam- ilies of Germany to do their share toward keeping Germany populated by contributing. two or three children each. - The Germans are not willing to do this under present conditions of liv- ing. Since the Franco-Prussian war, there has been a fall, decade by dec- ade, in the German birthrate. The increase in German population has been due, during that period; to re- duction in the death rate, which the government has accomplished by hy- gienic improvements and better living conditions. But the present fall in the birth rate is accompanied by the greatest increase in the death rate, due to the war, that the world has ever known. When the soldiers return home from the trenches, there will~be an improvement in the birth rate; but the call now is for EVER MORE MEN FOR THE FRONT. Every German who is now killed means his elimin- ation from the total of future Ger- man fathers—and fathers are Ger- many’s most pressing demand of the future. THE ONLY REAL SOLUTION FOR GERMANY IS TO END THE WAR SO THE FATHERS OF THE FU- TURE CAN RETURN HOME. If the war goes much longer, piling up ever increasing future poverty for Germans, there can be no satisfactory solution even after peace is declared. For, not only will an increasing number of potential fathers have been killed, but those who survive will be reluctant to assume parental cares with taxes so high and liv- ing conditions so unsatisfactory. If the birthrate scientists report and govern- truthfully to the kaiser, they will say quick peace givés Germany her only chance of meeting this new enemy at home. yearly, would make the decline 100 MASON unless the govern- ST practical disappearance of babies ADVOCATES WAR TAX UPON LAND NOT CULTIVATED Gilson Gardner Points Out That There Are 350,000,000 Idle Acres SEES.IN THIS CONDITION CAUSE FOR FQOD PRICES By GILSON GARDNER. Washington, D. C. June 9—There are approximately 350,000,000 acres of idle land in Unifed States farms, ac- rding to latest census figures, thone), tal i 1910. «Less. than. three-fifths of the land. in farms Is Improved. In 1910 a lit- tle over half the land in farms in the United States was improyed—478,- 451,750 acres out of a total of 878, 798,325 acres. apa This is, how privaté ownership of landfor: bpeculative purposes results in_land being held ‘out of SCe : Helps. Boost. Prices... It is one cause. of ,present, high prices of foodstuffs and the difficulty of raising enough food to meet the needs of the nations warring to put down German autocracy. How to get this land into use is one of the government’s war prob- lems. There is no use plowing up lawns and tennis courts when half the best farm lands are untilled. Why not tax them into use? This thought occurred to some members of congress looking for ways to raise war revenue. The specula- tive value of unused land is a fine untapped source of revenue, and the effect of such taxes, unlike taxes on industry and improvements, would be to ‘stimulate production rather than discourage it. , ‘ Help Food Situation More food would be raised, the far- mer would get better prices, because the speculator would get less in rent and holding price, and the consumer would get tood cheaper. All this has been urged on the sen- ate finance committee which is mull- ing over the revenue act. A com- mittee has been formed to help work out the food and land problem with Charles H. Ingersoll (of watch fame) at its head, and containing such men as Frederic C. Howe, immigration commissioner; John J. Hopper of New York; Stiles P. Jones, Minne- sota; Lucius F. C. Garvin, ex-Gover- nor, Rhode Island; J. J. Pastoriza, Texas; C. B. Kegley, Washington state. Large Revenue It is urged that a tax of this char- acter would produce large revenue and cheapen necessities, and tend to check the tendency of farm lands to drift into monopoly. Nineteen per cent of the farm land in the United States, about 170,000,000 acres, was in 1910 in tracts of a thousand acres or over and 9 1-2 per cent was in tracts of 500 to 999 acres, about 85,000,000} acres, a total of approximately 255,- 000,000 acres. The United States commission on; industrial relations reported: “More than four-fifths of the area of the large holdings is be- ing kept out of actual use by their 50,000 owners, while 2,250,- 000 farmers are struggling for a bare existence on farms of less than 50 acres.” All of which results in high rents as well as high priced land. In 1916 the department of agriculture re- ported the average value per acre of farm lands, exclusive ot improvements was in north Atlantic states, $36.71; in south Atlantic, $23.79; in north) central, east of the Mississippi, $74.95; | north central, west of the Mississip-| pi, $59.68; south central, $24.09, and| far western $58.40; for the United States as a whole, $45.55. By the same authority is is esti- mated the average value of a farm, with its land and building alone, is $7,121. Publie Lands It is true there are nearly 280,000,- AST LOW ASSERTS WOLD President. nth District Reserve Bank Says He Has Evidence Against Nonpartisans oo TOWNLEY HAS OPPOSED .BONDB'IN HIS TALKS President 0 Rocialistic Organiz- ation Thinks Millionaires .. June 9.