University of South Carolina Libraries
Libraries of j Constantinople Open to Antiquarians for the First Time?Many Rare and Valuable Manuscripts Will Probably be Unearthed London, March 17 (Correspondence of The Associated Press)?Antiquar ians and historians are now to have for the first time since the Turks took possession of Constantinople the opportunity lfor making a thorough ' investigation of the literary treasures stored! away in the great libraries -there. The contents of the bookshelves of the St. Sophia and Palace libaries are known, but in the cellars under the Palace library there are many manuscripts in Arabic, Greek. Latin sind Eastern languages. These man uscripts are in hopeless confusion and no person with special aptitude for research work has been permit ted to examine them in recent years. About thirty years ago a German dragoman obtained permission from the Sultan to spend a week in those cellars. In that time he was able to make only a very superficial exami nation of the manuscripts, but his search, short as it was, revealed many books, in Greek and Arabic of great value. Among the discoveries he re ported were the lost books of Livy, the gr.eat Roman historian. Among celebrated British scholars who are planning to go to Constan tinople to delve among the long-hid den mauscripts is Sir Edwin Pears, the historian, who has spent many years in Constantinople. Sir Edwin told ;he A^r.ociaUd Press correspondent that at least six months would be re quired for the investigation. He does not" think the libraries have been damaged by the Turks, who, he says, are Utterly indifferent to their value. His only fear is that the manuscripts will he found in a sad state as a result of neglect. The fine libraries of the Byzantine Empire were taken by the Turks in 1453. The greatest number of books are deposited, not in St. Sophia's, as popularly believed but in the Imper ial Palace about a quarter of a mile from the church. Under Turkish rule these libraries were added to from time to time, the most notable acqui sition resulting from the defeat by the Turks of the King of Hungary, whose collection of books was brought v Constantinople and placed either in St. Sophia or the Palace library. ? "The shelves of the Palace library" said Sir Edwin, "have been constantly picked over and the most important manuscripts probably have been stol en or-destroyed. At present, what is shown visitors is a room about feet long and 15 wide, nicely fitted up with glass cases containing books with well-polished bindings. But there is not a book displayed which an archeo logist would consider worth having. This cellars, however, contain hun . dreds of manuscripts which have /"never yet l*-en satisfactorily examined. ? "The library in St. Sophia's also contains many unclassified works and it may be _jthat they include raanu _script-s of importance." ? The greatest finds of manuscripts made in the vicinity of Constantinople during the last half-century were not in the Palace or St. Sophia libraries but in local libraries belonging to the Greek church. One of these, which Sir Edwin terms the most im portant theological find of the cen tury, was a book containing the teachings of the Twelve Apostles. a document frequently quoted in the early centuries of Christian literature The last half of the text had been copied and preserved, but the com plete copy was lost until about 40 years ago. "At that time," Sir Edwin said, "the grand old scholar, Bishop Brien nius of Xicomedia. the modern Ismid one of the few Greek schemes wh not only knows Greek well but is ai authority on paleography, was look ing for the epistles of St. Ch-ment. . "In the library of the Church of th Holy Sepuicher in Constantinople h< came across a small volume entitle' simply "Saint Clement." It Contain ed not only the epistles of St. Clemen? but the teachings of the Twelve Apos ties,' lost since about lOSO. Souk- au thorities date the book as ear ly as 70 some as late as 120. "Another book of equal value was dlscovered in the library of St. Sophir in about 1873. called "The .Manuscript.1 of Critobolus.' This is the only reeord we possess containing an account. fro?r the Greek side, of the siege of Con stantinople. I was the first to *afc< advantage of this find in my writing: of the siege. The book unearthed !?: Critobolus was a lif?