St. John's Daily Star, 1917-06-21

              The St. John's Daily Star Xeuifotmdland VOLUME 111. w r(53.00 per Annum); THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1917. [(Price: One Cent.) No. 141. TOLL OF THE U=BOATS CONTINUES VERY HIGH Total Of The Ships Sunk Last Week is Twenty-Seven NEW ADVANCE IS ITALIAN TROOPS HIGHEST U-BOAT TOLL FOR MANY WEEKS PAST Twenty-Seven British Ships Sunk By The Submarines Last Week SO3 SHIPS SUNK BY THE SUBMARINES SINCE APRIL 21; 40 IN A SINGLE WEEK ' NDON, June 20—The weekly list r British losses in torpedoed ships, i will be issued to-day, will show I highest total of many weeks, the er of ships sunk being comparable the worst week since the U-boat >aign began. k for week for the last three s show that the U-boat activities i in waves, and it is assumed that week is the crest of the period of activity noticed the previous Record for Day's Losses week includes one day which is rded as a record for the number of s lost. The situation, however, is not regard>imist:ca!ly by naval men who inthat the Admiralty methods of g the submarines are constantrowing in efficiency. In support of they point to the constantly inceasing, number of boats which escape the submarines. The Germans are resorting to evejy possible method of circumventig patrols and submarines frequently :e the zone of their operations. 27 Ships Were Sunk London, June 20—Twenty-seven Fritish ships of more than sixteen hundred tons were sunk, according to the v eekly British summary given out tor ay. Five British vessels of under ixteen hundred tons were also sent to . ottom. No fishing vessels were de. I royed. The foregoing figures of British ships lost as a result of Germany's submarine warfare, show a larger number of vessels than any of the six preceding weeks. Not since the seven-day period ending April 28 has a greater number of ships been destroyed. During that week fifty-one ships, thirty-eight over and thirteen under sixteen hundred tons were sunk. Heaviest Total In April The heaviest total since the Teuton submarine campaign was opened in February was registered in April 21 when forty steamers of more than sixteen hundred tons were sunk, and fifteen vessels of smaller tonnage were sent to the bottom. Since the middle of April, when the undersea boat activity recorded its highest toll, three hundred and three British ships, of which two hundred and twenty measured more than sixteen hundred tons, were sunk, the weekly totals being as follows: SOME BIG STEAMERS SUNK BY THE U-BOATS Ansonia Torpedoed, Bat Manages to Make Port—British And American Liners Sunk. fIEW YORK, June 20—The Associated Press this afternoon carries the following—"The passenger steamship Ansonia, 8,153 tons gross register, owned by the Cunard Line, was hit by a torpedo and badly damaged on her last trip from a Canadian port, it was learned here to-day. The attack took place off the Irish, coast." Reports said that while the liner was crippled she managed to make her way into a nearby port where she is now on dry dock. The Ansonia has been in the Government service since 1915, except for brief periods when she was used in the Cunard line trade out of New York. She was last here in April. American Liner Sunk Boston, June 20—The Warren Liner, Bay State, from Boston, May 31 for Liverpool, has been sunk by a German submarine. Advices to the Company state that all the members of the crew had been saved. The Bay State was under the command of Captain Alexander Fenton, was armed and carried a crew of fifty. Her cargo was valued at upwards of two million dollars. The Bay State was a vessel of 6,583 tons gross, and was built in 1915. Elele Torpedoed The sinking of the British steamer Elele, presumably by a German submarine, was reported in a cable message received by the Ley land Line from Captain Piarce, the commander. The vessel left Boston June 8 for Manchester, England, with a general cargo. Themes sage made no reference to the crew. MADE PROGRESS IN ARRAS REGION British Gain Ground Slightly—Some Progress Near Souchez River Air Battles JONDON, June 20—The official statement says: On the Arras battlefront our troops gained ground slightly during the day south of the Cojuel River and also north of the Souchez River, where we captured thirty-five prisoners. In addition to the captures already reported, four German field guns were taken by us east of Messines in the course of our recent advapce in this area on Thursday night. Valuable work was performed by our airplanes, in spite of unsettled weather. Bombs dropped on an enemy dump caused an explosion. Six German machines were brought down in air fighting, and three of our machines failed to return. FOOD EXPORT REGULATION America To Take Active