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as.'.'**#'- mm 1 4 * ,,w •' 5' <> y _* ,, * \, ,f*^%. P;; WILSON SCORNS AUSTRIA'S PLED FOR PEACE MEET Stated Tefttrs Upon "« Which U. S. Will Con- f > filter Peace. Mis FOR ALL THE A iMdenfi Reply to Hun , ««.r ,Made Public Half H4ur After ; ;-, ,1 Swedish Minister Delivered Text of Vienna's Note. U. S. REPLY TO AUSTRIA Washigton, Sept. 18.--Secre- tliry Lansing issued the following statement: "I am authorized by the president to state that the following will be the reply of this government to the Austro-Hun^ garian note proposing an unoffK cial conference of belligerents: , "The government of the United jitates feels that there is only one reply which it can make to the suggestion of the imperial Austro-Hungarian government. It has repeatedly and with entire candor stated the terms upon which the United States will con­ sider peace and can and will en­ tertain no proposal for a confer­ ence upon a matter concerning which it has made its position tf)4 purpose so plain." ti J -f VL" 1 Washington. Sept. 18.--President ^Wilson flatly rejected the Austro-Hun .jfBrian government's proposal for a : peace parley. / | His reply is perhaps without a pne- ! Cedent !n history. It was made public Within half an hour after the Swedish Minister delivered the official text of •Hie note to the state department The president's answer was Issued in the Jprm of a statement from Secretaiy of State Lansing. • - 8peaks fer Allied W©rid.*,W, The president, it is assumed, agafiS i|)okc for the allied world, and in so doing wrote "Finis** to the Austrian move. His answer, conched in the plainest language, consisted of exactly €8 words as compared with the several thousand words that made up the long and ambiguous statement from Aus­ tria. The message, save for diplomatic pnbelllshments, was given over to the Swedish minister in exactly the same terms as it appears above, for trans­ mission to Austria. Saw Through Hun Trap. Chronologically the answer consti­ tutes the fastest chapter in this coun­ try's war history, and there Is a reason for this. It is that the United States, in common with Its alies, saw through tike hypocrisy of the Austrian note and He thin veneer that hardly hid Ger­ many's hand in the proposal, and there­ fore wished to dispose of it as rapid­ ly as possible^ It was 6:20 o'clock at night when Swedish minister, W. A. F. Eken- gren, arrived at the state department With the note. Two minutes later he left the office of Secretary of State Xiansing, and 33 minutes later Mr. Lan­ ding gave an audience tp newspaper correspondents and made public the president's reply. ; ' "No Talking in Working Hours." •, \ Throughout the tabloid drama was v. JKftacted in much the same manner as desired by a certain American citizen, who sent a telegram to the White Bouse. ;• His message was addressed to the president and said: "Sincerely hope your answer to Aus­ tria's peace proposal will be that we Americans do not talk during working ionra." . . Th# TerSta. ; These terms, referred to In the reply ^dictated to the Austrian note, were , clearly set out in President Wilson's v_. -*•; fWrth of July speech at Mount Ver- <• j|0n> ag follows: "1. The destruction of every arbi­ trary power anywhere that can sepa­ rately, secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world; or, if It cannot be presently destroyed, at least its reduction to virtual impo­ tence. "2. The settlement of every question, Whether of territory, of sovereign, of ' economic arrangement of political re- ; lationshlp, upon the basis of the free Acceptance of that settlement by the people immediately concerned and not • txpon the basis of the material Interest EXPLAINS PUZZLE OF HISTORY "-^Theory of Students as to Founding of jftelomon's Kingdom 8eema to Be Worthy of Credence. m:--. J" It has always been a matter of some wonder to students of the ancient his­ tory of the East how such a kingdom Iti that claimed for Solomon could i have existed In the tenth century B. C., with Assyria approaching the zenith of her powers to the southeast, with the Hittltes contesting the road west or advantage of any other nation or people which may desire a different settlement for the sake of its own ex­ terior influence or mastery. "3. The consent of all nations to be governed in their conduct toward each other by the same principles of honor and of respect for the common law of civilized society that govern the in­ dividual citizens of all modern states in their relations with,one another; to the end that all promises and cove­ nants may