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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY. From El Paso yesterday a dispatch Ball: Pancho Yilla was reported early today to be fleeing west in the San Miguel country, having successfully eluded the encircling ring that was being drawn around him by American and Carranza troops. News ..f the outlaws retreat westward was brought here from El Yalle. but could not be confirmed at Fort Bliss or in Mexican official circles. Several thousand American soldiers are known to be ranging the country south of Casas Grandes. in every direction, trying to locate the bandit, but have not come into contact with him. Gen. Manuel Mediaa-vietia and Gen. Manuel Banda, two former Yilla officers, who were taken into custody here a few days ago, have disappeared from the El Paso jail and are understood to 1m- on their way to New-Orleans. Wire communication out of El Paso into Mexico is still interrupted, and it is believed that roving bands of Yilla men are responsible for the wire cutting, having been detached from the main Yilla command for this purpose. Mexican consul Garcia was still without farther word of the reported fight that the Carranza soldiers had with Yilla at El Oso. south of Namiquipa. Dispatches received at Mexico City anil Douglas. Arizona, apparently confirm the reports to El ias.i from General Bortani in the field, that the troops of the de facto government had come into contact with Yilla in the Santa Clara canyon. General Pershing has made no mention of this battle, and army officers here incline to the belief and it was probably not more than an outpost engagement. Major Sample, in command of the United States army base at Columbus, has been asked to investigate the report brought into Douglas. Arizona, that Yilla bandits had crossed the border eight miles west of Columbus and murdered throe Americans, two women and one man. The bandits, numbering 100 or more, are said to have recrossed into Mexico after the killing. The presence of such a Itody of Yilla forces in the upper Galeana district would be a threat to the line of communication to the base of American expedition at Casas Grandes. Transportation over this line from Columbus southward is troublesome, the trails being badly cut and the heaviest motor trucks negotiating the desert witli difficulty. The reiterated claim that Villa was surrounded made at Mexico City early today in a message received there from Gen. Luis Gutierrez, Carra izas commander-in-chief, only served to make the situation in the field more puzzling from the viewpoint of the border. A London dispatch of yesterday afternoon tells of a naval fight for the first time and says: The story of one of the most thrilling naval fights of the war was told in tin admiralty statement this afternoon, announceing the sinking of the German commerce raider Greif. and the British auxiliary ermieer Alcantra. in the North sea. with a loss «.f 254 lives. The engagement occurred Feb. 29. The admiralty withheld the news, though 1210 Genua prisoners were taken, in order that the word might not reach the German admiralty. The story was made public today when a wireless message from Berlin, picked up by English stations, revealed the fact that the sinking of the Greif was known there. The Greif, listed in naval registers as an unprotected German cruiser, slipped out of the Kiel canal, bent on a mission of commerce-raiding similar to that of the famous Mo. we. It was disguised as a Norwegian tramp and flew the Norwegian flag. The Alcantara, patrolling the North sea. sighted the stranger and hailed it. The tramp answered witli a fictitious name that aroused the suspicions of the Alcantaras commander. The Alcantara launched a boat and was about to send a boarding party to examine the tramps papers. Suddenly the crew of the tramp whisked away masks which had concealed large guns and jerked the German flag to the top of the mast, though the Norwegian colors still remained painted on the sides. The British and Gorman gunners opened fire almost simultaneously. The Greif was struck several times in a hot ten-minute fight at extremely close quarters. Before it sank it fired a shot from one of several torpedo tubes mounted on the deck and the Alcantara was sent to the bottom. The Greif carried 300 men, though its noriaal complement was less than ISO. The prisoners explained that it was double manned in order that tliey might put prize crews aboard captured steamers. the Alcantara was a large liner belonging to the Royal Mail Stoam Packet company of Belfast. It had been in the service of the British government for some time. Its gross tonnage was 15,300. It was 570 feet long and was built in Glasgow in 1913. The Greif was an unprotected German cruiser, displacing 2.02S tons, 317 feet long and witli, a thirty-two-foot beam. It carried a crew of about ISO men. Its armament, according to naval lists issued before the war, consisted of eight 3.4 -inch guns. From London yesterday a dispatch says. The cross-channel st.-amer Sussex, which was seriously damaged yesterday afternoon near the French coast, waa towed into Boulogne early this morning, according to a dispatch to the Central News. Information nil hred at Dover states that it is now regarded as certain th.it some lives were lost on the i 1, probably by the explosion which caused the damage to it. The London, Brighton and South oast Railway companys oflicials say that the passenger list of the Baaaex shows that there were twenty-five Americans aboard. Of the 3M passengers, L70 were women and children. A few of the n si in .I passengers are being brought to Dover, but the majority of those who were taken off the steamer by the rescuing vessels will be landed in Franco. The Sussex left Folkestone in clear weather. The Mssel proceeded without incident until 4:20 p. in., when she was struck amidships ;ls she was approaching the coast of France. A terrific rash followed and several hauls in the cuginc- l m were badly injured. Wireless messages brought help from both sides of the channel. Agents of the line said today that they had no information as to