St. John's Daily Star, 1917-12-21

              The St. John's Daily Star  Newfoundland VOLUME 111. ($3,00 per Annum) FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21,1917. (Price: One Gent.) No. 313. RUSSIA ON THE VERGE OF A PROTRACTED CIVIL WAR JITO FURLOUGH FOR THE "BLUE PUTTEE" BOYS FURTHER INTRIGUES OF COUNT LUXBURG Engineered a Plot to Align South American Nations Against the P United States SHINGTON, December 20—Evidences of a German plot to align the nations of South America against KJriited States,-is revealed in teles sent to Berljfi by the notorious t Luxburg, former German Charge Kirs, in Argentina, were made to-day by the SUite Department. Dne of the messages, of which are some forty, Luxburg reports c induced President Irigoyon of Argentina to enter into a secret agreewith Chile and Bolivia, for mutual approachnaent and protection, versus North America, and that he did ost to have Peru included in to such an agreement. islations of the despatches were _1 by the State Department in with the Agrentine Minister Affairs, who, in an accom- K.iement gave a general def Luxburg's account of the ne%vith his Government. telegrams show a number of in-1 es. It is surprising that no epi- II fill them said the Foreign Minstatement, as they are at complete variance both in substance and :'ih the terms in which negotiaere entered into and carried on Krought to a conclusion, message referring to the South can alliance freely said that the nt had made up his mind to [de such an agreement with Chile md-Bolivia. There was nothing in the ondence to clear up just what lons were carried on with these ies. A telegram dated July 20th, last, announced the completion of the "receiving plant," and asked for the wave length of the great wireless station at Nasusa. The concluding message said that as long as neutral Germany will ~>e able he war to carry out her South American poHcy just as well, if not ircre easily, in opposition to an infatuated and misguided Argentina, as well as with Argentina on her side. THEY WENT THROUGH HELLI Arthur Compton {left) and John Sullivan, survivors of the Halifax disaster, are shown here as they appeared after their wounds were bandaged by the Red Cross workers. Being among the less seriously wounded, with no place to go. they stayed on the streets, where they were photographed as they wandered about offering assistance wherever needed to the more seriously injured. Like the wounded soldier in France, Corapton's first request, after surgeons began binding his wounds, was for-a cigaret. Australian Plebiscite Vancouver, B. C, December 20— A special Vancouver "World" cable from Sydney, Australia, states that the first returns of the Conscription plebiscite, gives a majority of one hundred and twenty thousand against Conscription, with more than a million votes counted. Another million votes remain to be counted, including the soldiers' vote. HON. J. R. BENNETT ORGANIZES RELIEF | Mr. Bennett and Major Montgomerie Organize Relief for Newfoundland Sufferers at Halifax. j|ON. J- R. BENNETT, Minister of Militia, who was visiting Halifax with Major Montgomerie, returned by the express last evening. Mr. Bennett is suffering from a heavy cold, contract ed on the passage "to Halifax. Mr. Bennett went to Halifax at the request of the Newfoundland Govern| ment to look after the interests of, and j especially, to arrange for the transpori tation back to Newfoundland of all former residents who had suffered by the catastrophe and who desire to return to their former homes. Major Montgomerie, formerly of Halifax, : went with Mr. Bennett on account of i his knowledge of local conditions there. They arrived at Halifax on Thursday j evening and at once proceeded to get lin touch with the executive relief com; mittee, who placed an office at their j disposal in the City Club Building, and !* since then, le visitors succeeded in meeting a large number of former residents of Newfoundland who have suffered by the explosion. "Newfoundland," said Hon. Mr. Ben nett to The Halifax Herald, "has a special interest in Halifax and its peo- I pie, more so, perhaps, than in any other town of the Dominion, owing principally to the large number of people residing there, and also to the large volume of business transacted between pur country and Halifax. We well refmembered what happened in 1892, when the city of St. John's was laid in waste. Halifax City was the first to come to our assistance... Within thirty six hours the warsrnjg Blake, with supplies, including tents and other neciessary articles so urgently required, j came to our assistance. Therefore, when our people heard of the disaster they took immediate action and subscription lists were opened in St. John's and all parts of the island, and in addition to this the Government has subscribed $50,000, and a similar or greater sum will be obtained by voluntary subscription." Friday and Saturday night the Minister of Militia and Major Montgomerie visited all the institutions in Halifax where Newfoundland children were to be found, including the Halifax Ladies' College, the School for the Blind, the Convent of the Sacred Heart, the Deaf and Dumb Institution, Mount St. Vincent, etc., and found all uninjured and being well taken care of. They also met a large number of Newfounlanders and obtained from them information respecting their condition and circumstances, and made suitable arrangements for their welfare and also for advising friends or relatives in Newfoundland of their condition.A partial list of those met by Mr. Bennett and Major Montgomerie, is as follows: BRENNAN, John, Stanley's Cove, Hermitage Bay; BRADBURY, Edith, Shearstown, Bay Roberts; BRETT, Daisy, Joe Batts Arm, Fogo; BRETT, Naomi, Joe Batts Arm, Fogo; BREAKER, Stanley, St John's; BOYCE, G. W., Harbor Breton; BRINSTON, George, 3ound Islands; BARRETT, KAISER'S CHRISTMAS PEACE OFFERING British Observers Believe the Offer is Based On Real Desire to Secure Peace. £HICAGO, Dec. 20.