NAVAL BATTLE IN NORTH SEA
BRITISH SINK GERMAN ARMORED CRUISER BLUCHER
GERMANS ATTEMPTED TO RAID THE BRITISH COAST
RUSSIANS THREATEN REAR OF HINDENBURG’S ARMY
TONG WAR STARTS
IN SAN FRANCISCO
Two Members of Rival Tongs Killed
■
Four Injured In Battle At
Peace Conference.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25—War
has broken out between the rival Chi
nese tongs of this city and at a peace
conference held here yesterday two
men were killed and four wounded.
The representatives of the four Chi
, nese tongs in this city were holding
a peace conference when the battle
suddenly started. Two men dropped
at the first volley and many others
were hit afterwards. The arrival of
the police stopped the battle, but al
most all of the members of the tongs
holding the conference escaped by
back doors and underground passages
and a few bystanders were all that
fell into the hands of the detectives.
Scores of extra policemen are on
duty today in the Chinese section and
are hoping to prevent another out
break. The chief of police and sev
eral city officials are dealing direct
ly with the heads of the tongs and
hope to effect a lasting peace and
also secure evidence for the conv c
tion of the murderers.
[
IN NEW YORK CITY
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New York Central Railroad Will
Spend $1,000,000—Save Consum
ers Considerable.—
NEW YORK, Jan. 25—After hav
ing spent thousands of dollars in in
vestigating the cause of the high cost
of living and a method to reduce the
cost to the consumers of this city,
the officials of the New York Cen
tral railroad announced today that
work would start lmmeidately upon
a new freight terminal market for
the railroad and that the produce of
the up-state farms would be brought
to the market each morning for sale
in this city, thus avoiding the profits
of all middlemen.
The terminal market will cost ?1,
000,000. It will be placed near the
, main depot of the road in the heart
of the city. To it will be brought
the produce of the farmers from dis
tant parts of the New York Central
system, and stalls will be provided
for the display of the goods to buy
ers. The railroad officials expect to
increase the tonnage of the road
whi^e aiding the public.
Judge Spence, district attorney for
the Third division of Alaska, is re
turning to Valdez on the steamer
Mariposa which left Seattle Saturday
night.
Lieut. Tenny Is a north bound pas
senger on the steamer Mariposa to
relieve Lieut. Koehler at Port Lis
cum.
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German Fleet Met By Superior British Force and Defeated In Running Battle
Lasting Four Hours—Only 25 Men of Crew of 800 On Blucher Saved—
Germans Claim British Cruiser Also Sunk—Germans Cross Aisne At Ar
gonne-RussiansInEast Prussia Defeated-Russians Move South From Plock.
LONDON, Jan. 25—The German
armored cruiser Blucher was sunk
yesterday morning off the coast of
Holland and two other German cruis
ers badly damaged as the result of
a naval engagement between a fleet
of German ships and the British coast
patrol fleet.
Germans Try Raid Coast.
The Germans were sighted yester
day morning at 9 o’clock headed for
the British coast to bombard the
coast towns. The commander of the
British ships immediately put out to
meet them and the Germans finding
that they could not reach the coast
undiscovered turned back for Ger
many. The battle started as soon as
the ships came within range of each
other and a running fight was kept
up until the German ships reached
the mine fields off the German coast.
Blucher Sunk Off Holland Coast.
The cruiser Blucher was sunk oft
the coast of Holland. The crew of
800 men- were almost all drowned,
twenty-five being saved by Dutch fish
ing boats which put out to the strick
en steamer and rescued the men who
■were swimming about in the water.
Two Cruisers Damaged.
Two of the German cruisers were
severely damaged by the gun fire of
the British ships. The commander of
the English fleet did not dare to fol
low the enemy into the field of mines
along the German coast.
Germans Had Four Cruisers.
The German squadron consisted of
four cruisers and many destroyers
which accompanied the fleet. The
British fleet consisted of five cruis
ers and a number of destroyers.
Fog Lifted On Germans.
The Germans left their home base
under cover of a heavy fog and were
not seen until near the British coast,
when the fog suddenly lifted and they
were sighted by the patrol fleet,
which immediately put in pursuit and
'engaged the kaiser’s boats. The na
val battle lasted for four hours.
The German armored cruiser
Blucher was built in 1909 and is the
largest armored cruiser in the Ger
man navy, having a displacement of
15,500 tons. She carried twelve 8
inch and two 10-lnch guns, and eight
6-inch rapid firers. The side armor
was six inches thick. The Blucher
was rated as a 26-knot boat.
Germans Report Sunk British
Cruiser.
