St. John's Daily Star, 1917-09-20

              The St. John's Daily Star Newfoundland  VOLUME HI. ($3.00 per Annum)] THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 20, 1917. '(Price: One Cent.) No. 215. NEW WESTERN OFFENSIVE ANTICIPATED Artillery Blasts Path For Advance Of British Forces INTENSE FIRE OF ARTILLERY British Bombardment In Flanders Makes It Pro bable a Big Attack Is Soon To Be Launched ITALY'S FORCES PRESS FORWARD Sept. 19.—Bombardment by the British artillery of the German lines in the Ypres sector in Flanders, continues to be most intense, but no infantry movement is in force. An attack on a larger scale than the usual daily raids is probably imminent.Berlin apparently is much exercised over the ever-increasing volume cf shells from the British big guns. From Houtholst wood northeast of Ypres to he river Lys on the Belgo-French border, Berlin reports, the British fire has been destructive. Field Marshal Haig's artillery increased its volume >f fire to drum fire several time[ As to the front in Flanders and Ar:ois, there have been no major operanons on the French portion of the western front. At several points from the Aisne valley to Lorraine the French have carried out raids into the German defences. Here, too, the expenditure of ammunition is great, especially on the Aisne front and northeast of Verdun. The Italians have been more active on the Trentino front, harrassing the enemy with raids and strong artillery fire. In the forward movement near Carzano in Sugana valley, east of Ttent, the Italians captured 200 prisoners. The Austro-Hungarian attacks »n Bainsizza plateau continue, but General Cadorna's men have held them back. While the infantry has been virtually idle on the northern end of the eastern front, the Roumanians continue their offensive in the mountain region northwest of Fokshani, Moldavia, attacking the Austrian defences. South of Grozechti, near Cona, the Roumanians captured a height. Berlin reports that the Roumanians, who were first successful, were later driven from the positions, suffering casualties and losing prisoners. The American stealner Platuria, 3445 tons, owned by the Standard Oil Co., has been torpedoed, with the loss of her master and eight of the crew. Forty-five survivors have been landed. ft ft ft fa fa fa ft Goes To Courtmartial Petrograd, Sept. 20.—Korniloff, it has been decided definitely, will be tried by a courtmartial with a jury. MEW AMERICAN AMBASSADOR " TO JAPAN.—Roland S. Norris of Philadelphia, selected to represent United States interests at Tokyo. SOUKHOMLINOFF MAKES DEFENCE Russian General Witnesses in Own Defence At Trial On a Charge Of Treason DETROGRAD. Sept. 19.—The witness in the trial of General Soukhomlinoff, former Minister of War, have concluded their evidence. The general today was invited to give any explanation he might wish to make. The former Minister appeared exhausted by the long judicial proceedings and, speaking in a weak, tired voice, he endeavored to prove the necessity of dismantling the Russian fortresses for which he had given orders. He declared that, the conditions of modern warfare, the fortresses long had lost all their strategic nportance and would only have been traps for the retreating troops. "At the time of the Russo-Turkish campaign," he said, "I gained the conviction that provisional defensive works constructed while hostilities were in progress, were of far greater practical utility."General Soukhomlinoff concluded by saying that he never concerned himself with politics, but worked exclusively for the welfare of the Fatherland. m m m m Tea  CHAMPIONS BELGIUM Has a Right to Its Independence, Says Berlin Paper Amsterdam, Sept. 19.—Vorwarts, Socialist organ of Berlin, holding that the complete restoration of Belgium is a corollary to the Reichstag resolution declares: "Whether or not the German Government remains deaf thereto, it is not only a question of power or policy but of justice and conscience. No policy is truly wise that disregards the moral and legal factors in the life of nations. "Despite the howling of 'the mailed fist* by politicians, we affirm that right is right, and that Belgium has a right to its independence." ft ft fa. fa ft ft ft NEAR COMPLETION OF QUEBEC BRIDGE Central Span of die Great Structure Within Thirty Feet of Its Permanent Position. QUEBEC, Sept. 19—The central span of the Quebec bridge was raised to such a height today that an oceangoing vessel was able to pass directly under it in safety. The ship that made the trip is the Lingan, a collier, bound from Sydney to Montreal. The link now hangs a scanty 30 feet from the floor of the bridge, and the engineers were able to announce that only a few hours of uninterrupted work were required to put it in place, thus completing the structural part of the bridge. The span is now 140 feet above the stream, 126 feet at low water, and has been actually raised a distance of 120 feet. fa fa fa fa m m PEACE YET FAR OFF Sir Eric Geddes Doesn't Look For Early End to War Palke/sburg, Wva., Sept. 19.