New Britain Herald Newspaper, April 25, 1918, Page 10

C0. 1 BOYS GASSED AND UNDER FIRE Pvt. 0'Dell, in Base Hospital, Writes of His Experiences Having passed through a 24-hour gas attack Private O'Dell of Com- Pany I, 102d United States infantry in ifrance concludes “Gas war sure i tle is now under observa- m Base Hospital No. 15, havinz | & touch of gas poisoning. By ine ence it may be concluded that he «l a mishap passing through the mmiunicating trenches while wear- | 13 ., for he refers to the dif- attendant to such Haviug done two ‘hitches” front line trenches and h gassed he regards himself eran. Two most interesting have just been received er, Mrs. John F. O'Dell of Blaks court, Belvidere. The letters follow Somewhere in France, March 27, 1918 a trip. in the ving been s a vet- letters by his mott Dearest Mother: I'm a regular veteran Two ‘“hitches” in the front line trenches and still O. K. I'm now in Base Hospital No. 15, A, E. under pbservation. You see while we oc- cupled the trenches across from Fritz he took a dislike to our dear Amer- ican Sammies und he thought he’'d try some of his ‘“civilized” warfare on us. of gas, without any letup, and be- lieve me' that gas sure is some prod- now, Ma. T He gave us twenty-four hours uct of “kultur”. It's about the worst think and I don’t think they are far here now,. under servation for a touch of gas poisoning, but T don't belleve it is bad, so don’t worry. The big drive that is on now will end the war, what most people thing and I don’t think they are far from wrong. I just wish you could visit some of the dug-outs up on the line. Some have Morris chairs and wicker chairs. They have looking glasses and tables and it's as near like home as you can expe under fire. I watched a barrage one morning, about o’clock, and believe me it was a nice sight. The sky resem- bled sunset, only it was all flashes, as the guns went off. The sky wa up for miles around. Oh, it's some war, but Sherman never knew what war really was. I was attached to battalion headquarters a laision, or in American, a runner I carried messages between the lines, and T all the flring I wanted One good thing about the is that you can generally tell out where they are going to The noise they make coming 5 a heard and saw to see. shells through the air like a train going around a curve, and when they break, Oh, Lord, what a racket. The rat shells are the most musical of them uall. They hum all the w: over, and when they land, there's a puff and a whizz and it's all over. Polson floats through the air and that's the end of it. Well, Mother, T x that's about all you want to know about the war, but I thought you would like to know what we see and do. I wrote to the top sergeant of my company today, telling him where to send my mail, so I suppose I will be seeing a little mall pretty soon. I haven’t had any since we went to the trenches the last time, so I suppose I can expect some pretty soon. Re- member me to all the family, and Florence. I got a letter of hers dated Jan. 9, on March 18. That must have been 6 delayed somewhere. That’s all for now, Ma, but I'll write dgain soon. Your loving son, BILLY. Gas War Sure Ts Hell. To a friend Private O’Dell writes: March 27th, ’18, Somewhere in France., Dear Charle It's some time since I wrote, but it was through no fault of mine. I've Leen up in the front line and in re- serve for over a month, so you see I couldn’t write. There is no mail gces out from the line. What do you think of Fritz? When he found out that we were neighbors of his, he sent over twenty-four hours of his gas and tried to drive us out, but our artillery gave him shot for shot, and about three hundred per cent better. And the next morning, we sent up a barrage that a fly couldn’t get through. 