OPENED BY ENEMY ------ On Fifty Mile Front F Scarpe---It May Ind rom Vendeuil to River icate Beginning of Much-Advertised German Offensive. (Canadian Press Despatch) 2 London, March 21.---A British official statement says: A heavy bombardment was opened by the enemy shortly before dawn this morning against our front from the meighborhood of Vendeull, south of 8t. Quentin, to the River Scarp. A successfgl raid .was car- ried out by us last night in the neigh- borhood of St. Quentin. Thirteen prisoners and threa machine were brought back by Prisoners were also taken by us in patrol encounters south-east of Mes- Sines and in another successful raid carried out by us south of Houts- holst Forest. A raid undertaken by the enemy in the neighborhood of Armentieres 'was repulsed, J Later despatches report the artil- lery fire on battle front as the heavi- est ever heard on the English coast from such a distance. Doors and windows of houses in Dover and oth- er places were continuously rattled by heavy shocks, The shelling is re- whole guns our troops SUBMARINE LOSSES; WORLD SHIPBUILDING Figures Given Out To-day By the British Embassy at * Washington. | (Canadian Press Despatch.) Washington, March 21.--Secret figures of the British Admiralty on submarine losses and world ship- building were made public here to- day by the British Embassy. They show that from both ememy action and marine risk on January 1st, 1918, the Allled and neutral shipping had lost since the war began, 11,- 827,572 gross tons, while the ship- yards outside of the Central Powers were turning out 6,606,275 tons. In spite of the tremendous total of losses they do not approach the claims of the Germans, and with 2,- 589,000, tons of the enemy ships add- ed to the output of war period, the net loss to the Allied shipping, ex- clusive of that of Gbrmany and her Allies, is only 2,641,297. The maximum of losses was reach- edyin the second quarter of 1917, af- ep the unrestricted submarine war- fare which drew the United States into the struggle was launched. That puarter 2,236,934 gross tons of ship- ping went down, Since then t totals have been) reduced until in the fourth guarter of 1917 it was 1,272,843. In the mean- time the shipbullding output steadily curved upward. CAUGHT PEPARING TO LAUNCH ATTACK German Shelters Destroyed and All Occupants Killed. On the French Front in France, March 21.--In a raid into the Ger- man-lines at Malancourt Wood, north-west of Verdun, Sunday, French troops found the German shelters full of troo waiting to launch a counter-attack. Phe shel- ters with all their occupafts were destroyed hy bombs. A large party of German trench mortars were de- molished and many machine guns 'were brought back by the French. + 'While the prisoners taken in the raid were going to the rear the Ger- man aptillery tired a large number of shells, which claimed twelve vic- tims among the captives. Tie Fao Sn" wars Sis he offic says: Strong German attacks preceeded by heavy shelling 1g the Woevre were re- pulsed by the. ch to-day with - heavy losses to the enemy. An says the Germans sustained complete defeat in the region of Nomenia, sus- taining heavy losses withou Sain. he n fighting all along an tonne bom- y in the neigh- . particular The Royal mail steamer Amazon is probably lost off Brazil. = Any hay Homann vy ment Shipping Taken Over; German Plans; Moseow ned. now Thrept ré Reunited; Incidents 3--Rlang Fhrases in the Army. Ba Co MIS at the 1 statement late to-day| ported to have lasted from three to seven o'clock this morning From Vendeuil north to the River Scarp is a distance of near fifty miles, and the beginning by the Ger- man artillery of a heavy bombard- ment along this wide front may mean that the preparation for the much-advertised German offensive in the west has begun The prepara- tory work was about due to begin to-day. It is, of course, impossible to say whether the present burst of artillery fire on this front means that it along the lige indicated or some- where within its limits that ithe heavy German blow is to be struck. This area embraces most of the ter- ritory outside of Flanders over which the British have been fighting, some- times alone and sometimes jn con- Junction with the French, for the past two Sears Within these limits also is thy battlefield of Cambrai. Virtually all the territory fought over in the great battle of Arras dur- ing the spring of 1917 also lies in the area under bombardment 18 tine es tts te Co Be