The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, December 18, 1917, Page 1

” The Weather Generally fair. SIRTY-SEVENTH YEAR, NO. TROTZKY ASK _ ENTENTE POWERS TO CONFERENCE No Instructions Have Been Sent ~to Francis by United States. GERMAN AGENTS ( ON THE WAY} Kuehimann and Count Czernin Depart for Negotiations at Brest L Litovsk. Washington, Di Dee. 18—It Is stated at the senate department that the reply of Ambasador Francis to invitation of Leon Trotzky foreign minister of the Bolsheviki government to particl- pate In the peace negotiations would be that he has no Instruc- tions from this government. No Instructions have been sent to Mr. Francis, It is belleved that Am- bassador Francis will be expected to do nothing more In connection with. the peace parleys than to cuserxe developments and report em. Petrograd, Dec. 18.—The German and Austrian foreign ministers, Dr. Von Kuehlmann and Count Czernin have notified Leon Trotzky, the Bol- sheviki foreign minister, that they will arrive at spat are Tuesday night to begin neg 4 iations for a gen- eral European peace. The evening newspapers announce that ‘Trotzky\ has notified the allied embassies that. the armistice has reached. definite results and that peace negotiations will begin and ask- ing them to participate or state wheth- er they wish peace or not. Up to this evening, the embassies had not received the communication and on informal conference of the allied diplomats is said to have 'reach- ed no definite decision, LARGEST ARMY YBT-RAISED IN WESTERN WORLD Force Now Being Trained Third ‘Larger Than Union Strength. HINDENBURG IS WORRYING St. Paul, Minn., Dec. 18.—The lates: ofticial figures put the number of en- listed men in the armies of the Unitea States at one million three hundred and sixty thousand. This is the force that has grown in eight months out of an army that on April 1, numberea only 110,000 men. Of these Minnesota has contributed 8,579 through draft, 6,060 in the national guard and 6,000 in the regular army. Most of them are still in the train- ing camps. Many of them are not yet disciplined troops, fully equipped and armed for battle. Lut there they are, 1,360,000 of them, already one of the biggest factors Hindenburg is reckon- ing wit for the campaign of 1918. 80,000 Officers. To lead them there are more than 80,000 officers. When the graduate: of the second training camp get their first orders the number will be over 100,000 as many officers as there were privates nine months ago. The whole military establishment. with the marines and the auxiliary forces thrown in, number a million and a half. The expansion tha: has taken place is as if Duluth has grown in eight months to be virtually as big as Philadelphia. Only 980,000 Men in ’65. Since Xerxes led his million and = half of assorted Asiatics across the Hellespont, Europe has seen many a campaign conducted on the granu scale. American battles have beez fought as stubbornly but with smaller forces engaged. There were 2,700,000 enlistments in the Federal army in the Civil war. But many of this num- ber were re-enlistments. The highes: total engaged at any one time was reached in the last year of the war. On March 31, 1865, the Union army comprised 980,000 men. For the Spanish war an army of 275,000 was raised and only 60,000 saw service. The present American army is the largest armed force tue western hem- isphere has even seen. Bigger Than British War When Great Britain entered the war it was with a much smaller army. The first expeditionary force number- ed barely a hundred thousand. The kaiser called it a contemptible liitie army. Yet without its work at Mons, Paris might have fallen. One hun- dred thousand men, and the encour- agement they brought to the French, were enough to avert defeat in the first year of the war. It is the hope of the allies that an- other new force, ten or twelve times as great, will be enough in the fourth year of the war to ensure victory. {attended the great 297 THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE Evening Edition BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1917 ITEMPT TO KILL CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR AUSTRIA AND GERMANY TO ENTER GENERAL PEACE NEGOTIATIONS NORTH DAKOTA JOINS IN ATTACK UPON - BANKERS’ INSURANCE Mont., Dec. 18 18.