New Britain Herald Newspaper, October 18, 1917, Page 6

New Brit_ai: Herald. HERALD PUBLISHING COMPANY. Proprietors. | Fowued daily (Sunday excopted) at 4:15 p. m., at Herald Building, 67 Church St. Xntered at the Post Office at New Britain 1 a8 Second Class Mall Matter. ‘pnlllvared by carrler to any part of the city 1% 7 for 15 cents o week, 65 cents a month. Bubscriptions for paper to be sent by mall, payable in advance, 60 cents a month, $7.00 a year. The ‘only profitable advertising medium in the city. Circulation books and press room always open to advertisers. The Herald will be found on sale at Hota- ling's News Stand, 42nd St. and Broa way, New York City; Board Walk, Al lantic City, and Hartford Depot. TELEPHONE CALLS. Office Rooms | Business | Bditorial Member of The Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclu- slvely entitled to the use for re- publication of all news credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. ‘What Have You Done? You with the springy step of youth, The stalwart frame, the fight- ing jaw— ‘What have you done to uphold % Truth And sweep aside the tyrant's claw? ¥ou love the flag! The starry square, ‘The colored stripes of glory, That flying in the breezes fair Can tell their own brave story? 8o do we alll But yours the test, Ay, yours,the loyal duty, To keep it safe o'er freedom's crest, The nation’s pride and beauty! JOSEPH K. COLTON. NEIGHBORHOOD CLUBS. Hveryone appreciates the noble ef- lorts of the Red Cross in providing tomforts for New Britain men in the {irmy and navy; but it is possible the prganization has overlooked a field lor increased success,—neighborhood slubs. So far as knitting and sewing wre concerned, we will back the wom- sn of New Britain against the state. .|Fhey know how to knit and sew and ‘hey are anxious to do their bit. Many of them, however, are not anx- lous to go to Red Cross headquarters 0 exercise their skill because they k not acquainted with those in :l\m-ge or those who attend on this bl atior of love. It might be said that [{:uch objections are silly. Maybe they we; but they exist just the same. With the neighborhood club idea, laundreds of hands not at present en- raged in sewing and knitting would decome active. Representatives of the Red Cross could instruct these slubs as to the articles desired and {heir number. The Red Gross could sontinue to be the clearing house or aeadquarters for the work and the slubs would merely be branches. This \dea opens to view a flield too broad 10 be neglected. It is worth inves- tgating. The clubs should be or- ranized. And when organized, as we trust they shall be, there will tome a bigger and broader civic spirit. fiCommunion of this kind is good for lilhe soul. Petty dislikes now existing will be wiped away. Laboring for Jhe same end, working side by side [ lor the same lofty principles, women f will be brought together in a new mode of life with the establishment of f aeighborhood clubs. Let us have f them. WHEN UNCLE SAM STEPS IN. Operators, dealers, and even the f niners of coal themselves seem to | have determined to throw the entire business on the hands of the Federal [ fovernment. So much so that the gov- smmem may give them their wish. CThrough the Federal Fuel Adminis- irator, notice has jeen served on coal »perators and miners that unless or- ler is brought out of chaos the gov- srnment will drastic action,— y Which means, in a word, that Uncle i Bam will take over and operate the mines so the coal supply ma eep || pace with the nation's demands. | Governmental regulation is an un- !pleasant thought to the coal barons. [n the past they have ruled with a agh hand, with a mailed fist. They nave resented the interference of the aational government into their care- tully laid plans by which the people were to be flecced. The first against the high potentates of Black Diamonds happened the 218t day of August, this vear, when the government fixed the price at #hich bituminous coal may he sold : che mouth Two later another the y profiteering was made when the gov- sroment fixed the price at which cer- tain sizes of anthracite coal might be 30l at the mine. These new prices went into effect September 1. By the take lord on of the mine. days inroad on plan of step | NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917 same order there was also fixed the amount which may be pald as com- mission to jobbe On the first day of October, this month, the govern- ment stretched its hand toward the retail dealer and pointed a warning finger at their sins. In pursuance of the provisions of an act of Congress “to provide further for the national security and defense by encouraging the production, conserving the supply, and controlling the distribution of food products and fuel,” the IFuel ad- ministrator