DY WILL HOLD THE PLACE The Temporary Leadership Liberals in Legislature, of the WILLIAM PROUDFOOT, K.C., M.P.P. (Canadian Press Despatch) Toronto, Mareh 21. --William Proudfoot, K.C., Centre Huron, who was appointed temporary leader of the Liberal party at the beginning of the session, was to-day, at a meet- ing of a caucus of Liberal members, requested to continue in that capac- ity and he agreed to do so. The feature of this morning's ses- slon of the House was a discussion on a bill of J. C. Elliott, West Midlesex, to give women the right to sit as members of the Ontario Legislature. Before the non adjourmment the bill was given a six months' hoist on mo- tion of the Premier, Sir Wm. Hearst. After the conclusion of the morn- ing session the Conservative mem- bers of the House gathered around the Premier, Sir William Hearst, and presented him with a purse of $1,000 and a trip to Porto Rico, for which complete arrangements have been made. The Premier, who has been in rather poor health recently, will leave for his holiday next week. THE WORLD'S NEWS \ Tidings From All Over Told in a Pithy and Pointed Way. Atlantic flatfish will soon be sold in Ontario and Quebec at an average of ten cents a pound. Mrs. Ernest Trepainer of Quebec dropped dead while knitting with a neighbor for the soldiers. _ ICol. IR. R. Labatt, a member of the Pensions Board; is drawing a full disability pension. v : An airship, measuring about forty feet across, was seen passing over Ogdensburg, N.Y. in the direction' of Canada, . Control of importation of hixuries is provided for in a resolution of which notice was given in the Coni- mons. i The Finance Minister has approval of the purchase = by . the Bank of Montreal of the Bank of British North America. $ The Government has given notice of a resolution providing for the 'ap- pointment of a Secretary of State for 'External Affairs, ; Munieipal'ties on the Lake and Northern Railway strongly urge the Dominion Governnient' to .im- prove Pot Dove: fr returning a - man shell burst within less than fi yards of his notor cir... He was not Injured. No . Advance. in Phlestine. © Cans h eh) London, March have made an ; tng, capturing ENT | IN BRIEF FORM ¥ of Erie ' aily British Whig a KINGSTON, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1918. ------------ Pages 18 ) £ ATAU | NEUFCHATEA N SCALE oF WHERE THE AMERICANS ARE FIGHTING . WVAA . OhAaNCY Toul @ STPIEe Hite AMERICAX SECTORS Mberican troops, according ww on Badonville Mibiel salient, northwest of Toul eust of Lunéville, near St to the second German for the American ardliery carused the west aud northeast of Badenville Hue in a surp ax well gi ou the soutbhers edge of the ¢ despatches, are (ghting im a sector fu the latter sector they penetrated & ' rise attack, and in the Lunéville sed Germans to ubandou positions aorth » DUTCH SHIPPING 15 TAKEN OVER The United States Seizes a Fleet of Seventy-Seven Ships. PRESIDENT ORDERS ACTION AFTER HOLLAND REPUDIATED THE AMERICAN ULTIMATUM | Violent Threats Made by Germany In- fluence Answer From the Hague-- Ample Compensation Will Be Pro- vided Holland, Washington, March 21.--AHl Dutch shipping in American waters was or- dered seized last night in a proclama- tion by President Wilson. The proclamation was issued after the war trade board received word from London that Holland had re- fused the American ultimatum for a transfer of the ships according to the original agreement which Ger- many blocked. All Dutch shipping in British waters is being requisitioned simultaneously, Naval guards will go on board the ships immediately, Approximately 77 vessels with a tonnage estimated as high as 600,000 thus will be added to the American merchant marine. 'The §hips In British waters will add another 300,000 or 400,000 tons to the Allied merchant fleets, The President's Statement, In part President Wilson's state- ment says: f "I profoundly sympathize with the difficulty of the Dutch Govern- ment's position under the menace of a military power which has in every way demonstrated its disdain of neu- tral rights. But since coercion does in fact exist, no alternative is left to us but to gecomplish, through the exercise of our indisputable rights as a soverign, that which is so reason- able that in other circumstances we could be confident of accomplish- ing it by agreement. "Steps are accordingly being taken to put into our service Dutch shipping lying within our territorial jurisdic. tion. This action on our part and the similar action which is being taken by Governments associated with us, leaves to Holland ample tonnage for her domestic and colonial needs, "We have informed the Dutch Gov- ernment that her colonial trade will be facilitated and that she may at once send ships from Holland to se- cure the bread cereals which her peo- ple require. 