Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 201, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1916 — Page 2

Lower California

THERE have been many rumors of late that Lower California WQUId secede from Mexico and become a republic. Vague notions prevail of what constitutes Lower California. Physically, it Is a peninsula 700 miles long and a hundred miles or so across from the Pacific to the gulf. The peninsula is a jagged one with a mountain range paralleling the Pacific. The sterile heights are not inviting, nor is the cactus-covered tableland. Few passes bisect the mountain range. There i$ little timber and less water, but the peninsula is not all barren waste. There are regions in which the wealth of tropical vegetation is riotous, and there are great stretches of land which, by means of irrigation, can be made the sources of productive agriculture, writes Charles M. Pepper, in the Washington Star. It is the coast, however, that is of chief international Importance. This was charted by Admiral Dewey when he was Captain Dewey. It has also been charted by other officers of the United States navy, and its characteristics are not unknown to the Japanese navy. There are few good harbors either on the Pacific side or on that of the gulf, and that is another reason - which makes those that do exist of such international importance. A wealth of romantic tradition clusters around the peninsula. It has been called “the mother of California.” Cortez sent exploring parties there after pearls and gold. The Jesuit fathers established themselves, and all the romance of the mission days is due to them.

Porfirio Diaz gave Lower California the best government it ever had, which was that of a benevolent, but ironhanded, military dictatorship. The peninsula was constituted into a territory, which it still is, and was divided into two districts for administrative purposes. The headquarters of the northern district are at Ensenada, not very far from San Diego, with which steamship communications are maintained. The headquarters of the lower district are at La Paz on the gulf. Resources of the Territory. The bulk of the population is in the southern part of the peninsula. The total number of inhabitants is said to be between thirty and thirty-five thousand, of whom possibly three-fourths are In the south. Under the Diaz policy of encouraging foreign capital to develop the material _ resources of Mexico, a marked progress was observed in Lower California. The gold mines proved to be largely legendary, but there are several productive silver mines operated by American capital. Lower California is one of the world’s principal sources of copper production. The great mine known as ‘Santa Rosalia is situated near the gaff coast. It is controlled by the French branch of the Rothschild family, and the majority of the foreigners there are Frenchmen. Santa Rosalia has been described as a French municipality in a Spanish and Indian environment.

The pearl fisheries of the gulf one time were quite valuable, although the reports of thd revenues which the Spanish crown derived from them were, as usual, wildly exaggerated. The center of the pearl fishing industry is at La Paz. It has dwindled a good deal in recent years, but is still a source of revenue to the government The agricultural resources of the peninsula never have been systematically exploited. This is partly because it only could be done on a scale requiring a large amount of capital and partly because of the political uncertainties. The country itself is not such as to , invite many colonists from the tJnited States, though there have been a few adventurous spirits who took their chances. What is needed in order to insure colonization is irrigation. Magdalena Bay and La Paz. I Attention has been centered on the proper interest of the United States in Lower California through the Magdalena bay incident. That was a case in which Washington could not afford to view the international situation with unconcern. Naval officers know the harbor as one of the finest in the world, just as the old-time New Bedford whalers knew it. They know that the United States, in due regard for its own rights, never could acquiesce in any arrangement by which any Asiatic power, or, for that matter, a European power, would be allowed to convert Magdalena bay into a naval station. For that reason they, perhaps, were suspicious of the nature of the pro*

THEATER IN LA PA Z

posed land and colonization scheme around Magdalena bay. The investigation made by the state department under the direction of Secretary Knox did not disclose that any foreign government was directly interested in the project. A full report was made to the senate on the subject. Nevertheless, the senate thought it wise to pass the resolution introduced by Senator Lodge, which was in substance a declaration that the United States would regard the establishment of any foreign* power at Magdalena bay as an unfriendly act. This was a notice to Mexico, as well as to Europe and Asia.

