DETAILS OFTHE
SOMETHING ABOUT REGION
WHERE ARMIES EXPECT TO
BATTLE ON EAST FRONT.
IS A VERY ROUGH COUNTRY.
Greatest Fight in" Ground 'lay Be
Along Two Important Valleys Near
the Mountain Ranges—Italian Ar
mies Fully Prepared for Corning
Fray.
HEADQUARTERS ITALIAN AR
MY, June 10.—Attention is now be
ing centered on the mountain front,
for all the indications are that this is
to be the main sector of coming oper
ations instead of the flat river coun
try to the east. With these opera
tions perhaps not far off, it is well
to take a survey of this mountain sec
tion for its main points are likely
to be heard of very often in the com
ing months. Already along these
mountain roads there is a stir of great
forces of men, guns and horses mov
ing into position^ and one feels that
a great battle is already on.
The Tridentine Alps which stretch
across northern Italy form a natural
fortification between the two oppos
ing lines, and it is in the lower sec
tion of these ranges that the military
operations are now unfolding, ’\\hile
it is a front of several hundred miles
from the Adriatic up to the Swiss
frontier, yet part of this stretch is
impenetrable mountain peaks covered
with eternal snow, and there are
practically only five lines of approach
where breaks in the mountain heights
permit military operations to be car
ried on.
These five lines of approach or
communication through the Triden
tine Alps are the valley regions
known as the Valtellina, meaning see
saw from its winding character,
which leads down to Lake Como and
toward Milan; second, the Val Cam
oncia, leading southward toward Bre
cia; third, the Val Guidicaria, which
comes down just east of the Adamello
region with its line of peaks and skirts
along the west shore of Lake Garda;
fourth Val Lagarina, which follows
the course of the Adiga river on the
east of Lake Barda, and comes down
from Trent toward Verona, and fifth,
the Val Sugana which follows the
course of the Bretna .river and winds
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DISEASES OF
Men and Women.
fi2G 1th Ave. - - Anchorage
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CIGARS, TOBACCO AND
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around the Asiago region down past
Bassano.
The five main highways through
the mountains become more important
from a military standpoint, as they
come eastward through the Asiago
and Brenta regions. All the chief
pressure has been in the easterly re
gions in the past, and the indications
at present are that it will be in this |
region.
The greatest lighting ground, then
would be alone- the two vnllevs on the j
east, Yal Lagarina and Yal Sugana,
and chief attention should be centered
on them and their neighboring heights
of Asiago, the Grappa and Mount
Tomba. Both of them come down
front Trent, the Austrian storm cen
ter which sends forward troops and
supplies through both the valleys to !
the mountain fronts beyond. From
Trent tne enemy has railroads down
both these valleys.
The Lagarina valley comes straight
south to Verona and the open plain.
It was down here that the enemy I
i
made his first rush two years ago,
pushing from Reverto west toward
Mount Pasubio. He was driven back
then, and all indications are that he
will be again if he comes that way.
The most important approach is by
way of Yal Sugana, or Brenta river.
From its headquarters near Trent, the
Brenta makes a wide circuit before
it comes down to the open plain at
Basano, and it is within this circuit
that the Asiago plateau and the hard
est fighting ground lies. The Aus
trian railway from Trent comes down
the valley to Primolano, about twenty
miles above Bassana, thus keeping up
a steady flow of men and supplies.
That is why the Italian airplanes have
centered attention on Primloana, j
which is often mentioned in the com
muniques as having its railway sta
tions bombed.
BERBER JEDDY GRANT FIRST
NATIVE SON OF UTAH TO BE
PRESIDENT OF CHURCH.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah., June 10.
—Heber Jeddv Grant, president of the
quorum of twelve apostles of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, Mormon church, is the first na
tive son of Utah to be honored with
the title of president of the church.
He was born in Salt Lake City, No-;
vember 22, 1856. He is his mother’s
only son, but has several brothers and
sisters who bear his father’s name.
Heber J. Grant obtained his educa
tion anti his early business training
through self-effort and determination.
Tenactiv has been his principal qual
ity, and because of it he reached his
present position with the Mormon1
church and his standing in the busi
ness community in the state of Utah.
Mr. Grant is pre-eminently a business
man and undoubtedly would have de
voted his life entirely to financial af
! fairs had no the call from the church
changed the trend of his life from its!
; natural course.