Measures To Prevent U. S. Food Supplies Leaking Into Germany,NEUTRALACTION IS HEADED OFF WASHINGTON, June 20—President Wilson is expected to sign to-day an executive order putting into operation the Export Control Act just passed by Congress. A plan of "organization and general export programme drawn up by Secretaries Lansing and Redfield, was taken up at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. The Act will be administered by an expert council made up of representatives State, War, Navy and Commerce Departments, the Food Administration and others to be selected by the State and Commerce Departments. Administrative details will be handled by the bureau of domestic commerce which will be enlarged by the addition of an export licensing division. Matters of international consequence will be decided by the State Department. Food questions will be left to the food administration. Coal and wheat will be the first two commodities to come under the operation of the Act, and a Presidential proclamation specifying these two probably will accompany the executive orders. Heavy grain purchases by European neutrals, it was said, influenced the Government to hasten the putting of the Export Control Act into operation. Alarmed at the prospects that the United States was preparing to exercise the slightest supervision over food shipments, neutrals, it is declared, have come into the American wheat market and obtained contracts for enormous quantities of the cereal. Much of this now probably will never leave the country, and if the food bills pass, purchasers can be forcd to disgorge their holdings under the embargo clause. Dutch Steamer Sunk Boston, June 20—The Dutch steamer Fremdijk which left Boston May 13, for Rotterdam with grain for the Holland Government has been sunk, according to advices received by agents here to-day. The reports gave no details as to the safety of the crew. Aerial Activities London, June 20—The official statement issued at Petrograd says: Fusilades and aerial activities occurred on all fronts. ENEMY RESERVES FAST SWINDLING French Military Expert Figures Hubs Have 200,060 Men Available Monthly Fer Reinforcements. DARIS, June 20—General Ralde Le Croix publishes in The Temps the result of his study, supposedly from authoritative sources, on the present number of German reserves. He estimates that the grand total of German troops of all kinds and classes up to June Ist reached 13,130,000 and that this total was depleted by losses of 3,630,000, 2,200,000 of whom have been rendered unfit through wounds and 1,130,000 resident in foreign countries. General Le Croix figures that Germany has 575,000 reserves with which to cover her losses until November, or 115,000 a month plus 85,000 monthly of those who recover from their wounds, a grand total of 200,000 a month. The General points out that German losses in April and May have been at 4east 300,000 monthly, making a debit balance which he says has been met by a shortening of the German front and fewe,r attacks. The absence of reserves has caused, he claims, an obvious shift from the old tactics of the German general staff. t FOURTH ASSAULT BY HUNS A FAILURE Germans Foiled in Effort to Recover Lost Souchez Positions—British Aviators' Splendid Work f ONDON, June 20—An official report from the British Headquarters in France to-day says: After the failure of three hostile counter-attacks north of the Souchez River reported in this morning's communique, the enemy made a fourth attempt later in the night to recover his lost positions and was again completely repulsed. The weather was less favorable for fiying yesterday but work in conjunction with our artillery continued with good results. Nine German aeroplanes was brought down in an air fight and one other was shot down by our antiaircraft guns; two of ours failed to return."Vk  Heavy Bombardments. Paris, June 20—Heavy artillery fighting is in progress on the Aisne and Champagne fronts, says to-day's official statement. Early this morning the Germans carried on a severe bombardment of French positions near Lauffaux Hill and in the region of Mont Carnellex a German infantry attack was dispersed.MISSION TO AMERICA NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL Balfour Tells British M. P.'s It Has Forged Permanent International Bond AMERICAN'S MADE IT THE OCCASION TO VOICE SYMPATHY WITH ALLIES |ONDON, June 21—Arthur J. Balfour Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, gave an account of his stewardship in connection with his mission to the United States to the members of the House of Commons in luncheon today, arranged in his honor by the Empire Parliamentary Association in the beautiful dining room on the terrace. The guests were members