be sacredly observed, no prviate plots or conspiracy hatched, no selfish Injuries wrought with impunity, and a mutual trust established upon the handsome foundation of a mutual respect for right. "4. The establishment of an organ­ ization of peace which shall make it certain that the combined power of free nations will check every Invasion of right and serve to make peace and Justice the more secure by affording a definite tribunal of opinion to which all submit and by which every Interna­ tional readjustment that cannot be amicably agreed upon by the people directly concerned shall be sanctioned." Objects to Peace Parley. While no reference to it was made in the reply which the United States government is making to Austria, it is known that one of the most objection­ able features Of Baron Burian's propo­ sition was the secrecy suggested for the "nonbinding" conferences. It was realized by officials here that the pur­ pose was to barter away the rights of various nationalities in star-chamber proceedings, so that the victims would have no knowledge of their fate until It was beyond recall. This system of barter was particularly denounced by President Wilson In one of his speeches. British Chief Sees Trick. London, Sept 18.--A. J. Balfour, the British foreign secretary, giving his personal viewpoints on the Austrian peace note at a luncheon to visiting Dominion Journalists, said: "It Is incredible that anything can come of this proposal." Coming after the recent speech of Frledrlch von Payer, the German Im­ perial vice chancellor, Mr. Balfour said "this cynical proposal of the Austrian government Is not a genuine attempt to obtain peace. It is an attempt to divide the allies." "I cannot honestly, in the proposals now made to us, as I have been able to study them," Mr. Balfour said, "see the slightest hope that the goal we de- sire^-the goal of a peace which shall be more than a truce--can really be attained." Cannot Divide Allies. The foreign secretary said he was utterly unable to see that a conference proposed hy Austria could have the de­ sired end. Mr. Balfour said no one should take upon himself the. task of rejecting with a light heart any proposal whlcU would shorten the length of the war. He also declared that no coalition ever had been so strong as the allied coalition and that the enemy wonld not succeed In breaking it Might Have Great Value. Conversations such as were pro­ posed by Austria-Hungary, Mr. Bal­ four said, undoubtedly would have great value under certain circum­ stances. He said they would serve to smooth out obscurities, such as ques­ tions of pride, but he declared that the questions now between the belligerents were definitely defined. I am not taking the proposals of two years ago pr of last year, but of last week," Secretary Balfour said. "The German vice chancellor, speak­ ing for the German government clear­ ly and without obscure verbiage showed where Germany stood on the question of Belgium, Alsace-Lorraine, the German colonies, and the Brest- Litovsk and Bucharest treaties." The foreign secretary said he agreed with the Austrian note when its au­ thors pointed out that the whole of civilization was at stake and that the prolongation of hostilities was a risk­ ing or sacrificing of a great deal that was really dear to everybody Inter­ ested in the progress of mankind. Squeezing Russia for Millions. The terms of peace and war were so tremendous and the calamities Im­ posed by the continuation of hostili­ ties so overwhelming, he said, that he would never treat with disrespect any peace proposal. It could not be more clearly set forth than It was by Von Payer last week that Germany intended to pay no In­ demnity to Belgium, Mr. Balfour con­ tinued. He indicated, the foreign sec­ retary said, that Germany did not be­ lieve in the principle of indemnities, and yet at the same time she was squeezing millions of dollars out of Russia. "This," the speaker went on, "was for the wrongs Russia Is supposed to have done Germany. How can those wrongs be compared with the devasta­ tion and ruin which Germany Is wreak­ ing on Russia now?" Regarding the question of colonies. Secretary Balfour said: "The colonies are one question on which there is no misunderstanding. We stand on one side and Germany on the other." ward with Assyria and that eastward with Egypt. How could a small group of tiny tribes have suddenly sprung into a huge kingdom? The answer was that there was at the time a temporary lull In the activl. ties of the great powers. The Assyri ans were busy in the east with Elam Egypt was probably concerned with In ternal strife, and the Hittltes had be­ gun to fall. In this recession of the strong Saul and David were supposed to have reared a kingdom and Solo mon to have expanded and glorified it TANKS CAPTURE ST. MIHIELj TAKE Town Won by Pershing's Troops f. . Left Intact--Railroad Undamaged. 