view raw text
GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY J A dispatch of yesterday from El Paso says: "The report that the American troops and Carranza forces had surrounded Francisco Villa and his men and that a battle was imminent was the center of Interest in the Mexican situation today despite lack of confirmation of the rumor. A dispatch from Columbus, X. Mex., said the armys wireless was in good working order, but no information of Villa being closely surrounded by American and Carranza troops was received. For several days Gsnsr.nl Pershing has made no report regard ing his movements to his superiors. Apparently General Pershing is making his own plans of campaign and executing them without reporting his every move to Major General Funston and the War Department. Relief was manifest at army headquarters today when it was learned that Consul Letcher had sent to the State Department from Chihuahua a denial of the reported revolt of Jen. Luis Herrera. The report of the trapping of Villa was received by Mexican Consul Andres Garcia. The outlaws were said to be hemmed in at El Oso, about five miles south of Namiciuipa. where Villa had fled after a conflict with the Carranza forces at Santa I Ic-rtrudes. Yilla. according to a dispatch from General Rertani. Carranza commander in the field of operations, made- a stand in the Santa Clara canyon near Santa Gertrudes, but was driven out with a loss of several men killed and 100 horses captured. The loss of the horses was a hard blow to Villa, it was said, as he depends on the high quality of the mounts of his men to execute rapid moves from place to place and thereby throw off his pursuers. Central Rell received this report in silence. His only comment was that he would wait until he heard directly from Genera] Pershing or General Funston before making any statement on the situation. There was frank skepticism among other United States army officers, although it was admitted that advance detachments of the American troops might easily have reached Namiciuipa by this time if they had maintained anything like the speed with which they had made the first hundred miles of their march. Carranza Consul Burets, who made public Rertanis report, said there was no possible chance of Villa cutting his way out and that his capture was momentarily expected. Those familiar with Villas tactics and his hatred for Americans believe he will never be taken alive and that his entire command may be wiped out in the predicted fight. Garcia said Villa might try to escape by i surprise attack during the night. Rertani reported that in the preliminary engagement the VUlistas retreated to El Oso. five miles south of Namiquipa, after losing several killed and about 100 horses captured. The American troops in touch with the Carranza forces surrounding Villa were believed to be either Colonel Dodds cavalry column or Pershings men who got behind Villa by a railroad trip from Gases Grandes southward." A dispatch of yesterday from London says: German troops have resumed heavy attacks ■gainst the French front northwest of Verdun, according to Paris dispatches today. Following a twenty-four-hour lull, the German batteries turned a terrific fire on the French positions south of Malan-court and around Dead Man Hill. French guns roared in reply all day yesterday. It is believed in Paris that the decisive battle on this sector has begun. Ry buttering through the French lines in Avooourt wood the crown princes army bent the French front in the shape of a dangerous loop. Gemma artillery posted on the ridge mar Deael Man Hill on the northeast side- is weeping the four miles of wooded plain with a heavy fin-. On the southwestern side Ravarian regiments are striving to cut through the intervening four miles, cutting off Pleach forces holding Bethincourt and Malancourt at the head of the loop. Dispatches from BerUn today declared the French were in an extremely precarious position. French artillery kept up a heavy bombardment of German positions in the woods south of Malan court last night, but the Teutons made no infantry attacks, the Paris war office re-ported here this afternoon. On the rest of the front northwest of Verdun the night was calm, the- Fiench report said. On the west bank of the Meuse an intermittent bombardment occured around Douaumont and Damlonp. In the Woevre region the artillery fire was the most violent near Moulainville and Eparges. French troops occupied a mine crater near Hill 2V",. in the Argonne. Elsewhere there were no important actions during the night. An important Petrograd dispatch of yesterday says: "Savage fighting is going on at Jacobstadt eighty miles southeast of Riga, where the Russians, using liquid fire and gas bombs, are battering in the Oerman salient. At the same time the- Slavs are-attacking vigorously at Friedriehstadt, west of Jacobstadt. and at Illuxt. to the south. General Kuropatkins aim apparently is to squeeue Ton Hiu-denburg out of this important salient by threats of envelopment, forcing the- retirement of tin-whole Oerman line from Riga to Dvinsk. on a front of 140 miles. The success of this offensive will remove the Oerman threat against Riga and Dvinsk and handicap von Hindenburg in any aggressive campaign he- may undertake on the Russian front. Despite optimistic statements from some sources. best -informed critics here do not consider Kuropatkins attacks the beginning of a great Russian offensive. The spring thaw, clue- within possibly a fortnight, is expected to impede