set to be allowed retail dealers. is based on the margin of profit 1915. Any retailer who demands receives 2 higher price than the now allows may be subjected to and imprisonment. So much for the operators and retail dealers of coal. Just when government put the curb bit on their mouths, the miners come out of their holes looking for more trouble. Mine workers in the flelds of Missouri, Kan- sas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, to the number of 35,000, are scheduled to go out on strike tomorrow morning. As the result of the strike already in force in Illinofs, one-third of the mines in that state are shut down. There are 324 mines in Illinois, the normal output of which has been 76,000,000 tons a year. With 106 idle, this pro- duction is shortened by about §0,000 tons g day, or 24,000,000 tons a year. In addition to this loss of production some 5,000 miners are out on strike in Indiana. Twenty-five mines are shut down there. With this as the sit- uation a coal famine faces some of the middle western cities, particularly Chicagoh Ostensibly, something has got to be done and as Dr. Garfield, the Federal Fuel Administrator ad- mits that “The government can do many things in time of war,” there is the possibility that the one big thing might be done, namely, sovernment operation of coal mines. Neither the coal operators nor the retail dealers, nor the miners can be left to run things as they see fit. The consumers, prey to all hands, have suffered long enough and must be protected. This limit in and law fine the the THE RIGHT WAY. Some people have not bought second Jiberty bond because,— They ‘feel they have done about all they can do to help the country in its hour of need; They are afraid that the cost of living will go even higher during the coming Winter, and they want to have their hands on sufficient lucre to car- ry them through; K They have been taxed for this and that and are certain that more taxes are in the air; They do not like to make sacrifice, because sacrifices are not the most comfortable things in the world; They love to live lives of extrava- gance and show, for a life of ease is more enjoyable any day than a life of simple indulgence. Those are the objections. The other side of the case could be presented only by a glance at the | tuture and the sight there of Germany | conquering her enemies. Then some people might be sorry | they did. not buy a second Liberty bond because,— They would then be subservient to thevwill of the military Fermany; They would be forced to pay heavy indemnities to the Imperfal German Government; : They would have to give up all the money they now have to the hungry hands of a conquering foe; a masters of They would be forced to walk the ! chalk lne, to bow before the poten- tates and wearers of Prussian purple; They would be treated not as in- habitants of a free country but serfs and subjects of a royal master. Discounting the inconveniences that might go with the purchase of Liberty bond, it is easly seen that the better way is the right way, to back up our soldiers in the field with good American dollars, dollars loaned, not given outright, to the most liberal government on the face of the earth. as FACT! CIES. We have no idea that it will do any good, but we are going to keep on wondering what happened to Korni- lof until we find out—Macon Tele- graph. A $3,000,000,000 Liberty Loan looks big, but it would scarcely mlet the interest on the indemnity the Hun stil treasures in his imagination.—Wash inton Post. Mr. Hoover says Scandinavian fac- tories are,running ‘“night and day in making aeroplanes and munitions for Germany.” If this be true we can afford to let Germany feed her own labor.—Florida Times-Union. how well we are secrét service! Secre- seems to have the old o tucked full of mood stuff and Once again, served by our tary Lansing | the country is eagerly waiting for the Repub- | next lican. instalment.—Waterbury Germany seems to keep on hand a | variety of peace offers suitable for any political emergency at home.— New York World. Viscount Ishii says that the Amer- down the limit of profit | al ican women are the prettiest on earth and that their beauty is enhanced by with Oriental shrewdness, gallantry and patriotismm.—Philadelphia Public Ledger. Wise Joseph, in other words, was Pharaoh’s Hoover.—Boston Herald. | Tord Northeliffe said something when he declared the United States is in the war to make the world safe for the United States.—Buffalo In- aquirer. George R. Montgomery, a | Maryland clergyman, has enlisted in the aviation corps—where, as they would say out west he will be a “sky pilot.”—Boston Transcript. The more one looks at the market page the more convinced he be- comes that a can of salmon will make an ideal Thanksgiving dinner. —Paterson Call. Buy a bond and knock the of Wilhelm.