Evening Star Newspaper, March 16, 1931, Page 4

CONGRESSPROBLEM Reapportionment Where Seats Have Been Cut Pre- . sents Serious Question. By the Associated Press. Thirty-two States are confronted with the problem of redistricting both area and population under the new reapportionment law and most of them are having plenty of trouble. All have been officially notified of the new number of seats in the House of Rep- resentatives they are to have beginning with the Seventy-third Congress. Wil- liam Tyler Page, House clerk, sent no- tices to the State secretaries immediate- 1y after the automatic law became ef- fective, at noon March 4. ‘Twenty-one States lose 27 seats to 11 States under the law, based on the 1930 census, excluding Indians ot taxed. Those losing seats are having more difMeulty.than those gaining, and incidentally the political careers of at least a score of House members will be affected. May Run at Large. Those gaining also are having some trouble, but if they fail to l'edl&lflc.oa- fore the 1932 elections the additional members can run from the State at . It may be necessary for mem- bers in losing States which fail to re- district to run at iarge. The new apportionment is the first since 1913, although the Constitution provides that House seats be reappor- tloned on the basis of each decennial census. Congress failed to enact a reappor- tionment law in 1920 and succeeding years untll the automatic law was passed in 1929, which provides that beginning with the Seventy-third Con- {‘;-' ‘which convenes in 1933, the seats rtioned every fifth Congress on the is of decennial censuses. Unsuccessful efforts were made to change the law in the recent Congress to vide for an increase in mem- p. Up to Legislatures. ‘The State Legislatures have before them the question of tricting ac- cording to the new alignment as an- nounced by President Hoover last No- ‘vember on the basis of census figures. Under the new distribution Cali- fornia gains nine seats, Michigan four, ‘Texas three, New Jersey, New York and Chio two each and Connecticut, Flor- ida,” North Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington one each. unaugmmgleo flr;ie; lo-llng stiw‘wlt.h three, W , Iowa, Kentu and wlvwh drop two each. Afiy bama, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massa. see, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin lose one each. Alabama already has solved its prob- lem by throwing the fifth and seventh districts together into one district, which will force Representatives Pat- terson and Aligood, represen them, Tespectively, to run against each other in 1932. In some States members whose districts are to be abolished expect to retire, while in others friends of long standing will run against each other, THE WEATHER District of Columbb—uu!x‘clmxdy tonight; tomorrow fair, little nge in temperature; lowest tonight about 32 degrees, gentle n winds. Maryland—Cloudy with snow flurries in west portion tonight; tomorrow gen- erally fair, not much change in "?ugtni "‘m Toudy n'w:m?s to. a—] yc} : to- morrow fair, little change in tem:pera- ture, fresh northerly winds. West Virginia—Cloudy with snow in north portion tonight; tomor- Tow generally fair with slowly rising temperature in extreme west portion. Records for 44 Hours. ‘Thermometer—Saturday, 4 pm., 51; 8 p.m., 45; 12 midnight, 43. Sunday, 4 8 am. 38; n %) 00! ; 2 pm, 39; 12 midnight, m., 34. ,. 30.10; 4 pm., 30.13; 8 pm, 4; 12 midnight, 30.14. Today, 4 am, 30.09; 8 am., 30.11. Highest temperature, 40, ocourred at 12:30 p.m., yesterday; lowest tempera- ture, 34, occurred at 7 a.m., today. Temperature same date last year— Highest, 65; lowest, 31. Tide Tables. (Furnished by United States Coast and Geodetic Burvey.) Today—Low tide, 12:32 am. and 12:58 pm.; high tide, 6:14 am. and €:39 pm. Tomorrow—Low tide, 1:19 am. and 1:45 pm.; high tide, 6:58 am. and 7:21 pm. The Sun and Moon. Today—8Sun rose 6:20 am.; sun sets 6:15 p.m. Tomorrow—8un rises 6:18 am.; sun sets 6:16 p.m. i Moon rises 5:24 a.m.; sets 3:50 pm. | Automobile lamps to be lighted one- half hour after sunset. Weather in Various Citles. Stations. Weatber. Atlanta, Ga Atlantic _City Baltimore, Md.. am Bnow Cloudy Rain Cloar Pt _cloudy Clear Cloudy Pt cloudy i Cloudy 2 ¢ FOREIGN. (1 am., Greenwich time, today) Temperature. Weather. 