—Representa- tives of the insurance departments of Montana, North Dakota and South Da- kota, in their report on the affairs of the Bankers Insurance company, made public today by the State Audi- tor declared the company was be- , hind on payments of losses. The re- ‘port says the company never com- piled with the laws of the Dakotas, that its capital of $100,000 had never been paid up, and that its liabilities over all assets on Nov. Ist, 1917, amounted to $215,048.00. The com- pany wrote hail and drought insur- ance. ~ PEACE PARLEYS HOLD CENTER OF INTEREST Bulgaria and Turkey Eager to End Struggle as Speedily as Possible. HER WAY CLEAR, London, Dec. 18—Germany’s way in the west is clear, inasmuch as a peace by negotiation with Great Britain is out of the ques- tion at present, Chancellor von * Hertling asserted in an interview given to the director of the Wolffe Bureau, the semi-official German news agency, as quoted in dis- patches reaching London today. The interview was given in re- Sponse to a request for a reply to the recent speech of Premier Lloyd George, who said he would negard peace overtures w:th Rus- sia at thésmoment the Prussian military spirit was drunk with boastfulness as a betrayal of the great trust with which he and his coleagues had been charged. BY ASSOCIATED PRESS. Germany and Austria-Hungary ap- parently will lose no time in bringing about a separate peace with the Bol- sheviki government of Russia, now that the armistice between the coun. ‘ries has become effective. Dr. Von Kehlmann, the German foreign secretary, and Count Czernin, the Aus ‘rian foreign minister, will arrive at Brest-Litovsk today to begin negotia- ‘ions looking toward peace. A semi-official statement issued in Vienna geegree that the Central powers ‘will follow up the armistice “as speedly as possible” with peace parleys and it is added that Bulgaria and Turkey also will join in the nego- tlations. According to Petrograd advices, Leon Trotzky, the Bolsheviki foreign minister, has notified the allied em bassies that peace negotiations are to begin, and has asked them to par. ticipate or state whether they wish peace. An informal conference of the allied diplomats is said to have reached no definite decision on the subject. The Bolsieviki government, in a notice to foreign em>assies in Petrograd, says it considers the ques tion of recognition purely formal and cares little about it. The notice de clares that the forelgn embassies must vise the passports of Bolsheviki cour- fers, or similar courtesies will be re fused. Except on the Italian northern front, near the Brenta river, military oper ations are at a minimum. The Ital- ians, in a desperate struggle, have been able to retake an advantageous position on Col Caprille, while check: ing AustroGerfhan attempts in the region of San ‘Marino. The activity of the aerial and artillery arms cn this front continues to be intense. Snow has fallen heavily on the Tritish front in France, and only small isolated raids have occupied the infantry. In Upper Alsace, the French have repulsed a German attack. The German cruisers which attack ed the British convoy in the North sea last Wednesday returned without losses, and captured a large number of prisoners, according to Berlin. Fourteen vessels including seven neu- tral steamers, were sunk by the Ger- mans, in the North sea, and off the mouth of the Tyne. FARMER RETURNS 10 FIND WIFE SUICIDE; NO CAUSE ASSIGNED Balfour, 18.—Fred ‘Micklemenko, returning from a shop- ping trip to Balfour, found his wife a suicide at their farm home, mid-way between this place and Kief. Mrs. ‘Micklemenko ha drawn all the blinds and locked the door before drinking a large quantity of active poison. She was unconscious when her husband found her, and a doctor who was sum- moned immediately could not revive N. D., Dec. her. No cause is known for her act. PRIVATE ENVOY GOES DIRECT TO PRESIDENT Washington, Dec. 18.—Colonel E. M. House, back from Europe where he inter-allied war, conference as head of the American! mission, came to Washington late to- DEFENSE SEEKS TO PROVE HALL WAS DECEIVED Cross Examination of Edwards, Reveals Attitude to Be Taken. LYNGSTAD NOW ON STAND ;Deputy State Treasurer Suc- ceeds Examiner After a Long Session. It becomes increasing evident as the cross examination of W. R, Ed-| wards, first witness for the state, in the Hall case progresses that the de- fense will contend that the secretary of state, now on trial for embezzle- ment, ha:l nothing directly to do with the handling of the automobile regis- tration funds, and tha: any manipula- tion of these funds was without his knowledge. Question after question tending to bring out statements to this effect were fire¢ at Edwards this morning by W. H. Stutsman, chief of counsel for the defense. Edwards was succeeded by Deputy State Treasurer Lyngstad on the stand at noon today, after having been under continual fire from the state or the defense for a day and a half. He repeated the story of the sealing of the safe in tue auto- bile registration department