Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, April 29, 1915, Page 1

Norwich VOL. LVIl.—NO. 101 THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1915 TWELVE PAGES Balletin The Bulletin’s Circulation in Norwich is Double That of Any Other Paper, and Its Total Circulation is the Largest in Connecticut BATTLES IN BELGIUM ARE LESS VIOLENT Allies Retain Ground Which They Regained Since . Beginning of German Forward Movement ARE STILL DELIVERING COUNTER ATTACKS ied Airmen Have Made a Raid on Friedrichshafen and Dropped Six Bombs on the Zeppelin Hangars—Four German Machines Brought Down by French Aviators— Land Operations at the Dardanelles are Conjectural, Turkey Claiming Repulse of Forces and British War Office Asserting They Have Established Themselves Across the End of the Gallipoli Peninsula—No Change in the Eastern War Zone—French Cruiser Leon Gam- betta Sunk by an Austrian Submarine in the Ionian Sea. The French war office reports rela- tive calm along the battle front in elgium and the retention by the al- es of the ground which they re- ed since the inauguration of the forward movement nearly a veek ago. This follows the British official state- ment which declares that the opera- 'tions of the allies have definitely stopped the German attack which has not been renewed. Counter-attacks apparently are still being delivered by French and British, but these are of minor importance as compared with the, general engagement around Ypres and the Yser canal which lasted five days. Allied Aviators Busy. ‘There has been marked activity on the part of the airmen for several days jpast. A squadron of allied aviators jhave made a raid on Friedrichshafen nd one of them dropped six bombs lon the Zeppelin hangars. The nature of the damage done is not known, but one of the hangars is said to have caught fire. & French aviators have dropped bombs on the stations at Bollweiler, Cham- ley, Arnville and the railway junction in Alsoce-Lorraine, as well as on the station, the bridges and factory at Leopoldshoehe in Baden. Four German machines, according to the French official report have been brought down by the French aviators, one near Brimont, one in Champagne, the third near Ancre and the fourth west of Rheims. - Giermans Bring Down French Aero- plane. At Altkirch the Germans brought } éown a French aeroplane; at Naiden- | burg, East Prussia, a Russian aircraft dropped 1,200 pounds of explosives; at l! Oberndorff, a French aviator dropped ‘bombs on an arms factory; at Nancy & German biplane dropped bombs killing three persons and wounding others. At the Dardanelle: The land operations in connection with the attack of the Dardanelles are taking their place in the forefront of the campaign. While Turkey con- tinues to assert that the allied forces have been repulsed at various points 'with heavy los: and Berlin reports that 8,000 French and British soldiers have been driven to the sea and that 12,000 had been captured, the British jwar office has issued a statement, de- ng that in the face of continual opposition the allied troops have es- tablished themselves across the end of the Gallipoli peninsula. It tells of . Wire entanglements under the sea, as lwel.l as on land and deep pits, with spikes at the bottom, which the Turks | had prepared to hamper the landing, but adds that notwithstanding these obstacles the operations of the allies have been successful and they are a steady advance. French Cruiser Sunk. “The Austrian submarine U-5 has torpedoed and sunk the French cruis- er Leon Gambetta in the Ionian Sea. In the western war zone, according to Vienna, the general situation re- mains unchanged. Russian Po- ‘land heavy artillery engagements have taken place at various points without definite results and in ‘the by the Russians have been repulsed. ? the Russians hvae been repulsed. ews reaching Berlin from Czerno- Witz is to the effect that the Austrians have captured Bojan, east of Czerno- ‘witz, which is the key to the Russian positions in the crownland of Buko- wina. FRENCH CRUISER SUNK BY AUSTRIAN SUBMARINE keon Gambetta Was Torpedoed in the lonian Sea. ‘Vienna, April 28, via London, 9.15 p. m.