8. S. MEN ON FOE'S All the Villages In Salient Taken Dun iRfl Opening Attack--Americans Over Top Singing "Where Do We Go Prom Hera 'Wys?**;--Baker and PKSir^J shing See Battle. r* •* ; Paris, Sept 16.--Paris and London estimated that General Pershing had captured more than 20,000 prisoners in the St Mihlel drive. The following dispatches show the bag already count­ ed and that it Is possible that this number may be much larger: ! With the American Army In Lor-! raine. Sept 16.--Capture of 15,000 prisoners, a mass of material and more than 100 guns in the St. Mlhiel salient was announced by General Pershing. "In the St. Mihlel salient we secured: the desired results," the statement said. "In 27 hours we liberated 150 square miles of territory, took 15,000 prisoners, a mass of material and more than 100 guns." Guns Fire on Yanks. London, Sept. 16.--General Persh­ ing's army continues to make fine progress. Since afternoon it has ad­ vanced from two to three miles on a 33-mile front and the guns on the fortress at Metz have come Into action against it The American line at noon ran through Norroy, on the Moselle. Han- mont, Dancourt and to Abaucourt, on the old line. The enemy seems to be withdraw­ ing to some farther line which will protect the railway communications In the vicinity of Metz, which at present are under the long range fire of the Americans. Metz Within Gun Range. Paris, Sept. 14.--The outer forts of Metz are within gun range, the St. Mi­ hlel wedge has been obliterated and more than 12,000 prisoners and nearly 100 guns have been taken, probably with more to come, as a result of the offensive launched by General Persh­ ing's army between the Meuse and the Moselle. The Americans captured 20 towns. Yanks Find St Mihlel Intact. London, Sept. 14.--The town of St. Mihiel, which has been captured by the Americans, was left intact by the Ger­ mans. The Verdun-Commercy-Toul- Nancy railroad was not damaged, and this will be a great help to the entente allies. This railway follows the west­ ern bank of the Meuse river and runs through St Mihiel. It is a double-track road, but has been under fire of Ger­ man guns and useless where It ap­ proaches St. Mihlel, since 1914. Another valuable line of rail from Thlacourt to St Mihiel, by which the Germans fed their troops In the salient, also was left Intact. The op­ eration of the Americans must be re­ garded as a big local success. All the objectives were reached. Win Entire 8alient The entire St. Mihiel salient now hall been captured. The railway from Verdun to Com- mercy, Toul and Nancy now Is open to the entente allies. All the villages In the fit. Mihiel sali­ ent were captured by the Americans and the frout in this Sector was re­ duced from some forty miles to a little under twenty miles. Reach the German Border. The latest news from the St Mlhiel sector shows that the battle line now runs directly from Pagny on the Mo­ selle river to Hatonvllle and along the foot of the heights of the Meuse. Pag­ ny, a town on the Moselle river. Is on the western border of Germany. In addition to the 12,000 prisoners who have been counted large numbers of Germans are still coming out. German Claims Not Borne Out. - The claim made by the Germans in the official communication that they foresaw the evacuation of the St. Mi­ hlel salient and prepared for it for as many years as the war has lasted hard­ ly Is borne out In view of the number of prisoners and guns taken. At the same time the fact that very few stores were left behind appears to Indicate that the Germans had prepared to quit the ground. Yanks Renew Attack at Dawn. With the American Army in Lor­ raine, Sept. 14.