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GOING eee orl 14 PAGES Aaa Ea A. YEAR 84: NO. 285 A MOST CRUEL BLOW DEALT HALIFAX CITY North End. a Mass of Ruins---Human Bodies Crushed to Pulp or Charred And Black- ened By Fire---War Caused the Catastrophe. (Canadian Press Despatch.) 7.--~The war has touched Halifax. Halifax, Dec are left in its trail. Where only.a fe in Canada stood secure in her own de there are now heaps of ruins. property, and words fail to describe t lost their home and dear ones by one cruel stroke. The busy thriving north | Saskatchewan ... end from the sugar refinery to Creighton's corner is just one mass of broken | Alberta and splintered timbers, of powdered crushed to pulp or charred and black [LOOKS BETTER FOR UNIONISTS. { Outside of KINGSTON, ONTARIO, FRIDAY, DECEMBER PREDICTED OTTAWA FIRE, Was Due to German Plot--Reported Plot to Navy Secretary. Concord, N, C., Dec. 7.--Testifying {in his own defence yesterday at his | trial for the murder of Mrs. Maude | A. King, Gaston B. Means tld the | { | | story of his activities as a "German agent," and declared that it was he who had discovered and reported to |The U. 8. Government the German | plot to burn the "Capitol" at Ottawa, restore Huerta to a dictatorship in Mexico, bring on war between Mexico and the United States, and at the same time start a peace propaganda. Quebec Government | Should Have Majorities, | Ottawa, Dec. 7.--From reports re-| ceived at Ottawa the elections are | FIRE | HALIFAX DEAD | | As the Result of the Frightfal Explosion on Thursday Morning. | | | | | PUPLS KILLED IN SCHOOLS | | ENGINE EXPLODED KILL | ING CHIEF AND DEPUTY, | Crews of Both Vessels, Escaped-- | Thousands Are Injured--A | : | The Government | | was tied up in the area affected by | [the explosion. . 9 The damage done to the Western 7, 1917. CW Halifax itself. It was very thickly populated. The streets were narrow and many of the houses were of the steamer Niobe Union and Canadian Pacific Tele- graph Cos. and Nova Scotia Tele- phone Company is so complete that it will be days before wire communi- cation with points outside Halifax can be restored. A Searching Investigation. Ottawa, Dec. 7.--The Minister of Marine and Fisheries has ordered a searching investigation of the collis- ion between the two vessels. The United States Government has directed the naval authorities at Bos- ton to utilize all available vessdls and cruisers for the despatch to Hali- - fax of food and clothes. Ubig [r= --_-- LAST EDITION Department estimates the number ot! dead due to the explosion at Halifax as 5,000, and adds that the explos- fon was seen and heard fifty-two miles at sea. The Mount Blanc car- ried 3,000 toms of 'T.N.T., the most powerful explosive known. Senator Halliday Enlists, Ithaca, N. Y., Dec. 7.--State Sen- ator Morris S. Halliday of this eity, representing Tompkins, Tioga, Che- mung and Schuyler counties in the New York State Legislature, has en- listed in the Signal Corps Reserve, Aviation Division, U. 8. A., and will enter the reserve officers' training camp at San Anfonio, Tex., December 15th. Senator Halliday said he would resign immediately from the Legislature. THE CITY OF HALIFAX, IN CITY HAL In the Interests of W. F. Nickie, the Union Candidate. THE HALL WAS CROWDED TO HEAR THE STIRRING AD. DRESSES THAT WERE GIVEN. J. M. Godfrey and Miss Constance Boulton, Toronto, Major W. L. No one can yet estimate the loss of life and | Ontario ........ I expected to divide about as follows: | Unionist. Opposition. Sorrow and anguish |p gp, I. AE w hours ago the most prosperous city | Nova Scotia ..... fences, unafraid and almost apathetic, | New Brunswick . 3 10 7 70 10 11 4 . | IQuebec he mental anguish of those who have | Manitoba ....... B. .C. brick and stone and human bodies | J Yukon Searching Investigation Into the Thrilling Scene of Destruction, | (Canadian Press Despatch.) Catastrophe Is Ordered. | Halifax, N.S, Dee. T.--Foilowing (Canadian Press Despatch) |in the wake of death and destruction Halifax, N.S., Dec. 7.--The esti- in this city yesterday a heavy snow- mated dead by the police is two storm set in early this morning add- thousand. Thousands have been in-| ing to the discomfort of the home- jured. The crews of both vessels, es and impeding the work of the which collided and caused the catas- | rescuers. Fires are still burning in "he devastated area and the (fire trophe, escaped and lave been de- | Department is still at work. The fall tained awaiting the ifvestigation in-| of snow, however, will assist them to the cause of the accident iin subduing the fires in the ruins. Although the collision of the two ships ly accidental, the war created it. TI pectedly as Zeppelin bombs have fallen upon undefended English towns the effect has been the same, ened by fire, { is believed to have been pure- | F | 1e crash came as suddenly and unex-| and | | Washington To Voluntarily Help. | (Canadian Press Despatch.) | Washington, Dec. 7.