Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 22, 1915, Page 4

Jorwich Bulletin and Gouficd . the republican. campaign if he uses his. influence to support another candi- date cannot be guestioned, but the pro- motion of his personal interests is bound to receive even greater resent- ment than it did three years ago. For that reason the outcome of the Gary dinner will be awaited with interest 119 YEARS OLD price 12c a week) 50¢ a a year. i Entered at the Postoffice at Norwich, {Conn., as second-class matter. Telephone Calls: | Bullgtin Bustess Offige 480. f»a ‘Bulletin Editorial Hooms- 35-3. Bulletin Job Office 38-2. Willimantic. Office, Room 2, Murray Building. Telephone’'210. Norwich, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1915, E’The Circulation of i The Bulletin ; 5,920 The Bulletin has the largest 9,200 9 circulation of any paper in Eastern Srcsesscssenssessesssssssscosssssssasseassones Connecticut and from three to four times larger than that of any in Norwich. It is delivered to over 8,000 of the 4,058 houses in Nor- wich and read by ninety-three per cent. of the people. In Windham it is delivered to over 900 houses, in Putnam and Danielson to over 1,100, and in all of these places it is considered the local dail Eastern Connecticut has forty- nine towns, one hundred and sixty- five postoffice districts, and sixty rural free delivery routes. The Bulletin is sold in every town and on all of he R. F. D. routes in Eastern Connecticut. CIRCULATION average. | 1901, 1905, average...... | i i December 18........ NORWICH’S OPPORTUNITY. No_question of greater public im- portance is before the people of this city today, or ever has been, than the opportunity for add- ! ing many thousand to its popula- tion which is presented hy the expan- sion of the Hopkins & Allen Arms company in the handling of the order for rifles for the Belglans and the much larger order of a similar nature which it is negotiating for. This means more for this city than all the ac- quired industries in the last quarter century. It is a chance for growth which should be received with enthu- siasm and be recognized by such a demonstration on the part of the townspeople that there would be no possibility of the business being taken elsewhere because of a threatened lack of housing facilities. If thi# concern is zoing to bring one, two or three thousand employes here, and it has evidenced its good . tentions by the acquiring of the larg- est plant of the kind in the city and by subsequent purchase secured an- other as well as much adjoining prop- erty on which to build additions which will more than double its capacity, to say nothing of the other plants which have been leased, there must be a place provided for the housing of these newcomers. With tenements existing and those under construction a certain number can be taken care of but it will be only a small propor- tion at the most. Some are saying “Let them come and we will take care of them,” but houses cannot be built in a day and to wait until they get here will be too late. That isn't the way Bridzeport is doing and it isn't the way in which other cities which are experieicing a boom for just the same reason that this business here is being developed have done. The hous- ing proposition was one of the first things the people of Springfield and icinity gave heed to when the West- inghouse company acquired plants in that state. The houses which are now being erected for such heip are to be leased from the moment they are completed by the company and it is probable that suck® an agreement would be made concerning all the others up to the number required. There may be an objection on the part of some to placing their money in the hands of,a housing company, but there is noth- ing which stands in the way of indi- vidvals handling their own funds in the provision of new buildings. Norwich has an opportunity such as never came its way before and the public spirit which is continually cry- ing for growth should rise to the sit- uation, replacing words by deeds. It 1s the public spirit that does something and gets results that counts. The time for it is now and the place for it s Norwich, first, last and all the time. It isn't a question now of some in- dustry being impressed with the local tacilities, but of Norwich being alive to its opportunity. THAT GARY DINNER. ‘Whether the recent Gary dinner in New York at which Theodore Roose- velt was one of the guests with many Industrial and capitalistic leaders, antl which it was announced was simply a council of war for the purpose of defeating President Wilson next No- vember, was solely the formation of a wedge for driving home the candidacy