Magdalena bay Itself is thoroughly known to the American navy. When President Roosevelt started the American fleet around the world, Porfirio Diaz seized the opportunity to show his friendship for the United States and to demonstrate that he had no fears of ulterior purposes on our part. He-ex-tended the hospitality of Magdalena bay as a naval station for three years. La Paz, which is on the gulf, has been used as a coaling station by the United States. The station is not far from the old cove which was the rendezvous of the Dutch pirates in the days when the Gulf of California was known as the Sea of Cortez. La Paz is actually the metropolis of Lower California. The United States maintains a consulate there, and there used to be a small American colony engaged In business. There were also some adventurous Americans who did not know just why they were there. Should the military leaders of what exists of the Mexican army in Lower California decide to set up a dictatorship and call it a republic, La Paz would be the center of a good deal of interesting news. But there w r ould also be Interesting news from Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, which is much nearer to American territory and with which communication is much easier.

KOVEL A STRATEGIC CENTER

Junction Point for Several Railways and Capital of Rich Agricultural District. Kovel, a town of 30,000 people at the beginning of the war, owes its immense strategic importance to the fact that it is the junction point for railroads which radiate, like the spokes from the hub of a wheel, in five directions. To the northwest, 77 miles distant, is the strongly fortified city of Brest-Litovsk, over whose possession there was a terrific struggle when the Germans were folding the Russians back through Poland after the first Slav drive early in the war, says a National Geographic society bulletin. To the southeast, 84 miles away, is Rovno, a fortress with a population of 'TfijOOO at the outbreak of the war and at that time the headquarters of the Eleventh Russian army corps. Lublin, with Go,ooo inhabitants, is 100 miles due west, on the railroad running to Warsaw, 209 miles away. Theri to the south is Vladimir-Volynski, 35 miles distant, and to the east runs the line which passes through Sarni on its way to Kiev. In addition to these railway connections, Kovel is situated on the banks of the Turiya, one of the tributaries of the Pripet river, whose extensive marshes lie to the north where forests cover the land. In the neighborhood of Kovel, however, agriculture is well developed and at the beginning of the war fully one-fourth of the lapd contiguous to the city was devoted to the production of cereal crops. The peasant farmers in the district of which Kovel is the capital, like those of Volhynia generally, are more fortunate than the peasants in most of the Russian provinces, for here they own nearly 50 per cent of the land. West of Kovel is the famous battlefield of Dubienka, on the banks of the Bug and ten miles south of Dorochusk, a town on the Lublin-Kovel, railroad. It was here that Kosciusko, atythe head of 4,000 men with ten Camions, offered a heroic resistance to 18,000 Russians with 60 guns. After holding the superior force In check for five days, the “hero of Dubienka” retired unmolested to Warsaw. This brilliant achievement took place just nine years after a grateful American congress had offered its public thanks to this Polish artillery oflicer, conferred upon him the rank of a brigadier general, extended him the privileges of American citizenship, and given him landed estates In appreciation of his distinguished services to this country as adjutant to General Washington during the Revolutionary war.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

FOR IDEAL CLUB SANDWICH

Hostess Will Find Luncheon Delicacy Easy to Prepare If She Will Follow These Instructions. The club sandwich forms an ideal quick luncheon, with a cup of chocolate or tea. It is a delicious aftertheater tidbit. Moreover, it is easy to make in the dining room, with the aid of a chafing dish nnd electric toaster. It has so many varieties that It can be served frequently without becoming monotonous. To begin with, its foundation is a slice of hot buttered toast at the bottom and another at the top. Between these two slices there must be lettuce and mayonnaise and boiled or fried bacon. Besides these ingredients many other things can be used. Perhaps what one may call the conventional club sandwich contains on the foundation slice of toast a crisp piec'e of lettuce, a spoonful of thick mayonnaise, a slice of chicken breast, two crisp slices of bacon, a slice of tomato, more lettuce and mayonnaise, and the cover of toast. Instead of the tomato a slice of tomato jelly may be used, or some shreds of sweet green or red pepper, or three slices of cucumber, or sliced sweet gherkins or sliced stuffed olives may be used. Or else over the toast may be spread a mixture of chopped celery and mayonnaise or chopped sweet pepper and mayonnaise or chopped olives and mayonnaise. Instead of the chicken one may use sliced tongue or sliced veal or sliced lamb. A thin sliver of broiled boiled ham may be substituted for the bacon. Fish pastes, may also be used instead of the chicken, with or without the bacon. Sardines, boned and skinned and rubbed to a paste with mayonnaise, are good. The lower slice of toast may be spread with a thin coating of pate de foie gras, then the chicken, bacon and mayonnaise can be added, then lettuce, and the top slice of toast—with or without the slice of tomato.

