Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 25, 1917, Page 1

Norwi A\ AN Bualletin VOL. LIX.—NO. 308 POPULATION 29,919 NORWICH, CONN., DECEMBER 25, 1917 TEN PAGES—70 COLS. PRICE TWO CENT: TEUTONS PERSIST IN ATTACKS IN ITALY Trying to Push Through th Italy to the Plains of Venetia STIFFENED LINE OF ITALIANS BARS INVA & e Hill Country of Northern DERS On All the Other Battle Fronts the Armies Are Virtually In- active—In His Latest Address to His Troops Emperor William Said: “If the Enemy Does Not Want Peace Then We Must Bring Peace to the World by Battering in With the Iron Fist and the Shining Sword the Doors of Those Who Will Not Have Peace.” — Christmastide of 1917 finds the ar- mies on all the major battle fronts virtually inactive, except where the Teutonic allies are endeavoring to overwhelm the Italians and force a passage through the hill country of northern Italy out upon the plains of Venetia. As vieweqd from the war maps the battle - lines today are marl changed from those of the yester The Russian front from the Bal the Black Sea is virtually non-exist- ent; the Italians under the intensive sdrive bf the Teutonic allies today are standing miles from wherc they were ‘a year ago along the Isonzo front; from Belgium to the region around Verdon great salients have been driv- en into the German lines by both the British and French armies and in -Asiatic Turkey the British have madé notable gains hoth in Mesopotamia and Palestine. Northward through the latter gion General Allenby’s forces made gréat progressazair mans and Christmas of 1 Christians once more in Bethichem, the birthplace and of Jerusalem and the Mol pulchre. Although the sound of “Peace” is in the air. seemingly thers is no pros- Fect of ending at an early date the tianfe struggle that is in pro The Teutonic allies and the Ru are endeavoring to effect a cesss of hestilities on the eastern front probably will reach some agreement that for the moment_at least will render tha ectrier. 61 tolnary forces in Russia inactive ard throw a greater bu-don the shoulders of their former The eremy for week has been proclaiming his d-osire for peace, but no terms have been ad- vanced by him which would indica‘e a willingness to bring the war to an end along lines that would make the world “safe for democracy.” On the re- ve n ex unofficially contrary, the German emperor m_ his latest utterance, made before the Sec— cnd Army last Saturday, boasted of the successes of the Teutonic allies during the past year and exultantly proclaimed that the victories of the the tactical and strategical advantages guined. Apparently, however, while strenu- ous efforts are being made 'in the Uttited States to get an invincible ar- my in the field to aid Great Britain and France and their allles in finally bringing success to their arms, the (German emperor has made a final en- deavor in his latest address to his troops to frighten peoples unafniid with the following declaration “If the enemy does not want peace then we must bring peace to the world by battering in with the iron fist and the shining sword the doors. of those who will not have peace.” Meanwhile, his armies and those of his ally, Austria-Hungary, finding that their attempts to break the Italian line between the Brenta and Piave Rivers in northern Italy were without result, have shifted the ground of their |attack asain' to the Asiago plateau. flere emall gains were made, but the Italians, stiffening their line, held the enemy from further progress and at last accounts were delivering success- ful counter-attacks against him. On {he lower Piave River the enemy troops who forced a crossing of. the| river last week mow have-been com» pelled under vlolent attacks by 'the Hitalians te.: safety. through a re- treat to the eastern bank .of = the stream. ok Another heartening phase of thé sit- uation is the small number of Brit- h casualties during the. past week. n the entire fromt held by the Brit- ish only 13,919 'casualties were re- ported, these embracing . men killed, wéunded or missing. - The previous week had shown an ageregate of 17,976 and the week before that 23,35 CHRISTMAS SPIRIT PERVADED CAMP. DEVENS LAST NIGHT Carble Were Sung by a Chorus, Led by Regimental Band. Ayer, Mass., Dec. 24.