of the ex-president remains to be seen. It was something more than a social dinner party, as can be readily gath- ered from the men who sat at the table. Further significance is attached to it by the subsequent statements which have been made by close political friends of Col. Roosevelt whereln it is declared he will support the, candi- dacy of any man who may be named by the republican convention who has the standing of Justice Hughes, ex- @overnor Hadley of Missouri, or for- mer Secretary of State Philander C. Knox. Such might seem innocent enough if it were not accompanied by the declaration that Mr. Roosevelt ‘'would not consider such g thing as {being a candidate on the republican { ticket unless there was an overwhelm- ing demand which it would be impos- | sible to resist. This sounds suspiciously Itke “the | unantmous call of the people” wWhich e considered sumcient ground for re- ‘mouncing his promise made some years lago to the effect®hat he would not iseek’ another nomination and for llannching the .campaign in 1912 which !resulted in placing in office the ad- 'ministration which he is now so eager to get out of Washington. That Mr. - [Booseveit-could be of great service in and promotes not a little speculation. FAILURE ON GALLIPOLI. . The abandonment by the British of two positions on Gallipoll peninsula, Sulva and Anzac, indicates that the allies have reached the conclusion that the efforts which have been made to open the Dardanelles by the operations at those points have proved a failure and that the forces which are being held there without any promise of greatsr success can be used to better advantage elsewhere. The struggle for the Dardanelles has been a ccstly and bloody one. Not only have thousands of lives been sacrificed, but it has cost the allies heavy in ships because of the great mistake which was made at the start in trying to force the straits with the .navy alone. When the land forces were finally brought up it was too late, for the Turks had been given warning and time to make adequate preparations, though the fact that the allies failed to follow up their advan- tages when the big gun ammunition of the strongest strait battery was almost exhausted, as is now revealed, only points out a blunder similar to what was made ir the recent drive on the west front where it is claimed the continuation of the bombardment ‘would have resulted in a great victory for the allies. It adds one more to the missed opportunities of the en- tente powers. ‘Where the troops who have been withdrawn from Gallipoli are destined will be revealed in time, but it is ap- parent that they will be put into ser- vice either'in the Balkans or used to check any advance which may be made towards Bgvpt. They are needed in both theaters. The Balkan situation required just such strengthening weeks ago and unless the forces in Egypt are capable of defending the canal they are needed there now, but regardless of the direction in which they are headed it has been decided, however, that it is useless to keep them at Gal- Tipoli. STEAMBOAT INSPECTION. In his annual report Secretary of Commerce Redfield calls for additional legislative action which will permit the steamboat inspection service to be efficient and make it capable of per- forming the duties which are expect- ed of it. Following the great loss of life in the burning of the General Slocum in New York there was a great hue and cry because there was gross laxity in this service. The result was that something was done which showed an improv™nent before long because a different kind of inspection was re- quired and since ghen improved regu- lations have been put in force and it has heen insisted that they be car- ried out. Following the capsizing of the steamer Eastland at Chicago when nearly a theusand lives were lost while the vessel was still at its dock, it was apparent that there was serious neg- lect upon the part of somebody and Secretary Redfleld is free to say that the fault lies with congress because it refused to pass laws which were recommended and which in the opin- ion of the secretary would have pre- vented that horrible disaster. Opinion may vary as to where the responsibility lay in that particular case, but it must be apparent to an unbiased observer that if the branch of the government which is supposed to have supervision of such matters is so badly handicapped by lack of in- spectors and authority to prevent the repetition of such catastrophes it is time that something was done to rem- cdy the situation. It is no small task which posed upon the steamboat i service when it is realized that ten officials in Washington and 2. the field force are held responsible