North Carolina Newspapers

jr 7 " -V 4 - - WEATHER 1 North and South Car., olina: -Par$toudy toniflht; lrfr fair; ' warmer ..Inter. . HOME , EDITION IS 1 -, lor, vol. xxiv. NO. 128:,;;, WILMINGTON, NORTH GMlOl!lHAr mpAY EVENINGMAY 1 7; 1918. FIVE CENTS i V. v : .. : ' : . - Takesj Over Zone of. British I foes in Northern France OF LIFE Alliedfand Uerman Uunners V Harass Lines With Steady itf Shell Fire. AIRMEN ARE BUSY-. ow Believed Hun Prepara tions For Another Offensive are About Complete Itak ians Give Austrians No Rest With the American Army In France, May 17. Troops of the new American army have arrived within the zone of the British forces' in northern France and are ndw com pleting their training in the area, oc cupied by the troops which are block-, ing the paths of the Germans to the channel ports. Their commander already has com manded American: forces in .trenches on the French front ' The British officers and men ' who are training the new force say .the Americans are of the finest material and are certain to give a most excel lent account of themselves when they meet the Germans. . British troops greeted; the Ameri cans, not only as comrades in arms, but as warm friends, and the. work of instruction is being .continued in that spirit. , . t.-. The Amercan forces, on arrtrijij ill the British zone were cheered; to the skies by the sons of Britain- many of whom bore unmistakable signs I of battle. They had not seeii the Amer icans before, but they : knew ; they were coming. ; v? The Americans, on the ' other hand, gained all the more enthusiasm hv-th heartiness of the greeting Which.- they u irom ineirvpatue-scarred comrades in arms. - A'-.ff-iL,--' i . Paris, May 17 Anaoujffi3safipii waa iiauc iicre toaay mat Amgwt5tt troops hate ajTived;in-fl6iteern France,, in the zone occupied by the British forces. i 1 " The announcement -concludes with the statement that the relations-between the British -a&d American! ''of ficers and soldiers are extremely cor dial Germany still hesitates ta ranAw heavy fighting on the main battle- nems of the western front, but the increase in aerial and artillery activ ity indicates that infantry fighting wa a larger scale than In the past tw eeks soon again may be in progress. Allied and Gftrm ATI rnnnert it Arrassing the opposing lines with well fire and this fighting continues most marked on the front north of tteLys in Flanders and south of the Somme in Picardy. It has been the wrman policy to precede a strong infantry oneration with a fitv hnnra of the most intense artillery , fire.' but we enemy bombardments have not reached the highest pitch, though is believed th w w m mail y yjm i y wr another offensive move are about complete. ' ' Recently British aen have been meeting with little "wwnuon in dropping bombs on rail- iUda Stations. troon AnramnmAntR ad other military targets behind the ennan lines. Now the enemy has necome most active and has .attempt ed bombing raids behind the lines as Jl as trying to prevent the allied ambers from carrying on their, work, "tty-six German machines are re WWed accounted for by London and t'aris. Of these, 43 machines were destroyed by allied aviators. Berlin, on the other hand, claims the de truction of 33 allied airplanes. After a battle with German air J'anes, British airmen on Thursday popped bombs on Saar Bracken,-Ger-an Lorraine, causing at least one explosion. Five German airplanes ere destroyed while the British lost wiy one of their number, in a sub equent battle. " There was no infantry acUvity ex' JJPt patrols on all tne long fronts rom the North Sea to Switzerland, deluding the American sectors. Alnencan artillprvmpn in "Wc.rdv again have caused fires in Montdi- Between Lake Garda and the th a' the Italiaji troops are giving je Austrians little rest. The suc p 8 in gaining the summit of Monte W ' 80uth of Asiago, has been fol ed by an operation agains Monte Asoione, just east of the Brenta. At Jo Places the Austrian trenches nn;e, ?ntered- the part of the garrison killed or captured fleeing. mir . ?na says the Jtalian activities ll t0 JIonte pernica, east of Aso-ne- Both these heights are out ers of the formidable Monte Grap- r.ail0g thtJ front from the Stelvio hll v Lake Gardo, enemy patrols we been repulsed by the Italians. on Tven Lake Garda aTld tne Brenta, BrL v Asia Plateau, the artillery are has increased. -' -v w" - INTEREST WANING: FEW ARE PRESENT All Speeches at Conference ' Limited to Five Minutes PENSION , PREACHERS Widows be Paid on Basis of Years She Was Minister's Wife. BAPTIST GREETING Non-Concurrence Has . Been Recommended in Petition to Change