Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 29, 1916, Page 1

. VOL. LVIl—NO. 313 POPULATION 28,219 Official Texts of German and Austrian Replies Re- ceived by President Wilson PROPOSE SPEEDY ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATES Diplomats Familiar With Germany and Her Allies Declare Germany Would Not Consider Making Peace if the En- tente Should Insist Upon ' Retaining Germany’s Lost Colonies and at the Same Time Require Germany to Evacuate All Enemy Territory Now Occupied—German Plan is to First Agree on Territorial Terms, Settle Upon a Tentative Treaty and Then Have All the Neutrals Called in to Participate in Consideration of Guarantees for Future Peace—President Wilson and Secretary Lansing Have Adopted a Policy of Absolute Silence. ‘Washington, Dec. 28.—A policy of absolute silence regarding the peace negotiationg has been adopted by Pronldentn*flson and Secretary Lan- sing. It was stated officially today that all steps henceforth will be re- garded as confidential, that no com- ment wili be made on any develop- ment and that rumors will not be dis- cussed. = Confidential Exchange of Terms. The decision to pursue this course was made known after the state de- partment had received the official texts of the German and Austrian re- Plies to President Wilson's identical notes to the belilgerents proposing a discussion of peace terms, and after it Was léarned that the Teutonic powers would be willing to permit a confi- dential exchange of tentative terms if it became necessary to do so to bridge the gap threatening to prevent a gath- ering of peace delegates. Secret Exchanges. In many quarters the official atti- tude was coastrued as indicating that secret exchanges were expected to fol- Jow, if they did not precede, the for- mal answers of the entente nations to the notes of President Wilson and the central powers. PEecause of the highly fidential nature of any such nego- tions, it is pointed out, ,the inter- mediary would be obliged to refrain from admitting even that they were in progress. So far as the entente governments are concerned, it is understood that little if any. confidential information has reached here to shed more light on_their attitude than hag been given publicly in the speeches of their pre- miers and the comment of their press. Consequently there is no disposition here to doubt that the allies unani- mously will refuse to enter any sort of peace conference until Germany has indicated clearly on what conditions she will stop fighting. On the Teutonic side, while the reply to President Wilson is regarded by the German embassy is complying with President Wilson's euggestion in of. fering a method of procedure, Ger- many is sald to be willing to consider other suggestions regarding m-thods from any other quarter, including her enemies. The views of the German govern- ment. further are represented as being as follows: If the entente considers the guaran- tees for the future are the principal elements to be achieved, and, lacking ccnfidence in the German government, insists upon knowing something of the guarantees that Germany is willing to zive, the Berlin government might make some declaration regarding the principles to which she is willing to subscribe, leaving details for sottle- ment at the propesed conference. The German government considers that there is little to ‘'be gained by going into any lengthy discussion of guaran- : tees for the future with the present war in progress. In this connection, Germany, it is asserted, never has in- tended that the conference suggested should result immediately in the es- tablishment of peace; it is considered that it necessarily would be of a pre- I'minary nature to determine whother it might not be possible to end the war. The German Plan. Actording to the German diplomats, the plan Germany is procecding upon would provide that the: delegates should first agree upon territorial and immediately connccted terms and that Tim v tentative treaty then be scttled upon. This com- pleted, the neutrals called in to participate in the German idea is to have all consideration of the questions of guarantces for the future. They re- gard it as a matter for the conference to settle whether the neutral natio should become signatory to the entire peace treaty or only to that part hav- ing to do with guarantees for the maintenance of peace in the future, such as freedom of the seas, limitation of armaments, formation of a world leagne to enforce peace and establish- ment of an international court of arbi- tration. iplomats familiar with the view- point of Germany and her allies were especially emphatic tonlght in saying that Germany necessarily would be ble to make much better terms in confidential negotiations than in pub- lic. The radical element in German poli- (Continued on Page Three) INTERNAL CONDITIONS IN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY SERIOUS Swiss Reports a Willingness to Nego- tiate With Great Britain For Peace. London, Dec. 29, 2.30 a. m.