for the safety of 300,000,000 lives, 7,500,000 tons of vessels and millions of tons of cargo which are carried, and if the force which is entrusted with such duties is inadequate proper steps should be taken to give the needed relief. There are limits to human pos- sibilities in steamboat inspection as well as- anything else, and when hu- man life hangs in the balance it de- serves more than ordinary consider- ation. EDITORIAL NOTES. Greeee is apparently as much un- decided as ever as to whether it is going to become a battlefield. __The Christmas spirit is again abroad in the land if the parcel ladened in- dividuals furnish any evidence. From the questions which are being asked over in Berlin there is no indi- cation of a mortgage burning right away. While drives are being prepared by the nations at war the real big one this week promises to be made by Santa.. Those who take it against their will are likely to rejoice over the embargo which Newfoundland has placed on cod liver oil. Now that Marcon! has been made senator in Italy the idea seems to prevail that prejudice prevented him from pulling any wires. There may be lots of credit to be gained from a successful retreat, but it falls to measure up to the accom- plishments of a drive forward. Even those parents who think that| the spending of money for toys is a| waste of resources usually get their share of enjoyment out of them. The man on the corner says: The only thing which prevents a lot of warm-hearted people from spending millions at this season is that they don’t happen to possess them. The announcement is made that the sale of Christmas trees in the Adiron- dack region will amount to $1,000,000 this year. Another chance for the demoncratic administration to point to what it has done for prosperity. From the uncomfortable position which Rumania and Greece ha® oc- cupled on the fence few nations are ikely to desire a change much more than they, though Switzerland would appreciate a relief on its finances. Of course Henry Ford is to be al- lowed to change the date when the soldiers will be brought out of the. trenches from Christmas to next spring since such changes in dates are only what the war lords indulge in fre- quently. \ { wildness is that of Nature piled with {muddy Struma. Dok “The main reason why I fell vietim to that hat” related the woman in green velvet, the fact, that it was so 1y Nght In welght. I don't like to feel that I have a ton of brick upon my coiffure, and things that slip over one ear and dangle 1 won't en- dure. This hat was eimply perfect. It was small and chic and set down on my head as though it had been made for me. No hatpins were needed with it, the saleswoman told me alluringly, because I balked at the $20 price. T couldn't in the least afford & hat that cost €0 much, so I bought it Some day some great economist is go- ing to write a whole book on the ability of women to purchase articles which they can't afford. It's a won- der they haven't dome it before! They must have wives and, therefore, Tight before their eyes examples of women's wizardry with money! “Having got the hat, I yearned to wear 1t and on a bright, windy, sun- ny day T decided to go and call on Is- abel, do. some marketing and attend a committee meeting of our club. I aid my hair carefully, adjusted a tiny nose vell over it, set the prize hat up- on my head. Gloating over my dif tinguished appearance, I burst upom | the admiring world. “I aid not notice the admiration as | being really violent until I had walk- ed five blocks to the street car line and was marketing at the corner store. The man who always waits on me is a saturnine individual, who glowers across my left shoulder as I talk and utterly scorns me. This day, he fixed his eyes upon me In a fascin- ated way, especially on my hat. Ij felt that I had misjudged him utterly and that after all he had a soul for the truly beautiful. It always Is gratify- ing to arouse aesthetic feelings in, those lower in intelligence and I was so pleased that T ordered double the! amount of butter I needed and floated | out. H “Waiting for the street car, watch- ing the other women clutching at their flapping hats, I again congratu- lated myself on my perfect turban, which had been absolutely no bother to me since I left home. I could see the envious glances they cast upon me, and, head in air, I entered the car. 1 really attracted a greai deal of at- THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Sociuty “The country between Bagdad and Basra on the Tigris, in which stretch of Mesopotamia the British expedi- tionaries and the Turks have carried on a varying campaign for months, is as cheerless as any that could be