—Paterson Press ian. ‘hel out Guard- TYPE METAL. I'm just the old metal That makes the type, Today spelling murder, Tomorrow spelling tripe, Then the day after I'm heated again, To tell in a line or two, “Thousands were slain.” And, in order that I May tell it all true, I'm first tried by fire, And so, too, must vou. For fire does wonders For you and for me; It makes the soul white And forms me into “g."” Vo must not forget The “lineo” man, Who pounds the keyboard— Indeed he has sand, For he sits all the day, And taps out the news, 'Bout price of potatoes, And coal, wood and shoes. Then let's give three cheers For the type and the man Who runs the old linotype Fast as he-can. —HENRY MITCHELL. The Bread Problem. (Philadelphia Inquirer) Mr. Hoover is finding himself con- fronted by many difficulties. He can- not handle wheat until it gets into the market, and although he threatens to commandeer all surplus supplies of the farmer, that is certain to be an expensive operation. Just now he is after the millers, a few of whom have come under his ban as a warning to others. It has long been the conten- tion of the wheat-growing farmers that there is a milling trust which has kept down the price of wheat and unduly increased that of flour. The farmers are now protected, and it is up to Mr. Hoover to make the millers come to terms. One of the leading economists of the country is of the opinion that one of the great tragedies of our recent history is the disappearance of the small grist mill which used to supply the needs of almost every community. Tt did good service in many ways—dld not eliminate some of the best por- tions of wheat, Iurnished Graham briad if desired, left'bran in the neigh- bothood where it was needed, etc. The country mill has departed along with McGuffey’s Readers and the Barlow knife. If Mr. Hoover can give us cheaper flour the bakers will do the rest, and if the war lasts long enough most of us will learn that bread made from | “patent” flour is not so good as whole wheat bread. Didn’t See Na: (Bangor Special, New York World). When Capt. William Ward of Rockland, Me., master of the schooner Frontenac, set foot ashore at an At- lantic port in the United States the other day, after a highly profitable voyage to Italy, the first thing the managing owner said to him w: “You did well that trip, Billy. Now you're chartered for Havre, Bor- deaux or h Want to go?” “Go? Sure!” replied the Yankee skipper. “Oil, T suppose. I'd hate to go to that last port you named with such a cargo, though.” Like all the Down Easter master mariners, Captain Ward is very mat- ter-of-fact and entirely unemotional, and there is no romance whatever in | his sturdy soul, nor the least tinge of the melodramatic. “See any U-boats?” some one asked. “Nary a one. And, say! Let me tell you something. If any captain of a sailing vessel tells vou that he saw a German submarine and came back in his own vessel to tell about it, he's kidding you. Sailing craft that meet German submarines don't come back.” v One. Stevenson Planned Much Work. Considering Robert Louis Steven- | son’s short life, he wrote a great deal, { but he planned still more. A writer who has been delving into his record offers what he says is a hitherto un- published list of “two novels and tales,” which Stevenson meant to write, but never did It runs thus: The Indian Mutiny, Saranac Lake, 1888; Cannanmills, probably Saranac | Lake, 1888; The Rising Sun, at - Sea (Pacific), 1890; Dyce of Ythan, Sa- moa, 1892; The Shovels of Netwon French, Samoa, 1892; The Beach- | Comberss Samoa, 1893; Sophia Scar- let, Samoa, 1893; The Owl, Samoa, | 1893; Death in the Pot, Samoa, 1893; The Sleeper Awakened, Samoa, 1893. Stevenson planned other work not in the line of fiction. They were: A Biography of the Duke of Wellington, a Biography of Hazlitt, a history of | the Indian Mutiny, an English Gram- mar, to be illustrated from the Eng- lish Classics. He also began and, for one reason or another, never complet- | ed these stories: The Great North Road, | mouth. 