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Show Nut merely has the Dobrudja been taken tak-en from Uoumania, but Berlin and Vienna, Vi-enna, who have expressed themselves piously as opposed to annexations, are now insisting upon a rectification of frontier that will give to Austria all the strategic mountain passes and dominating heights, including the Iron Gates of the Danube, along the western west-ern frontier of Roumania. This is precisely what Austria did to Italy when the boundary line was delimited by treaty, and the fact that Austria controlled every vantage point along the Isonzo and in the Alps when the war began immeasurably added to the difficulties of Cadorna's campaigning. campaign-ing. Berlin is determine 1 that Roumania shall be placed in a helpless position at the feet of Austria, covered by Austrian Aus-trian guns and rendered forever incapable in-capable of acting otherwise than the central powers approve. Kiln Ki-ln ten so aerial activity on the part of both the entente allies and the Teutonic forces has developed. Sixty German airplanes took part in a raid on Paris, v uich resulted in heavy casualties, cas-ualties, final figures showing at least 100 persons to have be sn killed and 7!) wounded. Among the dead was an American woman. Miss Winga Carolina Caro-lina Martin, who was a Y. M. C. A. canteen worker. Miss Martin was one of six persons killed in a hospital which was struck by a bomb. Among those killed were a large number of women and children who were crushed to death ix a panic at the entrance to a subway station where hundreds sought refuge from the enemy bombs. However, while the Huns were boasting boast-ing of this most "successful" raid, the airmen of the allies were not idle. British aviators invaded Germany, making a daylight raid on Coblentz, one of the important railroad centers In western Germany, the seat of big military barracks and extensive munitions mu-nitions works. A ton of high explosives explo-sives was dropped on the city, starting fires in many sections. This was the third daylight raid on the enemy coun- my who wages the same war against women and children as against soldiers. sol-diers. Aerial raids on towns, which are counterpart of the pitiless 'submarine 'subma-rine war and the attack against American Ameri-can rights, are the very explanation of the reason why America entered the war. We are sending our soldiers to Europe to fight until the world Is delivered de-livered from these horrors." S3 While no official announcement has been made, the general impression prevails that new plans of the American Ameri-can war department call for the dispatch dis-patch of American troops to France much more rapidly than was proposed in the earlier plans. The indications . are that an effort will be made to bring the American expeditionary force up to a strength of approximately approximate-ly 1.000,000 men by the middle of the summer, instead of 500,000 men as was contemplated by the original plans of the war department. The dispatch of many National army units is expected expect-ed soon, in accordance with the plan that has been adopted of forming an army corps out of two divisions of the regular army, two divisions of the National Na-tional Guard and two divisions of the National army. As many units of the National Guard are already overseas, with the larger number of regular army divisions, it is expected that the movement move-ment of several divisions of the National Na-tional army will follow soon. That the movement of troops will be more rapid than was at first believed be-lieved possible is indicated by the announcement an-nouncement of the war department that the second draft, which will be madevas soon as needed legislation can be secured from congress, will call out approximately S00.000 men. Only the rapid movement of many divisions now in cantonments in this country could make room for this large number num-ber of new draft men. In this connection connec-tion it is predicted abroad that General Gen-eral Pershing's men will be holding 100 miles of front by the closing days of lf)18, a longer front than was held by the British armies two years after the war began. NEWS REVIEW OF Til PAST WEEK German Occupation of Odessa Increases In-creases Teutonic Menace in East. NEW ROAD TO INDIA OPENED President Wilson, in Message to Russian Rus-sian Soviets, Issues Defi to Kaiser American Troops in Many Raids. Announcement that German troops have occupied Odessa is one of the most significant of recent developments. develop-ments. This action by Germany, in spite of the conclusion of the so-called peace with Russia, was expected ultimately, ul-timately, but it came somewhat as a surprise because of the fact that little had been heard of the Germans and Austrians in that region. The occupation of Odessa, the greatest great-est Russian port on the Black sea, is of the greatest importance for several reasons. First, it gives the Germans control of the center of a great agricultural agri-cultural section, the products of which are desired to feed the hungry peoples of the central empires. With Odessa safely in their hands, the Teutons will have access to vast stores of wheat which can be transported trans-ported overland or by sea to points where it can be readily shipped into Austria and Germany. But the capture of Odessa will mean something more an advance over the route to Persia and Afghanistan, and possibly India, which Is to be followed now that the British have severed the famous Berlin and Bagdad route to the East. The passing of Odessa into German control will make possible the completion com-pletion of the German military line across Russia from the Baltic at Narva (81 miles from Fotrograd) to the Black sea. It gives the Germans control not only of the resources of' the Ukraine, but of the bulk of Russia's Rus-sia's grain stores and of the vast export ex-port trade of Russia's southern provinces. prov-inces. Control of this territory opens a route for a German land drive Into the far East, by way of Butum, in Trans-Caucasia (which was taken from Russia at Brest-Litov.sk and given giv-en to Turkey), Baku, across the Caspian sea to Krasnovodsk, In Turkestan, Turke-stan, and through Merv to (he border of Afghanistan, thus threatening the Indian empire. Another route Is