artillery movements and force a lull in the- fighting on the- northern front. When the ground becomes firm again, bit offensive movements by bath tin- Oormans and Russians are certain to develop. To improve- his defensive- positions to meet the expected German nt- tae-k. General Kuropatkin is flattening out German wedges in the Russian line and moving to capture highway intersections and dominating positions. There will be no mobilization of the National Guard on the- Mexican border at the present time-. In the light of reports received from American consuls in Mexico and from army officials in charge of the punitive expedition President Wilson ami his cabinet yesterday decided there is no need at nri se nt either for a call for volunteers or fir use of the militia. The question of calling out the militia for patrol duty was gone- into in detail. Members of congress from states on the lxircb-r had presented to the- president and his cabinet their views that additional troops were needed on the- line. It is possible that additional regulars will be sent to the border, although Secretary of War Hiker would not say today whether such orders are contemplated. lb- said merely he had as yet given no such orders. It is the belief in administration circles that were the United States te mobilize the militia on tin-border at the present time it would seriously embarrass Carranza and make more difficult his task of convincing the- Mexican people that the United States does not intend to make a campaign against the- entire country. So far as actual conditions are concerned, great optimism was voiced after the cabinet meeting. One official said that in the- light of the official report submitted to the cabinet it was evident a vast amount of misinformation hud been sent out regarding true conditions across the border. Prom London ye-ste-rday a dispatch says: That the Oerman fleet, if it comes oat to do battle in the North Sea will be accompanied by scores ,.f transports carrying troops tor an iavnaioa of Rug-land, was seriously suggested in an article appearing fesday in the Daily News and Star. The News, which recently gave- warning that rumors of new German snperdreadnoughts equipped with 17-inch guns, may he found to be- true-, declared the-war ofiice fully realizes the dangers of such an invasion and is keeping a large lone- of men in England to meet the expected attack. There is a growing feeling that an attempted German invnaloa of our cistern coast during tin- next week or so is "eiuito on the cards." said the Star. Then- are many signs in East Anglia that the military authorities share this view, but these must not be discussed here, and it is sufficient to consid * the-actions of the enemy. The star declared that the Germans are torpedoing neutral ships in the North sea solely to clear their e-oasts of neutral skippers who might report the assembling of German transports for invasion. Lieutenant Edgar J. Corn 11. the army aviator. Who, with his aeroplane, was lost from a squadron or e i-iit neropmnes that left Columbus, . m.. Sunday for Cass/ Granites, has been found. He bad spent eighty four hours alone cm the plains of Mexico ten miles north of Asceneioa, which i- thirty five- miles fiom the border. Unaware li.it a company of American infantry was h-ss than twelve miles south guarding the- line of c ammilllil niton. Lieutenant Oorrell had to descend Sunday for lack of gasoline-. He- Waited two days, th.-n Walked eight miles to the ro id connecting General Pershings column and the base of operations at Columbus, lb- wrote a note telling of his pre di. uncut, tacked it to a post, then returned to his aeroplane. When. Lieut. J. L. Parkinson of the Twentieth Infantry was traveling north along the road in charge-of a train of empty motor trucks, he- found the- bit of paper. A halt was at once ordered and the- rescue party hurried to the- aviator. Oorrell obtained a new Supply of gs ea|iue from the trucks and proceeded to Caaui Grandes. Two powerful bombs wrecked two motion-picture the-ate-rs on the South Side early yesterday, broke-windows and aroused residents f- r blocks around and narrowly missed killing a man who was in one of the theaters. The places blown up were the osmopolitan Theater. 7f»3s South Halsted street. and the Roulevard Theater. Ashland avenue and .nrficlil boulevard. Information given the police led them to susp-et that the- explosions were clue to labor union rivalries. At :U:i." a. m. an explosion wrecked the Cosmopolitan The-atc-r. At 4 a. m. an explosion wrecked the Roulevard. which is a new building and is owned by Henry Schocn-staelt. The latter explosion caused a hundred or more- neighbors to rush into the streets in their night clothes. Policeman Jehu Mulligan was a block from the scene. Hi- saw no one- running away. Tin- theater owner said he could assign no motive for the explosion. At the- Cosmopolitan Theater, Lawrence Davis. ." 717 South Union eve-nee, the theater watchman, narrowly escaped with his life-. He was in the office- of the theater, which is otf the lobby, when the explosion occurred. The Hay army bill, first of the administrations big preparedness measures to receive- the approval of either branch of Congress, was in the hands of the Senate , e ste relay. It was passed by the House with only two dissenting votes those cast by Representatives Britten, Republican, of Illinois, ami I tStin, Socialist, of Now York. The bill now goes to the Senate military committee for Immediate consideration and re-port to flu- Senate. II will be-taken up in the Senate- Monday. As it 1. ft tie,, lb-use- the bill was in virtually the form in which it came from the- military committee and would, among other things, increase the regular army to 140.000 fighting men. Efforts of Representative Kahn. of California ranking Republican member of the committee, to increase the standing army to 220. 