VOL. XXXIX MOUJfl AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY. 'JftARCH 15 1917. MO. 3-5 TO KEEP MERCHANT MARINE AFLOAT. Order Directing That Gun* bo Placed Aboard American Merchant Ve»»el» Issued by President at White House. Washington. March 8.—Pre* Went Wilson from a nick bed today ordered the arming of American merchant ships against Germany's ruthless sub marins warfare, ami at the name time iasuad a proclamation calling an extra session of Congress to tneet April 16. The Praaident's decision came suddenly lata this afternoon, following the act ion of tha Senate yesterday in revising its rules to permit prompt action on important questions and the submis sion of formal opinions by Secreta!* Lansing and Attorney General Greg ory that ha has the power to arm merchantmen without action by Con gress. Details of the Government's urmed neutrality plans for defending tha * merchant marine were withheld to avoid endangering Americans and their ships by permitting tha infor mation to reach Germany. The only • statement at the White House and the Navy Department was that the Presi dent had determined -0 fully protect American rights. The decision, coming at the end of a period of tense waiting, was gener ally hailed as the natural and unavoid able next step in the policy adopted by the President when he broke off diplo matic relations with Germany and gave warning that the United States could not tolerate attacks on American ships and citizens in violation of in ternational law. Fraught with the grave possibility of war with Germany, the action was taken by President Wilson only after he 'vas convinced that Germany actual ly *ras proceeding with her campaign of ruthlessness, and had made effort.* to plot with Mexico and Japan against the territorial integrity of the United States. Long before the order was given from the White House, all necessary preparations for the arming of mer chantmen had been completed at the Navy Department. Secretary Daniels issued an appeal to the press of the ' Nation to refrain from discussion of these preparations. The President's action sent a thrill through the Senate, meeting in special session and throug the Government Departments. Still hoping that war with Germany will be avoided, offi< i als and Senators declared that the issue rests entirely with Germany. Last Word Spo'.en, Declares Zimmermann. Amsterdam, Via London, March 9. —DutcU newspapers publish the fol lowing statement made by Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, the German Foreign Secretary, to a representative of a Budapest newspaper: "As far as the United States is con cerned, we have spoken our last word, and the decision is in President Wil son's hands. "We are determined to carry through the submarine war to the •end. The results of unrestricted sub marine .war thus far have been very satisfactory. "As to peace, I i..ay say that de spite the refusal of our peace offer, Germany still stands by the words of the Imperial Chancellor and is pre pared to place herself at the head of an alliance of States for the mainte nance of the world's peace. "As to European neutrals, I believe there will be no change in their pres ent relations with us in the course of the war. Neutral shipowners should give up their trade with England. They have made enough money, and can afford to bear the loss of Eng lish trade. They will soon recognize that it is to their interest to keep their ships at home so that they may use them to the best advania?* after the wat>" Over Ten Miiiions Have Been Killed in Great War. Washington, March 11.—More than 10,000,000 men are tecorded as killed wounded, raptured or missing in the European war in the first complete ta bulation of official and authenticated semiofficial reports of the various bel ligerent* received here. Among the military proper 4,441,' 200 are reported dead, e,lW8,M)0 woun ded and "2,fifl4,M>0 raptured and miss ing. Among civilians, especially on the Russian aivl Rnlknn fronts and in Armenia another 400,000 are figured as cither dead or wounded through the ■war. GERMAN SEAMEN FOUND GUILTY OF SINKING SHIP. Counsel for Defense Argued That they Shouldn't Be Puni shed Because They Were Only Obeying Orders. Florence. 