—What purports to be an outline of the Kaiser's much-advertised Christmas peace terms, has reached here through some neutral diplomatic channels, which earlier in the week received information to support the intimations from abroad that the new peace offer is coming. In the main the terms are described as following the lines of those said to have been written by Foreign Minister Yon Kuehlmann last summer. At the time they were denounced as having been written purely for political purposes. The so-called peace terms, which must be appraised only at their face value, are said to include the following: Include the Following. To leave the disposition of Alsace- Lorraine to a plebiscite of the inhabitants.England to pay Germany for her East African colonies, tite money to be used for the rehabilitation of Belgium, Serbia, Roumania and Northern France. Russian provinces bordering on the Baltic and Black Sea and Prussia, to become independent under a German plan. Poland to be called an independent state under Austrian suzerainty. Disarmament and freedom of the seas, and commerce to be left to the peace conference. Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro to retain their original boundaries, with the right of access to the sea being granted to Serbia. Turkey to remain intact. To Impress Public Opinion. Whether such a proposal of terms is merely another step in the German propaganda to impress the public mind that the Allies are responsible for the continuance of the war, or whether it is really a feeler for peace, is a subject for the estimate of the Governments concerned. At first glance some are inclined to regard them as the Kaiser's much-advertised Christmas peace terms, probably designed in a large part to keep the German people under the illusion that they are fighting a really defensive war against a foe which insists on the dismemberment of their country.Germany Might Yield. There is a very decided impression in competent quarters, however, that Germany, having gained great advances in Russia, might think it to her advantage to yield to demands in many other directions, which is the estimate her own statesmen would strike in the balance. This is one of the reasons which some close observers believe, as the offer of peace coming at this time, has probably more real intentions of peace behind it than the previous ones. No one here believes Germany's best terms would be put on the table at the first offering, and those inclined to this view think the proposal of peace now is at least an attempt to start a discussion of terms. From what may be gained of the war aims of the Allied Governments, as explained by their statesmen and by President Wilson, such offering of terms as outlined in the foregoing, couldn't be considered as a basis of a satisfactory peace, although it might contain some of the elements. ' * »—:  Japan Could Help. (By United Press.) London, Dec. 14.—"1f the western allies agree, there is no reason why Japan should not undertake to use her arms to check the anarchist movement in Russia—at least in the Far East," declared N. Kato, London Editor of the Osaka Mainichi today, in aD interview printed in The Chronicle. Kerensky, Siberian Minister. Copenhagen, Dec. 14.—Former Premier Kerensky has accepted the post of Minister of Justice in the first Siberian Cabinet, the newspaper Politiken stated today. % mm % . No Infantry Actions Paris, December 20—The official statement issued to-day by the war office says, there was moderate artillery activity along the front last night; there were no infantry actions. NO FURLOUGH FOR BLUE PUTTEES. (Special to the St. John's Daily Star.) ,: * London, Eng.—(By F. A. McKenzie)—Sir Wal- ' ter Davidson, retiring Governor of Newfoundland, ' land, newly returned from visiting the front, ex- * plained at a meeting in London yesterday how he ' failed to do as he promised to secure furlough for ' the three years' service men. * This equally explains why it has been found im- ' possible to grant the Canadian war veterans leave. * * "I went to France/ said Sir Walter, "determined, ' if possible, that the men who had been out three * years should have some home furlough. When I ' * talked to military authorities no one could be nicer, * but they would not give furlough for the excellent * and convincing reasons that man-power is the es- ' *sence of the game at this moment. ■ "We cannot afford to lose this splendid band of * veterans of three years' service, whose homes are ' in the far away Dominions.. It is the hardest case ' possible that these men who offered themselves ' * first of all, should be now denied the privilege of ' * going back to their homes for a short time. Under * present conditions of warfare, however, it is essen- ' tial that those men should remain at their posts." * * * CIVIL WAR SPREADING IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA Many Parties Now in Russia, and Each Appears to Be Trying to Exterminate the Others. "SAVE, LORD, TKY PEOPLE." Battle Cry of the "Mad Monk" Who Defeated Boih Maximalists and Cossacks at Tsaritsyn. I ONDON, December 20—Despatches from Petrograd indicate that the struggle between the Cossacks and Maximalists in Southern Russia is mr creasing in severity. The correspondent at Petrograd of -Reuters Ltd., telegraphing under date of Tuesday, says that the flame of civil war is spreading Northward along the Volga