'These ships will be freely bunkered and will be immune from detention on our part. "The liner New Amsterdam, which came within our jurisdiction under an agreement for her return will, of [Gourse, be permitted at once to re- turn to Holland. Not only so, but she will be authorized to carry back wih her the two cargoes of foodstuffs which Holland would have secured under the temporary chartering agreement had not Germany prevent- ed. Ample compensation will be paid to the Mitch owners of the-ships which will be put into our service and suitable provision will be made to meet the possibility of ships being lost through enemy action, ~ & EE ---------------------- A BIG LINER ARRIVED At Halifax'With Sick, Wounded and YS Men. 2 (Canadian Press Des, h Halifax, March 31.--A Diy liner arriving in port yesterday with sick, wounded and furloughed men is still anchored in the harbor. It is éx- pected she will dock to-morrow morning atid she Heh will be dis embarked entrained for their re- spective destinations, RR, Antis Lose Out. 3 A 7 ica, " ruled that the petition of Dry tion subinit- ives attacked British posts, ; + Hi, Mareh 21 The elee- NO CABIN BERTHS GIVEN TO CRIPPLES Bitter Complaint Is Voiced As to Their Treatment on Transports. Montreal, March 21.--Bittex com- ment was voiced by Toronto "fur- lowgh men" of the conditions they met with on the transports. A Ser- geant is quoted as saying: 'They kept the rank and file of the men down in the steerage and on the lower deck, while the officers had the staterooms and the better ac- commodations. But that is not the worst of it. On our boat they had 185 third-cabin berths empty, ab- solutely empty, while the wounded man and the furlough men of the first contingent were confined be- low. They might at least have given those vacant berths to the cripples in the party. "There was pléhty of room on the boat, but the sleeping accommoda- tion was disgraceful, Believe me, one or two of the 0.C.'s on the boat 7yould have been ducked if the men "ould have got hold of them as they were disembarking." About 900 con- valescents or"on-furlough men came back on each transport. CAUGHT BY. BRITISH, A German Submarine Got Iuto A Trap. Amsterdam, March 21.--A Dutch newspaper prints the story of a Ger- man U-boat which, was caught in a British trap and towed into a Brit- ish port. The story comes from a member of the U-boat's crew who escaped from England and is intern. ed in Holland. - "We had sighted some English fishing boats and were manoeuvring for attack, when their curious move- ments led us to suspect a trap, so we dived. We proceeded slowly, but presently the screw began to beat ir- regulari) and the commander could not make ut what had happened. "After about-two hours the water seemed curiously still, and the com- mander decided to come to the sur- face. When we emerged we were alongside a quay where stood a num- ber of smiling British sailors. We Were in British port, towed in like a dead fish." AUTOS AND FANCY SHOES May be Refused Import by Canadian Government. Ottawa, March 21.--Sumptuary legislation of an important nature is predicted at Ottawa. The Govern- ment, it is stated, has in mind the imposition of restrictions in connee- tion with footwear. The importa- tion of fancy shoes may be prohibit- ed and 'Canadian manufacturers may be compelled to manufacture from standard lasts and to limit the height of the uppers. It is further reported that re- strictions are to be placed on the importation of automobiles. Whether this is to be a complete embargo is not at presént ascertainable. It may be, however, that the restric- tions will merely apply, to certain classes of pleasure cars.' Montreal Wasting Fish, Montreal, March 21.--It is stated GERMAN PLANS AN OPEN BOOK The British Intelligence - Service is Ceaseless And Unerring. BUNS' HOPES ARE HOLLOW SURE DEFEAT IS THE ENEMY'S ONLY PROSPECT NOW. Must Reckon With The British For-| ces, Which Have Defensive Sys- | tems Which Cannot be Broken. Philip Gibbs War Correspondents' ters, March 21.