—Gover- i of the Minneapo- 6 bunk announced evidence to show Mun league is work- Je of the Liberty campaign in the gton has ‘been ad- on, and a thorough ing made. As quick- yfacts can be estab- he forwarded. Investigation ts ly as addition lished. they. wi HAS OPPOSED LOAN. That Townley lias ridiculed and op- posed the: Liberty Loan, both in pub- lic ‘speeches: and in. general . state- ments. hag.been. apparent in reports of all“of: the ‘meetings which he ‘has addressed. during the present cam- paign, beginning at Devils Lake on registration day. While‘apparently Governor Frazier has worked in sympathy with the ef- fort of leading citizens throughout the state to save!/North Dakota from the disgrace of falling to do its share, Townley has been‘making such state- ments at the following: “The. nation demands that. you give yourself and your sons and your brothers and your husbands and your sweethearts to be taken across the seas and spill their life’s blood on the fields of Eu- rope, and then. comeg,'o you and “Bens you to sudscribe tor. the Ltb- erty Bonds, td. pay the expenses of the war. This is the injustice of the war and the manner in which officials of the administration are carrying it into effect.” This statement was made at Devils Lake on registration day, a day mark- ed in every other city in the state by loyalty demonstrations and patriotic parades. At Minot Townley is reported to have said of the Liberty Loan: “This is wrong, all wrong. 1! say to you that measure is any- thing but patriotic, because it takes the heart out of those boys going across the water to fight battles, knowing that when they get back they must pay for It. When they get back! Some cost for the boys that go across to fight!” Again he said: “When this war is over, this gov- ernment will give back to the mother what, is left of her son; to the father whiat'is left of his boy; back to the sister what is left of the brother, and back to the sweetheart what is left of the lover. The nation then gives back to us as much as is left. So it should be with the wealth, give back what is left.” Townley urged that instead of buy- ing Liberty Bonds the people of North (Dakota stand firm in insisting that the government take from the “multi- millionaires” the billion dollars which he says will cover the cost ot the war, leaving the multi-millionaires just enough to live on. Must Wake Up. Unless the Northwest farmers who are “apathetic” wake up and do their share in the next week, the Liberty loan in the Ninth federal loan dis- trict will be a failure, Mr. Wold said. In a statement following a meeting of the bank’s officials with various Minnesota bankers and members of the Central Liberty Loan committee, John H. Rich, chairman of the cen- tral loan committee, today said that the farmers, who are more prosperous than ever before, are failing in vheir support. : When the meeting broke up, 500 telegrams and 2,800 letters were sent to all sections, directing attention to unsatisfactory returns, in an effort to arouse the farmers. Special notices were also sent to 3,500 banks in the district. The Nonpartisan league is strong in North Dakota, operates extensively in Minnesota and maintains national headquarters in St. Paul. The statement calls attention to the success of the loan in Minneapo- lis, St. Paul, Duluth and Butte, and says the returns from the agricultural districts are disappointing. , Not Responding. “The farmers, who are receiving the highest price in history for wheat, hogs and other crops, are not re sponding to the call of their govern- ment and are displaying apathy and indifference,” the statement says. The joint statement then presents the qualifying statement that the dif- ficulty in operating in a large dis- trict where farmers are not used to buying bonds, is understood. It rec- ognizes the necessity and difficulty of personal approach in the thinly set- tled districts, but points to the satis- 000 acres_ of _free_public_land, but (Continued on Page Three) factory reports from sit nilar districts (Continued on Page Three) FALSE REPORTS ARE EXPOSED BY KAY OFFCLS Secretary Daniels Uncovers Plan to Alarm American People by Spreading Rumors AMERICAN SHIPS HAVE MET WITH NO DISASTER Hospitals Are Not Filled With Wounded—Other Falsehoods Cited Washington, June 9. — Persistent and widely circulated false reports of naval battles and disasters to American and Entente forces have reached the point where Secretary Daniels has concluded they are the result of an organized conspiracy to distress the American people. The secretary issued the following state- ment: + ‘\ Polsoned by Rumors, “The country is being poisoned by rumors of battle and disaster, which are without the slightest foundation jn truth. Reports from the command- ants in naval districts, telegrams and rletters from individuals have forced me to the conclusion there is a con- spiracy on foot to alarm the