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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY. I Pat ■ di pate h of yesterday - ays: Ifter ■ • days lull the Germans resumed the offensive al erelun yeaterdaj With redoubled violence-. Tin-better to hide their plans they had for a week been shelling the whole- Verdun front impartially, but the- French staff expected that the attae k would come on the west of the river and made all elue pre-parations. The surmise was justified by the event. The German effort was confined to a small section, hardly more- than a half mile in width. between Vovaconrt and Malaacoort. Tin- artillery poured a hail of shells on this short line all morning in prep nation for tin- infantry attack, which was launi-hed at three- oclock in the afternoon. Tin- attacking masses, about a division strong, dashed forward over the- ground which had he -en plowed up by the shells of their heavy guns, apparently expecting an easy victory. They reckoned, however, without the French infantry and the French light artillery. which had been skillfully sheltered from the bombardment. Using every advantage which the- ground afforded, the French infantry held off the Hermans with rifle and machine gun fire while the 75s threw a curtate of shells which prevented reserves from approaching. Again the gray-coated waves surged forward, only to be broke-n against the stout resistance of the defenders. The object of tin- Geratana was to force the French to evacuate the village of Malancourt. the heights surrounding which the Germans already hold. They failed completely, it is affirmed, and the- French hold the Malancourt salient as firmly as aver. The Twentieth Century Limited. Which crashed into the wreckage of two other passenger trains at Amherst. Ohio, reached Chicago at 1:80 p. m. yesterday, four hours late, laden with passengers, who related thrilling stories of the rail catastrophe. Charles Nelson, 19S Sangamon street, was killed in the wrecking of the two sections of Train No. M. Complete details of the- disaster are not available as yet. but a Cleveland dispatch of yesterday says: At least thirty persons were- killed anil more than forty injured in the wreck early today of three- of the- Ne-w York Centrals e-raek passenger trains a mile xvest of Amherst. Twenty five- bodies hail been taken out at noon and five-more- were known to lie in the debris. When the total of dead and injured is finally ascertained, the Wreck will surpass, in cost of life and limb. even the wreck of the- Twentieth Century Limited at Mentor in 1904. when the famous train plied into a freight on its second trip on the New York-Chicago twenty -hoar run. Dense fog obscured the signal set by the- first section of the eastboutul Pittsburgh -Baltimore -Buffalo limited, causing another section of that train to crash into it. A short time- later, before signalnie-n could flag it. the Twentieth Century Limited, westbound, crashed into the- wreckage, which had piled up on the westbound track. Engineer Herbert Bens of the second section id No. SI, stated this aftern.ion that his train was traveling fifty miles an hour when it struck the first section. He said the two block signals which he- passed prior to tin- wreck were- "clear." Daylight had not yet appeared whe-n tin- three trains piled up together. Of the- latest reports from Verdant a London dispatch of yesterday says: Terrific fighting today in the region of Verdun resulted in gains both by the Germans and the French, according to the official statements issued from Berlin and Paris. German troops have broken the French front for more than 2.000 yarels. capturing several lines of trenches in the fighting north of Malancourt. ton miles northwest of Yerdun, the war office at Berlin announced this afternoon. The Germans captured His prisoners and five guns. The new drive carried the Germans into the northwest position of the village of Malancourt itself. The gain is the greatest made by the Germans in the- Yerdun offensive in more than a fortnight. The- German advance further imperils the French positions in the sharp salient at Rethineourt and Malancourt. On the other hand, tin- French, after repulsing yesterday a massed att.uk with great slaughter to the enemy, assumed the offensive- during the night north of Avoconrt. penetrated German connecting trenches and drove the Germans back for a considerable distance over the wide front iu a hand-to-hand battle