38 Cle 36 Clear 32 Clear Clear Clear 2 Clesr (Noon, Greenwich time, today.) Horfa (Payal), Azor 62' " Rain (Current ol ns.) Hamilton, Bermuds Part cloudy n , Porto Clear Ouba.... Rain Cloudy in ieo.. Bright colors for motor cycles are this season in England, where , handlebars and gadgets are chromium plated and some machines are turned out with blue mud guards end cream-colored wheels. ¢ THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1931. My Experiences in the World War BY GEN. JOHN J. PERSHIN! Preparations Completed for St. Mihiel Drive as A. E. F. Troops Are Concentrated. GERMANS SUSPECT AMERICANS’ ATTACK Plan for Bombardment Calculated With Idea of Deceiving Enemy Through Brevity. CHAPTER LXIV, ECRETARY OF WAR BAKER arrived at Brest September 8, and two days later came out from Paris to my headquarters at the front, Ligny-en-Barrois. Arrangements were then complete for the St. Mihiel offensive, and a final conference was held the afternoon of the 16th with corps commanders ami1 their chiefs of staff. | My diary of September 10 notes: | “Germans seem to suspect an attack | by Americans.” An extract from the German paper, Taeglische Rundschau follows: “General von Sieber foresees an early blow from American forces. Even | though the German official communi- | que says ‘All is well and our front| holds good,’ and though French and British attacks have failed and their fronts have not been enlarged lately, there is another danger against which we must guard; a danger coming from the south, on the Aisne-Vesle. g “We must reckon with America’s strength and numbers we have learned to know and understand. We shall see soon in what form they intend to par- ticipate in Foch’s offensive, or whether they will undertake an independent action on a great scale. As Americans pay strict attention to clocklike work- ing of their machine, we must expect them to take their time while making minute studies and preparations for thelr attack.” Concentration Under Way ‘The actual concentration of troops and material to form our First Army had been begun in the St. Mihiel re- glon in early August. The greater of the American troops involved had previously been serving at other points along the western front. As railway ang motor transport became available wilits were brought from the British front, from the French armies about Chateau Thierry and from the Vos- ges. They were held in billeting areas back of the battle lines, where they received replacements, were re-equip- ped and continued their training. Movements of certain auxiliary units and the Prench artillery could not be | carred out until after September 2, as much of the transportation which came from the French was in use far- ther west. Because of the scarcity of Toads and the necessity for the eross- ing of columns, complete march tables for this assembly had to be prepared by 1st Army Headquarters. The con- centration was conducted with effi- clency and celerity, and the organiza- tion of the 1st Army was comple! in these areas back of the front lines. ‘The next problem was the movement forward to the battle line. Beginning at the end of August all combatant units were quietly moved up near their per places in line. The aviation mce. consisting of nearly 1,400 planes under Gen. Mitchell, was the strong- est assembled during the war up_to that time. It included the British In- dependent Bombing Squadrons under had generously sent, and wi particularly useful for attacking im- portant rail centers in rear of the enemy's line. It also included a French air division of 600 planes which Gen. Petain had placed at our * disposal. This force gave us a superiority over the enemy in the air which was main- tained throughout the offensive. A number of heavy and light tanks had been promised by the French and British for this attack, but a few days before the battle it was found that few light tanks and no heavy ones would be available. In tanks we had only 267, all of French manufacture, although 154 were manned by American troops. French Under Americans. In addition to the American divisions assembled for the battle, four French divisions, three of which were then serving under the French 2d Colonial | Corps around the tip of the salient, | were assigned to our army for the oper- ation. ‘The total strength of the 1st Army when ready for battle was about 550,000 American and 150,000 French troops. The engineers were on hand with personnel and material to begin the reconstruction of roads