8. C., March 9^ - Ki(fht 1 officer* and men of the Gorman Hanaa (I,lne freighter T.iehenfela, which began ; -inking in Charleston harbor on the night of January 31. were found ' guilty of Kinking tbe vessel in a navi gable stream by s jury in the United States Diatrict Court here late today. | They were acquitted, however, of a ■barge of conapiracy to iiink the tearaer. Capt. johann R. Klattenhoff ii ill at Charleaton and wax the only lone of the indicted men not tried. The convicted mer are Johann I.ub ken, ^-hief officer: George Sunkel, third officer; Jonaa Edward Janaen, chief engineer: Heinrich Waltenburg, usaiatant engineer; Wilhelm Schwar ting, machinist. All are Germana ex-' cept Janaen, who is a Dane. Several of the men ai i German naval reser vista. Counsel for the defense argued that the men should not be punished, inti mating that they were only carrying out orders. The defense offered no testimony. Its motion for a new trial was denied. Sentence will be passed tomorrow. Thr Government introduced teati mony to show that the seal of the United States Government had been broken on the wirelesa apparatus, which had .x.jn wrecked; that the machinery had been seriously disabled, and that the seacocks were open. There also was testimony to show the wreck of the Liebenfels constituted a possible menace to navigation of the channel leading to the United States Navy Yard at Charleston. Liebenfels began to sink on the night of January 3i. The plight of the freighter was observed early on February 1 by two tugs, but an offer of assistance waa refused by Chief officsr Kubgen, it vyis stated, on the CTTWIHJ flttt Captain Klattenrhoff waa not on board. The Liebenfels, which had been tied up at Charleston since the war began, is being floated under supervision of United States Army engineers. -1 ■ • TO USE NUMEROUS U-BOAT CHASERS. Navy Department Plans to Have Large Number of Craft Constructed Immediately. W»-hirrton, Ma'ch 10.—Plans for th*> immediate construction of a large number of submarine chasers for use by the naty in count patrol work will be discussed with motor boat builders at a conference called by Secretary [>anieN here Monday. The types of boats to be ordered, as well as the number, it is understood, will depend upon what the builders say as to their plant capacity. The Navy Department has designs for several types of chasers, ranging from 30 foot boats up to big, swift craft more than * 100 feet long. To make use of the small boat shops t*at dot the American coasts, it is proposed to build many of the chasers of wood instead of steel so as tg draw on a dif ferent class of skilled labor and also lessen the strain on the steel market. Naval officers favor the larger boats because they would be able to keep the sea continuously in ordinary weather for a considerable period. Heavier guns could be carried also. It has been estimated that the first chasers could be constructed in two months or less, and that duplicates could be produced at the rate of 30 to 60 a week thereafter. The engine sup ply probably would be the governing factor. un nionuay, also the major ship building companies will furnish the secretary with written statements of their capitalization, contracts, pUnt plans and other data necessary to dis tribution of the navy program under the speeding up requirements recent ly authorized by Congress. After Monday's conferences, repre entatives of the manufacturers who supply machinery and equipment for navy vesaais will see the secretary to [discuss their part in the speeding up process. How to Prevent Croup. When the child it .subject to attacks of croup, nea to it that re eats a light evening meal, as an overloaded stom nt-h may bring on an attack, also watch for the first *ymi>ti.ui- hoarseness, inj give Chamberlain's Couph Remedy ax soon us the rhild becomes hoarse. I Obtainable everywhere. IT IS AN ACT OF WAR SAYS GENERAL HUGHES. British Officer Comment* on Authority to Sink U-Boeita. New York, March 10.—The belief, that in the event of war between the United States and Germany, Ameri can officer* fighting with the forces of Canada should have no difficulty in obtaining their re!