St. John's Daily Star, 1917-06-08

              The St. John's Daily Star. Newfoundland 70LUME 111. ($3.00 per Annum) FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1917. (Price: One Cent.) No. 130. MANY POSITIONS CAPTURED (By British In New Drive In Belgian Territory) ALONG FRONT OF FIVE MILES British Reach All Objectives On Schedule- Capture* Many Prisoners and Guns—Mes- Messines Taken From the Germans (By ASSOCIATED PRESS) BRITISH HEADQUARTERS IN 5 FRANCE, June 7—The attack be»an to-day, two months after the of<i\e campaign burst into flame in Arras region, and was carried out t slender strip of Belgiam saved three years ago from the German invasion. The blow was struck on a front ap: oximately of ten miles against the round known as j the IVles.sines \:dge, from which the Germans have >\erlooked the British lines ever since October, 1914. It was not long after he battle began that word came in iom all sectors of the fighting fronts the various objectives had been in schedule time. All prisoners say that the Germans lad been taken completely by surise by the hour at which it was i anched and the fury with which it vjis carried forward. They had been rnpletely dazed by the most gigantic nining operation yet carried on in this tVorld War. More than one million pounds of ligh explosive had been placed under he German forward positions during he past twelve months, and in the upsea val of a score of separate mines, v.nic spread among the troops already larrassed as they were to a point of det ruction by seven days and night's iring from the greatest concentration >[ guns on a given front since the war >egan. The battle of Arras reached 'he ultimate in this respect, but today's bombardment was carried out t> twenty per cent, more guns, especi■ guns of heavy calibre. Messines has long been a thorn in he side of the British. They were Iriven from it in those perilous days in Vtober, 1914, when with weak lines : d virtually no artillery they bravely but forlornly, attempted to hold this point of vantage. If all to-day's gains are held, the pressure on poor old Ypres, which assisted every effort of the Germans will be effectually relieved. Not much is left of Ypres but bjts of crumbling walls and brick dust, but the British have held it as the last important landmark which survived in the little Kingdom overrun by the Germans in their mad dash against France. Messines Ridge has been regarded as a sort of key position to all $ie northern sector of the Western front, 'and in that way is more important than Vimy Ridge itself, although only about half as high. The remainder of the country about Messines is so flat that this sloping ridge, which attains a maximum height only of seventy metres, commands the country for miles around and affords its possessor a great military advantage in direct observation. The British obscured observation this morning with one of the most effective smoke barrages ever set up. The attack came at dawn with a full moon still in the.Heavens. The mine explosions were signs for the turning on of all guns which were employed dropping a curtain of fire that swept before the British attacking units. Meanwhile other guns were hurling high explosive shells against all the German communications, while still others were spraying the German batteries with a deluge of gas shells. a result of this artillery co-operation the German guns were effectually ■ silenced during the initial stages of the attack, and the British casualties consequently were light. It was not long after the battle started that Messines village was reported captured, then came word that Lenfer and Seareetia had fallen, and that Wystchaele, in the very nose of the German salient just south of Ypres was surrounded. Important trench positions were taken all the way, from Observatory Ridge, southeast of Ypres to Ploegstert wood, north of Armentiers. One of the most formidable of these was Danztrasse, which the British fire had all but obliterated. Other positions taken were known as "Ungodly Trench," "Schnitzel' Farms" and "Battle Wotid." Tanks were in the thick of the fighting this morning arid from all accounts were doing splendid, if ungraceful work. The troops fighting to-day were* English, Irish, New Zealanders and Australians. Having expected there would be an' offensive near Ypres, the Germans have been rushing guns and new divisions to this front during the past two weeks. Orders were captured which urged the men to hold against the British at all cost. The German casualties were very heavy. The British took more than five thousand prisoners, many guns, trench mortars and machine guns. That the Germans were taken by surprise is proved by the fact that the Twenty-Third Bavarian Regiment was being relieved at the moment the attack opened. Aerial observers report the enemy appears to fee massing reserves in the vicinity of Warneton and upon the Ypres-Gomies Road. The Germans