1884: The Young | 1893; Heathercat, Samoa, Go-Between, Samoa, 1893; i imoa, 1894; Welr of Hermiston, Bourne- Chevalier, 18 moa, 1894, silks from Japan, thereby mmbln(ng,’l \ JAMES F. CARROLD. “Somewhere in France” is the pres- ent address of the boy pictured above. He is James F. Carroll, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Carroll of 102 Sex- ton street, this city. He enlisted in Company E on June 18, 1916, and last summer saw serv- ice at the Mexican border, being sta- tioned with the local troops at No- gales, Arizona. Hefwas made a cor- poral in June, 1917, and was trans- ferred to headquarters company, 102d regiment. MRS. SMITH’S HUSBAND. A New Marriage Custom, Originated In New York, Whereby the Groom Takes the Bride's Name. (New York Tribune) Whether marriage is improving or not it is becoming more and more variegated as the years glide by. There is the Greenwich Village variety for the most striking development. It is distinctly confusing for friends and relatives, for it produces no change in names whatever. Miss Smith contin- ues to be Miss Smith, and Mr. Jones is still Mr. Jones. A more or less inti- mate friendhip best describes the ar- rangement. A new and different experiment is | that recorded in yesterday's news of a | couple whereof the man adopted the woman's name. Instead of remaining Miss Smith and Mr. Jones they be- came Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Why not? As a matter of abstract logic there i no reason under the sun. Only e tom holds us captive and makes most women resign their names without a murmur and most men far too haughty to dream of such a sacrifice on their part. There is an argument of conven- jence on the side of the old system. It produces uniformity, at any rate. If many bridegrooms go about adopt- ing their wives’ names American life will be distinctly more complex than ever and the thread of acquaintance almost as hard to follow as in a Russian novel. A good deal more can be said for the Greenwich Village system. Tt also produces uniformity, and if it were the rule, not the ex- ception, we should probably become accustomled to it very quickly. Is the name the thing, however? For the artist with a reputation, vyes, to « very considerable extent. And for seme extreme feminists there is the clank &f shackles and chain in the very thought of accepting a mere man’s name. The bulk of women still find the old system roomy enough. If the woman is the better man of the team, who in the community does not know and recognize it? Mrs. Smith’s husband -is an old character in fie- tion and in real life. Would she or he be any happier under other names? Limits of Embargo. (Bridgeport Farmer). Those who advocate suspending shipments of coal destined for public service corporations operated by Ger- man citizens, in South American states. do not give, it would seem at this distance, wise advice. The South American republics are all of them disposed to favor the plans and the attitude of’ this country. The,most powerful of them have severed diplo- matic relations with Germany. The means of internal transporta- tion in those countries, even when owned by Germans are a convenience to the people. To deprive South America of local transport, by cutting off coal, would surely create ill-feel- ing, and raise sentiments adverse to co-operative effort. Suppose that Great Britain could stop or cripple the operations of the trollev lines in Bridgeport, by shutting off coal. Would not this act | create a feeling of irritation against Great Britain? This could not happen. | America controls its own coal supply. and Great Britain would not shut off the. coal supply if it had the power. But the illustration’ brings home the condition that would exist in South | America. if ceal shipments were cut | off by the United States merely be- cause the owners of a trolley service, or of a railroad are German citizens. The Farmer feels quite certain that | such a limitation will be no part of | the embargo. The embargo will. extend only to what can be used, or that likely to be used, to give aid to the Central Pow- ers, Why Oysters Soar. (Manchester Union). Of course, vou understand that ! prices for wheat and corn are very | high, and that ovsters are strictly grain-fed animals. The Road to v, (Boston Herald). Not the least of the 1917 crops is, that of *“To Aver” signs that have suddenly sprung up all over eastern Massachusetts, FACTS ABOUT THE AMERICAN NAVY BY LIEUT. FITZHUGH GREEN, U. 8. N. 14-inch Guns A fourteen-inch gun is built up from eight or ten hoops or steel tubes shrunk on. Each is turned to an ex- act fit less several thousandths of an inch, then heated red until expansion permits it to be drawn on. It cools and adds strength not only by its thickness but also by the grip of its shrinking. The first and inner one has helical grooves just as in an ordinary sport- ing rifie. Tremendous firing pres- sures, between 15 and 20 tons per 8quare inch combined with acid gases and other products of explosive com- bustion, cause erosion or wearing away and pitting of thé metal. Inner tubes must be renewed periodically. The life of a gun so-called, is about 150 shots. Since frequent target prac- tices are held, few years elapse be- fore a gun must be taken ashore and retubed. The total cost of retubing & 14" gun is about $25,000. Besides this inner erosion constant shocks of explosion crystallize the Whole steel structure. Crystallization of metal may be likened to the drying Of cheese. At