—The following official commu- nication has been issued here: “Submarine No, 5 commanded by +Ldeutenant George Rimer Von Trapp, i loed and sank the French cruiser Leon Gambetta in the Ionian sea.” The Austrian submarine U-5 is a 1 of 273 tons displacement and a capacity of 500 horsepower when on the surface of the water. Her speed is 11 1-2 knots above the surface and .10 knots submerged. Her maximum ‘ eruising radius on the surface is 10 . Her normal complement is 16 “The U-5 was completed in 1905 and is of the Holland type. ITALIAN TORPEDO BOAT ¢ DESTROYERS RESCUE 26 Found Unconscious on a Raft—Had Been in Water 20 Hours. Brindisi, April 28, via Paris, JApril 29, 110 2. m—Two Itallan torpedo boat destroyers which went to the aid of the Leon Gambetta, have arrived here bringing 26 additional survivors | of the disaster, who were found un- eonscious on a raft made boards picked up from the wreckage. They had been in thé water for twenty hours. One of the survivors was clasping in _his arms an almost dying comrade. When the sailor was regain- ing consciousness he insisted that the man he had rescued be taken care of ‘before he himself was given treat- ment, A French non-commissioned officer saved by one of the destroyers, kissed the Italian flag and expressed his grat- itude to the Italians for the help they had given his fellow seamen, INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN AT THE HAGUE. War Solely Man’s Affair—Peace Wo- Work, ‘The Hague, April 28, Via London, April 29, 2.49 a. m.—"“The declaration of war was solely man’s affair; let the bringing about of peace be by women's work,” this was the great theme of the 'iintemationa.l congress of women to- ay. After active routine work -under the unanimously chosen chairwoman, Jane Addams, who gracefully thanked the delegates for the honor they had «conferred upon her, many theorectical resolutigns were adopted at the fore- delphia navy yard, noon meeting. ‘The American’ dele- zates, including Miss Grace Abbot, of Chicago; Miss Emily Balch of Welles- ley college, Mrs. S. P. Breckenridge of Chicago and Miss Annie E. Malloy of Boston, took a notable part in the de- bates. The congress listened in the evening to addresses by leading repre- sentatives from several countries. Miss Florence Holbrook of Chicago spoke before a crowded hall on woman’s task of educating children by inculcatirg; ideal of peace and admiration for con- structive ability and for the beauti- ful arts In place of adoration of his- toric war heroes. AUSTRIANS CAPTURE TOWN OF BOJAN. Attack Was So Surprising That the Russian General Staff Barely Es- caped, Berlin, April 28, Via London, 9. 20 p. m.- ‘elegrams received in Berlin today from Czernowitz, the capital of Bukowina, say that the Austrians have stormed and captured the town of Bo- jan, to_the east of Czernowitz. Bojan is the key to the Russian positions which are now thrown back to the extreme frontier of Bukowina, The attack was so surprising, the despatches say, that the Russian gen- eral staff barely escaped capture. The Austrian mortars are reported to have caused the heaviest losses among the Russians. Movement of Steamships. London, April 28.—Arrived: Steamer Minnehaha, New York. New York, April 28.—Sailed: Steam- er Lapland, Liverpool. Gibraltar, April 27.—Passed: Steam- er Taormina, New York for Naples, Dover, April 28.—Passed: Steamer Minnehaha, New York for London. Liverpool, April 28—Steamer Or- duna, New York for Liverpool, signall- ed. Due Liverpool 7 p. m. Alleged Election Frauds in Alameda County, Cal. San Francisco, Calif., April 28—Bvi- dence eonceminf alleged extensive election frauds in Alameda county (Oakland) has been laid before the at- torney general at Washington, United States District Attorney = John W. Preston announced here - today. A United States senator and representa- tive were voted for:at the primary. Turkey Uneasy Over American Situa- tion. ‘Washington, April 28.—Ambassador Morgenthau at Constantinople, cabled the state department today that there was considerable uneasiness in Turkey over the Ammenian situation and that he alfeady had made representations to the Turkish government for the protection of Armenians. He refer- red to one naturalized American citi- zen who had been threatened. Denial From Harvester Co. ‘Washington, April 28.—The Interna- tional Harvester company today form- ally denied to Secretary Bryan that it had sought advantages over competi- tors in Yucatan in the. purchase of sisal grass, and disclaimed knowledge of charges made by the Carranza gov- ernment that ome of its agents had used the name of the state department to further its interests. Capt. Benson Chief of Operations of h the Navy. ‘Washingten, April 28, — Secretary Daniels today announeed the appoint- ment of Captain William S, Benson to the newly-created post of chief of operations of the navy. Captain Ben- son now is it of the Phila- Cabled Paragraphs Rumors of Separate Peace, London, Apr#l 28, 3.156 p: m.