and, later, of the sealing of the safe in Hall's private office. Continued bickering of counsel this: morning led Judge Coffey to rule that objections be addressed to the court rather than to opposing attorneys. “We'll get along better,” said the judge. The contention of the defense that anything which Eugene M. Walla, chief clerk in the automobile registra- tion department, may have said to E. R. Edwards, deputy state examiner, or to any other person, not in the pres- ence of Secretary of State Tuomas Hall, is not admissable as evidence against Mr. Hall in his ‘trial for em- bezzlement was sustained by Judge Coffey “1 Monday afternoon after a long and spirited argument between opnosing counsel@ “Suppose Walla, ¢ dthat Tom Halt, was a.thief and phat he stole $4,000— would ‘you; séndj hfm to the penitenj Hiary on that kind of evidence; oa statements made to a third party not in the presence of Tom Hall,” asked Attorney Stutsman. “The admission of an agent in a ci- vil action is one thing and that of a third rartv in a criminal case anoth- er,” said Thorp. “Mr. Hall stands here alone as defendant in this case. Walla is under Indictment on the same charge in another case. No foundation has been laid to prove that Tom Hall was ever near that cash drawer or had anything to do with it.” Rrennan insisted that the rule of evidence was the same whether an ac- tion be civil or criminal in its na- ture. The question arose when W. R. Ed- wards of the examiner's office at- tempte:l to tell something that Walla had said to him when he (Edwards) went into the secretary of state's of- fice to count the cash Octo er 23. Wal- la at that time testified Edwards, pre- sented a manila envelope containing checks drawn by Hall on a local bank to the amount of about $400. The direct examination of W. R. Edwards, the state's first witness, was completed late Monday afternoon, after he has testified as to the sealing of the safe in the secretary of state’s office after the discovery of an al- leged shortage which he believed to be approximately $3,477.55. When the safe was unsealed in the presence of State Examiner J. P.. Waters, Assist- ant Examiner E. A. Thorberg, Assist- ant Attorney General Daniel V. Bren- nan, Secretary of State Hall and Mr. Walla, about 6 p. m., October 29, it was found to contain, said the witness, checks for $91,50; $59.10 in stamps; $38 in currency. Eugene Walla, testi- fied Edwards, at this time produced froin a drawer in his desk $2,500.30 in ¢urrency and a check drawn in favor of himself for $75, still leaving a short- age of $175.72. Later, said Edwards, he discovered that $260 worth of 1918 business had been included in the deposits which he had credited on 1917 business, and that there also was $108 in miscellaneous business im- properly credited to 1907. On cross examination by W. a! Stutsman, chief of counsel for the de-; fense, the examiner admitted that the monthly statements made by Secre- tary of State Hall showing the dis- | bursements made from the automo-' bile funds to the various counties and to the state high. y commission were no safe indication of the balance that might be carried over from month to month. He admitted that business came in in stacks during a part of the season, as much as $10,000 worth of checks and currency coming in April 19. The business for the 10% months covered by his investigation totaled $210,000. He believed that by checking back daily balances he could discover just when the alleged short- age of $1,200 which he found to ex- ist as of Dec. 31, 1916, first appeared. day and drove directly to the white, The cross examination of Edwards house to make a personal report to’ probably will consume half of Tues- President Wilson. day. My CHILDREN, OH, MY CHILDREN!” tal HELP THESE BY INIA aE RED CROSS. | ae a FIRST FULL DAY? CROSS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE NETS 1266 NEW MEMBERS HOME GUARD TONIGHT. Members Urged to Turn Out at Masonic Temple. ‘apt, E. G. Wanner calls espe- cla tention to the regular we ly business meeting of the Home (iuard, to be jd in the basement of the Masonic temple this even- Ing. Following discussion of the great Red Cross membership drive, which :the Home Guard Is so successfully carrying over the top, guns will be assigned to members, who will he expected to take their a with them, Inas- adequate o large a r of guns ei at the armory or in the Masonic temple. Capt. Wanner urges that every member of the Bismarck company respond to roll-call this evening. Twelve hundred and sixty-six mem- bers was the net result of one full day’s work, plus about three hours put in Monday morning, reported to Chairman H. P, Goddard at noon to- day. The goal originally set for the Bis- marck Home Guard’s Red Cross mem- bership drive was 2000. More than half that number have been obtained, and the week has only begun. “Are we going over the top? Well, just watch us,” said a home guards- man this morning. “This is the easiest job we've ever tackled. We find ‘em waiting for us with checks already signed. Every- one wants a membership flag and a Red Cross button and a few stickers for his flag, and every family is down for at least one subscription to the Red Cross magazine. I’ve never seen a better-natured bunch of solicitors, Squad Mon. Tues. Total ‘Lomas 49 69, i Marks 45 60 Lahr . 