Law in Discipline of Church. v Atlanta, May 17. With its most im portant work out of the way, a dwin dling -of .interest was noticeable at today's session of the general confer ence, of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. Only a few delegates were in their places when Bishop W. B.rMurrah rapped for order. . After the devotional , service led; by , the Rev. G, H. Thompson, presiding elder of the Meridian, Miss., district. Bishop Murrah surrendered the chair to Bishop W. R. Lambuth, :ot California. : - A telegram of greeting was , read from the. Southern Baptist convention now meeting at Hot Springs, Ark. m order to facilitate business all speeches were limited to five min utes, except those of chairmen of committees who . , were allowed 10 mmutes. v:;;j : J:-i The,' report , of the special 4 commit tee on superanniiatl.fUQd was presenlr ed v-It recommends the elecUoa of a seerf tary-iWhoshalt hm jB4setd b? loti a-ther connectional ? officers; his title, to, eretary of the board of finance. The report :.p that funds available for appropriation . be distribtlted to the . superannuated preachers on : a basis of years of ser vice. A widow of a deceased preacher shall b e paid on .the basis of the num ber of years that she has been the wife of an effective traveling preach er, the amount to be two-thirds of that paid -, to the ' superannuated preachers. ' ' ' ' The committee on revisals did not concur In a memorial : from the Vir ginia conference : whleh proposed a plan of dealing with church members who complain of a preacher for the purpose of preventing his return - ant- other year to the charge wnien ne is serving. Non-concurrence was also recom mended in the petition to change the law in the discipline, so that a deacon may be allowed to administer the sac rament in the absence or an eider. ANTI-GERMAT4 FELLING IN UKRAINE UNCHECKED Londpn, May " 17.--Anti-German agi' taUnn in the1 Ukraine continues un checked says a Vienna dispatch to the Lokal Anzeiger of Berlin and trans mitted from The Hague by the Ex change Telegraph company. TJkranians attack Germany bitterly ana accuse her of using the Russian warships at Sebaetopol for the purpose of seising coal and Ukrainian merchant men. It is reported that the Germans have mined the strait ofYenkale, closing the passage into the Sea of Azov. Serious trouble, it is added, has oc cnrred at Nikolaiev, where the Ger mans have dismissed the city council FORCED MARRIAGES IN GERMANY LIKELY London, May 17. The German com mission appointed to examine the de cline in the birth rate in Germany has reoorted a recommendation for the compulsory marrage of Germans before their twentieth year is passed, according to a dispatch to the Daily EiDerss from Amsterdam. Financial assistance would be eraritftd bv the state, according to this clan, which provides" penalties fnr thosA failinor. to comply. Pro vision also is made, for the punsh ment of married couples who remain childless. " ' Bidding for,. Next Assembly. Dallas. Texas, May 17. Rivalry al ready' is, developing as to which state shall obtain the next general assem bly of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, which yesterday opened its Rth ann uaf "assembly here. Commis sioners from -Tennessee held a met ing last night with the purpose of con rent.ratinr their strengthupon either Lebanon,: Knoxville ' or Chattanooga, I 1hE WAISTS TO BE CMaCiilSO "BUDDIEW li l1 i jp MISS MILDRED TAYLOR IS Was In Stutz Home.; Where Mw;johioj on Richmond, Ya:, May 17. After four venires had been summoned many of the men had formed an opinion in regard to the case or are opposed to capital punishment, the nry , to hear the trial of Dr. Lemuel J. Johnson, the young dentist of Middlesex, N. C, charged with murdering his bride, Mrs. Alice Knight Johnson, was com pleted in the Hustings court this morning and the examination of wit nesses started shortly before noon. As soon as the ury was completed Johnson was ordered to stand up in order that the indictment against him might be read. The defendant was slightly nervous, biting his lips and staring toward the men who are to pass upon his fate. He seemed in a more serious frame of mind than on previous days while the ury was. being selected. -" Miss Mildred Taylor, chum of the dead girl, was the first witness. She told of being, oh the night. of Decem ber 16, last, in the home of Mrs. B. F. Stutz, where Mrs. Johnson took a fatal dose of poison, it was wnile telling of her regard for the dentist's bride and their friendship, which was formed , in the medical college of Virginia, where both girls- were em ployed, ?iat Miss Taylor hid her faee in her hands and wept. Judge Rich ardson . had cautioned . the counsel against any unnecessary severe ques tioning.; . Miss Taylor was allowed five min utes in which to -resume her testi mony. She told now sne nerself bad taken some -medicine on the night of the tragedy and how Mrs. Johnson had later removed a capsule from a package.