—An- Swering a question in the house of commons this afternoon, Neil Prim- rose, under secretary for foreign af- fairs, declared that the foreign office had no official information to confirm the recent reports that Austria had approached Russia, directly or indi- rectly for separate terms of peace, Pommern Wins 2,000 Guineas. Newmarket, England, April 28.—Sol Joel's Pommern, by Polymenus out of Merry Agnes, won the Two Thousand Guinea Stakes for entire colts and fillies foaled in 1912, on the New- market course today. L. Neumann's Tournament was second, and Lord Carnarvon’s The Vizier third. Sixteen hor_s(es started. Pommern was the fa- vorite. 26 TO FILL VACANCIES IN THE HALL OF FAME Former President W. H. Taft Among Those Honored. New York, April 28.—The n- mes of 26 widely known persons who are to fill the vacancies created by deaths in the roll of one hundred electors of the Fall of Fame at New York <uni- versity here were announced today. The new electors are: President, John G. Hibben of Pronce- ton university; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and George W. Goethals of Wash- ington; George W. Cable, Winston Churchill, James Whitcomb Riley, Miss Ida M. Tarbell and Mrs, Helen Elkin Starrett, authors; Supreme Court Jus- tices Charles BE. Hughes and William R. Day: William Howard Taft, Am- bassador Walter Hines Page; Henry Van Dyke, minister to the Nether- lands; Oscar S, Straus, Senator John Sharp Willlams, Senator Morris Shep- pard of Texas, Senator Joseph &. Ransdell of Louisiana; Champ Clark, John Wanamaker, James Douglas, mining engineer of New York; Elbert H. Gary, Arthur J. Brown of New York, clergyman and_ author; Robert S. Brookings of St. Louis, merchant, and Henry Watterson. CONSECRATED AUXILIARY BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE Mgr, Thomas F, Doran—Hundreds of Priests in Attendance. Providence, R. I, April 28.—With many dignitaries of the Catholic church and state and city officials present, Mgr. Thomas F. Doran was wconsecrated today titular bishop of Halicarnassus and auxiliary bishop of Providence. : The ceremony was _conducted Bishop Matthew Harkins of Provi- dence, of which diocese the new bishop s vicar general for years. The as- sistant consecrators were Bishop Louis S. Walsh of Portland and Bishop Aus- tin Dowling of Des Moines, Ja. The sermon was preached bv the Very Rev. P. L, Duffv, vicar general of the dio- cese, of Charleston, S, C. The consecration which took place in Sts. Peter and Paul cathedral was attended by a very large gathering. A number of bishops and monsignors and hundreds of priests from all parts of the country were in attendance. LONGEST PIER EVER DESIGNED FOR PORT OF NEW YORK To Be Built at Foot of 35th Street, Brooklyn—Length is 1,779 Feet. New York, April 28—The longest pier ever designed for the port of New York was authorized today by a committee of the board of estimate. The new pier is to be built at the foot of 35th street, Brooklyn, is to be 1,779 feet—more than ome-third of a mile —long and is to be leased by the city to the highest bidder. Two other piers of unusual length, though not so long as this cne, were authorized, all three to cost approximately $1,300,000. OBITUARY. Thomas F. Lyons. Meriden, Conn., April 28—Thomas F. Lyons, mayor pro tempore under the administration of Mayor Thomas L, Reilly, died at a hospital at Hart- ford today. He was about 55 years old, was a Dprominent business man, and had served as alderman and coun- cilman and on other city boards. His wife and four children survive him. Death-was due to meningitis. Charles W. Blakeslee, Jr. New Haven, Conn., April 28.—Charles ‘W. Blakeslee, Jr., a member of the firm of C. W, Blakeslee and Son, general contractors, and a brother of Former Lieutenant Governor D, A. Blakeslee, died suddenly of heart disease at his home here late tonight. He was 71 vears old. His widow and a daughter survive. Rejuvenating Diplomatic Service. ‘Washington, April 28.—President ‘Wilson took another step in rejuven- ating the diplomatic service today by signing an executive order which will bar men more than 35 years old from the so-called “clvil service” portion of the corps, which includes secretaries and clerk! The age limit has been 50. Ambassadors and ministers will not be aected. Body of Hartford Fireman Found in the Connecticut River. Rocky Hill, Conn.,, April 28—The body of Thomas E. Downes, aged 31, a Hartford ,reman, who had been miss- ing from his home in that city for more than a week, was found floating in the Connecticut river here today. 