imagined, ~dreary, flat, sunslazed plains ana vast, doholate swamps,” ac- cording to a statement on war geog- raphy just given out by the National Geographic Society. The Tigris pur- | sues a lazy course through these te- dious lowlands. To the right and left stretch Barren plains of baked clay as far as the eye can reach, offering no advantages for defense. The reed- choked swamps lie between, while the dull brown Arab villages _straggle through plain and swamp alike, with indifferent impartiality as to the dis- dvantages of both. “World-wearied flocks and oeca- nal Arabs constitute the solo like of the lower Tigris plain. The chim- mering heat frets the clay soil with deep cracks in every direction, and makes the thick yellow river appear like a stream of molten metal. This is the southern end of Mesopotamia, down to the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates at Shat-el-Arab, whence mile after mile of dreary marsh takes the place of the dreary plains. Throughout the marsh-cquntry, com- | munication between villdges is car- ried on by means of rush boats. In the springtime of Mesopotamia’s his- tory, it was all a garden land, a_coun- try compelling the stranger's admira- tion for its fruitfulness and beauty. “Kut-el-Amara, well down the river was, at least for this region, a thriv- | ing port before the war, and large | shipments of grain were sent from here. This surplus grain was grown in abundance somewhere on the ap- parantly arid plains, which, if irri gated once more as in ancient times, might be an agricultural supply spot for the leading markets of the world. The old canals, which carried water to the plains, have falled into decay, and, in most cases, their markings have been leveled by time beyond all recognition. Basra lles about five hours by boat below the junction of the two rivers, and it has’ been the principal port’ of lower Mesopotamia for centuries. Today, this city forms the base of the British expedition, the Calais or Saloniki of fighting in’ the south. Struma Valley—“Warfare is a_com- monplace in the crag-framed valley of the Struma River, down whose course the Bulgarians are struggling against the French and English; for the river flows through the heart of the dis- trict, In which the Bulgarians, Ser- vians, and Greek propagandists fought for ten bitter years among themselves before uniting in the purpose of driv- ing the Turk from here in 1912”, be- gins a statement just issued by the National Geographic Sogiety. “The Struma valley has been more or less of a continuous battlefield since the beginning of the twentieth century, when the idea gained cer- tainty that the Turk must soon lose his Macedonian provinces and all of the Balkan nations began a wrestling for inheritance. Schools, _churches, politicians and brigand bands strove with one another in Macedonia for the conversion of the natives to their cause: for the development of Bul- garians, Greeks and Serbs in the Turkish state and the tactics of the struggle often’ proved fatal to the sub- jects for conversion. “It is a peculiarly wild and deso- late segement of the Balkan peninsula that torders the Struma’s course. Its mountains, scarred with broken rocks, and torn wita gorges and ragged cuts, Its desolation is the fruit of ten years of propaganda strife, heightened by the efforts of the Ottoman as a tax collecter through 500 years and by his methoda of punizhing the people as & meens for the suppression of the foreign bands. “Bulgarian, Greek and Servian am- bitions” met 'and _clashed along the n_its course— it rises just below the Bulgarian capi- tal, Sofia—the Bulgarian bands pour- ed’into Macedonia, while the Greeks came from Saloniki in the west, and followed its course northward. ' The paths that follow the river are rough, and often dizzy going, narrow roads along mountain and hillside ledges, 2nd now and then falling sharply to lowland nearer the river. Wayside suard stations, survivals of the days of Turkish administration, are perc ed on the heights beside the etream, while the roads that cross here are mostly fords. The anclent bridges that crossed Byzantium's Struma fell into decay under Ottoman rule and vanished to the last vestige. Alto- gether, this persistent theatre of war is as an unlikeiy field for military op- erations as would be remote and sav- age Albania showid the Alilance and pered concerning me. what they were saying—that my hat looked its value and they would give $1,000 to know where I bought it. 1 feit so benevolent that I came near telling them. Nothing else does make one feel so generous and friendly as knowing that she looks better than everybody in sight. Even the motor- man when I alighted