- Mrs. oJhnson had told the witness that the drug was very. costly. 1 When Miss Taylor remarked about the capsule's unusually large size she said Mrs'. Johnson told her that she had taken one just like it five nights before and she had been told to take one every five nights. Mrs. Johnson confided in her friend that the capsure would "knock. L out of me." What was meant by "L" was not explained. Oil the night she died Mrs. oJhnson was in Miss Taylor' sv room. She swal lowed the capsule and immediately be came unconscious. Fifty" minutes la ter she died.. Judges Richardson ruled this testi mony was adnissible, as the common wealth contended: the case hinged : on this point: " " ' The prosecution's witnesses includ ed A. Cloyd-Gill.' a Washington news paper man. Gill was excluded from the court room until he is called to testify as to certain statements he quoted Dr. oJhnson as having made. Concentrate German Fleet. London, May 16. The entire Ger-' man Baltic, fleet except a few light cruisers,' was recalled last week to Kiel where important naval forces now are being concentrated, says a dispatch from Hamburg, received jhi Geneva and transmitted by the corre- FIRST mm il MISSIONS IS CENTER OF INTEREST 1 ..... r Russia,: As it Affects Church, paptists. Hot Springs, Ark., May 17. Dis cussion of the work done within the last year by its foreign missfon board held the attention of the 63rd session of the Southern Baptist convention today. Among the speakers were missionaries from several foreign nations. Virtually all of them had favorable reports to make on exten sion "of church work, despits of war conditions. The Russian situation as it affects church work was one of the principal points of interest and members of the convention already have indicated their ardent desire to reenter the church field in Russia. It was told that Germans now are In possession of much- church property abroad, par ticularly In Russia and Italy, though the actual loss to the churches could not be estimated, either in terms of dollars or progress. The foreign mission board has re ported its most successful year in finance, and the delegates have evinced great desire to increase the goal for the coming year. There was some discussion, yet undecided, as to whether the work among the Ameri can soldiers on foreign soil was to be under the supervision of the for eign missions board or the hottie mis sions, but it was made cler that, in either event, the southern Baptists were determined to push that work to the utmost. The work of he Southern Baptist Theological seminary at Louisville was reviewed and the growth of the institution as . reported to the con vention, was the subject of much fa vorable comment. PORTO RICO LABOR TO BE TRANSPORTED. Washington, May 17. Porto Rican labor is to be transported to the United States within a month for farms In the southern states, in ship yards and other war industries along the Atlantic coast Arrangements have been made by the . Federal Em ployment Service with the war de partment to utilize returning :trans ports which will carry supplies to the 15,000 drafted Porto Ricans at the army cantonment at San Juan. ' ' Recruiting of Porto Rlcan labor has been Koine on for several months, and 75,000 are now available. Em ployment for 10,000 has been ar ranged and more can be used as fast as they can be transported. - f - ; Effeminizatien of Army. Rem a. Switz.. May 17. Austrian newspapers are exhibiting concern at what they call tne enemnnzauon oi the army. It apepars that 36,000 women and girls are now employed in the auxiliary services at clerks, servants, etc.; and i that others are beine enlisted at the rate of, 150,000 a month. They are being enrolled at Vienna arid sent into the' field. " ' .? INFERNAL MACHINES USED ON AMERICANS Germans Seem Unable ltQ ies On Na ivian s Lanu With the American Army In France, Mayfl7. The Germans op posite the American Sector northwest of Toul are resorting to infernal ma chines in an effort to check the ac tivity of American patrols, numbers f which go 'ery night to roam No Man's Land and even German land virtually at will. A member of an American patrol stepped on a harmless-looking wire near the German lines yesterday and a bomb immediately exploded in. the