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EXPLAINS REFUSAL ’T/f. “ETidently the intereets of peeee and the claim* of nationality Alike *• v require the Turkish rule aver alien • . • ' ; . , ' - . V races shall if possible be brought to 411 ICC i UDIICV nc A PC WATC an and we may hope that the AIXICj AmiXlrl rCALt nu 1C expulsion of Turkey frotp Europe uriTu Turin nr irask? ■ fWill contribute as much to the cause ,• tI11 ll ItltlK KfcAMirlj ** peace as the restoration of Alsace- • ' | Ixjrraine to France; of Italia Irre- ' •' . ! denta to Italy, qr any of the other PFACF THRRIlfiH SlIFFP^ A^d note 61 ange8 ia<ilcatod ^ tlie rL/lUL I lintfUUlt OliullLtJU ‘ Evidently, however, such terri- ' • : j torial rearrangements, though they i may diminish the occupations of war, Balfour Says Future Peace of, the P rovide ?5_i u ^ icient securi ty against | its recurrence. If Germany, or rath- Vforld Cannot Be Insured .by Trea- er those in Germany who mold its opinions and control its destiniee ties and I^aws as Germany Cannot / Be Expected to It expect a Treaty Obligation. The Entente Aljfes in a note ad dressed by Arthur Balfour, British foreign minister, to Ambassador; ized through and through on. a mill Spring-Rice and delivered to the'tary Ijasis; they may still acd&hiulate state department amplify their* reply | vast "store’s of military equipment; to President Wilson’s peace note by; they may still persist >ri their meth- eaplaining in detail why they believe - ods* of attack so that their more pa^ it impossible at present to attain a cific neighbors will be struck down again ^et out to domineer the world, they may fin,d that by the new order of things the adventure 1$ made more difficult, but hardly that it Is made impossible. * “They may still have ready to their hand a political system organ- \ __ peace which will assure them such guarantees as they consider essential. The note also explains why the Allies demand the expulsion of, Turkey from Europe; restoration of Alsace- Lorraine to France, of Italia Irre- dentia to Italy and other territorial changes set forth. Those who.think the future peace of the world may be insured by in ternal' treaties and international laws, the note says, have ill-learned the lessons taught by recent history. After charging that German influ ence in Turkey had resulted in‘con ditions as barbarous and more ag gressive than were known under. Sul tan Abdul Haml$l, that it had been shown Germany cannot be expected to respect. treaty obligations, Mr. Balfour says: ‘!So.long as Germany remains £he Germany which without a shadow of justification overran and barb&rous- y \y ill-treated'a country it was pledg ed to defend, no state can regard its rights as secure if they have no bet ter protection than.a solemn treaty.” Otlior Victims. Asserting, that Belgium was not Germany’s only victim and ' “that to ■ nute"*crTtt r 1'ages. r whieh accompanied > its con quest” the note recites the “reign of terror” atUtfidftftt upon Germany's method of warfare, and in-that con nection says; - V before they Can prepare themselves for defense. If so, Europe, when the war is over, will be far poorer in men, money and municipal* better ment than when the war began; the hopes of the future/vorld entertain ed by the president will be as far as ever from fulfillment. Treaties Not Respected. “There are many who think that* international treaties and laws may provide a sufficient cure. But per sons have ill-learnea the lessons so clearly taught by recent history. Gther nations, notably the United States of America and Great Britain, were striving by treaties* or arbitra tion to make sure that no such event would mar the'peace they desired to make perpetual, while Germany ptood aloof. Her philosophers* preach ed this splendid wari power was pro claimed as the true end of the state; the general staff forged with untir ing energy the weapon# which at jhe appointed jhoment they hoped power might be achieved. - • » . “These facts * prchTSd . clearly enough that treaty arrangements for maintaining peace was not likely to find much favor at Berllnr they did rttfl 'yrftve IftAt aucli 'Teiv made would v be KEPOKT OF C01HSS10I! TAKES CARE OF CHARLESTON NO HOPE OF PEACE HERMANS STOPPER JLpkSa-*.. - j—«/• - R«tf*4aas and at La*t tlanicte Keep* Recommendations , Secret Rut Carolina Port is * Well Provided For.