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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY. Concerning the desperate fighting north of Verdun Sunday in which the French claim the Germans lost approximately 75.000 men. a London dispatch of yesterday says: Without a moments lull in the fierce fighting northwest of Verdun, tiie Germans have followed up their advance at Bethincoiirt with heavy drives against the French wings, five miles apart. The struggle is now becoming more furious than any waged on the west bank of the Meuse since the German offensive against Verdun began. The losses on Imth sides in the last thirty -six hours have been appalling. The Germans are attempting to duplicate their victory at Bethincourt on a larger scale. 1sing the famous "nut cracker" tactics that squeezed the French out of Bethincourt, the Germans have planned to crush the five-mile French front and force the evacuation of all the str.mg outer fortifications of Verdun on the northwest. The right jaw of the German "nut cracker" burst in upon the French line northeast of Avocourt wood with a powerful assault that carried the Germans into advanced French positions. The French rallied and drove the enemy out in a dashing counter charge. The left jaw thrust against the French line between Dead Man Hill and Cumieres village with the greatest violence, but was driven back with heavy losses. Emerging from the protection of Cumieres wood, the Germans were caught under a withering fire and halted before they reached the French trendies. The battle spread to the whole five-mile line Sunday afternoon, but a lull is believed to be impending. The Germans must pause, it is believed here, while they redistribute their infantry and artillery for a violent campaign to squeeze the French out of Dead Mans Hill, 304 and adjoining ridges. There were 100,021.790 barrels of crude petroleum held in February. 1916, as against 09,323,242 held in February, 1915, and the production of gasoline increased from 75,063,537 gallons in January, 1915. to 97,050,217 gallons in December. These startling figures contradicting report* of, a de creased supply of petroleum were sent to the senate yesterday by the federal trade commission in a report of its soaring prices. Another feature of the preliminary report was the wide variance shown in gasoline price increase, as compared with the rise in crude oil. Gasoline rose 4.88 cents a gallon in 1915 for middle west refiueries and 5.50 for eastern while crude oil was advancing only 1.17 and 1.55 respectively for the same sections. Fifteen per cent of the total production of gasoline, the report said, is exported. The commission will conduct the remainder of its investigation in connection with the department of justice, it announced yesterday afternoon. A second report will include: Capitalization, dividends and prices of oil companies stocks to "aid in judging whether high prices have been necessary to maintain a normal rate of profit." Its decision as to whether there has been stifling of competition or discrimination: The "exact relation between the several companies into which the Standard Oil Company was resolved" in 1911. The official French statement of late yesterday afternoon says: West of the River Meuse bombardments continued violently last night. It was particularly directed against hill No. 304. The attack delivered by the enemy yesterday evening against Le Morte Homme Dead Mans Hill and which was, generally speaking, repulsed, with important losses to our adversaries, made it possible for the t Germans to penetrate our advanced trench at No. 295 along a front of about 500 yards. We took about 100 prisoners. East of the Meuse there was very spirited fighting last night in the little wood of Fontaine St. Martin, east of Bacherauville. We have made progress in the communicating trenches of the enemy south of the village of Douaumont. In the Woevre district there has been bombardment of the villages in the foothills of the Meuse heights. It has been confirmed that the day of April 9 in the region of Verdun was marked by the first general offensive movement in which the forces of the enemy attacked over a front of more than twenty kilometers thirteen miles. Our adversaries, who have not achieved any result commensurate to their effort, suffered losses, the extent of which are evidenced by the bodies piled up in front of our lines. German submarines were unusually active during the last twenty -four hours, seven British ships, including one liner, and a Danish steamer, being sent to the bottom. A German submarine was sunk by the Russians. The liner was the Eastern City belonging to the St. Just Steamship Company. It sailed from New York on February 29, for St. Nazaire. The vessel was 393 feet long and had a fifty -two -foot beam. It was built in 1913. The victims of the sea warfare are: Eastern City British, steamer of 4,342 tons; Silks worth Hall British, 4,777 tons, sunk, three missing; The Glenalmond British, 2,888 tons, sunk; The Yonne British, 4,039 tons, sunk without warning; Avon British. 670 tons, sunk; Adampson British, 2,304 tons, sunk; Asger Ryg Danish, 1,101 tons, reported torpedoed and helpless off the Isle of Wight; Zafra British. 