«aseto aid in train ing American troop* :»as expressed here today by Mnjoi General Sir Sam Hughes, former Canadir^ minister of militia. Sir Sam came to Wew Yor>; Friday. His mission, according to reports, was to confer, as a representative of the British army, with United States army officers. He declined to discuss his vistt, hut admitted he had conferred with Major General Wood, command ing the department of the east. Sir Sam expressed keen interest in the stale department's ruling that armed American merchantmen may fire upon German submarines at sight. "If the government has done that, it is an act of war," he exrlaimed. But Germany has already committed acts of war on the United States many times." Sir Sam alluded to the Zimmermann note inciting Mexico to invite Japan to from an alliance against the United States in case of war with Germany. "It shows that Germany is pretty bad ly done for," he said. "It shows also that Germany has no appreciation of America's position Tn world affairs. "If there is war," he added, "the Yankees of today will prove they have not degenerated from those of years ugo. I have been acquainted with con ditions in the United States army for 20 or 30 years. Your ^soldiers are among the first to be found anywhere and the spirit of liberty i« still mighty jttrong in the United States." Sir Sam expressed his opinion that German submarines would never get near enough to New York to shell the city. British Tnuwport Sunk. London, March 9.—The British transport Mendi, carrying South Afri can native laborers, was sunk after a collision on February 21, and 625 per sons lost their lives. Ten of the persons lost were Euro peans according to th>i announcement made today to the South African Par liament by den. Louis Botha, the Premier. The collision occurred off the Isle of Wright. The official an nouncement says: "Premier Botha stated to the South African Parliament today that the transport Mendi, carrying the last i>atch of the South African native laborers contingent (the rest of whom were landed safely in France) col lided with another vessel en route from Kngland to Havre and sank in 2ft minutes. The collision occurred off the Isle of Wight February 21. The escort's searchlight could not pene trate the fog, but the survivors were rescued by passing vessels. Twelve European officers and 191 natives were saved. Ten European and 615 natives were lost. "Difficulty in obtaining authentic information caused the delay in mak ing the announcement public. "Premier Botha said that the rela tives of those natives who are pre sumed to have been drowned would be advised. He added that the magis trates and native commander! had been instructed to inform the chiefs, head men and people io that they might know the truth and not heed idle and mischievous stories which ex perience proved might be circulated sedulously. The Imperial authorities, he declared, would pay compensation to natural beneficaries." Washington is Proceeding With the Arming of Boats. Washington, March, 11—The Ameri can government having announced its decision to proceed with the arming of merchantmen intending to go toEu rope in defiance of Germany's ruthless submarine campaign no further details on the situation were given out today. Many interesting questions relating to the new policy remained unanswer ed. The only statement authorized was that nothing will be dope by the government not in strict accord with international law. Because of reports of bad food con ditions in Germany, the fall of Bagdad to the entent allies and other news looked upon as unfavorable to the cen tral powers, some officials considered further peace suggestions from Ger many as among the possibilities. BAGDAD CAPTURED. Fighting Along Tigris British Drive Turkish Army From Positions. London, March 11.—ItaipUd, the chief Turkish city in MewpoUmii and formerly the capital 01 the empire of the Caliph*, haa h«en captured by th« Hritiah force*. Announcement of the capitulation of the city wk made this ' evening by the British officii! preu ' bureau. * The statement wan Issued or receipt 'of a telegram from (ienerai Maude laying the Britinh force* had occupi ed Bagiiad early Sunday morning. No detail* of the, rapture of the city were contained in General Maude'* dupatch. During the day the following official report wan received concerning the operation* againit rfegdad, carrying them up to Saturday morning, when the Turk* had been forced back to within three milea west and southweit of the city: "Our force* engaged with the Turk* on the Diala line the night of the eighth *ucceeded, deapite the bright moonlight* in effecting a surprise crosting of the Diala and establishing a strong post on the higheat bank thereof. Meanwhile on the morning of the eighth the Tigris having been bridged St some distance down stream, a British detachment marched up the right bank and found the enemy hold ing a position about lix miles south west of Bagdad. tiic ciiciiiji won uiivcn iiuiu uii.i position