- I 1 T i— . • While Secretary of the Navy Dan iels and chairmen of tho House aud Senate naval committees were keep ing the Helm commission prelimi nary report on Charleston, Pensacola and New Orleans navy yards confi dential pending the final formulation of the naval appropriation hill on the House side, President Wilsoq, who had received a copy of the re port in the routine, transmitted it to Congress, aqd it was sent te the pifb- lic printer td be printed as a docu ment, The salient, part of the pre- liminiry reports as" to Charleston is contained iri the following recom mendations: - First.- That ife^is necessary and advisable to improve the navy yard in order to meet the requirements of suck portions ofthe fleet as may be assigned to it for .maintenance and repair, Including additional facilities as a submarine and destroyer base, and to utilize to the greatest pos sible advantage its facilities within DIPLOMATS FORESEE LONO DE LAY BEFORE PRESIDENT Halt !■ Dobrad)*. BELLIGERENTS FAR APART I^a-st Note of Entente Allies Iteal* Crushing Blow to Oianco of--Fur ther Negotiations Along Present Linos—league for Further Safety May Ik* Entering Wedge. Long delay before President tVik son makes his next peace move, ahd a total change of the directimi-of peace negotiations, were accepted as certain'by diplomatic Washington. The White House aud the state department both refused to discuss the p‘eace situation, following the publication of the supplementary Entente peace* note, .but it was ap parent that the administration feels that negotiations along present lines The advance of the Teutonic allies in Roumania apparently has been brought to a standstill, for the time' being at least, by the reinforced Rus sians and Roumanians. In the lat est Berlin official communication the only, successes reported for the in- 1 vaders were gained • through a sur-l prise attack betweqfl the Such^tza' and Putna valleys, where the armyi of Archduke Joseph captured an of ficers, two hundred and thirty men and one machine gun from a hostile position.' south pf the Oitus. hoad, whero a stroifg Russian attack was repulsed with artillery and machine gun fire. ' On the other hand the Russians and Rounpanians put down a German -attack "south of Monastir-Kachinui, on^the Kasino river, and southwest of Pralea, surrounded a German, po sition and raptured a large number op meh and four machine guns. The Russians' are shelling the towns of Tultcha and Isakcha, across the Dan ube in Dobrudja, while the Bulga rians’ guns are active against hostile S hipping and military positions near ialatz and Isakcha. KEEP UP ALL YARDS t .. . NAVAL NEEDS OF COMOIY MAKE STATIONS IMPERATItt, —, RECOMMEND PROGRESS 'M the limitations of the.capacity of the have about been exhausted. The attitude of l>qth groups of belligerents has convinced the presi- once utterly ineffectual dry dock and Jhe .thirty-foot ap proach channel to the navy yard, al ready provided for by Congress in the latest naval appropriation bill. Second.- * That recommendation concerning further development 'ol the Charleston navy yard is deped- ent upon strategic and other consid erations, which cannot be definitely determined until the commission has completed its. survey of the South Atlantic, Gulf, of Mexica and Caraib- bean region. • \ ' Third. That in order to^ provide necessary improvements indicated in item one, above., including extension and destroyers, the commission rec ommends that an appropriation be now made of one million two hun dred thousand dollars for this pur- poss. ^ _ V - ' • It should he understood that these recommendations of the Helm com mission apply to the general needs T-bey-do^-not tako Into dent that mutual statements of “ob jects of war” cannot be secure^ in such form as to 1 insure peace, c While the president will not aban don his peace plans, it is expected that the next, move wilL.be along entirely difffefent lines. The presi dent and his advisers believe that the disturbinb effects' of the pres; ent peace agitation in both groups of European countries should be al lowed to subside beforp, a new move is made. They now are searching for a diplomatic qpen^hg that will . . fog. of basing facilities for submarines a new line 9* I ,ea € e proposals^^ q*h e underwater boat was llberat- * - ■ ’but no definite plans have been ■ -* * *- made. * . ' • - Diplomatic representatives of both the Entente and Central powers in Washington took the position that the latest note of the Entente was a severe blow to the president’s peace DUTCH INTERN U-BOAT Warship Takes Submarine Found In Dutch Waters. A Flushing dispatch to Reuter’s says that a Dutch warship brought into Flushing Monday night a Ger man submarine, which was found in Dutch waters. Tire submarine will be