River from Astrakhan to Samaras. The Maximalists hold Astrakhan, from which place the Cossacks were reported on Monday to 'be twenty versta distant. Fighting probably now has begun. The Maximalists are said to have many machine guns, but are almost without cannon. The Cossacks are reported to be equipped with light field guns. An extraordinary state of affairs is depicted at Tsaritsyn, in the province of Samaras, where neither the Maximalists nor Cossacks haye gained the mastery, both being beaten by the forces of Haliodorus, Abb-*of Tsaritsyn, and known as Lliadore, the mad monk, who advanced against them, singing "Save, Lord, Thy People." Advance Against Samaras Orenburg Cossacks, commanded by General Dutroff, are advancing against Samaras, the Maximalist garrisons en route being dispersed by the Cossacks, who have occupied all the Eastern part of the province of Voronezh, a province in South Central Russia. Fighting continues at Odessa, where Ukranian troops hold the arsenal and telegraph and telephone stations. The municipal theatre repeatedly changed hands before finally remaining in possession of the Ukranians. The Maximalists hold the port which the Ukranians shelled with heavy and field artillery, in response to the bombardment of the town by naval guns. Ukranians are disarming and removing the Maximalist troops in the province of Kiev and at Konotop, about one hundred miles east of Tohernigov. Ukrane, in Central Rada, has issued a message to the Ukranians, proclaiming Ukrane a democratic republic, pending the meeting of the Ukranian Constituent Assembly in January. Expects Early Peace Rada, in its message, recognizes the principle of ex-propriation without compensation, of private lands, monastery lands and some church land for the benefit of the labor classes. In expectation of an early peace, Russian soldiers in increasing numbers are leaving the Northern front, urgent telegrams being received from Petrograd for reinforcements of soldiers, who are being promised the best of conditions and food. Dr. Perafosky, a lecturer at Moscow University has been deputed by the Bolsheviki Government to discuss peace questions with the Germans, at Brest- Litovsk. According to the Russian official news agency, the delegates of the Ukranian Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' delegates, recently met at Elarkov, and resolved to regard Bada, as Bourgeoise, and an anti-revolutionary institution, and to oppose it. ■ mm *  USE EARTH AS A FOOD Germans and Austrians Forced to Copy Food Habit of Savage Tribes Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 30—In their frantic search for new food substitutes, Germans have made the discovery that so-called edible earth exists in many parts of Germany, and learned professors have lost no time in making it known that the eating of earth is by no means confined to certain savage tribes of New Guinea and South America. It was a highly delicacy, they say, during the Thirty Years War, and also in the "lean years," between 1719 and 1783. Layers of edible earth, it is stated, have been located on the moors of Luneburg, near Koenigsberg, in the valley of the lower Vistula and in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, while the Austrians, is is announced, have their own deposits of edible earth, near Eger and Franzensbad, in Bohemia. BRITISH CAMPAIGN A DISAPPOINTMENT Hopes Formed Had Not Been Realized —Premier Lloyd-George Attributes Failure To Russ. Fiasco |ONDON, December 20—The Premier saidj the sinking of submarines had increased, and the merchant tonnage was down twenty per cent. He added: The loss'had been only she per cent, of imports over last eyar. Regarding the military situation, Lloyd-George said it was idle to pretend that the hopes formed had been realized. This disappointment he at- - tributed to the Russian collapse. The Germans, the Premier said, had had only one success, which was due to surprise, and this was now engaging enquiry. The Germans, he stated, had lost 100,000 prisoners, valuable positions and hundreds of guns. The Premier said that if the Russian army had fulfilled the expectation of the Generals by this time, the pride iof the German military power would j have been completely humbled: On the whole, Premier Lloyd-George said, the British campaign had not achieved the expectations formed, but he declared there had been military successes in Palestine, which would have a permanent effect on the history of the world. Jerusalem, he said, never would be restored to the Turks. The Premier said that the losses to shipping had been lighter by one hun- . dred thousand ton?, than he estimated in his August statement. • mm ■  WAR POLICIES IDENTICAI Foreign Secretary Balfour Says U. S. And British Armies Are The Same London, December 20—Foreign Secretary Balfour made a spirited reply in the House of Commons this afternoon, to attacks by Arthur Ponsonby, Liberal member from Sterlingburghs, pacifist, regarding the aims of Britain and her Allies, the published versions of which Ponsonby said, didn't tally with a pro' posal of secret treaties. Balfour in his response declared that President Wilson's statements on the war policy were absolutely identical in spirit with the theme of thought in Britain. He didn't think there had been in the whole history of the war more powerful state documents than those issued by the President of the United States. 1 » i 1— Release German Civilians. (By United Press.) Stockholm, Dec. 14.—The Bolsheviki are releasing all German civilian prisoners in exchange for 4,000 Russian officers held by Germany, the newspaper Dagensnyheter announced today. 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