—Recent reports received from Switzerland hage represented the internal conditions Austria-Hungary as so serious that those governments are prepared to ne- gotiate direct with Great Britain and France preferring a humiliating peace to what has been termed inevitable ‘bankduptcy and ruin. The Mo'ving Post’s Budapest cor- respondent writing December 22 rec- ords opinions to the foregoing effect as being prevalent in some quarters in Austria-Hungary, but in nowise con- firms the view that they are favored by the Austrian and Hungarian gov- ernments. On the contrary, the cor- respondent contends that however much a separate peace may be desired it is almost unthinkable, and centain- ly for the present impossible. He cpneurs with the Swiss reperts as far as saying that the young emperor is eager to work for peace. “It is generally recognized,” the correspordent, “that the emperor, after he has been crowned king of Hungary and taken the oath to the constitution in the Austrian parliament will try to re-establish peace. There is little doubt that he will use his in- fluence on Germany in as friendly a way as is possible and if this influence should fail will use other kinds of pressure on Germany which GPr‘many will be unable to endure for long.” says OZAMA 1S ANCHORED AT BLOCK ISLAND Four Coast Guard Cutters Had Been Searching for Her. Block Island, R. I, Dec. 28.—The new Clyde Inie steamship Ozama, for whi four coast guard cuiters had been searching along the New Eng- land coast, anchored inside the broak- water here ay. Her coal supply was low but the vessel was apparent- ly undamaged, according to word brought ashore by fishermen. The Ozama left Portland, Me., last Thurs- day for New York, and.had not been heard from until she appeared here. 1t Dbelieved she was blown to sea In storms of the past week. Congratulates President Wilson. “ Geneva, via Parls, Dec. 28, 8 p. m.— of leading men at Zurich has congratulations to Presi- as a ucnu Q:t his u.kln‘ INFLUENCE OF WAR ON POLITICAL ECONOMY Subject Dwelt on by New Hungarian Finance Minister. London, Dec. 28, § p. m.—A despatch to Reuter’s Teclezram company from Amsterdam quotes the following re- ceived there from Vienna: “Addressing the officials of his de- partment on the subject of the influ- ence of the war on political economy ond the regulation of economic affairs with Hungary, Alexander Spitzmueller, the new finance minister, emphasized the urgent need of economy and the promotion of export trade. “Perhaps the most important con- crete fact, said Herr Spitzmueller, had been the extraordinary increase in the state debt, which made the restoration o fthe monetary standard one of the most important problems. A systemat- is policy of production would be the chief means for placing the country’'s pelitical and economical position and its monetary standard on a sound basis again. Herr Spitzmueller further em- phasized the necessity that the inter- est on the war loans be completely coveed by fresh sources of revenue and that a taxation policy should pro- vide for a just and systematic dis- tribution of the immense cost of the war.” GERMAN U-BOAT CAPTAIN HAS SUNK 128 SHIPS Order of Merit Conferred Upon Com- mander Valentiner. Amsterdam (via London), Dec. 28. -—Announcement is made in the Ber- lin newspapers that the Order of Mer- it has been conferred on Captain Val- entiner, commander of a German sub- marine, for sinking 128 ships of a to- tai tonnage of 232,000. Included among the boats sunk are a French gunboat, a troop transport, four steamships loaded with war materfal and a French submarine convoying 14 coal steamers. In addition, Captain Valentiner has had numerous engagements with arm- ed hostile ships, capturing two on which guns were mounted. It was his submarine which shelled Funchal, Ma- deira Islands, early this month, and sank in the Funchal harbor the ¥French gunboat Surprise and the .steamships Dacla and Kangaroo. Movements of mlbin l\ew York, Dec. 28.