Interned.'' The'submarine was a mine layer fropj Zeebruggee and had a crew of thirty-two. She bad stray ed out of her course during a thick account the building equipment^ that will be’ considered if Congress gives ^ ‘The 'war staffs^ofr the Central i piain.s j he Germany, which, without powers are well content to horrify I a shadow of justification, overran 'the world if at the same time they and barbarously ill-treated a coimtfy This became evident only when w^r | secretarv Daniels the. additional had broken ouVthough the demon- twelve million dollar^ he k asking Stratton when it came was over whelming. So long as Germany rh- not based on the success of the Allies’ causer- effecutally blocked further Efforts to ‘mediate between statements of peace terms submitted for the prosecution of the building ^ both groups of.powers. . y ean terrorize it.” The people of Great Briwvn, Mr. Balfour says, share P^egident Wil son’s desire for peace, but does not believe ft can be durablejuntH it is *hased on success. Such peace, it is argued, cannot be expected unless these three conditions are fulfilled: Necessary ('onditiona. “Existing causes of international unrest shall as far as possible be re moved or weakened; the aggressive aims and the unscrupnitnis methods of the Central po^rs should fall into Misrepute among their own peo ples; and, finally, that behind inter national law and behind all treaty arrangements for preventing or limit* ing hostilities some form of interna tional sanction should be devised which would give peace. It is regarded the conditions may be difficult of fulfillment, but the hope is expressed that they are in general harmony with President, Wilson’s ideas. The note declares confidence so far as Europe is con cerned. none of the conditions can be satisfied even, imperfectly unless peat* is secured bif the general lines indicated by the Allies’ joint- note.” Text of ^iote. The text of Mr. Balfour's note fol lows: “}n sending you a translation ot the Allied note I desire to make the following observations, which yioii should bring to the United States government: ^ “I gather from the general tenor of the president’s note that while he is animated by an intense desire that peace should come soon and ‘.that when* it comes it should be lasting, he does not for the moment atjeast .concern himself with the'terms,_on which it should he arranged. ^His Majesty’s government, efltirely shares the president’s ideas; but they feel strongly that the durability of peace m.ust largely depend on its character nod that no stable system of interna tional relations can be built upon foundations which are essentially ‘and hopelessly defective. it was pledged -to defend, no states can ^regard its rights as secure if they have no better proteclion than a solemn treaty. • * CYush and Intimidate. “The case is made worse by the reflection that these methods of cal culated brutality were designed by the Central Powers not merely to crush to the dust those with whom they were at war, but to intimidate those with whom they were at peace. Belgium was riot ’only a victim; -it was an example. Neutrals were in tended to note the outrages which accompanied its conquest, the reign of terror which followed its occupa tion, the deportation of a portion of Us population; the cruel treatment of the remainder. “These nations happily, either pro tected by British fleets or their own from German armies, should suppose themselves safe from German meth ods: The submarine (has within its Limits) assiduously imitated the bar barous practices of their views.* The staffs of the Central powers are well content to horrify the world if at the same* time they can terrorize it. „ If Teutons Succeed. “If the Central powers succeed it would be to methods like these that they will owe their success. How can any reform of international re lations be based on a peace thus ob tained? Such a peace would repre sent the triumph of all trie forces, which make war certain and make it brutal. It would advertise the futil ity of all the methods on which civ-- ilization relies to eliminate the occa sions of international dispute and to mitigate their ferocity. “Germany ana Austria made the present war inevitable by attacking the rightlT^)f one small State- and they gained their initial triumphs by violating .the treaty guarantees of the territories of another. Are small states going to find in them their fu ture protectors or in treaties made 11v them a bulwark against aggres- V ^ program at government yards. Tt Would take about one million dollars to equip