--American I details of the catastrophe, prepa the situation to be redoubled, Dead Number 2,000, (Canadian Press Despatch) Halifax, Dec. 7--Up to noon to- day there was no change in the police estimate of the number of casualties in yesterday's disaster. There are about fwo thousand dead and the same number of injured, two-thirds of the latter suffering from .injuries from flying glass. Belgian Relief Boat Beached. * (Canadian Press Despatch) New York, Dec. 7.--The boilers of the Imo, the Belgian reMef ship which collided with the Mont Blane, did not explode, according to word received at the offices of the agents here to-day. The thirty-four mem- bers of her ¢rew were picked up by "a TEITEN satires, ms stated. After the collision the Imo succeeded in backing away and beaching 'before the explosion oc- curred. . United States Cities Aid, (Canadian Press Despatch.) New York, Dec. 7.--Washington, Boston and New York and other United States centres cqntinue to rush trainloads of medical aids of all kinds to Halifax. The mayor of Halifax has been notified that sister cities all over the States stand ready to help in all ways possible. Kitchener Gives $10,000, (Canadian Press Despatg¢h) Kitchener, Dec. 7.-- The City Council at a special meeting this morning voted ten thousand dollars for the Halifax sufferers. Hunting For Their Dead. (Canadian Press Despatch.) - Halifax, Dec, 7.--Those who can- not find their loved ones in any of the hospitals are holding to hopes that thelr families may be among those who wete put aboard trains and carried to towns along the line, some going even as far as Truro, It has been dmpossible to get all' the names of the missing. Families have been scattered, and because of the lack of communication there is no immediate means of bringing scattered families together, There are nineteen known dead at Dart. mouth, opposite Halifax. Several are missing and presumed dead. It was in Richmond, opposite the scene of the explosion, that the havoe was greatest. Whole block of dwell- ings, mostly of frame construction, sere leveled. Street. after street is in ruins and the ° structures which were left standing by the explosion were de- stroyed by fires which broke out simu eously in a score of places and which if was impossible to check until they had. burned themselves fea out, It fs believed scores of persons who had been injured by the collapse of thelr h6més perished. in the flames from which they were help- less to flee. The fires in this district still are smouldering to-night. Terror Scenes in Streets, Five minutes after the 'explosion the streets in all parts of Halifax were filled with frenzied, panic- | ---- . CONTENTS, at Halifax; Halifax ppalling; ~ Untonist reh Events: Incidents of the Continued. That $ nn hed: 1=Cruel Sow o News. Announcements; Theatrical red to send additional relief to that des- | patched by special trains from Boston and New York last night, formal call for assistance from Canada. ment early to-day that the dead might reach 5,000, caused efforts to meet 4 BHARh ales by the force of the ex- message plosion. | heavy bombardment. The ati | forces, the War Office announced ted Crosg officials here to-day awaited | without a | Word reaching the Navy Depart- | stricken throngs striving to reach the outskirts fn 'an effort to escape what they belleved was a raid by a German fleet. Hundreds of them had been cut by the shower of glass 'which followed the explosion. | In the Richmond section the scenes enacted defied description. Beriously injured men and women crawled from the wreckage of their homes and lay in the streets until they were removed in ambulances and automobiles to hospitals, Those less seriously hurt aided those more gravely injured. : In the streets piled high with de- ris were found the shattered bodies of many women and children. 