—Sailed: steamer ppe Verdi, Napies. n'ork, Dec. 28.—Sailed, lw.mc! Copenbagen. ~ NORWICH, Cabled Paragraphs Another Bri London, Dec. ish Steamer Sunk. 28, 8.562 p. m.—Lloyds reports the British steamer Bargany, 872 tons, sunk. Some of the crew have been landed. Reginald John Smith Dead. London, Dec. 28.—5:30 p. m.—Regi- nald John Smith, head of a London publishing house and editor of the Cornhill Magazine, is dead in London. He was 59 years old. LONDON TIMES CALLS FOR GREATER EFFORT . Military Expert Says They Must Have More Equipment and Men. London, Dec..29, 3.40 a. m.—The Times’ military correspondent today calls for greater British effort in the war. He contends that although the French are still strong their reserves are less numerous than could be wished for. Russia, he adds, will bring new armies into the field in 1917, ‘but their usefulness depends on their be- ing provided with heavy guns, air- planes and mechanical transports, while Russia’s poor railway s(ystems and other causes point to the neces- sity .of not exaggerating what Russia can do. Italy, says the correspond- ent cannot easily increase her forces appreciably. After admitting that Great Britain has done a biz share in the work at sea and financed and equipped the entente allies, the cor- respondent continues: “There a num- ber of changes to be effected be- fore we can say we are winaing the war. Germany net us in the antumn with 27 new divisions and thereby se- cured a strategic reserve which en- abled her to conduct the campaign in Rumania witkout disaster in the west. We must not only counter disposi- tions of this character in time, but must be beforehand in the future. The reserves of manhood in the British Isles and dominions are ample for 30 divisions, to expand munition works and to meet all legitimate demands of avy, the home defense and air es. Nearly 4,000,000 men of mili- age are still in civil life. The limit for age liability is still four years below the German stand- ard and no answer has yet been made to the German auxillary service act. “What is needed is vigor in the government and single minded deter- mination” to win the war. We have a larger reserve of manhood ‘han Ger- many and the annual contingents of youths in France and England to- gether are greater than the annual no longer possible to think of win- ning the war by half measures. The new premier should state to the coun- try the measures necessary for vic- tory and stand or fall by them with the courage we know him to possess.” {FAVORABLE TO NEW HAVEN’'S RETENTION OF SOUND LINES. 30C Business Men from 46 Cities and Towns in Massachusetts Adopt Res- olutions, Springfield, Mass.,, Dec. 28.—Three hundred business men from 45 cities and towns of Massachusetts in mass meeting here tonight under the au- | spices of the state board of trade, adopted resolutions urging that the New Haven railroad be permitted to retain control of its boat lines, that the interstate commerce - commission have final authority in fixing rates nd in the issuance of railroad securi- s, and that the interstate commerce commission be given complete power to investigate railroad labor disputes before a strike or lockout can be de- clared. S rd Elliott of he | New Haven road, in an address, asked the business men to use their energies tc restore the, health of, and public confidence in, the railroads, in order to stave off government ownership. Frank W. Whitcher, president of the tate board, presided. Other speakers re Amos L. Hatheway of the Boston amber of Commerce and G. L. Gra- raffic manager of the National ciation of Wool Manufacturers, Asso TO STOP SNIPING Carranza Authorities in Juaraez Seach Huts For Firearms. El Paso, Texas, Dec. fort to stop further sniping at authorities in Juarez arrested a Mex- ican civilian and searched huts for firearms on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, near the scene of the trouble, it was announced in Juarez tonight. xican Consul Soriano Bravo sai tonight that General Jose Murguia, commander at Juarez, attrabuted last night's outbreak to some loose horses wandering in the bed of the Rio horses for hostile Mexicans and open- ed fire. A few shots were probably sent from the Mexican side in answer but only after the Americans had fired first, in Murguia’s opinion. Consul Bravo said he heard on good authority that American regular army officers Mexican contention that the guards- men fired first. PERMISSION TO SEND $125,000 IN GOLD ACROSS BORDER Application Made By Two Prominent Mexican Women, One Said to Be Mrs. Jesus Carranza. Taredo, Texas., Dec. 28.