the Charleston yard to build two gynblht's and two destroyers, according to Secretary Daniels’ tes timony recently beforp the House committee. MAY WITHDRAW MILITIA At the German embassy It was stated that there was nothing that Germany could do toward peace in the face (Tf the latest Entente note, and that the entire peace situation now rests with the president. Diplomatic Washington saw', one opening in the peace situation which might offer a basis for a new “pro posal by the president. The replies of both the Entente and the Central powers to the first peace note, while apparently blocking present efforts to end the war,, agree heartily with the president’s proposal for the cre ation of a league to enforce peace. It was pointed out that with this agreement as a basis the president might be able to initiate negotiations looking to the creation of a world league, even while tfte present war is in progress. A conference called to consider the creation of a world league might eventually ' e develop- into a generaKpeace conference ed after the captain had signed & declaration that he had not beep in touch with hostile forces through out the day arid that, consequently, the presence of the boat in tho ter ritorial waters of Holland was .not the result of a hostile pursuit.- IN PRESIDENT’S HANDS Prospects are That Soldiers Will Be Home Soon. Although Villa’s operations have injected confusing factors into the situation in Northern Mexico and along the border, there is every in dication that the. administration is going forward with its plans for early withdrawal of Pershing’s-ex- pedition and demr bilization of the National Guard. impossible to set a definite date for or might be used to bring about the the troop movement because of the consideration of peace terms as a uncertainty-of transportation Tacilk separate conference, ties and because, the situation at the It was believed in Washington horde* and beyond constantly is that proposals along this line wolild changing. It has been indicated, meet'with favorable consideration, clearly, however, that unless there 1 at least among the Central powers. ConimisNlon Recommends Kitiidrawal ’ 4 of American Troops.. After Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, at which Secretary Lane made his final report on the work of the Mexi- can-Ameriran point commission, it became, known that the withdrawal of Major Gen. Pershing’s troops from Mexico and the sending of Ambassa dor Fletcher'to the Mexican capital may be expected in the near future. No formal announcement is expect ed, but the decision Of life adminis tration probably will he made known through action. No definite date for the withdraw al o>v the American troops has been set, but as a result ot the conclusion of the work of the joint commission the question is now entirely, in Pres ident Wilson’s hands. M THREATENED WILSON Credited was some unexpected development Pershing’s withdrawal and the re turn of the Guardsmen would be or dered within a few days, possibly by tLe end of this week. Border dispatches transmitting ru mors that the Guardsmen would he ordered home, within five days were heard by war department officials without comment. Gen. Funston has exercised a wide discretiofT regarding details of troop dispositions, and it is assumed generally that the exact Despite the fact that the peace reply of the Teutonic allies specifically re ferred to the league of nations as a matter to be taken up after the set tlement of the war, it is believed that they would not refuse to enter upon the consideration of the ques tion at this time if *the diplomatic situation seemecHtamrable. Meanwhile, the '^mministration is prepared to pursue its policy of seerpey regarding the peace negotia tions until the next move is made, sion s. ’“Germany, by land and s,>a . will “This becomes clearly apparent if j have to prove-itself bv, victory. Are we consider' thb- main eonditions which rendered possible the calami ties. Trofn which the world now' suf fers. It would conquer great powers in its lust for gain.' ^That this last evil will be greatly miticafod iT the Allies are success ful is manifest and 1 need not labor on the point. f Expulsion of the Turks. “It has bpen argued, indeed, that the expulsion of the Turks from Europe ' forms rib proper or logical part of this general scheme. The muintemuHo of the Turkish empire during many generations re- was . garded by statesmen of world-wide authority as essential to the mainte- name of European peace. Why, it . is asked, should the cause of peace be now associated