'Sev- eral children were crushed to death when they were hurled against tele- In scores of cases occupants of houses who had escaped without in- Jury or who were only slightly hurt were baffled by the flames in their search for members of their fami- lies and were forced to stand by im- potent while what once had been their homes became funeral pyres for loved ones. Finds Family Killed. A government employee named McDonald, who made all speed to reach his home after the explosion found that his wife and four children | had perished. His two-year-old daughter had been killed while play- ing in the yard of her home. Scores of those who lost their lives were children in the \public schools in the north end. Many others suf- fered broken limbs and were rescued with difficulty from the ruined build-| ings. The teachers' who escaped in-! Jury worked heroically to save the! lives of the children under their] charge. Lebaron Coleman, manager of the! Canadian Express Company, was killed when the roof of the north sta- tion collapsed. Start Rescue Promptly. In less than half an hour after the disaster 5,000 persons had gatifered on the Common and thousands of others had sought refuge in fields outside the city. Hundreds were re- ported missing by their relatives and it was not known whether they were alive or dead. The work of rescue and relief wus promptly organized. The Academy of Music and many other .public! buildings were thrown open to house | the homeless. Five hundred tents! have been erected on the Common and these will be occupied by the troops who have surrendered their barracks to the women and ohildreh. Cagsed by Confusion of Whistles. Halifax, - Dee. 7.--Pilot Frank Mackie of the Mont Blanc declared that the collision resulted from a confusion of whistles sounded by the Ioma. He believes the fire which caused the explosion was due to the fact that the munitions ship carried a 'deck load of bensine, * Kingston People in Halifax. Mrs. Charles F. Kirkpatrick has not received any word from her fath- er, Archbishop Worrell of Halifax, but she thinks he is safe 'or she would have been advised before this. The archbishop lives on Lucknow street. : 5 f Rev. 8. B. G. Wright, brother of Rev. J. de P., Wright, Kingston, is vicar of All Saint's cathedral received from him, THE GERMANS FAIL In Two Attacks East of Seuse in N Verdun Region. © Ca Press Despatch * Paris, Dec. ~Two re pes) were made by the Germans to attack the French lines east of the Meuse in the Verdun region last night after a attacking to- - day, were driven off by French fire. telegrapher and mfp maker. priest in Halifax. No word has yet been 93 Government majority--49, NOB SUCH A FOOL, Stupid-Looking Butcher German Spy. New York, Dec. 7.--Although he was a German subject Eric Hoecker, a butcher Loy, possessed an air of such profound stupidity that he was permittéd to call daily at Fort Tot- ten in his rounds, Yesterday the was interned on Ellis Island after army intelligence officers discovered, after a search of his quarters, that he had important papers among his effects, and that he was an expert Boy Was U.S. DECLARES WAR ON AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Canadian Press Despatch) Washington, D.C." Dec. 7 bodies arrived at the morgues last] night. - ! Forty were killed on one ship alone. A fire engine exploded, kill- ing the fire chief and his deputy. Many children were killed in the schools. No soldiers were killed or injured. All returned soldiers had left the city. The property damage is enormous. " ixplosion Spreads Devastation, For a mile and a half along the waterfront from Richmond down be- | low Hollis street the destructive blast caused by the explosion of a munition ship in Bedford Basin swept. In that area most of the buildings have been destroyed or badly damaged, including the whar- ves, elevators, warehouses, Imperial dock yards, and even the dwellings on. the hill above facing the harbor. With less than an hour's debate the Senate passed the resolution de- claring war on Austria- Hungary. cc tte-- HAS LOST HS LEFT HAND STANLEY FISHER OF NAPANEE WOUNDED IN FRANCE. James Henderson Sentenced to Five Years in Penitentiary for Stealing an Automobile, (From Our Own Correspondent) Napanee, ec. 6.