Licking Valley courier., 1917-12-27

>~~-~~~-oo-o-~~o~~~~-o-~-~~~~o-o-~~-o~~-
Germans on the west frGnt did not de-
velop, but Won Hlndenburg's concen-
tratlon of troops and h9avy cannOnud-
ing of the entente lIhes continued.
The British and French made all pos
'dble preparations to withstand the ex-
pected attack and their commanders
seemed quite confideat that il, would
be repulsed. At. the SHINE time, the
seriousness Of the sltu9flon is not de-
MED. Though the alllss are numer-
icalIy superior to thei enemy there,
since they do not knowlin what sector
the blow will be strufk they cannot
concentrate their strength In that re-
glOn until the offenslYh has begun.
With the wlthdrawalssfrom the Rus
sian front and the calling out of the
younger classes of feservists, the
kaiser is officially repofRed to have 154
divisions in France, oufy one division
short of the, force h9E massed there
last July for the gltat operations
against the French.
Italians Give Wal Slightly.
Bloody fighting was lhpt up in Italy
and the ArIstro-G Germant made further
desperate attempts tofbreak through
into the Venetian plfA between the
Pave and the Brenta, b the direction
iofi Bass5no. They ea<eesed, at gaeai
expense, in taking some positions and
2,c00 prisoners at Mont Asoleone, hut
Mont Grappa, the key to the defense
in that region, was held tenaci0usly
by the Italians. The French and Brit
islr,trOOps sent to that front got into
action and proved Of valuable assist
ance. On the lower Piaye the enemy
renewed his attempts to force cross
ing, without marked success. The de-
fensive system of the Italians ln-thls
flooded region is said to be very clever
and the pontoon bridges of the Aus
triuns are destroyed as fast as built.
For months there has been moth
ing doing on the Macedonian front,
but the recall of General Sarrail. com
/ mHnder of the allied armies nj Salon
lki. and the appointment of General
Guillaumat, who led the French in
their brilliant operations In the Yer
dun sector last summer, may mean
that some interesting news from
Macedonia can be expected soon. The
Bugarlnns, despite oXtravagnnt peace
claims recently sent out, are about
ready TO quit the war, and Austria.
Hungary was tired of 1t long ago
though somewhat heartencd by the
drive into Italy. The Turks were hard
/ hit ny the loss Of Jerusalem, and al
| together II would seem that good
/ time Is approaching for an of'enslv,
| In the Balkans
British Public Angry.
Two events aroused the indignation
Of the British press and public. The
/ first was another successful German
attack on shipping in the North sea
In which one British and five neutra
merchantmen, II British destroyer ant
four mine sweepers We're sunk. Tn,
convoy was on its way from Scotland
to Norway. The success of the ralt
has given rise to sharp criticism o
the naval authorities. The Secon,
thing to eXaSnernte the English wu'
another air raid Tuesday night. Ahou
twenty German planes crossed to tn,
Kent and Essex coasts, in six groups
and five Of them succeeded In reach
ing London and dropping bombs. Tel
persons were killed and 20 injured
Several Of the raiders were shot down
The American navy met with a pain
ful loss when the submarine FL wa
rammed and sunk by the submarine
F-3 In home waters during fog
Nineteen members of the crew los
their lives
Secretary of State lansing, in con
junction with the Argentine govern
ment, gave out TRANSACTIONS Of Ia
more Of the secret correspondence be
tween Count IuXhurg, former German
minister NJ BuenoS Aires, aud the Ger
man foreign Office, It shows conclus
lively that Germany was intriguing +
|, set Latin America against the Unite
States. II was expected In Washing
|, ton that this disclosure would resnl
quickly In declaration OF war agalns
, Germany by Argentina, the congress
and people OF the latter country helm
not likely to put up much longer wit
the pro-GermQnism Of President Ir
7 goyen. =,
. The ant-llQuor forces Of Amerlc
won their greatest victory on Monda
|, whom the house odonted the Web
, resolution Submitting A. the states
|, constitutional nmendmeht provllir
J for'the suppression Of A. liquor 4 t,ff
| one year after the, rq ncatlon oS u
amendment by ~ 81 te Legislature
. The senate alrendyAhak adopted sir
4 liar resolution. = y