through Teheran, across central Persia to Ispahan and thence to Shiraz, to the Indian frontier, fron-tier, spelling equal menace to Britain's Brit-ain's far Eastern possessions. tea The carrying out by the Teutonic powers of their plans for conquest, in the East brought from President Wilson Wil-son a move which was declared to be one of the boldest made by any government gov-ernment since the war began. This action was In the form of a message dispatched to the Russian congress of Soviets In session at Moscow. In this message President Wilson plpdged the power of the United States to secure free Russia. He declared that the United States "will avail Itself of every ev-ery opportunity to secure for Russia once more complete sovereignty and Independence In-dependence In her own affairs and full restoration to her great role In the life of Europe and the modern world." President Wilson's message was regarded re-garded as a second declaralion of war a declaration of war on the German government until It is compelled to relinquish its hold on Russia. The president proposed, in effect, that the United States and Its allies shall fight until Russia regains unimpaired sovereignty sov-ereignty and Independence. The message mes-sage was also regarded as a direct reply re-ply to the recent address on peace terms made by Count von Herding, Ihe German chancellor. M Reports from .Tassy tell how die lm-perlalislic lm-perlalislic spirit of the central empires em-pires is showing Itself In growing demands de-mands for concessions by Rotiinanla. I '' "".'' .' L . try in a period of four days. Behind the lines in Flanders and France the British aviators are also maintaining the effective work they have been doing lately. The territory from Lille south to Cambrni has been sown with bombs, railroad sidings and ammunition dumps in the region of Maubeuge, Valenciennes, Dona! and Cambria being attacked. The enemy is getting all the worst of the air fighting, and his apparent Inability to check the British flyers or to take the initiative himself In this important sphere rather discounts his loud boasts of readiness for a great offensive. It is to be doubted if he can venture any large-scale offensive while the overhead fields of battles are so thoroughly controlled by his opponents. op-ponents. ra taj Americans at home continue to bo electrified by reports of the exploits of Pershing's troops in the sectors .which are now held by the Americans. Successful raids have been made repeatedly re-peatedly by the American troops while the American artillery has won many duels with the big guns of the enemy. One raid on the new United States front In Lorraine was declared to he the most successful encounter in which American soldiers have engaged during dur-ing the war. In this raid, infantry units penetrated the enemy lines to a depth of between 400 and GOO yards at some points. The raid followed a bombardment bom-bardment by American guns which lasted four hours and which wrecked the enemy's front trenches and barbed wire entanglements. Three successive raids at different points on this sector all prosed highly successful, the Americans Amer-icans capturing a number of prisoners and returning to their own trenches with small casualties. In a raid on the Toul sector, the American soldiers penetrated the German trenches to a depth of 300 yards. After some hand-to-hand fighting in which a number of the enemy were killed and wounded, the raiders returned to their lines with much material and Information, although al-though they captured no prisoners. It .was reported that every American who left the front line on this raid returned. re-turned. The American troops in the Toul sector have been subjected to a terrific artillery fire, the German apparently having concentrated strong forces of artillery on this sector. It was reported re-ported that in some places the bombardment bom-bardment reduced the first line trenches to ruins but the Americans at those points continued to hold their positions In shell craters. The American Ameri-can artillery also has been active on all sectors held by Pershing's men, bombarding towns and roads In the rear of the German lines. r-4 The first permanent advance of the American troops was made on the Luneville sector, where Pershing's nam occupied enemy trenches which they had forced the Germans to abandon through recent raids and heavy artillery artil-lery (ire. The Irenches were consolidated consoli-dated with our own, enabling the Americans Amer-icans and French to operate from higher high-er ground than before. Attempts made by the Germans to retake the posilbii, were repulsed. Announcement that Secretary of War Baker had landed in France gave rise to all sorts of speculation as to the real purpose of his trip. At Washington Wash-ington the official announcement was made that the secretary's visit to France Is for purely military purposes and has no diplomatic significance. At the same time the view was expressed in some quarters that Mr. Baker's trip might have some connection with the views of American commanders that the allies should undertake a determined deter-mined offensive on the west front this year Instead of remaining on the defensive de-fensive and awaiting the expected offensive of-fensive of the German forces. The tremendous tre-mendous growth of the American expeditionary ex-peditionary forces recently, with the promise that American troops will be ready to take part in a general offensive offen-sive this year, is expected to give the views of the American high command great weight, with the allied commanders. command-ers. Secretary Baiter lias announced that he expects to make a thorough Inspection In-spection of all the American forces abroad and to hold important conferences confer-ences with American military commanders. com-manders. II Is know n that he has been eager for several months to talk over with General Pershing the many problems prob-lems that have arisen In connection with th(! war plans. Secretary Baker arrived In Paris just in time to witness the pretentious air raid by German airplanes on Ihe French capilal. In an Interview given out In Paris after the raid, Mr. I'.aker said : "It was my first experience of the actualities of war and a revelation of die methods Inaugurated by an enc- |