people of the United States. Among the most persistent of these reports is one that a naval engagement has tak- en place between the German fleet and the combined American and Al- lied fleet and that 60 of the latter's ships were sunk, two of them being the Pennsylvania and the Texas. “In elaboration of this falsehood, there is the alleged, rumor that the hospitals at thé Atlantic coast naval yards are filled with crippled sailors and marines, and that the various hos- pitals of New. York are “equally crowded. Outrageous Falsities. “By way of circumstantiality it is rumored that a passenger arriving on a Holland-American liner stated that his vessel pasged.throvgh the: pattle area aftér the engagement, and that the sea was thick ‘with “floating bodies. “All these outrageous falsities are accompanied by the statement that the Washington authorities are in a conspiracy with the press to, keep the truth from the peoplé. |). “The American fleet has not been in action. No ship hasbeen lost. There are no wounded sailors or ma- tines in any hospital. The’ declared policy of the navy department is one of absolute openness. If disaster comes no effort will be made to min- imize it. The people of the United States are asked to trust in this and to aid in stamping out this campaign of rumor that is so plainly the result of disloyalty.” COMMUNICATION WITH SALVATAR STILL GUT OFF Corinto, Nicaragua, June 9.—Tele- graphic communication with Salvador is still cut off and no authentic infor- mation is available here as to the loss of life and property caused by the earthquake and storm Thursday. Such advices as have reached Corinto indicate that great property loss was occasioned. It is hinted that Santa Pechla has been destroyed and the surrounding countryside for 30 miles devastated. ‘The city of San Salva- dor has been damaged badly, accord- ing to a current report. The earthquake occurred. at 9 o’clock Thursday night. It was ac-/ companied by a high wind and a heavy rain. HEN IN KAISER’ PARTY KILLED London, June 9.—Emperor William was with Field Marshal von Hinden- burg, Prince Eitel Frederich and oth- er members of the German emperor's staff inside the St. Peter's station at Ghent, Belgium when it was bom- barded by Entente allied airmen, the | other day, according to a dispatch to the Exchange Telegraph correspond- ent today. The emperor’s party was unhurt, but three army officers were killed. Jamestown Baby 99 Per Cent Fine, Judges’ Verdict Jamestown, N. D., June 9.—Baby Jane Lydon, seven and one-halt- months-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Lydon, was adjudged winner in the Baby Week contest brought to a Body of Keet Baby Found InFarm Well The Victim Kidnaped Was Son of Wealthy Missouri Bank- er MYSTERY SURROUNDING CASE TO CLEAR SOON Springfield, Mo., June 9.—The body of Lloyd Keet, fourteen-months-old son of J. Holland Keet, wealthy bank- er, was found in a well on the Cren- shaw farm near here today, accord- ing to reliable reports. The mystery surrounding Baby Lloyd Keet, who disappeared a week ago tonight, may be nearing solution, authorities and friends of the family ‘believe. At the same time today has brought forth startling disclosures about an alleged plot for kidnapping of several wealthy persons in this vi- cinity, with a German munitions plot as a side feature. Six persons were ‘being held in cus- today tonight—one here, another at Ozark, Mo., and the four others, in- cluding a woman, at some place to which they were taken when their jailers here became frightened at the Possibility of mob violence. The body was wrapped in a wom- an’s undershirt, according to the re- port, and apparently had been in the well several days. A deserted house on the farm was said to have been headquarters for the band, which planned to kidnap Cc. A. Clement, a St. Louis munitions maker. The Keet baby was stolen from the family home the night of May 30. His parents had gone to a dance and the baby was left with a nurse. CCESSINSTS AT KRONSTAT ARE QUUETED Inspection of Military Prisons Show Deplorable Condi- tions HERO OF THREE WARS HELD IN CONFINEMENT Kronstadt, June The last act of the executive body of the Kronstadt cecessionists before surrendering to the Petrograd government was to permit the Associated Press corre- spondent to inspect the prison, in which are confined the army and navy officers suspected of actively sympathizing with the autocracy. With the horrors of the prisons part- ly real and partly imagined, Russia has been wrought up for the last 10 days. Heretofore no inspection has béen allowed. Mixed with Soldiers. In the naval preliminary prison, the officers confined are in four separate halls mixed with private soldiers, and in the third of these halls with men convicted of murder and theft. In appearance they were dirty, pale and unshaven, but not emaciated. The halls are increasingly over- crowded. There is an average of one foot of space between the beds. There are no chairs or other furniture, ex- cept small tables. Solitary Confinement. This