* of Mahdmmed It revealed how the Greeks turned Ro mans to save their skins." Another library which Sir. Edwr plans to explore is at Mt. Athos. z peninsula devoted to the Greek churcl since 1100. It is situated between Con stantinople and Saloniki. About fifteen years ago a Greek made sonn interesting discoveries these, sir Ed win visited it shortly after tin- dis covery of the teachings of the Apos ties, and learned from the libra riar that none of the books were propcrl? classified. St. Athos escaped molestation by th Turks. The only time the binary wa. violated was in 1824 when a largr number of manuscripts were cut up for haversacks for Turkish soldiers Monks only live there, nothing fern inine being allowed on tin- place, no; e\-en hens, cows or mares. Y. M. C. A. < ANTKE.VS. Only Soft Drinks to lk* Furnisher Hereafter. Paris. March I'J.?"Wet cauteens t be run by the Young Men's Christiai Association." says a. headline in tic Stars and Stripes but tin- "wetness' spoken of would not offend tie- ad vocates of bone dry prohibition for i , only includes chocolate, coffee and ic< J cream and sodas. The paper announced that after Apri 1. the army would run the ean teen service for itself but th<- drink? ^?et'Id 'b* : "p;pU?"j by the Youns Meh's Cnnjuan A^ocLi'tion. Greek Refugees in Saloniki I Many Hundreds Driven from I Their Homes by The Bulgars and the Turks take Refuge Here Saloniki, .March !? (.Correspondence ; of the Associated Press)?High up on the hill:j of this bustling Macedonian jcity is a picturesque settlement where 3,000 Greek refugees, driven from j Asia Minor by the massacres of I 1914, make their homes. Hundreds of other Greeks who were interned by j the Bulgarians in Dobrudja during ' the war have joined them recently. 'The houses in this refugee camp ?were constructed by the Greek gov ernment. A space equivalent to a large New York furnished room is al lotted to a family of from five to eight. The settlement (has been given tin ; pretentious name of "The Quarter of ithe Triumvirate" in honor of Greece's j ?three great modern patriots?Premier! |Venizelos, Admiral Koumouriotis and General Danglais, who. repudiating jKing Constantine, (-spoused the cause j of the allies when Germany sought to [win over the Greek army. Many cf j the people have been helped by the 'American Red Cross and speak grate - : fully of the United States and its peo : pie. i As the Associated Press correspond ent was visiting the village, two ox carts loaded with Greek refugees who had been driven by the Turks from ; the villages along the Sea of Mar mora in 1913 and 1911 and who dur I ing the present . war were expelled i from Macedonia by tin- Bulgars. made j their way slowly up step mountain road. The voiugwi< had just come from Dobrudja. to the south of Ru mania, where they were practically exiled by the Bulgars. They had been nearly two months on the way. and virtually all the food and aid they got came from the American Reo Cross, which has relief posts along the line leading from Bulgaria into : Macedonia. Many were little tots i from one to five years old. The won j der was how these little ones, sickly ?and undernourished, were aide to sur I vive the long trip by train, motor truck and ox-cart. j The faces of these returning refu i gees wore an inexpressibly sad and j harassed look. For five years they ; were driven hither and yon by Turk ! and Bulgar and had never known what it was during that time to have ' a roof and shelter. Under the Bul gars they were forced to live in the {open fields or in dugouts or stables: {Eighteen hours a day at hard labor j under constant intimidation, was the j lot of some of them. Three-fifths of j a pound of black bread a day was irhe pitiful recomp nse the: received j from the Bulgars. often those too i weak to work were beaten by I'm ir i ruthless masters. i One refugee, declared to the cor | respondent thai at one time there [were more than 60 deaths day among [the refugee colony in Dobrudja from Imal-nutrition, exhaustion and expos ure. In certain sections, he said, the Greeks were forced to live largely on the rinds of watermelons which the Bulgarian soldiers threw in the streets. The older residents of this refugee "suburb" of Saloniki, most of whom ; had fled from different parts of Asia Minor during the wholesale massacres there in 1914. have bitter experiences to relate about their treatment by the Turks. Some of these- people liv : ed in the city of Phocis, where the (whole Christian population either hac been driven out or were killed by the ! Turks. The women wont as they told jabout the outrages of the Moslems. ? The worst story was that told by an j intelligent peasant woman, who de clared that in a butcher-shop oppo j site her home in Phocis. sh?