Early in life he had a desire to be
| come a banker and he realized this
ambition after much hard work, be
coming president of the State Bank of
Utah, at its organization in 18f)0. He
is prominent in the affairs of numer
ous Utah corporations, including the
Provo Woolen Mills company, Oregon
Lumber company, Home Fire Insur
ance company of Utah, Deseret Na
tional bank and of an insurance firm
which bears his name.
Mr. Grant has fillet! a number of
important financial missions for the
Mormon church. His ecclesiastical
missions have included trips to Japan
and Mexico and different states of the !
union. He has the reputation of being j
a thorough believer in work and has |
little liking for those who shirk. He!
takes genuine pleasure in laboring to j
accomplish results, and this is said to |
be one of the principal reasons for
his success.
In political life Mr. Grant has had
some experience, having served one
term in the council (upper house) of
the territorial legislature, and several
terms as a member of the city coun
cil of Salt Lake City.
Read the Anchorage Tmes.
DISMISSED FROM ACADEMY BUT
WON BRIG A DIER-G ENERAL’S
STRIPES FOR SERVICE.
“GRAND OLD MAN OF EL PASO” |
General Anson Mills Publishes Book |
Concerning His Long and Honora
ble Career in (he Army and in Pub
lic Life—Made Fortune by Invent
ing “Mills Cartridge Belt.”
EL PASO, Texas, June 10.—How
a young West Point cadet who failed
in mathematics and resigned from
the academy, became a brigadier gen
eral, made a fortune by inventing the
Mills cartridge belt and became
known as “the grand old man of El
Paso,” is told in a book just publish
ed by Brigadier General Anson Mills,
retired, for private circulation as!
gifts to his friends throughout the!
United States. The book is entitled !
“My Story” and is the memoirs of ;
General Mills’ long career in the
army and in public life It will not
be offered for sale and each copy was
autographed by the author.
As a boy the author worked at a
loom when clothing was made by
hand. He applied the knowledge
learned tending the crude loom to the ■
problem of furnishing the American
soldier an ammunition carrier which
would be more comfortable and con
venient than the old leather cartridge
box. The Mills belt was finally
adopted by the United States army at
the beginning of the Spanish-Ameri
can war, was later used by both Boers
and British in South Africa and by
many of the armies of the world. The
American army uses the Mills belt
and equipment, although General
Mills retired from the company man
ufacturing these belts in 1905.
The book also furnishes the first
permanent record of El Paso’s history
General Mills, as the surveyor who
laid out the little border town, tells
how the name of Franklin was chang
ed by him to El Paso (The Pass) be
cause of the pass in the mountain
chain near here through which the
Rio Grande flowed to the gulf. His
experiences in the wild frontier set
tlement, as told in his memoirs, are
stirring.
The author’s story also includes
much of the early hr story of the civ
il war as it related to the southwest.
After casting the only vote polled here
against the withdrawal of Texas from
the union, General Mills was forced
to leave the border and was reinstat
ed with his class and given a commis
sion in the army at.the beginning of
the civil war. He was promoted un
til he held the rank of brigadier gen
eral at the time of his retirement.
After the close of the war General
Mills was stationed in the west. The
pursuit and capture of old Geronimo,
the Apache leader; the Indian fights
of the old west and revolutionary
events in Mexico are related by the
author in a personal way, as he par
ticipated in many of these stirring
events of the frontier days.
As American commissioner on the
international boundary commission
for adjudicating disputes arising over
the boundary line between Mexico and
the United States; as General Nelson
A. Miles’ companion on a trip through
Europe and as the personal friend of
national and international characters
in Washington, General Mills observ
ed keenly national and international
affairs and includes many of his per
sonal observations in his published
memoirs.
TIMES SENDS 600 TO FRONT.
LONDON, June 8.—Six hundred
employees of the London Times have
joined the army or navy since the
war began. Of these 150 have been
killed, wounded or disabled by sick
ness.
Many a poor provider gets mad be
cause his wife doesn’t serve him meals
like he gets down town.
TIMELY AID OF FRENCH FORCES
IN JOINING BRITISH ALLIES
SAVED THE DAY.
GOOD JUDGMENT WAS EMPLOY
Every Airplane Squadron on French
Front Was Sent to Bombard the
German Concentrations at Ham.
and Reshit Was Let-Up in Offensive
in That Sector.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES IN
THE FIELD, June 10—In every great
battle there come always a phycholog
ical moment when victory often de
pends on the momentary genius or in
spirational flash of one or the other
commanding generals.