favored me with & glance. “I thought Isabel was especially ani- mated when I reached her house. All the while she was talking she would glance at me and then away, and once or twice I got the impression she was on the point of saying something she thought better of. Finally she burst and asked me if I did not have a new method of doing my hair. When I told her no, that it was the same old way, she hastened to add that it was most becoming anyhow, and maybe it looked new to her because ghe had not seen me for some time. I knew the reason she mentioned any hair instead of my hat—for while Isabel is a dear friend of mine she is awfully jealous of my clothes! “At the committee meeting every one stopped talking when I came in. I was gratified at this. It showed the high opinion they held of me. They listened rapt to my remarks and from their gaze I knew that my lit- tle hat had made a hit. I was almost bland ard smiling and lovely to ev- ery one. T walked home with a happy smile upon my lips, bowing graciously to several acquaintances. 1 slipped .out of my coat-and then reached up to lift o my preclous hat. My fingers waved wildly around in thin air! There wasn't a sign of a hat upon my head! The miserable thing must have blown off when I first started out and somebody eise is today en- joying a perfectly good $20 hat, be- cause I never saw it again. 1 had been going around a half day in a tailor suit with a bit of a nose vell on my head and nothing else! “The worst of it is that James is so satisfled about it! He knows that I ! shall never again dare to refer to his bright act a short while ago that has stood me in good stead as dinner ta- ble brillance ever since. Just as we started for the theater one night I sent him back upstairs to get my little pink silk shawl hanging over a chair next my dresser. 1 am sensitive to drafts upon my shoulders. ‘When I called for the shawl during a Dbrightly lighted intermission James pulled from his pocket a piece of Ital- ian silk lingerie instead of the shawl! I think I miss telling that story more than I do the hat after all!"—Chicago News. Stories of the War Effects of Bombs On Venice. An opportunity to see the destruc- tive effect of the bomb raids on Ven- ice was given to The Associated Prese, when an inspection under official es- cort was made of the havoc and ruin in the famous old church of the Scalzi, one of the art monuments of the world, now a wreck with its roof blown ofl, its massive walls tottering, and the fa- mous ceiling fresco by Tiepolo, valued at a million francs, lying in heaps of rubbish in the ruids of the bullding. There have been three bomb raids on Venice, but this was the worst, and the historic church bore the full brunt of it. Approaching the massive edifice one sees a gaping hole in the roof, extend- ing from front to rear. The facade, tronting the Grand Canal, is intact, and three sculptured figures standing along the cornice remain untouched. But back of the figures the roof sags away in a curved line downward and then up again to the rear w. though some giant hand had res down and torn out the whole top of the church, leaving only the front and the rickety side walls still intact. Workmen_can be seen high above be ginning the work of salvage and re- pair, and heavy timbers are being laced across the gaping hole left by the bomb. Entering the historic church a scene of havoc and ruin is presented—twist- ed beams and arches, panels and col- umns of alabaster crushed into bits and lying around in heaps, the richly carved pulpit blown to pleces with only a faint outline of its former wonders remaining, and above, the rof wide open to the sky, with the wonderful frescos of Tiepolo dumped in huge masses of debris on the stone pavement. Faint edges of the grand old frescos still cling to the side walls, giving some idea of the beauties of the work torn away. Six enormous arch- es spanned the edifice meeting in the middle, and giving an_ intervening space for these frescos. Not a vestige remains of the main subjects, the visit of the Virgin to Loretto, con- taining hundreds of biblical and alle- gorical figures, the ragged edges show. ing only cloud effects and the back- ground with a few figures. The high altar, with spiral alabaster columns and rich decorations, is not touched, and another curious feature is that the electric candles circling the church are undisturbed, the electric bulbs shin- ing as brightly as ever. But with these two exceptions—the high altar far in the rear, and the circling can- dlés—everything is a - ruin, frescoed ceiling, inlaid marble sidewalls, sculp- tures, confessionals, memorial tablets, baptistry, and marble mosaic pave- ment—ali