- saw th( j Turks take a young girl who wa* j considered the most attractive in town j and cut her body into pieces. The;. I hung the pieces on meat hocks and offered them for public sale, sin- said. I to show the Turks contempl for j Greek Christians. ; What most impresses the eye of tin ; visitor in speaking with these un | fortunate people is their sad. van and. j furrowed faces. They have boon driv en about bv the invading foe until j J they have reached the point almost j pf despair and distraction. I Profiteering in England iCoal Mining Corporations Made Enormous Profits I London, March 18 (Correspondence [ of The Associated Press) ?Testimony I tonceming enormous profits made by rvarious British collieries was given ; it the inquiry of the Coal Mines Com mission by Albert Emil Da vies, gen eral manager of th<- Banking Cor | ooratibn and a writer on finance and economics. He suited that l.ooo lbs invested in 1903 in shares, then quot ed at par. of a certain company woulc have earned dividends equal to a?.on: ::,S'ot lbs and would now or salahl; : it :,<><) lbs. j In the case of another company In [said that "for tin- ten years ended in < 19IS tin- dividends paid were equiva [lent to about 243 i<?-r cent <>f the in J creased capital, or ov-r 300 per cent j on the actua! ca pita '." j The witness said that in most cases j th?- extent of profits in coal bad been I [obscured by the capitalization Of re sei vos or othi r readjustments of cap"? [ ital. j j "By the methods and i>y dividends;" j j he testified, "the most successful com I panics are abb- return to their-1 [?shareholders ever\ few years th< i whole of the share capital originalP j ;ubseriJ>ed by them." Mr-. Davis said that if the coal r< serves of the country were pooled, tli enormous profits made and partially j ronceab-d by the larg-- companies would l><- available to meet part, a; east, of any additional working costs that mich;, be necessary, and that th< uccntive t<i build up reserves Cor sub sequent distribution, which obscured the enormous profits actually beim made, would disappear. Sub:.? iah': to Th* Daily [tern; Orily 10c r>tt a eel-: deli ered; \ Morale of German Army Low Many Cases of Robbery Report ed. Commissioned Officers also Guilty of Thefts Coblenz, .March. i'j.?Information from occupied German tcritory reaching American intelligence officers of the Army of occupation is to the effect that the morale of old German regiments new in their depots in va rious parts of Germany is exceeding ly low. Almost every newspaper from the smaller towns on the other side of the bridgehead where troops are garrisoned report one or more case: u roobery of the battalion funds and .lieft of army horses or other ev idences of dishonesty. Reports indi- I cate that the thefts are by soldiers] themselves due to the low morale! among the troops. SevcraJ cases of Stealing by temporary commissioned j officers hav<> also been reported. At a recent meeting of the Soldiers' Council of the Fourth German corps j at Madgeburg it was charged thai a i corps fund of 5R.0?0 marks, or'r!?:al':. j paid in commissions from civilians to : whom the corps farmed cut Belgian j civilians, had decreased to 25.00C ; marks and that the difference had gene to staff officers, under guise of reimbursenn-nt for expenses. Supported by Secret Societies; Korean Revolutionists Have | Backing of Millions of China men. i , i _ j Peking. March lil (Correspond ence of The Associated Press)?Sever al secret societies whose numbers ag gregate millions of persons are sup porting the independence movement i in Korea, it is understood. Notable among them are the Progressive Pa.ty and the Heaven Worshippers which together have a membership of more ; than 2.000.000 persons. Others arc the New Korean Society and the j Light Restoring Society. Sixty thou sand students of nearly all cducation jai institutions, including government schools, participated in the move ! ment. It is stated that the insur rection was supported also by Chris tian and Buddhist bodies. j The Buddhists in Korea number about one million. They have 2.00t" temples and 100,000 priests. The I Japanese have attempted io use Bud dhism to strengthen their position in I Korea, sending many young priests to Japan to be educated. Neverthe lless, many Buddhists are believed to I have been closely connected with the ; insurrection. i Christianity has made rapid pro gress in Korea for thirty years. Two [Targe missionary bodies .are working there. Tin- Ane rican Methodist. Mis sion has 759 churches and L00*.0.00 !followers, while tlm American Pres byterian Mission has 2.000 churches : and about 200.000 adherents. The | Korean Christians are mostly men of I character and have received higher ! education. t The demonstrations in favor of in !dependence which began in