—Belief that the end of the war is yet far off and that America has not fully awakened to its seriousness, is expressed in a letter written by Sir Eric Geddes, First Lord of the British Admiralty to George E. Ecker of this city. Mr. Ecker was a West Virginia manager for a Pittsburg lumber company at the time when the present head of the British Navy, as a boy of nineteen or1 twenty, was tallying logs and inspecting lumber at Nicolette near here. INDUSTRIAL STRIKE. Australia in Throes of Biggest Labor Troubles of Its History. London, Sept. 19.—News which has just been,pa*ssed by the censor discloses the fact that Australia is in the throes of the worst industrial strike in the history of the country. Forty thousand men have.quit work, and their action at this season of the year makes serious threats oi famine. The Commonwealth has befen hurled into a crisis in the midst of war, declares the press, and the hand of the .German is seen in the uprising that has .occurred. I TRYING HARD TO START A CONVERSATION? » Knott in Dallas News I SOAPBOX SEDITION IN U.S. DENOUNCED American Defence Society Determined To Suppress Treasonable Orators and Papers. NEW YORK, Sept. 19.—Soap box * sedition was denounced by speakers at a luncheon of the American Defence Society here today. Resolutions were passed for a nation-wide campaign to "suppress treasonable orators and suspend all treasonable newspapers, whether in German, English or other languages." The resolutions declared that "a wide spread campaign of disloyalty is being waged in the United States by pro- Germans and friends of Irish freedom, Socialists, pacifists, anarchists, independent workers of the world and all the forces of treason." James M. Beck, one of the speakers, asserting that it was vital that these forces should be combatted, said: "On the part of uncounted thousands of the American people there is a spirit of almost pathetic interest, which makes fertile the soil for the grpwth of the noxious weed of sedition." The Society voted to hold a mass meeting here on the subject. f?\ fa fa fa ft fa fa RAID A SUCCESS York and Lancaster Regiments Do Some Good Work London, 19.—An official statement issued today by the British War Office concerning milit?«ry operations on the battlefront in France and Befc gium says the successful raid against German positions in Inverness Copse, rororted in last night's communi cation, was made by troops of the York and Lancaster regiments.- There was nothing of special interest to report. , fa fa fa fa fa fa fa WORK OF THE HUNS. Infernal Machine Wrecks British Ship In the Far South. London, Sept. 20.—The British steamer Port Membla has been sunk by an explosion in her forward hold while near Cape Farewell, N. Z. A despatch from Melbourne says the captain of the steamer reports that the explosion was caused by an infern al machine, according to his belief. The steamer was bound from Melbourne to London. The steamer carried no passengers but had a valuable cargo. The explosion blew out almost one side of the steamer, and she sank in twenty minutes.fa m fa fa fa fa m 2 Norwegian Ships Sunk Christiania, Norway, Sept. 19—German submarines have sunk the Norwegian steamers Facto, 2372 tons, and Thomas Krag, 3569 tons. Two men from each vessel lost their lives. *a fa vsv*ia fa fa fa VOTES FOR A BREAK Argentine Senate Would End Diplomatic Relations With Huns Buenos Aires. Sept. 19.—The Argentine Senate by a vote of 23 to 1 today declared for breaking off relations with Germany. The resolution now goes.to the Chamber of Deputies. There is a strong public feeling in favor oi Its final passage. DETERMINED TO GET ALSACE LORRAINE French Provinces Must Be Restored Before Peace Can Be Consummated.DARIS, Sept. 19.—Since the days of Caesar the Rhine has always constituted the true boundary between France and Germany, as history would show, said Jules Cambon, General Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commenting today upon recent ministerial declaration of Alsace-Lorraine, although the French since 1870, have cherished the attachment without risking a world-wide war in order toretake it. War has been imposed upon them, however, and they are now demanding that Alsace be returned to the mother country. As regards reparations, the most elementary principles of justice call for payment by Germany to France and Belgium for all depredations she has committed. M. Cambon dismissed the recent internal political incidents in France as of no importance and as likely to happen in any demoracy. fa ft ft ft ft ft fa ITALIANS CAUSE AUSTRIANS WORRY Maintain Vigorous Bombardments and Send Out Numerous Parties of Raiders. DOME, Sept. 19.