1 guess our artillery sends about four shots to every one of Fritz’s. But that gas sure is hell. It’s about the worst enemy to man in this war., When a man has to wear a gas mask and try to walk through a communicating trench at night, it’s some job. ly, off comes the mask and Mr. gets in Lis work. You ought to hear a bar- yage, Charley. Some fireworks, be- Jieve me! I am now in Base Hospi- tal No. 15, under observation for This hospital is some nice place. There is a large Y. M. here, and we have entertainments every night. I have heard quite a few of the lads talking about the good work of the Red Cross. All of them say if they ever have any money they don't know what to do with, it will go to the Red Cross. The nurses are like mothers to the The place is all fitted out with Each man has two sheets little C. A vien jron beds and two blankets, a feather pillow #nd mattress, and everything spick and s n. We have all kinds of games cnd reading matter, and a fellow couldn’t ask for more. Well, Char- Jie, T wish you the best of health, and Lope to see you soon. old pal, From your BILLY. CALL STRIKE FOR MOONEY. Seattle, April The state cen- tral labor council voted early today to call a general strike here for 24 hours May 1, according to officlal annolncement as a demonstration for Thomas J. Mooney, sentenced to hang ollowing his conviction on the charge murdering one of the victims of the yparedness parade bomb explosion. 18, | | | { terence by | measure { plained that | kicked up or kicked out. I reach a vote in the bill by tomorrow | TUBERCULOSIS CLINIC DEBATE RESUMED ON OVERMAN BILL Speeches meed When Senate Returns to Disputed Measure Washington, April _Voting on amendments to the Overman bill, which would grant authority to the president to re-organize government departments, was in sight today when the senate resumed debate on the’ measure with speeches limited to 20 minutes on amendments and 30 minutes on the bill Senator Chamberlain, yesterday, ad- vocated the amendments to eliminate the Interstate Commerce Commissison and the Federal Trade Commission om the scope of the bill. He insists, s do other scnators, that these com- ions be left apart from any inter- the president. It is re- garded as probable that these amend- ments will be carried. In announcing his support of the Senator Chamberlain ex- in general it embraced precisely the reforms contemplated in his director of munitions and war cabinet bills. He felt constrained to back those bills, he said, because at the time they were offered chaos and inefficiency reigned in government de- partment. Since then, he said the administration had vastly improved the war machinery. He said the duties of Bernard Baruch as chairman of the war industries board were prac- tically those of a munitions director. “The whole idea,” he went on, “is that we must have somebody with power to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; somebody with power to make subordinates obey. Mr. Baruch has taken the bit in his teeth and is organizing indus- trial activities as they relate to the war, The work of co-ordination in this department is going on. “I believe that the country will agree with me that nearly every in- competent disclosed by the military affairs committee has either been There has been a complete reorganization of war activit with the result that dis- tinguished men have been placed in charge of important undertakings. Criticism has been made that civilians have been put in the places of military men. T say that but for these d tinguished civilians the war depart- ment would still be floundering in the dark.” Approves Other Appointments. Senator Chamberlain spoke of the appointment of Charles M. Schwab as director of the Emergency Fleet cor- poration, of Edward R. Stettinius as second assistant secretary of war in charge of purchases, and of Samuel McRoberts in the. ordnance depart- ment. “These men have cut through great mass of red tape,” he said. attacked the problems in | i . It is fortunate that they have not put on uniforms, | for where there are uniforms there is red tape.” Senator Borah, republican of Idaho, also aligned himself with advocates of the Overman bill, insisting that congress ought not to assume that the president would abuse the pow- ers to be given to him. ‘““We have no right to presume that the president is going to appoint in- competents to office,” said Senator Borah. “Our bureaus are duplicating their work, and we need to restore order so as to get the most effective results. It is my thought in support- ing this bill that we have transferred this republic to a bureaucracy. Great powers have been put in the hands of men who are not responsible to' the people by election or appointment. Co-ordination is needed, and that is why I am in favor of this bill.” Senator Nelson, republican of Min- nesota, also said the president could be trusted to appoint competent men to office and not to abuse the powers conferred on