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The Wingham Advance, 1917-04-19, Page 7A :3 . BRITISH TROOPS ASTRIDE THE HINDENBURG LINE London iemble.-- On a twelve* mile front northeast of Aortas and on • nine -Mile front northweet of St. Quentin the forces at Field Marshal Haig have shattered the German de- fencee and tome the Gem:laws to re- tire, North and east of the Vimy Ridge, in the Arras region, the British seizee eta villages from the Germans during a suceeasfut move forward frona the Scare* northward to near Loos, A footing also has been gained in the aerPlan trenches northeaet or Lens, a raining and railroad centre. Vimy, Petit Vim', Givenehy-en- flolielle and, Angres, all north of the VIney ridge, and the villages of Wine- • aud Bailleta east of the ridge, were taken in the advance, All these villages are on the slope of the ridge, South of the Arras -Gambrel road the British forces have gained ground east ot \Vancourt and are astride the Hineenburg line as far ae a point sevenmiles southeast of Arras. 'Northwest of St. Quentin the Britieh advanced on a line between Hargicourt and Metz -en -Couture, capturing • two woods, the Sart farm and the village of Gouzeacourt, This advance en- larged the salient in the German lines ; ,hetween St. Quentin and Cambrai and outfiankea the Havrincourt wood on the south, "ASTRIDE HINDENBURG LINE." The fer-reaching, important and sweeping success of the battle ot Ar- ras is being revealed in successive chapters to the British public, which hardly realizes yet -that it is the most effectual and decisive event to the .credit of the British army during the war. it may well rank with the bat tie of the Marne, which turned bads' the German invasion directed againet Parte, and rnay prove the turning point of the whole war in the west and change tile balance of the world war. Field Marshal Haig's bulletin to- night gieing the number of guns cap- tured as 166 and the aggregate of prisoners at 13,000 and the details ot new territory gained for Frame from the invader, "narks the battle of Arran as a great victory. Dut the significant statement from Field Marshal Haig ie -that the British are "astride" the Hindenburg line. The famous Hindenburg line had been proclaimed Ify its author, as well as by German experts, as a sort of a gkeat wall of China, which would be as impregnable to assaulte as that one of the seven wonders ot the woeld which was so long an adamant barrier 'for an ancient Chinese dynasty, Ger- man experts have been even firmer in .their faith in Field Marshal von Hin- denburg's "eighth wonder. of the e world" than they were a few months ago that Vimy ridge was unconquer- able. The German belief in the von Hindenburg Buddha had even eeryed to hypnotize part of the -British public and some prominent writers, who have been disposed to accept the Ger- man theory expounded in German papers that everything which has oc- . curred on the western front has gone according to von Hindenburg's plans and as foreseen by him. A nutnber of European military writers have taken the view that the Hindenburg line with a myth, painted to, hearten the German people. tut tee British general staff for some time has known that there is a definite Hin- denburg line upon which the German staff was basing •its defence, and has known exactly where that line was drawn. If the British army can break • through a vital or important sector, the next chapter may be a further extensive German retreet, if, indeed, the Germans are able to ,retreat order with Field Marshal Haig's army Pressing them as cloeely as it is doing now. FOUGHT BODY TO BODY. British War Correspondents', Head- quaraers, Cable.—On the extrethe north of our advance fine work was done yesterday by tne left division or the Canadians and home troops oper- ating there. The left attack was de- livered on both sides of the Souchez niter. Besides breaking through a uew breach in the enemy's front line they carried a wood strongly fortified and held, known as Boisenhache, also. the outlying hill of Vimy ridge callers "The Pimple." The dominating height of this area is Hill 145,-. so gallantly captured by the Ca.nadians on eldriday night, "The Pimple" lies' northward Of Hill 145, aad ie, separated bee a "%alley 'Phought Sixty feet less height than the other hill, neventhe, less the position ie of strategic import- ance, and was heavily.entrenched and fortified. The attack was made inea snowstox•m on a ground all plowed, up by shells' and seamed With trenches and encumbered with wire. In snow, over such ground; Under a heavy tire from, the enemy on au ensconsed hill to attack -was a task for any Ineopd in the world, The enemy here fought stubbornly, waiting for our men unjtfl actual band -to -hand and bo,dy-to-body cae e0unters took plaee. The • teoops opposed to us were Bavarians wet ettPports Of the 5th Guard Grenadiers And 4th Guard division. The Prussian or Bavarian Guard Germans never match our Men when they. come to grips. On both eldest of Souehez Valley and up the hin through the village alike the Canadian and home troops were equally successful. - On this oceasien, contrary to the rule in this 'battle, the prisoners were few, only a little over 300, beeentee the enemy fought instead of surren- dering, and his casuelties :are dead and wounded rather than prisoners. • • It is evklent Om Germans, *are in- tensely reluctant to give up the Wipe Of retaining Vimy tinge. , We hear frequent reports or the massing of &twenty troops in Vimy village and •Dois-de-Shirondelles. More than one elountenattaek 1 al already beeti Awoken ny our, streak ry, All indica- itiOns point Hi bard figliting sherei nbeut yet to come. • THE OFFICIAL ILEPOWT. nionslon Cable.