1t is believed that he committed sui- cide by drowning while despondent. Funeral of Frederick W, Seward. Auburn, N, Y., April 28.—The funeral of Frederick W. Seward, formerly as- sistant secretary of state in the cab- inet of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Hayes, and son of Secretary William H, Seward, was held this afternoon at the old Seward home, Burial was in the Seward lot in Fort Hill cemetery. Fort Worth Faces Flood. Fort Worth, Texas, April 28.—Fort ‘Worth today faced a serious flood sit- uation because of the new rise that swept down the West Fork last night. Big gangs were at work strengthening the levees. More than 50 inches of ‘water poured over the dam at the new $1,000,000 reservoir. * $10,000 Bequest for Institue for Blind. New Haven, Conn, April 28.—The Connecticut Institute for the Blind will recelve $10,000 and Grace hospital, this city, $5,000, from the estate of Mrs. Cora C, T. Dwight, widow of James Dwight, which was ordered distributed by Judge Gilson in the probate court Kooy ‘The estate approximates $150,- Liquor License Will Cost $750 SENATE CONCURS WITH ACTION OF THE HOUSE. FINAL VOTE 19 TO 16 Majority Report of Excise Committee Favored $600 Fee, but the Minority ‘Report Was Accepted—Lobby Work- ed for Disagreement. Hartford, Conn., Aprl 28.—The gen- eral assembly today began to speed up its work under influence of a reso- lution adopted in both branches for final adjournment on May 18 instead of under constitutional limitation on June 9. Day Full of Excitement. The most interesting incident of the legislative day, which was full of ex- citement, was the adoption by the sen- ate of the bill increasing liquor li- censes 66 2-3 per cent. in the same form in which it was received from the house. Attempts to amend the bill failed, one such amendment offered by Senator Tuttle being ruled out as not germane to the bill itself. The debate on the bill came in the afternoon and the audience was a large one, made up of many house members and a delega- tion of liquor dealers,. Lobby Worked for Disagreement. The action of the senate had become a matter of concern to_ many, owin to reports that the so-called lobbv ha been active in trying to bring about a disagreement, and had tried various means to reach this end. This lobby activity was scored by Senator Hewitt in a speech supporting the amendment to the majority report on the bill, which amendment was the substitu- tion of figures in the minority report for those given in the majority report. The minority report was for the two- thirds increase as against the one- third increase favored by the majority of the excise committee with acqui- escence of the liquor interests. Hewitt Favored $750. In opening debate Senator Hewitt said that he was for the higher figures for license in spite of the lobby. He thought the latter was too active in “pulling senators from their seats and buttonholin~ them at every turn to get them to change their position on the liquor fee. He believed the liquor interests could afford to pay more rev- enue and while they are to be com- mended for assenting to @ raise to $600 for a license, that should not be a bar to a further raise. Senator Hewitt favored the $750 figure because it would increase the state’s revenue and aid the towns and counties. The ma- jority report would not bring such result: High License Condemned by Barnes. Senator Barnes said that he had taken a great deal of pleasure in fol- lowing the lead of Senator Hewitt, but today he differed with him. He said he recalled back in 1909 when the leg- islature dodged the issue of high li- cense and limitation. Again it dodges the issue. The question before the excise committee was not one of rais- ing revenue for the state at the ex- pense of the rum sellers, but a ques. tion of high license and limitation. Tntil we can abolish the selling of 1i- quor the only way to control it is by law,” he said. “Is it fair to take an underband method to put them out of business? Do it like our sister states— Rhode Island and Massachusetts. They do it in a fair way. They @o not do it as we would do by saying to the liquor dealers—you pay us $750 if you want to stay in business. How you get it we do not care.” To Senator Tuttle made a long speech on the evils of' the liquor -traffic and said that what was wanted was a law to eradicate the low and vile saloon. He said that this class of saloons was owned by the brewer and if the brewer can_ afford to pay $600 for a license the senator believed