WHENEVER UNITED STATES SOLDIERS PREDOMI
NATE IN SECTOR ON FRONT, AMERICAN COM
MANDERS WILL RE PLACED IN CHARGE—ITALY
WANTS AMERICANS ON ITALIAN FRONT TO
HEARTEN HER TROOPS.
WASHINGTON, May 17.—The army divisions on the west
front whore the American troops are now brigaded with French I
and British troops will tight under American commanders,
whenever the American forces predominate, according to a
statement emanating from the war department today. Gen
eral Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American expedition- j
ary army in France, may soon command British and French |
units, in addition to American forces, in harmony with this? |
plan, as it will not be long, at the rate the Americans are now
going to the trenches, until they predominate as to numbers. {
The plan is regarded as desirable bv General Foeli, com-!
mander in-chief of the allied forces on the west front. The size
of the American army in France is rapidly becoming formida
ble, and it is expected that they will play a very important part
hereafter.
General Foeli, it is learned here today, has dispatched the
Italian forces employed on the western front, to the Italian
fronts in Italy, in anticipation of an Austrian offensive in that
country.
1.500,000 AMERICANS IN FRANCE BY 1919.
PARIS, May 17.— I/I lombre Libre, Premier (’lemeneeau\s
newspaper, today says that America lias promised to have a
million and a half soldiers m France by tin1 end of tlie year.
' The premier's paper says that the Americans must have their
own army organization, with American officers in command of
American troops. An army of a million and a half men would
mean, says L'llomme Libre, an organization of at least two
million men. as five hundred thousand men would be employed
as special and technical workers in the quartermaster's and
other departments.
ITALY WANTS AMERICAN TROOPS.
WASHINGTON, May 17.—Italy wants American troops
,»n the Italian front for the purpose of heartening her troops,
as well as to encourage the civilian population.
AMERICAN TROOPS IN NORTH FRANCE.
WITH Til F AAI i:iM< T\X ARMY IX FRAXOE, May 17.—
American troops have arrive*! within the aiva occupied by
British and French troops in northern France. Here they will
complete their training, immediately in the rear of the allied
troops that an* blocking the German path to channel ports.
+■
f
NOT DETACHED FROM PERSHING’S FORCES.
WASHINGTON. May 17.—American troops that have
been transferred to northern France have not been detached
from General Pershing's present forces. They are a part of
a new movement of troops from the ! nited States, which was
forecast by Premier Lloyd-George of Great Britain. They will
be brigaded and trained with the British forces on the Fland
ers front.
MEMBERS OF AMERICAN AVIATION CORPS BAG FOUR
GERMAN PLANES WITHIN PAST FEW DAYS
LIEUTENANT EDWARD RICKENBACHER, FAMOUS
AUTO RACER, DOWNS ONE, AND CAPTAIN PETER
SON BAGS TWO.
WITH TIIH AMERICAN ARM V IX FRANCE, May 18.—
American aviators. operating in the Toul sector on the French
I rout, have downed four (Herman flyers within the past few
days. Tin* last one was bagged early this morning, Imt the.
details of the aerial light are not yet available. Captain Ken-1
noth Marr, of Alaska, now one of the most efficient aviators
in the American flying corps, destroyed a (Herman biplane;
Edward Rickenbaeher, a former automobile racer, shot down
a (Herman aeroplane, the machine falling within the (Herman
lines. It appears that Lieutenant Rickenbaeher, responding
to an alarm, unaided attacked three enemy planes, and suc
ceeded, after a desperate light, in destroying one of the enemy
planes, and made a sale return to his headquarters. Captain
Cavid Peterson, of Pennsylvania, downed two (Herman mono
I danes.
MARR IS WELL KNOWN ALASKAN.
SEATTLE, May 18.-—-Captain Kenneth Marr, spoken of
n the dispatches as having destroyed a German biplane, is
a pioneer prospector ot Alaska. He came outside a year ago
with “Scotty” Allen, the tamous Alaskan dog mu slier, and
{ immediately joined (the American aviation corps, gt>ing to
France about two months ago. By his aptitude, he soon won
an aerial captain’s commission, and is recognized as one of the
most daring of the American flyers, lie is a brother-in-law
of Albert Fink, a former noted Alaska attorney, now located in
Chicago. Both Marr and Rickenbach have received the French
war cross for their aerial achievements.
ID DO BEST
Harsh Punishment for Incorrigibles a
Thing of the Past—Gives Way to
Considerate Treatment by Training
Officers.
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., May 18.—
Harsh punishment for “incorrigibles”
is a thing of the past in the navy. Ac
cording to Captain E. H. Durell, com
mandant at Goat island, the naval
training station in San Francisco bay,
punishment will not help any condition
which kindness cannot cure. Hundreds
of fine, upstanding young Americans
are turned out here every few weeks
to man the ships of the United States
navy.
Captain Durell takes keen interest
in the boys rated as “incorrigibles,”
and turns many of them out to be first
class fighting men.
The question of morale is always
uppermost. After inspection on Sat
urdays the men are lined up in a
great square, with the band standing
a little to one side. A song master
takes his place in the square and
leads the men in popular melodies,
with the band playing a subdued ac
companiment. This tends to keep
the boys in good spirits at all times.