—Fridae night's; re- port from British- heedgemrters in Prange read: "The area ale nieeleve operations n..ns tended to -clay toWarez the•northe East. and north bf V.May ridge Our 0"oops preseed back the -enmity' On dur wbele front frein north of UM River' Searpe to eolith of Loos. "We have eeized the villages of *Willeval, VIttly, Petit GIVinielly-eneGolielle arid Angres, end have gailled a footing in the enenire trencliell nertheast of Lens. In this erea we have enthral pelsetiere and guns. l'Soutlwet tit4 `AriateraMitrsti lead We have. eftinsingd• WatiCtntrt tinier On • 4 spur east of Waimea village, and have advanced atitride the• Hindenburg line es far as stepnint• seven miles southeast of Arras. • -• . "We have also made further prog- roes on the high ground east of, Le Vergider and In Havincourt wood (northwest of St. Quentin). "Much useful work was done lin our aeroplanes yesterday, although the weatner continua untavorable for flying. The only hostile formation encountered was seeerely handled by one of our patrols, -whieh drove down four enemy machines oat et control, One other hostile aeroplane was de- stroYea by us during the day. Three of our machines are miSsing. "Tim number ot prisoners , taken since the commencement of our opera- tions now exceeds 13,000, including 285 officere. We Lave :deo captured 166 guns, including eights Sault howitzers. twenty-eight 5.9 -inch howitzers eighty - lour trench mortars, and 250 macnine guns, in additien to a considerable number et gene, trench mortars and machine guns, ;vhich were clemoliehed or buried bt* shell fire and cannot ne enumerated. "Many or .the captured guns 11A11 been turned upon the eneme by us with good <effect." • • THE PREeNCH REPORT. , Thursday's War Office statement read: "The battle continues in frontien the' . positions our troops eanturene this morning to the south of St, Quentin. The enemy is offering stubborn resist- ance. "Our artillery has violently bom- barded German organizations be- tween Gm Somme and the Oise. To the south of the Oise and to the north of the Ailette we carried out with success some detailed operations in the course of which we brought back about 60 prisoners. • THE ("ERMAN VERSION., The Benin official etatement de- clare.; on the northern wing of the Arras battlefield preliminary suc- ceeciee of etrong British attacks againet Angres and Givenchy'-en-Go- helle, respectively north and north- east of Souehez were balanced by Ger- man counter-attacks. On. the road from. Peronne de , Gambrel and Le Catelet minor engagements occurred yeeterday betweea Gouzeaucourt and Hargicourt. Lively artillery fire r.gainet St. Quentin and adjoining 'ince to the southwest of that city was COM- gime& preparatory to French attacks tine moi•ping on both batten of. tne River Sonnire. The attacks failed. From the Arrae-Gavrelle road to the River Scam Britieh divieione whieh twice, fittacked were repulsed with heave' tosses. Southeaet of Array eeeeral atiaclso in which cavalry par- ticipated failed. IN SIGHT OP- LENS. (By II. T. Small& Staff Correspondent of the Aesociated•Prees). With the Britieh Armins in France. Cablen--From the Vimy Ridge late to -day fires could be seen burning in the German linen and Canadian patrole had adyaneed beyond the out- skirts of Glyencha. Au exploration of Vimy Ridge shows that the British artillery vir- tually blew the top off it and the Ger man stronghold. which had `resieted all efforto of the Preach 'and British wen, finally forced into such a posi- tion by high explosivee that it could not reelet infantry charges. These chargesie of couree. were baaced ea by eentinuous gunfire and accompan- ied by all the., terrible nmehines and devices of modern war. Walking on top of the edge is vir- tually impoeeible, eel it ' is Just one continuous climb from one allele - crater to another. Two surmounting knobs, known only on military maps aa numbered hills.' had attracted the fire of the heavieet Britian guma and had been &mitered into unrecogniz- able butts. on the landeeape. It littIe wonder that the Germans made ouch desperate efforte to hold the Vimy ridge anti to retake certain portiono of it by counter-attacks. which , failed miserably. The ridge stood ne a natural barrier between the Germans and their 'liniments and wao a great preteens° chain of hints ehielding invaluable eoal, iron and °Hier mineral lands which Germany had wrested from 'Franee in the first month of the war in 1014. -The city of Lens, now within bight of the Brit- ian 'ince, la a great mining centre. It In -generally believed that in yielding the mines which nave been ouch help teethe Germans, the latter will un- doubtedly try to wreck them by every meante But even if France does not regain , the immediate tete or the minee, the shutting off . of Germany from. their preeieus producte will mean an -important etep toward the ultimate allied. victory. Wrom the toP or Vimy ridge the British now look dowa on the plain of Douai and to- ward the great industrial sections of France, which so long have been In enemy hands, "We are the' -top degs at Met," eald a Cepadian officer to the Azeociated correspOnderit to -day. "We have the Germans on the downhill and once they are started you may be sure they will 'go -back .thet," HUN' RAIDER IN GULF OF MEXICO Galveston, Texas, April ie.—Infer- rnetion that a Gerreen commerce raid- er, in the guise of e ;ailing ship, hag entered the Gulf pf Meek". was re- ported to -day Qalvestom Tnle news was received from an unnamed nrit, steenier 111.4 radio Message to a ship anchored here. 'The vessel is Wei te be equipped with auxiliary power, 111.M10.6 N'ew York-, April 13.—Offieial denial by the Cuban aptemritlee that the British vessiel Trey al wag Sunk off Wenn-moot by.a German submarine was cabled here to -day to the Repub- lic of n uba News Bureau. The Story of the sinking .was given out last nieht at Key West, Fla., by C. Peterson, claiming to be a MOMber of the 'Ire. veal's crew. AUSTRIA ALKS POPE'S AID, tolirle,••("ft.1)Ite.