the brewer could afford to pay $750. Senator Tuttle later voted against the bill. Majority Report Called for $600 Fee. Senator Pierson, chairman of the ex cise committee, said that the majority report was signed by nine members of the committee. It was their pur- pose to increase the revenue for the state and they did not wish to impose hardship upon anybody so they placed the fee at $600. Such increase, he said, would go whoily to the state, increa: ing the revenue about $300,000. Whiton Favored Amendment. Senator Whiton spoke for the amendment. He said that the speaker of the house had been quoted as say- ing that a measure having been once reconsidered could not again be en- tertained. He disagreed with this prospective ruling. Defended Liquor Dealers. Senator Heineman was for the $600 he defended the liquor dealers against the charge th: all were “black” in their character. He said the most of them are honorable bus- iness men. The one-third Increase he claimed was a fair increase, while the higher one«was unjust. Senator Purcell accused Senator Hewitt of lack of consistency because the latter earlier had fought for a club license bill under which clubs paying a small fee would sell liquor to their members. Senator Barnes also crit- icized Senator Hewitt along the same D liow Mombal Woted: After further- debate a vote on the amendment was taken on roll call on motion of Senator Bishop. The amend- ment was adopted, 18 to 17. Those for were: Alcorn, Whitney, Isbell, Bree, Evarts, ‘Whiton, Hewitt, Bartlett, Comley, Jr. Salmon, Bishop, Mead, Tatem Thomp son, Wadhams, Alvord and Magee. Those against: Cheney, Molloy, cell, King, Pierson, Klett, Grady, Tut- tle, Heineman, Peasely, Hurley, Tyler, Barnes, O’Connell, Lyman Lewis and Talcott. The vote on the bill as amended was by roll eall, Passage 19 to 16. Senator Klett at first voted for the bil ,lbut corrected his vote, but Sen- ator Grady voted “yes,” making final passage 19 to 16. The senate refused to consider completing the joint ac- (Other legisiative proceedings are printed on paze eight.) 8 Eradicate Vile Saloons. in E’roportion to " PRICE TWO CENTS the City’s Populétibn Kurds Massacre Native Christians NOT LESS THAN 1,800 MURDERED AT URUMIAH. CRUCIFIED AND BURNED Missionaries Report Turl M an Attack by h Soldiers Upon the American on and the French American Catholic Mission. New York, April 28.—Details of the massacre of native Christians at Uru- miah, Persia, by Kurds, received to- day by the Presbuyterian board of foreign missions, state that no less than 1,800 have been murdered there and that no less than 2,000 have per- ished from disease. The attacks, it would appear, have not been confined to Kurds, but ihave been made, in at least one instance, by Turkish sol- diers. Crucifiion and burning Chris- tians alive have been revived, mis- sionaries reported to the board. aetrdboechhoctsytluo Priests Taken from American Mission. The attack in which Turkish seol- diers were the assailants, according to reports received by the board, was made upon the American mission and the French American Catholic mis- sion. The native Russian priests, the reports assert, were taken from the American mission by Turks. The mis- sionaries stated that there men were “treated badly” and add that it was not known to them whether the priests had been killed. A report had reached the Presby- terian missionaries at Tibriz that the Americans at Urumiah had been forc- ed to pay $40,000 as a ransom for re- fugees who had fled to the mission for protection. This report, it was stated, had not been confirmed. ROOSEVELT TELLS WHY HE CONFERRED WITH PLATT. Because of His Wide Experience and His Political Power. Syracuse, N. Y., April 28.—Theodore Roosevelt endeavored to explain on this his seventh day upon the witness stand the answers he made to ques- tions, asked him upon_ cross examina- tion "'by counsel for William Barnes, who is suing him for $50,000 damages for alleged libel. He told why he con- ferred with former United States Sen- ator Thomas C. Platt, “the easy boss,” while governor, vice president and President of the United States. He related how he threatened Senator Platt just prior to the Philadelphia convention of 1900 that he would “fight” for the New York gubernatorial nomination, if “the easy boss” made ®ood his own threat to keep him out of the race as punishment for not ac- cept ing the nomination for vice presi- dent. The colonel told of these things and many others upon re-direct examina- tion. The minute his cross examina- tion ended he