davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
FIND NONINFLAMMABLE GAS
Discovery Made by United States viii
Be Utilized in the Army and
Navy Aircraft.

Washington, Dec. 10.-Discovery Of
an inert, non-inflammable gas designed
for use in balloons, dirigibles and other
lighter-than-air craft, was revealed by
the Navy Department today in a state
ment explaining expenditures now be-
ing made jointly with the army for its
production The department said the
use Of this new element, officially
termed ''argon," will eliminate the haz-
ard Of fire and explosion that always
has accompanied balloon operations
where hydrogen has been used to in
flate the gas bags.
The. gas from which "argon" is OBJ
tanned comes from wells at Petrolia,
Tex, owned by the Lone Star Gas Com
pany, the statement said. and a 10-inch
pipe line. to cost s1,O5O.O0O. is being
laid for a distance of ninety-four miles
from the wells to a plant at North
Fort Worth, where the gas viii be
compressed into cylinders for shipment
to the balloon fields.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
CONDENSED NEWS ITEMS

Only forty-four vessels of the Amer
lean navy, including army and cargo
transports manned by naval crews,
were lost from the declaration of war,
April Is, 1917, until hostilities ceased
November IL. And only twelve of
these were destroyed by submarines
Street car employees in two meet
ings at Kansas City voted to cease work
at 4 o'clock the other morning, until
such time as the company complies
with the mandate of the War Labor
Board to increase wages and pay ar
rearages from August IT,
Thomas Nelson Page, the Amerf-
can ambassador to Italy, visited the
Vatican recently and announced that
President Wilson would pay an official
visit to Pope Benedict and Cardinal
Gasparri, the papal secretary Of state,
December %.
That Marshal Foch may visit the
United States when his duties permit
was indicated by cablegram received
in New York by Mayor Hylan from the
marshal, in response to a recent mes
Sc6O IL Inc -AFASCQ
to visit New York. 3
Recently 749 American prisoners,
including noncommissioned officers,
arrived in Munich from the interior
of Germany. The men come from a
dozen different states, from Caiifor-
MIA to New York They were cordially
received by the entire American col
ony, headed by former Consul Has
ken
One officer and six men OF the
American destroyer, Lansdale, we're
drowned recently when attempting to
rejoin their ship, according to HaEas
dispatch from Tangier.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
URGES ALL TO JOIN RED CROSS
President Issues Proclamation DeeIar-
ing Needs of People and Troops
in Europe Greater Than Ever.

Washington, Dec. 9.-President viii
son, in a proclamation made public
today, calls on every American to ioin
the American Red Cross during
Christmas roll call week. December
Is to %, "and thus send forth to the
whole human family the Christmas
greeting for which it waits and for
which it stands in greatest need" The
proclamation, prepared before the
President departed for Europe, fol-
lows:
''To the American People-One year
ago p million Americans, by enroll
ing as members of the Red Cross at
Christmas time, sent to the men who
were fighting our battles overseas a
stimulating message Of cheer and good
Will They made il clear that our
people were Of their own free choice
united with the government in the
determination, not only to wage war
with the instruments of destruction,
but also by every means in their
power to repay the ravages Of the in
vader and sustain and renew the spirit
Of the army and of the homes which
they represented
The friends Of the American Red
Cross in Italy, Belgium, and France
have told, and viii tell again the story
Of how the Red Cross workers re-
stored morale in the hospitals, in the
camps, and at the cantonments, and
we ought to be very proud that we
have been permitted to be OF service
TO those whose suffeTfngs and whose
glory are the heritage of humanity.
Now, by Gods grace, the Red Cross
Christmas message of 1913 is to be a
message of peace as well as a mes
sage of good will But peace does not
mean that we can fold our hands It
means further sacrifice We must
prove conclusively to an attentive
world that America is permanently
aroused to the needs Of the new era,
our old Indifference gone forever
The exact nature of the future ser
vice of the Red Cross will depend
upon the program of the associated
governments, but there is immediate
need today for every heartening word
and for every helpful service We
must not forget that our soldiers and
our sailors are still under orders and
still have duties TO perform of the
highest consequence, and that the Red
Cross Christmas membership means
a great deal to them. The people OF
the saddened lands, moreover, return
ing home today where there are no
homes must have the assurance that
the hearts of our people are with them
in the dark and doubtful days ahead.
Let US, so far as we can, help them
back to faith in mercy and in future
happiness.
LAS president of the Red Cross, con-
sciOus in this great hour Of the value
Of such message from the American
people, should be glad if every
American would join the Red Cross
for 1919 and thus send forth to the
whole human family the Christmas
greeting, for which it waits and for
which it stands in greatest need.
WOODROW WILSON"
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
WOULD HOLD The
ROADS FIVE YEARS
Secretary EcAdoo Urges Exc
tension of Federal Control
TO January, /, 1924.
WOULD PERMIT A FAIR TRIAL
Plan Does Not Mean Government Own
ershiP, Declares Secretary in
Letter to Congressman.