are bombarding r the centre of the Messiries Ridge, but not very heavily. Reuters " correspondent at3 Britfsh Headquarters "says the British have caintured Messine*. Our Map shows the location of Messines, south of Ypres, just captured by the British in their irew drive. J ' -- COMPLETELY SUCCESSFUL British, In New Drive In Belgium, Qapture Important Strategic Positions Prom The GermansTAKE PRISONERS 5000 OF THE HUNS I ONDON, June 7—The British official statement dealing with the new attack, says: Our operations south of Ypres j have been continued methodically throughout the day/and have been attended with complete success. The Messines—Wystchaete ridge, which for over two and a half years has dominated our position in the Ypres salient, was stormed by our troops this morning.In this attack we' captured the villages of Messines and Wystchaete and enemy defence systems, including many strongly organized woods and defended localities on a front of over nine miles from south of Dauvre Brook to the north of Montzorrel. Later in the day our troops again moved forward in accor3ance with planned operations, and carried the village of Oost Taverne and the enemy's rearward defence system east of the village on a front of five miles. In ihe course of our advance the enemy attempted to counter-attack against the southern portion of our new position, but it was completely broken up by our artillery fire. The enemy's casualties in to-day's fighting were heavy. Jn addition to his other losses up to four-thirty p. m., over five thousand German prisoners passed through the collectings stations. Others are still to be brought in. We also captured a number of guns and many trench mortars and machine guns, which have not yet been counted. There was again g*#t air activity yesterday with many fights. Five hostile formations, one of which, consisted of over thirty machines, were attacked and dispersed with heavy casualties. In the course of the fighting nine German airplanes were brought down and nine others were driven down out of control. Six of our airplanes are missing. AUSTRIANS, OFFENSIVE Enemy Makes Desperate Efforts to Drive Back Italians But Is Continually Repulsed italianlTmake still more gains ITDINE, June 7.—The Austrian advance on the whole Carso front shows that the enemy command after the repeated attacks in the Vbdico zone thought it necessary to make a supreme effort on his left wing, where every Italian gain constitutes a double threat on Liebach and Trieste. General Borzevic's assaults failed entirely before the determined resistance of the Italian troops, who even made, a further advance between Castagnavizza and Voicizza, the tract dominating the Brestivizza Road, threatening the Hermada stronghold. The modification of the line in the entire south of Mamiano is due to the fact that the Austrian artillery on Hermada could still sweep the front of the new Italian positions. The whole situation is practically unchanged and the Austrian positions are still closely pressed and menaced by the Italians in their last advance. /The s.s. Prospero left Seal Cove at 6 a.m. going south. SOME FLOUR PROFITEERING (Discovered By Commission Of Investigation) IS REVEALED IN NEW REPORT Commissioners State Some Dealers Have Made Four To Five Dollars Profit Per Barrel FIND INSUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION FOR BIG ADVANCE IN FREIGHT RATES Urge The Government To Appoint a Food Control Board Armed With Broad Powers "THE COMMISSIONERS appointed to Investigate the High 7 C°st of Living have presented their third interim report to His Excellency the Governor, reviewing the flour situation and making recommendations for regulations which, they contend, should result in relief to the people of th Country. The Commissioners assign the rapid and substantial increase in ihc price of flour in this Country to three outstanding factors: (1) The advance in the wheat markets, partly due to shortage in crops, and partly due to speculation; (2) The increased freight rates charged on all commodities coming into this Colony; (3) The advance in the selling price within the Colony. The first factor, it is pointed out, is beyond control of anybody in this Country: the second may, to some extent, be modified by arrangements with the British Admiralty, who now control the great bulk of British shipping and have set a schedule of freight rates which prevents owners from making excessive shipping profits; as to the third factor, that of price increases in Newfoundland, the Commissioners remark that flour profits have ranged from $1.50 per barrel to as much as $4.00 and $5.00 per barrel. With the object of regulating the prices of flour and oTfter foodstuffs sold within this Country, the Commissioners recommend that the Government appoint a Food Control Board, empowering it to: (a) Conserve and distribute food during the progress of the war; (b) Make a complete and detailed survey' of the whole food situation within the Colony; (c) Adopt measures prohibiting the storage of large quantities of food during the war; (d) Prevent conspiracies to hoard foodstuffs during the war; (c) License distributors of all kinds of food; (f) Establish standards for flour to be imported.  