sat alertly up in his chair and the solemn expression that had enshrouded his features during the last two days of his examination gave way to a smile. He leaned toward the Jury; he squared his jaw; he raised his voice; he lifted his open hands and ‘brought: them down upon his thighs. He pounded with clenched fist upon the open palm. He used every gesture, every movement at his_command, to make his words more forceful. And as he stepped down from the witness stand at the end of the day he laugh- ingly said: “I am not tired.” Speaking of the “easy boss,” the for- mer president of the United - States said that he conferred with him on matters legislative, administrative and political, because he considered the senator’s wide experience was valua- ble and because he realized that the organization controlled the legislature and that the senator controlled the or- ganization. Tomorrow may be the colonels’ last day upon the stand. FOUND BODY SUBMERGED IN BRIDGEPORT HARBOR Body of Captain J. Ehlert Found Tied to a Rope—Foul Play Sus- pected. Bridgeport, Conn., April 28.—The body of Captain Joseph Ehlert, who had not been seen since Monday, was found today submerged twenty feet under water in Bridgeport harbor, with a rope tied to his leg, the other end of the rope being attached to the gunwale of his oyster sloop, “Democrat.” Mangus Peterson, who lived on the sloop, is being detain- ed at police headquarters, pending an investigation. He denies all knowl- edge ‘'of the affair. Medical Examiner Garlick will hold an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The body had apparently been in the water for more than a day. A deep gash was found over the left eye. In his clothing was found $54.70. Charles Clark and V. Stallknecht, friends of the dead man, rowed out to the sloop this afternoon. They had not seen him for several days and they thought he might have been ill on his boat. Peterson who lived aboard, was not to be seen, the only living thing aboard the craft being the captain’s dog. Seeing the rope tied to the side of the boat, they pull- ed it aboard and brought to the sur- face the body of Ehlert. Peterson was later found on shore and he identifled the body. The police, after questioning him, decided to hold him as_a witness. Ehlert was 62 yeras old and leaves his widow. s LONGEST SPRING DROUGHT IN OVER FORTY YEARS Cotton and Truck Crops in Eastern Part of the South Are Suffering. ‘Washington, April 28.—The longest early spring drought in more than 40 years now exists over the more east- ern portions of the country, the Na- tional Weekly Weather and Crop Bul- letin announced today. Cotton and truck crops in the eastern part of the south are suffering for lack of rain, but in the great wheat and corn sec- tions of the middle west the weather of the last week has been unusually favorable. In the far western states the outlook for fruits of all kinds con- _tinues promising. €ondensed Telegrams Next week will be “clean-up week” for Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx. A total of $200,000 for the Red Cross fund was realized at the sale in Christie’s auctoin rooms in London. Governor Whitman signed the Wicks bill compelling all vehicles to cary lights visible from the front and rear. The cruiser Washington arrived at Vera Cruz from Tampico. The gun- boat Wheeling also arrived at Vera Cruz. President Wilson plans Williamstown, Mass., Friday, christening of his grandson, Sayre. to go to for the Francis A special election was called for May 5 in_Nome, Alaska, for a vote on whether Nome shall continue to li- cense saloons. Capt. Thomas Reilly, one of the best known sea captains on the Pacific coast died at his home in San Fran- cisco, aged 53. Fire started by an unidentified in- cendiary_did $100,000 damage to prop- erty in Madison, N. J., leased by Jo- seph L. Hope. Secretary Garrison has accepted an invitation to deliver an addggss questions of national defense Mohonk, N. Y., May 19. Fred Ellwanger, sole survivor of the Marianne mine disaster of November 27, 1908, in which nearly 200 men were killed, died at Washington, Pa. The $1,140,000 ship authorized by the last naval appropriation act, to be known as the Cuyama, will be built at the Mare Island yard, California. The German auxiliary cruiser Kron- prinz_Wilhelm will be transferred to the Norfolk navy yard and interned today. A heavy shower brought some re- lief from the heat wave in Cleveland. The temperature reached 92 degrees there, breaking all records for April. Sub.