lying -about in fragments. It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when the explosion occurred. This was the busy hour, When the gondolas were crowding the Grand Canal, and the Venetians were shop- ping and marketing. Suddenly a sin- gle monoplane was seen in the north- ern sky, coming from the direction of the Austrian frontier. It was fiying very high—about 2,500 meters. Peo- ple at first did not recognize this speck as an enemy bent on destruction. Soon however, the steam syren at the Ar- senal gave a long wail—the signal of warning—and the people scattered to cellars and any available cover. The aeroplane was now in full view, head- ing straight for the big railway sta- tion of Venice, the center of a net- work of railway connections. Just above the station the aeroplane began to circle round and round. Clearly it was going to bomb the station. But at 2,500 meters height the aim is not d, and besides there was mist add- ng to the difficulties of a sure sho Down came the bomb—people could see it fdll—but instead of the station it struck square on top of the famous old church. It did not explode im- mediately as It struck the roof. In- stead it made a clean hole _through the roof ,and then, shooting down- wards, exploded just above and in front of the pulpit. This internal explosion is what caused the terrible destruction, as be- sides the flying fragments of the bomb and its shrapnel contents, the sudden expansion of air in the confined inter- jor of the church literally lifted the roof from the supporting walls and ‘lew it skyward. One side of the roof Entente Powers carry their trouble there”. ‘was bent over to the right, the other to the left, beams and arches crash- jas ing upward and over, while masses of debris " settied down_ betwesn ~ the walls. The frescoed appeared in an instant. Particles of the bomb dug deep into the alabaster facing the walls, cracking and wrenching the marble piilars and side walls from floor to roof. Even the marble floor, made of huge slabs formed in_mosaics, was torn up in chunks. One huge slab of the floor covered the tomb of some of the fa- mous Venetians of olden days, and this was wrenched out exposing the tomb below. The explosion occurred when the church was deserted so that no_loss of life resulted. % To the art world the damage to the old church is an irreparable loss. Ev- erywhere it was known as the type of the Venetian baroque style, and next to the church of Santa Marla was the best example of this style in the world. The fresco by Tiepolo, covering the eatire ceiling, was of course, the great- est loss, as next to Titian, Tintoretto and Paul Veronese, Tiepolo, was ac- cepted as the greatest of descriptive painters, and the last of the older school of famous Venetian masters. The destroyed fresco was his most representative work, and probably the largest. After nearly 300 years the painting was in an excellent state of preservation, the vividness of the col- oring and the great number of figures in the colossal work—nearly 100 feet across—giving it a special interest and value to the art world. Only by chance, too, is it Tiepolo's work that is destroyed instead of Ti- tian's or Tintoretto’s, for these mas- ters are similarly represepted on the ceilmgs and walls of mahy of the| churches and historic monuments of Venice, and while paintings can be removed to places of safety the fres- coed ceilings must stay to take the chance of bombs. Ruskin in his Stones | of Venice says Titian Paul Veron ese can be judged only by the ceil- ing of Venice. The sculptures and carvings of the high altar are by an- other Venetian master, Pozzo, but these e ped serious damage. Iesides the _destruction of the Scalzi church, the chicf effect of thé bomb raids has been near the Arsenal. It is clear that the chief purpose of the raids is to reach the Arsenal and the railway station, the former being the chief defensive work of Venice with large stores of ammunition, while the railway station is a junction for many lines for strategic military movements toward the frontier. The bombs thus far have fallen outside the Arsenal, in narrow side streets, tear- ing up the streets and riddling the houses but not causing much loss of life. The canals are ®verywhere, and many of the bombs have fallen in the water. The nearest approach to the famous Camanille and Doges’ Palace was a bomb which fell midway between the column bearing the ‘winged lion of San Theodoro, both on the Piatzza San Mareo, but this bomb did not ex- plode. Another bomb fell in the Grand Canal just in front of the Doges’ Palace. Poth of these bombs, which fortunately were harmiess, struck within a aundred yards of the 'ost