with a complete ^ reversal of this tradition policy? ‘•The answer is that circumstances ~jiave~coriipletely ehahge(T It is un existing treaties no more than scraps of paper? If .the violation of the most fundamental canons of inter national law be eroNvned with suc cess will it not be in vain that the assembled natidtis labor to imprav their condition? None will,profit by their rules but powers who br4ak Hum. it is those who keep them that will suffer.. “TJhough the people of this coiin- * on \ try share, to- the full fhe desire of icadq^he president for peat e they do not believe peace ean be durable if it is not to be based on the success of the Allied cause. For-a durable peace can hardly be expected*unless three conditions are fulfilled. “The first that existing cause of international unrest shall be as far asl^ossible removed. 'The speond is that the aggressive aims and; the up- scrupuious methods of the Central powers should fall into disrepute date will depend largely on his*as- or even beyond that time, sessment of conditions along the Both the president and the state border and in the territory where department have before . them the Villa is operating. text of Ambassador Gerard’s Berlin speech declaring that relations be- •l/II 1 tween the United States and Ger > LLA Al- many are more cordial now than at any time since the war began. It has been suggested that the matter .may call for a mild officla'l reproof, although the administration is known to be anxious to avoid any action which ^worild disturb, the strong standing of the ambassador in Berlin. * . ■ • X * • w* ■ ^ • . *\ • raliforaU Agitators ar u With Deadly Intention. That President Wilson's life was threatened by an anarchistic organ ization known as “The Blasters,* of which Thomas J. Mooney, on trial at San Francisco for murder, was a to be presented on Mooney’s trial, .Assistant District Attorney Edward A. Cunha declared Thursday in Su perior Court of San Francisco in his opening address to the Jury* “I will prove,” said Cunha, “that these men plotted revolution against the government. I will prove that they saldMn an edition of The Blast that 'weather cock in the White House had better watch. Suppres sion of the voice of the diseontentsd leads to assassination.* 1 FATAL DUEL OVER GIRL Bandit' Comes Back to Attack City 4 Ho Recently Ixioted. , Francisco Villa and his maijo com- ma >1 ay:itn is at the gates of Chi huahua City, passengers arriving from the state capital Tuesday said. After defeating Gen*. Hernandez and his Crrrairza^ command of fifteen hundred / men in the vicinity of Sate- vo Villa drqve the de facto column o Lajolla,- eighteen miles north of Satevo. where another defeat was administered and the column was forced to retreat to Santa Yskbel arid then to TPalomas, only eighteen miles west of the city, the passengers said, — PLAN NAVAL EFFORT - EOST-ONE CHURCH Dedication Put Off Became BuiMing Failed to Arrive. Germany to Put Orest Exertion in tho Atlantic. . . ; * Amsterdam reports: The German naval staff, bent upon completely crippling the shipment of supplies, arms and ammunition to England and France from North and South neMwiar* to consider now^j^tha araon g their own peoples. The thirdt!!? tt ? ri 5. a ‘...^!w W . < l r ! t *L°“ t .„* the creation of a 'reformed Turkey meditating,between hostile races in t.the near East ‘was a scheme, which had the Sultan been sincere and the powers united, could ever have been realized. It certainly cannot be real ized now. The Turkey of ‘Union and Progress’ is at least barbarous and is far more aggressive than the Turkey of Sultan Abdul Hamid. In the hands of Gerinany it has ceased even in appearance to be a bulwark of peace and is openly used as an ih- . strument of conquest. * • Armenian Massacre*. . “Under German officers German- Tiirkish soldiers are now fighting in land from which they had long been expelled, and a Turkish .government, controlled, subsidized* and supported by Germany has been guilty of mas sacres in Armenia and Syria more horrible than any in the is -that behiftd international law and behind all treaty arrangements ffut preventing or limiting hostilities some forrii of international sanction should be devised which jvould give pause to th^ hardiest aggressor. These conditions may be difficult of fulfillment. . - “But we believe them te be in gen eral harmony with the president’s ideas and we are confident that none of them can be satisfied, even impet- feqtly. unless peace be secured on the general lines indicated (so far as Europe ts concerned), in tho*Joint