Hard work is always accompanied
by music. If the men are heaving
coal or engaged in other trying la- j
bor, the band is close by, playing con
stantly. “It makes them work twice
as hard and twice as effectively,” Cap
tain Durell said.
In addition the life of the island
is so adjusted that every just com
plaint is traced to its source and cor
rected. Justice is meted out by the;
small group of officers on the island,
and acute cases of wrong doing are .
few and far between.
During the detention process the
man is selected for the school in which
he is best fitted. If he has had expe
rience as a seaman he is given a
chance in the yeoman's school. In ad
dition there are wireless, cooks, and
bakers and diverse other schools, and
a hospital corps that has grown to
be one of the biggest and most im
portant adjuncts on the island. This
corps has its own quarters on the top
of the island, its tents being placed
under straight rows of trees that af
ford protection both in winter and
summer. There is a station hospital,
and three big isolation wards for the
treatment of contagious and infectious
diseases. The hospital plant includes
a fully-equipped laboratory drug and
store rooms, operating rooms, dental j
ofiices and rooms for the treatment of i
eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. ;
The operating rooms open up to the
corps quarters on the floor above, per- j
mitting the corps members to look
down directly on the tables and get:
an intimate view of all operations. j
In addition a semi-circular trench
containing a first aid dugout has been I
constructed for the hospital corps near
its special parade grounds. This trench
is an exact reproduction of the trench
es in Flanders, and in it the men are
given the identical first aid work that
they expect to be given abroad.
Goat island is one of the five major
training stations in the United States.
Only its geographical limitations pre
vent it from being one of the biggest
of the five. Every available inch of
land on the island is being utilized for
the purposes of the big school. Be
cause of these limitations, overflow
schools have been established at Mare
island, Calif., and San Diego, Calif.,
under separate jurisdictions.
The drills on the island consist of
calisthenics, the usual navy manual
of arms, and instruction in the use of
machine guns and the small artillery
used by landing parties. The island
now accommodates approximately six
times the number of men it was first
intended to serve, but Captain Durell
has found room for all of them, and
is sending them efficiently trained at
the end of a four months’ course.
At the end of the training period
the men are placed on board ships or
are sent to the four corners of the na
tion on land duty.
ECLIPSE OF
Astronomers Are Preparing for the
Celestial Event of the Season Soon
to Approach—Chance for Detailed
Study of Corona.
Perparations for observing the as
tronomical event of this year—the to
tal solar eclipse of June 8 next—are
well under way, the staffs of all the
important observatories having ar
ranged a method of perfect coopera
tion. The photographs will be more
numerous in this country than has
been the case in the past, says a writ
er in Popualr Astronomy, Northfield,
Minn., although local difficulties are
presented by the fact that in such
states as Kansas, Colorado, Utah,
VVyomnig, Idaho, Oregon and Wash
ington much of the shadow path lies
in mountainous country.
Elaborate tables of latitudes and
longitudes have been worked out by
verified calculations for the benefit of
all who desire to keep track of the
progress of the eclipse. As the moon
is but little, if at all greater in an
gular diameter than the sun, to follow
the notes of Dr. C. G. Abot, the emin
ent astrophysicist .the cone of shadow
cast by the moon only a little more
than reaches the surface of the earth
during a total solar eclipse. Some
times, indeed, it fails to reach the
earth at all. When the shadow cone
reaches the earth’s surface and we
have a total eclipse, there will be a
belt not more than 200 miles wide but
several thousand miles long upon the
earth’s surface in which the eclipse
may be observed at some time of the
Path of Totality Across Our Country.
Frequently the best of totality pass
es over inaccessible regions of the
earth, as for instance the north pole
or the south pole, or falls upon parts
of the ocean where it is impossible to
use delicate instruments. Next June
a path of totality will stretch right
across our country.
The longest possible period of total
ity at any one station is seven min
utes. In general the total eclipses
have averaged about three minutes in
length. Thus only a very little time
can be used in eclipse observations, j
and yet the information to be gained
at such times is so valuable that ob
servers are glad to spend months in
preparation and to travel thousands of
miles to obseive them. In the present
case it may be a considerable time be-!
l ore the proper development is made |
of the photographs that will be taken,
and it is very likely that, as in former j
instances, there will ensue controversy !
over the significance of unfamiliar!
“streamers” and new lines. In the crit
ical photographs will be seen the cor
ona, as it is called, a pearly object
stretching out in beautiful forms to a
considerable distance outside the sun.
A great change apparently occurred
in its form between the year 1900 and
the year 1905. This change is shown
by other eclipse observations to be
characteristic and always to accompa
ny the change from sunspot minimum
conditions to sunspot maximum con
ditions.
The greatest interest and import
ance attach to the photographs that
deal with this aspect of the eclipse in
June. Close up to the border of the
sun there are also seen, at times of
solar eclipses, bright red flames called
prominences; They are due to gases,
hydrogen and calcium, with sometimes
an admixture of other chemical ele
ments. These beautiful objects some
times reach above the surface of the
sun as much as 500,000 miles.