and light rail- ways in the wake of our advance. The signal troops were there to extend | communications. Arrangements for | medical aid were ready, many installa- | tions having been taken over from the French, who assisted us materially in this work. The task was greater cause of the size and shape of the salient, which made it necessary for us to organize two systems of supply. | One of these was to serve troops oper- | ating against the southern face and | the other to serve those attacking from | the west. ‘The large number of preliminary ar- rangements were completed expeditious- ly and efficiently, and the 1st Army was ready to undertake its first inde- pendent operation. Except for some | delay in the arrival of part of the Prench heavy artillery, the attack could | have been made as early as Septem- | r 10, be'1’he St. Mihiel salient lay between the Meuse and the Moselle rive: nd was roughly outlined by the triangle Pont-a-Mousson, St. Mihlel, Verdun. On the western side of this area the | wooded heights of the Meuse extend| along the east bank of the river. East| of these heights lies the broad plain of the Woevre, with its large forest areas and numerous lakes and swamps. High wooded bluffs follow both banks of the Mosclle, and the deep ravines and heavy forests on the western bank offer dif- ficult terrain for offensive operations. Between the Moselle and Meuse rivers the only stream of any importance is the Rupt de Mad, which flows north- east through Thiaucourt and empties into the Moselle. Meuse Helights Advantage. The principal forests in the plain of the Woevre are the Bols le Pretre, the Bo's de Mort Mare and the Bois de Vig- neulles. Frem the heights of Loupmont and Montsee a4 from the staep east- uff of the Coles de Meuse prac- y every poruon of the plain 15 visi- »~ The possession by our army of the eastern edge of the heights of the Meuse northwest of Les Eparges was a distinct advantage to us. But farther south the enemy held large sections of these heights, which gave him not only important observation stations but also means for concealing masses of artil- lery that could fire either against our lines to the south on the Woevre plain or to the west into the Valley of the Meuse. This situation made it espe- clally advisable for us, in order to pre- . vent the concentration of this artillery fire in one direction, to attack the west face of the salient in conjunction with any attack against the south face, ‘The main rail lines and roads run along the river valleys, with subsidiaries ted | their protection for machine guns, quick passing through the heart of the salient and along the eastern slope of the heights of the Meuse. The Woevre is seriously affected by the wet season, which begins about the middle of September. In dry weather the water supply is difficult, while dur- ing the rainy period the country be- comes flooded, rendering many of the roads impassable. During four years' occupation the Germans had strengthened the natural defensive features by elaborate forti- fications and by a dense network of barbed wire that covered the entire front. There were four or five defen- sive positions, the first of which in- cluded the outpost system, the fourth being the Hindenburg line, back of which were a series of detached works, and in the rear the permanent fortifi- cations of Metz and Thianville. ‘Withstood All French Attacks The strength of the defenses had been fully demonstrated earlier in the war, when powerful attacks of the French launched against various points of the line had been defeated with heavy losses. ‘The salient was tically a great field fortress. It , however, the characteristic weakness of all salients in that 1t could be attacked from both flanks in converging operations, and this was the essence of our plan. The heaviest blow was to be from the south, where there were no great natural features to be overcome, while the secondary attack was to drive in from the west to join up with the main attack in the heart the salient. ‘The principal obstacle to success was the exceptional strength of hostile position. Aside from all the elaborate fleld fortifications he had constructed, the enemy had a tremendous advantage in observation and in communications. In addition, the wooded areas, with firing ertillery and reserve units con- stituted formidable obstacles. In our original plans it had been my