UNITED STATES.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1917, Page 5

UNITED STATES.

NAVY YARD DESTROYED. 6 KILLED, 31 INJURED. San Francisco, July 0. An oxplosion ami fire destroyed Mare Island Navy Yard. A dozen were injured in the explosion. There were no fatalities. Windows were broken in all the San Francisco Bay towns. San Francisco, July 9. Six men were killed and 31 injured by the explosion. .Received July 10, 10.50 p.m. .San Francisco. July !). Five persons were killed and thirty injured by the explosion at Mare Island. I FIRST CONSCRIPT DRAFT. HALF A MILLION MEN FOR FRANCE Washington, Julv 9. The War Department announces" that the first draft will consist of 68,700 men. The first draft of enrolments brings the Regulars and National Guard to war strength, and will provide half a million men for the new army to gu to France. ALARM AT EMBARGO ON WHEAT. ' Washington, July 8. Van Rappard, Dutch Minister to the United States, has expressed grave apprehension as to the effect of the embargo on the export of wheat,, and declares that the Dutch people are starving. They are rationed and forced to depend on Germany for coal and America for grain. Holland is at) America's mercy. Advices from Argentine state that great alarm has been caused by President U ilson's action, owing to Argentine industries being dependent on North America for coal and other fuel. NATIONAL GUARD CALLED OUT. Received July 11, 12.50 a.m. Washington, -Tuly 10. Mr. Gerard has resigned from the diplomatic service. President Wilson has called out all the National Guard for service.

AMERICA WORKING FOR HER ALLIES. LOOKING TO A LONG war. (From London Observers Correspondent.) New York, May 6. America is gradually passing from the •stage of warfare represented by a patriotic display of flags to that which brings a realisation of hard facts. It cannot be said that anything very definite in the way of facts has emerged jpo.vv siqj snouiu aifj niojj regarding the submarine losses, but they have aroused a strong desire to know the worst, and have, at least, driven home the seriousness of the situation. For tho past few months too much attention hero has been focussed on the internal troubles of the Central Umpires, with tho result that there was a vague idea abroad that these would automatically terminate the war, the United States, perhaps, being just in time to assist with the coup de grace. That is an illusion which the German submarines and tho British and French Missions have done much to dispel. America begins to realise that her Allies have troubles of. their own which are of more immediate interest than Germany's. Nothing that the two Missions have done lias made so deep an impression as their frank admission, especially Marshal Joffre'3, of an earnest desire to see American troops in th 6 firing line at the earliest possible moment. The situation, as Americans begin to see it now and as the authorities in Washington evidently want them to see it, is &6meWhat as follows: England is serously threatened by the submarine campaign. It will not starve her into submission. It will be beaten in the end. But if it is not beaten quickly it may weaken her effort on land and indefinitely prolong the war. France has limits to her man-power. American troops must be ready, and the sooner a small force appears on the firing line the 'better for its moral effect "in both France and Germany. That some such force will be sent now seems probable, although the General Staff is known to be opposed to it. The machinery for the selective draft is already under wav.

Meanwhile, Prance wants stock al\(l men fvr railways, and these will be supplied as quickly as possible. Italy needs coal, and the situation must be relieved before next winter. Russia is at present an unknown quantity and must for safety be regarded as such. The feeling towards her is that of nil elder brother very fearful lest a younger one may commit some indiscretion that will prejudice his whole future career. M. MiliukofTs courageous stand against the extreme elements yesterday was reassuring, but the evident extent of Herman influence in Petrograd is disquieting, and at best no great military effort can be expected from Russia this summer. .Ai for Germany, the tendency now is not to pin too much hope on recent reports of internal troubles, but to assume that she has plenty of fight left in her ind supplies adequate to carry on the war Indefinitely. If the Chancellor has nnv now peace proposals to make they are likely to get short shrift. America is in no mood now to consider a peace without victory; As the Evening Pos», certainly not a bellicose organ, recently declared, it is no longer a mere question of American rights at sea. The German Government might now call off its submarines and offer to pay us an indemnity for all the destruction they have wrought, and still we should have to ask, being now in the war against an autocratic Prussian militarism and in behalf of the rights of small nations, what about Belgium ?