center of the patrol group. It had been planted by the enemy. The members of the patrol either entered or were assisted into an abandoned trench nearby and the sol diers prepared for a fight, believing one was certain to come. -They wait ed in the darkness for half an hour for. something to happen, but the Germans did not come out. The par ty then made its way jcautiously back to the American line. AT iT SPRINGS MUTINY Start Trouble When They Learn of Moving to Georgia Forts- Washington, May 17. Almost a mutiny broke out among the 2,200 interned Germans at Hot Springs, N. C, when they, learned of the govern ment's plan to move them before July 1 to army posts at Forts . Oglethorpe and McPherson, Ga. It was neces sary to increase the guards to pre serve order. Many of the interned aliens had invested their savings in improve ments on their cottages to make them more comfortable, thinking they were permanently located for the period of the war. COMMITTEE REPORTED SECOND DAY'S PROGRAM Durant, Okla., May 17. Considera tion of committee reports and gener al discussions were on the program for the second day of the 58th annual session of the "Southern Presbyterian General assembly today. , The as sembly met yesterday : and " elected the Rev. James I. Vance, of Nash ville, enn., moderator, and heard the reports of some of the committees A special committee oppointed on a resolution fro mthe Rev, W. G. Dobyns, of St . Joseph, Mo., to pre pare a message of confidence and en couragement to President Wilson was expected to report today.- GERMAN PRISONERS Official Reports BRITISH. London, May 17.--The:'.Gerv man artillery " fire is increasing ly active from Locon to Hinges along - the western side of , the ' Flanders salient and c between the forest, of .Leppe and to' Mer teren, on the northern side t of the salleht, the , war office .an- -nounces. .. .-.-:-.- . The statement follows :. "A hostile" raiding party was - repulsed last night in the : neigttr borhood of .. Mbyennville, south -of -Arras... -; - -V "There was great activity , obl both sides during tne . night .in .. the Pacant wood sector, north of Hinges. The hostile artillery also has shown increased, activity be-, tween Locon and Hinges, and ; from : the forest of Nieppe to Meteren." v ' . ' FRENCH. Paris, May ,17. Violent; artil lery fighting in the region of Hailles, southeast of Amiens, la reported in today's bfflclal state : -1 - ment.- ' ' - ' " The announcement fdllows: "During the night there was a violent bombardment in the re gion of Ha3?es., . TTear "Mesnll-St. Georges we repulsed a German, raid and took prisoners. South. : of Cahny-Sur- Matz ( southeast or Mpntaiaierj , French ' detachments penetrated ' the German lines ; at two points, bringing back 40 prisoners, includ ing one officer-. "On the southern : bank: of the Oise, German attacks on small French posts in the sector of Varennes were broken up by our fire. - "Elsewhere the night passed in quiet." - 1 06 Names on Casualty List56f ' American Army Oyer There. Washington, May ia casuajty list today contained 106-Jhatfles, di - vided as follows: Killed in action Died of wounds . n Died -lot disease.. 4 9 1 Died of .gas poisoning Wounded severely .Wounded slightly-.. , ant AVeriltBraxlon: Pfeifer. Cleveland, CC sllghUy wounded ; Lieutenant unaries w. Maxson, jcjauimore, missing in .action;- Lieutenant .Harold A. Goodrich, New Haven, f Mo., "and M. i rf Tn nnri.fl ously reported missing, flow reported I prisoners. The list includes: Died of disease: Private Fred Harshaw, Murphy, N. G. & Wounded slightly: Corporal John Wilson, Gaffney, S. C; Privates Prentice Eaker, Paris, Tenn.; Ray M. Hicks, Finley, Tenn.; Less L. Knight, Macon, Ga.; John R. Weiler, Mengel- wood, Tenn. HAD NO INTENTION TO REFLECT 0NC0NGRESS Creel Writes Pou Letter That May Clear Up Furor in . House. Washington, May 17. George Creel, chairman of the committee on public information, has written Chair man, Pou of the house rules commit tee mat ne nan. no intention or re flecting on congress in his much-dis cussed recent speech in New York, in which he . was quoted, as saying that inasmuch as he did not enjoy slum ming, ne would not explore the heart of congressmen.; . The remarks attributed to Creel created a furore in congress, with de mands for investigation of his com mittee and declarations , that if cor rectly quoted, he was unfit to bold his office. It was indicated yesterday by house leaders that the matter prob ably would be permitted to dp'and Creel's letter to Pou probably ajg cures sucn a aisposition r tne incl dent, '- Chairman Pou told the committee today he