famous monuments in Europe. What a German Prisoner Said. that by the tllm:wouvflmmmll'awl‘lllllbl Jead.” There is disagreement as to wheth- er it ia the Democratic administra- tion or the European war that is titled to credit for the prosperity, but ahead and more than 500,000 unde comstruction, Uncle Sam's ought to win back some of its ancient prestige on the lanes of commerce the world over in the near future. Inef- dentally, this condition suggests that none to early and probably nome too comprehensive, — Waterbury Republi- Waiting for—the. fairy | “choolchoo cars” bringing that 327,000 per week from Dreamland? The thing for the men and women who want to go back to work is to go. “Hot air” isn't go- ing to gét them anything more than they have already received. “Th public’s patience, as well as the pub- lic’s purse, is exhausted so far as further acquiescence in the “hoid-up” game is concerned. The best &hrist- mas present that Meriden has received in years would be the return of the workers to their places in the factories next Monday morning.—Meriden Rec- ord. our Bublic service system, siving service on 364 days of the year; are sometimes hit by an emergency that cripples them on the 365th. But the policy has been to develop for average | conditions, and get out of emergencies, somehow, as needs must. Already, however, preparations are well under way for the meeting of emergencies. | Those public services which depend upon electrical communication are burying their wires, out of harm's way. instead of leaving them forever in their present exposed position over- head. The work, being expensive, is necessarily slow, and is an example of the pains being taken to meet emerg- ency conditions while the system is al- ready working well under _ordinary circumstances.—Bridgeport Telegram. What to do with habitual drunkards has been one of the big questions be- fore the state authorities and particu. larly the courts of the state for a lonz time, Connecticut was not ever a notably progressive commonwealth in the matter of experimenting along social service lines, and It happened that every effort made to get the state to aunthorize such an undertaking as the farm for inebriates which has recently been started in the north- castern section of the state, it felt tco poor to give heed and showed the pe- titioners for such an experiment seant i | A French soldier at the front writes: The other morning a French patro crossed the Aisne and succeeded capturing two German sentinels. On the route I had occasion to ex- change some words with one of the prisoners, a Prussian non-commis- toned officer, who, under guard, went on foot to general army headquarters. “I am delighted,” said he to me, “to see France again, where I formeri® lived for nearly six years. 1 have fought since the beginning of the war on your front. I _was before at the time of the furiou whish failed to bring you any definite success. 1 was at Soudan in Septem- ber, 1914. My regiment _experienced there fearful losses, and I was decor- ated with the Iron Cross, rather for having miraculously escaped your bullets and shells thap for any special acts of bravery. “It is then true,” I said have been enormous “Perfectly. My regiment has been five times recruited. In my company we had but four left—four out 260. All the others had been killed or wounded. Your artillery has fright- fully decimated us. It is greatly su- perior to what you had at’‘the begin- ning of the war. Your army is the only one that can measure up with ours: “Are you satisfled with the results of the operations “Oh, well,” said he, “you _cannot deny our success in Russia. What we have done there is without precedent. On your front we have done nothing great, but we hold. Our officers de- clare themselves satisfled. It is true the officers always think like the gov- ernment. From letters I have celved, it seems that the. civil popula- tion has less patience. Some demon- strations against the cost of living, in which thousands of women took part, have occurred in many of the largest German _cities. The women have be- sieged the mayor's offices calling for aid, bread, peace and beyond every- thing else, their husbands. Do you know the enormous losses in men and in material of all sorts experjenced by you in Champagne a few days ago?" “Oh, sure. I know all that. In the trenches we receive the papers with much regularity as at home in times of peace. I have read some The War a Year Ago Today e. 22, 1914, Germans claimed stopped Allies in west. accused in Ypres. Russian _army way to Thorn and Germans re- formed to_ protect Von Hindenburg’s left threat- ened by new invasion of Germany. Germans _crossed branches of Bzura and Rawka rivers. Austrians defeated in the Car- pathians. Arabs menaced Christians Hodeida and French consul n “that your lot of threatened rai in was fied fleets bombarded German positions on Belgian coast. French destroyer shelled Turks, Allied fleets shelled Bahr. Many Austrian soldiers killed in troop train lnfd"fl. re- | | \ 0 Diamond. g \YA\Y MONDS, selton’s . v hd Y\Y\Y\Y\Y! U\ G\ ) ™ . Open till 10 o’clock Evenings lfl Plaut. EMILY STEVENS s b S Ben e REUL_ACT! THE GREATEST % TRIANGH ©O. Presents STANLEY CONTINENTS BY STORM FM"}K WARD l DYNES and -gfi'MAI.L P MOUNT TRAVEL and UNIVERSAL COMEDY PICTURES “VOICES IN THE DARK” . . 