HAVE SYSTEM IN KITCHEN

Writer Tells of Scheme by Which She Has Lessened Work—Cleaning the Oven Shelves. I have a great deal of baking to do on cooking day, but find that much time can be saved by making my bread first. While the bread is baking I make pie crust. I then set the pie crust aside and make my cake, and then finish the pies. While the cake and pies are baking I make my doughnuts. Consequently, w r hile the doughnuts are frying my pies and cakes are baking, with the result that all my day’s cooking is finished at one time. Oven shelves should be regularly removed from the oven or gas stove and scraped with an old blunt knife. Rub them with paper and wash thoroughly with fairly hot, strong soda water before they are put back into the oven or stove to dry.—Delineator.

Candles in Favor.

No matter how convenient the electric lamp, in one of its many attractive forms, may be, there are many of us who find the candle of our grandmother’s day too fascinating to discard. What is it that we love about the candle? Is it the fascination of antiquity? Do we love to dwell on the thought that candles have lighted the .revelries of Versailles, the religious ceremonials of medieval churches, the early White House balls, the New England homestead and the southern plantation in all their comfortable homeliness? Or is it that candles cast a more bewitching play of light and shadow, a most becoming color, over one’s face, that we cling to them for dinner lights and like to have them at our bedside? Let who will decide the question. In the meantime, let us continue to indulge our liking for candles and candlesticks.

Care of Milk.

Care of milk, important for all, is a vital necessity in a home where there are children. It is absolutely essential to the safety of babes. No intelligent mother will leave to an ordinary servant the task of caring for or preparing the milk for her baby. Mothers of small children should get, from their own physicians, explicit directions for the proper handling of milk and for cleaning and sterilizing nursing bottles. Pamphlets on Infant feeding may be obtained from the municipal milk stations or health officers. Milk for babies cannot be kept too cold, and too much care cannot be given to keeping it clean and covered.

To Eliminate the Puff.

It Is often difficult to iron bias collars, centerpieces having worked edges which “puff” in the middle, etc. After washing, press the edges to bring out the design, then lay the material on a clean smooth table covered with oilcloth or zinc, wet drawn or puffed part thoroughly and pat to make it stick to the cover of the table. In this way the fullness is worked out which is seldom done w r hen done with the iron. Place a few weights on the edges to keep it firm. When the material is dry it will be perfectly smooth.

Barberry and Sweet Apple Sauce.

Four quarts barberries picked from sterna. Cook until soft. If you have plenty of time push the pegs out, if not, sift them. One peck sweet apples peeled, quartered and cored, one quart best molasses. Add all to water barberries were cooked in, add barberries •Ind cook slowly until apples are don*

TWO LEADERS ON THE WEST FRONT

Gen. Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British forces on the west front, and Sir Pertab Singh, high commander of the Indian forces.

GERMANS LOSE THE INITIATIVE IN SECOND YEAR OF GREAT WAR

Co-Operation Among the Entente Allies Brings Sweeping Change’ Over the Aspect of Military Affairs—Two Largest Empires of Earth, Russia and Great Britain, at Last Fully Organized Second Year's Campaigns Reviewed.

New York.— Germany is on the defensive. The initiative has passed to the entente allies. This is the one great outstanding fact of the second year of the great war. Before, she aimed a blow where she pleased and the allies parried it as best they might. She seized most o Belgium and a seventh of France. Twice she overwhelmed the Russians who had penetrated East Prussia. She smashed her way far into the czar’s dominions and crushed Serbia and Montenegro She directed a fearful battering-ram of shells and human bodies on Verdun. But with the present summer a sweeping change came over the aspect of military affairs. Co-operating through the allies’ war council with Gen. Joseph Joffre at its head, the Italians beat back the Austrian columns in the Trentino. the Russians drove the Teutons before them in the East with horrible destruction and the British and French began a slow and methodical" bending of the long established lines in the West.