him. “We trusted him when we passed the embargo, food, and other acts,” he said, “I believe we can depend on him not to abuse the power contem- | plated in this measure.” It is expected that the senate will | 1 night. Health Department to Have Chargo of Special Clinic Established in Room 59, Booth’s Block. Tuberculosis Clinic of the of Health was opened | 59, Booth's block, at | number of pa- The new Department today in Room :30 p. m. when a tlents were examined. The clinic is under the direction of the Board ot Health and it is supported by the | Tuberculosis Relief society which has | given valuable assistance for its es. tablishment and mainténance. The main object of the clinic is to | take care of early and contact cases. These cases are very often curable if | discovered early enough, In addition, a very complete clin- ical and social record system for the patients and their homes has been de- vised which ‘should give valuable in- formation for the prevention of the spead of the disease. The Board of Health desires that | the physicians of the city take a per- sonal active interest in the work to be done and consequently, have in- vited the physicians to take part in the actual conduct of the clinic. So far, seven ph ians have signified their willingness to assist. The direct- or of the clinic is the superintendent of health. FAREWELL ¥FOR DRAFTEES. Daly council, K. of C., will hold | a special session this evening at which | time a farewell reception will be ten- | dered three of the members who de- part tomorrow with the drafted men | for Camp Upton, L. L i | turned soldier ! LOUISIANA OIL WELL MAY BE A GUSHER P, Corbin Heads Company in Wt Local Capital Invested— Incorporated for $200,000. New Britain investors have organ- ized a stock corporation and will sink an oil well in Louisiana. The new corporation is known as the White Line Oil Co., and is capitalized under the laws of Connecticut at $200,000. The property where the investors will arill for a gusher is in Caddo Parish, La. Several oil wells, having abun- dant flowage of oil, are in that vicin- it: A mining engineer recently vis- | ited the property and has filed a re- port in which he expresses opinion that a good flow of oil cured. The stock is closely held and there is no intention to open subscrip- tion books. Philip Corbin is the president of the new company. MARINES’ CASUALTIES 974 “Sea Soldiers” Report 34 Killed, Offi~ cers Wounded 4, and Enlisted Men Wounded 236—Omne Co. Loses 21. ‘Washington, April 25.—Marines fighting in France have had a total | of 274 casualties, marine corps head- quarters announced today. The cas- ualties were divided as follows: Offi- cers wounded 4, enlisted men Kkilled 34 and enlisted men wounded 236. One company lost 21 men killed and 140 wounded out of a total of 250 men, This was the first official announce- ment that the marineés are taking an active part in the fighting. They were among the first soldiers to go to France but it had been understood they were being used for police pur- poses back of the fighting line. NEW DODGE TO DODGE DRAFT. Men Register in Essential Industries and Then Change Work. New Haven, April 25.—A warning to registrants in the district was is- sued by the Second Connecticut Dis- trict board today against a practic which has been detected of regis- trants who, having been given de- ferred classification because they have employment tries, are entering other lines of work. It is pointed out that a regis- trant who deliberately does this and fails to notify the board of the change is liable to punishment for misdemeanor. 5 Action is to be taken shortly against certain men who are known to be working at other non-essential industries and who have final classi- fication cards issued by the respective hoards on their persons, according to Fatrick F. O'Meara, secretary of the hoard. There are 55,000 registrants in the district. NEROUS LOCAL BANDS G Volunteer to Give Their Services Gratis When Soldiers Come. The various local bands have gen- erou offered to give their services gratis on May 3 and 4, when the Camp Devens soldiers return to this city for an entertainment, parade and dance. The musicians will take part in the parade on May 4 and will furnish mu- sic at the dance to be given in the armory on May 3. All members of the various bands have agreed to this plan and an aug- mented