—The Yule-tide spirit pervaded Camp Devens tonight. General gloom which had been more or less in evidence since the soidiers learned that furloughs were to be lim- ited to,a few of their number, gave way to merrymaking and if there was a_lonesome soldier in camp, he was only to be found In the zuardhouse. Even .the companies guarantined by measles had Christmas celebrations aithotigh visitors were barred. Cafol singing, led bv a chorus of fifty : Maine and New Hampshire men of the 303rd Fleld = Artillery, who about the camp. headed by their regimen band, was amonz the festival features of the early even- ing. The carolers visited the base hospital and sang outside the wards and serenaded the guardhouses where most of the 200 men accused of leaving camip without permission for a Christmas hog%ly are awaiting com: L. en the singers marched gek to their own regimen- tal quarters, where In every barracks street was a Christmas tree. Scores of other Christmas trees, eparkiing with celored lizhts, were scattered about the cantonment. both indoors and out. while on Boulder Hill, visible all over camp, gleamed the big community tree forty feet in beizht. Visitors flocked to the cantonment in large numbers during the day, ev- eryoné bearing gifts, and tonight hun- -dreds of young women were guests of the soldiers. In most of the barracks g:.:‘dnbz fdn'lowe: thehtree festivities, ands and orchestras work overtime. i —_— CONNECTICUT OVER QUOTA IN THE RED CROSS DRIVE Hartford Leading in Point of Numbers Enrolled. ot Néw Haven, Conn., Dec. 24.—That Connecticut is more than a 100 per cent state in the Red Cross drive for new members was indicated tonight ‘when _incomplete reports showed that the larger cities of the state were well over their assigned quotas and many Hartford, on the returns so far re- corded, led in point of numbers having enrolled 54000 on a quota of 350,00. New Haven w ith the same quota had 40000 on ber list and other cities had By varying figures. the new ps , places Collinsville, with & quota. of 400. returned $22 and Fnfi~ld seeking ore thousand had got- tn in 2,250. Similar large enroliments prevailed -all over Hartford County Yith towss in other countles doing n-arly as well. C:re of Childres of Working Moth- ers. Neéw York, Dec. 24.—An experimen- tal center for the care of the chil- @ren of working mothers after school will be gpened in this city January 1 * committee of women it was announc- men to parliament. KRUPP WORKS WERE DAMAGED BY EXPLOSION Wooden Portion of the Turning Shep Was Destroyed. e : Amsterdam, Dee. 24 —A frontier cor- respondent of the Handeisblad says that the explosion whith occurred re- | cently at the Krupp Works had its origin in a building where -a_thous- and persons were employed. The en- gine room and turning shop suffered most and only the wooden portion o? the’ building was destroyed. Accord- inz to this correspondent there was no loss of life. A despatch of Decembery?l from Maestricht, Holland, gave ’vzwrknun from Essen as authority for the state- ment that the Krupp plant had been ablaze for twenty-four hours. 186 OFFICERS OF THE NAVY ARE PROMOTED To the Next Highest Grade by the Se- lection Biard. ‘Washington, Dec. 24.—One hundred and eighty-six officers of the navy are promoted to the next highest grade by President Wilson’s approval today of the report of the selection board head- ed by Admiral Mayo charged with the task of choosing meritorious officers for advancement to keep pace with the expanding navy. Twelve captains become réar admir- als; 51 commanders become captains and 123-lieutenants become comand- ers. ABOUT 13,000,000 MEMBERS OF THE RED CROSS Enrolled Throughout the Country Dur- ing the Past Week. Washington, . Dec. 24.—Christmas Bve finds the Red Cross membership drive well-past -the goal of ten millions, with incomplete re- ports indicating. that about _thirteen million new members have been en- thd throughout the country during e e Attantic e Atlantic division, with a quo- ta of 2,015,000, reported . »2.39,000 Christmas cam| members - with many chapters not tinuing their work th! New Engiand divisfon, estern Massachusetts, -would - exceed ‘quof an 1at € exCcess Wi balence any deficiencies. i The Pennsylvania division, with a quota of 1,192,000, rcperted - 1,400,000 already eurolled and tbat the chapters intended to continue during the week. The Lake . division, on a quota of 1,- 063,000, finished: its = cam; with more than 2,500,000 enrolled. FRANCHISE REFORM BILLIN - HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT | Loni Gives Vote to All Citizens, Male and Female, Over 24 Years of Age. ' Zurich, Dec. 24—The, franchise ferm bill, which has just been- e duced in the lower house of the Hm garian parliament, in addition to giv- ing the vote to every i zen or female, of provdes for the L re- (eaid. _ Cabled Paragraghs | Chapé 4 ;Mnrse |Street CarRanWild;| Ouatbreak of Pneumonia in China. Peking, Dec. 24—There has been a serious outbreak of pneumonia along the Shansi-Mongolia - torder. More than one hundred deaths have already been reported. Asquith's Son Severely Injured. London, Dec. 24.