79 «110 ; Clinton . 87 141 Copelin 132 214! Larson wee Whitney 230 MsGray . 130 Quanrud . 7 Marsh .. 87 Wanner 154 Total 1266 To Call at Meal-Time. Captain) Wanner and Corporal Marks reported today they have 5 RED nor a bunch with more pep and en- thusiasm ‘iin them How They Stand. The standings of the squads at noon i today were: missed so many of the men of the families that they intend to make a special canvass at 6:00 o'clock Thurs- day. The big Christmas membership drive in the rural districts is meeting with phenomenal success. Monday afternoon Rev. George Buzzelle of St. George’s Episcopal church, in charge of the organization work, spoke tu a capacity house in Baldwin. Business | houses close’ and the proprietors and clerks ats a body. Anew’ was organized, fifty; new meme cured and the school children o zed all in on after- noon. Baki / is so enthusiastic that another big. Aly is planned for Satur- day night. ¢ Rev. Mr. Buzzelle spent toley in Wing, where the same results are ex- pected. The people of the rural dis- in tricts are “going over the top” great numbers. It is expected th the whole of Burleigh county will list in the great Christmas meme ship of the Red Cross. BURNED WHEREVER HE'S NOT FROZEN, GUST IS IN PAIN Slope Center, N. D. 1 N. Dec. 18.—P. H. Marquardt, —_ well-known bachelor homesteader of this vicinity, is suffer- ing from badly burned and frozen hands and feet as a result of a des- perate fight with a midnight fire a his shack when the thermometer was thirty below. He was aroused in the middle of the night by the smoke and flames. Almost suffocated and in a! dazed condition, without waiting even to dra won his shoes, he rushed to the | well, several rods from the house, and with a small tin-pail began his| battle which saved his. home, but which left him with a frosted surface | CHARLES PIEZ MADE GENERAL MANAGER Washington, D.C, De C., Dec. 18.- -—Charles | j Piez, of Chicago, was today appointed ' general manager of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, succeeding Rear Admiral Harris, who resigned. A general reorganization of the fleet corporation will follow. Rear Admiral Bowles, aide to Admiral Harris, will be given an important place in the new organization. James Heyworth, will take full charge of wooden construction, and Charles Day will become manager of ‘the production department. Admiral Harris’ resignation was ac- cepted, Chairman Hurley announced, because of his insistence on moving} HOUSE APPROVES SENATE MEASURE FOR PROHIBITION Wild Demonstration Takes Place in House When Speaker Announces Result. SENATE APPROVES. Washington, Dec. 18.—The con- stitutional amendment for nation- al prohibition was today finally submitted by congress to the states for ratification or rejection within seveh-years. The senate completed congregsional action by accepting the resolution as passed Yesterdays: 47 to 8, without a roll cal On a test vote today indicating sentiment in the house toward the woman's suffrage constitutional omendment, the suffragists polled 7 more than a two-thirds vote. The question was on referring suf- frage resolutions to the new wom- an’s suffrage committee as the sufragists wished, instead of the elections committee as the anti- suffragists asked. Vote in the house on the wom- an’s sufrage constitutional amend- ment will be taken on Thursday, January 10th, it was agreed upon today by the rules committee. Washington, Dec. 18.