nearly all towns and villages throughout Korea on March 1. were at first orderly and limited to the delivery of speeches and distribution of copies of mani festos. Later the movement took a distinctly revolutionary character and this resulted in clashes with the Jap anese authorities and in casualties on j both sides. j Salvation Army Huts I Minister to Comfort of American ! Solders in Paris and Many i i Other Places I Paris, March i:? (Correspondence of The Associated Press)?T<> give the American soldiers a center where they can both lodge and spend their i time profitably throughout the day, the Salvation Army has just opened its lirst "hut" tin Paris proper. It is situatcd on the flue Clignah court, and I was formerly the barracks of the ! iOth French infantry regiment. Th? j '"hut'* accommodates ?.""U men. j Several welfare organizations which [Operate among the American soldiers.: j including the Voting Men's Christian Association. Salvation Army. Jewish! [ Welfare League. Knights of Colum bus and the American Library.Assc I ciation have combined to offer the j boys !n re both instruction and enter i ainment. Doughnuts, pies. Ilapjacks lain! cookies "as mother makes them." rare provided for all comers. Athletic j meetings alternate with singing and j lectures, and there is much interest in i course of fencing bouts, which has just started. Similar institutions are being open ed ai the big seaports such as Brest*. J Bordeaux and St. Nazarie, where the American authorities have placed 25 hangars at the disposal <d' the Sal { vat hei Army. j To minister t<? the comforts of lonely American units in the devastat-j ed districts of Belgium and northern I France, where the accommodation i> i one of the most primitive description] and when social centers are few and i'ar between. Colonel William A j Mclntyre. <>;' New York, has organiz j ed .-? system of traveling kitchens j where the men will be aide to obtain well-eootced food arid eat it it: beirr fort instead of in a haphazard fash ion on iPe doorstep of some halt"- '.-| oioltshed dwelling house, as is now the rule rather than the exception. Property Confiscated j Petrograd. March L'i> (Via Wireless to London) The Commission foi | Combatting Epidemics has ?I? ? ? -i:I< i! u i assign 2.0?0.O00 rubles for the pur j chase of underclothing. By decree of the soviel ??!' the people's (*ommis j aries of Ckramia. the right of inheri-j tance of property exceeding J0.00) i rubPs is abolished. Such property.} after ti?.- death of the owners, i. ? f.i.e t!i? proni "t ' of. Lbc l/krai u "'? do riet Kepubiic. . i New Fighting Machine France Has Fast Bi-PIane Ready For Service. Can Maintain Speed of 131 Miles per Hour Paris, March 24?France's faslest airplane today is the new Nieuport bi plane No. 2i>. which was completed in the late fall of 191S, and was to have boon incorporated as a fighting unit in the French air forces this month. This biplane carries a 300 horse-power engine and. with a load of 340 ibs. reached at the official tests, a sliced of 147 1-2 miles an hour. It climbed 1.000 meters in 11?; seconds. 3.000 in 397 seconds and U.000 meters in 1126 seconds. At the latter elevation a s^peed of 131 miles an hour was maintained. Belgian Memorial Services Memory of Victims of German Fright fulness Tc Be Honored Brussels. .March 17 (Correspond ence)?It is planned to hold a com bined memorial service for the nu merous civilians, men, women and children, who. in no less dramatic circumstances than Edith Cavell. were shot by tin- Germans in Belgium dur ing th< occupation. II is intruded to arrange a huge funeral procession of carriages, each representing a town or village where civilians were massacred. The car riages will be covered with the Bel gian flag and escorted by the defend ers of the Yser. and each will be preceded by a list of the names of the victims. At the same time the bodies of the most prominent among the dead will be transferred to a special mausoleu n on the Place des Martyrs, where the victims of the revolution of 1830-31 lie. All the official bodies in Belgium and. it is < xpeetod. King Albert will take part in the procession, which will pass through the main streets of the capital. English Hospitality to American Sol diers. i London. March 1." (Correspond : ev.ee of The Associated Press)?Trie I American Officers' Club in London will be closed in April, marking the : end of purely British collective hos | pitality extended to American forces I in England. Many Americans who ; have been stationed in England say I that- the British people have gone i much farther in their efforts to make ! them contented and comfortable