purpose to follow the crushing of the sallent with an immediate continua- tion of the offensive to drive through the Hindenburg line and go as much arther as ble, depending upon the success obtained and the opposition. As we have seen, however, the agree- ment reached in conference September 2 limited the operations to the reduc- tion of the sallent itself. The basic features of the plan were not altered, but its objectives were limited and the number of troops to be employed were reduced. A tactical surprise was essential to | success, 2s the strength of the position | would permit small enemy forces to | inflict heavy losses on attacking troops, and therefore no time should be afford- ed the enemy to bring wp reinforce- ments. The salient had been regarded for some time as a quiet sector and was usually occupiwd by seven enemy di- visions in the front line, with two in reserve. It was estimated that the enemy could reinforce it by two di- visions in two days, two more in three days, and as many divisions as were | aqilable in four days. From captered documents and other sources of info: tion it seemed rea- sonable to conclude that the enemy had prepared a plan for withdrawal from the salient to the Hindenburg line in case of heavy allied pressure. There | was no doubt he was aware an Ameri- | can attack was probable, We were again concerned over re- ports from the French and even the Germans that an American offensive was expected in the direction of Metz, and naturally, if the enemy really ex- pected such an attack, he would in- crease his strength on that front. Any | special measures tge enemy should take to this end would make our task more difficult, and as anything short of com- plete success would undoubtedly have been seized upon to our disadvantage by ‘those of our allles who opposed the policy of forming an American | army. no chances of a repulse in our first battle could be taken. These considerations prompted the decision to use some of our most ex- perienced divisions along with the others. If it had been sible later I | would have liked to hold out more of | |these older divisions for use in the larger offensive which was plarined, but they had already been committed before it was definitely decided we should have the Meuse-Argonne front. Fooled Germans on Bombardment, As the plans for the battle neared completion the duration of the pre- liminary artillery bombardment came up for consideration as affecting the element of surprise. Practically all previous attacks by the allles had been preceded by severe bombardments, in | some instances lasting days. If we should pursue the same method the enemy would, of course, be fully | warned of the attack. I decided there- fore that there should be only enough preliminary artillery fire to disconcert the enemy and still not leave him time to withdraw or bring up reserves in any number before we could attack. A reasonable amount of firing would | give encouragement to our own troops |#nd would be espectally advantageous in_case rain should make the ground difficult for the tanks. The length of | time for the preliminary bombardment was therefore fixed at four hours, which proved wise. In the order of battle for the main | attack, the 1st Corps (Liggett) was on the right, with the 82d Division (Burnham) astride the Moselle, and | the 90th (Allen), the 5th (McMahon), }and the 2d (Lejeune) in order from | east to west. Then came the 4th Corps (Dickman) with the 89th Division (Wright), the 42d Division (Menoher) and the 1st Division (Summerall). The 5th Corps (Cameron), with the 26th Division = (Edwards) and part of the 4th Division (Hines), assisted by the French 15th Colonial Division, was to conduct the secondary attack against the west face. In this corps the 26th Division alone was to make a deep advance, directed southeast to- ward Vigneulles. At the point of the salient was the French 2d Colonial Corps, in which were the' French 39th , Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. Plan of Attack of First Army Sept 12,1918 T—Jump of lf i t12th Front nes Sent 2th bnd Sepe 16 =X xxt=Army Bounder: i Bounda” Arrows indicste directi and weightof attack |. c numerals i s e Divisi LOCATION AMERICAN DIVISIONS AUGUST 11,1918 Battle /ine ammmeme international bdy. Numerals indicats Divisions i circled numerals those not in line.. 50 100 MILES tack, but was to follow up the suc- cesses on