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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAT. 1 ! Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, in inak- -Ing A public his annual report to the president re-- I oinmndiug that $.TOO.ooo.«00 be spent in the next J live years for warship construction — maintenance of the navy and its personnel not included — reveals ► himself a* an ardent a| ostle of the presidents pre- par.-dness program, lor the first time iu the history * of tlie navy department, according to Daniels, a J m- - tar i-fthe navy has added to tl.e amount askej by tlie general board of the navy. Hitherto secretaries of the navy have pruned the estimates. In some instances tlier almost eliminated them. Not only does . Mr. Daniels re -oinuieud a program that at the end of t five years will make the Inited States the possessor of a fairly large and well-balanced navy, but he | urg-s other matters that have been neglected in the i past, but which the Eur pean war has revealed is i vital. He urges the expenditure of .1.000.000 for reserve supplies of ammunition, without which a 0,000,000 lattl. ship is so much junk: he urges a change iu the system of promotion in the navy i mi that vouuger men of ability may get to the top more quickly; he asks for in mey to build up a real i hydroaeroplane service with the navy, and he offers plans to make the navy more attractive to young Americans so that we may not have ships without men. Further action by the Inited States government en Its demands of Austria-Hungary, as set forth iu a communication regarding the sinking of the Italian liner Aucona. the text of which was published yest.-rdav. m-w rests with the Austrian government. Formal demand is made iu the communication for a prompt disavowal of the sinking of the Vncona by an Austrian submarine, punishment of the submarine coii.insmder and reparation for the American citizens killed or injur.nl. The note clearly indicates that a break in the diplomatic relations between the two countries will follow failure of the Austro-lliuigarian government to redress the acts of the submarine commander, which are declared to Ik- illegal and indefensible. A week at most probaldv will 1-e given Austria-Hungary to ac-«-ede t" the American demands. Meantime, administration officials are awaiting with keen interest some word from Vienna indicating how the communication was received by the Austrian government and the effect it may have had upon public opinion in that country. The lext of the note was i presented to the Austrian foreign office Thursday by Ambassador Penncld. n-lo French troops have been retreating across the Greek frontier since early Saturday, according to information received by the Creek military authorities at Athens yesterday. Evacuation of Giegvcli and Doiran by the allies was confirmed I in dispatches received here today. The Bulgars are reported five miles from the Greek frontier «dowiv foil owing tlie expeditonary forces. Saloniki i dispatches said the battle was drawing closer to , the Serbo-Grcek border every hour. They said it was understood that no opposition would be offered 1 bv Greek mililarv authorities if tlie advancing ! Bul"ars crossed into Greece and continued the on sla light against tlie Anglo-French rear guard. Rab-rovo Valandovo and several small villages, a few inile from the Greek frontier have lioen occupied 1 bv Bulgarian troops. Tlie French operating in the Valandovo sector were squeezed ltack against t the Vardar and then battered southward toward I the l order. Tlie fierce resistance cost the Bulgarians enormous losses. A Berlin dispatch via Sayville of yesterday says: The French and British have been entirely expelled 1 from Macedonian territory, it is officiallv announced 1 v.-slerdav bv German army headquarters, the ad-vMiiciiig - aniiy under General Todoroff occupying * S Iran ami .ibvgeli. It is declared thai two British - divisions were nearly wined out during the a.l-v« - Tlie report from the war office today says * tint ...- at link Monte. i.gr... twelve camion which had 1 Wn buried bv the Serbian* were discovered. The v of General von Koevess t-nik .Km prisoners, •irinv i i rill" the last few days more than 1.000 Serbians who"-* re»reat was cut off were taken. Direct communication " bv telephone between Berlin and Sofia EI? been opened. The lir t conversation. ,,y way r of Xish Orsova and Bu.lap.-st. was held by the e Bulgarian ami German war ministers. official .-01111.111311011 was forthcoming While is. Katardav night on the recruiting accomplished under " 1 , itrbvs scheme, outside estimates agree that 1 1, number of men responding to the call for vol.m-VI, " l ..i.ioximates -Miou.ooo. This information ! rUriiiting official, although the actual 1 ™ rroii from a a i. line will 1h secret until I»rd Derbys re|Kirt j J.gures was mUl tl,.lt , r1 of his effort and over the outcome elated , is U v »tit is now likely that conscript ion will be Y-i.Ii While the voluntary recruiting was sup ?o odio end Saturday night, the war office officials. ,,om-.1 to cm JJj . , ,„ ae,omm«.late the crowds * r l,y giving «a»,t.1 „, „,., themselves attested, made 0 i. **ilile Sundav for many thousands more t o ■ HiT Further g.ace will In- allowed until W.-dnes- SBT uigbt for others to enl.st. cw.iiiki a dispatch of yesterday says: A iTctorv agreement was reached today by the e s. »*. £~ncli Fren.i. *" and Greek military authorities. It t Anglo llloVeinent of the expeditonary y r.l* £tween Saloniki and the Greek frontier, the e r ...?.!,?«£ which the allies are retreating. A f division .iVvfsioii .on.eiitratcd at Langaza. a few a ■reek Sj|1 „liki w,„ ,„. transferred at t ill I" Seres thirty five miles northeast of Sa-T., i- t« —»T lss than thirty miles from the Bul-grU. I- fronthT A. part of the agreement, the e s B ■ f C t t fj a t ,. ■ s . ! A I J ► * J . t | i i i i i I i , 1 ! 