—The official report from the Italian Headquarters today reads: Yesterday on several sections of the Trentino front we caused the enemy alarm, inflicted losses on him, and damaged his defensive works by the activity of our reconnoitering parties and concentration of our fire. In the direction of Carzano in Suzana valley one of our parties succeeded in going beyond the enemy lines and capturing about 200 prisoners. On Bainsizza Plateau local enemy attacks were vigorously repulsed. On Sunday the enemy blew up a big mine in front of our positions on the line of Mount Cengio, Martini, Piccola, and Lagazuci. The vigilance and promptness of the defenders frustrated the enemy's plans. fa fa fa fa fa fa m Russian Appointment Petrograd, Sept. 20—M. I. Trestchenko, Minister of Foreign Affarrs, has been appointed Vice-President of the Council of Ministers.* fa fa fa fa fa m fa Won't Approve Safe Conduct. London, Sept. 19.—1t is learned that Britain does not at present intend to approve of any application for a safe conduct for Count yon Luxburg, the German Minister to Argentina, whose passports have been handed to him by the Argentine Government. fa fa fa fa fa fa m Reply To The Pope Amsterdam, Sept. 19.—Austria's reply to Pope Benedict's peace proposal, says The Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung, will be handed to the Papal Nuncio at Vienna,.on Thursday, and will be published on Saturday. The ref>ry wirl confine itself to a 1 detailed discussion of the Popo'i susgostwoa, TOLL OF U-BOATS CONTINUES HIGH Few Vessels Over 1600 Tons Sunk, But Unusually Large Number Under That Tonnage. JONDON, Sept. 19.—British merchant ships 1600 tons and over, sunk by mine or submarine the past week, numbered only eight, according to an Admiralty repoTt. Twenty under 1600 tons were also sunk; one fishing vessel was- sunk. The number of vessels of more than 1600 tons is the smallest sunk in one week since Germany began her intensified submarine campaign last February, but the number under 1600 tons is the largest for any week but one since mid February. The total number of ships sunk is the largest since the week ending June 24. The Admiralty statement for the week ending Sept. 9th showed two British ships over 1600 tons sunk by mines or submarines. That was the lowest marlf since the week ending March 10 when 13 vessels in that category were lost. g The greatest number of vessels under 1600 tons was in the week ending May 5, when 22 went down. British merchant ships unsuccessfully attacked, 6; fishing vessels sunk, 16 arrivals, 2695; sailings, 1737. British merchant ships over 1600 tons sunk, 8; under 1600 tons, including 9 previously, 20. ■» W W* 'B*l. T»» ,B* SUB. PERIL REDUCED. Returned Canadian Officer Tells of Conditions in Britain. Toronto, Sept. 19.—Lt. Col. T. Garnet Denison, son of Col. Geo. T. Denison returned home here this morning for the second time in 19 years. 01. Denison said conditions in England are very good when one considers the period that has elapsed since the war began. Col. Denison said the submarine peril was very much reduced. He graduated from R. M.. C. 19 years ago and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers. Since the war broke out he has served in Egypt, Gallipoli and France. AIRPLANES ACTIVE. Aviators Do Good Work Despite Unfavorable Weather. London, Sept. 19.—An official report from the British Headquarters in France tonight reads: Our airplanes on Tuesday continued to observe for our artillery, despite most unfavorable weather conditions. One hostile machine was brought down out of control. Two of ours are missing. There is nothing to report except great artillery work, which continues on both sides in the Ypres sector. TWO U-BOATS SUNK British Naval Forces Destroy Two Enemy Submarines Copenhagen, Sept. 19.—Two German submarines have been sunk by British naval forces, reports the Bergen correspondent of The Tidens Tegns. Six men from the U-boats were taken prisoners. An armed British steamer in the North Sea sank a German submarine which was shelling a neutral sailing vessel; the second submarine was sunk by a British torpedo boat destroyer while attacking an armed steamer. U. S. Food Administrator States That Starvation Will Win War. Atlantic City, N. J., Sept. 20.