note, therefore, it ft that t^i^ coun try has made, is making and is pre pared to make sacrifices of blood and treasure unparalleled in its history. “It bears these heavy buydens not merely that it may thus fulfill its treaty * obligations, nor yet that it history even of those uhhnnpy coun- may secure a barren triumph of one plan of which the German raider’s activities are only one feature. This was learned on reliable authority. Fighting submarines ef the latest and most powerful types, are to co operate with this and other raiders and every passible effort will be piade to cut off England completely from overseas shipments. Tiie chief aim is said to be.th^ pre vention of -acCuirffilationTif ammuni tion and supplies.Jor th& spring of fensive. German * commanders are saidto have received thn strictest orders to avoid loss of life and any — Mit group of natiops ov£f another. - It bears them because.it firmly believes that on the success of the Allies de pends the prospects of peaceful civ ilization and of those internattonal reforn^s, which the best thinkers of the new world as of the oM hope may triumph.** . Queer things have happened to churches because of fire and flood and storm and battle, but it remain ed for Windsor Bark Congregational, of Chicago, to be lost, strayed, stolen or delayed in transmission. Members of a suburban congrega tion last summer selected a likely looking' ddtfiee from the ratalpgue ot an Eastern house which manufac tures, portable buildings. Last-Octo ber the day of dedication was set, but the church did not arrive. Since then tracers and Investigators have from timer to time revi v'ecl hope as to the_dedication, but woven times the day has been set only to lead to di:j- appointmenL; REGULARS ARE ENOUGH Young Man Killed and Other Is in X' * , .■ • ■ Jail In Washington, Pa. Each jealous over tho attentions pdld by tho other to a pretty girl caused a fatal duet between Thomas Donaldson, aged 'twenty-one, jmd Henry I^ahgford, aged twenty-five, in Burgettstown, Pa. After attend ing church services during Which they discussed their differences the young BfOU retired to the railroad yards where they engaged in a duel during which Donaldson sustained fatal wounds. Langford v;as arrest ed immediately and taken to jail in Wafchmgton, Pa., where he is held otr~a •charge of murder/ ' ?. TILLMAN TIRED Senator Has Nq More to Say About CandHlttcy in 1918. To Chester man who wanted to know whether Senator,.Tillman ex pects to be a Yandhlfate. for re-elec tion next year the/ senior Senator replied thus: “Replying, to your letter of Jan uary 15,. I have already said publlo- ty ill the Senate twlcs^what my pur pose was in regard to* running for the Senate again. I am tired of be ing bothered by newspaper men on that subject and don't intend to speifk more specifically.” Funston Says They (’an Take < are of—— MAKE EMENDED GAINS Border Rauls./ * * Majbr Gen. Frederick Funston ^on. his return frqm a visit.to the puni tive expedition in Mexicci*. expressed the opinion that # the menace of tior- der raids by Mexican bandits and rebels has been reduced to such an extent that' the regular forces now are sufficient, for , protective pur poses. * . ’ . Gen. Funston added that “for the present we do not look for any more raids across the Tine,” and declared if there should be any the regulars would be sufficient to forestall them. ' SpeHal Committee of Naval Offlssrs - , Urge Submarine and Aviatf— • Bases—Sites Should He Detenfcfe- * ed Xfter Moat .Careful Stwriy Improvements Urged for Charles ton. ‘ ' Retentionsf all existing navy yards, establishment ef submarine bases on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pa cific coasts and a thorough acronan- tical survey of the coast of the Unli ed States and its possessions wars recommended to congress Wednes day in a preliminary report by a spe cial commission of naval officers ap pointed by President Wilson. The commission consisted of Rear Admiral J. M. Helm, Chief Constrnn* tor W. L. Capps, Civil Engineer It. K.* Rosseau, Capt. W. G. McElroy and. Commander L. Hussey. It spent snv- * eral months making inspections along the coast and announced Wnd- * nesday more time will be necessary before complete reports can be mads on many questions. On the abolishment ot navy yards the report recommends: “That II Is unnecessary, undesirable and inad visable to abolish at this lima any existing navy yard or naval sUtftaa Within the continental limita of Us United States.