BERLIN, Jan. 25.—The admiralty
announced today that in an engage
ment off the coast of Helgoland be
tween a German fleet and a superior
number of British ships that one of
the British vessels was sunk and that
others suffered great damage. The
loss of the Blucher is admitted.
London Denies Berlin Report.
LONDON, Jan. 25.—Lord Churchill
has issued a denial of the report sent
out from Berlin to the effect that
■ one of the British ships had been
sunk in yesterday's North Sea naval
engagement. No boat was lost and
only a few hits were made by the
kaiser’s gunners. The admiralty stat
ed that the entire fleet of German
ships would have been destroyed but
for the danger of following them in
to the mine fields.
Russians Driven From Trenches.
VIENNA, Jan. 25.—The Russians
have been driven from a number of
trenches they had held in the Car
pathian passes. The Austrian advance
continues and it'is expected that the
Russian invasion of Hungary will col
lapse.
Little Activity In Belgium.
PARIS, Jan. 25.—The only activity
in Belgium yesterday was near St.
Georges, where the Germans made a
number of unsuccessful assaults.
Germans Cross River.
The Germans built a pontoon bridge
across the River Aisne in the Ar
gonne district and succeeded in cross
ing the river to the southern side.
They have been unable to make any
progress, however, and the French
artillery are now concentrating a ter
rific fire upon the Germans and hope
to destroy the bridge.
More German Soldiers.
AMSTERDAM, Jan. 25.—A report
from Berlin states that the war office
has ordered the men of the Lund
sturm up *o 50 years of age, to re
port for medical inspection^ It is
expected the fact that the British
have the new army ready to launch
against the Germans has resulted in
the calling out of more soldiers.
Germany Has Plenty of Men.
In spite of the statement appear
ing in foreign papers to the effect
■that the German war office has had
its full strength on the battle line
for the past months, travelers who
reach here from Germany state that
this is not true and that Germany
has millions of men capable of tak
ing up arms who have not been call
ed to the colors and several million
are training at interior points.
Russian Attacks In East Prussia Are
Checked.
BERLIN, Jan. 25.—The Russians
failed in their attacks upon the Ger
man positions in East Prussia and
have lost heavily. Several positions
held by the Russians for weeks were
abandoned by them today following
the reverse. Several thousand pris
oners were taken and some cannon
and machine guns captured.
Russians Strike At Hindenburg’s
Raiar.
PETROGRAD, Jan. 25.—The Rus
sian army north of the Vistula has
effected a crossing at three different
points and is pushing south. The ad
vance troops have been in skirmish
es with the guards protecting the Ger
man flank. A big battle is expected
within a few days between the troops
commanded by Gen. Hindenburg and
the Rusisan force from Plock, which
must be driven back if the Germans
dntend to continue the assaults upon
the Bsura and Rawka rivers.
Expect Hindenburg To Strike.
Military experts here who have
watched the work of the German
■commander say that he will not be
■caught in the trap laid for him by
Grand Duke Nicholas, but will turn
with all his force and strive to crush
the Russian wedge that threatens his
rear and that fresh troops will oe
brought forward from the frontier to
aid in the work by striking at the
Russians from Wlozlawsk, which is
still held by the kaiser’s men.
Must Abandon Warsaw Campaign.
Unless the troops sent by the Ger
mans from the frontier points can
check the Russians near Plock Gen.
Hindenburg must abandon his cam
WANT THAW SENT
TO BELLEVUE
4
For Observation As To His Sanity—
Jerome Would Have Him Sent
To Matteawan.
NEW YORK, Jan. 25.—Attorneys
for Harry Thaw will ask that the de
fendent in the conspiracy charge be
sent to Bellevue Hospital for observa
tion as to his sanity. Special Dis
trict Attorney Jerome will probably
fight the effort of the Thaw attorneys
to have the sanity of the defendant
tested by the experts of the hospital,
as he insists that under a commit
ment made following the trial of
Thaw for the killing of Stanford
White that Thaw must be kept in
the Matteawan asylum for the crimi
nal Insane.
Thaw will b« arraigned late today
or tomorrow. His mother has re
tained a number of eminent counsel
to assist In his A
BERNSTROFF HAS
MADE PROTEST
Says Sate of Hydro-aeroplanes By
Americans To Allies Violates
Neutrality.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25—The Ger
man government through Ambassador
von Bernstroff has filed an emphatic
protest with the State Department
against the sale by American aero
plane manufacturers of hydro-aero
planes to the Allies. The German am
bassador presented proof to the State
Department of the shipments of the
airships and also stated that con
tracts for several hundred more aero
planes had been let in the United
States by the agents of the Allies.
Count von Bernstroff protested
against the shipments, claiming that
hydro-aeroplanes and aeroplanes must
be considered as war craft and the
use of ships built in America for the
Allies as a violation of neutrality.
paign to take Warsaw and retire to
the border.