had been advised the letter had been written, and would be deliv ere toay. Meanwhile, the committee ha a session to decide what action it would take. Given Another Chance. Tampa, Fia., May 17. The hang ing of Jasper and Edward Mlmbs, J father and son, for the murder of A. D. Buie, hs been postponed by Governor Catts to May 31 which will kllow their cases to be taken before the pardon board May 28, in an ef fort to et a commutation of sen tence. - - House of Commons Adjourns. London, May '17. The house of commons adjourned last night until May. 28 without an ysign of the long- delayed j-ish home rule ! bill. . Appar ently the .members of thev govern ment have no Idea when the bill will be introduced. ' ' ." Ni1S OHWplcE Irish Party Says Conscriptionf : Bill is Breach of Faith : 1: OUTRAGE OF RIGHT ; Promises Made - to Deceivot America and Allied European Nations. -:. J APPEAL IS ISSUED Meeting is Held Presided Over.P' oyJJohn Dillon and StatI r ?! Was Ever Intended . . . Dublin, Thursday, . May 16. At-;?1. fetfiagvof 45 members of the IrisIGr party ; here today, with the Irish na't tionalist leader and John Dillon, ore- giding, a a statement, was issued thafc' the bill for conscription in Ireland was adopted by parliament largely "um-i der the. impression that no attempt 1 .. ' J ' would (bei made. to use the power un- i- til a. responsible Irish government and ; ' i an insnDaniament -were called into- K I an lrisn ' parliament "were CaHea into ; The latest developments, however. says, that -the " government has no in-'- -;L7 tention of iModucing any bill what- . J ever, and that all the promises made '".-SI Iff were . uttered simply to deceive .the I house iSf commons, the British public I :t ana, aDove au, tne American govern meht, the American people and the allied European nations, and -of pre-,-. V judiclng the cause of Ireland in their eyes The statement says conscription j 1 1 j . tionat. right, but a breach of faithl The complaint is made that British propaganda Is creating prejudice IZZZV tJ "Z ZaTSIZX rrTr; " T TrrJl insnjnen quansed to speax in her. 'We beg of the American peOplIT0 and government In the memory : t)t.' : -' . .gAjisted-ibetween. the American and. IrisXi SJfX. "TV '1 TiJr JT Z. rTf lrirrri principles of democratic freedom and 4,1 , , , ,4., rVTJwX icently set. forth in President Wilson's 1 i. . 4.1 1 3 4- a Vl .V ' ' I. denied to Ireland, while the Irish peo- ftM , , .. , pie are called on to fight for them. in foreign lands. ALLIES STILL WAIT j Only Grumbl jng of Guns Now " Heard Along Western Front. 11- . With the British Army in France, Thursday, May 16. The allies are still waiting for Field Marshal von Hindenburg to show his hand. No more magnificent weather could be ; imagined than has favored the west ern front In the last 48 hours. But "even this has been brought no change ' in the military situation. The Ger-r . mans continue to remain compara- . tively inactive in their sun-baked de fenses and were it not for the rumb ling of the guns, the clouds pf dust 1 along the lines of transport and the ." flight of- airplanes winging their , way . across the battle zone, it would be .- hard to realize that a war was going on. -. ' ; .; Notwithstanding this, there has " been ? no relaxation of the tension :i which has existed, along the front for many days. It is realized that, the ' enemy may . strike at any time. ; Cer- .' ' tainly. no one doubts that an ambi-. .. tlous offensive is tn '. preparation,1 and the time necessary to complete the plans must have about run . its course. ;. The delay is in itself an added indi OR VON HINDENBURG cation that the next German push! . . is to be one of great magnitude and i. fierceness. This next battle may eas- ' Ily be the crucial one, for the, Get . mans undoubtedly will attempt once more to smash entirely through the . allied lines. !- ; : " :'.h -- Dr. Carrel Promoted. Paris, May 17. Dr. Alexis Carrel, v of the Rockefeller institute, has been v promoted by the French government to .the rank of commander of the ler- ; , gion of honor. The new decoration j: was bestowed upon, him yesterday by Mi Motlrier, under secretary of state,1. for. medical service, In the presence of a distinguished company. v . ; - - -?-.-''. fr'n ;r.i Ten Passcnger KlUedJ X . Paris, May : 17.-rTen - passengers, ' one European and nine Arabs . were killed' when the .French steamer At lantique 'was torpedoed C in the Medi terranean early this ' month. . The1 steamship managed to -reach a port - by . her own means;; it Is , announced. . She measures 6,447 tons. -.-.-' , jj. IJ .,1 - ; J 5 : r :4 hi PIS 1 1 1 t-i v i