At Last Fully Organized. These are the movements which are still going on as the war enters its third, and according to Lord Kitchener’s Delphic prediction, final year. Whether the kaiser will retrieve himself, again seize the initiative and enter on new campaigns of conquest cannot be foretold. One thing Is certain, the two largest empires of the earth, Russia and Great Britain, are at last fully organized for war against him. On the first anniversary of the war, August I, 1915, the Austro-GermaiJ sweep of Poland was in Tull swing. Lublin fell that day; Oholm, August 2; Warsaw, August 6; Ivangorod, August 7; Serock, August 9; Lomza, August 11; Siedlce and Sokolow, August 14; Ivovno, August 19; Novogeorgievsk, August 21; Ossowiec, August 24; Kovel, August 25; Brest-Litovsk, August 27; Olita. August 28; Lutsk, September 2; Brody, September 3; Grodno, September 4; Dubno, September 16; Plnsk, September 17, and Vllna, September 20. It seemed to neutral observers nothing could stop the Teutons in the East, and it was generally believed the invaders had themselves chosen the line extending from just west of Riga, nearly straight south, to Roumania on which they spent the winter. Russia Seemed Beaten. Even when, on September' 8, the czar took command of all his armies in person, won a victory near Tarnopokr, September 10, and recaptured Lutsk September 26, and Czartorysk October 20, few believed the Russians could revive. Lutsk was soon lost again, and on October 25 the Germans stormed Illuxt. Then things settled down for the winter and almost every neutral critic thought the spring would see a resumption of the Teuton drive. On October 8, the Teutons crossed the Serbian border at many points and five days later the Bulgarians, newcomers in* the war, invaded from the east. Fighting desperately but hopelessly, the Serbians were pressed back by torrents of heavy shells to which they could not reply, and on November 29 the German general staff was able proudly to announce that the operations against Serbia had ended in complete success, while Austria at the same time was finishing off Montenegro. But unsuccessful as the year 1916 had been to the allies in the field, their will to conquer did not waver. At the moment early in December, when the German imperial chancellor was making a dear offer of peace In a speech to the reichstag, the representatives of Germany’s enemies

were meeting in a new war council at Paris, resolved to redouble their herculean efforts and never compromise. Conscription in England. On December 21, David LloydGeorge, the strongest man in England, declared Great Britain faced defeat unless greater efforts were made; and just a week later he demanded general conscription, threatening to resign if this measure were not put into effect. The conscription bill passed its first rending in the house of commons January 6, and spring saw It in full force. Premier Asquith was able to announce that England’s total effort was five million men. Meanwhile in the East, a greater giant was nursing his wounds and regaining his strength in four-fold doe gree. A forewarning came to the world on February 17, when Erzerum was taken. On April 19 the great Black sea port of Treblzond fell, and two days later the first Russian contingent landed in France. Still the German writers would not believe, and it took the magnificent Russian drive of June, which won all of Bukowina and a large slice of Volhynia and Galicia to convince them that Russia was again a force to be reckoned with. Russia' Well Equipped. To understand this phenomenon of Russian resurrection it is necessary to realize not only that the Russians now have the heavy artillery and shells they lacked in the great retreat, but that their losses in numbers bother them not at all. Seven million young men have come of military age in Russia since the war began, and of-these - at—least-five-mi Uion are fit for duty. Despite her gigantic losses, it is quite possible there are more soldiers and potential soldiers in Russia today than when the ‘war started. Certainly there are now and will be for many years to come all the “cannon fodder” that can be utilized at the front. Erroneously considering the western front the most dangerous, the German general staff on February 21 began a heavy attack on the fortress of Verdun, with the object of using up French ammunition and men until no allied offensive would be possible this year. Being on the outside of a curved line they were able to place more guns and maneuver more freely than their opponents, and month after month they drew closer to the now famous little city. Whether their gains were victories or defeats will only be known after the war, when we learn the number of killed and wounded they paid for each point. They advanced, but were never able to stampede the defenders. Perhaps Verdun will be the last great German offensive. Certainly today the Teutons have their hands full stemming the Russian advance, which is penetratng Transylvania, and the Anglo-French pounding attack along the Somme. Austria on Defensive.

The Austrians, who in the latter half of May debouched from the Trentino and almost gained the foothills and smiling plains of Italy, are also content to stand and ward off the blows of the Italians, after giving up most of their gains. The year saw the Germans lose their Camerooh colony in January, while columns of Belgians, French and British close in on the stout defenders of the East African colony, the last of the kaiser’s oversea possessions. In Mesopotamia the British, penetrating to within seven miles of Bagdad, were defeated and forced to retreat, being finally besieged Iq Kut-el-Amara on December 10. A relieving expedition was unsuccessful and on April SO the garrison capitulated.