or Parliament and Cabinet Ministers, with the American Ambassador, Walter Hines Page, and a few Colonial representatives as the only outsiders. Ex-Premier Asquith presided in token of the non-political character of the occasion, with Mr. Balfour on his right and Ambassador Page and Premier Lloyd George on his left. The other members of the £abinet sat at the Central table. After a cordial welcome home, voiced by Mr. Asquith, Mr. Balfour said: "I undertook the headship of the American Mission with some reluctance and diffidence as I felt it so easy to do harm and not so easy to do good. But looking back I feel that no harm has been done and much good. "My colleagues performed their various tasks with great skill, tasks which involved the bringing together of the forces of the United States and of Britain. The success of the Mission was not due to the personal qualifications of your representatives, but to far deeper and more permanent causes, which must give us all great cause for gratification. "I say nothing of the hospitality of the United States, which is proverbial. I need not dwell on the boundless kindness shown us, which was so obviously from the heart. The American people would have given us the same hospitality under any circumstances. What moves mc, and all Britain and France, too, is something deeper, namely the tremendous and spontaneous enthusiasm of America for what is our common cause and the deep feeling of sympathy which manifestly animates the entire American community north, south, east ,and west. "It was not in the power of ~ny Mission or any group of indivi *%ls to create that feeling. Our Mission was merely the occasion for its manifestations, it gave the Americans a welcome charjce to show what they felt in the cause of world freedom, and this is the greatest and profoundest result of our trip. This is the result of which the value cannot be measured by the mere effect it will have on the present war, but which will outlast many gneratioas. "Thus the Mission has been the occasion of the most beneficent development of International Rights in the History of the world. "Most of all the alliances of past history have been based on temporary agreements between .nations for the pursuit of attaining certain aims and ambitions, therefore they passed with the passing of the occasion. But the co-operation between England and America, because it is not based on the fact that each nation hopes to get something out of the present war but on a deep congruity of ideals will endure as long as the two nations are content to pursue these ideals, which, I pray God, may be for forever. "Our alliance is based on great moral considerations. We, alike, do not wish to use the war as an instrument of expansion and so here may be certain that the United States will not leave us until our great ends are accomplished. There is nothing I am more certain of than this, that the United States, having put its hand to the plow, will not turn back. "The Americans have carefully studied the origin and aims of the war ,and have come irrevocably to the conclusion that with the victory of the Allies is bound up the whole future of civilisation. They will not refuse any sacrifices or any effort which may bring to a happy fruition that on which they are convinced depends the whole trend of civilisation. "These are not the fruits of the Mission, but the Mission gave occasion for their most emphatic expression. If that be valuable, we may congratulate ourselves on the results of our efforts." ITALIANS RESUME THEIR OFFENSIVE Victor Emmanuel's Troops Capture Positions and Prisoners In Drive Toward Trent June 20—The Italians resumed the offensive yesterday. The War Office announced the capture of Austrian positions on Monte Ortigara and 936 prisoners. The Italian attack yesterday was a resumption of the fighting which began on June 11 on the Trentino front, southeast of the City of Trent, the capture of which is one of the chief Italian objectives. In the first attack the Italians took positions on Monte Ortigara and carried Angello pass. PERSISTENTLY PUSHES PARTISAN POLITICS  TN FABLED LORE the story ■*■ is related of a jackass who greatly admired his own voice. For this reason he brayed in season and ouU obtruding himself vociferously on all and sundry. 