--^General Pershing's troops continued their steady advance against the St Mihlel salient through­ out the night. They reached and even passed the objective set for them. Prisoners continue to pour in. The RETAIN FAITH IN AMULETS Eastern Peoples, and Many of the W«st, Still Keep Belief Th«M* Rooted In Superstition. ' the veneer of civilization Is ap­ plied, the primitive and childlike won- ; der Inspired by the occult tokens Is syqppressed. In the Middle Ages the Hmuders supplemented their own folk by many stories of the amulets land talismans of the eastern peoples. "Hwtt. <| will be remem [ Americana reuewad tte attack it l'dawns ' - v- ' Pvv, I The Germans andn pnly one conn* ter-attack In an attest to stem the onrushlng tide of Americans. The Germans, however, began their protec­ tive barrage too early. They gave the Americans warning of what was com' ing and General Pershing's men were completely prepared for the counter­ attack when it started. Sing "Where Do We Go From Here?" After the American artillery had f| preached a drumfire Intensity the Amer­ ican soldiers went over the top behind •a barrage singing loudly: "Where do we go from herer boys?" Yanks Can See Germany. The Americans fighting along the frontiers can look across the Moselle and see-German soil. There is noth­ ing to Indicate that their attack has stopped, despite earlier announce" jments that the assault was for lim­ ited objectives only. f According to dispatches from the lighting front the Americans have driven forward nearly nine miles at places. So far as is known the firing line now runs from Pagny on the Moselle and on the German border, straight west through Hattenville, thence northward along the foot of the heights of the Meuse to the region of Verdun, Flyers Bomb Metz Railroads. By capturing the salient the Ame*> leans, with some French aid, have not only removed the menace of the Ger­ mans In this region, but have freed a great number of French villages. The map shows this number must run to considerably more than twenty, although many places are small. While the American First army was pressing forward through St. Mlhiel salient allied aviators were intensively bombing the German railroads around Metz and Courcelles. The aviators also attacked the Metz station and trans­ ports with good results. Baker and Pershing See Battle. With the American Army on the Lorraine Front, Sept. 14.--Away out In an advanced observation post Gen­ eral Pershing, commander In chief, of the American army, and Newton D. Bake, the American secretary of war, watched the Americans smash their way to victory on the battle front be­ tween the Meuse and Moselle rivers. General Pershing and Secretary Ba­ ker took up their station lr the muddy rain-lashed post of observation before the Infantry went over the top In the cold, wet dawn. The Americans, supported by a great fleet of tanks, vent forward with an Irresistible rush, and three lines of .German entrenchments were captured/in a single bound, Yarjks Strike First Big Blow. With the American Army in France, Sept. 13.--Gen. John J. Pershing's American army--an all-American army i--struck its first blow Thursday In the St. Mlhiel sector, and today the great triangular salient wihch projected Into the allies' lines between Verdun and Nancy is crushed on both sides. The attack, which started early in the morning, extended on the south­ ern side for a distance of 12 miles, from St. Mlhiel to Pont a Mousson, and northward from St. Mihlel for a distance of eight miles. French troops, co-operating with the Ameri­ cans, struck at the southern point of the salient at St. Mihiel. The offensive, the first struck on a pretentious scale by the Americans, is under the immediate direction of General Pershing, was planned by the American staff and Is being executed by American officers and troops. Tanks, artillery, airplanes, even down to the narrow gauge roads rushing for­ ward ammunition--all are American. French Near Chemln Des Dames. London, Sept. 17--By slow but re­ lentless advances the French under General Mangln are forcing the Ger­ mans from their positions at the west­ ern end of the Chemln des Dames de­ fenses until now It Is' believed in many quarters here the enemy soon must give up part of this line, which protects Laon from the south. The French war office statement In announcing that Marshal Foch's forces have taken Vailly, orf the north bank of the Aisne, and have occupied the plateaus north and east of Vauxaillon and Celles-sur-Alsne, reveals the grad­ ual progress toward the Chemln des Dames, which, now is less than half a mile away at points. North of Laffaux mill, the French also have taken Mont des Singes. The Germans have come forward re­ peatedly in this region in an effort to stay the advance of General Mangln, but in the local fighting here for a week have slowly but surely been driven back. The fierceness and stub­ bornness of their resistance. Is shown by the official announcement that the French' have taken more than 3,500 prisoners in these recent operations. On the British front Field Marshal Haig's men have advanced eastward from Ypres, and in the neighborhood of La Basse. Farther to the south the lines have been thrown out until posts have been re-established at Oppy and Sauchy-Cauchy, north of the Ar- ras-Cambrui road. b*red- In his novel, "The Talisman,1 builds much of the tale about the wondrous jewel which could avert death and restore the wounded. w The Hebrews, with their deep-rooted belief in one God, strove through their priesthood to eradicate the use of the channs, and yet when they caused extracts from the sacred books to be engrossed on paper and put in little boxes to b" worn on the person they were making concessions to thr eastern custom of wearing tiv WARNS OF SUPERIOR FORCES Kaiser Tells Soldiers "Enemy Is Charging Upon Us From All v Parts Of the Earth." }J Amsterdam, Sept. 12.