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GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY A large section of northeastern Minnesota three days ago a busy and prosperous business and farming country yesterday was a smoldering ruin with hundreds of bodies of men women and children many of them burned beyond recognition strewn about the countryside as the result of the di f astrous forest flrea which swept that territory Saturday and Sunday Latest estimates place tjitf death list at close to 1000 although no official figures were available at an early hour Hundreds of persons are more or less seriously burned thou ¬ sands are destitute and homeless and the property loss will run into many millions of dollars At least a dozen towns and cities were destroyed The woret blazes were at Moose Lake Kettle Itiver and Cloquet In Moose Lake and immediate vicinity it is esti ¬ mated more than 300 persons perished in the flames Although countless small fires wore burning throughout the district yesterday and the more serious blazes had died down considerably during the night a revival of tho seventyiniileanhour gale ofSaturday would bring further h6m rsand add greatly to the tragedy tragedySecretary Secretary Baker returned from France Suiulny with the message that the Liberty Loan must go over the top whatever the result of peace pro ¬ posals This was the only comment tlie secretary would make on the peace overtures His own ex ¬ planation of his trip shows that it was taken to pave the way for war on a greater scale If every American could have seen our boys in khaki as they stormed the German trenches assailed with shrapnel high explosives and machine guns lie would be eager to subscribe his all to the Liberty Loan the success of which after all is the measure of our support of the cause for which these boys are giving their lives My trip abroad was princi ¬ pally for the purpose of arranging further coopera ¬ tion in the matter of shipping for troops and sup ¬ plies It was entirely successful and a complete understanding was reached which assured the Ameri ¬ can army adequsrte cargo tonnage for its support supportA A dispatch of yesterday from the allies head quarters in France says British Belgian and Frcncli forces attacked at dawn this morning on a wide front in Flanders The allied troops are driving in the general direction of Ghent and Courtrai The attack seems to be generally from Comines to the northward The troops of the three nations went over the top after a crash bombardment only There was no preliminary bombardment It un doubtedly tactically surprised the enemy The blow may prove to be Marshal Foclis master stroke If the allies progress is continued the Germans throughout a wide stretch of territory taking in the most important part of the Belgian coast including possibly the important German submarine bases as well as the forces in the entire Lille salient either will have to get out or face a second Sedan SedanCharles Charles M Schwab who as directorgeneral of the Emergency Fleet Corporation is the active head of the governments war time ship building program assumed the role of auctioneer yesterday in New York City in an unprecedented sale through which the nation obtained 52000000 to help finance the conflict against Germany Mr Schwab solicited 22000000 with which to build twentytwo 1000 000 vessels to carry soldiers food and ammunition to France Within twentytwo minutes this sum had been oversubscribed and within about one hour the original amount asked for had been pledged mpre than twice over all to be paid in fourth Liberty Loan bonds The difference between the 22000000 requested and the 520000000 promised will be devoted to government needs other than ship build From Geneva a dispatch of yesterday says Gen oral Ludendorff flew into a rage and offered his resignation last week according to a report from Munich The generals ire was aroused when lie found that the first German note had resulted in bringing out the fact that the entente would demand an evacuation of occupied territory before the question of au armistice could even be consid ered The report does not state whether his resig ¬ nation was accepted acceptedSenator Senator Lodge Republican leader yesterday intro ¬ duced a resolution to declare it the sense of the Senate that no further communication be had with tiie German government on the subject of an armis ¬ tice and that no communication be had with that government except on the question of unconditional surrender The resolution went to the table leaving it before the Senate for action at any time timeSpanish Spanish influenza is raging again in all parts of the western world having readied South Africa where in one town 107 deaths were reported Cape l Town is almost isolated from the rest of the world The Spanish government has decided to put into immediate service sixtytwo German ships lying in Spanish ports as the equivalent in tonnage of Spanish ships torpedoed