3,578 tons, owned by English and American Shipping Company; U-boat German 1, reported rammed and sunk by a Russian torpedo boat destroyer in the Black sea. Optimism regarding the early capture of Francisco Villa pervaded official circles at Washington yesterday, despite the fact that nearly a week has passed since news of the oiierations of the American troops in Mexico has come to the war department. Many officials were of the opinion that imiiortant military developments may have occurred, and that it was impossible for the extreme advancing columns, last reported close on Villas heels near Satevo, to communicate with their field base. The latest report from General Funston saying that an adequate quantity of commissary stores and gasoline had reached Casas Grandes convinced ad-miistration officials that the general problem of provisioning the troops has been relieved. Secretary Baker refused to comment on the suggestion that the dispatch indicated the "commercial" use of the Meixican Northwestern roilroad was working out to the satisfaction of the United States authorities. Preparations are being made at the New York navy yard for the arrival of the largest and most powerful fleet of warships ever assembled at the yard. The fleet, which is expected there within a week, will include a battleship squadron, several destroyers, seven submarines and seven tenders. The warships are to remain at the navy yard from two weeks to two months undergoing repairs. In the fleet willl be the battleships Oklahoma, Nevada, New York, Texas, Wyoming and Arkansas; the destroyers Cassin, Cummings, McDonough. Eric-son, Nicholson. Winslow, Wadsworth, Cnshing and Burrows: the submarines G-l. G-3, G-4, K-l, K-2, K-5 and K-6; the auxiliaries Sonomo, Oji-taria. Yankton and Solace, and the Terror, one of the old monitors. Two of the 12-inch guns on the Arkansas are said to have been damaged in target practice and will be either repaired or replaced. Eliseo Arredondo, ambassador designate of the de facto government of Mexico, yesterday received a telegram from Mexico City advising him that official notice has been given by his government that no further contracts will be made with foreign firms for arms and ammunition, in view of the fact that the recently-established national works are now capable of supplying the entire demand of the government. The telegram contained the announcement that traffic between Mexico City and Vera Cruz over the Interoceanic railway will soon be resumed for the handling of passengers and freight. Instructions have been issued, the message said, to all governors of states and military commanders, directing them to refrain from interfering in any manner with civil courts in order that complete independence between the judicial and the executive powers may be effective. The total residue receipts, which are the net receipts of the Chicago Surface Lines after the cost of operation has been deducted, were ,427,367.74 less in the year just closed than in the previous year. This fact was revealed yesterday in the report to city comptroller Pike of M. and L. W. Seud-der. certified New York public accountants. The citys 55 per cent of the net earnings under the traction ordinances was ,664,424.01. This amount was paid yesterday in two checks, one of ,116,744 from the Chicago Railways company, signed by John E. Wilkie, vice-president, and the other for 47.-680.01. from the Chicago City Railway company, signed by F. D. Hoffman, treasurer of the company. The sinking of three more British steamships was reported yesterday. All of them were unarmed. Lloyds announces the sinking of the Silksworth Hall. 4,777 tons, the Glenalmond, 2.888 tons and the Zafra. 3.57.8 tons. The captain and thirty men from the Silksworth Hall have been landed. Three men are missing. The crew of the Glenalmond was saved. A Reuter dispatch from Malata tells of the sinking of the Yonne, formerly the Kastalia, 4.039 tons, which was sunk without warning. The crew was rescued. A cabinet crisis in Sweden is threatened. The socialist and liberal parties, which constitute a majority in the second chamber, are determined to oppose the government bill regulating war trade, despite the threat of Premier Hammarskjold that he will resign if the bill is not passed without alteration or amendment. It provides that no person may enter into any sort of agreement with a foreign nation regarding goods unless the arrangement is first approved by the government. In the elections for the Spanish cortes Sunday the candidates supporting the government of Count Romanones, the present premier, led generally and a majority for his cabinet seems assured. The day passed off calmly in the large centers of population and disturbances were reported only from a few of the small districts. At Ponferrada, in the province of Leon, one person was killed in a brawl between rival parties. Re -enforcements and supplies for the American expedition continued to pour into Mexico yesterday from Columbus as if there was no prospect of withdrawal soon. Activities bent on catching Villa were speeded up at El Paso also in the purchasing and forwarding of supplies. To keep pace with the rapidly lengthening lines of communication, the wireless station at Namiquipa has been moved farther south. Three Chicago real estate men were appointed yesterday by the Chicago traction and subway commission to make a valuation of the elevated railway proiierties. The appointees are Wyllys W. Baird of Baird and Warner, former president of the Chicago Real Estate Board; William A. Bond of William A. Bond and Co., and Mark Levy, a member of the valuation committee of the Cook County Real Estate Board. Secretary Baker of the war department yesterday told Representative Gluey of Massachusetts he expected to ask congress for money to maintain citizen-soldier summer training camps. Reprcsenta- tive Olney urged that from ,000,000 to ,000,000 lie requested, saying that 57.000 civilians could be trained annually at such camps with an appropriation of ,000,000. German losses to date total 2,730,917, London newspapers figure by adding the German official casualty lists. Of these 681,437 have been killed. The Austrians are preparing an offensive on a large scale along the whole Italian front, according to dispatches received at Rome, which, nay this action was decided on at a recent conference between Archduke Eugene and the other Austrian commanders. Strong bodies of troops have been withdrawn from the Roumanian border. Curtailment, in a degree, of the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, as advocated recently by Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske, among the most radical of the Daniels critics, was agreed upon yesterday by a subcommittee of the house naval committee. .