—.kustria, Is prisssinq t'e th Euroseist b I d an sutileritte zeport Ja vatican circli‘o g:t.fgrt:rarglithre°Z)i,r(f gt:tiltip'Y,Fleapfte'ltire(11 that Hely rather has retuscd 'to Pro. ettil azisv orur retteoaS." When there !o a fire the firemfei aro quite capable'. of arreetitig the tlaMee antitelit Calling the pelite. y saft. T.** —*a V Use Seed from High Yielding Varietigs Importance of Usind Only Clean, Bright Seed from High Yielding Varieties— Varieties Recommended for the Ontario Farmer. • Oue of the fundamental principlee ne profitable crop production is to grow a variety diet is a heavy yielder and snittel to the locality where it is to be grown. Yet fat' too many farm- ers in Canada grow varieties that are not heavy yielders or IC they are they ere. not suited to the locality, Prom a survey made euringlbe Turn. mer of 1916 in One county IP Ontarni It WAS found that practIcallv evrey fernier grew. ()stile bat, only 53 per cent. kneey the tanie o! leo varelnY used. Alining tlioee, known' g the itaiaq of the varietf fouateen distinct var- ieties were foand. s There is no good reason why this should be, Although thn climate of Ontario varies, of courso, WI g9 north or south, it loes dot vary set- ficieutly to warrant the growing of as many as fourteen different eerie:lee ot oats. In almost every case the number of vorieties grown eatild with advantage be reduced to three or four varieties for estch different crop • At the Ontario Agricultural College Over a period of years the highest lyielding variety of barley gave 59.1 bushels and the lowest yleicline var- iety gave 32.8 bushels per acre; the higbest yielding variety of wheat gave 93.21 bushels and the loweet yielding variety gave 48.0 bushels per acre; the highest yielding variety of fall wheat gave 51.1 bushels and the low- est yielding variety gave 415. bushels per acre, These results show clearly that selecting the variety of seed that is to be sown is a paying proposition. Many men have the idea that it is necessary to change the E eed every few years, Prem experiments carried on at the Ontario Agricultural College and elsewhere it bas been proven that this is a fallacy. As a matter of fact it has been found that. Metead of tlie yield diminishing • the yield has in many cases been increasea by using the same seed year after year, It is very important to use seed that has been carefully selected and properly cleaned by passing it through the fanning mill several tiMes. Thup in experiments carried on at the On- tario Agricultural college it was found that in the case of oats large seed yielded 62 bushels per acre as com- pared with 46.6 bushels per acre from large plump seed 40.4 bushels from small plump seed, '39.1 bushels from shrunken seed, and 9.3 bueheis per acre from split seed. e • TREAT FOR SMUT. Every year smut takes •a heavy toll from our crops, vet but a very small percentage 'of farmers treat their seed regularly to prevent the disease. Various methoda are used for treating the seed. As a result of five years' ex- periments carried on at the Ontario Agricultural College it was found that treating the seed by immersing it for twenty minutes in a solution made by adding one-half pint of torment' to twenty-one gallons of water gave the best results. In the case of oats the untreated seed yielded 60.3 bushels per acre, while the seed treated by the immersion method yielded 68.3 bushels per acre. The untreated wheat yielded only 29.0 bushels, while the treated wheat yielded 43.3 bush- els per acre. ,The Field Husbandry Department of the Ontario Agricultaural College, under the direction of Dr, Zayitz, has for a great many years been Carrying on experiments to determine Juse. what are the best varieties of seed ef the different creps for the Ontario farmer to grow. After certain yare eties of seed nave been proved to be good yielders at the College, seed front these varieties is distributed through the province and experimente are,carried on by members, or the Ex. perimental Union on their own farms. In practically all casee it has been fonna Ow the results obtained by the experimenters throughout the pro. vine() agree with those obtained at the Callege, As a gaide to Ontario farmers In selecting their seed for the coming season a short 'summary is gtven be- low of the results obtained with differ- ent varieties at the Ontario Agricul. tural College. BEST VARIETIES OP GRAIN, At the College it was found that of the various spring sowu crops barley gave the greatest yield or grain in pounds per acre, The following gives the crops in order of yield: barley, ernmer, oets, tailless barley, spring wheat, fiela peas and spring rye, In statistics gathered by the Bureau of Industries over a period of 32 years, it was found that in the province as a, whole fall wheat yielded somewhat less than barley but a little more than onts. A mixture of grain will produce more feed than one kind of grain erten sowa alone, One bushel per acre of 0. A. C. No, 21 barley and Oe A. C. No. 3 oats is recommended for this purpose. For green fodder or hay a mixture composed of two bushels of oats, such as the Siberian or the Banner var- ieties, and.one bushel of peas such as the Pruesian Blue or the Golden Vine varieties should give best results. The snerowed varieties, of barley have given best results at the College. They are as a rule heavier yielders and mature earlier than the two -row- ed varieties, although they do not ma. ture as early as the hulless varieties. The varieties giving the highest yields, at the College during the last five years were the 0, A, 0, No. 21 and the Mandscheuri. In selecting a variety of oats it is important to ehoose one time is not only a heavy yielder but ono that con- tains a ' low percentage of hull. The 0. A. C. No, 72 is