with hand grenades and bayone-ts. This was followed up this morning with an attach on Avoconrt wood, following an intense artilh-ry preparation. Tin- French penetrated tin- wood for ] a depth of 300 yards, driving the- Oeratana from their trenches, captured in their recent drive-, and did not stop until thev had taken a strongly fortified position know i, as tie- redoubt of A voce. urt. From San Antonio a dispatch said yesterday: Franeise-o Villa was moving toward Santa Catarina. in the Santa Maria valley, four days ago. according to information obtained by Col. Dodd Sunday. ! and forwarded to Ge-n. Funston today by Ben. Per shing. Gem. Pershing added that the residents ! of the valley appeared frie-nilly to Yilla. adding that it was with great difficulty the scouts learned anything from them regarding his movements. . Gin. Pershing was known to be- with one of the advanced columns today, but at his own reamtat the- , positions of his troops were- not revealed. All de- . tachnients ope-rating south and east of Namiquipa were reported to be pushing forward at high speed and from the American frontier to the last supply-base the eiuartermasters departme-nt was working j at high pressure to ke-ep moving the large volume of supplies. As to the details of the actual chase- j of Villa, however. Gen. Funston and his staff knew little more than the- public-. The war department baa returnid the long report of Colonel Slocum on the Columbus attack with instructions to have the colonel amplify it. Col. Sloeuiu is com- , mantling troops just now more that 900 miles from . the border and a revision lf his re pert is not ■•. J pected for some- time. It has been sent to him. * however. Lieut. -CoL W. S. Scott today left for Douglas. Arizona, to take- command of the First J •avalry. relie-ving Col. F. S. Foltr.. who is ill. I The British horse ship Knglishnian was first 4 4 shelled and then torpedoed by a German submarine. according to affidavits made- to representatives of 4 the state- department at Liverpool by three American survivors. Following the- receipt of this information 4 today, officials said it seemed clear that the- Fug- 4 lisiiman had tried to escape. The- submarine was 1 operating within the law ill shelling and torpedoing 4 the Englishman if the vessel was fleeing to escape . Capture, as is inferred by officials hire- from the- 4 dispatch. The- German government has been asked ,, whether any of its submarines was concerned in 4 the- sinking of the Englishman or the- damaging . of the Rritish channel liner Sussex While that „ ship was carrying twenty-five American paaeeu- . gen. While it is indicated that the case- of the ! Englishman may not lead to difficulties betweea the J United States and Germany if it is proved it was J . * escaping, overnight dispatches to the state- depart- 4 stent from Dover seem, officials said, to bear out J previous allegations that the Sussex was tor- ! pedoed. American consular representatives, it was said in the dispatches, had obtained from various ! survivors at Dover affidavits confirming those- by . survivors in France. The contents of tin- dispatches . were not disclosed here, but it was said that the J affidavits were being forwarded by the- otlie ials who . 4I had gathered thi-in. General Carransa has agreed to permit the move-- 4 ment ef supplies to the punitive expedition in ► 4 Mexico aver the Mexico-Northwestera Railroad. 4 The supplies will go as commercial freight to con- 4 ► reran in Mexico with which the army has con- 4 ♦ tracts. The success of the- expedition depends largely on getting men and supplies behind Villa 4 quickly and to portions of the country where- the army motor truck trains cannot go. It is Indicated 4 || that General Garraaaa has agreed to tin- eondi- tionai use of the road, yielding to urgent rente- ■ sentationt of the American government in advance 4 of tin- perfection of the formal protocol for joint operations. The- permission for use of the- railroad A is net granted in a military tense and docs not i O Dover the movement of troops for which the Ameri- 4 4, can army has not asked. It will, however, enable 4 4» General Pershings force to yet supplies in ahund- 4 ance in a country where motor truck trains cannot i O carry them and will thus aid immeasurably in the 4 4 pursuit of the- Yilla bandits. O 4 Commanders of the Carranzu troops now in the * if Chihuahua region apparently have lost trace of * 0 Yilla and his