the flanks. Of the three American corps and nine divisions in the front line, the 4th and 5th Corps had little battle experience, and the 5th, 82d, 89th and 90th divi- sions had mever been engaged in offen- sive combat. Our divisions in reserve were, for the 1st Corps the 78th (McRae), for the th Corps the 3d (Buck), and for the 5th Corps part of the 4th Division (Hines). The army reserve consisted of the 35th (Traub), 91st (Johnston) and 80th (Cronkhite) Divisions. On the date of the attack the enemy had in the sallent proper nine divisions in line and one in reserve. These consisted of one division of the Metz g-mug. four divisions of the Bavarian 1st Corps and three of the 5th Corps, with one division in reserve. The sec- tor was under Gen. von Fuchs, ‘The attack was difficult in that the troops on the south were required to make a change in direction of 60 de- grees during the advance. The long- range guns of Metz covered the Moselle Valley as far as Pagny-sur-Moselle, and the enemy’s position on the heights to the east and west of the Moselle gave cach other mutual support. These fac- tors made it advisable to refuse our right and make no attempt initially to carry the heights on the west bank of the river, ‘The final infantry deployment along the front of departure was delayed gen- erally until the night of September 11- 12, to avoid the possibility of the enemy gaining information of the additional strength on the front by the capture of prisoners. The artillery went into po- sition from two to three nights before the attack. Tomorrow: Americans win great vic- tory in St. Mihiel drive. countries by th x“Alllance. “world ndinavian. part pro- meric fehts reserved, including the lction in' W hibited.) mer e I-NGALLS BEATS STORM - Crosses Alleghenies in Face of Bad Weather Before Flying Ceases. Crossing the Allegheny Mountains in the face of thick flying weather which soon afterward closed down and put a stop to transport operations, David S. Ingalls, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics, yesterday flew his Navy Curtiss Helldiver back to the Ana- costia Naval Air Station after a trip to Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, [ 0. Mr. Ingalls made the trip alone. His Helldiver is the plane borrowed by Capt. Frank M. Hawks and Will Rogers for their recent drought-relief expedi- tion through the Southwest. This plane is the type now being developed as a leader for Navy squadrons of single- seater fighting and light bombardment planes. 5 Modernize with Muddiman —_— PITTSBURG Water Heaters make it possible for you have plenty of hot or laundry, house- cleaning, baths, etc. Come in and see us—or a phone call or postal will bring a rej sentative, Terms, if you wish. <. MUDDIMAN ¢, Nat'l 0140-2622 1888 Experienced Men's Clothing and Haberdashery Salesmen Wanted The Parker-Bridget Co. requires the services of experienced salesmen in men’s clothing and haberdashery. who qualify. Permanent positions for those Apply to Mr. Jones for clothing positions and to Mr. Robinson for haberdashery positions. New York Avenue at Fifteenth end 26th Infantry Divisions and the 2d Dismounted Cavalry Division. is corps was not to make a serious at- INEW YORK INQUIRY UNITY PLEA MADE &2 Macy, Demanding Probe of City Regime, Asks Civic Groups’ Co-ordination. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 16.—United sup- port of the same resolution by all civie bodies demanding an investigation of the city government was advocated to- day by W. Kingsland Macy, Repub- lican State chairman. Mr. Macy sald that the varlous movements should be co-ordinated in & drive for legislative intervention and that Samuel Seabury, already named to hear charges of non-feasance against District Attorney Thomas C. T. Crain, should be named special counsel. “I feel that we are on the eve of a great victory for good government, but we cannot win unless we concen- trate our efforts upon the passage of a single, specific proposition,” he said. New Vote Is Possible. The resolution Mr. State Senate, though it passed the As- semnbly, but may be called from the table for another vote. It was defeated in the Senate by the action of Re- publican Senators Seabury C. Mastick and Walter W. Westall of Westchester County in casting their bal t.h;uum:.;drkbemolcglam o ‘W York's pulpits resounded yesger- day with d&mnclfunu of the cl{y! and pleas for a housecleaning. John