first the mass is rela- tively tough and elastic. After heavy Punishment of protracted firing gun tubes weaken and become brittle. Mi- croscopic examination reveals contrac- tion and disintegration of metal par- ticles just as cracks and crumbly places grow in the gummy curd. We know very little about this subject. Our microscopes are not powerful enough. Further use of the gun in this con- dition is dangerous. Sometfmes the crystallized state is reached sooner than expected. The gun then cracks or bursts. On the Michigan fifteen feet of a 12" gun broke off and fell on deok. On the next load the gun captain having opened the breech to report bore clear shouted “there ain't no bore!” Fortunately no one was killed. The charge of a 14" gun pounds of smokeless powder put up in four silk-linen bags. The back end of each bag is painted red and con- talng about six ounces of black pow- der called the ignition charge. A brass primer, similar to a rifie car- { tridge except it-has no bullet, ignites easily the fired black powder which in turn sets fire to the smokeless powder. Contrary to popular belief there is no real explosion but a progressive burn- ing of enormous rapidity. Vast vol- umes of gas at high temperatures and pressures are formed forcing out the projectile. A 14" shell weighs 1,400 pounds, is flve feet long and contains a burst- ing charge whose formula is a gov- ernment secret. Twelve strong men lift one with difficulty. Yet from the i gun it can sink a battleship twelve miles awsy. It travels 2,600 feet in one second, or a mile every two sec- | onds. On striking it expends an energy | of 65,687 foot tons, or enough to trans- port a two-ton load twice to the height of Mt. Everest. Counting depreciation it costs about $6,800 to fire a 14" gun. Liberty is cheap at that. is 385 COULD NOT GIVE IT UP. Daughter of Distinguished Lawyer Lingers on in Mansion She Was Too Poor to Keep. Ghosts haunt the old brown stene house at 343 West Thirty-fourth strec$ —&hosts of the past on the inside, axd ominous shapes of poverty threatmn- ing the door. The latter take a com - monplace aspect, being surly men with summonses in their hands, but thay are none the less terrible to Mme. Tagliapietro, formerly Margaret Townsend. She sits inside amid the dusty, fad- ing furniture and pictures and reHcs of old timers, remembering the bril- liant days when Edwin Booth and Jo- seffy and many another great stidt came to the Sunday evening musicales in those great rooms. Not a thing has been changed there, scarcely a chair moved from its place since the Christ- mas dinner 20 years ago when John D. Townsend, distinguished lawyer, rose from his seat at the table, and said, and fell shoulder. From that day to this, she said yes- terday, things have gone badly with her in the worldly sense. Her mother lived on, dying seven years ago, and neither woman knowing much about business, securities melted away and the comfortable estate John D. Town- dying on his daughter's send thought he left his family shrank | to nothing. Margaret married an Italian with a beautiful voice, but a slight huskiness which the docters can’t charm away has kept the volce from being marketable for sevesal seasons. Now the trustees of wue Marquard estate, who have long hwe a mortgage on the old Townseud home, have declared their intentien of foreclosing immediately uniest «e- faults jand principal are paid, and that would take $5,000. Mme. Tagliapietro says she knows she should have moved away, but she just cowldn't bring herself to do it. “I have lived here since I wag & Mzw girl,” she mused, looking w the & nished chandeliers and $he gmes plano now closed and «eet ek which Joseffy’s hands once drew mu- sic. ‘“Everything has some association. That quaint old tabdle of Saa¥o Demmiu- g0 mahogany was my great-great- great-grandmother’s. TESt et of pate-surpate’”’—she poinwé to wTwe vases and a bowl with wodwrdta &uk- cate bas-relief figures—'my father took that in part payment for him services in the famous Fiske and Stokes case. He defended #tokes. It is a beautiful set, but wien I weak to a dealer to ask how much it we='§ bring he said, ‘It should bring & good deal, but the trouble is to #sd cltent.’ So it is with ever: it cost a good deal, but we«id Wph( almost nothing. 