—Application was made late today by two promin- ent Mexican women in Nuevo Laredo for permission to send across to the American side, two hoxes containing $125,000 in Mexican gold. The appli- cants are said to have been Mrs. Jesus Cerranza and the wife of Governor Mireles of Conhnila. The request will probably be granted. CHICAGO POLICE IN ALLEGED RING OF AUTO THIEVES Lieutenant and Five Detective Sergeants. Chicago, Dec. 28.—One lieutenant of police and five detective sergeants, ac- cording to statements made the office of the state’s attorney today are in- volved in an alleged ring of automo- bile thieves. made. Since a confession was made by “Abe the Agent” Raymer, it is said others arrested have made offers to confess in return for immunity. Dr. Charles C. Bolduan, head of the Bureau of Public Education of the Rlemment of Health, denied that ere One tym emdelnlc of grippe in New contingents in Germany. * * * * It is | AT AMERICAN OUTPOSTS; 28—In an ef-| the | American outposts here, the Carranza| Grande. The American guardsmen, General Murguia said, according to' Consul Pravo, evidently mistook the on the scene confirmed the Thirty arrests have been | CONN., FRIDAY, - DECEMBER 29," 1916 Pressure Against |Anall Day Hearing Russo-Rumanians| on Gar Shortage IS BEING CONTINUED BY TEU- TONIC FORCES, BERLIN SAYS BY THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION - PETROGRAD DENIES IT R. R. MAGNATES PRESENT Vice President W. W. Atterbury of the Pennsylvania Road Opposed Order- ing of All Railroads to Return Cars of Other Lines to Their Owners Im- British Armed Motor Cars Are Now Being Used in Rumania—A German Attack the Verdun Around Le Mort Homme Wi pulsed. Sector Re- medi:toly Upon Unloading. The latest official communication from Berlin records fresh advances for the Teutonic allies against the Rus- sians and Rumanians in Wallachia. The invaders are now well beyond Rimnik-Sarat, advancing along the railroad toward Fokshani. Three thou- sand more prisoners and twenty-two machine guns have been captured by the invaders, bringing the number of men taken in the Rimnik-Sarat man- oeuver up to 10,220, Teutons Keeping Up Their Pressure. Although the Berlin war office re- ports that the Teutonic allies in Do- brudja are keeping up their pressure against the Russians and Rumanians, and have forced the Russians from fortified heights positions east of Matchin, on the east bank of the Dan- ube, opposite Bralla, Petrograd an- nounces that the invaders south of the ‘Washington, Dec. 28.—After an all- day hearing; the Interstate Commerce Commission tonight took under ad- visement the question of whether it shall seek to solve the car shortage problem by ordering all raimroads to return cars of other lines to their owners immediately upon unloading. Say Roads Are Doing Their Best. Railroad representatives, headed by W. W. Atterbury, vice president of the Penpsylvania. and president of the American Railway Association, ap- pearing in response to a summons to show cause why such an order should not be issued, earnestly urged against the action. They declared that most of the roads were doing their best now to deal fairly with the public and argued that a hard and fast rule by the cofmission would interfere with operations and make the situation Danube have been repulsed with heavy | worse. > losses, except at the village of Rakel, Violated Agreements. wkich has been occupied by _them. Commissioner MecChord said the British armed motor cars, says Petro- grad, did great execution in this fight- ing. railroads seemed to pay no attention to the orders of the railway associa- tion, which has adopted various dras- tic measures to relieve car shortage. “The railroads,” he said, “not only have violated their written and verbal agreements but they have deliberateiy been engaged in the pastime of steal- ing cars from each other.” When Mr. Atterbury objected, say- ing that statement could not be ac- cepted as true, Mr. McChord said he had seen a letter from one president stating that other executives were not going to heed the orders of the asso- ciaticn’s car service committee. No Time for an Arbitrary Order. “Don’t blame the whole system of railroads because the present intricate. plan is not working as smoothly as we would like to see it replied Mr. Atterbury. He contended further that the present was no tife for an arbi- trary order by the commission; that