--Irvine Vanal- stine, one of Napanee"s most respect- ed residents, is very ill of pneumonia and grave fears are entertained for his recovery. His son, Dr. Elliott Vanalstine, of Chicago, arrived home to-day to be at his father's bedside. Mrs. George Mancur, an old and much respected resident of Odessa, passed peacefully away on Saturday evening at the home of her daughter, Mrs. G. B. Joy, Dundas street. =Al- though in failing health for some months, she was able to come to Nap- anee about two weeks ago. De- ceased was eighty-one years of age and lived in Odessa over sixty years. She leaves three children, Mrs. G. B. Joy, Napanee; Mrs. Clark, of Los Angeles, (al, 'and John Mancur of Odessa. The funeral took place on Tuesday to Cataraqui cemetery, James Henderson, who stole J, H. Fitzpatrick's auto last October and was arrested in the United States about three weeks ago, was tried yes- terday and sentenced to five years in Portsmouth penitentiary. Dr; and Mrs. Fisher, whose son, Stanley Fisher, was wounded in France on the 10th of October, re- ceived a letter from him this week, stating that he had lost his left hand and had other wounds in the arm and shoulder, but saying that he was progressing" splendidly. He was brought to England and is now in hospital. Mrs. John Milling was in Belleville this week to be with her sister, Mrs. Card, who underwent a serious oper- ation in the Belleville hospital. All through this area fatalities are reported wholesale. The force of the explosion may be judged by the fact that telegraph operators were killed at their work over four miles from the scene of the action. 'The + whole city north of the Queen's Hotel is a mass of wreckage, and fires broke out in a dozen parts of the city. The area affected is several miles. The Canadian Government depot, also used by the C.P.R., is described as utterly crushed, while the repair- iag plant at Willow Park is wreck- ed, Tried to Sink Steamer. The explosion was caused when the cargo of a French munition ship exploded after the vessel had been rammed by a Norwegian boat carry- ing foodstuffs. The explosion occurred about 9 o'clock. The ammunition ship was! backing from her pier preparatory to sailing. The force of the col- lision started a fire. The crew was quickly called to quarters and an attempt made to extinguish the flames. This failed and as the fire approached the holde where the ex- plosives were stored, the captain ordered the sbacgcks opened. Be- fore, however thi vessel had sunk, she drifted towards one of the piers and a few moments later an explos- ion occurred, tearing the vessel to pieces. * When the decision was made to sink the ship the crew was ordered into their small boats. The explosion rocked the business buildings and broke much glass, but the casualties in this section were small. ~ The fires all over the north end of the city were caused by stoves over- turning. Fire Under Control, The firé was brought under con- trol yestérday afternoon. Richmond is destroyed. Not a house in the city escaped. Pieces iron and shrapnel have been found three miles from the waterfront. The portion of the city affected was the older part, many of the buildings being almost as old as _ "REMEMBER THE KIDDIES I" | The Whig's Fund For Christmas Presents to Soldiers' Children. W.P.Niekle... ..... ... W.d Fair .. ... ... ... Steacy's Limited ... ... ... Royal Military College Cadets H.C. Nickle .... ... . Standard Publishing AM. H. W. Newlin Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Whiting ., A. B. Cunningham ... ... . Dr. and Mrs. J. C. F. Atkinson Wray . 'Mr. and Mrs, 1. Ldeut.-Col. and Mrs. W. Lend-a-Hand Circle, King's Ee a sale sina kwe a $100.00 SEH Had wae es dew wee we et Major G. 1. Campbell ..., ... ..."...®. . . .... re w ain rt 3A 4 Lieut.<Col. and Mrs. J. N. 8. Leslie .. | se benpe res owe Travan asians see pes wa see wav Hew aw aa Tae Mae wh ae sue seb wun . ee ane pessbaennd "ee eh Mite Sea AF. vas soem we § EEEECES Twenty-five teams loaded With }North street | Gottingen street, about three quar- | medical supplies. 'tals, 'colleges have been closed and will ! that the war, | Sponsible for the increased 'cost of 'thirty or forty million men from' The devastated area extends from to Africaville on the shores of Bedford Basin, about two miles from the waterfront west to ters of a mile. Special trains from Moncton, Truro, and Windsor have farrived here, bringing doctors, nurses and Special trains with injured have also been sent to Windsor and other points, where there are large hospi- "Business is still suspended and will be for days. All the schools and not re-open until after the New Year, There is wreck and ruin on every 'side. There is not a building in the city that did not suffer damage. All are without glass; plaster is down pnd windows and doors shattered. On every side carpenters and prop- erty owners are boarding up-4heir premises to keep out the storm. All power plants are still idle. No new estimate of dead and injured was available this morning. Blue jac- kets from an American warship fn port did patrol duty on all streets of the city last night. The Number Grows, -- Grant, T. J. Rigney and Mr. Nickle Halifax harbor, six mi¥ ! Spoke, 3 dong. Js Jue, Mt tue fines in Stirring addresses on behalf of W, '% commodating combined naval # | F. Nickle and Umion Government, # fleets of the world. The popu- 4 | Were given at a mass meeting held in # lation of the city is about 50,- # the City Hall, on Thursday night. 