2 “THE INDIAN'S NARROW ESCAPE” Colonial Theatre “HEREDITY,” B’'way Star Feature in 3 Reels, Vitagraph Reels Kal weeens Theill All Star LE RomReeme AUDITORIUM THE OLIVER MOROSCOE PH: THE WILD OLIVE THE CELEBRATED NOVEL BY BASIL KING WHICH TOOK TwWO 3 A Vw STEADMAN Shows 2130, 7 ahd 8:48 Matines 10e; Eve. 10c-200 Cast ing Essanay Western Santa Claus, Christmas Tree and C andy for Children Saturday Matinee courtesy. When finally it aid au- thorize such an undertaking it did so without providing the funds neces- sary to its success but the undaunted promoters of the plan have fougd a way to make a start without them. It is the belief of the doctors and others who have favored the opening of such an institution that it will prove weil worth while, that it will be a source of joy and pleasure to many people who in future years will be filled with gratitude that the state gave ¢hem the opportunity to redeem them- selves and win back from the world the respect and the opportunities which they had forfeited by overin- dulgence in liquor—Waterbury Re- publican. Bridgeporters are long-suffering in regard to trolley service, but theirs is not the fault because someone in the past has loaded the tradley lines with debt for which adequate return may not have been made. Outsiders, trav- eling men, theatrical people and others who visit many cities, complain of the trolley service here. They do not know the conditions as do those who reside here and they wonder why Bridgeport countenances such service. Bridgeport hopes, and has hoped for some time, that some day the trolley company would adequately care for its patronage. Presen: indications are that efforts are being made to nectify the errors of the past and that within a reasonable time the city will have a service that will compare favorably with services of other cities of its size. Certainly the company will be encouraged and given every opportun- ity to make good. It has not been un- duly hampered and will not be. But it must “deliver the goods” before many years, or others, more enterprising, may endeavor to start opposition. At present such competition woud not | THE CHRISTMAS GIFT SUPREME As a Christmas Gift above others stands the meet much encouragement. way to prevent occasional from erystalizing into active opposi- tion is to eliminate cause for com- plaint—Bridgeport Standard. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR School Work and Supplies. Mr. Editor: I am told that for sev- eral sessions the town school has been discussing whether or not a member of the board has a legal right to fu ish supplies or labor school of the town unless he lowest bider after open competition. Now, this question has been much discussed in the past few years, and the action of some members board has been much criticized. ‘The state statutes, chapter 89, sec- “Every person who. tion 136, says: being a trustee or officer, of an: tution recelving ald from the state, shall furnish supplies, or be interested in furnishing suppiles to such insti- tutions, unless he be the lowest bidder for such supplies, or euch contract, after open competition, shall be fined fitty doilars.” Our schools are an institation re- ceiving aid from state. ALBERT BOARDMAN. Norwich, Ct., Dee. 21, 1915, In the Arablan desert the or sandstorm, often digs pits 200 feet scattering the sand for miles deep, around. ~ Children 6ry FOR FLETCHER'S CASTORI Unlike other gifts, it will last forever, sentiment. The pure perfect blue white Diamonds, such as the Plaut-Cadden Co. specializes in, suggests the purest sentiment. Some Diamond Specials 14 Karat Solid Gold Genuine DIAMOND Pure White and Blue White Genuine DIA- ENGRAVING FREE each year increasing not only in value, but in $6 to $20 . $18 to $30 Pure Blue White and Perfect White Genuine Other Fine DIAMONDS, Jagers, Rivers, Wes- . $30 to $50 .$50 to $300 The growls board to the be the of the y insti- sirocco, A WO Double Green Stamps Iomings, ? THE PLAUT-CADDEN (0. NORWICH’S CHRISTMAS SHOPPING CENTER Established 1872 ; CaddenBuilding \