-Liet. Medlicotf, of the British army, and a mechanic named Hughes were killed when a sea plane in which they were flying collapsed at Calshot, England. Joseph Hill, an aged farmer who killed a burglar with a jacknife, was held at Danbury, Conn. without bail on a murder charge, pending a coron- er’s inquiry. Vincent Astor is taking lessons in aviation at the W. Starling Burgess aeroplane factory in Marblehead, Mass. Burgess is constructing a ma- chine for young Astor. Ambulances of the American corps in France will be allowed to go to the fighting front. The Americans are the only neutrals to whom this privilege has been given. Governor Whitman signed the Seely bill which provides that municipalities in New York State shall pay physi- cians twenty-five cents for each birth certificate made out and filed. Thirty-two passengers in three cars of a train that arrived at Oakland, Cal., from the East, were detained and vaccinated, as a fellow passenger was suspected of having smallpox. The_ three-masted Sea Gull, the largest ever America, will be launched today’ at Lewley's vard, Boston. The craft was built for Alexander Smith Cochran schooner _yacht built in Mayor and Mrs. Mitchel and a party of friends will leave New York Sun- day for a bear hunt in the Rockies. After the hunt they will spend a few days at the Panama-Pacific Exposi- tion. = Clifford Crabtree, a 16-year-old school boy, shot and killed himself in thethe belfry of the Trowbridge Me- morial Church at Worcester, Mass. His mind was unbalanced from over- study. While Charles Harvey, secretary of the state boxing commission, and his two_sisters were asleep in their home in New York city burglars entered and stole money and jewelry valued at $7,500. While defending a client in Brooklyn County Court, Thomas Conti, a lawyer, started beating his breast, and hammered a box of matches in his vest pocket into flames. The fire was extinguished before he was burned. The United Shoe Workers Union and the Association of Shoe Manufacturers of Argentina held a monster demon- stration in Buenos Aires in which -they asked the government to place a pro- hibitive tariff on foreign made shoes. President Wilson commuted to a year and a day the seven-year sen- tence of William L. Norton, convicted of misappropriating funds of the Old American National Bank of Bartles- ville, Okla., of which he was formerly president. Plans for raising a $10,000,000 pen- sion fund for retired Methodist minis- ters and their widows and orphans, were outlined at the national conven- tion of bishpos and conference repre- sentatives of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Chicago. German Aeroplane Attacks Nancy. Nancy, France, April 28, via Paris, 510 p. m—A German aeroplane at- tacked Nancy today. Three bombs were dropped in the center of the city. Three persons were killed and a num- ber of others were injured seriously. James L. Berkible, editor of a news- paper at Edensburg, Pa., was shot and seriously wounded when a posse, of which he was a member, attempted to arrest Wayne Oshell, at his home in the mountains near there. Oshell and two of his sisters, were caught. Lo James Keegan, ex-private in the United States army pleaded guilty in the United States District Court to posing as Captain Corydon G. Snow of the Medical Corps and passing bad checks in the latter’s name. He was sentenced to 6 years in the peniten- tiary at Atlanta. Secretary Garrison accompanied by members of Congress who are on committees dealing with Triver and harbor matters will inspect Mussel Shoals in the Tennessee River early in May, the site of the greatest po- tential water power in the country next to Niagara. Destitution and Disease in Serbia ROCKEFELLER RELIEF COMMIS- SION REPORTS- CONDITIONS. 25,000 HAVE TYPHUS Found 300,000 Persons Destitute—Ev~ ery Community on the Main Line of Infected With Disease— Gruesome State of Affairs. Travel is New York, April 28.—The Rockefeller foundation war relief commission made public tonight a report on destitution and disease In_ Serbia in which it is stated that on March 10 probably from 25,000 to 30,000 persons were suffering from typhus in Serbia and that this and other epidemics were “swiftly en- veloping the entire nation.” The re- port was transmitted from Berlin. 