the best late variety and the 0.AC, No, 3 is the best early variety. Fall wheat at the College has given higher yields than spring wheat as. would be expected, but there are some sections where fall wheat does not do very well. The highest yielding var- iety of fall wheat was Dawson's Gold. en Chaff, and Imperial Amber came neict. Ot the e,pring Wheats, Saxonka and •Climax gave best results. RYE FOR POOR SOILS, Rye is a crop that does well on the poorer types of soil. During the last seven years the acreage sown to rye• in Ontario his more than doubled, As with fall wheat the fall varieties of rye have been the highest. yielders, the best of these varieties being the Mammoth White and Washington. Of the spring varieties the Petkus has given best results, Buckwheat is grown chiefly as a cover or catch crop. The Rye Buck- wheat has proved to be the highest yielder at the Colleen. There lies been a great falling off in the area devoted to peas. In the year 1897 896,735 acreS were used foe peas, but during the last few years the. acreage has dropned to less than 200,- 000 acres. The Early Britain has prov. ed the highest yielder as a result of five years experience, yielding 35.73 bushels per acre as agatnst 95.25 given by the Multipliers variety, With prevailing high pricee many farmers are getting intereSted in beans, Pearceni ImproVed Tree is an average of fifteen years' experiments at the College has given the highest Yield, In the case of corn far silage, One variety cannot be recommended for the whole province as M the northern part of the province an Orly maturing variety woula give better resalts than a late maturing variety. At the Col. lege, Eureka and Saizer's InOrth Da- kota proved the heaviest yielders over a period of five years, There are far too many varieties of potatoee grown in Ontario, Of the early varieties at the College the Ext- tra, Early Eureka has proved the best yielder. Burpee's Extra, Early and the Rose of the North were the best Me- dium ripening varieties, while of the late varieties the Davies Warrior, tile Empire State, and the Rural New Yorker No, 2 head the list. In Mango's, Sutton's Mammoth Long Red and the Ideal have been the best yielders. Fall tarnips yield more than swede turnips, but they do not keep so well and are not therefore as extensively grown. Silage Is largely replacing roots in the stock dietary, but for sheep and pigs a few acres of roots shotild always be grown; In fall twines Red Top White Globe and Sutton's Purple Top alammoth have 'yielded best, while in swede turnips Garton's Model and Gartoa's Keepwell have proven the heaviest yielders. Carrots have a limited space in the stock menu. Bruce's Mammoth Inter- mediate -Smooth 'White beads the list ot the varieties tried out at the Col- lege, . t. Cow cabbage and Kale is grown quite extensively in England and should be grown more extensively in Ontario than at the present. The big. gest yielding varieties at the College have been Sutton's Earliest Drumhead Cabbage and the Thousand -headed Kale. Their yield per acre cemparee favorably with that of mange's and turnips, which have much the- same feeding, value. Pasture is a very important crop in Ontario. Unfortunately many farmers do not give the thoueht and care to selecting the grasses that they use in their pasture mixtures they should. For seeding down for two or three years Dr. Zayitz recommends the fon' lowing mixture: red clover; 6 lbs.; at sike clover, 3 lbs.; orchard grass, 3 lbs.; meadow feicue, 3 lbs.; end tim- othy, 3 lbs., making a total ot 18 lbs. pee acre. As a permanent pasture mixture the foliewing has given excellent results: Alfalle, 5 lbs : alsike clover, 2 lima white or Dutch clover, 2 lbs.; orchard grass, 4 lbs.; meadow fescue, 4 lbs.; tall oat grass, 3 lbs.; meadow foetal', 2 lbs.; and timothy, 2 lbs., snaking a total of 24 lbs, per acre, Alfalfa is becoming an important crop in Canada. Many farmers unfor- tunately have not had sticcoss with this crop, very largely- because they have used varieties of seed that were too delicate to stand our rigoroue win- ter. The Ontario VeriegatedeGrimm's and the Sand varieties are the only varieties that have proven at all sat- isfac•tory up to the present time. —The Canadinn Countryman. TANKS AGAIN DO GOOD WORK FOR ENTENTE Difficult Positions Cleaned Out by Two of the War Mnnsters. 13,000 PRISONERS •••••••••••=mme••••••••V.0 And the German Guns Cap- tured Now Number 166. London Cable.—The British offi- cial communication issued this evening announces that the total. prisoners taken ih the offensive begun, early last Monday 'morning now aggregate more thaa 13,000. Guns to thentimber of 166 also havebeen t_iixesa eBy Perry Robinson) British Wen Correppeadente' Head- quarters, Canie,—we ere giving the enemy little rest, At yerious points On the new frent sgettered fighting goes on. We are gaining new ground and- e‘Ferywhere breaking the Gerrnan reeistance. The chief activity the last 24 hours has been et the extreme north of _the battlefront on the Cana- dian' left tbward Vitny, in the south towards Gove,eaticoprt, and the inter- mediate regeon and on the south side of tho River Cojeul, where two new /Wages have fallen to party bombing and partly frontal attack. Another 1,000 yards of the Hindenburg line is ours. The western mid of the Hilidett. burg lino is indeed beginning to look very ragged. The twin villages taken, ere Watt* court and Heniel, just west of which Our advance bad titopped, leaving a 'German salient in our Waticourt and Heine' °Minted difficult pesitiOnti Just on the further slope of the din down to the valley of Cojeul, the ate preach to them being swept by Machine gun fire from the direction of Gueinappe to the north and also front ClierisY to the southeast. 