—Lieutenant Com- matder Arthur M. Asquith of the roy. ird son of Ex Premier Asq severely wounded while- serving in France. He recently received a bar to the Di: ESTIMATES OF AMERICA'S 1918 OUTPUT OF SHIPPING. Shipping Board Places It at Five Mil lion Deadweight Tons. 'Washington, Dec. 24—Five million deadweight tons is the shipping board's estimate of America’s 1918 out- put of shipping based -on builders' re- ports that show the government's pro- gram of 3,246,308 tons is 18.2 per cent. on its way to completion. , The forecast is a_minimum estimate with one labor shift figured. Every effort will be made to put on two and wherever possible three ghifts.in yards throughout the country: - With thé task of models out of the way, the whole problem now, according to ship- ping board officials, is that of obtain- ing labor and materials. The builders’ reports have been made a of a mass of statistics just turned over by the shipping board to the senate commerce committee Inves- tigating the progress of the shipping progsram. They disclose that the wooden program js 9 per cent. under way, the requisitioned steel ships 39 per ‘cent., the composite ships 20 per cent, and the contract steel ships 4 per_cent. on their way to completion. Henry Ford, serving with the ship- ping board as a manufacturing expert, has proposed extension of the fabri cating program. He hag advised that the board have built in the south a number of fabricating yards in which would Be turned out steel vessels on the endless chain/syste meémployed by Ford in his automobile factory,” Ten ships would be laid down at once in each yard. Mr. Ford will g0 on a trip throughout the south in search of lo- cations and to investizate facilities for manufacturing and shipping fabri- cated materials. AMMUNITION AND RIFLES BURIED UNDER CARGO Aboard a Russian Freighter Which Ar- rived at a Pacific Port. A Pacific Port. Dec. 24.—Federal of- ficials today found packages of ammu- nition several hundred rifles and a number of bags filled with revolvers buried under the cargo of hides in the Shilka a Russian freighter which ar- “An investigation to determinc the purpbse. of those in charge of the ship will be made-immediately,” the United States district attorney here today “We know that the Shilka is manned by a Bolsheviki crew and ap- ‘'parently is in charze of a committee five that took the vessel over after -{'the crew mutinied a few days out of the ‘Russian port.” Z . Officials, continuing their search to- day, discovered a large guantity of liquor and a number of 1. W. W. news- papers aboard, they announced. If the munitions were intended for the I W. W., officials said, the Shilka probably intended to unload her cargo here and then proceed to some pre- arranged obscure spot on the coast and put the rifles, revolvers and- ammuni- tion ashore. ree & TO BREAK SHORTAGE OF SUGAR IN NEW ENGLAND | defendant’s release. 30,000,000 Pounds Will, Be Ready Distribution Within Three Wi Boston. Dec, 24.—The Massachusetts food administration announced- tonight that approximately 30.000 000 ' pounds of sugar would be ready for distribu- tion in New England in the next three weeks to break the sugar shortage. In making the announcement Henry F. Endicott, state food administrator, cautfoned retailers to continue the policy of handing out sugar in small Quantities and in no case to give more than five pounds to a family at one time. - Mr. Endicott said the péblic should realize that sugar must be used sparingly for the duration of the war SPECIAL POLICE PROTECTION TO BE GIVEN FLOUR MILLS Indiana Warned by Millers’ Association. Tndianapolis, Ind., Dec. 24.