--We still have evidence of the enemy's far . as military preparations concerned, for attacks along the Bri- tish front. There is very little about| the enemy's organization, movements | and work behind his lines which the leaders' of the British armies do not! know. The intelligence branch of the service has become extraordin-| arily scientific, and day by day the military life and intentions of the enemy lie before it like an open book | written in a cipher of which most of the code words are known. The | enemy is. afraid of this knowledge, | for many times, and quite lately, he| has been staggered by the accuracy of| the British information which has] revealed his plan before it could be carried out. What is not so easy to know is the political brain behind! the military weapon, and until one! knows the secret of that psychology | one cannot tell exactly how far the plang of the German army chiefs will be modified. It is probable that | only three men in Germany have the! controlling decision, and it is likely | that those three are at the present| moment torn by many Youes and fears, so that' their minds are per-| plexed and their decision delayed. | By ! Headquar- full plans, so] Foe Steadily Acumulating. { Meanwhile there are many things| as clear as sunlight from the mili-| tary point of view. One thing is the, gradual piling up by the efidmy of his number in men and guns on this front, and all that involves in work and movement behind his lines. An- other thing is the spirit of his troops and of their quality in attack. That, I think, is a problem that must be causing grave disquietude to the Ger- man High Command, for it is very doubtful whether the main body of the German armies is equal to the moral strain of a prolonged attack on the Western 'front. Not since the second battle of Ypres have the Germans attempted a big attack against the British, and they have nothing but the bloody failure of Verdun to show for their assaults against the French. For a year the enemy's High Command has had to adopt the system of using special storm troops--picked men of exceptional courage and training--- to counter-attack after a British suc- cesss; but in a big German offensive any hope of victory would depend | upon tife grdinary divisional troops, | and not Tpon special bodies trained for assault. Many of those divisional troops are the wreckage of divisions shattered by French and British gunfire and sent to the Eastern front for rest, and while there milked for more than a year of al their finest men as drafts for Flanders and Champagne. The residue after that handling cannot be first class. We kpow that much of it is weak. It has been proved by the British in recent raids and by the failure of German at¥acks on a small scale that the enemy's troops engaged are ut- terly war-weary and extremely disin- clined to fight. These things must not be exag- gerated. Germany still has good men, strong fighting divisions, \and many officers who believe that a successful offensive on a great scale the best divisions are dependent on the weakest, and I am firmly convin- ced that in mass attacks the enemy | will be at the mercy of that weak and | tired strain, Must Reckon With British Force, There is another thing which must by the civic food inspectors that the, enormous quantity of fish and other 00d condemned and destroyed dug| ing the past month was held un i unfit for human consumption by deal- ers who were waiting for higher prices and were hand in hand with speculators, * Revolt Quelled by British. London, March 21.--Uprisings on the part of natives in Beluchistan re- pred og resulted in fighting, in which many casualties were inflicted, the India Office announces. The nat- and were repulsed completely. Punitive measures are being undertaken. a -- Vancouver is to have a municipal- ly-owned fish market. : pee mien. FERRER PEEP RRR bbe * fret Cup + AT DECISIVE MOMENT = | OF WAR, SAYS KAISER. & : ei » London, the 4 ve moment of the % est : Emperor William isa tele: Rhenish yo Provincial 4 i March 21.