section of the jail consists entirely of solitary confinement cells, six feet wide ‘by nine feet deep. The cells are unventilated, windowless and dimly lighted, through a barred aperature in the door. In one of these cells is Admiral Kurosh, the hero of three wars. He is in bad health. In another is a captain of the first rank, Almquist, who was lately released as innocent by the cecession- ists’ executives of inquiry, but who was dragged back by a mob to jail. The halls of the prison are over- run with fats, which annoy the cap- tives at night. The officers complained bitterly that although they had been in prison three months, no formal accusations had been preferred against them, and they were entirely ignorant of the cause of their imprisonment. HEAVY RAINS STIMULATE STUTSMAN COUNTY WORK Farmers Begin Today Late Plant- ing in Vicinity of James- town Jamestown, N. D., June 9.—A heavy rain last Wednesday and a light ‘shower again yesterday have placed crops in Stutsman county in the best of condition, according to reports coming to Jamestown from all sec- tions today. Several farmers have predicted record crops this year owing to the fact that wheat, oats, afix, rye and barley have all profited by the rains. A majority of the farmers have been: successful close here yesterday. Baby Lydon scored 99 points in the contest. A parade featured the closing of the contest yesterday afteroon. awaiting the first heavy rain before planting their flax crop. This work was started today by some and will be completed by the end of next week. FALL OF LENS NEXT MOVE OF ENTENTE ARMY General Haig’s Forces Purpose tq Give No Rest to Hard Press- ed Germans FIELD OF ATTACK TWENTY MILES SOUTE Arras Battle Has Made Serious Inroads on Major Defenses of Enemy (Associated Press.) General Haig’s evident purpose to give no rest to the Germans before the British front in Belgium and northern France had a new exemplit- fication last night. The troops struck at the German positions around Lens on a twomile front, south of the Souchez river. The enemy lines were penetrated. toa depth of more than half a mile, and successfu! operations were carried on further north as far as La Basse. Field of Attack. The field of this attack lies from 15 to 20 mile& south of that made Thursday by the British, which result- ed in the capture of the commanding Wypschaete-Messines ridge, and the elimination of the last annoying sall- ent on the entire line. Somewhat widely separated as are the two fields of attack, they bear relations with each other as constituting points at which the great manufacturing dis- trict of northern France, centering in Lille, may -be subjected to alter nating pressure. Serious Inroads. Already the Arras battle, of which this latest development is a continu- ation, has made serious inroads on the major defenses of this region. The fall of Lens, the great coal elty, just before the British, lines, on this point, Aas long.been considered: only a matter of time.. The movement re- ported today apparently means the time is near at hand and that another great blow is about to be struck, clearing the’ Germans from their much prized French possessions in this area. Success of British. The success of the British in the Lens operations may well have been due in-part to the necessity of the Germans making heavy concentration against the British on the Belgian front. It was during the progress of a desperate counter attack on the ground won by the British forces {on the Wypschaete/Messines sector, that weneral Haig made his attack in the more sottherly area. - On the front héld by the French there also was hard fighting during the night. The Germans attacked again at several points in the Aisne area. They failed to gain anything and suffered heavy losses in all their thrusts. PERSHING IS RECEIVED BY KING. GEORGE London, June 9—-General Pershing was received this morning at Buck- ingham palace by King George. He was presented to the king by Lord Brooke, commander of the 12th Cana- dian infantry brigade. General Pershing was accompanied to the palace by his personal staff of 12 officers. After the audience, the officer paid a formal call at the Unit- ed States embassy. MOORE CAS “OES TOUR St. Paul, Minn. June 9,—The fate of Mike Moore, a bartender, and alleged go-between in the Alice McQuillan Dunn murder plot, prob- ably will be in the hands of the dis- trict ‘court Jury rate today. The state finished its case late yes- terday. It is thought probable that Moore himself will be the only wit- ness called for the defense. At today’s hearing Moore frequently interrupted the examination of wit- nesses by bursting into a frentied tirade in which he shouted that he was Jesse James and “the divine rep- resentative of God on earth.” Once he took over the cross-examination of witnesses himself and conducted it for nearly an hour. + William Hickey, alleged yeggman, testified today that Moore attempted to hire him to slay Mrs. Duan. Joe ‘Redenbaugh testified today that Moore hired him to kill Mrs. Duma.