'Here, when the 'retains*. guns unetinthe wire hold- ing up our infantry, the Unita did noble service, rentable through -lintel to Waticourt sunt baek -again, and there wiped out a number of machine guns arid Caused heavy Casuelties tO .the enemy infantrY. ()Memel a Our ,itifelltrY. engaged In the fighting to. day, spoke enthuslatialealla a the per. formaitee af the tanks. I understand mine Of the mainlines mere in tom U11110118 Serviee, fighting ell the time, although peppered by machine gun bullets•for 40 hours without rest. The storming of the Hindenburg defences here seems to have been particularly gallant work. The whole of one, body of troops 'fought its way with -bombs along the trenches south- ward, while another party made a frontal attack through uncut wire without artillery support, Tho two forces met victoriously withe no Ger- man left alive or uneaptured and more than 1,000 yards of the famous line. The line is, indeed., formidable, and an immense amount of work has been done upon it. Triple belts of protecting wire 40 yards deep were seen by aeroolane photographs to- day. The captured portion of the line gives an impressive picture of its for- midable character, •especially as we captured it while there had -been little damage from artillery. The most serioun resistance in this area when the battle began was at a point farther north on the IIInden- burg line. On this portion in the ini- tial phase of our advance here was curiops oval poeitlon of complicated entanglements, which received the name of the egg. This held us up a while, but when we took it with bomb and bayonet it hatched 200 unwounded prisoners. In the Heniel and Wan - court 'operation yesterday another batch of the same number was taken. This morning I visited the chief prisoners' cage of General Allenby's army. It was an extraordinary sight. In tour days some 0.000 men and nearly 200 officers have been through it. They were cleared and gent on to the rear in batches of 700 to 1,000 as fast as possible. I saw one batch marched away to the rear when there still were 2,000 left in the cage. Making all allowances for the diS- !levelled and depressed appearance inseparable to all prisoners, they were a poor lot of mon. Thee were some good ones among thetn, but many wore very young :tad very woody. One of the most, Muni -Mating facts learned from the effteer in charge of the former Was the way they spoke of the magnificent work of out' artillery in this battle and the enthaelastic way which all the Infanern saeak of our guns, Among these prlsoitens were a lot of German artillerytnen, Our offt- eer noticed they al" huddled together, keeping as far as the line ef ehe would permit trona the rest .of the prisoners. Interrogation elicited the same fact front all. It was an mt. doubted truth that the nes= Why they kept away, herded together, `was that they feared their. Olen felIOW- prilioners, The German infantrd is 00 enraged at the 'fatitire Of their mill. lery in tliis battle 'that „the. Onnfiertle were seriOusty afraid of 'their 'bids in left to the mercy Of the lafantry. -The contrast, It is beliceed, Is em- blematic of many things in Ole niOrele of the two arinies. "Have nett takea any Chance Ifittery since 'we were Married, dear?" elated the etveet young thing. "No; that Was the last one," WAS the cold reply Of the husband,—Yeniceris Stattios Matt. TEUTONS FIRED ON OWN TROOPS Force Was Attempting Sur- render to Russians. Foe Won, but Lost Again, in Galicia. Petrograd Cable.--Priday's War Office report read: "In the region of Czerki, in Galicia, in •the direction of Sokal, the enemy, after artillery pre- paration, attacked our positions and occupied them, but by a counter-at- tack which we immediately .organized was driven off, and our position was restored. eln the region of Bohorodcza,ny the Austrians delivered a gas attack, but the gas waves dispersed upon reaching the River Bystritza without causing any damage to us. "Immediately thereafter fhe, Aus- trian's opened a bombardment, during which period order was observed In the 'first line of trenches of the enema. Part of the Austrians retired. The re- mainder attemPted, to approach our trenches bearing white flags. They were subjected to the eire of their own artillery and fled back to their trenches, "On the remainder of the front re- eonnaissances and reciprocal firing occurred." "In the region of Pogorelsy sta- tion on the Alexandrov railwaY a aer- man aeroplane was brought down. The pilot was eaptured. Russian aviators new over Goroichov, east of Sokal, and the adjoining rallwey line. Scores of German aeroplanes, consisting of 16 machines, made an unsuccessful attaels on our rear in the region north of Mon- asterzyska." Regarding the Roumanian and Cau- casian fronts, the statement nye that rifle firing and reconnaissances oc. eUrred. alp* LABOR LEADERS 11 0 0 Lloyd George Sends to Washington Conference: , Washington. Iteport.---an response to a cablegram front oatunel Goinpers, president of the American Federation of Labor, asking that renresentative0 Of Ileitish labor be sent tO the United States with the cOmmiesiott tOming Washington for War confererigee, Pre. Infer Lletyd-GeOrge te-day relined: "Delighted to comply With your rerplest, TWO labor leadein and repre- sentatives of the welfare departnient of the ,alinistry ot MUnitiOtS wilt lisiteet tor America as E0011 in$ 1/049thle." *.ei.**...