--Emperor Wil­ liam, on replying to a message from the German National Soldiers' union, Is quoted by the Cologne Gazette as saying: "I am firmly convinced that the members of the German Soldiers' union will exert all the powers of their personal influence in support of the HUNS PREPARE TO RETREAT Vast Amount of War Material Re­ moved From Town of Doual-** Airdrome Removed. ^ ^ ^ Washington, Sept. 12.--Systematic evacuation of the town of Douai, one of the Important forward bases of the present German line in France, is de­ scribed in official advices reaching Washington. A vast amount of war material is being taken out of the t0y.>!, the report says, including the home front and, like our glorious com­ rades in the field, will not In the vicis­ situdes of war, let themselves be turn­ ed from their will to, victory and stead­ fastness by the enemy's superior forces and reprehensible methods of combat The. military and moral strength and the unanimous determi nation of the German people will suc­ ceed, with God's help, in breaking the more and more openly manifested win to destruction of the enemy, who is charging upon us from all parts of the earth, and In guarding the fatherland." equipment of the arsenal there, which was the largest establishment of the kind maintained by the enemy In the northern region of his advanced lines. The advices state that the removal of this equipment has been in progress nure than ten days and that the equip­ ment at the Brayelle airdrome near Douai also was being taken further to the rear. The same precautions are being taken with equipment at an ene­ my aviation field at Lecelles, near St Aaand. That field was especially a» tabllfhed. £ AMERICAN 'GOVERNMENT' POSES THE TREACHERY OF i *4.ENINE AND TROTZKY. f-' 5 X W'rh' •wr * * : ;-3T Documents ana Photographs Prove Absolutely That Leaders Betrayed . ^Hipsia -- Germany* Plottino . Against U. S. In 1914 Also ,15 Revealed. ^ '-1 Washington.--Through the commit­ tee on public information the United States government has submitted to the world, in a series of official docu­ ments, absolute proof that Lenlne and Trotzky, the bolshevik leaders, are the paid tools of Germany and betrayed Russia for Hun gold. Secured^in Russia by Edgar G. Sis- son, representing the committee (whe was In that country during last win­ ter, 1917-18) these documents not only show how the German government through Its Imperial bank paid its gold to tenine, Trotzky, and their imme­ diate associates to betray Russia Into deserting her allies, but give added proofs that Germany had perfected her plans for a war of world conquest long before the assassinations at Sarajevo, which conveniently furnished her pre­ text. Hun Plots Against America. These documents further show that before the world war was four montfts old, and more than two years before the United States was drawn Into It (In 1914), Germany already was set­ ting afoot her plans to "mobilize de> structive agents and observers'* to cause explosions, strikes, and outrages in this country, and planned the em­ ployment of "anarchists and escaped criminals" for the purpose. Almost ranking in their sensational nature with the notorious Zimmer­ man note proposing war by Mexico and Japan upon the United States, these documents lay bare new strata of Prussian intrigue, a new view of the workings of kultur to disrupt the allies standing between the world and kalserism. They disclose also a new story of human treachery for gold. The intrigue appears to have been carried down to the last detail of ar­ rangement with typical German sys­ tem. Revolution Staged by Berlin^ Not only do the disclosures prove that Lenine, Trotzky, and their band are paid German agents. They show that the bolshevik revolution, which threw Russia into such orgy of mur­ der and excesses as the world seldom has seen, actually was arranged by the German general staff. They show how the paid