than they could have expected and are i carrying home with them pleasant j memories of their stay here. The Oulcers' Club here probably . was the nn?st notable achievement of hospitality. When American officers began to arrive in large numbers [there was difficulty in providing club iarrangements. War activities at Lon ? den had resulted in clubs being over ; taxed with British newcomers. At ; the suggestion of Sir Harry Britain, 'who bad spent several months in the ; united States in 1915. the Pilgrims ? organization of which he is president ! undertook to provide a club. The paiatial house of Lord Lecon j.field had been obtained and the club iwas organized. It was popular from j the day it opened and through it American officers were given the op ? portunity to become acquainted with j English people. 1 In entertaining Americans in their j homes Londoners did not confine ! themselves to men they had met at the officers' club. Almost daily. American army and navy headquar ters received requests that they 'designate a few men for teas, dances ' or dinners. j A committee of the Ministry of In formation devoted itself to entertain ing Americans for several months. Tin- Xational Sporting ?Muh was free to Americans in uniform every Wed nesday. Vice Admiral Sims and Gen eral Piddle, the American command ers, frequently attended. Theatrical managers arranged performances ev ery Sunday night at the Palace the atre for Americans in uniform. The atre tickets to many London attrac tions were free to any American soldier for the asking at any time and hundreds of men took advantage of this hospitality. This committee also sent enter tainers to hospitals where American wounded were receiving treatment and it provided theatrical attractions at other English cities where Ameri cans were stationed. Horse Meat For Europe Americans do not Take Kindly to this Article of Food Pierre. S. D., April 21?A corpora tion to dispose of light animals t< European dealers in horse meat hai been formed by South Dakota hors* balers. For many years li.uht horses hav< j been of little value to South Dakou ranchers. The plan is said to have bee: discussed at Washington as one means of providing th<- poorer classes in con tinental Europe with meat. Those be- I hind the corporation say the American | market has shown little interest in the j Pastry in France - Removal of War Time Restric- j tions Improves Fare Paris. March ?War-time restric tions on the makimz of pastry have; ?e.-ii removed and American soldiers here are enjoying numerous delica cies of the French cuisine. At one of the res.taura.nts frequented by Amor-1 cans the French cook produced sev- { ?ral lemon pies but the supply wis oon exhausted. Before ''!' embargo on pastry was [fted. the American soldiers had to ?btain flour from the army commis sary. an?l f"" n <Tn?1 > French woman !;. h into j? j ti v ' *v' the it cooks i*ru* < ??. Ii?.-, hand. Red Cross in Montenegro! Government Grateful fo Assist-; ance Given. Four Relief Stations Established _ i Cettinje. Montenegro, March IS.?! (Correspondence of The Associated; Press.)?This little Balkan country; has been tasting the benefits of Amer- j ican Red Cross Relief work. Major; ?Edwin G. Dexter, of New York, and I a. staff of forty-five assistants, includ- ! ing physicians and nurses, have been I feeding the poor, caring for the sick and instituting American sanitary methods for several weeks. The re sults have evoked warm expressions of thanks from the government. Re lief stations have been established at jCattaro, Podgoritz?, Nitshitz and Cei j fin je, and several hundred tons of (supplies have already been distributed to the needy and to the hospitals, j The American and Red Cross Flags ! which fly from the Red Cross Mission's j warehouse in this ancient and picture sque city have excited wide interest (among the Montenegrins. The mem ! hers of the mission have been made the guests of the Montenegrin govern j ment. . - j Another Triumph for j Suffragists I Women Admitted to Practice Law in England j London. March 18 (Correspondence I of The Assocated Press.-The House j of Lords having passed the second reading of Lord Buckmaster's bill let ting down the bars of the legal pro fession to women, the indications are : tnat the measure will become a law during the present parliamentary ses i ?