History alone will establish what
was the psychological moment in the
great French battle before Novon
which defeated Ludendorff’s “Kolos
sal Koneeption” of driving a wedge
between the English and French ar
mies and then while one German ar
my by a rapid march to the coast
should completely pen in and crush
the British army, a second German
column should march on Paris.
Until, however, history establishes
this phychologica! moment the writer
will champion and support the candi
dacy of the following particular mo
ment:
Following the breaking of the Brit
ish front in the vicinity of St. Quen
tin on March 21, 1918, all of the Ger
man armies in the immediate vicinity
began a general advance toward the
west for the very purpose not only of
separating the British and French ar
mies, but of filtering into the valley
of the Oise for a march on Paris by
way of Compaigne, Creil and Senlis.
As a consequence, durin the after
noon of March 22, a French army
corps under the command of one of
the most distinguished French gener
als, whom French military etiquette
will not allow to be named, was or
rlovofl + n ennnnrf flio T3r»iiicV»
fVi
wing by establishing itself on the
Crozat canal between Tergnier ane
Saint Simon.
In the meantime the Germans were
aelvancing rapidly—too rapidly, ir
fact^ to make it possible for the
French general’s army to reach the
positions it must attain before i1
could relieve the two British divisions
that it was to replace.
The contest rapidly developed inte
one of whether or not the Germans
could succeed in crossing the Somme
before the French army could attair
the positions assigned it. Late in the
afternoon of March 22 it became
quite apparent that unless something
most extraordinary happened to de
lay the advance of the Germans the
French army could not arrive in time
to check their progress. The momenl
was the most crucial that had ye1
arrived. Failure to stop the Ger
mans immediately meant almost ar
open march for them on Paris.
The situation was hurriedly report
ed to the French eommander-in-chie
on the evening of March 22. The fur
ther information was conveyed tc
him that the German army was cc-n
centrated in great numbers at Han
for the continuation of the advance or
Paris.
Without an instant’s hesitation, anc
with the same flash of genius witl
which he saved Verdun by conceiving
and putting into instantaneous execu
tion an endless chain of automobile
transports between Verdun and Bar
le-Duc, the general turned to his chiel
of staff and gave substantially th«
following order:
“Every airplane squadron withir
strikin digstance on the French fronl
whether it be a fighting or bombard
ing squadron, will proceed immediate
ly to Ham and bombard and machine
gun the German concentrations
there.”
The telephone order flashed out
immediately along the entire French
front and within a few moments
scores of airplane squadrons number
ing hundreds of machines were head
ed for Ham. Throughout almost the
entire night they arrived there in
what was practically a continuous
stream, raining down bombs and
| pouring in a constant hail of machinc
| gun fire into the German army that
was ready to advance.
The full effects of the deluge from
heaven—a deluge without precedent
in the world’s history—was only
learned afterwards from prisoners,
i Enormous losses were inflicted on the
German troops, the entire army was
I thrown into dismay and confusion,
and two divisions especially put out
of action. %
Above all, the advance cf the Ger
man invasion was delayed and when
only on the morning of March 23, the
Germans at last succeeded in crossing
the Somme, the French army was in
positon, the Exhausted English had
i been relieved, and the French were
I able to begin the battle before Noyon
I that eventually resulted in the com
i plete checking of the German plans
' for the Russianization of the allies
on the western front,
i Although throughout the entire re
i mainder of the battle before Amiens
: both the French and the British con
I tinued to use this newly developed
I tactic of bombing and machine-gun
ning with airplanes the advancing
German army, yet the conception of
it came purely from the French com
mander in chief at a moment when
the whole future issue of the war lay
at stake.
' CAME INTO PROMINENCE BE
| CAUSE EMPLOYED ON WAR
FRONT CARRYING MESSAGES.
CHICAGO, June 10.—The Airdale,
a shaggy, sad-eyed dog that gained
popularity only in recent years, has
convinced officers of the central de
partment, signal corps, United States
army, of its superiority over all breeds
! as a canine war messenger.
While official authorization for use
of the Airdale on the battlefields of
Europe has not yet been issued by
the war department, schools for inten
! sive courses in training have been es
• tablished and officers say that reports
from the various camps show that the
(togs have made remarkable progress.
“The Airdale surpasses all other
dogs in point of intelligence, and al
i though peaceful, is also most cour
! ageous,” said one officer. “Tests have
established beyond doubt its superior
i ity over other dogs as a war messen
: ger, particularly those used by the
German army.