agents of Germany betrayed Russia at the Brest- Lltovsk "peace" conference; how Ger­ man staff officers have been secretly received by the bolshevik! as military advisers; how they have acted as spies upon the embassies of the nations with which * Russia was allied or at peace; how they have directed the bolshevik foreign, domestic and eco­ nomic policy wholly in the Interest of Germany, and to the shame and deg­ radation of Russia. Origiuals of documents, photographs of originals, and typewritten circulars, some of them marked "very secret" or private," and many of them bearing the annotations of the bolshevik lead­ ers themselves; some of them con­ taining references to "Comrade Trotz­ ky" or "Comrade Lenlne" comprise the record. Some of the originals, it is shown, although deposited in the archives of the bolsheviki, were required to be returned later to representatives of the German general staff in Petrograd that they might be destroyed. BELGIUM WILL STAND FIRM Consul Vermeren Declares His Coun­ try Never Will Consider Pteaee Offers From Germany. Chicago.--Dr. CyHlle Vermeren, con­ sul for Belgium, said concerning the of­ fer of peace made to his country by Germany: 'Belgium will never consider any peace proposals or offers of any kind from Germany. Just what restitu­ tions Germany must make to Belgium Is up to the United States. The gov­ ernment of Belglum is perfectly will­ ing to leave it to Uncle Sam, feeling •ecure^ that the United States will de­ mand and obtain for the country that Germany so wantonly and ruthlessly destroyed, justice and fair play. I ion't lay a great deal of stress on the sincerity of Austria-Hungary's peace proposal, as that power Is entirely lominated and under the Influence of Germany. Time will tell, however." When Soft Answer Doesnt "Go." A soft answer turns away wrath efe* eept when little Willie's schoolteacher asks Willie what he has In his desk that is causing so much amusement and little Willie's answer is so soft the teacher doesn't understand the first time. There Is very little wrath turned away in this case. The Indications. V ; "FWh is brain food." . "Judging from that, I know some people who must live on a steady diet of gudgeons." Defective Camouflage. "Teacher" had gone to the niwlea with a bachelor who chose young as­ sociates as a sort of camouflage for his own age. The next morning she received the following greeting from one of her pupils:,"Oh, teacher, I saw, yon at the show last night Was Hut rour papa with you?" 3;. ?•?. Provost Marshal General Appeal to Employers. l« a communication intended for fhe guidance of employers of labor and other representatives of industry, in the matter of their responsibility in the classification of new registrant^ under the selective service act, Pro­ vost Marshal General Crowder says: I have noticed, in the general ex- ptessions of the public attitude which reach this office, two frequent features which lead me to the present com­ ments. One of these features is the belief that the process of awarding de­ ferred classification to a registrant re­ quires merely the filling out of the questionnaire, and that the selective service boards will perceive the pro­ priety of making the deferment, with­ out the assistance furnished by the registrant's formal claim indicating the deferment desired. The other fea­ ture is the employer's failure to real­ ize his responsibility 'to Intervene In aiding th«» board's determination, and therefor to inform himself fully on all the considerations which should affect the decision as to deferment. 1. As to the first mentioned belief, it must be pointed out that if It were universally acted upon, the process of classification would be seriously ham­ pered and delayed. Someone must In­ dicate that the Individual case Is one which should arrest the special atten­ tion of the boards In respect to the reg­ istrant's occupational status. The boards do not possess a superhuman omnlscence. Boards Will Make Examination. The boards will de all that they pos­ sibly can, on their own initiative, to reach a Just decision by a complete, ex­ amination of the questionnaire, even where no claim Is expressly made. A registrant is therefore at liberty, If he sees fit, to trust to the scrutiny of the boards to discover the necessity for his deferment. Nevertheless, the boards will wel­ come and will need all the aid that can be furnished by the Indication of a claim made for deferment 2. Why should the employer, or oth­ er third person, In such cases, make the claim? Because the employer In this situation represents the