January, February, March and possi- bly April were months in which rail- road operation would be rnist diffi- cult, particularly as the railroads had not time to work out--the. new car service distribution plans. No Car Shortage for Normal Traffic. There is no car shortage for nor- mal trafic, Mr. Atterbury insisted, and there should be no hard and fast com- mission order based on an abnormal situation, which, for instance, had transformed the Pennsylvania from a Fighting in Verdun Sector, Considerable fighting has again taken place on the Verdun sector around Le Mort Homme and on lhe' eastern slopes of Hill 304, where the Germans made an attack, but were re- pulsed, and where later the French began a bombardment of the German positions. Elsewhere along the French front there have ‘been reciprocal bom- bardments and attacks by small patrol parties, interspersed with fights in the air and aerlal raids by French, British and German aviators. In the encoun- ters in the air each side is reported to have lost machines. Artillery Duels Renewed. In the Austro-Italian theatre the | weather has cleared add the artillery duels have been renewed with vigor, especially on the Carso front. In Macedonia, except for BEritish attacks against the Bulgarians northeast of Lake Dorain, which Berlin reports were unsuccessful, comparative quiet still prevails. & South of Brody, in Galicia, the Ger- mans have brought their howitzers into play against Russian positions, and at various points have damaged their trenches. Unofficial advices received in London from Saloniki say the Greeks who| surrendered .to the Bulgarians at Kavala and were interned in Germany | car creditor business originator, to a have been ordered by King Constan- | distributing tem, for other lines tine to proceed to .the Macedonian|originating traffic. front to fight against the entente al- les. Simultaneously from - Athens comes an unofficial despatch announc- ing that Greece is drafting another note to the entente deciaring that un- less there is a change in the entente blockade Greece may ba forced to seek the advice of the nation concerning the course to be followed. Refusal of Grand Trunk to Pay. Mr. Atterbury said the raiiroads did not know what might be done ahout the refusal of the Grand Trunk sys- tem to pay the 75 cents per diem in- creased rate for foreign cars on its line. “We might,” he added, “refuse to load cars into SCanada over the Grand Trunk but that fight shut off the coal supply of Canada, which STR. MARYLAND REGARDED entirel. from the United 3 He said some action might AS PROBABLY LOST. Coast Guard Cutters Have Not Been Able to Find Any Trace of Her. Nantucket, Mass.,, Dec. 28—The steamship Maryland was regarded as probably lost today. Search for the vessel and crew by the coast guard { cutters Acushnet and_Gresham, which was begun after the Maryland’s wire- less calls of distress were silenced by waters that flooded her engine room on Christmas night, was abandoned without having developed any trace of either. Flotsam found by the cutters could not be identified as being from the Maryland. Hope for the safety of the steamer's thirty odd men lies |in the possibility that they were pick | ed up from the ship’s boats by a pass- {ing steamer. The cutters had circled for more than thirty hours in the waters south- east of this island, in the yicinity of the position given by the Maryland's wireless operator when he sent out his call for help. The steamship, recently converted from a Great Lakes cargo carrier to an oceangoing craft by her owners, the Crew Levick company of Philadel- phia, had been given a top rating of seaworthiness and it was believed she must have received a very severe buf- feting in the northwest storm of Mon- be evolved in Canada to deal with the situation. Praise for New Haven Road. New England, the witness said, al- ready had straightene dout its traffic and conditions never had been bet- ter there. He pointed out partieularly what had been accomplished by the New Haven. All the railroad men scented danger in any commission order because of the law imposing a $5,000 fine for vio- lations of interstate commegce com- mission orders. W. A. Wofthington, vice president of the Southern Pacific, said the western lines have a large cxcess of opere cars and deficiency of box car equipment and that the pro- posed order, if rigidly enforced, might subject his line to an accumulatien of $23,000,000 in fines. ABRUPT DISCONTINUANCE OF RAILROAD CONFERENCE When