Commissioner's Report IUE find, state the Commissioners, that the annual import of flour is roughly, 400,000 barrels, which represent a consumption of over 1,000 barrels a day. Under ordinary circumstances the great bulk of the flour was imported by a small number of dealers, who, as, agents for mills, sold much of it to other dealers in carload lots, and received as remuneration a brokerage fee of from ten to fifteen cents a barrel; while such flour as they import ed on their own account to sell in competition with these and other dealers, was usually sold at a wholesale profit of twenty to twenty-five cents a barrel. All of these importr;-, and middlemen in turn sold to retailers whose profit rarely, if ever, exceeded fifty cents a barrel and who frequently disposed of their stocks at lower figures. We find, also, that during the past twelve months, and especially since the beginning of" the present year, the price of flour abroad has advanced rapidly and that this advance has been reflected in the price obtained in this country. There are three factors contributing to bring about this decided increase: * * * * Cause of High Prices CIRST, the advance in the wheat markets, partly due to shortage in crops, and partly due to speculation. Second, the increased freight rates charged on all commodities coming into this Colony. Third, the advance in the selling price within the Colony. With regard to the second we find the freight conditions to be as follows: From the outset of the war until June 1915 the railroad freight rate on flour from Montreal to Halifax for export to Newfoundland was 12 l-2c. per 100 lbs. or 26 3-4 c. per barrel of gross weight 214 lbs: and from Montreal to North Sydney 16 1 *2c. per 100 lbs. or 35 l-3c. per barrel. From July Ist, 1916, to date the rate from Montreal to Halifax has only been increased one cent per 100 lbs., or say, 2 cents per barrel, and the rate from Montreal to North Sydney only two cents per 100 lbs. or, say, 4 cents per barrel. It is intimated that another increase of 15 per cent, is likely to come into effect on July 1 st. These figures we can not control, but the increase they represent is so small that it cannot be objected to as unreasonable. * * * • Freight Rates THE freight rates by the Reid system from North Sydney to St. John's or other points. within this island that are reached by rail were from the outset of.the;war up to June Ist. 1915, twenty centfca barrel in summer and ihiilv cent* iff winter.'These rates have since increased as follows: First to thirty-five cents a barrel, then to ninety six and one third cents a barrel, and next S i one dollar and twenty-eight cents a barrel, which is the rate now in force. The other competing carrying agencies into the Colony are the Red Cross Line, the Furness Line, and occasional schooners or tramp steamers. Before the war the Red Cross Line brought flour from Halifax for twenty five cents and from New York for twenty-six cents a barrel. They have since made four increases, until today the rate is one dollar and thirty cents a barrel from HaUiix and one dollar and thirty-two cents from New York. *, * * * Expensive Operating THE Furness Line carries flour from Halifax at about the same rates as the Red Cross Line. Evidence has been submitted to us by the Agents of these lines indicating that they are subjected to much higher operating ■ expenses since the war began and that they rould secure even higher rates elsewhere, than these now charged for freights in io this Colony, but, notwithstanding this, there is in our opinion, no sufficient reason given for the present rates, which represent, roughly, an increase of three hundred to four hundred per cent, on the prices which ruled before the war. We are confirmed in tnis conclusion by the following declaration of Mr. Bonar Law, the Imperial Chancellor of the Exchequer, in presenting his annual Budget in the House of Commons on the 2nd. May last: "Public opinion, opinion in this House, an opinion in which I share, is that there is no trade probably which has made such big profits during the war," as the Shipping Trade, profits which have been so directly due to the war." • ♦ * * Admiralty Regulation* INFORMATION before us is to the * effect that nearly all shipping registered in the United Kingdom is now re quisitioned by the Imperial authorities and that much, if not all the freight carried is at "blue book" rates—which we understand to be special rates nxed by the Admiralty to restrict excess ive profits and that the Imperial authorities also control'the classes of goods to be carried. We recommend, therefore, that the Government take up with the Imperial Authorities the matter of the application of these "blue-book" rates to the Newfoundland trade of all British-registered vessels, if found feasible, so that some measure of relief may be secured in this way. With regard to t.fre increased freight rates by the Reid system, we find that while they show a corresponding excessive advance, they are still within the limits set by the Contract, but of course, if the rates by water were reduced, through the above agency, the Reid rates would have to •come down also, in order to retain a share of the business.