nation, because (in the statutory phrase) "the maintenance of the military es­ tablishment or of national Interest during the emergency" requires that some well-advised third person should loot after that national Interest, which the registrant himself may not have sufficiently considered. • It Is often forgotten that the selec­ tive draft Is only one element in the depletion of a particular Industry's man-power. A, second and large ele­ ment Is founa In the voluntary with-' drawals for enlistment; how large this is may be seen from the circumstance that the total Inductions by draft have reached some 2,000,000, while the total enlistments in army and navy amount to some 1,400,000--nearly three-quar­ ters as many. A third element, very large, but unknown as to Its precise extent, has been the transfer of labor power from one Industry to another, namely, Into the distinctively war in­ dustries offering the inducements of higher wages. How relatively small. In actual effect, has been the effect of the selective draft is seen in the fact that, for all the occupations represent­ ed in the 8,700,000 classified regis­ trants of January, 1918, the percen­ tage of the entire Industrial popula­ tion represented by the class 1 regls- trwts amounted to only 6 per cent. It ran as low as 3 per cent for some oc­ cupations. and correspondingly higher for some other occupations; but the national average was only 6 per cent. Any notably larger depletion in partic­ ular industries must therefore have been due, partly to enlistments, and In probably greater degree, to voluntary transfers Into other industries. Must Remember Nation's Needa. These other influences are therefore to be kept in mind by employers and others, In weighing the question wheth­ er the best solution, in the national Interest, Is to ask for the deferment of individuals or groups of men. Such deferments may assist the Immediate situation in the particular establish­ ment; but (hey merely force the army and the navy to seek elsewhere for the same number of men thus deferred. The quantitative needs of the military forces are known and im­ perative ; and any given quantity of deferments will ultimately have to be made up by the depletion of some other occupation. Tims It becomes ttie employer's duty to consider these aspects of deferment, In seeking that solution of his own problem which best Comports with the national interest. The keynote of purpose for all of us ought to be, and I am sure will be, that wise and profoundly significant phrase In the act of congress under which wet operate, "the maintenance of the military establishment or the effective operation of the military forces or the maintenance of national Hsterest during the emergency. Would Return It. II was a very hot day and the kind- hearted Iceman had given a little girl a piece of Ice. A newsboy asked her for It, but she refused to give It up. "Aw shucks!" said the boy. "HI give it back to you--I only want the Jnice oat of it."---Boston Transcript m Pity the Drum Major. 0«r sympathy always goes to a man who is drum majdr. How does he ever Ive up to the Job when he isn't parad^ jrjp--?--.WsKhlnu-tm* Stantiuei- • ;v V Of Course, Mai "Jimmie," called ma, "why are you running around the yard like that? You, are out of breath." "Well, 1 know it,** panted James, "an' that's the rea­ son. I'm trying to catch it" Banishing Trouble*. Quick Is the succession of human events; the cares of today are seldom the cares of tomorrow; and when we He down at night, we may safely say to most of our troubles: "Ye have done your worst and we shall meet no more."--Cowper. Beat Keep • Middle Couna*. It is hard to say whether mixture of contemplations with an active life, or retiring wholly to contemplations, do disable and hinder tbe mind more.-- Bacon. > FOR PEACE MEET - Enemy's Military Strength Must i Be Crushed Before AUte*. . ' Take Action. SENDS NOTE TOEACHMTION - Vienna Government-Would Have Rep- resentative From Each Belligerent -» • , 8tate Meet in 8ome NeutriML : Country and Exchange _ V|ews of Peace. ^ on, Sept. 17.--il'Striik ; cracking and instead of wasting time. -V, * with worse than useless peace talk! now Is the time to strike her hardest^^f This was the view expressed In ofti-^r* v. cial quarters here when word came infot,£: press dispatches from Amsterdam that.:-• Austria-Hungary had proposed "non-^j binding" peace discussions between tlit*,.