Washington, Dec 12.-Extension OF
the period OF government control OF
railroads for five years. until January
1, 1924. was recommended to congress
tonight by Director General McAdoo
Advantages of this, Mr.. McAdOo said,
are that it would take the railroad
question out OF politics for the present
give time for carrying out an extensive
program of Improvement and provide
opportunity for a fair test of unified
control TO indicate the permanent so
luton of the railroad problem
The President has given me per
mission to say that this conclusion &C
cords with his own view of the mat
ter" Mr. McAdoo concluded.
Legislation Needed.
The letter was addressed 10 Senator
Smith of South Carolina and Repre-
sentative Sims, chairmen. respectively.
Of the Senate and House interstate
commerce committees. Mr. McAdoo
explained that TO continue government
operation for twenty-One months after
formal declaration of peace under
present conditions would mean dis
rupiOn OF morale among employees and
officers, and could not enable the gov
eminent to go ahead with improve
ments and purchase OF equipment An
other alternative, the prompt return
OF the railroads to private control
without legislation to permit elimina-
ton Of the old wasteful competition
would be ~hurtful alike to the public
interest and to the railroads them
selves" he said, and the difficulty OF
obtaining immediate legislation provid-
ing permanent solution is apparent
Urges Extension of Control.
There is one, and to my mind only
one. practicable and wise alternative"
Mr.. McAdoo continued, and that is to
extend the period Of federal control
from the one year and nine months
provided by the present law, to five
years, or until the first day of jan
uary, 1924. This extension would taxa
the railroad question out Of politics for
a reasonable period. It would give
composure to railroad officers and en-
ployes. 1t would admit Of the prepa-
ration and carrying out Of a compre-
hensive program Of improvement Of
the railroads and their terminal faeiI-
tiles which would put back Of the rail
roads the credit Of the United States
during the five-year period, so that the
financing OF these Improvements could
be successfully carried out. It would
offer the necessary opportunity under
proper conditions to test the value OF
unified control and the experience thus
gained would of itself indicate the per-
manent solution Of the railroad prob
lem.
'fThe American people have a right
to this test They should not be de-
MED it. It is to their interest that it
should be done In my opinion, II is
the only practicable and reasonable
method Of determining the right so
luton Of this grave economic problem
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19

The feature Of the next Arbor day III
Kansas will be the planting of me-
mortal trees for the soldiers who died
in service during the great war. Gov
ern0r Capper has most enthusiastically
endorsed the plan suggested by P. S.
Ridsdale, executive secretary to the
American Forestry Association, in
Washington. In answer to Secretary
Ridsdale's request for cooperation, the
governor says:
81 am most heartily in accord with
the idea of planting memorial trees for
soldiers. 1t is most appropriate. 1
feel that we should have living trees
as memorials for our soldier dead,
whose deeds may live for all time.
1.-THE idea fits right in with the work
OF the forestry department of the State
Agricultural college, which in recent
years has been making an effort to-
ward the planting of hardy. long-lived
trees adapted to the climatic condi-
lions of this state. I shall call upon
the institution to assist and will pass
to the new administration the sugges-
ton that this be the dominating fea-
ture Of the Arbor day in this state next
spring"
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
|. W. W. MUTINY IN PRISON
Twenty Men at Leavenworth Placed
in Solitary Confinement for
Refusing to Work.