to another position two miles in the rear. During the night of the ninth, a parage of the Diala was forced anil our troops advanced Dome four miles toward Bagdad. "During the ninth our forces on the right bank Tigris) drove the enemy from hi* second position, bivouacking on the ground gained. This advan tage, notwithstanding a blinding dust storm and a violent gale, was pressed on the morning of the ter.th, the Turks being forced back to within three miles wnt and wmtbweat of Bagdad." Bagdad's capture marks the climax to one of the most dramatic and pic turesque phases of the world war. The city which has fallen to British arms links the present to h past so distant that it is semi-fabulous. The known history of Uagdad reaches back for more than 1,000 years to the shadowy times of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylona, a quay built by the scrip tural monarch still existing submerged in the Tigris. YVuhin its precincts al so there still stands the tombs of the Jewish prophet." Joshua, Ezra and Ezekiel, and the well of Daniel. Long after the Babylonian dynasty had ceased to be more than a memory, Bagdad rose to splendor as the artis tic, literar)', scientific and religious capital of the world. The heart of the great Islamic empire o fthe Caliphs for hundreds of years, it was known throughout the world as "the glorious city" and was the scene of many fan tastic exploits of Haroun-Al-Rashid, the potentate whose magnificance is immortalized in the Arabian Nights. In 800 A. D. Bagdad was credited with a population of 2,000,000 and was easily the first £ity in the world in, wealth and commerce. With the fall j of the Caliphs before the Turkish sultans, the decline of Bagdad com menced. It was successively the prey of Turks, Mongols, Tartars and Per sians but it was not until 1638 that the city became definitely a part of the Turkish empire. The British campaign against Bag dad was opened early in 191S when kn Anglo-Indian force under Maj. Gen. Charles Vere Ferrers Townsend was landed at the head of the Persian gulf and moved rapidly up the Tigris. The primary object of the expedition was to secure the valuable oil wells in the region at the mouth of the Tigris, but the ultimate and Kr greater object was the shattering of the great Ger man dream of dominion in the near east. ine realization 01 tms dream was ( based on the construction of the Ber-1 lin-Constantinople-Bagdad railroad and by the seizure of Bagdad the British hoped to prevent the com pletion of this roud, at least by Ger ipan hands. General Townshend commanded a force of about 40,000 men and at first he pushed forward with amazing speed. Early in June. 1915, he captur ed Kut-el-Amura, about 250 miles from the mouth of the Tigris and about 100 miles from Bagdad. On the 22nd of the following November he rea-hed Ctcsipron, 20 miles from his goal, where ha was attacked by an overwhelming force i>f Ottoman troops. Hi* water supply gave out and he was fomd to rrtraat Fighting a continuous roar guard action, the Britiah evpedition regained Kut-el-Amara on Dwtmbtr .'.th. Hera General Townahend determined 4 to make a stand with a portion of his I forces and entrenched with about 10, 000 man, while tha remainder of hii | troupe continued to fall hack alonu »Se Tigris in order to join hands with the relief army that was hurriedly dim patched from France and India, after the defeat at Ctaaiphion. Thirty thousand Indian troop* and two Anglo-Indian division* which had haen fighting in France formed a re lief cotpe that joined tha remnants of the Townshend expedition and made desperate effort to rescue the beleagu ered gairiron at Kut-el-Amara. For'' three m(«n''.« General Sir Percy I.ake, the rtrf'v/ commander, fought his way up Tigris and was within eigli* miles of hi*! besieged comrades when ! on April 13, 18H, General Town»hend. j nia food supplies exhausted, was com-. pelled to surrender. Tn the meantime, additional reinforcements had been sent from Egypt. Including the 13th colonial division which had taken pa rt in the Illfated Gallipoli campaign. Rut after the disaster at Kut-el Arama the British abandoned the offensive for several mon'hs. General Town«hend's opern»'«nH against Kagdail had lieen seconded by the Russians, who had advanced from Persia and the Mush region and had reached within 70 miles of the Tigrin when the Townahend surrender oc curred. Shortly afterward the Ru.s-: sians abandoned their campaign and after some