whether the Sussex was torpedoed or struck one of the mines the Germans are repotted to have been sowing in the channel. If she was t irpcdeed, it is considered certain the submarines could not have mistaken the fact that she was a passenger-carrying vessel. The American embassy has received no reports on the accident, but instruction; will be sent to consuls in Franco to obtain affidavits from American passengers if it. appears that the Sussex was torpedoed. Edward Huxley, president of the Tinted States Kublier Export company, and Francis E. Drake, European manager of the company, tire among the Americans rescued from the Sussex. They report that then-Mas a heavy loss of life, including probably several Americans. Miss Baldwin, daughter of a prominent American resident of Paris, was injured on the Sussex. Her father Bad mother also were on board the vessel. All have been taken to Boulogne. In addition to other injuries. Miss P.aldwins leg WBl broken. Miss Alice Ruiz of Colorado, and Wilder G. Penficld of Merton College, Oxford, are other Americans who were saved. The official German report of yesterday says: Western theater: There have been BO actual changes in the situation since yesterday. In the Mewse district artillery duels were especially lively and in the course of these engagements Verdun was set on fire. Eastern theater: West of Jacobstadt the Russians again opened an attack after having brought forward fresh Siberian troops Bad after strong artillery preparation had been made. The attack broke down, with heavy losses to the Russians. Minor enemy advances southwest of Jacobstadt and southwest of Dvinsk were easily repulsed. All the enemys efforts, even those repeated during the Bight against our front, north of Yidsey. were completely unsuccessful. Farther to the south, in the region of the Narocz lakes, the enemy yesterday limited his activity to artillery bombardments. Balkan theater: During a renewed aeroplane attack one enemy machine was brought down after an aerial battle between the enemy lines and our positions. It was there destroyed by artillery. Military activity on the northern sector of the i ten battle front continues despite alternating rain and snow. Eu-iau iliiini fire was heavy on the Bight of March 20 and in the early morning of March 21 between the Naroi z and Wiszniew lakes, and it was particularly heavy just southward of Narocz lake, where the German line ran from BUsaiki to laokryaa and theme to the westward. The Russians directed their main attack against this small salient with a harassing concentric fire and the Germans drew back to their second line to avoid naaeeesearj losses. The Russians who came forward in heavy attacking columns were sanguinarily repulsed and the Germans followed them to Blisniki and then retired. The Russians did not follow them the second time. The Russians succeeded in capturing some trendies to the south of Vileity. but they were driven out on the afternoon of March 21 and lost OIK men prisoners. The Russian losses were said to have beaa heavy, while tl.e casualties of the Germans were declared to be light. Witli much ceremony 4.162.700 pesos of paper money was burned at Mexico City yesterday by officials of the treasury department in the great public square fronting the national palace. This money was a large part of the so-called army issue which is being slowly withdrawn from circulation. Tiie national treasury announced yesterday that bullion and other forms of metallic reserves are being brought in from various states of the republic and concentrated in the national palace in readiness for the new issue of the paper money which was printed in New York. One hundred million pesos of this money has already sir-rived and the remainder 150,000,000 pesos is expected within a few weeks. The steamer Republic, bought by a San Francisco syndicate from the French government for !. 000. aad admitted to American registry, while it lay at the bottom of Tahiti harbor, where it had been sent by shells from a German squadron, was in the San Francisco harbor yesterday, having arrived from lapeete under its own steam. The vessels owners weic reported to be considering an offer for it of ,200,000. The Republic, formerly the German steamer Walkure, which was seized by the French in 1911. was sunk in the German attack on Tahiti in September. 1014. The cargo recovered is said to have reimbursed the owners for both the cost of the vessel and the expense of the salvage operations. Secretary Lansing had before him yesterday formal responses from the entente powers, rejecting the proposal made by the State Department that tiny enter into a modus vivendi and disarm all of their merchantships with the understanding that the central powers would pledge that such unarmed ships would not be attacked without warning. It is understood that the fundamental objection was that there should be no change jQ the principles of international law during the progress of hostilities. It is understood the Inited Stat.s may consider limiting access to American ports to vessels whi.-h. in the judgment of this gOTI mini nt, carry offensive armament. There is great concern on the Copenhagen stock exchange bnCBBet of r- ports that German submarine warfare has entered on a new phase, and that the torpedoing of neutral shipping may become more general. There was a fall of 15 pet cent, in ste.inisl.ip shares soon after the opening, and Inited Steamship stock was sold in a larger quantity than any single stock had ever been dealt in before. On reassuring advices and support by a well-known member of the exchange, who put in large buying orders, prices recovered. The Berliner Tagcbtattl Macedonia corresjiond-ent says that French forces from the entrenched camp at Sahmiki have been showing activity in the neighborhood of Gievgeli. on the Serbian-Greek frontier, where they fired ten shots from heavy guns against German-Austrian pioneers who were repairing bridges. The shots did no damage. The r reach also carried out a bombardment in the icinity of Doiran. A number of small skirmishers between patrols have taken place, the correspondent adds.