Chance for Detailed Study of Corona.
The detailed study of the corona to
be made photographically during the
coming eclipse may test the validity of
Professor Jean Bosler’s somewhat
revolutionary theories of the sun. The
French astrophysicist departs marked
ly from the received ideas. It seems
extremely probable to him that the
solar matter is electrified. He affirms
in Paris L’Astronomie that the corona
really gives us an image of the gen
eral magnetic field—a sphere uniform
I INDICATIONS TIT ENEMY
IS PREPARING FOR THE NEW
ATTACK, BUT ALLIES ALEUT
BRITISH EXPERTS SAY IF GERMANS CANNOT BREAK
THROUGH IN NEXT BIG OFFENSIVE, IT WILL BE
BEGINNING OF END OF TEUTON ACTIVITIES—
AMERICAN TROOPS ARRIVE IN NUMBERS AND
BIG AID TO ALLIES.
LONDON, May IS.—British military experts express the
opinion that if the Germans cannot break through the allied
lines in the next big offensive that will be undertaken, it WiFi
be the beginning of the end of Teuton activities on the west
front. If the Germans do not take up the offensive very soon
now, it is expected that the allies will themselves launch major
attacks against the enemy lines. This will be possible, say the
military experts, due to the ever-increasing strength of the
American forces in France. There is no further indications of
the expected German offensive. Allied aerial scouts report to
day that here are no new movements of German troops behind
the German lines, indicating that conditions are normal, and
that nothing unusual will happen within the next few days, at
least. If the enemy was about to launch an offensive, the fact
should be forecast by increased activities in the matter of troop
movements behind the German lines. The weather conditions
remain ideal for a renewal of the fighting, which is now con
lined to local sectors.
BRITISH MAKE SUCCESSFUL RAID.
LONDON, May 18.—-General Haig today reports that the
British troops made a successful raid last night in the neigh
borhood of Beaumont and Hamel and captured a few prisoners.
This morning, a hostile post north of Merris was rushed by the
British. The enemy occupants of the post were either killed or
driven from their position. On the remainder of the British
front, there is nothing going on except artillery firing, par
ticipated in by both sides.
WHOLE AMERICAN SECTOR BOMBARDED.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY AT THE FRONT, May
18.—The whole American sector on the Picardy front was sub
jected to a heavy bombardment at the hands of the enemy this
morning. The cannonade continued for forty-live minutes, with
out interruption.
FRENCH DOWN TWO PLANES.
PARTS, May 18.—The French flyers downed two enemy
planes in the sector east of Montdidier yesterday, says a com
munique this morning.
ARTILLERY ACTIVE ON ALBANIAN FRONT.
VIENNA, May 18.—An Austrian official report says that
heavy artillery firing on both sides is on today on the Alban
ian front. Italian and French troops attacked the Austrian
positions between the Osum and Devoli rivers yesterday, but
were repulsed in every assault launched.
VIOLENT ARTILLERY ACTION
PARIS. May 18.—Violent artillery lire* on both sides is
occurring today in the Dailies sector, southeast of Amiens.
GERMANS ADMIT DAMAGE AT CSTEND.
BERLIN, May IS. -An official report by the German ad
miralty admits that the recent British raid on the German
submarine base at OsKud, Belgium, did considerable damage
md inflicted considerable losses among tin* civilian population.
The number killed is not revealed in the report, nor is any de
tails given about the damage to the submarine base.
CLAIM REPULSE OF BRITISH.
BERLIN. May 18.—The German war office today says
that a British trust north of the Searpe river resulted in a
complete repulse of the enemy. The Germans also made a
successful operation in the sector south of Arras, taking some
enemy prisoners. Yesterday, says the report, eighteen enemy
planes were shot down and one captive balloon was destroyed.
OFFENSIVE EXPECTED THIS WEEK.
SI MM ARY: Nearly three weeks have passed since the
German offensive, begun March 21, died down in futile assaults
on the Flanders front. Every indication now points to the
probability that the coming week will witness a renewal of
major operations. The allied staffs believe that the enemy has
completed his reorganization and is prepared to launch anoth
er offensive, larger, if possible, than the former one.
MUTINY AMONG GERMAN SOLDIERS.
MOSCOW, May 18.—Mutiny is reported today among Ger
man regiments at Esthonia, Russia. Several officers have been
killed by the men.
AERIAL ACTIVITY ON AMERICAN SECTOR.
WASHINGTON, May 18.—The war department today
gave out the following report from General Pershing: Today’s
fighting on the American front was limited to reconnaisance
and intermittent, though active artillerying. There was in
creased aerial activity north of Toni and Lorraine.
ly magnetized—and also similar to
that of a rotating sphere electrically
charged. The importance of this
theory is due to the fact that its veri
fication would profoundly modify our
conception of the sun as a center of
high temperature It is a hot body, but
not nearly as hot as we have been
. taught to believe.
\LL MEN NEEDED WILL BE SENT
PHILADELPHIA, May 18.—Secre
tary Daniels today said as many mil
ion men as nedeed to win the war will
ie sent to the front. He said that as
>oon as there were enough ships to
:arry them, enough men would be on
land to be sent to France.