4 000. It is the chief British na- # The audience filled the hall to over- # val station of North America. | flowing. Robert Meek was chairman, # Its naval terminals aré among + | and every available seat on the plate #% the finest in existence, « form was océupied. There was a * | very large turnout of ladies at the FEPFPEP EPSP TESE SESE SPIER | meeting. W. F. Nickle was given a -* | rousing reception. Widow is Awarded $4,500. Lowville, N. Y., Dec. 7.--In the Supreme Court, Justice William M. Ross presiding, in the action of Terez Kretik, as administrator for George Kretik vs. the New York | Central Railroad Company, the jury! returned a verdict for $4,500 for the! plaintiff. George Kretik, the hus- band of the plaintiff, was run over and fatally injured about a year ago. | Slight British Withdrawal. (Canadian Press Despatch) London, Dec. 7.--The British have withdrawn on a small Cambrai &alient without loss, is the report of the War Office. SHEEIFIIIELETIINIIPIEI IIRL + TEN DAY ARMISTICE + WITH RUSSIA BEGINS, + (Canadian Press Despatch. + Berlin, Dec. 7.--A ten-day + armistice was rranged with % Russia beginn At noon to- ¥ day, the War Office Announces. + + + ° * + + + <* Sid Pry & Pr & Italians admit a withdrawal from Washington, Dec. -7.--The Navy FACTS VS. PLATITUDES In his letter to the Whig, publish- ed on Wednesday, Dr. Richardson, Kingston Laurier candidate, made this appeal to the people affected by the increased cost of living: "If the working men, clerks and merchants are satisfied with the high cost of living, let them vote for Borden." \ Just what he means by "voting for Borden" no one seems to know. Apparently he doesn't know himself, Inasmuch as he neglects to explain it. In this election no one is voting "for Borden." Some misguided ones, as well as all the disloyal and alien element, will undoubtedly vote "for Laurier'; but the rest of Canada is voting for a principle greater than any leader, higher than any party. No ome is voting "for Borden"; but many a one will vote for the Union Government, which is pledged to abolish ronage, to re. form the civil service, to curb tha profits of men like Flavelle, to en. force the Military Service Act, to exempt men required on the farms and in specialized occupations where they are necessary to the state, to keep faith with the Canadions at the front by sending them the rein- forcements they ask for, to prose. cute the war with vigor--in a word, they will vote for a Government which is British" and fights, as against a man who is French.-Can- adian and quits. As to food prices. Is the Union Government responsible for the high" cost of living? . The doctor does not --because he cannot--attach the blame to this Government or any Government. He knows full well nd it alone, is re. living. You cannot withddatw Productive activity without serious- ly curtailing the supply of food. | Added to this is the wastage entail. ed by war, the difficulty or impossi- bility of transportation of food- stuffs from the place where they are plentiful to the place where they are urgently required, and the diversion of capital from agricultural and in. dustrial pursuits to warlike uses. In every great war the food problem becomes acute. Many times famine stalks in its train. To blame such conditions on a Government bend- ing all its efforts towards achieving ultimate victory and saving the na- tion it serves, is something akin to blaming tthe physician for the 'dis- ease his prescription seeks to cure---- and sometimes Kills. That any Government, old or new, is responsible for the high cost of living in Canada has thus been dis. proved. But we can assure the 'and confine it to North working men, clerks and merchants ~ their line on the northern front, of Kingston that the food prices paid in Canada to-day are CON. | SIDERABLY LOWER than in any. other country. Europe, where either | rationing or starvation prevails, | would afford too unfair a compari- son. We will be more generous to Dr. Richardson and confine the com. | parison to this continent. We will accord him still another advantage, America. Nor shall Canadian Government statistics be quoted, because he might say these were distorted or misquoted for the purpose of bol- stering up the Union Government. An independent source will be sought to prove