It Became Apparent an Agree- ment Could Not be Reached. New York, De tween representative: ana the four brotherhoods of raiiway employes at which the possibilities of a settlement of the eight hour con- troversy were discussed were discon- Conferences bl‘- = N = tinued abruptly today when it be- day night to go down so guickly. came aj rent an agreement could —— — not be reached. STILL HOPEFUL FOR Beth sides announced that there would be no more meetings until af- ter the United States supreme court hands down its decision on the con- stitutionality of the Adamson act. The break came, it was learned, when the railroad representatives re- fused to concede the demands of the brotherhood chiefs for an agreement looking towards the enforcement of the new wage schedule, fixed by the Adamson law, which goes into effect January 1. g The brotherhood chiefs held, it was said, that their men had the right to ' bogin drawine the scale of wages ! provided for by the Adamson law im- i mediately after the law became ef- fective, irrespective of the suits brouzht by the railroads to test its validity. STEAMSHIP VOLTAIRE Lamport and Holt Liner is Long Over- | due. New York, Dec. 28.—Representatives o fthe Lamport and Holt line, owners, of the long-overdue steamship Voltaire, said tonight that they were still hope- ful the vessel or the crew would" be heard from. David Cook, general manager of the company's New York office, said that the steamer has either beén lost in a storm or was drifting with damaged machinery away from the trans-Atlan- tic_lanes. “Neither the admiralty nor the home office has heard from the vessel” he | said, “but we have hopes that event- | uvally we will hear from Captain | Knight. A report that she has fall- en prey to a German submarine and, is now an-”armed raider under the s B HUGHES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF LEGAL AID SOCIETY. : = - Purpose of Society is to Render Legal Qevman fimg 1 tilicnions Aid Gratuitously When Cause is ARGENTINA’S GRAIN HARVEST Worthy. IS POOR THIS YEAR| New York, Dec. 28—Charles E. Hughes was today elected president of the Legal Aid society, to fill the va- cancy caused by the recent resigna- tion of Arthur von Driesen. Mr. Hughes has been a member of the organization for mamy vears and in 1911 became an honorary vice president. The purpose of the society is “to render legal aid, gratuitously if neces- sary, for all who may appear worthy thereof and who are ynable to procure assistance elsewhere,”and to promote measures for their protection.” Due to Drouth and Locusts—Cereal Pricos Are High There. ‘Washington, Dec. 28.—Argentina’s grain harvest this year will be one of the poorest the country ever has seen, due to injury by drouth and locusts. Consular reports received today said the amount of grain available for ex- port this vear wil total nét more than one million tons.. Normally two md one -half million tons are exported. mmmmfimmw 8 PAGES—56 COLUMNS The Bulletin’s Circulation in Norwich is Double That of Any Other Paper, and lts Total Circulation is the Largest in.Connecticut in Proportion to the City’s Population. ONS READY T0 DISCUSS PEACE TERMS Condensed Telegrams founder of the bearing his name, is Dufayel, res Fire destroyed the monastery of the Trappist monks, at Oka. Que., at a loss of $250,000. * Bandits blew the safe of the Faxon State Bank, at Faxon, Okla., and es- caped with $3,000. The Hotel Mohigan at Fall River, Mass., was damaged by fire at a loss of about $50,000. - The Federal Dyestuff & Chemical Corporation 1ncrea_<?d its capital from $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. The steamship Sankaku Maru is aground off Chefoo, with crew and passengers totaling 400. Mrs. Mary Talbot, a former slave, celebrated her 120the birthday anni- versary at Ottumwa, Ia. G. H. Usher general superintend- ent of the southern division of the Postal Telegraph Cable Cox, is dead. Members of the New York State Shorthand Reporters’ Association opened their 41st annual convention at New York. © W. H. Malburn, Asst. Secretary of the Treasury in charge of judiciary af- fairs is to resign within the next three weeks. Fire destroyed three dining cars of the Bailtimore & Ohio Railroad at Mariners Harbor, Richmond, at a loss of about $10,000. The Southern Pacific Co. announced the appointment of Dr. George W. Tape as manager of the Paso Robles Hot Springs to be effective Jan. 1. Bernard F. Hawley, of Lake George, in jail since Saturday, under an in- dictment