*********. CANADIANS DR OUTPOSTS IVING AHEAD, NEAR GIVENCHY (By Stewart Lyon, Canadian Press Correspandent with the Canadian Perces.) Canadian Headquarters In Prance, Cable. ---The final phase Of the Bat- tle of Vimy proceeds, to use the words of the phrase -makers at Berlin, en. tirely in accOrdance with our inten- tions, Thie (Friday) afternoon the Canadian outposts are in close touch with Giyenchy, Petit Viiny, Vimy it. self, Parbus and other villages on the eastern slope of the ridge. Willie our guns are avoiding doing any damagt to the many coal mines and industrial establisnments in this neighborhood, they are destroying the enemy's „de- fences as theroughly as -they did his trenches and wire entanglemente this aide ofethe crest before the assault on them by our teoopse NO COUNTERnaTTACKS. No serious attempt has yet been made by the .enemy to counterattack our new front, whith hourly grows in strength. If the Germans return in force they' will be met with some of their own guns, as well as their ma -- chine guns, which have been found in good condition, and will now be brought into service against tneir for- mer owners, Tile subterranean gal- leries which were nastily abandoned by th•e Germans continue to yield much material, especially machine guns. One officer who has specialized expleration found five machine gene, tni in good -condition. During the night of Tuesday the enemy sent forward ,patrols„and occasional en- counters teok place, in which there was distinct advantage to the Cana- dians.' It will be intereeting to the people at home to know that in machine-gun equipment the Britisn army now is greatly 'superior to the German army, as in artillery also. A remarkable inCident is reported as having befallen the official Cana- dian photographer. He found a body of 40 Germans ana iwo enemy offi- cers in "No Man's Land" who, while a battle was in progress, had eurren. dered, but there was no one with them to conduct them to the roar, and they were crouching in a large shell -hole to escape the Gentian bar. rage. There the cinema man photo- graphed them, afterwards sending them on, "tame as sheep," was his comment. The situation has changed remark- ably in the past week. When the Brit- ish -Canadian guns opened the pre. paratory bombardment the entire eastern slope of Vimy ridge, together with -the crest and a strip or the west slope, ranging from a thousand yards to a mile in width, was in the enemy's heads. From hill 145 and other com- manding paints the Germans could look down on Lorette Ridge, tbe shell - shattered ruins of Souchez, Ablain, garency, Villers -au -Bois, Neuville, La Targette and Mount St Eloy, as well as Zouave Valley and Labyrinth. In this terrain our guns had to be placed to secure eifective range. Some of them, by careful use and owing to the conformation of .the ground, could be cpacealed, but•many others had to take chances in the open, where every flash in their discharge day or night, could be 'spotted from the ridge occupied by German observation officers, and the effect was their answering fire. The only way of learning what was the result of our bombardment on the crest and the eastern elope of the ridge was by aeroplane observation and photographs. This was no use at night, or on dull days, when the gun- ners had to "go it blind," trusting to previous work of the observers. All this is completely altered now, It is the Germans who musashoot over the hill in the dark now, trusting to their air service to reveal the damage. That branch is now having a hard timo fighting, and is entirely too busy to spot. for the enemy guns oe this side of the ridge and the result of this ate tillery situation will be the speedy ejectment of the Germans from the western 'pat of the plain. KNEW WHAT W.A3 COMING. The enemy knew what was Coming. On March 30th a captured intelligence officer's report shows that the Ger- mans' higher command "had been in- formed that north of Arras, as part of Spring offensive. the British will be forced, accerding. to the nature of the ground to deliver a Joint attack on the long, narrow Vimy ledge." Then, follows a statement that the Canadian troops hold this part of the front under circumstances pointing to a strong concentration. The enemy intelligenee officer adds: "The Cana. diens are known to be good troops, well suited for assaulting. There are no deserters to be found aniongst the Canadians." if not buried in the ruins of his dug- out, as many Canadians are known to be, the officer wrote, he would be able to say "I told you so." Heavy shells are now dropping into the village of 'trimy at the rate of over one a minute. Pew houses are left standing, By evening thore was no shelter for the enemy. I am authorie- ed to say that while the proportion 'of slighaly wounded in the Operations of this week to date are greater than usual, the .casualties, as a whole, are less than anticipated. SPOILS TO CANADIANS. Amazingly unseasonable weather has retarded the progress of tho Can- adians on the eastern slope of Vimy ridge. For the third day in succession there has been a -heavy fall of snow, Which turns the sticky mud and Chalk in this area into a great obstacle in the Moving up of our guns and stip- plies. If this has placed us at some disadvantage, our enemy's losses. ih artillery is a much greater disadvan- tage ter him, It is stated by German prisoners that several of their big ealibre gun, captured by us are hOW weapons, sent dOwn front Lille only two days before attaelc began. The eneMY's losses of all sorts of material are sufficient to explain why there hail been, as yet, no attempt at a Counter- attack, despite the bringing up of a pare or the Prussian Guard to help Strengthen the German defenee. Offe eial figures noW available', but not yet domplete, show OW aniong the meter - 'al taken in the Canadian collie' area are 30 guns, 71 'Machine guns and 40 trelich Mortars. It 'will take the 'Ger. ' mans some time to bring up their ar. tilery even if it was within a reason.' able distante before. • A warm REPORT. ny Stuart Lyon, Canadian Preen Cole reepetident With the Canadian POrcen. ' Canadian HeadqUertera lit Franee, .Leliden Vablen--The full fruit. Of the Battle ot Vitity Is Mirs tonight, vho Gernitlite are in full retreat, and the Canadians, advaneing art raindlY Llti the nanea and wreeked made per