him wrong--decid- edly, irrefutably wrong. The United States Food Commis- sion has made a comparison of Can- adian and United States retail food prices for October last. Consider their finding: "The United States price for round steak is 105 per cent. of ithe Canadian price. Pork good quality fresh fish is 127 cent, of the Canadian price. Milk is 110 per cent. butter are 'practically the same price on the average for the two countries, but the Canadian con- rot much cheaper in Canada, the United States price being 1.47 times as much as that in the Dominion. In rolled oats, too, the Canadian pur- chaser buys much more | ly. Other food commodities on which the average Canadian re- price is lower ge | i §3E3 44 i gef I platitudes. The "working man, clerk or merchant" ean reason out things for himself. He is not to be led astray by reckless charges. And suppose the cost of living is higher---suppose it is much higher--was the artizan or the merchant ever in a better posi- tion to meet it? Is work not plenti- ful and the remuneration greater than ever before? Was he ever bet. ter off financially than he is to-day? The people of this day and genera. tion are too intelligent and too em. | lightened to accept empty gemeralit- ies and meaningless platitudes. They look for facts, and on these base their own conclusions. Which is as} it should be. Addresses were given by J. M. Godfrey, president of the Ontario Win-The-War League, Major W. L. Grant, Miss Constance Boulton, of Toronto, T. J. Rigney, and Mr, Nickle. Major Grant, fresh from the war zone, told the audience about the urgent need for reinforcements. He asked the electors to forget partyism and vote as Canadians. Miss Boulton declared that the { best men of the country were lined { up for Union Government, and were ready to lead the women, She made a touching appeal to the women to vote for Union Government, and to give the boys at the front the needed help. Mr. Godfrey, a life-long Liberal, declared that Sir Wilfrid Laurier had lost the opportunity of uniting Can- ada as she had never been united be- fore. Mr. Rigney called upon the élects ors to drop politics and rally to the support of Sir Robert Borden in the winning of the war. Major Grant's Appesl, Major Grant was the first speaker. He said that partyism should be set aside, and that the electors should vote as Canadians. He said the question should not be one of Grit and Tory, but as regards securing reinforcements at the front to win the war. He pointed out the urgent need for men at the front, and paid a glowing tribute to the work of the Canadians on the field of battle. "And are you going to send over more men to help them in their work, or are you not?" asked the speaker, There was great need for the two old political parties to get together, and help win the war. Canada had a duty to perform, and the speaker refused to believe that Canada would refuse to send reinforcements over. seas. The speaker said that one did mot know hardly what name to give those in the opposition. You could not call them Liberals, as they did not represent all the members of this old party, as a large number of 'the best men in the Liberal ranks were now lined up strong for Union. The opposition must be referred to as Laurierites. Referring to the call for men Major Grant said thatthe voluntary system had brought good results, but that this system had completed its work. The need for more récruits at the present time was very urgen! and the only fair way of getting these recruits was through .the en- forcement of the Military Services Act, "The men in the trenches must be supported." said the speaker amidst loud applause, "and the only way they can be supported is in sending over more men. Otherwise, we will be false to Canada, false to our 'brothers in France, and most of all, false to those who we will never ses on earth again, but whose memory will live forever in our minds. TI re- fuse to believe that In Kingstop we will be false to our living and to our dead." Mr. Godfrey's Address. Mr. Godfrey remarked in opening his address that he pn been a (Continued oz Page 3.) War The German War ce claims a total of 9,000 prisoners and 164 guns taken from the British in the Cam- brai region. Fresh' Austro-German divisions Yrom the French and Russian fronts wre continually arriving on the Ital fan line, The Italian high command, des patches say, is confident of its po sition. Airplanes are being destroy ed and Italian patrols are in constant touch with the enemy. Bw Eleven thousand Italians have been captured the A NISS MEETING