charging theft of $30,000 from a mail pouch, was released in $25,000 bail. Major Powell Clayton, formerly at- tached to the General Staff, War De- partment, and recently assigned to the Sixteenth cavairy on the Mexican border, is dead. ‘The Paleontoligical society, in annu- al meeting elected J. C. Merriman, University of California, president. Dr. R. S. Lull, Yale university was chosen sgeretary Dr. Frank D. Adams of the Universi- of Toronto last night was chosen sident of the Geological.Society of erica at the organization’s annual meeting at Albany. More than 1,000 coliege men from all parts of the country arrived at Pittsburgh to atend the biennial na- tional ‘convention of the Sigma Ep- silon Fraternity. The trial of Josiah V. Thompson for misapplication of the funds -of the First Ntaional Bank of Uniontown ‘was set for Jan. 8 in the United States Court at Pittsburgh. Jeremiah Jackson, a negro, of Marysville, Cal, is in a hospital as a result of being kicked in the head by a mule. The mule’s leg was broken and it had to be shot. The Rev. J. Forrest Prettyman, chaplain of the United States Sen- ate, was asked to accept the pastorate of the Greene Memorial Methodist church at Roanoke, Va. Two hundred and forty-one second lisutenants appointed to the regular army from civil life were ordered to service schools for training before Joining their commands. The Department of Commerce re- ports the exports of cotton for the week ended Dec. 23 at 168,403 bales against 121,192 bales in the - corre- sponding week last year. A general arbitration treaty be- tween Brazil and Uruguay was sign- ed by Dr. Lauro Muller, Brazilian for- eign minister, and a special ambas- sador to Rio Janeiro by Montevideo. Students of practically every na- tionality represented in American col- leges gathered at New Haven, for the 10th annual convention of the Cosmo- politan Clubs, or Corde Fratres Soci- ety. ‘The Norwegian steamer Snetoppen, bound from New York to Havre with a general cargo, put into port at Hal- ifax, N. S, with water in her holq, boats damaged and one of the crew missing. The Baldwin Locomotive Works received orders for three mallet type locomotives from the Union Pacific; two ten-wheelers from the Jersey Cen- tral, and 30 Santa Fe type from the St. Louvis & San Francisco Railroad. Resolutions asking congressional action for the relxef of the present country-wide scarcity of mews print paper were telegraphed last night to the Kentucky representatives and sen- ators by the Kentucky Press associa- tion Thomas Butkiewiez, Jr., University of Pennsylvania footbali star and later assistant district attorney in Lu- zerne county, Pa., is fighting with the French army, according to a letter received by friends in Wilkes-Barre. Richard and Frank Chapin, broth- ers, who were arrested three weeks ago charged with systematic robbery of the U. S. mails. pleaded guil- ty in the Federal District Court at Buffalo, to a charge of illicit posses- sion of mail pouch keys. Warren J. Moulton of the Bangor Theological semirary was slected as president of the Society of Biblical Literature and Ex. 2t the clos- ing session of its convention at Ha- verford Colleze. Philad-Inhia. C. C. Torrev, Yale, ,was chosen an asso- ciate in counc! REPUBLICAN SENATCRS- ELECT AT BANQUET Twenty-One of‘t;.e 25 in Attendance at Hartford. Hartford, Conn., Dec. 28.—Twenty- one of the twenty-five republican sen- ators-elect gathered at a banquet here tonight, given by the four newly-elect- ed senators from Hartford county. Senator Klett of New Britdin was toastmaster. Among the speakers were Governor Holcomb, Lieutenant Gov- ernor Wilson, Clerk John Buckley and ‘William J. Larkin of 'Waterbury. PRICE TWO CENTS Carranza Wants Protocol Modified MESISAGE DELIVERED TO SECRE- TARY LANSING YESTERDAY NOT YET MADE PUBLIC Nothing in the Reply That Could be Construed as a Flat Repudiation— American Answer Will be Given the Mexican Delegates Time Next Week. Some L] ‘Washington, Dec. 28.