Bare* Turco-German Pact.
PARIS, Jan. 25.—A news dispatch
received from Dedeagatch, Bulgaria,
says a synopsis of a treaty recently
concluded between Germany and Tur
key has been disclosed. This treaty
provides that Germany shall furni3h
Turkey during the war with muni
tions, material and the money nec
essary for the Turkish army, and
supply also a sufficient number of
German officers and specialists to
meet Turkey’s requirements.
In case of victory Germany agrees
to pay Turkey one-fifth of the war
indemnity received; in case of de
feat Germany will introduce into the
peace treaty a clause guaranteeing
the integrity of the Ottoman territory.
Each country agrees not to conclude
peace without the other.
American Consul Injured.
PARIS, Jan. 25.—American Consu
lar Agent Benjamin Morel, located
at Dunkirk, did not escape without
injury when the consulate building
was hit by bombs from German aero
planes on Friday. The American dip
lomatic agent is injured and is now
in the American field hospital receiv
ing treatment. The consulate build
ing was wrecked. The American flag
was floating over the structure when
the bombs were dropped.
New English Army.
LONDON, Jan. 25.—A new army of
300,000 men will be sent from here
this week to aid the force now on
tbe continent. The men will be tak
en across the Channel in large trans
ports and all the force of men will
be moved at night to avoid danger
from attack by the German subma
rines.
Kitchener Almost Ready.
It is stated by military men that
Lord Kitchener is almost ready to
strike his terrific blow at the German
line in France and Flanders and drive
the invaders back across the frontier
into Germany. He is mobilizing for
■the blow and all the troops gathered
from different parts of the empire
months ago and held in training
camps will now be placed on the
firing line.
Frencn Have n5w Army.
The French war office has also been
preparing for the attack and a new
French army of fully 400,000 men will
be brought from southern points of
the country to join with the Brit
ish.
Strike At* German Left Center.
Experts here predict that Gen. Jof
fre will launch an overwhelming as
sault upon the German positions near
Arras with a view of cutting dff the
German line in Flanders by striking
at its line of communication towards
the base in Germany.
Rumania Asks U. S. To Represent
PARIS, Jan. 25.—It is learned from
a private source, but one worthy of
credence, that arrangements whereby
the interests of Rumania in Berlin
and Vienna will be attended to by
the United States Diplomatic Ser
vice, have been definitely made. This
(Continued on page 2.)
MUCH SUFFERING
IN MIDDLE WEST
Twenty Below At Chicago and Poor
Are Suffering—Railroads Cannot
Maintain Schedules.
CHICAGO, Jan. 25—The police o£
this cCy report many deaths as a
result of the cold wave which is gen
eral throughout the central west. In
this city the suffering among the
poor has been frightful. The tem
perature in this city varies from 17
to 20 degrees below zero. Thousands
of men and women have appealed to
the police for shelter. All the sta
tion houses are open for the tempo
rary relief of the sufferers, the lodg
ing houses are filled to capacity.
The railroad managers find it dif
ficult to maintain the train sched
ules, as the firemen cannot keep up
steam in the intense cold. Many of
the trains have been lightened an!
on some two engines have been plac
ed in the effort to keep the tracks
clear.
As is usual In cases of distress in
the city the Salvation Army is do
ing good work to aid the sufferers.
Other charitable organizations are al
so doing their utmost to aid the poor.
SUPPLIES FOR
ROAD COMMISSION
Teams at Work Distributing the
Summer’s Supplies Along the
Government Road.
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Supt. Jack Ingrain, of the Alaska
Road Commission, left this morning
"with twenty head of stock for Chit
ina, where he will start the work of
distributing the supplies for the road
■work from Chitina to the Alaska di
vide.
Seven head of stock will be use.l
to take supplies from Valdez to Ton
sina for the use of the crews that
will be employed on repair work be
tween the coast and the junction of
the Valdez and Willow creek roads.
Lieut. Kunzig, secretary of the road
commission, states that the suplpies
for next season’s work will all be sent
in this winter because it is cheaper to
commission, states that the supplies
ter trails than in the summer, as the
horses of the oommisison are then
needed to work on the roads, while
in the winter the horses are idle.
» - -.■— ■ - —
Mrs. E. C. Dalton and Mrs. E. E.
Campbell were guests of Liout.
Dougherty on a sled ride to Wort
man’s canyon yesterday.
Attorney T. J. Donohoe, wife and
son are on the Mariposa en route to
Valdez after spending several months
in California. Mr. Donohoe is great
ly Improved in health as a result of
his sojourn in the South.
The Prospector office for Job work.