—Police officers in Indianapolis this evening were requested to give spectal protec- tion- tonight and in-tho future to flour mills_in the -city fallowing a warn- ing from the Millers’ National A sociation headquarters that a plot was on foot to destroy every flour mill in the. state. Special precautions against explosians also are being taken in oth- er Indiana cities. OBITUARY ‘Frederic S. Ambler. National for | cee Justice White. is Sued for Pardnn WALTER E. REID OF PORTLAND, ME., SEEKS $150,000 FOR SERVICES RENDERED Glaims That He Prevented Morse and His Wife From Engaging in “Im- proper and Unwise Enterprises.” New York, Dec. 24—Walter E. Reid of Portland, Me., who is suing Charles W. Morse for $150,000 for alleged breach of contract, today filed in the federal district court supplementary particulars demanded by the defend: ant in_ elaboration of the plaintiff’s claim ,that he had prevented Morse and hls wife from engaging in “im Proper and unwise enterprises” in their efforts to obtain the banker's release from the federal penitentiary at At-x lanta. Restrained Mrs. Morse. “In the spring of 1910 at the New York office of the defendant,” the biil of particulars relates, “Mrs. Morse stated to the plaintiff. that Erwin Morse,-the defendant’s son. was a col- leze mate of Robert Taft. President Taft's son, and that she was going to [4 Persons Killed THE SOUTH HILLS SECTION OF PITTSBURGH IN DASHED DOWN GRADE Of the 114 Passengers, None Escaped Unhurt—Motorman Lost Control— Car Turned Over On Its Side. Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 24—Fourteen i persons were killed and every other one {of the 114 passengers on a Knoxville | Street car was more or less hurt here: ‘!ile today when the car ran away in a tunnel which connects the South Side i business districts with the South Hills. | After a wild dash of almost a mile : through the tube the car emerged at | Carson ‘Street and turned over on its side. Hospital doctors said that a number of the injured could not re- T. i T‘;:e car which was of the latest ilow floor, steel type, was packed with !city bound shoppers when it left the station at the South end of the tunnel. A minute or two later the trolley {said to have left the wire and the {lights went out. At almost the same iinstant'lor some reason not yet de- THE BELLS OF CHRISTENDOM Ring all ye bells, ye bells of Christendom, Ring out your hopeful message loud and clear, To all who try to bless this queer old world With aught of honest effort or good cheer. Ring to the loyal friend a friendship true; Ring to the dreamer of great deeds the thought To make fulfillment crown his heart’s desire; Let not his inspiration come to naught. Ring to the frowning pessimist a seng, 2 So fall of light and joy that he must smile, And quite forget the world is sad and dark, And live in happiness a little while. Ring all our high ideals, our hop#s, and prayers, . Out.into golden sunshine, Let them speed So that they bless a traveler otherwhere, -~ And cheer §ome brother on to nobler deed. Ring out so clearly, sweetly, that ye bring Each thinking, yearning soul to understand All life can hold for those who truly strive To use the power they have at their command. And ring to every heart, to every soul, In every field of work, or great or small, The words—that they who do the best they can Are working for the Master of us all. —MINNETTE ISBELL invite Robert Taft to New York to spend a week end *and offer him $10,- 600 to use his influence in procuring Mrs. Morse also stated she would get Robert Taft to Plaintiff prevented Morse from carrying out this plan. To Procure Pardon for $50,000. “Mrs. Morse had also interviews and correspondence with one Garland of Philadelphia, Pa., who was to procure defandant’s pardon in consideration of $50,000, of which eum the said Gar- land was to retain $10,000 for himself. The method by which the pardon was to be obtained was undisclosed. The plaintiff prevented this arrangement from being carried out.” “Undisclosed Means.” 4 _After relating several other instances n which Mr. Reid alleged that he pre- vented Mrs. Morse from using “undis- closed means” to obtain her husband’s release, the supplementary bill of par- ticulars enumerates a list of influen- tial men who it alleges were inter- viewed by the plaintiff in Morse's be- half. as follows: — Governor Cobb of Maine, who was induced to see and did see President Taft; ‘Governor John F. Hill, at his office in Augusta, George E. Macomber, who was induced to see 4nd did see Senator Hale of Maine; Senator Hale at Washington, D. Mr. Peavey saw President Taft several times; Congressman Allen of Maine, at Washington, D. C.; John D. Wight of New York, at Washington, D. C.; J- Sioat Fassetf, at Washington, D. C Edward O. Eldredge, at New York. Wrote to President Taft. . “Plaintiff also wrote to President Mrs. Taft and corresponded with and inter- jewed officials of the department of justice acting under direction of At- torney General George W. Wicker- sham,” says the supplementary bill of -| partioulars. arly He is survived by his wife. - Mr. Ambler. was the manager of a very successful amuse- ment resort in New Hampshire at the time Of his death.’ i - Richard H. Maddern. . British Casualties for "Week. 1 Dec. 24.—The Denied by Morse. Although Morse in his answer Reid’s suit denied that the pl pegiod from Aug. 10, 1909, to May 1, 1913. and that his disburse- ments in Morse's behalf approximated $13,400. SONS OF ITALY TO SUPPORT WAR THRIFT CAMPAIGN. Each of 800 Lodges is to Form a War Savings ‘Society.’ termined, the motorman lost control and it dashed down the steep grade. Zaining momentum with every instant as the wheels slipped along the wet rails. The passengers wers thrown into panic and their shrieks could be heard by persons in Carson Street as the car shot out of the tube. A few feet from the mouth of tunnel is a short curve, but so- terrific was the speed the car had attained that the wheels at. this point, left the tracks. Car Turned Over On Its Side. The car instantly turned over on its side piling the passengers in a strug- zhng mass. It did not stop, but, tear- ing along the sidewalk, struck a tele- i graph porc. The roof was ripped off and men, women and children were scattered along the roadway. Even then ‘the wreck continued on its way and finally brought up in a little con- fectionery store near Smithfield street. Barly reports placed the number of dead at seventeen, but a careful can- vass of the hospitals and the morgue showed that fourteen had been killed outright. eight of whom were women and onc a little girl. Some of the bodies were scarcely recognizable and identification proceeded slowly. Had Every Device for Safety. ‘A statement issued by the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which owns the Knoxville line, said the car “was of the most modern and substantial con- struction and equipped with eve modern device for the safety of pas- sengers. We have been unable yet to learn just how the accident happened but have started a searching investi- gation to ascertain the facts. b CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR SOLDIERS IN FRANCE Thorough Preparation Has Been Made by the American Red Cross. Washington, Dec. 24. — How the American Red Cross has prepared to give' Chi Cheer to American and French soldiers.in hospitals and in the trenches in France, and tothousands of children in the war zone, is told in the cablegram recetved at head- ers here today from Pari: “The American Red Cross has pro- vided funds so that theer shall be a Christmas party and entertainment in every American base hospital and a Christmas tres in every ward where there are sick and weunded American soldiers and sailors. . Every American soldier is to have a Christmas bag con- taining. tol ttes, soap, shoe strongs, wash cloth, ywel, tooth brush -and large handkérchief filled with candy.” 700.U: 8. Naval Men in Naples. : Rome, -Dec. ~24——Several = hundrea Cond;nsed Teleg{ams i anada will be dry for the remaind- er of the war and for one year after peace is declared: Ton men were killed by a Pennsyl- vania train at Magnolia, Md., twenty miles from Baltimore. The New Haven Railroad announced that during November the railroad car- ried 390,505 tons of coal. Japan denies the statements that she is mobilizing her army and going to send troops to Vladivostok. A valise containing diplomatic pap- ers en route from Berlin to Berne was stolen at the Basel station. The Christm: dollar fund commit- tee for relief in Belgium cabled $30,000 to Brussels, from New York. A submarine chaser near an At- lantic port was destroyed by fire and two of her crew were injured. Commander Truman H. Newberry, of the United States navy, denied that the navy does not need recruite. The New York Lodge of Elks will i entertain 2500 children and give them presents on Christmas afternoon. A safe in the Farmers’ State Bank of West Salem O., was blown open and $15 000 in bonds and $50 in cash stolen. The names of six Americans were contained on the Canadian casualties list. One was killed and five wounded. A British liner has arrived with two guns for throwing depth bombs at sub- marines. The guns look like mortars. One man was killed and several more seriously injured in the Johnston Iron Works in an explosion at New Orleans. A Caucasian army of 100,000 men is advancing on the rear of the troops of General Kaledines, the Cossack lead- or. The first of ten ships being built at Mariners’s