— Herbert C. Hoover, the Food Administrator,, speaking on the world food situation at the War Convention of the Chambers of Commerce of the United'States,'declared that starvation would win the war, and the, side best able to organize its resources for food production and conservation would come out .victorious. Raided Hun Trenches. Paris, Sept. 19.—German trenches on various - parts of the front were raided last night by French troops and prisoners taken, says today's official statement. A violent artillery action is in progress on the Verdun front east of the Meuse. fa fa fa fa fa f*m Oft ef Medical Supplies Washington, Sept. 20—Roumania is so short of medical supplies that the wounds of her soldiers are being tlrtsssefl wi,& smythisk W» a cablegram { received from the American Red Cross - Commission to Roumania. PETROGRAD IS MENACED Germans To Use Army And Fleet in Combined Effort to Capture The Russian Capital BIG HUNFLEET IN THE BALTIC (The St. John's Daily Star Correfponrlsr.ee \ |ONDON, Sept. 12—Germany may be preparing to turn her battle fleet to the job of blasting the Russian fleet and bombarding Petrograd. Within the last week the presence in the Baltic of submarines, destroyers, mine sweepers, cruisers and even heavier warships, has been reported, culminating in despatches indicating a German fleet at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. This would put the enemy vessels about 300 miles distant from Petrograd. If Germany chooses she can concentrate a big squadron for a sea drive on Russia. The Kiel canal would permit transfer of any necessary ships now in the North Sea German ports into the Baltic. Two great Russian naval depots and fortresses guard the capital. They are Reval, close to the mouth of the Gulf, and Kronstadt, only a score of miles from Petrograd. The Gulf itself has been thickly sown with mines. Part of the Russian fleet is known to be at Reval. It is so far outranked by the German fleet, however, that it is doubtful if they could impede and formidable squadron. There was considerable doubt- expressed here that Germany would dare shift any of her high seas fleet from the North Sea and Heligoland through the Kiel Canal to the Baltic because of the constant German fear of an attack by the great British battle fleet. Nevertheless, she has plenty of vessels outranging and outranking the Russian warships which could be srl\red for such a naval campaign. On land the threefold German advance out of Riga was apparently still gaining ground today. Petrograd was relying on early coming of the fall rains to slow up if not entirely stop this Teutonic campaign before the force of the blow was felt in the capital. The ground over which the German troops must henceforth travel on their drive toward Petrograd is a vast succession of marshes, lakes and sluggish rivers. The usual fall deluges of rain will transform this terrain into a morass believed to be impassible. The fortress of Kronstadt, main defence of Petrograd, is located 20 miles west of the capital, on the Island of Kotlin, at the eastern extremity of the Gulf of Finland. An artificial channel gives access from here down the Neva to Petrograd seven months of the year. During the other five memths ice seals the waters. Kronstadt ranks as a first class fortress, but there have been frequent indications of an impairment in morale of the sailors stationed there. Kronstadt a few months ago proclaimed independence from Russia and was the scene of bloody rioting against the~ Provisional Government. Later, however, order was restored and the malcontents removed. FINLAND ASPIRES TO INDEPENDENCE "Home Rule" the Watchword of the Finnish Elections—New Gevernment for Finland. pETROGRAD, Sept. 20.—Michael i Stakovich, Governor of Finland, has resigned and N. V. Nekrasoff, who has occupied a prominent place in the several Cabinets since the revolution, has been named to succeed Stakonoh. The situation re army officers in Helsingfors has been critical since the Korniloff revolt, M. Stakovich said, but that it is due to. Russian and Finnish influence. State Secretary la* eel la of Finland declares that the propaganda for the separation of Finland is not connected with the declaration of a republic in Rn«da, akmstgh they occurred simultaneous^. He said that the wafttfcword of tfca campaign for the elections to the Loan Tag was the-iaoVeeadejH* of Wakmk |IHlllll!lllll!lliri!ll||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| [ READY MADES.; I TWEED I I and SERGE | | • SUITS | | SMART CUT. 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