men. for no report has been received by Mexican offie-e-rs here- for some- time conoe-rning * Yilla-. w -hereabouts. Arine-d bands of Yilla forces * * are reported in various parts of Chihuahua and in i :: some- numbers around Torreon. but they are opera t- * £ hag independently of the main Yilla 11 inmand i Joseph W. Allison, second lieutenant of the Thir- * 0 tee-nth cavalry, who was brought back to the- base- J 0 hospital at Fort Iiliss from Casas Crainles suffer- * 4, lag fr a cold that developed bate pnenaaenia, died J 4t O M-terdaj. Before the end of June the allied armies willL ♦ strike simultaneous blows on all fronts, designed 1 to bring the kataet to his knees and end the war before Christmas. This combined offensive, it was held In London ye terdnj 1 the certain n alt of the gnat war council ol tin- allies, whiili closed at Paris Tiu-sii i night. The allied drives ataj be preceded by other Uermaa attempts to break tlie western front, it is belle red in London. There an persistent rumors that the Germans have used the-hntg lull at Verdun to shift troops for a blow at se.me- other -ill I of tile Fie-llch front. From Paris yesterday a late dauynteh says: French troops made an attack last night on AVO- i-oiirt Wood, west ,,f the Mettse, when tin- Oer-man assault was made yesterday. Tin- official statement today tays tin- French carried part of the works which the- Germans had constructed. Tin- Germans made a fierie- ee iinti-r attack, taW were driven back with heavy losses. They wm- 111 other effort to re-e-ove-r the lost ground. Tin- recent German attack on Malancourt was made- with a fresh division which was thrown back with large loss. s. Albert Magerie, 1iil years ,,1,1. attempted to light a gas stove Tuesday, but failing to anderstand its mechanism, turned on tin- gas and did not light it. lb- was found dead in his bed MUM lime later by his daughter. Mrs. .|,,hn Yisoky. with whom he-lived at ?,~Y± Coste-llo street. Mage-rle- came- from Bohemia thirty-five yenn ago. lie re-tir.-e| a few years later and took up his residence with his daughter. He- did not us- tobacco in any form and his health a is m good that physicians had predicted many more- years for him. The strike- ef "0.000 garment workers, me-mbers of tin- Almagamati d Garment Workers Association, which, according to tin- police-, was threatened for May 1. was averted yesterday whin tie- h. leaale Clothing Dealers Association announced a reduction in working hours. The- time-, according to the- announcement by Martin J. Isaacs, attorney for tin- whole-sale dealers, is reduced from fifty two hours a week to fifty, with no alteration in pay. This means that the- workers will receive from two to four cents a garment Increase. Invention of a dry cell e-iectrii- signal light, capable- of projecting its ray ISO miles and through comparatively thick smoke- and haze was announced Tuesday by the coast and geodetic survey. The light, said to be ISO times as powerful as the- acetlylene lamps now in use. was perfected by i:. G. Fisiher. chief of the- surveys instrument bureau. It will be used on surveys in tlie mountains of the west, where the distance be-twe-e-n stations fniiuently is more than 100 miles. The Chinese revolutionists have raptured Peng- shui. southeast of F11 Chow -Szc. in the Province of Bne-Chnen, north of Yunnan, anil are- reported to lie within seven miles of I. nohow. A telegram from Cneng-Ta says hostilities in the southern Bne-Chnen are temporarily suspended, but tin-bandits are doing tremendous damage- matter, cities in the Cheng -Ta plain. Travelers arriving at Manila from Mindanao say that the United stales cruiser Brooklyn is patrolling the- Bute sea. as Germans are suspected of assembling I boat parts there. The- allies warships also swarm in these- waters, and. it is assorted, are violating neutrality. The Saltan UH Federal league baseball club yesterday filed suit in the United States District court at Philadelphia against organized baseball for $.100,000 damages under the Sh-rman anti-trust act am! Clayton anti-trust act. Ten thousand Mersey dock hands went on strike at Liverpool. Knglancl. yesterday, following a dispute concerning pay for overtime. The action of the dock hands is exi»ected to affect transatlantic-shipping seriously. General Lnrgeau, one of the youngest French brigadier, has been killed in action at Yerdun. He-distinguished himself in Africa, where he served with the Marchand expedition.