mit, aro nerd upon their heels. (liven sty, Petit Vimy, Vino' itself, 'Partin - end Willerval are ours. Lew is on fire together with the adjacent and it Is believed that it will be evens tatted before morning - All morning our artillery bad been droppoing simile on the German lines, especially on the village of Vilna, and the response wati feeble and sPasme die. This afternoon there was a ser- ies of violent explosions in the mining ;alleges around Lone and Linevin, where heavy charges were being wed to destroy the situate and overhead etructuree of the mines. The sound waked the whole front into life, Our infantry pushed down into VIrny and elivenchy, where they earne into t011eli ith the enemy's rear guard. At this hoar they continue to go for ward, meeting Mile resistance. The simile will be great, aad the advantage resmiting from pcoession. of Lens, Lies lip. mining district tremendous. The Hun is at last headed for borne, and going strong. Vimy has helped, The total number of prieoners taken is still more lecreased, and on this front will come close to 4,000. The total along the Brinell front on Monday is now known as reaching al- most 12,000, the greatest one -day bag of the war. The General in commute of the Canadian Corps has received congratelations in tbe name of the Canadian people on the sUeoess of Monday's operations. itaNsORbcOeFD, PRalSOrNennialtraic.ai,:e trplufrr change in the demeanor of the prison ere recently taken by the Canadian as ennpared with those taken in the Somme offensive Met season, so Canadians who were engaged in "gagging" 'the German prieeners then, and again the paet few days, say. The meet notable difference la an increase of -anti-dynastic senti- ment, Our prisoners are chiefly Int- t yarians, with Prussien officers. The letter still retain the pride of caste, with an 'admixture of inedience. One of these told hie captors, conde- scendingly that if the asmult on Vimy Ridge had not been made with such a rush the whole top of the ridge would have been blown off by au ex- plosion of mines provided for that very purpose. His hint was tiodul in a sense other than he intended. The captives are glad to be out of it. Anfong them, Ba,variana and Prussians alike, the braggart epirit is no longer evident. One non-com- missioned offirer anrprised his captors ny breaking out in bitter epithets againse the Hohenzollerns and Junk- ers, the cause of his country's mis- fortunes. In response to questioning he eald this feeling was becoming far more general in the enemy ranks than even a few months ago, the considerate treatment of the German wounded by the British doing much to prove to Fritz that Great Britain is not eeeking the destructicn of the German people. After the recent battles I saw motor lorries deliver, at the amble lance staelons, mixed loads ot and German wounded. They were Packed in, side by side, all stained with mud and blood—men who an hour before had been thane their best to kill one another. Our men waited their turn patiently. lf badly hurt Fritz was permitted to be ahead In the line, and our men seemed to bear no animosity, Their attitude was that of kindly toleration, even while they turned the full eesources of the English langnage locee in vivid description of their captives. This consideration hoe led te curious re- sults. A wet and weary Chaplain, nvith no place no lay his head, Was called upon by a wounded °Nicer prisoner to provide him with a sec- ond blanket, because the hcspltal was cold, and, said the chaplain: "I would have been soft enough to gim him it if l'd had a blanket to my ruu.13." When the people in Canada real what appear to be authentic stories about the cruet treatment, even by the German women, of the British ounded, it is worth while knowing that the Canadians at the front, no less than the tolerant British Tommy, refuse to descend, in the treetment of wounded nrisOnera, to the enemy level. Bat Fritz must worll and earn his keep on She roads when me ounded. • BID FOR PEACE WITH RUSSIA Germany Aidillt the Work of the Socialists, Leaders Sent by Rulers to v isterdMani!etia414InoVudynS, A. Vienna despatch says that the Aus- trian Parliament will be summoned to meet in the middle of May. The German newspapers say Oita not only is Philip Scheidemann, leader of the majority Socialists, on his Way to Stockholm. but that he is accomeenied by three prominent •German SodaliAts, Addier, trzberger and Heaz; the four Men travelling on special passports, and it is believed in Berlin Socialist' circles that they will meet envoys of the Russian Government, with whom they will preceed to Petrograd. Copenhagen, April 10, via London, April 13.—(Delayed.)—The German Government has 'given permission to the Russian SOcialists now in Swit- zerland to return to Russia by Way of Germany, This permission, according to Word broUght by Philip Schelde. Mann, the German Socialist leader, was granted at the request of the German. soeialist organization. This indicates eery plainly the beneeolent attitude of the Gerhian Government toward the efforts of the Germannocialists to seek rattpreacheinent With their Inissian colleaguee in the interests of a eepar- ate. peace, TWo speelal trains, it IS stated, were plated at the disposetion of Nilcolai Lenin,' the Russian Sedalia, and others of the Inissian exile colOny Switzerland, most of whom belong to the so-called ZininterWald scbool, They neve been participating in cOnfermacee in SWitzeriand in raver of the re -es. tablishment of the Soeialist interne. Heflin OrganizatiOn dad of joint efforts toward peace. They will have an 01). pontiff:0y While travelling through Germany to confer With (Ionian So- evlaaglaistlitis(ax:Id 10 Carry with them te Mai- sie the emit; of an eilergetie peaen erre. 1 R:DGE AREA IS NOW FIELD OF RUIN Two Million Square Yards of Worse Inferno Than Dante Imagined. WITH CANA-DIANS Stewart Lyon Writes of the Work of Convincing the Germans. (By Stewarl Lyon, Canadian Prees Correspondent with the Canadian Forces.) Canadian Headquarters in Plane% .pril 15.