Leavenworth, Kan, Dec 11.-Twen-
ty l. w w. serving sentences at the
federal penitentiary here are in soil
tary confinement for attempting to
start a mutiny. Indictments by the
federal grand jury may be made
against some and their sentences
heightened. All of those concerned in
the mutiny were brought here from
Chicago on September to serve terms
for violation of the Espionage Act.
While working with a gang in the
prison yard Saturday one of the con-
victs threw down his shovel and told
the guard he would work no longer.
Sixteen others in the gang immedi-
ately went on a strike also. Similar
action was taken by four convicts
working in other departments of the
prison.
When he went to the isolation ward
to investigate disturbance created by
one of the prisoners, Acting Warden L.
G. Fletcher was assaulted by the con-
vict, who threw wooden stool at him
The official escaped injury.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
HUN PROP uganda
COST $500, 600
Department of Justice Chief
Completes His Testimony
Before Senators.
HEARST PAPERS AIDED HUNS
Report to Berlin Praised American
Publishers Attitude Toward Ger
many-Prof. Hart to Testify.

Washington, Dec. 10.-A. Bruce Bic
laski, chief of the bureau of investiga-
ton of the department of justice, COM
pleted his testimony today before the
Senate committee investigating brew
ers and German propaganda. For
three days, Mr.. Bielaski had barred the
confidential files Of the department to
show the vain efforts of former Ambas-
sador Won Bernstorff and other agents
of the kaiser to influence public senti-
ment in America in favor of Germany
Seven and one-half million dollars
was the cost to Germany of the prop
uganda campaign in the United States.
Mr. Bielaski said, the sum coming from
the total fund Of s27, $780, 600 held by the
embassy in Washington. Part of the
money went for the purchase Of news
papers and the printing and distribut-
ing of literature, and part of it was
sent to German consuls over the coun-
try.
Professor Hart to Testify.
Mr.. Bielaski's testimony does not
conclude the committees investigation
into and activity of the German repre-
sentatives. 1t was announced tonight
that Alfred F. BrekeF, assistant dis
trict attorney of New York, who con-
Quoted an investigation of German
propaganda, and Francis Garyin, chief
Of the bureau of investigation OF the
alien property custodian's office, will
be examined later. Tomorrow the COM
mittee will hear Prof. Albert Bushnell
Hart Of Harvard university, whose
name was in the important list OF
names" contained in DR.. Fuehr's diary.
and who has asked for permission to
testify, after which the committee will
adjourn for several days.
In the course of his testimony today,
Mr.. Bielaski read from a report made
to Berlin by DR.. Karl F. Fuehr. coun-
selor of the German embassy. on
propaganda. This praised the attitude
Of William Randolph Hearst towards
Germany and included on a list OF
neutral papers the New York Even
ing Mail, the Milwaukee Free Press,
the Chicago Tribune, the Washington
Post and the Hearst organs.
Fuehr said that of these the Hearst
papers were the most valuable because
Of their large circulation and the fact
that they were printed in so many diff
ferent cities.
Hearst Papers Valuable.
1.-The Hearst papers are not to be
classified as blind champions of Ger
many" Fuehr's report said. Many Of
the articles are not favorable to US.
But for that reason they are much
more effective than they could pos
sibly be if pronouncedly pro-German."
Mr.. Bielaski told the committee that.
of all the newspapers published in the
United States, the Hearst organs were
the most pronounced in favor of Ger
many"
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
WERE IN THE PAY OF GERMANY
American Citizen Alleged to Have
Given Aid to Hun Officer in
This Country.

New York, Dec Indictments
charging treason were returned by a
federal grand jury here today against
Hermann Vessels, an officer of Che
German navy, and Albert Paul Fricke
Of Mount Vernon, n. Y, American
representatives of a German toy COM
pany.
The men have been in the Tombs
prison several months, having been
denied bail after previous indictment
on a charge of conspiring with Jere-
miah A O'Leary, Marie K. De Vic
toria, Willard J. Robinson, John T..
Ryan and others, to forward secret
messages through Holland to the Ger
man government
Fricke is an American citizen. The
treason charge against him is based
on the alleged aid he extended to Yves
sells, in giving to agents of the fed
eral government false information
that he was a secret representative
Of the German government"
Vessels. 1t is charged, came to the
United States on November II, 1916,
with false passports, issued in Swift
erland under the name of Carl Roe
dinger and in Holland under the name
Of Haro Schroiers. Fricke is accused
Of harbOring him and, with the aid of
the forged passports, conspiring with
Hugo Schweitzer and Rudolph Binder,
residents of the United States, and
with the representatives in neutral
countries Of the German firm of Rich
ter & Co., that Vessels should COM
municate with the then imperial gov
eminent
1t is specifically charged that, as
part Of this plan, Willard J. Robinson,
on March "a, 1917, left this country for
Holland with secret messages to the
Hohenzollern government and brought
back instructions and funds for Yves
sells.
F'ricke also Is charged with having
given funds to Vessels and having at
tempted to arrange meetings between
him and Oscar Englehardt, Ernst
Bischoff, Hugo Schweitzer and others,
with an intent that they should assist
the German government in its war
against the United States.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
CONsULTs EXPERTS ON LAW
Personal Position Discussed by the
Former Kaiser With German Advis-
ers at Amerongen, Holland.