1 lie awake all 2@ with the horror of this home torn apart and scattered."” Old portraits cover the walls. the rear of the reception room is & considerable library, though the greater part of John D, Townsend's books have been sold. Ome of the volumes is a genealogy of the Town- send family, which dates from May- flower days in this country, acé connected with the Townsends of England. The late Frederick Martan was a cousin of Mme. Tagliapistrs and James Bliss Townsend, master of the Glen Arden Hunt—oh, any nem- ber of Townsends—are her relatives Mme. Tagliapietro, however, hed drawn more and more away frem everyone as the poverty clouds set- tled down, and now when a littke iift aere In i would. would save the old home she doesn't know where to turn. Elihu Root, Elbridge T. Gerry, Recorder Goff and Joseph H. Chome were confreres of John D. Townsend, and Mr, Choate was about to take up the case of the mortgage on the old house, in an effort to save it for the daughter, when his death occurred. Alcohol Still in Demand. (Portland Press.) Forbidding distillers to make whiskey while the war lasts didn't | bring ruin to them nor throw “thou- sands of honest men” out of employ- ment, as the liquor people said it Instead, the distilleries are now engaged in making alcohol for which there is an immense demand because of the war, and not only are all their old men at work, but they “Margaret, I don't feel well”— & are hiring new workmen wherever they may be found. The best indi- cation of how practical prohibition affected distilleries is to be seen in the prices for which distillery stock is being sold. The stock of one distil- lery, with a par value of $100, can- not be bought today for $1,000. This shows that the whiskey manufactur- ers are making more money in pro- ducing alcohol than they could make when producing whiskey. It is doubtful if there is a man who will work who is out of work any- where in the country because of the prohibitory laws congress has passed. The War Bride. She ploughed before her neighbor’'s door— | Her neighbor's man had died war; Though she had never ploughed be- fore, < It seemed the action grace, And made the weary waiting less— Oh, waliting! And, oh, loneliness! Above the fleld the bombs had swept, And ‘neath its furrows cold men slept— “The kindly spring will soon, efface The wounds that war's unsparing hand Has given this poor widow’s land, When my man comes, he’'ll find no trace Of blood and death; so be it, God!" And, praying thus, she turned a sod, And saw her husband's face, (Maurice Francis Egan in Scribner’s) in brought her i LECTURES ON THE WEST. Warren F. Eook to Describe Recent Travel Tour. Have you ever seen the Grand Can- von over the ears of a mule? Have you ever looked into the “Back Door of Hell?” Have you ever held a rain- 1 bow in your hand? Warren F. Cook, | pastor of Trinity Methodist church, | has done all of these, as well as other interesting feats. He recently re- turned from a trip through the west and has prepared a series of about four lectures, which he will deliver at the church Sunday evenings at 7:30 o’clock beginning next Sunday. Each address will be illustrated with beau- tiful slides. { Among the subjects on which Rev. IMr. Cook will speak are: Seeing the the Grand Canyon over the ears of Watching an old Hopi In- dian war dance. Holding a rainbow in your hand, Crossing the Painted Desert. Thtough Yellowstone Park by auto and camp. Watching “Old Faith- ful”” by searchlight, Looking into the “Back Door of Hell” From the { “Garden of the Gods” into the ] ' “Devil's Workshop.” Climbing Pikes Peak by Moonlight. On the “Top-o- | the-World.” Visiting a Petrified | Forest. Picking your own oranges. Fishing in the Pacific. Through an 01d Spanish Mission. Dear old Del | Monte. Quaint old Monterey. Camp- ing in a Giant Tree. | Rev. a mule. LATHROP-BDINN. Walter Lathrop of Plainville and | Miss Florence Blinn, daughter of Mr. {and Mrs. Willilam T. Blinn of 12| 1‘ Maple street were married at a nuptial high mass at 9 o’clock this morning in St. Joseph’'s church. Rev. J. Leo Sullivan tied the nuptial knot. Fol- lowing the ceremony, a reception was held at the home of the bride’s par- enfs, and on their return from a honeymoon trip, the couple will re- side in Plainville. ZEHRER GOES TO MINEOLA. “Jack"” Zehrer of Center street this i city, who has been stationed with the aviatlon corps at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, has been trane- ferred to Mineola, Long Tsland, with the remainder of his command. Dur- ing a 12 hour furlough in which he visited his mother, Zehrer stated that he believed that he would soon be leaving for the other side. TRIANGULAR DEBATE. Cambridge, Oct. 18.—The annual Harvard - Yale - Princeton triangular | debate will be held this year in De- cember three months in advance of | AMERICAN SHIP GETS TORPEDOED Sensational Statemefit Is Given Out by Navy Department ‘Washington, Ooct. 18.