--"We are # 44 German offensive wi eonvie give the Germans pause. It is the) poweg, of the British defence and the! spirit of British troops. The Kaiser's commanders know a good deal about the power of the British defence. Like that of the British, their in- telligence service is sclentifi¢, and in modern warfare not many secrets may be kept; so they know that the British have defensive s en- ormously strong, to overwhelm which Fond demand a great sacrifice of e, : Of the fighting qualities of the British. troops they know enough, not only from last year's fighting in! Flanders, when all the luck of wea- ther and ground was in the Ger. mans' favor, but from recent" ex- perience "in raids and counter-at- tacks, But the enemy cannot know as much as I do about. the present spirit of the British troops, and | should like to tell him--din all sineeri- ty I should Iike to tell t; after a Test from the terrific fighting * of last year the British are back to their best form ags 1, and that from oné end of the t to the other they are SSA the ost will th the terrible that they in France| j curred at Aesling, where a are| | A Great Lakes Vessel Is to LAST EDITION time, but the sober tri as 1 have seen it along the lines in the last six weeks or so, GERMAN AND SLAV TROOPS IN CLASH A Furious Fight Reported Be- ~ hind the Austrian Lines in : Italy. Washington, March 19.--An of- ficial despatch from Rome says Ger- man and Slaw troops have clashed behind the Austrian lines on the Italian front, "During the recent transfer of troops in the enemy rear lines," says the despatch, 'serious conflicts took place among the regiments of vari- Ous races. A typical episode oc- detach- ment of German troops met the sol- diers of the 36th Battalion of the 27th Regiment, composed of Slav elements almost entirely, who were singing their national hymns. The Germans commenced to insult the Slavs and furious fighting followed. Other trodps were sped to the sta- tion and 'the Slav soldiers, having been overpowered, were locked in railroad waggons and sent to the front under escort of the German guards." CHINESE BANDITS BURNING VILLAGES Hundreds of Inhabitants Have Been Put to Death In Fu Kien. March New York, 21.--Brigands in the Province of Fukien have joined forces with revolutionists from the south of China in a revolt against the Pekin Government, ac- cording to information reaching the joint centenary commission of Methodist Episcopal Church in city, The bandits are burning villages, slaying. hundreds of inhabitants, and seizing wealthy farmers and merchants for ransom,. the report says. In the ninth township of Yuchi, where many homes were burned, the Methodist Mission Church and adjacent American pro- perty was spared out of respect to a missionary who has been working in the territory for years. the this FRONTENAC COMMANDEERED, Carry Coal. Ogdensburg, N. ¥., March The steamer Frontenac, which erly was was commanded by Capt. Henry Murphy. of Ogdensburg, is the latest Great Lakes freighter to be taken over by the shipping board for the Atlantic trade. The Fron- tenac was laid down in 1889 and has a 270-foot keel. She will have to be Severed to be taken through the| locks, The Frontenac is the eleventh bulk freighter to be commandeered by the government on the lakes, all of which willbe in salt water by the first of June. Their combined trip capacity of 42,300 tons and figuring on 20 trips for each boat they would carry 846,000 tons of ore in a sea- son. All of these boats are to be used to carry coal on the Atlantic. The Frontenac formerly was pers ated by the Cleveland-Cliffs ron Company, 21. form- NOT ESTABLISHING SHIPYARDS, Government Giving Contracts Yards Now Building Ships. Brockville, March 21.---In a com- munication to Hon, George P. Gra- ham, as a° member of the local Board of Trade Council, Hon. C. C. Ballantyne states that the Govern- ment does not intend establishing any shipyards. The present pro- gram of construction contemplates awarding contracts to yards that are at the present time engaged in con- struction of steel ships for the Im- perial Munitions Board. No as- sistance of any kind is being given towards establishment of new yards, to MOSCOW 1S ALSD- NOW THREATENED Boisheviki Government May Have to Move 265 Miles Northeast of There. MOTHER PEACE. EFFORT MAY BE MADE BY THE TEUTONS X SHORTLY. Restore Alsace-Lor. raine If Given a Free Hand in the East--Russia, However, Is Thor oughly Revolutionary, London, March 21.