Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-01-02
bTORY OF YEAR MARKED
BY SENSATIONAL EVENTS
lost MomentOus Twelve Months of Modern Times
Reviewed-Great European War, Mexican
Troubles and Other World Happenings.

commerce e.
safeguard that of Belgium, France and its
own and render the enemy's fleet inopera
i've by holding it in the Baltic. A week
later, the port authorities of New York
were notified that the Atlantic lines were
unobstructed, and a few days afterward
the Pacific lines We're pronounced open
ana safe. Sixty British war vessels
guarded the exit Of the KEEL Canal and
prevented the thirty German battleships
anchored there from soming out Within
a few days, more than thirty of the great
German ocean liners We're interned in
neutral waters and a number Of German
merchant ships We're captured or de-
stroyed.
BY the middle of November more than
four hundred war vessels and merchant
men on all sides had been captured or in
! termed in neutral ports The Emden in
! the Pacific and the Karlsruhe in the
South Atlantic, two German raiders
/ preyed successfully upon allied and neu-
tral commerce until the former was put
| out of action. During the past three
months the Germans have destroyed
/ number of British cruisers by means of
/ torpedoes In an action off the coast of
Chile, a squadron of five German war
/ ships sank the Monmouth and Good Hone
with all on board. On October gal
though it was not known to the public
Tor a fortnight afterward-the British
super-dreadnaught Audacious was sunk
/ by mine off the coast of Ireland Short
/ ly afterward the British admiralty de-
/ clared the North sea a closed military
! area.
/ On December the German cruisers
/ Scharnhorst, Gneisau, Leipzig and Nuern-
/ berg, under Admiral Won Spec. were sunk
/ by a British squadron under Vice-Admiral
Sir Frederick Sturdee. off the Falkland
/ Islands. The German cruiser Dresden es-
/ capped. badl damaged. December rs q
/ German fleet bombarded the English coast
J towns Of HartlepoOl, Whitby and Scar
/ borough, killing $50 and woundng 500 citi-
zens and causing much property damage.
Three British merchant vessels We're sunk
by mines laid by the bombarding fleet
AT the close of the year operations in
/ the west seem practically at a standstiu
/ December u the Germans reported a vic
| tory in Poland.
/ As a result of the immediate paralysis
I in the financial world due to the sudden
! embodiment o., the European nations,
Americans e0road were subjected to
| great Inconvenience and not little actual
! hardship. 1uch relief was afforded the
/ Belgian sufferers and large sums of
/ money fer the purpose were raised all
over the country.
! The American Red Cross sent the relief
/ ship Red Cross to European waters,
I with full equipment of physicians
/ nurses and supplies. on September u.
Chaotic Conditions in Mexico
/ Early in the year foreign nations began
20 he critical of the administrators
] 'hands-off" Mexican policy and to insist
( that the job of pacifying Mexico belonged
I logically to the United States. Victo-
! riano Huerta had held the provisional
| presidency for a year and boosted in his
! ha j. lpr, a.r
/ than President Wilson would remain in
/ the White House, Meanwhile the bandit
! chief Pancho villa was steadily gaining
ground in the north. The fercest battle
Of the revolution. which was fought for
almost two weeks ended in victory for
/ the rebel forces.
| There was an appalling loss of life in
| this long continued fight, and more than
four thousand fugitives crossed the Rio
Grande and took refuge in American ter
ritory. Here they were cared for by the
| United States authorities.
! On February President Wilson re-
! vo1ed an order by his predecessor in Of
fee to put a stop TO the shipment of arms
and ammunition into Mexico by citizens
of the United States. On April a. Presi
| dent Wilson instructed Secretary Daniels
| to assemble an imposing naval force at
| Tampico, on the Mexican coast This
! president and his military aids to salute
the American flag as an essential feature
of an apology for an unwarranted arrest
! and Imprisonment Of several American
bluejackets who had landed on Mexican
soil TO obtain a supply of gasoline
| Although the episode was the result Of
misunderstanding in which all the par
ties concerned shared about equally, 1t
was manifest that Huerta was in no mood
to comply with any request Of the Wash
! ington authorities, however politely and
even delicately made. He refused TO or
der the salute, and the naval demonstra-
ton followed.
Congress passed a resolution sustaining
the president in the position which he
had taken. On April q Admiral Fletcher
| seized the custom house at Vera Cruz.
The Mexicans resisted the occupation OF
the custom house and the result was
| fight, in which 16 Americans were killed
and Il wounded. General Mas. in com
nand of the garrison withdrew and left
the Americans in possession.
Nelson O'Shaugnessy, the American rep
resentative. was given his passports and
requested to leave the country. Brig.
Gen. Frederick Funston, commander Of
the American forces at Vera Cruz, was
! ready to enter on a vigorous campaign.
Before hostilities were carried further
the diplomatic representatives. at Wash
| ington of Argentina. Brazil and Chile sent
in to the office Of the department of state
formal tender Of their services as med-
atofz. President Wilson accepted the Of
fer and both Huerta and Carranza ac-
cepted the proffered mediation.
The mediatOry conference was held at
! Niagara Falls Canada, and opened on
| May 20. On June Z the conference had
| agreed upon a plan accepted both by
| President Wilson and Huerta. Then
| deadlock arose over the choice for presi-
dent-the American delegates declined 70
| accept the name Of any unconstitutional
| ist.
Meanwhile. the consututionallsts were
making unmistakable advance toward the
capital Their success was so pronounced
that II was evident they would soon be IA
/ control of the government
On July ! the conference came to an
| end without definite result, and four days
| later Huerta was reelected president by
his partisans. On July L the dictator re-
signed the presidency and took passage
for Europe, leaving the executive author
| lty in the hands Of a prominent citizen.
| Francisco Carba5aL
The new president and Carranza louid
not agree upon the surrender of the gov
eminent 70 the victorious constitutional
list army and on August 10 Carbajal re-