Harbor, S. I, by the Stand- ard Shipbuilding Company was launch- ed. The British steamer Stephen Furness was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Irish channel and 101 lives were lost. Thirty men were arrested in Sacra- mento on a charge of being implicated in the explosion at the Executive Man- sion. The total identified dead from the Halifax disaster now number 854 and unidentified 304, making a total of 1158, Forty-five Chinameh were expelled from Austria on China’s declaration of war upon the Austro-Hungarian mon- archy. The Serbian Mi n in this country will have to. wait. until the holdays are over untl Chzln can ée Enl’nma of- Enemy forces which had crassed the Piave River at Piave Vecchia have been driven back over the river by the Ttalians. According to a letter from Sweden to Paris the Leninists are thinking of changing the name of Petrograd back to St. Petersburg. The British steamer City of Naples, reported torpedoed off the French coast on Dec. 5. arrived at an Atlantic port urider her own steam. a German Grande by an American commanded him to halt. sentry who Emperor William visited the front north of Verdun on Friday and in an address to the troops thanked them warmly for their efforts. General Pershing reported the death of Harold Ainsworth, an aviator in the Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps. Ains- worth was killed in an accident. J. C. Mayers, an officer of a steamer In Halifax harbor at the.time of the | great explosion there, said he blown half a mile from his ship. was Havana advices say flour, lard and other staples will be exhausted in a few days. Cubans are so busy raising su- gar that a food shortage threatens. The report that a new German peace move is at hand is: supported by ap- parently reliable information which has reached high official Italian circles. By a vote of 413 to 2 the French Chamber of Deputies adopted a res lution depriving former Premier Jo- seph Caillaux of parliamentayr immun- ity. The Norwegian steamers Ingrid Il and the Borgsten were sunk. Two of the crew of the Borgsten were killed; four of ‘the crew of the Ingd were saved. N R. I, clams to have the oldest and the youngest members of the Red Cross in the United States. ‘The oldest is 102 and the youngest, six months. Intense aerial activity - is_ reported by the French war office. In 100 air combats during the last few days the French brought down eighteen German wachines. According to a report in diplomatic circles in Berne, the German repre- sentatives in neutral countries already have received the Kaiser's Christmas peace offer. 5 Leo B. Murphy, a seaman, of Oro- ville, Calif.. and George O. K. Vida- hi, & seaman, of Arlington. N. J., were lost_overboard from a U. S. transport on December 17. | Washingten reported a disclosure of | Pratio operations of a system of communica. tion between the United States Germany’ European neutrals. General M. P. E. Sarrall, the French government has decided. will be re- placed as head of the ailied armies at | Of merry Christmas. Saloniki by General Marie Louis Adolphe Guillaumat. George Rodiek, formerly consul at Honolulu: who guilty to conspiracy in a plot to fo- ment a rebeHion in India, was fined $10,000 at San Francisco. Henry Ford, serving as a manufact- uring expert for the shipping board, has reported that as speedy construc- !said, the combined capital Ge-heral‘llfenial by J. Ogden Armour OF CHARGES MADE AT MEAT IN- DUSTRY INVESTIGATION WELCOMES AN INQUIRY & Its Refutes Statement That Armour Co. Had Been Able to Stock From $20,000,000 to $100,000,000. Increase W :den Ar- stement made for the federal trade commission which is investi- sating packing plants, to the effect that Armour and Company did not disclose its ownership of an interest in the Chicago Stock Yards until fed- eral agents seized correspondence be- tween F. H. Prince of Boston and Mr. Armour was controverted by the rec- ords, Mr. Armour said: What Records Show. “Our records show that on October 30, we delivered to an examiner for the federa] trade commission, Hravitz by name, a written atement, com- piled at his request. Under the head- ing *“Miscellaneous corporations” there was included the specific item, s ing that we had acquired by purcha one-fifth of the capital stock of Chicago Stock Yards Company.” Mr. Armour said’ the charge that Armour and Company had been able to increase its stock from - $20,000,000 to $100,000.000 as a result of its in- vestment in the stock yards company was not true. In 