1 t I 1 1 - * - - * 1 v " r e " 1 " ! 1 j slowly following the expeditionary forces. Saloniki customs house. The negotiations were conducted by General Sarrail. commander of the expeditionary for.es, and two military representatives of the 1 Greek government. tharles II. Sergei, city treasurer, yesterday held up the pay of City Attorney Charles it. Francis on the ground that his apiHiintment has not been continued by the city council. Mr. Sergei acted on the advice of his attorney, Willis E. Thome. According to Mr. Sergei, the city attorney is an officer of the city and as such must be confirmed by the city , council. Mr. Sergei pointed out that Mr. Francis , l»ro.lecossor. N. L. Iiotrowski. was confirmed by the , council and held that Mr. Francis must be. The office of city attorney pays 1915.sh,000 a year, and the , salary is paid in semi-monthly installments. A .10 [ chetk for Mr. Francis was blocked by Mr. Sergeis action. | The new issue of "DobreUs Peerage," the official . annual record of British titles, strikingly illustrates i how the aristocracy has suffered through the war. I roll of honor of some eight hundred names is i given of those killed iu battle or who have died of I wounds. The list contains the names of one mem- I ber of the royal family, six peers, sixteen baroucts. I six knights, seven members of the house of com- 1 -sous irons. 104 companions of various orders, ninety-five of peers, eighty-two sons of baronets and eighty-four sons of knights. Changes in MceeaanM I to more than one hundred titles thus have oeen .-anse.l. • This official statement was made public in Lon- don Sunday night: Sir Edward Grey has arrange! ! that after Deoemlier 20 censorship by the press bureau on behalf of the foreign office shall be suspended. This will not mean a change in the provisions of the defense of the realm acts or of regulations made thereunder, but the responsibility : of seeing that they are complied with will rest .m directors of newpaix-rs or new agencies. As regards matter telegraplied abroad, responsibility will rest with tlie senders of telegrams. Tlie censorship of press telegrams over British cables will remain unaltered. No quarter was granted Villa soldiers in the battle which started Thursday morning at Fronteras, continued northward to San Joaquin and then east through a mountain pass leading to the Santa Rosa road into Chihuahua, according to Americans who arrived at Douglas, Ariz. All soldiers taken prisoner were shot on orders by Generals P. Elias Calles and Angel Flores. Among the Villa soldiers captured were found complete lists of residents of tlie town and the property they owned. Every house in Fronteras was sacked. Great Britain intends to inflict all economic pressure iiossible upon Germany in an effort to bring the war to a victorious end. Lord Robert Cecil, under secretary of foreign affairs, declared iu the house of commons yesterday afternoon. His statement was in reply to a query about the commercial agreement just negotiated between Great Britain and Denmark, giving assurance that articles she is permitted to ini|x rt from England will not be allowed to cross her frontiers into Germany. The London Morning Post of yesterday prints a letter from Budapest saying more than half a million people have signed a memorandum to lie presented to the Hungarian premier iu parliament, complaining of the high prices of food. The memorandum asserts prices are much higher in Hungary than in Germany. It says winter threatens to overwhelm the population by starvation, and urges the impossibility of continuing under present con-, ditions much longer. Removal of passengers, even of German nationat- ity, from American vessels will not be tolerated by tlie 1nited States. Notification to this effect has 1 been transmitted to the French government as a I result of the action of the Freeh cruiser Descartes | in taking Germans off American vessels overhauled in West Indian waters. The Inited States has de-; m.i nded that the persons seized be released and that the practice complained of be discontinued. The crippled Hill freighter Minnesota was ex- pected to arrive at San Francisco yesterday in tow of two tugs and a wrecking steamer. 1uited States Listrict Attorney John W. Preston announced a fed- oral inquiry would lie instituted on arrival of the vessel. The Minesota sailed from Seattle November 14 with a cargo for I»ndon. The origin of the machinery trouble which forced it to put back has not Ih-oii explained. The British government has decided to purchase • American securities, paying for them in five-vear- .1 per cent, exchequer binds. The chancellor of the i exchequer. Reginald McKeiina, made this announce- ineut in the house of commons yesterday. He said 1 the government was willing to buy such American i dollar securities as were suitable at the -middle ■ American pri.v of the day, without brokerage or ■ commission. An important war council, over which the Ger-s man enqieror is presiding, is now taking plate at German headquarters on the eastern front, accord-1 iug to a Copenhagen dispatch to the London Daily Mail. The council includes G «i. von Falkenhayn, chief of staff: Field Marshal von Himleiibiirg. Field j Marshal von Mackensen and the Turkish and Bul-| garian general staffs. Fire in the Hercules Powder companys plant at Iinoli. Calif., caused an explosion of 1.500 pounds i of gelatin dynamite The mixing liouse. in which i the explosion .iccurred. was obliterated, but there were no casualties, as the fire, caused by a short t circuit, was discovered in time to permit all eui-i - ployees to escape.