On April 25, Sir Huger Casement was captured attempting to land from a German submarine on the Irish coast. The next the Sinn Fein society revolted, seized Dub' n and set up a provisional republic. The rebellion was quelled in less than a week. On June 3 the German and British fleets engaged in a great battle off Skaggerrak. Although the Germans claimed a victory, they have not yet followed it up by coming out to deal another blow at the blockading vessels. The reports of losses by the two sides are impossible to harmonize. War Costs Fifty-Five Billion. On August l, the second anniversary of the start of the great war, the direct money cost to all the belligerents reached $55,000,000,000. This is the consensus of financial opinion here. Estimates six months ago were slightly lower, but the dally cost has mounted steadily and the figures given are considered conservative. The direct cost does not include the losses by destruction of property, by the disorganization of civilian industry, by the death and crippling of workers and by enervating uuman sickness and misery. The money spent is apportioned approximately as follows: Breat Britain (including colonies) $13,000,000,000 Belgium (mostly advanced by allies) .... 500,000,000France 8,500,000,000 Russia 11,500,000,000 Serbia 350,000,000 Italy 2,500,000,000 Portugal 100,000,000 Montenegro 10,000,000 Japan (slight) Total, entente allies. .$36,960,000,000 Germany $12,000,000,000 Austria-Hungary 6,000,000,000 Bulgaria 150,000,000 Turkey 600,000,000 Total, central p0wer5..518,750,000,000 Grand total .$55,710,000,000 $110,000,000 a Day. The war is now costing all belligerents more than $110,000,000 a day. This is divided among the principal nations as follows: Great Britain, $30,000,000 (official figures); France, $17,000,000; Russia, $18,000,000; Italy, $8,500,000; Germany, $23,000,000, and Austro-Hun-gary, $12,000,000, the lesser powers making up the balance.

Great Britain is the only powar which is paying part of the capital cost of the war out of current income. Germany is compounding her debt by not taking in taxes enough to cover all her interest charges. The financial situation of both sides is fairly good. The same cannot be said for the economic situation. Germany and her allies are plainly in distress in many ways. Few or none have died of actual hunger, but the vitality of many noncombatants is lowered by lack of proper food. There is a great scarcity of rubber, copper, high grade iron, material for warm clothing and an almost absolute lack of strictly exotic products, such as tea, coffee and cocoa.

In Great Britain the common people have never been so prosperous. The cost of living has advanced by more than half, but wages have increased still more and the demand for labor, both by the government and by private enterprises is iusatiabte. Neutrals Wax Fat. France, too, has largely recovered from the financial shock, though activity is not on such a great scale as in England. In Russia private business is not good, but owing to the suppression of vodka, the mujik, is happier today and is saving several times as much money as ever before. Italy is suffering from a dearth of coal, which has closed most of her factories. Some of the neutral countries of Europe, especially Denmark, Sweden and Norway are becoming opulent from war business. In Holland the ufcper classes have made money, while there have recently been food riots byjhe lower classes. Switzerland is harassed continually by both sides to the quarrel, Germany to be allowed to purchase and export goods freely from Swiss towns and the allies threatening to withhold food and other supplies if Germany is provisioned by her mountain neighbor. Japan, the United States, Cuba and some of the South American countries were never so prosperous before in their history, due to the stimulus of war orders, which has gulvanized domestic business as well.

$64,000 FOR PANAMA HAT

Prices Paid in the City of Mexico in Carranza Currency for Summer Covering. St. Louis.—Honestly now, how would you like to fork over $6,500 for a suit of clothes? Shell out $64,000 for a" Panama hat? * ; 7 , . Dig $2,000 just to have your trunk moved? These are prices and charges they hurl at you down in the City of Mexico when you try to use Carranza currency as a medium of exchange. Thomas Randolph, chairman, of the board, National Bank of Commerce. Is ntfthority for the statement that these prices really exist, the information having been sent him In ft letter he received from a friend in Brownsville, Tex. It is presumed stores do not want Carranza currency and have pamed the high prices to stimulate the flow of United States gold and currency.