** The-commission said the dsvstop- ment of the New Orleans navy yard ' to a first class naval base >“18 to hs considered as remote” owing to ils distance from the mouth of the Mri- sissippl river and strategic reasons, • .but that this yard should bo retained up to capacity of Its-floating dry dock.” 4k — —^— The commission was without snf- ficient engineering data to make a satisfactory report .regarding further development , of . the navy yard at Charleston, S.-C., so it could handle • the largest'ships ot the navy, but an nounced that immediate steps should be taken to improve the yard so as to permit full utilization of its pres ent dock and repair facilities. The report said it was inadvisable at this time to consider the possible development of the Pensacola navy station except its utilization aa a supply base and as a base for enb- marines and destroyers. In arriving at its conclusions tbs commission says “that full consid eration of the present and pro apse tlve size of our navy, its require ments, not only in peace, but during the far more exacting conditions •! war, should bring convincing evi dence that the abolishment at thin time of any existing naval yard er station within the continental llmiln of the United States would b# quite without Justification.” The report explain! that this should not be taken to mean that there might not he transfer of i ork from one yard to another or hanges in methods of handling work at dif ferent plants. It declares . that the present equipment of many yards to inadequate In dry docking facilities, berthing space, storage facilities, machinery and other details. “It is not only unequal to tbs re quirements of the fleet,” says the re port, “but will be seriously inade quate for its proper maintenanee when the fleet is completed to Mb' present authorized strength.** ' Not all the yards .“are ideally lo cated*’ to meet strategic and ether requirements but * the commiseton concludes that such considerations “n ust have little force” in. view sf actual conditions and the actual re quirements of the present and pros pective fleet. The report nays in answer to the statement that a greater concentra tion of yards qrould be economieel; “that the question of economy as de termined by. concentration of naval repair establishments must yield ab solutely to the far more serious aee- essities of the fleet as undue son- cenTration of such naval repair tablisl involve aster.’ These facto and the fact that there in a large., iriyestment in existing yanls, the use uKWhich they could be put for fleet repair purposes and lor 3 taking care of merchant ships that would be taken over In rase of war . ‘ leaves tne commissiori with as doubt in-its mind’^as to th© advisa bility of their retention. Itovrecom mendation includes the present and tho "near future.” The commission nays “it is unable at .this time to determine locations for aviation bases but recommends in addition to the comprehensive coast survey an investigation ,by a board to be appointed by the secre tary of the navy of climatic, air and industrial an well an other conditions where a base should be located. It says there is no particular reason for haste in their establishment, for in case of necessity there would be no great difficulty in finding suitable bases quickly.^* __ « • '"There is a divergence of opinion in naval circles,? the commisdon re ports. over the location of subma rine bases and there is little prob ability at present naval authorities *’< will agree on the subject. Generslly. the commission advocates bases sa the Atlantic, Gulf and pacific coasts but suggests no place. sKments might virtually easily veAn time of war military dto- British Add to Progress Near Beau- eomt sur-Ancre.. The British in Franc# have ex tended their gains of . Wednesday near Beaucourt-aur-Ancre. The French and Germans in the Vosges mountains, in Lorraine and near .Soissons, are engaged in artillery duels which .are described by - the French war office as being of a “rather serious character.** The big guns of the belligerents also have beqn active near Ramscapelle, Dlx- mude and Het Zas, Belgium. . '* Refugees in France. M. Malvy, minister of the interior, told the French chamber of deputies that after the battle of Charleroi, France llad seven hundred thousand refugees to care* for. By the~end of the year T916 the figure had reach ed one milliom Tnekidlng one hun dred and twenty thousand persons repatriated from Switzerland-. i ‘ # 1 Want ft.OO<b Women Workmen. The British ministry of munittoas issued an appeal for eight thousand more women to work in munitions factories. ** 'j. . . ggHjlljL; if - X • *