--- While reports from Russia show that the fall of Petrograd is probably only a matter of a few hours, they also indicate the greatest anxiety over what appears to be an enveloping movement the Austro-German forces are carrying out against Moscow. There is talk of moving the Government, accord- ing to these advices, to Sarjoff (prob- ably Saratoff, 450 miles southeast of Moscow), or Niznhi Novgorod (265 miles northeast of Moscow.) A Reuter despatch from Petrograd dated March 19th, reports the Pa- triarch, of the Russian Ohurch to have sent a message to the orthodox popu- lation declaring that the church can- not regard as binding a peace which dismembers the country and places it undér the domination of a con~ quering foreign power, In this connection the Communist is quoted as declaring that the Rus- slan proletariat cannot make further concessions, but must be ready to rise at any moment, irrespeetive of its state of preparedness. Other reports from Petrograd state that the Council of Peoples' Com- missioners has ordered the arrest of M. Bibenko, the Commissioner of Marine, for opposition to the ratifi- cation of the peace treaty. (Petro- grad despatches filed on March 13th, reported that M, Bibeuko had been missing for several days.) Might Offer to to Another Peace Offer. London, March 21.--1It is said there have been many recent hints at another peace effort by the Ger. mans in the near future, and if these predicitions are fulfilled, it is point- ed out, a vast section of Russia ac- tually in German hands and furnish- ing enormous, though undeveloped, mineral and other resources for em- ployment in the German. war pro- gramme, might well sérve as a foun- dation upon which to erect a compro- mise peace proposal. It has been suggested that with those resources in her possession, Germany might of- fer even to restore Alsace-Lorraine to France, hoping thereby to be left in undisturbed possession'of the east- ern field. Given time to develop Russian re- sources, many officials here be- lieve the Germans could well afford to surrender all they hold in the west with perfect assurance of both their economic and military future. Some officials here even expect reeruit- ment of the Ruksian peasantry into the German armies. Others, how- ever, believe the Russian people are so thoroughly imbued with the sfirit of the revolution that no great move- ment of that sort is to be expeéted, War Tidings, 8 The Allied air successes are' great- ly affecting the work of the German artillery, nor does the program include the construction of any wooden vessels. | As the vessels are completed and the berths become vacant, contracts! will be placed by the Government for a certain type of ship of either three, five or approximately eight thousand tons, A NEW PORTFOLIO Becretary of State For Foreign Af- fairs to be Appointed. Ottawa, March 21.--The Govern- ment has given notice of a number of resolutions covering proposed bills to be introduced. One will provide for the appointment of a secretary of State for external affairs: a min- ister of immigration and ecoloniza- tion, and a minister of soldiers' re- establishment, and that the salaries of each of the said ministers shall be seven thousand dollars per annum. The appointment of a secretary of State for exterpal affairs means the creation of a new portfolio. The other departments have already been created by Order-in-Council. The bill also makes provision for the ap- pointment of a Parliamentary secre- tary of the Department of Soldiers Civil Re-estabiishment, at a salary of five thousand dollars per annum. ------------------ Tar For IL. W.W, Secretary, Yakima, Wash., March 21. --H. B. Myers, secretary of the Yakima loeal of the IW.W., was taken a mile out of town by a mob at midnight an givin a coat of tar and feathers, wid to leave and not geturn here. Myers was also told to warn his associates that any other of the LW.W., who came to Yakima to work would receivs the treatment accorded "Little in Montana » Lise it will be remembered, was hung by a mob at Butte, Eleven British merchantmen over 1,600 tons and six under Lhat were lost last week. Russian warships at Odessa escap- ed to Sebastopol when the Germans took Odessa. An American mission will visit 8i- beria to investigate reports of the arming of prisoners of war. . All members of the Romanoff fam-~ ily over sixteen years of age, in Pe trograd, have. been ordered to regis- ter immediately, Ukrainian National declared martial law in the Provinces of Poltava, Tehernigov and Kharkoy. Germans this morning, just before dawn began a heavy bombardment over a wide section of the British front, Antonio Maura, former Premier and Conservative leader, has been fn- structed by King Alfonso of Spain to form a Cabinet, James Simpson, a well-known. capitalist of New York city, of the firm of Simpson, Henbee & Company, New York, died suddenly on Wed- nesday pneumonts. mm Boats of Enemy Were Destroyed (Canadian Press Despaton.) London, 2% The Admiralty official re= - Council has ~