Haynes Holmes, pastor of Community Church, and Rabbi Stephen 8. Wise of the Free Synogogue, who are drafting specific charges of incompetency against the mayor, carried their campaigns to | h their parishoners. “These charges will be ready tomor- Tow m to be passed upon in their final by the officers and their legal counsel,” Mr. Holmes sald. “When finally approved I shall take them per- sonally to the Governor.” “Smoke Screen” Charged. Charles F. Kerrigan, assistant to Mayor Walker, stood willing today to substantiate before a grand jury his accusations that the movement against the mayor and District Attorney Thomas 11 | the C. T. Crain had been designed as a smoke screen to mask the reasons for In the absence of the mayor in Cali- fornia, Mr. Kerrigan issued a statement Sa “persons in at nothing” in an at- ‘The Times 1uo¢.ed Mayor ‘Walker as saying: “Charlie did not consult me,” the mayor said, “but I will not with- hold my approval of what he said. d be done, for he is on the ground and I am not. “I know that the fundamentals of the ‘city government, schools, transit, finance, the hospitals, are all right. I have no doubt about that. “Let them have thein, day. When I can get back and look them in the eye, I will answer all thelr questions. I all nonsense, this talk t investiga- tion. I don’t know where it comes from. “It’s all right with me if a group of preachers wants to attack me for being fond of laughter and for wisecracking. I was elected mayor twice, and I never made any deception about that.” FIRE KILLS TWO CHILDREN OF DRINKING PARTY HOST Eight Other Persons Injured at Celebration Marking Man's Re- turn to Work. By the Assoclated Press. READING, Pa., March 16.—A drink- | ing party celebrating a man's return to| work after a month’s idleness ended | and brought injury to seven other per- sons. ‘The children were William Nugent, 8, and Thomas, jr., 4, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nugent of Laurcldale, near ere. Police last night were questioning Charles Mountz, 36, one of the cele- brants, who left the party early after a quarrel. He denied knowledge of the origin of the blaze, Nugent and three man companions suffered burns and broken bones in en- deavoring to rescue occupants of the building. Two children, y Nu- gent, 9, and Josephine, 6, were burned seriously, but are to live. Two other Nugent children, Carl, 19 months, and John, 2 years, were d less se- riously. $3383333333338338333888383333832833238 Visit the Center Market GRAND OPENING MUSIC - The New YEGBS CRACK SAFE TARE 316N CASH $611 in Watches Stolen From Jewelry Store, Home Entered and Purse Snatched. Reports of four robberies made 40 po- lice over the week end were being inves- ted today. . Robbers broke open a safe in the office of a garage at Michigan avenue and Tenth street northeast, taking $246 in bills and $70.93 in change, according to a report made By Robert A. Ralph, roprietor. P Theft of a diamond ring and wrist watch, valued at $150, was by Odessa Wilson, 1004 O street. Russeil Plel, 142 Carroll street southeast, re- ported his home was broken into during the absence of the family yesterday. Wearing apparel, tapestry, a fruit cake and a wallet containing $46 were taken. Twelve watches, valued at $611, were sald to have been taken from the Op- penheimer & Shah jewelry store, 907 F street, when the window was smashed by intruders yesterday morning. A purse-snatcher was unsuccessful in attempting to take a purse from Ellen Boyd, 6214 Seventh street, at Ninth and L streets last night; but a colored man was reported to have been success- ful in getting a purse from Harriet Pons, 1439 Chapin. street, near her home. The purse contained but 65 u?du' keys and a cigarette case, it was said. CHEST FUNDS TO HELP NEEDY JEWS IN CAPITAL Jewish families in this eity lacking funds will be provided with all the necessities for celebrating the T, April 2 to 9, by the United Hebrew Relief Society, it is announced by Mrs. C‘l!::.rlu Goldsmith, president of the so- clety. ‘The necessary funds have been made available through the Waahington munity Chest, of which the United He- brew Relief Soclety ;\,.I‘cl. member agency. Wed. Mar. 18th Thur. Mar. 19th 7to 10 P. M. Each Evening SOUVENIRS Bring Your Friends ADMISSION FREE Center Market Fifth Street N.-W., Between Kand L 1006060000000 00060060000600060004 \ *44 38380 8880000088222000000000000202202000e