—An appeal for modification of the protocol provid- ing for the withdrawal of American troops from Mexico is made by Gen- eral Carranza in a message delivered to Secretary Lane today by Luis Ca- brera, chairman of the Mexican mem- bers of the joint commission. The Mexican first chief replied to the in- sistent American demand that the protocol signed by his spokesmen at Atlantic City be ratified, with an eight hundred word document in which ,he failed to accede to the demand, but refrained from writing” anything that could be construed as a flat repudia- tion, Suggestions to be Considered. _ The latest suggestions for changes in the agreement now will be consid- ered by the three American represen- tatives—Secretary Lane, J. R. Mott and Judge George Gray. Secretary Lane advised his colleagues late to- day of the character of the reply and asked them to meet him here as soon as they conveniently could. Answer to be Given Next Week Early next week a joint session of the Mexican-American commission will be held at which the Americans will give the Mexicans their answer and on its nature depends thé future course of the commissioners, who are directed more than four months ago to effect if possible the adjustment of questions at issue between the countries. Character of Note Not Revealed. Neither Mr. Cabrera nor Secretary Lane would discuss the nature of Carranza’s reply. Mr. brera left for New York soon after its delivery and Secretary Lane declined to reveal. its cHaracter until it had been sub. mitted to his colleagues. The same reticence was displayed at the Mex- ican embassy. No Insuperable Barrier two It was learned that the Mexican cofmissigners were confident that no insuperdble barrier had been raised by Carranza. It-was asserted that the utmost care had been exercised tc keep out of the reply anv expressions or sentiments that might make the situation more complex or that would in any way offend the representatives of the American government Wants Troops Withdrawn Uncondi- tionally. The chief insistence of Carranza has been that the American troops should be withdrawn uncondi all which the American commissioners would not consider. It was indicated tonight that Carranza’s insistence on that point .was less pronounced now and that the change in his attitude had been wrought largely by the al- tered military situation i northern oo B Mexico. Reactionari Real Menace. An interesting development in tho Mexican situation generally was pre- sented today in reports to the state and war departments on the changing conditions in_Mexico. When the com- missioners adjourned at Atlantic City there were few administration offi- cials who believed that Carranza’s power was seriously menaced. Since then official reports have shown a strength in the different reactionary groups that now is recognized as dan- gerous. DETAILS OF SINKING OF STEAMER WESTMINSTER. British Admiralty Cites It as a Ruth- less Disregard of International Laws. London, Dec. 28, 8.15 p. m.—The ad- miralty has given to The Associated Press the following statement con- cerning the sinking of the British steamer \Vestmmeter which was re- ported lost on Dec. : “The degree of savagery the Ger- mans have attained in their submarine policy appears to have reached a cli- max in the sinking of the Westminster, which was proceeding from Torre An- nunziata to Port Said in ballast. On Dec. 14, when 180 miles from the near- est land, the Westminster was attack- ed by a German submarine without warning and was struck by two torpe- does in quick succession which killed four men. The Westminster sank in four minutes, “This ruthless disregard for the rules of international law was followed by a deliberate attempt to murder the survivors. The officers and crew while effecting - their escape in boats were shelfed by the submarine at a_ range of 3,000 yards. The master and chief engineer .were killed outright. Their boat was sunk. The second and third engineers were not picked up; it is presumed they were drowned- “The captain of the submarine must have satisfied himself of the effective- ness of his two torpedoes, vet he pro- ceeded to carry out in cold .blood an act of murder which could not possi- bly be justified by any urgency of? war and can only be regarded in the eves of the world as a further pronf of the degradation of German honer and morale.” SPANISH CABINET UNDECIDFED ON PEACE MOVEMFMT Premier Denies That American Nc¢- Has Been Endorsed. Paris, Dec. 28, 2:06 p. m.—The Spanish cabinet has reached no de- cision in regard to the attitude of the government toward the peace move- ment. A Havas despatch says Prem- ier Romaninos has issued an unqual- ified denial of the report that Spain already has given adhesion to the American and Swiss notes, saying that when the policy of the government has been determined it will be com- municated at once to the country. Mrs. Fanny Fandero, of Port Wash- ington, L. I, was severely burned when she went to put out a fire in the chicken coop in the rear of her home.