—Nation-wide prohibition won in the house yesterday and only the adjustment of a slight difference in resolutions between the house and senate now stands in the way of submitting to state legislators an amendment to the federal consti- tution forbidding the manufacture, sale or importation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes in the; United States or its territories. The vote in the house, taken after a day of debate before crowded gal- leries was 282 to 128, with the parties dividing almost evenly. The margin of prohibition was just eight votes’ more than the necessary twoe-tehirds of the membership of the house re- quired for adoption, and 26 more than etwo-thirds of those voting. Both Sides Confident. Toth sides had been (confidently) prediceing victory all day, and it was not until the last few names had been called that the anti-prohibition forces conceded their defeat. When Speaker Clark announced the result the victors were joined by the galleries in such a demonstration as is rarely permittet in the house. Former Secretary Bry- an, an interested spectator nearly all day, appeared on the floor and joined in receiving congratulations with Rep- resentative Webb of North Carolina, who had led the fight. The resolution adopted by the house is identical with that passed by the senate last August, except that it gives the states seven years instead of six to ratify the amendment. Senat- or Sheppard, author of the resolution, ! ‘REAR END OF MANSION BLOWN OUTIN ATTEMPT Two Men Were Seen Fleeing from the House After the Explosion. CHIEF EXECUTIVE IS CALM States That the Shock Hai Hardly Disturbed His Slumbers. Sacramento, Cal., Dee. 18.—What is believed to have been an attempt to kill Governor W. D, Stephens by means of a powerful explosive bomb at 11:55 P. M. last night, resulted in the wrecking of the executive man- sion, entire rear end of the building being blown out. The Governor and Mrs, Stephens, as well as the house- hold servants, were asleep at the time. All escaped injury. Two men were seen fleeing from the house immediately after the ex- plosion. The detonation of the explosion was heard all over the city, and windows were broken by the force two or three blocks away. It was believed that from twenty to twenty-five sticks of dynamite were used. Governor and Mrs. Stephens were in bed and asleep in the wing of the house adjoining the spot where the explosion occurred, but beyond a nervous shock they were unharmed, fy Opportane Homent.. . The attempt.-qccurred just as. th guard atj.the mansion’ “was being changed. H. Claussen, one of watchmen was first on the scene, hav- ing passed the spot but a few minutes before the explosion occurréd, A hole several feet in depth and at least five feet in breadth was torn in the ground. The entire wall up to the second story was blown away. wate Stranger Noted. .. The most likely clew as to the per- petrators was givcn to the police by the Rev. Frazer | angford, pastor, who reported that four months‘ago a man, evidently a German, was néticed* looking about the executive. mai The man‘ continugd, to, haunt :¢ cinity until a’week ago, when: Ae de! i appeared. The police are of the op! : ion that the attempt was made by pro- ‘Germans. The governor was probably the calmest of the group that surrounded the wrecked mansion and when his calmness was commented upon by the police, he stated the shock had not at all disturbed him. Governor Stephens became gov- ernor last spring upon the resigna- tion of Hiram W. Johnson, who went to Washington to assume his duties as United States Senator. ARSON DESTROYS MAGNATE'S HOME ON FOREST HILL John D.’s Cleveland Residence With Art Collection Burns to the Ground. Cleveland, O., Dec. 18.—The home of John D. Rocketeller at Forest Hill, in east Cleveland, a suburb of thi city, took fire at midnight yesterday. The fire spread with such great rapidity through the four story building that it is believed to have been of incendiary origin. It was impossible to save some of |the furnishings of the house and many valuable paintings, bronzes and tapes- tries were destroyed. The home was exquisitely furnished throughout its more than fifty rooms. The loss on the building alone will be more than $50,000. Mr. Rockefeler bought the build- ing a number of years ago and has added many extensions. He has resid- ed in it every summer since its pur- chase. OLSON LIKES NEW JOB Former Control Board Member Writes from Billings. Sylvan Olson, formerly a member of the state board o? control and now state agent for the American Life In- surance Co., at Billings, Mont., writes a chatty letter telling of his new ex- periences and advising that everyone is well at Billings. SENATOR REED GIVES HOOVER COLD SHOULDER Washington, Dec. 18—Food Admin- istrator Hoover, today made another ineffectual attempt to be heard at the senate sugar investigation. Chair- man Reed, said that while he wished Both wets and drys had been pre- to treat Mr. Hoo” cr with all courtesy predicting tonight that the senate he saw no reason why witnesses wait- wherever live coals did not burn a’ the offices of the corporation to Phil-. Would accept the amendment tomor- ing to testify should be displaced at Diister on feet and hands. adelphia, Continued on rage Six. this time.