—News of the torpedoing and disabling of an Amer-i. lcan destroyer by a German subma- rine in European waters was flashed to the Navy Department last night by Vice Admiral William S. Sims, com- manding the naval expeditionary force abroad. One member of the crew was killed by being blown overboard and five others, including a gunner’s mate, were injured, but not seriously. Vice Admiral Sims gave few tails, but it is assumed that there . was no fight and that the U-boat made good her escape after launch- ing a torpedo without showing her- self. In accordance with the policy of secrecy concerning American naval { operations the ‘department did not divulge the ngme of the destroyer or, the exact plade of the encounter. p Official announcement was made by’ Secretary Danfels in this statement: de- “The Navy Department has recetved | | a message from Vice Almiral Sims| stating that on Oct. 16 an American | destroyer was torpedoed by a sub- marine while on patrol duty in Eu- ropean waters. ¥ - Y“The vessel was not sunk and hag® since arrived in port. ! “The casualties were as follows: “Killed: Osmond Kelly Ingram, gunner’s mate; next kin, (mother,) Bettie Ingram, 504 Third street, Pratt City, Ala. Ingram was blown over- board and his body was not recovered, “The wounded, none of whom wers seriously injured, are: “Herman Henry Pankratz, gunner's ® mate, second class; next of kin, (brother,) Robert Willlam Pancratz, 4,818 Lee avenue, St. Louis, Mo. i “Willlam Bdward Merritt, seaman; next of kin, (mother) Ellen Merritt, 264 East Fifty-fourth street, New York. “Frank Willlam Kruse, fireman, first class; next of kin, (wife,) Mar- saret Kruse, 724 Indian avenue, To- ledo, Ohio. kin, (wife,) Nonna Rutledge, ‘West Thirty-first street, New York. “Willlam Selmer, fireman, second class; next of kin, (father,) Henry Seiller, Dundas, Minn.” This s the first time an Americani’ warship has been hit by the enemy} since the war began. Destroyers conef* voying troops and merchantmen have engaged submarines and are believed to have'dccounted for some of them, and the ships patrolling the European shipping lanes undoubtedly have had many an encounter of which nothing has bean heard, but until yesterday none had been’touched by a hostile - shot. Naval gun crews on armed Ameri- can merchantmen have not been so fortunate. Many of them have had to abandon their charges and take to the boats—usually after an attack without warning—and one officer and thirteen men have lost their lives, while four men now are in German prison camps. In all the navy has lost one officer and sixteen men, the only men of America’'s fighting forces actually killed in action. Naval officers belleve that the tor- pedoed destroyer was taken unaware by the submarine and had no chance to bring her guns into play. They think it probable that the U-boat ac- cidently stumbled upon the patrolling destroyer and was fortunate enough to get into position to launch a torpedo and dive to safety without ever show- ing more than her periscope. It is believed, too, that the destroy- er must have been steaming slowly over her beat, for at top speed these craft present an almost unhittable 4§12 |-target to the submarine. Potato Prices. (Ansonia Sentinel). It is just as well that the food ad- ministrator of Connecticut has denied the report that he foretold famine prices for potatoes in the state dur- ing the coming winter. There is no’ real reason why any’' such prices should prevail as were current during last year except the greed of specula- tors who have cornered the crop or the thriftiness of the farmer, who is holding back his supplies in the hops that the market will reach the $3 figure before he has to unload. There are plenty of potatoes in New England, sufficient to enable the nor- mal demand to be met at a figure not higher than $2 many weeks later than today. We cannot expect cheap pota- toes this year or perhaps for years to come but it is possible to make specu- lation in this necessity a precarious and unprofitable occupation during the next six months. If food control means anything, it means that the potatoes that the state has raised shall be put upon the | market in a reasonable way, best suit- ed to meet the demand, at reasonable prices. It does not mean or should not mean that an artificial scarecity is to be created by hoarding the visible crop in this vicinity until necessity compels the consumer to pay top prices in order to keep the table sup- plied. There is work for the food control committee in Connecticut and a considerable part of that work has to do with the potato situation. While the crop has not been of bumper pro- portions, it is at least average and to it must be added the supplies that have been rafsed by the home gar- deners of the state. This is a consid+ erable amount and should cut down the demand made upon the large pro- ducers. Tt is to be hoped that we shall not see in Connecticut, after all of the efforts of the last summer, the famine prices that prevailed in the the usual time. The subject has not yet been announced. spring and which caused real suffer. ing in many homes. ~ “Patrick Rutledge, ofler; next of ¥ | I f |