“The Airdale is a cross from a bull
terrier, otter hound and a Berkeley
terrier. It is a result of years of care
ful breeding and its name, it is said, is
derive from the Aire velley of Eng
land where it originated.”
The dogs now in training were
either given to the Corps by patriotic
citizens or purchased by interested
arrav officers. Scores of them with
!
long pedigrees and valued highly have
! been given and other offers are com
; ing in daily. Females are in great de
| mand because of their intelligence,
Methods of training are a military
secret.
“When the dogs are taken at the
age of from ten to eighteen months
and properly developed as one-mar
dogs (for the Airdale is distinctly a
one man dog) no beast can equal them
as war dogs,” said the officer. Thcii
color blends perfectly with night
shades. The ability of the dogs to slip
quietly through barb wire entangle
ments without a scratch is remark
able.”
FEDERAL AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 10.—
Petroleum, asphalt, or tar products
wanted for the construction, mainten
ance or reconstruction of roads will
be delivered only after approval of the
application by a special committee
representing the fuel administration
of the public roads section of the de
pai'tment of agriculture.
State highway departments first
will pass on the applications, which
then will be submitted to the federal
agency for determination.
DURING MONTH FROM MARCH
15 TO APRIL 15 SIXTY-FOUR
VESSELS ATTACKED.
“SURE THING” ATTACK PASSED.
| Sailing Vessels Frequently Give a
I Good Account of Themselves in
Fighting Off Submarine Attempts
at Destruction—Difficult to Shoot
From Ship Deck.
! LONDON, June 8.—In the weekly
I return showing the number of British
merchant vessels attacked by sub
marines occurs the phrase “British
i merchant vessels unsuccessfuly at
; tacked.” The Admiralty records
| show that hidden away in that phrase
| is many a story of gallan seamanship.
During the month from March 15
| to April 15 of this year, sixty-four
! British vessels were attacked unsuc
j cessfully by U-boats.
The submarine which attacks de
fensively armed merchantman has no
; longer a “sure thing.” During the
past month there were several cases
in which even two U-boats were un
successful in an attack on a single
steamer. There are sevral cases, also,
in which the steamer completely turn
; ed the cables on the German, and
sent him to the bottom instead.
Even sailing-ships frequently give
a good account of themselves against
i the submarine, although in the nature
of things they are much less easy to
' manoeuvre than a ship with steam
power. The following is one such
case reported to the admiralty:
“A sailing ship was proceeding
1 leisurely on her course when the look
out sighted a submarine on the star
board quarter. She lay quiet until
the U-boat came within range, and
then opened fire. The gun crew knew
their business, for they found the
target, and out of thirteen shots,
eight direct hits were scored. The
U-boat, which had been vainly twist
ing and turning to get out of range,
suddenly went down by the bows, and
iicri cici it oiwuu v_ 1 v_c*i x vuv/
for nearly half a minute. Then she
dived perpendicularly, and came up
again at an angle of thirty degrees
above the water. For a short space
of time she remained in this posi
tion, and then disappeared like a
stone.”
Early one afternoon the captain of
a steamer in ballast saw the track of
a torpedo coming direct for his ship.
By a quick swing he succeeded in
avoiding it. Then the U-boat came
out of the water and opened fire, one
i of his shells piercing the deck and
wrecking the second cook’s cabin. The
I steamer replied valiently and the en
counter continued for four hours, the
steamer going at top speed all the
time and keeping the submarine dead
astern. A shot i.on the steamer
; struck the submarine amidships but
failed to do sufficient injury to force
the German to discontinue the action.
But after four hours, the steamer got
the submarine into a smoke cloud,
and a shell appeared to burst close
to the U-boat’s bow. after which the
enemy quit the chase.
In another attack, which was suc
cessfuly beaten off, the merchant
man’s gunners were handicapped
: owing to the deck giving way under
the gun early in the action. Every
■ time the gun kicked the platform
1 under it jumped. The man who was
| sighting it was injured, but the crew
! continued firing and eventually forced
' the submarine to discontinue the ac
1 tion. One of the first shots from the
j submarine broke the wireless aerials
I of the steamer, but the wireless oper
: ator repaired the damage under fire
and got a message through to the
; nearest British destroyers.
W. G. Spencer and Mi-s. Spencer re
i turned to Anchorage from Point
Campbell, where they have been for
the past six months. Mr. Spencer has
just completed a large piling contract
for the government and the Spencers
will spend the balance of the summer
at their home in Anchorage.