1910, the time the stock vards stock was purchased, he and sur- Company was Chicago, Dec. mour tonight yesterday by plus of Armour and $93,983,313. Answers Two Other Charges. Mr. Armour answered two 'other charges previously made at the hear- ing in Washington, saving: “It is charged that our dealing in butter, eggs, poultry, cheese, fruits, fish and vegetables is an attempt of alleged monopolies of thesefproducts. I deny that our entering in these kin- dred lines has had the effect of creasing the cost of meat and unqual- ified state that our aim and result in entering these lines of business were to decrease the cost of distribution and marketing of meat. No Attempt to Conceal Ownership. The charge that an attempt had been made by Armour and Company to conceal true ownership in subsid iary and auxiliary companies by Lav- ng the stock in such concerns held in the name of individuals. Mr. Ar- mour said was untrue. He explain- cd.that the laws of Illinois forbade an Tilinois corporation to own stock in Gther corporations, although. .almost all ‘ofher states did not forbid such ownership. “It Has therefore, become neces- sary,” added Mr. Armour, “that we permit such stock to be held by indi- viduals for the benefit of our corpore- tion; and in doing this we have done what we believe is the practice of every. large corporation incorporated under the laws of Tllinois, whose bus- iness is other than local within the state. It was not done to conceal the facts from the government or the public. The only alternative would bz to withdraw from the state. Loyalty to_Chicago and Iliinois, in which I re- side, has always caused me to fee! that Armour and Company should re- main an Illinois corporation. Welcomed Investigation. “We welcomed this investigation, fecling that it would give the publia information to which it is entitled, showing the legitimate reasons for the present high cost of meat and we have thrown open to the commission our books and records, and ready to aid them in every wa sible along constructive lines. SERIOUS SHORTAGE OF SOFT COAL INEVITABLE ion of Federal Fuel Admin- istrator Russell. Hartford, Dec. 24—That a serious shortage of soft coal is inevitable in Connecticut within the next few weeks, and that the situation for the manu- facturers of the state is likely to be- come critical within that time is the opinion of Thomas W. Russell, federal fuel administrator for Connecticut. and chairmanof the fuel committee of the Connecticut state council of defense, who returned today from Washington, where he was in conference with United States Fuel Administrator Dr. Harry A. Garfield and also the mem- bers of the railway war board. Mr. Russell was accompanied on his trip_ by James J. Storrow, New nBg- land fuel administrator. Together they spent an hour and a half in con- ference on Saturday morning with the railway war board, with the objective if possible of increasing shipments of bituminous coal to Connecticut tide- water ports. The conference Saturday afternoon with Dr. Garfield occupied two hours, and at the conclusion Mr. Russell was much discouraged with the outlook He was fearful that nothing could be done to avert a_soft coal . shortage which would undoubtedly have a dis- astrous effect on the factories of Con- necticut. In the Opi Ppleaded | tory praver NEW YORY’S CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS EVE Was Featured by Unbounded Generos- ity on All Sides. New York, Dec. 24. — Unbounded generosity featured New York's cele- of Christmas eve. Clubs, organizations, charitable s, in- and | stitutions, hotels and neighborhood as- and Austria Hungary and | Soclations, competed in a city-wide ef- fort to cheer the lonely, relieve the suffering, and for a space of even a few hours to brighten impoverished homes with the universgl salutation The usual Christmas eve services were held in churches, but in the Ro- man Catholic churches this Christ- mas was made the occasion of a Vic- at midnight authorized by Cardinal Farley, in conjunction with which priests in every church o fered the holy sacrifice of the mass in a plea for peace. Two German Interns Escape. i Salt Lake City, Dec. 24.—Ferdinand tion of ships depends in large measure | Kube and Kurtz Wilkins, German eci- on - the extent. to which fabricating| viian prisoners processes are employed. a large nuf- ber of fabricating steel yards should erected in the south. s interned at Fort Douglas. escaped today, according to a statement made by the military au- thoritie