000 men defeated. President Wilson has let it be known that while he unproved the ground plan of the Hay bill, he is not cominitte-d to its details. It is expected, however, that the- bill as it finally coins from the conference of the two houses will be- such as to meet with the Presidents full approval. South of Dvinsk the Germans are counter attacking vigorously. The- onrush of the Russian troops has temporarily been halted by the enemys onslaughts. Roth sides are battling for the pesaesnlon of strategic railways of great importance in the expected spring offensives. Russian artilh-ry is tuning up along the whole S00 mile front. On sectors that have- been inactive for many months then-are indications that infantry clashes similar to those now occurring in the north are about tee begin, as a prelude to the later offensive-. In the extreme southeast General IvanolT is meeting with no serious resistance- in his campaign to clear Austrian troops from the north bank of the Dniester. The official report issued at Berlin yesterday says: "Continuing their advance to force the evacuation of French positions iieirthwe-st of Verdun, the Oer-mans have captured two more tranches in the Ban court region. The Germans pressed forwurd south of Malancourt. against the southwestern side of the Preach salient. The- advance further imperils Preach positions at Malancourt and Bethincourt In the fighting in this region French prisoners now total 881. Artillery duels occurred last night in the Champagne, the Argonne and west of the Mouse-." Confirmation of the reports that General Pershing obtained permission to use- the Mexican railway line SOUth of Casas Grandes was brought to LI Paso yesterday by Americans arriving from Casas Grandee. Pershing sent two troop trains to Aguaje, Chihuahua, in an effort to cut off Villas flight southward. Aguaje is north of the destroyed Cum-bres tunnel. As the troop movement was made-Sunday it is believed the troops have- had sufficient time to reach a point south of Naiiiiipiipa. The submarine D-l is temporarily out of commission at the New York navy -yard with some of her plates dented and one of her armature shafts cracked. The repairs cannot be completed before Several weeks. The D-l was rammed by a tig off New London. Conn., a few days ago ami was ordered to the navy-yard to have her plates repaired. On the way the cracked shaft was discovered. In all five submarines are undergoing repairs at the- navy-yard. The others are the G-l, O 2. ;-4 and El. Albertns H. Bahfwhm, United States commercial attache at I-ondon. re-ports that during the war tier- have- been 2.1M vessels destroyed or captured, with a tonnage of .°..774.21!t. These- losses are divided as follows: Grant Britain, 48B ships, tonnage 1,508,415; Frame-. Italy and Pussia together, 1«7. tonnage 282487; Germany, apt, t-.:i-n.-ige 1,276,500; Austria. 80, tonnage-. 207,084; Turkey. 124, tonnage unestinsated. Neutral ships bare been sunk to the number of 73C. with a tonnage of 441.172. The fourth Oerman war loan has been a brilliant success, financial secretary Helfferirh reported at Berlin ye-ste-rday. The subscriptions totaled more than ,000,000,000. This figure. Dr. Helfferirh said, doe-s not include- subscriptions ■broad and at home-. The total of Germanys war loans now roach more than ,000,000,000, In- said, while- En-land has raised h-ss than ,000,000,000, and Prance only a little- more than ,000,000,000 by war loans. Parade- grounds and rifle ranges in Austria and all ether lands set aside for military use- arc- to be devoted as far as possible to raising feed. The was office has directed that such ground is to lie-planted with eats, peas, beans, early potatoes ml fresh vegetables. With the Hay army Increase bill out of tin- way, the house- yeste-rday began c "isj. le-rat ion of the Burnett immigration bill, with its literacy test provision, under a special rule limit in debut the measare. Prospects are that the bill will be- the Subject of several clays of lively discussions. The British steamer Fulmar. l.L70 tone, and tie-Danish steamer Christiansund. 1.017 tone-, have been sunk. Eighteen of the Fulmars e re w wen-saved. The crew of the Danish steamer, numbering twenty -two men. was also picked up. The Austro-Hungarian foreign minister has forwarded to the neutral gove-rnme-nts copies of an official note protesting against the torpedoing of the hospital ship Elektra in the- Adriatic Bea, according to Vienna advices reaching Amsterdam. Lieut. Sir Ernest II. Shackleton has returm-el to Bydhey, Australia, from his anfartie expedition. News of the- achievements of the expedition is withheld for the present Amerii-an Consul Letcher at Chihuahua yesterday reported there was no truth in the- reported revolt of General Herrera and the Carranza garrison at Chihuahua. Tin- new Iussian income tax bill, which is pending in the- Duma, provides an assessment of sjx-tenths of 1 per cent on incomes of 700 rubles, up to 1 1-2 per cent, on Incomes of 400,000 ruble-. A banner in New York for the benefit of the Teutonic war sufferers, which began thirteen days ego, ended Thursday night with receipts estimated at 50,000.