'And on one occasion, he deafened himself with his own braying by lifting up his voice in a confined space where echo multiplied his efforts exceedingly. He was lost for some time in awed self-admiration. Then, quoth he: "Surely my voice is sweeter than the notes Pan draws from the reeds, and, beyond doubt, I can excel Jove himself with his thunderbolts in volume of sound." From which we gather that those who devote themselves to admiration of their own excellencies generally find that which they seek and never lack cause for selfpraise.NoWf with no intention whatever of pressing the parallel on all points, The Star begs to call the attention of Mr. W. F. Coaker to the fabled speaking jackass. And we dosstot with intent io remind him that he has adopted an attitude that suggests to us self-deceit or a desire to persuade himself and others, through much speaking that this country is clamouring for an election in these times of war. Let us consider for a while the stand taken by Mr. Coaker, endeavoring to dissociate ourselves from partisan interests, whether his. or some other party leader*s. The Union Leader asserts that he is demanding RECOGNITION of the sentiment of Newfoundlanders generally for the staging of an election campaign at due season, that is in November next. Now The Star, on the other handt claims that Mr. Coaker is not working so much for the recognition of a sentiment that already exists as for the CREATION of a sentiment that does not sway anything like a majority of our fellowcountrymen. Nobody who reads Mr. Coaker*s personal organ can fail to note this feature of his activities in the local press; nor can it escape the notice of those who read the reports of the proceedings in the House of Assembto.The people of this Country are not voicing any demand for political campaign activities; they are concerned about the outlook of the times as it affects the price and supply of their food; they are anxious about the welfare of their sons and their brothers who are with the Army or the Navy. They discountenance attempts to split the Country into opposing camps on quesions setondary to the vital issues of the times. They want to see general union and general cooperation for the general public welfare. That is the sentiment that exists and that is the sentiment that Mr. Coaker recognises as swaying the minds of our people. He refuses, however* to heed the voice of the people, because such a course would mean the disappointment of personal and partisan ambitions. So he sets himself assiduously and selfishly io the attempt to pfersuade himself and others that more is owing his political clique than is due the general body politic of this Country. He slaves to CREA TE a sentiment in favor of an election this fall. And these activities of Mr. Coaker are inimical in the extreme to the interests of the people of this Country. They tend, in the first place, to alienate the thought and the attention of the people from the great object of the times—the dedication of all we have and are to the cause of the Empire in the war. They aim at the perpetuation of a system that is objectionable on all counts in these times of War—the perpetuation of a partisan system of Government. The struggle we are waging at present is not one that concerns a single class only—be it political or otherwise—it is a war of a people championing democracy, against a people that has set itself to impose its own will and its own rule on other people through the exercise of military might. While that struggle is raging, domestic quarrels must be disregardeddisregarded and domestic politics must be laid to rest, because on the outcome of the struggle depends the determination of the question as to whether we are to retain those free institutions which secure io us the privilege of quarrelling amongst ourselves as to administration policies, or are to be forced to submit to Government directed under the sword and the mailed fist. Out, then* upon partisan politics and partisan Governments, either directed by Mr. Coaker or one of his rivals. What this Country wants is not the substitution of one partisan system for another, but the union of all parties in en effort io spare our people as much as possible of the hardships incidental to a World war. It was because The Star recognised the absolute necessity for such unity and co-operation of interests that this paper expressed regret and condemnation of the action of Mr. Coaker in refusing to assent to a Coalition Ministry for the period of the war. We desire (Continuued on page 2.) Uver Week ending 1600 tons April 21 40 April 28 38 May5 24 May 12 18 May 19 18 May 26 18 June 3 15 June 10 22 June 17 27 Total .. ..- ..220 Under 1600 tons 15 13 22 5 9 1 ; 3 10 5 83 Ladies' Feather Ruffles From $2.00 to 5.50 each. Ladies' Am. Cotton Dresses, 1.50, 1.60, 1.70, 1.80 and 2.40. Ladies' White Lawn Aprons, With and without Bib, 36c, 40c, 45c, 50c, and 65c each. Ladies, Fancy Cotton , Overall Aprons, 65c, 75c, 85c, and 1.25 each. ■ 9 ' " ' ' ■ • \l* I LADIES' SUMMER VESTS, 12c, 16c, 20c, and up. FULL RANGE Ladies' Summer Hose In Black and Colored, From 35c up to $1.60 a pair. Bowring Bros., Ltd.