* • • • "Following the Market" regard to the third factor, name ly, the increase in prices in the Colony, we find that since the rapid advance in cost of foodstuffs the past year, the practice apparently has been for mill agents and dealers, whether large importers, middlemen or small retailers, to set a uniform rate for flour sold by the barrel, no matter what the rates may have been when they purchased this flour. It would appear that this policy is brought about largely through the fact that commission-agents for mills are also purchasers of stocks, on their own account, and are able to control the local price so as to protect these stocks. This policy is defended, by the dealers on the score that they are "following the markets" and have at no time risen above them; and that only by this means can they preserve a proper equilibrium, with a view to meeting losses which may arise when the markets drop. We cannot find that this principle, however it may have been justified in normal times when small profits were the rule, is at all warranted under existing conditions. It has been estimated by some capable witnesses that for the past year the profit on the total import of flour would represent $1.50 a barrel or say $600,000.00, which would be at least one dollar a barrel more than would be considered a fair profit before the war. * * * * Five Dollars Profit AS a matter of fact the Commission has knowledge of purchases of flour made la,st fall, which were delayed in transit, and only entered the Col ony recently, being sold today at a profit of four to five dollars a barrel. We feel confident that if the ordinary ebb and flow of unrestricted competition existed in this Colony for the past year, flour would have been sold at a much-lower rate, and we think it is regrettable that this system of pricefixing to "follow the markets" should have been put in operation, resulting in so heavy a burden having been placed on the classes in the community least able to bear it. What we mean by free and unrestricted competition is illustrated by what happened here recently with regard to the product of the sealing voyage. By tKe exercise of competition the value of seals was increased from $6.25 per cwt. to $8.00 per cwt. and we cannot but believe that if similar competitive methods had been applied to the sale of flour in St.'John's the last feff months flour would have found its level at the normal rate of profit * * *•■■.' Ordinary Suggestions UJE have considered various suggestions for dealing with, first, the stocks in the colony or on the way: and second; the stocks which will have to be purchased from now onward to meet the requirements of trie Colony for the next twelve months. The suggestion most frequently presented is that the Government should commandeer all the stocks in hand and sell at a fair margin of profit above ihe purchase price. We would very much like to recommend that this course be pursued, but by a careful study of all the conditions to which the adoption of such a course would give rise, we are satisfied that it is not one to bo lightly undertaken. It would have to be applied impa* tially to both city and outports ane would involve enormous accounting research to establish correct figures. All of this flour has been purchased at different times, and at different prices, and consists of various grades. A uniform price would have to be fixed which'would entail endless adjustments as to prices and qualities, and restriction in quantity of sale would also become necessary in the determination of which the requirements of consumers and the stocks already held by some of them would have to be considered. Then a further difficulty that would arise would be the contingency that importers might decline to continue im portations ancl might divert flour already ordered from the mills, to peints in Canada and America where they> could sell it at a higher figure. We might add that such a course lms already been suggested to us by witnesses as probable, and has also been put forward in the public press. (Continued on .page 2} LADIES' SILK BRASIERES $1,75 each. I LADIES' WHITE LAWN I BRASIERES I 38 40 42 80 and 95 ea. LADIES' WHITE LAWN UNDERSKIRTS EMBROIDERED FINISH. 75 90 $1,35 I $1.40 up to $1.80 j SEE WINDOW. A FEW MORE LADIES, NEWEST and LATEST READY to WEAR HATS See Counter. Bowring Bros., Ltd.