_ ; sion. j Cme by one. as a veterar: observer of j the struggle for women's rights points j out. all the old sex barriers are *.um I ling down. It was strange, he says, j to hear government's blessing of ihi* bill pronounced by the Lord Chance! | lor who. as Sir F. E. Smith, was one 01 j the chief opponents of woman suf i frage when he was a member of the j House of Commons, j The work performed by the worner [during the war. the Lord Chancelloi j explained, in vindicating former op \ position, had profoundly altered mat ; ters. "I may say," he continued, 'thai ' under changed circumstances of tim< the government welcomes this pro ?jposal, and that it is their hope thai ' I they may be able to give it such as ' sistance as will render its passing int?: ' I law highly probable." j The bill confers upon women the i right of qualifying either as solicton or barristers. It docs not extend, how } ever, to Scotland or Ireland. j Knights of Columbus j Headquarters in Coblenz Doing Great Work For Soldiers I Coblenz. Germany. March 20 (By Mail)?Since the beginning of Amer ican occupation of Germany the Knights of Columbus force has stead ily grown until today at Coblenz there is an independent headquarters of the organization with its own complete equipment. The operations beyond the Rhine are under the immediate j direction of Fred V. Milan of Min j neapolis. He has under his control a force of over 100 secretaries. This quota would be much larger were it possible to obtain men for the work. So great has been the need of labor that German civilians in large num ber are employed, in the warehouse and about the clubs in lesser capac ity. The entire operation of the Army j of Occupation is directed from head [ quarters in Coblenz. The city is j therefore a leave area and daily over j 3,000 soldiers have enjoyed the liberty [of the city. These men come from j the far districts of the army, from Troves and the camps situated far up the Rhine or the Moselle. It is a mighty army that the American ser vice organizations tnust make as com fortable as their means will permit while they await the word to start for j home. i The men come from the outlying camps in the big- fleet of river boats plying the Rhine and Moselle rivers, j They are met by men of the Knights ? of Columbus and from their arrival in Coblenz or Treves, the second leave center of the area, they are urged to make tin- headquarters and club ol the organization their homes, j At Coblenz the visiting soldiers ar< | j billeted in a huge structure formerly | known as the Florient Magazine1 and i j there is room for 1.200 men every night. In this big warehouse nearh , 20.000 doughnuts are fried on some days. The entire output of each day I is sent to a given soldier unit in tin occupied district. At their destina tion these delicacies are distributed by the head of the Knights of Columbus j secretaries in each club house. In Coblenz, before the war then ' was maintained one of the finest nut-| nicipal baths in all Germany. The; big structure- now is in the hands oil the Knights of Columbus who ar< providing every modern bath, needle, shower, tub. medicated or just a plain old fashioned sponge and rub. for over Mint soldiers every hour. At the enlisted men's club there are! eijerhi I:> t-gre rooms where every want of the soldier is supplied. There is also an officers' club nearby. Across the Moselle from Coblenz is a large American garrison, the sol diers of which are not permitted t" cross the river. (-"our dub houses! have been established at that posl for the enlisted men and a large dub has recently been opened for ot hers. London. April 23.?The rioting at L lam burg affected the unloading of the Vmerican food ship for a time, ac ?ordinc to official reports received ; e re. Mil the work is proceeding this ] eorniuc wjtb voluntary strike break 1 ? ?>.in pi> r l - - ot m*-''"h ? "tr iiu men of the professional classes. Price of Wheat Stable New Director Feels ; No Appre hension. Big Crop in Demand !Cew York, April 21.?Despite main tenance of the government guaranteed price in the face of an American wheat crop which will probably "break ail records, domestic consumers will not pay more for the product during the coming year than the rates con I currently accepted from foreign buy ers, Julius H. Barnes, newly appoint j ed federal wheat diretor, assured the j public in a statement here tonight outlining the policy of his adminis I tration. ! Mr. Barnes termed unsound any j governmental scheme of artificial sub Isidfzing and thought it quite possible j with the greater part of Europe look ; ing to America for food and the crop I prospects of the allied countries even j poorer than last year, that little'in i road, except of a temporary nature : would be made on the billion dollar 1 fund provided by congress to carry out the farmers' guarantee of $2.26 a j bushel. i However, should there be a surplus production of wheat, he