London, Dec. 11.-William Hohenzol-
1ern, the former German emperor, has
had several interviews at AmerOngen
with two German experts on interna-
tionaI law, with whom he discussed his
personal position, according to an Am
sterdam dispatch to the Express. These
experts arrived and left Amerongen in
rather mysterious manner
It is understood, according to the
dispatch, that Herr Hohenzo1lern is
writing his autobiography and the his
tory Of his reign. He will explain his
attitude before and during the war, it
is said. The beck, which will be long,
is intended for publication, or, if its
author is tried before an international
tribunal, may be read as a part of his
defense
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
ALLIES RETAKE A
BILLION IN LOOT
vaIuabIes Carried Off by the
Huns Recovered at Liege
And Brussels.
PROPERTY WILL Be RESTORED
Numbers OF Chests Removed From
Banks by French and British
Protest Naval Terms.

London, Dec. 11-FTench and Brit
fish pickets, under the direction of the
paymaster general of the French army
and in the presence of German Off
GERS in civilian clothes, have been
sent to the various banks of Brus-
sells, notably the Compton National
d'EscompLede, Paris, and the Credit
Lyonnaise, in the last two days, and
have removed large numbers Of chests
which were placed there by the Ger
mans about the middle of October.
Valued at Billions of Francs.
These chests, says the Reuter- cor
respondent at Brussels, contain strong
boxes and securities taken from towns
in Northern France, including Lille,
ROubaix, Tourcoing, Valenciennes, st.
Quentin, and Cambria. O,her cases
placed by the enemy in the banks at
Liege are said to contain securities
to the value of billions of francs.
These Valuables will be returned to
the financial establishments from
which they were taken, except in the
case of towns where the banks have
been destroyed, as, for instance, st.
Quentin and Cambria. In such cases
the securities will be deposited in
Paris.
Again Protest Naval Terms.
A new and false charge is contained
in another German protest-that fresh
naval terms, which go beyond the
stipulations of the armistice, have
been imposed by the Allies.
A Berlin telegram gives the sub
stance of the demands of the adj
miralty commission at Wilhelmshaven
for carrying out the naval conditions
Of the armistice and states that pro-
test has been lodged against some OF
these demands. The Allies demand
the return of all interned vessels and
also those condemned by prize courts.
The surrender of British and Belgian
vessels is to take place in the Tyne,
and of French vessels at Dunkirk. All
these vessels are to be sent in by De-
cember IT.
What is described by the message
as completely new demand is the
surrender" of all German war vessels,
including submarines and river steam
ers, both finished and under construc-
ton, at present lying in German naval
ports.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
A KANSAS AVIATOR KILLED

Los Angeles. Cal, Dec. 9.-Lieut.
Herbert n. Chaffee Of Pasadena, Cal,
and Lieut.. Charles J. Drake Of Man.
kato, Kan, both pursuit pilots, and
instructors at Rockwell field, San
Diego, were instantly killed here to
day when the airplane in which they
were riding plunged 5000 feet to the
earth in a yard in the residential sec
ton Of the city.
According to military authorities,
the two officers, with Lieutenant
Chaffee as pilot, were returning to
Rockwell field after special tour Of
detail when the accident happened
Inspection OF the wrecked machine by
army aviators failed to reveal the
cause Of the accident.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19

The states twelve penal and CHART
able. institutions thus far have been
fortunate in evading the influenza cpl
demic. State Business Manager Kim
ball has just completed a tour of in
spection of a number of these institu-
tioss and has late reports from those
he did not visit personally. At none
of the institutions is there more than a
few cases, Mr.. Kimban stated, and at
the state penitentiary, the girls indus
trial school, the boys industrial school,
the state reformatory, the state hos
pital at Larned, the state orphans
home at Atchison, there are no cases
whatever. In the other institutions,
including the state hospitals at Topeka
and Osawatomie, they do not average
more than two to four cases each.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
HONOR TO HEARST RESENTED
Publisher Has Been Appointed Chair
man of Committee to Welcome
Soldiers TO New York.

