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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY. From El Iaso yesterday a dispatch said: General Pershing has been ordered to begin a greater coneentratioii of his troops. Those detachments still operating as far south as San Antonio, it was reported, will l e withdrawn to Colonia Dublan. The order was taken in army circles to indicate that General Funstoii fears Pershings forces are in danger of attacks by Mexicans, as a result of recent developments. No answer had been received early today from Washington to General Scotts message re|M.rtlng General Obregons proposal for a joint patrol .of the international boundary. General Scott said » days conference was to !»e held regardless of whether a reply was received to the plan of the Mexican minister of war. General Funstoii saitl he had no idea when he would go back to his headquarters at San Antonio. This was I I I i ■ I i ! ! , • I ■ J I » L i 1 ■ . taken to indicate that todays eonference may not Ik- the last. From Juarez came re|mrts that General Ohregon and his advisers were optimistic regarding the outcome of the conference. It is not expected that A. J. Quatters, the mining man who withdrew from last nights meeting, will take further part in the discussions. General Scott explained that, in view of the attitude of General Obregon. he had not thought it proper to insist on Mr. McQuatters attendance, especially as the latter had no official standing. General Funston said the const guard ordered to the border would be assigned to towns which it could best protect. The militia will be divided among towns, bridges and easily accessible points with close communication, relieving the cavalry now doing patrol duty for service in the isolated sections of the border. Two troops of the Twenty-first infantry left El i Paso today to guard the big bridge near Del Rio on the Southern Pacific line. An official British estimate of German casualties in April, issued in London yesterday places the total at 91.162. The number of German casualties since the beginning of the war is given as 2,822.079. These figures were given in the following statement: "German casualties, exclusive of corrections, were reported during the month of April. 1916. as follows: Killed or died of wounds 17.455; died Of sickness. 2.395; prisoners, 1,921; missing, 6.217; severely wounded. 14.557; wounded. 4.001; slightly wounded. 38.979; wounded remaining with units 5.637. Total. 91.162. These, added to those reported in previous months, including corrections reported in April. 1916. bring the totals reported in German official lists since the beginning of the war to: Killed or died of wounds. 664,552; died of sickness. 41,325; prisoners. 137.798; missing, 197 094: severely wounded, 385.515; wounded, 254,027; slightly wounded. 1.023.212; wounded remaining with units. 117.956. Total. 2.822.079. These figures include all German nationalities — Prussians. Bavarians. Saxons aud Wurttembergers. They do not include naval or colonial troops." Details of the sinking of the White Star liner Cymric were given yesterday by members of the crew, who were landed at Bantry. Ireland. They say that the torpedo which destroyed the ship struck the engine room. The explosion blew all the sky lights off and extinguished the lights throughout the vessel. Four men were killed by the explosion and the chief steward was drowned trying to reach a boat when the crew abandoned the ship. One hundred and seven members of the crew took to the boats shortly after the liner was tor-Iiedoed, but returned when it was seen that the steamer was not in immediate danger of sinking. They remained on board for two hours, when a sloop which heard the Cymrics wireless calls for help 100 miles away, arrived and took them off. The sloop stood by the stricken liner until it sank at 3:30 in the morning. All of the crew were British subjects, except one Russian and two Belgians. There were also six passengers on board, members of the British consular service, all of whom were saved. The officers says that the Cymric Was unarmed. A dispatch of yesterday from Taris said: Activity on the Verdun front has decreased, accord ing to the statement given out by the war office this afternoon. Artillery action west of the Mense was less pronounced and east of the river was only intermittent. An attack on French trenches between the Oise and the Aisne was repulsed. The text of the statement follows: Between the Oise and the Aisne, a coup de main upon one of our trenches southeast of Moulain-Sous-Toutvent was completely checked. In the Verdun region, the bombardment west of the Meuse noticeably diminished. East of the Meuse and in the Woevre region there was intermittent cannonading. Hand-grenade skirmishes were reported during the night in the woods of Avocourt and in the region south of Fort Douaumont. In Upper Alsace an enemy reconnoitering party which attempted to seize one of our small posts near Hirszbach, south of Alt- kirch, was repulsed with losses. Says a dispatch of yesterday from Berlin: In a note given to Ambassador Gerrard by Foreign Min- ister von Jagow, Germany accepts full responsibility for the Sussex, announces that the submarine commander has been punished, and volunteers to indemnify the Americans injured through the ex- plosion of the torpedo when it struck the Sussex. As was plainly intimated in Germanys note, the government considers the evidence submitted by the American government, together with some investigations since made, as conclusive proof that the vessel the submarine commander reported he had torpedoed on that day in that vineity was the Sussex. President Wilsons reply to Germany, accepting Germanys promise of a change in her methods of submarine warfare, has reached Berlin, but has not yet been handed to the German government by Ambassador Gerrard. Twenty lives were the toll of death in the first steamer loss on the great lakes this season when the S. R. Kirby of the Northwestern Transportation company of Detroit foundered Monday at 11 oclock off Eagle Harbor. Mich., 194 miles from Duluth. with all but two of its crew. The second mate, Joseph Murda, of Chicago, and Otto S. Lind-qnist. a fireman of Pequaming, Mich., were saved. The boat broke in two and foundered. Just what the cause was, never will be known, but it is supposed that the strain of fighting the heavy seas that were running in the gale that swept Lake Superior found some weak spot, although the United States inspectors of hulls and boilers here declare that the Kirby was inspected this spring and found in good condition. i The Hritish premier stated that S. F. Slieehy Skeffington. editor of the Irish Citizen, was shot in Dublin on April 20 without the knowledge of the military authorities. This statement was in reply to an inquiry yesterday whether Mr. Skeffington had iM-en shot before the proclamation of martial law. This matter is under investigation. Mr. Asquith added the officer concerned had been arrested and would be court-martialed. Premier Asquith told the house of commons there was reason to believe that there would be no further necessity to proceed to extreme measares with Irish rebels, although he could give no understanding to that effect. Virtually the last American troops in the Tnited States were being mobilized yesterday for Mexican border service. With the National Guard of three states, they were under orders to hasten to *"°-« inforee General Funstons army. The total of »ftt tween 9.000 and 10.000 included eleven companies of coast artillery ordered out last night by Secretary Baker. Unofficial estimates placed the number of troops now on Mexican duty or under mobilization at about 45.000. If the situation warrants. National Guards of other states will be called out for border patrol duty, officials declared. Secretary Baker stated, however, that no further mobilization orders are contemplated immediately. Robert Fay. former lieutenant in the German army, convicted in the federal court at New York Monday of conspiracy to destroy munitions ships of the allies through bomb contrivances, was sentenced yesterday to serve eight years in the federal penitentiary at Atlanta. Walter Scholz. his brother-in-law. and Paul Daeche, also convicted, were sentenced to serve four years and two years respectively. Judge Howe holding that they did not originate the conspiracy and deserved less severe punishment than Fay. The three were also fined each. Dispatches from Stockholm to Berlin newspapers, says the Overseas News Agency yesterday, contain statements that a league made up of members of various non-Russian races who are subjects of the Russian empire has been formed in Sweden and that the league has sent a cable message to President Wilson asking the assistance of the American nation in the struggle for national preservation. Premier Asquith informed the house of commons yesterday afternoon that Sir Roger Casement, who was captured on attempting to land in Ireland to lead the rebellion there, would be placed on trial Monday.