band of about 50 pieces will take part in the parade, while a 14- or 15-piece orchestra will furnish mu- sic for dancing. HEALTH DEPT. CRUSADE. J¥special Drive Being Made to Clean Up All Back Yards. For the past three weeks the de- partment of health has been engaged in a campaign for the cleaning up of the yards in the city. Already al- most 1,500 vards have been inspected and many of these have been ordered cleaned. The department of health is endeavoring to have the cleaning done in such a way that there is as little dust as possible created, for | dust contains disease germs. The time jz here when the owners of stores must screen their doors and windows anud so prevent the entrance of the early flies; for the fly loves filth and carries disease germs with him wherever he goes. GAS MASK GIRLS DINE. The girls working in the gas mask department at the Russell & Erwin Mfg. Co. gave a dinner yesterday noon at the factory, where the tables were decorated with American flags. Pa- triotic remarks were made by Messrs. Cooney, foreman of the department, O'Neil and King. The last two are from the Philadelphia gas mask school of the army. Lach girl pres- ent was given a small American flag, “SHELLPROOF” MACK TO SPEAK. Shellproof” Mack, recently re- from France, will speak tomorrow evening in Jr. O. U. A. M. hall under the auspices of the Cdd Fellows Building assoclation. Mrs. R. W. Egan and her two sons and F. W. Latham and children from the Children’s Home will furnish the entertainment. a TROLLEY STRIKE E: ED. Detroit, April 25.—The strike of 3,500 motormen and conductors of the Detroit United Railway Co., which tied up street car service here since yesterday morning, was called off shortly before noon when the car men voted to submit their differences with the company to federal mediation. REDMOND FESTATE $28,880. London, April 25.—John Redmond | the Irish leader who dled recently, left an estate of 5,776 pounds. will be se- | in essential indus- ! 1 STATE FOOD SITUATION George M. Landers’ Lieutenants Re- port Progress on Crop Production, Employment of Woman and Boys. Hartford, April —Reports of the progress being made by all depar ments of the committee on food sup- ply, Connecticut State Council of De- fense, were heard this afternoon at the Hartford club. Arthur Howe and Col. Louis R. ! Cheney reported on the use of hoys | for farm labor as provided through | the medium of the Boys' Working Reserve. William C. Cheney made a special report on jail and prison la- bor for use on farms. Mr &k Alsop of Avon presented a report dealing with woman labor for use on -ne farms as provided by the Wom- an's Land Army of America. Samuel Russell, Jr., of Middletown, chairman of the livestock department, reported on the importation of cattle into the ; state by his committee, five carloads having been brought in within the last two weeks. Senator Hemenway reported on the home garden situa- tion of the state and F. M. Peasley upon poultry activities. Mrs. Sam- uel Russell, Jr.,, of Middletown and | A. J. Brundage of the Connecticut | Agricultural college described the progress made by the Junior Food Army which had already enrolled over 10,000 boys and girls. Prof. W. { L. Slade, Jr., and I. G. Davis of the Connecticut Agricultural college re- ported on small grains and seed corn. bor bureau upon the possibility securing man labor for farms through the means of a state organization. Allan W. Manchester, county of Litchfield county, reported on the stirvey as conducted in his county and the use which he had been able to make of the facts secured through it. CITY ITEMS J. B. Thwing of Hartford was at the Y. M. C. A. last evening to talk with young men interested in Y. M. C. A. war work, trect today. Final clean-up at Cooley & Troup’s. Advt. ORDNANCE LOSSES REPLACED British Provide for Guns, Machine Guns and Ammunition Captured or | Destroyed During German Offensive London, April —The British have lost nearly 1,000 guns, between 4,000 and 5,000 machine guns and ammunition since the total manufacture of of hetween one and three weeks, the present battle in Irance Winston Spencer Churchill, ter of munitions, told the hous commons today. All these lo been made good. The munitions ministry, Churchill, placed at the air and ground services twice the number guns lost destroyed in the battle in Franc There now were actually more ser