New York, Dec. 1.-THE storm OF
protest evoked by Mayor Hylan's ap-
pointment of William Randolph Hearst
as chairman Of a city committee to
welcome Homecoming soldiers has de-
veloped TO such intensity that widely
known citizens appointed on the same
committee viii not serve with Hearst
Mr.. Hearst has been named chair
man of two committees. One is the
military committee to welcome the
soldiers The other is a committee
on the building of a memorial. In
France.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
NEWS ITEMS FROM
ALL OVER KANSAS
happenings of More or Less
Interest Gathered From
Many Sources.
STATE SAFE IRS.AT.C C. DEAL
Contract With Federal Government For
Housing and lnstructins Soldier
Students PrecIudes ANY Loss.

The disbandment of the S. A. T. c.
Kansas, despite the elaborate prepare
tons made for the housing and caring
for soldier-students at the various
state educational institutions. State
Business Manager KimbaH declares
that the contract between the govern
ment and the state specifically pro-
tected the state against any loss.
'.As far as the finances involved"
the state manager says, the state has
no reason for uneasiness. We are pro-
tected by the contract with the gov
eminent. Within the last week or ten
days we have been reimbursed with
three checks aggregating marty s40,-
0O0"
Recently Mr. KimbalI received no.
tice from the educational bureau,
which has charge of the S. A. T. C..
matters, that the states bill for $685.,
900 had been allowed and would be
forward as promptly as possible.
Just what the S. A T. C. venture in
Kansas cost the federal government
has not yet been figured out. By gaug-
ing his building plans on the enroll
ments and making Of gymnasiums and
other buildings availabeI for housing
the student-soldiers, Mr. KimbalI found
it necessary to build seven less build
ings than the governments original
plans called for. Altogether the state
erected sixteen S. A T. c. buildings,
ten at the University of Kansas, five
at Manhattan and one at Pittsburg.
At the state normal school at Emporia
and the normal school at Fort Hays
the gymnasiums were used for bar
racks. At Manhattan also the state
used several fraternity houses. The
enrolment of the S. A. T. c. at the
state institutions aggregated approx
mately 1000 men.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19
CORN ESTIMATE
Governments Final Crop Figures Are
167, 100000 Bushels Less Than
the Earlier Forecast

Washington, Dec 12.-FinaI esti-
mate OF the years corn crop. an
nounced by the Department Of Agri-
culture today is 2.5S2, S14 bushels, a
reduction OF 167 million from the pre-
Iminary estimate month ago. and 40
million bushels less than last years
crop.
The wheat estimate is 9I7 million
bushels, million under the preIimi-
nary estimate and 266 million mora
than the 1917 crop
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19

Justices of the peace who impose a
fine and jail sentence and then en-
force the decree only in part are as
Stunning legal authority they do not pos
sess, according to the decision of the
state court in the case of a mandamus
against J. B. Ford, a justice of the
peace Of Sherman county. Ford pa
rolled three men he had sentenced Just
before he resigned his office after an
investigation had been started by the
attorney general. The justice of the
peace who succeeded him ordered the
men back to Jail. Friends Of the de-
PENDANTS secured their release on ha-
beas corpus, but the state court or
dered them committed again to the
custody of the Sherman county sheriff.
The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-12-19

When Al Grimm, living in the coun-
try near Beloit, brought his private
distillery to Beloit to have it repaired
he didn't take into account the ever
watchfnl eye of the law. When the
plumber. who was doing the repair
work, asked what sort of machine
it was Mr.. Grimm replied that it was
a washing machine. But luck was
against tie private distiller that day,
and he drank too much of his own
moonshine, was arrested for driving
car while drunk, and later confessed, it
is said. that he had been making illicit
whisky. A deputy United States mar
shall took Mr.. Grimm to Junction City
to be arraigned before a federal judge.