^ r belligerent nations on neutral ground^ , Secretary of State Lansing said that this move was expected here as the^ai. • ne£t step in the Teutonic peace offen­ sive, but he declined to comment upoa • J;* it for publication. The German theory all along has, ^ * been that If the allies could be induced^ ' to enter a peace parley, allied military; 5V> operations would be slowed down, cifist and defeatist sentiment in allied' '4. countries revived, and a peace forcedtS^! eventually on terms satisfactory to the* | Teutons. Every utterance of German states- , - men is patently based on the assump-H tion that the peace treaty will be de- . termined by the enemy territory held f • • by the belligerents, and they disclose: themselves chiefly interested in trad-^ ing Belgium and northern France for-' " Russia and the restoration of the Ger- ' - man colonics. Hence the Eagerness in_," ij'r Berlin and Vienna to bring about? peace while the central powers still ^ , hold territory good for trading poses. . Hun Leadera Fear Drives. The Germans are prosecuting their - ** peace offensive on a scale, and Ger-:.J;5;. man statesmen are couching their' " t. peace utterances In a vein that be-"" • trays fear of the ultimate outcome of - ^ the allied drives which have turned" the tide and sent the Huns scamper- " i n g t o t h e i r r e a r l i n e s . B u t t h e t i d e s : h a s b a r e l y t u r n e d , a n d G e r m a n y i s n o t « . y e t h a l f d e f e a t e d , s o t h a t a n y p e a e e f : ' written now would be a German peace,^ leaving the Teutons a greater menace*, to the western democracies than ever^ -v;: before. *• Consequently there is every confl-^ ̂ denee in Washington that President'1 j. Wilson and-the heads of the allied na-*-';^ tions will turn a deaf ear to the Aus- trial* proposal for a peace parley and^r'^ to any other move to bring about peace' : w < before the German military, menace ia^^ .; blotted out ' ; j "The answer to the Austrian pro4*; posal will be given at Metz/' said one government official. Begs for Exchange of Views. r Amsterdam, Sept. 17.--In extending^! « an invitation to all the belligerent" \ governments to enter into nonbindinff*" discussions at some neutral meeting . place, the Austro-Hungarian govern- ^ ment stated that the object of the con-, ference would be to secure an. ex-r | 'J change of views which would show ^ "whether those prerequisites exist* which would make the speedy inaugu- negotiations appear ration of peace promising." The Austrian proposal, which is an­ nounced in an official communication ^ t e l e g r a p h e d h e r e f r o m V i e n n a , B u g - . g e s t s t h a t t h e r e b e n o i n t e r r u p t i o n o f - the war and that the "dlscussionsC^ , would go only so far as considered the participants to offer prospects success." v #?'•<• • The proposal calls for all the bel-M,*-: ligerents to send delegates for u "con-|: J' f l d e n t i a l a n d u n b i n d i n g d i s c u s s i o n o n ' ; ̂ the basic principles for the conclusion!^::.; of peace, in a place in a neutral coun-^ try and at a near date that would yet j- have to be agreed upon." The proposal says the conference^ would be one of "delegates who would^' ^ T be charged to make known to one an­ other the conception of their govern­ ments regarding those principles andpw«v to receive analogous communications,^ ^ as well as to request and give frank^^-J and candid explanations on all those :.. points which need to be precisely de-y^ fined." The government announces that a|j ;S" note embodying its suggestions hadfcj.Jf been addressed to the various belllger-| ^a ent powers and that the Holy See ha been apprised of the proposal in a spe dal note. lf The governments of the neutral| ^ states also had been made acquainted" ? < with the proposal. 5- f> Navy Hero Killed Ashore. Washington, Sept. 17.--Russell C. C Jones, Kansas City, Mo., seaman sec- ond class. United States navy, was . killed on September 11 at Port Arthur, Tex., while attempting to rescue pie from a burning hotel. r / , v 90 Years for Slaying Father. Springfield, Mo., Sept. 17.--Virgil. , A Wilkes, nineteen years old, charged;^ .' with the murder last November of hl» father, Georges Wilkes, near Verona, was convicted and sentenced to 9®,:. years in prison. Public Utilities In Danger. ^ Washington, Sfept 17.--Public utIN lttes throughout the country are in a; * critical state financially and can beari,rf| no further tax burdens, the senatef. ^: finance committee was told by Philip i - A, Gadsden. •s tV Flour Mill Closed. JMadiaen, Wis., Sept. 17.--The atatw ^ food administration closed the flour^T#' mill, elevator and warehouse of theg^f^; R. T. Koenlg company at Watertowiv, for six violations of tfe* federal fao#,', regulations. ^