jceable guns as a whole and more of virtually every calibre than there were when the battle began, he said. WILL CONVENE HERE Patriotic said disposal than or more of Order Sons of \xn(‘ri(‘u City in 1919, Atlantic City, Patriotic Order a its annual c(mvantmn here, chose New vention city. Ukrainian troops into the Crimea in violation of the Brest-Litovsk treaty has been sent by the Russian govern- ment to Germany. A dispatch re- ceived at the state department from | Moscow says the commissariat . of | foreign affairs has telegraphed the German foreign office that informa- tion reaching Moscow indicates Ger- man-Ukrainian troops have passed Perkeop and are advancing on Skimferopal in the Crimiea. missariat, then says: “Even according to ex-parte state- ments the Ukrainian government of the Crimea does not form a part of | the Ukrainian republic. The advance | is a complete violation of the Brest- | Litovsk treaty as it is into territor of the peoples Soviet republic. It a threat to our Black Sea fleet. The com- according to the dispatch | | is | TURN OVER WOODL. Growers Agree to Price Prevailing on July 30, Last. w- | Washington, April 25.—Wool gro ers in conference here today with the | war industries board agreed to turn over to the government the entire wool output of the United States af prices based on the price prevailing | for washed wool on July 30 last. In accepting the government's pro- posal the growers avoided having | thelr product commandeered. The | government will take all wool Dro- duced and now in warehouses and will distribute what i{s not required for the army and navy to dealers for David Elder reported for the state la- | of | agent | Several have applied | for admission to this branch and Mr Thwing will return here later for their final decision. | | Bring your Panama straw hats {now. Conn. Hat Co.—advt. Ex-Congressman and Mrs. Thomas Reilly of Meriden are the guests of sir ind danghter-in-law, Mr. Mrs. Arthur 1. J. Reilly of Camp Mr, | of | Chooses New Britain for Convention | | Britain, Conn., as its next year's con- | RUSSIA PROTESTS ADVANCE. Brest-Litovsk Treaty Only Another “Scrap of Paper.” ‘Warshington, April 26. — Protest against the advance of German- | | will be at the South church and will VIEW IN BETHUNE, ONE OBJECTIVE OF GERMAN been one of the objectives of the Ger- | towns that arded ‘i i ‘ £2 mans in their drive in Flanders, and | graph shows the square of the British have held stubbornly to the | the bulldings being damag important city of Bethuno has HUGE AUSTRALIAN HOWITZER IN FRANCE IN ACTION UNDERNEATH A CAMO The 1 S UFLAGE SCRE | in this Austrian’ off The shells are rolled! of the gun in a St& breech. are shown photograph. from the side stream. to the a camouflage screen that conceals the gun from the enemy airplanes. The size of the shell used In this howitze: can be seen, for a number of shells | One of the great Austrian siege | guns “somewhere in France’ under BRITISH TRCOPS HURRYING TO THE SUPPORT OF THEIR OUTNUMBERED COMRADES IN FLANDE Fresh British troops, packed In]support of the heroes who, outnum-| mendous attacKs of the Germans Jight railway cars, being Tushed to the | bered, have been sustaining the tre- | Flandc ! RABBI WISE COMING. ! LECTURE ON ALLIES. | B Rabbi Stephen A. Wise of New | “\"ilh(?Ur Al}:ies 1(;:) thle Great ‘?'m":" i ; ot | illustrated with 1 arge colored | Yerk, regarded as one of the most r:'m\s s i Irelandg: e brilliant orators in this/ country to- | yyales Belgium, France, Russia and | @ay, will speak in this city early next | Italy, These views obtained at consid- | month. Rev. Dr. G. W. C. Hill, who | erable expense and trouble, have P i Tias been arranging a series of public | Rever been shown before in this eity:| ETERLINCK'S many of them are exceedingly beauti- ful, and all are of great interest. This lecture is the first of a series to be given Sunday at 8 p. m. upon the war at the Universalist church on Hunger- | ford court. These lectures, of great' patriotic meetings, has secured Rabbi ‘Wise’'s promise to visit this city and he will probably speak here on Fri- day evening, May 10. The meeting “BLUEBIRD” The Photoplay Immortall Coming for Four Big Days It Brings Happiness” civilian needs. educational value and interest, are at- be public. No admission will be | tracting large audiences. They are WATCH FOR IT! ctarged. free to all.