Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1917-07-05
news review OF
The PAST WEEK
Two contingents Of PersI1ing's
Army Are Landed Safely
on French Soil.
UNDER COMMAND OF slBERT
Developments In Plans to Control
Foodstuffs and coal-Good Work
Of Root and kerensky in Rus
sIa-British Troops Clos
ing In on Lens.
BY EDWARD w. P,ckARD.


Two contingents of Major General
Pershing's expeditionary force OF
American regulars were safely landed
In France last week, the first on Tues
day and the second on Wednesday,
The armada that carried them across
the Atlantic and that conveyed them
took also great quantities of supplies
for their maintenance. The troops
now on French soil are under the inn
mediate command of Brig. Cen w. H..
Sibert.
This safe and speedy arrival of sea
soned fighting men in France is Il tri-
umph of American skill and efficiency.
Without any publicity the troops wore
assembled, embarked on many vessels
and taken through the German sibma-
rine zone without an accident to mar
the success of the great operation.
That these troops and the thousands
that are to follow them carry all their
own supplies makes them net gain
for the allies. The United States
feeds, clothes, arms and equips them
the French or the British.
General Pershing has prepared ev-
erything for the participation Of his
army in the actual warfare. and sec
ton of the line near ST Quentinis to be
turned over to the Americans
1t developed on Thursday fhat
George Creel, civilian head of the com
mittee on public Information, auillor-
lied the publication of the news of
the arrival of the troops contrary 10
the wishes of the war Department.
whereupon Secretary Baker Withdrew
the dissemination of war department
news from the Jurisdiction of Creei,s
organization and appointed General
Mcintyre sole censor and disseminalor
Of war department news.
Coal and Wheat Embargo.
President Wilson appointed a board
Of export control, composed OF the
secretaries of commerce, state and la
Dor and the food administrators, and
the board at once began gathering
data on which it recommended that
the president place at least partial en-
bargoes ON wheat and bunker coal,
and possibly on other commodities.
The shutting-off of shipments of food
stuffs to certain neutral countries, it
is believed, will nearly put an end TO
their sending of food to the central
powers. An embargo on bunker coal
not only will help in controlling neu-
tral and other shipping, but also will
dive to the shipping board weapon
to force down present eXorbitant ocean
freight rates.
Speaking Of coal, the coal commit
tee of the council of national defense
scored big victory Tuesday when it
l'persuaded" 400 coal barons to agree
to sell their product at reasonable
price to be fixed with the approval Of
the committee. The operators, who
represented both the bituminous and
the anthracite fields, were told fatty
that unless they behaved themselves
the government would take over their
6utput.
The immediate result of all this was
the agreement of the bituminous op-
orators to make cuts of 81 to So a
ton In the cost of coal to the jobbers.
This, 1t was declared, would bring
lbout an immediate reduction of prices
to the consumer.
Consideration Of the food-control bill
with Its "bone-dry" feature, which the
house passed, occupied much of the
pine e the senators. Their committee