said, the na | tional treasury would be protected as far as possible in making good E the difference between the guaranteed and market rates by determination of a world price for the sale of the sur ; plus. At present the world price ex : ceeds the government price. How j much of the federal appropriation would be expended, the director stat i ed, would depend on the harvest as ! would also the government policy in 'buying and selling portions of; the crop. Until facts concerning the 1919 yield were more generally known, he ; added, no definite plan of operation could be intelligently adopted .with j the result that the administration I was working out a number of other ' policies. : In relation to federal acquisition of I wheat, which he predicted would be , j carried out on an extensive scale in ; enforcing the farmers' guaranty, par ' J ticularly if the world price should be i lower than the government basis, ef fective until June 1, 1920, Mr. Barnes ' i said three plans were under Consid '. I eration: Direct dealing with the farm L j ers, which would bring the director J into contact with 1.000,000 persons; j purchasing through the country grain j exchanges, which would necessitate [; keeping 20,000 acounts, and buying i through the mills, which would re '' duce the number of clients to 7,000. * As to the sale of government ac ^'' quired stocks, the director said that ': congress, with a clear conception of ' i the difficulties of the coming year, ?|had delegated to the president large " i powers and discretion, which would * j be at the service of the wheat adhiin | istration. The sale policy, he stated, ;; would he decided by factors devel?p Ming with the season, and the license "! power would be used, if necessary, to i control trade practices so as to se j cure proper reflection of the guaran ! teed prices reaching all classes1 of I producers. ,j Accepting the department of agfi j culture's estimate of the largest win ter crop in history and making allow ance for unfavorable weather Condi | tiens which had held the spring crop*.. * back two weeks, Mr. Barnes predicted that America's 1919 wheat yield would tax to the utmost the country's stor age, railroad and shpping facilities. Ue expected reduced wheat and wheat products prices within two months? they are now above the government fair price level, owing to the heavy export demand?but saw little chance of a return to the five cent loaf of bread. The cost of flour was only 45 j per cent, of the cost of bread, he i said, and with wages and other fac tors of manufacture at high levels there was no present likelihood; that the price would be cut in two. Mr. Barnes denied reports that government agencies were urging farmers to cut down their acreage of spring wheat and said he regarded as fortunate in view of food conditions throughout the world, the probability I that America would produce this i year the greatest crop ever grown. The j 191S harvest?second largest in the nation's history?was consumed or pledged, he stated. It. would be well for Americans fa appreciate, Mr. Barnes asserted, that "five ravaging years" had created an unparalleled world food position, j which can not be remedied at once. j Bolshevik Atrocities at Perm ? Pits Filled with Bodies of Vic tims?Villagers Terrified. And Without Food I 1 : i -? Omsk, Siberia. February 14. (Cor respondencje of The Associated Press). ?A Russian volunteer soldier who 'ook part hi the battle of Perm gives the following narrative of what he saw in the village of Kouvchine, not far from Perm where he was station-, ed during the fighting which resulted in the complete defeat of the "Bol sheviki.. He was ordered to clean out three cesspools which were filled with the corpses of people who apparently be longed to the intellectual or cultivated class of the community. Many of the bodies bore wounds made with swords, lie removed thirty corpses from the first pit, the ages of the victims rang ing from 16 to 60 years. There were several women among- the victims. All the bodies were naked. There was reason to believe, in the soldier's opinion that many of the people were thrown into the pits still alive and died by slow suffocation and from the effects of their wounds. * The inhabitants of the village were so terrified that they acted like in sane persons. When the Siberians came as victors and the town bells rang out. the people jumped for joy clasping hands and skipping around in circles. In the neighboring village of Oorno savodsk, situated on a railroad the people were found to be absolutely without nourishment, and "i*. con Jition of the children was pitiable to vituess.