desultory fighting with drew to the Persian mountains. The resumption of British operation* occurred in Deceisibvr, lSlfi, when an advance on Kut-el-Amara was made1 from the Bahylonion plains, while a second force again moved up the Tigris. Gen. Frederick Stanly Maude was in command of the new campaign and was unofficially reported to have 120,000 men at his disposal. rrom w lime or t.ne opening or tne campaign the British progress was steady and uninterrupted and in it* last phase* aI remarkable rapidity. On February 23 Kut-el-Amarn was captured for the second time and sev eral thousand Turkish prisoners taken. Within two rveek* the British had driven forward abcut 90 miles and on March 8 their cavalry patrols were. within a few miles of Bagdad. The fall of Kut-el-Amarn and the rapid progress of the Briti h toward Bagdad was the signal for the renewal of the Russian campaign to the n»rth. A Russian army advancing from Per sia captured Hamadan and t«>hi as first chief of the con»:itnl 'onalisc revolution has dominate,! Me'icn since the overthn* of the liutrta govern-1 meat was conceded. i It \va» the first national election i since that which lodged Francinco 11 Madero in the presidency for his short lived term of office. This fact caused i much enthusiasm among the people. >< There were several disturlwncc* re- i po: ted In some places due directly to j i the electoral compaign. But theM disorders were bloodless affray*. Mr. Carranza took an active part in i the cani;miKn. Many persons who held themselves aloof from revolution- i ary activity cast their votes in his favor. i HOME DEMONSTRATION WORK We* (field Home Demonstration Club and Ita Work. The Home Damon-.tr.>' on Club at WeatfieM i» steadily growir* in mem >*n, interact and efficiency. They have pin ed an nil atove am! nereaaary equipment in one room ' the hand some naw school heiMinp and now hold their meeting* the .a twic# a month. They have ananged for the County Home Damonatration ascent to meat Kith them twice a month giving 'hem practical leaaon* in cooking. So Weatfidd, through th>- effort i <-ey ilreaaea and white <~apa and apron.*. ..iargaret M. MeLw.. Quarterly Conference to be Held at New Hebron. Saturday March S-J, 10 a. m. to 12 a'clock. Song service. by Sun*1 iy schools. Devotional service by Presiding Cider. Organization and R< II Call, by Pre siding Elder. Report on General State of the I ht ch, by Pastor. Report of the Charge Lay Leader, uy J. M. Parker. Song by Sunday schools. Reports from Sumia,. schools. The Teacher and the Class, by E. L. Brown. Duties of the Sunday School Supt., ay W. L. Gwyn. The Family Altar, by J. M. Parker. Revival Needs, by E. J. Miller. Benefits to be Deri. .! f ora a Cir cuit S. S. Convention b> . 1 etcher Wall. 12 o'clock to 1 p. m , Dinner on the k ound. Song service by Sun . ' ools. System in Church s'iqutce I y L L. Ai mfielil. What Should be D n-- v :'h the Church member who ts abu to contri bute to (he support of !he Church, but refuses to do so, by Jesse Richards. The Bible and the Tithe, ! y J. D. Wall. Our Conference Collections, by Pre siding Elder. "Collections in Full," J. W. Gardner. The place of Methodist Literature in the Home, by Pastor. Song. Sunday, Love Feast, behind closed doors. 10 a. m. Sunday Suiiool. Sermon fpllowed by the Lord's Sup per. The speakers named above will lead the discussion with short talks on sub jects assigned, which wi'l be followed up by a general discossion, participat ed in by all. H. C. Sprinkle, P. E. • * J. W. Bennett, P. C Increase in U-Boats U Much Greater than Low, y Berlin, March 11,—Vi". Sayvilto.— Discussing the submarine situation the ^ Overseas News agency (the German >fficial news bureau) quotes the Ger nan press with reference to the "re jorts spread by the entente about the leavy louses of submai ines" as saying. "Even if the losses of German sub narines became irrea'er than they -rally are, even then the increase in .he number of submarines, which is ontinuous and uninterrupted, would till be several time* gr< ater than luch losses." The German newspapers point out hat losses are una^idablc on account >f the particularly delicate character >f submarines, the undaunted bmvery >f the crews and the vast de'ensiro lystem set in motion by th« entente, >ut that nevertheless German xub narine loss*.- have Vw-en held within •ery moderate limits aid nre Infinitely imaller than the figures reported or tinted at In hostile and some neutral •ports.