—This despatch is written la he depths of a, German dugout near he crest of \limy ridge. It is SundaY aornIng. The battalion commander Ind staff, who are occupying the dug - tut, are snatching a few hours' sleep, atter a long' day of hard work upon zhe roads. The- work of this sort al. ceacly done is wonderful. The battle- field, across wleich trails and roads had to be constructed, was so pitted with shell -holes that, as an officer said, not one blade. of grass remains, ana.there is uot a spot without either a shell -hole or a mound thrown hp be Lite explosions. How any men.lived the trenches through tue bombers:- ment which produced these amazing results on an area of over two million square yards Is inconceivable, Dante never imagined an inferno like L. •rhat great numbers of the enemy were buried in their trenches becomes evident as the clearing up proceeds. Many so buried were disinterred by .ater shells, which destroyed their place of sepulchre. To the disaster which overtook the German army here the ridge of VimY will remain a perpetual monument of unparalleiel destruction of the hill, as some convulsion of nature that changes the surface of the earth. Sheep meg graze in the trenches, craters and shell -holes, but Months of labor by a great army would not pre- pare the soil for the plow. The enemy is doing his best to -night to add to the desolation. He has been shelling steadily the crest of the ridge, with his big guns located In the vicinity of Lens, which still holds out against us, and points well out on the plain to which he has been driven. Since his retreat began his efforts to stay the forwarding of our guns and supplies have been pitiably futile. Our answering fire is increasing steadily in volume as nieht passes and fresh batteries came into action. The cap- tured enemy guns are playing an im- portant part in convincing the Ger- mans that the vicinity of Vimy ridge is a most unhealthy piece for them. Despite the vibration of the gunfire when at its worst, this dugout evi- dently was occupied by some high German officer as a safe and comfort- able place. Its safely is proved by the fact that while the ground 30 feet above .the gelling is pitted with shell - holes the beams of the ceiling remain unshaken. In elite matter of comfort the former occupant eyidentyl was a specialist. The wall is covered -with burlap in green and below a yellow dado. A wooden moulding runs around the room, and an engraving after Millais is a feature of the de- corative scheme. The heat is supplied by a -stove, and it is now heating the place so well that some of the men, accustomed to the Alberta tempera ture, have just insisted on more venti- lation. There are racks for books, and papers are plentifully provided. The bed of the herr commandant is most comfortable. It was the boast of ito garrison that Vimy could not be -taken. In building their underground habitations the en- emy gave evidence that they believed their boast could be made good. The gond westernere who have hung their belongings • on the German comman- dant's clothes pegs are, for the most paet, amateurs, who regard the col- onel as their big brother, and ex- press the hope that they may get back to the ranch soon. It would bring the blush of shame to the herr cora- mandant's face to hear what they say about war as an exact scienee, and of the former occupant of this dugout as, an exponeet thereof. Besides. those two million yards of churned up earth and the German dead who await a burial party at daylight prove that the herr commandant was not a scientist. but a blind leader of the blind. - Sunday has been qUiet. An officer and ten men, on patrol duty Were cap- tured bY the Germans out on the Plain, Later all succeeded in getting away, except one man who was killed. 'the euetnY'e retirement from -VitnY ridge was hastened hY the steady raiu of shells upon hirn ail night, not only by the heavy guns on the western eide of the ridge, but also hY guns which by great exertion nave been hauled across the ruined area pitted with shell holes. As we advance further into his country we find that the going le easier. In the region between Icarbas and Arteux the enemy was forced to abandon inueh artillery. Heavy guns heve been lett in good condition by the German gunners, because theY were ringed bY our fire, They have been turned upon the fleeing foe and most of the captured gulls are in ac- tion already and others will be uti- lized as goon as gun crews can be sent up. Perhaps the best illustration of the way the enemy has hastily aban- doned many of his best guns is that of a.nest of batteriee in, a certain loca- tion. These guts were so absolutely isolated yesterday bY a concentratien of our fire cut thorn that they -were left unharmed 'when the Gentians fled The total number of guns taken by the Canadians (luring the week is over 56. many of them big, ones. which are now fie our service. This total will be greatly increased when the territory now under fire if, ea- plered, To the north of our line Lens Is still burning. British troops there are reported to have °counted Le Coulette, a mining village southwest of Lens, and are pushing on. The flint enemy arisoners secured in the Givehehy district were two found in a dugout bY 4 brigadier, who had gone forward to observe the Po- sition ih the region tO the east ef the stole of last nVednesday's battle for the last part of Vimy Ridge. Hund- reds of the enellty Mild have been eeen telm were victlins Of our artillery and maehine gun lire, WhilS edtitel Ilp to reinforee their hard pressed remeaniens the trenclien Ott Hilo pert Of tlin tied the inertly dead are