300,000 Persons Destitute. Cholera w at that time expected with the arrival of warm weather, and no preparations had been made to combat it, the report said. Probably 300,000 persons were destitute. Nelther the Serbian government, absorbed in the war, nor the people themselves were able to control the _situation, which the commission described as not “menace to the health of the people, but of the whole s upon this report that the Rockefeller foundation, at the instiga- tion of the Serbian government, joined with the American Red Cross in send- ing to Serbia the American sanitary commission which left here April 3 under the leadership of Dr. Richard P. Strong of the Harvard Medical school. The commission proposes as its first step in controlling the epi- demic the isolation of the infected. Influx of Refugees. The Serbian government, the report says, attributes the inception of typhus to Austrian prisoners who were quar- tered to the number of 60,000 through- out the country. Every community on the main lines of travel is infected with the disease. As one illustration of its ravages and of the prevalence of destitution, the report describes the situation at Nish, the temporary capi- tal, whose normal population has been increased from 25,000 to 85,000, due chiefly to the influx of refugees. ‘About 2. refugees occupied a school building adjoining and in the closed grounds of a large church in Nish,” the report says. ‘Eleven small school rooms were used, with the number of occupants in each ranging from 15 to 25. There were no beds. Beds of Filthy Straw. “Some of the refugees had filthy stacks of straw, others had only thin blankets or ragged quilts. Some lay on the bare floor. The building was un- der tne charge.of a janitor and his wife. She was an ignorant peasant, who saw no disgrace or menace in the awful filth of the building and sur- rounding yard. “Not the slightest attempt was made to clean the place, inside or out. Some rooms were not as dirty as others, be- cause the groups occupying them re- tained more strength of pride, but no one seemed to heed the condition of the halls or stairways. Ravages of Disease. “It is difficult to describe the condi- tion of the people in this building in the language of restraint. The hall floors and the stairways were foul and grew worse with each day’s addition. In the rooms the people were huddled in family groups on the floor. The ravages of starvation and disease wers appalling. Gruesome Picture of Baby. “There remains in our minds the pic- ture of a baby whose drawn face, the skin stretched sharply over the bones, gave an impression of toothless vld age, clutching weakly at the breasts of a mother too weak to nourish or care for it. The woman in charge said that usually there were three or four deaths every day. “To the members of the commission it was obvious that several of the sick were dying. Disease and starvation are rapidly settli all problems for that unhappy group. In fact, the commission was told that in the whole city a hundred pa- tients were dying of typhus every day and that the force of grave diggers was inadequate to keeu up with the work of burying the bodies. BROADWAY CENTRAL HOTEL IN HANDS OF ASSIGNEE Fifty Years Ago It Was the Leading Hotel in New York GCity. New York, April 28—The Broadway Central hotel at 673 Broadway, fifty years ago a leading hotel of New York city and now its furthest downdown hostelry, went into the hands of an assignee today. Dan C. Webb, for nearly twenty years its proprietor as- signed for the henefit of creditors, his debts totalling about $40,000 and his assets about $15,000. It was in this hotel that a sensational tragedy oc- curred many years ago, the fatal shooting of Jim Fisk, a one-time part- ner of Jay Gould, by Edward Stokes. Mark G. Holstein, the assignee, said that the hotel would be operated for 30 days under an order of the supreme court. Thereafter an effort will be made to reorganize its management. Failing in this, Mr, Holstein said it would elose. OBSEQUIES OF A GYPSY QUEEN AT WATERBURY Representigives of Many Tribes Place Articles of Raiment on Coffin. ‘Waterbury, Conn., April 28.—The body of Queen Tryphena, queen of the McNeil band of roving gypsies, was taken to - Guttenberg, N. J., today, where it will remain in a vault until Decoration day, when it will be buried. Members of various gypsy tribes were present at the obsequies, which were conducted in the open air by the Rev. J. N, Lewis, Jr., rector of St.°John's Episcopal church. About 15 people at- tended the services, which closed with the representatives of the ‘erent tribes placing bombs, combs, brushes, hair pins, jewels, etc., in the coffin. Two hats were also placed in the cas-’ ket, it being the custom of the Romany gypsies to place these articles in the coffin to enable the corpse to have comfort while going across the Styx.